Are we protecting our children’s health

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Pthalates used in food packaging could be linked to childhood obesity, according to two recent studies conducted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine that included research conducted on more than 900 children in East Harlem and surrounding communities. The studies have added to a growing body of evidence that link phthalates to health problems.

One of the studies, according to the Mount Sinai researchers, focused on 400 girls in the East Harlem community. The results showed that the heaviest girls had the highest levels of phthalates metabolites in their urine.

Another significant research project called Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem examined the diet and other factors for 520 East Harlem children aged 6-8 with the results indicating that the level of phthalates in the children tested was higher than the national average.

About 40 percent of children in East Harlem are considered to be overweight or obese. “When we say children, I’m talking about kindergarten children, we are talking about little kids,” said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai, one of the lead researchers on one of the East Harlem studies. “This is a problem that begins early in life.”

Health concerns over phthalates have been debated for more than 10 years, as shown by a New York Times article from 1999 that describes opposing views on their use and mentions an FDA investigation into the matter. At that time, a major concern was the use of chemicals in children’s toys.

Previous reports linking phthalates to health disruptions have shown that they are connected to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, poor semen quality in men, and changes in reproductive organs in infant boys.

Phthalates can be found in personal care products like cosmetics, shampoos, soaps, lotions, paint and pesticides. They are also used to make plastics more pliable. Phthalates are absorbed into the body and are a type of endocrine disruptor – a category of chemical that affects glands and hormones that regulate various bodily functions.

Increasingly when I am doing hair mineral testing on young children because of health issues, I am noticing higher amounts of toxic substances like lead, arsenic, mercury and tin. Substances like boron, copper and iron which are supposed to be nutritional become toxic at higher levels. The parents then ask me, “Where does it come from? How could all these heavy toxic substances and heavy metals be impacting them?” That’s when I tell them about the 100, 000 or more toxic substances that re now present in the environment that were not present before. The various authorities have not even established safety levels for multiple chemicals in the human body.

The FDA continues conducting ongoing investigations into potential risks, but notes that while there have been studies on laboratory animals demonstrating carcinogenic effects of certain chemicals, “there are no studies in humans that are adequate to serve as the basis for regulatory decision-making.”

Other packaging chemicals that have recently caused consumer concern include Biosphenol A (BPA) and perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). PFCs, which are found in grease-resistant packaging such as that used in microwaveable popcorn bags and pizza boxes, have been linked to infertility in women.

My wife’s colleague passed on this information to me. One of her friends whose father works for the government health inspection passed on his information. Their job is to inspect all hawkers, their cooked food, their store hygiene, etc. They found sugar cane juice has the highest content of bacteria among all food. In fact, it has exceeded the set limit.

Hence, these guys had to find out why. They went round all sugar cane stores and watched the way the hawkers handled their sugar cane, wash their glasses, their entire
procedure. But they couldn’t find the problem.

One day, they stayed till closing time and discovered some shocking facts! Whenever, the hawkers closed their stores, they would wash the floor with detergent.. As we know, the
remaining sugar canes will be placed at the back of the store, vertically standing and as sugar canes are very porous, they tend to absorb whatever liquid around them. Besides the soapy water, the dirt on hawkers’ boots, cats’ urine, etc, will all be absorbed?? Now, whenever I eat at a hawker centre, I would warn all my friends about this and of course I stopped drinking my favorite sugar cane juice.

A friend, who loved sugar cane juice, was pregnant. She was always drinking sugar cane juice. Anyway, one day she miscarried and the fetus was already like 6 or 7 months old,
I think. When the doctors did an autopsy to find out why all of a sudden the fetus had died inside her, they found traces of some chemical substance, which was found in cat urine… Large traces of it.

While it would not be able to harm adults, it was extremely toxic to babies, what more a fetus? So they tried to determine how this cat urine thing could have ended up in
the fetus. This meant that it had to be digested by the mother, right? And the only logical conclusion they could come up with was that since these sugar cane juice stall holders just leave the canes lying around on the wet and dirty floor, it would not be impossible to think that stray cats could have peed on those sugar canes or near those sugar canes. So think carefully the next time you order that favorite sugar cane juice!

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Why women live longer than men

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One important reason is the big delay — and advantage — women have over men in terms of cardiovascular disease, like heart attack and stroke. Women develop these problems usually in their 70s and 80s, about 10 years later than men, who develop them in their 50s and 60s. For a long time, doctors thought the difference was due to estrogen. But studies have shown that this may not be the case, and now we know that giving estrogen to women post-menopause can actually be bad for them. “http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1635370,00.html” t “_blank”

One reason for that delay in onset of cardiovascular disease could be that women are relatively iron-deficient compared to men — especially younger women, those in their late teens and early 20s — because of menstruation. Iron plays a very important part in the reactions in our cells that produce damaging free radicals, which glom onto cell membranes and DNA, and may translate into aging the cell. In fact, in our diets, red meat is the main source of iron, and lack of iron is probably one major reason that being vegetarian is healthy for you. There was a very good study looking at the intake of red meat and heart disease in Leiden in the Netherlands: in regions where people didn’t eat red meat, those populations had half the rate of heart attack and stroke compared to the populations that did eat red meat.

Another more complicated possibility [for women’s longevity] is that women have two X chromosomes, while men have one. (Men have an X and a Y.) When cells go through aging and damage, they have a choice in terms of genes — either on one X chromosome or the other.

Consider it this way: you have a population of cells, all aging together. In some cells, the genes on one X chromosome are active; in other cells, by chance, the same set of genes, with different variations, are active on the other X chromosome. Don’t forget, we all have the same genes — the reason we differ is because we express different variations of those genes, like different colors of a car. Now, if one set of variations provides a survival advantage for the cells versus another, then the cells with the advantage will persist while the other ones will die off, leaving behind more cells with the genes on the more advantageous X chromosome. So, in women, cells can perhaps be protected by a slightly better variation of a gene on the second X chromosome. Men don’t have this luxury and don’t get this choice.

It’s very unclear [how big an effect that could have]. I’ve seen men who have done horrendous damage to themselves over time with smoking and drinking and who still get to 100 and older — though that’s very, very rare. They might have the right combination of some really special genetic variations that we call “longevity enabling genes” — which we’re on the mad hunt for.

Meanwhile other individuals may do everything right and only make it into their 80s. That may be because they have what we call “disease genes,” some genetic variations that are relatively bad for them. Now some of these [disease genes] may be on the X chromosome, [meaning that women who have the second X chromosome with which to compensate, would have an advantage]. But it’s really still a very complicated puzzle to tease out.

There are a few other reasons that men die earlier in life more often than women. Men in their late teens and 20s go through something called “testosterone storm.” The levels of the hormone can be quite high and changeable, and that can induce some pretty dangerous behavior among young men. They don’t wear their seatbelts; they drink too much alcohol; they can be aggressive with weapons and so on and so forth. These behaviors lead to a higher death rate.

Another area where we see higher death rates among men is among the depressed — especially older men. If they attempt suicide, they are more likely to succeed than women.

Overall, about 70% of the variation around average life expectancy — [just over 80 for women and just over 75 for men in the U.S.] — is probably attributable to environmental factors — your behaviors and your exposures. Probably only 30% is due to genetics. And that’s very, very good news. There’s so much we can do. Most of us should be able to get into our late 80s. What’s more, to get to older ages, like the centenarians, you are necessarily compressing the time you’re sick to the end of your life. It’s not a case where the older you get, the sicker you get. It’s very much the case that the older you get, the healthier you’ve been.

But, in general, there are maybe three things men do worse than women. They smoke a lot more. (That gender gap is fortunately shrinking, since men are smoking less and less.) They eat more food that leads to high cholesterol. And, perhaps related to that, men tend not to deal with their stress as well as women. They may be more prone to internalizing that stress rather than letting go — though that’s a fairly controversial point. Nonetheless, stress plays a very important role in cardiovascular disease.

Generally men unless they cannot work, are disabled by pain and cannot move or they are so sick and have a nervous breakdown, they maintain this veneer of stolidity and the attitude that says “I am fine”. Whereas women prefer to be proactive and prefer to preempt trouble generally.

My personal opinion is that women are more proactive, more sensitive to pain and seek earlier intervention. They are more interested in intervention before the quality of life is compromised. So serious issues are discovered earlier. Men wait until what happens to them creates an impasses in their ability to work or be effective. This may be one factor that accounts for increased life span.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Have you seen your dentist recently?

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When I first became exposed to the literature about the systemic links between dental problems and other health conditions, I was absolutely flabbergasted. Eventually I started testing my patients for dental issues. It was astounding. For every case of cancer, severe unmanageable diabetes, chronic infections, there was always a dental issue. I have exploring this link now for almost 12 years of my twenty years in practice and the evidence continues to stack up.

Over the last ten years there has been a growing body of evidence linking periodontal disease and systemic diseases. Every day new research is making the link stronger. Periodontal infection is the advanced stages of gum disease that causes bone loss. The bone loss is irreversible. Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease and with early detection, treatment and proper oral hygiene can be reversed. Periodontal infection has been associated with other systemic disorders that would not on the surface appear related.

Periodontal disease is a potential risk factor for:

*        infective endocarditis (damaged heart valves)
*        cardiovascular diseases (arteriosclerosis, coronary thrombosis ischemic heart
disease, stroke)
*        diabetes
*        respiratory problems
*        pancreatic cancer
*        behavioral and psychosocial status

Not only is there an indirect link between periodontal infections and systemic disorders, but periodontal disease is infectious or communicable and can be passed between family members. It makes sense that infection in the mouth can find its way to other parts of the body. Initially it was thought that the bacteria in the mouth that cause periodontal disease were directly infecting different sites in the body, like the heart or lungs or artificial implants. This is true. However, there is more to it than that.

The body recognizes the bacteria in the mouth as a chronic infection and uses its defense mechanism to fight it. The body calls upon itself to manufacture blood constituents, such as neutrophils, eosinophils, and mast cells, to physically fight the infection. This process occurs with all infections. The problem is that as an infection becomes chronic, the body continues to manufacture these blood constituents, and release a pseudo hormone called c-reactive protein. It is this protein that inflames the internal walls of the arteries and compromises blood flow in areas that may have a predisposition.

Tooth problems are at the root of a wide variety of acute and chronic health conditions and dental foci account for a large proportion of regulatory blockages. Teeth lie on the acupuncture meridian lines of the body and problem teeth can create havoc further up or down the line.

Probably the most common problem found on dental exams is a mouth full of amalgam fillings. Amalgam literally means “mixed with mercury,” and mercury accounts for 50 percent of dental-filling material. Excepting plutonium, mercury is probably the most toxic element known, and while it has been used in dental fillings for more than 160 years, its use has always been controversial. Beginning in the 1830s, when it was first introduced, then again in the 1920s, and most recently in the 1970s, many dentists, doctors, and scientists have argued that mercury leaches out of the filling material and accumulates in body tissue. The most common sites of detrimental influence are the nervous system, brain, and kidneys. Many research studies now confirm amalgam-filling leaching. In his book, It’s All in Your Head, Dr. Hal Huggins lists five categories of medical problems associated with mercury toxicity from amalgams:

Neurological disorders: including tremors, seizures, MS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s;

Emotional disturbances: including depression and anxiety;

Immunological diseases: including systemic lupus, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis;

Cardiovascular problems: including unexplained heart pain, high and low blood pressure, tachycardia, and irregular heart beat;

Connective tissue disorders; including osteroarthritis and collagen disease.

Other disorders: including chronic fatigue, mental confusion, and digestive problems.

Root canal-treated teeth present another common dental problem. Studies done in the 1930s by Dr. Weston Price, a well-known dental research scientist, showed that root canal-treated teeth are always infected, even if the infection is sub symptomatic. He did a series of experiments in which he placed the root canal-treated teeth of his patients who had degenerative diseases, under the skin of laboratory animals, usually rabbits. In almost every case the animal came down with the very same disease as the patient. He would then place a healthy, non-root canal-treated tooth under the skin and the animal remained healthy. His studies revealed that very toxic bacterial forms are associated with root canal-treated teeth.

Have you seen your dentist recently? I have.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Environmental toxicity and dis-ease.

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According to the Washington, D.C. based Environmental Working Group
(EWG), manufacturers dumped more than one billion pounds of toxic chemicals into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water between 1990 and 1994. EWG also estimates that
manufacturers contributed about 450 million additional pounds via sewage.

In the 1940’s, a billion pounds of synthetic chemicals were produced each year. By the 1980’s, production was up to 500 billion pounds. And 1000 new chemicals are introduced each year. Yet the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act only addresses 100 contaminants.

Of the thousands of chemicals found in the water, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) sets safety levels for only 60. Even with only these 60 standards, the EPA reports almost 1/2 of all municipal water supplies in the U.S. annually violate Federal health standards. In recent years, serious violations have affected over 120 million people. Wells are not much better, with 2/3 of them in violation of at least one of the Safe Drinking Water Act standards. The sorry condition of water in the U.S. is reflected in the remark by President Clinton that 40% of American waterways are unfit to swim in and in fact will not support life.

We live in a world surrounded by toxins. Every year, 2000 new chemicals will be released on the market, some not fully tested for their effect on the human body. Some are so called PBT’s or Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxins, meaning they exist in the environment and our food chain for a long time. These are substances such as DDT, PCB’s, Dioxins and plasticizers. Their effects range from immuntoxicity to endocrine disruption and some may even be carcinogenic. This is compounded by the grasshopper effect, where toxins move from temperate to cold climates. Endogenous toxins are also created in the form of the end products of our metabolism, such as histamine and adrenaline. If these are not detoxified and excreted, they can be as harmful as external toxins.

With the process of industrialisation and urbanization, many time-saving and labour saving devices and innovations have been introduced. We have become a society of mass consumers. We have also developed the habit of instant gratification. Whomsoever could satisfy this need for instant results be it in the arena of food, beverages, entertainment or even medical needs stood to make a fortune. This often resulted in the indiscriminate usage of chemicals, food additives, automation, chemical fertilizers and drugs. We are experiencing the side-effects now.

According to the Washington, D.C. based Environmental Working Group
(EWG), manufacturers dumped more than one billion pounds of toxic chemicals into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water between 1990 and 1994. EWG also estimates that
manufacturers contributed about 450 million additional pounds via sewage.

In the 1940’s, a billion pounds of synthetic chemicals were produced each year. By the 1980’s, production was up to 500 billion pounds. And 1000 new chemicals are introduced each year. Yet the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act only addresses 100 contaminants.

Pesticides are another problem. Two billion pounds of pesticides are used every year. That’s eight pounds for every American. These pesticides enter water systems via disposal sites, animal waste, runoff, sewage, etc. After reviewing published (but not publicized) State data and conducting its own tests, EWG found that a single glass of Midwestern tap water has three or more pesticides in it.

In China, Taiwan and other Asian countries, the presence of chemicals and pesticides in water is reducing the fertility rates of males and females. Even though the incidence of infectious disease is down, the incidence of illness due to environmental toxicity due to water borne pollution is up.

The following excerpt from Tap Water Blues, produced by the EWG and Physicians for Social Responsibility, states: “Every spring, farmers across the Corn Belt apply 150 million pounds of five herbicides–atrazine, cyanazine, simazine, alacholor and metolachlor to their corn and soybean fields. Every spring, rains wash a substantial portion of those chemicals into the drinking water of 11.7 million people in the Midwest and Louisiana. According to this article, none of these herbicides are removed by the conventional city municipalities drinking water treatment technologies that are used by more than 90% of all water utilities in the United States.”

A deficiency of specific nutrients may allow some toxins to produce severe damage to our cells by a process of free radical oxidation as we have already discussed above. Oxidation also occurs dramatically when fats inadequately protected by anti-oxidants like Vitamins C and E become rancid. Too much cholesterol/fat in your arteries causes oxidation, damage to their lining and eventually arteriosclerosis. On the obvious level, free radical damage can take the form of poor quality skin and lack lustre hair. It can aggravate whatever skin problems you may have. It can rob you of your energy and leave you feeling lethargic, tired and yes, even depressed. Oxidising heavy metals such as lead, excessive iron or copper and cadmium produces similar damage; as do free radicals in smoke and alcohol. Cells so affected can become cancerous or part of an arthritic or any other inflammatory process. In general free-radical activity can be held responsible for any if not all forms of degenerative disorders from cancer to diabetes.

What are you doing to drink clean water, detoxify and eat clean, healthy food?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Candida: The Silent Killer

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Candida albicans is a yeast that is present in the intestines normally in very low concentrations. As an opportunistic microorganism, candida is able to proliferate only if improper intestinal (and, possibly, systemic conditions) allow its growth. The incidence of candida overgrowth seems to be rising in our society in parallel with the widespread use of antibiotics for treatment of even minor conditions, their hidden ingestion through food sources (especially beef and chicken), and the excessive intake of high-sugar foods.

The “yeast” problem with Candida albicans is one of the new medical concerns of the 1980s that will continue into the next century. It has been described by many prominent physicians, including C. Orian Truss in The Missing Diagnosis, William Crook in The Yeast Connection, and Keith Sehnert in The Candidiasis Syndrome. It is a very common problem, one of the most frequent I see, and is to me a medical adventure, because I learn a great deal while working with people with this problem. Often the therapy for yeast, or candidiasis as it is commonly known, will positively and dramatically change lives. The somewhat complex, multilevel treatment program has been effective in a high percentage of the people I have treated, and I have worked with more than 6000 clients with this problem to date.

Factors common to patients with the yeast syndrome:

• History of antibiotic use: particularly with a history of repeated administration, but can follow a single broad-spectrum course; antibiotics kill not only the disease-causing bacteria, but also the beneficial bacteria in the intestines; candida is no longer limited by high concentrations of normal bacteria flora and is able to proliferate. Use of antibiotics, such as tetracycline for acne or broad-spectrum antibiotics for recurrent infections, such as in the ears, bladder, vagina or throat

• Birth control pill and other steroid use in women

• History of high sugar intake: sugar directly feeds the candida organisms and promotes their growth

• History of high ingestion of foods from yeast (breads), fermented foods, and food upon which yeasts/molds can grow (e.g. mushrooms); it is suggested that these foods may help the growth of yeast cells

• Lowered immune system or poorly nourished patient; these patients will not be as effective in blocking the growth of candida if the conditions develop for its increase; the same factors that can cause candida to proliferate (e.g. high simple sugar intake) are the same factors that will decrease the patient’s immune system

• Exposure to mercury either as amalgam in the teeth or from fish

• Premenstrual symptoms

• Recurrent vaginal yeast infections in women or prostate problems in men

• Sensitivity to molds, dampness, and smells

• Mental symptoms such as depression, mood swings, or confusion

• Chronic fatigue, indigestion, or food reactions

• Recurrent skin fungus infections, such as ringworm, athlete’s foot, “jock itch,” or nail problems

The yeast syndrome is a controversial topic. Most traditional doctors do not want to hear about this condition and call it a “fad” disease, but those who will explore the possibility and look for it in their patients will be hard-pressed not to accept this problem as “real.” One of the reasons, I believe, for medicine not really accepting the “yeast syndrome” is because the problem arises predominantly as a side effect from the use of commonly prescribed drugs—antibiotics, birth control pills, and corticosteroids.

This yeast syndrome is much more common in women than in men and seems to affect the hormonal balance, initially causing mild premenstrual symptoms of irritability, depression, fatigue, and swelling, and leading to actually abnormal and/or painful menstrual periods. I would estimate that a significant number of women with PMS have a problem with Candida albicans, and probably more than half the women with candidiasis have some uncomfortable premenstrual symptoms.

The problem originates when a common yeast, Candida albicans, begins to overgrow in the intestinal or genito-urinary tract. It may be contracted initially through sexual contact. When other normal body microflora are killed off by antibiotics, the yeasts will then proliferate and coexist with the useful germs. What is frightening to me is that nearly all major illness from cancer to diabetes seem to be preceeded by an yeast overgrowth.

DO YOU HAVE AN YEAST OVERGROWTH?
Diabetes Skin Conditions Addictions Autism
Heart Disease PMS Obesity Allergies
Cancer Infertility Infections Mood Swings

All of the above seem to be related to yeast overgrowth

Be well

Dr Sundardas

How do you reduce your Cancer Risk?

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I guess I developed a cancer screening protocol after working with all the cancer patients who came to see me. I eventually got to the point when I could figure out ahead of time who would get cancer and who would not.

Enclosed below is an overview of the major factors that we have found in different cancer cases.

a) Hyperacidity – One of the primary causes of regulatory blockage is hyperacidity, defined as a significant decrease in the pH of the cellular environment. Most often
hyperacidity is due to dietary indiscretions and overall dysfunction of the digestive and eliminative organs, as well as to the chronic stresses of our modern lifestyles.

b) Dysbiosis – An impaired digestive system with imbalanced bacteria flora is also a
significant regulatory blockage, known as “dysbiosis.” As Dr’s. Astor & Swartz like to point out, the digestive system is really the fifth sensory organ, the system through which we experience our environment most directly – via the food we eat. When it’s out of balance and unhealthy, “dysbiosis” occurs. This can be due to the following reasons;

1) Incorrect pH – When the GI tract is either hyperacidity or hypoacid (especially as we grow older) it results in impaired digestion.

2) Leaky gut syndrome – This occurs when the intestinal lining, damaged by yeast, fungus, or fermentative bacteria, allows toxic material to leak through the intestinal wall (leaky gut syndrome), thereby decreasing the absorption of essential nutrients

3) Fungus,Parasites and Virus – The presence of unwanted microorganisms like candida albicans and parasites can affect the integrity of the GI tract. Once again, our diets, high in animal proteins and bad fats and low in fiber, are implicated in dysbiosis.
Having a long term viral infection can also grossly affect your immunity.

4) Insufficient Good Bacteria – The overuse of antibiotics and steroids can badly upset the ecology of the gut leading to a reduction in good bacteria and a proliferation of bad microorganisms

c) Allergies – A third blockage is related to food intolerances, which set up immune
reactions and lead to an overloaded lymphatic system, which then no longer distinguishes external threats, and so becomes ineffective in defending the body from infective agents.

d) Focal Disturbance Fields – Focal disturbance fields are another very important blockage to regulatory function. These are places in the body, called “foci,” that
have sub clinical infection and/or inflammation and can act at a distance, usually along the vital energy meridian lines of the body, causing disease or dysfunction at another location.

1) Very often these foci occur in the head region, particularly in teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth, infected root canal-treated teeth, implants, metal fillings, crowns, bridges, and “cavitations” (incompletely healed bone from tooth extractions), can all cause problems further up or down their meridian lines. Rarely do these infections show up on a regular dental x-ray, nor are they felt; they are sub clinical and sub symptomatic. But the bacteria associated with focal sites can cause serious infections and disease in other parts of the body

2) Focal disturbance fields can also be associated with non-dental implants, scars (both from surgery and from injuries), fractures, and other traumas to the body. While these injuries may seem completely healed, they may nonetheless be causing severe blockages along their particular meridians. Resolving these foci can sometimes bring instantaneous relief to a distant part of the body, as when an old scar on the hand is injected with a biological remedy and that person’s migraines disappear; or when a root canal-treated tooth is removed and an ovarian cyst disappears.

e) Heavy Metal – A fifth type of blockage is heavy metal toxicity, primarily from metals used in dental fillings: mercury, tin, copper, zinc, silver and palladium (associated with gold fillings). Other heavy metal exposures may include lead, aluminum, cadmium, and nickel. Heavy metals wreak havoc with biological systems, acting as systemic poisons.

f) Drugs – Long-term chemotherapy and the use of allopathic medications such
as antibiotics, cyclostatics, corticoids, anti-rheumatics, and anti-inflammatories can also create regulatory problems.

g) Psychological Stress – Finally, long-term psychological stress can have serious impact on the overall regulatory ability of the body. Factors like a divorce, the death of a family member, or some other emotional loss can often be a trigger that precipitates illness.

i)Organ Dysfunction – Either Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia are hidden health concerns that keep cropping up and need to be addressed. Relatively slight variations in hormonal levels can also have major clinical consequences.

j)Metabolic – Many people are suffering from an impaired Phase 2 liver detox pathway problem. When this is identified and corrected many attending health issues are resolved.

k)Vaccines – A significant degree of pediatric health concerns arise out of an impaired immune response to vaccine. There are specific methods to neutralise vaccine damage.

All of the following need to be assessed and treated. We have more that 12 years experience in screening for all these variables. We have clients who fly in from other countries to be assessed for these variables. Imagine what they discovered?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

The next epidemic (Syndrome X)

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The dramatic rise in obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other conditions of prosperous nations are increasingly pegged as epigenetic in nature, and may well claim their origins in faulty embryonic development. We are, quite literally, what we eat as well as what our parents and even grandparents ate.

Metabolic syndrome X is a constellation of metabolic disorders that all result from the primary disorder of insulin resistance. All the metabolic abnormalities associated with syndrome X can lead to cardiovascular disorders – when present as a group, the risk for cardiovascular disease and premature death are very high.

The characteristic disorders present in metabolic syndrome X include:

  • insulin resistance
  • hypertension
  • abnormalities of blood clotting
  • low HDL and high LDL cholesterol levels
  • high triglyceride levels

The chief abnormality present in syndrome X is insulin resistance. That is, the body’s tissues do not respond normally to insulin. As a result, insulin levels become elevated in the body’s attempt to overcome the resistance to insulin. The elevated insulin levels lead, directly or indirectly, to the other metabolic abnormalities seen in these patients.

Very often, the insulin resistance is severe enough that these patients eventually develop frank type 2 diabetes. When diabetes occurs, the high risk of cardiovascular complications goes even higher.

This condition is thought to run in families. The same families who have a history of type 2 diabetes are at risk for metabolic syndrome X. The family members at risk who actually go on to develop syndrome X are those who adopt sedentary lifestyles, and who become obese. In fact, metabolic syndrome X (like type 2 diabetes) can most often be prevented with exercise and weight loss.

Anyone with a family history of type 2 diabetes who is also overweight and who gets little exercise should be evaluated for the glucose, lipid and blood pressure abnormalities associated with syndrome X.

Treatment of syndrome X:

Treating the insulin resistance While there is no drug treatment that directly reverses the insulin resistance that causes syndrome X, there is, in fact, a way to reverse the insulin resistance – diet and exercise. Patients should make every attempt to reduce their body weight to within 20% of the “ideal” body weight calculated for age and height. (The ideal diet for this condition is a low calorie, low-cholesterol diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fiber.) And patients should incorporate aerobic exercise (at least 20 minutes) into their daily lifestyle. If both of these can be accomplished, most of the metabolic abnormalities seen in syndrome X substantially improve.

However, human nature (and human metabolism) being what it is, the majority of patients with syndrome X cannot accomplish these goals. In these cases, each metabolic disorder associated with syndrome X needs to be treated individually, and aggressively.

Treating the lipid abnormalities The lipid abnormalities seen with syndrome X (low HDL, high LDL, and high triglycerides) respond nicely to weight loss and exercise.

Treating the hypertension High blood pressure is present in more than half the people with metabolic syndrome X, and in the setting of insulin resistance, high blood pressure is especially important as a risk factor. Recent studies have suggested that successfully treating hypertension in patients with diabetes can reduce the risk of death and heart disease by a substantial amount.

What you can do:

  • Change in lifestyle, with specific avoidance of substance abuse, smoking cessation, and reduced intake of caffeine and simple sugars.
  • Behavior modification, including a change in eating patterns and amounts of various foodstuffs eaten. A modified low carbohydrate lifestyle with exclusion of simple sugar is valuable. Food that does not deliver a high glucose load is preferred (low glycemic index foods).
  • Exercise matched to the level of the subject’s aerobic fitness, with medical advice or advice from professional trainers, recommended before beginning an exercise program and periodically thereafter.
  • A diet with a reduced intake of simple sugars, salt, and saturated fat; a controlled protein intake; and an increased intake of healthy fats, such as essential fatty acids in fish oil.
  • Use of nutritional factors specifically designed for managing metabolic syndrome, including oat beta-glucan; antioxidants from berries; alpha-lipoic acid (ALA); chromium; biotin; vanadium; phaseolamin (Phase 2); vitamins that will reduce blood homocysteine levels.

In South Asia, undernutrition in one generation is followed by fat-laden fast foods the next. Children are set up in utero to experience an environment of low nutrition and find themselves in the land of plenty. The epigenetic software is programmed for one scenario but encounters another, often with disastrous results. Seismic shifts in food sources, geographic locations, chemical exposures and even weather patterns can alter gene expression through epigenetic changes.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Eat Right for your Blood Type.

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Many foods contain proteins called lectins that can bind to sugars (including blood type antigens) and thus agglutinate the cells of certain blood types but not others, meaning that a food may be harmful to the cells of one blood type, but beneficial to the cells of another.

When you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type antigen, the lectins target an organ and cause the cells in that area to stick together and agglutinate. In effect, lectins interfere with digestion, insulin production, food metabolism, and hormonal balance .The key is to avoid the lectins that target your blood type. For example, chicken, which is fine for Type O and Type A, contains a lectin in its muscle tissue that agglutinates the cells of Type B and Type AB.

Why eating right is important
About 60% of our immune system is expressed in our digestive system. It serves as a protective agent, recognizing and targeting foreign antigens that could damage the body. When you eat a food containing lectins incompatible with your blood type, the incompatible lectins target an organ/s and cause cellular agglutination.

Detrimental effects of lectins include ;

· Interfering with the immune system and creating reactions often mistaken for allergies
· Blocking digestive enzymes, interfering with protein digestion and impairing absorption of crucial nutrients.
· Activating auto-antibodies in inflammatory and autoimmune disease
· Damaging the intestinal lining and influencing gut permeability.

Food Groups and Weight Gain
For each of the blood groups there are certain foods that are “no nos”. If a particular blood type were to indulge in that food group, they are highly likely to put on weight or fall sick.

Group O
For Blood Group O, they thrive on chemical free meats, poultry and fish. They function best when their system is slightly more acidic. They also produce more stomach acid to digest protein. This is generally not true for other blood types. They also tend to have a slightly low thyroid function. Wheat has the effect of clogging the function of their system (corn to a lesser extent). Certain legumes like kidney beans, navy bean, lentils, cabbage contain lectins that deposit in the muscle tissue making them more alkaline and less primed for the explosive activity that is suitable for Type O. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mustard greens are items that tend to lower Type O’s thyroid function further. On the other hand kelp, iodised salt and seafood contain iodine that would increase thyroid hormone production. Liver is an efficient source of B vitamins that would boost metabolism. Red meat, kale, spinach and broccoli all aid efficient metabolism.

Group A
For blood group As they were descendants of farmers. As such they would flourish on vegetarian diets. On an incorrect diet they would be inclined to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Some type A’s experience fluid retention as their digestive system process the unwieldy food. While Type Os burn their meat as fuel, Type As store them primarily as fat. This is because while Type Os have high stomach acid which promotes easy digestion of meat, Type As have low stomach acid content, ideal for an agrarian diet. Dairy products inhibit nutrient metabolism. Both kidney bean and lima beans interfere with digestive enzymes and slow metabolic rate. Wheat in abundance inhibits insulin efficiency and impairs calorie restriction. Vegetable oils on the other hand aid efficient digestion and prevent fluid retention. Soy foods aid efficient digestion and are metabolised quickly. Vegetables aid in efficient metabolism and increase intestinal mobility. Pineapple increases calories utilization and increases intestinal mobility

Group B
Group Bs generally have strong systems. More likely to develop exotic immune system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome.For Blood Group B their diet is balanced and wholesome and includes a wide variety of foods.Corn inhibits insulin efficiency, hampers metabolic rate and cause hypoglycemia. Lentils inhibit proper nutrient intake, hampers metabolic rate and cause hypoglycemia. Peanuts hampers metabolic efficiency and cause hypoglycemia and inhibit liver function. Sesame seeds hamper metabolic efficiency and cause hypoglycemia. Buckwheat inhibits digestion, hampers metabolic efficiency and causes hypoglycemia. Wheat slows the digestive and metabolic process, causes food to be stored as fat, not burned as energy and inhibits insulin efficiency.Green vegetables, meat (except chicken), eggs, low fat dairy products and liver all aid efficient metabolism. Licorice tea counters hypoglycemia (doctor’s supervision only)

Group AB
For Blood Group AB reflect the missed inheritance of both As and Bs. So although they are genetically programmed for red meat, they often lack enough stomach acid to fully digest it. Red meat is poorly digested ,stored as fat and makes the intestines toxic. Kidney beans, lima beans, inhibit insulin efficiency, cause hypoglycemia and slow the metabolic rate down. Seeds and buckwheat cause hypoglycemia. Corn inhibits insulin efficiency.
Wheat slows metabolic process, inefficient use of calories and inhibits insulin efficiency.

Green vegetables, tofu seafood all aid efficient metabolism. Dairy improves insulin production. Kelp improves insulin production. Pineapple aids digestion and stimulates intestinal mobility.

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Are vaccines safe for you?

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Very few doctors inform parents about vaccine risks. But vaccine manufacturers place warnings in vaccine containers indicating who should not receive vaccinations. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also make recommendations indicating who should not receive vaccinations. (The AAP publishes a Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases every four years; HHS has guidelines formulated by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which appear in the Morbidity and Mortality Report published by the CDC). This information is included below:

POLIO: Children younger than 6 weeks; people who are ill, or who have cancer of the lymph system.

MEASLES: Children younger than 15 months; pregnant women; people who are ill, or who are allergic to eggs, chicken, feathers, or who have cancer, blood disease, or deficiencies of the immune system.

RUBELLA: Pregnant women; people who are allergic to eggs, chicken, duck, or feathers, or who have cancer, blood disease, or deficiencies of the immune system.

DPT: Any child past the 7th birthday, or who has had a severe reaction to a previous dose, or who has a personal history of convulsions or neurological disease, or who is acutely sick with a fever or respiratory infection, or who is taking medication that may suppress the immune system.

The three vaccine policymakers in America, noted above, do not “officially” consider the following conditions contraindications to the DPT vaccine. However, scientific literature published by pertussis vaccine researchers throughout the world for the past 40 years indicates that such conditions may put a child at high risk:

1. The child is ill with anything, including a runny nose, cough, ear infection, diarrhea, or has recovered from an illness within one month prior to a scheduled DPT shot.

2. The child has a family member who had a severe reaction to a DPT shot.

3. Someone in the child’s immediate family has a history of convulsions or neurological disease.

4. The child was born prematurely or with low birth weight.

5. The child has a personal or family history of severe allergies (i.e., cow’s milk, asthma, eczema).

Vaccines may also be contraindicated for certain people with special conditions not listed above. If you suspect that you or your child may be at high risk, Get The Facts!

In 1986, Congress in USA officially acknowledged the reality of vaccine-caused injuries and death by creating and passing The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (Public Law 99-660). The safety reform portion of this law requires doctors to provide parents with information about the benefits and risks of childhood vaccines prior to vaccination, and to report vaccine reactions to federal health officials.
Doctors are required by law to report suspected cases of vaccine damage. To simplify and centralize this legal requisite, federal health officials established the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) — operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).(40)

Ideally, doctors would abide by this federal law and report adverse events following the administration of a vaccine. However, the FDA recently acknowledged that 90 percent of doctors do not report vaccine reactions. They are choosing to subvert this law by claiming the adverse event was, in their opinion, not related to the shot. In fact, every year about 12,000 reports of adverse reactions to vaccines are made to the FDA (data accessible only through the Freedom of Information Act). These figures include hospitalizations, irreversible brain damage, and hundreds of deaths. Considering that these numbers represent just 10 percent, the true figures during this period could be as high as 120,000 adverse events annually.

Maybe it doesn’t matter that doctors won’t report vaccine reactions, because the federal government won’t investigate them. Government officials claim VAERS was designed to “document” suspected cases of vaccine damage. No attempt is being made to confirm or deny the reports. Parents are not being interviewed, and the vaccines that preceded the severe reactions are not being recalled. Instead, new waves of unsuspecting parents and innocent children are being subjected to the damaging shots.

In order to pay for vaccine injuries and deaths, a surtax is levied on mandated vaccines. When parents elect to have their children vaccinated, a portion of the money they spend on each vaccine goes into a congressional fund to compensate them if their child is hurt or killed by the shot. This insurance fee ranges from several dollars per dose (for the DPT and MMR vaccines) to several cents per dose for some of the others.

The compensation portion of the law awards up to $250,000 if the individual dies, or millions of dollars to cover lifelong medical bills, pain, and suffering in the case of a living (but brain damaged) child. By August 31, 1997, more than $802 million had already been paid out for hundreds of injuries and deaths caused by mandated vaccines. Thousands of cases are still pending.

If vaccines are so safe, why do you have to pay a surtax to pay for legal costs?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Are we destroying our genetic future?

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For most of us, genetic inheritance plays a limited role in determining our health. More important is where and how we live, work, and play — the quality of what we drink, eat, and breathe. From the time of conception, throughout development, and into early and late adulthood, environmental factors either directly impact biological tissues or influence gene expression and shape subsequent disease risks.

Although links between exposures to environmental contaminants and health impacts have been known for centuries, recent research documents an expanding list of previously unrecognized effects occur after fetal or infant exposures. The developing fetus and child are particularly vulnerable to toxic insults. During this time cells are rapidly dividing, and growth is dramatic. Various events, including development of the brain and endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems, are uniquely susceptible to disruption that is often permanent. To compound the problem, pound for pound, children are often disproportionately exposed to toxic environmental agents because of the way they breathe, eat, drink, and play. Moreover, immature detoxification pathways in children frequently result in increased impacts of toxic exposures when compared to adults.

To the limited degree that health care providers address environmental factors at all, most focus nearly all of their attention on personal behaviors, like smoking, substance abuse, or use of sunscreens. These are more easily addressed by individuals than more complex problems like air and water pollution, hazardous waste sites, agricultural systems that inevitably result in farmworker pesticide exposures, and mercury contamination of dietary fish. Global environmental conditions, however, are changing, along with the changing pattern of disease and disability, and our increasing understanding of the importance of environmental factors in determining the health of individuals and populations places a new and special responsibility on the medical profession.

Consider that

** The release of ozone-depleting chemicals used for industrial and agricultural purposes has depleted the stratospheric ozone layer and is likely a major contributor to the increased incidence of malignant melanoma.

** Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent in the last 150 years. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Hazardous air pollution, in general, is the norm in most parts of the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

** Humans are responsible for more atmospheric nitrogen fixation than all other sources combined. Nitrates contaminate groundwater, surface water, and air at toxic concentrations.

** Humans are responsible for most of the mercury deposition on the surface of the earth. Mercury makes its way into the food chain, where it bioconcentrates. In most states, freshwater and marine fish are sufficiently contaminated with mercury to require warnings to women of reproductive age to limit consumption because of risks to fetal brain development.

** In addition to naturally occurring products like lead and mercury that are mined from the earth, novel synthetic industrial chemicals contaminate the world’s ecosystems, its human and non-human inhabitants, their breast milk and egg yolk, ovarian follicles, amniotic fluid, and meconium. The toxicity of most is little known.

** Of the approximately 85,000 chemicals on the federal inventory, nearly 3,000 are produced in excess of 1 million pounds annually. For these high-production volume (HPV) chemicals, toxicity data are surprisingly sparse. Even basic toxicity testing results are not publicly available for 75 percent of them.In the U.S., according to the 2000 Toxics Release Inventory, over 6.2 billion pounds of the listed toxic chemicals, including 2 billion pounds of known or suspected neurotoxicants, were released into the environment by major emitters required by federal law to file reports. Emissions from small industries and neighborhood shops are unquantified. The extent of exposure from these releases and from the use of various consumer products that contain them is also largely unknown, but population-based surveys give an indication of the ubiquity of exposures.

Small exposures to substances like lead, mercury, or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have no discernible impact on adults, can permanently damage the developing brain of a child, if the exposure occurs during a window of vulnerability. Early exposures to dioxin or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals from industrial activities that bioaccumulate in dietary fat, damage the developing immune system, making the child more prone to infections, risks of asthma and high blood pressure are increased by early environmental exposures. Recent research from Sweden concludes not only that environmental factors play a more important role than genetic inheritance in the origin of most cancers, but also that cancer risk is largely established during the first 20 years of life.

Some birth defects, including disorders of the male reproductive system and some forms of congenital heart disease, are increasingly common. Sperm counts and fertility are in decline in some areas of the U.S. and other parts of the world. Asthma is more common and more severe than ever before. Genetic factors explain far less than half of the population variance for most of these conditions. Although smoking and sun exposure are well-recognized risk factors for some conditions, improved understanding of development of the brain and the immune, reproductive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems leads to the conclusion that other environmental factors play a major role in determining current patterns of disease.

Be well
Dr Sundardas