For Those not Scientifically Inclined

This is a simplified summary of the last two posts.

Polyunsaturated fats in the diet are mostly omega-6 or omega-3. These get converted into a diverse and influential class of signaling molecules in the body called eicosanoids. On their way to becoming eicosanoids, they get elongated. These elongated versions can be measured in tissue, and the higher the proportion of elongated omega-6 in the total pool, the higher the risk of a heart attack.

Eicosanoids are either omega-6 or omega-3-derived. Omega-6 eicosanoids, in general, are very potent and participate in inflammatory processes and blood clotting. Omega-3 eicosanoids are less potent, less inflammatory, less clot-forming, and participate in long-term repair processes. This is a simplification, as there are exceptions, but in a broad sense seems to be true.

In the modern U.S. and most other affluent nations, we eat so much omega-6 (mostly in the form of liquid industrial vegetable oils), and so little omega-3, that we create a very inflammatory and pro-clotting environment, probably contributing to a number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease.

There are two ways to stay in balance: reduce omega-6, and increase omega-3. In my opinion, the former is more important than the latter, but only if you can reduce omega-6 to below 4% of calories. If you're above 4%, the only way to reduce your risk is to outcompete the omega-6 with additional omega-3. Keeping omega-6 below 4% and ensuring a modest but regular intake of omega-3, such as from wild-caught fish, will probably substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses.

Bottom line: ditch industrial vegetable oils such as corn, soybean, safflower and sunflower oil, and everything that contains them. This includes most processed foods, especially mayonnaise, grocery store salad dressings, and fried foods. We aren't meant to eat those foods and they derail our metabolism on a fundamental level. I also believe it's a good idea to have a regular source of omega-3, whether it comes from seafood, small doses of cod liver oil, or small doses of flax.

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A Documentary on The Prevention & Reversal of Type I & Type II Diabetes

Watch and listen to a You Tube video on Gabriel and Nathan Roman, both diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, who followed Dr. Robert O. Young's pH Miracle for Diabetes lifestyle and diet, with the help of their family, and reversed their Type I diabetes. Gabriel is "no longer considered diabetic", and Nathan is no longer Type I.

And now for the link for this incredible documentary on the prevention and reversal of Type I diabetes . I hope you will share this information with every one you know, love and care about!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZCCyO1jjTg&feature=related

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Your Link To The Prevention and Reversal of Type I & II Diabetes!

Dr. Robert O. Young summarizes his views on Type I and II diabetes and shares his perspective on Gabriel and Nathan Roman's experience needing, finding, and living the pH Miracle for Diabetes diet plan. In the end both Gabriel and Nathan reversed their Type I diabetes and are no longer diabetic - they are both pH Miracles. To learn more watch the following You Tube video and if you have a family member or friend with diabetes please share this video with them. And now, here is the link to the prevention and reversal of Type I and Type II diabetes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LFFQawEWS4&feature=related

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How Acidic Are YOU?

You can check your pH levels at home with paper pH strips, available at many pharmacies, or with a battery-operated pH electron meter, available from health catalogues or on our website at: www.phmiracleliving.com

The strips, which are relatively inexpensive and should be easy to find, test the pH of your saliva or urine. The pH of saliva is much more variable, so you are better off testing your urine, which gives you a direct indicator of your tissue pH. Urine pH changes too, in response to what you eat, so first thing in the morning, after you've fasted overnight, is the ideal time to test. The morning urine pH will reflect your lifestyle and dietary choices over the last 24 hours. Ideally, it will be mildly alkaline, pH at 7.2 or higher.

The strips change color to indicate acid or base, and are lighter or darker depending on the intensity of the reading. They come with a color chart to help you translate the color into a number.

If you also want to check your saliva, which ideally will also be above 7.2, test it before eating anything in the morning, and then a few times during the day. If you find that your results are below 7.0, you can correct it immediately by eating a bit of particularly alkaline food, like cucumber, broccoli, asparagus or avocado, or taking 3 teaspoons of Young pHorever pHlavor mineral salts in 4-6 ounces of water. Experiment a little and you will quickly get a feel for what successfully corrects your tests results.

The meters can also be used to test saliva or urine, and the same recommendations apply: It is best to test your urine, and do it first thing in the morning. These meters are quite accurate and give you your pH with a number--no color charts to mess with. But they can be hard to find, and expensive, running into the hundreds of dollars.

So test yourself to see where you are right now, and then retest daily to keep tabs on your progress. You can also see for yourself the effect of meals on pH, by regularly testing with a meter throughout the day. Though the results are not definitive, you will at the very least be able to see trends.

Test yourself after the basic meals like the ones described in our pH Miracle books and Shelley's Back to the House of Health books, and compare the result to those you got from your original diet. Any time you have low pH readings, especially after eating, you know that you are deficient in alkaline reserves. Your body does not have enough of the minerals necessary to process food properly, and cannot adequately respond to the physiological crisis of acidic food or drink.

Your doctor can also do a blood pH test for you. As mentioned in previous emails, the ideal blood pH is 7.365. The American medical establishment accepts 7.4, but that is too alkaline, and actually indicates tissue acidification. It indicates that the body is collecting and storing alkaline minerals to tame excess acidity. If it isn't fending off acidity, the body has no need to become so overly alkaline.

Daily pH testing is a key health check. As long as you are keeping it at 7.2 or better, then you can rest assured your blood and tissues are also healthy. (People coping with serious health challenges may need to increase the pH of the urine or other bodily fluids in order to curb acidity. I recommend that the pH during any serious challenge to be in excess of 8.5)

Monitor your pH according to these guidelines every day for at least 12 weeks, or until you establish a pH balance at 7.2 (with the help of the pH Miracle program outlined in Chapter 11 of the pH Miracle for Weight Loss). Once your are balanced at 7.2 or higher, you can reduce the number of tests to once a day or 2-3 times a week, just to keep an eye on things. Use a notebook to record all your pH results.

1. Upon waking, before you eat or drink or brush your teeth or smoke or put anything at all into your mouth, test your saliva with pH paper. Just wet the end of a test strip with your tongue. Note the color change and write down the corresponding pH number. The optimal result is 7.2.

2. Next, test your first urine of the morning. You just need a couple drops on the end of a test paper. Note the color change and write down the corresponding pH number. The optimal result is 7.2 or more.

3. Test your second morning urine before eating any food. Your result may differ from the first check, because with the first urine you cleared the acid load from the previous day. Again, you're looking for 7.2 or higher.

4. Eat breakfast -- avocado soup, vegetable soup, Healing Soup, or fresh almond milk or green drink. Wait five minutes and then check your urine and saliva again. After that good alkaline meal, your pH numbers should go up from the previous results. You're looking to be between 7.2 and 8.4.

5. Check your urine and saliva pH again between breakfast and lunch, and again between lunch and dinner. You're always looking to stay between 7.2 and 8.4 right after a meal, and at just about 7.2 a couple of hours after a meal.

You can run a simple pH test any time of the day after eating a few almonds. In a health person with adequate alkaline reserves, saliva pH will go up almost immediately to 8.4.

Monitoring your pH puts the responsibility of caring for your health back into your hands. It also lets you track your own results as you make positive changes in your lifestyle and diet, giving you immediate feedback about how you eat, drink and live affects your body and your health -- and ultimately, the quality and quantity of your life.

Live Blood Analysis

If your urine or saliva (or blood) are acidic, it's a safe bet that you have tissue acidosis and possible microform overgrowth.

The simple fact is, most people do.

Live blood analysis more directly detect over-acidity and overgrowth. In a standard lab evaluation performed by hospitals and clinics, drops of blood are basically dried onto a slide to be examined under a familiar bright-field microscope, where acidic patterns in the blood and many of these negative microforms cannot be seen. Live blood analysis, by contrast, examines unaltered live blood, under special dark-field, phase-contrast compound microscopes. The high-powered compound microscope can magnify objects up to twenty-eight thousand times, so you can clearly view acid crystals, bacteria, yeast, and mold in exact detail in the blood. You can also see red and white blood cells, crystallized microforms, mycotoxins, cholesterol, metals, blood clots, undigested fats, and many other things--all in one drop of live blood! Bottom line: though it can also provide a lot more information, live blood analysis gives you a plain view of how crowded your blood is with acid crystals and undesirable microforms.

When I look at live blood, I also look at the space between the cells, where the extracellular fluid, or plasma, is. I call this the negative space, or context. The blood cells, and the blood overall, is only as healthy as this plasma in which they are bathed.

The blood never lies. What you see when you look at it this way is a direct reflection of your health, and what your are eating, drinking, and thinking. In short, it shows how you are living.

I have viewed the blood of thousands of people around the world -- over 500,000 blood samples in over 72 countries -- and through my work I can tell you: there are only two types of blood: healthy, and unhealthy!

Whenever I analyze someone's blood, I always ask them the same questions. What are you eating? What are you drinking? What are you thinking? What are you feeling? The people whose blood looks the best -- the people who live the longest -- are eating green foods, breathing clean air, drinking clean water, finding ways to manage stress, working outside, exercising daily and getting lots of sunshine. And I can see the effects of all that in one drop of blood, no question.

Live blood analysis requires some fairly expensive technical equipment, and well-trained and experienced practitioners to interpret what is seen. We believe every hospital, clinic, doctors office, medical lab, and nutritional center should have a properly trained live blood microscopist on staff. But that day is not yet here, so, although the test is quickly growing in popularity as its importance is better understood, it may not be easy to find a practitioner in your area. You can contact the pH Miracle Living Center via phone or website at: www.phmiraclemicroscopy.com

Dry Blood Analysis

After years of researching German techniques in dry blood analysis, I've developed a test called the Mycotoxic/Oxidative Stress Test (M/OST), which involves a small amount of blood allowed to dry and clot on a microscope slide. (Contact the pH Miracle Living Center for a referral.) Under the microscope, blood from healthy people forms a standard pattern--a dense mat of red areas interconnected by dark, irregular lines, called fibrin. The blood of people under mycotoxic/oxidative stress--meaning excess acidity and microform overload and the resulting harmful wastes--has a variety of characteristic patterns that deviate from that norm. One common (and visually striking) abnormality is the presence of "clear" or white areas interrupting the standard pattern. The extent and shape of the clear areas reflect the symptoms that are likely to arise as a result of excess acidity, overgrowth and cellular degeneration. That is, the pattern the blood reveals not only the presence of microform overgrowth, excess acidity and cellular degeneration but also the particular ways that overgrowth is affecting the individual. Certain patterns match certain symptoms, such as diabetes, arthritis, atherosclerosis, and even a cancerous condition.

In the end, however, getting all the details about your exact situation isn't absolutely necessary (though witnessing a live and dry blood analysis may be motivating like nothing else!).

Anyone on the standard American diet is, to a greater or lesser degree, imbalanced--acidic. If you have any symptoms, you can be sure you are imbalanced and over-acid. On the other hand, if you follow the program outlined in our pH Miracle books, doing what you know is right for your body, you can rely on your body to handle the complex details of self-repair. Your results -- how you look and feel -- will speak for themselves. Freed from acid overload, you'll be symptom-free, full of energy, and mentally wide awake. You'll also reach your body's own best, healthy weight.

Get Tested Every Year

You should have a live blood analysis done every year, and a dried blood analysis as well, assuming you are starting in a state of general good health. Annual testing will keep you conscious of what it takes to maintain a healthy and fit body, give you feedback on your success, and warn you of any looming problems.

If you are dealing with a symptom or condition, then live and dried blood cell microscopy should be done every 72 hours while you are symptomatic. As the symptoms improve, move to testing every 12 weeks. Once your condition has resolved, you can go back to getting tested once a year.

Testing the pH of your urine and saliva daily (as above) provides reassurance between blood tests.

To learn more about pH, live and dried blood testing go to:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-MICROSCOPY-COURSE.aspx

If you would like to learn live and dried blood microscopy check out our next microscopy courses in London, England and Valley Center, California at:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-MICROSCOPY-COURSE.aspx

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PLEASE MEET A PH MIRACLE FROM SWEDEN

"I work as a health coach in Sweden. For the last couple of years, since I came in contact with Dr Young’s new Biology theories, I now always recommend the Alkalarian way to eat, drink and think. I am a really big fan of Dr Young and his work.

My vision for life is to be a role model of optimum health, energy and happiness, and thereby inspire others and make the world a better and healthier place.

When I first started out with the Alkalarian diet and living program, I felt an enormous burst of new energy, even though my diet was (what I thought then), very healthy. This new way of eating and living helped me to jump to a much higher level of well being.

My husband also lives this way and he teaches it to all his clients as well. We have a hugh group of people that we've been working with that have also got really wonderful results.

http://www.lifevision.se/eng/

The best thing about the pH Miracle Program and lifestyle is that it is so easy. When I first awaken, I have tons of energy immediately; that is just an awesome feeling I would like to share with the rest of the world. Before breakfast, I always do some kind of exercise, running, yoga, walking, biking or something else, I really love to start with this in the morning! We always start our day with a big bowl of broccoli soup with a lot of avocado and pHlavor.

I really pride myself on walking my talk and therefore, naturally, I find it very important to be the change I want to see in others. I truly wish that all of you would be able to experience what optimum health really feels like…"

-Karin Haglund

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Reusable Grocery Bags Are Acidic and Could Poison You

Grocery shoppers who go for the green with reusable bags could end up green with illness, according to the first microbiological study in North America of the earth-friendly option.

The bags could be a breeding ground for dangerous acid produced bacteria, yeast and mold, according to the study, which two independent labs did at the behest of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

The labs found that 64 percent of the reusable bags harbored some level of bacteria. Yeast or mold was found in 40 percent of the bags, and some bags even had detectable levels of fecal intestinal bacteria.

“The main risk is food poisoning,” said Dr. Richard Summerbell, research director at Toronto’s Sporometrics, who was commissioned to evaluate the findings of the study. “But other significant risks include skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections.”

Summerbell described the problem as being similar kitchen cutting boards' transferring acids and germs. The more waterproof a shopping bag is, as in the case of plastic-weave bags, the more likely it is to harbor pathogens, he said.

“The main actual hazard involved is if there’s a little bit of acidic spillage in there from some meat or some eggs, then food-poisoning organisms could be transferred over to other food,” he said.

What should people do to stay safe? Besides the obvious practice of washing reusable bags regularly with hot water and alkalizing puripHy salts, one suggestion is to consider using throw-away plastic bags. Another important piece of advice is to avoid using grocery shopping bags for other purposes, such as carrying gym shoes and diapers.

Although airing out the bags helps, there is always the possibility of acid contamination if they are not washed.

"When food shopping I would suggest using a cotton or hemp cloth bag that can be washed after use," states Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center.

"In addition if you do use reusable plastic bags make sure you wash them in 11 to 12pH water and add a few drops of Young pHorever puripHy to detox the bag from any acidic residues and/or biological transformation, i.e., bacteria, yeast or mold," states Dr. Young

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Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease, Part II

Here's where it gets more complicated and more interesting. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 matters, but so does the total amount of each. This is a graph from a 1992 paper by Dr. Lands:

Allow me to explain. These lines are based on values predicted by a formula developed by Dr. Lands that determines the proportion of omega-6 in tissue HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids; includes 20- to 22-carbon omega-6 and omega-3 fats), based on dietary intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. This formula seems to be quite accurate, and has been validated both in rodents and humans. As a tissue's arachidonic acid content increases, its EPA and DHA content decreases proportionally.

On the Y-axis (vertical), we have the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in tissue. On the X-axis (horizontal), we have the proportion of omega-6 in the diet as a percentage of energy. Each line represents the relationship between dietary omega-6 and tissue HUFA at a given level of dietary omega-3.

Let's start at the top. The first line is the predicted proportion of omega-6 HUFA in the tissue of a person eating virtually no omega-3. You can see that it maxes out around 4% of calories from omega-6, but it can actually be fairly low if omega-6 is kept very low. The next line down is what happens when your omega-3 intake is 0.1% of calories. You can see that the proportion of omega-6 HUFA is lower than the curve above it at all omega-6 intakes, but it still maxes out around 4% omega-6. As omega-3 intake increases, the proportion of omega-6 HUFA decreases at all levels of dietary omega-6 because it has to compete with omega-3 HUFA for space in the membrane.

In the U.S., we get a small proportion of our calories from omega-3. The horizontal line marks our average tissue HUFA composition, which is about 75% omega-6. We get more than 7% of our calories from omega-6. This means our tissue contains nearly the maximum proportion of omega-6 HUFA, creating a potently inflammatory and thrombotic environment! This is a very significant fact, because it explains three major observations:

1. The U.S has a very high rate of heart attack mortality.
2. Recent diet trials in which saturated fat was replaced with omega-6-rich vegetable oils didn't cause an increase in mortality, although some of the very first trials in the 1960s did.
3. Diet trials that increased omega-3 decreased mortality.

Observation number two is used by proponents of PUFA-rich vegetable oils, and it's a fair point. If omega-6 causes heart attacks, why hasn't that shown up in controlled trials? Here's the rebuttal. First of all, it did show up in two of the first controlled trials in the 1960s: Rose et al., and the unfortunately-named Anti-Coronary Club trial. In the first, replacing animal fat with corn oil caused a 4-fold increase in heart attack deaths and total mortality. In the second, replacing animal fat with polyunsaturated vegetable oil increased heart attack death rate, and total mortality more than doubled.

But the trend didn't continue into later trials. This makes perfect sense in light of the rising omega-6 intake over the course of the 20th century in the U.S. and other affluent nations. Once our omega-6 intake crossed the 4% threshold, more omega-6 had very little effect on the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in tissue. This may be why some of the very first PUFA diet trials caused increased mortality: there was a proportion of the population that was still getting less than 4% omega-6 in its regular diet at that time. By the 1980s, virtually everyone in the U.S. (and many other affluent nations) was eating more than 4% omega-6, and thus adding more did not significantly affect tissue HUFA or heart attack mortality.

If omega-3 intake is low, whether omega-6 intake is 5% or 10% doesn't matter much for heart disease. At that point, the only way to reduce tissue HUFA without cutting back on omega-6 consumption is to outcompete it with additional omega-3. That's what the Japanese do, and it's also what happened in several clinical trials including the DART trial.

This neatly explains why the French, Japanese and Kitavans have low rates of ischemic heart disease, despite the prevalence of smoking cigarettes in all three cultures. The French diet traditionally focuses on animal fats, eschews industrial vegetable oils, and includes seafood. They eat less omega-6 and more omega-3 than Americans. They have the lowest heart attack mortality rate of any affluent Western nation. The Japanese are known for their high intake of seafood. They also eat less omega-6 than Americans. They have the lowest heart attack death rate of any affluent nation. The traditional Kitavan diet contains very little omega-6 (probably less than 1% of calories), and a significant amount of omega-3 from seafood (about one teaspoon of fish fat per day). They have an undetectable incidence of heart attack and stroke.

In sum, this suggests that an effective way to avoid a heart attack is to reduce omega-6 consumption and ensure an adequate source of omega-3. The lower the omega-6, the less the omega-3 matters. This is a nice theory, but where's the direct evidence? In the next post, I'll discuss the controlled trial that proved this concept once and for all: the Lyon diet-heart trial.

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Building and Flexing Your Muscles Reduces The Risk For A Cancerous Condition

The findings, by an international team of researchers, suggest muscular strength is as important as staying slim and eating healthily when it comes to protecting the body against the formation of tumors due to tissue acidosis.

The scientists who came up with the findings are recommending men weight train at least twice a week, exercising muscle groups in both the upper and lower body.

Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center has recommended a healthy alkaline diet and lifestyle for over twenty-five years - including regular aerobic exercise such as jogging, swimming, walking, rebounding, whole body vibration or cycling to reduce the risks if all sickness and dis-ease.

But the latest study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, suggests it may be just as important to build up muscle strength.

A team of experts, led by scientists from Sweden's Karolinska Institute, tracked the lifestyles of 8,677 men aged between 20 and 82 for more than two decades.

Each volunteer had regular medical check ups that included tests of their muscular strength.

Between 1980 and 2003, researchers monitored how many developed cancerous conditions and subsequently died from it.

The results showed men who regularly worked out with weights and had the highest muscle strength were between 30 and 40 per cent less likely to lose their life to a deadly acidic cancerous condition.

Even among volunteers who had excess tummy fat or a high body mass index, regular weight training seemed to have a protective effect.

Why?

According to Dr. Young, "exercising, including weight training will force tissue acidity either out through the pores of the skin or back into general blood circulation to be eliminated through urination."

In a report on their findings the researchers stressed keeping a healthy weight was still crucial for avoiding premature death.

But they added: "In the light of these results, it is equally important to maintain healthy muscular strength levels.

"It's possible to reduce cancer mortality rates in men by promoting resistance training involving the major muscle groups at least two days a week."

A spokesman for Cancer Research UK said resistance exercise might have some benefit but it was more important to regularly do some cardiac exercise.

Health information officer Jessica Harris said: "There's no need to become a body builder. Just 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week that leaves you warm and slightly out of breath can have a positive effect."

Dr. Young states, "contraction of the muscles moves dietary and/or metabolic acid out of the tissues into the lymphatic circulation and then out through the pores of the skin or through urination. If you want to be healthy you have to sweat and pee your way to health."

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Eicosanoids and Ischemic Heart Disease

Dr. William Lands, one of the pioneers of the eicosanoid field, compiled this graph. It may be the single most important clue we have about the relationship between diet and ischemic heart disease (heart attacks).

To explain it fully, we have to take a few steps back. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are primarily omega-6 and omega-3. This is a chemical designation that refers to the position of a double bond along the fatty acid's carbon chain. Omega-6 fats are found abundantly in industrial vegetable oils (corn, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, etc.) and certain nuts, and in lesser amounts in meats, dairy and grains. Omega-3 fats are found abundantly in seafood and a few seeds such as flax and walnuts, and in smaller amounts in meats, green vegetables and dairy.

The body uses a multi-step process to convert omega-3 and omega-6 fats into eicosanoids, which are a diverse and potent class of signaling molecules. The first step is to convert PUFA into highly unsaturated fatty acids, or HUFA. These include arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 HUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an omega-3 HUFA, and several others in the 20- to 22-carbon length range.

HUFA are stored in cell membranes and they are the direct precursors of eicosanoids. When the cell needs eicosanoids, it liberates HUFA from the membrane and converts it. The proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 HUFA in the membrane is proportional to the long-term proportion of omega-6 and omega-3 in the diet. Enzymes do not discriminate between omega-6 and omega-3 HUFA when they create eicosanoids. Therefore, the proportion of omega-6- to omega-3-derived eicosanoids is proportional to dietary intake.

Omega-6 eicosanoids are potently inflammatory and thrombotic (promote blood clotting, such as thromboxane A2), while omega-3 eicosanoids are less inflammatory, less thrombotic and participate in long-term repair processes.

Many of the studies that have looked at the relationship between HUFA and heart attacks used blood plasma (serum lipids). Dr. Lands has pointed out that plasma HUFA do not accurately reflect dietary omega-6/3 balance, and they don't correlate well with heart attack risk. What does correlate strikingly well with both dietary intake and heart attack risk is the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in tissue, which reflects the amount contained in cell membranes. That's what we're looking at in the graph above: the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in the total tissue HUFA pool, vs. coronary heart disease death rate.

You can see that the correlation is striking, both between populations and within them. Greenland Inuit have the lowest proportion of omega-6 HUFA, due to a low intake of omega-6 and an exceptionally high intake of seafood. They also have an extraordinarily low risk of heart attack death. The red dots are from the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), which I'll be covering in a bit more detail in a later post. They're important because they confirm that the trend holds true within a population, and not just between populations.

In the next post, I'll be delving into this concept in more detail, and explaining why it's not just the ratio that matters, but also the total intake of omega-6. I'll also be providing more evidence to support the theory.

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Acidic FLu Vaccines - An Increased Risk For Children!

Acidic flu vaccine does not help children with influenza acidic symptoms stay out of the hospital, but instead, increases their risk of being hospitalized, compared with those who have not had shots, according to a new study.

In fact, the risk triples, according to the study at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The new study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the acidic flu vaccine (trivalent inactivated flu vaccine, or TIV) in children, especially asthmatic children, study leader Avni Joshi, M.D., told Science Daily.

The recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics to vaccinate all children between 6 months and 18 years every year, a recommendation that the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program endorses puts all or our children at risk.

The Mayo Clinic study spanned eight consecutive flu seasons and involved 263 children ages 6 months to 18 years. All of the children had laboratory-confirmed influenza between 1996 and 2006. Researchers verified which children had or had not received the vaccine, which were asthmatics, and which had to be hospitalized with flu-related symptomologies.

The study showed that children who had been vaccinated had three times the risk of hospitalization of children who had not been vaccinated.

Why!

Because all vaccines, including the flu vaccine are toxic poisonous concoctions of mercury, formaldehyde, and acids from dessicated animal cells and tissues.

Asthmatic children who received the vaccine had a “significantly” higher risk of being hospitalized than asthmatic children who had not received it. No other factors, such as the severity of asthma, appeared to have an effect on the risk of being hospitalized.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center, in Valley Center, California, "true immunity comes from maintaining the alkaline design of the body and having significant alkaline buffers, such as sodium bicarbonate to chelate environmental, metabolic and/or dietary acid. Vaccination against a phantom virus to protect against symptoms of the alimentary canal is bad science. The focus needs to change away from medication and towards education. Prevention is the key but cannot be achieved with injecting acidic vaccines into the blood of humans or animals. Prevention can only be achieved when we learn that the body is alkaline by design and acidic by function. And the key to the prevention of ALL sickness and dis-ease is to maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet! That's it! NO MORE MEDICATION - JUST EDUCATION! So Say NO to DRUGS!"

"I believe my pH Miracle plan will not only change lives and save lives but can help people put an end to much, if not all of their pain and suffering pHysically, emotionally, financially and spiritually."

"If you are willing to commit to ten days of living, thinking, eating and drinking alkaline and follow the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet as outlined in Chapter 11 of the pH Miracle for Weight Loss, I promise you will be blessed with increased health, energy and vitality."

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Symptoms Confused As Disease!

Unfortunately, Pasteur’s confusion of disease with its symptoms, has come down through the generations as scientific law. To this day, conventional medicine operates under this central misconception, often identifying a pattern of symptoms and labeling them as a disease, without any consideration of the underlying cause of the symptoms. And if the underlying cause isn’t considered, it can’t be addressed.

Symptoms may be masked with drugs, but that won’t eradicate them. And it doesn’t deal with the accompany deterioration of the rest of the body, or, of course, do anything about the acids underlying it all.

The truth is symptoms are just indications that you are overly acidic. Symptoms are caused by acidic food and lifestyle choices. The so-called disease is a general, underlying condition of acidity. If germs are involved, they are themselves just symptoms of that underlying acidic condition. Remember that germs come from within our cells, and that germs invading from outside the body can only contribute to a state of imbalance and stimulate secondary symptoms. What most people call disease is really just a collection of these secondary symptoms. Germs are really just the expression of the underlying so-called disease condition (over-acidity and then evolutionary microform overgrowth). In the same way that a fired bullet does the damage, not the smoke from a fired gun, it is the acid that kills, not the associated germs.

Over the last century or so, mainstream science has wrongly told the public that they have identified the precise cause or causes of some so-called disease. An example would be the relationship of smoking and lung cancer or obesity and heart problems. And yet, for many other serious so-called diseases, they admit they are still baffled and they need more research—and more of our money for that research. It is important that if you want to be responsible for your own body and the future of your own health, you must start from the premise that acid is the immediate cause of all the symptoms that are bothering you.

You may know the joke about the inebriated fellow looking for his keys under the street lamp. He said he dropped his keys up the block, but he was looking in this spot because that’s where the street light was. It’s the same with medical research. They are doing almost NO research where the problem is and where the solution lies…at the intersection of nutrition and blood.

Instead, they are looking at symptoms because that’s where the research money from the medical machine and the pharmaceutical companies is focused. The pharmaceutical companies support research that brings them more labels, products and profits….not research that’s actually going to find the keys. Actually finding the keys would put them out of business!

So it is in this sense that I say “there is only one ‘disease.’” And that one disease is acidosis. Thus, the thousand plus names for so-called diseases are simply a compendium of symptoms. These symptoms are the body’s creative and intelligent ways of keeping acid focused on some less vital area of the body…..and not the critically delicate balance of the blood. If all of this acid were to get directly to the blood, you WOULD BE DEAD in just days or even hours.

The ONLY solution is to alkalize and energize the body!

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Pomegranate Oil Reduces Intestinal Inflammation, Enriches Blood, Cleans Arteries and Protects Against Cancer

Pomegranates are nearly round, 2-1/2 to 5 in.
wide fruit crowned at the base by the
prominent calyx.

The tough, leathery skin or rind is typically
yellow overlaid with light or deep pink or
rich red.

The interior is separated by membranous walls
and white, spongy, bitter tissue into compartments
packed with sacs filled with sweetly acid,
juicy, red, pink or whitish pulp or aril.

In each sac there is one angular, soft or
hard seed full of Omega 5 oils (CLA).

The arils (seed casings) of the pomegranate are
consumed raw. The entire seed is eaten, though
the fleshy outer portion of the seed is the
part that is desired. The taste differs
depending on the variety of pomegranate and
its state of ripeness.

Pomegranate juice is a popular drink in the
Middle East, and is also used in Iranian and
Indian cuisine; it began to be widely marketed
in the U.S. in 2004.

Pomegranate concentrate is used in Syrian
cuisine. Grenadine syrup is thickened and
sweetened pomegranate juice; it is used in
cocktail mixing. Before the tomato arrived
to the Middle East, grenadine was widely
used in many Persian foods; it can still
be found in traditional recipes. The juice
can also be used as an antiseptic when
applied to cuts. In addition, Pomegranate
seeds are sometimes used as a spice and the
seeds are the best source of Omega 5 or CLA
oils.

The primary commercial growing regions of
the world are the Near East, India and
surrounding countries and southern Europe.

In California commercial cultivation is
centered in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

One pomegranate delivers 40% of an adult's
daily vitamin C requirement. It is also a
rich source of folic acid and of antioxidants.

Recent research into the health benefits
of Pomegranates has created unprecedented
demand both in the United States and Europe.

Recent studies have been published showing
a positive relationships between pomegranate
consumption and prostate cancer, carotid
arteries and hypertension.

The pomegranate and its color have been the
object of great fascination, particularly
in Oriental cultures. The Arabs were great
admirers and promoters of its cultivation,
making it the symbol of the Moslem Kingdom
of Granada in the southern Iberian Peninsula.

The scarlet blossoms of the pomegranate appear
as dazzling flames against the dark green
backdrop of the tree's leaves. The tiny
beads of fruit, full of precious oil and
juice, are brilliant as drops of blood or
rubies. These drops of blood from the
pomegranate when consumed will help to
build healthy red blood cells, according
to the ancients who wrote the
"Law of Similars".

King Solomon compared the cheeks of his
beloved to the pomegranate three thousand
years ago.

Here at the Rancho del Sol, in sunny Valley
Center, California, the home of the pH Miracle
Center, we are happy to say that we also grow
pomegranates, along side our avocados and
grapefruits for very special and important
life saving reasons.

The pomegranate is quite rich in vitamins
C, E, and B6, containing, as well, significant
amounts of B1, B2, and niacin. The most
abundant minerals are potassium for
alkalizing, copper for purification,
and iron for building hemoglobin.

Among its non-nutritive components the
following are worth noting:

Tannins, in small amounts. These are much
more prevalent in the rind of the fruit or
in the membrane that separate the seed sacs.
These tannins have an astringent and
anti-inflammatory effect on the mucosa
of the digestive tract.

Anthocyanins are reddish or bluish vegetable
pigments belonging to the flavonoid group
act as antiseptics and anti-inflammatory
substances in the digestive tract and as
potent antioxidants within the body cells,
halting the aging process and cancerous
acidic degeneration.

Pelletierine is an alkaloid and is effective
vermifuge (expulses intestinal parasites)
that is found primarily in the bark of the
roots of the tree. The rind and the membranes
also contain this alkaloid, but not the
seed sacs.

Together, thee components give the pomegranate
the following properties: astringent,
anti-inflammatory, vermifuge, remineralizer,
alkalinizer, antioxidant, and depurant.

The pomegranate is suitable in cases of
outfectious diarrhea caused by excess
acidity leading to gastroenteritis or
colitis because of its astringent and
anti-inflammatory action on the digestive
tract. It is also beneficial in cases
of flatulence or intestinal cramps.
Surprising results have been achieved
in chronic cases such as ulcerative
colitis or granulomatous colitis
(Chrohn's dis-ease).

Intestinal parasites, tenia or tapeworm,
in particular are eliminated by eating the
inner walls of the pomegranate.

Because of its astringent action it reduces
the production of hydrochloric acid and
thus reduces inflammation in an irritated
acidic stomach (which should be alkaline).

The pomegranate contains a significant
amount of copper at 70 ug/100g., a trace
element that helps to purify the blood as
well as helps in the absorption of iron in
building red blood cells.

Because of its rich content of flavonoids
and antioxidant, which halt the processes
of arterial aging, the pomegranate seed
oil is recommended in cases of reduced
arterial blood flow. It is very beneficial
in heart attack prevention and cardiac health
in general.

To order Young pHorever CLA pomegranate oil go to:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/cla.htm

Because pomegranates are rich in potassium,
they are appropriate for those suffering
from hypertension. They help avoid excessive
numbers of both systolic and diastolic pressure.

Pomegranates are of value in cases of gout,
excess uric acid, and acid causing obesity
because of its alkalizing and depurant effect.

Pomegranates are loaded with Omega 5 CLA oils
which have been found to neutralize acids
associated with arteriosclerosis, breast
cancer, prostate cancer and especially obesity.

Dr. Robert O. Young, a research scientist at the
pH Miracle Living Center, is suggesting to ingest at
least 3000mgs to 4000mgs of pomegranate
Omega 5 CLA oil per day for helping the body
maintain its alkaline design and buffer
the acids that make us sick, tired and fat.

You can order your Young pHorever
CLA Omega 5 pomegranate oil on-line at:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/cla.htm

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Dr. Young F R E E Interactive Webinar May 21st at 3pm

Many of you have asked to "get more of Dr. Young". This is your chance to hear Dr. Young "a little different" as he is a part of the Sound Mind, Sound Body Intensive program. You will have the chance to hear Dr. Young, not once, not twice, but three times in this series!!!

On Thursday, May 21, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. PDT, (that's 10:00 pm Greenwich Mean Time) Dr. Young will be sharing the pH Miracle Living philosophy and how critical pH is for health and vitality.

On Thursday, June 25, 2009 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. PDT, (that's 10:00 pm Greenwich Mean Time) Dr. Young will be teaching how water plays a vital role in the foundation of your health and how pH and water can restore your health simply and quickly.

On a date to be announced Dr. Young and Shelley Young will be teaching the pH Miracle Secrets to Weight Loss.

This 12 week webinar is absolutely F R E E! You will hear Dr. Young and Shelley Young on 3 out of the 12 weeks. The webinar will include a Power Point Presentation and will be interactive. That's right! You will be able to get on line and ask your personal questions!

So sign up NOW for our F R E E interactive webinar. There is only 1000 places and we have already had over 600 people sign up.

To Log on go to: https://m4group.infusionsoft.com/go/SMSBP/ph

At these online seminars you will discover:

1) A full spectrum of dynamic topics that inform far beyond the scope of everyday media coverage.

2) Insights into exceptional technologies not known by many.

3) Cutting-edge research on advanced health means a longer, vigorous, more beautiful life.

4) Why it's more important how you feel about what you do than what you do.

5) Ways to eliminate emotions that are keeping you stuck and unable to be as healthy as you.

6) Why certain health decisions in the wrong order or at the wrong time may be simply a waste of time and money...

7) And this Thursday, May 21st at 3:00 pm you will hear Dr. Young for over 1 hour talk about "The New Biology"(R) and "The Importance of pH."

And so much more!

These topics and the information this program and its experts deliver are essential to helping people who are seeking to take more control over their lives and become healthier. We hope you will help us get the word out because more people need to hear about the truth of the Young's message!

And, in order to make sure everyone in the world can participate, the entire "12 Week Intensive" Webinar Series is F-R-E-E!

That's right: absolutely F-R-E-E.

So what are you waiting for?

Log on to: https://m4group.infusionsoft.com/go/SMSBP/ph

Come on inside and get ready for the next webinar!

Remember this F R E E webinar in the series starts on Thursday, May 21st with Dr. Robert O. Young. So Register Now!

You can also sign-up for Dr. Robert and Shelley Young's F R E E Newsletter at: www.phmiracleliving.com

And Dr. Robert and Shelley Young offer help on Facebook at their
"Official pH Miracle Fan Club." To sign up go to:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50864627953&ref=mf

Dr. Young's personal Facebook is at:

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/profile.php?id=1294968067&ref=name

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Prevent and/or Reverse Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes With R-Lipoic and Co-Q-10

Did you know that the number of diabetics in the United States has almost doubled in the past ten years? And that about 25 percent of people who have diabetes don't even know it?

According to figures recently released by the government, 90 percent of cases are type 2 diabetes. All diabetics, especially the ones who are undiagnosed, are especially vulnerable to additional acidic physical ailments including cardiovascular dis-ease and neurological complications.

In addition to a healthy alkaline diet and exercise, certain specific supplements neutralize the acids that cause the symptoms of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Our book "The pH Miracle for Diabetes" will tell you about numerous nutrients that can lower your risk of developing Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and even how to reverse it.. Go here for more information.

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-157-health-talk-for-diabetes-audio-download.aspx

One of the most powerful diabetes - acid buffering nutrients is R-lipoic with Co-Q-10. R-lipoic and Co-Q-10 exist in every cell and tissue and is very effective in lowering blood sugar acid and preventing and/or reversing diabetic complications--especially cardiovascular and neurological problems.

It is one of the most versatile antioxidants in the body, and it also strengthens immunity by increasing alkalinity, improves energy in cells, protects brain cells against exo and mycotoxins and removes excess mercury and other toxic metals.

A number of studies have shown that it can correct blood sugar acid in type 2 diabetics and improve or even eliminate the need for insulin in insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetics. If sufferers still have insulin producing cells left, R-lipoic and Co-Q-10 can improve their function.

Go here for specific information on the most potent and effective form of R-lipoic called R-pHactor and Co-Q-10 called Q-Factor. These formulations can be purchased without a prescription, and I have had quite a few Type 1 and 2 diabetics who were able to get off all medications after taking it. This form of R-lipoic and C0-Q-10 have been shown to be especially effective in preventing and treating the neurological complications of diabetes.

Young pHorever C0-Q-10 - Q-Factor

Using these substances, most insulin-dependent diabetics will be able to control their blood sugar acid with significantly lower insulin requirements--while the occasional client has gotten off insulin altogether. The best results come when you follow the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet and use the other supplements as recommended by Dr. Young in what he calls the Young pHorever Deluxe Starter Pack.

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-382-young-phorever-deluxe-starter-pack.aspx

What is R-Lipoic and Dr. Young's latest invention, called R-pHactor, to help prevent and reverse Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?

R-pHactor is the only natural form of R-lipoic. The "R" form is considered the "eutomer" (the biologically superior form), since it is identical to that produced by the body. Research indicates that R-lipoic is responsible for most to the beneficial effects attributed by alpha-lipoic and is an esse4ntial component of cellular metabolism.

What does R-Lipoic or R-pHactor do?

1) R-pHactor tends to restore levels of glutathione, a protective antioxidant and detoxification compound. With age, glutathione levels naturally decline, making us more susceptible to both metabolic acids, dietary acids and environmental acids.

2) R-pHactor is a low-level stressor which activates basic cellular defense mechanisms, including those naturally declining with age.

3) R-pHactor is a strong anti-inflammatory agent. There is an inflammatory component called acid to all age-related chronic degenerative dis-ease.

4) R-pHactor can restore cellular 'signaling' processes responsible for vasodilation, which declines in blood vessels with age.

5) R-pHactor may reduce mitrochondrial decay which is closely linked to th symptoms of aging.

6) R-pHactor can protect the cell membranes by boosting and recycling other powerful anti-oxidants such as Vitamin E and C0-Q-10.

7) R-pHactor controls high blood sugar acid.

8) R-pHactor improves recovery from exercise.

9) R-pHactor promotes concentration and focus.

10) R-pHactor increases exercise and athletic performance.

11) R-pHactor increases energy.

12) R-pHactor crosses the blood brain barrier which helps to optimize cognitive function.

13) R-pHactor reverses acid damage to DNA

14) R-pHactor is nueroprotective.

15) R-pHactor is a quick release product, attaining high plasma levels rapidly.

16) R-pHactor is heat and shelf stable, highly stable and has proven to be the most bioavailable oral form of lipoic on the market.

17) R-pHactor is significantly more bio-available than the free
form of alpha lipoic. In a preliminary human pharmacokinetic trail, the maximum plasma concentration was 40 times higher.

18) R-pHactor sustains detectable levels in the plasma for up to 4 days.

19) R-pHactor may improve acidic conditions of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

20) R-pHactor may optimize Q-Factor in protecting the heart and reducing the risk of age-related atheroscleroisis.

What is Q-pHactor and What does it do?

1) Q-pHactor is a naturally-occurring lipoceutical, powerful antioxidant and acid scavenger, as well as major component of heart health maintenance.

2) Q-pHactor is a useful adjunct to help reduce acids and thus reduce acid binding cholesterol.

To order Young pHorever R-pHactor or Q-pHactor go to:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-399-young-phorever-r-phactor.aspx

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-282-young-phorever-cofactor-q-10.aspx

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Important Health Information!!! Please Read NOW!!!

IMPORTANT!

So please read every word very carefully.
It's that essential.
Missing this seminar today could impact the quality of your health!

This is a last-minute update and notice for today's "Sound Mind, Sound Body" intensive and Dr. Robert O. Young's presentation on The New Biology™ and the Importance of pH.

NOTE: Because of the importance of this topic, Dr. Young will be extending his presentation for an extra half hour.

Day: Thursday, May 21th, 2009

Time: 3 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. (U.S. Pacific Time)

Check what time that is for you on the World Clock:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=5&day=7&year=2009&hour=15&min=0&sec=0&p1=256

Place: In front of your computer.

Reserve your seat now. Registration is easy and FREE.

Register at: https://m4group.infusionsoft.com/go/SMSBP/ph

Once inside, follow the instructions on the welcome tab. NOTE: You MUST register for the LIVE webinar to receive a link to this session which is found on the Featured Speaker tab.

Until then!

To your health,

Dr. Robert Young

P.S. This is a very important topic and message, one which we hope you will help us spread the word about. Please feel free to pass this invitation on to a friend too, or simply send them this link: http://www.nolimitshealthintensive.com/members/index.php?

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Genetic Change In Three Days Caused by Acidic Toxins

Polluted acidic air may devastate human DNA to the point of reprogramming or causing genes to change in just three days, leaving people vulnerable to cancerous lungs and other dis-eases, according to a new Italian study.

The researchers, who discovered rapid DNA damage and transformation in Italian steel workers who inhaled acidic polluted foundry air, say it might happen to anyone living in a large city.

The study examined 63 healthy people who were exposed routinely to acidic particulate matter while they worked in a steel mill in Brescia, Italy, and. The air around steel foundries usually has about 10 times more acidic particulate matter than normal air, and a larger percentage of the acidic particles are heavy metals.

During the work week, two blood DNA samples were taken from the workers, one sample on the first day of the week before they were heavily exposed to the foundry air, and the other sample after several days on the job. A comparison of the samples showed changes in four genes that are believed to suppress the formation of tumors.

The workers' DNA was damaged to the point that the rate of a body process called "methylation" was slowed, the researchers said. Methylation is a normal, ongoing biological process in which genes are organized into different groups. The slowing of methylation in the workers meant that fewer groups and therefore fewer genes were expressed and made into proteins, which is vital to the regular maintenance of the body. Such a reduction also has been observed in the DNA of patients with cancerous lungs.

Study leader Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan said previous research has demonstrated that older people in Boston had DNA damage from particulate matter. However, Baccarelli said, "Our results need to be confirmed in air pollution studies before they can be extended to the general population."

On a hopeful note, the research team raised the possibility that methylation damage can be ameliorated with folic acid, a B vitamin found in many foods. "We found that subjects with higher intakes of methyl nutrients were protected from some of the cardiac effects of particulate matter," Baccarelli said.

Dr. Robert O. Young, Director of Research at the pH Miracle Living Center suggests, "all genetic changes within any cell are always the result of an acidic change in the environment surrounding that cell. These cellular changes are generally caused by acidic contributing factors such as primary or secondary acidic smoke from cigarettes or living and/or working in acidic polluted environments. The best way to protect any cell from acidic genetic change that can lead to a cancerous condition is to maintain the delicate alkaline pH of the fluids surrounding that cell with an alkaline lifestyle and diet."

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How Much Protein Do I Need Daily?

My blood research has suggested "too much protein" from animal sources can cause bone and muscle loss. It is not the quantity or the quality of the protein, but the source of the protein - and whether it has been heated or pasteurized or not.

To fully understand the language used in the nature of matter and fermentation, is of course to understand Antione BeChamp's microzymian theory and how the Pasteurian theorists have confused the understanding protein and its need in the diet.

First, in a Bechamp context, the fully living, indestructible microzyma, in its unaltered state, is part of its natural surrounding whether it is a mineral or flesh state with all the measurable frequency and voltage of that substance.

When protein is consumed, the microzyma changes with its new environment to become a building block of another form. If it is not heated, the nitrogenous, protein packed microzymas will still have great energy to be released from the particular pieces of food into liquid globes with still organized electrical potential within the long chain molecular structure of the microzymas. In this state, the transformed substance enters the bloodstream to be easily transformed into blood and later into body cells and tissues.

In the morbid Pasteurian context, the microzyma is only recognized in terms of microbes and enzymes. This is where the trouble begins.

Louis Pasteur coined the term microbe and far from understood the pleomorphism of matter as Antoine Bechamp did. Consequently, Pasteur created the entire morbid microbe paradigm of heated, pasteurized dairy products and nearly all other packaged acidic forming foods and drinks.

The pasteurization (heating) disorganizes the microzyma (the origin of organized matter) from its previous state, further releasing the frequency and voltage from the microzyma and releasing its enzymatic or charged power. (Pasteur lead the public to believe that enzymes were alive and that microbes could be suppressed or killed by heat. This is a scientific myth since the mircozymaa that make up organized matter cannot be destroyed or killed but can only be changed in their form and function.)

The resulting pasteurized "food" or "drink" is a tragedy. Why? Because pasteurized food and drink contains little power to self digest whether it has nitrogenous (dietary animal protein) material in it or not, further resulting in undigested food bits in the bloodstream and terrible fermenting and putrefying undigested matter in the colon setting the stage for sickness and dis-ease.

This is why I recommend the elimination of all animal protein and protein from plants sources should be limited to no more than 5 grams a day.

Remember you build strong bones and muscles with blood NOT protein and you build blood with green foods and green drinks - not protein. This is why I recommend drinking at least 3 to 4 liters of green drinks a day and up to 12 servings of green fruit and vegetables a day.

When you follow these recommendations you will begin to build healthy blood and then strong healthy bones and muscles.

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Eicosanoids, Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance

I have to take a brief intermission from the heart disease series to write about a very important paper I just read in the journal Obesity, "COX-2-mediated Inflammation in Fat is Crucial for Obesity-linked Insulin Resistance and Fatty Liver". It's actually related to cardiovascular disease, although indirectly.

First, some background. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) come mostly from omega-6 and omega-3 sources. Omega-6 and omega-3 are precursors to eicosanoids, a large and poorly understood class of signaling molecules that play a role in basically everything. Eicosanoids are either omega-6-derived or omega-3-derived. Omega-6 and omega-3 compete for the enzymes that convert PUFA into eicosanoids. Therefore, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in tissues (related to the ratio in the diet) determines the ratio of omega-6-derived eicosanoids to omega-3-derived eicosanoids.

Omega-6 eicosanoids are very potent and play a central role in inflammation. They aren't "bad", in fact they're essential, but an excess of them is probably not good. Omega-3 eicosanoids are generally less potent, less inflammatory, and tend to participate in long-term repair processes. So in sum, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet will determine the potency and quality of eicosanoid signaling, which will determine an animal's susceptibility to inflammation-mediated disorders.

One of the key enzymes in the pathway from PUFA to eicosanoids (specifically, a subset of them called prostanoids) is cyclooxygenase (COX). COX-1 is expressed all the time and serves a "housekeeping" function, while COX-2 is induced by cellular stressors and contributes to the the formation of inflammatory eicosanoids. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit COX enzymes, which is why they are effective against inflammatory problems like pain and fever. They are also used as a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease. Basically, they reduce the excessive inflammatory signaling promoted by a diet with a poor omega-6:3 balance. You wouldn't need to inhibit COX if it were producing the proper balance of eicosanoids to begin with.

Dr. Kuang-Chung Shih's group at the Department of Internal Medicine in Taipei placed rats on five different diets:

1. A control diet, eating normal low-fat rat chow.


2. A "high-fat diet", in which 45% of calories came from a combination of industrial lard and soybean oil, and 17% of calories came from sucrose*.


3. A "high-fat diet" (same as above), plus the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex).


4. A "high-fat diet" (same as above), plus the COX-2 inhibitor mesulid.


5. An energy-restricted "high-fat diet".

The "high-fat diets", besides being high in sucrose (table sugar), also presumably had a poor omega-6:3 ratio, in the neighborhood of 10:1 or possibly higher. Weight and fat mass in rats and humans increases with increasing omega-6 in the diet, and also increases with a high 6:3 ratio. I wrote about that here. Rats eating the high-fat diets (groups 2- 4) gained weight as expected**.

Rats in group 2 not only gained weight, they also experienced increased fasting glucose, leptin, insulin, triglycerides, blood pressure and a massive decline in insulin sensitivity (seven-fold relative to group 1). Rats in groups 3 and 4 gained weight, but saw much less of a deterioration in insulin and leptin sensitivity, and blood pressure. Group 2 also developed fatty liver, which was attenuated in groups 3 and 4. If you're interested, group 5 (energy restricted high-fat) was similar to groups 3 and 4 on pretty much everything, including insulin sensitivity.

So there you have it folks: direct evidence that insulin resistance, leptin resistance, high blood pressure and fatty liver are mediated by excessive inflammatory eicosanoid signaling. I wrote about something similar before when I reviewed a paper showing that fish oil reverses many of the consequences of a high-vegetable oil, high-sugar diet in rats. I also reviewed two papers showing that in pigs and rats, a high omega-6:3 ratio promotes inflammation (mediated by COX-2) and lipid peroxidation in the heart. Are you going to quench the fire by taking drugs, or by reducing your intake of omega-6 and ensuring an adequate intake of omega-3?

*Of course, they didn't mention the sucrose in the methods section. I had to go digging around for the diet's composition. This is typical of papers on "high-fat diets". They load them up with sugar, and blame everything on the fat.

**Rats gain fat mass when fed a high-fat diet (even if it's not loaded with sugar). But humans don't necessarily gain weight on a high-fat diet (i.e. low-carb weight loss diet). What's the difference? Low-carbohydrate diet trials indicate that humans spontaneously reduce their caloric intake when eating low carbohydrate, high-fat food.

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The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic: Possible Culprits Part II

In the last post, I reviewed some of the factors that I believe could have contributed to the epidemic of heart attacks that began in the 1920s and 1930s in the U.S. and U.K., and continues today. I ended on smoking, which appears to be a major player. But even smoking is clearly trumped by another factor or combination of factors, judging by the unusually low incidence of heart attacks in France, Japan and on Kitava.

One of the major changes in diet that I didn't mention in the last post was the rise of industrial liquid vegetable oils over the course of the 20th century. In the U.S. in 1900, the primary cooking fats were lard, beef tallow and butter. The following data only include cooking fats and spreads, because the USDA does not track the fats that naturally occur in milk and meat (source):

Animal fat is off the hook. This is the type of information that makes mainstream nutrition advice ring hollow. Let's see what happened to industrial vegetable oils in the early 1900s:

I do believe we're getting warmer. Now let's consider the composition of traditional American animal fats and industrial vegetable oils:
It's not hard to see that the two classes of fats (animal and industrial vegetable) are quite different. Animal fats are more saturated (blue). However, the biggest difference is that industrial vegetable oils contain a massive amount of omega-6 (yellow), far more than animal fats. If you accept that humans evolved eating primarily animal fats, which is well supported by the archaeological and anthropological literature, then you can begin to see the nature of the problem.

Omega-6 and omega-3 fats are polyunsaturated fatty acids that are precursors to a very important class of signaling molecules called eicosanoids, which have a hand in virtually every bodily process. Omega-6 and omega-3 fats compete with one another for the enzymes (desaturases and elongases) that convert them into eicosanoid precursors. Omega-6-derived eicosanoids and omega-3-derived eicosanoids have different functions. Therefore, the balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in the diet influences the function of the body on virtually every level. Omega-6 eicosanoids tend to be more inflammatory, although the eicosanoid system is extraordinarily complex and poorly understood.

What's better understood is the fact that our current omega-6 consumption is well outside of our ecological niche. In other words, we evolved in an environment that did not provide large amounts of omega-6 all year round. Industrial vegetable oils are a product of food processing techniques that have been widespread for about 100 years, not enough time for even the slightest genetic adaptation. Our current level of omega-6 intake, and our current balance between omega-6 and omega-3, are therefore unnatural.
The ideal ratio is probably very roughly 2:1 omega-6:omega-3. Leaf lard is 6.8, beef tallow is 2.4, good quality butter is 1.4, corn oil is 45, cottonseed oil is 260. It's clear that a large qualitative change in our fat consumption occurred over the course of the 20th century.

I believe this was a major factor in the rise of heart attacks from an obscure condition to the primary cause of death. I'll be reviewing the data that convinced me in the next few posts.

The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic
The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic: Possible Culprits Part I
The Omega Ratio
A Practical Approach to Omega Fats
Polyunsaturated Fat Intake: Effects on the Heart and Brain
Polyunsaturated Fat Intake: What About Humans?
Vegetable Oil and Homicide

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The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic: Possible Culprits Part I

In the last post, I reviewed two studies that suggested heart attacks were rare in the U.K. until the 1920s -1930s. In this post, I'll be discussing some of the diet and lifestyle factors that preceded and associated with the coronary heart disease epidemic in the U.K and U.S. I've cherry picked factors that I believe could have played a causal role. Many things changed during that time period, and I don't want to give the impression that I have "the answer". I'm simply presenting ideas for thought and discussion.

First on the list: sugar. Here's a graph of refined sugar consumption in the U.K. from 1815 to 1955, from the book The Saccharine Disease, by Dr. T. L. Cleave. Sugar consumption increased dramatically in the U.K. over this time period, reaching near-modern levels by the turn of the century, and continuing to increase after that except during the wars: Here's a graph of total sweetener consumption in the U.S. from 1909 to 2005 (source: USDA food supply database). Between 1909 and 1922, sweetener consumption increased by 40%:

If we assume a 10 to 20 year lag period, sugar is well placed to play a role in the CHD epidemic. Sugar is easy to pick on. An excess causes a number of detrimental changes in animal models and human subjects, including fatty liver, the metabolic syndrome, and small, oxidized low-density lipoprotein particles (LDL). Small and oxidized LDL associate strongly with cardiovascular disease risk and may be involved in causing it. These effects seem to be mostly attributable to the fructose portion of sugar, which is 50% of table sugar (sucrose), about 50% of most naturally sweet foods, and 55% of the most common form of high-fructose corn syrup. That explains why starches, which break down into glucose (another type of sugar), don't have the same negative effects as table sugar and HFCS.

Hydrogenated fat is the next suspect. I don't have any graphs to present, because no one has systematically tracked hydrogenated fat consumption in the U.S. or U.K. to my knowledge. However, it was first marketed in the U.S. by Procter & Gamble under the brand name Crisco in 1911. Crisco stands for "crystallized cottonseed oil", and involves taking an industrial waste oil (from cotton seeds) and chemically treating it using high temperature, a nickel catalyst and hydrogen gas (see this post for more information). Hydrogenated fats for human consumption hit markets in the U.K. around 1920. Here's what Dr. Robert Finlayson had to say about margarine in his paper "Ischaemic Heart Disease, Aortic Aneurysms, and Atherosclerosis in the City of London, 1868-1982":

...between 1909-13 and 1924-28, margarine consumption showed the highest percentage increase, whilst that of eggs only increased slightly and that of butter remained unchanged. Between 1928 and 1934, margarine consumption fell by one-third, while butter consumption increased by 57 percent: and increase that coincided with a fall of 48 percent in its price. Subsequently, margarine sales have burgeoned, and if one is correct in stating that the coronary heart disease epidemic started in the second decade of this century, then the concept of hydrogenated margarines as an important aetiological factor, so strongly advocated by Martin, may merit more consideration than hitherto.

Partially hydrogenated oils contain trans fat, which is truly new to the human diet, with the exception of small amounts found in ruminant fats including butter. But for the most part, natural trans fats are not the same as industrial trans fats, and in fact some of them, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may be beneficial. To my knowledge, no one has discovered health benefits of industrial trans fats. To the contrary, compared to butter, they shrink LDL size. They also inhibit enzymes that the body uses to make a diverse class of signaling compounds known as eicosanoids. Trans fat consumption associates very strongly with the risk of heart attack in observational studies. Which is ironic, because hydrogenated fats were originally marketed as a healthier alternative to animal fats. The Center for Science in the Public Interest shamed McDonald's into switching the beef tallow in their deep friers for hydrogenated vegetable fats in the 1990s. In 2009, even the staunchest opponents of animal fats have to admit that they're healthier than hydrogenated fat.

The next factor is vitamin D. When the industrial revolution became widespread in the late 19th century, people moved into crowded, polluted cities and vitamin D deficiency became rampant. Rickets was a scourge that affected more than half of children in some places. Dr. Edward Mellanby discovered that it's caused by severe vitamin D deficiency, milk was fortified with vitamin D2, and rickets was all but eliminated. However, it only takes a very small amount of vitamin D to avoid rickets, an amount that will not contribute significantly to optimum vitamin D status. Vitamin D modulates the body's inflammatory response, it's ability to resist calcium deposition in the arteries, and seems to be important for so many things I had to include it.

The rise of cigarettes was a major change that probably contributed massively to the CHD epidemic. They were introduced just after the turn of the century in the U.S. and U.K., and rapidly became fashionable (source):
If you look at the second to last graph from the previous post, you can see that there's a striking correspondence between cigarette consumption and CHD deaths in the U.K. In fact, if you moved the line representing cigarette consumption to the right by about 20 years, it would overlap almost perfectly with CHD deaths. The risk of heart attack is so strongly associated with smoking in observational studies that even I believe it probably represents a causal relationship. There's no doubt in my mind that smoking cigarettes contributes to the risk of heart attack and various other health problems.

Smoking is a powerful factor, but it doesn't explain everything. How is it that the Kitavans of Papua New Guinea, more than 3/4 of whom smoke cigarettes, have an undetectable incidence of heart attack and stroke? Why do the French and the Japanese, who smoke like chimneys (at least until recently), have the two lowest heart attack death rates of all the affluent nations? There's clearly another factor involved that trumps cigarette smoke. I have a guess, which I'll expand on in the next few posts.

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The Coronary Heart Disease Epidemic

Few people alive today are old enough to remember the beginning of the coronary heart disease (CHD) epidemic in the 1920s and 1930s, when physicians in the U.S. and U.K. began sounding alarm bells that an uncommon disease was rapidly becoming the leading cause of death. By the 1950s, their predictions had come true. A decade later, a new generation of physicians replaced their predecessors and began to doubt that heart attacks had ever been rare. Gradually, the idea that the disease was once uncommon faded from the public consciousness, and heart attacks were seen as an eternal plague of humankind, avoided only by dying of something else first.

According to U.S. National Vital Statistics records beginning in 1900, CHD was rarely given as the cause of death by physicians until after 1930. The following graph is from The Great Cholesterol Con, by Anthony Colpo, which I highly recommend.


The relevant line for CHD deaths begins in the lower left-hand part of the graph. Other types of heart disease, such as heart failure due to cardiomyopathy, were fairly common and well recognized at the time. These data are highly susceptible to bias because they depend on the physician's perception of the cause of death, and are not adjusted for the mean age of the population. In other words, if a diagnosis of CHD wasn't "popular" in 1920, its prevalence could have been underestimated. The invention of new technologies such as the electrocardiogram facilitated diagnosis. Changes in diagnostic criteria also affected the data; you can see them as discontinuities in 1948, 1968 and 1979. For these reasons, the trend above isn't a serious challenge to the idea that CHD has always been a common cause of death in humans who reach a certain age.

This idea was weakened in 1951 with the publication of a paper in the Lancet medical journal titled "Recent History of Coronary Disease", by Dr. Jerry N. Morris. Dr. Morris sifted through the autopsy records of London Hospital and recorded the frequency of coronary thrombosis (artery blockage in the heart) and myocardial infarction (MI; loss of oxygen to the heart muscle) over the period 1907-1949. MI is the technical term for a heart attack, and it can be caused by coronary thrombosis. Europe has a long history of autopsy study, and London Hospital had a long-standing policy of routine autopsies during which they kept detailed records of the state of the heart and coronary arteries. Here's what he found:

The dashed line is the relevant one. This is a massive increase in the prevalence of CHD death that cannot be explained by changes in average lifespan. Although the average lifespan increased considerably over that time period, most of the increase was due to reduced infant mortality. The graph only includes autopsies performed on people 35-70 years old. Life expectancy at age 35 changed by less than 10 years over the same time period. The other possible source of bias is in the diagnosis. Physicians may have been less likely to search for signs of MI when the diagnosis was not "popular". Morris addresses this in the paper:

The first possibility, of course, is that the increase is not real but merely reflects better post-mortem diagnosis. This is an unlikely explanation. There is abundant evidence throughout the forty years that the department was fully aware of the relation of infarction to thrombosis, of myocardial fibrosis to gradual occlusion, and of the topical pathology of ostial stenosis and infarction from embolism, as indeed were many pathologists last century... But what makes figures like these important is that, unlike other series of this kind, they are based on the routine examination at necropsy of the myocardium and of the coronary arteries over the whole period. Moreover Prof. H. M. Turnbull, director of the department, was making a special case of atheroma and arterial disease in general during 1907-1914 (Turnbull 1915). The possibility that cases were overlooked is therefore small, and the earlier material is as likely to be reliable as the later.

Dr. Morris's study was followed by another similar one published in 1985 in the journal Medical History, titled "Ischaemic Heart Disease, Aortic Aneurysms, and Atherosclerosis in the City of London, 1868-1982", conducted by Dr. Robert Finlayson. This study, in my opinion, is the coup de grace. Finlayson systematically scrutinized autopsy reports from St. Bartholemew's hospital, which had conducted routine and detailed cardiac autopsies since 1868, and applied modern diagnostic criteria to the records. He also compared the records from St. Bartholemew's to those from the city mortuary. Here's what he found:

The solid line is MI mortality. Striking, isn't it? The other lines are tobacco and cigarette consumption. These data are not age-adjusted, but if you look at the raw data tables provided in the paper, some of which are grouped by age, it's clear that average lifespan doesn't explain much of the change. Heart attacks are largely an occurrence of the last 80 years, and were almost totally unknown before the turn of the 20th century.

What caused the epidemic? Both Drs. Morris and Finlayson also collected data on the prevalence of atherosclerosis (plaques in the arteries) over the same time period. Dr. Morris concluded that the prevalence of severe atherosclerosis had decreased by about 50% (although mild atherosclerosis such as fatty streaks had increased), while Dr. Finlayson found that it had remained approximately the same:


He found the same trend in females. This casts doubt on the idea that coronary atherosclerosis is sufficient in and of itself to cause heart attacks, although modern studies have found a strong association between advanced atherosclerosis and the risk of heart attack on an individual level. Heart attacks are caused by several factors, one of which is atherosclerosis.  Atherosclerosis can be caused by infectious disease, so this may explain Dr. Morris's finding that it has decreased since the beginning of the 20th century.

What changes in diet and lifestyle associated with the explosion of MI in the U.K. and U.S. after 1920? Dr. Finlayson has given us a hint in the graph above: cigarette consumption increased dramatically over the same time period, and closely paralleled MI mortality. Smoking cigarettes is very strongly associated with heart attacks in observational studies. Animal studies also support the theory. While I believe cigarettes are an aggravating factor, I do not believe they are the main cause of the MI epidemic. Dr. Finlayson touched on a few other factors in the text of the paper, and of course I have my own two cents to add. I'll discuss that next time.

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