Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

Chronic inflammation is an important factor in many conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s), arthritis, digestive disorders, and more.

In a recent study published in the top journal Science, researchers at the University of Chicago identified what seems to be a key link between the immune system and high blood lipid (cholesterol and triglyceride) levels.

Specifically, the scientists found that when tumor necrosis factor cytokines (immune system messengers) were over-expressed on T cells (white blood cells that regulate immune response and attack virus-infected, foreign, and cancer cells) in mice, that blood lipid levels rose.

Since the liver and intestines are believed to be primarily responsible for regulating blood lipid levels, the researchers also looked at the livers of the mice. The liver secretes an enzyme called hepatic lipase, which breaks down lipids (e.g., VLDL, triglycerides). The scientists observed that the livers of mice that had T cells expressing greater inflammatory cytokines produced less hepatic lipase, and thus had higher blood lipid levels.

As one of the study’s co-authors notes, the implications of this finding could be far-reaching:

“Those with inflammatory problems such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel syndrome have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, often associated with elevated lipid levels,” added co-author Godfrey Getz, MD, PhD, professor of pathology, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago. “This study may explain why.”

Causes of Increased Inflammation

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Two recent studies in the Archives of Ophthalmology suggest that individuals with greater consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and higher vitamin D levels may be at lower risk for developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness for people over age 50.

There are two primary forms of AMD, the dry form, which is caused by loss of cells in the epithelial layer in the retina, and the wet (or neovascular) form, which is caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina.

Omega-3

In the first study, researchers divided participants into five groups (quintiles) based on total omega-3 fat intake and found that the individuals in the top quintile were 39% less likely to develop wet AMD than people in the lowest quintile of intake. Scientists also looked at a specific omega-3 fatty acid (DHA - docosahexanoic acid), which is found in high concentration in the retina, and observed a 46% reduction in AMD risk when comparing the highest and lowest quintile of intake.

Additionally, fish intake positively correlated with reduced wet AMD risk in the study, but as discussed earlier, I would be reluctant to eat high levels of fish given the potential risk for toxin exposure. Vision disturbances are common in mercury poisoning cases. Contaminant-tested fish oil supplements are much preferred as a safer omega-3 source.

Interestingly, researchers found that high consumption of arachidonic acid (AA) was associated with a 54% increase in wet AMD risk. AA is an omega-6 fatty acid found in high quantities in red meat, dairy, and egg yolks, as well as metabolized from vegetable oils, such as corn and soybean oils commonly used in processed, packaged, and restaurant-prepared foods. This finding once again suggests that it is important to not only ensure adequate omega-3 intake, but also to moderate omega-6 intake, in order to manage inflammation. I addressed this topic in an earlier post.

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In a study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers at Ohio State found that individuals with the highest blood levels of Omega-6 fats relative to Omega-3 fats were more likely to suffer from depression and to have higher levels of inflammation-promoting compounds in their bodies.

Specifically, as depressive symptoms increased in the study participants, higher Omega-6/Omega-3 ratios were associated with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines (immune system messengers) TNF-alpha and IL-6. Conversely, Omega-3 fats help promote the production of anti-inflammatory substances, such as prostaglandin PGE-3, and are linked to lower rates of depression.

Omega-3 fats are found primarily in fish oil and flaxseed oil (although only fish oil has the Omega-3 fats EPA and DHA in their final bioavailable forms). Omega-6 fats are found primarily in the diet in vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, sunflower, and safflower oil, and also in the form of arachidonic acid in meat, dairy, and eggs.

* An exception to the primarily pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fats is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is found in borage, evening primrose, and black currant oils, and helps to promote the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandin PGE-1.

Changing Fat Intake Patterns & Implications

Historically, people eating a hunter-gatherer type of diet consumed about 2 to 3 times the amount of Omega-6 fats relative to Omega-3 fats. Today, in most Western diets, largely as the result of higher intake of refined vegetable oils in packaged and restaurant-prepared foods, that ratio is more like 15 to 20 to one.

The pro-inflammatory state that results from eating such a diet has negative implications not only for conditions such as depression as highlighted in this study, but also for many other conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, allergies and asthma, prostate cancer, skin disorders, and more.

Diet-wise, this imbalance in Omega-6/Omega-3 fat intake is likely one of the biggest factors contributing to chronic disease. Taking a fish oil supplement that has been tested for contaminants and reducing the consumption of foods prepared using vegetable oils are two ways to help improve this balance and restore a more normal immune response.

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Discover How Nutrition Can Make a Difference in Your Life …

Marc Joseph Nutrition

In a recent study published in the journal Cell, Canadian scientists identified a breakthrough understanding of the role of pain nerves in insulin-producing (islet) cells, and in turn, learned how to prevent pancreatic cell inflammation and reverse Type 1 diabetes in mice.

The researchers found that the nerve receptors in the islet cells of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice were not secreting enough neuropeptides, chemical compounds that can help nerve cells to communicate with one another and regulate physiologic processes.

When scientists supplied these diabetic-prone mice with neuropeptide substance P, which acts as both a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator and plays a key role in pain transmission, islet cell inflammation subsided in one day and insulin sensitivity returned to normal for a period of weeks.

Apparently, there is a key “control circuit” between the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas and the associated pain nerves:

“We started to look at nervous system elements that seemed to play a role in Type 1 diabetes and found that specific sensory neurons are critical for islet immune attack in the pancreas,” said Dr. Hans Michael Dosch, the principal investigator. “These nerves secrete insufficient neuropeptides which sustain normal islet function, creating a vicious circle of progressive islet stress.” …

… “The major discovery was that removal of sensory neurons expressing the receptor TRPV1 neurons in NOD mice prevented islet cell inflammation and diabetes in most animals, which led us to fundamentally new insights into the mechanisms of this disease,” said Dr. Michael Salter, co-principal investigator, senior scientist at SickKids, professor of Physiology and director of the Centre for the Study of Pain at the University of Toronto. “Disease protection occurred despite the fact that autoimmunity continues in the animals. This helped us to focus our studies on finding the new control circuit in the islets.”

Potential Future Application in Type 2 Diabetes

This discovery is big news. Researchers are currently looking to test the approach in human trials and also to extend the study to the much more prevalent Type 2 (obesity-associated) diabetes and potentially other autoimmune conditions.

In Type 1 diabetes, islet cells in the pancreas do not produce insulin, and affected individuals must get daily insulin injections to manage blood glucose levels.

In Type 2 diabetes, the body’s cells become insensitive to the action of insulin, and the body may also eventually stop producing sufficient insulin.

You can learn more about Type I and Type II diabetes, their potential causes, and my treatment approaches that focus on addressing nutritional and environmental factors here.

(Image Credit: HowStuffWorks)

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Discover How Nutrition Can Make a Difference in Your Life …

Marc Joseph Nutrition

The current issue of Discover Magazine includes a cover story (”Autism: It’s Not Just in the Head“) that is to-date likely the best, easy-to-understand overview of the latest biomedical understandings and treatments for autism:

A disparate group—immunologists, naturopaths, neuroscientists, and toxicologists—is turning up clues that are yielding novel strategies to help autistic patients. New studies are examining contributing factors ranging from vaccine reactions to atypical growth in the placenta, abnormal tissue in the gut, inflamed tissue in the brain, food allergies, and disturbed brain wave synchrony. Some clinicians are using genetic test results to recommend unconventional nutritional therapies, and others employ drugs to fight viruses and quell inflammation.

Above all, there is a new emphasis on the interaction between vulnerable genes and environmental triggers, along with a growing sense that low-dose, multiple toxic and infectious exposures may be a major contributing factor to autism and its related disorders. A vivid analogy is that genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. “Like cancer, autism is a very complex disease,” says Craig Newschaffer, chairman of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Drexel University School of Public Health, “and it’s exciting to start asking questions about the interaction between genes and environment. There’s really a very rich array of potential exposure variables.”

“What we’ve got here is a far more comprehensive set of characteristics for autism,” says [Harvard pediatric neurologist Martha] Herbert, “one that can include behavior, cognition, sensorimotor, gut, immune, brain, and endocrine [hormone] abnormalities. These are ongoing problems, and they’re not confined just to the brain. I can’t think of it as a coincidence anymore that so many autistic kids have a history of food and airborne allergies, or 20 or 30 ear infections, or eczema, or chronic diarrhea.” …

Herbert likens autism to a hologram: “Everything that fascinates me is in it. It’s got epidemiology, toxicology, philosophy of science, biochemistry, genetics, systems theory, the collapse of the medical system, and the failure of managed care. Each child that walks through my door is a challenge to everything I ever knew, and each child forces me to think outside the box and between categories.” …

… All this marks a Copernican-scale shift in our approach to the disorder. I myself [the article’s author, Jill Neimark] was irresistibly drawn to the subject when viewing an online video of a heavily affected 11-year-old who, after a series of chelation treatments to remove mercury, announced to his mother, “Mom, I’m back from the living dead.” The statement was heartbreaking in its simple eloquence. Mercury chelation, in this particular child’s case, was a near panacea.

Why should you care?

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Researchers from the from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology have found what could be a potentially important link between inflammation and cancer:

[T]he study, published in the January 26 issue of the journal Cell, shows that what scientists thought were two distinct processes in cells—the cells’ normal development and the cells’ response to dangers such as invading organisms—are actually linked. The researchers . . . say that the linkage of these two processes may explain why cancer, which is normal growth and development gone awry, can result from chronic inflammation, which is an out-of-control response to danger.

Here’s a visual depiction of that concept:

Normal dialogue between cell defense and development (left) and chronic inflammation leading to hyperactive developmental signaling that may promote cancer (right). (Credit: Alexander Hoffmann, UCSD)

Specifically, the research team found a protein that is common to both inflammation and cancer development pathways:

[The research] team showed that these pathways are not distinct from one another because they are linked by a protein called p100. They found that inflammation leads to an increase in p100, but that p100 is also used in certain steps in development. Therefore p100 allows communication between inflammation and development.

Importance of Balance

Your body needs some inflammation to fend off invaders (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.), but excessive, chronic inflammation is detrimental and implicated in many chronic conditions (e.g., cancer, diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.). You need a balance.

To be clear, the inflammation I’m referring to is not necessarily visible or felt. It’s not like a red, swollen joint or a scratch on your arm. This inflammation is chronic and low-level, like invisible fires simmering underneath the surface. But over time, this inflammation causes damage to the cells, tissues, and systems of your body, and in turn, leads to the development of disease.

The Role of Nutrition

Nutrition can play an important role in helping to keep inflammation in check. For example:

• Omega-3 fats, as found in fish oil, can help to reduce inflammation. These fats produce substances (prostaglandins) that inhibit inflammation in cells throughout the body.
• Conversely, excess consumption of most Omega-6 fats, as found in vegetables oils, such as the corn and soybean oils used in high amounts in processed and restaurant-prepared foods, can promote the production of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins.
• One Omega-6 fat, gamma linolenic acid (GLA), found in borage, evening primrose, and black currant oils, actually can help to promote the production of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, as well as encourage normal cell death (apoptosis) — a primary process gone awry in cancer.
• Trans fats promote chronic inflammation.
• High sugar and refined grain intake, and the resulting chronically elevated blood glucose and insulin levels, is another primary cause of chronic inflammation.

There are numerous other substances found in both foods and supplements that can help to reduce and/or manage chronic inflammation, including:

• Vitamin D (primary source: sunshine)
• Tumeric
• Ginger
• Boswellia
• And many others …

Avoiding chronic inflammation is one of the most important steps you can take in helping to reduce the risk of developing many chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, arthritis, and more.

Earlier this month, I wrote a post about the potential of curcumin, the yellow pigment found in tumeric, a common ingredient in curry, to protect against cognitive decline and slow the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

A recent study reaffirms curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties and found that it significantly reduced inflammation in rats with rheumatoid arthritis. As the study abstract notes:

Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for inflammatory disorders including arthritis. On the basis of this traditional usage, dietary supplements containing turmeric rhizome and turmeric extracts are also being used in the western world for arthritis treatment and prevention.

To-date, this study has been one of the few in-vivo (in animal or people) studies performed using curcumin.

It’s believed that curcumin inhibits the NF-KappaB inflammation pathway, which acts as the innate immune system’s master-switch. However, the authors of this study, as well as the authors of this review of curcumin’s effects, mention the NF-kappaB inflammatory pathway may be just one of many that curcumin helps to control:

Modern science has revealed that curcumin mediates its effects by modulation of several important molecular targets, including transcription factors (e.g., NF-kappaB, AP-1, Egr-1, beta-catenin, and PPAR-gamma), enzymes (e.g., COX2, 5-LOX, iNOS, and hemeoxygenase-1), cell cycle proteins (e.g., cyclin D1 and p21), cytokines (e.g., TNF, IL-1, IL-6, and chemokines), receptors (e.g., EGFR and HER2), and cell surface adhesion molecules.

Hopefully we’ll see some controlled intervention human studies in the future to provide even better evidence of curcumin’s effects in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, as well as in other diseases with significant inflammatory components, such as inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer.