Brain Shrinkage in Older Adults Proven with the Use of Anticholinergic Drugs such as Ranitidine- JAMA

Indiana University School of Medicine published a study in JAMA Neurology  which showed brain shrinkage and larger ventricles on MRI's of the brains of persons taking commonly used drugs called anticholinergics and cognitive impairment more so than those who took no anticholinergic medications. These anticholinergics can be found in over the counter medications to treat colds and flu, heartburn and in prescriptions.

Researchers write:The use of anticholinergic (AC) medication is linked to cognitive impairment and an increased risk of dementia. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the association between AC medication use and neuroimaging biomarkers of brain metabolism and atrophy as a proxy for understanding the underlying biology of the clinical effects of AC medications.

They studied 480 older adults mean age of 73 who had no cognitive impairment and followed them for an average of 32 months.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers used PETs, a type of scan, to measure brain metabolism, MRI's to scan brain structure, and a series of cognitive and memory tests.

The Researchers  conclude:

The use of AC medication was associated with increased brain atrophy and dysfunction and clinical decline. Thus, use of AC medication among older adults should likely be discouraged if alternative therapies are available.

From ScienceDaily:

Drugs with anticholinergic effects are sold over the counter and by prescription as sleep aids and for many chronic diseases including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A list of anticholinergic drugs and their potential impact [called an ACB score]is at http://www.agingbraincare.org/uploads/products/ACB_scale_-_legal_size.pdf.

Scientists have linked anticholinergic drugs cognitive problems among older adults for at least 10 years. A 2013 study by scientists at the IU Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute found that drugs with a strong anticholinergic effect cause cognitive problems when taken continuously for as few as 60 days. Drugs with a weaker effect could cause impairment within 90 days.

The current research project involved 451 participants, 60 of whom were taking at least one medication with medium or high anticholinergic activity. The participants were drawn from a national Alzheimer's research project -- the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative -- and the Indiana Memory and Aging Study.

As noted at Aging Brain Care.org: (my bold)

- each definite anticholinergic may increase the risk of cognitive impairment by 46% over 6 years. (1)

- for each on point increase in the ACB total score [see the link which explains how to do this addition], a decline in MMSE (memory test) score of 0.33 points  [out of a total of 30] over 2 years has been suggested. This means if you take 3 drugs with an ACB score of 1 and one drug with an ACB score of 3, your total ACB score is 6 and your risk over 2 years time is the loss of 2 points off the MMSE (memory) test, which is a very large drop in cognitive function. (2)

- additionally, each one point increase in the ACB total score has been correlated with a 26% increase in the risk of death.  Anticholinergics not only affect your brain but your whole body. 4 

In conclusion: Older adults might want to avoid using a class of drugs commonly used in over-the-counter products such as nighttime cold medicines, heartburn medicines or allergy medicines due to their links to cognitive impairment. 

And you may want to talk to your doctor if you are over 65 and you are on one or more of the anticholinergic prescription drugs listed in the list at this link.




References:

1. Campbell N, Boustani M, Lane K, et al. Use of anticholinergics and the risk of cognitive impairment in an AfricanAmerican population. Neurology. 2010;75:152-159. 

2. Fox C, Richardson K, Maidment I, et al. Anticholinergic medication use and cognitive impairment in the older population: the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 2011; 59(8): 1477-1483.

The Gut:Brain Connection. Educate Yourself About GMO's Through the Institute for Responsible Technology

IRT brochures have a brand new design.

So many people ask us “what can I do to stop GMOs?” The first thing is always to educate yourself. The next step is to share the information.

IRT’s new brochures are a great way to let others know about the health risks of GMOs and how to avoid them.

Did you know that 1000s of doctors like pediatrician, Michelle Perro, M.D., D. Hom., are now prescribing non-GMO diets for their patients?

As a practicing clinician, Dr. Perro has witnessed the decline of children’s health in the last two decades especially gastrointestinal dysfunction, which often manifested as neurocognitive disorders.

Use our brochures to start a conversation about GMOs.

Available at near cost in small quantities.

Click HERE to order.



Institute for Responsible Technology
PO Box 469 - Fairfield IA 52556
641-209-1765 info@responsibletechnology.org

Also see my previous articles on GMO's. 

http://celiacbrain.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-future-of-agriculture-dr-thierry.html

http://celiacbrain.blogspot.ca/2014/12/more-gmo-news-russia-announces-ban-on.html

http://celiacbrain.blogspot.ca/2014/10/nestle-sustainability-champion-gm-food.html

http://celiacbrain.blogspot.ca/2014/07/why-should-i-avoid-gmos.html

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara

Do Yourself a Favour! Sauna on a Biweekly Basis to Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Death!

Sauna: what is the risk of cardiovascular death?


Whether you have a diagnosis of celiac or gluten sensitivity or not, it is a good idea to use a sauna. FIR sauna is the sauna I recommend but if you are not used to doing sauna, start off slow with perhaps only 5 to ten minutes. And always get out of the sauna the minute you don't feel well. Prepare with a drink of electrolytes and have another glass of electrolytes part way through or after the sauna to replace the electrolytes.


Researchers asked the question: what is the risk of cardiovascular death with regular use of sauna?



Monday 16 May 2016


The regular practice of sauna by middle-aged men, depending on the number of sessions per week and/or their duration (dose response relationship [DRR]) is associated in the long-term, as concerns cardiovascular (CV) death, with:

Select an answer
1. Decreased risk, without DRR
2. Decreased risk, with DRR
3. Increased risk, without DRR
4. Increased risk, with DRR


Correct. The correct answer is: 2. Decreased risk, with DRR

Commented answer



The result is based on the prospective monitoring for nearly 21 years of a cohort of 2,315 Finnish men initially aged 42 to 60 years old. The CV death was defined as sudden cardiac death, a fatal coronary heart disease or another fatal CV event. After adjustment for CV risk factors, the average number of saunas in a week (1; 2 to 3; 4 to 7) and their average duration (11 min; 11-19 min. > 19 min.) were inversely correlated with the risk of CV death. The reduction of all-cause mortality was also inversely correlated with the frequency of sessions, but not with their duration.


Source: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2130724

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara

Intermittent Fasting, or Eating Less Frequently Helps Reset Your Body to Burn Fat for Fuel

Best Ever Pumpkin pie made with coconut oil

In a few days I will have been intermittent fasting everyday for two years and I have gained the benefits of it. It is so easy to do. I am particularly pleased with the result of less muscle wasting or maintaining the muscles I have while I exercise less than I did before (sparing my adrenal function) and now do about three hours a week. I have a flatter belly too.

You can see from the photo that I eat well not just on special occasions but everyday. If you are curious the recipe for this easy Paleo, dairy free pie is here.  

If you have hypoglycemia or other signs of insulin resistance or high blood sugars, or are needing to lose weight you should consider not only what you eat but also when you eat. You should consider intermittent fasting. With one exception, those with adrenal failure, and in this case you should discuss intermittent fasting with your doctor.

We as a society are eating too frequently. Fasting seems to be a natural detoxifier and also has the job of cleaning up our bodies of damaged cells. This process is called autophagy.


Intermittent fasting sounds scary before you try it but it's really easy compared to the alternatives. Find your starting point which might only be 9 hours of fasting and work your way up to 14 to 15 hours of fasting. Find the style that works for you. For me skipping breakfast works. Some people skip supper. If you get really hungry eat some coconut oil right off the spoon or in some hot water, clear tea or "black" coffee.


Dr. Mercola explains what's so great about intermittent fasting here. Read the whole thing, because intermittent fasting could change your whole life. Below is an excerpt:

 Peak Fasting May Be the U-Turn You've Been Looking For (my comments in blue and my highlight of important findings)

The vast majority of Americans are overweight and most would therefore benefit from intermittent fasting for a period of time. (Adrenal-fatigued individuals are perhaps an exception to this rule). When done correctly, you will inevitably lose weight and your insulin and leptin receptor sensitivity will be optimized, which is really important for optimal health. Fasting also:

-Decreases the accumulation of oxidative radicals in your cells, thereby preventing oxidative damage to cellular proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids associated with aging and disease.

-Raises human growth hormone. Research7 has shown fasting can raise HGH by as much as 1,300 percent in women, and 2,000 percent in men, which plays an important part in health, fitness and slowing the aging process. HGH is also a fat-burning hormone, which is another reason why fasting is so effective for weight loss.(in my opinion nothing works  better than intermittent fasting to elevate human growth hormone levels and I have tried other remedies with little sustained results)

-Inhibits the mTOR pathway, which plays an important part in driving the aging process by increasing mitophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis.( and the end result is to prevent muscle wasting, which is important at any age, but especially if you are over 65. And anti-aging) 

If you decide to attempt intermittent fasting, be sure to pay careful attention to hypoglycemic signs and symptoms, and if you suspect that you're crashing, make sure to eat something, like coconut oil. I do not recommend fasting if you're living with chronic stress (adrenal fatigue), or have cortisol dysregulation. Pregnant or nursing mothers should also avoid fasting, as your baby needs plenty of nutrients during and after birth, and there's no research supporting fasting during this important time.

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara

84 Signs You May Have Celiac Disease from GreenMedInfo

Think you may have celiac disease? Here’s a list of 84 common symptoms of those living with celiac. Signs and symptoms listed in red were mentioned the most often. 

84 Signs You May Have Celiac Disease from GreenMedInfo

Thanks to Sayer Ji of GreenMedTV.

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara

The Science Behind My Recommendation to do GAPS, Intermittent Fasting and 3 Hours of Exercise a Week!

I support lifestyle changes to promote wellness. Those with gluten sensitivity should not eat grains. All people get a leaky gut from wheat and wheat products. 
A healthy way to eat is the Gut and Psychology Syndrome protocol, a modern version of the specific carbohydrate diet that has been around over 80 years.It hits all the points in nutrition and has answers to solve symptom complexes. We all hit lows like diarrhea, or eczema.  

I also recommend intermittent fasting, meditation daily and 3 hours of exercise a week. There is a lot of science to back these recommendations up. It is not that easy to do in our busy modern lives. We all need encouragement. 

Autophagy is a term used to describe one way to clean up and repair. Our health is determined by maximizing the building up of our brains and bodies, and the maintenance of it by cleaning up. 


From Dr. Mercola:
" By activating your body’s autophagy process, you dampen inflammation, slow down the aging process, and optimize biological function
Three ways to do that are eating a high-fat, low non-fiber carb diet, intermittently fasting, and getting regular exercise, especially high intensity exercise"

Read the whole article on Autophagy here. It should encourage you to follow a clean diet, based on vegetables, healthy oils from coconut oil, real virgin olive oil, or pastured butter, and protein from healthy sources. I have found intermittent fasting invaluable.  Oh, and baby the healthy microbiome and treat it right. All these lifestyle basics are worth the trouble. 

To Your Health
Dr. Barbara

Eating Regular Gluten Free Food puts you at Risk of Insulin Resistance! The Ultimate Guide by Kris Gunnars

When eating regular gluten free food, you may be thinking you are being healthy because after all you are not eating gluten. However, the non gluten flours such as rice, soy, corn, potatoe or tapioca have a big impact on the production of insulin in the digestive process of these carbohydrates. With daily high levels of insulin, your body starts to get deaf to insulin, which we call insulin resistance, and insulin can't do it's job of taking glucose out of the blood stream and using it. So blood glucose levels start to inch up. 

The results are that you store more of the glucose in the form of fat, if the level is high enough one may get the diagnosis of diabetes, ones risks for stroke and heart attacks go up. 

And it's bad for the brain too where studies have shown links between high blood sugar and anxiety and in later years, memory disorders. Alzheimer's is called type 3 diabetes because of the strong link to chronically high blood sugar levels and its diagnosis. 

The metabolic impact of insulin resistance is another reason I recommend a specific carbohydrate diet which has carbs that are known to have a low influence on insulin production and can reverse insulin resistance.  The one I recommend is Gut and Psychology syndrome protocol. 

Learn a little bit more about insulin and insulin resistance from Authority Nutrition. The excerpt here describes the situation when things are going well. Read the full article for the usual situation happening earlier and earlier in life. You know you don't have insulin resistance if as a woman your waist is 30 inches or less, and as a man your waist is below 34 inches. 

The size of your waist is linked to how healthy you are, and it is probably the best indicator of future health. 


http://authoritynutrition.com/insulin-and-insulin-resistance/Insulin and Insulin Resistance – The Ultimate Guide (my bold)
By Kris Gunnars, BSc August, 2015
35,845 views

Insulin is an important hormone that controls many processes in the body.However, problems with this hormone are at the heart of many modern health conditions.Sometimes our cells stop responding to insulin like they are supposed to.This condition is termed insulin resistance, and is incredibly common.

In fact, a 2002 study showed that 32.2% of the US population may be insulin resistant (1).

This number may rise to 70% in obese adult women and over 80% in some patient groups (2, 3). About a third of obese children and teenagers may also have insulin resistance (4).

These numbers are scary, but the good news is that insulin resistance can be dramatically improved with simple lifestyle measures.This article explains what insulin resistance is, why you should care and how you can overcome it.

Insulin and Insulin Resistance Explained

Insulin is a hormone secreted by an organ called the pancreas.Its main role is to regulate the amount of nutrients circulating in the bloodstream.Although insulin is mostly implicated in blood sugar management, it also affects fat and protein metabolism.When we eat a meal that contains carbohydrates, the amount of blood sugar in the bloodstream increases.This is sensed by the cells in the pancreas, which then release insulin into the blood.Then insulin travels around the bloodstream, telling the body’s cells that they should pick up sugar from the blood.

This leads to reduced amounts of sugar in the blood, and puts it where it is intended to go, into the cells for use or storage.

In conclusion, I recommend eating foods that have a low glycemic load and the list of those foods can be found at www.gaps.me and the full protocol in Dr. Natasha Campbell MacBride's book. It is based in scientific investigations going back to at least the 30's. 

Foods that are allowed but have higher amounts of fructose, like dates, have to be limited or you will get the insulin resistance problems. 

It is a delicious way to eat. 

The drawback is that it is mostly cooked at home from scratch. For those who don't cook or bake there are good resources online such as  The Heal Your Gut Cookbook found here http://www.amazon.ca/The-Heal-Your-Cookbook-Nutrient-Dense/dp/1603585613 or

www.comfybelly.com or 

www.elanaspantry.com (not everyone can or should eat chocolate which is not allowed in GAPS).

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara