Category Archives: Uncategorized

If you’re really interested in nutrition, you should be reading Bix regularly:

“Vitamin B12 follows a rather circuitous path to absorption. First, of course, you have to eat it. Then you have to free it from the proteins to which it’s bound, so you need a healthy amount of stomach acid. Stomach acid levels decline as we age. They’re also affected by drugs like antacids which are taken for gastric conditions that occur more frequently in the elderly. Once the vitamin is freed, it must bind to a specific protein called Intrinsic Factor (IF) which is secreted by cells that line the stomach. That’s a major stumbling block right there. Anything that damages those parietal cells will cause outright B12 deficiency. (Some people don’t secrete much IF to begin with.) Like? … Ulcers, tumors, scar tissue from ulcers & tumors, any kind of inflammation or gastritis, alcohol intake, and, naturally, the removal of these cells through weight loss or cancer surgery. Intrinsic Factor also doesn’t bind well in an acidic environment. Remember we needed an acidic environment, a low pH, to release B12 from its protein source? Well, now we need a higher pH, about 7, for binding. The pancreas releases buffers to raise the pH of gastric juice. Anything that interferes with pancreatic secretion (diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis, etc.) will interfere with B12 absorption. Right, now the IF-B12 complex travels to the small intestine where it’s absorbed. B12 needs to be freed from IF. The pancreas would have secreted enzymes to do that. No enzymes? Poor absorption. Finally it gets absorbed. Any damage to the lower part of the small intestine (celiac disease or other gluten-induced damage, cancer surgery, scar tissue, overrun by bacteria from the colon) will result in poor B12 absorption.”

Source: Repost: The Case For Taking A B12 Supplement | Fanatic Cook

BTW, Bix seems to be a vegetarian or vegan, but don’t hold that against him.

Like many folks, ItsTheWooo ain’t happy about it:

“Now, if you search my blog tags, you guys will know i’ve experimented, and very much benefit from kratom.  I’ve been using kratom for 2 years and counting, and i consider it really a healing substance, that transformed my life considerably. . Kratom has been a very valuable herb to me, which helps my mood and assists my sleep, helps my body regulate weight, and is generally a relaxing pleasant addition to my regimen.The first year i found it, the kratom was so effective it felt like a magical cure. There was greater happiness in my experience of life – it made me happier days after a dose, it kept fall depression completely at bay, and finding it in late august 2 years ago it was as if the summer did not end. It also stopped my brain, made the “noise” go away, let me sleep normally. Kratom seemed to normalize my body rhythm – i woke the same time every day, i slept the same every day. Upon finding kratom , my mood , sleep, everything got so much better; it even helped cure residual “eating problems” , eating became much easier and residual dieting/monitoring behaviors vanished.Work became much easier – the constant struggle with thoughts of people’s intents died down considerably. I could peacefully exist w/o this internal dialogue of suspicion. I performed vastly better at work as a result of kratom resolving these thought issues, as i could interact more normally with coworkers vs “coping” with my thoughts.”

Source: *The Scribble Pad*: Personal update + Kratom discussion (The unethical DEA tramples civil , human rights)

As a hospitalist, I see lots of accidental and intentional drug overdoses and adverse drug effects. But I’ve never seen a patient with an adverse effect from kratom. I’ve never even run across a patient who mentioned taking it.

From the Science-Based Medicine blog:

“Overweight and obesity are also diseases of modern civilization which is [sic] characterized by abundance and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Further, the food industry is driven by market forces which favor tasty foods, which often means being high in fat and/or sugar.

The public, understandably, simply wants to know what diet is optimal for reducing cardiovascular risk and maintaining a healthy weight. Ironically, we already have the answer, in my opinion, at least the “90% answer.”

I also think that most people know the answer – engage in regular exercise and eat a moderate varied diet with plenty of vegetables. If you do that you are most of the way to an optimal diet, and all the controversy is essentially over that last few percentage points of minimizing risk by optimizing diet.

The people who seem to have the highest stake in those last few percent are the self-help industry and the various food industries. The self-help industry want to sell you the optimal diet, and so they have a vested interest in coming up with some diet schtick and selling it – the Atkins diet, the Zone diet, the South Beach diet, etc.The one diet that seems to have the most science behind it is the Mediterranean diet. That is probably because it is a moderate diet, nothing extreme.”

Source: Sugar Industry Research « Science-Based Medicine

From the FDA:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final rule establishing that over-the-counter (OTC) consumer antiseptic wash products containing certain active ingredients can no longer be marketed. Companies will no longer be able to market antibacterial washes with these ingredients because manufacturers did not demonstrate that the ingredients are both safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of certain infections. Some manufacturers have already started removing these ingredients from their products.

This final rule applies to consumer antiseptic wash products containing one or more of 19 specific active ingredients, including the most commonly used ingredients – triclosan and triclocarban. These products are intended for use with water, and are rinsed off after use.  This rule does not affect consumer hand “sanitizers” or wipes, or antibacterial products used in health care settings.

“Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). “In fact, some data suggests that antibacterial ingredients may do more harm than good over the long-term.”

Source: Press Announcements > FDA issues final rule on safety and effectiveness of antibacterial soaps

But it does seem to help with snoring, daytime sleepiness, and quality of life.

From MedPageToday:

“Treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) did not reduce risk of recurrent coronary or cerebrovascular events, the randomized SAVE trial showed.

For people with coronary or cerebrovascular disease, treatment of moderate-to-severe OSA showed no advantage over usual care for the composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or transient ischemic attack.”

Source: ESC: CPAP Flops for Secondary CV Prevention | Medpage Today

An article on the life and times of George Bray:

“With unparalleled resources to support basic science and clinical research, George [Bray] led research teams at Pennington Biomedical that have had a major influence on modern assumptions about the biology of obesity. The first major study in this category was the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, study. Pennington Biomedical and four other nutrition research leading centers initiated a feeding study that tested dietary patterns for effects on blood pressure. Given the hypothesis that magnesium, calcium, potassium, and fiber would have salutatory effects on blood pressure, the study tested increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables and low-fat dairy products as sources of these factors. It produced clinically significant reductions of blood pressure in men and women of all ethnic groups (9). Because the dietary pattern translates into an easily understood public health message, the DASH diet has been considered one of the best diets in America and is recommended by most national guidelines.”

Source: George A. Bray, MD: Progress in Obesity—Multidisciplinary Research, Multidimensional Man | Diabetes Care

“Children and adolescents should consume no more than 25 grams of added sugars a day, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA).

The statement in Circulation addresses the health concerns in young children and adolescents as a result of consumption of added sugars, such as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, and insulin resistance leading to type 2 diabetes.”

Source: AHA: Restrict Kids to 25 Grams or Less of Daily Added Sugar | Medpage Today