Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Improves Psoriasis

Posted on March 4, 2020 | Comments Off on Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Improves Psoriasis

What an odd study I found…

Abstract

Objectives

Very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been associated with a significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue and ketone bodies likely possessing anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the efficacy of an aggressive WL [weight loss] program with a ketogenic induction phase as first-line treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis.

Research methods & procedures

Adult overweight/obese drug-naïve (never treated excluding use of topical emollients) patients (N=37; 30% males; age, 43.1±13.8 years) with stable chronic plaque psoriasis underwent a 10-week two-phase WL program consisting in a 4-week protein-sparing, VLCKD (<500 kcal/day; 1.2 grams of protein/kg of ideal body weight/day) and a 6-week balanced, hypocaloric (25-30 kcal/kg of ideal body weight/day), Mediterranean-like diet. The primary endpoint was the reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) at week 10. Major secondary endpoints included: PASI50 and PASI75 response, reduction in body surface area (BSA) involved, improvement in itch severity (visual-analogue scale) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) at week 10.

Results

With a mean body weight reduction of 12.0% (-10.6 kg), dietary intervention resulted in a significant reduction in PASI (baseline score, 13.8±6.9 [range, 7-32]): mean change, -10.6 [95%CI, -12.8 to -8.4] (P<0.001). A PASI50 and PASI75 response was recorded in 36 (97.3%) and 24 (64.9%) patients, respectively. Treatment resulted also in a significant reduction (P<0.001) in BSA [body surface area?]  involved (-17.4%) and an improvement in itch severity (-33.2 points) and DLQI (-13.4 points).

Conclusions

In drug-naïve adult overweight patients with stable chronic plaque psoriasis an aggressive dietary WL program consisting in a very low-calorie ketogenic regimen followed by a balanced, hypocaloric Mediterranean-like diet appeared to be an efficacious first-line strategy for improving disease severity.

Source: Aggressive weight loss program with a ketogenic induction phase for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis: a proof-of-concept, single-arm, open label clinical trial – ScienceDirect

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: My book includes both a ketogenic diet and hypocaloric Mediterranean diet. But I don’t ask you to reduce calories to less than 500/day!

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

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QOTD: James Thompson on Coronavirus Counter-Measures

Posted on March 3, 2020 | Comments Off on QOTD: James Thompson on Coronavirus Counter-Measures

If life is an IQ test, then dealing with pandemics is a high-priority item. Getting the right answer may save your life, so test-taking motivation ought to be high.

At first glance, the answer is obvious: avoid ill people, and if in doubt, avoid people. That ought to do it. Stay quietly in a room until the whole thing blows over. If you have the means, that room should be guarded on either side by fires. Such was the advice the Pope received during the Great Pestilence, and following it saved his life. Not everyone can afford such luxurious protection, but the principles are clear: since there must be a means of transmission, a blazing fire is likely to consume the noxious agent, whatever it is. As for visitors, they are to be kept away, preferably in a guarded place, like the ship they came in, moored at a safe distance for forty days, the Venetian quaranta giorni which worked well to protect them. Those inland principalities which harshly confined plague victims to die with their families in their bricked-up houses were able to save their other citizens. Tough governance. Forty days in the wilderness and the whole thing is over.

                                                         – James Thompson

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NO: Are medical errors really the third most common cause of death in the U.S.?

Posted on March 2, 2020 | Comments Off on NO: Are medical errors really the third most common cause of death in the U.S.?

Hospitals are notorious for iatrogenic deaths

From Dr Gorski at Science Based Medicine (and he’s right):

I say this at the beginning of nearly every post that I write on this topic, but it bears repeating. It is an unquestioned belief among believers in alternative medicine and even just among many people who do not trust conventional medicine that conventional medicine kills. Not only does exaggerating the number of people who die due to medical complications or errors fit in with the world view of people like Gary Null and Joe Mercola, but it’s good for business. After all, if conventional medicine is as dangerous as claimed, then the quackery peddled by the likes of Adams and Mercola starts looking better in comparison. Unfortunately, there are a number of academics more than willing to provide quacks with inflated estimates of deaths due to medical error. The most famous of these is Dr. Martin Makary of Johns Hopkins University, who published a review (not an original study, as those citing his estimates like to claim) estimating that the number of preventable deaths due to medical error is between 250,000 and 400,000 a year, thus cementing the common (and false) trope that “medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US” into the public consciousness and thereby doing untold damage to public confidence in medicine. As I pointed out at the time, if this estimate were correct, it would mean that between 35% and 56% of all in-hospital deaths are due to medical error and that medical error causes between 10% and 15% of all deaths in the US. The innumeracy that is required to believe such estimates beggars the imagination.

Source: Are medical errors really the third most common cause of death in the U.S.? (2020 edition) – Science-Based Medicine

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Minimize your risk of iatrogenic death by getting and staying as healthy as possible. Let me help!

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

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Posted in Longevity

Household Coronavirus Preparation

Posted on February 27, 2020 | 2 comments

Hazmat-suited healthcare worker in a decontamination shower

I hadn’t been too concerned about coronavirus (COVID-19), but then I read about quarantined towns in northern Italy. I’m still not terribly worried for my own health, even if I end up treating cases at the hospital. I’m 65—a risk factor for viral death—but otherwise healthy, thank God! There’s still a good chance this will blow over and not affect the U.S. in a major way.

BUT…

If coronavirus becomes an epidemic in the U.S., you will want to be prepared. You’ll want to avoid unnecessary contact with others, especially if you’re over 65 or have significant chronic medical conditions like heart disease, COPD, asthma, active cancer, impaired liver or kidney function, or a poor immune system (e.g, cancer chemotherapy).

If your city or neighborhood is quarantined, will supply trucks be allowed through the checkpoints? Will drivers be willing to enter the quarantine zone? I’ve started to call Wal-Mart, “China-Mart.” Because is it seems like at least half the goods there are made in China. China’s industrial output has already been reduced by the coronavirus epidemic there. A significant number of prescription drugs in the U.S. depend on a healthy China.

Post-viral apocalypse? Raccoon City?

A severe coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. might mean you need to hunker down at home, or close to it, for one or two months. So consider stocking up on the following items to last for 4–6 weeks. The good new is, you’ll eventually use most of this anyway.

  • various foods with a long shelf-life
  • face masks (you’re too late; this ship has already sailed)
  • toilet paper
  • paper towels
  • over-the-counter cold and flu remedies
  • acetaminophen
  • ibuprofen
  • throat lozenges
  • antiseptic wipes
  • toothpaste
  • a multivitamin
  • hand sanitizer
  • facial tissues
  • important prescription medicines (you may need to call your doctor for a three-month supply)
  • body soap
  • dishwashing and clothing detergents
  • feminine hygeine products
  • household cleaning products

Have I missed anything?

Steve Parker, M.D.

Update on March 3, 2020: hand sanitizer (60+% alcohol)

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

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Posted in Coronavirus

What’s the Best Diet to Combat Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)?

Posted on February 26, 2020 | Comments Off on What’s the Best Diet to Combat Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)?

Stages of liver damage. Healthy, fatty, liver fibrosis, and finally cirrhosis

A recent article in Gastroenterology Clinics suggests this one:

•Prioritize intact starches such as brown rice, quinoa, and steel-cut oats, and limit or avoid refined starches such as white bread and white rice

•Replace some of the CHO [carbohydrate], especially refined CHO, in the diet with additional protein from a mixture of animal or vegetable sources, including chicken, fish, cheese, tofu, and pulses

•Include a variety of bioactive compounds in the diet by consuming fruits, vegetables, coffee, tea, nuts, seeds, and extra virgin olive oil

•Get most fat from unsaturated sources, such as olive oil (ideally extra virgin), rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, or nuts and seeds

•Limit or avoid added sugars, whether sucrose, fructose, maltose, maltodextrin, or any syrups. If any of these words appear in the first 3–5 ingredients of any food item, it is best to avoid that item and choose a no-sugar version instead. Examples are yogurts and commercial cereals•In particular, avoid liquid sugar such as carbonated sugary drinks/sodas, lemonade, any juices, smoothies, and added sugar to tea and coffee

Source: Nutrition and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease – Gastroenterology Clinics

See the article for a typical daily menu. Looks like a Mediterranean diet to me.

Excessive fructose and saturated fatty acid consumption appear to be particularly harmful to the liver.

The authors also seem to endorse exercise: 150 t0 300 minutes per week of moderate- to vigorous intensity aerobics exercise, performed at least thrice weekly.

And all experts recommend loss of excess fat weight.

If you really want to get into the weeds, click the link above to read about how fat deposits in liver and muscle lead to metabolic inflexibility, resulting in insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction, which alters lipid metabolism, releasing free fatty acids (some of which are lipotoxic), leading to lipotoxic molecules (like ceramides), causing inflammation and fibrosis.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

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Posted in Liver Disease

Despite $10,000 per person per year, U.S. still  not getting its money’s worth in healthcare

Posted on February 22, 2020 | Comments Off on Despite $10,000 per person per year, U.S. still  not getting its money’s worth in healthcare

From UPI Jan. 31, 2020:

Despite spending far more on health care than other wealthy nations, the United States has the lowest life expectancy and the highest suicide rate, new research shows.

For the study, researchers at The Commonwealth Fund compared the United States with 10 other high-income nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)—Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom—and with the average for all 36 OECD nations.

In 2018, the United States spent almost 17 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare. That’s more than any other high-income country and twice the overall OECD average. For example, New Zealand and Australia spent 9 percent of GDP on healthcare.

U.S. healthcare spending now tops $10,000 per person, and much of it is driven by private insurance costs such as premiums, according to The Commonwealth Fund report published online Jan. 30.

Source: U.S. health stats remain low despite trillions in healthcare spending – UPI.com

The numbers above are outdated. U.S. health care spending grew 4.6 percent in 2018, reaching $3.6 trillion or $11,172 per person.  As a share of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.7 percent.

Click to learn what that money is spent on.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Why not try to avoid healthcare spending by getting and staying as healthy as possible? Let me help now. And for less than $20.

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

 

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Posted in Healthcare Reform

Low-Carb Diet NOT Linked to Psychological Disorders

Posted on February 21, 2020 | Comments Off on Low-Carb Diet NOT Linked to Psychological Disorders

…at least in Iranians. From Nutrition Journal:

Adherence to the low carbohydrate diet, which contains high amount of fat and proteins but low amounts of carbohydrates, was not associated with increased odds of psychological disorders including depression, anxiety and psychological distress. Given the cross-sectional nature of the study which cannot reflect causal relationships, longitudinal studies, focusing on types of macronutrients, are required to clarify this association.

Source: Adherence to low carbohydrate diet and prevalence of psychological disorders in adults | Nutrition Journal | Full Text

At Longhorn Steakhouse in Amarillo, TX

I’d have been surprised if the researchers did find a linkage. But you don’t know for sure until y0u do the science.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

 

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Posted in Low-Carb Eating

QOTD: Is Blogging Dead?

Posted on February 20, 2020 | Comments Off on QOTD: Is Blogging Dead?

I’m wondering if the age of blogging is at an end. 12 years ago blogs were the way to express ideas to a wider audience. Twitter and most of the social media we take for granted today was around, but it was certainly less endemic as it is now. Hell, even YouTube was still privately owned back then. If you wanted to build an online media brand you had to really believe in what you were doing to make the effort worthwhile. Blogging has always been a labor of love. That’s especially true today because everyone on social media today is their own Brand of Me. If all you do it curate an Instagram account with no other function than to show off how great a life you live, congratulations, you are your brand. It’s second nature to us now, but it used to take a lot more effort to relate your digital consciousness to an audience. That was what you used to blog for.

-Rollo Tomassi in 2020

Source: Exit Dalrock

PS: All three of my blogs have seen reduced traffic over the last year.

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Posted in QOTD

Tea May Prolong Your Life and Prevent Heart Disease

Posted on February 19, 2020 | Comments Off on Tea May Prolong Your Life and Prevent Heart Disease

One of my favorite green teas

For years we’ve been hearing about the potential longevity and cardiovascular benefits of green tea. If memory serves, most of the data comes from Japanese studies. Now a Chinese observational study finds 15–20% reductions in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and death, compared to non-tea drinkers. Most of the participants drank green tea, and they did so at least thrice weekly.

From the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology:

Using large prospective cohorts among general Chinese adults, we have provided novel evidence on the protective role of tea consumption on ASCVD events and all-cause mortality, especially among those who kept the habit all along. The current study indicates that tea might be a healthy beverage for primary prevention against ASCVD and premature death.

Source: Tea consumption and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: The China-PAR project – Xinyan Wang, Fangchao Liu, Jianxin Li, Xueli Yang, Jichun Chen, Jie Cao, Xigui Wu, Xiangfeng Lu, Jianfeng Huang, Ying Li, Liancheng Zhao, Chong Shen, Dongsheng Hu, Ling Yu, Xiaoqing Liu, Xianping Wu, Shouling Wu, Dongfeng Gu,

The researchers point out that results may not apply to non-Chinese populations.

Steve Parker, M.D.

h/t to Jan at The Low Carb Diabetic (click link for more details about the study)

Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords. com.

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Posted in green tea, Heart Disease, Longevity

U.S. Medical Care Costs Rose 4.6% in 2019

Posted on February 16, 2020 | Comments Off on U.S. Medical Care Costs Rose 4.6% in 2019

…compared to 2.3% for all items in the Consumer Price Index.

Prescription drugs and hospital services each rose 3%. Physician services were up 1.4%.

Somethin’s gotta give.

 

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Posted in Healthcare Reform