CSAMM - Canadian Society for Aging and Metabolic Medicine

From the IFM - Institute for Functional Medicine
: Phthalates May Increase Metabolic Syndrome Risk

According to the CDC, between 1980 and 2014, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes increased fourfold, from 5.5 million to 22 million. A recent analysis found that nearly 35% of adults and 50% of people over the age of 60 had metabolic syndrome.1 Clearly, poor eating and sedentary lifestyles play a role in this shocking rise, but are environmental aspects also implicated?

Recent evidence indicates that environmental exposure to toxins may be contributing to the rise in metabolic dysregulation. One newly identified culprit may be phthalates, the ubiquitous chemicals found in food packaging, toys, perfumes, vinyl floors, and personal care products. These endocrine disruptors have a number of physiological effects, even though their half-life is relatively short. Most people come into contact with phthalates daily and thus have high levels of cumulative exposure over time.

In one study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, 80% of participants had detectable levels of phthalate metabolites in their urine.2 For adults in the study, increased levels of phthalate metabolites were correlated with increased obesity, waist circumference, and BMI.2 Now, a new study has found that increased levels of phthalate metabolites correlated with increased odds of metabolic syndrome, even after controlling for several lifestyle and demographic factors (age, s*x, race/ethnicity, total caloric intake, education, physical activity, smoking, and poverty level).3 S*x differences were observed, where different phthalate metabolites were associated with increased risk for men (DEHP) and for pre-menopausal women (MBzP).3

Research into the effects of low-dose, long-term, cumulative exposure to toxicants is still an emerging field, hampered by practical limitations.4 In one analysis of 85 common chemicals, 59% were found to have low-dose effects that could cumulatively lead to metabolic dysregulation and/or cancer.5 Environmental factors like sunlight, radiation, temperature, and infectious disease can also alter the toxicity of various compounds.6 Genetic variations enhance or inhibit an individual’s ability to process and eliminate toxins, and nutrition and lifestyle can improve or detract from natural detoxification capability. A range of endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been linked to type 2 diabetes, and the cumulative ‘cocktail’ effect of daily exposure to many endocrine disruptors may be raising risks of cardiometabolic issues higher than currently estimated.7

Methods for assessing cumulative toxic burden may offer insights into how to reverse and prevent toxicant-mediated illness.8 Assessing environmental factors like toxicants and helping patients to reduce their exposure has enormous potential, but few clinicians are applying this scientific knowledge and emerging research to their patients.9

https://www.theconnection.tv/

The Connection: Mind Your Body A feature documentary that uncovers the latest science in mind-body medicine and proves we have more to say about our own health than we thought possible.

How emotions cause disease and illness How to safely and effortlessly release negative emotions to heal your illness and heal your life

Stroke patients with low vitamin D levels were found to be more likely than those with normal vitamin D levels to suffer severe strokes and have poor health months after stroke, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2015.

Low vitamin D has been associated in past studies with neurovascular injury (damage to the major blood vessels supplying the brain, brainstem, and upper spinal cord).

"Many of the people we consider at high risk for developing stroke have low vitamin D levels. Understanding the link between stroke severity and vitamin D status will help us determine if we should treat vitamin D deficiency in these high-risk patients," said Nils Henninger, M.D., senior study author and assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worchester.

Henninger and colleagues studied whether low blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a marker of vitamin D status, is predictive of ischemic stroke severity and poor health after stroke in 96 stroke patients treated between January 2013 and January 2014 at a U.S. hospital.

They found:

Overall, patients who had low vitamin D levels -defined as less than 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) -- had about two-times larger areas of dead tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply compared to patients with normal vitamin D levels.

This association was similar among patients who suffered lacunar strokes (in which the small, intricate arteries of the brain are affected) and patients with non-lacunar strokes (such as those caused by carotid disease or by a clot that originated elsewhere in the body).

For each 10 ng/mL reduction in vitamin D level, the chance for healthy recovery in the three months following stroke decreased by almost half, regardless of the patient's age or initial stroke severity.

"It's too early to draw firm conclusions from our small study, and patients should discuss the need for vitamin D supplementation with their physician," Henninger said. "However, the results do provide the impetus for further rigorous investigations into the association of vitamin D status and stroke severity. If our findings are replicated, the next logical step may be to test whether supplementation can protect patients at high risk for stroke."

Limitations of the study include that most of the participants were Caucasian and the results might not fully translate to other ethnic groups.

Co-authors are Anya Turetsky, M.D., and Richard P. Goddeau, D.O.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by American Heart Association. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Salmon caught near Seattle proven to be inundated with antidepressants, co***ne and more Salmon caught near Seattle proven to be inundated with antidepressants, co***ne and more

Brain Maker - Discover the power of gut bacteria, the human microbiome Discover the potent interplay between good gut bacteria and the brain, describing how the microbiome develops from birth and evolves based on lifestyle choices.