Nutrition, Lifestyle and Fitness Choices -> Our Health and Degenerative Diseases
Lyle MacWilliam, an expert in supplementation and nutrition is an author, educator, nutritional science consultant and biochemist. Having worked with Health Canada and the FDA, he is now serving as a public advocate for the natural healthcare industry.
He has written and compiled all four editions of “the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements” as well as “the Comparative Guide to Children’s Nutritionals”. Packed with the latest findings on oxidative stress, inflammation and degenerative disease, “the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements” is a great source of information for anyone serious about optimal health, nutrition and anti-aging defence.
Lyle MacWilliam delivered a very informative presentation on how choices we make with respect to nutrition, lifestyle and fitness influence our ability to contract degenerative diseases. The discussion on the degenerative disease processes led to a discussion about the importance of supplementation and concluded with a synopsis of what makes a great multivitamin.
The key points of his presentation are outlined below. By reading them, you will arm yourself with the knowledge and the latest scientific information relating to supplementation so that you can make the best choices for your health and the health of those you care about.
Causes of Diseases Today
The world we live in is characterized by:
1) Fast Food and Obesity
• living in a fast-paced world, many meals are eaten outside the home and with there is a heavy reliance on nutrient-poor and calorie-rich convenience foods
• in a study of African-American children, 50% of their caloric intake comes from fast food (British Journal of Nutrition 2000)
• in a USDA analysis of food intake (1965-1996), there was a 30% decrease in milk consumption, a steep rise in soft drink consumption, and an increase in vegetable consumption (primarily due increased French fried potato consumption)
• we’re eating larger (super sized) portions.
A cup of disease = 1 fast food meal = 3 days worth of bad fat intake
Example: Fried Chicken- 3 pcs = 51 grams (12.5 tsp) fat
French Fries (Super size) = 24 grams (6 tsp) fat
Cream-Filled Donut = 22 grams (6 tsp) fat
Butter Pecan Ice Cream = 50 grams (12.5 tsp) fat
Extra Large Cola =108 grams (1/2 cup) fat
Total Fat Content 255 grams or 3 day intake of BAD fat!
• The US is becoming obese with 60% of adults – overweight to obese and 37% of adolescence – overweight to obese
• Obese is defined using the Body Mass Index (BMI-ratio of weight to height squared)
o people with a BMI > 25 or a belt-line > than 39” (men) and 35” (women) have 4X the risk of heart disease
o A BMI of 25 is border line and over 30 is clinically obese.
• obesity costs America $117 billion per annum and is poised to overtake smoking as the largest contributor to premature death.
• adult mortality due to obesity now exceeds 300,000 people per year.
3 jumbo jets of people dying x 7 days a week x 52 weeks a year
• Canada from 1990 to 2003, there has been a 225% growth in Class 3 Obesity (BMI > 40)
• our children are eating too many of the same foods that are fed to ducks to make ‘foie gras’.
• Fatty liver disease effects 1 out of every 3 kids
• In 1985 there was less than 10% obesity, in 1998, over 15% obesity.
• Why is the increasing prevalence of obesity alarming? Because for every BMI > 21, there is a resulting increased risk of developing degenerative diseases.
58% increase in developing type 2 diabetes,
40% increase in developing cancer, and
22% increase in developing cardiovascular disease
• BMI of > 21 a contributor to disease
• Article in Globe and Mail Nov 1, 07 – poor diet ratchets up cancer
• International Trends- For every $1 the WHO (World Health Organization) spent on improving nutrition, the global food industry spends $500 promoting fast food.
“ Don’t dig your own grave with your own knife and fork.”
2) More Pollution and therefore more toxins
3) Soil that has been depleted of its nutrients
Depleted soils + depleted nutrients = depleted bodies
Obesity and Degenerative Disease
• Key to a healthy life:
o What we do with our bodies
o What we put into our bodies
• obesity is a primary clinical indicator of a body out of metabolic balance and is inversely related to a long and healthy life
• what we put into our body and whether or not we exercise dramatically impact’s whether or not we get degenerative diseases
• Chronic diseases are related to lifestyle and are on the increase (slow onset).
o e.g. osteoporosis is a disease of childhood, slow in onset and chronic in duration
o chronic degenerative disease is a consequence of choices made everyday with respect to diet (healthy vs. fast food), lifestyle (sedentary vs. active) and prevention (build immune defences /detoxify with high quality supplements)
o a chronic disease is a ‘life sentence’. It can be treated, or controlled but rarely cured.
Prevention is the key to change for diseases that are chronic and degenerative
• Choices we make – lifestyle and food
• Must build immune defenses to detoxify as chronic disease = a life sentence. (you cannot unscramble eggs)
• In 2004, 89% of causes of death are related to chronic disease and are preventable or avoidable.
Types of Degenerative Diseases
Cardiovascular Disease- Public Enemy #1
• decade long rise in ischemic heart disease and cardiomyopathy in young adults 15-24 years of age
• alarming 30% increase of same in young women
• a 1998 study reports that heart disease is paediatric in nature
• development of fibrous lesions or plaque begins early on in life:
30% from 16-20 years, 50% from 21-25 years and 75% from 36-39 years
• therefore cardiovascular disease is not a disease of the elderly - it is a disease which is a result of lifestyle choice
The Good News is…
there is a simple equation for prevention
• Blood Homocysteine - an amino acid that is a very aggressive oxidant
• poor diet and lifestyle choices can elevate blood homocysteine levels resulting in increased risk for heart and vascular Disease, diabetes, arthritis, kidney disease, and cancer.
• increased levels are also implicated in several neurological disorders: depression, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s.
• there isn’t a single drug made by pharmaceutical companies that will lower blood homocysteine levels.
• if we don’t have enough B12 or B6, homocysteine levels increase
• Key to Prevention = B6, B12+ Folic Acid = decrease in homocysteine
• CRP (C-Reactive protein) should be below 1 = Clinical marker for heart disease/ N.B. Doctors should be testing for this
“It is critical that we are taking supplements with B12, B6 and folic acid to bring down blood homocysteine levels.”
Cardiovascular Risks
• over 25 million Americans with normal levels of cholesterol are at risk for heart disease due to systemic inflammation
• 70% of individuals who have their 1st heart attack have normal cholesterol
• high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are a principal clinical marker (below 1 is good, less than .5 mg/L means low risk for heart attack)
• if CRP is > than 3 mg/L , risk of heart disease is tripled.
• specificity of CRP in predicting heart disease is extraordinarily high
We need to have our CRP and homocysteine levels checked.
Doctors don’t routinely do this!
Cancer- Public Enemy #2
• cancer is a disease of neglect – a lifestyle disease
• Linus Pauling - “everyone should know that the war on cancer is largely a fraud”
• we need to find methods of preventing this disease rather than trying to cure it.
• epidemiological evidence suggests that most cancers are linked to:
lifestyle choices,
dietary choices, and
exposure to persistent environmental toxins.
• Main culprits are:
smoking,
excessive alcohol consumption,
poor diet
and
lack of regular exercise
• Recommendations:
choose a plant-based diet,
choose a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, eating a full colour spectrum, and
avoid unnecessary risk factors
Stroke- Public Enemy #3
What is a stroke?
• An arterial blockage and blow-out in the brain
• The 3rd leading cause of death in the industrialized world and is a principal cause of disability amongst adults
• stroke/TIA’s (transient ischemic attacks) are a principal factor in late-life dementia
• a recent study revealed that the frequency of stroke is increasing
• 20% of the global burden is caused by low dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables
For each added portion of fruit eaten lowers the risk of stroke by 11%
For each added portion of vegetables eaten lowers the risk of stroke by 3%
Eating 3-5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, reduces the risk of stroke by 26%
• The following diseases could be prevented by a lifestyle change:
90% of osteoporosis
90% of type 2 diabetes
80% of stroke
70% of heart disease
The Three Pillars of Health are Diet, Lifestyle/Exercise, and Prevention
1. Diet
2. Actions
• avoid red meat,
• reduce consumption of dairy products. (milk is not a good source of calcium as there is too much phosphorus. Countries that consume more milk have a higher incidence of osteoporosis), and
• eliminate refined sugars
• eat lots of fish, increase your intake of fruits/vegetables, and optimize your intake of healthy fat/omega 3 fatty acids (found in whole nuts)
• avoid excessive alcohol consumption and environmental toxins
3. Lifestyle/Exercise
• with respect to lifestyle, engage in 1 hour of vigorous exercise at least 3X per week (e.g. a vigorous walk)
• practice relaxation techniques to reduce emotional stress
• avoid discretionary environmental toxins
4. Prevention through Proper Supplementation
• optimize intake of essential nutrients through supplementation – (our bodies are craving vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phyto-nutrients)
• insufficient vitamin intake is a cause of chronic disease
• “recent evidence has shown that suboptimal levels of vitamins, even those well above those causing deficiency syndromes are risk factors for chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis” Drs Fletcher (MD, Msc) and Fairfield (MD, DrPH)
• Replenish the missing nutrients from foods - we are not getting enough vitamins from food alone. If these nutrients aren’t in our food, they won’t go into our bodies.
• therefore, nutritional supplements are necessary to protect against cellular damage and age gracefully (breakdown of he mitochondria causes aging)
Profile of Degenerative Disease
Oxidative Stress + Cellular Damage + Inflammation = Degenerative Disease
Mitochondrion
• the power house of the cell - our cellular furnace that takes food (glucose) and converts it into ATP (energy) and through this process uses oxygen
• the breakdown of mitochondria in the cell leads to aging
• we need to protect the mitochondria
• oxidative stress comes from pollution, poor diet, solar radiation, smoking, cellular metabolism
• through oxidative stress, free radicals are unleashed
Free Radicals
• molecules with unpaired electrons and powerful oxidizing agents
• they are highly unstable and highly reactive
• steal electrons from other places = oxidation
• causes cellular damage
Nutritional help against free radicals
• nutrients that reduce oxidative stress are: vitamins A, C and E. Citrus fruit (Human can not manufacture vitamin C within our bodies – dogs and cats can).
• alpha-lipoic acid is a powerful antioxidant.
• Only found in more expensive nutritional supplements
• it can cross the blood-brain barrier and pull out mercury (heavy metals) from the neurons
• it is a powerful detoxifying agent and decreases inflammation
• Antioxidants and Anti-Infmammatories
lycopene (found in tomatoes) – reduction in prostrate issues
carotenoids – Source of Vitamin A
Bioflavonoids - found in blueberries etc.
Polyphenols - found in cherries, raspberries
• Coenzyme Q10 - high quantities found in fish
Supplementation is needed because as we age our ability to produce it is reduced
Converts food or blood sugar to energy - catalyzes cellular respiration.
• Selenium found in Kale and greens activate enzymes to detoxify the body
Silent Inflammation
• Systemic, low-grade inflammation which is like a low smouldering fire. It goes on in the body, but under the pain threshold.
• Inflammation responses help to trigger the immune system – however, it can cause the body to turn on itself (its immune defence attacking its own organs) = chronic diseases
• How do we control it? Change our diet, decrease bad fats and increase good fats
• A Inflammation Reducer = Fish Oil
• a systemic review of 97 clinical studies took mortality data from 197,000 cardiovascular disease patients compared the use of fish oil to statins (cholesterol-busting drugs, cholesterol binding resins, high-dose niacin)
• conclusion was that fish oil provided far greater protection again reduction of risk for heart disease
• basis for results - largely due the oil’s natural ability to reduce systemic inflammation
• research suggests that fish oil works through a mechanism unrelated to cholesterol blockage
• Why is this important to reduce inflammation? Silent Inflammation is associated with the onset of diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis, several types of cancers
The Inflammation Cascade
Diet
High Omega 6 High Omega 3
Chronic Inflammation Healthy Cells
• high sugar decrease in meat consumption
• high glycemic decrease in saturated fat
• high in saturated fat decrease in inflammation
decrease in sugar
• sugar gets converted into arachidonic
acid which in turn signals cells to go into
an inflamed response
What to do?
Block this reaction by eating a healthier diet!
Foods that Promote Inflammation
• red meat
• high sugar
• dairy products
• eggs
• shellfish
Foods that Decrease Inflammation (Healthier Choice)
• vegetables
• salmon
• whole grains
• olives
• nuts
• seeds
These foods are high in omega 3 fats, bioflavonoids
These foods don’t spike insulin levels and are high in vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, citrus bioflavonoids
Supplements that help are:
• Omega 3 (N.B. must be pure pharmaceutical grade oil)
• Bioflavanoids
• Polyphenols
• Vitamin C
• Vitamins
• Alpha- lipoic acid
• Citrus Bioflavonoid
• Fish oils
• Flax seed
• Green tea extract
• Olive extract
• Cur cumin
• Grape seed extract
N.B. Many of the above are not found in over the counter vitamins
Each of us has a choice. We can live a vibrant and healthy life!
What Makes A Great Supplement?
The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements -4th Edition will show you what
Background of The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements:
• in the late 1990’s, Health Canada wanted to publish a natural health product directorate
• the comparative guide was 10 years in publication
• over 1500 products were evaluated
• examined 12 nutritional recommendation for 47 different nutrient classes that they believe should be in a good supplement
• two programs, US Pharmacopia and NSF Dietary Supplementation Program audit the quality of manufacturing.
• they take the finished product from the manufacturers and test them in their labs to ensure that what is on the label is in the bottle
• developed health support profiles (18 different ways of evaluating product)
• came up with a 5 star scale. “Nobody wants to stay in a 1 star hotel.”
• there were about 35 companies that were rated 5 stars
• they were invited to submit their product to Health Canada and NSF
• there is a lot of confusion about what a good supplement is about
• there are two grades- a food standard and a pharmaceutical standard
• in the pharmaceutical standard, what is on the label is in the bottle
• in the final analysis, only 4 companies stepped up to the plate to go through the very expensive auditing process: Creating Wellness Alliance, Douglas Lambs, True Star Health, and USANA Health Sciences
• the fact is that the majority of products in North America would have failed
• these four companies submitted their manufacturing processes to an independent audit and they received a certificate of analysis
• USANA was ranked as the #1 product. Not only did it receive 5 out of 5 stars, it also won the gold medal for Best of State Dietary Supplement.
More about USANA Health Science <a href="www.resultmakemoney.com">True Health</a>
Notes Compiled by:
Sue Moorhead, Caroline Rowan and Andrea Hagan