1001 Health Secrets » diabetes

More Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber

JavaHealth — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:03:08 +0000

Two More Benefits of Fiber

(This part is continuation of the previous article)

The soluble forms of fiber have value in control of blood cholesterol and blood sugar. Fruits, vegetables, beans, and oat bran are good sources of these forms of fiber.

The soluble fibers don’t lower blood cholesterol nearly as much as the cholesterol’s sources raise it. But a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has a mild cholesterol-lowering effect, thanks to the fiber. Lower blood cholesterol, of course, means lower rates of heart disease.

These soluble forms of fiber have also revolutionized the treatment of diabetes. New research has shown that a high-fiber diet helps diabetics control their blood sugar better than the diets used in the past. Their insulin requirements often drop on a high-fiber diet. Changes in insulin doses should be made only on a doctor’s instructions.

Fiber’s ability to keep the blood sugar under control may very well help people who do not have diabetes. A low-fiber meal can cause the blood sugar level to rise quickly, then drop abruptly. Headaches, hunger, and irritability can set in as a result.

But fiber can guard against these symptoms by preventing sharp swings in the blood sugar level.

How to Estimate Fiber Content?

If you want to estimate your fiber intake, consult the chart that follow. This chart gives the total fiber content of foods.

Total Fiber Content of Foods

(Soluble and Insoluble Fiber)

1 gram	2 grams	3 grams
Almonds, 10	Brussels sprouts, 1/2 cup	Bread, rye, 1 slice
Apricots, 2 medium	Carrots, 1/2 cup	Bread, white, 3 slices
Asparagus, 1/2 cup	Corn grits, cooked, 1/2 cup	Broccoli, 1/2 cup
Banana, 1 small	Oats, cooked, 1/2 cup	Pear, 1 small
Bean sprouts, 1/2 cup	Onions, 1/2 cup	Popcorn, popped, 3 cups
Bread, white, 1 slice	Rutabagas, 1/2 cup	Zucchini, 1/2 cup
Bread, french, 1 slice	Strawberries, 1/2 cup
Cauliflower, 1/2 cup	Green beans, 1/2 cup
Cherries, 10	Summer squash, 1/2 cup
Cucumber, raw, 1/2 cup	Tomatoes, 1/2 cup
Egg noodles, cooked, 1/2 cup
Eggplant, 1/2 cup
Graham crackers, 2
Grapefruit, 1/2
Kale, 1/2 cup	4 grams	5 grams or more
Lettuce, raw, 1/2 cup	Apple, 1 small	All-Bran cereal, 1/2 cup
Peach, 1 medium	Beans, kidney, 1/2 cup	Bran Buds cereal, 1/2 cup
Peanuts, 10	Beans, white, 1/2 cup	100% Bran cereal, 1/2 cup
Pecans, 2	Blackberries, 1/2 cup	Grapenuts cereal, 1/2 cup
Pineapple, 1/2 cup	Parsnips, 1/2 cup	Peas, 1/2 cup
Rice, brown, 1/2 cup	Potato, 1 small	Rolled oats, dry, 1/2cup
Roll, dinner, 1		Shredded wheat cereal, 2 large
Spaghetti, 1/2 cup		biscuits
Turnips, 1/2 cup

Unless otherwise indicated, all values for vegetables reflect fiber content of the cooked product. Analyzes of fiber content by James W. Anderson, High Carbohydrate and Fiber Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky.

Find the next powerful charts in the following article:

Estimate Your Fiber Intake

Dietary Fiber Prevents You from Cancer, Part III

JavaHealth — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:05:06 +0000

Can Fiber Cause Trouble?

( continuation of the previous article )

Scientists believe that we may be able to adapt to high-fiber diets. But this is not known for sure. It is speculation based on a handful of studies.

The effect of fiber on minerals varies among the different types. Here is what scientists think based on current knowledge:

Iron nutrition probably won’t be affected by eating more fiber.
Fiber probably will decrease absorption of zinc and copper.
If zinc and copper intake is good, the decrease in absorption probably will not create any problems.

Whole grains contain more zinc and copper than refined grains, so this may offset any loss of these minerals resulting from the fiber. But until we know this for a fact, I feel it’s best to take a moderate rather than extreme approach to the fiber content of your diet.

Another Mineral-Robber

Fiber is not the only substances in whole grain foods that can bind to minerals. Whole grains also contain phytic acid, which can also tie up minerals. Nutritionists also refer to phytic acid as phytate.

Fortunately, we now know that yeast can destroy phytate. This means that it should not be a problem in whole grain breads made with yeast. Nutritionists believe that phytate is rarely a problem, except among people eating enormous amounts of unleavened bread. Few, if any, of us eat such a diet.

Fighting Fat with Fiber

If you’re weight watcher, you probably remember the ‘starch blockers’ that came out in 1982. The too-good-to-be true claims were just that. The pills landed more than two dozen people in the hospital. The FDA had its hands full getting the stuff off the market.

Well, fiber may be the only starch blocker that doesn’t make us sick.

Nutritionists have long known that fiber blocks the absorption of some of the calories in food. It not only blocks the calories from carbohydrates; it takes on protein, fat, and carbohydrate pretty much equally. Studies show that people absorb 1% to 3% fewer calories when eating a high-fiber diet.

Sound like a fantasy? It is not. Most of us gain weight slowly, at the rate of an extra pound or two per year. For a woman needing 100 calories a day, a 1% fall in calories absorbed would mean a loss of two pounds per year. A 3% reduction in calories absorbed translates into 6 fewer pounds per year.

There’s only one catch. These findings come from short-term studies. No one knows whether the body will adapt to a high-fiber diet so that eventually just as many calories are absorbed.

Fiber researchers have reported getting complaints from their subject about the “large” quantity of food they were asked to eat. Little did the subjects realize that the high-fiber diets contained no more calories than low-fiber diet.

This is a clue that fiber creates a feeling of fullness. Nutritionists have long suspected that it does. In the stomach, fiber swells with water. This may help curb hunger.

Some scientists also believe that high-fiber foods help with weight control because they take longer to chew.

One thing is for sure: a high-fiber diet based on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is likely to be nutritionally sound. That is more than can be said for so many of the “miracle” weight-loss diets that come along every year.

More Benefits of Fiber

Fiber is now known to benefit the following conditions:

Diverticulosis and diverticulitis
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes
It may also help prevent tooth decay!

Let’s take a closer look at these findings.

Diverticulosis is a common condition among older people. It refers to outpouchings of the intestines. Food can get caught in these pockets. Often the result is inflammation and pain.

Doctors used to treat this problem with a low-fiber diet. But much to their surprise, they have learned that a high-fiber diet usually gives much better results. In general, patients are asked to add wheat bran to their diets.

Dental researchers believe that whole grain foods may play a role in preventing tooth decay. Studies show that something in whole grains may protect the teeth from decay-producing acids in the mouth. The bacteria in the mouth produce these acids.

( The Next Fiber’s Benefit and How to Estimate Fiber Content )

Your Secretor Status is A Key to Your Health

Adhi — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:02:16 +0000

A Part of Blood Type Science

The secretor status is a part the science of Blood Type Diet. I’d love to share with you below, a latest (per March 2010) rare but important information from Dr. Peter D’Adamo. As you know, the Blood Type Diet, as a new kind of science, has been very useful and powerful for me to understand the complexity on health matter and really works to help me in the natural healing process of my second kidney stone disorder in 2007.

It helps me in finding so many unanswered health questions that have been lingered for more than 30 years.

Hopefully the valuable latest information below would benefits your healthy life.

Why Secretor Status is Important?

Are you a secretor or a non-secretor? Before starting the Blood Type or GenoType Diet, you most likely would not have known how to respond to that question or the far reaching influences that your secretor status has on your health. Your secretor status drastically alters the carbohydrates present in your body fluids and also controls important aspects of your metabolism and immune resistance.

Dr. D’Adamo defines a secretor as a person who secretes the blood type antigens into body fluids, like the saliva in your mouth or the mucous in your digestive tract. A non-secretor, is a person who puts little or none of their blood type antigen into these same fluids. Although we don’t precisely know why nature made most of us secretors (approximately 80% of the population are secretors), scientists believe that it was an evolutionary adaptation to provide humans with an additional layer of immune protection from environmental elements such as bacteria, pollutants and other irritants.

Knowing your secretor status and understanding how it influences your body’s ability to function is key to getting the most out of the Blood Type and GenoType Diets. Research suggests the following conditions may be linked to non-secretor status:

Non-secretors are more prone to generalized inflammation than secretors
Non-secretors are more prone to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes than secretors
Non-secretors with Type 1 diabetes have more consistent problems with Candida, especially in their mouths and upper GI tracts
Non-secretors account for 80% of all fibromyalgia sufferers, irrespective of blood type
Non-secretors have an increased prevalence of a variety of autoimmune diseases
Non-secretors have an extra risk for recurrent urinary tract infections and 55-60% have been found to develop renal scarring even with the regular use of antibiotic treatment

You can see why it is so essential to be tested for your secretor status! If you are among the 20% of the population that comprises non-secretors, you will need to factor that in to your prescriptive diet. Making a few adjustments to an already good diet will provide the necessary support for overall good health and well-being.

The New Supporting Studies

Here are two studies which support individualized nutrition and the work and research that Dr. D’Adamo has been doing. We’ll be seeing more work like this as the validity of ABO as a significant biometric marker becomes more accepted in the scientific and medical communities.

Large-scale genomic studies reveal central role of ABO in sP-selecti and sICAM-1 levels. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20167578

Interindividual differences in response to plant-based diets: implications for cancer risk. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19297461

Sunshine for Your Health: Good or Bad?

Adhi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:26:49 +0000

Sunshine… on my shoulder… makes me happy… Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry…

(a lyric written by John Denver).

Our bodies make vitamin D when the sun shines, and new research suggests the positive effects on health are greater than we ever guessed. But too much sun causes skin cancer. It’s a dilemma provoking fierce discussion among scientists.

For any expectant mother, a brief stroll in the summer sunshine would seem a pleasant diversion from the rigors of pregnancy, a chance to relax in the warmth and to take in a little fresh air. It is a harmless – but unimportant – activity, it would seem.

But there is more to such walks than was previously realized. In a new study, Bristol University researchers revealed they had found out that sunny strolls have striking, long-lasting effects. They discovered that children born to women in late summer or in early autumn are, on average, about 5mm taller, and have thicker bones, than those born in late winter and early spring.

Nor was it hard to see the causal link, said team leader Professor Jon Tobias. The growth of our bones, even in the womb, depends on vitamin D which, in turn, is manufactured in the skin when sunlight falls on it.

Thus children born after their mothers have enjoyed a summer of sunny walks will have been exposed to more vitamin D and will have stronger bones than those born in winter or early spring. “Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis in later life, so anything that affects early bone development is significant,” said Tobias.

The study is important, for it indicates that women should consider taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy to ensure their children reach full stature. However, the Bristol team’s findings go beyond this straightforward conclusion, it should be noted. Their work adds critical support to a controversial health campaign that suggests most British people are being starved of sunshine, and vitamin D – a process that is putting their lives at risk.

These campaigners point to a series of studies, based mainly on epidemiological evidence, that have recently linked vitamin D deficiency to illnesses such as diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and tuberculosis. George Ebers, professor of clinical neurology at Oxford University, unveil evidence to suggest such a deficiency during pregnancy and childhood could increase the risk that a child would develop multiple sclerosis.

The studies require rigorous follow-up research, scientists admit – but they have nevertheless provoked considerable new interest in vitamin D. Indeed, for some health experts, the substance has virtually become a panacea for all human ills. Dietary supplements should be encouraged for the elderly, the young and the sick, while skin cancer awareness programs that urge caution over sunbathing should be scrapped, they insist. We need to bring a lot more sunshine into our lives, it is claimed.

But this unbridled enthusiasm has gone down badly with health officials concerned about soaring rates of melanomas in Britain, the result of over-enthusiastic suntanning by holidaymakers decades ago. Existing, restrictive recommendations for limits on sunbathing must be rigorously maintained, they argue, or melanoma death rates will rise even further.

So just how much sunlight is safe for us? And which is the greater risk: skin cancer or diseases triggered by vitamin D deficiency? Answers for these questions now cause major divisions among health experts.

In fact, vitamin D is not strictly a vitamin. Vitamins are defined as nutrients which can only be obtained from the food we eat and which are vital to our health. For example, vitamin C, which wards off scurvy and helps the growth of cartilage, is found in citrus fruits, while broccoli and spinach are rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in preventing our blood from clotting. And while it is true that vitamin D is found in oily fish, cod liver oil, eggs and butter, our principal source is sunlight.

“Vitamin D should really be thought of as a hormone,” said Dr Peter Berry-Ottaway, of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, and an adviser to the EU on food safety. “It forms under the skin in reaction to sunlight. We do get some from our food but our principal source is the sun.’

The key component in sunlight that stimulates vitamin D production in our bodies is ultra-violet light of wavelengths between 290 and 315 nanometres. Crucially, this component of sunlight only reaches Britain during the months between April and October. “The rest of the year, between November and March, the sun is low in the horizon. Its light has to pass through much more of the atmosphere than in summer and doesn’t reach the ground,” said Cambridge nutrition expert Dr Inez Schoenmakers. “For half the year we cannot make vitamin D from sunlight, so what we make in summer has to do us for the whole year.”

In relatively sunny southern England, this is not a problem but in the north and in the cloudier west, noticeable health problems build up – particularly among ethnic minorities. People with dark skin are less able to manufacture vitamin D than those with pale skin and in places with relatively gloomy skies – cities such as Bradford or Glasgow, for example – the impact can be severe.

In 2007, the Department of Health revealed that up to one in 100 children born to families from ethnic minorities now suffer from rickets, a condition triggered by lack of vitamin D in which children develop a pronounced bow-legged gait. The disease once blighted lives in Victorian Britain but was eradicated by improved diets. Now it is making a major resurgence, a problem that has been further exacerbated in ethnic communities by women wearing hijabs (or jilbab) that cover all of their bodies and block out virtually every beam of vitamin-stimulating sunshine.

A major health campaign, offering dietary advice and vitamin D supplements has since been launched. But for many doctors, it is not enough. The nation’s health service needs to re-evaluate completely its approach to vitamin D as a matter of urgency; establish new guidelines for taking supplements; and scrap most of the limits on sunbathing currently proposed by health bodies.

These calls have been made not because of concerns about rickets, however. They follow the appearance of studies from across the globe that suggest vitamin D plays a key role in the fight against heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is not so much an important component of our diets as a miracle substance, they believe. It costs nothing to make, just some time in the sun, and lasts in the body for months.

A classic example of the potential of vitamin D was provided by a study published in a US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in 2006. This revealed that people with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to survive colon, breast and lung cancer. In the study, Richard Setlow, a biophysicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US and an expert on the link between solar radiation and skin cancer, calculated how much sunshine a person would get depending on the latitude on which they lived.

Setlow – who worked with colleagues at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo – also calculated the incidence and survival rates for various forms of internal cancers in people living at these different latitudes. Their results showed that in the northern hemisphere the incidence of colon, lung and breast cancer increased from south to north while people in southern latitudes were significantly less likely to die from these cancers than people in the north.

“Since vitamin D has been shown to play a protective role in a number of internal cancers and possibly a range of other diseases, it is important to study the relative risks to determine whether advice to avoid sun exposure may be causing more harm than good in some populations,” Setlow warned.

And then there is the impact of vitamin D levels on the heart. In a study published last year in the journal Circulation, scientists at the Harvard Medical School in Boston found that a deficiency of vitamin D increased people’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, other studies have connected vitamin D deficiency to risks of succumbing to diabetes and TB.

And there was last week’s publication of the study by Professor Ebers which provided compelling evidence that lack of vitamin D triggers a rogue gene to turn against the body and attack nerve endings, a process that induces the disease multiple sclerosis. In each case, researchers urged that people ensure they take vitamin D supplements to help ward off such conditions.

But others believe such calls underestimate the problem. They point to a study, published in 2007, which indicates that more than 60 per cent of middle-aged British adults have less than optimal levels of vitamin D in their bodies in summer, while this figure rises to 90 per cent in winter. Given the links between deficiency and all those ailments, only a full-scale reappraisal of the vitamin’s role in British health will work, says Oliver Gillie, of the Health Research Forum.

In a report, Sunlight Robbery, he calls for the scrapping of Britain’s SunSmart program; the setting up of an international conference of doctors and specialists to establish vitamin D’s importance to health; promotion of the fortification of food with vitamin D: and the creation of a new committee whose membership would include representatives of groups of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer and other conditions linked to vitamin D.

But most controversial of all is his call for people to sunbathe far more frequently than currently advised. “It is time for the UK government to encourage people to sunbathe safely to reduce cancer risk,” he said.

Not surprisingly, the notion horrifies many health advisers. “There are now 9,000 new cases of melanoma in Britain every year and 2,000 deaths because people have sunbathed without proper care,” said Sara Hiom, director of health information for Cancer Research UK. “Figures have increased dramatically over the past 20 years and will continue to do so unless we are very careful.”

However, Hiom acknowledged that new studies did indicate that vitamin D deficiency was now linked to an increasing number of cancers and other diseases. “That is no excuse for behaving irresponsibly, however. People must avoided getting sunburned; stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm even in this country in summer; and use factor 15 or stronger sunblock creams.”

In addition, other scientists cautioned that links between vitamin D deficiency with diseases like multiple sclerosis had yet to be proved. “People with low vitamin D may be more likely to have MS but that might simply happen because their condition makes it difficult to get out in the sunshine and make vitamin D in their bodies. We have yet to distinguish cause and effect in many of these cases,” said Dr Schoenmakers.

These points are crucial and suggest we need to be cautious about claims that vitamin D is capable of triggering miraculous cures. On the other hand, enough evidence is now emerging from laboratories in Britain, U.S., and Japan to indicate that a nutrient once thought to be a bit-player in the battle against disease, clearly has a key role to play in helping to maintain the general health of large numbers of the population of our planet.

Teeth and Gum Tell Your Overall Health

Adhi — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:58:48 +0000

My dentist explained that opening one’s mouth is somewhat like cracking open the hood of your car. An expert taking a quick look can get a good sense of what’s working, what’s not, and what should be tuned up regularly to keep your body’s systems up and running at their best.

I got interesting information from sport news recently that a professional footballer whose severe feet injury for a long time eventually had the right treatment and healed completely after his doctor found out certain problem with the athlete’s teeth and fixed it.

Your teeth and gum, it seems, may speak volumes about your well-being. For starters, there are conditions that affect oral health. Researchers continue to look at the associations between cavities, gum disease, and heart disease, but a cause-and-effect relationship has not yet been established.

There are some disease that are associated with an increased risk of infections. Diabetes increases the risks of gingival and periodontal inflammation and infections. Also, loose teeth could be a sign of osteoporosis.

When there’s an underlying condition in play, your dentist may be able to draw an important connection between your oral health and your overall health. So sit back, relax, and open wide. Here’s what you need to know about the mouth-body connection.

Oral Health and Diabetes

Bleeding gums, dry mouth, fungal infections, cavities — these oral signs might clue your dentist into a serious health issue: diabetes. And these symptoms also might suggest other serious conditions, such as HIV and leukemia.

“Diabetes is the one disease that we know can have a direct impact on infections in the bones and gums around the teeth,” says Sally Cram, DDS, consumer adviser for the American Dental Association.

Diabetes and your mouth have blood sugar in common. If blood sugar levels are out of control in your body , they’re out of control in your mouth. With sugar to feed on, bacteria find a happy home in which to grow and thrive. The bacteria then attack the protective enamel layer on your teeth, and over time as the enamel breaks down, cavities develop — one of the dental signs of diabetes.

A person with diabetes has more mouth woes to worry about: Uncontrolled diabetes reduces the body’s first line of defense against infection, white blood cells, which can then put a person’s oral health at risk. With bacteria teeming around the gums from high blood sugar levels, periodontal or gum disease is an easy next step.

Unfortunately, because diabetes lowers a person’s resistance to infection, managing periodontal disease isn’t easy.

“If you have diabetes and periodontal disease, you have to get your blood sugar levels under control for both the sake of your body and your mouth,” says Cram.

Your dentist should be one of your best friends if you are among the 24 million Americans living with diabetes.

Frequent professional cleanings are important in helping to prevent or control periodontal disease, and home care requires flossing and brushing after every meal.

Oral Health and Heart Disease

If on your last visit to the dentist you were told you had gingivitis or gum inflammation, cavities, missing teeth, molar infections, and/or decay so severe it’s left only the roots of a tooth, your dentist may say your mouth isn’t the only thing being attacked.

The jury is still out, but according to research from the American Heart Association, poor oral health could increase your chances of developing heart disease. The exact way that periodontal infections are linked to heart disease are not known. There are no studies that show that maintaining good dental health improves heart disease outcomes such as heart attacks or strokes.

“We think it’s the bacteria, or the inflammatory response from the bacteria, that might cause inflammation of the heart and more plaque buildup in the blood vessels,” says Rick Kellerman, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Unfortunately, neither your dentist nor your doctor fully understands how your mouth is connected to your heart. So while you wait for more research related to the impact of oral health on heart health, your dentist will recommend you do two things: brush and floss.

Oral Health and Osteoporosis

Has the tooth fairy recently paid you a visit? That’s a problem, since you stopped believing in mythical characters decades ago. Your dentist may tell you that osteoporosis, a disease that causes the bones to become less dense over time as the body loses calcium, could be at the root of tooth loss.

“Bones are bones, and that includes the jaw,” says Kellerman. “As the anchor point for the teeth, if your jaw becomes less dense and weakens, losing teeth becomes more and more likely.”

Though more research is needed to establish a link, osteoporosis and gum disease could turn out to pack a one-two punch, leaving you with some holes to fill in what used to be a picture-perfect smile.

“You want to be very conscientious about brushing and flossing if you have osteoporosis, because if you get periodontal disease, and you are already losing bone mass, you’re at a higher risk of losing teeth,” says Cram.

The risk of tooth loss is three times greater for women with osteoporosis than for women who do not have the disease. “Women in particular should take calcium and vitamin D, exercise, eat right, and do all of the things necessary to help prevent osteoporosis, which down the road could help prevent losing teeth,” Kellerman tells WebMD. “Every time you lose a tooth it’s like losing a pearl.”

Oral Health and Women: The Female Factor

About half of all people, no matter how healthy they are, are more likely to develop oral health problems: Women.

“Women need to be aware that they are at higher risk for periodontal disease and gum disease during puberty, pregnancy, their menstrual cycle each month, and then menopause,” says Cram. “We know there is a correlation between high hormone levels in the body and inflammation in the gum surrounding the teeth.”

When hormone levels are very high, explains Cram, women can be more sensitive to a small amount of plaque or bacteria.

“For example, if you weren’t pregnant, and you forgot to floss for a couple of days, it probably wouldn’t be an issue,” says Cram. “But if you are pregnant and forget to floss, and plaque collects, you can get these swollen, painful growths in your gum that you otherwise probably wouldn’t have.”

Being pregnant and having periodontal disease may also put your baby at risk. While a cause and effect relationship is still being studied, maternal periodontal disease has been linked with preterm delivery and low birth weight infants in small studies.

Oral Health and Smoking

If you smoke, your dentist knows it. Along with tinted-yellow teeth, smokers are at greater risk for a long list of unpleasant oral issues, with tooth loss leading the pack. A smile-killing 41% of daily smokers over age 65 are toothless. If that’s not enough to make you snuff out the habit, smoking can also raise your chances of calculus — plaque that hardens on the teeth and can only be removed during a professional cleaning; deep pockets between the teeth and gums; loss of the bone and tissue that support your teeth; mouth sores; and oral cancer. Bottom line? The risk of not caring for your teeth far outweighs the effort required to keep your mouth clean — so get brushing!

Reference:

www.webmd.com

Secretor, Non-secretor, and Syndrome X

Adhi — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:31:44 +0000

Knowing your blood type or blood group and subgroups is one way to discover specific information about your body’s genetic makeup and susceptibility to disease. This is true for me, as a key in my effort to overcome the kidney stone I’ve got two years ago. Now I and my family apply blood type diet in our daily menus and we are very healthy more than ever. It is very important to know your blood type.

Do you know your blood type?

There are several ways to find out your blood type:

Donate blood. Also note that blood banks will often perform a blood type test for a fee, even if you don’t wish to give blood.
Ask your doctor; but don’t be surprised if he or she doesn’t know. When blood is drawn for routine cholesterol screening or other factors, blood typing is not normally done unless it has been requested.
There are at-home blood type testing kits available in health stores or drugstores.

In addition, it is necessary for you to know your secretor or non-secretor status. New to this matter? Below some useful information regarding the importance of knowing your secretor status.

For those suffering from a specific condition it is recommended that you get assistance from a healthcare provider. Some practitioners familiar with the significance of blood groups are listed on the internet in the Eat Right 4 Your Type practitioner registry.

The Lewis Blood Group Test

Lewis Blood Group and Secretor Status: [Gene location: 19q13.3] The molecule that defines your blood group is called an antigen. People of each blood group have that specific antigen on their red blood cells: A has the A antigen, B has the B antigen AB has both A and B antigens and O has the H antigen. The term “ABH secretor” refers to secretion of ABO blood group antigens in fluids such as saliva, sweat, tears, semen, and breast milk. If you are an “ABH secretor”, you will secrete antigens according to your blood group. For example, group O people will secrete H antigen, group A will secrete A and H antigens, etc. Approximately 80% of people are ABH secretors.

There are several differences between ABH secretors and non-secretors, especially relating to function of the immune system. There are altered dietary requirements, which are outlined in Live Right gor Your Type and The Complete Blood Group Encyclopedia. Lewis blood group is a minor blood group that relates to salivary secretor status. Salivary ABH secretor determination is based on testing for your blood group antibodies in your saliva. Finding your Lewis blood group (Lea and Leb) will tell your ABH secretor status in most cases, irrespective of your blood group. Most ABH secretors have a Lewis group of: Lea- Leb+. Most ABH non-secretors have a Lewis group of: Lea+ Leb-. A small minority (about 5% of the population) will be Lewis Double Negative (LDN): Lea- Leb-. For LDN people Lewis blood group cannot be used to determine ABH secretor status. ABH Saliva testing is available for this purpose. LDN people share most of the same metabolic consequences as ABH non-secretors, and in a few instances they have the most severe manifestations. According to Dr. D’Adamo “It may be helpful to think of LDN individuals as a special category of non-secretor”. Although ABH salivary secretor status is often thought of as an ‘all or none’ situation, this is not always the case. Some people known as ‘partial’ or ‘weak secretors’ have a greatly reduced quantity of active A or B blood group substance in their saliva, predisposing them to similar functional problems as non-secretors. In the same way, Lewis antigens can also give a ‘weak’ result. Where relevant, weak Lewis results will be reported, as will Lea+ Leb+ (a rare temporary situation, brought about by circumstances such as pregnancy).

Secretor and Non-secretor

An overview and preview of the new saliva-based secretor test in the book Eat Right 4 Your Type, Dr. D’Adamo introduced readers to the concept of Secretors/Non-secretors. By now you are familiar with the concept that your ABO blood type is controlled by your genetics. The gene coding for your blood type lies on chromosome 9q34. However, a separate gene actually interacts with your blood type gene, determining your ability to secrete your blood type antigens into body fluids and secretions. In the genetics of the secretor system two options exist. A person can be either a Secretor (Se) or a Non-secretor (se). This is completely independent of whether you are a blood type A, B, AB, or O. This means that someone can be an A Secretor or an A Non-secretor, a B Secretor, or a B Non-secretor etc. In a simplified sense, a Secretor is defined as a person who secretes their blood type antigens into body fluids and secretions like the saliva in your mouth, the mucus in your digestive tract and respiratory cavities, etc. Basically what this means is that a secretor puts their blood type into these body fluids. A Non-secretor on the other hand puts little to none of their blood type into these same fluids. As a general rule, in the U.S. about 20% of the population are Non-secretors (with the remaining 80% being Secretors). The Secretor Edge With respect to the ABO blood types, it is very difficult to state that one type is more advantageous than another. Each blood type has its own strengths and characteristic weaknesses. However, this does not appear to be the case with the Secretor gene. As a generality, being a Non-secretor (based on all of the available information) does actually appear to be a potential health disadvantage. At a very basic level, being able to secrete blood type into your saliva, mucus, etc. allows for an added degree of protection against the environment, particularly with respect to microorganisms and lectins.

An additional advantage of being a Secretor might be a generalized tendency to promote a stabilized, blood-type friendly intestinal bacterial ecosystem. Many of the friendly (probiotic) bacteria in your digestive system actually use your blood type as one of their preferential foods. Since Secretors have a steady supply of blood type in the mucus that lines the digestive tract, their bacteria have a much more constant food supply. Metabolic Differences Between Secretors and Non-Secretors Similar to the ABO blood types, it appears additional genetic information must be linked to the Secretor gene, because predictable trends in non-blood type aspects of physiology have a close association with Secretor/Non-secretor status. Aspects of physiology such as the relative activity of an enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase; propensities toward clotting, reliability of some tumor markers, and generalized performance of your immune system have predictable trends depending upon your Secretor status. The activity of intestinal and serum alkaline phosphatase is strongly correlated with secretor phenotypes. Basically, Non-secretors, independent of their ABO blood groups, have lower alkaline phosphatase activity (as you might remember type O’s have the highest alkaline phosphatase activity and type A’s the least). It has been estimated that the serum alkaline phosphatase activity of Non-secretors is only about 20% of the active in the secretor groups.

As was mentioned in Eat Right 4 Your Type, blood type impacts the clotting ability to a significant degree. In fact, it has been estimated that a significant fraction (30%) of the genetically determined variance in plasma concentration of the von Willebrand factor antigen (vWf) is directly related to ABO blood type. As a rule, it is blood group O individuals who have the lowest amount of this clotting factor and the tendency for the lowest degree of clotting/platelet aggregation. In the Secretor/Non-secretor world, Secretors have the slowest clotting while Non-secretors have shorter bleeding times and a tendency towards higher factor VIII and vWf. ABO and Secretor genetics actually further interact to influence blood viscosity. In essence what this means is that an A Non-secretor will be at the far end of the spectrum with the slowest bleeding times, thickest blood viscosity, and the most probability to have high platelet aggregation. On the other end on the continuum will be O Secretors, who will have the longest bleeding time, thinnest blood, and least tendency for platelet aggregation. Because of this, Non-secretors (especially the type A’s) tend to be at the highest risk for future atherothromboti and heart disease. Disease Susceptibility among Secretors and Non-secretors: Digestive System As a general rule, a higher intensity of oral disease is found among Non-secretors. This includes dysplasia (precancerous changes to the tissue) and an increase in cavities. Statistically speaking, blood type A Secretors have the lowest number of cavities. Non-secretors also tend to have more digestive problems. Several studies have indicated that Non-secretors have a significantly higher rate of duodenal and peptic ulcers. Non-secretors are also less resistant to infection by Helicobacter pylori (a microbe associated with ulcers). It appears that this organism can colonize more readily and generate more inflammation in individual’s incapable of secreting their blood type into the digestive tract. Non-secretors are at an increased risk for development of celiac disease (up to 48% of patients with celiac disease have been reported to be Non-secretors). Respiratory System With regards to aspects of lung function, being a Non-secretor takes its usual place as a health disadvantage. Several researchers have suggested that being a Non-secretor might predispose an individual to damaging effects, while being a secretor might add a degree of protection against harmful environmental assaults to our lungs. Among coal miners, asthma was significantly related to Non-secretor phenotype. Secretors also appear to receive a degree of protection against some of the deleterious effects of cigarette smoking. Evidence suggests that the ability to secrete ABO blood type antigens might decrease the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Being a Non-secretor also offers a slight increase risk for having a problem with habitual snoring.

Autoimmune Disease

Non-secretors appear to have an increase in the prevalence of a variety of autoimmune diseases including ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthropathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and Grave’s disease. Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Metabolic Syndrome X Non-secretors are at a greater risk of developing diabetes (especially adult onset diabetes); and they might be at a greater risk of developing complications from diabetes. Data allows the conclusion that Non-secretors are a risk factor for myocardial infarction and heart disease (note: this is particularly true for men). Several different researchers have noted a connection between a metabolic syndrome called “Syndrome X” and Non-secretor blood types. Syndrome X is a clustering of metabolic problems comprised of insulin resistance (your cells do not respond effectively to the insulin that you create), elevated plasma glucose (high blood sugar), lipid regulation problems (elevated triglycerides, increased small low-density lipoproteins, and decreased high-density lipoproteins), high blood pressure, a prothrombic state (tendency to clotting), and obesity (especially central obesity or a predisposition to gaining weight in the abdomen). This cluster of metabolic disorders seem to interact to promote the development of diabetes (adult onset type II), atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. And while insulin resistance might lie at the heart of the problem, all of these metabolic disorders appear to contribute to health problems.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism has been associated with the Non-secretor blood type. On the positive side, alcohol consumption appears to exert a protective effect on lung function and to lower the risk of heart disease more in Non-secretors than in Secretors. The key principle with the use of alcohol is for Non-secretors (and everybody actually) is moderation.

Bacteria Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

Non-secretors are at a greater risk for recurrent UTI’s, have a greater tendency to increased inflammation, and are much more likely to develop renal scars. Being a blood type Secretor on the other hand offers a degree of protection; cutting your risk of recurrent UTI’s by greater than 50% and dramatically decreasing the likelihood you will have renal scars develop.

Candida and bacteria infection

Based upon this tendency of Non-secretor saliva to not only fail to prevent attachment of Candida, but maybe actually promote the binding of Candida to your tissue, we would expect that research would show higher tendency to Candida problems among Non-secretors. This is what we find to be true. Non-secretors are much more likely to be carriers of Candida and to have problems with persistent infections. Blood type O Non-secretors might be the most affected of the Non-secretor blood types, since Candida also appears to have an easier time colonizing (attaching to) the blood type O antigen.

Antibody levels Secretors are known to have higher levels of IgG and IgA antibodies. The lack of IgA antibodies perhaps explains the link between non-secretor status and an increased frequency of heart valve problems secondary to bacteria infection. Because IgA functions much like the way a rampart or palisade wall protects a town from invasion, most if not all non-secretors have problems with gut permiability (“leakygut“).

Reference:

Eat Right for Your Type, DR. Peter J. D’Adamo & C. Whitney, Century Books, London, 2001
Live Right for Your Type, DR. Peter J. D’Adamo & C. Whitney, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, NY, 2001