• Heavy Metals. The following heavy metals have been implicated in genetic damage. Avoiding them during the pre-conception and pregnancy phase is so important, along with your family as they grow. Men need to minimize exposure in the pre-conception phase just as much as women.

Mercury (Hg)	Naturally occurring, but human exposure is associated with ingestion of contaminated fish and dental amalgam.
Arsenic (As)	Naturally occurring, may be found in food, water and treated wood
Cadmium (Cd)	Mining, cigarettes, soil, use of phosphate fertilisers.
Lead (Pb)	Possibly drinking water, soil, dust and treated wood. Lead (Pb): paint (old houses, old toys), house dust, car exhaust, art/craft materials, plumbing and construction materials.
Aluminium (Al)	Cookware, canned food, antiperspirants, aluminium containing antacids



• Other chemicals. Pesticides: mainly found in food and water. Pesticides are known to cause DNA damage, including DNA within ova and sperm. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB’s) are one well known chemical culprit. They are found in old electrical equipment and insulation. Occupational exposure can be a major source of contact with these chemicals.
• Clostridium infection. There is some evidence that this genus of bacteria may be linked to mitochondrial disease. Tetanus, Botulism, Colitis and antibiotic associated diarrhea may all be linked to various species of Clostridium.
• Inadequate nutrition. Lack of good quality proteins, specific fatty acids, choline, inositol, antioxidant vitamins/minerals/phytochemicals, folate, CoQ10, vitamin B12, other B vitamins can all contribute to mutations in DNA and dysfunctional mitochondria. While it may seem hopeless, disheartening and a lost battle, there is so much we can do with nutritional medicine to preserve our genetic resilience and reclaim the health of ourselves our children and their families. The most powerful and effective way to achieve this is through proper nutrition. Getting back to correct nutritional principles and avoiding hype and spin is not only simple, but enjoyable. The use of nutrition for mitochondrial disease is not utilized enough and it could be much more an established part of the future approach for preventing and managing these illnesses.

• Targeted physical therapy and exercise
• Adequate rest
• Astute use of nutritional medicine at the dietary level
• Administration of nutrient co-factors for the deficient biochemical pathway

1. Remove processed foods from the diet. Eat wholefoods. A good tip is not to eat food your great grandmother would not recognise.
2. Filter your water.
3. Eat organic where possible, particularly animal products.
4. Minimise exposure to chemicals in your hobbies or occupation. Protect your body.
5. Remove processed, low-fat foods from the diet.
6. Eat good quality, organic, full fat products in their natural form, avoiding those with added sugars.
7. Focus on: nutritious fats, nutritious proteins, clean fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes.
8. Consult a professional for supplementation: don’t self prescribe
9. Address addictions: caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, sugar, prescription drugs (if safe to do so) and recreational drugs.
10. Minimise exposure to electromagnetic radiation and chemicals as much as possible.

• Annalies Corse BMedSc, BHSc
  November, 2011

What everyday food is causing obesity, diabetes, heart disease and digestive disorders?

‘Sugar’ is an ongoing source of confusion for many parents.  Every cell in our body needs glucose as it is the energy of life, but too much of any type of sugar is not a good thing. It can wreak havoc throughout the body and initiate a cascade of dis-ease. Too much of any sugar can contribute to weight gain, dental decay, eczema, acne, hypertension, poor gut health, damage your pancreas, trigger free radicals and oxidative stress, hormonal imbalances, reduce learning capacity and the list goes on.

Not all sugars are the same

To make it even more confusing, it appears that not all sugars are equal when it comes to our health. Dextrose, fructose, and glucose are all monosaccharides, known as simple sugars, but the body doesn’t recognize them as being the same or metabolise them in the same way. Glucose is made when the body breaks down starches such as carbohydrates found in fruits, cereal grains, pastas and vegetables. Dextrose is simply a form of glucose. Fructose is a type of sugar found naturally in fruits and some vegetables including beetroot, potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, asparagus, peppers, spinach and celery.

These sugars can co-exist in foods to form more complex sugars, including the disaccharide known as sucrose, or table sugar. Sucrose comes from two sources, sugar cane and sugar beets.

The sugar doctors call “poison”

For a long while, fructose was touted as a healthy sugar alternative; with a ‘low glycemic index’ and ‘naturally derived’ from fruits and vegetables. But research is showing that this couldn’t be further from the truth, linking this potentially dangerous sugar with a range of health issues including obesity, digestive disorder, insulin sensitivity, type 1 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, memory loss and metabolic syndrome.

Professor of Medicine, Dr Richard Johnson, at the University of Colorado says glucose is the form of energy you were designed to run on. He says every cell in the body and every living thing on the earth uses glucose for energy. But fructose is metabolized completely differently, which is why it is particularly dangerous when consumed in large amounts.

Studies conducted by Dr Johnson revealed fructose as the number one risk factor for obesity. But its adverse effects, he say extend far beyond those of the waistline. “ Most of our research at the university has focused on how it may cause hypertension, kidney disease, obesity, fatty liver, vascular disease and other problems”. Fructose, he says increases levels of uric acid, responsible for gout and hypertension and it increases abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides. These characteristics, he says, are known high risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome".

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, has been researching the negative effects of fructose and likes to call it ‘poison’. His eye-opening video called, Sugar: The Bitter Truth reveals the relationship between fructose and the exponential increase in obesity and health problems in American children and adults.

But isn’t fruit good for you?

Dr Lustig points out that it’s important to remember that fructose alone isn't evil as fruits are certainly beneficial. Fruit in moderation, he says is good. But stay away from fruit juice as the fiber has been removed. “Fiber reduces rates of intestinal carbohydrate absorption, reducing insulin response and it also induces satiety. He adds, “Fiber helps inhibit the absorption of some free fatty acids and suppresses insulin. But when you consume high levels of fructose it will absolutely devastate your biochemistry and physiology”.

According to Dr Johnson, eating 25gms of fructose a day in fruit is the right amount, which equals between two to four pieces of fruit.  "But most people consume around 70gms and in the US 25% consume more than 130gms of fructose a day, of which a lot is added to packaged foods including soft drinks, fruit juices, sauces, chips and breads”.

He adds, “Without the fiber or nutrients found in fruit that minimize the negative effects of the sugar, it goes straight to the liver, bypassing the pancreas, which normally processes sugar. Fructose is being metabolized to produce fat, while glucose is largely being processed for energy or stored as carbohydrate”.

Most people, he says, rely on the low fat diet foods to lose weight but these are often the ones highest in fructose. “It isn't that fructose itself is bad—it is the massive doses you're exposed to that make it dangerous”, he says.

Beware of High Fructose Corn Syrup in packaged foods

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as an effective sweetener (it is way sweeter than glucose making it a preferred sweetener by food companies) in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.

High Fructose Corn Syrup derived from corn, is particularly unhealthful; According to Dr Johnson fructose contains the same two sugars as sucrose but is more metabolically risky, due to its chemical form. The fructose and the glucose are not bound together in HFCS, as they are in table sugar, so your body doesn't have to break it down. Therefore, the fructose is absorbed immediately, going straight to the liver.

Fructose doesn’t regulate appetite

According to Professor Lustig, another problem is that fructose doesn’t suppress ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

Dana Flavin, PhD, a former assistant to the associate bureau director for toxicology at the FDA says that fructose may have less impact on appetite than glucose, so processed foods rich in fructose can contribute to weight gain, obesity, and its related consequences by failing to manage appetite. “Because high fructose corn syrup is not treated as regular sugar in the body, it has the potential to cause a lot of damage. The body never gets the signal that it has enough food, so there is no feeling of "fullness" that would normally accompany a meal. The sweetener also impacts on the sugar levels in blood, causing a sugar rush. After the rush has passed, blood sugar levels drop, and the body begins to crave more sugar. This cycle can repeat indefinitely if the person does not significantly cut back on his high fructose corn syrup consumption, leading to diabetes, hypertension or obesity”.

Some sugars including fructose contribute to digestive disorder

“Gut health is very dependent on our diets, and while there are many factors such as nutritional balance, toxins, food allergies and intolerances it is becoming more evident that fermentable sugars may also play an important role. Any form of gut dysfunction has the potential to affect both the body and mind” says Dr Braham Rabinov.

Certain sugars including fructose, lactose, sorbitol, mannitol, fructans (wheat, rye, onions) can undergo fermentation.  It is these fermentable sugars that through osmosis (drawing fluid into the gut) and the action of the bacteria that normally reside in the gut to take up the sugars and produce chemical substances that may then act on the gut wall to produce the symptoms of the condition know as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Fructose harms memory in animal studies

If the adverse physiological effects aren’t enough, researchers at Georgia State University have found that diets high in fructose impaired the spatial memory of adult rats. They found that unlike glucose, it is processed almost solely by the liver, and produces an excessive amount of triglycerides — fat which gets into the bloodstream. Triglycerides can interfere with insulin signaling in the brain, which plays a major role in brain cell survival and plasticity, or the ability for the brain to change based on new experiences.

The fructose catastrophe

•  Fructose does not regulate appetite
•  Fructose contributes to digestive disorders
•  A high fructose diet is a high fat diet.
•  Fructose causes insulin resistance in normal adults.
•  Fructose can cause hypertension, obesity, diabetes type 2, liver problems, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome.  

Healthy alternatives

•  Replace packaged snacks with fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese and nuts
•  Drink water or herbal teas instead of fruit juice.
•  Make your own fresh fruit juice with the fibre of the fruit in it (See Vitamix)
•  Eat high protein snacks to help balance blood sugar levels and stop sugar cravings.
•  Try stevia as a healthful sugar substitute.
•  Sweeten recipes with real fruit such as berries and bananas.
•  Use raw honey in moderation-it does have beneficial antioxidant
•  Replace white sugar with rapadura sugar, a dehydrated cane juice and unrefined sugar which retains its molasses content as well as other important nutrients.
•  Avoid Agave syrup. It is highly processed and super rich in fructose (around 80%).
•  Avoid sugar alcohols like xylitol, glycerol, sorbitol, malitol, mannitol, and erythritol as they cause problems with bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.
  

Gastrointestinal or “gut” problems are a dominant feature in many chronic states of ill health including cancer, dementia, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Over the past 2 decades, gut issues have become epidemic in our children and co-exist or drive a range of childhood conditions including Autism, Allergies, ADHD, food sensitivities and other learning and behavioural disorders. Although gut problems do not stand alone as the only issues that need to be addressed, treating the gut is imperative as part of any treatment program. Gastrointestinal symptoms are diverse and include: bloating, flatulence, constipation, diarrhoea, poor appetite, cravings, stomach pain, smelly stools, faecal impaction, heartburn and reflux; as well as nutrient deficiencies and yeast, bacterial and parasitic gut infections.

When treating the gut, it is best to take a holistic approach. It is a very common trap to focus solely on the different pathogenic organisms, to chase symptoms, without addressing some of the fundamental issues that have led to the development of problems. It is important to take into consideration that infections are usually the result of lowered immune resistance and nutritional deficiencies.Only in a body that is depleted or weakened can a germ, virus, parasite or yeast gain a foothold. The aim of treatment therefore should be to strengthen the child and restore vitality to assist the body’s natural healing processes. Alongside vitamin and mineral supplementation, you should work to improve digestion, absorption and the assimilation of nutrients. Alongside antimicrobial and probiotic treatment, you need to change the environment in the gut and boost the immune system.

HEALING THE GUT

When healing the gut, we need to incorporate the following principles:

• Nutritionally restore vitality – remove problem foods, processed foods, foods with preservatives, colours & flavours and foods high in sugar. More importantly, add in healing foods and nutrient dense foods. The diet should consist of organic whole food with a major emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruits - rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants, whole grains (gluten free), nuts and seeds and quality proteins. - A ‘Primitive’ or ‘Traditional’ diet that alkalises the body is recommended; lots of dark leafy greens, a range of meat, seeds and nuts and low fructose fruits. It is not good enough to leave in high sugar & highly processed foods (pastas, breads, cereals and sauces) even if they are gluten & casein free. The immune system, the brain, all the cells in the body must be nourished to restore the child’s vital force. In addition research has shown that various bacteria produce toxic metabolites with high sugar diets.
• Enhance the immune system - stimulate the body’s own innate ability to fight off infections. There are many very effective herbal remedies that assist immune function such as Echinacea, Cat’s Claw, Wild Indigo, Picrorrhiza, Andrographis, Astragalus, American Ginseng, Pau D’Arco, Olive Leaf and Siberian Ginseng. In addition, Transfer Factor & Probiotics benefit the immune system, stimulating antibody production andinterferon synthesis. Vitamin C and Zinc are also important for the immune system.
• Specifics – Antimicrobials, antifungals, antiparasitics, nutritional supplements, anti-inflammatories and antioxidants should all be supplemented according to the individual’s needs. Synthetic vitamin and mineral supplements are often necessary but aim to incorporate organic whole food-based supplements which have a high inherent antioxidant capacity, provide immune support and are rich in phytonutrients.
• Change the environment - make it difficult for the Unfriendly Faecal Organisms (UFO’s) to gain dominance or remain dominant. Some important principles involved in this step are outlined below.

• Reduce Stress – especially at mealtimes
• Provide essential nutrients: Zinc,Niacin,Magnesium,B6 Celtic Sea Salt & Potassium
• Bitter foods before meals e.g. olives, bitter lettuce & rocket
• Apple cider vinegar in water before meals
• Supplemental Betaine Hydrochloride before meals
• Herbal Bitters before meals:
  • Enhance upper digestive function / improve assimilation of nutrients
  • Stimulate appetite
  • Increase flow of digestive juices
  • Increase flow of bile
  • Regulate secretion of insulin & glucagon by the pancreas & liver
  • Stimulate repair of gut lining
  • Improve the micro-environment of the gut

• Restore vitality
  • remove problem foods
  • Primitive diet
• Enhance the Immune System
  • herbs, supplements, probiotics
• Change the Environment
  • Clear the colon
  • Alkalise
  • Improve digestion
  • Restore beneficial bacterial balance (probiotics, fermented foods)
  • Support detoxification
• Specifics – Antimicrobials, antifungals, antiparasitics, nutritional supplements, anti-inflammatories, antioxidants.