Similar Approaches to Diabetes and Macular Degeneration with Nutrition and Lifestyle - An Ophthalmologist's Perspective - Shalesh Kaushal, MD, PhD

Kirk’s video overview of Dr. Kaushal's interview (7:13 min) Kirk’s podcast with Dr. Kaushal (39:21 min)
India’s Diabetic Crisis
The WHO projects that India by 2020 will have 300 million new diabetics, China 200 million and the United States 100 million. The major cause of this diabetes epidemic is diet change. The traditionalIndian diet has changed considerably with the increased consumption and availability of fast, fried and processed foods. In Northern India there is a higher use of processed oils in preparing foods and in processed foods themselves.  There is also a higher consumption of processed sugars added to foods and carbonated soft drinks. As people migrate to the cities from rural areas for jobs there is more processed foods consumed with added fats, oils, sugar and animal products compared to the traditional rural diet. There has been a significant increase in non-vegetarians over the last 20-30 years in India.

How Does Dr. Kaushal Approach the Diabetic Patient?
Dr. Kaushal is a retinal specialist and ophthalmologist as well as having PhD in biochemistry, with a focus now on nutritional biochemistry and metabolic diseases.  The retina is the most metabolically active tissue in the body and has the largest oxygen supply. It has the largest blood supply per unit weight in the body.  Virtually every human disease has a retinal manifestation in the body. Hypertension and diabetes can be detected in the retina. So chronic diseases can be detected early by observing retinal changes.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Chronic Eye Conditions
The number one cause of blindness is cataracts, followed by glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, in particular swelling of leaky blood vessels in the area of central good vision which is called diabetic macular edema. The number one cause of missed work days in the United States is  diabetic macular edema. It is a very serious medical and economic problem. The same risk factors for macular degeneration are the same risk factors for coronary artery disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Insulin dysregulation appears be a significant factor in the initiation and progression of these and other chronic conditions, as well as the diabetic state. Statins don’t appear to help macular degeneration but are the number one cause of reversible muscle weakness and a cause of some reversible dementias.

Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Diet and Lifestyle
Dr. Kaushal tells patients initially that AMD is similar to other chronic illnesses – diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, obesity, age-related muscle loss and age-related bone marrow dysfunction because they are all found to be caused by low grade inflammation in the body or retina in AMD.

ARED Studies (Age-Related Eye Disease Study) on AMD
Dr. Kaushal is not a big fan of the AREDS eye supplement designed to treat AMD containing beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and minerals zinc, copper because they showed a very minimal benefit in AMD and a very minimal improvement in vision. There are good epidemiology studies showing the average nutrient deficiencies in the body are more than 40 essential vitamins and minerals that the body requires for normal bodily function (production of enzymes and structural proteins). Research has shown that Americans are deficient in more than 80% of these essential nutrients. Dr. Kaushal questions why we would only replace five of 40 nutrients that are deficient with the AREDS product. (See National Eye Institute – “What the Age-Related Eye Disease Studies Mean for You”)

Nutraceuticals and AMD
Dr. Kaushal recommends a high potency vitamin and mineral supplement. He doesn’t test for all these nutrients. It is somewhat cost prohibitive. He also adds omega-3 fats because the retina has the highest concentration of omega-3 fats in the body. He educates his patients on how to lower their omega-6 fatty acid intake, which are proinflammatory, while simultaneously increasing their omega 3s by using fish oil, krill oil, cod liver oil, or omeg3 fatty acids from algae. It is critically important to lower the omega-6 side by reducing processed food consumption, their use in cooking, and consuming animal products where animals have been fed omega-6 fatty acid enriched acid feed to “fatten” the animals.  He wants individuals to consume any type of omega-3 fatty acids but he likes krill oil which is rich in astaxanthin. He also likes cod liver oil which has vitamins D and E and has compounds called the retinoids which can improve the functioning of the retinal cells.

How Fast Can Change Be Seen                
Dr. Kaushal gives the analogy that turning AMD around is like turning a tanker around, not a speed boat. This chronic disease didn’t occur overnight, so while improvement can be seen very rapidly (within a month sometimes), the actual pathology of AMD reversal is a gradual process. He uses Saturday morning group visits to reinforcement these principles. Genomic predisposition and evaluation of the patient’s metabolic status including mTOR, autophagy, insulin signaling, inflammation, oxidative stress and nutrient sensing pathways are of value.          

Program for Diabetes and AMD
A whole food, mostly plant-based diet, with minimal processed carbohydrates with a high potency multivitamin and mineral, omega-3 fatty acids and additional nutrients which Dr. Kaushal labels as molecular rheostats are astaxanthin, Ashwagandha, turmeric, Lei Gong Teng (celestrol) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA). ALA improves mitochondrial function and number, and production of ATP. Acetyl-L-carnitine works synergistically with ALA in improving mitochondrial function. Nutraceuticals work differently than pharmaceuticals. Nature works by compounds that effect multiple cellular pathways all at once and are effective at re-stablishing cellular balance. They are useful in the retina, brain, heart, liver and other organs effecting chronic diseases. Exercising 30 minutes a day as a minimum can stimulate mitochondrial function as well. Chelation therapy may help with removal of toxic metals which can be oculo-toxic, but direct benefit of chelation studies showing benefit is lacking in AMD.

The Retinal and Alzheimer’s Connection
Both preservation of vision and memory are at the top of the list of patient concerns regarding healthy aging and independence preservation. Evaluating retinal health can also be an early detection tool for  Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Kaushal noted his talk on AMD is very similar to neurologist Dale Bredesen MD’s talk on Alzheimer’s disease prevention and reversal recognizing their similar pathophysiology.

 Shalesh Kaushal, MD, PhD’s Background and Training
He was born in India and his family moved when he was 5 years old to Michigan where his father obtained a master’s degree in electrical engineering. His father previously had earned a masters in mathematics from India. They moved to Vermont where is father worked for IBM on the first PCs. He went to Yale University as an undergraduate and wanted to be a theoretical physicist but found he was good at solving problems and finished his undergraduate work in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He went to John’s Hopkins Medical School and wanted to be a neurosurgeon. He had two mentors there in ophthalmology which influenced him greatly into becoming an ophthalmologist. He then wanted to pursue research and went to MIT. He did his ophthalmology residency at U.S.C., a retina fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis and did a year training in London at the Moorfield’s Eye Hospital. He worked for a short period at the University of Minnesota and work for many years at the University of Florida. He had an endowed chair and an endowed lab at the University of Florida and eventually transitioned to private practice in Florida. His practice’s website is www.comprehensiveretinaconsultants.com and has two locations in Florida presently. They treat macular degeneration and other chronic conditions with the state-of-the art diagnostic equipment that would rival any academic center. At his clinic they evaluate vascular and autonomic system health with the Max Pulse, EndoPat and the Glycocalyx Check. They have outstanding noninvasive structure-function testing of the retina as well and other metabolic testing for chronic diseases. He is the lone physician ophthalmologist in his practice with a significant support team.              

Comprehensive Retina Consultants, Shalesh Kaushal, MD, PhD, 1501 N US HWY 441 Bldg 1100 , Ste 1106 The  Villages, FL 32159  Phone Number: 352-775-0852 /Fax: 352-751-1869  and 203 South Seminole Avenue Inverness, FL 34452 Phone: 352-794-1500 Fax: 352-341-3870 www.comprehensiveretinaconsultants.com

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com  StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tip Sign Up Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs" Kirk’s Healthy Living Tips Archives

A Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Supplement Lowers Blood Pressure Like a Drug and Improves Artery (Endothelial) Function in Pre-Hypertensive Subjects

Kirk's overview video of Dr. Budoff interview (4:00 min)
Kirk’s audio interview (podcast) with Dr. Matthew Budoff (12:12 min)
Why Study a Nitrate Rich Beetroot Product?
Dr. Budoff is interested in studying nutraceutical products claiming they can increase nitric oxide to validate their efficacy and understand how they work. Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator and protects the endothelial cells against atherosclerosis. Nitric oxide is a cardioprotective substance, but in the past it was difficult to measure nitric oxide limiting research on it.

Study Intention
This study evaluated pre-hypertensives in the 130-140 range systolically (with new guidelines defined as stage 1 hypertension). If these patients drop their blood pressure 6-10 points, they might be able to avoid prescription medication.

Nutraceuticals vs. Drugs
The difference between treating with a drug and a nutraceutical is potency and proof of outcome. In the pharmaceutical the active ingredient is highly purified. The example would be comparing red yeast rice and lovastatin. They are both lovastatin but there are more milligrams of lovastatin, and more consistent amounts of lovastatin in the pharmaceutical lovastatin than in red yeast rice. The same named nutraceutical may vary from product to product in potency and content of active ingredients. There is more consistency and more proven outcomes with pharmaceuticals.

Treating Hypertension with A Nutraceutical
A nutraceutical, such as a nitrate rich beetroot product (Berkeley Life Nitric Oxide Support), will almost always have a better side effect profile, be safer and have better acceptance by patients than a pharmaceutical. So, there is a big advantage to treating patients with a natural product. But you wouldn’t want to treat someone with really high blood pressure, for example at 180 mm systolically with this beetroot product alone if you only going to get a 10 point drop in blood pressure. The patient would still be at risk for stroke and other cardiovascular complications.

Testing for Nitric Oxide
The saliva was tested for nitric oxide from a test strip and nitric oxide was also tested in the blood (test strip made and supplied by Berkeley Life Professional). Nitrate (NO3) in the beetroot converts to nitrite (NO2) in the saliva and then to nitric oxide (NO) in the mouth and stomach.

Endothelial Function Testing
An indirect test for NO in the endothelium is testing brachial flow mediated dilation. This is the oldest test and gold standard for testing endothelial function. It puts a cuff over the arm and restricts blood flow for a certain period of time then releases the cuff and measures the speed and the extent to which the blood vessel dilates after being constricted. A robust response is a big dilation of the artery suggesting a healthy artery (endothelium) and increased nitric oxide, while a blunted response (a small or no increase in the artery diameter) is a more dysfunctional endothelium or one that is given the placebo.

The Study and Results (See ACC Study Poster Presentation)
In this study a significant improvement was seen in those taking the beetroot extract by increased flow mediated dilation, but there was not a significant change in those that received the placebo. This 12-week study was long enough to assess endothelial function, blood pressure and parameters like cholesterol levels. They enrolled 67 people so they would have at least 30 subjects in each arm of the study (active ingredient – beetroot product (30) and placebo (32)) and tested them at baseline, two hours after their first dose (acute effect) and again at the end of the study. The beetroot product was 1 pill containing 314 mg of NO3 (nitrate) from the beetroot extract along with thiamine, potassium and vitamin C (Berkeley Life Nitric Oxide Support, www.berkeleylifeprofessional.com). The product was very well tolerated with no side effects, but long-term studies would have to be done to confirm absolute safety.

“Dramatic” Blood Pressure Results
There was a dramatic response with a blood pressure drop of 12.5 millimeters in systolic blood pressure over 12 weeks which would be very comparable to prescription therapy. The net reduction was a 6 millimeter drop in blood pressure because the placebo group dropped 6 millimeters which is commonly seen in the placebo group when evaluating anti-hypertensive medications. This placebo group effect could be from patients being more compliant and reducing their salt intake. There was also a significant drop in the diastolic blood pressure.

How to Use This Beetroot Extract
This product could be used alone in pre-hypertensive subjects or in combination with an anti-hypersensitive medication safely. Dr. Budoff’s main concern is people with high systolic blood pressure (ex.170 mm systolically) using the beetroot extract only and this won’t be adequate to bring their blood pressure down enough, and they will be at risk for complications from the hypertension.  He doubts any significant interactions with other pharmaceuticals, possibly a compounding effect with vasodilators such as nitrates (i.e. nitroglycerin, nitrites, etc.) or PDE inhibitors such as Cialis or Viagra.

Long-Term Anti-Hypertensive and Artery Protective Effects
Dr. Budoff believes these 12-week benefits in blood pressure reduction and improved endothelial function would be sustained as long as one is taking the supplement because the blood pressure lowering effect was sustained over the 12-week period, but a longer trial is needed. Also, it is reasonable to assume, though this would have to be proven over a year-long trial, that the improvement in endothelial function and reduction in blood pressure might lead to slowing of coronary calcification and possibly the reversal of soft plaque. Lowering of blood pressure, plaque regression and slowing of coronary calcification (atherosclerosis) has been shown with aged garlic extract in over five studies with the early studies showing similar reductions of blood pressure and improvement in endothelial function as this study. But at least a year-long study with this beetroot supplement is needed to confirm this assumption.  

Future Research
Dr. Budoff was very favorably impressed and actually surprised to see such a significant blood pressure lowering effect of this beetroot extract product. The Berkeley Life Nitric Oxide Support product also had a nice improvement in the brachial blood flow indicating improved endothelial function. He would like to do a year-long trial with this product and evaluate these same parameters along with assessing coronary calcification and plaque growth or regression

Matthew J. Budoff, MD, Prof Medicine, UCLA, Director, Cardiac CT & Fellowship Program, Division of Cardiology, Harbor-UCLA Med Cent 1124 West Carson Street, RB-2 Torrance, CA 90502  Lundquist Institute (formerly LABiomed)  Budoff@ucla.edu  (310) 222-4104/ (310)787-0448 (FAX)

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com  StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tip Sign Up Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs" Kirk’s Healthy Living Tips Archives

Is The Benefit of IV Chelation Therapy in Heart Attack Patients, Especially Diabetics, and The "Saving" of Gangrenous Limbs Due to Removal of Toxic Metals, Oral and IV Vitamins, or Both?

Kirk's video overview of Dr. Lamas interview (9:39 min)
Listen to Audio Interview with Dr. Gervasio Lamas - Click Here (30:07 min)
Background To The TACT 1 & TACT 2 Trials of IV Chelation in Patients with Previous Heart Attacks  Dr. Gervacio Lamas has been studying chelation therapy for more than 20 years (TACT 1, [9/2003-8/2012] and TACT 2 [10/2016-4/2021 estimated completion] Trials). He chose to study chelation therapy to challenge his own belief that chelation therapy was not valid after being asked by a patient in August of 1999 if chelation therapy was a legitimate cardiovascular therapy. He later acknowledged that he based his initial skepticism from his professional bias and it was not evidence-based. (JAMA. 2013 Mar 27;309(12):1241-50.) (Full Article; Abstract ; ClinicalTrails.Gov)
Kirk Hamilton's original interivew (audio) with Dr. Gervasio Lamas in May, 2013      Interview Transcripts

Early Chelation Studies
Initially he looked at studies on chelation and it was split down the middle. There were positive case studies on the one side and on the other there were 3-4 small studies by conventional cardiologists saying chelation therapy didn’t work and had no validity. The negative studies were so small you couldn’t exclude that there was some benefit. EDTA was developed in 1937. One of the first reports was in 1956 "Treatment of Angina Pectoris with Disodium Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid" Am J. Sci. 1956;6:54 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]. EDTA lost its patent in the 1960s. It’s current I&D (FDA license to use in research) is under Dr. Lamas’s name.

The Beginning of TACT 1 (Trial to Access Chelation Therapy)
He contacted colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and stated there was the methodology available to put the question of whether chelation therapy was valid or not to the test and he felt that chelation would be found to be non-efficacious and the question of chelation’s value would be put to rest. Three years after that he received a 30 million dollar grant to do the TACT 1 study (Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy). Ten years later in 2012 the study became unblinded (1708 subjects, 55,222 chelation infusions, 40 chelations per participant (infusions including vitamins with the EDTA – vitamin C and B vitamins) all subjects had previous heart attacks, were at least 50 years of age, and had adequate kidney function). The statisticians were from Duke University, the cardiac events were judged to be real or not from Harvard. He made sure he had the best statisticians (Duke University) and clinical event evaluators (Harvard University).

TACT 1 Study Results
When they looked at the data they were surprised to see that the study was positive. They were able to show a reduction of the combined clinical endpoint for death, heart attack, stroke, bypass, angioplasties, hospitalizations for unstable angina in all subjects who previously had a heart attack, which was a “spectacular” result.

A third of the patients had diabetes (633 patients) in TACT 1 and the effect of the EDTA chelation was spectacular, reducing the combined cardiovascular end point by 41%; reducing the risk of death from all causes over 5 years by 43%; reducing the risk of another heart attack in these diabetics by 50%.

Eighty-three percent of these patients were taking statins. There was no reduction of effect with or without statins. So chelation works by a different mechanism than statins. Compared to the old statin studies (statin vs. a placebo) the effect size of the chelation was much greater.

How Does Chelation Work – Toxic Metal Excretion?
EDTA chelates positive divalent ions with great efficacy – like the metals lead and cadmium (++). Measuring metals in the urine before and after the IV EDTA challenge you will find after a challenge individuals will excrete 3000-4000% more of these metals into the urine harmlessly.

Lead runs with calcium and goes initially into the red blood cell, then after one month it goes into bone. Lead has a half-life in bone of 30 years. About 50% of cadmium is stored in your kidneys and the rest is the liver, lungs, neural tissue, the soft organs essentially.

You don’t want any metals in your body. Lead slowly leaches out of bone. In older people lead will have blood levels of 1-2 micrograms/dl. The EPA says this is acceptable. Lead is very “vasculo-toxic.” It poisons the endothelium, the lining of the arteries. It replaces calcium in intracellular reactions and “gums-up” the works.It is an oxidant stressor and increases oxygen free radicals. 

All of these toxic metals increase oxidative stress. And then each metal has their own individual metabolic mechanism of cellular poisoning.  Diabetics live in a state of high oxidative stress and may be more susceptible to the toxic effects of heavy metals.

Lead and cadmium effect the acetylation of histones, the proteins that unspool DNA or ‘spool it back up’ your DNA. These metals may “gum up” how your DNA is transcribed (created).

We all have these toxic metals being taken up by our bodies. These metals may be causing or contributing to disease and health professionals are not paying any real attention to this problem and have no real knowledge how this toxic metal burden is contributing to common diseases.

Dr. Lamas equates the current situation with everyone being exposed to toxic metals, and probably having a significant burden of them, to the problem of smoking after World War II and the Korean War. Everyone smoked so initially it was difficult to prove that diseases were caused by smoking. But eventually people started looking at smoking as a cause of many diseases. Like-wise, sooner or later, the medical community will eventually start to ask and study the question of what effects do all these toxic metals have on the body and the burden of chronic disease. Cadmium and lead are just two of 5-10 toxic metals seen frequently in the urine upon EDTA IV provocation.

Dr. Lamas’s focus is to look at the effect of toxic metals and chelation with respect to cardiovascular diseases which he believes is significant and can be potentially treated. To look at the effect of toxic metals as a global health problem is beyond the scope of his investigations, but the environmental and health problems from global toxic metal burden are probably significant. He notes science and medicine moves forward in small parts and pieces by evaluating and testing aspects of one disease. In this case he is focusing on cardiovascular disease and the effect of chelation therapy.

TACT 1 Trial Results, The Acceptance of EDTA for Cardiovascular Disease and the FDA
He went to the FDA and sat down with the experts in cardiovascular disease in 2014 and requested from the results of TACT 1 that EDTA chelation therapy be approved for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.  The FDA said the study was positive, the drug (EDTA) was safe, but it was only one study. None of the other previous studies mattered because they were too small and with questionable outcome. In reality the FDA said when only one study shows a positive outcome a drug is usually not approved. Without a second confirmatory study of cardiovascular benefit EDTA would “fade” off in the public and health professional’s memory as something that failed and was “shot down.” So, the FDA recommended doing the study again (TACT 2) studying the most responsive group in the TACT 1 trial which was diabetic patient who had a previous heart attack. If the outcome was as positive as the first study, as it should be if EDTA chelation really is a valid therapy, then he could come back to the FDA and it would be “smoother sailing” to getting EDTA chelation therapy approved for cardiovascular disease.

TACT 2 Trial
TACT 2 will follow 1200 diabetic patients with a previous heart attack (MI) who will receive 40 infusions. Presently (April, 2019) they have almost 700 patients enrolled in TACT 2. The study is ongoing and proceeding smoothly in multiple centers and there will be an answer in a couple of years.

There is an oral vitamin arm of the TACT 2 trial since in TACT 1 chelation patients also took oral, high dose, antioxidant-rich supplements as part of the IV chelation protocol. Dr. Lamas is a conventional cardiologist and he is not an expert in dietary supplement use and asked a consensus panel of expert chelation doctors on what should a multivitamin and mineral supplement contain to be given along with the intravenous chelation therapy. In the TACT 1 trial there was a vitamin supplement arm and a placebo arm along with the chelation therapy. There was an 11% reduction in cardiovascular events in the vitamin consuming group in TACT 1 which was not clinically significant, but this doesn’t necessarily mean there was no benefit from the oral vitamins. There may not have been enough patients to have statistical power to show an effect. It was also observed that there was a “HUGE” benefit from the vitamins in the 27% of subjects who were NOT taking statins. In the 83% of subjects who took statins there was no appreciable benefit in cardiovascular risk reduction with vitamin supplementation. Dr. Lamas has no idea what the mechanism might be from this possible benefit of the vitamin supplements in the statin non-users in the TACT 1 trial, but this is another reason they are studying an oral vitamin supplemented group in the TACT 2 trial. If this benefit is confirmed in this diabetic population then this will open up a whole new area of study on the role of high dose antioxidant supplements and their use in cardiovascular disease patients.

Side Effects and Conventional Cardiologist’s Attitudes Towards Chelation
Most traditional cardiologists still believe that chelation therapy has no benefit and may have side effects like causing kidney problems, which it doesn’t. Dr. Lamas has recently given lectures to leading cardiologists at Harvard University, Brigham’s and Women’s Hospital, where he worked and is well received. There was no hostility, no disbelief and patronizing. There were friendly questions and the desire for more information. The physicians saw the evidence, along with pictures of case studies of gangrenous limbs being reversed (amputation avoided) with chelation therapy, and they wanted more information.  That said you won’t find these open-minded conventional cardiologists who want more information prescribing chelation therapy or referring their patients to chelation doctors.   

Chelation Therapy at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami, Florida
Mount Sinai Hospital (Miami, Florida) is the only hospital that he knows of in the U.S. where chelation has been approved through the pharmacy and therapeutics committee and can be prescribed, though it is rarely done so. Dr. Lamas is not out there as a chelation physician but as a scientist trying to develop a new treatment for an unrecognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Like cholesterol was before the Framingham study, he is out to prove that chelation therapy is a valid new therapy for cardiovascular disease, possibly my reducing toxic metal burden.  He would have no problem putting patients on a statin and utilizing chelation therapy concurrently. They are both proven and safe therapies with no adverse interactions.

Dr. Lamas’s Diet Recommendations
He has poor compliance with any dietary recommendations he makes and doesn’t recommend a specific diet. The diet pattern he encourages is the one that assists the patient in losing weight. He just wants less weight in his patients because “fat is toxic.” He is open to plant-based diets and Mediterranean diets if people will adhere to them and if they have lost weight.

Infection as A Cause Atherosclerosis?
He has not seen any good evidence of an infectious cause of atherosclerosis. Chronic infections in general may increase overall inflammation and may have an adverse effect on the endothelium and other components of the blood vessels in a secondary kind of way. He has not seen evidence of microorganisms growing in plaque that could be treated with an antibiotic or antimicrobial that would lead to a reduction in cardiovascular events. He still believes that coronary calcification is do to microvascular ruptures of inflamed plaque that is walled off by the body with calcium.

Dr. Lamas's Closing Comments
He hopes that individuals who hear this recognize that there I s much more than meets the eye in terms of cardiovascular risk factors.

Critical Limb Ischemia Studies With Chelation Therapy
He just started TACT “3A” which is a 50-patient study with critical limb ischemia subjects (impending amputation). Thirty will receive active treatment and 20 will receive placebo. I shared a case study of an 83-year-old diabetic female who was partially blind who was to have her foot amputated because of a non-healing ulcer. After 2-3 weeks of daily chelation the wound started to heal and she didn’t have to have the food amputated.

Dr Lamas stated, “There is something just so sterile about the Kaplan–Meier curve. You can…you know you can just say well blah blah blah, blah blah blah. You can’t ‘blah blah’ a foot that has gangrene, that had gangrene six months ago and it is still attached now without gangrene. YOU CANNOT ‘SCIENCE’ THAT AWAY" after chelation therapy! He shared that’s how he finished his talk at Brigham’s and Women’s Hospital at Harvard speaking to a cardiologist audience about the TACT 1 & 2 trials and there was nothing that the audience could really respond to with regards to in these critical limb ischemia patients who didn’t lose their limbs due to gangrene because of intravenous chelation therapy.

Kirk Hamilton's original interivew (audio) with Dr. Gervasio Lamas in May, 2013      Interview Transcripts

Gervasio A. Lamas, MD, Chairman of Medicine and Chief of the Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Florida. He received his B.A. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard and his M.D. from New York University. He completed his internship, residency and cardiology training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. I interviewed Dr. Lamas almost 6 years ago in May of 2013 on the TACT 1 Study – or Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy  published in JAMA. 2013 Mar 27;309(12):1241-50.) 

Gervasio A. Lamas, MD, Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center 4300 Alton Road, Suite 2070 Miami Beach, Florida 33140 Telephone: 305-674-2690, 305-674-3936, 305-674-2169 (f), Gervasio.lamas@msmc.com

____________________

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com  StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tip Sign Up Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs" Kirk’s Healthy Living Tips Archives

Headaches, Esophageal Spasms, Muscle Cramps, Skin Rashes and Urinary Frequency Disappear with Simple Food Elimination

How Food Elimination “Saved” Me From Specialists! The Power of Food as Medicine! I have been practicing primary care, integrative and lifestyle medicine physician’s assistant since April of 1983! Wow! More than 36 years! Ancient! The very first integrative medicine practice I worked in was in Marina Del Rey. The physician put everyone on a vegetable puree for two weeks with some psyllium seed husks, coffee enemas and a slug of vitamins. Over those two weeks I saw just about every complaint improve… From joint pain, to headaches, to inflammatory bowel disease and much more.

What has stuck with me these 36 plus years is that the common foods you are eating can cause VIRTUALLY ANY SYMPTOM you might have…

Point 1 – Usually these food reactions are NOT true “allergic” IGE, immediate onset, reactions so your traditional allergists, ENT, GI or primary care doctor won’t pick them up on their scratch or prick testing. There-fore you should use the word “Food Intolerance” not “Food Allergy” for a symptom related to food.

Point 2 – Most of your food sensitivities can change. They are not fixed (some are, but most are not). They can change with stress, your GUT HEALTH, your age and for other reasons.

Point 3 – Whenever a symptom occurs out of nowhere ask first, “What did I just eat? What is new in my diet?” If you have a chronic problem (s) ask yourself, “What do I eat 4-7 days per week or really crave?”

Point 4 – Have you ever gone on a fast, restricted diet, traveled, or changed your diet for any reason and felt better or noticed some chronic symptoms go away? PAY ATTENTION. REMEMBER WHAT YOU JUST ATE OR, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT YOU DIDN’T EAT!

Point 5 – It only takes “ONE” food you are sensitive to and if you eat it daily you can feel terrible even though the rest of your diet is “pristine” and low in common allergens.

Point 6 – One food can cause multiple complaints in your body at the same time (i.e. headaches, muscle cramps, urinary frequency, esophageal spasm, skin rashes, etc.)!

My Personal Story…
I have had an esophageal spasm maybe once a month for the last 20 years. It feels like you swallowed a golf ball and it gets stuck. It hurts so much at times it brings tears to your eyes. Last about 10-20 minutes. Feels like a heart attack.

Have had spontaneous muscle cramps in calves, especially at night, but could be anywhere that I contracted muscle (i.e. like my stomach, thigh, etc.). Also easy muscle or tendon “tears” with more aggressive driving off my legs (swing dancing sometimes or sprinting).

Was having difficulty being able to hold my urine more than an hour or two for a 3-4 month period in late 2018. An hour was max. I tested myself for a urinary tract infection but there wasn’t one.

A weekly headache. Start behind my right eye in the morning and grows all day with nausea.

I know the aggravating foods involved – coffee, chocolate, teas (green or black) and alcohol. The tea and coffee sensitivity has worsened over the last 2-3 years. Sometimes they would trigger a headache. Sometimes a skin rash. Sometimes an esophageal spasm. Chocolate would give me a headache the next day. Alcohol I have always been sensitive too, but I would be less sensitive (less headaches the next day) after giving myself a round of the anti-fungals like fluconazole or itraconazole. Any combination of the above might lead to these complaints but a common denominator was caffeine or caffeine like compounds, especially in coffee.

So I went off all chocolate, coffee, tea, alcohol and Wa Lah! All those complaints are gone! Most remarkable was the frequent urination. Within a day I could hold my urine. The other symptoms I have always kept at bay by controlling the level of consumption of those foods.

Moral of Story - If I hadn’t known and believed food could cause any symptom I might have eventually gone to a neurologist for headaches; a gastroenterologist or cardiologist for esophageal spasms; a urologist for frequent urination; my primary care or internist for muscle cramps; and a dermatologist for weird skin rashes.

Just knowing that food can cause this array of symptoms and that your sensitivities can change is powerful medicine. In another Healthy Tip I can get into the reasons why your food sensitivities can and will change. Food elimination by diet change, fasting or partial fasting can save you thousands of dollars and tons of unneeded mental stress and physical discomfort.….FEEL OR SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT…THINK FOOD AS A CAUSE FIRST!

Basic Elimination Diet – BED DIET  (go to page 2)

Prolon – Fasting Mimicking Diet  

Water Fasting – True North Health Center

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

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Is Heart Disease Cause By an Infection? Fungus? And Why A Plant Based Diet, Garlic and EDTA Chelation May Be Important Treatments

Kirk’s Video Overview of Interview with Stephen E. Fry MS, MD (4:51 min)
Stephen Fry, MS, MD was trained as a microbiologist and in molecular biology before becoming a physician. After doing surgical pathology work, he went into private practice and he began looking forthe causes of chronic inflammatory diseases that seem to have no known cause. He went to the 3rd International Biofilm Conference in Vancouver and this opened his eyes to the role of biofilm in chronic diseases. He recalls from his surgical pathology experiences seeing a “gunky” substance in the brains and the arteries which was the biofilm produced by the organisms. He also noticed the same type of “gunky” substances in the surgical equipment they used. This made him suspicious that plaque may be a mixture of organisms that produce this slime or biofilm. He eventually did a study using metagenomic sequencing and found mainly protozoans like fungi and algae in these mixed communities in arterial plaque biopsies, but not as much bacteria. This finding of fungi in plaque has been confirmed by other researchers. In his laboratory (Fry Laboratories) after doing thousands of assays from chronic inflammatory disease patients he feels that the main infecting organisms are mainly fungal and then other organisms join the infection community in that particular tissue making it more difficult to treat.

Biofilm in the past was said to be the “slime” layer. Biofilm is made by prokaryotes (bacteria) and eukaryotes (fungi, protozoans and algae) that secrete these complexed polysaccharides. The biofilm protects the organism from the environment. It allows nutrients to come in and DNA to go out.

Infection and Coronary Artery Disease
Zithromax has been used to try to eradicate mycoplasma without any cardiovascular benefit. This was the wrong organism and does not use a biofilm disrupting approach.  Dr. Fry believes these plaque infecting organisms are probably complexed eukaryotic fungi in coronary disease and possibly in brain diseases as well. An anecdotal experience shared by a dermatology colleague who treated his Rosacea patients with tetracycline for years was that this population didn’t appear to get heart attacks.

Dr. Fry would like to do a study of coronary plaque biopsies from around the world and using mass spectroscopy find out what these organisms in the plaque really are. The samples would come from the hard and soft plaque and Dr. Fry notes that the hard plaque may be something that is laid down by these organisms (hard plaque is calcium, lipids, macrophages and inflammatory cells). Plaque needs to be re-evaluated about what it really is. When we find out exactly what plaque is then Dr. Fry feels the problem of atherosclerosis will be made more clear and appropriate treatments will be created for it. Dr. Fry is convinced that vascular disease is colonization of the artery with eukaryotes (mostly fungal). Recent studies have found fungi in the blood vessels of Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease patients.  

How Garlic and EDTA May Benefit Coronary Artery Disease
Aged garlic extract’s benefit in slowing calcified plaque progression and reversing soft plaque may be due to its ability to disrupt biofilm in the infected plaque. Garlic is the root of the plant and may have developed chemicals that prevent invasion by an organism. Curcumin and turmeric may work similarly. EDTA may also work as a biofilm disrupter, especially with fungi and bacterial biofilms. Cardiologist Dr. Gervasio Lamas also reported more heavy metal burden in cardiovascular patients (i.e. lead, cadmium, etc.) and these metals aside from being toxic in-and-of themselves may help fungi to grow better, and therefore support the fungal infection in the arterial plaque.

Autoimmune Disease and Antibiotics
Dr. Fry has used tetracycline for autoimmune diseases and has had reasonable results but when he has added antifungals (i.e. itraconazole, terbinafine, etc.) he gets much better results.

Assessing Coronary Artery Disease Plaque
At present he has no laboratory assay to tell the physician what organisms are in the arterial plaque by a blood sample. Larger studies are needed at different places world-wide to sample arterial plaque to see what organisms are in the plaque to confirm his hypothesis that fungi are the greatest contributor to arterial plaque growth along with other organisms that are along for the “ride.” Just because you find the organisms in the plaque doesn’t mean you will find that same organism in the blood.  You may not find any in the blood. So, there is no blood test at present to diagnose what is in the arterial plaque, though his lab may come up with a “liquid biopsy” of the plaque in the near future to possibly measure vascular load.  

Why A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet Might Work for Preventing and Reversing Coronary Artery Disease
Antimicrobial and antifungal components in plants may be preventing or reversing this infectious process in the arteries. Dr. Fry notes sugar is in almost all processed foods in varying forms and amounts and every microbiologist knows that you give sugar to organisms to make them grow. He comments on Dr. Colin Campbell’s discussion with him where he stated that in his past research with porcine models of cardiovascular disease that protein was much more atherogenic by weight than carbohydrates or fats.  The typical American diet is 30-40% animal protein thereby probably increasing cardiovascular risk.

Future Research Direction
Dr. Fry wants to get a large study done (and published) that takes several hundred samples of coronary artery plaque from around the world and finds out what organisms are present and then get appropriate treatments (probably a combination of drugs) that will eradicate these micro-organisms.

In the interim before a proven infectious disease protocol is discovered people who are willing to change their diet should to go on a whole food plant based diet (WFPBD) like used in Dr. Esselstyn’s 2014 paper (J Family Practice 2014;63(7):356-364) on 198 individuals with proven coronary artery disease and there was no more heart attacks in the group after 3.7 years in the 177 who stayed on the diet. Just one stroke occurred in the treatment group or .06% having another CVD event. In the 22 individuals who went off the diet 62% had another cardiovascular event. He has seen the benefit of this WFPBD approach in his wife who had significant cardiovascular problems and this diet has shown great benefit in kidney disease and other diseases like ALS as well. This WFPBD is difficult for the average American because they are used to consuming so much meat and dairy products.  Maybe doxycycline with an augmented WFPBD might work but further study is needed.

He doubts that eating animal products are the source of the pathogens. The pathogens probably come from insect bites, contaminated water or raw food. Even breathing in infectious agents may be a source of pathogen that eventually may infect arterial plaque. He believes the cause is environmental.

Stephen Fry, MS, MD, is the Medical Director of Fry Laboratories located in Scottsdale, Arizona. This lab has evaluated the role of infectious agents in chronic inflammatory diseases for more than 15 years. He co-authored the paper entitled “Evidence for polymicrobial communities in explanted vascular filters and atheroma debris,” in the journal, “Molecular and Cellular Probes” in 2017 (Molecular and Cellular Probes, 2017;33:65-77) and he also uses whole food plant-based nutrition in his practice when patients are open to it. 

Fry Laboratories, 14807 N. 73rd Street, Suite 103, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. (866) 927-8075, (480)292-8560;  (480) 656-4932 (FAX), info@frylabs.com, www.frylab.com.

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com  StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
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Replacing the Cholesterol Theory of Heart Disease with the LPS Theory of Coronary Artery Disease

Replacing the “Cholesterol Theory of Atherosclerosis” with the “Low Level Endotoxemia Theory of Coronary Artery Disease” – An Interview with Jeffrey Dach, MD (Podcast: Listen Here) Kirk's Video Overview of Interview with Jeffrey Dach, MD (6:36 min) Kirk's Heart Disease Reversal Resource page  “Reverse Heart Disease Now!” – “Quick Start”  

Dr. Jeffrey Dach, MD has a passion to share his belief that coronary artery disease is not caused by cholesterol but by the “Low Level Endotoxemia LPS Theory of Coronary Artery Disease” which has an inflammatory etiology caused by an underlying infection (s) (infected biofilm)  from possibly the mouth or leaky gut or other body source. His most fundamental premise is that the cholesterol hypothesis is wrong and therefore cholesterol lowering agents are ineffective and possibly can do some harm. Statin drug utilization may only have benefit in those with established coronary artery disease, but it may only be of partial benefit because of its pleiotropic effects (i.e. anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, etc.) and not by it’s cholesterol lowering effects.

The best assessment tool for evaluating coronary artery disease, its progression and risk for future cardiovascular events is not following LDL cholesterol or other lipid levels and treating with subsequent statin or other lipid lowering therapies, but it is with yearly coronary calcium scoring by computer tomography (CT or CAC Scoring) which has the radiation exposure approximately equal to a mammogram. The goal is to have less than a 15% calcium score increase per year (there are some anecdotal cases of regression). This is associated with a significantly reduced risk of a future coronary event. A zero calcium score at baseline would suggest no statin or lipid lowering treatment no matter what cholesterol level one has. A calcified plaque progression of greater than 15% is suggestive of significant cardiac risk and more aggressive therapies would be needed to slow plaque progression or possibly reverse it.

Dr. Dach’s approach to preventing, stopping or possibly reversing the calcified plaque is to use the coronary calcium score by cardiac CT and not use lipid levels as the indicator on how aggressively to treat coronary artery disease, follow it’s progression or estimate one’s current risk of a coronary event.

Treatment Modalities for Treating Coronary Artery Disease from the “Low Level Endotoxemia LPS Theory of Coronary Artery Disease”

Use yearly coronary calcium scoring by cardiac CT to follow plaque progression which should stay under 15% growth yearly (amount of radiation exposure equal to mammogram, cost $100-200 cash)

The beneficial pleotropic effects of statin drugs can be more effectively replicated, without the adverse effects of statins, by using the combined modalities of diet, lifestyle modification and supplements used by integrative medicine practitioners.  Here is one such list of items (half way down page).  There are others.

Treatment Approaches To Coronary Artery Disease
Source: “Heart Book” by Jeffrey Dach, MD (HB)

Aged Garlic – Allicin (HB, 57-69)
Blood Sugar control
Botanicals for NFKB
Diet and Lifestyle (“Heart Book (HB)”, pages 131-136)
EDTA
Essential Phospholipid IV (1/2 way down the page, Plaquex read here )
Fibrinolytic Enzymes
Homocysteine?
Leaky Gut (Eliminate wheat (HB, 128-130) & food elimination, berberine (shrinks tight junctions) avoid
Magnesium
MTHFR
NSAID (HB, 119-124)?
Optimize Hormones (estrogen beneficial for heart health (HB,183-198, testosterone not harmful, probably beneficial (HB, 207-250, thyroid optimization (HB, 199-206)
Ozone
Lipoprotein(a) ?
Tocotrienols Vit E 200 mg/d (HB, 95-106)
Vitamin C (Linus Pauling Protocol: vitamin C 5-6 gms/d, lysine 5 gms/d, proline, 2-3 gms/d, (HB, 81-94)
Vitamin D3
Vitamin K2 – MK7 (HB, 71-79)

Jeffrey Dach, MD is Board Certified in Vascular and Interventional Radiology who now practice integrative medicine using nutrition, dietary supplements, hormones and lifestyle change to treat patients in an outpatient setting in Davie, Florida. You may contact Dr. Jeffrey Dach at 7450 Griffin Road, Suite 190, Davie, Florida 33314  telephone 954-792-4663 or click here to email a message.  You may purchase his book “Heart Book” online Here.

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com  StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
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You Can Reverse Rheumatoid Arthrtis by Diet - Two Case Studies

Over the last several years I have listened to multiple physicians at conferences tell their stories of "curing" themselves of autoimmune illness with whole food plant based diets (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, etc.). Haven't had a chance to interview Monica Aggarwal, MD but she is a plant-based cardiologist who heard recently at a conference who did it. Here story is inspiring. It's not only about getting off of offending foods (dairy, meats, eggs, wheat, junk carbs etc.) and eating more nutrient dense plant foods but it's also about getting your life under control stress wise. Here is Dr. Aggarwal's inspiring story as well as Erika Cline's story a young 28 year old with severe rheumatoid arthritis, brain fog, numbness, dizziness, anemia and chronic fatigue who reversed her rheumatoid arthritis in a 1-2 year period.

But we've known doing fasting then proceeding to a low allergy plant based (vegan) diet has reversed RA symptoms for years. You can apply this same approach to any autoimmune illness and for that matter any chronic pain syndrome, especially if related to joints.

Monica Aggarwal, MD, Cardiologist’s Story

Erika Cline's Story

Fasting and Vegetarian Diet Benefits RA Ref 1 2

Kirk's Basic Elimination Diet (page 2) - Can help WITHOUT going completely plant-based

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com     StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"

Kirk Hamilton's Interview With Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on Reversing His Diabetes and Neuropathy Fast! And Transforming Healthcare in New York City

Kirk’s 15 Minute Podcast with President Eric Adams - Listen Here (15:02)
Kirk's Video Overview of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adam's Interview (3:09 min)
Fork's Over Knives Diabetes Reversal Interview with President Eric Adams (5:50 min)
Kirk Hamilton’s: Reversing Diabetes Handout (PDF) - Reversing Diabetes Resources (Web)
Eric Adams is currently the President of the Brooklyn Borough, one of five Boroughs in New York City containing 2.6 million people. This elected position is equivalent to a countyexecutive. He is a former New York City police officer and was a New York State Senator for 7 years. As a NYC police officer, he was very active in building relationships between the community and police officers. He became a special assignment police officer then was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and eventually retired as a captain.

Health Journey
In his jobs from police officer, to state senator and then President of the Brooklyn Borough his diet and lifestyle habits were very poor living a very busy and stressful life eating sugary, high fat and highly processed foods. He never equated his poor health habits to the medical problems he had.  

While traveling in Dubai he developed a stationary abdominal pain that concerned him enough to be evaluated when returning the United States fearing colon cancer which had affected a friend. After a colonoscopy and endoscopy, he was found to have a small ulcer but his doctor said he had a much bigger problem... of out-of-control diabetes which he had no awareness of.

Health Problems
Along with the ulcer and extreme diabetes he had elevated cholesterol and blood pressure, vision loss in loss in his left eye and was losing sight in his right eye, numbness (neuropathy) in his hands, feet and right thigh and he was overweight. Though he states looking from the outside he looked to be in good shape.

Doctors Recommendations
Because of his position he had seen some (five) of the best and most credentialed doctors in New York City all saying essentially the same things; his diabetes was very severe (one physician said he should have been in a coma); he had to be put on medication (two) and insulin right away; his condition with medical treatment might blunt or slow some of the disease’s side effects but it was hereditary (mother and sisters had diabetes) and the diabetes and side effects would progress. Not one of the physicians he saw said anything about nutrition and food.  

Taking “Disease Reversing” Action
He could not accept the physicians’ statements that her would be on medication the rest of his life. He Googled “Reversing Diabetes”. He came across Cleveland Clinics Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s work on reversing heart disease. He called Dr. Esselstyn and subsequently flew to Cleveland Ohio to visit him. While traveling to Cleveland he came across a book of another physician Dr. Michael Greger, “How Not to Die”. He read it on his trip and was stunned and in disbelief to read/hear evidence that many chronic diseases (i.e. diabetes, heart disease, etc.) are not just preventable but reversible by a whole food plant-based diet without added oils. “The Forks Over Knives Plan” really helped him make a rapid and complete transition to a whole food plant-based diet!

He returned home to Brooklyn and cleared out all the food in his house that would not fit into his new diet of being “Whole Food Plant-Based” (WFPBD) and that this would be his new norm for eating and living.

Food Preparation and Eating In or Out On a Hectic Schedule
President Adams lives a very busy and full job being a very active public official, almost 24/7, so he food preps once a week. He prepares and eats food in his office frequently. He travels a lot and brings a thermal bag to carry his food with him. When eating out he will many times eat before he goes so, he will be full and just have a salad. Or, he will look at side menus and/or create a meal with combinations of salads.  He states, “I have built my life around eating and eating is not built around my life.” He exercises in his office as well.

Rapid and Lasting Health Results
Three weeks after committing 100% to a WFPBD without oil his ophthalmologist was stunned because his vision had totally cleared up; three months later his hemoglobin A1C was at a normal 5.7 (originally A1C was 17, then 13); the neuropathy in his hands, feet and thigh disappeared; his blood pressure and cholesterol normalized; his ulcer was gone and he had lost 35 lbs. President Adams emphasizes this diet as a Whole Food Plant-Based without oil because just eating vegan (no animal products) doesn’t mean you won’t eat processed, unhealthy vegan junk foods.

President Eric Adams Thoughts on First Responders
First responders have a very stressful job as it is without adding the health consequences of a poor diet to their busy lifestyles. First responders shouldn’t be responded to because of their own health crisis. Many officers are on the “Heart Bill” suffering from hardening of the arteries, stents, strokes, premature death and other chronic diseases.

Positive Action in New York City and The Brooklyn Borough
- A plant-based medical clinic is being establish at the oldest hospital in the United States. Bellevue hospital in New York City. Ref: 1  2
- Meatless Mondays at New York City’s Presbyterian Hospital Ref: 1  2
- Meatless Mondays in New York City schools  Ref:  1  2  3
- Some vegetarian schools in New York City Ref: 1  2  3
- Plant and vegetable growing with new technology in NYC schools Ref: 1

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adam’s Vision for a Healthy Society
Health is not about living forever or necessarily longer. It’s about:
- Grandmothers not getting dementia so they can recognize their grandchildren…
- Individual’s not developing kidney failure from diabetes so they don’t have to spend three hours per day three days per week going to dialysis…
- Not seeing the #1 cause of unnecessary non-traumatic limb amputations from diabetes occur…
- Not seeing the #1 killer heart disease occur with it is mostly a preventable and reversible condition…
- Not seeing yours or a loved one’s life “hijacked” because you have to be constantly dealing with a chronic disease or worry about the next test...
- Knowing you can change your health condition at any age as Eric Adams mother did by reversing her diabetes at the age of 80!

Eric Adams took an oath to “serve and protect" when he was an NYPD officer and that commitment continues today as the President of the Brooklyn Borough. The United States should have healthy families and children and healthcare should not get in way of it.

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com     StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"

Former Brooklyn Police Officer Reverses His Diabetes and Neuropathy....Fast!

I heard Eric Adams, former police officer and now Brooklyn Borough President, speak this past weekend when I did a "1 Dayer" to the 2nd Annual Preventive Cardiology Conference at Montefiore in the Bronx, NY. While there was some great physicians speakers, Mr. Adams was the best. His dramatic diabetes reversal story along with his passion to help people in general, and especially the people in Brooklyn, and especially, especially, the children of that borough is tremendously inspiring. Read this content and watch this video (5 minutes). Share it with a loved one with diabetes. Then go to my web page of resources for Diabetes Reversal. This is an example of how fast (3 months) and out-of-control diabetic can reverse their disease (and neuropathy) with a whole food plant based diet.

Watch This Powerful 5 Minute Video About Eric Adams: Read This About His Health Journey:

This is one of the most powerful videos and talks I have heard. Share it!

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com     StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"

Stop or Reverse Kidney Disease By Treating Fructose Toxicity and Alkalizing the Body

The interview I did with nephrologist Dr. Patanay Teng-umnuay, MD, PhD (Molecular Cell Biology), who is also the Vice President of the American Academy of AntiAging Medicine, Thailand, really opened my eyes to the value of a simple test that really should be done on all routine exams, especially if you have any type of kidney disease (or really hypertension, diabetes, bone loss, heart disease, etc), and that is a simple uric acid level. While we all know to check uric acid levels for gout and put people on lower meat protein diets, reduce cheeses and alcohol what I didn't know was how extremely important it was to lower uric acid levels by medication or diet to prevent or reverse kidney disease. It goes something like this. Fructose which comes from soft drinks, any confectionery food (along with the wrong type of fats), artificial sweeteners and fruit consumption is metabolized through the liver (unlike glucose). Its metabolism ends up increasing uric acid which can lead to an acid state in the body and progressive kidney disease. So to combat kidney disease (and other conditions, like bone loss, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc. ) stop all artificial sources of fructose (i.e. soft drinks, confectionery foods, etc.) and even fruit in some cases. Or limit to 2-3 pieces per day. Dr. Patana uses the old drug allopurinol to lower uric acid and buffers the blood with sodium bicarbonate to slow or reverse kidney disease. This is definitely a podcast to read and/or listen to! Very relevant to many people!

Be and Stay Well,

Kirk

You can call for "brief" medical questions 8-9 a.m. PST Monday-Friday   916-489-4400    KwikerMedical.com     StayingHealthyToday.com     Kirk's Healthy Living Tips
Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"