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

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 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"

Reduce Heart Disease Mortality and Improve Your Heart Function With A Combination of CoQ10 and Selenium - An Interview with Cardiologist Urban Alehagen, MD, PhD

Getting ready to head to the airport....Sunday in Bangkok (back at SFO 8:30 pm Sunday)...trying to finish editing and posting one of two interviews I did from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Meeting (Bangkok, Thailand). This was with a Professor of Cardiology from the University of Linkoping, Sweden, Dr. Urban Alehagen, on the benefit of yeast bound selenium 100 mcg 2 x daily and CoQ10 (ubiquinone) 100 mg 2 x daily on reducing cardiac death, cardiovascular disease and improving heart function by reducing inflammation and the "stiffening" in the arteries and fibrosis in the heart. I think you will find it informative, practical and easy to understand. Yes diet first, mostly plants, then judicious supplementation if needed.

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"

You Can Know Your Real Heart Attack Risk By CT Angiography and Coronary Calcium Scoring - An Interview with Cardiologist Warrick Bishop

An "Ah-Hah" Moment on "Real" Heart Attack Risk Assessment
Cardiologist Dr. Warrick Bishop had an enlightening experience of helping resuscitate an individual on the side of the road from a cardiac event only to find out later that this person had been a patient of his which he had cleared from significant cardiovascular risk two years prior with a stress EKG. This challenged him to look at what really needs to be done to evaluate someone's true risk of a heart attack and intervene accordingly. He became aware of and began to utilize the three dimensional CT scan (xray) of the heart  for coronary calcium accumulation (without contrast dye) and with contrast (CT angiography) as excellent low risk, low cost tests that could tell the practitioner and patient the status of the  plaque in the coronary arteries and what specific treatment approaches to employ, and to what level of intensity, to reduce the patients heart attack risk. The analogy of the coronary artery calcium testing would be analogous to that of the routine mammogram for breast cancer. The difference is heart disease is the number one killer in men AND WOMEN and many more women's lives are lost to heart disease than breast cancer so this raises the question of why not screening all women starting at 60 for heart disease with this technology (and men at age 50)?

Coronary Calcium Screening
It is Dr. Warrick's belief that coronary calcium testing (noninvasive, without contrast dye) is the "gate keeper" in that if no coronary calcium is found in the coronary arteries (and if the patient has no cardiac symptoms i.e. chest pain, shortness of breath, or significant risk factors like elevated lipids, family history, diabetes, etc.) then no further study is needed, nor treatment for coronary arterial plaque accumulation.  But if there is ANY calcification found then a CT angiogram is warranted because he has seen cases where the calcification is small but the non-calcified "soft" plaque is large, and/or the plaque is located in a dangerous place anatomically in the coronary artery, and/or there is significant stenosis (narrowing) of the coronary artery warranting more aggressive treatment.

Hard (Calcified) and Soft (Non-Calcified) Plaque
The coronary calcium test without dye is a 10 minute, three dimensional scan (xray) of the moving heart that measures the calcium buildup in the coronary arteries or the "calcified plaque". This calcified plaque may be a protective response by the body to seal off small "microvascular" ruptures of plaque with calcium to prevent penetration of the inner artery wall. This is usually a smaller percentage of the total plaque burden (i.e. generalization 20% calcified plaque and 80% non-calcified plaque; % can vary). To "see" this soft, non-calcified plaque (amount, location), which is thought to be the more dangerous plaque because it can rupture leading to clot formation in a coronary artery (heart attack), artery in the brain (stroke), lung (pulmonary embolism/thrombosis) or leg (DVT - deep vein thrombosis) the CT angiogram with dye is needed. The soft plaque (generally 3 types - unstable necrotic core or low attenuation plaque of inflamed lipids more likely to rupture; a more stable fibro-fatty plaque, a mixture of lipids and fibrous material; and a fibrous plaque or fibrous cap that is more stable that might turn into more calcified plaque) is measured by the CT angiogram which requires dye to be injected prior to the exact same test and machine (scanner) that gave you the original calcium score.

Biochemical Testing
While Dr. Bishop uses biochemical markers of cardiometabolic status such as cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol, homocysteine, fasting insulin, Lp (a), HS-CRP among others, the bottom line is what he sees in the coronary arteries really is the main determinant of the extent and aggressiveness of his cardiopreventive approach for that individual patient.

Lifestyle, Central Weight and Insulin Resistance
Dr. Warrick feels that insulin resistance and central weight (adiposity) and the diabetic "leaning" patients should be treated with a lifestyle program focused on weight reduction and reduction of carbohydrates, especially processed carbohydrates. He uses dietician counseling to support his medical program.

Nutraceuticals
He uses some nutraceuticals such as coenzyme Q10 for some statin users with some anecdotal benefit and for some types of heart failure; fish oil for elevated triglycerides and insulin resistance; and slow release niacin (500-1000 mg daily) for low HDL levels and high Lp (a).

Professional Awareness of Coronary CT Scanning
Dr. Warrick wishes there was greater receptivity with his professional colleagues both general practitioners and cardiovascular specialists to this technology (coronary calcium scoring and CT angiography). He continues to try and educate professionals on this technology.

Patient Education
An educated patient gets the best medical care according to Dr. Bishop. So being able to tell them the real status of their plaque and anatomy of their coronary arteries using coronary calcium testing and CT angiography, along with some biochemical determinants and lifestyle, allows him to create with the patient a specific heart attack prevention program.

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About Cardiologist Dr. Warrick Bishop
Doctor Warrick Bishop is a practicing cardiologist, bestselling author and key-note speaker who has a passion to help prevent heart disease on a global scale by early detection. Assessment tools he champions are coronary calcium screening and the appropriate use of CT angiography (CTA). With a detailed assessment of what is happening within the coronary arteries an individualized preventive strategy can be employed.

Dr. Bishop graduated from the University of Tasmania, School of Medicine, in 1988. He completed his advanced training in cardiology in Hobart, Tasmania, becoming a fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians.

He is the author of: “Know Your Real Risk of Heart Attack” 2018, pages 158.

Warrick Bishop, MD, Calvary Hospital Consulting Rooms, 49 Augusta Rd, Lenah Valley TAS 7008, Phone: (03) 6278 9220 warrick@drwarrickbishop.com  www.drwarrickbishop.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
Kirk's FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"

Beans are A Superfood Found in Every Blue Zone… Enjoy!

About a week ago I took a can of organic black beans, threw in some onion and garlic powder, with cilantro, parsley, dill, oregano, basil and chive flakes with some salt and pepper mixed with some organic baby spinach. Heated and stirred it all up till the spinach leaves were slightly wilted and just ate it. It was simple but great tasting! Greens and beans… Slow release carbohydrate from the beans (with protein too) contains fiber that is good food for your intestinal bacteria and greens are greens. That is why the biggest animals in the world literally live off tons of greens because they are so nutritious. Also a consistent dietary staple of  ALL the Blue Zones in the world…. where people live the longest and without much chronic disease… is beans! Enjoy these simple recipes!

Fava Bean Salad
Mint Lemonade Chickpea Salad
Easy Black Bean Salad
Fresca Bean Salad
Chickpea Avocado Salad
Cauliflower Rice Salad

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 FREE "21 Day Healthy Living Program"  Kirk's FREE "Alzheimer's, Heart Disease, Diabetes Living to 100 and Obesity 'Reversal' Programs"