Dr. Rodier's Research Perspectives: Diabetes and Environmental Toxins
In this Issue:
Meow,
Dr. Rodier's "Research Perspectives"
Thoughts from a leading integrative
physician and medical
insider
_____________________________
Featured Article
for Discussion
“A
Strong Dose-Response Relation Between Serum Concentrations of Persistent Organic
Pollutants and Diabetes”
Diabetes Care 29:1631-1644, 2006
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Today’s featured article from Diabetes Care is shocking, so sit down while
you read the conclusion: chemicals in the environment are making us both more
obese and more diabetic!
Here’s how it works. Our environment is loaded with toxins that we ingest,
inhale, and take in through our skin every day. However, the main source of
“persistent organic pollutants” in humans is through dietary fats, primarily
animal in origin.
Once in our body, these fat-soluble chemicals, which are highly resistant to
degradation, get stored in our own fat. As we carry more fat, more toxins get
stored and become available to create metabolic disruptions.
Metabolic disruptions then create all sorts of havoc, such as insulin
resistance, which leads to diabetes. You get the picture.
It’s a vicious cycle of increasing fat, toxic overload, and metabolic
maladies. Shoot me, won’t you!
Granted, our genes may be contributors (and we may be making our jeans too
tight by not pushing off the table soon enough). Still, the role of toxins in
promoting obesity is not good news for those of us struggling with our waist
lines.
The toxins implicated are hard-to-spell but common industrial chemicals, such
as polychlorinated biphenyls, dichlorophenyldichloroethylene from DDT/DDE,
trans-nonachlor, hexa chlorobenzene, hexachlorociclohexanes, phthalates, etc.
These toxins, abundant in our environment, are all commonly found in humans.
In fact, National Geographic did a feature on the “chemicals within us” in
October 2006 (see their interactive charts in “Our
Toxic Homes” for more information).
More and more studies are analyzing the effect of “persistent organic
pollutants” (POPs) on humans, with my featured article generating both scholarly
interest and controversy.
First author Dae-Hee Lee (an MD/PhD in preventive medicine in Korea) and his
team of researchers analyzed fasting plasma glucose concentrations and found the
prevalence of diabetes to be five times higher in groups with higher
concentrations of toxins.
They also found that diabetes doubled and tripled in the upper percentiles of
exposure to DDE and other toxic chemicals.
The controversy surrounds a ground-breaking statement in Lee’s article,
specifically:
“Another scientifically interesting finding was that obesity did not
increase the prevalence of diabetes among subjects with nondetectable levels
of POPs.”
In
The Lancet, author Miquel Porta references Lee’s research and points
out that:
“This finding might imply that virtually all the risk of diabetes
conferred by obesity is attributable to persistent organic pollutants, and
that obesity is only a vehicle for such chemicals. This possibility is
shocking.”
Porta went on to conclude:
“The causal role of toxins in diabetes is more likely to be contributory
and indirect, i.e., through immunosuppressant, non-genotoxic, perhaps
epigenetic mechanisms.”
Too bad Porta’s conclusions ignore cutting-edge research showing that the
main problems creating disease are related to
metabolomics, cellular communication, and cellular energy deficits.
Put more simply, as I see it, the root cause of most disease is cellular
“TOIL” – my little acronym for strain from Toxins, Oxidation, Inflammation, and
Lack of nutrients.
Without a doubt, toxins in our bodies can cause massive cell membrane
dysfunction, which leads to a “failure to communicate.”
Porta doesn’t seem to understand that cell membrane dysfunction can lead to
many other cell-to-cell communication problems (i.e., creating insulin
resistance and also resistance to neurotransmitters, hormones, and immune system
messengers).
You see, toxins correlated with diabetes also have been correlated with
cancer, neurologic problems (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s) and many other hormonal
problems, especially thyroid and adrenal dysfunction.
Hormonal problems can then lead directly to another vicious cycle -- of
insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity.
What can you do? Avoid toxins as much as possible and consider these simple
suggestions:
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Include n-acetylcysteine, milk thistle, whey, SAM-e and/or alpha lipoic
acid in your supplement regimen to help your body produce
glutathione, which is critical to liver detoxification.
-
Improve your liver and bowel functions by including healthy doses of
fiber, probiotics, and digestive enzymes each day.
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Maximize good nutrition with a diet high in antioxidants.
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If your health permits, take sauna baths and exercise to the point of a
very good sweat, which will help you detoxify through the biggest organ in
your body, your skin!
By making lifestyle and dietary changes, you will support your health for
sure, and as an added benefit, you may be able to influence that old waist line!
In summary: Avoid environmental toxins whenever possible. Watch your dietary
intake of toxins from animal fats. And, detoxify your system – regularly!
Dr. Rodier practices integrative medicine at
the Pioneer Health Clinic just outside Salt Lake City, UT. He's an adjunct
professor for the University of Utah's School of Medicine.
Dr. Rodier offers nutritional consultations via phone. Please inquire for
details. To contact Dr. Rodier, write to
hugo@ourhealthcoop.com, or for more information, visit his web site at:
www.hugorodier.com.
You can read more from Dr. Rodier in his
blog:
Braindroppings: Cutting-edge musings on health & healing
Health in the News
-
Citrus fruits such as oranges, mandarin and lemons, contain pectin,
shown to help prevent prostate and other cancers, were Journal of
Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
-
A University of Illinois study shows tomatoes and broccoli are
better at shrinking prostate tumors when both are part of the daily diet
than when they're eaten alone.
-
Kale shown to ward off colds, boost immunity and numerous other 'superfood'
benefits!
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The polyphenol content of cloudy apple juice is four times greater
than clear juice, says new research that could see a shift in consumer
preference from clear to cloudy.
That's all for now, fair members. This kat hopes you're staying safe, warm,
and healthy this January!
Still purringly yours,
Guido
Guido Housemouser
Chief Kat and Community Manager
Our Health Co-op
4188 Westroads Drive,
Unit 123
Riviera Beach, FL 33407
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