Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

[vt]

http://envita.com/cancer/chronic-inf...edium=referral

I had a friend who was a biochemistry professor in the 80's who was working on research to establish that inflammation, not cholesterol, is the cause of heart disease. Unfortunately he died prematurely, and maybe some of his insights were delayed reaching acceptance.

Do we need to reduce inflammation instead of cholesterol?

"In the Harvard Women's Health Study, results of the CRP test were more accurate than cholesterol levels in predicting heart problems."

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-c-reactive-protein-crp-testing

Maybe we should be asking for blood tests for c-reactive protein instead of cholesterol. Maybe treating inflammation is instead of cholesterol is the answer.
Does anyone have further insights?

[vt]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

(Note to check with your physician as all genetic structures are different)

Possible ways to prevent inflammation:

http://blogs.prevention.com/live-lik...-inflammation/

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/fe...to-good-health

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-rob..._b_271640.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellnes...ry?id=19421185

[Rajiv]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

The body produces cholesterol in order to repair damaged cell membranes. The cell membranes are damaged from oxidative stress that comes either from external sources, or as an inflammatory reaction by the body's immune system - a response to external or internal insults.

Our Livionex basic technology has a very good handle on oxidative stress and inflammation. The published dental gel MOA is only a part of the story. There is a very strong anti-inflammatory and anti oxidative story as well. We have very good results on wounds and burns (including sunburn) There are systemic implications as well - some of which have been documented in animal studies.

[jpetr48]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

http://envita.com/cancer/chronic-inf...edium=referral

I had a friend who was a biochemistry professor in the 80's who was working on research to establish that inflammation, not cholesterol, is the cause of heart disease. Unfortunately he died prematurely, and maybe some of his insights were delayed reaching acceptance.

Do we need to reduce inflammation instead of cholesterol?

"In the Harvard Women's Health Study, results of the CRP test were more accurate than cholesterol levels in predicting heart problems."

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-c-reactive-protein-crp-testing

Maybe we should be asking for blood tests for c-reactive protein instead of cholesterol. Maybe treating inflammation is instead of cholesterol is the answer.
Does anyone have further insights?

great reminder to test for C reactive protein. A friend who was an emergency room doc once gave me the best advice to do research to help my wife thru a life threatening illness. He said go to Pubmed.com

you will see at this link an abstract and you can get the entire paper at your library. Here is research around your question. There are other papers too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24436616

"Among serum lipids, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol only had a significant inverse association with LVM and PWT. Homocysteine as well as CRP were significantly positively associated with LVM and LVMI in females. This study found that aldosterone and endothelin levels are the most important independent determinants of LVH (

Left ventricular hypertrophy) in hypertensive subjects. These markers may be useful to identify asymptomatic hypertensive subjects at risk for heart failure."

Second the supplement business can make you broke by taking a pill for everything. Look for natural approaches first and then take the essential supplements that your body can not control such as you age DHEA, Co enzyme q10, zinc. Here is an excerpt from Medical News Today (Medical News Today March 16, 2013) on one of major cause of inflammation

“For these participants, the levels of the inflammatory marker continued to rise for at least one hour after the speech. During the same time period, the marker returned to starting levels in the subjects who had been asked to focus on other thoughts.
The C-reactive protein is primarily produced by the liver as part of the immune system's initial inflammatory response. It rises in response to traumas, injuries or infections in the body, [lead author, Peggy] Zoccola explained. C-reative protein is widely used as a clinical marker to determine if a patient has an infection, but also if he or she may be at risk for disease later in life. 'More and more, chronic inflammation is being associated with various disorders and conditions,' Zoccola said. 'The immune system plays an important role in various cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases.'"

[shiny!]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

great reminder to test for C reactive protein. A friend who was an emergency room doc once gave me the best advice to do research to help my wife thru a life threatening illness. He said go to Pubmed.com

you will see at this link an abstract and you can get the entire paper at your library. Here is research around your question. There are other papers too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24436616

"Among serum lipids, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol only had a significant inverse association with LVM and PWT. Homocysteine as well as CRP were significantly positively associated with LVM and LVMI in females. This study found that aldosterone and endothelin levels are the most important independent determinants of LVH (

Left ventricular hypertrophy) in hypertensive subjects. These markers may be useful to identify asymptomatic hypertensive subjects at risk for heart failure."

Second the supplement business can make you broke by taking a pill for everything. Look for natural approaches first and then take the essential supplements that your body can not control such as you age DHEA, Co enzyme q10, zinc. Here is an excerpt from Medical News Today (Medical News Today March 16, 2013) on one of major cause of inflammation

“For these participants, the levels of the inflammatory marker continued to rise for at least one hour after the speech. During the same time period, the marker returned to starting levels in the subjects who had been asked to focus on other thoughts.
The C-reactive protein is primarily produced by the liver as part of the immune system's initial inflammatory response. It rises in response to traumas, injuries or infections in the body, [lead author, Peggy] Zoccola explained. C-reative protein is widely used as a clinical marker to determine if a patient has an infection, but also if he or she may be at risk for disease later in life. 'More and more, chronic inflammation is being associated with various disorders and conditions,' Zoccola said. 'The immune system plays an important role in various cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases.'"

Inflammation does seem to be the cause of high cholesterol, as well as a great many of the diseases of modern civilization. The authors of "The Great Cholesterol Myth" describe cholesterol as being like firemen. Firemen show up where there's a fire but they're the effect of the fire, not the cause of it. The book explains the inflammatory response in great detail, in laymen's terms. I recommend it, if for no other reason than their exposure of how dangerous statin drugs are, and how statins are being overprescribed to people for whom there is no statistical evidence that they save lives. The only people for whom statin drugs have been shown beneficial are middle aged men who have had heart attacks. For everyone else: older men, younger men, women of all ages, statin drugs have shown no benefit but are considerably dangerous.

Statin drugs are anti-inflammatory, but there are safer anti-inflammatories that don't have the side effect of depleting the body of vitamin CoQ-10. CoQ-10 is required in every cell of the body. Statin drug side-effects are the same as CoQ-10 deficiency symtoms, including congestive heart failure, liver damage, myalgia, muscle degeneration, weakness, fatigue and dementia.

There are natural and safe ways to reduce inflammation, but statin drugs aren't it.

[springbok]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

A plant based diet has no (hard to measure) cholesterol. A vegan (vegetarians eat cheese and eggs) adds no cholesterol to the body via nutrition. In this case the liver will manufacture the cholesterol required by the body.

However, it is an animal diet that causes high cholesterol if excess protein and fat is consumed. High cholesterol can be fixed by becoming vegan.

[shiny!]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

A plant based diet has no (hard to measure) cholesterol. A vegan (vegetarians eat cheese and eggs) adds no cholesterol to the body via nutrition. In this case the liver will manufacture the cholesterol required by the body.

However, it is an animal diet that causes high cholesterol if excess protein and fat is consumed. High cholesterol can be fixed by becoming vegan.

Sorry, but that is not true. Diets that substitute saturated fats with carbohydrates cause an increase in coronary atherosclerosis, aka heart disease.

Plus, you're still operating under the misunderstanding that cholesterol numbers must be low. Cholesterol has been demonized by bad science. People with high cholesterol can have healthy hearts, people with low cholesterol can have heart disease. Cholesterol is necessary and good. Controlling inflammation and oxidative stress, not cholesterol, is what's important.

The liver manufactures up to 1,000 mg of cholesterol every day- that's 5 eggs-worth. If you eat foods containing cholesterol, the liver makes less. If you eat no cholesterol, the liver makes more. If you have a lot of inflammation, the liver makes a LOT of cholesterol in response. Inflammation causes cholesterol to take a dangerous form- the LDL form. But not all LDLs are the same. Some LDLs are actually beneficial!

What causes inflammation? Grains, especially wheat. Trans-fats (not natural saturated fats). Sugar. Smoking. Bacteria and viruses. Homocysteine. The liver will manufacture as much cholesterol as the body needs for cellular function and in response to inflammation.

Again, I recommend reading The Great Cholesterol Myth. It explains the inflammation process in great detail. It will make you realize that just about everything you've ever been taught about cholesterol and saturated fats is wrong.

High grain/high carb diets generally cause inflammation. Soy, a potent goitrogen popular with many vegans, can be very harmful. Many people have problems metabolizing the high amount of folate in vegetables, leafy greans, fruits and legumes. Most human beings can't live healthfully as vegans.

There is no such thing as a "best" diet. Eating according to ideology (whether it be based on philosophy, religion or the latest scientific fad) while ignoring what your body is crying out for is a recipe for disaster. I speak from experience. For philosophical reasons I ate a vegetarian diet with soy as my main protein source for 22 years. It destroyed my thyroid and my health.

Since going vegetarian at the age of 17 I've had a lifetime of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromyalgia, clinical depression and permanent damage to my thyroid. I quit vegetarianism after 22 years but have never fully recovered my health.

Vegetarianism was the worst diet I could have chosen. Red meat, OTOH, makes every cell in my body do the Dance of Joy. I don't like killing animals; wish I could be vegetarian. But vegetarianism damn near killed me.

[swgprop]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

Again, I recommend reading The Great Cholesterol Myth. It explains the inflammation process in great detail. It will make you realize that just about everything you've ever been taught about cholesterol and saturated fats is wrong.

Another couple of great books that reinforce the fallacy of pretty much everything we've been told about fats and cholesterol over the last 4 decades or so are Good Calories, Bad Calories, which has been mentioned frequently on this site, is an exhaustively researched book by Gary Taubes and Grain Brain, which I'm reading now, was brought to my attention by iTulip member Finster.

If you are like me and have "high cholesterol" (which is a flawed concept that should be stricken from our lexicon, as should "fat free") and your doctor recommends statins, fire him immediately and find a doctor who knows something about nutrition and has read a research paper in the last 10 years.

[charliebrown]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

Since my very good internist retired, I had to find a new doc this year. This one recommended some kind of test to measure coronary artery inflamation.
He said A high number would be something to maybe warrant a few more checks on, but a low number was a very good sign of not developing coronary artery disease. Dont know what the test was called. It was added to my blood work. Numbers came back good on that one.

[shiny!]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

Since my very good internist retired, I had to find a new doc this year. This one recommended some kind of test to measure coronary artery inflamation.
He said A high number would be something to maybe warrant a few more checks on, but a low number was a very good sign of not developing coronary artery disease. Dont know what the test was called. It was added to my blood work. Numbers came back good on that one.

Was it C-reactive protein?

[charliebrown]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

yup that was it.

[doom&gloom]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

http://envita.com/cancer/chronic-inf...edium=referral

I had a friend who was a biochemistry professor in the 80's who was working on research to establish that inflammation, not cholesterol, is the cause of heart disease. Unfortunately he died prematurely, and maybe some of his insights were delayed reaching acceptance.

Do we need to reduce inflammation instead of cholesterol?

"In the Harvard Women's Health Study, results of the CRP test were more accurate than cholesterol levels in predicting heart problems."

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-c-reactive-protein-crp-testing

Maybe we should be asking for blood tests for c-reactive protein instead of cholesterol. Maybe treating inflammation is instead of cholesterol is the answer.
Does anyone have further insights?

I've now spent the better part of a year reading and listening (podcasts) to various bloggers in the Paleo and related communities. I adopted a diet very close to what they advocate, though not perfect. In that time I have lost 57 lbs, upped my exercise, downsized my clothes, and feel much much better. The only bio-markers that have not "improved" are my cholesterol numbers, and frankly, I could care less after all my reading and listening.

The one thing I committed to doing was decreasing inflammation. I gave up dairy (occasional cheese), sugar, diet drinks (and in fact ANY drink that has calories in it), most starches (a rare bag of potato chips), wheat (and I am a wheat farmer and for the most part grains with a few occasional hard shell corn tacos, and most high GI fruits.

Today my diet consists of meat, chicken, pork, fish, berries, nuts, select veggies and fruits. My "junk food" is 70-90% dark chocolate. Unlike in the past, I can "binge out" for a few days, watch my weight go up 2 lbs, stop, and watch it go right back down. Binge-ing for me is just eating more calories, not bad foods. Or letting my carbs in a given day exceed 100g, which is still a lot of carbs.

Now here is the real kicker, because I do not have a "real job", I am no longer exposed to daily stress as well. As a result, between the lack of stress and the choice of foods I eat plus the exercise, I have not been sick more than a day at a time in maybe the last 2-3 years, even less after diet changes. Don;t miss the foods I gave up either.

It makes total sense that food can be inflammatory. If you have a pet that gets ill and you take it to the vet the first question they ask is: "Have you changed their food?" In this country we tread food, not health, as a lifestyle choice. And our own government encourages us to eat all the wrong stuff because we produce lots of all the wrong stuff. Nowadays when I tell people I grow grains but don;t eat them, they are amazed. I tell them it is everyone's choice what they eat, but I choose to eat healthier.

A few years ago there was at least one book out there advocating testing for c-RP as a marker of heart disease v. cholesterol. I skimmed it back then, before my health transformation, and it made total sense to me even as my diet was pretty much shit at the time, and I was under a lot of work stress. I even went and got one of those heart scan tests a few years earlier and was told I looked completely clean, though we know that can never be true.

The travesty known as ObamaCare does nothing to improve health in this country. We could save a lot more on our HC costs if we treated the causes, not the end results of eating poorly.

[jk]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

the relationship of inflammation to cardiac risk is why flossing reduces the odds of a heart attack. reduces inflammation.

[davidstvz]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

I don't know how accurate any of this is and I was focussing on inflammation and heart disease not caner ... I'll just leave this here.

The way I understand things is that inflammation damages the cell lining of your arteries (which is a single cell thick), then the cholesterol gets lodged in the empty spaces and causes a build up of plaque due to persistant chronic inflammation. That is a greatly simplified version. So yes, eliminate chronic inflammation and you eliminate aterial disease.

What causes the inflammation? I think mostly sugar and some meats. I'm not sure if sugar directly causes inflammation or if it is insulin. In that case, the inflammation may get progressively worse as a person becomes more overweight and thus insulin resistant (a process that can be reversed by losing weight). And that would also explain the mechanism by which excess carbs (particularly refined ones that spike blood sugar) cause heart discease.

The problem with meat is that it is covered with a varying degree of bacteria at different points in production. Sure this is all killed before you eat it (most of the time), but cooking temperatures do not destroy bacterial endotoxin. If I recall correctly, this gets into the blood stream via the saturated fat pathway which may be why reducing saturated fat once seemed beneficial. If this is right, some meats are worse than others and meats could be rendered safer if they were handled better (if we prevented bacteria from ever growing on it instead of relying on killing it).

There are so many angles.

I think I read about the link between inflammation and SOME types of cancer is that inflammation delivers blood and nutrients to the site of certain kinds of cancer. The idea is to feed the immune system. But the cancer outgrows the immune system partly on the extra nutrients delivered by the inflammation response.

[swgprop]

Re: Inflammation Increases Risk Of Cancer

The problem with meat is that it is covered with a varying degree of bacteria at different points in production. Sure this is all killed before you eat it (most of the time), but cooking temperatures do not destroy bacterial endotoxin.

One good reason to avoid CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) and go with grass fed beef, pasture raised chickens, locally produced if possible.