Nutrization: Nutrition, Supplements and Herbs

The folloing is a post by guest blogger Richard Moyle, National Awareness Coordinator for the Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com

Mesothelioma Patients Can Benefit From Better Nutrition

The National Cancer Institute has stated at least 35 percent of all cancer cases are linked to poor nutrition. Though mesothelioma is not a cancer that is related to poor nutrition, improving nutritional intake can help mesothelioma cancer patients fight the progressive disease.

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that typically affects the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. It is caused primarily by exposure to a naturally occurring mineral known as asbestos. The symptoms of mesothelioma can take up to 50 years to become noticeable and typically the disease is diagnosed in advanced stages when treatment options are limited.

One of the most common side effects of mesothelioma treatment is nausea. There are a number of dietary changes you can make to help this problem. Dry grain products like crackers and toast can help calm an upset stomach. Bland foods will also help with nausea, as well as acid reflux problems.

Garlic can be beneficial for mesothelioma patients as it produces a chemical called allicin. Garlic appears to have the greatest affect on stomach cancer and prostate cancer in men, but affects have been noted in all types of cancer and on different carcinogens. Animal trials have been performed with positive effects. In one such study, a number of mice with cancer were injected with allicin. The control group (those not injected with the compound) lived an average of two months, while those receiving the injection lived an average of six months or longer.

Dark green leafy vegetables are filled with essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that provide important cancer-fighting benefits. Along with antioxidants that fight cancer-causing free radicals, dark leafy greens contain phytochemicals, powerful anti-cancer enzymes that help cleanse the body of carcinogens and block the activity of enzymes that are known to activate carcinogens.

Berries also contain a whole host of important nutrients, including plenty of fiber and vitamin C. In fact, just one cup of strawberries has the same amount of vitamin C as one cup of orange juice, and all berries are great sources of this anti-oxidant and immune-strengthening vitamin. In addition to essential vitamins, berries are packed with several different types of cancer-fighting nutrients. They also contain anthocyanins which are phytonutrients that give red berries their luscious color. Laboratory studies have shown that anthocyanins can prevent the growth of lung cancer cell. Berries also contain other cancer fighting phytonutrients like ellagic acid, pterostilbene and resveratrol.

Cancer is a complex medical condition, with many factors playing various roles in development and treatment. However, most patients will undoubtedly benefit from better nutrition in a number of ways. In addition to eating a balanced diet, use the following tips to help strengthen the body’s ability to function well and fight disease:

• Avoid alcohol in excess amounts.
• Monitor weight carefully, not only being sure to stay trim, but also being sure to avoid becoming too thin.
• Learn about safe food preparation techniques.
• Cut the “bad” fats from your diet, opting instead for “good” fats, such as olive oil.
• Choose fruits and vegetables daily (these food groups should represent the bulk of your diet, approximately 50 percent).
• Avoid processed foods, like prepackaged meals.
• Make healthy choices when eating out, opting for low-carb or vegetable-based meals when possible.
• Monitor the types of fish you eat, choosing species low in mercury.
• Buy products that are organic.
• Do not eat fast food.
• Cut tobacco products out of your life.
• Take a multi-vitamin every day.
• Include adequate amounts of fiber in your diet.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a natural occurring fat that may reduce hunger and increase the fat burning rate of the body. CLA changes the way fat is absorbed such as inhibiting fat absorption in the intestines and increases enzyme activity to transport fat into the mitochondria to be burned as fuel.

Linoleic acid itself comes from meat and dairy products. CLA is both trans fatty acid and a cis fatty acid. A fat that is an altered form of omega-6 free fatty acids. It is an isomer of linoleic acid where it contains the same atoms and molecules of linoleic acid but the structure is different. It is Conjugated. Conjugated is a type of attraction between atoms and molecules that alternate double and single bonds making the electrons belong to the group of atoms and not just to a single atom. Even though CLA is partly a trans fat it is really not considered a trans fat because it is naturally conjugated. Not the synthetic hydrogenated unsaturated fat but a natural trans fat.

There are so many studies found on CLA today.

In the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers in Barcelona, Spain said that supplementing with Tonalin CLA with skimmed milk helped reduce body fat mass (BFM). In the study, 60 overweight but otherwise healthy men and women, aged 35 to 65 years, were randomized to a daily intake of 500 ml skimmed milk fortified with three grams of Tonalin CLA or a placebo over a 12-week period. The results showed a significant three percent reduction of BFM in the overweight group taking the milk fortified with Tonalin CLA. No significant fat loss was found in the group taking the placebo. The research also found that CLA supplementation was not associated with any adverse effects or clinical changes.

Studies have shown to decrease fat and increase lean mass in several animal studies. Effects were examined of a low concentration of either safflower oil as control (0.5%) or mixed isomers of CLA (0.4%) along with treadmill exercise on body composition in male mice fed a high-fat diet.” CLA consumption lowered fat mass and a combination of CLA and exercise decreased fat mass even further. Lean mass did not increase with exercise alone but increased significantly due to the combination of CLA and exercise. Also, serum insulin, glucose, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 were lower in CLA-fed mice. “the combination of dietary CLA and exercise decreased fat mass and increased lean mass in mice fed a high-fat diet” (Journal of Nutrition 135(5):1124-1130, 2005).

In an hamster study evidence was shown that CLA could also cause too much cholesterol in the bile or biliary lithiasis. As quoted from Nutrición Hospitalaria, Madrid; CLA did significantly reduce total serum cholesterol (-18%) at the expense of c-LDL (-66%), and it also significantly reduced hepatic content of free cholesterol (-26%), without changes in esterified cholesterol. Besides, CLA produced a 32% increase in biliary cholesterol concentration, a 28% increase in Lithogenic Index, and a higher incidence of biliary lithiasis. Therefore, the present study shows that the CLA trans-10,cis-12 isomer is hypercholesterolemic since it increases, at least in part, cholesterol secretion to the bile. As a consequence, this effect increases the risk for biliary lithiasis (Conjugated linoleic acid lowers hypercholesterolemia but increases the risk for biliary lithiasis”. Nutr Hosp, 2008).

So, yes, CLA has been shown to reduce fat. Some animal studies have shown changes that may be good and bad. As for humans evidence is still in favor of taking CLA. Some studies on humans have claimed that with exercise there is an increase in muscle. However, this claim may have not been very popular among bodybuilders at one time because the muscle gains and fat loss were not fully noticed until after taking CLA for several months; because some bodybuilders may have wanted a more instantaneous effect from a supplement.

An article in FLEX, “The skinny on CLA: a once-popular fat-loss supplement makes a comeback, and for very good reason–it works.(NUTRITION) “ The authors of Flex gave recommendations of what CLA product to take. Look for CLA products that provide cis-9, trans-11 CLA and trans-10, cis-12 CLA isomers. (These forms were used in studies that showed positive benefits.) Take one to three grams of CLA with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Start with a lower dose and work up as you find you tolerate it well. Give it at least three months to see results, although you may start to see positive improvements in as little as four weeks. CLA–it may not be the most riveting fat burner on the market, but for those with a little patience, it could prove to be one of the best (Jim Stoppani. Flex. July 2008 v26 i5 p242(4).)

I know that sleep may not be an actual supplement in the sense of something you purchase and swallow or eat yet, it’s probably the most important supplement that anyone could take. To get the most out of the body for short term and long term sleep may come before anything else along with adequate hydration and nutrition. Some claim that without sleep for a period of time the body will die. Complete sleep deprivation results in rapid death in laboratory animals, and significant insomnia produces a litany of pathophysiological changes. Sleep deprivation is a disease promoter with premature aging consequences (Holt S. 2008). So, it can be said without air, water, food or sleep the body will just not function and death can occur.

Here is a small list of problems from too little sleep: Stress, weight gain, memory deficits, irritability, immune impairment, hormonal dysfunctions, depression, premature aging, digestive problems, blood sugar problems, high blood pressure, and an increase in several health problems including increased risks such as cancer.

There are several reasons why humans don’t get enough sleep. This is because of several factors in life that may include: young children and new born babies, no sleep schedule, bad diet, and stimulants such as caffeine. Actually caffeine is a huge disruptor of sleep. The most familiar adverse effect of caffeine is disruption of sleep. In a well-controlled sleep laboratory assessment of caffeine’s effects (Karacan et al) demonstrated a dose-related increase of sleep latency and awakenings during the sleep period. Caffeine also changes the temporal organization of slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep (Pollak, Charles P., and David Bright., 2003).

Sleep stages and brain waves, muscle tone, and eye movement have been studied and certain patterns of these have been found that indicate better sleep. To better understand this (and before I open a huge can of worms) we may need to overview what brainwaves are as recorded in Hertz on an electroencephalogram. So, quickly lets look at them.
Delta is the lowest Hertz wave, then Theta, Alpha, Beta with Gamma being the highest magnitude in Hertz. Why Alpha is in the middle? because it was the first (Alpha being first) brainwave discovered and had little to do with it’s Hertz value. Scientists divide sleep into two major types: Non-REM or quiet sleep and Rapid eye movement (REM) or dreaming sleep.

During non-REM sleep physiological activities slow down and progress into deeper sleep stages. Alpha waves emerge during relaxed wakefulness with the eyes closed. The change to Stage 1 sleep is marked by the loss of alpha waves and the appearance of theta waves. The hallmarks of Stage 2 sleep are brief bursts of activity, called sleep spindles, and K-complex waves. Deep sleep (Stages 3 and 4) is represented by large, slow delta waves (Lawrence Epstein, Steven Mardon, The Harvard Medical School Guide to a Good Night’s Sleep, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006 ).

What is important during sleep is to get through each stages of sleep enough times; moving through sleep cycles from Awake then REAM down to Stage-4 and back to REM and then back and Stage-4. To get through the first cycle effectively takes more than two hours. To have the body and mind benefit from efficient sleep the cycles need to complete at least two times from REM to Stage 4 and back. After the first two cycles sleep become less deep and more between REM and Stage 3 or Stage 2. So, it is imperative to complete uninterrupted sleep for the first four to five hours and try to continue sleep for a full eight hours of sleep.

What supplements will help sleep?
There are several supplements that can help induce sleep and increase the quality of sleep. Well, without having to single out one supplement or herb I have provided the information give by Stephen Holt, M.D., Ph. D.

The safety of the long-term use of drugs for sleep is not clear, and such drugs should be avoided in pregnancy and childhood. While other compelling reasons exist to avoid hypnotic drugs, simple, safe, and viable alternatives are required. These viable alternatives involve the use of mind-body medicine and natural, nutritional support of sleep with effective dietary supplements (Holt, S. 2008).

Synergistic Supplements for Cascades of Sleep

A large body of folklore, ethnobotanical, and scientific literature supports the use of nutrients and plants or their extracts in sleep promotion. Botanicals or nutrients that can be used with melatonin to assist in promoting restful sleep are listed Below.

Herbs and Botanicals for Sleep

These herbs can be used with nutrients and melatonin in effective
dietary supplements to support the body function of sleep.

Holt, Stephen. “Sleep deprivation, diseases, and dissonance.(Disease/Disorder overview). .” Townsend Letter. 305 (Dec 2008): 74(6).

Glutamine supplementation is thought to be important especially for overworked, overtrained and overstressed individuals. It supports the immune system, increases glycogen synthesis, and supports the anticatabolic effect. It is also the most abundant free aminoacid in the body. Curtis Koch, expert trainer, wrote an article, “Glutamine Creatine’s Sexy Sister?” in which he suggests that it could be more important than creatine; “Critically ill patients, burn victims, and people undergoing surgery also require additional glutamine. When the body is exposed to this stress or trauma it draws glutamine from skeletal muscle stores. In an attempt to heal itself, the body sends stored glutamine to damaged tissue.”

However, the article Dosing and Efficacy of Glutamine Supplementation in Human Exercise and Sport Training by Michael Gleeson (The Journal of Nutrition. Bethesda: Oct 2008. Vol. 138, Iss. 10; pg. 2045S, 5 pgs) explains that there is little evidence of required glutamine suplementation; “Consuming glutamine supplements is unlikely to be of substantial benefit in terms of fluid balance restoration or preventing immunodepression after exercise, although there are some suggestions of a possible role for glutamine in stimulating anabolic processes, including muscle glycogen and protein synthesis. The available evidence at present is not strong enough to warrant a recommendation for an athlete to use a glutamine supplement.”

Others have stated it’s important role in numerous functions. A precursor for protein synthesis; it provides the nitrogen for synthesis of arginine, purines, pyrimidines, nucleotides, glutathione and taurine (the last two being important antioxidants); and it transports amino-nitrogen to intestine, liver and kidney. With its involvement in renal ammoniagenesis it plays a key role in acid-base homocostasis. Particularly reliant on glutamine as a fuel are the rapidly dividing cells of the gastrointestinal tract (enterocytcs, colonocytes) and the immune system (lymphocytes, macrophages). Glutamine may affect stress-induced accumulation of extracellular fluid by changing the cellular hydration state. An increase in cellular hydration acts as an anabolic proliferative signal, whereas cell shrinkage is catabolic and anti-proliferative(Glutamine supplements in the critically ill; Raymond D’Souza, Jeremy Powell-Tuck. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. London: Sep 2004. Vol. 97, Iss. 9; pg. 425, 3 pgs).

The truth of the matter is you don’t want to be without it. It has been shown that critically ill people should supplement with glutamine. In addition, the general consensus seems to suggest a need to supplement with glutamine for extreme exercise.