Rod's Health

This post started off with doing some research on PubMed on what studies have actually been conducted into what supplements I might need. The result was total confusion. Some studies say that vitamins may prevent this or that, while other studies say that the same vitamins cause this or that. So, I ended up totally confused. I trained as a pharmacist, and have learned a bit about the macro- and micronutritional needs of my body over the years, so I can only imagine how confused everyone else must be.

A few years ago now I started taking vitamins produced by a company called USANA. I like these because they are produced in a FDA-certified facility, and are backed by a lot of research. I also like them because they have kept me healthy even though I have had a lot of stress in my life. The range of products they have is impressive, but a little while ago they introduced a True Health Assessment that allowed me to assess just what products I needed. Whether I take them or not is up to me, but at least I have a good starting point. The really good thing about the True Health Assessment is that it is free. The products are not, and I do have to say that if you decide to order products after your assessment, I will receive a commission (thank you!). Read the rest of this entry

I have been reading a lot recently about the problems that occur when antibiotics are used too frequently or not correctly. Now, don’t get me wrong: we really do need antibiotics for some infections, and when the natural defenses are weakened. However, for most “healthy” people, we will recover from an infection because of the amazing powers of the human body, not because we took an antibiotic. Antibiotics do cause a couple of problems for our health that may not always show up immediately.

The first problem is when not all bacteria are killed by an antibiotic, even if it is taken as prescribed. Some bacteria will develop a way of beating the antibiotic and survive. This is called antibacterial resistance. The resistant organisms will grow, and multiply. This makes it harder for the antibiotic to do its job. The dose of the antibiotic will then have to be increased to wipe out the bad bacteria. Bacteria can also “hide” from the antibiotic, making it impossible for the antibiotic to do what it is supposed to do.

The second reason that antibiotics are bad for me is that in our normal healthy digestive systems there are millions of bacteria that are actually very good for us. They help digest the food we eat. They break down substances that would otherwise make us very sick or kill us. The “sickness” caused by too few of the good bacteria is sometimes called an “allergy” or a “sensitivity” to a certain food, like the gluten in wheat and other grains. I know about this one, because I have a sensitivity/allergy to gluten. If I take antibiotics, the good bacteria are killed off along with some of the bad bacteria, and those food “allergies” may get worse. Or at least not get better.

The third reason antibiotics are bad for me is that they cause genetic changes in my digestive systems, that increase the ability of the bacteria to fight the effects of the antibiotic. This means that the bacteria can develop more ways to resist the antibiotic. So for an antibiotic to work against that bacteria, it has to be stronger than anything used before. That may kill off even more of the good bacteria that I really need.

The so-called “good” bacteria are an important part of my immune system, helping to trigger the responses that my own body uses to deal with the bad bacteria. When I get an infection, I get a fever. This is a normal part of the healing process. The immune system becomes stronger when the core temperature goes up.

How can I help my body resist the antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and increase the chances that I will be able to overcome the infection?

1. Talk to your doctor before trying any alternative treatment methods – it may be that your particular infection needs an antibacterial.
2. Take a good probiotic, although I recognize that the difficulty is knowing which one (or ones) to take as some may be specific for particular infections. A “side effect” may be that the probiotics help reduce obesity, according to some studies.
3. Take vitamin C. At least some bacteria may not be able to become resistant to vitamin C, which may give hope for the future.
4. Take vitamin B3 (niacin)
5. Eat a healthy, balanced diet including fruit and vegetables, and organic meat (avoiding processed meat as much as possible)
6. Wash your hands frequently, using soap and water

Of course, in the future, some or all of these “alternatives” to antibacterials may be the normal treatment for infections, but until such time as they are proven to work, we need to consult with our doctors before trying them.

Sources:

1. Why bacteria are becoming more resistant
2. CDC says that drug-resistant infections are a major problem
3. Restriction of antibiotics could help fight “superbugs”
4. Probiotics help the immune system
5. Probiotic bacteria may remove some of the bad bacteria
6. Probiotics may reduce obesity?
7. Vitamin C for reducing bacterial resistance
8. Vitamin B3 has antibacterial properties

I saw today that the World Congress on Sleep Apnea is holding it’s tenth congress in Rome. They only meet every 3 years, so don’t look for one next year. The last one was in Seoul, Korea, but that web site is no longer active.

I am not going, as I am not a physician, and do not work in the sleep apnea world – I just live in it as a patient. I was particularly interested in a couple of items on the agenda for discussion on Rodshealth.

1. Philips Respironics is organizing a symposium on CPAP compliance. Participants are going to be hearing about the rationale for using CPAP, with the question of how much is enough being asked. They are also going to hear about interventions that will improve CPAP compliance from a PR person, then something about the role of behavioral interventions in improving CPAP compliance.

   I wonder if they will address what seems to be a frequent mantra of those who work in this area that the straps should be pulled as tight as possible? Getting the patient set up right at the start of their treatment is extremely important for improving adherence to the treatment program (I prefer adherence to compliance because I choose to follow the treatment). 
    

2. In the introduction to the Congress, Dr. Christian Guilleminault notes that sleep disordered breathing is responsible for many health-related problems, especially cardiovascular diseases. There will be no arguments from those who have sleep apnea that inattention, daytime sleepiness, systemic inflammation, and grinding of the teeth are associated with sleep apnea – they were in my case.

   Dr. Guilleminault goes on to note that sleep apnea “is induced or enhanced by obesity leading to fat deposition within the tongue and neck.” As pointed out, which comes first is not easy to identify.

The last point raises a question that I have often seen in the forums – will my sleep apnea be cured if I lose weight? My own opinion is that it all depends on which came first. I am not obese, although I am overweight. As a child I was definitely not overweight – almost the opposite, in fact. Yet I had symptoms that I now recognize as being possibly related to sleep apnea. There is no way to confirm that I had sleep apnea that long (50+ years!), but the possibility of being able to stop using the CPAP through weight loss is intriguing.

This looks like a scientifically very interesting meeting, and I hope I will be able to go through the abstract book over the next few months and highlight some of the interesting studies. Meantime, I will continue to work on my exercise program, my diet, and taking good quality vitamins to support my diet and exercise program.