DIET OF POLISHED RICE, ASSOCIATED WITH AFFLUENCE, CAN CAUSE BERIBERI

from ResearchGate's "Thiamine: The Spark of Life."

It is now well known that thiamin deficiency is the major cause of beriberi, a disease that had affected humans for centuries.  The name “Kakke” was the term used for the disease in Japan and this word can be found in documents as early as 808 (Inouye K, Katsura E. 1965).  Until the 17^th century, the majority of the population in Japan took unpolished rice as the staple food.  Polished rice was associated with relative affluence since it looked better on the table when served.  Epidemics of beriberi have been known to occur in association with increased affluence simply because it was expensive to take the rice to the mill.  When white rice was served to friends, it became a signature of the newly acquired affluence.  As the ingestion of well-milled white rice became nationwide, so the incidence of the disease increased.  This is because the B group vitamins are in the discarded husks.  The first national statistics on mortality appeared in 1899 and showed a death rate of 20 per 100,000.  This dropped to 0.5 in 1959 after its nutritional association was discovered.  Of considerable interest to us today, for reasons that will appear later in the chapter, the peak incidence of the disease occurred in August and September every year.  Factory workers would take their lunch between factory buildings.  If the sun came round so that it shone into the corridor, some workers would get the first symptoms of the disease.  It was evident that the sun’s rays would stress them sufficiently to initiate these symptoms.  It was therefore hardly surprising that the etiology in the early 1900s before its nutritional association became common knowledge, was considered to be from infection.  

The discovery of the relationship of thiamine with malnutrition came in the late decades of the 19^th century, but it was many years before scientific knowledge caught up.  A Japanese naval surgeon by the name of Takaki studied in England from 1875 to 1880.  He noted that beriberi was less common in the British Royal Navy than in navy personnel in Japan where the diet on ships was very different.  In 1882, a Japanese naval vessel sailed on a 272-day voyage.  On its return, 61% of the crew had succumbed to beriberi.  Two years later, another ship completed the same voyage but was provided with an ample supply of dried milk and meat, giving a carbon to nitrogen ration of 16:1.  Only 14 crew members had developed beriberi.  Takaki concluded that a lack of nitrogenous food was the cause of the disease, a notable contribution before vitamins were known.  

In 1890, Eijkman found that polished rice, given to pigeons, caused polyneuritis and the histopathology was similar to that seen in humans in beriberi.  Funk and Cooper isolated an “anti-beriberi factor” from rice polishing in 1910 and this was crystallized in 1926 and called Vitamine (Jansen BCT, Donath W F. 1926).  It was not until 1936 that thiamin was synthesized (Williams R R, 1938) leading to an explosion of basic science and clinical experimentation.  The work of Sir Rudolph Peters (Peter R A, 1936) exposed the vitally important association of thiamin with what was later to become the science of oxidative metabolism. 

Dr. Derrick Lonsdale, founder of Hormones Matter and author of Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High-Calorie Malnutrition (2017), says that Thiamine is the therapeutic remedy to beriberi like symptoms that emanate from a thiamine deficiency.  The preferred form of Thiamine is not necessarily the water-soluble, B1, but instead the fat-soluble B1, Allithiamine is preferred because it gets into the tissue and not just circulate in your blood.    

This explains our condition:

Because mild to moderate TD [Thiamine Deficiency] results in pseudo hypoxia in the limbic system and brainstem, emotional and stress reflexes of the autonomic nervous system are stimulated and exaggerated, producing symptoms often diagnosed as psychosomatic disease.

If the biochemical lesion is recognized at this stage, the symptoms are easily reversible. If not, and the malnutrition continues, neurodegeneration follows and results in a variety of chronic brain diseases. 

What then is the remedy to Thiamine Deficiency?  Thiamine, of course.  But you want the fat-soluble Thiamine, B1, called Allithiamine, for this gets into the relevant brain, muscle, and nerve tissue.  

10 WAYS TO LIVE LONGER

Dr. Joseph Mecola has a new article out, titled "10 Ways to Live Longer."  According to Mercola, 

Centenarians are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S population, with numbers doubling every decade; by the year 2050, the number of people who will have reached the century mark is expected to pass 1 million.

This makes longevity topical.  Mercola cites the study conducted at the University of Arizona on centenarians.  

I liked the concept of alternating, or cycling, between high protein days and fasting.

It’s also important to cycle high and low protein intake. Ideally, combine protein restriction with fasting, followed by increased protein intake on strength training days.

Fasting 16 to 18 hours each day is ideal, as this allows your body to deplete the glycogen stores in your liver to a greater degree.

The benefits of fasting are the suppression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and the activation of autophagy, both of which play a role in disease prevention and longevity.

But this cycling may not work for everyone since we've all got different metabolisms and different daily routines.  Some folks sit in a truck and drive all day.  Not much expenditure of energy there due to the sitting, so protein requirements won't be as great.  Others work in repetitive motion jobs.  Some in highly stressful environments.  So gauge for yourself what your protein requirements are but certainly make time for intermittent fasting in your day or week.  Like so many concepts that get great press or go viral, many of us, including myself, don't always question or examine the benefits of something.  The goal of fasting is fat burning.  Some like the keto diet, where your protein consumption is high.  I prefer to the more fatty diets, like cheese and butter.  I just like the effects on my energy with these foods and on my hormones.  I get immediate stress relief from these foods.  Mercola points out that  

Fasting 16 to 18 hours each day is ideal, as this allows your body to deplete the glycogen stores in your liver to a greater degree.

FYI, Resveratrol mimics calorie restriction, so even if you eat a regular two to three meals a day, if you consume Resveratrol, you're going to enjoy the benefits of calorie restriction without sacrificing anything in your day.  The most tested Resveratrol is Bill Sardi's Longevinex.  

Centenarians were interviewed.  Certain themes came up time and time again when asked to explain why they've lived so long.  In no particular order, these are the 10 most common reasons they gave for their long lives.  

1.  Keeping a positive attitude.

2.  Participating in moderate exercising like walking, gardening, swimming, etc.

3.  Living independently. Having a circle of friends.  I like Michael Malice's rejection of friends as being too loosely defined to be meaningful.  Not friends but associates, acquaintances, and allies.  Making these people an integral part of our lives and important decisions is a great achievement.  Finding them at work is also a benefit.  You can have work friends.  I mean isn't that where we find most friends to begin with?  

4.  Having faith/spirituality.

5.  Eating good food.  Don't mistake this command for eating rich foods.  Instead, focus on foods that increase circulation, like ginger, garlic, onions, Brussel sprouts, spinach, and broccoli.  If cooked right, you won't have to cringe at the thought of these foods.  With my morning omelet, I prepare broccoli with garlic and butter.  It's a terrific complement to a mere starchy breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast or English muffin.  Does it take extra effort?  Oh, sure.  Nobody is going to peel the garlic for me.  

6.  Living clean (not smoking or drinking excessively).  For some, like myself, I cannot drink at all, even wine gives me headaches. 

7.  Having family to interact with.  You meaning having family to fight with?  LOL.  There are some family members that I love and get along with.  Others, not so much. 

8.  Being born with good genes.  I got some good genes, but not in the teeth department. 

9.  Staying mentally active and constantly learning.  Oh, yeah, this is a big one.  In fact, reading helps to build psychological resilience against the trauma of ritual abuse and m'fers. 

10.  Staying mentally active and never stop learning something new.  I find this to be the most important thing.  A couple of folks I know don't always like learning new things because of the traps or the utility of the thing learned.  Maybe it takes too much time, and that is definitely a factor.  Reading itself is the best way to learn new things.  One of the things that I like about the blockbuster HBO hit series Breaking Bad was when Jessie, tasked with buying all the ingredients for a cook, tells Walt that he had trouble getting any methylamine.  Walt's response was exquisite.  He doesn't panic or get upset but instead asks "What kind of trouble?"  That is the best way to approach most questions or problems.  Ask yourself what kind, for not all problems are life and death ones.  Well, I thought it was good.  

What about sleep?  Well, Mercola comments on that too.  

Getting adequate sleep is an important part of both mental and physical health. Too much or too little can lead to metabolic issues, as well as changes in mood and your ability to focus. Your circadian rhythm, which affects your sleep/wake cycle, holds implications for your brain, body temperature, hormones and cell regeneration among other things.  

Bill Sardi points out some more severe consequences of poor sleep 

Insomnia weakens the immune system, temporarily erases memories and impairs recall

Melatonin is an excellent sleep aid.  Actually, so is IP6.  I like the 1 milligram because you have more control over how much you take.  You can start out at 1mg, then work your way up to 2mgs or 3.  You'll find your limit or threshold or the most effective dose on your own.  

THE BATHROOM: KEEP IT DRY & VENTILATED

Tips for keeping your bathroom clean pic.twitter.com/YZ7118Bw6o

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) December 24, 2019

REVERSE TIGHT HIPS FROM SITTING TOO LONG

As a follow-up to my recent post on sitting too much, what happens when we're stuck for hours in a crouched position, and it is a crouched position, is that the hip joint tightens up; it gets stiff, and our normal walking stride gets restricted and narrowed.  Walking and balance become compromised and that nothing to speak of how posture is destroyed or not a word about added weight, generally around the waist, the very joint that is already being weakened.  So this post is for folks of all ages who sit too much in a truck or in a cubicle answering calls and solving problems.  First and foremost, get up.  Find a way.  If you're pinned down for too many consecutive hours during the day, then find a way to exercise in the morning for 30 minutes and in the evening for 30 minutes.  Remember, my focus or goal is to restore strength, mobility, and vitality without prescription drugs and without surgery, the two-pronged approached waiting from your standard medical practitioner.  You can either do these exercises on your own, get to a chiropractor, or find a qualified and helpful physical therapist.  

So if the hip gets tight, the solution then is to open it up.  Stretching and yoga achieve this.  And what I like about this one video is that it's not so much your spine that is causing the problems or that it's your spine that is in trouble, rather it is the constellation of muscles that support the spine and limbs.  The answer then is to strengthen the muscles coming off the spine.  This provides ongoing support.  What do those muscles look like? 

This was good.  Referred to as "The Coach," Jeff Cavaliere is knowledgeable.  Google Books explains that 

Jeff Cavaliere, MS PT CSCS, got his start as the physical therapist and strength/conditioning coach for the New York Mets for the team's 2006 National League championship season to 2008. From there, he became a highly sought-after personal trainer to elite athletes, wrestlers, and MMA fighters. Today he runs the wildly popular YouTube channel AthleanX (across platforms he has over 7million followers; he posts three videos a week, with a number of videos that have over a million views), which brings intelligent training to the everyday gymgoer.

"Pantothenic Acid and folic acid taken together help reverse graying"

This was interesting.  

White hair has no melanin left at all leaving only the colour of the keratin, the protein that makes up hair, showing through. 

And this . . . 

Premature graying occurs in younger people even children. The reason for early gray hair is uncertain, but factors such as illness or autoimmune problems may be the cause. 

The second article I link to points to abdominal or intestinal surgeries as another cause of premature graying and whiting.  

Regardless of how young we are when our hair starts to turn gray or white, it gets harder and harder for us to think that we look like George Clooney or that distinguished gentleman who claims to be the most interesting man in the world.  We just look older, particularly in the eyes of child-bearing females.  So is there a way to reverse white hair and restore color to it naturally through nutritional compounds?  Maybe. 

Conditions such as illness or disorders of the autoimmune system affect hair growth and sometimes the color. Conditions such as thyroid disorders, a deficiency in vitamin B12 found in meat, eggs, and milk are linked with graying sooner than the average person.

Vitiligo, a skin condition that causes white patches on otherwise healthy skin due to a loss of melanocytes, may be another culprit in graying hair. 

Abdominal and intestinal surgeries such as gastric by-pass may contribute to premature graying.  Early menopause and smoking are two more reasons to look into if gray hair has become evident. 

Yeah, that last part about abdominal and intestinal surgeries makes sense to me.  Once you start disrupting the digestive tract with all of the important bacteria, something is not going to work well.  The same article that pointed to abdominal and intestinal surgeries and complications as a source for graying and whiting of one's hair, suggested the following nutritional compounds that MAY combat aging hair and even reverse color back to original or darker shade.  

Vitamin B-6 and B-12 are two of the Complex-B vitamins that aid in healthy skin and hair. B-6 may help restore hair to its original color following an illness or deficiency.

Para-Amino benzoic Acid (PABA) and Pantothenic Acid are part of the family of B-complex vitamins.  Both of these vitamins are available at health food stores and pharmacies.  Use them to postpone the onset of graying. It is purported that when Pantothenic Acid and folic acid are taken together it helps reverse graying by taking the hair back to its original color.

Inositol, a substance found naturally in the human body, may encourage the growth and overall health of hair.

Biotin produces keratin which is a major component of hair and nails.

Niacin contributes scalp circulation which in turn nourishes the hair follicles. 

Okay, the point about Niacin may be true, but does the circulation alone produce darker hair follicles?  I have my doubts.  Nor does the article estimate how long one must be on Niacin to get a kind of hair color restoration.  And PABA and B5 "postpone the onset of graying."  Based on what evidence?  

Some claim that copper deficiency is the main culprit for premature graying.  

Because copper plays an important role in melanin formation, a lack of copper can affect a person’s hair. Melanin is important for pigmentation (color) of a person’s hair. Therefore, some doctors theorize that low copper levels could affect a person’s hair color, potentially leading to premature graying hair. 

First, it should be known that one needs very little copper.  Copper competes with zinc for absorption, so if you're supplementing with copper, you only need 2mcg.  Second, supplementing with copper carries its own risks, like oxidizing B vitamins, organs, and tissue.  Not good.  In fact, most of us are probably NOT deficient in copper.