Medsarticles. Medical Weblog

Many researchers believe that cholesterol itself does not cause heart disease, but rather oxidized cholesterol is to blame. Fats become oxidized when they are exposed to light, oxygen or heat. Because of our typical processed food diets, most people ingest a great deal of oxidized fats.

When unsaturated fatty acids (mostly found in vegetable oil) are refined and processed in their manufacture, much of these fats become oxidized. If we eat food that has been fried or deep fried in these fats, we are consuming a great deal of toxic oxidation products formed in these oils. The intense heat used for frying creates compounds including peroxides, hydroperoxides, ozonides, polymers and hydroperoxyaldehydes. These dangerous compounds inflame and irritate your artery walls, damage cell membranes and impair your immune function. They also have the ability to irritate your liver cells and start the development of fatty liver disease. Whenever you eat food that has been fried in vegetable oil, you will be taking in toxic compounds that create a lot of free radical damage in your body. Extra virgin olive oil and virgin coconut fat are exceptions to this rule.

Oxidized cholesterol is found in foods like processed deli meats, foods containing powdered eggs and powdered milk, and egg yolks if the eggs have been cooked in a way that the yolk is broken and heated to high temperatures, for example frying. Homogenized milk is more likely to contain oxidized cholesterol than un-homogenized milk, because the fat globules are smaller, and thus have a greater surface area. This leaves them more susceptible to damage by light, oxygen and heat.

Fatty acids and cholesterol can be oxidized in our own bodies too. We may eat fresh, unrefined fats, but if our body is lacking antioxidants, these fats can still become damaged. Anything that increases the amount of free radicals in our body makes us more susceptible to fat oxidation; these factors include stress, lack of sleep, exposure to pollution, ultraviolet radiation from the sun and a diet lacking raw vegetables and fruit. If we ingest, or otherwise form oxidized cholesterol in our body, this cholesterol will be incorporated into our lipoproteins; HDL, LDL and others. We know that LDL is the “bad” kind of cholesterol, but when it becomes oxidized it is so much worse. It is believed that oxidized LDL causes much more damaged to artery walls because it is able to stick to the artery walls much more readily. Lecithin helps to protect cholesterol from oxidation; it is found in high amounts in eggs and soy foods.

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The bottom part of the womb, the cervix, changes quite dramatically during the menstrual cycle according to the hormones being produced. Understanding and recognizing these changes is one of the most important ways you can pinpoint the best time to have intercourse in order to conceive.

The mucus-secreting glands (crypts) which line the cervical canal produce mucus continuously but this fluid undergoes important changes during the menstrual cycle. During the first half of the cycle (the follicular phase), the mucus is thick and sticky. It forms a plug over the cervix, which stops semen entering. It also makes the vagina acid, which can kill off sperm within a few hours.

About three to four days before ovulation, as oestrogen levels increase, the mucus becomes clear and stretchy and the amount increases. Surrounded by this fertile mucus, sperm can live for up to seven days.

So it is possible to have intercourse on a Monday and actually conceive on a Friday! This fertile mucus turns the vaginal fluids alkaline, keeping sperm alive. It also provides nourishment for the sperm, in the form of increased amounts of sugar, amino acids, salt and water.

The other intriguing aspect of this fertile mucus is that it forms ’swimming lanes’ (or canals) through which the sperm can pass quickly. It also seems to act as a filter, allowing the healthy sperm to travel forward but effectively trapping the abnormal sperm (there are always some abnormal sperm in semen) and blocking their passage. Once ovulation has taken place and progesterone increases, the mucus again becomes thick and sticky (infertile mucus), protecting the cervix from sperm and also from any foreign bodies.

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A young man, they say, will do anything for sex. A middle-age man will do anything for money. An older man will do anything for respect. But all men will do anything for a good bowel movement.

The problem is that a lot can go wrong between digestion and elimination, irritable bowel syndrome being an all-too-common example. IBS, as it’s affectionately called, isn’t life-threatening and doesn’t lead to harder stuff like colorectal cancer. It isn’t inflammatory and doesn’t permanently damage the bowel. In fact, it’s not really a disease but, rather, a “functional disorder.”

The function it disorders is bowel movement. You can have painful constipation with difficult or infrequent bowel movements. Or you can have equally painful diarrhea with a lot of loose stools and urgent desires to reduce the real estate between your irritable bowel and a toilet. Or you can enjoy both versions. Adding to the pleasure are crampy abdominal pain, gassiness, and bloating.

As bad as IBS sounds (and feels), it’s not nearly as serious as inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. This is a group of disorders that cause inflammation and ulceration in the small and large intestines. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, the two major members of the IBD family, cause symptoms similar to IBS. But they also can offer nasty bonuses – like rectal bleeding, weight loss, fever and anemia.

Doctors aren’t sure what causes IBS or IBD. They do know that unlike IBS, IBD has a genetic element to it; 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a blood relative with some form of inflammatory bowel disease. There’s no cure for either one, though treatment under a doctor’s care can ease the discomfort. So can the following recommendations from the National Institutes of Health.

Assess your food. Milk products, large amounts of alcohol, avocados, and excess fat of any kind can contract your bowel in inconvenient ways. But different folks react to different foods, so the National Institutes of Health recommends that you actually keep a journal of the relationship between what goes in and how it comes out. It’s not exactly the kind of diary material that made Samuel Pepys famous, but it could help you avoid undue distress from IBS.

Don’t overeat. Those seven-course extravaganzas can cause cramping and diarrhea in people with IBS. Try smaller meals more often or just eat smaller portions. And keep the fiber high and the fat low. High-fiber diets mildly distend the colon (the largest section of the bowel, or large intestine), and that helps prevent symptom-starting spasms from developing. You may feel some bloating when you first up the fiber, but that should stop as your body adjusts to the better diet.

Lessen your stress. Another trigger for IBS symptoms is emotional stress, which can also aggravate the symptoms of IBD simply by increasing the number of bowel movements.

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Eating binges may occur either spontaneously or as a result of a breakdown in control. Many patients tell me that just tasting a desired food can start an avalanche of eating. One woman said she made a point of memorizing the locations of all the bakeries in her town, so that she could arrange her routes to avoid accidentally smelling fresh-baked doughnuts and pies.

On the other hand, the bulimic may devote a lot of time to planning her binges.

The food consumed during a binge is often high in calories, sweet, and able to be eaten rapidly-even without being chewed!

However, bulimics will eat almost any food-even salad or “health foods”-during a binge. A typical menu for one patient’s binge might be two pounds of peanut M&M’s, a gallon of ice cream, half a chicken, a package of raw Pillsbury chocolate-chip cookie dough, a microwave pizza, a tub of yogurt, and a box of Pop-Tarts. Studies show that the major difference between binge meals and normal meals is often the quantity of food consumed, not the type.

Patients often look on their bulimia as their “dirty little secret.” Most go to great lengths to keep their bingeing and purging hidden. Often this means arranging circumstances so that the patient is alone when she eats.

Other patients know they must conform to their family’s schedules so as not to attract undue attention. They thus eat a normal meal, but may excuse themselves several times during the meal or immediately afterward to go to the bathroom and throw up. If questioned about their behavior, they’ll blame the problem on a “urinary tract infection” or a “stomach virus.” Although I’ve been in practice for a long time, the sheer ingenuity with which bulimics conceal their behavior never ceases to amaze me.

Interestingly, a binge does not necessarily stop when the food disappears-not as long as pizzas or Chinese food can be ordered by phone and grocery stores stay open twenty-four hours a day. Even the feeling of being full won’t do it, a sign some experts believe means that something is wrong with the way the patient’s brain perceives the feeling of fullness. No, the binge might continue to the point of physical pain, when it’s no longer possible to cram in more food. Sometimes the binge stops only when the patient falls asleep. In some cases a family member might enter the room, or a visitor might come to the door, at which point the patient stops eating.

Self-induced vomiting often marks the end of the binge, the return of control. The “punishment” has fit the “crime.” For some bulimics, however, an empty stomach and the relief of abdominal pain mean that they can then turn around and begin all over again.

Surprisingly, vomiting itself can become habitual. Patients believe (wrongly) that because they are throwing up, they aren’t absorbing any calories. Overeating becomes “okay” since it won’t result in weight gain. They also learn the degree to which they can control vomiting. Some patients learn to trigger vomiting simply by applying a little pressure to the abdomen-an act that gets easier over time. For some patients, merely the sensation of having food in their stomachs can trigger intense urges to vomit. Others, however, need a full stomach in order to vomit, and thus need to eat large amounts before they can purge.

In terms of family background, a significant percentage of parents of bulimic children are obese. Obesity in childhood or during the teen years may predispose a girl to develop bulimia. The incidence of depression is also higher among members of families with a bulimic child than in the population as a whole.

An eating binge can be seen as one kind of impulsive behavior. Many bulimics are unable to control other types of impulses as well. A considerable number have a history of stealing. One patient revealed that she sewed pockets inside her coats so she could shoplift food and other items more easily. Sometimes the stealing is motivated by the high cost of eating food in such quantities; sometimes it just reflects the way the patient interacts with her world. Some bulimics engage in promiscuous sexual behavior, having a large number of partners in short-term relationships. The incidence of alcoholism and abuse of illicit drugs is also higher than in non-bulimic populations.

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At age 42, LaVonnia “Bonnie” Johnson weighed 225 pounds and wore a size-22 dress. Then she started getting up earlier in the morning—and she lost 65 pounds.

Heavy all her life, Bonnie, of Washington, D.C., put on even more weight after going through a painful divorce. But her life changed in 1993 when she read an inspiring story of a woman who had left a troubled marriage and thrived. That was just what Bonnie needed to hear. “If she could do it, I can, too,” Bonnie thought.

In the beginning, she tried simple workouts—swimming, bicycling, and treadmill walking—at different times of the day, fitting it in whenever possible. And she made some progress, losing 15 pounds within 18 months.

|Then Bonnie changed jobs. Her new work schedule was so erratic that she could exercise only in the early morning. For Bonnie, that turned out to be the turning point.

At 6:00 a.m., Bonnie would arrive at her neighborhood gym and head straight for the treadmill, stairclimber, or stationary bicycle. Before long, she was experimenting with strength training. She was hooked. She couldn’t begin her day without hitting the gym. Within 2 years, she lost 65 pounds and four dress sizes.

Today, at age 49, Bonnie still starts her day with exercise. “Morning exercise has become a way of life for me,” she says. “It’s like drinking water or breathing. I need it to survive.”

WINNING ACTION

When it comes to exercise, be an early bird. Like Bonnie, make exercise the first item on your daily agenda. Starting my day on the treadmill is the only way that I know it fit in my workout. You’ll rev up your metabolism so you burn more calories over the course of the day. As a bonus, you’ll feel more centered, energized, and better able to handle stressful situations.

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