Newsletter - October 14, 2008

October 14, 2008 - In this Issue

New Format.....
Restricting Protein - Not Calories - May be Key to Extending Life
by Terry Grossman, M.D.
The Power of the Placebo
by Karen Kurtak, L.Ac. Dipl.Ac.
Is Soy Safe?
by Lolita Hanks, RN, BSN, MS, FNP-C
Gut Cleansing in Autism: a slow, steady, safe path to major improvement
by Michael Catalano, M.D.
Exciting News!
by Ardis Hoffman, Practice Manager

New Format.....

Welcome to this issue of Frontier Medical/Grossman Wellness E-News. We hope you enjoy our new collaborative newsletter format. This issue was written collectively with contributions from each of our practitioners - Dr. Terry Grossman, Dr. Michael Catalano, Lolita Hanks F.N.P., Karen Kurtak, L.Ac. and Ardis Hoffman, Practice Manager.

Please send your comments, suggestions for articles you would like to see, or questions you'd like answered for the benefit of all..... to Ardis Hoffman. Please put "Newsletter" in the subject line of the email. Thanks... and enjoy !! Happy Antiaging, Terry Grossman, M.D.

Restricting Protein - Not Calories - May be Key to Extending Life
by Terry Grossman, M.D.

A number of people practice "CR", or calorie restriction, in an effort to extend their longevity. Their reasoning is based on animal experiments which have shown that when laboratory animals are fed diets that are 30 – 35 percent lower in calories, they live as much as 50 percent longer. It is felt that the reason is that calorie-restricted animals have levels of IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor – 1), a hormone related to growth hormone, that are 30 to 40 percent lower. Yet, when Luigi Fontana and other researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis looked at IGF-1 levels in members of the CR Society, a group of people who had been following calorie restriction for an average of seven years, they did not find any difference in IGF-1 levels compared to people who eat normally.

However, the researchers noticed that vegans had lower levels of IGF-1 and wondered if the low protein consumption of the vegan diet was the cause. So, the CR study subjects were asked to follow a low protein diet. These individuals were initially eating about 24 percent of their calories as protein, while for vegans it was closer to 10 percent. After three weeks on the low protein diet, their IGF-1 levels had fallen dramatically -- just like it had for the animals on CR diets who lived longest.

While this is only a preliminary result and needs further confirmatory studies, the results are intriguing – particularly, since reducing protein may be easier – and more palatable to many people - than cutting calories.

The Power of the Placebo
by Karen Kurtak, L.Ac. Dipl.Ac.

A well-done study, performed by Harvard University psychologist Ellen Langer, adds to a growing body of evidence that shows us the powerful effects that our beliefs and intentions can have on our lives. The study showed that people could have an active lifestyle and not reap the physical benefits, such as lower body fat percentage and lower blood pressure, if they didn’t believe they were engaging in exercise or physical activity.

Eighty-four housekeepers from four separate hotels were selected as a perfect group to study because they are very active often cleaning 10-15 rooms per day. When asked how much exercise they believed they got, most of them said very little to none. The housekeepers from one hotel were then educated about what constitutes a healthy level of physical activity according to the Surgeon General’s recommendations.

Over the next month the researchers took several measures to confirm there weren’t any changes in activity level. After just one month, the women in the educated group each lost an average of two pounds and experienced an average 10% drop in blood pressure. In fact, all health parameters improved included body fat percentage, body mass index and waist to hip ratio.

A small change in one's knowledge base can help the body to recreate itself without any changes in diet or physical exertion. Take a few minutes a day to observe the constant stream of thoughts and beliefs that flow through your mind. Once you become aware of them consider how they may be affecting your physical body, your emotions, your relationships and your experience of life.

Is Soy Safe?
by Lolita Hanks, RN, BSN, MS, FNP-C

Today soy is touted as healthful. There is some truth in to that claim. We look to the aging Japanese culture with their high number of centurions. Americans tend to suffer from the more is better syndrome. Our thought is to replicate their success by consuming large amounts of soy, while the Japanese gain tremendous benefits from small amounts of soy but, this is not accurate. The Japanese consume small quantities of fermented soy: miso, soy sauce, fermented tofu, fermented soymilk, tempeh and natto. Unfermented sources include: soy beans (edamame), soy nuts, soy milk, tofu, dry soybeans and flour . Miso has anti-cancer properties and natto (nattokinase, enzymatic form) has vitamin K2 that can help with new bone formation and prevents cells from being sticky.

Many soy products are ridden with pesticides, contain aluminum and can be genetically modified. Soy products that are not fermented have high levels of phytic acid that are considered carcinogens and inhibit the assimilation of vital minerals. Soy use can increase the need for vitamins B12 and D. The phytoestrogens present in soy products are disrupt the endocrine system causing a low functioning thyroid, breast cancer and possibility infertility especially in men with low sperm counts. Lastly, MSG, a neurotoxic glutamate is formed during the processing of many soy foods.

At Frontier Medical/Grossman Wellness we advocate using fermented soy products as listed above and to keep any other soy product intake to less than 4 ounces a day. Be a label sleuth and look for soy flour, soy lecithin and other soy derivatives in processed foods, of course we prefer you avoid processed foods altogether.

Gut Cleansing in Autism: a slow, steady, safe path to major improvement
by Michael Catalano, M.D.

A 25-month old boy was brought to Frontier Medical Institute by his parents for evaluation 9 months after being diagnosed with autism. He still speaks no words, makes very little eye contact and seems to be in his own world of repeating movements (called stimming). He was placed on a gluten-free (no wheat products), casein-free (no dairy products) diet (GF/CF) for a few weeks, and parents have seen better behavior. The parents describe his bowel movements as soft, unusually sticky and smelly. He was noted to have red finger tips and whitish discoloration of his finger and toe nails, both signs of colon yeast overgrowth, also known as dysbiosis.

The parents argued over the GF/CF diet: the mother wanted to continue, the father, a physician, was concerned about malnutrition and the absence of standard clinical trials to prove the diet’s safety and efficacy in autistic kids. I reassured the parents: he has very good weight and height for his age and that we would monitor his growth carefully to be sure he has good nutrition. I convinced the dad to give the diet at least a 3-6 month chance to achieve full effect. We began a supplement program to address the dysbiosis to restore good bacteria in the colon with probiotics and suppress the yeast in his colon with natural anti-yeast supplements.

Four months later the parents report better stools, some words (“Ma”, “ball”), sounding alphabet letters, more social behavior and better eye contact. A dramatic incident convinced them (especially the dad) of the benefit of the GF/CF diet: one evening at an Asian restaurant they gave him a small amount of pasta-like udon noodles; the next day he went back to stimming, had tantrums and lost his vocabulary (he recovered soon after). Eight months later, he continues to improve.

Autism is a complex disorder affecting which seems to be increasing, now affecting about one in every 160 children. The causes are not clear, but much can be done to help these children be more social and verbal as well as more involved with their families, their schools and their world. At Frontier Medical Institute, we use the treatments developed over many years by the physicians and parents of the Autism Research Institute, also known as Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) This case describes some of the benefits of just two of the treatment approaches, the GF/CF diet and colon microbe balancing.

Exciting News!
by Ardis Hoffman, Practice Manager

In 2006 after many prods from supportive patients, Dr Grossman pioneered Frontier Research Institute dba: Health Innovations, a non-profit 501(c)3, with a mission to conduct publishable medical research on alternative therapies.

On April 1, 2008, the Adolph Coors Foundation of Denver, Colorado awarded a $500,000 grant to support the first clinical trial to study the use of high-dose, intravenous vitamin C in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. The clinical trial is scheduled to begin October of 2008. Results will be submitted for publication in the mainstream medical literature and reported at medical scientific meetings.

Hepatitis C is now the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the U.S. (4.1 million people), affecting an estimated 180 million people worldwide. 3.2 million have chronic hepatitis C. Current therapy for hepatitis C is very expensive, is associated with significant and sometimes serious side effects and is only effective in 40 percent of genotype 1 cases, the most common type of hepatitis C found in the U.S.

The principal investigator for the trial will be Jeanne Drisko, M.D., Chief of Integrative Medicine at Kansas University Medical Center. Dr. Drisko is also president of the American College for Advancement of Medicine (ACAM) and the leading clinical researcher in the U.S. of high-dose intravenous vitamin C in patients with cancer.

You are invited to support our efforts by mailing your tax-deductible donation to:

Frontier Research Institute
2801 Youngfield St. - Suite 117
Golden, CO 80401