Showing posts with label mycotoxins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mycotoxins. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Baking soda, cancer and fungus

The cancer industry is closing in on baking soda and beginning to do research in earnest about sodium bicarbonate and how it is a primary tool in the treatment of fungus. Cancer is a fungus, can be caused by a fungus, or is accompanied by late-stage fungal infections, and now the Mayo Clinic confirms this. They are not the first to say so though. Many, even from the official world of orthodox oncology, recognize the similarities of cancer and fungal infections, the decay that ties these two together in a dance that all too often ends in miserable death.

The Mayo Clinic is saying that a fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. The invasive fungus, Basidiobolus ranarum, is typically found in the soil, decaying organic matter and the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bats.

Patients with this fungal infection had non-specific symptoms such as abdominal pain or a mass that could be felt on examination. Before a conclusive diagnosis of the fungal infection was made, most patients were thought to have abdominal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulitis. Surgical resection of the area of involvement and prolonged antifungal therapy successfully treated most patients.

Interestingly, a few years ago researchers at Johns Hopkins were surprised that the drug itraconazole, commonly used to treat toenail fungus, can also block angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels commonly seen in cancers. Tumor angiogenesis is the proliferation of a network of blood vessels that penetrates into cancerous growths, supplying nutrients and oxygen and removing waste products. Cancer researchers studying the conditions necessary for cancer metastasis have discovered that angiogenesis is one of the critical events required for metasteses to occur. In mice induced to have excess blood vessel growth, treatment with itraconazole reduced blood vessel growth by 67% compared to placebo. "We were surprised, to say the least, that itraconazole popped up as a potential blocker of angiogenesis," says Dr. Jun O. Liu, professor of pharmacology. "We couldn't have predicted that an antifungal drug would have such a role." Itraconazole was found to reduce the numbers of circulating cancer cells, prevent the worsening of prostate cancers, and delay the need for chemotherapy. However, it has serious side effects when given in the necessary high dosages that include hypertension, low potassium levels and fluid retention. These side effects require treatment with other medications. Effects of high doses of itraconazole could lead to heart failure.

For two decades John Hopkins has recognized the increasing frequency of severe fungal infections in patients with neoplastic diseases. Most fungal infections are caused by the commonly recognized opportunistic fungi Candida spp and Aspergillus spp, and the pathogenic fungi Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidiodes immitis, and less often by Blastomyces dermatidis. However, recently newer pathogens such as Pheohyphomycetes, Hyalohyphomycetes, Zygomycetes and other fungi of emerging importance such as Torulopsis glabrata, Trichosporon beigelii, Malassezia spp, Saccharomyces spp, Hansenula spp, Rhodotorula spp, and Geotrichum candidum have appeared as significant causes of infection in this patient population.

Dr. Tullio Simoncini does not say that cancer is caused by yeast; what he is telling the world is that the cancer is a yeast overgrowth. What causes the cancer (or a yeast-filled tumor) is another thing. Simoncini has always insisted that tumors are white because they are fungi. Some have made fun of him, but looking around at the extremely sparse information about the subject, I ran into one person saying:

"If someone had asked me a year ago what color the inside of a tumor was, I would have guessed red and gray. When they did the biopsy, I asked to see the tissue specimens: five quarter-inch to half-inch strings of vermicelli (Italian for little worms) with little streakings of blood. They didn't look evil to me, just strings of fat. The entire mass was white inside as the pathology report stated.

Specialists in throat and mouth cancer say that cancers can be red or white patches: any patch that appears randomly and is red or white in color could be a mouth cancer symptom. The white patches in the mouth are called leukoplakia and the red patches are called erythroplakia, which are pre-cancerous conditions. Though these red or white patches are not always cancerous, it could be the result of a fungal infection caused by Candida called thrush. Thrush will lead to a red patch that often bleeds after the white patch disappears. A small amount of this fungus lives in your mouth most of the time. It is usually kept in check by your immune system and other types of germs that also normally live in your mouth. However, when your immune system is weak, the fungus can grow.

Fungal Mycotoxins

It just so happens that a toxin produced by mold on nuts and grains can cause liver cancer, according to University of California Irvine Researchers. And a French case-control study of 1,010 breast cancer cases and 1,950 controls with nonmalignant diseases found that breast cancer was associated with increased frequency of mold-fermented cheese consumption. Fungi produce mycotoxins, which can kill us or cause cancer.

Dr. Wang and Groopman from the Environmental Health Sciences Department at Johns Hopkins published on the effects of mold toxins on DNA in Mutation Research, a leading cancer journal. They said mycotoxins with carcinogenic potency include aflatoxins, sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin, fumonisins, zearalenone, and some Penicillium toxins. Most of these carcinogenic mycotoxins are genotoxic agents. Aflatoxin is a potent genotoxic agent, is mutagenic in many model systems and produces chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei, sister chromatid exchange, unscheduled DNA synthesis, and chromosomal strand breaks. Most strikingly, the relationship between aflatoxin exposure and development of human hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) is demonstrated by studies.

Harrison et al. (1993) examined human breast cancer tissue for evidence of the presence of aflatoxin. The researchers examined human DNA from a variety of tissues and organs to identify and quantify aflatoxin DNA-adducts. Such adducts are considered to be proof of the mycotoxin's presence in a particular tissue. Aflatoxins may in fact be a risk factor for cancer induction in a variety of organs in man, in the same manner as that of cigarette smoking.

DNA from normal and tumorous tissue obtained from patients with cancer of the breast was examined. Tumor tissues had higher aflatoxin-adduct levels than did normal tissue from the same individual. The result of this study verifies the presence of carcinogenic aflatoxin within the cancer tissue and thus implicates aflatoxin as a cause of breast cancer. That is the same as saying cancer is a fungus or is caused by a fungus and this is what Dr. Simoncini has been saying all along.

Intensive Care Units are particularly on alert with immunocompromised and oncology patients for fungal infections. "Patients with brain tumors used to have a life expectancy of 3-12 months, but better treatment has allowed them to live a bit longer," said Brenda Shelton, clinical nurse specialist at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. "The last two brain tumor ICU patients we treated died of infection, not of their disease. One patient had a rare fungus, and the other had candidemia. Years ago, you would not see most of these fungal infections in patients with brain tumors because they would not live long enough."

"The biggest misconception is the belief that fungal infections are rare," Shelton said. "Another misconception is fungal infections are like every other severe infection. They are harder to manage, harder to eradicate and more frequent than people realize." One of the most common complications involved in treating patients with hematologic cancer is fungal infections.

Aspergillus niger fungal infection in human lungs produces large amounts of oxalic acid, which is extremely toxic to the blood vessels and which may cause fatal pulmonary hemorrhages. Consequently, oxalic acid (calcium oxalate crystals) in the sputum or lung specimens of patients is also an indication of an Aspergillus infection of the lung. These calcium oxalate crystals are the same as the calcium oxalate found in breast cancers. The presence of oxalates in the breast is indicative of the presence of fungi interwoven within the stages of breast cancer development. Since humans do not make oxalic acid themselves, this is an appropriate conclusion.

Dr. Robert Young states, "Bacteria, yeast/fungi, and mold are not the cause of a cancerous condition but are the result and the evidence of cells and tissues biologically transforming from a healthy state and to an unhealthy state." Dr. Young astutely observed that, "over-acidification of the body leads to the development of chronic yeast and fungal infections and ultimately a cancerous condition of the cells and tissues."

If one has cancer, chances are pretty good that one
also has a fungal infection to one degree or another.


According to The Home Medical Encyclopedia, in 1963 about one-half of all Americans suffered from an "unrecognized" systemic fungal condition. Far more Americans suffer from fungal infections today as antibiotics, hormone replacement therapies, and birth control pills continue to be consumed like candy. Thus more and more children are becoming infected with candidal meningitis or viral meningitis, which means their systems are suffering under the weight of fungi who put out an assortment of poisons - or mycotoxins.

Sodium Bicarbonate is an Antifungal Agent

The current controversy over sodium bicarbonate and its use in oncology might be relatively new but baking soda has a long history of helping people get through the worst medical conditions. The Eloquent Peasant, an Egyptian literary work dated around 2000 B.C., refers to a peddler selling natron, a natural blend of sodium bicarbonate, chloride and sodium carbonate used in mummification, just one of hundreds of uses this compound has been put to. Baking soda's first widespread use was probably as a leavening agent for bread and other baked goods. It has been used commercially since 1775, although the now-famous Arm & Hammer brand wasn't introduced until 1867.

Sodium bicarbonate (Na2HCO3) is recognized by most as ordinary baking soda, which is found in deposits around the globe. Its backbone characteristic is to maintain balance of carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and pH. Sodium bicarbonate is available and sold in every supermarket and pharmacy in the world and is widely used in emergency rooms and intensive care wards in injectable forms but is sold as a common household substance that is used for hundreds of different things.

Read my book, Sodium Bicarbonate, and see that something as inexpensive as baking soda will outperform the most expensive pharmaceuticals. Across a wide range of disorders, including cancer and diabetes, we find conclusive evidence and plenty of theoretical backing to suggest that sodium bicarbonate is a frontline universal medicine that should be employed by all practitioners of the healing and medical arts for a broad range of disorders that are afflicting contemporary man.

For all the references, sources and more articles, please visit Dr. Mark Sircus blog.

About the author:
Mark A. Sircus, Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA) http://www.imva.info/.

Dr. Sircus was trained in acupuncture and oriental medicine at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Sante Fe, N.M., and at the School of Traditional Medicine of New England in Boston. He served at the Central Public Hospital of Pochutla in Mexico, and was awarded the title of doctor of oriental medicine for his work. He was one of the first nationally certified acupuncturists in the United States. Dr. Sircus's IMVA is dedicated to unifying the various disciplines in medicine with the goal of creating a new dawn in healthcare.

He is particularly concerned about the effect vaccinations have on vulnerable infants and is identifying the common thread of many toxic agents that are dramatically threatening present and future generations of children. His book, The Terror of Pediatric Medicine, is a free e-book offered on his web site. Humane Pediatrics will be an e-book available early in 2011 and then quickly as possible put into print.

Dr. Sircus is a most prolific and courageous writer and one can read through hundreds of pages on his various web sites.

He has recently released a number of e-books including Winning the War Against Cancer, Survival Medicine for the 21st Century, Sodium Bicarbonate, Rich Man’s Poor Man’s Cancer Treatment, New Paradigms in Diabetic Care and Bringing Back the Universal Medicine: IODINE.

Dr. Sircus is a pioneer in the area of natural detoxification and chelation of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. He is also a champion of the medicinal value of minerals and seawater.

Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, his first published work, offers a stunning breakthrough in medicine, an entirely new way to supplement magnesium that naturally increases DHEA levels, brings cellular magnesium levels up quickly, relieves pain, brings down blood pressure and pushes cell physiology in a positive direction. Magnesium chloride delivered transdermally brings a quick release from a broad range of conditions. His second edition of Transdermal Magnesium Therapy will be out shortly. In addition he writes critically about the political and financial crises occurring around us.

International Medical Veritas Association: http://www.imva.info/
http://publications.imva.info/

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/035876_baking_soda_cancer_fungus.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Candida And Fungal Infections May Cause Cancer...

Eliminating These Fungal Infections Is Vital For Getting Rid Of Cancer
Some doctors theorize that candida or other systemic fungal infections cause or at the very least contribute to the development of cancer. This makes sense. A body wide candida infection plays havoc on the immune system. Not only does the immune system become overwhelmed and worn out from fighting the infection, but candida (or other fungus) excrete toxins that further weaken and harm the body. 

The major waste product of candida is acetaldehyde, which produces ethanol. Ethanol may be great in cars, but in your body it causes excessive fatigue, and reduces strength and stamina. In addition, it destroys enzymes needed for cell energy, and causes the release of free radicals that can damage DNA. 

Ethanol also inhibits the absorption of iron. Because iron is one of the most important oxygen supports in the blood, ethanol in your body creates low oxygen levels. And you know what happens when your body can't oxygenate well. Deal with candida if you want to beat cancer.
There is a simple test to tell if you have candida overgrowth.
First thing in the morning, before you put ANYTHING in your mouth, get a clear glass of water. Better still; leave it by your bed the night before. Work up a bit of saliva, and then spit it into the glass of water.
Check the water every 15 minutes or so for up to one hour. If you have a candida yeast infection, strings (like legs) will travel down into the water from the saliva floating on top, or "cloudy" saliva will sink to the bottom of the glass, or cloudy specks will seem to be suspended in the water. If nothing develops in 30 to 45 minutes, you are probably candida free.
Some doctors implicate fungi as a cause of leukemia. In 1999 Meinolf Karthaus, MD, watched three different children with leukemia suddenly go into remission upon receiving a triple antifungal drug cocktail for their "secondary" fungal infections. 

In 1997 Mark Bielski stated that leukemia, whether acute or chronic, is intimately associated with the yeast, Candida albicans, which mutates into a fungal form when it overgrows.
Milton White, MD. believed that cancer is a chronic, infectious, fungus disease. He was able to find fungal spores in every sample of cancer tissue he studied. Some other doctors agree with him. Such as the Italian doctor who has his patients take a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, baking soda, in a glass of water half an hour before breakfast. This alkalinized the digestive tract so that it would help eliminate candida. 

Author Doug Kaufmann asserts that fungi in foods may play a role in cancer. He has seen children become free of their documented leukemia once the child's parents simply changed the child's diet. Kaufmann's diet is base on the widely published problem of mycotoxin contamination of our grain foods. 

Grains such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, and other foods such as peanuts, are commonly contaminated with cancer-causing fungal poisons called mycotoxins. One of them, called aflatoxin, just happens to be the most carcinogenic substance on earth. 

He says we consume, on average, from 0.15mg to 0.5mg of aflatoxin per day. So it is not sugar alone that is the problem in our western diet, but fungal toxins that are found in the sugary grains. More than once has Kaufmann interviewed a caller (on his health talk show) who absolutely craved peanut butter and popcorn just prior to their diagnosis of cancer. 

Kaufmann feels that antibiotics may play a role in this. Antibiotics destroy the normal, protective gut bacteria, allowing intestinal yeast and fungi to grow unchecked. Resulting in Candida overgrowth. This can lead to immune suppression, symptoms of autoimmune diseases, or even cancer. 

"If the onset of any symptom or disease, cancer included, was preceded by a course of antibiotics," he says, "then look for a fungus to be at the root of your problem."

Source: cancerfightingstrategies.com

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Olive Leaf Extract – Know the Cause

Olive Leaf Extract – Know the Cause
Since I have had a history of a fungus imbalance (Candiasisis), most likely caused by penicillin and other antibiotics throughout my life (not to mention candy, fast food and booze), I thought it would be good to take some anti-fungal supplements that are recommended highly by Doug Kaufmann, who has written many books on fungus, parasites and “mycotoxins”.
One of the things Doug recommends for “anti-fungal” support is Olive Leaf Extract.
I just ordered an anti-fungal support kit from Seagate
http://www.seagateproducts.com/anti-fungal-kit.html
Olive Leaf Extract has been shown to have a number of benefits in addition to helping to control fungus, mycotoxins and parasites. It appears to have many other benefits such as for people who experience anxiety.
The booklet “Natural Relief For Allergies” talks about Olive Leaf Extract and is very impressive.
http://www.seagateproducts.com/ss-images/townsend-letter-may.pdf
I suggest that you read it.
Almot every day I watch a show on TV called “Know the Cause” with Doug Kaufman and it has some excellent information. Among his views are that many of our ailments are actually caused by fungus and mold. He is not the only one that believes this.
Sure – it may be a hassle to find it on your cable system but why not watch it online!
Know the Cause – Today’s Show – now streaming:
http://knowthecause.com/Shows/TodaysShowNowStreaming/tabid/113/Default.aspx
Basically, in a nutshell, since the 1950’s doctors have been prescribing Antibiotics at an increasing rate. ANTI as in it kills bacteria. While it has saved some peoples lives, Doug and many others feel that the side effects of all this antibiotic use is that it is causing MANY other problems.
Mainly because anti-biotics kill bacteria of all kinds – bad bacteria and good bacteria. We need good bacteria and without it all kinds of things get out of whack.
Taking “probiotics” such as acidophilus, which helps get some the good stuff back in our bodies (it’s in yogurt) is a step in the right direction, but we also need to get out the bad stuff that came in. The main problem is that when the natural balance is out of whack from antibiotics and the bacteria that would normally help us fight invaders such as fungus, mold, parasites and other “mycotoxins” is not there – the bad stuff starts to thrive in our bodies causing cancer and heart disease and all kinds of problems.
In the case of fungus – it thrives on sugar and carbohydrates.
So basically – we kill the good stuff and open the door for the bad stuff – then we feed the bad stuff by eating lots of sugar and high carb foods.
It’s no wonder people get sick and have so many problems, not to mention overweight.
So, it is my mission to start being more aware of this and trying to get the balance back and get rid of the bad stuff that is living inside me. I’ll do this by eating food like garlic and carrots which help fight that off as well as take some vitamins and herbs that also help. Plus Doug Kauffman has a “low carb – low sugar diet” called the Phase 1 diet that promises to help fight off the bad stuff by eliminating sugar and carbohydrates for a long enough period to get rid of the invaders. Interesting stuff!
 More info like this at the Know The Cause site

Monday, March 08, 2010

Grains and the Dangers of Mycotoxins

There are many types of toxins that can wreak havoc with your health. Most of these toxins are things that you can’t see, smell or feel when you first come in contact with them, including one of the lesser known but dangerous types: mycotoxins.
Mycotoxins are compounds produced by fungi and literally mean “fungus poisons.” Poisoning caused by a mycotoxin is known as mycotoxicosis.
Mycotoxins can cause a wide range of health problems even if you’re just exposed to small amounts over an extended period of time. Mycotoxicosis can even be lethal if a patient has consumed large quantities of mycotoxins over a short period of time.
Mycotoxicosis symptoms depend on the type of mycotoxin, the amount and length of exposure, the age, health and sex of the exposed individual, and many poorly understood synergistic effects involving genetics, dietary status and interactions with other toxins.
This means that the severity of mycotoxin poisoning can be compounded by factors such as vitamin deficiency, caloric deprivation, alcohol abuse and infectious disease status.
Mycotoxins can also increase a patient’s vulnerability to microbial diseases, worsen the effects of malnutrition and interact synergistically with other toxins.
Dr. Dave Holland, co-author of the bestselling book The Fungus Link, is an expert on the harmful effects of mycotoxins on the human body. Dr. Holland’s list of diseases associated with mycotoxins include:
  • AIDS
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Amyloidosis
  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Balkan Nephropathy
  • Bechet’s disease
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Cirrhosis (alcoholic and biliary)
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Cushing’s disease
  • Diabetes
  • DIC
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Encephalopathy
  • Ergotism
  • Familial Mediterranean Fever
  • Gout
  • Heart failure
  • Hyperactivity Syndrome
  • Hyperaldosteronism
  • Hyperlipidemia (high lipids)
  • Hypertension
  • Infertility
  • IgA Nephropathy
  • Kidney stones
  • Leukocytoclastic vasculitis
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Mollaret’s meningitis
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Nephritis (kidney inflammation)
That’s quite a laundry list of diseases. And because the most toxic forms of fungi and the mycotoxins they produce have become more common in America’s modern and industrialized food supply, particularly in improperly stored, pesticide-sprayed grains which humans and livestock in large amounts in various forms, there lies the danger.
In 1985, the World Health Organization estimated that 25 percent of the world’s grains have been contaminated by mycotoxins. Today, more than two decades later, we can assume that this figure has increased due to an increase in global imports and exports of grains and cereals and the changes in the environment and weather.
If you want to avoid the dangers of mycotoxins, here are the top 10 foods to avoid (hint: most of them are grains):
1. Alcohol – is the mycotoxin of the Saccharomyces yeast (brewer’s yeast). Other mycotoxins besides alcohol can also be introduced into alcoholic beverages through the use of mold-contaminated grains and fruits. Alcohol producers often use grains that are too contaminated with fungi and mycotoxins to be eaten as table foods, so the risk of mycotoxicosis is higher if you are consuming more than just alcohol in your beverage.
2. Corn – is "universally contaminated" with mycotoxins such as fumonisin, aflatoxin, zearalenone and ochratoxin. Fumonisin and aflatoxin are known carcinogens, while zearalenone and ochratoxin cause estrogenic and kidney-related problems, respectively. It’s difficult to get away from corn because it’s everywhere! For example, a typical fast food chicken nugget comes from corn-fed chicken that is covered by a corn-based batter sweetened with corn syrup!
3. Wheat and wheat products – like bread, cereal and pasta. Pasta may be the “safest” because you can remove certain water-soluble mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin), when you drain the boiling water after cooking it. However, traces of the more harmful, heat-stable and fat-soluble mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin, remain. When it comes to bread – it doesn’t matter if it’s organic, inorganic, sprouted, blessed or not – if the grain used has been stored for months in a silo, it can be contaminated with fungi.
4. Barley – is equally susceptible to contamination by mycotoxins because it can also be damaged by drought, floods, and harvesting and storage processes. It’s used in the production of cereals and alcoholic beverages.
5. Sugar (sugar cane and sugar beets) – is often contaminated with fungi and like other grains and fuels the growth of fungi, which feed on carbohydrates.
6. Sorghum – is used in a number of grain-based products for both humans and animals, and is also an ingredient in the production of alcoholic beverages.
7. Peanuts – A 1993 study revealed that peanuts are colonized by at least 24 different types of fungi. The alarming part was that they were found after the exterior of the peanut was sterilized!
8. Rye – What applies for other grains is the same with rye. Also, when wheat and rye are used to make bread, sugar and yeast are added – two other products that worsen the fungi problem.
9. Cottonseed – is usually in the form of cottonseed oil but is also used in grain form for many animal foods. Many studies show that cottonseed is often highly contaminated with mycotoxins.
10. Hard Cheese – Each time you see a mold growing on your cheese, there’s a good chance that there’s also a mycotoxin present.
Rice, oats and beans, which are also sources of carbohydrates, may also contain mycotoxins but these crops are generally more resistant to fungal contamination.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Grains & Fungus

PSSST!... I'VE GOT A SECRET TO SHARE WITH YOU
By: David Holland

Who'd of thought that the most advanced civilization
would be experiencing the greatest rate of chronic and
debilitating disease in the history of the World?
Well, we've done it. Over half of our nation is now
overweight. Obesity is truly an epidemic. Its
long-term effects cost more than the harmful effects
of smoking (Wall Street Journal, March 2003). . It is
associated with higher risks of cancer, birth defects
(Mercola.com, 2003. Obesity and diabetes increases
risk of birth defects- citing Epidemiology, Nov
2000;11:689-694), heart disease, arthritis
(Mercola.com 2003. Finally, Proof for my assertion
that sugar is more dangerous than cigarettes- citing
an article in Public Health, June 2001;115:229-235) -
the list sadly grows every day. Being obese is as bad,
in terms of costs to lifespan, as simply cutting 20
years from your life. Obesity has spilled over into
the childhood and adolescent age groups at an alarming
rate. If it cuts life span so drastically, these
children are already starting out life facing the huge
medical, physical, and psychological challenges
associated with carrying around extra weight. In our
latest book, What makes bread rise?, we offer readers
a chance to finally learn what's at the root of most
weight problems. In this first issue of Know the
Cause!. , I've taken some of the information that we
present in this book and talk about it here. Because
obesity is such a widespread problem that I feel the
need to let you all in on a little secret right now.

There are two huge problems that lay at the root of
our nation's 60% obesity rate that we must first
discuss in order to better understand the root cause
of this epidemic. One is that carbohydrates-grains and
sugars-have inadvertently been rated as the "safe"
food choice. The other has to do with the fungal
contamination of our grain food supply. Let's talk
about carbs, first.

Until the late 1970's to the early 1980's, the United
States Department of Agriculture's dietary
recommendations did not include any cautions against
fat. Things changes after around this time, when the
USDA changed their mind about fat. Later, in the early
1990's the USDA's Food Pyramid was introduced to the
public. All of a sudden, fats were shoved up to the
tiny and claustrophobic top of the pyramid in the
category that equated to "bad foods that should be
consumed in small quantities." People-medical
personnel included-assumed that this recommendation
applied to all fats. Margarine quickly took the place
of butter. Whole grain bread and cereal became
breakfast of champs-move over bacon and eggs! Pasta
now reigned over meat. Nobody seemed to notice that it
was not a panel of esteemed scientists who devised
this new, Food Pyramid. In truth, the "esteemed panel"
was a group of attorneys working, at the time, under
Senator George McGovern (Taubes, G. What if it's all
been a big, fat lie? New York Times, July 17, 2002).
Yet, since this information was so heavily marketed
and taught to the dieticians who, in turn teach
doctors how to tell us to eat, we bought the
information hook, line, and sinker. Even to this day,
when we've learned that margarine is actually more
dangerous than butter, and that eggs and nuts are not
so bad after all-that consuming them may actually
lower risks of heart disease-we still have a fat
phobia. Doctors are terrified of giving thumbs up to
the three-letter "f" word to any of their patients
with heart disease or high cholesterol despite the
fact that repeated, small studies over the past 30
years have shown that eating a high protein, low carb
diet is just as effective, and often more so, at
reducing bad cholesterol as a low fat diet, whether or
not an exercise program is involved. We have
clinically observed lipids such as cholesterol and
triglycerides increase dramatically as a result of
following a low-fat diet. Just as Doug said when he
quoted the physiology text book: our bodies easily
convert carbohydrates into fat.

It's neither here nor there, though. Low fat and low
carb proponents will likely continue their battles for
years to come. But some interesting data has come to
surface as of late. A study by Penelope Greed of the
Harvard School of public health looked at the effects
of following either a high carb, low fat diet vs. a
high fat, low carb diet. Both groups of people lost
equal amounts of weight. There you go, you say-
there's no difference in the two diets. Not so fast.
The participants who followed a low-carb regimen ate,
on average, 300 more calories per day than the low-fat
folks. Over the 12 week span of the study, this should
have translated into an extra 7 pound weight gain. Did
the calories just vanish into thin air? Dieticians
were befuddled. From day one of their schooling they'd
been taught that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.
The extra calories consumed MUST turn into extra
weight, they were taught. Yet the low-carb
participants managed to loose this weight with ease.
Was there a trick involved? Was there a missing factor
that we're not accounting for in the high carb group?
This, my friends, is where we must introduce to you
our fungal foes.

History was made in January of 2002 when a simple
article entitled "Mycotoxins," by Ruth Etzel, PhD, MD
was published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association. Born out of the 9-11 incident and the
subsequent need to learn more about bioterrorism
agents, such as the fungal-derived T2 toxin (a.k.a.
"Yellow Rain), this article did more than educate the
medical readers about chemical warfare. It took the
topic of fungal toxins-mycotoxins-a step further,
saying that these harmful chemicals are not just found
on the front lines of battle grounds. They are just as
easily found on playgrounds. Specifically, they're in
foods that we eat every day (Etzel, R. Mycotoxins.
JAMA, Vol 287, No. 4. Jan 23/30, 2002). The article
was beautifully filled with pearls of information. It
stated that "the primary concern in developed
countries (that's us, folks) is the long-term effects
of ingesting food contaminated with low levels of
mycotoxins," and that carcinogenic toxins, such as
aflatoxin, a by-product of the Aspergillus molds, is a
"common contaminant of peanuts, soybeans, grains and
cassava. It went on to inform us that the Fusarium
mold group of toxins known as the fumonisins "seem to
be universally present in corn and corn-based
products" and that these fumonisins might be linked to
human birth defects such as spina bifida. Another
toxin, called vomitoxin, of the trichothecene group of
mold toxins, causes nausea, headaches, and abdominal
cramps. It's a "frequent contaminant of wheat and
corn." The trichothecenes (try-ko-thee-seens) are
documented to suppress our immune system when they are
consumed in our foods or inhaled in moldy buildings.
Without a properly-functioning immune system, we're at
risk of succumbing to various, infectious and chronic
diseases. Incidentally, fungi preferably invade our
grain food supply because grains-a source of
carbohydrates-are their favorite food.

What's a mold or toxin got to do with my waistline,
you might ask. Let's go a step further. As you see in
the examples above, and as you've read in Doug's
section, antibiotics are simply another group of
mycotoxins. Most antibiotics are, in fact, mold
byproducts. Think of the penicillin that comes from
the Penicillium mold, and cephalexin (Keflex®), which
is derived from Cephalosporium molds. Antibiotics kill
bacteria in low levels, and in overdose situations,
they can kill us. Thousands of mycotoxins have been
studied in hopes of developing new, effective and safe
antibiotics. The antibiotics that make it to market
just so happen to be the ones that will effectively
and safely kill bacteria without causing much harm to
our body. How toxic can mycotoxins be? The lethal dose
of aflatoxin, mentioned above, is a mere 10mg. Think
also of the ravages of chemotherapy. Many chemotherapy
drugs are themselves fungal byproducts that have a
wide range of toxicity, including heart failure,
cancer (ironically) and death.

Let's return to the fungal-derived antibiotics, then.
It's no secret that the agricultural industry has been
using antibiotics in animals for years. Back in 1949,
it was observed that when animals were fed byproducts
of the fungus Streptomyces aureofaciens they had a
tendency to easily gain weight (Lawrence, TLJ; Fowler,
VR. Growth of farm animals, 2nd ed. CAB International.
2002.
CABI-Publishing.org/bookshop/ReadingRoom/0851194849.asp.
Pp320-330- Chapter 15). It was later discovered that
antibiotics were the byproducts that were responsible
for causing the weight gain. With this newfound
knowledge, the feedlot industry was born. To this day,
animals are fed millions of pounds of antibiotics each
year. This is a potential source of human exposure to
growth-promoting antibiotics. And what's not consumed
in our diet is taken care of at the doctor's office,
when we run to the doctor for every sniffle and ear
ache to demand yet another antibiotic. It stands to
reason that the very antibiotics causing weight gain
in animals can cause weight gain in humans. What's
more, it's not enough that we're just over-consuming
these fungal-derived drugs. We're also suffering from
the result of popping these pills, and that is the
secondary fungal and yeast overgrowth that occurs in
our body as a result of knocking out our good,
protective intestinal bacteria with these antibiotics.
These secondary growths of fungi and yeast are now
free to manufacture their own, various batches of
mycotoxins, right in our body (Shah, D, et al. In situ
mycotoxin production by Candida albicans in women with
vaginitis. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1995;39(1):67-9).
How convenient!

Fungal-derived hormone growth promoters have also been
popular since the 1930's. One, present-day product is
Zeranol®, a commercial form of the Fusarium mold
toxin, zearalenone. Zearalenone-Zeranol-stimulates the
pituitary gland in the brain to produce more growth
hormone, which, in turn, causes rapid weight gain. It
is not a mycotoxin that we screen our grain food
supply for, despite the fact that the highest levels
of zearalenone have frequently been found in North
American cereal grains. Zearalenone wouldn't be so bad
if all it did was stimulate growth. As it turns out,
it also mimics the effects of estrogen. Some other
results of ingesting it can include feminization of
male animals, infertility, precocious (early) puberty
in females, and miscarriages (Council for Agricultural
Science and Technology. Mycotoxins: Risks in Plant,
Animal and Human Systems. Task Force Report No. 139.
Jan 2003).

We could go on. Literally hundreds of mycotoxins,
along with their toxic effects in animals, have been
studied. The fungal contamination of food is a costly
and never-ending battle, and it remains a battle
because of the seriousness of the end result of fungal
contamination of food: the eventual exposure of
animals and humans to harmful mycotoxins. Sick,
cancer-ridden and infertile animals don't yield good
profit for farmers. Sick, cancer-ridden, overweight,
and infertile humans don't yield good profits for
employers and insurance companies, either. Yet,
despite these known, harmful effects of these
chemicals, we still only screen for one, single
toxin-aflatoxin-in our grain foods. And based on
"allowable" levels (20 parts per billion) of aflatoxin
in the grains that have been cleared for human
consumption, it is estimated that we consume, on a
daily basis, between 0.15mg and 0.5mg of aflatoxin per
day. Remember what we said about zearalenone (highest
levels are found in North American cereal grains) and
the effects of the fumonisin and trichothecenes. By
law, we don't have to screen our foods for these other
mycotoxins in America. Remember that. We don't screen
for the vast majority of harmful mycotoxins in our
grain food supply.

And therein lies the secret to why low-carb diets
work. Growth-promoting mycotoxins in the form of
antibiotics and various, hormone-related substances in
grain-based foods- the supposedly healthy foundation
of the USDA Food Pyramid- are the missing factor that
allows participants in all of these, various, low-carb
studies, including the one above, to magically consume
more calories than the low-fat dieters and yet still
loose as much weight as the low-fat consumers. No need
to fret, dieticians and food experts. A calorie is
still a calorie. It's just that some calories-namely
the grains-have been tainted with growth-promoting
contaminants. It has little, if anything to do with
Glycemic index, or ketosis (a physiologic state
achieved when following an Atkins diet, or when
starving), the amount of calories consumed, or insulin
resistance. What causes insulin resistance and
diabetes is a whole, other topic covered in our book,
Infectious Diabetes. Incidentally, look again also at
the effects of some of these grain contaminants, and
you'll also understand why obese persons suffer from
higher rates of cancer and infections and chronic,
degenerative diseases.

So the secret's out. To fully understand nutrition,
you must understand that grains are commonly
contaminated with fungi and their toxins. And thus,
these are some of the steps that we feel that one
should follow in order to achieve quality health and
longevity:

* Minimize your intake of these toxins by avoiding
the more notoriously contaminated grains, such as corn
and peanuts
* Treat obvious, existing fungal infections on the
body (toenail fungus, yeast infections, ringworm)
* Reverse the previous damage done by taking
antibiotics in the past by supplementing with
probiotics
* Include in your diet some of the nutrients and
supplements that minimize or block the effects of the
fungal toxins that happen to make their way into our
body, despite your best intentions. In our book, What
Makes Bread Rise?, we outline what this program looks
like in greater detail.

Sincerely,
Dave Holland, MD

Source: http://www.texasgrassfedbeef.com/science_underscores_grassfed_meats.htm