Study: High Fat Ketogenic Diet Enhances Gut Microbiota in Healing Epilepsy

Health Impact News has reported on many of the disease reversing results of the ketogenic (high fat-moderate protein-low carb) diet. Now, a new study is looking at the positive effects of gut bacteria among those following a ketogenic diet for epilepsy. Even though Johns Hopkins used a ketogenic diet for curing epilepsy over 80 years ago, when medical drugs did not help epilepsy effectively, mainstream medicine continues to rely on new and expensive toxic drugs for epileptic children. The “cocktail” combinations of pharmaceutical drugs prescribed often worsens childhood epilepsy. Health Impact News previously published a report on how a four year old child with refractory epilepsy (not treatable with pharmaceutical medications), was treated at the Rochester, Minnesota Mayo Clinic using a ketogenic diet. At first, the child was also kept on pharmaceuticals. The results were poor until he was taken off the medications; then he began healing completely. A new Chinese study on pediatric epileptic cases may even draw the attention of mainstream medical professionals, due to the results seen in children's gut microbiota structure when following a high-fat ketogenic diet.

Exposing the Cholesterol Myth: Big Pharma and Their Corporate “Mainstream” Media Strike Back

It seems to coincide that when fraudulent medical or nutritional dogma promoted by mainstream medicine or government nutritional institutions starts getting exposed in the alternative media, they both double down with the aid of mainstream media, especially if the result of that exposure is lowered sales of statin drugs and processed non-fat foods. This is what is happening with both statin drugs and saturated fat disinformation. But now the empire is striking back. Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen writes: "We are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of our patients to websites developed by people with little or no scientific expertise, who often peddle ‘natural’ or ‘drug-free’ remedies for elevated cholesterol levels. This 'Internet-driven cult' denies statins’ benefits and whips up fears of side effects, then profits from the resulting confusion by peddling snake oil. The diversion of patients away from evidence-based therapy by advocates of unproven dietary supplements must be vigorously opposed by physician-scientists. Similarly, the claims that cult diets can reverse heart disease have no scientific basis and represent a danger to public health." Dr. Nissen’s viewpoint was also covered in a MedPage Today article titled “CardioBrief: Statin Denialism Is 'A Deadly Internet-Driven Cult,'" where Dr. James Stein (University of Wisconsin) supported Dr. Nissen’s editorial with more vitriol than even Dr. Nissen expressed, stating: "There is a special place in hell for people who use fear tactics and misinformation to promote books and natural health aids, including crazy diets, at the expense of proven medical therapies, rather than as complimentary options under medical direction. I am not sure why Americans are so susceptible to these charlatans."

Study: Lauric Acid from Coconut Oil Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth Without Affecting Healthy Cells

A study published September 2017 by researchers from the Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, at the University of Calabria in Rende, Italy, and from the Department of Health Sciences at the University Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy, looked at the anti-cancer activity of lauric acid, the main fatty acid found in coconut oil. While coconut oil continues to get slandered in the U.S. by those with close ties to the pharmaceutical industry, research mainly outside the U.S. continues to show how healthy coconut oil can be, dispelling the common saturated-fat-is-bad myth still being promoted in the U.S. The study title is: "The lauric acid-activated signaling prompts apoptosis in cancer cells," and it was published in the journal "Cell Death Recovery." The study looked at the effects of lauric acid in both breast cancer and colon cancer: "The saturated medium-chain fatty-acid lauric acid (LA) has been associated to certain health-promoting benefits of coconut oil intake, including the improvement of the quality of life in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy. As it concerns the potential to hamper tumor growth, LA was shown to elicit inhibitory effects only in colon cancer cells. Here, we provide novel insights regarding the molecular mechanisms through which LA triggers antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in both breast and endometrial cancer cells." Coconut oil is nature's richest source of lauric acid, by far, comprising almost 50% of the fatty acids in coconut oil. Human breast milk comes in a distant second at around 6% lauric acid. Lauric acid has a rich and long history of fighting pathogens, and has been a popular food preservative for many decades. Perhaps the most significant observation documented in this study was the ability of lauric acid to target cancer cells but not affect healthy cells, unlike most chemotherapy drugs: "Lauric Acid inhibited the viability of both cancer cell types without altering the growth of MCF-10A normal breast epithelial cells, thus suggesting its specific potential to trigger antiproliferative effects in malignant cells."

Study Confirms Inflammation Causes Heart Disease – Not Cholesterol

If you have been visiting Health Impact News, you may have noticed the notion that arterial inflammation is what’s behind heart disease, not cholesterol from saturated fats. A clinical human trial recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine in August of 2017 may tip a few more in the medical field into accepting the current awareness that inflammatory damage is a major cause of heart and cardiovascular disease, and cholesterol is trying to patch up the damage before the vessel begins to leak or rupture. Cholesterol is actually a vitally useful “waxy” compound for many parts of our bodies, especially the brain. Lowering cholesterol is misguided, and usually causes terrible side effects. Upon releasing the study and after its publication, the lead researcher Dr. Paul Ridker, MD, asserted: "These findings represent the end game of more than two decades of research, stemming from a critical observation: Half of heart attacks occur in people who do not have high cholesterol. For the first time, we’ve been able to definitively show that lowering inflammation independent of cholesterol reduces cardiovascular risk."

Study: Those Following a High Fat Diet Live Longest

A ketogenic diet — which is very low in net carbohydrates and high in healthy fats — is key for boosting mitochondrial function. Healthy fats also play an important role in maintaining your body's electrical system. When your body is able to burn fat for fuel, your liver creates water-soluble fats called ketones that burn far more efficiently than carbs, thereby creating fewer reactive oxygen species (ROS) and secondary free radicals. Ketones also decrease inflammation, improve glucose metabolism and aid the building of muscle mass. The benefits of a cyclical ketogenic diet are detailed in my latest bestselling book, "Fat for Fuel." While the book was peer-reviewed by over a dozen health experts and scientists, a new large-scale international study (known as the international Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology, or PURE, study) adds further weight to the premise that high intakes of healthy fats — especially saturated fats — boost health and longevity.

Study: Coconut Oil Reverses Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined medically as macrovesicular steatosis, or abnormal retention of lipids (fats) sufficient and large enough to distort or replace the nuclei of liver cells among those who consume less than 20 grams (.7 ounces) of alcohol per day. NAFLD, unknown prior to 1980, has become our largest liver health issue nationally and throughout most industrialized nations. Fatty liver disease affects metabolism and usually manifests as obesity and insulin resistance, which are direct co-factors for type 2 diabetes. It can also progress to inflammation of the liver, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), leading to cirrhosis. Ironically, a saturated fat (virgin coconut oil) may prove to be the safest and most effective treatment for NAFLD according to a study published recently (September 2017) in the Journal of the Science and Agriculture of Food. The study, “Virgin coconut oil reverses hepatic steatosis by restoring redox homeostasis and lipid metabolism in male Wistar rats,” noted in its background statement that more nutraceutical offerings are being sought for reversing fatty liver disease. The researchers also noted that earlier studies had demonstrated virgin coconut oil could help prevent NAFLD. This new study intended to see if virgin coconut oil could also reverse existing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Do You Need a Parasite Cleanse? Make Your Own Natural Parasite Cleanse

Whenever parasites are mentioned it is usually considered a third world or developing nation issue. Phrases such as “lovely place, nice people, but don’t drink the water” are common jokes that have some basis in truth. Although our culture is programmed to think all illnesses are derived from viruses and some bacteria, the USA also has its share of parasite issues. The CDC openly admits this in a May 2017 report on its website: "Outbreaks of a parasitic infection linked to swimming pools and water playgrounds are increasingly being reported to CDC, with twice as many outbreaks in 2016 as in 2014." Notice the word "outbreaks" is used, not "cases." The outbreaks recorded from a few states with using a recently installed tracking system involved hundreds of cases reported, overflowing into the thousands range. This specific parasite invasion was from the microscopic Cryptosporidium, aka Crypto, which has a capacity for surviving prescribed pool chlorine content requirements. The chlorine levels in municipal tap water can’t handle this parasite either. There was a neti-pot scare a few years ago when a few folks died from a brain eating amoeba after using their neti-pot with tap water or swimming in fresh water lakes of ponds during summer months. So maybe it’s time to focus a bit more on parasites instead of viruses that sometimes don’t really exist and are usually more difficult to spread than parasites?

Another Study Showing Virgin Coconut Oil Heart Healthy Contradicting AHA Propaganda

Another peer-reviewed study was published this month (August 2017) showing dietary virgin coconut oil has beneficial heart-health effects regarding lipid profile, renal status, hepatic antioxidant defense system, and cardiovascular risks. The study was conducted by researchers in Nigeria in the Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, at Federal University. The title of the study is: Dietary Supplementation with Virgin Coconut Oil Improves Lipid Profile and Hepatic Antioxidant Status and Has Potential Benefits on Cardiovascular Risk Indices in Normal Rats. This new study and many other previous studies clearly contradict the propaganda espoused by Big Pharma and the U.S. Government dietary advice, which has been waging a war against saturated fats since the 1970s and the McGovern Report that promoted the false hypothesis that saturated fats led to an increase in lipid cholesterol levels and an increased risk for heart disease. This theory, the lipid theory of heart disease, has been shown to be false repeatedly by the published medical literature, yet it still remains the official USDA dietary advice.

Are Soy Formulas Affecting Hormones in Infants?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 25 percent of commercial infant formulas are soy based. In an August 2017 article in the online publication Undark, publisher Deborah Blum brought up the soy formula for infants controversy by interviewing Dr. Jack Taylor, M.D., Ph.D., who is heading research on the effects of soy on infants at the University of North Carolina, funded by the NIH. The research follows up on children’s health development among three categories of infant feeding: breast milk; cow’s milk formulas; and soy formulas. This research group’s most recent paper, “Soy Formula and Epigenetic Modifications” determined a genetic change with vaginal cells among young girls fed soy milk as infants. In her article Blum points out: “Research shows that soy milk and soy formula contain up to 4500 times the level of phytoestrogens found in cow’s milk or breastmilk. … consider further, that a baby on a soy formula diet is being repeatedly dosed every day.” Dr. Taylor states: “Well, you are absolutely correct that these babies are getting a lot higher dose of a known estrogenic compound than they’ll ever get from BPA or an endocrine disruptor like that.” Another study published earlier in the Lancet concluded: "Circulating concentrations of isoflavones in the seven infants fed soy-based formula were 13,000 – 22, 000 times higher than plasma oestradiol [a type of estrogen] concentrations in early life, and may be sufficient to exert biological effects, whereas the contribution of isoflavones from breast-milk and cow-milk is negligible."

Medical Cannabis Infused in Coconut Oil Maximizes Health Benefits

Among medical marijuana proponents there has been a lot of discussion about the various ways of combining coconut oil and cannabis as an ideal carrier for combining cannabis' external cannabinoids with the body’s internal cannabinoid system for healing. At first this combination was used to facilitate suppositories that when inserted rectally would somehow allow those who are THC intolerant to absorb full spectrum plant cannabis' benefits to be absorbed without the high. Then the coconut oil with cannabis was contained in capsules to create standardized cannabis edibles for medical consumption. This is what 77 year old Stan Rutner used to cure his terminal lung and brain cancer during hospice under his daughter Corrine’s and son-in-law John Malanca’s custody in California.

Study: Coconut Oil Offers Protection Against Inflammation and Diabetes

Forty percent of women today are obese. Many believe obesity is a precursor to diabetes, which if not reversed will lead to further health complications, and even be life threatening. However, a recent study looking at the effects of coconut oil on glycemia and inflammation demonstrated that obesity alone may not be the culprit. What the researchers discovered indicates that inflammation has a greater impact on insulin resistance and high blood sugar than excess fat. This could be argued, since adipose fats do release toxins over time that do create inflammation. But there are diabetes 2 patients who are not obese. Obesity in women has also been considered a factor in infertility, which this study also attempted to determine. Inadvertently, the study’s findings disclosed even more about the health protective qualities of coconut oil.

Study: High Saturated Fat Diet with Coconut Oil Reduces Gut Bacteria in Crohn’s Disease

A recent 2017 study has determined that pure dietary saturated fats, especially coconut oil, can ease the suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease. This study was conducted at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, a private institution well known for independent research. The study was reported in Science Daily June 22, 2017. Mice were fed only plant based fats such as cocoa butter and coconut oil. The mice fed coconut oil or cocoa butter had fewer kinds of gut bacteria. Their gut microbiome content had been positively altered to a healthier balance by 30 percent.

Study: Vegetable Oils Contribute to Fatty Liver Disease – Saturated Fats Do Not

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rapidly becoming an international epidemic. The mainstream medical mantra for its underlying cause is "fat consumption." However, "fat" is a very general term and does not distinguish between traditional healthy fats and unhealthy modern processed fats and oils. The common belief is that saturated fat is the culprit in fatty liver disease, but a new study published in the July 4, 2017 European Journal of Nutrition comes to a different conclusion. This peer reviewed study, "Chronic consumption of fructose in combination with trans fatty acids but not with saturated fatty acids induces nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with fibrosis in rats," examined more closely the effects of trans fatty acids (from vegetable oils derived from corn and soybeans) versus saturated fats, found in traditional fats such as butter, coconut oil, and palm oil. The study’s title gives away their conclusion: fructose is bad for the liver, but it is worse with trans fats than it is with saturated fats.

Study: Cholesterol-lowering Statin Drugs May Cause Parkinson’s Disease

A Penn State Medical School epidemiological study, reported by Science Daily, is urging physicians to not prescribe statin drugs for Parkinson’s disease symptoms. Evidently, due to earlier studies, cholesterol reducing drugs were considered preventative of Parkinson’s disease. Amazingly, this practice had been going on for some time, thanks to several questionable, and conflicting studies of statin use and Parkinson’s disease. The most recent study was conducted at the Penn State College of Medicine earlier this year (2017.) Their conclusion asserts that statin drugs should not be used as a Parkinson’s disease (PD) preventative. A previous study claimed patients who stopped taking statin drugs were more prone to Parkinson’s disease, thus statin drugs were helpful for preventing Parkinson’s. The Penn State study provided evidence that the opposite is true. Statin drug use can lead to Parkinson’s disease.

As Lawsuits Against Cholesterol Drugs Mount, Big Pharma Develops a Cholesterol Vaccine

As we have reported frequently here at Health Impact News, sales of drugs to lower cholesterol are the top selling drugs of all time. It is a $100 billion a year industry. The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor is the best-selling drug of all time, grossing over $140 billion, with no serious close competitors in the history of pharmaceutical drugs. One out of every four Americans over the age of 50 is taking a statin drug to lower their cholesterol. However, these block buster drugs have run through their patent life, and now generics dominate the market. So Big Pharma is looking at new ways to patent new drugs to lower your cholesterol. The latest? A vaccine is being developed to lower your cholesterol. In recent years, class action lawsuits have been stacking up against statin drug manufacturers due to the terrible side effects, including diabetes. Is this another reason for turning to vaccines to "cure" cholesterol? In this country, lawsuits against vaccines are prohibited while civil suits against prescription or over-the-counter drugs are allowed.

Big Pharma and Mainstream Media Attack Coconut Oil with Mis-information

In what appears to be a coordinated attack against the rising popularity of coconut oil, the American Heart Association (AHA) has just published a "Presidential Advisory" on "Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease" in which it condemned coconut oil, and recommended that people not consume it. The AHA's recommendation clearly contradicts research that exists on not only coconut oil but saturated fats in general, which debunks the old lipid theory of heart disease that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease. Yet, the mainstream corporate-funded media published its recommendations with no critical analysis or journalistic investigations into the AHA's claims. Are these attacks against coconut oil part of an effort by Big Pharma to protect its $100 billion a year cholesterol lowering statin drug industry?

Are the Dangerous Side Effects of Cholesterol-lowering Drugs All in People’s Heads?

The pharmaceutical empire strikes back. After the recent few years of increasing “statin deniers” getting an occasional mainstream media appearance, vested interest parties are coming up with studies to “prove” statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) are safe. The problem is most folks on the fence, as most are, will be distracted by these studies no matter how biased and without merit they may be. Doctors who know the truth about statins are forced to pick any such statin safety study apart in response in order to straighten out doctors who prescribe statins based on pharmaceutical reps’ presentations and industry biased studies. One such doctor who is outspokenly critical of statin drugs, Scottish General Practitioner (GP) Malcom Kendrick, M.D., recently focused on a Lancet paper that intended to prove side effects from statin drugs were not only greatly exaggerated, but all in the patients' heads. According to the paper, patients were suffering from the “nocebo effect,” due to all the rising information regarding statin side effect symptoms publicly reported. In addition to his analysis of the study and comparisons to other studies, Dr. Kendrick offers his personal and professional experiences of taking patients off statins and watching them recover from torn or ravaged muscles and early onset dementia, among other side effects. Dr. Kendrick’s father, whose side effects had him wheel chair bound until his doctor-son convinced him to quit taking statins is an example he offered. No nocebo effects had them in such terrible shape that was relieved when they got off statins.

Meta-Analysis Study: Whole Fat Dairy Healthy, Saturated Fats Myth Exposed

A 2017 meta-analysis of 29 studies has concluded that consuming dietary dairy fat has no negative effects on all cause mortality or mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD). This includes dairy fats of all types. One of the researchers, Ian Givens of England’s Reading University, commented on the record: “There’s been a lot of publicity over the last 5 to 10 years about how saturated fats increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and a belief has grown up that they must increase the risk, but they don’t.” Actually, dairy and other animal sourced saturated fats have been wrongly condemned as a contributor to obesity and higher cardiovascular risk since Ancel Keys' notorious seven countries study over 50 years ago, which spawned the “lipid theory” of heart disease and obesity.

The Diet Police: Harassing Doctors Who Promote Low-Carb High-Fat Dieting

LCHF stands for a low carbohydrate and high fat diet. Not only does this diet protocol threaten the official nutritional dietary dogma of high carbohydrates and low fats (including NO saturated fats, as per USDA nutritional guidelines), promoting LCHF also threatens the sugar and processed food industries where it hurts, financially. So as with all things proven unscientific that support current industrial endeavors, promoting accurate current science to upset all endeavors associated with misinformation warrants attacks on the messengers while suppressing their scientific evidence. The science behind LCHF has been known at least since the 1920's when the ketogenic diet was developed at Johns Hopkins Hospital as a cure for childhood epilepsy, being used when drugs failed. Dr. Tim Noakes, MD, a South African scientist and emeritus professor at University of Cape Town’s Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine was attacked by nutrition officials almost three years ago in 2014. After three years of public court room hearings, with all its legal expenses and stressful distractions, he was recently acquitted.

The Big Fat Lie is Officially Exposed in the British Medical Journal

The saturated fat lie is officially exposed now that the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a division of the BMJ (British Medical Journal) emphatically declared: “Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: coronary heart disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions.” The beginning of this very recent BMJ letter, 31 March 2017, reviewing several mega-studies, states early in their editorial: “Despite popular belief among doctors and the public, the conceptual model of dietary saturated fat clogging a pipe is just plain wrong.” Wrong, unequivocally and indisputably, not maybe or could be or further studies needed, but completely wrong. It’s over. And the root cause of arterial inflammation is cited with dietary recommendations that lean toward the Mediterranean Diet.