Podcasts about tgfb1

Barbara and Jacie wrap up their five-part Shoemaker Protocol series with Phase 5: Repair and Restore. This phase focuses on normalizing innate immune markers (MMP-9, C3a, C4a, and TGFb1) and restoring brain volume. They explain that low-starch/gluten-free diet helps bring down MMP-9, while persistently elevated C3a/C4a or TGFb1 often signal ongoing exposure, gut issues, tick-borne illness, or dental cavitations. The episode culminates with VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide) nasal spray (the most anticipated step of the entire protocol!) which supports anti-inflammatory pathways, neurological function, and brain volume restoration over 6–12 months. For more information and support, join us at https://thecirsgroup.com TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction: Phase Five 01:24 Medical Disclaimer 01:55 Innate Immune Markers and VIP Nasal Spray 02:50 Understanding MMP-9 05:14 C3a and C4a Markers 07:20 TGFb1 08:18 VIP Spray Treatment 10:34 Closing Thoughts For more information and support, join us at https://thecirsgroup.com Order Jacie's book! The 30 Day Carnivore Bootcamp: https://a.co/d/7MgHrRs The CIRS Group: Support Community: https://thecirsgroup.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecirsgroup/ Find Jacie for carnivore, lifestyle and limbic resources: Jacie's book on the Carnivore diet!  https://a.co/d/8ZKCqz0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycarnivory YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LadyCarnivory Blog: https://www.ladycarnivory.com/ Find Barbara for business/finance tips and coaching: Website: https://www.actlikebarbara.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actlikebarbara/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@actlikebarbara Jacie is a Shoemaker certified Proficiency Partner, NASM certified nutrition coach, author, and carnivore recipe developer determined to share the life changing information of carnivore and CIRS to anyone who will listen. Barbara is a business and fitness coach, CIRS and ADHD advocate, writer, speaker, and a big fan of health and freedom. Together, they co-founded The CIRS Group, an online support community to help people that are struggling with their CIRS diagnosis and treatment.

For more information, visit https://thecirsgroup.com CIRS, or Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, is a complicated illness, so we understand you probably have lots of questions! This week, we had a LIVE AMA (ask us anything!) all about CIRS. We got some great questions, spanning everything from binders to remediation, from trigeminal neuralgia to spondyloarthropathy (say those illnesses three times fast). We hope you get a lot out of this one, and we look forward to the next! For more information, support, and resources in your own CIRS healing journey, visit TheCIRSGroup.com   TIME STAMPS: 0:00 Intro and disclaimer 1:18 Intro to Jacie, Barbara, and The CIRS Group 3:30 What is CIRS? 5:49 What is the Shoemaker Protocol? 7:50 Healing from CIRS vs Maintenance afterward 11:44 Symptoms of CIRS 13:33 How to get diagnosed with CIRS 15:20 The Archetypes of CIRS Patients 18:07 What to do while you wait to see a doctor 19:16 Improvements in symptoms 20:58 What are the best binders to take? 23:52 VIP expectations 27:14 Ice-pick pains as a symptom, and nerve function 29:25 How to wash clothing, and washing machine tip 32:32 Genetic Haplotypes for CIRS 33:48 Is Colesevelam the same as Welchol? Yes. 33:57 The dangers of basements for mold 35:05 How to test your house for mold 36:32 Best way of eating, or diet, for CIRS 38:00 Applesauce as a vehicle for taking CSM 38:58 VCS test pass vs fail to determine CIRS 41:07 How to prepare for remediation 45:25 The importance of following the protocol in order 48:08 CIRS and Long COVID 50:02 Visual disturbances and CIRS 51:38 MMP9 and TGFb1 bloodmarkers 52:52 Bloodwork test collection 54:19 MMP9 high, TGFb1 low and what that could mean 55:20 Histamine supports 56:21 MSH 58:00 Outro   HELPFUL LINKS: Hoffman Center link for more info on CIRS: https://www.drbrucehoffman.com/post/chronic-inflammatory-response-syndrome GENIE test info: https://www.progenedx.com/faqs HERTSMI-2 test for mold only: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/hertsmi-2/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 VCS test on SurvivingMold.com: https://www.survivingmold.com/store/online-vcs-screening Endotoxin only test: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/e-endotoxin/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 Actino test for buildings: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/actino-test/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 Actino test for skin: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/actino-skin/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 All three bundle: HERTSMI-2, Endos, and Actinos test: https://www.envirobiomics.com/product/sm-aeh-actino-endotoxin-hertsmi-2/?v=3e8d115eb4b3 SurvivingMold.com article on Long COVID: https://www.survivingmold.com/legal-resources/dr.-shoemaker-essays/new-research-article Our podcast episode on COVID and CIRS: https://youtu.be/lBQ0xi1tHLo?si=FY4-Jl1BI86IXPzB FLCCC Alliance resource on treating Long COVID: https://covid19criticalcare.com/treatment-protocols/ https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FLCCC-Long-COVID-Protocol-Summary-12-11-23.pdf https://covid19criticalcare.com/protocol/i-recover-post-vaccine-treatment/ https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/I-RECOVER-Post-Vaccine-2024-03-01.pdf The CIRS Group: Support Community: https://thecirsgroup.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecirsgroup/   Find Jacie for carnivore, lifestyle and limbic resources: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycarnivory YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LadyCarnivory Blog: https://www.ladycarnivory.com/   Find Barbara for business/finance tips and coaching: Website: https://www.actlikebarbara.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actlikebarbara/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@actlikebarbara   Jacie is a 4 year carnivore, certified nutrition coach, and carnivore recipe developer determined to share the life changing information of carnivore and CIRS to anyone who will listen. Barbara is a coach, facilitator, speaker, 3 year carnivore, and a big fan of health and freedom. Together, they co-founded The CIRS Group, an online support community to help people that are struggling with their CIRS diagnosis and treatment.  

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.04.25.538102v1?rss=1 Authors: Guan, Y., Fang, Z., Hu, A., Roberts, S., Johansson, P. K., Heilshorn, S. C., Enejder, A., Peltz, G. Abstract: Due to the limitations of available in vitro systems and animal models, we lack a detailed understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms and have minimal treatment options for liver fibrosis. To overcome this barrier, we engineered a live cell imaging system that identifies collagen producing cells in a human multi-lineage hepatic organoid. This system was adapted for use as a microwell-based platform (i.e., microHOs) where exposure to PDGF or TGFb1 induced the formation of thick collagen fibers. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that TGFb1 exposure converted mesenchymal cells into myofibroblast-like cells with a significantly altered pattern of production of proteases and anti-proteases, which contribute to the development of liver fibrosis. When pro-fibrotic intracellular signaling pathways were examined using pharmacological probes, the anti-fibrotic effect of receptor-specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors was limited to the fibrosis induced by the corresponding growth factor, which indicates that their antifibrotic efficacy would be limited to fibrotic diseases that were solely mediated by that growth factor. In contrast, GSK3b or p38 MAPK inhibitors could prevent TGFb1- or PDGF-induced fibrosis in microHOs because they block intracellular signaling pathways that are commonly utilized by the TGFb1 and PDGF receptors. Hence, these studies identified GSK3b and p38 MAPK inhibitors as potential new broad-spectrum therapies for liver fibrosis, and it is likely that other new therapies could subsequently be identified using this microHO system. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.01.13.523825v1?rss=1 Authors: Chen, L., Dupre, A., Qiu, X., Pellon-Cardenas, O., Walton, K. D., Wang, J., Perekatt, A. O., Hu, W., Spence, J. R., Verzi, M. P. Abstract: The adult gut epithelium has a remarkable ability to recover from damage. To achieve cellular therapies aimed at restoring and/or replacing defective gastrointestinal tissue, it is important to understand the natural mechanisms of tissue regeneration. We employed a combination of high throughput sequencing approaches, mouse genetic models, and murine and human organoid models, and identified a role for TGFB signaling during intestinal regeneration following injury. At 2 days following irradiation (IR)-induced damage of intestinal crypts, a surge in TGFB1 expression is mediated by monocyte/macrophage cells at the location of damage. Depletion of macrophages or genetic disruption of TGFB-signaling significantly impaired the regenerative response following irradiation. Murine intestinal regeneration is also characterized by a process where a fetal transcriptional signature is induced during repair. In organoid culture, TGFB1-treatment was necessary and sufficient to induce a transcriptomic shift to the fetal-like/regenerative state. The regenerative response was enhanced by the function of mesenchymal cells, which are also primed for regeneration by TGFB1. Mechanistically, integration of ATAC-seq, scRNA-seq, and ChIP-seq suggest that a regenerative YAP-SOX9 transcriptional circuit is activated in epithelium exposed to TGFB1. Finally, pre-treatment with TGFB1 enhanced the ability of primary epithelial cultures to engraft into damaged murine colon, suggesting promise for the application of the TGFB-induced regenerative circuit in cellular therapy. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

About My Guest: My guest for this episode is Dr. Paul Anderson. Paul S. Anderson, ND is a nationally recognized educator and clinician who has decades of experience with cancer and complex chronic illness. As head of the interventional arm of a human trial funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anderson oversaw research into integrative therapies for cancer patients. Dr. Anderson was the founder of a number of clinics specializing in the care of people with cancer and chronic illness. He is now focusing his efforts on training other physicians and on writing. He is the co-author of "Outside the Box Cancer Therapies" with Dr. Mark Stengler and the anthology "Success Breakthroughs" with Jack Canfield. His latest book is "Cancer: The Journey from Diagnosis to Empowerment". Key Takeaways: - Where does cancer fit today in terms of leading killers? - What causes cancer? - Are tests available to help prevent the development of cancer? - How do makers like nagalase and TGFb1 fit into a cancer evaluation? - What is the role of environmental toxicity, mold illness, and exposure to EMFs in cancer? - What types of microbes may play a role in the development of cancer? - Do breast implants increase the chances for cancer? - What options might be considered when one has a positive BRCA gene? - Why is pancreatic cancer so deadly? - Does BHRT increase or decrease rates of cancer? - Does obesity increase risk of cancer? - Is sun exposure cancer-promoting? - What role does autophagy play in cancer? - What supplements are commonly used in integrative cancer therapy? - Is it more important to boost or modulate the immune system? - Is there a role for oxidative and oxygen therapies such as ozone, EWOT, and HBOT in cancer treatment? - How does cancer provide a new beginning? - Why is it important to not perceive self-care as selfish? Connect With My Guest: Instagram: DrAonline Facebook: Dr.A Online Interview Date: November 5, 2020 Transcript: To review a transcript of this show, visit http://BetterHealthGuy.com/Episode130 Additional Information: To learn more, visit http://BetterHealthGuy.com. Disclaimer: The content of this show is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or medical condition. Nothing in today's discussion is meant to serve as medical advice or as information to facilitate self-treatment. As always, please discuss any potential health-related decisions with your own personal medical authority.

Dr. McCann received a B.A. in Music from Brown University and a Master’s in Library Science from University at Albany. She went on to receive her Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) and simultaneously earned a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Tropical Medicine (TM) at Tulane University in New Orleans. She completed both an Internal Medicine residency at Banner Samaritan Medical Center and a Pediatrics residency at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. McCann practiced medicine at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine where she worked and trained with renowned Andrew Weil, M.D., as one of 35 distinguished fellows in residence throughout the world. Dr. McCann also became certified in medical acupuncture through the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, studied environmental medicine and chelation with Dr. Walter Crinnion and biotoxins with Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker. Dr. McCann is on staff at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, California and has been in private practice in Costa Mesa since 2008. She founded Partners in Health at the Spring Center in August 2009. Do you specialize in mold primarily, or biotoxin illnesses in general? She specializes in functional and integrative medicine. It turns out that a lot of people who come in have at the root of their issues biotoxin illness and env’t toxicity. And along those lines: what is your take on why mold and Lyme seem to occur together so often?  She thinks that Lyme and chronic infections are ubiquitous. Ticks are spreading and there is more global warming, so we’re seeing an increase in the level of burden and incidence of infection. Many people are walking around asymptomatic at some level. It takes an inflammatory response, like being in a moldy building that will exacerbate the situation. You can also see it the other way. People might be living in a moldy env’t but tolerating it ok. But then if they get bit by a tick, then suddenly they have Lyme and can’t tolerate their environment anymore. On top of that, our world is so toxic with env’t chemical burden, so heavy metals, solvents etc also contribute to our inability to manage our body burden. She sees these things interplaying quite a bit. Can you describe for our audience what some of the symptoms might be that would tip you off to consider a biotoxin illness as the root of their issues? Generally it’s a laundry list of symptoms and it will cover many different systems. The more weird, wacky symptoms people tend to have that aren’t easily explained, the more she thinks of this. Some of the big ones: chronic fatigue especially. This is the most common symptom. They can look like they might have other illnesses too. Could look like an osteoarthritis or fibro case, but they’ll have other symptoms too: GERD, bloating, IBS, etc. Neurological symptoms, memory, word finding problems, issues concentrating, light and sound sensitivity, blurry vision. Often neurological symptoms: tremors, tingling, numbness. Respiratory symptoms. Asthma as an adult. It’s good to think of mold and biotoxin exposure with that. When she’s thinking about mold, patients can also get dysautonomia issues, temperature regulation, balance issues, etc, Static shocks, skin sensitivity, rashes. In her own case, she had fatigue and worsening food sensitivities. She went from being gluten and dairy free to suddenly reacting to everything. The list got really long, because she was living in a moldy house. What is your take on why mold toxicity is suddenly such a huge problem? Why now? It is getting worse. Some of it is because we’re using a lot of antifungals in agriculture, plant stores, etc. Those are self-selecting for more toxic molds in an indoor environment that weren’t there before. Also, in CA at least, construction is very poorly done. If the house is up in 6 mo, and we build with wood and paper which are fuel for the mold. It’s a combo of the way we’re building and poor construction. We just can’t handle the total load too. If someone is looking to buy a house, or build a new one, are there any red flags to look for in terms of building materials or construction that make a house more susceptible to mold, even if there isn’t any already present? When looking for a house, if it’s current construction, part of it depends on the market and part on the level of sensitivity. Patients need to become advocates for themselves and have a sense of their level of sensitivity. If they’re feeling relatively healthy, they might be better able to walk into a building and smell mold. If you smell a musty smell, there’s mold there. Check out the place using nose and eyes, and look for areas where there might be water damage. Usually it will be hidden, though: in the walls, water leaking behind the walls or a sprinkler system hitting the walls. Those are things that need to be considered. If they want to make sure, there are a variety of tests we can talk about to do pre-emptively. In a hot market, it’s tricky. No seller is going to wait for you to get a mold test back. When looking at new construction, she watches places go up fast: frames aren’t covered, and if it rains, it rains. If it hasn’t totally dried out, then you seal that in. In many instances, you’re better with concrete, bc that won’t become moldy, and plaster instead of sheet rock (older forms of building). Then also take into consideration what your materials should be, if concerned about env’t chemicals. Most of the chemicals we’re exposed to are in our homes. We want to avoid formaldehyde in particle boards, and the chemicals in the foam that they use in building, too. What exactly is an ERMI vs a HERTSMI test? If someone is looking to test their house or workplace for mold, why is it so important to get these rather than a non-specific mold test? What are the kinds of tests they DON’T want to get, that won’t give them the right information? This is hotly debated: Dr Shoemaker maintains that ERMI is the best, and that’s what we should use. We could use HERTSMI too — some indoor professionals will argue that the air trap test is better. We have to ask what the question is that we’re asking, and from that standpoint, pick the best test. If you smell mold in the bathroom and you think there’s a water leak in the bathroom, you want to test in a way that will access that information. So collect the dust with ERMI or HERTSMI under the sink. Or even open the wall socket and swab in there. If the question is “is the house moldy in general,” that requires a different way of looking at the problem. You might want to do a whole house screening, and you might still want to test in the areas where you’re more likely to have a problem (where the water pipes are). She’s sometimes recommended collecting the dust off the HVAC system as a way of testing the whole house. In terms of ERMI and HERTSMI: the former is DNA PCR looking at 36 different molds. Some are mycotoxin producing and some are not. You get a composite score. The higher the score, the more concerning the situation: the more mycotoxin producing molds. HERTSMI is just looking at 5 mycotoxin-producing molds and they grade the spore count to give you a HERTSMI score. They don’t always correlate, so you have to use the information and understand the info you’re trying to answer when interpreting it. If they think the house is moldy, and it has a musty smell, and it may be in a particular part of the house, do you need a mold inspector? They will analyze the entire house, in all the places that there might be water damage. They can hopefully help the patient identify where they want to do additional testing. Usually a combination of tests can be most helpful. She was in an incredibly moldy house and had an inspector come in to get a baseline outside and a sample in the kitchen where they knew there was a problem. Then they did wall samples in all the places in the house where it appeared there was water damage. With those pieces of information, they could compare the outside ambient air to the inside house air to what was actually in the wall cavity and make a good determination overall. If someone is looking to hire a remediation company for mold, what are some of the most important questions to ask to make sure they do it right? She’s been more reliant upon her inspectors to refer her to a remediation company. You want to make sure that whoever is doing the inspection doesn’t have a vested interest in finding more mold than there necessarily is. The inspectors write the treatment plan for the house. The more thorough the inspection, the more thorough the remediation should be. Understand that the remediators are there to remove the moldy parts of the house. They aren’t necessarily going to identify plumbing leaks contributing to the problem and solve it. They probably won’t rebuild and reconstruct whatever has been removed. You would need a contractor to do that. She learned the hard way: she had to become her own general contractor. She needed to find a remediator and find the people who would identify the leaks and fix them. They weren’t the same people. In terms of other questions: find out how they will protect the rest of the house. They should put up negative pressure barriers so that any of the work and materials that get removed won’t be spread throughout the house. You need to ask how they’re going to use air filtration systems and what they’ll do to prevent it from coming back. Some remove the damaged material, paint or do fogging. Sometimes the inspectors will recommend a level of cleaning. What binders do you prefer for biotoxin elimination (cholestyramine, colestipol, activated charcoal, Zeolyte, bentonite clay)? She tends to gravitate toward activated charcoal and clay. Those are generally well tolerated. It depends on the person’s tolerance. Some people prefer one over the other. She doesn’t love cholestyramine or colestipol; she’ll use them if necessary. The former is a powder and it smells foul. If you’re prescribing from a conventional pharmacy, it contains aspartame. Some of that may be financial too: they can’t afford the compounded, clean cholestyramine. Colestipol and Welchol are 25% as effective at binding some of the biotoxins. One of her mentors teaches that the cholestyramine is better at binding ochratoxins and less at some of the other toxins. There may be a possibility of the urine mycotoxin testing to see which is most appropriate. She sometimes will use chlorella and adjusts the dose by tolerance: 1 cap once a day of one of them and titrate to bowel tolerance. Sometimes she’ll do muscle testing. She doesn’t do Zeolyte. The other supplements: phosphatidylcholine is invaluable in helping patients recover from biotoxin illness and chronic infections. Not necessarily the liposomal version. Mycotoxins are tiny and they can pass in between cells. This is a building block of every cell of the body, and it is well tolerated by most people. No toxic effects. The only caveat is that in sensitive people, if you give it to them too fast, they might have a detox reaction, so she starts slowly and then works up. With bentonite: just puts it in water and people drink it. Sometimes they might encapsulate the powder. Do you ever test for mycotoxins directly, or do you just stick with indirect markers like TGFb1, complement c3a and c4a? She doesn’t test everyone for mycotoxins bc the tests are expensive: $300-700 or so. She does one of them through a test that accepts Medicare. It may depend on the person too, how sick they are and how high a priority it is. Personally she doesn’t find that it is essential to have that test. In terms of the blood testing that Shoemaker has taught us: the TGFb1 requires special handling. It has to be sent to Cambridge Biomedical. Has to be spun down twice and sent on dry ice to Cambridge. Then they started sending it to Viracor instead. The reference range changed and the numbers changed a little bit. She has done thousands of TGFb1 on people over the years. Most of the time, people would have it between 4-5000. But the levels didn’t always correlate with the severity of illness. There are some cases where it will be high and some where it will be low. Not just mold drives TGFb1 so it’s harder to interpret. She will still occasionally order it as a screening. But taking a good history of the medical complaints and a house history. The same thing with c4a: it has to be sent on dry ice, has to go to National Jewish. Quest did it for awhile and they stopped. She’s had patients with c4as who are deathly ill around 3000. Others feel totally fine with 20K. It’s more about the history. Do you have any great testing recommendations for solvents? She hasn’t found a good test for this. Genova has a test; so does Great Plains and US Biotek. If the primary treatment is going to be some form of detox: sauna, binders, alkalinization, coffee enemas, colonics, etc, then we don’t necessarily have to know exactly what the toxin is. They’ll feel better just with the detox protocol. Why does mold exposure so often lead to MARCoNS? What is the causal connection there? She doesn’t have the answer to this. Some colleagues find that it’s really important. Some don’t test for it and don’t think it’s relevant at all. She’s decided that it’s not a requirement of the Shoemaker protocol. But if there’s chronic rhinorrhea, chronic sinusitis, some kind of URI issue — even if she doesn’t suspect mold, she might check. When might you send a patient for a NeuroQuant MRI? Dr Mary Ackerley has done more on this than she has. She’s looking at all the money that these patients have to lay out and whether that will change what she does. Is it necessary A young man came to see her asking for a NeuroQuant, and he had substantial atrophy based on the reports: and he now is terrified of this. But what she’s doing isn’t any different than it would have been without the NeuroQuant, and now he’s scared about that. Some of the benefits: she does order them sometimes, and there are a few additional reports on the NeuroQuant that Dr Ackerley is teaching the community about (the morphology report and the flare lesion report and the triage report) — she’s still learning about some of these additional reports as to how useful they might be in managing patients. Do you ever use VIP nasal sprays? What are the concerns associated with this? She uses this very little. For the most part, she focuses on doing detox. By the time they get to the VIP in the Shoemaker protocol, they don’t need it. She hasn’t used it much. She was given it personally and didn’t notice a thing. Shoemaker is very clear that you have to be out of the moldy building, give the first dose in the office, and check labs immediately afterwards. Her sense from her colleagues is that generally it’s well tolerated and it may be very beneficial in some patients. Sometimes they may have to take tiny doses and take a long time to ramp up. We have a lot of other tools in our tool kit. If her patients are doing sauna, colonics and coffee enemas, IVPC and the binders, they generally don’t need VIP. What does an MMP-9 elevation tell you, and is there anything you specifically do about this in terms of treatment, or is it the same protocol you’d use regardless? Same question for VEGF and ADH. She has found them less and less valuable over time. Since we’re still in the learning phases of how to manage biotoxin illness — maybe start with urine mycotoxin testing as a baseline and some of these tests. If the VIP is less than 23, at LabCorp only (can’t send it to Quest), then we can follow that. If, doing all the other things we know to do, it doesn’t come up, then perhaps consider VIP. Hers went up without taking it. The MSH — she used to use it a lot more. She would test it and some people would be non-detectable. A normal range is supposed to be >35, but most people are in the 20s or less. It’s not supposed to change. The MMP-9 means a lot of other things. It’s not just about biotoxins: it could be high in COPD and a variety of other states. She hasn’t found it useful. ADH: she’s tested that and if it’s low, she gave one person DDAVP to try to help their urinary frequency and they didn’t tolerate it. Ask the question, what will you do with the information? What’s the deal with the low amylose diet? Why is this helpful, and who is it helpful for? Low amylose: amylose is grains. Want to avoid those, but on this diet, corn is ok. But corn is the most moldy food source out there. This isn’t useful if people are going to eat a lot of moldy corn. She has a slide in her lecture about the contamination of the corn in the horse feed in Texas in the 70s. They developed liquefaction of the brain. The owners realized this was from the feed. The horses recovered — but that same corn continued to be used in the human food sources. Lots of hispanics ate a lot of corn in that area and the rates of neural tube defects skyrocketed. The usual rates of spina bifida are 4/10K and the rates were 3 and 4 times that in that area. So the diet: her recommendation is a modified ketogenic diet, removing the grains for people in a moldy environment. We have to stop eating moldy food. Shoemaker didn’t think this was important, and she does. You mention ISEAI: The International Society of Environmentally Acquired Illness. Can you tell us what that is?  She’s on the board. Several of the early adaptors with Dr Shoemaker had a philosophical split and they went on to create this. These folks were interested in learning and teaching about mold exposures and environmentally acquired illness, including env’t chemicals and toxicants in this rubric, working together to be more inclusive of the practitioners and more expansive in their ways of getting people to wellness. There is no right way to treat these folks. We have to use all the tools in our tool kit. We need to identify food sensitivities, heal leaky gut, etc. They are in the process of formulating their inaugural event in the Phx area in May 2019. They anticipate an amazing panel of speakers. She thinks this is a place where practitioners and lay people alike can learn about how to get themselves well. There are different levels of membership too. It will be a fabulous conference and a great resource. They intend to create a certification program so people can have a good foundation of how to treat biotoxin illness and will be pooling resources so that this is as scientific as possible. For more info, see https://iseai.org/   Contact Dr McCann: https://www.thespringcenter.com/   A few extra resources: to deal with the trauma of mold illness, check out Annie Hopper’s work, Wired for Healing.   For vagus nerve dysfunction, check out the work of Steven Porgus on the Poly-Vagal Theory,  or Stanley Rosenberg: Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve.

Why You Should Listen: In this episode, you will learn about Galectin-3, biofilms, and the use of modified citrus pectin in chronic health conditions. About My Guest: My guest for this episode is Dr. Isaac Eliaz. Dr. Isaac Eliaz, MD, LAc, MS is an integrative medical doctor, licensed acupuncturist, researcher, product formulator, and frequent guest lecturer. He has been a pioneer in holistic medicine since the early 1980s, and has published numerous peer-reviewed research papers on several of his key integrative health formulas. He is the founder and medical director of Amitabha Medical Clinic in Santa Rosa, California, an integrative health center specializing in cancer and chronic conditions. An expert in using highly strategic, synergistic protocols to address numerous areas of health including metastatic cancer, immunity, digestion, detoxification, diabetes, cardiovascular health and more, Dr Eliaz is also widely regarded as the leading expert in the field of Modified Citrus Pectin research. Along with his clinical practice, Dr. Eliaz is an author and frequent lecturer who presents on his unique approaches to health and healing to practitioners worldwide. Dr. Eliaz is committed to empowering patients, practitioners and those seeking guidance for lasting wellness through education, ongoing research and community building. Key Takeaways: - What is galectin-3 and what problems does it cause? - What is the role of galectin-3 and biofilms? - How might reducing galectin-3 help other treatments to work better? - Can galectin-3 be measured? - How does modified citrus pectin work to bind metals, reduce galectin-3, reduce inflammation, and support immunity? - Is modified citrus pectin a good binder of heavy metals? - What role does modified citrus pectin play in reducing TGFb1, C4a, and MMP9? - Can those with citrus allergies generally use modified citrus pectin? - What is Honokiol and how might it be helpful in supporting health? - How important is stress reduction and meditation in shifting away from a sympathetic-dominant state? - What role do the mental, emotional, and spiritual realms play in chronic illness? Connect With My Guest: http://www.dreliaz.org http://www.econugenics.com Code BHG15 will provide a 15% discount on Econugenics products. Related Resources: http://www.amitabhaclinic.com Interview Date: January 12, 2018 Disclosure: BetterHealthGuy.com is an affiliate of Econugenics. Disclaimer: The content of this show is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or medical condition. Nothing in today's discussion is meant to serve as medical advice or as information to facilitate self-treatment. As always, please discuss any potential health-related decisions with your own personal medical authority.

Robert Ritch, MD, FACS Glaucoma pearls from the world’s expert. 10.28.17 It used to be said the one of the biggest fears of many is public speaking. But now as humanity is living longer than ever, the hugest terrors are the fear of going blind. Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. But it is greatly misunderstood. It is actually a large number of illnesses, some of the of the eye, and some of them systemic. Dr. Robert Ritch is a leading glaucoma expert. Dr. Ritch has developed many procedures now in place by glaucoma specialists around the world. He has also defined exfoliation syndrome, which he says many eye doctors are not adequately trained to identify. Dr. Ritch says that any cogent physician, reading and understanding the literature, must embrace nutritional intervention as much as procedures and medications. There are diverse forms of glaucoma. Some are eye diseases and some are brain diseases. Some affect mostly the eye site, others affect vulnerability to other diseases. High-pressure glaucoma is an “eye disease” that makes the internal eye pressure of the eye elevate (intraocular pressure) causing optic nerve damage. Normal or low-pressure glaucoma is more often a “systemic disease”. It occurs more frequently in thinner women with various attributes: astute sense of smell, tendency to low blood pressure, cold extremities, driven personalities, and tendency to various cardiovascular disease issues that do not necessarily shorten their life span. Exfoliation syndrome is when pigment comes off (exfoliates) from the iris. The iris gives your eye its color. Blue eyes come from an iris with bluish pigment. Your iris helps control the diameter and size of the pupil and thus the amount of light reaching your retina. When pigment sloughs off from the iris, it can clog the ability of the eye to drain. Fluid builds up. This increases the inner eye pressure and ultimate can start to damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve is part of the brain. As it damages, you can loose vision. This is called visual field damage. ·      High-pressure glaucoma is an eye disease secondary to elevated eye pressure. ·      Normal or low-pressure glaucoma are diseases of the optic nerve that can’t withstand pressure variations or elevations, and often involve brain and whole body health. Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFB1) is a protein, called a cytokine, that when elevated, can promote dangerous inflammatory changes, especially within the eye. There are a large body of peer review published data linking elevated TFGB1 to open angle normal pressure glaucoma.   TGFB1 is elevated in both normal pressure glaucoma and exfoliation syndrome patients. It is not often elevated in high-pressure glaucoma. Specific nutrients and herbs have been shown, in peer review science, to normalize TGFB1 levels.When is eye damage the worse? The worst window for eye damage is potentially during the night. Blood pressure tends to lower slightly in all health people as we sleep. But if blood pressure goes too low, or there is sleep apnea present, the eye pressure moves in the opposite direction and dangerously elevates. If this happens, eye damage can be relentless while you sleep. If you have normal or low tension glaucoma, to avoid nocturnal eye damage, raising the head of the bed by 20% (you can buy sleeping wedges at Bed Bath & Beyond), salt loading before bed with a glass of tomato juice, improve sleep apnea with machines, all which can reduce eye damage while you sleep. Nocturnal eye damage can be to the optic nerve or to other structures of the eye. It is not limited to the optic nerve. Not many doctors, even eye or sleep doctors, are aware of the huge link between sleeping and eye health. Sleeping on one side may enhance optic nerve damage in the eye on that side, in glaucoma patients.  It’s a good idea for glaucoma patients or high risk patients, to train themselves to sleep on their back. Nutrients are a must. Dr. Ritch recommends many nutrients such as pigments from flowers that help preserve eye structure thickness, Meriva turmeric, Gingko Biloba, specific minerals like zinc and magnesium, citicholine oil (Italian studies on humans with eye drops with this show reversal of visual field damage but only supplements of this are available in the US), fish oils, and much more. Nutritional shocking back copy. Dr. Ritch explains how nutrition originally got vilified in medicine (Morris Fishbein was head of the AMA and editor of NEJM for years, and based on greed changed the course of medical history) and it’s a fascinating and sad story. Dr. Berkson wrote this up in depth in her blog on how health care lost its way. Check it out here: https://drlindseyberkson.com/losing-care-healthcare-medicine-lost-way-especially-regarding-natural-answers-diseases/ Micro-stents. When a glaucoma patient gets cataract surgery, the FDA has approved the placement of micro-stents to stabilize the damaging ups and downs of pressure in the eye. This procedure is reimbursable by Medicare. When a stent is placed at the same time as getting a new lens, then you cannot get corrective laser eye procedures. This show is a rare opportunity to hear about eye health with a focus on glaucoma from a physician that treats kings and presidents all around the world. Dr. Robert Ritch holds the Shelley and Steven Einhorn Distinguished Chair in Ophthalmology and is Surgeon Director Emeritus and Chief of Glaucoma Services at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai, New York City and Professor of Ophthalmology. When still a fellow in 1978, he performed the first laser iridotomy in New York and initiated the first course on laser treatment of glaucoma at the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is a world leader in exfoliation syndrome, which affects 80 million people, and has started a global consortium to work on preventing, reversing, and even curing this disease. Dr. Ritch has co-authored or edited nine textbooks and over 1800 medical and scientific papers, book chapters, articles and abstracts. He has presented over 750 lectures worldwide, including 50 named lectures and has received over 60 national and international awards and medals. In 1985, he founded the Glaucoma Foundation and has served as Secretary, Medical Director, and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. In 1994, he initiated the annual Optic Nerve Rescue and Regeneration Think Tank, which has attracted numerous successful researchers from other fields into glaucoma research.

Why You Should Listen: In this episode, you will learn about the various factors that may be roadblocks to recovering from Lyme disease including mold, parasites, dental issues, and more. About My Guest: Dr Raj Patel has extensive experience with, various natural therapies including nutritional medicine, homeopathy, herbs and mind-body medicine. Integrating these diverse therapies with allopathic medicine has enabled Dr. Patel to offer a highly refined approach to healthcare that produces lasting results. Since 1993, Dr. Patel has specialized in helping patients struggling with "Chronic Fatigue" (CFIDS), Candidiasis, food sensitivities, thyroid and other hormonal imbalances, chronic infections, and heavy metals. Over the years, Dr. Patel has specialized in treating patients with Autistim Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as well as Lyme and other vector-borne diseases. He began working with autistic children in 1999 and to date has helped over 500 children on their road to recovery. Another area that Dr. Patel specializes in is treating Lyme disease. It is well documented that patients with chronic Lyme disease also suffer from Candidiasis, food sensitivities, accumulation of heavy metals, and hormonal imbalances. With his background in treating these conditions, Dr. Patel has been able to create a comprehensive program for treating those struggling with chronic Lyme disease. He has found incredible success in treating individuals with chronic Lyme disease by combining antimicrobial treatment with heavy metal detoxification, food allergy desensitization and hormonal support. Dr. Patel is an active member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). He has also completed advanced training in pediatric Lyme disease. Dr. Patel first began looking into Dr. Shoemaker’s incredible work on chronic inflammation resulting from exposure to water damaged buildings (WDB) in 2010. He found that many of his “Lyme patients” who had experienced only partial improvement, turned out to be simultaneously struggling with toxic exposure to water-damaged buildings. When they began responding dramatically to simply getting out of their home and taking cholestyramine, Dr. Patel’s interest was piqued to learn more about Dr. Shoemaker’s treatment approach to this illness. Dr. Patel today integrates the findings from Dr. Shoemaker as well as other doctors working with mold illness to see patients making impressive recoveries from this debilitating illness. Key Takeaways: - When mold and Lyme are both factors, what is the proper treatment order? - What is the impact of HLA-DR in recovery? - What do elevated C4a and TGFb1 mean? - Is an ERMI helpful for testing your living environment? - How is MARCoNS approached? - Does VIP help? - How is Lyme treatment approached? - Is the goal to eradicate every microbe? Is that required to get well? - Are parasites an issue in chronic Lyme disease? - What works for detoxification? - What is UVB therapy and how is it used? - How can ozone be helpful? - What is Biomagnetism and when might it be helpful? - Does mental/emotional health matter? - What diet is most helpful? Connect With My Guest: http://www.drrajpatel.net Interview Date: May 9, 2017 Disclaimer: The content of this show is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness or medical condition. Nothing in today's discussion is meant to serve as medical advice or as information to facilitate self-treatment. As always, please discuss any potential health-related decisions with your own personal medical authority.

Background: The most important disease of dairy cattle is mastitis, caused by the infection of the mammary gland by various micro-organisms. Although the transcriptional response of bovine mammary gland cells to in vitro infection has been studied, the interplay and consequences of these responses in the in vivo environment of the mammary gland are less clear. Previously mammary gland quarters were considered to be unaffected by events occurring in neighbouring quarters. More recently infection of individual quarters with mastitis causing pathogens, especially Escherichia coli, has been shown to influence the physiology of neighbouring uninfected quarters. Therefore, the transcriptional responses of uninfected mammary gland quarters adjacent to quarters infected with two major mastitis causing pathogens, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, were compared. Results: The bacteriologically sterile, within-animal control quarters exhibited a transcriptional response to the infection of neighbouring quarters. The greatest response was associated with E. coli infection, while a weaker, yet significant, response occurred during S. aureus infection. The transcriptional responses of these uninfected quarters included the enhanced expression of many genes previously associated with mammary gland infections. Comparison of the transcriptional response of uninfected quarters to S. aureus and E. coli infection identified 187 differentially expressed genes, which were particularly associated with cellular responses, e. g. response to stress. The most affected network identified by Ingenuity Pathway analysis has the immunosuppressor transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFB1) at its hub and largely consists of genes more highly expressed in control quarters from S. aureus infected cows. Conclusions: Uninfected mammary gland quarters reacted to the infection of neighbouring quarters and the responses were dependent on pathogen type. Therefore, bovine udder quarters exhibit interdependence and should not be considered as separate functional entities. This suggests that mastitis pathogens not only interact directly with host mammary cells, but also influence discrete sites some distance away, which will affect their response to the subsequent spread of the infection. Understanding the underlying mechanisms may provide further clues for ways to control mammary gland infections. These results also have implications for the design of experimental studies investigating immune regulatory mechanisms in the bovine mammary gland.