Participants: George Guthrie, Tim Arnott
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000335
00:37 Welcome to Wonderfully Made.
00:39 My name is Dr. George Guthrie. 00:42 I'm the medical director of Lifestyle Center of America, 00:44 in Southern Oklahoma. I'd like to talk to you today 00:49 about something you may not have heard of before. 00:54 Homocysteine, kind of an interesting topic with me 00:58 to discuss this is Dr. Tim Arnott. 01:02 Hi George. Thanks for having me on the program. 01:07 It's good to be here. Atherosclerosis, 01:12 heart attack, cholesterol, are words that are, 01:18 we hear commonly in our medical world today. 01:23 We are concerned about them. 01:25 For years we've understood that cholesterol, 01:29 raising the cholesterol increases our risk of 01:31 heart attack. That oxidized cholesterol, 01:35 or oxidized little devil LDL particles can actually 01:41 cause damage to our arteries and maybe 01:44 lead to a heart attack. But, there is something 01:47 new coming to our understanding 01:50 with whole realm of heart attack and atherosclerosis, 01:55 tell us about it. Well, that new something 01:58 that is coming to our awareness is that 02:01 it's not just the high cholesterol levels 02:04 that can lead to the formation of plaques, 02:07 cholesterol collections if you will, in the wall of 02:11 the artery, but it's also the immune system 02:14 that's involved. The white blood cells are 02:17 actually involved. In fact, there, the cells 02:20 that take up that cholesterol after 02:22 it's been chemically damaged in the blood, 02:24 they are carrying it into the wall of the 02:27 artery and leaving it there. In fact, some 02:30 of those white blood cells stay right there 02:32 in the cholesterol collection in your 02:34 artery wall and this is what can happen. 02:38 If you have an infection for example, 02:41 or simply if you have a lot of the cholesterol 02:44 in the artery wall, or other factors that 02:47 we may not know about, you can have increased 02:50 amounts of inflammation in the blood stream 02:54 and in the tissue and for example 02:57 if you get an infection and a signal goes out 03:00 to the white blood cells of your body 03:03 that there is a problem, those white blood cells 03:06 become activated, including the white blood cells 03:09 that are found in that cholesterol deposit 03:13 in your artery. And when that happens, 03:15 they start to move around and that cholesterol can 03:18 become more unstable and it can rupture 03:21 and break out into the blood flow space 03:24 and that can lead to the formation of a blood clot, 03:27 and nearly every heart attack is a blood clot 03:30 that totally obstructs the artery. 03:33 There is no down stream blood flow 03:35 then you have an infarction or death in 03:37 the heart muscle and many strokes are also 03:40 the result of a blood clot. So, inflammation is an 03:44 important cause of a heart attack and of a stroke. 03:48 Well, in the past we have always focused on 03:51 this cholesterol. We thought just 03:53 because there is a little bit of a blockage, 03:55 that blockage which we thought an angiogram 03:58 would actually lead to a heart attack. 04:01 When we began to watch things, 04:03 we discovered that less than half of the time 04:06 where the heart attacks actually at the blockage, 04:09 it was often down stream. This word, inflammation, 04:13 we understand now to be very important 04:15 because anywhere along the whole blood vessel, 04:18 even the parts that are not narrow, 04:20 that there is inflammation, it's more likely to crack 04:23 and break open; of course, leading to the heart attack. 04:26 Now, as we talk about this, this leads us to this 04:30 word Homocysteine. So, how does Homocysteine 04:34 affect inflammation? Well, Homocysteine is an 04:38 amino acid. A protein building block, if you will. 04:42 We all have Homocysteine. Homocysteine is part of a 04:46 biochemistry cycle that deals with amino acids 04:51 in the body cells. The problem is that 04:54 if you get too much Homocysteine in your 04:57 blood stream, it's like cholesterol. 04:59 It can actually lead to damage to the arteries 05:03 it can lead to increase of inflammation, 05:05 it may increase the risk of a blood clot forming. 05:09 And so, Homocysteine is fine, 05:11 but if you have too much, then it can become 05:14 an enemy to the artery and actually increase 05:17 the risk of a heart attack and of a stroke. 05:20 So, Homocysteine is something 05:23 we want to pay attention to, and you may actually 05:27 want to have your physician check your 05:29 Homocysteine level, especially if you are in a 05:32 high risk group and we'll be talking more about 05:34 who those people who are a little bit 05:36 later in the program. Homocysteine actually 05:39 comes from something called Methionine. 05:42 We generally don't get much Homocysteine 05:44 in our diet, but we do eat quite a bit of Methionine. 05:48 Methionine is much higher in animal products than 05:52 it is in plant products as we eat them. 05:54 The Methionine is changed and, 05:57 is part of our metabolism and then it turns out into 06:02 Homocysteine. Now, normally our body 06:06 doesn't like to keep the Homocysteine around. 06:08 It likes to change it in one way or the other. 06:10 How does it change it? Well, actually George, 06:14 it uses some very important vitamins to convert 06:18 Homocysteine into back, frankly back into 06:23 Methionine and to continue that biochemical cycle. 06:26 Those important B vitamins, co-factors if you will, 06:30 in the chain of chemistry, that changes Homocysteine 06:34 into other products, are vitamin B12, or folic acid, 06:38 or folate, and pyridoxine or vitamin B6 and also 06:43 betaine and these important subunits 06:47 of chemistry are very important if you want 06:49 to keep a nice low Homocysteine level 06:52 and protect your arteries from the damages of 06:56 inflammation, and lower your risk of a blood clot 07:00 forming. Vitamin B12 is important for the recycling. 07:04 It will turn Homocysteine back into Methionine, 07:07 and the others are very important for throwing 07:10 Homocysteine away. So, B vitamins, 07:13 simple B vitamins are very important. 07:16 For many years Americans were not getting enough 07:19 folic acid, because they were eating refined 07:22 and processed grains. When you look at the package 07:27 and you see enriched wheat flour that, 07:30 one of the things that they were not putting 07:32 in for many years, was folic acid. 07:35 Now the government says, actually mandated 07:37 that companies put folic acid in and so our 07:40 folic acid intake is a little bit better, 07:42 but the best way to get folic acid is to eat 07:45 plant food as it comes from nature: 07:48 whole grains, whole wheat, a 100% whole wheat bread 07:52 and all the other whole grains. 07:55 Beans are reach in folate. In fact the black eyed 07:59 cowpea is probably one of the number one folate 08:02 sources, and also the green leafy vegetables 08:05 are very rich sources of folic acid. 08:09 As a matter of fact folate almost sounds like foliage, 08:12 and I think that's probably where the name came from? 08:15 Very possible, so remember those above the ground 08:19 vegetables are not only gonna help your weight 08:22 to come down, they're not only gonna help keep 08:24 your insulin level low, as we've talked about in 08:26 other programs, but they will give you folic acid 08:29 which will help keep your Homocysteine level low, 08:31 and in frankly, those individuals with the 08:34 highest folic acid levels, actually one study had 08:39 half the risk of a heart attack or heart disease. 08:43 And so, folic acid, very important; 08:45 vitamin B6 also an important nutrient, vegetables, 08:50 bananas, some of the nuts are also seeds are 08:54 very good sources of pyridoxine or B6. 08:57 Well, Tim, let's focus over to B12. 09:01 That seems to be a real important one. 09:04 Yes, George, actually there are a number 09:07 of individuals who are low in B12. 09:09 In fact, an article named The American Journal 09:12 of Clinical Nutrition a few years ago, 09:14 stated that about 39% of Americans, 09:18 healthy Americans, were low or low normal 09:21 with their vitamin B12 levels. So, it's not just, 09:26 as you may have heard, an issue for those who 09:29 are vegetarians. However Dr. Herman, 09:32 in an article, last year in The American 09:35 Journal of Clinical Nutrition, did report 09:37 that vegetarians do have an increased risk 09:41 of being low in vitamin B12, and that can 09:45 translate into elevated levels of Homocysteine. 09:50 Now, probably those with the highest 09:52 Homocysteine levels are those with kidney failure. 09:56 And they can have very high Homocysteine levels. 09:59 But, as a group, probably those who are moving 10:02 to a diet exclusively of plants, need to be most 10:06 careful about this whole issue. 10:10 Yes, vitamin B deficient, but B12 deficiency while 10:15 it may be more common in vegetarians, 10:17 there are actually more meat eaters 10:21 who are B12 deficient than vegetarians, 10:24 because there are so many more meat eaters 10:27 than there are vegetarians. In my own mountain 10:31 practice, several years ago, over a six year period, 10:36 I identified 40 people who were vitamin B12 deficient, 10:43 with a number of and a variety of symptoms. 10:46 Interestingly, only one of those, claimed to be 10:51 a vegetarian, a vegan vegetarian, 10:54 taking no animal products. In fact, there was a 10:58 lawsuit a number of years ago, 11:00 and an individual actually was able to successfully 11:04 sue their doctor because their doctor missed 11:09 the diagnosis of neuropathy and apparently dementia, 11:15 and because he measured the vitamin B12 level 11:18 and the persons, the patient's level was in 11:21 the normal range. And so, you can actually have a 11:24 vitamin B12 level that's considered to be normal, 11:29 in the normal range, and still not be getting 11:32 enough vitamin B12 for your body's needs. 11:35 In fact, what I usually recommend for my 11:37 patients at the Lifestyle Center is to try to push 11:41 that vitamin B12 level toward the top of the 11:44 reference range, and you're gonna be a lot safer. 11:48 Now, George, there is a number of problems that 11:52 result if you don't get enough vitamin B12. 11:56 The Homocysteine level goes up, 11:59 and we can talk more about that. 12:01 Dr. Vollset and his colleagues in the 12:04 Hordaland Homocysteine Study in Finland, 12:07 they've done a lot of work in Homocysteine, 12:09 and what they have found is that individuals 12:12 with the highest Homocysteine levels 12:14 are at two to three fold increased risk of a 12:18 heart attack and a stroke. And so, again, vitamin B12 12:24 is needed if you want to keep your Homocysteine 12:27 level low and help yourself be at the lowest risk of 12:32 heart attack and stroke. Tim, let's mention a little 12:35 bit some of the levels from the laboratory 12:38 that since the normal on the laboratory sheet 12:41 may not be correct, maybe we should say something 12:44 about the vitamin B12 optimal level. 12:48 I know in our laboratory we focus, 12:51 in the laboratory results actually say anything 12:54 above 200 is normal. Others have discover 12:59 that problems can develop up to a level of 300 13:03 and some experts are recommending over a 450, 13:07 and I think as you pointed out, 13:09 we have Lifestyle Center of America don't mind 13:11 it up around a 1000, do we? 13:13 Well, that's exactly right and one of the ways 13:15 to determine whether you are getting enough 13:18 vitamin B12 is to measure your Homocysteine level. 13:22 And we would like to see it less than about 7.2 13:26 at the Lifestyle Center of America, 13:28 and frankly those individuals who have 13:31 Homocysteine levels of about 3 to 5, 13:34 are at the lowest risk of these killer diseases, 13:37 and I know there is a number of listeners 13:39 who are listening in parts of the world 13:42 who may not have heart disease as much 13:45 of a problem as we have it here, or stroke, 13:48 but things are changing. And more and more 13:52 third world countries, or individuals in those 13:55 countries are moving to the city, 13:56 they are starting to eat foods, 13:58 the fast foods and the refined flour 14:02 and foods that are rich in fat, 14:05 and they're starting to get the same diseases 14:08 that we are getting here in America 14:10 and that the people are getting in Europe 14:12 and other western countries. So, this issue becomes 14:15 more and more important especially as people 14:18 are finding out about the benefits of a plant based 14:22 diet. Remember you need to take vitamin B12 14:26 if you're going to the exclusively on a plant 14:30 based diet. Is there any toxicity from 14:33 taking too much vitamin B12? 14:35 Well, one of the things that may happen 14:37 if you take large, very large doses of vitamin B12, 14:41 as you actually may run the risk of depleting 14:45 the folic acid in your body. I haven't seen a lot of 14:50 evidence that you can take too much vitamin B12. 14:55 Have you seen any studies on that? 14:58 No, I don't know of any toxicity from too much B12. 15:02 You know, the body is actually very good, 15:04 if it sees a lot of B12 coming its way, 15:08 on a regular basis, it can actually reduce the 15:12 number of receptors for example, 15:15 that can take up that vitamin B12. 15:17 That makes an important point 15:19 if you are in a custom of taking a large amount of 15:22 vitamin B12, you probably want to continue that 15:25 on a regular basis. And we'll actually be sharing 15:29 later in the program what we recommend, 15:32 but I just want to highlight it, at the 15:34 moment what I typically recommend for my patients 15:36 as at least 500 micrograms that's 15:39 mcg of vitamin B12 each day. 15:43 And this is especially important for children 15:46 because children, you need that vitamin B12 15:49 in order to create new DNA, new genes, 15:54 if you will, in order to make new cells, 15:56 because children are rapidly growing, 15:59 they have a lot of cell division going on 16:01 and especially mothers who are pregnant, 16:04 who are nursing their children, their need for 16:07 vitamin B12 is even higher and it's even more important 16:12 if they're on a total plant diet, to take this tiny 16:16 little in our household, cherry-flavored, 16:19 naturally cherry-flavored, no sugar, you understand 16:23 vitamin B12 tablet. My children actually love it 16:26 and so I am sure yours will, too. 16:30 I would like to point out for listeners 16:33 that vitamin B12 is best absorbed if it can be 16:38 mixed with saliva before it actually goes into the 16:40 stomach. There is another factor in our saliva that 16:43 actually protects it from the acids of the stomach 16:45 and then hands it off to an intrinsic factor made 16:48 in the stomach. So, it's best if you don't take 16:51 it as a pill that you swallow, but as something that 16:53 dissolves in your saliva or in a small pill that 16:57 you chew. Absolutely, now there are other benefits 17:01 for making sure that your Homocysteine is nice 17:04 and low, other benefits for taking that vitamin B12, 17:08 and Dr. Clarke highlights those in the Archives 17:12 of Neurology in November of 1998. 17:14 He found that individuals with the highest 17:17 Homocysteine levels were actually over four times 17:21 at greater risk of Alzheimer's disease. 17:25 And there are some individuals who believe 17:27 that if you have very high Homocysteine levels, 17:30 it may increase the risk of something called 17:33 oxidative damage to the tissue, 17:36 including the tissues of the brain and it may 17:38 actually increase some of these brain diseases, 17:42 and in fact there are studies that show that 17:46 individuals who are plant-based in their diet 17:48 and don't pay attention to vitamin B12, 17:51 may be at higher risk of some of the brain diseases. 17:56 You don't need to have that as a problem, 17:58 but you do need to make sure that vitamin B12 18:01 is part of your program, again, even if you are 18:04 not a vegetarian, but especially if you are a 18:08 total plant based eater. Now we're going to be 18:11 talking a little bit later in the program about those 18:14 who may not have access to this little vitamin 18:17 B12 tablet. What can they do? And I think that's 18:21 an important discussion. We'll be talking about that 18:23 little bit later. I'd like to say something about 18:26 where vitamin B12 comes from. 18:28 Vitamin B12 is made by bacteria. 18:32 Animals don't make it, bacteria make it. 18:37 Animals have bacteria in them, for example the cow 18:41 has bacteria in its stomach which will make 18:43 the vitamin B12, and then the cow can absorb it. 18:46 Because of the way our bodies were made, 18:48 we do not have the ability to actually 18:51 absorb the vitamin B12 that is made in our own 18:56 colons by the bacteria that live there. 18:59 And so, an external source may be necessary for us, 19:04 especially if we live in a very clean world. 19:09 There are actually a group of Buddhists 19:12 reported on, who moved from India where they 19:15 had no vitamin B12 deficiency, to England 19:18 where they began to develop vitamin B12 19:20 deficiency. And it was discovered that 19:23 it was the dirt, if you will, on the food that 19:28 they grew themselves and prepared, 19:30 enough vitamin B12 and the bacteria of the dirt 19:34 got into their mouth, that they were able 19:36 to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency. 19:39 Well, it living in India, but when they got to England, 19:42 things were much cleaner and they developed 19:46 the B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 is also needed 19:50 to make some of the stress hormones. 19:52 And those who are in western societies, 19:56 where we have a high levels of stress 19:58 in our adrenal glands that sit at top the kidneys, 20:01 are putting out a lot of the adrenal in the 20:03 epinephrine. We may actually be using up 20:06 more of the vitamin B12 and that may be one 20:10 of the reasons why we need more. 20:12 But, I certainly agree, George, in some of 20:15 these countries, for example a study in Siberia, 20:19 individuals who were total plant based in their 20:22 eating, they were not taking vitamin B12 20:25 and they were not vitamin B12 deficient, 20:28 because they are not so conscientious about 20:33 getting rid of all the dirt and all the bacteria like 20:36 we are in these countries with our hot water, 20:38 our bacterial, antibacterial soaps 20:42 and our detergents, you know, we might say 20:44 scrupulously clean in these countries. 20:47 When I was in Africa, and not too long ago, 20:50 I was invited to join a group of individuals 20:54 who were sitting down, having their lunch, 20:56 and they were using their fingers as the utensil 21:00 to take the food from the plate. And certainly, 21:04 those kind of habits are going to have a side 21:07 effect that's beneficial, that is more the friendly 21:11 B12 producing bacteria will enter your system. 21:15 That's a good reminder Tim. Some have jokingly said 21:20 maybe if we didn't brush our teeth, 21:22 the bacteria in our mouth would be allowed to grow 21:24 enough. I am not sure I'm ready to go there, 21:26 but I suppose that's a possibility. 21:29 So, you can always take that vitamin B12 21:31 tablets and keep brushing your teeth. 21:33 I thought you might be interested as listeners 21:36 to know, some of you may be creationists, 21:42 as I am. You know, the evolutionists have 21:45 a hard time explaining this, because vitamin B12 21:48 is a very complex substance. And the bacteria actually 21:54 have two completely separate ways of making 21:57 it, another evidence left in the record that 22:01 we have a Creator, who's in charge, I am thankful. 22:04 And you know, George, there is another lesson 22:07 here in the B12. Some people are maybe 22:10 wondering about B12 and why didn't the Creator 22:13 provide B12 in the plants, and as we point it out, 22:18 if you live closer to the earth, 22:20 if you grow your own food, if you get your 22:22 hands dirty, if you don't necessarily wash all of 22:27 the dirt off of those organically grown fruits 22:31 and vegetables and if they don't have pesticides 22:35 on the surface of them, killing bacteria, 22:37 you will get the friendly bacterial exposure 22:41 that you need and get the B12 that you need. 22:44 But in our very clean, scrupulously clean society, 22:48 B12 is important. But, this whole issue of B12, 22:51 brings up an important principle and that is that 22:54 the Creator has tied the highest organism on this 22:59 planet to one of the lowest organisms. 23:02 In fact, the only source of B12, as George has 23:06 pointed out is a bacteria. So, here we are, so a well 23:11 developed and so intelligent, and yet, 23:14 the Creator has said, don't forget the tiny bacteria, 23:18 you need them just as we need each other. 23:21 So, these are some of the lessons that 23:24 we can find in creation, if we look below the surface. 23:28 Now, George, we want to shift gears for just a 23:32 few moments, we don't have a lot of time left, 23:34 but we want to talk about another supplement, 23:37 if you will, and this time it's a little bit more about 23:41 perhaps a natural supplement, 23:42 maybe more inviting to some, and that is the 23:47 supplement of flax seed. George, tell us a little bit 23:50 about flax seed, what is it, why should we have 23:54 it on our tables on a regular basis, 23:56 and what can it do for us? We talked earlier about 24:00 Homocysteine. It increases inflammation 24:03 and increases our risk of heart attack. 24:05 We need vitamin B12 to keep our Homocysteines low. 24:09 There is a substance some substances in the matter 24:13 of fact in flax seed they can help protect us. 24:15 One of those is soluble fiber and the other one 24:19 is a very important fat substance called 24:22 an Omega-3 fat. And Omega-3 fat 24:26 for example this fat Alpha Linolinic Acid, 24:30 very powerful fat, to help actually lower the 24:35 inflammation in your blood stream. 24:37 And as we pointed out at the beginning of the 24:39 program, if you want to avoid a heart attack, 24:41 if you want to prevent the cholesterol in your 24:45 artery from breaking off into the blood stream, 24:48 a clot forming, then you want to make sure 24:51 the inflammation in your body is as low as possible, 24:54 and in order to do that, you want to move 24:57 away from meats, which actually have a fat that 25:01 increases the inflammation, 25:03 called arachidonic acid, and move toward plants, 25:06 green leafy vegetables, flax seed and English walnuts. 25:11 These are some of the richest sources 25:14 of this important inflammation reducing fats. 25:18 Now, it's my understanding that 25:19 we like the Omega-3, I'm sorry, 25:22 we like the flax seed because it's so high in 25:25 Omega-3 fat. But, if I just eat the flax seed, 25:29 well I be able to absorb the Omega-3 fat? 25:33 Well, that's a very good point, 25:34 the Creator has put a nice, protective shell 25:38 around those good fats, so that they don't 25:41 combine with oxygen and become damaged 25:43 and change into something that's not 25:45 helpful for your body. So, what you want to do 25:48 is take those whole flax seeds and grind them. 25:52 And what we do in this country, 25:54 is to take a coffee grinder and we put those, 25:57 a tablespoon of flax seed in the coffee grinder 26:00 and we whiz it up into a powder and 26:02 what I do is put it under my cereal in the morning. 26:05 You can put it over your salad; you can put it in 26:07 recipes. But, this flax seed is a very powerful, 26:12 powerful tool of reducing the inflammation. 26:15 But, you do wanna to grind it. 26:17 Now it seems like I remember hearing 26:19 that one could get too much flax seed, 26:22 it might cause some problems. 26:24 Tell us about that. Yes, that's actually true. 26:26 You know, actually I was taking two tablespoons 26:31 of freshly ground flax seed every morning 26:34 and I started to notice something. 26:37 I started to notice that in the morning 26:39 I was coughing, I was not coughing up 26:41 but a little bit of phlegm come up 26:43 and it had a little bit of blood in it. 26:45 And actually one of the things that the fats, 26:49 these good Omega-3 fats and flax seed can do, 26:51 is to prevent something in your body from 26:55 working as well as it should, that's the 26:56 platelets. Platelets actually help to prevent 26:59 blood from clotting and if you get too much of 27:04 this flax seed, you can actually have problems 27:06 with bleeding. And so I find that one tablespoon 27:09 a day, or perhaps three tablespoons every 27:13 fourth day, is probably the best way to go. 27:17 And so we've seen in this program, 27:19 how vitamin B12 is so important at keeping the 27:24 Homocysteine level low, so that you can have 27:27 the low, have lower risk of heart attack, 27:29 lower risk of stroke, we've seen the 27:32 importance of an important fat in flax seed, 27:36 in English walnuts, in leafy green vegetables. 27:39 In fact, we would encourage you to use 27:41 flax seed, freshly ground, on a daily basis or 27:45 frequently so you can have all of the 27:48 heart disease protection benefits that are possible. 27:53 And remember that it's small things that can 27:56 have a powerful benefit to your health. 27:59 Tiny things like something made of bacteria, 28:04 B12 and the tiny flax seed to be powerful 28:08 ways of showing how wonderfully you are made. |
Revised 2014-12-17