The Center for Disease Prevention & Reversal Blog

In the last few months, I have seen numerous adult patients for consultation in my Chicago area office with complaints of either exacerbation of their autoimmune disease or a sudden eruption of an autoimmune disorder such as asthma where there had been no prior issue.

The one thing these adult patients all had in common was they were all recent recipients of either a flu vaccine or of a tetanus booster. I have seen autoimmune disease develop after yellow fever vaccination and I've seen my share of "gulf war" syndrome (presumed adverse reaction to the anthrax vaccine) in military personnel. I have also seen pediatric patients who developed bronchitis after each round of vaccines only to develop asthma by pre-school. Many of these patients become free of asthma for years only to have a resurgence after another set of vaccinations.

Most vaccines contain something called adjuvants which are known to hyper simulate the immune system and in those with specific genetics, trigger autoimmune responses. The influenza vaccine in the US and the tetanus booster have not contained these adjuvants. However, they contain other ingredients that can lead to T cell dysfunction and this can trigger an autoimmune reaction.

Most influenza vaccines contain mercury which, like aluminum nano salts, can lead to a breach of the tight junctions in the gut, brain, testes and thyroid. I have written about this phenomenon in relation to gluten and prescription pain meds. In addition, the tetanus toxoid is a powerful immune stimulant which is why it is sometimes included in other vaccines as an adjuvant of sorts. Influenza vaccines also contain formaldehyde. While formaldehyde is naturally occurring at low levels in wood, it is quite toxic and a known carcinogen as well as asthma inducer.

A problem in understanding the safety issues or adverse events related to vaccines, is that the studies looking at adverse events compare the control group (the new vaccine in study) to a placebo group. In all other cases of drug studies, the placebo group would receive something completely inert such as a sugar pill or a saline injection. In vaccine placebos, the placebo group actually receives other vaccines or ingredients of the vaccine such as the adjuvant or preservative without the attenuated viral material.

This poses a real problem because now you have the placebo group receiving a heavy metal, or polysorbate or tetanus toxoid all of which can cause adverse events such as autoimmune responses. The results show the autoimmune responses to occur at the same rate in both the experimental and placebo groups with conclusions drawn that disease rates are the same whether subjects received the real vaccine or not and hence the vaccine is as safe as a placebo.

Another problem is that the vaccine reporting system or VAERS, relies on the vaccine manufacturer itself, to decide if a reported adverse event post vaccination is related to their product. They almost always deny causation. manufacturers have stated that the vaccine ingredients are cleared within 72 hours. This makes little sense as ingredients are not metabolized like they would be if taken orally and there are no studies backing this statement up. In addition, most doctors do not make the link between vaccine and adverse event and hence events are under reported.

The point of all this is that if you or your family have an autoimmune disorder, you should think twice before receiving any vaccinations. If you or your family developed asthma, a rheumatological or thryroid disorder after vaccination, stop vaccinating. There is a long list of what is autoimmune. Autoimmune disease in all forms is skyrocketing in the US and other places where vaccination rates are high. While there are probably many contributing factors for this phenomenon, injecting known stimulants that trigger a strong cytokine reaction is probably not wise.

There are studies supporting this concept However, much more research is needed in this area by independent parties not beholden to the industry and that is the single greatest obstacle in true safety studies.

I introduced readers to Zonulin a few entries back. To recap, Zonulin is a protein made by our bodies that creates loosening of tight junctions such as those in the gut, brain and testicles. The tight junctions control transportation of molecules across junctions.

An example is the prevention of food particles in the lumen of the gut from crossing over into the blood vessels. The food is broken down and nutrients extrapolated so as not to present foreign proteins to your own system. This is why we don't make antigens to everything we eat.

However, some people do seem to produce antibodies to many foods and eventually, some of those with this issue produce antibodies to parts of themselves. This is what autoimmunity is. Some examples of autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, MS, psoriasis and even some forms of dementia. There are too many autoimmune disorders to list.

We now know one of the proteins involved with loosening the tight junctions is identified as Zonulin. Zonulin is increased by gluten intake irregardless of genetic makeup. We also know that toght junctions are loosened by metals, heavy metals and nano particulates like the aluminums added to almost all vaccines as adjuvants.

Studies have shown nano aluminum particles to cause neurodegenerative disorders and dimentia

It seems obvious that anyone with an autoimmune disease should avoid gluten and vaccines for that matter. What about the rest of us? I think minimizing exposure to known stimulants of zonulin and to known neurotoxins might just be a good choice for all.

We are bombarded by commercials about statins to lower cholesterol levels. We're made to believe that cholesterol is a bad thing and needs to be reduced as much as possible.

Numerous studies show the benefit of a healthy cholesterol profile. In fact, a recent study looking at muscle mass gain from exercise, showed that those with higher circulating cholesterol gained more muscle mass than those with lower cholesterol or on cholesterol lowering medications.

Low cholesterol levels are increasingly associated with increased risks for depression, anxiety, cancer, infection suicidal ideation and low libido.

There are numerous studies showing this link but the authors are all hesitant to say stop taking your statins as most patients are diagnosed as having statin deficiencies by their physicians.

If we look at studies and healthy physiology carefully, we can find that healthy people (people who are still insulin sensitive) have large bouyant LDL particles. As people become more insulin resistant and therefore closer to being a diabetic, they develop smaller LDL particles that are dense. Small, dense LDL particles are atherogenic, meaning they can lead to plaque in the vessels.

The biggest risk factor for a sudden cardiac event or MI, is small dense LDL and elevated levels of C reactive Protein, not high levels of LDL. Yet, the majority of physicians do not even test for these things. The reason being high levels can be lowered with statins. The treatment for an elevated C reactive protein( or CRP) and dense LDL are not treated with a single pharmaceutical. And, since the pharmaceutical industry has spent billions "educating" physicians how to handle cholesterol issues, they focused on the single issue they had a drug for.

LDL levels can be affected by particle size which is actually more important than the number. Low cholesterol is often associated with small dense LDL. Particle size is dependent upon a few things, one of them being insulin resistance or IR.
IR is related to how much insulin is needed to handle a specific amount of carbohydrate or sugar. The more needed, for a certain amount due to resistance or attenuation, the greater the risk of triglyceride and VLDL formation and hence small dense LDL.

In my Chicago area office, I always use a Lipid subfraction test on my patients. A standard lipid profile is missing vital information.

I treat small dense LDL and elevated CRP levels with a combination of dietary and lifestyle changes. If the LDL is very small and dense, I might recommend a liver cleanse
as the IR occurs at the liver..

If you have not had a lipid subfraction test, you don't know your real cardiac profile or risks.

Over the last decade, we have seen acid blockers go from requiring a prescription to over the counter. The commercials for them depict them as benign in side effect and beneficial
as taking a vitamin C drink for the common cold.

While the packaging inserts for this classification of drug is enough to scare your socks off, no one is paying attention, especially the doctors who recommend them like they do drinking more water.

The normal PH of our stomach is highly acidic. This is to allow enzymes form our pancreas to work efficiently in breaking down proteins and for absorption of minerals that would otherwise not be absorbed. Another function of our stomach acid is to kill the normal bacteria that live in our mouths or that we might ingest.
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Stomach acid is also necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12, an extremely important vitamin. Deficiency of which leads to anemia and a whole host of diseases.

The small intestine, relative to the colon, is supposed to be almost bacteria free. The colon is home to billions of beneficial bacteria. The small intestine remains low on bacteria in large part due to the acidity of the stomach.

When an acid blocker is taken with any regularity, proteins are not digested, minerals are not absorbed and bacteria enter and flourish in the small intestines. One of the possible side effects of proteins being poorly absorbed is an increase in food allergies. One of the definite side effects of protein malabsorption is a decrease in muscle mass and therefore bone mass. Studies have shown that women who take acid blockers during pregnancy have babies with a 5 times greater risk for asthma.

When minerals are not absorbed, again we see a decrease in bone mass and strength.

When excessive bacteria in introduced into the small bowel, we see bacterial overgrowth with foul breath, gas and bloating as obvious and not so pretty side effects.

When the stomach has a decrease in acid on a regular basis, the bacteria H. Pylori is allowed to flourish. H. Pylori has been implicated as a trigger for stomach cancer.

While the pharmaceutical companies would have you believe that it is a normal daily function to take acid blockers, it is anything but. In addition, the acid blockers do not stop the reflux, in fact, they increase reflux do to the slower gastric digestion when acid is removed form the picture.

The blockers just remover the acid and hence the sensation of burning form the picture.

There are numerous reasons why people have acid reflux and there are many ways to determine the cause(s) and very simple treatments. I have successfully treated many patients with reflux in my Chicago area office and continue to do so.

What is most surprising is this went form being a common scenario in my adult patients, but in the last few years, I have seen this with increasing frequency in pediatric patients.

What I hope to see less of in the future is patients with osteoporosis, allergies, fatigue,
muscle waisting, gluten intolerance and H. Pylori associated stomach cancer because of this foolish and misguided daily practice.

Erectile dysfunction from non-pyschological issues is one of the first signs of a decrease in endogenous nitrous oxide production. Insufficient nitrous oxide (NO) production sets the stage for the progression of heart and vascular disease in general.

The implications of decreased NO spread father than vascular disease. Decreased vascular flow in the brain leads to dementia and Alzheimer's as well as hypertension and thrombotic events (stroke).

NO declines with age, but this is believed to be largely due to increased insulin resistance.
The increase in circulating glucose, insulin and cytokines that occurs in diabetes type 2 or pre-diabetes have all been independently shown to impair NO activity in experimental models.

Insulin resistance is controlled with dietary and lifestyle changes that can be quite rewarding in their own right let alone the beneficial domino effect in the bedroom.

Under normal healthy conditions, when sexually stimulated, NO is produced in the penis and signals blood vessels to dilate and accommodate more blood flow and volume. Without this pathway functioning, erectile activity is reduced and or non-sustained.

Note, this is the same mechanism for erectile activity in women of the analogous organs and without clitoral enlargement orgasm is difficult or impossible to achieve. And for achievement oriented people, this can be frustrating or in the case of many of my patients, depressing.

Proper NO production is essential for maintaining normal blood pressure, preventing clots, and healthy sexual function. The inability to generate adequate NO is one of the first signs of a number of chronic disease we associate with normal aging but needn't be.

NO levels can be tested easily employing a simple salivary test performed in my Chicago area office. Treatment consists of lifestyle changes and very specific supplements that enhance nitrous oxide production. Levels are then re-tested a few weeks into treatment or can be implicated in patient reporting.

In the early nineties, the buzz word for anyone seeking out alternative views on chronic illness was candidiasis. Candidiasis is an overgrowth of Candida, a yeast that is normally present in our environment but is opportunistic and can overgrow when normal bacteria are missing or reduced.

Candida was blamed for everyone presenting with chronic inflammation, chronic fatigue and food intolerance.

It is true that antibiotic use can lead to an overgrowth of Candida, and it is true that antibiotics are over prescribed. But, often patients would not improve on treatments to reduce Candida and they were subjected to months of medications and highly restricted diets.

Along comes Alessio Fasano MD, a pediatrician involved in intestinal barrier research. Dr. Fasano has identified a protein termed Zonulin which is responsible for regulating the "tight junctions" of the intestines and other tight barriers in the body such as the blood brain barrier.

From a medical evolutionary standpoint, there are times where a leaky gut might come in handy, like when we come into contact with infectious agents such as Cholera. A leaky gut in this instance would stimulate an immune response and memory antibody production which would help fight the infection. This is a theory but help explain why the body would create a protein like this in the first place.

Zonulin created gaps where our bowels leak and once proteins leak into our blood stream, lots of things happen like inflammation, antibody production and in some cases, auto-immune disease develops such as Celiac, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis and the like.

It is interesting to note that Splenda is suspected as a stimulator of zonulin along with heavy metals, stress, and most likely other triggers not yet discovered. Gluten is one of the many proteins that seems to be involved in inflammation and autoimmune problems when leaked out of the gut.

One of the tests I perform for my patients in my Chicago area office is the food inflammatory response test. It is based on the inflammatory response of cultured white blood cells to different food antigens and is a true test of not antibody production but inflammatory response.

If patients have many foods they are inflamed by, they have a leaky gut and are at risk for autoimmune disease. The patient is then put on a protocol of supplements to repair the bowel and to down-regulate the zonulin. It is also recommended that they avoid the foods they are negatively responding to for a few months. Gluten and often dairy are on the list when it is a situation of leaky gut syndrome. And if gluten is involved, often lifelong avoidance is the best choice due to the risk of autoimmune diseases.

Heavy metal testing is often implicated in this situation and chelation therapy might be warranted to help rid the body of heavy metals.