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Tag: inflammation

Elvis Died From Constipation… but You Don’t Have To!

Elvis Presley had a long, well-documented history of chronic constipation. His personal physician, Dr. George Nicholpoulos, found the 42-year old singer dead on the toilet in 1977. Autopsy reports show the King’s colon at the time of his death was twice the diameter and twice the length of a healthy colon.

Much of this has been blamed on Elvis’ deep-fried, Southern-comfort diet and well-known penchant for opiates. Lots of fatty and highly processed foods mixed with motility-slowing drugs will surely affect a body’s ability to purge, but what if there were other factors as well?

“All the medications he was taking wouldn’t have caused the degree of constipation he had,” claims Dr. Nick, who noted that at the autopsy pathologists found barium in Presley’s stool that had been there for three or four months.

“The nerves have to stimulate the colon to propel the material out,” the Dr. notes. “Either there were no nerves or there was a viral disease that affects the nerves. I’m just using this as an example, but polio, for instance, is a virus that affects the nerves.”

Of course, I have my own theory on the matter. Did you expect anything less?

As much as Dr. Nick is being accused of presenting this theory now as a way to exonerate his role in Elvis’ death as his drug prescriber, I do think he’s spot-on about the nerves of the colon and that they were obviously not functioning in normal peristalsis, the muscular contractions that propel waste matter through the colon and out of the body through the anus.

In a healthy colon, the sensations of peristalsis signal that it is time to get thee to a toilet. In a chronically stopped-up colon, peristalsis slows or ceases completely, and the colon becomes so stretched and distorted that the sensation that you “have to go” is muted or nonexistant.

Many readers of this blog have commented that fiber and water can help clear occasional constipation, and they are correct when you are looking at a normal colon in a healthy person. Adding fiber to a diet can actually  make constipation worse if there is an underlying inflammatory condition that is not being addressed.

In untreated Celiac disease sufferers, for example, the continual and chronic irritation of the lining of the bowels and intestines can cause permanent damage to the nerves and tissues of the gastro-intestinal system, including the sensitive fingerlike villi lining the gut that are responsible for breaking down and absorbing nutrients and assisting peristalsis.

Scientific American magazine reported in the August, 2009, issue that Celiac sufferers and in fact most, if not all, autoimmune disease sufferers, have unusually permeable guts due to constant inflammatory response to environmental substances, i.e., undiagnosed food and chemical sensitivities. Because this inflammation negatively affects the assimilation of nutrients, symptoms can manifest that are as diverse as anemia, arthritis, bone loss, depression, fatigue, infertility, joint pain, seizures, and numbness in the hands and feet. Etcetera, etcetera.

As Celiac patients know, the only  way to heal the bowel and feel better is to eliminate the cause of the inflammation and irritation, in this case gluten in the diet, and allow the tissues to calm down and recover. If identified early enough, the bowel can completely heal and regain normal function. After too many years of continual inflammation, however, the damage may become permanent.

While only 1% of the global population actually suffers from gluten intolerance, the numbers unknowingly afflicted with gluten or other food or chemical additive sensitivities could be exponentially higher. These “Type IV delayed hypersensitivity reactions” spark a histamine/cytokine/chemokine mediator release that can manifest as inflammation localized in the bowels and producing constipation and/or diarreah or as a general system-wide inflammation that can look like anything from migraines to  fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, ADD/ADHD… and on and on.

Perhaps Elvis suffered from undiagnosed food sensitivities that instigated a constant inflammatory response in his colon, effectively closing it to excretions and causing the stool to back-up and expand the colon exponentially in diameter to contain all that rotting fecal matter, and hence lose muscle tone and sensitivity in the villi.

In my experience, once you cross that tolerance threshold for one substance, the thresholds for others drop lower as well, causing a cascade of substances which you can no longer tolerate and so that you become constantly inflamed internally. Returning to a point below these lowered tolerance thresholds takes information, time, and dedication, but it is possible.

What can we learn from these revelations into The King’s toileting life?

First, it’s probably wise to lay off the opiates, especially if you’re already constipated. They’re not going to help.

Second, a deep fried diet laden with processed foods and famous for peanut-butter-banana-and-bacon sandwiches is not conducive to robust health.

And, third, don’t wait until it’s too late to act to save your colon — and your body — from permanent damage like the kind seen in Elvis. Dr. Nick offered Elvis a colonectomy while he was alive in a desperate attempt to find a solution to his chronic problem. Elvis demurred (it would have meant wearing an external colon bag). It’s infinitely more preferable to change your diet than lose your colon, don’t you think?

If you are suffering without finding relief, you might want to consider looking into possible food and/or chemical additive sensitivity issues (not food “allergies” that create IgE antibodies, but “sensitivities” that cause the release of mediators like histamines and cytokines and cause inflammation).

We can’t all be “The King,” but at least we can rule over our own bodies and take control over our own health!

Nature’s Anti-inflammatory Spice: Turmeric

When I feel there is something “off” in my body, that’s when I reach for the turmeric. As our friends in India have known for an eternity, turmeric does wonders to reduce all kinds of swelling, from swollen ankles or knees to swollen nerves or joints.

So many of our disorders are due to inflammation of various sorts. Anything that ends in “-itis,” just for starters: bursitis, tendonitis, dermatitis, arthritis, etc.

And of course, auto-immune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and MS that activate an inflammatory response. In MS, for example, the swelling that accompanies the damage to the myelin sheaths surrounding the nerves can cause as much damage as the resulting scar tissue. Often, a corticosteroid such as oral prednisone or I.V. solu-medrol is prescribed to keep the swelling down.

Can you guess how I feel about putting corticosteroids into my body, particularly the long-term, maintenance-level doses that are often prescribed? The last time I took corticosteroids for a problem was in 1999. The prednisone gave me heartburn and packed on 30 lbs. in 3 weeks. The solu-medrol blew out my veins and gave me track marks. But these are just a few of the possible side effects of corticosteroid use noted by the Mayo Clinic. I honestly couldn’t tell if they helped reduce or lessen the optic neuritis (ooohhh… another “-itis!”), or if it just ran its course regardless.

Turmeric Milk
Turmeric Milk

Although I haven’t had a major Multiple Sclerosis exacerbation since 2002, I try to be hyper-aware of my body so that I can address anything that feels “off” before it swells (pardon the pun) into a larger issue.

Hot weather can make these things worse. One evening recently I noticed some new blurring of my eyesight. While it might have been from simple fatigue, ever since my  bout with optic neuritis, incidents like this are enough to send me running for the turmeric.

Now that I drink my turmeric in hot milk it’s a much more pleasant treatment. This last time I enjoyed one cup at bedtime and another the next day and that’s all it took to clear up whatever was going on with my eyes.

My version of Turmeric Milk:

1 cup coconut, almond or other safe milk, warmed
1 Tbsp. ground turmeric
3-4 whole black peppercorns
Honey, pure maple syrup, or other safe natural (not artificial) sweetener to taste

Heat the milk and add the turmeric and peppercorns. Let steep for at least 5 minutes before drinking. You may strain out the powder and peppercorns if you wish, or just leave them in the bottom of the mug.

* The circumin in the peppercorns intensifies the power of the turmeric. I saw this posted from a reader of Arun Shunbhag’s blog and tried it. Now I’m a believer.

Vitamin D: The wonder drug?

What can reduce rates of cancer, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases like multiple sclerosis? If you’ve been following the news lately, you might be giving a resounding cheer for Vitamin D.

Dr. Oz, Oprah’s favorite physician, sounds off in support of this vital nutrient, though he’s not the only one to be on the Vitamin D bandwagon lately. While I knew that vitamin D played a big role in multiple sclerosis by controlling inflammation, I had no idea of its cancer-protecting role. Here’s what Dr. Oz says about vitamin D and cancer:

It cuts your risk of breast and colon cancer.
Many cells love to multiply faster than rabbits in the arugula patch. But out-of-control cell growth can lead to cancer. Enter vitamin D. It keeps a lid on the rate that cells reproduce, and it turns on your DNA spell checker, called the P53 gene. This gene checks your DNA for typos and kills cells—like cancer cells—that have errors. Experts now believe this is why women who live in sunny climates, and thus have plenty of D (your body makes it when sunlight hits your skin), are less likely to develop breast cancer. D has also been linked to lower chances of developing ovarian and lung cancers and better odds of beating colon cancer. Recent research found that colon cancer patients with the highest D levels are the most likely to survive.

My favorite way to get vitamin D is to expose my skin to the sun (can you say “beach”?!). Sun worshippers like myself have been thwarting our body’s vitamin D production for decades since the sunscreen movement has done such a good job of convincing everyone to slather up at all times. Now, Dr. Oz tells us, we’re learning that while the sunscreen might be protecting us from melanomas it’s leaving us vulnerable for a host of other problems.

Living in a land-locked state keeps me off the sand much of the year, but I still try to get at least my arms and face exposed to the sun for at least 5 minutes at least 5 times/week, when possible. Luckily, the mile-high city where I live sees more than 300 days of brilliant sunshine each year, and even when the ground is covered with snow the sun can be shining brightly and warmly.

For those looking to supplement, be sure to choose D3 (cholecalciferol ), the active ingredient in vitamin D, and not the synthetic form of vitamin D sold more cheaply. Here are Dr. Oz’s vitamin D supplement recommendations:

Aim for 1,000 International Units (IU) daily; 1,200 IU if you’re over 60—though check your multivitamin, which probably has around 400 IU of D, so you don’t overdo. Limit your daily dose to a max of 2,000 IU.