Author: Jenny

I am a public health nutrition counselor with fifteen years experience in the field of prenatal and early child health and lactation education (breast feeding support). Autoimmune disease, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and genetic defects that can cause nutrient deficiencies are also research interests.
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Cantaloupe, Listeria, and sea squirts, oh my

Grab your umbrella if you’re on the Pacific coast in a rainstorm, it might be raining Listeria monoctyogenes. Warming trends in the Pacific ocean are due to the change in the cold ocean currents. The deep current that brings cold water down from the Arctic and circulates warmer water north has been getting smaller. With a smaller current flowing, there is less heat exchange and the warmer ocean results in the harsh El Nino’ weather patterns every few years [6]. Listeria is the bacteria that has been in the news from cantaloupe related food poisonings.[16, 17] It can grow at refrigerator temperatures, so older leftovers should be reheated to steaming before eating. Cold lunch meat sandwiches can be a risk, especially to people with weakened immune systems or during pregnancy. The pregnant woman may not feel sick but the baby may be effected. [12 food safety info]Warming of the water in the Pacific ocean due to the change in the deep, cold currants has allowed the bacteria, Listeria, to flourish. While Listeria probably isn’t able to be carried by raindrops and an umbrella might not be necessary to protect yourself from that staying out of rain may become a better idea as our pollutants continue to add up. Toxic chemicals can evaporate and be in “acid rain” or “smog” and have been shown to damage plants and property. After the Japanese nuclear reactor incident this year, it was recommended to avoid skin contact with rain during times when radioactivity levels were detectable in the air.Smog levels, pollen count, and now ocean bacterial count might be needed. Listeria can be in the fish, algae, seaweed and the ocean water itself. Bird droppings from birds that ate the sickened fish may have dropped on a few cantaloupe or it might have gotten in the irrigation system. Listeria was a problem with air conditioning systems during their early introduction. Poorly maintained air conditioners could support the growth of Listeria. it likes a very watery environment that can be cool or warm – versatile bacteria. Dirty air conditioner (or humidifier) could be blowing microscopic droplets containing Listeria bacteria throughout a building. There isn’t a vaccination. The best way to stay healthy is to not have a weakened immune system. One in five people may die from it but they aren’t the younger, stronger, healthier individuals. Pregnant women are at risk for their baby’s sake more than their own risk of a severe case if infected.Why Cantaloupes – why are they the canary in this story?Imagine a nice warm, juicy, fragrant cantaloupe. Smell it in your mind, sweet and floral. Their rinds are so thin you could practically eat it whole. Membranes – weakened membranes, in a fruit so juicy, would leave it at risk to disease. It is a hungry world and so much juicy goodness is begging to be eaten. The orange color is a sign of vitamin A and the nutrient content is similar to sweet potatoes, carrots and other dark orange, red and green fruits and vegetables. Endless variety in nature may run out sooner then we realize, if the building blocks aren’t in the soil and toxins are found there instead.

Mitar Tarabic (1829-1899) predicted that the last great war would be fought with “cannonballs that do not kill, but that cast a spell over the land, the livestock and the people.” (Aftermath, 2010, L.E. Joseph) The cannonballs whizzing around may not be Listeria or radioactivity in rain. We have many chemical pollutants to choose from as our killing cannonballs.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates the safe use of chemicals in foods and products but the standards used have not addressed toxic effects that can be caused overtime at tiny doses. Drugs are evaluated for cancer risks, total toxic load (how much of the drug would kill a mouse for example) and for teratogenicity – whether it causes birth defects or not. What is not addressed is the research on excitoxins – the free amino acids that act as brain neurotransmitters  and messengers throughout the body – and estrogen like chemicals that have been linked to infertility and feminization of animals.

Today’s googling led me from three chemicals found to cause immunotoxicity in sea squirts to marine boat paint and creosote soaked boat dock pilings and lobster cages. Turns out that one of the three, TBTO, was widely used in marine boat poaint in a form that was very unstable. The current paint in less unstable but the TBTO is still allowed for use in the US in ships greater than 25 meters long. Do you think using it on a longer ship makes it safer for the environment or maybe just cheaper for the big boat owners, like say, the Navy, Army, Airforce, and Marines perhaps?

No, I don’t think bigger ships make toxin containing paint any safer than using it on little boats.

Back to sea squirts who live in the sea (with creosote and TBTO and copper sulfate).

I went straight to sea squirts on the long list of animals with research on health effects of chemicals. At the membrane level sea squirts are one of the most basic multi-celled organisms that also have cannabinoid receptors.

The endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs) are not just messenger chemicals but are also membrane building blocks and precursors for other important messengers like the eicosanoids. The eCBs building blocks are actually part of the cellular membrane wall and they can be quickly released in response to changes in calcium or glutamate levels in the cell fluid. Phospholipid and arachidonic acid are released from the membrane and combined into anandamide, an eCB, which might go on to signal changed activity as itself or it might be converted into an eicosanoid with a different message or it might be used to assemble membranes in a different cell (wound healing, baby building, normal breakdown and repair of individual’s cells, or growth of infection/parasitic use). However, if there are constant signals to help, heal, or flee (stress response) then the membranes get more and more “used up”. If the messengers are also the bricks and there are no more bricks coming in on the fertilizer truck the membrane can not be rebuilt. Agribusiness mainly fertilizes with a few nutrients – the basics to achieve growth but with little replacement of trace minerals or compost.

It turns out that compost is important for humic acid and other complex soil compounds that traditional farm dirt has in abundance. Crumbly and black and sweet smelling, farm soil is a good childhood memory. My recent month in a wetland mitigation project reminded me of the difference in soil quality and the impact that has on plants, insects, and small wildlife. The wetland project had five main sections and only one of them had really good dirt and it was the one with the most diverse flowers, insects and even had frogs (seeds were planted in all of them fairly equally but they didn’t all grow the same). There was growth in all of the sections but the creation of “wetland” vs sandy meadow was affected by the soil quality. Fertilizing is not allowed in the regulations – sounds too much like modern medicine – grow a wetland with sand and little water. We’ll see, but I think the buckthorn is winning.

Humic acid is a mixture of complex chemicals and contains amino acids, oils and aromatic chemicals. Another phrase of Mirat Tibarak’s prophecy states “when wildflowers have lost their smell”. Invasive plant control this summer taught me that problem is rampant. Herbs and flowers are fragrant from chemicals called terpenes that are commonly found along with the eCBs. The terpenes also have medicinal properties. Pine oil and lemon oil are examples of aromatic oil compounds.

Our climate may be warmer or colder or both and what exactly is the cause is not as important as recognizing and admitting that change is here. Doing nothing is choosing to do something – more of the same that got us in the mess in the first place.

Creosote is leftover from making oil – it is tarry black goo that is painted or soaked into wood. Railroad ties are the most obvious example. The TBTO made cheap boat paint the protected against bacterial rot of the ship. Copper sulfate is used as an pesticide in Dutch Elm disease (I didn’t look into that one as much). All three caused reduced Natural Killer Cell activity and reduced phagocytosis in sea squirts. – The sea squirts weren’t able to protect themselves from infection or decayed/precancerous cells.

In investigating health I found mass die-offs in birds, bats, fish, insects, tress and sickened cantaloupe. Fish meals in Hawaii ahve also been recalled this summer due to Listeria.

Bento box meal recalled in Hawaii from 7-11 chain stores.

Quantum mechanics might suggest that we can make matter out of energy – something out of nothing – but I think it is more like making something slightly different out of something slightly similar but in a different form.

We can not make strong membranes and vitamin A out of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus and neither can a cantaloupe. A cantaloupe that is also dealing with soil and ground water that is laced with TBTO, copper sulfate, and creosote might end up with a compromised immune system just like the sea squirt. They had less Natural Killer Cell activity and reduced rates of phagocytosis (ability for white blood cells to engulf and dispose of infected or decaying cells). Both effects have to do with apoptosis and the enzyme blast of death.
Yes, Virginia, we have cannabinoid rich membranes just like sea squirts and cantaloupes and if a bunch of toxins are around then the membranes can’t do their job properly and sickness develops. If the building blocks for the membranes aren’t in the fertilizer, then the plant doesn’t make strong membranes and our food supply for animals and humans doesn’t have as much membrane building blocks. Poor soils cause sickly plant growth and sickly insects and sickly animals and sickly humans.Decomposing plant material makes up the complex humic acid and rich soil that plants need to thrive and that insects, birds, and animals also need for survival. Substances found in rich soil that are not as common in sandy soil are aromatic and oil rich compounds – membrane building blocks.
Umbrellas won’t really help us. The invisible cannonballs are in ground water and eagle shells and human breast milk and our government seems to be voting to further reduce environmental standards daily. Is corporate profit worth sinking our planet in toxins and burning up our resources?
Burning up oil reserves for short term energy and short term profit may be adding to our world’s weak membranes because that huge ground oil reservoir of aromatic and oil rich compounds is being siphoned off and burnt up or turned into plastics. In the ground it was probably adding to the richness of soil by some seepage into the ground water but as plastics or burnt atmospheric waste it is no longer available to strengthen membranes in cantaloupe, sea squirts, or humans.Sweet potatoes and carrots can help build strong membranes and give vitamin A – if cantaloupe is leaving you a little leary. Otherwise heat to steaming and Listeria will be cooked – raw is the risk with lettuce and cantaloupe – we don’t heat them to the steaming point.


See my blogs, Membrane Building Foods and Feed your membranes to spell relief,


for more on eating defensively.




Didn't someone once say that a good fence makes good neighbors?


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Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use. It is not intended to provide individual guidance. Please seek a health care provider for individualized health care guidance.




1.http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_AquireAll.jsp?Species=1446&Effect=%27Immunological%27




PAN Pesticides Database – Chemical Toxicity Studies on Aquatic Organisms


Sea squirt (Styela plicata) Toxicity Studies – Toxicology studies from the primary scientific literature on aquatic organisms


Copper sulfate (anhydrous)       http://www.pesticideinfo.org/images/book16x16.gifShow Copper sulfate (anhydrous) studies for all species


Creosote       http://www.pesticideinfo.org/images/book16x16.gifShow Creosote studies for all species


Tributyltin oxide       http://www.pesticideinfo.org/images/book16x16.gifShow Tributyltin oxide studies for all species


***Effects for all three poisons include:




immunological Natural killer cell activity


Immunological Phagocytosis




Copper sulfate also had info on:


Immunological Antibody titres




2.http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad14.htm




   This report contains the collective views of an international group of


    experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated


    policy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International


    Labour Organisation, or the World Health Organization.




Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 14: TRIBUTYLTIN OXIDE (TBTO)





8.7.1  Immunotoxicity




      A large number of well-conducted studies have shown that TBTO


    causes depression of immune functions dependent on the thymus. Results


    from a number of short-term studies are listed in Table 1. Subchronic


    and chronic studies (Vos et al., 1990) are summarized in detail below


    and are listed in Table 1. The chronic study conducted by Vos et al.


    (1990) shows effects on thymus-dependent immune responses at a dose lower than that at which any other toxic effects have been observed.


    The Vos et al. (1990) study also establishes that weanling animals are


    more sensitive than adults to the effects of TBTO. For example,


    following subchronic exposure, the LOAEL in weanling rats was 0.25


    mg/kg body weight per day, whereas the LOAEL in aged rats was 2.5


    mg/kg body weight per day. The NOAELs were 0.025 and 0.25 mg/kg body


    weight per day, respectively. Data from Buckiova et al. (1992) and


    Smialowicz et al. (1989) also show that exposure of mice  in utero


    and exposure of rat pups prior to weaning cause effects at exposures


    lower than those required for the same effects in adult animals.




         In a subchronic immunotoxicity study (Vos et al., 1990; a


    companion to the chronic study summarized below), aged (1-year-old)


    male Wistar rats were exposed for 5 months to the same diets used in


    the principal study. Based on the authors’ statement from the chronic


    study (see below), estimated compound intake was 0, 0.025, 0.25, or


    2.5 mg/kg body weight per day. End-points were the same as some of


    those evaluated in the chronic study.




         Compound-related effects occurred only in the high-dose group and


    consisted of significantly decreased thymus weight (39% lower than


    controls,  P < 0.01), impaired resistance to  Trichinella spiralis


    (indicated by increased recovery of adult worms from the small


    intestine [780% higher than controls;  P < 0.01] and number of


    larvae in muscle [80% higher;  P < 0.001]), and impaired resistance


    to  Listeria monocytogenes (indicated by approximately 300% increased


    splenic bacterial count;  P < 0.05).





*** Immunotoxicity is not addressed in approval of use of this chemical – only carcinogenicity and lethal dose information is given – for mice. It may not be a problem for humans since it hasn’t been tested for that. (sarcasm)


*** didn’t read it word for word but this popped out during my skim:


Food consumption was slightly increased in all dose groups in males throughout the study (p value not reported).  ***subtext to me  – chemical that may increase appetite and weight gain possibly. The previous link mentioned depressed thymus – aka increased hypothyroidism


Statistically significant decreases in survival occurred in treated mice of both sexes. In males, survival after 18 months was 67, 52, 42 and 42% in the control and low-, mid-, and high-dose groups, respectively (p < 0.05, all doses). The overall survival of the low-dose males (52%) was within the range of the controls (45-78%). Because the difference in survival between the low- dose and control males became apparent late in the study (beginning at 15 months) and was marked at termination (54% vs. 71% in controls), the decreased survival in the low-dose males is considered treatment-related. Survival in females at 18 months was 59, 48, 40 and 27% in the control and low-, mid- and high-dose groups, respectively (p < 0.05, except for the low-dose group). No information on causes of death was available. Other treatment-related effects included significantly decreased food consumption and increased absolute and relative liver weights in females at the high dose.


*** High does are assoc with poor weight gain and shorter life. Offspring had poor weight gain at higher doses in the mothers.


“Based on decreased thymus weight, the LOAEL for parental toxicity is 2.95 mg/kg-day in males and 3.43 mg/kg-day in females. The NOAEL for parental toxicity is 0.29 mg/kg-day in males and 0.34 mg/kg-day in females.”


“Actual weight gain was 4.5% higher, 1.8% lower, and 26% lower than controls at the low-, mid- and high-dose, respectively. Adjusted weight gain (excluding uterus) was 5.5, 22.2 and 69.4% lower than controls at the low-, mid- and high-dose, respectively.”


*** – yes lower dose mice gain more weight – these were pregnant but it’s a clue. What is more disturbing  is how hard the pregnancy was on the mice at the higher doses – subtracting the uterus left them 69.4% lighter than the controls and the low dose mice actually lost weight compared to controls as well so the average size of the uterus from that group of mice was 10% larger than the  control group’s.



*** Organic chemistry of earth science – increasing acidity of rain and ground water may be triggering a change in soil conditions towards sequestering minerals.


From chapter 14:


Soil humic substances contain higher amino acid concentrations: roughly 500 nM/mg for soil humic acids and 150 nM/mg for soil fulvic acids. Hydrogen bonding appears to play a role in molecular aggregation.


Soil humic substances have core structures that are highly aromatic (20 to 70% of total C) The shape of humic substances is strongly influenced by pH. At low pH, humic and fulvic molecules are fibrous. At neutral pH, these fibers tend to mesh together to form a sponge-like structure. This mesh structure is capable of trapping smaller molecules. For example, fatty acids and acyclic alkalenes, which are found in most humic and fulvic acids, may be simply trapped rather than bonded to the molecular backbone. Under alkaline conditions the structure becomes plate-like. (pg 612) Aquatic humic substances are primarily aliphatic whereas soil humic substances are primarily aromatic. This observation in itself does not exclude derivation of aquatic humic substances from soil (since leaching may preferentially remove aliphatic-rich molecules), but the difference is consistent with soil humic substances being derived primarily from higher plants (which are rich in aromatic molecules such as lignin and tannins), and aquatic humic substances being derived primarily from algae and zooplankton (which are poor in aromatic molecules). (pg 612)


Dependence on pH


Figure 14.31 shows the effect of pH on the adsorption of humic acid on Al2O3: the extent of adsorption is greatest at a pH of about 3 and is generally greater at low pH than at high pH. This pH dependence arises because the availability of hydrogen ions in solution will affect the charge on a solid


surface in contract with that solution. At pH below the isoelectric point of a mineral, mineral surfaces


will be protonated and will carry a positive charge; at higher pHÕs the mineral surface will bear a negative charge. Furthermore, dissociation and protonation of organic functional groups, which will affect the extent of adsorption through the mechanisms discussed above, is pH dependent (pg 624)







THE WORLD OF ORGANOTIN CHEMICALS: APPLICATIONS, SUBSTITUTES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT


John M. Batt, Director – Product Stewardship, Additives Division, ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc.




In the marine antifoulant (MAF) paint market, tributyltin is used as a biocide in


paint formulations. These paints are then used to protect the underwater surface


area of a ship’s hull against barnacles, algae, etc. in order to avoid increased fuel


consumption and premature dry-docking. Triorganotins were introduced for this


application 30 to 40 years ago. Originally, tributyltin oxide (TBTO) was freely


dispersed in what were called Free Association Paints (FAP). These paints had


uncontrolled, rapid leaching rates of the biocide.





Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics (6-17-10)


7. http://www.ontariogenomics.ca/outreach/episode-8-brood-14-fact-sheet


CAN CROWS BECOME VIOLENT FROM A DIET OF COPPER SULFATE-LACED CICADAS?


***this was a TV show plot explanation – I don’t think cicadas that ate copper sulfate laced nutrients (from Dutch Elm Disease treatment of tree roots) would hatch well  for the crows to be able to eat them, probably and short term craziness in the crow would be less likely then gradual weakening of the immune system and eventual death from infection.


8. http://www.ontariogenomics.ca/


The Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) is a private, not-for-profit corporation focused on using world-class research to create strategic genomics resources and accelerate Ontario’s development of a globally-competitive life sciences sector.


9. http://www.whygenomics.ca/


“Genomics is our best weapon in the battle against world hunger, disease, and environmental challenges.”


***If we are only focused on one question – how gene manipulation can save the world – then we may miss out on saving the world.


9.1. http://www.ontariogenomics.ca/outreach/episode-8-brood-14-sceince-society


10. http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/natural/elnino/ 


 “During an El Niño, the trade winds are too weak to cause upwelling of nutrient-rich waters off the coasts of Ecuador and Peru. Generations of South American fisherman thus have recognized these conditions by the disappearance of their standard catch, commonly during December and January, every three to seven years. Because of the near coincidence in timing between these conditions and Christmas, the fishing communities have called the phenomenon “El Niño”, for the Christ child. The geologic record suggests that El Niño conditions have been a part of earth’s climate for at least several thousand years.”






13. http://mauidish.com/breaking-maui-foodie-news/possible-food-listeria-contamination-7-eleven-bentos-recalled/ Possible Food Listeria Contamination 7-Eleven Hawaii Bentos RECALLED, by Jen Russo on July 7, 2011 – 11:12 am


14. http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad62.htm#1.2


Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 62, Coal Tar Creosote


“Aquatic invertebrates and fish bioaccumulate creosote components, as has been demonstrated mainly for PAHs by field monitoring studies at creosote-contaminated sites, relocation experiments, and laboratory or microcosm studies. Generally, PAH profiles in insects and crayfish were close to that found in sediments, whereas fish had greatly altered ratios for low/high-molecular-weight PAHs. Bioconcentration factors (BCFs) in connection with creosote exposure have rarely been reported. However, BCFs for PAH components from creosote-contaminated sediments have been estimated to range from 0.3 to 73 000.”  *** Creosote has many compounds including benzene, fluorene, and fluoranthene


7.5.3 Endocrine disruption


“A coal tar creosote (partial specification: 15 PAHs) has been examined in vitro for estrogen receptor-mediated activity using competitive ligand binding assays and reporter gene assays (Fielden et al., 2000). Creosote was found to bind to the mouse estrogen receptor, bind to the human sex hormone-binding globulin, and elicit partial agonist activity in reporter gene assays in transiently transfected MCF-7 cells (human mammary carcinoma-derived cells). The mouse competitive ligand binding assay (using uterine cytosol from female ICR mice) resulted in an IC50 value (displacement of the labelled ligand from the estrogen receptor) of 135 mg/litre creosote (compared with 7 µg/litre for 17beta-estradiol). Based on these values, it was estimated that creosote has a relative estrogenic potency of 0.000 165 and contains approximately 165 mg/litre of estradiol-equivalents. In the assay with human cells (human pregnancy serum), creosote displaced approximately 50% of the ligand at a concentration of 220 mg/litre; however, an IC50 value could not be determined, because full displacement curves could not be obtained due to the insolubility of creosote at higher concentrations.”








8.2.2.1 Non-cancer effects


Women (281 cases, 216 controls, USA) occupationally exposed to dusts that were primarily wood- and agriculture-related were found to have an increased risk of infertility (OR = 2.87, CI = 1.05–7.88); however, there were no data available to establish an association with the wood preservatives (PCP, creosote, formaldehyde, chromium, or arsenic) commonly used (Smith et al., 1997).


*** That effect may in part be due to the fluorine and fluoanthene and increased thyroid inhibition.


“An increase in susceptibility to infectious disease has been demonstrated in eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) exposed to 0, 15, and 30% dilutions of the WSF generated from Elizabeth River sediments. The mean total PAH concentration in this sediment was 2.4 g/kg dry weight. The mean concentration of aromatic compounds in the WSF (more than 100 compounds) was 4.08 mg/litre, with naphthalene, acenaphthene, 2-methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene, fluorene, dibenzofuran, 1-methylnaphthalene, and carbazole being the predominant compounds (concentrations ranging from 0.15 to 1.51 mg/litre). Exposure to these fractions for 56 or 68 days enhanced pre-existing infections caused by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) and increased the oysters’ susceptibility to experimentally induced infection in a dose-dependent manner (Chu & Hale, 1994).”







 Bad Food, Good Wrap, The Boston Globe, Stephen reucroft and John Swain (4-25-2000)





CDC says 18 deaths tied to listeria in cantaloupe, AP Online, (10-4-2011) BY Mary Clare Jalonick


“FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Tuesday that the agency is still investigating the cause of the outbreak. Officials have said they are looking at the farm’s water supply and possible animal intrusions among other things in trying to figure out how the cantaloupes became contaminated. Listeria bacteria grow in moist, muddy conditions and are often carried by animals.”




17. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-268415671.html ADH Reports Case Connected to Multi-State Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Whole Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms, Colo.., States News Service  September 29, 2011






18.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12043163 Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol. 2002 Mar-Apr;(2):81-3. [Opportunistic bacteria detected in cultivated mussels].[Article in Russian] Beleneva IA, Maslennikova EF.Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia.






“As many as 8 Listeria monocytogenes strains, 12 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains and 5 Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated from mussels Mytilus edulis, grown on special installations in the Trinity Bay of the Gulf of Peter the Great, the Sea of Japan. The isolated cultures proved to be highly resistant to a number of antibiotics. Many strains displayed DNAase and haemolytic activity. The cultures of L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa also had high lipase, protease and lecithinase activity. The organism of the mussels seems to be a confinement for these bacteria under study. “







Mar Pollut Bull. 2011 Feb;62(2):382-7. Epub 2010 Oct 13., Incidence and characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes from the Japan and South China seas.,  Beleneva IA, .A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041, Russia. beleneva.vl@mail.ru


20.  http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-bacteria-spreading-warming-oceans-142213062.html

Scientists: Bacteria spreading in warming oceans By DON MELVIN – Associated Press | AP – Tue, Sep 13, 2011


 21. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-225623023.html Study data from Technical University of Munich update understanding of Listeria.




Biotech Week May 12, 2010  ***study on laying hens, organically fed vs standard feed groups comparing their amount and types of Listeria and Enterococcus infection. Levels of pathogen infections were similar but the amount of antibiotic resistant strains were fewer in the organically fed chickens.




22. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-139036416.html  Orca Bay recalls crab legs: USDC detects Listeria contamination.(United States Department of Commerce )







“The risk of listeriosis can be decreased in ruminants by feeding good quality silage with a low pH. Spoiled or mouldy silage should be avoided, as well as silage from the superficial few inches exposed to air.”













Amazon Link – textbook






24. http://books.google.com/books?id=NZsS6tbSAFYC&pg=PA637&lpg=PA637&dq=listeria+wild+animals&source=vrt&ots=3sGFgl_eS2&sig=TEOjD7TVh-EpR4VmFYpfdJWK6rM&hl=en&ei=Dj6NTvePIYS2tweWhfWJDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&sqi=2&ved=0CHsQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=listeria%20wild%20animals&f=false 

Elliot T. Ryser, Elmer H. Marth, Listeria, Listeriosis and Food Safety, (page 637)


“Listeria spp can be recovered from non-plolluted environments and the source of this bacterium may very well be from avian species, especially seagulls.[99]”


25. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144294853.html Winter wellness: answering your body’s need for nurturance: pamper yourself with herbalist Karyn Sweet.(DEPT.> herbal healing)




New Life Journal February 1, 2006 | Sweet, Karyn











Essential oil of oregano, active compound carvacrol.






“Oregano means “joy of the mountain” in Greek–let it bring some joy into a cold mountain day. It is a warming herb that can add delicious taste to Italian sauces while soothing the digestive tract and preventing free radical damage. A compound of oregano oil called carvacrol is a powerful antiseptic and so can be used as a gargle to soothe sore throats or mouth inflammations. In aromatherapy, the essential oil is used as a treatment for bacterial and fungal infections. Research has found that it is as effective against bacteria such as listeria, staphylococcus, and E. coli as conventional antibiotics. Use of the diluted essential oil may alleviate toothache, gum infections, athlete’s foot, psoriasis, or eczema. Oregano’s antiseptic properties can be enjoyed by grinding it into soap and its anti-inflammatory properties can be released in homemade salves and oils. Furthermore, oregano’s use as an expectorant makes it particularly useful during these winter months. Add a strong infusion to the bath and relax in the warm water while the winds blow cold outside. ”





	


	





		

		
Posted on 
Eicosanoids are made from eCBs from the membrane
	


	
	

		




I found a very informative website today – chemistry information for the discerning customer. I discerned that this calcium channel blocker would be a good one to avoid. It contains bromide and kills mice at minor doses. Pain killing through promotion of numbness seems like a losing notion.











QX314 (bromide) derived from lidocaine








This calcium channel blocker is used as a local anesthetic like lidocaine, from which it is made. It has had a bromide added. The molecule won’t kill pain unless it makes it into the inside of the cell. The calcium channels are opened by irritating the surface of the skin with capsaicin, better known as hot pepper. The brominated lidocaine derivitive can then get into the cell where its pain killing properties aren’t associated with as much numbness as lidocaine itself – a “benefit”. However the bromide trapped inside of the cell is not really a benefit over the course of time. It is a drying agent in the outside world and is associated with ill health.


For comparison – a molecule of lidocaine – no bromide:











Lidocaine






Endogenous cannabinoids are messengers in themselves as well as being precursors to eicosanoids.  Chemical companies are currently selling us eicosanoids at a hefty price. We could build them ourselves internally from normal food building blocks like egg yolk, chicken thigh/drumstick, spinach, soy bean sprouts, and of course my favorites the nuts, beans , seeds – you name it – I’ll look it up haven’t found one yet with no beneficial ingredients. There may be a few to avoid because of negatives – I believe something in  apple seeds are not good for us.


Eicosanoids include the leukotrienes:












LTC4 (Leukotriene C4)






“LTC4 (Leukotriene C4), and other leukotrienes, are potent eicosanoid lipid mediators that play numerous roles in inflammation, immunological functions and maintaining biological homeostasis; primarily acting through specific G protein-coupled receptors. This product is a potent arachidonic acid (sc-200770)-derived agonist for contraction of smooth muscle and has been shown to induce microvascular permeability and mucus secretion in airways. Furthermore, this product has been shown to enhance growth of human airway epithelial cells, reduce myocardial contractility and coronary blood flow, induce long lasting hypotension, and stimulate angiogenesis.”


*** This one is a product for sale that is found in nature, unlike the Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors, which were inventions of genetic manipulation within live cell “factories”.


See my TNF inhibitor blog for more on methotrexate and rheumatoid arthritis also.  Leukotrienes are very natural – so natural that if we ate better we would make them ourselves from its precursor arachidonic acid and phosphtidylethanolamine and we wouldn’t need to buy it from a pharmaceutical company. A bargain at $230 for 50 micrograms or $2,945 for 1 mg (1 mg is about 1/5th of a teaspoon – picture a rain drop sellling for $2,945.)


Unfortunately for our membrane’s strength and ability to produce leukotrienes outside of the laboratory and inside of our cells we would need more arachidonic acid, a poly-unsaturated omega 6 fatty acid that has gotten a bad health reputation and we are being advised to avoid it on health websites. [1,2] That website isn’t alone in the notion that arachidonic acid is a bad guy. It seems to be the accepted view based on the lab test values associated with inflammation. During inflammation blood levels of arachidonic acid are raised.


So I say , so . . . yeah an observation, an association, a correlation but that does not make it causative. Elevated levels of arachidonic acid do not mean automatically that arachidonic acid causes inflammation. If I open my car door into my face and move my nose slightly more to one side does that automatically mean that I am a clutz 100% of the time and that opening car doors cause nose dislocation on a daily basis across the nation?


I don’t think so – I think it is a sign that when I am stressed and in a hurry my poor brain energy flow shuts down even more than usual and my movements get bigger and sloppier. I regularly slightly bump my shoulders on the edge of doorways in my hurry through life, but I can also roll gracefully out of a fall making it almost look like I did it on purpose – go figure.


I took ballet during middle school to help mitigate my clutziness – it helped some and I learned how to spin without getting dizzy.


The chemical list at Cayman Chemical made me a little dizzy when I saw the trifluoro-leukotriene, no longer a natural molecule and no longer good for you – in the long run at least. I’m not going to claim any knowledge of its proven efficacy as a modified leukotriene but we have amassed an enormous body of research about the toxic effects of fluoride on ourselves and on other lifeforms. The fluoride makes the new molecule more effective at binding, it gives it more “efficiency”. A designer molecule that does what it is supposed to and doesn’t quit – excellent. Until it starts piling up and becoming a nuisance or worse a messenger out of control, sending continual signals. Another name for that was Chinese Water Torture – the dripping water drop by drop on your sister’s forehead until she can’t stand it anymore game.


Society is much too polite now we wouldn’t use such a derogatory label anymore. We only sell nice drugs at fair and balanced prices. Or are we being sold body parts at a huge markup – marked far above the vegetables and oils that we need to make the “drugs”. Leukotrienes can be built within each and everyone of us and in sea squirts with stuff like sunflower seeds and pomegranate -seeds – eat the whole fruit not just the juice. Carrots, apples, shitake mushrooms, and oat bran  are all very good for us. A tiny bit of a whole food added to a processed one for marketing purposes is less likely to be as healing then a full serving would deliver..


The FDA is taking comments about regulating vitamins and supplements until December 2, 2011.  I don’t know all the details yet – I have been reading a few other things lately, so do please look into it at Life Extension or Natural News


http://www.naturalnews.com/033711_FDA_dietary_supplements.html











20-Trifluoro Leukotriene B4, Cayman Chemical # 20195, $ 2,144 per 500 micrograms






_____________________________________________________________________________


1. http://www.livestrong.com/article/496582-vegetables-that-contain-arachidonic-acid/?utm_source=popslideshow&utm_medium=a1

by Timothy Blalock (7-20-2011)   ***Sesame seeds were a staple for me in the form of tahini.


2. http://www.livestrong.com/article/38903-foods-high-arachidonic-acid/ by Dana George (3-28-2011)





3. http://lib.bioinfo.pl/meid:47278


J Immunol. 2011 May 15;186 (10):5968-74  21482732  Vitamin D and the regulation of placental inflammation. Nancy Q Liu, Amber T Kaplan, Venu Lagishetty, Yuxin B Ouyang, Yi Ouyang, Charles F Simmons, Ozlem Equils, Martin Hewison Orthopaedic Hospital Research Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.




The vitamin D-activating enzyme 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) support anti-inflammatory responses to vitamin D in many tissues. Given the high basal expression of CYP27B1 and VDR in trophoblastic cells from the placenta, we hypothesized that anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D may be particularly important in this organ. Pregnant wild type (WT) mice i.p. injected with LPS showed elevated expression of mouse Cyp27b1 (4-fold) and VDR (6-fold). Similar results were also obtained after ex vivo treatment of WT placentas with LPS. To assess the functional impact of this, we carried out ex vivo studies using placentas -/- for fetal (trophoblastic) Cyp27b1 or VDR. Vehicle-treated -/- placentas showed increased expression of IFN-γ and decreased expression of IL-10 relative to +/+ placentas. LPS-treated -/- placentas showed increased expression of TLR2, IFN-γ, and IL-6. Array analyses identified other inflammatory factors that are dysregulated in Cyp27b1(-/-) versus Cyp27b1(+/+) placentas after LPS challenge. Data highlighted enhanced expression of IL-4, IL-15, and IL-18, as well as several chemokines and their receptors, in Cyp27b1(-/-) placentas. Similar results for IL-6 expression were observed with placentas -/- for trophoblastic VDR. Finally, ex vivo treatment of WT placentas with the substrate for Cyp27b1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3), suppressed LPS-induced expression of IL-6 and the chemokine Ccl11. These data indicate that fetal (trophoblastic) vitamin D plays a pivotal role in controlling placental inflammation. In humans, this may be a key factor in placental responses to infection and associated adverse outcomes of pregnancy.






***It might also be an essential function of the placenta 24/7.


4. http://www.livestrong.com/article/536948-nutritional-sources-of-arachidonic-acid/


5. http://www.mdnews.com/news/hd/2011_42/hd_657614

Colon Inflammation Markers Lower With Ginger Extract

*** Two grams of ginger was given daily for 30 days and intestinal lining inflammation seemed improved based on reduced free arachidonic acid (which is released from breakdown of the endogenous cannabinoids after they are released from their membrane storage in response to elevated intracellular calcium or glutamate levels – just to review from a few blogs ago).







6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21990307  

Zick SM, Turgeon DK, Vareed SK, Ruffin MT, Litzinger AJ, Wright BD, Alrawi S, Normolle DP, Djuric Z, Brenner DE. Phase II Study of the Effects of Ginger Root Extract on Eicosanoids in Colon Mucosa in People at Normal Risk for Colorectal Cancer.Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Oct 11.






“On the basis of these results, it seems that ginger has the potential to decrease eicosanoid levels, perhaps by inhibiting their synthesis from arachidonic acid. Ginger also seemed to be tolerable and safe. Further investigation in people at high risk for CRC seems warranted.”


7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3103137 


Prostaglandins Leukot Med. 1986 Dec;25(2-3):187-98. Isolation and effects of some ginger components of platelet aggregation and eicosanoid biosynthesis. Srivastava KC.


“Interestingly the incorporation of AA into platelet phospholipids increased in platelets treated with aqueous ginger extract.”


***** Swish and score – ginger helped the body to rebuild endogenous cannabinoids – AA plus phospholipid = healthy rebuilt membranes and endogenous cannabinoids reloaded ready for the next stress signal to fire them off where they can be messengers or be transformed into eicosanoids or other metabolites.


8. http://i4cmwo.com.au/ginger.html




“The University of Virginia research determined that the prostate cancer cells will only eat a chemical called 5-HETE. The cancer center determined that 5-HETE was created from the body’s “combustion” of an Omega-6 fatty acid called arachidonic acid. There is an enzyme called 5-lipoxygenase (or 5-LO for short), and when 5-LO burns or oxidizes the fatty acid, out plops 5-HETE.The researchers concluded that prostate cancer cells eat only this food, and that if the 5-LO enzyme is inhibited, and the food is not around, then the prostate cancer cells experience massive and rapid “apoptosis”, or cellular suicide, within 1 to 2 hours.








Ginger Stem (or root?)is the world’s most comprehensive herbal inhibitor of 5-LO, with at least 22 proven phytonutrient inhibitors of that enzyme. What is more, Oriental Cultures that regularly consume ginger as a spice, or which take it therapeutically, experience a fraction of the cancer mortalities compared to the United States. In other words, men don’t die from prostate cancer cells, we die from the growth and proliferation of the cancer. Once we know that ginger inhibits the process that leads to the creation of the only food the cancer cells will eat, it gives us confidence that an herbal approach to 5-LO inhibition is an indispensable part of prostate health.” (*I retyped this the website article seems to be a review of research and was a bit of a mess.)




** I should have just read this one first. Prostate cancer eats only a metabolite of arachidonic acid – which is a building block of endogenous cannabinoids and strong membranes. It would be to the cancer cell’s advantage to have learned how to use the body’s own system to mobilize resources as a way to get nutrients for themselves. The cancer cell can make the enzyme that activates vitamin 25-D to hormone 1,25-D; hormone 1,25-D signals the bones to release calcium; increased intracellular levels of calcium signal the release of endogenous cannabinoids from membrane storage – arachidonic acid and free phospholipids – cancer food. In the placenta they would have become nutrients for the fetus.


9.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC23752/?tool=pubmed

Jagadananda Ghosh and Charles E. Myers, Inhibition of arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase triggers massive apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 October 27; 95(22): 13182–13187.    ***I think this might be the research mentioned in the previous link.


“These findings represent an insight into events regulating apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells. Although various eicosanoids have been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation and cell death in other cell types, this report substantiates that eicosanoids of the 5-HETE series act as critical survival factors for human prostate cancer cells. This antiapoptotic action is quite dramatic in that once the synthesis of this eicosanoid is blocked, onset of massive apoptosis is apparent within 30–60 min.”


10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11241241

Cancer. 2001 Feb 15;91(4):737-43. Lipoxygenase-5 is overexpressed in prostate adenocarcinoma. Gupta S, Srivastava M, Ahmad N, Sakamoto K, Bostwick DG, Mukhtar H.


***Aha, the problem – the prostate cancer cells have learned how to signal the body to make the 5-Lipoxygenase so more ginger for men as a preventative and if prostate cancer is already present then excess intake of arachidonic acid foods may not be good.


11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10325495


Eur Urol. 1999;35(5-6):395-8. Lipoxygenase inhibition in prostate cancer.Myers CE, Ghosh J.




12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21393477 Carcinogenesis. 2011 Jun;32(6):822-8. Epub 2011 Mar 10. Enhanced formation of 5-oxo-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid by cancer cells in response to oxidative stress, docosahexaenoic acid and neutrophil-derived 5-hydroxy-6,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid. Grant GE, Rubino S, Gravel S, Wang X, Patel P, Rokach J, Powell WS.


“Stimulation of neutrophils with arachidonic acid and calcium ionophore in the presence of PC3 cells led to a large and selective increase in 5-oxo-ETE synthesis compared with controls in which PC3 cell 5-oxo-ETE synthesis was selectively blocked by pretreatment with NEM. The ability of prostate tumor cells to synthesize 5-oxo-ETE may contribute to tumor cell proliferation as well as the influx of inflammatory cells, which may further induce cell proliferation through the release of cytokines. 5-Oxo-ETE may be an attractive target in cancer therapy.”


***Did anyone besides me notice that they stimulated those cancer cells with calcium? Mighten not stimulating cancer with excess calcium be an attractive target for cancer therapy? and cheap?


13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16185917  Biochim Biophys Acta. 2005 Oct 1;1736(3):244-50. Attenuation of breast tumor cell growth by conjugated linoleic acid via inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase activating protein. Kim JH, Hubbard NE, Ziboh V, Erickson KL.




“Ginger has shown downregulation of COX in vitro and decreased incidence/multiplicity of adenomas in rats. This study was conducted to determine if 2.0 g/d of ginger could decrease the levels of PGE(2), 13-hydroxy-octadecadienoic acids, and 5-, 12-, and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5-, 12-, and 15-HETE), in the colon mucosa of healthy volunteers. To investigate this aim, we randomized 30 subjects to 2.0 g/d ginger or placebo for 28 days”






“Interestingly, t10, c12-CLA reduced the expression of five-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP) but not the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme. Over-expression of FLAP abrogated t10, c12-CLA-reduced viability of MDA-MB-231 cells. These data suggest that the reduction of 5-HETE by t10, c12-CLA was due to competition with AA and the reduction of FLAP expression.”  ***Take home point – if you already have breast cancer (and probably similar for prostate cancer) then more CLA good fats may help reduce the overfeeding on arachidonic acid.




I seem to have wandered back onto the Chest Awareness cancer topics from eicosanoids.




/Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./

	


	





		

		
Posted on 
Vitiligo, hypothyroidism, and melanin
	


	
	

		


Vitiligo is a lack of melanin production and causes areas of the skin to look white or bleached – kind of like becoming an albino slowly in patches. The lack of color patches – freckles in reverse – can start developing when young and can increase with time. The melanocytes, specialized pigment cells, are no longer producing melanin.




The problem doesn’t have a known cause or cure. It is listed as an autoimmune disorder and does seem to run in families. Vitiligo seems to show up after head trauma. [18] “Melanocytes are destroyed by autoimmune activity of unknown origin“, and yet a mother with the condition shared in a patient forum that her white spots move around and became smaller during her pregnancy. [19] That does not sound like permanently damaged melanocytes but more like melanocytes that are getting confused signals from the pituitary or some other controlling gland in the brain (head trauma).It is not “contagious” in the normal sense of the word but Helicobacter pyloris, the bacteria found to be the underlying cause to many cases of stomach ulcers (and successfully treated with antibiotics), was mentioned.[20] Following this thread to the 1945 physician, J. Richard Allison from South Carolina, brought me the sound advice to eat whole grains and don’t depend on new-fangled supplements instead of good diet and still expect to stay healthy [21]. Fixing the underlying problems of low stomach acid during meals and reduced B complex intake helped patients in this physician’s caseload cure their skin conditions. The skin conditions he studied included:


    

  1. Metabolic eczema,
    2. 

  2. Avitaminosis (pellegra, beri beri, pernicious anemia may be what he means – B vit. deficiencies),
    3. 

  3. Urticaria (hives),
    4. 

  4. Staphylococcus infection,
    5. 

  5. Seborrheic dermatitis,
    6. 

  6. Acne rosacea,
    7. 

  7. Psoriasis,
    8. 

  8. Alopecia,
    9. 

  9. Vitiligo,
    10. 

  10. Lichen plants (?),
    11. 

  11. Lupus erythematosus.
    12. 



Well hello, bifocals, I hadn’t looked so closely at that list when I first read the article . . . B vitamin complex and whole grains for the whole group of diagnoses and have pickles or vinegar with each meal. Maybe there is a slight metabolic hitch in stomach acid production that normalizing B vitamin intake would restore. Or maybe these patients have a slight fault in their production of stomach acid since birth that will leave them more at risk for developing B vitamin deficiencies throughout life due to the reduced stomach absorption and digestion.


Ninety percent of the vitiligo patients had low hydrochloric stomach acid levels which would leave them digesting things poorly and absorbing B12 poorly (pernicious anemia link). (and maybe growing skin abnormally.)


My grandma had pickles on the table at every meal (because they were left out with the salt, pepper and butter dish). Her dilly beans and bread and butter zucchini pickles were wonderful and would both have good membrane building phospholipids as well as B vitamins. Serving vegetables as pickles turns them into salt and vinegar delivery units. Plain green beans or zucchini would still give the super nutrients of the bean or seed and a larger serving might be eaten. Serving them as a pickle would make the appetite satisfied sooner, triggered by the salt and vinegar signals to the tongue. A small pickle or serving spoon of bread-n-butter slices would probably satisfy the appetite and provide a good amount of the salt and vinegar without being too much.


Equivalent salt and vinegar delivery units in other cultures would be the chutney in Indian cuisine or the salsa in Mexican dishes. The milder creamy cucumber salad of German/European meals is served in larger amounts because the salt and vinegar content is similar to salad dressing rather than the bread-n-butter pickles. The texture is similar though. The advantage of a pickle to my grandma was root cellar storage for winter. Those jars had to last the family until spring. The creamy salad is a fresh cucumber dish which would probably work well with zucchini too.


The current treatment approach for people with vitiligo does not discuss vinegar, pickles, B vitamins or iodine. Steroid cream was mentioned and it is routine to eventually de-pigment the rest of the skin so the whitish patches aren’t standing out from the surrounding darker skin. I don’t know if that process has anything to do with “bleaching” of the skin but the pictures of people with the condition make it obvious to me at least why someone might prefer the more even skin tone that the de-pigmentation would produce. [1, dermnet Vitiligo pictures, some x rated].


I suffered from large patches of eczema off and on since childhood. Ugly, disfiguring and painful; at least the whitish vitiligo patches aren’t reported as painful (physically). I loved pickles as a child and would get scolded for drinking the juice from the (homemade) pickle bottle. I didn’t drink it regularly it is very acidic but I remember craving it occasionally and being scolded if caught by my mother. I don’t crave pickles now because I get too much acidity from my coffee habit. I learned over the years that a smidge of baking soda buffers the coffee. I believe when I used pH strips and checked the coffee was a 4.5 and the baking soda dusting on the end of a spoon handle brought it to 6.5, too much baking soda brought it to a 8 and it was very odd taste of coffee flavor with no tangy zip.


Vitiligo is a condition that I wasn’t familiar with that was listed as having been treated with the herb, gingko biloba. I looked it up and noticed that having vitiligo is also associated with having hypothyroidism. [4]


If you have vitiligo than you may also have hypothyroidism. Why wouldn’t someone be told that he might need iodine or thyroid hormone?


–because few people with the condition pass the lab tests is why and go on to win the synthetic hormone prize.


Hypothyroidism treatment history


Hypothyroidism only exists in the current medical/insurance industry minds if your lab scores match expected values.


I am familiar with hypothyroidism because I had all the symptoms but never got the diagnosis because my TSH was normal. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone levels increase to signal the thyroid gland to grow and gather more iodine in a case of scarcity. Goiters were lumps in the neck from bulging thyroid glands. They were so common in the Middle Ages that they were considered beauty marks if small and well placed. They can be seen in oil paintings from the time.


The current lab tests that the diagnosis is based on don’t recognize that the thyroid hormone might be present but may be malfunctioning. Goiter in the neck is the body’s last resort effort to gather more iodine from the diet. The thyroid gland expands in size in an attempt to gather iodine. Goiter is no longer as prevalent as it was in the 1800’s and earlier. The lab tests that are used currently include the thyroid stimulating hormone level, TSH. A low number is good and an elevated number suggests that the body is trying to stimulate more production of the hormone and would indicate hypothyroidism. Sometimes the actual hormone levels of thyroxine, T3 or T4, are also checked. Those lab tests do not detect whether the hormone is functional, simply whether it is present.


The current medical world doesn’t recognize the fact that if iodine isn’t available then the body makes the hormone with fluoride, bromide or perchlorate, a form of chloride. Iodine is chemically similar to those minerals but they are smaller so if a lab test could be developed that also measured the average molecular weight of the T3 or T4 hormone then we would be able to tell if that sample of thyroid hormone was lighter then it should be. Iodine is the heaviest and fluoride is the lightest of the four elements. Of course we could also simply look at the outward physical signs and symptoms and check the resting body temperature – but that might be inexpensive and slightly less “accurate” (black/white, right/wrong lab tests are nice because they are numerical compared to having to work through a variety of symptom checklists).


Congenital hypthyroidism


Congenital (born with it) hypothyroidism or cretinism is becoming more prevalent and iodine deficiency is not being recognized. A pregnancy can only provide what the woman is eating or has stored. The fetus can not build a body out of it’s mother’s small supply of synthetic thyroid hormone.


Hypothyroidism in a newborn is more common if the newborn is one of the last children of a large family or in pregnancies of multiples (twins, triplets) and when the mother has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism herself. Women are treated with replacement thyroid hormone if they are diagnosed but extra iodine is infrequently recommended. All of the glands of the body need some iodine. The thyroid needs the most and the pituitary gland needs a lot as well as the ovaries and testicles. My fibrocystic breast disease went away when I did the loading dose of Iodine for one month back in 2005. I’ve never had the symptoms return (painful hard breasts – no known cause or cure – just live with it is the typical treatment plan.)


Hypothyroidism in newborns is associated with small size in the children, a short and slim growth pattern leading to cute little pixie children. Infertility and incomplete sexual development is possible with childhood hypothyroidism. Actual genetic problems causing congenital hypothyroidism is rare.


The following quote sums up the treatment approach. Congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) has to do with iodine deficiency – first sentence – but it is usually treated with a daily dose of thyroid hormone . . . for the rest of the child’s life – last sentence.




“The most common cause of this defect is iodine deficiency. CHT is a condition of thyroid hormone  deficiency present at birth. Approximately 1 in 4000 newborn infants has a severe deficiency of thyroid function, while even more have mild or partial degrees. If untreated for several months after birth, severe congenital hypothyroidism can lead to growth failure and permanent mental retardation. Treatment consists of a daily dose of thyroid hormone by mouth.” [3]


If lack of iodine was the problem, then why isn’t it ever thought of as the solution? Iodine in addition to some external thyroid hormone would help the baby to have the immediate metabolic support to grow a normal size with normal glandular development throughout the body.


Prostate and breast cancer and hypothyroidism is less common in the Japanese population (I should look up rates of vitiligo—pdf). The average three year intake of sea vegetables in Japan (rich source of iodine) was 4 grams per day per capita (2005-2007 www.faostat.org). The average sea weed intake has been estimated to provide about 13.3 mg of iodine per day. Our national recommended intake for iodine has never changed or been retested since the initial work done in the 30’s and 40’s. The guideline of 150 micrograms (0.15 mg) is 88 times less than the average Japanese intake of iodine from sea vegetables. (Sea weed is also a good supplier of super fibers for strong membranes and glycocalyx).


Iodine therapy was found ineffective and somewhat dangerous because it isn’t a magic bullet medication. It takes many nutrients and some time to promote normal function. Tyrosine is an amino acid that may need to be converted from other amino acids and problems might exist in that pathway. Selenium is crucial to prevent hyperthyroidism – the body can go into overproduction of the hormone when a sudden supply of iodine becomes available. The selenium is essential to the enzyme that breaks down excess thyroid hormone. Life is a constant cycle of building, break down, and rebuilding.


Vitiligo and melanin production.


Vitiligo is a lack of normal melanin production in the skin. A dietitian type question on a mutli-disciplinary team of research scientists might be – well what is melanin made out of – what do we need to eat more of if we aren’t producing enough?


And how is melanin made?


I discovered that melanin is a pigment that is made out of the amino acid tyrosine with an intermediate chemical step, dihydroxyphenylalanine, also known as dopa, by the enzyme, tyrosinase. Copper is essential and known chemical binders of copper inhibit melanin production [2]. Iron and zinc are also mentioned more in discussion of variations of the chemical. Many different shades are produces throughout the animal kingdom and the melanin chemical is not always exactly the same, so some may have more iron or zinc than copper involved possibly [10 – very interesting but gets very not nutrition science related the farther done the page but I think melanin and iodine and the electromagnetic EPR signal may be involved in protecting us from cosmic ray activity as well as the daily electromagnetic forces that are in our gadgets and telephone pole wires.]


Cysteine is listed as a possible inhibitor of melanin formation as a compound that binds copper – an individual who is no longer able to convert cysteine into taurine very well might end up with increased levels of cysteine. Fluorotyrosine is on the list as a competitive inhibitor. [2] So the iodine connection might be that we have too much fluoride in our water and diet and it fills spots that iodine would have filled if available. Fluoride is used in patent medications because it increase binding affinities – lengthens the time the medication stays in the receptor. Good if you want a non-ending reaction but usually we want what went up to come back down again – that is what homeostasis and life is about.


The iodine connection may also be the tyrosine itself which is part of the thyroid hormone. Radioactive fluoridated dopa (dihydroxyphenylalanine, the intermediate step between the amino acid tyrosine and the pigment melanin) has been successfully used to locate tumors in the thyroid gland [9]. The fact that a radioactive fluoridated version of chemical metabolite of melanin can successfully be used to locate cancerous tumors in the thyroid gland suggests to me that it is involved with thyroid health and iodine as well as melanin and pigmentation or lack of pigmentation in the skin.


Melanin is stored within the membranous folds of the Endoplasmic reticulum and/or Golgi apparatus within the melanocytes. The melanin producing cells seem to have complex paper thin folded layers of membrane and the melanin is part of the membrane folds. [11] The melanocytes in individuals with albinoism do not produce melanin.


Melanin and other color pigments are reactive to light. The black of the melanin pigment absorbs radiation and helps protect us. Pigments also give off a weak magnetic signature of their own.[10, 12] So maybe we do occasionally react to each others’ “animal magnetism”.


Take home point – in order for our bodies to be able to assemble melanin we need the building blocks which include the amino acid tyrosine (and for it to not be fluoridated), copper and adequate supplies of cyclic AMP (energy source and rich in phosphorus).


Low iodine levels may simply be effecting the cyclic AMP energy supply. Fatigue and poor growth of cells that have a rapid growth/death turnover rate is characteristic of hypothyroidism. The outer third of the eyebrow tends to be absent. Brittle fingernails and thinning hair or hair loss is common also. Feeling cold and slow digestion with constipation problems is common, easy weight gain and depression also.


Skin pigmentation in a dark complexion may be simply such a large reservoir of resources that the chronically undernourished body can’t keep up with supplying the tyrosine/dopa. The membranous folds contain a lot of the individual molecules of melanin embedded within the membranes so I also suspect involvement of the phosphorus rich endogenous cannabinoids. Chances are that my membrane building diet will help return pigmentation to skin as long as the problem is one of nutrient supply rather than a defect in a chemical pathway or in the melanocyte.


I added the chemical structures of tyrosine, L-Dopa, and thyroxine at the bottom [15, 16, 17]. Fluoridated thyroxine increases risk of cancer to the thyroid and may be increasing risk of damage to the melanocytes. If the vilitigo blotches have actual structural changes in the melanocytes (like scar tissue is whiter than the surrounding skin) then restoring melanin production may not be possible but improving iodine intake and the other chemicals involved could slow down the progression of the disease. Beans and fruit and tuber/root vegetables are good sources of tyrosine and Dopa [10]. Copper is essential to melanin production but caution with any supplementation is a good idea because zinc balance can be effected by large amounts of copper and we frequently are low in zinc too (Especially good for men, zinc is needed for testosterone –  pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc. Cashews are a good source of copper.)


/Disclosure: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./


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  1. Pictures of individual’s with vitiligo, includes some x rated areas of the body. The condition can occur in people of any skin color, it is just more obvious on the darker skin. [dermnet.com/Vitiligo]
    2. 

  2. Biochemistry of Melanin Formation [physrev.physiology.org/content/30/1/91.full.pdf] (page 17, Table 1: Inhibitors of Melanin Formation In Vitro)
    3. 

  3. Common and Rare Birth Defects or Congenital Disorders and Their Causes,  [healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/common-and-rare-birth-defects-or-congenital-disorders-and-their-causes/2/]
    4. 

  4.  [medicinalplants.us/hypothyroidism ]
    5. 

  5.  [chemicalelements.com/] “Iodine, Atomic Number 53 (# of protons), Atomic Mass, 126.90447 amu   (total weight) Bromide,  Atomic Number 35,                      Atomic Mass, 79.904 amu; Chloride,  Atomic Number 17, Atomic Mass, 35.4527 amu; Fluoride,  Atomic Number  9, Atomic Mass, 18.998404 amu”
    6. 

  6.  [medicinalplants.us/ginkgo-biloba-uses-dosage-adverse-reactions] *lists some dosage levels of ginkgo used in peer reviewed studies for a few different conditions. Vitiligo: 120 mg standardised extract daily. 
    7. 

  7.  [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1287627?dopt=Abstract] Pigment Cell Res. 1992 Nov;5(5 Pt 1):240-6., Melanin standard method: empirical formula, Chedekel MR, Ahene AB, Zeise L. 
    8. 

  8.  [physrev.physiology.org/content/30/1/91.full.pdf] Lerner, A. B. and Fitzpatrick, T. B., Biochemistry of Melanin Formation (Jan, 1950) 
    9. 

  9. [jnm.snmjournals.org/content/49/4/524.long   F-Dihydroxyphenylalanine PET in Patients with Biochemical Evidence of Medullary Thyroid Cancer: Relation to Tumor Differentiation, (Koopmans, Klaas P.,  et al) doi: 10.2967/jnumed.107.047720  J Nucl Med April 2008 vol. 49 no. 4 524-531 
    10. 

  10.  [tightrope.it/nicolaus/melanin95.htm] “Link 4-Melanin 95-97,In memory of Giovanna Misuraca, Melanins in Plants: “From legumes and from fruit it is possible to isolate tyrosine, DOPA, tyramine, DOPAamine, epinine (N-methyldopamine). The blackening which is seen in the course of maturation and conservation of bananas seems to be due to the neurologic melanogene DOPAamine. The typical blackening of slices of tubers (potatoes) and fruit (apples, pears, etc.) and plants (in the Vicia faba one finds large quantities of DOPA) seems to be a process of melanogenesis from tyrosinase or DOPA.” Melanins in Animals: “The melanins of vertebrates and invertebrates can be observed in the skin, in fur, in hair, in feathers, in scales, in the choroid, in the peritoneum, in the pia mater, in the brain, and in melanomas (malign tumours of an intense black colour). One cannot yet confirm that the various melanins coming from different sources are the same, even though they have the presence of a free radical and the potential capacity to conduct electrical current in common. Sometimes animal melanin has the function of protecting the skin from radiation (short wavelengths), of controlling temperature, of mimetisation. Little or nothing is known of the structure and the functions of neuromelanins (eg. substantia nigra) expecially with respect to the elecrical properties of this pigment (Link 22). Obviously the melanin associated with tumours has been studied more, by biologists.”Melanin as stable free radical. “Studies have been carried out on all the melanins in acqueous suspensions and almost always give an EPR signal at about 4-6 G. The spin concentration is around the value 4-10 x 1017spin/g. In the “polymer” there would be one free radical every 200-1,000 “monomers”. It would seem that there are two radicalic centres in the black products that originate from the o.phenols: one being essential (intrinsic), highly stable, generated in the course of melanogenesis and “trapped” in the product and the another being extrinsic, transient and reactive which can form in the melanin by the action of the different chemico-physical agents. Passing from black melanins to brown and red-brown products (pheomelanins) it is possible to observe radicals with better defined structures, at different pH, like those of semiquinonamine and semiquinone. EPR studies carried out on the hair and skin of several bovine races and on albinoes have mainly been used by geneticists and pathologists. Albino subjects, with the same phenotype character, have hair with differing electronic characteristics. In some albino subjects there is a weak EPR signal which is completely absent in others. There are, that is, true albinoes and false albinoes (6, l). ” 
    11. 

  11.  [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2591998/?page=4] Ultrastructure and cell biology of pigment cells. Intracellular dynamics and the fine structure of melanocytes with special reference to the effects of MSH and cyclic AMP on microtubules and 10-nm filaments. G. Moellmann, J. McGuire, and A. B. Lerner. 
    12. 

  12.  [spectroscopy.lbl.gov/EPR-Robblee/EPR-Robblee.pdf] Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR),  John Robblee, Berkeley Spectroscopy Club, (18 April 2001) 
    13. 

  13.  [books.google.com/books] Walter Sneader, Drug Discovery: a history. *I didn’t discover the iodine content of testicular tissue but sheep thyroid had 2.9% iodine content when Eugen Baumann started trying to isolate the active principle of the thyroid gland. In 1896 he got a 10% iodine concentration. Goitre was treated with iodine after this discovery but results were mixed especially with more advanced cases. Adequate selenium is essential to not become hyperthyroid when trying to replenish your body’s iodine level. Selenium is in the enzyme that breaks down the active thyroid hormones. Another researcher, Edward Kendall, isolated a 23% iodine containing chemical in 1910 and had the formula for the thyroid hormone worked out by 1914. “Kendall studiously avoided giving the hormone any name suggestive of the discredited idea that iodine was responsible for thyroid activity.” I don’t see how any molecule that contains 23% by volume iodine couldn’t also be considered to require iodine for proper function. T4 is so called because it has four atoms of iodine  (or bromides/fluorides/chlorides) and T3 has three of them. 
    14. 

  14. Chemical formula for melanin: [natscience.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/chem/3992/Chemical-Formula-for-Melanin ]
    15. 

  15. [chemistry.about.com/od/imagesclipartstructures/ig/Amino-Acid-Structures/Tyrosine.htm]
    16. 












Chemical structure of Tyrosine, (C-9-H-11-N-O-3)






















Chemical structure of L-Dopa,






 


16: L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) is a chemical that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some animals and plants. Some animals including humans make it via biosynthesis from the amino acid L-tyrosine. L-DOPA is the precursor to the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline) collectively known as catecholamines 


17.  [chemistry.about.com/od/factsstructures/ig/Chemical-Structures—T/Thyroxine.htm]

***This is the thyroid hormone, T4. It has an extra 6 Carbon ring (size of a glucose sugar molecule) but otherwise is similar to tyrosine and L-Dopa. If fluoridated tyrosine could inhibit the production of melanin then it seems plausible that fluoridated thyroid hormone could also. Over the course of time fluoridated chemicals have a cancer promoting effect on the organs. It is well researched in thyroid cancer but the breasts, prostate, pancreas, and other glands contain iodine. Maybe the fluoridated thyroxine is not only not helping cause hypothyroid symptoms while confusing lab tests but is also collecting in melanocytes and occasionally leading to their malfunction. If the melanin is no longer being produced because of cell damage than the function may not be able to be restored but adding iodine to the diet might slow down the progression of the vilitigo blotches (iodine and tyrosine and selenium and adequate copper/zinc balance and phospholipids).











Chemical structure of Thyroxine, (C-15-H-11-I-4-N-O-4)








18. [leucoderma.com/app/causes.asp]

Vitiligo – Causes


19. [medhelp.org/posts/Autoimmune-Disorders-/vitiligo-and-hypothyroidism/show/409731]


“My white spots move around and change, last year I had one looked like a heart on my tummy, this year I have twin spots about the size of hands on my shoulders, my friend says “it where my angel wings were” I also have a white patch of hair, and a few white eyelashes.


The only time I ever had any of the white spots fill in color, was when I was pregnant with my son, my knees completely filled in, after I had him, they went back to white.”. – Carla


20. [medhelp.org/posts/Autoimmune-Disorders-/h-pylori–the-only-cause-of-vitiligo/show/1196718]


21. [journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Citation/1945/04000/The_Relation_of_Hydrochloric_Acid_and_Vitamin_B.2.aspx]

The Relation of Hydrochloric Acid and Vitamin B Complex Deficiency in Certain Skin Diseases*, by ALLISON, J. RICHARD M.D.


Southern Medical Journal: April 1945 – Volume 38 – Issue 4 – ppg 235-240 Original Article: PDF Only22. [books.google.com/books?id=7JxEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA974&lpg=PA974&dq=Vitiligo+iodine+pickles&source=bl&ots=tREK10AzXx&sig=LLSXnZCgG8r8erF0CeNYF_Zxw4A&hl=en&ei=DNmFTqDXAeOQsQLD0uWUDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CHgQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Vitiligo%20iodine%20pickles&f=false]

The American Journal of Clinical Medicine, Vol 19,(Jan 1912) page 974, Query 5846 – Vitiligo

*** Vitiligo spots were treated with 1-2 minutes of phenol (?) until redness occurs or cupping to induce redness. Maybe increasing blood flow to the area had a bit of increased nutrient flow or maybe they felt they had to try something.23. [nature.com/jid/journal/v115/n6/full/5600897a.html] Yu-Ling Li, Chia-Li Yu* and Hsin-Su Yu, IgG Anti-Melanocyte Antibodies Purified from Patients with Active Vitiligo Induce HLA-DR and Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression and an Increase in Interleukin-8 Release by Melanocytes, Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2000) 115, 969–973; doi:10.1046/j.1523-1747.2000.00130






” In conclusion, our results are consistent with the possibility that V-IgG play an important role in melanocytic cytotoxicity immune-mediated: (i) increased HLA-DR expression on melanocytes enhances the antigen-presenting activity of the cells; (ii) ICAM-1 expression on melanocytes stimulates leukocyte/monocyte attachment and immune-mediated cytotoxicity; and (iii) increased IL-8 production from melanocytes chemoattracts T lymphocytes to the sites of lesions to increase melanocyte destruction.”








*** T lymphocytes are what the Marshall Protocol has found to be an underlying root of autoimmune conditions. Some of them are our fighters that we need to try to find the infected overactive ones (not mysteriously turned against us self but infected self that needs a healthy white blood cell to identify it and give it the apoptosis enzyme blast of death (love that phrase – I think it takes having suffered through it to really love feeling like they can be found and killed – but not if they all the healthy ones are killed with immune suppressing drugs like methotrexate and TNF inhibitor.)11-21-11 (happy birthday, Nick)


[cdf.nejm.org/pdf/Clinical_Practice_Companion.pdf]

Page 43 excerpt:


Infection with H. pylori is a cofactor in the development of three important upper gastrointestinal diseases: duodenal or gastric ulcers (reported to develop in 1 to 10% of infected patients), gastric cancer (in 0.1 to 3%), and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid-tissue (MALT) lymphoma (in <0.01%). The risk of these disease outcomes in infected patients varies widely among populations. The great majority of patients with H. pylori infection will not have any clinically significant complications.


***Page 44, discusses Helicobactor pyloris and the reduced stomach acidity that is associated with infection by the bacteria when infection is advanced enough for the stomach lining to have broken down (aka – atrophic gastritis). Page 43 assures us that there are few associated problems if outright ulceration isn’t also present (1-10% of people who test positive for the bacteria were reported to develop ulcers). Based on the information from reference link 21, the 1945 skin condition research by Dr. A. J. Richard, I would suggest an external glance at skin integrity and would consider whether of a dash of vinegar or an acidic side dish with each meal would benefit individual’s who test positive for Helicobactor pyloris – before they progress to the 1-10% or worse 0.1% statistic groups –  in order to enhance B vitamin absorption in the stomach and prevent skin problems and hair loss (aka – thinning hair / hair loss) and eventual cancer or atrophic gastritis.


page 44 Excerpt:


Gastric Cancer 


Extensive epidemiologic data suggest strong associations between H. pylori infection and noncardia gastric cancers (i.e., those distal to the gastro-esophageal junction).9 The infection is classified as a human carcinogen by the World Health Or-ganization.10 The risk of cancer is highest among patients in whom the infection induces inflammation of both the antral and fundic mucosa and causes mucosal atrophy and intestinal metapla-sia.11 Eradication of H. pylori infection reduces the progression of atrophic gastritis, but there is little evidence of reversal of atrophy or intestinal metaplasia,12 and it remains unclear whether eradication reduces the risk of gastric cancer.13


***in other words they gave the patient antibiotics and the bacterial infection was killed but the broken down membrane lining did not get better / stayed atrophied / – in other, other words they gave the person antibiotics and did not repair the malnourishment and continued to leave the membrane lining and the army of white blood cells in a weakened condition unable to protect against bacteria from growing in great numbers.


So the antibiotics plus no additional food or nutritional guidance will likely lead to a relapse of the infection or for the cancer that is so common to develop. The same army of well nourished white blood cells would be ready to prune out the old decaying , atrophied cells and swap back stem cells with the correct information to become stomach lining material or intestinal membrane cells (or heart cells or brain cells or pancreas cells etc – eat well and the smart army of white blood cells rebuild us daily – every single body part is eventually replaced.)





	


	





		

		
Posted on 
Skeleton thin Parvo-pup is now tubby bellied Starv-o-pup
	


	
	

		


    

  • /Update: The puppy in the photos is doing well and had puppies of her own. She has developed PTSD which is discussed further along with an update on the diet I described using to help her while she suffered with Parvovirus and severe GI tract symptoms.
    • 

  • See: My dog is scared of thunderstorms. [PTSD]
    • 

  • For more on Oxytocin and the emotional bond dogs can form with their human companion see this post: Dogs rule, cats drool; wait, reverse that. [Oxytocin]/
    • 



My new puppy had Parvovirus and was wasting away within 24 hours of the acute diarrhea and vomiting phase of the canine sickness. She became ill about a week after we first got her. Parvovirus kills 80-90 percent of dogs if left untreated due to the severe dehydration caused by the GI symptoms. The dogs who are ill with Parvo virus are left with no appetite and are at risk of other infections. Severe diarrhea leaves the intestinal walls raw and open.




The puppy is a short hair,  honey colored German Shepard/Boxer mix. I didn’t know that when I first saw her, I simply thanked the universe for sending a Siamese puppy (a Siamese cat passed away this summer). The puppy’s snout is seal point brown and her eyes have plenty of natural eyeliner (Roxanne was briefly her name before Ginger beat out the other contenders, Curcumin, Turmeric, and whistle-whistle-click-click).


She spent a couple nights at the vet with an IV. She was so dehydrated she was staggering  after only one day of diarrhea symptoms and one episode of vomiting. At the time I thought I had fed her too much/too much variety/too something. We didn’t know about puppy sicknesses but I knew about acute dehydration symptoms and she was going to die without an IV because I couldn’t even get her to lick water off my fingers.




At the vet she got IVs for two days and was given a prophylactic shot of some antibiotic. She was also given an anti-emitic drug while there and was sent home with four additional days of the anti motion sickness / anti-emetic drug, Cereniea (maropitant citrate, one 16 mg tablet/day). The box says for use in dogs 16 weeks and older and our puppy is 13 weeks old – it did seem to help her tiny appetite to return to ravenous toddler dog appetite. She weighs about 20 pounds healthy.


I was very worried about her the first couple days back from the vet. I had already been feeding her extra because she was thin and the “runt” – smallest – of the litter. She probably was already sick as well. She chose my husband when he stopped by a box of puppies in a parking lot so she may not have gotten ideal care at her birth home.


She had been eating a some of her puppy crunchy food in addition to occasional supplement foods. I mashed egg or burger with a little ginger powder and salt . I also added hemp oil, about 1/4 -1/2 tsp per meal in the pre-sickness days. She was fattening up, was getting less timid and anxious, and she was losing her runty look in the few days we had her before she got really sick. If too much is coming out and nothing is going in and the individual is a fragile young, old, or sickly individual – than death is close behind without IV and other acute medical intervention.


However without adequate feeding every two hours she wouldn’t have survived the recovery period. The frequent care and hands on care and feeding during the first two nights was important. The first night she would only sip water and lick a few teaspoons of the canned dog food. But then two tablespoons, then 1/2 cup, the 2 cups of varied foods made it past her queasy nose.


After she returned from the vet her hair was falling out and she was thinner than ever (and had that near death smell). I was scared but kept her company that first night and offered little sips of electrolyte water (Smart Water and the dish of a few tablespoons of canned digestive balance dog food that the vet had provided ( I did mix in ginger powder but I stopped using the hemp oil – it has an obvious smell and she was a very picky eater – eggs also had too much smell and she no longer ate them after the sickness with Parvo virus.











Pot roast






The wet food was to be gradually mixed with puppy crunchies by teaspoonful portions as her appetite returned. Her appetite got a lot better with hamburger, chicken breast or pot roast then it ever did for the canned digestive balance food or the puppy crunchies. Initially I was finely mincing a few tablespoons of chicken with broth and a little ginger powder and sea salt. She would eat a few bites every hour or two for the first day.




By the end of that first day the pound of chicken was gone and by the end of the second day the three pound pot roast and sweet potatoes was gone. The servings started out in 1/2 cups portions but became 2 cup portions every few hours  (all with the smidge of ginger powder and sea salt and whatever herbs I had added to the cooking – I don’t cook with salt or pepper it can be added more accurately to the individuals taste/biologic need and craving at the table). *Addition Aug. 9, 2017 – ginger powder can have anti-ulcer effects but may worsen a condition of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. One or a few of it’s active phytochemicals seem to activate TRP channels in the GI tract and can increase diarrhea. [1]




I am not a dog person but my grandma’s farm dogs all got their share of the days cooking and table scraps. They also got dog kibble but they seemed to prefer the mixed meat, gravy, bread and vegetable scraps that were chopped up at the end of the day by my grandmother. If you read a can of dog food, the recognizable ingredients tend to be turkey, rice, carrots etc. We have found some mosist dog food that she is eating in addition to some of our meat and vegetables (and ginger powder) now and I haven’t cooked her another pot roast (yet).


The moral of this story is – ginger powder added to Ginger’s food may have helped turn this almost dead Parvo pup back into her normal pathetically sad faced (but well-fed) Starvo-pup routine of begging for third and fourth helpings. Ginger would help protect and heal the intestinal lining and fight infection and parasites (worms).


The home cooked meat meals helped to. If I had kept offering the digestive balance food alone I don’t think she ever would have accepted more than the few teaspoons to tablespoons – I never even opened the second can of that stuff. She also enjoyed pork cutlet (it was cheap).


Today I was ready for a break from her too much energy but I realized that I should be grateful. Only one week ago her hair was falling out, she smelled of death and was skeleton thin. We can still count her ribs but they have a little rounding and her tubby belly is proof that the begging act is working.








/Disclosure: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./




    

  1. Joris Vriens, Bernd Nilius, Rudi Vennekens, Herbal Compounds and Toxins Modulating TRP Channels, Curr Neuropharmacol. 2008 Mar; 6(1): 79–96. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2645550/ [1]
    2.