He did some standard pulling and stretching for about 15 minutes and that was it. He suggested another session in a week and evaluate from there. Fine me with, I just hope it works!

She starts the routine examination and she knows about my history with Mitral Valve Prolaspe and because this new pain is a chest pain not unlike the pain I’ve had in the past, she wants to check it. Good idea!

She does the standard stethoscope test and says she can’t hear it the abnormal rhythm associated with MVP. She asks me to crouch down and she wants to listen while I move to an upright position. She said it’s another way for listening for MVP. I’ve had so many different doctors listen to my heart but nobody’s done that before.

“Nope, I can’t hear it.”

A HUGE smile went across my face. That’s the first time a doctor has told me that I don’t have Mitral Valve Prolapse. I’ve seen so many different doctors in the past three years and of the ones who checked my heart, they heard something different. My magnesium must be in balance. The cardiologist told me it was a normal variant and it was nothing to worry about. He’s probably right but what they don’t tell you is that it can fixed and should be.

She checks a few more things and does a couple of muscle stretches and afterwards I take a deep breath and it doesn’t appear to bother me as much. Did the stretching work? I think it did. She suggests making an appointment with the chiropractor within the office. She introduces me to him and I book an appointment for Saturday.

For somebody reading this blog, it’s very easy to think okay, what the heck is his problem now? He’s a hypochondriac!! But this is what I found:

Precordial Catch Syndrome

Precordial Catch Syndrome (PCS), also known as Texidor’s twinge, is a common cause of chest pain complaints in children and adolescents. It also occurs, though less frequently, in adults. PCS manifests itself as a very intense, sharp pain typically at the left side of the chest which is worse when taking breaths. Patients often think that they are having a heart attack which causes them to panic. This typically lasts 30 seconds to 3 minutes, though some episodes last only a few breaths and in rare cases can last up to 30 minutes. In all cases the pain is resolved quickly and completely

That’s a really good description of what appears to be happening but what do I do about it? I call the Naturopath and she can see me Thursday night.

Help!

I got a weird chest pain as I was sitting down on the couch. Now I’ve had chest pain numberous times over the past few years but this time it’s different. Really different and really painful. I’m unable to lie down on my right side. I try taking a magnesium and calcium with no effect. I’m unable to cough or sneeze  without the pain.

No idea what it is or what caused it. It almost feels like a pulled muscle but I haven’t done anything to cause that.

I’m still going to be cautious before I go jumping for joy in the streets but there is a difference.

Let’s just see if it lasts…

Today I decided to try them again. There are a number of other amino acids that depend on aspartic acid so it seemed like a logical place to start and interestingly, the amino acid test indicated that I had low levels of five of the six. I always feel like a detective when I find stuff like this. Find the needle in a hay stack that leads to the breakthough…I can only hope!

Aspartic Acid

Aspartic acid plays an important role in the citric acid cycle, or Krebs cycle, during which other amino acids and biochemicals, such as asparagine, arginine, lysine, methionine, threonine, isoleucine, and several nucleotides are synthesized.

Low aspartic acid can also be associated with low calcium and magnesium levels.

Vitamins and Minerals for Diabetes

VITAMINS AND MINERALS THAT LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR

Minerals are the vital constituents for the formation of body structures such as bones and tissues. They are also involved in major physiological processes such as proper metabolism and energy production. There are various minerals that are helpful in treating diabetes and slowing down diabetic complications.

The most important mineral is Chromium. It is also known as Diabetic Mineral. It is because the main function of chromium in is body is to turn carbohydrates into glucose. Chromium also helps in the regulation and production of hormone insulin. It has been observed that due to chromium only the

Insulin works effectively in the body and without it, insulin simply would not function. Good sources of chromium are nuts, cheese, whole, grains, oysters, mushrooms, brewer’s yeast, etc. Long time researches have shown that the symptoms of diabetes completely reverses particularly of Type –2 Diabetes mellitus.

It is because insulin regulates and normalize blood sugar and it also improves body’s ability to transport blood glucose into cells. It has also been seen that the chromium supplements improves glucose tolerance and thus brings it to normal. It reduces fasting glucose and insulin levels in

gestational diabetes. It encourages the loss of body fat. It enhances insulin secretion and decreases trighlycerides Chromium also promotes muscular gains.

Vanadium: It is also associated with proper glucose regulation. It acts like insulin in the body and also enhances its effects. That is why this mineral is extensively known for its role in the management of diabetes. Food sources of vanadium include skin milk, lobster, vegetables, butter and cheese. Vanadium is named after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty and youth. Vanadium is also a building material of bones and teeth. Although, researchers have know vanadium for more than forty

years but the mineral is not yet considered as a essential constituent for humans. It is essential for plants and animals. But Vanadium must be needed to be as an essential nutrient in our diet. Vanadium in case of diabetics- improves fasting glucose levels. It also increases insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes. It lowers the insulin requirements in type –1 diabetes.

Manganese: Manganese maintains the blood glucose level in normal range and hence is useful in treating diabetes and hypoghlycaemia. Manganese is also used in our body for fat and protein metabolism and the production of energy. It is needed for growth, maintenance of connective tissue, bone, cartilage and

also helps in fatty acid synthesis. Manganese is also useful in the treatment of epilepsy, anosexia and iron deficiency. Moreover, the absorption of vitamin C, B and E depends upon the sufficient amount of manganese so the person’s multi-vitamin supplement should contain sufficient amount of manganese in it. Dietary sources of manganese include whole green cereals, leafy vegetables, nuts and tea.

Magnesium: Magnesium is mainly important for hypoglycaemics because it helps in the digestion of sugar, starches and fats and also helps in stabilizing blood sugar levels. It has been known from many years that the secretion and action of insulin require magnesium. Hence for diabetic patient and for persons

in whom intake of refined carbohydrates is too much, in them the supplement of magnesium is very much necessary. It is a person crave for chocolate, it may be an indication that he is low in magnesium. The dietary sources of magnesium are whole grains, nuts, seeds, cocoa milk, green vegetables, sea food,

brown rice. Magnesium is also involved in thyroid hormone production. Magnesium along with calcium helps in muscle contraction and helps in producing energy especially in muscle cells. Magnesium is also involved in producing stomach acid and digestive enzymes.

Zinc: Zinc is needed for proper release of insulin and many hypoglycaemics may be deficient. Zinc supplements are beneficial for patients with chronic diseases like diabetes. Some of the other Zinc’s functions include cholesterol, protein and energy metabolism growth, healing and immune functions. Dietary sources of Zinc include meat, eggs, sunflower seeds, milk, wholegrains, spinach etc. But a person should keep in mind that Zinc is destroyed when food is processed so they should eat the Zinc containing food in their natural form as much as possible. Moreover, Zinc absorption is reduced in alcoholics and diuretics. Stress also causes Zinc levels to drop rapidly.

Vitamins are an essential part of human body. The vitamin helps in improving digestion and therefore, increases the body’s ability to tolerate low glucose levels. They also know as Anti-Stress vitamins because of their good effects on the brain and nervous system. The B-complex vitamins are a group of eight vitamins, which include Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), Pyridoxina (B6), Folic Acid (B9), Cyanocobalmin (B12), Pantothenic acid and bioten. A particular potential benefit of vitamin B supplements for diabetics is mainly its ability to lower blood levels of homocysteine (a suphur-containing amino acid). Hence, the vitamins B are also essential for breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose, which provides energy for the body. It also helps in breakdown of fats and proteins, which helps in normal functioning of the nervous system.

Vitamin B-6 is helpful in the women reporting with gestational diabetes and for protection against metabolic imbalances associated with the use of some oral contraceptive. Vitamin B6 is also useful in the management of carpal tunnel syndrome. It help in reducing homocysteine. It maintains fluid balance and is essential for cellular energy production. It is somewhat beneficial to prevent skin eruptions also. Therefore, the amaging family of vitamin B is very helpful. Vitamin B6 levels are even lower in people with diabetes who have nerve damage i.e. neuropathy. So, the administration of bath Vitamin B1 (25 mg per day) and vitamin B6 (50 mg per day) shows significant improvement of symptoms of diabetic neuropathy after four weeks, because Vitamin B1 is also found to be low in people with type 1 diabetes.

Biotin (The Vitamin B) is needed to process of glucose. Patient with Type-1 of diabetes showed fasting glucose level dropped by 50% on administration of 16 mg of biotin per day for one week. Biotin may also reduce pain from diabetic nerve damage.

Vitamin C: Diabetic people also have low vitamin C levels. Vitamin C may reduce glycosylation. Vitamin C also lowers sorbital in people with diabetes. Sorbital is a sugar that can accumulate and damage the nerves eyes and kidney of people with diabetes. Vitamin C may improve glucose tolerance in patients with Type-2 diabetes. Vitamin C significantly reduces urinary protein loss in people with diabetes. Diabetic people should have 1-3 grams per day of vitamin C.

Vitamin B-12: Vitamin B-12 is needed for normal functioning of nerve cells. Vitamin B12 taken orally, intravenously or by injection reduces the nerve damage caused by diabetes in most of the people. The intake of large amounts of niacin (a form of the vitamin B 3), such as 2-3 grams per day, may impair glucose tolerance and shall be used by diabetic people only under doctor’s advice.

Vitamin D: It is needed to maintain adequate blood levels of insulin. Vitamin D receptors have been found in the pancreas where insulin is produced hence the supplements of vitamin D, increases insulin level in people suffering form diabetes. But it should be given in accurate dose as high dose of vitamin D can be toxic.

Vitamin E: Vitamin E prevents the destructive vascular damage that may occur in diabetes. Vitamin E supplements prevents the arterial degeneration in patients suffering from diabetes. Vitamin E decreases the requirement of insulin by diabetic people. Vitamin E is available naturally in whole grain products, wheat products, fruits, green leafy vegetables milk, whole raw or sprouted seeds.

Diabetes affects over 170 million people world wide and that figure is expected to double by the year 2030 – according to the World Health Organization. Left untreated, it leads to cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, blindness and joint problems. In extreme cases, as you lose circulation to the peripheral tissues, amputations may become necessary.

You can do something about this with a diabetes natural remedy involving changes to your diet, losing weight and supplementation – all of these together will allow you to control your diabetes and lead a normal life.

Type 2 Adult Diabetes

Type 2 Adult Diabetes really shouldn’t be called ‘Adult’ diabetes, since the majority of new diagnoses are in children; the blame for this lies fairly and squarely with the modern ‘fast food’ and soft drink diet.
Risk factors for diabetes include:

• High intake of sugar, refined and processed flour, caffeine, and soft drinks

• Lack of exercise – sitting around playing computer games, for example

Symptoms are varied and may include: sudden weight gain or extreme weight loss, fatigue, frequent urination and chronic thirst – these are warning signs (amongst others) which should be checked out.

A positive test showing sugar in the urine and blood is another test. The blood of a diabetic becomes thicker and stickier and the person can be more prone to blood clots which leads to stroke or heart disease.

In Type 2 diabetes, you’re actually producing plenty of insulin – in fact maybe too much because of the high sugar intake. The job of insulin is to carry sugar to the cells where it’s used to make energy.

In a diabetic, two things can happen: 1) The cells become resistant to insulin – in this case the cell membrane which is made up of goods fats and protein doesn’t function correctly and 2) The insulin becomes less effective – this is caused by excess intake of sugar, alcohol, refined flour etc depleting the minerals (particularly chromium) required to make the insulin work. Caffeine will severely aggravate the condition.

A diabetes natural remedy involves taking control of the disease, which is really nothing more than a nutritional deficiency and lifestyle disease. To get the disease under control it’s a matter of losing weight, exercising, having a good diet and using the right supplements.

Steps to take for a Diabetes Natural Remedy

• Increase your protein intake – this repairs the cell membrane.

• Reduce your intake of sugar and increase your intake of complex carbohydrates.

• Lose weight and exercise – reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease

• Eat frequently – have 6 meals a day – this helps keep your blood sugar more constant.

• Completely avoid milk and alcohol.

• Drink plenty of fresh, filtered water (8-10 glasses per day) and no pop or soft drinks.

• Supplementation is essential – use all 90 essential nutrients and additional antioxidants.

Diabetics lose vital minerals and vitamins in their urine and this further complicates the disease. In addition, these same nutrients, when they are replaced will actually reverse the disease and prevent further complications.

Protein and Blood Sugar

What does protein do for my blood sugar control? The body uses protein for growth, maintenance, and energy. Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, milk and other dairy products, eggs, beans, peas, and lentils. Starches and vegetables also have small amounts of protein. Lean meats and low-fat dairy products are the better diet choices to help prevent high blood cholesterol levels.

As you begin to eat for better control of your diabetes, protein will become an essential part of your diet. Protein serves as a blood sugar stabilizer. When eaten in combination with other foods, protein will prevent your blood sugar levels from rising too high or falling too low.

Protein Metabolism

During protein metabolism, some protein is converted to glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis, the formation of glucose from non-carbohydrate sources.

The basic difference between protein and carbohydrate is that while carbohydrates are made out of simple sugars (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), protein is made from amino acids (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sufur). The nitrogen is a basic component of the protein’s amino acids and accounts for 13 to 20% of the total mass.

The first step in protein metabolism is to break it into its constituent amino acids. These are absorbed into the blood stream.

The second step is to break down the amino acids into their constituent parts–catabolism, if you want to get technical about it. This removes the nitrogen or amino group from the amino acids. The process is called deamination.

Deamination breaks the amino group down into ammonia and what is termed the carbon skeleton. Ammonia is converted to urea, filtered through the kidneys, and excreted in urine. The carbon skeleton–which is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen–can then by used either for protein synthesis, energy production (ATP), or converted to glucose by gluconeogenesis.

Most authorities believe that the amount of protein converted to glucose is quite small, except under conditions of intense exercise or metablic starvation. Under these conditions amino acids produce the major source of glucose for blood sugar maintenance.

The only thing I have in the back of my mind is diabetes or high/low blood sugar but I’ll need more research before I go running after that. Here’s what I found:

Calcium, vitamin D may lower diabetes risk
By Stephen Daniells, 03-Apr-2006

High intake of calcium and vitamin D, particularly from supplements, may lower the risk of diabetes by 33 per cent, say American scientists, as a leading European clinician reports that over a billion people are vitamin D deficient.

A growing body of epidemiological, animal and clinical studies has linked insufficient levels of vitamin D and calcium to a broad range of health problems such as osteoporosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Vitamin D is found in low concentrations in some food, and most vitamin D is manufactured in the skin on exposure to sunlight. Recent studies have shown that sunshine levels in some northern countries are so weak during the winter months that the body makes no vitamin D at all.

Indeed, at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Glasgow yesterday, Professor Roger Bouillon from the University of Leuven reported that more than a billion people of all ages worldwide needed to up their vitamin D intake.

The new study, published in the journal Diabetes Care (Vol. 29, pp. 650-656), used data from the Nurses Health Study, and related the vitamin D and calcium intake of 83,779 registered nurses to the incidence of type-2 diabetes.

None of the women had diabetes at the start of the study, and the average body mass index was 24 kilograms per square metre (meaning that very few of the women were overweight or obese, factors that are strongly associated with increased risk of diabetes).

After 20 years of follow-up, during which time dietary and supplementary intakes were measured using validated food frequency questionnaires every two to four years, the authors concluded: “A combined daily intake of more than 1,200 milligrams of calcium and more than 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D was associated with a 33 per cent lower risk of type-2 diabetes.”

Interestingly, lead researcher Anastassios Pitas, from the Tufts-New England Medical Center, found that dietary intake of vitamin D did not result in a statistically significant benefit. But women who consumed from that 400 IU vitamin D per day from supplements had a 13 per cent lower risk of diabetes, compared to women who consumed less than 100 IU per day.

Both dietary calcium and supplements were associated with significant decreased risks of type 2 diabetes, with women who had total daily intakes of calcium greater than 1,200 milligrams had a 21 per cent lower risk compared to women who had intakes less than 600 mg per day.

“For both vitamin D and calcium, intakes from supplements rather than from diet were significantly associated with a lower range of type 2 diabetes,” said Pittas.

The mechanism as to why vitamin D and calcium may reduce the risk of diabetes is not clear, but the researchers proposed that the two nutrients work together. Vitamin D facilitates calcium absorption in the intestine, while calcium is reported play a role in normalising glucose intolerance.

The researchers did not rule out a direct role of vitamin D, independent of calcium, noting that studies have reported that vitamin D insufficiency had been linked to insulin resistance and reduced function of pancreatic beta-cells.

Strengths of this study included the large-scale and long-term follow-up, but the authors note the inability of the study design to measure all the possible confounders. Also, no blood samples were taken to measure serum vitamin D levels.

“If these results are confirmed in prospective studies or in randomised trials, they will have important health implications because both of these interventions can be implemented easily and inexpensively to prevent type 2 diabetes,” concluded the researchers.

An estimated 19 million people are affected by diabetes in the EU 25, equal to four per cent of the total population. This figure is projected to increase to 26 million by 2030.

In the US, there are over 20 million people with diabetes, equal to seven per cent of the population. The total costs are thought to be as much as $132 billion, with $92 billion being direct costs from medication, according to 2002 American Diabetes Association figures.