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Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:51 am Post subject: Nutrition "Quiz"
A reference for physicians in assessing patient nutritional status (I know, it sounds crazy, but there it is). Includes queries on state of skin, mouth, hair, nails, GI, and other physical attributes; correlates with possible deficiency states. Plenty of other interesting tidbits.
most of the deficiencies listed correlate nicely with our usual suspects in ms, b12 and the b group in general, zinc, antioxidants. there is also mention of protein deficiency, which i imagine goes hand in hand with any zinc deficiency, given the meaty food sources of zinc.
Joined: Sep 11, 2007 Posts: 679 Location: southern California
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 10:11 am Post subject:
WOW....thanks for this, JL. Not crazy at all! -well, at least to me
I'm all over this kinda stuff. Wouldn't it be amazing if all Drs. recognized the importance of looking at the WHOLE body for clues to health and nutritional deficiencies?
Good info here for patients and docs.
AC _________________ Husband diagnosed RRMS March 2007
pursuing endothelial healing
Copaxone, Swank, supplements, laughter
lol i'm all over it too cheer! i was being tres sarcastic
i have definitely noticed that my fingernails give me clues to how i'm doing. when i slacked off on supplements for a while my little line of pits came back. i got back on the regimen and watched them grow out, i ended up having this stupid countdown every time i trimmed my nails, until the last one was gone, which was a couple weeks ago now. good indicator, me like.
i wish that file had info on nail abnormalities and links to nutrition, but i suppose if i searched a bit harder i could find that out for myself :S
hmm well i guess i kind of already knew this, but the pits and previous problem i had with my nails separating from the nail beds (so not fun) are associated with psoriasis. so, it would appear that the severity of psoriasis is also influenced by nutritional status. i wish i could find a correlation between the pits and a nutrient, but not yet. probably there's plenty out there about nutrition and psoriasis in general, which i haven't bothered with in a while. i guess when i complete my multi-fold path and achieve human biochemistry nirvana my skin will be nice and clear, something else to look forward to
ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION
Your skin contains one fifth of your body's zinc supply. Rats and mice that are deficient in zinc develop a skin condition called keratogenesis that is very similar to human psoriasis (Hoffer and Walker, Orthomolecular Nutrition, p 156-157). Zinc deficiency in humans is the rule, not the exception. The US RDA for zinc is only 15 milligrams a day, and yet the average American takes in even less than that. (Williams, Nutrition and Diet Therapy, 7th ed., page 253) In spite of this, it is most uncommon to find either dietitians or doctors ever recommending a supplement of this mineral.
Research has shown that supplements of zinc are safe up to about 500 mg. daily. At that huge dose, over a period of weeks or months, a copper deficiency may develop. A more sensible daily dose of 50 mg to perhaps 100 mg may be maintained for as long as is desired. A good multiple vitamin along with this will provide some balancing copper, as will (believe it or not) the copper water pipes in your home.
The "amino acid chelated" form of zinc is better tolerated and better absorbed than zinc sulfate or other inorganic forms of the mineral.
i can't believe that 500mg number, that's nutty. yes i know, coming from me that's an odd thing to hear, but seriously i haven't seen that particular research...
this is interesting too - i remember i had a GI yeast infection when i was a tween, right around the time i had my first outbreak... interesting that there's also a zinc/leaky gut connection...
Quote:
There is much anecdotal evidence that certain foods act as triggers to psoriasis. Glutens, red meats, dairy, and cultured foods can irritate the intestinal tract and perpetuate psoriasis outbreaks. Within the intestinal tract, bacteria and yeast help process our food. When yeast becomes excessive, it interferes with the body's ability to absorb vital nutrients, and cause a condition known as "leaky bowel" to occur. Toxins get into the body and trigger the immune system. A cleansing psoriasis diet can help remove the irritating foods from the bowels, allowing the body time to heal itself, and can also help to reduce the yeast, fungus or bacterial proliferation. So, is psoriasis an intestinal yeast infection, or a food allergy, or a nutritional deficiency, or a leaky bowel? The answers to those questions are still not determined scientifically. However, many people are controlling their psoriasis using the cleansing diet approach. Diet and the impact of certain foods on psoriasis is understudied. Combining therapies, (example: diet with homeopathic minerals, diet and herbs, omega oils with diet or herbs) is showing positive results in greater numbers of psoriasis patients. For example, homeopathic minerals, designed specifically for psoriasis (Vestalcare PsoriasisTablets) has been shown to benefit mild to moderate cases of psoriasis. When combined with a cleansing psoriasis diet, the benefits are increased.
there are some forums with sufferers saying their various topical zinc products are so-so to lame, with one person saying psoriasis has nothing to do with zinc but is a defect in keratinization (skin formation).. so i searched zinc deficiency and keratinization, and apparently zinc deficient rats get a proliferation of these membrane-coating granules, and what are they exactly?
Quote:
The content of the granules spreads over the cell surfaces, and subsequently a thickened and coated cell envelope is formed that resists the action of keratinolytic agent. The membrane-coating granule is regarded as a specific differentiation product of the keratinizing epithelium.
i don't get it yet but that sounds a fair bit like a psoriasis plaque in the making. must be that keratogenesis from the first reference above...
well, i could read up on it more, but i think i'll just keep monitoring my zinc and see how the skin comes along.
this whole psoriasis deal is part of the picture that helped confirm my neuro's ms dx. the inflammatory nature and relationships to arthritis i suppose. stupid genes.
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