Just Desserts
Ready for some really cool stuff?
Here are a number of tidbits of knowledge I’ve discovered or insights I’ve gained over the years of doing my research. I have always been a trivia nut and seeking out neat little clues about how our body really works and why disease really develops became the focus of my investigation. Along the way, I found a few things that were course-changing and number of others that were simply mind-bending. I’ll let you decide which is which.
Dogtor J
Just Desserts
Did you know researchers have found that nearly 40% of the genetic information in our DNA is viral information? This explains what we call “genetic diseases” including familial and breed tendencies toward food intolerance (e.g. celiac disease), neurological disorders (e.g. epilepsy), and numerous cancers.
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The “big 4” foods – gluten (from wheat, barley, rye), casein (from dairy), soy and corn are the only four foods we consume that are used to make industrial adhesives? Elmer’s Glue was first created by Borden using casein, which makes up over 80% of the protein content of cow milk. Your rear view mirror is stuck to the windshield using a spy-based super glue. They had to come up with a pretty powerful adhesive to stick metal to glass and have it endure temperature and humidity changes, didn’t they? Soy-based glues are the most powerful of all. The best they can do with corn-adhesives is put cardboard boxes together with them.
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Over 50% of our children over age five have Epstein-Barr virus, the Herpes virus linked to mononucleosis and often incriminated in chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. But over 95% of Americans after age 40 are known to have this virus in their body. Epstein-Barr has been recently tied to two forms of leukemia and a form of lymphoma (Burkitt’s lymphoma). Uh oh! But how many Americans have any of these conditions? Lesson learned: Viruses are not the malicious creatures we’ve made them out to be. They actually serve important purposes in our body. We just keep making the ones we have living in us mad by pouring carcinogens all over them.
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The official incidence of celiac disease (gluten intolerance) in the United States as of mid 2009 is 1:120 Americans, according to John’s Hopkins University and the Mayo Clinic. This is a quantum leap from the medical profession’s previous position in early 2000 when I was diagnosed: “Celiac disease is a rare disorder occurring in less than I: 5000 Americans”. But I found back then that the official rate of gluten intolerance in Italy was over 1:100. That rate is now 1:55. However, some celiac researchers now believe that gluten sensitivity is likely to be universal, negatively affecting everyone (and everything) who consumes it but only eliciting symptoms in 1/3 of the population at any given moment. Stay tuned – the story of man’s worst horticultural creation (common wheat) is still unfolding.
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Carcinogens don’t cause cancer. Viruses do. Carcinogens cause viruses to cause cancer. Once we get this relationship into proper perspective, we can get on with the task before us – preventing and treating cancer properly by eliminating the triggers (carcinogens) and focusing on the health of the immune system, which is designed to prevent cancer before it develops and limit it’s spread when it does occur. Many of the viruses that “cause” cancer are embedded in our very DNA, the explanation for genetic cancers in families of humans and breeds of dog . But these cancer viruses are “genetic”, why do they take years and years to cause tumors to form? The obvious explanation is that it takes that long for us to expose them to enough carcinogens to make them emerge from the DNA. Now whose fault is cancer?
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There is a newly described group of bacteria called pleomorphic bacteria. They are also termed intracellular bacteria, cell wall deficient bacteria, L-form bacteria and mollicutes. These fascinating microorganisms can shed their outer covering and enter cells, including those of all tissues and even blood cells. Once inside the cell, their DNA interacts with that of the cell’s mitochondria, the power plant of the cell and the organelle responsible for cell differentiation, the latter being the ability of the cell to morph into a different form. The mitochondria also determines the rate at which the cell divides once the nucleus tells it to do so. What’s fascinating to see is that these tiny bacteria are a vital part of the cell’s ability to adapt to the ever-changing environment that surrounds it. In this regard, the bacteria act as messengers from the outside, delivering information about the external threats that may jeopardize the health of that cell (e.g. cigarette smoking). Are these pleomorphs involved in cancer? Oh yeah. But cancer is not what you may think. Tumors are little more that “protective cocoons” that the cell spins in order to protect itself from further exposure to carcinogens. This process is initiated and perpetuated by the viruses and bacteria living inside that cell. It’s all about adaptation and cancer is the final card that our residential protectors (viruses and intracellular bacteria) play in order to stay in the game.
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Much more to come…
Dogtor J
