Controlling gum disease improves blood sugar control in diabetics

Diabetic patients have a higher risk of developing periodontal disease and gum disease is common in diabetics. Researchers in Madrid note that studies since the 1960s show gum disease worsens blood sugar control. The researchers studied patients with moderate but chronic periodontitis in this small but solidf study; half of whom had diabetes and the other half being diabetes free. All patients went through conventional treatment that included root planing and root scaling. Within a few months all showed improvement in gum bleeding, the amount of plaque on their teeth, and the degree of looseness of teeth. Furthermore, the team found that the group with diabetes had a significant improvement in glucose control measured by a drop in glycosylated hemoglobin, commonly called the A1C measurement. It fell from 7.2 to 5.7. Glycosylated hemoglobin gives a longer term picture of blood sugar control and the higher the level the worse the sugar levels over a two to three month period. Diabetes and gum disease is a cycle with diabetes causing gum disease and gum disease then worsening blood sugar control. The study appears in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

Yesterday we reported that taking a combination of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and ibuprofen prevented the onset of Alzheimer's disease in patients who inherited a gene from their parents that puts them at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Spirulina plus Zinc helps treat chronic arsenic poisoning

Introduction: Inorganic Arsenic is a heavy metal that is classified as a carcinogen (it directly causes cancer). Cancers of the lungs, skin, and bladder have occured with an exposure to 10 to 40 mcg of inorganic arsenic daily. Arsenic causes cancer of the lungs, bladder, liver, kidneys, skin, and prostate. Inorganic arsenic is routinely added to chicken feed to control intestinal parasites. It was thought that the amount of arsenic passed on to most people eating chicken was not high enough to be harmful. A report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in January 2004 turned this belief on its head. The level of arsenic found in chicken was three to four times higher than that found in other poultry or meats. The study included 5,000 chickens sampled over seven years by inspectors at the USDA. According to the Department of Agriculture scientists if a person consumed 60 grams of chicken a day (two ounces of chicken meat) they would be exposed to between 1.38 to 5.24 mcg of inorganic arsenic (from chicken alone). If people were at the highest end of chicken intake (350 grams per day - this is equivalent to 11.7 ounces per day) they consumed from 21.13 mcg to 31.5 mcg of inorganic arsenic a day (just from the chicken) and up to 47.7 mcg of total arsenic per day from chicken alone (organic plus inorganic arsenic).

Study: Millions of people are consuming high levels of arsenic from their drinking water, and many have developed chronic arsenic poisoning. In this study 41 patients with chronic arsenic poisoning were placed on either inactive placebo, or 250mg of Spirulina with 2 mg of Zinc twice a day for 16 weeks. They also only consumed arsenic safe drinking water. At four weeks there was a sharp increase in the urinary excretion of arsenic in the Spirulina plus Zinc supplemented group which continued for another two weeks. 47.1% of the arsenic was removed from scalp hair samples versus the start of the study. Arsenic causes color patching of the skin, a condition known as melanosis. Supplementing with Spirulina plus Zinc, but not with placebo, significantly reduced the clinical score for melanosis. Arsenic causes keratosis of the hands and feet; a build up of horny growth due to an overproduction of keratin. In the Spirulina plus Zinc group the clinical score for keratosis was significantly reduced, which was not acheived in the placebo group. The study is published in the current issue of the journal Clinical Toxicology.