En hälsosam kost vid MS kanske snart bör rekommenderas vid behandling.

Multipel Skleros (MS) är en sjukdom där det egna immunförsvaret angriper celler i centrala nervsystemet och orsakar inflammation och neurodegeneration, det vill säga att cellerna skadas och dör. Sjukdomar där immunförsvaret angriper egna kroppen kallas autoimmuna, där ordet auto betyder själv och kommer från grekiska. Automobil betyder alltså “rör sig själv”. Sjukdomen MS drabbar således nervsystemet och kan yttra sig med olika symtom beroende på vilka delar av detta som drabbas. Många drabbas opticus neurit, vilket innebär att synnerven är inflammerad och detta påverkar synen. Men många olika delar av kroppen kan påverkas beträffande både känsel och rörelseförmåga. Det finns både genetiska orsaker till sjukdomen och omgivningsfaktorer. Bland omgivningsfaktorer finns rökning, virus och man har också funnit att övervikt och kost har en inverkan. Övervikt och speciellt fetma ( BMI>30) som ung ökar risken att insjukna betydligt. Bland annat av den anledningen är livsstilsfaktorer som fysisk aktivitet och kost viktigt både för att förebygga sjukdom. Om man blivit sjuk i MS är det också viktigt då övervikt försvårar förmågan att röra sig. Man har under många år diskuterat huruvida kost kan inverka på sjukdomen. En amerikansk läkare, neurologiprofessorn Swank påbörjade en undersökning i slutet av 40 talet där deltagarna fick en mycket strikt diet att följa där man skulle minska antalet mättat fett till mindre än 20 gram per dag. Cirka 30 år senare publicerade han en studie som visade att de som följt hans diet hade förbluffande resultat och var i stort sett obesvärade av sjukdomen efter 30 år. För de som inte lyckats följa dieten gick det inte lika bra. Det hade emellertid hänt mycket med vilka krav man ställde på en studie under den tiden. När Swank påbörjade studien var det inte vanligt med studier där man hade en kontrollgrupp som i stort var lika som gruppen som studerades med undantag av just det som undersöktes. Men när studien lanserades fanns detta krav och därför uppmärksammades inte studien och de som granskade studien innan publiceringen avfärdade den i sin peer review. Sedan dess har emellertid många studier gjorts och nu verkar det som kosten kan komma att ses som en viktig del av behandlingen. Det kommer nämligen en artikel i en av världens främsta neurologiska tidskrifter Neurology (Amerikanska Neurologföreningens tidskrift) som säger att det finns tillräckligt med underlag för att rekommendera en hälsosam diet som en tilläggsbehandling vid MS.

Holländsk studie om kost vid MS ger stöd åt att kosten har betydelse vid MS

I februari 2021 publicerades The Dutch Study, en studie från Holland, vars resultat visade på att hälsosam diet medför bättre hälsa till kropp och själ hos vuxna holländare med MS I den holländska studien deltog 653 kvinnor och 105 män med MS. Majoriteten i båda grupperna hade en ur hälsosynpunkt bra kroppsvikt mätt med BMI (kg kroppsvikt/ längd m2) och fler än 80 procent var icke rökare. En av fem gjorde minst en halvtimme någon fysisk aktivitet om minst en halvtimme under fem dagar per vecka. Medelålder för kvinnor var 45 år och för män 53. Deltagare rekryterades genom en databas dit MS-patienter anmält sig frivilligt men man rekryterade också på andra sätt genom sociala medier, MS-centra med mera. Undersökningen genomfördes online mellan maj 2017 och februari 2018. Deltagarna fick svara på frågor som innebar en kartläggning av patienterna: ålder, längd,vikt, andra sjukdomstillstånd, rökning, tid man haft besvär av MS, ålder vid diagnos, typ av MS, om man haft skov och om sjukdomen progredierat (försämrats kontinuerligt utan skov).Vidare vilka behandlingar hade man nu eller fått tidigare, fysisk träning ledd av fysioterapeut eller egenträning, kostråd av dietist eller annan expert eller eller egenvald diet, andvändning av komplementär behandling eller alternativ behandling- dvs behandling utanför den traditionella vården. Deltagarna tillfrågades om de följde någon speciell diet eller om de ändrat sin diet för att påverka sin MS. Man analyserade deras svar utifrån vad som kallas Dutch Healthy Index, Ett index som används i Holland och som skall visa hur hälsosam den kost som intas är: Detta index är baserat på innehållet i födan av dessa åtta delar: grönsaker, frukt, fiber, fisk, mättat fett, transfetter, salt och alkohol. Vid uppskattning av index finns en skala där noll poäng är att man inte äter grönsaker alls. För mättat fett, transfetter, salt och alkohol gäller att man inte skall inta något om man skall få 10 poäng. Som bäst kan man få 80 poäng på denna skala. Detta index kallas DHD index Man använde ett formulär specifikt för MS, som kallas MS Quality of Life 54, för att bedöma livskvaliten ur fysiska och psykiska aspekter där man fick fram en siffra mellan 0-100 för de vardera fysisk och psykisk livskvalitet, Resultat Man fann en del skillnader mellan deltagarna. Kvinnorna hade i genomsnitt ett DHD index på 57,9 och män 55. Denna olikhet berodde till stor del på att kvinnor åt mer grönsaker och fibrer än män och mindre salt. Hos både män och kvinnor fanns om man delade upp i grupper högt , genomsnittligt och lågt DHD index statistiskt säkerställda skillnader avseende intag av grönsaker frukt, fisk och mättat fett. Hos alla deltagare fanns ett lågt intag av transfetter och alkohol. Man fann också skillnader avseende utbildning för kvinnor där de med högre utbildning hade bättre DHD index och de rökte inte och var mer fysiskt aktiva. Det var ingen skillnad mellan åldersgrupper eller vilken typ av MS man hade. Samma tendens fanns också för män men där var sambandet mindre starkt och ej statistiskt säkerställt. Avseende psykiskt välmående hade män i genomsnitt 6.8 på 10 gradig skala medan kvinnor hade 7. Psykisk hälsa var bättre än fysisk hälsa för både män och kvinnor, Vid högre DHD index fann man bättre fysisk och psykisk livskvalitet som kvarstod även efter att man tagit med i beräkningen ålder, utbildningsnivå, fysisk aktivitet, rökning och BMI. Man fann samma trend hos män men det var inte statistiskt signifikant,. En tredjedel av de tillfrågade följde en specifik diet och det vanligaste var att man var begränsade socker och kolhydratintag. De som följde en diet hade sju poäng högre DHD index än de som ej följde diet. Kvinnor, ickerökare, mer fysiskt aktiva samt de med högre utbildning. Olika Dieter: Jelineks diet, en vegan diet plus fisk och skaldjurs mat, där man tar bort mättat fett, processad mat, mjölkprodukter. ägg och kött åts av mindre än fem procent av deltagarna, men de som följde den hade 10 poäng högre DHD index än de som ej följde någon diet. Bästa psykiska hälsan fanns hos de med hög fiberdiet med de med vegetarisk diet hade bäst fysisk tillstånd enlig frågeformulär. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2021.1885240

Dimman lättar- min bok om MS

Fått förfrågning om min bok dimman lättar. Den är slutsåld. Därför lägger jag ut den på nätet att läsa. Man kan också få den uppläst om man använder microsofts Home Office kopierar materialet och klistrar in på "granska". Därifrån kan man sedan få texten uppläst. Första kapitlet Om Multiipel skleros Kapitel 3 Sunes historia Intervju med Per Bergman.

Mitt första inlägg se nedan.

 Så såg första  inlägget ut på vad jag då kallade min MS blogg. Sedan har det blivit 1000 tals inlägg och jag tycker att den är helt oöverskådlig men jag låter den ligga kvar.  Hur jag skall hantera mitt skrivande fortsättningsvis får hänga i luften tills vidare. Jag hade tänkt gå igenom allt men systemet verkar inte vara upplagt så att det är enkelt att göra det. Kan konstatera att jag mår bättre psykiskt och fysiskt än  jag gjorde då 2005 då inlägget skrev trots att jag är 17 år äldre och dessutom haft prostatacancer (el har- man blir ju aldrig friskförklarad från denna typ av cancer). Skulle vara intressant att veta vad som gör att jag mår såpass bra av min MS. Tror det är en kombinationa av allt:  kost, fysisk träning, yoga, avkoppling från stress ( är ju pensionär) d-vitamin, sol. Medicinering med statin.  Jag tror också jag har mycket att tacka min långtidsbehandling med högdos kortison ( egentligen var det inte så lång tid cirka 5 veckor) för. Detta gjorde att min fatigue försvann och att jag blev fysiskt mycket bättre,  mitt periodvis släpande ben försvann. Så här nu i efterhand tror jag att behandlingen med kortison i hög dos lång tid  tog bort inflammationen i hjärnan. Redan 2003  började jag med statin och ganska snart efter det fick jag tillbaka full rörlighet i höger arm, något som då funnits i 17 månader. Statinerna har ju en antiinlammatorisk verkan och gavs då till en  del MS patienter. Tyvärr har det inte varit lönsamt att fortsätta med forskning om statiner och MS då patentet gått ut.  Sedan har kost och det övriga  hjälpt till att hålla det borta. Det är spekulationer men så tror jag.

Welcome to my ms blog

4wd Originally uploaded by overhagen.

Welcome to My MS blog.

This is a photo of me usíng a suzuki 4 wheel motorbike. It is an excellent way to transport yourself into the nature if you have difficulties to walk in the forest. Sune Överhagen

Disturbances of the biological rhythm can have consequences

Within WHO there is an organization called International Agency for Research Cancer ( IARC). 

This organization has produced a  monograph on night shift work and cancer.  We are doing night shift work during the time when people in general are usually sleeping. People often work night shifts  in health care, manufacturing, transport, retail and services sectors. In the monograph IARC says that night shift work probably can be carcinogenic  to human beings. This was based on limited evidence from human studies (about breast, prostate, colon and rectum cancers)  sufficient evidence of cancer in experimental animals and strong mechanistic evidence in experimental animal. (mechanistic evidence means that the physiological processes  behind the development of cancer  are known)

 

Among the mechanistic evidence you have research about the circadian clock. When the circadian rhythm is disturbed  the production of melatonin from the pineal gland is reduced which means less melatonin in the blood. One thing we know about melatonin is that it is a strong antioxidant which counteract the free radicals. Free radicals are produced in our cells when the energy in the body is produced but the free radicals are side effects which can hurt tissues and cells just as side effects of medical drugs can hurt. In the long run this side effects might be carcinogenic.

Other mechanistic evidence are effect of  sleep disturbances on the immune system, irregular proliferation of cells. (Needed to restore for example  damaged cells in the gastrointestinal canal – one can say that we haft night shift repairing work in the body  while sleeping.)

 

What happens to shift workers circadian rhythm is called social jet lag. If you fly over several time zones many disturbances happen with our body’s circadian clock. We can get sleep disturbances but many organs can be affected. Problems from the gastro intestinal canal are not uncommon.  The social jet lag started when we got constant access to good light regardless of the time of day. The advent of television and later other types of monitors have changed many people’s life and many are tied to the apparatus much of the time.   People seldom experience twilight and darkness which are natural stimulus for sleep. In addition, a lot of time is spent indoors and  time in the daylight can be a very small part of a day, perhaps only 10 percent.   Daylight a dark winterday in Sweden is perhaps 1000 LUX and a sunny day it can be significantly more up to 100 100 LUX. Insade the light is between 25-200 LUX. This is important  for the production of melatonin which during the day takes place in the mitochondria of our cells. The mitocondriia are the part of the cell where energy is produced and it is ingenious that the melatonin produced there during daytime and thus can neutralize the free radicals that are formed during the energy production.

As a matter of fact many of us live with a social jet lag, which can lead to many cases of illness. Some of these illnesses are serious. It is wise to try reducing these risk factors. The body has during thousands of years  developed mechanisms  to take care of our health and it is only recently we have got a lot of knowledge about it. A researcher Till Roenneberg said the following:  Imagine you put laundry in the washing machine and put on a program that will run for70 minutes. You don’t stop it after 10 minutes and take out the laundry ?!, But that’s exactly  how we treat our body when we go to the fridge and grab a sandwich late at night.  Then we break our body’s repair process. And there are many ways to destroy the natural body rhythm

 

Do we have an internal clock in our bodies?

Yes, we have. But we do not use very smart nowadays. By the way, it's not just a watch. Research says that almost every cell in our body has its own clock and that the clock is unique to each cell. It instructs the cell in what to do. If it is a cell that is intended to produce hormone, it tells the cell that it is now time to do so. The hormone cortisol is mostly produced during the day and is our awakening hormone. It is daylight that starts the production of cortisol. There is also a hormone, melatonin, that stimulates our sleep. Dark and dim light facilitates and induces the production of melatonin in a gland in the brain. the pineal gland.

Roughly speaking, the day has two main components: day and night.

During the day we will eat, work, socialize and so on.

During the night we will rest and sleep.

But it's not really that simple. Even during rest and sleep, a lot happens in the body and not least in the brain. During the night, repair and cleansing processes take place in the body. During the day, a lot of residual products of the activity that took place during the day have accumulated in the brain and now during sleep, these must be collected and removed from the brain. It is believed that this can be of great importance in reducing diseases of the brain.

The stomach and intestines work hard during the day. Food and drink have come to be refined. It involves wear and tear on the surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract that come in contact with food and the substances, chemicals that the body uses to assimilate food. In the stomach, stomach acid is produced, which is a fairly strong acid that sometimes kills bacteria that should not be present in food. Of course, these chemicals also leave marks on the body's own tissue, such as mucous membranes and the like. During the night, these damages must be repaired and it is the cells' bells that contribute to this repair process being able to take place.

But what happens if you take a sandwich late at night. Then all these repair activities must stop because now the digestion must start again. And even worse if you wake up and eat in the middle of the night. Then there will never be a proper repair done in the gastrointestinal tract. We will of course notice it, through acid reflux, a lot of gas, pain, stomach cramps, diarrhea, constipation. And perhaps even worse, there are studies that show that a circadian rhythm that deviates from our biological clock can contribute to several different diseases.

For many years I have had slightly varying stomach problems. It got a little better when it was discovered that I do not tolerate gluten. Then I started something called the FODMAP diet which means that you exclude foods that can cause you to get fermentation processes in the stomach due to certain bacteria. With this diet I got better and could handle my problems. But when I read that limiting the time you eat can reduce such symptoms, I started applying this. I have started eating for a period of nine hours during the day and fast the rest. During "fasting" I get to drink water. This has now been going on for about 40 days.

From day two, I have not had any symptoms from the stomach. I hope it continues that way. It seems that there is a lot of important news in this research about the body's circadian rhythm.

As mum said. Children, go out into the open air !

 A paradox is concept which holds condradictory traits. Recently I saw a youtube video about vitamin D and outcomes of Covid 19. Research has discovered that Covid 19 patients with low blood levels of vitamin D were less likely to survive than those with higher values. But on the other hand substitutions of vitamin D early did not alter this outcome. And that's a paradox, how come?

This is a  classic topic when examining research result. There can be many other factors which are working beside the vitamin D. In the video Roger Seheult  Med Cram  tells us about  other studies about correlations  of sunshine and  covid 19.  And when being out in the open air  and the daylight-sunlight several other things happen to the body. One thing we know happen is that daylight is important for the production of melatonin in the mitocondrias. But there are also many things we don't know about yet which perhaps happens to us when we are out in the sunlight -daylight. So that melatoninproduction in the mitocondrias is only a hypothesis.

 In the mitocondrias the energy which the cells need is produced. When energy is produced sideproducts are also produced which can cause oxidative stress. This stress can hurt and destroy  proteins in the cell and in the long run this can cause  chronic inflammation and disease. The melatonin functions as a very strong antioxidant and counteract the  oxidative stress. Perhaps this is what happens when covid 19 seems to be worse in the northern parts where there is less sunshine.

Exercise and disease especially Multiple Sclerosis

I just read an article on the internet about exercise and different diseases. It is an interview  with a Swedish neurologist Anders Funkquist. He says that he sees a clear difference between patients who do exercise and those who don't. Almost all sorts of patients can do better  with the right  form of activities. Of course there are patients who are in a situation where exercise is not the best form of activitity . People may need to save their energy for the things in life which give them the best life quality. Some people can walk with big difficulties and are very sceptic to wheelchairs. But in certain situations this is the  best for them. Perhaps they enjoy being out in nature, going walking downtown but they do not have the energy to do it. In such situations a wheelchair can be the best way to enjoy being outside. Sometimes you can use the wheelchair as a walking support like a walker. In situations it could be important to have beds which help you to rise and so on, so that you can use your energy to do things you like. These were my own thoughts, but many patients are getting better  by the right exercise and among those many with neurological diseases as MS.

Dr Funkquist says it important to exercise even if you don't have problems right now but you can prevent future problems or make them less serious. He says that especially training of balance and coordination is important and that is my own  experience too. As a matter of fact that'a one of the reasons why i wrote my book about MS. Funkquist talks abour MS and progression. There are no studies saying that exercise would halt progression in MS but there are studies about exercise for a big population which shows that exercise halts brain atrophy- and of course he says that is applicable for MS patients too. If you do a research for such studies it is very easy to find them. A review of the effects of physical traning. Effects of physical activity on brain function.

I have found that exercise made a great part of my fatigue go away. And of course I got a better shape. My balance too. And when my fatigue disappeared  my memory became better.

So I completely  agree with dr Funkquist about training. This is my painting Autumn. Painting is a good training for dexterity

Researchers doing basic research behind the circadian clock got the Noble prize in 2017

  Här är en svensk version

 In 2017, the Americans Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young recieved the Nobel Prize for their research about the circadian clock. A research that has led to a lot of practical knowledge about how we can feel better and avoid diseases. Diseases that are already known to be important are sleep disorders, type II diabetes, obesity-associated diseases, bipolar disorder and more.

 

About the Nobel Prize behind our circadian clock. 

Background: The genome is found on chromosomes, which in turn are found inside the cell nucleus of a cell. Genes are also found in the mitochondria but that's not relevant here. 

During the day when the gene called PERIOD is active, messenger RNA  is produced which is transported out of the cell nucleus to the  cytoplasm of the cell,which is the material that is inside the cell between the cell membrane and the nucleus. (Numbers 1 and 2 in the picture).

The messenger-RNA then produces the PER protein which is after that transported into the cell nucleus (Numbers 3 and 4) and there the activity of the gene later is blocked as a result of this charging. This gives rise to feedback with the consequence that the production of the PER protein is stopped, and this happens at night. This is a part of the mechanism behind the circadian clock or rhythm.

Michael W. Young discovered two more proteins called TIMELESS, which help the PER protein enter the cell nucleus. Furthermore, his research team found another gene, Doubletime, which controls when the PER protein is to be destroyed. I read this in a PBS article.

 

 PBS Public Broadcasting Service is an organization independent of state and companies funded by voluntary grants.

The artist who illustrates for Nobel Media is called Niklas Elmehed. He too deserves attention.

The Master Circadian Clock

 svensk version här

Mammalian physiology and behavior (and we are mammals) are organized in a daily program that makes a coordinated regulation in the body of light and dark conditions during the day and the night. This organization is also found in most cells in our body as well as circadian clocks (circadian clock). This machinery in the cells consist of genes that regularly express (produce) proteins, which interact in a network in the cell and affect other genes and thereby control the cell's physiology and metabolism. Almost half of all mammalian genes express in this way with a regular rhythm. In modern physiology, the importance of clock genes has been increasingly explored, and it has been found that they are directly involved in sleep disorders, but also in the development of diabetes, cancer, bipolar disorder and other chronic diseases.

 

^{For this circadian rhythm system to work, all circadian clocks in the body must be in step with each other and with the 24-hour clock; This is what the Master Circadian Clock does. It is like a pacemaker that sends out impulses with some regularity to the body's various cells, glands, organs. This regularity has developed over thousands of years, and from what I understand, it makes it easier for the body if as much as possible is done in a pre-arranged way. When you eat at different times, it signals to the salivary glands, gastric mucosa, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine and rectum in an adapted time sequence and contributes to digestion and absorption of nutrients, waste management  according to the plan that the circadian clock has. Not least, it is important that the body's organs are allowed to rest regularly and heal what has been damaged during the waking period. Sleep is an extremely important repair period for the body and its parts.}

^{The master circadian clock is located in the brain nearby where the optic nerves intersect. And exactly there  the signals from retina come and tell that’s time for the pineal gland to stop producing melatonin - the bright day has begun}

^Source:

About different lights in the sunshine

Kan läsas på svenska här

 Hallo, welcome back to my blog.

I have been trying to understand more about the light from the sun and what the different lights could do to our health. I find this is very interesting field and I am curious about what will become of this new knowledge from scientists and  new studies. The sunshine spectrum is from ultraviolet  to infrared which means from the wavelenghts of about 250 nm to 10⁶ nm. One nanometer is 0.000000001 meter.  The wavelength of the light is important because the longer wavelength the more energy it contains. So the light we can see contains just about 40 percent of the total solar energy. The ultraviolet only seven percent but the infrared light has more than 50 percent of the total sun energy. 

Anyway,  ultraviolet light with short wavelength is important and gives us vitamin D. This explains why it is important to expose one self to the sunlight at the correct time as to the latitude where you are. In Sweden for example it is mostly possible to get the vitamin D from the sun from March until October and one have to "sunbathe" while your shadow is shorter than yourself ( the sun must be pretty high in the sky). The time one have to spend in the sun is short. In about a quarter of an hour you can get your daily need of vitamin D. If you are overveight or older you will have to spend a little more time. It is important that it is a short time because there are many warnings about risks of sunbathing and getting melanoma.

Picture: Four important lights from the sun.

1.The blue light is also very important. It is a part of the visible light. In the morning and during the day it gives us energy and helps us concentrate, react fast and is good for your mood and mental health. Light therapy  with blue and other  lights is used for depression and other sorts of unhealth. At night, however, blue lights can destroy your sleep. In the eye there is a part of the retina situated low in the eye which have special nervcells sensible to blue light. At night this can be a problem because when the blue lights hits this low part of retina, the special nervcells are activated and send signals to the inner part of the brain and further on to the pineal gland and tells it not to produce any metatonin..The melatonin is produced in the pineal gland at night and that melatonin goes into the blood and helps us among other things to sleep. But in the morning when morning light with the blue light hits the eye the gland stops to produce this melatonin.

2.  The NIR ( near infrared) light has a different function on the body but it works with melatonin too. In stead of the melatonin of the pineal gland this   is produced in the power station of our bodycells during daytime. The light which stimulates production is the NIR ligth. This NIR light has long wavelengths and a lot of energy so it can penetrate deep into the skin and the body. In this  way many of the powerstations or mitocondrias are hit by the NIR light. This is important because melatonin has another important function. It takes care of many toxic substances which are produced as side effects of the energy production in the mitocondrias. This is very effective because the melatonin is produced where it is needed during daytime.  This might prevent many diseases and that's why it is so fascinating. As time goes by we will know more.

What I write about so far is very much common knowledge in the way that there are no contraversies concerning the facts. When digging deeper I am sure there will be different opinions among experts and researchers.

The app- My circadian Clock

Detta kan läsas på svenska här

Today, the day after Russia tried to invade Ukraine, I downloaded an app called My circadian clock. By taking a photo of what I eat or drink during each day and night for two weeks and noting when and what I eat, and by noting my exercise activities during the same period, this app will map my circadian rhythm for these activities and it will tell me how my biological clock works.

 

It is about how humans but also animals and plants have adapted to how light changes during the day and night. At the equator, day and night have the same duration, but up in the north and in the south it is more complicated. There you can have midnight sun in the summer and the winters can be very dark. In the 19th century, this biological system was attacked by the electric light, and nowadays most of us do not have the habits of our ancestors. We do not get up when the sun rises and we do not go to bed at sunset. This has damaged our biological master clock, the circadian rhythm and there is a lot of science about the consequences. Especially some professionals like shiftworkers have major problems. They are not the only ones - for example in Europe, the population spends between 80 and 90 percent of their time indoors.

 

Anyway, with the app I take a snapshot of the food I eat, record time and what I eat. I also record my exercises in the same way. It is possible to register when you sleep, but I do not because I think it would be difficult. After two weeks I get a result and by looking at it I can make my biological clock better. Wow, this is really exciting.

 

This is a study and I plan to continue with the app. An exciting result from the same researcher Dr. Panda at the Salk Institute Calif. is that it is more important to limit eating to the circadian cycle by eating for a certain period of time up to twelve hours. In the study, two groups ate the same amount of food but one group did so for a certain period of time and the other did so at any time during the day and night. When the study was over, the group that ate at a certain time had lost weight and other parameters were also better. 

Satchin Panda – Circadian Theory of Health

This  movie from Salk Institure is really interesting and there is a lot of news at least to me about the circadian rhythm. The application of what we now so´far about our inner clocks can help people to lose weight and prevent diseases. So have a great time and enjoy this video with the researcher Satchin Pan

If you  are short of time listen to him on TED Talks.

Modern physiology may help you to sleep better:

Svensk version av detta här

Our globe circulates around the sun once a year since beginning of time. The globe also rotates around itself in a space of 24 hours i.e. one day and one night.At the equator the day is twelve hours and the night also twelve hours all year around. The further north or south you come the differences between days and nights become larger, so if you live very far to the north you might have no daylight in winter but in summer you can see  the midnight sun. This is a part of reality which can damage your sleep.

Modern times complicates these patterns of light. Many peoples nowadays spend a lot of time indoors and almost never go out.  The working population of Europe spend between 10 and 20 percent of their time in the open air and the American population even less; the average American spend 87 percent indoors and 5.5 percent in the car according to The National Human Activity Pattern Survey.  The last decades we have also gotten a lot of artificial lights from cellphones, computers, TV, e-books and LED lights and all those have a blue light which can disturb our ability to  sleep.

Our ancestors had from the beginning quite a different situation. At daytime they spent most of the time outdoors in order to get food and at night they rested and slept in their caves. This way of life continued for thousands of years and it was only when the electric light came that the situation started to change.  Man and animals adapted to their light conditions for thousands of years. We developed our inner clock and the circadian rhythm which fit well to human life until recently. The clock and the rhythm followed the outside light; but now there are so many things which disturb the those physiological processes which our body acquired. The good thing is that we all still have the biological clock and  the circadian rhythm which we can restore- at least some parts.

We have learnt more and more about melatonin and its importance for our sleep. It is also a strong antioxidant which can work against oxygen stress in our body cells and especially in the power stations in the cell ( the mitocondrias). This could help us fight diseases.

Daylight and night darkness regulate the circadian rhythm and the biological clock(s).  The infrared light is an important part the sunlight although we cannot see it. It has long wavelengths and contains lots of energy. The large amount of energy in infrared light allows  it to penetrate quite deep into our body.

I. You have to open your window, go to the balcony or go out to get in contact with this light. This is  important if you want to get a better sleep. When your body and your eyes meet the infrared light things start to happen and your body awakens. During night melatonin is produced in the pineal gland in your brain. When the infrared light hits your eyes and your retina nerve signals tell the pineal gland to stop producing melatonin. Instead the power stations, the mitocondries of your body cells start to produce it. As the infrared light can penetrate rather deep into your body( between one to eight millimeters) a lot of mitondries  now can produce the important melatonin. Going out in the fresh air outdoors will help you to restore your circadian rhythm.

II. Another important thing is to finish the day in a way which fits with your biological clock.  Avoid strong light during the evenings at least one or two hours before going to bed. It is the blue light which is the worst for the circadian rhythm. Blue light exist in most screens like laptops, TVs, cellphones, e-books etc. It is not very wise to watch those screens before going to sleep.  Better to read paper books and watch other things.

This is a part of how modern physiology can help you to a better sleep.

The Sunshine and production of Melatonin

 On Youtube there is a really interesting video from Med Cram called Sunlight: Optimize Health and Immunity (Light Therapy and Melatonin) with Dr Roger Seheult. He is a great educator and one of the very best I have seen and heard.

 After seeing that I'll try to change my internal clock and goi for a walk in the sunlight every morning in order to make my body produce melatonin.

This is a picture from the video where one can see the spectrum of the sunlight. The blue ones are the ultraviolet  lights with among others UVB which helps the skin produce  vitamin D. The light to the left  has the shortest wavelengths and that means also that they do no penetrate very easy. The infrared light to the right have the longest  wavelengths  and they penetrate more easy.  One cannot see the infrared light but the portion of it nearest to the light you can see is very important. It is marked NIR (near infrared range) and it helps our mitocondrias to produce melatonin. 

The mitocondrias are inside the human cell and the function is to produce energi. While producing energy there are residual products which can harm the mitocondria, the cell and the organ, something which is called oxidative stress. The function of melatonin is to disarm the oxidative stress. Melatonin is an antioxidant which the body produces it self.

For people who only can do sitting or lying down exercises and for others too- but of course

In this youtube video there are work outs  which you can do while sitting . Many muscle groups are engaged and these are good exercises.

Of course you don't have to take out all the movements fully if you cannot manage them as  well-trained Donovan Green in the movie. As always, It's good what you can do. For example , if you don't have the strength to walk as far as recommended, it is enough what you manage. For many small paths inside the home is good training.

D-vitamin tycks minska risken för autoimmuna sjukdomar

 Det har kommit en stor undersökning om D-vitamin och omega -3, som funnit att substitution av D-vitamin tycks minska förekomsten av autoimmuna sjukdomar.  Det handlar om autoimmuna sjukdomar som drabbar äldre  bl a reumatoid artrit, Crohns sjukdom, psoriasis m fl.

Undersökningen är publicerad i British Medical Journal och kan läsas där. Undersökningen är således publicerad i en av de mest välrenommerade mediciska tidskrifterna och självklart är peer review gjord.

Man kan också se en bra genomgång av studien på  Youtube med  Dr Roger Seheult som går i genom studien på ett föredömligt sätt och dessutom talar lättförståelig engelska.

Utvärdering av min hälsa januari 2022- om prostatacancer och MS

 Det har gått sex år sedan jag skrev någon utvärdering av min hälsa. Det var i juli 2015. Vad jag inte skrev om då var att jag skulle opereras för prostatacancer den 12 augusti detta år. ( jag kommer inte ihåg om jag fått diagnosen då). I alla fall opererades jag . Operationen gick bra. Tumören var på gränsen till att passera "kapseln" som omger prostata så man fick göra en lite större borttagning av vävnad med bl a nervskador. Detta har gett mig en del urineringsbesvär med mera. 

I samband med operationen försvann de trängningar jag haft sedan min MS ( eller kanske de helt enkelt berodde på prostatasjukdomen?) Hur som helst de försvann vilket ju var en lättnad. Under tio dagar efter operationen hade jag kateter och det var som semester, för första gången på många år kunde jag sova hela nätter. Men sedan  kom problematiken med inkontinens och den har varit ett kapitel för sig.

I samband med operationen tar man bort en av sfinktrarna  som hindrar urinen från att rinna från blåsan och man har kvar en sfinkter, som man måste träna upp för att få det att fungera. Trots idog träning har det inte lyckats speciellt bra., Förmiddagarna fungerar bra men eftermiddagarna har jag behövt använda droppskydd. Dock sedan jag laddade hem en träningsapp  så har inkontinensen blivit bättre och idag kan jag vissa dagar klara mig utan droppskydd. Nätterna måste jag använda ett sådant. Jag skulle vilja rekommendera denna app. TÄT III

I mitt fall kontrolleras prostatacancern med PSA prov. Första året togs det två ggr /år men numera en gång per år och det har inte varit mätbart värde- dvs bra. Detta är dock inte  någon garanti för framtiden, men man uppskattade att jag skulle ha fyra år att leva om jag inte opererade mig och nu har det gått sex.

Min MS då. Jag måste säga att jag är nöjd. Är det  någon förändring senaste åren är det till det bättre. De problem jag känner är framförallt att jag har svårt att hitta ord. Minnet är inte perfekt. Gångförmågan är okay, men jag måste var noga med var jag sätter mina fötter speciellt då jag går nerför trappor. Jag kan jogga. Lite problem med sväljning såtillvida, att jag får ibland hosta då jag ätit- egentligen inget problem men det finns där.  Efter 15 år med MS har de flesta personer behov av gånghjälpmedel och nu har det gått betydligt längre tid för mig. Man kan bara känna tacksamhet. Jag tror att min dagliga träning, min kost  har hjälpt mig men troligen är det också så att jag fått en lindrig MS- även om den under några år var ganska besvärlig.

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