My Bilateral Total Knee Replacement And Addiction Experiences: ROOT CAUSE OF ARTHRITIS & OTHER DISEASES

Okay, so we have had our implants installed in our knees and we get our lives back. But what do we do next? Similarly, if some people are lucky enough to have survived cancer and are in remission, should these people just carry on with their lives without making any changes and without knowing what went wrong in the first place in order to prevent a relapse? My biggest fear is that I am still exposing myself to Osteoarthritis (OA) in other joints or maybe even in the TKR joints? These are questions that have been flooding my mind. Does OA still exist after TKR? What can I do to prevent OA?

So here lies the most important question - what is the root cause of OA? Most medical professionals would say that its due to ageing, overweight, genetics, overuse or injuries. If this is the case, why is it that more and more younger people are getting OA and some of them without fitting the bill for any of these given reasons. There has to be a more logical explanation for this. So for the past several months, I have been doing some research. I actually started out by trying to find out what is the root cause of OA but I got more than what I bargained for. I have gathered so much of information which is impossible to capture in one post thus, there will be several more posts to come. And I want to thank some of my blog readers and TKR forum members for giving me a heads up that OA still exist after TKR.

WHEAT BELLY

In 2010 , a brilliant cardiologist named William Davis, MD, published a book called Wheat Belly, which instantly became a best seller in the New York Times. One of my blog readers, Barbara K. left me a comment about wheat belly (Barbara, if you are reading this, thank you so much for sharing this information). I checked out the wheat belly blog and also got hold of the book and read it. Davis explained that the wheat we are consuming today is a genetically modified kind of wheat (to increase yield-per-acre) that had never been seen on earth before about 50 years ago. This wheat is called "dwarf" wheat and it has replaced most of the other strains of wheat in the United States (and in much of the world). Davis says that "Modern wheat, despite all the genetic alterations to modify hundreds, if not thousands, of its genetically determined characteristics, made its way to the worldwide human food supply without nary a question surrounding its suitability for human consumption".

In 2011, journalist/educator Tom Naughton interviewed Davis on the subject of wheat. Here is an extract of the interview which you can find on Naughton's website which explains how Davis started noticing the problem with wheat.

Quote

Naughton: "You're a cardiologist by profession, yet you just wrote an in-depth book about the negative effects of consuming wheat. How did wheat end up on your radar? What first made you suspect wheat might be behind many of our modern health problems?

Davis: If foods made from wheat raise blood sugar higher than nearly all other foods (due to its high-glycemic index), including table sugar, then removing wheat should reduce blood sugar. I was concerned about high blood sugar since around 80% of the people coming to my office had diabetes, pre-diabetes, or what I call "pre-pre-diabetes". In short, the vast majority of people showed abnormal metabolic markers.

I provided patients with a simple two-page handout on how to do this i.e. how to eliminate wheat and replace the lost calories with healthy foods like more vegetables, raw nuts, meats, eggs, avocados, olives, olive oil etc. They'd come back three months later with lower fasting blood sugars, lower haemoglobin A1c (a reflection of the previous 60 days' blood sugar); some diabetics became non-diabetics, pre-diabetics became non-pre-diabetic. They'd also be around 30 pounds lighter.

Then they began to tell me about other experiences: Relief from arthritis and joint pains, chronic rashes disappearing, asthma improved sufficiently to stop inhalers, chronic sinus infections gone, leg swelling gone, migraine headaches gone for the first time in decades, acid reflux and irritable bowel symptoms relieved. At first, I told patients it was just an odd coincidence. But it happened so many times to so many people that it became clear this was no coincidence: this was a real and reproducible phenomenon.

That's when I began to systematically remove wheat from everyone's diet and continued to witness similar turnarounds in health across dozens of conditions. There has been no turning back since."

Unquote

Now I know what all of you must be thinking. What are the foods we eat that has wheat in it? Its breads, roti canai, capati, pasta, cereals, cookies, cakes, donuts, noodles, french fries, chips, frozen food, canned foods, soya sauce, oyster sauce, snacks, candies and the list goes on. Its virtually in every product you see on the shelf of supermarkets. Okay, I know some of you might want to throw stones at me right now. What?? You must be kidding! Are we supposed to give up all these foods? All these attractive and yummy foods?

Before you continue to rant, let's learn more about this wheat that is supposed to be dangerous for us.

WHAT DOES WHEAT DO TO US?

According to Davis, besides raising blood sugar and insulin, wheat has an addictive component called gliadin. Gliadin is the most abundant protein found in wheat, contained within gluten polymers. Upon digestion, gliadin is reduced to a collection of 5 polypeptides, each 4 or 5 amino acids long, that bind to the opiate receptors of the brain. Unlike opiates such as morphine and heroin, gliadin-derived polypeptides don’t provide pain relief nor euphoria, but only stimulate appetite. Therefore, we tend to eat a lot more calories per day and after two hours, we crave for more carbohydrate foods again. Then we eat again and then we crave for more - much like an addiction and withdrawal symptom.

Wheat contains Amylopectin A which raises blood sugar and if there is repetitive high sugar, it increases visceral fat or as Davis called it "wheat belly". So food that contains wheat makes us fat and it is the main cause of obesity and diabetes. Its not our fault then that we become fat and sick. Its not that we are lazy and we ate too much. We just didn't know about the effects of wheat. Nobody told us, not our doctors, not our health department and definitely not the commercial giants. On the contrary, we are encouraged to eat more "healthy whole grains" which is wheat as well. I wonder why wheat is in almost every food even some cosmetics and medicines. Could it be that the manufacturers already know about the addictive component of wheat? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Lean people are not spared too. They are also susceptible to a wheat belly and some of Davis's patients reported that no matter how hard they exercised, cut down on fats and increased consumption of "healthy whole grains", the belly would not budge. But the minute they lose the wheat, they lose their bellies. This is evident that wheat is the culprit, not fat. To further prove a point - if you look at vegetarians, why is it that quite a number of them are overweight with bellies and health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, arthritis etc.? If they consume only vegetables, they should be slim and healthy. It doesn't make sense, isn't it? The reason is that they substitute animal protein and fats with lots of food made from wheat and carbs which are the culprits. So fat has been wrongly blamed for many heallth problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, fatty liver and other diseases. Learn more about this in my other forthcoming posts.

Wheat does not cause weight problem only. It causes almost all the diseases known to us. It causes body wide inflammation and increases acidity in the body which causes a chronic acid burden that eats away at bone health. It was also reported that the elimination of wheat has helped to reduce the symptoms for people with ADHD, autism, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar. In some cases, these people were even able to recover from their symptoms. This is an effect of wheat on mental function.

Davis related in his book that he had also seen the dramatic turnaround in health for a 38 year old woman with ulcerative colitis. She lived with constant cramping, diarrhea and frequent bleeding. Her gastroenterologist advised colon removal with creation of an ileostomy which is an artifical orifice for the small intestine (ileum) at the abdominal surface, the sort to which you affix a bag to catch the continually emptying stool. Davis advised her to try to eliminate wheat in her diet because she has got nothing to lose. So even though she was skeptical, she agreed to try. She returned to Davis's office three months later, no ileostomy bag in sight, lost 38 pounds and her ulcerative colitis is nearly gone. No more cramps or diarrhea. She is off all medications and she felt great.

In another case, Davis wrote about a 63 year old grandmother who had undergone two heart catheterizations and received three stents in the past two years despite taking a cholesterol reducing statin drug. She had low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides and high small LDL particles. She was also diagnosed with diabetes and was on metformin. Her dosage kept increasing until her doctor started talking about the possibility of insulin injection. Davis asked her to eliminate wheat and restrict other carbohydrates such as cornstarch, sugars, oats, beans, rice and potatoes because the small LDL pattern, low HDL and high triglycerides are closely linked to diabetes. Within the first three months of starting her diet, she lost 28 pounds of her starting weight of 247 and her glucose level kept coming down. After a year, she lost a total of 51 pounds and she is still gradually losing weight. She became non-diabetic and essentially cured.

All these amazing results just by eliminating wheat and reduction of carbs? Sounds like a simple cure.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN WHEAT & ARTHRITIS?

According to Davis, gliadin opens intestine barrier allowing foreign substances to enter the blood stream. One of the undesirable effects is autoimmunity - i.e. the body's immune response is tricked into activation and attacks normal organs such as thyroid gland or joint tissue. This can lead to autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis and rheumatoid arthritis. The same inflammation that issues from the visceral fat of the wheat belly and results in diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, dementia, cancer and other diseases also yields inflammation of joints. Inflammation-mediating hormones have been shown to inflame and erode joint tissue.

Leptin is a protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism. Leptin has demonstrated direct joint destructive effects: The greater the degree of overweight (i.e. higher BMI), the higher the quantity of leptin within the joint fluid and the greater the severity of cartilage and joint damage. The risk of arthritis is even greater for someone with visceral fat of the wheat belly variety. Losing weight, and thereby losing visceral fat, improves arthritis more than can be expected from just the decreased weight load.

Davis writes that another phenomenon that adds to the wheat-induced pounding that joints sustain over the years is glycation. Glycation is a reaction that takes place when simple sugar molecules become attached to proteins or lipid fats without the moderation of an enzyme. The more wheat products we consume, the higher and more frequently blood glucose increases, the more glycation occurs. The cartilage in joints is uniquely susceptible to glycation, since cartilage cells are extremely long-lived and are incapable of reproducing. Once damaged, they do not recover. If cartilage proteins, such as collagen and aggrecan, become glycated, they become abnormally stiff. The damage of glycation is cumulative, making cartilage brittle and unyielding, eventually crumbling. Joint inflammation, pain, and destruction results, the hallmarks of arthritis.

So high blood sugars that encourage growth of a wheat belly, coupled with inflammatory activity in visceral fat cells and glycation of cartilage, lead to destruction of bone and cartilage tissue in joints. Over years, it results in the familiar pain and swelling of the hips, knees and hands.

In his book, Davis wrote about one of his 26 year old patient who had undergone repair of a complex congenital heart defect as an infant and was told that he might need a heart transplant because he was always breathless. He could also barely walk because all his joints were hurting. None of the rheumatologists which he had seen could tell him what was wrong so they just prescribed him anti-inflammatories and pain medicines. So Davis suggested that he eliminate all wheat from his diet which includes white bread, whole wheat bread, multigrain bread, bagels, muffins, pretzels, crackers, breakfast cereals, pasta, noodles, pancakes and waffles. Even though he was reluctant but he tried. He returned to Davis's office three months later without a hint of joint pain. He said that after five days, he had experienced no pain whatsoever. He did not believe it and thought it could be a coincidence. So he had a sandwich and within five minutes, about 80% of the pain came back. Along with the relief from joint pain, there was no evidence of heart failure. His breathing improved and he could start exercising and playing sports.

BENEFITS OF LOSING THE WHEAT

In a video recording on a live presentation by Davis to promote wheat belly which I viewed from the internet, he said that if we eliminate wheat, we will see the following benefits:-

weight loss - dramatic, substantial
reduced appetite, food obsession and calorie intake
reduction in blood sugar
reduced joint pain
reduced inflammation (C-reactive protein)
reduction in triglyceride, increased HDL and reduced LDL
pH balance shifted to alkaline
increased energy
improved sleep
reduced acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome

MY OWN EXPERIENCE WITH LOSING THE WHEAT

Well my friends, I know what your next question will be. What should we eat then? Cardboards? Absolutely not! We should re-introduce lots of fresh vegetables, greens, fruits, meats, fish, seafood, nuts, seeds, eggs, fats, cheese and so forth. These are healthy food with lots of nutrients. Actually, our body is starving for nutrients but we keep feeding it with the wrong food. So if we cut the carbs, we cut the wheat and we have more room for nutritious food. Dont forget that we have to drink water and lots of it too (see post on Water & Arthritis).

In this context, I have changed my concept of eating to low carbs two months plus ago and I am thrilled to report that I have lost one dress size without any effort. I did not count calories and neither did I have to go hungry. I also did not have to exercise to death as I just did moderate exercise three times a week about 20 to 30 minutes each time. Even my acid reflux has improved so much, I hardly touched my Gaviscon. I still take my yummy green smoothies (refer post on Green Smoothies & Arthritis) everyday. How do I feel? I feel great with improved immunity, lots of energy and vitality. If you saw the previous post on my 2-year post BTKR update, I still managed to climb 544 steps in Batu Caves. Was it hard? Yes, it was initially as with any change but eventually it got easier.

You see, my weight has been on a yo-yo my whole life. I have tried all the diets that I have come across in the past but nothing worked. The last time that I lost weight was a few years ago when I did all the gruelling Jillian Michaels' workout 5 to 6 times a week and cut down on my calories. Even though I was thrilled with the weight loss, it was hard work I tell you. I was craving for food all the time and before I know it, the weight just came piling back on after I gave in to those cravings. However, with this new concept of eating (I call this a concept and not a diet because diets doesn't work), my cravings for carbs have reduced tremendously and I do not feel hungry until my next meal.

Its funny, I used to think - what is life for if we do not enjoy eating whatever we want as long as we eat moderately and exercise regularly. But then I find that I keep putting on weight, the belly keeps getting bigger, blood pressure keeps escalating and acid reflux keeps getting worse. I am worried. I dont want to end up like my parents with diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure and feeling so incapacitated. I want to grow old in a healthier manner.

I think its easier this time for me because I now know how destructive carbs and wheat are to my body so I have been more determined to change the way I eat. Its simple logic. If we know that drugs are bad for us, we stay away from it. Its the same thing here. Additionally, if I can prevent OA, diabetes and cancer which are my biggest fears and a host of other diseases, losing weight along the way would be a big bonus for me. Most importantly, we now know that OA may still exist after TKR due to chronic inflammation. So if we do not make any changes to our concept of eating and lifestyle, we may still be exposed to it.

While its hard to change to this concept of eating, its not impossible. When I have a Chinese meal, I do not eat the rice but I eat more of the food from the dishes such as the vegetables, fish, meat, seafood, soup etc. and I actually get more nutrients. Now I wonder why we ate so much rice when there is no nutrients in it and we eat so much less of the dishes with nutrients in them. I could still eat a western breakfast of eggs, bacon, and beans by just eliminating the bread. If I have to eat a burger, I just eat it without the bread. I love omelettes so I eat lots of it and just throw in whatever I have in the fridge such as prawns, tuna, tomatoes etc. Nowadays, I have learnt to enjoy having lots of fresh salads in various dressings with grilled salmon, chicken or seafood. Its a matter of making better choices. You can google low carb recipes and there are so many of them available. I am also trying out various recipes now and will try to share them with you later on. More posts to come on this related topic, so stay tune.

So the conclusion is that food matters, it really does!

"Opt for total wheat replacement instead of total hip or knee replacement" .... William Davis

Pictures below shows how I looked before and after living low-carb. I had already gained weight in December 2012 and the picture in February 2013 was a wake up call for me. I prefer to measure by my clothes than weighing. I have gone down from size 20 to 18 and now I can wear size 16. Will keep posting pictures here at certain interval so you can see my progress.