Outdoor air pollution is contributing to about 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK, say the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health.

They say diesel emissions have been poorly controlled. And indoor air pollution has been overlooked. Tobacco still poses the biggest indoor threat, but wood-burning stoves, cleaning products and air fresheners can contribute. Mould and mildew in poorly ventilated rooms can also cause illness.[1]

Although the death rate from stroke is declining (mostly), it is rising for other neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease (PD). As opposed to Alzheimers we can pinpoint the abnormality in the brain that leads to PD, which involves a substantial destruction of the dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra. By the time an individual has lost 50%-70% of the dopamine-producing neurons in this region, the symptoms of PD, such as tremor, slowness of movement, rigidity, and impaired balance and coordination, are already apparent.

You might think that simply giving dopamine ( as is currently the primary therapy) would resolve the symptoms, but any of the initial benefits of dopamine soon erode, leaving the patient trapped in a body that is increasingly less responsive. We also know that PD is associated with neuroinflammation and energy system dysfuntion (these two events are interlinked). Therefore, we need a therapy that assists both to offer a greater opportunity of clinical success.[1]

Our cell membranes are both lipid soluble and lipid loving. Their bilayered lipid membranes form a highly active skin that is constantly interacting with the internal and external environment, ferrying in nutrients and releasing waste. Liposomes, in turn, are microscopic phospholipid bubbles with a bilayered membrane structure that is similar to our cells. They are already widely used in the pharmaceutical industry to improve efficacy and safety of anticancer drugs, antifungal drugs, and anaesthetics. In fact, Mother Nature loves them, too. A 2000 study found that liposomes are naturally present in breast milk. [1]

Michael Ash BSc DO ND F.DipION and Marty Jones PharmD review the changing face of glutathione and explore the acetylated form as an alternative to IV glutathione therapy.

Reduced glutathione also known as glutathione or GSH is found in all living systems.[1] Lowered tissue GSH levels have been observed in several disease conditions.[2] The restoration of cell GSH levels in a number of these conditions have proven to be beneficial. Thus, strategies to boost cell glutathione level are of marked therapeutic significance.

GSH is the smallest of the intracellular thiols (a compound that contains the functional group composed of a sulphur-hydrogen bond (-SH) hence its unpleasant smell when mercaptans are released)  and its high donating electron capacity combined with dense intracellular concentration provides significant oxidative reducing capacity.[3]

The concurrent use of antioxidants in the form of food supplements and cancer whilst undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy has been subject to a variety of conflicting opinions. At present it would be fair to say that most oncologists take the conservative line that antioxidants reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy and should therefore be avoided.

This inevitably causes confusion and contradictions when the literature is less equivocal and suggest quite the opposite at times.

Tinnitus drives its sufferers to distraction, it is a phantom sound (ringing of the ears) that affects quality of life for millions around the world (estimated 2%) and is associated in most cases with hearing impairment. Regardless of the original cause, all patients complain of hearing a tinnitus tone on either one (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral) of the head or ears. Depending on the case, tinnitus tone may have low, medium or high frequency and be either relatively quiet (0–3 dB), going up to relatively loud (more than 16 dB). Some studies indicate that tinnitus on the left is more consequential than that on the right.

This month’s (August) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition presents a longitudinal study supporting the use of B vitamins in the management of mental health.

In Nutritional Therapy practice when we are faced with patients who seem to be struggling with depression and are finding recovery hard as well as trying to prevent recurrence after resolving their current symptoms we often think – B Vitamins

But what is the evidence for this apparently normal recommendation – is there anything of substance that supports the therapeutic use of these water soluble vitamins.

To date most studies have been conducted using a cross sectional approach[1],[2] (a class of research methods that involve observation of some subset of a population of items all at the same time, in which, groups can be compared at different ages with respect of independent variables) rather than the preferred prospective style investigations (an analytic study designed to determine the relationship between a condition and a characteristic shared by some members of a group). A prospective study may involve many variables or only two; it may seek to demonstrate a relationship that is an association or one that is causal. Prospective studies produce a direct measure of risk called the relative risk.

Prof Bruce Ames has developed the concept of Triage consumption, where micronutrient needs and availability may not always be in synchronicity and has recommended that a larger overall consumption of micronutrients on a daily basis be considered a judicious way to limit DNA damage associated with aging and disease.

I have proposed that the expensive urine criticism is perhaps one of the most damaging of slights, and that Victor Herberts slur on the use of increased exogenous nutrients via supplementation has created more damage to human health than it has saved. A paper out in the American Journal of Nutrition, May 2010 has added some further clarity to this discussion.[1]

Michael Ash looks at leaky gut with a contemporary approach to investigation, relevance and restoration. It is quite clear that in order to extract nutrients and other sentinel information carrying agents the barrier that divides the contents of the gastric lumen from the host must be permeable. The question that has interested clinicians for many years is – when is it too permeable and what does that mean in terms of health and illness.

A paper in the March edition of Mucosal Immunology explores this concept in some detail and delivers some much needed information and potential direction in terms of dietary management and risk.[1]

Ulcerative colitis is a nonspecific inflammatory disorder characterised by oxidative and nitrosative stress, leucocyte infiltration and upregulation of inflammatory mediators. Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound found in grapes and wine, with multiple pharmacological actions, mainly anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour and immunomodulatory activities.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a recognised as a chronic pathology by uncontrolled inflammation of the intestinal mucosa which can affect part of the gastrointestinal tract, with causes including genetic factors, immune deregulation, barrier dysfunction, and a loss of immune tolerance toward the enteric flora.