The Bug is Attacking

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

October 24, 2021

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

There is a worldwide bug that is getting us down. And this bug is mutating – changing its form and virulence. But there are methods that may stop it in its tracks before it causes serious harm to our body. (Of course, “bug” is a code word for an infective foreign agent we all know about.)

This “bug” is like a swarm of biting and contagious insects which injects its venom into your system to spread potentially to all tissues.

People have been getting very sick. It can be life-threatening. Many medically and metabolically compromised individuals have died from its lethal sting.

It goes without saying that our body has been defending itself from external pathogens throughout evolution. This bug is another pathogen that wants to get into our body. Our immune system is tasked with being our “armed forces” to take charge, defend our body, and heal every cell in our amazing human machine if possible.

But modern civilization has forced substances upon us that damage our natural immune system and challenge its continued success to fight the fight effectively and efficiently.

All of us are exposed to innutritious foods, processed foods, added chemicals of all types, numerous physical and emotional stressors, and an increasingly polluted environment that surrounds us 24/7. We are being bombarded externally as never has been experienced in human existence. And we have an enormous number of decisions to make.

I have integrated the science and research from many sources and various peer-reviewed medical papers to put together my 2-page Protocol to engage this bug and offer a means to win the battle. I cite these sources in my Protocol, which assists in the recreation of a robust immune system. It includes clinically proven methods to help prevent this “bug” from taking over the body in its early stages of infestation.

Sadly, many qualified and seasoned medical specialists and investigators have been forced to retract their published papers and have been removed from mainstream social media when they write or talk about the science of this dreadful swarm. Populations all over the world are being forced to accept unproven and manufactured substitutes in lieu of taking the steps to build up a strong immune system.

What could be more natural than to support our body in the way it was created to function?

I ask you to follow the science – the real biological science that is dictated by our DNA blueprint. Don’t count on the “science” that is promoted by only one side of the equation. You need to understand pros and cons to make an informed decision as it has always been done in my lifetime until now. You should be proactive if the information makes sense to you.

Read my protocol to prevent and treat the early onset of the Bug: Protocols in this link.

 

Check out my training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my “Belly Bites” Newsletter HERE.

5 Important Tools
for a
Robust Immune System

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

December 13, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay

I’m obsessed with getting it right.

From all the research I’ve read and from my personal cancer journey, there is one fact that stands out above all: A robust immune system is critical for wellness.

It’s vital for healthy people; it’s vital for sick people; it’s vital for all who want to be proactive as well as those who are reactive.

A robust immune system is the ticket for fighting diseases arising from external and internal sources. It protects us from pathogens as well as our own cells which become cancerous.

I’m fixated on recreating my robust immune system and evaluating my success along the way. And I’ve assembled a toolbox – my biological measuring tools. It includes 5 biomarkers which tell me what I need to know. I’ve used these measurements to guide me on my journey to a healthier immune system.

You also can use these tools to assess your progress and success.

5 Important Tools

#1. Healthy Gum Tissue

Your mouth can tell a lot about the health of your immune system. One prominent sign is the gum tissue around your teeth. It should never bleed unless it is cut. Never!

If you were to scrub your nails with a nail brush, you should be concerned if the cuticles around your nails started bleeding. Similarly, when you brush your teeth with a toothbrush, you should be concerned if you see any bleeding. The gums are as tough and protective as are your cuticles.

However, if you have a compromised immune system, the gum tissues may become inflamed or infected (i.e., gingivitis). They then may bleed when you clean or rub them. They even may bleed spontaneously. This is a strong indication that your immune system is not functioning ideally.

An excellent method to determine if you have bleeding gums around any tooth is to use a TePe Easy Pick. This is a small, silicone brush used to clean between the teeth at the gum line.

If you see any bleeding when using the TePe Easy Pick around any tooth/gum area in your mouth, you have some form of gum disease. This suggests that you have a compromised immune system.

Here are two pictures demonstrating how to use the TePe Easy Pick between teeth at the gum/tooth margin.

 

#2. Ketone Breath Meter

Metabolic flexibility is necessary to support a responsive immune system. And ketosis is part of being metabolically flexible.

I want to be in ketosis 6 days a week and then cycle into a carb-burning mode on the 7th day. The benefits of ketosis and carb-cycling are documented in the medical literature. Travis Christofferson summarized the unique qualities of ketones in his book, Ketones: The Fourth Fuel.

To help me gauge my ketone levels and document how well I’m doing, I researched three options.

  1. Urine ketone strips are easy and inexpensive. But they are not accurate once your body begins to utilize its blood ketones efficiently and effectively.
  2. Blood ketone levels can be monitored with finger sticks using a blood ketone meter. The readings are accurate, but I would need to prick my finger several times a day, every day. Not for me! I don’t know about you, but it hurts when done repeatedly. Another drawback is that it only gives a static picture at that moment in time.
  3. A ketone breath meter recently came on the market that has clinical research to support its efficacy. It’s was created and is sold by MyBiosense. This meter is unique because it registers acetone levels that are blown out in the latter part of the exhale, which is called Deep Lung Sampling. The readings correlate to the mmol/L of blood ketone levels. Using this device, I can monitor my ketone levels as often as I want with no finger sticks! And the data is stored in the MyBiosense App on my phone for me to review.

My goal is to average a ketone level between 1.5 – 2.5 mmol/L per day while in ketosis. On my “carb” day, my ketone levels will drop below 0.5 mmol/L that day.

#3. Standard Deviation of Glycemic Variability

Glycemic variability is the up and down variations in blood glucose level. It indicates the efficiency of insulin to make glucose available as a fuel or to store it appropriately. If insulin is not effective, glucose levels will get out of control leading to diabetes and various forms of metabolic dysfunction.

Various medical papers have shown that the standard deviation of glycemic variability directly correlates with the risk of chronic disease and cancer. It is inversely correlated with the robustness of the immune system.

I want my glycemic variability to be as low as practical.

I could take finger sticks frequently using a glucometer to register my moment-in-time blood glucose level. But that would not give me a running graph 24/7. It certainly would leave me with painful fingertips. I prefer not.

However, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) by NutriSense is a device that is worn for two continuous weeks. The CGM inserts a microfiber into the interstitial tissues and attaches to an inconspicuous area of the body with an adhesive. It is painless to insert and wear. But it registers glucose levels every 5 minutes, 24/7. The data is transferred to a NutriSense App, which calculates the standard deviation.

#4. Alpha Diversity of Gut Microbiome

The gut microbiome is made up of about 38 trillion microbes. Our body only has about 30 trillion human cells. We are more “microbial” than “human”!

Many studies have been published describing the variety of species in the gut. These medical papers clearly demonstrate that the greater the diversity and numbers of specific microbes, the healthier the immune system. [1],[2],[3]

A measurement including (1) the diversity of various microbial species in the gut and (2) the number of each of these species is called “Alpha Diversity”. It is generally reported as a percentile compared to the microbial ecosystem in a population of metabolically healthy individuals.

BiomeFx is a stool test marketed by Microbiome Labs and evaluated by CosmosID. Among the many biomarkers reported in this test, Alpha Diversity stands out to me as one of the most significant results.

#5. Blood Level of Vitamin D

Recently, blood levels of Vitamin D have been widely reported as important in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.[4] Previous to the Pandemic, much research has been published emphasizing the importance of adequate levels of Vitamin D to assure a robust innate and adaptive immune function.[5], [6],[7],[8]

Vitamin D is reported to …

  • Prevent excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines
  • Increase the “oxidative burst” potential of macrophages
  • Stimulate the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection
  • Affect the action of T cells, key players in adaptive immunity

My Personal Results

#1. Healthy Gum Tissues:

My gums do not bleed. I use the TePe Easy Picks every day.

If you have bleeding gums, you need to address your diet, the health of your gut microbiome, and your oral hygiene techniques. You also need to seek the services of a general dentist or a periodontist (a dentist specializing in periodontal disease).

#2. Ketones:

I stay in ketosis with my animal-based diet 6 days a week. My highest mmol/L while in ketosis has been 2.8; the lowest on those days has been 0.5. My average for 6 days running is 1.5. On my cycle day out of ketosis, I eat between 100 – 150 grams of carbs for that day, and my ketone reading drops to an average of 0.3.

#3. Glycemic Variability:

In July 2020, I wore the CGM from NutriSense for two weeks. My average standard deviation of glycemic variability for that time period was 10. Here is a table showing ranges and their interpretations:

 

#4. Alpha Diversity:

My Alpha Diversity was reported in the BiomeFx stool test I took in August 2020. The results indicated my Alpha Diversity was in the 98th percentile. That meant that 98% of metabolically healthy individuals had less variation of species and numbers of individual microbes than I had.

 

#5. 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D:

My last blood test for 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D was in 6/2020. At that time, my blood level was 89 ng/mL. and I was taking 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 daily. I have reduced that dosage to every other day, and I’ll have another test shortly. As a cancer patient, I want to keep my Vitamin D level between 60-80 ng/mL.

Bottom Line

A robust immune system is our internal armed forces to fight the fight. My ultimate goal is to make my immune system as robust as I can. The 5 important tools I described will guide me along my path and document my success. They also will confirm that I am remaining where I want to be.

I firmly believe that my cancer journey has been as successful as it has because I have significantly improved my immune system along the way. You may find that my 5 Important Tools will help you monitor your journey to a stronger and more responsive immune system.

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6906406/

[2] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0200728

[3] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00455/full

[4] https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/12/11/do-vitamin-d-supplements-help-prevent-respiratory-tract-infections.aspx?ui=baff764f733a1f4f602b56b0683839cc74ea77293ab586e40b1b7b0b93d42111&cid_source=dnl&cid_medium=email&cid_content=art1HL&cid=20201211&mid=DM744365&rid=1032114513

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/

[6] https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/pages/2018-06-15-greater-levels-of-vitamin-d-associated-with-decreased-risk-of-breast-cancer.aspx

[7] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/4/1140

[8] https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/5/1248

 

 

Check out my new training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my “Belly Bites” Newsletter HERE.

Die Young Late in Life
– My Unconventional Cancer Journey –

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

November 29, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

 

I’m outliving my original cancer prognosis by over two years now. My oncologist is surprised. Most of my family and close friends are impressed. I’m elated.

 

But my success would have meant little to me if it weren’t for the quality of life I am experiencing. Let me go into the details of my current path, others on a cancer journey, my future goals, the science supporting them, and the threads that connect all.

 

 

Current Path

Although the obvious and continuing goal of my Unconventional Cancer Protocols is to heal my body, longevity without a quality of life would be worthless to me. If I have anything to say about my mortality, I want to “die young late in life”.

 

So, what does that mean?

 

It means that I want to feel relevant and robust with no debilitating incapacities until the day I die. That may be “pie in the sky” thinking, but that is my goal. A person has to have goals in life to keep moving on – at least that’s my belief.

 

To be and stay “young”, I need to keep my body metabolically flexible and physically strong. My mind needs to be clear and inquiring. I also must do whatever is possible to enhance the health and repair of my 30 trillion human cells and my 38 trillion microbial cells.

 

My efforts to stay “young” include:

 

  • A nose-to-tail, animal-based diet (which provides all my body’s necessary nutrients and allows me to cycle “in” and “out of” ketosis to remain metabolically flexible)
  • Mineral water and Himalayan salt for necessary electrolytes
  • A healthy and diverse gut microbiome as well as an intact gut epithelial barrier
  • A robust innate and adaptive immune system
  • Optimum cellular health with enhanced ATP production
  • 7-8 hours of restorative sleep
  • Efficient exercise based on my physical limitations
  • Reframing and coming to grips with emotional stress

 

Although I have an underlying, incurable bone marrow cancer, I feel great. I feel “young”. I have energy, a clear mind, and quality of life. My wife and I enjoy time together. And we get out of the house to spend time outdoors.

 

When my time on this planet is over, my hope is to have remained “young” until I transition from this life to my spiritual home. If I can stay young and leave this world late in life, I guess you could say I have been successful.

 

I actively am defying the odds of my diagnosis and prognosis.

 

Others on a Cancer Journey

Many patients on conventional cancer treatment are not “staying young” by my definition. Chemotherapy, radiation, and even immunotherapy can increase systemic inflammation, weaken the immune system, and result in a decrease in the quality of life.

 

This study published in November 2020 concludes that cancer patients on a specific immunotherapy do worse than those patients who were in the clinical trials, which originally proved the efficacy of such treatment. In that study, the authors suggested that patients in the real world who received the immunotherapy started off frailer than those participants in the clinical trials. Because of this underlying increased frailty, the real-world patients receiving this therapy had reduced survival rates.

 

However, the authors did not suggest the underlying causes of the observed frailty. I believe the etiologies of this weakened health state are common for most cancer patients.

 

My previous research suggests that real-world cancer patients have poor diets, weak immune systems, compromised gut health, and dysfunctional mitochondria. I believe I have had success along my Cancer Journey because I have improved these factors by adhering to my Unconventional Cancer Protocols. My Protocols have put my body into a uniquely healthier state than if I hadn’t followed them. I am confident that my efforts have improved my chances to stay “young” as long as possible.

 

One question you might ask is, “How do you measure your success?”

 

I measure my success by the robustness of my immune system. As I have described in previous Blogs, a strong immune system is vital for overall health and wellness. The biomarkers I check to assure my immune system is robust are:

 

 

 

Future Goals

Cancer and aging have much in common. By assisting my body to heal from cancer, I also am enhancing my longevity.

 

Cancer is a disease of metabolic dysfunction, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, disturbance of stem cell repair, and a compromised immune system.

 

Aging is a process of metabolic dysfunction, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, disturbance of stem cell repair, and a compromised immune system.

 

In essence, addressing my cancer should enhance my quality of life and increase my longevity.

 

Once again, I want to make this clear to everyone who follows me:

 

Although my PET Scan from May 2020 shows no active cancer cells in my entire body, I am not in remission. I do not have a cure for cancer. Certainly, I am a “work in progress” with still an unknown prognosis going forward. But I am motivated and convinced that I am doing the best for my body.  

 

I am only a study of N=1. No one is doing what I am doing for myself with my current medical challenge. That said, the following medical science encourages me and suggests that I am “right on” with my thinking and my current path.

 

 

Medical Science

Ketones[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]

 

My animal-based diet will keep me “young” by my definition.

 

This diet is very low in carbohydrates and allows fat to be burned as fuel. The metabolic process is called physiologic ketosis. When in ketosis, the liver produces ketones, which are clean burning fuels. That means ketones are easily used to create energy for brain, muscle, and heart cells with less creation of free radicals. Excess free radicals are bad.

 

Excess free radicals are unstable molecules that are missing an electron in their outer shell. They are destructive to all tissues in the body. They are produced as a byproduct of metabolism or by exposure to toxic elements. Excess free radicals will replace their missing electron by reacting with other healthy molecules. The result is called oxidative stress and can damage DNA, lead to cancer, and accelerate aging. They also can damage proteins (called sirtuins) that function to repair damage in DNA as well as proteins that naturally cause apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cells that are beyond repair.

 

In addition to reducing excess free radical creation, ketones stimulate endogenous antioxidant production (ex: glutathione, superoxidase dismutase, and catalase).

 

Other benefits of ketones include decreasing inflammation, improving sirtuin’s ability to repair DNA, maintaining proteins that control genetic upregulation and down regulation, and improving stem cell viability. Viable stem cells replace cells that have undergone apoptosis as well as increase longevity.

 

 

PEMF Therapy[6],[7],[8],[9],[10]

 

Other factors to help me “stay young” are functioning mitochondria and cell membranes. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy using a full-body mat can assist in cellular health. It can increase blood flow and oxygenation, improve ionic transport into and out of the cell membrane, enhance the millivoltage potential of the cell, and improve mitochondria’s ability to produce ATP.

 

 

Gut[11],[12],[13],[14],[15],[16]

 

The last factors to help me “stay young” are my garden of gut bacteria and my gut epithelial barrier. A diversity of species in my gut is necessary to support my immune system and overall health. An intact epithelial barrier is necessary to prevent the leakage of toxic substances into my blood circulation. I maintain my gut by consuming an animal-based diet, enhancing my cellular health, and including spore-based probiotics.

 

 

Connecting the Threads

I know I may sound silly by pursuing these efforts to “stay young” until I die. It is my basic desire to live a life of quality as best as I can. I’m never going to give up. Actually, being consumed with these desires and efforts makes me feel connected and vigorous.

 

Yet in a selfish and possessive way, I want to spend more and more quality time with my wife. Unfortunately, my adult children and grandkids live many miles away from me. And I wish I could have more quality time with them. I’m working on it.

 

[1] http://www.aginganddisease.org/EN/10.14336/AD.2016.1230

[2] https://lab-a-porter.com/2020/03/stem-cells-links-to-human-cancer-and-aging/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5609489/

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735349/

[5] https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/iub.1627

[6] https://www.cell.com/biophysj/fulltext/S0006-3495(18)30572-1

[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29901507/

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27086866/

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5119968/

[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24039828/

[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6529202/

[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356461/

[13] https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(20)30017-0

[14] https://gut.bmj.com/content/69/10/1867

[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6747470/

[16] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304383519300278

 

 

Check out my new training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my “Belly Bites” Newsletter HERE.

DNA Blueprint & Immune System
– 9 Steps to Thrive –

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

September 27, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

 

99.9% of each of us is the same! [1],[2]

 

But for the most part, what makes you the person you are and what makes me the person I am is the remaining 0.1% of our DNA. Over the last 200,000 years of evolution, modern man (homo sapiens) has gone through a lot. Life was pretty harrowing.

 

About 100,000 years ago, the average lifespan was between 30-35 years.[3] Early deaths were caused by infant mortality for various sanitary and medical reasons. Then there were uncontrollable virulent infections, accidents, tribal warfare, being eaten by wild animals, and a host of environmental factors that are not in existence today. Over the course of these many millennia, our DNA slowly developed to what it is today.[4] And our immune system continued to function as our “armed forces” to keep our body healthy.

 

Most importantly, our DNA knows what it needs, and it certainly knows what it does not need. What it requires is also critical for the development of an efficient immune system. So, don’t fool with the genetic motherboard.

 

At one extreme in our Blueprint, our DNA is very clear about what it requires to stay alive. At the other extreme, it is just as forceful in telling us what it can’t tolerate. Basically, she says, “Give me what I need, and you will thrive. But force me to take what I cannot tolerate, then you will die.” It’s that simple.

 

Then why would we prevent our body from getting what it requires as well as stuff it with junk and poison day after day?

 

 

The Needs

Our basic needs are clear. We must breathe clean air; eat nutritious food; and drink untainted water. Neglect any of these three requirements, then we surely will be doomed.

 

 

The Poisons

At the other extreme, if we put toxic substances into our body, we will suffer. Make no mistake about it. If we insist on challenging our DNA by putting stuff into our body that we never evolved to detox, digest, or rid itself of, then our human machine will suffer, deteriorate, and die.

 

 

Everything In Between

Our DNA Blueprint is the written story. But how the story can be told and unfolds is practically all controlled by our environment and lifestyle. We have many options between the extremes of our blueprint.

 

Our food and the way we live can “turn on” or “turn off” our genes. If we have a genetic predisposition to a disease, we can manipulate our environment to “turn off” those bad genes. Although our genes are our blueprint, controlling our environment determines our future health or sickness.[5] The way each of us lives our life will determine to what degree we survive and to what degree we thrive. All of us can flourish by making choices that will improve our overall wellbeing. And the way we heed the needs of our body, we can improve our immune system to function at peak performance. As I said, our immune system acts as our “armed forces” to keep us healthy.

 

 

The Immune System

Thriving is dependent on a robust immune system.

 

The immune system is a complex network of barriers as well as proteins, white blood cells, and microbial cells. The organs of the immune system include skin, mucous membranes, and the lymphatic system (i.e. bone marrow, thymus, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, spleen, adenoids, tonsils, and specialized cells called Peyer’s Patches in the small intestine).

 

This powerhouse creates substances which help the body fight infections, cancers, toxins, and other diseases. Each of us is a highly integrated machine, and our immune system must function optimally to make it great. Whatever is required within reason to strengthen the immune system should be paramount. I identify 9 proactive steps that you should consider to strengthen your immune system.

 

 

9 Proactive Steps

  1. Consume nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods. Various ways of healthy eating provide necessary nutrients while avoiding over-processed carbohydrates, added sugars, unhealthy fats, chemical ingredients, and irritating foods. Check out my way of eating in the Better Belly Blueprint.
  2. Practice intermittent fasting. Almost everyone will benefit from eating this way. Eat within a widow of 6-8 hours and fast the remaining time. For example, end your dinner by 8PM. Then do not eat anything for the next 16-18 hours. Your first meal will be on the next day between noon and 2PM.
  3. Maintain a healthy gut. Consume specific probiotics, prebiotics, amino acids, and immunoglobulins to (1) improve the population and quality of the gut bacteria, (2) restore a healthy mucosal layer, and (3) repair damage to the epithelial gut barrier.[6],[7] My Protocol to Restore Healthy Gut Bacteria explains the specifics.
  4. Consider specific herbal extracts. Echinacea, Astragalus, Korean Ginseng, and Ashwagandha have been shown to strengthen the immune system by restoring and enhancing its ability to prevent and fight infections. I prefer liquid extracts which are not mixed or compounded with other unhealthy chemicals.[8]
  5. Exercise efficiently. This includes a combination of (1) some aerobic exercise, (2) brief, high-intensity interval training 1 day a week, (3) strength training 1-2 days a week, and (4) non-exercise movements during the course of every day.
  6. Sleep restoratively. Sleep about 7-8 hours a night starting between the hours of 9 PM to 11 PM. Make the room dark, cool, and quiet.
  7. Reduce stress. Meditate; practice yoga; try diaphragmatic breathing; and experiment with progressive, total body muscle relaxation. Emotional stress will damage the gut microbiome and cause “leaky gut”, which will lead to significant and ongoing chronic systemic inflammation. This will tax the immune system, which could become compromised and unable to mount an aggressive attack when needed to destroy serious invading pathogens.
  8. Get out in the sun. Sun exposure creates Vitamin D in your body. Vitamin D is essential for the strength of the immune system.[9],[10] Your Vitamin D blood level should be between 40-60 ng/ml. If necessary, consider taking supplements of Vitamin D3 along with Vitamin K2. Other minerals and vitamins are required for proper biological functions of Vitamin D. These are available from a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory diet.
  9. Practice effective oral hygiene. Your gut bacteria and your mouth bacteria “talk” back and forth. Make sure you remove unhealthy accumulations of bacteria from your mouth. Brush your teeth at the gum margins, floss and clean the surfaces between each of your teeth, and scrape the topside of your tongue to remove odor forming bacteria and microscopic food remnants. Do not use any antimicrobial mouthwash or toothpaste daily because they will kill not only bad bacteria but also good bacteria. Here are my 4 Steps to a Healthy Mouth. Also, make sure you don’t have any of these 14 potential “splinters” in your mouth that could cause inflammation and infections.

 

 

Three Immune System Biomarkers

Various conventional blood tests have been suggested as a means to measure the health of the immune system.[11] These include identifying the quality and quantity of various white blood cells as well as cytokine levels in the blood system.

 

But I suggest three specific biomarkers that may have more clinical application and predictive results for overall wellbeing. They are:

 

  1. hs-CRP (High-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein)[12]
    A biomarker of general and cardiac-related inflammation (goal = <1.0)
  2. Glycemic Variability (reported as a standard deviation)
    A biomarker of the fluctuation of blood glucose levels 24/7 (goal = <14)
  3. 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D[13]
    A biomarker of the blood level of vitamin D (goal = 40-60 ng/ml)

 

 

Ending Thoughts

Your DNA is the blueprint that made you who you are! Your immune system is the armed forces given the task to keep you healthy. The influences in your environment play critical roles in the strength of your immune system and your overall wellness. Let me reassure you. You have control over your environment. Be proactive, and be the best you can be. Monitor your success to stay on the right path. Set yourself up for greatness as you go about your life.

 

[1] https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vs-Genomics

[2] https://www.amacad.org/publication/unequal-nature-geneticists-perspective-human-differences

[3] https://medium.com/@frederic_38110/gerontology-how-long-will-you-live-4c9fd2704377

[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/human-evolution-dna-natural-selection-dna-genetic-mutation-why-a8641536.html

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6275017/

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561432/

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6733369/

[8] https://www.standardprocess.com/MediHerb

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/

[10] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2770157

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27522652/

[12] https://www.clevelandheartlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/hsCRP-Practitioner-One-Pager-CHL-D009b.pdf

[13] https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2088694-overview#a1

 

 

Check out my new training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my “Belly Bites” Newsletter HERE.

  What Will it Take
to Prove my Point?

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

August 30, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

 

To make a point that gets noticed, it is often necessary to bring it on from many different perspectives. It may seem redundant, but the advertising world knows all about this. It takes at least 7 “impressions” before a person gets the message. It’s called “The Seven Times Factor”. As a general rule, potential clients must be exposed to an ad seven times before he or she even notices it.

 

So, how many double-blind medical studies will it take to prove my point? How many published patient case reports will it take to make a difference? How many people have to get sick and die before unconventional becomes conventional? How many times do I need to tell the world what I know to be true?

 

My point is that our immune system is vitally important to overall health. Therefore, all treatment at its core should emphasize creating a strong immune system, which can help provide optimal healing potential.

 

 

My Immune System

I am alive. I am thriving. I am experiencing an amazing journey. And my PET Scan from May 2020 shows no active cancer cells in my entire body. I owe my success to my amazing and open-minded oncologist, my supportive and steadfast wife, and a robust immune system that I created for myself.

 

After being diagnosed with an incurable bone marrow cancer in 2018, I was given 3-6 months to live. My oncologist agreed with my decision to reject chemotherapy and pursue my Unconventional Cancer Protocols. Although there was no clinical evidence that my protocols were proven to heal my body, the medical research on which I based my protocols clearly suggested I was on the correct track. I designed my protocols to improve my immune system.

 

Let me be clear at the outset, I do not have a cure for cancer. I will never dispute any medical expert who states that my methods have not been verified to cure cancer patients of their devastating disease. But I will dispute any medical expert who states that the immune system has nothing to do with healing the body. And I will dispute any medical researcher who states that diet and lifestyle changes will not enhance an existing immune system. As I see it, an efficient immune system is the missing critical puzzle piece to achieving wellness.

 

 

Analogy

I explain the process of healing with a simple analogy. If a person was healthy by all definitions of health but had a splinter in his finger, the area of the splinter could not heal. However, once the splinter was removed, the puncture wound in the skin would heal. But if that individual began to stab that splinter into the original puncture wound, the wound would never heal.

 

So, the immune system cannot function and heal the body as long as “splinters” still exist in the body. And the body cannot heal as long as it is continuously being “stabbed” by “splinters” entering the body.

 

My Unconventional Cancer Protocols “remove the splinters” that are affecting the body. They also provide the nutrients and promote the mechanisms for the body to function properly. The end result is the restoration of a powerful immune system.

 

 

Compelling Science

I’ve cited numerous medical studies in many of my previous Blog posts that support my point. The science is clear to me. It is just a matter of connecting the dots:

 

  1. Since 2011, the Paleomedicina Clinic in Budapest, Hungary has treated over 5,000 patients with severe chronic diseases and cancers. The doctors at the clinic use their version of an animal-based diet to treat their patients. This way of eating is called the Paleolithic Ketogenic Diet. Case reports from the clinic show significant success.[1] This is the type of diet I incorporate in my protocols. And this type of diet supports a strong immune system and avoids various unhealthy elements contained in most other diets.
  2. Double-blind human studies have shown that spore-based probiotics will restore the garden of healthy bacteria in the gut and repair the damaged gut lining.[2],[3] And spore-based probiotics are at the core of my gut restoration protocol. A healthy gut can avoid chronic systemic inflammation and support the strength of the immune system.
  3. Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy has demonstrated it will repair damaged cell membranes, restore the energy production in cells, and improve the ion transport mechanism between the inside and outside of cells. Years of studies and countless articles in medical journals report on these realities.[4],[5] I use PEMF Therapy three times a day to improve my cellular health and thereby strengthen my immune system.

 

I will restate my initial assertion. The immune system has a vital role in the health of humans.[6] It fights disease-causing pathogens, neutralizes harmful substances from the environment entering the body, and destroys disease-causing changes in the body. My cancer journey is further proof to me.

 

 

Further Personal Proof

I am a human study of N=1. That means that the results I report are only of me. There is no control group. But I can tell you my immune system is functioning better than expected considering my diagnosis and prognosis. You may ask, “How do you know?” Here are two answers:

 

  1. Months ago, while at the Cancer Clinic, I had an office appointment with my oncologist. On that day, he had a severe case of the flu along with his physician’s assistant. They entered the room wearing masks. They were sneezing with red and swollen eyes. They apologized. But they were very sick. And they came into my space. I thought I would leave their office and get the flu a week or two later. I did not get sick. Theoretically, my immune system should be significantly weakened because my bone marrow is compromised. But I stayed healthy.
  2. In addition, I recently wore a continuous glucose monitor (CGM)[7] for 2 weeks. I am not diabetic, but I was interested in the data it could collect. It recorded my glycemic variability every 10 minutes, 24/7. The CGM data was converted into a 2-week standard deviation (SD) of my glycemic variability. Glycemic variability measured by the standard deviation is inversely correlated with metabolic health and overall health.[8],[9],[10],[11],[12]

 

A SD of 20 or less would be the goal for a healthy, non-diabetic person’s appropriate glycemic variability. A SD of less than 14 would indicate optimal glycemic variability, a vital metric for measuring glucose metabolism and an important indicator for a robust immune system.[13],[14]

My SD was 10!

 

I continue to state that I don’t have a cure for cancer. But I have changed my diet and lifestyle significantly. And I’m convinced my series of protocols have enhanced my immune system and created a vigor that is predictive of future healing and health.[15],[16]

 

 

Ending Thoughts

So, what will it take to prove my point beyond a shadow of doubt? As far as I’m concerned, I am the proof. Anecdotally, I may need to live another 10 years with sustained results before some in the medical world will agree, “He was correct!”

 

I don’t believe I am an anomaly. I believe I am the product of what should be the standard of medical care. I will tell this story over and over again until the consensus is, “He is right!” My point at the start is that our health goal must include improving the immune system to function at peak performance. Importantly and practically, there are protocols in place to reach that goal.

 

[1] https://paleomedicina.com/en/#blog

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561432/?report=classic

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6574535/

[4] https://academic.oup.com/ptj/article/100/7/1118/5816580

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5992548/

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279364/

[7] https://www.nutrisense.io/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=Online&utm_campaign=DrAL

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20653743/

[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18299315/

[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3743360/?report=classic

[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4543190/

[12] https://mbio.asm.org/content/11/2/e02841-19

[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4455369/#!po=34.6154

[14] https://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/67/Supplement_1/1542-P

[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5546213/

[16] https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12933-020-01085-6

 

 

Check out my new training on the Better Belly Blueprint! You can watch it HERE.

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my “Belly Bites” Newsletter HERE.

I’ve Gotta Get Used to WHAT?
– 7 Critical Steps to Get Healthy –  

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

July 20, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

 

 

 

I was listening to the news the other day. Many of my friends suggested that tuning into the TV news channels was the first thing I did wrong. And I get them. So much stress and hatred and divisiveness out there in our precious “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”!

 

So, I was told from my television set that I’ve “gotta” get used to living with COVID-19. That includes all of us in the US. What the hell?

 

I’m not stupid. I’m a realist. But to get used to this pandemic as if it will be our buddy? Well, it may be our buddy if you think of it as a wakeup call to get our internal health into better shape.

 

First of all, one of the problems with our civilized society is that “we are told to get used to something that is not pleasant and not wanted”.

 

Second, we need to understand that we can start proactive and personal efforts to strengthen our body to fight this “killer”. No one will do this for us. Not the government. Not the health insurance industry. And not manmade chemicals.

 

For the most part, all of these attempts might be applied with the greatest and most admirable intentions. However, real health can occur only by strengthening our immune system naturally.

 

Fortunately, we are Free to make decisions for ourselves. And we are Brave to make these decisions based on our DNA blueprint, our food supply, and our lifestyles.

 

 

DNA Blueprint

All humans share approximately 99.9% of the same genetic code or blueprint.[1] The other 0.1% make you “who you are” and me “who I am”. What’s fascinating is that our genetic blueprint knows exactly what it requires to keep us alive and thriving. Our DNA blueprint also knows what it can’t tolerate.

 

At one extreme, our DNA requires us to drink, to breathe, and to consume certain nutrients to carry out our daily biological functions.

 

At the other extreme of the pendulum, our DNA knows what it cannot endure without killing us. For example, our DNA code cannot handle poisons or constant irritants to our body that cause continuous inflammation. In between these extremes, our DNA can deal with almost everything.

 

Obviously, we wouldn’t prevent our body from getting water to drink, air to breathe, or food to eat. Yet we keep insulting our body at the other extreme with chemicals and irritants that damage our body, which our DNA blueprint has no means to remove or neutralize.

 

More specifically, most of us continue to eat certain foods that tear into our gut like a splinter that keeps stabbing our finger in the same puncture wound. Our DNA blueprint cannot save us from these constant insults time after time. Are we either too ignorant to stop these insults or too stupid to ignore the consequences until it is too late?

 

You can’t fool mother nature. Just give your body what it needs and avoid what it never evolved to tolerate. To me, this is so simple. Why doesn’t our society get it? Doing this will improve the most important power we have to fight external invaders to our body – our immune system.

 

 

Immune System

I’ve spoken about our immune system and living in a petri dish in past Blog articles.  I want to review the immune system in simple terms and to reemphasize the steps to take to get our body into the marvelous healing machine that it was designed to be. An all-encompassing intelligent power has created our body to be self-sufficient, protective, and reparative.

 

We deal with infections and remain healthy based on the strength of our immune system. It is a complex biological process that identifies any invader to the body, mounts an appropriate defense, rids the body of that pathogen, and remembers that individual attacker if it attempts to invade us in the future.

 

The immune system is our “biological armed forces”. The method of action to mobilize these “armed forces” is fascinating, complex, yet not completely understood. What we know is this: the mucous membranes; a healthy, intact gut; and a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory diet are the principal actors as this drama plays out.

 

 

Communication

The immune system takes its cues from the gut microbiome, which lies on the mucous layer of its mucous membrane.

 

The “mucous membrane” lines the body cavities and tubular organs including the gut and respiratory passages. It’s an epithelial barrier that secretes a protective mucous layer. The mucous membrane makes up about 4,300 square feet in the human body. That’s like the square footage of a large home.

 

Approximately 38 trillion microbes cover the mucous membranes. The far majority of these living organisms are in the gut. In the gut, the microbiome is several layers thick. And this ocean of microbes talks between themselves and among all the other microbes located on all other mucous membranes in the body. It’s like a huge communication network that alerts the entire population of microbes to what’s happening on their turf simultaneously.

 

Practically all pathogens and irritants that enter the body must pass through the mucous membranes. The microbiome sitting on the mucous membranes becomes aware that there may be strangers in its midst. The friendly microbes have a unique and critically important role to play. They are the neighborhood watch group. They signal the immune cells in the epithelial barrier that there is something foreign that has just invaded and needs to be eliminated.

 

The gut microbiome and its mucous membrane are the central command center for the entire body. About 70-80% of the body’s immune system is located in the epithelium of the mucous membrane of the gut. When there is an invader anywhere in the body, the microbiome associated with its local mucous membrane relays messages to the gut microbiome. Then, the gut microbiome alerts the gut immune system that there is a pathogen or toxic element that needs to be removed. Effects from the gut immune system travel to all corners of the rest of the body directing all areas to react to the invasion.

 

The beneficial microbiome also communicates with the immune cells located in the lymph tissues throughout the body. All immune cells become involved with the fight to remove the invaders. This communication system rivals the most complex systems created by man. The human body is an amazing machine operating beyond comprehension.

 

There also are complex feedback loops to temper the immune system’s fight and eventually bring it back to a non-inflammatory state.

 

 

7 Critical Steps to Get Healthy

Be respective of your DNA blueprint. Give your body what it needs and avoid whatever it doesn’t want. This way, you will strengthen your immune system.

 

As I explained, our immune system is critical for fighting infections and maintaining overall wellness. This includes oral health. Boosting your immune system is the best and least expensive medical insurance you could “buy”. If you reinvigorated your immune system, think how much less you would have to spend on medical as well as dental care. To do this, you need to be proactive and start ASAP:

 

1. Consume nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods. Various ways of healthy eating provide necessary nutrients while avoiding over-processed carbohydrates, added sugars, unhealthy fats, chemical ingredients, and other irritants to the gut. I have created Al’s Better Belly Blueprint to be a source of healthy eating.

 

Subscribe HERE for my new weekly newsletter called, “Belly Bites with Dr. Al”.  This newsletter will have a link to my new Blog post, discuss stuff I’m doing and recommending, and relate how I am progressing with my Unique Cancer Journey. As an extra added bonus, I’ll send you the PDF of the new launce of my Dr. Al’s Better Belly Blueprint.

 

2. Maintain a healthy gut. Consume specific probiotics, prebiotics, amino acids, and immunoglobulins to (1) improve the population and quality of the gut bacteria, (2) restore a healthy mucosal layer, and (3) repair damage to the epithelial gut barrier.[2],[3] Dr. Al’s Better Belly Blueprint includes a specific spore-based probiotic to help this happen.

 

3. Sleep restoratively. Sleep about 7-8 hours a night starting between the hours of 9 PM to 11 PM. Make the room dark, cool, and quiet.

 

4. Exercise efficiently. This includes a combination of (1) some aerobic exercise a few days a week, (2) brief, high-intensity interval training 1 day a week, (3) strength training 1-2 days a week, and (4) non-exercise movements during the course of every day.

 

5. Reduce stress. Meditate; practice yoga; try diaphragmatic breathing; and experiment with progressive, total body muscle relaxation. Emotional stress will damage the gut microbiome and cause “leaky gut”, which will lead to significant and ongoing chronic systemic inflammation. This will tax the immune system to the extent that the immune system will be compromised and unable to mount an aggressive attack when needed to destroy serious invading pathogens.

 

6. Get out in the sun. Sun exposure creates Vitamin D in your body. This vitamin regulates the body’s absorption of calcium and phosphorus and facilitates normal immune system function. It also improves your resistance against certain diseases. For a short period of time daily, try to expose as much of your skin to the sun based on your skin type, the time of day, the season, and your geographical location. Your blood level goal for “25 Hydroxy Vitamin D test” is about 40-60 ng/ml. Toxicity usually does not occur until the blood level is above 150-200 ng/ml. If you can’t get adequate Vitamin D from sun exposure and food, then consider taking supplements of Vitamin D3 along with Vitamin K2. Other minerals and vitamins are required for proper biological functions of Vitamin D. These are available from a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory diet.

 

7. Practice effective oral hygiene. Your gut bacteria and your mouth bacteria “talk” back and forth. Make sure you brush your teeth at the gum margins, floss and clean the surfaces between each of your teeth, and scrape the topside of your tongue to remove odor forming bacteria and microscopic food remnants. Have your biological dentist examine your mouth for any hidden areas of infection in the gums or the bone. Any infection in your mouth will continuously weaken your immune system.

 

If COVID-19 does anything for us, it should be to kick our butts into the recognition of how unhealthy we are. I am here if you need me. You could schedule a 50-minute Virtual consult with me to go into a more in-depth and specific discussion. Here is a link to my website to book it:

 

[1] https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genetics-vs-Genomics

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561432/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6733369/

COVID-19
– A Lesson Learned –

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

June 8, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

 

 

COVID-19: A Lesson Learned

 

There is nothing good that I can say about the COVID-19 virus, its resulting pandemic, or the severe toll it has taken on lives and the economy. But there is an important lesson that may come out of this horrific time in our lives.

 

The lesson is revealing and basic. It is the condition in which we find ourselves. It is the reality that we are not a healthy society. The fact is that our immune system has been deficient to fight this virus and take it down.

 

What’s going on?

 

 

The Reality

Three examples of our underlying health concerns come from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Statistics gathered show 60% of US adults have a chronic disease[1]; 70% of American deaths is caused by a chronic disease[2]; and 72% of our population is overweight.[3] The events of COVID-19 painfully and abruptly have shown medical professionals and the general public that we must take proactive measures to assure a healthier body going forward. A physiologically unhealthy body cannot fight infections. An unhealthy body will continue to succumb to viruses and other pathogens.

 

We have become aware that underlying health conditions are mostly a result of poor lifestyle choices and indulgent dietary habits. If we want to honor longevity and secure a future without chronic disease, then we must make changes. We must become educated about what to do. We must become proactive in our own health. We must be taught about healthier lifestyle choices and foods to eat as well as not to eat. The government won’t do it; pills won’t do it; improved insurance coverage won’t do it.

 

And so, this opens up an opportunity for the biological dentist. He or she is the perfect medical professional to start the ball rolling. Why?

 

 

Role of Biological Dentists

I’ve talked about biological dentistry in the past (HERE. HERE.) Dentists obviously focus on the mouth. Biological dentists comprehend the importance of a strong immune system for oral health and overall wellbeing. Well-educated dentists understand that nutrition is critical for cells to function properly. They know that every cell in the body can communicate with every other cell in the body. Biologically-trained dentists realize that the mouth is a mirror of systemic health as well as systemic disease. Since dentists see many of their patients a couple of times a year, they have the continuous opportunity to monitor a patient’s overall health and influence their patients’ self-care.

 

 

Immune System

About 70-80% of our immune system resides in our gut. The cells of the immune system and the gut bacteria regulate and support one another. If the garden of healthy gut bacteria becomes overgrown with harmful bacteria, then the interplay between the gut bacteria and the immune system can become severely compromised. In addition, if the gut barrier membrane becomes damaged, unhealthy toxic substances will leak out from the gut lumen into the blood system (i.e. leaky gut). The toxic reaction in the bloodstream is called metabolic endotoxemia, which then leads to chronic system inflammation. This spread of inflammation throughout the body via the circulatory system could lead to the manifestation of various chronic and autoimmune diseases. An unhealthy gut, a compromised immune system, and systemic inflammation will cause disease and other changes in the mouth.

 

The mouth is the entrance for nutrients to get into our body. And proper nutrition and lifestyle changes can repair an unhealthy gut and improve the functions of the immune system. Biological dentists may be the first healthcare professionals to visualize and diagnose problems in the mouth and enter into a discussion about the methods to improve a patient’s immune system. Uniquely, biological dentists are in a position to repair the damage to the mouth. Also, they can refer patients to other medical professionals when necessary to treat various remote health problems manifesting in the mouth.

 

To start off, biological dentists can evaluate a person’s diet by interpreting his or her 3-Day Food Journal. They can learn about a patient’s current lifestyle choices by taking a complete medical and dental history. The dentist is ideally situated to gather all these facts and begin to suggest lifestyle changes and dietary changes to enhance the immune system.

 

The IABDM (International Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine) offers an online program for dentists to become a Certified Biological Nutritional Dental Professional. The program details the natural methods to improve an ailing and dysfunctional immune system.

 

 

Economic Changes

Interestingly, COVID-19 also has created positive changes in the economic and investment world. Investors are switching their attention from what was previously considered important to what is truly important – human health. An article in MarketWatch on June 1, 2020 stated that there will be a distinct emphasis on preventive medicine and specifically the methods to strengthen the performance of the human immune system.

 

Longevity and quality of life are becoming the focus in the biotech space. And individuals cannot live long if not properly protected from pandemic threats. A strengthened immune system may be able to fight and neutralize diseases early. An immune system functioning at peak performance can increase the quality of life and prevent debilitating chronic diseases. There is even a specialty investment fund focused on the longevity industry.

 

So, it is compelling that the investment world is emphasizing a means to boost the immune system moving forward.

 

 

Summary

As patients become educated about health, longevity, and a robust immune system, they will demand healthcare professionals to guide them in their decisions. A properly trained biological dentist is the ideal health professional to have an in-depth conversation with the patient to help achieve these goals. The biological dentist understands the interrelationships between the mouth and the rest of the body. Biological dentists can assist patients with developing a healthy diet, a healthy gut, a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy immune system. All will lead to a healthy mouth, which is the purview of the biological dentist.

 

 

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/infographic/chronic-diseases.htm

[2] https://cmcd.sph.umich.edu/about/about-chronic-disease/

[3] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm

 

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my email alert list here.

Pathway to My Cancer Recovery
– My Immune System –

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

June 1, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

Pathway to my Cancer Recovery

 

“Al, you have cancer.” My oncologist’s words are still ringing in my ears.

 

“It’s an incurable type of bone marrow cancer.” I felt the blood drain from my face.

 

“If you do nothing, you may have 3-6 months to live.” Just then my legs went limp. Nothing would ever be the same. My life was just thrown into an abyss of terror.

 

***

 

Over the last 21 months, I rallied beyond all expectations. You probably know my story.

 

My oncologist gave me 3-6 months to live after he diagnosed incurable aggressive multiple myeloma in my entire skeleton in September 2018. I rejected chemotherapy and progressed well while adhering to my Unconventional Cancer Protocols until a severe setback in August 2019. At that time, I was standing in my bathroom brushing and flossing my teeth with my feet planted on the floor. Then, I twisted to the left to throw the floss into the trashcan. In that split second, my right femur snapped in half. I collapsed to the ground. I was in excruciating pain. I also broke several ribs and fractured my right humerus in half. After being rushed to the ER to repair my leg, I was transferred to a hospice hospital to die! Amazingly, I revived and returned from the edge of death. On May 8, 2020, I had a new PET Scan that showed “no active cancer cells” throughout my entire body. Today at the age of 73, I am doing amazingly well.

 

 

Factors Responsible for Miraculous Recovery

What are the factors responsible for my miraculous recovery? I can’t be sure, but I think I know. Establishing a diverse, robust, and quality garden of gut microbes and an intact gut epithelial barrier (i.e. No Leaky Gut) is vital. Eating an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet is essential. Also, improving cellular metabolism using PEMF Therapy is a contributing component. I am convinced that my healthy gut, effective diet, and improved cellular metabolism enhanced my immune system.

 

Yet, an underlying deterrent has been the excessive number of cancer cells. As I have written in the past, I believe at least one malignant plasma cell got its initial start way back in my days in dental school over four decades ago. But the volume of malignant cells finally overwhelmed my body to eventually cause symptoms in 2018. So, it was necessary to beat back these excessive malignant plasma cells. To do this, several months ago my oncologist recommended two newly approved immunotherapies to target the enormous number of cancerous plasma cells. These are not chemotherapy drugs; they are human-derived monoclonal antibodies. I incorporated them into my Protocols to assist my immune system in getting the job done.

 

Taken in combination, I believe all these efforts were ultimately responsible for the repair and healing I am experiencing. I can’t prove this, but I am alive and thriving today with no active cancer cells in my entire body based on the PET Scan taken on 5/8/2020. An immune system functioning at peak performance stands out to me as critical.

 

 

Communication

The immune system takes its cues from the gut microbiome, which lies on the mucous layer of its mucous membrane.

 

The “mucous membrane” lines the body cavities and tubular organs including the gut and respiratory passages. It’s an epithelial barrier that secretes a protective mucous layer. The mucous membrane makes up about 4,300 square feet in the human body. That’s like the square footage of a huge home.

 

Approximately 37 trillion microbes cover the mucous membranes. The far majority of these living organisms are in the gut. In the gut, the microbiome is several layers thick. And this ocean of microbes talks between themselves and among all the other microbes located on all other mucous membranes in the body. It’s like a huge communication network that alerts the entire population of microbes to what’s happening on their turf simultaneously.

 

Practically all pathogens and irritants that enter the body must pass through the mucous membranes. The microbiome sitting on the mucous membranes becomes aware that there may be strangers in its midst. The friendly microbes have a unique and critically important role to play. They are the neighborhood watch group. They signal the immune cells in the epithelial barrier that there is something foreign that has just invaded and needs to be eliminated.

 

The gut microbiome and its mucous membrane are the central command center for the entire body. About 70-80% of the body’s immune system is located in the epithelium of the mucous membrane of the gut. When there is an invader anywhere in the body, the microbiome associated with its local mucous membrane relays messages to the gut microbiome. Then, the gut microbiome alerts the gut immune system that there is a pathogen or toxic element that needs to be removed. Effects from the gut immune system travel to all corners of the rest of the body directing all areas to react to the invasion.

 

The beneficial microbiome also communicates with the immune cells located in the lymph tissues throughout the body. All immune cells become involved with the fight to remove the invaders. This communication system rivals the most complex systems created by man. The human body is an amazing machine operating beyond comprehension.

 

 

Method of Action

There are two divisions of the immune system – the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.

 

First, the innate immune system is immediately called up to action. It creates inflammation that promotes a pathway to get to the sites of the invasion. It also sends an army of cells, which rush to the area of infection and begin gobbling up the invaders. Other cells in the innate immune system begin telling the adaptive immune system the specific antigens that are responsible for the infection. An “antigen” is any substance that is capable of stimulating an immune response.

 

The adaptive immune system gears up to mount the ultimate battle. The adaptive system mobilizes specialized lymphoid cells to attack these very specific antigens. Moving forward, the adaptive system stimulates the production of antibodies, which can produce immunity against these specific antigens if they invade again in the future.

 

There also are complex feedback loops to temper the immune system’s fight and eventually bring it back to a non-inflammatory state.

 

 

Immune System Support

As I mentioned, the microbiome is essential for the immune system to function properly and efficiently. To raise the level and function of friendly bacteria in the gut, specific probiotics, prebiotics, amino acids, and immunoglobulins have been shown to (1) improve the population and quality of the gut bacteria, (2) restore a healthy mucosal layer, and (3) repair damage to the epithelial gut barrier.[1],[2] My Protocol to Restore Healthy Gut Bacteria explains the specifics to make this happen.

 

In addition to the gut microbiome, the food we eat must provide all the nutrients for health and not carry “irritants” that can damage the gut microbiome or damage the gut barrier. A way of eating that was prevalent in primal societies and has current medical evidence is the animal-based (Carnivore) diet. My 30-Day Transition to the Carnivore Diet guides a person to get onboard.

 

Since the cancer I am fighting is a malignancy of a specific plasma cell in my bone marrow, it is important for me to take down these aberrant plasma cells if I can. Eliminating this pathology will help me redevelop my vibrant immune system. So, my gut, diet, improved cellular metabolism, and targeted immunotherapies are working together to support my immune system and to regain my health and wellness.

 

It is interesting to note that only 20-30% of individuals who are candidates for immunotherapy and who accept it gain a measured success. The majority of patients obtain limited or no beneficial results from their immunotherapy.[3] The far majority never become “cancer free”. The reason has been reported to be due to an unhealthy balance of gut bacteria[4],[5],[6], which compromises the immune system. All the more reason for me to continue my Unconventional Cancer Protocols for the rest of my life.

 

 

Cancer Recovery Summary

I am only a study of N=1. There are no controls in my personal experiment. It’s important to understand that I am not claiming to have a cure for cancer. I do not have the magic bullet. I am not recommending my protocols to anyone to treat his or her disease. However, I do have a method from which I have enhanced my body’s ability to repair and heal. In my way of thinking, my current success is due to a combination of modalities I follow in my Unconventional Cancer Protocols. Specifically:

 

  • Ensure a healthy, functional, and intact gut
  • Consume an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet devoid of chemicals and other irritants
  • Target specific malignant plasma cells using recently approved human-derived, monoclonal antibodies
  • Repair dysfunctional cellular metabolism using PEMF Therapy
  • Support and assure a robust immune system

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5561432/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6733369/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6503493/

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6529202/

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6747470/

[6] https://gut.bmj.com/content/68/3/385.full

 

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my email alert list here.

We MUST Live in a Petri Dish
Our Immune System

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

May 4, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

We MUST Live in a Petri Dish

 

I get up early every morning. Even before taking a shower and making my coffee, I turn on the TV to my favorite newscast. Some would say that turning on my TV is the worst thing I could do. But I want to be informed – even if there is so much bias and hype out there in the media.

 

So, this morning I woke around 6AM and first tuned into my favorite live broadcast. The seasoned anchor said, “We certainly don’t want to put our kids back in school because school is like a petri dish.”

 

My guy was referring to children being exposed potentially to the COVID-19 virus in a closed-in, body-to-body contact area of a bunch of kids. Kids who are sneezing, drooling, touching their noses, and touching one another are prime carriers and spreaders of infectious diseases.

 

Did this morning journalist mean that we should put our kids instead in a sterile bubble to prevent the spread of all contagious diseases? Where do you fall on the continuum between living in a sterile sphere and comingling with highly contagious people?

 

Let me stop you here. I am not in favor of putting my child, my wife, myself, or anyone in a contained area of people who are highly contagious with a deadly disease. Common sense must prevail. Extremes generally are not the answers on either end of the pendulum.

 

 

Human Physiology

We must understand human physiology and our DNA blueprint. The human body learns over time to biologically defend itself from specific contagious diseases. One essential way is by being exposed to microbes with varying degrees of virulence that are all around us all the time. This is as it has been since the beginning of time.

 

During this time of the pandemic, we have to allow our medical scientists to develop a means to destroy the COVID-19 virus. At least they need to make it less contagious and destructive to our body.

 

But we must become proactive to improve our natural disease fighting capability. Our future health depends on this. The solution for health and wellbeing has never been a pill or a shot. That would be treating the symptoms but never addressing the causes.

 

Our natural defense mechanism against contagious diseases is our immune system. We were created and have evolved over thousands of years to survive and thrive. No one could survive if our immune system did not exist, or if our immune system was ineffective at fighting infectious diseases on its own. We can only thrive if this system is functioning at peak efficiency.

 

We eventually develop a strong immune system by being exposed to the world around us. If we lived in a sterile dome, our immune system would never learn to defend us from all the microbes from which we are exposed every minute of every day. Each of us will survive only because each of us has successfully been exposed to antigens slowly over time.

 

“SLOWLY” is the operative word. Being thrown continuously into a sea of deadly and contagious microbes will overwhelm the immune system and could cause death. But slowly becoming exposed in our germ-infested environment will build our defenses and develop our immunity over time. Our innate and adaptive immune system will learn correctly to mobilize our internal armed forces, which are collectively called our immune system.

 

 

Our Immune System

Most of us have an inefficient and dysfunctional immune system. How can I say that? Statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest we are generally unhealthy: 60% of US adults have a chronic disease; 70% of American deaths is caused by a chronic disease; and 72% of our population is overweight. Our society is drowning in an epidemic of chronic illness. These facts are the results of an immune system that is not doing its job. Our immune system is compromised and ill prepared to fight for our life.

 

About 70-80% of our immune system resides in our gut. The cells of the immune system and the gut bacteria regulate and support one another. If the garden of healthy gut bacteria becomes overgrown with harmful bacteria, then the balance between the gut bacteria and the immune system can become severely compromised. In addition, if the gut barrier membrane becomes damaged, unhealthy toxic substances will leak out from the gut lumen into the blood system. The toxic reaction in the bloodstream is called metabolic endotoxemia, which then leads to chronic system inflammation. This spread of inflammation throughout the body via the circulatory system could lead to the manifestation of various chronic and autoimmune diseases.

 

Our complex immune system is made up of two active mechanisms working in tandem: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.

 

Innate Immune System: The innate system is activated quickly whenever a foreign substance is detected in our body.  The defense mechanisms include physical barriers such as the epithelial barrier of the gut, chemicals in the blood, and immune system cells that individually attack foreign elements entering the body. The innate immune response is immediately activated by an invader’s specific chemical properties, called antigens.

 

Adaptive Immune System: The adaptive system is an antigen-specific defense mechanism. Once an antigen is detected, processed, and recognized, the adaptive immune system creates an army of immune cells specifically designed to attack that antigen. In addition, a unique and highly effective response by the adaptive immune system is to store “memory” cells for that specific antigen. Memory cells create “immunity” for future attacks from that exact antigen. If our body is attacked again by that invader, memory cells will create an onslaught of antibodies that will go to work against that antigen.

 

So, it is vital for the gut to be healthy in order to have an efficient and effective immune system.

 

 

Enhancing the Immune System

Diet and lifestyle choices affect the health of the gut, and therefore affect the health of the immune system. We must enhance our immune system by making necessary choices. Here are seven specific actions under our control that we must understand and strive to accomplish:

 

  • Eating nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods
  • Restoring and maintaining a healthy gut
  • Acquiring restorative sleep
  • Performing efficient exercise
  • Reducing emotional stress
  • Exposing our skin to sufficient sun exposure for the production of natural vitamin D (or consuming supplements if necessary)
  • Cleaning our mouth properly

 

It is critical for our survival to avoid continuous, highly contagious, potentially life-threatening pathogens. It is also critical for our survival to have a robust, efficient, and effective immune system. Our petri dish, which is the world around us, is part of the teaching mechanism that allows our immune system to defend itself. Our diet and lifestyle provide the essential elements to allow our immune system to do its job.

 

Taken all together, this is the path to health and longevity. We owe it to our body to be proactive.

 

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my email alert list here.

The Cure for COVID-19
Hear Me Out

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

April 6, 2020

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Article

 

Cure for COVID-19

 

The entire world, and specifically our government, is moving in a direction that will never address the real problem of COVID-19! Hear me out. I know it sounds like I am “off my rocker”. However, I’m talking about what our body really needs. This is a wakeup call!

 

  • Yes, I agree that it is critical to treat the acute infection.
  • And yes, I agree that this will save lives that would be lost.
  • And surely, pharmaceuticals may be the only means to accomplish this.

 

But what happens when the next pandemic or whatever horrendous invisible microbe strikes again in the future? A real cure must be all-encompassing and basic.

 

 

Mother Nature

Do you remember the slogan, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”? I’m dating myself, but this was a popular commercial ad on TV in the 1970s for a popular brand of margarine. The idea was that this butter substitute would fool your taste buds into believing it was real butter. It even would fool Mother Nature. Actually, margarine is a product that will cause serious health complications.

 

Along this line, I believe today we think we’re fooling Mother Nature by pretending we’re eating healthy foods and living healthy lifestyles. But we’re not fooling anyone. As a society, we don’t understand that among our most basic needs, we need to consume essential nutrients and avoid toxic substances. The result of our deception has been to gradually weaken our body’s ability to fight infections.

 

Medical science is digging into physiology and pharmaceuticals to create the cure for COVID-19. Money is being poured into the coffers of research to invent and manufacture something to destroy this virus quickly and effectively. Although this treatment may be critical right now, it will not support our most important defense system that fights the fight for our body – our immune system.

 

 

Immune System

Our body is bombarded by millions of invaders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Yet, the human body was designed to identify an invader and mount its “armed forces” to kill it. When the immune system is at peak performance, its attack is quick, efficient, and effective. Following the natural attack, these biological warriors leave behind a specific soldier. If the same invader were to get into our body again, this deputized soldier would take over immediately to kill it.

 

To accomplish all this, our complex immune system is divided into two separate forces – the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.

 

 

Innate Immune System

The innate system is activated quickly whenever a foreign substance is detected in our body.  The defense mechanisms include physical barriers such as skin, chemicals in the blood, and immune system cells that individually attack foreign elements entering the body. The innate immune response is immediately activated by specific chemical properties of the invader, called an antigen.

 

Adaptive Immune System

The adaptive system is an antigen-specific defense mechanism. Once an antigen is detected, processed, and recognized, the adaptive immune system creates an army of immune cells specifically designed to attack that antigen. In addition, a unique and highly effective response by the adaptive immune system is to store “memory” cells for that specific antigen. Memory cells create “immunity” for future attacks from that exact antigen. If our body is attacked again by that invader, memory cells will create an onslaught of antibodies that will go to work against that antigen.

 

 

Immune Compromised

Sadly, the far majority of us are immune compromised! That means that we can’t mount a strong and efficient immune response to destroy the invaders. How do I know?

 

  • Well, just look at the obesity rate in the US. It’s 42.2% based on CDC statistics.[1] This is a sign of a compromised immune system.
  • Then look at the prevalence of chronic diseases in the US. The CDC has determined that 45% of US adults have at least one chronic disease, and 70% of all deaths are the result of a chronic disease.[2] These are additional signs of a compromised immune system.
  • And then look at how many people take at least one prescription drug or depend on over-the-counter medicines. The CDC states that 48.4% of US adults take at least one prescription drug.[3] Once again, this is a sign of a compromised immune system.

 

 

I submit a major cause of a weakened immune system is our choice of food. Take a look at the typical breakfast: donut, coffee sweetened with sugar, and a glass of orange juice. Then look at the typical lunch: burger on a bun with gooey sauce, salty fries, and a Coke. Or maybe it’s a vegan meal which is devoid of animal products but includes all the other junk. And don’t forget the in-between snacks made up of over-processed carbs, sugar, unhealthy fats, and bunches of chemicals. This eating style has been termed the Standard American Diet (appropriately known as SAD). It is one of the ways we have destroyed our immune system. And so, we continue decimating our immune system slowly – meal after snack after meal.

 

 

The Cure

An all-encompassing and basic cure is not a pill, not a vaccine, or not an expensive therapy created by the medical industry. The ultimate cure is relatively inexpensive but time consuming. It requires us to rebuild and invigorate our immune system so that it will function optimally. My cure is not a quick fix. It requires much more. To get there, an individual must reevaluate his or her diet, lifestyle, sleep, exercise, and stress. And then, changes must occur over time to get the immune system up to speed as it was designed to operate. (I elaborate on these lifestyle changes in my book that was released in 2017 titled Crazy-Good Living.)

 

By the way, boosting our immune system is the best and least expensive medical insurance we could “buy”. If we reinvigorated our immune system, think how much less we as a society would have to spend on medical care. To do this, we need to be proactive and start ASAP:

 

  • Consume nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods. Various ways of healthy eating provide necessary nutrients while avoiding over-processed carbohydrates, added sugars, unhealthy fats, and chemical ingredients. I was eating a Paleo-type Diet for about 6 years before transitioning to the Carnivore Diet on 1/1/20. (I offer my PDFs for transitioning to a Paleo-type Diet as well as transitioning to a Carnivore Diet. Email me at: Dr.Danenberg@iCloud.com.)

 

  • Maintain a healthy gut. A healthy diet and methods to restore the gut’s balance of beneficial bacteria are essential. The gut houses 70% of the cells that make up the immune system. (I’ll send you my Protocol to Restore Normal Gut Bacteria if you email me at: Dr.Danenberg@iCloud.com.)

 

  • Sleep restoratively. Sleep about 7-8 hours a night starting between the hours of 9 PM to 11 PM. Make the room dark, cool, and quiet.

 

  • Exercise efficiently. This includes a combination of (1) some aerobic exercise, (2) brief, high-intensity interval training 1 day a week, (3) strength training 1-2 days a week, and (4) non-exercise movements during the course of every day.

 

  • Reduce stress. Meditate; practice yoga; try diaphragmatic breathing; and experiment with progressive, total body muscle relaxation.

 

  • Get out in the sun. Sun exposure creates Vitamin D in your body. This vitamin regulates the body’s absorption of calcium and phosphorus and facilitates normal immune system function. It also improves your resistance against certain diseases. Try to expose as much of your skin as you can to the sun based on your skin type, the time of day, the season, and your geographical location. Also, specific foods like salmon, sardines, shrimp, and egg yolks provide Vitamin D. If you can’t get adequate sun exposure or can’t eat enough foods that supply vitamin D, then consider taking supplements of Vitamin D3 along with Vitamin K2.

 

  • Practice effective oral hygiene. Your gut bacteria and your mouth bacteria “talk” back and forth. Make sure you brush your teeth at the gum margins, floss and clean the surfaces between each of your teeth, and scrape the topside of your tongue to remove odor forming bacteria and microscopic food remnants. (I’ll send you my protocol for How to Clean Your Mouth if you email me at: Dr.Danenberg@iCloud.com.)

 

My cure is inclusive. It gets us back to basics. Rather than just a Band-Aid or an aspirin tablet, my cure assists the body with overall healing and overall wellness.

 

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

[2] https://www.fightchronicdisease.org/sites/default/files/docs/GrowingCrisisofChronicDiseaseintheUSfactsheet_81009.pdf

[3] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm

 

 

If you don’t want to miss out on new posts, sign up for my email alert list here.