Varicose and Spider Veins
Varicose veins are almost entirely absent from populations that eat traditional diets (Burkitt DP, Walker AR, Painter NS. Dietary fiber and disease. JAMA. 1974;229:1068-1074 and Burkitt DP. Varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and hemorrhoids: epidemiology and suggested etiology. Br Med J. 1972;2:556-561).
Dr. Denis Burkitt, Government Surgeon of Uganda in 1946, noted the absence in Uganda of most of the diseases he'd treated in the British Isles, such as[b] varicose veins[/b], cancer, T2DM, obesity, hemorrhoids, heart disease and other diseases of civilization. Between 1946 and 1964 he found no cases of varicose veins (7 Ginsberg A. The fiber Controversy. Dig Dis 1976 Feb, 21:103-112).
[quote]"By contrast, the British residents in Uganda, who ate a low-fibre diet with much [b]refined white bread[/b] and meat, showed a high incidence of colon cancer, diverticula and heart disease."
DENIS BURKITT – A LIFE OF SERVICE By William Reville, University College, Cork, [url=http://understandingscience.ucc.ie/pages/sci_denisburkitt.htm]http://understandingscience.ucc.ie/pages/sci_denisburkitt.htm[/url][/quote]The connection of white bread to varicose veins matches my own experience. When I elminated gluten from my diet, some spider veins (which are tiny surface varicose veins) healed and disappeared from my face.
Since the end of Burkitt's tenure, the incidence of varicose veins and other western diseases has greatly increased (Richardson JB, Dixon M. Varicose veins in tropical Africa. Lancet. 1977;1:791–792.).
What were Ugandans eating in the 1940's? The Ugandan diet of Burkitt's patients included plenty of vegetables and fruits (Segal, I. Persistent low prevalence of Western digestive diseases in Africa: confounding aetiological factors. Gut. 2001 May;48(5):730-2. Review. [url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1728272/]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1728272/[/url]). Stephan Guyenet further reports ([url=http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html]http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html[/url]): [quote]"The diet consisted of millet, cassava, corn, lentils, peanuts, bananas and vegetables (Trowell and Burkitt. Western Diseases. 1981). Despite food abundance, "in the 1940s it was quite unusual to see a stout man or woman." "In recent years, however, a fair number of upper-class middle-aged West Nile women have begun to look rather stout, and some men have become very obese, especially those who hold lucrative posts and can purchase whatever food they like." This corresponded with an increase in "sugar, cooking oils, milk, fish and meat" and a corresponding decrease in "home-grown starchy staple foods." This same scenario has happened to hundreds, if not thousands of African communities whose traditional diets are very high in carbohydrate.[/quote]
The absence of varicose veins among traditional populations was not limited to Africans with plant-rich diets: [quote]"During the first half of the 20th century, there were many reports from colonial and missionary doctors that the native populations had no cancer, appendicitis, asthma, obesity, peptic ulcers, gallstones, haemorrhoids, diverticulitis, [b]varicose veins[/b]."
Return to Traditional Foods by Ingrid Weihmann, [url=http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/household/story/642.html]http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/household/story/642.html[/url][/quote]
[quote]"Western ... diseases include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, cavities, periodontal disease, appendicitis, ulcers, diverticulitis, gallstones, hemorrhoids, [b]varicose veins[/b], and constipation. These diseases and conditions are common in societies that eat Western diets and live modern lifestyles, and they’re uncommon, if not nonexistent, in societies that don’t. And when those traditional societies take up Western diets and lifestyles – through either trade or emigration – these diseases will appear shortly after."
Gary Taubes, “Why We Get Fat…And What To Do About It!” [url=http://pronetowanderfriends.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/why-we-get-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it-2/]http://pronetowanderfriends.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/why-we-get-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it-2/[/url][/quote]
One of the nutrients that traditional diets are rich in is the animal and plant forms of [b]vitamin K[/b]. Varicose veins have been linked to vitamin K deficiency:
[quote]Varicosis, also known as varicose veins, may be attributable to a lack of vitamin K, according to a new study in the “Journal of Vascular Research.”
Vitamin K Linked to Better Vascular Health, Fewer Varicose Veins
September 13 2007
[url=http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/13/vitamin-k-linked-to-fewer-varicose-veins-better-vascular-health.aspx]http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/13/vitamin-k-linked-to-fewer-varicose-veins-better-vascular-health.aspx[/url][/quote]
Varicose veins have also been linked to [b]elastase deficiency, hypoxia (low cellular oxygen) and inflammation[/b]:
[quote]Some "gluten sensitive patients have a deficiency of a pancreatic enzyme called elastase. ... Elastase plays part in connective tissue disorders, inc varicose veins, stretchmarks, aneurysms etc."
[url=http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/18973-varicose-veins/page__st__15]http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/18973-varicose-veins/page__st__15[/url]
Pathogenic mechanisms in varicose vein disease: the role of hypoxia and inflammation.
[url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20632821]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20632821[/url]
> Among the regulatory factors of vessel tone, synthesises, pro- and anti-inflammatory, adhesion molecules and the transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha), which are responsible for recruiting leukocytes, are very important.
> These findings could explain other evidence of hypoxia in varicose veins.
Venous hypoxia: a poorly studied etiological factor of varicose veins.
[url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21099225]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21099225[/url]
> Venous hypoxia has long been postulated as a potential cause of varicosity formation.
> molecular studies have shown that hypoxia was able to cause inflammatory changes and vein wall remodelling similar to those observed in varicosities. Further studies are needed to improve our understanding of the role of hypoxia and help identify potential therapeutic targets.[/quote]
You can measure the oxygen levels in the hemoglobin of your red blood cells (optimal is 100% saturation) with a pulse oximeter, and thus measure what if any effect various foods and therapies have on your levels.
Dr. Denis Burkitt, Government Surgeon of Uganda in 1946, noted the absence in Uganda of most of the diseases he'd treated in the British Isles, such as[b] varicose veins[/b], cancer, T2DM, obesity, hemorrhoids, heart disease and other diseases of civilization. Between 1946 and 1964 he found no cases of varicose veins (7 Ginsberg A. The fiber Controversy. Dig Dis 1976 Feb, 21:103-112).
[quote]"By contrast, the British residents in Uganda, who ate a low-fibre diet with much [b]refined white bread[/b] and meat, showed a high incidence of colon cancer, diverticula and heart disease."
DENIS BURKITT – A LIFE OF SERVICE By William Reville, University College, Cork, [url=http://understandingscience.ucc.ie/pages/sci_denisburkitt.htm]http://understandingscience.ucc.ie/pages/sci_denisburkitt.htm[/url][/quote]The connection of white bread to varicose veins matches my own experience. When I elminated gluten from my diet, some spider veins (which are tiny surface varicose veins) healed and disappeared from my face.
Since the end of Burkitt's tenure, the incidence of varicose veins and other western diseases has greatly increased (Richardson JB, Dixon M. Varicose veins in tropical Africa. Lancet. 1977;1:791–792.).
What were Ugandans eating in the 1940's? The Ugandan diet of Burkitt's patients included plenty of vegetables and fruits (Segal, I. Persistent low prevalence of Western digestive diseases in Africa: confounding aetiological factors. Gut. 2001 May;48(5):730-2. Review. [url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1728272/]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1728272/[/url]). Stephan Guyenet further reports ([url=http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html]http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html[/url]): [quote]"The diet consisted of millet, cassava, corn, lentils, peanuts, bananas and vegetables (Trowell and Burkitt. Western Diseases. 1981). Despite food abundance, "in the 1940s it was quite unusual to see a stout man or woman." "In recent years, however, a fair number of upper-class middle-aged West Nile women have begun to look rather stout, and some men have become very obese, especially those who hold lucrative posts and can purchase whatever food they like." This corresponded with an increase in "sugar, cooking oils, milk, fish and meat" and a corresponding decrease in "home-grown starchy staple foods." This same scenario has happened to hundreds, if not thousands of African communities whose traditional diets are very high in carbohydrate.[/quote]
The absence of varicose veins among traditional populations was not limited to Africans with plant-rich diets: [quote]"During the first half of the 20th century, there were many reports from colonial and missionary doctors that the native populations had no cancer, appendicitis, asthma, obesity, peptic ulcers, gallstones, haemorrhoids, diverticulitis, [b]varicose veins[/b]."
Return to Traditional Foods by Ingrid Weihmann, [url=http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/household/story/642.html]http://www.organicpathways.co.nz/household/story/642.html[/url][/quote]
[quote]"Western ... diseases include obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, cavities, periodontal disease, appendicitis, ulcers, diverticulitis, gallstones, hemorrhoids, [b]varicose veins[/b], and constipation. These diseases and conditions are common in societies that eat Western diets and live modern lifestyles, and they’re uncommon, if not nonexistent, in societies that don’t. And when those traditional societies take up Western diets and lifestyles – through either trade or emigration – these diseases will appear shortly after."
Gary Taubes, “Why We Get Fat…And What To Do About It!” [url=http://pronetowanderfriends.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/why-we-get-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it-2/]http://pronetowanderfriends.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/why-we-get-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it-2/[/url][/quote]
One of the nutrients that traditional diets are rich in is the animal and plant forms of [b]vitamin K[/b]. Varicose veins have been linked to vitamin K deficiency:
[quote]Varicosis, also known as varicose veins, may be attributable to a lack of vitamin K, according to a new study in the “Journal of Vascular Research.”
Vitamin K Linked to Better Vascular Health, Fewer Varicose Veins
September 13 2007
[url=http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/13/vitamin-k-linked-to-fewer-varicose-veins-better-vascular-health.aspx]http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/09/13/vitamin-k-linked-to-fewer-varicose-veins-better-vascular-health.aspx[/url][/quote]
Varicose veins have also been linked to [b]elastase deficiency, hypoxia (low cellular oxygen) and inflammation[/b]:
[quote]Some "gluten sensitive patients have a deficiency of a pancreatic enzyme called elastase. ... Elastase plays part in connective tissue disorders, inc varicose veins, stretchmarks, aneurysms etc."
[url=http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/18973-varicose-veins/page__st__15]http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/18973-varicose-veins/page__st__15[/url]
Pathogenic mechanisms in varicose vein disease: the role of hypoxia and inflammation.
[url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20632821]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20632821[/url]
> Among the regulatory factors of vessel tone, synthesises, pro- and anti-inflammatory, adhesion molecules and the transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha), which are responsible for recruiting leukocytes, are very important.
> These findings could explain other evidence of hypoxia in varicose veins.
Venous hypoxia: a poorly studied etiological factor of varicose veins.
[url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21099225]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21099225[/url]
> Venous hypoxia has long been postulated as a potential cause of varicosity formation.
> molecular studies have shown that hypoxia was able to cause inflammatory changes and vein wall remodelling similar to those observed in varicosities. Further studies are needed to improve our understanding of the role of hypoxia and help identify potential therapeutic targets.[/quote]
You can measure the oxygen levels in the hemoglobin of your red blood cells (optimal is 100% saturation) with a pulse oximeter, and thus measure what if any effect various foods and therapies have on your levels.