A reason to be optimistic in challenging times

Multiple sclerosis, MS is often seen as an immune reaction.  However researchers surveyed 1,349 MS sufferers.  The respondents were asked to reveal any allergic reaction to food, environmental factors or drugs, only those with a food allergy suffered more frequent relapses and had more severe pathological changes related to MS. It is not yet know whether an allergy can cause the MS in the first place, but researchers do know that sufferers often experience a relapse after a reaction to food.  This suggest that MS isn't just an immune reaction but is more closely assocated with gut and inflammatory responses to foods.  This discovery by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston ties in with earlier observations that people with MS seem to suffer relapses after an allergic reaction - but nobody has been sure it was a reaction only to food. Researchers concluded there is a strong link between MS and food allergy.  The common factor seems to be inflammation in the gut. Reference Fakih R, Diaz-Cruz C, Chua AS, Gonzalez C, Healy BC, Sattarnezhad N, Glanz BI, Weiner HL, Chitnis T. Food allergies are associated with increased disease activity in multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2019 Jun;90(6):629-635.    

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, hormone-like vitamin, which means body fat acts as a "sink" by collecting it. If you're overweight or obese, you're therefore likely going to need more vitamin D than a slimmer person -- and the same holds true for people with higher body weights due to muscle mass i.e. amateur and professional athletes. It is common knowledge that obesity and physical inactivity can lead to type 2 diabetes.  But what about your impact does your levels of Vitamin D have?. The Endocrine Society, published details of a study that looked at the vitamin D levels of 118 people with a wide range of weights (from slim to morbidly obese) while taking into account whether they had diabetes.   According to the researchers people who have low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have diabetes, regardless of how much they weighed.  The researches concluded that vitamin D is associated more closely with glucose metabolism (and hence your chance of getting diabetes) than obesity! One Indian study found that vitamin D and calcium supplementation, in combination with exercise, can prevent pre-diabetes from progressing into type 2 diabetes. The study found that for every unit increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of progression to diabetes in people with pre-diabetes went down by 8 percent. In 2013 Taleai, Mohamdi and Adgi found that type 2 diabetics given 50,000 IUs of oral vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks experienced "a meaningful reduction" in fasting plasma glucose and insulin. Other research showing this link includes but is not limited to the following:

• One study involving nearly 5,680 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance showed that vitamin D supplementation increased insulin sensitivity by 54 percent (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9516221?dopt=Abstract)
• The mechanisms by which vitamin D reduces insulin resistance include its effect on calcium and phosphorus metabolism and by up regulating the insulin receptor gene (see >> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cbf.951/abstract)

In part 1, I looked at the impact of sitting on your muscles, but what happens in the rest of your body? Leg Disorders We are all familiar with the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if we take long flights.  This is because sitting for long periods of time slows blood circulation, which causes fluid to pool in legs.  This creates problems ranging from swollen ankles, varicose beings to dangerous blood clots. Soft Bones Osteoporosis is a disease marked by reduced bone strength leading to an increased risk of fractures, or broken bones. Bone strength has two main features: bone mass (amount of bone) and bone quality.  Osteoporosis is often called a “silent disease” because it usually progresses without any symptoms until a fracture occurs or one or more vertebrae (bones in the spine) collapse.   Weight-bearing activities such as walking and running stimulate hip and lower-body bones to grow thicker, denser and stronger.  Medical researchers partially attribute the recent surge in cases of osteoporosis to lack of activity. Garrett, Brasure et al, 2004, Physical Inactivity Direct Cost To A Health Plan, American Journal of Preventative Medicine; Vol 27 No 4, Pages 304–309 See http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797%2804%2900191-6/abstract?cc=y Weight Gain As the body slows down while in a resting and seated positions, the metabolism naturally slows down.  Calories are burned at a far lower rate, when you sit, you burn only about one calorie a minute!.  For some people this can lead to weight gain becoming an issues.  Being overweight is a known risk factor for many common chronic conditions including

• diabetes
• gallstones
• hypertension
• heart disease
• stroke