As good as fish is for you, there is a problem with eating fish – it can contain high levels of mercury. You probably already know about this problem. But that's not the only environmental problem with fish. There is another poison that has crept into fish. And this one can cause diabetes.

I'm talking about perfluorinated compounds, also known as PFCs. PFCs are widespread in our environment and are considered greenhouse gases. They can cause insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes. We get exposed to them in several ways including tap water, bottled water, foods wrapped or cooked in PFC materials, and even in the air we breathe. But the major source is fish. The more fish a person eats, the higher the levels of PFCs are in their bodies.

Five separate studies have already shown that many of us have muscle tissue samples exceeding the advisory level of PFCs. And over 75% of the studies that have looked at amounts of PFCs in fish have found unsafe levels. In recognition of the problem, the Minnesota Department of Health has recently issued fish consumption advisories for contaminated sections of the Mississippi River. So what if you like to eat fish? Is there anything you can do to lower your risk of getting diabetes from the PFCs? A new study says yes.

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The authors looked at 141 elderly men and women. They divided the group and gave half of them a vitamin C supplement. The other half got the placebo. At the beginning and the end of the four week experiment, they measured the participants' blood levels of PFCs. They also measured their urine levels of MDA (malondialdehyde) and OHdG (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine) for oxidative stress. MDA and OHdG show up in the urine depending on how much free radical stress the body is suffering from. The higher the levels are, the more free radical stress there is. And last of all, they measured their HOMA (homeostasis model assessment) index. The HOMA index is a way to measure insulin resistance. As most of you already know, it is insulin resistance that leads to type-2 diabetes. The results of the study show just how easy it is to avoid the pitfalls of PFCs.

The higher the level of PFCs in a person's blood, the higher their HOMA index was and the more likely they were to get diabetes. But here's the good news. This risk completely disappeared in only four weeks in the men and women who took the vitamin C supplement! Not only that, but the men and women with the higher blood levels of PFCs also had the highest levels of the free radical markers MDA and OHdG. But not too worry. These markers also decreased with the vitamin C supplement. Here's the take home message.

One, type-2 diabetes is becoming increasingly rampant in our society. Mostly it is because of our national obsession with carbohydrates and couch sitting. But, as you can see, PFC exposure is also a factor. Two, free radical stress is what causes our bodies to break down and age faster. So anything that reduces both of these risks is welcome indeed. And now we have proof that regularly taking something as simple as vitamin C is just the ticket. And if vitamin C can help, what about all of the other antioxidant supplements such as vitamin E, beta-carotene, melatonin, CoQ10, etc? In all likelihood they also will do the same thing. In fact, it is reasonable to expect that taking all of these nutrients will work better than simply taking any one of them.

Twenty-five years ago, I formulated my Super Immune QuickStart powder based upon numerous studies and my simple observation that my patients who took the ingredients in QuickStart were healthier and more resistant to infections and disease than those who didn't. And guess what? QuickStart has always had high amounts of all the major antioxidants including, of course, vitamin C. I've been taking a scoop every day of my life for all of those 25 years. And now there is reason to believe that my QuickStart habit has decreased the nasty effects of the inevitable exposure that we all have to PFCs.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD

REF:

Kim JH, Park HY, et al. The modifying effect of vitamin C on the association between perfluorinated compounds and insulin resistance in the Korean elderly: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Eur J Nutr. 2015 May 5.

D'Hollander W, de Voogt P, et al. Perfluorinated substances in human food and other sources of human exposure. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010;208:179-215.

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