Catabolic Wasting, Cachexia and Cancer; Natural Remedies
A number of chronic diseases are characterized with loss of weight among the patients of these diseases. Be it AIDS, or other severe illnesses like cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the patients are likely to experience a wasting of the body mass. This wasting of body mass is what is referred to as Catabolic wasting, or cachexia.
Old age is also common with the decline of the general body mass of the aging individual. This is however not the same as cachexia, rather, the condition is referred to as sarcopenia. Both of these are conditions of loss of both muscle and body fat tissue. Cachexia and sarcopenia both often lead to frailty of the body and these conditions adversely affect different clinical outcomes and the victims face an increased risk of infection, falls and ultimately death. Cachexia is also associated with slower healing of wounds, significantly reduced exercise and breathing capacity. The overall life quality of the individual is usually diminished.
When the term ‘catabolic wasting’ is used, a reference to both sarcopenia and cachexia is encompassed. Catabolic mentioned here refers to the tissue breakdown; just the direct opposite of anabolic which on the other hand denotes tissue-building.
How catabolic wasting results
The wasting away of body muscle and fat tissue is caused by an interplay of a number of factors. Malnutrition is often key among these factors. This is due to reduced food consumption or impaired absorption of nutrient that frequently occurs in advanced or later stages of severe and chronic diseases. This form of malnutrition can always cause manifest loss of body muscle and fat tissue. Studies indicate that cachexia, despite being typically accompanied with loss of appetite by the patient, the condition hardly ever responds to improved food intake alone.
Among patients of AIDS for instance, dehydration is one of the commonest contributors to catabolic wasting. Dehydration is a condition of severe loss of body fluid and this is known to result in reduced aggregate body weight.
Inflammation has also been noted to play a key role in deterioration of the mass of the patients of chronic diseases. Both acute and chronic and conditions can cause serious increases in the creation of inflammatory cell-signaling molecules referred to as cytokines. Cytokines (inflammatory mediators) are known to alter a number of metabolic processes in the body. As a result, there is a reduction in muscle protein synthesis and the muscle protein also breaks down in an increased rate.
The inflammatory cytokines often activate a key metabolic regulator referred to as nuclear factor kappa B. this is also abbreviated as NF-κB. The NF-κB in turn triggers a number of physiological changes which encourage tissue deterioration. The cytokines are also known to stimulate the release of hormone cortisol, the adrenal catalytic chemical responsible for body stress and other neurotransmitter hormones: catecholamines. Together, the cortisol hormone and hormone catecholamines can aggravate catabolic wasting by disrupting the metabolism of muscle cells. They also alter the basal metabolic rate (BMR) of the patient.
There are other factors that have been identified as being causative to catabolic wasting as well. These include reduced levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 and testosterone in the body. These substances are often responsible for inducing of anabolic actions in bodily muscle tissue. Reducing their levels therefore will have a negative response in this regard hence can lead to reduced muscle mass.
Natural Ways of Countering Catabolic Wasting
Insulin resistance, increased inflammation, oxidative damage, breakdown of protein associated with actual reduction of protein synthesis and changes in the levels of essential hormones have so far been identified to be responsible for cachexia and sarcopenia, conditions of catabolic wasting other factors also include blood vessels dysfunction and the dysfunction of nerves as well as damage caused to mitochondria which are responsible for the production of cellular energy.
Advanced cancer patients are therefore likely to manifest symptoms of catabolic wasting or cachexia. Precisely this is often referred to as cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome (CACS). This is because solid tumors result in the above internal changes that eventually get noticeable through body wasting as a symptom.
Natural ways meant to counter the symptoms of cachexia resulting from cancer should be targeted at the root causes of the fat tissue and muscle wastage. Researchers stress that the application of successful therapies will depend on the ability of the therapist to determine which categories of cancer patients often experience the greatest benefit when treated with a particular therapy instead of another. As such the catabolic phenotypes in patients of cancer must first be assessed before any therapy is recommended.
The effective medical treatments for cachexia often include encouraging the use of adequate amounts of liquids and food accompanied with certain drugs. These medical treatments however present serious side effects.
Catabolic wasting therefore is effectively treated by a variety of lifestyle, nutritional and innovative pharmacological interventions that may often prevent and treat cachexia and catabolic wasting in general.
Lean muscle mass may be built by taking glutamine, leucine, arginine and hydoxy-methylbutyrate (amino acids); whey protein and creatine. Omega-3 fatty acids are especially recommended by many practitioners for use in dealing with catabolic wasting. Other recommended products include conjugated linoleic acid and vitamin D which are also said to be effective in fighting lean tissue loss.
AwareMed is a perfect resurce not only to get information regarding the methods of ensuring a healthy life free from catabolic wasting, but also to purchase supplements that will help you recover from severe levels of catabolic wasting.
Catabolic Wasting, Cachexia and Cancer; Natural Remedies
Related articles
