Posts Tagged Supplements

… 36,282 postmenopausal women for seven years who were on calcium and vitamin D to determine if the supplements would offer any benefit as far as preventing invasive breast cancer. After the studies …

To help you with your mission, you have likely been blessed with a gift for nagging that commonly forces your loved one into vitamin-submission.
When you understand the importance of nutrition and supplementation you want to share that knowlege with your family and friends so that they can enjoy good health well into their later years. So how do you get them on board when you are met with skepticism? Here are my recommendations:

Get someone else involved who has credentials that your loved one respects. There is an old saying that goes “A prophet is accepted everywhere…but in their own home land.” This basically speaks to a well known truth that your family will not listen to your advice on health just because they are your family and for no other reason! My parents helped to put me through private school, not to mention, 7 years of undergraduate work and pharmacy school only to ignore my advice! It is nothing personal, there just seems to be this unwritten law of life “Thy family shall not listen to your counsel”. Get a health professional involved who has the credentials that your family member respects. This means that the local acupuncturist or chiropracter will not do if they only respect physicians and pharmacists. Just be sure that you get them in touch with a practitioner who knows what they are talking about when it comes to natural products!
Make it VERY easy for them. I take over 60 pills, capsules and liquids daily. I see the long-term value of each and every one of those pills, however, I would never delude myself into thinking that my stubborn loved-one shares in that level of understanding. Pick your battles wisely, in all liklihood you will only be able to get them to take between 1 and 4 capsules daily. Just accept this as better than nothing and choose only the supplements that will provide them with the most benefit.
Use the most powerful negotiation tool known to…child. Children seem to have an instinctual ability to negotiate parents into deals that you would never thought you would have agreed to. They use a technique that has been adopted by some of the greatest negotiators in the world. Here it is…recommend a supplement program that you know they will balk at and then after they cringe or refuse follow up with a more reasonable request. For example, a conversation may go something like this, “Hey John, I am going to treat you to a nutritional supplement program, can you take 4 capsules twice daily?” (John grumbles in discontent) “Okay, that is too much for you, how about if you just take this one supplement every day, can you manage that?” I realize that this is a little tricky, but it works.
Once daily is okay when it mean compliance. In an ideal world, I like to see people get on a twice daily schedule for their supplement program. For stubborn loved-ones, however, once daily is a great victory and usually all that they will agree to. I specifically love blister packed products or supplements in a convenient celophane packet.
Recently I discovered a product that makes your job a lot easier. The product is called Four Pillars and provides a solid supplement program in a convenient blister pack. Each blister packed strip provides 4 capsules to be taken once daily. Each daily dose provides your stubborn loved one with a vitamin and mineral formula that puts Centrum to shame while also providing the other pillers of healthy supplementation: whole food antioxidant formula, an omega-3 fatty acid formula and capsule containing billions of healthy bacteria. Simply give your loved one a box of the Four Pillars with instructions to take one strip of 4 capsules once daily.

The Four Pillars makes your job easy because the blister packs are convenient, easy to take and even a little fun. There are no bottles to pluck through, just tear a strip of capsules away from the pack and swallow them at your next meal.

It was then suggested that many diseases were a consequence of accumulated free radical damage. The result of this damage was dysfunction in the organs. This can be likened to targeting a car with a gun, it is unlikely that one bullet would stop the car but if we riddled the car with bullets, it would ultimately stop working. This theory infatuated scientists and they began testing it .. .

Initial studies, performed with animals and in test-tubes, confirmed the theory. Then came the human studies and results were hot and cold, some studies lending support and others calling the theory into question. You have likely read articles in the newspaper with titles like “Vitamin C Causes Cancer” or “Vitamin E Useless for Preventing Heart Disease”. Although these studies were horribly flawed and the findings nothing more than statistical lies, they nonetheless caused doctors and the public to question the benefits of antioxidants.…

So what do we make of these inconsistent results?

First, it is important to realize that the story about antioxidants and free radicals is a complex one. I have decided to use this article to describe how I have utilized the free radical theory to enhance my own lifestyle and supplement program rather than debate the theory itself. I believe that the free radical theory of aging does provide us valuable insight into the disease process, however, I also feel that our understanding of how to fully use antioxidants is incomplete at best. So here are my personal beliefs based on the data we have to date:

Food is my foundation. This is one of the few areas where I agree with the conventional stance on nutrition. Supplementation should be used to SUPPLEMENT your diet, not replace it. When you look at any particular food it can be placed into two main categories; processed and unprocessed food. Making unprocessed food a big part of your diet will play a huge role in determining whether or not free radicals run rampant in your body.

Fortified food is NOT the same as foods naturally high in nutrition. In nature, vitamins are much more complex compounds than those we fortify food with. For example, food source vitamin C is actually a combination of numerous compounds including bioflavonoids which are encased in a protective shell which we call ascorbic acid. The ascorbic acid is the antioxidant protection for the full vitamin C molecule, but when we fortify food with “vitamin C”, in fact, we are only fortifying it with the protective shell of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Now, ascorbic acid does benefit the body, but it is not nearly as beneficial as the vitamin C molecule found in an orange, pepper or kiwi.

The goal is not to completely eradicate free radicals from the body. Free radicals, when left unchecked, appear to damage the cells and do appear to play a significant role in the formation of disease. This does not mean, however, that free radicals do not play an important role in the human body. In fact, free radicals are used by immune cells to destroy offending bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. In addition, free radicals are your cell’s barbells for keeping in shape. Last year, scientists discovered that when ascorbic acid was given in high doses before intense exercise free radicals were significantly decreased. This sounds like a good thing, however, the eradication of the free radicals decreased the ability of the cell to produce mitochondria. The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell and one of the positive consequences of exercise is an increase in the number and size of the mitochondria found in the cells. The increase in these cellular engines is partially responsible for the increase in energy and vitality associated with exercise. Loading the body with too many antioxidants appeared to inhibit the process of mitochondria production. Why does this happen? Free radicals seem to give feedback to the cell that more energy producing mitochondria are needed because free radicals are an indication that your body is using more oxygen! The goal is to provide the body with sufficient antioxidants to defend the cell rather than trying to mount a massive offensive.

Antioxidant Supplements, the secret is getting enough but not too much. People who are familiar with our work know that it is rare that we recommend high doses of vitamin E or selenium or vitamin C without discussing the importance of balance. No vitamin or antioxidant exists in a vacuum, in fact, our body is a nutrient and antioxidant soup full of thousands of different antioxidants, enzymes and nutrients all commissioned with the job of protecting us from disease. I just do not believe that throwing huge doses of one antioxidant into this complex nutrient soup is going to result in any significant gain for the whole body. This is why research on vitamin E has been so disappointing. Vitamin E itself is not made up of one compound but MANY! All of which play a role in the body, just because we may not fully understand that role does not mean it is not important. So here are the secrets to antioxidants: First rely on food for your foundation as previously discussed. Second, supplement with a balanced multi-vitamin formula such as Nutrient 950. Third, get antioxidant protection from whole food and herbal supplements…

The formula that I personally use as my antioxidant formula is called Botanical Treasures by Natura Health Products. This product combines a number of herbal and food based ingredients such as: turmeric, green tea, grape seed extract, knotweed, grape skin, ginger, holy basil, amla and rosemary. All of these herbs contain hundreds or thousands of nutrients and antioxidant compounds that work in unison to protect the whole body. In addition, many of these compounds provide other powerful benefits to the body such as normalizing the inflammatory response, normalizing cell division, activating genes known to protect the cell from aging, etc. By taking whole food based antioxidant formulas I feel that it is nearly impossible to over saturate the system with antioxidants because the body treats these compounds as food. This means that the body has some say as to what is absorbed and utilized.

To summarize, the free radical theory of aging gives us great insight into one path by which disease is potentiated in the body and aging is promoted. Much more research is needed to determine how best to utilize this understanding. In the mean time, eating good raw and unprocessed fruits and vegetables and supplementing with whole food antioxidants is likely to provide our bodies with sufficient defense against the ravages of free radicals.

Cliff Notes” that will highlight the 16 key points regarding vitamin D. For those of you who consider yourselves nutrition nerds like me, these facts make for great conversation at parties. So here we go!

Vitamin D is a hot topic right now and I recently read a wonderful article that I felt did a great job of summarizing the research literature on vitamin D. Rather than writing another boring article on this topic, I decided to write up the “Vitamin D Cliff Notes” that will highlight the 16 key points regarding vitamin D. For those of you who consider yourselves nutrition nerds like me, these facts make for great conversation at parties. So here we go!

1. Vitamin D is a potent steroid hormone that plays an important role in over 200 repair and maintenance genes of the body. This means vitamin D has over 200 known mechanisms by which it promotes health and longevity aside from its benefits to the bones.
2. Your blood test levels for vitamin D should stay between 40-50 ng/ml all year round. During winter months, many people may need up to 5,000 iu daily in order to maintain this level.
3. A recent study found that 1,100 iu of vitamin D3 daily over a 4 year period dramatically decreased the risk of non-skin cancers.
4. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many other diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, blood pressure problems, multiple sclerosis, periodontal disease, macular degeneration, inflammatory diseases, stroke, diabetes, mental illness and instability on your feet. Now you see why this is such a hot topic!
5. A recent analysis of the research suggests that 2,000 iu of vitamin D may virtually eliminate cold and flu.
6. Vitamin D deficiency may lead to unexplained back pain and, in these people, high doses of vitamin D (5,000 iu to 10,000 iu) may alleviate the pain!
7. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant and affects young and elderly alike. Vitamin D deficiency can occur even in people who live in sunny climates.
8. Stress fractures in otherwise healthy people may indicate vitamin D deficiency.
9. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to muscle pain and weakness.
10. Prescription vitamin D is not human vitamin D and is 2-4 times less effective than cheaper, non-prescription vitamin D (cholecalciferol).
11. The average adult needs 2,000-4,000 iu of vitamin D daily to maintain a healthy level. Although this is a good “standard recommendation” each person absorbs, utilizes and produces vitamin D to different degrees and may require a little more or a little less to optimize their blood levels.
12. If you are aged, obese and/or dark-skinned you may need 3,000-5,000 iu to maintain healthy levels.
13. Pregnant women should have their vitamin D blood tests performed every 3 months and optimize the blood levels using supplements. Lactating women should consider doses up to 6,000 iu daily to provide acceptable amounts to their child through breast milk. Vitamin D is crucial for the proper development of a growing child.
14. Bottle-fed infants should be supplemented with 400 iu of vitamin D daily. Breastfed children should be supplemented with 800 iu daily unless the mother takes high enough doses of supplemented vitamin D. Toddlers and older children who do not get sufficient sun should take 1,000-2,000 iu depending on their weight.
15. Vitamin D is safe. Most adults would have to take well over 10,000 iu of vitamin D for many months or years before they would suffer side effects from toxicity.

For those who would like to read the entire review article, it can be downloaded for free from The Vitamin D Council by clicking the following link: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/PDFs/diagnosis-vitdd.pdf. There are many vitamin D supplements on the market, recently Carlson Labs came out with a very high potency line of liquid vitamin D. They have three formulas: 400 iu per drop, 1,000 iu per drop and 2,000 iu per drop. These products are convenient alternatives to softgels. If you would like a powerful multivitamin that provides 2,000 iu of vitamin D daily, I recommend the Purity’s Perfect Multivitamin.

In the body, CoQ10 exists in two main forms “ubiquinone” and “ubiquinol”. The “ubiquinol” is the activated form of “ubiquinone” and thus is more easily absorbed into the blood and cell. Recent research has shown that “ubiquinol” supplementation is superior to the older supplement “ubiquinone”, which is the standard CoQ10 supplements found in vitamin stores. “Ubiquinol” has only been available as a supplement since 2007 while ubiquinone has been used for over 30 years.

Many people are asking is the new form worth the extra expense?

In order for ubiquinone to be used by the body it must first be converted into ubiquinol. This process takes place naturally in the body which is why the standard CoQ10 has worked so well in conditions such as heart failure, immune dysfunction and diseases of the brain. Research indicates that CoQ10 levels begin to drop in the twenties and by the age of 40 may have dropped by a whopping 25%! In addition, certain prescriptions such as statin medications have been shown to dramatically decrease the production of this vital nutrient.

When should you use ubiquinol instead of the standard ubiquinone?

Because we are in the beginning stages of research with ubiquinol, we do not have all of the answers as of yet. Judging from the information that we currently have it appears that ubiquinol may be best in people who:

1. Are over the age of 40, especially senior citizens
2. Are on prescription medication that lowers CoQ10 production
3. Have not responded to standard CoQ10 supplementation
4. People who suffer with heart failure

Because ubiquinol is better absorbed and utilized, you may be able to take less than with standard CoQ10. We recommend starting with 200-300 mg per day for a period of 2-3 weeks, followed by 100 – 200 mg daily thereafter. This dose can be optimized according to your own results and needs.

Pomegranate
Green Tea
Kidney stones
Vitamin D
Taking supplements
Cataract

Guest: Jade Teta author of New Metabolic Effect Diet
Lifestyle medicine
Post op supplements
Omega 3s and back surgery
Hydrogen peroxide
Bicarbonate
FDA warning requirement
Diabetes and swelling
Broken wrist
Cataract removal

Extra virgin coconut oil
Ketogenic diets
Pomegranate caps
Anti-aging supplements
Vitamin D&K with Sea Iodine
L-arginine
Astaxanthin
Zeaxanthin
Nitric oxide
Perfusia
Visual accommodation and eye fatigue

Top supplements 2010

1. Resveratrol
2. Terostilbene
3. Iodine
4. Zyflamend
5. Curcumin

TA65
Napolia

Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of having to watch our aging parents develop the diseases commonly associated with age. If you are like me, you have a nearly obsessive desire to make sure that we don’t follow along the same path. In order to succeed in this mission, we need to start with a paradigm that allows us to understand why we develop these diseases in the first place.

A well-respected researcher at the University of California, Berkley, has come up with a theory that may give us insight into how to avoid common diseases associated with aging, including:

1.      Heart disease (specifically calcifications of the arteries)
2.      Osteoporosis
3.      Various forms of cancer
4.      Diabetes and insulin resistance
5.      Breast fibroid
6.      Fatigue
7.      Weight gain
8.      And more…

Dr. Bruce Ames announced that he had a new theory of aging, which he named, “Triage Theory”. Triage theory states that when the body does not have sufficient nutrients to feed all tissues equally, the urgent needs of the body will outweigh the less urgent needs, even if they both share a high level of importance. A good way of illustrating this theory is to associate it with principles of time management.

I am a student of time management, mostly because I am terrible at it. One principle that is at the core of time management is the process of differentiating between urgent and important tasks and non-urgent but important tasks. Urgent/important tasks are things that need to be handled right now or you will suffer immediate consequences. Examples of urgent/important tasks include:

1.      A phone call from an important client
2.      Paying your mortgage on time
3.      Urgent staffing issues, and work emergencies.

Non-urgent/important matters are important to the long-term goals but there are few immediate consequences to not doing them. Examples include:

1.      Learning about new technology that may impact your job or business in the future
2.      Upgrading accounting software to be compliant with next year’s tax laws
3.      Setting up your next dental-hygiene appointment

If your life is filled with urgent/important tasks, usually the non-urgent/important tasks will be thrown by the wayside resulting in a lack of personal and organizational growth. In other words, the organization may remain healthy for today, but in the long run, the neglect of non-urgent-but-important matters will cause the person or organization to fail from ineptitude.

Dr. Ames suggests that the body is doing the same thing; prioritizing immediate needs above the future needs of the body.  He believes that the body does this because we evolved during a time when we weren’t expected to live to be 100 years old anyway.  Instead, nature prioritized the act of keeping us alive long enough to procreate rather than long enough to see our great grandchildren.

Iodine is a good example of how this theory presents itself within the body. When iodine is moderately deficient, the thyroid will take precedence at the expense of other tissues that need it, albeit in a less urgent manner. This assures that the body has enough iodine to keep the metabolism functioning, at the cost of long-term health of other tissues such as the breasts, prostate, and immune system.

Another example of the Triage Theory in action is vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K has biological effect in most cells of the body including the arteries and the bones. When vitamin K is moderately deficient, the liver will snatch the vitamin K from the blood in order to make sure that it can produce clotting factors needed to prevent you from bleeding to death from a paper cut. Unfortunately, because the K is being used in developing clotting factors, the bones grow weak and the arteries develop calcifications from being slowly starved of vitamin K.

To protect against the consequences of biological triage, you must make sure that there is an abundance of nutrition that is available to the body so that both urgent/important processes and non-urgent/important processes are able to function on all cylinders. Doing so will allow you to enjoy optimal health well into your later years.

A multi-vitamin is a good start in assuring that the body has sufficient levels of the various nutrients to feed the urgent/important and non-urgent/important processes.  Unfortunately, most multi’s (even high quality multi’s) fall short in providing sufficient levels of various nutrients such as vitamin D, vitamin K and iodine. Given this fact, we typically need to supplement with higher levels of these nutrients than are supplied by a multi.

Previously, I was taking these nutrients separately. Luckily, they are now provided in a single capsule to support your current supplement program. This supplement combines 5,000 iu of vitamin D3, 1.1 mg of vitamin K2 and 1 mg of whole-food iodine. The product is called Vitamins D and K with Sea-Iodine by Life Extension Foundation.

The reason that such a blend is so powerful is because of the broad importance and the relative deficiency of these nutrients. By providing the body with optimal levels of these three nutrients, you are helping to shore up the body’s defenses against many of the previously reported disease associated with aging.