HealthBeat News

Category: Diabetes

  • From Toxic Herb To Anti-Aging Wonder Drug – A Cinderella Story

    By Nurse Mark

     

    How a toxic plant may have become the anti-aging, anti-cancer wonder-drug of the near future.

    Ancient middle-eastern sheep and goat-herders couldn’t help but notice that when their animals ate a certain plant they produced more milk. The pretty, summer-flowering Galega officinalis was known variously as galega, goat’s-rue, French lilac, Italian fitch, or professor-weed and while initially native to the Middle East it also spread to Europe and some parts of Asia and Pakistan and can now be found throughout the Americas where it was introduced as a forage plant. It now grows wild in only one part of Utah and is considered to be an agricultural pest by the federal government.

    During the middle ages, healers found that teas and extracts of the plant could stimulate milk production in new mothers, but that it had to be used carefully as it could also be toxic – not only to the mother, but also to the baby. More importantly, ancient physicians also found that it had value in treating the thirst and frequent passing of sugary urine that were the symptoms of the disease we now know as diabetes.

    However, all was not so well with the use of this plant, and the ancient healers found that if too much was given the patient could experience some very dangerous side effects such as spasms or even seizures, pulmonary edema (a buildup of fluid in the lungs) and tracheal and pharyngeal frothing and coughing, hypotension (low blood pressure), and even paralysis, coma, and death if high enough doses were taken! This was not a remedy to be used lightly…

    Unbeknownst to the ancient healers, goat’s rue contains large concentrations of a substance related to guanidine which certainly decreases blood sugar but is far too toxic to be used safely in humans.

    Still, the historical use of goat’s rue for treating diabetes did not escape the notice of early 20th century physicians and researchers, and around the time of the First World War a less toxic alkaloid, galegine, was identified in goat’s rue by French researchers. Galegine was found to have a positive action on blood sugar in diabetics and was indeed less toxic than the other guanidines in goat’s rue. Unfortunately the duration of action was very short and although there were a few human studies in the 1920’s, it was not a practical answer.

    Researchers persevered however, and their efforts led to the synthesis of biguanides which were related to the guanides but were far less toxic. The biguanides were seen as compounds with greater potential and three of them, phenformin, buformin, and metformin, would go on to be offered as drugs for the treatment of diabetes. Phenformin and buformin were eventually withdrawn because of undesirable side effects, but Metformin has proven to be safe and effective and is now considered a first-line drug for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

    Though Metformin was developed and approved for use in England in 1957 our own FDA took another over 3 decades more to approve the drug for use in the US. Well over a half century of use has not only proven Metformin to be effective and safe in the treatment of diabetes, it has given doctors and researchers ample opportunity to discover some of the drugs other, non-diabetes related benefits.

    Unfortunately for Metformin some patients using the related but dissimilar drug Phenformin went on to develop a dangerous condition called lactic acidosis which in a few cases led to death. Phenformin was promptly withdrawn from use and Metformin, even though very different in its metabolism and having never been associated with lactic acidosis, was banned along with Phenformin by several countries. This cast a chill over the use of Metformin that would take it years to recover from.

    It took until 1995 for Metformin to once again find favor in the US, and since then doctors have found that besides blood glucose control, metformin use reduced the risks of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and all-cause mortality. Additionally, nephrologists (kidney specialists) believe that metformin is helpful in kidney disease. Metformin is now also being used to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), gestational diabetes and is showing significant promise in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

    With all these benefits coming to light you might think Metformin could comfortably rest on its laurels, but no, there’s more – there is growing evidence of its potential to extend lifespan and wellness in humans. This evidence has become so strong that the mighty FDA has bowed to pressure and has now approved not one, but 2 long-term clinical trials intended to validate in humans the results of earlier studies that prove longevity extension in lab animals.

    There you have it – a “rags to riches” story – from helpful but toxic herb to a drug that may extend our human lifespan.

    Is it any wonder that progressive doctors like Dr. Myatt feel that this is such an important drug? Dr. Myatt has been recommending Metformin to her patients, especially her longevity patients and cancer patients, for many years.

  • Seven Not-Surprising Health Updates From 2015

    As many of you know, Nurse Mark and I read the medical news every single day. There isn’t much in the way of a “breakthrough” that we’d ever miss. We even
    know about the “pseudo-breakthroughs” — those lab rat studies that are over-hyped in importance. Because of this, some of these hot-off-the-press findings you have already read about in previous HealthBeat articles. However, now that the research is being solidly reported in the conventional medical journals, some of it bears repeating.

    Here are the most recent “now it’s true because conventional medicine finally recognizes it” topics that you should be aware of. Don’t be surprised if many of these items fall into the “we told you so” category. That just means we’re doing our best to keep you on the leading edge of medical news!

    We Told You So About…

    1.)    Statin drug dangers. First, these drugs were so important that just about everyone – including children – should be taking them. Next they reported a “small increase” in diabetes with use. Oh, and that annoying problem of myalgia (muscle pain) and myopathy (rhabdomyelosis), and “brain fog” and other cognitive impairments. But not to worry, that doesn’t happen very often, so they say.

    The latest news is that the risk of diabetes increases by about 50%. Since diabetes is a serious risk factor for heart disease (the reason people take statins) AND since diabetes also increases the risk of cancer,Alzheimer’s, eye disease, atherosclerosis (narrowing and hardening of the arteries), kidney disease, and more, this is a big finding. “But don’t stop taking the drug until more is known” is the cry of Big Pharma.

    2.)    Acid-Blocking drug Dangers. We’ve talked a lot about this before in HealthBeat articles. Now add another risk of long-term use to the list of dangerous side effects: kidney disease. Sometimes severe enough to ruin the kidneys and require permanent appointments at the dialysis clinic and a spot on the transplant list. Ouch!

    These drugs, called PPI’s (proton pump inhibitors) were designed to be used short-term to treat ulcers. They work well for that. But “short term” means 6 weeks. If you have ongoing digestive distress and GERD, you need MORE stomach acid, not less. We’ve written about that, too.

    So, if you have been using acid blockers for anything other than ulcers, especially if you use them ongoing, I recommend that you stop before you have long-term consequences and take the time to figure out the real cause and correction for your GERD, heartburn and other digestive problems. If your stomach or esophagus hurt when you eat, consider that biofeedback from your body that something needs to be fixed, not masked.

    3.)    Sugar increases risk of breast cancer metastasis. I’ve mentioned this a gazillion times. In fact, ALL carbohydrates increase growth of ALL types of cancer. Conventional medicine just caught on.

    Meanwhile, watch for my upcoming book “The Ketone Diet for Cancer.”

    4.)    Testosterone therapy for men really is safe after all. We’ve heard for years all about the supposed dangers of testosterone therapy – mostly from politicians who have no medical training but plenty of skill in leaping to conclusions based on faulty research and fears of “anabolic steroid” use by sports figures and teenage body builders.

    As a result, testosterone, a natural substance present in everyone has been treated like some scary, evil drug by the FDA and prescribing it is a nightmare for physicians. That could change, as the bogus charges against testosterone therapy are refuted by study after study.

    It turns out that not only does Testosterone use NOT increase the risk of prostate cancer, and does NOT increase the risk of heart attacks as we have been told over and over in the past, Testosterone use actually reduces the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, and all-cause mortality, according to a large new retrospective study of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients.

    Sounds like more good reasons for men to consider hormone testing and replacement if needed. BHRT (BioIdentical Hormone Replacement Therapy) is not just for women! I’ve been prescribing testosterone for some 30 years now, despite all the FDA / DEA hassles – it’s that important to men’s health.

    And Here’s one that we have been following – look for a HealthBeat News article on this very soon:

    •    Cell phone use increases brain cancer risk. First we were told that it didn’t. Then we were told “maybe” but the evidence is weak. Now in the medical news the evidence is no longer weak. There is a 3-fold increase in brain cancer (aggressive gliomas) that correlates with cell phone and mobile phone use when the device is held next to the head.

    Personally, I try to minimize cell phone use and have increased “old school” (corded phone) use and speaker phone use whenever I can. There is some thought (and many marketing claims) that the bluetooth earpieces for cellphones may be safe due to their very low power output – we are examining the research.

    And now for good news breakthroughs:

    •    Coffee is healthy. For years we’ve been told it wasn’t. Now, coffee up to 5 cups per day is not only safe but is actually the biggest source of antioxidants in the US diet. The study found that people who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had about a 15 percent lower risk of premature death compared to people who didn’t drink coffee. Do-dah!

    •    Eggs, (and other fats) are good for you! Every 5 years the government gives us their latest dietary advice – and, lo and behold, this year the old warnings about cholesterol (including eggs), fats, and meats being evil have been softened considerably. Not only that, they are no longer making such dire warnings about processed meats like bacon and hot dogs.

    Read all about it on the government website: http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/

    Woo-Hoo! Bacon and eggs for breakfast – with coffee!

     

    References:

    Statins:

    Reference: Henna Cederberg, Alena Stančáková, Nagendra Yaluri, Shalem Modi, Johanna Kuusisto, Markku Laakso.
    Increased risk of diabetes with statin treatment is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion: a 6 year follow-up study of the METSIM cohort. Diabetologia. May 2015, Volume 58, Issue 5, pp 1109-1117

    Acid Blockers:

    Lazarus B, Chen Y, Wilson FP, et al. Proton Pump Inhibitor Use and the Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease. JAMA Intern Med. Published online January 11, 2016.

    Sugar / cancer connection:

    Jiang Y, Pan Y, Rhea PR, Tan L, Gagea M, Cohen L, Fischer SM, Yang P. A Sucrose-Enriched Diet Promotes Tumorigenesis in Mammary Gland in Part through the 12-Lipoxygenase Pathway. Cancer Res. 2016 Jan 1;76(1):24-9.

    Testosterone:

    Rishi Sharma et al., Normalization of testosterone level is associated with reduced incidence of myocardial infarction and mortality in men. European Heart Journal, 6 August 2015. http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/07/27/eurheartj.ehv346

    Jacques Baillargeon et al., Long-term Exposure to Testosterone Therapy and the Risk of High Grade Prostate Cancer. The Journal of urology, December 2015Volume 194, Issue 6, Pages 1612–1616. http://www.jurology.com/article/S0022-5347(15)04148-8/abstract

    Cell Phones:

    Hardell, Lennart et al. Mobile phone and cordless phone use and the risk for glioma – Analysis of pooled case-control studies in Sweden, 1997–2003 and 2007–2009.
    Pathophysiology , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , 1 – 13

    Coffee:

    Ming Ding, Ambika Satija, Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju,  Yang Hu, et al. Association of Coffee Consumption With Total and Cause-Specific Mortality in 3 Large Prospective Cohorts.  Circulation. 2015;132:2305-2315.

  • Vitamin K – A Longevity Vitamin

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Vitamin K is well known for its role in blood clotting. So much so that otherwise well-meaning but under-informed doctors sometimes warn their patients away from Vitamin K and from foods containing Vitamin K out of fear that it might somehow make them have blood clots. Those are invariably the doctors who are also quick to prescribe Coumadin (AKA “Warfarin” – the rat poison) at the least hint of a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) or atrial fibrillation.

    But did you know that Vitamin K – “the clotting vitamin’ – can also help you to live longer, have stronger bones, and have less risk of  “hardening of the arteries” (arterial calcification) as you age? Not only that, there are studies that show Vitamin K improves insulin sensitivity in both healthy subjects and in those with Type II Diabetes and that Vitamin K has a powerful cancer-preventative effect!

    Here are some quick facts about Vitamin K:

    Discovered in 1935 it is actually two related substances: Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) is the main form of the vitamin that we get from diet. Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7 and menaquinone-4) is obtained in lesser amounts from diet and is mostly a product of our bodies conversion of Vitamin K1 to Vitamin K2. It is becoming clear to researchers that each of these forms of Vitamin K is vital to our health, and that each form has very different actions.

    How important is Vitamin K?

    In one study published in 2014, in a group of more than 7,000 people at high risk for cardiovascular disease, the people with the highest intake of vitamin K were 36 percent less likely to die from any cause at all, compared with those having the lowest intake. (1)

    In another study, researchers found that people with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were 57 percent less likely to die of coronary heart disease compared with those with the lowest intake (2) showing the importance of both forms of Vitamin K.

    In yet another study, women with the highest intake of vitamin K2 were found to be at a 20 percent lower risk for coronary artery calcification (hardening of the arteries)  than women with the lowest intake. Interestingly, that same study found that vitamin K1 had no significant impact – once again showing the importance of obtaining both forms of Vitamin K. (3)

    Vitamin K has been recognized by the European Food Safety Authority (Europe’s version of our FDA) as being important to bone, heart and blood vessel health. (4)

    Along with its proven effect at lessening arterial calcification, Vitamin K has been shown in study after study to reduce osteoporosis and bone loss, and to increase bone density (and thus strength) in the spine and in hip bones – two places where osteoporosis is most likely to hit aging people, especially aging women, the hardest.  (5, 6, 7, 8)

    Diabetes is a condition that is often characterized by high levels of body-wide inflammation. In addition to being at lower risk for fractures related to osteoporosis, diabetics with the highest Vitamin K1 intakes show reduced inflammatory markers related to diabetes. (9) Additional studies related to diabetes have shown increased insulin sensitivity and improved blood glucose control even in non-diabetic, healthy people and even a reduced risk of ever developing Type II diabetes! (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)

    Cancer is a threat to anyone, young or old – but as we age we run an ever-increasing risk of developing some form of this dread disease. Can Vitamin K come to the rescue? While it is not a “silver bullet” against cancer, Vitamin K was shown in a large European study to slash the risk of death from cancer by a whopping 28 percent for those taking the higher amounts of Vitamin K versus people taking the lowest amounts. (15)

    Men, Vitamin K is for you too: A related European study found an amazing 63 percent lower risk of advanced prostate cancer in men taking higher doses of Vitamin K2. (16)

    Colon cancer may prove to be vulnerable to the health-giving effects of Vitamin K: a study that placed human colon cancer cells into laboratory mice found that Vitamin K induced apoptosis (cell death) and suppressed the growth of the implanted tumors. (17, 18)

    And liver cancer, often a tragic result of AIDS or alcoholism or an infection with the hepatitis B or C virus, can be helped: several human studies have shown that supplementation with Vitamin K after the surgical removal of the hepatocellular carcinoma cancer lesion reduces the recurrence and improves survival in those stricken with this aggressive and deadly cancer. (19, 20)

    But is it safe? In a word, YES.

    Even for people using blood thinners, Vitamin K supplementation is safe.

    The blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) actually works by suppressing the normal, healthy effects of Vitamin D, and recent studies are proving that those using this antiquated “blood thinner” are actually at increased risk for developing arterial calcification – actually putting them at increased risk of having the very cardiac or cardiovascular disasters that the drugs were meant to prevent! (21, 22)

    The effects of more modern blood thinners  like Pradaxa (dabigatran) and Eliquis (apixaban) are not affected by vitamin K intake and so it is safe and appropriate to take full-dose vitamin K without worry of counteracting the desired anticoagulant effects of the drugs.

    In any event – DO NOT stop taking any anticoagulant drug without talking with your doctor first!

    You can find a very high quality Vitamin K supplement that provides both the Vitamin K1 and Vitamin K2 (Vitamin K2 in both the longer-acting menaquinone-7 and more immediate-acting menaquinone-4 sub-types. Yes, that is very important!) at Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club. Dr. Myatt recommends one softgel capsule daily of Super K, or as directed by your health care practitioner.

    For any of us, and especially those of us who are getting a little older and concerned with atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, diabetes, and cancer, Vitamin K is a great way to help address and minimize many of the leading causes of death facing us in today’s modern American.

     

    Find Dr. Myatt’s recommended Vitamin K supplement here:

     

    References:

    1.)    Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, et al. Dietary Intake of Vitamin K Is Inversely Associated with Mortality Risk. J Nutr. 2014 May;144(5):743-50.
    2.)    Geleijnse JM, Vermeer C, Grobbee DE, et al. Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004 Nov;134(11):3100-5.
    3.)    Beulens JW, Bots ML, Atsma F, et al. High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification. Atherosclerosis. 2009 Apr;203(2):489-93.
    4.)        http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1228
    5.)    Braam LA, Knapen MH, Geusens P, et al. Vitamin K1 supplementation retards bone loss in postmenopausal women between 50 and 60 years of age. Calcif Tissue Int. 2003 Jul;73(1):21-6.
    6.)    Purwosunu Y, Muharram, Rachman IA, Reksoprodjo S, Sekizawa A. Vitamin K2 treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Indonesia. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2006 Apr;32(2):230-4.
    7.)    Knapen MH, Schurgers LJ, Vermeer C. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves hip bone geometry and bone strength indices in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2007 Jul;18(7):963-72.
    8.)    Knapen MH, Drummen NE, Smit E, Vermeer C, Theuwissen E. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Sep;24(9):2499-507.
    9.)    Juanola-Falgarona M, Salas-Salvado J, Estruch R, et al. Association between dietary phylloquinone intake and peripheral metabolic risk markers related to insulin resistance and diabetes in elderly subjects at high cardiovascular risk. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2013;12:7.
    10.) Yoshida M, Booth SL, Meigs JB, Saltzman E, Jacques PF. Phylloquinone intake, insulin sensitivity, and glycemic status in men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Jul;88(1):210-5.
    11.) Ibarrola-Jurado N, Salas-Salvado J, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Bullo M. Dietary phylloquinone intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in elderly subjects at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov;96(5):1113-8.
    12.) Yoshida M, Jacques PF, Meigs JB, et al. Effect of vitamin K supplementation on insulin resistance in older men and women. Diabetes Care. 2008 Nov;31(11):2092-6.
    13.) Choi HJ, Yu J, Choi H, et al. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves insulin sensitivity via osteocalcin metabolism: a placebo-controlled trial. Diabetes Care. 2011 Sep;34(9):e147.
    14.) Beulens JW, van der AD, Grobbee DE, Sluijs I, Spijkerman AM, van der Schouw YT. Dietary phylloquinone and menaquinones intakes and risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2010 Aug;33(8):1699-705.
    15.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Kaaks R, Linseisen J. Dietary vitamin K intake in relation to cancer incidence and mortality: results from the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1348-58.
    16.) Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg). Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):985-92.
    17.) Ogawa M, Nakai S, Deguchi A, et al. Vitamins K2, K3 and K5 exert antitumor effects on established colorectal cancer in mice by inducing apoptotic death of tumor cells. Int J Oncol. 2007 Aug;31(2):323-31.
    18.) Kawakita H, Tsuchida A, Miyazawa K, et al. Growth inhibitory effects of vitamin K2 on colon cancer cell lines via different types of cell death including autophagy and apoptosis. Int J Mol Med. 2009 Jun;23(6):709-16.
    19.) Kakizaki S, Sohara N, Sato K, et al. Preventive effects of vitamin K on recurrent disease in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma arising from hepatitis C viral infection. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2007 Apr;22(4):518-22.
    20.) Mizuta T, Ozaki I, Eguchi Y, et al. The effect of menatetrenone, a vitamin K2 analog, on disease recurrence and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment: a pilot study. Cancer. 2006 Feb 15;106(4):867-72.
    21.) Price PA, Faus SA, Williamson MK. Warfarin causes rapid calcification of the elastic lamellae in rat arteries and heart valves. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1998 Sep;18(9):1400-7.
    22.) McCabe KM, Booth SL, Fu X, et al. Dietary vitamin K and therapeutic warfarin alter the susceptibility to vascular calcification in experimental chronic kidney disease. Kidney Int. 2013 May;83(5):835-44.

  • How To Reduce Your Risk Of Death By Over 22%

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Imagine a drug that could reduce overall risk of death by 22 percent – and even better, reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, and respiratory diseases by 24% to 56% in men and by 34% to 59% in women.

    A drug that could do that amount of good would be considered by conventional medicine to be the greatest advance in health science since antibiotics and it would be a dream-come-true for Big Pharma. Doctors would be prescribing it to every patient that they see.

    Well, sorry – there isn’t a drug that can do all that.

    But there is something that can – and does.

    It’s not high-tech, it’s not cutting-edge, it’s not sexy or miraculous, and it gets little respect or attention from most doctors. In fact, when you visit your doctor you’ll be lucky to hear it mentioned at all beyond a recommendation to “try to get more” – mumbled while the doctor is scribbling out yet another prescription for statin drugs…

    What is this “miracle” substance?

    Fiber. Dietary fiber.

    Hard to believe? Well, believe it – increased dietary fiber intake will help you stay healthier and live longer.

    Fiber can help:

    • lower cholesterol
    • stabilize blood sugar
    • prevent Type II diabetes
    • reduce inflammation
    • fight obesity
    • reduce blood pressure
    • prevent respiratory infections
    • prevent cancer
    • and much more

     

    Researchers at the National Cancer Institute analyzed data from the National Institutes of Health / AARP Diet and Health Study and reported:

    Dietary fiber intake was associated with a significantly lowered risk of total death in both men and women. […] Dietary fiber intake also lowered the risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory diseases by 24% to 56% in men and by 34% to 59% in women.

     

    Another article, titled Study Strengthens Link Between Low Dietary Fiber Intake and Increased Cardiovascular Risk reported on October 18, 2013:

    A new study published in the December issue of The American Journal of Medicine shows a significant association between low dietary fiber intake and cardiometabolic risks including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular inflammation, and obesity.

    “Overall, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity each decreased with increasing quintiles of dietary fiber intake,” comments  Clark. “Compared with participants in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake, participants in the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake had a statistically significant lower risk of having the metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and obesity.”

    [Senior investigator Cheryl R. Clark, MD, ScD, Center for Community Health and Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston]

     

    So, all a person needs to do is eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, right?

    Maybe. But it takes an awful lot of all those things to get the recommended daily fiber intake.

    The Institute of Medicine recommends fiber intake levels according to age and sex: 38g per day for men aged 19-50 years, 30g per day for men 50 and over, 25g for women aged 19-50 years, and 21g per day for women over 50.

    So you are going to try to eat more fiber – how about a nice salad? A half-cup of lettuce, a half-cup of tomato, maybe a bell pepper, and a half-cup of broccoli for good measure – that’s a lot of veggies, right? But all told you’ll only be getting about 4 grams of fiber from all that…

    OK, so let’s add a slice of whole wheat bread – why, that’ll add a whopping 1.9 grams of fiber right there!

    And after all, you started your day with some oatmeal – that half-cup (uncooked) gave you two whole grams of fiber.

    And your half grapefruit gave another 2 grams…

    All that and you are just up to 10 grams of fiber – do you see a problem beginning to develop?

    You are going to be eating rabbit food all day long if you want to get your recommended fiber from your meals!

    Want to check it out for yourself? To see how much fiber you are really getting? Have some fun with our Rate Your Plate fiber counter page. You’ll be surprised… and maybe disappointed at just how low your fiber intake is!

    What to do?

    The obvious answer is to supplement your fiber intake.

    But with what? Pills? It takes a lot of capsules to get in any amount of fiber. Better to save that for when you are traveling.

    Most powdered fiber supplements either turn into wallpaper paste if you don’t choke them down fast enough or they taste like ground-up recycled cardboard – or both. Ugh!

    Dr. Myatt had a great-tasting fiber product called Maxi Fiber that was so good that another company bought the rights to it and produced it for a while. Then they stopped making it, claiming that it was too expensive to make and they couldn’t sell it for enough of a profit.

    They were right – a really great-tasting fiber formula that contains both soluble and insoluble fiber and that doesn’t turn to glue if it sits for a few minutes IS an expensive proposition to make. It took Dr. Myatt over 2 years to develop her Maxi Fiber formula, and no-one was more disappointed when the company that she licensed it to stopped making it.

    Dr. Myatt immediately set about finding another company to manufacture Maxi Fiber – but it has been an arduous task as the ingredients are not cheap and Dr. Myatt’s quality standards are very, very high.

    It has taken over a year to bring back Maxi Fiber – but we are pleased and proud to announce that IT’S BACK – and as good as ever, and at the same price as before!

    Maxi Fiber is perfect to add to your daily Super Shake or smoothie.

    Maxi Fiber is an important part of our delicious, easy-to-make, low-carb, guilt-free Myatt Muffins.

    Maxi Fiber even tastes good enough that you can actually mix it with water and drink it all by itself – try that with any other fiber formula! (Any formula that doesn’t contain fake artificial flavoring chemicals that is!)

    And here’s an amusing story about Maxi Fiber that we didn’t learn until recently. When the company making Maxi Fiber decided to stop making it we tried to secure the remaining supplies so that we could keep our loyal customers supplied while we found a new manufacturer. But there were no “remaining supplies” to be had. None. Not at any price. We were baffled, and disappointed.

    It turns out that one of the top executives of that company also used our Maxi Fiber and liked it so much that she quietly bought up all the remaining stock for her own personal use! Now there’s a testimonial…

    We didn’t learn of this until she was running out of her stash and contacted us to find out when we would be able to sell her some more!

    Well Folks, Maxi Fiber is back and we are not going to let anyone run out of this great product ever again!

    –> Get your Maxi Fiber here! <–

     

    References:

    Park Y, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, et al.  Dietary fiber intake and mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Arch Intern Med 2011; DOI:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.18.

    de Koning L and Hu FB. Do the health benefits of dietary fiber extend beyond CV disease? Arch Intern Med 2011; DOI:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.18.

    Dietary Fiber Intake and Cardiometabolic Risks among US Adults, NHANES 1999-2010.  http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(13)00631-1/fulltext#sec3  

    More Support for Dietary Fiber Reducing CV, All-Cause Death. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/737400

    An Update on Statin Alternatives and Adjuncts. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/776919_6

    Study Strengthens Link Between Low Dietary Fiber Intake and Increased Cardiovascular Risk. http://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/study-strengthens-link-between-low-dietary-fiber-intake-and-increased-cardiovascular-risk

  • This Simple Activity Cuts Diabetes Risk 40%

    By Nurse Mark

     

    I remember my grandfathers – both of them. My maternal grandfather was a watchmaker. The old-fashioned kind of watchmaker, who could actually make a functioning watch out of brass and steel – not just a fumble-fingered clerk who might not be able to replace the battery in your new electronic watch without destroying it. In fact, Grandpa Pass wouldn’t have those newfangled quartz watches in his shop.

    Grandpa Pass didn’t own an automobile either. He really didn’t need to. His home was about a mile and a half from his watch and clock repair shop and he walked to work in the morning and back home again in the evening  – rain or shine, every day of his working life.

    And that working life spanned many decades. Grandpa Pass died in his 85th year having enjoyed good health right up to his final days.

    Did Grandpa Pass plan it that way? Was he some sort of a health nut or fitness buff? Hardly.

    Grandpa Pass worked at a very sedentary job – hunched over a workbench manipulating the tiny pieces of clocks and watches. He would occasionally stand to serve a customer at the counter, but there was no great physical labor to his work.

    So how did he do it? What was the secret to his remaining healthy and free from doctors and drugs right up to the end?

    Perhaps it was that mile-and-a-half of walking – about 30 minutes – twice a day, every day, for decades.

    According to a study just released by researchers at Imperial College London and University College London using data from a survey of some 20,000 people across the U.K., people who walk to work are 40 per cent less likely to have diabetes than those who drive.

    And it’s not just diabetes – they also found that people who walk to work were 17% less likely to have high blood pressure than people who drive. And of course, the walkers are far less likely to be overweight too.

    Wow – the drug companies would love to be able to sell a pill that would do all that!

    Moderation: the secret to longevity and health?

     

    Grandpa Pass was not an exercise fanatic – in fact, he really didn’t “exercise.” He just walked a half-hour or so each way to work and back. That might be called “moderate” exercise.

    He enjoyed the healthy, fresh foods that Grandma Pass prepared for him – in moderation.

    Perhaps there are lessons in this for us in our more modern world.

    Not everyone lives within a mile or two of their work so as to be able to walk, or even 5 miles which would be bicycling distance.

    But we can all find a half-hour or so each day for some moderate exercise.

    Not everyone has access to all those farm-fresh, wholesome, and natural foods that Grandma would prepare from scratch preserving their nutrition and freshness, either.

    But we can all eat in moderation, and we can all make sure that we make up for the nutritional depletion that has come from or modern industrial farming methods – even the USDA is acknowledging that two-thirds or more of Americans are mineral and vitamin deficient.

    Making sure that we get all our vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients is the easy part – with a basic daily regimen of:

    • An optimal dose multiple vitamin, mineral, antioxidant and bioflavonoid formula.
    • A green food formula that provides flavonoids and phytonutrients.
    • High-potency Omega-3 essential fatty acids.

     

    Dr. Myatt has put together a time and money-saving package of essential daily supplements – her Maxi Health Foundation Bundle – that saves you from having to shop around and drive all over town in order to find the best-priced , highest quality, optimal dose supplements. Each Maxi Health Foundation Bundle is a one-month supply of these essential health-saving nutrients for one person – at a substantial savings compared to locating and buying these items separately.

    We’ll help with the vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients – the exercise is up to you!

     

    References:

    Anthony A. Laverty, MSc, Jennifer S. Mindell, PhD, Elizabeth A. Webb, PhD, Christopher Millett, PhD.: Active Travel to Work and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the United Kingdom. http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_3837-stamped-080613.pdf