HealthBeat News

Category: Nutrition and Health

  • B Vitamins – The Stress Vitamins?

    B Vitamins – Are They Best For Stress?

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    We live in a stressful world – of that there is no doubt. So, what can we do about it? Is there some vitamin or herb that we can take that will help us to handle the daily demands that stress places upon our bodies?

    Many people have heard that the B Vitamins are “Stress Vitamins” and indeed, many vitamin formulas include varying amounts of different B Vitamins and tout themselves  as being “Stress Formulas.”

    So, what’s the scoop?

    Ann recently wrote to ask about this:

    B-12 and B-6 – Would both of these be recommended / helpful during high stress periods?  Thank you

    And Dr. Myatt replied:

    Hi Ann:

    Thanks for your question about B complex vitamins and stress.

    The body needs B vitamins — ALL B vitamins, not just B6 and B12 — every day.

    These are “water soluble” vitamins and they “exit” the body quickly so they need to be replaced through food and supplements every day. And yes, stress increases the body’s need for these important nutrients.

    Do you need more B6 when under stress?

    I don’t recommend taking an isolated B vitamin or two because the entire B complex works together. If a person needs extra B vitamins, take an entire B complex supplement. Learn about the B complex vitamins here.

    If you are taking Maxi Multi as directed (3 caps, 3 times per day), then you are already getting optimal daily doses
    of all B complex vitamins. The potencies of B complex vitamins are generous in Maxi Multi; you shouldn’t have to take
    an extra supplement.

    If you are taking a different multiple, then all bets are off and you might want to add our B complex supplements to your program. I’d take one cap, 2 times per day with breakfast and dinner (minimum), or add a third one in at lunch. Because they are water soluble vitamins, they should be taken several times per day to keep blood levels optimal.

    The one exception to the “don’t take B vitamins separately” rule to consider when under stress is vitamin B12.

    Vitamin B 12 is poorly absorbed orally, which means you probably won’t be getting much of a dose from your multiple or even a B complex formula.

    For B12, I recommend a sublingual (dissolves under the tongue) which goes into the bloodstream directly.

    B-Extreme is a sublingual formula that has all 4 forms of vitamin B12. It is the only B12 product I’ve found that contains the two rarer forms of B12, adenosylcobalamin and hydroxocobalamin in addition to the more common methylcobalamin and cyanocobalamin.

    One of these per day will help ensure that your entire B complex vitamin supply is healthy and helping your nerves function properly even when stress is higher.

    The B vitamins will help keep your body healthy during stress, but they don’t usually produce any notice calming effect to help you handle the stress mentally. For calming anxiety during the day and improving sleep at night, my recommended formula is called “Kavinace.”

    Kavinace is an amino acid formula supports the body’s production of the calming neurotransmitters including GABA.

    THIS STUFF WORKS! Start with just one cap. If you don’t notice the desired effect, increase to 2 caps per dose. This can be used during the day to help with stress or at bedtime to improve sleep.

    Hope this helps, Ann. Let me know how it goes!

    In Health,
    Dr. Myatt

  • FDA Finally Acknowledges Antibiotic Danger in Meat Supply

    FDA Finally Acknowledges Antibiotic Danger in Meat Supply

     

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    The dangers of antibiotics in the U.S. meat supply is well documented. In fact, dangers of antibiotics in meat were acknowledged and reported by the USDA and the FDA as early as 1969.(1) On June 29th, 2010, the FDA finally acknowledged the great danger posed by antibiotics in meat. But don’t get too excited, because wait ’till you see their proposed “cure”!

    Antibiotics are fed to meat animals not only to treat disease, but because they cause animals to eat more and to gain weight faster. The practice of giving animals antibiotics to fatten them is well-known and widely practiced in the beef and poultry industries.

    Bacteria are slippery little things. When exposed to antibiotics, they mutate and often become more dangerous in the process. We call these drug-resistant bacteria “Super Bugs.”

    Today, we are seeing multiple strains of drug-resistant bacteria that infect humans. Some are so horrible that they do not respond to ANY known antibiotics.

    Where are these killer bacteria coming from? Part of the problem is overuse and misuse of antibiotics to treat human conditions, like a doctor prescribing an antibiotic for a viral infection. (Hint: it’s not because an antibiotic will help you with a virus. Antibiotics only kill bacteria. It’s because YOU think you need an antibiotic and the doctor prescribes them as placebos — “to please” — the patient.) Always ask you doctor if you really NEED an antibiotic and if he/she says “no,” take a pass.

    But medical antibiotics are only a small part of the “Super Bug” problem. The biggest threat are mutations created by feeding tons of antibiotics to our meat animals.

    The FDA released a statement on June 29th, 2010, stating that “giving animals antibiotics in order to increase food production is a threat to public health and should be stopped.”

    Although the agency also acknowledged that they have the power to ban the practice of non-medical use of antibiotics in meat animals, they have declined to do so for over 40 years. And they still are not going to ban the practice in spite of their admission of the dangers.

    Instead, they are going to “let the industry regulate itself.” Right – Let’s ask the fox to guard the hen-house.

    Instead of holding your breath waiting for the FDA to actually do something useful to protect you/us from dangerous drugs in our food supply, I recommend that you take pro-active measures.

    Buy organic beef and chicken. Also consider buying local, grass-fed beef from a rancher. We’ll be going “half-sies” with a neighbor in the fall on a grass-fed cow, to be butchered locally. This not only avoids the antibiotics, but also the hormones. (Hormones in meat are another danger of conventional meat; a topic for another time).

    Don’t wait for your friends at the FDA to protect you. They are more concerned about protecting their friends and financiers at Big Pharma than they are with public safety.

    Nurse Mark Comment:

    Finding a source of meats that is hormone and antibiotic free is challenging. Dr. Myatt is currently reviewing some providers of free-range, grass-fed beef and other meats and will be able to make a recommendation soon. Meanwhile, please feel free to follow the link on the right side of this page which will take you to Vital Choice seafoods. Dr. Myatt has carefully reviewed this company and their practices and can recommend them with confidence.

    References:

    1.) The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals.
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine. June 28, 2010.
    2.) Docket No. FDA-2010-D-0094,  CVM 201012.  Draft Guidance: The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals; Availability.  Pages  37450-37451 [FR Doc. 2010-15289] .

  • Orlistat – Do You Really Use This Dangerous Stuff?

    Orlistat – Do You Really Use This Dangerous Stuff?

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    It seems that not a week – no, make that not a day – goes by that the FDA isn’t forced to announce yet another warning regarding the risks to life and health of the drugs that it has so cavalierly approved at the behest of it’s masters in Big Pharma.

    This week’s eye-opener is the announcement that the “weight-loss” drug Orlistat and it’s Over-The-Counter (O.T.C.) counterpart Alli must now carry a label warning about the potential for severe liver damage.

    You can find the FDA announcement here on their website:

    It seems that some of the victims of this bad joke of a drug died or needed a liver transplant.

    Yep, that’ll help ya lose some weight for sure!

    While this is news here, it is not a surprise – I warned you about Orlistat over 3 years ago!

    Here is that article reprinted from the 02/15/2007 issue of HealthBeat News:

    Embarrassing Diet Drug Gets FDA OTC Approval

    by Mark Ziemann, R.N.

    Whoo-ee! Yet another prescription drug of questionable value now approved for unlimited over-the-counter (OTC) sales! Now we can poison ourselves without a doctor’s prescription.

    Is there nothing that Big Pharma in collusion with the FDA isn’t willing to foist upon us?

    Orlistat (xenical), a dubious weight loss drug brought to you by Drug Giant Roche, is now available as an Over-The-Counter drug to anyone foolish enough to believe it might help them lose weight. It’s O.T.C. name is “Alli.”

    [Dr. Myatt’s note: If you read the studies and calculate your way through the obtuse statistics, you’ll find that patients on Orlistat lost about 2 pounds per month— that’s right— a total of two pounds per month— on a combination of the drug, diet and exercise. Excuse me, folks, but if you don’t lose at least 8 pounds per month on a combination of diet and exercise and NO drugs, you’re doing something wrong with your dieting efforts].

    This drug offers both medically dangerous AND truly embarrassing side effects with use, which perhaps explains why over 50% of people in the drug studies dropped out after a short time. If you understand how this stupid drug works, I think you’ll see why we say “stay far, far away” from it and all other prescription diet drugs.

    Orlistat “works” (whoopee — remember, about two pounds per month!) by blocking the absorption dietary fat. The misguided thinking here is that “fat makes you fat,” and anything done to stop the body from absorbing fat must of course result in weight loss. What hogwash! Not only is fat essential to life as we know it (ever heard of “essential fatty acids?”), but there are a whole host of fat soluble vitamins blocked from absorption as well.

    This is such a serious problem that even the FDA alludes to it in carefully understated terms, saying: “Because of the possible loss of certain nutrients, it is recommended that people using Orlistat should also take a multivitamin at bedtime.” The fact that the FDA has actually recommended the use of multiple vitamins indicates that the nutrient loss is serious indeed.

    It’s the “other” side effects that are more noticeably inconvenient. After all, a deficiency of say, fat-soluble vitamin D won’t be immediately apparent, but will show up months or years later as osteoporosis or prostate cancer. Few people will connect the dots to Orlistat, at least not for many years and beaucoup bucks in Big Pharma income. But the immediate side-effect is what gets attention, as well it should. The FDA, using language carefully crafted to not offend their benefactor Roche Pharmaceuticals, blandly states that “the most common side effect of the product is a change in bowel habits, which may include loose stools.”

    Roche has been a little more forthcoming on their website. They list a veritable cornucopia of side effects. I hate to let this discussion degenerate into “potty-talk,” but that is what most of these side effects involve. The most common “adverse event” is discretely referred to as “oily spotting” – I won’t describe this any further other than to say that your nice white underwear will need washing (maybe degreasing?) more often – and this apparently occurs without your knowledge.

    Then there is the second most common “adverse event” – delicately referred to as “flatus with discharge.” I’m guessing this little “oopsie” probably occurs with your knowledge – let’s just hope it doesn’t happen in public too often.

    The third most common “adverse reaction” is carefully termed as “fecal urgency” and I’m guessing that it goes along with number two (no pun intended) above, as in “Oops! I thought it was just a little gas but… would you direct me to the restroom?”

    Then there is the “adverse event” of all adverse events: Roche admits that 7.7 percent of patients taking their drug Xenical (orlistat) experienced “fecal incontinence,” an out-and-out “oops – I filled my pants” kind of adverse event. Golly folks, this really sounds like something that I want to rush right out and buy, so that I can deny my body the essential fats and fat soluble vitamins it needs while at the same time increasing my laundry bills and my potential for public humiliation. (NOT!)

    On the other hand, maybe Roche has some kind of sweetheart deal going with the makers of adult diapers? Or maybe they are hoping you’ll buy some of their anti-anxiety drugs so you won’t care that you keep soiling your drawers?

    The Orlistat folks also aren’t mentioning is that another drug, Sibutramine (a “head med”), outperformed Orlistat in nearly every study of weight loss. [Still nothing amazing, however. Sibutramine resulted in a 10-12 pound total weight loss — another whoop-de-do — and also caused elevated blood pressures and pulse rates].

    Meanwhile, a safe and effective nutritional substance does what Orlistat does, only better. (But it’s a natural substance and therefore unpatentable, so you may not hear about it anyplace else but here). It won’t leave you filling your pants every time you sneeze just so that you can block the absorption of dietary fats. This substance is called chitosan, and it is “Nature’s Fat Grabber.”

    Chitosan, a fibrous material derived from the outer shell (exoskeleton) of crustaceans, absorbs dietary fat and carries it through the G.I. tract without being digested. It will absorb fat (even the essential fats) and fat-soluble vitamins, but unlike orlistat that that blocks absorption, Chitosan binds these substances and carries them out of the body. No fecal urgency, no “oily spotting,” no need for diapers while using it. Studies have shown a 6 pound-per-month weight loss, which clearly outshines the above-mentioned drugs, plus a lowering of blood pressure. Chitosan also helps to lower cholesterol levels and has proven useful in kidney disease.

    I certainly don’t recommend Xenical (Orlistat) use. There are no long-term studies showing that ANY of the FDA-approved diet drugs are safe for long-term use. Even chitosan should not be used with every meal, but instead reserved for those meals that are high in non-essential fats. (Like maybe a big blow-out dinner party). For kidney failure, chitosan is taken between meals and can and should be used long-term.

    There’s usually more than one way to skin a cat, and I’d use chitosan LONG before I’d give this or any other dangerous and ineffective diet drug a try.

    Cheers,
    Nurse Mark

  • The Deadly Poison in Soda Pop

    The Deadly Poison in Soda Pop

     

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    Soda pop is slop. Regular and diet – both are poisonous. File this under “more good reasons to avoid soda pop.”

     

    Tooth decay, overweight, diabetes and osteoporosis are the lesser problems associated with soda pop consumption. But there is an even more sinister side to America’s favorite beverage. Benzene, a highly toxic compound that can cause liver cirrhosis, Parkinson’s disease and accelerated aging — is found in many sodas. In my opinion, soda pop is one of the most harmful beverages a person can drink. Let’s review the evidence.

    Each 12-ounce can of soda pop contains between 10 and 12 teaspoons of sugar. The increase in soda pop consumption parallels our current epidemic of obesity, overweight and diabetes.

    Soda pop rots teeth, but it is not the sugar alone that causes this. The acidity of soda pop combined with high sugar levels form a tooth-destroying combination.

    Phosphates in soda pop, combined with the fact that soda often replaces calcium-containing drinks like milk, are associated with an increased risk of bone loss. Further, a recent study suggests that these high levels of phosphates may accelerate the aging process and even shorten lifespan.

    “Diet” pop comes with it’s own dangers – all of the above, plus the synthetic sweeteners that the drinks are filled with.

    • Cyclamates were popular sweeteners for a time but have been banned in the U.S. for their ability to cause cancer.
    • Aspartame, perhaps the most popular artificial sweetener in use today, has a long list of reported ill effects – not the least of which are neurological. In addition to headaches, various neuropsychiatric disorders including panic attacks, mood changes, visual hallucinations, manic episodes, and dizziness have been ascribed to it’s consumption.
    • Saccharine is less frequently used these days, and is suspected to be a carcinogen by some authorities.
    • Splenda (aka sucralose), a chlorocarbon or “chlorinated sugar” is becoming popular in diet soda formulations. The FDA insists that it is safe, but a number of experts disagree claiming that it has been found to shrink thymus glands (important for immunity) and produce liver inflammation in rats and mice. One researcher even likens this molecule to it’s chemical cousin DDT for it’s ability to damage cells.
    • Acesulfame potassium or Ace K is another new kid on the artificial sweetener block, and again the makers and the FDA insist that it is perfectly safe. Some critics are not so sure though, citing concerns over possible increased rates of cancer. A study by The National Toxicology Program showed no increased cancer risks in rats fed very large amounts of the sweetener. There is also concern that Ace K causes increased insulin secretion which could lead to blood sugar dysregulations.

    There is even research that suggests that diet sodas can actually cause an increase in obesity and overweight.

    There are a very few diet sodas sweetened with safer xylitol (a sugar alcohol) or stevia (an herb with a long history of safe use) but these are relatively rare and even though their sweeteners are thought to be safe, they may still contain phosphates and sodium benzoate.

    Most soda contains the chemical preservative sodium benzoate. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is another common additive. When sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid interact, the highly toxic chemical benzene is formed. Benzene is an aggressive carcinogen, even in minute amounts. And drink which contains both sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid can contain benzene.

    But now there is more evidence which suggests that sodium benzoate by itself can cause DNA damage. Research from Sheffield University in Britain shows that sodium benzoate, a common preservative in soda pop, pickles, sauces, and many other “food stuffs,” has the ability to shut off vital parts of DNA known as the “mitochondria.”

    Mitochondria are the “power stations” inside the cell. According to lead researcher Piper, “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: They knock it out altogether.”

    When the mitochondria are damaged, the cell begins to malfunction in a serious way. Conditions such as Parkinson’s, cirrhosis of the liver, and accelerated aging, can be linked to this type of cellular damage.

    Here’s the bottom line. We have no idea how many of these “harmless” artificial ingredients and chemical preservatives in our food can cause disease. Short-term effects are studied in the lab but long-term effects are unknown until the public acts as “guinea pigs” by consuming these chemicals for many years.

    To protect yourself, avoid soda pop, period. Eat more “real” (unprocessed) food. Look for “sodium benzoate” on food labels and when you see it (as they say on the TV “Cop Shows”), set the product down and back away slowly, and no one gets hurt.

    Soda Pop destroys teeth with it’s high acid content:

    Product Acid (Low=BAD) Sugar per 12 oz
    Pure Water 7.00 (neutral) 0.0
    Barq’s 4.61 10.7 tsp.
    Diet Coke 3.39 0.0
    Mountain Dew 3.22 11.0 tsp.
    Gatorade 2.95 3.3 tsp
    Coke Classic 2.63 9.3 tsp.
    Pepsi 2.49 9.8 tsp.
    Sprite 3.42 9.0
    Diet 7-Up 3.67 0.0
    Diet Dr. Pepper 3.41 0.0
    Surge 3.02 10.0
    Gatorade 2.95 3.3
    Hawaiian Fruit Punch 2.82 10.2
    Orange Minute Maid 2.80 11.2
    Dr. Pepper 2.92 9.5
    BATTERY ACID 1.00 0.0
    Source: Minnesota
    Dental Association*    		    

    The threshold pH for tooth enamel dissolution is 5.5.

    Nurse Mark Adds: You may be interested to know that our mighty, ever-vigilant, and ever-protective FDA (which we think really stands for “Fleece and Dope Americans”) sets no limits to benzene in any beverages sold in America except bottled water – this according to the FDA’s own website! Unbelievable, but true – the FDA is happy to let the soda pop industry “develop guidance” that it claims will “minimize” (not eliminate, just “minimize“) benzene in it’s products.

    References:

    1.) Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet 2001;357:505–8.
    2.) Soft drink consumption among US children and adolescents: nutritional consequences. J Am Diet Assoc 1999;99:436–41.
    3.) Carbonated beverages, dietary calcium, the dietary calcium/phosphorus ratio, and bone fractures in girls and boys. J Adolescent Health 1994;15:210–5.
    4.) Consumption of soft drinks with phosphoric acid as a risk factor for the development of hypocalcemia in children: a case-control study. J Pediatr 1995;126:940–2.
    5.) Phosphates and caries. Lancet 1968;i:1431.[letter]
    6.) Beverage ingredients can form carcinogen. Consum Rep. 2006 Oct;71(10):7.
    7.) Benzene in beverages. FDA Consum. 2006 Sep-Oct;40(5):9-10.
    8.) Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health: Expert links additive to cell damage. The Independent, Sunday, 27 May 2007
    9.)  James Bowen, M.D. The Lethal Science of Splenda
    10.) Olney, J. (1994). “Excitotoxins in Foods”. Neurotoxicology 15 (3): 535–544.
    11.) Olney JW, Ho OL (August 1970). “Brain damage in infant mice following oral intake of glutamate, aspartate or cysteine”. Nature 227 (5258): 609–11.
    12.) Ferland A, Brassard P, Poirier P. (2007). “Is aspartame really safer in reducing the risk of hypoglycemia during exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes?”. Diabetes Care. 30 (7): e59
    13.) Mutsuko Ohnishi, M Shawkat Razzaque. “Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging”. FASEB J. 2010 Apr 23. [Epub ahead of print]
    14.) DeNoon, Daniel J. Reviewed by Charlotte Grayson Mathis MD. “Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight? Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink”, WebMD Medical News (2005).
    15.) Swithers SE, Davidson TL (2008). “A role for sweet taste: calorie predictive relations in energy regulation by rats”. Behav Neurosci 122 (1): 161–73.
    16.) Public Health Service. “Toxicity Studies of Acesulfame Potassium”. Retrieved 30 March 2008.     

  • Special Report On Vitamin D

     

    Our last issue of HealthBeat News was devoted entirely to a Special Report On Vitamin D prepared by Dr. Myatt and Nurse Mark. This report went out to our HealthBeat Subscribers first – as a HealthBeat Subscriber you will always get the latest, most up-to-date information and research – and you’ll get it before anyone else!

    Since that time we received a lot of feedback – most of it very positive with folks saying that this report went a long way toward clearing up the confusion surrounding this in-the-news and surrounded-by-hype vitamin. A few folks said that they had a hard time reading it in their email programs. To remedy that we have placed it onto a page on The Wellness Club website – it can be found here: Special Report On Vitamin D

    Here are the “Cliff Notes” for those who just can’t wait or who don’t want to read the fully scientifically referenced article:

    Vitamin D — The Short Course

    1.) Vit D is produced in our bodies in response to sun exposure. Vit D is also available from food and supplements.

    2.) Vit D is FAR more important to health than was previously realized. I’m talking FAR more important.

    3.) Vit D deficiency is widespread, including North America, even in sunny climates like Arizona. Many people who think they are getting enough Vitamin D from sunlight are mistaken.

    4.) How to Optimize Vit D Levels for Good Health:

    I.)  Vit D test, supplement accordingly, re-test

    II.) Supplement at 5,000IU for 3 months, then test your levels.

    III.) Don’t test, run the risk of being deficient, but take at least 2,000IU total per day. (This is still an extremely conservative dose, but much higher than the RDA of 400IU which hasn’t been changed yet to reflect the newer findings about Vit D). 

    5.) Natural ways to obtain Vit D: Foods, supplements and sun exposure.

    Read the full article here: Special Report On Vitamin D