HealthBeat News

Category: Family Health

  • Men – Use This Daily For A Significant Reduction In Cancer Risk

    By Nurse Mark

     

    A study of male physicians 50 years of age and older found modest but significant reduction in cancer rates associated with daily [XXX] use.

    Pharmacy Times

     

    Wow! This article, published by a mainstream on-line pharmacy news magazine and reporting on the results of a major study published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) contains some life-changing, game-changing news.

    According to the researchers, who conducted a large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of more than 14,000 male US physicians aged 50 years or older for over a decade, simply taking this one thing every day could produce a “significant reduction in cancer rates.”

    Is it a new drug? No.

    Is it a new diet? No.

    Is it some new form of exercise? No.

    Is it some newly discovered herb or vegetable from the Amazonian rain forest? No and No.

    Well what is it then?

    Simple, easy, and safe, it is your daily multiple vitamin.

    According to the researchers:

    Conclusion:  In this large prevention trial of male physicians, daily multivitamin supplementation modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer.

     

    So, you can expect to see more about this breakthrough any day now, as the major news outlets pick up on this important health information, right?

    Wrong. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on November 14, 2012 – nearly six months ago. And you probably haven’t heard about this until just now.

    Because the substance that caused the “significantly reduced the risk of total cancer” is a simple, cheap, daily multiple vitamin this study has gone unnoticed and virtually unreported.

    If this had been some new, expensive, breakthrough experimental drug produced in tiny quantities in the secret laboratories of BigPharma you can be sure that we would know all about it. Newspaper headlines would be shouting it’s praises. Television ads would be exhorting you to “ask your doctor if this could be right for you!” Shortages would be causing near-riots, and BigPharma stocks and profits would be skyrocketing.

    But BigPharma isn’t that good. They really don’t have anything to offer that’s as good as what Mother Nature can give us in the form of simple healthy vitamins and minerals. And it’s hard to find a way to patent vitamins and minerals – so BigPharma really isn’t very interested.

    Now, to be fair, the vitamin used in the study was a well-known brand – Centrum Silver – made by the BigPharma giant Pfizer. Even so, because it’s a vitamin and not a miraculous new wonder-drug even Pfizer can’t seem to get anyone to take notice of this study. And that’s too bad – because even though Pfizer’s Centrum Silver is a lightweight as a daily vitamin, it proved the worth of vitamin supplementation in this study.

    We call these “one-a-day” tablets like Centrum Silver “pixie dust” around here because of the teeny, tiny little amounts of actual vitamins and minerals that they contain – check out the Centrum Silver label and then compare it with the label of a serious Optimal Dose daily multivitamin like Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi.

    And remember, ingredients like FD&C Blue No. 2 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Red No. 40 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Yellow No. 6 Aluminum Lake, Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Pregelatinized Corn Starch, Modified Food Starch, Sucrose, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Maltodextrin, and Sodium Aluminosilicate have no place in any respectable vitamin. You will find these ingredients in vitamins like Centrum Silver – but you’ll never find them in Maxi Multi!

    So, men (and women too) can quickly and easily “significantly reduce the risk of total cancer” with one simple addition to their daily routine – just by adding an Optimal Dose daily multivitamin like Maxi Multi.

    Are you taking this important step to safeguard your health?

     

    Resources:

    PharmacyTimes.com news report: http://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/Daily-Multivitamin-Use-Produces-Modest-Cancer-Reduction#sthash.0wzb67ep.dpuf

    Centrum Silver vitamin tablets – be sure to look at the “product labeling” information! http://www.centrum.com/centrum-silver-adults-50-plus#tablets

    Now compare that to the product label for Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi Optimal Dose Daily Multivitamins!

    JAMA Report: Multivitamins in the Prevention of Cancer in Men – The Physicians’ Health Study II Randomized Controlled Trial http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1380451

  • Gimme One Good Reason… To Take A Multiple Vitamin!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Just One? Howzabout A Baker’s Dozen Proven Reasons to take a Good Multiple Vitamin…

     

    While conventional medicine and newspaper headlines continue to preach that nutritional supplementation isn’t important, the results of medical research shows just the opposite. Here are some recent medical findings that should convince you to keep taking a high-quality, optimal potency multiple vitamin/mineral supplement. If you’re not sure what an “optimal potency” formula consists of or what you should be taking for your age and sex, refer to The Wellness Club web site’s nutritional supplements page for an up-to-date ingredient list and optimal dose recommendations.

    1. Harvard researchers have found that sub-optimal levels of folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 are a risk factor for heart disease and colon and breast cancers.
      (Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) June 19, 2002)
    2. A six-month study showing that folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 helped prevent recurrence of blocked arteries in patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty.
      (Journal of the American Medical Association, August 28, 2002)
    3. Vitamin K is a critical nutrient for skeletal integrity, with evidence of vitamin K supplementation reducing bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women and a significant positive relationship between vitamin K status and indices of bone health in men.
      (24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, September 20 – 24, 2002, San Antonio, Texas)
    4. Alzheimer’s disease: Association with zinc deficiency and cerebral vitamin B12 deficiency.
      (Journal of Orthol. Psychiatry (CANADA), 1984, 13/2 (97-104))
    5. Supplementation of the elderly with vitamin E has been shown to enhance immune response, delay onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and increase resistance to oxidative injury associated with exercise.
      (Proc Nutr Soc. 2002;61:165-171)
    6. Vitamin E intake, from foods or supplements, is associated with less cognitive decline with age.
      (Arch Neurol. 2002;59:1125-1132)
    7. Researchers at Cambridge University in England looked at serum vitamin C and how long people lived. People who had the lowest levels of vitamin C were twice as likely to die compared to those with the highest serum vitamin C levels. This study was based on the findings from over 19,000 people.
      (Lancet 2001; 357:657-63)
    8. 26.4% of esophageal and gastric cancers are attributable to low selenium levels.
      (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mark et al., 2000)
    9. Calcium supplementation is associated with a significant – though moderate – reduction in the risk of recurrent colorectal adenomas. The effect of calcium was independent of initial dietary fat and calcium intake.
      (N Engl J Med (United States) Jan 14 1999, 340 (2) p101-7.)
    10. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study conducted at the Harvard Medical School showed that long-term supplementation with folic acid reduces the risk of colon cancer by 75% in women! 90,000 women participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, making this an especially significant finding. The authors of this study explained that folic acid obtained from supplements had a stronger protective effect against colon cancer than folic acid consumed in the diet.
      (Annals of Internal Medicine (1998; 129:517-524)
    11. Regarding asthma, the lowest intakes of vitamin C and manganese (a trace mineral not to be confused with magnesium) were associated with more than five-fold increased risks of bronchial reactivity. Decreasing intakes of magnesium were also significantly associated with an increased risk of hyper-reactivity.
      (Thorax (United Kingdom), 1997, 52/2 (166-170))
    12. Antioxidant supplements reduce the risk of cataract. One study evaluated 410 men for 3 years to ascertain the association between serum vitamin E and the development of cortical lens opacities (cataracts). The men with the lowest level of serum vitamin E had a 3.7 times greater risk of this form of cataract compared to men with the highest serum level of vitamin E.
      (American Journal of Epidemiology Sept. 1996)
    13. Encouraging moderate exercise and dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D are the major nonpharmacological management measures used to prevent and treat osteoporosis.
      (Drugs and Aging (New Zealand), 1996, 9/6 (472-477)
    14. Nutrient intake of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is deficient in pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), zinc, copper, and magnesium.
      (Journal of Rheumatology (Canada), 1996, 23/6 (990-994))

    OK, OK… a “Baker’s Dozen” is thirteen, and I just listed fourteen good reasons to take an Optimal Dose Daily Multiple Vitamin. So how many good reasons do you need?

     

    And remember – there is no way that a full compliment of optimal-dose vitamins and minerals and trace minerals can be made to fit into one tablet or capsule of any size that could possibly be consumed by you or me – it’s just not possible, no matter how hard you squeeze it! An Optimal Daily Dose multiple vitamin will require from six to nine capsules daily. To learn more about what an Optimal Dose Daily Multivitamin formula should look like please check out Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi – a standard by which you can judge your current multiple vitamin.

  • Allergic To Iodine – What To Do?

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Allergic – perhaps one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in the medical lexicon.

     

    We get questions often from people who are certain that they are “allergic” to any number of things, including essential elements such as iodine, sulfur, and even calcium.

    Here’s an example:

    I’ve had low thyroid all my life, but am allergic to iodine (the doctor gave me iodine drops and my jaws locked). I use iodized sea salt. I have just about every disease you mentioned (on our informational page about iodine) – arthritis (everywhere), fibromyalgia, lumps on my thyroid and low thyroid, ovarian cysts (hysterectomy), breast cysts, chronic bronchitis – what can a person who is allergic to iodine do?

    First, let’s review our basic knowledge about iodine:

    Iodine is a non-metallic essential trace element in human nutrition. Currently considered in conventional medicine to be primarily a thyroid nutrient (thyroid hormones T4 and T3 are composed largely of iodine), Iodine is actually found in many organs and tissues in the body including salivary, parotid, submandibular and pituitary glands; pancreas, testis, breasts, prostate, ovary, adrenal gland; stomach, heart, thymus, and lung. (1,2,3).

    Most people know that iodine is required for normal thyroid hormone production. But iodine also plays an important role in immune function, cancer prevention (especially of breast, thyroid and prostate cancer), diabetes prevention and reversal, atrial fibrillation correction, overweight and obesity, “brain fog” and low energy, breast and ovarian cysts, liver detoxification and menopausal symptoms.

    Iodine is also an important anti-microbial and can often relieve skin, lung, GI tract and other infections when antibiotics fail. In fact, from 1900 to 1960’s, every US physician used iodine (as Lugol’s solution) to treat low and high thyroid conditions, infections and many other conditions with excellent results.

    Allergic?

    No-one is truly allergic to iodine, any more than one could be allergic to water – iodine is a trace element that is essential to life. It is naturally present throughout our bodies. Many people have reactions to other components of things that may contain iodine, and iodine has been unfairly implicated – we call it “Found at the scene of the crime, but not guilty!”

    It is interesting to note that this person describes using iodized sea salt. Iodine is iodine, and iodized means iodine has been added. Obviously, the problem that was experienced when given “iodine drops” (and we don’t know what these were nor how they were administered) was not due to the iodine but to some other ingredient or component of the “drops.”

    What can someone like this do? They should work with an iodine-savvy holistic physician like Dr. Myatt who will help to correct the iodine deficiency that is causing so many problems. A skilled physician will get to the bottom of the “allergy” so that appropriate forms of iodine supplementation can be used and the deficiency is corrected.

    Here’s some more facts about iodine.

    • Studies show that we may need a LOT more iodine than the current RDI of 150 micrograms, and that many if not most Americans are iodine deficient.
    • Conventional doctors are “iodine-o-phobic” (afraid to recommend higher-than-RDA doses of iodine) because they are not familiar with the vast body of research showing that higher iodine levels are beneficial.
    • Low iodine levels are associated with higher rates of low and high thyroid function; breast and thyroid cancer (and possibly many other types of cancer); ovarian cysts (including polycystic ovaries); fibrocystic breast disease; heart arrhythmias; lung and other infections; fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue to name only a few.
    • Because very high doses of iodine can cause heart palpitations and excess thyroid function (both which resolve upon stopping supplementation), initial testing of iodine levels and monitoring by an holistic physician may be the safest way to take iodine.

    More Iodine information:

    Iodine Test (spot and 24-hour excretion test for total body iodine sufficiency)

    Iodine Supplements (concentrated source of high-potency iodine)

    Modfilan (Seaweed Source of Natural Iodine) (low dose, all-natural source of iodine)

     

    References

    1.) C. Spitzweg, W. Joba, W. Eisenmenger and A. E. Heufelder. “Analysis of Human Sodium Iodide Symporter Gene Expression in Extrathyroidal Tissues and Cloning of Its Complementary Deoxyribonucleic Acids from Salivary Gland, Mammary Gland, and Gastric Mucosa.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 83, No. 5 1746-1751. (1)”Iodine in medicine and pharmacy since its discovery-1811-1961,” Proc R Soc Med, 1961:54:831-836.
    2.) Dai G, Levy O, Carrasco N. 1996 “Cloning and characterization of the thyroid iodide transporter.” Nature. 379:458-460.
    3.) Smanik PA, Ryu K-Y, Theil KS, Mazzaferri EL, Jhiang SM. 1997 “Expression, exon-intron organization, and chromosome mapping of the human sodium iodide symporter.” Endocrinology. 138:3555-3558.

  • Got Charley Horse? Get Fast Relief!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Charley Horse:
    A popular North American colloquial term for painful spasms or cramps in the leg muscles, typically lasting anywhere from a few seconds to as much as a day.

    We’ve all had them. As kids and as teenagers during or following strenuous sports, as adults after a hard day of labor, or just for no good reason at all – when you least expect it a muscle rebels, going into a painful cramp. It’s not always leg muscles either – hands and feet cramp, intercostal muscles (the muscles between your ribs) cramp, shoulder muscles cramp. In reality, any muscle can cramp and often for no apparent reason.

    And boy, do they hurt!

    So what can be done?

    Common advice involves gently stretching the affected muscle. Personally I’ve never had much luck with that one…

    Dehydration is sometimes blamed. Drink lots of water and “sports drinks” we’re told. Yeah, maybe – or maybe not. Still, staying well-hydrated is important, even if it isn’t the entire answer.

    “Electrolytes” are often blamed. There may be some truth in that, though the solution to the problem does not lie in the consumption of sugar-laced, artificially-flavored, chemical-filled neon green or blue “sports drinks” – no matter how compelling that TV ad with the basketball player sweating green stuff was…

    Minerals are essential to the effective and correct functioning of our muscles. That is why Dr. Myatt formulated her Maxi Multi Optimal Dose Daily Multivitamin to include generous amounts of all the necessary minerals and trace minerals needed for good health.

    However, minerals each have different functions and effects on our muscles and their potential to cramp.

    For example, back in the bad ol’ days before Big Pharma gave us The Little Purple Pill and other PPI drugs, sufferers from peptic ulcers would often take an alkali such as bicarbonate of soda to relieve the symptoms, and wash it down with milk. This caused the calcium in the milk to precipitate out, while the phosphate was digested. This often caused “milk-and-alkali tetany” resulting in cramps of the wrists and hands (carpal spasm) or legs (pedal spasm) caused by an electrolyte imbalance. The treatment? Don’t do that! (and correct your GERD naturally, once and for all, without drugs! Learn how here.)

    Then there’s Potassium – necessary for correct muscle function, too much or too little can cause heart arrhythmia.

    We all know that calcium is important for bone health – but it’s also vital to the normal function of virtually every cell in our bodies. Too little calcium or too much calcium can be very problematic though – too much and arrhythmias can develop, too little and muscles become irritable and cramps can occur.

    Lowly sodium – salt – is vital to our continued good health. Too much though and muscle weakness can occur. Too little and muscular spasms and cramps can happen. Hypernatremia (too much sodium) is usually not caused by eating an excess of salt, but rather by a relative deficit of free water in the body. For this reason, hypernatremia is often synonymous with the less precise but better known term, dehydration. Hyponatremia (too little sodium) can be cause by drinking too much water or by medical conditions that cause the body to retain water.

    Fortunately most people regulate these important minerals quite naturally – in fact, we have a fairly narrow range within which these minerals must be balanced and our bodies maintain this range quite nicely for us. We almost never hear of anyone needing to supplement sodium – quite the opposite, conventional medicine is constantly warning us away from this important mineral.  Many Americans are not getting optimal amounts Calcium and potassium from diet and for that reason Dr. Myatt includes an optimal dose of calcium and the maximum allowed dose of potassium in Maxi Multi Vitamins.

    Magnesium is another story. 57% of the US population does not meet the US RDA for dietary intake of magnesium. Too little magnesium quickly leads to muscles being hyper excitable and prone to cramps. Dr. Myatt formulated Maxi Multi vitamins with a generous amount of magnesium, but because our diets are so deficient in this mineral and because our muscles need so much of it even that sometimes isn’t enough – especially after strenuous physical activity. A painful “Charley Horse” is often the result.

    But there is a quick “first aid” treatment that you can do when a Charley Horse strikes.

    The topical form of magnesium — magnesium oil — is quick, clean and convenient, working in a fast-acting manner to relive muscle aches and pains.

    Yes, it really works!

    There is still very little medical research on magnesium oil. We discussed it previously in HealthBeat News – Magnesium… Oil? To Relieve Muscle Cramps? – and not much has changed from that article except that Dr. Myatt and I have been using it personally for almost every ache and pain and cramp you can imagine. And it really works!

    Dr. Myatt had a foot cramp in bed one night. She rubbed some magnesium oil on, and the cramp disappeared.

    I had a “side stitch” – a painful spasm of an intercostal muscle – that was bugging me after a run one day. Dr. Myatt saw me trying to stretch it out and suggested I try magnesium oil. You guessed it – I rubbed some in and the cramp quickly eased up and disappeared.

    Dr. Myatt developed a sharp spasm in a pectoral (chest) muscle after some gardening – but an application of magnesium oil chased it away promptly.

    I’ve been having a bit of a cranky hip after my morning runs – but I rub in some magnesium oil before and after my run and that crankiness isn’t so cranky any more.

    I know, I know – these are all “personal testimonials” – not scientific evidence or proof. But while we are waiting for conventional medicine to discover this handy, safe treatment for common cramps, why not try some for yourself – and send us your story. Tell us how it worked for you, for your kids (or grandkids) or your teammates.

    Oh, and here’s a tip: Our magnesium oil comes in a pump spray bottle – very convenient. But, because this is a very concentrated salt solution, not an oil, residue of it will dry on the spray head and block it. Try rinsing the spray head under running water for a moment after each use to keep the nozzle clear and ready for the next use. If it gets really blocked, try soaking it in plain tap water and pumping plain tap water through it to clean the spray head.

    Learn more about magnesium oil or place your order for a bottle here.

     

    References and further reading:

    “Nutrient Intakes Percent of population 2 years old and over with adequate intakes based on average requirement“. Community Nutrition Mapping Project. 2009-07-29.

  • Potassium Iodide – Protect Your Thyroid From Nuclear Fallout

    When Children Play With Matches…

     

    Update: April 12, 2013

    US Government confirms “North Korea now has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.” The Defense Intelligence Agency report goes on to say “DIA assess with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles. However, the reliability will be low.”

    Hmmm… they say they are pretty sure that the North Koreans can hit us with nukes as they have promised to do, but that their missiles aren’t reliable.

    It used to be that they didn’t have missiles capable of reaching the mainland of the USA, but now apparently they do – they just aren’t all that “reliable.” So, does that mean they could fall short, or that their aim could be off? Could they shoot for Los Angeles and hit Portland? Either way, remember, our winds tend to travel from west to east…

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Radiation worries… Again.

     

    Having been subjected to the macabre annual spectacle of bellicose saber-rattling, posturing and threats from a petulant and perpetually angrily offended North Korea over the last few weeks, with the predictable “show-of-force” response by the US military, we are only left to hope that the post-adolescent “Dear Leader’ will not allow himself to be worked up into such a frenzy that he does something very foolish, and , if he does do something terribly foolish that the rest of the world will not respond in kind – that is, foolishly.

    After all, we all drink the same water and breathe the same air eventually.

    Even North Korea’s long-time friend and protector China is showing signs of alarm at the antics of the well-fed rulers of this starving but nuclear-armed state.

    Now instead of threatening to immediately lob nuclear-tipped missiles at the US west coast and Texas the regime has announced it’s intention to re-activate a broken-down Cold War-era nuclear reactor in a bid to make more plutonium so they can build more bombs. The mothballed reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear plant was shut down many years ago because it was obsolete and not working properly; it’s Soviet scientists and technicians went home and it’s cooling tower was demolished – an appropriate move since it was malfunctioning and beyond repair anyway.

    So, let’s see: a dangerously obsolete, malfunctioning, incomplete nuclear reactor, long inoperative and “mothballed’, being forced back into service by a regime hell-bent on having a nuclear arsenal with which to hold the world ransom. What could possibly go wrong?

    This causes me to think of a child playing with matches – which might not be so bad on it’s own, but my mental image is of a child playing with matches in the middle of a fireworks factory, next door to an oil refinery. This is something with the potential to not end happily or well…

    Like the child playing with matches, I don’t think North Korea really wants to hurt itself – but accidents happen.

    Nuclear accidents.

    As we saw with the Fukushima disaster in 2011, nuclear accidents a half a world away affect us here. After all, we all drink the same water and breathe the same air eventually. Fukushima showed us very clearly that global wind and water currents will bring those poisons to us soon enough.

    During the Fukushima disaster people around the world wisely stocked up on thyroid-protective Potassium Iodide or “anti-radiation pills” as they are sometimes erroneously called. So many stocked up that supplies ran low and panic buying ensued, with price gouging by unscrupulous sellers. We refused to raise our prices here at The Wellness Club and we did our best to maintain supplies for our customers – though we did sell out eventually. Should there be another nuclear accident we are now re-stocked and we will hold our prices as before. But my suggestion is that if you were not able to lay in a supply of this thyroid-protective supplement before, please consider obtaining your supply now, before something bad happens.

    If you did obtain your Potassium Iodide and have some on hand good for you – store it carefully (away from heat and humidity) and it will keep almost forever – it is a mineral after all and doesn’t really go bad no matter what the “expiry date” on the package says. Similarly, if you want to get a supply now to have on hand “just in case” you can do so without worrying that it will somehow “expire’ and your money will be wasted. Minerals like potassium, iodide, sodium, and the like are, well, minerals – they don’t go “bad” over time.

    Please click here to learn more about Potassium Iodide and it’s ability to protect your thyroid gland from the effects of radioactive fallout from a nuclear disaster.

    And for those who might have forgotten how the Fukushima disaster played out, here are some of our HealthBeat News articles from that time:

    Nuclear Disaster Still In The News

    HealthBeat Special – 3/25/2011 – Radiation Fears Not Subsiding

    Fukushima – Worse Than Chernobyl?

    Iodine For Nuclear Radiation Protection

    Nuclear News Updates

    The Japanese Gift That Keeps On Giving – Radioactive Fallout From Fukushima

     

    And let’s all pray for maturity, wisdom, and tolerance on the Korean peninsula so that no one feels compelled to ‘push the button”!