Friday, September 30, 2016

October 2016 Newsletter Vitamins: Good for You or a Scam?



The most common questions asked of me by clients and the general public is: “Do I really need vitamins? I hear they don’t really work. Can’t I get everything from food?”  One of my clients even sent me the September 2016 article from Consumer Reports panning the vitamin industry. You’ll probably be surprised to discover that I actually agree with many of the points in the article. Yet you’ll see that the article omits other important information, thus it fails to provide the full picture. These issues (do vitamins work and can I get it all from food) are addressed in two new articles featured below.

I recently attended the 2016 Back to School for Doctors program in Denver, Colorado sponsored by Standard Process West. I’ve been attending for the past several years. Mark Anderson is one of the most knowledgeable speakers in the country regarding natural health and supplements. This year’s program featured heart health and I came away with new knowledge to help reduce cholesterol in a natural way which I have already applied twice today to clients!

As we head into fall and soon winter it’s time to be ready for cold and flu season. I encourage all my clients to have on hand two supplements for when they feel something coming on. These are Congaplex Chewable from Standard Process and Andrographis Complex from MediHerb. If you would like more information on these please call or send an email.

Good Supplements Bad Supplements
One of my most popular public talks is called “Good Supplements Bad Supplements.” The reason it is so popular is that most of the general public is very confused about whether or not to use nutritional supplements. “If vitamins are supposed to be good for us, why do I read in the paper and hear on television reports they are not?”

There are many articles written by “experts” such as the September 2016 article in Consumer Reports that pan the use of supplements. Two years ago I reported on another study that concluded that vitamin supplementation was not helpful (and in fact some suggested it could be harmful).  There were no significant differences in positive outcomes between people taking vitamins and those not taking them.  Another study specific to Vitamin E and “antioxidant” supplementation found that those taking the supplements experienced worse outcomes (more heart disease and cancer) than those not taking the supplements. 

For years we have been told by alternative health practitioners and the vitamin and supplement industry that Vitamin E and “antioxidants” are supposed to protect against heart disease and cancer. This appears to be counter-intuitive. Can they both be right?

For the rest of the article click here: http://brwellness.com/nutrition-news/?p=710

What They Ate What We Eat
“I eat very healthy.” “My doctor tells me I can get all the vitamins and minerals I need from food.” I often hear one or both of these statements from my clients. Here’s my response: It is great that you eat healthy because that is the foundation to build upon. However, it is very unlikely that you can get everything you need from your food. 

There are two main reasons for this. First, most people have not eaten “very healthy” all their lives, so therefore it is likely that they have some nutritional deficiencies. Second, and most important – what we eat today is very different from what was eaten not too long ago by our ancestors. To read the rest of the article and to learn the differences between what they ate and what we eat click here: http://brwellness.com/nutrition-news/?p=707.

Good Supplements Bad Supplements



One of my most popular public talks is called “Good Supplements Bad Supplements.” The reason it is so popular is that most of the general public is very confused about whether or not to use nutritional supplements. “If vitamins are supposed to be good for us, why do I read in the paper and hear on television reports they are not?”

There are many articles written by “experts” such as the September 2016 article in Consumer Reports that pan the use of supplements. Two years ago I reported on another study that concluded that vitamin supplementation was not helpful (and in fact some suggested it could be harmful).  There were no significant differences in positive outcomes between people taking vitamins and those not taking them.  Another study specific to Vitamin E and “antioxidant” supplementation found that those taking the supplements experienced worse outcomes (more heart disease and cancer) than those not taking the supplements. 

For years we have been told by alternative health practitioners and the vitamin and supplement industry that Vitamin E and “antioxidants” are supposed to protect against heart disease and cancer. This appears to be counter-intuitive. Can they both be right?

The surprising answer is yes, they can both be “right.” It all depends what was being tested and understanding the basic principles behind vitamin metabolism in the human body. Vitamins appear in nature as part of a complex composed of several biochemical factors. For example, in nature Vitamin C is in an orange and Vitamin E is in wheat germ and leafy green vegetables. However, this is not what was “studied” in the research. What was used were alpha tocopherol as Vitamin E and ascorbic acid as Vitamin C.  The government allows you to say these are the same things. But they are not. Ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol are produced in laboratories – they are synthetic vitamins. For example you can combine sulphuric acid and sugar and get ascorbic acid.  
   
Without going into all the details let’s take a simple example of how this works in the human body, not in a test tube.  Scurvy is a Vitamin C deficiency disease.  British sailors used lemons and limes to prevent scurvy on their long ocean voyages.  Guess what happens if you give ascorbic acid to someone with scurvy?  Their condition will not improve.  They need the full Vitamin C complex as it is in nature, as the British sailors used, not the fractionated part made in a lab. 
 
When we provide only the fractionated, synthetically produced “vitamin” we are not getting the true vitamin as nature intended. Unfortunately some 95% of all vitamin products sold today fall into the synthetic category.
 
Let’s take a look at the Consumer Reports article claims. As I said I agree with much of what they say, but we also need to look at the full picture. 

They say that vitamin manufacturers “don’t have to secure Food and Drug Administration approval to sell their products, and their facilities aren’t policed the same way as pharmaceutical companies.” True, not the same way, but they are still subject to inspections and regulations. If you don’t believe me go on a tour of the Standard Process manufacturing facility and see what they do!

The article suggests that supplements are unproven and unsafe and offers figures on complaints, health problems, life threatening conditions, and deaths from supplements. I’m sure those reports are true, but they do not say specifically which products cause the most problems and what other factors may be involved. There are definitely poor quality supplements made by questionable manufacturers that are purchased regularly by the unsuspecting public. Yet, at the same time they fail to point out that much larger numbers of people have similar reactions to medications! Death by medication happens to be one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States!

They provide a list of “15 ingredients to always avoid.” I don’t have the time or space to go through all of them and again in some instances they are correct. One example of not telling the full story is red yeast rice. Red yeast rice is often the natural alternative to a statin medication. The article lists claimed benefits and then risks of red yeast rice. What is not mentioned is that all the risks associated with red yeast rice are identical to the side effects of statins!

One of the true problem areas of supplements are the “quick-fix” highly promoted ones such as weight loss, body building, and sexual enhancement. These are commonly found to contain pharmaceutical drugs or illegal chemicals. This does not surprise me. Like in all industries, there are some bad actors and the supplement industry is no different. These types of supplements are frequently sold with false or misleading claims on the label. 

The last point is they mention the increasing popularity of supplements being distributed by doctors and hospitals and how there is an increase in associated problems. This makes perfect sense to me for two reasons. First, these people are really not trained in the proper use of nutritional supplements and second they are using mostly synthetic vitamins and poorly made herbal formulas.

The lesson of this is buying cheap, synthetic, fractionated vitamins is likely a waste of money which is common to all the studies and the article.  You may have experienced this yourself when you have noticed bright yellow urine after taking a “B-Complex” vitamin.  Your body can’t use the stuff, so it is getting rid of it.

However, eating real food and using supplements that have been made from real whole foods will provide you with the promised health benefits. This is based on real research. The original studies and identification of vitamins was done with real foods and seeing the effects of removing these foods from animal diets. Specific diseases (the vitamin deficiency diseases) that humans were experienced were reproduced in animals based on the real foods.  So, it is real.  Specific vitamins do support specific functions in the body but only do so when they are delivered in the natural form in which the body was designed to utilize them.

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Mequon, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.

What They Ate, What We Eat



“I eat very healthy.” “My doctor tells me I can get all the vitamins and minerals I need from food.”

I often hear one or both of these statements from my clients. 

Here’s my response: It is great that you eat healthy because that is the foundation to build upon. However, it is very unlikely that you can get everything you need from your food. There are two main reasons for this. First, most people have not eaten “very healthy” most of their lives. Therefore they are likely to have nutritional deficiencies. Second, and most important – what we eat today is very different from what our ancestors ate, and by ancestors I mean our grandparents and great-grandparents (think the 1920s). In the rest of this article we will explore some of the key differences between “traditional diets” and “modern diets.” 

To get right to the point according to Sally Fallon Morrell, President of the Weston Price Foundation, “traditional diets maximized nutrients while modern diets minimize nutrients!” Here’s why:

Traditional diets foods came from fertile soil. Modern diets foods come from depleted soil. Numerous studies support the reduction of vitamin content of food since the 1930’s. Modern mass farming techniques do not replenish nutrients into the soil.

Traditional diets favored organ meats over muscle meats. Modern diets are almost entirely muscle meats with very few organ meats. Organ meats are loaded with specific nutrients that are essential to that specific organ’s function. For example, liver is loaded with B vitamins and Vitamins A and D. Muscle meat is mostly protein. True protein is important, but so are other nutrients.

Traditional diets emphasized animal fats. Modern diets stress vegetable oils. Animal fats are high in fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and do not oxidize when cooked. Vegetable oils are highly processed such as corn oil, vegetable oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, or canola oil. These oils are inflammatory to the body. Of course even worse are the trans-fats in margarine.

Traditional diets had animals that were raised in pastures. Modern diets have animals raised in confinement. Animals raised in pastures are generally healthier and eat the foods they were designed to eat. Cows eat grass and their fat becomes Omega 3. When cows eat grains and corn they produce inflammatory Omega 6 fats. Chickens are not vegetarians! Animals raised in confinement are fed hormones to grow faster and given antibiotics to control bacterial infections. We are what we eat eats and these substances are being found in samples of our blood!

Traditional diets had dairy products that were raw or fermented. Modern diets have pasteurized dairy products. Raw or fermented dairy products contain their natural vitamins and healthy bacteria. Pasteurization kills the nutrients or makes them bio-unavailable while homogenizing makes the fats unusable to the body as well.

Traditional diets had grains and legumes that were soaked and/or fermented. Modern diets have refined and extruded grains. Soaked and fermented grains and legumes are easily digestible. Refined grains have the protein and fat removed so we are just left with the starch. Diets high in refined grains keep blood sugar levels high resulting in inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Extruded grains are damaged by the heating process, so even whole grain cereals are not healthy as the fats have been damaged during the processing.

Traditional diets had unrefined sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup. Modern diets have refined sugars and artificial sweeteners. Refined sugars are linked to all modern diseases and artificial sweeteners are no better! 

Traditional diets had lacto-fermented vegetables. Modern diets have canned vegetables. Lacto-fermented vegetables are more easily digested, contain healthy bacteria, and have all their nutrients. The canning process reduces the nutrient content of the vegetables.

Traditional diets had lacto-fermented beverages. Modern diets have soft drinks. Lacto-fermented beverages contain healthy bacteria and vital nutrients. Soft drinks are loaded with sugar, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, and artificial flavors.

Traditional diets had unrefined salt. Modern diets have refined salt. Unrefined salts contain high volumes of trace minerals. Refined salt is just sodium. 

Traditional diets had natural vitamins in foods. Modern diets have synthetic vitamins added. Real food has real vitamins and minerals. Processed foods lose the real vitamins and minerals during processing so synthetic vitamins are added back to make the food appear nutritious, but these synthetic vitamins are often rejected by the body. 

Traditional diets had natural seeds. Modern diets have hybrid and GMO seeds. Natural seeds are as nature designed. Hybrid and GMO seeds are designed by man to produce greater yield. At the same time they allow for a large amount of pesticides and herbicides which are getting into the food and stay in our bodies wrecking much havoc, similar to the antibiotics and hormones being fed to confined animals. 

So, as you can see Sally Fallon Morrell is right. By their very nature traditional diets maximized nutrient content while the modern diets minimize nutrients. This is why it is unlikely that you can get sufficient vitamins and minerals from your food unless you are very strict. I have been brief with all the points due to space limitations here, but elsewhere on my blog you can see many articles providing more details.

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Mequon, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.

Monday, September 5, 2016

September 2016 Newsletter - Does Your Cell Phone Give You A Headache?



Does Your Cell Phone Give You A Headache?
Whenever I use my cell phone and hold it by my ear I get a headache within a few minutes.  Several months ago I got a new car equipped with Bluetooth. The first time I used it I got a headache. Recently I had to install a new router in my home office and guess what – all of a sudden I got headaches near the computer. If you are like me you are sensitive to EMFs. These are electromagnetic fields. According to Dr. William Rea, Director of the Environmental Health Center in Dallas, Texas, sensitivity to these is becoming a major health problem of the 21st century.

EMFs are creating major challenges for many people in today’s world. Some are forced to live completely “off the grid” while others like myself are fortunate enough that are some solutions that help us get by on a daily basis. What can you do about it? The place to start is education and that is the purpose of this month’s newsletter.  

Are You Being Zapped?
One of the best resources for learning about EMFs and other sources of electromagnetic pollution are from my friend and mentor Ann Louise Gittleman. A few years ago she wrote a book called Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution. I highly recommend you read it. It explains what electromagnetic pollution is, where it comes from, and what you can do about it. 

As Ann Louise says, “The very technological innovations that have changed our lives are also exposing us to an unprecedented number of manmade electromagnetic fields that are impacting us on a biological level. Low level, non ionizing invisible radiation is surrounding us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, playing havoc with our bodies. And for some, electropollution has even reached the point of toxicity, creating a whole host of seemingly unrelated symptoms including cortisol spikes, irritability, hyper activity, insomnia, nervousness, chronic fatigue and more serious illness.”

For more information about Zapped, products to protect against EMFs, and Ann Louise Gittleman click here http://annlouise.com/books/zapped/.

Get Yourself Grounded with Earthing
Another excellent resource for information comes from The Earthing Institute. As they say, “Throughout time, we humans have sat, stood, strolled, and slept on the ground – the skin of our bodies touching the skin of the Earth.  And throughout time, such ordinary contact served as a conduit for transferring the Earth’s natural, gentle negative charge underfoot into the body. You see, we are bioelectrical beings living on an electrical planet.

Modern lifestyle has disconnected us from this primordial charge. Earthing, also known as grounding, is the landmark discovery that the disconnect may make us more vulnerable to inflammation, pain, stress, poor sleep, and illness. Ongoing research is demonstrating clearly that reconnecting with the Earth upholds the electrical stability of our bodies and serves as a foundation for vitality, health, and healing. In an age of rampant chronic inflammation and disease, “grounding” ourselves provides a natural, simple yet powerful path to better health.”

Their website offers a wide variety of information and Earthing products. Click here for more information http://www.earthinginstitute.net/.

Are You in Line with Natures Frequencies?
A third source of information and products is Nature’s Frequencies. This is a company I was referred to by another mentor of mine, Dr. Joe Teff. I am a distributor of their products as I’ve found they are very helpful for clients with EMF issues.  They make products that are wearable on the body and that can be placed on the item emitting EMFs. 

On my phone I have the EMF cell phone chip. I am so sensitive that even with the chip I can only have a short conversation before getting a headache, but the chip helps so that I can use the phone on speaker.
The EMF cell phone chips solved the router problem as I put the chips on the wires coming into the routers. No more headaches in the office!

Unfortunately I have not resolved the car and Bluetooth issue as of yet other than not using the feature.
Nature’s Frequencies has some other interesting products that I’ve used myself and have tested with clients. I’ve had the most success with the Sleep Chip. I have samples of the Sleep Chip and the Headache & Migraine Chip that I’m looking for volunteers to see how they work. So, if you’re interested let me know.

To learn more about Nature’s Frequencies and their products click here http://www.naturesfrequencies.com/products/.