503 Salt and Potassium

Stay Healthy Naturally May 20, 2020

In a recent newsletter Dr. Michael Murray (doctormurray.com) wrote about the importance of the potassium to sodium ratio in our diets. Our daily requirements of these two essential minerals are 2,300mg sodium and 4,700mg of potassium. A typical American diet contains 2,500 to 7,500 mg of sodium (up to 3X too high) and only 2,500 mg potassium (about half of what’s needed). I wrote about sodium back in 2013 #222 Salt - how much is too little?]

One way to counter this imbalance is in the salt we use. Most salts - including many of the fancy health food salts like Celtic gray salt or Himalayan pink salt - are mostly sodium with only a trace of potassium. A few salts are formulated to have equal or even higher potassium, and taste just fine. By the way, the pink color in Himalayan salt (and in potash mined in Saskatchewan) comes from iron oxide (rust) not the potassium.

Here is a table showing the amounts of these key minerals in a variety of salts.

Salt Sodium (mg/g) Potassium (mg/g)
Refined Table Salt 391 0.9
Redmond Real Salt 378 1.0
Celtic Gray Sea Salt 338 1.6
Himalayan Pink Salt 382 3.5
Ideal Protein Salt 192 254

The miniscule amounts of other minerals, including iodine [see #282 Iodized Salt], in the unrefined salts are not significant for your health. Salt mined from ancient deposits are more likely to be free of pollutants. True sea salts, like Celtic Gray salt, are made by evaporating ocean brine and may also contain micro-plastics.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

501 - Oregano Coronavirus study

This article was sent to me by a supplier rep from a company that markets another brand of oregano oil products. The two oregano products used in the study are Oreganol P73 Extra Strength and Oregacyn both by North American Herb and Spice (NAHS). I have three NAHS oregano products in stock - OregaMax 90 caps, Oreganol Super Strength P73 120 caps; and Oreganol P73 Super Strength drops.

500 The Last Post [3 Dec 2018]

After 500 articles over almost 10 years I am retiring this newspaper column. I’ve enjoyed writing them and, as I often say, it forced me to learn something every week.

All 500 articles will still be available on their archived blog at http://stayhealthynaturallybystan.blogspot.com or from my website www.rosetownnaturalhealth.com. The online versions often have additional information that there wasn’t room for in the newspaper plus links to sources and more information. They are sorted by date and searchable by key words. I may occasionally add new articles to the blog or new comments to existing articles.

I have avoided writing exclusively about products or services that I sell – many of the articles are on “free” concepts like sleep and exercise. In most cases I have offered my take on the subject under discussion. And whenever possible I have tried to inject a little humor to add interest to otherwise boring subjects.

Here are some of the ideas I have tried to share with you over the years:
• the importance of diet in health and disease
• new or unusual products or treatments
• summaries of interesting articles and books that I came across
• concepts like the placebo effect, mitochondria, microbiome, brain-gut axis, and determinants of health
• the latest research on natural health topics
• the validity of research for many diets, nutrients and supplements (and that this information is too often ignored by the medical industry)
• the built in bias in the health industry favoring patentable drugs over non-patentable (mostly natural) products
• that not everything you read on health (natural or otherwise) is true

Thank you for reading my articles, and thanks to those who came in and told me that it was the first thing you looked for when you opened the Eagle. My hope is that you will continue to refer to these articles and use them as a springboard for further exploration of your topics of interest.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

499 The Starch Diet [26 Nov 2018]

Years ago I learned that to get a balanced view we need to read widely, especially in the field of natural health. Writers focus on one nutrient or diet and make it sound like the most important or only logical choice. Only by reading many different authors can we begin to see the whole picture. That’s what I have tried to bring to you over the past 10 years writing these articles.

A case in point is Dr. John McDougall’s 2013 book The Starch Solution (read the first chapter here). McDougall advocates a diet rich in starchy foods like grains, legumes, potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with plenty of vegetables and fruit, while eliminating meat, dairy, processed foods and most oils. This is in sharp contrast to the currently popular low-carb high-fat paleo and keto diets.

McDougall observed that when people from other countries with a traditional starch based diet who were trim and healthy moved to the USA and adopted an American diet, they became obese and developed western diseases. The immigrant grandparents remained slim and healthy; their children were overweight and unhealthy; and the grandchildren obese and sick – the opposite of what we would expect. He believed the difference was the increased meat and dairy in their diets.

Over four decades Dr. McDougall developed his diet and helped thousands of patients regain their health. McDougall claims that a diet rich in starch:
• Allowed humans to move beyond the tropics and to develop our large brains;
• fuelled the rise of civilization and fed the Greek and Roman armies;
• Healthy populations around the world get most of their calories from starch;
• will let you lose excess weight almost effortlessly;
• will improve your blood pressure and cholesterol;
• will prevent diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis;
• will make you feel, function, and live better;
• will help save the planet (beef produces 14X more greenhouse gases than potatoes per calorie); and
• will significantly reduce your grocery budget.

I believe that minimally processed starchy foods are part of a healthy diet but I’m not sure I’d take it to the extreme that McDougall does eliminating all animal products. His diet does provide a welcome balance to the high-fat keto diets but I’d like to see some good research supporting his health claims.

Next week – The Last Post. I’m retiring this column after #500.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

498 Alkaline Water [19 November 2018]

I have wanted to write about the acid-alkaline balance for years but didn’t feel I understood it well enough. A recent article by Dr. Joseph Mercola on mercola.com, “Alkaline Water or Hydrogen Water” covered one aspect of the topic.

Alkaline water is made by a device that separates the water into acid and alkaline fractions by electrolysis. Promoters tell you to drink the alkaline water and feed the acidic water to your plants. They claim that the alkaline water will alkalize your (too-acidic) body providing many health benefits including prevention or treatment of arthritis, cancer, and other chronic diseases.

In his article Mercola points out that these health claims are not substantiated by research. Most studies show no benefit and the few that do were poorly designed. Mercola explains that because it isn’t buffered, alkaline water is neutralized by the stomach acid, not the other way around.

Mercola isn't the only one that believes alkalized water is overrated. Ryan Andrews of PrecisionNutrition reviews the evidence for several health claims and rates the evidence for it - mostly "weak" or "speculative".

Perceived benefits by the users could be attributed to the minerals in the water (mostly calcium, potassium and magnesium) or the placebo effect, but it turns out that it is the dissolved hydrogen (H2) gas produced during electrolysis. Mercola and his guest, hydrogen expert Tyler W. LeBaron, then discuss the research on the health benefits of molecular hydrogen gas. I encourage you to watch the entire fascinating interview.

Studies of supplemental antioxidants have had mixed results with some studies showing significant harm. That’s because while free radicals are harmful to the cell’s membranes, mitochondria and DNA, some are also used as signaling molecules in the cell. H2 is a potent antioxidant but selectively goes after the most toxic radicals like hydroxyl and superoxide. More importantly, H2 enhances production and activation of our cells’ other cyto-protective antioxidants like glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase, but only as needed. Learn more about hydrogen water research at the Molecular Hydrogen Institute website.

Mercola ends by explaining the difference between hydrogen (H2) water and 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and showed that H2O2 cannot convert into H2. He emphatically warns “never ingest hydrogen peroxide”– it should be only used externally or for household cleaning.

It was refreshing to see Dr. Mercola warn against a natural health fad that has little research to support it. Evidently he doesn’t sell alkalizing water filters!

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

497 Water Memory and Homeopathy

I first wrote about Homeopathy nine years ago [#36 Homeopathy, 2 Nov 2009] and explained its two paradoxical principles: that “like cures like”, and the more dilute the remedy, the stronger its effect.

Because these principles are opposite of conventional medicine, homeopathy is often maligned as having a placebo effect at best. An example is this quote from a Scottish “bioethics expert”: Homeopathy is utterly implausible. Homeopathic preparations are so thoroughly diluted that they contain no significant amounts of active ingredients, and thus can have no effects on the patient’s body.

Surprisingly, some water science physicists believe there is a plausible explanation for homeopathic medicines. They have shown that the preparation of homeopathic remedies – successive dilution and shaking – does indeed alter the structure of the water in such a way that it can carry medicinal information. Two Nobel Laureates and other eminent scientists recently presented at a London conference titled New Horizons in Water Science – The Evidence for Homeopathy?

Brian Josephson of the U. of Cambridge said that liquid crystals, which can maintain an ordered structure while flowing, support homeopathic theory. He went on to explain that biomolecules (such as hormones) also function at very dilute solutions and can operate at a distance by electromagnetic signaling rather than chemical bonding. Josephson poked fun at critics of homeopathy, saying that chemical analysis of homeopathic remedies tell you no more about their properties than chemical analysis of a CD will tell you about the music on it.

Vladimir Voeikov from Moscow State University described decades of research in Russia on the biological effects of ultrahigh dilutions. Dr. Gerald Pollack, professor of bioengineering at U. of Washington, Seattle, and author of The Fourth Phase of Water, presented his research on the crystal-like structure of water on membrane surfaces. The other Nobel winner Luc Montagnier ended his presentation by saying “It [homeopathy] is not pseudoscience. It’s not quackery. These are real phenomena which deserve further study.”

I don’t begin to understand the physics of water memory but if these scientists insist that there is something to it, it would be sheer arrogance (and ignorance) on my part to claim otherwise.

Source: mercola.com Water and Homeopathy, Oct 31, 2018

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

496 Miller’s Review [5 Nov 2018]

Vaccines have been thoroughly tested for safety, reactions are rare, and no published studies show vaccines cause harm. That is the position of the pharmaceutical industry, our governments, and their health organizations. But is it true?

A recent book by Neil Miller “Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies – 400 Important Scientific Papers Summarized for Parents and Researchers” (mentioned in last week's post "The Wakefield Study") summarizes research that your pediatrician or community health nurse won’t tell you about (and most likely are unaware of themselves). These studies are published in peer-reviewed medical journals and all 400 provide evidence questioning the safety or efficacy of vaccinations. Here are just a few examples.

Few studies compare vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. One such was published just last year comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated 3 to 5 month olds in the West African country of Guinea-Bissau during the introduction of DPT and oral polio vaccine in the early 1980s. The study found the death rate of all causes was a shocking five times higher in the DPT vaccinated group (keep in mind that these African infants may be malnourished and in a previously unvaccinated population so the results may not translate to North America). Previously a live measles vaccine was withdrawn after clinical trials in West Africa found that it, along with DPT, increased mortality 33% in children 4-60 months of age.

Since 1986 the American Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received over 500,000 reports of adverse reactions to vaccinations, with 30,000 added each year. A study of this data analyzed 38,000 severe reactions (involving hospitalization or death) and found a statistically significant increase in risk as the number of simultaneous vaccines given increased, from one right up to eight.

A CDC study found that the increased risk of autism for boys getting the MMR before age 36 months was 1.69 times higher than those who got their shot after 36 months; for African American boys the rate was 3.36 times higher. The data were manipulated to hide these findings and the study concluded there was no link.

To make informed decisions about your family’s health you need all the information. This book, Miller’s website, and other resources like the National Vaccine Information Center will complement the information you receive from your doctor or health nurse.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

495 The Wakefield “Study” [29 October 2018]

Almost everyone has heard of Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who wrote a fraudulent study in 1998 linking vaccines and autism. Wakefield was accused of falsifying data and having undisclosed financial conflicts of interest. In 2010 the Lancet retracted his paper and he lost his license to practice.

The conventional position is that vaccines have been thoroughly tested with no link ever found with any health problem including autism. The retraction of Wakefield’s study is considered further proof that any vaccine-autism link has been totally debunked.

But is all of that true?

First, the 1998 Lancet paper was not a “study”, it was a “case study”. A case study is merely a reporting of one or a group of patients with unusual symptoms. It does not make any claims or even propose a hypothesis. You can read the entire retracted paper here. The paper’s conclusion read “We have identified a chronic enterocolitis in children that may be related to neuropsychiatric dysfunction. In most cases [8 of 12], onset of symptoms was after measles, mumps and rubella immunization. Further investigations are needed to examine this syndrome and its possible relation to this vaccine.”

As to the fraud charges, David Lewis, a research microbiologist with the National Whistleblowers Center in Washington, reviewed Wakefield’s files regarding the Lancet paper and concluded that Wakefield had not intentionally misinterpreted the data, and that the BMJ’s fraud theory was “more tabloid news than science”. Wakefield has written a book (2010) called “Callous Disregard” in which he tells his side of the story.

In any case, the Wakefield paper is hardly the only evidence for vaccine safety concerns. A recent book by Neil Miller “Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies – 400 Important Scientific Papers Summarized for Parents and Researchers” summarizes research that you won’t find on the CDC website. Many show increasing risk of adverse reactions with vaccinations at an earlier age and with multiple vaccinations (both of which were a concern of Wakefield’s). We’ll look at some of these next week.

Whether you think Wakefield is a discredited fraud or a demonized hero, you can’t fault him for asking for more research into such an important health issue.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

494 Nitrates and Mania [22 Oct 2018]

A connection between nitrates in processed meats and mania has been accidentally discovered. Mania is a psychiatric disorder associated with hyperactivity, euphoria and insomnia. The link appears to be the effect of nitrates on gut bacteria.

I have previously written about the connections between gut bacteria and brain function [#320 Our Gut Microbiome & Our Brain; #422 The Brain-Gut Axis; #425 Autism and Gut Bacteria].

The nitrate connection was discovered in a study by Johns Hopkins published this July in Molecular Psychiatry. The study of more than 1000 people found that those hospitalized for an episode of mania were 3.5 times more likely to have eaten nitrate-cured meats prior to hospitalization. This finding was statistically significant. No association with other foods or other psychiatric disorders were found.

Animal studies were conducted to follow up on this association. Rats fed the equivalent of a human eating a wiener or one stick of beef jerky daily developed hyperactivity and sleep disorders within two weeks. The control group, fed the same food but nitrate free exhibited normal behavior. Differences were found in the bacteria living in their intestines, and in molecular pathways known to be implicated in bipolar disorder. It would appear that the nitrates change the gut microbiome which affects brain function triggering mania in susceptible individuals.

The same research group had published a study in 2017 with the finding that a probiotic supplement reduced the incidence of delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenic patients. They were also less likely to be rehospitalized following a manic episode. The study was too small to recommend it as a treatment just yet, but it does provide more evidence for the influence of the gut microbiome on mental health.

One of the researchers, Emily Severance, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, wrote:

The mental health field is in desperate need of new treatments for psychiatric disorders… The tiny living organisms that make up the human microbiome and the overwhelming evidence for a gut-brain axis together represent a new frontier for schizophrenia research.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

493 The Cochrane HPV Review [15 Oct 2018]

I have previously written about bias in health science: #204 Scientifically Proven? about the built in bias in medical research; #429 Confirmation Bias and #456 Cognitive Dissonance about everyone’s bias in dealing with new information that conflicts with our beliefs; and #383 Blocking the Truth and #469 CFS – The Cover-Up about the CDCs questionable actions. So I wasn’t that shocked to read the 2015 book Vaccine Whistleblower – Exposing Autism Research Fraud at the CDC by Kevin Barry. But I was really saddened to learn of recent occurrences at Cochrane.

Cochrane (formerly the Cochrane Collaboration) is a highly renowned network of scientists from around the world that publish hundreds of meta-analyses using the highest standards of evidence-based medicine. Cochrane has maintained its very high reputation for integrity – until now.

In May of this year Cochrane published a review of the safety and effectiveness of the HPV vaccine. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is associated with (but not proven to cause) cervical cancer. The review looked at 26 studies and gave the vaccine a strongly favorable report.

In July Peter Gøtzsche, a Danish researcher, Cochrane board member, and a founder of the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993, along with two colleagues wrote a critique of the review “The Cochrane HPV vaccine review was incomplete and ignored important evidence of bias” which was published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. Among the criticisms were: the review missed nearly half of the eligible studies; all of the studies selected used another vaccine as a placebo; women with a history of immunological or nervous system disorders were excluded (but are freely given the vaccine); all of the studies were industry funded; adverse effects were incompletely assessed; and serious conflicts of interest were not revealed.

The critique concluded “We do not find the Cochrane HPV vaccine review to be “Trusted Evidence” [Cochrane’s motto] as it was influenced by reporting bias and biased trial designs [and] … does not meet the standards for Cochrane reviews…”.

Instead of redoing the review to a higher standard, Gøtzsche was expelled from the board. In protest, four other scientists on the 13 man science board resigned (read their letter here).

Sadly it seems that, at least for certain health topics, there is no one left we can trust.

Sources: "Cochrane Board Expels Critic of Group's HPV Vaccine Review" Medscape 17 Sept 2018. If link doesn't work, copy and paste www.medscape.com/viewarticle/902062
"Leading Institution for Science-Based Health Advice Implodes After Industry Bias is Revealed" mercola.com 3 Oct 2018

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

492 Serrapeptase Studies [8 Oct 2018]

I have previously written about the amazing properties of serrapeptase [#442]. A recent article by Robert Redfern in Naturally Health News #32 (pages 12-13) outlines published studies on 10 conditions which benefit from serrapeptase, summarized below.

• Alzheimer’s Disease. A 2013 animal study found that serrapeptase and nattokinase improved certain physiological markers for Alzheimer’s, showing promise as a therapeutic treatment.
• Breast Engorgement. A 1989 controlled study found that, compared to placebo, serrapeptase reduced breast engorgement by 85% vs 60% for “moderate” improvement, and 23% vs 3% for “marked” improvement.
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A preliminary trial in India in 1999 showed significant improvement with 20 mg per day serrapeptase in 65% of 20 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, Mucus Reduction, Sinusitis. A 1972 Japanese study found that serrapeptase helped clear mucus in patients with bronchial asthma. In a 1982 animal study Serrapeptase decreased viscosity and increased volume of mucus expelled. A 1990 study showed that serrapeptase reduces the viscosity of nasal mucus making it easier to expel.
• Inflammation. A 2008 animal study from India showed that serrapeptase is an effective treatment for inflammation and works synergistically with aspirin.
• Postoperative Swelling. A 2008 study of 24 adults having a molar extraction found that serrapeptase significantly reduced pain and swelling for 7 days post-surgery.
• Wound Healing. A 2011 animal study found that serrapeptase improved wound healing

The uses of serrapeptase fall into several broad categories. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. It thins mucus making it easier to expel from the lungs, bronchi and sinuses. In wound healing serrapeptase dissolves dead tissue and prevents adhesions from forming, thus improving range of motion during rehabilitation (perfect following a knee or hip replacement).

Another potential benefit of serrapeptase is as an anti-atherosclerotic for clearing blocked arteries, but there have been insufficient studies on its effectiveness to recommend it.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

491 Healthy or High? 1 Oct 2018

On the same day later this month that recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada, health products with extracts of cannabis – including non-psychoactive hemp – will become prescription only.

Back in June, Health Canada issued a notice of intent to add phytocannabinoids to the Human and Veterinary Prescription Drug List (PDL) effective October 17, 2018. This means that all products containing CBDs (the pain-relieving, health-boosting ingredients) as well as THC (the psychoactive ingredient) will require a doctor’s prescription.

After that date, to legally use the health promoting hemp extracts you will need to go through your doctor and jump through all the hoops required to get a medical marijuana prescription. But that’s just a nuisance – the real problem is that the most effective products will likely no longer be available in Canada, either by prescription or at the local cannabis store.

The safest, most effective hemp extracts are made from hemp stalks by solvent-free raw CO2 extraction, are THC-free, and contain the full gamut of cannabinoids including the amazingly beneficial beta-caryophyllene (BCP) [see #461]. As a review, here are some of the benefits of cannabinoids:

• Modulates inflammation
• Boosts immune function
• Improves circulation
• Supports the nervous system
• Relieves stress and anxiety
• Promotes detoxification
• Improves neurological function and repairs nerve damage

I expect that the cannabis products that will be available through prescription will be solvent-extracted and contain concentrates of only the most common cannabinoids – cannabidiol (CBD) and/or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). And I strongly doubt that healthful extracts will be sold through the cannabis stores. I won’t go into the effects of smoking cannabis but I believe it’s not the safest way to obtain the benefits of the cannabinoids.

So our federal government in its “wisdom” is limiting the availability of health-promoting extracts while opening the door to the unhealthy practice of smoking pot. In short, we can get high but not healthy.

I have a limited supply of the hemp extract products on hand – stock up while you can. And if you think this policy is wrong-headed, tell your MP.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

490 Liposomal Glutathione [24 Sept 2018]

The company that makes the liposomal vitamin C that I wrote about last week also makes several other liposomal products. The one that caught my attention is glutathione.

Back in 2015 I wrote several columns on glutathione: #304 Glutathione; #318 How to Raise Glutathione, #319 Increasing Glutathione – Who Can Benefit? Glutathione has several properties that make liposomal glutathione an amazing product.

Glutathione (GSH) is the most important antioxidant in our cells. It protects our mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from free radical damage, helps the liver detox chemicals, boosts the immune system, and slows or even reverses aging. Glutathione declines as we age and with illness. Anything we can do to increase our cellular glutathione levels will improve our health in many different ways.

The problem is in supplementing glutathione. If we take it orally, as in a capsule, it is broken down in our digestive tract before it can be absorbed. So we are left with supplementing the precursors (“building blocks” that make up a biochemical) and cofactors (nutrients required in the synthesis of a biochemical) [see #318], and hoping that our cells will use these nutrients to manufacture glutathione.

One of the most limiting precursors is the amino acid cysteine. Like glutathione, cysteine is broken down in the digestive tract so must be supplemented in one of two special forms: N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC); or cystine (occurring in specially prepared whey).

Liposomal glutathione avoids these problems entirely. As with vitamin C, the phospholipid balls protect the glutathione in the digestive tract and facilitate its absorption through the gut walls into the blood and from there into the cells.

Why is increasing glutathione so important? In his book “Master Defender” Dr. Thomas Levy summarizes the benefits this way: Research conclusively shows that boosting GSH levels can defend the body against free radicals, toxins, poisons, ionizing radiation, microorganisms (including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites), emotional stress, physical stress, and premature aging.

Both the liposomal Vitamin C and Glutathione come in a box of 30 packets. Each contains a thick viscous liquid which is squeezed into a small glass of water or flavored liquid and swallowed quickly. The taste is a little unpleasant but the results will be deliciously wonderful.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

489 Liposomal Vitamin C [17 Sept 2018]

A problem with vitamin C is its low bioavailability. With oral supplements some of the vitamin C is broken down by stomach acids before it even reaches the small intestine. An active transporter is required to move vitamin C across the intestinal wall into the blood stream. This transporter is dose-dependent - at low doses of up to 180mg about 70-90% of vitamin C is absorbed into the bloodstream; at higher doses above 1000mg (1g) it is less than 50%. At doses between 5g and 10g daily, abdominal cramping and diarrhea may occur creating an upper limit to daily oral dosage of C. Even then, only a percentage of vitamin C is absorbed from the blood stream into the cells. This absorption into the cells is inhibited by high blood glucose, so is even more a problem for diabetics.

For certain therapeutic purposes much higher doses of vitamin C are required. One way around this is intravenous vitamin C (IVC). This is expensive and requires supervision by a trained health professional, so is used only for serious conditions like cancer [see #375], sepsis [#436], polio [#23], and other serious viral infections.

Now there is another form of vitamin C that allows high doses, is relatively inexpensive, and can be administered at home. It’s called liposomal vitamin C.

With liposomal C, the vitamin is encapsulated inside a tiny phospholipid ball which provides several advantages: 1) it protects the vitamin C from breakdown in the stomach; 2) it increases the absorption from the intestine into the blood stream; 3) it increases the absorption into the cells; and 4) it does so very quickly. Nearly all of the liposomal C ingested makes its way quickly into the cells where it is needed. In this regard liposomal C is superior to IVC which increases C in blood plasma but then relies on transporters to get it into the cells.

The phospholipid coating itself is used by the body to repair or build new cell membranes. It is because the coating is similar to cell membranes that it passes quickly and easily through the intestinal wall and then again through the cell membranes into the cells without the need for active transporters.

The big advantage of liposomal vitamin C is that it allows you to take, and absorb, a high dose of C when you need it, without experiencing intestinal discomfort. It’s perfect for fighting a cold or the flu, if you’re a smoker or subject to second-hand smoke, if you are diabetic, or for those days when you're under a lot of stress.

I have just found a Canadian supplier so will soon have it on the shelf. It comes in packets of 1000mg which you add to water and drink. I’ll be the first to try it and let you know what it does for me.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

488 Exogenous Ketones [10 Sept 2018]

A few weeks ago I wrote about the recent popularity of ketogenic diets [#482 30 July 2018]. These are very low carb diets with either low dietary fat for weight loss or higher dietary fat for other purposes. With both types of ketogenic diets, the main fuel burned for energy is fat – either your own stored fat or fat you eat. The metabolic state of burning fat for fuel is known as ketosis because the fat is first converted to ketones which are then converted to ATP energy in the cells’ mitochondria.

More recent is the promotion of ketone supplements – called exogenous ketones as opposed to endogenous ketones produced within the body. These supplements are purported to have similar benefits to ketogenic diets, but without the dieting. The theory sounds attractive but I’m not buying it. I believe it is the diet, with the reduction of carbs leading to a reduction in blood insulin levels, which provides most of the benefits. The ketones are just a byproduct of the process.

There may however be some benefits from ketone supplements. In a post on the blog The Diabetes Coach, titled “Are Exogenous Ketones Beneficial for Blood Sugar?” Dr Brian Mowll suggests that ketones enhance insulin sensitivity. He cites a small study from Oxford which showed lower glucose spikes with an oral glucose tolerance test for the group who had consumed a ketone drink.

But another ketogenic diet study, with obese diabetics, that Mowll cites as support that ketones increase insulin sensitivity did not include a ketone supplement. There is no evidence that it was the ketones, not the ketogenic diet itself, which provided the benefits.

In any case, if weight loss is the goal, adding extra fat or taking ketone supplements will only reduce the amount of body fat burned. And that, after all, is the whole idea.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

487 Fitbit Data Study [3 Sept 2018]

Do you wear a Fitbit? One of those wrist bands that records your heart rate, activity and sleep? Millions of people do and Fitbit recently looked at 150 billion hours of data to see what it could tell us about our health. Since this only includes people who own a Fitbit, the data may not apply to everyone. And relax, the data is anonymous – the researchers know your location, gender, age, height, weight, activity level, sleep habits, and continuous pulse rate, but not your name.

From previous studies we know that resting heart rate (RHR, measured in beats per minute) is a significant measure of our overall health. Most people fall in the range of 60 to 100, with athletes 40 to 50. The Copenhagen Heart Study found that, compared to someone with an RHR of under 50, your risk of death from heart disease is twice as high if your RHR is 80 and three times as high if over 90. A study from China found that for every RHR increase of 10, the risk of developing diabetes increased 23%.

This is what the Fitbit study learned:
• As we age, our RHR increases to a peak about age 40-50, then continuously declines from there for unknown reasons.
• On average, women have a higher rate than men, by 5 beats at age 20, and 2 to 3 beats from age 35-80. This is because women have smaller hearts.
• The optimal Body Mass Index (BMI) for heart function seems to be 20 to 25. RHR increases with increasing BMI above or below that range.
• RHR decreases with exercise (no surprise). After 300 minutes a week (an hour daily for 5 days), however, the decrease is small.
• The reduction in RHR from exercise declines with age. Increasing activity by 3 hours a week will lower your RHR by about 7 beats in your 30s, 40s and 50s, but only by 4 beats in your 60s and 3 beats in your 70s. Still, this shows that getting more active is beneficial at any age.
• Sleep lowers your RHR but only to an average of 7 hours after which it rises again. So get your sleep, then get out of bed and get moving!
• There are other unknown factors affecting heart rate. For the same activity level, the average RHR in the USA is 3 beats higher than Italy, and Canada is 2.5 beats higher than Ireland. Perhaps it’s our junk food diet?

See "Fitbit's 150 billion hours of heart data reveal secrets about health" by David Pogue, yahoo Finance, 27 Aug 2018 for more details and graphs that reveal these trends.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

486 Keeping It Off [27 August 2018]

Most dieters will agree that it’s easier to lose weight than to keep it off. Once we have achieved our goal weight we tend to revert to our old eating habits and the pounds start creeping back on. Remember, weight gain is normal and natural. Here are some strategies for maintaining our desired weight:
• Have a Plan – just like in the weight-losing phase, having a plan directs and motivates us to achieve our new objective.
• Accountability – keep in close contact with your coach through the first year post diet – weekly the first few months, then monthly for the rest of the year. Then check in a few times a year as needed.
• Journaling – several studies show that keeping a food journal increases our rate of successfully keeping the weight off. It increases our awareness of what we are eating; helps identify problem habits, and creates accountability (even if just to our self).
• Exercise daily – with a ketogenic diet, exercise is not necessary for losing fat weight, but it is very important in maintaining our weight. Resistance training exercises (lifting weights) increases muscle mass, further improving our body fat ratio.
• Choose Healthy Foods – strictly limit simple carbs; choose healthy fats; eat sufficient high quality protein (more on this another week)
• Proper Food Combinations – separate carb-rich and fat-rich meals
• Some Quick Tips
o Start the day with a hearty breakfast.
o Don’t shop on an empty stomach.
o Eat mindfully, especially snacking.
o Control food portions; resist second helpings.
o Hot meals are more filling than cold.
o Stay hydrated – drink at least 2 liters of water daily.
o Use alcohol with moderation
o Get enough sleep.
• Reward yourself – each month you meet your maintenance target, treat yourself with something non-fattening like a night out, massage or pedicure.
• Reboot your metabolism for a few weeks every year with the ketogenic diet to return to your desired weight.

Further reading:
"How to keep weight off forever" WebMD
"Ten Habits of People Who Lose Weight and Keep it Off" theconversation.com

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

485 Inherited Stress [20 Aug 2018]

There’s an old joke that insanity is hereditary – you get it from your children. What parent hasn’t at some point exclaimed “You kids are driving me crazy!” Less funny perhaps, but more fascinating is what scientists have learned recently about heredity and health. Dr. Emeran Mayer, devotes Chapter 5 of his 2016 book “The Mind-Gut Connection” to the effects of early life experiences on gut-brain communication.

Stressful family events during childhood, in the womb, or even prior to conception, can affect our health in surprising ways: lowering our tolerance to stress; increasing our risk for anxiety, depression, digestive disorders like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), diarrhea or constipation; and causing unhealthy changes to our gut microbiome. Babies born to highly stressed mothers have lower birth weights and are more prone to infections. Brain scans of adults with significant adverse childhood experiences (death of a parent, divorce, abuse, etc.) show abnormalities in brain structure and function.

In animal studies baby rats who were neglected or whose mothers were stressed, developed health problems similar to anxiety, depression, and addiction, while the nurtured pups developed into relaxed normal adult rats. The nurtured pups grew up to be nurturing mothers while the neglected pups became neglecting mothers. This wasn’t just learned behavior – it was hard wired into their hormonal and neurological systems during infancy.

These changes can be passed on to the second and third generation by a process called epigenetics [see #269 May 2014]. Epigenetics is the study of markers that turn genes on or off while leaving them intact. If this happens to reproductive cells, these markers can be passed on to your children.

How can we apply this information to improve our children’s health? First, minimize maternal stress during pregnancy and early childhood (easier said than done – refer back to the first line!). This is where Dad’s support is critical. Secondly, provide a loving secure home for the kids from birth through their teens. Thirdly, ensure the children’s microbiomes are as healthy as possible (more on that in a future article). Finally, don’t blame yourself for your kids’ health problems – blame your parents! [smile!]

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

484 Our Complex Gut [13 August 2018]

In grade school health we were taught that our digestive system was a fairly simple “food processing machine” comprised of a handful of organs. Food entered at one end, a variety of digestive juices were added along the way, nutrients were extracted, and the leftover waste expelled out the other end. Scientists are just now discovering how complex our digestive system really is.

Dr. Emeran Mayer in his 2016 book “The Mind-Gut Connection – how the hidden conversation in our bodies impacts our mood, our choices, and our overall health” shares what cutting-edge science has learned about the connections between our gut, our brain, and our microbiome. This adds to previous articles I wrote about the brain-gut axis: #320 in May 2015 and #422 in May 2017.

First, the gut has its own nervous system, sometimes called the “second brain”. The enteric nervous system (ENS), as it is properly named, rivals the spinal cord for number of nerve cells – some 50-100 million. The ENS makes the gut the largest sensory organ of the body – covering an area the size of a basketball court.

The gut contains more immune cells than in all the rest of the body. There is a good reason for this – the gut is exposed to more pathogenic microbes than any other system. It can identify and destroy a pathogenic species out of the approximately 1,000 species that may exist in our gut.

The gut contains more endocrine cells than in all the other endocrine glands put together – adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, etc. The gut produces and stores 95% of the body’s serotonin, the neurotransmitter that controls our mood, sleep, appetite, and pain sensitivity.

Then there is the microbiome. Technological advances in DNA testing over the past few decades has allowed us to identify the thousands of microbial species that typically inhabit our body. There are about as many microbial cells in and on our body as there are human cells (if you include the red blood cells). By weight our microbiome is more massive than our brain. And since there are over 1,000 species, their collective genes outnumber our own a hundred fold.

These gut systems communicate with the brain in different ways. The large vagus nerve directly connects the gut and the brain. The hormones and neurotransmitters produced by the cells in the gut wall, and the metabolites produced by the microbes, can travel by the bloodstream to the brain. Mayer calls this complex three-way communication system the “Gut-Microbiome-Brain Axis”.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. Find this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.

483 The Placebo Effect [6 Aug 2018]

In the first few chapters of her 2016 book “Cure – a Journey into the Science of Mind over Body”, Jo Marchant explores the placebo effect.

The placebo effect is stronger and more widespread than I had realized. An enlightening example was the 1996 discovery that the enzyme secretin dramatically improved some autistic children, which when tested (in 1999) was found to work no better than a placebo. It did work, but so did the placebo (a saline injection); both groups improved significantly.

Another example is the surgical technique vertebroplasty (essentially gluing cracked vertebrae) which in a controlled study was found to be no better than placebo (a sham surgery). Again both groups improved significantly in mobility and pain relief.

So the placebo effect is more than just random improvement – there is a measurable beneficial effect due to patients’ expectations. And studies are discovering physiological changes in the body in response to these expectations which likely account for most of the favorable results. Some examples: a Parkinson’s drug placebo increases dopamine production; and a placebo pain killer increases production of endorphins (our body’s natural painkillers). Patients aren’t imagining the improvements – they are real.

The benefits of placebos are, however, limited to effects the body can control. A placebo can reduce pain, anxiety and depression, improve sleep, and lower blood pressure, but can’t replace insulin, shrink a tumor or lower cholesterol.

The author believes that any benefits from many alternative medicines and treatments like homeopathics and Reiki are due to the placebo effect. But she also reports that half of 53 surgical procedures studied in 2014, and most antidepressant drugs like Prozac, work little better than placebo. Valium for example only works if the patients know they are taking it. These drugs are still being marketed, and vertebroplasty surgery is still being performed. The author even proposes prescribing placebos, with the patients’ knowledge, in certain cases.

I’d love to see more controlled studies of natural products to learn how well they really work compared to conventional treatments. But I would still sell products that proved no better than placebo – if the customer asked for them and it was safe to do so. Why not harness the power of the mind to improve our health?

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.