Learning and Sharing

2. POP a PILL.

Although we “are what we eat” and a well-balanced diet matters more to our bodies than anything else, taking multi-vitamins every day provides vital nutritional backup.  Most of us don’t always find time to prepare and eat perfectly balanced meals, yet our bodies don’t go on hold just because we’re busy.  They keep working as best they can, even though they need a continuous “restocking” of essential nutrients every few hours.  A few of the key substances that our bodies need occur only in small amounts in the foods that we commonly eat, and we’d have to consume large portions of some things to get enough. Other crucial elements---in particular the cancer-fighting mineral selenium---have been nearly depleted from much of America’s soil, and are difficult to obtain from common food sources alone. 

Laboratory studies strongly suggest that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are linked to higher rates of certain cancers. Conversely, certain vitamins and mineral “micronutrients” work to inhibit cancer development. To do so, they fight increasing numbers of pollutants and environmental toxins while keeping cells in proper working order, bodies running smoothly and immune systems always on eager patrol.  For these reasons and more, everyone who’s anyone in the field of health now agrees that taking vitamins is important, and both the National Cancer Institute and the American Heart Association have embraced multi-vitamins as an “effective form of preventative medicine.”

Some of the things we can (and probably should) do to protect our health tend to take time and effort to get used to. By contrast, taking vitamins requires little effort, and should just be a slam dunk. In a half hour today, by dropping by the drugstore or popping onto the internet, it’s possible to purchase some of these safeguards in pill form.  What to get?  At least: 

A Good-Quality Multiple Vitamin   

The US Food and Drug Administration provides a Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for vitamins:  http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/rditabl.html.

  A helpful source explaining why vitamins are needed (and suggesting higher dosages for some) is run by the Harvard School of Public Health:  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamins.html

Another take, from Dr. Michael Janson, author of The New Vitamin Revolution: http://www.drjanson.com/articles_whyvitamins.htm  why vitamins 

Consumption of sugar, refined flour, hydrogenated fats, alcohol, tobacco and many drugs depletes nutrients, resulting in higher vitamin/mineral requirements. Many health professionals consider the government’s suggested vitamin dosages as minimum amounts meant to prevent deficiency diseases, not high enough for optimal health. They advocate natural vitamins over synthetics for fuller benefits and better absorption, and their most common recommendations include: 15,000-25,000 IU of vitamin A (most of it from beta or mixed carotenes [including lycopene and lutein]), at least 400 IU of Vitamin E (the natural d-alpha tocopherol [not the dl] form with a mixture of tocopherols (or better yet, mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols), 400-1,000 (or more) mg of Vitamin C, preferably with bioflavonoids (higher dose based on stress, diet and toxic exposure), 30 mg of zinc and 200 mcg of selenium---or added individual supplements taken to achieve these levels.  For those over 60, the suggested level of Vitamin D recently was raised to 600 IU.  D3 (Cholecalciferol) raises blood serum levels better than synthetic Vitamin D.

Due to the FDA’s limited involvement, wide variances have sometimes been found in supplement quality and potency. A good company conforms to USP (United States Pharmacopeia) standards for product identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging, labeling and storage (and the back label will indicate this). The best supplements generally have no synthetic additives, artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, coatings or fillers (listed under “other ingredients”). As with most things, better quality usually costs more.  Health-oriented markets like Henry’s and Whole Foods generally stock higher quality (often more natural) merchandise, and a reliable, reasonably priced internet source is www.VitaCost.com.

Depending on age, sex, wellness and activity levels, it might be wise to consider additional dietary supplements*.   

Because their claims claim so much, and their proofs so often are disputed, there’s a great deal of confusion about what’s right and wrong with dietary supplements.  Despite $8 million in annual   sales and the ardent endorsement of many, the Food and Drug Administration regulates little and takes a dim view of virtually all.  With such insecure footing, it would be unwise of us to recommend dietary supplements to others.  As for us at this time of our lives, we’ve chosen supplements including QCI Nutritionals Multivitamins, extra C, E and mixed carotenoids, CoQ10, L-Carnatine, Ginkgo Biloba, Calcium D–Glucarate, fish oil caps, ALA/flax seed, curcumin and melatonin at bedtime. 

The National Institute of Health offers its take on dietary supplements at http://ods.od.nih.gov/health_information/health_information.aspx  

UC Berkeley’s Wellness Center weighs in at http://www.berkeleywellness.com/index.php   

Also worth a look are http://www.consumerlab.com/index.asp?claffid=101024 and www.supplementwatch.com

Supplements should be stored in a cool, dry place (not refrigerated), and may be handiest if kept in the kitchen. They generally aren’t absorbed well unless consumed with a meal containing fats, and taking them with meals also is easier on the stomach. It can be simpler to swallow large pills or larger numbers of pills with a thicker liquid, like tomato juice or a fruit smoothie.  A multi-unit storage box with a week’s worth of compartments can be filled ahead of time for convenience (better for both the filler and the pills, as opening jars less means limited exposure of fragile pills to the air).

Today’s magazines and TV screens are filled with pharmaceutical ads.  But what they don’t say  is that a few natural supplements and a medicine-cabinet standby often can do as much (at far less cost) as all the rest.  Why so shy?  If substances can’t be patented, they’re not that profitable, so no ads are made telling us why we should buy them.   [Top]

A few surprising supplements:  

Turn in Early, Turn Down the Lights, Turn on Melatonin

Most people think of melatonin as just an over-the-counter pill that prevents jet lag or aids in getting to sleep. Few are aware that hundreds of tests at major universities and research centers consistently show that melatonin kills many different types of human tumor cells, and in instances where tumors are established, inhibits their further growth. As if this anti-cancer ability isn’t enough, melatonin is more effective than any other known substance in scavenging two of the most highly toxic of all the free radicals (oxygen and peroxyl), and also stimulates the brain’s main antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase.

Melatonin seeps from a pea-sized gland in the brain when the lights go out at night, inducing drowsiness and the sound sleep necessary for healing and repair. A hormone, it controls daily body rhythms and the female menstrual cycle, reduces depression, plays a crucial role in immune function, regulates cell division, guards against rogue cell propagation and is believed to delay aging. Low levels of melatonin have consistently been linked to breast cancer, and studies also show it influences prostate and other cancers by enhancing the anti-tumor defenses of the immune system.

The secretion of melatonin is activated by darkness and suppressed by light, so blood levels gradually increase after dark and peak around 2 am. Melatonin stops flowing when light falls on nerve cells within the retina of the eye. Evidence for the hormone’s link to the most deadly of all female cancers comes from studies of blind women, who have unusually low levels of breast cancer. It was further confirmed through studies of female night-shift workers, who have double the rate of the disease as women who work daytime shifts. The higher rate of breast cancer in women in industrialized societies was first documented two decades ago, and is believed to exist due both to electromagnetic fields (also suspected to suppress melatonin production) and the use of electric light at night. Rates of breast cancer in less industrialized countries where electricity is seldom present are five to six times lower than those of “developed” nations. 

Scientists theorize that the production of melatonin inhibits the production of the hormone estrogen, which many studies show promotes breast cancer. Exposure to light at night or to EMFs can suppress melatonin secretion, leading to excess estrogen. Chronic exposure may lead to an increased cumulative lifetime dose of estrogen, and therefore increased breast cancer risk.

In the lab, “breast tumors are awake during the day, and melatonin puts them to sleep at night.” Add artificial light to the night environment, and cancer cells become insomniacs,"  says Dr. David E. Blask in the American Journal of Epidemiology. “ Light at night is clearly a risk factor for breast cancer."  Studies now underway may show whether exposure to nocturnal light also poses a heightened risk of prostate cancer in men, as some researchers suspect.

Like most hormones, the secretion of melatonin declines with age as the pineal gland calcifies (some believe due to a build up of fluoride, the stuff that comes in our toothpaste!). Obesity reduces melatonin production, and heavy smoking may do the same.  As levels drop, risk rises.

Stopping short of advocating supplements, researchers advise cultivating habits to maximize melatonin production: to help regulate the body clock, getting an hour of bright sunlight during morning hours, avoiding evening use of melatonin-suppressing substances, (alcohol and medications like beta-blockers), going to sleep at a consistent time each night in a completely darkened bedroom, and avoiding placing a radio or TV (which decrease natural melatonin secretion [see waves]) near the bed. They caution against even brief intervals of bright light at night, and suggest only night lights (nothing brighter) if getting up at night. They further note that women who consistently sleep nine or more hours per night have less than one third the risk of developing a breast tumor than women who sleep seven or eight hours a night.

Melatonin in therapeutic dosages is recommended by alternative health practitioners as part of adjunct cancer treatment.  It’s available over the counter in lower doses for healthy people, and comes both with added B6 (pyridoxal/pyridoxine) and without.  Without is better, and a typical dose is 3-5 mg one hour before bedtime.  As melatonin interrupts estrogen (and possibly male hormones as well), it logically would be better used in those past their reproductive years. More  can be found at Melatonin and Cancer http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/.  [Top]

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) (For those over 40.)

A natural substance found in most foods, CoQ10 improves the use of oxygen at the cellular level.  The heart often is adversely affected by CoQ10 deficiency, but increasing evidence shows that the brain is the organ most likely to suffer from inadequate supply. Since cells need CoQ10 for energy production, the result of a deficit is seen in a higher number of age-associated disorders.

CoQ10 is found in abundance in a healthy heart, and studies have shown its  effectiveness in treating cardiovascular disease. The heart requires CoQ10 for energy to pump blood, and clinical trials have shown that patients with congestive heart failure have low CoQ10 blood levels; generally, the worse the heart’s condition, the lower the level.  CoQ10 also helps maintain blood vessels and reduces risk of clot formation. 

Several hundred worldwide studies spanning 35 years have demonstrated CoQ10’s heart-health protection, as well as its effectiveness in treating periodontal disease, and (in high doses) increasing survival in female breast cancer.  Studies now are assessing its ability to treat cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, we well as immune disorders.   CoQ10 is widely used in Japan, Europe and Israel, and is growing in popularity as the baby-boom bubble passes into older age.  People over 30 produce half as much CoQ10 as younger adults.   

CoQ10 is poorly absorbed without fats, and is best taken in chewables or softgel caps (at a meal containing fat).  Suggested dosages vary, some from a little over 1 mg per pound of body weight, and some just half this much.  Dr. Andrew Weil recommends 100 mg of CoQ10 daily to “anyone with a family history of heart problems or at risk for cardiovascular disease,” but also says there’s “no reason why an otherwise healthy man – or woman - should not take CoQ10 preventively.”   [Top]

The pre-packaged, industrialized diet we eat causes widespread tissue inflammation, leading to  all sorts of ills.  No fanfare, fewer expensive studies, but long before Vioxx or Celebrex, Mother Nature made a host of anti-inflammatory substances**, among them:  

Fish Oil.  Approved by the American Heart Association.  See Go Fish (Eat Flax!)  

Curcumin.  Studies show curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory that reduces inflammation, protects the brain through antioxidant activity and inhibits the formation of new blood vessels in tumors. One of the principal components of turmeric, it’s a primary ingredient in curry powder.   (The rate of Alzheimer’s in India, the lowest in the world, is less than one percent over age 65.)  Supplement dose is 200 mg extract of turmeric (standardized to 95 percent curcumin)  [Top]

Garlic. This Italian restaurant regular reduces inflammation and clumping of blood platelets (preventing clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes). Garlic has been shown to reduce blood pressure, protect against hardening of the arteries and some cancers, enhance immunity and act as an antibiotic and anti-viral.  Cooking with garlic (yum!) works well in these ways.  Typical supplement dose of deodorized garlic is 500-1500.   [Top]

Bromelain.  An anti-inflammatory derived from the unripe stem of the pineapple, bromelain has been shown in studies to enhance immunity and wound healing, provide protection against  blood clots and improve circulation.  It may be one of the few anti-inflammatory compounds that can cross the blood-brain barrier.  It should be taken on an empty stomach, and not by people who have ulcers.  Look for 500 mg at 2000 GDU for high enough potency to be anti-inflammatory.   [Top]

Nettles.  Many indigenous populations used nettles for food and medicine.  An anti-inflammatory and an antihistamine with multiple applications, nettles are recognized by the German government for effect on bone and joint conditions.  Typical dose is 500 mg.  [Top]

Resveratrol.  Present in grape skins, berries, peanuts and (most abundantly) in red wine, the plant flavonoid resveratrol is typically found only in low levels in the American diet. An antioxidant, it also helps reduce risk of blood clots and is a particularly effective anti-inflammatory, with more than 300 studies showing its demonstrated anti-cancer effects on a number of cancer types. Typical dose is 40 mg from 200 mg polygonum cuspidatum.  A recent study showed  unexpected possible negative effects on breast cancer, so women should exercise caution.  Low to moderate alcohol consumption (wine or otherwise) also shows health benefits.  See   http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/foods/alcohol/index.html.  [Top]

Chocolate (!)  In its purest form, chocolate is higher in antioxidants than blueberries, and equals low-dose aspirin in keeping blood clots from forming.  Add milk and sugar, and much of this benefit is lost.  Still, the Harvard School of Public Health found that those who eat chocolate up to three times a month live longer than those who don’t.  M& M/Mars is working with pharmaceutical companies to develop a drug based on these heart-healthy benefits.  Till then, eat a square of dark chocolate and call us in the morning. (!)  We knew it all along...  [Top]

Aspirin⁺.  Unlikely as it sounds, familiar, inexpensive, low-tech aspirin may be the “wonder drug of the 21^st century”  with uses that go far beyond the simple headache cure. Like highly advertised, pricy prescriptions, aspirin is a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), one that safeguards the body in myriad ways---with fewer of the problematic side effects displayed in other (higher priced, prescription) synthetic anti-inflammatory compounds.   

Aspirin has long been well recognized for its protective benefits when it comes to heart disease.   It thins the blood, which can help prevent clogging of the arteries. Low-dose aspirin therapy is widely prescribed to prevent heart attack or stroke in people with existing cardiovascular problems, but recent studies also show its use in preventing first cardiovascular events.  

If a person thinks he or she is having a heart attack, aspirin is recommended after calling 9-1-1 (but within 30 minutes), and often can limit the damage of the attack.  If taken during a heart attack, experts recommend chewing rather than swallowing to achieve faster effect.  Aspirin should not be taken during or after a stroke, because some strokes are caused by ruptured blood vessels, and taking aspirin could potentially make these bleeding strokes more severe.

Aspirin helps to prevent blood clots, but has different effects on men than on women. Aspirin long has been known to cut the risk of heart attacks in middle-aged men, yet new research shows that post-menopausal women who regularly take aspirin experience fewer strokes than those who don’t. A 10-year study of 40,000 women, the largest of its kind to date, shows a reduction in strokes of 17 percent through regular use of aspirin, considered significant, as women suffer more strokes than heart attacks compared to men.  Earlier studies showed men who regularly take aspirin experience a 32 percent reduction in heart attacks, although no fewer strokes.  (Aspirin also decreases risk of heart attack in women by a third, but not until 65.)  Dosage used to achieve these benefits is 81-mg “baby” aspirin daily (or, in some cases, 100 mg every other day).  Benefits begin almost immediately.  

Recent studies show that, taken regularly, aspirin can reduce the risk of most types of cancer by up to 40 percent.  But unlike its benefit for heart disease, it produces benefits by a modest slowing of the growth of cancers (and thus must be taken for at least 7 to 10 years for much benefit). Further, unlike the 75 - 81 mg amount needed for heart disease, a daily pill of 325 mg may be needed for best benefit in reducing cancer risk.  Also, the benefits of Aspirin appear less for breast cancer and other female organ cancers than for cancer at other sites. 

Experts advise care in taking aspirin, because its benefits are balanced by risk of bleeding in the digestive tract, which can be fatal.  Tips for safer usage include talking with a doctor, using buffered or enteric-coated aspirin, always taking it with a meal, at generally the same time each day.  Aspirin should not be taken by people who consume three or more alcoholic beverages a day, have stomach ulcers, liver or kidney disease or who experience stomach discomfort or bleeding.  It should be avoided two weeks prior to surgery due to its blood-thinning effects. Aspirin should never be given to children under 16, as it’s linked to a rare (but potentially fatal) condition called Reye’s Syndrome which affects the brain and liver.   

Representatives of many reputable health organizations have stated that aspirin is under used for its protective effects, particularly for cardiovascular events.  At the same time, overuse of pain relievers (particularly by those in chronic pain) is a significant national problem that leads to more than 100,000 hospitalizations each year. This mixes the messages the general public receives, and may serve to keep those who could benefit from taking aspirin from doing so. 

Deficient in D?  Recent discoveries show a large portion of the US population (up to 40 percent) probably is deficient in “the sunshine vitamin,” including most folks over 65, plus many who live in the northern third of the country, have dark skin, shun sun exposure, usually wear sunscreen or choose a vegan or lactose-free diet.  Depressed levels of Vitamin D have been linked to Alzheimer’s, allergies, auto-immune disorders including MS and rheumatoid arthritis, cancers of the colon, breast, skin and prostate, depression, Type 1 diabetes, heart disease, infertility, learning and behavior disorders, muscle pain and weakness, nearsightedness, obesity, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.