Here’s an email that I received regarding the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine regarding “Multi-Vitamins and Cancer.” This is an update to the previous post on multivitamins and cancer. I still find it amusing how the media can really influence the decisions of the general population.  But I have seen many more people take things into their own hands by doing their own research on headlines like these.  Bravo to you!  Read the rest of this entry »

A recent large study finds that multivitamins do not prevent cancer in older women.  So stop wasting your money on those vitamins according to these researchers.

“Get nutrients from food. Whole foods are better than dietary supplements” the lead researcher states. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Dr. John Brimhall & Dr. Lynn Toohey

A powerful combination of protein, antioxidants, greens, sprouts, and healthy nutrition. Supports energy, protein balance, detox, inflammation, weight, cholesterol levels, a strong immune system, intestinal homeostasis/bowel function, cell repair, and overall good health!

The typical American diet contains a large amount of low-fiber, high fat (mostly saturated/trans), overly processed foods, and sugar, but an increasingly small amount of the fruits and vegetables that The American Cancer society tells us can lower our risk for disease (recommended at least 5 a day). The Department of Agriculture reported that the most consumed substance taken in by a typical American in a year was carbonated drinks, taking the lead at over 400 pounds per year. Those drinks are high in sugar, usurp B vitamins, leech minerals such as calcium, lower the immune system, and displace healthier choices, such as fruits and/or vegetables.

Are people getting 5 a day? Unfortunately not, and children get the least of all. It is estimated that children are not even getting 1-2 servings of vegetables per day, and this is considering that food surveys even count potatoes (hence french fries) as a vegetable. Green beans, the most widely consumed “vegetable”, is high in vitamin C and fiber, but it is a bean (legume) and does not possess the protective nutrients of the cruciferous vegetables or fruits.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a common question I receive from new patients “Is nutritional supplementation necessary?”

My answer: “Well it depends how much you value your health. If you value your health very much, then yes it is necessary. If you don’t value your health, then don’t worry about supplementing your diet.”

Why you need to supplement your diet:

Let’s take a step back in time to the agri-business boom. During this time we started to see local farms lose ground to larger corporate farms. These larger corporate farms had acres of agricultural land and figured out a way to cut costs on fertilizer. They discovered that you could cut down fertilizers to include only 3 compounds and still have a viable crop. These 3 compounds were: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (N.P.K.)

Anyone see a problem with this?

By decreasing the fertilizers components to NPK, crops were essentially devoid of vital nutrients. Therefore, by consuming these nutrient devoid crops, you also became nutrient depleted.

There are essential vitamins and minerals that your cells need to function at optimum:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12)
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Zinc
• Chromium
• Selenium
• Molybdenum
• Copper

These vitamins and minerals act as co-factors in cellular processes.  Without the presence of these vitamins and minerals, many cellular processes cannot occur.

The FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that it has found hazardous levels of selenium in samples of certain flavors of the dietary supplement products “Total Body Formula” and “Total Body Mega Formula.” Analyses of samples by FDA have found most of the samples contain extremely high levels of selenium — up to 200 times the amount of selenium indicated on the labels of the products. The FDA has received 43 reports of persons from nine states who experienced serious adverse reactions using these products. The adverse reactions generally occurred after five to 10 days of daily ingestion of the product, and included significant hair loss, muscle cramps, diarrhea, joint pain, deformed fingernails, and fatigue. Consumers should stop taking the products and consult their healthcare professional if they experience any adverse events associated with the use of the products.

Read the complete MedWatch 2008 safety summary, including a link to the FDA News Release, at:
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm#TotalBody

Dr. Mike’s comments:

It really bothers me that there are supplement companies out there who do not take adequate quality control measures. I mean come on 200 times the indicated amount of the label!

I’ll write another post about how to choose a good nutritional supplement, because obviously you cannot trust how these companies advertise their products.