Harvard Doctor Say's Supplements Are Dangerous

The original article posted by Business Insider, was titled "Supplements are more dangerous than other processed foods, according to a Harvard doctor". And I'd say "Yep, you are right if you buy cheap, non-regulated supplements that give no guarantee of potency (meaning what is on the label is in the tablet); purity (lack of toxins or non-intended ingredients); and bio-availability (disintegrates in the gut).

On the back of virtually any bottle of supplements are two words that strike fear into the heart of Pieter Cohen. The words are printed inside a small square on the back of the bottle beneath bold lettering which claims to list the supplement's ingredients: "Proprietary blend." Under the protective umbrella of these two words, a supplement maker does not have to list all of the details of what's in its product, according to Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

This "allows companies to put in ingredients without telling us the amounts," says Cohen, who spoke on a recent panel put on by The Forum, an event series organized by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. "And those tend to be the higher-risk product." The risks can be serious. Several supplements have been linked with an increase in certain cancers; others have been tied to an elevated risk of kidney stones. Although this research has been widely published, supplements continue to send roughly 20,000 people to the emergency room every year.

Cohen likes to compare the safety framework for supplements with that for food. "In food," says Cohen, "they have to meet what's known as the "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, standard. That’s not the standard for ingredients introduced to supplements. The standard is not anywhere near that level of scrutiny."

There are some laws regulating dietary supplements, however. In 1994, Congress established the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) to address the labeling and safety of supplements, and several more recent regulations mandate that manufacturers observe what are known as "good manufacturing practices," or GMPs, including ingredient testing.

MyAchingKnees Comment: Taking supplements that are manufactuered under food grade GMP's don't guarantee you are getting what's on the label; nor if the product is fre of toxins. How many foods, including baby foods, have you see re-calls on? I'll tell you one thing - knowing what I know know, starting this journey of a healthy lifestyle relatively late in my life, I would not consume most of the products off the shelfs of stores,..and I would never, ever take fish oil supplements that were not manufactured by under pharamceutical grade processes.

Under the DSHEA, ingredients listed under the "proprietary blend" category don't have to include information about individual amounts of ingredients in that category. Instead, they only have to list the total amount and list the ingredients within the "blend" in order by their weight. This can be a huge problem when it comes to dosages, as certain amounts of the listed ingredients could have dangerous side effects or negative interactions with prescription drugs. "From a regulatory perspective they’re all presumed to be safe but the reality is many people….are harmed by supplements," says Cohen.

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Warning on Dietary Supplements

From Consumer Reports this article was titled "New study sounds the alarm on dietary supplements" and posted on CBS News. But I want to make it clear that this report is about non-pharmaceutical grade supplements. I have also been warning people about taking food grade supplements for years now and these reports give credence to the issues and sometimes dangers of taking non-quality supplements - and here's the kicker, most of the supplements you find do not guaranteed their quality, let alone have accurate label claims or are free of toxins, so let the buyer beware.

I take only supplements manufactured using pharmaceutical grade standards in a lab monitored by the FDA, so this way I know what is on the label is in the bottle. I am not on the bandwagon, yet anyway, for FDA regulation of food grade nutritional supplements - I think the consumers should be the regulatory effect through purchasing or not purchasing, and not have the government regulate this further.

A new investigation may have you rethinking some of your vitamins. Consumer Reports finds certain ingredients in dietary supplements sold around the country can carry major health risks, including heart palpitations, allergic reactions and pain, reports CBS Sports' Dana Jacobson.

Eighteen-year-old Logan Stiner died after overdosing on a caffeine powder supplement he bought online. A new study by Consumer Reports outlined health risks associated with dietary supplements -- including vitamins, probiotics and weight-loss aids. Unlike drug products that must be proven safe and effective, dietary supplements do not have to go through FDA approval.

"If it could kill someone like Logan, it has no borders - it will kill again," said his mother, Katie Stiner. "It's what you don't know - I think that's the thing that we're most concerned about," said Lisa Gill, deputy content editor at Consumer Reports. "Just because it's not prescription, you say, 'oh, it's safe,' but that's not necessarily true."

"What is the biggest misconception about supplements?" Jacobson asked. "Oh, that they're safe. A manufacturer doesn't have to prove to the FDA before it gets put on the shelves -- that what's in those tablets, is what they say is there," Gill said.

A new study by Consumer Reports outlined health risks associated with dietary supplements -- including vitamins, probiotics and weight-loss aids. Unlike drug products that must be proven safe and effective, dietary supplements do not have to go through FDA approval.

Gill said this leaves the consumer at risk. "It could be adulterated, it could be counterfeit, it could be hiding prescription drugs," Gill said.

Consumer Reports worked with independent doctors and dietary experts to identify 15 ingredients they say consumers should always avoid. They include caffeine powder found in some weight-loss supplements - like Kava, which claims to reduce anxiety and red yeast rice in supplements, which claims to reduce cholesterol.

Gill urges consumers to always avoid 15 specific ingredients. "They are known to have very specific harms. In some cases they can cause seizures or they can cause liver or kidney damage, there have been deaths associated with each of these," Gill said. But they found all 15 ingredients are available in supplements online or in major retailers. The Council for Responsible Nutrition -- which represents the supplement industry -- responded in a statement: "More than 150 million Americans take dietary supplements each year... Overwhelmingly, dietary supplements are safe and play a valuable role in helping Americans live healthy lifestyles."

But Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, disagrees. "Consumers need to know that they cannot trust that anything sold as a supplement is what's actually listed on the label," Cohen said. "Nor that it works. Or that it's safe."

The FDA acknowledged its limited role in regulating the industry, saying "it's important to remind consumers, that just because you can buy supplements in stores doesn't mean the FDA has reviewed them for safety or efficacy."

Gill recommends consumers look for the United States Pharmacopoeia or USP label and consult a medical expert. "Tell your doctor and your pharmacist what you're taking. Treat it like a medication. It's that important -- it's really about your health," Gill said.

MyAchingKnees comment: Look in the Physicians Desk Reference for supplements manufactured under pharmacuetical grade processes.

And yet another, older article titled "Unsafe, recalled dietary supplements still being sold" from October 2014 posted on CBS News.

Dietary supplements containing potentially dangerous prescription drug ingredients may still be for sale even years after safety recalls, a study found. In supplements bought online, researchers detected hidden steroids, similar ingredients to Viagra and Prozac and a weight loss drug linked with heart attacks.

They tested 27 products promising big muscles, sexual prowess, weight loss and more. Of those, 18 contained ingredients not approved for over-the-counter use; 17 still had the same drug that prompted the recalls.

Manufacturers are putting profit ahead of consumer health, but lax oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is contributing to the problem, said lead author Dr. Pieter Cohen, an internist and researcher at Cambridge Health Alliance, a Boston-area health care system.

The tested supplements were recalled by manufacturers after FDA raised concerns about drugs in their products. This type of recall is usually voluntary, involving products that could potentially cause serious health problems and even death. The FDA's role includes assessing whether recalls successfully remove potentially unsafe products from the market.

"There should be significant legal and financial consequences for manufacturers who the FDA finds to be continuing to sell these spiked supplements," Cohen said. Unlike prescription drugs, dietary supplements don't need FDA approval before they are marketed. Still, their labels must list all ingredients and manufacturers are not allowed to sell products that are "adulterated or misbranded," the agency's website states.

The study was published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors say laws that increase FDA's enforcement powers may be needed to fix the problem.

In response to the study, the FDA said it has issued hundreds of consumer alerts warning about tainted products, sent warning letters to supplement makers "and pursued civil and criminal enforcement" against those illegally marketed products. Deterring manufacturers is sometimes challenging because they are often difficult to locate and some are overseas, the agency said.

The researchers bought 27 of the 274 supplements recalled from 2009 to 2012. The products were purchased in summer 2013 from manufacturers' websites or other online retailers. An Oregon research laboratory tested them. Whether any consumers were harmed by using the tainted supplements was beyond the study's scope.

Among the 27 products:

-Six weight loss supplements contained sibutramine or a substance similar to the diet drug removed from the U.S. market in 2010 after it was linked with heart attacks and strokes. Two also contained the active ingredient in Prozac.

-Ten body-building supplements contained anabolic steroids or related compounds, which have been linked with side effects including prostate cancer, aggression and infertility.

-One sexual enhancement product contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, which is not recommended for those taking some heart medicines.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a supplements trade group, said it encourages federal regulators to crack down on "rogue" companies.

"Unapproved or adulterated drugs' masquerading as lawful supplements is a threat to public health and to consumer confidence in the supplement industry," Scott Melville, the association's president and CEO, said in an emailed statement.

 

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Detoxing Your Liver

This article, originally titled "15 Tips for Detoxing Your Liver", is from Healthy Diet Base. I am a believing in doing what you can for liver health, after all you only have one liver and you need it to live. I have a friend who was infected with Hep C after a blood transfusion in Europe following a car accident. Later on in his mid 50's he started drinking quite a bit and his monthly liver function tests starting getting even worse. He asked me what he could do, beside quit drinking (Ha! the power of our addictions!). I had him take the same supplement that I take for my liver, which is a combination of many of the ingredients listed below. His liver function tests started getting better and importantly he started feeling better - I remember thinking if only I can get him to cut way back on drinking.

I take the Liver De-Tox supplement because of my abuse of Motrin over decades from knee and back pain. In my daily does of this liver de-tox supplement, I am getting 225 micrograms of Biotin, 375 mg of Choline Bitartitrate, 240 mg of Milk Thistle, 225 mg of N-Acetyl L-Cysteine, 200 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid, 75mg of Broccoli Concentrate, and 45mg each of Green Tea extract, Olive Oil extract and Turmeric extract.   

 I still remember the first week I started talking the liver health supplement as I felt better and had more energy. I had no reason to believe it was from anything but that product. So the Motrin is bad history with me and I was and am concerned with the damage I did to my liver. Today, I do not take anything stronger than Aspirin and then only for headaches. If people could incorporate some of the foods below into their diet I think they would feel better overall and feel better about optimizing the health of their liver.

The liver is an essential organ that helps to keep the human body free of toxins. It performs important functions in almost every part of your body, from balancing your cholesterol levels to filtering your blood. Painkillers, prescription medications, alcohol, and other toxins can overload the liver and reduce its ability to function. Detoxing your liver helps to flush out toxins and improve the health of your liver. Here are 15 tips for detoxing your liver.

1. Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is a plant that has been used for centuries to treat diseases of the liver and gall bladder. It’s been used by Europeans to heal various liver-related ailments as far back as 2,000 years ago! The plant got its name from the milky fluid that oozes from the leaves when they are crushed.

One of milk thistle’s active compounds is called, silymarin, a potent antioxidant that is several times more effective than vitamin C and vitamin E. It is used to reduce inflammation, inhibit the production of toxins, and prevent further damage to the liver. Of all the silymarins found in milk thistle, silybin has been found to be the most effective in the promotion of liver health. This is why milk thistle supplements contain high doses of silybin.

Milk thistle’s detoxifying and cleansing properties are so potent that it’s even believed to slow down the progression of severe liver damage or liver cirrhosis. Apart from acting as a detoxifier to the liver and preventing alcohol-related liver diseases, milk thistle is also used to treat other conditions that affect the liver including chronic hepatitis, acute viral hepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis, as well as hepatic toxicity due to frequent steroid usage.

Milk thistle is available as a tincture that can be used to aid the process of liver detoxification. It is also available in extract form as supplements. In general, the more silymarin it contains, the better the supplement. Recommended doses for milk thistle supplementation vary among individuals, but are usually between 140 mg and 300 mg taken 2 to 3 times daily.

If the supplement contains phosphatidylcholine complex, less of it may be consumed since it promotes better absorption of these liver-detoxifying agents. In which case, you only have to take 100-200 mg once or twice a day. The presence of artichoke, boldo, dandelion, licorice, and turmeric decreases the recommended dosage to 100-140 mg which should be taken 2 to 3 times daily.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has been used for thousands of years to treat various ailments and illnesses. It is thought to improve the function of the stomach, colon, liver, bladder, and kidneys. Make your own apple cider vinegar by crushing some fresh apples and filtering the liquid, before allowing it to cure into vinegar. Alternatively, you can buy bottled apple cider vinegar at most health food stores and supermarkets. Use the vinegar to make a warm cleansing drink for your liver by adding 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and one teaspoon of honey to a cup of warm water.

Here’s another recipe you might want to try. You will need:

•Apple cider vinegar
•1 quart filtered water
•½ pc. lemon, thinly sliced
•¼ pc. cucumber, thinly sliced
•2 sprigs mint

Place the mint leaves and slices of lemon and cucumber in a quart-sized bottle or mason jar. Fill the jar with water, and leave enough room for 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Place the vinegar last and if you like, add more to taste. Seal the jar, refrigerate it overnight, and you have a detox drink you can consume the next day!

While apple cider vinegar is usually easy and safe to use, there might be some things you’ll want to keep in mind. Since undiluted apple cider vinegar can be harmful to the esophagus and other parts of the digestive tract, you’ll want to be sure to dilute the vinegar. Try to keep your apple cider consumption to under eight ounces a day as anything over that could potentially decrease your potassium levels. Also, if you are allergic to apples, you will not want to use apple cider vinegar to detoxify your liver.

If you have been prescribed certain medications, especially drugs like cardiac glycosides, diuretics, insulin laxatives, and diabetes or blood pressure medications, you will want to be careful when using apple cider vinegar for detoxification. If you are taking these types of medications, it is always a good idea to check with your health care provide before beginning a regimen that could potentially have harmful effects. Even though apple cider vinegar is made from natural sources, it could still interfere with these types of medications.

3. Garlic

Garlic contains nutrients and Allicin, a compound that helps to aid the process of liver detoxification. Garlic helps to flush heavy metals, nitrogen, and excess hormones from the liver. Cooking garlic can reduce the potency of the nutrients, but the strong flavor of raw garlic can be off-putting for many people. One solution is to try taking garlic capsules, preferably 2-3 times a day while you are performing your liver detox.

When ingesting the garlic capsules, it is best that they are coated so they have a less chance of upsetting your stomach. If your stomach still gets upset when taking a capsule, you can try to take an antacid along with it.

Garlic which is an herb, is normally completely fine for you to use in your detoxification process. However, as with other herbs, there may be some things to keep in mind when using garlic. Although it is not very common, some people have been known to have had an allergic reaction to garlic.

You might want to double check with your health care provider if you are taking certain medications especially for tuberculosis (TB) or HIV/AIDS as garlic can interfere with the absorption of certain kinds of medications specifically for these illnesses. Also for women taking birth control pills, garlic may actually decrease the effectiveness of the pill.

4. Grapefruit seed extract

Grapefruit seed extract contains powerful antioxidants that help to flush toxins from the body, including the liver. Grapefruit seed extract can be expensive, but you only need a few drops 2-3 times a day. If you don’t want to spend money on grapefruit seed extract, try eating a couple of whole grapefruits every day during your liver detox. The results may not be as powerful as using the extract, but grapefruits contain antioxidants that can help to cleanse your liver.

Grapefruit seed extract is processed from grapefruit seeds and pulp and is a byproduct of producing grapefruit juice. In order to reduce the acidity and bitterness of grapefruit juice and extract, vegetable glycerin is added to the final product.

Grapefruit has long been known to interfere with certain medications so it is good to use caution when taking grapefruit seed extract in the detoxification process of your liver. Grapefruit juice has been known to decrease how quickly certain medications are broken down by the liver which can actually increase the side effects of certain medications. You’ll want to be especially cautious if you are taking medications for the following conditions: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, erectile dysfunction and also if you are taking any kinds of sedatives. Other kinds of medications that may have an altered effect when taken with grapefruit are blood thinners such as Coumadin and also medications that contain caffeine.

5. Dandelion Root

Dandelions are flowering weeds with a wide range of medicinal uses. The roots and leaves of dandelion plants have long been used to make herbal remedies, tinctures and tonics to help cleanse the liver, improve digestion and purify the blood. Dandelions are packed with important nutrients, including calcium, potassium and a variety of vitamins. Dandelion root contains properties that increase the production of bile, which helps to eliminate toxins from the liver.

Dandelion root is available as a tea, tincture, supplement and powdered extract. You can also buy dried dandelion root, which can be prepared in a similar way to fresh coffee. As dandelion root is a powerful diuretic, you must drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids. Dandelion root can also produce a mild laxative effect, making it ideal for flushing out your whole system.

6. Turmeric

Turmeric is a popular spice that gives curried dishes their striking yellow color. Turmeric is also commonly used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine to treat a wide range of health conditions including coughs, colds, viruses, infections, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, high cholesterol levels, excess mucous, nasal congestion, and various skin complaints. Turmeric contains powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties, as well as several health-enhancing nutrients including iron, copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin B6 and fiber. These powerful properties combine to improve liver function, protect and regenerate liver tissue, aid digestion, reduce digestive gas, reduce cholesterol, boost the immune system, improve circulation, and purify the blood.

Turmeric is also an effective aid for detoxing the liver. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made it to this list! Curcumin, the very thing that gives turmeric its bright yellow color, is a phytochemical responsible for its detoxifying effects. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that curcumin stimulates the gallbladder to produce bile, which helps to eliminate liver toxins and repair damaged liver cells. Liver detox is made more effective when turmeric is combined with ginger, which helps to boost circulation and reduce congestion.

Turmeric is available as a supplement, extract, or tea. To make turmeric tea, you need:
•2 tsp. fresh turmeric, peeled and finely grated
•1 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
•½ to ¾ tsp. powdered cinnamon
•1 pinch powdered black pepper
•½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
•1 tsp. pure raw honey or preferred sweetener
•¼ cup coconut milk or preferred milk

Boil some water and use it to fill a mug halfway. Add the turmeric and ginger and allow it to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, add the cinnamon, black pepper, vanilla extract, and honey and stir. Fill up the rest of the mug with coconut milk and stir. Now you have a tasty turmeric tea to cleanse your liver!

What makes this tea great is that many of ingredients aid in liver detoxification. Black pepper and coconut milk allow the body to better absorb the turmeric. Cinnamon is a known anti-inflammatory. And lastly, raw honey is rich in antioxidants that promote digestive health.

7. Lemon

Lemons are packed with vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6, phosphorous, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. The juice, fruit, and peel of lemons are often used in natural remedies and herbal infusions due to their potent antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties. Lemon is commonly used to treat sore throats, tickly coughs, fever, colds, blocked sinuses, indigestion, constipation, tinnitus, and rheumatism. Lemon is also thought to help prevent kidney stones, high blood pressure, and chronic stomach problems.

Lemons contain powerful antioxidants, known as bioflavonoids, which help to cleanse the liver, purify the blood, and strengthen the immune system. Adding the juice of half a lemon to a cup of warm or cold water gives you a cleansing drink to help flush toxins from your liver and digestive system. Have a glass of this every day to keep your liver happy. Below is a more effective way of preparing lemon water for liver detoxification. For this you will need:

•1 pc. lemon, preferably organic
•¼ liter hot water
•¾ liter cold water
•Salt

Juice the lemon in a large glass jar. Chop the remains of the lemon into quarters and add to the jar. Fill the jar with water and salt to taste then let it soak for 10 minutes. Leave the lemon slices to increase the potency of the drink, but be aware that the longer it soaks, the more bitter it will be. You can also add raw honey to sweeten the lemon water. Alternatively, you can buy lemon tea or dried lemons to make a refreshing drink.

8. Green Tea

Lauded as one of the world’s healthiest beverages by both nutritionists and research scientists, green tea is also helpful for detoxing the liver. Green tea originated in China and has long been known in Asia for its many health benefits. Green tea comes from the leaves of the plant called Camellia sinensis. The leaves of the plant are not fermented when being made into green tea which leaves the antioxidant chemicals called polyphenols completely intact. Because green tea is one of the least processed beverages, all of its amazing antioxidants called catechins are nearly poured right into your cup. These catechins which are crucial components when it comes to protecting cells from damage, are also helpful in assisting the liver with the detoxification process.

When you use green tea to detoxify your liver, it is recommended that you drink four to five cups a day. Some people don’t like the taste of green tea and if you still want to experience the powerful detoxification effects of the beverage, you can opt for capsules or liquid supplements. Something to keep in mind regarding green tea is that it does contain caffeine. If you are trying to detox your body from caffeine, you can try drinking decaffeinated green tea. Also, if you take the capsules or supplements, they contain caffeine. It is always best to get the capsules or supplements from a reputable source and you might want to check with your health care provider to ensure they are safe for you to take.

9. Avocados

Considered a super-food, avocados are rich in nutrients and help the body to produce a compound called glutathione which is necessary for the liver to get rid of harmful toxins in the body. If you have chronic liver disease, your body is probably low on glutathione. Eating avocados can help increase this important compound and help to heal the liver.

Avocados, which are technically a fruit since they grow on a tree and reproduce with a seed, may get a bad rap at times because of their high fat content. However, the fat contained in avocados is monounsaturated and is the healthy fat good for maintaining health cholesterol levels. Avocados also provide about 20 vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimum health. If you consume avocados, you are also helping your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients. Avocados are a great source of Vitamin C and Vitamin E and antioxidants that help to neutralize free radicals in the liver which can further protect liver cells and keep this vital organ free from harm.

Avocados are eaten in a variety of ways and can replace foods that aren’t so good for you like mayonnaise, sour cream and butter. They taste great on sandwiches, in salads or topped with fresh salsa. Whether you mash them, whip them, slice or dice them, avocados are a great food to eat during the liver detoxification process. They are one food you will want to keep on eating after your detox to help protect and heal the liver.

10. Cabbage

Eating cabbage, which is considered one of the world’s healthiest foods, contains glucosinolate that helps to stimulate the activation of important detoxifying enzymes known to flush out toxins from the liver. There are many foods in the cabbage family including Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower that can also be good when detoxing the liver. These foods contain sulfur which is known as a cleansing mineral. More importantly, cabbage and the other foods in its family are full of sulfur-containing amino acids. These amino acids, including taurine, methionine and cysteine are essential when it comes to clearing the pathways during a liver detox. If you are eating a lot of cabbage and other vegetables that contain sulfur, you may want to note that eating a lot of fruit might cancel out those benefits since eating fruit can interfere with sulfur metabolism.

While a variety of cabbage can be eaten during a liver detox, only green cabbage contains high amounts of chlorophyll which is known to be important for strengthening the liver. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable which also contains Vitamin K, Vitamin C, folate and Omega 3 fatty acids which are all beneficial for optimum health. In order to get the best benefit, be sure to eat organic, raw cabbage. You can also drink raw cabbage juice as a way to detox your liver. If you juice the cabbage yourself, you will want to be sure to drink the juice right away or else it will lose pertinent vitamin content.

11. Walnuts

You might not think of eating nuts as a way to help detox your liver but they contain high density lipoproteins that help to protect against fatty liver disease. These lipoproteins also reduce levels of C-reactive protein that helps to lower inflammation in the liver. This is important because inflammation of the liver is often a precursor to liver damage.

Some nuts, especially walnuts, contain large amounts of the amino acid known as arginine which help to rid the liver of harmful toxins like ammonia. Walnuts also contain high amounts of glutathione and omega-3 fatty acids which are both necessary for effectively detoxifying the liver. One important thing to remember about eating walnuts during a detox is that you want to chew them well, turning them into liquid before swallowing. Because walnuts are a food with low levels of toxicity, extracts from the hulls of walnuts are often used in special formulas made to cleanse the liver from toxins. Protein, antioxidants and healthy unsaturated fats can also be found in walnuts and are all essential for liver health and function. Unsaturated fats are especially important as they help to protect the liver against fat accumulation and aid in building healthy cell membranes around liver cells.

Other nuts that can be healthy for the liver include Brazil nuts, pecans and almonds. Peanuts are usually not a good food when it comes to liver health. When eating nuts for health benefits, make sure to only eat them unsalted and in their rawest form.

12. Seaweed

If you think seaweed is strictly reserved for dieters or health nuts, then you will never look at this superfood the same way again. Not only is seaweed high in nutrients and low in calories, it also contains hardcore detox properties that cleanses the liver. In fact, a study from McGill University concluded that seaweed is an effective detox agent against radioactive chemicals like strontium. Seaweed, kelp, in particular, contains a high concentration of algin, which helps rid the body of radioactive particles in the body.

Of course, unless you live near a melted down nuclear power plant, seaweed’s radioactive detox properties is useless. But the goodness of seaweed doesn’t stop there. Seaweed is also helps flush out heavy metals like cadmium and lead in the body. Green seaweed is rich in chlorophyll, one of nature’s most potent detoxifier. Chlorophyll contains a special kind of fiber that binds and flushes out toxic chemicals from the body, especially unwanted substances in the liver. To round up, seaweed is the only food that contains the broadest range of minerals, around 10 or 20 times more than any vegetable.

But before you go and start hoarding seaweed from the local grocer, make sure you’re getting the highest quality seaweed from a reputable source so you can take full advantage of its detoxifying properties.

13. Onions

The liver is without a doubt one of the most abused organs in the body. The liver filters out all the unwanted substances in the body so if you’re serious about taking care of it, then you might want to start adding more onions to your diet. You see, apart from containing a long list of essential vitamins and minerals that protect the body from free radicals, onions also contains sulphur, a compound that not only purifies the liver from toxic chemicals and environmental toxins, but also helps flush out a wide range of poisons ranging from pesticides to alcohol.

Onions are also one of the best sources of anticancer compounds including phenolics and flavonoids. Research shows that shallots, yellow onion, and Northern red onions inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the body. Onions are believed to cut the risks of developing colon and liver cancer. It also contains a higher level of special antioxidants that protect the body from certain types of cancers. That said, not all onions offer the same level of anticancer and liver-detoxifying properties. Western Yellow onions contain 11 times more antioxidants than the Western White so it’s important to research which varieties offer the highest anticancer properties.

There are several ways to incorporate onions into your diet. Onions are quite versatile and can be a part of any meal. You can caramelize them in low to medium heat and add them to omelets, salads, sandwiches, and pretty much any vegetable ditch. Chopped raw onions can be combined with tomatoes, cucumber, and toasted pita bread to create a Mediterranean salad. Don’t forget to drizzle it with olive oil and lemon juice! You can also make an Italian salad by mixing sliced onions, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Finish it off by drizzling it with olive oil. Maximize the detoxifying properties of onions by using garlic-infused olive oils when preparing salads.

14. Artichoke

Another of nature’s heavy-duty liver detoxifier is artichoke. Artichoke is known to boost bile production in the liver. This in turn helps normalize health and digestive function and prevent the development of certain types of cancer.

Artichoke as a liver-friendly detoxifier is actually old news. In Europe, most doctors prescribe artichoke extracts to those suffering from liver-related diseases since the 18th century. Most holistic practitioners are also turning to artichoke to cleanse the liver from toxic chemicals.

Recent studies prove the benefits of artichoke on liver health. In 2010, a study featured in the Biological Trace Element Research links consumption of artichoke leaf extract with reduced fat and cholesterol levels in liver. An earlier study that appeared in Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology shows that consuming artichoke extract before being exposed to liver-damaging toxins prevent injury to the liver. An Italian research published in Nutrition and Cancer revealed that artichoke extract demonstrated a capability to protect liver cells from damage, mainly due to their antioxidant effects. They also discovered that artichoke extract prevented the growth of cancerous cells in the liver.

Artichoke belongs to the milk thistle family. Apart from being a hardcore liver detoxifier, artichoke also helps stabilize blood sugar levels and is rich in phelonic acid compound known as cynarin. Cynarin is believed to be responsible for artichoke’s cholagogue and choleretic properties. Cholagogue is a substance that promotes the discharge of bile from the system while choleretic stimulates the liver’s bile production.

Cholagogue and choleretic are extremely important in the overall health of the liver. How? People suffering from liver problems tend to excrete inadequate amounts of bile and most times, the bile is not properly transported to the gallbladder. This causes an increased risk of liver damage. By adding more artichoke to your diet, you supply the body with helpful compounds that repairs, reinvigorate and detoxifies the liver.

15. Fennel and Fennel Seeds

Fennel for better liver health? You better believe it! Fennel and fennel seeds are not only high in essential vitamins, minerals and fiber, they are also used traditionally to detox the liver from harmful chemicals.

Fennel is used to treat a wide range of health problems ranging from a simple case of indigestion to chronic flatulence. It also helps dissolve kidney stones and neutralize uric acid in the tissues, making it a great herbal treatment for those suffering from gout or arthritis. This carminative herb helps aid in removing mucus and phlegm buildup in the lungs, and even removes mucus from the intestinal tract. It contains natural cleansing properties for the colon, liver, and gallbladder. It’s one hardworking superfood if we ever saw one!

Fennel seeds, on the other hand, have been used for decades to treat a wide range of liver diseases. In fact, fennel seeds are often taken as tea because it helps disengage any blockages in the liver, spleen, and biliary bladder. Fennel seeds are not only potent liver detoxifiers but they also dissolve kidney stones.

Fennels contain a multitude of phytonutrients that give it its antioxidant properties. Perhaps the most important of these when it comes to liver health is anethole. Anethole has been shown in many studies to prevent cancer and protect the liver from injury. The fennel bulb, which is rich in fiber, can decrease cholesterol levels and removes cancer-causing toxins from the colon, which reduces your risk for colon cancer.

Fennel and fennel tea are used to treat jaundice and reverse the ill effects of alcohol consumption on the liver. And to wrap up the amazing, wonderful nutritional value of fennel and fennel seeds, they prevent water retention and improve the body’s metabolic rate leading to… you guessed it – weight loss!

You can use all parts of the fennel including its base, stalk, and leaves to detoxify your liver. Here are some ideas on how to prepare it:

•Sauté fennel and onions and serve as a side dish
•Toss fennel with avocados and orange slices for a fresh salad
•Braise fennel and eat them with scallops
•Add slices of fennel into your sandwiches

Prepare plain yogurt with mint leaves and top with thin slices of fennel.

BTW - I recently re-connected with my heavy drinking, Hep C friend.  He is now 62 years old and a new Grandpa. He has quit drinking and been sober for that last two years, but still takes his supplements. 


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GNC and Military Base Exchanges stop selling USPlabs products

GNC has ordered its 5,000 retail stores, including those located on military bases, to stop selling products made by USPlabs after the Dallas-based company’s executives were charged with allegedly lying to government regulators and the public about ingredients of at least two products.

GNC officials said Nov. 19 that while the criminal charges are not related to current products on the market, they were suspending sales of all products made by UPSlabs “in the best interest of our customers."

“While ... we have no reason to believe there are any health and safety issues with respect to any USPlabs products currently sold by GNC, it is in our best interest … to suspend the sale of the company’s products pending further review,” Michael Archbold, CEO of GNC, said in a news release.

After GNC made the announcement, the Marine Corps Exchange stopped selling a reformulated version of the workout booster Jack3d, according to a spokesman from the Marine Corps Non-Appropriated Funds Business and Support Services Division.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which carries the USPlabs workout supplement Jack3d Micro, is “evaluating the situation and will decide soon on whether the product will continue to be stocked," a spokeswoman said.

Navy Exchange spokeswoman Kristine Sturkie said USPlabs products were carried by GNC stores and not sold in the service's exchanges.

USPlabs and its top executives face criminal charges following a Justice Department investigation that alleges key ingredients in workout boosters such as Jack3d and OxyElite Pro are synthetic stimulants rather than natural ingredients as claimed.

An 11-count indictment handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in mid-November charges USPlabs, S.K. Laboratory and five company executives with unlawful sale of dietary supplements, conspiracy to commit money laundering, obstructing an FDA proceeding, wire fraud and food mislabeling.

The supplements Jack3d and OxyElite Pro contained 1,3 dimethylamylamine, or DMAA, or other ingredients the company claimed were naturally derived from plants, including geraniums or bael, a fruit common in India.

But the Justice Department said the two companies conspired with Chinese manufacturers to create a paper trail claiming the ingredients were natural in an effort to ensure U.S. retailers would sell the products, while the substances actually were synthesized chemical compounds.

The Defense Department removed products containing DMAA, including Jack3d, from base stores and on-base GNCs in 2013 after the supplements were implicated in the deaths of at least two soldiers who suffered heart attacks during physical training.

A follow-on investigation found insufficient evidence to prove the supplements caused the deaths, but investigators still decided that the ingredient posed enough of a health risk to keep it off the shelves of military stores.

In 2012, the FDA told companies selling products containing DMAA to stop using the ingredient.

USPlabs voluntarily destroyed $8 million worth of Jack3d and OxyElite Pro after the FDA move, but then reformulated the products, which made their way back to store shelves.v According court documents, the reformulated OxyElite Pro contained aegeline, which the company claimed was a natural extract but investigators allege is also a synthetic stimulant.

The company also added another ingredient, labeled as cynanchum auriculatum root extract, to OxyElite Pro to promote weight loss.

When the new formula went on the market in October 2013, more than 50 residents of Hawaii, including some military family members, developed acute hepatitis and liver failure. At least one person died and three required liver transplants.

According to the Justice Department, four defendants were arrested Nov. 17 and two agreed to self-surrender.

Article from Military Times

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11 Serious Lack of Vitamin D Warning Signs

Answers.com did a good deed publishing these warning signs of Vitamin D deficiency, in their article "11 Serious Lack of Vitamin D Warning Signs". I have long thought that Vitamin D supplements are a great optimizer and I take between 3,000 and 5,000 IU each day, while the FDA recommends between 400 and 800 IU - but again, they work for the government. What this article doesn't address is the potential boost to your general immune system. I haven't been sick in over 11 years, while working in cold weather, around animals and all sorts of chemicals and toxins. Vitamin D is a keeper in my nutrient regimen.

Muscle Weakness Muscle weakness is usually caused by a Vitamin D deficiency. Muscles have Vitamin D receptors. They must have a constant supply of Vitamin D to function. If your body has a deficiency of Vitamin D, your muscles will have trouble functioning.

Bone Pain Shunning the sun and being lactose intolerant can leave you with a deficiency of Vitamin D. This can lead to bone pain, which can be difficult to distinguish from muscle or joint pain, but generally manifests as a deep, full pain that can't be isolated to an exact area.

Constant Respiratory Problems Studies show that Vitamin D may help defend against respiratory illness. This is especially true in children. If your child has severe asthma, you may want to increase their Vitamin D intake.

Sweaty Head Years ago, doctors used to ask new mothers if their newborns' heads were sweating more than normal. This is apparently a very early sign that a baby is Vitamin D deficient. If you're breastfeeding, you'll need to increase your sun exposure or consume more foods rich in Vitamin D.

Depression According to the Vitamin D Council, this essential nutrient helps your brain's neurotransmitters produce the fluid serotonin. This produces our feelings of happiness. Studies have linked low levels of Vitamin D with episodes of depression. This happens especially during the winter months, because of the lack of sun during that time of year.

Chronic Infections The Mayo Clinic has advised that Vitamin D is crucial to our body's health. It is a necessary vitamin in helping our body fight infections. If you notice you or your child is prone to getting infections, you might want to ask your doctor to give you a Vitamin D blood test.

Cardiovascular Disease Articles published by the National Institutes of Health have shown that deficiencies in Vitamin D can lead to congestive heart failure. Make sure your body maintains the proper amounts to guard against the risk. Home tests are available to check if you have a lack of Vitamin D.

Psoriasis Although psoriasis is not always caused by a lack of Vitamin D, it's used in treatment. The Mayo Clinic claims that if you have a lack of Vitamin D it will be harder for your body to defend itself against psoriasis.

Chronic Pain Studies have shown that low Vitamin D levels impact a person's chances of having chronic pain. People with darker skin are more prone to these effects, because they need more sun exposure to actually absorb any Vitamin D.

Tiredness Vitamin D is one of the necessary vitamins for your body to create energy. Without it you can end up feeling tired most of the day. This will make it hard for you to get around or even get to work. You should consult your doctor if you have constant feelings of tiredness.

Hypertension Harvard University conducted a study on women. The study showed that women with low levels of Vitamin D have a 67 percent increased risk of hypertension. If you suffer from anxiety, you may want to consider purchasing Vitamin D supplements and adding them to your daily routine.

Crankiness Vitamin D also affects the levels of serotonin in your brain, which is what impacts your mood. If you're feeling cranky, it might be because you're not producing enough serotonin!

Chronic Kidney Disease Kidneys are necessary to making the active form of Vitamin D for our bodies. Plus, as you get older, your kidneys are not as efficient at processing Vitamin D. Be sure to get some sun or take a supplement (and if you take a supplement, also take Vitamin K2 to activate the right proteins).

Reduced Endurance If you're an athlete and you're seeing your endurance decay for no apparent reason, it might be because you have low Vitamin D levels. Get enough Vitamin D to stay in your top performance level. You can obtain it in powder form to mix with your smoothies or protein shakes.

You're 50 or older If you're 50 or older, chances are you have a Vitamin D deficiency. The body simply doesn't produce as much Vitamin D as you get older, and so you should always make sure you're getting enough Vitamin D through other sources.



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Nutritional Science Isn’t Very Scientific

Nutritional Science Isn’t Very Scientific is the title of an article posted on slate.com

The author, Heather Tirado Gilligan, say's that the research behind dietary recommendations is a lot less certain than you think.
The potato industry recently scored a big victory, in what sounds at first like a familiar story of Big Ag winning out over public health. Eight years ago, over allegations of insufficient nutritional value, potatoes were excluded from a government program that helps pregnant women and young children improve their diets. The rationale was that aid recipients in the Women, Infants, and Children program already ate plenty of white potatoes, a widely consumed vegetable in the U.S.

But in February, potatoes were back on the menu after a fierce multiyear lobbying campaign by the National Potato Council. Nutritionist Marion Nestle and other progressive reformers called foul, denouncing the change. “Really?” Nestle scoffed. “I have a hard time believing that WIC recipients are suffering from lack of potatoes in their diets.” Several watchdog groups and the national WIC advocacy group opposed the change, too. “It’s disappointing that politics has trumped science,” Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told reporters.

But did science really lose? In this case, the potato industry had science on its side, the outcry from nutritionists notwithstanding. Despite the common belief that potatoes are nutritionally null, a report released in February by the Institute of Medicine, an independent nonprofit, shows that white potatoes are an inexpensive source of potassium, fiber, and other needed nutrients, and one that people actually enjoy eating.

The takeaway from the potato controversy is not that lobbyists sometimes base their campaigns on real science. Rather it’s that the David-and-Goliath narrative of science versus Big Ag may be blinding us to another, even bigger problem: the fact that there is often very little solid science backing recommendations about what we eat.

Most of our devout beliefs about nutrition have not been subjected to a robust, experimental, controlled clinical trial, the type of study that shows cause and effect, which may be why Americans are pummeled with contradictory and confounding nutritional advice. Nutritional bad guys that have fallen from grace in the national consciousness—white potatoes, eggs, nuts, iceberg lettuce—have been redeemed years later. Onetime good guys, like margarine and pasta, have been recast as villains. Cholesterol is back in the probably-won’t-kill-you column after being shunned for 40 years, as of the latest nutritional advice from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in February. (That advice was still too timid, according to Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steve Nissen, who also wants the nutritional guidelines to admit our best evidence suggests fat isn’t bad for you either). And then there’s salt—don’t eat too little, says the newest research. You could die.

Amid the growing concern that nutritional advice to avoid high-fat food led to overconsumption of carbohydrates and caused spikes in illnesses like Type 2 diabetes, more and more scientists are starting to worry publicly that the basis of our dietary advice is scientific quicksand.

How potatoes were born again is a telling example of the uncertain foundation of nutrition. Potatoes had a bad rap in part because they are usually eaten deep fried, but even when they are not, they have a high glycemic index, according to prominent Harvard nutritionist Walter Willett. A high GI means that foods quickly turn into sugar (glucose) in the body and may eventually lead to heart disease and other illnesses, especially among diabetics, according to an analysis of data from the Nurse’s Health Study at Harvard, which Willett oversees. He placed potatoes in the same naughty group as candy in his influential 2005 book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. One of his studies concluded that white potatoes are worse than soda, leading the L.A. Times to dub spuds public enemy No. 1 in 2011.

So how, just a few years later, did white potatoes return to the list of healthy foods? The IOM committee found a lack of evidence supporting claims that the tubers are unhealthy. WIC only pays for fresh produce, or frozen or canned fruits and veggies with nothing added, so there is no worry women in the program are using their vouchers for potato chips. No one contests the positives of potatoes—much needed micronutrients and fiber—and there isn’t enough proof, they found, that the GI is important to health. So white potatoes got the green light.

Willett calls the IOM potato report “myopic,” because other vegetables have the same needed nutrients as potatoes without the possible dangers of high GI foods that his studies have shown. And because micronutrient deficiency isn’t our biggest dietary problem, Willett told me in a recent email exchange, “obesity is likely to be of greater concern.” In other words, why take the risk on a possible downside to eating potatoes when you don’t need to?

Many nutritional studies are observational studies, including massive ones like the Nurses’ Health Study. Researchers like Willett try to suss out how changes in diet affect health by looking at associations between what people report they eat and how long they live. When many observational studies reach the same conclusions, Willett says, there is enough evidence to support dietary recommendations. Even though they only show correlation, not cause and effect, observational studies direct what we eat.

Apart from their inability to determine cause and effect, there’s another problem with observational studies: The data they’re based on—surveys where people report what they ate the day (or week) before—are notoriously unreliable. Researchers have long known that people (even nurses) misreport, intentionally and unintentionally, what they eat. Scientists politely call this “recall bias.”

The coupling of observational studies and self-reported data leads some observers to the conclusion that we know neither how Americans do eat nor how they should eat. A recent PLOS One article even suggests that several national studies use data that is so wildly off base that the self-reported caloric intake is “incompatible with survival.” If people had eaten as little as they reported, in other words, they would be starving.

Peter Attia, a medical researcher and doctor, started questioning the basis of dietary guidelines when he saw that following them didn’t work for his patients. They didn’t lose weight, even when they virtuously stuck with their diets. When he took a look at the research supporting the advice he was giving to his patients, he saw shoddy science. Attia estimates that 16,000 nutritional studies are published each year, but the majority of them are deeply flawed: either poorly controlled clinical trials, observational studies, or animal studies. “Those studies wouldn’t pass muster in another field,” he told me.

Attia co-founded the nonprofit Nutrition Science Initiative. NuSI has about $40 million from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to support clinical trials in nutrition rigorous enough to tell us what to eat. Its goal is to answer one fundamental question about how we should eat: Are low-fat or low-carb diets better for health?

The NuSI projects are not the first clinical trials in nutrition, and Willett pointed out to me that previous big and expensive trials have failed because people don’t follow their randomly assigned diet—and that is one key reason that the field has depended so heavily on observational studies. NuSI-funded trials try to correct for this problem: In one of the studies, subjects are isolated in a clinical residence for eight weeks at a time and every morsel of food they eat is controlled. In another, 150 overweight or obese subjects, all college students, faculty, and staff, eat every meal in a special dining hall. In the third study, participants aren’t isolated but are assigned to either a low-fat or low-carb diet and record what they’ve eaten immediately after they eat to sidestep recall bias. In two or three years, Attia estimates, results will be available.

Even if the participants in the NuSI studies do follow their diets perfectly, and even if researchers establish whether low-fat or low-carb is better, that won’t necessarily establish whether we should eat more or less of individual foods. What kind of carbs are good for you, and should potatoes specifically be avoided? Which vegetables should you be eating more of? It would take hundreds of clinical trials to come up with solid advice about which foods to eat and which to avoid—especially since genetic variations mean that different people have different nutritional needs.

In the meantime, should dietary recommendations end until we have solid clinical trials to show how to navigate our bewildering array of food choices? Should the government stop creating random purchasing restrictions for people who need help getting food on the table? One interesting bit of advice came in the many discussions following the IOM’s recent reversal on cholesterol—cardiologist Steve Nissen suggested that any recommendations come with a side of brutal honesty. “We are all guessing,” he said. “And we have to be more humble about telling people what we know and what we don’t know.”



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Children's Supplement Recalled

A friend of mine sent this to me with the note "Please be careful what you put in your bodies. Especially your kids. If it's not pharmaceutical grade, throw it in the trash..." In fact, Canada has higher and stricter standards for health supplements than the U.S. Canada has also funded supplement studies to determine safety, potencies and label claims. The U.S. should take a lesson from Canada over supplements.

Gummy supplements recalled, could lead to vitamin D ‘intoxication’ in kids

A recall has been issued for L’il Critters Vitamin D3 after testing found the gummy product to contain four times the amount of vitamin D listed on the label.

Health Canada issued the recall Thursday after the product’s maker, Church & Dwight Canada Corp., found the excessive levels through its own testing.

The levels are more than the “tolerable upper intake” for children eight years of age and younger.

“Excessive intake of vitamin D for children under eight years of age can lead to vitamin D ‘intoxication,’ which can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, lack of appetite, irritability, dehydration, fatigue and weight loss,” states the health agency.

Also recalled is Vitafusion Calcium Adult Gummy Vitamins. The product also contains more vitamin D than the label indicates, more than the daily tolerable intake for adults. This is cause for concern for women who are pregnant, as it’s not recommend they consumer more than 4,000IU per day.

It is not clear where in Canada, or in which stores, the products were sold.

Health Canada said it is “monitoring the recall and any necessary corrective and preventative actions taken by Church & Dwight Canada Corp.”

Consumers who experience any adverse reactions to the products are asked to contact Health Canada.

Article from Global News of Canada.



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Vitamins Under Fire - What you Need to Know About Nutritional Supplements

Even if a supplement manufacturer follows what is known as food grade Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), they are only required to have about 20% of what they say on the label actually in the tablet.

Unless you take supplements from a nutritional company that follows pharmaceutical grade GMP, you really have no assurance that what is on the label is in the tablet. Companies that voluntarily produce their products in a pharmaceutical grade fashion are required to have 100% of what is on the label in the tablet.

Many companies put a label on their bottles saying "they follow GMP", but the question do you follow food grade GMP or pharmaceutical grade GMP? So comparing labels from a food grade supplement to a supplement made under pharmaceutical GMP is comparing apples and oranges.

The video below titled "Vitamins on Trial" is by Jordan Kemper, a nutritional expert, who simplifies many difficult to understand facts about nutritional supplementation.

This video also address the lack of nutrients in our foods and the amount of food you would have to eat in order to get the optimal amount of nutrients. For example: The optimal amount of Vitamin E is 400 IU a day which would require you to consume over 28 lbs of spinach.

At the 18 minute mark, the video instructs you in a short test you can perform in your home with your supplements to see what anti-oxidant protection your OTC supplement provides. This is simply dissolving one of your supplements in a small bowl of water and placing a cut up apple into the water. If you are taking one of 40% or so of supplements that don't dissolve - then good luck. If your supplement dissolves see how long it takes the apple to oxidize.

At the 21 minute mark you will see the explanation on why we call the RDA a tired, old, and minimal recommendation. So go ahead and watch this exceptional video.



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Tips for Choosing Vitamins

This article came out on the internet a few days ago, titled - "Are Vitamins a Waste of Money? Here’s Some Tips for Choosing a Great One".

Recently, there’s been a good bit of crack-down on super stores, drug stores, and health food stores carrying vitamins and minerals that have found to be inefficient and a waste of people’s hard-earned money. Many are even made with toxic chemicals, fillers, and some don’t even contain the amounts of vitamins that they claim to. Stores like Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and GMC have all been made to remove these products, along with many other stores as well. It’s left consumers not only questioning the entire supplement industry, but if vitamins are actually just a waste of money to begin with?

Why Multivitamins are Important and How to Choose the Best

First, let’s take a look at three reasons we actually do benefit from quality vitamins and minerals, and why it’s not smart to skip them.

1. Our soil is not as healthy as it once was, therefore the food we eat is likely not as high in vitamins and minerals as much as we need in order to get the recommended daily amounts of nutrients. While eating organic is a great start, it’s not a full-on solution.

MyAchingKnees comment: Agree! We are not producing nutrient rich foods anymore and with the introduction of GMO products that gets worse. We simply cannot get the nutrients we need from food. Add the fact that we live in a toxin laden environment, the need for nutrients is greater. Supplementation is necessary for optimal health.

2. Planning out meals to get enough of the RDA of each vitamin and mineral is not only timely, but can also be exasperating having to measure out foods and get enough of each of them, while also maintaining a work schedule, family, and let’s be honest … food cravings and prep time! Taking a multivitamin and eating a healthy diet is just a no- brainer for most of us and a simple way to ensure we get what we need. While just taking a multi doesn’t make up for a poor diet (nothing will), it does help those eating a healthy diet be their healthiest selves without much hassle otherwise.

3. Shortages in certain vitamins and minerals should never be minimized. They can lead to digestive, energy, heart, mood, weight, and blood problems in a very short amount of time. While some nutrients like vitamins A, C, and E are very easy to obtain in the diet, some others aren’t. Minerals like magnesium and calcium are quickly depleted by the body. If iron isn’t consumed with enough vitamin C, you could suffer an absorption problem, and vitamin B12 and vitamin D can not be obtained in our food naturally in sufficient amounts. (Vitamin B12 comes from bacteria in the soil and vitamin D from the sun.) Fortified foods may help, but they’re also not a guarantee anymore than most highly processed, synthetic vitamins. In fact, they may be more harmful due to sugars, refined oils, and other processed ingredients they contain.

So, if we need a multivitamin (and a vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 supplement), how do we know if we’re getting a good one and not some phony that’s stealing our money?

MyAchingKnees comment: Your proof is going to be self evident. Certainly after a couple months you will be able to tell the difference if you are taking a quality product. Maybe your allegeries will be less. Maybe you'll have more energy, get sick less or as in my case, not sick at all in 10 years. Blood tests can confirm if you are getting quality nutrients. In my blood tests, my cholesterol lowered significantly as did my A1C, PSA, LDL level, and homecysteine. My blood pressure also dropped from a norm of 138/94 to 120/84. I cannot attribute this to anything other than taken quality supplements. Again, the effects or proof will be self evident or they won't be. Knee pain significantly deceased - almost non existent in fact, so I am convinced that quality is the key to nutritional supplements.

Here are three simple things to keep in mind next time you purchase vitamins, minerals, and supplements of any kind. If you follow these, you can easily be sure your money is well-spent and health is in better hands than just winging it or buying cheap products.

1. Look for a Food-Based, Organic Multivitamin

These may sound pricey, but there are many, many affordable brands that are multivitamins and supplements made from real, organic foods. Most are vegan, but you’ll want to check labels. This gives us a synthetic-free form of getting in our multivitamin that’s free of chemicals and is closer to a natural state. Most of these are also much more effective and most are allergen-free and non-GMO, though you’ll want to check labels to be sure.

2. Be Vitamin D and B12 Savvy

B12 is one of the most important vitamins for brain, nerve, digestive, blood, and overall heart health — you have to be sure to take this for good health. But you don’t have to opt for a chemical-based or hard-to-absorb form. Go for a vegan option so you know it’s free of animal ingredients and choose a sublingual form which dissolves under the tongue and immediately enters your bloodstream (don’t worry, they don’t taste bad!). Or, you can use a liquid form which will also go immediately into the bloodstream like sublingual supplements do. Multivitamins typically contain less than what you need, or they don’t contain an easy to absorb form.

Vitamin D should be consumed in the form of vegan vitamin D3 by a supplement, not D2 (synthetic-based) which is what most fortified foods are made from, sadly. Research based on the benefits and importance of vitamin D comes from D3, so be sure you spend your money on the right type. Vitamin D does come from the sun, however, most of us don’t get enough or may suffer absorption issues that are hard for us to measure how much we’re actually getting. Look for a vegan vitamin D3 supplement with 400- 5000 I.U. depending on how much you need (women in menopause, those who suffer bone health problems, depression or low energy, or those at a risk for colon cancer may need more).

3. Look for GMP Certified

GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice. It’s the certification that top quality supplements receive and ensures they have been thoroughly tested. If you’re purchasing your vitamins from a natural health store, are buying food-based and organic, you are likely already purchasing GMP certified. But check the label just to be sure—it never hurts.

MyAchingKnees comment: GMP is not the certification for top quality supplements. There are two types of GMP - Food Grade and Pharmaceutical Grade. If a product say's GMP without stating Pharamceutical grade GMP then it is food grade GMP and cannot guarantee it is free of impurities and the ingredients were tested for potency. With Pharmaceutical Grade GMP you get what's on the label, with Food Grade GMP it's a crap shoot.  Bottom line is that you get what you pay for.

You needn’t spend a ton of money on supplements; there are many terrific, vegan brands out there that come with a price range for everyone, so pick the ones that work best for you. Don’t be afraid to supplement a healthy diet; in today’s world with all the health problems and struggles we face, it’s a smart choice so long as you’re smart about doing it.

Article from One Green Planet

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What 5 Popular Diets Get Wrong

Molly Shea published this article - "What 5 Popular Diets Get Wrong" - on Yahoo.com Health.

If you’ve nixed gluten from your life or shunned all cooked foods, you probably think you’re doing what’s best for your body. But according to Vani Hari, a.k.a. the "Food Babe," there may still be important nutrients you’re missing — and toxic ingredients you might be eating.

Vani, a food activist and author of The Food Babe Way, is known for calling out corporations such as Kraft and General Mills for including unnecessary artificial additives in their foods. She’s spent years researching food politics, nutrition, and diets — so if there’s a downside to a popular diet, Vani knows it. In this exclusive video, she shares how five popular diets might steer you wrong. To start:

If you’re a Paleo fan, don’t overdo the meat consumption! Eating a combination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds can help keep you disease-free.

Given gluten the heave-ho? Always read the ingredients label and skip processed, packaged gluten-free foods.

Raw foodies should steer clear of sugary foods such as agave nectar — though raw, the fructose it contains can cause a serious blood sugar spike.

Gone vegan and substituting soy for meat? Watch out for soy protein isolate, a common ingredient that Vani warns is made with a carcinogenic gas.

If you stick to a Mediterranean diet, don’t fall for cheap olive oil that’s cut with lower-quality ingredients.

MyAchingKnees comment: All good (and short) advice. But looking at why most diets really fail is that they simply do not provide the required nutrients the person needs. Eating nothing but beef gets the closet to providing all the required nutrients, however even that falls way short. This is why you see peope on short and long term diets, losing weight, then gaining it back...and being sick and tired inbetween.

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Investigation Of Supplements At Target, Walmart, Walgreens, And GNC Reveals Troubling Discovery

From an article by Jenna Birch, posted on Yahoo! Health

As some supplements contained fillers like powdered rice, asparagus, and houseplants. the supplement industry has come under fire recently over concerns regarding regulations and effectiveness of the. And now, new findings by the New York State attorney general’s office may add fuel to the fire.

Earlier this week, four major retailers — Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and GNC — were accused of selling herbal supplements that lacked ingredients claimed on the label. Some even contained additional, potentially harmful ingredients.

MyAchingKnees comment: Really!?!? Not only do these major retailers not make most of the supplements they sell, the one's they do sell are made via food grade manufacturing process which does not to guarantee what's ion the label in in the bottle. You have no idea if what you are buying and putting in your body is what that bottle claims is in each dose. If you are one of those non-supplement believers, who came to that conclusion after twenty, thirty years or so of taking supplements without seeing any results so therefore think that nutritional supplements don't do you any good,....well here's a news flash - you were not taking what you thought you were taking. If you took a quality supplement, something made via pharmaceutical grade standards then you would see a change in your health. Likely a huge chance in your health. I have not been sick in almost ten years. Yet my younger and more physically studly friends get sick all the time. And they spend hundreds of dollars a month of food grade products. I tell them, "hey, if that work for you, then keep on with your bad self."

The attorney general’s team tested 24 products in total. Roughly four out of five supplements tested did not contain the medicinal herbs they were supposed to, and were instead rife with “cheap fillers like powdered rice, asparagus and houseplants, and in some cases substances that could be dangerous to those with allergies,” according to a New York Times report.

This prompted four cease-and-desist letters from the attorney general’s office to the retail chains for explanation on how these potentially hazardous supplements could have been sold in the stores. “Mislabeling, contamination and false advertising are illegal,” says Eric T. Schneiderman, the state attorney general, according to The Times. “They also pose unacceptable risks to New York families — especially those with allergies to hidden ingredients.”

Among the problem supplements was a ginseng pill from Walgreens marketed for increased endurance and vitality — but contained little more than garlic and rice powder. Another was a ginkgo biloba supplement from Walmart that was mainly a mix of powdered radish, houseplants, and wheat — and its label said it was wheat- and gluten-free.

Walgreens is pulling the problematic supplements from shelves. Walmart plans to reach out to suppliers and take necessary action to ensure the safety of its customers. GNC says the company is willing to cooperate following this investigation, but stood behind its own supplements and testing system. Target so far has not issued a comment.

The attorney general’s office conducted its test by purchasing 78 bottles of the four retailers’ top brands from a dozen Walmart, Target, GNC, and Walgreens stores in the state. Then, they used a type of “DNA barcoding” that analyzes short sequences of DNA within organisms (like herbs and plants) contained within a substance.

Health care experts have warned about the potential dangers of the unregulated supplement industry for some time, including in a 2012 review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Certain ingredients, like high amounts of caffeine, pose risks for certain consumers.

Since supplements are not currently subjected to the FDA’s testing standards, some experts say it’s impossible to tell how safe they really are. In 2013, for instance, nearly 100 hepatitis cases were linked with a contaminated supplement.

Dr. Pieter Cohen, a supplement-safety expert and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, told The Times this news may be a major setback for supplements. “If this data is accurate, then it is an unbelievably devastating indictment of the industry,” he says. “We’re talking about products at mainstream retailers like Walmart and Walgreens that are expected to be the absolute highest quality.”

Admittedly, though, Cohen says these results are a bit eyebrow-raising, since so many of the supplements were shown not to contain any of the labeled plant DNA. He hypothesizes that manufacturing wiped away some of the DNA coding, so the herbal and plant ingredients were present — they just weren’t detectable. However, this would not seem to explain the contaminants in the pills.

Ashley Harris, RD, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says you should always talk to a health care professional before taking a supplement. Even if it appears effective for treating or curbing a certain condition, that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone — or healthy.

"There is always potential for dangerous interactions with current medications, supplements, or health conditions,” she tells Yahoo Health. “So supplement use needs to be reevaluated with any change in your medication regimen or health status, and several supplements may need to be discontinued prior to surgeries."

In addition, if you choose to take a supplement, find the safest brands you can. “Because there is limited regulation with supplements on the market, it is important to do your research,” Harris says. “There are several third-party agencies who evaluate the purity and potency of supplements that you can use to guide you. Look for the USP or NSF International stamp of approval, or you can check out Consumer Lab.”

The attorney general’s investigation was spurred by a 2013 Times story about potential supplement fraud. See below for the complete list of supplements the New York attorney general asked retailers take off shelves.

GNC:

•“Herbal Plus” Gingko Biloba
•“Herbal Plus” St. John’s Wort
•“Herbal Plus” Ginseng
•“Herbal Plus” Garlic
•“Herbal Plus” Echninacea
•“Herbal Plus” Saw Palmetto

Target:

•"Up & Up" Gingko Biloba
•"Up & Up" St. John’s Wort
•"Up & Up" Garlic
•"Up & Up" Echinacea
•"Up & Up" Saw Palmetto
•"Up & Up" Valerian Root

Walgreens:

•“Finest Nutrition” Ginko Biloba
•“Finest Nutrition” St. John’s Wort
•“Finest Nutrition” Ginsberg
•“Finest Nutrition” Garlic
•“Finest Nutrition” Echinacea
•“Finest Nutrition” Saw Palmetto

Walmart:

•“Spring Valley” Gingko Biloba
•“Spring Valley” St. John’s Wort
•“Spring Valley” Ginseng
•“Spring Valley” Garlic
•“Spring Valley” Echinacea
•“Spring Valley” Saw Palmetto


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Early Signs Of Alzheimer's Disease Found In Patients As Young As 20

Article by Cassie Shirtsleeve, published on Yahoo! Health, about the trend of seeing Alzheimers in younger and younger patients and some life style tips on warding off these terrible disease.

Early Signs Of Alzheimer's Disease Found In Patients As Young As 20

This is the earliest that signs of Alzheimer’s evidence have ever been seen, but there are lifestyle tricks you can employ to help ward off the memory-decimating disease.

Alzheimer’s disease may not be just for grandparents to worry about: New groundbreaking new research from Northwestern University has found that amyloid protein — a hallmark of the devastating disease — starts accumulating in brain neurons of people as young as 20 years old.

Scientists believe this is the first time that such changes have been noted in human brains so young. In the study, lead researcher Changiz Geula and his team from the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and team analyzed neurons from the brains of 13 “normal” young people ages 20 to 66; 16 people ages 70 to 99 without dementia; and 21 people with Alzheimer’s, ages 60 to 95.

“It was the age that really that surprised us,” Geula tells Yahoo! Health. “In the young adults, we already see accumulation of amyloids.” This becomes worrisome when amyloid clumps grow in size and abundance. The difference between old and young in this study: While the amyloids themselves were present in younger people — and clumps were present as well — there was more clumping in the aging and Alzheimer’s population, says Geula.

“What this means is these neurons are susceptible to accumulate at a young age, but that the clumping really occurs in aging. During life, the substance needed to make clumps is available. And if you have susceptibility to form clumps, this could worsen.”

So what does this mean for you? First, know this: “In this study, we didn’t have a huge number of brains,” says Geula. “And this doesn’t mean that because young people have a measure of amyloids that everyone is going to get Alzheimer’s. It’s not an alarm.”

But there are susceptibility factors (that science knows a lot about) — and protective factors (that science doesn’t know as much about) — when it comes to Alzheimer’s, Geula says. “We have known for a while that if we want effective therapy for Alzheimer’s, we have to start early. What these findings suggest is the earlier the better.”

So start today and protect yourself — and your brain —with these techniques, no matter your age.

1. Kick bad habits—stat. “We know that general cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s aging can be enhanced by many things — most importantly, general health,” says Geula. In fact, many health factors — diabetes, heart disease, pulmonary function, and obesity — can increase your risk of the disease.

2. Clean up your diet. Healthy habits like eating a Mediterranean diet (rich in nuts, greens, whole grains, fruits and veggies, poultry, and olive oil) have been linked to better cognitive function and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s.

3. Work it out. Exercise has been shown to enhance cognitive abilities in everyone, including the old and even the Alzheimer’s population. “Some animal studies show that the total amount of amyloid can be reduced in animals through enhanced exercise and enriched environment,” says Geula. And not only can exercise keep Alzheimer’s and dementia at bay, some research suggests it can even turn it around. When people with mild cognitive impairment walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day, four days a week for 12 weeks, people improved their neural efficiency using fewer mental resources to perform the same task.

4. Better your brain. Mental exercise — keeping your mind engaged and challenged through a variety of exercises — can also help. Research suggests that people who play cards, do crossword puzzles, and challenge themselves mentally on a regular basis are at a lower risk for developing the disease than those who don’t. And thinking on the bright side actually does matter: Negative thoughts can hinder your brain’s ability to think straight and form memories, according to research from King’s College in London.

MyAchingKnees comment: Cassie's healthy lifestyle tips are pretty much congruent with my four legs of a healthy lifestyle: 1 - Maximize good foods, minimize bad foods, 2 - avoid toxins, 3 - live a physical life, but she doesn't mention 4 - take quality nutritional supplements. Nutritional supplements, providing they are quality, pharmaceutical grade products, as opposed to food grade supplements, serve to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to function and ward off degenerative conditions,..such as Alzheimer's and a long list of others. If you don't believe that lack of nutrients is the predominant cause of degenerative disease early onset, then what do you believe causes it? What can you do about it then?

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10 of the Most Nutritious Vegetables You Can Eat

I like this article (originally published on Wall St Cheat Sheet) I because one of my four legs of a healthy lifestyle is to "maximize the good foods and minimize the bad." Any article that can point out some of the better foods we can eat is worth reading. But the consumer will never know for sure what they are eating in today's world of GMO foods, and with vegetables losing much of their nutrient content in the picking-processing-shipping-purchase cycle. Still, best to do as well as you can in picking and eating foods. Optimally, we could eat whole foods and get all the nutrients our bodies need for optimum health. But that's not the case, so another leg of healthy lifestyle is take the best quality nutritional supplements you can get. And let's not forget the two other legs of a healthy lifestyle,....live a physically life (be physically active), and, avoid toxins - the worst being tobacco.

10 of the Most Nutritious Vegetables You Can Eat

We have already established that eating healthy is hard. Navigating a Whole Foods is not for the faint of heart. Which fats are bad? Which vegetables are best? Does anyone really know? Maybe, maybe not, but thanks to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, we can at least see how all the famed veggies stack up.

What do you think?

The agency responsible for the newsletter gathered nutritional info made available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database, and it ranked the world’s most popular vegetables, taking into account their calories and Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, Potassium, and fiber content. Some veggies were obvious superstars, racking in scores of over 1,000 points, but others didn’t fare so well, coming in with a score of 54 points, and yes, iceberg lettuce, we’re looking at you.

So just in case you’re interested to see if you’re favorite veggies make our top-ten list, check out these top nutrient powerhouses that experts are particularly impressed with. Corn, parsnips, and celery surely aren’t inspiring awe in anyone, but we bet you can guess who are.

10. Carrots

Coming up first on our list, sitting at the No. 10 spot is a vegetable that is arguably pretty easy to love: the carrot. One serving of this orange veggie is only 30 calories, and it comes packed with fiber, Vitamin K, and lutein. Lutein is a caretenoid concentrated in the retinas of your eyes, and it’s a necessary component of normal vision. It is suggested that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that contain lutein may also decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, so it appears as though your grandma was actually on to something. There’s a reason she told you eating carrots is good for your eyes.

9. Radicchio (raw)

Radicchio is next! Sounds like the king of the vegetables, yes? And the Nutrition Action Healthletter supports that ranking. Sometimes known as Italian chicory, two cups of this good stuff yields a whopping 20 calories and a score of 467 points on the newsletter’s rank. Radicchio also comes laden with Vitamin K and lutein, along with Vitamin C and potassium. When you’re on the hunt for radicchio in the grocery store, seek out the leaf vegetable with white-veined red leaves. Though it has a bitter and spicy taste as raw, grilling or roasting helps mellow out its flavor. Unfortunately, radicchio is only listed at No. 9 on our list in its raw form, but we won’t blame you if you wade into the radicchio waters roasting the vegetable first.

8. Sweet potato

Coming in at No. 8 is American’s favorite superfood, the sweet potato. The white potato’s healthy counterpart racks up a score of 492 points on the Nutrition Action Healthletter’s list, and it’s all thanks to the ample amount of Vitamin C one small potato with skin provides, along with potassium, fiber, vitamins, and magnesium. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, there’s a reason healthy eaters love to love this naturally sweetened carbohydrate.

7. Mustard greens

But the sweet potato still isn’t healthier than seven other vegetables that reign supreme, and one of them is the mustard greens. One serving of these veggies yields just 10 calories, but its nutritional profile is worth much, much more. Mustard greens are chock full of Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, and fiber. They’ve been noted on lists as the world’s healthiest foods, and just in case you’re ready to give mustard greens a try, look out for the plant that often occurs in some form in African, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and soul food cuisine.

6. Pumpkin (canned)

Continuing to make our way down the list, we come to another favorite orange veggie, because pumpkin shouldn’t only be purposed as a vehicle for your Halloween jack-o-lanterns. Rather, in its canned form, it racks up 577 points on the list highlighted on the Nutrition Action Healthletter, and there, experts praise its Vitamin K, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber content. Bake this baby into baked goods and pride yourself on eating one of the top six healthiest veggies.

5. Turnip greens

Back on our greens game, we come to another impressive plant, the turnip greens. Turn up for turnips. One serving of these babies comes to only 20 calories, and for that measly total, you get vitamin K, lutein, vitamin C, and fiber. Sorry, potassium, turnip greens aren’t a vehicle for you. These root vegetables go by a lot of different names, but Americans tend to either roast them, sauté them, mash them (with bacon!), or puree them into a soup. It’s your choice how you consume them, but as their score of 714 points evidences, you should definitely say yes to the turnips.

4. Swiss chard

Swiss chard comes in at the No. 4 spot, boasting an impressive score of 717 points, just slightly higher than the value of turnip greens. This leafy green vegetable is often used in Mediterranean cooking and covers all the nutrient bases, coming packed with Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. It is also rich in minerals and protein. Healthy eaters have been chomping down on this veggie for decades now, but if you’re new to swiss chard land, sauté it or roast the chard leaves first. Cooking mellows out the bitter taste of this vegetable and yields a pleasant, albeit earthy, flavor.

3. Collard Greens

And you don’t have to be from the South to enjoy this next highlighted vegetable, although that’s where collard greens enjoy the most fanfare. These plants are known for their large, dark- colored, edible leaves, and they’re easily made into a number of popular dishes, including good old sautéed collard greens with bacon. Loaded with Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, there really is no reason you shouldn’t be at least trying to incorporate collard greens in some of your meal plans, especially considering one serving only yields 20 calories. C’mon now.

2. Spinach (raw)

Getting closer to the distinction of best, vegetable, ever, we come to spinach, a vegetable that many consumers have grown to love — no pun intended. In its raw form, spinach totals 968 points on the scale provided by the Nutrition Action Healthletter, and it’s no surprise, considering the green vegetable is teeming with vitamin A, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Hide spinach on your salad, in your eggs, in your smoothies, or even in your desserts, and you’ll be benefiting from its impressive nutritional profile.

1. Kale

And the greatest vegetable of them? King Kale, killing the competition with its score of 1,392 points. It’s hardly a surprise that kale takes the No. 1 distinction, considering it’s the it veggie healthy eaters love to love, but now we fully understand why. This vegetable has been around since the dark ages, but it’s now one of hottest greens that can be found on foodies’ plates, especially if it is massaged. Raw kale previously seemed almost unpalatable due to its bitter taste and unappetizing texture, but now that chefs and foodies have discovered that massaging the vegetable with olive oil and salt can break down its tough cellulose structure, healthy consumers are all about reaping the benefits of the greens packed with Vitamins A, C, and K, B6, and calcium. Case in point? Eat your kale, and like it too.



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