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Too Many Kids Vit D Deficient

By On · Add Comment · In children, illnesses, rickets, sun, supplement, vitamin D deficiency

Get those kids in the sun, parents–one out of every five American children aged 1 to 11 is vitamin D deficient. Dang! And the numbers are worse for blacks and Hispanics. Almost 90% of African American children and 80% of Hispanic children could be vitamin D deficient. Double Dang! All this coming from a new analysis at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to many illnesses including infections, diabetes and even some cancers. Even the severity of asthma symptoms has been shown to be increased in children with low vitamin D levels. But the most common ailment attached to vitamin D deficiency is bone weakness, or rickets, common a century ago but still happening today with all to often frequency. D-D-D-Dang!

The RDA for treating and preventing rickets is 400 IU vitamin D daily, which can be obtained by drinking four glasses of fortified milk. Vitamin D can also be obtained from sun exposure, which unfortunately may be lacking in children residing in northern climates and those with darker skin tones. The explosion of computers and video games is also a risk factor for children that do not spend enough time outdoors. Further, many kids are not getting enough milk, cheese or fish–all good sources of vitamin D.

So what’s the answer? How about a good vitamin D supplement for junior? Can’t get them off the Madden 2010 and playing outdoors??? (many children found to be vitamin D deficient were also overweight or obese–D-D-D-Duh!). Then you’ve got to pick up a good supplement, period.

Then slap yourself across the noggin AND GET JUNIOR RUNNING OUTDOORS D-D-D-DANGIT! I mean, what’s the major malfunction??? It’s not rocket science: Kids need to be outdoors running, playing, wrestling, carousing, whatever–it’s the natural order of things. Video games–and that includes the Wii—sorry–are for “sometimes“. That’s it, d-d-d-dagnamit! Vitamin D deficiency is no joke–don’t treat it like one.

Another Anti-Aging Flop

By On · Add Comment · In anti-aging, brain, DHEA, estrogen, hormone, memory, prohormone, supplement, testosterone
You can never accuse me of being one-sided. Although it may seem that I only pick on the medical and pharmaceutical industries, I actually enjoy picking on other “health” industries equally as much. Whether it be the “natural” products industry, psychotherapy, the weight loss industry, or bottled water, nobody is immune to my ridicule. I merely call it as I see it, and I love to point out the flaws in what’s being sold as “good health.” One industry in particular that I love to knock, simply because it’s so knockable, is the “anti-aging” shamsters.

So here’s the latest: I’m sure you’ve heard of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). It’s a hormone produced naturally by the adrenal glands and is converted into other hormones, like testosterone and estrogen. It is sold as an over-the-counter supplement and touted heavily by anti-aging enthusiasts. Maybe you’ve been taking it yourself, to boost brain power, memory, and such. No? Oh, that’s good, because the first large scale study done to test supplemental DHEA’s effectiveness in brain function showed that it didn’t do diddly. That’s right…nothing, nada, nunca.

Here is the idea behind DHEA supplementation: DHEA is a natural steroid prohormone produced from cholesterol. It is the precursor of androstenedione (remember this stuff, baseball fans?), which can convert into the androgen testosterone and estrogens. DHEA levels peak during a person’s twenties, and then slowly declines with age. Because DHEA levels decline with age, and certain physiological functions also decline with age, while certain diseases increase with age (cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, etc.), then the thought is that DHEA must be linked to age related health decline (oh, lord). So to prevent natural decline in physiological function, to decrease one’s risk of developing age-related illnesses, to improve one’s libido, energy levels, strength and bone density, and essentially to slow down or halt the aging process, one need only supplement with DHEA. Cha Ching! Or so the story goes.

But the latest research reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that supplementing with DHEA for as long as one year had no beneficial effects on brain function, memory or other cognitive abilities. According to lead researcher Dr. Donna Kritz-Silverstein, “healthy older adults should not turn to DHEA for the purpose of improving their cognitive function or overall well-being.” And I agree.

But here’s something older adults (and younger one’s too) can turn to quite confidently in their attempts to increase their natural levels of DHEA, and, in turn, age gracefully with increased strength, endurance, vibrancy and vigor: regular exercise, healthy diet, supplementation with basic vitamins and minerals, EFAs and a good antioxidant, regular bodywork, proper rest and recuperation, and minimizing toxin exposure (polluted air, polluted water, drugs, and so forth). And for boosting brain power, nothing…and I mean NOTHING…beats regular mental challenge like learning something new; and staying mentally engaged–reading, debating, writing, thinking, studying, problem-solving–at all times.

The research also showed that the subjects taking DHEA supplements had 2-3 times higher DHEA levels in the blood, so it’s not as if the body was just removing the supplemental form of the molecule (injecting the prohormone is, therefore, not a more effective alternative). Higher blood levels of DHEA had no benefit to mental function…zero. So I conclude by saying, once again, that things were designed the way they were for a reason. The body knows what to produce, at what concentrations, at any given time. It’s called Innate Intelligence, and every living thing has it. Man cannot improve on the wisdom of the body–not with Viagra, not with LASIK, not with pig-heart valves, nothing. And this latest research on DHEA is just another proof to that principle.

Probiotics Help Fight Respiratory Illness

By On · Add Comment · In antibiotics, Bifidobacterium, colitis, diarrhea, digestive, good bacteria, immune system, inflammation, Lactobacillus acidophilus, lactose intolerance, probiotics, respiratory illness, supplement

Everybody knows about harmful bacteria, like E. coli, Staph aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoea and others, and how they wreak havoc on our health. But not all bacteria are bad–good bacteria reside in our gut and other places, and not only keep harmful bacteria from settling in and colonizing, but can also ward-off illness.

According to a new study out of Australia, long-distance runners taking probiotics (a supplemental mixture of “good” bacterial colonies) showed a boost in immune system function and had less respiratory illness than runners taking a placebo. These results show one potential major benefit of supplementing with probiotics.

Probiotics are bacterial and yeast mixtures with such recognizable names as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. Most people take them following a round of antibiotics to help replenish the numbers of helpful bacteria in the digestive system. The many benefits attributable to probiotics are:

Taking probiotics, then, is a great way to enhance the health, especially of the digestive system. But as you can see, supplementing with these essential microorganisms has even wider-reaching effects than that. I take them regularly myself, and find them a useful supplement to eating yogurt, another great source of Lactobacillus and Bifidus cultures. So don’t fear all bugs; some microbes are necessary for life–our life. Now that’s symbiosis!

Time for the Vitamin Industry to Raise the Bar

By On · Add Comment · In Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, FDA, L-tryptophan, regulation, supplement, vitamin
Well, it’s about time. The FDA has finally set new manufacturing standardsfor the vitamin and supplement industry. Makers of vitamin and herbal supplements will now have to meet government standards to show that their products are free from contamination and contain exactly what the label says, U.S. health officials said on Friday.Some supplements have been recalled in the past, like the contaminated L-tryptophan that killed or injured hundreds of people in 1989. Other companies are selling supplements that contain undisclosed drug ingredients while still others sell products with less than advertised levels of vitamins A, C and folic acid.

I’ll say it again – it’s about time. The vitamin and supplement industry has for too long escaped regulation, opening it up to scheisters and crooks to scam the public. I applaud the FDA for seeing the need to step in and do something. Granted it’s taken thirteen years to finally implement the rule set forth by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), but any action in this area is welcomed.

Take it from a health care practitioner who is inundated by advertisements touting one miraculous supplement after another. I sometimes scan through these marketing materials just to see what the latest gimmick is – it really is quite amusing. And I especially love that every company says they have the research data, all of which was compiled by – their own labs! Har har har…does that one really still slip by consumers?

Here’s what I want as a clinician recommending supplements to my clients – high quality vitamins offered singly (as in vitamin C or E), in a complex (as in vitamin B complex) or with a few other ingredients that are known to enhance absorption, assimilation or function (as in vitamin C with bioflavanoids) – that’s it. I don’t want the heart function formula, or the women’s formula, or the male enhancement formula – just the isolated vitamin, mineral or multivitamin that has, well…vitamins. I don’t need rhinoceros horn or bovine adrenals or magic mushroom tops from Belize (um…no, no I don’t want those either) or Chinese herbal mixes. No thank you. Just the vitamins, please.

If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: vitamin supplementation is absolutely necessary if you want to live in Optimal Health. But we need some group to watch the rats who’ll sell us ground oregano and tell us it’s as good as eating a whole week’s worth of vegetables.

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