Filler ‘er up

I am at times perplexed by the willingness of even the most skeptical of us to put things in our mouths and never ask a question about what is in it. I am a skeptic at heart but when my functional medicine doctor advised me to take supplements I dutifully did so and did not read the labels. Apparently I am not “skeptical” if I think I could live a longer, healthier life by doing what I was told.

Fast forward six months or so after my appointment with my doctor and I started to read a lot of articles about fillers in supplements and the harm they can do. In my defense I did discuss this with my doctor and he felt that fillers are not a problem. I might agree if I didn’t take a handful of supplements most days and if they didn’t make me feel bad. Also to my amazement there are reputable manufacturers who make supplements with no fillers but they do cost more.

What are these fillers? Check your label sometime and look to see the words maltodextrin, magnesium stearate, stearic acid, ascorbyl palmitate, titanium dioxide, gelatin, etc. These ingredients have a variety of purposes but most are used as lubricants (magnesium stearate, stearic acid, and ascorby palmitate), some are just fillers that have  excitotoxin properties that will make you feel you are better when you aren’t (gelatin and maltodextrin can both have msg).

Magnesium stearate, stearic acid and ascorbyl palmitate are the ingredients that are the most egregious offenders as they are strictly there to make machinery run at maximum efficiency because they make the ingredients slippery. They are made by hydrogenating cottonseed or palm oil and according to Udo Erasmus “cottonseed has the highest content of pesticide residue of all commercial oils. In the hydrogenation process, the oil is subjected to high heat and pressure in the presence of a metal catalyst for several hours. The resultant stearates contain altered molecules, derived from fatty acids, which may be toxic. The metal catalyst may also contaminate the stearates produced.”  Up to 5% of the average supplement capsule is magnesium stearate, that is 25 mg. According to Ron Schmid, N.D. “if you take 8 capsules a day that is 250 a month-or 6250 mg of this hydrogenated oil, or nearly one-quarter ounce which in a year averages 3 ounces” of pesticide laden artery clogging hydrogenated oil.

Crikey here I am watching every mouthful of food I eat. I buy expensive extra virgin olive oil and grapeseed oil that is organic. I religiously exercise three to four times a week. I try to get my 7-8 hours of sleep at night. I travel to a farm 50 miles from my house to buy raw milk and my eggs come from pastured chickens 30 miles from my home. I eat only grass fed beef and bison. The chicken we eat has had the run of the prairie at Farmer Darryles and the pigs nosh on organic leftover veggies and eggs. All this and I am unknowingly consuming 3 ounces of pure poison and no one bats an eyelash. I am here to tell you that it isn’t necessary and until the consumer speaks up nothing will be done about it. I can also personally attest to the fact that even if you speak up you will be told they are necessary (Byron Richards at Wellness Resources right here in Edina, MN).

I am now on a mission to rid my diet of these fillers yet take the supplements that  might help my body thrive. A friend of mine and I are researching every possible source of filler and additive free supplement and I can provide you with a few sites and supplements to assist you if you are interested. They are as follows:

Dr. Rons Ultra Pure

Professional Supplement Center

HBC Protocols

Iherb

Baseline Nutritionals

Paradise Herbs

Premier Labs

Viable Herbal Solutions

Vitabase

Dr. Ron’s supplements are pure and unadulterated, all of them. Professional Supplement Center carries Thorne Research, Pure Encapsulations and Metabolic Maintenance. HBS Protocols has some products without fillers like Masquelliers OPC and Idebenone. Iherb has a full line of Dr. Christopher’s herbal supplements that are free of fillers and are all natural formulas for what ails you and they carry Paradise Herbs. If you use my code YAN884 you will get a discount for first time users at Iherb. Baseline Nutritionals are a line of products by Jon Barron and most of his products are free of fillers but you have to watch the tablets or capsules. Premier offers some additive and filler free supplements but not all of them are, so read the label. Vitabase offers some supplements that are free of fillers but again you need to read the label.

I am hoping to entice Chloe to continue her research as she is a fabulous investigator and I will continue to provide you with more supplements that are free of fillers and excitotoxins, so stay tuned and stay healthy.

Emotional Freedom Technique

Have you ever had a problem be it physical or emotional that you simply could not unload? Gary Craig has a unique technique that can provide a person with almost instant relief. I have uploaded a video that you can watch and learn the EFT technique. I think it is a wonderful technique to relieve pain, deal with post traumatic stress syndrome, use for positive affirmation and it is said to help you lose weight. Watch the video and let me know what you think.

Gluten free evenings (or Sunday brunch)

If you do or do not suffer from gluten intolerance I have some information that might fascinate you or at the very least make you say, “I didn’t know that.” If you have Celiac’s Disease this is information that could be critical. I fall somewhere in the middle of intolerance and Celiac’s so it was a light bulb moment for me.

Let me first say that until I talked to a friend of mine (thanks Chloe) who is well informed on food and drink that contains gluten I had no idea we needed to worry about alcohol containing gluten and some still say we don’t need to be concerned but it is possible that this is one of those gray areas where it is better to be safe than sorry.

There are now several gluten free beers and ales with names such as Bard’s Tale Beer, Lake Front Brewery, O’Brien Brewery, Redbridge, Ramapo Valley Brewery and Green’s. I haven’t tried any of them yet but a patient reported that the Redbridge is very nice. Woodchuck Draft Cider is gluten free and I can vouch for its crisp cider taste. If anyone tries the gluten free beers and has an opinion feel free to add a comment.

Under the wine category one must be aware that oak casks are often sealed with flour and water thus presenting the gluten sensitive person with a problem. As much as it bothers me to say (I am a bit of a romantic about the “old ways”) some of the less expensive wines are safer to drink as they are aged in stainless steel. The ever popular wine coolers are not gluten free as they are made from barley, so beware. The following vineyards produce wine that is safe to consume: Beringer (my dirty little secret is my preference for Beringer White Merlot), Fenn Valley, Five Oaks, Ingleside (most but not all), Kendall Jackson, LaRocca (also Sulfite free and organic), Louis Jadot (most but not all) and Meridian. Thank you Mother God Azna for my gluten free wine.

And then there is the Sunday brunch favorite Bloody Mary’s. This drink is most likely made with Vodka but also Tequila (yes tequilla makes a dandy Bloody Mary). I always thought Vodka was made with potato but many in today’s market are made with grain alcohol. The potato vodkas have a smoother taste and Blue Ice, Chopin and Teton Glacier are potato vodkas. I have an organic vodka (Prairie brand) in my cupboard that is made from corn, so it would also qualify as gluten free and it is made in Minnesota and sold at Costco. Good tequillas are made from the blue agave plant and are gluten free but not all tequillas are gluten free and you need to ask the manufacturer to be sure. To be on the safe side you can enjoy Sauza (always gets good reviews under the value for money category) and Jose Cuervo brand tequilla.

There are numerous online sites where one can obtain information regarding gluten free food and drink. I am going to continue to share my knowledge of the products that I have tried and enjoyed. If you would like to educate yourself further on the subject of gluten free food and drink check out http://www.glutenfreekitchen.org/ it has a plethora of reading material to fill your free moments whilst you enjoy your Bloody Mary, pint of ale or glass of wine.

Cyanocobalamin and your liver

Just a short note that I am reminded to write as I prepare my box of B12 Patch for the post. I was chagrined to note when I received my order that the active ingredient was cyanocobalamin and have just read yet another article recommending no one use B12 products that are not methylcobalamin, so now it goes back for sure.

What is the problem? The biggest one is that cyanocobalamin is derived from just what you might guess, cyanide, and that cyanide makes it very hard on your liver when it clears it from your body. Why do manufacturers use it? Because it is perhaps 50% cheaper than its cousin Methylcobalamin.

If you are tired and feeling rundown B12 is often the vitamin you are lacking, so try it and see how you feel. However, look for the methylcobalamin form and only use cyanide for the obvious reasons, poisoning something.

P.S. B12 comes in sublingual sprays and sublingual tablets and also in injectable form but you will need a compounding pharmacy to make sure you are injecting the Methylcobalamin. I will write more later on B12, so stay tuned.

Flossing Your Way to a Healthy Heart

Dental health is in the news again and being a dental professional I am always interested. This article came from Jenny Thompson of Health Science Institute (http://www.hsibaltimore.com) and has to do with periodontal disease and its apparent relationship to metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that put a person at greater risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The article struck a chord with me because my spousal unit (SU) asked me to discuss flossing alternatives on my blog as he felt it was useful information. Flossing is only one component of good dental health and ridding your body of inflammation is the first thing a person needs to do to avoid heart disease and type 2 diabetes BUT if you are having trouble getting in to the floss “habit” read on.

As you can imagine it can be difficult to be espoused to a Nazi hygienist (or so my daughter called me one day) and for 25 years my SU really didn’t floss which resulted in the normal helpful advice that hygienists give anyone willing to listen. Apparently he never tired of my whining, bitching, cajoling, whatever adjective you want to use because he really did not attempt to develop “the” habit until he says I finally  mentioned alternative methods to floss his teeth. I don’t quite buy that in 25 years I never mentioned alternatives to the white finger method but that is another story. For the purpose of this article I will mention a couple of really successful methods that have worked for my family.

If you are a Target shopper they sell a product by DenTek called Floss Pik. These little wonders come in bags of 75 at a price that is affordable and probably varies by region. I like the Silk flossed ones with an “easy angle” my SU prefers the regular Floss-Piks. They each come with a toothpick end and a floss end and both ends serve a means. Toothpicks are useful for pushing food through when it is impacted, say, in an area where your teeth don’t meet perfectly thus forming an open contact. The floss cleans the spot where normally aligned teeth touch each other (contact area) and the subgingival (under the gums) area not attached to tooth or bone called the sulcus. No longer do you have to feel that lovely numb and tingling feeling brought on by floss wrapped ridiculously tight around your middle finger, you just grab a Floss-Pik and Bobs your uncle (as they say only in Britain so I am told).

But wait there is another adjunct that works wonders when flossing is recommended but you value your fingers too much to follow your hygienist’s advice. It is called the Reach Access flosser and it is the one I prefer and my daughter swears is the only reason she flosses. You can buy it at any retail store that sells dental products but I know Target sells it with the other floss. It has a long handle with a U-shaped end that holds a U-shaped device that has a piece of floss tightly stretched from end to end. This flossing U-shaped end snaps on the handle and away you go. You can read a book and floss, drive a car and floss (I did not say that) why you could even……..and floss.

I hope you all find this helpful advice and if nothing else you will know some key words to use the next time your hygienist brings up the oft discussed topic of flossing.