Cellulose Capsules vs. MSG laden Gelcaps

It is official gelatin capsules are inferior and unacceptable in my book. I knew they always have MSG due to the hydrolization that is necessary to produce the gelatin from God knows what but it involves animal parts. I am not a vegetarian but just the fact that gelatin comes from animal parts is distasteful to me even if MSG wasn’t a problem. That all aside I have just performed a very unofficial but convincing experiment in a glass in my kitchen.

I took one capsule from Ron Schmid’s multi-vitamin formula, one capsule from T-Tapp alfalfa supplement and one capsule from Mercola’s Turmeric/Ginger supplement, emptied them in to my morning smoothie and dumped the now empty capsules in a glass of water. I know Schmid’s capsule is gelatin and Mercola’s capsule is vegetable cellulose I was unsure of the composition of the T-Tapp capsule but I know now it is gelatin.

The Mercola capsule disintegrated in less than 5 minutes. It dissolved and blended with the water with no residue other than the turmeric color which is pervasive. Dr. Ron’s capsule  is still present in the glass after 30 minutes and it shows no sign of actually disintegrating. The T-Tapp capsule is following closely behind Dr. Ron’s, so it is gelatin as well.

I am guessing the gelatin capsules would  disappear in the acidic environment of your gut (unless you have low stomach acid which is often the case with GERD or Acid Reflux) but I think for my purposes a capsule that melts and disappears in less than 5 minutes and has no excitotoxic properties is the clear winner and has no chance of passing undissolved and intact in to the septic tank.

Twitterific

You can now follow me on Twitter just look for “NewMoonJingle” for Twitterfied updates on the latest health issues that affect you and your family.

Vital Choice Rocks Again

News break!
My Vital Choice wild sockeye salmon oil arrived. Thanks to all the natural asthaxanthin from the krill that the salmon eat every day it is a lovely pinkish orange color. It is so fresh that the taste is not at all “fishy” and I am having no “fishy” repeats.
I can, without any doubt, say this is the best fish oil I have ever taken. Cheers Vital Choice for making a superior product and for fast and easy delivery via Fed Ex.

Swine Flu;Benign Flu

Yes, the media is taking the Swine Flu by the tail and beating it to death but you can hardly blame them. If your entire livelihood depended on all the news you could generate in a 24 hour period, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year you, too, would ride this little piggy to market with the same gusto.

There is now quite a bit of speculation that this flu bug was born in a laboratory somewhere and that seems about right. The suspicious part of me thinks that someone in the media or government isn’t above unleashing something like this to create news and deflect concern on to things other than the economy and the war in Afghanistan (oh and now Pakistan). Suspicion aside apparently H1N1 is showing many different characteristics that relate it not to just swine, but bird and human so man MAY have created it and now man MAY have spread it.

What to do, what to do? First panic, no just kidding. First wash your hands thoroughly whenever you have been out and about. I use Tropical Traditions liquid soap in a foamer bottle and then grab my scrub brush to clean under nails and in the cuticle. If you are a songbird like me singing the ABC song is sufficient time to completely clean your hands and make yourself smile while you are at it. Washing hands at least 10 times a day is recommended and then keep your fingers and hands away from your face.

Secondly, get your sleep. 7-9 hours a night is the recommended amount and you should wake feeling fully rested and ready to take on whatever your day presents to you. I think if your night is interrupted a power nap during the day never hurt anyone after all Churchill took a 2 hour nap every day and look at the greatness of that man.

I personally ordered Baseline Nutritionals Viragon just now. It is a tincture full of antiviral compounds including garlic, ginger, onion, horseradish, olive leaf extract, liquid ionic zinc, oil of wild mountain oregano, grapefruit seed and habanero. It doesn’t taste “purty” but that compound should wipe out any virus that even tries to enter my immune system. At my house we are drinking raw milk kefir mixed with wild raw honey to keep our gut healthy and spending 15-20 minutes in the late morning sunshine to keep our Vitamin D3 levels optimum.

It goes without saying, that if either of us starts feeling “under the weather”, if we develop a streaming nasal issue, if our muscles ache or we develop some unusual gastro-intestinal problems we will stay home and keep our problems limited to the walls of our domain. Personally if I had just returned from Mexico I might see it as prudent to isolate my family for 24 hours until I know we all just feel great from those sun soaked hours on holiday.

What we will not do is take Tamiflu in any way shape or form. We will not panic and get a flu shot.. There are reports (none substantiated) that many of the people who died in Mexico had been given a flu vaccine in a vain attempt by their government to stem the spread of the virus. The only thing that vaccine did was weaken their already compromised immune systems and those poor slobs were unable to fight anything much less “swine flu”. I think I can also say we will not be travelling outside the USA until this apparent pandemic is squelched. I do not relish the possibility of being held in a quaratine room with other vaccinated or “Tamiflued” victims. I want to fight H1N1 my way and be assured that I will win.

Vital Choice Salmon Rocks

I wanted to shout out to everyone who checks this blog about my latest find. I have been looking for a good fish oil with no flavor and not in a gelatin capsule (gelatin always contains MSG) and I found one at last at Vital Choice. Or perhaps I should say I found it some time ago but it was out-of-stock.

This fish oil is almost red in color it is so rich in astaxanthan from the krill they eat on a daily basis and it contains natural Vitamin D, A and the necessary Omega 3’s. Wild Alaska Salmon are among the purest of all ocean fish, so the oil is free from hazardous levels of contaminants.

I actually don’t know why I want anyone else to know because they will sell out again and I won’t have a source of this perfect fish oil but I just can’t contain my excitement and had to share it.

Something smells corny

Thanks to a friend’s question last night I started researching Xylitol and to my surprise my favorite brand is made from corn and worse yet comes from a manufacturing plant in China. As I type my mouth is agape and I am appalled. It seems to me that anything made from cooked down corn be it from a corn cob or the kernels is potentially full of unbound glutamate and that means it is rich in excitotoxins and not good for anyone but can be downright dangerous to people who are sensitive to MSG.

Perhaps you didn’t know that Xylitol was traditionally from birch trees and is a naturally occurring sugar with 40% less calories than typical cane sugar and a much lower glycemic index (7) thus making it safe for diabetics. Because it has only 5 carbon atoms versus the normal 6 it inhibits bacterial growth and thus has been found valuable in dentistry to help stop rampant decay much like fluoride but much safer in my opinion. It has been used in Europe for decades but really only found some popularity in the USA in the last decade when it was promoted by companies like XClear at dental conventions and online as a nasal spray for chronic sinus infections. I think it is a great sweetener because it is useful in dentistry and it tastes great and looks just like sugar but lacks the calories of sugar. BUT, I have a problem with corn derived products.

Let me count the problems I have with it. Corn is one of the most genetically modified crops that American farmers grow. If you boil corn down you hydrolyze it and create free glutamate. Corn is a common allergen and corn crops if not rotated totally deplete the earth they are grown on and massive erosion occurs (I have experienced it with my own eyes). High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in almost any packaged food you buy and is known to be a link in our food chain that may cause obesity and a host of other problems for the consumer. Even Ethanol production presents numerous problems not first of which is pollution of our air. Corn fed to animals creates meat that is unhealthy for human consumption and sickens animals who are ruminates and not meant to eat grains or corn. Did I say something smells corny? Well there is no way Xylitol needs to.

Xylitol is originally from birch trees and my sweetener will from now on be from birch trees. It will contain no excipients and it will not come from China. I highly recommend Xylitol as a sweetener.  I even use it in my morning tooth powder (baking soda, Xylitol and Celtic Sea Salt) because of its antibacterial qualities. However, do not buy the brands that are coming to us in giant poison filled containers from China. Look for “Made in the USA” and check its source to be sure it comes from organic birch trees and not the ubiquitous kernel or cob of corn.

Get Back Your Mojo

Someday I will start a new page for food reviews but for now this page will suffice, so onward with the food review.
I recently purchased a product advertised on Mike Adams site called Cocoa Mojo and I can give it a resoundingly positive review for quality and taste.
It is produced by a company called EnerHealth Botanicals. It is sweetened with coconut palm sugar which is a very low glycemic sweetener with no more aftertaste than you would get from cane sugar. They have added a medicinal blend of four mushrooms, Cordyceps Sinensis, Ganoderma Lucidum, Corioulus Versicolor and Agaricus Blazei to the gently roasted organic ground cocoa beans. These all organic ingredients are combined to taste good and to boost your immune system. What a great way to to do something good for your body.
I can recommend three variations on the same theme. You can add a scoop to your morning smoothie with amazingly tasty results. If you want fewer calories it is also good made with hot water alone. If calories are no problem for you full fat organic coconut milk would make an out of this world treat.
There is one glitch and I feel compelled to inform you. Their shipping is outrageous and I sent them an email to complain before I even ordered. To the companies credit I got an immediate response. Their very kind help desk person said they are too small to get a good deal from UPS and USPS lost too many orders, so they are working on the problem. I ordered it and paid $12 for shipping with a total cost of $22.30 mostly because I like to support small companies in the USA. I think they have a problem with the cost but the product is a delectably healthy treat.

Yes Dorothy there is life after mastectomy

I am in awe this morning and I was in awe last night but too filled with a bit of anxiety to realize. My sister-in-law had a double mastectomy on Thursday morning and last night when I entered her “hotel” room (not) she was radiant and smiling. She is a little concave (she says) but women should know there is a full life after mastectomy and I have no doubt she will make the most of being cancer free and tit less.

I have never been attached to my mammary glands and have had the feeling forever that the smaller the better. Large breasts are simply too much fat and I see nothing attractive about fat. Not being male I do not understand and have never understood the intense attraction to females who look like a potential Leaning Tower of Pisa to me. Does anyone with large breasts ever tell you how bad their backs hurt or how burdened a woman’s shoulders are by humongous bras and great pendulums of fat that hang off their chests. We are all lead to believe that to be feminine we must have large breasts and nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is far from the vast udder myth that is perpetuated by Hollywood and Dollywood. When I walked in to the hospital room last night no one could have looked more feminine or in control of the situation than my sister-in-law. She looked lovely in a lime green french terry capri outfit, sitting regally on her bed eating supper and smiling the smile of a woman who has unburdened her body of some cancerous cells and eliminated future prospects of ductal cancer returning because there are no ducts and I say “HURRAH’ you go girl!

Yes, I have my boobs and yes they are larger than I would like due to excess weight that I carry around as I am cursed by hypothyroidism and menopause and more honestly an appetite for good food. I may not be the right person to applaud my now boob less sister-in-law but I hope she wears her new chest with a certain amount of aplomb and does not succumb to the wild rantings of her friends who say they feel less feminine without their mammillary accesories. Who needs to be a right cow? Not me, not you, no woman need concern herself with her chest  if she can only see that she has a bigger purpose on this earth than soothing some male ego and his manic obsession with said cows.

Update on Ron Schmid’s supplements

I just wanted to update one viewer on the question “Has anyone used Ron Schmid’s supplements?”. The succinct answer is “Yes”. I have been taking his “Doc’s Best the next generation multi vitamin” and I think it is a superb product. He uses Methylcobalamin for his B12 which is one of my requirements. They have no maltodextrin or magnesium stearate and do provide CoQ10. I took one apart and put it in water and the ingredients immediately melted in to the water and actually tasted good enough to drink. My only reservation is he does use a gelatin capsule and given this is an up market supplement I feel he should use the more expensive but safer vegetable cellulose capsules.
I hope this answers the viewers question.

Selenium and your Thyroid

Just a brief note regarding Autoimmune Thyroiditis. I was reading “Reducing Thyroid Antibody Titers” this morning on a site at http://www.suite101.com and came upon the following valuable information:

Selenium is deficient in both autoimmune hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Magnesium is deficient in hyperthyroidism and contributes to arrhythmia’s.  Copper is deficient in autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Zinc is decreased in autoimmune hypothyroidism. Calcium can be deficient in both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. Essential fatty acids and oil soluble nutrients such as Vitamin D are deficient in many autoimmune conditions, including thyroid disorders.

I find the Selenium deficiency very interesting because Selenium is crucial in helping the body naturally detoxify all the chemicals and hormones we unnaturally put in it and expose it to. If you have any thyroid disorder it might behoove you to ask your physician about Selenium. If said physician says they know nothing about this deficiency refer them to this article. It is recommended that you include 200 mcg of Selenium a day in the form of Selenomethionine, as that was found to be the most effective in reducing thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO). One should not exceed 400 mcg of total Selenium as it can be toxic.

It never hurts to assist your bodies natural detoxification process and Selenium is an essential trace element you shouldn’t be without.