I will talk with Deanna Minich, PhD, CN, RYT about how functional medicine differs from alternative or even integrative medicine. We will also discuss a mutual friend, Dr. Jeffrey Bland , the genius who founded the concept. Dr. Minich is a mind-body-spirit nutritionist with a novel approach to eating. We’ll talk about a study she performed to help students appreciate the food beliefs of others. Deanna is the author of an impressive number of books such as the Complete Handbook of Quantum Healing, The: An A-Z Self-Healing Guide for Over 100 Common Ailments and An A-Z Guide to Food Additives: Never Eat What You Can’t Pronounce, See her website and an article she wrote. Maybe I’ll ask about the cause of food cravings. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and how to listen nationwide.

Supplements could save $70 billion in Medical Costs
This quote is from my favorite free consumer health magazine, Natural Awakenings: “the use of dietary supplements, including B vitamins, phytosterols and dietary fiber, could reduce the cost of treating coronary artery disease in the U.S. by nearly $50 billion over the next seven years. In addition, healthcare costs related to diabetes, vision problems and osteoporosis could be reduced by nearly $20 billion collectively with the use of certain supplements.” The piece went on to say that “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 3 percent of U.S. healthcare costs are spent on the prevention of chronic diseases.” LINK to Article. LINK to a study.

 Supplement Sanely
I cannot usually address reader’s complex health questions. However, I thought this one might provide a useful example regarding common questions.

Q. Bethel wrote: “Help! I’m so confused, I take vitamins and various other nutrients such as coconut oil, oregano oil, Coq10, drink my vinegar etc. Now, I see that I need to take Aloe Vera, resveratrol and colostrum. I suffer from arthritis and have a very hard time getting my work done. Just seems all I do is swallow vitamins and nutrients. Also, I have high cholesterol and high triglycerides. I’m to a point I don’t know what to do. I’m 77 soon to be 78.”

A. Bethel, you certainly aren’t alone in being confused. On the good side, at least you are struggling with which nutrients to take rather than swallowing handfuls of pharmaceuticals as most of your peers are. (You can’t get in nearly as much trouble as they might.) Let me see if I can sort this out in these 4 stages:

1. DIET. Supplements are what you add to a diet to fill small gaps and to address special needs. However, they cannot make up for wholly inappropriate food intake. The fact that you have high cholesterol, high triglycerides and an inflammatory condition (arthritis) makes me wonder if you aren’t possibly eating too many starchy and sweet foods. Sometimes people do that in an effort to avoid fats because they’ve gotten bad advice about that. Those folks would benefit from reading my booklet, Fat Free Folly. You mention coconut oil. That is great for cooking but, I don’t think is usually necessary as a supplement. Make sure to avoid the inflammatory oils like soy and corn. Likewise, unless you are seeing a special benefit from supplementing vinegar, I’d save that for your salad dressing. (Taking it at the beginning of meals does help many who are bothered by heartburn because they are actually low in stomach acid.)

2. BASIC SUPPLEMENTS. If you start with a good foundation of basic supplements that have the most fundamental and widespread benefits, then you won’t have to take as many condition-specific ones.

 •   Good multivitamin/mineral. Get one from a health food store, not the discount or grocery store. Come as close to the Doctor’s Best multi as you can afford to. Select one that hopefully has the active forms of the B vitamins, natural vitamin E, meaningful doses of minerals like selenium and no unnecessary chemicals. Also, unless blood tests show anemia, it is probably best at your age to avoid one with iron.

•   Research shows that you will get more out of your vitamins if you take them with Aloe vera, at least if it is one made by Lily of the Desert. And this isn’t a separate step because you will be swallowing the pills with some kind of liquid.

•   Probiotics. These good bacteria are a crucial part of our health team and perform a great number of duties for us, including helping to control cholesterol and reducing inflammation. It is concerning that you mention taking oregano oil but not probiotics. Oregano does kill yeast if that is something you have. ( Reducing the starches and sugars also reduces yeast.) However, one problem with oregano is that it can also be hard on your good bacteria. Therefore, take it several hours removed from when you supplement probiotics. Of course, I don’t think that there is any substitute for Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics.

•   Vitamin D. This vitamin is like a hormone and affects every cell in the body. Most people do not get enough sun (the most basic source) and multis never contain enough. It usually takes a 4,000 or more per day to get blood levels into the ideal range. Listen to next week’s show when part of it is on vitamin D.

•   Fish oil is needed because this source of the omega-3. In Fat Free Folly I devote several pages to the benefits which include reducing cholesterol, triglycerides and inflammation.

•    Magnesium. Most people do not get enough and because it is needed for hundreds of processes in the body, I make it a basic. It will also help with your arthritis and your other concerns.

NEXT LEVEL
  Because you mentioned these:
 •   CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant that is useful for anyone because of its many benefits. It is a must for those taking statin cholesterol-lowering drugs because those drugs interfere with it.

•   Resveratrol is a remarkable age-defying substance. It is especially important for the prevention of macular degeneration, the leading cause of age-related blindness. It is just important to pick the right one. Please read this.

•   Colostrum. A good one is very powerful for the immune system. You didn’t list an immune challenge per se, so, instead of this, at least in your case, I’d take what I list next.

 SPECIAL FOR YOUR CONCERNS
•   Kyolic® Formula 107 combines Aged Garlic Extract™ (the subject of over 700 studies and Phytosterols to naturally and safely support healthy cholesterol levels and overall cardiovascular health. (Docs often get a little carried away forcing cholesterol numbers down with drugs that have not been shown very beneficial for women of your age and which an have serious life-altering side effects.)  Aged garlic extract covers so many bases that it could easily be considered a BASIC.

•Vitamin E complex. The biggest concern about cholesterol is keeping it from becoming oxidized (something like rusty) a form in which it can irritate the arteries. Vitamin E protects cells all over your body (and so another potential “BASIC”) as well as keeping the cholesterol in your blood from breaking down. My favorite is Famil-E®.

•Arthritis. You didn’t say which type of arthritis you have, but many of the actions and supplements above will help both osteo and rheumatoid. The supplement Boswellia also benefits both.

So, Bethel, depending on what other nutrients you were already taking, I may or may not be reducing the sheer number of supplements. But, hopefully I’ve at least helped you prioritize and be more confident that you are helping yourself.

Last Week Follow-up
LISTEN to that show in the archives. Jim LaValle, R.Ph.,C.C.N. author of Your Blood Never Lies: How to Read a Blood Test for a Longer, Healthier Life, discusses blood sugar tests and testing for allergies, thyroid, optimum vitamin D levels and best tests for zinc, magnesium and vitamin C.

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MY BOOKS:

Fat-Free Folly. Challenges dangerous mainstream thinking about fats. Supported with generous amounts of current science and grounded in a common sense historical framework. Learn how to build health and lose weight while enjoying more delicious food.

Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments. Besides explaining the dangers of these medications and helping fix the real cause (which is seldom too much acid) this book is also helpful for solving other digestive problems.

Aloe Vera – Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy. Research shows that Aloe has benefit beyond skin and digestion–also for immune function, detoxification, nutrient absorption, blood antioxidant levels, blood sugar regulation and more. Learn how to pick the most potent brands.

The information contained in this newsletter has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The contents are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Copyright 2014 Martie Whittekin, CCN