Estrogen toxins make MEN & WOMEN fat, sick and infertile

During the January 23, 2021 program, we got a wakeup call from Anthony G. Jay, PH.D. about a class of chemicals that are assaulting our bodies and brains. Dr. Jay is a Mayo Clinic researcher and the author of Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile. The quick review below is not a substitute for listening to that show and certainly not for reading his book.

What Xenoestrogens are. There are an increasing number of toxic “endocrine-disruptor” chemicals in our air, food, water, consumer products and environment. The chemicals can mess with any of our hormones (messengers in the body)—for example, the very important thyroid hormone. The specific category of toxins that we discussed was xeno-estrogens. “Xeno” means “foreign”. As you likely know, “estrogen” is a hormone  that is commonly thought of as female. Actually, there are several varieties of estrogen and during most of the month, men have about the same blood levels as women. When hormones get out of balance, bad things can happen. As the name of Dr. Jay’s book implies, these chemical impersonators can cause many more problems for both genders. The toxic xeno-estrogens can settle into receptors intended for the natural hormones and block the person from having the normal benefits such as fertility. Remember that birth control pills are hormones used to upset the woman’s hormone balance on purpose. Conversely, they can latch onto and stimulate other binding sites causing big trouble. Hormone-dependent breast cancer is perhaps the best-known example of that effect.

The problems xeno-estrogens cause. We could start with the big picture, the environment. Xenoestrogens are making whole communities of certain wildlife infertile and killing coral reefs. In humans, the chemicals are linked to Alzheimer’s, cancers (breast cancer up 250% since 1980), depression, diabetes, early-onset puberty, endometriosis, infertility (fertility down 50% since 1960), “man boobs” (even in toddlers), miscarriage and obesity (doubled since 1980).

Testosterone supports cardiovascular health and muscle strength in both genders and improves libido (sex drive). It appears that high estrogen levels (even if from toxic chemical sources) reduce testosterone. These toxic compounds affect the way our genes behave. That process is called “epigenetics”. It is shocking and very worrisome that those altered actions cause by xenoestrogens can be passed down to many future generations.

Sources of xeno-estrogens. Common sources that we discussed on the show are the plastics in water bottles, the linings of cans and paper cups and packaging. BPA is a well-known member of this class and it is also sprayed on the paper used for register receipts. Beware of products claiming to be “free of BPA because they may have simply substituted BPS or one of the other BP line that have the same effects. Look at the recycling codes for a clue. Avoid #1.  Better numbers are 3, 4 and 5. Do not store foods and beverages in plastic and certainly don’t microwave food in plastic because heat increases the leaching into food.

Food additives like red food color and food contaminants such as many pesticides (especially on grains) and herbicides (think Roundup) have estrogenic effects. Therefore, whole, natural, organic food is best. Dr. Jay says to avoid soy foods (unless fermented) because they are too strong a source of plant estrogens. Body care products (e.g., sunscreen, shampoo, and creams) with fragrances, parabens and other additives have estrogenic effects. Topicals are a big problem because they absorb directly into circulation with no chance of being detoxified in the gut. Also, watch out for laundry detergent and household cleaning products. Wash new clothing because it might have been treated with xeno-estrogenic chemicals. Interestingly, marijuana smoke is estrogenic, but not the edibles. This website has a list of sources of toxic estrogens (and it is where I borrowed the graphic). Here is another site.

Detoxing xeno-estrogens. The best place to start, of course, is to avoid taking more in. We should also remember that fat cells make estrogen which, even though natural, adds to the estrogen load. Eating a lot of good green foods is a positive start on detox (and weight loss). Dr. Jay says that the Far Infrared Sauna is a big help in detox. Use a water filter because the compounds are now in tap water. Exercise regularly.

It is 2021 – Keeping our Mental Health PART 1

In late 2020, I speculated that we would probably not have a brand-new worry-free world when the Times Square crystal ball dropped to welcome 2021. We can hum along with Little Orphan Annie singing “the sun will come out tomorrow.” However, the early days of this new year have given us a riot at the US Capitol on top of rising numbers of unemployed workers and covid-19 deaths. Surely, better days are coming. However, individually, we do not have much control of events. Happily, we can at least control our reaction to the situations and actively work to preserve our mental health.

It is quite concerning that Sanjay Gupta, MD (neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer) was quoted in the December AARP magazine as saying, “At least half of people who recover from Covid-19 suffer neurological symptoms for months after.” The symptoms that he described are brain fog, headaches, dizziness, depression and confusion. Sometimes, brain changes can even be seen with imaging and which can lead to more serious problems. The various steps that HBN has been recommending for protection against covid-19 will help. In addition to the vitamin D, zinc, and others listed in our covid-19 library article, vitamin B₁ seems especially important for its role in protecting the brain and nerves. Learn more. I recommend Nerve Guardian. It is very effective and quite inexpensive

A Workout for Your Mental Health by Elizabeth Bernstein, WSJ

I read a good article with that title in the Jan 19, 2021 Wall Street Journal. This is a link to that article, but you apparently must subscribe to the online paper to read more than the first paragraphs. So, I have given you the first installment of highlights below:

Ms. Bernstein points out the pandemic (or plandemic if you prefer) and other events of 2020 not surprisingly, have given rise to an increase in cases of anxiety and depression. (I might add a huge increase in alcohol consumption, addiction and comfort foods used as unhealthy coping mechanisms.) She says that it is smart to make an action plan for developing mental fitness and resiliency the same way we might for physical fitness. The author quotes a psychologist as comparing waiting for a crisis to get mentally ready is like trying to inflate a life raft when you are already being swamped by waves. Some of the common approaches are:

• “talk therapy, exercise, meditation and a healthy diet
• One contributor to the article ‘limits her news consumption to about five minutes a day.’
• Another, a psychotherapist, said that she ‘uses an app to track the things for which she is grateful.’
• a special-education teacher prays and reads devotions.
• a retired physician reads and plays the piano.
• a retired aesthetician tries to do as many things as possible for others.
• an investment portfolio manager rock climbs.
• A CEO takes 15 minutes each afternoon to sit alone without distractions and listen to his mind.” [sounds a lot like meditation.]

After consulting with experts, MS Bernstein recommends:

“Make sleep nonnegotiable. Most adults need 7-8 hours of quality sleep. ‘Following a consistent sleep-wake schedule sends a powerful signal to the brain that the world is safe and secure, which can help reduce anxiety and foster resilience’ says a Dr. Troxel, She suggests setting a consistent wake-up time, counting backward to determine when to go to bed, and creating a relaxing wind-down routine, starting an hour before bedtime. Take a bath, read a book, turn down the lights and the thermostat. (65-68 degrees is ideal.) Disconnect from technology to minimize your exposure to distressing news and light.”

“Set a routine. Get up at the same time each day. Get dressed! Create a morning ritual—many people write in a journal or set an intention for the day, although just drinking coffee in the same chair works. Eat meals and exercise at set times. This helps create a sense of predictability in a world that feels out of control.”

“Calm your mind. You can’t cope with stress well if your brain is on high alert at all times., says Carolyn Daitch, a psychologist…She recommends beginning the day with 15-20 minutes of yoga, meditation or prayer, then scheduling four ‘mini interventions’ during the day—a two-minute breathing exercise or other quick tension-releasing technique. (E.g. Make a tight fist with one hand, imagine it holding all the tension in your body for 10 seconds, release it.) She says to think of these practices as a ‘stress inoculation’.”

To be continued in Part 2, probably on Feb 4^th.

Q and A with Bill Sardi

Many topics were covered when Bill Sardi was my guest on January 9 and so I offered to blog some notes from that interview. These are more or less in the order they came up in the show:

Osteoporosis / Calcium. Sardi says calcium supplements are rarely necessary because most of us get enough of the mineral from our diet. Age-related loss of estrogen is the culprit. Calcium is present, but instead of going into the bone, it stays in the arteries where it causes hardening of the arteries (heart disease). Bio-identical hormone replacement is available by prescription. The natural substance, Resveratrol, acts like estrogen in a good way (e.g. signaling calcium to stay in bone) but it doesn’t cause cancer or other unwanted side effects of estrogen. Magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin K₂ and weight bearing exercise are also important for bone health.

Vitamin B₁. Common behaviors such as drinking coffee, tea and alcohol, consuming sugary foods and heartburn drugs all deplete this nutrient and cause a myriad of symptoms. Some of those (like loss of taste and smell) seem just like ones associated with the coronavirus. Both issues may exist because the virus caused lockdowns which move people toward sugar and drinking which deplete the vitamin. This topic was covered in depth in the December 10^th blog. Sardi contends that many nervous system disorders would be improved by upping vitamin B₁. There was a follow up question on when to add more B₁ than is the Molecular Multi. If you drink a lot of alcohol or have a nervous system disorder, extra B₁ would be good and best in the fat-soluble form, benfotiamine. The common benfotiamine supplements provide a higher dose than can be absorbed and are expensive. That is why Bill Sardi formulated, Nerve Guardian. It is a great way to replenish your B’s and at the low cost of $3.12 per month. (To get full benefit, allow 2 hours between taking it and consuming those vitamin blockers noted above.)

Zinc dose for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Mr. Sardi said the adult dose for zinc is 30 mg. a day. (At 45 mg you may have to balance with copper.) Zinc is hard to absorb and so, even if the diet provides 10 mg, we likely only absorb 1 mg. Zinc is crucial for the immune system, e.g. keeping the thymus gland at full size and healthy so it can produce immune memory T-cells—they provide long lasting immunity. (Antibodies are shorter lived.) Here is an article about zinc in the Library. Oysters are a good dietary source of zinc. I get mine from Molecular Multi which contains 30 mg. in a good form along with other critical nutrients that we might be missing. Avoid zinc oxide which is hard to absorb. A MW note on Hashimoto’s: as with other autoimmune diseases pay attention to the gut bacteria (think Dr. Ohhira’s and remember that Jeff Bowles told us about successes using very high dose vitamin D for autoimmune conditions.

Magnesium. Like the oxide form of zinc, magnesium oxide is not very useful. He mentioned one that is especially good for the brain because it can cross the blood/brain barrier. That is magnesium threonate—the branded ingredient is “Magtein”. Many companies (e.g. Now and Doctor’s Best, but not Sardi companies) sell that. Less costly but also less effective for the brain is magnesium citrate.

Tingling in hands and feet. Because this is a nerve issue, we are back to B₁ (see above). Likewise, trouble catching your breath…breathing is a function of our autonomic nervous system which is controlled by vitamin B₁.

“Opathies”. These are conditions which are often complications of diabetes, e.g. neuropathy (nerves), cardiomyopathy (heart), Nephropathy (kidney), and retinopathy (eye, retina). B₁ protects against them and should be taken by all diabetics.

Kidney disease. Mr. Sardi said that over time, the kidneys collect too much calcium and so cannot filter effectively. For that he recommended IP6 (it is from rice bran). Take 1500 mg a day for a month or two to clear out the sludge. He also would add the supplements NAC and resveratrol but do not take them at the same time of day. I also recommend investigating stem cell therapy to regenerate kidneys.

Pink eye. This linked article says it is most often caused by a virus and the site offers many natural remedies including colloidal silver. (Martie has seen liquid colostrum work.) Bill Sardi said to restore the proper composition of tears, take an omega 6 oil such as borage oil, evening primrose oil, or black current orally. This will also help “dry eyes”. (He noted that if the oil layer of tears is inadequate, the eyes may pump watery tears out trying to compensate – so, ironically, dry eye can be wet.) These issue often happen to people with dry skin and brittle nails. There might also be a deficiency of vitamin A.

Question about Longevinex Advantage. Compared to the original Longevinex product featuring mainly resveratrol, IP6 and synergistic ingredients to help healthy aging, the Advantage version has extra ingredients like hyaluronic acid to help with eyes and to promote younger looking skin and hair. I reminded people that buying direct from the manufacturer on higher quality products like this saves a lot of money because you don’t have to pay the distributor and store markups which would more than double the price.

Passing the covid-17 test. This may be required to go to work. Taking resveratrol, garlic and zinc regularly disrupts the polymerase enzyme used in the test but that enzyme is also involved in replication of the virus. So, this program is also helping you stay healthy.. Selenium will keep a virus from mutating.

Pandemic. As noted above, Bill Sardi has stirred up interest in beriberi (a disease caused by deficiency of vitamin B₁) which has slew of symptoms, including many that mimic those attributed to covid-19. However, Mr. Sardi has also consistently taught us how to fight the coronavirus naturally. This Jan 5., 2021 medical journal article is powerful reinforcement for what he (and Jeff Bowles) have told us about the importance of vitamin D: Don’t Let COVID-19 Patients Die With Vitamin D Deficiency – We can’t wait for perfect evidence. Also, read this linked Library article for a summary of HBN’s covid-19 advice.

Interview Review – Bill Sardi

A number of topics were covered when Bill Sardi was my guest on January 2 and so I offered to provide some notes from that interview:

• Macular Degeneration. Bill Sardi brought on Stuart Richer who explained that anyone whose parents have had macular degeneration will be better protected if they consume omega-3 fats, especially the DHA in fish oil.
• Hangovers. For future reference, making every second beverage water will not only decrease the intake of alcohol, but it will also prevent dehydration which is thought to be one of the causes. I have always recommended antioxidants like vitamin C the next day. Mr. Sardi told us about Myricetin. This molecule, which is similar to resveratrol, blocks the GABA receptor in the brain and prevents drunkenness and hangover. It is also used to help alcoholics who want to quit lose their craving. It can be found from several sources online. Note that alcohol depletes vitamin B₁ and magnesium and is a risk factor for cancer.
• Fatigue. Insufficient hydration can cause fatigue. Bill Sardi said that low vitamin B₁₂ can be a cause of fatigue and many other symptoms. Low vitamin B₁ can cause fatigue and coffee, sugar and alcohol block it. For underactive adrenals which can be a cause, take B₅ (pantothenic acid). Underactive thyroid is a common cause and Bill suggested zinc, inositol and selenium. Men who think they might be low in testosterone should try 12 mg a day of the mineral Boron. I suggested Molecular Multi as a good start for fatigue.
• A-fib (Atrial Fibrillation). Mr. Sardi said that zinc fixed his and that of many of his followers. He also recommended vitamin B₁. (There are so many reasons for this vitamin, I say, consider Nerve Guardian…it is only $3.12 a month!) Another caller asked about magnesium for a-fib and Sardi said to try it because vitamins B₁ and D both need magnesium. Start with 400 mg a day to avoid having a loose stool.
• Monthly cramps. Again, magnesium. Sardi suggested skipping meat just during the cycle to get it over with quicker.
• Thinning hair. (Asked by a woman.) Sardi mentioned loss of estrogen as one common factor and suggested hyaluronic acid (50-100mg) to thicken hair. The listener knows she has a thyroid issue which is known to cause hair loss as well as weight gain. He suggested zinc and as noted above under fatigue, the B vitamin inositol (2,000 mg a day with 200 mcg selenium is being used in Italy to fix thyroid without medication.) Sardi’s article says that anxiety can also be a factor. (Inositol is a stress reliever.)
• Garlinex vs Garligest. Garlinex capsules are a garlic powder that has been enzyme activated and alkalinized so that stomach acid does not destroy an important active property, allicin. Garligest is the same garlic but with other ingredients to improve digestion and ease heartburn.

MY Covid-19 Controversy DISCLAIMER Revisited: When Bill Sardi said on the 1/2/21 show, “there is no covid-19 virus”, I gasped, then swallowed hard and hedged about agreeing with him. (That was very unusual because I am almost always in awe of what he teaches us.) I am sure that he is correct that at least many of the conditions that appear to be covid-19 are in fact the B₁ deficiency disease beriberi. And, he had done research and had reasons for making the statement. However, I remembered that Mr. Sardi had previously told us that many supposed covid-19 cases were more likely tuberculosis. That is a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence. I just could not rule out the existence of a virus after having watched how cases seem to spread quickly globally like an infection and how patients who are given immune support (e.g. zinc and vitamin D) tend to recover. Also, frankly, it was hard to envision a mistake (or hoax) so outrageously bold, coordinated, and widespread. Now, after some investigation, Because of my deep respect for Bill, I did some checking and want to hedge my hedging just a little bit:

• Based on what Sherry Rogers, MD and others have taught us, it defies logic that you could have the disease and yet have no symptoms because symptoms are how the body fights disease.
• Jon Rappoport has been a respected and award-winning investigative reporter for 30 years. He writes articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Lately he has written persuasively and with documentation that the virus has not been proven to exist. In this blog post, The missing COVID virus—answering critics’ objections, he goes into convincing detail (some of it technical) describing:
  • for some time, the CDC could not come up with a sample of the virus
  • the shoddy procedures and wishful thinking that scientists used to determine from some partial material what the virus’s genetic makeup would likely be
  • what they guessed the virus looks like
  • leaps of faith behind deciding what to test people for
  • exactly what a vaccine would target based on all the estimating that came before
  • and how the researchers failed to mention that the testing material they assumed were the coronavirus proved not harmful to human cells—only to monkey kidney cells (and then only if administered along with toxic substances)
  • In an earlier blog, John detailed similar shenanigans that were associated with the H1N1 Swine Flu in the summer of 2009.
• Mercola wrote about the puzzling inconsistencies and in another article about conflicts of interest, money trail, egos and butt-covering that obscured the supposed original source of the virus.
• Of course, Bill Sardi wrote several articles on the topic—on his website.
• It is very hard to get at the truth about any of these issues because once the government has decided on a story line, anyone who would question their conclusion is censored by them or their allies in the media and big tech.

I am still not convinced SARS-Cov2 virus doe not exist. But I am upset about the omissions (e.g. Dr. Fauci should have told us that he takes 6,000 IU of vitamin D daily), deceptions (list above), flip flops (e.g. masks), statistical flimflam (e.g. inflated case and death counts) and persistent power grabs (taking civil rights) surrounding the “management” of covid-19.

Debates about motives and the existence of a virus aside, the “sky is falling” panic-mongering was apparently based on weak science but still publicized with heaps of hype. The poorly conceived and conducted lock-down is another bag of ugly worms that became an assault on humanity and an economy crusher.

To be perfectly clear, I believe that taking CDC recommended precautions and working to bolster your immune system is still smart and will not be wasted in any case. You may, at the very least, prevent the flu which can be deadly. The covid-19 vaccine raises its own concerns even if you do not wonder about the mysterious germ it is supposed to fight.

No matter what, Bill Sardi has done us a great service exposing the epidemic of vitamin B₁ deficiency which is just as serious and potentially deadly as a pandemic. Make sure you get enough B₁: Read about vitamin B₁ in our library.

Updates to the Covid-19 Summary

Today, I will just highlight a few of the updates that I have made to the Library article,Covid-19 Summary. There have been many tweaks to that article, but if you don’t have time to read it, these new points should still be of interest. (By the way, the graph is about global increases/decreases in deaths, but I put in in just because it is as crazy as the times.)

Click this link for a slightly improved pdf document of natural and nutritional suggestions for prevention and treatment. You can print it and share this potentially lifesaving information with family, friends (or even strangers as one listener plans to do).

Case #’s. A note has been added to that section saying that 80% of covid-19 cases have no or very mild symptoms. That’s good, but the percentage may in part reflect that too many of the cases identified in the now wider testing may be false positive results…meaning they were called a case but really were not. Dr. Mercola writes about the high rate of false positive test results.

Censorship. This note was added to that section: My chiropractor, Andrew Shepherd, DC, was spreading the truth about how to help your immune system with vitamins, exercise, sleep, and an organic whole food diet. Then his YouTube and Facebook accounts were summarily shut down without his consent.

Contagiousness timing. This is the revised section:

• According to a Harvard review, it might be 5 to 6 days after exposure before symptoms appear.
• However, people “may be contagious 48 to 72 hours before starting to experience symptoms.”
• Five days from exposure may be the best time to be tested.
• Persons who are infected but either never develop symptoms or just haven’t developed them yet can infect others. (That is the reason for quarantine after exposure.)
• A person may remain contagious for 10 days (or longer if their immune system is weak or they have a serious case of the disease). Being without fever for 24 hours is a good additional precaution.
• The new mutation of the virus first noticed in the UK seems to be more contagious and may not follow these guidelines. Fortunately, it does not seem to be more lethal.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) posted this good resource page including information about the risk of re-infection 90 days after having been sick with covid-19.

Medications. New information has been added about Remdesivir, Monoclonal Antibodies, Steroids and Convalescent Plasma.

Vaccine. This section now includes this information: The virus mutations seem to react the same way to the vaccines. I recommend reading this eye-opening post by the Weston A. Price Foundation which questions the hype surrounding the new covid-19 vaccines. As just one example, the article says, “Vaccine manufacturers claim that Covid-19 vaccines are 95 percent ‘effective,’ but the FDA is allowing companies to define effectiveness as ‘prevention of mild symptoms’. The studies are not designed to detect a reduction in outcomes such as severe illness, hospitalization or death.^1,2” One might assume if you don’t get mild symptoms, you won’t go on to get more serious ones, but the data doesn’t tell us that. Also, note that in this linked article, Expert Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes his case against getting the vaccine. I’m only saying that it makes sense to do some investigating and don’t make your decision based only on what you will hear on the evening news.

Citations from above:

^1.Doshi P. Will covid-19 vaccines save lives? Current trials aren’t designed to tell us. BMJ. 2020;371:m4037. https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4037.

². Haseltine WA. Covid-19 vaccine protocols reveal that trials are designed to succeed. Forbes, September 23, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2020/09/23/covid-19-vaccine-protocols-reveal-that-trials-are-designed-to-succeed/?sh=5da0663d5247.

HBN’s Natural Approach to Covid-19

A fever is no longer thought to be an effective way to screen for covid-19. However, the guy in the photo has some kind of serious problem (unless his temperature of 36^○ is in centigrade which translates to 96.8^○ in Fahrenheit).

I have run into some folks who have had covid-19 or who who have had family member get. Although there is useful information on the HBN Library’s Covid-19 Summary Page (which I will update in the next couple of days), not everyone knows about that and or even has a computer. Sometimes I wish I had printed out information about the natural essentials and had it with me. So, I repeat that information here in the blog, and I also made into a covid pdf document which might be easier to print and hand out as you have the opportunity. Wish I had thought to do this sooner, but unfortunately, we are not at the end of this thing yet.

I should start by explaining that “not proven” is vastly different than “disproven”. The FDA only considers a substance “proven” if it is (a) a drug, (b) has gone through many years and hundreds of millions of dollars in testing and (c) will not be a natural alternative to one of their precious pharmaceuticals. Understand that no nutrition supplier can pay for FDA level “proof” because it can never get back that investment. Nutrients cannot be patented, so, all their competitors will also be able sell the item. Never mind all that, nutrients can be as powerful as drugs and are much safer. The following is based on a consensus of several nutrition experts and was taken from the periodically-updated more comprehensive document, HBNshow.com/covid-19-summary

WHAT TO DO IF YOU BECOME ILL WITH COVID-19. Obviously, stay home and away from people you might infect. Read HBNshow.com/articles/your-system-is-powerful/, for diet and lifestyle factors that will help. Below are the most important supplements to take right away:

• Vitamin D₃ – take 50,000 IU per day for at least 3 days or until you feel better hopefully in a week or so. Then taper back to 10,000 over a few days. Yes, these are large doses compared to government guidelines, but there is a lot of science showing that they are safe, and the plan works! For this short-term emergency use, any brand Vitamin D₃ will work. (See below for routine supplementation.)

• Zinc lozenges – Studies show that zinc in the lozenge form works best for respiratory infections. The total intake for the day should be 75 mg. There is one lozenge so intelligently designed that it contains an ingredient to help get zinc into infected cells where it can stop viral replication. LifespanNutrition.com (800-247-5731) has the only lozenge that does that.
• Vitamin C – C activates sluggish immune cells and protects from oxidative damage. I take 500-1,000 mg every few hours. Check the label, e.g. the Emergen-C brand powder may contain zinc, which when combined with the zinc lozenges, might send you over the recommended 75 mg intake.
• Selenium and Resveratrol can help. These are not as first line perhaps as the D, C and zinc but worth considering. Among other benefits, Selenium keeps zinc available. Resveratrol is amazing and protect the lungs and heart. See articles on both in the HBNshow.com Library.

For respiratory distress. Consider using hydrogen peroxide in a nebulizer. To get the protocol specifics and more ideas from Tom Levy, MD and Dr. Joseph Mercola, visit HBNshow.com/H2O2-in-nebulizer.

Virus Prevention. Prevention is far better than trying to cure anything. In addition to (not instead of) the standard advice about distancing, masks and hand washing, these supplements will help:

• Vitamin D. Blood levels should routinely be at 70-100, not the pitiful 20-30 often shown as “normal” on test reports. Achieving optimum levels typically takes daily doses of D₃ in the 8,000-10,000 range. For the long term, it is best to also take vitamin K₂ because D₃ increases calcium uptake and the vitamin K gets calcium into the bones rather than hanging around causing trouble in the blood vessels. Now Foods makes a spray combination balanced in D₃ and K₂, it is highly absorbed and easy to dose. Ask your natural food store to get it or you can find it online. You can save money, with powdered nutrients. Those are available on vitaspace.com.
• Zinc. It is good to take from 30-50 mg a day routinely. I think the best way to get that amount and in an easy to absorb form is to take Molecular Multi from LifespanNutrition.com (800-247-5731) . (It also contains other nutrients we need and is the best multi I’ve ever found.) If you are happy with your multi and need extra zinc, T-cell zinc™ is a unique form that for one thing helps the thymus gland. The thymus produces the T–cells which are the long term immunity to covid-19. T-cell Zinc is available from Longevinex.com. 866-405-4000
• Vitamin C – Because vitamin C quickly washes out of the body, I think it is smart to take Formula 216 for routine daily use. This unique formula protects you with C around the clock and encourages the body to make more when there is a stress. New science—no other product does that. Available from Formula216.com 833-848-2216.

Copyright December 2020 by Martie Whittekin, CCN

Who knew that B1 was such a BIG deal?

Leave it to our favorite deep-dive investigative journalist and truth seeker, Bill Sardi, to notice that a whole bunch of common health complaints, (including many that are associated with covid-19) are also known signs of beriberi. Beriberi is a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin B₁ (a.k.a. thiamine). It has been off the radar in modern times because it has commonly been thought to only affect alcoholics and the malnourished poor folks in 3^rd world countries. Because the practice of medicine is so compartmentalized into specialties, no one doctor may even see the pattern of problems that would suggest beriberi. Mr. Sardi wrote this recent article about how the deficiency of vitamin B₁ was even once mistaken for a viral epidemic.

After reviewing the chart below that Sardi prepared, I think most readers will want to know more about how we get vitamin B₁ and why we might not have enough. No one person would have all of these symptoms, but if you have ANY of them, think about B₁.

How does B₁ work? You can add morning sickness in pregnancy and probably many more items to that already impressive list. To better understand how powerful B₁ is, it may help to remember that we have 2 nervous systems. One is our consciously controlled nervous system (the sympathetic system). It is the one you use to tell your legs to walk or your arms to swing a golf club. The other one works in the background automatically (the autonomic system), for example to keep your heart beating in rhythm, your lungs breathing regularly and your intestines moving food along. B₁ controls that autonomic nervous system and it helps the mitochondria in our cells convert food into energy. Its effects are understandably widespread in the body and so are the symptoms of its deficiency.

Where do we get B₁? Medscape lists these dietary sources: whole-grain foods, meat [especially pork]/fish/poultry/eggs, milk and milk products, vegetables (ie, green, leafy vegetables; beets; potatoes), legumes (ie, lentils, soybeans, nuts, seeds), orange and tomato juices. Note that the list does not include Doritos, gummy bears, bagels, donuts, Rice Krispies, or a whole host of other things that Americans eat. The more a food like a vegetable is cooked, the more the B₁ is degraded. E.g. a potato may have some B₁, but not by the time it becomes a Pringles chip. The bacteria in our intestinal tracts make some B₁ and so we need to keep them in good shape. (They love fibers from vegetables.)

Why could we be low in B₁? The Standard American Diet (SAD) is not high in B₁ rich foods. Even under ideal circumstances, we can absorb only a small amount each day, e.g. 5 mg. Worse yet, most of us are not in the ideal circumstances for absorption because alcohol, coffee, and sugar all particularly interfere with B₁ uptake. That is why doctors watch alcoholics for beriberi symptoms. If emotional stress does not deplete vitamin B₁ directly (and it very well may do that), stress can drive us to eat sugary comfort foods and drink alcohol—both of which deplete thiamine. Then there are many medications that deplete B₁. Diuretics are suspect. The diabetes drug, metformin, depletes B₁ as well as vitamin B₁₂, which is another important nerve protector. (That makes me wonder if the drug is contributing to the peripheral neuropathy experienced by many diabetics.) One reason that minorities have more health worries is in part due to living in neighborhoods where there is a lack of fresh wholesome foods and they are more likely to block B₁ with the sugar in processed foods and by drinking alcohol. The elderly in long term care facilities are more frequently deficient in thiamine…presumably because of the diet.

What about supplements? Most people probably take a multivitamin that contains some B_1. For example, Centrum Silver (which I do NOT recommend) contains 1.1 mg. but in a form that is not especially easy to absorb. What is more, if you take that pill with a typical IHop breakfast of pancakes with syrup and coffee, you might not absorb much if any. For comparison, Molecular Multi contains 20 mg. I don’t recommend taking it with a bad breakfast, but at least it contains enough to allow for some absorption interference. B vitamins are typically water-soluble, but there is a fat-soluble variety of B₁, benfotiamine, that seems to be better absorbed and utilized. It has been found useful for diabetic vascular problems and is being researched for helping with diabetic nerve damage, Alzheimer’s and arthritis. Bill Sardi was so motivated by the apparent need, that he recently formulated Nerve Guardian which contains 10 mg. of benfotiamine  and 5 more nutrients to help the nervous system. I am impressed with the product and that he made it affordable. With his “Buy one/get one free” offer, the price works out to just $3.12 a month!!! Available from Lifespan Nutrition at 800-247-5731.

Testing / Safety? As is the case with most nutrients, normal blood testing is relatively useless. The more accurate tests are expensive and unnecessary. It is better to just try supplementing B₁ and see if it helps. (That is called a “therapeutic trial”.) According to Harvard, there has never been a toxic level of thiamine (B₁) discovered. The body stops absorbing it when it has enough and flushes out the excess.

Back to covid-19. Whatever you believe about the source and nature of the pandemic, it stands to reason that a great many people are suffering symptoms related to insufficient B₁ with or without a virus. It can only help everyone to be well nourished.

This links to the government’s professional information sheet on thiamin.(Just remember that when the feds set nutrient intake levels, they are of a drug mindset and are not thinking about optimum function or allowing for the fact that we might do something to interfere with absorption.)

Following up Jeff Bowles’ amazing interviews

Last week’s interview with investigative health journalist,Jeff T Bowles and the show the week before that were exciting and a bit shocking. They covered his fascinating book, The Miraculous Cure For and Prevention of All Diseases—What Doctors Never Learned.  In case you haven’t yet heard those shows, the simple yet powerful cure he discusses is vitamin D₃. Mr. Bowles kindly answered listeners’ follow up questions by email and provided additional resources of which I want to make readers aware. High dose vitamin D₃ can be very powerful and it is quite safe if the other nutrients that it works with are kept in balance.

• This links to Jeff’s blog, OVERWHELMING PROOF THAT VITAMIN D₃ DEFICIENCY CAUSES MOST HUMAN DISEASES  
• This is a nifty interactive “calculator” to determine the amount of sunlight exposure needed to maintain a healthy vitamin D status without sunburn
• Taking a calcium supplement when taking high dose D₃ is generally NOT a good idea. That is because the only danger of high dose D₃ is that is can promote too much calcium in the blood and/or aggravate a magnesium deficiency.
• After Mr. Bowles took 20 to 25,000 IUs of D₃ per day for a few months, his D₃ blood level was 125 ng/ml. He says people do not get the healing results, disease cures and resolution of chronic issues unless their D₃ level is about 125 to 150 ng/ml (The so-called “normal” range is 30 to 100 ng/ml. Of course, that is computed by averaging a sick population.)
• A good place for blood tests is this linked website. They will send you a form that you take to the nearest Labcorp office which will draw your blood. You will then get test results by email in 3 days. Note that some locations are busier than others.
• The most important test is blood calcium. If it is in the normal range, you have nothing to worry about because D₃ itself is nontoxic. Its only risk is that it can elevate calcium too high. The blood panel for $140 provides D₃, calcium levels and many others. Do not worry about the magnesium results because the usual serum blood tests tell you nothing useful about how much magnesium is in the tissues.
• DOSING suggestions from Jeff Bowles.
  • Vitamin D₃. Take D₃ based on your body weight and test results. The bigger a person is, the more they need. With each 10,000 IU, also take the following:
  • Vitamin K₂ helps calcium go into the bone and get out of the arteries where it can cause trouble. Bowles recommends 800 mcg (micrograms) of the mk7 type of K₂ for each 10,000 IU of D₃. OR 4 mg (4,000 mcg) of the weaker but more natural mk4 type of K See takeD3.com for information about saving money by buying D₃ and K₂ in bulk. The vitamin D₃+K₂ spray that I use has a good balance.
  • Magnesium. Magnesium* is required to covert the D₃ into other needed forms.Jeff thinks that it is likely that 75% of diseases can be cured with vitamin D3 and the other 25% with magnesium. So,another of the great reasons to take it. Mr. Bowles says to take anywhere from 250 mg 2x per day of extended-release magnesium up to 500mg 2x a day or even 750 mg 2x a day. He recommends the magnesium from Lef.org. He says to take as much as you can handle for a 1-year period if you think you are magnesium deficient or are taking high dose D₃. The reason for the extended release kind is that it stays in the blood for 6 hours at a time and it is important to have high blood levels of magnesium all the time to reverse a deficiency in the tissues. If you have a loose stool after 1week or so, cut down the dosage until you are ok with it.
  • Boron. If you get the little 3 mg pills, take 18 mg 2 x per day with some zinc picolinate 50 mg 2 x a day. Or, if you use 20 Mule Team Detergent Booster Borax Powder (NOT the detergent containing borax) take 1/8th a teaspoon 2x per day (presumably in water).
• One listener wanted to know the highest Jeff’s blood levels ever reached. He replied, “the highest level I have ever reached on a test was about 175 ng/ml after I had been taking 70,000 IU’s a day for many months. But, I have heard from people who have hit the 200’s and one guy at 320 ng/ml  that were fine….They were just alarmed at the high number. My advice to them was to stop the D₃, keep taking K₂ until the D₃ comes back down to the 125 to 150 ng/ml range…They did that and everything was fine.”
• HBN Library resources – Benefits and Basics this section and in this one on Vitamin D supplements, safety, testing and doses. (I’ve been working to update those, but if there are any conflicts, consider this blog more current.)

*“Magnesium deficiency is common in our society. The RDA used to be 800 mg, but practically no one was getting that much from the food supply. And because many entitlement programs, such as Food Stamps, require that RDA amounts be obtained from food rather than from supplements, the FDA realized that giving people enough food to provide 800 mg/day of magnesium was prohibitively expensive. So they reduced the RDA to 400 mg—a triumph of politics over science.” “A few years ago the FDA proposed reducing the magnesium RDA from 400 to 200 mg. There was such an outcry about it that they backed off. Four hundred (400) milligrams is about the lowest amount an adult ought to consider taking, and most people aren’t getting even half of that in their diet.” Source: Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw article, Putting More Power Into Your Life.

Nature has an answer that we have been missing

The 11/21/20 radio show with Jeff T Bowles will be so powerful and will focus a lot of attention on vitamin D. That is why, in lieu of a typical blog this week, I’ve updated these vitamin D pages in the library: Vitamin D basics and Vitamin D Supplements

The Care and Feeding of Your Brain, PART 5

In brain blogs Part 1 and Part 2, I discussed actions and substances to AVOID if you want to maintain brain health. Part 3 and Part 4 covered POSITIVE ACTIONS to take to protect the brain. Part 5 will discuss brain SUPPLEMENTS, but do remember that they are not a substitute for the items covered in Parts 1-4. We can’t wait for big pharma to discover a drug for Alzheimer’s Disease because they have not shown progress. Even so, the government does not allow natural products to claim help with brain problems. Fortunately, we can say that they help support normal function.

Multivitamin Mineral. B complex vitamins are particularly important for the nervous system. However, because the human body is so complex, if any single nutrient is lacking, that can throw the brain a curve. We have done whole shows on the wonders of vitamin B₁₂. Deficiency of that vitamin can be diagnosed as dementia and can cause permanent nerve damage. Bill Sardi has taught us about vitamin B₁ (thiamin or Benfotiamine). This is an interesting study, Long-Term Cognitive Improvement After Benfotiamine Administration in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Here is another study on the nutrient with patients who have mild cognitive impairment or worse.We obviously do not want to wait until we are in diagnosable trouble before helping the brain.

A good multivitamin /mineral benefits the brain and all body parts and systems which may indirectly affect the brain. For example, poor blood sugar management is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s and the mineral chromium helps with that. The mineral selenium helps protect nerve tissues and supports cellular energy production which boosts nerve communication. A balanced multi is the best base for a supplement program. The best one I have ever found (and the one I personally take) is Molecular Multi. It has excellent forms of the nutrients and in meaningful amounts. The great deal where you Buy 3 Molecular Multi and get 2 free brings the cost down to about $1 a day. The recommended dose of the product is 4 capsules a day, but even at 2 a day (about 50 cents), it is more powerful than any others I have found. What a fabulous deal on health and brain insurance.

Magnesium. Because magnesium takes up a lot of room, multivitamins do not attempt to put in large amounts of it. I always recommend taking extra because of the hundreds of jobs it performs in the body. Please see the list in my article on magnesium. One role is helping the nervous system and brain. Study on that. Note that magnesium levels are typically found to be low in those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Immune system. Many experts believe that infections of various kinds may be leading to dementia. As one example, since early in the 16th century we have known that syphilis can cause brain damage. So, whatever you do to keep your immune system tuned up is good for the brain. As we have discussed relating to covid-19: vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc are key protectors.:

Gingko. Many years ago, I saw a dramatic study demonstrating gingko’s improvement in brain blood circulation (that seems like a good thing). This fairly recent review of 9 clinical trials shows that this ancient herb helps with cognition even among AD patients. They used a gingko extract dose of dose of 240 mg/day which is easily attainable in standard supplements. Our sponsor Jarrow has a good product.

Resveratrol. Memory loss is associated with aging. Calorie restriction slows memory decline. Resveratrol has the same effect as noted in this STUDY. The lovely thing about this natural substance is that instead of side effects, there are a lot of fringe benefits some of which are listed in my Library page on resveratrol. In that article I also detail why the only resveratrol I recommend is Longevinex.

Ashwagandha. This herb is known traditionally in ayurvedic [Indian]medicine for helping the body deal with stress and to help sleep and cognitive function. Again, Jarrow Formulasis a good source.

Combination product. Kyolic’s Neuro-Logicis an impressive combination of ingredients known to help brain function along with the many well-known benefits of aged garlic extract.

Gut health. There is a whole new branch of science investigating the “gut/brain axis”. That is because our gut bacteria digest our foods into substances (postbiotics) that send instructions to the brain (as well as to the immune system and every other function). My choice has long been for the only 3-yrst fermented food concentrate including the naturally formed postbiotics,Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics.

With all these complex connections to the brain and many ways that things can go wrong, it is certainly no wonder that drug companies are not having any luck finding a single silver bullet Alzheimer’s remedy!