The Healing Power of CoQ10

The healing power of CoQ10 has been well recognized.  Here is an example relates to Parkinson’s disease. The Archives of Neurology published a study3 several years ago indicating Parkinson’s patients supplemented with 1,200 mg per day of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) had a 50% reduction in the progression of their disease. There are no drugs available proven to provide this benefit, nor could you ever have this amount of CoQ10 in your diet. Dr. Rimm is providing wrong and misleading advice that will continue to bankrupt America with out of control health care costs related to cancer, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and many other diseases which may benefit, or experience reduced risk, from proper dietary supplementation. Read more

September 18, 2008 · Filed Under Supplement Remedy

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Figuring Your Nutritional Needs - Using vitamin supplements

Phase 5: Figuring Your Nutritional Needs - Step 7: Using vitamin supplements

Professional dietitians aren’t enthusiastic about people getting their nutrients through supplements. The American Dietetic Association lays out the following points against these supplements: Read more

September 4, 2008 · Filed Under Supplement Remedy

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Supplements to Improve Peripheral Nerve Function

Poor peripheral nerve function is usually caused by aging, diabetes, and other health conditions. Unfortunately there are no curative agents in traditional allopathic medicine. However, recent experimental and in clinical trials have shown that several supplemental nutrients can benefit nerve health more effectively.

In general, poor peripheral nerve health occurs over many months to years and so, logically, if you were to give some nutritional supplement, you would think it would take that period of time to show some improvement. Not in this case, however. According to Dr. Allen Josephs, he has seen some return of nerve function sooner that he thought.

According several researches, the following 3 nutrients have proven to be effective to treat poor nerve function:

1. alpha lipoic acid

2. acetyl-L-carnitine

3. benfotiamine (a special form of vitamin B1)

In the May 2008 edition of the journal Experimental Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes, it was reported that researchers from Germany performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial1 in 165 patients with elevated blood sugar complicated by poor peripheral nerve function.

The groups were randomized into three supplement groups, with one-third getting 600 mg a day of benfotiamine , one group getting 300 mg a day and the last group getting placebo. After six weeks of supplementation, those patients given the benfotiamine reported improvement in nerve health, especially the higher benefotiamine group. Supplementation was tolerated in all groups.

The authors suggested further studies to help confirm the positive experiences. Other studies with benfotiamine indicate that it may reduce AGEs by up to 40%. AGEs are formed as a result of elevated glucose cross linking with healthy cell proteins and causing damage to the cells and the body. As we age and as our blood sugar increases, these AGEs elevate and may lead to poor health. Alpha lipoic acid is another amazing nutrient that appears to help promote healthy aging for similar reasons.

In addition, there was a study published earlier this year in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism in which the authors noted that based on efficacy and safety data, benfotiamine and alpha lipoic acid should be considered as first choices in patients with elevated blood sugar with poor peripheral function.

References

Experimental Clinical Endocrinology and Diabetes, Issue 05, Volume 115, May 2008.

Várkonyi T and Kempler P, Diabetic neuropathy: new strategies for treatment, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Volume 10, Issue 2, Date: February 2008, Pages: 99-108.

July 29, 2008 · Filed Under Supplement Remedy

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Multiple Antioxidants to Reduce Toxication from Chemo-Therapy

For many cancer patients, chemo-therapy is the must-go pathway to cure. When the therapy kills as many cancer cells as possible, it also toxicates blood and body to make patients very weak. This is always the serious side effect to concern. The good news is, according to recent studies, several antioxidant supplements can help reduce the chemo-therapy toxication effectively.

In the July 2008 edition of the International Journal of Cancer, researchers did an exhaustive review of the medical literature over the last 41 years regarding use of antioxidants to potentially reduce toxic side effects of chemo-therapy. There were a total of 33 studies that were randomized and placebo-controlled that they felt should be included in this review.

Multiple antioxidants were tested including glutathione, melatonin, vitamin A, an antioxidant mixture, N-acetyl cysteine, vitamin E, selenium, L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10 and ellagic acid. 24 of the 33 studies reviewed reported decreased toxicity from the concurrent use of antioxidants with chemo-therapy. Nine studies reported no difference in toxicity. In only one study using vitamin A was there a report of significant increase in toxicity in the antioxidant group.

The authors noted this analysis provides systemically reviewed evidence that antioxidant supplementation during chemo-therapy holds potential for reducing dose limiting toxicity. They caution, however, that well designed studies evaluating larger populations of patients given specific antioxidants are warranted.

There was another terrific study that was recently published in the June 2008 edition of Cancer Epidemiology, BioMarkers and Prevention. A total of over 1,900 patients participated in this four-year randomized, multi-center study. Individuals were given high fiber diets (18 grams of fiber per 1000 calories), high fruit and high vegetable (five servings per day) and low fat (no more than 20% of total calories) to determine if this can inhibit the growth of polyps in the colon.

Researchers found that total flavonoid intake did not significantly reduce the risk of developing a recurrence of colon/rectal adenomas, although there was a 36% reduced rate of developing an advanced recurrence of colonic adenomas in those individuals with the highest flavonoid intake (over 106 mg a day) compared to those with the lowest flavonoid intake (less than 51 mg a day).

When the researchers looked at the specific flavonoids, those consuming higher amounts of flavonols and isoflavonoids, reduced their risk of developing colon polyps by 76% and 54% respectively. Products such as apples, beans, broccoli and onions are high in flavonols while isoflavonoids are typically found in higher concentrations in soy products and beans.

References

Block KI, Koch AC, Mead MN, Tothy PK, Newman RA, Gyllenhaal C, Impact of antioxidant supplementation on chemotherapeutic toxicity: A systematic review of the evidence from randomized controlled trials, International Journal of Cancer, Volume 123 Issue 6, Pages 1227 – 1239, Published Online: July 11, 2008.

Bobe G, Sansbury LB, Albert PS, Cross AJ, Kahle L, et.al, Dietary Flavonoids and Colorectal Adenoma Recurrence in the Polyp Prevention Trial, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, June 1, 2008, 1344-1353.

July 29, 2008 · Filed Under Supplement Remedy

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