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Bill Sardi
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Posted May 1, 2014: by Bill Sardi
Flaxseed is a popular health food. It is available as raw seeds, crushed seed (flax meal, since raw seeds will not yield nutritional value, however you can crush your own seeds in a coffee grinder) and pressed flaxseeds to produce flaxseed oil.
Flax provides three primary classes of nutrients: 35-45% omega-3 oils (70% alpha linolenic fatty acid, the richest source in nature); protein 20-30% and fiber 28%.
Flaxseed is also loaded with an array of vitamins and minerals and is a rich natural source of phytate (IP6) as an antioxidant mineral stabilizer. Barlean’s flaxseed meal (Forti-Flax) provides a complete list of the nutrients provided in flaxseed. Flaxseed is also the richest source of phyto-estrogens called lignans. [Voprosy Pitania 2012]
Posted in Dietary Supplements ; No Comments »
Posted April 30, 2014: by Bill Sardi
Dr. Ian R Reid of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, writing in the Journal of Bone Metabolism, asks an ongoing question in medicine: should it continue to be assumed that supplemental calcium slows the loss of bone during the osteoporotic years and prevents hip fractures?
That assumption, says Dr. Reid, has prevailed since the 1960s. Dr. Reid says that recommendation “has now changed dramatically.”
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Posted : by Bill Sardi
The April issue of Pharmacy & Therapeutics offers a wonderful interview with Mark Houston MD regarding nutrition and nutraceuticals to replace prescription drugs. Dr. Houston summarizes hypertension as a battle between angiotensin II and nitric oxide, the former promoting excessive constriction of blood vessels with accompanying inflammation and arterial plaque and the latter being its antithesis, dilating blood vessels, inhibiting blood clots and controlling blood pressure. [Pharmacy & Therapeutics, April 2014]
Some of this report may be better understood by physicians versed in the medical language, but the list of nutraceuticals that can potentially replace anti-hypertensive drugs is priceless.
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Posted April 17, 2014: by Bill Sardi
The incidence of herpes zoster (the shingles) has risen by 39% over the past decade and a leading medical authority with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says they don’t know why. [Medscape April 14, 2014] The varicella zoster virus is acquired during childhood and emanates as chicken pox and the virus is harbored in nerve sheaths where it erupts much later in life as a painful skin rash.
The Centers for Disease control is a public health agency that serves as a shill for the pharmaceutical industry. So it is no surprise to hear CDC representatives advise adults over age 60 to receive zoster vaccine. However, the vaccine is a little bit of the disease itself and the virus may spread to other family members of the vaccinated.
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Modern Medicine ; No Comments »
Posted March 17, 2014: by Bill Sardi
Every day we read or hear about some biological threat, whether it be from a potentially deadly strain of the flu virus, a prevalent pathogenic bacterium in foods like Campylobacter in uncooked chicken meat; or a seemingly safe FDA-approved drug that has been found to be unsafe like aspirin that induces bleeding gastric ulcers and brain hemorrhages; or pollutants in the air or water like the endemic fungus that causes Valley Fever or chlorine that decontaminates our tap water but increases risk for colon cancer; or toxic heavy metals like mercury or lead in our dental fillings and roadways; or parasitic germs like H. pylori, Candida albicans or Streptococcus that are commonly harbored in our own digestive tract.
Then there is aging itself with all of the chronic diseases it brings with it – circulatory problems, insidious decline in vision from cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration, as well as fatty liver, excessive sugar levels and numerous malignancies.
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Posted February 14, 2014: by Bill Sardi
Gretchen Reynolds, blog writer for the New York Times, should have done more homework before she penned a report that referred to a published report in The Journal of Physiology that errantly claimed resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trol) supplements undid the beneficial effects of physical exercise. That report had already been called into question in two subsequent issues of the same journal.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen claimed resveratrol reversed the positive effects of exercise upon blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. But at no time did the blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar/insulin levels fall outside the optimal range. There was not even a significant statistical difference, only a numerical difference in these numbers.
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Posted February 12, 2014: by Bill Sardi
It is often important to find the best form of a vitamin, mineral or herbal supplement in order to achieve the desired health benefits promised in scientific studies.
For example, there is a hidden plague of vitamin B1 (thiamin) deficiency which has arisen in an era when consumption of refined sugars and popular beverages (coffee, tea, alcohol) have increased – all which block absorption of thiamin even though it is fortified in foodstuffs. Benfotiamine, the fat-soluble form of thiamin, achieves superior results over water-soluble thiamin as it is absorbed regardless of the thiamin-blockers in the diet.
Another example is magnesium, a critically short-supplied mineral in the diet. The most economical magnesium supplement is mag oxide which is only 4% absorbed. It shouldn’t even be sold but naïve consumers like the lower price.
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Posted January 26, 2014: by Bill Sardi
The current ongoing anti-vitamin supplement campaign being played out in the news media will go to no end to misleadingly scare the public away from vitamin pills. This time it’s multivitamins during pregnancy.
In what amounts to a lot of double talk, investigators and news reporters alike issue warnings and then disclaimers that make one wonder if there was anything to be alarmed about in the first place.
The Daily Mail in the UK issues a headline report that says “Taking multivitamins can raise risk of a miscarriage,” and claims “32 per cent are more likely to lose their baby early-on if they had taken the supplements,” but end their report by saying “in the meantime, supplements should be taken in accordance with current clinical guidelines.”
Researchers said: “We found a modest but consistent increased risk of early fetal death in multivitamin users.” The reported increased risk was 32% but that is a relative number, not a hard number. In reality, less than 1 in 100 were at risk for a miscarriage who took multivitamins.
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Posted January 6, 2014: by Bill Sardi
That’s what an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine said. After citing flawed study after flawed study where multivitamins were found to be ineffective at reducing death rates or mental decline with advancing age, and even citing published studies to say multivitamins are harmful and even kill people, these experts from the most prestigious medical centers in the world said: “we believe the case is closed – supplementing the diet of well-nourished adults with (most) mineral or vitamin supplements has no clear benefit and might even be harmful. These vitamins should not be used for chronic disease prevention. Enough is enough.”
Case closed?
Hardly.
The catch: “well nourished.”
Posted in Dietary Supplements, Vitamins ; No Comments »
Posted January 5, 2014: by Bill Sardi
Digestive tract problems are many and they may be difficult to sort out, even by well-trained doctors.
Some individuals may simultaneously suffer from bloating due to lactose (milk) intolerance, heartburn from thick sludgy bile, indigestion from lack of stomach acid caused by Helicobacter pylori infection and also have overgrowth of yeast (Candida albicans).
Symptoms of these maladies are often common and overlapping, making it even more difficult to determine their cause and cure. Different digestive tract maladies produce similar cross-over symptoms, such as heartburn, bloating, nausea, tummy pain, stomach fullness, etc.
The following is a checklist of digestive tract problems, their common symptoms and online links provided for checking up on natural home remedies.
Posted in Diet, Dietary Supplements, Vitamins ; No Comments »
11
17
52
95
14
24
237
6
56
43
10
116
15
66
105
