Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones and So Will This

By Mila McManus MD and Nancy Mehlert MS

We tend to not think about our bone health until we break one. , but maybe we should. The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research reported a study which revealed that 10.2 million adults have osteoporosis and another 43.4 million have low bone mass (osteopenia). That’s more than one-half of the total U.S. adult population! The study projects that by 2020, the number of adults over age 50 with osteoporosis or low bone mass will grow from approximately 54 million to 64.4 million and by 2030, the number will increase to 71.2 million (a 29% increase from 2010). Moreover, it’s anticipated that the number of fractures will grow proportionately. ¹

Osteoporosis is defined by the National Osteoporosis Foundation as a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both, and as a result, bones become weak and may break from a fall or, in serious cases, from sneezing or minor bumps. The word osteoporosis means “porous bone.” Viewed under a microscope, healthy bone looks like a honeycomb. When osteoporosis occurs, the holes and spaces in the honeycomb are much larger than in healthy bone. Osteoporotic bones have lost density and mass and contain abnormal tissue structure. As bones become less dense, they weaken and are more likely to break. ²

The good news is that most people can prevent, or reverse, bone loss through lifestyle choices. Here’s a list of important considerations to building and protecting your bones so that you don’t become a statistic:

Healthy bones require many nutrients, including protein, fats, vitamins and minerals to stay strong and repair themselves. Simply trying to increase calcium is an inadequate and potentially harmful approach, as research is suggesting this can actually worsen your bone density and lead to heart attacks.² Instead, it is important to obtain proper balances of vitamin D and K as well as boron, silica, manganese, copper, iodine, magnesium, chromium, zinc and selenium. Proper supplementation can go a long way to protecting your bones.
Nutrition plays a very foundational and critical role in bone health. There are important foods to include to optimize bone health. Equally important, there are foods that pull calcium away from bones and need to be avoided. Some of them may surprise you! See our Nutrition Nugget for details.
Exercise increases bone strength, especially weight bearing choices such as walking, hiking, jogging, stair climbing, lifting weights and playing tennis.
Those who smoke cigarettes or drink excessive alcohol are more prone to bone loss and broken bones as well as more likely to get other lifestyle diseases.
Low estrogen levels in women and low testosterone levels in men can cause osteoporosis. In fact, bio-identical hormones, especially the use of progesterone and testosterone, have proven very effective with increasing bone density. Synthetic hormones have not proven very successful and come with many side effects.
Medications can also steal bone health so it may pay off to discuss with your medical provider if you are using any medications that negatively impact your bones. Some examples include proton pump inhibitors used for heartburn, long term use of high dose steroids such as prednisone, chemotherapy and anticonvulsants.
Fluoridated Water and other sources of fluoride such as toothpastes, mouthwashes, foods and beverages processed with fluoridated water are problematic for our bones over time. Excess fluoride in the body results in excessive thickening of bone causing joint pain, bone pain and stiffness. Interestingly, even though the bone becomes thicker, it becomes more brittle. Fluoride should not be ingested for many reasons, bone health being just one example. ⁴

So take control, examine your bone health strategy and take positive steps to improve it. Talk to our medical providers for recommendations and a good plan for you.

References:

¹https://www.nof.org/news/54-million-americans-affected-by-osteoporosis-and-low-bone-mass/

²http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/30/calcium-supplement-on-heart-attack.aspx

³https://www.nof.org/patients/what-is-osteoporosis/

⁴http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/08/bone-fluorides-magnet-new-studies-halflife.aspx

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/556768 (hip fx more deadly than breast ca in women 65+)

By Mila McManus MD|2017-07-04T09:08:48-06:00July 4th, 2017|Articles, General|

Fake Food: You Don’t Always Get What You Want (or think you bought)

This month we’re focusing on BEEF.

Traditionally, cattle were grass fed from start to finish. As little as three generations ago, a steer was fed grass its entire life and was not slaughtered for market until the age of four or five years old. Today, through misguided policies and government subsidies, our nation has figured out the route to cheaper and faster without considering the long term impact on humans, animals, and environmental health. Now, the majority of cattle spends just the first few months of life on pasture land and then are “finished”, or fattened, in a feed lot (Confined Animal Feeding Operations, aka CAFO). The goal is to take a cow from birthweight of about 80 pounds to 1200 pounds in just a little more than a year. The only way to accomplish this unnatural feat is to feed the animal enormous quantities of corn, soy based protein supplements, antibiotics and other drugs, including hormones.

This article could easily take many avenues, from animal cruelty, environmental issues or government policy, but our purpose today is to focus on what kind of beef can offer the greatest nutritional value. Let me preface this by saying that most Americans consume far more meat than needed and are grossly insufficient consumers of vegetables and healthy, undamaged fats. Meats, which can be part of a well-balanced, nutritious diet, are far healthier and superior when obtained from animals that have eaten their natural diet.

The Bad News about Feed Lot Beef

When we eat CAFO meat, our health is impacted negatively in the following ways:

Increasingly, research reveals that pesticides used on genetically modified food has significant long term health risks, most notably glyphosate. Glyphosate is classified by the World Health Organization as a Class 2A, “probable human carcinogen”. Cows are fed genetically altered, glyphosate-sprayed, corn, soy and other byproducts.
We are currently human lab rats in the experiment of genetic modification as we artificially transfer genes from one species to another where it would never occur under natural conditions. The process yields unexpected and unpredictable results, including transferring foreign genes from other species into humans¹.
In CAFO operations, antibiotics are used as a preventive measure so that animals can be kept in conditions and fed things that would otherwise make them sick. Antibiotics, along with growth hormones and steroids, are also used as a cheap method to help cattle gain weight. Growth hormones and steroids are banned in pig and poultry production. ²
There are also reports that cattle are also fed animal waste that includes chicken litter (which contains chicken feces, bedding, feathers and other unknown residues) as well as the flesh and bones of dead cattle.⁶
Corn fed beef is more inflammatory to humans because it adds to our intake of Omega 6 fatty acids which promote inflammation.
“Pink slime” in ground beef remains very real. Simply look for terms like “lean finely textured beef” (LFTB), “textured beef,” “finely textured beef” or “boneless lean beef trimmings” (BLBT). It is used to hold beef together and is made from meat trimmings heated at high temperatures to remove the fat, then treated with ammonia or citric acid to kill bacteria. It is used as a filler as well.⁴ Um, gross!
“Meat glue” is also still very prevalent. Many “premium” cuts of meat you are buying in restaurants are cheaper cuts assembled to look like filet mignon or ribeye. The glue is an enzyme known as transglutaminase, reportedly created by cultivating bacteria or using blood plasma of pigs and cows. It is apparently toxic enough to warrant those working with the product to wear protective masks to avoid inhaling fumes from it. Another concern is that it harbors pathogens and since it will be located at the center of the meat, ordering on the rare side may not kill the pathogens. ⁵
An important consideration for everyone is the modern-day crisis we face, as the antibiotics we consume in our meat and dairy products create antibiotic resistance in our own bodies.

The Good News about Grass Fed Beef

Not surprising, when an animal eats its natural diet in a healthy living environment, the meat and eggs from that animal are healthier options for us to eat.

Grass fed beef is lower in fat and provides more of the healthy Omega-3 fats that are crucial for human health and are also found in walnuts, flaxseeds and fish. A grass fed steak typically has twice as many Omega-3’s as a grain fed steak. ³
Grass fed beef is also four times higher in vitamin E than feed lot cattle, and much higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Both of these nutrients are associated with reducing inflammation, providing antioxidant protection, and preventing cancer. ³
Truly 100% grass fed and organic beef will be free of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. The cows will be raised on grass and hay. See the Nutrition Nugget in this newsletter for how to buy quality grass fed beef.

¹http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/01/05/ge-food-dangers.aspx

³https://foodrevolution.org/blog/the-truth-about-grassfed-beef

⁴http://clark.com/health-health-care/how-to-know-if-youre-eating-pink-slime/

⁵http://www.natrualnews.com/054504_meat_glue_warning_fake_food.html

⁶http://www.naturalnews.com/z028675_beef_chicken_poop.html

By Mila McManus MD|2017-06-04T06:39:53-06:00June 4th, 2017|Articles, General|

How to Avoid Fake Fish and Fake Olive Oil

The following ideas are taken from Larry Olmsted’s book Real Food, Fake Food published in 2016. Mr. Olmsted is a food and travel columnist at Forbes.com, a writer, and teaches nonfiction writing at Dartmouth College. He loves food, gardening, travel and trying exotic new foods. He became perplexed at why food in other countries did not taste the same when he came home to America and ordered the same thing, such as Kobe Beef, Italian Olive Oil, and Parmesan Cheese. It initiated for him an extensive investigation into food where he discovered a lot of fake food. He wrote this book to tell about it.

In our main article today we talked about the likelihood of getting fake fish and fake olive oil. Here are some of his suggestions for seeking out the real stuff:

FISH

Look for third party outside and non-profit evaluators certifications. Several to look for include Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP for farmed fish),Blue Ocean Institute ratings by the Safina Center at Stony Brook and the Gulf of Main Research Institute’s Gulf of Main Responsibly Harvested certification. For those of us who are Houstonians, The Gulf Wild seal is a reliable assurance of the authenticity of wild-caught seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and is ideal for shrimp.
“Alaska Seafood: Wild, Natural, Sustainable” is one of the most reliable seafood logos you will find. The state has completely outlawed fish farming, and has a constitutional by-law requiring sustainability. Fisheries are regarded as well managed against overfishing, pollution and habitat damage. Alaskan Salmon has little or no traces of contaminants, low levels of heavy metals and organochlorines. Other than Alaskan Salmon, look for pollock, king crab, snow crab, black cod and pacific halibut as well as all five species of Alaskan salmon: king/chinook, sockeye/red, coho/silver, keta/chum and pink.
Here’s some good news: According to Michael Bell, director of the California Coastal and Marine Program for the Nature Conservancy, “Fishery management in the U.S. is the best in the world.” Since our supply chain is less contorted and our domestic monitoring of environmental factors is better, buying American is usually a good choice. This applies especially to Alaskan as well as Mississippi gulf fish, Maine Lobster, scallops and fish as well as domestically farmed catfish, assuming they are labeled honestly.
Wild Caught is usually a best choice, though there are some exceptions. Especially avoid farmed raised, foreign shrimp.
When eating out, if you order white tuna or red snapper, you will almost without doubt get something fake. Salmon will be farmed, crab will be imitation. Be wary of grouper too. Your best shot is to eat at some of the nation’s very best (and expensive) seafood and sushi eateries and otherwise, as Larry Olmstead says, assume the worst and you will most likely be right.
Large grocery retailers including Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Costco were named as reliable sources for seafood, fresh and frozen. According to Olmsted, he was surprised to hear the consistent message from industry experts that the big box stores with enormous buying leverage often force adherence to higher standards. At Walmart, over 90 percent of their seafood is either certified or in a fishery improvement program.

OLIVE OIL

Olmsted’s top three brand picks: California’s McEvoy Ranch, Australia’s Boulder Bend-Cobram Estate and Spain’s Oro Bailen.
Reliable retailers include T.J.Robinson’s Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club, Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oliviers & Co. and Tom Mueller’s extravirginity.com
In terms of labels, some concepts that may help in selection of a good, real olive oil include:
- The more information the better
- A harvest date, no more than one year old
- Know that there is no regulatory significance to terms like “first cold pressed, or “extra virgin” so don’t let that lead you.
- Look for third party certifications that promise higher standards such as “COOC Certified Extra Virgin”( California Olive Oil Council) or EVA (the Extra Virgin Alliance) and “100% Qualita Italiana”, by UNAPROL, the association of actual Italian olive growers. Interestingly, little stock is put in a USDA organic certification!
Chile and Australia have better practices and stricter standards in general according to the U.S. International Trade Commission report on the quality of extra-virgin olive oil followed by the United States. So these may be the best “go to” source of origin when in doubt.
Newer oils are always better. Be sure to buy small quantities (a six week supply) as it is highly perishable. It should not be exposed to heat or light and is best stored in a cool, dark cabinet. Tins do the best job of blocking the light, followed by an opaque bottle. Oxygen is also an enemy of olive oil so once opened, the oil quality is going downhill quickly.

¹ Real Food/Fake Food by Larry Olmsted, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2016.

By Mila McManus MD|2023-05-20T07:30:17-06:00May 3rd, 2017|Articles, General, NANCY’S NUTRITIONAL NUGGET|

by Mila McManus MD and Nancy Mehlert MS

There is no question, that if you knew everything about your food and what the FDA considers “acceptable”, you would be shocked. It may surprise you (or not) that the FDA doesn’t have the resources to pursue all the fraud in the marketplace. And like so much in government, the FDA can be heavily influenced. Additionally the food industry is powerful and busy in Washington fighting for itself, and not usually for what is best for you. Unfortunately, that leaves us to figure out what really is safe to eat and sometimes that is seemingly impossible to do. Moreover, the food industry and marketing techniques today are laden with an over-abundance of hype and confusion. Today we are sharing a few food examples of “fake food”. The information about fish and olive oil is taken from Larry Olmstead’s 2016 book called Real Food/Fake Food.

Sushi and Other Fish Scams¹

It may be surprising to you that there are very serious and frequent scams in the fish world where less expensive and sometimes dangerous fish are sold as a premium species. According to Larry Olmstead in his 2016 book Real Food, Fake Food, “The seafood industry is rife with fraud, substitutions and adulteration.” The non-profit marine conservation group, Oceana, launched a study in New York City and found fraud in 58 percent of the retail outlets. In addition, 39 percent of restaurants were serving something other than what the menu claimed was being served. In the same study, they found that every single sushi restaurant, 100% of them, served fake fish. Upon further research, they discovered these trends existed as the rule for the entire country. In sushi restaurants, the single most common substitute for tuna is escolar, one of the most dangerous sea food products you can buy, nicknamed “Ex-lax fish” because it contains a natural wax ester that causes gastric distress and diarrhea. It is never shown on a menu as escolar, yet it is one of the most widely served fish in this country. Other frequent trade out scams include replacements for grouper and red snapper. Apparently, according to Larry Olmstead, almost all red snapper sold in the U.S. is fake and more likely to be tilefish, which is on the FDA’s do-not-eat list for children and pregnant women because of high mercury levels. Tilefish is a common trade out for halibut on the menu too. In the shrimp world, it is extremely common for farm-raised to be labeled wild caught. Olmstead also says that shipping and country-of-origin information is routinely, and illegally, falsified to cover up poaching and to hide fish coming from dangerous farms that use unapproved chemicals and even slave labor. Did you know that wild Atlantic salmon is extinct, so always farm raised when you see it on a menu or package? Alternatively, Alaskan and Pacific Salmon is wild, where fish farming is illegal (in Alaska).

Olive Oil²

There are many ways to adulterate olive oil. To begin with, the legal definition says that olive oil is nothing but the juice extracted from high-quality, fresh, otherwise unprocessed olives. It is a time sensitive issue from proper ripeness and speed to press from picking. The best oils are pressed within 12 hours from picking at perfect ripeness. The three main ways to adulterate it are to dilute it with less expensive oils, dilute it with lower grades of olive oil that have been heavily refined with chemicals, or failing to pick at peak ripeness and press immediately, resulting in an older, rancid oil. Most of our olive oil comes from Italy where Italian investigators have found plenty wrong with olive oil from hydrocarbon residues, pesticides and pomace oil laced with mineral oil, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are proven carcinogens and that can also damage DNA and the immune system. According to Olmstead, virtually every investigation, whether by universities, journalists, law enforcement or government agencies, have found the olive oil industry rife with fraud. Our supermarket brands are almost all, without exception, included in these fake oils and routinely fail testing. In 2011, a large sample supermarket test was conducted of the top selling imported “extra-virgin” olive oil brands in the United States and 73% of the time they failed to meet the basic legal standard for olive oil. Colavita performed best but failed 50% of the time and Pompeian took last place and almost never passed. As recently as November 2015, the police in Turin, Italy investigated seven leading producers which included Bertolli and Carapelli and all seven brands failed despite being labeled “100% Extra Virgin” olive oil. By law, “virgin” oil can only be extracted by physical processing such as crushing or centrifuges without the use of chemicals or heat. Sadly, you can see that enforcement is non-existent and everyone in the industry knows it.

By Mila McManus MD|2017-05-05T06:21:11-06:00May 3rd, 2017|Articles, General|

Pillars of Health

How’s Your Juggling Act?

By Mila McManus MD and Nancy Mehlert, MS

Admittedly, there are many balls to keep in the air to get well and stay well, and each aspect is necessary and overlapping with the others. How well are you doing with optimizing these areas? Test yourself here:

Clean Air – Often out of our control, but are you taking control where you can? At home, do you open windows frequently, decorate with real plants, vacuum often with a HEPA filter, eliminate heavily scented fragrances, candles and chemicals in exchange for safe, non-toxic cleaning products, replace ac/heat filters often, consider single room or whole house air filtration systems?

Clean Water – Do you avoid tap water and select high quality filtering systems for the water you drink and, if possible, the water in which you bathe? Do you limit plastic bottle water use? Are you successful at hydrating throughout the day (drinking half your body weight in ounces)?

Clean Food and Supplements – Do you know what is in your food and supplements? Are you an ingredient reader? Are you eating more and more real, whole food? Are you reducing sugar, packaged, fast, and restaurant food? See our article about choosing supplements carefully.

Unobstructed Energy Flow – Have you had surgery? Infections? Injuries? Parasites? Have you experienced the loss of a pet, family member, or job? These are just a few of the stresses that can trip a breaker for energy flow in the body. Energy therapies can restore this flow, promote healing, detoxification, oxygenation, reduction of pain, swelling and inflammation while increasing ATP (i.e. energy) production at the cellular level. These therapies assist the body with releasing emotional trauma stored at the cellular level to reduce emotional stress on the physical body. Read about our energy therapy called ONDAMED.

Quality Sleep – Do you achieve deep sleep? Do you get too much or too little sleep? Most people need 8 to 9 hours a night. Do you follow a consistent schedule for going to bed and waking up? While the number of hours a person may need can vary, the quality of sleep is critical. It is during deep sleep that our bodies balance, regulate and detoxify. Our brains process information from the day and are reset for the next day. This has a dramatic impact on the body’s ability to fight disease, cope with stress, ward off inflammation and illness.

Moderate Exercise – Are you getting exercise every week? Are you exercising too much (yes that is an important question to ask!)? Do you stand more than you sit? Do you get 10,000 steps in a day? Do you increase your heart rate at least 2-3 times a week? Do you get both aerobic and weight bearing exercise? Exercise is critical for reducing stress, improving sleep, and healing from some diseases. Are you trying to exercise your way out of a bad diet, poor lifestyle choices, or emotional stress? Too much exercise can have a dramatic impact on your adrenal health. So can too little.

Balanced Hormones – Are you working with a functional medicine specialist to balance and optimize your hormones? Simply having ‘normal’ lab results doesn’t guarantee that your hormones are working optimally at the cellular level. Test yourself here for hormonal imbalances.

Strong Immune Function – Are you taking care of your microbiota – the probiotics (aka beneficial bacteria) that defend your body from the outside world? Have you identified areas where your white blood cells are not coping well and put in place a proactive plan to restore this strength (ask why you are having recurrent upper respiratory infections, allergic responses, urinary tract infections or skin rashes, for example)? Do you supplement with immune supporting foods and vitamins? Are you prepared with natural anti-bacterials such as essential oils, coconut oil, herbs, vitamins and supplements that can support the immune system without the use of antibiotics?

Healthy Gut/Digestion –Are you consuming real food, avoiding man-made food products and chemicals and supporting your gut health with fermented foods, probiotics, soothing broths, digestive enzymes and moderate portions of food? There is great truth in the statement that “You are what you eat” but there are many external forces continually destroying your gut health. Do you know what they are and are you protecting yourself from them? Here are links to a 3-part series we published in 2014 regarding this subject: https://woodlandswellnessmd.com/defending-borders-part.html/ , https://woodlandswellnessmd.com/defending-borders-part-ii.html/ , https://woodlandswellnessmd.com/defending-borders-part-iii.html/ .

Emotional/Spiritual Wellbeing – Are you attentive to your soul? Do you address emotional aspects of your life that need your care? Did you know that your emotional stress and despair get stored at the cellular level and have direct impact on your physical health? Do you take time every day to get centered emotionally? Have you forgiven? Can you release hate and anger and take in love and joy? Have you dealt with difficulties in a healthy way that allows you to look forward, not backward, with hope and not dread? Can you turn off the sound of life and find a quiet place for your soul?

Countless times we hear people say that “when you have your health, you have everything”. It is with good health that we can share joy, love others fully, give, and stand beside, and with, others. There is truth in that statement. How’s your juggling act coming along?

By Mila McManus MD|2017-04-04T06:40:17-06:00April 3rd, 2017|Articles, General|

Peppermint Essential Oil

It is important to purchase properly extracted and distilled essential oils and we recommend DōTerra as a brand example of that quality. DoTerra Peppermint Oil is available in our office for purchase.

Peppermint Oil is gathered by steam distillation of parts of the flowering plant and is a hybrid species of spearmint and Mentha aquatica, or water mint. It is one of the oldest European herbs used for medicinal purposes and has health benefits dating back to 1000 B.C. From a therapeutic and clinical standpoint, peppermint oil is recommended for reducing nausea and soothing the digestive system by reducing muscle spasms. It is also effective for freshening breath, relieving headaches and providing some antimicrobial protection.

Here are some practical ways to use Peppermint Oil:

To reduce nausea, add a drop to your water, rub 1 to 2 drops behind your ears, and/or diffuse it into the air.
Add it to coconut oil and baking soda for a refreshing toothpaste, or freshen breath with a drop under the tongue.
For headaches, apply a drop to the forehead and temples.
Apply to achy joints and muscles to relieve pain and give a cooling effect. Lavender oil can be added and combined with coconut oil for a nice balm.
Place a drop under the tongue or nose to improve concentration and alertness. Great for focusing easily distracted kids on homework or perking yourself up behind the wheel.
Bring down a fever naturally by applying a mixture of coconut oil and peppermint oil to the back of the neck or bottom of the feet.

Source: https://draxe.com/peppermint-oil-uses-benefits/

By Mila McManus MD|2017-03-25T09:42:00-06:00March 25th, 2017|Articles, General|

Tyrosine

L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that is involved in the formation of thyroid hormones as well as a precursor for brain-stimulating catecholamines (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline). As a result, it supports your stress support mechanisms, supports your thyroid, and has a favorable effect on energy and mood. It can also help with appetite control.

By Mila McManus MD|2017-02-23T14:46:02-06:00February 23rd, 2017|Articles, General|

by Mila McManus MD

In 2014 I published an article on “Reasons You Can’t Lose Weight“.

Today I’d like to expand on that partial list (didn’t mean to wait 3 years to do that!)

So besides the reasons listed in the above link, here are a few more to add to the list:

Poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation cause an increase in ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, as well as cause a decrease in leptin, a hormone that tells you to stop eating.
Not staying hydrated.
Not eating enough calories.
Stress-yes, stress. Its effects are evil in every way.
Gut health
Excessive fruit intake because the sugar in fruit, fructose, more easily stores as fat than other types of carbs.

Check out this month’s specials which are dedicated to helping you lose those pesky pounds!

References:

webmd.com

shape.com

By Mila McManus MD|2017-02-23T15:23:59-06:00February 21st, 2017|Articles, General|

by Mila McManus MD

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: “Supplements are not all created equal”. There are countless brands from which to choose. How do you know which ones are good, safe, and optimal for your health? There are a number of factors to consider, and one of them is price. You DO get what you pay for with regard to supplements, and it’s important to know that there are also some expensive well-known brands that should be avoided. In general, though, if you are at a store looking at a long wall of supplements and nobody is around to guide you, I advise you to look at price first. I highly recommend avoiding the cheapest, generic supplements. It’s also extremely important that you scrutinize the ‘other’ and ‘inactive’ ingredients on labels.

Here are several other factors to consider when vetting a supplement:

Quality control methods and purity
- One study of 55 different brands of vitamin D showed that the actual amount of vitamin D per dose varied from 9 to 146% of what the labels said.
- Several years ago, Consumer Labs studied numerous brands of multivitamins and nearly half of them didn’t have in the bottles what the bottles said were in the bottles.
The “other” ingredients: Binders, colors, coatings, sweeteners, and fillers
Amount of active ingredient(s) per dose
How minerals are chelated (i.e., bound to substances that enhance absorbability of the minerals)
Synthetic vs natural ingredients
- Whole-food based supplements aren’t necessarily better
- dl-alpha vitamin E is the synthetic form and should be avoided. The best form of vitamin E would be “mixed tocopherols”.

1. Higher-end, reputable supplement manufacturers use the best raw materials, create formulations based on solid scientific data, and use 3^rd party testing to ensure quality and purity of their products. These factors command a higher price. Common contaminants found in vitamins and supplements include mold, pesticides, and heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and mercury. Don’t you want to feel confident that your supplements don’t contain these? Also, if you see a USP or GMP or NPA seal on a supplement, that supplement has at least met some minimum quality standards, but it doesn’t ensure top quality. Moreover, absence of these seals means nothing. There are many top quality supplements without these seals.

2. Look for supplements with the least number of ‘other’ ingredients. Covering all of these is beyond the scope of this article, but know that some are harmless (e.g., silicon dioxide, cellulose, citric acid), while many may be harmful (e.g., food dyes, talc, allergenic foods such as corn and soy)

3. The amount of active ingredients varies widely across supplements. A supplement may appear great because of numerous healthy ingredients listed, such as CoQ10, turmeric, spirulina, chorella, ginger, fruits and vegetables, but they may be insignificant amounts that aren’t doing much good, if at all. It’s also noteworthy that the RDA (recommended daily allowance) is often very suboptimal. For instance, the RDA for vitamin C may be enough to prevent scurvy, but it’s hardly an optimal amount to support immune function, alleviate seasonal allergies, and neutralize the onslaught of free radicals you create, and are exposed to, on a daily basis.

4. When looking at nutrient labels on vitamin and mineral supplements, you’ll notice, for example, that there are several forms of magnesium. Magnesium glycinate, magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate, and magnesium malate are all different chelated forms of magnesium. If your magnesium supplement is magnesium oxide, it’s nothing more than a good laxative. You aren’t absorbing that magnesium for its internal benefits. Calcium is another good example. Calcium carbonate is very inexpensive and also not well absorbed. If this is the form in your multivitamin, it’s time to find a better one.

5. It seems intuitive that taking a ‘natural whole food’ supplement would be better than a synthetic form; however, that’s often not the case. A supplement claiming to have nothing but fruits and vegetables in it may be contaminated with pesticides, and it’s also difficult to get optimal doses of nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Sure, it’s obviously important to eat your fruits and vegetables, but these days our bodies require much more than produce can provide. This is mainly due to depletion of nutrients available in soil, and increased toxins in the environment. Another reason that whole food based supplements may not be ideal for some is the yeast content. Yeast is a common allergen that could be affecting you without you realizing it.

I hope you realize how important it is to do your homework before buying your supplements. A popular brand isn’t necessarily a good one. For instance, Centrum® is one of the most popular brands of multivitamin, however, it contains corn and soy (highly allergenic and genetically modified), 3 food dyes including red dye #40, Talc (yes, baby powder, and has been linked to cancer), and contains the cheapest and least absorbable minerals, namely calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide.

Overwhelmed? Well, we’ve done our homework and offer several product lines at our facility to make your life easier.

References:

O magazine, June 2004  (Article on Consumer Labs study)

http://www.drwhitaker.com/choosing-the-best-supplements-to-take/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/health/policy/26herbal.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12867165

http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/02/11/that-vitamin-d-youre-taking-it-may-not-be-vitamin-d/#7dc9ca6e6b6a

http://www.drwhitaker.com/how-safe-are-your-supplements/

http://www.consumerlab.com/

By Mila McManus MD|2017-01-03T07:41:57-06:00January 2nd, 2017|Articles, General|

by Mila McManus MD and Nancy Mehlert MS

Talk to anyone about health care and you will be hard pressed to find one single sole who hasn’t noticed that deductibles, copays, and premiums are rising, and this next year will be no exception. With each passing year, it seems that we have fewer and fewer choices, including doctors and medications from which to choose, and which tests will be covered. These options are controlled by the insurance companies rather than by yourself or your doctor. More and more people are frustrated with the excessive government and insurance company control over how you spend your healthcare dollars, especially in light of the sad fact that, following the doctor visits, prescription drugs, tests, and time, your ailments and problems often persist. Seeking help for an undiagnosed set of symptoms can cost thousands of dollars and result in, for example, 1) no explanation, 2) more prescription drugs, and 3) doctor-hopping. It’s easy to feel out of control and frustrated.

Current conventional health care practices focus mainly on RE-active medicine rather than PRO-active medicine. It’s the same as your homeowners insurance. They don’t pay to remove the fractured and bending tree that is inevitably about to fall on your roof. They won’t talk to you until it does. Prevention is not their interest, though it would save them money in the long term. The same is true of health insurance. What is wrong with this picture?

This coming year, why not take control? Own your health, get control of how your hard earned money is spent, get educated about how to heal and restore your own health, and use the money you will have to spend in the current disease model to really get well. Save money in a Health Savings Account (because YOU get to determine how these dollars are spent) and use it to get well in a PRO-active medical model, thereby improving your lifestyle, gaining true health rather than spinning your wheels and spending your money for answers that never come. Over time this could save you thousands and thousands of dollars. Is your health holding you back from enjoying relationships, finding success, living an abundant and full life? The functional, PRO-active medical model is the place to be! Get to the source of your problems, address them and be well! The vast majority of diseases of today, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmunity and cancer, are stemming from nutritional bankruptcy, chronic stress, hormonal imbalance, prescription drugs and their side effects, food and environmental allergens, and toxins. Every one of these areas can be addressed and improved to bring better health and wellbeing.

Call 281-298-6742 today and ask to speak to a Wellness Consultant about our various programs. We have new programs and services that may be perfect for your needs. YOU ARE WORTH IT!

By Mila McManus MD|2016-12-06T16:21:56-06:00December 6th, 2016|Articles, General|

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