Posts Tagged Life expectancy studies on vitamins

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Life expectancy studies on vitamins

Dr. Dean Ornish

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Blood test …

The second study tracked 36,282 postmenopausal women for seven years who were on calcium and vitamin D to determine if the supplements would offer any benefit as far as preventing invasive breast cancer. After the studies were wrapped up, the researchers found no benefit from either supplement program.

After the publishing of these studies, the press published news articles which were titled “No proof of vitamin C, D, E benefit” suggesting that these two studies prove the ineffectiveness of vitamins and antioxidants for promoting health. Obviously, this headline is both misleading and ridiculous.

The first study which evaluated the effectiveness of vitamin C and E in preventing heart attack or stroke used just 500 mg of vitamin C taken daily and 400 IU of vitamin E taken every other day. These doses are both very conservative and unlikely to offer significant benefit. The vitamin E used in the study was a synthetic vitamin E made from petroleum that is far inferior to natural, mixed tocopherol vitamin E formulas.

In the vitamin D study, just 400 IU of vitamin D was used in the study which studies have shown is not sufficient to improve blood vitamin D levels one bit. Our general recommendation for vitamin D is 2,000 IU daily and this dose may not even suffice. To properly evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D, we would expect researchers to do vitamin D blood tests and then optimize the dose to achieve sufficient vitamin D blood levels. Research suggests that blood levels in the 50-60 range are considered optimal.

These studies were both heavily flawed. First, the doses of the vitamins were insufficient to positively impact health. This would be equivalent to evaluating the benefit of 1 capsule daily of amoxicillin in treating an infection when 3 capsules daily is the recommended minimum dose. In addition, using a synthetic vitamin E would be like using a chemical which resembles amoxicillin but isn’t quite the same and then making a final conclusion that “antibiotics don’t treat infections.” I hate to say it, but tax payers wasted millions of dollars on two studies which were doomed from the outset. There is an old saying that goes, “At first a new truth is ridiculed, then it is vehemently opposed and then it is accepted.” The good news in all of this bad news is it confirms our belief that we are in the second phase where the world of natural medicine is violently opposed which means that “acceptance” is right around the corner. Call, me optimistic…but that is my belief.

So let’s look at some recent studies that ended with a different conclusion to the above mentioned studies:
1. Circulation, 2007;116:1497-1503 – In this study performed at Harvard University, 39,876 women over the age of 45 were given either 600 mg of natural vitamin E or a sugar pill for a period of 10 years. The group that was given the natural vitamin E had a 21% lower risk of developing a life-threatening clot and the women who entered the study with a history of forming clots experienced a 44% decreased risk of additional clots. In addition, the group given vitamin E enjoyed an 8% lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke, a stroke that involves bleeding in the brain.
2. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007;167:1610-1618 – This was another study performed at the Harvard School of Medicine. In this study, researchers studied 8,171 women who were given either 500 mg of vitamin C daily, 600 IU of natural vitamin E every other day or 50 mg of beta carotene every other day. This study was similar in design to the study recently mentioned in the press. The researchers reported that the group who took the vitamin E enjoyed an 11% decreased risk of cardiovascular event. When the researchers only included people who consistently took the vitamin E, there was a 22% lower risk of heart attack, 27% lower risk of stroke and a 9% decrease in risk of death from cardiovascular disease. When the people consistently took the vitamin C and E the results were even more significant.

Of these 68 studies, only 47 trials of the “best conducted” studies were included in the final analysis. This is beginning to sound a lot like the vitamin E study that came out last year wrongfully claiming that vitamin E increases risk of death. So let’s talk about this new study out of Copenhagen University. After removing all of the studies that the researchers deemed “lower quality”, they found the following:

1. 4% increased risk of death with vitamin E
2. 16% increased risk of death with vitamin A
3. 7% increased risk of death with beta carotene
4. No benefit or harm from vitamin C

Keep in mind that these findings were not statistically significance until certain studies deemed of poor quality were eliminated. These studies were generally performed on sick people and were not necessarily designed to evaluate mortality. Also, remember that the definition of the “poor quality” of the unused studies was determined by the researchers, not by some proven system. These types of studies commonly lend themselves to the personal bias of the researchers.

So what is my take on the study and its findings? First, let us talk about the press. The press learned from the start that “the glass is half empty” article will sells more papers than “the glass is half full” article. This is no secret to researchers and I believe that they commonly use this principle to their advantage. Researchers, who spend their lives tucked away in a laboratory for years hidden from the sun, dream of the day when their great discovery will get them their well-deserved fame and fortune. The problem is, that day doesn’t come. Their research flops and they are under great pressure from the university to make something happen or pack up their lab rats and go. These universities also want the fame and fortune and if they don’t get it, they will find someone else who will deliver. I feel that these researchers end up consciously or unconsciously designing their research to support a specific predetermined finding. And the finding is usually a negative one (because the press eats that up), especially when it involves natural products. In this study, that is likely what happened.

I don’t believe for a minute that these supplements actually result in an increase in mortality. A ton of research to date has supported the safety of these supplements in both animals and humans. However, I will concede the probability that these products offered little or no benefit. You see, mortality data are hard to come by unless you are studying a population who is very sick and are expected to have a high death rate within a year or two. And people with extremely severe illnesses are not going to magically get better with 200 units of a synthetic vitamin E over 6 months. Smokers are not going to benefit by taking a capsule full of something resembling beta carotene for a couple of years. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to see this, it was a waste of money to even do the studies. You will rarely hear us suggest vitamin E alone or beta carotene alone. It just doesn’t make sense to believe that in the complex biochemical soup of our body, made up of trillions of biochemical reactions, we will be able to fix a dysfunctional system by adding one vitamin to the mix. It is a known fact that vitamins and nutrients work together and we need to satisfy all of these nutrient needs to benefit the body.

What do we suggest?

Balanced multi-vitamins such as Purity’s Perfect Multi and Nutrient 950 are much better means to providing full spectrum nutrition to the body. Instead of trying to correct a single nutrient deficiency these multi formulas respect the complexity of our biochemical makeup and provide all of the main foundation nutrients in the right forms and doses to positively impact the body. If you are looking for extra antioxidant support in your multi, I would suggest the Polyphenol Nutrients by Pure Encapsulations . This is an upgrade to the Nutrient 950 product; it adds some very potent whole food antioxidants. We also suggest that you get some sort of whole food concentrate that supplies the phytochemcials and nutrients that are only found in food. Our favorite products are Greens First powder and the Daily 5 fruit powder . Both these products are easily tolerated and certified organic.

Take home messages:

1. You will not die from vitamin C, E, beta carotene or vitamin A unless you choke on them.
2. Don’t expect miracles from one nutrient. Get your vitamins and minerals together.
3. Get some sort of whole food concentrate to complete your supplement program.
4. Eat good food first and then make up the difference with nutritional supplements.

Be sure to tune in to our radio program on Sunday, March 2; we will be discussing this topic in detail. The Your Prescription for Health radio show airs every Sunday from 10am-12pm on WCBM 680 AM. You can listen anywhere in the world through the internet at www.wcbm.com/

This newsletter can be forwarded, reprinted and distributed freely as long as it is sent unchanged and full credit is given to the author and organization. ©2006 Your Prescription for Health www.illnessisoptional.com

Shortly after arriving at the school during my second year, my father was admitted to the hospital with a heart condition called heart failure. At the time I was not familiar with this condition, but my first education came when my father woke up one night with a feeling of drowning as his lungs filled up with fluid. He was quickly transported to the hospital where the able physicians worked to force fluid from his body through the use of water pills and medication designed to lower blood pressure. Although I was grossly ignorant about this condition at the time, I quickly decided that I would declare war on it after my father was handed a patient pamphlet on the condition that told him that he had a 50% chance of dying from the condition in the five years that would follow. I was angered by the near hopeless expectations of conventional medicine and determined to get to the bottom of why my dad had come down with the condition and what I could do to reverse it. This determination led me to investigate natural alternatives to treating heart failure and led me to a book that changed the course of my life and the life of my father as well…I’ll tell you more in a minute.

The incidence of heart failure is increasing dramatically in our society. So, to what can we attribute this rise? The conventional medical establishment attributes this to these main factors: increased survival fromheart attacks, advances in emergency medicine, and the fact that people are living longer, the presupposition being that heart failure is a natural condition that occurs with advancing age. Although, these factors may play a role, I think that they only scratch the surface of the underlined cause of heart failure.

What is heart failure?

Heart failure is a condition where the heart is not able to meet the needs of the organs of the body. There can be many causes of heart failure, however, it all amounts to an inability to circulate enough blood to feed the tissues of the body. This can result in organ failure, difficulty breathing, dizziness, fluid buildup in the lungs and ultimately death.

What really causes heart failure?

My father had had a heart attack many years prior to his heart failure diagnosis, at which time he was also diagnosed with diabetes. However, he had enjoyed many years of heart health and circulation appeared to be normal in the blood vessels of his heart. So, a good question to ask at the onset of any symptoms (which I would later learn in pharmacy school is a cardinal question in medicine) is “why now?” If his heart attack had happened many years prior and his heart circulation was good, why was he just now developing signs of heart failure. Here are 4 factors that I feel are significant causes of our near epidemic incidences of heart failure in our society. This list is by no means exhaustive, however, it should be sufficient for our discussion.

1. Medications. This is medicine’s dark little secret, yes, many medications can increase the risk of heart failure and are likely a significant cause of heart failure. These medications include, but are not limited to, statins and beta blockers. Statin medications are commonly prescribed to heart patients to lower cholesterol. As you will learn shortly, this class of medication inhibits the body’s ability to produce a “miracle nutrient” that ultimately prevents and treats heart failure. Stain medications include: Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Vytorin and any generic medication that ends in “statin”, such as lovastatin. Beta Blockers are a class of medication often used to treat elevated blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and other heart problems associated with a fast or irregular heart beat. This medication is commonly prescribed to people who have had a heart attack in order to improve the repair of the heart after the attack. Unfortunately, this medication is notorious for leading to congestive heart failure mainly due to its impact on the ability of heart to beat strongly. It has also been noted that this medication can inhibit the body’s ability to make the “miracle nutrient” that we will talk about shortly. Beta blockers include any medication whose generic name ends in “olol”, such as metoprolol. There are many other medications that can play a role in the development of heart failure so look each one of your medications up to determine if this is a potential side effect. The danger comes in medicine’s lack of acceptance that pharmaceuticals such as statins and beta blockers can be a cause heart failure.
2. Uncontrolled Elevated Blood Pressure – Although I am not a great fan of many medications used to treat elevated blood pressure, that does not mean that you do not have to pay attention to blood pressure. There comes a time when getting your blood pressure down is an important factor in maintaining health. When you want to build big muscles, you go to a gym and you lift weights which cause the muscle to grow larger in order to deal with the extra load that it has to work against. When blood pressure is elevated the heart must pump harder in order to circulate the blood to the organs. High blood pressure is like weights to the heart and the heart, being a muscle, responds to the elevated blood pressure by growing larger. You might think that this is a positive thing, however, many people end up with what is called a “boggy heart”. Much like a muscle bound bodybuilder, the muscles look big but they are not very functional. A boggy heart is no different, it looks big and strong but it is too big and bulky to efficiently push blood through the body. For natural alternatives to elevated blood pressure, see our protocol for hypertension. Hypertension should be treated and monitored by a qualified physician, especially if you are showing complications of the elevated blood pressure.
3. Dysfunctional Valves – If your heart’s valves are damaged, then the heart becomes less efficient at circulating blood. Valvular disorders require proper diagnosis and treatment, however, I will say that there has been some fascinating research showing that a deficiency of this “miracle nutrient” can result in valve damage. Supplementing with this nutrient can help to protect the heart and its valves.
4. Mitochondrial Deficiency and Dysfunction – The mitochondria play a critical role in energy production in the organs and cells of the body. The mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell where the majority of energy is produced for our body. Without this vital structure we could not have survived as a species and if these structures do not work properly many different diseases can settle in and heart failure is one such condition. For many people who are diagnosed with heart failure, they are suffering from a mitochondrial deficiency and dysfunction that is at the heart of their condition. This is especially true when we cannot find a medical reason for the heart failure. There are many things that you can do to improve the mitochondria of your body.

The Discovery of the “Miracle Nutrient”

As I began investigating and searching for a natural solution to my father’s ailment I came across a small, paperback book called Coenzyme Q10 – The Miracle Nutrient written by Dr. Emile G. Bliznakov, president and scientific director of the Lupus Research Institute. Aside from the hokey title, I was pleased to see how well referenced and researched the information was. The book covered this critical nutrient in great detail, devoting a significant number of pages to heart failure, a hot area of research for this nutrient called Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10 for short). There were many interesting findings presented in the book, here are a few highlights:

1. Researchers named CoQ10, “ubiquinone” when it was discovered because it was ubiquitous in the body, literally being found in virtually every cell.
2. When the body reaches a 25% deficiency, disease begins to settle in and when 75% deficiency occurs…you die. That is how important this nutrient is to the body.
3. Organs and cells that are most active have a tendency to require more coQ10 than other, less active, tissues. These highly active organs and cells are most susceptible to failure when the coQ10 levels begin to drop. These include the: heart, liver, immune system and kidneys.
4. People who have heart failure and valve disorders have a deficiency of CoQ10 in those tissues.
5. CoQ10 supplementation was an effective way to increase blood levels and more importantly to reverse heart failure and other conditions.
6. After the age of 50, supplementation may be necessary to maintain optimal levels of CoQ10.
7. Certain medications and condition may cause deficiency and treatment with CoQ10 can reverse this deficiency.

There were many other findings that were reported in the book, those are just a few. This book has since become outdated, the last version was published in 1995. Since then, there have been hundreds of studies published on CoQ10 that have added to our understanding of this powerful nutrient. Much of this research has led to more and more advanced forms of CoQ10 supplements which enhance the absorption and utilization of the fat soluble nutrient.

It was difficult to find CoQ10 supplements in the US at the time I read the book and when you found, it was quite expensive. Regardless, I hunted it down and after giving up food for a few days was able to afford a bottle for my Dad. He was skeptical at first, but after insisting he agreed to take it. He saw nearly immediate improvements. It is now 14 years later and he still takes his CoQ10 every day and both he and my dear mother attribute his survival and heart health to CoQ10 and that little book that still sits on my book shelf to this day.

Tonight I will, unfortunately, be attending a wake of the father of a friend of the family. It wasn’t until after his passing that I was informed that he had suffered with heart failure and ultimately passed due to complications of a failing heart. Although I realize that something always gets us in the end, I can’t help but feel a bit of outrage about someone who was taken before his time by such a condition as heart failure. Although, I can never be sure, I believe that had one of his doctors been familiar with and recommended some of the natural products that can help to improve the mitochondria of the heart, he may be alive today. Below I list some of these recommendations:

What to Do to Normalize a Failing Heart:

1. Ubiquinol – Ubiquinol is a newer, activated form of CoQ10 and may provide even more benefit than the standard CoQ10 (ubiquinone). The activated CoQ10 can go to work immediately to enhance energy production and energize the heart. It also has a tendency to absorb better and enter the mitochondria more readily resulting in high blood levels and improved results. Take 100 mg two to three times daily. (Higher doses may be used. If you are using standard CoQ10 (ubiquinone) then you will need to use higher doses 200 mg two to three times daily.
2. Mitochondrial Energy Optimizer – This formula contains a number of nutrients that are known to support the mitochondria and optimize their energy producing function. Included in the formula are Acetyl-l-carnitine to enhance the utilization of fat for energy, alpha-lipoic acid to protect the cell and the mitochondria from free-radical damage, Rhodiola to stimulate the production of energy in the mitochondria as well as other compounds to protect the cell and enhance energy production. Take 2 capsules twice daily.
3. Taurine – Taurine is an amino acid-like nutrient that helps to regulate and strengthen heart beat. Take 2,000 mg three times daily.
4. Corvalen (D-Ribose) – Ribose is a sugar compound used in the production of energy within the cell. This special sugar can help to increase the production of energy in the mitochondria and improve the strength of the heart. 5 grams twice daily.
5. Magnesium – Magnesium deficiency is common, especially in people with heart failure. Many medications are known to deplete the body’s magnesium and potassium and these medications such as water pills, are used by many with heart failure. We recommend magnesium aspartate 75 mg capsules 2 capsules twice daily.
6. Omega-3 fatty acids – There is no doubt that omega-3 fatty acids can work to protect the heart and enhance circulation. Although, omega-3 fatty acids have not specifically been studied in heart failure, by protecting the circulation and decreasing inflammation, this supplement will no doubt provide benefit. Recommended dosage: Carlson’s Finest Fish Oil 1 Tablespoon daily or Your Prescription for Health Super Omega-3 Fish Oil Capsules 3 Capsules twice daily.
7. Aerobic Exercise – Aerobic exercise has been shown to increase the number and size of mitochondria found in the cells of the heart and throughout the body. This is a crucial component of any comprehensive heart failure treatment plan. The key is to do only a little more than your body is used to at each exercise session. You want to make slow and consistant progress whenever you have been diagnosed with heart failure as it may be quite easy to overwhelm the heart. Talk to your cardiologist about supervised exercise programs that may be offered in your area. Do not underestimate the importance of aerobic exercise in strengthening your heart.

The simple answer to this question is yes, however, the deeper more philosophical answer would be “yes, in the same way that the Atlantic Ocean level drops when one person gets out of it.” The better question is how much does the risk really drop when you take a statin drug. The results may surprise you.

In order to understand how the medical industry misleads you and your doctor into believing that these medications actually make a significant difference to your health, you will need to understand some very basic statistic terms. I realize that this may make you want to stop reading, but please continue, I promise that they are very easy to grasp and will only require 60 seconds of your time. Here they are:

Relative Risk (RR) – This is almost always the number that will be reported by the press and the drug companies because it makes the tiniest of difference sound quite impressive. Relative risk is best described by giving an example. If a study is looking to find out if a medication decreases the risk of death in a giving period and the results demonstrate that the medication decreased the death rate from 4 per 1000 to 2 per thousand then the Relative Risk reduction is 50%. It sounds quite impressive that a medication decreased the risk of death by 50%.
Absolute Risk (AR) – This number is the more meaningful of the two statistical numbers and will almost never be presented to the public unless they are discussing the side effect risk. An example of absolute risk reduction can be demonstrated by the above example. If the medication decreases the risk of death from 4 per 1000 patients to 2 per 1000 patients then the absolute risk reduction is a measly 0.2%. As you can see, this number is not as impressive as a 50% reduction.
Number Needed to Treat (NNT) – This value is an interesting representation of the data and can be quite useful in evaluating the significance of risk reduction. This value basically tells you how many people need to take the medication before one benefit is realized. If death is the endpoint, NNT means how many people you will need to give the medication to before one life is saved.
Now that you have a fundamental understanding of basic statistics, let us evaluate some of the research literature. Please note, we are not choosing obscure studies in order to prove our point, we are evaluating the very same studies presented by the drug companies and published in peer reviewed journals.

EXCEL Study – The EXCEL study used lovastatin and was a short duration of only 1 year. Unfortunately for the drug company, there was an increased relative risk of death of 150% and an absolute increased risk of 0.3%. This means that the lovastatin increased the risk of death. The NNT for this study was 333 which means that you had to treat 333 people to kill one person.
AFCAPS Study – Again lovastatin was the medication used in the study. This time the study continued for 5.2 years and again resulted in an increased risk of death, although lower than the previous study. RR was a 3.9% increased risk of death, 0.09% increased absolute risk and you would need to treat 5000 people with lovastatin to kill one person.
4S Study – This study used simvastatin and followed people for 5.4 years. At study’s end the subjects who took the simvastatin apparently enjoyed a 29% decreased relative risk. The absolute risk reduction was a miniscule 3.3% decrease which means you will need to treat 167 people in order to save one life.
HPS Study – This study used simvastatin and followed subjects for 5 years. At the study’s end the simvastatin group had a 12% relative risk reduction which translates to an absolute risk reduction of 1.8% which means you will have to treat 278 people in order to save one life.
WOSCOPS Study – This study used pravastatin and followed people for 4.4 years. In this study there was a 22% decreased relative risk reduction which amounted to less than a 1% absolute risk reduction. This means that you will need to treat 500 people in order to save one life.
PROSPER Study – This study used pravastatin for 3 years and had a relative risk reduction just under 2% which was an absolute reduction of just 0.2%. This means that in order to save 1 life 1429 people would need to be treated.
ASCOT Study – This study used medicines most powerful statin, atorvastatin. The relative risk reduction was just 12% after 3 years and the absolute risk reduction was just 0.15%. This means that you will have to give 667 people to save one life.

As you can see, it is in the advantage of the drug company to report the relative risk which is an inflated statistical value that is not the actual or absolute risk. When absolute risk is taken into account, the medication still appears to lower risk of death it is just a lot less than the relative risk would have you believe. In my book I am only interested in the absolute number of deaths, this way I can make a truly informed decision about my course of action. I am not interested in using a medication that only helps 1 in 300 people and subjects the remaining people to needless side effects such as liver damage, nerve damage, memory loss, muscle pain and increased cancer risk.

Statin medications
High blood pressure
Lower stress – vital adapt from Natura Health
Magnesium
Vitamin D
Omega 3
Vitamins D & K with Sea Iodine by Life Extension
HTN Complex
Perfusia SR by Thorne Research
Low cholesterol
Probiotics

Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of having to watch our aging parents develop the diseases commonly associated with age. If you are like me, you have a nearly obsessive desire to make sure that we don’t follow along the same path. In order to succeed in this mission, we need to start with a paradigm that allows us to understand why we develop these diseases in the first place.

A well-respected researcher at the University of California, Berkley, has come up with a theory that may give us insight into how to avoid common diseases associated with aging, including:

1.      Heart disease (specifically calcifications of the arteries)
2.      Osteoporosis
3.      Various forms of cancer
4.      Diabetes and insulin resistance
5.      Breast fibroid
6.      Fatigue
7.      Weight gain
8.      And more…

Dr. Bruce Ames announced that he had a new theory of aging, which he named, “Triage Theory”. Triage theory states that when the body does not have sufficient nutrients to feed all tissues equally, the urgent needs of the body will outweigh the less urgent needs, even if they both share a high level of importance. A good way of illustrating this theory is to associate it with principles of time management.

I am a student of time management, mostly because I am terrible at it. One principle that is at the core of time management is the process of differentiating between urgent and important tasks and non-urgent but important tasks. Urgent/important tasks are things that need to be handled right now or you will suffer immediate consequences. Examples of urgent/important tasks include:

1.      A phone call from an important client
2.      Paying your mortgage on time
3.      Urgent staffing issues, and work emergencies.

Non-urgent/important matters are important to the long-term goals but there are few immediate consequences to not doing them. Examples include:

1.      Learning about new technology that may impact your job or business in the future
2.      Upgrading accounting software to be compliant with next year’s tax laws
3.      Setting up your next dental-hygiene appointment

If your life is filled with urgent/important tasks, usually the non-urgent/important tasks will be thrown by the wayside resulting in a lack of personal and organizational growth. In other words, the organization may remain healthy for today, but in the long run, the neglect of non-urgent-but-important matters will cause the person or organization to fail from ineptitude.

Dr. Ames suggests that the body is doing the same thing; prioritizing immediate needs above the future needs of the body.  He believes that the body does this because we evolved during a time when we weren’t expected to live to be 100 years old anyway.  Instead, nature prioritized the act of keeping us alive long enough to procreate rather than long enough to see our great grandchildren.

Iodine is a good example of how this theory presents itself within the body. When iodine is moderately deficient, the thyroid will take precedence at the expense of other tissues that need it, albeit in a less urgent manner. This assures that the body has enough iodine to keep the metabolism functioning, at the cost of long-term health of other tissues such as the breasts, prostate, and immune system.

Another example of the Triage Theory in action is vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K has biological effect in most cells of the body including the arteries and the bones. When vitamin K is moderately deficient, the liver will snatch the vitamin K from the blood in order to make sure that it can produce clotting factors needed to prevent you from bleeding to death from a paper cut. Unfortunately, because the K is being used in developing clotting factors, the bones grow weak and the arteries develop calcifications from being slowly starved of vitamin K.

To protect against the consequences of biological triage, you must make sure that there is an abundance of nutrition that is available to the body so that both urgent/important processes and non-urgent/important processes are able to function on all cylinders. Doing so will allow you to enjoy optimal health well into your later years.

A multi-vitamin is a good start in assuring that the body has sufficient levels of the various nutrients to feed the urgent/important and non-urgent/important processes.  Unfortunately, most multi’s (even high quality multi’s) fall short in providing sufficient levels of various nutrients such as vitamin D, vitamin K and iodine. Given this fact, we typically need to supplement with higher levels of these nutrients than are supplied by a multi.

Previously, I was taking these nutrients separately. Luckily, they are now provided in a single capsule to support your current supplement program. This supplement combines 5,000 iu of vitamin D3, 1.1 mg of vitamin K2 and 1 mg of whole-food iodine. The product is called Vitamins D and K with Sea-Iodine by Life Extension Foundation.

The reason that such a blend is so powerful is because of the broad importance and the relative deficiency of these nutrients. By providing the body with optimal levels of these three nutrients, you are helping to shore up the body’s defenses against many of the previously reported disease associated with aging.

To help you with your mission, you have likely been blessed with a gift for nagging that commonly forces your loved one into vitamin-submission.
When you understand the importance of nutrition and supplementation you want to share that knowlege with your family and friends so that they can enjoy good health well into their later years. So how do you get them on board when you are met with skepticism? Here are my recommendations:

Get someone else involved who has credentials that your loved one respects. There is an old saying that goes “A prophet is accepted everywhere…but in their own home land.” This basically speaks to a well known truth that your family will not listen to your advice on health just because they are your family and for no other reason! My parents helped to put me through private school, not to mention, 7 years of undergraduate work and pharmacy school only to ignore my advice! It is nothing personal, there just seems to be this unwritten law of life “Thy family shall not listen to your counsel”. Get a health professional involved who has the credentials that your family member respects. This means that the local acupuncturist or chiropracter will not do if they only respect physicians and pharmacists. Just be sure that you get them in touch with a practitioner who knows what they are talking about when it comes to natural products!
Make it VERY easy for them. I take over 60 pills, capsules and liquids daily. I see the long-term value of each and every one of those pills, however, I would never delude myself into thinking that my stubborn loved-one shares in that level of understanding. Pick your battles wisely, in all liklihood you will only be able to get them to take between 1 and 4 capsules daily. Just accept this as better than nothing and choose only the supplements that will provide them with the most benefit.
Use the most powerful negotiation tool known to…child. Children seem to have an instinctual ability to negotiate parents into deals that you would never thought you would have agreed to. They use a technique that has been adopted by some of the greatest negotiators in the world. Here it is…recommend a supplement program that you know they will balk at and then after they cringe or refuse follow up with a more reasonable request. For example, a conversation may go something like this, “Hey John, I am going to treat you to a nutritional supplement program, can you take 4 capsules twice daily?” (John grumbles in discontent) “Okay, that is too much for you, how about if you just take this one supplement every day, can you manage that?” I realize that this is a little tricky, but it works.
Once daily is okay when it mean compliance. In an ideal world, I like to see people get on a twice daily schedule for their supplement program. For stubborn loved-ones, however, once daily is a great victory and usually all that they will agree to. I specifically love blister packed products or supplements in a convenient celophane packet.
Recently I discovered a product that makes your job a lot easier. The product is called Four Pillars and provides a solid supplement program in a convenient blister pack. Each blister packed strip provides 4 capsules to be taken once daily. Each daily dose provides your stubborn loved one with a vitamin and mineral formula that puts Centrum to shame while also providing the other pillers of healthy supplementation: whole food antioxidant formula, an omega-3 fatty acid formula and capsule containing billions of healthy bacteria. Simply give your loved one a box of the Four Pillars with instructions to take one strip of 4 capsules once daily.

The Four Pillars makes your job easy because the blister packs are convenient, easy to take and even a little fun. There are no bottles to pluck through, just tear a strip of capsules away from the pack and swallow them at your next meal.

Studies show that an infant that is cared for and loved develops a balanced and healthy self image, while a neglected child will develop a self image of not being worth loving, eventually developing a high concern with weight and low self-esteem, risking the development of eating disorders later. (Summary by Kasia Kines, MS, CN, CNS, LDN)

Have you ever stopped to wonder who taught a monkey what to eat? I realize that you are here to learn about the benefits of potassium, bare with me a moment, I promise I will give you the answer. for now,, back to the monkey question, it will all make sense in a second…

I am willing to bet that you’ve never given it much thought because, admittedly, the question is quite ridiculous. Monkeys just seem to know what to eat. Through this mysterious force we call “instinct”, most animals exit the womb and just know exactly what to put in their mouths.

Although humans are more than animals, we do have instincts, like our monkey ancestors.

In recent years scientists have been trying to understand what man consumed when we didn’t have government agencies to tell us what to eat. During this time, approximately 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, Paleolithic man was comprised of hunters and gatherers who consumed a diet motivated by instinct. Then approximately 10,000 years ago began the Neolithic Revolution.

The Grand Mistake

During this new age of human development; we adopted more of an agriculture and animal husbandry practice. I imagine this is about the time when those nasty little creatures called “food scientists” came into existence. A “food scientist” is someone who thinks they can make food better, tastier, and more nutritious than nature.

Although the study of the Paleolithic lifestyle is quite complex, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what kinds of foods our ancestors consumed. It’s no surprise to see that most experts in the area of Paleolithic eating suspect that these people consumed primarily fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some wild game. If you’re reading this list and feel that this is common sense, that “knowing” that you are experiencing is the remnant of your Paleolithic instinct.

Our abandonment of the Paleolithic way has resulted in a number of harmful and even life-threatening nutrient deficiencies…

Potassium Deficiency and the Benefits of Potassium

One nutrient that many scientists believe was much more abundant in our diet during Paleolithic times was potassium.

The Stone Age humans likely consume approximately 15 grams of potassium on a daily basis. Compare that to the recommended daily allowance of 4.7 grams per day. A ridiculously low level, I may add, that most of us never achieve.

In addition to a deficiency of potassium, the average American consumes a large excess of sodium. The sodium to potassium ratio is important for proper function of the body; when this ratio gets imbalanced the body suffers. Our Stone Age ancestors only consumed less than a gram of sodium (0.6 g) and it is estimated that the average American now consumes approximately 3.5 g of sodium and an embarrassing 2.8 g of potassium.

Why Should We Be Concerned With Our Sodium/Potassium Balance?

The balance of sodium and potassium is crucial for the function many cellular systems; some signs of potassium deficiency include:

1. Fatigue
2. Heart arrhythmias
3. Heart failure
4. Muscle weakness
5. Constipation
6. Delayed emptying of the stomach

Isn’t Potassium Dangerous?

Contrary to popular belief, potassium is a safe nutrient when taken properly. In healthy adults without heart or kidney problems, daily potassium intake should not exceed 8 grams.

If you suffer with kidney and/or heart disease, or you are on certain medications for blood pressure, potassium toxicity can occur at lower dose. For this latter group, ask your doctor before taking potassium supplements.

When supplementing with potassium, you must take into account how much potassium you are taking in through diet. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, legumes are all good sources of potassium. It is possible to get sufficient potassium levels from your diet, however, it requires discipline and a hefty appetite for fruits and vegetables.

For the rest of us, supplementation may be required in order to achieve healthy potassium levels.

Who’s At Risk of Potassium Deficiency?

Before we get into the benefits of potassium, let’s talk about the risks of potassium deficiency.

It is important to realize that certain lifestyle habits, medications, and conditions can lead to an increased risk of potassium deficiency, these include:

1. The use of diuretics
2. Diarrhea or vomiting
3. Chronic dieting
4. Chronic kidney failure
5. Magnesium deficiency
6. Strenuous exercise

Keep these variables in mind when considering supplementation. See our Daily Potassium Requirements for Optimal Health for more information on supplementing with potassium.

What Are the Benefits of Potassium?

Potassium is essential for regulating fluid balance, acidity within the body, blood pressure, and muscle function. There are numerous outward benefits of supplementing with potassium, including:

1. Lowering blood pressure – An analysis of 33 published studies have demonstrated potassium supplementation to be of benefit in people who suffer with hypertension. The effective dose used in the research was 2,400 mg daily. (JAMA 1997;277:1624–32
2. Protection from Cardiac Arrhythmias – Studies show that people with low potassium levels are at a heightened risk of arrhythmia. Supplementation with 1,000 mg of potassium was shown to decrease the risk of arrhythmias in people who were prescribed a potassium-depleting blood pressure medication called hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). (Int J Cardiol 1989;25:93–8)
3. Prolonged life and Improved Quality of life – One study demonstrated that men who consumed high levels of potassium had a longer life. More importantly, those with higher potassium intake enjoyed an improved quality of life. See the article: Potassium for a Longer and Healthier Life – Benefits of Potassium for Seniors
4. Improved energy – Electrolytes, such as potassium, can allow the body to manufacture needed energy. Potassium deficiency can cause physical and mental exhaustion.
5. End to muscle cramps and charlie horses – Potassium deficiency can promote muscle cramps, as can calcium or magnesium deficiency.