NutriPlex Formulas: Natural Health News

Supplement Company Praises the Pope For Bold Green Statement on Saving the Environment

2007-09-04T12:36:00.001-07:00

NutriPlex Formulas, Inc., a whole food supplement company, went out on a limb to praise the pontif, Pope Benedict XVI, for his bold new Green statement made to 500,000 cheering people. "We don't usually get involved in politics or religion," said NutriPlex president Janice Shayne, "but this is a win-win situation that we can all benefit from."

How did the leading maker of whole food supplements and the pope cross fates? "We've long been putting our 'ThinkGreen' logo on all our bottles to make a statement about the environment. Then all these calls started coming in from Catholics and others who appreciate the pope's commitment to the environment. They like the fact that our ThinkGreen insignia is on our products and said they want to support us by buying our supplements. Our logo has been our bottles for more than a decade, but we have to say we appreciate the newfound support," added Shayne who's a proponent of all things green. Shayne drives a Hybrid car, has an all electric scooter, eats only organic food, supports local, organic farmers at home and in her company, and has long range plans to launch an environmental advocacy group.

Read the Associated Press article...

Pope Urges Young to Care for Planet
By NICOLE WINFIELD

LORETO, Italy (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged hundreds of thousands of young Catholics on Sunday to take better care of the planet, saying the world's water supply needs to be preserved and shared to avoid conflicts.

Benedict offered a very eco-friendly message during an open-air Mass on the final day of a weekend religious youth rally in the pilgrimage town of Loreto that was organized by the Italian bishops' conference.

The Italian Church has designated Sept. 1 as "Save Creation Day," and as a result the Loreto meeting carried a strong environmental message, with each of the participants given biodegradable plates, recycling bags for their trash and a hand-cranked cell-phone recharger.

Benedict told the crowd that it was up to them to urgently save the planet from development that had often ignored "nature's delicate equilibrium."

"Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth," Benedict said in his homily. "We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible."

He said water, in particular, was a "precious" resource that needed to be preserved since "it unfortunately becomes a source of strong tensions and conflicts if it isn't shared in an equitable and peaceful manner."

Benedict has been on something of a green campaign of late, lamenting just this past week the environmental impact of recent forest fires in Italy and Greece. During his recent summer vacation in the mountains, he spoke frequently about the importance of nature in rekindling spirituality.

An estimated 500,000 people turned out for Benedict's Mass, the ANSA news agency said, citing police. Most of them spent the night camped out on tarps and tents on the field down the hill from Loreto, Italy's most important shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The meeting was an Italian warm-up for next year's World Youth Day, in Sydney, Australia, which the 80-year-old pope plans to attend.

For Doctors: Nutritional Notes on Prostate Health

2007-08-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

As the prostate grows larger, it may press on the urethra. This narrowing of the urethra can cause some men with prostate enlargement to have trouble with urination. Prostate enlargement may be the most common health problem in men older than 60 years. However, after age 40, most men have some degree of prostate enlargement. Over the last decade, several plants have been studied for their nutrient and constituent value in addressing prostate enlargement, including hydrangea, saw palmetto and guarana. All of these are in MaleSupport by NutriPlex Formulas.

The decision whether to seek medical attention, surgery or medication for any prostate condition is an individual one. However, it is always possible to alter one's diet and begin taking certain supplements with or without allopathic medical treatment. This is because, regardless of a drug program, the male hormonal system still needs nutrients, and men still need to eat real, nutrient-dense foods. Further, certain foods may interfere with hormone health, or even exacerbate male health problems. Such foods include but are not limited to sugar, transfatty acids, altered oils, junk food and all foods with artificial ingredients. Good foods include good oils such as evening primrose oil, wheat germ oil, organic olive oil and coconut oil. Mineral-rich foods with potassium, calcium, selenium, iodine and magnesium, are helpful and are found in green vegetable foods. Also helpful are foods high in antioxidants and vitamins A and C which help support tissues.

Here are two particular plant foods considered supportive of male hormonal health (these are both found in MaleSupport):

Guava
Guava is a source of lycopene, a member of the carotenoid family that acts as a nutritional antioxidant. A study conducted by Harvard researchers examined the relationship between carotenoids and the risk of prostate cancer.1 Of the carotenoids, only lycopene was clearly linked to protection. The men who had the greatest amounts of lycopene (6.5 mg per day) in their diet showed a 21% decreased risk of prostate cancer compared with those eating the least. This report suggests that lycopene may be an important tool in the prevention of prostate cancer. (source: HealthNotes, The Natural Pharmacy, 1999)
1. Giovannucci E, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, et al. Intake of carotenoids and retinol in relation to risk of prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1995;87:1767–76.

Pygeum
Pygeum ( P. africanum bark extract) has been observed to moderately improve urinary symptoms associated with enlargement of the prostate gland or prostate inflammation. Numerous human studies report pygeum to significantly reduce the number of nighttime urinary episodes, urinary hesitancy, urinary frequency, and pain with urination in men who experience mild-to-moderate symptoms.

Currently, pygeum extract is the most popular treatment for symptoms of BPH in France and is commonly used for this condition in Italy and the United States. Compared with many other popular botanical treatments, pygeum has been fairly well researched; however, it is not mentioned in the German Commission E monographs or in several other common botanical medicine references.(Medscape)

Urinary Dysfunction with Prostate Problems
One of the most annoying (in the least) symptoms associated with prostate enlargement is an urge for frequent urination. This is due to an enlarged prostate impinging on the urethra, disallowing adequate passage of urine. An enlarging prostate gradually narrows the urethra and obstructs the flow of urine. Even though the muscle in the bladder wall becomes stronger in an attempt to push urine through the smaller urethra, in time, the bladder fails to empty completely at each urination. Further, the urine that collects in the bladder can become infected and lead to stone formation. The kidneys themselves may be impaired by infection or by urine constantly "backing up." For this reason, foods and nutrients need not only be consumed to address prostate health, but also the health and function of the urinary tract. Strengthening the kidneys, addressing inflammation and strengthening the urethra are important.

Food and herb ingredients in MaleSupport:

Pumpkin seed
Guava seed
Saw palmetto
Licorice root
Horsetail
Pygeum
Hydrangea
Ginseng
Acerola Cherry
Kelp
Spinach
Wheat Grass
& more

Other sources:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/enlarged_prostate/article_em.htm
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; National Institutes of Health; Herbs at a Glance, Saw Palmetto; nccam.nih.gov
National Institutes of Health & United States National Library of Medicine, 2007, Pygeum
Medscape.com, 2007

Male Hormonal Concerns?

2007-08-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Male hormonal health is rapidly becoming one of the greatest issues today, as the modern diet and lifestyle fail to provide the necessary building blocks of glandular vitality and healing. MaleSupport provides these building blocks in tablet form, containing the leading, most researched and time-tested foods and herbs used for healing, prevention and cellular protection. Since hormone-related health problems increase with age, now is the time to feed your body the essential nutrients only found in real, whole foods...

MaleSupport was specifically formulated to support male hormonal health
— the absence of which frequently leads to:

• Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)
• Prostate and testicular cancer
• Prostatitis
• Urinary dysfunction
• Mood swings, aggression, lethargy & other mental/emotional problems
• Frequent urination
• Inflammation of glands
• Incontinence
• Male pattern baldness

Helpful Foods
One ingredient in MaleSupport is saw palmetto, which works synergistically with zinc and essential fatty acids. (see Nutritional Schedule to the right). “A six-month-long carefully controlled study by physicians at the University of Chicago, published in the December issue of the journal Urology, shows that the herbal remedy saw palmetto can improve symptoms for men with lower urinary tract problems.” (University of Chicago Medical Center).

Another important ingredient is guava, an antioxidant containing lycopene which may keep cells from being destroyed and lead to cancer. (Prostate Cancer Organization). Pygeum, also in MaleSupport, is an herb used for enlargement of the prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)) and male fertility problems. (Loyola) Pygeum africanum contains a number of different chemicals, including some known as triterpenes that have mild anti-inflammatory effects. It also contains fatty acid derivatives, such as n-docosanol, that may keep cholesterol from building up in the prostate. In addition, laboratory tests seem to show that Pygeum africanum may reduce the ability of both prostate cancer cells and BPH cells to divide into new cells. (drugdigest)

The essentials of male health include avoiding bad oils and artificial ingredients while eating antioxidant-rich and nutrient-dense foods that specifically support the male hormonal system.

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule:
MaleSupport: 8 tablets a day
SuperGreens PhytoFood: 1T per day
FishOils: 3 capsules per day

Prostate cancer will be diagnosed in over 198,000 American men in 2001 and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) affects up to one-half of all men over the age of 60.

Nature's Nourishing Foods & Herbs
MaleSupport (NutriPlex Formulas, Inc.) contains an array of foods and herbs to provide nutritional support, including
Pumpkin seed
Guava seed
Saw palmetto
Licorice root
Horsetail
Pygeum
Hydrangea
Ginseng
Acerola Cherry
Kelp
Spinach
Wheat Grass
& more

Sources:
1. The Merck Manual of Medical Information, Section 21. Men's Health Issues, Chapter 229, 2003
2. Lininger, JR., DC, Schuyler, Alan R. Gaby, MD, et.al, HealthNotes: The Natural Pharmacy, 1999
3. Grieve, M., A Modern Herbal, Tiger Books, London, 1998
4. Werbach, MD, Melvyn R. & Michael T. Murray, ND, Botanical Influences on Illness: A Sourcebok of Clinical Research, Third Line Press, CA, 2000
5. Duke, PhD, James, Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs, Rodale, 1999
6. Sugg, Chris and Michael Wiggins, "Saw Palmetto: (Sarenoa repens);" Complementary and Alternative Medicine — A Scientific Reference for Health Care Professionals , geocities.com/chadrx, 1997
7. Hoffman, B.Sc., MNIMH, David L., "Hydrangea," Herbal Materia Medica, www.healthy.net/asp/, 2003
8. Moul, MD, FACS, Judd W, Diet and Prostate Disease, cpdr.org/publication/diet, 2003
9. University of Chicago Medical Center: “Saw palmetto can improve symptoms for men with urinary problems,” December 12, 2001
10. Prostate Cancer Organization, “Nature’s Bounty: Fruits and Vegetables,” http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org
11. Loyola University Health System: “Pygeum,” 2007, http://www.luhs.org
12. drugdigest.org, 2007, “Pygeum.”

Male Problems? What's Going on Down Under (And I Don't Mean Australia)?

2007-07-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

by Dr Vic Shayne & Dr George Siegfried

Statistics show that men are far less likely than women to discuss their sexual problems, visit a doctor for these problems, or seek relief. Why? We can only speculate that it has to do with fear of associating such concerns with lack of strength and virility— a cultural thing. Regardless, many male health problems are not that difficult to resolve.

The most prominent "male problems" include prostate enlargement, inflammation and cancer, impotence, infertility and various diseases of the male anatomy. Ultimately, nutrition remains the least understood and easiest to correct means of improving health and overcoming illness.

Erectile dysfunction (ED), also known as impotence, affects 10-20 million men in the U.S. Men of all ages can experience ED at time, due to many reasons, such as illness, drugs, surgery, injury, depression, or stress. About 85 percent of all cases ED are caused by physical problems. If the cause is psychological, counseling may help. (University of Iowa Health Care Health Reports, 2004)

BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, is a common condition in which the prostate gland has grown larger than normal. BPH affects mostly older men – it is common in men over age 50, affects more than half the men over age 60, and by age 80, about 80 percent of men have it. It is not cancer, but a condition in which the prostate cells grow, enlarging the gland and causing it to squeeze the urethra. This leads to difficult, frequent or urgent urination because the stream of urine from the bladder is partially blocked.

Men get less sleep than women, which can reduce immune functioning and contributes to accidental death rates. The quality of men's sleep is also poorer than women's.

Men are more likely than women to engage in more substance use and abuse (alcohol, cigarettes, illegal drugs).

Endocrine Disrupters
Endocrine disrupters are chemicals which keep the hormonal system from working properly. Unfortunately, these chemicals are out of control in our food supply and environment and include certain plastics, artificial ingredients, pesticides and byproducts of industry. When the endocrine (hormonal, glandular) system is interfered with by endocrine disrupters, the results range from cancer to sexual dysfunction. The best thing to do is to live naturally (get rid of household chemicals and eat organic foods).

In 1992, Danish endocrinologist Niels Skakkebaek determined that sperm counts had declined by 50 percent worldwide from 1938 to 1990. He later suggested that PCBs and pesticides, including DDT, may be the cause. (mindfully.org/Pesticide/Hormone-Mimics-In-Food; Hormone Mimics (Endocrine Disruptors): They're in Our Food Should We Worry? Consumer Reports June 98).

Improper NUTRITION
Men's diets are worse than women's, with higher levels of caloric intake (far exceeding what is necessary because of their larger, on average, body mass), more fat intake, more cholesterol, fewer fruits, vegetables, and fiber. Also, men are more likely than women to skip meals (especially breakfast).

Men are less likely than women to alter their diet to prevent health problems, even when they have diagnosed health problems. They are less likely than women to stay in bed to recuperate.

Men are more overweight compared to women. Weight is linked to heart disease, type II diabetes, some cancers, and sleep disorders. An average of 43 percent of overweight men believe themselves to be of normal weight for their height.

Improved NUTRITION & Lifestyle
Improving one's nutrition is the most natural way of resolving any health problem, including conditions particular to male health; and the best way to do this is:

Stop eating non-foods such as processed foods, margarine, commercial cereal, artificial ingredients, MSG, refined sugars, hydrogenated fats, etc. (these substances interrupt hormonal functions)
Start eating real foods: raw, organic vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts. Make these 60-70% of your diet.
Eliminate toxins from your life, as these impair your digestion of real foods, disrupt your endocrine system, burden your glands and organs, make your liver sluggish, cause cancer and disease, and offset otherwise beneficial therapies (including psychological ones).
Adhere to the Nutritional Schedule recommended for Male Health, including MaleSupport (6 tablets a day), WheatGerm Oil (2 capsules a day), SuperGreens PhytoFood (6 tablets a day)
For erectile problems, follow heart-healthy programs. Add VasCor Complex (4 tablets a day) to your regimen for nutrition, control your cholesterol levels and purchase a copy of Dr Dean Ornish's best seller Reversing Heart Disease.

Fish oil may protect preemies' eyesight

2007-07-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Mon Jul 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - Perhaps nowhere in the body is the adage "you are what you eat" so true as in your eyes, a link scientists are banking on in a novel bid to save premature babies' vision.

Doctors are about to begin testing whether fish oils could prevent a disease that can silently attack behind preemies' tiny eyelids, one that strikes about 16,000 U.S. infants a year and blinds hundreds.

It's part of research into a trio of apparently eye-healthy compounds that babies born too early miss absorbing from their mothers — research gaining increasing attention as more and babies are born premature and at risk.

"We're trying to mimic what would happen in utero," explains Dr. Lois Smith, an opthalmologist at Children's Hospital Boston who is leading the work. "Rather than give drugs, we're doing replacement treatment."

Preventing the disease — called retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP — is a major goal, because there's no sure way to save vision once it strikes. Laser therapy decreases but doesn't eliminate the chance of blindness, and many babies who don't go blind still suffer serious damage.

It's not just an issue for preemies. The same abnormal growth of blood vessels behind ROP triggers two leading causes of blindness in adults: diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Already, scientists are studying if these omega-3 fatty acids — the same kind touted for heart health — could protect adult eyes, too.

Why might they? These diseases destroy the retina, the eye's innermost layer, which harbors a higher percentage of certain fats than other organs. Eat lots of salmon, rich in omega-3s, and your retina will show it. Eat mostly hamburgers, and your retina will harbor more of a different fatty acid, omega-6s. The retina's composition actually changes with diet.

Mothers pass omega-3s to their unborn children mostly during the third trimester, when the eyes develop most rapidly. Preemies not only miss out on some or all of that transfer, but omega-3s aren't added to the intravenous feeding that many require, either.

Premature babies have still forming retinas; blood vessels necessary to nourish them haven't finished growing. ROP forms when something spurs those blood vessels to grow abnormally — too many form, and they leak.

But do omega-3s play a role? Smith and colleagues at Harvard and the National Eye Institute first turned to mice to find out.

They harmed the mice retinas in a way that mimics ROP, and then fed them different foods: Half ate the rodent version of a typical Western diet, high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s. Half ate the equivalent of a Japanese diet, with a 2 percent higher omega-3 content.

That simple change cut in half the retinal disease among the omega-3-nibbling mice, Smith reported last month in the journal Nature Medicine.

More intriguing, the omega-3s didn't just block bad blood vessels from forming. They also helped normal, healthy blood vessels grow. They appeared to work by blocking well-known inflammation-causing pathways in the body — while mice fed more of the omega-6s experienced extra inflammation.

Now, Smith is about to begin a study in premature babies at her Boston hospital to see if adding omega-3s to their IV feedings — feedings that today contain omega-6s instead — decreases their risk of eye damage.

"This could be a very simple and safe treatment," says Dr. Rafael Ufret-Vincenty, a retina specialist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Indeed, omega-3s have long been known to be important for newborn brain development; they're in breast milk and are added to some formulas for older babies. When it comes to preemies' IV feeding, a version rich in omega-3s is available in Germany but hasn't spread to North America, says Dr. Sylvain Chemtob, an ROP specialist at Sainte-Justine University Health Centre in Montreal.

"It makes a lot of biological sense," he says.

These are the same fish oils sold as over-the-counter dietary supplements for heart health, and a nationwide study already is recruiting adults with macular degeneration to test if high doses could slow their vision loss.

For preemies, omega-3s aren't the only missing-from-mom player generating attention. A drug combination sold to treat hormone-deficient children grow taller is being studied, too — a growth hormone called IGF-1 and a "binding protein" that helps regulate it.

Smith already knew babies with ROP lacked the growth hormone, but last month she and colleagues at Sweden's University of Goteborg reported they also have less binding protein than healthy babies. Studies in mice suggest that protein helps ROP-stricken retinas develop more normally, the Swedish team and University of Florida researchers reported, apparently by calling on stem cells to help build strong blood vessels.

Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

IF YOU ARE A HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER, ask us about our Fish Oil capsules

Black Cohosh May Prevent Breast Cancer

2007-06-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

By Jeremy Appleton, ND, CNS

Healthnotes Newswire (June 21, 2007)—Women who take the herb black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) are less likely to get breast cancer, according to new research published in the International Journal of Cancer.

“With the serious health concerns that have been raised about the use of estrogen and progestin-containing hormone replacement therapy in recent years, many women have turned to complementary-alternative medicines to alleviate symptoms of menopause,” said Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD, professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the new study. “The long-range effects of these compounds have not been studied. Ours is the first report that black cohosh confers a degree of protection from breast cancer, which represents a potentially important piece of information for women who take, or who might consider taking, these compounds.”

Many women use hormone-related supplements to manage their menopausal symptoms, which often contain phytoestrogens and other compounds that mimic the effect of the body’s own estrogens. The concentrations and composition of these compounds, which are mainly extracted from herbs, vary widely.

Black cohosh has a long tradition of use in both American and Chinese herbal medicine. In recent years, extracts of this herb have been shown to have beneficial effects on menopausal symptoms in some, but not all, randomized clinical trials. Unlike other phytoestrogens, black cohosh may have slight anti-estrogenic effects. It does not appear to bind to estrogen receptors and has been shown to prevent cellular DNA damage by acting as an antioxidant. These observations led researchers to believe that black cohosh use may be associated with protection from breast cancer.

Rebbeck and colleagues evaluated whether use of black cohosh–containing supplements was associated with breast cancer risk in a retrospective study in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. In all, 949 women with breast cancer and 1,524 women without breast cancer were evaluated.

Use of hormone-related supplements varied significantly by race, with black women being more likely than white women to use herbal preparations, including black cohosh, ginseng, and red clover. Women who had used black cohosh supplements (including the extract called Remifemin) were 47% less likely to have breast cancer at the time of the analysis.

Because the study’s design is preliminary and limits definitive conclusions, additional research is needed before it can be established that black cohosh, or some compound found in black cohosh, helps prevent breast cancer.

“Women may wish to seek guidance from their physician before using these compounds,” cautioned Dr. Rebbeck. “Our data do not suggest that use of black cohosh is an appropriate substitute for standard hormone replacement therapy.”

(Int J Cancer 2007;120:1523–28)

Horsetail as an Herbal Remedy: Musculoskeletal health

2007-06-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Horsetail (Equisetum arvense), an herbal remedy dating back to at least ancient Roman and Greek medicine, was used traditionally to stop bleeding, heal ulcers and wounds, and treat tuberculosis and kidney problems. It has also long been used to address the repair of bones and cartilage. “The plant's stems are rich in silica and silicic acids, which help mend broken bones and form collagen, an important protein found in connective tissue, skin, bone, cartilage, and ligaments. Therefore, horsetail is used as a supplement to treat and prevent osteoporosis.” (UMM)

The health of bones, cartilage, muscle, joints and tendons is greatly supported by specific foods and herbs that contain the building blocks not only for new tissue, but also for celluar regeneration. The latter is an important issue because of the great amount of stress placed on the musculoskeletal issue from:
• injury
• aging
• growth
• deterioration
• drug use (including drugs that destroy tissue as negative side effects)
• athletics
• exercise
• strain
• genetic abnormalities
• disease (e.g., arthritis, osteoporosis, rickets)
• hormonal changes (e.g., estrogen in menopausal/postmenopausal women)
• improper nutrition
Regarding the last point, few doctors recognize the role of diet in musculoskeletal health, and focus more on repairing and preventing injuries.

HORSETAIL
Horsetail is an plant that contains chemicals with a mild diuretic action – promoting the loss of water from the body. Taken orally for a few days horsetail may relieve mild swelling caused by excess water in the body. Historically, it has also been used to treat bladder, kidney, and urinary tract infections, but prescription diuretics (“water pills”) and antibiotics used in modern medicine are much more potent (yet cause side effects) for both of these uses.

Horsetail has been studied for its possible usefulness in treating arthritis, osteoporosis, and other conditions of bones and cartilage. Horsetail contains relatively large amounts of silica and smaller amounts of calcium. — components of bones, joints, and connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments. “It is believed that proteins in body tissues need silica to combine properly. Isolated results from early studies of animals show that horsetail may also have some pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects, which could add to its potential as a treatment for arthritis and related conditions. Some case reports relate the use of horsetail to lower incidences of osteoporosis. ..Other chemicals in horsetail have an astringent effect that may lessen bleeding and speed healing of minor skin injuries such as cuts and scrapes. An astringent helps shrink and tighten the top layers of skin or mucous membranes, thereby reducing secretions, relieving irritation, and improving tissue firmness. Oil distilled from horsetail has shown some anti-infective effects in laboratory studies.” (drugdigest.org)

Other benefits
Horsetail is also useful for genito-urinary problems as well as support for the brittle fingernails, gout, frostbite, excessively heavy menstruation, rheumatic disease, skin and hair. (supplementnews.org)

Back Pain, VasCor Complex & Nutrition

2007-05-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Lift With Your Legs:
The Legacy of Back Pain
by Vic Shayne, PhD

Back pain is right up there with headaches and heart attacks when it comes to the most common types of health complaints. In fact, low back pain is the #2 reason that Americans see their doctor -- second only to colds and flus. (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health states, "Pain felt in your lower back may come from the spine, muscles, nerves, or other structures in that region. It may also radiate from other areas like your mid or upper back, a hernia in the groin, or a problem in the testicles or ovaries. You may feel a variety of symptoms if you've hurt your back. You may have a tingling or burning sensation, a dull aching, or sharp pain. You also may experience weakness in your legs or feet. It won't necessarily be one event that actually causes your pain. You may have been doing many things improperly -- like standing, sitting, or lifting -- for a long time. Then suddenly, one simple movement, like reaching for something in the shower or bending from your waist, leads to the feeling of pain."

The Ohio Stae Medical Center explains: Even with today's technology, the exact cause of low back pain can be found in very few cases. In most cases, back pain may be a symptom of many different causes, including any/several of the following:

overuse, strenuous activity, or improper use (i.e., repetitive or heavy lifting, exposure to vibration for prolonged periods of time)
trauma
injury
fracture
degeneration of vertebrae (often caused by stresses on the muscles and ligaments that support the spine, or the effects of aging)
infection
abnormal growth (tumor)
obesity (causes increased weight on the spine and pressure on the discs often causes back pain)
poor muscle tone in the back
muscle tension or spasm
sprain or strain
ligament or muscle tears
joint problems
smoking
protruding or herniated (slipped) disk
disease (i.e., osteoarthritis, spondylitis, compression fractures)

What few people know is that by the time most of us are in our 30s the arteries feeding the lower back are already partially blocked. That's right, the same condition that causes heart attacks — clogged arteries — can keep your back from healing. What do you do about it? First, have a professional work on your back, whether it's acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic or osteopathic care. And keep moving. Recent medical studies show that it's better to keep moving than to lay in bed and moan.

Supplements to feed your back...
Next, feed your back. Use ProMin Complex and FlavoC for musculoskeletal nutrients and bioflavonoids. Use VasCor Complex for your back in the same way as you would use it for the rest of your cardiovascular system — take 4 tablets a day.

Sources:

NIH: National Institutes of Health; http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003108.htm
Ohio State University: http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/mens_health/low_back_pain/

VasCor Complex: Not Just for Cardiovascular Problems: Using VasCor for Pain

2007-05-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Most of our doctors know about VasCor Complex. They use it as a food supplement to support the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system, which is prudent. But what most of our doctors don't know is that VasCor is also being used in Adjunctive Nutritional Schedules to address pain issues associated with injuries, inflammation, pulled muscles, joint problems, headaches and, especially respiratory issues.

The idea is simple: When there is pain and/or inflammation, there is a need to bring more blood into the area. Enter VasCor Complex. And when respiratory problems are present, the foods in VasCor help dilate the blood vessels to bring more oxygen to the lungs.

Lastly, regarding back injuries, we sent out an information sheet about a year ago that talked about how the arteries to the lower back are occluded, to some degree, in most people. Therefore, with all back and disc problems, again, you should be thinking of VasCor.

We've had some excellent feedback using VasCor for these purposes.

Therefore, a typical
Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule
for pain and inflammation may look like this:

InflaPlex: 8 capsules per day
ProMin Complex: 8 tablets per day
VasCor: 4-6 tablets per day
CalMag Balance: 8 tablets per day

Gluten Intolerance

2007-04-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule:
DigestPlex : 2 per meal
Detox Formula: 3 per day
Fish Oils: 4 per day
GreenNutrients : 6 per day
Plus:
GLUTEN-FREE DIET

Note: GreenNutrients contains wheat grass, which is not the same thing as the mature wheat plant, and therefore does not contain gluten. Alfalfa is also deemed safe for gluten sensitive people.
-----------------------

by Vic Shayne, PhD

Allergies (in contrast to food intolerance), by and large, are immediate, or almost immediate, reactions to food, environmental or sensitivities. Food intolerance is related to a slower process whereby symptoms often present themselves either chronically, or at least with more of a lapse of time from the moment an offending food is consumed to the actual manifestation of a reaction. Therefore, symptoms are bound to become chronic.

GLUTEN: “Gluten is an amorphous ergastic protein found combined with starch in the endosperm of some cereals, notably wheat, rye, and barley. It constitutes about 80% of the proteins contained in wheat, and is composed of the proteins gliadin and glutenin. Gluten is responsible for the elasticity of kneaded dough, which allows it to be leavened, as well as the "chewiness" of baked products like bagels. It is the glutenins (specifically, high molecular weight glutenins) that are especially critical to gluten quality.” (wikipedia.com) “A gluten-free diet is a diet completely free of ingredients derived from gluten-containing cereals: wheat (including Kamut and spelt), barley, rye, oats, and triticale.

The gluten-free diet must be strictly followed by sufferers of coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis. Some medical practitioners also believe the diet may be helpful for persons with multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders, as well as autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and some behaviourial problems, but this has not yet been conclusively proven through medical studies.”(wikipedia.com)

Gluten is made up of proteins classified in two groups, the Prolamines and the Glutelins. Gliadin, a prolamine, seems to be the catalyst in Celiac Disease. For a gluten intolerant person, this offending substance damages the lining of the intestines and flattens or atrophies the small airlike projections that normally protrude from the intestinal surfaces to absorb food.”
source

ENZYMES: Apparently the part of the gliadin in gluten that causes problems to a person with celiac is not the protein or peptides derived from the protein, it is portions of gliadin carbohydrate. Although the protein can antagonize the situation (and cause the peptide problem), the enzymes needed to break down the part of gliadin reactive to celiacs are the amylases and some subgroups of amylases (other enzymes that work on starch bonds such as glucoamylases).

Leaky Gut Syndrome
GLUTEN INTOLERANCE: Because gluten affects the small intestine (creating small holes in the lining causing “Leaky Gut Syndrome”), among intolerant patients, digestion will be adversely affected which can lead to bowel problems, nutrient malabsorption, and even internal poisoning. Some sources also claim colon cancer can be the eventual result. Leaky Gut Syndrome allows foreign particles (whatever is in the gut, including bacteria) into the bloodstream. This leads to symptoms which are signs that there is something amiss.

“Gluten intolerance is a broad term which includes all kinds of sensitivity to Gluten. A small proportion of Gluten intolerant people will test positive to Celiac Disease test, and so are called Celiacs (~0.5% of the population). But most Gluten sensitive people return negative or inconclusive results upon Celiac testing. The correct term for these people is Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive (NCGS) and may be as many as ~15% of all people or 1 in 7. The most accurate and effective way to identify NCGS is to do an Elimination Diet.” (foodintol.com)

Recommended for people suffering from food intolerance is the website foodintol.com which features a great deal of information on food sensitivities, an elimination diet for food intolerance, a symptom matrix and more.

CELIAC DISEASE: “Celiac Disease (CD) was the first type of Gluten sensitivity for which diagnostic testing was devised - in the 1940s. Although Celiac testing is still used in many clinics as a first test for Gluten sensitivity, it only picks up the small percentage of Gluten-sensitive people who are Celiac. It misses the NCGS patients. Consequently this latter group is poorly diagnosed and misses out on discovering the simple and drug-free remedy of a Gluten-free diet for a dramatic recovery.” (foodintol.com)

The symptoms of Celiac Disease can vary with each individual. They can range from no symptoms at all to severe gas, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. If untreated, malnutrition can occur. If left untreated too long it can be life-threatening. Symptoms do not always involve the digestive system. It can cause irritability, depression, muscle cramps, joint pain, fatigue, and menstrual irregularities, to name a few.

REPAIRING VILLI: There seems to be a consensus among medical researchers that a gluten free diet will allow the normalization of villi so that they once again become effective in their function.

Flavonoids Prolong Life

2007-04-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

By Maureen Williams, ND
2007 Healthnotes, Inc.

Flavonoids are compounds found in many foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, grain fiber such as in bran, tea, wine, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. Some, but not all, studies have found that people who eat foods rich in flavonoids have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

Many flavonoids are strong antioxidants, which are believed to prevent atherosclerosis by reducing damage to the cells that line the blood vessels. Some flavonoids have other beneficial properties, including anti-inflammatory effects and clot prevention.

The new report, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, used data from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which took place between 1986 and 2002. More than 34,000 postmenopausal women between 55 and 69 years old answered questionnaires about diet and other factors related to cardiac risk and stroke risk. Deaths due to cardiovascular disease and other causes were monitored throughout the study.

The women’s diets were analyzed for total flavonoid content as well as for seven specific types of flavonoids, including anthocyanidins, found in blueberries, raspberries, and red wine; flavanones, found in oranges, grapefruit, and lemons; and flavones, found in parsley and celery.
The women whose diets contained high amounts of anthocyanidins were less likely to die from cardiovascular diseases, coronary heart disease (a type of cardiovascular disease involving the arteries that supply the heart), and from any other cause than those who got little or no anthocyanidins. Flavanone intake was linked to lower risk of death due to coronary heart disease, and flavone intake to lower risk of death for any reason.

The researchers also looked at the effects of specific foods on death from heart disease, stroke, and all causes. Eating bran, apples, pears, strawberries, red wine, and chocolate protected the women against death from cardiovascular disease; eating apples, pears, red wine, and grapefruit protected them against death from coronary heart disease; and adding bran to food prevented death from stroke. Chocolate, though the effect was small, was found to prevent cardiovascular disease-related deaths.

“Results from this study suggest that the intake of certain subclasses of flavonoids may be associated with lower coronary heart disease and total cardiovascular disease mortality in postmenopausal women,” they stated in their conclusion. “Furthermore, consumption of some foods that are high in flavonoid content…may have similar associations.”
(Am J Public Health 2006;96:1815–20)

----------------------
Editor's Note:
NutriPlex Formulas' whole food supplements with flavonoids:
FlavoC
CaroC
SuperGreens PhytoFood

Chronic Fatigue Linked to Nutrient Deficiencies that Vitamin Pills Alone Cannot Address

2007-04-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

Chronic Fatigue & Low Energy
By Vic Shayne, PhD

Many physicians have referred to it as hypochondria or idiopathic disease (meaning that it has no known cause), but now more and more doctors are recognizing the reality of chronic fatigue as a valid medical complaint. Just as the name implies, this means that people suffering from chronic fatigue always feel tired or exhausted. Of course most of us know what it’s like to be very tired or worn out, but chronic fatigue takes this to a new level; instead of being tired occasionally, the sufferer feels worn out all of the time. When this happens, all of life comes to a grinding halt, because without energy you can’t get things done, and without energy, the body begins to break down in many ways.

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule
for Doctors
(long-term schedule)

BFood Complex: 12 tablets a day, or 1T of the powder
EnergyFood: 6 tablets a day, or 1teasp of the powder
CalMag Balance: 6 tablets a day
Fish Oils: 6 capsules a day
AdrenaPlex: 6 capsules
SuperGreens PhytoFood: 6 capsules or 1 teasp powder

It is also possible to take the powder versions of these foods and blend them in a smoothie, taking half the dosage in the morning and the other half in late afternoon.

Why the exhaustion? Well, as Dr. Bernard Jensen (author, Vibrant Health from Your Kitchen) used to say, it takes time to build a disease. In other words, health problems like chronic fatigue do not come on suddenly. There are many factors that can rob you of energy, including another illness, low iron, low mineral intake, liver problems, digestive problems, excessive work without proper rest, overweight conditions, excessive stress (emotional and physical), and improper/insufficient nutrition. In all causes, nutrition remains at the top of the list of importance, because if you don’t feed your body the correct foods, it won’t have the building blocks for health. Nerves, muscles, the mind, the brain, the internal organs, the glands and the cells all need good nutrition to function optimally. If they don’t have this, then they will be lacking in energy, which leads to chronic fatigue.

Symptoms
Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue are in common with the vitamin B deficiency known as beri beri, which was brought to the attention of doctors following WWII. In the prisoner of war camps, prisoners of the Japanese came down with beri beri from a deficiency of the vitamin B-bearing portion of the rice they were fed on a daily basis. On a diet of refined rice, containing virtually no vitamin B, the symptoms of fatigue and mental abberations overtook the POWs. Restoration of vitamin B complex, through a diet of unpolished rice, reversed the symptoms.

There are many foods that build energy, and topping the list are the foods that contain vitamin B complex (See BFood Complex). Note that we say that the foods are important to eat rather than the vitamin pills. Many cases of chronic fatigue have failed to respond to vitamin pills, yet have responded to the foods that contain the vitamins, among other nutrients that only nature’s foods can offer. When there is a deficiency of vitamin B complex, as is very common in cases of exhaustion, some symptoms include:
• fatigue, tiredness
• inability to think clearly
• problems focusing
• sleepiness
• insomnia
• anxiety
• feelings of dread/ something terrible is going to happen
• inability to cope with stress
• intolerance for noise
• moodiness
• heart palpitations
• fear of the unknown

When exhaustion becomes chronic, the adrenal glands may be adversely affected, leading to adrenal fatigue. The adrenal system is the backup energy program for the body, and it needs vitamin C foods such as citrus, cherries and other fruits and vegetables. (See AdrenalPlex)
Minerals are also important in creating energy and maintaining the health, including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, sodium and selenium. (See SuperGreens PhytoFood) And essential fatty acids are needed by the body for nerve transmission, brain function and immune response. (See FishOils) Further, there are many foods that create energy in the mitochondria (energy factories) of the cells, including alfalfa, ginseng root, quinoa, fig, spirulina, and others. (See EnergyFood)

The biggest mistake made by people with chronic fatigue is to take herbs or drugs that artificially stimulate energy. But this causes not only side effects, but since such actions do not solve the nutrition deficiency underlying the problem, new health problems are created and the condition is made worse. The wisest course of action is to take whole food supplements, change your diet for the better, get plenty of rest, enroll in a stress-reduction course or therapy, and seek psychological counseling to ease you through the recovery process.

Vitamin B Complex
One or More, Not Necessarily All, Symptoms May Exist WITHOUT adequate vitamin B complex intake:
• Depression • Weakness • Fatigue • Indigestion • Forgetfulness
• Constipation or diarrhea stomach pains • Vague fears • Decreased or increased appetite • Irregular heartbeat, slow pulse or fast pulse
Muscular soreness • Achiness • Mood swings • Tingling and/or numbness in hands, feet, fingers • Loss of ability to concentrate • Loss of memory • Nervousness • Menstrual complaints (female)
Cold hands and feet • Craving for sweets • Difficulty swallowing
Heart Conditions • Hypochondria • Sleep disturbances
Anxiety • Inability to handle stress • Attention Deficit

The vitamin B complex is essential in support of the brain and the rest of the nervous system; nervous, mental and emotional function; energy production; digestion and elimination; blood sugar or carbohydrate metabolism; blood-building factors (red blood cells); the liver, heart, kidneys and other organs; the endocrine gland system; production and regulation of certain hormones; normal growth and development; maintenance of mucosal, epithelial and eye tissues; many enzyme systems; protein and lipid (fat) metabolism; and more.

Vitamin B pills fail where Vitamin B FOODS succeed
There is absolutely NO SUBSTITUTE for real, whole, raw FOODS in providing vitamin B complex. Vitamin pills are not a viable source, simply because such pills containing vitamins as isolates (vitamins by themselves) do not offer synergists that exist naturally within foods. Vitamin B complex, like any other vitamin, mineral or nutrient, NEVER exists by itself in nature. In order to be effective, without side effects, vitamin B complex must be present along with cofactors (helper nutrients). These cofactors are only to be found in whole foods, either in the daily diet or in whole food concentrates (See BFood Complex).

NutriPlex Formulas' Whole Food Supplements
Since isolated vitamins (even the so-called vitamin B complex) lack the cofactors needed by the body for full, complete, comprehensive nutritional support, they may fail to reverse chronic fatigue. Whole foods, on the other hand, have a much greater opportunity for success, especially when the practitioner incorporates into his/her regimen a sensible diet devoid of enervating foods and rich in real, whole, unaltered foods.

Grape Seed Extract Constituents Show Powerful Benefits

2007-03-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

For the doctors of NutriPlex Formulas.
This information is provided so our doctors can have a quick overview of the benefits of Grape Seed Extract.

Grape Seed Extract (contained in NutriPlex Formulas’ SuperGreens PhytoFood) is one of the greatest “superfood” finds of the era. There are many health benefits, and two of its most promising constituents are resveratrol and proanthocyanidins.

The information below can be found on the website of pdrhealth.com...

The amount of resveratrol (trans-resveratrol) in peanuts ranges from 0.02 to 1.79 micrograms per gram. Red wine contains from 0.6 to 0.8 micrograms per milliliter, and fresh grape skin, approximately 50 to 100 micrograms per gram. A glass of red wine delivers on the average, between 600 to 700 micrograms of resveratrol.

Resveratrol has demonstrated inhibition of growth of several cancer cell lines and tumors, suggesting that it has an inhibitory effect on cancer promotion/progression. It has been found to inhibit ribonucleotide reductase, DNA polymerase, the transcription of COX-2 in human mammary epithelial cells and the activity of ornithine decarboxylase. Ornithine decarboxylase is a key enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, which is enhanced in tumor growth.

Resveratrol has also been found to induce phase II metabolizing enzymes which are involved in the detoxification of carcinogens, to upregulate apoptosis, to inhibit the progression of cancer by inducing cell differentiation and to inhibit protein kinase D and possibly protein kinase C.

In a number of mostly in vitro studies, resveratrol has demonstrated an ability to inhibit tumor initiation, promotion and progression. Some of its antiproliferative activity is attributed to its observed ability to inhibit ribonucleotide reductase and DNA synthesis in mammalian cells. It has been shown to induce apoptotic cell death in human leukemia cell lines, as well as in some breast carcinoma cells.

Its antiestrogenic activity is also believed to play a role in its inhibition of human breast cancer cells in vitro. A partial estrogen-receptor agonist itself, resveratrol is believed by some researchers to be an estrogen-receptor antagonist in the presence of estrogen, resulting in breast cancer inhibition.

Finally, resveratrol has recently shown activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 in a dose-dependent manner. It appears to disrupt a critical early event in the viral reproduction cycle.

Grape seeds offer a wide variety of antioxidant, anti-cancer and other benefits, according to the web site PDRHealth.com. A type of mixed flavonoid - proanthocyanidins - extracted from grape seeds are the essential ingredient.

• The proanthocyanidins are what's important here: They have been shown to hold antioxidant properties.

• In laboratory tests, grape seeds have been considered to have possible anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-atherogenic properties.

• Lab tests suggest that the anti-cancer properties include cardioprotective (heart) properties, hepatoprotective (blood / liver) properties and capillary protective properties. Grape seeds also have, through in vitro tests, been observed to help fight lung, breast and stomach cancers.

• Anecdotal evidence suggests that they also are useful for treating varicose veins, arthritis and some allergies.

• In other in vitro tests, the grape seeds have been linked with helping the vascular system.

Antitumor-promoting activity, described as highly significant, has been observed in animals treated with topical grape seed proanthocyanidins. Skin tumor incidence, multiplicity and volume were all significantly inhibited. These effects were attributed to inhibition of epidermal lipid peroxidation. Higher doses resulted in greater degrees of cancer inhibition.

sources:
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/gra_0129.shtml
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/res_0224.shtml

Hypospadias: Malformed genitals from chemicals?

2006-09-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Get the chemicals out of your life and your home! Toxic chemicals are causing irreversible damage to human health.
For more information, read Dr. Vic Shayne's book Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden
. The more you know the more you can control your own state of health.

Independent (UK), September 12, 2006

CAN CHEMICALS IN OUR HOMES CAUSE DEFORMITIES?

[Rachel's introduction: Growing numbers of boys are being born with malformed genitals. Are chemicals in our homes to blame?] from rachel.org

By Hannah Duguid

At 16 weeks pregnant, Isobel Lockwood had an ultrasound and was told she was carrying a baby girl. Soon afterwards, DNA taken from the foetus during an amniocentesis showed it was a boy. The doctor, who'd never made such a mistake before, was astonished but thought nothing further of it.

When Isobel eventually gave birth, the reason for the mix-up became clear. Her son's penis was tiny and split down the middle.

The immediate diagnosis was hypospadias -- a birth abnormality where the hole in the penis lies underneath the shaft, or in more severe cases, at the base of the penis or underneath the scrotum. In some cases the penis is very bent and will grow back on itself, in the shape of a doughnut. In severe cases, it is difficult to identify a penis at all.

At best the problem is largely cosmetic and can be rectified in a single operation. At worst (and with modern surgery these cases are rare), boys are left infertile and unable to have sex.

Of every 150 to 200 boys born in this country, one will have hypospadias -- and doctors believe that cases have doubled over the past 25 years. It happens during the first three or four months of pregnancy and is a result of incomplete masculinisation.

Basically, we all begin life in the womb as female, but with hypospadias something disrupts the hormonal changes a foetus goes through to become male. What that "something" might be turns out to be fairly chilling.

Research in Denmark points to a group of chemicals -- phthalates - found in objects and everyday products all around us. They are in plastic, carpets, fabric, make-up, food packaging, perfume, cosmetics, milk, vegetables, pesticides and sun cream. Known as endocrine disrupters, it is believed they upset the delicate balance of hormones during the early stages of pregnancy.

Related to this is the general crisis in male fertility in the West. One in six boys born today will have a low sperm-count. Hypospadias sufferers are part of a much wider problem which has seen male fertility drastically decline over the past 50 years.

Professor Richard Sharpe of the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit suggests that there's a link between incidents of hypospadias, undescended testes, low sperm-count and testicular cancers. "We don't yet know the exact cause of these problems, but they are all inter-related. It seems that the increase in these abnormalities is to do with environmental and lifestyle factors. It is something that has only happened recently," Sharpe says.

Aivar Bracka, a consultant genito-urethral plastic surgeon at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, operates on hundreds of cases of hypospadias every year. "I would be surprised if there wasn't an environmental cause for it. It is difficult to explain any other way. In particular, it explains cases of identical twins where one is born with hypospadias and the other isn't. This means that genetics doesn't account for everything."

Hereditary factors do, however, play a part in some cases. It is not unusual for more than one male in a family to have hypospadias. If the father and grandfather has it, there is a one in three chance that the next male in line will have it.

But mostly, it happens out of the blue. "I had no idea what hypospadias was," says Sue Phipps, mother of identical twins Henry and Charlie, 11, both born with the condition. "I didn't notice immediately as I had not had boys before. The nurse pointed it out. Both of them had their hole half-way down the underneath of their penis, and both had a hooded foreskin. They had to sit on the toilet to pee, or it went everywhere.

"We were told they would need one operation, but after a series of operations their penises were a mess. The pain was so severe they were on morphine. Going to the loo was dreadful for them; Henry urinated from three holes and Charlie from five."

A traumatic two years culminated in Sue Phipps threatening to sue the surgeon. One of the problems when local plastic surgeons operate on hypospadias patients is that they are not sufficiently experienced in the delicate technique required and end up making the problem worse - one-third of cases operated on by Bracka are repair jobs.

Once referred to Russells Hall Hospital, the boys needed just one "salvage" operation to give them a penis that looked normal and worked. Both were able to get erections.

But Phipps does not yet know whether her boys will be fertile. There is a small but significant chance that they won't be. Studies have shown that boys with hypospadias tend to have a slightly lower sperm- count. The twins' testicles are normal, though. One in 10 boys with hypospadias is also born with undescended testicles. If one testicle descends there is, again, a small but significant increase of infertility. If both fail to descend, that likelihood shoots up to 80 per cent.

The other reason hypospadias sufferers may struggle to have children is if their abnormality makes it difficult to have sex. A penis with a 270-degree bend can be surgically corrected, but if it is not penetration is almost impossible -- as is normal ejaculation if the hole is at the base of the penis. Ham-fisted surgery leaves the urethra "baggy", causing weak ejaculation where sperm dribbles rather than shoots out.

A penis that doesn't look or behave like everybody else's is upsetting for a boy, too. Their penises tends to be smaller than usual and, apart from embarrassment with potential sexual encounters, there is "locker room syndrome", when boys face the rough judgements of their peers.

Peter Cuckow, consultant paediatric urologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Urology, says: "People are much more critical of their anatomy now, which means operations take place that wouldn't have years ago. I have known families where all the men had hypospadias but the older generations had not had operations because all that was wrong was that their penis looked strange. It still worked, so it wasn't a problem."

Isobel Lockwood says: "I am most worried about how to talk to my son about his penis. I don't want there to be any shame about it, but there's no point pretending nothing's wrong. You want them to be the same. But I do worry about what will happen when he reaches puberty."

Sometimes it is fathers who find it difficult to cope. "I suppose it's because they see it as their manhood," says Dionne Smith, 38. "When my boys went into hospital to have their operation, my ex-partner told his friends that the boys were on holiday. I didn't like that. I told him it wasn't a disease -- or anything to be afraid of."

What is important is that for most boys born with hypospadias, one or two operations when they're very young will correct the condition. It is also true that surgeons expect to see more cases in the future - and unless something changes there is nothing we can really do about it.

Support group: www.hypospadias.co.uk

Boycotting Horizon Milk?

2006-09-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

We have to watch these companies like hawks! There is always a threat of big industry encroaching on the organics business. They take over organic food companies then change the whole meaning of organic. They cheat and lie and corrupt. Absolute power leads to absolute corruption.

Is this what's happening with Horizon Milk since it was digested by the mega corporation Dean's Foods? The Organic Consumer Association thinks so!

Read on...

BOYCOTT THE SHAMELESS SEVEN--ORGANIC OUTLAWS LABELING FACTORY FARM MILK AS 'USDA ORGANIC'

While USDA bureaucrats drag their feet on closing key loopholes in national organic organic standards, retailers, wholesalers and major “organic” brands are continuing to sell milk and dairy products labeled as "USDA Organic, even though most or all of their milk is coming from factory farm feedlots where the animals have been brought in from conventional farms and are kept in intensive confinement, with little or no access to pasture.

The Organic Consumers Association is expanding its boycott of Horizon and Aurora organic dairy products to include five national "private label" organic milk brands supplied by Aurora, as well as two leading organic soy products, Silk and White Wave, owned by Horizon's parent company, Dean Foods. Its time to turn up the heat on the "Shameless Seven.
While thousands of organic consumers and a number of natural food stores and cooperatives have joined the boycott, major national large grocery retailers have ignored the boycott.

Aurora Organic supplies milk for several private label organic milk brands, including Costco's "Kirkland Signature," Safeway’s "O" organics brand, Publix’s “High Meadows,”Giant's "Natures Promise," and Wild Oats’ organic milk. Aurora Organic received a failing grade from the Cornucopia Institute's survey of organic dairies for its practice of intensive confinement of dairy cows. For pictures of Aurora Organic's operations, follow this link. The Cornucopia Institute recently blew the whistle on Aurora Organic's greenwashing and its bogus certification of animal welfare.

Additionally, its been revealed that much of the soy for Dean Food's White Wave tofu and Silk soymilk products are sourced abroad, primarily from Brazil and China. Environmental standards and workers' rights are routinely violated in these two countries.

Take action today! Send a message to the Shameless Sevens' CEOs and let them know you are boycotting their products until they comply with USDA organic standards.

Heart Disease and B Vitamins

2006-03-31T10:46:00.000-08:00

Note from Dr. Vic Shayne: This article is an example of why we have the philosophy that nutrients (including vitamins and minerals) should come from FOODS or whole food formula supplements rather than from isolated vitamins. Dr. Alan Gaby writes:
"Even more important, supplementing with large doses of a single nutrient will in some instances deplete other nutrients. Most people living in Western societies have marginal deficiencies of a wide range of essential nutrients, as a result of extensive food refining and processing, nutrient-depleting farming techniques, and unwise food choices. Against this backdrop of borderline-low overall nutritional status, supplementing with relatively large amounts of one or a few vitamins or minerals could in some instances have adverse health consequences. There is circumstantial evidence that taking large amounts of vitamin B6 increases the need for magnesium, a nutrient that protects the heart and blood vessels in many different ways. While other studies have shown that vitamin B6 supplements improve magnesium status, there is no way to predict how magnesium and vitamin B6 would interact in humans at risk for heart disease."

Read the whole article on B Vitamins and Heart Disease:
B Vitamins and Heart Disease Prevention

A Healthnotes Newswire Opinion
By Alan R. Gaby, MD

Healthnotes Newswire (March 30, 2006)—Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine (www.nejm.org e-pubs: 10.1056/NEJMoa060900 and 10.1056/NEJMoa055227) have concluded that supplementing with certain B vitamins does not prevent heart disease and that some combinations of B vitamins may even increase a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke. Though the studies were well designed from a technical perspective, the treatment did not make sense from a nutritional perspective, so it is unfortunate that the results will now convince many doctors that vitamins do not help heart disease. Studying these vitamins in isolation from the network of vitamins and minerals known to impact heart health does not shed light on optimal nutritional therapy for heart disease, and would not have been recommended by practitioners familiar with basic nutrition principles.

The new research

One of the new studies examined the effect of supplementing daily with vitamin B6 (50 mg), vitamin B12 (1 mg), and folic acid (2.5 mg) in patients with diabetes or hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). These three vitamins are known to lower blood levels of homocysteine, a compound that is believed to contribute to heart disease risk. The use of these vitamins reduced homocysteine levels, but after five years of supplementation the number of deaths from heart disease and stroke did not differ between patients receiving B vitamins and those taking a placebo.

In the other study, people who had recently suffered a heart attack were randomly assigned to receive daily either a placebo or various combinations of folic acid (0.8 mg), vitamin B12 (0.4 mg), and vitamin B6 (40 mg). As in the other study, B-vitamin supplementation reduced homocysteine levels. However, during a follow-up period of a little over three years, no significant reduction was found in the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, or death from cardiovascular disease in the groups receiving B vitamins, compared with those receiving the placebo. On the contrary, there was a trend toward increased risk in people treated with B vitamins, and this trend was statistically significant in the group that received all three of the vitamins.

The bigger nutritional picture

These studies were technically well designed and therefore provide fairly definitive answers to the narrow question of whether supplementing with these three nutrients by themselves is of any value to people at risk of heart disease. However, supplementing with only one or a few specific nutrients out of the several dozen that are essential for humans is not a logical way to provide nutritional support. Nutrients work as a team in the body, and the beneficial effects of individual nutrients may not be realized if a person is deficient in other essential nutrients.

Even more important, supplementing with large doses of a single nutrient will in some instances deplete other nutrients. Most people living in Western societies have marginal deficiencies of a wide range of essential nutrients, as a result of extensive food refining and processing, nutrient-depleting farming techniques, and unwise food choices. Against this backdrop of borderline-low overall nutritional status, supplementing with relatively large amounts of one or a few vitamins or minerals could in some instances have adverse health consequences. There is circumstantial evidence that taking large amounts of vitamin B6 increases the need for magnesium, a nutrient that protects the heart and blood vessels in many different ways. While other studies have shown that vitamin B6 supplements improve magnesium status, there is no way to predict how magnesium and vitamin B6 would interact in humans at risk for heart disease.

Low magnesium status is very common in the general population. It is even more prevalent in people with heart disease, as a result of both the disease itself and of some of the drugs that are used to prevent or treat heart disease. Magnesium deficiency is probably a much more significant contributing factor to heart disease than is B vitamin deficiency, particularly since food producers have begun fortifying foods with folic acid and other B vitamins. It is possible that B vitamin supplementation would be shown to be beneficial when given to people who are consuming adequate amounts of magnesium and of all other nutrients known to play a role in cardiovascular health.

There is also evidence, some conflicting, that folic acid interferes with zinc absorption, another nutrient necessary for cardiovascular health. The average Western diet contains substantially less than the RDA for zinc, and it is possible that the beneficial effect of folic acid on heart health would be counterbalanced by a worsening of zinc status.

When medical nutritionists recommend a high dose of a single nutrient, it is usually given in combination with a broad-spectrum multivitamin-multimineral preparation and a nutrient-dense diet. The positive results that I and others have seen in people receiving comprehensive nutritional support far exceed what can be achieved by merely adding one or a few nutrients to a diet high in refined sugar, white flour, and other nutrient-depleted foods.

About the author: An expert in nutritional therapies, Chief Medical Editor Alan R. Gaby, MD, is a former professor at Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences, where he served as the Endowed Professor of Nutrition. ©HealthNotes, Inc.

Most Americans are Poisoned: A Case for Detox

2006-02-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Most Americans are poisoned. This is a frightening statement, to be sure, but it’s true. If you’ve read Dr. Vic Shayne’s book, Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden, you’ll understand the depth and breadth of this problem. But what’s more of a problem is that SO FEW PEOPLE know that they are carrying around disease-producing toxins in their bodies. For this exact reason, many of our NutriPlex doctors begin each new patient with two bottles of DetoxFormula. And, if you’re working with chronic illness, especially of an idiopathic nature, NutriPlex Formulas' DetoxFormula can be used as well. Plus, there are certain foods you can eat that are known to remove toxins; for instance, cilantro removes mercury from the body, and some blue-green algae removes heavy metals.

Symptoms of chronic toxicity:
• Skin problems
• Lingering illness or cold/flu
• Cancer
• Chronic disease
• Liver problems
• Chronic fatigue
• Chronic soreness
• Mental and emotional problems
• Respiratory congestion
• Nervous system disorders
• more

Here are the poisons that are commonly found in the bodies of almost every American because they enter us either through the daily diet, from pollution, from household products (sprays, paint fumes, plastics, etc.), from our water supply and so forth: mercury, fluoride, chlorine, DDT, preservatives, PCBs, synthetic vitamins, pesticide residues, hormones and hormone disrupters, synthetic fertilizers, dioxide, more

There are specific foods and herbs scientifically shown to help the body eliminate toxins and prevent them from harming us. We at NutriPlex Formulas have studied these foods and incorporated them into DetoxFormula. Of course, it is vitally important to stop taking poisons into our bodies, so diet and lifestyle improvements are prudent.

But in the least, we recommend taking 2-4 DetoxFormula tablets per day for two bottles on a periodic basis. Plus 10 GreenNutrients per day on a regular basis and 4 ImmuneSupport a day.

Detoxing is no longer a practice just for very ill patients. It should be part of a sensible routine health program.

In a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage. (ewg.org)

A new study from the University of California Berkeley found that combinations of low doses of toxic chemicals can be more harmful than any of the chemicals alone, suggesting that the vacuum EPA and other government agencies study individual chemicals' toxicity in does not mirror conditions in the real world. The study gave a cocktail of agricultural pesticides commonly found in runoff water to frogs. Although each chemical was at levels 10 to 100 times below safety standards, the mix created significant harmful health effects. http://www.enviroblog.org/2006/02/chemical-mixtures-more-toxic-than-sum.html

Pesticides are designed to kill living organisms and are therefore a threat to human health. The National Cancer Institute states that 30% of insecticides, 60% of herbicides and 90% of fungicides are known to cause cancer. And that’s just one negative side effect. These chemicals can also lead to damage of both the nervous and hormonal systems. (ewg.org)

Common household dust contains a variety of hazardous chemicals originating from everyday consumer products, including Teflon and other nonstick cookware and fabrics coated with water-resistant Gore-Tex, according to a study released Tuesday.

The study, one of the first of its kind, showed that hidden away in dust balls in vacuum cleaner bags were 35 toxic industrial chemicals that are legal in products but have been shown to cause reproductive, respiratory and other health problems in humans or test animals. (ewg.org)

Nutrition Notes on Acne: For Doctors Only

2006-02-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

Millions of Teens Suffer From Acne
Every Day, NEEDLESSLY!

Did you know that poor nutrition can cause acne? Just by changing what you eat, you can avoid drugs, therapy, expensive topical ointments and worthless remedies that just don’t work. The simple secret is NUTRITION.

The problem is that teens eat an unbalanced diet full of substances that cause acne, block pores, alter the hormonal system, irritate the skin and poison the body! We have a FREE diet and Nutritional Schedule that really works. You just have to give it three months and you will be amazed by the difference. Here’s the schedule to use even if you’re already seeing a doctor or dermatologist:

Acne Nutritional Schedule
10 GreenNutrients a day (take with meals)
8 InflaPlex a day (take with meals)
3 MaleSupport (for males only)
or
3 FemPlex (for females only)

PLUS, USE DR. SHAYNE’S ACNE DIET along with this schedule (just ask for it and we’ll send it to you ABSOLUTELY FREE)

Nutrition Feeds the Cardiovascular System: For Doctors Only

2006-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Everyone Knows That Nutrition Feeds
The Cardiovascular System!

Leading medical doctors such as Dean Ornitz, MD (Reversing Heart Disease) and others talk about the importance of real, wholesome foods in cardiovascular health. The reason is that certain nutrients (only found in foods, and whole food formulas, but not in vitamin pills) are needed to:
• support the strength of arteries and capillaries
• support the heart muscle
• supply nerves to the heart
• keep arteries elastic and pliable
• keep arteries dilated to allow more blood flow
• supply the heart and blood vessels with nutrients & oxygen
• lower cholesterol & plaque
• maintain normal blood pressure

Cardiovascular problems from bad diets and not enough nutrients can lead to:
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• cardiovascular disease
• heart attacks and stroke
• palpitations, arrythmias and irregular heartbeat
• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• high cholesterol
• atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis

The nutrients in the schedule below have been shown to support the cardiovascular system. So, whether you are on a doctor’s medication or not, these are helpful nutrients that your body needs…

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule for Cardiovascular System:
3-4 VasCor per day (take with meals)
8 CalMag per day (take with meals)
8 BFood tablets per day (take with meals)
10 SuperGreens tablets per day (but consult with your MD first if you are on a blood thinning medication)

Plus, ask us for our cardiovascular dietary suggestions! (ABSOLUTELY FREE)

Lack of Nutrients Can Lead to PMS: For Doctors Only

2006-02-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

A Lack of Important Nutrients
Can Lead to PMS
(fatigue, bloating, cramps, irritability & more!)

PMS is a serious problem to millions of women. Why? Because their doctors aren’t telling them that there’s a nutritional deficiency that needs to be overcome. That’s right; women ages 12 to 50 crave important nutrients only found in a few of nature’s foods and herbs. These nutrients include phytochemicals, calcium, and many other substances that are not being consumed in the typical diet. You need to feed your ovaries, uterus, thyroid, pituitary gland and entire endocrine system!

So, if you suffer from PMS, bad periods, headaches, cramping, irritability, fatigue and other problems…

Here’s NATURAL, SAFE and effective support.
THIS IS THE ADJUNCTIVE NUTRITIONAL SCHEDULE DOCTORS USE for their female patients. Try it for at least 45 days...
4 FemPlex a day (take with meals)
6 CalMag per day (take 1/2 hour before breakfast)
(take another six tablets with cramping)
8 GreenNutrients a day (take with meals)
1teaspoon FlaxSeed Oil (organic)

Note: because these are foods, they can be taken along with medication.

50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation

2006-02-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

by Paul Connett, PhD
Professor of Chemistry
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617

1) Fluoride is not an essential nutrient (NRC 1993 and IOM 1997). No disease has ever been linked to a fluoride deficiency. Humans can have perfectly good teeth without fluoride.

2) Fluoridation is not necessary. Most Western European countries are not fluoridated and have experienced the same decline in dental decay as the US (See data from World Health Organization in Appendix 1, and the time trends presented graphically at http://www.fluoridealert.org/who-dmft.htm ). The reasons given by countries for not fluoridating are presented in Appendix 2.)

3) Fluoridation's role in the decline of tooth decay is in serious doubt. The largest survey ever conducted in the US (over 39,000 children from 84 communities) by the National Institute of Dental Research showed little difference in tooth decay among children in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities (Hileman 1989). According to NIDR researchers, the study found an average difference of only 0.6 DMFS (Decayed Missing and Filled Surfaces) in the permanent teeth of children aged 5-17 residing in either fluoridated or unfluoridated areas (Brunelle and Carlos, 1990). This difference is less than one tooth surface! There are 128 tooth surfaces in a child's mouth. This result was not shown to be statistically significant. In a review commissioned by the Ontario government, Dr. David Locker concluded:

"The magnitude of [fluoridation's] effect is not large in absolute terms, is often not statistically significant and may not be of clinical significance" (Locker 1999).

4) Where fluoridation has been discontinued in communities from Canada, the former East Germany, Cuba and Finland, dental decay has not increased but has actually decreased (Maupome 2001; Kunzel and Fischer,1997,2000; Kunzel 2000 and Seppa 2000).

5) There have been numerous recent reports of dental crises in US cities (e.g. Boston, Cincinnati, New York City) which have been fluoridated for over 20 years. There appears to be a far greater (inverse) relationship between tooth decay and income level than with water fluoride levels.

6) Modern research (e.g. Diesendorf 1986; Colquhoun 1997, and De Liefde, 1998) shows that decay rates were coming down before fluoridation was introduced and have continued to decline even after its benefits would have been maximized. Many other factors influence tooth decay. Some recent studies have found that tooth decay actually increases as the fluoride concentration in the water increases (Olsson 1979; Retief 1979; Mann 1987, 1990; Steelink 1992; Teotia 1994; Grobleri 2001; Awadia 2002 and Ekanayake 2002).

7) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 1999, 2001) has now acknowledged the findings of many leading dental researchers, that the mechanism of fluoride's benefits are mainly TOPICAL not SYSTEMIC. Thus, you don't have to swallow fluoride to protect teeth. As the benefits of fluoride (if any exist) are topical, and the risks are systemic, it makes more sense, for those who want to take the risks, to deliver the fluoride directly to the tooth in the form of toothpaste. Since swallowing fluoride is unnecessary, there is no reason to force people (against their will) to drink fluoride in their water supply. This position was recently shared by Dr. Douglas Carnall, the associate editor of the British Medical Journal. His editorial appears in Appendix 3.

8) Despite being prescribed by doctors for over 50 years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never approved any fluoride product designed for ingestion as safe or effective. Fluoride supplements are designed to deliver the same amount of fluoride as ingested daily from fluoridated water (Kelly 2000).

9) The US fluoridation program has massively failed to achieve one of its key objectives, i.e. to lower dental decay rates while holding down dental fluorosis (mottled and discolored enamel), a condition known to be caused by fluoride. The goal of the early promoters of fluoridation was to limit dental fluorosis (in its mildest form) to 10% of children (NRC 1993, pp. 6-7). A major US survey has found 30% of children in optimally fluoridated areas had dental fluorosis on at least two teeth (Heller 1997), while smaller studies have found up to 80% of children impacted (Williams 1990; Lalumandier 1995 and Morgan 1998). The York Review estimates that up to 48% of children in optimally fluoridated areas worldwide have dental fluorosis in all forms and 12.5% with symptoms of aesthetic concern (McDonagh, 2000).

10) Dental fluorosis means that a child has been overdosed on fluoride. While the mechanism by which the enamel is damaged is not definitively known, it appears fluorosis may be a result of either inhibited enzymes in the growing teeth (Dan Besten 1999), or through fluoride's interference with G-protein signaling mechanisms (Matsuo 1996). In a study in Mexico, Alarcon-Herrera (2001) has shown a linear correlation between the severity of dental fluorosis and the frequency of bone fractures in children.

11) The level of fluoride put into water (1 ppm) is up to 200 times higher than normally found in mothers' milk (0.005 – 0.01 ppm) (Ekstrand 1981; Institute of Medicine 1997). There are no benefits, only risks, for infants ingesting this heightened level of fluoride at such an early age (this is an age where susceptibility to environmental toxins is particularly high).

12) Fluoride is a cumulative poison. On average, only 50% of the fluoride we ingest each day is excreted through the kidneys. The remainder accumulates in our bones, pineal gland, and other tissues. If the kidney is damaged, fluoride accumulation will increase, and with it, the likelihood of harm.

13) Fluoride is very biologically active even at low concentrations. It interferes with hydrogen bonding (Emsley 1981) and inhibits numerous enzymes (Waldbott 1978).

14) When complexed with aluminum, fluoride interferes with G-proteins (Bigay 1985, 1987). Such interactions give aluminum-fluoride complexes the potential to interfere with many hormonal and some neurochemical signals (Strunecka & Patocka 1999, Li 2003).

15) Fluoride has been shown to be mutagenic, cause chromosome damage and interfere with the enzymes involved with DNA repair in a variety of cell and tissue studies (Tsutsui 1984; Caspary 1987; Kishi 1993 and Mihashi 1996). Recent studies have also found a correlation between fluoride exposure and chromosome damage in humans (Sheth 1994; Wu 1995; Meng 1997 and Joseph 2000).

16) Fluoride forms complexes with a large number of metal ions, which include metals which are needed in the body (like calcium and magnesium) and metals (like lead and aluminum) which are toxic to the body. This can cause a variety of problems. For example, fluoride interferes with enzymes where magnesium is an important co-factor, and it can help facilitate the uptake of aluminum and lead into tissues where these metals wouldn't otherwise go (Mahaffey 1976; Allain 1996; Varner 1998).

17) Rats fed for one year with 1 ppm fluoride in their water, using either sodium fluoride or aluminum fluoride, had morphological changes to their kidneys and brains, an increased uptake of aluminum in the brain, and the formation of beta amyloid deposits which are characteristic of Alzheimers disease (Varner 1998).

18) Aluminum fluoride was recently nominated by the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for testing by the National Toxicology Program. According to EPA and NIEHS, aluminum fluoride currently has a "high health research priority" due to its "known neurotoxicity" (BNA, 2000). If fluoride is added to water which contains aluminum, than aluminum fluoride complexes will form.

19) Animal experiments show that fluoride accumulates in the brain and exposure alters mental behavior in a manner consistent with a neurotoxic agent (Mullenix 1995). Rats dosed prenatally demonstrated hyperactive behavior. Those dosed postnatally demonstrated hypoactivity (i.e. under activity or "couch potato" syndrome). More recent animal experiments have reported that fluoride can damage the brain (Wang 1997; Guan 1998; Varner 1998; Zhao 1998; Zhang 1999; Lu 2000; Shao 2000; Sun 2000; Bhatnagar 2002; Chen 2002, 2003; Long 2002; Shivarajashankara 2002a, b; Shashi 2003 and Zhai 2003) and impact learning and behavior (Paul 1998; Zhang 1999, 2001; Sun 2000; Ekambaram 2001; Bhatnagar 2002).

20) Five studies from China show a lowering of IQ in children associated with fluoride exposure (Lin Fa-Fu 1991; Li 1995; Zhao 1996; Lu 2000; and Xiang 2003a, b). One of these studies (Lin Fa-Fu 1991) indicates that even just moderate levels of fluoride exposure (e.g. 0.9 ppm in the water) can exacerbate the neurological defects of iodine deficiency.

21) Studies by Jennifer Luke (2001) showed that fluoride accumulates in the human pineal gland to very high levels. In her Ph.D. thesis Luke has also shown in animal studies that fluoride reduces melatonin production and leads to an earlier onset of puberty (Luke 1997).

22) In the first half of the 20th century, fluoride was prescribed by a number of European doctors to reduce the activity of the thyroid gland for those suffering from hyperthyroidism (over active thyroid) (Stecher 1960; Waldbott 1978). With water fluoridation, we are forcing people to drink a thyroid-depressing medication which could, in turn, serve to promote higher levels of hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) in the population, and all the subsequent problems related to this disorder. Such problems include depression, fatigue, weight gain, muscle and joint pains, increased cholesterol levels, and heart disease.

It bears noting that according to the Department of Health and Human Services (1991) fluoride exposure in fluoridated communities is estimated to range from 1.6 to 6.6 mg/day, which is a range that actually overlaps the dose (2.3 - 4.5 mg/day) shown to decrease the functioning of the human thyroid (Galletti & Joyet 1958). This is a remarkable fact, particularly considering the rampant and increasing problem of hypothyroidism in the United States (in 1999, the second most prescribed drug of the year was Synthroid, which is a hormone replacement drug used to treat an underactive thyroid). In Russia, Bachinskii (1985) found a lowering of thyroid function, among otherwise healthy people, at 2.3 ppm fluoride in water.

23) Some of the early symptoms of skeletal fluorosis, a fluoride-induced bone and joint disease that impacts millions of people in India, China, and Africa , mimic the symptoms of arthritis (Singh 1963; Franke 1975; Teotia 1976; Carnow 1981; Czerwinski 1988; DHHS 1991). According to a review on fluoridation by Chemical & Engineering News, "Because some of the clinical symptoms mimic arthritis, the first two clinical phases of skeletal fluorosis could be easily misdiagnosed" (Hileman 1988). Few if any studies have been done to determine the extent of this misdiagnosis, and whether the high prevalence of arthritis in America (1 in 3 Americans have some form of arthritis - CDC, 2002) is related to our growing fluoride exposure, which is highly plausible. The causes of most forms of arthritis (e.g. osteoarthritis) are unknown.

24) In some studies, when high doses of fluoride (average 26 mg per day) were used in trials to treat patients with osteoporosis in an effort to harden their bones and reduce fracture rates, it actually led to a HIGHER number of fractures, particularly hip fractures (Inkovaara 1975; Gerster 1983; Dambacher 1986; O’Duffy 1986; Hedlund 1989; Bayley 1990; Gutteridge 1990. 2002; Orcel 1990; Riggs 1990 and Schnitzler 1990). The cumulative doses used in these trials are exceeded by the lifetime cumulative doses being experienced by many people living in fluoridated communities.

25) Nineteen studies (three unpublished, including one abstract) since 1990 have examined the possible relationship of fluoride in water and hip fracture among the elderly. Eleven of these studies found an association, eight did not. One study found a dose-related increase in hip fracture as the concentration of fluoride rose from 1 ppm to 8 ppm (Li 2001). Hip fracture is a very serious issue for the elderly, as a quarter of those who have a hip fracture die within a year of the operation, while 50 percent never regain an independent existence (All 19 of these studies are referenced as a group in the reference section).

26) The only government-sanctioned animal study to investigate if fluoride causes cancer, found a dose-dependent increase in cancer in the target organ (bone) of the fluoride-treated (male) rats (NTP 1990). The initial review of this study also reported an increase in liver and oral cancers, however, all non-bone cancers were later downgraded – with a questionable rationale - by a government-review panel (Marcus 1990). In light of the importance of this study, EPA Professional Headquarters Union has requested that Congress establish an independent review to examine the study's results (Hirzy 2000).

27) A review of national cancer data in the US by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) revealed a significantly higher rate of bone cancer in young men in fluoridated versus unfluoridated areas (Hoover 1991). While the NCI concluded that fluoridation was not the cause, no explanation was provided to explain the higher rates in the fluoridated areas. A smaller study from New Jersey (Cohn 1992) found bone cancer rates to be up to 6 times higher in young men living in fluoridated versus unfluoridated areas. Other epidemiological studies have failed to find this relationship (Mahoney 1991; Freni 1992).

28) Fluoride administered to animals at high doses wreaks havoc on the male reproductive system - it damages sperm and increases the rate of infertility in a number of different species (Kour 1980; Chinoy 1989; Chinoy 1991; Susheela 1991; Chinoy 1994; Kumar 1994; Narayana 1994a, b; Zhao 1995; Elbetieha 2000; Ghosh 2002 and Zakrzewska 2002). Whilestudies conducted at the FDA have failed to find reproductive effects in rats (Sprando 1996, 1997, 1998), an epidemiological study from the US has found increased rates of infertility among couples living in areas with 3 or more ppm fluoride in the water (Freni 1994), and 2 studies have found a reduced level of circulating testosterone in males living in high fluoride areas (Susheela 1996 and Barot 1998).

29) The fluoridation program has been very poorly monitored. There has never been a comprehensive analysis of the fluoride levels in the bones, blood, or urine of the American people or the citizens of other fluoridated countries. Based on the sparse data that has become available, however, it is increasingly evident that some people in the population – particularly people with kidney disease - are accumulating fluoride levels that have been associated with harm to both animals and humans, particularly harm to bone (see Connett 2004).

30) Once fluoride is put in the water it is impossible to control the dose each individual receives. This is because 1) some people (e.g. manual laborers, athletes, diabetics, and people with kidney disease) drink more water than others, and 2) we receive fluoride from sources other than the water supply. Other sources of fluoride include food and beverages processed with fluoridated water (Kiritsy 1996 and Heilman 1999), fluoridated dental products (Bentley 1999 and Levy 1999), mechanically deboned meat (Fein 2001), teas (Levy 1999), and pesticide residues on food (Stannard 1991 and Burgstahler 1997).

31) Fluoridation is unethical because individuals are not being asked for their informed consent prior to medication. This is standard practice for all medication, and one of the key reasons why most of western Europe has ruled against fluoridation (see appendix 2).

As one doctor aptly stated, "No physician in his right senses would prescribe for a person he has never met, whose medical history he does not know, a substance which is intended to create bodily change, with the advice: 'Take as much as you like, but you will take it for the rest of your life because some children suffer from tooth decay.’ It is a preposterous notion."

32) While referenda are preferential to imposed policies from central government, it still leaves the problem of individual rights versus majority rule. Put another way -- does a voter have the right to require that their neighbor ingest a certain medication (even if it's against that neighbor's will)?

33) Some individuals appear to be highly sensitive to fluoride as shown by case studies and double blind studies (Shea 1967, Waldbott 1978 and Moolenburg 1987). In one study, which lasted 13 years, Feltman and Kosel (1961) showed that about 1% of patients given 1 mg of fluoride each day developed negative reactions. Can we as a society force these people to ingest fluoride?

34) According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR 1993), and other researchers (Juncos & Donadio 1972; Marier & Rose 1977 and Johnson 1979), certain subsets of the population may be particularly vulnerable to fluoride's toxic effects; these include: the elderly, diabetics and people with poor kidney function. Again, can we in good conscience force these people to ingest fluoride on a daily basis for their entire lives?

35) Also vulnerable are those who suffer from malnutrition (e.g. calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D and iodide deficiencies and protein poor diets) (Massler & Schour 1952; Marier & Rose 1977; Lin Fa-Fu 1991; Chen 1997; Teotia 1998). Those most likely to suffer from poor nutrition are the poor, who are precisely the people being targeted by new fluoridation programs. While being at heightened risk, poor families are less able to afford avoidance measures (e.g. bottled water or removal equipment).

36) Since dental decay is most concentrated in poor communities, we should be spending our efforts trying to increase the access to dental care for poor families. The real "Oral Health Crisis" that exists today in the United States, is not a lack of fluoride but poverty and lack of dental insurance. The Surgeon General has estimated that 80% of dentists in the US do not treat children on Medicaid.

37) Fluoridation has been found to be ineffective at preventing one of the most serious oral health problems facing poor children, namely, baby bottle tooth decay, otherwise known as early childhood caries (Barnes 1992 and Shiboski 2003).

38) The early studies conducted in 1945 -1955 in the US, which helped to launch fluoridation, have been heavily criticized for their poor methodology and poor choice of control communities (De Stefano 1954; Sutton 1959, 1960 and 1996; Ziegelbecker 1970). According to Dr. Hubert Arnold, a statistician from the University of California at Davis, the early fluoridation trials "are especially rich in fallacies, improper design, invalid use of statistical methods, omissions of contrary data, and just plain muddleheadedness and hebetude." In 2000, the British Government’s “York Review” could give no fluoridation trial a grade A classification – despite 50 years of research (McDonagh 2000, see Appendix 3 for commentary).

39) The US Public Health Service first endorsed fluoridation in 1950, before one single trial had been completed (McClure 1970)!

40) Since 1950, it has been found that fluorides do little to prevent pit and fissure tooth decay, a fact that even the dental community has acknowledged (Seholle 1984; Gray 1987; PHS 1993; and Pinkham 1999). This is significant because pit and fissure tooth decay represents up to 85% of the tooth decay experienced by children today (Seholle 1984 and Gray 1987).

41) Despite the fact that we are exposed to far more fluoride today than we were in 1945 (when fluoridation began), the "optimal" fluoridation level is still 1 part per million, the same level deemed optimal in 1945! (Marier & Rose 1977; Levy 1999; Rozier 1999 and Fomon 2000).

42) The chemicals used to fluoridate water in the US are not pharmaceutical grade. Instead, they come from the wet scrubbing systems of the superphosphate fertilizer industry. These chemicals (90% of which are sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid), are classified hazardous wastes contaminated with various impurities. Recent testing by the National Sanitation Foundation suggest that the levels of arsenic in these chemicals are relatively high (up to 1.6 ppb after dilution into public water) and of potential concern (NSF 2000 and Wang 2000).

43) These hazardous wastes have not been tested comprehensively. The chemical usually tested in animal studies is pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride, not industrial grade fluorosilicic acid. The assumption being made is that by the time this waste product has been diluted, all the fluorosilicic acid will have been converted into free fluoride ion, and the other toxics and radioactive isotopes will be so dilute that they will not cause any harm, even with lifetime exposure. These assumptions have not been examined carefully by scientists, independent of the fluoridation program.

44) Studies by Masters and Coplan (1999, 2000) show an association between the use of fluorosilicic acid (and its sodium salt) to fluoridate water and an increased uptake of lead into children's blood. Because of lead’s acknowledged ability to damage the child’s developing brain, this is a very serious finding yet it is being largely ignored by fluoridating countries.

45) Sodium fluoride is an extremely toxic substance -- just 200 mg of fluoride ion is enough to kill a young child, and just 3-5 grams (e.g. a teaspoon) is enough to kill an adult. Both children (swallowing tablets/gels) and adults (accidents involving fluoridation equipment and filters on dialysis machines) have died from excess exposure.

46) Some of the earliest opponents of fluoridation were biochemists and at least 14 Nobel Prize winners are among numerous scientists who have expressed their reservations about the practice of fluoridation (see appendix 4).

47) The recent Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology, Dr. Arvid Carlsson (2000), was one of the leading opponents of fluoridation in Sweden, and part of the panel that recommended that the Swedish government reject the practice, which they did in 1971. According to Carlsson:

"I am quite convinced that water fluoridation, in a not-too-distant future, will be consigned to medical history...Water fluoridation goes against leading principles of pharmacotherapy, which is progressing from a stereotyped medication - of the type 1 tablet 3 times a day - to a much more individualized therapy as regards both dosage and selection of drugs. The addition of drugs to the drinking water means exactly the opposite of an individualized therapy" (Carlsson 1978).

48) While pro-fluoridation officials continue to promote fluoridation with undiminished fervor, they cannot defend the practice in open public debate – even when challenged to do so by organizations such as the Association for Science in the Public Interest, the American College of Toxicology, or the US Environmental Protection Agency (Bryson 2004). According to Dr. Michael Easley, a prominent lobbyist for fluoridation in the US, "Debates give the illusion that a scientific controversy exists when no credible people support the fluorophobics' view" (See appendix 5).

In light of proponents’ refusal to debate this issue, Dr. Edward Groth, a Senior Scientist at Consumers Union, observed that "the political profluoridation stance has evolved into a dogmatic, authoritarian, essentially antiscientific posture, one that discourages open debate of scientific issues" (Martin 1991).

49) Many scientists, doctors and dentists who have spoken out publicly on this issue have been subjected to censorship and intimidation (Martin 1991). Most recently, Dr. Phyllis Mullenix was fired from her position as Chair of Toxicology at Forsythe Dental Center for publishing her findings on fluoride and the brain; and Dr. William Marcus was fired from the EPA for questioning the government’s handling of the NTP’s fluoride-cancer study (Bryson 2004). Tactics like this would not be necessary if those promoting fluoridation were on secure scientific ground.

50) The Union representing the scientists at US EPA headquarters in Washington DC is now on record as opposing water fluoridation (Hirzy 1999). According to the Union’s Senior Vice President, Dr. William Hirzy:

"In summary, we hold that fluoridation is an unreasonable risk. That is, the toxicity of fluoride is so great and the purported benefits associated with it are so small - if there are any at all - that requiring every man, woman and child in America to ingest it borders on criminal behavior on the part of governments."

Conclusion

When it comes to controversies surrounding toxic chemicals, invested interests traditionally do their very best to discount animal studies and quibble with epidemiological findings. In the past, political pressures have led government agencies to drag their feet on regulating asbestos, benzene, DDT, PCBs, tetraethyl lead, tobacco and dioxins. With fluoridation we have had a fifty year delay. Unfortunately, because government officials have put so much of their credibility on the line defending fluoridation, and because of the huge liabilities waiting in the wings if they admit that fluoridation has caused an increase in hip fracture, arthritis, bone cancer, brain disorders or thyroid problems, it will be very difficult for them to speak honestly and openly about the issue. But they must, not only to protect millions of people from unnecessary harm, but to protect the notion that, at its core, public health policy must be based on sound science not political expediency. They have a tool with which to do this: it's called the Precautionary Principle. Simply put, this says: if in doubt leave it out. This is what most European countries have done and their children's teeth have not suffered, while their public's trust has been strengthened.

It is like a question from a Kafka play. Just how much doubt is needed on just one of the health concerns identified above, to override a benefit, which when quantified in the largest survey ever conducted in the US, amounts to less than one tooth surface (out of 128) in a child's mouth?

For those who would call for further studies, I say fine. Take the fluoride out of the water first and then conduct all the studies you want. This folly must end without further delay.

Postscript

Further arguments against fluoridation, can be viewed at http://www.fluoridealert.org. Arguments for fluoridation can be found at http://www.ada.org and a more systematic presentation of fluoride’s toxic effects can be found at http://www.Slweb.org/bibliography.html

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the help given to me in the research for this statement to my son Michael Connett and to Naomi Flack for the proofreading of the text. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

APPENDIX 1. World Health Organization Data

DMFT (Decayed, Missing & Filled teeth) Status for 12 year olds by Country
DMFTs Year Status*
Australia 0.8 1998 More than 50% of water is fluoridated
Zurich, Switzerland 0.84 1998 Water is unfluoridated, but salt is fluoridated
Netherlands 0.9 1992-93 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
Sweden 0.9 1999 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
Denmark 0.9 2001 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
UK (England & Wales) 0.9 1996-97 11% of water supplies are fluoridated
Ireland 1.1 1997 More than 50% of water is fluoridated
Finland 1.1 1997 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
Germany 1.2 2000 No water fluoridation, but salt fluoridation is common
US 1.4 1988-91 More than 50% of water is fluoridated
Norway 1.5 1998 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
Iceland 1.5 1996 No water fluoridation or salt fluoridation
New Zealand 1.5 1993 More than 50% of water is fluoridated
Belgium 1.6 1998 No water fluoridation, but salt fluoridation is common
Austria 1.7 1997 No water fluoridation, but salt fluoridation is common
France 1.9 1998 No water fluoridation, but salt fluoridation is common
Data from WHO Oral Health Country/Area Profile Programme Department of Noncommunicable Diseases Surveillance/Oral Health WHO Collaborating Centre, Malmö University, Sweden http://www.whocollab.od.mah.se/euro.html
APPENDIX 2. Statements on fluoridation by governmental officials from several countries

Germany: "Generally, in Germany fluoridation of drinking water is forbidden. The relevant German law allows exceptions to the fluoridation ban on application. The argumentation of the Federal Ministry of Health against a general permission of fluoridation of drinking water is the problematic nature of compuls[ory] medication." (Gerda Hankel-Khan, Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany, September 16, 1999). www.fluoridealert.org/germany.jpeg

France: "Fluoride chemicals are not included in the list [of 'chemicals for drinking water treatment']. This is due to ethical as well as medical considerations." (Louis Sanchez, Directeur de la Protection de l'Environment, August 25, 2000). www.fluoridealert.org/france.jpeg

Belgium: "This water treatment has never been of use in Belgium and will never be (we hope so) into the future. The main reason for that is the fundamental position of the drinking water sector that it is not its task to deliver medicinal treatment to people. This is the sole responsibility of health services." (Chr. Legros, Directeur, Belgaqua, Brussels, Belgium, February 28, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-belgium.htm

Luxembourg: "Fluoride has never been added to the public water supplies in Luxembourg. In our views, the drinking water isn't the suitable way for medicinal treatment and that people needing an addition of fluoride can decide by their own to use the most appropriate way, like the intake of fluoride tablets, to cover their [daily] needs." (Jean-Marie RIES, Head, Water Department, Administration De L'Environment, May 3, 2000). www.fluoridealert.org/luxembourg.jpeg

Finland: "We do not favor or recommend fluoridation of drinking water. There are better ways of providing the fluoride our teeth need." (Paavo Poteri, Acting Managing Director, Helsinki Water, Finland, February 7, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-finland.htm

"Artificial fluoridation of drinking water supplies has been practiced in Finland only in one town, Kuopio, situated in eastern Finland and with a population of about 80,000 people (1.6% of the Finnish population). Fluoridation started in 1959 and finished in 1992 as a result of the resistance of local population. The most usual grounds for the resistance presented in this context were an individual's right to drinking water without additional chemicals used for the medication of limited population groups. A concept of "force-feeding" was also mentioned.

Drinking water fluoridation is not prohibited in Finland but no municipalities have turned out to be willing to practice it. Water suppliers, naturally, have always been against dosing of fluoride chemicals into water." (Leena Hiisvirta, M.Sc., Chief Engineer, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, January 12, 1996.) www.fluoridealert.org/finland.jpeg

Denmark: "We are pleased to inform you that according to the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy, toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies. Consequently, no Danish city has ever been fluoridated." (Klaus Werner, Royal Danish Embassy, Washington DC, December 22, 1999). www.fluoridation.com/c-denmark.htm

Norway: "In Norway we had a rather intense discussion on this subject some 20 years ago, and the conclusion was that drinking water should not be fluoridated." (Truls Krogh & Toril Hofshagen, Folkehelsa Statens institutt for folkeheise (National Institute of Public Health) Oslo, Norway, March 1, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-norway.htm

Sweden: "Drinking water fluoridation is not allowed in Sweden...New scientific documentation or changes in dental health situation that could alter the conclusions of the Commission have not been shown." (Gunnar Guzikowski, Chief Government Inspector, Livsmedels Verket -- National Food Administration Drinking Water Division, Sweden, February 28, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-sweden.htm

Netherlands: "From the end of the 1960s until the beginning of the 1970s drinking water in various places in the Netherlands was fluoridated to prevent caries. However, in its judgement of 22 June 1973 in case No. 10683 (Budding and co. versus the City of Amsterdam) the Supreme Court (Hoge Road) ruled there was no legal basis for fluoridation. After that judgement, amendment to the Water Supply Act was prepared to provide a legal basis for fluoridation. During the process it became clear that there was not enough support from Parlement [sic] for this amendment and the proposal was withdrawn." (Wilfred Reinhold, Legal Advisor, Directorate Drinking Water, Netherlands, January 15, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-netherlands.htm

Northern Ireland: "The water supply in Northern Ireland has never been artificially fluoridated except in 2 small localities where fluoride was added to the water for about 30 years up to last year. Fluoridation ceased at these locations for operational reasons. At this time, there are no plans to commence fluoridation of water supplies in Northern Ireland." (C.J. Grimes, Department for Regional Development, Belfast, November 6, 2000). www.fluoridealert.org/Northern-Ireland.jpeg

Austria: "Toxic fluorides have never been added to the public water supplies in Austria." (M. Eisenhut, Head of Water Department, Osterreichische Yereinigung fur das Gas-und Wasserfach Schubertring 14, A-1015 Wien, Austria, February 17, 2000). www.fluoridation.com/c-austria.htm

Czech Republic:"Since 1993, drinking water has not been treated with fluoride in public water supplies throughout the Czech Republic. Although fluoridation of drinking water has not actually been proscribed it is not under consideration because this form of supplementation is considered as follows:

(a) uneconomical (only 0.54% of water suitable for drinking is used as such; the remainder is employed for hygiene etc. Furthermore, an increasing amount of consumers (particularly children) are using bottled water for drinking (underground water usually with fluor)

(b) unecological (environmental load by a foreign substance)

(c) unethical ("forced medication")

(d) toxicologically and phyiologically debateable (fluoridation represents an untargeted form of supplementation which disregards actual individual intake and requirements and may lead to excessive health-threatening intake in certain population groups; [and] complexation of fluor in water into non biological active forms of fluor." (Dr. B. Havlik, Ministerstvo Zdravotnictvi Ceske Republiky, October 14, 1999). www.fluoridealert.org/czech.jpeg

APPENDIX 3. Statement of Douglas Carnall, Associate Editor of the British Medical Journal, published on the BMJ website (http://www.bmj.com ) on the day that they published the York Review on Fluoridation.

See this review on the web at http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/321/7265/904/a

British Medical Journal, October 7, 2000, Reviews, Website of the week: Water fluoridation

Fluoridation was a controversial topic even before Kubrick's Base Commander Ripper railed against "the international communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids" in the 1964 film Dr Strangelove. This week's BMJ shouldn't precipitate a global holocaust, but it does seem that Base Commander Ripper may have had a point. The systematic review published this week (p 855) shows that much of the evidence for fluoridation was derived from low quality studies, that its benefits may have been overstated, and that the risk to benefit ratio for the development of the commonest side effect (dental fluorosis, or mottling of the teeth) is rather high.

Supplementary materials are available on the BMJ 's website and on that of the review's authors, enhancing the validity of the conclusions through transparency of process. For example, the "frequently asked questions" page of the site explains who comprised the advisory panel and how they were chosen ("balanced to include those for and against, as well as those who are neutral"), and the site includes the minutes of their meetings. You can also pick up all 279 references in Word97 format, and tables of data in PDF. Such transparency is admirable and can only encourage rationality of debate.

Professionals who propose compulsory preventive measures for a whole population have a different weight of responsibility on their shoulders than those who respond to the requests of individuals for help. Previously neutral on the issue, I am now persuaded by the arguments that those who wish to take fluoride (like me) had better get it from toothpaste rather than the water supply (see www.derweb.co.uk/bfs/index.html and www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk/index.html for the two viewpoints).

Douglas Carnall
Associate Editor
British Medical Journal

APPENDIX 4. List of 14 Noble Prize winners who have opposed or expressed reservations about fluoridation.

1) Adolf Butenandt (Chemistry, 1939)
2) Arvid Carlsson (Medicine, 2000)
3) Hans von Euler-Chelpin (Chemistry, 1929).
4) Walter Rudolf Hess (Medicine, 1949)
5) Corneille Jean-François Heymans (Medicine, 1938)
6) Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (Chemistry, 1956)
7) Joshua Lederberg (Medicine, 1958)
8) William P. Murphy (Medicine, 1934)
8) Giulio Natta (1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
10) Sir Robert Robinson (Chemistry, 1947)
11) Nikolai Semenov (Chemistry, 1956)
12) James B. Sumner (Chemistry, 1946)
13) Hugo Theorell (Medicine, 1955)
14) Artturi Virtanen (Chemistry, 1945)

APPENDIX 5. Quotes on debating fluoridation from Dr. Michael Easley, Director of the National Center for Fluoridation Policy and Research, and one of the most active proponents of fluoridation in the US (Easley 1999). Easley’s quotes typify the historic contempt that proponents have had to scientific debate.

"A favorite tactic of the fluorophobics is to argue for a debate so that 'the people can decide who is right.' Proponents of fluoride are often trapped into consenting to public debates."

"Debates give the illusion that a scientific controversy exists when no credible people support the fluorophobics' view."

"Like parasites, opponents steal undeserved credibility just by sharing the stage with respected scientists who are there to defend fluoridation"; and,

"Unfortunately, a most flagrant abuse of the public trust occasionally occurs when a physician or a dentist, for whatever personal reason, uses their professional standing in the community to argue against fluoridation, a clear violation of professional ethics, the principles of science and community standards of practice."

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Sprando RL, et al. (1997). Testing the potential of sodium fluoride to affect spermatogenesis in the rat. Food and Chemical Toxicology 35: 881-90.

Sprando RL, et al. (1996). Effect of intratesticular injection of sodium fluoride on spermatogenesis. Food and Chemical Toxicology 34: 377-84.

Stannard JG, et al. (1991). Fluoride Levels and Fluoride Contamination of Fruit Juices. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry 16: 38-40.

Stecher P, et al. (1960). The Merck Index of Chemicals and Drugs. Merck & Co., Inc, Rathway NJ. p. 952.

Steelink C. (1992). Fluoridation controversy. Chemical & Engineering News (Letter). July 27: 2-3.

Strunecka A, Patocka J. (1999). Pharmacological and toxicological effects of aluminofluoride complexes. Fluoride 32: 230-242.

Sun ZR, et al. (2000). Effects of high fluoride drinking water on the cerebral functions of mice. Chinese Journal of Epidemiology 19: 262-263.

Susheela AK. (1993). Prevalence of endemic fluorosis with gastrointestinal manifestations in people living in some North-Indian villages. Fluoride 26: 97-104.

Susheela AK, Kumar A. (1991). A study of the effect of high concentrations of fluoride on the reproductive organs of male rabbits, using light and scanning electron microscopy. Journal of Reproductive Fertility 92: 353-60.

Sutton P. (1996). The Greatest Fraud: Fluoridation. Lorne, Australia: Kurunda Pty, Ltd.

Sutton P. (1960) Fluoridation: Errors and Omissions in Experimental Trials. Melbourne University Press. Second Edition.

Sutton, P. (1959). Fluoridation: Errors and Omissions in Experimental Trials. Melbourne University Press. First Edition.

Teotia M, et al. (1998). Endemic chronic fluoride toxicity and dietary calcium deficiency interaction syndromes of metabolic bone disease and deformities in India: year 2000. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 65: 371-81.

Teotia SPS, Teotia M. (1994). Dental caries: a disorder of high fluoride and low dietary calcium interactions (30 years of personal research). Fluoride 27: 59-66.

Teotia SPS, et al. (1976). Symposium on the non-skeletal phase of chronic fluorosis: The Joints. Fluoride 9: 19-24.

Tsutsui T, Suzuki N, Ohmori M, Maizumi H. (1984). Cytotoxicity, chromosome aberrations and unscheduled DNA synthesis in cultured human diploid fibroblasts induced by sodium fluoride. Mutation Research 139:193-8.

Waldbott GL, et al. (1978). Fluoridation: The Great Dilemma. Coronado Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas.

Waldbott GL. (1965). A Battle with Titans. Carlton Press, NY.

Wang C, et al. (2000). Treatment Chemicals contribute to Arsenic Levels. Opflow (a journal of the American Water Works Association). October 2000.

Wang Y, et al. (1997). [Changes of coenzyme Q content in brain tissues of rats with fluorosis]. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 31: 330-3.

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Williams JE, et al. (1990). Community water fluoride levels, preschool dietary patterns, and the occurrence of fluoride enamel opacities. Journal of Public Health Dentistry 50: 276-81.

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Xiang Q, et al. (2003a). Effect of fluoride in drinking water on children's intelligence. Fluoride 36: 84-94.

Xiang Q. (2003b). Blood lead of children in Wamiao-Xinhuai intelligence study. Fluoride 36: 138.

Zakrzewska H, et al. (2002). In vitro influence of sodium fluoride on ram semen quality and enzyme activities. Fluoride 35: 153-160.

Zhai JX, et al. (2003). [Studies on fluoride concentration and cholinesterase activity in rat hippocampus]. Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi 21: 102-4.

Zhang Z, et al. (2001). [Effects of selenium on the damage of learning-memory ability of mice induced by fluoride]. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 30: 144-6.

Zhang Z, et al. (1999). [Effect of fluoride exposure on synaptic structure of brain areas related to learning-memory in mice] [Article in Chinese]. Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 28:210-2.

Zhao XL, Wu JH. (1998). Actions of sodium fluoride on acetylcholinesterase activities in rats. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 11: 1-6.

Zhao LB, et al (1996). Effect of high-fluoride water supply on children's intelligence. Fluoride 29: 190-192.

Zhao ZL, et al. (1995). The influence of fluoride on the content of testosterone and cholesterol in rat. Fluoride 28: 128-130.

Ziegelbecker R. (1970). A critical review on the fluorine caries problem. Fluoride 3: 71-79.

The 19 studies on the possible association of hip fracture and fluoridated-water.

a) Studies Reporting an Association between fluoridated water (1 ppm fluoride) & hip fracture.

1 a) Cooper C, et al. (1990). Water fluoride concentration and fracture of the proximal femur. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 44: 17-19.

1 b) Cooper C, et al. (1991). Water fluoridation and hip fracture. JAMA 266: 513-514 (letter, a reanalysis of data presented in 1990 paper).

2) Danielson C, et al. (1992). Hip fractures and fluoridation in Utah's elderly population. Journal of the American Medical Association 268: 746-748.

3) Hegmann KT, et al. (2000). The Effects of Fluoridation on Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) and Hip Fractures. Abstract #71, of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society For Epidemiological research, June 15-17, 2000. Published in a Supplement of American Journal of Epidemiology P. S18.

4) Jacobsen SJ, et al. (1992). The association between water fluoridation and hip fracture among white women and men aged 65 years and older; a national ecologic study." Annals of Epidemiology 2: 617-626.

5) Jacobsen SJ, et al. (1990). Regional variation in the incidence of hip fracture: US white women aged 65 years and olders. JAMA 264(4): 500-2.

6 a) Jacqmin-Gadda H, et al. (1995). Fluorine concentration in drinking water and fractures in the elderly. JAMA 273: 775-776 (letter).

6 b) Jacqmin-Gadda H, et al. (1998). Risk factors for fractures in the elderly. Epidemiology 9(4): 417-423. (An elaboration of the 1995 study referred to in the JAMA letter).

7) Keller C. (1991) Fluorides in drinking water. Unpublished results. Discussed in Gordon, S.L. and Corbin, S.B,(1992) Summary of Workshop on Drinking Water Fluoride Influence on Hip Fracture on Bone Health. Osteoporosis International 2: 109-117.

8) Kurttio PN, et al. (1999). Exposure to natural fluoride in well water and hip fracture: A cohort analysis in Finland. American Journal of Epidemiology 150(8): 817-824.

9) May DS, Wilson MG. (1992). Hip fractures in relation to water fluoridation: an ecologic analysis. Unpublished data, discussed in Gordon SL, and Corbin SB. (1992). Summary of Workshop on Drinking Water Fluoride Influence on Hip Fracture on Bone Health. Osteoporosis International 2:109-117.

b) Studies reporting an association between water-fluoride levels higher than fluoridated water (4 ppm+) & hip fracture.

Li Y, et al. (2001). Effect of long-term exposure to fluoride in drinking water on risks of bone fractures. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 16: 932-9.

Sowers M, et al. (1991). A prospective study of bone mineral content and fracture in communities with differential fluoride exposure. American Journal of Epidemiology 133: 649-660.

c) Studies Reporting No Association between water fluoride & hip fracture:

(Note that in 4 of these 8 studies, an association was actually found between fluoride and some form of fracture – e.g. wrist and hip. See notes and quotes below.)

Cauley J. et al. (1995). Effects of fluoridated drinking water on bone mass and fractures: the study of osteoporotic fractures. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 10: 1076-86.

Feskanich D, et al. (1998). Use of toenail fluoride levels as an indicator for the risk of hip and forearm fractures in women. Epidemiology 9: 412-6.

While this study didn't find an association between water fluoride and hip fracture, it did find an association - albeit non-significant 1.6 (0.8-3.1) - between fluoride exposure and elevated rates of forearm fracture.

Hillier S, et al. (2000). Fluoride in drinking water and risk of hip fracture in the UK: a case control study. The Lancet 335: 265-2690.

Jacobsen SJ, et al. (1993). Hip Fracture Incidence Before and After the Fluoridation of the Public Water Supply, Rochester, Minnesota. American Journal of Public Health 83: 743-745.

Karagas MR, et al. (1996). Patterns of Fracture among the United States Elderly: Geographic and Fluoride Effects. Annals of Epidemiology 6: 209-216.

As with Feskanich (1998) this study didn't find an association between fluoridation & hip fracture, but it did find an association between fluoridation and distal forearm fracture, as well as proximal humerus fracture. "Independent of geographic effects, men in fluoridated areas had modestly higher rates of fractures of the distal forearm and proximal humerus than did men in nonfluoridated areas."

Lehmann R, et al. (1998). Drinking Water Fluoridation: Bone Mineral Density and Hip Fracture Incidence. Bone 22: 273-278.

Phipps KR, et al. (2000). Community water fluoridation, bone mineral density and fractures: prospective study of effects in older women. British Medical Journal 321: 860-4.

As with Feskanich (1998) and Karagas (1996), this study didn't find an association between water fluoride & hip fracture, but it did find an association between water fluoride and other types of fracture - in this case, wrist fracture. "There was a non-significant trend toward an increased risk of wrist fracture."

Suarez-Almazor M, et al. (1993). The fluoridation of drinking water and hip fracture hospitalization rates in two Canadian communities. American Journal of Public Health 83: 689-693.

While the authors of this study conclude there is no association between fluoridation and hip fracture, their own data reveals a statistically significant increase in hip fracture for men living in the fluoridated area. According to the authors, "although a statistically significant increase in the risk of hip fracture was observed among Edmonton men, this increase was relatively small (RR=1.12)."

Fluoride Action Network | 802-355-0999 | info@fluoridealert.org

Curcumin May Prevent Alzheimer's

2006-02-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Popular Indian Spice May Prevent Alzheimer’s

By Kimberly Beauchamp, ND

Healthnotes Newswire — Curcumin, a yellow spice used in traditional Indian curry dishes, may help prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (December 7, 2004; online edition).

AD, an irreversible, progressive neurological disorder, disrupts normal behavior and thinking and is characterized by memory loss, disorientation, confusion, delusions, hallucinations, depression, insomnia, and anxiety. The average time between the onset of symptoms and death is about 8 years, although some people may live longer than 20 years.

The brains of people with AD show accumulations of a protein called beta-amyloid. Beta-amyloid deposits contribute to tangles of brain tissue and dense areas called plaques that form in the brain. These accumulations lead to tissue death and eventually cause the symptoms associated with AD. One approach to AD prevention and treatment is to decrease beta-amyloid production in the brain.

AD risk decreases when more antioxidant-rich foods are eaten (e.g. blueberries, spinach, sweet potatoes). Certain anti-inflammatory medications such as naproxen and ibuprofen also seem to protect against the disease.

Curcumin has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties with a very low risk of toxicity. It has also been shown in previous animal studies to decrease the accumulation of amyloid. Interestingly, the prevalence of AD in India, where curcumin is a staple spice, is much lower than it is in western countries.

The new study investigated the effect of curcumin in mice that were altered to have human AD genes. The mice were fed diets containing 500 parts per million of curcumin or a control diet containing safflower oil until they were 22 months old. At this point, their brains were examined for evidence of beta-amyloid accumulation. The effects of curcumin on beta-amyloid accumulation were also compared with those of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications naproxen and ibuprofen.

The aggregation (clumping) of beta-amyloid protein was significantly inhibited in mice that were fed curcumin compared with the mice that were fed the control diet. With higher doses of curcumin, clumps of beta-amyloid were broken up, suggesting that curcumin can inhibit new plaques from forming, as well as break up existing plaques. The formation of fibrils (components of brain tissue tangles) was also inhibited by curcumin supplementation. Curcumin inhibited plaque formation more strongly than naproxen and ibuprofen.

The results of this preliminary study suggest that curcumin may be valuable for preventing and treating AD. The amount of curcumin used in the study is easily achievable through diet and supplementation; however, additional studies are needed to determine whether curcumin is effective in humans and how much is needed. Curcumin is also under current investigation as an anticancer agent. Cancer patients have taken between 2 and 8 grams of curcumin per day without any adverse effects.

Kimberly Beauchamp, ND Copyright © 2005 Healthnotes, Inc.

Eating Fish, Aging Less

2006-01-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

Eating Fish Prevents Cognitive Decline

By Maureen Williams, ND

Healthnotes Newswire (January 5, 2006)—Older people who eat fish regularly lose cognitive function more slowly than those who don’t, according to a study published in Archives of Neurology (2005;62:1–5).

As we age, our mental abilities gradually decline. The rate of loss of mental capacity is partly determined by genetics, but is also influenced by the presence of neurotoxins, such as heavy metals (lead, mercury, aluminum) and some chemicals, and neuroprotective substances, such as antioxidants.

Certain fatty acids have been found to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s dementia and cognitive decline. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been shown to play an important role in neurological development and normal brain functioning. Several studies have found that eating fish can reduce the risk of dementia, a progressive condition marked by memory loss and poor cognitive functioning.

The current study included 3,718 people 65 years and older. Participants underwent an interview and cognitive testing at the beginning of the study, which were repeated after 3 and 6 years. Food questionnaires were answered an average of 1.2 years after the first assessment and the results were used to determine the amount of fish eaten weekly as well as the nutrient composition of the diet.

People who ate fish two or more times per week had the slowest rate of cognitive decline—approximately 13% slower than in those who ate fish less than once per week. Those who ate one fish meal per week had a 10% slower rate of cognitive decline than those who ate fish less than once per week. Those who ate high amounts of other types of fats, however, including saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats from foods other than fish, and trans fats, did not benefit from eating one or two fish meals per week.

The results of this study suggest that eating fish might slow the rate of cognitive decline associated with aging. Even one fish meal per week had a significant benefit. It further appears from these findings that eating a diet high in fats from other sources diminishes this effect. Two other factors might limit the benefits of eating fish: first, omega-3 fatty acids are known to be easily oxidized and could deplete neuroprotective antioxidants; and second, the high levels of neurotoxic heavy metals such as mercury in the water have contaminated fish and can accumulate in people who eat fish.

Finding the upper limit of fish consumption that protects against cognitive decline, and determining whether this can be affected by antioxidant intake or choosing fish with lower heavy metal levels, would be interesting topics of future research.

Maureen Williams, ND, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, WA. She has a private practice in Quechee, VT, and does extensive work with traditional herbal medicine in Guatemala and Honduras. Dr. Williams is a regular contributor to Healthnotes Newswire.

Copyright © 2006 Healthnotes, Inc.

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemas?

2005-12-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

Enemas and Colonics.
Or, With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemas?
By Vic Shayne, PhD

There are all sorts of articles and descriptions of enemas and colonics, so we won't go into the logistics of the practice. Instead, let's focus on whether these two practices are viable solutions to health problems and disease prevention.

First, for reference sake, an enema and a colonic are essentially the same thing, but a colonic reaches deeper into the bowel. The basic premise behind employing enemas and colonics is to
1. clean out the contents of the bowels and thereby detoxify the body of poisonous substances
2. ease digestion by taking stress off the bowel
3. relieve constipation
4. exercise the gallbladder
5. improve the condition of the intestines
6. indirectly heal the body and relieve symptoms

Generally speaking, water is the main ingredient of enemas and colonics. However, other substances are also suggested such as coffee, various herbs or chlorophyll solutions.

The use of enemas as a medical treatment is steeped in history. Cancer researcher Ralph Moss, PhD, writes: “The word itself comes from the Greek en-hienai, meaning to "send or inject into." The enema has been called "one of the oldest medical procedures still in use today." Tribal women in Africa, and elsewhere, routinely use it on their children. The earliest medical text in existence, the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, (1,500 B.C.) mentions it. Millennia before, the Pharaoh had a "guardian of the anus," a special doctor one of whose purposes was to administer the royal enema.

“The Greeks wrote of the fabled cleanliness of the Egyptians, which included the internal cleansing of their systems through emetics and enemas. They employed these on three consecutive days every month said Herodotus (II.77) or at intervals of three or four days, according to the later historian Diodorus. The Egyptians explained to their visitors that they did this because they "believed that diseases were engendered by superfluities of the food", a modern-sounding theory!

“Enemas were known in ancient Sumeria, Babylonia, India, Greece and China. American Indians independently invented it, using a syringe made of an animal bladder and a hollow leg bone. Pre-Columbian South Americans fashioned latex into the first rubber enema bags and tubes. In fact, there is hardly a region of the world where people did not discover or adapt the enema. It is more ubiquitous than the wheel. Enemas are found in world literature from Aristophanes to Shakespeare, Gulliver Travels to Peyton Place.

“In pre-revolutionary France a daily enema after dinner was de rigueur. It was not only considered indispensable for health but practiced for good complexion as well. Louis XIV is said to have taken over 2,000 in his lifetime.Could this have been the source of the Sun King's sunny disposition? For centuries, enemas were a routine home remedy. Then, within living memory, the routine use of enemas died out. The main times that doctors employ them nowadays is before or after surgery and childbirth. Difficult and potentially dangerous barium enemas before colonic X rays are of course still a favorite of allopathic doctors.”

Dr. Moss writes: “Coffee enemas were an established part of medical practice when Dr. Max Gerson introduced them into cancer therapy in the 1930s. Basing himself on German laboratory work, Gerson believed that caffeine could stimulate the liver and gall bladder to discharge bile. He felt this process could contribute to the health of the cancer patient.

Although the coffee enema has been heaped with scorn, there has been some independent scientific work that gives credence to this concept. In 1981, for instance, Dr. Lee Wattenberg and his colleagues were able to show that substances found in coffee-kahweol and cafestol palmitate-promote the activity of a key enzyme system, glutathione S-transferase, above the norm. This system detoxifies a vast array of electrophiles from the bloodstream and, according to Gar Hildenbrand of the Gerson Institute, "must be regarded as an important mechanism for carcinogen detoxification." This enzyme group is responsible for neutralizing free radicals, harmful chemicals now commonly implicated in the initiation of cancer. In mice, for example, these systems are enhanced 600 percent in the liver and 700 percent in the bowel when coffee beans are added to the mice's diet.

Dr. Peter Lechner, who is investigating the Gerson method at the Landeskrankenhaus of Graz, Austria, has reported that "coffee enemas have a definite effect on the colon which can be observed with an endoscope."

Another cancer researcher, Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, writes, “Coffee enemas have been discussed in the orthodox medical literature for the better part of this century. Many nursing texts routinely recommended coffee enemas, and the Merck Manual advocated coffee enemas as a stimulant in all editions from the first in 1898 through 1977. During the 1920's and 30's, coffee enemas were prescribed for a variety of conditions. In terms of their physiological effect, studies have shown that the rectal instillation of fluids will stimulate gallbladder contraction and emptying.” (Gonzalez)

It has been the experience of this author that enemas have had tremendous success in several case studies. First was the case of a woman in her late 40s, a college dean, who came to me with a severe case of arthritis in which she was unable to walk more than a block, was in constant pain and was progressively losing her health. I placed the woman on a Detoxification Diet adding BFood Complex, Green Nutrients and ProMin Complex (NutriPlex Whole Food Formulas products) and she did daily enemas with water followed by organic coffee. Within a few weeks she reported greater mobility; within a few months she was walking for miles without the use of a cane.

Another situation involved a 22-year-old young man with flu-like symptoms who was vomiting with diarrhea and a severe migraine-type headache without relief for five days. On the sixth day, still in pain without relief from symptoms, Acupuncture and herbs from a Chinese medical doctor did not help. I instructed him to a course of: Immune Support, CalMag Balance (both NutriPlex Whole Food Formulas) and of water enemas followed by three flushes with organic coffee. By the end of this session, all symptoms were eradicated to the complete amazement and appreciation of the patient.

The capability of detoxification with coffee enemas is not to be underestimated. But be certain to use only organically grown coffee, as the typical store-bought variety is laden with many toxic substances. The water used should be filtered and never tap water. Always be sure the temperature of the enema contents is not hot nor cold.

References:
Moss, PhD, Ralph W., COFFEE: THE ROYAL FLUSH, The Cancer Chronicles #6 and #7, 1990, http://www.ralphmoss.com/coff.html

Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D., P.C., February 22, 2005, http://www.dr-gonzalez.com/history_of_treatment_txt.htm

Body Building Diet

2005-12-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

Splendid Specimens:
The History of Nutrition in Bodybuilding

By Randy Roach
Weston A. Price Organization

The sport called bodybuilding demands the ex-treme in body presentation. No other athletic endeavor requires such high levels of regimentation for muscle development and body fat reduction. To outsiders, such efforts may appear vain and self-centered, even looming out there on the lunatic fringe. Nevertheless, the sport has had considerable influence on other fields of athletics, not to mention the general public.

We must remember that the men (and women) who sweat it out in the gym year after year were using the low-carbohydrate diet long before Dr. Atkins made it popular. Many other dietary strategies of today such as all-raw diets, protein supplementation, eating multiple small meals a day, carbohydrate loading, meal replacement packages and macro-nutrient balancing all derived their initial popularity from the bodybuilding field.

PHYSICAL CULTURE

Credit for the Physical Culture movement in North America, the precursor to the bodybuilding movement, goes to Bernarr Macfadden, an extraordinary entrepreneur who published physical culture magazines, organized physique competitions, wrote 150 books and accumulated millions in the publishing industry. Macfadden preached clean living and whole natural foods. He ate vast quantities of raw carrots, beet juice, fruits, dates, raisins, grains and nuts. He abstained from meat but recommended copious amounts of raw milk. In fact he even recommended an exclusive raw milk diet for extended periods.

The dominant star of the early years was Eugen Sandow, whose career spanned the late 1890s and the early part of the 20th century. He did not display the typical burly brute image, but a finely chiseled body, resembling those of Roman and Greek athletes. With the help of Florenz Ziegfeld, he marketed and displayed his physique in artistic fashion. In fact, it was through this artistic expression that Sandow inspired Macfadden in the mid 1890s. In an 1894 interview on his dietary habits, Sandow claimed to abstain from hard liquor, coffee and tea, but consumed the occasional beer. He ate mostly wholesome foods, but indulged at selected opportunities. Sandow, along with most of the other Physical Culturists of his day, placed more emphasis on the mechanical aspects of diet as opposed to the chemical. He believed in doing what was necessary to facilitate good digestion, including eating at regular intervals, selecting simple foods, applying thorough mastication, eating slowly and tying it all together with a good night’s sleep. He was critical of over-indulgence and recommended foods with a high nutrient value, although he admitted to eating what he wanted, when he wanted, and however much he wanted during his younger years.

Earle Liederman, author and friend of Sandow, also advocated whole natural foods. Liederman pointed out the importance of a strong digestive system enhanced by proper food mastication for men of strength and large appetites. He described the popularity of “beef juice” or “beef extract” for rapid muscle recovery. Liederman also felt obliged to mention that ice cream was very popular, referring to one lifter who often felt it necessary to finish his meals with a quart of vanilla ice cream.

Arthur Saxon of the famous Saxon brothers trio and a contemporary of Eugen Sandow, also recommended nutrient-dense foods for endurance athletes. He warned against the dangers of hard liquor, but condoned beer. In fact, Saxon had a reputation for hefty beer drinking as did many men of strength of the time. He warned against smoking while admitting to being a smoker himself. For gaining muscle, Saxon recommended milk mixed with raw egg after a workout, milk with oatmeal, cheese, beans, peas, and meat. He called milk the perfect food.

According to his brother Kurt, all three of the Saxon brothers had very hardy appetites. Along with his participation in the strength act, Kurt was also the trio’s chef. Kurt’s list of food consumed by the three brothers each day indicates substantial daily intake, with little self-denial. Milk is largely absent from Kurt’s menus.

RAW VERSUS COOKED

A debate that has been on-going since the early days of Physical Culture is the relative virtues of raw food versus cooked. Sandow referred to the eating of raw eggs and under-cooked meats as nonsense and a practice that was “passing away.”

In the raw food corner was champion wrestler George Hackenschmidt, the “Russian Lion,” a man rivaling Sandow’s strength, and surpassing him in athletic ability. Like Sandow, he was small by today’s standards, standing just under 5’10” and weighing about 200 pounds. However, he was enormously strong. Both a gentleman and sportsman, George Hackenschmidt reflected a spiritually conservative philosophy towards nutrition. In his book The Way to Life, he stated:

“I believe I am right in asserting that our creator has provided food and nutriment for every being for its own advantage. Man is born without frying-pan or stewpot. The purest natural food for human beings would, therefore, be fresh, uncooked food and nuts.” He stated that a diet of three quarters vegetable food and one quarter meat would appear to be most satisfactory for the people of central Europe but conceded a hardy appetite which, in his early training years, was based on 11 pints of milk per day, presumably raw, along with the rest of his diet. A prophet before his time, he warned about the dangers of refined sugar and meat from artificially fed and confined animals. He believed that most people ate too much flesh food from these improperly raised animals and encouraged more emphasis on natural raw foods.

VEGETARIANISM

The early bodybuilders also debated the pros and cons of vegetarianism. Macfadden and Hackenschmidt inclined towards diets that excluded meat, or that at least derived a preponderence of calories from plant foods. Juicing was popular among some. In his book Remembering Muscle Beach, Harold Zinkin describes fellow beach comrade Relna Brewer. At 17, Brewer worked in one of California’s first health food stores, located in Santa Monica. Relna’s job was to run the juice press. Because the owners of the store could not afford to pay much, Relna took out her pay in the celery, watermelon, orange and carrot juice she made each day.

Jack Lalanne was probably one of Relna’s customers. Jack began his carreer as a vegetarian, bringing his own food, such as apple or carrot juice and vegetables, to train at the beach during the 1930s. However, Lalanne later ate meat when focussed on bodybuilding. In fact, Armand Tanny says that Jack would visit the local stockyards to acquire cow’s blood to drink while in training. Later Lalanne reverted back to his vegetarian ways, but allowing some fish and eggs.

Lalanne opened one of the first health studios in Oakland in 1936. A colleague writes that Lalanne would work 14 hours a day then drive through the night 400 miles so he could be with the gang at Muscle Beach to participate in all the activities. When it came to pure energy and vitality, Lalanne was, and at 90 today, still is unbridled.

Another vegetarian was Lionel Strongfort who promoted a system of raw foods based on fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk. He recommended very little meat and cooked fat. Strongfort suggested eating only two meals a day, a strategy shared by Macfadden that would re-emerge in the 60s and 70s. Strongfort and Macfadden both advised against overconsumption of food. They claimed overconsumption created a negative stress on the body’s systems, sensible advice that bodybuilding publications would ignore in the coming years.

Perhaps the most accepted food across all the early eating models for bodybuilders was milk. One of the most popular protocols for building size and strength was the combination of back squatting and drinking large quantities of milk. Joseph Curtis Hise was a pioneer of this system in the 1930s and after 70 years this strategy is still going strong in the drug-free world of bodybuilding.

TONY SANSONE

Another Physical Culturalist who advised against over-consumption was Tony Sansone, but Sansone understood the importance of flesh foods, including animal fats and organ meats. He wrote extensively on nutrition for bodybuilders and recommended nutrient-dense “foundation” foods such as milk, eggs, butter, meat, vegetables, fruits, and some whole grains, in that order. He also stressed the importance of organ meats such as liver, kidney, heart and cod liver oil and recognized the need to drink whole raw milk instead of pasteurized and skimmed. He believed goats milk was more nutritious and easily digested than cows milk. Fresh butter and cream were his preferred fats. He also recommended six to eight glasses of water per day.

Tony Sansone wisely stressed the importance of generous amounts of fat in the diet to allow the complete utilization of nitrogenous (protein) foods in building muscle tissue—a fundamental and important fact that would be lost as the era of protein supplements took hold. He also knew that weight loss was not a matter of simple calorie counting, as cellular uptake or utilization of food varied on an individual basis. In anticipation of Dr. Atkins, Sansone recommended his foundation foods of milk, eggs, meat, vegetables and fruit for strength and health, and starchy foods as weight manipulators. His recipe for gaining weight was to add more high-carbohydrate foods such as bread and potatoes to the diet, and for losing weight to simply reduce or remove them. Tony Sansone’s caveat to lose no more than two pounds of fat per week is still the standard used in bodybuilding today.

MUSCLE BEACH

Muscle Beach got its start in the 1930s as the meeting place of young athletes who lifted weights, built human pyramids, tumbled, juggled and engaged in any other athletic endeavor they could think of. That era gave us many recognizable names such as Harold Zinkin (creator of the Universal weight machine), Joe Gold (creator of Golds Gym), Jack Lalanne, Harry Smith, and the Tanny brothers, Armand and Vic (who created a popular gymnasium chain). In fact, it is safe to say that much of the fitness industry grew out of Muscle Beach—gyms, gym chains, TV exercise programs, fitness equipment, women lifting weights, even aspects of the natural organic food movement stemmed from this small stretch of sand.

According to Harry Smith, long-time gym owner, ex-pro wrestler and Muscle Beach alumnus, body builders didn’t think much about specialty food or supplements in those days. The emphasis was on training rather than eating and resting. Harry did state that many of them tried to keep their eating clean, and that on a number of occasions they would frequent a small deli about one-half block from the beach. The deli offered freshly ground beef to which some of the guys would mix some raw onions and a little salt and pepper. The meat was eaten raw along with raw milk. Harry said it was a cheap and easy way to eat hardy and keep out of the restaurants.

One important Muscle Beach raw food enthusiast was Armand Tanny. Originally a weightlifter, Armand had a fantastic physique and the strength to qualify him for the wrestling circuit. He visited the Hawaiian Islands just after the Second World War and came away with a lasting impression of the Samoans. “They ate everything raw,” he noted. “You name it, fish, meat, beetles—everything! They were so strong and healthy.” On his return to the US, he became interested in the work of Weston A. Price, stating that Price’s book Nutrition And Physical Degeneration served as his Bible.

In 1948 he shut off his stove and ate just about everything raw from then on—tuna, beef, liver, lobster, oysters, clams, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Armand recalls wading out into the surf along the Santa Monica Pier and using his feet to kick up 6- to 7-inch Pismo clams, smashing them together to get at the pink and white flesh. Armand also took brewer’s yeast, desiccated liver, yogurt, black strap molasses and wheat germ oil, all recommendations of Gaylord Hauser, a nutritional guru of the era. Hauser also recommended fish liver oil, but Tanny felt he was getting plenty from all the raw fish he was consuming.

Armand credited his 1950 Mr. USA and the Pro Mr. America titles to his raw meat diet. In the 1950s, he helped his brother Vic in the gym business and appeared in a Mae West act. His bodybuilding articles appeared prominently in bodybuilding publications for the remainder of the century, thus providing a link to Weston Price during the decade of the 50s.

BULKING UP WITH JOHN GRIMEK

The biggest influence on bodybuilding in the 1930s and 1940s was John Grimek, the second American Athletics Union (AAU) Mr. America and the first to win back-to-back titles, in 1940 and 1941. Many commentators believe that Grimek represents the beginning of modern bodybuilding as we know it today, describing him as the best physique of the mid century.

During the early 1930s, at the start of his career, Grimek came under the influence of Mark Berry, editor of Strength magazine and an advocate of an eating protocol in which an athlete would bulk up in bodyweight and then train it off. At one point, Berry had Grimek beef up his 5’ 8” frame to 250 pounds. The practice would become commonplace by the 1950s and maintain a foothold for several decades after.

Grimek bulked up on whatever was put in front of him, reports his wife Angela in a 1956 Health and Strength article entitled “Life with John.” “John has an enormous appetite. . . John has yet to find a restaurant that can do justice to his appetite. . . . Sometimes he goes on a restricted diet—and it is surprising how little he can get by on then. But when he goes all out, he can never be filled. . . . but the ‘hog’ (our pet name for John) just eats and eats and still remains trim and muscular.”

By the 1950s, Grimek’s diet included Hershey chocolate bars and hi-protein tablets manufactured and promoted by Bob Hoffman, publisher of Strength and Health, a magazine that provided a platform for Grimek along with the new-fangled supplements coming on the market. Hoffman used Hershey chocolate in his products, so Grimek and the rest of the York gang had easy access to some empty calories.

PROTEIN POWDERS AND SUPPLEMENTS

In the late 1930s a young pharmacist named Eugene Schiff developed a method of processing whey from milk for human consumption. He created Schiff Bio-Foods, a whey packaging company. This was a half century before whey concentrates would emerge as a popular supplement in the bodybuilding scene. For a short time he sold his packaged whey to local drug stores, then sold his own store to enter into the manufacturing and packaging of health foods.

Schiff focused on supplements made from natural products. He began to experiment with whole foods such as brewer’s yeast, wheat germ and liver. He found that these foods were naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. The Schiff company claims that he was first to discover that rose hips was a superior source of vitamin C. Along with the first rose hip vitamin C supplement, he also launched one of the first multi-vitamin products, called “V-Complete.”

The demand during World War II for non-perishable foods allowed the food industry to expand and popularize the market for powdered or dehydrated foods and bodybuilders would eventually find their way into this market. Powdered milk and eggs, and later powdered soy protein, were promoted as an easy way to get additional protein into the diet. Breakfast drinks based on a protein powder emerged into the diet of the legendary Steve Reeves who years later wrote about this practice in his book Building The Classic Physique. Reeves’ impressive natural physique landed him starring roles in the films Hercules and Hercules Unchained in the late 1950s and inspired thousands of young men to adopt weight training. His recipe for a breakfast drink included fresh orange juice, Knox gelatin, honey, banana, raw eggs and a blend of skim milk, egg white and soy protein.

The first protein powders “tailored” specifically for athletes appeared around 1950. One of these was called 44, “The Supplemental Food Beverage,” produced in California by a company called Kevo Products. The principle ingredient was dehydrated powdered whole soy beans, along with kelp, wheat germ, dextrose, and various dehydrated plants, herbs and flavorings. The supplement was sold at health food stores, body-building studios, and health institutes.

Another popular product was Hi-Protein, “a protein food supplement derived from soya flour, milk proteins, and wheat. The free amino acids which include natural tryptophan and the other natural essential amino acids where produced by an acid hydrolysis.” The product was developed by bodybuilder and nutrition guru Irvin Johnson with before and after photographs of weaklings turned musclemen. Bob Hoffman quickly capitalized on Johnson’s success by following immediately with his own soy-based product marketed heavily in Strength and Health. Hoffman’s infamous protein claimed many a victim with hives or gym-clearing gas.

The debates on raw versus cooked and vegetarianism versus meat eating that appeared in bodybuilding magazines during the 1940s gave way to numerous articles on protein supplements in the 1950s, including “Building Biceps Faster With Food Supplements (Iron Man, December 1950,” “More and Better Protein Will Keep you Well (Strength & Health, March 1953),” “The Magical Power Of Protein (Mr. America, February 1958),” “Food Supplements Build Rock Hard Definition (Muscle Builder, June 1958)” and “Everyone Needs More Protein (Strength & Health, July 1959).

Meal replacement products also appeared during the 1950s, with much hype. One product, called B-FIT, was recommended as a replacement for two or three regular meals per day. According to its promoters, B-FIT “is scientifically formulated to contain all the needed vitamins and minerals, plus ample supplies of the effective proteins and yet is so low in calories that the fatty tissue literally melts away. . . . You will not suffer from any nutritional deficiencies because B-FIT is a complete food insofar as scientific experiment and research is possible to develop. Approved by dieticians.”

Advocates for new diet theories—food combining, alkaline-forming diets, even strict vegetarianism—promoted their ideas throughout the 1950s, but the big emphasis was on protein powders and supplements. For the 1954 world weightlifting championships, team coach Bob Hoffman hauled more than 100 pounds of his Hi Protein powder to Vienna, hailing it as the “secret weapon” for his athletes. But Russia, whose athletes finished no lower than second place, had a secret weapon of their own.

THE SECRET WEAPON

It was John Ziegler, a doctor accompanying the American team to Vienna, who exposed just what this Soviet weapon was. Ziegler claimed that after a few drinks, a Russian doctor told him that the Soviet athletes were using—and abusing—testosterone. Ziegler was no stranger to testosterone. With his background in rehabilitation therapy and his connection with CIBA Pharmaceuticals, he was already experimenting with testosterone on himself, his patients and some novice athletes. In fact, author and historian John Fair writes that even the great John Grimek was cooperating with Ziegler and trying his drugs in the summer of 1954. Grimek reported disappointing results.

Both American and German research scientists had identified testosterone and noted its effects as far back as the mid 1930s. CIBA Pharmaceuticals was already targeting bodybuilders with ads for synthetic testosterone in 1947. With Ziegler’s help, CIBA manufactured the most popular anabolic steroid of the 20th century. The drug was Dianabol, which came out in1958.

The acceptance of steroid drugs among bodybuilders got off to a slow start. Drinking a gallon of milk or swallowing 2000 protein pills seemed more logical to them than taking a tiny pill to do the job. Even those who did take them were slow in accepting or acknowledging the fact that it was the steroids that were giving them such tremendous gains in muscle mass.

Out on the West Coast, bodybuilding great Bill Pearl was also curious as to what the Russians were doing, so he took it upon himself to do his own research. During a visit to the University of California at Davis in 1958, he learned from a veterinarian about the successful use of steroids in beefing up cattle. Bill figured that if it was good enough for a bull, then it was good enough for him. While continuing to train hard, he took 30 mg of the steroid drug Nilevar (three times the recommended dose for humans, but an absolute joke by today’s practices) for 12 weeks and brought his bodyweight up from 225 to 250 pounds.

Steroid use among athletes paralleled the challenge to conservative moral standards that characterized the era of the 1960s. It was a time that seemed ripe for the liberation of one’s desires. Individual freedoms took precedence over the rules, morals and ethics dictated by a long established culture—and by Mother Nature. If the new generation could take mind-altering drugs, it could take body-altering drugs as well. Anabolic (“building-up”) steroids such as testosterone ushered in a new bodybuilding look that was larger and more muscularly pronounced than ever before.

During the early 1960s, the magazines emphasized caution about steroids. They acknowledged the rumors concerning Bill Pearl and others but tried to steer their readers away by stating that the drugs didn’t work, wouldn’t produce what bodybuilders expected, or were outright dangerous. Both Iron Man and Muscle Builder magazines warned of side effects and published articles claiming much better results with high-protein products. But behind the scenes, the athletes knew that they worked. Pearl openly acknowledged that he used them for a final time in 1961 to prepare for the 1961 National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe contest. He stated that the drugs by then were no longer underground but well known to the top bodybuilders.

STEROIDS AND CREAM

Still, most athletes relied on diet for strength-building, and protein occupied a large percentage of that diet. In the early 1960s, Irving Johnson targeted elite bodybuilders with a milk-and-egg protein blend considered far superior to competing products—including an earlier product of his own—based on soy. By the mid 60s, ads for Johnson’s protein blend began appearing in the bodybuilding magazines. At that time he changed his name to Rheo H. Blair. Blair claimed that his protein powder was made from milk and eggs obtained from animals raised on the rich soil of Wisconsin and that the proteins were extracted at very low temperatures. Wary of the difficulty some might have digesting all that protein, he endorsed hydrochloric acid supplements, to be taken with any protein meal. He also sold supplements such as amino acids, liver extract, B-complex and soybro (a combination of wheat germ, rice germ and soy germ oils). In 1966 he introduced a new protein formula which he claimed had a biological value resembling mother’s milk.

Blair promoted his products with skillful salesmanship but he also made an important suggestion that would ensure that his products actually worked—he insisted that his protein be taken with raw cream or half and half. He was smart enough to know that you must replace the fat removed from protein during processing. He also recognized the benefits of raw dairy products. Athletes of the 1960s used a variety of recipes, varying the proportions of Blair’s protein product with raw cream, raw milk and raw egg yolk. Weight-trainer Don Howorth remembers eating 3 dozen eggs, 1 quart raw cream, and 2 pounds ground sirloin along with 2-3 cups of Blair’s protein powder per day.

Blair had a special method for cooking his eggs. He did not cook them in boiling water but recommended cooking many eggs at one time in water maintained at 181 degrees for 31 minutes. The eggs were then left in the water to cool down slowly. Blair claimed that putting the eggs under cold water “shocked” many of the nutrients, rendering them ineffective and that cooking eggs in this fashion preserved much of their nutritional value.

It is interesting to read Perry Rader’s “Reader Roundup” column in his Iron Man magazine during this time. He tries to explain the spectacular gains made by some of the popular bodybuilders who were using Blair’s products. Many of them were eating 6000 to 9000 calories a day in the same fashion as Don Howorth and gaining muscle while maintaining or even trimming their waist size. Rader published Blair’s response in a 1966 issue of Iron Man. Blair claimed that his protein powders, along with all of his other supplements, were formulated in a special manner to metabolize fat more efficiently. He also warned that taking cream with any protein powder other than his own would result in fat accumulation.

But Blair could not help knowing that these dramatic results were not achieved on food and protein powders alone. Bodybuilders knew that they could expect to build muscle consuming 8000 calories per day, but not lose fat at the same time. That required some additional anabolic assistance. Blair knew his guys were taking steroids. Don Howorth readily admitted his past use of Dianabol, but was adamant about the importance of diet along with it. In fact, some bodybuilders were quite open about drugs. When Larry Scott, two-time winner of Mr. Olympia, was asked about his steroid use he said without hesitation, “Sure, doesn’t everyone?” However, the bodybuilding magazines continued the deception that the new, larger physiques were built on powders and supplements. Thus steroid use artificially inflated the already marketable commodities of bodybuilding.

VINCE GIRONDA

One man who had definition dieting mastered and who never used drugs was the Iron Guru Vince Gironda. Pioneer of a technique involving intense abbreviated training routines rather than long workouts, Gironda began competing in the 1950s and then trained both athletes and movie stars for many decades after. So defined was his physique, he often found himself penalized by judges who seemed confused over his appearance. Says Gironda, “The men who judged physique contests at this time were puzzled by so much muscularity. Quotes from physique magazines stated I didn’t place higher in whatever contest because of too much muscularity. They thought that this type of cut-up physique was slightly repugnant so I lost most muscular titles to smoother men who had that type of definition for that day.”

Gironda often stated that nutrition was 85-90 percent of bodybuilding. His alternative to drugs was eggs. Like Blair, he advocated up to 36 eggs a day for 6 to 8 weeks to produce muscle buildup. (He also took, among many other supplements, “orchic tissue tablets,” that is, dried testicles.)

He recommended following this “anabolic phase” with a short-term vegetarian diet to “re-alkalize” the body. Similarly he alternated a low-carbohydrate diet with periods of carbohydrate loading. He was careful to point out the difference between natural and refined carbohydrate foods. He presented research data that strongly indicted refined carbohydrates as the real culprit in much of the century’s degenerative disease. His articles went into surprising detail on the biochemical pathways through which sugar did its damage, pointing out the relation between sugar and atherosclerosis, abnormal increases in height and weight and skeletal anomalies.

As for protein, he believed the average American could get along fine with just 45 grams of quality protein a day. However, he insisted that bodybuilders needed over 300 grams daily for several weeks to force the growth process. He believed in quality protein powders and used Blair’s milk-and-egg blend until he came out with his own product. When he used the powders, he blended 1/3 of a cup with a dozen eggs and 12 ounces of raw cream or half & half. He was also big on steak and often ate his meat raw.mmended germ oils, amino acids, vitamin and mineral supplements, and hydrochloric acid (HCL). He recommended mineral rich sea kelp for its iodine content and dried liver extract for blood building and oxygen capacity boosting. Many bodybuilders used desiccated liver after the early 1950s experiments of Dr. Benjamin Ershoff. Ershoff who conducted the famous liver study wherein rats fed 10 percent desiccated liver swam far longer compared to controls.

MACRONUTRIENTLAND

In his early years, Blair recommended a very low carbohydrate diet. Later he advocated a diet consisting of 1/3 protein, 1/3 fat and 1/3 carbohydrates to build muscle; then he reversed himself and again urged avoidance of carbohydrate foods. But other bodybuilders included high levels of carbs in their diets. For example, teenage sensation Casey Viator, who became the youngest Mr. America ever at age 19, had his own special peanut butter pudding that consisted of 2 pounds of peanut butter, 1 jar of grape jelly and 3 or 4 bananas. The bananas were optional. This was part of a diet that also included 2 dozen eggs and 2 gallons of raw milk per day. Casey recalls his father not shedding too many tears when he finally moved out.

A columnist in Strength & Health magazine recommended the following carbohydrate-rich concoction for “getting big” along with a diet that allowed unlimited meat and eggs:

A one day supply of Hoffman’s Gain Weight formula (based on soy protein)
2 quarts milk
2 cups skim milk powder
2 raw eggs
4 tablespoons peanut butter
_ brick ice cream
1 banana
4 tablespoons malted milk powder
6 tablespoons corn syrup

By the 1960s, bodybuilders had figured out what they had to do to attain specific goals. Getting lean or “ripped” for a contest required stripping the diet of all carbohydrates, including milk and cream. Milk was a favorite for building muscle, but for losing fat, it contained too much carbohydrate and held water under the skin. Ketogenic diets consisting of meat and water were commonly used to prepare for the shows. During the 1950s, two English researchers—Professor Kekwick and Dr. Pawan—claimed to have isolated a fat-mobilizing substance that showed up in the urine along with ketone bodies after 24 hours on a no-carb diet. In spite of considerable scientific debate, the Ketogenic diet remained a constant in the field of bodybuilding until the 1980s.

Yet it was in the early 70s that the lipid hypothesis began to take hold. The result was a series of diets that emphasized carbohydrates over protein and fats. The pre-game meal of beef was giving way to one of lasagna or spaghetti.

The magazines of 1970 mirrored this confusion. For example, in an issue of Strength & Health, publisher Hoffman praises the African Masai tribe for their reverence of whole milk, while in his other publication, Muscular Development, he recommends skim milk because it is lower in saturated fats. (The vast majority of the nation was now drinking pasteurized milk—long time strength trainer Jim Bryan remembers avoiding raw milk because he was given the impression that it was dangerous.) MuscleMag publisher Bob Kennedy told his readers not to let anyone scare them away from eggs. Frank Zane, Mr. Olympia champion from 1977-79, was still eating the old way with plenty of eggs, lamb, beef, pork, heart, liver, raw milk, protein powder, vegetables, fruit with some potato and brown rice, educating his readers on the misconception of cholesterol and warning against over-consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils. But in Iron Man, Sterri Larson was telling readers that the diet of the bodybuilder was not necessarily one to produce good health. He believed that eggs were the best for both building muscle and losing fat, but that saturated fat and cholesterol could prove hazardous. According to bodybuilder Brian Horton, some of the athletes were now eating chicken and fish instead of beef and eggs.

STEROID USE

Meanwhile, by the end of the 1970s, professional bodybuilders were using a number of metabolism-enhancing substances such as amphetamines, Armour (Thyroid), human and animal growth hormone, and multiple steroids (a method referred to as “stacking”). Some of the top pros worked with physicians to monitor their blood parameters as they prepared for their competitions. During the months before an event, these athletes would swallow and inject any substance that would facilitate tremendous muscularity. Very few, if any, bodybuilders could attain such condition without this assistance.

Steroid use suffered a setback with the revelation that 1988 Olympic gold medal sprinter Ben Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids, which had been banned from use in the Olympic games since 1975. In 1990, the Food and Drug Administration added steroids to the Schedule III list of the Controlled Substance Act. Since then, any athlete seeking to build muscle via anabolic steroids could just as easily find his next workout conducted in a Federal prison gym — and several have, to the dismay of many in the legal, medical and sports arenas.

The ban on steroid use was no surprise to the bodybuilding world since abuse of the drugs, even at the high school level, was well known. Not only was the number of users growing, but so were the dosages and arsenals in professions where size and strength really made the difference.

The magazines were not yet labeling heart disease as a side effect of steroid use. However, by 1970 they were starting to mention the fact that a number of strength athletes were succumbing at their prime. Columnist Bob Brown described his concern over losing friends at an early age to heart disease and wrote an article in Iron Man entitled “Will Weight Training Kill You?” Brown compiled some death statistics on prominent men of the iron game throughout the century and compared them to some mortality stats supplied from an insurance company. He concluded that even though strength trainers were not immune to early death, they fared better than the average American and stood a much better chance at living a longer life.

Others noted the shortened careers of top bodybuilders. The 1967 Mr. America Don Howorth considered a comeback, but stated he knew his body would not do well with what he had to take at that stage of his life. Even the genetically blessed Casey Viator who was a serious contender for the Mr. Olympia title, walked from any more attempts in 1983 knowing that his body had had enough.

NEW DIETARY TRENDS

In the early 1980s, bodybuilders became interested in the glycemic index of carbohydrate foods. A team of researchers at the University of Toronto, led by Dr. David Jenkins, demonstrated that different foods affected blood glucose levels at different rates. They developed the Glycemic Index in which many carbohydrate foods were measured against selected reference foods on how quickly they raised glucose levels.

Many bodybuilders and other athletes used the glycemic index to plan their daily menu and carbohydrate selection. With the insurgence of carbs into the diet, along with a well-established reverence for protein, bodybuilders discovered there wasn’t much room left for fat. In fact, by the end of the decade, many found themselves in a competition for who could get their dietary fat the lowest. Some even attempted a theoretical zero fat diet.

But not everyone was taken in. I interviewed bodybuilder Ron Kosloff who said he didn’t change a thing. “I knew what I saw,” he told me. “My grandparents lived on a farm and ate whole milk, cream, eggs, butter, meat, potatoes and homemade bread. My grandfather often ate 6 eggs a day for years, many of them raw, along with lard sandwiches. He lived to 98 while my grandmother lived to 101. What astounded me most was their farmhand who went by the name of Indian Joe. When I first saw him he looked in his 40s and was incredibly cut and muscular. He looked like Conan. I was shocked when I found out he was well into his 70s. Indian Joe lived to 115 years of age and ate nothing but meat, glands and intestines!” Kosloff had consumed a minimum of 6 eggs daily for the previous 20 years with no ill effects. Ron also noted that bodybuilders like Gironda and Blair were warning him back in the late 60s of the real hazardous fats—hydrogenated oils!

Armand Tanny, now in his 60s, was also writing articles contradicting this new trend. All through the 1980s he wrote articles for Joe Weider’s Muscle and Fitness magazine such as: Caveman Diet (March 1986), Meat and the Bodybuilder (Dec 1986), Good Nutrition and Sex (June 1987), Streamline Meat (Oct 1987), Uncooked Delicacies (Dec 1986), and Those Beefs About Meat (Oct 1985).

In the midst of the cholesterol scare in 1984, Vince Gironda released his book Unleashing The Wild Physique, still recommending 36 eggs a day to produce an anabolic effect. However, he also wrote an article defending carbohydrates and warning of the potential risks of high protein consumption.

PUTTING THOSE CARBS TO WORK

A major trend in the 80s and 90s was the concept of carbohydrate loading, first popularized by Vince Gironda back in the 50s and 60s. “I believe that every 3 to 5 days you need to get a ‘carbohydrate loading meal’ into your body

. . . I feel that carbohydrate is necessary every third or fifth day in order to get the glycogen back into the liver.”

Also back in the 1960s, cyclists were using a technique of loading their muscles with carbohydrates to give themselves an endurance edge. Bodybuilders were also loading their muscles just before a competition to give them a fuller look. Into the 1980s, the competitive bodybuilders had brought it into a science with their knowledge of the hormones vasopressin and aldosterone and how they controlled the sodium/water balance in the body. The challenge was to stand on stage on competition day with as much body fluid sucked into the muscles with the carbohydrates and not under the skin. The effect of this technique was so dramatic that hit or missed timing could represent a victory or looking terrible for bodybuilding standards. Often bodybuilders would be banging their heads off the wall one to three days after a big show when all the fluids would shift into the right places—too late!

Similar diets followed including Cyclical Ketogenic Dieting (CKD) variously known as the “Ultimate Diet,” the “High-Fat Diet,” the “Anabolic Diet,” “Bodyopus,” the “Metabolic Diet,” “Anabolic Solution,” and the “Ultimate Diet 2.0.”

THE SUPPLEMENT BOOM

Amino acids in their many forms (peptide-bonded, free-form, branch chained, L-crystalline) were popular in the 80s, based on the notion that certain isolated amino acids could stimulate the pituitary gland to release growth hormone. Claims that the free-form amino acids arginine and ornithine could help bodybuilders lose fat and gain muscle actually led to a world-wide shortage of arginine and ornithine. I remember contributing to that shortage. Others touted the amino acid lysine as a growth hormone releaser. Lysine is plentiful in milk, which is what bodybuilders used in the days before amino acid supplements.

Soy protein powder made a big comeback in the 1990s with enough market hype to force the bodybuilding community to take another look. However, soy has never been accepted as a quality protein by the bodybuilders who knew anything about protein. Blair dumped it decades ago for the higher quality from milk and eggs. Vince Gironda simply referred to soy as “that s***!”

Carbohydrate loading was made easier with drinks like CarboPlex, containing maltodextrin. Other products contained medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) derived from coconut oil, to provide energy while bypassing the normal fat-assimilating channels in the body.

It was almost impossible to keep up with the new ergogenic and anabolic aids promoted in the magazines. They had bizarre names like Gamma Oryzanal, Osterolwere, Dibencozide and Inosine. A product called Metabolol containing glucose polymers, MCTs and various ergogenic agents became popular. Completing products—with names like “Ultimate Orange” and “Hot Stuff”—were promoted with clever and outlandish marketing tactics.

MORE ANABOLIC AIDS

During the 1980s, the world of competitive bodybuilding could be summed up in one name—Lee Haney. Haney ruled the Mr. Olympia competition from 1984 to 1991. He was followed by Dorian Yates, winner for six straight years and then Ron Coleman who is the reigning Mr. Olympia in 2004. These two men ushered in a big jump in size and hardness. To put the size in perspective, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a huge athlete back in the 70s competing at 235 pounds at 6 feet 2 inches. In the 2003 Mr. Olympia contest, Ron Coleman stood under 6 feet and weighed 287 pounds—and he was even leaner than Schwarzenegger!

Were these men better bodybuilders than Schwarzenegger and Haney? Not necessarily, just more daring chemists. Two very anabolic compounds had muscled their way to prominence in the pro ranks in a much bigger way than ever before. These compounds were insulin and growth hormone. Bodybuilders were using natural growth hormone from human cadavers and rhesus monkeys back in the 1970s. However, with the introduction of recombinant Human Growth Hormone in 1985, this product became more widely available. Another anabolic compound was creatine monohydrate, a muscle-hydrating substance. Whey protein came into prominence. Bodybuilders will ingest just about anything in the quest to build muscles—powders, pills, raw meat, blood, glands, and a whole assortment of esoteric concoctions that have been slam-dunked for the sake of the gain.

Until the end of the 1980s, athletes sat on two distinct sides of the line—those who took steroids and those who did not. As Nelson Montana once stated, “Steroids do what all bodybuilders want —they build muscle!” That distinct line became blurred in the 1990s with the fall of the Berlin wall and the introduction of Eastern Block performance enhancing compounds known as “pro-hormones.” In the mid-1990s, supplements of Androstenedione, Androstenediol, Norandrostenedione, Norandrostenediol and DHEA appeared in the magazines. Originally deemed safe alternatives to steroids, the same side effects that manifested with steroids soon became apparent—male pattern baldness, prostrate enlargement, acne, reduced libido, liver and kidney toxicity, and—every bodybuilder’s favorite—gynecomastia (bitch tits).

As more side effects revealed themselves, more precursors (pro-hormones) came on the scene to replace their predecessors. Baseball’s Mark McGuire helped the market in a big way. Bodybuilders started stacking these hormones like regular anabolic steroids along with estrogen blockers, growth hormone enhancers, cortisone inhibitors, stimulators (ephedra), creatine, protein powders and, if there was any cash left, perhaps some vitamins. The recommended diet today is high-carb, high-protein, and low in fat—skim milk, egg whites, protein powders. . . anything but real whole foods. It’s no surprise that early natural bodybuilders, such as LaLanne, Tanny, Gironda and Grimek, enjoyed good longevity in the sport while the health of today’s muscle stars is a huge question mark. As five-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl recently remarked: “The guy left standing on the stage today at the end of a bodybuilding show is probably the guy in the arena who is closest to death.”

It’s unfortunate that today’s young athletes who have that genetic potential to excel in bodybuilding really have no choice but to go down that pharmaceutical road if they want to achieve top honors at the shows. A friend of mine and long time gym owner Marty Hodgson stated to me, “We must remember it was in fact drugs that played a significant role in building those comic book characteristics that attracted us to the sport over the past 40 years. But those very substances that help make the sport are the same ones that are, with no doubt, destroying it.”

About the Author
Bodybuilder and trainer Randy Roach has followed most of the bodybuilding diet trends over the past 30 years including methods not so embraced in bodybuilding circles, such as complete vegan vegetarianism. During his protein-drink phase he ate egg whites and discarded the yolks. He has discovered that too many carbohydrates give him all sorts of problems. Over the past 3 years he has migrated to a total raw diet. This includes raw meat, dairy, eggs (especially the yolks), honey, green juices, and some fruits with their seeds. Food for a typical day includes 1/4-1/2 pound raw chicken,1/2 pound raw beef, 1/4 pound raw liver, 16- 32 ounces of raw milk, 2-3 ounces raw cream, 6-8 tablespoons raw honey, 32 ounces raw green juice (celery, parsley, lemon, zucchini, honey, beets) and occasional fruit.

This article is excerpted from his forthcoming book The History of Nutrition in Bodybuilding, available at prfit.com/history.htm.

Daily Menu for the Three Saxon Brothers

Breakfast
24 eggs
3 pounds smoked bacon
Porridge with cream and honey
Tea with plenty of sugar

Dinner
10 pounds of meat
Vegetables
Sweet fruit (raw or cooked)
Sweet cakes
Salad
Tea
Sweet puddings
Cocoa and whipped cream

Supper
Cold meat
Smoked fish
Lots of butter and cheese
Beer

Sansone’s Weight Gain Diet

Breakfast
Fresh fruit
Medium serving of whole grain Cereal with cream and sugar
2 eggs
2 pieces whole grain toast, buttered
1 glass of milk

Dinner
Steak, lamb, mutton or other meat
1 baked potato with butter
2 pieces whole wheat toast,buttered
1 large leafy green salad
1 large serving of berries or other fruit
1 small piece of plain cake

Supper
1 cup of bouillon or puree
1 medium serving of meat
1 large serving of cooked vegetables
2 pieces whole grain toast, buttered
Pudding or custard
1 glass of milk

Sansone’s Weight Loss Diet

Breakfast
Fresh fruit
2 pieces whole grain toast, buttered
1 egg
1 cup coffee or tea
_ cup hot milk

Dinner
Steak, roast beef, mutton or other meat
1 piece whole grain toast, buttered
1 large serving vegetables
Berries

Supper
1 cup of soup or tomato puree
1 small serving meat or fish 1 large serving vegetable
1 piece whole grain toast, buttered
1 glass milk

Steroid Side Effects

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives or chemically altered versions of the hormone testosterone. Testosterone is the main androgenic or masculinizing hormone in males. In females, it plays a secondary role and occurs at about 1/20th the amount that occurs in adult men.

Testosterone has two primary characteristics that concern the athlete pursuing performance enhancement. The first and most sought-after attribute for the sport of bodybuilding is its anabolic effect, the ability to stimulate protein synthesis for muscle, bone and blood building. The second and less desired effect, especially with women, is the adrogenic response, the stimulation of secondary male sexual characteristics. Synthetic steroids are designed to enhance the anabolic effects of testosterone, while reducing the masculinizing properties. Unfortunately, the more you reduce the androgenic properties, the more you reduce the anabolic effect. Over the years, many different derivatives of the testosterone molecule have made their way through the sports arena. All of these synthetic versions have had varying degrees of androgenic and anabolic potencies. The more androgenic, the more anabolic and therefore more effective the drug for building muscle.

Anabolic steroids can be taken orally, sublingually or via injection. Oral steroids usually act faster than their oil-based injectable counterparts. Injectable steroids such as Deca-Durabolin have been designed to reduce the androgenic attributes and can stay in the body much longer than oral steroids such as Dianabol. Dianabol travels quickly to the liver where it is broken down to a large degree. This type of steroid places more stress on the liver.

The side effects of steroids can vary depending on gender and individual physiological characteristics. Age, dosage and duration of time on steroids also affect the degree of adverse reactions. Some of the side effects are also surrounded with controversy. For example, much of the media attention towards the serious liver disease through steroid use comes from patients with preexisting illnesses under longterm treatment with steroid medication. Nevertheless, steroid-using atheletes need to have their liver function monitored by health practitioners as the liver is definitely stressed by the practice.

One common side effect of steroids is water retention leading to elevated blood pressure in some athletes; another is kidney damage. The most feared reaction among the male bodybuilders is the paradoxical feminizing known as gynecomastia. This involves the enlargement of the tissue around the nipples. For females, it is the masculinizing effects that do the most damage. Male pattern baldness, facial and body hair, deepening of the voice, and clitoral enlargement are all potential threats to the female taking androgenic steroids. Stimulation of the sebaceous glands may lead to acne in both male and female athletes.

Behaviorial changes are also tied to steroid use. Almost everyone has heard of “roid rage.” Steroid use does not typically turn a mild mannered individual into a madman as the media would have us believe but anabolic steroids can increase aggression to some degree. If you are already an S.O.B., then steroid use may make you a bigger S.O.B. Psychological dependency also occurs, mainly because some athletes cannot deal with the loss of muscle, strength and desired appearance when withdrawing from steroids.

Other possible side effects that may occur during the use of anabolic and androgenic steroids include prolonged bleeding time, headaches, nausea, feeling poorly, increased risk of injury, abcesses resulting from injection, anaphylactic shock (life-threatening reaction) and early death from heart disease.

VINCE GIRONDA’S “HORMONE PRECURSOR DIET” FOR MUSCLE BUILD-UP

Gironda recommended this diet for four to six weeks, followed by a mostly vegetarian “alkalinizing” diet.

Breakfast
Vince’s special protein drink made of 12 oz half and half, 12 raw eggs, 1/3 cup milk-and-egg protein powder, 1 banana. (Make one to three mixtures of this formula and drink throughout the day, between meals, and before retiring)

Supplements
1 multi-vitamin tablet
3 vitamin A and D tablets or 3 halibut oil capsules
1 vitamin B complex
1 vitamin B-15 tablet
1 vitamin C comlex (300 mg)
2 vitamin E capsules (800 iu)
1 zinc tablet
1 chelated mineral tablets
5 alfalfa tablets
10 kelp tablets
3 tri-germ and wheat germ oil capsules
1 RNA/DNA tablet
3 Lysine tablets
(400 mg)
1 hydrochloric acid tablet
(before meal)

3 digestive enzyme tablets (after meal)
3 multi-glandular tablets
(nucleo glan male or female)

Lunch
1 pound hamburger or other meat
Mixed greeen salad or raw vegetables

Supplements
1 iron tablet
4 calcium tablets
Repeat of breakfast vitamins with omission of vitamin E, tri-germ, wheat germ, halibut oil

Dinner
1 to 2 pound steak or roast meat
Raw or steamed vegetables or salad and cottage cheese

Supplements
Same as lunch

Special Supplements
10 amino acids and desiccated liver tablets (every 3 hours) 5 yeast tablets with the protein drink

4 raw orchic tissue tablets (before and after workouts)

6 each of the following before retiring: arginine, ortithine, tryptophan, calcium tablets

HIGH-CARB DIET FOR BODYBUILDERS

Typical of the new carb-rich diets was the 1979 diet of Clarence Bass, known for his “ripped” appearance:

Breakfast
2 eggs
1 toast
Cereal consisting of:
2 tablespoons wheat germ
5 tablespoons bran
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon raisins
1 cup whole raw milk

Lunch
Peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread
1 cup yogurt from whole raw milk
1 apple or pear

Supper
2 poached eggs
1 piece dry toast
Huge salad

Evening Meal
1 cup whole raw milk mixed with
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Fyblend fiber
1/2 grain saccharin
1/2 teaspoon decaffeinated coffee

BIG RON’S CONFUSING NUTRITION ADVICE

Nowhere is confusion on what constitutes a healthy diet more evident than on the website of current bodybuilding champion Ron Coleman (bigroncoleman.com).
His contradictory and watered-down nutritional advice:

1. Eat, eat and eat some more.

2. To add strength and mass, try to consume four to six meals a day. Choose from a variety of food groups at mealtime. Try to include lots of potatoes, rice, pasta, fruits and vegetables.

3. Make sure you are eating enough. A low fat diet and avoiding refined foods are good, but it won’t help you build mass. On the same note you don’t want to eat a high fat diet all the time. Fat provides additional calories, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and raw materials for important hormones that stimulate muscle growth.

4. Monitor the amount of mass you are gaining. Measure your body parts and weigh every week to see if you are going in the right direction.

5. Lastly, continue to train hard. And remember gaining mass won’t happen overnight.

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, FALL 2004.

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