To Supplement or Not?

The Martial Art of Wellness
Volume 7 – May 2008

(Archive of Previous BioNews)


DEAR FRIENDS

ninja

Welcome to this month’s BioNews.  We must learn to free ourselves from the control that others exert over us. As we learn we become FREE, we become powerful.  This pursuit of self defense in wellness, I call “The Martial Art of Wellness.” And as we practice we become Wellness Ninjas.


QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Management of chronic diseases is a medical euphemism. It is not curing disease, but controlling it with the aid of suppressive drugs. This type of response to disease halts any progress towards healing. It serves only to make the patient more comfortable, while allowing him to progress to the degenerative stage, postponing the day of reckoning. Chronic conditions denied proper care will inevitably regress into ever greater chronicity until they become degenerative.

– Dr. Bernard Jensen

THIS ISSUE’S TESTIMONIALS:

This Cat written by Anne Devereaux

THIS CAT THIS CAT HE WANTS TO EAT!
THIS CAT THIS CAT HES GOT BLACK FEET!
THIS CAT THIS CAT HE WAS A STRAY
THIS CAT THIS CAT HE IS HERE TO STAY
THIS CAT THIS CAT WE HAVE CALLED HIM BAMBER
THIS CAT THIS CAT HIS EYES WERE AMBER
THIS CAT THIS CAT HIS EYES ARE NOW YELLOW
THIS CAT THIS CAT HE IS FAR MORE MELLOW
THIS CAT THIS CAT GETS BIOPREPARATION
THIS CAT THIS CAT IN RECOGNITION
THIS CAT THIS CAT IS NOW FULL OF HEALTH
THIS CAT THIS CAT GIVES THANKS BY STEALTH
THIS CAT THIS CAT GIVES A SECRET PURR
THIS CAT THIS CAT NOW SLEEP DOES PREFER
AND EVEN IN SLEEP HE WILL ALWAYS DREAM
THAT HIS FOOD PLATE IS STILL FULL FOR HIM TO CLEAN!

Note: we give our pet BioPreparation and the reference to his eye color changing from amber to yellow is a sign we believe of his detoxing and return to his natural eye color!!

Anne Devereaux,
Natural Health Practitioner, UK


SUPPLEMENTATION – PART IV OF IV

To Supplement or Not?

Dr. Michael Kiriac once told me that if you wanted to make use of “supplement” for maintaining health, that you would have to continuously take pills (of endless kinds) as rapidly as you could 24 hours a day, and that even with that, you would not come any where close to matching the digestive enzymes, insulin and alkalizing juices that are synthesized by your pancreas in seconds. In our current “so called scientific” era, we have been trained to blindly accept that we can add “specialized” molecules of our choice to this mix.

While in advanced natural health sciences, we know very well that health does not reside in a pill. Most people do not know that they could achieve 100% recovery from, or prevention of disease, by first “getting out of the way of health”, that is in allowing each cell of our body to exchange and synthesize the various bio-chemicals molecules, electrical impulses, water, oxygen, hormones, enzymes, and co-enzymes necessary to energize, regulate, repair, regenerate, detoxify and protect itself. This innately “self regulating” natural power takes place 24-7 in the trillions of cells that make up your body.

There is a famous saying “Let thy food be thy medicine” that applies here. In essence our body is designed to derive the energy and all the necessary molecules for good health from the sunlight, from the air we breathe, from the water we drink, and from the foods we eat.

Nowadays most people are greatly influence by the powerful marketing machine of the supplement industry, and will not hesitate to ingest chemical substances called “supplement”. And in most cases, it is stuff that they would not dare put in the gas tank of their own car.

In closing this series on Supplementation, I encourage you to review the four parts, and to reflect on your rationales for using or prescribing supplements. So much can be done before reverting to “blind” supplementation.

But, here are typical motivating factors..

  • thinking ahead about protecting your future health and well being?
  • under stress from today’s fast pace?
  • wanting to protect yourself from the environmental pollution surrounding us?
  • concerned about the possible genetic trends in your family’s health history?
  • listening to the signs that your body has what it needs to run efficiently?
  • doubting that you are getting all your daily required nutrients from your diet?
  • having all of the energy you need to enjoy life to it’s fullest?

So now you still have that nagging question; Should I take supplements?

And the answer maybe yes, or maybe no, but read on…

Did You Know?

  • that possibly 95% of all diseases are degenerative (came about gradually over a long period of time)?
  • that over 64% of American are overweight?
  • that over 40% of American take at least one prescription drug?
  • that over 33% of all Americans are either diabetic or pre-diabetic?
  • that more then 50% of all Americans will die from a cardiovascular disease or from cancer?
  • that other scientific evidence links nutrition as the major cause of disease?
  • that the average American consumes 6 pounds of artificial chemicals a year?
  • that likely 80% of cancers comes from environmental pollution (wrong foods, air we breathe, water we drink, tainted foods, etc.)?
  • that maybe less than 15% of all Americans are in vital good health?
  • that more then 36% of American take one form or another of supplements
  • that epidemics of cardiovascular, hypo glycemic, cancer and of most other diseases are increasing even amongst those taking supplements

Often people wonder; can I get what I need from the food I eat?

  • most foods are stripped of nutrients through refining and processing.
  • most foods are laden with fats, sugars, and salts, and devoid of essential nutrients.
  • due to the time it takes to get fresh foods from the farm to your table, over 56% of the nutritional value can be lost.
  • most foods are harmful from the use of pesticides, fungicides, sulfites, and preservatives!
  • by the time the new American are 12 years old, their digestive system is dysfunctional due to damages caused by the wrong foods consumed by then
  • on the one hand nutrition may cause disease and on the other hand, nutrition may prevent disease
  • supplements may alleviate conditions, on the other hand most will not solve the conditions, and many are now link to causing further imbalances, even in some case leading to cardiovascular death and cancers
  • pharmaceutical drugs do not solve the conditions, some barely maintain the condition for a while, most carry many harmful side effects, and many lead to complications, disease and even death
  • that scientific evidence links nutrition to disease prevention?

How confuse are you now? Should I supplement or not? Is there an answer?

YES there is. The solution has always been there, we just forgot. But the solution is not a miracle pill, neither is it in supplements. The solution is found in a combination of skillful behaviors, and in ingesting the right substances that include foods, water, the air your breathe, and the sunlight you receive. Let us not re-invent the wheel as the solution to health has been outline in many different books and publications for decades.

But none have been so prestigious in terms of the accumulated research supporting it, as the “Second Expert Report” on cancer, published by the World Cancer Research Fund in association with the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Second Expert Report on Cancer

This recently published report by the World Cancer Research Fund in association with the American Institute for Cancer Research titled “Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective” gave recommendations for reducing the risk of cancer through diet and physical activity. In this report, they also proposed various research directions and questions that, if answered, would further clarify links between diet, exercise and cancer. In this report, various factors have been identified to have a “probable” or “suggestive” association with cancer or to reduce the risk of cancer.

These recommendations are no surprise, and do not look all that different from most other sets of dietary recommendations issued for the last 50 years or so for prevention of chronic disease risks.

The recommendations emphasize staying lean and being active (“eat less, move more”). You will find that the recommendations in the report apply to all health issues, conditions or diseases. Read here these summarized recommendations:

  • Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
  • Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.
  • Avoid sugary drinks. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods (particularly processed foods high in added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat).
  • Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans.
  • Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
  • If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to 2 for men and 1 for women a day.
  • Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).
  • Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.
  • It is best for mothers to breast feed exclusively for up to 6 months and then add other liquids and foods.
  • After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.
  • And always remember – do not smoke or chew tobacco.

A few comments on those recommendations

First of all, fantastic! If everyone followed these concise recommendations, they’re would be 90% less cancers and other degenerative diseases.

The recommendation “Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer”, is a little extreme, but I a generally agree with it. With natural laws, we know that isolate and separate molecules are chemically inorganic, thus they fall in the chemical category and should be avoided. For example, selenium, iron, zinc, aluminum, even arsenic in miniscule and natural proportion occurring organically in foods are required for health, while any one of those substances taken as isolate, separate, and/or in large amount are toxic and even poisonous.. In taking this position, the report likely refers to the “taking of large doses of separate and/or isolate vitamins or antioxidants”. There is now a body of evidence from large human and animal studies showing, that taken in large quantities molecules like; vitamin E, beta carotene, and even vitamin C, lead to instances of more cardiovascular related deaths and cancers.

But I also believe that there are certain “supplement” which I prefer to call “complement” that can contribute to prevention of disease and increase health. Those are the various natural and organic herbs, flower remedies, certain nutrient and antioxidant rich superfoods, and certain micro algae. Some of these “complements” may be used temporarily to alleviate or remedy ailments, while others can be taken regularely as part of your diet.

Finally, are there more ways to health?

Reverting degenerative health conditions can take a long time and demand great discipline. No doubt it should be done! However, few of us can spend our entire day hunting, gathering, and carefully preparing our food! I also think that it should be simple and not require the selection of complex foods, and the tracking of records. Here is a summary list of recommendations for accelerating your recovery from most diseases, and for a faster return to vibrant physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

1) Do not abuse of quantity of any substances

Those substances include foods, beverages, and any other ingested substances. Eating too much foods is likely the principal cause of disease in America. 66% of American are overweight, laden with accumulated fats and debris inside and around the arteries, the organs, including within the cells and the cell membrane affecting energy and metabolic health.

2) Eat the right foods

Eating the “wrong” foods is likely the second major cause of diseases. In advanced natural health sciences we recommend that you eat mostly leafy fruits and vegetables, and not so much the starchy types. Because our foods are not what they use to be, and even if there are some pollutants in them, we should make a greater effort to eat real whole foods. Find organic foods, freshly picked, grown in soils that have been re-mineralized, and often served raw or slightly cooked, in a way that is as close to their natural form as possible. Fruits come before vegetables, and yes, by that I mean eat more fruits then vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the sun foods, full of phytonutrients and cancer prevention antioxidants.

Which fruit has the most antioxidants? The latest report says blueberries, followed by cranberries, apples, red grapes, and finally green grapes. What? Pomegranates don’t even make the top five? In this case, who knows? The investigators were testing a new assay method and those were the only fruits they examined. Never mind. It doesn’t matter.

A fundamental principle of nutrition is variety. In this case, variety means that it’s good to eat different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Each contains its own unique complement of antioxidants and other nutrients and if you eat a variety of foods, you are likely to get all the ones you need and not overdo on any. The Japanese have a rule “to eat 30 different foods daily”.

3) Drink pure water and more water

Dehydration is one of the major cause of death in hospitalized older people. Drinking any other beverage is superfluous. Drink purified water using a form of filtration that removes the majority of toxic substances. A rule of thumb is to drink half your body’s weight (in pounds), in ounces of water, for example if you weight 150 pounds, then drink 75 ounces of water.

4) Exercise, exercise and exercise some more.

Stagnation is the third major cause of disease. Develop a passion for a type of exercise(s) that you can do and enjoy. Introduce it gradually and expect to do it until the last day of your life. There is no rest for the wellness warrior.

5) Introduce “expedients” to health

Yes, absolutely, over and above the previous recommendations, there are ways to accelerate even more your recovery from disease, and your protection from declining health. These more expedient ways will involve greater commitment and discipline. In a way you have to be “gong ho” about health if you want to have greater health, and keep it a long time. By the way, that is call the pursuit of longevity. Here is a list of a few expedients pertaining to the various categories from above:

  • Research and apply the art and science of “rational fasting”.
  • Research and practice ancient, effective and proven techniques of energy flow like Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Yoga.
  • Become an athlete, for example learn the art of running.
  • Research and complement your diet with organic whole superfoods.
  • Complement your diet with extraordinary BioSuperfood.

BioSuperfood is one such expedient to health. While belonging in the “Eat the right foods” recommendation, BioSuperfood is an extremely efficient food with extraordinary properties of nourishing the cells of the brain “awakening the genius within” in the process. Do read more about it at www.bioage.com or at www.themagicisbac.com.


WWW.THEMAGICISBAC.COM ( Vitamin B12 in BAC? )

I read that the B12 from algae and other plants cannot be absorbed well and therefore needs to be supplemented if not eating much meat

These days the vitamin B12 deficiency myth continues to surface. There is much non scientific rumors about B12 and its relationship with certain algae. Usually these rumors are preached by old doctors, marketers, or talk radio shows dominated by heavy recommendations for drugs, meat and dairy products, but the question still comes up. In reality, a very small number of people may develop a B12 deficiency, and interestingly most of them are not vegetarian or vegan.

Yes, vitamin B12 is a critical vitamin, and it helps in proper formation of red blood cells, manufacturing of DNA, formation of fatty insulation surrounding nerve cells, detoxification of cyanide from cigarettes and food, cancer prevention, nervous system health, proper growth, prevention of PMS, posture and balance, memory and concentration, proper cell division, sperm production and motility.

Also known as cobalamin due to its central cobalt atom, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin with a low daily requirement of 2 to 3 micrograms, that’s micrograms, not milligrams. In addition to having extremely low intake requirements, vitamin B12 is stored in the liver, kidneys, and muscle tissue, and 65% to 75% of our B12 is reabsorbed by the body instead of excreted.

All of the Vitamin B12 in the world ultimately comes from bacteria. Neither plants nor animals can synthesize it. But plants can be contaminated with B12 when they come in contact with soil bacteria that produce it. Animal foods are rich in B12 only because animals eat foods that are contaminated with it or because bacteria living in an animal’s intestines make it.

— The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (1996), Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, & Mark Messina, PhD p. 102
Human absorption and distribution of vitamin B12

The human physiology of vitamin B-12 is complex, and therefore is prone to mishaps leading to vitamin B-12 deficiency. The vitamin as it occurs in foods enters the digestive tract bound to proteins, known as salivary R-binders. Stomach proteolysis of these proteins requires an acid pH, and also requires proper pancreatic release of proteolytic enzymes. (Even small amounts of B-12 taken in supplements bypasses these steps and thus any need for gastric acid, which may be blocked by antacid drugs).

The free B-12 then attaches to gastric intrinsic factor, which is generated by the gastric parietal cells. If this step fails due to gastric parietal cell atrophy (the problem in pernicious anemia), sufficient B-12 is not absorbed later on, unless administered orally in relatively massive doses (500 to 1000 mcg/day).

The conjugated vitamin B-12-intrinsic factor complex (IF/B-12) is then normally absorbed by the terminal ileum of the small bowel. Absorption of food vitamin B-12 therefore requires an intact and functioning stomach, exocrine pancreas, intrinsic factor, and small bowel. Problems with any one of these organs makes a vitamin B-12 deficiency possible.

Once the IF/B-12 complex is recognized by specialized ileal receptors, it is transported into the portal circulation. The vitamin is then transferred to transcobalamin II (TC-II/B12), which serves as the plasma transporter of the vitamin. Genetic deficiencies of this protein are known, also leading to functional B-12 deficiency.

For the vitamin to serve inside cells, the TC-II/B-12 complex must bind to a cell receptor, and be endocytosed. The transcobalamin-II is degraded within a lysozyme, and the B-12 is finally released into the cytoplasm, where it may be transformed into the proper coenzyme, by certain cellular enzymes (see above).

After reading this description of human assimilation of B12, I hope you realize the futility of supplementation of mega dose of B12 in any form. A B12 deficiency could take from 5 to 20 years to develop from inadequate intake, but most likely from degenerative mal-assimilation. Eventually a B12 deficiency manifests as nerve damage and pernicious anemia, a type of anemia where red blood cells are improperly formed and white blood cell count is low. It is clear that you will be served 1000% better if you focus on re-enforcing your overall cerebral and endocrine health through diet and exercise, which in turn will restore your efficient assimilation and absorption of B12, and of a myriad of other nutrients.

So how could anyone develop pernicious anemia when B12 intake requirements are so low, and when the liver stores so much that it takes years for a deficiency to develop? The reason touted for the B12 myth is that B12 is found primarily in animal foods. Very few plant foods provide good sources of B12, they say (in reality several plants and algae food contain good level of B12). So that statement is only partly true anyway, because the real source of B12 is not plants OR animals; neither manufacture their own B12. In the B12 arena, its bacteria that are the B12 producers on which both plants and animals rely. And in humans, bacteria doesn’t necessarily come from plants — our mouth, upper intestine, and lower intestine all contain bacteria that produce B12.

Another cause of B12 deficiency could be its destruction due to dietary or environmental factors. For example, smoking, high protein diets, alcohol consumption, chlorinated water (disruption by chloroform), and diarrhea may deplete B12. But the most common causes of B12 deficiency are absorption or re-absorption problems due to poor intrinsic factor production, a metabolic deficiency that is extremely frequent in America.

B12 health the right way! – Allopathic mega dosing of B12 is not a solution. Today it is well known that large amounts of isolate nutrients over what the body would normally obtain from foods does not resolve the deficiency, but actually may lead to further imbalances, and as new body of research is proving, may cause cancer and cardiovascular problems. Rather then buying in the “B12 deficiency” myth, the better way to feel secure about B12 is to restore your vitality overall. This wholistic approach is achieve with proper diet and exercise; a high energy diet rich in mixed whole foods, a great portion being fruits and vegetables for their high mineral, vitamin and phytonutrients content.

B12 and BAC? – As mentioned above, B12 is manufactured by bacteria and much of Bio-Algae Concentrates are bacteria in the form of Cyanobacteria, the scientific name for spirulina, the algae well known for its high quality B12 content. In summary, YES, BAC supplies a certain amount of extremely efficient B12 as present in three of its four algae whole food, and that is a good thing. BUT, the much more important benefit of consuming BAC in regards to B12 requirements, is its “BAC awakens the genius within” action of nourishing efficiently the hypothalamus / pituitary axis which in turn restores the metabolisms involved in B12 assimilation and B12 synthesis, including that of a healthy pancreas and intrinsic factor. This in turn results in dramatic increase of your assimilation of B12 from your foods, and of its absorption and re-absorption in your digestive tracks.

Read more about BioSuperfood at WWW.THEMAGICISBAC.COM


 

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