Green Health Spot

Not All Supplements Are Created Equal

 Recently in California it was discovered that many common brands of fish oil contain up to 70 times the permissible "safe" levels of lead and PCBs. There were 74 manufacturers that were named in a suit on behalf of proposition 65 in California that requires companies to disclose that their product had been tested to have unsafe levels of lead. Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 requiring manufacturers to notify potential consumers of possible lead exposure. 

Funny thing about this is that lead was high in these fish oils. Lead is not normally a concern in fish oil manufacturing but mercury is because of the fish source. Since lead is the object of prop 65 and mercury is not, I think it is still reasonable to be concerned about accumulating mercury levels from these fish oils. One patient I treated for very high levels of lead and mercury in the blood (recent exposure) could only isolate his lead and mercury exposure to a fish oil purchased at a common Warehouse coop and one dinner with swordfish in the past 2 months. After stopping the fish oil, and starting a clean one I recommended, his blood lead and mercury levels went back to normal after a few months.  PCBs are also a huge concern in fish oils and farmed salmon. 

There was also one reported incident of Selenium toxicity in a patient taking a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement that contained 200 TIMES the stated level of Selenium on the label. This post is to warn all of you out there to be careful that your supplement products are manufacturer using GMP practices (Good Manufacturing Practices) certification. The scary thing is that a few of these companies cited in California for excessive Lead and PCBs had GMP certification. Below is the list of companies named in the suit in California. 

We will soon be opening an online store so that our readers can get safe, consistent supplements with reliable testing. So many people waste their money on supplements that are either not sufficient or unregulated and in more and more cases, toxic.

DEFENDANTS NAMED IN THE LAWSUIT in California

21st Century Healthcare, Inc.

Apex Fitness Group, A division of 24 Hour Fitness USA

Biosan Laboratories

Bluebonnet Nutrition Corporation

Bronson Nutritionals

Buried Treasure, a division of Life Line Food Inc.

Clinician's Choice

D&E Pharmaceuticals

Davinci Laboratories of Vermont

Delaware Natrol

Designs For Health

Douglas Laboratories

Dynamic Health Laboratories

Enzymatic Therapy

Esteem Products

Fairhaven Health

Foodscience Corporation

Foodscience of Vermont

Futurebiotics

Genspec Labs

Health Authority Dba Doctor's Trust Vitamins

Hxn Corporation

Dba Health Xpress

Integrative Therapeutics

Irwin Naturals

J.R. Carlson Laboratories

Kirkman

Kordial Nutrients

Maximum International

Metabolic Maintenance Products

Metagenics

Mountain Naturals of Vermont

Natural Organics

Nature's Secret

Nature's Way Products

Nbty

New Chapter

Nexgen Pharma

Nf Formulas

Now Foods

Nutribiotic

Nutritional Specialties

Nutri-west

Olympian Labs

Only Natural

Optimal Nutrients, USA, a division of Pegasus Plus

Pioneer Nutritional Formulas

Pure Essence Laboratories

Rainbow Light Nutritional Systems

Solgar

Spring Valley Herbs & Natural Foods

Supernutrition Life-extension Research

The Daily Wellness Company

The Vitamin Shoppe Industries

Threshold Enterprises, the Parent Company Of Source Naturals

True Fit Vitamins

Universal Nutrition

Wyeth Laboratories

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Love and Autism

 A recent small study was released this week about the use of oxytocin administered as a nasal spray to autistic children. Evidentally, oxytocin, a hormone that is produced in large amounts during labor and delivery helps autistic children be more social and affectionate toward others. One major symptom of autism is that the children do not seem to acknowledge the presence of others around them and are not apt to engage in normal play with kids or adults. Instead these children play in their own world by themselves without the typical engaging with their surroundings.

The results of this study interestingly parallels some observations I've noticed over the years treating autistic children. First, a subset of the children that are dignosed autistic either have had difficult labors that didn't progress and ended up ultimately with a c-section. Or the birth was scheduled as a c-section for other reasons. The pitocin that is commonly given during labor to help labor progress is a synthetic chemical form of oxytocin. Oxytocin is usually released by the body in short-lasting bursts to help during labor, breast feeding and even during orgasm. Oxytocin leads to a reduced sense of anxiety, feelings of safety, contentment and calming. All of which, are problems in autistic children. These children tend to be irritable, have difficulty calming down to sleep, are hyperactive and are easily upset. Is it possible that during the birthing and labor process these chemicals given to moms are affecting the babies brains and future development? Or are these children just low on their own ability to produce oxytocin?

Of course, autism remains a diagnosis of symptoms, not cause. So there is no one blood test that allows us to diagnose autism. Autism treatment responds best in children by first removing all foods, chemicals and toxins that impact liver detoxification. Cleaning up the digestive system and improving immunity is the next step followed by assessing for heavy metals. The one thing I know to be true in autistic children is that they have major difficulty with detoxification of everyday chemicals and foods. Because these children are so sensitive and so many things affect the development of the nervous system. The good thing to this new research is not that we necessarily need to give our autistic children high doses of oxytocin but to know that there are chemical and hormonal imbalances in these children that need to be addressed. Autism is treatable, please remember this.

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Is ADD Caused by Your Child's Environment?

Attention Deficit Disorder is a problem with many children. New research indicates that common household products may be related to your child's ability to focus in school.  Most parents don't realize that their kids are being exposed to various chemicals daily in their home and school. If your child has been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, there are a few things to consider before you ask the pediatrician to prescribe Ritalin or the like. Phthlates, a additive to plastics to allow plastics to become softer and more flexible have been implicated in ADD in children. The phthlates are disrupting normal hormone synthesis and transmission leading to neurological toxicity or ADD. Phthlates are a fat soluable toxin which has also been implicated in the development of diabetes. 

So let's think about this....if phthlates are in molded plastics and soft plastic things like vinyl or flexible plastic toys you can imagine that your child has been exposed to a lot of phthlates in the short amount of time that they have been around. Also, since phthlates are fat soluble molecules the exposure to them can easily be stored in our fat cells and one of the biggest repositories of fat in your body is your brain. Apparently, mothers who test high in phthlates while pregnant will have children who score worse in aggression, attention and conduct than those children whose mother's had low levels of phthlates. 

If you are like me and was born in the 60's when the use of plastics was just starting to get integrated into everything we eat, drink and put on our skin. When I was a kid, Coke came in glass bottles or aluminim cans. Now even our water bottles are plastic. So not only is ADD and ADHD being diagnosed at record levels, so too is autism (something almost unheard of 25 years ago) and childhood obesity. 

No we can't blame it all on phthlates but it's a start to keep your kids healthy in the future. Remember that food colorings have also been implicated in ADD/ADHD so if your child is predisposed to have attention or focus problems, cutting out the Skittles and M&M's would be another step in the right direction. Lastly, I've found that many children in my practice who have temperment issues and frequent meltdowns or who deal with anger issues are vitamin B12 deficient. Particularly the methyl form of B12 injections can benefit them. Usually in these cases oral B12 supplements don't seem to work well. The most common form of B12 injections is in a cyano form meaning that the binder is bound to cyanide rather than methyl groups. The methy B12 is MUST more effective in children with temperment problems. A trial injection will give you a hint on whether or not this may be helpful for your child. Methyl B12 needs to be compounded by a pharmacy and are usually given in very small syringes with a very thin needle and is virtually painless. 

Parents can check their beauty products, skin products for chemical contamination on the Environmental Working Group's website.  The Cosmetic Safety Database is an invaluable resource for choosing healthier products for our kids.  Try and choose products that are 5 or less on the toxicity scale, preferably 3 or less.

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Two All-Beef and Ammonia Patties?....Does That Sound Appetizing?

Restaurant chains and beef processors defended their products' safety Thursday after a report that an ammonia treatment thought to kill harmful germs in meat isn't as effective as the industry and regulators believed.

via abcnews.go.com

It's hard to imagine how far reaching the introduction of ammonia to beef products can be on our health as a nation. Not to mention how it is now determined that the ammonia added is not as effective in killing harmful germs like e. coli and salmonella.

First of all, virulent strains of e. coli and salmonella would not be overrunning our food supply if we weren't so cavalier on adding antibiotics to everything cows eat. This just breeds overgrowth of hearty strains of bad bugs.

Second, ammonia is never fully cleared out of the beef so you get a dose of ammonia every time you eat your favorite fast food burger. Ammonia is categorized as a high health hazard to humans and has been documented to have effects on the GI, liver, nervous, reproductive systems if ingested. If inhaled it is known as a irritant to the skin and respiratory system.

Finally adding ammonia to our food is really a short-sighted way of looking at food safety. We are just opening up a whole can of worms for development of super-bug strains not to mention the long term health risk of consuming ammonia in your beef.

Solution: buy organic, grass-fed beef. Grass fed beef doesn't get antibiotics therefore they are not at risk for developing super-bugs in their digestive systems. The cows are healthier from the start, aren't pumped full of hormones and live a happier life. Grass fed beef are the true "Happy Cows" of California.

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Safe Effective H1N1 Flu Vaccine Alternative

NAET Treatments for H1N1 and Influenza A for Adults and Children. 

Available November 20, 2009

As many of you know I have been against the swine flu vaccine because I feel that it has not been sufficiently tested on enough people or for long enough. Historically the Swine flu vaccine had significant irreversible problems for the vulnerable including a tragic and deadly neurological disorder called Guillian-Barre Syndrome. For this and many other toxicity reasons I am opposed to the Swine Flu vaccine and worry about long term side-effects.

Because of my concerns I've mostly focused on educating people on flu prevention and immune system support including publishing my flu prevention protocol initially reserved only for my current patients.

Now we are announcing our very safe and very effective Swine Flu Vaccine Alternative. This consists of NAET treatments for Swine Flu and if desired the seasonal flu as well.  Our choice to treat people using NAET and swine flu is safe for kids with autism and ADD/ADHD or any neurological disorder or immune deficiency.

As many of you know, NAET is excellent at desensitizing people to environmental allergens, chemical and food sensitivities. NAET has also been used effectively for treating chronic viruses such as epstein barr, herpes, HHV6 and Lyme disease. So Dr. Wang has decided to offer H1N1 and influenza A treatments for NAET desensitization.

How does it work? For those of you who have never had NAET done, it is a painless, needle free acupressure technique for balancing the body's energy meridians to a chemical, food, allergen, toxin, virus or bacteria. Optimally, the treatment is given BEFORE exposure or infection but can work as a quick and effective antidote to the flu as well. For most people only one treatment is required for immunity. As is true with the vaccine, immunity may be total or have a reduced severity for flu infection.

Also Available

NAET treatments for ameliorating side effects of the H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine for those of you who choose to vaccinate.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call our offices at 650-327-2053 for appointments in Palo Alto or Sausalito. 

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Seasonal Flu Vaccine and Its Dark Side

An interesting article published in the highly regarded medical journal, The Lancet last week presented a theory that supports my concerns for the recommendation of the yearly flu shot.  The article in the Lancet is titled, "Yearly Influenza Vaccines: A Double Edged Sword?" I've always held that ensuring your immune system is strong is really the best defense against colds, flus and it's complications.  Using the seasonal flu shot every year has been a concern of mine for my patients from a toxicity point of view such as allergy, mercury and squalene concerns that affect the body's neurological system and can cause unforeseen side effects in the people who are susceptible.  Also, I've always held that natural immunity is better than immunity derived from a vaccine.  This article written by a group of virus experts from the Netherlands supports my point of view in light of emerging and more threatening strains of influenza A such as the H1N1 pandemic and the much more frightening, yet more rare and more deadly Avian flu (H5N1 strain). 

The article explains that getting the yearly flu shot only protects you from the strains placed into the vaccine but does not generate a full immune response where all lines of your immune system get involved.  We think of the immune system as just one thing but in actuality there are many lines of cells that make up your immune system.  The different lines of cells have different responsibilities and allow for a more quick and full immune response to something you have already been infected with in the past so that you don't get sick from something again.  

You cannot develop full immunity to a virus if you have never had the infection because your immune system does not get fully involved.  Equally complex are viruses and their ability to mutate.  So one strain of virus that you may have immunity to that was derived from a vaccine does not give you partial or full immunity to another of it's cousins.  The point of the article is that the seasonal flu vaccine may truly limit a body's ability to respond to NEW strains of similar but not identical flu viruses.  For instance your flu vaccine may have the ordinary influenza strains thought to be problematic for the year and it will likely give you immunity to those specific strains.  Come a new guy into the neighborhood that your body has never seen like the swine flu, H1N1 and because your body has had partial immunity to other influenza A strains the body delays responding to the H1N1 strain and thus allows it to replicate in your body for longer.  This may be why kids and young adults seem to be getting more sick and get much worse complications to the H1N1 flu than older people.  The young adults and kids have been getting the yearly flu shot for most of their lives and their immune system is delayed in recognizing the H1N1 flu strain until it gets too much of a foothold therefore leading to more complications and in the worst case scenarios, death.

Older people have been around for longer and have had in their past a significant encounter with influenza that had gotten the whole immune system involved in order to fight it off.  Having done that in the past, then the immune system has a memory of what was done and can react to a new strain of virus like the H1N1 more quickly.  Not to say you won't get sick and be miserable but in general these people recover without much effort given the alternatives.  

In natural medicine we try to talk about how to keep your immune system as strong as possible so that if it has to encounter a new virus it can recognize it and get onto fighting it as soon as humanly possible.  Not that you might not get sick from the flu but if you do, you might not end up in the hospital or with a horrible pneumonia.  So, practically speaking, wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when you cough, avoid sugar and sweets, ensure you are taking a good vitamin C an D supplement.  You just might fare better even without the flu shot than your friends.  

For more information on supporting your immune system, read these articles:

• What not to Eat When Fighting a Cold
• Boost Your Immune system
• Elderberries vs. Tamiflu

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The Allergy Miracle

It never ceases to astound me about the healing power of the body and the yet untapped understanding on how the physical body interacts with the energetic aspects of the body and cells.  Case in point.  In our office for the past 8 years or so we have been using a technique called NAET.  NAET is a permanent allergy elimination technique that in one treatment can desensitize you to almost any food or environmental allergen.  Compare that to hundreds of uncomfortable allergy shots that may or may not work.  It's actually miraculous in some cases what NAET treatments can accomplish.  It can get rid of food allergies that lead to asthma and eczema. You can digest and absorb vitamins and minerals better. You can survive a Spring without hayfever or antihistamines. Alcoholics, smokers and drug addicts can easily withdraw from the addictive substances and avoid falling off the wagon. What could be better?

The funny thing is that so few people know about NAET and how it can affect the body.  NAET was designed by a Dr. Devi Nambudripad, a doctor in Southern California over 25 years ago.  She combined acupuncture meridian understanding and a background in chiropractic to come up with a way to desensitize herself to foods that she was intolerant to.  Thus NAET was born. I'm one of over 4000 doctors that she has personally trained to do NAET and given the incredible success I've seen with patients, I'm astounded that more people don't get NAET done for their allergies, addictions and food sensitivities.  The only thing I can assume is that people don't know about it's efficacy and range of utility.

So I'm taking this opportunity to tell you that despite the look of this odd and strange treatment, it's effectiveness is truly miraculous.  The autistic kids I treat speak more quickly and have amazing presence, even in the most severe cases.  In fact, autistic kids can be treated exclusively with NAET and recover without any other intervention.  I personally use a few other tricks up my sleeve but for some kids it can be a god-send.  Don't be put off by the muscle testing and the odd breathing technique that is involved with NAET.  The only thing I can say is that you must experience it to see the amazing results.  I usually warn my patients that although the treatment seems odd, the results are just phenomenal.  Of course some doctors are better at doing the energy balancing than others but if you get a great doctor who practices NAET, you will see amazing turnarounds in your health.

Some examples of conditions to be treated with NAET:

• Asthma
• Eczema
• Chronic Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Alcoholism
• Caffeine, drug or cigarette addictions
• Chemical sensitivities
• Sensitivities to atmospheric changes like heat, cold, altitude or humidity
• Food sensitivities
• Environmental allergies like pollen, dustmites, molds
• Food allergies to foods like peanuts or strawberries
• Diabetes
• Yeast/candida
• Depression
• Repeated viral or bacterial infections
• Any and all skin conditions
• Brain fog and memory concerns
• Blood pressure problems
• Water retention
• Anxiety
• Digestive disturbances like IBS, colitis and Celiac's disease
• Constipation or Diarrhea
• ADD/ADHD
• Autism
• Eating disorders
• Weight problems
• Diabetes

So the list is long on how NAET affects the body.  One single treatment is usually sufficient for a single allergy.  Most people have multiple allergies to the various things that affect a chronic condition.  For the very sensitive you may need to be treated for 30 or more treatments. The great thing is how effective the treatments are if you follow the directions of your doctor.  No one should have any of the above health problem because there is always a way to get your body back into health if you change your diet, have the right nutrients and to balance your body's energy meridians using NAET. 

Finding a doctor who is willing to look deeper to find the underlying cause is often the trick in our current medical system focused on drugs and symptom based treatment.  Thinking outside of the box will go a long way toward prevention of illness and reducing our national health care costs.

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Heavy Metals and Health Problems During Pregnancy

A recent study done at Harvard School of Public Health and published in the Journal Environmental Health Perspectives links arsenic exposure to the development of gestational diabetes.  Over 500 women were tested and it was found that accumulated arsenic exposure increased a pregnant mom’s risk of developing diabetes almost 3 times over those who were not exposed.  This reinforces my recommendation to all of my patients who are thinking of getting pregnant.  To get checked for heavy metals and subsequently treated if you are high in heavy metals.  I started this practice early on in my career when I realized that the autistic children I was treating had accumulations of mercury and lead that I could not attribute to any other source other than from their moms during pregnancy and breast feeding.  Interestingly, mercury and lead can be transferred to an unborn child via cord blood and breast feeding.  Preventative medicine works the best when people actually start to think ahead about their plans for health care and family planning.  Few people realize that the heavy metals they are exposed to on a day to day basis can be avoided and reduced by taking some simple precautions.  Here are some pre-pregnancy tips.

• Filtering your drinking and cooking water is a simple and relatively easy process to do.  An inexpensive reverse osmosis filter can significantly reduce your exposure to heavy metals like arsenic and other harmful chemicals like chlorine and fluoride in your water.

• Stop all seafood and fish intake before you try to get pregnant.  In particular, tuna, swordfish, and shark of all kinds and farmed salmon.  This will reduce your current exposure to mercury and one dinner of swordfish or shark can take months to clear from your body, if at all.

• Remove silver fillings and have them replaced by a biological dentist who knows how to properly remove a mercury filling without reexposing you to the mercury is another good idea before you try to get pregnant.  If the fillings are really old, it is better to leave the fillings in rather than to get them removed by a dentist that doesn’t know what they are doing.

• Knowing how toxic your air and water are is important to help you figure out how concerned you should be before you plan to get pregnant.  Go to scorecard.org to check your county’s exposure.

• Get tested for heavy metals.  A blood test is not sufficient for analyzing heavy metal accumulation over time.  A urine challenge with a chelating agent like DMSA is the best test for this.  Hair analysis also misses a great part of organic forms of mercury. 

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Your Diet Soda Is Linked to Lymphoma and Leukemia

Many diabetics and people who are concerned about weight gain drink diet soda in order to keep their svelt figures.  However, it is increasingly a concern about the toxicity of NutraSweet on your body's cells.  We've all heard about formaldehyde and it's uses in embalming the dead.  Well, as it turns out NutraSweet aka Aspartame has increasingly been shown in research to turn into formaldehyde in the cell.  While in the cell, aspartame turns into formaldehyde and embalms the cell while damaging the DNA in the cell.  In further research, the early claims that the aspartame is easily eliminated by the body had been found to be "patently false" scientists finding that the aspartame turned formaldehyde is actually very difficult to eliminate from the body, hence building up in your cells leading to cellular damage.  

In the past few years we have heard more about how aspartame is an excitotoxin to the nervous system leading to headaches and ADD and hyperactive kids and adults.  But now we are learning just how toxic formaldehyde is to the body and how in recent studies there is a definite link between aspartame turned formaldehyde and the individual's risk of brain tumors, lymphoma and leukemia.  My work in environmental medicine and helping people detoxify from their environment has found that we are constantly being exposed to chemicals such as formaldehyde in places such as new furniture and clothing stores.  What none of us need is our body's producing our own internal source of formaldehyde.  

So buyer beware of the diet soda you are so addicted to.  Also, a number of Sugar-free products contain NutraSweet or aspartame including gums and diabetic foods.  Some good natural alternatives are things like Xylitol or maltitol (caution that too much of it during a day will lead to extreme diarrhea...something you only want to experience once in your life).  Stevia is a sweet tasting herb that can be added to drinks to sweeten the flavor.  Ultimately, reducing your own taste for sweet drinks is a huge benefit for your health.  Get used to drinking water or iced tea, plain.  As many of you see, there are many obese people drinking "diet" sodas leading to further cravings for sweets and carbs and leading to weight gain.  Increasing your protein intake during the day will balance your blood sugar and reduce your craving for sweets.  

Ultimately, I know, having helped hundreds of people with changing diets and bad habits that one of the most difficult habits to break is that diet soda habit.  It makes people crazy and very grumpy.  But it must be done for your own lifelong health.  All you parents out there, make sure you don't get your kids started on diet sodas.  It can end up being a life long addiction like cigarettes and smoking, difficult to break!

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Anesthesia Concerns for Children's Brains

A recent study in April 2009, Anesthesiology Journal suggests that the use of anesthesia in children, especially very young children (under age 3) puts them at risk for being diagnosed with developmental disorders or learning disabilities as they get older.  This makes sense since children whose brains are still developing and are easily affected by assaults of chemicals or toxins that are in anesthetics.  This study is particularly of importance since anesthetics are being more liberally used in dentistry and out-patient testing procedures especially for children.  Many parents of autistic children in my practice will ask me about the safety of anesthesia and their kid's dental procedures.  Up until now, I've always said that they should weather the procedures just fine with some extra liver detox support to get the anesthetics out of the system more quickly.  However, in light of this new study, I will probably rethink allowing this for dental procedures unless the procedures are imperative.  

It seems that one use of anesthetics were fine and did not seem to have a long term impact on the brain of children and two uses increased the risk of developing a learning disability by 59%.  Three or more uses increased the risk by a whopping 2.6 times.  Obviously, the longer the child is under anesthesia, the more at risk they are for developing development disorders.  

This research was done on healthy children with no brain deficits or learning problems at the start of the study.  I am supposing that the risk for children who already have learning disabilities or developmental problems like autism or ADD/ADHD will find that their risk might go up exponentially or exacerbate their current situation.  As parents, it is important to take this into consideration prior to allowing your child to undergo procedures that require anesthesia.

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