Notes from the Professor - Tune Up Your Immune System

I've been busy, so I haven't posted in a while! So instead I've decided to repost an article written by Dr. Stephen Chaney, whose research I follow.

He teaches medical students nutrition at the Univ. of North Carolina at Chappel Hill (one of the top schools in the nation for nutrition), and he holds the UNC Medical Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professorship. Besides teaching at UNC, he's also run a cancer research laboratory there for 34 years. He is the author of 100 peer reviewed scientific journal articles & the author of the nutrition chapters of the most widely used medical school biochemistry text book.

So if you want to know about nutrition and your immunity, you're getting advice from one of the top experts!

Notes from the professor - read below...

~ Ashley

Tune Up Your Immune System

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Many of you have been saying to me:

"All I hear about in the news is shots and drugs. Is there a holistic approach for strengthening my immune system?"

My answer is yes! Here are my suggestions:

1) Start by eating a balanced diet composed of whole, unprocessed foods without a lot of fat and simple sugars. A great place to start designing a balanced diet that is perfect for your age, gender and activity level is www.mypyramid.gov.

2) Get plenty of sleep. The experts recommend 8 hours of sleep a night, but a majority of Americans get far less than that.

3) Exercise on a regular basis. Both too little and too much exercise can weaken the immune system (You might have guessed that the problem for most of us is the "too little", not the "too much"). The experts recommend at least 30 minutes every day.

4) Maintain ideal body weight. Those excess pounds really zap our immune system.

5) Minimize your reliance on medications. Many common medications weaken the immune system (Just listen to the disclaimers in the TV commercials for examples). But you must work with your physician on this. Once your physician knows that you are willing to take personal responsibility for your diet and lifestyle, they will generally be willing to minimize the number of medications that they prescribe.

6) Focus on the positive. Studies show that optimists are healthier and life longer than pessimists. And the good news is that anyone can cultivate an attitude of optimism. For most of us it is a lifestyle choice – not something that we were born with.

7) Add a supplement program to assure that your immune system is functioning optimally. In the ideal world supplements wouldn't be necessary, but there are very few "saints" who do a great job in all 6 of the areas that I mentioned. A well designed supplement program fills in the "gaps". We want to make sure that we are getting adequate:

- B vitamins and protein because our immune cells need to divide very rapidly when we have immune challenges.

- Antioxidants because our immune cells create lots of free radicals.

- Trace minerals, especially iron and zinc, because they are required by important enzymes of the immune system.

- Vitamin D because it is vitally important for a strong immune system and most of us are not getting enough.

- Probiotics (healthy bacteria) because "bad" bacteria and yeast in our intestines can weaken the immune system.

- Omega-3 fatty acids to modulate the immune system once it has taken care of the invading bacteria or viruses.

We don't need megadoses. We just need enough.

One final thought: A holistic approach to strengthening our immune system is not an "either - or" proposition.

I've seen estimates that the flu shot is 66% effective in preventing the flu for people with a strong immune system and only 33% effective in preventing the flu for people with a weak immune system.

P.S. My personal recommendation for the supplement component of your holistic approach to a strong immune system is the Vitalizer Wellness Program (Vitalizer, Cinch and Nutriferon) with Defend and Resist Complex in your medicine cabinet for when you first sense that you are "catching" something.

The Dieting Dilemma

(image from freedigitalphotos.net, photographer Michal Marcol)

The Atkins Diet, the Beverly Hills Diet, the Grapefruit Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, sound familiar? They all promise short-term dramatic results, but fad diets like these are often too restrictive and monotonous. Plus, they don't teach you how to permanently change your lifestyle to promote long-term healthy eating and regular physical activity. Dieting, done the wrong way, can lead to:

• A reduced metabolic rate - If you reduce your calories below 1,200 a day, your body's metabolism slows to conserve energy so you use only that amount of calories a day to maintain your weight. It's a survival mechanism we have inherited from our ancestors who experienced periods of "feast or famine." And I don't know anyone who could be happy eating less than 1,200 calories a day.
  
  
• Lost muscle mass - Your body will hold on to fat until you absolutely need it for survival. With most diets, the weight you initially lose is typically from the loss of muscle and water. This loss of muscle mass is absolutely detrimental to your weight control efforts, because muscle is metabolically active tissue. It requires energy for its survival so when you lose muscle, you slow down your metabolism even further. In fact, for every pound of muscle you lose, you lose the ability to burn about 50 calories. Last time you dieted, you may have lost 15 lbs, but it's likely that six pounds of your weight lost was muscle. That means you may have lost the ability to burn 300 calories per day.
  
  
• Regain of fat weight - Because you've slowed your metabolism down by cutting calories and losing muscle on an unhealthy diet, when you stop dieting and return to your usual eating habits, weight regain is inevitable. And the sad part is not only have you gained the weight back, but you've gained it back as all "fat weight". Yes, you've actually made your body "fatter" as a result of dieting.

What Can You Do??? You must make sure you do something when you're dieting to preserve your muscle! Otherwise, all your hard work will be for nothing.

• For me, I strength train twice a week at Trinity Fitness. I'll have no problem keeping my muscle! I could easily do the workouts by myself at home, but I do much better working out with a group. If I leave it up to myself, I'll never get around to it. :)

• For my mom and my aunt who do not strength train, they consume Shaklee's Cinch products once a day. It's got extra leucine which spars muscle while you lose weight from fat. Holding on to your muscle mass while you lose weight also helps protect you from the drop in metabolic rate that typically occurs with most diets. And keeping your metabolic rate from dropping can help you break the cycle of perpetual dieting.

What Do Moms in Europe Know that We Do Not??

Did you know that 70% of our immune system is found in our digestive tract? That's why the foods you eat and the chemicals they contain/don't contain have a big impact on your health. Poor Dane - I must have been feeding him a lot of bad stuff! Or maybe he just wasn't getting enough of the good food. :)

1 in 3 American children now has either autism, ADHD, allergies, or asthma. Did you know that austim, diabetes, and obesity is often referred to as American epidemics?

Here's some wonderful statistics about what's happened in the past 20 years in the US:

• 400% increase in food allergies
• 300% increase in asthma, & 56% increase in asthma deaths
• 400% increase in ADHD
• 1,500% to 6,000% increase in autism

Mothers in most developed countries are told to avoid chemical toxins during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The only thing I was told to avoid when I was pregnant was lunchmeat!

What Moms in Europe Know

• 75% of processed food contains unlabeled genetically engineered chemical toxins
• 91% of all soy contain these toxins (organic soy is okay)
• 60% of all corn contain these these toxins

Genetically modified food (aka GMO) was introduced in the US in the 1990's. The theory was that genetically modified food would be healthier than food sprayed with pesticides. When these products were introduced, the US did not require it to be mentioned on the label. However, 45 other countries and governmental agencies in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Japan require food labels to mention if it contains GM food. Some of these countries even ban GMO food.

Since studies have not yet proven these products are safe for children, most developed countries will not allow genetically modified food. The US is the exception, so we are allowing a giant experiment on ourselves and on our children.

So What Can You Do?

Just start by doing 1 thing! That's easy! For instance, if you love cereal for breakfast, just switch to an organic version.

Check out this website from a former Houstonian mom for great tips: http://www.allergykids.com/

But Will It Really Make a Difference in My Child's Life?

Yes, considering what your child eats right now will have an effect on his life years from now. During childhood, cells rapidly divide, and the body is very vulnerable to damage from toxic substances in unhealthy foods and the environment. Even the beginning of heart disease starts in childhood!!

For More Research, Checkout These Studies:

Maynard M, Gunnell D, Emmett P, Frankel S, Davey Smith G. Fruit, vegetables, and antioxidants in childhood and risk of adult cancer: the Boyd Orr cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2003 Mar;57(3):218-25. Erratum in: J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007 Mar;61(3):271.

Fuemmeler BF, Pendzich MK, Tercyak KP. Weight, Dietary Behavior, and Physical Activity in Childhood and Adolescence: Implications for Adult Cancer Risk. Obes Facts. 2009;2(3):179-186.

Michels KB, Rosner BA, Chumlea WC, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Preschool diet and adult risk of breast cancer. Int J Cancer. 2006 Feb 1;118(3):749-54

Berenson GS, Wattigney WA, Tracey RE, et al. Atherosclerosis of the aorta and coronary arter- ies and cardiovascular risk factors in persons aged 6 to 30 years and stud- ied at necropsy (the Bogalusa heart study). Am J Cardiol 1992;70:851-58.

Part 3 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

How do you find a good supplement?

Dr. Mark Hyman mentions in his "UltraMetabolism" book that the supplement industry is "a sea of poor quality and lowered standards" due to the limited regulation. And he notes that "all brands are not created equally."

So how can you find a good supplement? You can find safe AND effective supplements!! Things to look for are supplement companies that have published clinical studies (this is not a requirement for the industry & most companies do not publish their studies) as well as whether or not the company conducts quality control tests on their ingredients.

Why is it important for you to view clinical studies?

First of all, if a company does not have ANY clinical studies, then they are purely in the supplement industry to make a profit. Secondly, if a company does conduct their own studies, then wouldn't you want to flaunt it?? Sadly, I have yet to hear back from Centrum on their studies!

Why is it important for companies to conduct quality control tests on their ingredients?

Because they need to know if the ingredient is contaminated! There are a couple of companies being sued right now for having PCBs (causes cancer & reproductive problems) in their Omega 3 supplements. That's why you want to make sure the company tests their ingredients for contaminant

An extremely alarming example of lack of quality control regarding ingredients is when the FDA found lead in 320 out of 324 children's and women's vitamins they tested. Yes, you did read that correctly!!! My kids used to take one of the vitamins on the lead list. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is NO SAFE LEVEL of LEAD in children.

Is what's written on the label always accurate?

No, it's not! Tod Cooperman, the president of ConsumerLab says "it's shocking how many products really don't have what they claim on their labels. The buyer has to be careful."

Other questions to ask yourself:

Do I feel better taking the vitamin? If you don't feel better after 4 months, then you it might not be helping you.

Does the vitamin contain artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors? Avoid these. Some artificial colors that are allowed in the US are actually banned in other countries.

Does the vitamin contain trans fat? That would be anything with the word "hydrogenated." It's a manmade fat that can block metabolism, cause weight gain, and increase your risk of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. The super yucky thing is that trans fat products stay stable in land fills for generations!! My kids and I used to take vitamins that contained trans fat. :(

Does the vitamin contain aspartame? Look for words like NutraSweet, neotame, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, sucralose, and dihydorchalcones. This causes an increase in insulin. 92% of independent research shows adverse effects from aspartame. My children's old vitamin used to contain this ingredient!!! I didn't realize what I was given them until I read the ingredient label.

What should I do?

If you want something that's safe and that works, you must research the company. Wish it was easier than that...

To Better Health!

~ Ashley

Part 2 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

Is a synthetic vitamin any different than a whole food vitamin?

Yes!!! How your body processes a wholefood vitamin is much different than how it processes a synthetic vitamin.

I used to take Centrum (a synthetic vitamin), but my friend whose a nutritionist told me to only take a "wholefood" vitamin that was not sold in a pharmacy or grocery store. First of all, she said that grocery stores and pharmacies do not sell wholefood vitamins. But secondly, she said that you do not want to buy a vitamin from a company that spends more money on advertising and marketing than they do on research! So I found a wholefood vitamin and was surprised that I actually felt better! I wouldn't crash in the afternoon like I always did. From time to time I would stop taking the wholefood vitamin, and my energy levels would plummet. I've tried 2 different brands of "wholefood" vitamins, and both have helped my energy. And it only costs me 34 cents a day and 50 cents a day for my kids!

A whole food supplement is important because the human body does not utilize synthetic vitamins as efficiently as whole food supplements. For example, synthetic Vitamin E's bioavailability is reduced at least 50% compared to Vitamin E in a whole food supplement!!

Check out Steve Nash's article in Men's Journal about how much better he feels on whole food supplements.

How regulated is the industry?

I feel like most people have no idea about how unregulated the supplement industry is and how careful you must be about what products you buy. I really didn't know either.

Basically, supplement regulation falls under the FDA, and the FDA regards supplements as "food" and not as drugs. However, the FDA does not have much funding to regulate the supplement industry and instead leaves it to each company to regulate themselves. Too many examples of companies that disregard safety and ethics exist. A congressional hearing was held recently regarding Johnson and Johnson over children's Tylenol/Benadryl/Motrin/Zyrtec manufacturing problems. These medications are regulated, so imagine how many "Johnson & Johnson" type companies exist in the supplement industry!

And a recent congressional report showed levels of mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and pesticides in almost all of the vitamins tested. I certainly don't want to be giving products with those in it to my kids!

To be continued...

Part 1 - Lead and Cadmium in Vitamins?? What's Up with That??

I've been researching a lot lately about supplements trying to find the best products out there for my kids. Mainly for Dane because he was always sick. He was anemic at age 14 months following a "major" virus, and at one point he had chronic sinusitis. Luckily, he's better now! When he was anemic, the pediatrician had me give him a multivitamin as well as an iron supplement. I also learned not to give milk at meals (it interferes with iron absorption) and to add some type of Vitamin C (fruit or juice) at every meal. The Vitamin C helps you absorb iron better. So that's when I started giving my kids a daily multivitamin.

Do I or my child need a supplement?

For children and infants - they need a Vitamin D supplement of 400 IU according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Carol Wagner, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, says that "We know more about vitamin D than we did even five years ago. Because of lifestyle changes and sunscreen usage, the majority of the population shows signs of deficiency as determined by measured vitamin D levels in blood.”

For adults - yes according to Dr. Mark Hyman who wrote UltraMetabolism. Dr. Peter Libby, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Obesity Program at the Children's Hospital in Boston, are both supporters of Dr. Hyman's work.

For ALL adults, Dr. Hyman reccomends you take the following 3 supplements:

1. Multivitamin & multimineral combo (92% of Americans are deficient in AT LEAST 1 or more essential vitamins and minerals.)

2. Calcium, magnesium, & vitamin D supplement (this is in addition to the D in the multi vitamin because most American adults and children are now deficient in this super important vitamin)

3. Omega-3 supplement (Dr. Hyman recommends only taking this from a "reputable company." You don't need to take this one if you are one of the lucky 1% of Americans who gets all the Omega-3's from their diet!!!)

This information also follows the guidelines published in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Can't I just get all my nutrients from food?

Yes, if you eat a VERY WELL balanced diet of 4,000 calories per day. Do you want to do that??

According to the nation's leading epidemiologist, Gladys Block, a deficiency of vegetable and fruit intake can be catastrophic. She states that, "it is likely that substantial public health benefits and disease reduction could be achieved if consumption of fruits and vegetables were greatly increased over the low levels seen in the United States and other industrialized nations." She also states that, in the United States, "the population's intake of these foods is remote from recommended levels."

To be continued...

Dane is Allergy Medication FREE!!!

Dane is now off his 2 allergy medications, and he has NO runny nose despite the tree/grass pollen being high!!! And we are playing outside A LOT!! In the past, his nose would stop running for about 3 days after he finished an antibiotic, and after that it would start running again. So this is unbelievable that he's gone 1 month without antibiotics and is now off all allergy medications.

When we saw the allergist mid April, the allergist wanted to add a 3rd allergy medication because Dan'es nose still was always running. The allergist also thought that Dane might need surgery beginning of summer if the 3rd medication did not work. I decided to hold off on that because I had just started Dane on NutriFeron, and I wanted to see if that would work.

After him having a runny nose for a year, it amazes me that he is now normal. I keep asking him to blow his nose. He tries and then just laughs because nothing is there.

He also had really good days at school last week (teachers noticed him playing more and eating more), and he's only had a couple of "good" days at school this year. They all happened to be when his nose did not run. I didn't realize it bothered him so much until one day (when he'd just come off some antibiotics and his nose was good) he told me he nose didn't hurt anymore. Poor little baby! He didn't know what normal felt like.

What is he doing that allowed him to go off his allergy medications?

He's taking NutriFeron daily. I crush it up, and mix it either with peanut butter or applesauce.

I'm glad he's not taking Zyrtec anymore. It was just recalled by the FDA this week, and I read in the Houston Chronicle in the People's Pharmacy section about someone unable to wean themselves off of it. They were having severe itching reactions every time they tried to stop Zyrtec.

What is NutriFeron?

It's an herbal supplement created by the discover of interferon, Dr. Kojima, a world renowned immunolgist. It took him 40 years to figure out a way to naturally increase the production of interferon in the body. NutriFeron is a combination of 4 plant extracts: pumpkinseed, safflower flower, asian plantain seed, and japanese honeysuckle flower.

Pharmaceutical interferon (chemically made) is very useful in treating diseases and viruses including cancer and the flu, but it is very expensive and has bad side effects. It is also administered by IV.


What is Interferon?

I had no clue till I heard about it in January. Interferon are proteins released by your body in repsonse to pathogens (ex: viruses, bacteria, and allergens). They allow communication between the cells to trigger the immune system to fight the pathogens.


Was I nervous giving Dane an herbal supplement?

No, I was not nervous for 2 reasons: it was made by Shaklee and Dane's pediatrician okayed him taking the product.

First, I would not trust most herbal supplements that are on the market. They either do not work or are not safe. I trust Shaklee's products. They are the ONLY company to ever have a long term study (20 years) done that determined that people who took multiple Shaklee supplements had much better health than people who used other brands or took no supplements at all. This study was conducted by the University of California at Berkely and published in the Nutrition Journal. Furthermore, Shaklee is the ONLY supplement company to have over 90 clinical studies published in peer review journals. This is more than some major universities!! So this just means I trust their product will do what it says it will do.

Secondly, I had the pediatrician review NutriFeron's 4 clinical studies (independent testing) that were published in peer review journals. I also had her look at the ingredients. She said the ingredients would not harm him and that it wouldn't hurt to try him on it! I'm glad I did try Dane on it. If I hadn't, he would be having surgery soon!

Who Else is Taking Shaklee's NutriFeron?

My friend's dad, Charles Conally - he's one of the reason's I started Dane on it. He has 2 autoimmune disorders, and he has not had antibiotics nor allergy medication since he started taking Shaklee products. He's doctor is pretty shocked, and said to keep doing what he's doing.

A friend of a friend's son, Trevin, has a very similar story to Dane. Like Dane, he got sick often starting when he was a baby. Trevin started NutriFeron in the winter, and his runny nose stopped in about 2 weeks (just like Dane). Trevin no longer needs medication and will turn 3 years old this summer. He can play outside with no problems.

What's my advice?

If you are having trouble with allergies or you get sick frequently, you should try NutriFeron out for a month or two. What if it works?? Of course, for a young child, I got my pediatrician's approval first before starting Dane on it.

Let me know if NutriFeron helps/does not help you, and I'll post your experience.

To Better Health!

Ashley

Dane's Path to Wellness!

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time researching various health and nutrition topics. I mainly started to look into nutrition and health because my son is ALWAYS sick. If anyone knows Dane, they know he goes to the doctor a lot. Research was my strongest skill in accounting (tax research is the only 'A' I got in accounting), so my research skills have come in handy.

Maybe some of this information can help other parents who are trying to help their sick kids!

Here's a little overview of some of Dane's illnesses.

Age 6 months to 15 months: 6 double ear infections (1 month he had antibiotics for about 30 days straight!); hand foot mouth disease twice; strep throat twice; RSV; and some "major" virus that caused him to become anemic following a 10 day period of 104 degree fever

He managed to get all of those things without attending mother's day out/day care! Some of those illnesses he caught from his older sister. Despite good hand washing and limiting his trips in public, he managed to get sick for more than 6 months straight. He eventually got tubes in his ears and that helped with the ear infections.

Fast forward to Age 3 (now): constant runny nose that's lasted for 1 year; 6 antibiotics plus 1 steroid in 5 months; $750 spent in 5 months on medication, doctor visits to ENT and allergist, and culture tests done on his nose

If he doesn't improve, then we will schedule an adenoidectomy this summer.

Dane's happiest days at school this year have only been the few times his nose was not running. So you can see why I'm trying everything I can to make him better!

So what am I doing differently to help him?

1. Giving him the highest quality multivitamin, omega-3, and probiotic that I could find on the market. The multivitamin & omega will help with any nutritional deficiencies he may have and probiotics help with allergies and immunity.

2. Giving him Nutriferon which is a product that boosts your immunity and helps with allergies using natural ingredients. Nutriferon was developed by the doctor who discovered interferon. It took him 40 years to discover a way to increase your interferon naturally. I had my pediatrician review the human clinical studies before I started giving this to Dane. She said that there's nothing in it that will hurt Dane, and that it won't hurt to try it!

3. Giving him more protein. When you are sick or stressed, your body needs more protein (sometimes 6 times more than normal!). He doesn't like meat, fish, chicken, nor protein shakes, so I've found an instant protein soy mix that I can cook with. It's got all the amino acids in it which your body can only get through diet. He likes peanut butter, so I give him that too.

4. Using only non-toxic cleaning products including laundry detergent. Traditional cleaning products are full of toxic chemicals and children are more sensitive to chemicals than adults. The allergist said that he may have asthma, and common cleaners give off fumes that can increase the risk of kids developing asthma.

5. Reducing his sugar intake. The bad bacteria in your body feeds on sugar, so that's why it's important to limit his sugar.

6. Using a Britax water filter which reduces the number of chemicals he ingests through the water he drinks.

7. Opening the windows on nice days. According to the EPA, air pollution is 2 to 5 times worse inside the house than outside.

What's his status right now?

Still has a yellow runny nose when we've been outside but no longer has a cough at night nor in the morning. No longer coughs after running around the house a bunch chasing his sister. No longer chokes on food. It's normal for kids to choke on foods when they have a lot of phlegm. We saw the allergist recently, and he said that the inside of Dane's nose looks better!

I just started all of these things, so we'll see how he does!

Maybe 1 or 2 of these tips will help you as well!

Ashley