Dr. Myatt’s HealthBeat Newsletter

April 14, 2006

In this issue:

Vitamin-less Vegetables: The New Nutrient Deficiency. Vegetables and some fruits contain nutrients critical to good health. Current government recommendations suggest that a minimum of 5-9 servings should be eaten daily to prevent disease, but many scientists feel this number should be increased to 10-18 servings. Find out why we need to eat so many veggies (it’s a scandal!), and how you can achieve this goal without turning into a wabbit!

Powerful Cancer-fighting Herb that Drug Companies are Rushing to Imitate. You probably have some in your spice cabinet right now. Use more of it, and you can hedge your bet against cancer, arthritis and blood clots.

The Healing Power of Flowers. Humans spend much time and money cultivating flowers. Science has finally cracked the code on our fascination with these delightful gifts of nature. PLUS: it’s not too late to send flowers for Easter. You’ll want to lavish them on friends and family once you read the studies!

Health Freedom Alert: Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy Under Attack. Bio-identical (natural) hormone replacement therapy (nHRT) is far safer than synthetic and horse-urine hormones used in conventional medicine. It has helped thousands if not hundreds of thousands of women and men over the last several decades. Now, the makers of Premarin© and Prempro© (the dangerous, un-natural hormones) has petitioned the FDA to outlaw our right to prescribe these custom-formulated hormones. Act today to preserve this important health freedom!

Wellness Club Website Wins Award. Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club website was nominated, reviewed, and awarded the “A Better Way Award” for noteworthy contribution to the Natural Health Community. You’ll see us sporting our award logo on the left side of our pages. Interestingly, the logo for the award is a big, red apple—- the same as our Wellness Club logo!

Dr. Myatt and Nurse Mark to Speak in Phoenix. The~Z~Team (Dr. Myatt-Ziemann and Mark Ziemann, R.N.) will be speaking in Phoenix the end of April to both public and medical audiences. The public presentation, titled ADD/ADHD in Children: are there Really Alternatives to Ritalin and Prozac? Is free and open to the public. The second presentation, Nutritional and Botanical Considerations in Cancer Treatment: 2006 Update, will be presented to physicians at the semi-annual AZNMA Medical Conference.

The Shaman’s Lesson of Worth. Think you can’t afford alternative health care? I have people on a daily basis asking me to do pro bono medical consultations. Find out what I learned from an Indian Shaman in my first year of medical practice that makes me say “no” every time to these requests for free services.

Do you have a specific health question? Visit Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club website and find recommendations for over 100 medical conditions. If you want personalized medical attention, please consider a telephone consultation with Dr. Myatt.

Heart and Circulation Health

Keeping the Heart and Blood Vessels Healthy

A healthy heart and circulation are central to healthy aging.

Heart problems, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) and sluggish circulation are common causes of illness and premature death. Contrary to popular belief, a failing heart and circulation is not an inevitable part of aging. With some attention to nutrition, exercise and lifestyle, you can have a healthy heart and circulation for as long as you live, without drugs.

Learn more about how to maintain a healthy heart here:
Rejuvenate Your Heart in Nine Simple Steps

Top Heart and Circulation Recommendations

Heart and Circulation Remedies Heart and Circulation
Health Concerns Bromelain
CoQ10
Essential Fatty Acids
Forskolin (Coleus forskohlii)
Garlic
Grape Seed Extract
Hawthorn Plus+
L-Carnitine
Magnesium
Max EPA
Niacin
Oral ChelatoRx
Red Rice Yeast
Turmeric
Angina
Arrhythmia
Atherosclerosis
Blood Pressure (High)
Cholesterol (High)
Dental Health (a little known cause of heart disease)
Heart Disease
Heart Failure (CHF)
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Hypertension
Phlebitis
Stroke
Thrombophlebitis
Varicose Veins

Dr. Dana Myatt’s Wellness Club

Prescription Fish Oil Now Available!

This just in from the “how dumb does it get?” files…

Enormous amounts of research into the benefits of fish oil have shown that it lowers triglyceride levels, relieves many cases of depression and helps prevent an astonishing number of ailments including osteoporosis, stroke, heart attach, cardiac arrhythmia and some types of cancer. That’s why I’ve been encouraging everyone to add fish oil to their daily health program.

Now, a drug company did another study which showed exactly what we already knew about fish oil—- that it lowers triglyceride levels. They sought and gained FDA approval to offer fish oil as a prescription, at a cost of aprox. 797% more per milligram than Wellness Club brand or other high quality health food store brands. So, instead of a month’s supply at $19.95, you can now enjoy a bottle of 180 caps for $236.89!

As I’ve been warning readers, when the drug companies figure out that a natural substance works, they want a piece of the action. The trouble is, their profit margins will make simple, life-saving natural substances unreachable for most people because of cost.

Meanwhile, There’s even More Reason to Take Fish Oil...

Fish oil could potentially save more lives than cardiac defibrillators, researchers estimate in a new report. In fact, the studies show that the Omega-3 essential fatty acids in fish oil prevent more sudden cardiac deaths due to fibrillation than AED machines. Of course, the makers of these high-tech, high-cost gadgets aren’t going to want you to take fish oil, unless perhaps it’s the $236.89 per bottle prescription brand they can cash in on! What next? Soon we’ll need an Rx. to buy vegetables and fruit at the grocery store because they contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients!

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More Dangers of Antidepressant Drugs Found

I’ve always been adamant about my treatments for depression, anxiety and other “mood disorders”: go for the fix, not the band aid. No one has ever suffered a case of depression because of a Prozac deficiency!

Now, researchers have found that many antidepressants are even more dangerous than we knew. Paxil, for example, increases violent behavior and suicidal tendencies in users, especially teenagers. EXCUSE ME? Why in the world would we put a child on a dangerous “head med,” one that makes the likelihood of depression-related suicide over twice as high as the un-medicated?

Of course, the FDA is helpful, as always <I say with tongue in cheek>. The have recommended “stronger warning labels” on Paxil. I’m sure most patients especially teens read these labels—Not.

Now here’s a vision – millions of Americans, from children to seniors, all popping what are touted as “happy pills” – at least that is what the Big Pharma Companies and their FDA lapdogs want us to believe. All is not well in this chemical paradise though: Not only do these supposed “happy pills” cause an increased potential for suicide in those taking them (especially in teenagers according to the latest research), they are also linked to violent behavior in what the study calls “hostility events.” What a great idea! Take stressed, depressed, suicidal Americans, driving around in multi-ton Urban Assault vehicles, riding the ragged edge of road rage at the best of times, just waiting to have a “hostility event.” It boggles the mind even more that the FDA has no intention of removing these chemical time-bombs from the marketplace. That would make too much good sense.

Natural Alternatives Treat Depression Without Risks

Paxil, Prozac and other SSRI’s fool the body into temporarily recycling the neurotransmitter serotonin. Of course, not everyone who is depressed has a serotonin deficiency. In fact, epinephrine (adrenaline), noradrenalin, dopamine, acetylcholine are all brain chemicals that can be altered in depression. And even though laboratory tests exist to evaluate neurotransmitters, they are rarely performed by conventional doctors who simply dish out SSRI’s without knowing if this is even going to be a good “band aid.”

The safer and more sensible way to treat depression is to evaluate the neurotransmitters, then use precursors (raw material) nutrients that so the body can naturally make more of its own serotonin, adrenaline, noradrenalin or whatever neurotransmitter is deficient. Instead of simply throwing an SSRI drug at anything that looks like depression, a simple, accurate neuro-transmitter test followed by corrective nutritional therapy is a cure, not a deadly stop-gap.

How many acts of violence will it take before these drugs are removed from the marketplace? Of course, now you can pay 20 times as much for prescription fish oil, which is helpful in many cases of depression, thanks to its approval as a drug. Rest assured that the FDA has Big Pharmacy’s best interests—- not yours— at heart.

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FDA Defends Deadly Vioxx, More Proof of Their Allegiance

Vioxx has been found in several major studies to be the most dangerous COX-2 inhibitor drug, increasing the risk of irregular heart rhythms AND kidney disease according to Researchers at The Department of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health. A second study at the University of Newcastle in Australia looked at 500,000 healthy people who used Vioxx and found that as drug dosage increased, so did the rate of heart attacks.

Eric Ding, who co-authored the Harvard study, felt strongly that “The risks of these drugs should have been made known to the public much earlier.”

Dr. David J. Graham, associate director for science in the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, blew the whistle on both Vioxx maker Merck and the FDA itself, stating “It is clear that Vioxx increases the risk of heart attack, and that increase in risk begins with the first tablet a patient takes.”

In spite of the known dangers and mounting evidence against Vioxx, the FDA offered a “spin control” press release stating that “the FDA does not believe the available data rise to the level required to support an official FDA regulatory decision regarding comparative safety and efficacy of the available COX2-selective and non-selective NSAIDs.”

Don’t you sleep better knowing that the FDA is “protecting” us from affordable, safe, proven remedies like fish oil while ensuring that dangerous drugs such as Paxil and Vioxx remain on the market? I know I do.

In Health,
Dr. Myatt

Hepatitis C

Some thoughts and discussion by Dr. Myatt

Hepatitis C and/or Iron Toxicity?

Hepatitis C virus causes inflammation of the liver and is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States. The virus can be spread by sex with an infected person, transfusion of infected blood or contaminated needles. HCV infection often results in chronic liver disease. High iron levels are a major factor in many cases of hepatitis C.

How to Properly Diagnose Iron Overload

Iron overload, or hemochromatosis, is actually the most common inherited disease. Excess iron has been known to be associated with infection for 30 years. When excess iron is present, the body’s normal antibacterial mechanisms become severely compromised, making one more susceptible to infectious disease.

Measuring serum iron is a poor way to do diagnose iron overload, because frequently the serum iron will be normal. The most useful of the indirect measures of iron status in the body a measure of the serum ferritin level in conjunction with a total iron binding level. Ferritin shows us how much iron is stored in the body.

Help and Hope for Hepatitis C

Conventional medicine takes a “Band-aid” approach to HCV. Many of the treatments are “supportive” only, meaning they are designed to manage symptoms but not intended to cure the disease. Interferon, the “latest and greatest” bug guns treatment for HCV has many devastating side effects. Unfortunately, we do little in conventional medicine to find and correct HCV at the causative level.

In Alternative and natural medicine, we go looking for the cause. Iron overload, as described above, is a major factor. Causes of immune weakness, including nutritional deficiencies, food allergies, bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine, increased intestinal permeability, heavy metal toxicity (other than iron) are a few of the factors to be considered.

With the help of an experienced holistic physician, the cause of Hepatitis C can usually be discovered and the disease either cured or put into sustained remission. A normal life span and health span can be expected in HCV when the disease is diagnosed and treated correctly.

Gallbladder “Attacks” and Gallstones

How to End the Pain and Save Your Gallbladder

Nearly half a million gallbladder surgeries — removal, or cholecystectomy to be precise — are performed each year in the US. Many of the people who give up their gallbladders to such surgery appear to be fine, and the pain of their gallbladder attacks are over. Oddly enough, for many others, gallbladder “attacks” continue even in the absence of a gallbladder – in fact, one authoritative source indicates that Post Cholecystectomy Syndrome (PCS) affects at least 10 to 15% of people who have had their gallbladders removed!

Are the people who have given up their gallbladders really “fine”? And why do others continue to have pain in spite of removal of their gallbladder?

Conventional medical doctors make no attempt to help people “save” their gallbladders when stomach or other symptoms is believed due to gallbladder attacks. In fact, many gallbladders are removed even when scans do not show anything wrong with the gallbladder. Because there is no attempt to preserve this organ in conventional medicine, and because many people feel better after surgical removal of their GB, people mistakenly believe that the gallbladder isn’t important and that living without it makes no difference. Unfortunately, this viewpoint is incorrect and can be downright unhealthy.

Contrary to common belief, the gallbladder isn’t just a “vestigial organ” with little or no importance. One of the primary jobs of the gallbladder is to control the flow of bile which in turn is needed to absorb fats, oils and fat-soluble nutrients. Once the gallbladder is removed, these functions cannot happen normally, at least not without additional “outside help” from supplementation.

Although steps can be taken to prevent nutrient deficiencies if you have already had your gallbladder removed, let’s talk about another important question. How can you get rid of gallbladder “attacks” and keep your gallbladder in the first place? After all, “prevention” is always easier than cure.

The Real Cause of Gallbladder Pain

Gallbladder pain is usually blamed on gallstones, although stones are rarely the cause of intermittent GB discomfort.

Stones of a particular size that get stuck in the bile duct are indeed incredibly painful. If they are not passed quickly, gangrene of the duct and gallbladder can set in with life-threatening complications. This is the only true “surgical emergency” of gallbladder stones.

However, most stones are too large to obstruct the gall duct. Other people have “sand,” which is fine particulate that is too small to obstruct the gall duct. So where does the pain come from?

The real cause — and cure — of gallbladder pain was discovered back in 1968 by a physician named James C. Breneman. Dr. Breneman was chairman of the Food Allergy Committee of the American College of Allergists, or ACA (now called the American College of Allergy and Immunology, or ACAI). Dr. Breneman discovered that attacks of gallbladder pain are caused by food allergies.

In 1968, he put 69 people who suffered from recurrent gallbladder attacks on an elimination diet to determine their food allergies. Six of the subjects already had their gallbladders removed but were still having gallbladder “attacks,” a phenomenon known as “post-cholecystectomy syndrome.” Dr. Breneman found that all 69 people — 100 percent! — were totally symptom-free of gallbladder pain when they avoided their individual food sensitivities, and all 69 had a recurrence of their symptoms when they ate the foods they reintroduced the foods they were allergic to back into their diets.

The most common allergenic foods were found to be eggs (92.8%), pork (63.8%), onions (52.2%), chicken and turkey (34.8%), milk (24.6%), coffee (21.7% ), and oranges (18.8%). Corn, beans, nuts, apples, tomatoes, peas, cabbage, spices, peanuts, fish, and rye accounted for between 1 to 14.5% of gallbladder attacks. 14 of the 69 study participants (over 20 percent) also had gallbladder attacks caused by medications.

How Allergies Cause Gallbladder Attacks

The body’s reaction to allergic substances is to cause swelling (remember how your nose swells if you have seasonal allergies?). When food and medication allergies cause swelling of the gallbladder ducts, bile flow is obstructed. The symptoms of allergy-caused obstruction are the same as a stone being stuck in the duct. (Hence the blame being laid on a “stone” when in fact, swelling of the tissue caused by a food or medicine reaction is the real culprit).

The Cure for Gallbladder Pain

The real treatment for most GB pain isn’t to remove this important organ, but to perform an elimination / challenge diet or food allergy testing and find the offending foods and medications.

The Dangers of Gallbladder Removal

What Can Happen Without a Gallbladder?

Vitamin A Deficiency symptoms include changes in vision (night blindness, dry eyes, macular degeneration), decreased immunity and skin diseases.

Vitamin D Deficiency symptoms include cancer, osteoporosis, dental disease and decreased immune function.

Vitamin K Deficiencies are associated with osteoporosis and atherosclerosis

Vitamin E Deficiency is associated with cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and a long list of other health problems.

Essential Fatty Acids regulate everything from cardiac function to immunity and inflammation.

The gallbladder stores and then releases bile
in response to fats contained in a meal. Bile is necessary to assist the digestion of fats and fat-soluble vitamins.

When the gallbladder is removed, vitamins A, E, D, K, and essential fatty acids are not absorbed properly. Unfortunately, the symptoms of declining fat-soluble vitamins and essential fats come on slowly and most often, unnoticeably. Health problems can be many and varied, associated with a deficiency of any or all of these fat-soluble vitamins.

Who would guess that removal of the gallbladder, especially without replacement of bile salts (which is NEVER suggested in conventional medicine), could contribute to the premature development of so many and varied health problems, all related to fat soluble nutrient assimilation?

Other Nutrients for Gallbladder Health

Low stomach acid can cause or contribute to the development of gallstones. Correcting a stomach acid deficiency is of primary importance when addressing gallbladder health.

Here is more information about the many symptoms and diseases associated with low stomach acid.

And here is a simple self-test kit to help you determine if you need supplemental betaine hydrochloride:

Magnesium deficiency is extremely common among people who suffer from gallbladder pain and stones (even when the stones are not the actual cause of the pain). And if magnesium deficiency relates to the development of stones, the news gets even worse for those who don’t supplement: 60% of post-GB removal patients suffer from magnesium deficiency and 40% from calcium/magnesium deficiency.

A high-quality daily multiple vitamin/mineral supplement such as Maxi Multi contains a full daily recommended dose of magnesium and calcium. For those taking “one-per day” multiples or no extra supplementation at all, additional magnesium supplementation is highly recommended.

References

Jensen, Steen W. “Postcholecystectomy Syndrome” Jan 16, 2008 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/192761-overview
“Fast Stats: Inpatient Surgery, 2002,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov), accessed 8/25/04
Breneman JC “Allergy Elimination as the Most Effective Gallbladder Diet.” Annals of Allergy 1968; 26; 83-89
Breneman, James C. Basics of Food Allergy. Springfield (IL): CC Thomas (pub), 1978.
Tsai CJ, Leitzmann MF, Willett WC, Giovannucci EL. Long-term effect of magnesium consumption on the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease among men. Am J Gastroenterol. 2008 Feb;103(2):375-82. Epub 2007 Dec 12.
Szántay J, Varga D, Porr PJ. Post-cholecystectomy syndrome and magnesium deficit.Acta Physiol Hung. 1992;80(1-4):391-8.

Giardia and Giardiasis

Giardia is an intestinal parasite that can cause upset stomach, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, loose or watery stools (diarrhea), vomiting, bloating, excessive gas, and unpleasant sulfurous burping.

Giardiasis (AKA “Beaver Fever”) is a very widespread illness that can cause long-lasting problems for some people while for other people it seems to be nothing more than a minor and transient annoyance.

While the initial infection is usually fairly easy to eradicate with simple antibiotics, the organism can cause damage to the cells that line the intestine. This can result in altered absorption of nutrients and medications, and also can cause derangements of other important functions of the gut. Nutrient and vitamin deficiencies and other widespread problems can result. Development of lactose intolerance is common and may become permanant.

It is also thought that Giardia infection in some people may precipitate IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) which can further impair digestion and assimilation of nutrients.

If you feel that you may be infected, the place to start is to find out for sure.

You will want to ask your doctor for testing: Immunologic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing is available and provides a 90% or better detection rate.

If you are infected then a course of treatment with a simple and relatively safe antibiotic called metronidazole is usually quite effective.

Whether you are infected or not, and especially after treatment, supportive care for your bowel will be important.

Many of Dr. Myatt’s suggestions from her pages discussing Parasites and Irritable Bowel Syndrome will be very helpful to those suffering from or recovering from giardia infection.

Prevention of giardia infection is straightforward: handwashing before any handling of food is the first line of defense. For those travelling in the wilderness or where water purity and quality are suspect, boiling water for a full minute minimum is the gold standard of didinfection – and chemical purification (usually with iodine) and filtration can also be effective.

Research has shown that the herb Berberine can be effective in the treatment of giariasis and other protozoan infections:

“Based on these findings, it appears that the berberine compounds may be useful as chemotherapeutic agents against the 3 parasites tested. (Giardia lamblia, Trichomonas vaginalis and Entamoeba histolytica)”

Referenced from: Kaneda Y1, Tanaka T, Saw T. Effects of berberine, a plant alkaloid, on the growth of anaerobic protozoa in axenic culture. Tokai J Exp Clin Med. 1990 Nov;15(6):417-23.

For more detailed questions, Dr. Myatt is available for Brief Consultation and can help you to understand your illness and your treatment options.

Gluten and Casein

Story At A Glance:

Gluten and casein sensitivities are very common
Children are highly susceptible but many adults are affected too
Gluten and casein can form peptides with opioid properties
Opioids cause a wide range of ill effects
Gluten/Gliadin is common in modern grain varieties
Casein is common in milk and dairy products
Gluten/Gliadin and Casein are “hidden” in many processed foods
Gluten/Gliadin and casein have been implicated in a number of diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and infertility as well as attention deficit disorder
Avoidance is best for sensitive people
Supplementation with digestive enzymes can help
Testing for gluten sensitivity and for gliadin/casein toxicity is available

The Modern Poisons In Your Diet

By Nurse Mark

Are You An Opioid Addict? Is your child?

Modern food growing, processing, and manufacturing practices, coupled with commonly impaired digestion is creating a world of opioid addicts – to the great delight of the Big Agriculture and Big Food industries.

Like any drug pusher, for them the name of the game is to make people want more – even if the thing they are pushing is toxic…

Dr. Myatt and I recently returned from a weekend medical conference. Unlike what you may envision medical conferences to be, this was not a weekend of golfing or skiing or laying about on a beach at some drug company’s expense. No, Dr. Myatt and I each paid handsomely for this 3-day educational grind which featured lectures with exciting titles like “Metabolic factors and their effect on mental health” and “The role of food, nutrition and diets in autism and mental health disorders.”

Whew – talk about stuff that could make your eyes glaze over… Except it didn’t. The further we got into all these dry-sounding lectures the more excited Dr. Myatt and I became. Not that any one of these lectures by itself presented an earth-rocking breakthrough, because while they were interesting and informative, they presented information that we are both mostly familiar with and indeed, have written about in HealthBeatNews before.

No, it was not until we were a few lectures into the weekend that some little things began to fall into place. Many of the lecturers were mentioning the same things, in slightly different ways and contexts, over and over again.

You see, the conference was mostly concerned with the treatment of kids with Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, and other mental health issues in younger people – and everything we were hearing was pertinent to kids.

Until… One of the lecturers opined that these kids were “like canaries in the coal mine”, warning us of the toxicity that we have allowed to surround us in our modern world. A sudden realization hit me almost like a physical slap. I leaned over to Dr. Myatt beside me and said “My God – we have adult patients that are having the same problems as these kids – just in an adult way!” She nodded in agreement.

You see, a two year old can’t really control their behavior when they feel unwell – so they act out, or withdraw, or otherwise behave badly when they don’t feel well. Adults can control their behavior and can often just internalize and “power through” their illness – after all, there are bills to pay, jobs to do, adult responsibilities to meet…

Over and over again through the weekend we heard about bowel problems in these kids, wheat and milk allergies, and gluten, gliadin, and casein intolerance and toxicity. Leaky guts and inflammation were talked about again and again.

While the problems of gluten intolerance and milk allergies were talked about over and over, it became clear that two other more sinister substances were going to be even more important to our patients and our readers.

Two little proteins, gliadin and casein, are poised to prove themselves to be some of the nastiest substances in our modern diet.

You see, these two little proteins are not well digested by many of us. And why should they be? We did not evolve eating foods that contained very much of them – it has not been until more modern times that agriculture has allowed us to have foods containing these proteins cheaply and in much greater amounts. Modern agricultural techniques such as hybridization and animal husbandry have given us very specialized crops and animals that produce higher yields at lower costs than ever before. An unfortunate byproduct of that is an increase in the proteins gliadin and casein in our diets.

But wait a minute you are saying – you guys are all about high protein diets, aren’t you? And protein is protein, right?

Yes, but not really.

You see, gliadin and casein are a couple of proteins that are often incompletely broken down by our digestive systems. They can become partially broken down into peptides, or protein fragments. That might not be such a bad thing, except that the peptides from these particular proteins are opioids.

That’s right, opioids. Morphine-like substances with opiate effects on the brain and other body organs.

Let that sink in for a moment. Opioids. Heroin is an opioid.

Gliadorphin (also known as gluteomorphin) and casomorphin have been proven to have opiate drug like effects. And you are ingesting them when you eat grain and dairy products.

You would likely never allow yourself to be drugged with heroin, but you willingly ingest heroin-like substances every time you eat any of a stunningly huge variety of foods.

Not just the obvious foods like bread or pasta or that healthy breakfast cereal or milk or yoghurt or cheese -but foods that you might never suspect to contain wheat or dairy products.

French fries or potato chips should be OK for someone with a gluten / gliadin sensitivity, right? Wrong – they may be dusted with wheat flour during manufacture – to prevent them from sticking together. And casein is such a common food additive that is often found in imitation sausages, infant formula, processed meats, soups, energy bars, drinks, and many other packaged foods – even toothpaste!

So what – how bad can this be, you ask.

Here is an excerpt from one research paper:

About 65 seconds after treatment with different doses of b-CM7, rats became restless and ran violently, with teeth chattering and with rapid respiration.
Seven minutes later, the rats became inactive with less walking, distancing themselves from the other rat in the same cage, and sitting in, or putting their head against, the corner of the cage. The sound response was reduced and social interaction was absent.
One hour later, the rats showed hyperdefensiveness.
The above behavioral effects of b-CM7 did not occur when rats were pretreated with naloxone (2 mg/kg, IP).
The rats receiving saline did not show any behavioral changes throughout the 2 hour period of observation.
b-CM7 also demonstrated analgesic effects, which could be blocked by naloxone.

– b-CM7 is an abbreviation for the protein fragment or peptide called beta-casomorphin-7. It comes from casein – from milk.
– The rats in the study were injected with either b-CM7 or saline water (a form of placebo – as a control).
– The injections were made intra-peritoneally. That is, into the space in the abdomen surrounding the gut.
– Naloxone is a drug that blocks the effect of opiates like heroin and morphine. It is used in the treatment of drug overdose.
– Analgesic is the medical term for “pain reliever” – morphine is an example of an analgesic.

So, the rats that got the b-CM7 became first hyperactive, then withdrawn and sluggish, then behaved very defensively. Doesn’t that sound a lot like the way a heroin user behaves after “shooting up” with a “hit” of that drug?

The peptide that results from gliadin is called gliadorphin-7 (GD-7) and has been shown to have similar, though less dramatic, effects on test animals.

Both these peptides affect areas of the brain that are relevant to schizophrenia and autism. Both have been found to also affect other organs and b-CM7 has been shown to decrease bowel motility – that is, to be constipating – just like morphine or codeine is constipating.

If that’s not enough to worry about…

Casomorphin, and to a lesser extent gliadorphin have further been implicated in a number of illnesses including Type 1 Diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in addition to autism and schizophrenia.

This may be because gluten / gliadin and casein have both been shown to cause inflammatory and immune reactions as well.

While much of the recent research has been done with autism in mind, it is directly applicable to anyone who is concerned about immunity, inflammation, increased TNF-a, and inflammatory cytokines.

In examining this research there can be no question that dietary exposure to gluten and casein results in increased inflammation which can be measured as increased inflammatory cytokynes and elevated TNF-a and disruptions to normal immune response.

The reactions to gluten in sensitive individuals such as those with Celiac disease has been described by gastroenterologists as “tearing holes in the gut.”

Celiac disease, and sub-clinical Celiac disease can have wide-ranging health consequences, including infertility in women. According to one research paper:

“Patients having fertility problems may have subclinical coeliac disease, which can be detected by serological screening tests. Silent coeliac disease should be considered in the case of women with unexplained infertility.”

How did this come to happen?

With casomorphin, a genetic change that occurred in European dairy cattle around a thousand years ago resulted in breeds of cattle that began to produce a form of casein – a protein normally found in all milk – called A1 beta-casein instead of the more benign A2 beta-casein that was previously present in cows milk and is also present in the milk of other species, including humans.

Like all proteins, casein is made up of amino acids, arranged in very specific ways for each protein. Casein is a strand of 209 amino acids and A1 beta-casein protein differs from A2 by just one single amino acid in that strand. Where A2 beta-casein has a proline amino acid in it’s chain, A1 beta-casein has instead the amino acid histidine in that spot.

Most milk today contains a mixture of A1 beta-casein and A2 beta-casein. A1 beta-casein protein is found in the milk of Holstein cows which are by far the most popular breed in North America. A2 beta-casein protein is found in older breeds of cows such as the Guernsey, Asian and African breeds, as well as goats, sheep, camels, horses, and humans.

With gliadorphin, modern agricultural practices have developed strains of wheat that our ancestors would likely not recognize. Amazingly uniform in height and other physical attributes to make for easier mechanized harvesting, and with far higher protein contents than any ancient wheat, our modern wheat strains seem to be an ideal expression of the art of farming. Unfortunately, with that increase in protein came an increase in gliadin content as well.

Agricultural giants like BASF and Monsanto are not likely to ever allow modern farmers to return to ancient seed-stocks, and farmers would not willingly do so either – farming is a tough business and most could not afford to lose the efficiencies that these new strains of grain allow.

Casein production is a multi-billion dollar a year industry as well. The Kerry Group, originally of Ireland, has been buying up food companies all around the world and is one of the world’s larges suppliers of casein. They unlikely to allow anything so mundane as public health to affect their profit picture.

Further complicating this picture is the fact that these additives make modern foods cheaper to produce, and tastier – even addictive. Many people can neither afford to nor would they want to give up their tasty, addictive, and convenient comfort foods.

What can we do?

Unfortunately, there is little that we can do at this time except to advise people to abstain from foods containing these substances – especially those who have shown any symptoms of sensitivity to them. For someone who has experienced any of the ill effects described in this article we would suggest avoiding these foods for a while, and see if those symptoms improve or resolve. Foods can be added back into the diet then and if symptoms return the answer is clear – those foods must be avoided.

There is a milk company on New Zealand that sells A2 milk in New Zealand and in Australia, but there is no source that we are aware of for A2 only cows milk in North America.

For some people, a diet free of these nasty little protein fragments could even be life-saving!

For many people though, a diet completely free of these two problem proteins, gluten and casein, is almost impossible. Even people who are conscious of the problem and work hard to avoid these substances can still fall prey to hidden sources in foods.

Gluten can be present in foods, but not shown on the label except as “natural flavoring” or “stabilizing agents” or “thickeners.” It can also be found in medicines and even in such things as lip balms – as a “binding agent.”

Casein is just as ubiquitous; it is used in so many processed foods that it is almost impossible to avoid. It can be found hiding in foods such as vegetarian cheese substitute and whipped cream toppings and it is even used in toothpaste!

So, what can be done about these dietary land-mines, waiting to explode and destroy the best efforts of the prudent GFCF (Gluten-Free, Casein-Free) dieter?

Digestive enzymes can help.

Digestive enzymes play a critical role in our digestive process – unfortunately, they decline with age and with some medical conditions and some populations may be subject to hereditary deficiencies in some dietary enzymes. These enzymes are required to break foods down into smaller, more useable components – which is the definition of digestion.The enzyme responsible for the breakdown of gluten and casein is a protease called DiPeptidyl Peptidase IV – usually abbreviated as DPP-IV.

Because of the importance of digestive enzymes to good health Dr. Myatt has been recommending them to her patients for many years.

Now more recently as the problems associated with gluten and casein are becoming better known the importance of DPP-IV in digesting these proteins has prompted her to begin recommending the digestive enzyme product Similase GFCF.

Similase GFCF contains a wide range of digestive enzymes to promote the healthy digestion and assimilation of a mixed diet of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates and it also has increased DPP-IV enzyme activity to support the digestion of hidden sources of gluten and casein in the diet.

While using a digestive enzyme like Similase GFCF will not allow someone to “eat anything” it can certainly make mealtimes less of a “walk through a minefield” and regular use can actually help to heal damage that has been done by these proteins to the lining of the gut.

Testing is also available.

A Celiac Antibody Panel can be useful to demonstrate (or rule out) gluten allergy or sensitivity.

Celiac disease (CD), also known as gluten-sensitive enteropathy or idiopathic sprue, is an hereditary response to gliadin, a protein fraction in wheat. Gluten sensitivity is a non-hereditary response to gluten and shares some similarity of symptoms with celiac disease. Anyone with IBS, chronic diarrhea, gas or other digestive abnormalities of unknown cause should be evaluated for gluten allergy/sensitivity since the condition is far more common than previously thought.

The Celiac Antibody Panel uses drops of blood obtained from finger-stick and the specimen is collected at home and mailed directly to the lab. The test evaluates anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA and immunoglobulins IgG and IgA specific for gliadin. It is considered highly accurate for diagnosing celiac disease and shows gluten sensitivity approximately 50% of the time.

The Gluten/Casein Peptides Test can demonstrate an inability to completely digest gluten (found in wheat, rye barley and oats) and / or casein found in milk can result in the production of neuropeptides called gliadorphin and casomorphin, which can have opiod effects in the body and brain.

This test requires a small amount of first morning urine to evaluate for both gluten and casein peptides.

References and resources for additional information and study:

B.Windham (Ed), Autism and Schizophrenia subgroup related to blockage by toxic exposures of enzymes processing gluten and casein. 2008. http://www.flcv.com/autismgc.html

ZHONGJIE SUN, J . ROBERT CADE; University of Florida, USA: A Peptide Found in Schizophrenia and Autism Causes Behavioral Changes in Rats. Autism March 1999 3: 85-95
“The influence of opioids on human brain function has been described (27). Gliadomorphins and casomorphins are not hydrolyzed by proteolytic enzymes, hence, are very stable families of compounds that can produce long-lasting effects on the CNS (89). Casomorphins are detectable in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (90). One member of this family, -casomorphin-7, caused behavioral changes when injected into rats (91).” http://aut.sagepub.com/content/3/1/85.full.pdf

Christine Zioudrou, Richard A. Streaty, and Werner A. Klee. Opioid Peptides Derived from Food Proteins THE EXORPHINS. From the Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Received for publication, October 20, 1978
http://fondation-maladies-degeneratives.org/Articles/a0f14213437ad7df55b7176fcea35bdf.pdf

Review of the potential health impact of β-casomorphins and related peptides. Report of the DATEX Working Group on β-casomorphins. Issued on 29 January 2009
[Nurse Mark Comment: This European government paper is working very, very hard to find that these casomorphins are not worth following up on – “don’t worry, be happy…” But there is a huge amount of information within the paperwhich contradicts that position – and all well referenced.] http://www.bezpecnostpotravin.cz

Brocke: Is Casein Fattening America? Published online 2008
“After all food reconstruction is big business, not necessarily about making food healthier but certainly making it more flavored more appealing and more likely to be highly addictive. It also serves to make food cheaper to produce but at what cost to our health? The current annual sales of Kerry Group is 3.8 billion with operations in over 15 countries. Obviously there is big money in selling casein and food additives to the unsuspecting public.” http://www.scribd.com/doc/8933807/Is-Casein-Fattening-America

Sun Z, Cade R.: Departments of Medicine and Physiology, University of Florida, Peptides. 2003 Feb;24(2):321-3. Findings in normal rats following administration of gliadorphin-7 (GD-7). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=gliadorphin

Zhongjie Sun, J. Robert Cade, Melvin J. Fregly, R. Malcolm Privette, University of Florida, USA, Autism March 1999 vol. 3 no. 1 67-83. β-Casomorphin Induces Fos-Like Immunoreactivity in Discrete Brain Regions Relevant to Schizophrenia and Autism http://aut.sagepub.com/content/3/1/67.short

Defilippi C, Gomez E, Charlin V, Silva C.: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago. Nutrition. 1995 Nov-Dec;11(6):751-4. Inhibition of small intestinal motility by casein: a role of beta casomorphins? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8719134?dopt=Citation

S Friis, E Dabelsteen, H Sjostrom, 0 Noren, S Jarnum: Gut 1992; 33:1487-1492, Gliadin uptake in human enterocytes. Differences between coeliac patients in remission and control individuals. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1379533/pdf/gut00578-0069.pdf

Author/Activist Dan Mahoney website “Fighting Big Food”: http://danmahony.com/bigfood.htm

Bachem Holding AG Online Catalog of chemicals available for sale: “Gliadorphin-7 is an opioid peptide which is formed during digestion of the gliadin component of the gluten protein. Elevated concentrations of gliadorphin-7 due to insufficient proteolysis has been associated with autism, schizophrenia, and celiac disease.” http://shop.bachem.com/ep6sf/peptides-and-biochemicals/opioid-peptides/4057062/prodH6712.html Gliadorphin-7

Beta-Casein website: “This website has been created by A2 Dairy Products Australia Pty Limited as a general information resource on the A1 and A2 beta-casein proteins.” http://www.betacasein.org/?p=home

Meloni GF, Dessole S, Vargiu N, Tomasi PA, Musumeci S. Source: Clinica Pediatrica ‘A. Filia’, Università di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Clinica Ostetrica e Ginecologica, Università di Sassari, Sassari, and Ospedale ‘S. Giovanni di Dio’, 07026 Olbia, Italy. Hum Reprod. 1999 Nov;14(11):2759-61. The prevalence of coeliac disease in infertility. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10548618

P Collin, S Vilska, P K Heinonen, 0 Hallstrom, P Pikkarainen Gut 1996; 39: 382-384: Infertility and coeliac disease “Conclusion-Patients having fertility problems may have subclinical coeliacdisease, which can be detected by serological screening tests. Silent coeliac disease should be considered in the case of women with unexplained infertility. http://gut.bmj.com/content/39/3/382.full.pdf

Unlocking Autism Organization, Journal articles regarding autism and gastrointestinal abnormalities: An interesting paper generally concerned with Attention Deficit Disorders btu that provides references to a number of studies demonstrating the inflammatory and immune-disrupting properties of gluten/gliadin and casein. http://www.unlockingautism.org/atf/cf/%7B64d87213-a160-4224-8ed7-702ed372e4b1%7D/DIETARYINTERVENTIONS.PDF

E Triboi, A Abad, A Michelena, J Lloveras, J.L Ollier, C Daniel, Station d’Agronomie INRA, 12 Avenue du Brézet, 63039 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Universitat de Lleida-IRTA, Alcalde Rovira Roure 177, 25198 Lleida, Spain, European Journal of Agronomy DOI:10.1016/S1161-0301(00)00059-9 Environmental effects on the quality of two wheat genotypes: 1. quantitative and qualitative variation of storage proteins Environmental effects on the quality of two wheat genotypes:

Goldenseal

Antimicrobial for the GI Tract

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) root has potent antimicrobial properties. Because the active ingredient appears to be an alkaloid, most of these anti-microbial properties remain confined to the GI tract.

Goldenseal has been found to be an effective antimicrobial against:

Chlamydia
E. coli
Salmonella typhi
Entamoeba histolytica
Staphylococcus aureus
Streptococcus sanguis
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Helicobacter pylori
other Gram-positive bacteria and fungi

Some studies suggest that goldenseal may also be effective against viruses, fungi, protozoans and helminths (worms).

Look for goldenseal products with standardized berberine/hydrastine (alkaloid) content as these will have the highest potency.

Because goldenseal is becoming a threatened species, some conscientious formulas contain Goldthread (coptis chinensis) in addition to goldenseal to supplement the berberine content of the formula.

Goldenseal is a special order product – please call.

References

1.) Hahn FE, Ciak J. Berberine. Antibiotics 1976;3:577–88.
2.) Kim SH, Lee SJ, Lee JH, Sun WS, Kim JH. Antimicrobial activity of 9-O-acyl- and 9-O-alkylberberrubine derivatives. Planta Med. 2002 Mar;68(3):277-81.
3.) Scazzocchio F, Cometa MF, Tomassini L, Palmery M. Antibacterial activity of Hydrastis canadensis extract and its major isolated alkaloids. Planta Med. 2001 Aug;67(6):561-4.
4.) Mahady GB, Pendland SL, Stoia A, Chadwick LR. In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori to isoquinoline alkaloids from Sanguinaria canadensis and Hydrastis canadensis.Phytother Res. 2003 Mar;17(3):217-21.
5.) [no authors listed]. Berberine. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Apr;5(2):175-7.

Garlic

Powerful Antibiotic and Immune Stimulant

Garlic is a natural antibiotic. Albert Schweitzer used garlic to treat dysentery in Africa. In addition to it’s broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, garlic enhances numerous aspects of immune function. Garlic lowers blood pressure, triglycerides, and platelet stickiness (which can lead to clots and strokes while increasing HDL (the good cholesterol) and fibrinolysis (the breakdown of fibrin clots). Garlic is useful in HIV/AIDS, allergy, atherosclerosis, cancer, candidiasis, cardiac arrhythmias, diabetes type II, high blood pressure and infection.

Alliin, the primary substance of garlic, and alliinase, the activating enzyme, are present in separate chambers of the garlic clove. When garlic is ruptured, alliinase interacts with alliin and converts it to allicin – one of garlic’s most beneficial compounds. However, allicin dissipates quickly during standard processing techniques – including cooking.

Allium sativum – humble garlic – came to ancient man from Central Asia and belongs to the Alliacae plant family. It is used worldwide for it’s indispensable and distinctive flavor in cooking. It also has a vital place in traditional medicine, and as a functional food to enhance physical and mental health.

The benefits of garlic consumption in treating a wide variety of human diseases and disorders have been known for centuries and garlic has found a special position in many cultures as a powerful preventative and therapeutic medicinal agent. The ancient Egyptians in their 3,500-year-old document the Codex Ebers, described it’s use in the treatment of heart disorders, tumors, worms, bites, and other ailments.

In more modern times, garlic is known to inhibit the development of cardiovascular disease and to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases associated with aging.

Over the past few decades the role of garlic in treating cardiovascular disease has received much attention – much of it likely sponsored by drug companies hoping to find a way to cash in on Mother Nature’s genius.

Let’s look at a few of garlic’s better-known effects:

Cholesterol and lipid-lowering effects.

Several studies have indicated that garlic inhibits key enzymes involved in cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis, thus lowering the dreaded “bad cholesterol” levels and promoting overall cardiovascular health. (1, 2, 3, 4)

Inhibition of platelet aggregation – known to most people as “blood thinning.”

Since the 1990s, numerous clinical trials have been done, and all showed that garlic consumption leads to the inhibition of platelet aggregation (5, 6, 7). Performed on both normal, healthy subjects and on subjects with cardiovascular illnesses, the studies showed that no matter what form the garlic was in , whether powdered, oil, or aged extract, the garlic had a positive effect in the inhibition of platelet aggregation (abnormal blood “stickiness”) in both healthy subjects and the subjects with cardiovascular disease.

Lowering blood pressure.

Beginning in the 1990s, studies have been published demonstrating the effects of garlic on blood pressure (6, 8, 9, 10). Again, no matter what form of garlic was used; powdered, oil, extracts, or just garlic in the diet, all the studies showed a reduction in blood pressure.

Reducing oxidative stress.

Garlic beats out Big Pharma on this one – hands down. In fact, Big Pharma really doesn’t have anything to offer that they claim will reduce oxidative stress, even though it is widely known that oxidative stress can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease and certainly worsens existing cardiovascular disease. In study after study normal subjects and patients with hypertension (high blood pressure), hypercholesterolemic (high cholesterol), and tobacco smoking subjects all showed improvements in plasma (blood) antioxidant capacity, lowering of blood pressure and of cholesterol, and reduction in oxidative markers. (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

What else?

Other direct heart and circulation protective effects of garlic in humans that have been reported include:

a decrease in unstable angina (chest pain) (16),
increased elasticity of blood vessels (17),
a decrease in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (blocked arteries) (18),
an increase in peripheral blood flow in healthy subjects (19),
an inhibiting effect on the progression of coronary calcification (hardening arteries) in patients using statin drugs (20).

Garlic is also well-known for it’s potent antimicrobial effects as well – for example, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a potentially deadly bacteria that has Big Pharma throwing it’s hands up in defeat – it has become resistant to the “Big Guns” antibiotics. Garlic doesn’t concede defeat however – and it is one of the few effective treatments for this dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Doesn’t garlic make you smell like, well, garlic?

It depends on how you are using it. Fresh garlic cloves will certainly have you smelling like garlic – though that is not necessarily an offensive scent to many people… and other garlic preparations – oils, and extracts especially – can give a garlicky odor to your breath. Enteric garlic like Garlitrin 4000 delivers all the health benefits of fresh garlic, but does so in a special tablet that dissolves only when it reaches the small intestine where it is able to be fully-absorbed, undamaged by stomach acid. Because it dissolves and is absorbed so far along in the digestive tract it causes no garlic odor of the breath.

References:

1. Gebhardt R. Multiple inhibitory effects of garlic extracts on cholesterol biosynthesis in hepatocytes. Lipids. 1993;28:613–9.

2. Liu L, Yeh YY. Water-soluble organosulfur compounds of garlic inhibit fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis in cultured rat hepatocytes. Lipids. 2001;36:395–400.

3. Yeh YY, Liu L. Cholesterol-lowering effects of garlic extracts and organosulfur compounds: human and animal studies. J Nutr. 2001;131:989S–93S.

4. Yeh YY, Yeh SM. Garlic reduces plasma lipids by inhibiting hepatic cholesterol and triacylglycerol synthesis. Lipids. 1994;29:189–93.

5. Rahman K. Garlic and aging: new insights into an old remedy. Ageing Res Rev. 2003;2:39–56.

6. Banerjee SK, Maulik SK. Effect of garlic on cardiovascular disorders: a review. Nutr J. 2002;1:4–14.

7. Steiner M, Li W. Aged garlic extract, a modulator of cardiovascular risk factors: a dose-finding study on the effects of AGE on platelet functions. J Nutr. 2001;131:980S–4S.

8. Turner B, Molgaard C, Marckmann P. Effect of garlic (Allium sativum) powder tablets on serum lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in normo-lipidaemic volunteers: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Nutr. 2004;92:701–6.

9. Dhawan V, Jain S. Effect of garlic supplementation on oxidised low density lipoproteins and lipid peroxidation in patients of essential hypertension. Mol Cell Biochem. 2004;266:109–15.

10. Durak I, Kavutcu M, Aytac B, Avci A, Devrim E, Ozbek H, Ozturk HS. Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol. J Nutr Biochem. 2004;15:373–7.

11. Dhawan V, Jain S. Effect of garlic supplementation on oxidised low density lipoproteins and lipid peroxidation in patients of essential hypertension. Mol Cell Biochem. 2004;266:109–15.

12. Durak I, Kavutcu M, Aytac B, Avci A, Devrim E, Ozbek H, Ozturk HS. Effects of garlic extract consumption on blood lipid and oxidant/antioxidant parameters in humans with high blood cholesterol. J Nutr Biochem. 2004;15:373–7.

13. Munday JS, James KA, Fray LM, Kirkwood SW, Thompson KG. Daily supplementation with aged garlic extract, but not raw garlic protects low density lipoprotein against in vitro oxidation. Atherosclerosis. 1999;143:399–404.

14. Dillion SA, Lowe GM, Billington D, Rahman K. Dietary supplementation with aged garlic extract reduces plasma and urine concentrations of 8-iso-prostagalandin F(2 alpha) in smoking and non-smoking men and women. J Nutr. 2002;132:168–71.

15. Durak I, Aytac B, Atmaca Y, Devrim E, Avci A, Erol C, Oral D. Effects of aged garlic extract consumption on plasma and erythrocyte antioxidant parameters in atherosclerotic patients. Life Sci. 2004;75:1959–66.

16. Li G, Shi Z, Jia H, Ju J, Wang X, Xia Z, Qin L, Ge C, Xu Y, et al. A clinical investigation on garlicin injection for the treatment of unstable angina pectoris and its actions on plasma endothelin and blood sugar levels. J Tradit Chin Med. 2000;20:243–6.

17. Breithaupt-Grogler K, Ling M, Boudoulas H, Belz GG, Heiden M, Wenzel E, Gu LD. Protective effect of chronic garlic intake on elastic properties of aorta in the elderly. Circulation. 1997;96:2649–55.

18. Kiesewetter H, Jung F, Jung EM, Mroweitz C, Koscielny J, Wenzel E. Effect of garlic on platelet aggregation in patients with increased risk of juvenile ischaemic attack. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1993;45:333–6.

19. Anim-Nyame N, Sooranna SR, Johnson MR, Gamble J, Steer PJ. Garlic supplementation increases peripheral blood flow: a role for interleukin-6? J Nutr Biochem. 2004;15:30–6.

20. Budoff MJ, Takasu J, Flores FR, Niihara Y, Lu B, Lau BH, Rosen RT, Amagase H. Inhibiting progression of coronary calcification using Aged Garlic Extract in patients receiving statin therapy: a preliminary study. Prev Med. 2004;39:985–91.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Carminitive

Ginger is a potent anti-inflammatory (1-2) , carminative (helps expel gas by improving digestion), intestinal spasmolytic (relaxes intestinal spasms) and anti-motion sickness herb.(2-6) It is also high in antioxidants.(2) Uses of ginger include:

motion sickness (dizziness, nausea, vomiting) (2-6)
nausea from chemotherapy or anesthesia (6-11)
morning sickness (pregnancy-related nausea) (6,12-14)
cancer prevention (anti-carcinogenic properties) (2, 15-18)
arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid) (19-21)
atherosclerosis (2, 22-24)
digestive complaints – stimulates digestion, lessens irritation (25-27)

GingerMax®

Ginger Max® concentrated ginger is the most potent standardized ginger available, containing an unprecedented 20% pungent compounds.

Each (one) capsule contains:
Ginger root extract……………………………………………100 mg
standardized to contain 20% pungent compounds calculated as 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol

REFERENCES

1.) Grzanna R, Lindmark L, Frondoza CG. Ginger–an herbal medicinal product with broad anti-inflammatory actions. J Med Food. 2005 Summer;8(2):125-32.
2.) Ali BH, Blunden G, Tanira MO, Nemmar A. Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): a review of recent research. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Feb;46(2):409-20. Epub 2007 Sep 18.
3.) Grontved A, Brask T, Kambskard J, Hentzer E. Ginger root against seasickness. Acta Otolaryngol 1988;105:45–9.
4.) Ribenfeld D, Borzone L. Randomized double-blind study comparing ginger (Zintona®) with dimenhydrinate in motion sickness. Healthnotes Rev Complementary Integrative Med 1999;6:98–101.
5.) Careddu P. Motion sickness in children: Results of a double-blind study with ginger (Zintona®) and dimenhydrinate. Healthnotes Rev Complementary Integrative Med 1999;6:102–7.
6.) White B. Ginger: an overview. Am Fam Physician. 2007 Jun 1;75(11):1689-91.
7.) Bone ME, Wilkinson DJ, Young JR, et al. Ginger root—a new antiemetic: The effect of ginger root on postoperative nausea and vomiting after major gynaecological surgery. Anaesthesia 1990;45:669–71.
8.) Levine ME, Gillis MG, Koch SY, Voss AC, Stern RM, Koch KL. Protein and ginger for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced delayed nausea. J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Jun;14(5):545-51.
9.) Pillai AK, Sharma KK, Gupta YK, Bakhshi S. Anti-emetic effect of ginger powder versus placebo as an add-on therapy in children and young adults receiving high emetogenic chemotherapy. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010 Sep 14. [Epub ahead of print]
10.) Phillips S, Ruggier R, Hutchingson SE. Zingiber officinale (ginger)—an antiemetic for day case surgery. Anaesthesia 1993;48:715–7.
11.) Meyer K, Schwartz J, Craer D, Keyes B. Zingiber officinale (ginger) used to prevent 8-Mop associated nausea. Dermatol Nursing 1995;7:242–4.
12.) Langner E, Greifenberg S, Gruenwald J. Ginger: History and use. Adv Ther 1998;15:25–44 [review].
13.) Ozgoli G, Goli M, Simbar M. Effects of ginger capsules on pregnancy, nausea, and vomiting.J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Mar;15(3):243-6.
14.) Willetts KE, Ekangaki A, Eden JA. Effect of a ginger extract on pregnancy-induced nausea: a randomised controlled trial. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2003 Apr;43(2):139-44.
15.) Kundu JK, Na HK, Surh YJ. Ginger-derived phenolic substances with cancer preventive and therapeutic potential. Forum Nutr. 2009;61:182-92. Epub 2009 Apr 7.
16.) Rhode J, Fogoros S, Zick S, Wahl H, Griffith KA, Huang J, Liu JR. Ginger inhibits cell growth and modulates angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2007 Dec 20;7:44.
17.) Sang S, Hong J, Wu H, Liu J, Yang CS, Pan MH, Badmaev V, Ho CT. Increased growth inhibitory effects on human cancer cells and anti-inflammatory potency of shogaols from Zingiber officinale relative to gingerols. J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Nov 25;57(22):10645-50.
18.) Surh YJ, Park KK, Chun KS, Lee LJ, Lee E, Lee SS. Anti-tumor-promoting activities of selected pungent phenolic substances present in ginger. J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol. 1999;18(2):131-9.
19.) Chrubasik JE, Roufogalis BD, Chrubasik S. Evidence of effectiveness of herbal antiinflammatory drugs in the treatment of painful osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain. Phytother Res. 2007 Jul;21(7):675-83.
20.) Fouda AM, Berika MY. Evaluation of the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Zingiber officinale rhizomes in rat collagen-induced arthritis. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2009 Mar;104(3):262-71. Epub 2009 Jan 20.
21.) Funk JL, Frye JB, Oyarzo JN, Timmermann BN. Comparative effects of two gingerol-containing Zingiber officinale extracts on experimental rheumatoid arthritis. J Nat Prod. 2009 Mar 27;72(3):403-7.
22.) Bordia A, Verma SK, Srivastava KC. Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum L) on blood lipids, blood sugar, and platelet aggregation in patients with coronary artery disease. Prostagland Leukotrienes Essential Fatty Acids 1997;56:379–84.
23.) Nicoll R, Henein MY. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe): a hot remedy for cardiovascular disease? Int J Cardiol. 2009 Jan 24;131(3):408-9. Epub 2007 Nov 26.
24.) Verma SK, Singh J, Khamesra R, Bordia A. Effect of ginger on platelet aggregation in man. Indian J Med Res 1994;98:240–2.
25.) Bradley PR (ed). British Herbal Compendium, vol 1. Bournemouth, Dorset, UK: British Herbal Medicine Association, 1992, 112–4.
26.) Yamahara J, Huang QR, Li YH, et al. Gastrointestinal motility enhancing effect of ginger and its active constituents. Chem Pharm Bull 1990;38:430–1.
27.) al-Yahya MA, Rafatullah S, Mossa JS, et al. Gastroprotective activity of ginger in albino rats. Am J Chinese Med 1989;17:51–6.