Dr Richard Kunin MD - Articles on Orthomolecular Medicine -- nurition vitamins minerals Orthomolecular Nutrition colleague of Linus Pauling Abram Hoffer Robert Cathcart Frederick Klenner

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Dr Richard Kunin MD - Articles on Orthomolecular Medicine -- nurition vitamins minerals Orthomolecular Nutrition colleague of Linus Pauling Abram Hoffer Robert Cathcart Frederick Klenner

Dr Richard Kunin MD, Richard Kunin, Linus Pauling, Abram Hoffer, Robert Cathcart , Frederick Klenner

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In Memoriam: Richard A. Kunin, MD Richard A. Kunin, MD (1932-2021) earned his medical degree at University of Minnesota in 1955. His thesis, completed in 1953, Losing Weight on a High Fat Diet, was more than 50 years ahead of its time. Richard interned at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and completed three years of specialty training in psychiatry at New York Hospital. He served as a captain in the US Army for two years of active duty in Korea, followed by two years as staff psychiatrist at Valley Forge Hospital in Pennsylvania. After an additional year on staff at Minneapolis Veterans Hospital, he was board-certified in both psychiatry and neurology. From 1962 to 1963, Richard completed an NIH post-doctoral fellowship in neurology at Stanford University. There his published research, EEG Studies in Animal Hypnosis, was the first to report on hippocampal theta effects. Subsequently, he taught PhD-level practicum seminars at the Stanford Department of Psychiatry. The next ten years in psychiatry focused on behavioral therapy and patient hypnosis, conditioning an Inner Smile that enables patients to face life and health challenges. This time also led to new insight, that situational cues elicit genetically programmed instincts and moods. Thus evolved his theory of Operational Mind, a natural strategy of intelligent adaptation, which proved exciting and clinically useful.

Major scientific breakthroughs of the 1960s inspired Richard to participate in now historic controversies on the role of diet and nutrients in medicine. He cofounded the California Orthomolecular Medical Society, served as the https://www.townsendletter.com/article/455-richard-a-kunin-md-memorial/#:~:text=From 1962 to 1963%2C Richard,the Stanford Department of Psychiatry.

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In Memoriam: Richard A. Kunin, MD – Townsend Letter

inaugural president of the International Society of Orthomolecular Medicine, and was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.  He authored two bestsellers for McGraw-Hill, MegaNutrition in 1980 and MegaNutrition for Women in 1983. In 1994 he founded the Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine and served as its president. His last appointment was as honorary board member to The Future of Medicine Foundation. Richard was research director and formulator for Ola Loa Health Products from 1997 to 2020. A brilliant career in medicine, in his own words: Orthomolecular advances were initially perceived as fads in orthodox thinking, but over the past 50 years have emerged as correct and valuable. My practice involved documenting each patient’s molecular needs with laboratory testing, providing a nutritional prescription and a partnership for informed self care. Investigations have included: • Mineral analysis and hair biopsy in the ‘60s • Megadose niacinamide in schizophrenia, 1968 • Hypoglycemia and antioxidants in the early ‘70s • Amino acids in the ‘70s • Identifying heavy metal poisoning using hair analysis, 1972 • Manganese in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia, 1974 • Aspirin for niacin flush response, 1975 • Prostaglandin theory of schizophrenia, 1975 • Orthocarbohydrate diet, 1976 • Omega-3 essential fatty acids in the ’80s • Iron overload, 1985 • Inflammation and oxidant stress, 1990 • Tryptophan and the IDO switch, 1992 • The autism epidemic, 1994 • Methylation and DNA testing from 1998 onward • The role of homocysteine and methylation in autism and other health disorders with detailed review of cobalamin, folate, and betaine (TMG), 1999 Orthomolecular Health Medicine is still in its infancy. We need to press on, learn more, and inspire others. What an exciting and fulfilling time to be a part of medical history—and to enjoy advances undreamed of at the outset of my medical career 65 years ago! Downloadable copies of journal articles and professional papers by Dr. Kunin are available at www.olaloa.com/resources.

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Four Days in Paris – The GcMAF Defendants Finally Have Their Day in Court PAGE 6 Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. – A Lifetime of Putting Nutrition First PAGE 14 Why COVID-19 Vaccines Won’t Save the World PAGE 18 COVID-19 Testing Fails Its Own Tests

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A Great Hero Has Passed PAGE 16

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CONTENTS SPRING 2021 / VOLUME 39, NO. 1 HEALTH FREEDOM NEWS® National Health Federation Publisher Scott Tips Editor-in-Chief Katherine A. Carroll Executive Director and Managing Editor Daniella Ivanova Assistant Editor Ben Lizardi Art Director Anne Mortensen Webmaster Jonathan Middleton Researcher Peter M. Bisno, Esq. NHF Attorney Greg Glaser, Esq. NHF Attorney Charles Frohman NHF Lobbyist Advertising Information: 1.626.357.2181 Literature & Circulation: 1.626.357.2181 National Health Federation Fred Hart (1888-1975) Founder 2021 Board of Governors & Officers Scott Tips, J.D., President Gregory Kunin, Vice President David Noakes, Chairman Dr. Brad Weeks, M.D., Vice Chairman and Treasurer Alex Landry, Secretary Dr. Murray Susser, M.D., DIPL Dan Kenner, Ph.D., LAc Corinne Buckley Sara Boo Michael LeVesque Dr. Gary G. Kohls, M.D. Evitta Morrow Advisory Board Paul Harvey Ilse Van De Wiele (Belgium) Lisa and Per Hellman (Sweden) Jay Newman Marchia Carnicelli Minor Morten Krabbe (Denmark) Dean Radetsky Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. Peet Louw (South Africa) Dr. Thomas E. Levy, M.D., J.D. Sayer Ji Josh Lane Jack Craciun III Richard Fischer, D.D.S. NHF Financial Consultant Harry D. Schultz Printed on recycled paper. Soy-based inks. Non-toxic & acid-free. Copyright 2021 by the National Health Federation. The National Health Federation, a nonprofit corporation, at Monrovia, California (P.O. Box 688, Monrovia, California 91017 USA), publishes 4 issues of Health Freedom News yearly. Telephone 1.626.357.2181, fax 1.626.303.0642. The NHF is a 501(c)(4) non-profit, health-advocacy organization and, as such, any contributions to it are not considered deductible by the Internal Revenue Service. Memberships are $45 per year in North America and $81 international. Additional copies of any issues are available for $5.00 each, 25 copies for $75.00, 50 copies for $150.00, plus postage and handling. All rights reserved. The opinions of the authors of articles contained herein are not necessarily those of the National Health Federation, but are offered to stimulate inquiry into alternative methodologies. Products advertised are not to be considered endorsed or approved by the NHF. Submissions of previously unpublished manuscripts to be considered for publication are welcomed. Those submitting such manuscripts are advised that budget constraints do not permit Health Freedom News to offer monetary compensation for articles that are published and all manuscripts submitted become the property of the National Health Federation and cannot be returned unless specifically requested and self addressed stamped envelopes are provided for that purpose. Disclaimer: The National Health Federation does not necessarily agree or disagree with the views expressed by authors of articles appearing in this magazine. Their right to express these views, however, is consistent with our belief in freedom of speech (1st Amendment), freedom of practice for the physician, and freedom of choice for the layman. (ISSN 0749-4742)

DEPARTMENTS Letters to the Editor In this column, we share your impressions and new comments on the current pandemic and vaccinations, GcMAF and its latest update, as well as your opinions and views on health and health-freedom topics. Page 4 President’s Note – Four Days in Paris – The GcMAF Defendants Finally Have Their Day in Court A meticulously detailed and comprehensive account of the complete French GcMAF Trial in March and April 2021 by NHF President Scott C. Tips. Page 6 In Memoriam – Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. – A Lifetime of Putting Nutrition First Long-time NHF Board Member and extraordinary figure in medicine with a truly unique legacy and outstanding work accomplishments, Dr. Kunin will shine forever in the history of the NHF and will live long in the hearts of all who knew and loved him. Page 14 In Memoriam – A Great Hero Has Passed NHF Board of Governors Vice Chairman Dr. Bradford S. Weeks, M.D. pays heartfelt tribute to his friend and mentor Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. Page 16 Health Bits & Pieces Dan Kenner presents new research on the dangerous saturation of our foods with plastics, environmental toxicity’s effect on heart disease, the healing power of pine bark, Vitamin D’s effect on vertigo, and the worse-than-inferior power of statin drugs in healing. Page 22 Crossword Puzzle Health Freedom News presents its latest fun crossword puzzle crafted especially for the NHF by Master puzzler Myles Mellor. Page 26 The 2021 Tim Morrow Memorial Award and Scholarship In memory of NHF member and master herbalist Tim Morrow, NHF grants an annual scholarship award to a promising student of health and health freedom of any age. Page 27 Book Review Kari Bundy presents in brief Underestimated – An Autism Miracle by J.B. Handley and Jamison Handley – a fascinating story-in-progress of successful recovery from autism and of endless hope for anyone with this diagnosis. Page 29

FEATURES Why COVID-19 Vaccines Won’t Save the World Bill Sardi makes a persuasive case in favor of naturally enhancing our own immunity for protection against COVID-19 versus any vaccine or other experimental treatment, and suggests how to achieve a negative COVID-19 PCR test. Page 18 Here’s To Your Health with Joshua Lane A popular radio show program recommended by the NHF to anyone interested in health, longevity and healthy living. Page 21 COVID-19 Testing Fails Its Own Tests Michael Zazzio exposes the ugly truth about the real results from thousands of “positive” COVID-19 PCR tests uncovered by several major scientific centers and how this might bring the pandemic to its long-overdue end. Page 24 Your Coronavirus PCR Test Is Positive – You Still Might Not Have COVID-19 New NHF Board Member Dr. Gary G. Kohls, M.D. succinctly explains why the vast majority of all PCR tests for COVID-19 register falsely as positive. Page 28 Major Alert – All U.S. Businesses Are Threatened Bill Sardi timely warns us about a forthcoming major cyber warfare drill, which could potentially turn into a real event. Better be prepared than sorry! Page 30

COVER PAGE PORTRAIT OF DR. RICHARD KUNIN Title of painting: “Portrait of Dr. Richard Kunin,” Oil on Canvas, 20 x 16” • Copyright 2011, Alan Derwin, www.AlanDerwin.com. Reproduced here with the gracious permission of the artist. HealtH Freedom News / spriNg 2021

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3Richard A. Kunin, M.D. October 22, 1932 – February 23, 2021

A Lifetime of Putting Nutrition First

D

r. Richard A. Kunin, Greg Kunin with M.D., earned his medical Dr. Richard Kunin degree at the University of Minnesota in 1955 – the exact same year that Fred Hart founded the National Health Federation (NHF). Later, Dr. Kunin’s and the NHF’s paths would intersect, and he would find himself serving on the NHF Board of Governors for two decades and bravely fighting for health and health freedom while also winning his own battles with the same American Medical Association that Fred Hart fought. Prior to his retirement in 2018, the NHF Board of Governors unanimously voted Dr. Richard Kunin as one of its two outstanding “Health Freedom in both psychiatry and neurology. Heroes of 2018.” Evidencing decades of From 1962 to 1963, Richard completed committed and active service, Dr. Kunin an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neunot only served on the Board of Governors rology at the Stanford University School during the term of current NHF president of Medicine. There, his published research, Scott Tips, but he also served faithfully EEG Studies in Animal Hypnosis, was the during many years of the term of former first to report on hippocampal theta effects. NHF president Maureen Salaman Kennedy. Subsequently, he taught PhD-level practiDr. Kunin’s thesis work, Losing Weight cum seminars at the Stanford Department on a High Fat Diet, was completed in 1953, of Psychiatry. more than 50 years ahead of its time. RichOver the next ten years in psychiatry, ard interned at Kings County Hospital Dr. Kunin focused on behavioral therapy Center in Brooklyn, New York and com- and patient hypnosis, conditioning an Inner pleted three years of specialty training in Smile that enables patients to face life and psychiatry at New York Cornell Hospi- health challenges successfully. This time tal, Payne Whitney Clinic. He served as also led to a new insight in his work, that sita captain in the U.S. Army for two years uational cues elicit genetically programmed of active duty in Korea, followed by two instincts and moods. Thus, evolved his theyears as staff psychiatrist at Valley Forge ory of Operational Mind, a natural strategy General Hospital in Pennsylvania. After of intelligent adaptation, which proved exan additional year on staff at Minneapolis citing and clinically useful. Veterans Hospital, he was board-certified Major scientific breakthroughs in the

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HealtH Freedom News / spriNg 2021

1960s inspired Richard to participate in now-historic controversies on the role of diet and nutrients in medicine. His clinical research led to the “Ortho-carbohydrate Diet,” the first diet plan based on individualized carbohydrate-protein-fat effects on mood, energy, and weight. The “Listen To Your Body Diet,” popularized in his best-selling books Mega Nutrition (1980) and Mega Nutrition for Women (1983), remains one of the most user-friendly, safe, and effective diet-energy plans. He achieved the first measurement of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) – one of the three types of omega-3 fatty acids most readily used by the human body – in snake oil in 1989, thereby substantiating its anti-inflammatory benefits (published in JOM, 1989, Vol 4, No 3). Dedicated to delivering a future of medicine that nurtures health into humanity, Dr. Kunin and his colleagues co-founded the first Orthomolecular Medical Society (nutrition-based medicine) with two-time Nobel Laureate Dr. Linus Pauling in 1976. Dr. Kunin served as its President from 1980-1982. In 1994, following Pauling’s death, Dr. Kunin founded the Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine (OHM) in San Francisco, California and became the first Interim President of the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM). He served on the Editorial Review Board of ISOM’s Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine since 1982 and was inducted into the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame in 2008. With a shared desire to provide sci-

Dr. Richard Kunin with Dr. Linus Pauling and wife Matilda Kunin entifically advanced nutrition formulas based on the most current clinical research and studies, Dr. Kunin and his son Gregory, who is also Vice-President of the National Health Federation, co-founded Ola Loa (Hawaiian for “long life”) in 1999. Ola Loa’s award-winning products, formulated by Dr. Kunin based upon his groundbreaking research in antioxidant therapy and methylation support, offer the most comprehensive and strategic nutritional support available on the market as a highpotency, effervescent nutritional supplement drink. In his own words, he had “a brilliant career in medicine,” and here are a few highlights from it: Orthomolecular advances were initially perceived as fads in orthodox thinking but over the past 50 years have emerged as correct and valuable. My practice involved documenting each patient’s molecular needs with laboratory testing, providing a nutritional prescription, and a partnership for informed self-care. Investigations have included: • Mineral analysis and hair biopsy in the 1960s • Megadose niacinamide in schizophrenia, 1968 • Hypoglycemia and antioxidants in the early 1970s • Amino acids in the 1970s • Identifying heavy metal poisoning using hair analysis, 1972 • Manganese in the treatment of tardive dyskinesia, 1974 • Aspirin for niacin flush response, 1975 • Prostaglandin theory of schizophrenia, 1975 • Ortho-carbohydrate diet, 1976 • Omega-3 essential fatty acids in the 1980s • Iron overload, 1985 • Inflammation and oxidant stress, 1990 • Tryptophan and the IDO switch, 1992 • The autism epidemic, 1994 • Methylation and DNA testing from 1998 onward • The

Dr. Linus Pauling with Dr. Kunin role of homocysteine in autism and other health disorders with detailed review of cobalamin, folate, and betaine (TMG), 1999. In most, if not all of the above endeavors, Dr. Kunin was the very first one ever to have undertaken that particular type of inquiry and work. He was a real pioneer, trail-blazer, continuously inquiring, researching, exploring, and discovering, i.e., doing Real Science in real time, at its finest! In 2020, Dr. Kunin was introduced to The Future of Medicine Foundation™ (dedicated to promoting the importance of nutrition-based, orthomolecular medicine) through his son Gregory, who is a member of its Board of Advisors. In January 2021, Dr. Kunin accepted an invitation to serve as the Foundation’s Honorary Director. Dr. Kunin’s recent thoughts shortly before he died ring true, “Orthomolecular Health Medicine is still in its infancy. We need to press on, learn more, and inspire others. What an exciting and fulfilling time to be a part of medical history – and to enjoy advances undreamed of at the outset of my medical career 65 years ago!” A legend and true hero in every sense of these words, Dr. Kunin died peacefully on February 23, 2021, in Northern California, with his son Greg at his side. Yet, the impact he has had on all of our lives is immeasurable, transformational, profound, and continuing for generations to come. His warm smile and big heart will be dearly missed! You can read more about the life and work of the bold pioneer Dr. Richard Kunin here: https:// thenhf.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ Dr.-Richard-Kunin-M.D.-Bio-.pdf HealtH Freedom News / spriNg 2021

Greg Kunin with Dr. Linus Pauling

Dr. Linus Pauling and Dr. Richard Kunin 15

A Great Hero Has Passed BY BRADFORD S. WEEKS, M.D.

W

hen my omniscient mentor and dear friend Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. passed away on February 23, 2021, I, and many other pioneering integrative medical doctors around the World, felt a loss that can never be sated. I count myself exceedingly fortunate that a medical doctor whose encyclopedic knowledge and astounding brilliance always surpassed that of anyone else’s in his presence, would befriend me when I was but a young and curious doctor. And I hope, dear reader, that you may, at times in your life, also experience the profound empowerment and encouragement when a great person welcomes you with heart-felt collegiality. Richard’s life is inspiring in myriad ways, but his conviction in his principles is what I consider most astounding. Having attained the status, early in his career, of being one of California’s most respected and influential doctors, Richard had the courage of his convictions such that, upon learning of a more beneficial manner of caring for patients (orthomolecular medicine), he wholeheartedly sacrificed his professional status and willingly became a champion for integrative, nutritional medicine. Today, thanks in great part to Richard’s courage and wisdom, integrative medicine is in the ascendency. In medicine, the strategy is often “see one, do one, teach one,” and Richard affected that in a glorious manner by founding the Orthomolecular Health Medicine Society (OHM). Here, like-minded medical doctors, whose top priority is to optimize patient outcomes, share freely and learn how to become better physicians together. He also served for years on the Board of

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Governors of America’s oldest and most venerable healthcare freedom organization, the National Health Federation, before encouraging me to replace him on the board – huge shoes to fill. Like Moses, Richard led many doctors who honored the edict “Primum non Nocere” (First, do no harm!) out of careers of uncritical reverence for the standard of care (which amounted to suboptimal, albeit lucrative careers) into a more humane career of actually, and effectively, teaching patients to optimize their health and well-being. Thousands of us, colleagues and patients alike, are all so grateful for his leadership and his inspiring example. Words fail at this point, but I urge the reader of this strained obituary to take to heart my message that brilliant, life-changing mentors are out there just waiting for you to simply ask for their help. Go for it! Be brave and ask them to teach and share with you. Believe me – they are out there. And you need to ask for their help today because otherwise, someday, they will die, taking away with them encyclopedic knowledge, which they would have been happy to share with you. Thank you, Richard, for your courage, your convictions, and your loving, generous spirit. The great German scientist and poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, offers a reassuring perspective, which is a balm for me in the face of such a wrenching loss: “The thought of death leaves me entirely unmoved; for I hold that the human spirit is something eternal, something not unlike the sun which only seems to set to our mortal eyes while in reality never setting, but shining on forever.”

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Trace Mineral Selenium Improves Cure Rate for COVID-19 Coronavirus Infection up to 500% PAGE 26

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38 Years of Remarkable Nutrients – From 1982 to the Present PAGE 12 NHF Health Freedom Hero Award

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Mass Deception – Dietary Supplements Are Ignored While Unproven Vaccines Are Touted as Safe & Effective PAGE 18 PTSD in Veterans: A Spark of Hope

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When You Rehearse a Pandemic ... It’s Called a “PLANDEMIC”

IMMUNE PROTECTION IN THE AGE OF QUARANTINE

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SPRING 2020 / VOL. 38, NO. 1

SUMMER 2020 / VOL. 38, NO. 2

FALL 2020 / VOL. 38, NO. 3

WINTER 2020 / VOL. 38, NO. 4

President’s Note – Never Has So Little Done So Much Harm to So Many by Scott C. Tips Pg. 6

President’s Note – David Noakes and Lynda Thyer Status Update by Scott C. Tips Pg. 5

President’s Note – Censorship in Our Cancel Culture by Scott C. Tips Pg. 6

Plandemic Film Status by Kelly Gallagher Pg. 8

Deathbed Scurvy – Why Are Critical Care Physicians Leaving Their Patients with Scurvy Levels of Vitamin C on Their Deathbeds? by Bill Sardi Pg. 10

President’s Note – The Codex Alimentarius Commission Meets Virtually for the First Time Ever by Scott C. Tips Pg. 5

The Current Coronavirus Pandemic by Bill Sardi Pg. 14 Why I Have Remembered the NHF in My Will by former NHF president Maureen Kennedy Salaman Pg. 17

Washington Watchdog by Alex Landry Pg. 11

Vaccinations, Vitamin C, Politics, and the Law by Dr. Thomas Levy Pg. 18

COVID-19 and 5G by Michael LeVesque Pg. 14

Defeat Snatched from the Jaws of Victory by Scott Tips Pg. 23

Health at the End of a Needle by Walter Graham Pg. 18

Coronavirus: What to Do by Dr. David Brownstein Pg. 24

Board Member Introspective – Greg Kunin, by Scott C. Tips and Katherine Carroll Pg. 23

Intravenous Hydrogen Peroxide: The 100-Year-Old Cure for COVID-19 by Heidi Osterman Pg. 26 Health Bits & Pieces by Dan Kenner Pg. 28

Trace Mineral Selenium Improves Cure Rate for COVID-19 Coronavirus Infection up to 500% by Bill Sardi Pg. 26

The 2020 Tim Morrow Memorial Award – Announcement of the Award Pg. 30

Health Bits & Pieces by Dan Kenner Pg. 28

Victory in Sweden – NHF-Sweden Wins a Voice by Sara Boo Pg. 32

NHF World Report – Life’s Bottom Line: Whom Do You Trust? by Katherine Carroll Pg. 30

Book Review The Holistic Dental Matrix – How Your Teeth Can Control Your Health & Well-being by Leo Cashman Pg. 34 Many Codex Alimentarius Meetings Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Fears – Announcement by the NHF Pg. 35

Book Review The Invisible Rainbow – A History of Electricity and Life by Margie Miller Pg. 32 Things You Need to Know before You Decide to Vaccinate against COVID-19 by Bill Sardi Pg. 34

COVID-19, Cobalamin/B12, and Sepsis: a Left-of-Field Solution by Dr. Carmen Wheatley Pg. 12 Online Board Elections 2021 – NHF announcement Pg. 17 New Lobbyist Announcement: Charles Frohman – Announcement by the NHF Pg. 17 Board Member Introspective – Michael LeVesque, by Scott C. Tips Pg. 20 Health Bits & Pieces by Dan Kenner Pg. 24 NHF World Report – If You Do One Thing to Boost Your Immune System – Try the 5R Program by Katherine Carroll Pg. 26 Book Review Corona – False Alarm? – Facts and Figures by Jenin Younes Pg. 28 GIFT GIVING: Leaving a Meaningful Legacy – NHF’s charitable giving options Pg. 30

Immune Protection in the Age of Quarantine by Dan Kenner Pg. 10 38 Years of Remarkable Nutrients – From 1982 to the Present by Michael LeVesque Pg. 12 NHF Health Freedom Hero Award – Dr. Betty Martini and Catherine Austin Fitts Pg. 17 Mass Deception – Dietary Supplements Are Ignored While Unproven Vaccines Are Touted as Safe & Effective by Bill Sardi Pg. 18 The 2020 Tim Morrow Memorial Award and Scholarship – Announcement of the winner Pg. 21 Health Bits & Pieces by Dan Kenner Pg. 22 PTSD in Veterans: A Spark of Hope by Dr. Robert Kaufmann Pg. 24 Book Review 7 Steps to Dental Health – a Holistic Guide to a Healthy Mouth and Body by Katherine Carroll Pg. 28 The Second Coming of Mr. Monsanto by Scott Tips Pg. 30 No Deaths from Vitamins by Dr. Andrew Saul Pg. 30

BOARD MEMBER INTROSPECTIVE Dr. Richard Kunin, M.D. By Scott C. Tips We have heard it before, maybe even hundreds of times. I know I have. It is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote where he counsels, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” So I hesitate to even mention it here, it seems almost trite with so many quoting Emerson yet so few real trailblazers out there — except for one thing that I have learned, NHF Board of Governors member Richard Kunin, M.D. is an authentic trailblazer who merits the name. A Trailblazer Par Excellence Some of us count ourselves lucky if we are first in anything at all, but Dr. Kunin’s list of firsts is anything but paltry. In 1964, Time Magazine featured him in its article “Head to Toe Hypnosis,” as having the first neurophysiology approach to medical hypnosis, a basis for a more-scientific method of psychotherapy. In 1969, he originated “The Mental Tune-Up,” a therapy based on linguistics and mood-training hypnosis. In 1972, Prevention Magazine wrote about Dr. Kunin in “He Cures Psychiatric Disorders with Nutrition,” as the first person to combine computer diet, vitamin and mineral testing, and hypnotherapy — a prototype of holistic medicine. So, long before the word holistic was in use, Dr. Kunin had integrated hypnosis, behavior therapy, and orthomolecular medicine and psychiatry into a comprehensive model of general medical practice. Research into mineral metabolism led to his 1974 discovery that manganese treatment is successful in treating drug-induced tardive dyskinesia. This demonstration of a mineral therapy came at a time when most medical authorities were united against nutrition therapy. In 1975, Dr. Kunin was the first person to discover that aspirin blocks the skin-flush response to niacin (Vitamin B3) flush and to suggest that the anti-schizophrenic action of niacin is related to prostaglandins. In 1976, he was the first to introduce an individualized diet method based upon mood and energy effects, the Ortho-carbohydrate Diet. This led him that same year to Co-found the Orthomolecular Medical Society, of which he was also president from 1979 to 1981. Publication of his best-selling book Mega-Nutrition in 1980 launched the Listen to Your Body Diet, ™ a method of balancing dietary carbohydrate, fat, and protein according to one’s individual needs. Both Mega-Nutrition and his other best seller, Mega-Nutrition for Women (1983), helped to define the role of orthomolecular nutrition in general medical practice. In 1987, Dr. Kunin developed the first cure for autism due to Thalassemia Minor, which is a genetic disease dramatically helped by nutrition therapy. See President’s Commission on Mental Retardation and Mental Illness (Washington, D.C., 1988). In 1988, he followed this up by being the first to identify the effect of DMAE on MAO, linking induced MAO to treatment benefits.

Then, in 1990, he achieved the first measurement of EPA (a long-chain omega-3 oil) in snake oil, substantiating its anti-inflammatory benefits from the anti-leukotriene B4 action of EPA. This was actually an historic first since it showed that snake oil is not quackery after all! But the list of firsts continues. In 1993, Dr. Kunin was the first Interim President of the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (Toronto). The next year, he was the first to identify carnitine deficiency with myasthenia as being due to valproic acid and aspirin; and, while catching his breath, decided to found the Society for Orthomolecular-Health Medicine (OHM), a medical-education society and a memorial to Linus Pauling. These two organizations have paved the way for medical practice to begin to accept nutriceuticals on a par with pharmaceuticals. We are still at an early stage in this medical evolution however. In 1996, Dr. Kunin was the first to measure fluoride in hair and to demonstrate hair levels of up to 20 parts per million in an outpatient population, providing further evidence of a major public-health problem. Three years later, in 1999, he was the first to develop and publicize the theory that linked autism to ischemia and apoptotic neurological damage triggered by nutrient deficiency, toxicity, and vaccine activation of coagulation. In 2000, he was among the first to treat pro-coagulant factors in general medical patients and identify those combinations that predispose individuals to degenerative disease. In 2001, he was the first to propose that megavitamins work as anti-coagulants, not just as antioxidants with anti-inflammatory effects. That same year, Dr. Kunin was among the first to identify vitamin-K deficiency syndrome, including osteoporosis, periodontal disease, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic disease, carpal tunnel, osteoarthritis, temporal-mandibular joint (TMJ) disease, and as a common factor in delayed healing. Most recently, in 2003, Dr. Kunin was the first to identify the most important epidemic of our time: the genetic epidemic. Alarmingly, he discovered the mutation rate in 150 consecutive patients to be unexpectedly high: MTHFR (folate reductase) over 90% mutated and Methionine synthase (MTR and MTRR) over 95% mutated! With this amazing track record of his, we fully expect to see more firsts in the future coming from this star member of our Board who was just re-elected to a new term. Dr. Kunin truly exemplifies the Renaissance man. With an Unusually Broad Background Educated at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Kunin received his M.D. degree in 1955. Following psychiatric residency training at New York Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic, which he completed in 1959, he served for two years in the United States Army Medical Corps with the 7th Division at the DMZ and the 121 Evac Hospital in Korea, and later at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Pennsylvania. Awarded an NIH post-doctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at Stanford University Medical Center in 1962, Dr. Kunin’s depth-electrode studies documented hippocampal theta rhythm changes in “animal hypnosis.” Application of this research to human hypnosis led to his appointment as a consultant in behavior therapy at Stanford in the Department of Psychology. He was also appointed “lecturer in hypnosis” at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. In 1970, he was elected president of the San Francisco Academy of Hypnosis (a professional education society). In 1986, Dr. Kunin began a 12-year stint as a columnist for the San Francisco New Fillmore. His column, “Putting Nutrition First,” was a big hit with its readers that gave them valid health information they could use.

All of this activity and achievement has taken place against a backdrop of life in San Francisco, California with his wife Matilda for the last 43 years. Of two sons, one survives and runs a thriving business. The other unfortunately died in a freak accident at a young age. This motivated Matilda, an amazingly productive and beautiful person, to establish the San Francisco Young Performers Theatre in his memory. To this day, it remains an important part of San Francisco arts with eight main stage plays and 120 performances annually. Matilda has also established a Theatre in Education project, funded by the Haas Foundation, which brings theatre and performance experience to pre-school and early primary school children. Her productive energy well complements that of Dr. Kunin. And a Renaissance Medical Practice Dr. Kunin practices a health-medicine strategy that puts nutrition and detoxification first in medical diagnosis and therapy, along with exercise and endocrine support for adaptive mechanisms that can cope with disease. These health-medicine factors open the door to life-long self-therapy, which is only possible with ongoing health education and reinforcement of personal habits, including diet and specific nutrient supplementation. Equally helpful is the quest for healing thoughts, beliefs, and practices, which are central to every true “health-oriented therapy.” Mega dose vitamin therapies generate some controversy even now, but it is widely accepted that they are powerful antioxidants. For example, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, B12, folic acid, and many bioflavonoids — all are directly or indirectly antioxidant. Of equal importance, they are anticoagulants as well. In fact, megavitamins hold a key to blood flow; and blood flow is the key to cellular nutrition. Reduced blood flow can cause free radicals, inflammation, and cell death by apoptosis within four hours. Thus, ischemia can induce cells to self-destruct by apoptosis. This mechanism is painless and noninflammatory but it can magnify tissue damage, aggravate illnesses, and accelerate the aging process. Megavitamin therapies are also an answer to biochemical individuality, a term popularized by Dr. Roger Williams forty years ago. These days, with the advent of DNA testing, it has become evident that genetic mutation is far more common than previously thought. As mentioned previously, the frequency of mutations that he has found in his primary-care practice is more than 90 percent in genes that regulate the folic-acid enzyme, MTHFR, and the B12 enzyme, MTR. The response to treatment with mega doses of folic acid and methylcobalamin B12 has been most gratifying, quite literally bringing us a new frontier in medical history. Public Advocacy Active in several non-profit organizations, Dr. Kunin leaves no stones unturned. The Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine, of which Dr. Kunin is an active member in addition to the NHF, is dedicated to providing educational programs for health professionals and the public about the scientific roots of health-medicine. It advocates a strategy of diagnosis and treatment that addresses genetic and nutrient factors to identify the personal needs of the individual patient and that then provides support for the adaptive mechanisms and for resistant symptoms that persist despite orthomolecular therapy. As Dr. Kunin has long said, “Science has given us the tools to provide better diagnosis of the physiological and biochemical needs of our individual patients and, thus, to restore nutrition and environmental factors to the center of medical thinking. Without such a strategy, it is likely that the advances of ‘alternative’ medicine will be suppressed and under-utilized for years to come.” That is another reason why Dr. Kunin says that the NHF’s mission of health freedom is so very important. Among other things, accomplishing this mission helps to spread the word that the orthomolecular movement remains dedicated to the message of Linus Pauling: “The right molecules in the right amounts.” And it thereby helps bring together the consciousness of health professionals and all of humanity in support of natural healing, healing by physiological and “orthomolecular” methods.

Miraculous Health Benefit of the Mineral Zinc. by Richard A. Kunin, M.D , Orthomolecular Physician , friend of Dr. Linus Pauling an Dr. Abram Hoffer. written in 2007 Zinc has been known to play a role in the biology of plants and animals since it was identified in fungus over a hundred years ago; but only in the past 17 years have we recognized it as essential for human health. In 1939 zinc was found to be the specific activator of carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme required for conversion of carbon dioxide into bicarbonate. This mechanism is the essence of acid-base balance, to maintain homeostasis, a stable ph under changing conditions of stress, exercise, climate and dietary loads. Otherwise we would die. In the stomach this enzyme is required for the production of hydrochloric acid and hence it is essential for complete digestion. Zinc supplements should be taken with food to minimize stomach irritation. In fact, zinc sulfate has been used medically to induce vomiting. Nowadays, zinc picolinate and other chelates are the preferred zinc supplements because they are less irritating and better absorbed. Over 200 enzymes have been identified as zinc dependent. For example, it is essential to the function of carbonic anhydrase (ph balance), alkaline phosphatase (release of phosphate from bone and nucleic acids), RNA polymerase (cell division, nucleic acid synthesis and protein synthesis), insulin (glucose utilization), delta 6 desaturase (essential fatty acid utilization), alcohol dehydrogenase (detoxification of alcohol), ALA dehydrogenase (production of blood pigments and oxidative enzymes), zinc-finger proteins (production of steroids), thymulin (immune control), retinol dehydrogenase (night vision), carboxy-peptidase (intestinal protein digestion). As you can readily see, zinc is involved in healing and repair of all tissues, though skin is most visible (dryness, raised hair follicles and thick callus). It is vital to the production of sex and adrenal cortex hormones. It is also a key to pituitary control of sex drive, menstrual cycles and milk production. It is a control factor of immunity, infection and allergy. It also concentrated in the memory centers of the brain. Zinc depletion can cause memory loss; supplements can sometimes restore mental acuity. In view of these facts it seems amazing that The Food and Nutrition Board did not regard zinc as essential and did not set an RDA (recommended daily allowance) until 1974. It is even more amazing that even today so few physicians are prepared to think zinc. But doctors are still recovering from a 50-year propaganda campaign by the medical establishment to convince Americans that our diet is adequate. Zinc deficiency was assumed to be a rare condition. In 1976, Dr. Robert Henkin said: "In the farthest reaches of our imagination, I don't think we have any idea how important and how

widespread zinc deficiency problems are." Zinc made headlines in medical news in1963 when Dr. Ananda Prasad went to Egypt and Iran to investigate and seek the cause for the large number of sexually undeveloped male dwarfs there. Dietary inadequacy was obvious: very little protein from animal sources and over-dependence on wheat and unleavened bread. The diet was low in zinc and iron and high in phytic acid, which renders these minerals insoluble. Deficiency was suspected and confirmed also by abnormally low levels of zinc in their hair. Dr. Prasad fed one group of these adult dwarfs a more complete diet. They grew 2 inches in a year. Another group received diet plus iron supplements and they grew an average of 3 inches in a year. A third group received diet plus zinc and they grew 5 inches. The zinc group also showed a dramatic rate of catch-up sexual development. There was no doubt about the power of zinc in these cases. It was 20 years before Drs. Maibodi and Collip demonstrated similar benefits in a group of "healthy" American children of short stature. Those children whose hair zinc levels were under 140 ppm responded to zinc with a dramatic increase in pituitary growth hormone and testicular hormone, testosterone. When given 50 mg zinc doses these children grew an average of 6.3 cm, ie. about 2 and a half inches a year. A 100 mg daily dose was followed by growth of 3 and a half inches. The doctors observed a reduction in copper levels at the higher but not the lower dose. Later research confirmed that at doses over 50 mg per day zinc can crowd out copper from absorption and cause serious copper-deficiency anemia. In the interest of safety zinc supplements should not exceed 50 mg daily for over a few weeks. In the meantime, after 1963 Dr. Prasad made additional studies of zinc deficiency, including male infertility. Zinc deficiency was induced in human volunteers by a soy-based diet containing only 2.5 to 5 mg of zinc for 6 to 10 months. He found that within 2 months sperm counts dropped 6-fold, from an average 280 million to 45 million. Recovery took 2 months to almost 2 years! Low testosterone levels also occurred and did not return to normal in over half the cases, even a year and a half later. Dr. Abbasi, co-author, advised that strict vegetarians who want children may need zinc supplements to make up for the fact that animal protein is the only reliable source of zinc. Using this same zinc-deficient soybean diet these researchers went on to study human zinc deficiency in detail. They observed classic symptoms to be: loss of sex drive, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss. The men lost about 10 percent of their body weight, due either to loss of appetite or slow-down in cellular activity required for protein synthesis. At about the same time, Dr. Robert Henkin, was advancing in his research on the neurology of taste. He discovered that the taste buds of the tongue require a zinc-containing protein, called gustin,

and that gustin is He also recognized patients with loss intestinal disease

decreased or absent in zinc deficient patients. that zinc deficiency is a common denominator in of taste sensation due to thyroid, liver or and in some cancers.

Taste and appetite obviously are related, so it is surprising that it took so long before researchers could show that zinc deficiency is a prime cause of anorexia nervosa. Self-starvation is a puzzling and tragic "mental" illness, one that has shown a poor response to psychoanalysis, a better response to combination of tube-feeding and behavior modification, and in the past decade a number of reports of prompt recoveries with zinc therapy. Dr. Alex Schauss of the Institute of Bio-Social Research in Seattle reports an 85 percent recovery rate in 25 anorexia nervosa patients followed for 5 years. That is a spectacular result, especially when previous treatments offer only 5 percent recovery from this illness where one victim in three dies within 20 years. An important new twist is that Dr. Schauss and his English colleague, Dr. Derek Bryce-Smith, developed a taste test for zinc deficiency. Anorexia patients cannot taste the zinc solution; whereas normally it is quite metallic and even unpleasant. These researchers also found that anorexia patients are so malnourished that they cannot absorb zinc from tablets and capsules but must be treated at first with a liquid form of zinc sulfate. After two weeks of 60 to 150 mg daily intake most patients improve. This innovation, liquid zinc, is the main reason for their success after previous attempts at zinc therapy failed. So rapid is the influx of new findings about zinc and so little the encouragement to apply this new knowledge that most physicians fail to integrate zinc therapy into practice. That is truly a shame. Zinc deficiency is common amongst sick people, particularly those with chronic intestinal disease and malabsorption. Mental or physical stress causes extra zinc loss, especially in sweat. Thus runners and athletes are especially at risk. Many common medications, Dilantin for example, increase zinc loss via the intestinal tract. Failure to diagnose and treat a nutrient deficiency can prolong illness and delay healing after surgery, no matter how competent treatment is in every other aspect. This adds to costs of medicine, in both the misery and the expense. For example: Dr. Thomas Sedlacek of the University of Pennsylvania found that zinc supplements shortened hospital stays by two thirds in women after gynecological surgery and wound breakdown occurred 4 times less. The savings in hospital medical bills was $4000 per patient in 1976 dollars. That could make an enormous difference in our present crisis in health care. Zinc supplementation has been found helpful in a large number of illnesses. In general healing is accelerated and resistance to infection enhanced. Dr. Pories and Henzel found the rate of healing tripled after zinc supplementation. This aspect of zinc power

applies to every illness where there is inflammation and tissue damage. If the diagnosis includes "itis" the treatment should include zinc! Arthritis, gastritis, pneumonitis, prostatitis, dermatitis, etc. Atherosclerosis, with arterial plaque and blockage of peripheral vessels, improves after zinc supplements. Dr. Henzel observed improvement in leg cramps and ability to walk longer distances despite no increase in circulation! Apparently zinc improves the tissue vitality and metabolism. Some of this zinc power is due to the partnership between zinc and vitamin A, wherein zinc activates manufacture of RBP (retinol binding protein), required to carry vitamin A (retinol) from storage in the liver to the tissues of the body. This combination of zinc and vitamin A has been found effective in treating acne even in cases where separately they fail. A study by Dr. Gerd Michaelsson in Sweden found an almost 90 percent clearing of acne pimples in patients treated with both vitamin A and zinc. A placebo group showed only 25 percent clearing and vitamin A by itself was only a little better. Zinc is directly anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Zinc lozenges shorten the duration of the common cold by two thirds, from 11 days to 4, a beneficial affect at least double that of vitamin C! Zinc deficiency is a prime cause of abnormal fetal development and birth defects, including joined fingers and toes, scoliosis, hydrocephalus, low IQ and immune deficiency. One of the most alarming observations in the field of nutrition-medicine is that immune deficiency in offspring of zinc deficient pregnancies continue to bear immune deficient offspring for two additional generations—even if the diet is corrected to be adequate in zinc. The implications of this study in rats are quite frightening if it holds for humans! Alcohol greatly increases zinc losses and also interferes with utilization of the vitamin, folic acid. These combination deficiencies can cause full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome, with deformities and mental retardation. It is encouraging that zinctreated children often increase in mental acuity and score higher on IQ tests. Acrodermatitis enteropathica is a genetic impairment of zinc absorption. It can produce fatal skin damage and diarrhea in newborns, a syndrome called. Until Dr. Edmund Moynahan thought of testing for mineral deficiency in 1976, these children were treated with an antiprotozoal drug, Diodoquin, which was of some benefit but at risk of optic atrophy and blindness. Another hereditary disorder, porphyria, causes loss of both zinc and vitamin B6, which are wasted in the urine along with porphyrins, fragments of blood pigments with which they are complexed. Environmental pollution by lead and mercury interferes with the enzymes that convert these fragments into the heme (of hemoglobin). Instead these fragments pile up and must be excreted in the bile and

urine—but they carry zinc and B6 out, depleting them. Since both zinc and B6 are active in nerve regulation, it is logical to find that when extra amounts of porphyrins appear the patients are likely to have mood swings, depression, alcoholism and schizophrenia. Aggressive supplementation with zinc and B6 often yields significant improvement. Another interaction that bears mention is that of zinc and cadmium. Suffice it to say that cadmium is a metal that is often found in nature with zinc. But where zinc is physiologic, cadmium is toxic and capable of causing kidney damage and high blood pressure even at very low doses. Since cadmium acts by interfering with zinc containing enzymes, zinc supplementation is restorative. Zinc competes with cadmium for absorption and supplementation is protective. It is hard to believe that this metallic element, present in the human body in small amounts, about 2,000 milligrams total, can be so vital to health and recovery from almost every disease. Obvious as the beneficial role of zinc appear to you now, you can bet it is not as obvious to most health professionals. It is up to you to insist on Putting Nutrition First for your health.

ADD and Ritalin...Is There an Alternative? by Richard A. Kunin, M.D , Orthomolecular Physician , friend of Dr. Linus Pauling an Dr. Abram Hoffer. written in 2010 Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. It is so common that some argue that it is a normal part of childhood. Don’t believe it. Anyone who has faced the daunting task of caring for an ADD child knows that it is a biggerthan-life problem! The child may be pleasant and well-intentioned on the surface, but inability to focus and organize tasks and settle into everyday home and social situations means that adult authority is constantly tested. Parents know that their ADD children are unable to play, study and learn independently, and the increased risk of accident and injury to themselves and friends, means that family life is fraught with stress for everyone. Attention deficit is a symptom that interferes with learning. It is a thought disorder, not just misbehavior, and it prevents these children from succeeding at school and developing interests, skills and friendships. Motivation plays a role, of course, but there is also an organic impairment of brain function affecting both attention and memory, especially immediate short term memory, which seems to be fragmentary, disorganized, and fraught with errors, even though the total intelligence of the child measures within the normal range. ADD children often give up on learning unless it just comes all by itself. They gravitate to TV, video games, art

projects, collecting things, and getting into mischief. They develop routines and resist interruptions once they are engaged. Attention is impaired, but curiosity is usually intact, and so the child is driven to explore, but taking only small ‘bites’ out of any new item. This leads to boredom, but not before family and teachers are exasperated by the constant need for supervision to cope with the hyperactivity and aggressiveness of the ADD child, and to protect his peers, and property from mindless mishaps. ADD affects 3 to 9 percent of school-age children, the number has been increasing in the past decade. This amounts to over 2.5 million children in the United States whose educational experiences are marred by frustration and whose peer relationships are strained by conflict and misunderstanding. Eventually, such children are more likely to resort to antisocial and delinquent behaviors, including drug dependency in their teen years. Contrary to earlier opinion, children do not usually outgrow this disorder and may need lifelong medication, in order to be able to develop a skill, find a job, and maintain a stable and productive lifestyle. A follow-up study of ADD children found 80 percent still impaired after 8 years, i.e. in their late teens and early 20’s; and over half had actually worsened by becoming more defiant and unruly.[1] In the language of the professions, this is called “oppositional” and “conduct disorder” respectively. There have been no measurable differences between those treated with medication and those not. There is no doubt that the epidemic of ADD children is a major part of the epidemic of teen-age violence, suicide, drug abuse, and criminality that is having such a disturbing effect on our country. Amphetamine-like drugs, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate), dexedrine, and desoxyn, are the medical drugs-of-choice for the ADD child. Cylert (magnesium pemoline) is a different type of amine that is also helpful. These drugs are so entrenched in medical practice and in the expectations of the education bureaucracy, that it is almost mandatory for the office-based physician to prescribe them. To not do so can be challenged as “unprofessional.” It is ironic that these same drugs are absolutely illegal when used by teen-agers as their preferred street drug. The point is that the drugs do accomplish a perceived benefit—but at some degree of risk, albeit less so under medical supervision than on the streets. Ritalin is the least toxic of the amphetamines, but even so it does interfere with REM sleep, an essential brain repair mechanism, and it is also known to deplete the neurotransmitter, serotonin. On the other hand, research confirms that about 75 percent of hyperactive children improve, showing better attention, less impulsiveness and less over-active behavior on Ritalin. A recent study showed a significant advantage of 4 points on an IQ test measure comparing ADD children treated with Ritalin versus placebo after a year and a half of follow-up. Research into ADD is a national priority and the search for a different and better medical approach is spurred by the increasing public dissatisfaction with the idea of treating school-children

with drugs. The war on drugs has demonized almost all psychoactive substances, even those that are relatively safe and non-toxic when used in medical settings, even the likes of amphetamines and opiates. It is strange to consider that if children were getting Ritalin in the schoolyard instead of in the doctor’s office, the police would be called at once! I am not promoting the use of drugs and amphetamines but perhaps this paradox will do some good, and get us to realize that all “drugs” have the potential for abuse and also the potential for good. It is up to patients, doctors, and our political leaders to be rational and scientific in our approach so that we don’t exclude potentially useful substances from medical practice. There has been significant progress in our understanding of ADD but no one has yet been able to explain the apparent increase in the number of children with this behavior pattern that has caused sales of Ritalin to increase 5-fold in 7 years! Genetic factors surely play a part, for a study of identical twins found 90 percent concordance: if one twin had ADD so did the other. Environmental factors are a well-established factor. Lead and mercury are particularly damaging to brain development and activity. Lead was carefully studied in the 1960s and 70s and the consensus was that half of all cases of ADD that were not otherwise explained, were caused by lead exposure from housepaint, petrol, lead contaminated dirt—and from solder in toothpaste tubes and baby formula cans! We know these metals are still present in home repair situations calling for the removal of old paint, but the Lead Paint Protection Act of 1976 ended the use of lead in gasoline and indoor paint in the United States and there has been a dramatic reduction in lead level in the American people. Hair levels were commonly 15 to 20 ppm in the 1970s; now it is rare to see a hair sample with more than 4 or 5 ppm (ppm is parts per million, which is the same as micrograms per gram of hair). Mercury was not removed from paint until after 1991, when a baby died after being placed overnight in a newly-painted, poorly ventilated nursery. I have not seen a research study that estimated the frequency of ADD due to mercury from paint, or dental amalgam (silver fillings contain mercury), probably because it hasn’t been taken seriously up until now. However Drs. Marlowe, Moon and Errera measured hair mercury levels in 59 children, and found a significant correlation to IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Even at very low concentration mercury had an adverse effect on brain function. Thus, though the average hair mercury was only 1.04 mcg per gram (ppm), less than half the upper limit of 2.5 ppm that the laboratory accepts as normal, the research indicated that 10 percent of the drop in IQ scores is due to mercury. Is there sufficient evidence to ban the use of mercury-containing silver fillings in children? It is already happening in Sweden and Germany. The risk of mercury causing adverse effects is credible because mercury accumulates for the life of the filling. In the 1953

disaster at Minamata, Japan, doses of mercury that did not cause symptoms in the pregnant mothers had disastrous outcomes for the babies, which were born with permanently impaired movement, limited speech, and retarded intellect. Another toxic agent that should be taken seriously is fluoride. There are several credible studies, in animals and humans both, that confirm the fact of brain damage from fluoride—at levels similar to those commonly experienced here in the United States. Animal studies show accumulation of fluoride in the brain, interference with enzyme activity—and direct free radical damage to nerve cells. Nerve damage from fluoride is not just a theory—it is fact. In research laboratories aluminum fluoride is routinely used to activate Gproteins, regulators of cell activity. This compound is likely to be produced when fluoridated water is heated in aluminum pots, especially in the presence of acid foods, such as tomato, fruits, and coffee. There has been pitifully little research on the influence of fluoridation on human brain development! We should be concerned that the incidence of ADD is rising precipitously even though we have largely removed lead and mercury from contention. How to account for the fact that the number of children requiring treatment for ADD doubled between 1990 and 1993? That surely cannot be a sudden change in our gene structure. Nor is it likely to be a medical or bureaucratic fad. Have there been any large-scale changes in environment of children since the late 1980s? Yes. There has been a campaign to fluoridate the entire water supply of the United States and the number of fluoridated cities is increasing. More pertinent, however, is the increasing popularity of vitamin supplements. The fact that you are reading this article is a direct reflection of the growing health and nutrition consciousness of Americans and the medical profession. Mothers and doctors are more likely than ever to add vitamins to infant formula in an attempt to give their child the best modern advantage. However vitamin drops are likely to be fluoridated, even in areas where the water is already fluoridated, and this becomes excessive. The fluoride burden is already too high due to fluoride residues in infant formula, baby food, and toothpaste. About the only safe haven for babies is breast milk. In the first place, breast milk contains almost no fluoride. But it does contain nutrients essential for brain development, especially DHA and taurine. Remember, the human brain is not fully developed at birth—the EEG does not have the familiar alpha, beta, and theta wave, but only some nondescript delta activity. Even at age three the brain structure is only 90 percent developed. Babies that are fed the raw materials for human nerve cell growth and development get a tremendous advantage. In an 18 year study of 1000 New Zealand children, breast fed babies tested higher in reading, mathematics, IQ and scholastic ability—and they were 38% more likely to graduate high school. This statistic was derived after correcting for socioeconomic factors and diseases of infancy.[i]

This takes on greater significance in light of research at Purdue University that found a significant deficiency of DHA in blood cells of 53 children with ADD compared to 43 children without the disorder.[ii] DHA is produced from the essential fatty acid, ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which is commonly deficient in the American diet. This nutrient is essential for brain development and nerve cell membrane structure. Though it is readily obtained in fish oils, these are located in the skin of the fish, a part that most people don’t eat. One reason is that Americans have been strongly advised against eating fats. Even the “good fats,” like that in fish skin, are taboo. And children, even more in need than adults, lose out because DHA is not yet included in any of the commercial infant formulas sold in the USA! If you don’t add the new DHA products or the old-fashioned cod-liver oil, your child is out of luck. Forty percent of the ADD children in the Purdue study also had symptoms of fatty acid deficiency, such as excess thirst and frequency of urination, dry hair, dandruff and dry skin (especially elbows), and bumpy hair follicles on the upper arms. This compares to only 9 percent in the control group children. However their diets were not significantly different except alpha linolenic acid was lower in the ADD group than the controls! This is the source of DHA, which is an essential component of the brain cell membranes. DHA supplementation in adult dyslexics improves the function of nerve cells in the retina. Their dark adaptation is so improved that “experts” are considering DHA may be a dietary essential for this organ. Dyslexics have retinal and central processing defects but dark adaptation has not been reported before. Research by Dr. J. Stordy has found that DHA supplementation is associated with improved reading ability and sociable behavior.[iii] Other comparisons are also informative: the rate of breast feeding was 81 percent in the control group, but only 45 percent in those with ADD. Recurrent ear infections (otitis) relapsing more than 10 times since birth occurred in 30 percent of the ADD children but only 9 percent of the controls. Asthma was also seen in 32 percent of the ADD kids and only 9 percent of the controls. The ADD kids also had more headaches and stomach-aches, practically non-existent in the control group. With this in mind, it is not surprising that a double blind study found a significant gain in reading comprehension within a year of individualized nutrient supplementation for a group of 20 learning disabled children. The seventeen children who stayed on the supplement program were able to enter mainstream classes within a year and a half. A sub-group of 12 children stayed on vitamins for a full two years, during which their test scores rose 7+ points while those on placebo dropped by over 6 points. For those who stopped taking nutrients, it took almost 2 years for academic performance to decline back to baseline. The good news is the benefits are longlasting. The bad news is that it is hard for people to appreciate just how powerful the nutrient therapy actually is.

Herbal treatments for ADD are also gaining credibility. St. John’s Wort is one of these and it probably will be scientifically proven and accepted before long. However, it also causes sunburn, an adverse effect that I think will curtail its use. Vinpocetine is another herbal brain stimulant that holds promise, based on its popularity as a “smart pill” for adults. In use for over 400 years in Europe in the form of vincamine, derived from the periwinkle plant, it has become the most popular of the smart pills in Hungary. Over 100 research studies document the claim that it increases the rate at which brain cells produce ATP, and increases the utilization of glucose and oxygen in the brain. The only adverse effect I have seen with it is headache due to dilatation of cerebral blood vessels. Another recent study found a significant improvement in 10 of 11 ADD children treated with combination American ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) and Ginkgo biloba extracts. Over 90 percent of the subjects showed a reduction in at least 3 out of 7 ADD symptoms. The ginseng product performed as well all by itself in almost 80 percent (11 of 14) of another group of children.[iv] Ginseng works in part by increasing acetylcholine neurotransmitter production. A similar effect is associated with the use of deanol (DMAE or dimethylaminoethanol), which was first used for ADD by Dr. Leon Oettinger in 1958[v] and was confirmed in 1960 by Dr. Stanley Geller, who conducted a double-blind study in 75 children, who were given 50 mg doses, twice a day.[vi] Improved puzzle solving ability, and organization of activity were observed. Additional confirmation was provided by Coleman et al in 1976.[vii] Deanol is an important and safe orthomolecular therapy and it deserves to be used much more than it is. It is my first choice for the treatment of ADD, certainly preferred to amphetamines and Ritalin. Other factors in ADD, such as allergy and low blood sugar remain controversial, mostly because the have been presented as causative factors. The neurologic injury that causes ADD is undoubtedly aggravated by allergy and low blood sugar and these should rightfully be treated. But they are not likely the cause of the disorder. Nevertheless, treating allergy and balancing the diet can make a huge difference. Just ask the mothers and fathers of the Feingold Association how they feel about food additives, salicylates, and allergy. The same goes for parents who find that sugar is a trigger for hyperactivity: would you have them believe an egghead statistic over their own first-hand, day-to-day experience? The New England Journal apparently would. Their recent study on the effects of sugar was thumbs down: no significant effect of sugar on child behavior! This study, by Dr. Wolraich et al, was designed so that the average dose of sugar was about 2/3 pound (300 grams) a day. There was no comparison group at a truly low sugar intake, under 100 mg per day. I wrote to them about this but my rebuttal was rejected. I called the editor; he assured me that the other critics also felt that the study should be repeated— but with a higher dose of sugar!

[1] Barkley R, Fischer M, et al: The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: An 8 year prospective follow-up study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 29:546-556; 1990. [i] Horwood LJ, Fergusson DM: Breastfeeding and later cognitive and academic outcomes. Pediatrics 101. 1998. [ii] Stevens L, Zentall S, et al: Essential fatty acid metablism in boys with attention-deficit hyperctivity disorder. AJCN; 62:761-8. 1995. (unpublished) [iii] Stordy JB: Benefit of docosoahexaenoic acid supplements to dark adaptation in dyslexics. Lancet 1995, 346:38. [iv] Lyon MR, Cline JC et al: An open, randomized, double blind comparison of American Ginseng alone or in combination with ginkgo biloba on the symptoms of ADD in children. (unpublished 1998) [v] Oettinger L: The use of deanol in the treatment of disorders of behavior in children. J Pediat. 53:761-765. 1958. [vi] Geller S. Comparison of a tranquilizer and a psychic energizer. JAMA; 174:89-92. 1960. [vii] Coleman N, Dexheimer P: Deanol in the treatment of hyperkinetic hildren. Psychosomatics; 17:68—72. 1976.

Megadose B12 Therapy

Nutrition doomsayers often warn against taking vitamins, especially in large doses. Are megavitamins dangerous? The truth of the matter is that vitamins are in a class by themselves when it comes to safety. They are safe, even at large doses, so long as the warning signs of toxicity are heeded. Even the fat soluble vitamins, A and D offer treatment benefits that far outweigh the adverse effects of overdose. But isn’t that what doctors are for, to help patients use medicines safely and effectively. It is just common sense that megavitamins should be used under medical supervision. Unfortunately the medical profession is just now recovering from "malnutrition." It is not easy to find an experienced and knowledgeable nutritionphysician. Dr. Jonathan Wright began using megadoses of B12 for treating asthma 20 years ago. He found that wheezing disappeared in 8 out of 10 cases if the patients were not already dependent on cortisone. Dr. Wright tells of other physicians who have observed similar results,1

starting in 1949, when Dr. Wetzel found as little as 10 mcg of B12 daily for a week cleared a case of "intractable" wheezing in a child at summer camp. Later on, Dr. Simon reported similar results in 20 adult asthmatics treated with injections of 1000 mcg. One shot a week for a month was enough to do the trick in 18 out of his 20 patients. In Italy Dr. Caruselli used intravenous megadoses of 30,000 mcg. over a 2 to 3 week period in treating a dozen adult asthmatic patients. Ten of the twelve were completely relieved of their wheezing by this treatment. In 1957 Dr. Crocket reported on 85 asthmatics, all treated with injections of 1000 mcg of the vitamin at intervals of one to four weeks. The benefits were related to age for about 80 percent of the children were relieved of wheezing but only half that number between 30 and 50 years of age and only 14 percent of those over age fifty were symptom-free. That suggests that the younger patients were responding to the adrenalin-like action of B12, whereas the older patients were at a later stage of bronchial fibrosis and not mere inflammation and spasm. Dr. J. Domisse reports2 that almost all of his depressed and bipolar patients have had B12 levels in the lowest third of the normal range and "when those levels have been raised to the highest one third of that normal range every one of those patients has done and felt better." Don’t you think megadose vitamin B12 should be considered in every case of resistant mood depression, even before tricyclic anti-depressant drugs and serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, such as Prozac? Megadose vitamin B12 can also be of great benefit in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFIDS). Dr. Paul Cheney, a physician and researcher in this field has observed significant relief when the vitamin is given by intramuscular injection two or three times a week at doses above 2500 mcg. After a few weeks, over half the patients treated at the Cheney Clinic reported sustained improvement in energy, mood and mental ability. These benefits were not seen after oral or nasal administration of the vitamin.3 Dr. H. L. Newbold reported dramatic effects of similar doses of B12 against sedative drug overdosage.4 One of his patients, a drug dealer, had learned to depend on vitamin B12 doses of 6000 mcg to revive people who were otherwise incapacitated by black-market Quaalude. As luck would have it, Dr. Newbold was called on to treat a woman in coma after such an overdose. Two minutes after the injection of 9000 mcg, the patient awoke and was able to talk. In another few minutes she was able to walk! An ambulance had been called--but the order was cancelled. Drs. Alice Tang of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health studied the effect of B12 and folic acid, along with vitamin B6, in AIDS patients.5 The team found blood levels of B12 and B6, and to a lesser extent folic acid, were low in AIDS patients. But the importance of B12 stood out plainly: those with adequate blood levels remained free of disease for about 8 years; while those who

were deficient in B12 developed clinical AIDS in only four years. What a testimony to the power of a vitamin. Do we know any other factor that can yield a clear-cut doubling of symptom-free life in HIV positive individuals? Now the question is: will the medical profession use this information? Will doctors measure B12 and treat with oral supplementation and injections? Will they use B12 even in case of "borderline" deficiency? And, finally, will the patients accept vitamin treatment? Here is a letter I wrote to one of my patients, a lovely lady who just plain disappeared from follow-up until I called her many months later. As you will no doubt agree: she was her own worst enemy. Unfortunately, her family and physicians seem to have let her down also. "I have recently reviewed all my recent cases in which low levels of B12 were found. Yours is one of them. I know that my assistant called you on two occasions to remind you to follow-up on the finding of a very low B12 level (78 pg vs. laboratory normal of 150-800 pg/ml). Recent findings support a revised range of normal of at least 250 pg and some authorities recommend maintaining blood levels of 1000 pg in order to prevent memory loss and nerve problems. "I want to be sure that you let your local doctor know about the low B12 test result and that you get follow-up blood tests until the level is repeatedly over 500 and preferably over 1000 pg/ml. I have seen a few patients lose their memory function permanently because of B12 deficiency. The outcome is similar to Alzheimer’s although it can be preceded by depression, paranoia and other signs of mental illness, which you have had. Permanent nerve and spinal cord damage can also occur if B12 deficiency is not treated; therefore be sure to show this letter to your doctor." This particular woman was seen on two occasions in June 1993. She gave a history of 3 psychotic episodes. The first occurred after her first child was born and was considered a "post-partum psychosis." After two weeks in a psychiatric ward she was maintained on Haldol therapy for six months, during which time she nursed her son. Three years later she gave birth to a daughter and again had post-partum symptoms of insomnia and anxiety but without mania or psychosis. She had been vegetarian since 1982 and returned to a B12-deficient vegan diet each time after weaning. She functioned well until 1993 when she developed insomnia, which after a week led to mania and confusion. She settled down after treatment with Stelazine and consulted me 3 months later, no longer on medication. Her diet was devoid of flesh foods and milk except 3 cups of sweetened yogurt and 3 eggs a week. She drank bottled water and no soft drinks or refined sugar, other than in the flavored yogurt. Her diet was low in methionine and vitamin B12. At the same time it was high in brassica vegetables, of the cabbage and mustard families, which are cyanogens, similar to cassava, which was

recently implicated as a cause of blindness and nerve damage in a serious epidemic in Cuba. Economic hardship deprived Cubans of milk and meat and forced them to eat cassava when they ran out of grain. The cyanogens in foods are of special importance given her additional history of migraine and visual loss twice a year since 1980. She may have been having eye damage similar to that in Cuba, but milder because of protection by protein intake from grains and yogurt. Mother Nature provides sulfur from the amino acid, methionine, to conver cyanide to inactive thiocyanate. Though methionine is low in her vegetarian diet, conservation of methionine from homocystine is possible, though it uses up precious B12, folic acid, and B6 and she was low in all these nutrients. I suspect a genetic factor in her illness also, for her father was alcoholic and committed suicide, a tragedy that often reflects familial B6 defects. In fact, her own B6 activity was tested and found to be deficient along with her B12 deficiency! Yeast infections were diagnosed two years earlier, before the onset of her migraine headaches, and she was treated with antifungal drugs. It is not widely known that these drugs also destroy B12. Luckily she also was in the habit of eating spirulina, blue green algae, which is one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12, and she improved as a result. Spirulina was an especially lucky choice because her lifestyle also exposed her to the combustion products of a wood-burning stove, which releases PCP (pentachlorophenol), a wood preservative. This chemical is another one that destroys B12; and since it is inhaled in the fumes, it travels directly from lungs to the brain to do its damage. The fact that she reported serious memory loss, inability to recall names, dates and phone numbers, since her third psychotic episode, is ominous. The fact of her lack of follow-through is a further omen. The failure of her family to insist on additional medical care also bodes a gloomy prognosis for this young wife and mother. When a patient with a brain-threatening disease is evasive about follow-up, it is wise to assume that she is lacking insight or is in denial to a psychotic extent. The only way to verify the extent of the loss of mental capacity is by means of formal testing; because it is usual for such people to cover-up their memory gaps and fool even their families and doctors until they reach a crisis and deteriorate, possibly beyond the point of full recovery. A doctor has no power to intervene against the wishes of the patient and family when and if they decline treatment as in this case. I made two telephone calls and wrote a note to the patient defining the terrible consequences of inadequate treatment. I had expected this also to inform the primary care physician but when I called a year later no follow-up treatment had been done and no follow-up vitamin B12 measurements had been made. Luckily this woman has not had a relapse into dementia, presumably because her body absorbed enough B12 from my treatments to maintain her; but she is on borrowed time.

In the space of 10 years and 3 hospitalizations for psychosis, under the care of at least three different physicians, including a psychiatrist who has followed this case for the entire time, no test for B12 was ordered for this patient before she consulted me. The psychiatrists treated her only with anti-psychotic drugs and she recovered reasonably well each time, so they let it go at that. An orthomolecular psychiatrist puts nutrition first, tests for nutrient-related disorders, and often finds the cause behind the disease. Until orthomolecular thinking becomes part of orthodox medical education, American physicians will too often miss-out on vitamin B12 and other nutrient deficiencies. Of course it is important to prevent any damage from vitamin overdoses, but it is a lot more likely and even more important to prevent neurological damage from B12 deficiency. The fact that vitamin deficiency horror stories are still occurring at all these days is testimony to a major failure of American medical education and practice, the failure to "put nutrition first." ©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

What is Orthomolecular Medicine?

I remember how I felt when Nobel laureate Linus Pauling’s article on “Orthomolecular Psychiatry” appeared in our leading scientific Journal, Science, in 1968. I was encouraged because Linus Pauling’s endorsement elevated nutrition to a higher scientific status than ever before. That was almost 30 years ago, a time when the leading proponents of nutrition were not taken seriously by scientists and were despised by the medical profession! Adelle Davis, whose best selling books of the 50s and 60s still read up-to-date in most respects, was vilified by numerous medical editorials. But her readers believed in her, and I gained a whole new perspective on my medical education by reading her book, Let’s Get Well. It made the reader, including me, aware that nutrition is a key to health, and that the typical American diet of that day was inadequate. This went completely against the official medical propaganda. It was actually illegal for food and vitamin companies to find fault with our food supply, and questionable to suggest that vitamin pills might be good for anything.

I read Adelle Davis’ books with considerable skepticism but she won me over with her very readable and interesting nutrition tour of the major diseases in Let’s Get Well. Though she was not a physician, her medical scholarship was impressive and she presented a flood of ideas that made me see my medical education in a clearer light, particularly the relationship between nutrition and biochemistry. They go together. But just in case she was distorting data to suit her ends, I found it comforting that her bibliography was extensive. She reviewed the biochemical and medical journals in a manner comparable to any medical school textbook; but her books are written in a more interesting style. I had just experienced my first successes with megavitamin therapy and I was enthusiastic but also filled with doubts and questions. For one, why was nutrition and vitamin therapy not taught in medical schools? I had only three lectures in nutrition for surgical patients, not a clue about the advantages of nutrient support for just about every disease known. Adelle was persuasive; she made it seem so obvious. So why isn’t everyone doing nutrition, if it is so good? The answer was actually pretty obvious: Nutrition was singled out for scorn and ridicule by the establishment. Nutritionphysicians were regarded as quacks. In 1968 nutrition rated so low in American science and medicine that there was very little research in the field. Nutrition was the bottom of the medical totem pole. I can say without question that Linus Pauling advanced the cause of nutrition by at least twenty years by inventing the word, “orthomolecular.” That word was his endorsement of nutrition medicine—as science. Ortho-molecular means “right molecules.” Nutrients are these right molecules, the molecules of life that fit into the biochemistry in a way that no drug ever can! Maimonedes knew it in the 12th Century: “Let no illness that can be treated by nutrition be treated by any other means.” Dr. Pauling is no longer with us. But his influence remains an inspiration in so many ways, and not least is his neologism, “orthomolecular,” which remains the best word to define the essence of what is otherwise known as “alternative medicine.” Words like holistic, integrated, complementary and functional are also in use; but only the word orthomolecular conveys the union of nutrition, science and medicine as envisioned by the great Linus Pauling. I am convinced that the word, orthomolecular, is here to stay because it really does convey the operational concepts and beliefs of the nutrition-physicians. Let me present a few of these words and ideas that denote the practice of orthomolecular medicine. Orthomolecular medicine relies on the use of molecules that occur naturally in the human body. These are the preferred molecules for maintaining health and treating disease. They are the right molecules, the molecules necessary for life itself. They are found in the foods we eat and are known by such familiar names as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and water. Fiber and bioflavonoids are food substances that also offer

such great health advantages that they are now considered orthomolecules. Maintaining orthomolecular balance is the biological challenge of survival; doing it well is the key to health and wellbeing. Traditionally this balance was controlled by our choice of food and drink. Only in the last century do we have access to food concentrates that make it possible to regulate the rates of chemical reaction within our bodies intelligently. Nutrition and Pollution denote the two classes of molecules that most influence our survival. Orthomolecular health-medicine puts nutrition first, but also screens for pollution. This is a human ecology view of health: mankind seen in relation to the environment. Stress is another human ecology concept, denoting the adaptive response of the neuro-immune-endocrine systems to the environment, which presents as physical, chemical and psychological stimuli. The individual responds with what Hans Selye called, the General Adaptation Syndrome. This has 3 stages: Alarm, Adaptation, and Exhaustion; and at whatever stage, stress is ultimately measured in terms of biochemical change within the individual. In summary: Nutrition and Pollution are environmental factors. Stress and Disease are types of human responses to the environment. Adaptation is the fundamental purpose of our physiology. To the extent that stress induces adaptation, it strengthens physiologic mechanisms of survival and health. The orthomolecular perspective can be tabulated by merging the four key words—nutrition, pollution, stress and disease—into corollary categories: Table I. HUMAN ECOLOGY PERSPECTIVE Environment Human Response Category NUTRITION POLLUTION STRESS DISEASE Corollary Deficiency Excess Adaptation

Damage

BODY Malnutrition Intoxication Hypertrophy Degeneration MIND Ignorance Hypnosis Neurosis Psychosis

This table identifies the relationships of the key words that define Orthomolecular Health Medicine: i.e. Nutrition-Pollution-Stress. A single word reflects the philosophy of orthodox medicine: Disease. The chart illustrates the fact that orthomolecular medicine comes into play before much damage is done. Orthomolecular medicine is “early” medicine. Orthodox medicine is usually “late” medicine. It takes a crisis of pain, fear or disability to motivate most patients to seek medical help. Too often this is late, beyond adaptation and into the exhaustion-degeneration stage; and too late to regain optimal health. I have made analogous applications of this tabulation to the ‘Mind. Is it not possible to look on ideas as a kind of food for the mind? Then bad thoughts are like pollutants, able to mislead and harm the mind. Ignorance is a mental deficiency state, "a malnutrition of the mind.” Thought overload, in the form of coercion or confusion is well known to induce hypnosis, a state of compliance without much resistance, as if reason sleeps. Hypnosis is a natural defense, protecting the integrity of the cerebral cortex by limiting its activity. Everyday life in our civilized world assaults us with an excess of ideas, rules, laws, news, and information and mis-information, sufficient to confuse and overload our mind and cause regression to

unthinking compliance and suggestibility. This is a self-protective, near hypnotic state, and when it fails, accidents, violence and post-traumatic neurosis erupt in proportion to the degree of overload beyond what the individual can absorb. Such break-downs induce biochemical imbalances that can cause permanent damage to the brain, pituitary and adrenal glands. Nutrition, detoxification and therapeutic suggestion (relaxation, meditation, hypnosis) can prevent the damage, even in the face of severe stress. The most important implication of this tabulation is that medicine is better viewed in a human ecology perspective, not just as disease. Disease concepts in primary care medicine are based on archaic symptoms and signs and not on molecular and cell biology. Orthomolecular medicine is by definition, by its very name, a molecular approach to nutrition, pollution and stress. Orthomolecular medicine focuses on the adaptive response to environmental stressors, and aims to make the necessary corrections before damage is done. Orthodox medicine begins with the idea of disease, where orthomolecular medicine leaves off. Worse, orthodox medical practice is likely to treat the adaptive mechanisms as disease, with drugs and surgery, and this may be inappropriate. To paraphrase Maimonedes: if it can be cured with food, don’t treat with drugs. I say: “Put nutrition first.” That’s orthomolecular, that’s what. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

What is Folic Acid?

Folic acid. The name sounds like it might be dangerous, a caustic acid substance and not good for health. But it is actually a very important vitamin and therefore essential to your life and your health. It is also the most commonly deficient vitamin in Americans and the average American diet provides only about half the RDA, the amount recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board. Folic acid is found in green leaves, such as spinach, asparagus, beans (legumes) and especially in brewers yeast and liver. If you don't like any of those foods, try eating butterfly wings for an exotic source health

food. Deficiency of folic acid is an important cause of birth defects, particularly spina bifida, a defect in the formation of the lower back which leaves the spinal cord exposed. Several studies have confirmed the value of folic acid in preventing these "neural tube defects" and the FDA now recommends that prospective mothers take folic acid supplements because women are unlikely to obtain a sufficient amount of folate to support a healthy pregnancy unless a supplement is taken. If it were only to prevent birth defects, I strongly recommend that all women of child-bearing age take a folic acid supplement of at least 0.4 mg and preferably twice that much on a regular basis. Folic acid has many other actions that you need to know about. This vitamin is especially important in patients whose illness requires hospital care. Research reports indicate that a third of the psychiatric patients and two thirds of the medical patients in hospital are low in folic acid. Deficiency is not necessarily due to poor diet. Intestinal malabsorption and treatment with female hormones and birth control pills also cause low folic acid levels. Anticonvulsant therapy with Dilantin is most likely to block absorption and interfere with conversion to the active form in the brain and this can cause depression and loss of mental acuity, which are responsive to folic acid treatment. At menopause many women produce extra amounts of homocysteine, an amino acid by-product of protein. Homocysteine is a powerful solvent, capable of attacking collagen and hence weakening all tissues, but especially blood vessels and bone. When bones weaken they lose calcium, become porous, hence the name, osteoporosis. Deficiency of folic acid (as well as B12 and B6) causes increased homocysteine accumulation and hence aggravates osteoporosis. Damage can be prevented by folic acid supplements and this therapy may be indicated even if folate blood levels are within the normal range. As you can see, there is more to osteoporosis than just calcium and there is more to folic acid than is revealed by simple measurement of blood levels. Functional tests, such as the presence of homocysteine, are actually more revealing. The main chemical function of folic acid is in transporting a carbon atom in the form of a methyl group. This action has been put to good use in treating victims of methyl alcohol poisoning. A more common and therefore more important function of folic acid is in the manufacture of nucleic acids, essential for growth and repair in every cell in the body. Growing cells need folic acid; hence deficiency causes anemia and delays healing. Mature cells also need folic acid to assure repair of nucleic acids that get damaged by carcinogens, radiation and even by dietary oxidative by-products nucleic acids. Cancer cells also need folic acid in order to grow and folic acid blockers, such as methotrexate, are sometimes used to curtail cancer growth; a technique that works best if folic acid, in turn, is used

to promote healing in the "rescue" strategy in cancer chemotherapy. Folic acid has also been found effective against pre-cancerous cervical dysplasia. It is so effective here that abnormal cells can become normal again! Hence folic acid, along with vitamin A and vitamin C, which share this action, should be tried before resorting to surgical intervention. Folic acid deficiency, even if temporary, has been found to weaken the immune system for about three months after since folate deficient lymphocytes do not recover function but must be replaced by new cells. Nerve cells are affected by folic acid in several ways. Methyl group transfer is critical to the production of choline, which is essential to repair cell membranes and in the production of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter. Folic acid is also essential in manufacture of catecholamine transmitters and in the removal of their end products, thus balancing the action of neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and epinephrine. The RDA of folic acid is only 0.4 mg per day and doses larger than 3 mg can be over-stimulating. Emotional tension, irritability and headache can occur and there is a small increase in the risk of seizures at intake above 5 mg per day. On the other hand, large doses of folic acid are also reported to increase the pain threshold, ie. to reduce pain. Large doses of folic acid, up to 80 mg daily, were given to 150 patients by Dr. Kurt Oster, who found that folic acid inactivates an enzyme, xanthine oxidase, and thus reverses damage to the blood vessel wall in atherosclerosis patients. There were no bad reactions to these large doses in his cases; however several studies point to danger in taking folic acid supplements greater than 5 mg daily. One of my patients had a seizure, a single episode of abrupt emotional overactivity followed by loss of consciousness and stiffening of the entire body, including tongue biting, which all came on 3 hours after a single 10 mg dose of folic acid and after a year of regular intake of about 1 mg daily. Two days later his folic acid blood level was over twice the normal. After stopping folic acid supplements, he is free of spells of emotional distress. The change is so obvious that his friends and acquaintances remark on it without being told what has happened. On the other hand, megadose folic acid has been quite helpful in several of my depressed and a few of my schizophrenic patients. I will never forget the young man who recovered from a schizophrenic episode only after increasing folic acid intake to 40 mg. He remained well for a year but relapsed when he stopped the treatment. After that it required a 70 mg dose to defeat the illness. Folic acid acts in concert with vitamin B12 in the production of adenosyl-methionine, an amino acid with a powerful ability to elevate mood and enhance mental acuity. One of the early signs of folate deficiency is mood depression and, as I said earlier, studies of hospitalized patients with depression show a tendency to low folic acid levels. When depression is accompanied by fatigue,

treatment with folic acid is particularly likely to work. Wheat allergy or intolerance is a common cause of folate deficiency. Gluten, the wheat protein, causes inflammation of the intestine and mal-absorption of folic acid in sensitive individuals. Infection with the parasite, Giardia lamblia, can also inflame the bowel and interfere with folate absorption. It is a good idea to check folic acid levels in anyone who suffers from persistent intestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea or excessive gas and bloating. Since folate must be digested by pancreatic juice in the duodenum, any malfunction in that area is likely to interfere with this vitamin. There are many other indications to consider folic acid therapy. Neuropathy, nerve damage, is one of these, restless legs another. Post-partum depression and confusional states of the elderly are two additional psychiatric needs for folic acid. Aplastic anemia, even if due to a poisoning or drug reaction, may be responsive to folic acid. Recovery from any acute illness or trauma is likely to benefit from extra folic acid. Folate deficiency is rare in breast fed infants but common in infants fed cows milk and commercial formula. Due to heat treatment, pasteurization, a milk protein that transports folate into the blood stream is destroyed. Without this protein, half the folic acid in food and supplements never makes it into the tissues where it is required for optimal cell function. Does this contribute to impaired growth and impaired brain development? I really worry about that when I know that the majority of American mothers do not nurse their babies and that the level of intellectual ability, as measured by scholastic test scores (SAT) has declined over 10 percent in the past 20 years. I think it is more likely that impaired brain development is behind this disaster than any lack of ability or effort on the part of our teachers and schools. When it comes to feeding children, Mother Nature still seems to know best! Natural foods in their raw state contain plenty of folic acid. Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

Vitamins Don't Work? AGAIN!

The news media and video have been trumpeting anti-vitamin research findings from a study in the New England Journal, dated April 14, 2004. The lead article: reported a large-scale research on the effect of vitamin E and beta-carotene on cancer. The conclusions were very direct: "we found no overall reduction in the incidence of lung cancer or in mortality due to this disease among male smokers who received dietary supplementation...The results of this study raise the possibility that these substances may have harmful as well as beneficial effects." The media took this research as a retraction of the wellspring of positive news about nutrition and health of the past few years. They are mistaken, for in fact this study actually proves only that a one-a-day vitamin-antioxidant supplement does not cure lung cancer. That is not very surprising. What is surprising is that our National Cancer Institute, which supported this study in Finland, would ever dream that the inadequate antioxidant supplements used in this study, lacking in vitamin C, zinc, selenium and cysteine and dozens of other essential nutrients, would work at all. The strategy of the study was to divide the 30,000 men into four groups of 7500, who where then given identical-looking pills containing either a placebo, carotene, vitamin E, or both vitamin E and carotene. The study was touted as the most carefully designed study of supplemental antioxidants against cancer to date. Don't get me wrong. I am glad the study was done, for it helps to bracket in the limits of what to expect from antioxidants. But the media interpretation comes across somewhat like the sports pages: cancer wins, vitamins lose. Go back to conventional medicine and take your chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, as if that is all there is to it. It is hard to maintain one's faith in nutrients in the face of such negative reports. But actually this research only applies to specific conditions: i.e. long-term smokers in Finland, all men, average age 57 years. The question answered is whether beta-carotene along with a small supplement of vitamin E for 6 years can correct the cancerous lung damage caused by an average 36 years of smoking a pack a day in this population. The answer is No. The study does not answer other important questions: would higher doses of vitamin E have more impact? Two recent American studies showed no benefits of vitamin E against heart attacks unless taken at a dose over 100 mg per day. In this cancer study, the vitamin E was supplied at a dose of only 50 mg per day and raised blood levels by only a third. Studies with successful outcomes have used larger doses that doubled vitamin E blood levels. Carotene is known to be cancer-preventive but not curative. There are over a dozen research studies that document the cancer-

preventive role of carotene and at the level of cell biology there is good evidence that carotene is the premier and essential antioxidant in tissues subject to low oxygen tension, i.e. in organs with poor circulation and metabolic deficits. Carotene is not a cancer-causing agent; however it does interact with vitamin E, and recent research indicates that carotene supplements actually deplete vitamin E. This could interfere with the protective effect of vitamin E—unless the vitamin E was provided at a large dose. This was very likely why, in this study, an almost 20 percent increase in lung cancer was observed in the sub-group on carotene alone. There was also an increase in heart attacks and an 8 percent increase in all deaths in the men who were given carotene. In the sub-group given 50 iu of vitamin E there was a reduction in prostate cancer but not over-all mortality. In long-term smokers, it is likely that undiagnosed early cancer was already in existence before the start of the study, too late for carotene to show a benefit. Would the inclusion of other nutrients have made a difference? Vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, selenium and the amino acids cysteine and methionine all interact to give cancer protection. And the many studies that do document antioxidant protection against cancer and heart disease are mostly based on calculated amounts of antioxidant vitamins in foods. Thus, most of the data that we have points to the power of antioxidants, not as single agents but in harmony with other nutrient factors. The authors of the carotene-vitamin E study refer to a recent five year study in China in which supplementation with smaller amounts of vitamin E (30 mg) and beta-carotene (15 mg) were associated with significant reduction in cancer mortality. But the Chinese also gave selenium (50 mcg). How could 50 millionths of a gram of this trace mineral make such a difference? Because this is the amount of selenium required to activate the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, which is the most important protection against cancercausing chemicals at the cell membrane, even more powerful than vitamin E, or carotene. When the baseline diets of the subjects were analyzed and divided into four groups, from lowest to highest intakes of vitamin E and carotene respectively, those with the lowest intake of vitamin E were 50 percent more likely to develop cancer and those with lowest intake of carotene were 25 percent more likely to do so. That means that those men whose diets naturally contained vitamin E were at an advantage compared to those who were deficient; and to a smaller extent the same for carotene. What are the food sources of vitamin E? Seeds, nuts, beans, whole grains and vegetable oils are especially rich, and also green leafy vegetables. Carotene is particularly rich in yellow, green and red colored vegetables, particularly carrots, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. It is intriguing to consider that the vitamin E sources are likely to be high in selenium and other minerals as well; while the carotene sources are not.

What to conclude from all this? First, don't believe headlines; do read the fine print—and think. Common sense tells us that a diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts is more likely to confer health benefits than a diet of processed food and cardboard. No controversy on that point. But, because we are a nation that subsists to a large extent on processed and devitalized food, it is a good idea to supplement our food with nutrient concentrates in tablet or capsule form. And when in doubt about the adequacy of our personal nutrition, measurement of vitamin and mineral levels is available to know for sure if your own vitamins are ready to work for you. [1] Heinonen OP and Albanes D: The effect of vitamin E and betacarotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers. NEJM 1994; 330:1029-35. [2] Blot WJ, Li JY, Taylor PR et al. Nutrition intervention trials in Linxian China: suplementation with specific vitamin/mineral combinations, cancer incidence and disease specific mortality. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993; 85:1483-92 ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Vitamin Mambo Jumbo

Dean Edell's Medical Journal is usually quite informative and accurate. However, when it comes to nutrient supplementation and vitamin therapy his reporting sometimes comes across as mumbo-jumbo: information that sounds good but doesn't make sense. A recent headline reads: "One a Day Won't Add Years to Life."[1] I have grown accustomed to such nutrition research reports that confound the issues. Contradictions are the rule in any controversial field, such as medical nutrition, but by now it is obvious that there are some classic forms of bias also. First there are the reports of exciting vitamin breakthroughs— followed by the overly cautious admonitions that no one should actually take the miraculous vitamin as therapy, not until there is additional "proof." But this denies us probable benefits even though the risk of harm is almost negligible. It doesn't make sense to deprive us of a probable benefit when there is almost no danger of

harm. The benefit/risk ratio is favorable in that case. It is mumbo jumbo to say otherwise. A second type of mumbo-jumbo is found in the many invalid or misleading research reports that contradict the controversial breakthroughs in medical nutrition research. Lately there have been quite a few of these breakthroughs, for example, the significant benefits of antioxidant vitamins, C and E and carotene, are now taken seriously after decades of resistance to the thousands of scientific reports documenting the mechanisms and their related medical benefits in nutrient therapy. And yet we have Dr. Edell's headline, One a Day Won't… based on a single study that seems in direct contradiction to multiple studies to the contrary. How can that be? Unfortunately, this has been the rule rather than the exception in medical nutrition research for the past 50 years and Dr. Edell is not alone. There remains a political- institutional bias against nutrition medicine throughout the medical establishment and the media. This institutional bias is concealed in the widespread use of the word "antioxidant." This word distracts us from its nutrition origins. Antioxidant nutrients is what we are really talking about, for these are antioxidant vitamins and minerals, such as carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc and others. The word antioxidant is actually used to cover-up the core fact that vitamins are the main health breakthrough of this century! What drug do we know that adds at least six years across the board to our life expectancy? Dr. Edell's column refers us to a study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in the early 1970s. This study followed 10,000 people for an average of 13 years. No evidence of increased lifespan was found among the 22 percent of those who said they used supplements regularly compared with the 68 percent who didn't take them at all. What is the catch? After all, two recent prospective studies of the effects of the antioxidant, vitamin E, reported a 40 percent drop in the number of heart attacks in the roughly 40,000 doctors and 80,000 nurses followed for 8 and 13 years respectively. The catch is dose. The amount of vitamin E required in order to obtain this benefit was a megavitamin dose, over 100 units daily. This is over 10 times the RDA of 8 units, which was the amount found in most vitamin pills available in the 1970s. Remember, at that time the health establishment did its best to repudiate vitamin E and went so far as to ridicule vitamin supplementation in general. Doctors who prescribed vitamins were usually regarded as quacks by the medical establishment—and by the unsuspecting public. If you took a nutrition approach to your health in the 70's you were regarded as a "health nut," or a fool with expensive urine. With all this in mind, consider the recent research by Dr. James Enstrom[2], of Loma Linda University Medical Center, who found an average 6-year increased lifespan in a 10 year study of over 11,000 men and women, comparing people who took 375 mg or more of vitamin C

daily with those whose intake was at or below the RDA of 60 mg. The amount that worked this six-year miracle, 375 mg, is greater than six times the RDA, the recommended daily allowance regarded by the FDA and the health establishment as adequate for health maintenance. Yes, the RDA is more than adequate to prevent the end-stage deficiency disease, scurvy; but is the RDA sufficient to promote the best of health and longevity? Definitely not. Enstrom's study also identified a 42 percent reduction in death from heart disease and 35 percent reduction in the death rate from all causes. And even if vitamin supplements did not offer the long-term benefit of increased longevity, how about the immediate gratification of increased well-being? Most people who take vitamin supplements attest to increased energy and stamina. Supplementation with vitamin C by itself provides a 35 percent reduction in morbidity from the common cold,[3] and there is also a 7-fold reduction in complications, such as pneumonia.[4] Combination vitamin-mineral supplementation would certainly work even better. In Wales, school children on multivitamin supplements scored higher on a test of nonverbal intelligence than a placebo controlled comparison group[5]. In Australia the risk of colorectal cancer was 3 times lower in those who used a multivitamin regularly. Finally, there are several studies in support of improved performance in athletic competition by means of personalized diet and nutrient therapy based on vitamin-mineral testing. Almost half of all Americans are now taking vitamin supplements. Can 100 million Americans be wrong? Consider how our country's power establishments have treated dissident opinion. When Dr. Linus Pauling rallied over 10,000 scientists worldwide against atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1950's he was vilified by Senator Joe McCarthy—and by a large sector of the American public. He was called a communist and his passport was withdrawn by the State Department. That did not stop him from picketing the White House on our behalf for a test ban treaty. History has already proved how much we owe to this great man, whose philosophical commitment is to science and the alleviation of human suffering. Without him, massive radioactive contamination from atomic testing would have been a disaster long before Chernobyl—and it would have been in our own country! As it is there was a 10 percent decrease in intelligence scores in cities downwind from the Nevada test site. On a different battlefield: When Pauling analyzed the existing research data on vitamin C and the common cold in 1970, he reported a scientifically incredible result: a 35 percent reduction in symptoms as a result of vitamin C supplementation, benefits that were over-looked in the completed research of others, who had failed to understand their own data! This time his critics called him "senile." He went right on with his work, documented the benefits of vitamin C against cancer, and more recently has developed a remarkable and promising new approach to reverse arteriosclerosis,

using both vitamin C and the amino acid, lysine. The few cases so far reported are spectacular. The upside benefits of vitamin supplementation are now known to be rather close to what Dr. Pauling predicted: Enstrom found 6 years; Pauling had predicted eight. You don't have to be a scientific genius to understand the obvious: the downside risk of taking, say, 500 to 2000 mg of vitamin C and 200 to 800 iu of vitamin E daily is almost nil. There are other nutrients that are often in short supply, especially folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, copper, molybdenum, chromium and boron, to mention some of the most common. Vitamin deficiency is a reality and the price is exacted in terms of unexpected illness and undeserved misery. Regardless of your age or gender, your best health insurance is orthomolecular: have a medical check-up, of course, but be sure to measure your key vitamin and mineral levels and adjust your diet and supplements according to your personal needs. If that is impossible, then keep on reading the nutrition books and columns and take your vitamins. Keep on learning because in the next few years there will be more advances and more information about the power of nutrient therapy. It's a great time to be alive; a time when you have increasing control over your health because of advances in nutrition medicine. To a greater degree than you know, you owe thanks to Linus Pauling for putting the challenge to the scientific establishment to accept nutrition as orthomolecular medicine. And that's not mumbo jumbo. Linus Pauling was not just a smart person. He was a true scientific genius, one with a prodigious ability to analyze large blocks of data and keep it all straight. And he was a mathematics whiz, just as comfortable at the mathematical analysis of statistical data as he is in calculating the quantum forces that govern the crystal structure of atoms and molecules. Twenty years ago, his "critics" apologized for him by calling him "senile." Isn't it about time that our medical and nutrition experts change their tune and apologize to Dr. Pauling. History will judge it a disgrace that our country has denied our greatest scientist the official respect and support this is his due. The lack of full government support for his research ideas and efforts in the past 20 years is a loss for all mankind. [1]. Edell, D: Health Letter in the San Francisco Chronicle, 1994 (10 Feb) [2]. Enstrom JR et al. Epidemiology 1992. 3:194-202 [3] Pauling L: Vitamin C the Common Cold and the Flu. 1976. WH Freeman, Palo Alto. p 182. [4] Pitt HA and Costrini AM : Vitamin C prophylaxis in Marine recruits. JAMA 1979; 241: 908-11. [5] Benton and Roberts: Journal of Orthomoleclar Medicine. 1988

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Vitamin K—for Kalcium

Vitamin K is a take it for granted vitamin, one that is not suspected when we talk of deficiency because it is made for us by normally occurring bacteria in our intestine and is provided normally in dark green vegetables, such as spinach, kale, cabbage and kale. It is also in peas, tomatoes, egg yolk and liver. Blood clotting is the best-known function of the vitamin and the German scientist who discovered the vitamin gave it the name, K, as in Koagulation. That chemistry was worked out decades ago: vitamin K is a catalyst for the production of the clotting factor, prothrombin, by the liver. Deficiency, it was believed, could be adequately detected by a simple clotting test, the prothrombin time. This test is still routinely used to monitor the effect of coumarin drugs, which inactivate vitamin K and are therefore effectively used as anti-coagulants in humans. It is quite useful in detecting gross deficiency; however direct measurement of the vitamin in blood is now commercially available and this test shows low levels even when the prothrombin time is normal. The relationship between vitamin K and calcium has been explored in the past 15 years. Skeletal birth defects were observed in babies of women treated with coumarin drugs for blood clotting in the early 70's. About the same time, a connection between osteoporosis and vitamin K was suspected, and there is a report as far back as 1960 describing delayed fracture healing cured by vitamin K. By 1977 it was theorized that vitamin K donates a carbon-oxygen (carboxyl) fragment to glutamic acid residues, thus endowing them with a capacity to bind calcium to prothrombin, a key step in hardening of the thrombin clot. However it was not until 1979 that chemists identified a new calcium binding protein, osteocalcin, in bone. Osteocalcin contains glutamic acid residues also and it is now clear that vitamin K is required to carboxylate glutamic acid in bone just as in liver. It is by now well demonstrated that vitamin K is required both for repair and maintenance of bone as well as proper coagulation of the blood. Calcium loss is the essential feature of osteoporosis, thinning of

the bones that afflicts millions of men and post-menopausal women. It is not likely to be corrected by calcium supplements in the face of vitamin K deficiency. How common is this deficiency? A 1984 study of 15 cases of fracture of the spine or femur due to osteoporosis found serum levels of vitamin K only a third of normal (i.e. compared to a control group without osteoporosis). There is evidence that even normal people heal fractures more quickly if treated with vitamin K. Calcium loss is reduced by 20 to 50 percent in patients treated with vitamin K supplements. Antibiotic use is probably the most common cause of deficiency and anyone taking long-term sulfa drugs for bowel disorder or tetracycline for acne should check their vitamin K status. Don't wait for backache, dowagers hump or a fractured bone to announce the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Salicylates also interfere with vitamin K and long term use of aspirin is certainly going to increase the amount of osteoporosis, particularly in men, who are lately advised to take it to prevent vascular disease. Arthritis sufferers who take salicylates for long periods of time are also at risk of decalcification and with delayed healing of the affected joints and greater deformity to the structure as a result. Intestinal malabsorption of the vitamin is not rare, even without much use of antibiotics. Fat malabsorption in gall bladder disease or after surgical removal of the gall bladder is quite common. More sinister is depletion of vitamin K and other fat-soluble vitamins due to low fat diets. Anorexia, bulimia, weight loss programs that avoid egg, whole milk and cheese, butter, meat and use low calorie salad oils can reduce fat intake below 20 percent of Calories. The Pritikin Diet recommends a 10 percent fat diet and, in fact, the diet at the Pritikin Center is only 7 percent fat. It is known that below 5 percent fat, deficiency of vitamin K, as well as other fat soluables, such as A, D and E, is certain. I think long term adherence to such low levels of fat is unnecessary but, more to the point, also likely to aggravate calcium and bone loss. If you fit any of these categories of deficiency, especially if you have symptoms of bruising or bone pain, you would be well advised to check your vitamin K level. (in 1971 by Tomita (Clin Endocrinol Jpn 19,731) Nature, v 185, p 849 ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Vitamin C Is Hot For Colds

Summertime is fast approaching and the cold season is mostly behind us. But there are still enough sore throats and sniffles out there so that this article may find you in the mood to take stock of vitamin C and other natural treatments for the common cold--and even the flu. Orthomolecular health medicine combines the benefits of nutrition and ?natural therapies? along with an emphasis on laboratory diagnosis, actual measurement of vitamins and minerals in order to truly understand the food factors that conrol the body chemistry. Inspired by Dr. Linus Pauling, who coined the name, ortho-molecular, as an endorsement of the use of natural molecules in maintenance of health and treating disease, the orthomolecular approach to medicine has become the most dynamic grass roots movement in medicine today, but we call it by other names, such as nutrition, vitamin and antioxidant. Antioxidant is the medical buzzword of the 90s and vitamin C is the most important of the antioxdants. Dr. Pauling raised the health consciousness of America with his book on Vitamin C and the Common Cold in 1970. In fact, his metaanalysis, a statistical review of multiple studies of vitamin C for the common cold, showed a roughly 30 percent reduction in duration and morbidity of symptoms. Though he was widely ridiculed by many medical authorities at the time, his work has been substantiated, most recently in a re-analysis by Hemila and Herman. These authors have turned the tables on Pauling’s critics. They are particularly chagrined at the powerful influence wielded by one of Pauling’s most vehement critics, Thomas Chalmers, whose review of the subject in 1975 was faulty due to the inclusion of poor quality studies that did not show the amount of vitamin C, or which used too little vitamin C, even below the then RDA of 60 mg. Now we know that when only those studies with over a gram of vitamin C are included, the results do support Dr. Pauling’s findings, just as he said. Yet at the time a man of much lesser stature was able to sway the scientific community even though Pauling presented the more compelling data! Ten years ago Dr. Truswell also criticized Dr. Pauling. A second look at his data also shows that he failed to distinguish between dosages as different as 6000 mg. vs. 50 mg per day. Worse, he ignored vitamin C benefits in his study when the data clearly show that vitamin C supplements shortened the duration of colds in his study by 6 to 12 percent. Another research, this one by Dr. Glazebrook, showed a 40 percent reduction in hospital stay in patients given vitamin C supplements for tonsillitis. No one seemed to think that was very important at the time. Think of the savings in hospital costs and the great reduction in personal suffering. That’s hot.

Dr. Pauling held to the view that vitamin C at a dose of 3 to 6 grams per day for several days at the first sign of a cold supports the immune function of the white blood cells, acts as an antihistamine and anti-inflammatory, and promotes healing of the affected tissues. That’s a lot of benefits from just one vitamin. Dr. Robert Cathcart went a step further and tried larger doses of vitamin C, up to a quarter pound per day, about 100 grams or more. Eventually he determined that the most effective way to use vitamin C against the common cold and other viral disorders is to take the vitamin in powdered form, (thus avoiding tabletting agents, which contain minerals and can cause diarrhea in their own right). By increasing the dose at the rate of about half a teaspoonful every few hours, eventually bowel discomfort or diarrhea occurs. That’s bowel tolerance and the best strategy is to cut back the vitamin C dose to just below bowel tolerance for the duration of the illness. Be sure to drink plenty of water, at least 8 ounces for every 2 teaspoonfuls (8 to 10 grams) of vitamin C. I am not recommending that you take megadoses of vitamin C without medical supervision as there are a few individuals who may develop anemia from such large doses, particularly if they are genetically low in an enzyme known as G6PD, as is the case in about 10 percent of those of African descent. Mediterraneans and Jews also have an increased liklihood of this problem, especially if there is the telltale hint of low red numbers of red blood cells, a recurrent anemia. But no such warnings are needed for megadoses of 6 to 10 grams per day, which is adequate for the common cold. Here the only serious adverse effect is diarrhea, and that is self-limiting. For severe infections, fevers, food poisoning, or snakebite very large doses are reportedly life-saving. But at these doses, up to 100 grams a day, its a good idea to have your doctor on board If Dr. Pauling had been less scientific he would have talked about the extra benefits that come from combining vitamin C with other nutrients. He certainly knew about this because he attended the meetings of the Orthomolecular Medical Society in the 1970s and was on personal terms with many of us orthomolecular practitioners, when we were finding better results with combinations of nutrient supplements. Our patients either stopped having colds or threw them off quickly; and those that did occur were much less of a bother--”less morbidity.” But these observations were impossible to prove; that’s why Dr. Pauling preferred to focus on vitamin C by itself. Only at the end of his life did he agree to collaborate with Dr. Abram Hoffer in a study of multiii-nutrent therapies against cancer. While vitamin C had accomplished a roughly 7-fold longer survival in already terminally ill cancer patients; combination therapy increased the benefits by another 3-fold. Over-all that means nutrient therapy as practiced by Dr. Hoffer provides over 20 times longer survival than conventional therapy without nutrient support. That information is too important to ignore--but it is being ignored just the same! Back to the common cold, for the nutrient factors are similar to those that are useful against viral illness and cancer. The most

beneficial nutrients for colds and viral illnesses are: vitamin A in doses of up to 100,000 iu per day for about a week; zinc at doses up to 100 mg per day for two to three weeks; and L-glutamine at doses of 1 to 2 grams, 3 times per day during and for at least a week after an infection. In addition, 100 iu vitamin E capsules can be dissolved in the mouth like a lozenge to reduce sore throat. Nacetyl cysteine 500 mg and selenium 200 mcg twice a day support the antioxidant enzymes, which are depleted by all inflammatory diseases. Ponaris™ (over the counter at many pharmacies) is an iodized eucalyptus oil, very effective in relieving nasal congestion and irritation and preventing the development of secondary sinus infections which often take hold after the cold is over. The hormone, melatonin, is a double-barreled defense, providing both immune enhancement and improved sleep. Finally, the use of traditional herbs, such as echinacea and licorice root for about a week are immune-stimulating and anti-viral. One last treatment for colds and the flu syndrome deserves mention: potassium iodide. I am not referring to iodine, the caustic brown stuff with skull and cross-bones on it that is used as an antiseptic. Rather this is the potassium iodide that looks like water and causes no irritation except when applied to raw or damaged tissues. It may burn but it does not cause harm. When diluted in water or juice, about 10 drops per glass, the iodide is gentle but retains its antiseptic properties. In addition it is both immunestimulating and antibiotic, killing most bacteria, fungi and viruses, including the rhinovirus of the common cold. In addition, iodide is antihistaminic, powerfully so. In a matter of minutes after a dose of the iodide, nasal secretions dry up and coughing is suppressed. I can’t promise that it is always effective, but it is always worth a try. However it is a prescription item and requires the approval of a physician. Are there adverse effects associated with a few doses of iodide over a few days of acute illness? Not much. Even people who say they have an iodine allergy can be densensitized in a day or so. After the Chernobyl atomic reactor melt-down, widespread contamination prompted the use of iodide in about 10 million people in Poland. The number of adverse reactions was a little over 1 in a million. There is no cure for the common cold; and perhaps it is time to recognize that we need an occasional challenge to our immune system to keep us ready for the other viruses out there. But an orthomolecular regimen, such as this one, takes away much of the distress and disability of a cold without risk of adverse effects. And these measures are safe and accessible at home for those informed people who prefer to put nutrition first against the common cold. ©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Vitamin B12: Under Appreciated

I have recently treated over half a dozen patients whose lives have been ruined by vitamin B12 deficiency--a preventable disorder. In every case there was medical error and/or patient ignorance and skepticism leading to permanent harm. It is easy to miss the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency. In the first place, it is a vitamin and our medical education is not only weak on vitamin diagnosis, it often reviles those doctors who treat with vitamins. For example, B 12 injections are generally considered unnecessary, just one step short of quackery, by peer review committees and health insurance claims reviewers. Even if the patient feels better, the powers that be still condemn the practice as a form of suggestibility and placebo effect. No question about it: doctors are discouraged from treating with vitamin B12 unless there is documentary evidence, such as macrocytic anemia, with large sized red cells, over 100 microns in volume, or a B12 blood test less than 115 pg/ml (billionths of a gram per milliliter). Unfortunately the laboratory signs are not always that clear. Then the doctor’s experience must take over. Vitamin B12 is an essential co-factor for two vital enzymes. 1. MMA (methylmalonyl CoA mutase). If B12 is deficient, methylmalonic acid cannot be converted to succinate, a necessary step in the utilization of odd-numbered fatty acids, those ending with a 3 carbon propionic acid group, rather than the usual 2 carbon acetic acid group. As a result methylmalonic piles up in the blood, blocked from its normal metabolism into succinate, which can be oxidized in the citric acid cycle, thus producing energy in the form of ATP. In other words, without adequate B12 fats do not enter the carbohydrate cycle. As a result, there is a drop in energy level and a tendency to hypoglycemia, low blood sugar. 2. Methionine synthetase: necessary for recycling the essential amino acid, methionine, by transferring a carbon atom to homocysteine. There is no other mechanism to make this methyl carbon transfer except by means of B12; hence B12 deficiency causes two chemical problems here: homocysteine accumulates in the blood, and methionine becomes scarce at the same time. Homocysteine is bad because it binds copper, literally attracting it out of its reaction sites in collagen, and thus unraveling collagen, the bio-glue that holds tissues together, especially the intimal lining of blood vessels. This internal damage can cause blood vessel leaks, clots and deposits. If the coronary arteries are affected it can cause heart attack; in the cerebral arteries it causes strokes, and any damaged artery is liable to enlarge, forming an aneurysm,

which can rupture. In a large vessel, such as the aorta, this can cause sudden death. A shortage of methionine causes deficiency of a vital enzyme, SAM, that is S-Adenosyl-Methionine, which becomes homocysteine by giving up its active methyl carbon in the manufacture of several essential body chemicals (see below). The re-cycling of methionine from homocysteine by means of capturing a methyl from methyl-THF is an equally key step in order to conserve methionine, which otherwise comes only from the diet. B12 is required to transfer the methyl carbon from methyl-folate (mTHF) and in the process serves also to activate folic acid for several other vital functions, such as nucleic acid synthesis. By giving up a methyl group, methyl THF becomes THF, which is interconvertable with four other sub-types of folic acid. Deficient B12 status therefore blocks the utilization of methyl-THF, which can rise to above normal levels of folic acid blood tests. That is a tip-off to B12 deficiency. Low THF is a serious deficiency, associated with birth defects and increased incidence of cancer. The connection is obvious once you know that THF is required for synthesis of nucleic acid components, the purine and pyrimidine bases, from which DNA and RNA are formed. SAM is also vital for the production of adrenalin (a neurohormone); creatine (a muscle energy source); choline, an acetyl-choline component (neuro-transmitter); phosphatidyl-choline, a lecithin (cell membrane repair); and polyamines spermine and spermidine (stimulate cell growth and repair). If these relationships seem complicated they are; but the practical effects of B12 activity are straight-forward: 1. Nucleic acid synthesis (healing, manufacture of all body cells, especially red blood cells, DNA, and antibodies; 2. Activation of the vitamin, folic acid, (redoubles anti-cancer effect and together they support synthesis of myelin, the insulating covering of nerves; 3. Synthesis of SAM (most powerful natural anti-depressant-via epinephrine); 4. Recycling of methionine (conserves this scarce amino acid, permits lower protein intake); 5. Removal of toxic homocysteine (thus protecting against collagen damage in blood vessel lining, hence protects against atherosclerosis and aneurysm (damage), and hypertension (spasm); 6. Protection from copper deficiency otherwise caused by

homocysteine (thus protects against heart damage and arrhythmia, diabetes, chronic fatigue); 7. Efficient oxidation of fats, so that methylmalonic acid and propionic acid do not accumulate. These organic acids deplete the vitamin Carnitine, and this causes fatigue, loss of muscle tone and simulates depression. 8. Production of myelin, the insulation of nerves. Repair of nerves prevents damage to the spinal cord and brain, so-called subacute combined degeneration. This involves pain (early) and loss of muscle perception and vibration sense (late) in the hands and feet. It also causes mental impairment, typically with paranoia and depression, is similar to Alzheimer’s. In fact, about 30 percent of patients with Alzheimer’s actually have B12 deficiency. If B12 is so important, why is there such medical skepticism and resistance to its use? As recently as 1989, the Journal of the American Medical Association saw fit to publish a featured article devoted to persuading patients to stop taking B12 injections--even though the patients claimed good results . The setting of the study was a clinic serving over 1200 patients and recently taken over by new owners. A records audit showed120 patients had been receiving B12 injections regularly; however only 4 of the 120 met the medical criteria for receiving vitamin B12 therapy. The authors accepted only four indications for prescribing this vitamin: 1) pernicious anemia; 2) deficiency documented by laboratory test; 3) a history of gastric surgery; 4) intestinal disease with malabsorption. The authors real motivation for performing the study is that the health insurance companies were refusing payment for B12 injections. The authors did not seem opposed to the practice, saying only "The use of cyanocobalamin (B12) injections for patients without documented deficiency has been a common practice both ridiculed and indulged by the medical profession." On the other hand, they referred to an insurance review agency that rejected more than 75% of almost 3000 cyanocobalamin injection claims for payment. There lies the problem. Insurance companies do not "indulge." Lawyers and accountants do not think like doctors. Money comes before comfort in the bureaucratic mind, and the doctor-patient relationship gets little credence when it comes to substantiating benefits. That’s just the way it is. Historically vitamin B12 was first recognized in relation to pernicious anemia; however in this study, 80 percent of the patients were motivated by weakness and fatigue, not anemia, and the average benefit was rated as "good". In fact, these patients reported a high level of effectiveness for most of the 25 indications listed in the study. They authors concluded: "It is likely that this injectionseeking behavior was reinforced and perpetuated by the perception of benefit. Past recipients of cyanocobalamin who perceived little or no benefit would be less likely to return for repeated injections and, thus, would be less likely to be included in the study."

If that paragraph seems obtuse, it is a classic of medical obtuseness. The point is that the patients who came back for repeat injections were the responders to B12. That is understandable. What is not is the cynicism of the authors--who reflect a majority of the medical-political establishment, a bureaucratic dragon, dead-set against giving an admittedly harmless treatment that the patients consider helpful, because it doesn’t fit current medical dogma, e.g. the four indications considered "acceptable." In fact, the bottom line of this clinical study is: "Despite the generally high perceived value of the injections, a majority of those approached (25 of 48) were willing to consider discontinuing them, at least temporarily." The implication of this report is that patients do not know what is good for them and that clinic administrators do. This report ignores the inherent bias involved when those with a financial interest in a medical business write and publish a report that justifies terminating a treatment for 116 of 120 patients, not because the patients rejected the treatment as ineffective, but because the laboratory test results didn’t support the benefits the patients claimed to get! This violates a fundamental tenet of medical teaching: "never diagnose a patient on the basis of laboratory evidence alone." Diagnosis must be in the context of the history, examination (including laboratory testing), clinical trials and follow-up that are part and parcel of rational and scientific medical practice. The hidden tragedy of this report is that it pits the doctor against his own patients. In fact the authors admitted that 41 of these 120 patients dropped out of the clinic and sought medical help elsewhere. That is a 33% drop-out rate, about the same drop-out rate that medical practices are seeing across America as patients switch to alternative and non-medical health practitioners, mainly chiropractors, acupuncturists and nutritionists. Patients rightfully want to be helped and they want to be respected. We all do. Especially when we are sick and feeling bad. It is the arrogance and inflexibility of medical orthodoxy that threatens to topple the entire medical profession and turn it into a mindless public health system, run by text-book bureaucrats and computerized robots. I don’t think the American people will buy it; but that doesn’t seem to have gotten across to the medical-politicalbureaucratic people who have just designed the Kennedy Kassebaum bill, which reflects the psychology of this study by defining "unnecessary services" as medical fraud. This is the criminalization of medicine. Prove it, you say! The bill increases penalties from $2000 (already high) to $10,000 per infraction; and potential jail time has been increased from 2 years to 10. If B12 and other nutrient therapies are "unnecessary," the hottest game in town may soon be: "Cops and Docs." If you wonder why doctors seem uninterested in nutrition, perhaps this gives you an idea why. Not until our legislators wake

up and give back our medical rights, such as the right to have a treatment when we find that it is beneficial, even though the regulations deny it, are you really the master of your own medical care. Who is the ultimate master of your body? You or a politician, bureaucrat or lobbyist, whose rules satisfy their interests, not necessarily yours. Vitamin B12 does not fit the mold of the deficiency diseases theory, or the one-disease-one-drug model of medicine that is taught in medical schools. The most important medical fact about vitamin B12 is that deficiency does not show up only as anemia. In fact, in many cases there is no anemia, only neurological symptoms, such as numbness in the extremities, inability to walk and stay in balance, especially at night or in the dark, and serious personality changes, such as depression and paranoia. Unlike the anemia, which always responds to B12 replacement, if the nerve and brain symptoms are not treated promptly the damage is likely to be permanent. Pernicious anemia is a serious disease. The bone marrow produces large numbers of defective cells, called megaloblasts, along with a reduced number of normal and more durable ones. As the disease progresses, the normal cells are increasingly replaced by large cells, macrocytes, so the average size of the circulating red cells increases by 25 to 50 percent. Doctors recognize pernicious anemia by these large sized cells in a blood smear. Unfortunately, doctors are taught to diagnose and treat the anemia and it is all too common that physicians, even experienced psychiatrists, overlook the nerve symptoms and treat the paranoia as depression or schizophrenia, with drugs rather than a vitamin. Two cases were published in 1984. in which EEG brain waves and mental symptoms were reversible with B12 therapy This convinced the authors that all patients with dementia should be checked for B12. That message has not gotten through. One reason is that most doctors expect to find B12 problems in patients past age 60; and therefore may fail to consider it in younger folks. One of my patients was only 28 when B12 deficiency reached a critical state. Patricia had been able to cover-up her mental fuzziness and depression for years but the pain in her extremities finally drove her to seek medical help. Somehow the diagnosis was missed at two medical centers. Only after she had a severe progression of spinal cord damage following anesthesia for laparoscopic surgery did the diagnosis become obvious. Anesthetic agents, such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and halothane and enflurane, destroy vitamin B12. This pushed her into severe deficiency and within a few weeks she lost muscle sense in her extremities, became unable to walk and unable to control her bladder. Despite ongoing treatment for over ten years now, she remains confined to a wheel-chair, evidently for life. Some recovery is possible. Mary, a school-teacher, was placed on a hospital psychiatric ward when she became depressed and paranoid.

When she complained of leg pains, the medical team were led astray by the fact that she is diabetic, since this condition also can present as nerve symptoms. It was only after several months, as her mental condition deteriorated into severe confusion and dementia the diagnosis of B12 deficiency was obvious. By that time she too was in a wheel-chair. By the time she consulted me she was better but on crutches, barely able to get along on her own. Happily, she has responded very well to nutrient support, especially the use of Carnitine, Coenzyme Q, Ginkgo, glutamine and, of course B12 injections. Her mental acuity has improved, she is not depressed or paranoid--and she is able to walk with a cane. Another unhappy fate was that of a 72 year old real-estate sales woman, whose son I had treated after adverse reaction to PCP 20 years earlier. He had improved from the paranoia and confusion that had disabled and hospitalized him, but he never regained his full intellect and was never able to be fully self-supporting as a result. I didn’t make the connection to his mothers galloping senility, forgetfulness, depression, inability to cope with her business that quickly became disabling until her laboratory tests came back showing low B12 under 100 ng/L. and the co-dependent vitamin folic acid, was also very low. Her deterioration came on after she underwent surgery for pain in her feet and toes. Naturally the laminectomy didn’t help, the pain was undoubtedly due to neuropathy, which was obvious at my physical exam a year later. She also had panic attacks after the surgery, made much worse by pneumonia. A 60 year smoker, she was treated with Prednisone for emphysema until she consulted me. The combination of low B12 and high smoke exposure probably accounted for her considerable loss of vision, a concentric field defect. That year was so full of sickness they remembered a viral illness, Herpes zoster, only as an afterthought!. She seemed better after large oral doses of B12 (2500 mcg) and folic acid (10 mg). Repeat blood testing showed B12 581 mcg, mid-range normal, and folic acid 39 ng, above normal. She was able to absorb these vitamins. But she refused injections and failed to follow-up with me, choosing instead her family doctor. Four years later I heard from her son that she was placed in a long-term-care facility due to Alzheimer’s dementia and anemia, a combination typical of B12 deficiency. Here is the way her son wrote of his view of her condition: "She had some problem metabolizing foods to get the nutrients from them. Possibly a lot of her condition could be from nutritional deficiencies--and lack of exercise and worry. While I don’t agree that exercise and freedom from worry would cure her dementia, my heart aches for this family: a woman too confused to treat herself; a son too discredited by his own chronic disability to gain the ear of his father and the family physician after 4 years of trying, even though he had a rough idea of the problem; and a husband who has lose his wife. Most of this could have been avoided.

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Vitamin B12: The Mood and Energy Vitamin

Perhaps the most insidious distraction that throws a doctor off the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is the medical teaching that B12 is stored in the adult human liver in an amount sufficient for 5 to 10 years of total deprivation. Obviously not so. I have seen cases in which B12 reserves ran out in less than half that time. This is more likely nowadays when so many people have been avoiding red meat and liver in their diet for years on end. Vegetarian and, of course, fruitarian diets can induce severe B12 deficiency in susceptible people, i.e. those who may have a defect in B12 absorption. Such people are at severe risk of B12 deficiency if they go along with the crowd. Luckily, almost half of all Americans are taking multivitamin and B complex supplements containing B12 at least some of the time. On the other hand, there are still lots of folks who cling to the idealistic notion that they can get all their vitamins and minerals from a "balanced" diet. I will never forget Caroline, an 18 year old college student, who had the lowest B12 level I have ever seen. She had been on a macrobiotic diet for two years and then for six months followed a fruitarian diet before mental confusion, delusion and agitation closed in on her. The diagnosis of B12 deficiency was considered after her dietary lifestyle became known. Her blood test was almost devoid of the vitamin, only 10 pg/ml. Fruits and vegetables contain no B12. The fermented soy (miso and tempeh) and nutritional yeasts at the ashram would have provided only small amounts; and then as a fruitarian she ran out of reserves. Once a brilliant student, Caroline has never fulfilled herself since, has not been self-supporting, and has required almost continuous psychiatric care and frequent hospitalizations due to psychotic relapses in the 20 years since her period of acute B12 deficiency. The only good news is that she survived, and that she did not develop spinal cord damage with paralysis and end up in a wheel chair. Most doctors are taught that B12 deficiency is a hereditary illness, which it is in many cases. However the medical students are not well taught about the many non-genetic hazards that cause depletion of this vitamin. For one thing there are so few dietary sources of B12 other than vitamin pills and injections! As mentioned already, fruits and vegetables contain none. Milk and cheese contain little,

and in company with fish, fowl, eggs and even beef, the usual dietary intake is too low to satisfy optimal requirements. Only organ meats, especially liver, kidney and, yes, calves brains, provide a reliable and adequate source. But people are avoiding these foods because they all contain cholesterol along with the B12. This is a downside result of the "war on cholesterol and fat" that is the official current dietary policy of the health establishment of--the world! As a result of cholesterol fetishism in our Washington bureaucropolis and cholesterol phobia everywhere else, dietary B12 deficiency is more common than ever. In my book Meganutrition, I described Joe, a 35 year old 7th Day Adventist janitor, who had followed a strict vegetarian diet for over 15 years. He gradually changed, becoming dangerously hostile, and suspicious, especially towards his wife and children. Due to increasing pressure of his delusions, overtly suspicious and unreasonable behaviors, he eventually lost his job, and his wife and children left him. His parents brought him to consult with me; and even after the diagnosis of B12 deficiency he refused treatment. He had to be hospitalized finally before he would accept vitamin B12 injections; but when treated, he quickly recovered his personality-but not his family. Vegetarians are often quite militant in defense of the B12 content of vegetables and about the fact that B12 is present in spirulina and seaweed. However in a study of 110 adults and 42 children living in a macrobiotic community in New England1half of the adults had low B12 levels and over half of them had abnormal amounts of methylmalonic acid in the urine, indicating impairment of amino acid and fatty acid utilization. More than half the children were likewise abnormal in Methyl-malonic acid, and most were also short in stature and underweight. Dairy products were protective to some and so were home-made fermented soy products, such as tempeh. Commercial fermented products were not adequate however, and sea vegetables were also found to be unreliable sources of B12. Even spirulina and blue green algae seem to produce mostly false forms of B12, that may actually interfere with the active vitamin.2 These inactive vitamin B12 look-alikes in food are released by intestinal digestion and bind to the transport proteins that otherwise would carry vitamin B12 into the blood and liver, and thence to the rest of the body tissues and cells where it is used. Pseudo-B12 look-alikes give false normal readings in the conventional blood tests for B12. Luckily there is a protozoal assay which measures only the active B12; but it is offered by only one laboratory in the world3 and is not as well known as it deserves to be even though the accuracy is higher and cost lower than any other method. A lymphocyte B12 assay has recently become available also4. This is a test-tube test of growth of the patient’s lymphocytes after adding B12. Above normal growth means that the cells need more B12 than they have been getting. Anyone who has had stomach surgery should be alert for B12

deficiency--in fact anyone who has had stomach surgery should take regular B12 injections as a precaution because the B12 transport proteins are manufactured and secreted by the stomach. If the stomach lining is damaged by heredity, aging, wear and tear, autoimmune disease, or ulcer surgery, which removes the acid-secreting cells, vitamin B12 replacement should be maintained for life. Antacids and histamine blockers (Tagamet and Zantac) and Prilosec (omeprazole) interfere with absorption of B12 sufficiently to cause deficiency.5 Ten healthy volunteers were studied before and 2 weeks after measured vitamin B12 doses. Absorption of the vitamin was reduced by 75% in those taking 20 mg of omeprazole; and by 80% in those taking a 40 mg dose. Ordinary antacid doses interfere with B12 big time. So does intestinal malabsorption, especially Crohn’s disease, and a variety of liver diseases. Anemias of all types use up B12 to generate new blood. Blood donations lower B12 levels the same way. So do chronic infections, major trauma and extensive burns--all deplete the vitamin stores. Folic acid deficiency can complicate and aggravate B12 deficiency. In most cases, B12 deficiency is associated with deficiency of stomach acid. This interferes with folic acid digestion because stomach acid is essential to trigger release of pancreatic digestive enzymes, without which folic acid cannot be digested and absorbed. Hence low stomach acid can lower folic acid despite a high vegetable diet rich in folic acid. This is a vicious circle, for without folic acid, vitamin B12 activity is impaired and the vitamin can accumulate, unused in the body. This is another cause of false normal or high B12 levels in laboratory testing. A number of chemicals inactivate vitamin B12. Nitrous oxide, (also called laughing gas) destroys the vitamin and so do the common anesthetic agents, halothane and enflurane.6 A combination of nitrous oxide and halothane is a favorite in surgeries that do not require deep anesthesia. Post-operative delirium, psychosis and neuropathy, any of these is a warning to check and treat possible B12 deficiency. Antibiotics, particularly Flagyl (metronidazole) and chloramphenicol, can lower B12 levels. The anti-protozoal drug, chloroquine, can do the same. Chlorinated and brominated chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides destroy vitamin B12. This includes lindane, which is still in use for treating lice, even in children. Fluoride-containing refrigerants and propellants, such as freon and fluorohalomethanes, are another class of chemicals that destroy B12; but they are seldom appreciated because doctors are not taught to consider this possibility. I made the diagnosis in a bank executive who suffered neuropathy and cardiac irregularity after repeated exposure to chloro-fluoro-methanes from the insulating materials of his desert home. The 110-degree heat vaporized these toxics, which were sucked into his home office through the airconditioner. Female hormones can cause low blood levels of B12 and folic acid. There was a 40 percent reduction in serum B12 in 20 healthy women on oral contraceptives compared to a control group. Serum folic acid

was also reduced.7Diabetes drugs such as metformin and phenformin interfere with B12 absorption; so does the anti-gout drug, colchicine. Likewise for neomycin, often used as a pre-operative bowel-sterilizing antibiotic. This list is incomplete and new antiB12 drugs will be recognized in time, but it is obvious that there are a lot of conditions other than heredity that cause B12 deficiency. But if there is a family history of pernicious anemia, then the patient is likely to be more vulnerable to these environmental hazards. One reason that B12 deficiency is not diagnosed more often is that researchers and laboratories have set the normal range too low. The normal range is usually given as 115 to 800g/L (billionths of a gram). The numbers should be revised upwards to 500 to 1500 pg/L out of respect for optimal rather than minimal benefits of the vitamin. In the past, patients might go without B12 treatment even in the face of macrocytic anemia typical of B12 deficiency because their doctors were misled by the laboratory range. Lindenbaum broke through this widespread error about vitamin B12 diagnosis in his 1988 report of increased nerve and brain damage associated with B12 blood levels from 190 to 250 pg, levels that used to be regarded as normal. No more. Now the mainstream standard of care is to treat anyone with serum under 300 pg.8 Those more impressed with the complexity and pitfalls associated with B12 favor 500 pg as an indication for a trial of treatment, even if symptoms are not yet evident--in order to prevent irreversible damage. Therefore, I prefer to treat with injectable B12 in any case of persistent fatigue, depression, psychosis, nerve pain or numbness, memory loss, headache, premature aging, arthritis, delayed healing, regardless of the results of the B12 test. Urine testing for homocysteine and methyl-malonic acid are also indications for B12 treatment, even when serum B12 levels are "normal." While the injections are almost painless, there are some patients who balk. Luckily the sub-lingual forms of B12 are effective if taken regularly at a minimum dose of 1 mg (1000 mcg) daily. Nasal gel B12 is even more readily absorbed though a bit messy. In Dr. Lindenbaum’s series of 141 neuro-psychiatric patients whose symptoms were attributed to B12 deficiency, 40 (28%) had no anemia. Symptoms of sensory loss, ataxia and dementia were prominent and elevated methylmalonic acid and homocysteine were observed. Serum B12 was over 200 pg/ml in 2 patients; between 100 and 200 pg in 16 others. In an editorial comment on this research, Dr. William Beck of Massachusetts General Hospital concluded: "It would appear that measurement of serum levels of the nutrient may not always be the answer." Indeed, testing for methylmalonic acid and homocysteine may be more useful than the direct blood level of B12. For best results it is wise to test both ways if there is any suspicion of vitamin deficiency." Dr. Beck also considered the increased costs of such testing: "but if real benefits await these patients, the costs are justified." And

he concluded with the following classic line: "Could it be that the many cobalamin (B12) injections given over the years for vague symptoms were in fact justified?" That is progress! Doctors are finally waking up. However sometimes patients are their own worst enemies, for to refuse B12 treatment is to risk Alzheimer’s and quadriplegia, paralysis of the legs and loss of control of the bladder. I am thinking of Lora, a 50 year old woman who consulted me because of chronic depression and then tested very low for B12. I had a complete laboratory work-up and gave her a typewritten nutrition prescription, including regular injections of B12. But she refused my advice and was rather chill when I followed up my report with a personal telephone call--three times. She was obviously suspicious and paranoid, already at the early stages of irreversible brain damage and dementia. There was nothing more I could do. The medical fates can be extremely unforgiving. That was the same story with Petra, but her case was particularly galling because her husband and family doctor had all the information from me and should have known better. Instead they placed her in a nursing home within 6 months after partial but inadequate treatment, using B12 by mouth rather than returning for a series of B12 shots as recommended. Once she was given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s by the family doctor, everyone got the erroneous idea that nothing further could be done! I called and wrote the family but her husband was in a state of disbelief. It was beyond my power. Neglected and deteriorated, it is almost certain that she was already beyond repair. Now she really does have "Alzheimer’s"-- one of the approximately 30 percent of the millions of Alzheimer’s cases each year that are caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. While writing this review I had occasion to do a laboratory update for one of my patients, a 40 year old woman, who has her blood tested for vitamin and mineral levels every two years, even though she is in excellent health and already on a nutrient support regimen. Therefore I was surprised to find a low B12 in this followup panel. There it was, only 250 ng/L. Her 13 year old son was even lower, only 210 ng/L. Review of her family history brought forth that her father had ulcers at age 30 and underwent surgery to remove the acid-secreting cells of his stomach. He was never well again after that because he was never told about the need for vitamin B12 replacement. Over the next few years he became irritable, paranoid and an irascible alcoholic. Alcohol dependency is sometimes the poor man’s answer to chronic biological depression. The alcohol by-passes carbohydrate metabolism, yields rapid energy, douses the fires of regret, and powers an almost irresistible uplift of mood. Unfortunately it also turned him to violence against his family and caused repeated conflicts requiring police intervention. No one ever thought to replace his lost B12 and he died in his 60s, a young-old, and miserable man. How sad it is to be able to clarify the diagnosis from thousands of miles away and years after his untimely demise

when no one thought of it in the 30 years before! It helps a little to be thankful that his sad experience prepared Jane and her son to accept B12 therapy. Both were amazingly responsive, he to sublingual tablets, his mother to B12 injections. The first few weekly shots quelled her depression and made her appear visibly younger. Her son regained his mental concentration ability and began doing household chores that he used to shirk. It helps to have a healthy level of physical and mental energy. Vitamin B12 has given this family a lot more cheer as they greet the New Year. ©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Unnecessary Health Care Services

When President Clinton addressed Congress regarding universal health coverage, he focused on selling points such as security, simplicity, savings, choice, quality and responsibility. These were among the key words that I remember from watching his masterful performance. I was especially attuned to his mention of the twin concepts, of unnecessary service and medical fraud. These concepts have become increasingly important reference points in the past decade as private and public health insurance plans have quickly replaced our previous fee for service and combination public hospital and medical charity system. I recall no great concern about unnecessary service and fraud in my previous 38 years since medical school graduation. Of course, like all doctors, I was aware of medical faddism and quackery and I saw heroic figures like Andrew Ivy and Wilhelm Reich go down ignominiously for that which they sincerely believed but couldn't quite prove. Despite the relatively few cases that we heard about, it seems that quackery laws became quite formalized, particularly where cancer treatment is concerned. In California the state Medical Association sponsored a Cancer Quackery law about 20 years ago, which makes it illegal for anyone to make claims of benefits or to treat cancer using vitamins or herbs, such as red clover and apricot pits, which contain laetrile. I know of a few physicians who were disciplined by the state board or expelled from hospital staff privileges because they offered vitamin C therapy, particularly intravenous treatments, even though

it was for general health benefits without claims of cure. Nutrient therapy has long been construed as a form of quackery. It does not surprise me that private insurance companies and government programs, such as Medicare, do not cover nutrition or prevention. Nor do they cover alternative methods in general. The key word for covered services is "prevailing." If a treatment is considered to be prevailing, i.e. accepted by the medical establishment then it is likely to be covered. So far, nutrition is not a prevailing form of therapy. That may come as an unpleasant surprise to you. Sometimes a doctor's life brings pleasant surprises. I had treated an elderly man for his Parkinson's tremor about 10 years ago and his renewed ability to participate in everyday life made such a favorable impression on his family, that I eventually consulted his wife, his daughter, his granddaughter and his infant great-grandson. The granddaughter and her infant son were both chronically ill with recurrent infections and doing so poorly that her mother arranged for them to visit San Francisco especially to consult me. All went well, but then for the past 6 years I had no contact with this family. I felt a little uneasy about their absence until recently the daughter, Shirley, returned with questions about menopausal symptoms. I had almost forgotten about her own daughter's few visits and so I was startled when she credited my treatment with having saved Nancy, her daughter's life. Encouraged by that news I reviewed the case records. If the results were so good, how could I have such a hazy memory of the case? The answer was very simple: I had only seen Nancy for three visits and a follow-up telephone consultation. She had recovered. No news can be good news and it is often that way in medicine: patients don't call back when they are feeling well. It takes a crisis to force us to call the doctor. For that reason alternative medical service is unlikely ever to be a major burden on the health insurance system: it is aimed at prevention and chronic disease, not (yet) at acute care. On the other hand, my correspondence with her health insurance company was more extensive than my work-up for her medical problems. And the issue that stood out was "unnecessary service." Was it necessary that I treat this patient at all? On that question rides a good part of the future of medical practice in the United States. Who decides what is necessary when it comes to health services? The doctor? The patient? The insurance company? The government? In this case, I'll ask you to decide. Nancy was 22 years old at the time, had a 2-year-old son and had been sickly since her son was about six months old. For the eight months before consulting me she had episodes of sore throat, 103º fever and bronchitis. Antibiotics had been prescribed for three of these episodes and were required almost half the time just to curb her fever and cough. But she was feeling more and more tired and weak and she had persistent sore throat and cough. Lately she got a

new symptom, vaginal yeast infection, possibly as a complication of antibiotics, or more likely due to weakened immunity. As practicing Scientologist, she was attempting to be "Clear" and therefore she scrutinized herself for psychological causes, which she believed must play a role. Her self-confidence was badly shaken. She followed a low fat diet and took vitamins at the advice of Scientology practitioners but had lost 15 pounds in weight and was beginning to look obviously emaciated and sickly. On physical examination she was 5'5" tall but weighed only 99 pounds. She was not febrile but her heart rate was 84 beats per minute (normal is 60 to 78). There was an exudate of pus on her swollen right tonsil and her right eardrum was slightly inflamed. The lymph nodes under her jaw were tender and swollen but the laboratory results were not alarming. The white blood cells numbered 6200 (normal range is 5 to 10 thousand) and were of normal cell distribution. The multiple chemistry panel was entirely normal. Stool analysis was free of parasites and yeasts and showed no sign of malabsorption. Blood levels of vitamins were sub-optimal for fatsoluble vitamin A but not carotene or vitamin E. The blood mineral panel was low in manganese, zinc and magnesium. Amino acids were high in leucine and valine and low in threonine and histidine, a pattern often seen with infection. Early phase antibodies (IgM type) to Candida Albican yeasts were present in her blood. A regimen of therapeutic nutrients designed to correct her deficiencies was quite successful. Potassium iodide applied to her tonsil cleared away the purulent exudate immediately. She reported a 90% improvement within two weeks; however the white blood cell count increased, up to 8500, and vitamin A decreased by over 15%, despite supplementation with 120,000 units daily for two weeks. This is a paradox, a decrease of blood levels in the face of megadose intake and it dramatizes the fact that she was actually more deficient in vitamin A than it appeared at the initial testing. I prescribed an additional two weeks of vitamin A supplementation. And this time her serum level increased by 35% over the initial level and her white blood cell count returned to normal (5300). She was well enough to return to her home state, where she continued taking carotene but not vitamin A (I had warned her about the danger of fetal damage from vitamin A if she were to become pregnant.) She called a month later with a sore throat but this cleared without antibiotics after another 10 days on vitamin A and self-application of iodide. Because I feared she might have chronic infection locked into tissues beneath the tonsil, I referred her to an Ear-NoseThroat specialist and a tonsillectomy was performed. End of case history: a speedy and complete recovery, in which targeted nutrient therapy prepared the patient for successful surgery. The surgery coats were paid by her health insurance company. No problem. Nutrition did not fare so well. Here is a section of the letter that Nancy received from her health insurance company when they denied payment on 95% of her medical expenses with me: "It

appears that your expenses were for vitamin therapy. Vitamin therapy is considered preventative care. Under the exclusions and limitations section of your policy, it is stated that covered expenses will not include, and no benefits will be paid for any charges incurred for routine preventative care, including physical examinations. Therefore, there are no benefits payable on the aforementioned expenses." I responded to the insurance company: "It is inconceivable to me that any responsible medical authority would consider the treatment of documented vitamin and mineral deficiency to be merely "preventive". They ultimately paid token additional benefits, far less than the case deserved. Unnecessary services are a critical cost-control factor. By excluding services, administrators can selectively cut costs of their insurance plan and, indeed, this is what has happened, not only to preventive and nutrition-related services but also to a number of other promising therapies: electrotherapy, chelation, acupuncture, hypnosis and herbalism. None of these is usually covered by insurance Health care already costs an average of $3000 per capita in this country. The lifetime medical costs of all Americans come to $225,000! The health care budget consumes almost a trillion dollars annually. I am certainly not arguing against economies and controls. As you will see, I am arguing for medical freedom—for both doctor and patient. The best predictor of what is to come is reflected in the present policies of Medicare. I received a letter from a Medicare Special Investigations Unit. Their computers detected a variance in my practice and they wished to remind me that Medicare does not pay for nutrition-related or preventive services. It is not clear whether the government wants me to stop providing these services. If so, I must either fight the government or possibly retire from practice. In either case my patients lose access to those nutrition and prevention-related services that are called "orthomolecular." This is a loss of personal freedom to all concerned. I am not recommending that the government should have to pay for all medical services. I am only making a case for the doctor-patient relationship as the best means of deciding upon the treatment and the fee. Unfortunately medical freedom was left out of the bill of rights. Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the founding fathers, had lobbied vigorously for such an amendment, but it lost. The right to privacy, a constitutionally guaranteed right, ought to protect the doctor and patient, just like any other competent, consenting adults engaged in any licit activity. Read the following two paragraphs from a letter that I have received from my Medicare "special investigator" and see if you still feel comfortable about medical freedom in America.

"Federal Medicare law specifically excludes from coverage items and services which are not medically reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury... a coverage determination is based upon treatment/procedure's general acceptance, by the professional medical community, as an effective and proven treatment for the condition for which it is being used. Medicare will make payment only when a service is accepted as effective and proven." .."Fraud and Abuse under the Medicare Program defines fraud as: knowingly and willfully making or causing or to be made any false statement or representation of a material fact, in an application for a Medicare benefit or payment, or for use in determining the right to any such benefit or payment; … or to receive benefit when none is due." Penalties for violating the rules run as high as $25,000 and 5 years in federal prison. Luckily for the public, penalties apply only to the physician, not the patient. My concern is that a physician might be charged with fraud and be subject to criminal penalties when he or she was merely practicing good medicine according to his best knowledge and conscience. By billing a service as medical, one is subject to an investigator's opinion that the service was not medical but nutritional or preventive, and therefore ineligible for Medicare payment and therefore subject to penalties as Medicare Fraud. As far as I know the rules have not yet been put to the test. You can bet that the first case will be highly publicized and, if the physician loses, he will be publicly humiliated, fined and possibly jailed. Even if he wins, he will probably be bitter and bankrupt from the legal expense. Not exactly a win-win situation for anyone. Ben Franklin summed up his view of political zealots in his magazine, Poor Richard's Almanac, 200 years ago: "There's many men forget their proper station And still meddling with the administration Of government; that's wrong and this is right, And such a law is out of reason quite; Thus, spending too much thoughts on state affairs, The business is neglected, which is theirs. So some fond traveler gazing at the stars," ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

The Protein–Heart Connection

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. That seems to apply to foods as much as to other pleasures. By now most everyone seems to be convinced that too much fat is bad for cholesterol and heart attacks; and we've heard for years that excess sugar can cause a variety of problems, ranging from dental caries to diabetes and related diseases. Now we have convincing new evidence that too much protein can be even more devastating than fats and sugars! When methionine, which is an essential amino acid gives up a methyl group (carbon and 3 hydrogens) it becomes homocysteine, a toxic byproduct. Normally homocysteine persists for just a brief instant before enzymes controlled by vitamin B6 transform it into cystathionine, an essential substance for brain cells. If that reaction is impaired, then with the help of B12 and folic acid, which provide a fresh methyl group, homocysteine is recycled back to methionine. This way the body conserves methionine and thus requires less meat, fish, egg, dairy or broccoli, cauliflower and wheat, the major dietary sources. The protein-coronary heart disease connection was first proposed by Russian physician I. A. Ignatovski in 1908, after he produced atherosclerosis in rabbits by feeding them animal proteins. Then in 1962, Dr. Nina Carson found an excess of the amino acid, homocystine, oxidized homocysteine, in a chemical survey of retarded children in Ireland. The full-blown genetic syndrome was soon recognized to include skeletal deformity, e.g. pigeon chest, scoliosis, knock-knees and thinning of bone, osteoporosis. Eye damage, dislocation of the lens and glaucoma also occur. Excessive skin flushing after exertion or in hot weather is characteristic and the skin is often paper thin, atrophic and scarred. Half the patients are retarded but others have epilepsy, chronic nervousness or schizophrenia. Blood vessel damage with thrombosis and emboli, migration of clots through the blood stream, is a major complication of homocysteine and heart attack and stroke occur in almost half the cases, especially after anesthesia or surgery. Atherosclerosis occurs in some of these children as early as two months of age and many die before puberty. Based on these findings and his own research, in 1969 Dr. Kilmer McCully proposed that as many as a quarter of our cases of heart attack are due to excess dietary protein, not fat and cholesterol. A flurry of research in the 1970s showed that injections of homocysteine did cause atherosclerosis. In one study, an increase in circulating cells released from the lining of blood vessels was seen within 30 minutes of homocysteine injections in rats. The mechanism behind this is binding of homocysteine to the amino acid, lysine, a component of collagen, the major structural protein of the body. This is particularly likely to occur in areas already damaged but it initiates platelet clumping, clotting and growth of cells in the

blood vessel wall that cause plaque and narrowing. Since vitamin B6 is a major agent for removal of homocysteine, McCully also proposed that B6 deficient diets would permit a build up of homocysteine. This was confirmed by research at the University of Wisconsin: 3 weeks on a low vitamin B6 diet caused human subjects to produce excess homocysteine. It was also found that human patients with atherosclerosis tend to have low vitamin B6 levels and excess homocysteine. However the studies failed to show the expected increase in number of heart attacks in relatives of homocystinuric children. I think this was because heart attacks in the 1960-1980 period were so frequent due to other causes that the less frequent homocystinuric cases were lost in the epidemic of those due to deficiencies of magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin C, and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Recently a new study By Dr. Robert Clarke and his colleagues at Trinity College, London, convincingly demonstrates increased risk of vascular disease in patients who produce homocysteine when given a test dose of methionine. Using the methionine load test in 123 patients they found almost 30 times more risk of vascular disease when excess homocysteine was present! This compares to an increased risk only two-fold due to high cholesterol, 3.5-fold due to smoking and 12.4-fold due to high blood pressure. Their findings indicate that high blood homocysteine is the strongest risk factor for vascular disease. In case of vascular disease before the age of 55 years homocysteine is detected in almost 30 percent! In fact it was found in 42 percent of Clarke's patients with stroke, 28 percent with peripheral vascular disease (leg cramps, claudication, etc) and 30 percent of heart attack cases. Population surveys for homocysteine indicate that, while homozygous homocystinuria, with a gene from each parent, occurs in only 1 birth per 80,000, about 1 person in 80 is heterozygous and carries a single homocysteine gene for the disease. Dr. Jon Pangborn, a leading amino acid chemist, reports that in his experience homocysteine is at least 3 times more frequent in urine samples, i.e. about 1 in 25 patients evaluated at his laboratory. It would seem that homocysteine is one of the most frequently undiagnosed risk factors. It turns out that deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can induce homocysteine. This explains the increased frequency of occurrence in Dr. Pangborn's laboratory. Dr. L. Brattstrom has proved that in case of vitamin B12 deficiency normal people, without a gene for homocysteine, can have blood levels even higher than carriers of the gene for homocystinuria. Meanwhile we are told by the NIH, FDA and fat is the villain in heart disease, that thus causes arterial plaque, blockage and are probably convinced that if you eat no think the high rate of atherosclerosis in

the Surgeon General that it raises cholesterol and heart attacks. Most of you fat you will be safe. I concentration camp

inmates, who had a low fat, low calorie diet says otherwise. Furthermore research has not demonstrated an over-all health advantage to the low fat, low cholesterol diet as public policy. In fact, cardiac mortality does decline but other causes of death, such as accident, homicide and suicide, increase. This is possibly due to irritability and mental torpor induced by insufficient calories, intestinal malabsorption and low blood sugar, i.e. hypoglycemia. Our knowledge of the metabolic fate of homocysteine shows that it can be controlled by diet and vitamins. Homocysteine is produced from methionine, by reducing methionine intake less homocysteine is produced. Methionine is one of the 8 essential amino acids for humans. It is the major source of sulfur and therefore critical for the structure of skin, hair and nails, which contain keratins, sulfur proteins. In addition it is the key constituent of antibodies, and many enzymes. Methionine is also involved in providing methyl groups, single carbon fragments, which expedite many of the chemical reactions of the nervous system. Low methionine levels slow down the chemistry of the brain and result in depression. One reason for the popularity of B12 injections is that they restore and recycle methionine, thus assisting in the production of adrenalin in the nerves and adrenal gland. In its major chemical path methionine undergoes enzymatic transformation into homocysteine and then cystathionine, which is essential for nerve function. Extra cystathionine is converted to useful end-products, including the anti-oxidants cysteine and taurine. No problem--but if vitamins folic acid and B12 are deficient, then homocysteine is likely to accumulate, particularly if B6 is low also. Since zinc is required to activate B6 in cells, the possibility of B6 deficiency is that much greater if zinc is low. Birth control pills deplete both B6 and folic acid; they also cause blood clots and emboli in some women. This may be due to the production of homocysteine. High dietary intake of protein and fat increase the need for vitamin B6 up to ten-fold. Vitamin B6 supplementation at a dose of 25 to 100 mg per day is sufficient to reverse homocysteine accumulation in half the cases. In resistant cases the use of up to 6 grams of betaine, which donates extra methyl groups to convert homocysteine to methione, has proved effective according to Dr. David Wilcken; however a few people have adverse reactions, including headache, dyspepsia and nervousness so I recommend it be used only under doctor's supervision. To prevent dietary provocation of homocysteine, we must learn to moderate our food intake, particularly animal protein. It is also important to get enough of vitamins B6, B12, folic acid, betaine and zinc. For many people a vegetarian diet is the simplest and best method of treatment because it is low in methionine and high in vitamin B6 and folic acid. Dr. Dean Ornish has recently demonstrated that low fat, vegetarian diets actually reverse coronary atherosclerosis. However low methionine intake by itself does not prevent homocysteine and many people don't feel well on low protein

intake. For these people the use of vitamin supplements plus zinc should make it safe to eat a normal amount of animal protein containing methionine. Homocysteine is so common and so powerful a risk factor for vascular, nervous, ocular, pulmonary and skin disease conditions that it should be diagnosed by methionine loading and measurement in blood or urine as part of a thorough health evaluation. The information so gained permits you to put nutrition first—before medical disaster can strike! ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

The Causes of Epidemic Autism (and ADD)

There is no doubt that we are caught up in an epidemic of childhood brain disease. There are hundreds of thousands of autistic children in the late 1990s where only a decade ago there were seemingly only a few thousand. And there are millions of milder cases, which carry a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity, therefore ADD or ADHD for short. The ADD children often have delays in speech development and selective impairment of school learning and social behavior. In their areas of interest they are often very intelligent and accomplished; but as a group, ADD kids run into increasing trouble in their adolescent years as they struggle with school, conflict with family, experiment and get hung up on drugs, and run afoul of the law. ADD is not a trivial condition and it almost certainly reflects damage to the process of brain development. In fact, research at Stanford University recently shed light on the process, literally, by demonstrating a lack of activity in the brain control centers, called the Corpus striatum, of children with ADD. This area failed to light up when visualized by PET scan. PET is an abbreviation for 'positron emission tomography,' and the injected glucose sugar tracer material gives off positrons that are recorded by a computerlinked scanner. ADD children failed to light up--until they were given Ritalin. This indicated that brain cells in that area, particularly the caudate nucleus, were underactive. The research gave visual evidence for the efficacy of this drug, which increases the action of the neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. It is

certain that additional research of this type will verify the benefits that parents report after the use of orthomolecular and herbal treatments, such as phosphatidylserine, Panax ginseng, deanol, caffeine, tyrosine, biopterin, vitamin B12, folic acid, hydroxy-tryptophan, piracetam, vinpocetine, and others. The same can be said about autism, the more severe form of developmental brain injury, which is obvious by age 3 years old. Autistic children fail to develop speech and their social interaction and natural curiosity is replaced by repetitive behaviors, staring, posturing, head-banging and self-stimulating in ways that range from excess sleeping to frequent raging. As they improve they may become obsessed with specific objects, sounds, images, books, etc. and they can tolerate no interruption or change in their connection with it. Those that do develop speech may appear normal, but they often fail to develop comprehension and commonsense judgment. They seem to lack an intact sense of before-after, cause-effect--and right-wrong. And if these unfortunate children do improve to this higher level of recovery, there is the next challenge, context. This is the ability to predict the consequence of their own acts and be able to feel and believe them in advance. Those who fail at this stage are identified as Asperger's Syndrome, named for the researcher who described this phenomenon. There is no doubt that some of those who get in trouble with the law are actually victims of early life brain injury. This is especially prevalent in violent criminals who end up on 'death row.' What can cause such injury? How can anything so severe as to cause autism or ADD and lead to criminal behavior in the unlucky ones, be so subtle as to defy detection? For example, many parents of autistic children have independently made the connection between vaccinations and autism. Of course this is not 100 percent; but it may be as high as 30 percent if my cases are any example and that is high! Are the parents wrong? In two cases that come to mind, the children had obvious distress, fever, and behavior change after diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) vaccinations in their first year of life, were hampered by ADD thereafter, required tutoring to graduate high school, fell into drug usage, and died of heroin overdose before age 25 despite all the love and support their parents could provide. Brain damage was not such a rare occurence after DTP vaccination before the acellular vaccine was introduced in 1986 and special legislation was enacted to create a fund to reimburse for vaccine injuries. Millions have been paid out to families of injured children. Some of the neurological injuries are immediate and obvious, with paralysis and loss of mental alertness within days or weeks. But there can also be subtle effect due to the immunedepleting effects of the vaccines, which makes some infants more vulnerable to otitis and other infections. As resistance falters, viral and other infections excite cytokine immune hormones, such as Il-2, Il-6, Il-10, IFN-alpha, which stimulate production of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), thus turning on the pituitary-adrenal axis.

There is another reason why pertussis vaccine is adverse for neural development. A glance at any neurotoxicology or biochemistry text shows pertussis vaccine as a reliable activator of nerve cell G proteins. In other words, pertussis strongly activates nerve cells. It also activates the immune cells. That is what vaccines are supposed to do. The hazard may be as simple as over-stimulation of nerve cells that are primed for the process of apoptosis. Such cells are found during periods of accelerated development and unfortunately these periods coincide with the schedule of vaccinations for infants: first week (hepatitis B), 2nd month (DTP and hemophilus), 18 months (MMR) and this increases the risk of excessive nerve cell death, from which there can be adaptation but not full recovery. New tracts may develop but new cells are unlikely to appear--or at best to a limited extent. Aside from direct toxic effects, indirect brain inflammation and vascular damage by metabolic products of vaccine stress can also occur. Homocysteine is one of these. Many toxins can provoke release of free amino acids, including methionine, and thus induce increased homocysteine, a well known excitotoxin. Homocysteine can cause apoptosis and if high levels should occur during a time of accelerated development this might indeed cause harm. If the nerve activity is further accelerated by pertussis (or fluoride, which also stimulates G proteins) then the damage would be that much greater. Auto-immune effects, can interfere with myelination and cause prolonged inflammation that magnifies damage. Thus an injury can become chronic and prevent recovery from otherwise minor episodes of brain inflammation and developmental dysregulation. This may be more common now that newborns are vaccinated for hepatitis B on their very first day of life! This is all by way of conjecture about how pertussis vaccine in particular can alter neural development. Aside from direct toxic effects, indirect brain inflammation and vascular damage by metabolic products, such as homocysteine, can also occur. Any stress or toxin can provoke release of free amino acids, including methionine, and thus induce increased homocysteine. It may be as simple as that; however the necessary research in this area has yet to be done. The damage is known to occur; only the explanations lag behind. Auto-immune inflammation can become chronic and prevent recovery from otherwise minor episodes of brain inflammation and developmental dysregulation. This may be more common now that newborns are vaccinated for hepatitis B on their very first day of life! Another possibility is that the brain remains a fetal organ for a considerable time after birth: it is not nearly complete in its development until at least three years. There are cycles of development of various parts of the brain: cerebellum in the first months; sensory organs soon after; and cerebral cortex last. The auditory cortex, site of language development, reaches a critical

period between 12 and 30 months, just about the time scheduled for MMR vaccination and booster shots. The MMR vaccinations in the second year are targeted against viral illness, specifically measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). The vaccines contain live but weakened virus and though it is less virulent than the 'wild' type viral infection, the vaccine virus can overload the immune and anti-inflammatory systems in vulnerable children, especially if they are depleted in nutrients, such as selenium, vitamin E, or glutathone. High levels of immune hormones can be induced by infection, and some of these, such as interferon-alpha and interluekin-6 and 10, can act as neurotoxins. Since neural systems development relies heavily on a process called apoptosis, pruning away neurons that are extraneous or in some way do not fit into the competitive process involved as axon growth cones seek their receptors, it is possible that during critical periods of accelerated development, a disruption of apoptosis could lead to excessive cell death and loss of neurons that would better have been preserved by a more efficient process. In other words, accidents can and certainly do occur. For example, in a very important research, a team led by the great neurologic research toxicologist, John Olney, has determined that blockade of glutamate receptors, also called NMDA receptors, even for a few hours during late fetal and early neonatal life, causes widespread apoptosis and degeneration of neurons in laboratory rats[i]. The authors suggest that this might be relevant in case of drug-abusing mothers or pediatric anesthesia. Their rats were most sensitive to nerve cell death for the first week post-natal, which would correspond to a few months if the human biology runs a parallel course. The agents they used to block the NMDA receptor were gentle anesthetics in common use, such as ketamine and nitrous oxide. They also found the hallucinogen and street drug phencyclidine (PCP) to be equally dangerous to the fetus and newborn infant. And alcohol (ethanol) has similar dangerous properties. Luckily, they also found that it required at least 4 hours of exposure to these toxins before damage was observed. Their research confirms that the stage of development governs neuronal vulnerability. Thus, the memory centers of the hippocampus were most vulnerable in the last week before birth and the cerebral cortex more vulnerable after birth. Another conclusion: "blockade of the NMDA receptors gives rise to different patterns of neuronal loss depending on the stage of development at which the interference occurs. Such a mechanism could contribute to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders." This work on NMDA receptor effects is a breakthrough in our understanding of developmental brain disease. At first I considered the possibility that homocysteine might fit into the puzzle; however on second thought I think not: the damaging chemicals are all NMDA blockers. Homocysteine is an NMDA stimulant. But it is certainly active in the same territory. On the other hand, there is another chemical agent that may well turn out to be the secret demon behind

the epidemic of autism. This is 4-phenyl-cyclohexene (4-PC), a compound found in the glue backing that holds synthetic carpets together. It is also released from indoor latex paints, and all kinds of sealing compounds in common use in home repairs. It is a solvent, absorbs by inhalation and through the skin, and has a structure almost identical to 1-PC, which is the active metabolite of phencyclidine. Phencyclidine (PCP) is also a street drug known as 'angel dust' and it is known to cause fetal brain damage, sometimes presenting as cerebral palsy at birth. It is also one of the chemicals that was found to be most effective at causing apoptosis in brain cells of newborn rats. 4-PC was found in air samples from the US-EPA headquarters in Washington, DC, which had to be evacuated in 1988 due to contamination of the building by carpet fumes. The investigation that followed revealed that 4-PC was preset at 70 parts per billion, which was sufficient to cause irritation of the throat, lungs, eyes and nerve cells, even in adults and neurological symptoms have been quite prominent in many reports of "chemical sensitivity" from carpet fumes. Children are particularly susceptible, but no one has considered carpet and paint fumes to be much of a danger to newborn infants before. In fact, it is commonplace for expectant parents to carpet and paint the nursery as a happy welcome for their newborn child. However the new information on NMDA blockade and nerve cell death makes this a whole new ball-game. The paradox is that it was only a few years ago, 1991, when mercury was removed from indoor paint after a baby died under just such circumstances. It is very possible that this 4-PC and perhaps toluene, another newcomer to indoor paint since the departure of mercury, are sinister culprits in causing childhood brain disease. Let us not depart entirely from the additional concern that vaccines are also part of the problem. It may be that an initial injury at a critical time, leaves a baby with less reserve with which to cope with additional injuries later. In one study, 17 autistic children were re-diagnosed from home videos and abnormal movements were observed in all of them, starting as early as 3 months. If vaccines are involved, this points to hepatitis, which is given on the first neonatal day, or DPT or hemophilus influenza, which are given at 2-3 months of age in most infants. Nevertheless, the most common story told to me by parents of autistic children is that the children were developing speech at a normal pace until after the MMR vaccine vaccination between 15 and 24 months of age. I know one such case that lost all speech at age 18 months, then had a partial recovery and was able to start nursery school, and then lost all speech again after the booster MMR vaccine at age 4 years. It would seem that the MMR vaccine can both cause a new injury and/or aggravate an old one. ©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. [i] C Ikonomidou, F Bosch, M Miksa, J W Olney: Blockade of NMDA receptors and apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing brain.

1999; Science, 283, 70-74.

Thankful Patients

Nutrition has been a controversial subject in the medical world throughout the 20th Century. The discovery of vitamins is as much a hallmark of progress in this century as the discovery of microbes, was to the 19th. It was difficult then for intelligent people to imagine that invisible specks of matter, germs, could cause illness. It has been even more difficult in our own time to appreciate nutrients, even smaller specks of matter that cause illness by their absence! Orthomolecular medicine addresses the challenge of finding optimal concentrations of nutrients for healing and for health. Whether by laboratory testing or systematic alterations of dietary intake, orthomolecular medicine is a search for your personal nutritional balance. I remember the excitement of the early days in orthomolecular medicine—back in 1970, when Linus Pauling was raising hackles with his vitamin C research. His main point was that the RDA, the government recommended dose of 60 mg, was a minimum, not optimum. Optimal doses might vary according to individual genetics and circumstances, including stress, infection, toxicity, etc. Thus an optimal dose of vitamin C for treating the Common Cold might mean large doses, megadoses, a thousand times the RDA. Despite the extremely favorable safety record of vitamins, it was the idea of megavitamin therapy became the sticking point. Conventional medical authorities considered this to be quackery. Even Dr. Pauling, seemingly secure in his fame and prestige after receiving not one but two Nobel Prizes, was not immune to personal attacks by colleagues and commentators. Though he was only 70 years old and actively engaged in the management of his research institute, he was called senile by some of his critics. Orthomolecular physicians were also called names, but whatever apprehension we had was offset by the weight of the evidence: nutrition was in the ascendant phase, buoyed aloft by a tidal wave of research studies attesting to the power of nutrients in health and disease. We wondered why the mentality of the medical profession was so dead set against nutrition therapy and so blind to the facts. Most of us concluded that the medical profession was in the throes of change and that orthodox doctors were not able to keep up with the information explosion that has forced a paradigm shift in medicine from a focus on disease and drugs to biochemistry and

physiology and the environmental factors of nutrition and pollution. Because orthomolecular psychiatry is rooted in biochemistry and physiology, it makes sense to include it in any medical approach to brain functioning and mental disorders. My post-doctoral training in neurophysiology impressed on me that the mind is a reflection of the brain, a physical organ, made up of trillions of cells, producing chemicals, such as lactic acid, acetylcholine, dopamine, epinephrine and serotonin, and regulated by enzymes and hormones that in turn depend on vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I was interested in biochemistry so it was natural to be interested in nutrients; and so my mind was prepared to appreciate the megavitamin research of Drs. Hoffer, Osmond and Smythies, which was ongoing already for 15 years at the time I became involved, in 1967. Because of megavitamin therapy I was able to help a patient who was otherwise responding poorly to her anti-psychotic medication (Stelazine). The prescription of a gram of niacinamide twice a day, about 100 times the RDA, ended her hallucinations within 3 days. She was grateful and her family was grateful. It was an unforgettable experience. Could I ever turn back to talk therapy after such success with molecular medicine? Could I ignore nutrition and nutrient therapy ever again? Since then I have seen thousands of cases that support my confidence in this approach, not only for the immediate benefits but also for the lifetime health advantages that it offers. Let me quote from a letter I found on my e-mail just a few days ago: It was titled: “I’m an old patient of yours.” “I found your e-mail address in Dr. Whitaker’s Directory of Nutrition-Oriented Physicians. This gives me the perfect opportunity to thank you after so many years have passed. Thank you so very much for your great work. My mother insisted that I come to you as a teen and later as an adult when I was expecting my first child. I really believe your vitamin therapy during my pregnancy helped make my children exceptional. Both are in the GATE program (Gifted and Talented). I strongly believe that there is a strong connection with B vitamins and brain development...(and) I had wheat germ everyday and gave it to the children in their cereal when they were old enough to eat solid food. Thanks again, you have done much for this family.” I was surprised and pleased to hear from this delightful young woman after 20 years have gone by. As a 17-year-old she suffered chronic fatigue and chemical sensitivity and was seriously depressed at times. She improved after simple nutrient supplementation, possibly because of zinc deficiency, which was evident in her laboratory profile. She did not return until 5 years later, early in her first pregnancy. Again fatigue was oppressive and she had headache and loss of appetite. I made note of her very dry skin, which I knew was a sign of deficiency of essential fatty acids. To my surprise now, in retrospect, I did not prescribe either flax or fish oil. These omega-3 essential fatty acids are known to be crucial for normal fetal development and for optimal brain development. But good quality flax oil was not yet available at the time and the raunchy,

foul-smelling fish oil products of the day were not acceptable. So I think she deserves most of the credit for producing healthy children; but it was vital that she had first-hand experience with orthomolecular health-medicine at such an early age. That is something to be thankful about. Here is another case from a grateful patient, who took the trouble to write a brief description of her progress after nutrient treatment for lifelong eye problems. Nan was 63 years old and facing the prospect of a corneal transplant when she consulted me because of “extreme sensitivity to light, constant feeling of something in eye, tearing, and involuntary closing of eyelids.” She had been struck in the right eye by a tennis ball at age 8, and it was never right after that. She did not complain of poor general health but had always been infertile and had chronic iron deficiency anemia. Despite supplemental iron therapy over the years, her blood remained low in iron and the iron storage protein, ferritin, was at the lowest level I have ever seen, only 1 mg (normally 20 to 200). Her failure to absorb iron most likely represents malabsorption due to deficient stomach acid. Another sign of digestive inadequacy was found in laboratory examination of feces, which showed excessive numbers of potentially adverse organisms, such as klebsiella and various streptococci, and a total lack of the digestive enzyme, trypsin. It was not until correction of gastric acid and enzyme deficiencies that she began to heal her eye symptoms. In her own words: “The correction of my eye problems is an exciting, rewarding adventure in learning and health. The original application of sodium ascorbate compresses and SOD (superoxide dismutase) drops was the first miracle! The improvement was immediate and continued. I apologize for the extravagant language but after years of frustration, confusion, and increasing problems, only superlatives describe my reaction. “Discontinuing wheat in my diet was the next large step. The very persistent and long-term gas and edema problems dissipated, indicating that allergy was a factor in my general health. The use of bromelain (digestive enzymes) made such marked changes in my well being I have undertaken to experiment with Dr. Arthur Coca’s pulse studies to determine food allergies. My usual pulse rate dropped when I stopped eating wheat, in February, from 72 to a range of 68-70. Sugar (cane) causes a radical rise to 90, and even a communion wafer (wheat) causes a rise from 67 to 75...Most interesting is that when I eat an allergic food my vision is less clear and my eyes are very sticky in the morning...And now I think that the weight changes I used to attribute to hormones were the result of food allergy. I’ll never again use the phrase “just allergy.” The damage is too wide ranging. I’ll be forever grateful for nutritional medicine and a doctor who studies the patient rather than a checklist of pre-determined problems. “At church I find an inscription across from where I regularly sit, coming into improved focus each week. Yesterday the words had shape but could not be read. On a smaller scale in normal typescript words

have regained distinct shape (with no glasses) but cannot yet be read. Overall, the world is brighter and clearer. The extreme sensitivity to light is gone entirely as is the tearing. Computer use is again possible and recently I watched 2 successive movies on TV with no discomfort. Since late summer 1995 I always read with both eyes again.” Is there any single health function more important than eyesight? For her entire life, Nan’s doctors, all knowledgeable and caring specialists, had treated her without understanding the connection to her digestive problems, which they ignored so completely that she eventually failed to make any mention of it to them. I have read their reports and they explicitly regarded her as a healthy person — except for eye problems, dermatitis and blepharitis, which they treated symptomatically. Healing was incomplete because of nutrient deficiencies secondary to intestinal malabsorption. She was getting worse year by year until she began to treat her eye problems as bowel problems. In her case chronic intestinal problems and wheat intolerance kept her from reaching full strength all her life. Eye drops alone could not solve the problem, not even the antioxidant SOD drops (superoxide dismutase). But after changing her diet to avoid wheat and undertaking regular use of stomach acid supplements, enzymes, and supplementation with vitamins, especially folic acid and vitamin A, she has turned back her health clock, regaining visual acuity lost over 20 years ago. At the same time she has gained weight, energy, and well-being. She really does feel better than ever before in her life. Nan has a lot to be thankful for at this Thanksgiving season. As a physician, I am also thankful to be able to share with her the advances and advantages of orthomolecular health medicine. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Tea for Three

Tea is in the news today because of a research report that experimental cancer was reduced 40 per cent in rats given green tea to drink. What are the active ingredients? It is believed that tannins in the tea are responsible. The paradox here is that some tannin are also suspected of causing esophageal cancer in those who drink tea to excess over long periods of time. We might properly credit Genghis Khan with introducing tea to Western Civilization. Tea served the Armies of the Great Khan very

well: the caffeine derivatives and ephedrine in Chinese teas are well-known performance boosters. More important, tea is an infusion of leaves in boiling water. Boiling the water also protected these warriors from epidemics of dysentery that otherwise might have discouraged their dreams of conquest. It is not far-fetched to claim that tea was a major weapon in the armory of Genghis Khan! Tea has always been a beverage to be enjoyed for pleasure. In the first place it is tastier than water, and as we have observed, safer. If you were pro-fluoridation, you would recommend tea for infants and children, since it is a natural source of fluoride. Two cups of tea made with non-fluoridated water contains about 1 mg of fluoride, which is considered to be optimal. Of course, if your water is fluoridated at the prescribed level of 1 part per million (1 mg per liter, that is, about 4 cups) then two cups of tea actually provides 1.5 mg of fluoride and 4 cups would contain 3 mg, which is getting close to the limit of safety for long term fluoride intake. Tea also contains enzymes that inactivate thiamin, vitamin B1. Hence if one drinks tea in large amounts, one should be aware of sources of the vitamin: meat, nuts, whole grains, and wheat germ, yeast. Loss of thiamin is compounded by sugar, which uses up the vitamin in the chemical activities of the body. Adding heaps of sugar to iced tea is not a good idea. With these modest warnings in mind, it is safe to say that tea is good for you. It has nutritional value and provides some magnesium and potassium. On the other hand, again, the tannins bind to minerals, such as iron and calcium. If you are iron deficient, tea is not for you. Some of us may think of tea as a feminine drink and coffee as more masculine. Actually, tea is a better drink for men because it hinders absorption of iron, a mineral that can accumulate to excess in men. The tannins in tea are released at lower temperature than the flavorful substances, so if drink tea for the pleasure of its flavor then bring the water to boil before adding to the tea. Don't overheat or simmer very long or the tannins will overtake the flavor. On the other hand, if you want a medicinal brew, soak it at low heat or simmer it longer, until it makes your mouth pucker at the taste of it. Tannins are astringent; they bind to proteins in the mucous membranes of the mouth, just as they bind to the membranes of certain microorganisms, particularly yeasts. And this is a major medicinal use for tea: as a safe antibiotic against yeast, including Candida albicans. In my practice make good use of tannin, which is taken as a capsule for intestinal problems, a gargle for coated tongue or oral thrush, and as a douche for monilia. In each case it offers advantages. Finally, tannins attach to various toxins and antigens in the gut, thus protecting the mucosa from injury in case of infection. It also

prevents systemic invasion of the body by sealing damaged cells. In short, tea contains tannins that are well suited as first-line agents in case of diarrhea. Now we see that tea has nutritional and medicinal value as well but that is perhaps of more interest to the physician. Let's hear it first for pleasure, thrice over. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Taboos and Tidbits

Taboo, refers to a cultural prohibition, usually based on fear, and more closely related to religion than science. The word comes to us by way of Tonga, where it was directly connected to the gods and their supernatural powers. Our advanced society has endowed certain foods and herbs with fear and treated them as taboos. Eggs, liver, butter, cream—these have been demonized by the cholesterol gods. False gods, such as margarine and hydrogenated oils, have been worshiped in their place. The health of Western Civilization has suffered as a result. The real health gods have not been happy and there have been deaths, many deaths, as a result of our foolish worship at the deceptive altar of epidemiology. Statistical observations, even when "significant" do not equate to physiological truths. The connection between dietary fat and cholesterol and rate of heart attack does not hold for all cultures, nor does it hold on physiological grounds. High blood cholesterol does NOT spell imminent danger. Research makes clear that after age 70 a blood cholesterol greater than 300 carries no detectable excess risk of heart attack. I have had patients in good health past age 90, and with cholesterol over 300. There are other factors, such as homocysteine, Lp(a), fibrinogen, and infection --to name a few-that do have great impact and these physiological factors have recently gained sufficient research support to put cholesterol into perspective as but a relatively small part of the physiological puzzle of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. Of course, dietary balance is important, but the fat taboo is turning out to be more fear than fact. Consider the following conclusion from a major research study into the alleged connection

between dietary fat intake and breast cancer risk.[1] "We found no evidence that lower intake of total fat or specific major types of fat was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer." That is from the Nurses' Health Study, which has followed the health of almost 90,000 women for over 20 years, since 1976. It is unlikely that we will ever see a larger or better study, nor under more trusted management—Harvard Medical School. Despite all the confusing headlines to the contrary, fat deficiency is a greater hazard than fat excess. Certain fats are essential. These we must have--or we sicken and die. Since the processing of essential fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), requires enzymes that are powered by vitamins (B1,2,3,5,6, folic acid, B12 and biotin) and minerals (magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium), deficiency of any of these catalysts can show up as dry skin, nerve deterioration, endocrine failure, auto-immune disease—a veritable pandora's box of inter-related degenerative disease conditions. Eskimo and French dietary patterns are as high or higher in fat than our own fast food, hamburger and fried food culture. But the Eskimo native diet is high in fish fat and seal blubber, both high in omega-3 essential fatty acids. And the French enjoy duck pate, rich in the same omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are washed down with wines. French wines contain more copper than our American wines, due to their use of copper sulfate rather than the myriad chemical pesticides in use here. Copper remains one of the weak spots in the American diet, and it is aggravated by the hidden intake of fructose and corn syrup sweeteners, which aggravate copper deficiency. Putting aside the copper connection, it is enough to appreciate the enormous impact of fish oil and flax oil in reducing risk of heart attack. Research at Yale University was emphatic in demonstrating lack of heart attacks in pigs with high cholesterol induced by a high saturated fat diet—so long as they were also fed fish oil, containing the omega-3 fatty acids. The adverse action of cholesterol was less powerful than the beneficial effect of the fish oil. Iodine confers a similar protection, a fact demonstrated as long ago as 1915 in fat fed rabbits. Those that were treated with iodine lived despite high blood cholesterol. The word "tidbit" refers to "a choice morsel." Fish oil hardly fits that definition, though it takes only a little bit, as little as a teaspoonful a day, to satisfy the needs for most adults, and a tablespoonful or two to confer more complete anti-coagulant action. There are other foods that might be thought of as ‘tidbits’ Take the egg, for instance: properly prepared it is the most perfect single food and is the "gold standard" of protein quality. In one of the largest diet-health studies of all time, the American Cancer Society surveyed almost a million people and followed their health status over a period of years. Those who ate more than five eggs per week enjoyed better health and had fewer heart attacks and less cancer morbidity than those who ate less than two eggs per week.

There is a twist of irony to our egg taboo, for the yolk of the egg contains both cholesterol and biotin, a vitamin, which regulates blood cholesterol. Biotin deficiency causes scaly skin, hair loss, sore tongue, low mood, and high cholesterol! If you are low in biotin, eating eggs can lower cholesterol. And here is irony: the yolk contains biotin; the white of the egg contains avidin, a protein that inactivates biotin. Cooking the egg denatures the protein, destroys avidin, and preserves the biotin. It is only raw eggs that should be considered dangerous. So the experts are wrong to cast a taboo on eggs; and the health faddists are wrong to eat them raw. That leaves the rest of us to listen to our body and do what comes naturally: eat them if we like them. Now that we have challenged the taboo against eggs, are there are other, tastier tidbits in the world of food? How about chocolate? Now that is a choice morsel for sure, if only for its high content of phenylethylamine, a neurotransmitter and mood elevator. The Aztecs called it "food of the gods." You will be pleased to learn that chocolate is also good for your health, better than we thought! Dr. Joe Vinson has found chocolate to be loaded with antioxidant polyphenols. His research confirms that these are present in huge amounts, about 300 mg. in an ordinary candy bar (i.e. about 40 grams of milk chocolate). This is equivalent to the amount contained in 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. If the candy is made with dark chocolate it has twice as much polyphenol and one such chocolate bar can satisfy the food pyramid guidelines for two days so far as these flavonoids are concerned. And coffee—this herbal brew, made from the seeds of the coffee tree, is enjoying new respect since Harvard researcher, Dr. Edward Giovannucci gathered results of a number of research studies (metaanalysis) and found an over-all reduction in colorectal cancer of 30 percent in those drinking several cups a day. That will come as no surprise to those who know that coffee enemas have been a mainstay of cancer therapy at the Gerson Clinic and other cancer treatment centers in Mexico for over 50 years. It should be no surprise that coffee is also coming into its own as an anti-depressant. Move over St. John's Wort. A 1996 analysis of data from the same Nurse's Health Study population that exonerated fat also found an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and suicide. The greater the coffee intake, the lower the suicide rate. Evidently the effect of caffeine and other natural chemicals in the coffee bean act as anti-depressants. Dr. Peter Martin at Vanderbilt University has founded an "Institute for Coffee Studies," funded with over six million dollar to pursue this. Coffee contains many other chemicals besides caffeine, including chlorogenic acid. It is also a good source of scarce trace minerals, especially manganese. Are you concerned Nehlig used SPECT found no increase the reward system

that coffee causes addiction? Relax. Dr. Astrid scans, which track blood flow in the brain, and in activity in the nucleus accumbens, the seat of of the brain, after caffeine equivalent to three

cups of coffee. This implies that coffee is not addictive, even though it does increase activity in brain centers that control muscle activity, mood, and state of arousal. Only at very high doses, seven or more cups of coffee at a time, was there an increase in glucose in the brain reward system. These findings were reported at the 1999 American Chemical Society meeting. There are many more begging to be included. How about the important news that iodine deficiency has quadrupled in the past 20 years! Dr. Joseph G. Hollowell of the Center for Disease Control observes that in 1971–1974 the incidence of iodine deficiency in USA was 2.6%. Just 15 years later, 1988–1994, the incidence had increased to 11.7%. This coincides with a 4-fold increase in infantile autism, a disorder of brain development; and there has been a huge increase in attention deficit disorder (ADD), numbering in the millions. Could there be a connection to iodine deficiency? Iodine is essential for thyroid activity; thyroid is required for normal fetal and neonatal brain development, so it is possible and should be taken seriously. One reason for iodine deficiency is there has been a taboo against salt! Iodized salt was introduced in the 1920s to end goiter forever. But that was before blood pressure and salt got linked and became a public health and media issue. In case you hadn't heard: it is now physiological to eat salt to suit your taste—unless you are in the unlucky 10 percent with a high blood pressure condition specifically linked to salt. Salt contains the essential minerals, sodium and chloride. Excess salt may cause high blood pressure and death--after a number of years. But salt deficiency may cause death in just a few hours! Tryptophan is back in the news again: this time it is good news. Eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia, continue to ruin young lives. Psychiatrists at Oxford, in England, compared the effects of amino acid mixtures with and without tryptophan in 12 healthy women compared to 10 recovered bulimia patients in a doubleblind, cross-over study. It was significant that the bulimics had a significant lowering of mood and loss of control of eating following the tryptophan-free meal. Conclusion: "chronic depletion of plasma tryptophan may be one of the mechanisms whereby persistent dieting can lead to the development of eating disorders." And the unwritten conclusion is that tryptophan supplementation deserves to be tried in anyone struggling with anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. There is no shortage of reports of improved mood, better sleep, and other health benefits from tryptophan supplementation. However tryptophan has been almost entirely removed from the over-thecounter marketplace for the past ten years. It has become taboo. Fear, not science, deprives thousands of people from treatment with this essential amino acid. The FDA bureaucracy is afraid to approve the sale of this food substance, which is present in most of the foods you eat, especially animal proteins, because contaminated tryptophan made it to the health food stores 10 years ago, and caused over 30 deaths and many more cases of lung and muscle damage.

It wasn't the tryptophan. It was the contaminant. But that problem has been corrected, so why the taboo now? I hate to say it, but it looks like a fear-driven bureaucracy at work. Bureaucrats don't want to be criticized for not doing enough; and so they are motivated by fear and almost forced to grab power over us misguided "consumers" who would like to believe that a bureaucrat knows what is good for us. That is something you have to find out for yourself. Bureaucracy is a threat to our individual liberties. Every law and every regulation removes a degree of freedom from the public domain. You want tryptophan? The tryptophan disaster of 1989 occurred despite the fact that FDA standards were met. Now the cost is 5 to 10 times higher than it was in 1989, because of governmental over-control. So no one uses tryptophan much anymore. Luckily we now have 5-hydroxy tryptophan, which is better and safer than tryptophan —but is already threatened with removal by FDA. There is a power struggle going on right now, not only here in the USA but world-wide as the Codex commission is holding a series of meetings to forge an international consensus on regulating health and nutrition products. Along with this our own FDA is proposing to redefine the term "disease" so as to include any deviation from a normal state, including headache, pregnancy, menopause. That would place foods that affect symptoms under regulatory control as drugs rather than foods. Do you really need FDA to tell you whether you can have a chocolate bar? It could come to that. Already, in Canada the government has announced a new office of Natural Health Products to oversee all aspects of natural health products. Herbal companies will be required to prove that their products work as advertised. Forget about the fact that herbs have been used successfully for thousands of years and that we know the science behind their action now more than ever before. Efficacy requirements raise the costs enormously and will benefit big drug companies, who can invest big money in big bureaucracy. Where will the big money really come from? From the little people—you and me. 'Putting nutrition first' is more than a good health strategy; it is your individual right and responsibility. There is a war going on right now, and it is a war over who has the power to regulate your personal health. Don't think that any bureaucracy can tell you what works for you any better than you can determine for yourself. Freedom of choice in personal health matters is NOT guaranteed by our Constitution. Big mistake. Putting nutrition first is in the same league as putting Freedom first. Anything else should be taboo. Freedom is one of the basic tenets of the belief system that has made America great. Any law or regulation that erodes our freedom should be classified as taboo. [1] Holmes MD, Hunter DJ, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ et al: Association of dietary intake of fat and fatty acids with risk of breast cancer. JAMA 199999;281:914-920. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Sunlight is Good for You

Sunshine, salt, sugar and fat all used to be categorized among the pleasures of life. Lately we are told that all are dangerous to our health, not as bad as smoking but worse than coffee or chocolate. There is a case for the other side in terms of health benefits. Each of the above—sugar, salt, and fat—is essential to life and health— but there is an optimal dose at which benefits are obvious, and a toxic dose at which illness develops. The same general interpretation applies to sunlight. How about the good effects of sun? Not only does it keep us warm and grow our crops, it actually is the primal source of the energy of life. Sunlight is also required for vitamin D, which is actually formed by the interaction of ultraviolet light and cholesterol in the skin. At least 15 minutes a day exposure to midday summer sun is required for best results. Otherwise one must eat liver or cod liver oil regularly. Egg yolk and milk fat contain smaller amounts and all fruits and vegetables are devoid of both cholesterol and vitamin D. Repeat: if you don't get your vitamin D by regular exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, you risk deficiency of this essential nutrient. Vitamin D deficiency is common, particularly amongst those who stay indoors a lot and eat a low fat diet. Sunbathing is a pleasurable experience, universally popular with the lucky people who get to enjoy vacation, travel and leisure activities. Fantasies of sunny outdoor scenes at the beach or in the mountains are among the most common screen memories that my patients bring up when asked to identify with pleasure. "Sun-worship" is now only a little less intense than in earlier times, such as the ancient Egyptian dynasties, when Ra, the sun god, was God. How is it then that our medical establishment has come down so strongly against sun exposure? We are told to limit our exposure to no more than 15 minutes, and to keep indoors or wear total sun-block agents and especially to avoid the mid-day sun. Why? Because of the recent increase in skin cancer and melanoma, an increase so severe as to deserve the title, epidemic. There are now over 600,000 new cases of skin cancer per year in the US and melanoma accounts for 30,000 new cases and 6500 deaths. Ultraviolet type B (UVB) radiation, wavelength 290 to 320 nm, has been blamed but research does not support recent exposure as the

cause. Instead blistering sunburns in childhood have been associated with a double rate of melanoma in adulthood, median age of diagnosis 53 years old. National attention has been focused on skin cancer in the 1980s because of the fact that both Presidents Reagan and Bush have had basal cell cancers removed from the face. Ultraviolet radiation damage to cell membranes and nucleic acids is a cause of this type of cancer but there are other factors as well. Unsaturated fatty acids are normally present in our cell membranes. The electrical bonds of these molecules act as a storehouse of oxidative energy, including electrons donated by sunlight. Protection against oxidative damage to these fatty acids in the cell membrane is provided by antioxidant vitamins and enzymes, particularly carotene, vitamins C and E, and glutathione. Overdose of ultraviolet radiation can overwhelm the capacity of the cell defenses. Sunburn gives immediate evidence of this. Premature aging and the occurrence of skin cancer are more insidious and do not show up for months or years. It is accepted as fact that ultraviolet light radiation can cause cancer. UVB the wavelength 290-320 nm is the most intense energy source and therefore most likely to cause burning and cell damage. UVA with wavelength 320-400 nm is less intense but penetrates more readily through the atmosphere year round and deeper into the skin. Thus its effect is more accumulative, about 100 times greater than UVB. It is possible that UVA is a greater hazard than UVB because it goes unrecognized, doing its damage without heat or sunburn to warn us that protection may be needed. UVB but not UVA induces the skin to produce vitamin D, which is a protective agent AGAINST cancer. This applies not only to skin cancer but internal cancers as well. The most recent studies show an inverse relationship between sun exposure and cancer. All cancers, and especially melanoma, occur less often in persons with outdoor occupations. This is believed due to the increased vitamin D produced in the skin by sun exposure. Vitamin D not only inhibits proliferation of the skin cells, it also influences the cells (keratinocytes) to mature to the healthy, differentiated state. Vitamin D has other health benefits, the best known of which is the absorption of calcium, essential to prevent bone weakness, called rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly. Sun exposure also lowers blood pressure and therefore reduces risk of stroke. A large part of the cholesterol stores of the body are in skin and a total body sunbath can activate large amounts for excretion, thus reducing blood cholesterol by as much as 15 percent! Thus, sunlight exerts a protective effect against atherosclerosis. Sunlight increases the secretion of insulin and also the stores of glycogen in the liver, thus improving control of both diabetes and hypoglycemia. The female hormone, estrogen and to an even greater extent the male hormone, testosterone, increase after sun exposure

and thus increase the pleasures of sexuality, to be sure. As body builders know, testosterone also stimulates muscle growth, a fact that was appreciated by the ancient Greeks, who held exercise classes on the beach and in the nude for training their athletes. While vitamin D production is most pronounced after exposure of the skin of the back and shoulders, the testosterone effect is almost doubled if the genital area is exposed to the sun. Sunlight has a mood elevating effect and in some victims of seasonal depression, light exposure is the accepted treatment. The mechanism behind this is unproved but it is known that light turns off the pineal gland production of melatonin. This releases the pituitary and adrenal glands to produce their full complement of anti-stress hormones and with a stimulating effect on mood. Unlike other animals, humans require strong light to entrain the circadian rhythms and the reproductive cycle. Ordinary room light is insufficient! For the many people who are indoors all day, regular exposure to strong sunlight may offer better sleep, mood and adaptability. Sunlight also protects against infection. In the first place sunlight actually kills germs on contact, a fact reported over 100 years ago by Drs. Downes and Blunt. Dr. Niels Finsen was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1903 for successfully treating tuberculosis of the skin with ultraviolet light. Not only does ultraviolet light kill germs, it also charges the oils in skin so they become bactericidal in themselves. Sunlight dramatically increases the oxygen content of the blood, an effect that lasts for several days after a single exposure. This contributes to the enhanced germ-killing ability of the neutrophils. Some studies found a double ability to engulf bacteria. In addition sunlight produces a significant increase in the number of lymphocytes as well as their anti-viral products, interferons. Despite all these facts in support of the health benefits of sunlight, medical authorities have adopted a rather one-sided view, warning only of the dangers of ultraviolet exposure. The media and the advertisers have picked up this theme to such an extent that fear of sunlight is close to mass hysteria. The use of total sunblockers (SPF 15 and up) has increased dramatically. These are so effective at blocking UVB that vitamin D blood levels are reduced up to 50 percent. However UVA usually gets through and it appears that the net effect is to increase cancer risk, not only for skin but for colon and breast also. In a geographic study of total sun energy, areas with half the sunshine had a triple rate of breast cancer. In Japan, which has almost no breast cancer, the vitamin D intake is about ten-fold greater than in the US, due to their high intake of fish oils. In the US, women consume only about a quarter of the RDA— and thus depend more on sunlight for protection against cancer, osteoporosis and infection. To be sure there are arguments against these ideas, particularly since the increase in melanoma began in advance of the widespread use of sunscreens. In my opinion, environmental pollution is the

more likely cause of increased skin cancer, especially the chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as DDT, chlordane and lindane and PCBs. PCBs were banned in 1977 but are still measurable in most of us and they concentrate in skin. It is intriguing that office workers, exposed to PCB drippings from transformer coils in lighting fixtures, have more melanoma risk than do outdoor workers. One of the most encouraging findings about the health benefits of sunlight is that by speeding up metabolism, detoxification of environmental pollutants is enhanced. Lead, mercury, fluoride, pesticides and dusts are all eliminated from double to twenty-fold more quickly after sunlight treatments. What should one do for the best relationship to the sun? Dr. Zane Kime, in his 1980 book, Sunlight, (World Health Publications, Penryn, CA) recommends limiting first exposure to two minutes after first bathing to remove soap and cosmetic residues. I recommend the use of antioxidant nutrient-enriched tropical sun oils. Coconut oil is time tested, non-irritating and resists oxidation. Carotene is the most effective sun-protective antioxidant nutrient, even more potent than vitamin E. If you do opt for a high SPF sunblocker, PABA is the best despite the bad publicity of a few years ago. The allergic reactions turned out to be caused by impurities, not due to PABA itself. Who should use a sunblock? Those who have photosensitivity reactions, hereditary photodermatitis, polymorphic light eruption, porphyria and especially anyone with xeroderma pigmentosum, which carries a thousand-fold increased risk of cancer. Normal skin, once adapted to sun, a process that requires one to two weeks, can protect itself and may be healthier without blocking the ultraviolet light at all—so long as the nutrient antioxidants are intact. In laboratory research, animals exposed to UVB were completely protected by vitamins C, D and E. One in four of their littermates on a regular diet got skin cancer within 6 months from the same UV exposure. This is the most important news in personal skin care: nutrients can be applied directly to the skin to concentrate benefits in the skin. This is at least as important in preventing sunburn as controlling the dose of ultraviolet. With the right nutrient support you can relate to sunshine as a source of pleasure and health. Putting Nutrition First is the best way to healthy skin. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Sleep, Dreams, Youth, and Melatonin

Melatonin is not a vitamin, it is a hormone particularly active in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, and its major function is to coordinate some of the internal systems of the body, especially brain, immune and reproductive systems, in relation to the lightdark cycles of the day and the changes in length of day and night from season to season in the course of the year. Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a pea-sized gland, shaped like a pinecone, and located smack in the middle of the brain. An active pineal gland contains about 3 mg of melatonin, which is about the average daily dose for sleep effects. Melatonin is also found in the retina of the eye, in the brain and in the intestinal tract. In fact, the intestinal epithelium produces an amount even greater than the pineal gland! The function of intestinal melatonin is unknown but there are indications that it acts as a “tranquilizer” for the intestine, to slow bowel transit and increase the efficiency of absorption of vital nutrients. Melatonin is made from the essential amino acid, tryptophan, by way of serotonin, and its chemical name is: 5-methoxy-acetyl serotonin. Melatonin synthesis is stimulated by light and its release is provoked by darkness. Light suppresses melatonin[i] and electromagnetic radiation has a similar, though lesser effect.[ii] Geopathic zones’, areas of strong electromagnetic energies, occur at areas of intersecting earth magnetic fields. Even these low level exposures seem to be sufficient to cause illnesses, for chronic fatigue, insomnia, and anxiety are increased there, presumably due to the inhibition of melatonin secretion by geomagnetic fields. There is great interest in the possibility that background electromagnetic fields, as are found in some homes, due to 60 cycle alternating current fields in the wiring, might interfere with melatonin. Melatonin is enjoying enormous popularity with the American public, who have learned of its benefits for sleep disorders, jet lag and as an anti-aging pill. Some of these benefits have been substantiated in clinical trials with humans. In one study, sleep latency, the time to fall asleep was reduced by 14 minutes and the sleep efficiency, ie. time asleep as percent of time in bed) increased from 75% to 83% in a group of 12 elderly patients with insomnia. [iii] They were given only 2 mg of melatonin two hours before bedtime. Other studies show a decrease in sleep latency in healthy subjects, i.e. normal sleep gets better with and without adverse effects. Jet lag, due to irregular bedtime or travel beyond three time zones, has been studied after melatonin doses between 5 and 8 mg. The studies confirm the practical value of the hormone in overcoming the fatigue, depression, insomnia and irritability that can otherwise

disrupt an otherwise perfect business or holiday trip. In a study of 52 airline crew members, a 5 mg dose of melatonin for 5 days after arrival decreased sleep disturbances and fatigue.[iv] There was less benefit from a similar dose begun three days before and continued for 5 days after and it appears that the strategy of taking melatonin at bedtime upon arrival at one’s destination works best. An increased life span in rats was reported in 1987 by Dr. Vladimir Dilman at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Moscow. Melatonin-treated rats lived 25 percent longer and were visibly more youthful in appearance than the matched control rats not treated with melatonin. This led Dr. Walter Pierpaoli, author, with Dr. William Regelson, of the recent book, The Melatonin Miracle, to perform a dramatic experiment in cross-transplantation: old animals received the pineal glands of young animals and vice versa. The results were convincing: the old mice with young pineal transplants lived twice as long as the younger animals with old glands.![v] Dr. Pierpaoli concludes from this that melatonin controls aging. If so, we might also ask: “what controls melatonin?” Melatonin synthesis is affected not only by age but also by diet. Inadequate protein can curtail synthesis, which begins with the essential amino acid, tryptophan, as a substrate, and which also requires adequate essential amino acid, methionine, to provide the methylating enzyme, SAM (S-adenosyl methionine), which in turn depends on vitamins folic acid, B12, B6 and magnesium, all commonly deficient in the American diet. Vitamin A deficiency has also been proved to cause decreased melatonin in rat studies.[vi] And the amino acid, taurine is known to be the most protective molecule against damage to the pineal gland. As we get older, especially past age 40, the amount of the hormone usually drops by almost 40 percent.[vii] But the drop in blood levels of melatonin is actually much more dramatic in childhood. Nighttime plasma melatonin averages 250 pg per ml in children age 1 to 3, but drops by 50 percent between 8 and 15 years old and continues to drop to an average of only 20 pg per ml by age 50. The effect of these changes is strongest on the sex system: puberty coincides with a 50 percent drop and menopause coincides with an additional 40 percent drop. Notice the opposite direction of effects: turning on sexual development at puberty; turning it off at menopause. Melatonin research has been complicated by such contradictions and by technical difficulties. For example it was not until sleep research established 24 hour observation studies that research was set-up to study melatonin levels at night. Daytime levels average 4 - 10 pg per ml for all age groups. But serotonin levels are increased relative to intensity of light exposure. Melatonin synthesis and release are triggered by darkness. Melatonin levels are also influenced by the fact that the pineal gland has no blood-barrier; thus other molecules, including toxins and viruses, can enter the gland and alter concentrations and

conditions there. This may be why calcification, involution and nonfunction of the gland, is common at early age. Therefore, measurement of melatonin output in a 24-hour urine would be a practical test. There have been over 4000 scientific papers published on the physiology and effects of melatonin in the past 20 years. The mechanisms of action have not been entirely worked out. Here are some of the actions and interactions. Melatonin: 1. regulates sleep-waking cycles and thus entrains or synchronizes all 3 types of sleep: a) Pituitary-adrenal sleep: melatonin inhibits release of pituitary ACTH, which otherwise would keep the adrenal glands turned on. b) Slow wave sleep: melatonin’s inhibition of the adrenal hormones further rests the cerebral cortex and thalamus, thus permitting hippocampal and cortical nerve cells to synthesize DNA and consolidate memory signals into the structure of the brain cells. c) REM or Rapid Eye-Movement sleep, in which acetylcholine neurons are active, while amines and serotonin are not, thus releasing individual neurons in the PGO (pontine-geniculateoccipital) tracts, which are experienced as dreams. (Note: the foregoing explanation of REM is hypothetical but based on research observations; my own thinking is contrary, based on the fact of increased dreaming sleep after intake of zinc and B6, which are known to increase brain serotonin, which generates PGO activity. Assuming a shift of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity for melatonin synthesis, there might be a reciprocal decreased activity of choline acetyltransferase for acetylcholine synthesis, which would manifest as reduced muscle tone, which is characteristic of REM sleep). 2. regulates the circadian stress hormone-immune cycle by inhibiting pituitary secretion of ACTH, the adrenal cortex stimulating hormone; thus putting the pituitary and adrenal cortex at rest, lowering cortisone output, and thus preparing lymphocytes to conquer allergy, infection, and cancer. 3. lowers pituitary ACTH, which also interrupts cholesterol synthesis, lowering cholesterol and LDL, and allowing HDL to remove tissue deposits. 4. regulates synapses in the hippocampal formations: excitable by day, when melatonin is low; resting at night when melatonin is high. This protects hippocampal cells and preserves normal memory function.[viii] 5. regulates sexual development by delaying puberty, which comes on after the adolescent drop in melatonin secretion occurs; regulates menopause by a drop in melatonin in the 5th decade; regulates fecundity by inhibiting libido in the dark months of winter...

6. regulates monthly estrus and fertility cycles, with peak melatonin at menses (which inhibits pituitary gonadotrophins and sex steroids). The low point of melatonin activity is at ovulation, coincident with sex hormone peak. Melatonin therapy can protect against sex hormone tumor promotion. 7. increases dreaming and enhances sexuality via erotic dreams which occur in REM sleep.[ix] 8. regulates seasonal mood-energy cycles (pro-hibernation) because during longer winter nights the duration of melatonin secretion is greater than in shorter summer nights. Melatonin increases deposits of brown fat, which contains thermogenin, a protein that shunts fat cell chemistry into water and temperature production, which creates warmth at the expense of weight. This offers a promising adjunct for weight loss. 9. blocks the action of melanocyte stimulating hormone, thus causing a lightening of skin color and inhibiting melanoma and other cancer cells. 10. lowers beta-endorphin release, thus controlling these internal opiates, which otherwise stimulate melatonin release; this is an incompletely worked-out feed-back cycle of pain and mood control.[x] Pierpaoli is convinced that there is also a synergism effect, such that melatonin enhances the pain relief and mood elevating effect of endorphins and opiates. 11. entrains TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, to the circadian rhythm. When thyroid T3 is active, it increases melatonin and thus accounts for the paradox that thyroid supplements often improve sleep. 12. interacts with an unknown circadian factor to regulate stress response; eg. at night-time melatonin enhances antibody response to antigen; in the morning no such effect is seen.[xi] Melatonin is available without prescription because it is found in food, in particular rice, oats and corn (over 1 mcg per gram), as well as ginger, and some radishes (0.5 mcg per gram) and much less in cabbages.[xii] I calculate that our present menus might provide up to 200 or even 300 mcg of melatonin per day, or much more if pineal extracts, eyeballs and intestines are eaten. This doesn’t seem very likely here in the USA; but what if our FDA (Food and Drug Administration) were to restrict melatonin to prescription only and orthodox physicians were reluctant to prescribe? This has recently happened in Holland. Is it a preview of our own future? Would Americans rebel? [i] Lewy AJ, Wehr TA, Goodwin FK et al. Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans. Science 1980; 210: 1267-1269. [ii] Cremer-Bartels G, et al. Magnetic field of the eart as

additional zeitgeber for endogenous rhythms. Naturwissenschaften, 1984; 71:567-574. [iii] Garfinkel D et al. Melatonin enhanced sleep in elderly insomniacs. Lancet,1995; 346:541. [iv] Petrie K et al. Melatonin overcomes jet lag. 1993. Biol Psych 33:526. [v] Drs. Lesnikov VA Pierpaoli W; Pineal cross-transplantation (oldto-young and vice versa as evidence for an endogenous aging clock. 1994, Ann NY Acad Sci; 719:456-460. [vi] Herbert D et al. Changes in pineal indoleamine metabolism in vitamin A deficient rats. Life Sciences, 1985; 37:2515-2522. [vii] Aguchi H, Kato KI, Ibayashi H, Age dependent reductions in serum melatonin concentration in healthy human subjects. 1982, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 55:27-29. Nair NPV, Hariharasubramanian H, et al: Plasma melatonin—an index of brain aging in humans? 1986, Biol Psychiat 21:141-50. [viii] Sapolsky, R, et al. Prolonged glucocorticoid exposure reduces hippocampal neuron number. Implications for aging. J Neuroscience, 1985; 5(5):1222-1227 [ix] Pierpaoli and Regelson. Melatonin Miracle. Simon and Schuster. NY 1995. [x] Lissoni P, et al. A clinical study of the relationship between the pineal gland and the opioid system. J Neural Transmission, 1986; 65: 63-73. [xi] Maestroni GJM, Conti A, Pierpaoli W; Role of the pineal gland in immunity. Circadian synthesis and release of melatonin modulates the antibody response and antagonizes the immunosuppressive effects of corticosterone. 1986, J Neuroimmun 13:19-30. [xii] Hattori A, Migitaka H, Iigo M et al: Identification of melatonin in plants. Biochem Mol Biol Int; 35:627-634. 1995 ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Sex and Nutrition

Health and sex go together. In fact, loss of sexual desire and function is a sign of physical illness and mental depression. Anyone afflicted with loss of sexual responsiveness should seek a medical evaluation. While illness is not commonly found in cases where loss of libido is the sole presenting complaint, there is an over-all 2 out of 3 probability of a physical cause in formal medical studies of sexual impotency. This increases to 90 percent for those older than age 50. These numbers reflect improved diagnostic techniques of the past decade, particularly penile tumescence studies and doppler ultrasound examination of circulation. But the facts have not yet caught up with many who still believe that 90 percent of impotency is psychological and if you can't make it in bed you should try the couch instead. Unfortunately, the practical results of psychotherapy for sexual impotence have not been much to brag about. Does nutrition have anything to offer? Should we serve hot foods on the couch? This is not merely a joke. Vasoactive intestinal peptide, which is stored in the intestinal wall, turns out to be the most likely neurotransmitter of penile erection. If this is substantiated by further research, it may provide the rationale for the sexually stimulating effects of hot foods and irritants, such as cantharides (Spanish fly). Sexual arousal and intercourse are successful only when the nerves and blood vessels that service the sexual organs are healthy. For example, in diabetes, the excess glucose in the blood stream damages the lining of the blood vessels as well as the nerves that convey signals from the sex organs. As a result, diabetics often lose sexual feeling and all too often become totally unable to respond. Impotence, lack of sexual feeling or weakening of erection or climax, is an early symptom of diabetes. Prevention is the best treatment and this can be as simple as increasing dietary fiber and limiting intake of sugars. Many holistic and orthomolecular physicians have seen mild diabetics, particularly of the adult-onset type II, who have been able to reduce or discontinue the use of insulin when they improved their diet and lifestyle. Other discoveries hold further promise in diabetes. The bioflavonoid quercitin (not rutin or hesperidin) has demonstrable ability to prevent transformation of the excess blood glucose into glucitol, the form that damages blood vessels. It also has anti-histamine effects that further protect against blood vessel damage. Trace minerals, especially chromium and perhaps vanadium, show promise in lowering blood sugar and thus protecting against sugar damage to small blood vessels and nerves. The use of the accessory nutrient, inositol, which is commonly depleted in diabetes, can also prevent and reverse such nerve damage. A buildup of fatty deposits in the penile arteries can weaken or defeat penile erection. Fortunately, this condition can be improved

surgically but preventive measures should be taken long before impotence occurs. A high fiber, low fat diet is our most widely accepted method of prevention. However higher fat intakes do not necessarily interfere with circulation, particularly in those who assure themselves an adequate supply of omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish or flax oils and extra vitamin E. These interact to enhance circulation by generating prostaglandin hormones that dilate blood vessels, inhibit platelet clumps and soften the red blood cells, which thus pass through the small vessels more easily. The use of gamma linolenic acid from primrose, black currant or borage oil, is also useful, especially in diabetics. It is interesting to find chestnut puree among the traditional aphrodisiacs. It is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids. The B vitamin, niacin, also acts to dilate blood vessels, lower blood cholesterol and fats and improve circulation. It has a deserved reputation for improving sexual performance but the dose must be individualized. By reducing histamine it can act as a mild natural relaxant at the same time, thus taking the edge away from premature ejaculations, the bane of many a relationship. Extra magnesium, tryptophan and other amino acids are also useful in this regard. Other vitamins and mineral nutrients are also important factors in sexual vitality. Vitamin A is essential to the production of both male and female sex hormones. Without vitamin A, cholesterol cannot be converted to steroid hormones, neither adrenal stress hormones or gonadal sex hormones. Thus, Vitamin A deficiency is tantamount to chemical castration and deficiency is not all that rare. Folklore has it that saltpeter, potassium nitrate, has been used to control sexuality in prisons. If so, it would work by destroying vitamin A. However, this would be at risk of causing severe illness, blindness and even death. Closer to home, even in our supposedly well-fed country various surveys show up to 20 percent of Americans to be low in vitamin A. One reason for vitamin A deficiency is the fact that consumption of eggs, liver and whole milk products is in decline. Also, most people erroneously believe that vegetables contain sufficient vitamin A. The fact is that vegetables do contain pro-vitamin A, ie. carotene, but many people, particularly those with diabetes, low thyroid or liver trouble, are unable to transform carotene into retinol, the active form of vitamin A in the human body. Vitamin B6 can affect sexuality in at least two ways: by stimulating the gonadotrophin hormones that evoke sex hormones in both men and women and by decreasing the production of prolactin, a hormone that diminishes the sexual appetite. Deficiency of B6 is fairly common, particularly in women on birth control pills, which increases the requirement, and also in those of us who are exposed to hydrazine type medications, such as anti-depressants. Food preservatives are another drain on B6 since hydrazines are commonly used to keep

potatoes from sprouting. Extra amounts of B6 are also indicated for those who drink alcoholic beverages regularly and those with liver ailments. Liver, salmon, walnuts, wheat germ, brown rice and yeast are high in B6 but cannot attain the 50 mg dose necessary to test these effects. Also, it may take over a month for the hormonal effects to build up. Folic acid is often deficient in this land of abundant but cooked and processed foods. Mood depression is an early sign of folate deficiency, not only because of the vital role for this vitamin in the chemistry of nerve transmitters but also in the production of sex hormones. Folic acid is particularly important in women of child-bearing age because deficiency is a proven frequent cause of birth defects. Loss of libido is an early warning sign and though this vitamin is abundant in liver, legumes, asparagus and greenleafy vegetables, it is also easily destroyed by cooking and food processing. Therefore I recommend that everyone take a vitamin supplement with at least 400 mcg of folic acid. Even if you are not concerned about libido, the general health benefits are worth it. Vitamin E is also known by the chemical name, tocopherol, derived from the Greek word for fertility. It was recognized over 50 years ago that when this vitamin was removed from the diet, no offspring were born. This turns out to be very important in breeding racehorses and zoo animals. Controversy continues to rage, nevertheless, about the reports of increased sex drive from this vitamin, and these anecdotal reports have not been taken seriously in the medical journals despite the fact that the vitamin is also known to increase the pituitary gonadotropin hormones, which turn on the sex glands. Vitamin E also protects the sex hormones and the cell membranes of the gonads from damage by peroxidation. Luckily, most of us are willing to try safe remedies on the basis of testimonials, even without permission from the medical profession, or the world might be a less happy place. Beans, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils are sources of this important antioxidant nutrient. Perhaps we should think of them as "happy foods." However, for test purposes, capsules containing at least 100 international units of d-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate are more reliable than food sources. Give it a month or two before you make up your mind about the results. Manganese. This mineral has well documented aphrodisiac effects, first observed on a large scale amongst manganese miners in Chile. Unfortunately, the miners, who inhaled the ore dust in the course of their work were pleased by their enhanced sexual powers and kept on mining. Ultimately the toxic overload of manganese caused damage to nerve cells, rendering some of the men impotent and suffering with permanent nerve damage and parkinsonism. Nevertheless, taking manganese supplements by mouth is not dangerous and the likelihood of improved libido and sexual performance is so high that manganese is worth a try in all who feel that they need a "lift." Zinc, especially rich in meat, dairy products and shellfish is better known than manganese but not more potent. It is catalytic in the body chemistry of the sex hormones, particularly testosterone,

which stimulates sex drive and is present naturally in both men and women. Even vitamin C is essential for lifelong sexuality. Sound far-fetched? Then you need to know that vitamin C is good for more than the common cold. It is absolutely essential to the production of hormones, both the adrenal stress hormones and the gonadal sex hormone, rather much like vitamin A. One thing all of the above nutrients have in common is that they are subject to depletion by personal stress, poor diet, over-cooking, food preservatives and environmental pollutants. Clever use of supplements, preferably with the guidance of a nutrition-oriented physician, who can use laboratory assistance to diagnose specific nutrient imbalances and deficiencies, is the modern way to assure that you achieve the best possible health. Remember, low energy, low mood and low libido are early signs of nutrient shortages. Two newly appreciated trace minerals may also contribute to sexual vitality, especially in our later years. Molybdenum, present in beans and mushrooms, is required for full activity of vitamin A in the tissues and cells of the body and for activation of the sex hormones. Boron, also concentrated in beans but also in other vegetables and fruits, is associated with deficiency of vitamin A. Those of you who read this column and improve your health habits by "Putting Nutrition First" are likely to live longer and better and to experience healthy aging. So it is a comfort to know that old does not mean cold and aging does not rule out an active sex life. Both men and women can continue to be, if not sexual sprinters, at least sexual joggers well into your nineties. Loss of sex drive is a great disappointment and a let-down at any time in life; it is also an early warning sign to tend to your nutrient intake. ©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Save Your Life With Vitamin E

In my last column I described one of my actual dreams. This time I am describing reality—but it is so unexpected that it feels like a dream. Yes I am awake. Yes I am dressed. Yes this is the New England Journal of Medicine I am reading. And yes, it says: "among middleaged women the use of vitamin E supplements is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease." That is the conclusion of Dr. Meir Stampfer and his colleagues[1] at Harvard Medical School in their report of a questionnaire study involving 87,000 nurses with follow-up over an 8-year period. They found a 45 percent reduction in coronary heart disease amongst nurses taking vitamin E supplements over 100 units per day compared to those who relied on

dietary sources alone. This is important because it has been the dogma of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the past 50 years that "the average American Diet is adequate in vitamins and minerals." I addressed this as the "nutrition death sentence" in my 1980 book, MegaNutrition. In a second and parallel study in this same issue of the Journal, Dr. Eric Rimm and his colleagues,[2] including Dr. Stampfer, report their observations on 40,000 men, all health professionals, observed over a 4 year period. The conclusion is similar: "evidence of an association between a high intake of vitamin E and a lower risk of coronary heart disease." A dose of 100 to 250 units per day was associated with 46 percent reduced risk of heart attack. There was no further benefit at doses over 250 units and the results held regardless of fat intake, iron intake or alcohol intake! Even such factors as age and family history of heart attack did not weaken the vitamin E effect. On the other hand there were no additional benefits from taking magnesium, carotene or vitamin C—except that in men still smoking, those with the highest carotene intake had a 70 percent reduced risk of heart attack compared to the low carotene smokers. Taken together these two studies include over 127,000 men and women and the over-all impact of vitamin E turns out to be a 45 percent reduction in risk of heart attack for those taking vitamin E supplements at doses above 100 units a day for more than two years. The benefits were unaffected by intake of fat, whether saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. The benefits held up regardless of high cholesterol or diabetes. The benefits even held up in smokers! Are you taking vitamin E? Will you? Or do you need more proof? If so you are not alone. Dr. Daniel Steinberg wrote the editorial comments on these two research papers[3] and offered 3 reasons NOT to take vitamin E. First is that convincing proof requires further research, especially intervention trials, to pin down the magnitude of benefits. Second is the question of safety of large doses of vitamin E for long time periods. Third, "we should ask how many patients will slack off on their adherence to better-established but somewhat more onerous, preventive measures, such as cholesterol-lowering diet, regular exercise, and smoking cessation." These are the words of the medical establishment, channeled through the mind of a brilliant researcher, but one who lives off research grants, not by the goodwill of patients. His creed is the rule of absolute proof: "we must play by the rules and insist on large, long term, double blind clinical trials. Until they are done, please, let's hold the vitamin E." To the mind of a nutrition physician a different rule must prevail, that of possible benefit: the rule of Hope. In the real world of the doctor and patient, when there is health, happiness and life itself at stake, common sense dictates the rules and a non-toxic, non-invasive treatment deserves a trial if it might help.

There you have it, the latest controversy in medical thinking. Of course, I leave it up to you to decide for yourself. As for me, I shall continue taking 1000 units of vitamin E more or less daily as I have since 1968. Among my colleagues in the Orthomolecular Medical Society, the new Association of Orthomolecular Physicians and the American College for Advancement in Medicine, all together numbering over 1000 physicians, I have heard of not a single case of harm from vitamin E in 25 years. One of my patients once took a teaspoonful of vitamin E oil, amounting to about 4000 units in a single dose. She had diarrhea for half a day. I also can recall two women who stopped vitamin E because it increased their sexual feelings at a time when there was no available partner. These two research reports, coming as they do from the New England Journal, the most prestigious of our general medical journals, are a turning point in medical history, one of the first times that vitamin supplementation has won public respect from the medical establishment for other than gross deficiency disease. By respect, I refer to the inclusion of data comparing vitamin treatment with surgery, head to head. In those patients who took vitamin E over 100 units daily, risk of heart attack was 0.63 compared to those who had no treatment; by comparison those who had coronary by-pass surgery or angioplasty had a risk of 0.68, almost 10 percent higher. Though the statistical difference is not significant, the practical difference is in favor of vitamin E because of the huge reduction in cost. The question of cost is important because once an influential medical journal endorses such a study, by publishing it, the expectation is that doctors will heed the message and prescribe vitamin E. Patients surely will ask about it and demand it. Will health insurance companies pay for it? Not yet they won't. Would the country go broke if vitamin E supplementation were covered by national health insurance? I say the country will go broke without it. The actual cost of 100 units of vitamin E is as low as $6.20 a year per person at the wholesale price in small quantities, such as to individual doctor's offices. In large quantities the cost might be half as much. Thus, if 150 million Americans took vitamin E at that dose under government sponsorship, the total cost could be as low as $3.00 a year per person or less than 500 million dollars. That may sound like a lot but it would pay for itself. As an investment it would be a 200 to 1 payoff. The reduction in coronary heart disease thereby would cut our national medical and hospital bills, which now stand at $800 billion, by about $100 billion* annually. And that is based upon the benefits of just this one vitamin. How about the other 50 nutrients? There are many other benefits that remain unknown to our medical orthodoxy that still puts nutrition last. Putting nutrition first might save our nation from iatrogenic* bankruptcy. (*i.e. medically caused.) [1]. Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Manson J E et al: Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary disease in women. NEJM

1993;328:1444-9. [2]. Rimm, EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A et al: Vitamin E consum ption and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. NEJM 1993;328:1450-6. [3]. Steinberg, D: Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease. NEJM 1993; 328:1487-8. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Pesticides and You

The blowing of the wind provides some of life’s pleasures. Whether it is a breeze on a sunny day or an exciting gale before a storm, we enjoy the stimulation and aliveness of the various winds that clear the air and lift our senses in different ways from day to day. But winds can also carry pesticides and that is a different matter, the very embodiment of the expression “an ill wind that blows no good.” It is hard to imagine that the air we breathe can be a risk to our health. It is unreal to think that a drive in the countryside can provoke nervousness and depression from pesticides carried on the wind. I have had reports from patients, especially those who were unusually sensitive to organophosphate pesticides, such as malathion, diazinon, chlorpyrifos and dursban, to name a few. Measurement of plasma cholinesterase, which is destroyed by these chemicals, provides convincing evidence of low cholinesterase. Pesticides bring it down, too low to control acetylcholine neurotransmitter activity. Out of control acetylcholine overstimulates synapses and thus causes nervousness and a myriad of physical symptoms: tremor, asthma, stomach upset, frequent urination, headache, insomnia, nightmares, temper outbursts—and eventual memory loss. Pesticides are often sprayed from airplanes during growing season in agricultural areas, including the Napa Valley and, of course, the San Joaquin and Imperial Valley areas. But molecules fly through the air and into the waters right close to home for city folks also. A very enlightening report was published in the San Francisco Examiner on March 29, 1998. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation released results of a survey of diazinon in 20 creeks in the Bay Area and 14 more in Mendocino area. At concentrations of only 40 parts per trillion (about 1 trillionth of a gram per drop of water)

fish and game begin to get sick. At 80 parts per trillion toxic effects are full blown. All readings were over 40 parts per trillion. In the Bay area they ran as high as 590 at various times. Rainfall flushes pesticide residues into streams. Thus in Mendocino after a rainfall, diazinon levels ranged from 400 to 5500 parts per trillion, ten times more and certainly a hazard to life in the ecosystem. In particular, pesticide run-off kills organisms in the streams, thus interrupting the life cycle of fish. Aside from the direct toxic effects, the indirect effect is under-nutrition, growth inhibition, and disease. Less than a tablespoon of diazinon in a day’s creek flow is sufficient to cause a safety hazard! The key point in the article is summarized in a quote from the manager of Palo Alto’s water pollution prevention program: “We’re not worried about what’s coming from farmers in the fields. It’s coming from houses.” However in the Central Valley the run off from fields and orchards into the streams and rivers is also carried into ground fog and eventually into the clouds. Rain samples over several hundred miles from Red Bluff to Patterson had diazinon at levels 100 times higher than the water quality criteria to protect fish. Bad as that is, it comes nowhere near the amount contained in rainfall runoff in Castro Valley, where 1 million parts per trillion was measured in storm drains from housing developments. These organophosphates are available over the counter at hardware stores everywhere. Ultimately these chemicals make their way into the estuary, the confluence of waters where rivers meet the sea in San Francisco Bay. The dwindling numbers of salmon, stripers and sturgeon are the victims at the end of the line. But there are other poisons that can fly with the air currents around our homes and buildings and into our open windows. Years ago I examined a middle-aged man, a banker, who suffered headache and eventual neuropathy, paralysis of long nerves. After careful questioning it became clear that he spent a lot of time in his study at his home in Tucson, Arizona. Summer temperatures over 100º F. were an everyday occurrence as his window opened under the eaves. Convection currents moved into his cool study, expanding from adjacent sun-heated areas, which emitted fumes, probably from insulating materials or duct tape. His symptoms matched most closely with a syndrome associated with n-hexane, which is found in glue and in duct tape. A form of this compound, phenyl-cyclohexane, has been linked to similar symptoms from the backing of synthetic carpets. If it smells like glue it is not good for you. The problem with nhexane is that it does not have a strong odor and it damages the nerve cells rather than irritating surface tissues of eye and lung. In other words, it can sneak up on the victim and cause damage before anyone suspects the source of the problem. I ran into a sneaky problem like that recently in a young man who already had cerebral palsy at birth, which left him with unsteady gait, difficulty lifting his feet, stiffness in his right side, slowed and crude movements, and slurred speech. He was unable to speak until age 5 and has always been easily confused. Nevertheless, as an adult he has struggled to live independently and he works in a

supervised shop. In the past two years he had anger outbursts and ups and downs of energy and mood. He was increasingly irritable, confused, and with spells in which eye movements were abnormal and automatic—seizure-like. Conscientious attention to nutrient supplements and lowered carbohydrate intake led to improvement, but less than expected. Then came a breakthrough: a urine mineral panel showed thallium, 5 mcg per ml (5 ppm). I couldn’t believe my eyes, for he did not exhibit hair loss and chronic thallium overdose is regularly associated with alopecia totalis, loss of hair everywhere. It is not a minor symptom because nerve damage is equally severe and this young man was already injured in that department. I treated him with acetyl-cysteine, mineral supplements to displace thallium, antioxidants to protect nerve cells, and omega 3 fatty acids to support the repair of damaged nerve cell membranes. But the most important strategy in dealing with poisons is to identify and terminate the exposure. This can be a real detective problem. I ordered repeat tests of thallium, including blood and hair samples. The urine and blood were high in thallium but his hair was not. That means he was exposed to thallium in the immediate time period of the test but not at levels sufficient under chronic conditions to show up in his hair. It must be an intermittent and fairly low level exposure. Where was it coming from? He went for a month to live with a relative in Florida. On return thallium was no longer detected in his urine. I guessed that it might be from rat poison in the home of a relative he stayed with regularly. A search was conducted; no rat poison was found. A similar search at his board and care home also failed to identify thallium. However some months later I learned that another resident there did show a similar thallium test result. I now went over a map of the board and care home, questioning the possible use of chemicals and pesticides, especially in kitchen and bathrooms. A search of his bathroom and bedroom did not turn up rat poison. We drew a map of the house and plotted the direction of the prevailing winds. Thallium in dirt or dust on his side of the building could blow in through his window. The other victim’s room was next door to his—same side of the building. Years earlier, when the owner bought the house, rat poison was placed around the perimeter in order to get rid of rodents. The rodents ceased to be a problem and where there had been open areas now shrubbery had grown, so no one remembered the exterminator’s earlier mission. The health department was notified and Stan moved to a new residence. When he moved out thallium disappeared from his blood and urine and his seizures gradually stopped. Pigmentation of hair follicles in his beard also faded away within a few months. I recently was consulted by a young woman who had a relapse of a Purpura, a disease of the blood platelets, which can prove fatal due to uncontrollable bleeding. In her case the platelet count was so low that she required transfusions in order to survive. Careful questioning revealed that she had been exposed to fumes from flea

bombs on four occasions in the weeks before she first became ill. Despite the fact that the family left the home for several hours each time, there was enough residual chemical residue to sensitize her cells. It is possible that she was sensitized also by dint of a virus “flu” during one of those exposures, and the combination of viral plus chemical exposure is known to vastly increase the risk of complications. I have seen an almost identical scenario with the same outcome just a few years ago in another patient. He was not so lucky: transfusions and cortisone treatment failed to halt the relentless process of cell destruction and he died after a lengthy and courageous struggle. Experts tell us that only one in a hundred toxic reactions in agriculture is actually reported. I have considerable respect for the power of pesticides because some of my patients have strayed into the path of ill winds. I have seen a number of cases of such “pesticide neurosis,” usually in people who also have a lower than normal cholinesterase in their blood. The cholinesterase enzyme is a key to calm nerves and relaxed muscles; and when it fails to inactivate the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, muscle tension, anger outbursts, and a variety of autonomic nervous symptoms all act up: wheezing, hyperacidity, irritable bowel, urinary urgency and difficulty in controlling handwriting. Of course the expression of the syndrome is quite individual but the main thing is that the diagnosis is usually missed in an urban practice. It is not something that we doctors are focused on. One of my patients lived in a college dormitory uphill from a strawberry patch in San Luis Obispo. We tend to think of pesticide spray as confined to the fields; but when the winds blow, poisons can freely travel. Donald was a college junior in computer science and was doing quite well until May 1997 when he suddenly became too weak to walk. He had to stay in bed for a week and then was so weak and shaky that he required assistance in order to walk for the next two weeks. His local doctor was baffled and offered no treatment. Acupuncture helped a little but he was too weak and shaky to attend class and he was about to lose out on the entire year This was a puzzling case. He had enjoyed good health except for an adverse reaction to pertussis vaccine given at age 12 months, which caused strabismus and required surgery for crossed-eyes at age 8. But neurological examination was normal now, and so was laboratory testing. The total picture fit a diagnosis of a neuro-toxic event occurring a month before consulting me. He had a high ALT test (a sign of liver irritation), a low carotene, and low DHA (an essential fatty substance) possibly oxidized by the presumed toxic hit. Cholinesterase was normal however, so it was not likely a nerve gas type of exposure. About that time I heard about reports of methyl bromide use in California. That made a lot of sense so I called Don and checked out the possibilities. It turned out that his dormitory room was but a 5-minute walk from a strawberry field, which was repeatedly treated with methyl bromide. His dorm was downwind and uphill. The air

currents would catch under the eaves of the roof, carrying the toxic fumes into his place of study—an ill wind. I called his local physician, to remind him to call the local health authorities to report this as a pesticide exposure. I also treated with milk thistle and antioxidants, i.e. acetyl cysteine, lipoic acid, and taurine. He regained his strength, lost his tremor, and was well enough to return to class for the Fall semester. Is this an isolated case? Testing of air samples near Watsonville last year found methyl bromide at levels 10 times higher than California safety limits. This startling news was released in February 1997 by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington DC organization, which supports banning methyl bromide after detecting dangerous levels of 2115 parts per billion the next day after a strawberry field adjacent to an elementary school was treated. The name of this particular school is Salsipuedes, Spanish for: “get out if you can.” Not a bad idea considering that the safety limit of methyl bromide is set at 210 parts per billion, far below the 2115 parts per billion found around the school. In case you haven’t heard: methyl bromide is proven to cause nerve damage and birth defects at low concentrations. It enters the human body by inhalation and direct skin contact. Testing by the Environmental Working Group (home office Washington DC) revealed systematic abuses on the part of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. In particular, the report was critical of the agency for failing to insist on buffer zones to protect the public, and for failure to monitor at all. The Group report recommends the following remedial actions: Establish buffer zone models. Publish health risk assessments about the true dangers of methyl bromide. Revise the 24-hour safety standard for exposure Increase the permit fees to help pay for monitoring and research costs. Increase the monitoring of air, soil, and water contamination. Require public notice of applications near homes, schools, and workplaces. Agricultural workers and their families are at greater risk than the rest of us and from experience they share a real fear of the consequences of exposure to the chemical soup that pervades their environment. A school in Watsonville actually protested fumigation of a strawberry field on an adjoining property. They must know something that the University faculty in San Luis Obispo haven’t found out yet. Almost half of the school’s students and a number of teachers staged a “sick-out,” but state officials insisted that the chemicals are in concentrations too small to cause illness. Lest you fail to appreciate the magnitude of the problem, consider the fact that 75 million pounds of methyl bromide were applied to agricultural fields in California from 1993 to 1997. During that time the state did not monitor the air adjacent to fumigated fields anywhere, not even in schoolyards and backyards.

However California EPA scientists did study the Lompoc Valley because of repeated complaints that the residents there suffer excessively from bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer and infant lung disease, more than other regions. Dr. Robert Holtzer, a physician and biologist formerly with California EPA, retired from Health hazard Assessment because he so strongly opposed the departmental policy of discounting the evidence of lung cancer and respiratory illness. He returned as consultant to a study, which was completed in draft by November 1997. This study confirmed an 85 percent excess rate of bronchitis, and up to 5 times more sinusitis than elsewhere in California. Even more frightening: the rate of lung cancer is almost 40 percent higher than that of the surrounding three counties, and infants in Lompoc have a two-fold greater rate of respiratory disease requiring hospitalization. The manufacturers of 2,4-D, a form of dioxin, spent over 30 million dollars on studies to influence EPA. Industry is fighting for the continued use of organophosphates, particularly. chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and methyl bromide. All of these nerve poisons need to be tightly regulated in order to protect the agricultural workers, pesticide operators, and the public. But methyl bromide has just been extended for four more years. Bad as it is down on the farm there may be more danger lurking in your own home, lawn and shrubbery. The National coalition Against Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP) found that of the 36 most commonly used lawn pesticides, 13 cause cancer, 14 cause birth defects, 15 damage kidneys, and 21 damage the brain and nerves. From 1988 to 1995 more than 65 bills were introduced in Congress to better control these pesticides. None of them passed. Could it be that the millions of dollars paid to political campaigns in the past 45 years has affected our legislators? For example in the ten years 1987 to 1996, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas got $78,268 from pesticide manufacturers. It doesn’t have to go to the entire Congress—just those in the agriculture and drug regulatory committees. Money well spent if you are in the business. It pays to be aware of these hazards. Then you can at least make a sensible effort to protect yourself. NOTE: (from an article in Alt Med, #24). For example a link between spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, and tap water was reported in the journal, Epidemeology in March 1998. Over 5000 women from 3 California counties were interviewed regarding water intake during their first three months of pregnancy. Women who drank five or more cups of chlorinated tap water with 75 parts per million trihalomethanes had an almost double risk of miscarriage compared to those who drank less water or water with lower levels of the chlorine by-products. The actual rates of miscarriage were 15.7 vs 9.5 percent. This strikes me personally because the study included San Francisco and the report was published in the Water Quality Report issued by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Health in

April 1998. There I learned, to my surprise, that San Francisco water has averaged 76 ppb THM over the past ten years. Chlorine is added to our water as a disinfectant, to kill germs. However it is chemically reactive and produces toxic compounds upon contact with earth residues in the water. The specific compounds are chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane (BDCM) and chlorodibromomethane. While all of these are toxic and carcinogenic, only the BCDM has been identified as a cause of miscarriage, and this only at concentrations above 18 ppb. San Francisco water averages only 8 ppb and yet the rate of miscarriage is still doubled for those who drink 5 glasses of water or more per day if the total trihalomethanes exceed 75 ppb. Could there be other contaminants? Is fluoride contributory in humans as it is in cattle? These points were not considered in the publications, but as a result of this research, the water departments are switching from chlorination to chloramine, expecting to cut the levels of THM in half. However, chloramines cause cancer all by themselves; so this does not solve the problem. Ultimately, point of service filtration is likely to be the answer. In fact the San Francisco report actually advises either bottled water or home treatment now. They also advise us to boil our water for one minute! So the experts really do take this seriously On the other hand the reports also say that showers and swimming do not pose health risks. I disagree. Their research data measured only a catastrophic event, miscarriage. How about subtle effects, especially the local effects on skin? It would be logical to expect increased chemical reactivity and irritation, especially under a hot shower, as this must cause depletion of unsaturated fatty acid reserves. Skin might react with thickening (keratosis) and be more susceptible to fungal infections. Even if the effect were only cosmetic, it is not fair to the uneducated consumers to say that chemically treated water is without adverse effects, especially when the measured end-point is death. Think of it: 5 glasses of water containing 18 ppb of BDCM, only 23 millionths of a gram per day, doubled the rate of miscarriages. How about the effects that were not measured? Santa Clara County is abandoning chlorination in favor of ozone gas treatment. There is a paradox however: Mountain View voters approved fluoridation of their water in November 1998. Will the effects of fluorine, which is chemically similar to chlorine, prove any better— or only different? One might even ask if there could be an adverse interaction between ozone and fluoride, both chemically reactive substances. A 1993 study conducted at Medical College of Wisconsin reported that chlorine by-products caused a 15 percent increase in over-all cancer rate. Risk was greater for rectal cancer (38 percent increase) and bladder cancer (21 percent increase). A 1997 study, including over 28,000 women, found a 25 percent increase in cancer rate, with colon cancer up 68 percent (compared to areas not chlorinated??

Methyl bromide was scheduled to be withdrawn in 1999; however the Clinton administration extended its life for 4 more years. It is an ill wind that blows no good. This one does not blow favorably on the unsuspecting victims to be. Lompoc California has higher rates of asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer than neighboring areas. Air tests failed to account for this: les than 25 percent of air samples taken by the Department of pesticide Regulation contained pesticides and these were below dangerous levels. Office of Environmental Health hazard Assessment found 69 percent more bronchitis, 58 percent more asthma, and 37 percent more lung cancer in Lompoc. A haze, fondly called: "The Lompoc Crud" lingers over this town in Santa Barbara County. Farmers are relieved that the 3 chemicals found in the preliminary air samples may have originated from fumigators or home backyard sprayers. Methyl bromide has not been included in these samples. A UC Berkeley researcher, Dr. Norman Terry, published a study showing off his demonstration project in which a 90-acre marsh at Chevron's refinery in Richmond, CA absorbed 89 percent of selenium from millions of gallons of wastewater. Joe Skorupa, a US Fish and Wildlife biologist called Dr. Terry's claims "nothing more than self-promoting hyperbole." Skorupa points to the fact that the marsh was too toxic for wildlife 3 years ago. Malformed duck embryos were found and they were traced to high selenium. In order to discourage waterfowl, the water level at the marsh has been raised and extra vegetation densely planted so the birds cannot nest there. Other strategies, such as mowing the vegetation, removing it and allowing re-growth, have yet to be assessed. Terry also launched a study with Tulare Lake Drainage District to test the method. Greg Karras, with Communities for a Better Environment, said: "We have the technology to remove selenium. It'd be better not to produce the pollution in the first place." Nicotine is a natural pesticide. It is also an inhibitor of MAO B. Research by Dr. Joanna S. Fowler at Brookhaven National Laboratory found a 40 percent reduction in activity in smokers compared to those who no longer or never smoked. This degree of blockade compares with L-deprenyl, a drug used to relieve parkinsonism and depression. As a result of low MAO activity, catecholamines, particularly dopamine, are free to increase to higher than normal levels. Dopa and dopamine have been used to treat Parkinsonism; and nicotine must have a similar effect by interfering with MAO activity. This may explain why Parkinsonism is less common in smokers. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Nutrition: Pollution Medicine

Nutrition and Pollution are moving to center-stage in medicine today, competing with Infection and Genetics, i.e. germs and genes, which have been the main concepts in our classification of disease for the past 100 years. Germs and genes are 19th century concepts that have matured in the light of 20th century chemistry and molecular biology, culminating in antibiotics and genetic engineering. Food and poisons, are pre-historic concepts, they have been with us forever; but advances in science and technology help us to see them in a new light, beyond the concept of food and into the realm of nutrients, components of food that are essential to health. Orthomolecular medicine means that we seek to provide optimal doses of nutrients for specific medical purposes: e.g. vitamin A against leukemia and cancer, vitamin C against viruses, iodides against antigens, vitamin E against peroxides and free radicals, magnesium against smooth muscle spasm (as in asthma and angina), lysinearginine to stimulate growth hormone, manganese and also vitamin E against tardive dyskinesia, etc. Just as genetics advanced after the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, we are only now coming to appreciate foods and poisons after we see their vital role in biochemistry. Nature has yielded her secrets about the chemistry of life, one by one in the past 150 years until finally we can see the magnificent overview. With this perspective we are now beginning to recognize nutrients and toxins as the major determinants of our personal health. Germs and genes are important but they can be modified by foods and poisons—at the right doses. Foods used this way are orthomolecular. We are seeing the birth of nutrition-ecology medicine: health in relation to both the foods that nurture and the poisons that modify body chemistry. Orthomolecules are the first choice, of course, and that is something to consider in every illness and especially in self-care, in pursuit of wellness. Poisons at therapeutic doses are the essence of pharmacology or drug therapy and we all know this can be life-saving. Arsenic, mercury, strychnine and atropine are all good examples. Pollution of the environment is another matter, especially because of the lack of control of doses, and because many chemicals accumulate in the body and thus grow more toxic over the years. But even at low doses we are now exposed to thousands of molecules whose toxic effects are only partly understood. Combinations of poisons are understood even less. We are like guinea pigs in a giant test tube! It has taken fifty years of progress since World War II for America to wake up to fact that we are paying a high price for food technology and industrial progress, namely sub-clinical malnutrition

and a degree of poisoning of every man, woman and child! We have only begun to cope with the epidemic of chronic diseases, which are clearly influenced by our toxic ecosystem and for which no other cause is found. Have we have been looking in the wrong places for answers? Of course we appreciate that food technology has expanded our food supply and given us cosmetic quality and convenience, but it has not given us the equal of fresh natural foods. Nutrients are lost at each stage of production from soil depletion, food refining, preservation and storage. This would not be a problem if we ate more fresh foods; but few of us are able to get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. For one thing, we have been over-sold on the diet of commerce, i.e. packaged, processed and preserved foods. It will take some time before we Americans are ready to fully appreciate the old reliable values: variety, moderation, whole foods, purity and balanced diet. Even now, we seem to be over-sold on the low fat diet. Is a diet really in balance when it excludes whole milk, butter, eggs, meat, nuts and nut butters? Beyond nutrition, how about the pollution that we do to ourselves? For one thing we Americans drink more soft drinks than we do water; and thus we imbibe an excess of sweeteners, sugars and corn syrup, not to mention phosphates. But even if we drank only water, our public supplies are treated with alum, chlorine and fluoride, all of which are toxic. And our groundwater throughout America is likely to be contaminated with nitrates, solvents and other toxic chemicals. Home water purification systems are truly a necessity in most locations. Pollution of food and water is only the beginning. The ozone hole represents contamination of the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere; lead has been found in the Greenland ice sheet, deposited there by air currents during this century, since leaded gasoline has been with us; and widespread industrial pollution of the Northern hemisphere by industrial and automotive exhaust has caused acid rain and destruction of forests in the northeastern United States, Canada and Europe, especially Germany. Closer to home, house-paint is an insidious source of poison. The mercury preservatives in indoor paints have only been identified as a hazard since 1990 when an alert physician put two and two together after a baby died overnight in a just-painted at-home nursery. All those babies with ruddy cheeks (from mercury intoxication) who turn into children with learning disorders have to be reconsidered from the perspective of mercury, a hazard that has gone unrecognized for over a hundred years. Almost every home in America still has mercury vapor coming from wall paints. The danger fades with time but must be considered in poorly ventilated rooms, especially if there is a painted radiator. Of course, the danger is magnified by additional exposure to mercury in dental amalgam, which should be avoided if possible.

Mercury has only been taken out of paint since 1991. Lead on the other hand was forbidden in 1976 but toxic chips of exterior paint are a toxic time bomb for many years to come. The worst of the toxins, dioxin, will also be with us for a long time because, once exposed, it takes about seven years to get half of it out of the body. There is hardly a living creature on earth that does not carry a measurable amount of dioxin in his body fat. You know about dioxin: it is a family of chlorine-containing carbon-hydrogen ring compounds, that are known to cause cancer, nerve damage, endometriosis and thyroid disorders. These effects occur at tissue levels almost below detection, measured in parts per trillion. There is no detectable level at which dioxin toxicity is absent. If it is detected at all, it is poisonous. All we can do is try to maintain the best of health so as to stay a jump ahead of this toxic devil! Happily, it is now practical to diagnose nutrient deficiency, pesticide levels, toxic metals and chemical exposures. This provides a basis by which to understand health factors beyond germs and genes; and to prescribe food choices, nutrient supplements and specific detoxification treatments rationally. Orthodox medicine does not routinely use these tools or consider information about nutrient levels and toxic substances. In fact our present disease concepts do not generally include nutrition, except in cases of gross deficiency, such as malnutrition, malabsorption and alcoholism! Nutrition problems cannot be diagnosed and corrected unless they are investigated in specific detail; and so far this is not the case in orthodox medical practice. In fact, I know of many cases where orthomolecular physicians have been slandered by colleagues and delicensed by state medical boards because of testing and treating with nutrients. To the orthodox medical mind, nutrition still smacks of quackery. One would think that doctors would be more unanimous about pollution and toxins; but such is not the case. We all know that environmental pollutants are a serious hazard to health; but orthodox physicians do not routinely search for lead, mercury, pesticides nor PCBs. In fact, our authorities do not usually acknowledge the harm caused by low concentrations of metals and pesticides. Though detoxification of pollutants is most likely to be effective in just these low-level cases, it is hazardous to the doctor to treat them because he may be labeled a quack, even if the patient gets well! I have diagnosed over fifty patients with borderline or low cholinesterase enzyme levels. Though the laboratory data were only marginally abnormal, these patients described symptoms of tremor, tension, handwriting change, insomnia and emotional instability, especially after casual exposure to household and commercial carbamate and organophosphate insecticides—the kind that are advertised in the media for public use. Were it not for the cholinesterase test I would have mis-diagnosed most every one! I have recognized thousands of patients with mineral deficiency by testing hair, blood and urine levels. In addition, toxic metals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and aluminum are dangerous

even when none is by itself at a toxic level. When multiple metals are increased at low level, their toxic effects add up. This is seldom mentioned in the textbooks. You never know which of us has been poisoned. My own infant son seemed perfectly normal when I took a lock of his hair for mineral testing when he was but a year old. I was just curious about the adequacy of his nutrition and so I was checking his mineral levels in general. To my complete surprise the lead level was 80 mg per gram of hair, i.e. 80 parts per million. Normally there should have been none. Without the hair test for minerals my son would have been mentally retarded by lead poisoning; we would never have discovered the lead in the painted toy that he was chewing. How many babies are tested? None! How many should be? All! How often? At least yearly. What does it cost? Thirty to fifty dollars per test. Why isn’t it done? Orthomolecular and Toximolecular are the buzzwords that best define medical practice as a matter of nutrition and pollution. It is so obvious: diagnosis and treatment should begin with a practical strategy: put in the good molecules (nutrients); and take out the bad ones (poisons). Unfortunately, orthodox authorities resist this view. Let me give you a case in point and you can draw your own conclusions. I enjoy reading the New England Journal of Medicine and have read every issue for over 25 years. From time to time I write letters to the editor, usually to tweak their nose about the omission of nutrition in some article. In a recent issue, the weekly case report made my blood boil.[i] A 26-year-old woman was eventually diagnosed with a rare disease, giant cell arteritis, an inflammation of the coronary arteries. This young woman was troubled by angina pain, tightness in her chest after exercise, but her symptoms were relieved by rest and she had not had a heart attack. The electrocardiogram showed signs of ischemia, poor circulation, but no infarct. However an angiogram showed severe narrowing of the main coronary artery and she therefore underwent a triple coronary-artery bypass. The operation failed to relieve her chest pain and therefore a second by-pass operation was done after only a couple of months. This time the surgeon observed inflammation and edema of the previous grafts. He took biopsies of the aorta and the microscopic exam showed inflammatory cells, fibrous changes and damage to the elastic fibers. Only a few giant cells were found. After surgery she was treated for eight months with high doses of cortisone; but again her chest pain relapsed. Luckily, she did then improve after treatment with cyclosporine, an immune-suppressant, which presumably reduced the inflammatory reaction in her arteries; however the case report concludes that her future prospects call for cardiac transplantation! My point is that this case report is one-sided and incomplete. It is as if nutrition doesn’t exist or is irrelevant. I am dismayed to find no mention of diet, no reference to the measurement of a single vitamin or mineral level, and no search for a toxic or chemical

exposure. Other than inflammation, no actual cause of illness was identified. The report told of other symptoms, such as recurrent hives and joint pains. How about food and bacterial sensitivity? A complete allergy test panel and survey of fungal, viral and bacterial sensitivities, including Klebsiella (a specific bacteria that often causes joint pains and chest problems), might offer a clue. In addition there was no mention of her serum ferritin (iron) level. There is no mention if she had been taking iron supplements; but women often do and in this case it could aggravate all her symptoms. There are other nutrient-related diseases to consider. Both of her parents had coronary artery disease at a young age, before age 50, a fact suggestive of homocystinemia, a condition that can be cured by vitamins B6, B12, folic acid and betaine. Immune system disorders are known to contribute to infection and inflammation and we now know that anti-inflammatory activity can be induced by supplemental vitamin E, carotene, bioflavonoids, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, ascorbic acid, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, omega-3 EPA and omega-6 GLA and retinol. There are hundreds of research and case reports in the medical journals. It just seems to me that the New England Journal sets a bad example for hundreds of thousands of health professionals and hundreds of medical boards world-wide, all of whom are taken in by medical sophistry devoid of orthomolecular substance. If you are not yet convinced, let’s review another teaching case from the New England Journal.[ii] A 66 year old, male executive was hospitalized three times, for a total of over two and a half months in hospital, because of recurrent fever and diarrhea, until he finally showed dramatic improvement after treatment with vitamins folic acid and B12. There was no mention of diet and no measurement of vitamins until his third hospitalization. Another case of putting nutrition last! He also had been treated for psoriasis over the preceding 15 years. Treatment was with methotrexate, an anti-vitamin that prevents folic acid from being fully active. One should at least be curious about folic acid from the start in such a case, wouldn’t you think? His case history was further complicated by lymphoma, cancer of the lymph glands, which was discovered and treated by during his first hospitalization. Wouldn’t you like to know about your nutrients, your arsenal of raw materials, if you had a potentially fatal diagnosis and were about to take four cycles of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone? Nutrient deficiencies are common amongst sick people, especially in cases of long-term treatment, weight loss, and worse yet, multiple drug therapy for cancer. In the wake of chemotherapy this patient became severely anemic: his hemoglobin was only 50 percent of normal. In other words he was faced with having to regenerate half his blood. The report said that he was “near death, but he rallied.” The blood picture was not typical of B12 or folic acid deficiency however, because the average

red cell volume (MCV) was only 97 micra, whereas B12 and folic acid anemia usually runs 106 and higher Furthermore there were hardly any hypersegmented neutrophils of the type seen in folic acid deficiency. And finally, the blood levels of folic acid and B12 were only moderately deficient. Nevertheless, the consultants diagnosed a B12-folate deficiency anemia and, indeed, after two weeks of treatment with these vitamins his fever disappeared, diarrhea stopped, he regained weight and his blood picture became normal! That is persuasive testimony to the power of B12 and folic acid; and there is no doubt that that the B12 and folic acid were depleted by multiple medical stresses and blood loss. In addition the ferritin iron level was five times normal (over 1000 mcg) and it was not clear whether this was due to destruction of blood cells by chemotherapy, irritation of liver for the same reason or aftermath of an earlier transfusion. By injecting folic acid and B12, however, the formation of new blood cells was accelerated, thus using up the otherwise toxic load of iron by binding it up in hemoglobin and thus preventing damage caused by iron dependent bacterial growth and also preventing bowel irritation from the bacterial overgrowth and from oxidation by-products produced by reactions with free iron. In fact, this is why treatment with vitamins B12 and folic acid can be effective against infection and inflammation even when they are not deficient at all. There was no mention of this man’s vitamin A status despite the history of severe infection and psoriasis, both of which are often vitamin A-related. Physicians need to be reminded that vitamin A deficiency is found in about 20 percent of the population at large and at least twice that number of those afflicted with chronic illness, even more after cancer chemotherapy. If vitamin A were depleted, it is possible that this would aggravate anemia due to impaired cell growth. It is very possible that the sudden anemia was due to a bleeding stomach ulcer following chemotherapy, which included prednisone (a known cause of ulcer) and other chemicals known to deplete vitamin A. However I don’t think this is the whole story or he would have lost blood cells and iron at the same time. The high ferritin goes against that scenario. It is also important to know that the patient gave a history of arteriosclerosis requiring an aortic-femoral graft a decade earlier. This points to homocystinemia, a condition that is aggravated by low folate and B12, and almost certainly aggravated by the methotrexate therapy for psoriasis. Unfortunately the benefits of vitamin D against psoriasis were not known at that time or he might have been spared all the rest of this complicated medical history. Wouldn’t you rather be treated with vitamin D, which works against psoriasis, rather than methotrexate, a toxic anti-vitamin? Nutrients should come first. All these possibilities were omitted in this case history. That strikes me as egregious because, if a nutrient deficiency is found, it can be easily corrected. In fact that is the real message of this case report. That is why nutrient testing, i.e. vitamin and mineral

levels, should be included routinely in every medical work-up. Reading the New England Journal is pretty good evidence that it pays to “put nutrition first in medicine.” The only ones who seem resistant are—the editors of medical journals. In this case I received a letter: “. We can publish only a fraction of the letters we receive.” [i] Scully RE, Mark EJ, McNeely WF, McNeely BU: Case 4-1995. NEJM, 1995, 332:380-386. [ii] ibid: Case 51-1991. NEJM, 1991, 325: 1791-1799. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D

Nutrient Therapy—Strong Medicine!

I remember a drug company advertisement this past year, which used the expression "strong medicine" to catch the eye of the wary and erudite doctors. I have already forgotten what the medication was—so much for advertising. What does matter is that the phrase did catch my eye and I thought the thought: "too bad that most patients and their doctors fail to realize that nutrients are also strong medicine." In fact, in treating deficiency diseases, the corrective nutrients are the strongest possible medicines. No matter how clever or powerful a new drug treatment may be, the fact is that sickness is not likely a result of medication deficiency. This is not to deny the benefits of pharmacology; and "strong medicine" can improve the odds of recovery and perhaps give some comfort or relief of symptoms. But there is no known disease that is caused by drug deficiency. On the other hand every nutrient deficiency is potentially fatal! That is one of the most persuasive arguments in favor of putting nutrition first. To correct a nutrient deficiency is "strong medicine." What would you think about a treatment that could lower the rate of complications after major cancer surgery by 40 percent? Would you call that "strong medicine?" Well that is exactly what was reported by a surgical team from Hong Kong.[1] By providing a two-week-long regimen of intravenous amino acids, medium-chain fats, simple sugars, vitamins and minerals, they actually cut the death rate by 40 percent after surgical removal of cancerous liver tissue. This was a comparison between 60 surgical patients with liver cancer treated by nutrient supplementation (intravenous) and 64 similar patients (control group) who did not get nutrient therapy. Nutrient support cut the number of infections in half and the impairment of liver function was also cut by 40 percent. The need for diuretics to

control fluid retention was cut by fifty percent and weight loss in the nutrient support group was negligible, where the control group averaged 3 pounds weight loss in hospital. The best results were in patients with normal liver function. In this group nutrition support was associated with a four-fold reduction in complications. On the other hand a sub-group of patients with active hepatitis were possibly made worse by the intravenous treatment, as their complications rate was double that of the untreated control group. It is information like this that highlights the practical importance of medical nutrition: physicians must be to be knowledgeable about the role of nutrient support because nutrition is strong medicine; it makes a big difference in outcome; and it must be used properly. If the use of nutrient support could do so much for this group of seriously ill patients facing major surgery, how do you think it would work in other surgical situations, particularly in sickly patients? The question has already been answered in various ways by clinical studies. One of my favorites is a double-blind study of vitamin A supplementation. Treating with this single vitamin at megadoses for a week before surgery was sufficient to prevent the usual post-operative drop in white blood cells. This means that the immune system of the vitamin A-supplemented patients was stronger and presumably better able to resist infection. In fact, that is what seemed to be the most important advantage in the Hong Kong study: fewer infections. Nutrient therapy has been repeatedly demonstrated to be strong medicine, life-saving medicine. But it works best if given early, before the patient is in a life-threatened state. Furthermore nutrient therapy works better if it is individualized. Just as the Hong Kong study showed, some patients seemed to be the worse for taking the extra amino acids and fats. Perhaps these molecules overloaded the liver or added to the condition of inflammation in some way that did not occur in cases of cirrhosis (scarred liver) or uncomplicated liver carcinoma, without extensive hepatitis inflammation. This may seem reasonable and even obvious to you now as you read this, but such answers are not at all obvious to newcomers in the field of medical nutrition. [1] Fan ST, Lo CM, Lai, ECS: Perioperative nutritional support in patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. New England Journal of Medicine 1994; 331:1547-52. (Both support and control groups received 25 grams albumin IV for five days postoperatively; but only the nutrient group received 1.5 grams amino acids per Kg of body weight and 30 kcal of dextrose and 50% MCT per kg in 1.75 liters IV daily). ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Multiple Sclerosis: a Case History

Philip had been steadily losing his grip—literally—for four years, since he first began to notice that his left hand would shake when he tried to hold his fork. He got really alarmed when his left foot started to go. Before long one could trace his route by the marks his toe left on floors after he went by. He bumped into doors, took a few spills, dropped things and began to lose the self-confidence that had given him the courage to start his own real-estate business. He also became steadily more fatigued and he mysteriously lost 20 pounds in weight. He was only 38 years old. Where would it end? A few medical and neurological consultations in search of a diagnosis led to an MRI scan of his brain. There it was: patchy demyelination, not only in the right side of his brain, controlling his left hand and leg, but the opposite side as well, indicating multiple sclerosis—the worst, a progressive disease with a downhill course, eventual wheel-chair status. Worries without answers: How would his two young children take to seeing their father as an invalid? Would he be able to satisfy his wife? When would he lose bladder control and other physical attributes? But Philip didn’t give up. He dug deep for knowledge about MS and soon heard about Dr. Roy Swank, the brilliant neurologist, who pioneered the low fat, low dairy diet for multiple sclerosis. Most of his patients went into remission by following this plan and Dr. Swank had followed their cases for upwards of thirty years. It was not just a flash in the pan. Philip seemed to respond to this program. At least he stopped getting worse; but he had hoped for return of function. He wanted to participate in sports again. He wanted to be “happy, healthy and rich.” So he continued his search, even beyond Dr. Swank, and looked for “alternatives.” He found my name through the grapevine. Orthomolecular practitioners are a rare commodity, and those of us in the movement know most of the others in the country through medical meetings and publications. He had done his homework and he was easy to work with. He knew he wanted to be examined, both physically and molecularly. There was nothing new on his physical examination; he looked healthy except for a bit of dandruff and oily, ruddy facial skin. Neurological examination confirmed the weakness in his left foot, past pointing when touching his nose, loss of concordant rotational movements of his hands, hand tremor upon purposeful movement and his finger tapping speed was reduced by 25 percent on the left side. He also had left-sided hyper-reflexia, jerky movements of both the left arm and left leg when stimulated with a neurologic percussion hammer. He

also had nystagmus, jerky movement of his eye in lateral vision, another unmistakable sign of MS. The laboratory was also revealing and actually more promising than the physical examination. Because the data were riddled with nutrient-related faults, there was a possibility that he might respond well to treatment. The iron storage protein, ferritin, was at the high end of normal, suggesting iron overload, perhaps due to the fact that he had been taking multivitamins for years. On the other hand the thyroid panel showed a low activity (1.1 on a scale of 1.4 to 3.8). There was above average mercury in hair (7.2 parts per million) and blood (0.06 mcg per ml), this despite the removal of all mercury-containing fillings 3 years earlier. Nerve cells are exquisitely sensitive to mercury because it readily binds to the tubulin protein that lines the microtubules that feed the nerve cells, thus blocking the flow of nutrients within the cell, even at low concentration. Tying up just part of the cell’s tubulin can inactivate without killing the cell; hence such low level cases can recover dramatically once the mercury is removed. This may be the basis of recovery in patients who improve or recover from neurological disorders after removal of their dental amalgams. Philip’s laboratory tests also showed an unusual increase in the antioxidant enzymes, probably because he also had a high level of lipid peroxides, presumably caused by viral infection—or perhaps aggravated by the presence of mercury. But the most dramatic findings were the gross deficiencies of vitamins, specifically thiamin and pyridoxine, both of which are crucial to nerve function. Armed with this information it was a simple matter to provide specific nutrient support and it was gratifying to find that he showed a prompt improvement in his condition. Laboratory testing after four months showed return to normal in these tests and he is in remission-free of symptoms for over four years now, thus permitting return of nerve functions that had been presumed lost: he no longer limps, is able to run, has regained normal weight, and is functioning with full energy and confidence. Would he have done as well without orthomolecular diagnosis and nutrient repletion and maintenance? I think not. It is disturbing to realize that the nutrient test results would have been missed by a conventional medical work-up. They would not have been performed at all by doctors who are trained to look on nutrition as “alternative medicine?” For shame! Nutrient diagnosis should not be seen as “alternative.” Nutrients are not alternative; they are essential! Modern, high-tech medical care is the alternative, particularly if it is invasive or traumatic. Nutrition is physiologic, measurable and correctable; therefore it takes priority. Of course, drugs, surgery and other therapies should be provided, but only AFTER evaluation of the patient’s lifestyle, including diet, occupation and avocation, and in relation to nutrition, pollution and stress. If we want health-medicine, then we MUST put nutrition first!

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Megadose B12 Therapy

Nutrition doomsayers often warn against taking vitamins, especially in large doses. Are megavitamins dangerous? The truth of the matter is that vitamins are in a class by themselves when it comes to safety. They are safe, even at large doses, so long as the warning signs of toxicity are heeded. Even the fat soluble vitamins, A and D offer treatment benefits that far outweigh the adverse effects of overdose. But isn’t that what doctors are for, to help patients use medicines safely and effectively. It is just common sense that megavitamins should be used under medical supervision. Unfortunately the medical profession is just now recovering from "malnutrition." It is not easy to find an experienced and knowledgeable nutritionphysician. Dr. Jonathan Wright began using megadoses of B12 for treating asthma 20 years ago. He found that wheezing disappeared in 8 out of 10 cases if the patients were not already dependent on cortisone. Dr. Wright tells of other physicians who have observed similar results,1 starting in 1949, when Dr. Wetzel found as little as 10 mcg of B12 daily for a week cleared a case of "intractable" wheezing in a child at summer camp. Later on, Dr. Simon reported similar results in 20 adult asthmatics treated with injections of 1000 mcg. One shot a week for a month was enough to do the trick in 18 out of his 20 patients. In Italy Dr. Caruselli used intravenous megadoses of 30,000 mcg. over a 2 to 3 week period in treating a dozen adult asthmatic patients. Ten of the twelve were completely relieved of their wheezing by this treatment. In 1957 Dr. Crocket reported on 85 asthmatics, all treated with injections of 1000 mcg of the vitamin at intervals of one to four weeks. The benefits were related to age for about 80 percent of the children were relieved of wheezing but only half that number between 30 and 50 years of age and only 14 percent of those over age fifty were symptom-free. That suggests that the younger patients were responding to the adrenalin-like action of B12, whereas the older patients were at a later stage of bronchial fibrosis and not mere inflammation and spasm. Dr. J. Domisse reports2 that almost all of his depressed and bipolar patients have had B12 levels in the lowest third of the normal range

and "when those levels have been raised to the highest one third of that normal range every one of those patients has done and felt better." Don’t you think megadose vitamin B12 should be considered in every case of resistant mood depression, even before tricyclic anti-depressant drugs and serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, such as Prozac? Megadose vitamin B12 can also be of great benefit in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFIDS). Dr. Paul Cheney, a physician and researcher in this field has observed significant relief when the vitamin is given by intramuscular injection two or three times a week at doses above 2500 mcg. After a few weeks, over half the patients treated at the Cheney Clinic reported sustained improvement in energy, mood and mental ability. These benefits were not seen after oral or nasal administration of the vitamin.3 Dr. H. L. Newbold reported dramatic effects of similar doses of B12 against sedative drug overdosage.4 One of his patients, a drug dealer, had learned to depend on vitamin B12 doses of 6000 mcg to revive people who were otherwise incapacitated by black-market Quaalude. As luck would have it, Dr. Newbold was called on to treat a woman in coma after such an overdose. Two minutes after the injection of 9000 mcg, the patient awoke and was able to talk. In another few minutes she was able to walk! An ambulance had been called--but the order was cancelled. Drs. Alice Tang of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health studied the effect of B12 and folic acid, along with vitamin B6, in AIDS patients.5 The team found blood levels of B12 and B6, and to a lesser extent folic acid, were low in AIDS patients. But the importance of B12 stood out plainly: those with adequate blood levels remained free of disease for about 8 years; while those who were deficient in B12 developed clinical AIDS in only four years. What a testimony to the power of a vitamin. Do we know any other factor that can yield a clear-cut doubling of symptom-free life in HIV positive individuals? Now the question is: will the medical profession use this information? Will doctors measure B12 and treat with oral supplementation and injections? Will they use B12 even in case of "borderline" deficiency? And, finally, will the patients accept vitamin treatment? Here is a letter I wrote to one of my patients, a lovely lady who just plain disappeared from follow-up until I called her many months later. As you will no doubt agree: she was her own worst enemy. Unfortunately, her family and physicians seem to have let her down also. "I have recently reviewed all my recent cases in which low levels of B12 were found. Yours is one of them. I know that my assistant called you on two occasions to remind you to follow-up on the finding of a very low B12 level (78 pg vs. laboratory normal of 150-800 pg/ml). Recent findings support a revised range of normal of at least 250 pg and some authorities recommend maintaining blood

levels of 1000 pg in order to prevent memory loss and nerve problems. "I want to be sure that you let your local doctor know about the low B12 test result and that you get follow-up blood tests until the level is repeatedly over 500 and preferably over 1000 pg/ml. I have seen a few patients lose their memory function permanently because of B12 deficiency. The outcome is similar to Alzheimer’s although it can be preceded by depression, paranoia and other signs of mental illness, which you have had. Permanent nerve and spinal cord damage can also occur if B12 deficiency is not treated; therefore be sure to show this letter to your doctor." This particular woman was seen on two occasions in June 1993. She gave a history of 3 psychotic episodes. The first occurred after her first child was born and was considered a "post-partum psychosis." After two weeks in a psychiatric ward she was maintained on Haldol therapy for six months, during which time she nursed her son. Three years later she gave birth to a daughter and again had post-partum symptoms of insomnia and anxiety but without mania or psychosis. She had been vegetarian since 1982 and returned to a B12-deficient vegan diet each time after weaning. She functioned well until 1993 when she developed insomnia, which after a week led to mania and confusion. She settled down after treatment with Stelazine and consulted me 3 months later, no longer on medication. Her diet was devoid of flesh foods and milk except 3 cups of sweetened yogurt and 3 eggs a week. She drank bottled water and no soft drinks or refined sugar, other than in the flavored yogurt. Her diet was low in methionine and vitamin B12. At the same time it was high in brassica vegetables, of the cabbage and mustard families, which are cyanogens, similar to cassava, which was recently implicated as a cause of blindness and nerve damage in a serious epidemic in Cuba. Economic hardship deprived Cubans of milk and meat and forced them to eat cassava when they ran out of grain. The cyanogens in foods are of special importance given her additional history of migraine and visual loss twice a year since 1980. She may have been having eye damage similar to that in Cuba, but milder because of protection by protein intake from grains and yogurt. Mother Nature provides sulfur from the amino acid, methionine, to conver cyanide to inactive thiocyanate. Though methionine is low in her vegetarian diet, conservation of methionine from homocystine is possible, though it uses up precious B12, folic acid, and B6 and she was low in all these nutrients. I suspect a genetic factor in her illness also, for her father was alcoholic and committed suicide, a tragedy that often reflects familial B6 defects. In fact, her own B6 activity was tested and found to be deficient along with her B12 deficiency! Yeast infections were diagnosed two years earlier, before the onset of her migraine headaches, and she was treated with antifungal drugs. It is not widely known that these drugs also destroy B12. Luckily she also was in the habit of eating spirulina, blue green

algae, which is one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12, and she improved as a result. Spirulina was an especially lucky choice because her lifestyle also exposed her to the combustion products of a wood-burning stove, which releases PCP (pentachlorophenol), a wood preservative. This chemical is another one that destroys B12; and since it is inhaled in the fumes, it travels directly from lungs to the brain to do its damage. The fact that she reported serious memory loss, inability to recall names, dates and phone numbers, since her third psychotic episode, is ominous. The fact of her lack of follow-through is a further omen. The failure of her family to insist on additional medical care also bodes a gloomy prognosis for this young wife and mother. When a patient with a brain-threatening disease is evasive about follow-up, it is wise to assume that she is lacking insight or is in denial to a psychotic extent. The only way to verify the extent of the loss of mental capacity is by means of formal testing; because it is usual for such people to cover-up their memory gaps and fool even their families and doctors until they reach a crisis and deteriorate, possibly beyond the point of full recovery. A doctor has no power to intervene against the wishes of the patient and family when and if they decline treatment as in this case. I made two telephone calls and wrote a note to the patient defining the terrible consequences of inadequate treatment. I had expected this also to inform the primary care physician but when I called a year later no follow-up treatment had been done and no follow-up vitamin B12 measurements had been made. Luckily this woman has not had a relapse into dementia, presumably because her body absorbed enough B12 from my treatments to maintain her; but she is on borrowed time. In the space of 10 years and 3 hospitalizations for psychosis, under the care of at least three different physicians, including a psychiatrist who has followed this case for the entire time, no test for B12 was ordered for this patient before she consulted me. The psychiatrists treated her only with anti-psychotic drugs and she recovered reasonably well each time, so they let it go at that. An orthomolecular psychiatrist puts nutrition first, tests for nutrient-related disorders, and often finds the cause behind the disease. Until orthomolecular thinking becomes part of orthodox medical education, American physicians will too often miss-out on vitamin B12 and other nutrient deficiencies. Of course it is important to prevent any damage from vitamin overdoses, but it is a lot more likely and even more important to prevent neurological damage from B12 deficiency. The fact that vitamin deficiency horror stories are still occurring at all these days is testimony to a major failure of American medical education and practice, the failure to "put nutrition first." ©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Low Fat – High Fatigue

Feast in November; be Jolly in December. That sets the holiday spirit, indeed. With all the misery in this imperfect world crowding in closer year by year—or so it seems—one feels especially blessed for every day in which civilization seems to work well enough to at least provide the basics that we sometimes take for granted. I felt thankful and blessed to be invited to a delicious Thanksgiving feast yesterday: home-baked bread and chopped liver for starters, served with carrot and celery sticks, then turkey soup, and then the roast turkey and all the trimmings, sweet potatoes, nut and raisin stuffing and giblet gravy. And at the end a choice of pumpkin and fruit pies, coffee or tea and lots of good cheer. Thanksgiving is especially enjoyable because it is a family holiday and the presence of youngsters brings energy, enthusiasm and adventure to these reunions. I rather enjoy such a feast because it is predictable and generally healthy. I don't feel compelled to criticize our ancestors for dietary excess. I just eat less the day of the feast and likewise the morning after—and I don't gorge to the point of discomfort. The purpose of a feast is to feel good. I appreciate a good time so I try not to impose my professional thoughts about health and nutrition on my friends in the midst of dinner; but it is almost inevitable that someone at a feast will express guilt or concern about eating more than usual. Indeed, the subject of dietary fat and fatness came up around the table. The college age daughter of my host made a declarative statement: "Weight has nothing to do with calories! I just watch my fat intake and keep it below 3 grams per meal." How simple it sounded. And I couldn't help but notice that she had indeed lost a lot of weight since last we met. In fact she had dropped 20 pounds in five months after adopting her low fat idea from reading magazines. She is down to 114 pounds, what she feels is an optimal weight. Ailene is an ethnic beauty, 5 feet 2 inches tall and naturally curvaceous and full-featured. Her new look is narrow-hipped by comparison and seems boney and angular. Maybe I'm just getting older and changing in my tastes, but I thought to myself that I liked her better the old way. "How do you feel," I asked. "Great, high energy and I'm so happy with myself."

It sounded so good and so simple that I secretly began to question myself: "...maybe I've been too skeptical of the low fat dietary advice that has taken over our country lately." So I decided to ask Ailene a few questions. Was she really on a low fat diet? Was she denying or overlooking symptoms? I asked her to describe what foods she does eat. It turned out to be not much. She starts her day at 7:30 A.M. with two cups of coffee—to which she adds 2 teaspoonfuls (tsp.) of sugar and a tablespoonful (Tbsp.) of low fat milk. She skips lunch except for more coffee with sugar and skim milk and a bite of chocolate and some wheat chex, and so she depends on her evening meal for the bulk of her nutrients. It's not easy to satisfy one's nutrient requirements by just one meal a day, and her dinner menu is austere: a vegetable salad and chicken a few times a week, and fish once a week eaten without the skin. You don't have to be a nutrition genius to appreciate that this diet is low in calories. Luckily, she has been eating more on weekends by adding a vegetable omelette and fried potatoes for breakfast. However, she feels so tired afterward that she actually finds it more comfortable to stick to her "low fat" diet. I didn't want to intrude in her personal habits, but I was genuinely concerned that her diet would do some harm to her before she knew it. Therefore I summoned up the simplest and most strategic advice I could muster. "Just two things to do," I said, "take a teaspoonful of cod liver oil and eat two eggs every day, not just on week-ends. And of course, take a multivitamin." The eggs add about half her requirements for high quality protein and all the other nutrient ingredients of life. Though the egg does not provide optimal quantities for all our needs, it is still the all-around best single food for most of us. I called her the next day and took a more exact diet history. As I questioned her in a systematic medical manner, she became aware of symptoms that she has been ignoring. In the past three months she has had flu three times; her energy is definitely declining and she has spells of weakness. She needs more sleep and literally has to leave parties early because she gets so tired. Her skin and hair are becoming dry and she confided now that her reflection in the mirror looked "run down." Her gums have been bleeding, her lips chapped and her mental concentration and memory have decreased. Oh yes, she forgot to tell me that she has had spells of numbness in her fingers, especially when she grips the steering wheel of her car. I thought it might be interesting to perform a computer analysis of her diet and my new program includes over 8000 foods and 50 nutrient read-outs. So I entered the 21 foods that make up her diet and—what a shock! The computer credited her with 2700 calories. Nonsense. "What am I doing wrong?" I asked myself. It took a while before I found that the computer program contains an error! The programmer entered incorrect data for sugar; thus the computer identified her 8 Tbsp of sugar (96 grams) as 533 grams! I am sharing this with you, dear reader, just to remind us all that computers aren't as perfect as we like to think.

After careful checking, I assured myself that the program is otherwise accurate and complete. Here is the analysis of her low fat diet (numbers rounded off for convenience): Calories 700, Protein 39 grams, Fat 14 grams, Carbohydrate 92 grams. Fifteen essential nutrients calculated below 50 percent of RDA: sodium, iron, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium, molybdenum, vitamin E, B1, pantothenic acid, biotin and vitamin D. In addition, the Omega-3 Essential fatty acids were definitely deficient, a total of only 60 mg, while Omega 6 EFA were also inadequate at 1.4 grams. Surprise! Her low fat diet actually doesn't contain enough fat! In fact, it doesn't contain enough food. How did my advice figure on the computer? After adding two eggs and a teaspoonful of cod liver oil almost all of the very low nutrients improved closer to RDA values; however she still gets only 900 calories, too low for sensible health maintenance. Her protein intake increases by almost 7 grams per egg, to 51 grams per day, which is adequate. Fats are now increased to 32 Grams, ie. 288 calories, which is about 30% of her total calories, but remember these are mostly essential fatty acids and the Omega 3-EFA are now ample at 2.4. grams per day. Seven nutrient deficiencies below 50 percent of RDA levels remain: sodium, calcium, zinc, copper, chromium, molybdenum and vitamin E. A multi-vitamin-mineral pill taken daily corrects these, except for sodium and calcium. The sodium (and iodine) are corrected if she salts her food, about half a teaspoonful per day, and she will have more energy and will no longer fall asleep at parties. A Tbsp of fresh-ground flax with her wheat chex would put all her trace minerals over the top and add some much needed calcium and fiber. Or, a Tbsp of cottage cheese with her salad would secure her calcium and protein needs without defeating her weight maintenance. Hey, not so bad. I tried to intrude on her lifestyle as little as possible. She is not my patient, after all. Besides, my own Listen To Your Body Diet™ teaches you how to find the foods and food balances that work best for you and that permits much more variety and, in fact, weight maintenance without starvation. Everything else, including the "low fat/high-fad diet" is just guess-work. In this case, Ailene was guessing herself into chronic starvation. It was already catching up with her health and energy. Maybe its time she reads my book, MegaNutrition for Women. Bottom line: holiday feasts are a traditional way to celebrate life and protect ourselves from crash diets and food fads. So here is the blessing of this nutrition-physician: Enjoy yourself and enjoy your food; Learn your needs and treat yourself good. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Linus Pauling's Medicine

Most people under the age of 40 have never heard of Linus Pauling in any connection other than as a promoter of the health benefits of vitamin C. In fact, those under the age of 50 may not know of Pauling’s accomplishments as a researcher, educator and administrator in the field of chemistry between 1920 and 1940, when he developed quantum mechanics and laid the groundwork for molecular biology—all before World War II. After the War he wrote his famous chemistry textbook, one that influenced a generation of college students and has remained in print almost 50 years, one of the longest running books in print today. In its way “How to Live Longer” compares with this classic on general chemistry and may stay in print just as long, for it is actually a practical review of medicine by this scientific genius. We are not likely to see a better or clearer single source of health information for quite some time. Pauling’s insights led him to the concept of orthomolecular medicine: the use of substances naturally occurring in the human body, in maintaining health and treating disease. This is the essence of this book. Keep in mind that Pauling was a major force in the creation of modern chemistry. His method of describing atomic and molecular interactions, applying quantum physics to chemistry, had an influence on all chemists from 1920 to 1950. His work in the chemistry of proteins led to the title “father of molecular biology” as early as the 1930s. He understood free radicals and, in fact, named the superoxide radical in 1939. His research led to the first scientific demonstration of a molecular disease, sickle cell anemia, in the 1940s. At that time he was also one of the original founders of the National Institute of Health. His impact on modern medicine is so far-reaching that we might rightly think of him as a “father” of modern medicine. The last 30 years of Pauling’s life was devoted to the study of nutritional substances in medicine—as the basis for ortho-molecular medicine. There was much more than vitamin C at stake. Orthomolecular medicine referred to “the right molecules” as the major players in health and disease. After this the orthodox medical authorities could no longer ignore nutrition as they had been doing since before the Second World War! Pauling gave it scientific credibility. Pauling’s writings on orthomolecular medicine succeeded in putting the medical establishment on notice and despite the controversy and ridicule that erupted, this opened the way for nutrition to become a

primary part of modern medicine. But the backlash against Dr. Pauling’s reputation was greater than anyone could have anticipated. He could not anticipate that, within a decade of receiving two Nobel Prizes, he had actually outlived the memories of both the public and the scientific community! The medical “authorities” had been educated after World War II and were out of touch with Pauling’s work in quantum chemistry that was performed before 1940. And his military and wartime contributions were classified and secret, including his consultations with his friends, Einstein and Oppenheimer, on the atomic bomb project. Pauling’s second Nobel Prize was awarded in 1961, for his heroic efforts to halt atmospheric nuclear testing and to educate the public to the dangers of radioactive fall-out. He waged a public campaign to sign up over 10,000 scientists in support of the nuclear test ban; and he did it over the objections of Senator McCarthy, Senator Dodd, J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI, and almost all of Pauling’s colleagues at Cal Tech, where he was Chief of the Department of Chemistry. Few people seem to realize that but for Pauling’s courage and strategic intervention against atomic testing, there is a good chance that many millions of us would have been harmed by the unbridled releases of radiation by both the United States and the Soviet Union. What people do remember is Dr. Pauling was involved in the Peace movement—not chemistry or medicine. And so by 1970, when his book on Vitamin C and the Common Cold was published, his qualifications as a medical authority were largely forgotten by the public, which is not surprising. But they were also forgotten—and denied—by the medical and science establishments, which is disgraceful! As a result, his applications for research funds to study the effect of vitamin C on cancer were turned down— eight times by the NIH! How else can you explain the unprecedented refusal of the National Academy of Sciences to publish his paper on cancer and vitamin C? Instead of the respect he deserved, he was treated as if he were less qualified than an ordinary graduate student. His mastery of mathematics, statistics and scientific method was over-looked by this new generation of academicians and physicians, who were caught up in the entrenched political-economic power structure. Pauling’s greatest accomplishment may turn out to be his concept of orthomolecular medicine. If so, his book: “How to Live Longer and Feel Better” may be seen as his crowning achievement—because it is so practical. It has not won the accolades that it deserves; but I predict that it will be re-published for the millennium 2000, and it will turn out to be as correct as if it were just written. It is the classic book on health. Linus Pauling made only one mistake: he was too far ahead of his time. He could afford to be 20 years ahead in chemistry; because the industrial world was ready to steal his ideas and make many people rich. But he could not succeed by being forty years ahead of the medical profession, because by being correct, the family doctor and the corner druggist must lose out to the nutritionist. No way could

an entrenched establishment permit that to happen. As for the public, few people could see beyond the propaganda about “miracle drugs” and “modern surgery.” Nutrition and vitamins are just too simple. And the propaganda against vitamin C for viral illnesses and cancer has been so persistent, over twenty years, that few people remember that Pauling’s research and writings on these subject in the 1970’s is the basis for much progress in AIDS research, cancer research and antioxidant medicine today. Instead, the public mind is saturated with unresolved controversy and no acknowledgement that Dr. Pauling actually succeeded in an historic way: he sparked a revolution in medical research and practice. Dr. Pauling was truly excited about the benefits of vitamin C against cancer: “In all my years in scientific research, I have never seen a project that offers more hope for mankind than the one now under way at our laboratory.” He was convinced, by the results of his research in association with Ewen Cameron, that vitamin C has a large life-extending effect, even in advanced cancer cases. But he lacked the funding necessary to pursue his studies and make them definitive. Recently Abram Hoffer has confirmed that there is a 20fold increase in survival time in cancer patients treated by vitamin C and general ortho-molecular nutrient support. Naturally, Pauling was angered by the fact that National Cancer Institute, funded by HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare), was spending over 800 million dollars annually, while his work with vitamin C and other nutrient therapies was totally ignored. It is galling to realize that after 20 years of billion dollar spending, the War on Cancer could report almost no progress in cancer control. Orthomolecular medicine, meantime, with almost no budget, was having an impact on the public and some research professionals. Large-scale nutrient trials are just now beginning to confirm what we have known all along: nutrient therapy is a promising avenue in cancer treatment. Just ten years ago it was considered pure quackery and criminal! Now the tide is turning—for which we owe a lot to Linus Pauling. It has not been easy. For the past 20 years the major medical journals, such as Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine, have refused to publish Pauling’s letters of rebuttal. And the medical establishment supported a propaganda organization, the National Council against Health Fraud, strongly targeted against the nutrition movement and its leading protagonist, Linus Pauling. Few reporters could tell the difference between the lack of qualifications of members of the Council and Dr. Pauling the leading scientist of this century. Somehow the reporters failed to notice that the quack-buster’s major accomplishment has been to withhold information and confuse the public by denigrating new ideas. Perhaps such skepticism does some good against the more egregious charlatans of the world, but not against a great scientist, like Linus Pauling. And who is qualified to do so? Are the quack-busters

better trained and more accomplished at basic research, molecular biology, and statistical analysis than Linus Pauling, an acknowledged mathematical and research genius? Whose credibility is more reliable? One way to make this real for yourself is to study Dr. Pauling’s advice and try it out so that the results will speak through your own body. You may be surprised at how familiar this advice has become. Hard to believe that one of our greatest scientists could be ridiculed for such advice, just because he was more explicit and comprehensive than any of our orthodox medical authorities when he first proposed this program almost 20 years ago.

Take vitamin C every day at a dose of 6 to 18 grams (cut back if you get diarrhea or bowel distress). Take vitamin E every day at a dose of 400 to 1600 iu (units). Take B complex vitamins every day. Take Vitamin A (retinol) 25,000 iu every day. (Stop if you get headache; do not exceed this dose in pregnancy) Take a mineral supplement every day (including chromium, selenium, molybdenum, copper and manganese). Avoid table sugar and sweets. Limit 1 pound per week, i.e. half the present average intake in USA. Eat what you like—but not so much as to become obese. Include eggs, meat, vegetables and fruits. Drink plenty of water every day Keep active and exercise, but not far beyond what you are accustomed to. Drink alcoholic beverages only in moderation, i.e. up to two drinks per day. Do not smoke cigarettes. Avoid stress. Work at a job you like. Be happy with your family. (Note: Pauling did not say this was easy; only important).

Dr. Pauling was impressed with the possibility of extending human life span through nutrition—especially vitamin C, which confers at least an 8-year advantage. Pauling’s calculations led him to the conclusion that human life span could be extended by over 20 years through orthomolecular therapy: the right molecules in the right amounts. That is why he wrote his book. If you follow his 12 suggestions, you very well might add precious years of health and happiness to your own life. Never before in history did we have a right to expect such a benefit. This is truly one of the great advances of the 20th century; a century that owes much to Linus Pauling, for his contributions to chemistry, molecular biology, peace and health.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Journalistic Quackery

Making false claims is the essence of medical quackery. Those who do it just for the money are considered charlatans. Until recently, nutrition health claims have been rated that low. Any physician, who claimed that nutrition could be a treatment for disease was automatically considered to be a quack. Do we have similar titles in other professions? In court we call it perjury; most everywhere else we just call it incompetence, but if it is done knowingly and for profit, we classify the perpetrator as a crook. Do we have a name for writers who make false claims? If you can prove it in court it is called libel, slander or swindle. Usually it is just being dumb. When it is obviously at someone’s expense, however, it is ignorance or error compounded by hostility and anger—arrogance. Journalistic arrogance is not nice, even when disguised as public service. I know. In my files I recently came across a dormant folder marked "New York Times." In it is a 1981 article by food writer, Jane Brody, entitled "The dangers of nutritional misinformation." The article begins with a few examples of foolish nutrient therapies: a child damaged by overdoses of vitamin A; a false diagnosis of selenium toxicity by miss-use of hair analysis; and a condemnation of vitamin B15 as a fraud. Egad! I can feel my own dismay and anger rising all over again right now. There is a rebuttal for each of these examples: vitamin A toxicity does not deserve scare tactics. Almost all of the toxicity cases have been poorly documented, unproved. Even the recent studies claiming birth defects after low dose supplementation in pregnancy do not address the more likely role of zinc deficiency, which causes the same type of birth defects. Instead, we hear only that a little vitamin A can damage the fetus and on that suspicion the toxic threshold has been reduced from 50,000 to about 5,000 units and as a result women, who may need vitamin A, are untreated. The cost of this folly: infections, cancer and death in women of childbearing age. Vitamin B15, also called DMG (dimethylglycine), is one of the few substances to consistently win the praise of parents of children with developmental disorders, especially autism. I have seen it work better than anything else! No other treatment has ever moved my patients with such mental impairment to say: "it's a miracle, doctor." How dare a journalist or anyone without clinical experience condemn this substance, thereby misleading the public. Journalistic arrogance.

From there Brody decried the spending of billions on "self-styled nutritionists and worthless books, magazines and products that claim nutrition can prevent and cure a never-ending list of ailments, ranging in seriousness from fatigue to cancer.” As if healers do it only for the money. Health services are too personal for that sort of thing. How silly. The rapid progress of nutrition and alternative medicine now makes her words seem even sillier. The sad thing is she threw a lot of people off the track. Fate and the New York Times gave her too much authority over their minds—and their lives! In the article she attacked anyone who takes an unconventional path to nutrition knowledge. Here is a direct quote: "Almost anyone can call himself or herself a 'nutritionist' since licensing is not required. Among those who have are chiropractors, holders of mailorder degrees from non-accredited colleges, book authors and a few ill-informed or unscrupulous physicians who espouse unproven remedies." Ouch! That hurt. I am one of those book authors and a physician too; so in her judgment I must be "ill-informed and unscrupulous." But she didn’t stop there; her article advised how to detect a nutrition fraud. Again, I quote: "…member of some unrecognized "scientific" society…such as the…Orthomolecular Medical Society...” She attacked the society of which I was then president, and she insulted us by name! I was stunned at the injustice of this attack, and shocked that she also attacked literally every aspect of alternative medicine. History has proven her to be wrong; literally 180º off course, but that was not a consolation at the time. Other methods to detect quackery: “A name followed by a string of initials that stand for irrelevant degrees, such as N.D. (Doctor of Naturopathy), C.H. (Certified Herbologist), or C.A. (Certified Acupuncturist), D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic).." She offended me and most everyone else in the alternative medicine field. How did she ever get past this gaffe to become known as a nutrition maven? I'll stick with direct quotes so as to avoid over-indulgence of my own obvious bias. "Claims that most disease is due to a faulty diet; that most people are poorly nourished; that food processing, prolonged storage, soil depletion and chemical fertilizers are causing malnutrition, or that chemical additives and preservatives are poisoning people." Can you believe it! Nowadays our health authorities agree that nutrition plays a major role in over half of all cases of cancer and almost all heart attacks. Young Jane Brody was in the dark about nutrition and health, but that didn’t stop her from passing judgment on every health professional who took nutrition seriously. Brody continued her assault on medical nutrition by linking the following actions to quackery: "Claims that a bad diet or a health problem can be countered by taking vitamin or mineral supplements, by eating only 'organic' or 'health' foods, or by taking a false vitamin like B15 (pangamate) or B17 (laetrile). The use of hair analysis as the primary method for detecting a nutritional problem.

Hair analysis can be highly misleading; blood and urine tests are far more accurate." Got the idea? She took a position totally opposed to alternative medicine and totally insulting to all of us who dared to buck the rip-tide of medical conservatism that held back the medical profession from 1940 to 1990, putting nutrition last. This is a major reason for the decline in prestige of the medical profession. I had hoped that during my time as President of the Orthomolecular Medical Society, we could show the American people that modern medicine puts nutrition first. In hopes of establishing contact with Ms. Brody, I wrote a letter to the New York Times, signing it in my capacity as President of the Orthomolecular Medical Society, the very same that she had insulted in her article. I will quote a section of the letter and remind you that it applies as much today as it did then: "less than 1% of our physicians are qualified to offer reliable counsel in this field. It is the aim of the Orthomolecular Medical Society to correct this situation by providing professional continuing medical education. To defame nutritional medicine by innuendo simply confuses the issues and denies possible health benefits to the people who need to know that all good medicine must begin with nutrition." I invited Ms. Brody to attend our next professional scientific meeting as my guest so that she could meet some of the faculty I had assembled, including four professors from the University of California (SF) medical school. Did I get an answer? No. My letter was never acknowledged, not even after I called their editorial department. Therefore I contacted a New York lawyer to raise the question of slander because the Times made no attempt to get accurate information about the Orthomolecular Medical Society and the damage they were doing to my colleagues and me was substantial. He advised against such an action and we let it go. I was hopeful that expanding membership would ultimately give us the power to overcome such insults. Unfortunately, doctors do not join an organization that may damage their image or get them in trouble. Controversy is anathema to doctors. Fifteen years later Brody has gradually embraced nutrient therapy, regularly writing about research breakthroughs, particularly relative to antioxidants, vitamin E, selenium and other minerals that have been vindicated by large-scale studies. Otherwise she remains quite suspicious of nutritionists. On January 20, 1992 she wrote about "the crucial role of magnesium in the diet." "Deficiencies may be far more common”… "Magnesium, an essential mineral in the human diet, has been all but ignored by nutrition enthusiasts, who tout an alphabet-soup of supplements to correct purported deficiencies, to counter various ailments and to enhance overall health.” What poppycock. And she knows better! Anyone who knows anything about nutrition medicine knows that magnesium deficiency is common

amongst Americans and that treatment with magnesium supplements has proved valuable, not only to correct deficiency but for extra benefits at therapeutic doses in case of cardiac arrhythmia, blood vessel spasm, and asthma. At least she uses the term “enthusiast” rather than quack. Let's go back to 1972, when my practice was featured in Prevention Magazine as a model for what soon after was called holistic medicine. I was already using computer analysis of diet, blood tests for vitamins and minerals, and hair mineral analysis also. It was clear that many of my patients were low in magnesium and that they were dramatically improved after magnesium therapy. I didn't think it was a big deal because my professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Ed Flink, was a pioneer magnesium researcher and among the first to advocate its use in clinical practice twenty years before. No wonder then that of the original 200 members of the Orthomolecular Medical Society, four were members of my 1955 medical school graduating class, including Dr. John R. Lee, lately famous for his ground-breaking research in clinical uses of progesterone, especially for treating osteoporosis. But the local medical society leaders in San Francisco were in another world and they issued a press release: "Although so-called trace elements such as magnesium are necessary for brain function, the amounts required are so minute and so prevalent in ordinary food substances it is almost inconceivable that anybody with any semblance of a normal diet could be lacking in these trace elements." What is the point of all this? Only that if you want to get sound nutrition information you must learn something of nutrition, health and medicine for yourself and then verify whatever therapy you undertake. To do this you will want to find an experienced orthomolecular practitioner, not an easy task, because, thanks to the Jane Brody and others of her ilk, there aren't many. Why would they join a movement that is still viewed with suspicion by peer review organizations, insurance companies and state medical boards? Medical journalists, such as Ms. Brody, lack the first-hand experience to comprehend why alternative medicine, including the services of naturopaths, chiropractors acupuncturists, herbologists, hypnotherapists, and massage therapists, is quite satisfying to most of their clients. In fact, alternative medicine without subsidy from health insurance, attracts more patient visits each year than does conventional medicine. On the other hand, we don’t hear from Ms. Brody about the real shortcomings of conventional medicine that have prompted millions of Americans to look beyond cholesterol and fat for answers to their health concerns. I don't think the public is entirely fooled, despite all the hoopla on issues such as cholesterol, hypertension, mammography and low fat diets. And they may be right. Cholesterol is not a sufficient basis for predicting cardiovascular health; nor is

sugar the whole story of diabetes, calcium for osteoporosis, nor iron the sole factor in anemia. What it comes down to is that the most practical and accurate means to assess health and diagnose disease starts with testing of nutrients in blood and other tissues, including hair. Nutrition diagnosis is ever so much more complete now than when I became a nutrition physician 30 years ago. But one thing has not changed, the basic orthomolecular philosophy of “putting nutrition first.” That is fundamental. [1] Brody JB: The dangers of nutritional misinformation. New York Times, 5/20? /81. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Is Vitamin C Dangerous?

“Study Finds Peril in Taking High Vitamin C Supplement”. So read the 2-column headline of a report by Jane Brody in the New York Times (April 5, 1998). Millions of people are bound to follow such statements as: “500 mg a day could damage people’s genes.” and “Americans must get over their love affair with vitamin C.” I felt my own credibility challenged by such statements, packaged persuasively with research conclusions from the British Journal, Nature. As I read the article and realized how questionable are the conclusions, I wondered why was it featured so strongly. Then I caught the name, Dr. Victor Herbert, the once accomplished researcher in nutrition medicine, who has become a crusader against nutrient supplementation. Could it be that this article is propaganda? Is it but a coincidence that English health authorities currently are seeking to regulate vitamin B6 and the Food Minister has announced vitamin C is his next target? In the 1970s Dr. Herbert claimed that vitamin C was dangerous because it oxidized and destroyed vitamin B12 in the test tube. However this was discredited when later research reversed this simply by the addition of acid, to mimic the acid conditions of the stomach. More recently Dr. Herbert emphasizes the pro-oxidant effects of vitamin C because it generates free radicals in test tube tests with copper and iron. But in reality it is well known that this reaction is used by white blood cells (neutrophils) to kill bacteria by means of the free radical hydroxyl ions so produced. This is an important part of our immune defenses. The fact is that vitamin C is used for both oxidation and reduction, in reactions

that are directed by the wisdom of the body. The vitamin C-gene damage claim came from a six-week study of 30 healthy men and women who were given 500 mg of vitamin C daily. The researchers then tested the white blood cells for oxidized adenine and oxidized guanine, two of the nucleic acid bases. They found an increase in oxo-adenine, but there was also a big decrease in the amount of oxidized guanine. A net decrease over-all; but they interpreted these findings as damage to the genetic material of DNA. The report ended with the usual call for more research, but only to study the effects of lower doses because “it would be unethical to test higher levels.” I couldn’t believe my eyes when I caught that innuendo. How could they be that smug? What if oxo-adenine is not a sign only of damage to the genetic material of the cell? Even though their measurement technique supposedly isolates intra-cellular material from DNA, there is a possibility of other sources. For example, adenosyl methionine is found within the mitochondria of cells, where oxidation reactions are most intense. Other adenosyl molecules are found in intra-cellular enzymes, such as NAD and FAD and PAPS and this might expand the production of oxo-adenosine. The regulatory guanosine bases, on the other hand are almost entirely in the G proteins of the cell, where oxidation is less active than in mitochondria. So I went to the scientific research literature and found that I was not alone in my doubts. Bruce Ames, professor of biochemistry, University of California at Berkeley, agrees that the Podmore study is fraught with error and that the oxo-guanine values reported by Dr. Podmore are 10 to 30 times higher than those obtained by other techniques. Dr. Ames was critical of the fact that Podmore did not acknowledge the ongoing debate about artifact and error in this area of research. He concludes: “we believe that the results.are an ex vivo artifact (in the test tube). In the context of the huge literature supporting the health benefits of vitamin C, the conclusions of the study are unwarranted.” To say that vitamin C causes genetic damage flies in the face of evolution, in which vitamin C at larger doses offers a survival advantage. For example, a 500 mg dose is within physiologic range and vegetarians commonly exceed that amount just from food. Health statistics do not indicate damage to their nucleic acids as a result; quite the contrary, they have lower cancer rates and greater longevity. On the other hand, Jack Challem and Will Taylor suggest that lack of vitamin C might accelerate evolution by speeding up the rate of mutations, i.e. genetic damage. It makes more sense to expect that vitamin C deficiency, not excess, promotes nucleic acid damage. This theory is supported by research in living humans, not in the test tube. The effect of vitamin C supplementation is about as perilous as breathing, which for sure exposes us to a pro-oxidizant: oxygen. The pro-oxidant effects of vitamin C are well directed and our bodies

are protected. Thus the research of Dr. Balz Frei, Director of the Linus Pauling Institute at University of Oregon, clearly documents a lack of pro-oxidant interaction with iron in vivo. Here is a direct quote from Dr. Frei’s presentation at the February, 1998 meeting of the Society for Orthomolecular Medicine: “even in iron-overload plasma and in the presence of potentially redox-active...iron, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant towards lipids, not a prooxidant.”[i] In other studies, Dr. Balz Frei found that both ascorbic acid and oxidized ascorbic acid (also called dehydroascorbic acid) both strongly inhibit LDL-cholesterol oxidation, even in the presence of copper, which is an oxidizer. In fact, copper binds strongly to LDL, about 30 ions per LDL particle; but in the presence of ascorbic or dehydroascorbic, up to 70 percent of the bound copper is released from LDL cholesterol due to oxidation of amino acid oxo-histidine residues, which weakens the electrical charge of the molecule, thus releasing copper to bind with circulating vitamin C for which it has a strong attraction. Dr. Frei and his colleague, Dr. Bruce Ames, professor of biochemistry at University of California at Berkeley, co-signed a letter of criticism to the journal, Nature, regarding Dr. Podmore’s research. The key point, they say, is that the Podmore study had 1000-fold higher oxo-adducts than ever before reported. On that basis, they question Podmore’s methods and suggest that the oxoadenine was “ex-vivo.” In other words, it formed in the test tube, not in the human body. Stephen Fowkes, editor of Cognitive Enhancement News, wrote a particularly intelligent article for Vitamin Research News (May 1998) in which he explained the fact that DNA damage is known to occur at the rate of about 10,000 to a million damaging events per day. Our survival depends on the efficiency of our DNA repair enzymes which are designed to remove oxidized bases from the double strand helix structure of DNA. These oxidized bases are indeed markers for DNA damage—and also for DNA repair! We do not yet know whether vitamin C might enhance DNA repair, but that is very likely. In my own review of most impressed by a Technology, wherein least ten-fold less

the scientific research in this field, I was 1992 research at Massachusetts institute of Drs. Wood and colleagues found oxo-adenine at mutagenic than oxo-guanine.

Theirs was a research in a bacterium, but the point is that oxoguanine induced defects at a frequency of 0.3%, while oxo-adenine had almost no effect on the genome. They concluded that oxoadenine is at least an order of magnitude less mutagenic than oxo-guanine in E. coli bacteria with normal DNA repair capacity. When we apply these facts to the Podmore study, where vitamin C was associated with decreased oxo-guanine, our conclusion ought to be that the decrease in oxo-guanine more than offsets the increase in oxo-adenine. The publicity given to this research and its warnings

against the use of vitamin C do a disservice to all who share an interest in health. The public has few medical sources to reassure them and is strongly influenced by information in the newspapers. As a physician and President of the Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine, I write this rebuttal on behalf of ordinary people, who are more likely to be harmed by giving up on nutrient supplements, than by continued use of vitamin C. Dietary ascorbic acid protects human sperm from endogenous oxidative DNA damage that otherwise affects sperm quality and increases risk of genetic defects, particularly in populations with low ascorbate status, such as smokers. Oxo8dG is an abbreviation for 8-hydroxyguanosine, and it is a marker for DNA damage. Urine oxo8dG rises in experimental antioxidant deficiency states. In the present research, oxo8dG excretion doubled when dietary ascorbate was lowered from 250 to 5 mg per day. Meanwhile, semen ascorbate dropped by 50 percent. Increasing the ascorbate to 20 mg per day did not prevent further drop in sperm ascorbate concentration. Repletion to 250 mg per day restored seminal ascorbate to 422 mcro Mol but decreased oxo 8dG only a third (36%). Higher than expected endogenous oxidative damage to sperm means that the ascorbate offers critical protection against birth defects and infertility. Antioxidant stress puts the genome at risk; thus the increased leukemia and lymphoma in offspring of smokers may be due to damaged sperm and incomplete repair by ova-derived DNA repair enzymes.[ii] The author observed that seminal plasma iron and copper are bound and thus unavailable to initiate lipid peroxidation. As evidence he cites the fact that oxidative damage is lowered in the presence of increased seminal ascorbic acid and incubation of semen with 60 to 1400 uM of ascorbate did not result in increased oxo8dG, as would be expected if transition metals were available to catalyze this oxidation reaction. Thus, at high levels, iron and copper are well protected in semen and ascorbate does not become pro-oxidant, even when it too is at high concentration. How fitting that vitamin C protects the genome from mutation and enhances fertility. Linus Pauling was right again! Jack Challem has taken this insight a step further. In a brilliant analysis, published in Medical Hypothesis, he introduces the idea that the genetic disease, hypoascorbemia, has hastened human evolution. Dr. Fraga’s paper confirms that idea: DNA materials are indeed increased in animals with low concentrations of ascorbate. That Dr. Fraga chose to dedicate this research 7 years ago to the memory of Linus Pauling on his 90th birthday is a touching gesture, both personally and intellectually. I think it means that the mind of this researcher is in agreement with the orthomolecular philosophy. The scientific genius and integrity of Linus Pauling inspired many fine scientists to conduct their research. On the other hand, the emerging orthomolecular health-medicine movement is as a peanut compared to the mountain of the medical establishment,

which that is supported by governmental and industrial leaders and the media. So great is the disparity that there would be little point to discussion were it not for the fact that in recent years the orthodox establishment doctors and bureaucrats are losing favor with their own constituency! Legislators are shifting funds into new health care delivery systems that are weighted in favor of economics rather than hope. It is a vote of no-confidence in orthodox medicine. And patients are seeking out alternative health practitioners instead of orthodox physicians. This is not a minor trend. In fact, over half of all medical consultations in America now involve chiropractors, acupuncturists and non-psychiatric (non-M.D.) mental health workers. If nutritionists and massage therapists were included in the surveys, the disparity would be even greater. In the eyes of the public, modern medicine has failed as a source of health information and healing! Over half of the public now take vitamins to treat themselves—because their medical doctors are not prepared to do the write a nutrition prescription. That means almost 170,000,000 Americans have decided they cannot rely on their physicians for everyday health information. Instead they are finding “alternative practitioners who offer nutritional services along with whatever else may be their special interest: massage, body movement, hypnosis, past lives, astrology, channeling, bone cracking. Holistic medicine is the combination of non-specific traditional therapy and nutrition therapy. The most powerful factor in alternative medicine is nutrition. It is so powerful, in fact, that health food clerks and untrained personnel are sometimes able to help patients whose doctors fail them. And yet, medical authorities continue to discredit this factor, and in a recent survey on alternative medicine published in the New England Journal, nutrition was mentioned only in regards to weight loss and fitness, training, not medical treatment. The buzzword, “orthomolecular,” which refers to medical nutrition or scientific nutrition was not even mentioned in the survey. The fact is that nutrition has been mostly excluded from consideration in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases other than a handful of fatal deficiency diseases, such as scurvy, pellagra and beriberi for the past 50 years or more. Any physician who treats with vitamins and minerals is still considered somewhat of a quack by his colleagues and is often subjected to ridicule and censure. For this reason physicians have relegated nutrition to the ‘alternative practitioners’ including chiropractors, who have attained real status in the medical arena as healers. Nutrient therapy is a major part of chiropractic practice and a reason why chiropractors have gained credibility. Acupuncture has become popular in the United States only in the past 20 years but most of these practitioners are also familiar with

Chinese herbs, which they administer along with modern nutrient products in their practices as well. Orthodox physicians meanwhile are unfamiliar with these modalities and tend to brush off the questions of their patients—mostly because they lack the training and experience to answer them. The use of the word “alternative” is actually a comfort for the conventional physician, who takes some comfort in the fact that mainstream medicine still dominates the political, economic, and cultural forces. If this trend continues, “alternative practitioners” will increase and orthodox medicine will gradually be relegated to the emergency room and the surgical ward. Private medical practice medicine will dwindle into an executive-clerical job of dispensing medications according to rules generated by committees and policed by the insurance bureaucracy, who rely on computerized code numbers. Who will buy into such an awkward, impersonal, and soul-less bureaucratic medicine, especially when insurance claims are usually paid off at dimes on the dollar? Meantime, chiropractors and acupuncturists are paid by the self-same insurance companies—but with fewer codes and less flak and proportionately higher coverage! It is in the context of this downward trend of the status of orthodox medicine, that the orthomolecular peanut is currently overlooked by almost everyone—except a handful of about 1000 physicians and chiropractors who think of themselves as orthomolecular. This is an important word because, while the number of proponents is small, the power of the concept is very great! Dr. Linus Pauling, the greatest scientific figure of the 20th Century, whose genius influenced the development of physical chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, devoted the last thirty years of his life to orthomolecular medicine. He defined this as “the use of substances that occur naturally in the human body in the maintenance of health and treatment of disease.” Yes, Pauling was referring to vitamins, minerals, amino acids, other nutrients, hormones, enzymes and the like. Nutrition by this new name was now a real threat to the medical establishment and the backlash was fierce. Pauling was vilified, his rebuttals went unpublished in medical journals and those physicians who adopted his philosophy were singled out for censure and even delicensure. Nevertheless an orthomolecular medical society was organized and a new model of medical diagnosis and practice is in the making. Orthomolecular medicine is the most powerful ideology in alternative medicine because it is the only one that unites basic science and clinical practice. The basic science derives from biochemistry, the chemistry of life. Nutrients play a featured role in this science, and an orthomolecular medical practice becomes thereby a practice of applied biochemistry. [i] Berger, TM, Polidori, MC...Frei, B: (1997) Antioxidant activity of vitamin C in iron-overloaded human plasma. J Biol Chem 272,15656-15660.

[ii] Fraga CG, Motchnik PA et al: Ascorbic acid protects against endogenous oxidative DNA damage in human sperm. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 88:11003-11006. 1991.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Is Nutrition a Gamble?

Just when it begins to look as if nutrition is making headway with the health establishment and the media, something comes up to set the clock back 10 or 15 years. The most recent skirmish appeared on page 1 of the New York Times on Sunday, October 26, 1997. The headline defines the article: “In Vitamin Mania, Millions Take a Gamble on Health.” No matter what follows, this article, by Jane Brody, is intended to drive the American people away from vitamin therapy. The words “mania” and “gamble” suggest that nutrient therapy is crazy, without scientific support. Many readers probably read no farther than the headline and instead go back to junk food and extra desserts in celebration of this liberation from the thousands of positive health messages in support of nutrition these past few years. Reading on one learns that about 100 million of us Americans are now spending 6.5 billion dollars a year on vitamin pills and potions, thus “volunteering for a vast largely unregulated experiment with substances that may be helpful, harmful or simply ineffective.” We are reminded that the Food and Drug Administration performs no testing for safety or efficacy because these are considered “dietary supplements” not drugs. And on the next page of this article that fills almost two full pages of the paper, we find a chart depicting basic information about 14 vitamins and minerals, including warnings. This is actually a job well done; however it is ironic to see magnesium linked to fatality in people with kidney disease. Yes, that is possible; but it is very rare because magnesium overdose causes diarrhea, which limits the danger. There is no mention in this article, or any other vitamin critique that I have ever seen, that overdoses of fluoride can also be fatal, especially in people with weak kidneys. Only fluoride does not cause diarrhea; instead it accumulates in the skeleton and soft tissues, including the kidneys, where it hastens damage. Renal disease is often not diagnosed until over half of kidney function is already

lost. The number of people at risk for fluoride toxicity is therefore much higher than the number at possible risk of magnesium overdose. And besides, magnesium is an essential mineral, multiply beneficial for health and protection against coronary artery disease and death. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS! Fluoride, on the other hand, has only one alleged benefit, hardening of dental enamel, conferring some resistance to cavities. And some people are buying fluoride when they don’t have to: it is already in the water and in almost all toothpaste. The danger of over-dose of fluoride is already so great that the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency went against government policy and publicly opposed fluoridation of the nation’s water supply. But you don’t read headlines in the New York Times, or any major newspaper, that call fluoride a huge gamble on the health of the nation. But it is so, and has an even narrower margin of safety than selenium. Unfortunately the toxic effects of fluoride are subtle and usually goes undiagnosed until the bones weaken and break, and by that time it is too late to turn back. On the other hand, the benefits of vitamin therapy are often prompt and unmistakable. The only obstacle to common-sense recognition of the benefits of food, without which we can not be healthy and cannot live at all, is an overly skeptical form of thinking that demands statistical proof in all things. To quote again from the Times: “Until, and unless, long-term studies are performed on large numbers of healthy people who are randomly assigned to take supplements or placebos, the evidence remains indefinite.” No argument with that, but here is the rub: “Given the enormous cost of studies that are years long, the definitive studies may never be conducted.” Now what are we to do: permit a quixotic ideal to prevail over our common sense or go on as people have always done, look in all directions, ask questions, observe, study—and try any reasonable approach to health. In this case, there are about 100 million people taking vitamins. Are they stupid? Are they dying of vitamin overdoses? The answer is: absolutely not. Vitamins are among the safest substances that enter our bodies. They have an exceptional record of safety, even at megadose. The same cannot be said for pharmaceuticals, which are known to causes thousands of deaths every year due to unexpected adverse effects and overdose toxicity. At least when vitamins do cause adverse effects, these are almost always obvious and reversible upon cutting back the dose. Even vitamin A, which is widely propagandized against, is so safe that there are hardly any tragedies to report. On the other hand, the good that vitamins do is often so spectacular that even the experts are astounded. In this same article we are informed of a study that proved vitamin E megadose could prevent cholesterol deposition on artery walls and protect against blood clots that otherwise blockade arterial circulation. Vitamin E therapy at doses over 150 mg per day has been shown to reduce heart attack deaths by almost 50 percent. More recently, a study of 600 men found total cancer deaths reduced by half after supplementation

with selenium at about 3 times the recommended dose of 70 mcg. In addition cancers of prostate, esophagus, colon and lung were dramatically reduced. That doesn’t sound like much of a gamble. Quite the contrary: the greater risk falls on those who do not take nutrient supplements. What makes my blood boil the more at this informative but negatively biased article, is the act that the diets of most Americans do not satisfy the government recommended Dietary Intakes. In fact, the 1987 Food Consumption Survey, which studied almost 6000 adults found that only one in five made food choices that provided as much as two-thirds of the government recommended amounts. That means that the odds of dietary inadequacy are over 80 percent! Why on earth would anyone discourage Americans from using vitamin-mineral supplements as nutrition insurance?! The real gamble is not with vitamins. Just reading this misleading article on “Vitamania” is actually gambling with people’s lives. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Iron Deficiency: More Than Tired Blood

Iron deficiency is the most widely recognized nutritional disorder in America, occurring in upwards of 20 million of us, especially women and growing children. Enrichment of flour with iron, 25 mg per pound, has failed to eradicate the problem and in the 1970's there was a serious move to double the amount of iron in flour. This was averted by the efforts of a very few physicians who realized that the less well known danger of iron overdose was equally great as the problem of anemia—or "tired blood." Iron deficiency has been known since ancient times and there is a reference to it in the Ebers Papyrus that dates back 3500 years. Iron overload has only been recognized in the past century, coming out of studies of a hereditary disease, hemochromatosis, in which excessive iron absorption leads to accumulation in tissues, eventually overloading the natural defenses of the body and causing damage to key organs, such as liver, heart, joints, endocrine glands, kidneys and brain. While the full-blown disease is rare, occurring in only about 5 per 1000 of us, milder forms (recessive type) are not uncommon and there may be as many as 10 percent of us who have this trait for excess iron absorption, i.e. over 20 million people. This may be the most compelling reason to moderate our intake of red meat, since that is the most efficient dietary source of iron. The evidence is certainly sufficient to warn against self-medicating with iron-containing vitamin pills unless there is an actual iron deficiency. Meat contains only 3 grams of iron per usual serving

(about 1/4 pound). Vitamin pills usually contain 6 times that amount, since 18 mg is the RDA for women and women do most of the purchasing of vitamins. Only liver, of all our common foods, comes close to that amount and few people eat liver every day. Vitamin pills, however, are usually taken on a daily basis. Accumulation of iron is not likely to occur in women of childbearing age. Menstrual blood loss is sufficient to prevent accumulation and pregnancy also soaks up the reserves. Men however have no natural means to excrete iron. It does not leave the body in urine, saliva or stools. Therefore if a man does have iron deficiency, bleeding is always suspect, especially from the intestines. Deficiency of iron causes a type of anemia in which the blood cells are rather small sized. This occurs because when iron is deficient, the blood pigment, hemoglobin, cannot be manufactured. However, before the anemia appears, symptoms of low energy and mood depression are common. The diagnosis may be missed unless specific blood tests for iron transport proteins, such as transferrin and ferritin are done. There are also other symptoms that occur with iron deficiency. Low back pain is one of the most common early signs. Iron is a catalyst to vitamin C in the formation of the connective tissue, collagen, that gives our tissues strength. The lumbar spine takes more mechanical stress than any other part of the body because so it is one of the first tissues to complain. Weak fingernails along with cupping of the nail shape also point to iron deficiency. Cracked lips and sore tongue occur because iron is a catalyst for riboflavin (vitamin B2), which produces nucleic acids for cell repair. Resistance to infection also declines when iron is unavailable to catalyze production of hydroxyl ions, one of the chief weapons of the antibacterial white blood cells (neutrophils). The slogan "tired blood,” related to iron deficiency is somewhat misleading. Yes, anemia does occur. But the fatigue is usually caused by loss of iron activation of cytochrome enzymes that are the ultimate releasers of energy from the foods we eat. In addition iron is required as a catalyst to the production of adrenalin-like substances by nerve cells. Without iron, poor mental concentration and low mood are usual. In children, irritability, hyperactivity and learning impairment have been traced to iron deficiency in many cases. It is clear from these facts that iron deficiency is a common, treatable and preventable medical disorder. But that has been appreciated for a long time. On the other hand, iron excess causes a host of symptoms that are even more damaging and equally treatable and preventable. The fact of iron overload is still so new that it has not reached full awareness in either the public or medical mind. A recent study found that even the classic cases of hemochromatosis are incorrectly diagnosed in almost half the cases for at least 5 years after symptoms have become severe!

It is now well known that excess iron is a major cause of oxidative damage to unsaturated fats. Free iron acts as a free radical to induce peroxidation of cell membranes, which contain unsaturated fatty acids. This can damage or destroy cells, particularly in the blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis, the heart muscle, causing heart failure, the liver, causing cirrhosis, and the brain and endocrine glands. Loss of sex drive, probably due to damage to the pituitary gland, is an early symptom of iron overload. Men are likely to notice that sensation is intact but erection is too weak to qualify. Prevention is the best treatment because once symptoms have occurred it is not always possible to reverse them. It is wise, therefore, to avoid taking iron supplements unless iron deficiency is verified by your doctor. This is critically important for men and postmenopausal women, since there is no natural way for the body to get rid of excess iron in these situations. The challenge to the doctor is to make the diagnosis of your iron status before irreversible damage is done. For example, a 1988 report by Dr. Richard Stevens, et al of the National Cancer Institute showed a thirty percent increase in cancer incidence over a ten year period when comparing those with low versus high iron levels. Increased incidence of coronary heart disease has also been linked to iron excess. In fact, this may be the reason why women do not get heart attacks until after menopause, when they no longer lose blood and iron through menstruation. It is even possible that the beneficial action of fish oil and also aspirin is that both are anti-coagulant, thus permitting microscopic blood loss, particularly through the bowel. Dr. Blumer in Switzerland performed intravenous EDTA chelation therapy as a preventive feature in his practice for many years. After 20 years there was a 90 percent reduction in cancer and a 50 percent decline in heart attacks in his patients as compared to a non-chelated group in the same small town. This dramatic benefit was probably due to removal of toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and aluminum by the treatment; but excess iron is also removed. Chelation therapy as a preventive method of detoxification remains controversial in America. However, blood donation at a blood bank is a practical means of helping others as you help yourself. Statistics indicate a 10-year increase in life span amongst regular blood donors. Your doctor can use a routine blood count to diagnose the presence of anemia but this does not by itself identify the iron status. Additional tests, such as transferrin saturation, reflect the amount of iron in transport, and ferritin, tells something about the amount of iron in liver storage. When copper is low, taking iron and vitamin C together causes complication, such as copper depletion, anemia. This occurs because copper and iron share absorptive mechanisms so that extra iron blocks copper uptake. The lower copper cuts back the volume of SOD

enzyme; hence cell membranes are more vulnerable to oxidant damage. Iron attracts oxygen: that is why iron rusts and that is why blood cells, which contain 2/3 of the body's iron supply, can carry oxygen from the lungs to every cell in our bodies. Because iron is chemically reactive, nature packages it within a large molecule, hemoglobin. This ingenious molecule keeps iron from reacting chemically with cell membranes at random, a process that would cause cell death. Instead, iron is tucked safely within the large hemoglobin complex, providing electrons that permit hemoglobin to trade oxygen for hydrogen in the more active and therefore acidic tissues. Thus iron and hemoglobin serve to carry oxygen to the tissues and bring carbon dioxide as carbonic acid back to the lungs, in the process undergoing a color change from the bright red of the arteries to the dark blue of the veins. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Homocysteine: The Key to Heart Attack, Stroke, & Cancer

A series of brilliant research achievements in the past 30 years has confirmed the importance of homocysteine as a PREVENTABLE and TREATABLE factor in blood vessel disease. In fact over 200 research studies already provide a consensus that identifies this molecule as THE strategic factor in heart attacks and strokes, far more powerful than cholesterol and fat. In the first place, cholesterol has vital structural functions in every cell membrane in your body and very low toxicity; whereas homocysteine is a transitory metabolic intermediate. If the chemical pathways to its useful end-products are impaired, homocysteine build-up causes more mischief than any other physiologic "ortho"molecule. The possibility of homocysteine toxicity has been known since 1962, when a rare genetic disease of infancy was linked to high levels of this substance. It has taken over 30 years to verify that homocysteine can and frequently does build up to dangerous levels in many normal people also, especially if they are deficient in vitamins, such as B6, B12 and folic acid and betaine. Because these vitamins are frequently deficient in large-scale health and nutrition surveys, it is now believed that homocysteine is the cause of at least 10 percent of all deaths from heart attack. That amounts to over 50,000 deaths per year in the United States! An important new research, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, shows that by fortifying a breakfast cereal

with folic acid, homocysteine disappears from the blood of patients with coronary heart disease1. The researchers found that it requires at least 400 mcg of supplemental folic acid plus the usual dietary intake in order to remove the risk of homocysteine toxicity and damage. This is a direct challenge to the previous governmental RDA of 200 mcg, which was expected to be entirely available from food. The editorial commentary that accompanied this research carries the headline "Eat Right and Take A Multivitamin." That is an historic first in American medicine. Up until now such research findings have ended with an admonition against vitamin supplementation, and calling for more research instead. This time the editorial calls for raising the RDA for folic acid. Such a bold about-face is based not only on this research but also another recent study of folic acid levels and birth defects,2 which showed that at least 400 mcg of folic acid plus the usual diet is required to achieve maximum prevention of neural tube birth defects, e.g. spina bifida. The Nurse’s Health Study found a roughly 50 percent reduction in coronary artery disease in women with diets rich in B6, folic acid, whether from supplements or diets high in fruits and grains. This was a large study of 80,000 participants and it was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February of 1998. It is the largest study so far that links heart disease and these two nutrients, vitamin B6 and folic acid, which are especially available in orange juice, spinach, bananas, and whole grains--but also in calves liver, pate', red meat (rare), and fish. The researchers found that the greatest protection was at twice the RDA, i.e. a dose of 400 mcg of folic acid and 3 milligrams of vitamin B6. The fact that homocysteine can damage blood vessels was very evident in the original reports of deficient cystathionine synthase enzyme activity in babies who developed brain damage and seizures due to blood vessel damage resembling atherosclerosis. After much research we know that not all such cases die in infancy but about half do suffer blood clots before age 30. That means about half of these genetic cases can go unrecognized into adulthood. Dr. Kilmer McCully, then a research fellow at Harvard, was fascinated by the fact that the arterial damage in these infants closely resembles hardening of the arteries in adults. The infants had premature "aging" of their arteries! However this type of arteriosclerosis was NOT caused by cholesterol and had no evident connection to dietary fat. Instead, it was caused by deficiency of the enzyme, cystathionine beta synthase, and the damage could be prevented by providing megadoses of vitamin B6, to compensate for the genetic enzyme weakness. Dr. McCully wrote a landmark research paper in 1969 in which he suggested that homocysteine might be implicated in coronary heart disease and that research should be conducted to determine if coronary arteriosclerosis could be responsive to vitamin therapy.3 That was about the time Linus Pauling introduced the idea of orthomolecular medicine, which promoted the idea that nutrients are

the "right molecules" for prevention and treatment of disease. Both men were ridiculed for advocating vitamin therapy but McCully has lived long enough to enjoy vindication. Homocysteine is a classic example of orthomolecular medicine because most cases can be effectively treated with vitamins. Homocysteine is formed when the essential amino acid, methionine, loses a carbon atom, one of its physiological actions. The carbon atom also carries 3 hydrogen atoms, and it is quickly transferred to other molecules in a process called methylation. Methylation thus refers to the transfer of a carbon atom from methionine to other molecules. This is a vital process in biochemistry and requires cofactors, such as folic acid, cobalamin (B12), choline, betaine, and possibly dimethylglycine, all of which can transfer methyl groups. For example, methylation is required in order to form creatine for muscle energy, carnitine for cell energy throughout the body, taurine for cell membrane stability and cholesterol excretion, glucosamine for maintaining connective tissues and joint surfaces, phospholipids for cell regulation (PS) and cell structure (PC), and spermine for cell growth. The methyl group is one of the smallest units of organic biochemistry, a single carbon atom with three hydrogens in attendance, but it has the ability to form electronic bonds with other atoms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur as well as oxygen. Methyl is one of the the most active players in the chemistry of life and homocysteine is one of the transport factors that carries the methyl carbons to their appropriate reaction sites. In the process homocysteine is transmuted into methionine, cystathionine, and adenosyl homocysteine, but only if the co-factor vitamins, amino acids, minerals and enzymes are in balance. For example, in order to become cystathionine, homocysteine must join with the amino acid, serine, in a reaction that requires a synthase enzyme and adequate amounts of activated vitamin B6, i.e. pyridoxal phosphate. The enzyme, cystathionine synthase, was at first believed to be the whole story, and that excess homocysteine was due only to a genetic defect in this enzyme. Now we know that it is also a dietary problem, related to vitamin B6, which acts as a co-enzyme. That is, cystathione synthase enzyme requires vitamin B6 in order to reach full activity. Dr. McCully suggested that mild genetic damage, (heterozygous), might cause sub-clinical cases that could respond to treatment with vitamin B6 therapy. He theorized that this might explain the observation that vitamin B6 deficiency provokes arteriosclerosis. Now we know that the synthase enzyme was only one of seven enzyme defects that can cause homocysteine to build up to toxic levels. In particular, blockade of methylene tetrahydrofolic reductase (MeTHF reductase) is now recognized as more common and therefore more important. A remarkable research in support of the homocysteine-heart theory was published in 19764. Patients with premature atherosclerosis,

confirmed by angiogram, showed high homocysteine levels after taking a loading dose of the amino acid, methionine. Healthy controls did not. This eye-catching study did not open the door to the homocysteine paradigm but it did encourage research and by 1995 there were enough studies for a meta-analysis, bringing together results of 27 studies. Boushey5 concluded that homocysteine is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease, i.e. heart attack, stroke, and blockage of arteries and veins of the legs. He estimates that it causes 10 percent of the risk of heart attack and that the risk is graded, i.e. the higher the homocysteine level, the greater the individual risk. Statistical analysis shows 15 mM/L to be high risk (95 percentile), while 11 mM is the upper limit of the mean (75 percentile). Previous to this analysis, homocysteine data was misleading and was rated as moderate (15-30), intermediate (30-100) and severe (>100)6, which gave a false sense of security in interpreting results of testing. The reason for the discrepancy is simply that these numbers were intended for research into genetics, not clinical use. Full-blown enzyme deficiency (homozygous) causes blood homocysteine over 400 mM/L. ?Mild? cases (heterozygous) typically have blood levels of 20 to 40 mM, sufficient to be ?mildly fatal.' This is especially important amongst French Canadians, who have recently been found at high risk, almost 40 percent bearing a mutant MeTHF reductase enzyme, which exaggerates the homocysteine level if they are folic acid deficient. In general it is now believed that vitamin inadequacies, especially low folic acid, account for two thirds of all cases of high homocysteine. So far no conclusive study has been carried out to determine if correction of homocysteine will improve cardiovascular disease outcomes--but it is almost certain. Other conditions that increase homocysteine levels are pernicious anemia, low thyroid, and kidney disease. Victims of end-stage renal disease typically develop accelerated atherosclerosis also. Since B12 is a co-factor with folic acid in the remethylation process that transforms homocysteine into methionine, it is logical to expect a similar increase in homocysteine in case of B12 deiciency. Thus it is no surprise to find that of 434 patients with B12 deficiency7, almost all had homocysteine above 95 percentile (15 mM/L). Excess homocysteine is associated with several types of cancer, including breast, ovary and pancreas, and I have noticed a tendency for bone metastases in patients with high homocysteine. It may be a good idea to treat all cancer patients with folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. For the same reason, I am wary of treating with methotrexate as it blocks folic acid and thus increases homocysteine levels. This inevitably must provoke platelet clots, growth factors and metastases, though I have seen no research paper on this subject to date (1998). . Other medications are also known to increase homocysteine levels.

Anticonvulsants, particularly phenytoin (Dilantin™) are notorious folic acid inhibitors. Pancreatic enzyme supplements, also seem to interfere with folate absorption!8 Theophylline is believed to inhibit activation of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal phosphate) and caffeine is also chemically similar and associated with high homocysteine. Cigarette smoke has also been implicated and cigarette smokers have lower B6 levels than non-smokers and therefore higher homocysteine levels. In order to underscore the importance of homocysteine and the extent of the supporting research, the next few paragraphs are a brief summary of the most important studies that have reached mainstream acceptance by the medical community. In 1985 Boers9 tested 75 patients with vascular disease and found nearly a third of those with cerebral and peripheral vascular disease also had high homocysteine. In 1991 Clarke10 measured homocysteine after loading doses of methionine in his patients with premature vascular disease. He found 42 percent of those with cerebral disease, 28 percent of those with peripheral vessel disease and 30 percent of those with heart attack had high homocysteine. The relative risk of coronary artery disease in these patients was over 20 times higher than in a comparison group with normal homocysteine. In 1988 Boers tested 32 patients with high homocysteine after treating them with vitamin B6 250 mg, and 5 mg of folic acid if they were deficient. This normalized homocysteine in 81 percent. After adding 6000 mg of betaine, the results were 100 percent! This was an example of megavitamin therapy on all counts: B6 was given at 100 times RDA, folic acid at 50 times the then RDA, and betaine was given by the teaspoonful as there was no RDA. Before then one was likely to be called a quack for offering such treatment. After Boers broke the ice, many other studies then succeeded in bracketing the required doses. Brattstrom found a 52% drop in homocysteine after 5 mg doses of folic acid in healthy subjects, also in 1988. Five years later a more definitive study was performed by Ubbink, who observed a similar 55 % drop in high homocysteine subjects (over 16.3 mM/L) when treated with only 1 mg folic but combined with 50 mcg of B12 and 10 mg of B6. A year later Ubbink fine-tuned his study by using a placebo group. The placebo had no effect on homocysteine, of course, but to a skeptical audience, it was a necessary demonstration. Ubbink also tested folic acid at a lower dose, only 650 mcg, and found only 42 % lowering in high homocysteine subjects. This same dose of folic acid got better results when combined with B12 and B6. On the other hand a 10 mg dose of B6 by itself lowered homocysteine only 5%; and 400 mcg doses of B12 alone managed only 15% reductions. So it became clear that the key player in homocysteine therapy is folic acid and that doses as high as 650 mcg reach only 80 percent efficiency. Since the RDA is only 400 mg per day, it is likely that many people, otherwise well-informed, are still at unnecessarily increased risk for heart attack, stroke and cancer metastasis.

The Physicians’ Health Study11 followed 14, 916 men for over seven years during which there were 271 heart attacks, of which 19 were attributed to homocysteine (7 percent). When homocysteine scores were analyzed, those above 15 mM/L (95 percentile) were at three times greater risk than those below 14 mM (90 percentile). Thus, a 12 percent increase, the difference between 14 mM and 15 mM, was associated with a triple increase in risk of heart attack. Other studies show that our norms for homocysteine are still too high and need to be lowered further. For example, Dr. Selhub12 found the incidence of carotid artery narrowing is increased. between 11.4 and 14.3mM/L. Dr. Graham?s large study in Europe takes it even lower. His study compared fasting levels of homocysteine in atherosclerosis patients and healthy controls. The 750 atherosclerosis patients averaged 11.3 mM/L; but 800 normal controls averaged only 9.7. A methionine challenge test revealed an additional 27 percent of patients with high homocysteine that otherwise would have been missed. That is a lot of possible error in testing for a disease as lethal as this and for which there is a cure. In 1988 the National Research Council increased the official Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for folate and B6. Will we see changes in the public health as a result? Certainly! The impact on cardiovascular disease will lead to better health and longevity of such magnitude as to make this the biggest public health event of the second half of the 20th Century. [1] Malinow MR, Duell PB, Hess DL et al: Reduction of plasma homocyst(e)ine levels by breakfast cereal fortified with folic acid in patients with coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med 1998;338:1009-15. [2] Daly S, Mill JL, Molloy AM et al. Minimum effective dose of folic acid for food fortification to prevent neural-tube defects. Lancet 1997;350:1666-9 [3] McCully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Am J Pathol 1969;56:111-28. [4] Wilcken DEL, Wilcken B. The pathogenesis of coronary artery disease: a possible role for methionine metabolism. J Clin Invest 1976;57:1079-82. [5] Boushey CJ, Beresford SA, Omenn GS, Motulsky AG. A quantitative assessment of plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease: probable benefits of increasing folic acid intakes. JAMA 1995;274:1049-57. [6] Kang SS, Wong PW, Malinow MR. Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia as a risk factor for occlusive vascular disease. Ann Rev Nutr 1992;12:279-98.

[7] Savage DG, Lindenbaum J, Stabler SP et al. Sensitivity of serum methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine determinants for diagnosing cobalamin and folate deficiencies. Am J Med 1994;96:239-46. [8] Russell RM, et al: Impairment of folic acid absorption by oral pancreatic extracts. Dig Dis Sci 25:369-73, 1980. [9] Boers GHJ, Smals AGH, Trijbels FJM et al. Hyperhomocysteinemia: an independent risk factor for vascular disease. N Engl J Med 1991;324:1149-55. [10] Clarke R, Daly L, Robinson K et al. Hyperhomocysteinemia: an independent risk factor for vascular disease. N Engl J Med 1991;324:1149-55. [11] Stampfer MJ, Malinow MR, Willett WC et al. A prospective study of plasma homocyst(e)ine and riskof myocardial infarction in US physicians. JAMA 1992;268:877-81. [12] Selhub J, Jacques PF, Bostom AG et al. Association between plasma homocysteine concentrations and extracranial carotid-artery stenosis. N Engl J Med 1995;332:286-91 [13] Graham IM, Daly LE, Refsum HM, et al. Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease: the European concerted action project. JAMA 1997;277:1775-81.

Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

Heart Foods, Heart Frauds

For the past 60 years coronary artery disease has been like a plague on Western Nations taking its toll in the form of pain, disability and death. Literally half of all American deaths in that time are related to this disease. Such an epidemic of heart attacks has never-before occurred in all human history. To assuage our anxiety in the face of this mysterious disease that loomed especially large over the life of almost every male between age 40 and 70 and every female over age 60, our government has had to wage a crusade. And that requires an enemy. That public enemy has been identified as a molecule, a fatty alcohol, a normal part of every cell membrane in the human body and a source of the steroid hormones that regulate sex, stress, calcium and electrolytes—the major activities of mammalian biology. Yes, it is cholesterol that has taken the rap.

Cholesterol and the surgeon general have been to the second half of the 20th Century what sex and Freud were to the first half—an obsession. And this obsession is supported by our health bureaucracy, who would have us join their crusade to accept a low fat, low cholesterol diet as our salvation. And if that should fail, we can sing ‘hallelujah’ as we submit to coronary angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery by-bass grafts. HEART FOODS: LOW FAT, LOW CHOLESTEROL The health establishment has allocated several billions of dollars to educate the American public in the virtues of a low fat, low cholesterol diet even without proof that this actually rewards us with a drop in over-all mortality. For the past 25 years anyone who dared challenge the cholesterol theory ran afoul of the establishment. One sad case involves a medical genius named Kilmer McCully. He originated the idea that high protein diets, particularly animal proteins, such as meat, fish, fowl, milk, cheese and eggs, could cause heart attacks because they contain methionine, an essential amino acid. That was way back in 1968 and it was so contrary to conventional thinking that it was rejected by practically every scientist of the day. How could an essential nutrient in food be lethal? That seemed to be a conundrum beyond anyone’s imagining. Somehow the herd couldn’t see the parallel to cholesterol, an essential food substance that was and is believed to be a major cause of “hardening of the arteries.” HOMOCYSTEINE THEORY McCully was very impressed by observing atherosclerosis and heart attacks in very young children with a then newly described genetic disease, homocystinuria. The chemistry involved deficiency of enzymes required to convert methionine into cystathionine. Homocysteine is produced as an intermediate, which normally transforms into cystathionine, which is used in the brain and as a source of the important antioxidants, cysteine and taurine. If the reaction is blocked then homocysteine can accumulate. Specific enzymes are needed to convert homocysteine into safe products, such as this transamination into cystathionine, a reaction that requires vitamin B6, or re-methylation, which recycles methionine, in a reaction that takes a carbon (methyl) from folic acid and transfers it to homocysteine, thus making methionine. This is nature’s way of conserving and re-using this essential amino acid. Dr. McCully wondered if there might be a mild form of homocystinuria which would spare the child but eventually kill the adult and he wrote a landmark paper on this subject in 1969. The implications were obvious: the high protein intake of affluent America could be a death trap for some, especially if folic acid, B12, and B6 were deficient, these vitamins being co-factors of the sometimes weak enzymes. For being too far ahead of his time he was laughed off the stage and out of his job at Harvard University. The conventional medical mind of that time could not accept the possibility that megadoses of vitamins could be useful against disease. Megavitamins

have been subject to repeated and unnecessary warnings by conventional authorities and especially mainstream medical journals. As a result, the public has been denied relief and their physicians have been scared off the track! That is also why my book, Meganutrition, drew a wall of silence from my colleagues. NEW RESEARCH In the past ten years there have been a series of research studies confirming McCully’s hypothesis, including the idea that larger doses of vitamins folic acid, B12, B6 and betaine can clear the homocysteine and prevent damage. The most recent publication presents a graph depicting blood levels of homocysteine compared to mortality rates in patients with coronary artery disease already diagnosed by angiography. This was a prospective study in which 587 patients were studied after diagnosis by coronary arteriogram. Of these 318 were treated with by-pass, 120 by angioplasty and 149 by medical drugs only. After 5 years (average 4.6 years) there were 64 deaths. Those with entry homocysteine below 9 uM/L had the lowest mortality. By comparison, those above 20 uM had a 4.5 times higher death rate! Hereditary homocystinuria causes collagen damage in the eye, joints and blood vessels in childhood and the blood levels are usually over 100 uM. Even a small increase, 10 to 20 uM in the blood can cause osteoporosis in menopausal women and death in patients with coronary artery disease. LABORATORY TESTING OF HOMOCYSTEINE I had been impressed 20 years ago that homocysteine is dangerous because it is very reactive molecule, believed to unravel the collagen in the arterial wall. In fact, it reacts with so many substances and is so easily oxidized that it is technically difficult isolate and measure pure homocysteine. Most laboratories test for mixed disulfides instead. I had also been discouraged by finding such low levels of homocysteine in my patients. Now that we know these low levels correlate reliably with extent of mortality we should have more confidence in using the test data. From now on homocysteine testing should be a routine procedure in all patients with suspected coronary artery disease. The level of homocysteine is predictive. LABORATORY TESTING OF VITAMINS You might wonder if it will help to measure B6, B12 and folic acid. Surprisingly not! Homocysteine is dangerously high even in the presence of normal levels of these vitamins. It is not a vitamin deficiency problem only; rather it is usually a genetic weakness of the coenzyme. The vitamins are required in large doses to overcome the enzyme weakness. In order to lower the homocysteine level, therapeutic doses of vitamins B6, B12, betaine and folic acid are required. This is megadose therapy. That means folic acid dosages of at least 1 mg per day and up to 10 mg per day are required, as well as B12 1000 mcg, B6 100 mg or more and betaine 600 to 1200 mg per day.

COPPER DEPLETION: ANOTHER MECHANISM OF DAMAGE Homocysteine is said to be directly reactive with collagen but it also reacts indirectly, by forming a bond with copper (the negatively charged carboxyl group of homocysteic acid attracts the positive charge on copper), thus removing this trace metal from the blood vessel wall. This interferes with a key enzyme, lysyl lyase, needed to catalyze lysine cross-linking. The cross linking of lysine is requires in order to strengthen collagen. The constant wear and tear on blood vessels, due to trauma, movement, viruses, pesticides, and immune reactions, requires ongoing repair. Copper deficiency interferes with the lyase enzyme needed for cross-linking of collagen, and thus causes defective repair of the blood vessel wall. Copper deficiency is common, affecting about 70 percent of Americans, because of lack of consistent intake of whole grains, seeds, nuts, mushrooms and shellfish. Those who are subject to excess homocysteine are clearly at extra risk of death, due not only to atherosclerosis, defective repair of the wear and tear damage to the intimal lining of the blood vessels, which is not fatal, but due to thrombosis, which is caused by platelets that are attracted to the ragged collagen, accumulate, release clotting factors, and create a clot, which can block the lumen of the already narrowed vessel. NUTRIENT THERAPY Anticoagulant activity can prevent the thrombosis and that is why fish oils, flax oil, and vitamin E are protective: each cuts heart attack deaths by about 50 percent, because they prevent platelet clumping, which otherwise can initiate blood coagulation and thrombosis. Even in the presence of homocysteine and copper deficiency, anti-coagulation prevents death. All of which highlights the fact that cholesterol is not the villain it has been made out to be. It just happens to accumulate in areas of repair, possibly a mishap of Mother Nature’s attempt at repair. At least it is not an insurmountable health hazard. And low fat, low cholesterol diets, which avoid seeds, nuts and shellfish, do not solve the more fundamental needs for vitamin E, trace minerals, and copper, which are unusually well supplied in these foods. In fact, they can make it worse in those who may be particularly sensitive to lack of these nutrients. HEART FRAUDS But even if that were not so, the case for invasive procedures, such as angioplasty and by-pass graft surgery is not strong enough to deserve the high status that they now have. In fact, one critic, Dr. Charles T. McGee, (M.D.) contends that there is inherent fraud in the present situation. He calls it “The Misapplication of high technology in heart disease,” because by-pass surgery is advertised and sold to millions of desperate patients at great cost but without proven benefit. His book, Heart Frauds, published in 1993

(MediPress, Coeur d’Alene, ID) presents scientific studies that prove that X-ray angiograms do NOT reliably diagnose coronary artery blockage; and that by-pass surgery does NOT extend life-span. On the other hand, he also documents orthomolecular therapies that have been proven to reverse coronary atherosclerosis. And he emphasizes that because these therapies are denied or ignored—many patients needlessly die. NUTRITION IS A BARGAIN I am impressed that by adjusting the balance of nutrients in diet and with the addition of supplements, true miracles of rejuvenation are possible—and at relatively low cost. It is macabre that the medical profession supports the use of Coronary Artery By-pass Graft (CABG), a $30,000 surgery that does not yield any survival advantage; but fails to teach the public that antioxidant therapies confer at least a 50 percent advantage, ie. decreased coronary death rate, in the first decade after starting on vitamin therapy. That’s what public health is all about: teaching people to take advantage of the facts! To fail at this is negligence, incompetence or fraud. Dr. McGee takes the latter view, therefore his title, “Heart Frauds.” Beyond the by-pass fraud, he argues that our political and medical authorities persist in support of obsolete and harmful strategies, such as the promotion of margarines and hydrogenated oils, continuing the multi-billion dollar anti-cholesterol campaign, and then failing to educate the public about the proven benefits associated with the use of vitamin E and carotene. Dr. McGee considers this to be “incredible negligence.” A BOOK TO READ Heart Frauds is an expose; it tells it like it is. I expected as much from Dr. McGee because he was one of the charter members of the Orthomolecular Medical Society at its founding in 1976. I knew at the time that his formal medical training was in surgery and gynecology, but his first book, How to Survive Modern Technology, published in 1979, proved that he was not merely specialized in diseases of women but that he understood the impact of environmental pollution and food technology on human degenerative diseases. His first book deftly summarized the orthomolecular and environmental therapies, including megavitamin therapy, desensitization of allergies, and detoxification of pollutants. His new book, Heart Frauds, is every bit as incisive as the first. Heart attacks still take almost half a million lives every year in the United States and one of them was Dr. McGee’s father, who died of a heart attack when McGee was in medical school over thirty years ago. This tragedy motivated Dr. McGee to follow the complicated and often contradictory research in cardiology, from Framingham to the Lipid Clinics studies, thus building his authority and his ability to see that Medicine has failed thus far to solve the riddle of coronary artery disease.

No less mysterious is the fact that heart attacks have declined by almost 50 percent in the past 20 years. Cholesterol is clearly not the answer because dietary cholesterol intake has been unchanged throughout the years. Nevertheless the experts seem to be convinced that angina (chest pain) and infarction (heart attacks) occur because cholesterol invades the walls of our arteries and forms plaque that gradually blocks the flow of blood. Since that has been regarded as irreversible, Coronary Artery By-pass Graft (CABG) surgery has become an accepted treatment. The development of heartlung machines and safe anesthetic techniques, has made it possible to provide about 400,000 such surgeries each year in this country and about 300,000 balloon angioplasties are also performed, in which a catheter is threaded into the artery and inflated so as to enlarge the channel. Worldwide there are now about 800,000 by pass surgeries performed each year! I agree that the technology is awesome; but the point that Dr. McGee makes in his book is that most of the time these procedures are unnecessary. In the past first place, there is abundant evidence that the usual method of diagnosis of coronary artery blockage, the angiogram, is unreliable unless it is done by the method of quantitative imaging. Even more startling: the injection of dye can cause the coronary vessels to go into spasm, thus producing X-ray pictures that look like blockage—but are not! Can a 2 dimensional X ray picture really provide a diagnosis in a 3 dimensional patient, who lives in the fourth dimension, time? If the result of by-pass surgery were a guaranteed increase in longevity, one could make a case for CABG; but in fact no evidence of increased longevity exists, especially not for those with only minimal damage to the left ventricle of the heart, the main pumping chamber. By means of a non-invasive procedure, echocardiogram, the ejection fraction can be measured. If this is normal, the left ventricle is functional and surgery offers no extra years of survival. This turns out to be the case for over half of the patients who are considered for CABG because of chest pain or abnormal electrocardiogram tests. About all that can be expected is a significant degree of relief of angina, chest pain, after the surgery. ORNISH PROVED DIET WORKS BETTER How does that stand up in the face of the demonstration by Dr. Dean Ornish that 85 percent of patients with coronary heart disease can reverse their artery blockage by means of a vegetarian diet, exercise and anti-stress training, such as meditation. This means that 5 out of 6 heart patients can open their blocked arteries without surgery. They can heal themselves! We also know that in many cases the heart can gradually develop new blood vessels that by-pass the blocked vessel. In many cases the angina resolves this way and the individual gets a new lease on life that may hold for many years, even decades, even without treatment. I have seen this in my own patients treated with antioxidants, vitamins, trace minerals and

omega-3 fatty acids, and without exercise, meditation or a low fat, low cholesterol, vegetarian diet. In fact one of my patients survived twenty years on my treatment regimen before he accepted a by-pass surgery. Why did he suddenly need surgery? He had continued to smoke cigarettes all that time but in the last year or more he had stopped taking his vitamin supplements. Human nature? Lack of follow-up reinforcement after so many years? Does the proven success of the Ornish Diet mean that all other medical therapies are obsolete? Strictly speaking, yes. But not everyone is motivated or well enough organized to adopt such a regimen. Some react adversely to low fat diet, which can induce digestive disturbances, hypoglycemia, nervous irritability and depression. Some of us just do not like vegetables. And besides, other medical approaches are still entrenched: diuretics, antihypertensive, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, vasodilators, and cholesterol-lowering drugs all have their advocates. And the surgical treatments are pretty hard to refuse when you think your life is on the line. But there are a few statistics that are equally compelling. CHD VS CABG: EQUAL SURVIVAL RATES For example, the expected death rate from coronary artery disease is about 2 percent per year. But the death rate from coronary artery by-pass surgery can run higher than that—up to 4% at some hospitals and higher in less competent hands. Granted, as experience and techniques have improved, operative mortality has declined; but there is another side to the story that deserves to be appreciated: 10 year survival after by-pass surgery in patients with intact heart function is about the same after surgery (86 %) as with drugs and diet (82%). In the 780 patients of the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS), only those patients with impaired function of the left heart ventricle had a survival advantage from by-pass surgery: 80% compared to 59% in the medical group. CABG HEART AND CABBAGE HEAD Because of the variability from one study to the next, it has been difficult to arrive at an over-all estimate of benefits and risk. Brain damage after by-pass surgery is not rare. In fact it is a big problem, much greater than operative mortality. A recent study of over 2000 patients in 24 hospitals in 1991-1993 surveyed neurological injury associated with by-pass surgery, and found that over 6 percent of the patients had neurological complications, about evenly divided between strokes and senile degeneration. Over-all, the operation carried 2 percent mortality, almost identical to the mortality in coronary patients who do not elect to have the by-pass surgery. In case of paralytic stroke, the in-hospital death rate increased to 21 percent; double the rate seen in senile type confusion or seizures. [1] McCully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Am J Pathol 1969;

56:111-28. [2] Alderman et al. Circulation 1990;82:1629-1646. [3] Roach GW, Kanchuger M, Mangano CM et al. Adverse cerebral outcomes after coronary bypass surgery. New Engl J Med 1996; 335:1857-1863. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Fatigue: the Most Common Symptom

Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms that brings a patient to the doctor. The causes are numerous and, in fact, it can accompany almost any illness. The presence of fatigue is, however, an important indicator of serious disease. In 1979 Dr. Cuyler Hammond's report on the 20 year long Cancer Prevention Study, which surveyed over a million Americans, found that a positive answer to the question "do you fatigue easily?" was predictive of a higher death rate from disease, including cancer, than any other question! Chronic fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is not a new disease; however in the past few years it has seemingly increased in frequency and severity. After a large number of cases were reported in 1984 at Incline Village, Nevada, the National Institute of Health assigned a full time researcher. When calls for information went over 1000 per month, Center for Disease Control launched a million dollar investigation and assigned a hot-line number (404-332-4555). A national conference was held in San Francisco in mid-1989 and a formal definition of CFS was accepted by CDC, giving it new disease status. This includes 11 symptoms and 3 physical signs but essentially it is defined as newly occurring persistent or relapsing fatigue that reduces activity below 50 percent of normal for at least six months. Flu-like symptoms, including fever, sore throat, painful lymph nodes and muscle weakness and pain, as well as headache, insomnia, irritability and mood depression also occur. The consensus was that CSF is a disease, possibly reflects a new organism or virus and occurs in about 5 percent of patients with fatigue. The diagnosis of fatigue syndrome is only the latest in a long list of labels to denote this common symptom. In the late 19th Century and until the 1940's it was called neurasthenia, a French word that translates literally, weak nerves. This term was removed from the manual of psychiatric diagnosis only a decade ago and replaced by the diagnosis, depression. Hypochondriasis is another label

traditionally offered in explanation of those who suffer chronic fatigue. Faced with a disabling condition and no apparent diagnosis, the doctor of the past was commonly tempted to resort to a psychologic diagnosis. Doctor’s offices are now equipped to diagnose viruses and so doctors are more likely to consider viruses in puzzling cases. Epstein Barr, Herpes and Cytomegalo viruses have all been researched but found to be present no more in fatigue patients than the rest of us. So strongly does the CSF case profile fit the syndrome of viral illness, including sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in many cases, that UCSF virologist Jay Levy suggests that it is "a new agent, not readily recoverable or we would have found it." Patients seem to identify with the concept of "stress." In a survey of almost 300 fatigue patients in San Francisco, over half blamed stress. This is unlikely to be the cause though it can evidently aggravate the syndrome of disabling fatigue. When present stressful circumstances are obvious; however, stress is an ever-present part of life and we are designed to adapt and become stronger thereby—and we do if we are not first sick, toxic or depleted. In this regard, a survey by Dr. Carol Jessop, of 1100 CSF patients, 80 percent reported recurrent infections as children, acne as adolescents and chronic bowel problems, hives, headaches and anxiety attacks. Over 90 percent had high cholesterol levels. This certainly points to pre-existing illness, depletion and toxicity. She also reported recovery in about 60 percent after treatment with a sugar free diet and ketoconazole (Nizoral) for presumed yeast infection (Candida). This intriguing finding has persuaded many that Candida is a cause of CSF and that the removal of dietary sugars removes the favorite food of the yeast organism so that it will be less likely to relapse after drug treatment. The high frequency of responders to Nizoral has encouraged many doctors to prescribe this sometimes dangerous drug on presumptive evidence, ie. no actual identification of yeast organisms. This has generated a very heated controversy, not yet resolved. It is as likely that the success of Nizoral is due to its chemical action, which blocks cortisone synthesis. Isn't that a paradox? CSF is aggravated by stress and yet here is a treatment that works by interfering with the anti-stress hormone! How can that be? One possible way is via the amino acid, tryptophan, which breaks down into a toxic by-product, xanthurenic acid. Cortisone promotes this directly by enzyme activation. Viral infections do so indirectly via gamma interferon, which stimulates the same enzyme, tryptophan oxidase. The effect is to shunt tryptophan into the manufacture of xanthurenic acid, which is known to cause auto-immune symptoms, such as muscle inflammation and pain. It also can cause diabetes, ie. blood sugar disturbance; hence the success of therapy that restricts sugars. And by blocking cortisone Nizoral prevents the production of toxic xanthurenic acid.

Modern medicine relies on differential diagnosis to assure completeness in reviewing possible causes of disease. There are ten general categories to be considered: 1) nutrition; 2) metabolic; 3) toxic; 4) infection; 5) allergy; 6) intestinal malabsorption; 7) cancer; 8) trauma; 9) genetic; 10) psychologic. Each of these categories of illness can cause fatigue and a complete discourse would fill a textbook. I put nutrition first because it is the most common cause of general fatigue and always a factor in treatment. Nutrition surveys in our country document widespread deficiency of folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc, all of which influence energy and immune power. Iron and vitamin B1 are both crucial to energy and endurance and both are commonly at risk, especially in women and adolescents. Vitamin A deficiency must be considered in all who are chronically ill or taking medication. Vitamin C deficiency causes severe fatigue early on, within a few weeks at low intake. In the many Americans who do not eat fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables or take vitamin pills, this is a problem. Amino acids can be important, especially methionine, which is often low in vegetarian diets and in those actively reducing intake of animal products. Coenzyme Q is often remarkably helpful in these cases. Lysine is at risk in those whose diets consist mostly of cooked foods, especially foods cooked in the presence of sugars. Essential Fatty Acids, particularly the omega-3 variety, are generally low in our diet and their replenishment is often followed by a boost in energy level. Vitamin E, which is depleted by diets high in polyunsaturates, is also an energy booster. Nutrition deficiency is aggravated by any intestinal disorder. Food intolerances, particularly milk and wheat, commonly cause chronic inflammation. Infection with the parasite, Giardia lamblia, often found in public water supplies in America if unfiltered, can cause chronic bowel inflammation. Intestinal diagnosis is often hard to pin down and symptoms are not always severe enough to be diagnosable. However chronic irritation can cause malabsorption and measurement of vitamins, minerals and amino acids is often the most sensitive evidence. Environmental pollution has been suspect in CSF, particularly since some researchers have found cell membrane damage similar to effects of the organic chlorine pesticides, such as DDT, chlordane, lindane and dioxins, chemicals that linger in the body for decades. In my own series of 100 patients, fatigue was not increased in the high organochlorine group. However I have seen chronic fatigue in patients with low cholinesterase levels, an indication of sensitivity to malathion and other organophosphates, the most common pesticides now in use. A blood test to measure cholinesterase in plasma and red blood cells is indicated in CSF. Treatment of fatigue states is most likely to be effective if directed to a specific diagnosis; hence laboratory testing is recommended. In addition to the nutrient factors above, there are

tests to identify metabolic problems, such as: thyroid excess or deficiency, hypoglycemia or diabetes, parathyroid disorder, adrenal excess or deficiency and other hormonal disorders. Specific testing is also available to identify toxic metals. such as mercury from dental amalgam and house paints; aluminum from antacids, medications and cooking with fluoridated water in aluminum containers. Lead pollution is decreasing in the United States since the Lead Paint Control Act of 1974 but the hazard from remodeling, earthenware and pewter is still present. The hair mineral test panel is the most convenient and inexpensive screening test for exposure to lead and mercury. It can also measure fluoride. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Cyanide Poisoning: A Low-fat Diet Disease

Diets low in fat and high in vegetables have become increasingly popular in the past few years. Major medical journals are now endorsing low fat and vegetarian diets as a health strategy.i However there may be a downside to the low fat health diet. In 1991 we began hearing reports of large numbers of people with blindness and nerve damage in Cuba. Over 50,000 cases have been reported,ii almost one victim for every two hundred people in Cuba, a country of about 10 million. Half the cases involved loss of vision and the others suffered pain and numbness. Imagine if that were to happen in the United States, with a population of 250 million: there would be almost a million Americans, some of them totally blind and others complaining of a dark cloud, blind spots and loss of color vision, and an equally large group with tingling, burning pain and numbness. Would that not be our number one national health problem? You bet. What caused the Cuban epidemic? Pesticide exposure was at first suspected because of the greater number of cases in the agricultural areas. But why now and not for the many years of pesticide use before? Case control studies have implicated tobacco smoking, vitamin B complex deficiency, being underweight-and a diet low in animal fat and protein. Most of the patients improved when given injections of B vitamins; and in 1993 supplements of B complex and vitamin A were provided as public health measures in Cuba. Within two months there was a dramatic drop in the number of cases and the epidemic was under control. In retrospect it is easy to see that the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union had imposed hardship conditions in Cuba

as Russian subsidies came to an end and meat and dairy products, fats and oils were in short supply. Cubans were forced to adopt a low fat, low animal, high carbohydrate diet. Sound familiar? The Cuban national diet is actually similar to the recently popular Pritikin-Ornish diet for arteriosclerosis and the macrobiotic diet for cancer-except that in Cuba even rice and beans are rationed and the people have increased their intake of cassava as a cheap, home-grown substitute. We know cassava in the U.S. as tapioca; and we use it to make puddings and desserts and as a substitute for flour in Asian cookery. As a staple it is tasty and fairly nourishing but it is also toxic, for it is well known to contain cyanogenic glycosides, a natural source of cyanide.iii As a therapy for malaria, sickle-cell disease and perhaps for some cancers, these plant cyanides have medical value. As a steady diet, however, they require detoxification into thiocyanate, a process that depletes our antioxidant systems. The 'thio' of thiocyanate comes from the sulfur amino acids, cysteine and methionine, which are also essential to a number of vital enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase, the major natural enzyme antioxidant of cell membranes. Thiocyanate carries similar electronic charge and size characteristics as iodide; hence it substitutes for iodide, enters the thyroid gland, and blocks the production of the thyroid hormone, thyroxine. A low thyroid state interferes with vitamin A production, essential to regeneration of the retinal pigments and healing of the retina. Night blindness and retinal damage are only the most obvious of the consequences, for vitamin A is required for healing and repair in every cell of the body. Thiocyanate levels increase after cigarette smoking because of cyanogens in tobacco leaf. Thus, thiocyanate can amplify retinal damage along with carbon monoxide and nicotine. Nicotine is toxic, of course, but it is not known to cause eye damage. Carbon monoxide, however, blocks the transport of oxygen from hemoglobin to the tissues, and this adds to the damage caused by cyanide, which blocks the cytochrome enzymes within cells, thus preventing oxygen transfer inside the mitochondria of the cells. The combination of carbon monoxide and cyanide is worse than either alone so that even at relatively low doses of dietary cyanides, irreversible damage to the retina of the eye can and does occur in smokers. Smoking and cyanogenic vegetables, such as flaxseed, millet, tapioca and fruit seeds, don't mix!! Chronic cyanide poisoning symptoms commonly go undiagnosed.iv Dr. M. Vincent researched the effects of low doses of hydrocyanic acid from cyanogenic vegetables and from cigarette smoke. Anemic patients are more vulnerable, especially so if low in B12 and sulfur amino acids. Dr. Vincent concluded that these are the main determinants of intoxication. Dr. Vincent treated 34 patients with optic nerve damage, mostly from tobacco. The hydroxycobalamin form of vitamin B12 combines with cyanide to form cyanocobalamin, thus altering the

cyanide into a safe vitamin. Over 60 percent improved after receiving 45 mg. doses of vitamin B12 for two weeks. Note: this is truly a megadose, about 10 million times RDA. Injections of hydroxycobalamin thus can be used to antidote acute cyanide poisoning but the minimum required dose is estimated to be 50 times the toxic dose of cyanide, which is 50 mg. That adds up to the unwieldy amount of 2500 mg and would require 2.5 liters per injection at the usual concentration of 1 mg per ml that is available! Chronic exposure to cyanide can deplete the body reserves of B12. This may be why vegetarians are extra-vulnerable to the effects of toxins. Depletion of B12 in vegetarians is not just a matter of dietary deficiency due to lack of meat, which is the best dietary source of B12; there is also the depletion of B12 reserves used up in the act of detoxifying vegetable cyanides. Vegan diets can induce B12 deficiency in unexpectedly short time periods. The presence of sulfur amino acids shelters B12 by providing methionine, an essential amino acid that otherwise uses B12 for its re-vitalization cycle. This is why both B vitamins and sulfur amino acids were so helpful to the patients in Cuba. Gasoline shortage has forced the Cubans to be physically activebecause they have to get around more on foot or by bicycle. But exercise uses up more calories and more of the B vitamins, hence increasing their vulnerability to cyanide toxicity! In the United States there is a widespread belief that lots of exercise can only improve health. The Cuban experience teaches us that it isn't that simple. Exercise as a drain on nutrient supplies and a stress to the antioxidant systems must be considered in relation to diet, environment and total person, otherwise it is only a fad, sometimes helpful and sometimes dangerous. It came as a surprise to the Cuban health officials that the incidence of the eye and nerve disease was lowest in those who are usually most vulnerable to poisonings: children under age 7, the elderly, over age 65, and pregnant women. Why were these groups not the most affected by the epidemic? It turned out that in Cuba these groups receive supplemental dairy products, rich in the sulfur amino acids; and the pregnant women get prescribed vitamin pills as well. A low fat diet is likely to be low in meat and dairy products, hence low in B12 and sulfur amino acids, e.g. methionine and cysteine. That is what made the victims of cyanide poisoning so vulnerable to eye and nerve damage from their cassava and other vegetables. Animal fat is also protective to nerve membrane because it induces production of Cholesterol, which is essential to stabilize and repair cell membranes. Saturated fats and cholesterol are less vulnerable to oxidation than are the polyunsaturated fatty acids found in vegetable oils. A low fat, low cholesterol diet carries an increased risk for nerve damage, particularly due to environmental oxidants, herbicides, pesticides and dietary toxins, such as cyanides.

Cyanogenic glycosides in cassava root, bitter almonds (not the sweet almonds commercially available in the US) and black lima beans (not the white lima beans eaten here) form hydrogen cyanide, which attach to iron-containing enzymes of the cytochrome redox system. This blocks the production of ATP, oxidation ceases and oxygen uptake from the blood into the cells stops. This is suffocation at the cell level. The nervous system is particularly vulnerable and subclinical cases damage the eyes and nerves. Demyelination of the brain, similar to multiple sclerosis, can also occur. And there is interference with intestinal cell function, which can cause malabsorption, specific for active transport mechanisms, affecting B12, folic acid, manganese, zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium. ©2009 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Coenzyme Q10: A Miracle Vitamin

Coenzyme Q should be called vitamin Q because the amount that the body can make is insufficient for the best of health, and extra amounts of Q must be obtained from food. That makes CoQ fit the definition of vitamin: a natural, organic substance in food that is required for health and survival. However the abbreviation, CoQ, has caught on and since it is concise it will continue in use. CoQ was discovered in 1957 by Dr. Frederick Crane at University of Wisconsin and methods of synthesis were soon developed by Dr. Karl Folkers, then a chief researcher at Merck & Co. However Merck chose not to undertake commercial production and Dr. Folkers eventually became a consultant to pharmaceutical companies in Japan where his research in diseases of muscle, such as muscular dystrophy and heart failure, earned him the Priestley medal of the American Chemical Society in 1986. However, despite hundreds of research reports on CoQ, American physicians still resist the idea that a natural vitamin can be as powerful as a pharmacological drug. One of my patients was given the very best of conventional care for congestive heart failure at a university hospital. After 16 years of Sarcoid lung disease he had developed severe fibrosis, which caused increased resistance to blood flow in the lungs. This increased the load on the right ventricle of his heart, which eventually became depleted and weakened so that edema fluid backed up in his abdomen, liver and lower extremities. His legs were hugely swollen from the toes to the hips. Diuretics, digitalis and prednisone failed and a heart transplant was considered but ruled out due to his weakened condition. He was literally sent home to die! However once at home he could be treated with megadoses of Coenzyme Q. A miracle! In ten days he lost over 20 pounds, about 10 quarts of

fluid, the edema cleared and he was able to walk and breathe comfortably for the first time in months. Not cured entirely, of course, but well enough so that six months later he was still out of his wheel chair and able to climb the stairs to the Opera House balcony, resulting in a medical emergency when he fainted due to the acute load on his heart. He felt so well he pushed himself too far. This was the case that made a believer out of this doctor! CoQ has a chemical name, Ubiquinone, which derives from the fact that it is ubiquitous, found in almost all plant and animal cells that use oxygen to power their chemistry. Ubiquinone is a co-enzyme, a substance that teams up with an otherwise inactive enzyme complex to make it complete—and active. The energy of oxidation in cells depends on CoQ in partnership with niacinamide (vitamin B3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and minerals such as iron and copper to effect the movement of electrons and hydrogen protons in the power plant of cell, the mitochondrion. Mitochondria are the specialized microscopic cell bodies that oxidize the carbohydrates and fats from food, separate off the negatively charged electrons and pump out the positively charged hydrogen protons to create a miniature battery in each cell of the body. This mechanism is literally the life force. CoQ acts as a transporter to safely carry these electrical charges from the inner membrane of the mitochondrion to the matrix where the electrons participate in the manufacture of ATP, thus converting electrical to chemical energy. Because CoQ can donate protons, it serves as an antioxidant to prevent a leak of electrons that could oxidize and damage the cell membranes. This is all to the good unless under highly oxidative conditions, such as physical or mental stress or infection, it can be depleted. It is ironic that starvation, which lowers metabolic activity and reduces the production of peroxides and free radicals, spares CoQ which is then more available for energy. On the other hand, over-eating, especially fried foods and salad oils (except olive oil) presents the tissues with toxic free radicals, electronically unbalanced by-products that damage cell membranes and use up CoQ. A low calorie, low fat diet promotes higher CoQ levels and a sense of energy and well-being thereby. Or one might use supplements of CoQ as an antidote to the dietary and lifestyle hazards that cause CoQ deficiency to be so common. In addition vitamin E protects against depletion of CoQ by fatty acid peroxidation. By increasing tissue levels of CoQ there is a boost in mental and physical energy and a decreased requirement for sleep, a pleasant surprise for many who try supplementing for the first time. It works! It is possible to stimulate your body to produce more CoQ by increasing intake of certain nutrients, such as the amino acid, tyrosine, and the mineral, magnesium. CoQ is manufactured by our own cells from the amino acid, tyrosine and farnesyl, an intermediate in the production of cholesterol. Magnesium is a required catalyst for

CoQ synthesis and that is one reason why many people feel more energetic after magnesium supplementation. On the other hand, some medications can interfere with CoQ. Lovastatin, which blocks cholesterol synthesis by preventing the production of farnesyl, can induce a state of chronic fatigue. Antihypertensive beta-blocker medications, such as propanolal, also interfere with CoQ and the fatigue and weakened heart-beat caused by these medications can be reversed by supplemental CoQ. Doxorubicin (Adriamycin), an anti-cancer antibiotic, blocks CoQ so completely that some patients suffer heart damage—which is preventable by taking CoQ. Tetracycline antibiotics, such as doxycycline, also block CoQ and cause fatigue and weakness, which responds to CoQ supplements. Barbiturates also block CoQ and so do the common phenothiazine tranquilizers and tricyclic anti-depressants. Pesticides (especially rotenone) and toxic chemicals, including ozone and solvents, also deplete CoQ. With so many hazards in the environment, it is more important than ever to get extra CoQ in food or in supplements. It appears that as little as 30 milligrams per day is adequate for everyday use. For significant medical symptoms, however, doses of 60 to 120 milligrams per day for at least two months may be required. It is unlikely that these megadose intakes can be obtained through food. What are the best dietary sources? Cells that contain mitochondria for oxidation are the best souce of CoQ. The more mitochondria, the more energy production, the more CoQ. Heart is the richest food source of CoQ because it is the most active muscle in our body, contracting once a second, day and night. It contains about 6 milligrams of CoQ per 3 ounce portion. Liver contains a quarter as much and body muscle meats a fifth to a tenth as much. Spinach has about 2/3 as much as heart but portions are smaller, usually only an ounce and that cuts the actual intake to about 1.5 milligrams. Seeds contain coenzyme Q and unrefined corn oil and rice oil actually contain 3 to 5 times more CoQ than does heart! On average a tablespoonful of unrefined salad oil contains between a half milligram and 6 milligrams. If these natural foods are eaten regularly the Co Q intake might come up to 12 or 15 mg daily. Incidentally, tobacco leaf is the champion source, containing 184 mg in a quarter pound. In fact, the Japanese companies make their CoQ from tobacco, however it is only released by means of bacterial fermentation not by smoking. CoQ is required for cell energy. This translates into increased cell activity, greater production of cellular products, such as proteins for faster healing of wounds and hormones, for adaptation. There are impressive reports of improved blood sugar in diabetes, for instance. CoQ strengthens the immune system, conferring greater resistance to infection, not due to increased numbers of white blood cells but greater potency of the existing cells. This has obvious applications in AIDS.

Red blood cells also thrive with CoQ and some cases of anemia respond very well. Skin cells are responsive and psoriasis, in particular, may improve. Bleeding gums due to periodontal disease often clear up after a time on CoQ—even when the blood level is normal. Nerve tissue is sensitive to CoQ and it is a useful treatment of retinal diseases, including optic atrophy. It is also beneficial in peripheral nerve disease. But it is in the treatment of heart conditions that CoQ is most impressive, especially in patients with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. In one major study 75 percent of those on CoQ survived 6 years while 75 percent not on CoQ died in 3 years or less. High blood pressure often improves on CoQ and mitral valve prolapse is very responsive. Even in normal conditions, large doses of CoQ increase muscle strength and cardiac output: this is especially noticeable amongst athletes and long distance runners, where performance is more obvious and measurable. Tissue levels of CoQ decline as much as 80% in old age and this single fact appears to explain some of the increased risk of heart failure, immune dysfunction, delayed healing and general weakening of energy and strength that are stereotypical of growing old. By simply taking supplements of CoQ, this age-related drop in vitality can be reversed to an amazing extent. Finally, in the research laboratory, treatment with CoQ extends the life span of mice by about 50 percent. Compare this to the low calorie life extension diet, which yields a 30 percent increase in lifespan in mice. CoQ is certainly more pleasant than a life of semi-starvation. If this is verified for humans, vitamin Q should become a household word. It should already be prized as a powerful treatment in medical practice. For those of us in orthomolecular medicine it is. Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

Chromium Deficiency Is Epidemic

Metallic chromium is shiny and doesn't rust, hence its use in decorative metal and automobile trim. Trivalent chromium, with three available electrons, is a different form of chromium present in food and most often combined with oxalate, phytate, picolinate or glycine. In our body the most important form is GTF chromium, the glucose tolerance factor, in which it is bound to niacin and glutathione. It has been known since the mid-19th century that brewers yeast is good for diabetes but it was not until 1959 that Drs. Klaus Schwartz and Walter Mertz, senior researchers at the US Department of

Agriculture, proved that chromium is the active principle. They were able to induce diabetes in laboratory rats by feeding low chromium torula yeast. Brewer's yeast, which is high in chromium, reversed the diabetes. Mertz went on to establish that chromium is an essential nutrient, ie. essential to life. This discovery has profound health implications that are only beginning to be fully appreciated because, as is usual for nutrients, deficiency causes illness, which if recognized and treated can lead to cure. By now it is certain that chromium deficiency causes diseases identical to adult onset diabetes and atherosclerosis. In other words, chromium is a cause of both diabetes and hardening of the arteries, and it should be evaluated by laboratory test of chromium in hair (the best available test) and clinical trial of supplementation with chromium picolinate or GTF chromium. Dr. Henry Schroeder wrote a memorable review of chromium research and atherosclerosis in his book "Trace Elements and Man" in 1973. I was much influenced by this book in those early days in my career in ortho-molecular medicine and nutrition but I found it hard to believe that our medical authorities would overlook Schroeder's report that: 1) chromium was completely undetectable in aortas of patients dying of atherosclerosis but amongst accident victims it was almost always present; 2) A fourth of Americans past 50 have no detectable chromium in their tissues. In Europe over 98 percent do have chromium; 3) Orientals have 5 times as much chromium as Americans; 4) Wild animals have about 10 times as much chromium as we do; 5) American children have about 5 times as much chromium up to age 18 and then decline sharply to low levels that gradually fall off through adult life. Schroeder analyzed chromium contents of foods and studied the metabolic losses of chromium in urine and sweat. He concluded: "the typical American diet, with about 60 percent of its calories from refined sugar, refined flour, and fat, most of which is saturated, was apparently designed not only to provide as little chromium as feasible, but to cause depletion of body stores of chromium by not replacing urinary losses...The result is a prevalent disease, in this case, atherosclerosis." There have been thousands of research papers in the almost 20 years since then and these discoveries have been confirmed many times over. Nevertheless, It appears that about 9 out of 10 American adults are even today suffering from various degrees of deficiency of this essential nutrient. Yet it has received so little recognition that it seems safe to say that it is an epidemic in search of a disease! Medical text-books today acknowledge that chromium is the mineral component of GTF, glucose tolerance factor, which is required for the link-up between insulin and its receptor at cell membranes. Without GTF, insulin fails to bind to its receptor and thus fails to do its job: sugar fails to be activated by phosphorous and

circulates uselessly in the blood; amino acids fail to enter cells; neuro - hormones fail to function in the brain; fats fail to go into storage but instead circulate at high levels in the blood; and kidney tubules fail to reabsorb efficiently thus causing excessive urination to occur. Weight loss, exhaustion and eventual diabetic coma and death occur in severe cases. Milder cases cause compensatory increase in insulin levels, which drives up cholesterol and fats and promotes atherosclerosis, hypertension, obesity, hypoglycemia, cataract, recurrent infection and very likely acts as a growth promoter for cancers. Drs. Offenbacher and Pi-Sunyer reported in 1980 that two teaspoonfuls per day of brewers yeast was sufficient to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels in two dozen elderly diabetic and normal subjects. Insulin levels also dropped by a third at the same time, indicating greater efficiency of insulin in blood sugar control but preventing the excess insulin that apparently causes excess activation of enzyme and cell activities. By now we know that chromium supplementation will work this way in about half of elderly patients and that diabetic blood sugar and insulin levels will usually drop by 20 percent and cholesterol by almost as much. For those with cholesterol over 300, chromium therapy produces a drop of 17 percent and for those under 300 a drop of about half as much. Early in 1990 Dr. R. I. Press reported on the use of chromium picolinate in lowering cholesterol transport protein (apolipoprotein) in humans. Total cholesterol and LDL decreased significantly while apoliproprotein A1, the chief protein of HDL, increased substantially. Not long ago Dr. Jeoffrey Gordon of San Diego reported his observations on ten high cholesterol patients before and a month after taking 200 mcg chromium picolinate daily. Cholesterol dropped 24 percent from 301 to 229, LDL dropped 27 percent, triglyceride dropped 43 percent, from 158 to 90). Chromium is emerging as one of the most powerful life extension factors in existence. In the 1960s Dr. Henry Schroeder found that his chromium treated rats set a record for longevity--and their arteries were entirely free of atherosclerotic plaque despite their advanced age. Of the shorter-lived control rats, 20 percent had arterial plaque. Chromium supplementation has repeatedly reversed atherosclerotic arterial damage. In 1980 Dr. A. Abraham and his colleagues in Jerusalem found that chromium supplements led to actual regression of atherosclerotic plaques in lab animals. This was documented by weighing arteries, plaque and the cholesterol content, all of which were lowered by chromium supplementation. However the medical world seems not to have noticed that the positive results from chromium treatment compare favorably to the

also impressive results of an ultra-low fat, high complex carbohydrate diet, as promoted by Nathan Pritikin or more recently by Dr. Dean Ornish. You can bet on it: someone will eventually report on a study of chromium therapy for atherosclerosis in humans that will document regression of plaque. For those of you who are zealous about the low fat diet as the key to longevity by protection from atherosclerosis, it may come as a surprise that chromium, a trace mineral present in tiny microgram amounts in the diet controls blood cholesterol up to 40 percent and blood sugar even more! One of my friends has been puzzled by an almost 100 point rise in his blood cholesterol to a rather alarming 260 mg after he went on a vegetarian diet with no meat, fish, fowl or eggs and no dairy other than parmesan cheese. He eats few nuts or seeds. Diagnosis: a chromium deficient diet aggravated by phytic acid blockade from the parmesan cheese (American cheese is the only cheese known to be a good source of chromium)! Fitness and athletic performance are now an area of intense interest in chromium research. Dr. Gary Evans supplied chromium picolinate to a group of weight lifters and compared their progress in 40 days to a placebo control group. The chromium did make a difference: lean body mass increased 3.5 pounds after chromium, about 40 times more than the two ounce gained by those on placebo. At this point it is certain that weight lifters are in the avant-garde of the orthomolecular movement. It is sad, however, to think that they must usually go it alone, as human guinea pigs, without real scientific monitoring or medical guidance. If you have high cholesterol, low HDL and blood sugar disturbance, It is wise to ask for testing of chromium in your hair. Despite the controversy about this method of diagnosis, the medical literature is very favorable. Dr. G. Saner and his group in 1984 found a direct correlation between hair and urinary chromium in a group of 34 tannery workers who used chromium on the job. If you cannot obtain a hair test, a month long trial at 200 mcg per day of GTF chromium, chromium polynicotinate or chromium picolinate is certainly a good idea. Then re-test your blood for possible improvement in cholesterol and triglycerides. Drs. Anderson and Bryden have recently shown that foods that stimulate insulin also cause increased urinary losses of chromium. Fructose and glucose were the worst offenders in their study. As an aside, I might add that Dr. Linus Pauling reviewed the role of sugars in atherosclerosis 15 years ago and concluded that fructose was the strongest dietary cause. In the light of this new knowledge about chromium loss, this begins to make sense! In a similar fashion, milk, cottage cheese, corn, millet and other foods high in the amino acid, leucine, which stimulates insulin release, might also deplete chromium. In fact it is ominous to consider the present emphasis on calcium supplementation, since it is now known that calcium carbonate not only blocks chromium absorption but also lowers tissue levels.

Can you obtain adequate chromium in your food? The answer is yes if you are willing to eat a teaspoon of brewers yeast regularly. Next in order are: oysters, egg yolk, liver, kidney, nuts, wheat germ and American Cheese! Wait until Herb Caen hears about this new key to longevity. At his age he may have to give in and try it. Velveeta may yet have the last laugh on its chief satirist.

©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

Carnitine Deficiency

Carnitine is a meta-vitamin: ie. a food substance required for life but also made within the human body to a limited extent and therefore not a vitamin. A true vitamin is a substance ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE that must be gotten from food--or by pills or injection thanks to modern science. Because carnitine can be produced within our own body it is not considered medically important except in rare cases of genetic defects, in which babies die because of their inability to perform the synthesis of this substance. In everyday practice, health professionals are unlikely to think of carnitine at all. This is a dangerous oversight because deficiency of this essential molecule can be disastrous. As this case report illustrates, symptoms of weakness, muscle pain and mental impairment are almost certainly commonplace due to the frequency with which all of us face conditions of inadequate diet, illness and chemical or medication exposures. It is only in the past two years that case reports are beginning to appear in line with this prediction, especially in epileptic patients on long-term medication. Were it not for the fact that about 25 percent of the adult daily requirement for carnitine is normally synthesized in the liver and kidney it would be considered a true vitamin. There is a dietary paradox here: vegetarians depend almost entirely on synthesis of carnitine within their own body chemistry, so it is not a vitamin for vegetarians as it is for meat and dairy eaters, who get over 75 percent of their carnitine from food. For those on an omnivourous diet carnitine is about 75 percent a vitamin, one might say. The paradox is that the vegetarians, for whom it is not a vitamin, have 15 percent lower blood levels.[1] This has not been identified as a carnitine deficiency so far but I am suspicious that there might be a connection to the fact that vegetarians are known to be more vulnerable to adverse effects and nerve damage after toxic chemical

exposure. Likewise the fact that Americans are consuming less red meat and dairy products these days has not been associated with reports of carnitine deficiency but one might suspect a connection in some cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[2]., especially if the patient complains of fibromyalgia. There is reason to suspect carnitine deficiency in those who eat wheat and other gluten containing grains if they have signs of intestinal irritation. Gluten sensitivity interferes with carnitine absorption [3] Deficiency has also been recognized in infants and children because they are unable to make it at birth and are at risk . It has been added to all infant soy formulas since 1985; but before that time there must have been a lot of tired and cranky babies with muscle pain and poor muscle tone. They may have had some risk of delayed brain development and lowered intelligence as well. If this is so we can expect improvement in school achievement tests starting within the next few years. Lately athletes and others interested in peak performance have discovered carnitine, for it is an enhancer of endurance and speed. [4] Its effects are most likely to be recognized in long distance runners who use up more raw materials but weight lifters and body builders are among the most avid customers. Advertisements for carnitine appear in popular body building magazines, where it is a familiar name at the same time it is almost unknown in the medical journals! Carnitine was isolated from meat in 1905 and its chemical structure identified in 1927; however it was not until the work of Irwin Fritz in 1952 that the function of carnitine was determined to be related to the oxidation of long chain fatty acids. Carnitine is itself water soluble but it acts as a carrier for fatty acids to gain entrance into the mitochondria, an assembly of membranes carrying enzymes that oxidize the fatty acids. In the absence of carnitine, fatty acids are stuck in the cytoplasm of cells, thus not available for energy production and resulting in a syndrome of fatigue and fat deposition, particularly in the liver, heart, muscle and kidneys. Way back in 1952 researchers discovered that carnitine is a vitamin or "growth factor" for the mealworm, Tenebrio molitor. Deficiency of carnitine caused the larvae to die. Since they were lacking a nutrient this was death by starvation, but the worms died fat! I was impressed 20 years ago by the amazing protection carnitine provided against heart damage. Dogs that otherwise died within a few minutes lived up to an hour after surgical closure of the coronary artery, if they were given carnitine in advance. Carnitine wasn't available commercially in 1980 at the time of publication of my book, MegaNutrition, or I would have written about this. Because it is expensive, about 30 dollars per month for a therapeutic dose, I have reserved it for cases where the results could be easily measured, eg. in lowering triglyceride levels. A dose of a 2400 mg. per day lowers triglyceride by about 30 percent and also raises HDL about a third, thus improving these well known cardiovascular risk predictors.[5]

That's about as far as I went into the use of carnitine until recently. It took a dramatic case example to open my eyes to new possibilities. Mary G. is a 57 year old woman who has been afflicted with chronic and recurrent spells of insomnia and mania for almost 40 years. Unfortunately her illness had proved unusually drug resistant and no treatment controlled her manic attacks: not lithium, haloperidol, clonazepam or megavitamin nor injectable doses of vitamins C, B6 and B3 and many others. She averaged over 3 manic attacks a year and was hospitalized over 130 times over the years. In 1992 however she had experienced a therapeutic breakthrough in response to a new combination of medications, valproic acid 500 mg and lithium 800 mg daily. These worked for her better than anything ever had before. Her sleep and mood improved to the point that she could cope with the occasional spells of hyperactivity and loudness by taking Ativan and a rest period or nap. Before long she became confident enough to travel extensively and did so without incident, ie. without getting arrested due to mania. She also moved into a residential hotel where she got along well with everyone for three months. Then one day in December she appeared confused as she appeared for lunch in her bathing suit. An ambulance was called and she was hospitalized. The hospital physician doubled her dose of valproic acid to 1000 mg a day and discharged her in three days. Two weeks later she began to feel weak and she lost control of her legs, falling down several times. She staggered so badly that she looked drunk and her speech was slurred. Her friends knew she had NOT been drinking alcohol and they were puzzled and frightened by her condition. They literally had to carry her into my office and I noticed her feet dragging helplessly as she tried to hold her weight. When she was seated, her head listed to the side with her chin on her shoulder. She rambled a bit, no worse than usual for her--but she was oriented and lucid. She was not depressed or manic; in fact she was in rather good humor considering the extreme disability that had overtaken her. Her grip was too weak even to register on a hand grip dynamometer but she did not complain of difficulty breathing and her heart rate, 80 beats per minute, was not unusual. However, she did cough and I thought she had rales, crackling sounds from small amounts of fluid accumulation at the base of her lungs If so it could have been due to weakness of the heart muscle, an early sign of heart failure. It came down to a single symptom: myasthenia, acute muscle weakness. It was not relapse of mania and it was not due to alcohol excess. She had been on an increased dose of valproic acid but not an overdose. I was sure she did not have myasthenia gravis, because that is a chronic disease and it would have surfaced before now. I had heard of carnitine depletion in a case report of an epileptic child treated with valproic acid[6] so why not expect it in an adult? This seemed plausible because of the increased dose of valproic acid for the preceding 3 weeks, during which time she had poor appetite and ate no meat or dairy products, ie. a low carnitine

diet. In addition after she began coughing she treated herself with aspirin twice a day for about a week, during which time she got weaker. Aspirin liberates valproic acid from serum albumin, thus increasing free valproic acid, which binds to carnitine. Also aspirin, otherwise known as acetyl-salicylic acid, may bind to carnitine via the acetyl group, thus directly depleting carnitine a step further. I took blood and urine samples for testing of total carnitine and acyl-carnitine levels as measured by bio-assay, using a carnitinedependent yeast culture.[7] The results were far below normal: the plasma free carnitine was 1.6, the fat-linked acyl carnitine 0.3 and the total plasma carnitine was 1.9 mcg per ml. This is about half the normal minimum (3.5) and less than 15 percent of the high normal (13.4 mcg per ml). Urine carnitine was even more depleted, registering only 4.9 mcg per ml of urine (4.9 mg per liter). This was a random sample but her daily urine output is known to be between 1 and 2 liters. Assuming a 2 liter output this would amount to 9.8 mg of total carnitine, which is less than half the normal reference level of 25 mg at the Vitamin Diagnostics Laboratory. She recovered her muscle strength after taking 1000 mg of carnitine, twice in the next 10 hours. In fact she felt so well she did not return for her appointment next morning! I advised her to maintain that dose twice a day for a week and then lower the dose to 500 mg. Three weeks later She had a normal blood level of 12 mcg per ml despite continued treatment with valproic acid and Ativan but no aspirin. A gram a day of carnitine is evidently sufficient for her. She did not have any other abnormal laboratory findings that could offer an alternative diagnosis. Case reports of carnitine deficiency have described low blood sugar, a condition that can cause irritability and mental confusion. In retrospect it seems plausible that this was the cause of symptoms leading to her hospitalization a few weeks before. However the blood sugar reading at the hospital was normal and the blood test of valproic acid at the time was actually 50 percent below the therapeutic range, which is why the doctor raised the dose. This must have caused the depletion in her carnitine and the eventual onset of muscle weakness even though the level of valproic acid in her blood was not above the accepted therapeutic range on the day she was carried into my office. Her blood sugar was not low at that time either, but it was already midafternoon and one must keep in mind that by the time the sample is taken, the blood sugar may have self-corrected by means of adrenal hormones or by eating food The first cases of carnitine deficiency were seen in patients on long-term intravenous feedings in the 1970s, a time before the solutions contained carnitine. Over two dozen cases were reported and this spawned interest in the possibility that a low carnitine diet, ie. a vegetarian diet, might cause deficiency. However no such case has yet been reported. Deficiency symptoms have been observed in patients with liver disease, which decreases synthesis, as well

as in patients on kidney dialysis or suffering from chronic renal disease, which both increases excretion and curtails synthesis of carnitine by the kidney. Other drugs and chemicals can bind to carnitine, just as valproic acid does, tying up the vitamin and increasing its excretion. The list of known trouble-makers is still very incomplete but includes cancer chemotherapy drugs, many tranquilizers, especially Valium derivatives, and some antibiotics. Any molecule that contains a benzene ring is likely to bind to carnitine.[8] Vitamin B12 deficiency causes methyl malonic acid excretion, which binds to carnitine and carries it out via the urine. Biotin deficiency has a similar outcome by provoking the excretion of isovaleric acid. I think it is very likely that thyroid supplements can aggravate carnitine deficiency by increasing the oxidation of fat, thus using up more carnitine. This would explalin why some patients get weaker and more tired when taking thyroid supplements. Physical exercise increases carnitine utilization and can deplete reserves. Does it also increase carnitine synthesis? Presumably so as long as the dietary precursors are sufficient. Carnitine synthesis depends on amino acids lysine and methionine as well as vitamins C, B12, folic acid and B6. Carnitine deficiency is particularly dangerous in infancy because it takes several months after birth before the baby is able to synthesize the vitamin. Breast milk contains adequate carnitine; but until now the infant feeding formulas have been devoid of it. This can be particularly dangerous in babies that are medicated with valproic acid and also certain antibiotics. Was valproate involved in the deficiency status of my patient? I think so and this is the first report ever of confirmed valproate induced carnitine deficiency in an adult. Evidently valproate binds to carnitine; however urinary excretion is not increased. The current view is that valproate interferes with the normal production of carnitine, perhaps by inhibiting methylation of lysine, from which carnitine is derived. The important implication of this case report is that carnitine deficiency does occur in adults and must be considered in all sick patients, especially those exposed to anticonvulsants, tranquilizers and in cancer chemotherapy, since all of these drugs can link up with carnitine and carry it out of the body. This is especially significant in patients with coronary artery disease. The presence of angina pectoris or electrocardiograph evidence of ischemia, especially PVC (premature ventricular contractions) is a strong indication for carnitine supplementation.[9] Carnitine supplements have been demonstrated to prevent ventricular fibrillation in early cardiac ischemia, such as occurs due to coronary atherosclerosis or blockage[10]. Another exciting application is in the treatment of senile brain disease. Acetyl-carnitine in particular has produced improvement of mental acuity in some of these Alzheimer's patients. [11]

A recent essay in Lancet[12] concluded that the results of medical treatment are unpredictable and beyond our control and that "the practice of medicine will remain fundamentally stochastic, as it always was." In plainer English the word, stochastic, means "a guess." It may be true that much of medicine has been and continues to be highly educated guess-work. However the authors of this featured essay in a major medical journal did not include any mention of nutrition. And nutrient deficiency disorder is not guesswork because nutrient deficiency produces specific syndromes, which can be precisely diagnosed by specific and exact laboratory measurement from which diagnosis and prognosis can be predicted with more authority than in any other field of medicine. We just have to be ready for them when the time comes. Keep that in mind next time you hear anyone liken vitamins to quackery or labels nutrition medicine as an "alternative."

[1] Lombard KA, Olson AL et al: Carnitine status of lactoovovegetarians and strict vegetarian adults and children. Am J Clin Nutr 1989; 50:301-6. [2] Grau JM, Casademont J, et al: Chronic fatigue syndrome: studies on skeletal muscle. Clin Neuropath 1992; 11(6): 329-32 [3] Ceccarelli M, Cortigiani L, et al: Plasma L-carnitine levels in children with celiac disease. Minerva Pediatrica 1992; 44(9):401-5. [4] Vecchiet L, Di Lisa F, et al: Aerobic processes enhanced by LCarnitine. Eur J Appl Physiol 1990; 611:486-490. [5] Maebashi M: Lipid lowering effect of carnitine in patients with type IV hyperlipoproteinemia. Lancet, 1978; xxxi: 805. [6] Murakami K, Sugimoto T et al: Abnormal metabolism of carnitine and valproate in a case of acute encephalopathy during chronic valproate therapy. Brain & Development, 1992; 14 (3) 178-182. [7] Baker H, DeAngelis B, et al: Routine microbiological assay for carnitine activity in biological fluids and tissues. Food Chemistry 43 (1992) 141-146. [8] Quistad GB, Staiger LE and Schooley DA: The role of carnitine in the conjugation of acidic xenobiotics. Drug Metabolism and Disposition. (1986) 14 (5) 521-524. [9] Pepine CJ. The therapeutic potential of carnitine in cardiovascular disorders. Clin Ther 1991; 13:2-21. [10] Opie LH: Role of carnitine in fatty acid metabolism of normal and ischemic myocardium. Am. Heart J. 1977; 3:375. 1977. [11] Spagnoli A: Acetyl L-carnitine impvoes attention and memory in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1991; 41:1726-1732. [12] Ierodiakonou K, Vandenbroucke JP: Medicine as a stochastic art. Lancet 1993; 341, 542-543.

Cancer Teaches Us Lessons

Mona K. was 59 years old when she consulted me about breast cancer 8 years ago. After 30 years as an operating room nurse she felt there might be a connection to halothane, a commonly used anesthetic gas. Except for chronic allergic rhinitis and sinusitis she had always enjoyed good health. She was also quite obese, which led to periods of nutrient deficiency after crash diets; but she considered herself in good health until a mammogram revealed the cancer in 1988. She accepted mastectomy, and all of 30 lymph nodes that were removed tested positive for metastatic cancer. Her oncologist was not optimistic, offering a less than 3 in 10 chance at 5-year survival. She opted for nutrient support as an adjunct to her three-month-long course of chemotherapy with tamoxifen, cytoxan, methotrexate and fluorouracil. Vitamin therapy helped her tolerate the chemotherapy with minimal adverse effects. She developed cravings for fatty foods, such as bacon, which succeeded in reversing her anorexia and weight loss. Odd as it may seem, she thrived on it; but I have seen this same unexpected benefit in other cancer patients, so I don’t regard any food as bad for cancer patients, so long as the patient feels a real craving for the food. On the other hand, Mona also craved mustard and horseradish, perhaps because these contain peroxidases, which are stimulants, including immune stimulation. And there can be reverse cravings of equal merit: for example, her oncologist prescribed iron supplements; but these caused muscle pain and intestinal cramps so she stopped the therapy. Not a bad idea, since chemotherapy destroys blood cells, which then release their mineral and iron contents into the body fluids. Free iron is always adverse because it provokes platelet aggregation, causing clots that stick to blood vessel walls, thus providing a foothold for metastatic cancer cells. These clots contain growth factors that promote cancer cell growth, and blood vessel growth into the tumor, which feeds the metastases by bringing nourishment to the upstart cancer cells. Just to give an idea of her laboratory profile: her white blood cell count was only 2400, about half normal, before the start of chemotherapy; and her vitamin A was only 49 mcg per 100 ml, about half the optimum for recovery from major illness. In other words she was not in condition for a good result from chemotherapy. With low vitamin A, she would be thrice penalized: inability to detoxify the chemotherapy agent; inability to generate anti-cancer T cells (NK cells), and inadequate protein synthesis for healing and repair. It is sad that vitamin A is not used routinely in orthodox medicine, since it is a determining factor in the outcome of almost all illnesses. Her hair zinc was only 87 parts per million, about half the normal

level. In addition, her antioxidant enzymes were grossly depleted: glutathione peroxidase was only 3.8 (normally above 4.2) and superoxide dismutase was only 8.1 (normal above 9.4). These results point to deficiency of selenium and copper respectively, confirmed by the effects of copper supplementation, which raised her superoxide dismutase to 13.3, which confirmed that the copper level was sub-optimal to begin with. Her glutathione peroxidase also normalized after giving her selenium, which is the specific mineral activator for this enzyme. I would have liked to test her hair for fluoride, because fluorine from halothane might be stored there. Fluoride makes up almost a third of the weight of the halothane molecule, to which she was exposed for decades. And halothane can remain stored in the fat tissues of the body (including the breast) for long periods of time. The hair test for fluoride is not available; however I did order a test for organochlorine pesticide residues, and her blood contained a total of almost 50 parts per billion (i.e. 50 billionths of pesticide per gram). This placed her in the uppermost quartile of a hundred of my patients who I had tested, and this group had a fourfold greater incidence of cancer compared to the lowest quartile group. Consider the fact that it is ‘normal’ for Americans to carry organochlorine up to 500 ppb in our blood. Actually these toxic molecules should be undetectable in the human body and they increase our cancer risk at any dose. DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972; however the by-product, DDE, measured 40 ppb, and PCB measured 7 ppb, about 40 percent above the average but still not abnormally high by official public health standards. Of course, the rules are being re-written as you read these lines, since these molecules are now known to have hormonal activity, similar to estrogen, and thus have been identified as cancer growth promoters, especially for estrogen-sensitive breast tumors. This is a good reason why it is more important than ever for women to have a regular intake of food and herbal estrogens, the so-called phytosterols, which block the effects of the toxic environmental pseudoestrogens. After three months to build up her vitamin levels and encourage recovery from the stress of the chemotherapy, I treated her with mineral oil and flax powder daily for a month to bind some of the fat-soluble organochlorines and hasten their exit from her body. On repeat testing after 60 days the PCB was no longer detectable! And the DDE had dropped almost 50% to only 26.1 ppb. These toxics are known to deplete the liver of vitamin A, so it was reassuring to find, after the initial vitamin treatment, that her vitamin A increased to a robust 116 mcg per 100 ml of blood and her white cell count increased to 3600 per ml. She was feeling well and increasingly confident and did not return for several months. Then a surprise complication brought her back: ankle edema. After three days of increasing fluid in her feet and legs, to the knees, she feared that her cancer had spread to the

liver. I was worried too, I will admit, but by careful questioning, it became clear that she had binged on homemade apple bread in these same three days, consuming 2 loaves all by herself in that time! That amounts to almost a pound of carbohydrate per day and I knew from experience that carbohydrate excess causes fluid retention. I advised her to cut out all sweets and starches for a few days and the result was spectacular: her edema began to resolve in just four hours and was all cleared in a day! Did I say spectacular? Must have been, for I didn’t hear from Mona again for 5 years! And she was well all this time. But in January 1995 she came back because of pain in her shoulder, a symptom that had persisted since she fell from a ladder and fractured her clavicle and 3 ribs over a year before. She had stopped taking the anti-estrogen drug, Tamoxifen about the time of the injury, due to vaginal bleeding and blurred vision. And she had also stopped taking vitamins in July 1994. She had somehow gotten the idea that the vitamins made her shoulder pain worse! Yet she readily admitted that she was also having more trouble with chronic sinusitis and bronchitis and felt less well without the nutrient support. I was very concerned by her haggard, unhealthy appearance and, expecting the worst, ordered a laboratory update. It came out better than expected: her blood count was only marginally anemic and the urinalysis showed only a few mucus casts and epithelial cells. Her fasting blood sugar was 120 mg (optimal is 80-110) and this suggested a degree of insulin resistance, compensatory increase of blood insulin and cancer-promoting activity due to insulin-like growth factor. Concerned about the prospects of cancer relapse, I ordered an AMAS test, the Anti-Malignan Antibody in serum. The result, 34 units, at first glance seemed within the normal range but my relief gave way to some concern that, for when AMAS is under 50 units and the patient has a known cancer, experience teaches that one must suspect immune system incompetency and a terminal condition. Here was my patient: ill for over 3 months with sinus infections, cough, herpes lesions and a sore tongue—all signs of immune weakness. I prescribed a substantial immune-supportive regimen, which she did maintain for a time; however six months later her friends called me with bad news: cancer had spread into her lungs and spine. Her oncologist had treated her with the herbal drug, Taxol, but it failed to resolve the life-threatening fluid build-up in her lungs and it also lowered her white blood cells to about half normal, an obvious disadvantage considering that her own immune defenses were her most likely ally. She was now so short of breath she could barely talk, even on oxygen. Seeking a miracle, her friends begged me to design a nutrient program, one that she could follow, though bed-ridden, unable to speak, and barely able to eat. She then tried potassium iodide and also DMSO, but only for a short while due to nausea. Luckily she had a positive benefit from the use of industrial strength magnet over the site of her shoulder pain. “The magnet is great. Shoulder and

neck pain cleared!” And then a miracle did happen: she began to respond to last-ditch chemotherapy with adriamycin. Six weekly injections were associated with reduction in lung fluid, which had been accumulating at the rate of 2 liters per week. It is plausible that her vitamin regimen, high in coenzyme Q 10 was synergistic with the chemotherapy. There is good research evidence that the supplemental coenzyme Q protects the heart muscle cells from being damaged by the adriamycin. Following that therapy, she was maintained on a second chemotherapy regimen, the anti-folic acid drug, methotrexate for a few months. It is now a year later and she remains well—well enough to work as a nurse for the past three months. She was able to travel to the Midwest by bus to visit friends and family on vacation. She is more than holding her own. By ordinary standards she qualifies as a cancer treatment success, having survived for eight years with metastatic breast cancer. But her death-defying course is typical of too many successfully treated cancer patients, who regain their health and then stop the nutrient therapy. I have seen this behavior in four patients, two of which had lived with cancer for over 15 years. Even in these long-term remissions, when the patients neglect their health regimens, within six months they relapse. I have seen some patients relapse and recover up to three times from the same cancer! Mona had sustained a serious fall and multiple fractures before her cancer relapse. Fracture of long bones often releases particles of marrow into the blood stream and usually some of this material ends up in the lungs. Large amounts of marrow can actually cause death due to pulmonary embolism, so-called fat embolism. But even small amounts contain cytokine immune hormones and growth factors that promote clots and metastases. I have another case in mind with the same scenario: fractured bone followed within a few months by metastatic cancer growths in the lungs. This is a profound lesson, one that leads me to wonder whether preventive treatment with anticoagulants and retinoids for a few weeks after a fracture might be a good idea in any known cancer patient. Mona’s experience is a hopeful lesson: that even if you are afflicted with cancer, you can still live a long and healthy life; but you must not let your defenses down in case of trauma, nutrient deficiency or toxic exposures. These are the obvious warning signs to take some of the positive steps that I have alluded to here. Fortunately, cancer follow-up is much enhanced by use of AMAS and NK activity tests, but their reliability has only become evident after 5 years of clinical observation and ongoing research, so they are not widely known yet. AMAS has an accuracy of over 90 percent in detecting cancer growth. NK Activity measures the efficiency with which NK Cells destroy cancer. These tests make it possible to diagnose cancer earlier, before it is even visible or palpable, and to adjust treatment in relation to both tumor growth and immune response, thus to guide the therapy. Most encouraging is the fact that cancer and nutrition research and therapy are finally coming together. Nutrition-physicians have

advocated this for many years; but the academic researchers are now joining in. An abstract by Drs. K. N. Prasad and colleagues at the University of Colorado, published in the October, 1996 Journal of the American College of Nutrition (abstract 79, page 535-6) concludes: “The use of one or two vitamins at doses currently used in cancer prevention trials may be ineffective or even harmful. Therefore, a new protocol using multiple vitamins at appropriate doses should be developed for cancer prevention and treatment trials.” These researchers had observed experimentally that a mixture of 4 vitamins, which failed to inhibit cancer growth when taken separately, markedly inhibited growth of cancer cells when administered all together. In Mona’s case, the combination of nutrient support, magnetic therapy and chemotherapy came as close to a miracle cure as anything I have seen or heard of in my forty-five years in medicine. If Mona had felt more hopeful, perhaps we wouldn’t have lost those important months of follow-up and she might have been spared the ordeal of her near-fatal relapse. Certainly, there is no need to feel helpless about cancer with these and other tools and treatments that are now available. The evidence is now credible: cancer treatment is much enhanced by “putting nutrition first.” ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

BORON: An Ortho-Mineral

Boron is a word that calls up images of grease-dirty hands, 20 mule teams, Death Valley, old Western movies. In my mind. Borax, is still linked to the twenty mule team and images of Wallace Beery in Western movies, hauling borax in wagons. Until recently there was nothing much medical or nutritional about it; Boron was just a powdery cleaner, something to get out the dirt—a not very tidy cleaning agent. Boric acid has a bit more medical history as it has uses as an antibiotic, and a cleansing agent for mucous membranes and the eyes. More recently it has gained popularity as a bugkiller. Just dust the boric acid or borax powder in the insect runways and cracks in your house and they die—even cockroaches go away and it is safer than the other commercial pesticides. Twenty years ago I read a report that boron is an essential mineral for plants, in particular enhancing their ability to attract and utilize potassium, enhancing its transport in the plant tubules. That sounded like a function that might apply to humans but I have heard nothing about it since. But now there is evidence that boron is probably essential for humans. Beyond that, some boron compounds have almost miraculous power against inflammation, vascular disease,

and cancer. A symposium on Boron was held at University of California, Irvine, in 1992 and published in the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives in 1994 (volume 102, supplement 7). Here are a few excerpts to prepare you to appreciate the amazing progress regarding health effects of this mineral and benefits that might apply to you. History1 Most areas of the world have less than 5 mg in a pound of soil (454,000 mg in a pound) but large areas of Western United States, Mediterranean, and Kazakhstan have soils with 10 mg per pound (10-20 mg/Kg). All of the United States commercial supply is mined in the Mojave desert, headquartered in the appropriately named town of Boron for the past 75 years or so. In 1960 boron was discovered in Turkey and today Turkey is the largest producer in the world of borates for borax, boric acid, glass, fiberglass, cleaning agents, metal alloys, fertilizers, wood treatments, insecticides, and microbiocides. It works in life systems by chemical binding to hydroxyl groups (oxygen-hydrogen) and thereby influencing enzyme activity. Human intake of boron ranges between 1.7 and 7 mg per day, mostly from fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables. It has yet to be recognized as an essential mineral; however it does have measurable effects on human biochemistry, physiology and performance . In studies comparing electroencephalograph (EEG) and performance2 testing (cognitive testing), low boron intake was associated with a significant decrease in fast frequency brain waves and increased slow waves. This represents a decreased arousal, as evidenced also by poor performance on tasks measuring attention, short term memory, long term memory, perception, eye-hand coordination, and manual dexterity. In other words, there was statistically significant decrement in performance reflecting impaired brain activity in the 28 adult human subjects in these studies. Low copper status amplified the effects of boron deficiency, which were less apparent after 6 weeks than at 9 weeks, thus bracketing in the time required for clinical deficiency signs. However, tests of attention and memory were consistently impaired even in the shorter periods of deficiency. Dr. Forrest Nielsen, also of the US Department of Agriculture, Grand Forks Station, was first to discover the probable essential role of boron in human health, particularly bone maintenance. Though the question of essentiality remains controversial, Dr. Nielsen's first study remains a landmark in this field. He fed 12 postmenopausal women a diet with only 250 micrograms of boron per 2000 dietary calories for 4 months. Then these ladies were fed a similar diet but with a boron supplement providing 3 mg per day for 7 weeks. Urine tests showed reduced amounts of calcium and magnesium being lost at the same time that the blood plasma was also reduced. This was associated with an increase in 17b-estradiol and testosterone. The implication was that youth-giving hormones were increased and calcium was going back into the bones.

In another experiment Dr. Nielsen studied men over age 45, postmenopausal women and postmenopausal women on estrogen therapy. Again they were fed a low boron diet, this time for 2 months; then supplemented with boron for 7 weeks. Testing showed significantly increased copper binding protein (ceruloplasmin) and plasma copper, as well as increased antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase (which depends on copper for its activity) during the period of boron repletion. The estrogen therapy women showed increased ceruloplasmin and copper—which increased further during boron repletion. Dietary boron led to increased ceruloplasmin, copper, and Superoxide dismutase in the non estrogen groups. Dr. Nielsen proposed that boron also affects cell membrane transport of calcium and thus affects "cell signaling." Where Dr. Nielsen leaves off, Dr. Iris Hall and her co-researchers at the division of medicinal chemistry and natural products, University of North Carolina, set forth to evaluate medical applications of specific boron componds, called amine carboxyboranes. Their findings are exciting: boron compounds have beneficial medical effects in treating osteoporosis, inflammation, blood lipid disorders, obesity, and cancer! These boron compounds, amine-carboxyboranes, were found to posses selective activity against single-cell and solid tumors from mouse and human leukemias, lymphomas, sarcomas, and carcinomas. In leukemia cells the boranes inhibited DNA and RNA nucleic acid synthesis, evidently by inhibiting enzymes, e.g. orotidinemonophosphate decarboxylase, and various nucleoside and nucleotide kinases (enzymes that add phosphorous to molecules). In addition the boranes proved useful to reduce edema and pain caused by inflammation. They also protected against septic shock from lipopolysaccharides (LPS) better than any other drug. They were effective against chronic arthritis (in rats) and pleurisy (rats). When tested against implanted lipopolysaccharide (toxic substances from bacteria) they were found to block the inflammation caused by myeloperoxidase enzyme activity of neutrophils. The boranes were found to be dual inhibitors of both cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes. By blocking cyclo-oxygenase, the gateway enzyme to prostaglandins and thromboxanes, as well as lipoxygenase, gateway to the pro-inflammatory leukotrienes, the boranes have the more profound anti-inflammatory effect than any other single compound that I know3. Boranes also were found to increase excretion of cholesterol and triglyceride into the bile, which was increased in flow volume by almost 50 percent. Reabsorption of cholesterol from the intestinal tract was also reduced and the boranes were found to lower cholestesrol synthesis by blocking the enzyme HMG Coenzyme A reductase, an action comparable to the statin drugs. Boranes lowered cholesterol by 18- to 48 percent and triglycerides by 12 to 77 percent after only 16 days of treatment.

But this is really just the portal to one of the most exciting discoveries in cancer therapeutics, and that is the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors as inducers of cancer cell apoptosis, i.e. programmed cell death. Pioneers, such as Robert Nagourney, founder of Rational Therapeutics, reports dramatic tumor involution after treatment with herbal molecules, such as the plant terpene, limonene, when combined with statin drugs. The combination triggers apoptosis in some types of cancer, leading to shrinkage and even disappearance of the tumors. It is possible that the carboxyboranes provide an even more potent avenue to make use of this effect. Is boron a toxic mineral? In medicine one must always question the safety of any treatment. Hippocrates left us with the admonition: "First do no harm." I am glad to report that boron is safe for ordinary usage but not something to be careless about. Toxicology studies in rats, mice and rabbits were performed by Jerrold Heindel and associates at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. In pregnant rabbits, abortions occurred with doses of 250 mg per kg per day. The lowest observed adverse effect level for neonatal offspring was 78 mg/kg/day for rats and 125 mg/kg./day for rabbits; while the lowest adverse effect level for the mothers was 163 mg/kg (rat) and 250 mg/kg (rabbit). In other words, a fetal rat is not noticeably affected by doses of boron, up to about 80 mg per kg (2.2 lb) an amount that calculates to 800 mg extrapolated for a 22 pound human baby. While that is a high dose, babies do the darnedest things and poisonings have occurred, though yet higher doses of 4.5 to 14 grams. It appears that human babies are more resistant to boric acid than rats; however itis important to know that boric acid can absorb through the skin and mucous membranes. It is not a good idea to bathe a child in it. Toxicology studies have also been carried out on borax workers. A study by Dwight Culver and associates from the University of California, Irvine, identified blood and urine boron levels in workers at a borax packaging plant. The average dietary intake was 1.35 mg boron per day, very similar to the estimated 1.52 mg boron reported recently for the standard American diet. Total estimated boron plus exposure to borax dust on the job added up to about 28 mg per day. I conclude from all this that supplementation with boron in the range of 3 to 6 mg per day is 1000-fold less than the no observed adverse effect level and that boron is remarkably safe. I predict that it will be recognized as an essential mineral in the not too distant future. But right now it should be used with doctor's instructions and it is important to remember that boric acid and borax compounds can absorb through the skin and mucous membranes— without even swallowing! On the other hand, in adults the reality is deficiency, not toxicity. Testing of blood, urine and hair reveals that many of my patients are sub-optimal in boron. Supplementation seems to confirm

the observations of Dr. Nielsen: patients feel better, libido and mood go up, and calcium loss is diminished. The amine-carboxyboranes are a different story. These are not just nutrients; they are medical drugs and need to be further researched before approval by FDA. But I think it is such a promising area of research that you should know about it now. And the effects are truly remarkable: this combination of orthomolecular and pharmaceutical research promises to open a new era of "miracle drugs." Boron is a versatile candidate to lead this revolution in nutraceutical medicine. Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

Autism: Children Who Can't Speak

Classic autism, once mystifying and attributed to the "refrigerator mother," i.e. failure of maternal-neonatal relationship, is now identified with injury to the developing brain. The diagnosis is based on: 1) lack of language development; 2) lack of social interaction; 3) stereotyped and repetitive behaviors. The language impairment ranges from total lack of words to spotty use of words and phrases. These children often respond when spoken to but are unable to organize their thoughts well enough to answer back. Recovered autistics have described the experience as one of confusion. The social impairment presents as lack of eye contact, lack of facial expression, lack of ability to play, and inability to interact meaningfully with others. Stereotyped behaviors include rituals, hand flapping, body movements, head banging and bizarre and selective preoccupation with objects. Researchers have conjectured that autism is due to brain injury; however proof has been elusive, that is most cases do not display cell damage and infiltrates typical of either viral disease or immune reaction in the brain. On the other hand, viral infection has long been recognized as a cause of encephalitis and prenatal rubella (in the mother), post-natal measles, mumps, german measles, chickenpox, and other viruses (in the baby) are known to cause autism, ADHD, and a spectrum of delayed neurological and psychological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, delinquency, criminality, addiction, schizophrenia, and depression. Studies of thalidomide casualties have shown us that failure of cerebellar development occurs as a consequence of chemical and viral damage in the third week after conception. I have observed two such cases in my own practice, one after Zovirax for a herpes outbreak, another following use of amoxicillin for strep throat. It is likely

that damage was caused by the virus that caused the symptoms at the time. These are, of course, anecdotal reports but the most credible aspect is the timing of viral and chemical exposure: 19th to 21st day after conception. In recent years an increasing number of cases of autism have been linked to vaccine reactions, and chronic ear and sinus infections. The neuro-toxic effects of pertussis vaccine are so well known as to require little comment. Delaying immunization reduces adverse reactions. In Japan after 1979 the public health policy was changed; the routine first year DTP vacination was halted and all immunizations were delayed until age 24 months. The number of cases of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) was cut in half. Autism and other developmental neurological disorders have increased to epidemic proportions in the past ten years, running the range of severity from pervasive developmental disorder and autism, to the less severe categories, including ADHD and other learning disorders. While text-books attempt to separate these various diagnostic syndromes, the fact that all have increased at the same time suggests the possibility that there is an environmental factor. A recent paper by Dr. Stephen Edelson explores the question of environmental pollution . Twenty children (average age 6.35 years) were studied by laboratory testing, including: 1) glucaric acid analysis (a marker for increased detoxification), 2) blood analysis for solvents and pesticides, and 3) liver detoxification products. Results were significant as follows: All 20 cases had elevated glucaric acid. All cases had abnormal liver detoxification profiles. Elevated levels of toxic chemicals from 1.5 to 100 times normal were found in 16 of 18 cases. Trimethylbenzene was most frequent but it did not correlate with glucaric acid results, which therefore must have been caused by something else. Methylpentane, xylene, styrene, toluene, and benzene were also found in these patients. The authors conclude that prenatal exposure to unnatural chemicals is the most likely cause of autism, and, based on the finding of glucaric acid abnormalities in all subjects, they also propose genetic impairment of fetal and neonatal detoxification processes as a mechanism whereby normally tolerable exposure to xenobiotics causes major neurological damage in those who develop autism. This study is important not only for its findings but because it is more thorough in its method of testing than other studies of autistic children. A weakness of the study, however, is the lack of data from a group of healthy children for comparison. The same limitations apply to my own observations of the approximately 50 autistic children in my practice. There are suggestive histories that point to recurrent otitis or sinusitis and repeated antibiotic treatment as risk factors for neurological problems. Are antibiotics dangerous? Do they induce serious bowel disorders? Or do the infections, themselves, interfere with brain development. For example, otitis is a fairly common source of infection with tetanus! The Clostridium tetani organisms can thrive

in the anaerobic environment of the middle ear and the toxin produced by this microbe produces is neurotoxic. It is plausible to consider this a potential cause of developmental brain disease. One of the most effective treatments is external application of ozone to the ear canals and I know of at least one case that improved dramatically after such a treatment. Our epidemic of autism and ADHD also coincides with the introduction of a new vaccine against measles in 1988. This vaccine contains a weakened but live virus, a mutant strain. It is usually given with two other live virus vaccines, mumps and rubella (german measles), hence it is abbreviated MMR. The vaccine is now administered to almost all children at age 15 to 18 months, with booster doses 3 months later and again upon starting school. Measles has almost disappeared in the USA since 1900 and the credit is usually given to vaccination. However, Dr. Leon Chaitow relates that the measles death rate dropped from 13 per 100,000 in 1900 to 0.03 per 100,000 in 1955—before measles vaccination arrived. In 1958 there were still about 800,000 cases per year but in 1962 this had dropped to 300,000. The vaccine arrived in 1963. In 1978 a survey of 30 states found that half the cases of measles were found in children that had been vaccinated. The vaccine failure rate has been reported at 20 to 30 percent, which is to say that about one out of four children are not protected by measles vaccine anyway. Nevertheless, it seems almost ungrateful to suspect that vaccination, which clearly can do much good, can also cause harm. But it is an accepted fact that all drugs have adverse effects. So the real question is "how much damage?" The answer is: no one knows for sure. There have not been adequate follow-up studies and almost no long term studies to explain possible delayed adverse effects, such as colitis, cancer, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. But there is reason to suspect that the increased incidence of autism and ADD may be related to mass vaccination programs. If so, it is not far-fetched to suggest that our present crisis in education, low SAT scores, school drop-outs, and high crime and addiction rates, might also be due to vaccine-related developmental brain disease. Let us consider the findings of Drs. Wakefield and Walker-Smith of the Royal Free Hospital in London, England. They carefully studied 40 autistic (pervasive developmental disorder) children and reported finding live measles virus in the intestinal tract of most of them. They also reported that the parents of these children gave a history with a common theme: the children were developing normally, many already speaking in short sentences, then regressed and lost speech a week or two after vaccination with MMR vaccine at 15-18 months. In a more recent paper they retracted their finding of live virus; but they cannot erase the fact that many parents have observed this sequence of events and a number are, in fact, now engaged in a lawsuit over MMR vaccine safety in England. Does it seem reasonable to persist in a mass vaccination program that is clouded by casualty reports? Is measles such a dangerous disease that we must vaccinate regardless of the risk of autism and

learning disability? Is measles really a dangerous disease? Yes, but only in sickly and malnourished children, such as those living in poverty-stricken conditions and especially in 3rd world nations. But researchers, such as Sommers and Hussey have gathered convincing evidence that treatment with vitamin A, retinol, offers almost complete protection from the serious, complications of measles, i.e. pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. Results might be even better with more complete nutritional support, including dietary balance and supplemental zinc and antioxidants. Such research is needed to answer such questions. Dr. Alfred Sommers travelled extensively in Southeast Asia, visiting villages, treating some children with vitamin A, passing over others. Return visits just a few months later gave convincing evidence: those who received vitamin A were alive and well, even if they had contracted measles. There were no deaths. On the other hand, those who were not treated with vitamin A had a death rate of about 10 percent! Vitamin A is crucial in prevention of autism: It is obvious from the foregoing that vitamin A functions as an anti-viral agent, especially against childhood viruses. But there are other attributes of this vitamin that deserve mention. One of the functions of vitamin A (retinol) is its role in sulfation, one of the major detoxification steps of the body. Vitamin A is essential for growth and repair, healing, so it is important in recovery from illness. And vitamin A has a beneficial effect on the brain, particularly in the auditory cortex, believed to be impaired in autism, inasmuch as disturbance of speech and language skills is a central feature of the disorder. A study in rats found vitamin A deficiency increases sensitivity of the inner ear to noise as well as susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss. This is reminiscent of the irritability so often reported by parents of autistic children. In many cases the children literally cover their ears with their hands to shut out sound. Experimental evidence shows that the sensitivity to noise is caused by degeneration of the tight junctions of the cells surrounding the cochlear duct. These normally form an endolymph-perilylmph barrier that prevents the potassium rich endolymph from entering the base of the hair cells and unmyelinated nerve fibers. The perilymph, which surrounds the hair cells, is low potassium, but noise exposure increases the permeability of the barrier cells and permits influx of potassium. This causes a threshold shift of the hair cells due to depolarization ,and the results of this intoxication can be permanent. Vitamin A is vital to development, repair and integrity of the the inner ear. The vitamin protects against ototoxic effects of antibiotics of aminoglycoside type (e..g. Kanamycin, Neomycin) but as a rule antibiotics shouldn’t be given for otitis until vitamin A treatment has had a chance to heal and restore resistance to infection of the affected tissues. In fact, otitis is often a clinical sign of vitamin A deficiency in children. Hyperkeratosis, thickening of the epithelial linings, is one of the early signs of

deficiency as the epithelial cells of the inner ear are quite vitamin A dependent. However vitamin A has an effect on neurons in the auditory areas as well. The above-mentioned study in rats found that vitamin A deficiency causes leaky membranes and altered cochlear potentials. In humans, prolonged vitamin A deficiency was studied by Hume and Krebs, who found a reduction in hearing after 15 months on a vitamin A deficient diet in 3 of 5 volunteers. Hearing loss is also reported in diseases with low vitamin A levels. Evidently irritability is an early sign of vitamin A deficiency and nerve damage occurs if deficiency is prolonged. Selenium deficiency and autism Does selenium deficiency play a role in this heart-breaking malady, in which seemingly healthy children are "kidnapped" by a mysterious agent which causes a sudden loss of language and learning between 15 and 30 months of age. The afflicted children often lose speech within a week of the MMR vaccination and become regressive and withdrawn, unable to learn or even to pay attention, unable to play normally. They are fussy, have tantrums provoked by the least change in their accustomed routines, such as placement of objects in the room, or time of day of events. They are unsafe, wander about in the middle of the night, have little appreciation for the consequences of their acts, and often don't get much better despite heroic attempts at therapy. Let's qualify that: structured learning on a behavioristic reinforcement model (Lovaas) has proven beneficial. So has simple task learning, such as crawling, sound training and sight training with prisms, which seem to capture attention and give the child some cause and effect relation to the environment. . My own experience also suggests that the role of selenium is important. In the first place, some of my patients have improved noticeably upon supplementation with selenium. I have not seen a study that actually accounts for selenium status of autistic children however. Measurement of selenium in red blood cells and hair would be a good place to start and additional testing of the selenium dependent enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, would be confirmatory, one way or the other. However we do know that: Selenium deficiency is common in mothers, so even mother's milk can be deficient. Acid foods make selenium insoluble, so babies regularly fed fruit juices are liable to malabsorption of selenium. Fluoride forms insoluble complexes with selenium. Since selenium is strongly electropositive, it combines with fluoride preferentially, with even greater avidity than calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium. The total adult body content of selenium is less than 100 mg, so little as to be vulnerable to sodium fluoride intakes of 3 to 5 mg per day, which are usual in this country because of fluoridation and fluoridated toothpaste. Consider that vital trace minerals, such as selenium, chromium and molybdenum, are

ingested on average only about 50 mcg per day. Fluoride intake is 100 times more and fluoride complexes are likely to inactivate these trace minerals by rendering them insoluble—even in the presence of calcium, magnesium, boron or aluminum salts, which also bind with fluoride. Sodium fluoride, the relatively soluble fluoride used in water fluoridation, preferentially binds to the trace minerals, selenium and chromium. Some viruses interact with cells to increase the production of glutathione and other selenium-binding proteins that further deplete selenium, thus creating a vicious circle of virulence. The more cells are infected, the more selenium is depleted. That can be fatal. For example: Ebola virus kills 4 out of 10 of its victims. However in the presence of selenium supplementation the fatality rate drops by over 80 percent. That is a persuasive demonstration of the anti-viral power of this essential mineral. A similar phenomenon has been recognized and reported in AIDS. It is reasonable to say that selenium increases our resistance to viral disease. Variable immune deficiency is a common feature in autistic children. If mineral deficiency does factor into the autism puzzle, is it reasonable to accept that it could elude detection in millions of and escape detection as a cause of the remarkable increase in autism, ADD and other forms of learning disability? I say the answer is almost certain to be yes, and both magnesium and selenium deficiency are suspect. The role of magnesium in autism has already been verified by the well-known double-blind research trials conducted by Rimland, and Callaway in the 1970s and Martineau, Garreau, Barthelemy and Lelord in the 1980s. Here are a few speculations to pull the various observations together. Dietary selenium is deficient due to lack of high selenium foods, in turn related to depletion of soils, which is caused by acid rain which makes selenium insoluble so it washes ou of the soil rather than being taken up by plants. Furthermore, widespread fluoridation of water and processed foods also renders selenium insoluble. When viral infections strike, further depletion occurs, which can interfere with antioxidant defenses, immune mechanisms, and energy regulation. A vicious circle of immune deficiency, chemical sensitivity, and chronic viral infection and fatigue is thus induced. To be continued... ©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Coenzyme Q should be called vitamin Q because the amount that the body can make is insufficient for the best of health, and extra amounts of Q must be obtained from food. That makes CoQ fit the definition of vitamin: a natural, organic

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substance in food that is required for health and survival. However the abbreviation, CoQ, has caught on and since it is concise it will continue in use.  Ola Loa, LLC CoQ was discovered in 1957 by Dr. Frederick Crane at University of Wisconsin and  11250 Clayton Creek methods of synthesis were soon developed by Dr. Karl Folkers, then a chief Rd. researcher at Merck & Co. However Merck chose not to undertake commercial production and Dr. Folkers eventually became a consultant to pharmaceutical  Lower Lake, CA 95457 companies in Japan where his research in diseases of muscle, such as muscular USA dystrophy and heart failure, earned him the Priestley medal of the American  1.800.800.9550 Chemical Society in 1986. However, despite hundreds of research reports on CoQ,  [email protected] American physicians still resist the idea that a natural vitamin can be as powerful as a pharmacological drug.  Ola Loa Store One of my patients was given the very best of conventional care for congestive heart failure at a university hospital. After 16 years of Sarcoid lung disease he had developed severe fibrosis, which caused increased resistance to blood flow in the lungs. This increased the load on the right ventricle of his heart, which eventually became depleted and weakened so that edema fluid backed up in his abdomen, Website by liver and lower extremities. His legs were hugely swollen from the toes to the hips. Giraffex Diuretics, digitalis and prednisone failed and a heart transplant was considered but ruled out due to his weakened condition. He was literally sent home to die! However once at home he could be treated with megadoses of Coenzyme Q. A miracle! In ten days he lost over 20 pounds, about 10 quarts of fluid, the edema Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC cleared and he was able to walk and breathe comfortably for the first time in months. Not cured entirely, of course, but well enough so that six months later he

was still out of his wheel chair and able to climb the stairs to the Opera House balcony, resulting in a medical emergency when he fainted due to the acute load on his heart. He felt so well he pushed himself too far. This was the case that made a believer out of this doctor! CoQ has a chemical name, Ubiquinone, which derives from the fact that it is ubiquitous, found in almost all plant and animal cells that use oxygen to power their chemistry. Ubiquinone is a co-enzyme, a substance that teams up with an otherwise inactive enzyme complex to make it complete—and active. The energy of oxidation in cells depends on CoQ in partnership with niacinamide (vitamin B3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and minerals such as iron and copper to effect the movement of electrons and hydrogen protons in the power plant of cell, the mitochondrion. Mitochondria are the specialized microscopic cell bodies that oxidize the carbohydrates and fats from food, separate off the negatively charged electrons and pump out the positively charged hydrogen protons to create a miniature battery in each cell of the body. This mechanism is literally the life force. CoQ acts as a transporter to safely carry these electrical charges from the inner membrane of the mitochondrion to the matrix where the electrons participate in the manufacture of ATP, thus converting electrical to chemical energy. Because CoQ can donate protons, it serves as an antioxidant to prevent a leak of electrons that could oxidize and damage the cell membranes. This is all to the good unless under highly oxidative conditions, such as physical or mental stress or infection, it can be depleted. It is ironic that starvation, which lowers metabolic activity and reduces the production of peroxides and free radicals, spares CoQ which is then more available for energy. On the other hand, over-eating, especially fried foods and salad oils (except olive oil) presents the tissues with toxic free radicals, electronically unbalanced by-products that damage cell membranes and use up CoQ. A low calorie, low fat diet promotes higher CoQ levels and a sense of energy and well-being thereby. Or one might use supplements of CoQ as an antidote to the dietary and lifestyle hazards that cause CoQ deficiency to be so common. In addition vitamin E protects against depletion of CoQ by fatty acid peroxidation. By increasing tissue levels of CoQ there is a boost in mental and physical energy and a decreased requirement for sleep, a pleasant surprise for many who try supplementing for the first time. It works! It is possible to stimulate your body to produce more CoQ by increasing intake of certain nutrients, such as the amino acid, tyrosine, and the mineral, magnesium. CoQ is manufactured by our own cells from the amino acid, tyrosine and farnesyl, an intermediate in the production of cholesterol. Magnesium is a required catalyst for CoQ synthesis and that is one reason why many people feel more energetic after magnesium supplementation. On the other hand, some medications can interfere with CoQ. Lovastatin, which blocks cholesterol synthesis by preventing the production of farnesyl, can induce a state of chronic fatigue. Anti-hypertensive beta-blocker medications, such as propanolal, also interfere with CoQ and the fatigue and weakened heart-beat caused by these medications can be reversed by supplemental CoQ. Doxorubicin (Adriamycin), an anti-cancer antibiotic, blocks CoQ so completely that some patients suffer heart damage—which is preventable by taking CoQ. Tetracycline antibiotics, such as doxycycline, also block CoQ and cause fatigue and weakness, which responds to CoQ supplements. Barbiturates also block CoQ and so do the common phenothiazine tranquilizers and tricyclic anti-depressants. Pesticides (especially rotenone) and toxic chemicals, including ozone and solvents, also deplete CoQ. With so many hazards in the environment, it is more important than ever to get extra CoQ in food or in supplements. It appears that as little as 30



milligrams per day is adequate for everyday use. For significant medical symptoms, however, doses of 60 to 120 milligrams per day for at least two months may be required. It is unlikely that these megadose intakes can be obtained through food. What are the best dietary sources? Cells that contain mitochondria for oxidation are the best souce of CoQ. The more mitochondria, the more energy production, the more CoQ. Heart is the richest food source of CoQ because it is the most active muscle in our body, contracting once a second, day and night. It contains about 6 milligrams of CoQ per 3 ounce portion. Liver contains a quarter as much and body muscle meats a fifth to a tenth as much. Spinach has about 2/3 as much as heart but portions are smaller, usually only an ounce and that cuts the actual intake to about 1.5 milligrams. Seeds contain coenzyme Q and unrefined corn oil and rice oil actually contain 3 to 5 times more CoQ than does heart! On average a tablespoonful of unrefined salad oil contains between a half milligram and 6 milligrams. If these natural foods are eaten regularly the Co Q intake might come up to 12 or 15 mg daily. Incidentally, tobacco leaf is the champion source, containing 184 mg in a quarter pound. In fact, the Japanese companies make their CoQ from tobacco, however it is only released by means of bacterial fermentation not by smoking. CoQ is required for cell energy. This translates into increased cell activity, greater production of cellular products, such as proteins for faster healing of wounds and hormones, for adaptation. There are impressive reports of improved blood sugar in diabetes, for instance. CoQ strengthens the immune system, conferring greater resistance to infection, not due to increased numbers of white blood cells but greater potency of the existing cells. This has obvious applications in AIDS. Red blood cells also thrive with CoQ and some cases of anemia respond very well. Skin cells are responsive and psoriasis, in particular, may improve. Bleeding gums due to periodontal disease often clear up after a time on CoQ—even when the blood level is normal. Nerve tissue is sensitive to CoQ and it is a useful treatment of retinal diseases, including optic atrophy. It is also beneficial in peripheral nerve disease. But it is in the treatment of heart conditions that CoQ is most impressive, especially in patients with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. In one major study 75 percent of those on CoQ survived 6 years while 75 percent not on CoQ died in 3 years or less. High blood pressure often improves on CoQ and mitral valve prolapse is very responsive. Even in normal conditions, large doses of CoQ increase muscle strength and cardiac output: this is especially noticeable amongst athletes and long distance runners, where performance is more obvious and measurable. Tissue levels of CoQ decline as much as 80% in old age and this single fact appears to explain some of the increased risk of heart failure, immune dysfunction, delayed healing and general weakening of energy and strength that are stereotypical of growing old. By simply taking supplements of CoQ, this age-related drop in vitality can be reversed to an amazing extent. Finally, in the research laboratory, treatment with CoQ extends the life span of mice by about 50 percent. Compare this to the low calorie life extension diet, which yields a 30 percent increase in lifespan in mice. CoQ is certainly more pleasant than a life of semi-starvation. If this is verified for humans, vitamin Q should become a household word. It should already be prized as a powerful treatment in medical practice. For those of us in orthomolecular medicine it is.

Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

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I remember how I felt when Nobel laureate Linus Pauling’s article on “Orthomolecular Psychiatry” appeared in our leading scientific Journal, Science, in 1968. I was encouraged because Linus Pauling’s endorsement elevated nutrition

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to a higher scientific status than ever before. That was almost 30 years ago, a time when the leading proponents of nutrition were not taken seriously by scientists and were despised by the medical profession! Adelle Davis, whose best selling  Ola Loa, LLC books of the 50s and 60s still read up-to-date in most respects, was vilified by  11250 Clayton Creek numerous medical editorials. But her readers believed in her, and I gained a whole Rd. new perspective on my medical education by reading her book, Let’s Get Well. It made the reader, including me, aware that nutrition is a key to health, and that  Lower Lake, CA 95457 the typical American diet of that day was inadequate. This went completely USA against the official medical propaganda. It was actually illegal for food and vitamin  1.800.800.9550 companies to find fault with our food supply, and questionable to suggest that  [email protected] vitamin pills might be good for anything.  Ola Loa Store I read Adelle Davis’ books with considerable skepticism but she won me over with her very readable and interesting nutrition tour of the major diseases in Let’s Get Well. Though she was not a physician, her medical scholarship was impressive and she presented a flood of ideas that made me see my medical education in a clearer light, particularly the relationship between nutrition and biochemistry. They go together. But just in case she was distorting data to suit her ends, I found Website by it comforting that her bibliography was extensive. She reviewed the biochemical Giraffex and medical journals in a manner comparable to any medical school textbook; but her books are written in a more interesting style. I had just experienced my first successes with megavitamin therapy and I was enthusiastic but also filled with doubts and questions. For one, why was nutrition Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC and vitamin therapy not taught in medical schools? I had only three lectures in nutrition for surgical patients, not a clue about the advantages of nutrient support for just about every disease known. Adelle was persuasive; she made it seem so

obvious. So why isn’t everyone doing nutrition, if it is so good? The answer was actually pretty obvious: Nutrition was singled out for scorn and ridicule by the establishment. Nutrition-physicians were regarded as quacks. In 1968 nutrition rated so low in American science and medicine that there was very little research in the field. Nutrition was the bottom of the medical totem pole. I can say without question that Linus Pauling advanced the cause of nutrition by at least twenty years by inventing the word, “orthomolecular.” That word was his endorsement of nutrition medicine—as science. Ortho-molecular means “right molecules.” Nutrients are these right molecules, the molecules of life that fit into the biochemistry in a way that no drug ever can! Maimonedes knew it in the 12th Century: “Let no illness that can be treated by nutrition be treated by any other means.” Dr. Pauling is no longer with us. But his influence remains an inspiration in so many ways, and not least is his neologism, “orthomolecular,” which remains the best word to define the essence of what is otherwise known as “alternative medicine.” Words like holistic, integrated, complementary and functional are also in use; but only the word orthomolecular conveys the union of nutrition, science and medicine as envisioned by the great Linus Pauling. I am convinced that the word, orthomolecular, is here to stay because it really does convey the operational concepts and beliefs of the nutrition-physicians. Let me present a few of these words and ideas that denote the practice of orthomolecular medicine. 1. Orthomolecular medicine relies on the use of molecules that occur naturally in the human body. These are the preferred molecules for maintaining health and treating disease. They are the right molecules, the molecules necessary for life itself. They are found in the foods we eat and are known by such familiar names as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and water. Fiber and bioflavonoids are food substances that also offer such great health advantages that they are now considered orthomolecules. 2. Maintaining orthomolecular balance is the biological challenge of survival; doing it well is the key to health and wellbeing. Traditionally this balance was controlled by our choice of food and drink. Only in the last century do we have access to food concentrates that make it possible to regulate the rates of 3.

4.

5.

6.

chemical reaction within our bodies intelligently. Nutrition and Pollution denote the two classes of molecules that most influence our survival. Orthomolecular health-medicine puts nutrition first, but also screens for pollution. This is a human ecology view of health: mankind seen in relation to the environment. Stress is another human ecology concept, denoting the adaptive response of the neuro-immune-endocrine systems to the environment, which presents as physical, chemical and psychological stimuli. The individual responds with what Hans Selye called, the General Adaptation Syndrome. This has 3 stages: Alarm, Adaptation, and Exhaustion; and at whatever stage, stress is ultimately measured in terms of biochemical change within the individual. In summary: Nutrition and Pollution are environmental factors. Stress and Disease are types of human responses to the environment. Adaptation is the fundamental purpose of our physiology. To the extent that stress induces adaptation, it strengthens physiologic mechanisms of survival and health. The orthomolecular perspective can be tabulated by merging the four key words—nutrition, pollution, stress and disease—into corollary categories:



Table I. HUMAN ECOLOGY PERSPECTIVE

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Environment

Human Response

Category

NUTRITION

POLLUTION

STRESS

DISEASE

Corollary

Deficiency

Excess

Adaptation

Damage

BODY

Malnutrition

Intoxication

Hypertrophy

Degeneration

MIND

Ignorance

Hypnosis

Neurosis

Psychosis

This table identifies the relationships of the key words that define Orthomolecular Health Medicine: i.e. Nutrition-Pollution-Stress. A single word reflects the philosophy of orthodox medicine: Disease. The chart illustrates the fact that orthomolecular medicine comes into play before much damage is done. Orthomolecular medicine is “early” medicine. Orthodox medicine is usually “late” medicine. It takes a crisis of pain, fear or disability to motivate most patients to seek medical help. Too often this is late, beyond adaptation and into the exhaustion-degeneration stage; and too late to regain optimal health. I have made analogous applications of this tabulation to the ‘Mind. Is it not possible to look on ideas as a kind of food for the mind? Then bad thoughts are like pollutants, able to mislead and harm the mind. Ignorance is a mental deficiency state, "a malnutrition of the mind.” Thought overload, in the form of coercion or confusion is well known to induce hypnosis, a state of compliance without much resistance, as if reason sleeps. Hypnosis is a natural defense, protecting the integrity of the cerebral cortex by limiting its activity. Everyday life in our civilized world assaults us with an excess of ideas, rules, laws, news, and information and mis-information, sufficient to confuse and overload our mind and cause regression to unthinking compliance and suggestibility. This is a self-protective, near hypnotic state, and when it fails, accidents, violence and posttraumatic neurosis erupt in proportion to the degree of over-load beyond what the individual can absorb. Such break-downs induce biochemical imbalances that can cause permanent damage to the brain, pituitary and adrenal glands. Nutrition, detoxification and therapeutic suggestion (relaxation, meditation, hypnosis) can prevent the damage, even in the face of severe stress. The most important implication of this tabulation is that medicine is better viewed in a human ecology perspective, not just as disease. Disease concepts in primary care medicine are based on archaic symptoms and signs and not on molecular and cell biology. Orthomolecular medicine is by definition, by its very name, a molecular approach to nutrition, pollution and stress. Orthomolecular medicine focuses on the adaptive response to environmental stressors, and aims to make the necessary corrections before damage is done. Orthodox medicine begins with the idea of disease, where orthomolecular medicine leaves off. Worse, orthodox medical practice is likely to treat the

adaptive mechanisms as disease, with drugs and surgery, and this may be inappropriate. To paraphrase Maimonedes: if it can be cured with food, don’t treat with drugs. I say: “Put nutrition first.” That’s orthomolecular, that’s what.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Classic autism, once mystifying and attributed to the "refrigerator mother," i.e. failure of maternal-neonatal relationship, is now identified with injury to the developing brain. The diagnosis is based on: 1) lack of language development; 2)

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lack of social interaction; 3) stereotyped and repetitive behaviors. The language impairment ranges from total lack of words to spotty use of words and phrases. These children often respond when spoken to but are unable to organize their  Ola Loa, LLC thoughts well enough to answer back. Recovered autistics have described the  11250 Clayton Creek experience as one of confusion. The social impairment presents as lack of eye Rd. contact, lack of facial expression, lack of ability to play, and inability to interact meaningfully with others. Stereotyped behaviors include rituals, hand flapping,  Lower Lake, CA 95457 body movements, head banging and bizarre and selective preoccupation with USA objects.  1.800.800.9550  [email protected] Researchers have conjectured that autism is due to brain injury; however proof has been elusive, that is most cases do not display cell damage and infiltrates  Ola Loa Store typical of either viral disease or immune reaction in the brain. On the other hand, viral infection has long been recognized as a cause of encephalitis and prenatal rubella (in the mother), post-natal measles, mumps, german measles, chickenpox, and other viruses (in the baby) are known to cause autism, ADHD, and a spectrum of delayed neurological and psychological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, delinquency, criminality, addiction, schizophrenia, and depression. Website by Giraffex

Studies of thalidomide casualties have shown us that failure of cerebellar development occurs as a consequence of chemical and viral damage in the third week after conception. I have observed two such cases in my own practice, one after Zovirax for a herpes outbreak, another following use of amoxicillin for strep throat. It is likely that damage was caused by the virus that caused the symptoms Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC at the time. These are, of course, anecdotal reports but the most credible aspect is the timing of viral and chemical exposure: 19th to 21st day after conception.

In recent years an increasing number of cases of autism have been linked to vaccine reactions, and chronic ear and sinus infections. The neuro-toxic effects of pertussis vaccine are so well known as to require little comment. Delaying immunization reduces adverse reactions. In Japan after 1979 the public health policy was changed; the routine first year DTP vacination was halted and all immunizations were delayed until age 24 months. The number of cases of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) was cut in half. Autism and other developmental neurological disorders have increased to epidemic proportions in the past ten years, running the range of severity from pervasive developmental disorder and autism, to the less severe categories, including ADHD and other learning disorders. While text-books attempt to separate these various diagnostic syndromes, the fact that all have increased at the same time suggests the possibility that there is an environmental factor. A recent paper by Dr. Stephen Edelson explores the question of environmental pollution . Twenty children (average age 6.35 years) were studied by laboratory testing, including: 1) glucaric acid analysis (a marker for increased detoxification), 2) blood analysis for solvents and pesticides, and 3) liver detoxification products. Results were significant as follows: All 20 cases had elevated glucaric acid. All cases had abnormal liver detoxification profiles. Elevated levels of toxic chemicals from 1.5 to 100 times normal were found in 16 of 18 cases. Trimethylbenzene was most frequent but it did not correlate with glucaric acid results, which therefore must have been caused by something else. Methylpentane, xylene, styrene, toluene, and benzene were also found in these patients. The authors conclude that prenatal exposure to unnatural chemicals is the most likely cause of autism, and, based on the finding of glucaric acid abnormalities in all subjects, they also propose genetic impairment of fetal and neonatal detoxification processes as a mechanism whereby normally tolerable exposure to xenobiotics causes major neurological damage in those who develop autism. This study is important not only for its findings but because it is more thorough in its method of testing than other studies of autistic children. A weakness of the study, however, is the lack of data from a group of healthy children for comparison. The same limitations apply to my own observations of the approximately 50 autistic children in my practice. There are suggestive histories that point to recurrent otitis or sinusitis and repeated antibiotic treatment as risk factors for neurological problems. Are antibiotics dangerous? Do they induce serious bowel disorders? Or do the infections, themselves, interfere with brain development. For example, otitis is a fairly common source of infection with tetanus! The Clostridium tetani organisms can thrive in the anaerobic environment of the middle ear and the toxin produced by this microbe produces is neurotoxic. It is plausible to consider this a potential cause of developmental brain disease. One of the most effective treatments is external application of ozone to the ear canals and I know of at least one case that improved dramatically after such a treatment. Our epidemic of autism and ADHD also coincides with the introduction of a new vaccine against measles in 1988. This vaccine contains a weakened but live virus, a mutant strain. It is usually given with two other live virus vaccines, mumps and rubella (german measles), hence it is abbreviated MMR. The vaccine is now administered to almost all children at age 15 to 18 months, with booster doses 3 months later and again upon starting school. Measles has almost disappeared in the USA since 1900 and the credit is usually given to vaccination. However, Dr. Leon Chaitow relates that the measles death rate dropped from 13 per 100,000 in 1900 to 0.03 per 100,000 in 1955—before measles vaccination arrived. In 1958 there were still about 800,000 cases per year but in 1962 this had dropped to 300,000. The vaccine arrived in 1963. In 1978 a survey of 30 states found that half the cases of measles were found in children that had been vaccinated. The vaccine failure rate has been reported at 20 to 30 percent, which is to say that about one out of four children are not protected by measles vaccine anyway.

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Nevertheless, it seems almost ungrateful to suspect that vaccination, which clearly can do much good, can also cause harm. But it is an accepted fact that all drugs have adverse effects. So the real question is "how much damage?" The answer is: no one knows for sure. There have not been adequate follow-up studies and almost no long term studies to explain possible delayed adverse effects, such as colitis, cancer, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. But there is reason to suspect that the increased incidence of autism and ADD may be related to mass vaccination programs. If so, it is not far-fetched to suggest that our present crisis in education, low SAT scores, school drop-outs, and high crime and addiction rates, might also be due to vaccine-related developmental brain disease. Let us consider the findings of Drs. Wakefield and Walker-Smith of the Royal Free Hospital in London, England. They carefully studied 40 autistic (pervasive developmental disorder) children and reported finding live measles virus in the intestinal tract of most of them. They also reported that the parents of these children gave a history with a common theme: the children were developing normally, many already speaking in short sentences, then regressed and lost speech a week or two after vaccination with MMR vaccine at 15-18 months. In a more recent paper they retracted their finding of live virus; but they cannot erase the fact that many parents have observed this sequence of events and a number are, in fact, now engaged in a lawsuit over MMR vaccine safety in England. Does it seem reasonable to persist in a mass vaccination program that is clouded by casualty reports? Is measles such a dangerous disease that we must vaccinate regardless of the risk of autism and learning disability? Is measles really a dangerous disease? Yes, but only in sickly and malnourished children, such as those living in poverty-stricken conditions and especially in 3rd world nations. But researchers, such as Sommers and Hussey have gathered convincing evidence that treatment with vitamin A, retinol, offers almost complete protection from the serious, complications of measles, i.e. pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. Results might be even better with more complete nutritional support, including dietary balance and supplemental zinc and antioxidants. Such research is needed to answer such questions. Dr. Alfred Sommers travelled extensively in Southeast Asia, visiting villages, treating some children with vitamin A, passing over others. Return visits just a few months later gave convincing evidence: those who received vitamin A were alive and well, even if they had contracted measles. There were no deaths. On the other hand, those who were not treated with vitamin A had a death rate of about 10 percent! Vitamin A is crucial in prevention of autism: It is obvious from the foregoing that vitamin A functions as an anti-viral agent, especially against childhood viruses. But there are other attributes of this vitamin that deserve mention. One of the functions of vitamin A (retinol) is its role in sulfation, one of the major detoxification steps of the body. Vitamin A is essential for growth and repair, healing, so it is important in recovery from illness. And vitamin A has a beneficial effect on the brain, particularly in the auditory cortex, believed to be impaired in autism, inasmuch as disturbance of speech and language skills is a central feature of the disorder. A study in rats found vitamin A deficiency increases sensitivity of the inner ear to noise as well as susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss. This is reminiscent of the irritability so often reported by parents of autistic children. In many cases the children literally cover their ears with their hands to shut out sound. Experimental evidence shows that the sensitivity to noise is caused by degeneration of the tight junctions of the cells surrounding the cochlear duct. These normally form an endolymph-perilylmph barrier that prevents the potassium rich endolymph from entering the base of the hair cells and unmyelinated nerve fibers. The perilymph, which surrounds the hair cells, is low potassium, but noise exposure increases the permeability of the barrier cells and permits influx of potassium. This causes a threshold shift of the hair cells due to depolarization ,and the results of this intoxication can be permanent.

Vitamin A is vital to development, repair and integrity of the the inner ear. The vitamin protects against ototoxic effects of antibiotics of aminoglycoside type (e..g. Kanamycin, Neomycin) but as a rule antibiotics shouldn’t be given for otitis until vitamin A treatment has had a chance to heal and restore resistance to infection of the affected tissues. In fact, otitis is often a clinical sign of vitamin A deficiency in children. Hyperkeratosis, thickening of the epithelial linings, is one of the early signs of deficiency as the epithelial cells of the inner ear are quite vitamin A dependent. However vitamin A has an effect on neurons in the auditory areas as well. The above-mentioned study in rats found that vitamin A deficiency causes leaky membranes and altered cochlear potentials. In humans, prolonged vitamin A deficiency was studied by Hume and Krebs, who found a reduction in hearing after 15 months on a vitamin A deficient diet in 3 of 5 volunteers. Hearing loss is also reported in diseases with low vitamin A levels. Evidently irritability is an early sign of vitamin A deficiency and nerve damage occurs if deficiency is prolonged. Selenium deficiency and autism Does selenium deficiency play a role in this heart-breaking malady, in which seemingly healthy children are ?kidnapped? by a mysterious agent which causes a sudden loss of language and learning between 15 and 30 months of age. The afflicted children often lose speech within a week of the MMR vaccination and become regressive and withdrawn, unable to learn or even to pay attention, unable to play normally. They are fussy, have tantrums provoked by the least change in their accustomed routines, such as placement of objects in the room, or time of day of events. They are unsafe, wander about in the middle of the night, have little appreciation for the consequences of their acts, and often don?t get much better despite heroic attempts at therapy. Let?s qualify that: structured learning on a behavioristic reinforcement model (Lovaas) has proven beneficial. So has simple task learning, such as crawling, sound training and sight training with prisms, which seem to capture attention and give the child some cause and effect relation to the environment. . My own experience also suggests that the role of selenium is important. In the first place, some of my patients have improved noticeably upon supplementation with selenium. I have not seen a study that actually accounts for selenium status of autistic children however. Measurement of selenium in red blood cells and hair would be a good place to start and additional testing of the selenium dependent enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, would be confirmatory, one way or the other. However we do know that: 1. Selenium deficiency is common in mothers, so even mother?s milk can be deficient. 2. Acid foods make selenium insoluble, so babies regularly fed fruit juices are liable to malabsorption of selenium. 3. Fluoride forms insoluble complexes with selenium. Since selenium is strongly electropositive, it combines with fluoride preferentially, with even greater avidity than calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium. The total adult body content of selenium is less than 100 mg, so little as to be vulnerable to sodium fluoride intakes of 3 to 5 mg per day, which are usual in this country because of fluoridation and fluoridated toothpaste. Consider that vital trace minerals, such as selenium, chromium and molybdenum, are ingested on average only about 50 mcg per day. Fluoride intake is 100 times more and fluoride complexes are likely to inactivate these trace minerals by rendering them insoluble—even in the presence of calcium, magnesium, boron or aluminum salts, which also bind with fluoride. Sodium fluoride, the relatively soluble fluoride used in water fluoridation, preferentially binds to the trace minerals, selenium and chromium.

Some viruses interact with cells to increase the production of glutathione and other selenium-binding proteins that further deplete selenium, thus creating a vicious circle of virulence. The more cells are infected, the more selenium is depleted. That can be fatal. For example: Ebola virus kills 4 out of 10 of its victims. However in the presence of selenium supplementation the fatality rate drops by over 80 percent. That is a persuasive demonstration of the anti-viral power of this essential mineral. A similar phenomenon has been recognized and reported in AIDS. It is reasonable to say that selenium increases our resistance to viral disease. Variable immune deficiency is a common feature in autistic children. If mineral deficiency does factor into the autism puzzle, is it reasonable to accept that it could elude detection in millions of and escape detection as a cause of the remarkable increase in autism, ADD and other forms of learning disability? I say the answer is almost certain to be yes, and both magnesium and selenium deficiency are suspect. The role of magnesium in autism has already been verified by the well-known double-blind research trials conducted by Rimland, and Callaway in the 1970s and Martineau, Garreau, Barthelemy and Lelord in the 1980s. Here are a few speculations to pull the various observations together. Dietary selenium is deficient due to lack of high selenium foods, in turn related to depletion of soils, which is caused by acid rain which makes selenium insoluble so it washes ou of the soil rather than being taken up by plants. Furthermore, widespread fluoridation of water and processed foods also renders selenium insoluble. When viral infections strike, further depletion occurs, which can interfere with antioxidant defenses, immune mechanisms, and energy regulation. A vicious circle of immune deficiency, chemical sensitivity, and chronic viral infection and fatigue is thus induced. To be continued...

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Boron is a word that calls up images of grease-dirty hands, 20 mule teams, Death Valley, old Western movies. In my mind. Borax, is still linked to the twenty mule team and images of Wallace Beery in Western movies, hauling borax in wagons.

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Until recently there was nothing much medical or nutritional about it; Boron was just a powdery cleaner, something to get out the dirt—a not very tidy cleaning agent. Boric acid has a bit more medical history as it has uses as an antibiotic, and  Ola Loa, LLC a cleansing agent for mucous membranes and the eyes. More recently it has  11250 Clayton Creek gained popularity as a bug-killer. Just dust the boric acid or borax powder in the Rd. insect runways and cracks in your house and they die—even cockroaches go away and it is safer than the other commercial pesticides.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA Twenty years ago I read a report that boron is an essential mineral for plants, in  1.800.800.9550 particular enhancing their ability to attract and utilize potassium, enhancing its  [email protected] transport in the plant tubules. That sounded like a function that might apply to humans but I have heard nothing about it since. But now there is evidence that  Ola Loa Store boron is probably essential for humans. Beyond that, some boron compounds have almost miraculous power against inflammation, vascular disease, and cancer. A symposium on Boron was held at University of California, Irvine, in 1992 and published in the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives in 1994 (volume 102, supplement 7). Here are a few excerpts to prepare you to appreciate the amazing progress regarding health effects of this mineral and benefits that might Website by apply to you. Giraffex History 1 Most areas of the world have less than 5 mg in a pound of soil (454,000 mg in a pound) but large areas of Western United States, Mediterranean, and Kazakhstan have soils with 10 mg per pound (10-20 mg/Kg). All of the United States Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC commercial supply is mined in the Mojave desert, headquartered in the appropriately named town of Boron for the past 75 years or so. In 1960 boron was discovered in Turkey and today Turkey is the largest producer in the world of

borates for borax, boric acid, glass, fiberglass, cleaning agents, metal alloys, fertilizers, wood treatments, insecticides, and microbiocides. It works in life systems by chemical binding to hydroxyl groups (oxygen-hydrogen) and thereby influencing enzyme activity. Human intake of boron ranges between 1.7 and 7 mg per day, mostly from fruits, nuts, legumes, and vegetables. It has yet to be recognized as an essential mineral; however it does have measurable effects on human biochemistry, physiology and performance . In studies comparing electroencephalograph (EEG) and performance 2 testing (cognitive testing), low boron intake was associated with a significant decrease in fast frequency brain waves and increased slow waves. This represents a decreased arousal, as evidenced also by poor performance on tasks measuring attention, short term memory, long term memory, perception, eyehand coordination, and manual dexterity. In other words, there was statistically significant decrement in performance reflecting impaired brain activity in the 28 adult human subjects in these studies. Low copper status amplified the effects of boron deficiency, which were less apparent after 6 weeks than at 9 weeks, thus bracketing in the time required for clinical deficiency signs. However, tests of attention and memory were consistently impaired even in the shorter periods of deficiency. Dr. Forrest Nielsen, also of the US Department of Agriculture, Grand Forks Station, was first to discover the probable essential role of boron in human health, particularly bone maintenance. Though the question of essentiality remains controversial, Dr. Nielsen's first study remains a landmark in this field. He fed 12 postmenopausal women a diet with only 250 micrograms of boron per 2000 dietary calories for 4 months. Then these ladies were fed a similar diet but with a boron supplement providing 3 mg per day for 7 weeks. Urine tests showed reduced amounts of calcium and magnesium being lost at the same time that the blood plasma was also reduced. This was associated with an increase in 17bestradiol and testosterone. The implication was that youth-giving hormones were increased and calcium was going back into the bones. In another experiment Dr. Nielsen studied men over age 45, postmenopausal women and postmenopausal women on estrogen therapy. Again they were fed a low boron diet, this time for 2 months; then supplemented with boron for 7 weeks. Testing showed significantly increased copper binding protein (ceruloplasmin) and plasma copper, as well as increased antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase (which depends on copper for its activity) during the period of boron repletion. The estrogen therapy women showed increased ceruloplasmin and copper—which increased further during boron repletion. Dietary boron led to increased ceruloplasmin, copper, and Superoxide dismutase in the non estrogen groups. Dr. Nielsen proposed that boron also affects cell membrane transport of calcium and thus affects "cell signaling." Where Dr. Nielsen leaves off, Dr. Iris Hall and her co-researchers at the division of medicinal chemistry and natural products, University of North Carolina, set forth to evaluate medical applications of specific boron componds, called amine carboxyboranes. Their findings are exciting: boron compounds have beneficial medical effects in treating osteoporosis, inflammation, blood lipid disorders, obesity, and cancer! These boron compounds, amine-carboxyboranes, were found to posses selective activity against single-cell and solid tumors from mouse and human leukemias, lymphomas, sarcomas, and carcinomas. In leukemia cells the boranes inhibited DNA and RNA nucleic acid synthesis, evidently by inhibiting enzymes, e.g. orotidine-monophosphate decarboxylase, and various nucleoside and nucleotide kinases (enzymes that add phosphorous to molecules). In addition the boranes proved useful to reduce edema and pain caused by inflammation. They also protected against septic shock from lipopolysaccharides (LPS) better than any

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other drug. They were effective against chronic arthritis (in rats) and pleurisy (rats). When tested against implanted lipopolysaccharide (toxic substances from bacteria) they were found to block the inflammation caused by myeloperoxidase enzyme activity of neutrophils. The boranes were found to be dual inhibitors of both cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase enzymes. By blocking cyclo-oxygenase, the gateway enzyme to prostaglandins and thromboxanes, as well as lipoxygenase, gateway to the proinflammatory leukotrienes, the boranes have the more profound antiinflammatory effect than any other single compound that I know 3. Boranes also were found to increase excretion of cholesterol and triglyceride into the bile, which was increased in flow volume by almost 50 percent. Reabsorption of cholesterol from the intestinal tract was also reduced and the boranes were found to lower cholestesrol synthesis by blocking the enzyme HMG Coenzyme A reductase, an action comparable to the statin drugs. Boranes lowered cholesterol by 18- to 48 percent and triglycerides by 12 to 77 percent after only 16 days of treatment. But this is really just the portal to one of the most exciting discoveries in cancer therapeutics, and that is the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors as inducers of cancer cell apoptosis, i.e. programmed cell death. Pioneers, such as Robert Nagourney, founder of Rational Therapeutics, reports dramatic tumor involution after treatment with herbal molecules, such as the plant terpene, limonene, when combined with statin drugs. The combination triggers apoptosis in some types of cancer, leading to shrinkage and even disappearance of the tumors. It is possible that the carboxyboranes provide an even more potent avenue to make use of this effect. Is boron a toxic mineral? In medicine one must always question the safety of any treatment. Hippocrates left us with the admonition: "First do no harm." I am glad to report that boron is safe for ordinary usage but not something to be careless about. Toxicology studies in rats, mice and rabbits were performed by Jerrold Heindel and associates at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. In pregnant rabbits, abortions occurred with doses of 250 mg per kg per day. The lowest observed adverse effect level for neonatal offspring was 78 mg/kg/day for rats and 125 mg/kg./day for rabbits; while the lowest adverse effect level for the mothers was 163 mg/kg (rat) and 250 mg/kg (rabbit). In other words, a fetal rat is not noticeably affected by doses of boron, up to about 80 mg per kg (2.2 lb) an amount that calculates to 800 mg extrapolated for a 22 pound human baby. While that is a high dose, babies do the darnedest things and poisonings have occurred, though yet higher doses of 4.5 to 14 grams. It appears that human babies are more resistant to boric acid than rats; however itis important to know that boric acid can absorb through the skin and mucous membranes. It is not a good idea to bathe a child in it. Toxicology studies have also been carried out on borax workers. A study by Dwight Culver and associates from the University of California, Irvine, identified blood and urine boron levels in workers at a borax packaging plant. The average dietary intake was 1.35 mg boron per day, very similar to the estimated 1.52 mg boron reported recently for the standard American diet. Total estimated boron plus exposure to borax dust on the job added up to about 28 mg per day. I conclude from all this that supplementation with boron in the range of 3 to 6 mg per day is 1000-fold less than the no observed adverse effect level and that boron is remarkably safe. I predict that it will be recognized as an essential mineral in the not too distant future. But right now it should be used with doctor's instructions and it is important to remember that boric acid and borax compounds can absorb through the skin and mucous membranes—without even swallowing!

On the other hand, in adults the reality is deficiency, not toxicity. Testing of blood, urine and hair reveals that many of my patients are sub-optimal in boron. Supplementation seems to confirm the observations of Dr. Nielsen: patients feel better, libido and mood go up, and calcium loss is diminished. The amine-carboxyboranes are a different story. These are not just nutrients; they are medical drugs and need to be further researched before approval by FDA. But I think it is such a promising area of research that you should know about it now. And the effects are truly remarkable: this combination of orthomolecular and pharmaceutical research promises to open a new era of "miracle drugs." Boron is a versatile candidate to lead this revolution in nutraceutical medicine.

Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

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Mona K. was 59 years old when she consulted me about breast cancer 8 years ago. After 30 years as an operating room nurse she felt there might be a connection to halothane, a commonly used anesthetic gas. Except for chronic allergic rhinitis

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and sinusitis she had always enjoyed good health. She was also quite obese, which led to periods of nutrient deficiency after crash diets; but she considered herself in good health until a mammogram revealed the cancer in 1988. She accepted  Ola Loa, LLC mastectomy, and all of 30 lymph nodes that were removed tested positive for  11250 Clayton Creek metastatic cancer. Her oncologist was not optimistic, offering a less than 3 in 10 Rd. chance at 5-year survival. She opted for nutrient support as an adjunct to her three-month-long course of chemotherapy with tamoxifen, cytoxan,  Lower Lake, CA 95457 methotrexate and fluorouracil. USA  1.800.800.9550 Vitamin therapy helped her tolerate the chemotherapy with minimal adverse  [email protected] effects. She developed cravings for fatty foods, such as bacon, which succeeded in reversing her anorexia and weight loss. Odd as it may seem, she thrived on it; but I  Ola Loa Store have seen this same unexpected benefit in other cancer patients, so I don’t regard any food as bad for cancer patients, so long as the patient feels a real craving for the food. On the other hand, Mona also craved mustard and horseradish, perhaps because these contain peroxidases, which are stimulants, including immune stimulation. Website by

And there can be reverse cravings of equal merit: for example, her oncologist Giraffex prescribed iron supplements; but these caused muscle pain and intestinal cramps so she stopped the therapy. Not a bad idea, since chemotherapy destroys blood cells, which then release their mineral and iron contents into the body fluids. Free iron is always adverse because it provokes platelet aggregation, causing clots that stick to blood vessel walls, thus providing a foothold for metastatic cancer cells. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC These clots contain growth factors that promote cancer cell growth, and blood vessel growth into the tumor, which feeds the metastases by bringing nourishment to the upstart cancer cells.

Just to give an idea of her laboratory profile: her white blood cell count was only 2400, about half normal, before the start of chemotherapy; and her vitamin A was only 49 mcg per 100 ml, about half the optimum for recovery from major illness. In other words she was not in condition for a good result from chemotherapy. With low vitamin A, she would be thrice penalized: inability to detoxify the chemotherapy agent; inability to generate anti-cancer T cells (NK cells), and inadequate protein synthesis for healing and repair. It is sad that vitamin A is not used routinely in orthodox medicine, since it is a determining factor in the outcome of almost all illnesses. Her hair zinc was only 87 parts per million, about half the normal level. In addition, her antioxidant enzymes were grossly depleted: glutathione peroxidase was only 3.8 (normally above 4.2) and superoxide dismutase was only 8.1 (normal above 9.4). These results point to deficiency of selenium and copper respectively, confirmed by the effects of copper supplementation, which raised her superoxide dismutase to 13.3, which confirmed that the copper level was sub-optimal to begin with. Her glutathione peroxidase also normalized after giving her selenium, which is the specific mineral activator for this enzyme. I would have liked to test her hair for fluoride, because fluorine from halothane might be stored there. Fluoride makes up almost a third of the weight of the halothane molecule, to which she was exposed for decades. And halothane can remain stored in the fat tissues of the body (including the breast) for long periods of time. The hair test for fluoride is not available; however I did order a test for organochlorine pesticide residues, and her blood contained a total of almost 50 parts per billion (i.e. 50 billionths of pesticide per gram). This placed her in the uppermost quartile of a hundred of my patients who I had tested, and this group had a four-fold greater incidence of cancer compared to the lowest quartile group. Consider the fact that it is ‘normal’ for Americans to carry organochlorine up to 500 ppb in our blood. Actually these toxic molecules should be undetectable in the human body and they increase our cancer risk at any dose. DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972; however the by-product, DDE, measured 40 ppb, and PCB measured 7 ppb, about 40 percent above the average but still not abnormally high by official public health standards. Of course, the rules are being re-written as you read these lines, since these molecules are now known to have hormonal activity, similar to estrogen, and thus have been identified as cancer growth promoters, especially for estrogen-sensitive breast tumors. This is a good reason why it is more important than ever for women to have a regular intake of food and herbal estrogens, the so-called phyto-sterols, which block the effects of the toxic environmental pseudo-estrogens. After three months to build up her vitamin levels and encourage recovery from the stress of the chemotherapy, I treated her with mineral oil and flax powder daily for a month to bind some of the fat-soluble organochlorines and hasten their exit from her body. On repeat testing after 60 days the PCB was no longer detectable! And the DDE had dropped almost 50% to only 26.1 ppb. These toxics are known to deplete the liver of vitamin A, so it was reassuring to find, after the initial vitamin treatment, that her vitamin A increased to a robust 116 mcg per 100 ml of blood and her white cell count increased to 3600 per ml. She was feeling well and increasingly confident and did not return for several months. Then a surprise complication brought her back: ankle edema. After three days of increasing fluid in her feet and legs, to the knees, she feared that her cancer had spread to the liver. I was worried too, I will admit, but by careful questioning, it became clear that she had binged on homemade apple bread in these same three days, consuming 2 loaves all by herself in that time! That amounts to almost a pound of carbohydrate per day and I knew from experience that carbohydrate excess causes fluid retention. I advised her to cut out all sweets and starches for a few days and the result was spectacular: her edema began to

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resolve in just four hours and was all cleared in a day! Did I say spectacular? Must have been, for I didn’t hear from Mona again for 5 years! And she was well all this time. But in January 1995 she came back because of pain in her shoulder, a symptom that had persisted since she fell from a ladder and fractured her clavicle and 3 ribs over a year before. She had stopped taking the anti-estrogen drug, Tamoxifen about the time of the injury, due to vaginal bleeding and blurred vision. And she had also stopped taking vitamins in July 1994. She had somehow gotten the idea that the vitamins made her shoulder pain worse! Yet she readily admitted that she was also having more trouble with chronic sinusitis and bronchitis and felt less well without the nutrient support. I was very concerned by her haggard, unhealthy appearance and, expecting the worst, ordered a laboratory update. It came out better than expected: her blood count was only marginally anemic and the urinalysis showed only a few mucus casts and epithelial cells. Her fasting blood sugar was 120 mg (optimal is 80-110) and this suggested a degree of insulin resistance, compensatory increase of blood insulin and cancer-promoting activity due to insulin-like growth factor. Concerned about the prospects of cancer relapse, I ordered an AMAS test, the Anti-Malignan Antibody in serum. The result, 34 units, at first glance seemed within the normal range but my relief gave way to some concern that, for when AMAS is under 50 units and the patient has a known cancer, experience teaches that one must suspect immune system incompetency and a terminal condition. Here was my patient: ill for over 3 months with sinus infections, cough, herpes lesions and a sore tongue—all signs of immune weakness. I prescribed a substantial immune-supportive regimen, which she did maintain for a time; however six months later her friends called me with bad news: cancer had spread into her lungs and spine. Her oncologist had treated her with the herbal drug, Taxol, but it failed to resolve the life-threatening fluid build-up in her lungs and it also lowered her white blood cells to about half normal, an obvious disadvantage considering that her own immune defenses were her most likely ally. She was now so short of breath she could barely talk, even on oxygen. Seeking a miracle, her friends begged me to design a nutrient program, one that she could follow, though bed-ridden, unable to speak, and barely able to eat. She then tried potassium iodide and also DMSO, but only for a short while due to nausea. Luckily she had a positive benefit from the use of industrial strength magnet over the site of her shoulder pain. “The magnet is great. Shoulder and neck pain cleared!” And then a miracle did happen: she began to respond to lastditch chemotherapy with adriamycin. Six weekly injections were associated with reduction in lung fluid, which had been accumulating at the rate of 2 liters per week. It is plausible that her vitamin regimen, high in coenzyme Q 10 was synergistic with the chemotherapy. There is good research evidence that the supplemental coenzyme Q protects the heart muscle cells from being damaged by the adriamycin. Following that therapy, she was maintained on a second chemotherapy regimen, the anti-folic acid drug, methotrexate for a few months. It is now a year later and she remains well—well enough to work as a nurse for the past three months. She was able to travel to the Midwest by bus to visit friends and family on vacation. She is more than holding her own. By ordinary standards she qualifies as a cancer treatment success, having survived for eight years with metastatic breast cancer. But her death-defying course is typical of too many successfully treated cancer patients, who regain their health and then stop the nutrient therapy. I have seen this behavior in four patients, two of which had lived with cancer for over 15 years. Even in these long-term remissions, when the patients neglect their health regimens, within six months they relapse. I have seen some patients relapse and recover up to three times from the same cancer!

Mona had sustained a serious fall and multiple fractures before her cancer relapse. Fracture of long bones often releases particles of marrow into the blood stream and usually some of this material ends up in the lungs. Large amounts of marrow can actually cause death due to pulmonary embolism, so-called fat embolism. But even small amounts contain cytokine immune hormones and growth factors that promote clots and metastases. I have another case in mind with the same scenario: fractured bone followed within a few months by metastatic cancer growths in the lungs. This is a profound lesson, one that leads me to wonder whether preventive treatment with anti-coagulants and retinoids for a few weeks after a fracture might be a good idea in any known cancer patient. Mona’s experience is a hopeful lesson: that even if you are afflicted with cancer, you can still live a long and healthy life; but you must not let your defenses down in case of trauma, nutrient deficiency or toxic exposures. These are the obvious warning signs to take some of the positive steps that I have alluded to here. Fortunately, cancer follow-up is much enhanced by use of AMAS and NK activity tests, but their reliability has only become evident after 5 years of clinical observation and ongoing research, so they are not widely known yet. AMAS has an accuracy of over 90 percent in detecting cancer growth. NK Activity measures the efficiency with which NK Cells destroy cancer. These tests make it possible to diagnose cancer earlier, before it is even visible or palpable, and to adjust treatment in relation to both tumor growth and immune response, thus to guide the therapy. Most encouraging is the fact that cancer and nutrition research and therapy are finally coming together. Nutrition-physicians have advocated this for many years; but the academic researchers are now joining in. An abstract by Drs. K. N. Prasad and colleagues at the University of Colorado, published in the October, 1996 Journal of the American College of Nutrition (abstract 79, page 535-6) concludes: “The use of one or two vitamins at doses currently used in cancer prevention trials may be ineffective or even harmful. Therefore, a new protocol using multiple vitamins at appropriate doses should be developed for cancer prevention and treatment trials.” These researchers had observed experimentally that a mixture of 4 vitamins, which failed to inhibit cancer growth when taken separately, markedly inhibited growth of cancer cells when administered all together. In Mona’s case, the combination of nutrient support, magnetic therapy and chemotherapy came as close to a miracle cure as anything I have seen or heard of in my forty-five years in medicine. If Mona had felt more hopeful, perhaps we wouldn’t have lost those important months of follow-up and she might have been spared the ordeal of her near-fatal relapse. Certainly, there is no need to feel helpless about cancer with these and other tools and treatments that are now available. The evidence is now credible: cancer treatment is much enhanced by “putting nutrition first.”

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Tea is in the news today because of a research report that experimental cancer was reduced 40 per cent in rats given green tea to drink. What are the active ingredients? It is believed that tannins in the tea are responsible. The paradox

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here is that some tannin are also suspected of causing esophageal cancer in those who drink tea to excess over long periods of time.  Ola Loa, LLC We might properly credit Genghis Khan with introducing tea to Western  11250 Clayton Creek Civilization. Tea served the Armies of the Great Khan very well: the caffeine Rd. derivatives and ephedrine in Chinese teas are well-known performance boosters. More important, tea is an infusion of leaves in boiling water. Boiling the water also  Lower Lake, CA 95457 protected these warriors from epidemics of dysentery that otherwise might have USA discouraged their dreams of conquest. It is not far-fetched to claim that tea was a  1.800.800.9550 major weapon in the armory of Genghis Khan!  [email protected] Tea has always been a beverage to be enjoyed for pleasure. In the first place it is  Ola Loa Store tastier than water, and as we have observed, safer. If you were pro-fluoridation, you would recommend tea for infants and children, since it is a natural source of fluoride. Two cups of tea made with non-fluoridated water contains about 1 mg of fluoride, which is considered to be optimal. Of course, if your water is fluoridated at the prescribed level of 1 part per million (1 mg per liter, that is, about 4 cups) then two cups of tea actually provides 1.5 mg of fluoride and 4 cups would contain Website by 3 mg, which is getting close to the limit of safety for long term fluoride intake. Giraffex Tea also contains enzymes that inactivate thiamin, vitamin B1. Hence if one drinks tea in large amounts, one should be aware of sources of the vitamin: meat, nuts, whole grains, and wheat germ, yeast. Loss of thiamin is compounded by sugar, which uses up the vitamin in the chemical activities of the body. Adding heaps of Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC sugar to iced tea is not a good idea.

With these modest warnings in mind, it is safe to say that tea is good for you. It has nutritional value and provides some magnesium and potassium. On the other hand, again, the tannins bind to minerals, such as iron and calcium. If you are iron deficient, tea is not for you. Some of us may think of tea as a feminine drink and coffee as more masculine. Actually, tea is a better drink for men because it hinders absorption of iron, a mineral that can accumulate to excess in men. The tannins in tea are released at lower temperature than the flavorful substances, so if drink tea for the pleasure of its flavor then bring the water to boil before adding to the tea. Don't over-heat or simmer very long or the tannins will overtake the flavor. On the other hand, if you want a medicinal brew, soak it at low heat or simmer it longer, until it makes your mouth pucker at the taste of it. Tannins are astringent; they bind to proteins in the mucous membranes of the mouth, just as they bind to the membranes of certain microorganisms, particularly yeasts. And this is a major medicinal use for tea: as a safe antibiotic against yeast, including Candida albicans. In my practice make good use of tannin, which is taken as a capsule for intestinal problems, a gargle for coated tongue or oral thrush, and as a douche for monilia. In each case it offers advantages. Finally, tannins attach to various toxins and antigens in the gut, thus protecting the mucosa from injury in case of infection. It also prevents systemic invasion of the body by sealing damaged cells. In short, tea contains tannins that are well suited as first-line agents in case of diarrhea. Now we see that tea has nutritional and medicinal value as well but that is perhaps of more interest to the physician. Let's hear it first for pleasure, thrice over. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Perhaps the most insidious distraction that throws a doctor off the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is the medical teaching that B12 is stored in the adult human liver in an amount sufficient for 5 to 10 years of total deprivation. Obviously not so. I have seen cases in which B12 reserves ran out in less than half that time.  Ola Loa, LLC This is more likely nowadays when so many people have been avoiding red meat  11250 Clayton Creek and liver in their diet for years on end. Vegetarian and, of course, fruitarian diets Rd. can induce severe B12 deficiency in susceptible people, i.e. those who may have a

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defect in B12 absorption. Such people are at severe risk of B12 deficiency if they go  Lower Lake, CA 95457 along with the crowd. Luckily, almost half of all Americans are taking multivitamin USA and B complex supplements containing B12 at least some of the time. On the  1.800.800.9550 other hand, there are still lots of folks who cling to the idealistic notion that they  [email protected] can get all their vitamins and minerals from a "balanced" diet.  Ola Loa Store I will never forget Caroline, an 18 year old college student, who had the lowest B12 level I have ever seen. She had been on a macrobiotic diet for two years and then for six months followed a fruitarian diet before mental confusion, delusion and agitation closed in on her. The diagnosis of B12 deficiency was considered after her dietary lifestyle became known. Her blood test was almost devoid of the vitamin, only 10 pg/ml. Fruits and vegetables contain no B12. The fermented soy (miso and Website by tempeh) and nutritional yeasts at the ashram would have provided only small Giraffex amounts; and then as a fruitarian she ran out of reserves. Once a brilliant student, Caroline has never fulfilled herself since, has not been self-supporting, and has required almost continuous psychiatric care and frequent hospitalizations due to psychotic relapses in the 20 years since her period Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC of acute B12 deficiency. The only good news is that she survived, and that she did not develop spinal cord damage with paralysis and end up in a wheel chair.

Most doctors are taught that B12 deficiency is a hereditary illness, which it is in many cases. However the medical students are not well taught about the many non-genetic hazards that cause depletion of this vitamin. For one thing there are so few dietary sources of B12 other than vitamin pills and injections! As mentioned already, fruits and vegetables contain none. Milk and cheese contain little, and in company with fish, fowl, eggs and even beef, the usual dietary intake is too low to satisfy optimal requirements. Only organ meats, especially liver, kidney and, yes, calves brains, provide a reliable and adequate source. But people are avoiding these foods because they all contain cholesterol along with the B12. This is a downside result of the "war on cholesterol and fat" that is the official current dietary policy of the health establishment of--the world! As a result of cholesterol fetishism in our Washington bureaucropolis and cholesterol phobia everywhere else, dietary B12 deficiency is more common than ever. In my book Meganutrition, I described Joe, a 35 year old 7th Day Adventist janitor, who had followed a strict vegetarian diet for over 15 years. He gradually changed, becoming dangerously hostile, and suspicious, especially towards his wife and children. Due to increasing pressure of his delusions, overtly suspicious and unreasonable behaviors, he eventually lost his job, and his wife and children left him. His parents brought him to consult with me; and even after the diagnosis of B12 deficiency he refused treatment. He had to be hospitalized finally before he would accept vitamin B12 injections; but when treated, he quickly recovered his personality--but not his family. Vegetarians are often quite militant in defense of the B12 content of vegetables and about the fact that B12 is present in spirulina and seaweed. However in a study of 110 adults and 42 children living in a macrobiotic community in New England1half of the adults had low B12 levels and over half of them had abnormal amounts of methyl-malonic acid in the urine, indicating impairment of amino acid and fatty acid utilization. More than half the children were likewise abnormal in Methyl-malonic acid, and most were also short in stature and underweight. Dairy products were protective to some and so were home-made fermented soy products, such as tempeh. Commercial fermented products were not adequate however, and sea vegetables were also found to be unreliable sources of B12. Even spirulina and blue green algae seem to produce mostly false forms of B12, that may actually interfere with the active vitamin.2 These inactive vitamin B12 look-alikes in food are released by intestinal digestion and bind to the transport proteins that otherwise would carry vitamin B12 into the blood and liver, and thence to the rest of the body tissues and cells where it is used. Pseudo-B12 look-alikes give false normal readings in the conventional blood tests for B12. Luckily there is a protozoal assay which measures only the active B12; but it is offered by only one laboratory in the world3 and is not as well known as it deserves to be even though the accuracy is higher and cost lower than any other method. A lymphocyte B12 assay has recently become available also4. This is a test-tube test of growth of the patient’s lymphocytes after adding B12. Above normal growth means that the cells need more B12 than they have been getting. Anyone who has had stomach surgery should be alert for B12 deficiency--in fact anyone who has had stomach surgery should take regular B12 injections as a precaution because the B12 transport proteins are manufactured and secreted by the stomach. If the stomach lining is damaged by heredity, aging, wear and tear, auto-immune disease, or ulcer surgery, which removes the acid-secreting cells, vitamin B12 replacement should be maintained for life. Antacids and histamine blockers (Tagamet and Zantac) and Prilosec (omeprazole) interfere with absorption of B12 sufficiently to cause deficiency.5 Ten healthy volunteers were studied before and 2 weeks after measured vitamin B12 doses. Absorption of the vitamin was reduced by 75% in those taking 20 mg of

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omeprazole; and by 80% in those taking a 40 mg dose. Ordinary antacid doses interfere with B12 big time. So does intestinal malabsorption, especially Crohn’s disease, and a variety of liver diseases. Anemias of all types use up B12 to generate new blood. Blood donations lower B12 levels the same way. So do chronic infections, major trauma and extensive burns--all deplete the vitamin stores. Folic acid deficiency can complicate and aggravate B12 deficiency. In most cases, B12 deficiency is associated with deficiency of stomach acid. This interferes with folic acid digestion because stomach acid is essential to trigger release of pancreatic digestive enzymes, without which folic acid cannot be digested and absorbed. Hence low stomach acid can lower folic acid despite a high vegetable diet rich in folic acid. This is a vicious circle, for without folic acid, vitamin B12 activity is impaired and the vitamin can accumulate, unused in the body. This is another cause of false normal or high B12 levels in laboratory testing. A number of chemicals inactivate vitamin B12. Nitrous oxide, (also called laughing gas) destroys the vitamin and so do the common anesthetic agents, halothane and enflurane.6 A combination of nitrous oxide and halothane is a favorite in surgeries that do not require deep anesthesia. Post-operative delirium, psychosis and neuropathy, any of these is a warning to check and treat possible B12 deficiency. Antibiotics, particularly Flagyl (metronidazole) and chloramphenicol, can lower B12 levels. The anti-protozoal drug, chloroquine, can do the same. Chlorinated and brominated chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides and fungicides destroy vitamin B12. This includes lindane, which is still in use for treating lice, even in children. Fluoride-containing refrigerants and propellants, such as freon and fluorohalomethanes, are another class of chemicals that destroy B12; but they are seldom appreciated because doctors are not taught to consider this possibility. I made the diagnosis in a bank executive who suffered neuropathy and cardiac irregularity after repeated exposure to chloro-fluoro-methanes from the insulating materials of his desert home. The 110-degree heat vaporized these toxics, which were sucked into his home office through the air-conditioner. Female hormones can cause low blood levels of B12 and folic acid. There was a 40 percent reduction in serum B12 in 20 healthy women on oral contraceptives compared to a control group. Serum folic acid was also reduced.7Diabetes drugs such as metformin and phenformin interfere with B12 absorption; so does the anti-gout drug, colchicine. Likewise for neomycin, often used as a pre-operative bowel-sterilizing antibiotic. This list is incomplete and new anti-B12 drugs will be recognized in time, but it is obvious that there are a lot of conditions other than heredity that cause B12 deficiency. But if there is a family history of pernicious anemia, then the patient is likely to be more vulnerable to these environmental hazards. One reason that B12 deficiency is not diagnosed more often is that researchers and laboratories have set the normal range too low. The normal range is usually given as 115 to 800g/L (billionths of a gram). The numbers should be revised upwards to 500 to 1500 pg/L out of respect for optimal rather than minimal benefits of the vitamin. In the past, patients might go without B12 treatment even in the face of macrocytic anemia typical of B12 deficiency because their doctors were misled by the laboratory range. Lindenbaum broke through this widespread error about vitamin B12 diagnosis in his 1988 report of increased nerve and brain damage associated with B12 blood levels from 190 to 250 pg, levels that used to be regarded as normal. No more. Now the mainstream standard of care is to treat anyone with serum under 300 pg.8 Those more impressed with the complexity and pitfalls associated with B12 favor 500 pg as an indication for a trial of treatment, even if symptoms are not yet evident--in order to prevent irreversible damage. Therefore, I prefer to treat with injectable B12 in any case of persistent fatigue, depression, psychosis, nerve pain or numbness, memory loss, headache,

premature aging, arthritis, delayed healing, regardless of the results of the B12 test. Urine testing for homocysteine and methyl-malonic acid are also indications for B12 treatment, even when serum B12 levels are "normal." While the injections are almost painless, there are some patients who balk. Luckily the sub-lingual forms of B12 are effective if taken regularly at a minimum dose of 1 mg (1000 mcg) daily. Nasal gel B12 is even more readily absorbed though a bit messy. In Dr. Lindenbaum’s series of 141 neuro-psychiatric patients whose symptoms were attributed to B12 deficiency, 40 (28%) had no anemia. Symptoms of sensory loss, ataxia and dementia were prominent and elevated methylmalonic acid and homocysteine were observed. Serum B12 was over 200 pg/ml in 2 patients; between 100 and 200 pg in 16 others. In an editorial comment on this research, Dr. William Beck of Massachusetts General Hospital concluded: "It would appear that measurement of serum levels of the nutrient may not always be the answer." Indeed, testing for methylmalonic acid and homocysteine may be more useful than the direct blood level of B12. For best results it is wise to test both ways if there is any suspicion of vitamin deficiency." Dr. Beck also considered the increased costs of such testing: "but if real benefits await these patients, the costs are justified." And he concluded with the following classic line: "Could it be that the many cobalamin (B12) injections given over the years for vague symptoms were in fact justified?" That is progress! Doctors are finally waking up. However sometimes patients are their own worst enemies, for to refuse B12 treatment is to risk Alzheimer’s and quadriplegia, paralysis of the legs and loss of control of the bladder. I am thinking of Lora, a 50 year old woman who consulted me because of chronic depression and then tested very low for B12. I had a complete laboratory work-up and gave her a typewritten nutrition prescription, including regular injections of B12. But she refused my advice and was rather chill when I followed up my report with a personal telephone call--three times. She was obviously suspicious and paranoid, already at the early stages of irreversible brain damage and dementia. There was nothing more I could do. The medical fates can be extremely unforgiving. That was the same story with Petra, but her case was particularly galling because her husband and family doctor had all the information from me and should have known better. Instead they placed her in a nursing home within 6 months after partial but inadequate treatment, using B12 by mouth rather than returning for a series of B12 shots as recommended. Once she was given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s by the family doctor, everyone got the erroneous idea that nothing further could be done! I called and wrote the family but her husband was in a state of disbelief. It was beyond my power. Neglected and deteriorated, it is almost certain that she was already beyond repair. Now she really does have "Alzheimer’s"-- one of the approximately 30 percent of the millions of Alzheimer’s cases each year that are caused by vitamin B12 deficiency. While writing this review I had occasion to do a laboratory update for one of my patients, a 40 year old woman, who has her blood tested for vitamin and mineral levels every two years, even though she is in excellent health and already on a nutrient support regimen. Therefore I was surprised to find a low B12 in this followup panel. There it was, only 250 ng/L. Her 13 year old son was even lower, only 210 ng/L. Review of her family history brought forth that her father had ulcers at age 30 and underwent surgery to remove the acid-secreting cells of his stomach. He was never well again after that because he was never told about the need for vitamin B12 replacement. Over the next few years he became irritable, paranoid and an irascible alcoholic. Alcohol dependency is sometimes the poor man’s answer to chronic biological depression. The alcohol by-passes carbohydrate metabolism, yields rapid energy, douses the fires of regret, and powers an almost irresistible uplift of mood.

Unfortunately it also turned him to violence against his family and caused repeated conflicts requiring police intervention. No one ever thought to replace his lost B12 and he died in his 60s, a young-old, and miserable man. How sad it is to be able to clarify the diagnosis from thousands of miles away and years after his untimely demise when no one thought of it in the 30 years before! It helps a little to be thankful that his sad experience prepared Jane and her son to accept B12 therapy. Both were amazingly responsive, he to sublingual tablets, his mother to B12 injections. The first few weekly shots quelled her depression and made her appear visibly younger. Her son regained his mental concentration ability and began doing household chores that he used to shirk. It helps to have a healthy level of physical and mental energy. Vitamin B12 has given this family a lot more cheer as they greet the New Year.

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Nutrition doomsayers often warn against taking vitamins, especially in large doses. Are megavitamins dangerous? The truth of the matter is that vitamins are in a class by themselves when it comes to safety. They are safe, even at large

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doses, so long as the warning signs of toxicity are heeded. Even the fat soluble vitamins, A and D offer treatment benefits that far outweigh the adverse effects of overdose. But isn’t that what doctors are for, to help patients use medicines safely  Ola Loa, LLC and effectively. It is just common sense that megavitamins should be used under  11250 Clayton Creek medical supervision. Unfortunately the medical profession is just now recovering Rd. from "malnutrition." It is not easy to find an experienced and knowledgeable nutrition-physician.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA Dr. Jonathan Wright began using megadoses of B12 for treating asthma 20 years  1.800.800.9550 ago. He found that wheezing disappeared in 8 out of 10 cases if the patients were  [email protected] not already dependent on cortisone. Dr. Wright tells of other physicians who have observed similar results, starting in 1949, when Dr. Wetzel found as little as 10 mcg  Ola Loa Store of B12 daily for a week cleared a case of "intractable" wheezing in a child at summer camp. Later on, Dr. Simon reported similar results in 20 adult asthmatics treated with injections of 1000 mcg. One shot a week for a month was enough to do the trick in 18 out of his 20 patients. In Italy Dr. Caruselli used intravenous megadoses of 30,000 mcg. over a 2 to 3 week period in treating a dozen adult asthmatic patients. Ten of the twelve were completely relieved of their wheezing Website by by this treatment. Giraffex In 1957 Dr. Crocket reported on 85 asthmatics, all treated with injections of 1000 mcg of the vitamin at intervals of one to four weeks. The benefits were related to age for about 80 percent of the children were relieved of wheezing but only half that number between 30 and 50 years of age and only 14 percent of those over Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC age fifty were symptom-free. That suggests that the younger patients were responding to the adrenalin-like action of B12, whereas the older patients were at a later stage of bronchial fibrosis and not mere inflammation and spasm.

Dr. J. Domisse reports that almost all of his depressed and bipolar patients have had B12 levels in the lowest third of the normal range and "when those levels have been raised to the highest one third of that normal range every one of those patients has done and felt better." Don’t you think megadose vitamin B12 should be considered in every case of resistant mood depression, even before tricyclic anti-depressant drugs and serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, such as Prozac? Megadose vitamin B12 can also be of great benefit in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFIDS). Dr. Paul Cheney, a physician and researcher in this field has observed significant relief when the vitamin is given by intramuscular injection two or three times a week at doses above 2500 mcg. After a few weeks, over half the patients treated at the Cheney Clinic reported sustained improvement in energy, mood and mental ability. These benefits were not seen after oral or nasal administration of the vitamin. Dr. H. L. Newbold reported dramatic effects of similar doses of B12 against sedative drug overdosage. One of his patients, a drug dealer, had learned to depend on vitamin B12 doses of 6000 mcg to revive people who were otherwise incapacitated by black-market Quaalude. As luck would have it, Dr. Newbold was called on to treat a woman in coma after such an overdose. Two minutes after the injection of 9000 mcg, the patient awoke and was able to talk. In another few minutes she was able to walk! An ambulance had been called--but the order was cancelled. Drs. Alice Tang of Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health studied the effect of B12 and folic acid, along with vitamin B6, in AIDS patients. The team found blood levels of B12 and B6, and to a lesser extent folic acid, were low in AIDS patients. But the importance of B12 stood out plainly: those with adequate blood levels remained free of disease for about 8 years; while those who were deficient in B12 developed clinical AIDS in only four years. What a testimony to the power of a vitamin. Do we know any other factor that can yield a clear-cut doubling of symptom-free life in HIV positive individuals? Now the question is: will the medical profession use this information? Will doctors measure B12 and treat with oral supplementation and injections? Will they use B12 even in case of "borderline" deficiency? And, finally, will the patients accept vitamin treatment? Here is a letter I wrote to one of my patients, a lovely lady who just plain disappeared from follow-up until I called her many months later. As you will no doubt agree: she was her own worst enemy. Unfortunately, her family and physicians seem to have let her down also.

"I have recently reviewed all my recent cases in which low levels of B12 were found. Yours is one of them. I know that my assistant called you on two occasions to remind you to follow-up on the finding of a very low B12 level (78 pg vs. laboratory normal of 150-800 pg/ml). Recent findings support a revised range of normal of at least 250 pg and some authorities recommend maintaining blood levels of 1000 pg in order to prevent memory loss and nerve problems.

"I want to be sure that you let your local doctor know about the low B12 test result and that you get follow-up blood tests until the level is repeatedly over 500 and preferably over 1000 pg/ml. I have seen a few patients lose their memory function permanently because of B12 deficiency. The outcome is similar to Alzheimer’s although it can be preceded by depression, paranoia and other signs of mental illness,

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which you have had. Permanent nerve and spinal cord damage can also occur if B12 deficiency is not treated; therefore be sure to show this letter to your doctor."

This particular woman was seen on two occasions in June 1993. She gave a history of 3 psychotic episodes. The first occurred after her first child was born and was considered a "post-partum psychosis." After two weeks in a psychiatric ward she was maintained on Haldol therapy for six months, during which time she nursed her son. Three years later she gave birth to a daughter and again had post-partum symptoms of insomnia and anxiety but without mania or psychosis. She had been vegetarian since 1982 and returned to a B12-deficient vegan diet each time after weaning. She functioned well until 1993 when she developed insomnia, which after a week led to mania and confusion. She settled down after treatment with Stelazine and consulted me 3 months later, no longer on medication. Her diet was devoid of flesh foods and milk except 3 cups of sweetened yogurt and 3 eggs a week. She drank bottled water and no soft drinks or refined sugar, other than in the flavored yogurt. Her diet was low in methionine and vitamin B12. At the same time it was high in brassica vegetables, of the cabbage and mustard families, which are cyanogens, similar to cassava, which was recently implicated as a cause of blindness and nerve damage in a serious epidemic in Cuba. Economic hardship deprived Cubans of milk and meat and forced them to eat cassava when they ran out of grain. The cyanogens in foods are of special importance given her additional history of migraine and visual loss twice a year since 1980. She may have been having eye damage similar to that in Cuba, but milder because of protection by protein intake from grains and yogurt. Mother Nature provides sulfur from the amino acid, methionine, to conver cyanide to inactive thiocyanate. Though methionine is low in her vegetarian diet, conservation of methionine from homocystine is possible, though it uses up precious B12, folic acid, and B6 and she was low in all these nutrients. I suspect a genetic factor in her illness also, for her father was alcoholic and committed suicide, a tragedy that often reflects familial B6 defects. In fact, her own B6 activity was tested and found to be deficient along with her B12 deficiency! Yeast infections were diagnosed two years earlier, before the onset of her migraine headaches, and she was treated with antifungal drugs. It is not widely known that these drugs also destroy B12. Luckily she also was in the habit of eating spirulina, blue green algae, which is one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12, and she improved as a result. Spirulina was an especially lucky choice because her lifestyle also exposed her to the combustion products of a wood-burning stove, which releases PCP (pentachlorophenol), a wood preservative. This chemical is another one that destroys B12; and since it is inhaled in the fumes, it travels directly from lungs to the brain to do its damage. The fact that she reported serious memory loss, inability to recall names, dates and phone numbers, since her third psychotic episode, is ominous. The fact of her lack of follow-through is a further omen. The failure of her family to insist on additional medical care also bodes a gloomy prognosis for this young wife and mother. When a patient with a brain-threatening disease is evasive about follow-up, it is wise to assume that she is lacking insight or is in denial to a psychotic extent. The only way to verify the extent of the loss of mental capacity is by means of formal testing; because it is usual for such people to cover-up their memory gaps and fool even their families and doctors until they reach a crisis and deteriorate, possibly beyond the point of full recovery. A doctor has no power to intervene against the wishes of the patient and family when and if they decline treatment as in this case. I made two telephone calls and

wrote a note to the patient defining the terrible consequences of inadequate treatment. I had expected this also to inform the primary care physician but when I called a year later no follow-up treatment had been done and no follow-up vitamin B12 measurements had been made. Luckily this woman has not had a relapse into dementia, presumably because her body absorbed enough B12 from my treatments to maintain her; but she is on borrowed time. In the space of 10 years and 3 hospitalizations for psychosis, under the care of at least three different physicians, including a psychiatrist who has followed this case for the entire time, no test for B12 was ordered for this patient before she consulted me. The psychiatrists treated her only with anti-psychotic drugs and she recovered reasonably well each time, so they let it go at that. An orthomolecular psychiatrist puts nutrition first, tests for nutrient-related disorders, and often finds the cause behind the disease. Until orthomolecular thinking becomes part of orthodox medical education, American physicians will too often miss-out on vitamin B12 and other nutrient deficiencies. Of course it is important to prevent any damage from vitamin overdoses, but it is a lot more likely and even more important to prevent neurological damage from B12 deficiency. The fact that vitamin deficiency horror stories are still occurring at all these days is testimony to a major failure of American medical education and practice, the failure to "put nutrition first."

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Dean Edell's Medical Journal is usually quite informative and accurate. However, when it comes to nutrient supplementation and vitamin therapy his reporting sometimes comes across as mumbo-jumbo: information that sounds good but

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doesn't make sense. A recent headline reads: "One a Day Won't Add Years to Life."[1] I have grown accustomed to such nutrition research reports that confound the issues. Contradictions are the rule in any controversial field, such as  Ola Loa, LLC medical nutrition, but by now it is obvious that there are some classic forms of bias  11250 Clayton Creek also. Rd. First there are the reports of exciting vitamin breakthroughs— followed by the  Lower Lake, CA 95457 overly cautious admonitions that no one should actually take the miraculous USA vitamin as therapy, not until there is additional "proof." But this denies us probable  1.800.800.9550 benefits even though the risk of harm is almost negligible. It doesn't make sense  [email protected] to deprive us of a probable benefit when there is almost no danger of harm. The benefit/risk ratio is favorable in that case. It is mumbo jumbo to say otherwise.  Ola Loa Store A second type of mumbo-jumbo is found in the many invalid or misleading research reports that contradict the controversial breakthroughs in medical nutrition research. Lately there have been quite a few of these breakthroughs, for example, the significant benefits of antioxidant vitamins, C and E and carotene, are now taken seriously after decades of resistance to the thousands of scientific Website by reports documenting the mechanisms and their related medical benefits in Giraffex nutrient therapy. And yet we have Dr. Edell's headline, One a Day Won't… based on a single study that seems in direct contradiction to multiple studies to the contrary. How can that be? Unfortunately, this has been the rule rather than the exception in medical Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC nutrition research for the past 50 years and Dr. Edell is not alone. There remains a political- institutional bias against nutrition medicine throughout the medical

establishment and the media. This institutional bias is concealed in the widespread use of the word "antioxidant." This word distracts us from its nutrition origins. Antioxidant nutrients is what we are really talking about, for these are antioxidant vitamins and minerals, such as carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc and others. The word antioxidant is actually used to cover-up the core fact that vitamins are the main health breakthrough of this century! What drug do we know that adds at least six years across the board to our life expectancy? Dr. Edell's column refers us to a study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics in the early 1970s. This study followed 10,000 people for an average of 13 years. No evidence of increased lifespan was found among the 22 percent of those who said they used supplements regularly compared with the 68 percent who didn't take them at all. What is the catch? After all, two recent prospective studies of the effects of the antioxidant, vitamin E, reported a 40 percent drop in the number of heart attacks in the roughly 40,000 doctors and 80,000 nurses followed for 8 and 13 years respectively. The catch is dose. The amount of vitamin E required in order to obtain this benefit was a megavitamin dose, over 100 units daily. This is over 10 times the RDA of 8 units, which was the amount found in most vitamin pills available in the 1970s. Remember, at that time the health establishment did its best to repudiate vitamin E and went so far as to ridicule vitamin supplementation in general. Doctors who prescribed vitamins were usually regarded as quacks by the medical establishment—and by the unsuspecting public. If you took a nutrition approach to your health in the 70's you were regarded as a "health nut," or a fool with expensive urine. With all this in mind, consider the recent research by Dr. James Enstrom [2], of Loma Linda University Medical Center, who found an average 6-year increased lifespan in a 10 year study of over 11,000 men and women, comparing people who took 375 mg or more of vitamin C daily with those whose intake was at or below the RDA of 60 mg. The amount that worked this six-year miracle, 375 mg, is greater than six times the RDA, the recommended daily allowance regarded by the FDA and the health establishment as adequate for health maintenance. Yes, the RDA is more than adequate to prevent the end-stage deficiency disease, scurvy; but is the RDA sufficient to promote the best of health and longevity? Definitely not. Enstrom's study also identified a 42 percent reduction in death from heart disease and 35 percent reduction in the death rate from all causes. And even if vitamin supplements did not offer the long-term benefit of increased longevity, how about the immediate gratification of increased well-being? Most people who take vitamin supplements attest to increased energy and stamina. Supplementation with vitamin C by itself provides a 35 percent reduction in morbidity from the common cold, [3] and there is also a 7-fold reduction in complications, such as pneumonia. [4] Combination vitamin-mineral supplementation would certainly work even better. In Wales, school children on multivitamin supplements scored higher on a test of nonverbal intelligence than a placebo controlled comparison group[5]. In Australia the risk of colorectal cancer was 3 times lower in those who used a multivitamin regularly. Finally, there are several studies in support of improved performance in athletic competition by means of personalized diet and nutrient therapy based on vitamin-mineral testing. Almost half of all Americans are now taking vitamin supplements. Can 100 million Americans be wrong? Consider how our country's power establishments have treated dissident opinion. When Dr. Linus Pauling rallied over 10,000 scientists worldwide against atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1950's he was vilified by Senator Joe McCarthy —and by a large sector of the American public. He was called a communist and his

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passport was withdrawn by the State Department. That did not stop him from picketing the White House on our behalf for a test ban treaty. History has already proved how much we owe to this great man, whose philosophical commitment is to science and the alleviation of human suffering. Without him, massive radioactive contamination from atomic testing would have been a disaster long before Chernobyl—and it would have been in our own country! As it is there was a 10 percent decrease in intelligence scores in cities downwind from the Nevada test site. On a different battlefield: When Pauling analyzed the existing research data on vitamin C and the common cold in 1970, he reported a scientifically incredible result: a 35 percent reduction in symptoms as a result of vitamin C supplementation, benefits that were over-looked in the completed research of others, who had failed to understand their own data! This time his critics called him "senile." He went right on with his work, documented the benefits of vitamin C against cancer, and more recently has developed a remarkable and promising new approach to reverse arteriosclerosis, using both vitamin C and the amino acid, lysine. The few cases so far reported are spectacular. The upside benefits of vitamin supplementation are now known to be rather close to what Dr. Pauling predicted: Enstrom found 6 years; Pauling had predicted eight. You don't have to be a scientific genius to understand the obvious: the downside risk of taking, say, 500 to 2000 mg of vitamin C and 200 to 800 iu of vitamin E daily is almost nil. There are other nutrients that are often in short supply, especially folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, copper, molybdenum, chromium and boron, to mention some of the most common. Vitamin deficiency is a reality and the price is exacted in terms of unexpected illness and undeserved misery. Regardless of your age or gender, your best health insurance is orthomolecular: have a medical check-up, of course, but be sure to measure your key vitamin and mineral levels and adjust your diet and supplements according to your personal needs. If that is impossible, then keep on reading the nutrition books and columns and take your vitamins. Keep on learning because in the next few years there will be more advances and more information about the power of nutrient therapy. It's a great time to be alive; a time when you have increasing control over your health because of advances in nutrition medicine. To a greater degree than you know, you owe thanks to Linus Pauling for putting the challenge to the scientific establishment to accept nutrition as orthomolecular medicine. And that's not mumbo jumbo. Linus Pauling was not just a smart person. He was a true scientific genius, one with a prodigious ability to analyze large blocks of data and keep it all straight. And he was a mathematics whiz, just as comfortable at the mathematical analysis of statistical data as he is in calculating the quantum forces that govern the crystal structure of atoms and molecules. Twenty years ago, his "critics" apologized for him by calling him "senile." Isn't it about time that our medical and nutrition experts change their tune and apologize to Dr. Pauling. History will judge it a disgrace that our country has denied our greatest scientist the official respect and support this is his due. The lack of full government support for his research ideas and efforts in the past 20 years is a loss for all mankind.

[1]. Edell, D: Health Letter in the San Francisco Chronicle, 1994 (10 Feb) [2]. Enstrom JR et al. Epidemiology 1992. 3:194-202 [3] Pauling L: Vitamin C the Common Cold and the Flu. 1976. WH Freeman, Palo Alto. p 182. [4] Pitt HA and Costrini AM : Vitamin C prophylaxis in Marine recruits. JAMA 1979; 241: 908-11. [5] Benton and Roberts: Journal of Orthomoleclar Medicine. 1988

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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When President Clinton addressed Congress regarding universal health coverage, he focused on selling points such as security, simplicity, savings, choice, quality and responsibility. These were among the key words that I remember from

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watching his masterful performance. I was especially attuned to his mention of the twin concepts, of unnecessary service and medical fraud. These concepts have become increasingly important reference points in the past decade as private and  Ola Loa, LLC public health insurance plans have quickly replaced our previous fee for service  11250 Clayton Creek and combination public hospital and medical charity system. Rd. I recall no great concern about unnecessary service and fraud in my previous 38  Lower Lake, CA 95457 years since medical school graduation. Of course, like all doctors, I was aware of USA medical faddism and quackery and I saw heroic figures like Andrew Ivy and  1.800.800.9550 Wilhelm Reich go down ignominiously for that which they sincerely believed but  [email protected] couldn't quite prove. Despite the relatively few cases that we heard about, it seems that quackery laws became quite formalized, particularly where cancer  Ola Loa Store treatment is concerned. In California the state Medical Association sponsored a Cancer Quackery law about 20 years ago, which makes it illegal for anyone to make claims of benefits or to treat cancer using vitamins or herbs, such as red clover and apricot pits, which contain laetrile. I know of a few physicians who were disciplined by the state board Website by or expelled from hospital staff privileges because they offered vitamin C therapy, Giraffex particularly intravenous treatments, even though it was for general health benefits without claims of cure. Nutrient therapy has long been construed as a form of quackery. It does not surprise me that private insurance companies and government programs, such as Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Medicare, do not cover nutrition or prevention. Nor do they cover alternative methods in general. The key word for covered services is "prevailing." If a

treatment is considered to be prevailing, i.e. accepted by the medical establishment then it is likely to be covered. So far, nutrition is not a prevailing form of therapy. That may come as an unpleasant surprise to you. Sometimes a doctor's life brings pleasant surprises. I had treated an elderly man for his Parkinson's tremor about 10 years ago and his renewed ability to participate in everyday life made such a favorable impression on his family, that I eventually consulted his wife, his daughter, his granddaughter and his infant great-grandson. The granddaughter and her infant son were both chronically ill with recurrent infections and doing so poorly that her mother arranged for them to visit San Francisco especially to consult me. All went well, but then for the past 6 years I had no contact with this family. I felt a little uneasy about their absence until recently the daughter, Shirley, returned with questions about menopausal symptoms. I had almost forgotten about her own daughter's few visits and so I was startled when she credited my treatment with having saved Nancy, her daughter's life. Encouraged by that news I reviewed the case records. If the results were so good, how could I have such a hazy memory of the case? The answer was very simple: I had only seen Nancy for three visits and a follow-up telephone consultation. She had recovered. No news can be good news and it is often that way in medicine: patients don't call back when they are feeling well. It takes a crisis to force us to call the doctor. For that reason alternative medical service is unlikely ever to be a major burden on the health insurance system: it is aimed at prevention and chronic disease, not (yet) at acute care. On the other hand, my correspondence with her health insurance company was more extensive than my work-up for her medical problems. And the issue that stood out was "unnecessary service." Was it necessary that I treat this patient at all? On that question rides a good part of the future of medical practice in the United States. Who decides what is necessary when it comes to health services? The doctor? The patient? The insurance company? The government? In this case, I'll ask you to decide. Nancy was 22 years old at the time, had a 2-year-old son and had been sickly since her son was about six months old. For the eight months before consulting me she had episodes of sore throat, 103º fever and bronchitis. Antibiotics had been prescribed for three of these episodes and were required almost half the time just to curb her fever and cough. But she was feeling more and more tired and weak and she had persistent sore throat and cough. Lately she got a new symptom, vaginal yeast infection, possibly as a complication of antibiotics, or more likely due to weakened immunity. As practicing Scientologist, she was attempting to be "Clear" and therefore she scrutinized herself for psychological causes, which she believed must play a role. Her self-confidence was badly shaken. She followed a low fat diet and took vitamins at the advice of Scientology practitioners but had lost 15 pounds in weight and was beginning to look obviously emaciated and sickly. On physical examination she was 5'5" tall but weighed only 99 pounds. She was not febrile but her heart rate was 84 beats per minute (normal is 60 to 78). There was an exudate of pus on her swollen right tonsil and her right eardrum was slightly inflamed. The lymph nodes under her jaw were tender and swollen but the laboratory results were not alarming. The white blood cells numbered 6200 (normal range is 5 to 10 thousand) and were of normal cell distribution. The multiple chemistry panel was entirely normal. Stool analysis was free of parasites and yeasts and showed no sign of malabsorption. Blood levels of vitamins were sub-optimal for fat-soluble vitamin A but not carotene or vitamin E. The blood mineral panel was low in manganese, zinc and magnesium. Amino acids were high in leucine and valine and low in threonine and histidine, a pattern often seen

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with infection. Early phase antibodies (IgM type) to Candida Albican yeasts were present in her blood. A regimen of therapeutic nutrients designed to correct her deficiencies was quite successful. Potassium iodide applied to her tonsil cleared away the purulent exudate immediately. She reported a 90% improvement within two weeks; however the white blood cell count increased, up to 8500, and vitamin A decreased by over 15%, despite supplementation with 120,000 units daily for two weeks. This is a paradox, a decrease of blood levels in the face of megadose intake and it dramatizes the fact that she was actually more deficient in vitamin A than it appeared at the initial testing. I prescribed an additional two weeks of vitamin A supplementation. And this time her serum level increased by 35% over the initial level and her white blood cell count returned to normal (5300). She was well enough to return to her home state, where she continued taking carotene but not vitamin A (I had warned her about the danger of fetal damage from vitamin A if she were to become pregnant.) She called a month later with a sore throat but this cleared without antibiotics after another 10 days on vitamin A and self-application of iodide. Because I feared she might have chronic infection locked into tissues beneath the tonsil, I referred her to an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist and a tonsillectomy was performed. End of case history: a speedy and complete recovery, in which targeted nutrient therapy prepared the patient for successful surgery. The surgery coats were paid by her health insurance company. No problem. Nutrition did not fare so well. Here is a section of the letter that Nancy received from her health insurance company when they denied payment on 95% of her medical expenses with me: "It appears that your expenses were for vitamin therapy. Vitamin therapy is considered preventative care. Under the exclusions and limitations section of your policy, it is stated that covered expenses will not include, and no benefits will be paid for any charges incurred for routine preventative care, including physical examinations. Therefore, there are no benefits payable on the aforementioned expenses." I responded to the insurance company: "It is inconceivable to me that any responsible medical authority would consider the treatment of documented vitamin and mineral deficiency to be merely "preventive". They ultimately paid token additional benefits, far less than the case deserved. Unnecessary services are a critical cost-control factor. By excluding services, administrators can selectively cut costs of their insurance plan and, indeed, this is what has happened, not only to preventive and nutrition-related services but also to a number of other promising therapies: electrotherapy, chelation, acupuncture, hypnosis and herbalism. None of these is usually covered by insurance Health care already costs an average of $3000 per capita in this country. The lifetime medical costs of all Americans come to $225,000! The health care budget consumes almost a trillion dollars annually. I am certainly not arguing against economies and controls. As you will see, I am arguing for medical freedom—for both doctor and patient. The best predictor of what is to come is reflected in the present policies of Medicare. I received a letter from a Medicare Special Investigations Unit. Their computers detected a variance in my practice and they wished to remind me that Medicare does not pay for nutrition-related or preventive services. It is not clear whether the government wants me to stop providing these services. If so, I must either fight the government or possibly retire from practice. In either case my patients lose access to those nutrition and prevention-related services that are called "orthomolecular." This is a loss of personal freedom to all concerned. I am not recommending that the government should have to pay for all medical

services. I am only making a case for the doctor-patient relationship as the best means of deciding upon the treatment and the fee. Unfortunately medical freedom was left out of the bill of rights. Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the founding fathers, had lobbied vigorously for such an amendment, but it lost. The right to privacy, a constitutionally guaranteed right, ought to protect the doctor and patient, just like any other competent, consenting adults engaged in any licit activity. Read the following two paragraphs from a letter that I have received from my Medicare "special investigator" and see if you still feel comfortable about medical freedom in America. "Federal Medicare law specifically excludes from coverage items and services which are not medically reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury... a coverage determination is based upon treatment/procedure's general acceptance, by the professional medical community, as an effective and proven treatment for the condition for which it is being used. Medicare will make payment only when a service is accepted as effective and proven." .."Fraud and Abuse under the Medicare Program defines fraud as: knowingly and willfully making or causing or to be made any false statement or representation of a material fact, in an application for a Medicare benefit or payment, or for use in determining the right to any such benefit or payment; … or to receive benefit when none is due." Penalties for violating the rules run as high as $25,000 and 5 years in federal prison. Luckily for the public, penalties apply only to the physician, not the patient. My concern is that a physician might be charged with fraud and be subject to criminal penalties when he or she was merely practicing good medicine according to his best knowledge and conscience. By billing a service as medical, one is subject to an investigator's opinion that the service was not medical but nutritional or preventive, and therefore ineligible for Medicare payment and therefore subject to penalties as Medicare Fraud. As far as I know the rules have not yet been put to the test. You can bet that the first case will be highly publicized and, if the physician loses, he will be publicly humiliated, fined and possibly jailed. Even if he wins, he will probably be bitter and bankrupt from the legal expense. Not exactly a win-win situation for anyone. Ben Franklin summed up his view of political zealots in his magazine, Poor Richard's Almanac, 200 years ago:

"There's many men forget their proper station And still meddling with the administration Of government; that's wrong and this is right, And such a law is out of reason quite; Thus, spending too much thoughts on state affairs, The business is neglected, which is theirs. So some fond traveler gazing at the stars,

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Nutrition has been a controversial subject in the medical world throughout the 20th Century. The discovery of vitamins is as much a hallmark of progress in this century as the discovery of microbes, was to the 19th. It was difficult then for

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intelligent people to imagine that invisible specks of matter, germs, could cause illness. It has been even more difficult in our own time to appreciate nutrients, even smaller specks of matter that cause illness by their absence! Orthomolecular  Ola Loa, LLC medicine addresses the challenge of finding optimal concentrations of nutrients  11250 Clayton Creek for healing and for health. Whether by laboratory testing or systematic alterations Rd. of dietary intake, orthomolecular medicine is a search for your personal nutritional balance.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA I remember the excitement of the early days in orthomolecular medicine—back in  1.800.800.9550 1970, when Linus Pauling was raising hackles with his vitamin C research. His  [email protected] main point was that the RDA, the government recommended dose of 60 mg, was a minimum, not optimum. Optimal doses might vary according to individual  Ola Loa Store genetics and circumstances, including stress, infection, toxicity, etc. Thus an optimal dose of vitamin C for treating the Common Cold might mean large doses, megadoses, a thousand times the RDA. Despite the extremely favorable safety record of vitamins, it was the idea of megavitamin therapy became the sticking point. Conventional medical authorities considered this to be quackery. Even Dr. Pauling, seemingly secure in his fame and prestige after receiving not one but two Website by Nobel Prizes, was not immune to personal attacks by colleagues and Giraffex commentators. Though he was only 70 years old and actively engaged in the management of his research institute, he was called senile by some of his critics. Orthomolecular physicians were also called names, but whatever apprehension we had was offset by the weight of the evidence: nutrition was in the ascendant Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC phase, buoyed aloft by a tidal wave of research studies attesting to the power of nutrients in health and disease. We wondered why the mentality of the medical profession was so dead set against nutrition therapy and so blind to the facts.

Most of us concluded that the medical profession was in the throes of change and that orthodox doctors were not able to keep up with the information explosion that has forced a paradigm shift in medicine from a focus on disease and drugs to biochemistry and physiology and the environmental factors of nutrition and pollution. Because orthomolecular psychiatry is rooted in biochemistry and physiology, it makes sense to include it in any medical approach to brain functioning and mental disorders. My post-doctoral training in neurophysiology impressed on me that the mind is a reflection of the brain, a physical organ, made up of trillions of cells, producing chemicals, such as lactic acid, acetylcholine, dopamine, epinephrine and serotonin, and regulated by enzymes and hormones that in turn depend on vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. I was interested in biochemistry so it was natural to be interested in nutrients; and so my mind was prepared to appreciate the megavitamin research of Drs. Hoffer, Osmond and Smythies, which was ongoing already for 15 years at the time I became involved, in 1967. Because of megavitamin therapy I was able to help a patient who was otherwise responding poorly to her anti-psychotic medication (Stelazine). The prescription of a gram of niacinamide twice a day, about 100 times the RDA, ended her hallucinations within 3 days. She was grateful and her family was grateful. It was an unforgettable experience. Could I ever turn back to talk therapy after such success with molecular medicine? Could I ignore nutrition and nutrient therapy ever again? Since then I have seen thousands of cases that support my confidence in this approach, not only for the immediate benefits but also for the lifetime health advantages that it offers. Let me quote from a letter I found on my e-mail just a few days ago: It was titled: “I’m an old patient of yours.” “I found your e-mail address in Dr. Whitaker’s Directory of Nutrition-Oriented Physicians. This gives me the perfect opportunity to thank you after so many years have passed. Thank you so very much for your great work. My mother insisted that I come to you as a teen and later as an adult when I was expecting my first child. I really believe your vitamin therapy during my pregnancy helped make my children exceptional. Both are in the GATE program (Gifted and Talented). I strongly believe that there is a strong connection with B vitamins and brain development...(and) I had wheat germ everyday and gave it to the children in their cereal when they were old enough to eat solid food. Thanks again, you have done much for this family.” I was surprised and pleased to hear from this delightful young woman after 20 years have gone by. As a 17-year-old she suffered chronic fatigue and chemical sensitivity and was seriously depressed at times. She improved after simple nutrient supplementation, possibly because of zinc deficiency, which was evident in her laboratory profile. She did not return until 5 years later, early in her first pregnancy. Again fatigue was oppressive and she had headache and loss of appetite. I made note of her very dry skin, which I knew was a sign of deficiency of essential fatty acids. To my surprise now, in retrospect, I did not prescribe either flax or fish oil. These omega-3 essential fatty acids are known to be crucial for normal fetal development and for optimal brain development. But good quality flax oil was not yet available at the time and the raunchy, foul-smelling fish oil products of the day were not acceptable. So I think she deserves most of the credit for producing healthy children; but it was vital that she had first-hand experience with orthomolecular health-medicine at such an early age. That is something to be thankful about. Here is another case from a grateful patient, who took the trouble to write a brief description of her progress after nutrient treatment for lifelong eye problems. Nan was 63 years old and facing the prospect of a corneal transplant when she consulted me because of “extreme sensitivity to light, constant feeling of something in eye, tearing, and involuntary closing of eyelids.” She had been struck

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in the right eye by a tennis ball at age 8, and it was never right after that. She did not complain of poor general health but had always been infertile and had chronic iron deficiency anemia. Despite supplemental iron therapy over the years, her blood remained low in iron and the iron storage protein, ferritin, was at the lowest level I have ever seen, only 1 mg (normally 20 to 200). Her failure to absorb iron most likely represents malabsorption due to deficient stomach acid. Another sign of digestive inadequacy was found in laboratory examination of feces, which showed excessive numbers of potentially adverse organisms, such as klebsiella and various streptococci, and a total lack of the digestive enzyme, trypsin. It was not until correction of gastric acid and enzyme deficiencies that she began to heal her eye symptoms. In her own words: “The correction of my eye problems is an exciting, rewarding adventure in learning and health. The original application of sodium ascorbate compresses and SOD (superoxide dismutase) drops was the first miracle! The improvement was immediate and continued. I apologize for the extravagant language but after years of frustration, confusion, and increasing problems, only superlatives describe my reaction. “Discontinuing wheat in my diet was the next large step. The very persistent and long-term gas and edema problems dissipated, indicating that allergy was a factor in my general health. The use of bromelain (digestive enzymes) made such marked changes in my well being I have undertaken to experiment with Dr. Arthur Coca’s pulse studies to determine food allergies. My usual pulse rate dropped when I stopped eating wheat, in February, from 72 to a range of 68-70. Sugar (cane) causes a radical rise to 90, and even a communion wafer (wheat) causes a rise from 67 to 75...Most interesting is that when I eat an allergic food my vision is less clear and my eyes are very sticky in the morning...And now I think that the weight changes I used to attribute to hormones were the result of food allergy. I’ll never again use the phrase “just allergy.” The damage is too wide ranging. I’ll be forever grateful for nutritional medicine and a doctor who studies the patient rather than a checklist of pre-determined problems. “At church I find an inscription across from where I regularly sit, coming into improved focus each week. Yesterday the words had shape but could not be read. On a smaller scale in normal typescript words have regained distinct shape (with no glasses) but cannot yet be read. Overall, the world is brighter and clearer. The extreme sensitivity to light is gone entirely as is the tearing. Computer use is again possible and recently I watched 2 successive movies on TV with no discomfort. Since late summer 1995 I always read with both eyes again.” Is there any single health function more important than eyesight? For her entire life, Nan’s doctors, all knowledgeable and caring specialists, had treated her without understanding the connection to her digestive problems, which they ignored so completely that she eventually failed to make any mention of it to them. I have read their reports and they explicitly regarded her as a healthy person —except for eye problems, dermatitis and blepharitis, which they treated symptomatically. Healing was incomplete because of nutrient deficiencies secondary to intestinal malabsorption. She was getting worse year by year until she began to treat her eye problems as bowel problems. In her case chronic intestinal problems and wheat intolerance kept her from reaching full strength all her life. Eye drops alone could not solve the problem, not even the antioxidant SOD drops (superoxide dismutase). But after changing her diet to avoid wheat and undertaking regular use of stomach acid supplements, enzymes, and supplementation with vitamins, especially folic acid and vitamin A, she has turned back her health clock, regaining visual acuity lost over 20 years ago. At the same time she has gained weight, energy, and well-being. She really does feel better than ever before in her life. Nan has a lot to be thankful for at this Thanksgiving season. As a physician, I am also thankful to be able to share with her the advances and advantages of orthomolecular health medicine.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power

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The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) Iron Deficiency: More Than Tired Blood Causes of Epidemic Autism (and ADD) ABCs of Fluoridation Cyanide Poisoning: A Low-fat Diet Disease Zinc Power! Healing Autism With Vitamins Sex and Nutrition

For me, the Ola Loa Energy drink is quite an eye opener in the morning. I don't even need coffee. And it has really helped me... I am more attentive and can get more work done.

— Angel A.

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Melatonin is not a vitamin, it is a hormone particularly active in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, and its major function is to coordinate some of the internal systems of the body, especially brain, immune and reproductive systems, in

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relation to the light-dark cycles of the day and the changes in length of day and night from season to season in the course of the year.  Ola Loa, LLC Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, a pea-sized gland, shaped like a  11250 Clayton Creek pinecone, and located smack in the middle of the brain. An active pineal gland Rd. contains about 3 mg of melatonin, which is about the average daily dose for sleep effects. Melatonin is also found in the retina of the eye, in the brain and in the  Lower Lake, CA 95457 intestinal tract. In fact, the intestinal epithelium produces an amount even greater USA than the pineal gland! The function of intestinal melatonin is unknown but there  1.800.800.9550 are indications that it acts as a “tranquilizer” for the intestine, to slow bowel transit  [email protected] and increase the efficiency of absorption of vital nutrients.  Ola Loa Store Melatonin is made from the essential amino acid, tryptophan, by way of serotonin, and its chemical name is: 5-methoxy-acetyl serotonin. Melatonin synthesis is stimulated by light and its release is provoked by darkness. Light suppresses melatonin[i] and electromagnetic radiation has a similar, though lesser effect. [ii] Geopathic zones’, areas of strong electromagnetic energies, occur at areas of intersecting earth magnetic fields. Even these low level exposures seem to be Website by sufficient to cause illnesses, for chronic fatigue, insomnia, and anxiety are Giraffex increased there, presumably due to the inhibition of melatonin secretion by geomagnetic fields. There is great interest in the possibility that background electromagnetic fields, as are found in some homes, due to 60 cycle alternating current fields in the wiring, might interfere with melatonin. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

Melatonin is enjoying enormous popularity with the American public, who have learned of its benefits for sleep disorders, jet lag and as an anti-aging pill. Some of

these benefits have been substantiated in clinical trials with humans. In one study, sleep latency, the time to fall asleep was reduced by 14 minutes and the sleep efficiency, ie. time asleep as percent of time in bed) increased from 75% to 83% in a group of 12 elderly patients with insomnia.[iii] They were given only 2 mg of melatonin two hours before bedtime. Other studies show a decrease in sleep latency in healthy subjects, i.e. normal sleep gets better with and without adverse effects. Jet lag, due to irregular bedtime or travel beyond three time zones, has been studied after melatonin doses between 5 and 8 mg. The studies confirm the practical value of the hormone in overcoming the fatigue, depression, insomnia and irritability that can otherwise disrupt an otherwise perfect business or holiday trip. In a study of 52 airline crew members, a 5 mg dose of melatonin for 5 days after arrival decreased sleep disturbances and fatigue.[iv] There was less benefit from a similar dose begun three days before and continued for 5 days after and it appears that the strategy of taking melatonin at bedtime upon arrival at one’s destination works best. An increased life span in rats was reported in 1987 by Dr. Vladimir Dilman at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Moscow. Melatonin-treated rats lived 25 percent longer and were visibly more youthful in appearance than the matched control rats not treated with melatonin. This led Dr. Walter Pierpaoli, author, with Dr. William Regelson, of the recent book, The Melatonin Miracle, to perform a dramatic experiment in cross-transplantation: old animals received the pineal glands of young animals and vice versa. The results were convincing: the old mice with young pineal transplants lived twice as long as the younger animals with old glands.![v] Dr. Pierpaoli concludes from this that melatonin controls aging. If so, we might also ask: “what controls melatonin?” Melatonin synthesis is affected not only by age but also by diet. Inadequate protein can curtail synthesis, which begins with the essential amino acid, tryptophan, as a substrate, and which also requires adequate essential amino acid, methionine, to provide the methylating enzyme, SAM (S-adenosyl methionine), which in turn depends on vitamins folic acid, B12, B6 and magnesium, all commonly deficient in the American diet. Vitamin A deficiency has also been proved to cause decreased melatonin in rat studies.[vi] And the amino acid, taurine is known to be the most protective molecule against damage to the pineal gland. As we get older, especially past age 40, the amount of the hormone usually drops by almost 40 percent.[vii] But the drop in blood levels of melatonin is actually much more dramatic in childhood. Nighttime plasma melatonin averages 250 pg per ml in children age 1 to 3, but drops by 50 percent between 8 and 15 years old and continues to drop to an average of only 20 pg per ml by age 50. The effect of these changes is strongest on the sex system: puberty coincides with a 50 percent drop and menopause coincides with an additional 40 percent drop. Notice the opposite direction of effects: turning on sexual development at puberty; turning it off at menopause. Melatonin research has been complicated by such contradictions and by technical difficulties. For example it was not until sleep research established 24 hour observation studies that research was set-up to study melatonin levels at night. Daytime levels average 4 - 10 pg per ml for all age groups. But serotonin levels are increased relative to intensity of light exposure. Melatonin synthesis and release are triggered by darkness. Melatonin levels are also influenced by the fact that the pineal gland has no blood-barrier; thus other molecules, including toxins and viruses, can enter the gland and alter concentrations and conditions there. This may be why calcification, involution and non-function of the gland, is common at early age. Therefore, measurement of melatonin output in a 24-hour urine would be a practical test.

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There have been over 4000 scientific papers published on the physiology and effects of melatonin in the past 20 years. The mechanisms of action have not been entirely worked out. Here are some of the actions and interactions. Melatonin: 1. regulates sleep-waking cycles and thus entrains or synchronizes all 3 types of sleep: a) Pituitary-adrenal sleep: melatonin inhibits release of pituitary ACTH, which otherwise would keep the adrenal glands turned on. b) Slow wave sleep: melatonin’s inhibition of the adrenal hormones further rests the cerebral cortex and thalamus, thus permitting hippocampal and cortical nerve cells to synthesize DNA and consolidate memory signals into the structure of the brain cells. c) REM or Rapid Eye-Movement sleep, in which acetylcholine neurons are active, while amines and serotonin are not, thus releasing individual neurons in the PGO (pontine-geniculate-occipital) tracts, which are experienced as dreams.

(Note: the foregoing explanation of REM is hypothetical but based on research observations; my own thinking is contrary, based on the fact of increased dreaming sleep after intake of zinc and B6, which are known to increase brain serotonin, which generates PGO activity. Assuming a shift of serotonin Nacetyltransferase activity for melatonin synthesis, there might be a reciprocal decreased activity of choline acetyltransferase for acetylcholine synthesis, which would manifest as reduced muscle tone, which is characteristic of REM sleep). 2. regulates the circadian stress hormone-immune cycle by inhibiting pituitary secretion of ACTH, the adrenal cortex stimulating hormone; thus putting the pituitary and adrenal cortex at rest, lowering cortisone output, and thus preparing lymphocytes to conquer allergy, infection, and cancer. 3. lowers pituitary ACTH, which also interrupts cholesterol synthesis, lowering cholesterol and LDL, and allowing HDL to remove tissue deposits. 4. regulates synapses in the hippocampal formations: excitable by day, when melatonin is low; resting at night when melatonin is high. This protects hippocampal cells and preserves normal memory function.[viii] 5. regulates sexual development by delaying puberty, which comes on after the adolescent drop in melatonin secretion occurs; regulates menopause by a drop in melatonin in the 5th decade; regulates fecundity by inhibiting libido in the dark months of winter... 6. regulates monthly estrus and fertility cycles, with peak melatonin at menses (which inhibits pituitary gonadotrophins and sex steroids). The low point of melatonin activity is at ovulation, coincident with sex hormone peak.

Melatonin therapy can protect against sex hormone tumor promotion. 7. increases dreaming and enhances sexuality via erotic dreams which occur in REM sleep.[ix] 8. regulates seasonal mood-energy cycles (pro-hibernation) because during longer winter nights the duration of melatonin secretion is greater than in shorter summer nights. Melatonin increases deposits of brown fat, which contains thermogenin, a protein that shunts fat cell chemistry into water and temperature production, which creates warmth at the expense of weight. This offers a promising adjunct for weight loss. 9. blocks the action of melanocyte stimulating hormone, thus causing a

lightening of skin color and inhibiting melanoma and other cancer cells. 10. lowers beta-endorphin release, thus controlling these internal opiates, which otherwise stimulate melatonin release; this is an incompletely worked-out feedback cycle of pain and mood control.[x] Pierpaoli is convinced that there is also a synergism effect, such that melatonin enhances the pain relief and mood elevating effect of endorphins and opiates. 11. entrains TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone, to the circadian rhythm. When thyroid T3 is active, it increases melatonin and thus accounts for the paradox that thyroid supplements often improve sleep. 12. interacts with an unknown circadian factor to regulate stress response; eg. at night-time melatonin enhances antibody response to antigen; in the morning no such effect is seen.[xi]

Melatonin is available without prescription because it is found in food, in particular rice, oats and corn (over 1 mcg per gram), as well as ginger, and some radishes (0.5 mcg per gram) and much less in cabbages.[xii] I calculate that our present menus might provide up to 200 or even 300 mcg of melatonin per day, or much more if pineal extracts, eyeballs and intestines are eaten. This doesn’t seem very likely here in the USA; but what if our FDA (Food and Drug Administration) were to restrict melatonin to prescription only and orthodox physicians were reluctant to prescribe? This has recently happened in Holland. Is it a preview of our own future? Would Americans rebel?

[i] Lewy AJ, Wehr TA, Goodwin FK et al. Light suppresses melatonin secretion in humans. Science 1980; 210: 1267-1269. [ii] Cremer-Bartels G, et al. Magnetic field of the eart as additional zeitgeber for endogenous rhythms. Naturwissenschaften, 1984; 71:567-574. [iii] Garfinkel D et al. Melatonin enhanced sleep in elderly insomniacs. Lancet,1995; 346:541. [iv] Petrie K et al. Melatonin overcomes jet lag. 1993. Biol Psych 33:526. [v] Drs. Lesnikov VA Pierpaoli W; Pineal cross-transplantation (old-to-young and vice versa as evidence for an endogenous aging clock. 1994, Ann NY Acad Sci; 719:456-460. [vi] Herbert D et al. Changes in pineal indoleamine metabolism in vitamin A deficient rats. Life Sciences, 1985; 37:2515-2522. [vii] Aguchi H, Kato KI, Ibayashi H, Age dependent reductions in serum melatonin concentration in healthy human subjects. 1982, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 55:27-29. Nair NPV, Hariharasubramanian H, et al: Plasma melatonin—an index of brain aging in humans? 1986, Biol Psychiat 21:141-50. [viii] Sapolsky, R, et al. Prolonged glucocorticoid exposure reduces hippocampal neuron number. Implications for aging. J Neuroscience, 1985; 5(5):1222-1227 [ix] Pierpaoli and Regelson. Melatonin Miracle. Simon and Schuster. NY 1995. [x] Lissoni P, et al. A clinical study of the relationship between the pineal gland and the opioid system. J Neural Transmission, 1986; 65: 63-73. [xi] Maestroni GJM, Conti A, Pierpaoli W; Role of the pineal gland in immunity. Circadian synthesis and release of melatonin modulates the antibody response and antagonizes the immunosuppressive effects of corticosterone. 1986, J Neuroimmun 13:19-30. [xii] Hattori A, Migitaka H, Iigo M et al: Identification of melatonin in plants. Biochem Mol Biol Int; 35:627-634. 1995

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms that brings a patient to the doctor. The causes are numerous and, in fact, it can accompany almost any illness. The presence of fatigue is, however, an important indicator of serious disease. In 1979

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Dr. Cuyler Hammond's report on the 20 year long Cancer Prevention Study, which surveyed over a million Americans, found that a positive answer to the question "do you fatigue easily?" was predictive of a higher death rate from disease,  Ola Loa, LLC including cancer, than any other question!  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. Chronic fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is not a new disease; however in the past few years it has seemingly increased in frequency and severity. After a large number of  Lower Lake, CA 95457 cases were reported in 1984 at Incline Village, Nevada, the National Institute of USA Health assigned a full time researcher. When calls for information went over 1000  1.800.800.9550 per month, Center for Disease Control launched a million dollar investigation and  [email protected] assigned a hot-line number (404-332-4555).  Ola Loa Store A national conference was held in San Francisco in mid-1989 and a formal definition of CFS was accepted by CDC, giving it new disease status. This includes 11 symptoms and 3 physical signs but essentially it is defined as newly occurring persistent or relapsing fatigue that reduces activity below 50 percent of normal for at least six months. Flu-like symptoms, including fever, sore throat, painful lymph nodes and muscle weakness and pain, as well as headache, insomnia, Website by irritability and mood depression also occur. The consensus was that CSF is a Giraffex disease, possibly reflects a new organism or virus and occurs in about 5 percent of patients with fatigue. The diagnosis of fatigue syndrome is only the latest in a long list of labels to denote this common symptom. In the late 19th Century and until the 1940's it was Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC called neurasthenia, a French word that translates literally, weak nerves. This term was removed from the manual of psychiatric diagnosis only a decade ago and

replaced by the diagnosis, depression. Hypochondriasis is another label traditionally offered in explanation of those who suffer chronic fatigue. Faced with a disabling condition and no apparent diagnosis, the doctor of the past was commonly tempted to resort to a psychologic diagnosis. Doctor’s offices are now equipped to diagnose viruses and so doctors are more likely to consider viruses in puzzling cases. Epstein Barr, Herpes and Cytomegalo viruses have all been researched but found to be present no more in fatigue patients than the rest of us. So strongly does the CSF case profile fit the syndrome of viral illness, including sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in many cases, that UCSF virologist Jay Levy suggests that it is "a new agent, not readily recoverable or we would have found it." Patients seem to identify with the concept of "stress." In a survey of almost 300 fatigue patients in San Francisco, over half blamed stress. This is unlikely to be the cause though it can evidently aggravate the syndrome of disabling fatigue. When present stressful circumstances are obvious; however, stress is an ever-present part of life and we are designed to adapt and become stronger thereby—and we do if we are not first sick, toxic or depleted. In this regard, a survey by Dr. Carol Jessop, of 1100 CSF patients, 80 percent reported recurrent infections as children, acne as adolescents and chronic bowel problems, hives, headaches and anxiety attacks. Over 90 percent had high cholesterol levels. This certainly points to pre-existing illness, depletion and toxicity. She also reported recovery in about 60 percent after treatment with a sugar free diet and ketoconazole (Nizoral) for presumed yeast infection (Candida). This intriguing finding has persuaded many that Candida is a cause of CSF and that the removal of dietary sugars removes the favorite food of the yeast organism so that it will be less likely to relapse after drug treatment. The high frequency of responders to Nizoral has encouraged many doctors to prescribe this sometimes dangerous drug on presumptive evidence, ie. no actual identification of yeast organisms. This has generated a very heated controversy, not yet resolved. It is as likely that the success of Nizoral is due to its chemical action, which blocks cortisone synthesis. Isn't that a paradox? CSF is aggravated by stress and yet here is a treatment that works by interfering with the anti-stress hormone! How can that be? One possible way is via the amino acid, tryptophan, which breaks down into a toxic by-product, xanthurenic acid. Cortisone promotes this directly by enzyme activation. Viral infections do so indirectly via gamma interferon, which stimulates the same enzyme, tryptophan oxidase. The effect is to shunt tryptophan into the manufacture of xanthurenic acid, which is known to cause auto-immune symptoms, such as muscle inflammation and pain. It also can cause diabetes, ie. blood sugar disturbance; hence the success of therapy that restricts sugars. And by blocking cortisone Nizoral prevents the production of toxic xanthurenic acid. Modern medicine relies on differential diagnosis to assure completeness in reviewing possible causes of disease. There are ten general categories to be considered: 1) nutrition; 2) metabolic; 3) toxic; 4) infection; 5) allergy; 6) intestinal malabsorption; 7) cancer; 8) trauma; 9) genetic; 10) psychologic. Each of these categories of illness can cause fatigue and a complete discourse would fill a textbook. I put nutrition first because it is the most common cause of general fatigue and always a factor in treatment. Nutrition surveys in our country document widespread deficiency of folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc, all of which influence energy and immune power. Iron and vitamin B1 are both crucial to energy and endurance and both are commonly at risk, especially in women and adolescents. Vitamin A deficiency must be considered in all who are chronically ill or taking medication. Vitamin C deficiency causes severe fatigue early on, within a few weeks at low intake. In the

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many Americans who do not eat fresh, uncooked fruits and vegetables or take vitamin pills, this is a problem. Amino acids can be important, especially methionine, which is often low in vegetarian diets and in those actively reducing intake of animal products. Coenzyme Q is often remarkably helpful in these cases. Lysine is at risk in those whose diets consist mostly of cooked foods, especially foods cooked in the presence of sugars. Essential Fatty Acids, particularly the omega-3 variety, are generally low in our diet and their replenishment is often followed by a boost in energy level. Vitamin E, which is depleted by diets high in polyunsaturates, is also an energy booster. Nutrition deficiency is aggravated by any intestinal disorder. Food intolerances, particularly milk and wheat, commonly cause chronic inflammation. Infection with the parasite, Giardia lamblia, often found in public water supplies in America if unfiltered, can cause chronic bowel inflammation. Intestinal diagnosis is often hard to pin down and symptoms are not always severe enough to be diagnosable. However chronic irritation can cause malabsorption and measurement of vitamins, minerals and amino acids is often the most sensitive evidence. Environmental pollution has been suspect in CSF, particularly since some researchers have found cell membrane damage similar to effects of the organic chlorine pesticides, such as DDT, chlordane, lindane and dioxins, chemicals that linger in the body for decades. In my own series of 100 patients, fatigue was not increased in the high organochlorine group. However I have seen chronic fatigue in patients with low cholinesterase levels, an indication of sensitivity to malathion and other organophosphates, the most common pesticides now in use. A blood test to measure cholinesterase in plasma and red blood cells is indicated in CSF. Treatment of fatigue states is most likely to be effective if directed to a specific diagnosis; hence laboratory testing is recommended. In addition to the nutrient factors above, there are tests to identify metabolic problems, such as: thyroid excess or deficiency, hypoglycemia or diabetes, parathyroid disorder, adrenal excess or deficiency and other hormonal disorders. Specific testing is also available to identify toxic metals. such as mercury from dental amalgam and house paints; aluminum from antacids, medications and cooking with fluoridated water in aluminum containers. Lead pollution is decreasing in the United States since the Lead Paint Control Act of 1974 but the hazard from remodeling, earthenware and pewter is still present. The hair mineral test panel is the most convenient and inexpensive screening test for exposure to lead and mercury. It can also measure fluoride.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Feast in November; be Jolly in December. That sets the holiday spirit, indeed. With all the misery in this imperfect world crowding in closer year by year—or so it seems—one feels especially blessed for every day in which civilization seems to

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work well enough to at least provide the basics that we sometimes take for granted.  Ola Loa, LLC I felt thankful and blessed to be invited to a delicious Thanksgiving feast  11250 Clayton Creek yesterday: home-baked bread and chopped liver for starters, served with carrot Rd. and celery sticks, then turkey soup, and then the roast turkey and all the trimmings, sweet potatoes, nut and raisin stuffing and giblet gravy. And at the  Lower Lake, CA 95457 end a choice of pumpkin and fruit pies, coffee or tea and lots of good cheer. USA  1.800.800.9550 Thanksgiving is especially enjoyable because it is a family holiday and the  [email protected] presence of youngsters brings energy, enthusiasm and adventure to these  Ola Loa Store reunions. I rather enjoy such a feast because it is predictable and generally healthy. I don't feel compelled to criticize our ancestors for dietary excess. I just eat less the day of the feast and likewise the morning after—and I don't gorge to the point of discomfort. The purpose of a feast is to feel good. I appreciate a good time so I try not to impose my professional thoughts about health and nutrition on my friends in the midst of dinner; but it is almost Website by Giraffex inevitable that someone at a feast will express guilt or concern about eating more than usual. Indeed, the subject of dietary fat and fatness came up around the table. The college age daughter of my host made a declarative statement: "Weight has nothing to do with calories! I just watch my fat intake and keep it below 3 grams per meal." How simple it sounded. And I couldn't help but notice that she had indeed lost a lot of weight since last we met. In fact she had dropped Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC 20 pounds in five months after adopting her low fat idea from reading magazines. She is down to 114 pounds, what she feels is an optimal weight.

Ailene is an ethnic beauty, 5 feet 2 inches tall and naturally curvaceous and fullfeatured. Her new look is narrow-hipped by comparison and seems boney and angular. Maybe I'm just getting older and changing in my tastes, but I thought to myself that I liked her better the old way. "How do you feel," I asked. "Great, high energy and I'm so happy with myself." It sounded so good and so simple that I secretly began to question myself: "...maybe I've been too skeptical of the low fat dietary advice that has taken over our country lately." So I decided to ask Ailene a few questions. Was she really on a low fat diet? Was she denying or overlooking symptoms? I asked her to describe what foods she does eat. It turned out to be not much. She starts her day at 7:30 A.M. with two cups of coffee—to which she adds 2 teaspoonfuls (tsp.) of sugar and a tablespoonful (Tbsp.) of low fat milk. She skips lunch except for more coffee with sugar and skim milk and a bite of chocolate and some wheat chex, and so she depends on her evening meal for the bulk of her nutrients. It's not easy to satisfy one's nutrient requirements by just one meal a day, and her dinner menu is austere: a vegetable salad and chicken a few times a week, and fish once a week eaten without the skin. You don't have to be a nutrition genius to appreciate that this diet is low in calories. Luckily, she has been eating more on weekends by adding a vegetable omelette and fried potatoes for breakfast. However, she feels so tired afterward that she actually finds it more comfortable to stick to her "low fat" diet. I didn't want to intrude in her personal habits, but I was genuinely concerned that her diet would do some harm to her before she knew it. Therefore I summoned up the simplest and most strategic advice I could muster. "Just two things to do," I said, "take a teaspoonful of cod liver oil and eat two eggs every day, not just on week-ends. And of course, take a multivitamin." The eggs add about half her requirements for high quality protein and all the other nutrient ingredients of life. Though the egg does not provide optimal quantities for all our needs, it is still the all-around best single food for most of us. I called her the next day and took a more exact diet history. As I questioned her in a systematic medical manner, she became aware of symptoms that she has been ignoring. In the past three months she has had flu three times; her energy is definitely declining and she has spells of weakness. She needs more sleep and literally has to leave parties early because she gets so tired. Her skin and hair are becoming dry and she confided now that her reflection in the mirror looked "run down." Her gums have been bleeding, her lips chapped and her mental concentration and memory have decreased. Oh yes, she forgot to tell me that she has had spells of numbness in her fingers, especially when she grips the steering wheel of her car. I thought it might be interesting to perform a computer analysis of her diet and my new program includes over 8000 foods and 50 nutrient read-outs. So I entered the 21 foods that make up her diet and—what a shock! The computer credited her with 2700 calories. Nonsense. "What am I doing wrong?" I asked myself. It took a while before I found that the computer program contains an error! The programmer entered incorrect data for sugar; thus the computer identified her 8 Tbsp of sugar (96 grams) as 533 grams! I am sharing this with you, dear reader, just to remind us all that computers aren't as perfect as we like to think. After careful checking, I assured myself that the program is otherwise accurate and complete. Here is the analysis of her low fat diet (numbers rounded off for convenience): Calories 700, Protein 39 grams, Fat 14 grams, Carbohydrate 92 grams. Fifteen essential nutrients calculated below 50 percent of RDA: sodium, iron, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium, molybdenum, vitamin E, B1, pantothenic acid, biotin and vitamin D. In addition, the Omega-3 Essential fatty acids were definitely deficient, a total of only 60 mg, while Omega 6 EFA were also inadequate at 1.4 grams. Surprise! Her low fat diet actually doesn't

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contain enough fat! In fact, it doesn't contain enough food. How did my advice figure on the computer? After adding two eggs and a teaspoonful of cod liver oil almost all of the very low nutrients improved closer to RDA values; however she still gets only 900 calories, too low for sensible health maintenance. Her protein intake increases by almost 7 grams per egg, to 51 grams per day, which is adequate. Fats are now increased to 32 Grams, ie. 288 calories, which is about 30% of her total calories, but remember these are mostly essential fatty acids and the Omega 3-EFA are now ample at 2.4. grams per day. Seven nutrient deficiencies below 50 percent of RDA levels remain: sodium, calcium, zinc, copper, chromium, molybdenum and vitamin E. A multi-vitaminmineral pill taken daily corrects these, except for sodium and calcium. The sodium (and iodine) are corrected if she salts her food, about half a teaspoonful per day, and she will have more energy and will no longer fall asleep at parties. A Tbsp of fresh-ground flax with her wheat chex would put all her trace minerals over the top and add some much needed calcium and fiber. Or, a Tbsp of cottage cheese with her salad would secure her calcium and protein needs without defeating her weight maintenance. Hey, not so bad. I tried to intrude on her lifestyle as little as possible. She is not my patient, after all. Besides, my own Listen To Your Body Diet™ teaches you how to find the foods and food balances that work best for you and that permits much more variety and, in fact, weight maintenance without starvation. Everything else, including the "low fat/high-fad diet" is just guess-work. In this case, Ailene was guessing herself into chronic starvation. It was already catching up with her health and energy. Maybe its time she reads my book, MegaNutrition for Women. Bottom line: holiday feasts are a traditional way to celebrate life and protect ourselves from crash diets and food fads. So here is the blessing of this nutritionphysician: Enjoy yourself and enjoy your food; Learn your needs and treat yourself good.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Most people under the age of 40 have never heard of Linus Pauling in any connection other than as a

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promoter of the health benefits of vitamin C. In fact, those under the age of 50 may not know of Pauling’s  Ola Loa, LLC accomplishments as a researcher,  11250 Clayton Creek educator and administrator in the Rd. field of chemistry between 1920 and 1940, when he developed quantum  Lower Lake, CA 95457 mechanics and laid the groundwork USA for molecular biology—all before  1.800.800.9550 World War II. After the War he wrote  [email protected] his famous chemistry textbook, one that influenced a generation of  Ola Loa Store college students and has remained in print almost 50 years, one of the longest running books in print today. In its way “How to Live Longer” compares with this classic on general chemistry and may stay in print just as long, for it is actually a practical review of medicine by this scientific genius. We are not likely to see a better or clearer single source of Website by health information for quite some time. Pauling’s insights led him to the concept Giraffex of orthomolecular medicine: the use of substances naturally occurring in the human body, in maintaining health and treating disease. This is the essence of this book. Keep in mind that Pauling was a major force in the creation of modern chemistry. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC His method of describing atomic and molecular interactions, applying quantum physics to chemistry, had an influence on all chemists from 1920 to 1950. His work in the chemistry of proteins led to the title “father of molecular biology” as early as

the 1930s. He understood free radicals and, in fact, named the superoxide radical in 1939. His research led to the first scientific demonstration of a molecular disease, sickle cell anemia, in the 1940s. At that time he was also one of the original founders of the National Institute of Health. His impact on modern medicine is so far-reaching that we might rightly think of him as a “father” of modern medicine. The last 30 years of Pauling’s life was devoted to the study of nutritional substances in medicine—as the basis for ortho-molecular medicine. There was much more than vitamin C at stake. Ortho-molecular medicine referred to “the right molecules” as the major players in health and disease. After this the orthodox medical authorities could no longer ignore nutrition as they had been doing since before the Second World War! Pauling gave it scientific credibility. Pauling’s writings on orthomolecular medicine succeeded in putting the medical establishment on notice and despite the controversy and ridicule that erupted, this opened the way for nutrition to become a primary part of modern medicine. But the backlash against Dr. Pauling’s reputation was greater than anyone could have anticipated. He could not anticipate that, within a decade of receiving two Nobel Prizes, he had actually outlived the memories of both the public and the scientific community! The medical “authorities” had been educated after World War II and were out of touch with Pauling’s work in quantum chemistry that was performed before 1940. And his military and wartime contributions were classified and secret, including his consultations with his friends, Einstein and Oppenheimer, on the atomic bomb project. Pauling’s second Nobel Prize was awarded in 1961, for his heroic efforts to halt atmospheric nuclear testing and to educate the public to the dangers of radioactive fall-out. He waged a public campaign to sign up over 10,000 scientists in support of the nuclear test ban; and he did it over the objections of Senator McCarthy, Senator Dodd, J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI, and almost all of Pauling’s colleagues at Cal Tech, where he was Chief of the Department of Chemistry. Few people seem to realize that but for Pauling’s courage and strategic intervention against atomic testing, there is a good chance that many millions of us would have been harmed by the unbridled releases of radiation by both the United States and the Soviet Union. What people do remember is Dr. Pauling was involved in the Peace movement—not chemistry or medicine. And so by 1970, when his book on Vitamin C and the Common Cold was published, his qualifications as a medical authority were largely forgotten by the public, which is not surprising. But they were also forgotten—and denied—by the medical and science establishments, which is disgraceful! As a result, his applications for research funds to study the effect of vitamin C on cancer were turned down—eight times by the NIH! How else can you explain the unprecedented refusal of the National Academy of Sciences to publish his paper on cancer and vitamin C? Instead of the respect he deserved, he was treated as if he were less qualified than an ordinary graduate student. His mastery of mathematics, statistics and scientific method was over-looked by this new generation of academicians and physicians, who were caught up in the entrenched political-economic power structure. Pauling’s greatest accomplishment may turn out to be his concept of orthomolecular medicine. If so, his book: “How to Live Longer and Feel Better” may be seen as his crowning achievement—because it is so practical. It has not won the accolades that it deserves; but I predict that it will be re-published for the millennium 2000, and it will turn out to be as correct as if it were just written. It is the classic book on health. Linus Pauling made only one mistake: he was too far ahead of his time. He could afford to be 20 years ahead in chemistry; because the industrial world was ready to steal his ideas and make many people rich. But he could not succeed by being forty years ahead of the medical profession, because by being correct, the family

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doctor and the corner druggist must lose out to the nutritionist. No way could an entrenched establishment permit that to happen. As for the public, few people could see beyond the propaganda about “miracle drugs” and “modern surgery.” Nutrition and vitamins are just too simple. And the propaganda against vitamin C for viral illnesses and cancer has been so persistent, over twenty years, that few people remember that Pauling’s research and writings on these subject in the 1970’s is the basis for much progress in AIDS research, cancer research and antioxidant medicine today. Instead, the public mind is saturated with unresolved controversy and no acknowledgement that Dr. Pauling actually succeeded in an historic way: he sparked a revolution in medical research and practice. Dr. Pauling was truly excited about the benefits of vitamin C against cancer: “In all my years in scientific research, I have never seen a project that offers more hope for mankind than the one now under way at our laboratory.” He was convinced, by the results of his research in association with Ewen Cameron, that vitamin C has a large life-extending effect, even in advanced cancer cases. But he lacked the funding necessary to pursue his studies and make them definitive. Recently Abram Hoffer has confirmed that there is a 20-fold increase in survival time in cancer patients treated by vitamin C and general ortho-molecular nutrient support. Naturally, Pauling was angered by the fact that National Cancer Institute, funded by HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare), was spending over 800 million dollars annually, while his work with vitamin C and other nutrient therapies was totally ignored. It is galling to realize that after 20 years of billion dollar spending, the War on Cancer could report almost no progress in cancer control. Orthomolecular medicine, meantime, with almost no budget, was having an impact on the public and some research professionals. Large-scale nutrient trials are just now beginning to confirm what we have known all along: nutrient therapy is a promising avenue in cancer treatment. Just ten years ago it was considered pure quackery and criminal! Now the tide is turning—for which we owe a lot to Linus Pauling. It has not been easy. For the past 20 years the major medical journals, such as Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine, have refused to publish Pauling’s letters of rebuttal. And the medical establishment supported a propaganda organization, the National Council against Health Fraud, strongly targeted against the nutrition movement and its leading protagonist, Linus Pauling. Few reporters could tell the difference between the lack of qualifications of members of the Council and Dr. Pauling the leading scientist of this century. Somehow the reporters failed to notice that the quackbuster’s major accomplishment has been to withhold information and confuse the public by denigrating new ideas. Perhaps such skepticism does some good against the more egregious charlatans of the world, but not against a great scientist, like Linus Pauling. And who is qualified to do so? Are the quack-busters better trained and more accomplished at basic research, molecular biology, and statistical analysis than Linus Pauling, an acknowledged mathematical and research genius? Whose credibility is more reliable? One way to make this real for yourself is to study Dr. Pauling’s advice and try it out so that the results will speak through your own body. You may be surprised at how familiar this advice has become. Hard to believe that one of our greatest scientists could be ridiculed for such advice, just because he was more explicit and comprehensive than any of our orthodox medical authorities when he first proposed this program almost 20 years ago. 1. Take vitamin C every day at a dose of 6 to 18 grams (cut back if you get

diarrhea or bowel distress). 2. Take vitamin E every day at a dose of 400 to 1600 iu (units). 3. Take B complex vitamins every day. 4. Take Vitamin A (retinol) 25,000 iu every day. (Stop if you get headache; do not exceed this dose in pregnancy) 5. Take a mineral supplement every day (including chromium, selenium, molybdenum, copper and manganese). 6. Avoid table sugar and sweets. Limit 1 pound per week, i.e. half the present average intake in USA. 7. Eat what you like—but not so much as to become obese. Include eggs, meat, vegetables and fruits. 8. Drink plenty of water every day 9. Keep active and exercise, but not far beyond what you are accustomed to. 10. Drink alcoholic beverages only in moderation, i.e. up to two drinks per day. 11. Do not smoke cigarettes. 12. Avoid stress. Work at a job you like. Be happy with your family. (Note: Pauling did not say this was easy; only important).

Dr. Pauling was impressed with the possibility of extending human life span through nutrition—especially vitamin C, which confers at least an 8-year advantage. Pauling’s calculations led him to the conclusion that human life span could be extended by over 20 years through orthomolecular therapy: the right molecules in the right amounts. That is why he wrote his book. If you follow his 12 suggestions, you very well might add precious years of health and happiness to your own life. Never before in history did we have a right to expect such a benefit. This is truly one of the great advances of the 20th century; a century that owes much to Linus Pauling, for his contributions to chemistry, molecular biology, peace and health.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Making false claims is the essence of medical quackery. Those who do it just for the money are considered charlatans. Until recently, nutrition health claims have been rated that low. Any physician, who claimed that nutrition could be a

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treatment for disease was automatically considered to be a quack. Do we have similar titles in other professions? In court we call it perjury; most everywhere else we just call it incompetence, but if it is done knowingly and for profit, we classify  Ola Loa, LLC the perpetrator as a crook. Do we have a name for writers who make false claims?  11250 Clayton Creek If you can prove it in court it is called libel, slander or swindle. Usually it is just Rd. being dumb. When it is obviously at someone’s expense, however, it is ignorance or error compounded by hostility and anger—arrogance. Journalistic arrogance is  Lower Lake, CA 95457 not nice, even when disguised as public service. I know. In my files I recently came USA across a dormant folder marked "New York Times." In it is a 1981 article by food  1.800.800.9550 1 writer, Jane Brody, entitled "The dangers of nutritional misinformation."  [email protected] The article begins with a few examples of foolish nutrient therapies: a child  Ola Loa Store damaged by overdoses of vitamin A; a false diagnosis of selenium toxicity by missuse of hair analysis; and a condemnation of vitamin B15 as a fraud. Egad! I can feel my own dismay and anger rising all over again right now. There is a rebuttal for each of these examples: vitamin A toxicity does not deserve scare tactics. Almost all of the toxicity cases have been poorly documented, unproved. Even the recent studies claiming birth defects after low dose supplementation in pregnancy do Website by not address the more likely role of zinc deficiency, which causes the same type of Giraffex birth defects. Instead, we hear only that a little vitamin A can damage the fetus and on that suspicion the toxic threshold has been reduced from 50,000 to about 5,000 units and as a result women, who may need vitamin A, are untreated. The cost of this folly: infections, cancer and death in women of childbearing age. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

Vitamin B15, also called DMG (dimethylglycine), is one of the few substances to consistently win the praise of parents of children with developmental disorders, especially autism. I have seen it work better than anything else! No other

treatment has ever moved my patients with such mental impairment to say: "it's a miracle, doctor." How dare a journalist or anyone without clinical experience condemn this substance, thereby misleading the public. Journalistic arrogance. From there Brody decried the spending of billions on "self-styled nutritionists and worthless books, magazines and products that claim nutrition can prevent and cure a never-ending list of ailments, ranging in seriousness from fatigue to cancer.” As if healers do it only for the money. Health services are too personal for that sort of thing. How silly. The rapid progress of nutrition and alternative medicine now makes her words seem even sillier. The sad thing is she threw a lot of people off the track. Fate and the New York Times gave her too much authority over their minds—and their lives! In the article she attacked anyone who takes an unconventional path to nutrition knowledge. Here is a direct quote: "Almost anyone can call himself or herself a 'nutritionist' since licensing is not required. Among those who have are chiropractors, holders of mail-order degrees from non-accredited colleges, book authors and a few ill-informed or unscrupulous physicians who espouse unproven remedies." Ouch! That hurt. I am one of those book authors and a physician too; so in her judgment I must be "ill-informed and unscrupulous." But she didn’t stop there; her article advised how to detect a nutrition fraud. Again, I quote: "…member of some unrecognized "scientific" society…such as the… Orthomolecular Medical Society...” She attacked the society of which I was then president, and she insulted us by name! I was stunned at the injustice of this attack, and shocked that she also attacked literally every aspect of alternative medicine. History has proven her to be wrong; literally 180º off course, but that was not a consolation at the time. Other methods to detect quackery: “A name followed by a string of initials that stand for irrelevant degrees, such as N.D. (Doctor of Naturopathy), C.H. (Certified Herbologist), or C.A. (Certified Acupuncturist), D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic).." She offended me and most everyone else in the alternative medicine field. How did she ever get past this gaffe to become known as a nutrition maven? I'll stick with direct quotes so as to avoid over-indulgence of my own obvious bias. "Claims that most disease is due to a faulty diet; that most people are poorly nourished; that food processing, prolonged storage, soil depletion and chemical fertilizers are causing malnutrition, or that chemical additives and preservatives are poisoning people." Can you believe it! Nowadays our health authorities agree that nutrition plays a major role in over half of all cases of cancer and almost all heart attacks. Young Jane Brody was in the dark about nutrition and health, but that didn’t stop her from passing judgment on every health professional who took nutrition seriously. Brody continued her assault on medical nutrition by linking the following actions to quackery: "Claims that a bad diet or a health problem can be countered by taking vitamin or mineral supplements, by eating only 'organic' or 'health' foods, or by taking a false vitamin like B15 (pangamate) or B17 (laetrile). The use of hair analysis as the primary method for detecting a nutritional problem. Hair analysis can be highly misleading; blood and urine tests are far more accurate." Got the idea? She took a position totally opposed to alternative medicine and totally insulting to all of us who dared to buck the rip-tide of medical conservatism that held back the medical profession from 1940 to 1990, putting nutrition last. This is a major reason for the decline in prestige of the medical profession. I had hoped that during my time as President of the Orthomolecular Medical Society, we could show the American people that modern medicine puts nutrition first. In hopes of establishing contact with Ms. Brody, I wrote a letter to the New York Times, signing it in my capacity as President of the Orthomolecular Medical

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Society, the very same that she had insulted in her article. I will quote a section of the letter and remind you that it applies as much today as it did then: "less than 1% of our physicians are qualified to offer reliable counsel in this field. It is the aim of the Orthomolecular Medical Society to correct this situation by providing professional continuing medical education. To defame nutritional medicine by innuendo simply confuses the issues and denies possible health benefits to the people who need to know that all good medicine must begin with nutrition." I invited Ms. Brody to attend our next professional scientific meeting as my guest so that she could meet some of the faculty I had assembled, including four professors from the University of California (SF) medical school. Did I get an answer? No. My letter was never acknowledged, not even after I called their editorial department. Therefore I contacted a New York lawyer to raise the question of slander because the Times made no attempt to get accurate information about the Orthomolecular Medical Society and the damage they were doing to my colleagues and me was substantial. He advised against such an action and we let it go. I was hopeful that expanding membership would ultimately give us the power to overcome such insults. Unfortunately, doctors do not join an organization that may damage their image or get them in trouble. Controversy is anathema to doctors. Fifteen years later Brody has gradually embraced nutrient therapy, regularly writing about research breakthroughs, particularly relative to antioxidants, vitamin E, selenium and other minerals that have been vindicated by large-scale studies. Otherwise she remains quite suspicious of nutritionists. On January 20, 1992 she wrote about "the crucial role of magnesium in the diet." "Deficiencies may be far more common”… "Magnesium, an essential mineral in the human diet, has been all but ignored by nutrition enthusiasts, who tout an alphabet-soup of supplements to correct purported deficiencies, to counter various ailments and to enhance overall health.” What poppycock. And she knows better! Anyone who knows anything about nutrition medicine knows that magnesium deficiency is common amongst Americans and that treatment with magnesium supplements has proved valuable, not only to correct deficiency but for extra benefits at therapeutic doses in case of cardiac arrhythmia, blood vessel spasm, and asthma. At least she uses the term “enthusiast” rather than quack. Let's go back to 1972, when my practice was featured in Prevention Magazine as a model for what soon after was called holistic medicine. I was already using computer analysis of diet, blood tests for vitamins and minerals, and hair mineral analysis also. It was clear that many of my patients were low in magnesium and that they were dramatically improved after magnesium therapy. I didn't think it was a big deal because my professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Ed Flink, was a pioneer magnesium researcher and among the first to advocate its use in clinical practice twenty years before. No wonder then that of the original 200 members of the Orthomolecular Medical Society, four were members of my 1955 medical school graduating class, including Dr. John R. Lee, lately famous for his ground-breaking research in clinical uses of progesterone, especially for treating osteoporosis. But the local medical society leaders in San Francisco were in another world and they issued a press release: "Although so-called trace elements such as magnesium are necessary for brain function, the amounts required are so minute and so prevalent in ordinary food substances it is almost inconceivable that anybody with any semblance of a normal diet could be lacking in these trace elements."

What is the point of all this? Only that if you want to get sound nutrition information you must learn something of nutrition, health and medicine for yourself and then verify whatever therapy you undertake. To do this you will want to find an experienced orthomolecular practitioner, not an easy task, because, thanks to the Jane Brody and others of her ilk, there aren't many. Why would they join a movement that is still viewed with suspicion by peer review organizations, insurance companies and state medical boards? Medical journalists, such as Ms. Brody, lack the first-hand experience to comprehend why alternative medicine, including the services of naturopaths, chiropractors acupuncturists, herbologists, hypnotherapists, and massage therapists, is quite satisfying to most of their clients. In fact, alternative medicine without subsidy from health insurance, attracts more patient visits each year than does conventional medicine. On the other hand, we don’t hear from Ms. Brody about the real shortcomings of conventional medicine that have prompted millions of Americans to look beyond cholesterol and fat for answers to their health concerns. I don't think the public is entirely fooled, despite all the hoopla on issues such as cholesterol, hypertension, mammography and low fat diets. And they may be right. Cholesterol is not a sufficient basis for predicting cardiovascular health; nor is sugar the whole story of diabetes, calcium for osteoporosis, nor iron the sole factor in anemia. What it comes down to is that the most practical and accurate means to assess health and diagnose disease starts with testing of nutrients in blood and other tissues, including hair. Nutrition diagnosis is ever so much more complete now than when I became a nutrition physician 30 years ago. But one thing has not changed, the basic orthomolecular philosophy of “putting nutrition first.” That is fundamental.

1. Brody JB: The dangers of nutritional misinformation. New York Times, 5/20? /81.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Iron deficiency is the most widely recognized nutritional disorder in America, occurring in upwards of 20 million of us, especially women and growing children. Enrichment of flour with iron, 25 mg per pound, has failed to eradicate the problem and in the 1970's there was a serious move to double the amount of iron  Ola Loa, LLC in flour. This was averted by the efforts of a very few physicians who realized that  11250 Clayton Creek the less well known danger of iron overdose was equally great as the problem of Rd. anemia—or "tired blood."

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 Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA Iron deficiency has been known since ancient times and there is a reference to it in the Ebers Papyrus that dates back 3500 years. Iron overload has only been  1.800.800.9550 recognized in the past century, coming out of studies of a hereditary disease,  [email protected] hemochromatosis, in which excessive iron absorption leads to accumulation in  Ola Loa Store tissues, eventually overloading the natural defenses of the body and causing damage to key organs, such as liver, heart, joints, endocrine glands, kidneys and brain. While the full-blown disease is rare, occurring in only about 5 per 1000 of us, milder forms (recessive type) are not uncommon and there may be as many as 10 percent of us who have this trait for excess iron absorption, i.e. over 20 million people. Website by Giraffex This may be the most compelling reason to moderate our intake of red meat, since that is the most efficient dietary source of iron. The evidence is certainly sufficient to warn against self-medicating with iron-containing vitamin pills unless there is an actual iron deficiency. Meat contains only 3 grams of iron per usual serving (about 1/4 pound). Vitamin pills usually contain 6 times that amount, since 18 mg is the RDA for women and women do most of the purchasing of vitamins. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Only liver, of all our common foods, comes close to that amount and few people eat liver every day. Vitamin pills, however, are usually taken on a daily basis.

Accumulation of iron is not likely to occur in women of childbearing age. Menstrual blood loss is sufficient to prevent accumulation and pregnancy also soaks up the reserves. Men however have no natural means to excrete iron. It does not leave the body in urine, saliva or stools. Therefore if a man does have iron deficiency, bleeding is always suspect, especially from the intestines. Deficiency of iron causes a type of anemia in which the blood cells are rather small sized. This occurs because when iron is deficient, the blood pigment, hemoglobin, cannot be manufactured. However, before the anemia appears, symptoms of low energy and mood depression are common. The diagnosis may be missed unless specific blood tests for iron transport proteins, such as transferrin and ferritin are done. There are also other symptoms that occur with iron deficiency. Low back pain is one of the most common early signs. Iron is a catalyst to vitamin C in the formation of the connective tissue, collagen, that gives our tissues strength. The lumbar spine takes more mechanical stress than any other part of the body because so it is one of the first tissues to complain. Weak fingernails along with cupping of the nail shape also point to iron deficiency. Cracked lips and sore tongue occur because iron is a catalyst for riboflavin (vitamin B2), which produces nucleic acids for cell repair. Resistance to infection also declines when iron is unavailable to catalyze production of hydroxyl ions, one of the chief weapons of the antibacterial white blood cells (neutrophils). The slogan "tired blood,” related to iron deficiency is somewhat misleading. Yes, anemia does occur. But the fatigue is usually caused by loss of iron activation of cytochrome enzymes that are the ultimate releasers of energy from the foods we eat. In addition iron is required as a catalyst to the production of adrenalin-like substances by nerve cells. Without iron, poor mental concentration and low mood are usual. In children, irritability, hyperactivity and learning impairment have been traced to iron deficiency in many cases. It is clear from these facts that iron deficiency is a common, treatable and preventable medical disorder. But that has been appreciated for a long time. On the other hand, iron excess causes a host of symptoms that are even more damaging and equally treatable and preventable. The fact of iron overload is still so new that it has not reached full awareness in either the public or medical mind. A recent study found that even the classic cases of hemochromatosis are incorrectly diagnosed in almost half the cases for at least 5 years after symptoms have become severe! It is now well known that excess iron is a major cause of oxidative damage to unsaturated fats. Free iron acts as a free radical to induce peroxidation of cell membranes, which contain unsaturated fatty acids. This can damage or destroy cells, particularly in the blood vessels, causing atherosclerosis, the heart muscle, causing heart failure, the liver, causing cirrhosis, and the brain and endocrine glands. Loss of sex drive, probably due to damage to the pituitary gland, is an early symptom of iron overload. Men are likely to notice that sensation is intact but erection is too weak to qualify. Prevention is the best treatment because once symptoms have occurred it is not always possible to reverse them. It is wise, therefore, to avoid taking iron supplements unless iron deficiency is verified by your doctor. This is critically important for men and post-menopausal women, since there is no natural way for the body to get rid of excess iron in these situations. The challenge to the doctor is to make the diagnosis of your iron status before irreversible damage is done. For example, a 1988 report by Dr. Richard Stevens, et al of the National Cancer Institute showed a thirty percent increase in cancer incidence over a ten year period when comparing those with low versus high iron levels. Increased incidence of coronary heart disease has also been linked to iron

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excess. In fact, this may be the reason why women do not get heart attacks until after menopause, when they no longer lose blood and iron through menstruation. It is even possible that the beneficial action of fish oil and also aspirin is that both are anti-coagulant, thus permitting microscopic blood loss, particularly through the bowel. Dr. Blumer in Switzerland performed intravenous EDTA chelation therapy as a preventive feature in his practice for many years. After 20 years there was a 90 percent reduction in cancer and a 50 percent decline in heart attacks in his patients as compared to a non-chelated group in the same small town. This dramatic benefit was probably due to removal of toxic metals, such as lead, cadmium and aluminum by the treatment; but excess iron is also removed. Chelation therapy as a preventive method of detoxification remains controversial in America. However, blood donation at a blood bank is a practical means of helping others as you help yourself. Statistics indicate a 10-year increase in life span amongst regular blood donors. Your doctor can use a routine blood count to diagnose the presence of anemia but this does not by itself identify the iron status. Additional tests, such as transferrin saturation, reflect the amount of iron in transport, and ferritin, tells something about the amount of iron in liver storage. When copper is low, taking iron and vitamin C together causes complication, such as copper depletion, anemia. This occurs because copper and iron share absorptive mechanisms so that extra iron blocks copper uptake. The lower copper cuts back the volume of SOD enzyme; hence cell membranes are more vulnerable to oxidant damage. Iron attracts oxygen: that is why iron rusts and that is why blood cells, which contain 2/3 of the body's iron supply, can carry oxygen from the lungs to every cell in our bodies. Because iron is chemically reactive, nature packages it within a large molecule, hemoglobin. This ingenious molecule keeps iron from reacting chemically with cell membranes at random, a process that would cause cell death. Instead, iron is tucked safely within the large hemoglobin complex, providing electrons that permit hemoglobin to trade oxygen for hydrogen in the more active and therefore acidic tissues. Thus iron and hemoglobin serve to carry oxygen to the tissues and bring carbon dioxide as carbonic acid back to the lungs, in the process undergoing a color change from the bright red of the arteries to the dark blue of the veins.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Helping the immune Homocysteine: The Key to Heart system stay healthy Homocysteine & Attack, Stroke, & Cancer COVID-19 Sugar-Fructose.....IT'S  02 December 1999 ALL ABOUT DOSE Marijuana - 4/20 Twitter



A series of brilliant research achievements in the past 30 years has confirmed the importance of homocysteine as a PREVENTABLE and TREATABLE factor in blood vessel disease. In fact over 200 research studies already provide a consensus that identifies this molecule as THE strategic factor in heart attacks and strokes, far  Ola Loa, LLC more powerful than cholesterol and fat. In the first place, cholesterol has vital  11250 Clayton Creek structural functions in every cell membrane in your body and very low toxicity; Rd. whereas homocysteine is a transitory metabolic intermediate. If the chemical

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pathways to its useful end-products are impaired, homocysteine build-up causes  Lower Lake, CA 95457 more mischief than any other physiologic "ortho"molecule. USA  1.800.800.9550 The possibility of homocysteine toxicity has been known since 1962, when a rare  [email protected] genetic disease of infancy was linked to high levels of this substance. It has taken  Ola Loa Store over 30 years to verify that homocysteine can and frequently does build up to dangerous levels in many normal people also, especially if they are deficient in vitamins, such as B6, B12 and folic acid and betaine. Because these vitamins are frequently deficient in large-scale health and nutrition surveys, it is now believed that homocysteine is the cause of at least 10 percent of all deaths from heart attack. That amounts to over 50,000 deaths per year in the United States! Website by Giraffex An important new research, published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, shows that by fortifying a breakfast cereal with folic acid, homocysteine disappears from the blood of patients with coronary heart disease1. The researchers found that it requires at least 400 mcg of supplemental folic acid plus the usual dietary intake in order to remove the risk of homocysteine toxicity and damage. This is a direct challenge to the previous governmental RDA of 200 mcg, Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC which was expected to be entirely available from food.

The editorial commentary that accompanied this research carries the headline "Eat Right and Take A Multivitamin." That is an historic first in American medicine. Up until now such research findings have ended with an admonition against vitamin supplementation, and calling for more research instead. This time the editorial calls for raising the RDA for folic acid. Such a bold about-face is based not only on this research but also another recent study of folic acid levels and birth defects,2 which showed that at least 400 mcg of folic acid plus the usual diet is required to achieve maximum prevention of neural tube birth defects, e.g. spina bifida. The Nurse’s Health Study found a roughly 50 percent reduction in coronary artery disease in women with diets rich in B6, folic acid, whether from supplements or diets high in fruits and grains. This was a large study of 80,000 participants and it was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February of 1998. It is the largest study so far that links heart disease and these two nutrients, vitamin B6 and folic acid, which are especially available in orange juice, spinach, bananas, and whole grains--but also in calves liver, pate', red meat (rare), and fish. The researchers found that the greatest protection was at twice the RDA, i.e. a dose of 400 mcg of folic acid and 3 milligrams of vitamin B6. The fact that homocysteine can damage blood vessels was very evident in the original reports of deficient cystathionine synthase enzyme activity in babies who developed brain damage and seizures due to blood vessel damage resembling atherosclerosis. After much research we know that not all such cases die in infancy but about half do suffer blood clots before age 30. That means about half of these genetic cases can go unrecognized into adulthood. Dr. Kilmer McCully, then a research fellow at Harvard, was fascinated by the fact that the arterial damage in these infants closely resembles hardening of the arteries in adults. The infants had premature "aging" of their arteries! However this type of arteriosclerosis was NOT caused by cholesterol and had no evident connection to dietary fat. Instead, it was caused by deficiency of the enzyme, cystathionine beta synthase, and the damage could be prevented by providing megadoses of vitamin B6, to compensate for the genetic enzyme weakness. Dr. McCully wrote a landmark research paper in 1969 in which he suggested that homocysteine might be implicated in coronary heart disease and that research should be conducted to determine if coronary arteriosclerosis could be responsive to vitamin therapy. 3 That was about the time Linus Pauling introduced the idea of orthomolecular medicine, which promoted the idea that nutrients are the "right molecules" for prevention and treatment of disease. Both men were ridiculed for advocating vitamin therapy but McCully has lived long enough to enjoy vindication. Homocysteine is a classic example of orthomolecular medicine because most cases can be effectively treated with vitamins. Homocysteine is formed when the essential amino acid, methionine, loses a carbon atom, one of its physiological actions. The carbon atom also carries 3 hydrogen atoms, and it is quickly transferred to other molecules in a process called methylation. Methylation thus refers to the transfer of a carbon atom from methionine to other molecules. This is a vital process in biochemistry and requires co-factors, such as folic acid, cobalamin (B12), choline, betaine, and possibly dimethylglycine, all of which can transfer methyl groups. For example, methylation is required in order to form creatine for muscle energy, carnitine for cell energy throughout the body, taurine for cell membrane stability and cholesterol excretion, glucosamine for maintaining connective tissues and joint surfaces, phospholipids for cell regulation (PS) and cell structure (PC), and spermine for cell growth. The methyl group is one of the smallest units of organic biochemistry, a single carbon atom with three hydrogens in attendance, but it has the ability to form electronic bonds with other atoms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur as

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well as oxygen. Methyl is one of the the most active players in the chemistry of life and homocysteine is one of the transport factors that carries the methyl carbons to their appropriate reaction sites. In the process homocysteine is transmuted into methionine, cystathionine, and adenosyl homocysteine, but only if the co-factor vitamins, amino acids, minerals and enzymes are in balance. For example, in order to become cystathionine, homocysteine must join with the amino acid, serine, in a reaction that requires a synthase enzyme and adequate amounts of activated vitamin B6, i.e. pyridoxal phosphate. The enzyme, cystathionine synthase, was at first believed to be the whole story, and that excess homocysteine was due only to a genetic defect in this enzyme. Now we know that it is also a dietary problem, related to vitamin B6, which acts as a co-enzyme. That is, cystathione synthase enzyme requires vitamin B6 in order to reach full activity. Dr. McCully suggested that mild genetic damage, (heterozygous), might cause sub-clinical cases that could respond to treatment with vitamin B6 therapy. He theorized that this might explain the observation that vitamin B6 deficiency provokes arteriosclerosis. Now we know that the synthase enzyme was only one of seven enzyme defects that can cause homocysteine to build up to toxic levels. In particular, blockade of methylene tetrahydrofolic reductase (MeTHF reductase) is now recognized as more common and therefore more important. A remarkable research in support of the homocysteine-heart theory was published in 19764. Patients with premature atherosclerosis, confirmed by angiogram, showed high homocysteine levels after taking a loading dose of the amino acid, methionine. Healthy controls did not. This eye-catching study did not open the door to the homocysteine paradigm but it did encourage research and by 1995 there were enough studies for a meta-analysis, bringing together results of 27 studies. Boushey5 concluded that homocysteine is an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease, i.e. heart attack, stroke, and blockage of arteries and veins of the legs. He estimates that it causes 10 percent of the risk of heart attack and that the risk is graded, i.e. the higher the homocysteine level, the greater the individual risk. Statistical analysis shows 15 mM/L to be high risk (95 percentile), while 11 mM is the upper limit of the mean (75 percentile). Previous to this analysis, homocysteine data was misleading and was rated as moderate (15-30), intermediate (30-100) and severe (>100)6, which gave a false sense of security in interpreting results of testing. The reason for the discrepancy is simply that these numbers were intended for research into genetics, not clinical use. Full-blown enzyme deficiency (homozygous) causes blood homocysteine over 400 mM/L. ?Mild? cases (heterozygous) typically have blood levels of 20 to 40 mM, sufficient to be ?mildly fatal.' This is especially important amongst French Canadians, who have recently been found at high risk, almost 40 percent bearing a mutant MeTHF reductase enzyme, which exaggerates the homocysteine level if they are folic acid deficient. In general it is now believed that vitamin inadequacies, especially low folic acid, account for two thirds of all cases of high homocysteine. So far no conclusive study has been carried out to determine if correction of homocysteine will improve cardiovascular disease outcomes--but it is almost certain. Other conditions that increase homocysteine levels are pernicious anemia, low thyroid, and kidney disease. Victims of end-stage renal disease typically develop accelerated atherosclerosis also. Since B12 is a co-factor with folic acid in the remethylation process that transforms homocysteine into methionine, it is logical to expect a similar increase in homocysteine in case of B12 deiciency. Thus it is no surprise to find that of 434 patients with B12 deficiency7, almost all had homocysteine above 95 percentile (15 mM/L). Excess homocysteine is associated with several types of cancer, including breast, ovary and pancreas, and I have

noticed a tendency for bone metastases in patients with high homocysteine. It may be a good idea to treat all cancer patients with folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. For the same reason, I am wary of treating with methotrexate as it blocks folic acid and thus increases homocysteine levels. This inevitably must provoke platelet clots, growth factors and metastases, though I have seen no research paper on this subject to date (1998). . Other medications are also known to increase homocysteine levels. Anticonvulsants, particularly phenytoin (Dilantin™) are notorious folic acid inhibitors. Pancreatic enzyme supplements, also seem to interfere with folate absorption!8 Theophylline is believed to inhibit activation of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal phosphate) and caffeine is also chemically similar and associated with high homocysteine. Cigarette smoke has also been implicated and cigarette smokers have lower B6 levels than non-smokers and therefore higher homocysteine levels. In order to underscore the importance of homocysteine and the extent of the supporting research, the next few paragraphs are a brief summary of the most important studies that have reached mainstream acceptance by the medical community. In 1985 Boers 9 tested 75 patients with vascular disease and found nearly a third of those with cerebral and peripheral vascular disease also had high homocysteine. In 1991 Clarke10 measured homocysteine after loading doses of methionine in his patients with premature vascular disease. He found 42 percent of those with cerebral disease, 28 percent of those with peripheral vessel disease and 30 percent of those with heart attack had high homocysteine. The relative risk of coronary artery disease in these patients was over 20 times higher than in a comparison group with normal homocysteine. In 1988 Boers tested 32 patients with high homocysteine after treating them with vitamin B6 250 mg, and 5 mg of folic acid if they were deficient. This normalized homocysteine in 81 percent. After adding 6000 mg of betaine, the results were 100 percent! This was an example of megavitamin therapy on all counts: B6 was given at 100 times RDA, folic acid at 50 times the then RDA, and betaine was given by the teaspoonful as there was no RDA. Before then one was likely to be called a quack for offering such treatment. After Boers broke the ice, many other studies then succeeded in bracketing the required doses. Brattstrom found a 52% drop in homocysteine after 5 mg doses of folic acid in healthy subjects, also in 1988. Five years later a more definitive study was performed by Ubbink, who observed a similar 55 % drop in high homocysteine subjects (over 16.3 mM/L) when treated with only 1 mg folic but combined with 50 mcg of B12 and 10 mg of B6. A year later Ubbink fine-tuned his study by using a placebo group. The placebo had no effect on homocysteine, of course, but to a skeptical audience, it was a necessary demonstration. Ubbink also tested folic acid at a lower dose, only 650 mcg, and found only 42 % lowering in high homocysteine subjects. This same dose of folic acid got better results when combined with B12 and B6. On the other hand a 10 mg dose of B6 by itself lowered homocysteine only 5%; and 400 mcg doses of B12 alone managed only 15% reductions. So it became clear that the key player in homocysteine therapy is folic acid and that doses as high as 650 mcg reach only 80 percent efficiency. Since the RDA is only 400 mg per day, it is likely that many people, otherwise well-informed, are still at unnecessarily increased risk for heart attack, stroke and cancer metastasis. The Physicians’ Health Study 11 followed 14, 916 men for over seven years during which there were 271 heart attacks, of which 19 were attributed to homocysteine (7 percent). When homocysteine scores were analyzed, those above 15 mM/L (95 percentile) were at three times greater risk than those below 14 mM (90 percentile). Thus, a 12 percent increase, the difference between 14 mM and 15 mM,

was associated with a triple increase in risk of heart attack. Other studies show that our norms for homocysteine are still too high and need to be lowered further. For example, Dr. Selhub12 found the incidence of carotid artery narrowing is increased. between 11.4 and 14.3mM/L. Dr. Graham?s large study in Europe takes it even lower. His study compared fasting levels of homocysteine in atherosclerosis patients and healthy controls. The 750 atherosclerosis patients averaged 11.3 mM/L; but 800 normal controls averaged only 9.7. A methionine challenge test revealed an additional 27 percent of patients with high homocysteine that otherwise would have been missed. That is a lot of possible error in testing for a disease as lethal as this and for which there is a cure. In 1988 the National Research Council increased the official Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for folate and B6. Will we see changes in the public health as a result? Certainly! The impact on cardiovascular disease will lead to better health and longevity of such magnitude as to make this the biggest public health event of the second half of the 20th Century.

1 Malinow MR, Duell PB, Hess DL et al: Reduction of plasma homocyst(e)ine levels by

breakfast cereal fortified with folic acid in patients with coronary heart disease. N Engl J Med 1998;338:1009-15. 2 Daly S, Mill JL, Molloy AM et al. Minimum effective dose of folic acid for food fortification

to prevent neural-tube defects. Lancet 1997;350:1666-9 3 McCully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis

of arteriosclerosis. Am J Pathol 1969;56:111-28. 4 Wilcken DEL, Wilcken B. The pathogenesis of coronary artery disease: a possible role

for methionine metabolism. J Clin Invest 1976;57:1079-82. 5 Boushey CJ, Beresford SA, Omenn GS, Motulsky AG. A quantitative assessment of

plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease: probable benefits of increasing folic acid intakes. JAMA 1995;274:1049-57. 6 Kang SS, Wong PW, Malinow MR. Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia as a risk factor for occlusive

vascular disease. Ann Rev Nutr 1992;12:279-98. 7 Savage DG, Lindenbaum J, Stabler SP et al. Sensitivity of serum methylmalonic acid

and total homocysteine determinants for diagnosing cobalamin and folate deficiencies. Am J Med 1994;96:239-46. 8 Russell RM, et al: Impairment of folic acid absorption by oral pancreatic extracts. Dig

Dis Sci 25:369-73, 1980. 9 Boers GHJ, Smals AGH, Trijbels FJM et al. Hyperhomocysteinemia: an independent risk

factor for vascular disease. N Engl J Med 1991;324:1149-55. 10 Clarke R, Daly L, Robinson K et al. Hyperhomocysteinemia: an independent risk factor

for vascular disease. N Engl J Med 1991;324:1149-55. 11 Stampfer MJ, Malinow MR, Willett WC et al. A prospective study of plasma

homocyst(e)ine and riskof myocardial infarction in US physicians. JAMA 1992;268:877-81. 12 Selhub J, Jacques PF, Bostom AG et al. Association between plasma homocysteine

concentrations and extracranial carotid-artery stenosis. N Engl J Med 1995;332:286-91 13 Graham IM, Daly LE, Refsum HM, et al. Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for

vascular disease: the European concerted action project. JAMA 1997;277:1775-81.



Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

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For the past 60 years coronary artery disease has been like a plague on Western Nations taking its toll in the form of pain, disability and death. Literally half of all American deaths in that time are related to this disease. Such an epidemic of

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heart attacks has never-before occurred in all human history. To assuage our anxiety in the face of this mysterious disease that loomed especially large over the life of almost every male between age 40 and 70 and every female over age 60,  Ola Loa, LLC our government has had to wage a crusade. And that requires an enemy. That  11250 Clayton Creek public enemy has been identified as a molecule, a fatty alcohol, a normal part of Rd. every cell membrane in the human body and a source of the steroid hormones that regulate sex, stress, calcium and electrolytes—the major activities of  Lower Lake, CA 95457 mammalian biology. Yes, it is cholesterol that has taken the rap. Cholesterol and USA the surgeon general have been to the second half of the 20th Century what sex  1.800.800.9550 and Freud were to the first half—an obsession. And this obsession is supported by  [email protected] our health bureaucracy, who would have us join their crusade to accept a low fat, low cholesterol diet as our salvation. And if that should fail, we can sing ‘hallelujah’  Ola Loa Store as we submit to coronary angiography, angioplasty and coronary artery by-bass grafts. HEART FOODS: LOW FAT, LOW CHOLESTEROL The health establishment has allocated several billions of dollars to educate the Website by American public in the virtues of a low fat, low cholesterol diet even without proof Giraffex that this actually rewards us with a drop in over-all mortality. For the past 25 years anyone who dared challenge the cholesterol theory ran afoul of the establishment. One sad case involves a medical genius named Kilmer McCully. He originated the idea that high protein diets, particularly animal proteins, such as meat, fish, fowl, milk, cheese and eggs, could cause heart attacks because they Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC contain methionine, an essential amino acid. That was way back in 1968 and it was so contrary to conventional thinking that it was rejected by practically every scientist of the day. How could an essential nutrient in food be lethal? That

seemed to be a conundrum beyond anyone’s imagining. Somehow the herd couldn’t see the parallel to cholesterol, an essential food substance that was and is believed to be a major cause of “hardening of the arteries.” HOMOCYSTEINE THEORY McCully was very impressed by observing atherosclerosis and heart attacks in very young children with a then newly described genetic disease, homocystinuria. The chemistry involved deficiency of enzymes required to convert methionine into cystathionine. Homocysteine is produced as an intermediate, which normally transforms into cystathionine, which is used in the brain and as a source of the important antioxidants, cysteine and taurine. If the reaction is blocked then homocysteine can accumulate. Specific enzymes are needed to convert homocysteine into safe products, such as this transamination into cystathionine, a reaction that requires vitamin B6, or re-methylation, which recycles methionine, in a reaction that takes a carbon (methyl) from folic acid and transfers it to homocysteine, thus making methionine. This is nature’s way of conserving and reusing this essential amino acid. Dr. McCully wondered if there might be a mild form of homocystinuria which would spare the child but eventually kill the adult and he wrote a landmark paper on this subject in 1969. The implications were obvious: the high protein intake of affluent America could be a death trap for some, especially if folic acid, B12, and B6 were deficient, these vitamins being co-factors of the sometimes weak enzymes. For being too far ahead of his time he was laughed off the stage and out of his job at Harvard University. The conventional medical mind of that time could not accept the possibility that megadoses of vitamins could be useful against disease. Megavitamins have been subject to repeated and unnecessary warnings by conventional authorities and especially mainstream medical journals. As a result, the public has been denied relief and their physicians have been scared off the track! That is also why my book, Meganutrition, drew a wall of silence from my colleagues. NEW RESEARCH In the past ten years there have been a series of research studies confirming McCully’s hypothesis, including the idea that larger doses of vitamins folic acid, B12, B6 and betaine can clear the homocysteine and prevent damage. The most recent publication presents a graph depicting blood levels of homocysteine compared to mortality rates in patients with coronary artery disease already diagnosed by angiography. This was a prospective study in which 587 patients were studied after diagnosis by coronary arteriogram. Of these 318 were treated with by-pass, 120 by angioplasty and 149 by medical drugs only. After 5 years (average 4.6 years) there were 64 deaths. Those with entry homocysteine below 9 uM/L had the lowest mortality. By comparison, those above 20 uM had a 4.5 times higher death rate! Hereditary homocystinuria causes collagen damage in the eye, joints and blood vessels in childhood and the blood levels are usually over 100 uM. Even a small increase, 10 to 20 uM in the blood can cause osteoporosis in menopausal women and death in patients with coronary artery disease. LABORATORY TESTING OF HOMOCYSTEINE I had been impressed 20 years ago that homocysteine is dangerous because it is very reactive molecule, believed to unravel the collagen in the arterial wall. In fact,

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it reacts with so many substances and is so easily oxidized that it is technically difficult isolate and measure pure homocysteine. Most laboratories test for mixed disulfides instead. I had also been discouraged by finding such low levels of homocysteine in my patients. Now that we know these low levels correlate reliably with extent of mortality we should have more confidence in using the test data. From now on homocysteine testing should be a routine procedure in all patients with suspected coronary artery disease. The level of homocysteine is predictive. LABORATORY TESTING OF VITAMINS You might wonder if it will help to measure B6, B12 and folic acid. Surprisingly not! Homocysteine is dangerously high even in the presence of normal levels of these vitamins. It is not a vitamin deficiency problem only; rather it is usually a genetic weakness of the coenzyme. The vitamins are required in large doses to overcome the enzyme weakness. In order to lower the homocysteine level, therapeutic doses of vitamins B6, B12, betaine and folic acid are required. This is megadose therapy. That means folic acid dosages of at least 1 mg per day and up to 10 mg per day are required, as well as B12 1000 mcg, B6 100 mg or more and betaine 600 to 1200 mg per day. COPPER DEPLETION: ANOTHER MECHANISM OF DAMAGE Homocysteine is said to be directly reactive with collagen but it also reacts indirectly, by forming a bond with copper (the negatively charged carboxyl group of homocysteic acid attracts the positive charge on copper), thus removing this trace metal from the blood vessel wall. This interferes with a key enzyme, lysyl lyase, needed to catalyze lysine cross-linking. The cross linking of lysine is requires in order to strengthen collagen. The constant wear and tear on blood vessels, due to trauma, movement, viruses, pesticides, and immune reactions, requires ongoing repair. Copper deficiency interferes with the lyase enzyme needed for cross-linking of collagen, and thus causes defective repair of the blood vessel wall. Copper deficiency is common, affecting about 70 percent of Americans, because of lack of consistent intake of whole grains, seeds, nuts, mushrooms and shellfish. Those who are subject to excess homocysteine are clearly at extra risk of death, due not only to atherosclerosis, defective repair of the wear and tear damage to the intimal lining of the blood vessels, which is not fatal, but due to thrombosis, which is caused by platelets that are attracted to the ragged collagen, accumulate, release clotting factors, and create a clot, which can block the lumen of the already narrowed vessel. NUTRIENT THERAPY Anticoagulant activity can prevent the thrombosis and that is why fish oils, flax oil, and vitamin E are protective: each cuts heart attack deaths by about 50 percent, because they prevent platelet clumping, which otherwise can initiate blood coagulation and thrombosis. Even in the presence of homocysteine and copper deficiency, anti-coagulation prevents death. All of which highlights the fact that cholesterol is not the villain it has been made out to be. It just happens to accumulate in areas of repair, possibly a mishap of Mother Nature’s attempt at repair. At least it is not an insurmountable health hazard. And low fat, low cholesterol diets, which avoid seeds, nuts and shellfish, do not solve the more fundamental needs for vitamin E, trace minerals, and copper, which are unusually well supplied in these foods. In fact, they can make it worse in those who may be particularly sensitive to lack of these nutrients.

HEART FRAUDS But even if that were not so, the case for invasive procedures, such as angioplasty and by-pass graft surgery is not strong enough to deserve the high status that they now have. In fact, one critic, Dr. Charles T. McGee, (M.D.) contends that there is inherent fraud in the present situation. He calls it “The Misapplication of high technology in heart disease,” because by-pass surgery is advertised and sold to millions of desperate patients at great cost but without proven benefit. His book, Heart Frauds, published in 1993 (MediPress, Coeur d’Alene, ID) presents scientific studies that prove that X-ray angiograms do NOT reliably diagnose coronary artery blockage; and that by-pass surgery does NOT extend life-span. On the other hand, he also documents orthomolecular therapies that have been proven to reverse coronary atherosclerosis. And he emphasizes that because these therapies are denied or ignored—many patients needlessly die. NUTRITION IS A BARGAIN I am impressed that by adjusting the balance of nutrients in diet and with the addition of supplements, true miracles of rejuvenation are possible—and at relatively low cost. It is macabre that the medical profession supports the use of Coronary Artery By-pass Graft (CABG), a $30,000 surgery that does not yield any survival advantage; but fails to teach the public that antioxidant therapies confer at least a 50 percent advantage, ie. decreased coronary death rate, in the first decade after starting on vitamin therapy. That’s what public health is all about: teaching people to take advantage of the facts! To fail at this is negligence, incompetence or fraud. Dr. McGee takes the latter view, therefore his title, “Heart Frauds.” Beyond the by-pass fraud, he argues that our political and medical authorities persist in support of obsolete and harmful strategies, such as the promotion of margarines and hydrogenated oils, continuing the multi-billion dollar anticholesterol campaign, and then failing to educate the public about the proven benefits associated with the use of vitamin E and carotene. Dr. McGee considers this to be “incredible negligence.” A BOOK TO READ

Heart Frauds is an expose; it tells it like it is. I expected as much from Dr. McGee because he was one of the charter members of the Orthomolecular Medical Society at its founding in 1976. I knew at the time that his formal medical training was in surgery and gynecology, but his first book, How to Survive Modern Technology, published in 1979, proved that he was not merely specialized in diseases of women but that he understood the impact of environmental pollution and food technology on human degenerative diseases. His first book deftly summarized the orthomolecular and environmental therapies, including megavitamin therapy, desensitization of allergies, and detoxification of pollutants. His new book, Heart Frauds, is every bit as incisive as the first. Heart attacks still take almost half a million lives every year in the United States and one of them was Dr. McGee’s father, who died of a heart attack when McGee was in medical school over thirty years ago. This tragedy motivated Dr. McGee to follow the complicated and often contradictory research in cardiology, from Framingham to the Lipid Clinics studies, thus building his authority and his ability to see that

Medicine has failed thus far to solve the riddle of coronary artery disease. No less mysterious is the fact that heart attacks have declined by almost 50 percent in the past 20 years. Cholesterol is clearly not the answer because dietary cholesterol intake has been unchanged throughout the years. Nevertheless the experts seem to be convinced that angina (chest pain) and infarction (heart attacks) occur because cholesterol invades the walls of our arteries and forms plaque that gradually blocks the flow of blood. Since that has been regarded as irreversible, Coronary Artery By-pass Graft (CABG) surgery has become an accepted treatment. The development of heart-lung machines and safe anesthetic techniques, has made it possible to provide about 400,000 such surgeries each year in this country and about 300,000 balloon angioplasties are also performed, in which a catheter is threaded into the artery and inflated so as to enlarge the channel. Worldwide there are now about 800,000 by pass surgeries performed each year! I agree that the technology is awesome; but the point that Dr. McGee makes in his book is that most of the time these procedures are unnecessary . In the past first place, there is abundant evidence that the usual method of diagnosis of coronary artery blockage, the angiogram, is unreliable unless it is done by the method of quantitative imaging. Even more startling: the injection of dye can cause the coronary vessels to go into spasm, thus producing X-ray pictures that look like blockage—but are not! Can a 2 dimensional X ray picture really provide a diagnosis in a 3 dimensional patient, who lives in the fourth dimension, time? If the result of by-pass surgery were a guaranteed increase in longevity, one could make a case for CABG; but in fact no evidence of increased longevity exists, especially not for those with only minimal damage to the left ventricle of the heart, the main pumping chamber. By means of a non-invasive procedure, echocardiogram, the ejection fraction can be measured. If this is normal, the left ventricle is functional and surgery offers no extra years of survival. This turns out to be the case for over half of the patients who are considered for CABG because of chest pain or abnormal electrocardiogram tests. About all that can be expected is a significant degree of relief of angina, chest pain, after the surgery. ORNISH PROVED DIET WORKS BETTER How does that stand up in the face of the demonstration by Dr. Dean Ornish that 85 percent of patients with coronary heart disease can reverse their artery blockage by means of a vegetarian diet, exercise and anti-stress training, such as meditation. This means that 5 out of 6 heart patients can open their blocked arteries without surgery. They can heal themselves! We also know that in many cases the heart can gradually develop new blood vessels that by-pass the blocked vessel. In many cases the angina resolves this way and the individual gets a new lease on life that may hold for many years, even decades, even without treatment. I have seen this in my own patients treated with antioxidants, vitamins, trace minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, and without exercise, meditation or a low fat, low cholesterol, vegetarian diet. In fact one of my patients survived twenty years on my treatment regimen before he accepted a by-pass surgery. Why did he suddenly need surgery? He had continued to smoke cigarettes all that time but in the last year or more he had stopped taking his vitamin supplements. Human nature? Lack of follow-up reinforcement after so many years? Does the proven success of the Ornish Diet mean that all other medical therapies are obsolete? Strictly speaking, yes. But not everyone is motivated or well enough organized to adopt such a regimen. Some react adversely to low fat diet, which can induce digestive disturbances, hypoglycemia, nervous irritability and depression. Some of us just do not like vegetables. And besides, other medical approaches are still entrenched: diuretics, anti-hypertensive, beta blockers,

calcium channel blockers, vasodilators, and cholesterol-lowering drugs all have their advocates. And the surgical treatments are pretty hard to refuse when you think your life is on the line. But there are a few statistics that are equally compelling. CHD VS CABG: EQUAL SURVIVAL RATES For example, the expected death rate from coronary artery disease is about 2 percent per year. But the death rate from coronary artery by-pass surgery can run higher than that—up to 4% at some hospitals and higher in less competent hands. Granted, as experience and techniques have improved, operative mortality has declined; but there is another side to the story that deserves to be appreciated: 10 year survival after by-pass surgery in patients with intact heart function is about the same after surgery (86 %) as with drugs and diet (82%). In the 780 patients of the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (CASS), only those patients with impaired function of the left heart ventricle had a survival advantage from by-pass surgery: 80% compared to 59% in the medical group. CABG HEART AND CABBAGE HEAD Because of the variability from one study to the next, it has been difficult to arrive at an over-all estimate of benefits and risk. Brain damage after by-pass surgery is not rare. In fact it is a big problem, much greater than operative mortality. A recent study of over 2000 patients in 24 hospitals in 1991-1993 surveyed neurological injury associated with by-pass surgery, and found that over 6 percent of the patients had neurological complications, about evenly divided between strokes and senile degeneration. Over-all, the operation carried 2 percent mortality, almost identical to the mortality in coronary patients who do not elect to have the by-pass surgery. In case of paralytic stroke, the in-hospital death rate increased to 21 percent; double the rate seen in senile type confusion or seizures.

McCully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Am J Pathol 1969; 56:111-28. Alderman et al. Circulation 1990;82:1629-1646. Roach GW, Kanchuger M, Mangano CM et al. Adverse cerebral outcomes after coronary bypass surgery. New Engl J Med 1996; 335:1857-1863.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Folic acid. The name sounds like it might be dangerous, a caustic acid substance and not good for health. But it is actually a very important vitamin and therefore essential to your life and your health. It is also the most commonly deficient

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vitamin in Americans and the average American diet provides only about half the RDA, the amount recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board. Folic acid is found in green leaves, such as spinach, asparagus, beans (legumes) and especially  Ola Loa, LLC in brewers yeast and liver. If you don't like any of those foods, try eating butterfly  11250 Clayton Creek wings for an exotic source health food. Rd. Deficiency of folic acid is an important cause of birth defects, particularly spina  Lower Lake, CA 95457 bifida, a defect in the formation of the lower back which leaves the spinal cord USA exposed. Several studies have confirmed the value of folic acid in preventing these  1.800.800.9550 "neural tube defects" and the FDA now recommends that prospective mothers  [email protected] take folic acid supplements because women are unlikely to obtain a sufficient amount of folate to support a healthy pregnancy unless a supplement is taken. If it  Ola Loa Store were only to prevent birth defects, I strongly recommend that all women of childbearing age take a folic acid supplement of at least 0.4 mg and preferably twice that much on a regular basis. Folic acid has many other actions that you need to know about. This vitamin is especially important in patients whose illness requires hospital care. Research Website by reports indicate that a third of the psychiatric patients and two thirds of the Giraffex medical patients in hospital are low in folic acid. Deficiency is not necessarily due to poor diet. Intestinal malabsorption and treatment with female hormones and birth control pills also cause low folic acid levels. Anticonvulsant therapy with Dilantin is most likely to block absorption and interfere with conversion to the active form in the brain and this can cause depression and loss of mental acuity, Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC which are responsive to folic acid treatment.

At menopause many women produce extra amounts of homocysteine, an amino acid by-product of protein. Homocysteine is a powerful solvent, capable of attacking collagen and hence weakening all tissues, but especially blood vessels and bone. When bones weaken they lose calcium, become porous, hence the name, osteoporosis. Deficiency of folic acid (as well as B12 and B6) causes increased homocysteine accumulation and hence aggravates osteoporosis. Damage can be prevented by folic acid supplements and this therapy may be indicated even if folate blood levels are within the normal range. As you can see, there is more to osteoporosis than just calcium and there is more to folic acid than is revealed by simple measurement of blood levels. Functional tests, such as the presence of homocysteine, are actually more revealing. The main chemical function of folic acid is in transporting a carbon atom in the form of a methyl group. This action has been put to good use in treating victims of methyl alcohol poisoning. A more common and therefore more important function of folic acid is in the manufacture of nucleic acids, essential for growth and repair in every cell in the body. Growing cells need folic acid; hence deficiency causes anemia and delays healing. Mature cells also need folic acid to assure repair of nucleic acids that get damaged by carcinogens, radiation and even by dietary oxidative by-products nucleic acids. Cancer cells also need folic acid in order to grow and folic acid blockers, such as methotrexate, are sometimes used to curtail cancer growth; a technique that works best if folic acid, in turn, is used to promote healing in the "rescue" strategy in cancer chemotherapy. Folic acid has also been found effective against precancerous cervical dysplasia. It is so effective here that abnormal cells can become normal again! Hence folic acid, along with vitamin A and vitamin C, which share this action, should be tried before resorting to surgical intervention. Folic acid deficiency, even if temporary, has been found to weaken the immune system for about three months after since folate deficient lymphocytes do not recover function but must be replaced by new cells. Nerve cells are affected by folic acid in several ways. Methyl group transfer is critical to the production of choline, which is essential to repair cell membranes and in the production of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter. Folic acid is also essential in manufacture of catecholamine transmitters and in the removal of their end products, thus balancing the action of neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and epinephrine. The RDA of folic acid is only 0.4 mg per day and doses larger than 3 mg can be over-stimulating. Emotional tension, irritability and headache can occur and there is a small increase in the risk of seizures at intake above 5 mg per day. On the other hand, large doses of folic acid are also reported to increase the pain threshold, ie. to reduce pain. Large doses of folic acid, up to 80 mg daily, were given to 150 patients by Dr. Kurt Oster, who found that folic acid inactivates an enzyme, xanthine oxidase, and thus reverses damage to the blood vessel wall in atherosclerosis patients. There were no bad reactions to these large doses in his cases; however several studies point to danger in taking folic acid supplements greater than 5 mg daily. One of my patients had a seizure, a single episode of abrupt emotional overactivity followed by loss of consciousness and stiffening of the entire body, including tongue biting, which all came on 3 hours after a single 10 mg dose of folic acid and after a year of regular intake of about 1 mg daily. Two days later his folic acid blood level was over twice the normal. After stopping folic acid supplements, he is free of spells of emotional distress. The change is so obvious that his friends and acquaintances remark on it without being told what has happened. On the other hand, megadose folic acid has been quite helpful in several of my depressed and a few of my schizophrenic patients. I will never forget the young man who recovered from a schizophrenic episode only after increasing folic acid

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intake to 40 mg. He remained well for a year but relapsed when he stopped the treatment. After that it required a 70 mg dose to defeat the illness. Folic acid acts in concert with vitamin B12 in the production of adenosylmethionine, an amino acid with a powerful ability to elevate mood and enhance mental acuity. One of the early signs of folate deficiency is mood depression and, as I said earlier, studies of hospitalized patients with depression show a tendency to low folic acid levels. When depression is accompanied by fatigue, treatment with folic acid is particularly likely to work. Wheat allergy or intolerance is a common cause of folate deficiency. Gluten, the wheat protein, causes inflammation of the intestine and mal-absorption of folic acid in sensitive individuals. Infection with the parasite, Giardia lamblia, can also inflame the bowel and interfere with folate absorption. It is a good idea to check folic acid levels in anyone who suffers from persistent intestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea or excessive gas and bloating. Since folate must be digested by pancreatic juice in the duodenum, any malfunction in that area is likely to interfere with this vitamin. There are many other indications to consider folic acid therapy. Neuropathy, nerve damage, is one of these, restless legs another. Post-partum depression and confusional states of the elderly are two additional psychiatric needs for folic acid. Aplastic anemia, even if due to a poisoning or drug reaction, may be responsive to folic acid. Recovery from any acute illness or trauma is likely to benefit from extra folic acid. Folate deficiency is rare in breast fed infants but common in infants fed cows milk and commercial formula. Due to heat treatment, pasteurization, a milk protein that transports folate into the blood stream is destroyed. Without this protein, half the folic acid in food and supplements never makes it into the tissues where it is required for optimal cell function. Does this contribute to impaired growth and impaired brain development? I really worry about that when I know that the majority of American mothers do not nurse their babies and that the level of intellectual ability, as measured by scholastic test scores (SAT) has declined over 10 percent in the past 20 years. I think it is more likely that impaired brain development is behind this disaster than any lack of ability or effort on the part of our teachers and schools. When it comes to feeding children, Mother Nature still seems to know best! Natural foods in their raw state contain plenty of folic acid.

Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2000

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The blowing of the wind provides some of life’s pleasures. Whether it is a breeze on a sunny day or an exciting gale before a storm, we enjoy the stimulation and aliveness of the various winds that clear the air and lift our senses in different ways

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from day to day. But winds can also carry pesticides and that is a different matter, the very embodiment of the expression “an ill wind that blows no good.” It is hard to imagine that the air we breathe can be a risk to our health. It is unreal to think  Ola Loa, LLC that a drive in the countryside can provoke nervousness and depression from  11250 Clayton Creek pesticides carried on the wind. I have had reports from patients, especially those Rd. who were unusually sensitive to organophosphate pesticides, such as malathion, diazinon, chlorpyrifos and dursban, to name a few. Measurement of plasma  Lower Lake, CA 95457 cholinesterase, which is destroyed by these chemicals, provides convincing USA evidence of low cholinesterase. Pesticides bring it down, too low to control  1.800.800.9550 acetylcholine neurotransmitter activity. Out of control acetylcholine  [email protected] overstimulates synapses and thus causes nervousness and a myriad of physical symptoms: tremor, asthma, stomach upset, frequent urination, headache,  Ola Loa Store insomnia, nightmares, temper outbursts—and eventual memory loss. Pesticides are often sprayed from airplanes during growing season in agricultural areas, including the Napa Valley and, of course, the San Joaquin and Imperial Valley areas. But molecules fly through the air and into the waters right close to home for city folks also. A very enlightening report was published in the San Website by Francisco Examiner on March 29, 1998. The California Department of Pesticide Giraffex Regulation released results of a survey of diazinon in 20 creeks in the Bay Area and 14 more in Mendocino area. At concentrations of only 40 parts per trillion (about 1 trillionth of a gram per drop of water) fish and game begin to get sick. At 80 parts per trillion toxic effects are full blown. All readings were over 40 parts per trillion. In the Bay area they ran as high as 590 at various times. Rainfall flushes pesticide Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC residues into streams. Thus in Mendocino after a rainfall, diazinon levels ranged from 400 to 5500 parts per trillion, ten times more and certainly a hazard to life in the ecosystem. In particular, pesticide run-off kills organisms in the streams, thus

interrupting the life cycle of fish. Aside from the direct toxic effects, the indirect effect is under-nutrition, growth inhibition, and disease. Less than a tablespoon of diazinon in a day’s creek flow is sufficient to cause a safety hazard! The key point in the article is summarized in a quote from the manager of Palo Alto’s water pollution prevention program: “We’re not worried about what’s coming from farmers in the fields. It’s coming from houses.” However in the Central Valley the run off from fields and orchards into the streams and rivers is also carried into ground fog and eventually into the clouds. Rain samples over several hundred miles from Red Bluff to Patterson had diazinon at levels 100 times higher than the water quality criteria to protect fish. Bad as that is, it comes nowhere near the amount contained in rainfall runoff in Castro Valley, where 1 million parts per trillion was measured in storm drains from housing developments. These organophosphates are available over the counter at hardware stores everywhere. Ultimately these chemicals make their way into the estuary, the confluence of waters where rivers meet the sea in San Francisco Bay. The dwindling numbers of salmon, stripers and sturgeon are the victims at the end of the line. But there are other poisons that can fly with the air currents around our homes and buildings and into our open windows. Years ago I examined a middle-aged man, a banker, who suffered headache and eventual neuropathy, paralysis of long nerves. After careful questioning it became clear that he spent a lot of time in his study at his home in Tucson, Arizona. Summer temperatures over 100º F. were an everyday occurrence as his window opened under the eaves. Convection currents moved into his cool study, expanding from adjacent sun-heated areas, which emitted fumes, probably from insulating materials or duct tape. His symptoms matched most closely with a syndrome associated with n-hexane, which is found in glue and in duct tape. A form of this compound, phenyl-cyclohexane, has been linked to similar symptoms from the backing of synthetic carpets. If it smells like glue it is not good for you. The problem with n-hexane is that it does not have a strong odor and it damages the nerve cells rather than irritating surface tissues of eye and lung. In other words, it can sneak up on the victim and cause damage before anyone suspects the source of the problem. I ran into a sneaky problem like that recently in a young man who already had cerebral palsy at birth, which left him with unsteady gait, difficulty lifting his feet, stiffness in his right side, slowed and crude movements, and slurred speech. He was unable to speak until age 5 and has always been easily confused. Nevertheless, as an adult he has struggled to live independently and he works in a supervised shop. In the past two years he had anger outbursts and ups and downs of energy and mood. He was increasingly irritable, confused, and with spells in which eye movements were abnormal and automatic—seizure-like. Conscientious attention to nutrient supplements and lowered carbohydrate intake led to improvement, but less than expected. Then came a breakthrough: a urine mineral panel showed thallium, 5 mcg per ml (5 ppm). I couldn’t believe my eyes, for he did not exhibit hair loss and chronic thallium overdose is regularly associated with alopecia totalis, loss of hair everywhere. It is not a minor symptom because nerve damage is equally severe and this young man was already injured in that department. I treated him with acetyl-cysteine, mineral supplements to displace thallium, antioxidants to protect nerve cells, and omega 3 fatty acids to support the repair of damaged nerve cell membranes. But the most important strategy in dealing with poisons is to identify and terminate the exposure. This can be a real detective problem. I ordered repeat tests of thallium, including blood and hair samples. The urine and blood were high in thallium but his hair was not. That means he was exposed to thallium in the immediate time period of the test but not at levels sufficient under chronic conditions to show up in his hair. It must be an intermittent and fairly low level exposure. Where was it coming from? He went for a month to live with a

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relative in Florida. On return thallium was no longer detected in his urine. I guessed that it might be from rat poison in the home of a relative he stayed with regularly. A search was conducted; no rat poison was found. A similar search at his board and care home also failed to identify thallium. However some months later I learned that another resident there did show a similar thallium test result. I now went over a map of the board and care home, questioning the possible use of chemicals and pesticides, especially in kitchen and bathrooms. A search of his bathroom and bedroom did not turn up rat poison. We drew a map of the house and plotted the direction of the prevailing winds. Thallium in dirt or dust on his side of the building could blow in through his window. The other victim’s room was next door to his—same side of the building. Years earlier, when the owner bought the house, rat poison was placed around the perimeter in order to get rid of rodents. The rodents ceased to be a problem and where there had been open areas now shrubbery had grown, so no one remembered the exterminator’s earlier mission. The health department was notified and Stan moved to a new residence. When he moved out thallium disappeared from his blood and urine and his seizures gradually stopped. Pigmentation of hair follicles in his beard also faded away within a few months. I recently was consulted by a young woman who had a relapse of a Purpura, a disease of the blood platelets, which can prove fatal due to uncontrollable bleeding. In her case the platelet count was so low that she required transfusions in order to survive. Careful questioning revealed that she had been exposed to fumes from flea bombs on four occasions in the weeks before she first became ill. Despite the fact that the family left the home for several hours each time, there was enough residual chemical residue to sensitize her cells. It is possible that she was sensitized also by dint of a virus “flu” during one of those exposures, and the combination of viral plus chemical exposure is known to vastly increase the risk of complications. I have seen an almost identical scenario with the same outcome just a few years ago in another patient. He was not so lucky: transfusions and cortisone treatment failed to halt the relentless process of cell destruction and he died after a lengthy and courageous struggle. Experts tell us that only one in a hundred toxic reactions in agriculture is actually reported. I have considerable respect for the power of pesticides because some of my patients have strayed into the path of ill winds. I have seen a number of cases of such “pesticide neurosis,” usually in people who also have a lower than normal cholinesterase in their blood. The cholinesterase enzyme is a key to calm nerves and relaxed muscles; and when it fails to inactivate the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, muscle tension, anger outbursts, and a variety of autonomic nervous symptoms all act up: wheezing, hyperacidity, irritable bowel, urinary urgency and difficulty in controlling handwriting. Of course the expression of the syndrome is quite individual but the main thing is that the diagnosis is usually missed in an urban practice. It is not something that we doctors are focused on. One of my patients lived in a college dormitory uphill from a strawberry patch in San Luis Obispo. We tend to think of pesticide spray as confined to the fields; but when the winds blow, poisons can freely travel. Donald was a college junior in computer science and was doing quite well until May 1997 when he suddenly became too weak to walk. He had to stay in bed for a week and then was so weak and shaky that he required assistance in order to walk for the next two weeks. His local doctor was baffled and offered no treatment. Acupuncture helped a little but he was too weak and shaky to attend class and he was about to lose out on the entire year This was a puzzling case. He had enjoyed good health except for an adverse reaction to pertussis vaccine given at age 12 months, which caused strabismus and required surgery for crossed-eyes at age 8. But neurological examination was normal now, and so was laboratory testing. The total picture fit a diagnosis of a neuro-toxic event occurring a month before consulting me. He had a high ALT

test (a sign of liver irritation), a low carotene, and low DHA (an essential fatty substance) possibly oxidized by the presumed toxic hit. Cholinesterase was normal however, so it was not likely a nerve gas type of exposure. About that time I heard about reports of methyl bromide use in California. That made a lot of sense so I called Don and checked out the possibilities. It turned out that his dormitory room was but a 5-minute walk from a strawberry field, which was repeatedly treated with methyl bromide. His dorm was downwind and uphill. The air currents would catch under the eaves of the roof, carrying the toxic fumes into his place of study—an ill wind. I called his local physician, to remind him to call the local health authorities to report this as a pesticide exposure. I also treated with milk thistle and antioxidants, i.e. acetyl cysteine, lipoic acid, and taurine. He regained his strength, lost his tremor, and was well enough to return to class for the Fall semester. Is this an isolated case? Testing of air samples near Watsonville last year found methyl bromide at levels 10 times higher than California safety limits. This startling news was released in February 1997 by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington DC organization, which supports banning methyl bromide after detecting dangerous levels of 2115 parts per billion the next day after a strawberry field adjacent to an elementary school was treated. The name of this particular school is Salsipuedes, Spanish for: “get out if you can.” Not a bad idea considering that the safety limit of methyl bromide is set at 210 parts per billion, far below the 2115 parts per billion found around the school. In case you haven’t heard: methyl bromide is proven to cause nerve damage and birth defects at low concentrations. It enters the human body by inhalation and direct skin contact. Testing by the Environmental Working Group (home office Washington DC) revealed systematic abuses on the part of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. In particular, the report was critical of the agency for failing to insist on buffer zones to protect the public, and for failure to monitor at all. The Group report recommends the following remedial actions: 1. Establish buffer zone models. 2. Publish health risk assessments about the true dangers of methyl bromide. 3. Revise the 24-hour safety standard for exposure 4. Increase the permit fees to help pay for monitoring and research costs. 5. Increase the monitoring of air, soil, and water contamination. 6. Require public notice of applications near homes, schools, and workplaces. Agricultural workers and their families are at greater risk than the rest of us and from experience they share a real fear of the consequences of exposure to the chemical soup that pervades their environment. A school in Watsonville actually protested fumigation of a strawberry field on an adjoining property. They must know something that the University faculty in San Luis Obispo haven’t found out yet. Almost half of the school’s students and a number of teachers staged a “sickout,” but state officials insisted that the chemicals are in concentrations too small to cause illness. Lest you fail to appreciate the magnitude of the problem, consider the fact that 75 million pounds of methyl bromide were applied to agricultural fields in California from 1993 to 1997. During that time the state did not monitor the air adjacent to fumigated fields anywhere, not even in schoolyards and backyards. However California EPA scientists did study the Lompoc Valley because of

repeated complaints that the residents there suffer excessively from bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer and infant lung disease, more than other regions. Dr. Robert Holtzer, a physician and biologist formerly with California EPA, retired from Health hazard Assessment because he so strongly opposed the departmental policy of discounting the evidence of lung cancer and respiratory illness. He returned as consultant to a study, which was completed in draft by November 1997. This study confirmed an 85 percent excess rate of bronchitis, and up to 5 times more sinusitis than elsewhere in California. Even more frightening: the rate of lung cancer is almost 40 percent higher than that of the surrounding three counties, and infants in Lompoc have a two-fold greater rate of respiratory disease requiring hospitalization. The manufacturers of 2,4-D, a form of dioxin, spent over 30 million dollars on studies to influence EPA. Industry is fighting for the continued use of organophosphates, particularly. chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and methyl bromide. All of these nerve poisons need to be tightly regulated in order to protect the agricultural workers, pesticide operators, and the public. But methyl bromide has just been extended for four more years. Bad as it is down on the farm there may be more danger lurking in your own home, lawn and shrubbery. The National coalition Against Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP) found that of the 36 most commonly used lawn pesticides, 13 cause cancer, 14 cause birth defects, 15 damage kidneys, and 21 damage the brain and nerves. From 1988 to 1995 more than 65 bills were introduced in Congress to better control these pesticides. None of them passed. Could it be that the millions of dollars paid to political campaigns in the past 45 years has affected our legislators? For example in the ten years 1987 to 1996, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas got $78,268 from pesticide manufacturers. It doesn’t have to go to the entire Congress—just those in the agriculture and drug regulatory committees. Money well spent if you are in the business. It pays to be aware of these hazards. Then you can at least make a sensible effort to protect yourself. NOTE: (from an article in Alt Med, #24). For example a link between spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, and tap water was reported in the journal, Epidemeology in March 1998. Over 5000 women from 3 California counties were interviewed regarding water intake during their first three months of pregnancy. Women who drank five or more cups of chlorinated tap water with 75 parts per million trihalomethanes had an almost double risk of miscarriage compared to those who drank less water or water with lower levels of the chlorine by-products. The actual rates of miscarriage were 15.7 vs 9.5 percent. This strikes me personally because the study included San Francisco and the report was published in the Water Quality Report issued by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Public Health in April 1998. There I learned, to my surprise, that San Francisco water has averaged 76 ppb THM over the past ten years. Chlorine is added to our water as a disinfectant, to kill germs. However it is chemically reactive and produces toxic compounds upon contact with earth residues in the water. The specific compounds are chloroform, bromoform, bromodichloromethane (BDCM) and chlorodibromomethane. While all of these are toxic and carcinogenic, only the BCDM has been identified as a cause of miscarriage, and this only at concentrations above 18 ppb. San Francisco water averages only 8 ppb and yet the rate of miscarriage is still doubled for those who drink 5 glasses of water or more per day if the total trihalomethanes exceed 75 ppb. Could there be other contaminants? Is fluoride contributory in humans as it is in cattle? These points were not considered in the publications, but as a result of this research, the water departments are switching from chlorination to chloramine, expecting to cut the levels of THM in half. However, chloramines cause cancer all

by themselves; so this does not solve the problem. Ultimately, point of service filtration is likely to be the answer. In fact the San Francisco report actually advises either bottled water or home treatment now. They also advise us to boil our water for one minute! So the experts really do take this seriously On the other hand the reports also say that showers and swimming do not pose health risks. I disagree. Their research data measured only a catastrophic event, miscarriage. How about subtle effects, especially the local effects on skin? It would be logical to expect increased chemical reactivity and irritation, especially under a hot shower, as this must cause depletion of unsaturated fatty acid reserves. Skin might react with thickening (keratosis) and be more susceptible to fungal infections. Even if the effect were only cosmetic, it is not fair to the uneducated consumers to say that chemically treated water is without adverse effects, especially when the measured end-point is death. Think of it: 5 glasses of water containing 18 ppb of BDCM, only 23 millionths of a gram per day, doubled the rate of miscarriages. How about the effects that were not measured? Santa Clara County is abandoning chlorination in favor of ozone gas treatment. There is a paradox however: Mountain View voters approved fluoridation of their water in November 1998. Will the effects of fluorine, which is chemically similar to chlorine, prove any better—or only different? One might even ask if there could be an adverse interaction between ozone and fluoride, both chemically reactive substances. A 1993 study conducted at Medical College of Wisconsin reported that chlorine by-products caused a 15 percent increase in over-all cancer rate. Risk was greater for rectal cancer (38 percent increase) and bladder cancer (21 percent increase). A 1997 study, including over 28,000 women, found a 25 percent increase in cancer rate, with colon cancer up 68 percent (compared to areas not chlorinated?? Methyl bromide was scheduled to be withdrawn in 1999; however the Clinton administration extended its life for 4 more years. It is an ill wind that blows no good. This one does not blow favorably on the unsuspecting victims to be. Lompoc California has higher rates of asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer than neighboring areas. Air tests failed to account for this: les than 25 percent of air samples taken by the Department of pesticide Regulation contained pesticides and these were below dangerous levels. Office of Environmental Health hazard Assessment found 69 percent more bronchitis, 58 percent more asthma, and 37 percent more lung cancer in Lompoc. A haze, fondly called: "The Lompoc Crud" lingers over this town in Santa Barbara County. Farmers are relieved that the 3 chemicals found in the preliminary air samples may have originated from fumigators or home backyard sprayers. Methyl bromide has not been included in these samples. A UC Berkeley researcher, Dr. Norman Terry, published a study showing off his demonstration project in which a 90-acre marsh at Chevron's refinery in Richmond, CA absorbed 89 percent of selenium from millions of gallons of wastewater. Joe Skorupa, a US Fish and Wildlife biologist called Dr. Terry's claims "nothing more than self-promoting hyperbole." Skorupa points to the fact that the marsh was too toxic for wildlife 3 years ago. Malformed duck embryos were found and they were traced to high selenium. In order to discourage waterfowl, the water level at the marsh has been raised and extra vegetation densely planted so the birds cannot nest there. Other strategies, such as mowing the vegetation, removing it and allowing re-growth, have yet to be assessed. Terry also launched a study with Tulare Lake Drainage District to test the method. Greg Karras, with Communities for a Better Environment, said: "We have the technology to remove selenium. It'd be better not to produce the pollution in the first place."

Nicotine is a natural pesticide. It is also an inhibitor of MAO B. Research by Dr. Joanna S. Fowler at Brookhaven National Laboratory found a 40 percent reduction in activity in smokers compared to those who no longer or never smoked. This degree of blockade compares with L-deprenyl, a drug used to relieve parkinsonism and depression. As a result of low MAO activity, catecholamines, particularly dopamine, are free to increase to higher than normal levels. Dopa and dopamine have been used to treat Parkinsonism; and nicotine must have a similar effect by interfering with MAO activity. This may explain why Parkinsonism is less common in smokers.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Nutrition and Pollution are moving to center-stage in medicine today, competing with Infection and Genetics, i.e. germs and genes, which have been the main concepts in our classification of disease for the past 100 years. Germs and genes

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are 19 th century concepts that have matured in the light of 20 th century chemistry and molecular biology, culminating in antibiotics and genetic engineering. Food and poisons, are pre-historic concepts, they have been with us forever; but  Ola Loa, LLC advances in science and technology help us to see them in a new light, beyond  11250 Clayton Creek the concept of food and into the realm of nutrients, components of food that are Rd. essential to health.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 Orthomolecular medicine means that we seek to provide optimal doses of USA nutrients for specific medical purposes: e.g. vitamin A against leukemia and  1.800.800.9550 cancer, vitamin C against viruses, iodides against antigens, vitamin E against  [email protected] peroxides and free radicals, magnesium against smooth muscle spasm (as in asthma and angina), lysine-arginine to stimulate growth hormone, manganese  Ola Loa Store and also vitamin E against tardive dyskinesia, etc. Just as genetics advanced after the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, we are only now coming to appreciate foods and poisons after we see their vital role in biochemistry. Nature has yielded her secrets about the chemistry of life, one by one in the past 150 years until finally we can see the magnificent overview. Website by With this perspective we are now beginning to recognize nutrients and toxins as Giraffex the major determinants of our personal health. Germs and genes are important but they can be modified by foods and poisons—at the right doses. Foods used this way are orthomolecular. We are seeing the birth of nutrition-ecology medicine: health in relation to both Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC the foods that nurture and the poisons that modify body chemistry. Orthomolecules are the first choice, of course, and that is something to consider in

every illness and especially in self-care, in pursuit of wellness. Poisons at therapeutic doses are the essence of pharmacology or drug therapy and we all know this can be life-saving. Arsenic, mercury, strychnine and atropine are all good examples. Pollution of the environment is another matter, especially because of the lack of control of doses, and because many chemicals accumulate in the body and thus grow more toxic over the years. But even at low doses we are now exposed to thousands of molecules whose toxic effects are only partly understood. Combinations of poisons are understood even less. We are like guinea pigs in a giant test tube! It has taken fifty years of progress since World War II for America to wake up to fact that we are paying a high price for food technology and industrial progress, namely sub-clinical malnutrition and a degree of poisoning of every man, woman and child! We have only begun to cope with the epidemic of chronic diseases, which are clearly influenced by our toxic ecosystem and for which no other cause is found. Have we have been looking in the wrong places for answers? Of course we appreciate that food technology has expanded our food supply and given us cosmetic quality and convenience, but it has not given us the equal of fresh natural foods. Nutrients are lost at each stage of production from soil depletion, food refining, preservation and storage. This would not be a problem if we ate more fresh foods; but few of us are able to get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. For one thing, we have been over-sold on the diet of commerce, i.e. packaged, processed and preserved foods. It will take some time before we Americans are ready to fully appreciate the old reliable values: variety, moderation, whole foods, purity and balanced diet . Even now, we seem to be over-sold on the low fat diet. Is a diet really in balance when it excludes whole milk, butter, eggs, meat, nuts and nut butters? Beyond nutrition, how about the pollution that we do to ourselves? For one thing we Americans drink more soft drinks than we do water; and thus we imbibe an excess of sweeteners, sugars and corn syrup, not to mention phosphates. But even if we drank only water, our public supplies are treated with alum, chlorine and fluoride, all of which are toxic. And our groundwater throughout America is likely to be contaminated with nitrates, solvents and other toxic chemicals. Home water purification systems are truly a necessity in most locations. Pollution of food and water is only the beginning. The ozone hole represents contamination of the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere; lead has been found in the Greenland ice sheet, deposited there by air currents during this century, since leaded gasoline has been with us; and widespread industrial pollution of the Northern hemisphere by industrial and automotive exhaust has caused acid rain and destruction of forests in the northeastern United States, Canada and Europe, especially Germany. Closer to home, house-paint is an insidious source of poison. The mercury preservatives in indoor paints have only been identified as a hazard since 1990 when an alert physician put two and two together after a baby died overnight in a just-painted at-home nursery. All those babies with ruddy cheeks (from mercury intoxication) who turn into children with learning disorders have to be reconsidered from the perspective of mercury, a hazard that has gone unrecognized for over a hundred years. Almost every home in America still has mercury vapor coming from wall paints. The danger fades with time but must be considered in poorly ventilated rooms, especially if there is a painted radiator. Of course, the danger is magnified by additional exposure to mercury in dental amalgam, which should be avoided if possible. Mercury has only been taken out of paint since 1991. Lead on the other hand was forbidden in 1976 but toxic chips of exterior paint are a toxic time bomb for many years to come. The worst of the toxins, dioxin, will also be with us for a long time because, once exposed, it takes about seven years to get half of it out of the body.

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There is hardly a living creature on earth that does not carry a measurable amount of dioxin in his body fat. You know about dioxin: it is a family of chlorinecontaining carbon-hydrogen ring compounds, that are known to cause cancer, nerve damage, endometriosis and thyroid disorders. These effects occur at tissue levels almost below detection, measured in parts per trillion. There is no detectable level at which dioxin toxicity is absent. If it is detected at all, it is poisonous. All we can do is try to maintain the best of health so as to stay a jump ahead of this toxic devil! Happily, it is now practical to diagnose nutrient deficiency, pesticide levels, toxic metals and chemical exposures. This provides a basis by which to understand health factors beyond germs and genes; and to prescribe food choices, nutrient supplements and specific detoxification treatments rationally. Orthodox medicine does not routinely use these tools or consider information about nutrient levels and toxic substances. In fact our present disease concepts do not generally include nutrition, except in cases of gross deficiency, such as malnutrition, malabsorption and alcoholism! Nutrition problems cannot be diagnosed and corrected unless they are investigated in specific detail; and so far this is not the case in orthodox medical practice. In fact, I know of many cases where orthomolecular physicians have been slandered by colleagues and delicensed by state medical boards because of testing and treating with nutrients. To the orthodox medical mind, nutrition still smacks of quackery. One would think that doctors would be more unanimous about pollution and toxins; but such is not the case. We all know that environmental pollutants are a serious hazard to health; but orthodox physicians do not routinely search for lead, mercury, pesticides nor PCBs. In fact, our authorities do not usually acknowledge the harm caused by low concentrations of metals and pesticides. Though detoxification of pollutants is most likely to be effective in just these low-level cases, it is hazardous to the doctor to treat them because he may be labeled a quack, even if the patient gets well! I have diagnosed over fifty patients with borderline or low cholinesterase enzyme levels. Though the laboratory data were only marginally abnormal, these patients described symptoms of tremor, tension, handwriting change, insomnia and emotional instability, especially after casual exposure to household and commercial carbamate and organophosphate insecticides—the kind that are advertised in the media for public use. Were it not for the cholinesterase test I would have mis-diagnosed most every one! I have recognized thousands of patients with mineral deficiency by testing hair, blood and urine levels. In addition, toxic metals, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and aluminum are dangerous even when none is by itself at a toxic level. When multiple metals are increased at low level, their toxic effects add up. This is seldom mentioned in the textbooks. You never know which of us has been poisoned. My own infant son seemed perfectly normal when I took a lock of his hair for mineral testing when he was but a year old. I was just curious about the adequacy of his nutrition and so I was checking his mineral levels in general. To my complete surprise the lead level was 80 mg per gram of hair, i.e. 80 parts per million. Normally there should have been none. Without the hair test for minerals my son would have been mentally retarded by lead poisoning; we would never have discovered the lead in the painted toy that he was chewing. How many babies are tested? None! How many should be? All! How often? At least yearly. What does it cost? Thirty to fifty dollars per test. Why isn’t it done? Orthomolecular and Toximolecular are the buzzwords that best define medical practice as a matter of nutrition and pollution. It is so obvious: diagnosis and treatment should begin with a practical strategy: put in the good molecules (nutrients); and take out the bad ones (poisons). Unfortunately, orthodox authorities resist this view. Let me give you a case in point and you can draw your own conclusions.

I enjoy reading the New England Journal of Medicine and have read every issue for over 25 years. From time to time I write letters to the editor, usually to tweak their nose about the omission of nutrition in some article. In a recent issue, the weekly case report made my blood boil.[i] A 26-year-old woman was eventually diagnosed with a rare disease, giant cell arteritis, an inflammation of the coronary arteries. This young woman was troubled by angina pain, tightness in her chest after exercise, but her symptoms were relieved by rest and she had not had a heart attack. The electrocardiogram showed signs of ischemia, poor circulation, but no infarct. However an angiogram showed severe narrowing of the main coronary artery and she therefore underwent a triple coronary-artery bypass. The operation failed to relieve her chest pain and therefore a second by-pass operation was done after only a couple of months. This time the surgeon observed inflammation and edema of the previous grafts. He took biopsies of the aorta and the microscopic exam showed inflammatory cells, fibrous changes and damage to the elastic fibers. Only a few giant cells were found. After surgery she was treated for eight months with high doses of cortisone; but again her chest pain relapsed. Luckily, she did then improve after treatment with cyclosporine, an immune-suppressant, which presumably reduced the inflammatory reaction in her arteries; however the case report concludes that her future prospects call for cardiac transplantation! My point is that this case report is one-sided and incomplete. It is as if nutrition doesn’t exist or is irrelevant. I am dismayed to find no mention of diet, no reference to the measurement of a single vitamin or mineral level, and no search for a toxic or chemical exposure. Other than inflammation, no actual cause of illness was identified. The report told of other symptoms, such as recurrent hives and joint pains. How about food and bacterial sensitivity? A complete allergy test panel and survey of fungal, viral and bacterial sensitivities, including Klebsiella (a specific bacteria that often causes joint pains and chest problems), might offer a clue. In addition there was no mention of her serum ferritin (iron) level. There is no mention if she had been taking iron supplements; but women often do and in this case it could aggravate all her symptoms. There are other nutrient-related diseases to consider. Both of her parents had coronary artery disease at a young age, before age 50, a fact suggestive of homocystinemia, a condition that can be cured by vitamins B6, B12, folic acid and betaine. Immune system disorders are known to contribute to infection and inflammation and we now know that anti-inflammatory activity can be induced by supplemental vitamin E, carotene, bioflavonoids, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, ascorbic acid, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, omega-3 EPA and omega-6 GLA and retinol. There are hundreds of research and case reports in the medical journals. It just seems to me that the New England Journal sets a bad example for hundreds of thousands of health professionals and hundreds of medical boards world-wide, all of whom are taken in by medical sophistry devoid of orthomolecular substance. If you are not yet convinced, let’s review another teaching case from the New England Journal.[ii] A 66 year old, male executive was hospitalized three times, for a total of over two and a half months in hospital, because of recurrent fever and diarrhea, until he finally showed dramatic improvement after treatment with vitamins folic acid and B12. There was no mention of diet and no measurement of vitamins until his third hospitalization. Another case of putting nutrition last! He also had been treated for psoriasis over the preceding 15 years. Treatment was with methotrexate, an anti-vitamin that prevents folic acid from being fully active. One should at least be curious about folic acid from the start in such a case, wouldn’t you think? His case history was further complicated by lymphoma, cancer of the lymph glands, which was discovered and treated by during his first hospitalization. Wouldn’t you like to know about your nutrients, your arsenal of raw materials, if

you had a potentially fatal diagnosis and were about to take four cycles of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin and prednisone? Nutrient deficiencies are common amongst sick people, especially in cases of long-term treatment, weight loss, and worse yet, multiple drug therapy for cancer. In the wake of chemotherapy this patient became severely anemic: his hemoglobin was only 50 percent of normal. In other words he was faced with having to regenerate half his blood. The report said that he was “near death, but he rallied.” The blood picture was not typical of B12 or folic acid deficiency however, because the average red cell volume (MCV) was only 97 micra, whereas B12 and folic acid anemia usually runs 106 and higher Furthermore there were hardly any hypersegmented neutrophils of the type seen in folic acid deficiency. And finally, the blood levels of folic acid and B12 were only moderately deficient. Nevertheless, the consultants diagnosed a B12-folate deficiency anemia and, indeed, after two weeks of treatment with these vitamins his fever disappeared, diarrhea stopped, he regained weight and his blood picture became normal! That is persuasive testimony to the power of B12 and folic acid; and there is no doubt that that the B12 and folic acid were depleted by multiple medical stresses and blood loss. In addition the ferritin iron level was five times normal (over 1000 mcg) and it was not clear whether this was due to destruction of blood cells by chemotherapy, irritation of liver for the same reason or aftermath of an earlier transfusion. By injecting folic acid and B12, however, the formation of new blood cells was accelerated, thus using up the otherwise toxic load of iron by binding it up in hemoglobin and thus preventing damage caused by iron dependent bacterial growth and also preventing bowel irritation from the bacterial overgrowth and from oxidation by-products produced by reactions with free iron. In fact, this is why treatment with vitamins B12 and folic acid can be effective against infection and inflammation even when they are not deficient at all. There was no mention of this man’s vitamin A status despite the history of severe infection and psoriasis, both of which are often vitamin A-related. Physicians need to be reminded that vitamin A deficiency is found in about 20 percent of the population at large and at least twice that number of those afflicted with chronic illness, even more after cancer chemotherapy. If vitamin A were depleted, it is possible that this would aggravate anemia due to impaired cell growth. It is very possible that the sudden anemia was due to a bleeding stomach ulcer following chemotherapy, which included prednisone (a known cause of ulcer) and other chemicals known to deplete vitamin A. However I don’t think this is the whole story or he would have lost blood cells and iron at the same time. The high ferritin goes against that scenario. It is also important to know that the patient gave a history of arteriosclerosis requiring an aortic-femoral graft a decade earlier. This points to homocystinemia, a condition that is aggravated by low folate and B12, and almost certainly aggravated by the methotrexate therapy for psoriasis. Unfortunately the benefits of vitamin D against psoriasis were not known at that time or he might have been spared all the rest of this complicated medical history. Wouldn’t you rather be treated with vitamin D, which works against psoriasis, rather than methotrexate, a toxic anti-vitamin? Nutrients should come first. All these possibilities were omitted in this case history. That strikes me as egregious because, if a nutrient deficiency is found, it can be easily corrected. In fact that is the real message of this case report. That is why nutrient testing, i.e. vitamin and mineral levels, should be included routinely in every medical work-up. Reading the New England Journal is pretty good evidence that it pays to “put nutrition first in medicine.” The only ones who seem resistant are—the editors of medical journals. In this case I received a letter: “. We can publish only a fraction of the letters we receive.”

[i] Scully RE, Mark EJ, McNeely WF, McNeely BU: Case 4-1995. NEJM, 1995, 332:380386. [ii] ibid: Case 51-1991. NEJM, 1991, 325: 1791-1799.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Latest Nutrition Articles

The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And

Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

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Just when it begins to look as if nutrition is making headway with the health establishment and the media, something comes up to set the clock back 10 or 15 years. The most recent skirmish appeared on page 1 of the New York Times on

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Sunday, October 26, 1997. The headline defines the article: “In Vitamin Mania, Millions Take a Gamble on Health.” No matter what follows, this article, by Jane Brody, is intended to drive the American people away from vitamin therapy. The  Ola Loa, LLC words “mania” and “gamble” suggest that nutrient therapy is crazy, without  11250 Clayton Creek scientific support. Many readers probably read no farther than the headline and Rd. instead go back to junk food and extra desserts in celebration of this liberation from the thousands of positive health messages in support of nutrition these past  Lower Lake, CA 95457 few years. USA  1.800.800.9550 Reading on one learns that about 100 million of us Americans are now spending  [email protected] 6.5 billion dollars a year on vitamin pills and potions, thus “volunteering for a vast largely unregulated experiment with substances that may be helpful, harmful or  Ola Loa Store simply ineffective.” We are reminded that the Food and Drug Administration performs no testing for safety or efficacy because these are considered “dietary supplements” not drugs. And on the next page of this article that fills almost two full pages of the paper, we find a chart depicting basic information about 14 vitamins and minerals, including warnings. This is actually a job well done; however it is ironic to see magnesium linked to fatality in people with kidney Website by disease. Yes, that is possible; but it is very rare because magnesium overdose Giraffex causes diarrhea, which limits the danger. There is no mention in this article, or any other vitamin critique that I have ever seen, that overdoses of fluoride can also be fatal, especially in people with weak kidneys. Only fluoride does not cause diarrhea; instead it accumulates in the Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC skeleton and soft tissues, including the kidneys, where it hastens damage. Renal disease is often not diagnosed until over half of kidney function is already lost. The number of people at risk for fluoride toxicity is therefore much higher than the

number at possible risk of magnesium overdose. And besides, magnesium is an essential mineral, multiply beneficial for health and protection against coronary artery disease and death. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS! Fluoride, on the other hand, has only one alleged benefit, hardening of dental enamel, conferring some resistance to cavities. And some people are buying fluoride when they don’t have to: it is already in the water and in almost all toothpaste. The danger of over-dose of fluoride is already so great that the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency went against government policy and publicly opposed fluoridation of the nation’s water supply. But you don’t read headlines in the New York Times, or any major newspaper, that call fluoride a huge gamble on the health of the nation. But it is so, and has an even narrower margin of safety than selenium. Unfortunately the toxic effects of fluoride are subtle and usually goes undiagnosed until the bones weaken and break, and by that time it is too late to turn back. On the other hand, the benefits of vitamin therapy are often prompt and unmistakable. The only obstacle to common-sense recognition of the benefits of food, without which we can not be healthy and cannot live at all, is an overly skeptical form of thinking that demands statistical proof in all things. To quote again from the Times: “Until, and unless, long-term studies are performed on large numbers of healthy people who are randomly assigned to take supplements or placebos, the evidence remains indefinite.” No argument with that, but here is the rub: “Given the enormous cost of studies that are years long, the definitive studies may never be conducted.” Now what are we to do: permit a quixotic ideal to prevail over our common sense or go on as people have always done, look in all directions, ask questions, observe, study—and try any reasonable approach to health. In this case, there are about 100 million people taking vitamins. Are they stupid? Are they dying of vitamin overdoses? The answer is: absolutely not. Vitamins are among the safest substances that enter our bodies. They have an exceptional record of safety, even at megadose. The same cannot be said for pharmaceuticals, which are known to causes thousands of deaths every year due to unexpected adverse effects and overdose toxicity. At least when vitamins do cause adverse effects, these are almost always obvious and reversible upon cutting back the dose. Even vitamin A, which is widely propagandized against, is so safe that there are hardly any tragedies to report. On the other hand, the good that vitamins do is often so spectacular that even the experts are astounded. In this same article we are informed of a study that proved vitamin E megadose could prevent cholesterol deposition on artery walls and protect against blood clots that otherwise blockade arterial circulation. Vitamin E therapy at doses over 150 mg per day has been shown to reduce heart attack deaths by almost 50 percent. More recently, a study of 600 men found total cancer deaths reduced by half after supplementation with selenium at about 3 times the recommended dose of 70 mcg. In addition cancers of prostate, esophagus, colon and lung were dramatically reduced. That doesn’t sound like much of a gamble. Quite the contrary: the greater risk falls on those who do not take nutrient supplements. What makes my blood boil the more at this informative but negatively biased article, is the act that the diets of most Americans do not satisfy the government recommended Dietary Intakes. In fact, the 1987 Food Consumption Survey, which studied almost 6000 adults found that only one in five made food choices that provided as much as two-thirds of the government recommended amounts. That means that the odds of dietary inadequacy are over 80 percent! Why on earth would anyone discourage Americans from using vitamin-mineral supplements as nutrition insurance?! The real gamble is not with vitamins. Just reading this misleading article on “Vitamania” is actually gambling with people’s lives.



©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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I remember a drug company advertisement this past year, which used the expression "strong medicine" to catch the eye of the wary and erudite doctors. I have already forgotten what the medication was—so much for advertising. What

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does matter is that the phrase did catch my eye and I thought the thought: "too bad that most patients and their doctors fail to realize that nutrients are also strong medicine." In fact, in treating deficiency diseases, the corrective nutrients  Ola Loa, LLC are the strongest possible medicines. No matter how clever or powerful a new  11250 Clayton Creek drug treatment may be, the fact is that sickness is not likely a result of medication Rd. deficiency. This is not to deny the benefits of pharmacology; and "strong medicine" can improve the odds of recovery and perhaps give some comfort or  Lower Lake, CA 95457 relief of symptoms. But there is no known disease that is caused by drug USA deficiency. On the other hand every nutrient deficiency is potentially fatal! That is  1.800.800.9550 one of the most persuasive arguments in favor of putting nutrition first. To correct  [email protected] a nutrient deficiency is "strong medicine."  Ola Loa Store What would you think about a treatment that could lower the rate of complications after major cancer surgery by 40 percent? Would you call that "strong medicine?" Well that is exactly what was reported by a surgical team from Hong Kong. [1] By providing a two-week-long regimen of intravenous amino acids, medium-chain fats, simple sugars, vitamins and minerals, they actually cut the death rate by 40 percent after surgical removal of cancerous liver tissue. This was Website by a comparison between 60 surgical patients with liver cancer treated by nutrient Giraffex supplementation (intravenous) and 64 similar patients (control group) who did not get nutrient therapy. Nutrient support cut the number of infections in half and the impairment of liver function was also cut by 40 percent. The need for diuretics to control fluid retention was cut by fifty percent and weight loss in the nutrient support group was negligible, where the control group averaged 3 pounds weight Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC loss in hospital. The best results were in patients with normal liver function. In this group nutrition

support was associated with a four-fold reduction in complications. On the other hand a sub-group of patients with active hepatitis were possibly made worse by the intravenous treatment, as their complications rate was double that of the untreated control group. It is information like this that highlights the practical importance of medical nutrition: physicians must be to be knowledgeable about the role of nutrient support because nutrition is strong medicine; it makes a big difference in outcome; and it must be used properly. If the use of nutrient support could do so much for this group of seriously ill patients facing major surgery, how do you think it would work in other surgical situations, particularly in sickly patients? The question has already been answered in various ways by clinical studies. One of my favorites is a double-blind study of vitamin A supplementation. Treating with this single vitamin at megadoses for a week before surgery was sufficient to prevent the usual post-operative drop in white blood cells. This means that the immune system of the vitamin Asupplemented patients was stronger and presumably better able to resist infection. In fact, that is what seemed to be the most important advantage in the Hong Kong study: fewer infections. Nutrient therapy has been repeatedly demonstrated to be strong medicine, lifesaving medicine. But it works best if given early, before the patient is in a lifethreatened state. Furthermore nutrient therapy works better if it is individualized. Just as the Hong Kong study showed, some patients seemed to be the worse for taking the extra amino acids and fats. Perhaps these molecules overloaded the liver or added to the condition of inflammation in some way that did not occur in cases of cirrhosis (scarred liver) or uncomplicated liver carcinoma, without extensive hepatitis inflammation. This may seem reasonable and even obvious to you now as you read this, but such answers are not at all obvious to newcomers in the field of medical nutrition.

[1] Fan ST, Lo CM, Lai, ECS: Perioperative nutritional support in patients undergoing hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. New England Journal of Medicine 1994; 331:1547-52. (Both support and control groups received 25 grams albumin IV for five days post-operatively; but only the nutrient group received 1.5 grams amino acids per Kg of body weight and 30 kcal of dextrose and 50% MCT per kg in 1.75 liters IV daily).

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Helping the immune Everybody Needs Milk system stay healthy

Homocysteine &  02 June 2007 COVID-19 Sugar-Fructose.....IT'S Share ALL ABOUT DOSE Marijuana - 4/20 “I often have the feeling I have to go but when I get to the bathroom nothing

happens. I am irregular and my stools tend to be thin and there is mucous. I am full of gas—I wake up with it in the morning and have to control it all the time. I feel fat because even if I lose weight my abdomen looks too big. After several medical examinations they find nothing wrong!”

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The foregoing gives a patient’s view of the misery of spastic colon. Usually the  Ola Loa, LLC doctors do find nothing demonstrably wrong with the bowel. It is simply the diet  11250 Clayton Creek that doesn’t fit the individual. And the most frequent troublemaker is MILK! No, Rd. this is not allergy to casein, the milk protein. This is lactose intolerance, inability to digest the milk sugar. Lactose is the same, whether it is obtained from humans,  Lower Lake, CA 95457 cows, goats, sheep, horses, or camels. One cup of animal milk contains between USA two and three teaspoonfuls (10 to 15 grams) of lactose. As a rule, lactose intolerant  1.800.800.9550 people get bowel symptoms if they ingest more than 5 to 10 grams per day, i.e.  [email protected] less than a 8 ounces of milk.  Ola Loa Store This applies to 9 out of 10 people on Earth. Most of the human race has not evolved biologically so as to be able to digest milk! We lack an enzyme required to split lactose into its component parts, namely glucose and galactose. This enzyme, lactase, is present in infants up to about age 3 but then diminishes gradually so that by late adolescence most people must resort to cultured milk products or else just avoid milk altogether—or else be miserable and sick much of the time. Website by Giraffex

Luckily our intelligence is more advanced than our digestion and so cultured milk products are widely available. I am referring to yogurt, buttermilk, cottage cheese and the large variety of aged cheeses that have been among our traditional foods for thousands of years, ever since our ancestors noticed that when milk spoils it is 1 described how the Mongols produced dried milk 700 still good to eat. Marco Polo Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC years ago:

“First they bring the milk to the boil. At the appropriate moment they skim off the cream that floats on the surface and put it in another vessel to be made into butter, because so long as it remained the milk could not be dried. Then they stand the milk in the sun and leave it to dry. When they are going on an expedition, they take about ten pounds of this milk; and every morning they take out about half a pound of it and put it in a small leather flask, shaped like a gourd, with as much water as they please. Then, while they ride, the milk in the flask dissolves into a fluid, which they drink. And this is their breakfast.” This product fits the description of defatted dry milk, still in use today. Half a pound, the amount used by a Mongol warrior, provides 3700 calories, 86 grams of protein and 125 grams of lactose, sustenance for most of the day, not just breakfast. That is about ten times the amount that causes bowel irritation, gas, cramps and diarrhea so it is likely that the re-constituted milk fermented in the flask after water was added. This would have removed lactose and added enzymes to break down any residual lactose even after the liquid was swallowed. This is identical to what we find with yogurt in common use today. The bacterial enzymes continue to digest the lactose, doing the work that our own digestive tract cannot. This works so long as the milk is pasteurized before it is cultured and not afterward. One way to know that the culture is still active is to let the yogurt stand at room temperature for an hour or so. If water accumulates it is digesting and has active enzymes. I am writing this article because I am convinced that the health hazard of lactose intolerance is under-estimated. Many people with irregularity, gas bloat, hemorrhoids and fatigue actually are unaware of lactose intolerant, are ingesting more lactose than they can handle, and may never find out about it. This is so because we live in a dairy-based society that makes milk so convenient and we are told: “everybody needs milk.” And there it is in the refrigerator, on the table and in so many of our staple foods: baked goods, canned goods, processed foods, and even in processed meats and sausages. If you are going to look into this for yourself, you must learn to read labels in search of the key words: lactose, whey and non-fat dry milk. Often the label does not mention lactose, but only the word “carbohydrate.” You must figure out the source. If it is a vegetable carbohydrate, then it is not lactose. Lactose is an animal product and therefore found only from animal sources, such as milk, non-fat dry milk and whey.

WHEAT INTOLERANCE Wheat intolerance is also called gluten enteropathy, referring to the specific wheat protein, gluten. It is about equally common as lactose intolerance, but the results are even worse, because a fraction of the gluten, called gliadin, causes real damage, atrophy of the absorptive lining of the small bowel. This knocks out many of the enzyme secreting cells of the intestine and thereby induces lactose intolerance as a complication. Gliadin antibodies are now detected in about 20 percent of Americans, which is to say that there are millions of people with gluten intolerance and many of them have combined food intolerance for both wheat and milk. This poses a diagnostic challenge for the doctor; and it is a treatment challenge as well because in many cases BOTH milk and wheat intolerance must be treated in order for patients to get better.

IRRITABLE BOWEL In many cases these disorders cause symptoms that make the patient’s life miserable; but the X-ray studies, stool examinations and various other diagnostic



tests are often indefinite. All too often the patient is left with a diagnosis of “irritable bowel.” This is actually an accurate description but the implications are not favorable. In the first place, health insurance policies often reject claims with this diagnosis. Perhaps this excerpt from a leading medical text2 will explain why: “The irritable bowel syndrome (also referred to as spastic colon and mucous colitis) is one of the most frequent gastrointestinal disorders. ... (characterized by) ... periodic or chronic bowel symptoms which include diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain. These symptoms are often associated with psychiatric illness, but the anxiety produced by the bowel disturbance is sometimes regarded by the patient as the fundamental cause of the emotional upset ... If the patient’s life goals can be shifted away from the quixotic search for the perfect stool, much can be accomplished.” That analysis is a holdover from the days when if there was no obvious medical diagnosis, then it must be psychological. I tend to agree with the patient’s complaints rather than with knee-jerk psychoanalysis for reasons that I hope to make clear in this article. In fairness to the text-book, a different consultant had this to say 1500 pages later in the text:3 “The irritable bowel syndrome is the most common gastrointestinal disease in clinical practice, and although not a life-threatening illness, it causes great distress to those afflicted and a feeling of helplessness and frustration for the physician attempting to treat it.” ... “Lactase deficiency may masquerade as irritable colon syndrome and should be excluded by a trial of milk restriction, a lactose tolerance test, or a lactose breath hydrogen test.” Which leads us back to our main topic: the milk and health relationship. We all know that milk is rich in protein, vitamins B2 and D, calcium and zinc. All that is well and good; it is the milk sugar that we are concerned about here. Millions of people are just unable to digest it and so it acts like a toxic waste product, an irritant, in the digestive tract.

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS In healthy conditions, there are specific enzymes to break down lactose, sucrose and maltose. These enzymes are produced at the site of the action, in the intestinal wall, where they convert lactose into glucose and galactose; sucrose into glucose and fructose; and maltose into two molecules of glucose. Not surprisingly, if there is damage to the intestine, the function of these enzymes can fall off drastically. It can take months or years to recover from seemingly modest episodes of diarrhea if one fails to take this into account. If the intestine is overloaded with indigestible foods too soon after damage, the ongoing inflammation can create a vicious circle of mal-function and damage. After recovery from acute illness, food poisoning or parasite infestation, one resumes a normal diet, expecting to be good as new. If intestinal symptoms persist, it may look like a case of yeast over-growth, especially if there has been antibiotic treatment, which often leaves an imbalance of the intestinal organisms in its wake. The antibiotic may help kill off infection, but it also kills other organisms. How to restore the balance: No doubt that live yogurt culture and capsules of probiotic Lactobacilli are helpful; but the real culprit is often a too-early return to full diet, especially the all-too-popular carbohydrates. The most important therapy is simple avoidance: know your lactose and learn to avoid foods that otherwise will keep you sick.

LACTOSE-CONTAINING FOODS

LACTOSE grams

FOOD

PORTION

Cow Milk

8 ounces

11.0 grams

Skim milk

8 ounces

12.0 grams

Human milk

8 ounces

17.0 grams

Goat milk

8 ounces

11.0 grams

Buttermilk

8 ounces

12.0 grams

Yogurt low-fat

8 ounces

16.0 grams

Yogurt whole plain

8 ounces

11.0 grams

Non-fat dry milk

1 Tbsp (1/2 ounce)

2.5 grams

Evaporated milk

1 Tbsp (1/2 ounce)

2.0 grams

Malted milk powder

1 Tbsp (1/2 ounce)

10.0 grams

Sweet whey powder

1 Tbsp (1/2/ ounce)

Half and Half

2 Tbsp (1 ounce)

1.3 grams

Half and Half

8 ounces

10.4 grams



5.5 grams

Cream-table

8 ounces

8.8 grams

Cream-heavy

8 ounces

0.0 grams

Cream cheese

2 Tbsp (1 ounce)

0.7 grams

Cottage cheese

4 ounces

2.0 grams

Cottage cheese (1% fat)

4 ounces

3.0 grams

Ricotta cheese

4 ounces

4.0 grams

Cheddar (aged) cheese

1 ounce

0.4 grams

Feta or Swiss cheese

1 ounce

1.0 grams

Mozzarella cheese

1 ounce

0.7 grams

American processed

1 ounce

0.5 grams

Ice cream

8 ounce cup

9.0 grams

Sherbet

8 ounce cup

4.0 grams

Bakers/milk chocolate

1 ounce

4.0 grams

LESSER FOOD SOURCES OF LACTOSE

(Average serving of any one contains about a gram of lactose) Pastries, bread, cookies, cakes Pancakes, waffles, dry cereals

Processed meats, sausage, wieners Processed potatoes, i.e. instant type Prepared soups Prepared salad dressings

WHAT TO DO Study the quantities of lactose in the food list above; then refer to your diet. Add up your typical lactose intake and see if you exceed 10 grams per day. You can test yourself for lactose sensitivity by avoiding milk, yogurt and wheat and taking lactase supplements in pill form with meals for at least two weeks. If there is even a suspicion that you may be deficient in lactose, it is a good idea to take a 125 mg lactase capsule supplement with every meal. If you have excess flatus, diarrhea, constipation, cramps, bloat, or chronic fatigue give it a month before judging the results. Even if you don’t now have obvious symptoms of bowel irritation, you may notice improved energy, mental clarity and mood. These general symptoms, not specific to the bowel, are generally undiagnosed because there is no specific test for sub-clinical lactose overload. The only way is to test yourself for a few weeks. If you respond favorably it confirms both the diagnosis and cure.

1. Tannahill, Reay: Food in History. Stein and Day, NY, 1973. p. 132. 2. Petersdorf RG et all: :Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 10th Ed. McGraw Hill, 1983. p199. 3. Ibid, p 1757.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Philip had been steadily losing his grip—literally—for four years, since he first began to notice that his left hand would shake when he tried to hold his fork. He got really alarmed when his left foot started to go. Before long one could trace his

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route by the marks his toe left on floors after he went by. He bumped into doors, took a few spills, dropped things and began to lose the self-confidence that had given him the courage to start his own real-estate business. He also became  Ola Loa, LLC steadily more fatigued and he mysteriously lost 20 pounds in weight. He was only  11250 Clayton Creek 38 years old. Where would it end? Rd. A few medical and neurological consultations in search of a diagnosis led to an  Lower Lake, CA 95457 MRI scan of his brain. There it was: patchy demyelination, not only in the right side USA of his brain, controlling his left hand and leg, but the opposite side as well,  1.800.800.9550 indicating multiple sclerosis—the worst, a progressive disease with a downhill  [email protected] course, eventual wheel-chair status. Worries without answers: How would his two young children take to seeing their father as an invalid? Would he be able to  Ola Loa Store satisfy his wife? When would he lose bladder control and other physical attributes? But Philip didn’t give up. He dug deep for knowledge about MS and soon heard about Dr. Roy Swank, the brilliant neurologist, who pioneered the low fat, low dairy diet for multiple sclerosis. Most of his patients went into remission by following Website by this plan and Dr. Swank had followed their cases for upwards of thirty years. It was Giraffex not just a flash in the pan. Philip seemed to respond to this program. At least he stopped getting worse; but he had hoped for return of function. He wanted to participate in sports again. He wanted to be “happy, healthy and rich.” So he continued his search, even beyond Dr. Swank, and looked for “alternatives.” He found my name through the grapevine. Orthomolecular practitioners are a rare Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC commodity, and those of us in the movement know most of the others in the country through medical meetings and publications.

He had done his homework and he was easy to work with. He knew he wanted to be examined, both physically and molecularly. There was nothing new on his physical examination; he looked healthy except for a bit of dandruff and oily, ruddy facial skin. Neurological examination confirmed the weakness in his left foot, past pointing when touching his nose, loss of concordant rotational movements of his hands, hand tremor upon purposeful movement and his finger tapping speed was reduced by 25 percent on the left side. He also had left-sided hyper-reflexia, jerky movements of both the left arm and left leg when stimulated with a neurologic percussion hammer. He also had nystagmus, jerky movement of his eye in lateral vision, another unmistakable sign of MS. The laboratory was also revealing and actually more promising than the physical examination. Because the data were riddled with nutrient-related faults, there was a possibility that he might respond well to treatment. The iron storage protein, ferritin, was at the high end of normal, suggesting iron overload, perhaps due to the fact that he had been taking multivitamins for years. On the other hand the thyroid panel showed a low activity (1.1 on a scale of 1.4 to 3.8). There was above average mercury in hair (7.2 parts per million) and blood (0.06 mcg per ml), this despite the removal of all mercury-containing fillings 3 years earlier. Nerve cells are exquisitely sensitive to mercury because it readily binds to the tubulin protein that lines the microtubules that feed the nerve cells, thus blocking the flow of nutrients within the cell, even at low concentration. Tying up just part of the cell’s tubulin can inactivate without killing the cell; hence such low level cases can recover dramatically once the mercury is removed. This may be the basis of recovery in patients who improve or recover from neurological disorders after removal of their dental amalgams. Philip’s laboratory tests also showed an unusual increase in the antioxidant enzymes, probably because he also had a high level of lipid peroxides, presumably caused by viral infection—or perhaps aggravated by the presence of mercury. But the most dramatic findings were the gross deficiencies of vitamins, specifically thiamin and pyridoxine, both of which are crucial to nerve function. Armed with this information it was a simple matter to provide specific nutrient support and it was gratifying to find that he showed a prompt improvement in his condition. Laboratory testing after four months showed return to normal in these tests and he is in remission-free of symptoms for over four years now, thus permitting return of nerve functions that had been presumed lost: he no longer limps, is able to run, has regained normal weight, and is functioning with full energy and confidence. Would he have done as well without orthomolecular diagnosis and nutrient repletion and maintenance? I think not. It is disturbing to realize that the nutrient test results would have been missed by a conventional medical work-up. They would not have been performed at all by doctors who are trained to look on nutrition as “alternative medicine?” For shame! Nutrient diagnosis should not be seen as “alternative.” Nutrients are not alternative; they are essential! Modern, high-tech medical care is the alternative, particularly if it is invasive or traumatic. Nutrition is physiologic, measurable and correctable; therefore it takes priority. Of course, drugs, surgery and other therapies should be provided, but only AFTER evaluation of the patient’s lifestyle, including diet, occupation and avocation, and in relation to nutrition, pollution and stress. If we want healthmedicine, then we MUST put nutrition first! ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Helping the immune Is Vitamin C Dangerous? system stay healthy Homocysteine &  04 January 2007 COVID-19 Sugar-Fructose.....IT'S Share ALL ABOUT DOSE Marijuana - 4/20



“Study Finds Peril in Taking High Vitamin C Supplement”. So read the 2-column headline of a report by Jane Brody in the New York Times (April 5, 1998). Millions of people are bound to follow such statements as: “500 mg a day could damage

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people’s genes.” and “Americans must get over their love affair with vitamin C.” I felt my own credibility challenged by such statements, packaged persuasively with research conclusions from the British Journal, Nature.  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek As I read the article and realized how questionable are the conclusions, I Rd. wondered why was it featured so strongly. Then I caught the name, Dr. Victor Herbert, the once accomplished researcher in nutrition medicine, who has  Lower Lake, CA 95457 become a crusader against nutrient supplementation. Could it be that this article USA is propaganda? Is it but a coincidence that English health authorities currently are  1.800.800.9550 seeking to regulate vitamin B6 and the Food Minister has announced vitamin C is  [email protected] his next target?  Ola Loa Store In the 1970s Dr. Herbert claimed that vitamin C was dangerous because it oxidized and destroyed vitamin B12 in the test tube. However this was discredited when later research reversed this simply by the addition of acid, to mimic the acid conditions of the stomach. More recently Dr. Herbert emphasizes the pro-oxidant effects of vitamin C because it generates free radicals in test tube tests with copper and iron. But in reality it is well known that this reaction is used by white Website by blood cells (neutrophils) to kill bacteria by means of the free radical hydroxyl ions Giraffex so produced. This is an important part of our immune defenses. The fact is that vitamin C is used for both oxidation and reduction, in reactions that are directed by the wisdom of the body. The vitamin C-gene damage claim came from a six-week study of 30 healthy men Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC and women who were given 500 mg of vitamin C daily. The researchers then tested the white blood cells for oxidized adenine and oxidized guanine, two of the

nucleic acid bases. They found an increase in oxo-adenine, but there was also a big decrease in the amount of oxidized guanine. A net decrease over-all; but they interpreted these findings as damage to the genetic material of DNA. The report ended with the usual call for more research, but only to study the effects of lower doses because “it would be unethical to test higher levels.” I couldn’t believe my eyes when I caught that innuendo. How could they be that smug? What if oxo-adenine is not a sign only of damage to the genetic material of the cell? Even though their measurement technique supposedly isolates intracellular material from DNA, there is a possibility of other sources. For example, adenosyl methionine is found within the mitochondria of cells, where oxidation reactions are most intense. Other adenosyl molecules are found in intra-cellular enzymes, such as NAD and FAD and PAPS and this might expand the production of oxo-adenosine. The regulatory guanosine bases, on the other hand are almost entirely in the G proteins of the cell, where oxidation is less active than in mitochondria. So I went to the scientific research literature and found that I was not alone in my doubts. Bruce Ames, professor of biochemistry, University of California at Berkeley, agrees that the Podmore study is fraught with error and that the oxo-guanine values reported by Dr. Podmore are 10 to 30 times higher than those obtained by other techniques. Dr. Ames was critical of the fact that Podmore did not acknowledge the ongoing debate about artifact and error in this area of research. He concludes: “we believe that the results.are an ex vivo artifact (in the test tube). In the context of the huge literature supporting the health benefits of vitamin C, the conclusions of the study are unwarranted.” To say that vitamin C causes genetic damage flies in the face of evolution, in which vitamin C at larger doses offers a survival advantage. For example, a 500 mg dose is within physiologic range and vegetarians commonly exceed that amount just from food. Health statistics do not indicate damage to their nucleic acids as a result; quite the contrary, they have lower cancer rates and greater longevity. On the other hand, Jack Challem and Will Taylor suggest that lack of vitamin C might accelerate evolution by speeding up the rate of mutations, i.e. genetic damage. It makes more sense to expect that vitamin C deficiency, not excess, promotes nucleic acid damage. This theory is supported by research in living humans, not in the test tube. The effect of vitamin C supplementation is about as perilous as breathing, which for sure exposes us to a pro-oxidizant: oxygen. The pro-oxidant effects of vitamin C are well directed and our bodies are protected. Thus the research of Dr. Balz Frei, Director of the Linus Pauling Institute at University of Oregon, clearly documents a lack of pro-oxidant interaction with iron in vivo. Here is a direct quote from Dr. Frei’s presentation at the February, 1998 meeting of the Society for Orthomolecular Medicine: “even in iron-overload plasma and in the presence of potentially redox-active...iron, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant towards lipids, not a pro-oxidant.”[i] In other studies, Dr. Balz Frei found that both ascorbic acid and oxidized ascorbic acid (also called dehydroascorbic acid) both strongly inhibit LDL-cholesterol oxidation, even in the presence of copper, which is an oxidizer. In fact, copper binds strongly to LDL, about 30 ions per LDL particle; but in the presence of ascorbic or dehydroascorbic, up to 70 percent of the bound copper is released from LDL cholesterol due to oxidation of amino acid oxo-histidine residues, which weakens the electrical charge of the molecule, thus releasing copper to bind with circulating vitamin C for which it has a strong attraction. Dr. Frei and his colleague, Dr. Bruce Ames, professor of biochemistry at University of California at Berkeley, co-signed a letter of criticism to the journal, Nature, regarding Dr. Podmore’s research. The key point, they say, is that the Podmore study had 1000-fold higher oxo-adducts than ever before reported. On that basis,

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they question Podmore’s methods and suggest that the oxo-adenine was “exvivo.” In other words, it formed in the test tube, not in the human body. Stephen Fowkes, editor of Cognitive Enhancement News, wrote a particularly intelligent article for Vitamin Research News (May 1998) in which he explained the fact that DNA damage is known to occur at the rate of about 10,000 to a million damaging events per day. Our survival depends on the efficiency of our DNA repair enzymes which are designed to remove oxidized bases from the double strand helix structure of DNA. These oxidized bases are indeed markers for DNA damage—and also for DNA repair! We do not yet know whether vitamin C might enhance DNA repair, but that is very likely. In my own review of the scientific research in this field, I was most impressed by a 1992 research at Massachusetts institute of Technology, wherein Drs. Wood and colleagues found oxo-adenine at least ten-fold less mutagenic than oxo-guanine . Theirs was a research in a bacterium, but the point is that oxo-guanine induced defects at a frequency of 0.3%, while oxo-adenine had almost no effect on the genome. They concluded that oxoadenine is at least an order of magnitude less mutagenic than oxo-guanine in E. coli bacteria with normal DNA repair capacity. When we apply these facts to the Podmore study, where vitamin C was associated with decreased oxo-guanine, our conclusion ought to be that the decrease in oxo-guanine more than offsets the increase in oxo-adenine. The publicity given to this research and its warnings against the use of vitamin C do a disservice to all who share an interest in health. The public has few medical sources to reassure them and is strongly influenced by information in the newspapers. As a physician and President of the Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine, I write this rebuttal on behalf of ordinary people, who are more likely to be harmed by giving up on nutrient supplements, than by continued use of vitamin C. Dietary ascorbic acid protects human sperm from endogenous oxidative DNA damage that otherwise affects sperm quality and increases risk of genetic defects, particularly in populations with low ascorbate status, such as smokers. Oxo8dG is an abbreviation for 8-hydroxyguanosine, and it is a marker for DNA damage. Urine oxo8dG rises in experimental antioxidant deficiency states. In the present research, oxo8dG excretion doubled when dietary ascorbate was lowered from 250 to 5 mg per day. Meanwhile, semen ascorbate dropped by 50 percent. Increasing the ascorbate to 20 mg per day did not prevent further drop in sperm ascorbate concentration. Repletion to 250 mg per day restored seminal ascorbate to 422 mcro Mol but decreased oxo 8dG only a third (36%). Higher than expected endogenous oxidative damage to sperm means that the ascorbate offers critical protection against birth defects and infertility. Antioxidant stress puts the genome at risk; thus the increased leukemia and lymphoma in offspring of smokers may be due to damaged sperm and incomplete repair by ova-derived DNA repair enzymes.[ii] The author observed that seminal plasma iron and copper are bound and thus unavailable to initiate lipid peroxidation. As evidence he cites the fact that oxidative damage is lowered in the presence of increased seminal ascorbic acid and incubation of semen with 60 to 1400 uM of ascorbate did not result in increased oxo8dG, as would be expected if transition metals were available to catalyze this oxidation reaction. Thus, at high levels, iron and copper are well protected in semen and ascorbate does not become pro-oxidant, even when it too is at high concentration. How fitting that vitamin C protects the genome from mutation and enhances fertility. Linus Pauling was right again! Jack Challem has taken this insight a step further. In a brilliant analysis, published in Medical Hypothesis, he introduces the

idea that the genetic disease, hypoascorbemia, has hastened human evolution. Dr. Fraga’s paper confirms that idea: DNA materials are indeed increased in animals with low concentrations of ascorbate. That Dr. Fraga chose to dedicate this research 7 years ago to the memory of Linus Pauling on his 90th birthday is a touching gesture, both personally and intellectually. I think it means that the mind of this researcher is in agreement with the orthomolecular philosophy. The scientific genius and integrity of Linus Pauling inspired many fine scientists to conduct their research. On the other hand, the emerging orthomolecular health-medicine movement is as a peanut compared to the mountain of the medical establishment, which that is supported by governmental and industrial leaders and the media. So great is the disparity that there would be little point to discussion were it not for the fact that in recent years the orthodox establishment doctors and bureaucrats are losing favor with their own constituency! Legislators are shifting funds into new health care delivery systems that are weighted in favor of economics rather than hope. It is a vote of no-confidence in orthodox medicine. And patients are seeking out alternative health practitioners instead of orthodox physicians. This is not a minor trend. In fact, over half of all medical consultations in America now involve chiropractors, acupuncturists and non-psychiatric (non-M.D.) mental health workers. If nutritionists and massage therapists were included in the surveys, the disparity would be even greater. In the eyes of the public, modern medicine has failed as a source of health information and healing! Over half of the public now take vitamins to treat themselves—because their medical doctors are not prepared to do the write a nutrition prescription. That means almost 170,000,000 Americans have decided they cannot rely on their physicians for everyday health information. Instead they are finding “alternative practitioners who offer nutritional services along with whatever else may be their special interest: massage, body movement, hypnosis, past lives, astrology, channeling, bone cracking. Holistic medicine is the combination of non-specific traditional therapy and nutrition therapy. The most powerful factor in alternative medicine is nutrition. It is so powerful, in fact, that health food clerks and untrained personnel are sometimes able to help patients whose doctors fail them. And yet, medical authorities continue to discredit this factor, and in a recent survey on alternative medicine published in the New England Journal, nutrition was mentioned only in regards to weight loss and fitness, training, not medical treatment. The buzzword, “orthomolecular,” which refers to medical nutrition or scientific nutrition was not even mentioned in the survey. The fact is that nutrition has been mostly excluded from consideration in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases other than a handful of fatal deficiency diseases, such as scurvy, pellagra and beriberi for the past 50 years or more. Any physician who treats with vitamins and minerals is still considered somewhat of a quack by his colleagues and is often subjected to ridicule and censure. For this reason physicians have relegated nutrition to the ‘alternative practitioners’ including chiropractors, who have attained real status in the medical arena as healers. Nutrient therapy is a major part of chiropractic practice and a reason why chiropractors have gained credibility. Acupuncture has become popular in the United States only in the past 20 years but most of these practitioners are also familiar with Chinese herbs, which they administer along with modern nutrient products in their practices as well. Orthodox physicians meanwhile are unfamiliar with these modalities and tend to brush off the questions of their patients—mostly because they lack the training and experience to answer them. The use of the word “alternative” is actually a

comfort for the conventional physician, who takes some comfort in the fact that mainstream medicine still dominates the political, economic, and cultural forces. If this trend continues, “alternative practitioners” will increase and orthodox medicine will gradually be relegated to the emergency room and the surgical ward. Private medical practice medicine will dwindle into an executive-clerical job of dispensing medications according to rules generated by committees and policed by the insurance bureaucracy, who rely on computerized code numbers. Who will buy into such an awkward, impersonal, and soul-less bureaucratic medicine, especially when insurance claims are usually paid off at dimes on the dollar? Meantime, chiropractors and acupuncturists are paid by the self-same insurance companies—but with fewer codes and less flak and proportionately higher coverage! It is in the context of this downward trend of the status of orthodox medicine, that the orthomolecular peanut is currently overlooked by almost everyone—except a handful of about 1000 physicians and chiropractors who think of themselves as orthomolecular. This is an important word because, while the number of proponents is small, the power of the concept is very great! Dr. Linus Pauling, the greatest scientific figure of the 20th Century, whose genius influenced the development of physical chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, devoted the last thirty years of his life to orthomolecular medicine. He defined this as “the use of substances that occur naturally in the human body in the maintenance of health and treatment of disease.” Yes, Pauling was referring to vitamins, minerals, amino acids, other nutrients, hormones, enzymes and the like. Nutrition by this new name was now a real threat to the medical establishment and the backlash was fierce. Pauling was vilified, his rebuttals went unpublished in medical journals and those physicians who adopted his philosophy were singled out for censure and even delicensure. Nevertheless an orthomolecular medical society was organized and a new model of medical diagnosis and practice is in the making. Orthomolecular medicine is the most powerful ideology in alternative medicine because it is the only one that unites basic science and clinical practice. The basic science derives from biochemistry, the chemistry of life. Nutrients play a featured role in this science, and an orthomolecular medical practice becomes thereby a practice of applied biochemistry.

[i] Berger, TM, Polidori, MC...Frei, B: (1997) Antioxidant activity of vitamin C in ironoverloaded human plasma. J Biol Chem 272,15656-15660. [ii] Fraga CG, Motchnik PA et al: Ascorbic acid protects against endogenous oxidative DNA damage in human sperm. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 88:11003-11006. 1991.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

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Helping the immune Vitamin B12: Under Appreciated system stay healthy Homocysteine &  08 April 2000 COVID-19 Sugar-Fructose.....IT'S Twitter Share ALL ABOUT DOSE Marijuana - 4/20



I have recently treated over half a dozen patients whose lives have been ruined by vitamin B12 deficiency--a preventable disorder. In every case there was medical error and/or patient ignorance and skepticism leading to permanent harm. It is

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easy to miss the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency. In the first place, it is a vitamin and our medical education is not only weak on vitamin diagnosis, it often reviles those doctors who treat with vitamins.  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek For example, B 12 injections are generally considered unnecessary, just one step Rd. short of quackery, by peer review committees and health insurance claims reviewers. Even if the patient feels better, the powers that be still condemn the  Lower Lake, CA 95457 practice as a form of suggestibility and placebo effect. No question about it: USA doctors are discouraged from treating with vitamin B12 unless there is  1.800.800.9550 documentary evidence, such as macrocytic anemia, with large sized red cells, over  [email protected] 100 microns in volume, or a B12 blood test less than 115 pg/ml (billionths of a gram per milliliter). Unfortunately the laboratory signs are not always that clear. Then  Ola Loa Store the doctor’s experience must take over. Vitamin B12 is an essential co-factor for two vital enzymes. 1. MMA (methylmalonyl CoA mutase). If B12 is deficient, methylmalonic acid cannot be converted to succinate, a necessary step in the utilization of oddWebsite by Giraffex numbered fatty acids, those ending with a 3 carbon propionic acid group, rather than the usual 2 carbon acetic acid group. As a result methylmalonic piles up in the blood, blocked from its normal metabolism into succinate, which can be oxidized in the citric acid cycle, thus producing energy in the form of ATP. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC In other words, without adequate B12 fats do not enter the carbohydrate cycle. As a result, there is a drop in energy level and a tendency to hypoglycemia, low blood sugar.

2. Methionine synthetase: necessary for recycling the essential amino acid, methionine, by transferring a carbon atom to homocysteine. There is no other mechanism to make this methyl carbon transfer except by means of B12; hence B12 deficiency causes two chemical problems here: homocysteine accumulates in the blood, and methionine becomes scarce at the same time. Homocysteine is bad because it binds copper, literally attracting it out of its reaction sites in collagen, and thus unraveling collagen, the bio-glue that holds tissues together, especially the intimal lining of blood vessels. This internal damage can cause blood vessel leaks, clots and deposits. If the coronary arteries are affected it can cause heart attack; in the cerebral arteries it causes strokes, and any damaged artery is liable to enlarge, forming an aneurysm, which can rupture. In a large vessel, such as the aorta, this can cause sudden death. A shortage of methionine causes deficiency of a vital enzyme, SAM, that is S-Adenosyl-Methionine, which becomes homocysteine by giving up its active methyl carbon in the manufacture of several essential body chemicals (see below). The re-cycling of methionine from homocysteine by means of capturing a methyl from methyl-THF is an equally key step in order to conserve methionine, which otherwise comes only from the diet. B12 is required to transfer the methyl carbon from methyl-folate (mTHF) and in the process serves also to activate folic acid for several other vital functions, such as nucleic acid synthesis. By giving up a methyl group, methyl THF becomes THF, which is interconvertable with four other sub-types of folic acid. Deficient B12 status therefore blocks the utilization of methyl-THF, which can rise to above normal levels of folic acid blood tests. That is a tip-off to B12 deficiency. Low THF is a serious deficiency, associated with birth defects and increased incidence of cancer. The connection is obvious once you know that THF is required for synthesis of nucleic acid components, the purine and pyrimidine bases, from which DNA and RNA are formed.

SAM is also vital for the production of adrenalin (a neurohormone); creatine (a muscle energy source); choline, an acetyl-choline component (neuro-transmitter); phosphatidylcholine, a lecithin (cell membrane repair); and polyamines spermine and spermidine (stimulate cell growth and repair).

If these relationships seem complicated they are; but the practical effects of B12 activity are straight-forward: 1. Nucleic acid synthesis (healing, manufacture of all body cells, especially red blood cells, DNA, and antibodies; 2. Activation of the vitamin, folic acid, (redoubles anti-cancer effect and together they support synthesis of myelin, the insulating covering of nerves; 3. Synthesis of SAM (most powerful natural anti-depressant-via epinephrine); 4. Recycling of methionine (conserves this scarce amino acid, permits lower protein intake); 5. Removal of toxic homocysteine (thus protecting against collagen damage in blood vessel lining, hence protects against atherosclerosis and aneurysm (damage), and hypertension (spasm); 6. Protection from copper deficiency otherwise caused by homocysteine (thus protects against heart damage and arrhythmia, diabetes, chronic fatigue); 7. Efficient oxidation of fats, so that methylmalonic acid and propionic acid do not accumulate. These organic acids deplete the vitamin Carnitine, and this causes fatigue, loss of muscle tone and simulates depression. 8. Production of myelin, the insulation of nerves. Repair of nerves prevents damage to the spinal cord and brain, so-called subacute combined degeneration. This

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involves pain (early) and loss of muscle perception and vibration sense (late) in the hands and feet. It also causes mental impairment, typically with paranoia and depression, is similar to Alzheimer’s. In fact, about 30 percent of patients with Alzheimer’s actually have B12 deficiency. If B12 is so important, why is there such medical skepticism and resistance to its use? As recently as 1989, the Journal of the American Medical Association saw fit to publish a featured article devoted to persuading patients to stop taking B12 injections--even though the patients claimed good results . The setting of the study was a clinic serving over 1200 patients and recently taken over by new owners. A records audit showed120 patients had been receiving B12 injections regularly; however only 4 of the 120 met the medical criteria for receiving vitamin B12 therapy. The authors accepted only four indications for prescribing this vitamin: 1) pernicious anemia; 2) deficiency documented by laboratory test; 3) a history of gastric surgery; 4) intestinal disease with malabsorption. The authors real motivation for performing the study is that the health insurance companies were refusing payment for B12 injections. The authors did not seem opposed to the practice, saying only "The use of cyanocobalamin (B12) injections for patients without documented deficiency has been a common practice both ridiculed and indulged by the medical profession." On the other hand, they referred to an insurance review agency that rejected more than 75% of almost 3000 cyanocobalamin injection claims for payment. There lies the problem. Insurance companies do not "indulge." Lawyers and accountants do not think like doctors. Money comes before comfort in the bureaucratic mind, and the doctor-patient relationship gets little credence when it comes to substantiating benefits. That’s just the way it is. Historically vitamin B12 was first recognized in relation to pernicious anemia; however in this study, 80 percent of the patients were motivated by weakness and fatigue, not anemia, and the average benefit was rated as "good". In fact, these patients reported a high level of effectiveness for most of the 25 indications listed in the study. They authors concluded: "It is likely that this injection-seeking behavior was reinforced and perpetuated by the perception of benefit. Past recipients of cyanocobalamin who perceived little or no benefit would be less likely to return for repeated injections and, thus, would be less likely to be included in the study." If that paragraph seems obtuse, it is a classic of medical obtuseness. The point is that the patients who came back for repeat injections were the responders to B12. That is understandable. What is not is the cynicism of the authors--who reflect a majority of the medical-political establishment, a bureaucratic dragon, dead-set against giving an admittedly harmless treatment that the patients consider helpful, because it doesn’t fit current medical dogma, e.g. the four indications considered "acceptable." In fact, the bottom line of this clinical study is: "Despite the generally high perceived value of the injections, a majority of those approached (25 of 48) were willing to consider discontinuing them, at least temporarily." The implication of this report is that patients do not know what is good for them and that clinic administrators do. This report ignores the inherent bias involved when those with a financial interest in a medical business write and publish a report that justifies terminating a treatment for 116 of 120 patients, not because the patients rejected the treatment as ineffective, but because the laboratory test results didn’t support the benefits the patients claimed to get! This violates a fundamental tenet of medical teaching: "never diagnose a patient on the basis of laboratory evidence alone." Diagnosis must be in the context of the history, examination (including laboratory testing), clinical trials and follow-up that are part and parcel of rational and scientific medical practice. The hidden tragedy of this report is that it pits the doctor against his own patients. In fact the authors admitted that 41 of these 120 patients dropped out of the clinic and sought medical help elsewhere. That is a 33% drop-out rate, about the same drop-out rate that medical practices are seeing across America as patients switch to alternative and non-

medical health practitioners, mainly chiropractors, acupuncturists and nutritionists. Patients rightfully want to be helped and they want to be respected. We all do. Especially when we are sick and feeling bad. It is the arrogance and inflexibility of medical orthodoxy that threatens to topple the entire medical profession and turn it into a mindless public health system, run by text-book bureaucrats and computerized robots. I don’t think the American people will buy it; but that doesn’t seem to have gotten across to the medical-political-bureaucratic people who have just designed the Kennedy Kassebaum bill, which reflects the psychology of this study by defining "unnecessary services" as medical fraud. This is the criminalization of medicine. Prove it, you say! The bill increases penalties from $2000 (already high) to $10,000 per infraction; and potential jail time has been increased from 2 years to 10. If B12 and other nutrient therapies are "unnecessary," the hottest game in town may soon be: "Cops and Docs." If you wonder why doctors seem uninterested in nutrition, perhaps this gives you an idea why. Not until our legislators wake up and give back our medical rights, such as the right to have a treatment when we find that it is beneficial, even though the regulations deny it, are you really the master of your own medical care. Who is the ultimate master of your body? You or a politician, bureaucrat or lobbyist, whose rules satisfy their interests, not necessarily yours. Vitamin B12 does not fit the mold of the deficiency diseases theory, or the one-diseaseone-drug model of medicine that is taught in medical schools. The most important medical fact about vitamin B12 is that deficiency does not show up only as anemia. In fact, in many cases there is no anemia, only neurological symptoms, such as numbness in the extremities, inability to walk and stay in balance, especially at night or in the dark, and serious personality changes, such as depression and paranoia. Unlike the anemia, which always responds to B12 replacement, if the nerve and brain symptoms are not treated promptly the damage is likely to be permanent. Pernicious anemia is a serious disease. The bone marrow produces large numbers of defective cells, called megaloblasts, along with a reduced number of normal and more durable ones. As the disease progresses, the normal cells are increasingly replaced by large cells, macrocytes, so the average size of the circulating red cells increases by 25 to 50 percent. Doctors recognize pernicious anemia by these large sized cells in a blood smear. Unfortunately, doctors are taught to diagnose and treat the anemia and it is all too common that physicians, even experienced psychiatrists, overlook the nerve symptoms and treat the paranoia as depression or schizophrenia, with drugs rather than a vitamin. Two cases were published in 1984. in which EEG brain waves and mental symptoms were reversible with B12 therapy This convinced the authors that all patients with dementia should be checked for B12. That message has not gotten through. One reason is that most doctors expect to find B12 problems in patients past age 60; and therefore may fail to consider it in younger folks. One of my patients was only 28 when B12 deficiency reached a critical state. Patricia had been able to cover-up her mental fuzziness and depression for years but the pain in her extremities finally drove her to seek medical help. Somehow the diagnosis was missed at two medical centers. Only after she had a severe progression of spinal cord damage following anesthesia for laparoscopic surgery did the diagnosis become obvious. Anesthetic agents, such as nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and halothane and enflurane, destroy vitamin B12. This pushed her into severe deficiency and within a few weeks she lost muscle sense in her extremities, became unable to walk and unable to control her bladder. Despite ongoing treatment for over ten years now, she remains confined to a wheel-chair, evidently for life. Some recovery is possible. Mary, a school-teacher, was placed on a hospital psychiatric ward when she became depressed and paranoid. When she complained of leg pains, the medical team were led astray by the fact that she is diabetic, since this condition

also can present as nerve symptoms. It was only after several months, as her mental condition deteriorated into severe confusion and dementia the diagnosis of B12 deficiency was obvious. By that time she too was in a wheel-chair. By the time she consulted me she was better but on crutches, barely able to get along on her own. Happily, she has responded very well to nutrient support, especially the use of Carnitine, Coenzyme Q, Ginkgo, glutamine and, of course B12 injections. Her mental acuity has improved, she is not depressed or paranoid--and she is able to walk with a cane. Another unhappy fate was that of a 72 year old real-estate sales woman, whose son I had treated after adverse reaction to PCP 20 years earlier. He had improved from the paranoia and confusion that had disabled and hospitalized him, but he never regained his full intellect and was never able to be fully self-supporting as a result. I didn’t make the connection to his mothers galloping senility, forgetfulness, depression, inability to cope with her business that quickly became disabling until her laboratory tests came back showing low B12 under 100 ng/L. and the co-dependent vitamin folic acid, was also very low. Her deterioration came on after she underwent surgery for pain in her feet and toes. Naturally the laminectomy didn’t help, the pain was undoubtedly due to neuropathy, which was obvious at my physical exam a year later.

She also had panic attacks after the surgery, made much worse by pneumonia. A 60 year smoker, she was treated with Prednisone for emphysema until she consulted me. The combination of low B12 and high smoke exposure probably accounted for her considerable loss of vision, a concentric field defect. That year was so full of sickness they remembered a viral illness, Herpes zoster, only as an afterthought!. She seemed better after large oral doses of B12 (2500 mcg) and folic acid (10 mg). Repeat blood testing showed B12 581 mcg, mid-range normal, and folic acid 39 ng, above normal. She was able to absorb these vitamins. But she refused injections and failed to follow-up with me, choosing instead her family doctor. Four years later I heard from her son that she was placed in a long-term-care facility due to Alzheimer’s dementia and anemia, a combination typical of B12 deficiency. Here is the way her son wrote of his view of her condition: "She had some problem metabolizing foods to get the nutrients from them. Possibly a lot of her condition could be from nutritional deficiencies--and lack of exercise and worry. While I don’t agree that exercise and freedom from worry would cure her dementia, my heart aches for this family: a woman too confused to treat herself; a son too discredited by his own chronic disability to gain the ear of his father and the family physician after 4 years of trying, even though he had a rough idea of the problem; and a husband who has lose his wife. Most of this could have been avoided.

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Taboo, refers to a cultural prohibition, usually based on fear, and more closely related to religion than science. The word comes to us by way of Tonga, where it was directly connected to the gods and their supernatural powers. Our advanced

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society has endowed certain foods and herbs with fear and treated them as taboos. Eggs, liver, butter, cream—these have been demonized by the cholesterol gods. False gods, such as margarine and hydrogenated oils, have been worshiped  Ola Loa, LLC in their place. The health of Western Civilization has suffered as a result. The real  11250 Clayton Creek health gods have not been happy and there have been deaths, many deaths, as a Rd. result of our foolish worship at the deceptive altar of epidemiology. Statistical observations, even when "significant" do not equate to physiological truths.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA The connection between dietary fat and cholesterol and rate of heart attack does  1.800.800.9550 not hold for all cultures, nor does it hold on physiological grounds. High blood  [email protected] cholesterol does NOT spell imminent danger. Research makes clear that after age 70 a blood cholesterol greater than 300 carries no detectable excess risk of heart  Ola Loa Store attack. I have had patients in good health past age 90, and with cholesterol over 300. There are other factors, such as homocysteine, Lp(a), fibrinogen, and infection --to name a few-- that do have great impact and these physiological factors have recently gained sufficient research support to put cholesterol into perspective as but a relatively small part of the physiological puzzle of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. Website by Giraffex

Of course, dietary balance is important, but the fat taboo is turning out to be more fear than fact. Consider the following conclusion from a major research study into the alleged connection between dietary fat intake and breast cancer risk.[1] "We found no evidence that lower intake of total fat or specific major types of fat was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer." That is from the Nurses' Health Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Study, which has followed the health of almost 90,000 women for over 20 years, since 1976. It is unlikely that we will ever see a larger or better study, nor under more trusted management—Harvard Medical School.

Despite all the confusing headlines to the contrary, fat deficiency is a greater hazard than fat excess. Certain fats are essential. These we must have--or we sicken and die. Since the processing of essential fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), requires enzymes that are powered by vitamins (B1,2,3,5,6, folic acid, B12 and biotin) and minerals (magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium), deficiency of any of these catalysts can show up as dry skin, nerve deterioration, endocrine failure, auto-immune disease—a veritable pandora's box of inter-related degenerative disease conditions. Eskimo and French dietary patterns are as high or higher in fat than our own fast food, hamburger and fried food culture. But the Eskimo native diet is high in fish fat and seal blubber, both high in omega-3 essential fatty acids. And the French enjoy duck pate, rich in the same omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are washed down with wines. French wines contain more copper than our American wines, due to their use of copper sulfate rather than the myriad chemical pesticides in use here. Copper remains one of the weak spots in the American diet, and it is aggravated by the hidden intake of fructose and corn syrup sweeteners, which aggravate copper deficiency. Putting aside the copper connection, it is enough to appreciate the enormous impact of fish oil and flax oil in reducing risk of heart attack. Research at Yale University was emphatic in demonstrating lack of heart attacks in pigs with high cholesterol induced by a high saturated fat diet—so long as they were also fed fish oil, containing the omega-3 fatty acids. The adverse action of cholesterol was less powerful than the beneficial effect of the fish oil. Iodine confers a similar protection, a fact demonstrated as long ago as 1915 in fat fed rabbits. Those that were treated with iodine lived despite high blood cholesterol. The word "tidbit" refers to "a choice morsel." Fish oil hardly fits that definition, though it takes only a little bit, as little as a teaspoonful a day, to satisfy the needs for most adults, and a tablespoonful or two to confer more complete anticoagulant action. There are other foods that might be thought of as ‘tidbits’ Take the egg, for instance: properly prepared it is the most perfect single food and is the "gold standard" of protein quality. In one of the largest diet-health studies of all time, the American Cancer Society surveyed almost a million people and followed their health status over a period of years. Those who ate more than five eggs per week enjoyed better health and had fewer heart attacks and less cancer morbidity than those who ate less than two eggs per week. There is a twist of irony to our egg taboo, for the yolk of the egg contains both cholesterol and biotin, a vitamin, which regulates blood cholesterol. Biotin deficiency causes scaly skin, hair loss, sore tongue, low mood, and high cholesterol! If you are low in biotin, eating eggs can lower cholesterol. And here is irony: the yolk contains biotin; the white of the egg contains avidin, a protein that inactivates biotin. Cooking the egg denatures the protein, destroys avidin, and preserves the biotin. It is only raw eggs that should be considered dangerous. So the experts are wrong to cast a taboo on eggs; and the health faddists are wrong to eat them raw. That leaves the rest of us to listen to our body and do what comes naturally: eat them if we like them. Now that we have challenged the taboo against eggs, are there are other, tastier tidbits in the world of food? How about chocolate? Now that is a choice morsel for sure, if only for its high content of phenylethylamine, a neurotransmitter and mood elevator. The Aztecs called it "food of the gods." You will be pleased to learn that chocolate is also good for your health, better than we thought! Dr. Joe Vinson has found chocolate to be loaded with antioxidant polyphenols. His research confirms that these are present in huge amounts, about 300 mg. in an ordinary candy bar (i.e. about 40 grams of milk chocolate). This is equivalent to the amount contained in 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. If the candy is made with dark

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chocolate it has twice as much polyphenol and one such chocolate bar can satisfy the food pyramid guidelines for two days so far as these flavonoids are concerned. And coffee—this herbal brew, made from the seeds of the coffee tree, is enjoying new respect since Harvard researcher, Dr. Edward Giovannucci gathered results of a number of research studies (meta-analysis) and found an over-all reduction in colorectal cancer of 30 percent in those drinking several cups a day. That will come as no surprise to those who know that coffee enemas have been a mainstay of cancer therapy at the Gerson Clinic and other cancer treatment centers in Mexico for over 50 years. It should be no surprise that coffee is also coming into its own as an antidepressant. Move over St. John's Wort. A 1996 analysis of data from the same Nurse's Health Study population that exonerated fat also found an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and suicide. The greater the coffee intake, the lower the suicide rate. Evidently the effect of caffeine and other natural chemicals in the coffee bean act as anti-depressants. Dr. Peter Martin at Vanderbilt University has founded an "Institute for Coffee Studies," funded with over six million dollar to pursue this. Coffee contains many other chemicals besides caffeine, including chlorogenic acid. It is also a good source of scarce trace minerals, especially manganese. Are you concerned that coffee causes addiction? Relax. Dr. Astrid Nehlig used SPECT scans, which track blood flow in the brain, and found no increase in activity in the nucleus accumbens, the seat of the reward system of the brain, after caffeine equivalent to three cups of coffee. This implies that coffee is not addictive, even though it does increase activity in brain centers that control muscle activity, mood, and state of arousal. Only at very high doses, seven or more cups of coffee at a time, was there an increase in glucose in the brain reward system. These findings were reported at the 1999 American Chemical Society meeting. There are many more begging to be included. How about the important news that iodine deficiency has quadrupled in the past 20 years! Dr. Joseph G. Hollowell of the Center for Disease Control observes that in 1971–1974 the incidence of iodine deficiency in USA was 2.6%. Just 15 years later, 1988–1994, the incidence had increased to 11.7%. This coincides with a 4-fold increase in infantile autism, a disorder of brain development; and there has been a huge increase in attention deficit disorder (ADD), numbering in the millions. Could there be a connection to iodine deficiency? Iodine is essential for thyroid activity; thyroid is required for normal fetal and neonatal brain development, so it is possible and should be taken seriously. One reason for iodine deficiency is there has been a taboo against salt! Iodized salt was introduced in the 1920s to end goiter forever. But that was before blood pressure and salt got linked and became a public health and media issue. In case you hadn't heard: it is now physiological to eat salt to suit your taste—unless you are in the unlucky 10 percent with a high blood pressure condition specifically linked to salt. Salt contains the essential minerals, sodium and chloride. Excess salt may cause high blood pressure and death--after a number of years. But salt deficiency may cause death in just a few hours! Tryptophan is back in the news again: this time it is good news. Eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia, continue to ruin young lives. Psychiatrists at Oxford, in England, compared the effects of amino acid mixtures with and without tryptophan in 12 healthy women compared to 10 recovered bulimia patients in a double-blind, cross-over study. It was significant that the bulimics had a significant lowering of mood and loss of control of eating following the tryptophan-free meal. Conclusion: "chronic depletion of plasma tryptophan may be one of the mechanisms whereby persistent dieting can lead to the development of eating disorders." And the unwritten conclusion is that tryptophan supplementation deserves to be tried in anyone struggling with

anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. There is no shortage of reports of improved mood, better sleep, and other health benefits from tryptophan supplementation. However tryptophan has been almost entirely removed from the over-the-counter marketplace for the past ten years. It has become taboo. Fear, not science, deprives thousands of people from treatment with this essential amino acid. The FDA bureaucracy is afraid to approve the sale of this food substance, which is present in most of the foods you eat, especially animal proteins, because contaminated tryptophan made it to the health food stores 10 years ago, and caused over 30 deaths and many more cases of lung and muscle damage. It wasn't the tryptophan. It was the contaminant. But that problem has been corrected, so why the taboo now? I hate to say it, but it looks like a fear-driven bureaucracy at work. Bureaucrats don't want to be criticized for not doing enough; and so they are motivated by fear and almost forced to grab power over us misguided "consumers" who would like to believe that a bureaucrat knows what is good for us. That is something you have to find out for yourself. Bureaucracy is a threat to our individual liberties. Every law and every regulation removes a degree of freedom from the public domain. You want tryptophan? The tryptophan disaster of 1989 occurred despite the fact that FDA standards were met. Now the cost is 5 to 10 times higher than it was in 1989, because of governmental over-control. So no one uses tryptophan much anymore. Luckily we now have 5-hydroxy tryptophan, which is better and safer than tryptophan—but is already threatened with removal by FDA. There is a power struggle going on right now, not only here in the USA but world-wide as the Codex commission is holding a series of meetings to forge an international consensus on regulating health and nutrition products. Along with this our own FDA is proposing to redefine the term "disease" so as to include any deviation from a normal state, including headache, pregnancy, menopause. That would place foods that affect symptoms under regulatory control as drugs rather than foods. Do you really need FDA to tell you whether you can have a chocolate bar? It could come to that. Already, in Canada the government has announced a new office of Natural Health Products to oversee all aspects of natural health products. Herbal companies will be required to prove that their products work as advertised. Forget about the fact that herbs have been used successfully for thousands of years and that we know the science behind their action now more than ever before. Efficacy requirements raise the costs enormously and will benefit big drug companies, who can invest big money in big bureaucracy. Where will the big money really come from? From the little people— you and me. 'Putting nutrition first' is more than a good health strategy; it is your individual right and responsibility. There is a war going on right now, and it is a war over who has the power to regulate your personal health. Don't think that any bureaucracy can tell you what works for you any better than you can determine for yourself. Freedom of choice in personal health matters is NOT guaranteed by our Constitution. Big mistake. Putting nutrition first is in the same league as putting Freedom first. Anything else should be taboo. Freedom is one of the basic tenets of the belief system that has made America great. Any law or regulation that erodes our freedom should be classified as taboo.

[1] Holmes MD, Hunter DJ, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ et al: Association of dietary intake of fat and fatty acids with risk of breast cancer. JAMA 199999;281:914-920.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine

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Sunshine, salt, sugar and fat all used to be categorized among the pleasures of life. Lately we are told that all are dangerous to our health, not as bad as smoking but worse than coffee or chocolate. There is a case for the other side in terms of health

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benefits. Each of the above—sugar, salt, and fat—is essential to life and health— but there is an optimal dose at which benefits are obvious, and a toxic dose at which illness develops. The same general interpretation applies to sunlight.  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek How about the good effects of sun? Not only does it keep us warm and grow our Rd. crops, it actually is the primal source of the energy of life. Sunlight is also required for vitamin D, which is actually formed by the interaction of ultraviolet light and  Lower Lake, CA 95457 cholesterol in the skin. At least 15 minutes a day exposure to midday summer sun USA is required for best results. Otherwise one must eat liver or cod liver oil regularly.  1.800.800.9550 Egg yolk and milk fat contain smaller amounts and all fruits and vegetables are  [email protected] devoid of both cholesterol and vitamin D.  Ola Loa Store Repeat: if you don't get your vitamin D by regular exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, you risk deficiency of this essential nutrient. Vitamin D deficiency is common, particularly amongst those who stay indoors a lot and eat a low fat diet. Sunbathing is a pleasurable experience, universally popular with the lucky people who get to enjoy vacation, travel and leisure activities. Fantasies of sunny outdoor Website by Giraffex scenes at the beach or in the mountains are among the most common screen memories that my patients bring up when asked to identify with pleasure. "Sunworship" is now only a little less intense than in earlier times, such as the ancient Egyptian dynasties, when Ra, the sun god, was God. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC How is it then that our medical establishment has come down so strongly against sun exposure? We are told to limit our exposure to no more than 15 minutes, and to keep indoors or wear total sun-block agents and especially to avoid the mid-day

sun. Why? Because of the recent increase in skin cancer and melanoma, an increase so severe as to deserve the title, epidemic. There are now over 600,000 new cases of skin cancer per year in the US and melanoma accounts for 30,000 new cases and 6500 deaths. Ultraviolet type B (UVB) radiation, wavelength 290 to 320 nm, has been blamed but research does not support recent exposure as the cause. Instead blistering sunburns in childhood have been associated with a double rate of melanoma in adulthood, median age of diagnosis 53 years old. National attention has been focused on skin cancer in the 1980s because of the fact that both Presidents Reagan and Bush have had basal cell cancers removed from the face. Ultraviolet radiation damage to cell membranes and nucleic acids is a cause of this type of cancer but there are other factors as well. Unsaturated fatty acids are normally present in our cell membranes. The electrical bonds of these molecules act as a storehouse of oxidative energy, including electrons donated by sunlight. Protection against oxidative damage to these fatty acids in the cell membrane is provided by antioxidant vitamins and enzymes, particularly carotene, vitamins C and E, and glutathione. Overdose of ultraviolet radiation can overwhelm the capacity of the cell defenses. Sunburn gives immediate evidence of this. Premature aging and the occurrence of skin cancer are more insidious and do not show up for months or years. It is accepted as fact that ultraviolet light radiation can cause cancer. UVB the wavelength 290-320 nm is the most intense energy source and therefore most likely to cause burning and cell damage. UVA with wavelength 320-400 nm is less intense but penetrates more readily through the atmosphere year round and deeper into the skin. Thus its effect is more accumulative, about 100 times greater than UVB. It is possible that UVA is a greater hazard than UVB because it goes unrecognized, doing its damage without heat or sunburn to warn us that protection may be needed. UVB but not UVA induces the skin to produce vitamin D, which is a protective agent AGAINST cancer. This applies not only to skin cancer but internal cancers as well. The most recent studies show an inverse relationship between sun exposure and cancer. All cancers, and especially melanoma, occur less often in persons with outdoor occupations. This is believed due to the increased vitamin D produced in the skin by sun exposure. Vitamin D not only inhibits proliferation of the skin cells, it also influences the cells (keratinocytes) to mature to the healthy, differentiated state. Vitamin D has other health benefits, the best known of which is the absorption of calcium, essential to prevent bone weakness, called rickets in children and osteoporosis in the elderly. Sun exposure also lowers blood pressure and therefore reduces risk of stroke. A large part of the cholesterol stores of the body are in skin and a total body sunbath can activate large amounts for excretion, thus reducing blood cholesterol by as much as 15 percent! Thus, sunlight exerts a protective effect against atherosclerosis. Sunlight increases the secretion of insulin and also the stores of glycogen in the liver, thus improving control of both diabetes and hypoglycemia. The female hormone, estrogen and to an even greater extent the male hormone, testosterone, increase after sun exposure and thus increase the pleasures of sexuality, to be sure. As body builders know, testosterone also stimulates muscle growth, a fact that was appreciated by the ancient Greeks, who held exercise classes on the beach and in the nude for training their athletes. While vitamin D production is most pronounced after exposure of the skin of the back and shoulders, the testosterone effect is almost doubled if the genital area is exposed to the sun.

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Sunlight has a mood elevating effect and in some victims of seasonal depression, light exposure is the accepted treatment. The mechanism behind this is unproved but it is known that light turns off the pineal gland production of melatonin. This releases the pituitary and adrenal glands to produce their full complement of antistress hormones and with a stimulating effect on mood. Unlike other animals, humans require strong light to entrain the circadian rhythms and the reproductive cycle. Ordinary room light is insufficient! For the many people who are indoors all day, regular exposure to strong sunlight may offer better sleep, mood and adaptability. Sunlight also protects against infection. In the first place sunlight actually kills germs on contact, a fact reported over 100 years ago by Drs. Downes and Blunt. Dr. Niels Finsen was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1903 for successfully treating tuberculosis of the skin with ultraviolet light. Not only does ultraviolet light kill germs, it also charges the oils in skin so they become bactericidal in themselves. Sunlight dramatically increases the oxygen content of the blood, an effect that lasts for several days after a single exposure. This contributes to the enhanced germ-killing ability of the neutrophils. Some studies found a double ability to engulf bacteria. In addition sunlight produces a significant increase in the number of lymphocytes as well as their anti-viral products, interferons. Despite all these facts in support of the health benefits of sunlight, medical authorities have adopted a rather one-sided view, warning only of the dangers of ultraviolet exposure. The media and the advertisers have picked up this theme to such an extent that fear of sunlight is close to mass hysteria. The use of total sunblockers (SPF 15 and up) has increased dramatically. These are so effective at blocking UVB that vitamin D blood levels are reduced up to 50 percent. However UVA usually gets through and it appears that the net effect is to increase cancer risk, not only for skin but for colon and breast also. In a geographic study of total sun energy, areas with half the sunshine had a triple rate of breast cancer. In Japan, which has almost no breast cancer, the vitamin D intake is about ten-fold greater than in the US, due to their high intake of fish oils. In the US, women consume only about a quarter of the RDA—and thus depend more on sunlight for protection against cancer, osteoporosis and infection. To be sure there are arguments against these ideas, particularly since the increase in melanoma began in advance of the widespread use of sunscreens. In my opinion, environmental pollution is the more likely cause of increased skin cancer, especially the chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as DDT, chlordane and lindane and PCBs. PCBs were banned in 1977 but are still measurable in most of us and they concentrate in skin. It is intriguing that office workers, exposed to PCB drippings from transformer coils in lighting fixtures, have more melanoma risk than do outdoor workers. One of the most encouraging findings about the health benefits of sunlight is that by speeding up metabolism, detoxification of environmental pollutants is enhanced. Lead, mercury, fluoride, pesticides and dusts are all eliminated from double to twenty-fold more quickly after sunlight treatments. What should one do for the best relationship to the sun? Dr. Zane Kime, in his 1980 book, Sunlight, (World Health Publications, Penryn, CA) recommends limiting first exposure to two minutes after first bathing to remove soap and cosmetic residues. I recommend the use of antioxidant nutrient-enriched tropical sun oils. Coconut oil is time tested, non-irritating and resists oxidation. Carotene is the most effective sun-protective antioxidant nutrient, even more potent than vitamin E. If you do opt for a high SPF sunblocker, PABA is the best despite the bad publicity of a few years ago. The allergic reactions turned out to be caused by impurities, not due to PABA itself. Who should use a sunblock? Those who have photosensitivity reactions, hereditary photodermatitis, polymorphic light eruption, porphyria and especially anyone with xeroderma pigmentosum, which carries a thousand-fold increased risk of cancer.

Normal skin, once adapted to sun, a process that requires one to two weeks, can protect itself and may be healthier without blocking the ultraviolet light at all—so long as the nutrient antioxidants are intact. In laboratory research, animals exposed to UVB were completely protected by vitamins C, D and E. One in four of their littermates on a regular diet got skin cancer within 6 months from the same UV exposure. This is the most important news in personal skin care: nutrients can be applied directly to the skin to concentrate benefits in the skin. This is at least as important in preventing sunburn as controlling the dose of ultraviolet. With the right nutrient support you can relate to sunshine as a source of pleasure and health. Putting Nutrition First is the best way to healthy skin.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Helping the immune The Protein–Heart Connection system stay healthy Homocysteine &  31 July 2007 COVID-19 Sugar-Fructose.....IT'S Share ALL ABOUT DOSE Marijuana - 4/20



Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. That seems to apply to foods as much as to other pleasures. By now most everyone seems to be convinced that too much fat is bad for cholesterol and heart attacks; and we've heard for years

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that excess sugar can cause a variety of problems, ranging from dental caries to diabetes and related diseases. Now we have convincing new evidence that too much protein can be even more devastating than fats and sugars!  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek When methionine, which is an essential amino acid gives up a methyl group Rd. (carbon and 3 hydrogens) it becomes homocysteine, a toxic by-product. Normally homocysteine persists for just a brief instant before enzymes controlled by  Lower Lake, CA 95457 vitamin B6 transform it into cystathionine, an essential substance for brain cells. If USA that reaction is impaired, then with the help of B12 and folic acid, which provide a  1.800.800.9550 fresh methyl group, homocysteine is recycled back to methionine. This way the  [email protected] body conserves methionine and thus requires less meat, fish, egg, dairy or broccoli, cauliflower and wheat, the major dietary sources.  Ola Loa Store The protein-coronary heart disease connection was first proposed by Russian physician I. A. Ignatovski in 1908, after he produced atherosclerosis in rabbits by feeding them animal proteins. Then in 1962, Dr. Nina Carson found an excess of the amino acid, homocystine, oxidized homocysteine, in a chemical survey of retarded children in Ireland. The full-blown genetic syndrome was soon Website by recognized to include skeletal deformity, e.g. pigeon chest, scoliosis, knock-knees Giraffex and thinning of bone, osteoporosis. Eye damage, dislocation of the lens and glaucoma also occur. Excessive skin flushing after exertion or in hot weather is characteristic and the skin is often paper thin, atrophic and scarred. Half the patients are retarded but others have epilepsy, chronic nervousness or schizophrenia. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Blood vessel damage with thrombosis and emboli, migration of clots through the

blood stream, is a major complication of homocysteine and heart attack and stroke occur in almost half the cases, especially after anesthesia or surgery. Atherosclerosis occurs in some of these children as early as two months of age and many die before puberty. Based on these findings and his own research, in 1969 Dr. Kilmer McCully proposed that as many as a quarter of our cases of heart attack are due to excess dietary protein, not fat and cholesterol. A flurry of research in the 1970s showed that injections of homocysteine did cause atherosclerosis. In one study, an increase in circulating cells released from the lining of blood vessels was seen within 30 minutes of homocysteine injections in rats. The mechanism behind this is binding of homocysteine to the amino acid, lysine, a component of collagen, the major structural protein of the body. This is particularly likely to occur in areas already damaged but it initiates platelet clumping, clotting and growth of cells in the blood vessel wall that cause plaque and narrowing. Since vitamin B6 is a major agent for removal of homocysteine, McCully also proposed that B6 deficient diets would permit a build up of homocysteine. This was confirmed by research at the University of Wisconsin: 3 weeks on a low vitamin B6 diet caused human subjects to produce excess homocysteine. It was also found that human patients with atherosclerosis tend to have low vitamin B6 levels and excess homocysteine. However the studies failed to show the expected increase in number of heart attacks in relatives of homocystinuric children. I think this was because heart attacks in the 1960-1980 period were so frequent due to other causes that the less frequent homocystinuric cases were lost in the epidemic of those due to deficiencies of magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin C, and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Recently a new study By Dr. Robert Clarke and his colleagues at Trinity College, London, convincingly demonstrates increased risk of vascular disease in patients who produce homocysteine when given a test dose of methionine. Using the methionine load test in 123 patients they found almost 30 times more risk of vascular disease when excess homocysteine was present! This compares to an increased risk only two-fold due to high cholesterol, 3.5-fold due to smoking and 12.4-fold due to high blood pressure. Their findings indicate that high blood homocysteine is the strongest risk factor for vascular disease. In case of vascular disease before the age of 55 years homocysteine is detected in almost 30 percent! In fact it was found in 42 percent of Clarke's patients with stroke, 28 percent with peripheral vascular disease (leg cramps, claudication, etc) and 30 percent of heart attack cases. Population surveys for homocysteine indicate that, while homozygous homocystinuria, with a gene from each parent, occurs in only 1 birth per 80,000, about 1 person in 80 is heterozygous and carries a single homocysteine gene for the disease. Dr. Jon Pangborn, a leading amino acid chemist, reports that in his experience homocysteine is at least 3 times more frequent in urine samples, i.e. about 1 in 25 patients evaluated at his laboratory. It would seem that homocysteine is one of the most frequently undiagnosed risk factors. It turns out that deficiencies of vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can induce homocysteine. This explains the increased frequency of occurrence in Dr. Pangborn's laboratory. Dr. L. Brattstrom has proved that in case of vitamin B12 deficiency normal people, without a gene for homocysteine, can have blood levels even higher than carriers of the gene for homocystinuria. Meanwhile we are told by the NIH, FDA and the Surgeon General that fat is the villain in heart disease, that it raises cholesterol and thus causes arterial plaque, blockage and heart attacks. Most of you are probably convinced that if you eat no fat you will be safe. I think the high rate of atherosclerosis in concentration camp inmates, who had a low fat, low calorie diet says otherwise. Furthermore research

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has not demonstrated an over-all health advantage to the low fat, low cholesterol diet as public policy. In fact, cardiac mortality does decline but other causes of death, such as accident, homicide and suicide, increase. This is possibly due to irritability and mental torpor induced by insufficient calories, intestinal malabsorption and low blood sugar, i.e. hypoglycemia. Our knowledge of the metabolic fate of homocysteine shows that it can be controlled by diet and vitamins. Homocysteine is produced from methionine, by reducing methionine intake less homocysteine is produced. Methionine is one of the 8 essential amino acids for humans. It is the major source of sulfur and therefore critical for the structure of skin, hair and nails, which contain keratins, sulfur proteins. In addition it is the key constituent of antibodies, and many enzymes. Methionine is also involved in providing methyl groups, single carbon fragments, which expedite many of the chemical reactions of the nervous system. Low methionine levels slow down the chemistry of the brain and result in depression. One reason for the popularity of B12 injections is that they restore and recycle methionine, thus assisting in the production of adrenalin in the nerves and adrenal gland. In its major chemical path methionine undergoes enzymatic transformation into homocysteine and then cystathionine, which is essential for nerve function. Extra cystathionine is converted to useful end-products, including the anti-oxidants cysteine and taurine. No problem--but if vitamins folic acid and B12 are deficient, then homocysteine is likely to accumulate, particularly if B6 is low also. Since zinc is required to activate B6 in cells, the possibility of B6 deficiency is that much greater if zinc is low. Birth control pills deplete both B6 and folic acid; they also cause blood clots and emboli in some women. This may be due to the production of homocysteine. High dietary intake of protein and fat increase the need for vitamin B6 up to ten-fold. Vitamin B6 supplementation at a dose of 25 to 100 mg per day is sufficient to reverse homocysteine accumulation in half the cases. In resistant cases the use of up to 6 grams of betaine, which donates extra methyl groups to convert homocysteine to methione, has proved effective according to Dr. David Wilcken; however a few people have adverse reactions, including headache, dyspepsia and nervousness so I recommend it be used only under doctor's supervision. To prevent dietary provocation of homocysteine, we must learn to moderate our food intake, particularly animal protein. It is also important to get enough of vitamins B6, B12, folic acid, betaine and zinc. For many people a vegetarian diet is the simplest and best method of treatment because it is low in methionine and high in vitamin B6 and folic acid. Dr. Dean Ornish has recently demonstrated that low fat, vegetarian diets actually reverse coronary atherosclerosis. However low methionine intake by itself does not prevent homocysteine and many people don't feel well on low protein intake. For these people the use of vitamin supplements plus zinc should make it safe to eat a normal amount of animal protein containing methionine. Homocysteine is so common and so powerful a risk factor for vascular, nervous, ocular, pulmonary and skin disease conditions that it should be diagnosed by methionine loading and measurement in blood or urine as part of a thorough health evaluation. The information so gained permits you to put nutrition first— before medical disaster can strike!

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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When Summertime is fast approaching and the cold season is mostly behind us, there are still enough sore throats and sniffles out there. This article may find you in the mood to take stock of vitamin C and other natural treatments for the

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common cold-—and even the flu. Orthomolecular health medicine combines the benefits of nutrition and natural  Ola Loa, LLC therapies along with an emphasis on laboratory diagnosis, actual measurement of  11250 Clayton Creek vitamins and minerals in order to truly understand the food factors that conrol the Rd. body chemistry. Inspired by Dr. Linus Pauling, who coined the name, orthomolecular, as an endorsement of the use of natural molecules in maintenance of  Lower Lake, CA 95457 health and treating disease, the orthomolecular approach to medicine has USA become the most dynamic grass roots movement in medicine today, but we call it  1.800.800.9550 by other names, such as nutrition, vitamin and antioxidant. Antioxidant is the  [email protected] medical buzzword of the 90s and vitamin C is the most important of the antioxdants.  Ola Loa Store Dr. Pauling raised the health consciousness of America with his book on Vitamin C and the Common Cold in 1970. In fact, his meta-analysis, a statistical review of multiple studies of vitamin C for the common cold, showed a roughly 30 percent reduction in duration and morbidity of symptoms. Though he was widely ridiculed by many medical authorities at the time, his work has been substantiated, most Website by recently in a re-analysis by Hemila and Herman. These authors have turned the Giraffex tables on Pauling’s critics. They are particularly chagrined at the powerful influence wielded by one of Pauling’s most vehement critics, Thomas Chalmers, whose review of the subject in 1975 was faulty due to the inclusion of poor quality studies that did not show the amount of vitamin C, or which used too little vitamin C, even below the then RDA of 60 mg. Now we know that when only those Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC studies with over a gram of vitamin C are included, the results do support Dr. Pauling’s findings, just as he said. Yet at the time a man of much lesser stature was able to sway the scientific community even though Pauling presented the

more compelling data! Ten years ago Dr. Truswell also criticized Dr. Pauling. A second look at his data also shows that he failed to distinguish between dosages as different as 6000 mg. vs. 50 mg per day. Worse, he ignored vitamin C benefits in his study when the data clearly show that vitamin C supplements shortened the duration of colds in his study by 6 to 12 percent. Another research, this one by Dr. Glazebrook, showed a 40 percent reduction in hospital stay in patients given vitamin C supplements for tonsillitis. No one seemed to think that was very important at the time. Think of the savings in hospital costs and the great reduction in personal suffering. That’s hot. Dr. Pauling held to the view that vitamin C at a dose of 3 to 6 grams per day for several days at the first sign of a cold supports the immune function of the white blood cells, acts as an anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory, and promotes healing of the affected tissues. That’s a lot of benefits from just one vitamin. Dr. Robert Cathcart went a step further and tried larger doses of vitamin C, up to a quarter pound per day, about 100 grams or more. Eventually he determined that the most effective way to use vitamin C against the common cold and other viral disorders is to take the vitamin in powdered form, (thus avoiding tabletting agents, which contain minerals and can cause diarrhea in their own right). By increasing the dose at the rate of about half a teaspoonful every few hours, eventually bowel discomfort or diarrhea occurs. That’s bowel tolerance and the best strategy is to cut back the vitamin C dose to just below bowel tolerance for the duration of the illness. Be sure to drink plenty of water, at least 8 ounces for every 2 teaspoonfuls (8 to 10 grams) of vitamin C. I am not recommending that you take megadoses of vitamin C without medical supervision as there are a few individuals who may develop anemia from such large doses, particularly if they are genetically low in an enzyme known as G6PD, as is the case in about 10 percent of those of African descent. Mediterraneans and Jews also have an increased liklihood of this problem, especially if there is the telltale hint of low red numbers of red blood cells, a recurrent anemia. But no such warnings are needed for megadoses of 6 to 10 grams per day, which is adequate for the common cold. Here the only serious adverse effect is diarrhea, and that is self-limiting. For severe infections, fevers, food poisoning, or snakebite very large doses are reportedly life-saving. But at these doses, up to 100 grams a day, its a good idea to have your doctor on board If Dr. Pauling had been less scientific he would have talked about the extra benefits that come from combining vitamin C with other nutrients. He certainly knew about this because he attended the meetings of the Orthomolecular Medical Society in the 1970s and was on personal terms with many of us orthomolecular practitioners, when we were finding better results with combinations of nutrient supplements. Our patients either stopped having colds or threw them off quickly; and those that did occur were much less of a bother-”less morbidity.” But these observations were impossible to prove; that’s why Dr. Pauling preferred to focus on vitamin C by itself. Only at the end of his life did he agree to collaborate with Dr. Abram Hoffer in a study of multiii-nutrent therapies against cancer. While vitamin C had accomplished a roughly 7-fold longer survival in already terminally ill cancer patients; combination therapy increased the benefits by another 3-fold. Over-all that means nutrient therapy as practiced by Dr. Hoffer provides over 20 times longer survival than conventional therapy without nutrient support. That information is too important to ignore--but it is being ignored just the same! Back to the common cold, for the nutrient factors are similar to those that are useful against viral illness and cancer. The most beneficial nutrients for colds and viral illnesses are: vitamin A in doses of up to 100,000 iu per day for about a week; zinc at doses up to 100 mg per day for two to three weeks; and L-glutamine at doses of 1 to 2 grams, 3 times per day during and for at least a week after an

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infection. In addition, 100 iu vitamin E capsules can be dissolved in the mouth like a lozenge to reduce sore throat. N-acetyl cysteine 500 mg and selenium 200 mcg twice a day support the antioxidant enzymes, which are depleted by all inflammatory diseases. Ponaris™ (over the counter at many pharmacies) is an iodized eucalyptus oil, very effective in relieving nasal congestion and irritation and preventing the development of secondary sinus infections which often take hold after the cold is over. The hormone, melatonin, is a double-barreled defense, providing both immune enhancement and improved sleep. Finally, the use of traditional herbs, such as echinacea and licorice root for about a week are immune-stimulating and anti-viral. One last treatment for colds and the flu syndrome deserves mention: potassium iodide. I am not referring to iodine, the caustic brown stuff with skull and crossbones on it that is used as an antiseptic. Rather this is the potassium iodide that looks like water and causes no irritation except when applied to raw or damaged tissues. It may burn but it does not cause harm. When diluted in water or juice, about 10 drops per glass, the iodide is gentle but retains its antiseptic properties. In addition it is both immune-stimulating and antibiotic, killing most bacteria, fungi and viruses, including the rhinovirus of the common cold. In addition, iodide is antihistaminic, powerfully so. In a matter of minutes after a dose of the iodide, nasal secretions dry up and coughing is suppressed. I can’t promise that it is always effective, but it is always worth a try. However it is a prescription item and requires the approval of a physician. Are there adverse effects associated with a few doses of iodide over a few days of acute illness? Not much. Even people who say they have an iodine allergy can be densensitized in a day or so. After the Chernobyl atomic reactor melt-down, widespread contamination prompted the use of iodide in about 10 million people in Poland. The number of adverse reactions was a little over 1 in a million. There is no cure for the common cold; and perhaps it is time to recognize that we need an occasional challenge to our immune system to keep us ready for the other viruses out there. But an orthomolecular regimen, such as this one, takes away much of the distress and disability of a cold without risk of adverse effects. And these measures are safe and accessible at home for those informed people who prefer to put nutrition first against the common cold.

©2000 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

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The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) Iron Deficiency: More Than Tired Blood Causes of Epidemic Autism (and ADD) ABCs of Fluoridation Cyanide Poisoning: A Low-fat Diet Disease Zinc Power! Healing Autism With Vitamins Sex and Nutrition

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In my last column I described one of my actual dreams. This time I am describing reality—but it is so unexpected that it feels like a dream. Yes I am awake. Yes I am dressed. Yes this is the New England Journal of Medicine I am reading. And yes, it

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says: "among middle-aged women the use of vitamin E supplements is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease." That is the conclusion of Dr. Meir Stampfer and his colleagues[1] at Harvard Medical School in their report of a  Ola Loa, LLC questionnaire study involving 87,000 nurses with follow-up over an 8-year period.  11250 Clayton Creek They found a 45 percent reduction in coronary heart disease amongst nurses Rd. taking vitamin E supplements over 100 units per day compared to those who relied on dietary sources alone. This is important because it has been the dogma  Lower Lake, CA 95457 of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the past 50 years that "the average USA American Diet is adequate in vitamins and minerals." I addressed this as the  1.800.800.9550 "nutrition death sentence" in my 1980 book, MegaNutrition.  [email protected] In a second and parallel study in this same issue of the Journal, Dr. Eric Rimm and  Ola Loa Store his colleagues,[2] including Dr. Stampfer, report their observations on 40,000 men, all health professionals, observed over a 4 year period. The conclusion is similar: "evidence of an association between a high intake of vitamin E and a lower risk of coronary heart disease." A dose of 100 to 250 units per day was associated with 46 percent reduced risk of heart attack. There was no further benefit at doses over 250 units and the results held regardless of fat intake, iron intake or alcohol intake! Website by Even such factors as age and family history of heart attack did not weaken the Giraffex vitamin E effect. On the other hand there were no additional benefits from taking magnesium, carotene or vitamin C—except that in men still smoking, those with the highest carotene intake had a 70 percent reduced risk of heart attack compared to the low carotene smokers. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

Taken together these two studies include over 127,000 men and women and the over-all impact of vitamin E turns out to be a 45 percent reduction in risk of heart

attack for those taking vitamin E supplements at doses above 100 units a day for more than two years. The benefits were unaffected by intake of fat, whether saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. The benefits held up regardless of high cholesterol or diabetes. The benefits even held up in smokers! Are you taking vitamin E? Will you? Or do you need more proof? If so you are not alone. Dr. Daniel Steinberg wrote the editorial comments on these two research papers[3] and offered 3 reasons NOT to take vitamin E. First is that convincing proof requires further research, especially intervention trials, to pin down the magnitude of benefits. Second is the question of safety of large doses of vitamin E for long time periods. Third, "we should ask how many patients will slack off on their adherence to better-established but somewhat more onerous, preventive measures, such as cholesterol-lowering diet, regular exercise, and smoking cessation." These are the words of the medical establishment, channeled through the mind of a brilliant researcher, but one who lives off research grants, not by the goodwill of patients. His creed is the rule of absolute proof: "we must play by the rules and insist on large, long term, double blind clinical trials. Until they are done, please, let's hold the vitamin E." To the mind of a nutrition physician a different rule must prevail, that of possible benefit: the rule of Hope. In the real world of the doctor and patient, when there is health, happiness and life itself at stake, common sense dictates the rules and a non-toxic, non-invasive treatment deserves a trial if it might help. There you have it, the latest controversy in medical thinking. Of course, I leave it up to you to decide for yourself. As for me, I shall continue taking 1000 units of vitamin E more or less daily as I have since 1968. Among my colleagues in the Orthomolecular Medical Society, the new Association of Orthomolecular Physicians and the American College for Advancement in Medicine, all together numbering over 1000 physicians, I have heard of not a single case of harm from vitamin E in 25 years. One of my patients once took a teaspoonful of vitamin E oil, amounting to about 4000 units in a single dose. She had diarrhea for half a day. I also can recall two women who stopped vitamin E because it increased their sexual feelings at a time when there was no available partner. These two research reports, coming as they do from the New England Journal, the most prestigious of our general medical journals, are a turning point in medical history, one of the first times that vitamin supplementation has won public respect from the medical establishment for other than gross deficiency disease. By respect, I refer to the inclusion of data comparing vitamin treatment with surgery, head to head. In those patients who took vitamin E over 100 units daily, risk of heart attack was 0.63 compared to those who had no treatment; by comparison those who had coronary by-pass surgery or angioplasty had a risk of 0.68, almost 10 percent higher. Though the statistical difference is not significant, the practical difference is in favor of vitamin E because of the huge reduction in cost. The question of cost is important because once an influential medical journal endorses such a study, by publishing it, the expectation is that doctors will heed the message and prescribe vitamin E. Patients surely will ask about it and demand it. Will health insurance companies pay for it? Not yet they won't. Would the country go broke if vitamin E supplementation were covered by national health insurance? I say the country will go broke without it. The actual cost of 100 units of vitamin E is as low as $6.20 a year per person at the wholesale price in small quantities, such as to individual doctor's offices. In large quantities the cost might be half as much. Thus, if 150 million Americans took vitamin E at that dose under government sponsorship, the total cost could be as low as $3.00 a year per person or less than 500 million dollars. That may sound like a lot but it would pay for itself. As an investment it would be a 200 to 1 payoff. The

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reduction in coronary heart disease thereby would cut our national medical and hospital bills, which now stand at $800 billion, by about $100 billion* annually. And that is based upon the benefits of just this one vitamin. How about the other 50 nutrients? There are many other benefits that remain unknown to our medical orthodoxy that still puts nutrition last. Putting nutrition first might save our nation from iatrogenic* bankruptcy. (*i.e. medically caused.)

[1]. Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Manson J E et al: Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary disease in women. NEJM 1993;328:1444-9. [2]. Rimm, EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A et al: Vitamin E consum ption and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. NEJM 1993;328:1450-6. [3]. Steinberg, D: Antioxidant vitamins and coronary heart disease. NEJM 1993; 328:1487-8.

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Vitamin K is a take it for granted vitamin, one that is not suspected when we talk of deficiency because it is made for us by normally occurring bacteria in our intestine and is provided normally in dark green vegetables, such as spinach, kale,

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cabbage and kale. It is also in peas, tomatoes, egg yolk and liver. Blood clotting is the best-known function of the vitamin and the German scientist  Ola Loa, LLC who discovered the vitamin gave it the name, K, as in Koagulation. That chemistry  11250 Clayton Creek was worked out decades ago: vitamin K is a catalyst for the production of the Rd. clotting factor, prothrombin, by the liver. Deficiency, it was believed, could be adequately detected by a simple clotting test, the prothrombin time. This test is  Lower Lake, CA 95457 still routinely used to monitor the effect of coumarin drugs, which inactivate USA vitamin K and are therefore effectively used as anti-coagulants in humans. It is  1.800.800.9550 quite useful in detecting gross deficiency; however direct measurement of the  [email protected] vitamin in blood is now commercially available and this test shows low levels even when the prothrombin time is normal.  Ola Loa Store The relationship between vitamin K and calcium has been explored in the past 15 years. Skeletal birth defects were observed in babies of women treated with coumarin drugs for blood clotting in the early 70's. About the same time, a connection between osteoporosis and vitamin K was suspected, and there is a report as far back as 1960 describing delayed fracture healing cured by vitamin K. Website by Giraffex

By 1977 it was theorized that vitamin K donates a carbon-oxygen (carboxyl) fragment to glutamic acid residues, thus endowing them with a capacity to bind calcium to prothrombin, a key step in hardening of the thrombin clot. However it was not until 1979 that chemists identified a new calcium binding protein, osteocalcin, in bone. Osteocalcin contains glutamic acid residues also and it is now Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC clear that vitamin K is required to carboxylate glutamic acid in bone just as in liver. It is by now well demonstrated that vitamin K is required both for repair and

maintenance of bone as well as proper coagulation of the blood. Calcium loss is the essential feature of osteoporosis, thinning of the bones that afflicts millions of men and post-menopausal women. It is not likely to be corrected by calcium supplements in the face of vitamin K deficiency. How common is this deficiency? A 1984 study of 15 cases of fracture of the spine or femur due to osteoporosis found serum levels of vitamin K only a third of normal (i.e. compared to a control group without osteoporosis). There is evidence that even normal people heal fractures more quickly if treated with vitamin K. Calcium loss is reduced by 20 to 50 percent in patients treated with vitamin K supplements. Antibiotic use is probably the most common cause of deficiency and anyone taking long-term sulfa drugs for bowel disorder or tetracycline for acne should check their vitamin K status. Don't wait for backache, dowagers hump or a fractured bone to announce the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Salicylates also interfere with vitamin K and long term use of aspirin is certainly going to increase the amount of osteoporosis, particularly in men, who are lately advised to take it to prevent vascular disease. Arthritis sufferers who take salicylates for long periods of time are also at risk of decalcification and with delayed healing of the affected joints and greater deformity to the structure as a result. Intestinal malabsorption of the vitamin is not rare, even without much use of antibiotics. Fat malabsorption in gall bladder disease or after surgical removal of the gall bladder is quite common. More sinister is depletion of vitamin K and other fat-soluble vitamins due to low fat diets. Anorexia, bulimia, weight loss programs that avoid egg, whole milk and cheese, butter, meat and use low calorie salad oils can reduce fat intake below 20 percent of Calories. The Pritikin Diet recommends a 10 percent fat diet and, in fact, the diet at the Pritikin Center is only 7 percent fat. It is known that below 5 percent fat, deficiency of vitamin K, as well as other fat soluables, such as A, D and E, is certain. I think long term adherence to such low levels of fat is unnecessary but, more to the point, also likely to aggravate calcium and bone loss. If you fit any of these categories of deficiency, especially if you have symptoms of bruising or bone pain, you would be well advised to check your vitamin K level.

(in 1971 by Tomita (Clin Endocrinol Jpn 19,731) Nature, v 185, p 849

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The news media and video have been trumpeting anti-vitamin research findings from a study in the New England Journal, dated April 14, 2004. The lead article:1 reported a large-scale research on the effect of vitamin E and beta-carotene on

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cancer. The conclusions were very direct: "we found no overall reduction in the incidence of lung cancer or in mortality due to this disease among male smokers who received dietary supplementation...The results of this study raise the  Ola Loa, LLC possibility that these substances may have harmful as well as beneficial effects."  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. The media took this research as a retraction of the wellspring of positive news about nutrition and health of the past few years. They are mistaken, for in fact this  Lower Lake, CA 95457 study actually proves only that a one-a-day vitamin-antioxidant supplement does USA not cure lung cancer. That is not very surprising. What is surprising is that our  1.800.800.9550 National Cancer Institute, which supported this study in Finland, would ever  [email protected] dream that the inadequate antioxidant supplements used in this study, lacking in vitamin C, zinc, selenium and cysteine and dozens of other essential nutrients,  Ola Loa Store would work at all. The strategy of the study was to divide the 30,000 men into four groups of 7500, who where then given identical-looking pills containing either a placebo, carotene, vitamin E, or both vitamin E and carotene. The study was touted as the most carefully designed study of supplemental antioxidants against cancer to Website by date. Don't get me wrong. I am glad the study was done, for it helps to bracket in Giraffex the limits of what to expect from antioxidants. But the media interpretation comes across somewhat like the sports pages: cancer wins, vitamins lose. Go back to conventional medicine and take your chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, as if that is all there is to it. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

It is hard to maintain one's faith in nutrients in the face of such negative reports. But actually this research only applies to specific conditions: i.e. long-term

smokers in Finland, all men, average age 57 years. The question answered is whether beta-carotene along with a small supplement of vitamin E for 6 years can correct the cancerous lung damage caused by an average 36 years of smoking a pack a day in this population. The answer is No. The study does not answer other important questions: would higher doses of vitamin E have more impact? Two recent American studies showed no benefits of vitamin E against heart attacks unless taken at a dose over 100 mg per day. In this cancer study, the vitamin E was supplied at a dose of only 50 mg per day and raised blood levels by only a third. Studies with successful outcomes have used larger doses that doubled vitamin E blood levels. Carotene is known to be cancer-preventive but not curative. There are over a dozen research studies that document the cancer-preventive role of carotene and at the level of cell biology there is good evidence that carotene is the premier and essential antioxidant in tissues subject to low oxygen tension, i.e. in organs with poor circulation and metabolic deficits. Carotene is not a cancer-causing agent; however it does interact with vitamin E, and recent research indicates that carotene supplements actually deplete vitamin E. This could interfere with the protective effect of vitamin E—unless the vitamin E was provided at a large dose. This was very likely why, in this study, an almost 20 percent increase in lung cancer was observed in the sub-group on carotene alone. There was also an increase in heart attacks and an 8 percent increase in all deaths in the men who were given carotene. In the sub-group given 50 iu of vitamin E there was a reduction in prostate cancer but not over-all mortality. In long-term smokers, it is likely that undiagnosed early cancer was already in existence before the start of the study, too late for carotene to show a benefit. Would the inclusion of other nutrients have made a difference? Vitamin C, vitamin A, zinc, selenium and the amino acids cysteine and methionine all interact to give cancer protection. And the many studies that do document antioxidant protection against cancer and heart disease are mostly based on calculated amounts of antioxidant vitamins in foods. Thus, most of the data that we have points to the power of antioxidants, not as single agents but in harmony with other nutrient factors. The authors of the carotene-vitamin E study refer to a recent five year study in China2 in which supplementation with smaller amounts of vitamin E (30 mg) and beta-carotene (15 mg) were associated with significant reduction in cancer mortality. But the Chinese also gave selenium (50 mcg). How could 50 millionths of a gram of this trace mineral make such a difference? Because this is the amount of selenium required to activate the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, which is the most important protection against cancer-causing chemicals at the cell membrane, even more powerful than vitamin E, or carotene. When the baseline diets of the subjects were analyzed and divided into four groups, from lowest to highest intakes of vitamin E and carotene respectively, those with the lowest intake of vitamin E were 50 percent more likely to develop cancer and those with lowest intake of carotene were 25 percent more likely to do so. That means that those men whose diets naturally contained vitamin E were at an advantage compared to those who were deficient; and to a smaller extent the same for carotene. What are the food sources of vitamin E? Seeds, nuts, beans, whole grains and vegetable oils are especially rich, and also green leafy vegetables. Carotene is particularly rich in yellow, green and red colored vegetables, particularly carrots, sweet potatoes and tomatoes. It is intriguing to consider that the vitamin E sources are likely to be high in selenium and other minerals as well; while the carotene sources are not.

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What to conclude from all this? First, don't believe headlines; do read the fine print—and think. Common sense tells us that a diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts is more likely to confer health benefits than a diet of processed food and cardboard. No controversy on that point. But, because we are a nation that subsists to a large extent on processed and devitalized food, it is a good idea to supplement our food with nutrient concentrates in tablet or capsule form. And when in doubt about the adequacy of our personal nutrition, measurement of vitamin and mineral levels is available to know for sure if your own vitamins are ready to work for you.

1. Heinonen OP and Albanes D: The effect of vitamin E and beta-carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers. NEJM 1994; 330:102935. 2. Blot WJ, Li JY, Taylor PR et al. Nutrition intervention trials in Linxian China: suplementation with specific vitamin/mineral combinations, cancer incidence and disease specific mortality. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993; 85:1483-92

©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

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Zinc has been known to play a role in the biology of plants and animals since it was identified in fungus over a hundred years ago; but only in the past 17 years have we recognized it as essential for human health. In 1939 zinc was found to be

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the specific activator of carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme required for conversion of carbon dioxide into bicarbonate. This mechanism is the essence of acid-base balance, to maintain homeostasis, a stable ph under changing conditions of stress,  Ola Loa, LLC exercise, climate and dietary loads. Otherwise we would die.  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. In the stomach this enzyme is required for the production of hydrochloric acid and hence it is essential for complete digestion. Zinc  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA supplements should be taken with food to minimize stomach irritation. In fact,  1.800.800.9550 zinc sulfate has been used medically to induce vomiting. Nowadays, zinc  [email protected] picolinate and other chelates are the preferred zinc supplements because they  Ola Loa Store are less irritating and better absorbed. Over 200 enzymes have been identified as zinc dependent. For example, it is essential to the function of carbonic anhydrase (ph balance), alkaline phosphatase (release of phosphate from bone and nucleic acids), RNA polymerase (cell division, nucleic acid synthesis and protein synthesis), insulin (glucose utilization), delta 6 desaturase (essential fatty acid utilization), alcohol dehydrogenase (detoxification Website by Giraffex of alcohol), ALA dehydrogenase (production of blood pigments and oxidative enzymes), zinc-finger proteins (production of steroids), thymulin (immune control), retinol dehydrogenase (night vision), carboxy-peptidase (intestinal protein digestion). Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC As you can readily see, zinc is involved in healing and repair of all tissues, though skin is most visible (dryness, raised hair follicles and thick callus). It is vital to the production of sex and adrenal cortex hormones. It is also a key to pituitary control

of sex drive, menstrual cycles and milk production. It is a control factor of immunity, infection and allergy. It also concentrated in the memory centers of the brain. Zinc depletion can cause memory loss; supplements can sometimes restore mental acuity. In view of these facts it seems amazing that The Food and Nutrition Board did not regard zinc as essential and did not set an RDA (recommended daily allowance) until 1974. It is even more amazing that even today so few physicians are prepared to think zinc. But doctors are still recovering from a 50-year propaganda campaign by the medical establishment to convince Americans that our diet is adequate. Zinc deficiency was assumed to be a rare condition. In 1976, Dr. Robert Henkin said: "In the farthest reaches of our imagination, I don't think we have any idea how important and how widespread zinc deficiency problems are." Zinc made headlines in medical news in1963 when Dr. Ananda Prasad went to Egypt and Iran to investigate and seek the cause for the large number of sexually undeveloped male dwarfs there. Dietary inadequacy was obvious: very little protein from animal sources and over-dependence on wheat and unleavened bread. The diet was low in zinc and iron and high in phytic acid, which renders these minerals insoluble. Deficiency was suspected and confirmed also by abnormally low levels of zinc in their hair. Dr. Prasad fed one group of these adult dwarfs a more complete diet. They grew 2 inches in a year. Another group received diet plus iron supplements and they grew an average of 3 inches in a year. A third group received diet plus zinc and they grew 5 inches. The zinc group also showed a dramatic rate of catch-up sexual development. There was no doubt about the power of zinc in these cases. It was 20 years before Drs. Maibodi and Collip demonstrated similar benefits in a group of "healthy" American children of short stature. Those children whose hair zinc levels were under 140 ppm responded to zinc with a dramatic increase in pituitary growth hormone and testicular hormone, testosterone. When given 50 mg zinc doses these children grew an average of 6.3 cm, ie. about 2 and a half inches a year. A 100 mg daily dose was followed by growth of 3 and a half inches. The doctors observed a reduction in copper levels at the higher but not the lower dose. Later research confirmed that at doses over 50 mg per day zinc can crowd out copper from absorption and cause serious copper-deficiency anemia. In the interest of safety zinc supplements should not exceed 50 mg daily for over a few weeks. In the meantime, after 1963 Dr. Prasad made additional studies of zinc deficiency, including male infertility. Zinc deficiency was induced in human volunteers by a soy-based diet containing only 2.5 to 5 mg of zinc for 6 to 10 months. He found that within 2 months sperm counts dropped 6-fold, from an average 280 million to 45 million. Recovery took 2 months to almost 2 years! Low testosterone levels also occurred and did not return to normal in over half the cases, even a year and a half later. Dr. Abbasi, co-author, advised that strict vegetarians who want children may need zinc supplements to make up for the fact that animal protein is the only reliable source of zinc. Using this same zinc-deficient soybean diet these researchers went on to study human zinc deficiency in detail. They observed classic symptoms to be: loss of sex drive, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss. The men lost about 10 percent of their body weight, due either to loss of appetite or slow-down in cellular activity required for protein synthesis. At about the same time, Dr. Robert Henkin, was advancing in his research on the neurology of taste. He discovered that the taste buds of the tongue require a zinccontaining protein, called gustin, and that gustin is decreased or absent in zinc deficient patients. He also recognized that zinc deficiency is a common denominator in patients with loss of taste sensation due to thyroid, liver or

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intestinal disease and in some cancers. Taste and appetite obviously are related, so it is surprising that it took so long before researchers could show that zinc deficiency is a prime cause of anorexia nervosa. Self-starvation is a puzzling and tragic "mental" illness, one that has shown a poor response to psychoanalysis, a better response to combination of tube-feeding and behavior modification, and in the past decade a number of reports of prompt recoveries with zinc therapy. Dr. Alex Schauss of the Institute of Bio-Social Research in Seattle reports an 85 percent recovery rate in 25 anorexia nervosa patients followed for 5 years. That is a spectacular result, especially when previous treatments offer only 5 percent recovery from this illness where one victim in three dies within 20 years. An important new twist is that Dr. Schauss and his English colleague, Dr. Derek Bryce-Smith, developed a taste test for zinc deficiency. Anorexia patients cannot taste the zinc solution; whereas normally it is quite metallic and even unpleasant. These researchers also found that anorexia patients are so malnourished that they cannot absorb zinc from tablets and capsules but must be treated at first with a liquid form of zinc sulfate. After two weeks of 60 to 150 mg daily intake most patients improve. This innovation, liquid zinc, is the main reason for their success after previous attempts at zinc therapy failed. So rapid is the influx of new findings about zinc and so little the encouragement to apply this new knowledge that most physicians fail to integrate zinc therapy into practice. That is truly a shame. Zinc deficiency is common amongst sick people, particularly those with chronic intestinal disease and malabsorption. Mental or physical stress causes extra zinc loss, especially in sweat. Thus runners and athletes are especially at risk. Many common medications, Dilantin for example, increase zinc loss via the intestinal tract. Failure to diagnose and treat a nutrient deficiency can prolong illness and delay healing after surgery, no matter how competent treatment is in every other aspect. This adds to costs of medicine, in both the misery and the expense. For example: Dr. Thomas Sedlacek of the University of Pennsylvania found that zinc supplements shortened hospital stays by two thirds in women after gynecological surgery and wound breakdown occurred 4 times less. The savings in hospital medical bills was $4000 per patient in 1976 dollars. That could make an enormous difference in our present crisis in health care. Zinc supplementation has been found helpful in a large number of illnesses. In general healing is accelerated and resistance to infection enhanced. Dr. Pories and Henzel found the rate of healing tripled after zinc supplementation. This aspect of zinc power applies to every illness where there is inflammation and tissue damage. If the diagnosis includes "itis" the treatment should include zinc! Arthritis, gastritis, pneumonitis, prostatitis, dermatitis, etc. Atherosclerosis, with arterial plaque and blockage of peripheral vessels, improves after zinc supplements. Dr. Henzel observed improvement in leg cramps and ability to walk longer distances despite no increase in circulation! Apparently zinc improves the tissue vitality and metabolism. Some of this zinc power is due to the partnership between zinc and vitamin A, wherein zinc activates manufacture of RBP (retinol binding protein), required to carry vitamin A (retinol) from storage in the liver to the tissues of the body. This combination of zinc and vitamin A has been found effective in treating acne even in cases where separately they fail. A study by Dr. Gerd Michaelsson in Sweden found an almost 90 percent clearing of acne pimples in patients treated with both vitamin A and zinc. A placebo group showed only 25 percent clearing and vitamin A by itself was only a little better. Zinc is directly anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Zinc lozenges shorten the duration of the common cold by two thirds, from 11 days to 4, a beneficial affect at least

double that of vitamin C! Zinc deficiency is a prime cause of abnormal fetal development and birth defects, including joined fingers and toes, scoliosis, hydrocephalus, low IQ and immune deficiency. One of the most alarming observations in the field of nutritionmedicine is that immune deficiency in offspring of zinc deficient pregnancies continue to bear immune deficient offspring for two additional generations—even if the diet is corrected to be adequate in zinc. The implications of this study in rats are quite frightening if it holds for humans! Alcohol greatly increases zinc losses and also interferes with utilization of the vitamin, folic acid. These combination deficiencies can cause full-blown fetal alcohol syndrome, with deformities and mental retardation. It is encouraging that zinc-treated children often increase in mental acuity and score higher on IQ tests. Acrodermatitis enteropathica is a genetic impairment of zinc absorption. It can produce fatal skin damage and diarrhea in newborns, a syndrome called. Until Dr. Edmund Moynahan thought of testing for mineral deficiency in 1976, these children were treated with an antiprotozoal drug, Diodoquin, which was of some benefit but at risk of optic atrophy and blindness. Another hereditary disorder, porphyria, causes loss of both zinc and vitamin B6, which are wasted in the urine along with porphyrins, fragments of blood pigments with which they are complexed. Environmental pollution by lead and mercury interferes with the enzymes that convert these fragments into the heme (of hemoglobin). Instead these fragments pile up and must be excreted in the bile and urine—but they carry zinc and B6 out, depleting them. Since both zinc and B6 are active in nerve regulation, it is logical to find that when extra amounts of porphyrins appear the patients are likely to have mood swings, depression, alcoholism and schizophrenia. Aggressive supplementation with zinc and B6 often yields significant improvement. Another interaction that bears mention is that of zinc and cadmium. Suffice it to say that cadmium is a metal that is often found in nature with zinc. But where zinc is physiologic, cadmium is toxic and capable of causing kidney damage and high blood pressure even at very low doses. Since cadmium acts by interfering with zinc containing enzymes, zinc supplementation is restorative. Zinc competes with cadmium for absorption and supplementation is protective. It is hard to believe that this metallic element, present in the human body in small amounts, about 2,000 milligrams total, can be so vital to health and recovery from almost every disease. Obvious as the beneficial role of zinc appear to you now, you can bet it is not as obvious to most health professionals. It is up to you to insist on Putting Nutrition First for your health. ©2007 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Information Diets low in fat and high in vegetables have become increasingly popular in the past few years. Major medical journals are now endorsing low fat and vegetarian  Ola Loa, LLC diets as a health strategy.i However there may be a downside to the low fat health  11250 Clayton Creek diet. In 1991 we began hearing reports of large numbers of people with blindness Rd. and nerve damage in Cuba. Over 50,000 cases have been reported,ii almost one  Lower Lake, CA 95457 victim for every two hundred people in Cuba, a country of about 10 million. Half USA the cases involved loss of vision and the others suffered pain and numbness. Imagine if that were to happen in the United States, with a population of 250  1.800.800.9550 million: there would be almost a million Americans, some of them totally blind  [email protected] and others complaining of a dark cloud, blind spots and loss of color vision, and an  Ola Loa Store equally large group with tingling, burning pain and numbness. Would that not be our number one national health problem? You bet. What caused the Cuban epidemic? Pesticide exposure was at first suspected because of the greater number of cases in the agricultural areas. But why now and not for the many years of pesticide use before? Case control studies have implicated tobacco smoking, vitamin B complex deficiency, being underweightWebsite by Giraffex and a diet low in animal fat and protein. Most of the patients improved when given injections of B vitamins; and in 1993 supplements of B complex and vitamin A were provided as public health measures in Cuba. Within two months there was a dramatic drop in the number of cases and the epidemic was under control. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC In retrospect it is easy to see that the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union had imposed hardship conditions in Cuba as Russian subsidies came to an end and meat and dairy products, fats and oils were in short supply. Cubans

were forced to adopt a low fat, low animal, high carbohydrate diet. Sound familiar? The Cuban national diet is actually similar to the recently popular Pritikin-Ornish diet for arteriosclerosis and the macrobiotic diet for cancer-except that in Cuba even rice and beans are rationed and the people have increased their intake of cassava as a cheap, home-grown substitute. We know cassava in the U.S. as tapioca; and we use it to make puddings and desserts and as a substitute for flour in Asian cookery. As a staple it is tasty and fairly nourishing but it is also toxic, for it is well known to contain cyanogenic glycosides, a natural source of cyanide.iii As a therapy for malaria, sickle-cell disease and perhaps for some cancers, these plant cyanides have medical value. As a steady diet, however, they require detoxification into thiocyanate, a process that depletes our antioxidant systems. The 'thio' of thiocyanate comes from the sulfur amino acids, cysteine and methionine, which are also essential to a number of vital enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase, the major natural enzyme antioxidant of cell membranes. Thiocyanate carries similar electronic charge and size characteristics as iodide; hence it substitutes for iodide, enters the thyroid gland, and blocks the production of the thyroid hormone, thyroxine. A low thyroid state interferes with vitamin A production, essential to regeneration of the retinal pigments and healing of the retina. Night blindness and retinal damage are only the most obvious of the consequences, for vitamin A is required for healing and repair in every cell of the body. Thiocyanate levels increase after cigarette smoking because of cyanogens in tobacco leaf. Thus, thiocyanate can amplify retinal damage along with carbon monoxide and nicotine. Nicotine is toxic, of course, but it is not known to cause eye damage. Carbon monoxide, however, blocks the transport of oxygen from hemoglobin to the tissues, and this adds to the damage caused by cyanide, which blocks the cytochrome enzymes within cells, thus preventing oxygen transfer inside the mitochondria of the cells. The combination of carbon monoxide and cyanide is worse than either alone so that even at relatively low doses of dietary cyanides, irreversible damage to the retina of the eye can and does occur in smokers. Smoking and cyanogenic vegetables, such as flaxseed, millet, tapioca and fruit seeds, don't mix!! Chronic cyanide poisoning symptoms commonly go undiagnosed. iv Dr. M. Vincent researched the effects of low doses of hydrocyanic acid from cyanogenic vegetables and from cigarette smoke. Anemic patients are more vulnerable, especially so if low in B12 and sulfur amino acids. Dr. Vincent concluded that these are the main determinants of intoxication. Dr. Vincent treated 34 patients with optic nerve damage, mostly from tobacco. The hydroxycobalamin form of vitamin B12 combines with cyanide to form cyanocobalamin, thus altering the cyanide into a safe vitamin. Over 60 percent improved after receiving 45 mg. doses of vitamin B12 for two weeks. Note: this is truly a megadose, about 10 million times RDA. Injections of hydroxycobalamin thus can be used to antidote acute cyanide poisoning but the minimum required dose is estimated to be 50 times the toxic dose of cyanide, which is 50 mg. That adds up to the unwieldy amount of 2500 mg and would require 2.5 liters per injection at the usual concentration of 1 mg per ml that is available! Chronic exposure to cyanide can deplete the body reserves of B12. This may be why vegetarians are extra-vulnerable to the effects of toxins. Depletion of B12 in vegetarians is not just a matter of dietary deficiency due to lack of meat, which is the best dietary source of B12; there is also the depletion of B12 reserves used up in the act of detoxifying vegetable cyanides. Vegan diets can induce B12 deficiency in unexpectedly short time periods. The presence of sulfur amino acids shelters B12 by providing methionine, an essential amino acid that otherwise uses B12 for its re-vitalization cycle. This is why both B vitamins and sulfur amino acids were so helpful to the patients in Cuba.

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Gasoline shortage has forced the Cubans to be physically active-because they have to get around more on foot or by bicycle. But exercise uses up more calories and more of the B vitamins, hence increasing their vulnerability to cyanide toxicity! In the United States there is a widespread belief that lots of exercise can only improve health. The Cuban experience teaches us that it isn't that simple. Exercise as a drain on nutrient supplies and a stress to the antioxidant systems must be considered in relation to diet, environment and total person, otherwise it is only a fad, sometimes helpful and sometimes dangerous. It came as a surprise to the Cuban health officials that the incidence of the eye and nerve disease was lowest in those who are usually most vulnerable to poisonings: children under age 7, the elderly, over age 65, and pregnant women. Why were these groups not the most affected by the epidemic? It turned out that in Cuba these groups receive supplemental dairy products, rich in the sulfur amino acids; and the pregnant women get prescribed vitamin pills as well. A low fat diet is likely to be low in meat and dairy products, hence low in B12 and sulfur amino acids, e.g. methionine and cysteine. That is what made the victims of cyanide poisoning so vulnerable to eye and nerve damage from their cassava and other vegetables. Animal fat is also protective to nerve membrane because it induces production of Cholesterol, which is essential to stabilize and repair cell membranes. Saturated fats and cholesterol are less vulnerable to oxidation than are the polyunsaturated fatty acids found in vegetable oils. A low fat, low cholesterol diet carries an increased risk for nerve damage, particularly due to environmental oxidants, herbicides, pesticides and dietary toxins, such as cyanides. Cyanogenic glycosides in cassava root, bitter almonds (not the sweet almonds commercially available in the US) and black lima beans (not the white lima beans eaten here) form hydrogen cyanide, which attach to iron-containing enzymes of the cytochrome redox system. This blocks the production of ATP, oxidation ceases and oxygen uptake from the blood into the cells stops. This is suffocation at the cell level. The nervous system is particularly vulnerable and sub-clinical cases damage the eyes and nerves. Demyelination of the brain, similar to multiple sclerosis, can also occur. And there is interference with intestinal cell function, which can cause malabsorption, specific for active transport mechanisms, affecting B12, folic acid, manganese, zinc, copper, calcium and magnesium.

©2009 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

i. White R, Frank E: Health effects and prevalence of vegetarianism. West J Med 1994; 160:465-471. ii. CDC: Epidemic Neuropathy-Cuba, 1991-1994. JAMA 1994; 271: 1154-1156. iii. Linamarin is identified chemically as 2-beta D-glucopyranosyloxyo-2o-methyl propane-nitrile. It is related to laetrile , which is identified chemically as 6-O-betaD-glucopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-oxy-benzene-acetonitrile. Is it related to propilnitriles of chickpeas? iv. Vincent M, Vincent F, Marka C and Faure J. Cyanide and its relationship to nervous suffering. Physiopathological aspects of intoxication. 1981; Clin Tox, 18: 1519-1527.

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Health and sex go together. In fact, loss of sexual desire and function is a sign of physical illness and mental depression. Anyone afflicted with loss of sexual responsiveness should seek a medical evaluation. While illness is not commonly

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found in cases where loss of libido is the sole presenting complaint, there is an over-all 2 out of 3 probability of a physical cause in formal medical studies of sexual impotency. This increases to 90 percent for those older than age 50.  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek These numbers reflect improved diagnostic techniques of the past decade, Rd. particularly penile tumescence studies and doppler ultrasound examination of circulation. But the facts have not yet caught up with many who still believe that  Lower Lake, CA 95457 90 percent of impotency is psychological and if you can't make it in bed you USA should try the couch instead. Unfortunately, the practical results of psychotherapy  1.800.800.9550 for sexual impotence have not been much to brag about. Does nutrition have  [email protected] anything to offer? Should we serve hot foods on the couch?  Ola Loa Store This is not merely a joke. Vasoactive intestinal peptide, which is stored in the intestinal wall, turns out to be the most likely neurotransmitter of penile erection. If this is substantiated by further research, it may provide the rationale for the sexually stimulating effects of hot foods and irritants, such as cantharides (Spanish fly). Website by Giraffex Sexual arousal and intercourse are successful only when the nerves and blood vessels that service the sexual organs are healthy. For example, in diabetes, the excess glucose in the blood stream damages the lining of the blood vessels as well as the nerves that convey signals from the sex organs. As a result, diabetics often lose sexual feeling and all too often become totally unable to respond. Impotence, lack of sexual feeling or weakening of erection or climax, is an early symptom of Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC diabetes. Prevention is the best treatment and this can be as simple as increasing dietary fiber and limiting intake of sugars. Many holistic and orthomolecular

physicians have seen mild diabetics, particularly of the adult-onset type II, who have been able to reduce or discontinue the use of insulin when they improved their diet and lifestyle. Other discoveries hold further promise in diabetes. The bioflavonoid quercitin (not rutin or hesperidin) has demonstrable ability to prevent transformation of the excess blood glucose into glucitol, the form that damages blood vessels. It also has anti-histamine effects that further protect against blood vessel damage. Trace minerals, especially chromium and perhaps vanadium, show promise in lowering blood sugar and thus protecting against sugar damage to small blood vessels and nerves. The use of the accessory nutrient, inositol, which is commonly depleted in diabetes, can also prevent and reverse such nerve damage. A buildup of fatty deposits in the penile arteries can weaken or defeat penile erection. Fortunately, this condition can be improved surgically but preventive measures should be taken long before impotence occurs. A high fiber, low fat diet is our most widely accepted method of prevention. However higher fat intakes do not necessarily interfere with circulation, particularly in those who assure themselves an adequate supply of omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish or flax oils and extra vitamin E. These interact to enhance circulation by generating prostaglandin hormones that dilate blood vessels, inhibit platelet clumps and soften the red blood cells, which thus pass through the small vessels more easily. The use of gamma linolenic acid from primrose, black currant or borage oil, is also useful, especially in diabetics. It is interesting to find chestnut puree among the traditional aphrodisiacs. It is a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids. The B vitamin, niacin, also acts to dilate blood vessels, lower blood cholesterol and fats and improve circulation. It has a deserved reputation for improving sexual performance but the dose must be individualized. By reducing histamine it can act as a mild natural relaxant at the same time, thus taking the edge away from premature ejaculations, the bane of many a relationship. Extra magnesium, tryptophan and other amino acids are also useful in this regard. Other vitamins and mineral nutrients are also important factors in sexual vitality. Vitamin A is essential to the production of both male and female sex hormones. Without vitamin A, cholesterol cannot be converted to steroid hormones, neither adrenal stress hormones or gonadal sex hormones. Thus, Vitamin A deficiency is tantamount to chemical castration and deficiency is not all that rare. Folklore has it that saltpeter, potassium nitrate, has been used to control sexuality in prisons. If so, it would work by destroying vitamin A. However, this would be at risk of causing severe illness, blindness and even death. Closer to home, even in our supposedly well-fed country various surveys show up to 20 percent of Americans to be low in vitamin A. One reason for vitamin A deficiency is the fact that consumption of eggs, liver and whole milk products is in decline. Also, most people erroneously believe that vegetables contain sufficient vitamin A. The fact is that vegetables do contain pro-vitamin A, ie. carotene, but many people, particularly those with diabetes, low thyroid or liver trouble, are unable to transform carotene into retinol, the active form of vitamin A in the human body. Vitamin B6 can affect sexuality in at least two ways: by stimulating the gonadotrophin hormones that evoke sex hormones in both men and women and by decreasing the production of prolactin, a hormone that diminishes the sexual appetite. Deficiency of B6 is fairly common, particularly in women on birth control pills, which increases the requirement, and also in those of us who are exposed to hydrazine type medications, such as anti-depressants. Food preservatives are another drain on B6 since hydrazines are commonly used to keep potatoes from sprouting. Extra amounts of B6 are also indicated for those who drink alcoholic beverages regularly and those with liver ailments. Liver, salmon, walnuts, wheat

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germ, brown rice and yeast are high in B6 but cannot attain the 50 mg dose necessary to test these effects. Also, it may take over a month for the hormonal effects to build up. Folic acid is often deficient in this land of abundant but cooked and processed foods. Mood depression is an early sign of folate deficiency, not only because of the vital role for this vitamin in the chemistry of nerve transmitters but also in the production of sex hormones. Folic acid is particularly important in women of childbearing age because deficiency is a proven frequent cause of birth defects. Loss of libido is an early warning sign and though this vitamin is abundant in liver, legumes, asparagus and green-leafy vegetables, it is also easily destroyed by cooking and food processing. Therefore I recommend that everyone take a vitamin supplement with at least 400 mcg of folic acid. Even if you are not concerned about libido, the general health benefits are worth it. Vitamin E is also known by the chemical name, tocopherol, derived from the Greek word for fertility. It was recognized over 50 years ago that when this vitamin was removed from the diet, no offspring were born. This turns out to be very important in breeding race-horses and zoo animals. Controversy continues to rage, nevertheless, about the reports of increased sex drive from this vitamin, and these anecdotal reports have not been taken seriously in the medical journals despite the fact that the vitamin is also known to increase the pituitary gonadotropin hormones, which turn on the sex glands. Vitamin E also protects the sex hormones and the cell membranes of the gonads from damage by peroxidation. Luckily, most of us are willing to try safe remedies on the basis of testimonials, even without permission from the medical profession, or the world might be a less happy place. Beans, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils are sources of this important antioxidant nutrient. Perhaps we should think of them as "happy foods." However, for test purposes, capsules containing at least 100 international units of d-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate are more reliable than food sources. Give it a month or two before you make up your mind about the results. Manganese. This mineral has well documented aphrodisiac effects, first observed on a large scale amongst manganese miners in Chile. Unfortunately, the miners, who inhaled the ore dust in the course of their work were pleased by their enhanced sexual powers and kept on mining. Ultimately the toxic overload of manganese caused damage to nerve cells, rendering some of the men impotent and suffering with permanent nerve damage and parkinsonism. Nevertheless, taking manganese supplements by mouth is not dangerous and the likelihood of improved libido and sexual performance is so high that manganese is worth a try in all who feel that they need a "lift." Zinc, especially rich in meat, dairy products and shellfish is better known than manganese but not more potent. It is catalytic in the body chemistry of the sex hormones, particularly testosterone, which stimulates sex drive and is present naturally in both men and women. Even vitamin C is essential for lifelong sexuality. Sound far-fetched? Then you need to know that vitamin C is good for more than the common cold. It is absolutely essential to the production of hormones, both the adrenal stress hormones and the gonadal sex hormone, rather much like vitamin A. One thing all of the above nutrients have in common is that they are subject to depletion by personal stress, poor diet, over-cooking, food preservatives and environmental pollutants. Clever use of supplements, preferably with the guidance of a nutrition-oriented physician, who can use laboratory assistance to diagnose specific nutrient imbalances and deficiencies, is the modern way to assure that you achieve the best possible health. Remember, low energy, low mood and low libido are early signs of nutrient shortages. Two newly appreciated trace minerals may also contribute to sexual vitality, especially in our later years. Molybdenum, present in beans and mushrooms, is required for full activity of vitamin A in the tissues and cells of the body and for activation of the sex hormones. Boron, also concentrated in beans but also in

other vegetables and fruits, is associated with deficiency of vitamin A. Those of you who read this column and improve your health habits by "Putting Nutrition First" are likely to live longer and better and to experience healthy aging. So it is a comfort to know that old does not mean cold and aging does not rule out an active sex life. Both men and women can continue to be, if not sexual sprinters, at least sexual joggers well into your nineties. Loss of sex drive is a great disappointment and a let-down at any time in life; it is also an early warning sign to tend to your nutrient intake.

©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Carnitine is a meta-vitamin: ie. a food substance required for life but also made within the human body to a limited extent and therefore not a vitamin. A true vitamin is a substance ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE that must be gotten from food--or by

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pills or injection thanks to modern science. Because carnitine can be produced within our own body it is not considered medically important except in rare cases of genetic defects, in which babies die because of their inability to perform the  Ola Loa, LLC synthesis of this substance. In everyday practice, health professionals are unlikely  11250 Clayton Creek to think of carnitine at all. This is a dangerous oversight because deficiency of this Rd. essential molecule can be disastrous. As this case report illustrates, symptoms of weakness, muscle pain and mental impairment are almost certainly  Lower Lake, CA 95457 commonplace due to the frequency with which all of us face conditions of USA inadequate diet, illness and chemical or medication exposures. It is only in the  1.800.800.9550 past two years that case reports are beginning to appear in line with this  [email protected] prediction, especially in epileptic patients on long-term medication.  Ola Loa Store Were it not for the fact that about 25 percent of the adult daily requirement for carnitine is normally synthesized in the liver and kidney it would be considered a true vitamin. There is a dietary paradox here: vegetarians depend almost entirely on synthesis of carnitine within their own body chemistry, so it is not a vitamin for vegetarians as it is for meat and dairy eaters, who get over 75 percent of their carnitine from food. For those on an omnivourous diet carnitine is about 75 Website by percent a vitamin, one might say. The paradox is that the vegetarians, for whom it Giraffex is not a vitamin, have 15 percent lower blood levels. [1] This has not been identified as a carnitine deficiency so far but I am suspicious that there might be a connection to the fact that vegetarians are known to be more vulnerable to adverse effects and nerve damage after toxic chemical exposure. Likewise the fact that Americans are consuming less red meat and dairy products these days has Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC not been associated with reports of carnitine deficiency but one might suspect a connection in some cases of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome[2]., especially if the patient complains of fibromyalgia.

There is reason to suspect carnitine deficiency in those who eat wheat and other gluten containing grains if they have signs of intestinal irritation. Gluten sensitivity interferes with carnitine absorption [3] Deficiency has also been recognized in infants and children because they are unable to make it at birth and are at risk . It has been added to all infant soy formulas since 1985; but before that time there must have been a lot of tired and cranky babies with muscle pain and poor muscle tone. They may have had some risk of delayed brain development and lowered intelligence as well. If this is so we can expect improvement in school achievement tests starting within the next few years. Lately athletes and others interested in peak performance have discovered carnitine, for it is an enhancer of endurance and speed.[4] Its effects are most likely to be recognized in long distance runners who use up more raw materials but weight lifters and body builders are among the most avid customers. Advertisements for carnitine appear in popular body building magazines, where it is a familiar name at the same time it is almost unknown in the medical journals! Carnitine was isolated from meat in 1905 and its chemical structure identified in 1927; however it was not until the work of Irwin Fritz in 1952 that the function of carnitine was determined to be related to the oxidation of long chain fatty acids. Carnitine is itself water soluble but it acts as a carrier for fatty acids to gain entrance into the mitochondria, an assembly of membranes carrying enzymes that oxidize the fatty acids. In the absence of carnitine, fatty acids are stuck in the cytoplasm of cells, thus not available for energy production and resulting in a syndrome of fatigue and fat deposition, particularly in the liver, heart, muscle and kidneys. Way back in 1952 researchers discovered that carnitine is a vitamin or "growth factor" for the mealworm, Tenebrio molitor. Deficiency of carnitine caused the larvae to die. Since they were lacking a nutrient this was death by starvation, but the worms died fat! I was impressed 20 years ago by the amazing protection carnitine provided against heart damage. Dogs that otherwise died within a few minutes lived up to an hour after surgical closure of the coronary artery, if they were given carnitine in advance. Carnitine wasn't available commercially in 1980 at the time of publication of my book, MegaNutrition, or I would have written about this. Because it is expensive, about 30 dollars per month for a therapeutic dose, I have reserved it for cases where the results could be easily measured, eg. in lowering triglyceride levels. A dose of a 2400 mg. per day lowers triglyceride by about 30 percent and also raises HDL about a third, thus improving these well known cardiovascular risk predictors. [5] That's about as far as I went into the use of carnitine until recently. It took a dramatic case example to open my eyes to new possibilities. Mary G. is a 57 year old woman who has been afflicted with chronic and recurrent spells of insomnia and mania for almost 40 years. Unfortunately her illness had proved unusually drug resistant and no treatment controlled her manic attacks: not lithium, haloperidol, clonazepam or megavitamin nor injectable doses of vitamins C, B6 and B3 and many others. She averaged over 3 manic attacks a year and was hospitalized over 130 times over the years. In 1992 however she had experienced a therapeutic breakthrough in response to a new combination of medications, valproic acid 500 mg and lithium 800 mg daily. These worked for her better than anything ever had before. Her sleep and mood improved to the point that she could cope with the occasional spells of hyperactivity and loudness by taking Ativan and a rest period or nap. Before long she became confident enough to travel extensively and did so without incident, ie. without getting arrested due to mania. She also moved into a residential hotel where she got along well with everyone for three months. Then one day in December she appeared confused as she appeared for lunch in her bathing suit. An ambulance was called and she was hospitalized. The hospital

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physician doubled her dose of valproic acid to 1000 mg a day and discharged her in three days. Two weeks later she began to feel weak and she lost control of her legs, falling down several times. She staggered so badly that she looked drunk and her speech was slurred. Her friends knew she had NOT been drinking alcohol and they were puzzled and frightened by her condition. They literally had to carry her into my office and I noticed her feet dragging helplessly as she tried to hold her weight. When she was seated, her head listed to the side with her chin on her shoulder. She rambled a bit, no worse than usual for her--but she was oriented and lucid. She was not depressed or manic; in fact she was in rather good humor considering the extreme disability that had overtaken her. Her grip was too weak even to register on a hand grip dynamometer but she did not complain of difficulty breathing and her heart rate, 80 beats per minute, was not unusual. However, she did cough and I thought she had rales, crackling sounds from small amounts of fluid accumulation at the base of her lungs If so it could have been due to weakness of the heart muscle, an early sign of heart failure. It came down to a single symptom: myasthenia, acute muscle weakness. It was not relapse of mania and it was not due to alcohol excess. She had been on an increased dose of valproic acid but not an overdose. I was sure she did not have myasthenia gravis, because that is a chronic disease and it would have surfaced before now. I had heard of carnitine depletion in a case report of an epileptic child treated with valproic acid[6] so why not expect it in an adult? This seemed plausible because of the increased dose of valproic acid for the preceding 3 weeks, during which time she had poor appetite and ate no meat or dairy products, ie. a low carnitine diet. In addition after she began coughing she treated herself with aspirin twice a day for about a week, during which time she got weaker. Aspirin liberates valproic acid from serum albumin, thus increasing free valproic acid, which binds to carnitine. Also aspirin, otherwise known as acetyl-salicylic acid, may bind to carnitine via the acetyl group, thus directly depleting carnitine a step further. I took blood and urine samples for testing of total carnitine and acyl-carnitine levels as measured by bio-assay, using a carnitine-dependent yeast culture. [7] The results were far below normal: the plasma free carnitine was 1.6, the fat-linked acyl carnitine 0.3 and the total plasma carnitine was 1.9 mcg per ml. This is about half the normal minimum (3.5) and less than 15 percent of the high normal (13.4 mcg per ml). Urine carnitine was even more depleted, registering only 4.9 mcg per ml of urine (4.9 mg per liter). This was a random sample but her daily urine output is known to be between 1 and 2 liters. Assuming a 2 liter output this would amount to 9.8 mg of total carnitine, which is less than half the normal reference level of 25 mg at the Vitamin Diagnostics Laboratory. She recovered her muscle strength after taking 1000 mg of carnitine, twice in the next 10 hours. In fact she felt so well she did not return for her appointment next morning! I advised her to maintain that dose twice a day for a week and then lower the dose to 500 mg. Three weeks later She had a normal blood level of 12 mcg per ml despite continued treatment with valproic acid and Ativan but no aspirin. A gram a day of carnitine is evidently sufficient for her. She did not have any other abnormal laboratory findings that could offer an alternative diagnosis. Case reports of carnitine deficiency have described low blood sugar, a condition that can cause irritability and mental confusion. In retrospect it seems plausible that this was the cause of symptoms leading to her hospitalization a few weeks before. However the blood sugar reading at the hospital was normal and the blood test of valproic acid at the time was actually 50 percent below the therapeutic range, which is why the doctor raised the dose. This must have caused the depletion in her carnitine and the eventual onset of muscle weakness even though the level of valproic acid in her blood was not above the accepted therapeutic range on the day she was carried into my office.

Her blood sugar was not low at that time either, but it was already mid-afternoon and one must keep in mind that by the time the sample is taken, the blood sugar may have self-corrected by means of adrenal hormones or by eating food The first cases of carnitine deficiency were seen in patients on long-term intravenous feedings in the 1970s, a time before the solutions contained carnitine. Over two dozen cases were reported and this spawned interest in the possibility that a low carnitine diet, ie. a vegetarian diet, might cause deficiency. However no such case has yet been reported. Deficiency symptoms have been observed in patients with liver disease, which decreases synthesis, as well as in patients on kidney dialysis or suffering from chronic renal disease, which both increases excretion and curtails synthesis of carnitine by the kidney. Other drugs and chemicals can bind to carnitine, just as valproic acid does, tying up the vitamin and increasing its excretion. The list of known trouble-makers is still very incomplete but includes cancer chemotherapy drugs, many tranquilizers, especially Valium derivatives, and some antibiotics. Any molecule that contains a benzene ring is likely to bind to carnitine. [8] Vitamin B12 deficiency causes methyl malonic acid excretion, which binds to carnitine and carries it out via the urine. Biotin deficiency has a similar outcome by provoking the excretion of isovaleric acid. I think it is very likely that thyroid supplements can aggravate carnitine deficiency by increasing the oxidation of fat, thus using up more carnitine. This would explalin why some patients get weaker and more tired when taking thyroid supplements. Physical exercise increases carnitine utilization and can deplete reserves. Does it also increase carnitine synthesis? Presumably so as long as the dietary precursors are sufficient. Carnitine synthesis depends on amino acids lysine and methionine as well as vitamins C, B12, folic acid and B6. Carnitine deficiency is particularly dangerous in infancy because it takes several months after birth before the baby is able to synthesize the vitamin. Breast milk contains adequate carnitine; but until now the infant feeding formulas have been devoid of it. This can be particularly dangerous in babies that are medicated with valproic acid and also certain antibiotics. Was valproate involved in the deficiency status of my patient? I think so and this is the first report ever of confirmed valproate induced carnitine deficiency in an adult. Evidently valproate binds to carnitine; however urinary excretion is not increased. The current view is that valproate interferes with the normal production of carnitine, perhaps by inhibiting methylation of lysine, from which carnitine is derived. The important implication of this case report is that carnitine deficiency does occur in adults and must be considered in all sick patients, especially those exposed to anticonvulsants, tranquilizers and in cancer chemotherapy, since all of these drugs can link up with carnitine and carry it out of the body. This is especially significant in patients with coronary artery disease. The presence of angina pectoris or electrocardiograph evidence of ischemia, especially PVC (premature ventricular contractions) is a strong indication for carnitine supplementation.[9] Carnitine supplements have been demonstrated to prevent ventricular fibrillation in early cardiac ischemia, such as occurs due to coronary atherosclerosis or blockage[10]. Another exciting application is in the treatment of senile brain disease. Acetyl-carnitine in particular has produced improvement of mental acuity in some of these Alzheimer's patients.[11] A recent essay in Lancet [12] concluded that the results of medical treatment are unpredictable and beyond our control and that "the practice of medicine will remain fundamentally stochastic, as it always was." In plainer English the word, stochastic, means "a guess." It may be true that much of medicine has been and continues to be highly educated guess-work. However the authors of this featured

essay in a major medical journal did not include any mention of nutrition. And nutrient deficiency disorder is not guess-work because nutrient deficiency produces specific syndromes, which can be precisely diagnosed by specific and exact laboratory measurement from which diagnosis and prognosis can be predicted with more authority than in any other field of medicine. We just have to be ready for them when the time comes. Keep that in mind next time you hear anyone liken vitamins to quackery or labels nutrition medicine as an "alternative." ©2010, Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

[1] Lombard KA, Olson AL et al: Carnitine status of lactoovovegetarians and strict

vegetarian adults and children. Am J Clin Nutr 1989; 50:301-6. [2] Grau JM, Casademont J, et al: Chronic fatigue syndrome: studies on skeletal

muscle. Clin Neuropath 1992; 11(6): 329-32 [3] Ceccarelli M, Cortigiani L, et al: Plasma L-carnitine levels in children with celiac

disease. Minerva Pediatrica 1992; 44(9):401-5. [4] Vecchiet L, Di Lisa F, et al: Aerobic processes enhanced by L-Carnitine. Eur J

Appl Physiol 1990; 611:486-490. [5] Maebashi M: Lipid lowering effect of carnitine in patients with type IV

hyperlipoproteinemia. Lancet, 1978; xxxi: 805. [6] Murakami K, Sugimoto T et al: Abnormal metabolism of carnitine and valproate

in a case of acute encephalopathy during chronic valproate therapy. Brain & Development, 1992; 14 (3) 178-182. [7] Baker H, DeAngelis B, et al: Routine microbiological assay for carnitine activity

in biological fluids and tissues. Food Chemistry 43 (1992) 141-146. [8] Quistad GB, Staiger LE and Schooley DA: The role of carnitine in the conjugation

of acidic xenobiotics. Drug Metabolism and Disposition. (1986) 14 (5) 521-524. [9] Pepine CJ. The therapeutic potential of carnitine in cardiovascular disorders.

Clin Ther 1991; 13:2-21. [10] Opie LH: Role of carnitine in fatty acid metabolism of normal and ischemic

myocardium. Am. Heart J. 1977; 3:375. 1977. [11] Spagnoli A: Acetyl L-carnitine impvoes attention and memory in Alzheimer's

disease. Neurology 1991; 41:1726-1732. [12] Ierodiakonou K, Vandenbroucke JP: Medicine as a stochastic art. Lancet 1993;

341, 542-543.

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Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is the most common childhood psychiatric disorder. It is so common that some argue that it is a normal part of childhood. Don’t believe it. Anyone who has faced the daunting task of caring for an ADD child knows that it is a bigger-than-life problem! The child may be pleasant and  Ola Loa, LLC well-intentioned on the surface, but inability to focus and organize tasks and  11250 Clayton Creek settle into everyday home and social situations means that adult authority is Rd. constantly tested. Parents know that their ADD children are unable to play, study

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and learn independently, and the increased risk of accident and injury to  Lower Lake, CA 95457 themselves and friends, means that family life is fraught with stress for everyone. USA  1.800.800.9550 Attention deficit is a symptom that interferes with learning. It is a thought  [email protected] disorder, not just misbehavior, and it prevents these children from succeeding at  Ola Loa Store school and developing interests, skills and friendships. Motivation plays a role, of course, but there is also an organic impairment of brain function affecting both attention and memory, especially immediate short term memory, which seems to be fragmentary, disorganized, and fraught with errors, even though the total intelligence of the child measures within the normal range. ADD children often give up on learning unless it just comes all by itself. They gravitate to TV, video games, art projects, collecting things, and getting into mischief. They develop Website by routines and resist interruptions once they are engaged. Attention is impaired, Giraffex but curiosity is usually intact, and so the child is driven to explore, but taking only small ‘bites’ out of any new item. This leads to boredom, but not before family and teachers are exasperated by the constant need for supervision to cope with the hyperactivity and aggressiveness of the ADD child, and to protect his peers, and property from mindless mishaps. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC ADD affects 3 to 9 percent of school-age children, the number has been

increasing in the past decade. This amounts to over 2.5 million children in the United States whose educational experiences are marred by frustration and whose peer relationships are strained by conflict and misunderstanding. Eventually, such children are more likely to resort to antisocial and delinquent behaviors, including drug dependency in their teen years. Contrary to earlier opinion, children do not usually outgrow this disorder and may need lifelong medication, in order to be able to develop a skill, find a job, and maintain a stable and productive lifestyle. A follow-up study of ADD children found 80 percent still impaired after 8 years, i.e. in their late teens and early 20’s; and over half had actually worsened by becoming more defiant and unruly.[1] In the language of the professions, this is called “oppositional” and “conduct disorder” respectively. There have been no measurable differences between those treated with medication and those not. There is no doubt that the epidemic of ADD children is a major part of the epidemic of teen-age violence, suicide, drug abuse, and criminality that is having such a disturbing effect on our country. Amphetamine-like drugs, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate), dexedrine, and desoxyn, are the medical drugs-of-choice for the ADD child. Cylert (magnesium pemoline) is a different type of amine that is also helpful. These drugs are so entrenched in medical practice and in the expectations of the education bureaucracy, that it is almost mandatory for the office-based physician to prescribe them. To not do so can be challenged as “unprofessional.” It is ironic that these same drugs are absolutely illegal when used by teen-agers as their preferred street drug. The point is that the drugs do accomplish a perceived benefit—but at some degree of risk, albeit less so under medical supervision than on the streets. Ritalin is the least toxic of the amphetamines, but even so it does interfere with REM sleep, an essential brain repair mechanism, and it is also known to deplete the neurotransmitter, serotonin. On the other hand, research confirms that about 75 percent of hyperactive children improve, showing better attention, less impulsiveness and less over-active behavior on Ritalin. A recent study showed a significant advantage of 4 points on an IQ test measure comparing ADD children treated with Ritalin versus placebo after a year and a half of follow-up. Research into ADD is a national priority and the search for a different and better medical approach is spurred by the increasing public dissatisfaction with the idea of treating school-children with drugs. The war on drugs has demonized almost all psychoactive substances, even those that are relatively safe and non-toxic when used in medical settings, even the likes of amphetamines and opiates. It is strange to consider that if children were getting Ritalin in the schoolyard instead of in the doctor’s office, the police would be called at once! I am not promoting the use of drugs and amphetamines but perhaps this paradox will do some good, and get us to realize that all “drugs” have the potential for abuse and also the potential for good. It is up to patients, doctors, and our political leaders to be rational and scientific in our approach so that we don’t exclude potentially useful substances from medical practice. There has been significant progress in our understanding of ADD but no one has yet been able to explain the apparent increase in the number of children with this behavior pattern that has caused sales of Ritalin to increase 5-fold in 7 years! Genetic factors surely play a part, for a study of identical twins found 90 percent concordance: if one twin had ADD so did the other. Environmental factors are a well-established factor. Lead and mercury are particularly damaging to brain development and activity. Lead was carefully studied in the 1960s and 70s and the consensus was that half of all cases of ADD that were not otherwise explained, were caused by lead exposure from housepaint, petrol, lead contaminated dirt— and from solder in toothpaste tubes and baby formula cans! We know these metals are still present in home repair situations calling for the

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removal of old paint, but the Lead Paint Protection Act of 1976 ended the use of lead in gasoline and indoor paint in the United States and there has been a dramatic reduction in lead level in the American people. Hair levels were commonly 15 to 20 ppm in the 1970s; now it is rare to see a hair sample with more than 4 or 5 ppm (ppm is parts per million, which is the same as micrograms per gram of hair). Mercury was not removed from paint until after 1991, when a baby died after being placed overnight in a newly-painted, poorly ventilated nursery. I have not seen a research study that estimated the frequency of ADD due to mercury from paint, or dental amalgam (silver fillings contain mercury), probably because it hasn’t been taken seriously up until now. However Drs. Marlowe, Moon and Errera measured hair mercury levels in 59 children, and found a significant correlation to IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Even at very low concentration mercury had an adverse effect on brain function. Thus, though the average hair mercury was only 1.04 mcg per gram (ppm), less than half the upper limit of 2.5 ppm that the laboratory accepts as normal, the research indicated that 10 percent of the drop in IQ scores is due to mercury. Is there sufficient evidence to ban the use of mercury-containing silver fillings in children? It is already happening in Sweden and Germany. The risk of mercury causing adverse effects is credible because mercury accumulates for the life of the filling. In the 1953 disaster at Minamata, Japan, doses of mercury that did not cause symptoms in the pregnant mothers had disastrous outcomes for the babies, which were born with permanently impaired movement, limited speech, and retarded intellect. Another toxic agent that should be taken seriously is fluoride. There are several credible studies, in animals and humans both, that confirm the fact of brain damage from fluoride—at levels similar to those commonly experienced here in the United States. Animal studies show accumulation of fluoride in the brain, interference with enzyme activity—and direct free radical damage to nerve cells. Nerve damage from fluoride is not just a theory—it is fact. In research laboratories aluminum fluoride is routinely used to activate G-proteins, regulators of cell activity. This compound is likely to be produced when fluoridated water is heated in aluminum pots, especially in the presence of acid foods, such as tomato, fruits, and coffee. There has been pitifully little research on the influence of fluoridation on human brain development! We should be concerned that the incidence of ADD is rising precipitously even though we have largely removed lead and mercury from contention. How to account for the fact that the number of children requiring treatment for ADD doubled between 1990 and 1993? That surely cannot be a sudden change in our gene structure. Nor is it likely to be a medical or bureaucratic fad. Have there been any large-scale changes in environment of children since the late 1980s? Yes. There has been a campaign to fluoridate the entire water supply of the United States and the number of fluoridated cities is increasing. More pertinent, however, is the increasing popularity of vitamin supplements. The fact that you are reading this article is a direct reflection of the growing health and nutrition consciousness of Americans and the medical profession. Mothers and doctors are more likely than ever to add vitamins to infant formula in an attempt to give their child the best modern advantage. However vitamin drops are likely to be fluoridated, even in areas where the water is already fluoridated, and this becomes excessive. The fluoride burden is already too high due to fluoride residues in infant formula, baby food, and toothpaste. About the only safe haven for babies is breast milk. In the first place, breast milk contains almost no fluoride. But it does contain nutrients essential for brain development, especially DHA and taurine. Remember,

the human brain is not fully developed at birth—the EEG does not have the familiar alpha, beta, and theta wave, but only some nondescript delta activity. Even at age three the brain structure is only 90 percent developed. Babies that are fed the raw materials for human nerve cell growth and development get a tremendous advantage. In an 18 year study of 1000 New Zealand children, breast fed babies tested higher in reading, mathematics, IQ and scholastic ability—and they were 38% more likely to graduate high school. This statistic was derived after correcting for socio-economic factors and diseases of infancy.[i] This takes on greater significance in light of research at Purdue University that found a significant deficiency of DHA in blood cells of 53 children with ADD compared to 43 children without the disorder.[ii] DHA is produced from the essential fatty acid, ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which is commonly deficient in the American diet. This nutrient is essential for brain development and nerve cell membrane structure. Though it is readily obtained in fish oils, these are located in the skin of the fish, a part that most people don’t eat. One reason is that Americans have been strongly advised against eating fats. Even the “good fats,” like that in fish skin, are taboo. And children, even more in need than adults, lose out because DHA is not yet included in any of the commercial infant formulas sold in the USA! If you don’t add the new DHA products or the old-fashioned cod-liver oil, your child is out of luck. Forty percent of the ADD children in the Purdue study also had symptoms of fatty acid deficiency, such as excess thirst and frequency of urination, dry hair, dandruff and dry skin (especially elbows), and bumpy hair follicles on the upper arms. This compares to only 9 percent in the control group children. However their diets were not significantly different except alpha linolenic acid was lower in the ADD group than the controls! This is the source of DHA, which is an essential component of the brain cell membranes. DHA supplementation in adult dyslexics improves the function of nerve cells in the retina. Their dark adaptation is so improved that “experts” are considering DHA may be a dietary essential for this organ. Dyslexics have retinal and central processing defects but dark adaptation has not been reported before. Research by Dr. J. Stordy has found that DHA supplementation is associated with improved reading ability and sociable behavior.[iii] Other comparisons are also informative: the rate of breast feeding was 81 percent in the control group, but only 45 percent in those with ADD. Recurrent ear infections (otitis) relapsing more than 10 times since birth occurred in 30 percent of the ADD children but only 9 percent of the controls. Asthma was also seen in 32 percent of the ADD kids and only 9 percent of the controls. The ADD kids also had more headaches and stomach-aches, practically non-existent in the control group. With this in mind, it is not surprising that a double blind study found a significant gain in reading comprehension within a year of individualized nutrient supplementation for a group of 20 learning disabled children. The seventeen children who stayed on the supplement program were able to enter mainstream classes within a year and a half. A sub-group of 12 children stayed on vitamins for a full two years, during which their test scores rose 7+ points while those on placebo dropped by over 6 points. For those who stopped taking nutrients, it took almost 2 years for academic performance to decline back to baseline. The good news is the benefits are long-lasting. The bad news is that it is hard for people to appreciate just how powerful the nutrient therapy actually is. Herbal treatments for ADD are also gaining credibility. St. John’s Wort is one of these and it probably will be scientifically proven and accepted before long. However, it also causes sunburn, an adverse effect that I think will curtail its use. Vinpocetine is another herbal brain stimulant that holds promise, based on its popularity as a “smart pill” for adults. In use for over 400 years in Europe in the

form of vincamine, derived from the periwinkle plant, it has become the most popular of the smart pills in Hungary. Over 100 research studies document the claim that it increases the rate at which brain cells produce ATP, and increases the utilization of glucose and oxygen in the brain. The only adverse effect I have seen with it is headache due to dilatation of cerebral blood vessels. Another recent study found a significant improvement in 10 of 11 ADD children treated with combination American ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) and Ginkgo biloba extracts. Over 90 percent of the subjects showed a reduction in at least 3 out of 7 ADD symptoms. The ginseng product performed as well all by itself in almost 80 percent (11 of 14) of another group of children.[iv] Ginseng works in part by increasing acetylcholine neurotransmitter production. A similar effect is associated with the use of deanol (DMAE or dimethylaminoethanol), which was first used for ADD by Dr. Leon Oettinger in 1958[v] and was confirmed in 1960 by Dr. Stanley Geller, who conducted a double-blind study in 75 children, who were given 50 mg doses, twice a day.[vi] Improved puzzle solving ability, and organization of activity were observed. Additional confirmation was provided by Coleman et al in 1976.[vii] Deanol is an important and safe orthomolecular therapy and it deserves to be used much more than it is. It is my first choice for the treatment of ADD, certainly preferred to amphetamines and Ritalin. Other factors in ADD, such as allergy and low blood sugar remain controversial, mostly because the have been presented as causative factors. The neurologic injury that causes ADD is undoubtedly aggravated by allergy and low blood sugar and these should rightfully be treated. But they are not likely the cause of the disorder. Nevertheless, treating allergy and balancing the diet can make a huge difference. Just ask the mothers and fathers of the Feingold Association how they feel about food additives, salicylates, and allergy. The same goes for parents who find that sugar is a trigger for hyperactivity: would you have them believe an egghead statistic over their own first-hand, day-to-day experience? The New England Journal apparently would. Their recent study on the effects of sugar was thumbs down: no significant effect of sugar on child behavior! This study, by Dr. Wolraich et al, was designed so that the average dose of sugar was about 2/3 pound (300 grams) a day. There was no comparison group at a truly low sugar intake, under 100 mg per day. I wrote to them about this but my rebuttal was rejected. I called the editor; he assured me that the other critics also felt that the study should be repeated— but with a higher dose of sugar! ©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. [1] Barkley R, Fischer M, et al: The adolescent outcome of hyperactive children diagnosed by research criteria: An 8 year prospective follow-up study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 29:546-556; 1990. [i] Horwood LJ, Fergusson DM: Breastfeeding and later cognitive and academic outcomes. Pediatrics 101. 1998. [ii] Stevens L, Zentall S, et al: Essential fatty acid metablism in boys with attention-deficit hyperctivity disorder. AJCN; 62:761-8. 1995. (unpublished) [iii] Stordy JB: Benefit of docosoahexaenoic acid supplements to dark adaptation in dyslexics. Lancet 1995, 346:38. [iv] Lyon MR, Cline JC et al: An open, randomized, double blind comparison of American Ginseng alone or in combination with ginkgo biloba on the symptoms of ADD in children. (unpublished 1998) [v] Oettinger L: The use of deanol in the treatment of disorders of behavior in children. J Pediat. 53:761765. 1958. [vi] Geller S. Comparison of a tranquilizer and a psychic energizer. JAMA; 174:89-92. 1960. [vii] Coleman N, Dexheimer P: Deanol in the treatment of hyperkinetic hildren. Psychosomatics; 17:68—72. 1976.

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Metallic chromium is shiny and doesn't rust, hence its use in decorative metal and automobile trim. Trivalent chromium, with three available electrons, is a different form of chromium present in food and most often combined with oxalate,

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phytate, picolinate or glycine. In our body the most important form is GTF chromium, the glucose tolerance factor, in which it is bound to niacin and glutathione.  Ola Loa, LLC  11250 Clayton Creek It has been known since the mid-19th century that brewers yeast is good for Rd. diabetes but it was not until 1959 that Drs. Klaus Schwartz and Walter Mertz, senior researchers at the US Department of Agriculture, proved that chromium is  Lower Lake, CA 95457 the active principle. They were able to induce diabetes in laboratory rats by USA feeding low chromium torula yeast. Brewer's yeast, which is high in chromium,  1.800.800.9550 reversed the diabetes. Mertz went on to establish that chromium is an essential  [email protected] nutrient, ie. essential to life.  Ola Loa Store This discovery has profound health implications that are only beginning to be fully appreciated because, as is usual for nutrients, deficiency causes illness, which if recognized and treated can lead to cure. By now it is certain that chromium deficiency causes diseases identical to adult onset diabetes and atherosclerosis. In other words, chromium is a cause of both diabetes and hardening of the arteries, and it should be evaluated by laboratory test of chromium in hair (the best Website by available test) and clinical trial of supplementation with chromium picolinate or Giraffex GTF chromium. Dr. Henry Schroeder wrote a memorable review of chromium research and atherosclerosis in his book "Trace Elements and Man" in 1973. I was much influenced by this book in those early days in my career in ortho-molecular Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC medicine and nutrition but I found it hard to believe that our medical authorities would overlook Schroeder's report that: 1) chromium was completely

undetectable in aortas of patients dying of atherosclerosis but amongst accident victims it was almost always present; 2) A fourth of Americans past 50 have no detectable chromium in their tissues. In Europe over 98 percent do have chromium; 3) Orientals have 5 times as much chromium as Americans; 4) Wild animals have about 10 times as much chromium as we do; 5) American children have about 5 times as much chromium up to age 18 and then decline sharply to low levels that gradually fall off through adult life. Schroeder analyzed chromium contents of foods and studied the metabolic losses of chromium in urine and sweat. He concluded: "the typical American diet, with about 60 percent of its calories from refined sugar, refined flour, and fat, most of which is saturated, was apparently designed not only to provide as little chromium as feasible, but to cause depletion of body stores of chromium by not replacing urinary losses...The result is a prevalent disease, in this case, atherosclerosis." There have been thousands of research papers in the almost 20 years since then and these discoveries have been confirmed many times over. Nevertheless, It appears that about 9 out of 10 American adults are even today suffering from various degrees of deficiency of this essential nutrient. Yet it has received so little recognition that it seems safe to say that it is an epidemic in search of a disease! Medical text-books today acknowledge that chromium is the mineral component of GTF, glucose tolerance factor, which is required for the link-up between insulin and its receptor at cell membranes. Without GTF, insulin fails to bind to its receptor and thus fails to do its job: sugar fails to be activated by phosphorous and circulates uselessly in the blood; amino acids fail to enter cells; neuro hormones fail to function in the brain; fats fail to go into storage but instead circulate at high levels in the blood; and kidney tubules fail to reabsorb efficiently thus causing excessive urination to occur. Weight loss, exhaustion and eventual diabetic coma and death occur in severe cases. Milder cases cause compensatory increase in insulin levels, which drives up cholesterol and fats and promotes atherosclerosis, hypertension, obesity, hypoglycemia, cataract, recurrent infection and very likely acts as a growth promoter for cancers. Drs. Offenbacher and Pi-Sunyer reported in 1980 that two teaspoonfuls per day of brewers yeast was sufficient to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels in two dozen elderly diabetic and normal subjects. Insulin levels also dropped by a third at the same time, indicating greater efficiency of insulin in blood sugar control but preventing the excess insulin that apparently causes excess activation of enzyme and cell activities. By now we know that chromium supplementation will work this way in about half of elderly patients and that diabetic blood sugar and insulin levels will usually drop by 20 percent and cholesterol by almost as much. For those with cholesterol over 300, chromium therapy produces a drop of 17 percent and for those under 300 a drop of about half as much. Early in 1990 Dr. R. I. Press reported on the use of chromium picolinate in lowering cholesterol transport protein (apolipoprotein) in humans. Total cholesterol and LDL decreased significantly while apoliproprotein A1, the chief protein of HDL, increased substantially. Not long ago Dr. Jeoffrey Gordon of San Diego reported his observations on ten high cholesterol patients before and a month after taking 200 mcg chromium picolinate daily. Cholesterol dropped 24 percent from 301 to 229, LDL dropped 27 percent, triglyceride dropped 43 percent, from 158 to 90). Chromium is emerging as one of the most powerful life extension factors in existence. In the 1960s Dr. Henry Schroeder found that his chromium treated rats set a record for longevity--and their arteries were entirely free of atherosclerotic

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plaque despite their advanced age. Of the shorter-lived control rats, 20 percent had arterial plaque. Chromium supplementation has repeatedly reversed atherosclerotic arterial damage. In 1980 Dr. A. Abraham and his colleagues in Jerusalem found that chromium supplements led to actual regression of atherosclerotic plaques in lab animals. This was documented by weighing arteries, plaque and the cholesterol content, all of which were lowered by chromium supplementation. However the medical world seems not to have noticed that the positive results from chromium treatment compare favorably to the also impressive results of an ultra-low fat, high complex carbohydrate diet, as promoted by Nathan Pritikin or more recently by Dr. Dean Ornish. You can bet on it: someone will eventually report on a study of chromium therapy for atherosclerosis in humans that will document regression of plaque. For those of you who are zealous about the low fat diet as the key to longevity by protection from atherosclerosis, it may come as a surprise that chromium, a trace mineral present in tiny microgram amounts in the diet controls blood cholesterol up to 40 percent and blood sugar even more! One of my friends has been puzzled by an almost 100 point rise in his blood cholesterol to a rather alarming 260 mg after he went on a vegetarian diet with no meat, fish, fowl or eggs and no dairy other than parmesan cheese. He eats few nuts or seeds. Diagnosis: a chromium deficient diet aggravated by phytic acid blockade from the parmesan cheese (American cheese is the only cheese known to be a good source of chromium)! Fitness and athletic performance are now an area of intense interest in chromium research. Dr. Gary Evans supplied chromium picolinate to a group of weight lifters and compared their progress in 40 days to a placebo control group. The chromium did make a difference: lean body mass increased 3.5 pounds after chromium, about 40 times more than the two ounce gained by those on placebo. At this point it is certain that weight lifters are in the avant-garde of the orthomolecular movement. It is sad, however, to think that they must usually go it alone, as human guinea pigs, without real scientific monitoring or medical guidance. If you have high cholesterol, low HDL and blood sugar disturbance, It is wise to ask for testing of chromium in your hair. Despite the controversy about this method of diagnosis, the medical literature is very favorable. Dr. G. Saner and his group in 1984 found a direct correlation between hair and urinary chromium in a group of 34 tannery workers who used chromium on the job. If you cannot obtain a hair test, a month long trial at 200 mcg per day of GTF chromium, chromium polynicotinate or chromium picolinate is certainly a good idea. Then re-test your blood for possible improvement in cholesterol and triglycerides. Drs. Anderson and Bryden have recently shown that foods that stimulate insulin also cause increased urinary losses of chromium. Fructose and glucose were the worst offenders in their study. As an aside, I might add that Dr. Linus Pauling reviewed the role of sugars in atherosclerosis 15 years ago and concluded that fructose was the strongest dietary cause. In the light of this new knowledge about chromium loss, this begins to make sense! In a similar fashion, milk, cottage cheese, corn, millet and other foods high in the amino acid, leucine, which stimulates insulin release, might also deplete chromium. In fact it is ominous to consider the present emphasis on calcium supplementation, since it is now known that calcium carbonate not only blocks chromium absorption but also lowers tissue levels. Can you obtain adequate chromium in your food? The answer is yes if you are willing to eat a teaspoon of brewers yeast regularly. Next in order are: oysters, egg yolk, liver, kidney, nuts, wheat germ and American Cheese! Wait until Herb Caen

hears about this new key to longevity. At his age he may have to give in and try it. Velveeta may yet have the last laugh on its chief satirist. 491

©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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There is no doubt that we are caught up in an epidemic of childhood brain disease. There are hundreds of thousands of autistic children in the late 1990s where only a decade ago there were seemingly only a few thousand. And there

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are millions of milder cases, which carry a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity, therefore ADD or ADHD for short. The ADD children often have delays in speech development and selective impairment of school  Ola Loa, LLC learning and social behavior. In their areas of interest they are often very  11250 Clayton Creek intelligent and accomplished; but as a group, ADD kids run into increasing trouble Rd. in their adolescent years as they struggle with school, conflict with family, experiment and get hung up on drugs, and run afoul of the law.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA ADD is not a trivial condition and it almost certainly reflects damage to the  1.800.800.9550 process of brain development. In fact, research at Stanford University recently  [email protected] shed light on the process, literally, by demonstrating a lack of activity in the brain control centers, called the Corpus striatum, of children with ADD. This area failed  Ola Loa Store to light up when visualized by PET scan. PET is an abbreviation for 'positron emission tomography,' and the injected glucose sugar tracer material gives off positrons that are recorded by a computer-linked scanner. ADD children failed to light up--until they were given Ritalin. This indicated that brain cells in that area, particularly the caudate nucleus, were underactive. The research gave visual evidence for the efficacy of this drug, which increases the action of the Website by neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. It is certain that additional research Giraffex of this type will verify the benefits that parents report after the use of orthomolecular and herbal treatments, such as phosphatidylserine, Panax ginseng, deanol, caffeine, tyrosine, biopterin, vitamin B12, folic acid, hydroxytryptophan, piracetam, vinpocetine, and others. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

The same can be said about autism, the more severe form of developmental brain injury, which is obvious by age 3 years old. Autistic children fail to develop speech and their social interaction and natural curiosity is replaced by repetitive

behaviors, staring, posturing, head-banging and self-stimulating in ways that range from excess sleeping to frequent raging. As they improve they may become obsessed with specific objects, sounds, images, books, etc. and they can tolerate no interruption or change in their connection with it. Those that do develop speech may appear normal, but they often fail to develop comprehension and common-sense judgment. They seem to lack an intact sense of before-after, cause-effect--and right-wrong. And if these unfortunate children do improve to this higher level of recovery, there is the next challenge, context. This is the ability to predict the consequence of their own acts and be able to feel and believe them in advance. Those who fail at this stage are identified as Asperger's Syndrome, named for the researcher who described this phenomenon. There is no doubt that some of those who get in trouble with the law are actually victims of early life brain injury. This is especially prevalent in violent criminals who end up on 'death row.' What can cause such injury? How can anything so severe as to cause autism or ADD and lead to criminal behavior in the unlucky ones, be so subtle as to defy detection? For example, many parents of autistic children have independently made the connection between vaccinations and autism. Of course this is not 100 percent; but it may be as high as 30 percent if my cases are any example and that is high! Are the parents wrong? In two cases that come to mind, the children had obvious distress, fever, and behavior change after diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) vaccinations in their first year of life, were hampered by ADD thereafter, required tutoring to graduate high school, fell into drug usage, and died of heroin overdose before age 25 despite all the love and support their parents could provide. Brain damage was not such a rare occurence after DTP vaccination before the acellular vaccine was introduced in 1986 and special legislation was enacted to create a fund to reimburse for vaccine injuries. Millions have been paid out to families of injured children. Some of the neurological injuries are immediate and obvious, with paralysis and loss of mental alertness within days or weeks. But there can also be subtle effect due to the immune-depleting effects of the vaccines, which makes some infants more vulnerable to otitis and other infections. As resistance falters, viral and other infections excite cytokine immune hormones, such as Il-2, Il-6, Il-10, IFN-alpha, which stimulate production of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), thus turning on the pituitary-adrenal axis. There is another reason why pertussis vaccine is adverse for neural development. A glance at any neurotoxicology or biochemistry text shows pertussis vaccine as a reliable activator of nerve cell G proteins. In other words, pertussis strongly activates nerve cells. It also activates the immune cells. That is what vaccines are supposed to do. The hazard may be as simple as over-stimulation of nerve cells that are primed for the process of apoptosis. Such cells are found during periods of accelerated development and unfortunately these periods coincide with the schedule of vaccinations for infants: first week (hepatitis B), 2nd month (DTP and hemophilus), 18 months (MMR) and this increases the risk of excessive nerve cell death, from which there can be adaptation but not full recovery. New tracts may develop but new cells are unlikely to appear--or at best to a limited extent. Aside from direct toxic effects, indirect brain inflammation and vascular damage by metabolic products of vaccine stress can also occur. Homocysteine is one of these. Many toxins can provoke release of free amino acids, including methionine, and thus induce increased homocysteine, a well known excitotoxin. Homocysteine can cause apoptosis and if high levels should occur during a time of accelerated development this might indeed cause harm. If the nerve activity is further accelerated by pertussis (or fluoride, which also stimulates G proteins) then the damage would be that much greater.

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Auto-immune effects, can interfere with myelination and cause prolonged inflammation that magnifies damage. Thus an injury can become chronic and prevent recovery from otherwise minor episodes of brain inflammation and developmental dysregulation. This may be more common now that newborns are vaccinated for hepatitis B on their very first day of life! This is all by way of conjecture about how pertussis vaccine in particular can alter neural development. Aside from direct toxic effects, indirect brain inflammation and vascular damage by metabolic products, such as homocysteine, can also occur. Any stress or toxin can provoke release of free amino acids, including methionine, and thus induce increased homocysteine. It may be as simple as that; however the necessary research in this area has yet to be done. The damage is known to occur; only the explanations lag behind. Auto-immune inflammation can become chronic and prevent recovery from otherwise minor episodes of brain inflammation and developmental dysregulation. This may be more common now that newborns are vaccinated for hepatitis B on their very first day of life! Another possibility is that the brain remains a fetal organ for a considerable time after birth: it is not nearly complete in its development until at least three years. There are cycles of development of various parts of the brain: cerebellum in the first months; sensory organs soon after; and cerebral cortex last. The auditory cortex, site of language development, reaches a critical period between 12 and 30 months, just about the time scheduled for MMR vaccination and booster shots. The MMR vaccinations in the second year are targeted against viral illness, specifically measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). The vaccines contain live but weakened virus and though it is less virulent than the 'wild' type viral infection, the vaccine virus can overload the immune and anti-inflammatory systems in vulnerable children, especially if they are depleted in nutrients, such as selenium, vitamin E, or glutathone. High levels of immune hormones can be induced by infection, and some of these, such as interferon-alpha and interluekin-6 and 10, can act as neurotoxins. Since neural systems development relies heavily on a process called apoptosis, pruning away neurons that are extraneous or in some way do not fit into the competitive process involved as axon growth cones seek their receptors, it is possible that during critical periods of accelerated development, a disruption of apoptosis could lead to excessive cell death and loss of neurons that would better have been preserved by a more efficient process. In other words, accidents can and certainly do occur. For example, in a very important research, a team led by the great neurologic research toxicologist, John Olney, has determined that blockade of glutamate receptors, also called NMDA receptors, even for a few hours during late fetal and early neonatal life, causes widespread apoptosis and degeneration of neurons in laboratory rats[i]. The authors suggest that this might be relevant in case of drugabusing mothers or pediatric anesthesia. Their rats were most sensitive to nerve cell death for the first week post-natal, which would correspond to a few months if the human biology runs a parallel course. The agents they used to block the NMDA receptor were gentle anesthetics in common use, such as ketamine and nitrous oxide. They also found the hallucinogen and street drug phencyclidine (PCP) to be equally dangerous to the fetus and newborn infant. And alcohol (ethanol) has similar dangerous properties. Luckily, they also found that it required at least 4 hours of exposure to these toxins before damage was observed. Their research confirms that the stage of development governs neuronal vulnerability. Thus, the memory centers of the hippocampus were most vulnerable in the last week before birth and the cerebral cortex more vulnerable after birth. Another conclusion: "blockade of the NMDA receptors gives rise to different patterns of neuronal loss depending on the stage of development at which the interference occurs. Such a mechanism could contribute to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders."

This work on NMDA receptor effects is a breakthrough in our understanding of developmental brain disease. At first I considered the possibility that homocysteine might fit into the puzzle; however on second thought I think not: the damaging chemicals are all NMDA blockers. Homocysteine is an NMDA stimulant. But it is certainly active in the same territory. On the other hand, there is another chemical agent that may well turn out to be the secret demon behind the epidemic of autism. This is 4-phenyl-cyclohexene (4-PC), a compound found in the glue backing that holds synthetic carpets together. It is also released from indoor latex paints, and all kinds of sealing compounds in common use in home repairs. It is a solvent, absorbs by inhalation and through the skin, and has a structure almost identical to 1-PC, which is the active metabolite of phencyclidine. Phencyclidine (PCP) is also a street drug known as 'angel dust' and it is known to cause fetal brain damage, sometimes presenting as cerebral palsy at birth. It is also one of the chemicals that was found to be most effective at causing apoptosis in brain cells of newborn rats. 4-PC was found in air samples from the US-EPA headquarters in Washington, DC, which had to be evacuated in 1988 due to contamination of the building by carpet fumes. The investigation that followed revealed that 4-PC was preset at 70 parts per billion, which was sufficient to cause irritation of the throat, lungs, eyes and nerve cells, even in adults and neurological symptoms have been quite prominent in many reports of "chemical sensitivity" from carpet fumes. Children are particularly susceptible, but no one has considered carpet and paint fumes to be much of a danger to newborn infants before. In fact, it is commonplace for expectant parents to carpet and paint the nursery as a happy welcome for their newborn child. However the new information on NMDA blockade and nerve cell death makes this a whole new ball-game. The paradox is that it was only a few years ago, 1991, when mercury was removed from indoor paint after a baby died under just such circumstances. It is very possible that this 4-PC and perhaps toluene, another newcomer to indoor paint since the departure of mercury, are sinister culprits in causing childhood brain disease. Let us not depart entirely from the additional concern that vaccines are also part of the problem. It may be that an initial injury at a critical time, leaves a baby with less reserve with which to cope with additional injuries later. In one study, 17 autistic children were re-diagnosed from home videos and abnormal movements were observed in all of them, starting as early as 3 months. If vaccines are involved, this points to hepatitis, which is given on the first neonatal day, or DPT or hemophilus influenza, which are given at 2-3 months of age in most infants. Nevertheless, the most common story told to me by parents of autistic children is that the children were developing speech at a normal pace until after the MMR vaccine vaccination between 15 and 24 months of age. I know one such case that lost all speech at age 18 months, then had a partial recovery and was able to start nursery school, and then lost all speech again after the booster MMR vaccine at age 4 years. It would seem that the MMR vaccine can both cause a new injury and/or aggravate an old one.

©2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. [i] C Ikonomidou, F Bosch, M Miksa, J W Olney: Blockade of NMDA receptors and apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing brain. 1999; Science, 283, 70-74.

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A 1. AB 733,

Information The California fluoridation bill became new law in California, as of January 1, 1996. This foolish law mandates fluoride treatment of all California public and private  Ola Loa, LLC water supplies serving over 10,000 consumers. At a time when we have had our  11250 Clayton Creek “green revolution,” environmentalism, to rescue our polluted planet; at a time Rd. when our EPA cannot accomplish their charge, the cleaning up of thousands of  Lower Lake, CA 95457 toxic waste sites, we now have the California state government dumping toxic USA fluorides into our public water supplies and thence into our bodies. We, ourselves, have become toxic waste dumps!  1.800.800.9550  [email protected] The fluoridation bill was authored by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier and skillfully  Ola Loa Store ushered through the legislative process last summer without fanfare, and signed by Governor Pete Wilson in September, 1995. Unless you buy non-fluoridated bottled water or distill (not filter) your own tap water, you are going to ingest an excessive amount of fluoride in your drinking water, coffee, soup and boiled foods for the rest of your life, wherever you go in California. There is no escape--except to repeal AB 733! Website by Giraffex Until now the voters in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Jose have refused to join San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland in fluoridation. In fact, 76 other municipalities have rejected fluoridation and only one out of six Californians drinks fluoridated tap water. However most of us do get fluoride in mineral waters, soft drinks and reconstituted juices, almost all of which are made with fluoridated Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC water! In fact, since artificial waters now represent more than half the water intake of the average American, it is totally unnecessary to fluoridate the water supply for the purpose of medicating the population. We are already fluoridated

via our soft drinks--not to mention toothpaste. In fact, our food supply is now so full of fluoride that the average American is overdosed already without drinking any tap water at all. I hope to make clear the main reasons I oppose fluoridation of the public water supply and that is why I have chosen the alphabet A-G to order the basic ideas. Because I am a physician, my mind is trained to consider public health interventions in terms of benefits and risks. Fluoride has been sold to physicians, dentists and our politicians as all benefit and no risk. It is supposed to reduce dental caries by 60 percent and cause no adverse effects. Not so. After 50 years the statistics tell a different story: a possible benefit, but at most 20 percent, far less than the 60 percent reduction in caries touted by the proponents. There appears to be a narrow therapeutic window for fluoride in water at a concentration between 0.2 and 0.5 parts per million. This is more than 50 percent lower than the 1 part per million dose (1 milligram per liter of water) recommended as “optimal” by the public health establishment. On the other hand the dangers of fluoridation are not to be ignored. Lives have been ruined and a few have been lost because fluoride also has a narrow window of safety. The EPA classifies fluoride as a contaminant when it is present in water at concentrations of 4 parts per million. In other words, at just four times the “optimal” concentration, fluoride is acknowledged a pollutant--a poison. But it is not just the concentration of fluoride that makes it dangerous, it is the actual amount ingested that counts. Some people actually drink four times more water than the usual 1 to 2 liters per day. Athletes, joggers, laborers, diabetics, those with diabetes insipidus, and even some healthy people living in hot climates. For them fluoride is not controversial. It is a poison. Kidney damage reduces the ability of the kidney tubules to rid the body of fluoride and there are over 13 million of our countrymen with acute and chronic kidney[i] disease. Most of them don’t know until late in the disease that they have partial renal failure. The routine chemical tests don’t reveal this until the kidneys are about 70 percent non-functional. Is it fair to these millions of people to force them to ingest a toxic substance that they are unable to get rid of; one that will inevitably accumulate in their tissues and cause symptoms? 2. ACCUMULATION This build-up of fluoride in the tissues affects everyone, not just those with kidney disease. This is the main difference between fluoride and chlorine: over the years the amount of fluoride in our bones increases over a thousand-fold, and in some areas of our brain over ten-fold. Chlorine, on the other hand, does not build up in our tissues and so we accept fluoride as if it is comparable. It is not. In the first place, chlorine is life-saving: it prevents epidemics of dysentary that would cripple our cities and kill our children and our elderly. Thus, even though chlorination contributes to colon cancer, the trade-off has been worth it. But fluoridation is a different matter. Its purpose is the preservation of teeth, not life. How well does it work? The demonstrated dental benefit in 39,000 school children, comparing lifetime fluoridated to non-fluoridated water, comes to about a half of one tooth surface out of 128 surfaces per 28 teeth[ii]. Not much to brag about. And, unlike chlorine, that passes through the body quickly, fluoride is largely retained and gradually accumulates with age, particularly in the bones, aorta and brain. These just happen to be three areas that bear the brunt of aging, in the form of osteoporosis, arteriosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. Fluoride has been shown to advance the aging process in all three areas!

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B 1. BIRTH DEFECTS. No time for accumulation in the few months in utero; but fluoride affects the developing fetus adversely. Spina bifida was studied in two groups of 5 to 12 year old children, living in high fluoride areas of India with 4.5 and 8.5 parts per million of fluoride. All the children had fluorosis, either mottled teeth or skeletal pain. Compared to a control group of matched children from a low fluoride area (1.5 parts per million) the high fluoride children had almost four times more spina bifida defects (44 percent vs 12 percent).[iii] Consider the fact that the World Health Organization permissible limit is 1.5; while the United States EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) equivalent is 4.0 parts per million. Decreased birth rates have long been observed in association with fluoridation. For example, in cattle subjected to fluoridated water at only 5 parts per million and for only four breeding seasons, the rate of births dropped to 30 percent of normal. Fluoride crosses the placenta and causes both fetal death and damage to the placenta. Thus various laboratory studies at low exposure levels have found low birth weight, delayed fetal skeletal development and delayed postnatal development in animals. Only recently, however, has the work been extended to humans.[iv] Dr. Freni reviewed birth rates in counties with fluoride levels above 3 parts per million. The annual total fertility rate for women age 10-49 was calculated for the period 1970-1988 in 30 regions spread out over nine states. Most regions showed an association of decreasing fertility with increasing fluoride levels. This was statistically very significant, with only a 0.0002 probability (2 in 10 thousand) of occurring by chance. 2. BONE Fluoride accumulates in bone more than any other tissue. Children normally have negligible amounts but over a lifetime, in fluoridated areas, this increases dramatically, up to several thousands of micrograms per gram of bone in adults. There is evidence that up to about1200 micrograms per gram is optimal, based on actual measurements of bone strength.[v] This amount of fluoride is found in normal adults in areas where water contains 0.5 parts per million fluoride,.[vi] We can expect considerably more accumulation of fluoride in our bones here in California now that our water is to be fluoridated at 1 part per million. A very recent study in two dozen elderly women treated with fluoride for osteoporosis and vertebral fracture[vii]. found a 50 percent loss of bone strength and a huge increase in bone fluoride content after 5 years. Until 1988 there were still some advocates for sodium fluoride therapy at doses up to 80 mg per day (containing 35 mg fluoride), ie. about 8 times more than the expected intake in fluoridated areas. Despite the increased hip fractures and stomach irritation from fluoride therapy, even when offset by vitamin D and calcium supplements, the bone doctors had claimed good results and without adverse consequences. That made it difficult to persuade anyone that water fluoridation at only 1 ppm might be unsafe. All that has changed in the past several years due to a number of research reports that document significant increases in hip fractures in elderly men and women. I am most impressed by a study of 3777 French men and women, who had lived in their respective rural parishes for an average of 41 years. In comparing those ingesting less than 0.11 parts per million fluoride to those above that and up to 1.83 parts per million, there was an almost double incidence of hip fracture above 0.11 parts per million. What stands out is the fact that low levels of fluoride, only a

tenth of the amount in fluoridated California water, when ingested over a lifetime, may be more hazardous than anyone knew. It really shouldn’t be such a surprise. A careful research of copper, manganese and zinc levels in rats on fluoridated water at zero, 10 or 25 parts per million found the copper levels in bone reduced by almost half after only ten months intake of the high fluoridated water.[viii] The authors remarked that “if sufficient copper is not available to bone, the cross-linking of bone collagen is impaired due to reduced activity of the enzyme, lysyl oxidase..” This highlights the fact that osteoporosis is not due to deficiency of calcium alone, but also other minerals, particularly copper. And fluoride may aggravate osteoporosis, not only by direct toxic effects on bone cells that manufacture collagen, but also by binding and depleting bone copper and other minerals that participate in collagen synthesis and mineralization. I testified against AB 733, the fluoridation bill, at the California Assembly in June 1995 and I also spoke with a number of the legislators individually. They found it hard to believe that their experts and advisors could be wrong about fluoride. Some actually requested that we not discuss any scientific data because they would only hear rebuttal from the proponents. In other words, they asked me to not confuse them with the facts! There was a snicker when Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, a world authority on fluoridation, testified that he had to invoke the Freedom of Information Act in order to get access to government data on fluoride. The legislators seemed to have their minds made up in advance. But who are they going to believe, a citizens group or the medical-dental-governmental health establishment? Jackie Speier went so far as to challenge the validity of a recent research study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This study by Drs. Danielson, Lyon and others in 1992 reported a double rate of hip fracture in men over age 80 and women over age 75, in association with a 20 year exposure to fluoride in drinking water at just 1 part per million.[ix] Ms. Speier had said: “if you read the study in its entirety, the authors freely admit to looking at no other risk factors and, in fact relied solely on hospital discharge data.” Dr. Lyon was so offended by this that he wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee: “Ms. Speier’s statement that we examined no other risk factors is in error...Our study was prompted by increased risk of hip fractures observed in patients treated for osteoporosis with higher doses...of fluoride...We wondered if the same effect might be seen at fluoride levels introduced into the public drinking water...That we found an association was a surprise to us all. This association has been replicated by a group in France in a much larger population. This raises the question of an unintended side effect to fluoridating public water supplies. Our group still stands by its conclusion..” The cost of a doubled rate of hip fracture is substantial. [x] American women over age 45 years are currently suffering over 250,000 such injuries per year and functional impairment affects 90 percent of the cases and with medical costs of almost 4 billion dollars per year! Worse yet one in four of those injured by hip fracture dies as a result. If fluoride really does account for half of all that misery and expense, isn’t that sufficient reason to stop fluoridation and seek a less dangerous way to improve dental health? 3. BRAIN A study of 687 Downs (retarded) children found a double risk of this genetic defect in communities with 1 part per million water fluoride. Statistical analysis posits a probability of less than 1 in 125,000 that the observation was due to chance. The average age of the mothers of these children was over 3 years less in the higher fluoride areas. A later study of 148 cases found almost three times more

Down’s cases in 12 cities with water fluoride at 1 to 2.6 parts per million as compared to 15 cities free of fluoride. The age of the mothers was lower in the high fluoride cities, so the damage was not due to age. A Harvard team found behavior changes related to sex and age at exposure in fetal rats. Males were most sensitive if exposed 17 to 19 days before birth; females were more sensitive at weaning. The severity of behavioral effects, such as decreased attention, grooming and movement was directly related to fluoride concentrations in specific brain regions. The blood levels measured in these laboratory animals (0.059 to 0.640) are similar to those in humans exposed to 5-10 parts per million fluoride in drinking water, not much more than many humans consume. The team concluded that fluoride may cause learning disability, lowered intelligence and motor impairment.[xi] Lowered intelligence was observed in people living in areas of China where medium or severe fluorosis[xii] is common. Another short report from China referred to neurologic effects from fluoride: “We have seen some patients with high body fluoride levels and unclassified nervous lesion of unknown aetiology. After removal from the higher fluoride exposure, fluoride in their body fluid decreased and their symptoms improved[xiii]. In another paper they found lower levels of fluoride in the cerebrospinal fluid than in blood.[xiv] This suggests activity of a mechanism that keeps excess fluoride from entering the brain. However, we know that fluoride ion readily combines with three aluminum ions, producing aluminum fluoride, a potent mimic of G proteins, which regulate nerve cell activity, particularly in opiate and other neurotransmitter receptors, and in the hypothalamus. Thus fluoride interacts with the regulation of pain, mood and nerve activity in general. Could this explain the increased rate of Alzheimer’s dementia that seems to be epidemic now? A recent poster report at the Society for Neuroscience reported on the work of Drs. Varner, Isaacson and others with sodium and aluminum fluorides in rats. Both agents caused damage to the brain hippocampal formations (memory), but the aluminum fluoride group showed more impairment. This confirms the fact that aluminum fluoride is more toxic to the brain than fluoride alone; however amyloid deposits, characteristic of Alzheimer’s and other nerve degenerations, were found in the integrative centers of the thalamus in both groups. C CHEMISTRY Fluoride and aluminum have a biological influence on nerve cells, as we have just seen. They also have a chemical interaction with each other that magnifies their activity. Researchers in Sri Lanka conducted an experiment to determine the rate of leaching of aluminum from cooking pots[xv]. The presence of fluoride at only 1 part per million, when combined with mild acids, pH 3, about the same as vinegar, liberated nearly 200 parts per million of aluminum in 10 minutes. In the absence of fluoride the pot released only 0.2 parts per million, ie. 1000 times less. Prolonged boiling produced a concentration of 600 parts per million, 3000 times more than control level. A couple of tablespoonfuls of tomatoes were sufficiently acid to increase the aluminum in a cup of fluoridated water to 150 parts per million in just 10 minutes. Kitchen fluoride reactions, with fruit compote, soups made with vinegar, and coffee, all dramatically increase both fluoride and aluminum availability. Does fluoridation of water contribute to the epidemic of Alzheimer’s and senility that we are now experiencing? If we must ask the question, we shouldn’t be adding fluoride to our water. Enzymes are regulators of chemical reactions in living cells. A number of enzymes

are disabled by fluoride at very low concentrations, less than 1 mg per liter (1 part per million) of tissue fluid or blood. For example, cell membrane energy transport relies on ATPase, which is inhibited at fluoride concentrations as low as 0.2 ppm. Other phosphatases, which regulate the release of energy from sugars and fats, are also inhibited in the presence of low levels of fluoride. Other enzymes, such as DNA repair enzymes (prevent aging and cancer), Glutamine synthetase (vital for removal of ammonia from tissues), and Acetyl-cholinesterase (to dispose of used neuro-transmitters at the synapse) are all impaired by fluoride at less than 1 part per million concentration. Blood levels of fluoride are commonly over 0.5 parts per million and other tissues even higher: kidney w.e, lung 2.1, thyroid 4.0, pancreas 1.7, brain 1.5 and bone, of course, up into the thousands of parts per million. I warned of the enzyme-inhibiting effects of fluoride before hearings of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1984 but was unprepared to rebut when the EPA expert claimed that tissue levels of fluoride were far too low to have an effect. I should have known better because I was aware of a double blind study in humans that clearly demonstrated enzyme inhibition by fluoride at 1 ppm, the amount in California water. Dr. John Lee measured the serum bilirubin levels in his patients with Gilbert’s Syndrome, a mild jaundice due to hereditary weakness in the enzyme, UDP glucuronysyl transferase.[xvi] The weakened enzyme falls behind in the task of solubilizing bilirubin for excretion in the bile. Fluoride inhibits the enzyme further and thus causes a significant back-log of unexcreted bilirubin within two weeks of regular intake of fluoridated water. When fluoridated water is discontinued the enzyme activity improves, bilirubin excretion increases and the level of bilirubin in the blood goes back down. [xvii] How does fluoride inhibit enzymes? It is tempting to think that it reacts with metal catalysts, such as manganese, magnesium and selenium, and perhaps this is part of the answer. But it has only been recognized since 1981, 35 years after the beginning of fluoridation, that fluoride forms a very strong bond with the hydrogen atoms of proteins and nucleic acids.[xviii] This type of chemical reaction enables fluoride to alter the shape of many enzymes, which are made from proteins; and it leads also to fluoride bonding with hydrogen bonds of nucleic acids, thus damaging the structure of DNA, the gene material. If the gene repair enzymes are efficient, the damage is almost instantly repaired. However fluoride interferes with these enzymes also, which further increases the likelihood of genetic damage and cancer. Here is where ‘A’ for accumulation of fluoride is especially important. In 1939, before fluoridation, human tissue fluoride levels were below 1 PPM. By 1965 they had risen to 1.5 PPM in brain and in 1983 the medulla and midbrain were measured over 10 PPM[xix], more than sufficient to disrupt the biochemistry and vitality of the nerve cells. Of course, bone cells accumulate up to a thousand times more fluoride and that is why they are so much more vulnerable to the cancer causing effect of fluoride. © 2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

[i] Surgeon General Koop, Research America, The Scientist, Nov. 12, 1990. [ii] Brunelle JA, Carlos JP; Recent trends in dental caries in US children and the effect of water fluoridation. 1990, J DENT RES, 69: 723-727. [iii] Gupta SK, Gupta RC et al. increased incidence of spina bifida occulta in fluorosis prone areas. 1995; Acta Paediatrica Japonica, 37(4):503-6.

[iv] Freni SC: Exposure to high fluoride concentrations in drinking water is associated with decreased birth rates. 1994; J of Tox and Env Health, 42:109-121. [v] Turner CH, Akhter MP, Heaney RP: The effect of fluoridated water on bone strength. 1992; J Orthop Res 10:581-587. [vi] Richards A, Mosekilde L, Sogaard CH: Normal age-related changes in fluoride content of vertebral trabecular bone--Relation to bone quality. 19194; Bone, 15:2126. [vii] Sogaard CH, Mosekilde Li, Richards A, Mosekilde Le: Marked decrease in trabecular bone quality after five years of sodium fluoride therapy--assessed by biomechanical testing of iliac crest bone biopsies in osteoporotic patients. 1994, Bone, 15 (4):393-399. [viii] Singh M and Kanwar KC. Effect of fluoride on copper, manganese and zinc in bone and kidney. 1981, Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 26: 428-431. [ix] Danielson C, Lyon JL, Egger ME, Goodenough J; ;Hip fractures and fluoridation in Utah’s elderly population. 1995, JAMA, 268:773-748. [x] Chrischilles E, Shireman T, Wallace R. costs and health effects of osteoporotic fractures. 1994, Bone 15 (4) 377-386. [xi] Mullenix PJ, Denbesten PK et al. Neurotoxicity of sodium fluoride in rats. 1995, Neurotox and Teratol, 17:169-177. [xii] Li J, Zhi L, Gao RO. Effect of fluoride exposure on intelligence in children. 1995, Fluoride (28)189-192. [xiii] Hu Yu-huan. Direct damage on nervous system by fluorosis. 1982, First Conference on Neuropsychiatric Diseases in Xinjian. 86-8. [xiv] Hu Yuu-Huan, Wu Si-Shung; Fluoride in Cerebrospinal fluid of patients with fluorosis. 1988, J of Neurol, Neurosurg, and Psychiatry, 51:1591-1593. [xv] Tennakone K, Wickramanayake, S. Aluminium leaching from cooking utensils; 1987, Nature, 325:2092. [xvi] Bosma PJ, Chowdhury JR et al: The genetic basis of the reduced expression of bilirubin UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1 in Gilbert’s Syndrome. 1995, NEJM 333:1171-5 [xvii] Lee J: Gilbert’s disease and fluoride intake. 1983, Floride 16:139-45. [xviii] Emsley J: Fluoride forms hydrogen bonds. [xix] Chan AWK, Minski MJ, Lai JCK: An application of neutron activation analysis to small biological samples: simultaneous determination of thirty elements in rat brain regions. 1983; J of Neurosci Methods, 7: 317-328.

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C = CANCER In 1975 Dean Burk, former head of research at National Cancer Institute, and John Yiamouyiannis, a biochemist and fluoride expert, reported their analysis of fluoridation effects. After reviewing official public health statistics on 180 million Americans they found a significant increase in death from cancer in fluoridated  Ola Loa, LLC cities. They limited their study to the ten largest fluoridated cities compared to the  11250 Clayton Creek ten largest unfluoridated cities in America over a twenty-year period, from 1950 to Rd. 1970.

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 Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA The selection of cities was based upon similar cancer death rates for the preceding ten years, 1940-1950, i.e. before fluoridation was begun. After  1.800.800.9550 fluoridation, there were a million cancer deaths between 1950 and 1970. If there  [email protected] was ever an opportunity to evaluate the health effects of fluoride, this was it  Ola Loa Store because since that time the amount of fluoride in water, toothpaste, soft drinks and food has gone up all over the country, blurring the differences between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. For practical purposes, all of America is already fluoridated nowadays, even if the local water supply is not. But at the time of the Burk-Yiamouyiannis study, the fluoridated cities had an average cancer death rate of 220 cancer deaths per 100,000 people per year, while Website by Giraffex the nonfluoridated cities had only 195. This represented an excess of over 10 percent in the cancer death rate within a surprisingly short period of only 13 to 17 years after fluoridation. Their analysis further showed that the increase was not due to differences in age, race or sex composition of the fluoridated and nonfluoridated populations although the increase in cancer death occurred primarily in people over age 45 and especially after 65 years old, in whom there was a Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC statistically significant increase of 37 deaths per 100,000 in the fluoridated cities from 1952 to 1969. The ten non-fluoridated cities averaged an insignificant increase

of only 3 deaths per 100,000 in the over-65 age group, i.e. 13 times less increase in cancer. These findings posed a direct challenge to the pro-fluoridation policy of the United States government Public Health Service. In response, the United States Center for Disease Control assigned Dr. J. D. Erickson of The Center to re-analyze the health effects of fluoride. He confirmed the above findings-but then expanded the database by choosing more cities on the basis of five additional factors: age, sex, race, population density and median educational level. By this means he was able to expand the original 20 cities to 46 cities and the analysis was broadened to include 29 fatal conditions, including cancer and coronary heart disease (also called ischemic heart disease). He performed over 2000 independent calculations and so arrived at parity: no difference in cancer deaths after all! Naturally, this was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and accepted by the medical and dental establishment as a vindication of fluoridation. I am more comfortable with the original data because it is validated by selection of cities with similar cancer death rates in the baseline time period: 182 per 100,000 in the control cities and 183 in those that were fluoridated in between 1950-1960. In addition Burk and Yiamouyiannis analyzed total cancer deaths from 1953-1969. Dr. Erickson took his mortality data only from 1970 census figures and was thus unable to describe year to year trends. Even if we accept all of Erickson’s statistical manipulations, there remains a 15 percent excess death from hypertension, 13 percent excess from arteriosclerosis, 12 percent excess from other arterial diseases, and 25 percent excess from pregnancy complications. However even this is questionable because Dr. Erickson excluded the death certificates of all Asians and Hispanics from his analysis; yet he included them in the population density and educational level data[i]. How could experts be so opposite in their view of the same data? In this case it comes down to a matter of method. Burk and Yiamouyiannis compared the cancer rates in fluoridated and nonfluoridated cities chosen for their similar cancer rates before fluoridation was begun in the fluoridated cities. Theirs is a true before-after study. Erickson compared cancer rates in fluoridated cities to non-fluoridated cities in 1970. It is a side-by-side comparison but the differences are obscured by his adjustment of the data using statistical means beyond an ordinary person’s understanding, i.e. combining five factors in the selection of his cities and excluding sub-groups, e.g. Asians and Latinos. It is hard to avoid a suspicion that Dr. Erickson was pre-ordained with the goal of neutralizing the Burk-Yiamouyiannis findings. Bias is present if only because Dr. Erickson represents the public health establishment, whose avowed goal is to fluoridate all of the United States, whether the locals want it or not. Thus he changed the cities in his survey and left out Atlanta and Seattle, two of the nonfluoridated cities of the original study. And finally, he filtered his data with age, sex, race, median education and population density. The Burk-Yiamouyiannis report on fluoride and cancer was presented to the United States Congress in 1976. It came out that there wasno data to support the conclusion that fluoride was safe[ii]. What an incredible oversight! On that basis alone, fluoridation should have been stopped. Instead Congress ordered an investigation, the results of which did not appear until 12 years later! When the studies in rats and mice by Battelle Institute were released in 1989 the conclusions again fanned the flames of controversy, for an excess number of rats developed bone cancer, osteosarcoma. The total amount of fluoride in the bones of these rats was about the same as is found in humans after 20-30 years living with 1 part per million of fluoride in their water.

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Over-all there were four fluoridated animals with cancer: one male rat out of fifty on 45 ppm fluoride water and three males out of eighty receiving 79 ppm fluoride water. Females and control animals on low fluoride diets had no cancers[iii]. However historical control rats used in other studies typically exhibit such cancers in 3 out of 500 animals--probably because the commonly-used rat feeds contain fluoride between 12 and 45 parts per million[iv] and this study was no exception in using fish meal, which is high in fluoride, in their feed. This diminishes the difference between fluoride intake in control and treated rats and obscures the increased cancer rate in these fluoride experiments. And there is another side to this story: political forces succeeded in influencing scientists to down-grade already diagnosed pre-cancerous tumors, such as dysplasia, thyroid nodules and liver cancers that were found in these animals. In an action that some might view as fraud, a pre-publication review committee, representing the National Institute of Health, reclassified one osteosarcoma cancer as non-malignant because the microscope picture looked as if the cancer could be outside the bone. By cutting the number of cancers by just this one, the cancer rate was not statistically significant but only equivocal--and “equivocal” was the final opinion of the report to Congress by the National Toxicology Panel. One conscientious and courageous researcher, Dr. William Marcus, a senior scientist in the Department of Drinking Water at the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote an internal memo recommending that these questions be resolved by consultants outside the government. For this he was fired! But he sued and won his job back plus compensation of $50,000. There is no question that he was in the right; and the trial transcripts verify that public officials illegally destroyed documents and used subterfuge to get Dr. Marcus fired in the first place. The American Dental Association responded to the National Toxicology Study: “Water fluoridation remains the safest, most effective, and most economical public health measure to prevent tooth decay and to improve oral health for a lifetime.” Their director of scientific affairs responded: “one would have to consume about 380 eight-ounce glasses of water a day to obtain 45 parts per million of fluoride and 700 glasses daily for 79 parts per million.” By ridiculing the research findings this way, she obscured the fact that the rats only drank the water for two years. Humans accumulate the fluoride over a lifetime and an equivalent dose would take only 18 years (45 ppm) and 32 years (79 ppm) respectively. Human levels can actually exceed those of the laboratory rats that got cancer. The United States Public Health Service also issued a rebuttal [v]. The only concession was that “the prevalence of dental fluorosis may have increased.” On the other hand, they made note of the fact that in the years 1973-1987 the annual incidence of osteosarcoma among males under 20 years of age increased from 3.6 cases per million population to 5.5 cases per million. “Although the increase in rates of osteosarcoma for males during this period was greater in fluoridated than non-fluoridated areas, extensive analyses revealed that these patterns were unrelated to either the introduction or duration of fluoridation.” Nevertheless, do you feel safe with fluoride in your drinking water, knowing that since 1973 there has been a fifty-plus percent increase in bone cancer in our young men, an epidemic that is five times worse in fluoridated areas? The Public Health Report was published in 1991. Has research been done? Has a public debate ensued? Why have we sat by while our misguided political leaders have mandated fluoridation of the entire state of California? Will we passively permit the Public Health Service to do the same all over America? Dr. Dean Burk, former Chief of Research at the National Cancer Institute, was so convinced of the danger from fluoride that he addressed the District Court in Houston, Texas as follows: “I know of absolutely no, and I mean absolutely no means of prevention, that would save so many lives as simply as to stop

fluoridation, or don’t start it where it is otherwise going to be started. There you might save 30,000 or 40,000 or 50,000 lives a year, cancer lives. That is an awful lot of lives a year[vi].” AB 733 was approved by the California legislature and signed into law by Governor Wilson in September, 1995. We are all potential victims--of our well-meaning but over-confident officials. The only hope is You, the citizen. It is important that you be informed. For more information: http://keepersofthewell.com/on_point.html © Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 2010

[i] Erickson JD, Mortality in Selected Cities with fluoridated and non-fluoridated water supplies. 1976, NEJM, 298:1112-1116. [ii] Yiamouyiannis J and Burk D. Fluoridation and cancer; Age-dependence of cancer mortality related to artificial fluoridation. 1977, Fluoride, 10:102-125. [iii] Bucher JR, Hejtmancix MR, Toft JD et al: Results and conclusions of the national toxicology program’s rodent carcinogenicity studies with sodium fluoride. 1991, In J Cancer, 48:733-737. [iv] Rao GN and Knapka JJ. Contaminant and nutrient concentrations of anturalingredient rat and mouse diet used in chemical carcinogenicity studies. 1987, Fundam appl Toxicol, 9:329-338. [v] Public Health Service Report on Fluoride Benefits and Risks. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol 40, RR-7, 1-8, June 14, 1991. [vi] Burk D, Judicial hearing, Safe Water Foundation vs. City of Houston, District Court of Texas, Harris County, 1561st Judicial District. 80-52271. January 1982. o

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 Ola Loa, LLC DELUSION AND DENIAL  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. In the previous two installments of the ABCDEF of Fluoridation I have described  Lower Lake, CA 95457 the dangers due to the accumulation of fluoride in our bodies, bone cancer in USA young men, bone fractures in our senior citizens, and a variety of diseases, especially digestive and skeletal that seem to be on the increase. How can we  1.800.800.9550 pretend there is NO risk? But that is exactly what almost all health professionals  [email protected] are forced to do. They are presented the same one-sided information as everyone  Ola Loa Store else: that fluoride is an essential mineral (which is not proved); that it reduces dental caries by 60 percent (which has never been verified) and that there is no danger to the public (which is clearly untrue). If health professionals publicly disagree with this view, they are subject to peer review, censure, loss of job and loss of license. Remember, doctors and dentists Website by practice at the pleasure of the state. In some quarters it is considered Giraffex “unprofessional” for a doctor or dentist to criticize a public health measure, such as fluoridation. And unprofessional practice is often punished by loss of license. Few are eager to chance it and fewer still care to research the scientific information and draw their own conclusions. Thus they live and practice in Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC ignorance of the facts in this vital area, one that affects many other facets of medical practice. Some delude themselves that medical science is above politics; they deny that they could be misinformed or that the Public Health Service and

National Institute of Health could be wrong for fifty years. Denial is a protective mechanism for these busy people and I quarrel only with their arrogance, not their fear. However, it is a different matter when confronted with a professional profluoridationist, as I was when I recently presented my views as an invited speaker at Loma Linda University Medical School, department of Public Health. Naturally, the audience was mostly pro-fluoridation. My opposite number on the panel, who happened also to be a major influence on the California legislature regarding AB 733, the fluoridation bill, began his talk with a ten point critique of the antifluoridationists, by calling us: “the unprincipled opposition.” He did not go on from there to defend fluoridation. His was a qualitative, not a quantitative essay. There was nothing to argue about since he presented no data to validate his namecalling. His approach can at best be termed “righteous.” DENTIFRICE And why not feel righteous when you think you are on the right side. Public opinion is best measured in tooth-paste sales: 95 percent of toothpaste sold in America today is fluoridated. The acceptance of this type of product is almost complete. The power of health product advertising is evidently overwhelming when it is in line with the message of the Public Health Service and the dentalmedical establishment. In addition, there is almost no competing advertising for non-fluoridated products. Would an advertiser be allowed to extol the benefits of non-fluoridated toothpaste? First, he would have to prove some danger to fluoride, a feat that no one has been able to get by the FDA to date. Has anyone ever told you that fluoridated toothpaste contains 1000 to 1500 times MORE concentrated fluoride than fluoridated water! That the amount of fluoride in a 10 oz. tube of fluoridated toothpaste is sufficient to KILL a child under about age six years old! That the fluoride is so irritating that some people get sore tongue, gums and lips. That calls to poison control centers from mothers whose children get sick (mostly digestive ills) after using fluoridated products number in the thousands each year. Many people, adults and children alike, brush their teeth more than once a day, usually covering the bristles with a ribbon of toothpaste. A pea-sized gob contains about 1 mg of fluoride; but most folks use four to five times more. I have found many of my patients using dentifrice as a mouthwash and breath-freshener, not knowing that the fluoride binds and absorbs substantially through the mucous membranes. I have found children who like the taste so well that they actually eat from the toothpaste tube. Knowing what you now know, do you think that is safe? In India, they put a warning on the tube: “Not for children under age six.” E = EFFLUENT Less than 1 percent of fluoridated water enters the human body. The other 99 percent runs out of our pipes and into our sewers as hazardous waste, polluting the environment. Freshwater fish can’t survive in water with fluoride over 0.2 ppm concentration and many saltwater species succumb at fluoride over 0.5 ppm. Of course, they don’t drink the water; they live in it. It is now recognized that the near-extinction of the salmon population in the once-mighty Columbia River of Washington is due to fluoride, not failure of the carefully designed by-passes whereby fish can ascend to their ancestral spawning places. Sewage discharge into the Columbia is particularly high in fluoride because of industrial effluent containing fluoride. But the plight of the fish ought to tell us to beware of the low margin of safety of fluoride.

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Plant life is also sensitive to fluoride at low concentration. Diminished production of both chlorophyll and carotene are well documented in crops exposed to fluoride at 0.6 ppm. Think of that next time you water your lawn and it comes up less than green, or water your garden and it doesn’t grow nearly as well as after a natural rainfall. ERROR All of the foregoing reflects on the general ignorance about the far-reaching effects and toxic danger of fluoride. Are health professionals so slow-witted as to be taken in? I am afraid so. But it is not all their fault, because they can’t possibly review all the data in such a technical subject unless it becomes a major focus in their career. That’s what experts are for, but unfortunately the experts (I am not paid to do this) are operating at the same snail’s pace in dealing with the medical facts about fluoridation as they have been in using the flood of positive findings about nutrition and health. It has taken almost 30 years to convince FDA to permit folic acid in multivitamin supplements and add it to the food enrichment, even though deficiency has been known to cause birth defects all this time. Fluoride toxicity is subtle because it takes longer for the bad effects to show up; still one would expect more doctors and dentists to at least look into the facts. Perhaps many practitioners have suspected fluoride toxicity at some time or other. If so, how could they go about verifying such a diagnosis? Most likely they would be confronted with a patient whose medical history points to fluoride exposure, i.e. thirst, backache, tendon pain, intestinal gas, acid stomach, chronic fatigue and excessive intake of fluoridated water or tea (which is high in fluoride in its own right). The doctor might then write a laboratory order for fluoride measurement in blood or urine. But the laboratories are often in error and report a normal or low fluoride when it may be much higher. How is a doctor supposed to know about that?! I have personally talked to the directors of several medical laboratories and none of them knew that the standard ion-electrode test for fluoride often delivers a false reading, up to five times too low! They admit that fluoride testing is so seldom ordered by doctors that even the largest reference laboratories lack familiarity with the fine points. I must admit that I, myself, didn’t know about this until over 20 years after I was first awakened to the danger of fluoride. While reviewing my files in preparation for my testimony before the California Legislature, opposing the fluoridation bill, I came across a technical paper by my own medical school professor of biochemistry, Dr. Wallace Armstrong. Partly out of nostalgia, I read the entire paper. What a shock! There was the answer to decades of confusion about my frequent inability to verify the diagnosis of fluoride toxicity by laboratory means. Repeatedly, the urine fluoride test would fail to match my patient’s history of recent excessive intake. Dr. Armsrong was an ardent pro-fluoridationist and was instrumental in making Minneapolis one of the early cities to accept fluoridation 50 years ago. It was almost two decades later before he and his associate, Leon Singer, published their research[i] which revealed the potential for error in the common laboratory test for fluoride, a test that relies on an ion-specific electrode. They found that unashed samples yielded erroneous results, up to five times too low, because the ion electrode only measures water soluble fluoride and not protein bound and insoluble forms, which include calcium fluoride and other mineral fluorides. This explained my failure to confirm fluoride toxicity in many of the patients whose urine samples I sent to the laboratory over the years. Fluorides are so insoluble that unless the tissue sample is ashed, heated to 1000 - 2000 degrees, the fluoride crystals fail to ionize. Singer and Armstrong published this discovery in 1969, almost two decades after they had begun to promote fluoridation of

water, which gives you some idea of how long it takes to get things right in science. In 1974 I studied hair fluoride levels in 300 of my patients. Luckily, these were performed by the toxicology laboratory, of the late Professor Charles Hine, where the samples were properly ashed and measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Since fluoridation in San Francisco, at 1 part per million, was begun 20 years earlier, I expected to find an average of 1 part per million in the hair of my patients; and in fact that was so. However, eleven patients were much higher than that, having fluoride from 5 to 20 parts per million. All of these eleven patients had medical symptoms: low back pain, headache, depression, thyroid nodules, chronic fatigue--much like the cases I had read about. In 1983 I measured urine fluorides in a consecutive dozen patients. Four patients had fluoride over 3 parts per million in their urine. Because not all fluoride is excrted in the urine, some being lost via the stools, it is usual to estimate total daily intake by multiplying 24 hour urine fluoride output by 1.5. That factors out to 4.5 mg per day, which is what the National Academy of Science tells us is a common intake these days. Judging by the laboratory error factor, however, I strongly suspect that for some the actual fluoride results were higher. ESCAPE If fluoride was high in 1983, it is not less so in 1996. The background from all sources is increasing to such an extent that everyone with chronic medical symptoms has to consider fluoride as a probable cause, even before nutrient imbalance. There is no escape now from mass fluoridation. Knowledge of the health risks is a help; but how does one limit intake in a society which presents this toxic substance in all of our water, processed juices, soft drinks, tea, coffee, soup, all restaurant meals and breakfast cereals. To complicate matters, we now know that fluoride leaches extra lead out of the pipes, aluminum out of pots and pans, and increases our exposure to these toxic metals along with its own accumulating burden. In addition, many cities use industrial waste fluoride, which is always contaminated with heavy metals, including uranium. It is impossible to predict the lifetime impact of multiple metal fluoride exposure, but as a rule exposure to multiple toxic substances is more dangerous than single exposures. If all this is too depressing, take hope from the fact that, at alkaline pH fluoride passes through the kidneys more readily and this favors detoxification. If you are not inclined to a low fat, low protein, alkaline type-vegetarian type, the use of “buffered” vitamin C or some other form of bicarbonate of soda after meals is helpful (but no more than 2 teaspoonfuls per day of bicarbonate please). Mineral supplements, especially calcium and boron, bind fluoride into the stools, thus limiting absorption. The Chinese used borax to line their wells thousands of years ago in high fluoride areas. They didn’t know about fluoride, of course, but they did know about arthritis, fatigue, acid stomach and indigestion. If all the above seems like too much trouble then there are only three things to do: 1) Lobby your assemblyperson to rescind AB 733. 2) Eat organic foods whenever possible (pesticide residues are high in fluoride) and 3) distill your water (the currently available filters don’t remove fluoride). And finally, carry a flask of pure water wherever you go. I am doing just that myself because otherwise I get “lumbago,”: a stiff lower back, after just a few days on vacation at fluoridated “watering holes,” such as, Aspen, Palm Springs, Maui and on visits to my boyhood home, Minneapolis. F= FLUOROSIS

Fluoridation at the recommended 1 part per million dose causes damage to cells that produce the dentin and enamel during the development of our teeth. Mild cases show up as unsightly dull or brown spots, mottling, of the enamel of the permanent teeth. Moderate cases are identified by pitting of the enamel due to defects in the dentin, the inner core of the tooth. In severe cases the teeth are stained and deformed and more susceptible to caries. Mottling affects 10 to 80 percent of children living in fluoridated American cities. The high incidence cities have a high rate of unnecessary fluoride prescribing by physicians. Diet plays a big role in fluorosis also, as Drs. Massler and Schour found when they compared Joliet, Illinois with Quarto, Italy after World War II[ii]. These two cities had identical water fluoride, 1.3 parts per million; however the Italian children suffered mottling at a rate of 60 percent, compared to “only” 25 percent of the American children. The researchers concluded: “The higher index of mottling in Italy may be explained on the basis of difference in nutritional status. It appears that as the nutritional status is lowered, the cells (ameloblasts) which are responsible for the formation and calcification of the enamel become more susceptible to the deleterious action of fluorine.” The pro-fluoridation view today is that fluorosis is not a disease but only a cosmetic problem. This is a terribly superficial idea of fluorosis, for it fails to acknowledge the much greater concentration of fluoride in bone, which causes even greater damage, e.g. osteoporosis and cancer. And it also overlooks the very plausible idea that fluorosis affects collagen throughout the body, not just in teeth and bones but also in the skin and connective tissues. Dr. John Yiamouyiannis sub-titled his most recent book on fluoride “The Aging Factor” and, indeed, severe fluorosis resembles premature aging: dull and stained teeth, stooped posture due to arthritis of the spine, halting movements due to joint pains, and excessive wrinkling of the skin. FASCISM Tyranny is something done to you by someone more powerful, and without regard to your personal rights. When a law rams something down your throat, violating your personal health, this is fascism, even if it is well-intentioned. Assemblywoman Speier and Governor Wilson joined forces for the good but against the Will of the People of California who have repeatedly rejected fluoridation. Until now only 17 percent of California cities had accepted fluoridation. Most of the time, when the voting public are properly informed about the questionable benefits and certain risks of fluoridation, they vote against. I am forced to the reluctant conclusion that our legislative leaders, of both parties, have been duped by pro-fluoridation lobbyists. They have become reluctant fascists-for our own good! Who are these lobbyists? They are those who stand to gain the most from mandatory fluoridation. 1) The fertilizer and aluminum industries generate fluoride wastes. These wastes make up most of the chemical fluorides that are placed in our water. Instead of paying over $7000 per truckload to dump the industrial waste fluorides in specially secure dump-sites (fluoride can eat through glass and concrete), the industrialists instead are paid hundreds of dollars per load to sell these toxic wastes as mass medication. 2) The American Dental Association, dominates a docile profession. Dentists are still using mercury fillings despite the high risk of intestinal disorder, auto-immune disease, and neurological symptoms. The risk of harm to patients is certain. And the risk of persecution is considerable if dentists dare to remove such fillings and work with safer materials. For a dentist to speak against fluoridation is considered an equally unprofessional act; and dentists don’t want to talk about it or against it. Thus, the ADA, a professional society, is censoring the information and the opinions of its own members. 3) The United States Public Health Service seems to be equally status quo regarding the toxicology of fluoride. There is a lot of money and prestige at

stake. Bureaucrats are understandably afraid to offend wealthy and powerful industrial interests. They are also reluctant to admit they have been promoting a pseudo-scientific program for over fifty years. Those who speak up are intimidated or fired outright. Dr. William Marcus was lucky to win his job back, even though he was in the right and had served with distinction for 25 years at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. If we want direct and honest answers we have to ask the researchers after they have retired. Dr. Burk was very outspoken--after he retired. And so was Dr. Hubert Arnold, a retired professor of statistics at University of California at Davis. He wrote to a fluoridation advocate at UC San Francisco, who had called Dr. Arnold regarding his class on how to recognize statistical frauds. His comments were refreshingly direct: “The announced opinions and published research papers favoring mechanical fluoridation of public drinking water are especially rich in fallacies, improper design, invalid use of statistical methods, omissions of contrary data, and just plain muddleheadedness and hebetude...By the way, a study by John Yiamouyiannis and Dean Burk on possible connection between cancer and waterborne fluoride was fairly tightly reasoned. The statistical procedures were standard, and much better applied than in much of the Public Health work.” It may surprise you to know that fluoride has never been approved by our Food and Drug Administration for any medical purpose. A forthright legislator, Assemblyman John V. Kelly of the New Jersey General Assembly wrote to the FDA Commissioner in 1993: “My concern originated from a report that the New Jersey Department of Health had conducted a study and found the incidence of osteosarcoma to be significantly higher in fluoridated communities versus non-fluoridated ones...The Food and Drug Administration Office of Prescription Drug Compliance has confirmed, to my surprise, that there are no studies to demonstrate either the safety or effectiveness of these drugs, which FDA classifies as unapproved new drugs. The presence of these drugs on the market at this time appears to be contrary to the 1962 amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which requires prescription drug applications to provide evidence of effectiveness and the 1938 amendment requiring evidence of safety. There does not appear to be any scientific or legal reason for these products to be on the market at this time.” Statewide mandatory fluoridation was approved by the California legislature and signed into law by Governor Wilson over 2 years after this letter was written. No resolution of the bastard state of fluoride as a mass medication has been accomplished. The controversy goes on. We are all potential victims--of the wellmeaning arrogance of our health establishment and governmental officials. Become informed and protect yourself and your community. For more information: http://keepersofthewell.com/on_point.html © Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 2010

[i] Singer L, Armstrong WD: Total fluoride content of human serum. 1969, Archs ora Biol, 14:1343-1347. [ii] Massler M and Schour I. “Relation of endemic dental fluorosis to malnutrition. 1952, J Am Dent Assoc, 44:156-65.

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A review of the book: Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality by Harris Coulter. (N Atlantic Books, Berkeley CA 1990)

Information This book, on the relationship between vaccination and neurological illness, by the historian and homeopathic physician, Harris Coulter, is an expose and a hypothesis: vaccination causes learning disorders, including infantile autism, social  Ola Loa, LLC violence and criminality. The author’s hypothesis is that there has been an  11250 Clayton Creek explosive increase in developmental neurological injuries since 1960 and that this Rd. correlates with vaccination campaigns promoted by our Public Health Service.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA Dr. Coulter focuses on infantile Autism, an uncommon learning disorder in which the affected children fail at language development, or at least at comprehension.  1.800.800.9550 At the same time they fail to develop social relationships and instead become  [email protected] either compulsively attached to things or aggressively overactive and agitated by  Ola Loa Store any change in their environment or schedule. The recent movie, “Rain Man”, was for the most part, a good depiction of a high-functioning autistic grown-up. The first 11 cases of autism in children were described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943 as a new psychiatric disease syndrome. In the next 15 years only 150 cases were reported and these were believed to be caused by improper care on the part of frigid, rigid, perfectionistic parents. Since then the number of cases has skyWebsite by Giraffex rocketed and there are over a quarter million cases in USA now, affecting 4 boys to every girl. The incidence is estimated at 150 per 100,000 live births, about 5000 new cases each year. Is autism but the tip of an iceberg of neurological damage that afflicts large Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC numbers of the last two generations of our children? Less severe cases of neurologic damage presents as hyperactivity and learning disorders in the primary grades at school; and become delinquency, drug abuse and violence in

the teen age years? The title “minimal brain damage” has been superseded by the less threatening label: Attention Deficit -Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. No matter what you call it, does anyone doubt that we are seeing an epidemic of neurologic damage in our children? The amount of Ritalin prescribed for the treatment of hyperactivity disorder has more than tripled in the past 5 years and the number of children receiving this drug has more than doubled to over two million! The rest of our children, those not diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, still have evidence of mental impairment! Across the board SAT scores show a 10 percent drop in the past 30 years. This is tantamount to a 10 percent drop in the average American intelligence! The average Japanese high school graduate outscores all but the top 5 percent of our graduating students on our own tests! The suicide rate among our teen-agers has doubled and the violent crime that threatens us is also a reflection of the dire condition of this same generation. Are the parents of autistics really to blame for the peculiar developmental behavior of their children? In fact, the caricature of a “refrigerator mother” became the stereotype that was impressed on all the health professionals in training. Imagine the pain this caused to parents, who were made to feel responsible for causing the exasperating and nerve-wrenching behavior problems of their autistic children. According to Dr. Bernard Rimland, father of an autistic son and founder of The Autism Research Institute in San Diego, the initial 100 cases studied were a unique and homogenous group in terms of intellect and personality. The parents were of above-average intelligence, perfectionistic, and a high number were lawyers or medically trained. Kanner, himself observed that: “The mothers felt duty-bound to carry out to the letter the rules and regulations which they were given by their obstetricians and pediatricians.” Since the 1970’s this description no longer holds; i.e. there is no social or personality trait defining the parents now. Coulter suggests the following scenario: “Only the prosperous, who could afford private physicians, were in a position to request and pay for the vaccine in the early days. But as vaccination programs became obligatory the incidence of autism evened out among class and education lines. Researchers have assumed that the earlier statistics were incorrect; but actually they underscore the probable association of childhood encephalitis and vaccinations.” Coulter was aware that professional training made it more likely that the parents would comply with routine preventive medical procedures, such as vaccinations. The symptoms of autism are puzzling when viewed any way other than as a product of a disordered central nervous system. The list of common symptoms overlaps with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, schizophrenia, paranoia, hyperactivity and anti-social personality. But half of the autism children never develop speech! And over half are unable to score above 70 on IQ tests. And at least a third have obvious seizure disorder, though not necessarily the grand mal seizures that we usually identify with epilepsy. In case you are interested in these details, here is a sample list of these symptoms: 1. Alienation 2. Unaware of people 3. Unable to say “yes.” 4. Unable to look another in the eyes 5. Unaware of danger or risk.

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6. Anxiety--pervasive. 7. Diminished pain sensitivity. 8. Sleep disturbance, abnormal circadian rhythms 9. Cranial nerve palsies 10. Half the cases fail to develop speech 11. Most are fascinated by music. (Rock music popular in first vaccinated generation). p49 12. Over-developed taste and smell (these are unmyelinated) 13. Unable to relate new stimuli to remembered experience 14. Resistant to change. Kanner described their “anxiously obsessive desire for the maintenance of sameness.” 15. Attachment to objects is greater than with people Though many of these early cases involved a “refrigerator mother,” Kanner corrected himself in 1971, saying that this had been a blunder. Bettelheim wrote “The Empty Fortress” in 1967. His influence and prestige put the onus on parental wrongdoing for over a decade longer. Nikolaas Tinbergen, professor of animal behavior at Oxford, in his 1973 Nobel Prize Lecture (Physiology and Medicine), called autism an “emotional disturbance”, ..”an anxiety neurosis which prevents or retards normal affiliation and subsequent socialization.” He went on to deny a connection to genetic or neurologic factors, instead blaming the condition on early environmental influences. Kanner thought autistics were of normal intelligence except for an “innate inability to form ... affective contact with people.” (1944, p 215). Later research reveals that about 75 percent are mentally retarded and 40 percent have IQ lower than 50. Am J Psychiatry, 1984, DeMyer, William and Marian, (1984) conclude: “No specific cut-off exists between ‘mental retardation’ and autism. In fact, the rule is that the more retarded the child, the more ‘autistic’ features he or she will display.” Asperger’s Syndrome: A milder form of autism or developmental disorder, which commences after age three. Asperger first described “autistic psychopathy” in 1944. These children are intelligent but lack an understanding of and interaction with other people’s feelings. Lack of empathy. Lack of intuition. Absorbed in circumscribed interests. Bore others by talking too much about self. Sometimes commit crimes because they fail to appreciate context and consequences; but because they “look good” they are judged on moral grounds. Minimal Brain Damage (MBD): Hyperactivity vastly increased in 1950’s in American school-children. Again boys up to 10 times more than girls. About 3 percent of prepubertal children now suffer from MBD and most of these are also hyperactive. There is an association with mental retardation, seizures, cerebral palsy, sleep disturbance, nightmares, teeth grinding; enuresis, anorexia, and bulimia. Hyperactivity diminishes with age but attention span and memory difficulties continue lifelong. Dyslexia is common. Left-handedness is more common in

dyslectics, and so both have increased. Thus we find 16 percent of Americans under 30 are left handed; while only 12 percent of those over 60 are. Bonnie Kaplan (1987) found a consistently greater frequency of otitis and asthma in hyperactive children. Coulter’s basic premise is that vaccinations trigger a post-encephalitic syndrome with variable after-effects. The present vaccine package insert carries this warning: “Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has occurred in infants following administration of DPT.” This is not a small hazard. In Japan, the number of cases of SIDS recently dropped by 50 percent simply by delaying vaccines until after age 2 years. Vaccine reactions can be obvious, such as high fever; but about half the families Coulter interviewed did not recall an acute phase even though the child developed autism or neurologic symptoms afterward. Increased irritability or sleepiness can easily be over-looked; and the infant is unable to complain of headache. Anna Lisa Annell’s treatise on whooping cough (pertussis) turns on this point: “The degree of severity of the illness and intensity of the clinical symptoms do not appear to be decisive for the occurrence of sequelae.” “Even apparently uncomplicated attacks of infectious disease of childhood may result in brain damage, which may then be the primary cause of subsequent behavior disorders.” Coulter sums up as follows: “This leads irresistibly to the conclusion that severe neurologic sequelae may occur after vaccination even in the absence of an acute reaction. When the baby reacts to a DPT shot with a slight fever and fussiness or drowsiness for a few days, this may be, and often is, a case of encephalitis which is capable of causing quite severe neurologic consequences.” Sometimes baby’s symptoms take the form of hypersomnia--and the family fail to recognize this as a symptom.” The personality is influenced by impairment of mental concentration, attention and cognition, resulting in intellectual fragmentation. This alienates the damaged child from peers, a kind of social alienation, which aggravates the already gross egocentrism and emotional deadness. Many compensate by impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and hypersexuality. Vaccination and Allergies Half the American population suffers from skin allergies, rhinitis, asthma, irritable bowel and other allergic illness, that have been seen with increasing frequency in all industrialized societies. The manufacturer of DPT vaccine warns, in the package insert, that “allergic hypersensitivity to any component of the vaccine:” is an “absolute contraindication.” Of course, how does one know in advance who is allergic? The Center for Disease Control now regards the vaccines as safe and advises doctors to give them to everyone? However, Lawrence Steinman et al at Stanford performed an animal study which suggests that those with allergies may over-react to the pertussis vaccine. Kevin Geraght, a pediatric immunologist, compared strains of mice that react violently to DPT, with others that are unaffected. However when non-reactive mice are first injected with histamine, the DPT vaccine then provokes a violent reaction, including convulsions and death. The implication is that anyone with a high level of histamine, such as occurs with infections and allergies, is at risk of adverse results after vaccine administration. Some authorities regard autism an auto-immune disease. In 1982, Israeli researchers found autistic children with a cell-mediated immune response to brain tissue. In 1970 G.A. Rosenberg wrote: “An autoimmune allergic mechanism has been postulated as the cause of the uncommon occurrence of post-vaccinal

encephalitis, possibly with an initial invasion of the nervous system by a virus, with a subsequent antigen-antibody reaction.” Brain development occurs in two stages: first the nerve fibers grow and unite with their receptors. Then the process of myelination moves ahead, starting in the phylogenetically older parts of the brain and ending in the cerebral cortex, which are not completely myelinated until age 5 and later. Charles M. Poser, a neurologist at Harvard Medical Center, writes: “Almost any...vaccination can lead to a non-infectious inflammatory reaction involving the nervous system...The common denominator consists of a vasculopathy that is often associated with demyelination. This description fits the definition of autoimmune reaction. Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis has been known since the 1920’s when it increased in frequency as a result of the smallpox vaccination program, which caused Guillain-Barre, an ascending spinal paralysis also. Thomas Rivers produced brain inflammation in monkeys by injecting them repeatedly with extracts of sterile normal rabbit brain and spinal cord material. No longer was encephalitis attributed directly to viral or bacterial infection. The EAE is identical to that which occurs after infectious disease, e.g. measles, whooping cough, chickenpox, and after vaccinations. (Menkes JH, 1980 p 375) (Weizman A, et al 1982.). Dr. A. L. Annell recognized an increased tendency for children’s diseases to attack the central nervous system in this century. “Up to the 1920’s only isolated cases, were, as a rule, described. After this time a large number--not uncommonly occurring epidemically--were reported.” (Annell AL: 1953, p 15-16). 25 years later Roger Bannister agreed: “These acute demyelinating diseases have become more serious because of some abnormal process of sensitization of the nervous system.” (Bannister R, 1978, p 408). Coulter adds: “Prior to 1900 encephalitis from childhood diseases was an almost negligible danger. After 1920 it was encountered more and more frequently. And today the threat of encephalitis from whooping cough or measles is the main justification for vaccination programs. Thus the medical profession is in the curious position of urging vigorous measures against a health threat created largely by itself.”(p 160) Coulter’s research led to another important conclusion: “Autism, pervasive developmental disorder, developmental language disorders, stuttering, academic skills disorders, and many others are clustered in families and close relatives. Autoimmunity and allergy are the common thread in many of these cases but a search for genetic linkage has been equivocal. Coulter concludes that: “the genetic factor to be sought is the child’s predisposition to react to vaccination.” “Clustering is due to a genetically determined predisposition of members of the same family to react violently to vaccination.” (Steinman L et al, 1982). Coulter presents several other persuasive ideas: “The pertussis vaccination program was only sporadic in the 1920’s and 1930’s, becoming widespread during and after World War II. The appearance of autism and learning disabilities reflects the concomitant growth of this vaccination program.” “Society’s increasing production of neurologic defectives has caused a remarkable upsurge in violent crime. The start of this rise can be dated precisely to the early 1960’s... Rimland and Larson have called attention to the “striking, almost mirror-image correlation, starting about 1963, between the curves showing the decline in SAT scores and the upsurge in violent crime.” The vaccination program intensified in 1965 when Congress passed the Immunization Assistance Act. “A 1986 National Health Interview Survey found that between 1969 and 1981 the prevalence of “activity-limiting chronic conditions” in persons younger than seventeen increased by an inexplicable forty-four percent--from 2,680 per 100,000 to 3,848. Almost all the increase occurred between 1969 and 1975. Respiratory diseases increased 47 percent, asthma 65

percent, otitis media 120 percent. Most important for our purpose, mental and nervous disorders increased 80 percent, while personality and behavioral disorders, drug abuse and hyperactivity, went up 300 percent.” Coulter concludes: “The catastrophe of childhood vaccinations is due above all to professional hubris-the physician’s desire (often with the best motives!) to seize control over forces of nature and bend them to his will. The consequence can only be called a pollution of our internal environment..” “Our authorities should be mindful of the fact that in Western Europe only the tetanus and the oral poliomyelitis vaccinations are obligatory.” It is too soon to know if Dr. Coulter’s theory is correct; however there is no shortage of reports by parents of autistic children that their child was developing normal speech, had a fever or other reaction to vaccination, and then lost speech within a few weeks after. My own practice, which includes over 20 cases of autism in children under 5 years old in the past year and a half, bears out this scenario in over a quarter of the cases. One thing is clear, the number of children being vaccinated has increased and it is highly suspicious that various mental and physical disorders have increased in direct relation. It is the goal of our Public Health Service to have 90 percent of 2 year olds immunized with the full series of recommended vaccines by the year 2000. In 1991 the rate of compliance was 55 percent and today, only five years later, it is up to 75 percent, the highest level in history. The officials proclaim that infectious diseases are at an all time low as a result of their success. One might ask, “why are we having an epidemic of asthma if infections are so much better. Asthma is due to a combination of allergic and infectious bronchitis. Meantime the increased numbers of children with learning disorders has actually become one of the leading social problems of our time, and this is after lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, DDT, PCB and lindane have already been effectively taken out of our environment. Infant formulas have been improved to include more vitamin E, B6, folic acid, taurine, carnitine even omega-3 fatty acids in the past decade. Fluoridation would be suspect, but it has been taken out of infant formulas at the time when autism and ADHD are increasing. A low fat diet might be implicated if it could be shown that babies are getting less vitamin A and vitamin D than before; but then we should be seeing more cases of rickets. Antibiotics would be more suspect but then the epidemic should have happened long before now. Vaccinations are the most likely culprit. Finally, let us note that it is the less damaged cases that represent the larger problem--because they are healthy enough to live in mainstream society. But because they number in the millions they have become a threat to the stability of our entire civilization. This is not only due to the direct impact of crime, but as crime and violence have increased we have given our police more power. This is leading to passive acceptance of a “police state.” Wire-tapping, searching of home and property without a warrant, confiscation of property before a trial, loss of habeas corpus rights, blanket access to medical records as a condition of insurance benefits, and a number of other invasions of our Constitutional rights have already happened. Freedoms for which we have fought two World Wars, are now in danger of being given away due to a new kind of war here at home: a war against our young people, many of whom are excluded from the intellectual, occupational and economic mainstream because of undiagnosed neurological impairment. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are treatment options that offer real benefits--and some of the most effective are nutrients, not drugs. (To be continued).

896

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An apple a day may keep the doctor away--but not if it is juiced. That seems to be the most obvious message from the recent outbreak of E. coli food poisoning that has been laid at the door of the Odwalla Juice Company. By now almost everyone

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has heard about the severe dysentery that afflicted over 60 American children, one of whom died. There were 10 cases in Seattle a day before Halloween and six of the patients said they had drunk an Odwalla apple juice product. The county  Ola Loa, LLC environmental health director was in a quandary about what to do. On the one  11250 Clayton Creek hand he lacked direct evidence that the E. coli O157 bacteria had actually come Rd. from Odwalla juice. So he called FDA and initiated a bureaucratic conference involving 40 health officials nationwide in a massive conference that went on until  Lower Lake, CA 95457 past 3:00 AM. USA  1.800.800.9550 This committee of experts agreed that it was prudent to notify the public and  [email protected] initiate a recall of the suspected Odwalla products. “Better safe than sorry” makes sense in this case, in light of the Jack in the Box hamburger disaster that afflicted  Ola Loa Store more than 700 persons and caused 4 deaths just three years ago due to “undercooked” meat. Since then fast-food restaurants are under orders to cook their burgers well done, no red juices at all. That is what it takes to kill the bacteria. Unfortunately, it also destroys some of the food value, even the amino acids and especially the fats. And heat is not the only antidote: proper food handling, especially the maintenance of refrigeration, is even more important. Website by Giraffex

While meat is usually free of pathogenic bacteria in the interior, the surface may have been contaminated in transportation or cutting. Thus, it is unwise to allow meat to stand at room temperature or even to thaw slowly. However the risk of heavy bacterial infection is much greater with ground meats than with steaks and filets. The very act of grinding meat necessarily spreads bacterial contamination Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC over the surface of the myriad of globules. No wonder hamburger can be dangerous. Even a minor number of virulent bacteria on the meat, which there often is, will reproduce and can reach astronomic levels in just a few hours. In fact,

E. coli are known to reproduce themselves, to undergo cell division, in about 20 minutes at room temperature. That means a single organism can generate a million progeny in about 7 hours and that is almost certainly sufficient to be an infective dose! But when food is contaminated it usually means thousands or millions of organisms per gram to begin with; and so a much shorter incubation period can be dangerous. As little as two or three hours at room temperature can catapult the bacterial load from a sub-clinical to severely toxic degree of infection. How many children drink juice from a bottle that is left at room temperature or perhaps never put back into the refrigerator? From what I have seen, it is commonplace to allow a child to carry a nipple bottle for long periods of time. Sometimes the bottle doesn’t get emptied at all and the remnants are dumped at the end of the day. Many babies have a bottle in bed all through the night as a pacifier. What a dangerous pacifier! Luckily, juices with acid pH, below 4.4, i.e. similar to vinegar, inhibit growth of E. coli. Organic acids, such as benzoic, propionic and citric acids are commonly used food preservatives for this reason. Apples, citrus and cranberries are usually acid, pH 3.0 to 4.5, and thus protected against E. coli--until the 157:H7 strain came along. After the 1993 hamburger disaster, the FDA issued a Medical Bulletin for health professionals. In addition to the recommendation about cooking ground beef to 155º, i.e. well done, the bulletin also mentioned apple cider as a source of infection. This was because “fresh pressed apple cider was part of the title of a 1991 report of an outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in apple cider, with diarrhea, blood cell destruction, and kidney damage. The FDA also reported person-to-person transmission of the disease and now in 1996 there is a report of thousands of sick school-children in Japan: same bug, same miserable symptoms. Only they got sick from eating Japanese radish sprouts. Evidently this bacterium really gets around. It is not an apple juice problem. It is a fecal contamination problem. What’s going on here? Back in the 1950’s, during my training years, E. Coli was thought of as a normal flora in the intestinal tract. The virulent strain, called 0157H7 was not even recognized until 1982. Evidently we have a new mutation here. FDA researcher Thomas Cebula explains that the E. coli microbes mutate rapidly and repair their own damaged DNA by taking up DNA stands from other bacteria, even from other species, such as Salmonella, which cause severe diarrhea in their own right. It seems likely that this is an unpleasant consequence of 50 years of antibiotics. Whatever the cause, the fact remains that virulent and resistant bacteria are making an increasing appearance. E. coli 0157 is one of these bad bugs. Is there anything we can do about it? Let’s consult an impartial expert. Let me quote from a review of the subject in Science magazine (15 Nov 96), Dr. Miroslav Radman of the Institut Jacques Monod in Paris has this to say: “I would never promise people that even if we do find a trick to kill the mutators, the bacteria won’t find another trick to avoid it. And then we’ll have to find another. And so on. That’s life.” In other words, there is going to be ongoing exposure to this and other virulent bacteria. As a rule however, these microbes are not even diagnosed. It is hard to diagnose new diseases. For example, only a handful of laboratories are set up to identify the 0157 strain of E. coli. In addition, diarrhea is such a common symptom that most E. coli cases are not even seen by the doctor. One might say: E. coli 0157 causes the runs and then runs its own course. It does not usually cause high fever, seldom above 102º F. The complicated cases get the attention because they cause bleeding--bloody diarrhea-- and destruction of blood cells that then can clog the kidneys with blood cell waste. This is the hemolytic-uremic-syndrome and it can cause kidney failure and death. Fortunately it only occurs in about 2 cases in a hundred. In the current series, there was only 1 death and another close call, both in young children, who often are at greater risk due to nutrient deficiencies, weak secretion of stomach acid and low levels of vitamin A and Carnitine.

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The 1993 FDA Bulletin actually ends with some very good rules for safe eating of ground meat and poultry: 1) keep it cold; 2) keep it clean; and 3) cook it thoroughly. Right there you have an implied warning, one that tells us there is no guarantee that E. coli contamination can be prevented. In fact, no matter how stringent the rules may be at the processing plant, infection with E. coli 1057 is inevitable. There are so many sources of infection that some or all of us are exposed to this bacterium on a regular basis. E. coil is a coliform, bacteria, an organism found in the colon. There is not a one of us who does not have daily contact with colon bacteria. That is why we should ALWAYS wash our hands, or at least rinse them under running water, after using the toilet. However many people fail to perform this simple health ritual and yet seldom get sick anyway. Why not? It comes down to basic things like: 1) the number of bad bacteria ingested; 2) the potency of the stomach acid of the individual; 3) the nutrition status of the individual; 4) the immune status of the individual; 5) the intestinal health of the individual. The greatest error in the entire E. coli tragedy is the false expectation that any food product can be 100 percent uncontaminated. This leads to the dangerous expectation that perishable foods can be left out of the refrigerator for hours at a time. E. coli divide about every 20 minutes and a single coliform bacillus can multiply by a million in just 7 hours. Given enough time at room temperature, food spoilage can be very dangerous if there is a virulent microbe aboard. That is why we have refrigeration. This tragic epidemic of bacterial food poisoning has clearly attracted attention from the media and the public. This attention should be used to educate the public to expect all food to be contaminated, not only at the factory but especially in the kitchen. E. coli was not found in the Odwalla factory and only one bottle in the warehouse had E. coli--and that might have come from the inspectors or from laboratory error. It is more likely that the E. coli came from household sources, such as unclean hands, diapers, floors, pets--or the children themselves. Pasteurization will not kill all E. coli and cannot protect against the inevitable contamination at the point of consumption. This is not a manufacturing problem. It is a public health education problem. Odwalla officials could perform a public service by making this point. Because they have maintained high standards of cleanliness in their plant, they are in a position to set the record straight, something that the FDA appears unprepared to do at this time! Here are a few rules that you can use to protect yourself: 1) Accept the fact that food contamination is inevitable. Be on guard. 2) Don’t eat food that has been left at room temperature for more than two hours (three if it is cold to begin with). 3) Don’t eat left-overs that are more than 3 days old. 4) Never eat under-cooked hamburger unless you know it has been freshly ground and immediately refrigerated. 5) Never eat deviled eggs, egg salad or potato salad at a buffet or picnic--unless you know that it has been refrigerated continuously. 6) Never use warm cream in your coffee or tea at a restaurant. If it is not cold it is not safe. 7) Be especially careful if you have weak stomach acid. Acid is the first line of defense against microbes in food. That is why a cocktail, wine, coffee or hot spices, taken with meals, can diminish the extent of food poisoning. All of these

are known to stimulate acid production. On the other hand, antacids, particularly the H3 blockers and omeprazole, can breach the acid barrier and set the stage for infection. Because people with vitamin B12 deficiency usually have weak acid secretion, and B12 patients usually are troubled by anemia, they should be particularly careful about food poisoning. The use of acid supplements may be useful in that case. © Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 2010 1296

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Mercury makes up about half a gram, i.e.. 500 mg or 500,000 mcg, per ton (about 1000 Kg) of the Earth's crust, mostly as a reddish mercuric sulfide, known as cinnabar. Thus mercury is naturally present in our food, ranging up to 50 ppb in

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fruits, vegetables and grains, 200 ppb for meats and 600 ppb for fish. This translates as 600 ng (i.e. 0.6 mcg) per gram. When mercury concentrations are higher than this it is certainly due to agricultural chemicals, such as mercury  Ola Loa, LLC fungicides.  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. The daily intake of mercury in our food is said to average 12 mcg. This is 40,000 to 100,000 times less than the dose of elemental mercury sufficient to cause acute  Lower Lake, CA 95457 symptoms, 500 mg, or death, about 1000 mg. And so it is not something that we USA have to worry about. Or is it? Bio-accumulation is the surprise: even small doses  1.800.800.9550 can build up internally over the years until toxic levels are reached. Most  [email protected] authorities now agree that a daily intake of 100 mcg of mercury should not be exceeded. As you will see, many is the day that any of us do exceed that.  Ola Loa Store Another worry: when poisoning does occur, the effects are so vague and variable that the diagnosis is usually missed! The ancient Chinese mistakenly believed mercury was a key to long life. This cost the lives of several Emperors! But lest we be smug, in our own time large outbreaks of mercury poisoning still can be confusing to our best doctors and health officers as Goodman and Gilman Website by acknowledge in their classic textbook of pharmacology: "with very few exceptions Giraffex and for numerous reasons, such outbreaks were misdiagnosed for months or even years. Factors in these tragic delays included the insidious onset of the affliction, vagueness of early clinical signs and the medical profession's unfamiliarity with the disease." Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

That last part is particularly disturbing because the medical profession has had the advantage of scientific observations about mercury since ancient times. The

effects of mercury toxicity on industrial workmen, craftsmen and physicians of the day were catalogued by Bernadino Ramazzini in his fascinating book, Diseases of Workers, published in 1713. He described the plight of mercury miners: "within four months they become subject to palsy of the limbs, paralytic, and suffer from vertigo." Goldsmiths, tinsmiths and mirror makers also were afflicted. "Those who make mirrors become palsied and asthmatic from handling mercury." Nevertheless, mercury compounds have been used as medical therapies since antiquity, particularly as laxatives and diuretics and more recently as antiseptics. Ramazzini referred to mercury in treating scabies and lice infestations as well as being the only cure for intestinal worms. In the 16th Century mercury compounds were a favorite treatment for Syphilis--even though the results were often worse than the original illness. Then in 1572 Nicholas Monardes, a French physician, introduced a new treatment, the herb, sarsaparilla. Though this seemed to work better it fell out of favor, seemingly due to the fact that Monardes also prescribed a month without wine or sexual activity and confined the patient to a warm room. It was over 200 years later when the British observed that syphilitic Portuguese soldiers treated with sarsaparilla recovered much better and faster than the British, who continued to use mercury. Recent research in China confirms that sarsaparilla actually clears the blood of the spirochete of syphilis in 90 % of acute and 50% of chronic patients. Why then did mercury compounds remain in use against syphilis well into the 20th Century? Why did mercurous chloride, Calomel, remain a popular laxative until only 30 years ago? In fact, why are a number of mercury salts still in use: mercuric sulfide, cinnabar, in tattooing and mercury nitrate in curing felt for hats.? The literary portrait of the "Mad Hatter" in Alice in Wonderland was drawn from the brain damaged behavior common amongst workers who once were required to chew the felt during manufacture, thus taking in a toxic dose of mercury. While this hazard no longer occurs, mercury salts are still to be found as red and yellow oxides of mercury in paints and in electric batteries. Ammoniated mercury and phenyl mercuric nitrate are still found as antiseptics and preservatives in ointments. The two most used mercury chloride salts are known as Calomel and Corrosive sublimate. These are not very soluble and only about 10 % absorbs; however they do react with sulfur in the cells and enzymes. The corrosive form causes cell damage and severe irritation to the mucous membranes with burning pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea to give notice of exposure. Calomel is less caustic and makes its presence known by causing a watery diarrhea. While these compounds do not enter the brain they can accumulate in the kidney and heart, causing diuresis and irregular heart rhythm. Elemental mercury, the familiar silvery liquid in thermometers, is much less toxic when ingested because it is almost non-absorbable by mouth. On the other hand almost all of the vapor absorbs if inhaled and this heads directly for the brain! Injury to the lung tissue also occurs because of oxidation once the metal enters the blood. Thus heavy exposure to mercury vapor causes acute irritation, edema, obstruction of the bronchioles and ruptured membranes. Chronic inflammation and asthma can occur in the lung due to mercury deposits even after recovery from the acute symptoms and the ongoing fibrosis can lead to the insidious onset of emphysema decades later! Organic mercury compounds, particularly methyl mercury, are the most toxic form of mercury because they absorb almost completely from the gut into the blood. Some bacteria are able to "eat" elemental mercury, and inorganic mercury salts and change them into the more dangerous organic methyl and phenylmercury forms that are able to pass easily through cell membranes and cross into the central nervous system. Thus the symptoms of methylmercury are due to nerve damage: pain, tingling and numbness of the extremities, clumsiness,

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shakiness, muscle spasms and emotional over-reactivity. This syndrome can go on to mimic Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Methylmercury also crosses the placenta in pregnancy and accumulates in the developing fetus so that at birth the infant has mercury a third more concentrated than the mother! Worse yet is the recent discovery by Dr. Ehman and his team at the University of Kentucky that fetal mercury localizes in the Nucleus Basalis of Meynert, which is the specific area of damage in Alzheimer's Disease. This is the largest trace-element imbalance so far observed in the Alzheimer's disease brain and it may be the reason that even low level mercury exposure can cause significant impairment of memory and learning. Might it also act as a time bomb, adding to the effects of other damaging events over a lifetime to culminate in damage to the memory centers of the brain at an early age? With these dangers in mind it seems incredible that mercury salts have been a traditional part of medical therapy for hundreds of years and are still in use as a diuretic agent according to the 1983 edition of "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine." Mercury combines with sulfur-containing enzymes in the kidney, thus defeating the ability of the tubular cells to reabsorb sodium. As the sodium goes on out the kidney it takes water with it--but at risk of damage to the kidney cells. Closer to home, mercury compounds are still in use as preservatives and bleaching agents in dermatologic and cosmetic lotions, ointments and creams. Organic phenylmercuric nitrate, for example is present at 1:10,000 concentration in Preparation H suppositories (as of 1992, since then the amount of mercury has decreased). Since each suppository weighs about 1 gram, the mercury content is about 100 mcg and this type of organic mercury is almost completely absorbed! While this may not be sufficient to cause acute symptoms, regular use could accumulate enough to reach toxicity, especially if there are other sources of mercury as well. I recall one of my patients, a very distressed 60 year old woman, who came to me when five years of psychotherapy for anxiety and agarophobia had failed to relieve her symptoms. Dependence on tranquilizers had merely traded off anxiety for depression. Hair analysis found 35 ppm of mercury, the highest level I have seen in 25 years! This was a pubic hair sample so it is unlikely that the mercury was from an external source, such as a preservative in a 'natural' shampoo. However, she had been bleaching the aging spots on her hands and arms with a mercury containing cream for the preceding 8 years and mercury does absorb through the skin. She gradually improved when the cream was discontinued and she followed a high protein diet with methionine to increase mercury excretion. In addition she took extra vitamin C and physiologic minerals, such as magnesium, zinc and manganese, to compete more effectively against mercury in the cells. Even though the amount of mercury in the bleaching solution was not very great, the excretion of mercury is so slow that over two months is required to remove half of a given load. Thus, continued exposure leads to accumulation and chronic poisoning can occur in the face of relatively low levels of exposure. Mercury is excreted via both urine and feces, about 90 percent via the bile into the feces. However, reabsorption takes place in the intestine and thus accumulates to higher levels in the body. A digest of horsehair, which is made of keratin, a high sulfur collagen, is a clever antidote. It binds mercury but is itself indigestible and not absorbed. Thus it carries more mercury out with the stools. By combining this therapy with absorbable sulfur substances, such as D-penicillamine or NAcetyl cysteine, the circulating mercury can be chelated to the sulfur and removed from the tissues. Here are a couple of other cases of mercury poisoning from the pages of Dr. Jay Arena's text on Poisoning. One tragic death was caused by the use of merthiolate for a month to clear an ear infection. In another instance, mercury vapor from a

freshly painted gas heater caused the death of 3 children. Vapor also escapes when marine paint is scraped from boat bottoms, a not infrequent event amongst boat owners. In fact, I identified two of my own patients with neurologic symptoms that way. Dizziness was a prominent symptom in one of the patients and was diagnosed as "vestibulititis" by a consultant, who did not consider the possibility of heavy metal poisoning. Acrodynia, was a common disease of infants due to the use of Calomel for teething and mercuric bichloride as a diaper rinse from the 1850 period and after. Ammoniated mercury ointment was also associated with a similar rash plus enlargement of spleen and lymph nodes. Acrodynia was still a common illness amongst children, even after 1948 when Drs. Warkany and Hubbard identified the connection to mercury. It was also called "pink disease" because of a distinctive pink rash on fingers, toes, nose, cheeks and buttocks. Recently it has been linked to water-based paint, especially outdoor types, which contains phenyl mercuric propionate to prevent mold and mildew. While this possibility has been known for years, it wasn't until 1991 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a total ban on the use of mercury in house paint after a case of acrodynia in a 5 year old child exposed to fumes in his newly painted room. This struck home with me personally because 20 years earlier my infant son was poisoned by paint, which he ingested by teething on his favorite toy. The paint in this toy contained 6000 mcg of lead per gram of paint. It was an illegal paint in this country but had made it through customs just the same and this probably still occurs once in a while. My son's life was saved because I made the diagnosis by means of hair analysis when he was scarcely a year old! But I failed to deal with the public health channels, i.e. I didn't report the case because I didn't know then that lead intoxication is a reportable disease. It never came up in my medical school, internship or residency. Our family pediatrician flunked-out even worse, i.e. he denied the diagnosis even in the face of positive results from the tests that I had ordered of blood, hair and the chewed upon yellow paint from one of my son's toys. Of course, he didn't report it either. It was a classic case of a competent physician caught off guard and whistling in the dark in an unfamiliar situation. This is not unusual in medical practice. For example, it is the rule that doctors assume vitamins and minerals are normal in almost every case and hence laboratory testing of these life-giving substances is put aside. Where nutrition is concerned medical practice operates with eyes closed. And even if the test results indicated low or borderline levels, most doctors have a hard time prescribing specific nutrient therapy. It is still considered controversial, even quackish, a 'no-no' in the medical world. However the danger of heavy metal poisoning, i.e.. exposure to lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and aluminum is universally recognized and there is no longer any excuse for medical incompetence in diagnosing and treating any of these toxic elements, especially since hair analysis makes diagnosis so much easier and less expensive. Nevertheless, the Goodman and Gilman description of the situation still holds true and mercury toxicity is: "misdiagnosed for months or even years (due to) the medical profession's unfamiliarity with the disease." To be fair, let me say that lead poisoning is now widely recognized as a major public health problem, particularly for children, who are more vulnerable to exposure from paint chips and contaminated dirt and more susceptible to the damaging effects on the nervous system than are adults. Major progress was made in 1974 when Congress passed the Lead Paint Control Act, which legally removed lead from most gasoline and all indoor paints. The results are apparent in my medical practice: hair test results have shown a big drop in lead, from an average range of 15 to 25 ppm in 1980 to 4 to 7 ppm now. Of course, for the best of health one's lead level should be zero so we have a way to go. Mercury is equally as poisonous as lead and I mistakenly assumed that our public

health laws assured that it was not permitted in dangerous amounts. Thus, though I knew about the presence of mercury preservatives in latex paints, I thought that since lead was removed then mercury was also. Wrong! In fact, when lead was removed from indoor paints, the marketplace adjusted by selling more water-based "latex" paints. That is changed now due to the increased reports of mercury poisoning from paints. These cases have confirmed our previous suspicions about the danger of poisons in general, a by-product of the mushrooming problem of pollution that has spawned a powerful environmental consciousness in all of us. So we are ready to listen with intelligence when a few research scientists brave the heat of the medical and scientific world to present their findings that dental amalgam, which we have all accepted as safe, is actually the leading cause of mercury poisoning in Western civilization today. Getting at the truth about mercury is like pulling teeth: the diagnosis comes out easily in the bad cases; but in the milder ones, truth is harder to extract. The potential danger of mercury in silver fillings is a case in point. Fastidious research in Sweden by Dr. Jaro Pleva demonstrates that the amount of mercury that enters our body each day from a mouthful of "silver" amalgam (50 % mercury!) is at least 10 mcg per cm of surface, i.e.a single full surface filling. In a mouth with 12 fillings as much as 200 mcg of mercury is released per day and if there is contact to a gold crown, an additional 250 mcg of mercury is released. Is that worth worrying about? You bet. to be continued... © Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 2010

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Something clicked in my mind this week, an insight that I have resisted for many years. There is a bit of the contrarian in me, I must admit; but I do hold back, I fight the urge to find fault. I do respect authority and I dread anarchy. But I don’t believe in blind obedience in politics--and certainly not in questions of science.  Ola Loa, LLC

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 11250 Clayton Creek However the fact is that our health bureaucracy, which is political, regulates Rd. medical research, products and commerce in most areas of vital personal interest, e.g. Food, Drugs and Health products and services in general. The FDA is the only  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA agency of our government with censorship powers that can abridge constitutional freedoms, such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press.  1.800.800.9550  [email protected] When I was a medical student I was shocked and saddened at the spectacle of  Ola Loa Store FDA harassment of the psychiatrist and researcher, Dr. Wilhelm Reich. He eventually died of margarine poisoning in a federal prison where he was sentenced for contempt of court--after he refused to cooperate with a judicial hearing that he felt was improper. He felt it was impossible for a court of law to judge his scientific work and he stuck by his guns--and it killed him. I am not kidding about the cause of death: prisoners were served high trans-fat margarines in prison, now known to induce coronary atherosclerosis, and he succumbed to a Website by Giraffex heart attack within a year and at the young age of only 58. Soon after his death, his scientific writings were burned in an incinerator by the FDA, right here in America. The bureaucrats regarded his books as “labeling” for the orgone accumulator, his invention, which the FDA and their experts contended did not work and had no scientific basis. Burn, baby, burn! Only the FDA can get away with that. No bureaucracy in America should have that power! Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC But that was before the health effects of air ionization were appreciated. Reich

proved by experimental measurement of electroscope discharge rates that the accumulator did preserve a negative electrical charge potential. This very likely represented electron transfer from the metallic lining of the orgone accumulator. I think a serious scientific investigation now would have to acknowledge that Reich’s biggest crime was in being too far ahead of his time. But that is not the point. Bureaucracy won. An eccentric scientific genius lost-and we all lost something with him--a piece of our freedom! We have gotten accustomed to allowing bureaucracy to censor information that applies to our personal health. We accept the fact that an expert necessarily knows more than we do about what is good for us. Poppycock! Currently we have been brainwashed by a 50 year propaganda campaign to blame our major health problems on fat and cholesterol. At the same time, it was, illegal to make claims that health problems could be caused by mineral-depleted soils or that health benefits were obtainable by means of vitamin and mineral supplements. The American people were kept in the dark. Physicians who spoke out were ridiculed, censured, and occasionally lost their license! That is why there are so few nutrition-physicians in America today. There are lots of nutritionists with other degrees or no professional degree at all, but there are almost no qualified and experienced physician nutrition specialists. Most doctors have been misled by their training in a way that denies the importance of nutrition. The de facto situation in American Medicine remains: “put nutrition last.” I hate to say it, but most physicians are not qualified to diagnose nutritional disease, to give nutrition advice, or to answer most of the medical nutrition questions of their patients. This is the number one reason for the declining prestige and credibility of the American physician. It is also the main reason for the increasing popularity of acupuncturists, chiropractors, nutritionists, homeopaths, massage therapists and lay healers, who all rely heavily on nutrition and herbalism, including homeopathic herbalism. Let’s review just a few situations where governmental experts have held back public appreciation for the truth in the field of medical nutrition. First let me draw your attention to the classic remark that appears at the end of almost every one of the thousands of news releases announcing new discoveries in nutrition: “more research is needed.” That one sentence by itself has held back the use of nutrient therapy for decades. Vitamin E: Drs. Evan and Will Shute, brothers who 60 years ago treated their patients with vitamin E and wrote about its remarkable benefits against heart attack and arteriosclerosis, were ridiculed and ostracized by their colleagues and the AMA leaders. Time has proved the Shute brothers correct even beyond their expectations. The most recent research shows an almost 50 percent reduction in heart attack mortality simply by taking vitamin E supplements--just as the Shute brothers taught us 60 years ago! But to this day have not been given credit for their medical breakthrough, and for their courage in challenging the medical establishment and forcing the world to confront the fact that a vitamin could prevent and/or cure a fatal disease. Vitamin C:Dr. Linus Pauling did a careful analysis of the world medical literature about vitamin C and the common cold. He concluded that the vitamin at doses higher than the official RDA (recommended daily allowance) offered a 30 percent decrease in symptoms, though not a complete preventive effect. He was called senile, even for such cautious heresy. Challenged, he went on from there to research the anti-cancer effects of vitamin C. A single vitamin, which at doses in excess of 10 grams per day gave a 7-fold survival advantage to terminal cancer patients. He opened the way to the antioxidant revolution and was finally credited in a special issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1991. But he has never been credited properly for his enormous courage and scientific leadership in the field of Orthomolecular Medicine. History will judge that this should have been the basis of his third Nobel Prize.

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Folic acid:deficiency was known 60 years ago to cause birth defects, especially spina bifida, failure of closure of the developing spinal cord. This information might have prevented thousands of babies from a lifetime disability. But our FDA and their advisors were not quite convinced. Afraid to be wrong, they ruled against food enrichment with folic acid until 1997! Furthermore they ruled that vitamin pills could contain only a minute 400 microgram amount of this vitamin for fear that an occasional case of vitamin B12 deficiency would be obscured by larger amounts of folic acid. It is so ridiculous in the light of hindsight that one has to question the whole idea of allowing experts to rule as dictators in the real world. Market forces and lawsuits are probably a better way--certainly more honest and true to nature. If someone is harmed by a product, let them sue. That is more reliable than expecting a small board of appointed experts to determine what is right for everyone. Vitamin A:Here is a vitamin that is deficient in at least 20 percent of our population over-all, and more like 50 percent of the sick, especially in hospitals. This vitamin is absolutely essential for immune competence, healing, hormone regulation and detoxification of a host of chemical agents. It was the first vitamin proven to prevent cancer. That was in 1923! After 85 years we read new reports of cancer reversal and reversal of some leukemias as well. How many chemotherapy drugs can do that? Deficiency is fatal, especially to children. Take measles for example: children with low vitamin A are likely to suffer complications and even die from the disease; children with adequate vitamin A are protected--so much so that vaccination for measles is actually unnecessary as long as vitamin A is maintained. Nature has endowed us the capacity to store up to a few years supply in our liver; however, infection and poisoning can deplete these reserves in a matter of hours! And few of us are saturated, full to the brim, to begin with. Why not? Because the public health experts tell us that vitamin A is dangerous. Hence, vitamin companies keep the amount of vitamin A in their products at the low RDA, 5000 iu. Therapeutic doses of 25,000 to 100,000 iu are hard to get. How about dietary sources--eggs (300 iu each), whole milk cheese (300 iu per ounce) or butter (450 iu per Tbsp), heavy cream (220 iu per Tbsp), or liver (50,000 iu per 1/4 pound)? But all these traditional foods are high in cholesterol and fat. They are not allowed in the low fat, high complex carbohydrate diet, which is currently ‘in’. So we have more vitamin A deficiency and more epidemics of flu and viral disease--and cancer too as a result. Vitamin D: Breakthrough: The New England Journal of Medicine, March 1998, leads off with research that documents almost 60 percent incidence of vitamin D deficiency on the medical wards at Massachusetts General Hospital. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9504937 That is almost as bad as an earlier study that found an 80 percent deficiency rate in elderly nursing home patients--particularly if they used sunscreens! In both cases these grim statistics are a result of ‘expertosis,’ expert opinion gone awry? Widespread deficiency of vitamin D is caused by two errors in public health policy. Error number 1 is the low fat diet. By avoiding dairy fat, the benefit of vitamin D fortification is lost. Is this the secret cause behind the epidemic of osteoporosis? Yes, and that leads us to error number 2, a second public health fiasco: solar phobia. On the basis of questionable evidence, the public health experts have convinced the public to stay out of the sun and to use sun blockers before exposure. As little as SPF 8 is sufficient to prevent penetration of UV light and prevent vitamin D production in skin. Instead of sunbathing, almost everyone these days is gobbling calcium tablets; but it won’t help much without vitamin D--because this vitamin regulates calcium absorption. Since sunlight is now off limits, how about food sources? The food sources of vitamin D are: dairy, fortified foods, including breakfast cereals, gelatin products, and fish, all of which yield 50 to 100 iu per serving. Cod liver oil contains 400 iu per teaspoonful. Add it up and you will see that it is not easy to get 800 iu of vitamin D from food on a day to day basis. Sunbathing, especially exposing the

skin between the shoulder blades for about 20 minutes, 3 times per week, remains the most efficient way to maintain vitamin D protection. A surprise finding is that vitamin D, and especially combination vitamin D and calcium, will prevent bone fractures and osteoporosis. However this does not work at vitamin D intake less than 800 iu daily. This is 400 units higher than the old RDA and 200 iu higher than the newly revised RDA for those over 70 years of age. Thus the New England Journal editor recommends that: “the amount of vitamin D in supplemental multivitamins or calcium supplements should be increased substantially, and all adults should be advised to take them.” This is a major change in the attitude of medical orthodoxy. Until now, fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D, were considered stable and unlikely ever to be deficient in the wellfed American population. IT was taboo for health professionals to claim otherwise. Perhaps our public health experts are recovering from “expertosis” at last! In summary, we see again that some of the most effective nutrients, such as vitamins A and D and folic acid, have been restricted for the past many decades; and the low fat, high carbohydrate diet, which is the darling of the health experts and promoted almost as a panacea, is flawed. While there may be a reduced risk of coronary arteriosclerosis with the low fat diet, the deficiency of fat soluble vitamins puts one at extra risk of succumbing to environmental hazards, such as infectious disease, cancer, pesticides and toxic chemicals due to low vitamin A, and osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, and hypertension due to low vitamin D. If that isn’t bad enough, consider the already established fact that the low fat, low cholesterol diet is associated with depression, suicide and violent death from accidents and homicide, probably due to hypoglycemia and hyper-insulinism! I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that medical progress has been delayed by at least 25 years and that millions of lives have been lost and millions more made unnecessarily miserable because of misguided bureaucratic policies against nutrition medicine. This has been particularly strategic in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state licensing boards, but also in the various public health services. Is it unfair to charge the governmental agencies with mass murder? I think not. However the greater crime has been committed by ourselves. You can’t really blame bureaucrats for being conservative and defensive. If they make mistakes they lose their jobs. But we, the public have been too damn passive; and if we make mistakes we pay with our lives! So the cure for ‘expertosis’ is to realize that no one can take care of you as well as you can take care of yourself. Don’t give away authority or responsibility for your health to a bureaucracy, not even one manned by experts. Only in case of trauma or fulminating illness is it necessary to rely totally on the judgment and skill of the medical team--and the grace of God. But when it comes to staying alive and in good health day to day, each of us must satisfy his own genetically determined needs in relation to the demands of everyday life. When that is not working, the most reliable authority is the dialog between you and your doctor. Well-meaning propaganda and well-intended laws that interfere with that relationship do a disservice to the health of America. © 2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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I was honored to be an invited panelist at the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN) Conference convened by the Autism Research Institute in 1995. Dr. Bernard Rimland called the conference to bring together 30 of the most knowledgeable

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people in the field and he wisely included the orthomolecular voice in an otherwise academic chorus, which focused on peptides and immune disorders. One thing we all had in common, however, was the awareness that autism has  Ola Loa, LLC changed since Leo Kanner's landmark paper describing a handful of cases in  11250 Clayton Creek 1943. The most noticeable event has occurred in the past decade, which has Rd. witnessed an alarming increase in the number of children with language delay and attention deficit. The more severe language delay cases usually are given a  Lower Lake, CA 95457 diagnosis of autism at age 3 to 4; those who develop sufficient speech to USA communicate are usually spared the stigma of diagnosis until their attention  1.800.800.9550 deficit becomes more disabling, usually upon entrance to Kindergarten.  [email protected] At the time I suspected that vitamin A deficiency might play a role in autism  Ola Loa Store because it is essential for growth and development of every cell in the body. I had observed that many mothers were avoiding animal fats, and therefore curtailing vitamin A for their children. There was animal research to back up such a connection but only recently have I seen a human study that supports this idea. Scientists at Salk Institute recently reported their observations that early brain development is affected by vitamin A deficiency, leading to defects in memory Website by and learning ability.[i] Giraffex Recently I have become aware of the powerful adverse effects caused by homocysteine in people with diets low in B vitamins and especially in those with one or more of 8 genetic enzyme defects. The extreme cases are rare but they cause severe brain disease--and death--in children. Milder cases may not ever be Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC diagnosed, although they can cause mental symptoms, including schizophrenia. There is evidence that about half of all adult psychosis (schizophrenia and manic depressive disorder) is related to homocysteine. For example, in one study the

enzyme MTHFR, which methylates homocysteine, thus producing methionine and enabling the vital process of methylation, to succeed in regenerating adenosine, thymidine and other nucleic acids was found defective in 7 of 11 schizophrenics. These patients did not respond to vitamin B12 but did recover after treatment with folic acid.[ii] Zinc deficiency seems to affect almost all of the autistic children I have examined. There is good reason to consider this as an aggravating factor if not a direct cause of the damage. In the first place, zinc is essential for activation of vitamin B6 into the pyridoxal form required for production of the zinc-ATP complex that participates in the enzyme, cystathionine synthase, which controls the major path for removal of excess homocysteine.[iii] Note that B6 activity is dependent on adenosine which is part of the ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). Adenosine is also in short supply at times, for it is dependent on THF (tetrahydro folate), which is in turn sensitive to T3, which depends on adequate selenium for activation. That chain of nutrition dependent links is often broken. One reason these molecules aren't better known is that they have long names and lots of abbreviations. Follow this description (if you can): Di Methyl glycine (DMG) is analogous to Di methyl ethanolamine (DMAE). Add a methyl group to each and you have TMG and TMAE. But these are commonly known as betaine and choline. Now here is the key: TMAE, i.e. choline, is a larger molecule than DMAE, and we know DMAE, i.e. deanol, crosses into the brain more readily than does choline. In fact, the brain restricts the entrance of choline by a mechanism that converts it to phosphatidylcholine first. This mechanism uses another nucleic acid product, uridine, and requires energy. Deanol by-passes these complicated steps and is more readily available to the nerve cell, where it picks up a methyl group, which converts it into choline, making it available also as a precursor for production of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Thus both deanol and choline are recognized as "smart molecules" which promote neurotransmission, stimulate the nerve synapses, and actually promote nerve regeneration. The same sort of chemistry applies to DMG and TMG. Dimethylglycine is smaller and more readily available than Tri methylglycine. I haven't seen actual research to document this point but the clinical results suggest that something of this sort must go on in order to give DMG the beneficial effects that have been reported by parents of autistic children. While it may have other effects, it certainly has substantial benefit by providing a methyl group to protect the brain against homocysteine. It also may be an extra source of methyl groups for nucleic acid and myelin sheath repair. By now I have tested 12 of my autistic patients for homocysteine and found half with dangerously high levels that probably play a part in their disability. This has opened up a new approach to treatment that has also proved helpful in most of these cases. This is a promising lead and it deserves to be tested under controlled conditions. Homocysteine is a known cause of blood vessel disease in adults and research rates it as much more hazardous than cholesterol. The dangers of homocysteine were first observed in children with homocystine in their urine in 1962; and the link to atherosclerosis in the general population was proposed in 1968 by Kilmer McCully. This was regarded almost as heresy. He lost his job at Harvard over it; and the controversy remains very much alive to date despite much supporting evidence, such as the following case. Matt is a 23 year old autistic child, now grown up, living in an apartment and working in a supervised rehabilitation setting. His speech is limited and impaired by stammering, which interfere with his ability to hold a job. His rehabilitation counselor recommends tranquilizer therapy to minimize the negative effects of anxiety. He was diagnosed with autism at age 3, a neurologist confirmed lack of eye contact, inability to imitate and physical clumsiness. He improved after age 6 when an orthomolecular psychiatrist treated him with 2 grams of niacinamide

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and extra B1, B6 and C. He began speaking in sentences two weeks later. Before that he had been speaking in short phrases, such as: “go school”; or "put shoes me on.” One night he said: 'remember when we did….etc. His mother was astounded. However he had psychotic symptoms during adolescence, especially after wheat intake. One day he began talking to his watch, and the watch was giving him instructions. His mother is convinced that he has stayed well by avoiding wheat since then. Gestation was uneventful and birth weight was 8 lb 3 oz after a long labor of 23 hours. His Apgar score was low at first but then recovered. He was jaundiced in the hospital but it cleared in a week. However he did not suck well and could only get 2 ounces per feeding! He was nursed for six months. Ear infections occurred 3 or 4 times per year as a baby and he was treated with antibiotics. He had constant diarrhea as a baby, but fevers were not an obvious problem. Vaccine reactions were not apparent. He was not given fluoride treatments but has no cavities anyway. My initial laboratory studies showed normal blood count, urinalysis, and chemistry panel. Vitamins and minerals were within normal limits except copper was marginally low and ferritin, the iron storage protein, was high enough (336) to suggest over-load or a degree of liver irritation, perhaps related to long-time intake of an iron-containing multivitamin. Fatty acids of the red blood cells were measured and found 10% low in DHA, 10% too high in odd-numbered very long chain fatty acids (C25:0) and 50% high in a long chain fat that reflects deficient intake of essential fatty acids (C23:0). High C25:0 may be due to sluggish oxidation of fatty acids, possibly due to impaired electron transport in the mitochondria. This is an indication for a trial on coenzyme Q, copper and possibly riboflavin-which requires T3 for activation to coenzyme (FAD), and hence is dependent again on selenium, etc. Follow-up testing was not available, but his clinical course was positive. In the next year he calmed down noticeably. His stammer also improved, especially during the low carbohydrate phase of my Balance Point Test diet.™ However his biggest improvement was unexpected. It turned out that he had been wetting the bed almost every night for many years and medication (Ditropan, Imipramine) had failed to help. However, now within a month after treating with betaine (TMG) 1 gram two times per day this had almost ceased! The frequency declined from 28 times per month to only twice. He also slept better and became calmer and more relaxed. This treatment with betaine had begun after a methionine loaded test of total plasma homocvysteine was elevated. Matt had a normal test result (4.8 uM/L) after an overnight fast just a month earlier, but I re-ordered the test because about a third of the cases are otherwise missed. Thus after giving him 3 grams of methionine 6 hours before the test sample was taken, the result was almost tripled. (13.8uM/L). It is believed this reflects a B6 problem or a defect in the excretion path of homocysteine. This may also account for the benefits he got as a child in megavitamin therapy, since one of the vitamins contained vitamin B6, probably at a dose well over 100 mg per day. By now I have had the pleasure of observing substantial benefits in a number of autistic individuals, just from this one, safe and inexpensive adjunct to the treatment of developmental brain disease, including patients with autism, ADD, chronic bowel disease. This is not to dismiss other treatments, especially since the treatment of homocysteine may involve one or more of at least half a dozen factors in addition to betaine, such as folic acid, cobalamin (B12), pyridoxal (B6), Nacetyl cysteine, taurine, serine, choline, and di-methylglycine (DMG). Thyroid and riboflavin (B2) are also helpful in some cases. But TMG has a remarkable benefit just the same, possibly because it buttresses the capacity of the liver to metabolize methionine, which can be dumped on the liver in rather large quantities after meals.

Because omega-3 essential fatty acid deficiency is so common and the adverse effects so relevant to neural development and repair, dietary sources, such as fish oil and flax oil, should be tried early in treatment. The omega-3 essential fatty acids they provide are essential for cell membrane structure and function, and anti-inflammatory effects in general. Borage and Primrose oils, which provide omega-6 essential fatty acids, such as GLA, are also helpful in some cases; however the omega-6 fatty acids promote arachidonic acid activity, which is proinflammatory. Hence they should be tried later along with dietary sources, such as calves or lambs liver, kidney, lamb, and shellfish, either broiled or in stews. Note: Vitamin E, at least 400 iu, per day, is recommended in order to prevent peroxidation due to the extra intake of ultra-polyunsaturated essential fatty acids. Disturbed fatty acid metabolism is often improved by supplemental carnitine 500mg, riboflavin (50 mg), and copper (1-2 mg). These team up to promote oxidation of the Very Long Chain Fatty acids (lignoceric, hexacosanoic and octacosanoic) that are frequently observed in fatty acid blood testing of autistic patients. Since copper is over-stimulating to most autistic children, especially at the beginning of treatment, it must be witheld a few weeks (or longer) until zinc, iron, selenium and essential fatty acid treatments have had a chance to take hold. Zinc and copper are opposite in their behavioral effects, but zinc is commonly deficient in autistic children, and this opens the door to copper dominance and over-stimulation. How is this so? Zinc is a natural inducer of the protective intestinal metallothionein system, a layer of cysteine containing proteins in the wall of the gut. This system regulates the absorption of zinc and blocks the excessive absorption of copper. In the first several weeks of zinc supplementation, while induction of this system is in process, supplemental ubiquinone, 30 mg is a helpful adjunct, to substitute for copper in the electron transport chain in case of copper deficiency. After that copper and zinc should be re-checked if possible and supplementation of copper can be considered. Trace minerals need to be clinically evaluated individually for best results in treating autism but here is a rough outline: Zinc 25 mg, followed by Selenium, Chromium, and Molybdenum, all at 25-50 mcg twice per day. Then iron 10 mg, manganese 10 mg, and copper 1-2 mg. Supplementation should be twice a day and in that order. It makes sense to continue taking any that seem helpful but adjust doses relative to results and there should be follow-up mineral testing every 3 months. Amino acid supplements are often helpful, especially if there is intestinal malabsorption, wheat intolerance, lactose intolerance or food allergy. Free amino acid formulas are efficient; so is Seacure™, a proprietary microbial digest of fish protein The antibiotic fatty acid, lauric acid (Monolaurin™), has been particularly beneficial in my experience, especially for those children with signs of irritable bowel and dysbiosis, which usually improve in a few days after only 1 capsule twice a day. Probiotic agents, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus sporogenes, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus salivarius have also been appreciated by my patients. Other non-specific orthomolecular treatments for autism: Vitamin C 1000 mg twice a day Bilberry with grape seed extract 280 mg DMAE (deanol) at doses of 25 to 250 mg per day (reduce dose or stop for a time if irritability occurs). Piracetam and Cavinton have also been given favorable reports by parents.

CNS extract has been helpful in my small experience with it, just a few cases. That is a formidable list of treatments. Many children are so uncooperative that it is difficult to persuade them to ingest even a single nutrient! But eventually most parents succeed in carrying out orthomolecular treatment programs and children almost always gain at least partial benefit. It is probable that earlier treatment will yield better results. To prevent toxic-build up in newborn nurseries, use paints that do not contain volatile organic compounds. Livos (800 621 2591), Gliddens Spread 2000 (800 3670862), Sinan (916-753-3104), andAFM Safecoate (619-239-0321). In addition, unbleached and undyed carpets may be purchased from Nature's Carpet or Allpure wool rugs from the Environmental Home Center (800 281 9785). Synthetic carpets are tainted with over a hundred toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. See articles in the environmental Magazine. http://www.emagazine.com © 2010 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 0399



[i] Evans et al: Neuron, 12/22/98 [ii] Regland B, Germgard T, Gottfries CG: Homozygous thermolabile methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase in schizophrenia-like psychosis. J Neural Transm 1997;104:931-41. [iii] Zinc and the regulation of vitamin B6 metabolism. Nutr Rev 1990;488(6):255-8.

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Perhaps you didn't know there is another war going on besides the one in the Middle East. This one is a public health war, a war against fat and cholesterol that has been going on for more than 30 years. As befits a major war, the American

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Heart Association has formed a Task Force on Cholesterol Issues. Together with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute they recently distributed a report entitled "The Cholesterol Facts," The purpose of this report is to answer criticism  Ola Loa, LLC from popular magazine writers and "a small group of physicians" who have  11250 Clayton Creek questioned whether the 5 to 8 billion dollars expense attached to the National Rd. Cholesterol Education Program is a waste of time and money. I tend to side with those who believe cholesterol can wait.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA My bad pun is no worse than the bad joke that the cholesterol campaign seems to  1.800.800.9550 be. Not that I disagree with the 3 key points of the Fact Sheet: 1) High serum  [email protected] cholesterol is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. 2) Lowering cholesterol helps prevent coronary heart disease. 3) People live longer if their serum cholesterol  Ola Loa Store levels are lowered. All this is certainly true for most people. The joke is that a diet low in fat, particularly saturated fat, is being advised for everyone, even women and children, for whom the evidence against fat is especially weak, and at great inconvenience, anxiety and loss of pleasure to many. The evidence that a low fat diet prescribed for everyone will save lives is just not Website by persuasive. There is also the real danger that by adhering to a low fat, high Giraffex complex carbohydrate diet some people will suffer intestinal irritation and malabsorption of nutrients, particularly folic acid and vitamin A, both important agents against blood vessel disease in their own right, not to mention their proven role in fighting cancer and infection. The war against fat and cholesterol can cause further "collateral damage" to some, who may be treated unnecessarily Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC with cholesterol lowering drugs on the basis of small laboratory error that puts them in a statistical high risk category, mandating drug treatment. Keep in mind that almost half of normal people have changes in serum cholesterol from week

to week, enough to affect their risk category. Doctors should reserve cholesterol lowering programmes for those with excessively high cholesterol and certainly not for the public in general. The National Cholesterol Education Program has already had a major impact on America. Cholesterol has become a household word and fear of fat and cholesterol, once considered a sign of cardiac neurosis, is now considered normal! It is becoming increasingly difficult to find animal fats at the supermarket: the dairy products are mostly low-fat and the meats have been trimmed in advance. Vegetable oils are advertised as "cholesterol free," as if to imply that cholesterol has been removed when actually these oils do not contain cholesterol in the first place. Everyone is on the band-wagon. Considering the relatively weak evidence in favor of cholesterol as a risk factor and the fact that the controversy about the cause of our heart disease epidemic has been over 40 years in the making and billions of dollars in the spending, it is surprising how little resistance there has been to the present cholesterol juggernaut. One of the best critiques was authored by Drs. Muldoon, Manuck and Matthews in the British Medical Journal back in 1990. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1664099/pdf/bmj002020052b.pdf Their rebuttal hinged on the following well documented medical research reports: 1) Autopsy results find blood level of cholesterol is not related to the degree of atherosclerosis 2) Detailed examination of the largest primary prevention trials of cholesterol reduction has failed to show a benefit in over-all survival even though there is a reduction in heart attacks. For example, in 6 major studies the follow-up totalled 119,000 person years and cholesterol was reduced on average 10 percent. There were 169 heart attack deaths in the treated groups versus 197 if untreated, a barely 28 in 60,000 difference, ie. about 50 lives saved per 100,000 in treatment for cholesterol. However, over-all mortality was slightly higher in the treated groups due to a doubled risk of violent death from accident or suicide. Mortality statistics in the USA for white men age 45 to 54 averages 64 per 100,000 men per year, including motor vehicle accidents, homicides and suicides which occur at about the same rate. The death rate from these causes in the cholesterol treatment groups was 107 per 100,000 and the higher mortality was about the same for drug treatment as for the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. At first this finding was viewed with skepticism, except by those of us in nutrition and molecular medicine who are familiar with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). The low fat diet is likely to provoke hypoglycemia in many people and there is a substantial body of research that shows increased violence, seizure disorders and accidents as a result. Recently, a study of monkeys on a low fat diet has reported similar findings: the monkeys become more aggressive. Another view of this phenomenon comes from clinical studies in humans with violent or aggressive behavior, including homicide and suicide: there is a significant trend towards below normal levels of serum cholesterol. The good part about the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) is the emphasis on good nutrition and a return to fresh fruits and vegetables. The bad part of the anti-cholesterol policy is the fear of food, particularly fat, and the failure to mention the protective effects of the good fats, the omega-3 fatty acids. Most of all the NCEP fails to acknowledge the importance of other cardiac risk factors--all more dangerous than cholesterol. Consider that deficiencies of specific nutrients, such as omega 3-essential fatty acids (EFA), essential minerals, such as magnesium and copper, and vitamins, such as C, E and B6 are all known to cause heart attacks. There is no proof that cholesterol of itself does so. Excesses of some naturally occurring substances are additional adverse risk

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factors. High insulin levels, for example, are induced by excessive dietary sugars Insulin is a powerful hormone that drives sugars and fats into cells, including those in the walls of blood vessels. It also activates a cholesterol synthesizing hormone in the blood vessel walls, thus initiating cholesterol plaque, the hallmark of atherosclerosis. Cooking and food processing produce oxidized fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid hydroperoxide as a by-product from vegetable oils used in salads and in frying. Frying in an iron skillet, which catalyzes the production of fat peroxides, is a worst case situation. For some people, a high protein diet provides more amino acids than they can safely use. One of these, methionine is converted to a toxic intermediate, homo-cysteine, which is known to cause blood vessel damage and heart attacks in up to 20 percent of the cases in men and also in post-menopausal women. This hazard is aggravated by dietary deficiency of vitamin B6 and folic acid, which are needed to get rid of the excess homocysteine.http://www.drinkyourvitamins.com/homocysteine-the-key-to-heartattack-stroke-cancer.html PCB and DDT residues dissolve in fats and cholesterol plaque where they can damage blood vessel walls to an extent greater than cholesterol by itself. In fact, cholesterol is now known to have a protective antioxidant function and injections of pure cholesterol appear to be harmless. Only oxidized cholesterol, as from overheated foods, particularly scrambled eggs, omelettes and broiled meats, is directly toxic, Cholesterol is produced by every cell in the animal body and is essential for stable membrane structure and control of the membrane electronics. A recent study showed that in diabetics a high cholesterol diet gave extra protection to the kidney cells and improved kidney function. Cholesterol is the substrate from which steroid hormones are made. Without cholesterol our bones would dissolve from lack of vitamin D, our ability to adapt would cease due to lack of cortisone and our human species would die out due to lack of sex hormones. Cholesterol is an essential substance for animals. Vegetables and plants do not need it and vegetable fats are free of cholesterol. It is hard to think of something so important to life as dangerous; but an overdose of anything, even air or water, can be toxic. The orthomolecular question is: what is the optimal level of cholesterol for the best of health? This is a matter based on your individual needs. The proponents of the war on fat advise that above 200 mg per 100 ml of blood is dangerous and that under 150 mg heart attacks virtually cease. I think the well established statistics for men between 40 and 65 years of age, showing a doubling of risk of heart attack above 240 and quadrupling above 260 are more realistic. The additional predictive power of the ratio of cholesterol and HDL, the protective lipoprotein that prevents cholesterol deposits is even better. There is very little question that a high total cholesterol and a low HDL, such that the ratio approaches 6.7 or more, is dangerous. And ideally it approaches 3.5. The laboratory offers powerful weapons in the war for health. Blood tests to verify vitamin, mineral, hormone and enzyme levels are extremely helpful in fine-tuning if you are well or in diagnosing the defects and deficiencies that cause malfunction of blood vessels, immune cells, nerves or other organs, thus causing the symptoms of illness. A simple blood test of vitamin E is now known to be the best predictor of death from heart attack. And vitamin C has recently been demonstrated to be the most potent agent in extending the duration of antioxidant action of vitamin E. Measurement of blood levels of essential fatty acids can demonstrate the actual need and proportions of these powerful molecules, which prevent the platelet clots that cause atherosclerosis and blockage in the first place. Measurements of mineral status, particularly magnesium, chromium and selenium, are invaluable. Magnesium alone has

proved to be one of the most powerful treatments, reducing death from heart attack by over 70 percent. It should be measured in every case of suspected coronary heart disease. Every one of these orthomolecules is a more powerful health risk factor than cholesterol. That is why I say: "Cholesterol Can Wait". If there is to be a war for health, let it be a war for total health, not a war focused on cholesterol only. Just as nutrition comes first in personal health, so nutrient testing should come first in medicine. This orthomolecular approach to diagnosis identifies a more complete list of health factors, almost all of which are correctable. Vitamins, minerals and hormones are your most powerful weapons in your personal war for health. Use them. Richard A. Kunin, M.D. ©2011 391

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Until lately it was believed that the best, and perhaps the only, way to achieve a healthy old age is via genetics, ie. as a gift of nature. The search for the elixir of life or the fountain of youth, on the other hand, reflects a nurturing approach to

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longevity. The nature-nurture debate about human traits is ongoing but the current trend is increasingly in favor of nurture, as in nutrition. We have arrived at a consensus on diet and aging: intake of fresh fruits and vegetables can increase  Ola Loa, LLC longevity and decrease disease.  11250 Clayton Creek Rd. The science behind this consensus is the free radical theory of cell damage as proposed by Dr. Denham Harman in 1956. Free radicals, molecules with an  Lower Lake, CA 95457 unpaired electron, are generated by the process of normal body chemistry but USA they can react with the enzymes, membranes and even the nucleic acids within  1.800.800.9550 cells, thus causing damage that shows up as loss of function and withered  [email protected] appearance typical of the aging process.  Ola Loa Store Free radical production is mostly in mitochondria, that part of the cell that performs oxidation of carbohydrates and fats, thus producing end products, ie. energy, carbon dioxide and water. The mitochondrial membranes are subject to accidental damage from the free radicals they produce. In addition the free radicals cause electronic chain reactions when they interact with unsaturated fatty acids stored in cell membranes, causing electrons to leap through the Website by membranes and into the DNA within the cell nucleus. The cumulative end result Giraffex of decades of this sort of thing is aging: the damaged cells produce altered products, eg. thin hair, wrinkled skin, pigment spots and in a worst case, the cell is transformed into a cancer cell. Because free radicals are inevitable by-products of normal body chemistry, Mother Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Nature has evolved a comprehensive system of anti-oxidant protection, based on antioxidant enzymes within the cells and antioxidant vitamins and minerals from the diet. Glutathione peroxidase, Superoxide dismutase and Catalase are the best

known of the enzymes that capture free radicals before they can do much damage. Each depends on a steady supply of key nutrients, such as methionine, cysteine, selenium, zinc, manganese, copper and iron. When these nutrients are in short supply our anti-oxidant defenses may fail. Bad nutrition does not only make you sick, it also can make you old before your time. Antioxoidant vitamins, such as vitamins C and E, have the property of electronic duality, changing from oxidized to reduced form and back again by means of giving or taking up electrons (negative charge) or protons (positive charge). This redox property serves to stabilize surrounding molecules, particularly the unsaurated fatty acids in cell membranes. Saturated fats are stable; they do not peroxidize and hence their presence serves to stabilize cell membranes and nerve transmission. Unsaturated fatty acids are reactive, they readily gain or lose electrons from their double bond carbons or lose protons from their acidic portions. Two of these unsaturated fats, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids, cannot be made in the body but are required for survival; therefore they are classified as essential. The primary sources are vegetables, particularly salad oils (linoleic acid) and oils from flax, walnut or soy (linolenic acid). Since molecules of life must pass through the cell membranes, in order for life chemistry to operate, the cell membrane fats must be poised at the optimal reactivity. The vitamin antioxidants provide a supply of electrons (negative charge) and protons (positive charge) to stabilize and preserve the membrane redox balance. Without this supply of redox elements, the fatty acids are vulnerable to altered regulation, eg. lower energy ouput, and also to peroxidation, whereby the free radical is passed on throughout the cell and causing damage to the genetic material. Increased intake of fat, particularly unsaturated fats, increases the requirement for antioxidant protection. Pathological states, such as fever or increased excess thyroid hormone amplify the metabolic rate and the production of free radicals. Extraordinary physical activity, particularly endurance exercise, such as long distance running, also increases the oxidant load and the requirement for antioxidant protection. Without antioxidant supplementation, these conditions lead to premature aging. There is more to this free radical theory than just abstract science. Your own rate of aging and your claim to ongoing good health depend on your own personal balance of genetics, activity and dietary intake, including supplementation. A study from the University of Minnesota, my old alma mater, is one of the first prospective studies showing a link between vegetable and fruit consumption and lung cancer risk. A questionnaire was sent to 41,837 Iowa women, age 55 to 69. After 4 years there were 179 cases of lung cancer and when diet intakes were compared with 138 randomly selected non-cancer patients it was found that high intake of all vegetables, fruits or of green leafy vegetables were each associated with a reduction in cancer cases by half, ie.half the risk of lung cancer if you eat your veggies! Continuing on that theme, a headline appeared in the American Medical Association News (4/26/93): "Veggies beat popping pills" The article was reporting a study released by the American Heart Association in which the health of 87,245 nurses correlated with their intake of carrots and spinach, rich in beta carotene. Those who ate 5 or more servings of carrots per week had 68 percent less risk of stroke than women who ate one serving per month or less. Those who ate spinach every day had a 43 percent lower risk. This study by Drs. Manson, Stampfer and Willett concluded that beta carotene provided the greatest protection against stroke, though vitamins C and E also provided additional protection.[1] Vitamin A also provides protection against

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stroke. Patients with higher than normal serum vitamin A (over 65 mcg/dl) had reduced mortality, higher rate of recovery and better outcome from stroke.[2] Of course, it is better to protect against stroke in the first place. Research evidence finds potassium and vitamin B12 of particular value in this regard. The risk of stroke decreases as the dietary potassium intake increases.[3] The mechanism behind this is not yet known, but it is known that high potassium diets also prevent damage to the cells lining blood vessel walls. Atherosclerosis and cholesterol deposition are markedly reduced with a high potassium diet. Vegetables, particularly melons, squashes, seeds, nuts and fruits are the richest dietary sources. Deficiency of vitamin B12, found only in red meat, often leads to dangerously increased amounts of homocysteine and MMA (methyl malonic acid), by-products of protein metabolism. Homocysteine is specifically toxic to the endothelial cells, the lining of blood vessels, and causes platelet clumps and clots. In a recent study at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Denver[4], 152 patients were screened by measuring serum levels of B12 as well as homocysteine. Deficiency of B12 was identified in 22 of these patients when homocysteine and MMA were measured along with B12. The blood test of vitamin B12 alone is likely to miss the diagnosis; therefore researchers recommend that all three be measured when B12 is in question. The extra tests cost $125 and insurance may not always cover the expense but is that not cheaper than a wrong diagnosis and inadequate treatment? By treating the B12 deficiency, heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular diseases are prevented. Other nutrient deficiencies are common causes of illness in the elderly: for example, folic acid deficiency in post-menopausal women is known to contribute to osteoporosis, B6 deficiency interferes with immune and nervous system function. How about vitamin C? A recent study in Holland compared women living at home versus those in nursing homes.[5] The dietary vitamin C intake was observed to decrease as dependency on institutional care increased. Thus women at home selected diets with over 130 mg of vitamin C on average. Nursing homes provided only 54 mg of vitamin C daily and clinical signs of scurvy were identified in over a third of these women! Even in France with its tradition of good foods and wines and minimum of food additives, research finds that the elderly are often selenium deficient[6]. There is more to it than diet because it is known that plasma selenium decreases with age. The lower selenium status correlates with reduced activity of the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase. Other nutrients that decline with age are chromium and coenzyme Q. Chromium deficiency aggravates diabetes and promotes atherosclerosis. Supplementation can improve the diabetes and actually reverses atherosclerotic plaque[7]. Coenzyme Q is a natural catalyst for energy production within cells; it also protects the mitochondria from oxidation. The net result is both a significant increase in energy and protection of the cells, a combination of effects that preserves our youthful qualities. Energy is not enough to assure healthy aging, however, for one also must remain free of acute illness so as to enjoy life. The power of nutrient supplements against infection is well documented by professor Ranjit Chandra, a world leader in research defining the nutrition-immune relationship. A control group of about 50 healthy seniors, all over age 65, was observed over the course of a year. On average they reported 48 days of infection-related illness in that time. This was more than twice the amount of illness, only 23 days, reported by a similar group who were treated with a special multivitamin mineral supplement. In this case, research demonstrated a 50% reduction in illness for those taking a properly engineered nutrient supplement! Such research is helpful because there are still many people who just can't believe that a "simple" vitamin pill can be of value. And research is indispensable in persuading the largely skeptical medical

profession, who have been brainwashed by the institutional bias of their medical education against diet and vitamin therapy. Can 150 million Americans (who take vitamins) be wrong? Only the AMA, FDA and the surgeon general seem to think so. On the other hand, excess calories, overeating, particularly foods that lack nutrients or are polluted with toxic chemicals, including excessive sugar, salt, phosphates, rancid unsaturated fats, trans fats (as in margarines), denatured proteins (due to heat or processing in the presence of sugar) and the now ubiquitous fluorides--all these and more predispose us to degenerative disease. The key is to find the optimum intake for each individual, relative to motivation, and lifestyle. There is no single set of recommendations that works for everyone alike, but physical and laboratory examination with a focus on nutrients is the most rational medical method to assure ongoing health and well-being. This is Nutri-Molecular Medicine©, putting nutrition first for long life and a healthy old age. © 2011 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 0893

[1] Manson J, Stampfer M, Willett W, et al: Antioxidant vitamin consumption and incidence of stroke in women (meeting abstract) Circulation 1993; 87:678. [2] de Keyser J, de Klippel N, et al: Serum concentrations of vitamins A and E and early outcome after ischaemic stroke. Lancet 1992;339:1562-1565. [3] Tobian L, Jahner TM, Johnson MA. Atherosclerotic cholesterol ester deposition is markedly reduced with a high-potassium diet. J of Hypert. Supp. 1989 Dec, 7(6):S244-5. [4] Pennypacker L, Allen R, et al: High prevalence of cobalamin deficiency in elderly outpatients. J Am Ger So 1992;40:1197-1204. [5] Lowik M, Hulshof K et al: Vitamin C status of elderly women. J Am Diet Assoc 1993;93:167-172. [6] Berr C, Nicole A et al: Selenium and oxygen-metabolizing enzymes in elderly community residents. J A Ger So 1993;41:143-148. [7] Abraham A, et al: Chromium and cholesterol induced atherosclerosis in rabbits. Ann Nutr Metab 1991;35;203-207.

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September 1998 marks the zenith and the decline of alternative medicine. I say zenith because it is the focus of the current New England Journal Of Medicine . But it marks the decline for the same reason. After years of increasing popularity, we

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are now witnessing the first major counter-attack against alternative medicine by the orthodox medical establishment. The New England Journal, September 17, 1998 features six articles with a common theme: alternative medicine is  Ola Loa, LLC unscientific, unregulated, and dangerous. Herbal therapies in particular are  11250 Clayton Creek singled out and the editors call for increased FDA regulation and revision of the Rd. 1994 DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act), which permits natural products companies to label and describe what their products actually do.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 In case you haven't noticed, products now carry suggestive names, such as "sleep," USA "brain," "immune," and etc. Up until 1994 this was illegal and products were seized  1.800.800.9550 by the FDA for making claims.  [email protected] The most poignant of the six articles is a letter to the editor by doctors from  Ola Loa Store Canada voicing their concerns about alternative therapies for the treatment of childhood cancer. Their two cases illustrate the difficult choices parents face when there is no definitive cure but conventional treatment is likely to be unpleasant and debilitating and the alternative is not. In the first of these cases, a 15 year old boy with Hodgkins Disease elected to try an herbal combination containing astragalus, colostrum, and whey, rather than chemotherapy. The manufacturer Website by promotes its possible benefits against chronic fatigue, cancers, AIDS, and hepatitis Giraffex C, but not Hodgkin's Disease. Nevertheless, from April until August the patient took the herbal therapy. During that 4 month period his Hodgkins unfortunately worsened a degree, from stage IIA to IIB, and now requires more intensive therapy. Whether the delay affected his long-term prognosis is not yet known. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC

The second case concerns a 9 year old female child after brain surgery for neuroectodermal tumor. The three year survival after chemotherapy and radiotherapy is said to be over 50 percent. Nevertheless the parents chose to treat

their daughter with shark cartilage instead. Four months later the tumor had progressed and the patient died (time interval not specified). The authors conclude that there is "...a responsibility to educate the public not only about the great benefits of evidence-based medicine but, in addition, about the risks of using therapies for which any evidence of safety is lacking." Is it possible that parents are unable to appreciate the risks inherent in alternative therapies? Many patients don't really appreciate the risks or statistics relative to conventional treatments either. In Barrie Cassileth's research, comparing outcomes at an alternative cancer clinic in San Diego with the oncology service at University of Pennsylvania, there was no significant statistical difference in survival or quality of life outcome between approaches.[i] Of course, it is unwise to draw conclusions from just two cases, as in these two cases from Alberta Children's Hospital. I trust that these physicians are not calling for the removal of alternative treatments, for in the mind of a patient, loss of choice is almost as stressful and unhealthy as loss of hope. The lead article in the Journal describes PC-SPES, a Chinese herbal combination containing: 1. Chrysanthemum, which contains labile methyl groups 2. Isatis (contains an indole antibiotic indigo blue dye) 3. Licorice (an adrenal hormone adaptogen) 4. Ganoderma lucidum (an immune-stimulating mushroom) 5. Panax pseudo-ginseng (contains ginenosides, not sterols) 6. Saw palmetto (inhibits testosterone and DHT production in prostate cells) 7. Scutellaria (antibiotic and inhibits cell-mediated allergy and inflammation, 8. Rabdosia rubescens (Rich in estrogenic sterols, I presume. Not in my books). This patented product was investigated and found to contain powerful estrogenic hormones, with effects at 1 to 200 dilution that are identical to 1 nM of estrogen[ii]. More to the point, eight prostate cancer patients taking the product had dramatic lowering of testosterone and PSA test results. The authors also found that PCSPES inhibited prostate tumor cells and breast tumor cells in cell culture. Based on this research, one might consider this article to be a good advertisement for herbal medicine; however to counter that impression the abstract ends with the conclusion: "The use of this unregulated mixture of herbs may confound the results of standard or experimental therapies and may produce clinically significant adverse effects." The New York Times review of the subject features a horrendously distorted headline: "Articles Question Safety of Dietary Supplements. Use can endanger lives of ailing people." The New York Times certainly got that message. On the other hand, as a practicing physician I am in agreement with the Hippocratic principle: "First, do no harm." Product safety is a primary issue. To my mind, the immediate question is, why, after almost a century of regulatory experience, is the FDA failing at its job of ensuring food and drug safety? For example, in this same issue of the Journal a case of product contamination was published by a team from the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.[iii]The patient became ill soon after using an "internal cleansing" product in 1997. She was hospitalized with a serious cardiac arrhythmia (heart block) after 5 days on a regimen containing 14 herbs plus colostrom, digestive enzymes (amylase and cellulase), bentonite (an absorbent clay), a variety of



probiotic lactobacillus organisms in an inert starch medium (FOS), and psyllium husk powder. Psyllium is made from the seeds of plantain (plantago ovale), and it is a popular remedy for constipation at the supermarket and pharmacy as well as at the health food store. After a day the patient was overcome by lethargy, nausea and vomiting. Undaunted, she continued the treatment for a few days longer, until the onset of irregular heartbeats and hot flashes sent her to the emergency room. The alert medical staff made the correct diagnosis, the patient recovered in 5 or 6 days more, and the FDA tracked the product all the way to Germany, the source of almost 3 tons of plantain shipped to the US in the previous two years. Samples were tested in Germany and found to contain cardiac glycosides, related to the active ingredients in digitalis, a common heart drug. Originally digitalis was found in the herb, foxglove, but other herbs also contain these molecules, including the common oleander, which beautifies the highway medians and the landscape of California. The FDA team tracked the plantain within this country to over 150 retailers. Recalls were conducted 13 times from manufacturers and distributors, and eight distributors received warning letters from FDA. Press releases were posted at the FDA Web site. Nevertheless, only one other case was located, this one considerably milder, but the products ingested by the two patients had been produced by a single manufacturer and had the same lot numbers. Does this raise the question that the contamination might have occurred in the United States and at this manufacturing plant? Another question is whether the contaminated plantain was part of the 14 herbs in the end-product, or was it in the psyllium. Did the bulk plantain from Germany contain other herbs, such as foxglove, squill, and oleander. Perhaps one or more of these grew in the same fields with plantain and were harvested with it. Or was the digitalis in the processing equipment and left behind as residue due to failure to clean the mixers from one product run to the next. I have inspected a few manufacturing plants and this doesn't seem likely. Finally, is this case report a rare example or is it a common hazard? I don't know the answers to these questions, and I think it is unfair to our patients and other consumers to leave them unanswered. Many people truly depend on plantain as a source of food fiber and a remedy for constipation. I think doctors should know more about these things. If governmental and medical authorities elect to publish such case reports, it would be appreciated if they would also share enough information so that we can judge the long-range probability of repeat accidents. In the absence of such knowledge, the prudent patient will avoid psyllium altogether and the wise physician will not prescribe it. The quality of medical practice and general health is likely to suffer if such ignorance and fear are all that we have to guide us. The FDA team almost certainly knows this; so why are these facts not included in the report. The information must have come out of the investigation. Instead the report concludes with a political message, one with which I agree only in part. Namely, that the FDA should be concerned with safety issues relative to dietary supplements. This is so fundamental an issue, so primary to the FDA mandate, that I doubt any significant legal objection would or could be mounted against a program to improve safety in supplements program by FDA. Contamination and poisoning issues in particular are just plain common sense. The American people want to be protected against food poisoning and product contamination. A letter to the editor appeared in this same issue, authored by Richard Ko, of the California Department of Health, Food and Drug Branch, and titled "Adulterants in Asian Patent Medicines." Dr. Ko analyzed 260 Asian patent medicines and found 32 percent contained pharmaceuticals or heavy metals. Twenty four products (almost 10%) contained lead (10 to 319 mcg per gram); Thirty six (14%) contained

arsenic (20 to 114,000 mcg per gram); Thirty five contained mercury (22 to 5000 mcg per gram). The official limit is well below 30 mcg for all of these toxic metals. Clearly there is a problem now and sporadic reports have been appearing years. The problem has been recognized. Why hasn't FDA taken the initiative to solve it before now? Why does this very convincing summary of a major research documentation of the extent of contamination appear only as a short letter to the editor? Why has FDA not already convinced overseas producers, including those in China and India, to clean up their act and purify their product? Please don't blame "alternative" medicine! Put the blame where it belongs. The FDA is already mandated to protect us. Why are we thinking of expanding their mandate when they are not keeping up with their present responsibilities. Better to bring this out in the open and find out why companies are asked to spend hundreds of millions to prove a drug works, while much less attention is focused on safety. Wouldn't it be smarter to let the doctors, patients, and researchers determine if products work?! That would make it possible for FDA to put safety first, not only relative to contamination, but also in the important issue of pharmaceutical adverse effects. For example, in 1996 alone, over a hundred thousand patients died from adverse reactions to FDA-approved drugs in America's hostpials.[iv] The total number of adverse reactions is estimated at over 2 million per year. And these tragedies are all AFTER FDA approval! We need to reconsider the purpose of FDA and get our priorities straight: safety first, efficacy second . That's really what needs to be discussed. We don't expect drugs to cure, only to help. But we do expect our foods and our drugs to be safe and not to make us worse. The need for regulation of food and drug products is dramatically evident in another case report, this one by Dr. Y. Beigel[v]and colleagues from Israel, who describe a 42 year old businessman with a complaint of abdominal pain and anemia, which was ultimately diagnosed as lead poisoning. The source of metallic lead was traced to a health product from India, an herbal treatment for diabetes. The patient took 8 tablets a day, each containing 10 mg of lead, for about 3 months before entering the hospital. His total lead intake may have been as high as 4 thousand milligrams. The article ended with a question: "Could the diagnosis have been made earlier, and some of the elaborate tests avoided?" The authors answer that patients do not consider herbal medications to be drugs and almost 3 out of 4 patients do not inform their physicians. So doctors even in Israel do have trouble with diagnosis when it comes to natural health products. I am sure that an orthomolecular physician would have gotten the diagnosis much sooner, because the typical initial work-up of a nutrition physician includes a mineral panel, including lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, thallium, and lithium testing. I have diagnosed otherwise obscure cases of all of these toxic metals over the years because of my routine practice of testing for them as part of an extensive mineral panel that includes both toxic and physiologic (healthful) minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, boron, and sulfur. The physiologic minerals offer valuable clues about one's nutritional and metabolic health status. These can be studied in whole blood, red blood cells, urine, and hair. No one source is complete or trustworthy and experience and good clinical judgment are important. In my opinion, the quality of medical practice is much enhanced by the use of such testing. However, the editors of the New England Journal take a different stance in their editorial: "Alternative Medicine--The risks of untested and unregulated remedies. (page 839-41. "What sets alternative medicine apart, in our view, is that it has not been scientifically tested and its advocates largely deny the need for such testing." "It is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride. There cannot be two kinds of medicine--conventional and alternative. There is only medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not,

medicine that works and medicine that may or may not work…Alternative treatments should be subjected to scientific testing no less rigorous than that that required for conventional treatments." I agree with that conclusion; however, who is to do the testing? Who is to pay for it? Clinical research is expensive. When the California legislature allocated about $150,000 for a study of vitamin therapy at Napa State Hospital in 1978, the human subjects committee objected on the grounds that the money was insufficient to mount a serious study with credible conclusions. In my role as psychiatric consultant to the project I was close enough to the treatment ward to know that patients were improving on vitamin therapy and that the average requirement for psychotropic medication was cut in half; but I did not have access to the data analysis until years later, and we were forbidden to publish! According to the editorial by Drs. Marcia Angell and Jerome Kassirer, "Of all forms of alternative treatment, the most common is herbal medicine." The citation for this conclusion is a New York Times article by Jane Brody, the Times nutrition editor. As is often the case, I disagree with her opinions. In this case, I would wager that diet therapies are more common than herbal treatments--but they have been erased from the picture of alternative medicine. In fact, Jane Brody contributed to that blackout in 1981 by condemning orthomolecular medicine as quackery. Meantime, it is painfully clear that without a scientific foundation, alternative medicine will be subjected to criticism, attack, over-regulation, and eventual decline into degradation. The public will lose confidence in herbalism, imagery, massage, and chiropractic as mainstream medicine fights back with lots of new drugs and machines, claiming exclusive rights to a new generation of physical electronic and electro-magnetic therapies. The history of human progress favors the path of technology, regulated by authority. What I am getting at is that Linus Pauling and Orthomolecular Medicine were the first wave of nutrition medicine to make a serious impact on the medical establishment because of our link to basic science. As a result Pauling, a Nobel laureate in chemistry, was ridiculed. And orthomolecular medicine was branded as quackery in bold print in the New York Times in 1981 by the very same Jane Brody who now tells us that herbalism is the core of alternative medicine. Orthomolecular Medicine has been wished out of existence by the very people who need it most--the medical establishment: medical schools, medical boards, and everyone on the medical-hospital health team. The paradox is that nutrition, the most neglected part of "alternative" medicine, is also the most scientific. Orthomolecular nutrition is based on principles of physiology, biochemistry, and clinical medicine and is supported by many scientific studies. There are literally thousands of research and clinical research papers on the medical use of nutrients. While there are not yet enough controlled studies to pin down the details of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment sufficient to establish orthomolecular nutrition as the predominant strategy in medical practice, there is little doubt in my mind that we are headed in that direction. Contrary to the opinion of the editors of the New England Journal, the orthomolecular physicians are eager to cooperate with research studies. However there are few in private practice with the time or money to support assistants, statisticians, and other personnel for research in the setting of the private medical office. Furthermore, critics are likely to attack such studies as unethical if they involve the payment of a fee at the same time that the doctor is writing up the results for publication. The fact is that medical research has become institutionalized. The medical establishment has to raise the money and do research in their clinics, clinics which now compete directly with private practice for patients and income. Despite the fact that nutrition medicine is in its infancy, the weight of clinical

experience in the past 60 years is favorable and convincing. Many studies support the use of vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, B12, B6, zinc, chronium, selenium, vanadium, niacin, riboflavin, biotin, carnitine, lipoic acid, glutamine, glucosamine, RNA, carnosine, histidine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, branched chain aminos, arginine, to name a few nutrients that have been demonstrably effective against one or more medical conditions. And that does not mention the established value of a large number of herbs, singly or in combination: ginkgo, ginseng, eleuthrococcus, glycyrrhiza, ginger, garlic, oleuprein, anthocyanidins,--the list goes on and on. And that does not include essential oils, and special foods, such as shark cartilage, thymus, and organ meats (a Nobel prize was given to Minot and Murphy for curing pernicious anemia with daily meals of liver!). In fact, there would be no "alternative medicine" if there were not first an orthomolecular foundation created by a handful of dedicated physicians in the 1970s and 1980s. The title, 'alternative,' provides safe-haven because until now it has been tolerated by medical boards. This is not the time to attack vitamins, minerals, and herbs. It is a time to respect our physicians who incorporate these modalities into medical practice. Without these orthomolecular physicians, the public have no choice. My patients vent their frustrations and tell me that they resent the lack of nutrition knowledge of M.D. physicians. Instead they are seeking the counsel of acupuncturists, chiropractors and nutritionists. Yes, it is time to promote studies to spell out the limits--and the dangers--of alternative practices. The support should come from the government and from philanthropic foundations. The Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine, of which I am president, is a tax-exempt, educational institution, engaging hundreds of physicians and other health professionals in a multi-disciplinary educational and research effort. We would be grateful for research funding to sponsor muchneeded nutrition research in almost every area of medical practice. Some studies can't be done in the laboratory as well as in the clinic; and they can't be done as well by graduate students and professors. There is a place for clinical research and it is important to respect this traditional function of the physician. We in orthomolecular medicine are trying to provide advances in health care that are sometimes labeled "alternative." Nutrition is not an alternative, it is essential to health and therefore to good medical practice. © 2011 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 1098

[i] Cassileth BR, Lusk EJ, Guerry D, et al. Survival and quality of life among patients receiving unproven as compared with conventional cancer therapy. N Engl J Med 1991;324:1180-5. [ii] DiPaola RS, Zhang H, Lambert GH et al. Clinical and biologic activity of an estrogenic herbal combination (PC-SPES) in prostate cancer. N Engl J Med 1998;339:785-91. [iii] Slifman NR, Obermeyer WR, Aloi BK et al. Contamination of botanical dietary supplements by digitalis lanata. 1998, N Engl J Med, 339:806-811. [iv] Xx xx: Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients. 1998, JAMA, xx-xx. (4/15/98) [v] Beigel Y, Ostfeld I, Schoenfeld N. A leading question. N Engl J Med, 1998, 339:827-890.

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IODINE IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE

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Iodine is a halogen, related to bromine, chlorine and fluorine, all of which are essential for human life to exist. (There is some question about the essentiality of  Ola Loa, LLC fluorine despite the benefits for teeth). The requirement for iodine ranges from  11250 Clayton Creek 100 to 200 mcg daily, with individual variation due to age, urinary clearance, sex Rd. and diet. There is no mechanism for conservation of iodine by the kidneys so it  Lower Lake, CA 95457 must be ingested regularly to prevent deficiency. Goiter is prevented by a daily USA intake of about 75 mcg and the RDA is set at 150 mcg. The US diet averages 300 mcg so deficiency is said to be uncommon.  1.800.800.9550  [email protected] The thyroid hormone, thyroxine, requires four atoms of iodine in order to perform  Ola Loa Store its function of regulating the rate of oxidation in every cell in the body. This is the the essential function of iodine and in case of deficiency the body energy drops and all cells function poorly. This is called myxedema and adults with this condition feel listless and depressed; their skin is dry and cold and the tissues become puffy and edematous. The tongue becomes swollen and the hair and eyebrows thin out so that diagnosis is sometimes obvious from the physical appearance by itself. In children with iodine deficiency, a combination of physical Website by Giraffex stigmata similar to the above plus severe mental retardation may leave permanent handicaps. Results are more favorable in adults because treatment with thyroxine and/or iodine can reverse the symptoms entirely. Excessive intake of iodine can also cause low thyroid, a paradox called the WolfCopyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC Chaikoff effect, named after two doctors who found that continous intake of high doses of iodine signal the thyroid gland to stop making the thyroxine hormone. This probably occurs due to feed-back inhibition of thyrotropin, also called TSH,

short for "Thyroid Stimulating Hormone." This is a pituitary hormone that regulates thyroid activity appropriate to the calculations of the brain in relation to the total organism. Evidently the brain reads high levels of iodine as a signal to turn off the thyroid. This can be used to advantage in cases of Grave's disease, where an enlarged thyroid gland, a goiter, produces a toxic excess of thyroxine. The use of iodide can reduce the size of the gland and its toxic output in a matter of hours. Unfortunately this does not work for long in most cases and it is seldom attempted these days. Goiter can also occur due to iodine deficiency. In this case the pituitary over-reacts to low levels of iodine and sends excessive quantities of TSH to encourage the thyroid to produce more thyroxine. The gland manufactures copious amounts of thyroxine storage protein, enough to swell up the storage compartments of the gland to overflowing, hence the goiter. However, without iodine, the protein is counterfeit, unable to maintain the metabolic chemistry of life. Mountainous terrain and areas that have been covered by glaciers tend to be iodine deficient anywhere in the world. Large areas of the United States, particularly the mid-West and mountain states are our "goiter belt." Populations that live there are at increased risk of both goiter and cancer. In particular, cancer of the uterus, ovary and breast all correlate inversely to iodine intake. It may be that low iodine leads to increased pituitary gonadotrophin and increased estrogen, which is a tumor promoter. Before the use of iodized salt in 1924 about half the people of Michigan had thyroid goiters! Recently these are found in 3 percent of American men and 10 percent of women. There are many more borderline cases that go undiagnosed, despite complaints of fatigue, cold intolerance and low body temperature. The temperature test is not specific to thyroid and in many cases deficiencies of trace minerals, such as copper and zinc, are at fault. Inadequate caloric intake can also cause thyroid activity to drop; so diagnosis is not so simple.

WHAT IS THE IDEAL IODINE INTAKE Using the Cornell Index Questionnaire to measure the number of symptoms in a thousand dentists and their wives Drs. Cheraskin and Ringsdorf found that as iodine intake went up the number of symptoms declined so that the ideal daily iodine intake appears to be 1100 mcg., ie. 7 times the RDA, which is the amount contained in most multi-vitamin tablets or in a teaspoonful of iodized salt. Ocean kelp contains about 5000 mcg per teaspoonful. By comparison, potassium iodide, which is available only on prescription, contains 30,000 mcg (ie. 30 mg) per drop. Evidently there are benefits from iodine beyond its essential role in the formation of thyroid hormone. In fact, that is the main conclusion of this review: many uses.

IS IODINE DANGEROUS? The alcohol tincture of iodine causes painful irritation and tissue damage as the solution penetrates and is caustic. However fatalities are unusual, despite the skull and cross-bones on the label, because few people can down the necessary 2 to 6 tablespoonfuls to achieve a lethal dose. The potassium iodide form of iodine is non-irritating and rarely fatal except due to hypersensitivity reactions. The FDA studies on safety indicate that huge doses of from 40 mg. to several grams daily over a period of months to years may alter thyroid function and cause iodism; but at doses over 2 mg. a protective mechanism actually inhibits excess thyroid hormone synthesis. This does present a hazard in pregnancy, for the baby may be born with a goiter if mother takes too much iodine. Large doses of iodine are not recommended for pregnant women. Long term ingestion of large doses of iodide may cause symptoms of metallic taste, runny nose, headache, acne and 'iodine mumps,' ie. swollen salivary glands. These symptoms of iodism give fair warning and they clear up when iodine is

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stopped and cleared from the system. Single doses of iodide are safe even at megadoses up to 4 grams, ie almost 30,000 times the RDA. Note: this refers to iodide, as potassium iodide, not iodine nor tincture of iodine. Potassium iodide is generally very safe and hyper-sensitivity reactions occur rarely, only about one case in a million, and then mostly in those predisposed to edema of the face, lips and tongue. However iodine-containing radiocontrast materials for X-ray diagnosis are much more toxic and cause adverse reactions in 5 to 8 percent of cases. About 1 in a 100 patients risk anaphylactoid reactions, with hives, facial swelling, airway obstruction and/or vascular collapse. Iodides should not be used in pregnancy (unless the mother is herself iodine or thyroid deficient) nor for patients with goiter, where iodine may promote excess thyroxin production. Those with acne are wise to avoid iodine, even the small amounts in vitamin pills.

DOES FLUORIDATION INTERFERE WITH IODINE? While fluoride is antagonistic towards iodine and is known to inhibit various steps of thyroxine biosynthesis in animals, this occurs at fluoride doses greatly in excess of the 1 ppm used to prevent caries. The weight of medical opinion at the present time is that fluoride does not aggravate iodine deficiency, not even in populations with low iodine intake. Nevertheless, there are some unanswered questions. Some reports indicate that at concentrations of 5 ppm, fluoride does depress thyroid activity in humans and measurements in fluoridated communities find that thyroid tissue concentrates fluoride to an average of 5 ppm, more than double the amount found in kidney, the organ of excretion. Fluoride is more reactive than iodide and forms stronger chemical bonds. It seems logical that ingesting 2000 mcg or more per day of fluoride, as is common amongst my patients, might compete and interfere with the meager amount of iodine, under 100 mcg in those who do not use iodized salt, do not eat dairy products and do not eat fish or shellfish. On the other hand, Drs.Hillman, Bolenbaush and Convey found that fluoride mineral supplements did interfere with thyroid in dairy cattle. Cattle afflicted with fluorosis suffered from low thyroid, low blood count and an excess of eosinophil cells, indicative of inflammation. These cattle excreted 5 ppm fluoride in their urine, only 4 times more than is found in humans whose water is fluoridated water. The blood levels of thyroid hormones, thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine, decreased and eosinophils increased in proportion as urinary fluoride increased.

USE OF IODINE FOR CARIES AND DENTAL INFECTIONS On the positive side, Drs. Caulfield and Wannemuehler found that both fluoride and iodide, were able to kill Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium that causes dental caries, and they were more powerful when given in acidic solution. Indeed, topical application of potassium iodide is invaluable in treating gingivitis and pyorrhea. This is very useful after dental hygiene and scaling of plaque, a process that often inflames the gums for many days after. The use of SSKI minimizes the risk of infection in these damaged tissues and I certainly recommend it as a routine in dental care. Iodine is valuable in more extreme cases as well. For example, one of my patients came to me after a prolonged alcoholic binge. His gums were purulent and teeth so loosened that they were shifting out of place. His dentist advised removing all of them. Within a week of my applications of potassium iodide to his gums along with giving megadoses of vitamin C and a nutrient support regimen, his gums

were completely healed and his teeth were almost back to normal strength in the socket. He lost none of them.

USE OF IODINE AS AN EXPECTORANT AND MUCOLYTIC The textbook on pharmacology by Goodman and Gilman refers to sodium or potassium iodide in a dose of 10 drops (300 mg) every 6 hours in order to liquefy tenacious bronchial secretions. These iodides are especially useful in bronchitis, bronchiectasis and asthma. By the way, Coindet referred to "bronchocele" as an indication for iodide therapy way back in 1820!

USE OF IODINE FOR GRANULOMATOUS DISEASE Iodide is acknowledged in Goodman and Gilman's pharmacology text for the treatment of granulomas of tuberculosis, leprosy, syphilis and various fungal diseases. Despite the advances in antibiotic therapy for all these diseases, iodine should be kept in mind as an adjunct, particularly because of its recently revealed beneficial effect on the immune system. And in the case of sporotrichosis there is no other anti-fungal drug therapy as powerful as iodine. That it is the last ditch defense against sporotrichosis tells something of the inherent potency and validity of antifungal and antimicrobial iodide therapy. One of the most dramatic cases ever in my 50 years medical experience involved a form of granuloma known as "pyogenic granuloma." This type of granuloma can occur when a wound gets infected and fails to heal. The granulation tissue grows from below, the wound fails to close and the tissue takes on the appearance of a growing mass. Such was the condition that brought one of my patients to me in a desperate attempt to avoid surgical removal of her upper lip. Her dermatologist had treated a canker sore by applying silver nitrate several weeks ago. The combination of caustic tissue damage, virus re-growth and secondary infection had made an ugly mess of her lip. It looked like a rapidly growing cancer. A surgical resection would have altered her facial appearance forever so there was little to lose by trying something as benign as local application of potassium iodide. Nevertheless, I was cautious and kept sterile water on hand to rinse the area if she recoiled in pain. I also had vitamin E to apply as an anti-inflammatory agent but there was no need of either. Within minutes of the iodide application, the size of the mass was reduced by about a third. Astounding! Follow-up with twice a day applications of iodide in the next two days tamed the granuloma entirely and a week later with no further iodide there was nary a trace of the original trouble.

HERPES BLISTERS Iodide destroys the virus of herpes. Both oral and genital lesions are treatable this way; however there may be some stinging pain for a moment, though this is harmless. If the herpes is treated at the first sign of reddening or blistering, it will disappear overnight and is usually gone within 3 days. Even if the herpes is treated at a more advanced stage, the iodide will debride the blister and shorten the duration by a couple of weeks from the expected 3 weeks from start to finish of a herpes outbreak. Directions for application: apply to affected area and allow 5 to 10 seconds for disinfectant action to be complete. If pain is excessive, blot with tissue or rinse off with water and quench with vitamin E oil.

SAFETY OF IODINE APPLICATIONS Potassium iodide does not damage intact skin and there is no pain unless the skin is broken. One of my patients used iodide on her skin after burning it with oven-

cleaner. She applied the iodide twice a day despite serious pain "because I thought if the doctor prescribed it for me it couldn't possibly do any harm." After two weeks of this self-treatment she came to seem me. There was a silver dollar sized hole in the skin of her forearm with a black scab around the edges. In the center the bone of her arm was clearly visible. I applied vitamin E around the edges of the wound and had her protect it with a clean dressing. Two weeks later the area was entirely healed and without even a trace of scar.

THE USE OF IODINE AS AN ANTISEPTIC: Iodide disinfects water at a concentration of 8 ppm. If the water is heavily polluted, use a double dose. A single drop of saturated potassium iodide provides 30 mg of iodine and when added to a liter of water this is 30 mg per 1000 grams, ie. 30 ppm, more than enough to disinfect. It is effective for sterilizing medical instruments. When diluted it is effective as a vaginal douche and a commercial product, Betadine douche, is available. Ponaris, a commercial nose drop is also available. This provides soothing relief for hayfever, reducing irritation and crusting. It is also surprisingly effective in chronic sinus infections, even after antibiotics fail! The iodized oil seems to infiltrate into the tissues, thus inactivating both bacterial and fungal invaders. This product is the best treatment available to protect the nasal membranes of our astronauts against the drying effects of space travel.

THE USE OF IODINE AS A URINARY ANTISEPTIC On a more down to earth level, recall that iodine is excreted primarily in the urine. This offers a way of treating infections of the lower urinary tract. Recurrent urinary tract infections, especially bladder infections, are often responsive to a few drops of potassium iodide in at least a full glass of water, taken apart from meals so as to promote quick excretion. A single dose of 5 drops is sufficient to prevent relapse of bladder irritation, burning and urgency that so often occurs after sexual activity. In cases of mild infection, with bacteria in the urine but few pus cells, the iodide is preferable to antibiotic therapy. Manipulation of the acidity or alkalinity of urine provides another advantage of iodide in treating the urinary tract. At acid Ph the antiseptic effect of iodine is increased. At alkaline Ph it becomes a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. Urine Ph is easily monitored by Ph test strips available at the pharmacy. With this method it is logical that the use of iodide would be helpful; in treating prostatism and urethritis. I have seen urine flow double in just a few days but it does require some attention to the Ph factor. This kind of "listen to your body therapy" takes full advantage of the many uses of iodine.

COSMETIC USES SINCE ANTIQUITY. Iodine-containing seaweeds and sponges have been used as cosmetic facial treatment masques since the days of ancient Egypt. The principles behind this are several-fold. First, iodine can absorb into the blood via the skin and mucous membranes, thus to satisfy the amount required for thyroid hormone, which in turn promotes conversion of carotene into retinol, ie. vitamin A, essential to healing and repair of skin. In addition iodine binds to oils in the skin, cleansing them right out of the pores. It removes blackheads easily. It also binds to amino acids that make up the surface proteins of skin and helps separate the surface from deeper layers for a gentle skin peel effect.

USE OF IODIDE FOR INFECTIONS OF SKIN:

In addition to cosmetic effects, iodine kills all types of germs, ie. bacteria, viruses and fungi. Potassium iodide has greater anti-septic power than seaweed, so it is preferred in treating boils, cysts and skin infections. Acne pustules are very responsive, the sebaceous duct discharging easily and permitting prompt healing without scar. The use of iodide makes it unnecessary to ever squeeze a pimple again. Large furuncles, ie. boils, are equally responsive although they take longer to resolve.

USE OF IODIDE FOR SEBACEOUS CYSTS, STYES AND CHALAZION: Sebaceous cysts soften within minutes of the application of iodide and the sebum plugged hair follicle usually opens so as to permit easy expression of the contents. The only cysts that I have observed to require surgical excision are those hardened and calcified by age or scarred by healed inflammation and it is possible that after a sufficient number of applications even these might respond. I have used iodide successfully in a number of patients with hordeolum (sty) and others with chalazion of the eyelids, who otherwise would have required surgical incision to release the dammed up ducts.

USE OF IODINE FOR INSECT BITES AND ALLERGIC SKIN LESIONS: Because iodide penetrates skin it is remarkably effective at aborting the allergic reaction to most insect bites, the sooner after the bite the better the result. Even after a day, when the lesion is full-blown, iodine application gives partial relief, about the same as it offers in cases of already developed allergic lesions, such as hives, eczema and poison oak. It seems that the iodide reacts with the antigens in the tissues, thus altering the signal to the macrophages and lymphocytes, white blood cells, that remove toxins but also generate inflammation, itch and rash.

USE OF IODIDE FOR SCARS AND KELOID: One day in 1984 I noticed a nodule on my right wrist, at the base of the thumb, caused by a sliver of foxtail. Though it was a small blemish, occupying no more than a half inch of surface, it was directly in my line of sight so I kept watch. It persisted for the next year and seemed permanent. However I had begun to use potassium iodide as an antiseptic, so it occurred to me to put iodide on the nodule. I kept it up every few days and in the course of three months the nodule disappeared.

IODINE DOES NOT DAMAGE INTACT SKIN. The collagen of skin is called keratin, a protein rich in amino acids containing sulfur, such as cysteine and its oxidized form, cystine. Iodine can combine with sulfhydryl, the sulfur-hydrogen bond of cysteine, removing the hydrogen and by means of this oxidation, setting the stage for sulfur atoms to bind to each other. Thus two cysteine molecules combine into a less reactive molecule of cystine. The low reactivity of the disulfide bond protects skin from destruction by air, water, and in fact all the commonly occurring chemicals that would otherwise turn us into soup.

IODINE CAN STRENGTHEN AND PROTECT SKIN Because iodine promotes the formation of disulfide bonds, repeated application leads to a denser mantle of keratin. This makes for stronger and smoother skin, less vulnerable to irritations, another reason for the enduring popularity of iodine in skin creams and cosmetic treatments. Disulfide bonds, once established, are slow to react--even with iodide. Thus, the application of potassium iodide to intact

skin is painless: it looks and feels like water until it leaves a residue of white powder after drying. This can be wiped or washed off.

IODINE DOES BREAK DOWN HEALING TISSUE Keratin is present in layers of tough tissue on the surface of skin, the epidermis. Beneath this are the cells of the dermis which manufacture and secrete the keratin. These cells are vulnerable to the destructive effects of iodine because their membranes are more reactive than the keratin proteins they secrete. Thus open wounds dissolve under the influence of iodide and contact produces an immediate burning pain of moderate to severe intensity. Even a tiny break in the epidermis can cause a big ouch when touched by iodide. When applied to a wound, iodine can slow down healing by interfering with tyrosine kinase. This enzyme catalyzes the mating of tyrosine with phosphorous, an event known to initiate cell division, a crucial step in healing and repair of tissues. In addition, by binding with the polyunsaturated fats and amino acids in cell membranes, iodide breaks down the cell walls in healing tissue and repeated applications will gradually erode the granulation tissue and enlarge the size of the wound. This does not seem to occur after the use of povidone-iodine, an iodine polymer diluted to 10 percent strength. This product is effective as an antiseptic for surgery and first aid and it does not cause pain nor delay healing.

IODIDE IS IDEAL FOR DEBRIDEMENT OF DIRTY WOUNDS Betadine is not effective at clearing away dead and infected tissue and debris from wounds. This is better accomplished by the stronger action of potassium iodide. Despite the discomfort factor, the pain is quickly past, and the good results and lack of scarring make this the best agent I know for dirty or infected wounds. As always, one must beware of puncture wounds, such as dog bites, for iodide may fail to penetrate deeply enough. Thorough irrigation and possible incision of the wound may be required to sterilize the wound completely. In any case, iodide should not be continued after debridement is complete and infection no longer present, ie. about three days.

IODINE CAN REMOVE HAIR AND PLANTAR WARTS: The alcohol tincture of iodine is more penetrating and more caustic, than potassium iodide but also more painful and therefore not preferred for wound debridement. However this caustic effect makes the tincture useful for removal of unwanted hair. I have seen permanent results after only several applications. Application of iodide to warts is also effective but it may require a few months, depending on the size of the wart. I have seen plantar warts vanish after iodide and I would expect the tincture to be even more effective

USE AS AN ANTI-FUNGAL ANTIBIOTIC: Sporotrichosis is a fungus infection, a hazard to farmers, florists veterinarians and pet owners. Infection is usually caused by a penetrating wound but even an abrasion can do it. A typical case was reported in 1991 by Drs. Caravalho and Caldwell,[1] when a 29 year old man was infected by his cat and developed a fungal ulcer on his finger. The infection spread to the lymph nodes in his armpit in the next two months but X ray did not find it spread to his lungs. The doctors began treatment with potassium iodide, SSKI, 5 drops, three times a day and increased the dose to 120 drops, a megadose of 3600 mg per day. The lesions were completely healed in two months but the regimen was continued for a month longer. Iodide was the antibiotic of choice in this case.

IODINE HEALS MOST THYROID DISORDERS Iodine heals thyroid disease by correcting iodine deficiency, hence curing the underactive colloid type of goiter. It also suppresses pituitary output of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), hence removing the stimulus that causes toxic goiter. Carcinoma of the thyroid is known to regress after iodine therapy and Dr. Colletta and his group have shown that TSH induces oncogenes, called c-fos and c-myc,[2] that cause thyroid cells to synthesize DNA. Deficiency of either thyroid or iodine can trigger the pituitary to increase production of TSH, hence promoting cancer growth in the thyroid and other organs. Clinical observations confirm that women with breast cancer have higher resting levels of TSH and a greater TSH response than women with disorders unrelated to the breast.

IODINE AND T3 MODULATE MIND AND MOOD A recent population study in China compared intellectual development in high versus low iodine villages.[3] About three fourths of adults born during a time of iodine deficiency had IQ scores below 70. In another rural village with normal iodine levels, less than half as many scored this low. This is an example of the importance of nutrition to the intelligence and adaptability of whole population groups. The iodine deficiency villagers also had a high rate of nerve deafness and spasticity, a sign of gross brain damage. Iodide therapy can be used to interrupt TSH production and consequent overactivity in Grave's disease. This same mechanism can be useful in some cases of hypomanic excitement, even as an adjunct to lithium and tranquilizers. Another basis for this therapy is implied by results of a study by Drs. Dratman, Futaesaku et al.[4] They demonstrated that the thyroid hormone concentrates in specific areas of the brain, particularly in the cerebellum, which generates habit patterns, the hippocampus, which coordinates memory via attentional mechanisms, and the gray matter of the cortex, which contains memory storage. At low or deficient levels of thyroxin, as are seen in case of iodine deficiency, the more active T3 hormone increases in the brain. This would explain the paradox of mental overactivity in patients with poor nutrition. It also explains the calming effect of iodine.

IODIDE KILLS THE AIDS VIRUS Research on the ability of iodine to destroy AIDS virus was commissioned by the maker of the povidone-iodine solution, Betadine. HIV was measured by reverse transcriptase levels as well as the cytopathic effect in T-cells.[5] The research at Massachusetts General Hospital concludes: "HIV was completely inactivated and could no longer replicate after exposure to the povidone-iodine preparations even at very low concentrations." Taking this a step further, Dr. Burhan Yolcuoglu of Turkey writes of good results in his preliminary work with intravenous Betadine, a 10 percent iodine solution,[6] and he also concludes that iodine inactivates free HIV as well as opportunistic organisms in plasma and tissue spaces. The usual dose is 2-5 ml of Betadine intravenous, weekly. The Betadine contains 10 mg iodine per ml, about a third the concentration of SSKI.

IODINE IS ACTIVE AGAINST THE COMMON COLD Dr. Eliot C. Dick director of respiratory virus research lab at University of Wisconsin used iodine-treated kleenex in US personnel at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. In a 1979 experiment he observed a 50 percent reduction in respiratory illnesses. In my own practice I have had many reports by patients who found that a gargle of ten drops of potassium iodide in a glass of water, with or without additional

vitamin C, relieved sore throat in a matter of hours.

IODINE IS ACTIVE AGAINST POLIO Iodine prevents paralytic polio. Dr. J. F. Edward of Manitoba reported on his extensive experience during the polio epidemics of 1953 and 1954.[7] He referred to reports from a century before, such as one by Dr. Manson of England, recommending iodide in treating palsies, some cases of which must have been polio. The famous neurologist, Brown-Sequard, regarded iodide as the only remedy without danger in various forms of paralysis. Dr. Mazzitelli was completely successful with iodide to prevent polio in families with cases of polio. In 1931 the famous Dr. von Economo used iodine for human encephalitis and with favorable results. Dr. Edward himself used intravenous sodium iodide in doses of 500 to 900 mg dissolved in 10 ml of distilled water. Improvement in three cases of bulbar paralysis was so rapid that he considered iodine a virucidal agent. However because the benefits were forthcoming only after multiple doses, he concluded that the iodide must have activated a defense mechanism.

BASIS OF ANTIBIOTIC EFFECT: Dr. Edward was correct on both counts. Not only does iodide inactivate microbes by direct contact, it also arms the eosinophil cells with hydrobromous acid, a bleaching agent more powerful than Chlorox--powerful enough to destroy allergy causing antigens and to kill the larger sized organisms, including the larvae of intestinal parasites. Experiments by Dr. S J Weiss at the University of Michigan found that iodine yields up to a five-fold increase of bromine in eosinophils.[8] and that iodinated tyrosine interacts with a myeloperoxidase enzyme within these white blood cells to produce the acid. Eosinophils coat their targets, ie. bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and other antigens, with the positively charged myeloperoxidase, thus attracting the negatively charged bromine acid.

IODIDE IMPROVES FIBROCYSTIC BREAST DISEASE Dr. Bernard Eskin reported over 25 years ago that iodine deficient rats develop breast dysplasia.[9] and that estrogen increases iodine excretion, thus aggravating the condition. Dr. William Ghent of Queen's University in Ontario was so impressed by Dr. Eskin's work that he has treated over 1500 women with iodine for breast dysplasia and fibrocystic changes. Almost 90 percent had complete breast pain relief and reduction in lumpiness after supplements of 5 to 20 mg daily for 2 to 3 months and then reducing to weekly maintenance doses. The physiology behind these beneficial effects is clarified by the recent work of Drs. Strum and Phelps,[10] who found that breast tissue needs iodine in order to produce iodinated proteins that cleanse and maintain the smallest ductules. There the negatively charged iodine atoms repel each other and generate electronic forces that propel the movement of debris out into the larger ducts. This self-cleansing action within the breast ducts also increases the flow of milk during lactation, a fact that is put to good advantage in the widespread use of iodide by dairy farmers. Oddly enough, medical doctors have been slow to catch on. In case of iodine deficiency this mechanism fails and the breast ducts must be cleansed instead by a back-up system of macrophages and other white blood cells, which secrete inflammatory enzymes to dissolve the debris. These same enzymes also damage the ducts, leading to cyst formation, retained secretions, chronic inflammation and increased risk of cancer. Iodide not only prevents this dismal process, it can actually reverse it. This has been documented by

mammography before and after iodide treatment in my own patients.

USE OF IODIDE AS AN ANTI-CANCER AGENT Throughout the world the occurrence rates of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer all correlate inversely with dietary intake of iodine. The higher the iodide intake the lower the rate of cancer. This lead has not been taken seriously so far and the number of medical reports in this century is few. In fact the use of iodine against tumors was far more widespread in the early 19th Century than today. Dr. Eskin considered the anti-cancer effects of iodine in a 1986 review article and he had to go back almost 100 years for clinical evidence, to an 1896 medical report on the use of thyroid extract to induce remission in metastatic cancer. Nowadays iodide therapy of cancer is practiced only in alternative cancer clinics in Mexico, especially the Gerson clinic. The only academic paper I could find was an abstract from a 1991 research in Russia. Drs. Aleksander and Fidler verified that tumors decreased in size after treatment with potassium iodide.

USE IN FEMALE DISORDERS: BREAST AND OVARY Dr. John A. Myers [11] of Johns Hopkins Medical School was a true nutrition pioneer. His vast clinical experience from the 1930s to the 1980s and his lucid writing opened my eyes to the medical uses of iodine and other trace minerals. He preferred to use iodine bound to tyrosine, especially for disorders of the breast and ovary. For example, he used di-iodotyrosine to soften the breasts for nursing. "In one patient where the left breast was involved with severe pain and induration, it required 200 grams of di-iodotyrosine to bring the breast to normal in two days." Dr. Myers also recommended the use of thyroid and iodine for trichomonas, monilia and non-specific vaginal infections. "Iodine intravaginally produced a remarkable improvement in these women. Not only did they have an improvement in their systemic hypothyroid condition, but a remarkable change in the consistency of the vaginal mucous occurred. In the beginning the mucous was thick, white flour-paste-like in consistency. Sometimes this paste would look like cottage cheese. As the iodine intake was increased, the mucous changed to a clear, limpid fluid flowing from the cervix." "Along with the remarkable improvement in the flow of mucous, was a complete disappearance of all infective organisms in the vagina. It was never necessary to use any kind of antiseptic to free the woman of trichomonas or other infection thereafter. It seemed that she no longer could become infected with these organisms when she excreted sufficient iodine in the mucous."

CAUTION AGAINST IODINE USE IN PREGNANCY While iodine is quite safe for adults under almost all conditions, it can pose a hazard during pregnancy since persistent excess in the mother can inhibit formation of thyroid hormone and lead to severe physical and mental impairment due to Cretinism, in the fetus. Dr. H. Vorherr[12] found iodine in the blood serum within 15 minutes after vaginal application of Betadine in 12 non-pregnant women and serum iodine remained elevated for over an hour. On this basis he cautions against the use of iodine-containing disinfectants until further study determines whether a single application actually has adverse effects. The possibility that a single dose, or even a few doses interferes with thyroid function is so remote that I dismiss his warning as too extreme. Repeated iodine applications, however, are to be avoided in pregnancy. Seaweed and sponge have been used in treating goiter and tumors since antiquity but it was not until 1811 that a Frenchman, Bernard Courtois, discovered the active ingredient, iodine, in the ash of burnt seaweed. This breakthrough prompted much research in its day and by 1820 Charles Coindet published on the

use of an alcohol tincture of elemental iodine and also a water soluble salt, potassium iodide, both still in use to this day. The virtues of these substances were obvious in treating thyroid goiter, which would often shrink in a matter of days, and also in tuberculosis of the lymph nodes, referred to as "scrofula". He also reported benefits in treating tumors of the uterus and breast and particularly for tertiary syphilitic gummas, degenerative areas of infection in skin, bone and other tissues. The English lagged behind the French in this field but by 1844 Dr. Thomas J. Graham, wrote about medical uses of iodine in his book Modern Domestic Medicine. "It is a very active medicine and in all its forms is sometimes used with striking advantage in relieving the acute pain attendant upon hard and malignant swellings"..(and in cases of) "enlargement of the testes in men accompanied with severe pain, it is a valuable medicine, giving more speedy and effective relief than any other substance.."It has proved of uncommon service in some female complaints, especially in tumors of the breast and womb and in diseases of the ovaries."

IODINE IN SEAWEED DILATES THE CERVIX Seaweed still has a place in medical practice, particularly to help dilate the uterus for curettage. Dr. Raymond H. Kaufman, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, in a 1983 article in Medical Tribune recommends Laminaria digitata, a seaweed preparation, and finds it preferable to mechanical dilatation. A 1981 survey by the National Abortion Federation found that 15 percent of member clinics use seaweed in first trimester abortion procedures and 64 percent use it in the second trimester procedures because it is more comfortable and carries a five-fold reduced risk of laceration than does the use of rigid cervical dilators.

SEAWEED IODINE HAS OTHER MEDICALL USES After almost 200 years much still remains to be clarified about the chemistry of iodine and new uses are being reported for seaweed. Dr. S. Abdussalam recently reviewed some of these.[13] Served as a tea, seaweed is a diuretic. Brown seaweeds have antiocoagulant activity provided by fucose-containing sulfate polysaccharides Red algae, such as Digenia simplex, contain kaenic acid and are very effective against ascaris. In fact, seaweeds in general inhibit roundworms and pinworms and clear up common intestinal disorders, such as ulcers and constipation. Macrocystis seaweed species are antibiotic against influenza and mumps viruses. Anti fungal activity has been reported, especially in red algae and bluegreen algae and Caulerpa racemosa, a green algae, is very active against candida and cryptococcus.

SEAWEED USEFUL AS PESTICIDE Dr. Abdusallam reported research with extract of Macrocystis, that shows it to be an effective killer of mosquito larvae. Agricultural uses of seaweed are under development as seaweed has been found to improve seedling and root growth and flowering is increased in cabbages and marigolds. A 50 percent increase in yield was produced from ground nut plants treated with seaweed concentrate. In animals it is a growth enhancer with increased growth and muscle lipid content and with greater feed efficiency: it cost less to achieve weight gain. Most of the benefits of seaweed are due to its high content of potassium iodide; but in addition they contain carotenoids, essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, trace minerals and antioxidant enzymes.

IODIDE AGAINST YEAST INFECTIONS In 1930 Dr. J. Arthur Buchanan wrote of his research on the significance of yeasts in the stomach and intestines and their treatment by iodine[14]. His observations are very timely today due to a reawakening of interest in Candida and other yeasts of medical importance. "Yeasts produce gas more rapidly than any other organism found in nature when in the presence of fermentable sugars. The quantity and quality of these substances varies with the diet." "It is impossible for living yeasts to exist in the intestinal tract of man without producing substances harmful to the host. The quantities of poisons produced at any one time are usually small, so that the presence of the organisms as causal agencies is of most significance in connection with chronic disease. Diets which inhibit the activities of yeasts are associated with rapid improvement in the condition of the patients in which the organisms are found." "Yeasts are more sensitive to iodine than are bacteria. The usual amount effective in goiter patients would have no action on bacteria."

IODIDE FOR OPTIMUM IMMUNE POWER Buchanan was correct in recognizing the complications presented by intestinal yeast infection and in that regard he was 50 years ahead of his time. However scientific progress tells us now that the presence of yeasts is more a result than a cause of disease. Iodine deficiency promotes yeast infection because the low thyroxin level interferes with vitamin A synthesis and transport. In addition iodine deficiency weakens the myeloperoxidase enzyme activity of white blood cells and curtails their production of powerful hypochlorous and hypobromous acids that destroy yeasts and parasites.

IODINE TAKES THE GAS OUT OF BEANS All these accomplishments aside, the good doctor deserves to be remembered for his discovery of a method to prevent intestinal gas after eating cabbages and beans. "Their tendency to form gas in the intestine can be largely controlled by adding a few drops of iodine to the water in which they are cooked or by having the individual take five or six drops of Lugol's (iodine) solution in milk during the meal.

USE OF IODINE IN X-RAY IMAGING Iodine is relatively radio-opaque and organs that concentrate it can be seen as white areas on X-ray. Dr. D. F. Cameron introduced the use of both potassium and sodium iodides for this purpose in 1918[15] and a few years later Dr. Leonard Rowntree at Mayo Clinic was first to conceive of using iodide to visualize the kidneys, ureters and bladder[16]. Intravenous 10 percent sodium iodide in a dose of 10 grams was found to be free of adverse effects if given slowly over a period of five minutes. Higher doses, up to 20 grams, gave clearer pictures but increased the risk of adverse symptoms.

IODIDE CONCENTRATION IN URINE REACHES ANTIBIOTIC STRENGTH Another aspect of the research by the Mayo Clinic group that I find especially valuable is their table of measurements of iodine in the urine for 3 days after taking the dose. For example, a one gram dose by mouth led to a peak urine concentration of 1.6 mg per 100 ml after 2 hours. A 5 gram dose led to peak urine concentration of 5.6 mg per 100 ml and a 20 gram dose yielded 8.4 mg after 2 hours. We know that it takes only a 1 to 20,000 dilution, i.e.. 5 mg per 100 ml, to kill most bacteria within a minute and a 10 fold weaker solution is still lethal, though it takes longer, about 15 minutes. Thus a one gram dose of iodide lingers in the urine at 0.5 mg per 100 ml after 24 hours. A 5 gram dose peaks at 5.6 mg per 100 ml in 2

hours and remains at 2.3 mg per 100 ml at 24 hours. This supports the use of iodide as an effective antibiotic in urinary tract infections. It also tells us why the usual dose is 5 to 10 drops of SSKI, taken three times per day. That is the least dose required to achieve the necessary microbicidal concentration.

IODINE FOR SALIVARY GLAND STONES The presence of peroxidase in salivary glands gives a clue to the reason why stones of the salivary ducts can be broken down by treatment with iodide. Dr. Jonathan Write describes one such case successfully treated with iodide over a period of four months.[17] These stones are hardened deposits of calcium, phosphorous and other minerals that arise within the gland and can obstruct the duct, causing pain, swelling and damage and often requiring surgical removal. Iodine acts via the lacto-peroxidase enzyme, which is richly supplied to the salivary gland and which catalyzes the production of hypochlorous acid by the gland, an acid strong enough to gradually dissolve such stones. Lactoperoxidase is also present in the tear glands and breast.

IODINE FOR KIDNEY AND GALL BLADDER STONES Though I have seen no medical reports of iodine therapy for kidney stones, the high amount of iodide excretion in urine suggests that it should be worth a try in some cases, particularly those with small stones and signs of infection, ie. white blood cells and bacteria in the urine. Since iodine is not as actively secreted in the bile, it would not seem as profitable. But wait, the Mayo Clinic group reported that iodide showed up not only in kidney and bladder but also in liver and spleen, though in lesser amount. In addition, it is well known that iodide does bind to cholesterol and to unsaturated fatty acids, which are found in bile. There is no reason to doubt that iodine reacts these organs and that it might reach antibiotic concentrations and be sufficiently active to dissolve cholesterol and lipid materials that complicate stones. This deserves formal research study.

USE IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND HYPERLIPIDEMIA Iodides were commonly used in the treatment of arteriosclerosis in the first half of this century. In their 1952 report[18], Drs. Brown and Page wrote: "Iodide is almost traditional in treatment of arteriosclerosis...Its modern use depends in part on the fact that iodide inhibits experimental hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in rabbits." Drs. Fani and Weissman confirmed the previous reports as they studied various concentrations of iodide treatment in cholesterol-fed rabbits.[19] No animals on high iodide developed atheroma after 10 weeks. On the other hand, all the low iodide animals had advanced atherosclerotic damage, i.e.. proliferation of intima and media cells, fat droplets, degeneration of the elastic laminae and thickening of the wall of the aorta.

IODIDE TREATMENT OF RETINAL HEMORRHAGE Treatment of retinal hemorrhage by iodine was recommended in May's Manual of Diseases of the eye in 1963 and described in an uncontrolled study by Drs. Abrahamson et al in 1968[20]. Dr. Francis Stern observed significant benefits after iodide therapy for elderly patients with cerebral arteriosclerosis, as measured by significant improvements in anxiety, depression and behavior in those treated with iodide by not placebo[21].

IODIDE AS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENT Iodine can be safely used to alter inflammation and allergy by means of its

interaction with the sulfhydryl bond. It does not damage tissue structure because it does not react with the disulfide bond, a stable component of collagen structure. Iodine does alter enzymes, particularly by reacting with tyrosine residues, as well as with phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine, cysteine and methionine, all of which are building blocks of enzyme and receptor molecules. Sulfhydryl groups are ubiquitous in the body fluids and thus offer natural protection against adverse effects by iodine. However it is possible that large doses of iodine might get by and inactivate enzymes and regulatory molecules, such as complement C3 and thus trigger the one in a million allergic reaction that has been reported. In case of alkaline pH and low circulating albumin levels, sulfhydryl groups are at their minimum. This situation is most likely to occur on a low fat, low protein diet or with chronic malabsorptive bowel disease and I would be cautious about the use of iodide therapy in such people.

FREE RADICAL SCAVENGER-ANTIOXIDANT SSKI 200 mg per day is the best free radical scavenger. At acid pH it is irritant and antibiotic; at alkaline pH it is anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory. This duality of activity offers treatment advantages, particularly in disorders of the urinary tract.

IODIDE INACTIVATES CAUSTIC ENZYMES The tissue protective effect of iodide is also very likely due to binding to its effect on lysozyme, an enzyme that is released by immune cells at the site of inflammation. Research has shown that iodine combines at the active site of the enzyme.

IODIDE INACTIVATES OTHER PROTEINS Iodine almost completely inactivates the toxic element of wheat and may offer welcome anti-inflammatory action against celiac disease and wheat intolerance. Luliberin, a pituitary decapeptide that controls the release of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) is inactivated by iodination. This offers a rationale for treating menopausal hot flashes, which are mediated by LH. Fibrinogen, the protein of blood clotting, fails to polymerize if only 4 out of 78 tryptophan residues are modified by iodination; so here is a promising avenue to prevent thrombotic disease and minimize post-traumatic soft tissue injury. Other enzymes inactivated by iodine in the test tube are: Apolipoprotein A types 1, 2 and 3, which are involved in cholesterol transport and protection of the blood vessel wall. IgG, IgM and IgE, which are the agents of immune and allergic response. Complement C1q and C3 which control the production of immune complexes and major immune destruction. Transcobalamin II which carries vitamin B12 to the liver. Na-K ATPase, which controls energy transport at every cell membrane, is dependent on tyrosyls, and modification of one completely inhibits activity. The inter conversion of glucose-phosphorous depends on the enzyme, Phosphoglucomutase, which loses activity on iodination.

IODINE CORRELATES WITH NERVE DISEASE AND CANCER Dr. Harold Foster has gathered persuasive evidence that implicates iodine deficiency in diseases in addition to hypothyroidism, goiter and cretinism. Cancer of the thyroid and nervous system correlate at over 0.8 probability with iodine deficiency. Multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have a similar high probability. Thyroid hormone is known to stimulate nerve growth.

Melanoma mortality is more strongly correlated with iodine than any other variable, including sunlight. On the other hand, iodine deficiency is negatively correlated with both skin cancer and melanoma. It is possible that sweat glands contain a lactoperoxidase, which interacts with iodine to produce free radicals, thus increasing the probability of carcinogenesis in skin. Of course, the presence of adequate antioxidant defenses, such as tocopherol and ascorbate protects against this disaster.

USE IN ERYTHEMATOUS DERMATOSES AND FEVERS Drs. Horio and Danno reported on their experience with 47 patients whose erythematous dermatoses were treated by potassium iodide, 300 mg orally, three times per day. If no benefits were observed in two weeks, treatment was discontinued. No adverse effects were noted. Excellent results were observed in 38 patients, almost 80% of the cases." Relief of lesional tenderness, joint pain and/or fever occurred within 24 hours. Specific diagnoses were: erythema nodosum, nodular vasculitis, erythema multiforme and Sweet's syndrome, an acute, febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. The author's noted that the response was more impressive in patients with more severe symptoms. Eruptions began to resolve in a few days and subsided almost completely within a week and no new lesions appeared during the medication period. The response was greatest in patients with positive C-reactive protein, joint pains and high fever.

ENVIRONMENTAL IODINE BLOCKERS: Cabbage, turnips, brussel sprouts, broccoli and rutabaga all contain sulfurous substances, thiocyanates, which bind and prevent absorption of iodine. These are called goitrogens, because they can induce deficiency and thus cause the thyroid to swell into a goiter. Milk from cows feeding on these goitrogenic vegetables can also cause goiter. Cassava, a food staple in many third world countries is especially high in thiocyanate and can induce hypothyroidism, which in turn interferes with vitamin A, weakening immune function and causing high death rates from infection. This may play a part in the current epidemic of AIDS in Africa. Sulfa containing medications, such as diuretics, anti-diabetic drugs and even sulfa antibiotics all bind iodine. Tetracycline antibiotics likewise. Pesticides also block iodine and the chlorinated hydrocarbons in particular induce thyroid disorders and hypothyroidism. DDT, PCB, PBB are all iodine blockers.

USE OF IODIDE TO BLOCK UPTAKE OF RADIOACTIVE IODINE How did the Russians deal with the explosion at the Chernobyl atomic power plant?[22] Potassium iodide in 130 mg tablets was distributed at the plant within 2 hours of the accident and to the residents of Pripyat the next morning, within 7 hours. The remaining 100,000 persons in the area were not treated until after May 1 and then they took one tablet daily until May 6th. The Soviet physicians felt that potassium iodide had a good psychological effect in addition to blocking the radioactive iodine uptake by the thyroid gland. Side effects, such as metallic taste and sore throat, were observed but none required medical attention. In Poland 10 million persons received potassium iodide and 17 had severe adverse reactions, a shock-like state that required medical support. Iodide should be given as soon as possible and continued daily for a week to ten days. If given within an hour a 90% thyroid block of iodine 131 uptake by the thyroid gland occurs; after five hours this falls to only 50% and after 12 hours the iodide has very little effect -- except psychological comfort in those who don't know any better. It is unlikely that anyone in Poland--or anywhere else in Europe was treated in time. Lest we feel smug: here in the US after Three Mile Island, the Anbex company, manufacturers of Iosat, a form of potassium iodide, sent huge amounts to the State of Pennsylvania. It didn't sell. "Nobody believes it works" said

the president of the company[23].

IODINE CONCENTRATES IN TESTES ALSO: Another organ that takes up iodine is the testicle. Proof of this fact is evident in the fact that treatment of thyroid cancer with RAI131 is sometimes followed by diminished or absent sperm counts and elevated pituitary gonadotropin hormone levels up to three and a half years later. Recovery also occurs[24] but sterility is clearly a hazard of radioactive iodine treatment. Cancer is another hazard: One of my patients developed a testicular cancer fifteen years after radioactive iodine treatment for Grave's disease. His father had also had a testicular tumor (seminoma) so it would be prudent to avoid radioactive iodine therapy if one has such a history. Though this review is less than complete, I hope it persuades you to appreciate this familiar substance, iodine, as a truly essential nutrient and more, a practical therapeutic principle. In fact, Iodine offers dozens of under-utilized applications and many exciting possibilities for advancement in medicine.

ADDENDUM: Dissolved in pure water, iodine produces seven different iodo species: I2, I-, H2OI+, HOI, OI-,IO3-, I3-. Of these, only I2, HOI and H2OI+ are bactericidal. The biological targets of reactive iodine and iodide are: basic amino acids, such as lysine, histidine and arginine, tyrosine residues, sulfhydryl groups, carbon-carbon double bonds of fatty acids and the bases of nucleotides. Iodo thyronine deiodinase type I is structurally similar to transthyretin, a prealbumin involved in transport of both thyroxine and retinol. The body produces roughly 90 mcg of T4, thyroxin each day and about half as much T3, triiodo thyronine, of which 80 percent derives from deiodination of thyroxin and the remainder is screted from the thyroid. Deiodination of T4 produces equal amounts of T3 and reverse T3. Thyroglobulin, thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG), binds about two thirds of the total body thyroxin T4. The other third of thyroxin activity binds to a prealbumin protein called, Transthyretin, which binds both thyroxin and retinol. The T3 binds ten times less well than does T4, a fact which protects cells from overstimulation by this regulatory hormone. The T3 receptor is a DNA binding protein with a sequence similar to a cellular oncogene. Iodothyronine deiodinase regulation: Deiodination regulates conversion of T4 to the more active T3. Further deiodination to inactive di-iodothyronine represents a mechanism to regulate activity. There are 3 types of deiodinase. Type II is found in the pituitary, where conversion of T4 to T3 inhibits the release of pituitary thyrotropin (TSH). Deiodination by type III enzyme in the nervous tissue (glia?) yields rT3, which is 50 times more effective as an inhibitor of type II deiodinase than is T3. This mechanism decreases T3 concentration in the pituitary and thus permits increased TSH secretion to maintain homeostatic balance. T4 is also deiodinated in leucocytes, producing di-iodo thyronine during phagocytosis. Mono-deiodination disposes of 80% of the T4. Iodination of tyrosine requires a peroxidase, thyroid peroxidase, hydrogen peroxide, I-, and an iodine acceptor. I2 is not the iodinating molecule; I+ is. Di-

iodothyronine stimulates iodopoeroxidases and thyroid peroxidase Conversion of tyrosine to biogenic amines involves enzymes that may also process T3 and T4 to neuroactive amines. T3 appears in rat synapses following administration of either T3 or T4. However a precise adrenergic function for thyroid hormones is not yet confirmed.

THYROXIN DEIODINASE IS A SELENIUM ENZYME. Type I iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase, is a selenoenzyme, as is glutathione peroxidase. Selenium deficiency may conribute to hypothyroid conditions. For example, acording to JB Vanderpas[25], epidemic myxedema and cretinism in Zaire corresponds to an area of selenium deficiency. However Drs. CE West and AS Truswell challenged this theory inasmuch as serum T4 and T3 and TSH were related to urinary iodide but not serum selenium. [26] Drs. D. Behne, A Kyriakopoulos et al identified the deiodinase as a selenoenzyme however, that much is definite[27]. Haloperoxidases: These enzymes catalyze the oxidation of ionic iodine, bromine and chlorine to electrophilic halogenating species. Iodooperoxidases can oxidize only I-, bromoperoxidases oxidize both Br- and I-, and chloroperoxidases can oxidize Clas well. No peroxidase is capable of oxidizing F-. Horseradish peroxidase is an iodoperoxidase; lactoperoxidase from milk, saliva and tears is a bromoperoxidase as are many algae and seaweeds. Myeloperoxidase from leucocytes is a chloroperoxidase and fungi are equipped with similar enzyme. Iodine chemistry is ph sensitive: In acidic conditions 2KI + H2O2 + 2HCl --- I2 + 2 KCl + H2O. Alkaline media is quite different. 2KI + H202 --- 2 KOH + I2 I2 + 2 KOH --- KOI + KI + H20. KOI + H202 --- KI + O2 + H20. Human bio-system Ph is 7.4, alkaline; therefore HOI is usually converted to potassium iodide (or sodium iodide) with oxygen (O2) and water (H20) as byproducts. At acid pH, however, (as in chronic inflammation) iodide generates elemental iodine (Iodine 2, the diatomic form), which is more caustic and possibly more antibiotic. So it will be more irritating to the tissues but also more protective. Another advantage of iodine, is that it becomes more antibiotic under conditions of acidosis, as in infection or chronic illness. Merck Index describes use of iodine for treating lead and mercury intoxication. Formula for potassium iodide: 1 gram dissolves in 0.7 ml water.

30 grams dissolves in 21 ml water. pH 7-9. Alkali prevents yellowing, ie. oxidation to iodate and elemental iodine.

[1]Caravalho, J, Caldwell JB et al: Feline-transmitted sporotrichosis in the southwestern United States. (1991) W J Med 154:426-465. [2]. Colletta G, Cirafici AM, Giancarlo V: Induction of the c-fos oncogene by thyrotropic hormone in rat thyroid cells in culture. (1986) Science 233:458-59. [3] Boyagaes SC, Collins JK et al: Iodine deficiency impairs intellectual and neuromotor development in apparently-normal persons. A study of rural inhabitants of north-central China. Med J Aust (1989) 150:676-82. [4] Dratman MB, Futaesaku Y et al: Iodine 125 labeled tri-iodothyronine in rat brain: evidence for localization in discrete neural systems. (1982) Science 215:309-12. [5] Goldenheim PD: Inactivation of HIV by povidone-iodine JAMA (1987) 257:2434. [6] In correspondence to Dr. Robert Cathcart, 1992. [7] Edward JF: Iodine: its use in the treatment and prevention of poliomyelitis and allied diseases. Manitoba Medical Review (1954)34:337-339. [8] Weiss SJ, Test ST et al: Brominating oxidants generated by human eosinophils. Science (1986) 234:200-202. [9] Eskin BA et al: Mammary gland dysplasia in iodine deficiency. (1967).JAMA 200:115. [10] Strum JM and Phelps PC: Resting human female breast tissue produces iodinated proteins. (1983) J Ultrastruct Res 84:130-39. [11] Myers JA: Save ovaries for iodine metabolism and longevity. in: The Metabolic Aspects of Health. Discovery Press, 1979. [12] Vorherr H et al: Povidone iodine use should be avoided during pregnancy. (1980) JAMA 244:2628-2629. [13] Abdussalam S: Drugs from Seaweeds. Med Hypothesis (1990) 32,33-35. [14] Buchanan, JA: The occurrence of yeasts in patiients with thyroid disease. (1930) Endocrinology 14: 17-24. [15] Cameron D F: Aqueous solutions of potassium and sodium iodids as opaque mediums in roentgenography. (1918) JAMA 70:754-755. [16] Osborne ED, Sutherland CG, Scholl AJ and Rowntree LG: Roentgenography of urinary tract during excretion of sodium iodid. (1923) JAMA 80:368-373. [17] Wright J: Let's Live. February 1990. [18] Brown HB, Page IH: (1952) Circulation,5:647-656. [19] Fani K, Weissman M: Inhibition of dietary atherosclerosis by iodide. (1970) Res

Comm Chem Path and Pharm, 1:169-184. [20] Abrahamson IA et al: Treatment of retinal arteriolosclerosis and hemorrhages. (1968) EENT Digest, July 48-63. [21] Stern FH: The management of cerebral atherosclerosis. Psychosom. (1968) 9:228-34. [22] Linneman RE: Soviet Medical response to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. (1987) JAMA 258, 637-643. [23] Iosat is available without a prescription and is available by mail from Anbex, Box 861 B, Cooper Station, NY 10276. [24] Ahmed, SR: Radioactive iodine and testicular damage. NEJM (1984) 311:1576. [25] Vanderpas JB, Contempre B, Duale NL, et al. Iodine and selenium deficiency associated with cretinism in northern Zaiare. Am J Clin Nutr (1990) 52;1087-93 [26] West CE, Truswell AS: Iodine and selenium deficiency. Am J Clin Nutr (1991) 54:606-14. [27] Behne D, Kyriakopoulos A, et al: Identification of tyhpe I iodothyronine 5'deiodinase as a selenoenzyme. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. (1990)173:1143-9. © 2011 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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It is a relief and a pleasure when a complex case turns out to be easy. An orthomolecular physician in Upstate New York sent me a fax regarding a 32 year old woman he is treating for shoulder pain following a motor vehicle accident. Injections of cortisone (triamcinolone) had been dramatically beneficial: her pain  Ola Loa, LLC disappeared, good sleep returned, energy level and mood improved, and her skin  11250 Clayton Creek "acne" cleared. All symptoms relapsed when the effects of the shot wore off. In Rd. addition she reported additional symptoms: abdominal bloat, thinning hair and

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green finger nails . Cortisone taken by mouth did not work, so she had already  Lower Lake, CA 95457 had 3 injections. The doctor wondered if she might have a genetic problem. He USA was specifically intrigued by the possibility of phenylketonuria because she  1.800.800.9550 claimed that diet Coke relieved her symptoms! He had heard one of my lectures  [email protected] on ADD-Autism and thought I might be able to answer this for him.  Ola Loa Store However the question of genetic disorder is not very relevant, especially since the observation that she feels better after drinking diet 'Coke'. That says she is not reacting badly to phenylalanine. Instead it suggests that caffeine from 'Coke' is acting like a shot of cortisone. Caffeine stimulates the the release of adrenalin and this stimulates the pituitary gland, which signals the adrenal glands to release cortisone. Phenylalanine might also work for her by supporting the production of Website by adrenalin. Does the reference to diet Coke mean that she is a junk food junkie? Giraffex At that point a flurry of possibilities came to mind, and of course I was intrigued by the green fingernails because I have seen green hair, which can occur when blonde haired swimmers use pools that are treated with copper sulfate. Such water takes on a blue color and it is chemically reactive with the sulfur protein, Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC keratin, in hair. Blue and yellow combine to make green and that is the color of blonde hair when exposed to blue copper. If you know someone who is worried

about their green hair, tell them about the hair mineral hair test, for it will show copper at 200 to 300 parts per million in the green hair of these swimmers. But this patient did not have green hair; only green fingernails. How to explain that one? Green is not a natural color of any human tissue except breakdown products of blood pigments, as happens when heme (purple) is oxidized to biliverdin (green) in bruised tissues. But this patient's fingers were not injured only her shoulder, and those bruises had already cleared up. My guess is that her nail beds have had a bluish tinge due to sluggish circulation and that she had yellowing of her tissues due to increased carotene since the accident. Blue blood filtered through yellow tissues makes for a greenish tinge to the nail beds. Green fingernails. Why would carotene be increased after an accident? Because she has been taking vitamins, including carotene, and juices, and eating more vegetables. It is also important to consider the possibility of a low thyroid condition, which is more common after acute and chronic stress, such as prolonged pain states. Low thyroid might also explain her intestinal gas and hair loss. Low thyroid status causes sluggish intestinal activity and inefficient digestion. Because thyroid is required for full activity of the vitamin folic acid, there is a decline in production of nucleic acids and polyamines, substances required for cell repair and healing. This can cause hair loss, as happens in cancer therapy, which uses chemicals to block folic acid. The connection between green fingernails and high carotene increases the likelihood of vitamin A deficiency as well, for if carotene is high, it is not likely being converted adequately into vitamin A. Few people these days get enough vitamin A by eating liver, eggs and/or cream. Carotene is vegetable vitamin A but it is not active until oxidized by an enzyme in the intestine, one that is often impaired, especially in those who are hypo-thyroid or diabetic. Hair loss is a classic symptom of vitamin A deficiency and also of low thyroid activity. In cases of vitamin A deficiency the hair loss is due to changes in the cells (keratinocytes), which produce keratin, a form of collagen found in hair and skin. Both mucous and keratin contain sulfur containing proteins, called glycos-aminoglycans, i.e. GAG proteins. One of the critical factors in producing these GAG proteins is an enzyme called PAPS, Phospho-Adenosine Phospho Sulfate. This enzyme is required for transfer of sulfate for collagen protein in hair, skin and connective tissues. PAPS requires vitamin A and that is a big part of why vitamin A is important in hair growth. Of course, sulfate is derived primarily from sulfur amino acids, such as methionine; hence low protein intake or intestinal malabsorption, can also cause hair loss, reduction of keratin in hair, and lack of binding sites for hair dyes--which shows up in the beauty salon as a customer complaint. The doctor was quite impressed with these ideas and came back with an additional piece of information. It turns out that the mother and maternal grandmother of this woman had suffered from excessive fatigue and depression during pregnancy. This raises the question of a familial problem, such as gestational diabetes, which is often related to vitamin B6 deficiency. Vitamin B6 needs increase by at least a third during pregnancy. Deficiency is associated with accumulation of high levels of XA (xanthurenic acid), a by-product of the amino acid, tryptophan. The connection to B6 is so reliable that XA is used as a laboratory test for vitamin B6 deficiency. Xanthurenic acid is known to cause or aggravate pancreatic damage, just a bit weaker than its look-alike, alloxan, which is so toxic to the pancreas that it is used to cause diabetes for research purposes in the laboratory. My colleague was grateful for our time together but had to get back to his busy day. I left him with my advice to perform laboratory confirmation of her vitamin B6 status and to test her saliva for cortisone. He had been puzzled by her

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complete remission from all symptoms after receiving injections of the synthetic cortisone, triamcinolone (10 mg) and her failure to respond to natural cortisone (20 mg). Triamcinolone (Aristocort) is 5 times more active than natural cortisone and has a duration of action 2 to 3 times as long; hence it would require two doses of 20 to 30 mg of hydrocortisone to compare with 10 mg of triamcinolone. This was in conflict with his expectation to wean her completely from cortisone; hence his puzzlement. Hormonal diagnosis has been facilitated recently by the introduction of saliva testing, which has the advantage that hormones are in the free form, rather than bound to transport proteins as is the case in blood testing. Free hormones are the active form of the hormones, hence they more nearly reflect the activity of the hormone. Testing saliva is also more convenient and less expensive than blood testing--and most people would rather not have a needle stick. The biggest change that I forsee is panel testing of multiple hormones. The lower costs makes it possible for general practice physicians to diagnose, understand and treat hormone related disorders that previously would have been unrecognized. The improvement in laboratory testing does not necessarily simplify the process of diagnosis however. I recall a similar case in my own practice: a 50 year old woman with shoulder and neck pain that came on after her car was broad-sided by a truck. Complete recovery from pain and numbness in her hands was delayed for six months before re-testing made the diagnosis clear. The initial salivary hormone panel showed her estrogens, progesterone, DHEA, and cortisone were all low normal except testosterone, which was truly low. I prescribed natural progesterone cream based on reports of success in osteoporosis and because it is also very safe. However my patient continued to complain about persistent skeletal symptoms in her neck, arms, hips--it seemed like everywhere for the next few months. In other ways she looked better and had more energy; but her target symptoms persisted. I was perplexed so when it was time for follow-up testing, I ordered a test to measure the amount of bone peptide lost in the urine and a repeat saliva hormones panel. The results made the diagnosis easy: steroids and cortisone had improved, in keeping with her general energy and well-being; but progesterone and testosterone remained low. At the same time she showed a 50 percent excess of bone peptides in her urine. This explains the persistence of her symptoms: her bones are weakening and if the process goes unchecked she is destined to suffer deposition of calcium in soft tissues, including blood vessels and skin, and accelerated aging, stooped posture, hip fractures--and premature death. That is the syndrome of osteoporosis. Now it was my turn to be puzzled--why was the progesterone creme not working? The answer is in the saliva test. It showed that she was not using enough of the creme. In fact, questioning her now revealed that she had only used one tube in 6 months! Once that was corrected the rest is a happy ending: she is feeling better, and by keeping doses within physiological limits, and monitoring with the advantage of laboratory support, a disaster has been prevented. It is now quite rational to try a low dose testosterone supplement because this hormone is an anabolic steroid and promotes tissue repair. If bone loss can be prevented she will be spared the accelerated aging that afflicts so many people in their later years. Green fingernails are a dramatic clue to clinical diagnosis the old-fashioned way, but hormone testing offers more drama and excitement-- a true glimpse of the orthomolecular microcosm of life.

©2014 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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In 1970 Linus Pauling wrote about vitamin C as a treatment against viral disease. This was not really new or original work because Pauling owed a huge debt to Dr.

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Irwin Stone, who had appreciated the antioxidant nature of the vitamin and patented its use as a food preservative over 30 years before--before the second World War. And Stone also appreciated the enormous health benefits of vitamin C  Ola Loa, LLC and presented a catalog of documented medical applications in his 1972 book:  11250 Clayton Creek “The Healing Factor.” In this book he paid due homage to the maverick medical Rd. genius, Dr. Fred Klenner, who had used vitamin C as a mainstay in his general medical practice for over 30 years. He actually performed basic clinical research  Lower Lake, CA 95457 with vitamin C, proving its safety and efficacy for infections, snake-bite, and in USA support of the healing process in almost every known disease. But it was not until  1.800.800.9550 Dr. Pauling injected his great prestige and incisive writing style into the  [email protected] controversy over vitamins and viruses, that vitamin C became a hot issue and a cause celebre in its time.  Ola Loa Store We are still so close to the controversy over vitamin therapies in general that most everyone still thinks of vitamin C only in relation to the common cold. Ordinary Americans haven’t realized that the controversy has already leaped to a higher level, and has forced a re-definition of medical causation. No longer do we talk only of disease. Now we think of antioxidants. Antioxidant is the new medical Website by buzzword. The ordinary citizen doesn’t have to think about vitamin C or any Giraffex vitamin, just antioxidants--as if these represent some newly discovered class of molecules. There is a de facto cover-up going on here: vitamins are again relatively ignored, as if they are less important than antioxidants. Can a vitamin cure Herpes simplex? That is the question. Herpes infections began Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC to increase in frequency during the 1970s, perhaps as a result of a change in our sexual mores. About half of the adult population now test positive for Herpes virus infections. And yes, once infected, we have it for life. So there are two kinds of

people and they are present in the population in equal numbers: Herpes positive and Herpes negative. Of course we’d rather be negative, not infected, but if half of the population carries the virus it is actually normal to be infected with HSV. The herpes epidemic has had extensive media coverage, especially since a few liability lawsuits became headline news over a decade ago. Sexual relations had always been an extremely private issue in the United States until the birth control pill and the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The herpes epidemic that followed made big news because for the first time women were willing to go to court to sue over the complications of herpes genitalis, a sexually transmitted disease, formerly a very private and personal matter that was kept hidden from public view. Now we have lawsuits, famous ones, in which women have become infected and sued their former lovers for failure to disclose their positive HSV II status. By now there have been numerous articles published about life with herpes. Herpes clubs have been formed. It seems that the virus has become more newsworthy than the sexual encounter that spawned it. Why is it that no one has been sued for passing cold sores by kissing? How about the kissing disease, infectious mononucleosis? Genital herpes is different: it tends to be persistent, relapsing at the slightest irritation, e.g. chafing or a small scratch-not necessarily by sexual contact. And it is not necessarily confined to the genital area. Blisters in surrounding areas and in regional nerves can be distressing--and often quite painful. And circulating virus can cause malaise, feverishness and irritability. The virus can be transmitted by hands and fingers, so it is important to wash hands after sex if the virus is in question. Always avoid rubbing your eyes if your hands have touched a suspected herpes lesion, even if it is tiny, for the herpes virus can be transferred to the eye and cause corneal thickening and scarring with permanent blurring of vision. In my book, MegaNutrition, I was pleased to report good results obtained by patients using ascorbic acid solution applied directly to their herpes lesions. This reduced their pain and hastened recovery. Typically oral herpes blisters persist for a few days and the scab may take over a week to resolve. Genital herpes often requires two weeks. In some of my patients the duration and frequency of the herpes declined to such an extent that the disease became a non-problem. I didn’t realize at the time that I was among the first to use vitamin C in this way so I did not bother to report my cases in the peer reviewed literature. Now that vitamins are gaining credibility amongst medical authorities, research has appeared to confirm what we already know. Dr. T. Hov and others at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, Finland, tested a pharmaceutical formulation of vitamin C (Ascoxal) in a randomized double blind study in which the patients treated their lesions with a cotton pad soaked in the solution, three times a day for two minutes. Thirty two episodes of herpes were reported and of these 18 were treated by placebo and 14 with the ascorbate solution. The trained nurse reports documented shorter duration of positive virus cultures and also quicker healing with the ascorbate solution--the scabs were gone sooner. Now that it is medically correct to treat herpes with vitamin C, will doctors begin to use this treatment as a first choice with the millions of cases that they see? A better question might be will they even use it as a last choice? For this study was published in an obscure specialty journal, Antiviral Research, just this year. It may take years before this tidbit makes it to a major channel of medical communication, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association or the New England Journal of Medicine. On the other hand, treatment with vitamin C and bioflavonoids is described for Herpes virus I (HSV I) in a standard medical reference, the Merck Manual 16th Edition (p 2478), published in 1992, though limited to 600 mg per day for 3 days. If you are in the half of the adult population that carries HSV II, even if you are not infected, it is comforting to know that there is a simple, safe, inexpensive treatment that you can do for yourself if you ever relapse. It is also comforting to

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know that there are other treatments to complement the benefits of vitamin C. For most healthy adults, there should be no terror and no great stigma attached to herpes infection of either type. The relapses can become reduced in frequency, the blisters can be aborted, the pain can be relieved. What might have been a two to three week misery in the past can now be reduced to but a few days. Still a nuisance but no longer a curse. Complications can occur, however, and careless individuals are at greater risk of spreading the infection to their fingers or eyes. Another warning: NEVER permit a dental assistant or dentist to drill into your teeth when you have a cold sore in your mouth. It is possible for the virus to transmit via the dental nerves and thus infect the brain itself. This is an uncommon complication but one that I have witnessed in my practice so it is probably not rare. Women who shed herpes virus in the vaginal tract may infect their newborn infant at birth, as it passes through the vaginal tract. This can lead to eye infections and encephalitis in up to 3% of newborns delivered through an infected birth canal. However it is likely that mothers with adequate vitamin C, zinc and especially vitamin A are better protected against transmission to their newborn, as has been verified regarding other viruses,. e.g. HIV Vitamin A is a key factor in viral defenses. This is well documented in the case of measles, where severe cases almost never afflict anyone whose vitamin A status is adequate. Unfortunately, vitamin A is deficient in 10 to 20 percent of Americans and it is seldom supplemented during pregnancy. And many more women, while not deficient, are sub-optimal for vitamin A. Deficiency is certain to increase since publication of a research study recently in the New England Journal, that claimed a significant increase in birth defects in babies of women who took vitamin A at only twice the RDA, i.e. only 10,000 iu, during the first weeks of pregnancy. I think this is a questionable study because other vitamin and multivitamin studies have found that vitamin supplementation, including vitamin A, reduces the risk of birth defects. Some good over-the-counter herpes treatments have also appeared in the past twenty years. The use of zinc salve is so well-known that it should be classed as “traditional.” What is new is the use of zinc tampons for women and the finding that local zinc application has a direct virus killing action. Lysine is another useful treatment and is so effective taken orally, that I seldom need to treat with local vitamin C compresses these days. The action of lysine is supposed to work by interfering with arginine, an amino acid which can promote viral growth. However lysine also works by binding and transporting copper ion to the tissues, and I suspect that copper may inactivate the virus as I have also seen dramatic results, literally the end of relapses of formerly intractable herpes, after supplemental copper. The ancient herb, Melissa (lemon balm), is returning to popularity in the form of a pleasant cream containing an extract of the herb. When applied within a few hours of the first sign of a blister, Melissa was 10 times more effective than a placebo cream. When application of the herb was delayed for 16 hours, the advantage declined to just about twice as effective, i.e. the placebo patients had twice as large an area of redness. When compared to the antiviral drug, acyclovir, the herb was again superior if applied promptly. I have heard from my patients that lithium-containing creams are also very effective against herpes genitalis. In my own practice, however, I have relied on iodized vegetable oil, made to my specification and applied directly to the affected area two or three times per day for up to 3 days. Pain and itching are relieved at once and the duration of the lesions is usually reduced to a week. In a few cases of resistant herpes that I have treated, the iodide can be applied directly to the blisters by means of a cotton swab. There is momentary discomfort but the relief is convincing and I have had no complaints. For deep blisters it may be necessary to use DMSO as a transporter. The application creates a warm sensation as the reaction between the solutions releases heat. Within 12 hours all

or most all of the virus is extinct, judging by relief of pain, diminished redness, and absorption of blister fluid without rupturing the blisters, most of which develop scab a day or two later. In my experience the blisters resolve entirely within a week, and even the nerve pain is gone in just 3 or 4 days. If the DMSO treatment is less than 100 percent effective, inflammation around the blisters will not subside first day. In that case a second treatment is indicated and that is the most that I recommend or have required. From there it is a simple matter of healing salves and lotions. Take your choice of vitamin A, D, E, and zinc. Desitin™ or plain cod liver oil are the most effective despite the fishy odor. when applied at bedtime it is acceptable for one to three nights. Of course, treatment with the drug, acyclovir, is also effective. It shortens the episodes and reduces the number of recurrences. That is well established; but in a few cases there are adverse effects; and in every case is costly, particularly if it is taken on a long term basis. Bottom line: there are treatment choices that offer real help for herpes. ©2014 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 797

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The primary prevention and treatment of coronary artery disease is not limited to low cholesterol, low salt, low fat diets. Nutrients reverse atherosclerosis: they

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should be ranked first, ahead of all other treatments for coronary atherosclerosis, which is responsible for at least half of all deaths in our time.  Ola Loa, LLC Orthomolecular therapy, putting nutrients first, i.e. antioxidants, anticoagulants,  11250 Clayton Creek and trace minerals, especially copper. But so entrenched has the cholesterol Rd. theory become in the public mind, that Americans are still in the dark as to the real power of nutrition and nutrient therapy against perils coronary artery disease.  Lower Lake, CA 95457 In part this is due to a smoke screen of propaganda. The Public Health Service, a USA government agency, has been allocated several billions of dollars to educate the  1.800.800.9550 American public about the virtues of a low fat, low cholesterol diet to prevent  [email protected] coronary artery disease--even though there is no proof that this actually rewards us with a drop in over-all mortality. Heart attacks do drop but at the expense of  Ola Loa Store depression, suicide and accidents--and possibly cancer and stroke as well. In the broadest sense, cholesterol has played a role analogous to a germ; and the various drugs are analogous to antiseptics or antibiotics that kill the germs, or cholesterol deposits. That idea has prevailed for half a century, so it will probably continue to dominate physicians and patients alike for some time to come. New Website by “truth” is not always welcome when an old theory has taken hold and fits in with Giraffex the established belief systems of the people. After 50 years of anti-cholesterol propaganda most people are afraid of eggs, butter, cream, liver, beef and even lobster, because they are told these foods contain cholesterol or saturated fat, which somehow increases blood cholesterol. We have become a nation of cholesterol-phobics. Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC On the other hand, orthomolecular theories, long subject to disbelief and derision, are finally gaining respect. The antioxidant theory is the most popular of the new

theories about coronary artery disease,.but it turns out that the antioxidant vitamins C and E are effective ONLY at levels 5 to 10 times greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA). And carotene is effective even at usual doses. One reason for this acceptance of antioxidant megavitamins is that antioxidant theory does not contradict cholesterol theory. A minor revision will suffice: cholesterol is now recognized as harmless, but oxidized cholesterol is bad. Why? Because it is carried by macrophages, white blood cells, to the blood vessel wall. There it induces free-radical formation, formation of superoxide and hydroxyl ions, which cause damage to the cells there. Antioxidants prevent this damage. This view of the mechanism is based on the observation that oxidized cholesterol attaches to receptors in the blood vessel wall, then attracts white blood cells that release chemical mediators of inflammation and spasm, ultimately leading to plaque, calcification and thickening of the blood vessel and setting the stage for clotting. Other explanations are also possible but the main thing is that treatment with antioxidants, particularly vitamin E, can prevent oxidation of cholesterol and inhibit platelet aggregation, an early step in clot formation as well. Thus, a recent large research study in which over 80,000 nurses were followed for 4 to 8 years in separate studies, found 150 mg doses of vitamin E, over 10 times the RDA, reduced the mortality from heart attack by almost 50 percent. Five years earlier a similar benefit was reported after a ten year study of 22,000 physicians who volunteered to take carotene supplements. One would think that these research results would assure antioxidant therapy a starring role in treating coronary artery disease. Such is not yet the case. Orthodox physicians continue to cavil and debate the fine points with such fervor that even the experts who run the research still advise against vitamin therapy. Privately, however, they take large doses of vitamins C and E along with fresh fruits and vegetables. Publicly they call for more controlled, double-blind clinical studies. Orthomolecular physicians, on the other hand, believe “if it might help and won’t hurt, go ahead-now.” To an ordinary mind this is simple common sense. To a physician or medical ethicist, however, it remains profoundly controversial and so the orthodox path relies heavily on angiograms and by-pass surgery. Eating habits and cholesterol. Family Practice, 1996, 26(12):33 “ in Nutrition Week, 1996; 26(31):7. In a study of 300 people aged 35-55, those eating 4.5 times per day (meals and snacks combined) had high HDL, lower LDL and insulin and lower body mass than those who ate fewer meals per day. This study, small though it is, confirms an opinion that snacking is a healthier mode of eating than binging. Eating 3 square meals can be construed as binging. In my Listen to Your Body Diet a meal is defined as any combination of 3 foods; a snack is less than that, just one or two items at a time. And when eating more than 3 foods at a time, isn’t that a feast? The benefits of increased frequency of eating probably applies to meals and snacks, not feasts. Our custom of 3 square meals a day is actually 3 feasts a day, 3 binges if you please, and unless you are a physically very active person that is probably too much. The essence of this research is that under-eating is not an advantage; and we already know that over-eating is a health hazard. The idea of 4.5 meals a day is probably a lucky estimate of what is optimal. The optimal frequency remains to be seen; but it probably varies with the individual and his day to day conditions of living. Rodriguez BL, et al. Fish intake may limit the increase in risk of coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality among heavy smokers: The Honolulu Heart Program. 1996; Circulation 94(5):9529-956. The Honolulu Heart Study followed the lives of 8000 Hawaiian -JapaneseAmerican men, between 45 and 65 years of age in 1965. Over 3000 were smokers at the beginning of the study and if they ate fish less than twice a week they had an increased risk of death due to heart attack. Heavy smokers who also ate a lot of fish had half the risk of those with low fish intake. Current smokers who ate fish more often than twice a week had no relationship between coronary mortality

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and cigarettes smoked. In other words, eating fish was a stronger influence than smoking cigarettes! This verifies in humans the same results as Bonnie Weiner found in her study of pigs on a high fat diet. Even though these animals had a high cholesterol, over 400 mg per 100 ml of blood, they didn’t have heart attacks so long as they were fed fish oil in addition. Simons LA, et al; What dose of vitamin E is required to reduce susceptibility of LDL to oxidation. Australian-New Zealand Journal of Medicine, 1996;26:496-503. Vitamin E is also protective against heart attack mortality, a fact that has been known since the 1940’s due to the brilliant clinical observation and personal integrity and courage of the Schute brothers in Canada. Now we have a study which evaluated 42 individuals in a placebo-controlled trial, in which vitamin E was provided at doses of either 500 iu, 1000 iu, or 1500 iu per day. The oxidation of LDL was measured and found related to the dose of vitamin E: the higher the dose, the longer it took to oxidize the LDL. This means protection of the blood vessel wall is greater at higher doses than at lower ones. That is an important fact. Doses of vitamin E in the 1000 to 2000 iu per day range are no longer to be abhorred. Side effects are nil. Benefits may be life-saving. Hans Selye, pioneer researcher into the hormonal basis of the Stress Response performed an experiment that showed the combined effects of rancid oils and the Stress hormone to cause heart attacks in laboratory rats within a matter of hours. Selye’s experiment reproduced real-life conditions: he fed his laboratory rats a diet high in corn oil, full of peroxides. He then gave them calcium supplements and an injection of a natural stress hormone, DOCA (deoxy corticosterone), which is known to cause sodium retention and potassium loss. That was sufficient to kill most of his animals within an hour. At autopsy the hearts of his animals were found to have well-defined infarcts. They had heart attacks! This experiment is in my opinion one of the all-time great demonstrations of the biology of heart attacks. It strikes close to home because so many Americans take calcium supplements, use corn oil margarine or corn oil, either of which is oxidized, and produce adrenal cortex hormones under the stress of everyday life. The wonder is why we don’t have more heart attacks than we do. That question is the more relevant in the light of environmental pollution, which provides irritants that accumulate in the lining of our blood vessels. Pesticide residues actually accumulate within the plaque that causes heart attacks, good reason to suspect that they may contribute to the irritation that causes thickening of the blood vessel wall, narrowing of the lumen and clumping of platelets that generates clot. Is it a coincidence that the rate of heart attacks has dropped sharply since DDT was banned in 1972? Water pollution is also suspect, for the beginnings of our heart attack epidemic coincide with large-scale chlorination of public water supplies at the turn of the Century. Could this be due to depletion of antioxidant reserves. Could there be a water borne chlorine product that acts as an irritant once absorbed into circulation? The questions are not answered; they have hardly been asked. The effect of fluoridation on heart attack is even more suspect. Dean Burk and John Yiamouyiannis found a 12 percent increase in heart attack mortality in the 10 largest fluoridated cities compared to the 10 largest non-fluoridated cities in America between 1950 and 1972. Dr. Burk was head of research at the National Cancer Institute and Dr. Yiamouyiannis is a research trained biochemist. Their analysis could not be dismissed lightly, especially since the data was procured from government sources. Finally a “sophisticated” re-analysis of the data erased the excess mortality from heart attack by modifying the data in relation to population density and education level of the communities. This did not erase excess mortality from high blood pressure however; and in my opinion, the issue is far from settled. Millions are exposed to the cumulative effects of lifelong fluoride

exposure. Is it possible that negatively charged fluoride, which we consume in our food and water in the amount of about 5 mg per day, might form insoluble salts with positively charged essential minerals, such as chromium (200 mcg per day), selenium (50 mcg per day), molybdenum (50 mcg per day), copper and boron (1 to 2 mg per day)? Would this deprive us of adequate trace minerals? The numbers make sense enough to me to want to have the question answered by a serious research effort. At the time fluoridation was introduced, in the 1940s and 1950s, these trace minerals were not recognized as essential. Now we know that boron prevents osteoporosis; molybdenum and selenium protect against cancer; and chromium not only enhances regulation of blood sugar, it also protects our blood vessels from glycosylation damage. This is especially relevant because chromium therapy reverses arterioslcerotic plaque in animal research studies. This single mineral has some of the impact of a total Dean Ornish diet-meditation program! In addition, copper deficiency causes high cholesterol, which is intriguing, but it also causes fatal heart rhythm disturbance, which is absolutely convincing that it plays a role in cardiac mortality statistics. One more man-made pollutant: Iron. You may be surprised to think of this as a pollutant because you have been propagandized to believe that this mineral needs to be supplemented. Wrong. With the exception of women with heavy menstrual bleeding and children with poor diets and patients with chronic bowel malabsorption, iron supplementation is a mistake, one that can aggravate all inflammatory disorders and possibly cause heart attacks. If you take vitamin pills, eat pastry or breakfast cereals or eat meat regularly, iron can accumulate in your body to a dangerous level--without you or your doctor suspecting a thing--until your arthritis or heart disease gives a warning signal to check your blood iron or ferritin levels. Don’t ignore the warning. These risk factors are amenable to orthomolecular treatment today. Research studies verify benefits greater than any ever reported in relation to the cholesterol theory. And we have just begun to assess vitamins in relation to the full spectrum of their health effects, which are so powerful that already they are known as “antiaging nutrients.” It is because they are more effective than low fat diets or surgical by-pass grafts that you have a choice in how you take your medicine. Surgery may seem quicker; but orthomolecular therapies are better. ©2014 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 1197

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The name of Dr. Linus Pauling brings up an immediate association to his recommendation of vitamin C for the common cold. Of even greater impact, however, is his endorsement of nutrition as a fundamental approach to health and treatment of disease, a concept for which he coined the name,  Ola Loa, LLC orthomolecular. In the past four decades the young specialty of orthomolecular  11250 Clayton Creek medicine has advanced in large part because of the tremendous improvement in Rd. laboratory technology. By now it is possible to obtain laboratory measurement of

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vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, enzymes and hormones in almost any  Lower Lake, CA 95457 body tissue at a price that is relatively modest. USA  1.800.800.9550 In keeping with the spirit of science I incorporated laboratory measurement of  [email protected] vitamins and minerals into my medical-psychiatric practice way back in 1968,  Ola Loa Store beginning with computer analysis of dietary nutrient contents. It became obvious at once that my patients were deficient in vitamins and minerals and the blood tests confirmed this. Nutrient deficiencies, which were supposed to be rare in the American people, turned out to be epidemic in my patients. Measurement of vitamins and minerals was quite expensive however, averaging about $50 per test, and so it was impractical to measure more than a few of the fifty known nutrients. Website by

When I heard about the hair test, which measured over twenty minerals for the Giraffex price of one, I was quite excited. The first champion of the hair test was the biochemist, Dr. John J. Miller, former editor of Chemical Abstracts and therefore extremely well versed in biochemical research throughout the world. By 1971 the medical research literature included a number of studies which established hair analysis as a valid approach to diagnosis of heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic, Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC cadmium and mercury. It was also becoming clear that many of the nutritional minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, chromium, selenium, boron and molybdenum are concentrated and therefore more readily

measured in hair than any other tissue. By now it is known that hair mineral content reflects actual tissue levels for aluminum, arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, fluoride, mercury, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, lead, silver, selenium, strontium, sulfur, vanadium and zinc. The hair test is actually a mineral biopsy, just as valid as if taken by surgical procedure but without the invasive, painful and damaging effects of a surgical biopsy. However every medical test is subject to error and because hair is often treated with cosmetics, conditioners, dyes and shampoos, many of which contain metals and chemicals that can react and stick to the hair, contamination errors are a major drawback. Because of external contaminants, hair analysis must be regarded as a screening test. It always requires confirmation by additional testing--but that is no different than any other laboratory procedure: no single test makes a diagnosis. It is the doctor's job to interpret the total picture of history, physical examination and laboratory findings in order to come up with the correct diagnosis and treatment. Pubic hair is less likely to be contaminated: it is seldom subject to cosmetics, conditioners, dyes and shampoos except as run-off from scalp and body lather in the shower and in case talcum powder, which contain minerals, is applied. The use of pubic hair instead of or in tandem with scalp hair is a simple way to solve the problem of environmental contamination in hair mineral analysis. I explained this to the seemingly sincere and responsible journalist who sought my help for an article about my work in nutrition medicine back in 1971. He agreed to omit any reference to pubic hair because we agreed that it could only distract the public from the real value of the hair test. However, the newspaper editor had the final say and that was a time of sexual exploitation in the service of rivalry between the two major San Francisco daily papers Science was sacrificed to greed and sensationalism and history will note that the newspaper captioned my picture with the unforgettable title: "pubic hair preferred." Needless to say, the medical community was not pleased about the role model that I seemed to be setting and I soon was called before a review committee, where I had to face a room-full of sober-faced doctors, none of whom felt that hair could be a useful tool for medical diagnosis. I was accused of being "unscientific" and though that charge was dropped, the tawdry headline didn't help me or the hair test to gain credibility in San Francisco. Worse yet it is obvious now that hair analysis has been cast aside--to everyone's great loss. One of the main road-blocks against the hair test was an official action by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association in 1984: "Resolved,...oppose chemical analysis of the hair as a determinant of the need for medical therapy; and be it further Resolved,...inform the American public...of this unproven practice and its potential for health care fraud." Eight months later the AMA unleashed their chief quackbuster, Dr. Stephen Barrett, usually identified with The National Council Against Health Fraud. In an article published in the AMA Journal, Barrett said that "The reported levels of most minerals varied considerably between identical samples sent to the same laboratory and from laboratory to laboratory." "...commercial use of hair analysis in this manner is unscientific, economically wasteful, and probably illegal." He based this on hair samples from just two women. "Each was...cut into 1 to 2 cm lengths and mixed thoroughly." Thirteen of these samples were sent each to different laboratories and then after three weeks another thirteen samples from this same batch were sent again so as to compare the results on repeat testing. Of these thirteen laboratories six had a concordance that averaged 0.80, which is considered a high level of agreement between the initial and the repeat test. A value of 1.00 would be perfect agreement. Six of the other seven laboratories reached an agreement level 0.45 between matched pairs for each mineral, which is considered moderate accuracy. Only one laboratory was clearly producing

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grossly unreliable results. I feel the conclusions by Dr. Barrett are untrustworthy for a few reasons. First of all he, himself, was inexperienced in the use of hair analysis. He was only responding to an already established AMA mandate against hair analysis. Second, the samples were said to be well mixed, but there was no mention of how this was accomplished. Try to mix a bunch of inch long almonds in a glass container of pecans and you will see what I mean: it takes a lot to get them mixed evenly. Was this mixture done by a machine or was it done by the author? No mention of that in the article. Thousands of my patients have had hair tests and repeat tests are convincingly accurate to less than a millionth of a gram. Proficiency testing by state agencies demand accuracy to maintain licensing. Despite the hatchet job on hair testing, the actual data in this small study shows considerable reliability. Nevertheless, a number of hair test laboratories went out of business after this and research interest in hair analysis appears to have left this country and moved overseas. What a pity for all of us, for in my experience, there is no better screening test for toxic metal poisons, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and aluminum. Everyone should have it done at least once, just to rule out the possibility of accidental and unsuspected toxic exposure--even if you think you are healthy. In addition the hair test often uncovers critical nutrient imbalances that are otherwise missed. Back in 1971, when I was defending my scientific position on hair analysis before my peers, I had just that month taken a teaspoonful of hair from my seemingly healthy baby boy, just a year old. What a shock! His hair was loaded with lead, 71 mcg per gram (71 parts per million). Naturally I called on our pediatrician, only to be shocked again: he displayed his ignorance by saying that this amount of lead was insignificant and that the hair test wasn't a recognized test. I was inexperienced in lead poisoning at the time so I began to review the medical literature in a hurry. A week later I ordered a blood lead test and felt my heart stop when the result came in at 24 mcg per 100 ml, significantly more than the zero level that it should have been. This was much less than the 80 mcg level that the text-books gave as the cut-off point for treatment at that time. The text recommendations were based upon industrial exposures in adults and overlooked the extra susceptibility of children to brain damage from low levels of lead. Since then the tolerance level has been reduced to 10 mcg, the level below which no adverse effects can be detected. I also tracked down the source of lead poisoning in my son: a painted wooden toy imported from an iron curtain country. The cold war was a secret war against our children: the paint contained 6000 parts per million lead, over ten times the legal limit in this country. Even now after the cold war is over and our health authorities are alerted to lead, it is still not safe to assume that fresh paint is safe, especially if the object is imported from overseas When informed of the confirmatory blood level, our pediatrician still held to the view that no treatment was necessary. Luckily I knew enough to treat with orthomolecular supplements of methionine, minerals and extra vitamin C for the next several years. I opted against the use of EDTA chelation because of fear of mobilizing lead beyond the capacity of his kidneys, thus making things worse. Within a year my son recovered from the effects of lead poisoning that had begun to show up, ie. waddling gait, severe constipation and spells of abnormal anger. Without treatment he would have been severely damaged and mentally retarded. No one would have ever known why such a perfect baby turned out to be so disturbed. It probably would have led to speculation that my being a psychiatrist was a bad influence on his personality development. In those days, when children had mental and emotional disturbances, the parents were often blamed.

So there I was, being castigated by my medical peers for my use of the hair test for my patients at the very same time that the test had saved the life of my son. What irony! Don't tell me that the test is a fraud! My resentment of the criticism leveled at me was tempered by sympathy as I realized how vulnerable every family was to a similar disaster. I wondered how many of my medical colleagues were facing a similar tragedy or maybe even worse--but in total ignorance. Due to the lucky path of my career I was able to save my son. Now it is 40 years later and lead is getting a lot of publicity: peeling paint is still a threat, plumbing and faucets are still dripping lead and our children are at risk. Public health officials have admitted that blood lead at levels as low as 10 ppm lower the intelligence of children. And with that insight, large scale blood testing of children is being done. And I say: for shame! Blood testing is misleading and likely to totally miss the diagnosis. For example, a group of painters were studied by daily blood tests while working with leaded paints and then tested again after a time off work. Within a week, the blood levels of all, which were high in lead while they were actually on the job, returned to normal. It should be obvious that blood tests are only useful in the presence of very high or continuing exposure to lead. Hair, on the other hand, contains a record that can be dated relative to the distance from the scalp: a segment six inches from the root represents a year earlier; while a sample cut close to the roots measures more recent exposure. Wake up your public health officials. Tell them to look beyond AMA reactionaries and stop wasting our taxpayer's money on the large-scale surveys of blood lead in children. Blood testing is almost certain to give false negative results in the children who are in contact with lead intermittently rather than every day. The hair test is more informative, more accurate and less expensive. And it doesn't hurt. All children under age 6 should get a hair test for lead at least once a year. Such an investment protects both the intelligence and emotional stability of the child at a cost below that of any other medical or educational expense. The hair test, for lead is the best possible investment in the health of our children. © 2014 Richard A. Kunin, M.D. 193

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The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

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In response to the recent opinions expressed in the editorial pages of the San Francisco Chronicle (Sunday, 8 July 2007), I would say that both authors left out some major issues that deserve additional comment. As a board-certified psychiatrist and participant in the Autism Research Institute Defeat Autism  Ola Loa, LLC Now program, I have had sufficient experience to recognize the huge gaps in the  11250 Clayton Creek discussion. Rd.

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First, there is an epidemic of autism. No one can deny that there has been a severe  Lower Lake, CA 95457 USA increase in the numbers of children who are injured in the neonatal period, leaving them with gross developmental neurological deficits, such as language  1.800.800.9550 delay, impaired comprehension, disturbed social behavior and learning disability.  [email protected] These children are unable to cope with the demands of modern life and unable to  Ola Loa Store win at the competition of modern society. The increase in such cases since 1987 is about 50-fold and the upward trend coincides with a three-fold increase in mercury exposure from the new public health vaccine programs implemented since 1989. For example, in 1987 the mercury burden from eight injected vaccines was about 200mcg total. By 2001, before Governor Schwarzenegger ordered removal of thimerosal from children’s Website by Giraffex vaccines in California, the vaccine schedule was increased to 23 injections, which contained about 575mcg of mercury from thimerosal used as a preservative and adjuvant in the vaccines. In 2007 the vaccine schedule was increased to 36 shots. Strangely, this increase in vaccines, most containing thimerosal, a mercury containing preservative, comes when the EPA has halved the adult toxic threshold for mercury from 13 mcg to six mcg per day. This is in line with the current view Copyright © 2008–2024, Ola Loa, LLC that there is no safe level of mercury in children.

Karara Barber’s essay on Aspergers was very practical because it addressed the types of educational and skills therapies that are proving to be so very helpful in improving the lives of those more fortunate, higher functioning individuals with developmental brain injuries classified as “Asperger’s Syndrome” or “high functioning autism spectrum disorder.” And it is important to recognize the value of these therapies. However, the core disability at the higher level of function in Asperger’s children is the impairment of comprehension, the variable degree of lack of capacity to understand situations and behave appropriately. These children lack common sense and they grow up to be adults who lack common sense. Of course, most of us lack common sense now and then, but Asperger’s victims display unreliable social and intellectual judgment to a disabling or dangerous degree. They are often impulsive, dependent and may be vulnerable to being manipulated by others. Some of these brain-injured people are capable of superior performance in specific tasks: music, art, mathematics and cataloging. Some of them are able to find their place as artisans and teachers. But their performance hinges more on rote than on adaptive thinking, i.e. appropriate to context of the moment. That is the main reason why Asperger’s is identifiable and stigmatizing: such people are strange or even weird from time to time but with enough individuality so that the rest of us can accept them as only ‘eccentric.’ Non-professionals seldom recognize the underlying neuro-developmental injury. And this injury is not easy to recognize or it would have been addressed by Dr. Rahul K. Parikh in his compassionate but condescending editorial (http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/THE-TRUTH-ABOUT-AUTISM-Amid-criesof-an-2555757.php). He refers to “a broad spectrum of language, social and behavioral problems” and he acknowledges a 3 to 10 fold increase in autism in less than 20 years, but then denies that this represents an epidemic! If you go back to Dr. Leo Kanner’s initial publication in 1943, introducing the word “infantile autism, there were only 11 cases in the entire world literature! And that was a kind of miniepidemic. Retrospective analysis of these cases now points to mercury linked to occupational exposure of parents employed by a paper manufacturing plant in the community where Dr. Kanner’s autistic patients lived. The work of Dr. Bernard Rimland, founder of Autism Research Institute 40 years ago and the Defeat Autism Now working group in 1994, has championed our understanding of biological, nutritional and toxic factors in autism since his ground-breaking book on autism in 1962. He organized the DAN ‘think tank’ conferences in 1994 to generate interdisciplinary thinking in the face of what was already a disastrous epidemic of autism spectrum disorders since about 1990. At the initial meeting of DAN in 1994, I was asked to present the orthomolecular view, which then centered on arguments for and against deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin A as causes of autism, as well as acknowledging the neurotoxic effects of increased fluoridation. I did not suspect mercury toxicity at that time because the Environmental Protection Agency was already on high alert after the mass poisoning at Minamata, Japan, in which hundreds of babies were brain damaged in utero and many were born blind, deformed and mentally retarded. It was also observed that the mothers showed only minor symptoms. We were further lulled into a false sense of security because mercury was legally banned from indoor paint in the United States in 1992. It seemed to have already been recognized and dealt with--a non-problem by 1994. I believed in our experts after all this recent experience. And that is all the more reason to listen to the parents and families now. It was a parent of an autistic child who raised the issue of a link between mercury and autism. It took a parent to do the arithmetic, to translate micromoles of mercury on the vaccine labels into micrograms of mercury, the language of the Environmental Protection Agency. At 25mcg of mercury from thimerosal

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preservative in each shot, multiplied by 23 shots, the total mercury exposure adds up to 575mcg, an amount that exceeds the EPA toxic limit for adults! And that level is conservative, since it assumes that the quantity of thimerosal is carefully measured and tightly controlled, which it evidently is not since the frequency of adverse reactions varies considerably from batch to batch! About the same time, Dr. Rimland learned of the work of two outstanding research scientists. Jill James, Ph.D. professor of biochemistry at University of Arkansas, and Richard Deth, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology at Norheastern University. Their research simultaneously but independently identified mercury as the most potent toxic agent against a vital enzyme, methionione synthase, which is especially important because it is gate-keeper for the production of SAM sadenosyl-methionine), the obligate agent of a remarkably important metabolic pathway, methylation. Among the 400 vital products of this pathway are phospholipids that make up nerve cell membranes, hence providing 70% of the dry weight of the brain; and myelin, the coating of nerves, which is absolutely required to protect growing nerve tracts so they can grow into their receptors and thus complete the new circuits of the developing brain, a process that is only 90% complete at age 3 years. This leaves the developing brain vulnerable for a long time, probably past age ten years. And finally, methylation is directly essential to production and balancing of neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, nor-epinephrine, epinephrine, and melatonin, and indirectly essential for serotonin as well. Thus, anything that blocks methionine synthase enzyme also blocks methylation and disrupts the chemical substrate for the foregoing essential processes. Mercury is at the head of the list of agents that bind to the enzyme, thus disrupting its function. However, Aluminum is second to mercury in this regard, and taken together the two metals have a toxic synergism, causing more damage than either by itself. Bottom line: there is no question that mercury toxicity is highly suspect for the dramatic increase in children with developmental brain injury manifesting as neonatal autism, childhood ADD and Asperger’s and adolescent behavioral disorder, depression and violence, all of which have shown increases. It is possible that an even worse epidemic is yet to come due to the undiagnosed injuries suffered by millions of the rest of our children. Ask any school teacher over age 50 and you will hear about the declining performance of our school-age children. The educational crisis is not necessarily due to immigration and acculturation and language problems but due to widespread and unexplained learning disorder in our children. It is disturbing to consider the serious possibility that the next ten years may present America with a crisis as millions of our young people prove unable to cope with the emotional, intellectual and behavioral requirements for success in our competitive and demanding civilization. Who will run and repair all that equipment!? Finally, let me address Dr. Parikh’s ending statement, that if lawyers against vaccines succeed, it’s a victory whose only result will be more childhood morbidity and mortality. He is wrong. Consider this: it is a proven fact that we can prevent death from measles simply by assuring adequacy of vitamin A. That much has been proven; and probably other nutrients and treatments offer additional protection for all the communicable diseases. Vaccines do not prevent them all either. But if there were no vaccination, it is possible to treat pertussis and even tetanus successfully with antibiotics. This is not meant to give false hope but it is a fact that many autistic children improve with educational therapy, behavior therapy, and orthomolecular support, especially HydroxyCobalamin and short-term use of methylcobalamin in injectable form, which restores activity of methionine synthase and methylation. Pyridoxine and magnesium, have been proved by peer-reviewed, double blind studies to offer effective therapy for autism, though even after such improvement

most victims continue to exhibit spotty comprehension, slow thinking, and social awkwardness that is evident to the family and teachers. The joy of it is that many autistic children do recover language, intelligence, and social grace and acceptance by their peer group. The point is that nowadays, well-cared-for children do not often die from the socalled childhood diseases. But once the brain development has been corrupted, and the child has lost speech, eye contact, comprehension, ability to play and interact socially, and has given way to repetitious, stereotyped behaviors, and tantrums, what is left? Is that not like the loss of the child? That’s the way parents often feel. And when the lucky children who respond to various therapies, including chelation therapy, which helps to remove mercury and aluminum from the body, the parents often exclaim: “I have my child back.” P.S. Mumps and rubella are not likely fatal—but more important they are not common in the neonatal period. Hepatitis B vaccine is especially unlikely to serve a necessary purpose in newborn babies, yet it is a live virus with neurotoxic properties in addition to the added toxicity of mercury and aluminum. The Japanese have long since chosen to delay these high risk vaccines until age 24 months, so as to minimize neuro-developmental damage. Compare that choice to the unhappy fate of the 35,000 California youngsters in the graph that clearly shows a 7-fold rise in number of autistic children in California between 1993 and 2006. And if the graph went back to 1987 when there were under 500 such new cases in the State, the actual rise has been at least 50-fold. That, I am sorry to say, is a real epidemic. And it correlates with the increased mercury burden mandated by the well-meaning but unbelieving health authorities at WHO, CDC, NIH and every participating public health department in the country. Remember, it took one concerned parent to do the arithmetic! Epidemiology — Annual incidence rates of autism in California

© 2014 Richard A. Kunin, M.D.

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Latest Nutrition Articles

The Real Truth About Autism is in the Arithmetic Diagnostic Lead Testing: Pubic Hair Preferred Antioxidants And Your Heart Help for Herpes Green Fingernails, Caffeine, B6, Hormones & Osteoperosis The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) The Decline of Alternative Medicine How To Be Old & Healthy

Testimonial Ola Loa's Drink Your Vitamins go down smooth, taste great, and make me feel good all over. Thanks guys! — Joe Satriani Legendary rock guitarist

Popular Nutrition Articles

The Healing Power of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) Iron Deficiency: More Than Tired Blood Causes of Epidemic Autism (and ADD) ABCs of Fluoridation Cyanide Poisoning: A Low-fat Diet Disease Zinc Power! Healing Autism With Vitamins Sex and Nutrition

We really DO love your multi vitamin cran rasberry packets. My daughter has a difficult time taking any pills, but she will drink juice with your packets and it seems to help support her system (she has POTS). Thank you! — Carol H.

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