| Don't miss any of Bottom Line's Daily Health News. Add our address, dailyhealthnews@edhn.bottomlinesecrets.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. December 23, 2010  In This Issue...
 Are You or Your Loved Ones Taking Any of These Highly Prescribed Medicines? Cholesterol Drugs... Heart Medications... Bronchodilators... Zantac®, Pepcid® or Tagamet® ... Antidepressants like Prozac®... Aspirin, Tylenol® or Advil®... Antihistamines... Decongestants... Corticosteroids... Antibiotics... Propecia®... Estrogen or HRT Drugs... Blood Thinners. Or any of the following best-selling natural remedies? Calcium... St. John's Wort... Glucosamine... Echinacea... Coenzyme Q10... Saponin... Vitamin B-6... Vitamins C or E... Melatonin... Vitamins A or D... Epigallocatechin Gallate... Chondroitin Sulfate... Diallyl Disulfide... Ginkgo Biloba. Mineral Supplements Can Be Toxic You take your vitamin and mineral supplements to improve your health, but are you sure they’re not making you ill? For a variety of reasons, including a few that are quite surprising, it turns out that the supplements you take to achieve optimal health may be harmful. This caution applies not only to individual supplements, but even to the ingredients in multivitamins. As a reader of Daily Health News, you are quite likely already savvy to some of these dangers, but not all, I’d wager. So I recruited Leo Galland, MD, internist and creator of Pill Advised (http://PillAdvised.com), an online resource for information and interactions involving medications, supplements and food, to tell us about the risks and benefits of the most commonly used vitamins and minerals so you can be confident that what you’re taking will help you feel good, not bad. Today we’re discussing popular mineral supplements -- we’ll cover vitamins in another story next week. What Are You Taking? While most people believe that the only potential harm with vitamins and minerals is with megadoses, that’s not true, Dr. Galland stressed, adding that "research has indicated that adhering to that belief may cost people their lives." Here’s what Dr. Galland said people need to know about mineral supplements... Calcium. You’ve been hearing lots about this mineral in the news lately. While it may help prevent colon cancer and improve bone health, it may also increase the risk for heart attack or prostate cancer. This danger is due to the way calcium interacts with vitamin D. If your calcium consumption is high but your vitamin D level is low, calcium can render the vitamin D in your body less active. That, in turn, increases heart and cancer risk. Meanwhile, the lack of vitamin D also means that your bones, heart and other tissues absorb less calcium, which increases the risk for heart attack and kidney stones. The research: An analysis of 11 studies published in the July 2010 issue of BMJ found that women taking high doses of calcium (averaging 1,000 mg a day) without vitamin D, and also getting about 800 mg/day of dietary calcium in their diets, had an increased risk for heart attacks. Another study, the Harvard Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, involving 48,000 men with no history of cancer (other than nonmelanoma skin cancer), found that high calcium intake from supplements or food was associated with an increased risk for highly invasive prostate cancer. Dr. Galland’s advice: Most people should limit calcium supplementation to 500 mg a day, to be taken with 1,000 IU of vitamin D after dinner. He advises aiming to get another 500 mg daily from food (for instance, one ounce of cheddar cheese has 204 mg of calcium) but adds that if you have a history of kidney stones, speak first to your doctor regarding how much calcium in any form you should consume. Selenium. This powerful antioxidant may decrease the risk for heart attacks and cancers of the stomach, lung, colon and prostate... but don’t take it if you’ve had skin cancer or are at especially high risk for it due to personal or family history. The danger: Some studies have found that selenium supplements increase the risk for skin cancer, while others suggest an elevated risk for type 2 diabetes. Dr. Galland’s advice: If you are not at high risk for skin cancer but are at risk for prostate, colon or breast cancer, take 50 micrograms (mcg) to 200 mcg of selenium a day. Magnesium. Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps with stress-related conditions. It also boosts calcium absorption. Magnesium supplements have many benefits, with studies showing that they may prevent some of the complications of diabetes, improve breathing and airflow in adults with asthma, and reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension. Potential problems: In some people, magnesium has a laxative effect and can cause diarrhea. This is a particular danger for people with digestive disorders such as IBS or Crohn’s disease. What’s more, if your kidneys aren’t working well enough to excrete the magnesium your body doesn’t need, high blood levels can develop, leading to slowed heart rate, reduced blood pressure, slowed breathing and even coma and death. Dr. Galland’s advice: Twenty-six million Americans have chronic kidney disease and millions more are at increased risk, so do not take magnesium supplements unless you have first had a serum creatinine blood test (typically done during a normal physical), which indicates how well your kidneys are functioning. If your blood tests show that you would benefit from magnesium supplementation or your doctor advises it to address particular symptoms such as muscle spasms or tension, palpitations, difficulty falling asleep or anxiety, Dr. Galland says to start slowly, with 100 mg a day, and then work up to 400 mg/day if needed -- but stop if you find that the supplements cause diarrhea. Zinc. A zinc deficiency can affect immune function, tissue repair and brain function. According to Dr. Galland, people who have problems resisting infection or whose cuts and wounds heal too slowly could have a zinc deficiency. Zinc is also known to improve mood and helps antidepressant medications work better. Zinc can be particularly helpful for elderly people -- or for anyone -- who will be undergoing surgery. Caution: Zinc in excess of 40 mg/day may cause a deficiency of copper, which can cause unusual anemia and neurological problems. Zinc can also cause nausea in some people. Dr. Galland’s advice: Take zinc (15 mg to 40 mg/day) only if your doctor prescribes it based on a blood test. Copper. This mineral is taken primarily in multimineral supplements but sometimes on its own by people taking zinc supplements (to prevent a copper deficiency). The dangers: Copper can be very toxic, especially to the nervous system. High levels can cause neurological effects such as insomnia, depression, anxiety or liver or kidney damage, and some experts believe high levels may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Because copper spurs the growth of new blood vessels, it’s not recommended for anyone with cancer. Dr. Galland’s advice: Sources for dietary copper include chocolate, nuts, seafood, mushrooms and legumes. The usual dose for those who need supplemental copper is 0.5 mg a day, but people with low blood levels of copper (unusual but sometimes the case in patients with chronic disease) may need much more, 2 mg to 4 mg/day. If you take a copper supplement, it is important to have your serum copper level checked annually, as copper is absorbed more rapidly from a supplement than from food. Iron. Iron deficiency can cause anemia, fatigue and impaired cognitive function, so iron supplements have been standard fare for those who need them for many years. Problems: Iron supplements are potentially toxic. Since the body eliminates iron slowly (except in bleeding episodes), it can accumulate in the liver, where it can cause cirrhosis... in the heart, causing heart failure...or in the pancreas, causing diabetes. When iron levels are too high, the toxicity can also generate free radicals that can contribute to cancer risk. Dr. Galland’s advice: Most adult men and postmenopausal women don’t need iron supplements -- they should be taken only if the level of blood ferritin is found to be low, and then only long enough to bring it up to the desired level. Dr. Galland notes that this is true even among premenopausal women. The usual dose for those who need iron is 20 mg to 30 mg a day. Read Labels and Get Rid of What You Don’t Need In summary, Dr. Galland says that mineral supplements aren’t for everyone. In fact, he said, "a lot of people shouldn’t be taking them individually," adding that for a few vulnerable individuals even the amounts found in typical multivitamins can prove dangerous. He stressed that mineral supplementation must be tailored to individual needs, emphasizing the importance of taking minerals only under the supervision of a doctor trained in their use. And one final tip: Noting that many people take supplements that are in combination pills or capsules, Dr. Galland pointed out that it’s possible you aren’t even aware of what minerals you are taking. He urges readers to look closely at the label of any supplements they take to be sure they’re getting only what they need and aren’t ingesting anything that could prove harmful. Look for our important update on vitamins next week. Source(s): Leo Galland, MD, internist, author and internationally recognized leader in integrated medicine. For more information about supplements and drugs and free access to Dr. Galland’s Web application, visit http://PillAdvised.com.  The 10 Biggest and Deadliest Heart Myths The number of heart attacks has increased by 27 percent over the past 20 years, in spite of all the supposed advances of modern medicine. What's going on here? Could we be mistaken about some things? Perhaps we're under some major misconceptions about heart disease. Like... Myth #1 -- Heart disease and heart attacks are an inevitable part of aging. Myth #2 -- Cholesterol is the main cause of heart disease and heart attacks. Myth #3 -- Blood pressure drugs help you avoid heart problems and live longer. Myth #4 -- Aggressive, "type A" behavior increases your risk of a heart attack. Myth #5 -- Low-fat, low cholesterol diets are good for you and your heart. The "New" Diet Math: Weight-Loss Equation Gets a Makeover Almost every diet book, nutrition guide and weight-loss manual includes the information that one pound of body weight equals 3,500 calories... and then comes the advice that for every pound that you want to lose, you must either eat 3,500 fewer calories or use up that amount with extra physical activity. It’s a simple, straightforward formula -- but there’s one problem: It’s simply wrong. Why? Stretch out the numbers over time, and you can see that the math may make sense but the science doesn’t work. If you reduce your average daily caloric intake by 100 calories (one less snack pack per day, perhaps?), you should shed one pound of body weight every 35 days. This would add up to almost 10.5 pounds per year. Keep it going for 10 years and you’ll lose... almost 105 pounds? It can’t be true. The New Math While it has been the conventional diet wisdom for decades, this calculation is "obviously ridiculous," I was told by Kevin Hall, PhD, a physiologist and investigator in the laboratory of biological modeling at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. The problem with the 3,500-calorie formula, said Dr. Hall, is that it is predicated on the idea that metabolism remains constant -- and it does not. Metabolism is affected by gender, by age, by size and weight loss, and by stress and lifestyle. Your metabolism and my metabolism may be as unalike as are your eight-cylinder, four-wheel-drive SUV and my Mini Cooper -- not to mention that even that SUV "metabolizes" gasoline differently while puttering around in town than it does at 60 mph on the highway. So What Can You Do? According to Dr. Hall, even when an eating plan is followed religiously, every dieter’s weight loss eventually slows and then reaches a plateau. The point at which this occurs is both highly individualized and affected by the changes in body composition. He said that people who are very obese, for instance, will lose weight faster than those who aren’t. "They tend to burn more fat during weight loss, which helps preserve their muscle mass," he explained, "so they lose more overall weight than someone who is leaner." Even so, Dr. Hall noted that the 3,500-calorie formula grossly overestimates how much weight will be lost in a year even for that population. Dr. Hall said that a simple, quick formula for sustainable weight loss is to reduce intake by 10 calories per day per pound you’d like to lose (for instance, to lose 30 pounds, you could cut your calorie intake by 300 calories per day). But this will be slow, he cautions -- at this rate, significant weight loss takes years to achieve. You can lose weight faster if you cut back more calories and/or add more physical activity, of course -- and you don’t have to be a sophisticated scientist to figure out how to do that. But for those who really like to work with more precise calculations, Dr. Hall and his team have developed a mathematical formula that takes into account the various complexities of body composition and metabolism to more accurately predict how many calories a particular individual will have to cut back -- or use up -- in order to reach a weight goal after a desired period of time. The model also calculates what permanent changes of diet or physical activity will be required to maintain that weight for many years. Dr. Hall told me that he hopes to have his calculator, which is already being used by researchers and clinicians around the world, available to the public online by mid-2011. Stay tuned. Source(s): Kevin D. Hall, PhD, physiologist, laboratory of biological modeling, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Be well,
No Plunger? No Problem. Secret to Unplugging Your Toilet "My toilet was stopped up. My guests were on their way. And I couldn't find a plunger!" Lucky for me, I'd learned the secret: Just squirt some liquid dish detergent, wait 15 minutes, and my home and guests were good to go. How often have you been caught in a situation like this -- or any of thousands of other household mishaps? Spills, breaks, lost items -- family heirlooms nearly ruined. Too often, right? Joan and Lydia Wilen, better known to TV viewers as "The Wilen Sisters," have the secret to saving the day on these and thousands of other potentially disastrous mishaps. You received this free E-letter because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Click here to easily subscribe. You can easily unsubscribe by clicking here. To change your e-mail address click here To update your e-mail preferences click here Important: Help your friends live more healthfully -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Need to contact us? Boardroom Inc. Privacy Policy: Required Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. Bottom Line's Daily Health News is a registered trademark of Boardroom, Inc. Copyright (c) 2010 by Boardroom Inc. |
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