Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

The expression “systemic enzymes” refers to enzymes taken between meals on an empty stomach, as opposed to digestive enzymes taken with food. When enzymes are taken between meals they are absorbed and have effects that are systemic, or throughout the body. By contrast, digestive enzymes are designed primarily to support digestion.

The very idea that enzymes could be absorbed when taken by mouth was initially questioned because enzymes are large proteins and the body typically digests protein down to its amino acid components and only absorbs those.

However, research conducted by Max Wolf MD, PhD at Columbia University through the 1970’s proved definitively that enzymes are absorbed and not digested. Nevertheless, skepticism and prejudice regarding enzyme absorption continues to be widespread in the medical community and many college nutrition texts continue to state that enzymes cannot be absorbed. The research on enzyme absorption is reviewed in the booklet “Enzymes, the Fountain of Life” available for a nominal charge from www.amazon.com.

The discovery that the body is capable of absorbing enzymes without digesting them provides further evidence of the central role they play in health. The mechanism of enzyme absorption may have evolved to conserve and recycle enzymes once digestion was complete or to absorb enzymes found in food, as most foods in their natural fresh state are rich in enzymes.

In fact, enzymes play many critical roles in health, and digestion is only one of these. Enzymes are the key that enables chemical reactions to take place inside the body. Without enzymes there can be no metabolic activity, and life as we know it would come to an end. Scientists have identified 3,000 enzymes in the human body that are responsible for carrying out thousands of chemical reactions each on a daily basis. Even though there are so many different enzymes, most of them are derivatives of protein-digesting (proteolytic) enzymes, and these can be taken as supplements.

To get an idea of the importance of enzymes in health, consider that all the B vitamins we take have only one function in the body: to act as coenzymes, critical components that activate enzymes. Minerals themselves act primarily as catalysts, another essential prerequisite for enzyme to work. If you ever wondered why some people do so well with B vitamins, whereas others don’t seem to respond at all, the answer may be that those who do not respond are deficient in enzymes. You cannot facilitate the action of something that is not there!

It is a fact that we are born with the capacity to produce all the enzymes we need, but at different times we can lose this capability for a variety of reasons, including poor diet, viral or other infection, and exposure to mercury or other toxins. Aging itself causes us to lose the ability to make enough enzymes, and the first thing we may need to do to combat any effects of aging is to replenish our enzymes.

The benefits of systemic enzymes are also backed by substantial research. Just typing in a few keywords in PubMed – the internet service that provides access to medical research – yields hundreds of entries. I will not cover this research here but will include a few links at the end of this article for anyone wanting to know more. In summary, there are five different areas of health in which systemic enzymes have been found to have benefits. Each of these areas is covered briefly below:

1. Fighting inflammation
Acute inflammation is a healthy process that enables us to fight off infections or initiate recovery from trauma. However, chronic inflammation is purely destructive and results from the body’s inability to shut down the inflammatory process when it is no longer needed. As I often say to people, pain from an injury is normal during recovery, but pain that lasts months or years with no sign of abating indicates that something in the body has gone awry. Today, this type of chronic pain is our countryís Number One epidemic, accounting for more visits to doctors’ offices than any other cause.

But chronic inflammation is more that just pain. For example, a marker in blood called high sensitivity C-reactive protein (HS-CRP) was found to be a better predictor of heart disease than high cholesterol, cholesterol ratios or anything else. HS-CRP is nothing other than an indicator of chronic inflammation. The more scientists learn about inflammation the more it becomes apparent that it plays a role either in causing or establishing a favorable environment for the development of almost all diseases of aging, from cancer to diabetes, and even neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Systemic enzymes have been shown repeatedly in research to alleviate chronic inflammation and pain. Studies comparing various enzyme formulations to medications have typically found that enzymes work as well as or better than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in controlling pain. The major differences are that enzymes take longer to start working and several pills need to be taken multiple times a day for optimal benefits.

Another important difference is how they work. Medications including aspirin, ibuprofen, Celebrex, Vioxx and other NSAIDs all work by suppressing the bodyís production of chemicals known as prostaglandins. Some prostaglandins cause inflammation and pain, while others play important roles in protecting the intestinal lining, the heart, or the kidneys. As a result, all these medications have side effects that range from stomach irritation and ulcers to heart disease and death.

By contrast, enzymes work by enhancing the body’s inborn mechanisms to control pain and inflammation. They normalize immune function by breaking down abnormal proteins known as circulating immune complexes (CICs) that keep triggering the inflammatory cycle. They also help reduce swelling and literally digest away irritating protein deposits in joints and other inflamed areas of the body.

A type of enzyme that has been shown to be particularly helpful in controlling inflammation is the pineapple-derived enzyme bromelain. Although taking bromelain alone can help, studies and clinical practice indicate that enzyme combinations that include bromelain alongside other enzymes work best by creating synergistic effects.

In hundreds and possibly thousands of studies on the anti-inflammatory actions of systemic enzymes, no adverse effects have ever been identified, only added benefits, some of which are reviewed in the sections below.

2. Breaking down fibrosis and scarring
Enzymes are also helpful is controlling or reversing the deposition of fibrin in tissues. This is often a result of aging and loss of the body’s ability to produce its own enzymes that naturally control fibrin deposition. Fibrin ends up choking off the supply of blood and nutrients to peripheral areas of the body, leading to hardening and drying up of organs and other tissues that were once soft and pliable.

In certain conditions, this process is particularly severe. In fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by diffuse and unrelenting muscle pain, fibrin deposits in muscle tissue can be demonstrated microscopically. In this condition the pain is not a result of inflammation and is typically not alleviated by NSAIDs. However, it often responds to high doses of systemic enzymes as these slowly break down and dissolve fibrin deposits.

Other conditions associated with fibrin buildup include fibrocystic breast disease, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and even arterial sclerotic plaque. All of these conditions can be helped to varying degrees with systemic enzymes.

Scar tissue formation after surgery can also be a severe problem and may even require a second surgery for its removal. Research has shown that systemic enzymes help speed up recovery from surgery while reducing swelling and scar tissue formation. Given enough time and sufficient doses, enzymes can also break down existing scar tissue.

An enzyme called serrapeptase or serratia peptidase has been shown to be particularly helpful in this area. It is produced by the larval forms of the silk moth that use it break down their cocoon walls, one of the most fibrous substances known in nature. Like bromelain, serrapeptase has also been studied for its anti-inflammatory effects but seems to excel at breaking down fibrin deposits and scar tissue. Some doctors have even used it to help clear arterial plaque, although evidence of its benefits in this area is scant and there are no published studies to confirm it.

3. Cleansing the blood
We all know that blood distributes nutrients to tissues, but what we may not think of is that it also collects garbage produced by cell metabolism throughout the body. It is then the liver’s job to break down this metabolic waste and package it for excretion from the body. However, it is easy to see how, in today’s toxic environment, the liver can become overwhelmed and no longer able do this very efficiently.

In addition, various proteins including fibrin, plasmin, and others can build up in blood causing it to become thick and sticky, and increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Systemic enzymes have been shown to break down metabolic waste enabling the body to easily eliminate it. They also break down the proteins that lead to clot formation, effectively thinning the blood and improving its flow characteristics.

The only caution here is for people already on blood-thinning medications such as Coumadin, Heparin or Plavix. These people should only take enzymes under direct medical supervision while at the same time cutting back their medications. As the enzymes reduce the need for these drugs, they also increase the drugsí effectiveness, leading to a risk of overdosing and spontaneous bleeding.

Although all systemic enzymes have some blood-thinning effects, an enzyme called nattokinase has been researched specifically and found the particular benefits in this area. It is derived from a fermented soybean product called natto used in traditional Japanese medicine for thousands of years. In Japan, natto is believed to increase longevity, strengthen the heart and sharpen the mind. Modern researchers have found it to have potent blood-thinning actions resulting from its capacity to digest proteins that lead to clot formation. Unlike blood-thinning medications it does not have a toxic dose and will not lead to spontaneous bleeding at any level of intake.

4. Normalizing immune function
Systemic enzymes have been shown to have an adaptogenic (normalizing) effect on the immune system. This involves stimulating immune function, in conditions involving immune deficiency, and calming down the immune system in conditions associated with excessive immune activation, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

5. Fighting viruses
There are a number of studies showing that systemic enzymes have antiviral effects. In some studies enzymes were shown to have similar effects to medications like Acyclovir in controlling shingles and other herpes-related conditions. Other studies have shown that enzymes can slow down viral replication in HIV and hepatitis C.

The action of enzymes in this area is surely complex but results at least in part from strengthening and normalizing immune function. It also appears that enzymes have a direct action to neutralize viruses by “digesting” proteins they use to attach to and infect human cells.

Useful links and references:

The book “The Aspirin Alternative” available from www.amazon.com reviews some of the research on systemic enzymes. Although interesting, this book promotes a specific product that may no longer the best choice.

The website www.totalityofbeing.com also contains a number of interesting articles on enzymes and some references to published research. This site also promotes a specific line of products.

The site http://www.worldnutrition.info/index.html contains information and research on a line of products this company produces. In my experience these products are well-formulated and produce excellent results although unfortunately quite expensive.

Top-quality vitamin manufacturer Thorne has an excellent review of the research on the pineapple-derived enzyme bromelain at http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/bromelain1-4.html. Keep in mind, however, that enzymes like bromelain work best in combination with other enzymes. In addition, some people – including many children with autism – have trouble tolerating fruit enzymes like bromelain.

The enzyme serrapeptase is sometimes called the “butterfly enzyme” although this is not truly accurate as in reality it is made by a moth. In any case it is also very effective either as an alternative to bromelain or in combination with it. Find references to research on this enzyme at http://www.enerex.ca/articles/serrapeptase.htm.

The site http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/health_nattokinase.html provides a nice description and review of the research on nattokinase. Although they also sell this product I am not familiar with this company or the quality of their products.

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No one would question the toxic nature of lead, especially for children, and yet somehow it keeps popping up in products for children. In the latest episode, independent testing performed at the request of the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), found that some of the most popular vinyl lunch boxes contain as much as 90 times the legal limit for lead. Not
only that, but the lead concentration is highest in the inside lining where it is most likely to come in contact with food.

According to the CEH, toxic lunch boxes include those featuring characters like Superman, Tweety Bird, Powerpuff Girls, and more; however, you canít tell whether a lunch box
contains lead by its appearance. To read the entire story and view pictures of incriminated boxes see http://www.cehca.org/lunchboxes.htm.

Recommended solutions, according to the CEH, are to avoid all vinyl lunch boxes – or at least test the ones you have using a lead test kit. We recently ordered some lead test kits
from www.professionalequipment.com that were inexpensive and easy to use. I think they are important survival tools for any family with small children.

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A virus is nothing more than a submicroscopic gene fragment covered in a fat or protein envelope. On their own viruses are completely harmless and basically inert; yet we all know they can have devastating effects when they gain access to the body.

When a virus enters the body, the immune system recognizes it because of the protein markers, called antigens, it carries. This recognition leads the body to mount an inflammatory response that accounts for symptoms such as fever, aches, and so on. In most cases this response succeeds in clearing the virus from the body.

Some viruses are known to resist this assault by the immune system and set up permanent residence inside the body. Some, like hepatitis C or HIV, cause progressive destruction of their target cells and tissues, eventually leading to death. Others, like herpes, lie dormant, basically doing nothing, until stress or some other factor weakens the body’s resistance and they then suddenly “wake up” and start causing trouble once again.

But what if there was a “new” type of virus that found a way to mutate and lose its marker proteins so that the immune system could no longer recognize it? It would be able to enter the body and cause trouble undisturbed. Not only that, it would also be very difficult to establish who has this virus and who doesn’t, given that we usually test for the presence of viruses by measuring markers of the immune response.
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When it comes to drugs we think are safe, aspirin has to be at the top of the list. It’s been around forever and, yes, we all know it can cause ulcers if taken to excess, but no one thinks of it as dangerous. Can it actually cause cancer?

This is exactly what a recent study seems to imply. The study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (June 1, 2005, Vol. 97, No. 11: 805-12) evaluated data on some 114,000 women aged 22 to 85 who participated in the California Teachers Study.

Researchers concluded that women who took an aspirin a day for five years or longer suffered a dramatic increase in non-hormone-sensitive breast cancer. Not only that, the study concluded that women who took ibuprofen every day for the same period also experienced a rise in breast cancer rates, in this case of all types of breast cancer.

The first to be surprised were the researchers themselves, who had expected to discover another hidden benefit of these drugs. University of Southern California researcher Sarah Marshall stated: “We were expecting ibuprofen to reduce the risk, and the same for aspirin.” Although the American Cancer Society issued a statement suggesting the results of this study may be due to chance, this seems unlikely considering the very large size of the population analyzed.

From a natural medicine point of view there has never been a need for daily aspirin or ibuprofen and, in fact, certain types of digestive enzymes taken between meals seem to do everything these medications do – except better. A detailed discussion of the benefits of enzymes can be found in the book The Aspirin Alternative, by Michael Loes, MD available from www.amazon.com.

But could enzymes also cause some kind of mischief with long-term use? The question is worth raising although the answer is most likely to be negative because in every direction we look enzymes seem to work by strengthening the immune system, reducing inflammation, and promoting recovery from injury. A different, but related type of enzymes is being used as the critical component of a non-toxic cancer treatment program that has been validated by research. If you are interested in learning more about enzyme therapy in cancer I suggest you visit www.dr-gonzalez.com.

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Many of us remember what seemed at the time to be an isolated case of an autism epidemic in the early 1990’s in Brick Township, New Jersey. At first, contaminated drinking water was the Number One suspect because chemical wastes dumped in the town’s landfill over a period of years had contaminated the city’s drinking water with the chemicals bromoform, chloroform, and tetrachloroethylene.

However, a detailed analysis conducted by scientists from the U.S. Government concluded that the level of these chemicals in water was simply not sufficient to have damaged the nervous systems of developing infants of even fetuses.

When the Brick Township autism epidemic merged into a national epidemic many of us forgot about it or concluded that maybe it wasn’t really any different from what was going on nationwide.

However, new research is sparking a renewed interest in the Brick Township story. As it turns out, in reaching their conclusions the government scientists only analyzed the effects of each chemical on its own whereas, quite obviously, exposure was to all three of them at the same time.

Carol Reinisch, an expert in chemical-induced neurotoxocity, wondered if looking at these chemicals together might tell a different story. Her lab started to research this combination using surf clam embryos as models. The reason why research done on embryonic development of clams is considered valid for humans is that the most basic early nervous system development is the same across all species.

Her findings are truly disturbing. When tested individually or in pairs, these chemicals produce no damage, even at much higher concentrations than those found in the water at Brick Township. However, when all three are present at the same time they alter nervous system development. To read about this research go to http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/113-6/forum.html#trip.

To more conclusively establish whether these chemicals actually caused the autism epidemic, the study should be repeated using some type of mammal.

This type of study does make me wonder what exactly is going on throughout our country and the world. A brand new study that analyzed ten samples of umbilical cord blood in the U.S. found 287 chemicals, including 209 never before detected in cord blood. These chemicals included mercury, fire retardants, pesticides, and Teflon. Find a detailed report about this study at http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/newsrelease.php.

Knowledge is often the first step towards recovery and the new website www.scorecard.org offers some interesting data. You can go there and find the environmental contaminants that are most prevalent in your area, as well as how your county stacks up against the rest of the country. Predictably, Harris County doesn’t look too good.

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Excessive or uncontrolled appetite may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in our country more that anyone seems willing to recognize. Try telling someone who is hungry all the time that he or she should eat less and exercise more. What do you think is likely to happen?

Realistically, what can you do if you never feel like you had enough to eat? How should you deal with your child who constantly asks for more food even a few minutes after a full meal?

To understand what is going on in these situations, it is important to realize that satiety – or the feeling that we have had enough to eat – does not come from the stomach being full. In fact the stomach will stretch almost endlessly! Instead, satiety comes from a series of hormonal events that send signals to the brain when we are full.

It is common knowledge in physiology that the hormones leading to satiety are triggered only when there is enough protein in a meal or snack. If you are not convinced of this, experiment on yourself. Try having a pure carbohydrate snack when you are hungry, for example chips or even a “healthy” snack such as a bowl of fruit, and see what happens to your appetite. Another time try having an egg or two and observe the difference. Also take note of how long it takes each time before youíre hungry again.

Another way to look at this is to ask yourselves when was the last time you saw someone bingeing on hard-boiled eggs. By comparison, how many times have you seen people binge on chips or popcorn, the ultimate high-carb foods?

Scientists have found that many common diets such as the Atkins diet, The Zone, and the South Beach Diet lead to an increase in protein consumption from the common 10-20% in the average American diet to 30-40% of total calories. Recent research indicates that it is this increase in protein that leads to the dietsí success in inducing weight loss, in spite of no overall caloric restriction (Lancet 2004; 364: 897-9).

What happens is that by increasing protein the satiety mechanism starts to work as it should and people just naturally eat less. Although the diets focus primarily on carbohydrate restriction, it seems to be the higher protein content that is responsible for the weight loss benefit.

Scientists recently tested this hypothesis by concocting a diet that increased protein by cutting fat, while leaving carbs unchanged. This enabled people to start out the diet consuming the same amount of calories they had been accustomed to previously. However, the higher protein content of the diet made them feel more easily satisfied and they spontaneously reduced their overall calorie intake, leading them to lose a significant amount of weight (Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 82: 41-8).

From a practical standpoint this implies that if you are having trouble with the idea of giving up some of your favorite carbohydrates, you may want to focus instead on increasing the protein content of every meal and snack you eat. The additional protein will help you feel satisfied sooner and eat less overall.

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When it comes to genetics the message that most people have been getting is that if something is inherited nothing can be done about it, except maybe taking a drug for life. It’s easy to suspect that the pharmaceutical industry has had a hand in spreading this notion, but in reality the idea that inheritance sets a predetermined outcome is untrue in most cases.

In addition to true genetic defects, which are relatively rare, there are so-called “polymorphisms” – a term often abbreviated to SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms). These are minor genetic mutations that make certain genes less efficient at doing some of their jobs but often more efficient in other ways. SNPs do not cause disease, but they may be associated with an increased susceptibility to certain illnesses given contributing environmental factors. In reality we all have our share of SNPs. They’re probably there by design, as part of the evolutionary process.

A classic example of a SNP is the so-called “thrifty gene” that makes individuals who are descended from certain American Indian tribes highly vulnerable to diabetes and obesity
when they switch to a modern diet, although they are capable of surviving in conditions of extreme scarcity.

Researchers looking at these genetic variants and trying to correlate them with diseases such as cancer or even autism have found themselves opening a Pandora’s box with no clear end point in sight. It’s not that they didn’t find genes associated with these conditions, it’s that they found too many of them and that the correlation was often too vague to draw any clear conclusions.

According to Texas A&M biochemistry professor Wallace McKeehan, “there are just a mind-boggling number of mutations associated with cancer.” This is leading some researchers to redirect their focus towards a newly emerging field known as epigenetics. See more on research on cancer and genetics at http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3241933.

Epigenetics looks at the interaction between genes and the environment. As it turns out, environmental factors – including diet or chemicals in food, water or air – interact with genes by affecting a process called methylation, whereby “switches” on genes can be turned on or off by adding or taking away tiny compounds known as “methyl groups.”

It now appears that the interaction between genes and the environment has a much stronger impact in determining health events than genetic factors alone.

Much of our knowledge of epigenetics originated from research on identical twins who are born with exactly the same genes, but as time goes by develop growing differences and may end up becoming susceptible to different diseases later in life. To read more about epigenetic studies in twins go to http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/health/05gene.html (registration required).

The difference between the old notion that genes predetermined health and the new understanding of genes interacting with the environment is that when it comes to environmental factors there is a great deal we can control. For example, diet becomes a factor that can impact expression of certain genes eventually leading to – or preventing – genetically associated illnesses (as in the example of the Indians above).

Likewise, detoxification programs can compensate for a genetic susceptibility to accumulate toxins. The reason why, for example, so many children with autism improve with detoxification may be that they are genetically more vulnerable than others to toxins and that genetic switches are turned back “on” once the toxins are released.

Whatís most shocking to me about epigenetic research is the finding that detrimental effects of environmental toxins can be inherited for multiple generations. For example, researchers exposed a group of pregnant rats to a pesticide known to cause reduced fertility in males. Predictably, their male offspring suffered low fertility rates. However, their female offspring were fine and care was taken to ensure that they experienced no further exposure to pesticides.

Later on, these female rats whose mothers had been exposed to pesticides were mated to male rats with no history of pesticide exposure. Surprisingly, their male offspring experienced low fertility and this scenario was repeated one more time in third-generation offspring. The fourth generation of male rats finally reverted back to normal fertility, proving that the genes themselves had not been altered (Science, Vol 308, June 3, 2005, pgs 1466-1469).

An analogy to help us understand this study might be a theoretical case of a woman developing breast cancer because her great-grandmother was exposed to a cancer-causing chemical when pregnant.

Although this study was performed on rats, it probably applies to humans as well. It also correlates with studies showing that women whose mothers had been smokers have children with an increased rate of asthma even if they never smoked themselves. For more information, visit http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/jun/science/pt_toxins.html.

The implications of this type of research could be momentous considering the ever-growing number of potentially toxic chemicals to which we are exposed. The next study Iíd like to see (but that will probably never happen) is one that looks at whether detoxification, vitamin supplementation, or diet change can help erase these environmental insults, thus halting the inheritance mechanism.

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Do you feel tired and depressed? Are you often cold or has your weight gone up for no apparent reason? If you are a woman, do you have fibrocystic breasts or cycle abnormalities? Do you suffer from chronic pain? If you answered yes to more than one of these questions, your problem could be iodine deficiency.

This notion seems hard to believe because we have all been told that iodine deficiency was erased in our country with the introduction of iodized salt. However, no study was ever performed to identify an optimal intake of iodine, and it could be that iodizing salt only took care of the most severe cases of deficiency. In addition, more and more types of non-iodized salt – including sea salt – are becoming available and many people on salt-restricted diets avoid salt altogether.

Much of what we know about iodine today comes to us from Guy Abraham, MD, a former professor of endocrinology and iodine researcher who has posted much of his research – as well as other studies on the topic – on his website at www.optimox.com.

It is a well-established fact that iodine is essential for the thyroid gland. However, you don’t have to look very far to find warnings to avoid iodine, especially if you have thyroid problems. This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me and, as Dr. Abraham points out, there is no science behind these warnings, just confusion with toxic forms of iodine (like radioactive iodine) in a medical profession that pays no attention to nutrition, ultimately leading to what Dr. Abraham labels “iodophobia.”

In my practice I see many highly frustrated people who know more about every possible symptom of low thyroid than I do, and they have every one of them! To add insult to injury, their blood tests often keep showing normal thyroid levels. If they find a sympathetic doctor who agrees to prescribe thyroid medicine for them based on their symptoms alone, they may feel a little better for a while, but that’s about it. Dr. Abraham’s research indicates that a majority of these people do remarkably well with iodine supplementation. In fact, Dr. Abraham has shown that even people with clinically low thyroid who take medication for it often do better when they add iodine to their regimen and, in time, can cut back or even discontinue their thyroid medication.

But the thyroid is not the only part of the body that needs iodine; the brain needs it as well. In fact, severe iodine deficiency is described with the term “cretinism” (originally a French word that in time has become synonymous with “stupid”). If not enough iodine makes us stupid, it would only seem logical that optimal intake of iodine might sharpen our minds! This may be exactly the case, and Dr. Abraham’s research indicates that many neurological conditions respond favorably to iodine supplementation.

The female breast also needs iodine. Numerous studies have shown that fibrocystic disease of the breast (FBD), a condition characterized by multiple tender nodules, is a result of iodine deficiency and can be fully corrected in a majority of cases with iodine supplementation. Studies have also correlated the incidence of breast cancer with iodine intake. For example, Japanese women who have the highest iodine consumption in the world, primarily as a result of their taste for seaweed, also have a very low incidence of both FBD and breast cancer.

Iodine also has natural antibiotic and anti-yeast properties. Historically, iodine was used routinely to treat infections prior to the advent of antibiotics. This is still a viable option for many cases although, of course, we never hear about it. Compared to antibiotics, iodine has the distinct advantage of also treating yeast.

Few people know that iodine can be used to disinfect swimming pools in place of chlorine, and at only half the concentration of chlorine. There are studies that confirm this very fact and whenever people have been given a choice between iodine and chlorine, they always chose iodine. It doesn’t have an unpleasant odor, it doesn’t dry the skin or cause rashes, and allergies are rare. The fact that iodine is never even offered as an option is further proof of how deep this prejudice or “iodophobia” runs in our society. So much so that it has led us to choose chlorine, arguably a toxic chemical, over iodine, an essential nutrient.

Until the 1960s, iodine was also used in the process of making flour to prevent mold. A side benefit was that people could get their RDA of iodine from just one slice of bread. Because of the same prejudice, iodine was then replaced with bromine, which also keeps flour from turning moldy, but for humans it is a toxic chemical that competes with iodine in the body interfering with thyroid function and possibly increasing the risk of cancer. As Dr. Abraham reminds us, when iodine was used in flour the rate of breast cancer was 1 in 20; it is now 1 in 8 and climbing.

Another benefit of iodine is that it promotes detoxification. Dr. Abraham has used laboratory evidence to show that iodine causes the body to excrete lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and aluminum in variable amounts. In addition, iodine also detoxifies a class of chemicals known as goitrogens. These chemicals block absorption of iodine, eventually leading to enlargement of the thyroid (known as a goiter), but when enough iodine is taken it forces them out of the body. Goitrogens include the bromine discussed above, fluoride, found in water or toothpaste, and a long list of chemicals in the environment.

Now, before you run to the health food store to buy all the iodine you can find, consider a few facts: the RDA for iodine is 150 mcg per day. Considering that the average American consumes 10 grams of salt per day, as long as the salt is iodized, he or she takes in 750 mcg of iodine a day. Maybe not the optimal intake but still this should provide a certain margin of safety. Except that, as shown in multiple studies, when iodine is added to salt it is very poorly absorbed. Research that looked at peak levels of iodine in blood after salt consumption have concluded that out of the 750 mcg we only absorb 40 to 60, well short of the RDA.

According to Dr. Abraham’s research, ideal intake of iodine to optimize health is around 13 mg per day for adults (1 mg equals 1,000 mcg). This level of intake is very difficult to achieve in our country even with supplements available at health food stores, but it represents no more than the average consumption of iodine in Japan.

Dr. Abraham also found that when iodine-deficient people take this optimal dose of iodine every day, they remain deficient and continue to have symptoms even after one year of supplementation. To overcome deficiency an intake of close to 50 mg per day for adults is required, but this should be calibrated through a simple testing program Dr. Abraham designed. In addition, thyroid medication will need to be adjusted for some people and others will develop symptoms from detoxification, so the program should be monitored by a trained health care practitioner. Dr. Abraham designed a supplement called Iodoral that supplies optimal amounts of iodine in the ideal forms but, because of the required precautions, it is only available through practitioners.

To read in detail about iodine supplementation, find references and possibly obtain a referral in your area go to www.optimox.com.

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Pharmaceutical giant Merck recently announced that, in response to “market demand,” it will soon release a new infant vaccine called ProQuad that is widely expected to replace the MMR. It will combine four live virus vaccines: measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chicken pox).

From a purely practical standpoint, the more vaccines you combine, and the fewer the shots, the better; but is anyone at Merck thinking about what is this likely to do to the immune systems and development of susceptible infants?

Live viruses in vaccines are the very same ones that cause the diseases for which they immunize, except that they have been “attenuated” or weakened and supposedly made harmless in the laboratory. These weakened viruses lose the capacity to induce the actual disease, but they still carry markers that trigger an immune response and this later protects children from the actual disease.

This sounds just great, except that it doesn’t quite track what ends up happening to the live viruses once they’re injected into infants’ bodies. If they’re just harmlessly excreted, fine. But what if somehow they are able to mutate or cause a different kind of trouble in the presence of a weak immune system or other unknown risk factors?

Evidence that this can happen in susceptible individuals is mounting. Studies performed by Andrew Wakefield, MD and others show that the measles virus persists in the digestive tracts of autistic children whose only exposure to this disease was through vaccines. Once in the gut this virus is believed to cause chronic inflammation leading to classic symptoms of diarrhea, constipation and poor digestion so often seen in autism. Find a list of these studies at http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/vaccine/MMRreferences.htm

Other interesting research shows that active viruses suppress the production of glutathione (GSH) in the body (J Biol Chem 1997 Jan 31; 272 (5): 2700-8). GSH is a protein the body makes and that it needs to eliminate a broad range of toxins from mercury to toxic chemicals. The inhibition of GSH is usually temporary, and after recovery from a virus the GSH production rapidly returns to baseline. But what if the virus persists, as Dr. Wakefield has shown can happen in autism? It is likely that this might lead to long-term GSH inhibition and may explain why chelation, a treatment to remove mercury and other metals, is so helpful for many autistic children.

An even better way to address this problem would be to exercise more caution with live virus vaccines, at least until all the answers are in!

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I received the link to this article from one of my readers. While the title states that up to 5% of farmed salmon is deformed, the text then informs us that in some areas, including
Norway, the rate of deformity exceeds 25%. What seems to be happening is that the bodies of these poor fish grow too fast compared to their skeletons, causing them, I am sure, to look pretty awkward.

Although the author of the article tells us that the cause of this phenomenon is still a mystery, my reader knew better and suggested in her email that she believed it could be related to what they are fed. I agree wholeheartedly! Feed things like cornmeal and soy protein to fish evolved to eat shrimp and what do you expect?

We donít have to look very far to see examples of what improper diet will do to physical development. In fact we don’t have to look any further than ourselves. For example, it is
interesting to note that we are “designed” to have four wisdom teeth and yet hardly any of us have enough space in our mouths to accommodate them. Is this a design flaw? I don’t think so.

Today no one asks questions like these, because we are so focused on “wonder” drugs and “miracle” surgeries.” But there were times when these questions made a lot of sense to people.

In the early part of the 20th century Weston Price, a dentist, asked himself this very question. Noting that wild animals always have perfect dentition he wondered if there might be people, somewhere in the world, who also did.

This one question led him to undertake two decades of intense travels to the most remote areas of the globe, and what he found was nothing short of spectacular. Back in the 1930’s there still were groups of people living traditional lifestyles on every continent. He found them in Ireland, in remote Swiss valleys, and elsewhere. Their only contact with the rest of the world often was mail service once a week during the good season. Nowadays they’re gone, assimilated into modern society, and our opportunity to study them is lost forever.

Dr. Price lived with these people, he studied them, photographed them and came to know them well. They grew or hunted all their own food, prepared it according to ancestral recipes and, you guessed it, they had perfect teeth! Not only that, they also enjoyed radiant health. At a time when TB was the number one killer in the civilized world, he could find no evidence that these groups ever experienced a single case of this disease.

In some cases Dr. Price visited family members who had moved to the city and adopted the modern lifestyle, and found that they experienced all the same problems the rest of us do, further proving his point that diet was linked to physical development.

To read about the farmed salmons go to http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/environment_salmon_dc

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by Janice Welch

I decided to write about this topic after having many questions from mothers about plastics. Are they really that bad? How can I possibly avoid them? What is a safe sippy cup?

I usually answer, “Use plastic only when it is unavoidable – and yes I know, it is oftentimes unavoidable.” Here are my guidelines for using plastics:

• Never use plastic in the microwave! You can find plenty of different-sized Pyrex glass containers to use for heating in the microwave – even down to very convenient one-cup sizes.

They also have plastic lids (yes I know- but the lids don’t touch the food) that are excellent for storing leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. In the microwave, use parchment paper or wax paper as a lid.
• Wash your plastics by hand; do not expose them to the high temperatures of a dishwasher.
• Replace your plastics if you see any type of wear, cracks, or discoloration.
• Avoid #3, #6, and #7 plastics (the number is stamped in a triangle on the bottom of the container). These are recycling codes. Not all plastic containers have this code, but if they don’t, you can call the manufacturer or just find a replacement that does have the code.

Of the BAD (#3, #6, #7) ones, the worst offender is the #7 (other) plastics. These are usually the polycarbonates and contain bisphenol-A, a hormone disruptor that will leach into water and other matter. I was very discouraged to find all single-serve applesauce ñ so popular in kid’s lunches – use #7 plastic, and this includes Whole Kids Organic from Whole Foods! What is even worse is that many of the name-brand baby bottles for infant formula are #7. A much better choice would be Evenflo glass baby bottles, available online at Baby Super Mall.

#3 stands for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics that contain phthalates for flexibility. These phthalates are known carcinogens and are not bound to the PVC molecule, making it easier for them to leach whatever it comes in contact with (your food or drink).

#6 polystyrene (PS) plastics can leach styrene a carcinogen that, like bisphenol-A, also affects hormones.

For the ACCEPTABLE ones (#1, #2, #4, #5):

#1 polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) plastics are good one-time use plastics. Reuse or extended storage in these containers increases the risk of leaching the phthalates into the product. So these should be recycled right after using.

The best reusable containers from a leaching standpoint are made from #2 high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, or #5 polypropylene (PP) plastic. (As for the sippy cup question, Playtex Insulator Cups are ones I found in #5 plastic)

For food wraps and bags, look for #4 low-density polypropylene (LDPE) plastic. Many are made from #3 PVC, but I have found a few that are #4 (LDPE). The ones I use are Glad
Clingwrap, Glad-Lock baggies, and Ziploc baggies.

Now you too are armed and ready to be a plastic detective. Happy hunting!

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We have long suspected that chemicals interact with one another, creating destructive synergies, but this has been difficult to prove since very few studies have ever looked at the combined effects of multiple chemicals. This applies not only to chemicals in the environment, like pesticide residues or plastics, but also to medications, most of which are also chemical compounds. Although medications are studied for safety, these studies are only performed on one medication at a time, even though they may very well interact with one another and with other chemicals thereby creating new compounds with different and unknown safety profiles.

Now the tip of the iceberg may be starting to emerge, as a new study from Duke University looked at the interaction between the pre-term labor drug terbutaline (Bethine), for which one million prescriptions are written every year, and ubiquitous pesticide residues. The study used rats, but it is very likely that the results apply to humans as well since rats have consistently been shown to be more resistant to chemicals than we are.
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(Note: see also “Are mercury-free vaccines really safer?” June 2006)

When it comes to vaccinating children, I think this is a decision parents should be able to make on their own. Unfortunately, once regulators establish vaccination policies and make it impossible for unvaccinated children to enroll in school the entire matter becomes more complicated.

If you are interested in working within the system but wish to take extra precautions to protect your children there are several things you can do.

The first is to delay all vaccines until your child is two, because at that age the immune system has achieved a greater level of maturity and there is a smaller risk of adverse effects.

The next is to avoid injecting multiple vaccines at one time, to the extent that this is possible. Remember that vaccines are combined for convenience’s sake, without adequate studies to support the safety of this practice.
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Just a few weeks ago, as I was searching for specific information relating to gluten, I came across a different kind of website by a vet who calls himself “Dogtor J.” The address is www.dogtorj.com.

The design of this website is intriguing, with the top of every page showing an attractive picture of a dog – quite a treat for a dog lover like myself! It took me a while to understand why this site would even have come up on a Google search for amino acid content of gluten, but then I realized that it was no mistake because the site is actually full of pertinent information.

It’s easy to get lost in the site as there are pages upon pages of information on a broad range of pet and human conditions linked to food intolerance, and other philosophical dissertations on diet and the history of food. Since I was about to leave town to attend a conference in Boston I decided to print a few pages and read them on the way. I ended up printing more than fifty pages, but they made for great airplane reading!
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Tags: Autoimmune disease, Chronic Fatigue, Diet, Food Allergies, Immune System | Comments Off on When “Dogtor J” talks, smart people listen!

When it comes to constipation, natural practitioners hold that it is way under-diagnosed by conventional physicians. The way we see it, anything less than one bowel movement a day is unhealthy; but in medicine constipation is only considered a problem when it is severe. In these cases Miralax seems to be increasingly the drug of choice. But is it really a good solution?

Miralax has such a reassuring name that makes it sound like it is just the thing nature created for this problem. Fewer people might be willing to take it – or give it to their children – if they knew that the active ingredient is a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG), a close relative of ethylene glycol (antifreeze).  Why, you might ask, would something like antifreeze end up being used as a laxative?   Well, because it works, it is synthetic and can therefore be patented, and approval studies have not uncovered any dangers (in healthy adults). Read More »

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I know many people with children who are metal toxic have the big question of “Where is it coming from?” In the case of mercury, we are fairly certain that most of it came from shots laden with thimersol, or from dental amalgams. But would you be surprised to find out that a derivative of thimersol (phenylmercuric acetate) is found in eye makeup, especially

mascara? Although the Food and Drug Administration restricts the use of phenylmercuric acetate, cosmetic manufacturers are not required to register with the FDA.

My personal quest has been trying to identify where the lead in my sonís body is coming from, and there are plenty of sources. But the one most alarming to me I stumbled upon
only recently: garden hoses!

This was a real “Oh my God” moment, as I envisioned my son playing in the front yard holding the hose (hand-to-mouth transfer) as well as soaking in the water from the hose in his wading pool. The ludicrous thing is that I have a garden filter that attaches to the outside faucet to purify the water for him since he loves to play in it so much. Turns out I was purifying the water only to poison it as it ran through the hose.

According to a study done by Consumer Reports, most garden hoses contain lead. Water that was allowed to stand in the hose contained up to 100 times more lead than is allowed by the EPA to come out of a faucet.

YIKES!!!

After reading this I immediately threw out our garden hoses and went on a quest to find a lead-free hose. Only if a hose contains the label ìsafe for drinking waterî is it safe for you

and your children to handle. I found one online called Handi Hose but didn’t order it since it was approaching a warm weekend and I wanted one immediately. After much searching, I found one at Target called Hydro Hose. Both the Handi Hose and the Hydro Hose are flat hoses on a reel. There are supposedly conventional round hoses labeled safe for drinking water, but I didn’t find any.

The flat hose I bought works very well, and my son was immediately drawn to its bright yellow color. I felt such a sense of relief, but also exasperation, knowing I had found one more piece in what seems a never-ending puzzle.

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Most people readily associate vitamin C with the common cold. While there continues to be controversy on whether it really protects from colds and other viral conditions, studies have shown that it does.

Many also associate vitamin C with Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel laureate who conducted a great deal of early research on this vitamin and fought to publicize its benefits. However, almost no one remembers that much of Dr. Pauling’s research focused on the benefits of vitamin C in cardiovascular health.

By definition, a vitamin is something that is essential to life but that our bodies cannot make, so we need to get it from our food. Oddly enough, vitamin C is not a vitamin for most other mammals; their bodies make as much of it as they need through a four-step chemical reaction that uses blood sugar as the raw ingredient.
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In the January newsletter I wrote about airborne allergies resulting from poor intestinal health. You might accuse me of having a one-track mind (it’s happened before), but I could say the same thing about eczema. It’s on the skin, I agree, but it comes from the gut. I say this with confidence because I have seen it clear up time and time again with diet change and simple supplements to improve intestinal health.

So, you might ask, what’s the need for topical creams in the first place? I agree, but in today’s reality these creams not only exist, they’re also best sellers that are advertised over and over on TV. The ads say these creams are better because they’re not steroids. What they fail to point out is that, just like steroids, they work by suppressing the immune system.

New data from the FDA suggests that these creams, sold under the brand names Elidel and Protopic, may actually cause cancer. This new information is based on animal and laboratory research as well as reports from human users. According to the FDA spokesperson ‘the evidence raises serious safety concerns in children regarding the potential carcinogenicity in humans treated with these agents.’ For more on this go to washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17568-2005Feb11.html.

There are studies showing that a simple supplement containing lactobacillus – beneficial bacteria that help improve intestinal health – can reduce the severity of eczema (J Pediatr 2004 Nov; 145 (5): 612-6, J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003 Feb; 111 (2): 389-95).

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It is that time of year when kids are playing outside for longer hours, enjoying the beautiful warmer weather. Unfortunately, it is also the time when mosquitoes and other insects are out enjoying our children.

So how do we avoid all the toxic concoctions of DEET, but still supply adequate protection for our families? I have summarized information I’ve gathered from various sources over the last two summers. I won’t say that we went insect-bite-free, but we did significantly reduce the number of bites. Here are a few tidbits of information about our backyard enemy:

1. Mosquitoes are attracted to

Dark clothing dark clothes and foliage are initial attractants

Carbon dioxide and lactic acid avoid exercising during peak mosquito hours – dawn and dusk -since more carbon dioxide and lactic acid is released when you have been exercising

Floral and sweet fragrances avoid perfumes, lotions, scented soaps, hair products, scented sunscreens, and fragrance from fabric softeners

Moisture keep your eye out for these sources of standing water: discarded tires, roof gutters clogged with leaves or other debris, rain barrels, wading pools, drainage ditches, paint buckets, tin cans, paper cups or other trash, trash containers, infrequently used yard equipment, plant containers, bird baths, broken toys, pet water bowls, and holes in tree stumps. Mosquitoes are also attracted by perspiration because of the chemicals it contains and also because it increases the humidity around your body.

2. Natural repellents for the body

Natural oils can effectively repel mosquitoes, but they require more frequent reapplication (at least every 2 hours) and higher concentrations than DEET. Because of the differences between types of mosquitoes, products that contain multiple repellents tend to be more effective than those containing a single ingredient.

The following are plant oils that are often found in combination in natural repellents. They can be found at Whole Foods or other health foods stores: citronella, rosemary, lemongrass, cedar, peppermint, clove, geranium, garlic, pine, basil, thyme.

You can try different combinations of the plant oils to see what is best for you. One of my favorites is peppermint oil because of its fresh smell and tingly sensation, and I mix it with lemongrass oil for added effectiveness. Most of these oils will sting when applied to sensitive areas of the body, so avoid the eye, mucous membranes, cuts and scrapes, and genital areas.

Natural oils in this concentrated form are very strong and should not be applied directly (that could become very expensive). I add a few drops of the plant oils to pure coconut oil – it’s also a great skin moisturizer – and then apply the mixture to the skin. You need to make sure the coconut oil is the deodorized kind, used for cooking, or the sweet smell of coconut may attract the mosquitoes.

3. Natural repellents for the yard Garlic is a great weapon for all sorts of lawn pests. Roast several cloves of garlic and blend with a little oil (a few teaspoons), or mince several fresh cloves and let stand in oil for 24 hours. Add this to 2 cups of water mixed with one-half teaspoon of natural liquid detergent. Spray this mixture over your yard. The smell will dissipate quickly. Repeat every two weeks.

Another good idea is a plant “barrier” around play areas. Choose your mix from the following insect-unfriendly flowers and herbs: marigolds, geraniums, rosemary, catnip, peppermint, spearmint, daisies, verbena, basil, thyme, garlic, allspice, cedar, and lemongrass.

CLARIFICATION

The mixture of coconut oil and natural oils provides no sunscreen protection, but I use it at dusk, which seems to be the only time we need it around our house. If you are going to be spending a lot of time in direct sunlight and need an insect repellent as well, use an unscented natural sunscreen (no OMC – octyl methoxycinnamate, TEA ñ triethanolamine, or Benzophenone) and add the natural oils to protect you, or you can purchase a sunscreen and bug repellent like Kidís Herbal Armour with SPF 15 and Oils of Citronella, Peppermint, Cedar, Lemongrass, and Geranium ñ great product but quite pricey.

Remember though, that moderate sunshine is beneficial to your health as it provides vitamin D. Some children can only take about 10 to 15 minutes at a time before burning or acquiring sun damage. Others can go longer. If you are going to be in the sun for an extended period of time, it is crucial to find a very natural sunscreen (check Whole Foods or other health food stores), because most drugstore products have ingredients like those listed above that actually act as chemical absorbers and can be more damaging to the skin than overexposure to the sun itself.

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If, like me, you are a male past the age of 50 there’s a good chance you have a blood test called PSA (prostate-specific antigen) run once a year as an early warning for prostate cancer. But is this test of any value after all?

According to an article published in the Journal of Urology last October, serum PSA only reflects the size of the prostate, not the presence of cancer (J Urol 2004 Oct; 172 (4 Pt 1):
1297-301).

The article is discussed and explained in plain English in the online medical news service Medscape. Find it at www.medscape.com/viewarticle/489474?src=search (requires free registration).

It appears that studies performed 20 years ago showed a strong correlation between PSA and the presence of prostate cancer. However, newer studies have failed to confirm this finding. Lead investigator Dr. Stamey explains that the reasons for this change are not entirely clear, but the facts as they are understood today are that a PSA between 2 and 10 and, in many cases, between 2 and 20 is unrelated to the presence of cancer.’

Since the prostate is known to enlarge with age, many men will see their PSA levels climb over time. What makes things confusing is that when people with a high PSA go in for a biopsy most of the time they are diagnosed with cancer. So does high PSA mean you have cancer or not?

Dr. Stamey’s next statement clarifies this point: ‘If you biopsy men’s prostates, you’re going to find cancer, because we all have age-related prostate cancer. It begins in 8% of men in their 20’s, based on a study of men dying accidentally on the streets of Detroit. It rises to 70% of men in their 70’s.’

So here’s what seems to be happening: if you have an elevated PSA you will be referred for a biopsy and will probably be diagnosed with cancer. However, men of your same age with a normal PSA have the same likelihood of having prostate cancer.

Now isn’t prostate cancer something we want to have treated as soon as possible? Maybe not. According to Dr. Stamey’s research, while almost every man gets prostate cancer sooner or later only 226 per 100,000 over 65 die of this disease. That’s one quarter of 1 percent! It may be that this is a cancer we’re better off living with than treating. Let’s stay tuned.

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