Featured Topic: Relieve Your Heartburn and Acid Indigestion!

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Don’t stop heartburn by stopping stomach acid

• Do you know what happens when you take away stomach acid?– Food is not digested properly, especially protein

• Interferes with calcium, B12 and iron absorption

• One study documented over 40% reduction in calcium absorption when taking Prilosec

• Undigested protein in the intestines can act as allergens

• Increased risk of bacterial and viral exposure

• What does this mean for you?

• Taking an acid-blocker or acid reducing medication can cause more problems than it “cures”

More Problems with PPIs

• People who take proton pump inhibitors are 16-21% more likely to have a heart attack– Researchers have found that these drugs damage the lining of

the blood vessels (called the endothelium)

• Women taking acid blockers 25% more likely to break a bone– Women with hip fracture are 62% more likely to have used acid

blockers long term

• Elderly patients using acid blockers were 2.5 times more likely to have memory problems– Probably due to poor absorption of B12

• 30% increased risk of pneumonia• 50-75% more likely to contract bacterial infection when

hospitalized for other problems

Treat Heartburn the Natural Way

• To treat heartburn:– Restore stomach acidity with betaine

hydrochloride

– Reduce symptoms with d-limonene and sea buckthorn oil (600 mg once or twice daily)

• Heal ulcers and treat H. pylori with DGL – 75 mg twice daily

• Take (animal-based) enzymes with meals to relieve other common digestive problems

• Stay away from proton pump inhibitors

Can hot flashes make you anxious?(2 slides)

Anxiety and Hot Flashes are Connected

• 50% to 75% of women will experience hot flashes during menopause

• Other changes that occur as estrogen levels decline are: anxiety, sleep disturbances, cognitive changes, and depression– Anxiety makes the heart race and increases self-

consciousness, which makes the experience of hot flashes even worse

• A recent study found that women with high levels of anxiety had five times as many hot flashes as less anxious women

Relieving menopausal anxiety

• Researchers are looking at behavioral therapy to help women change thoughts that can make hot flashes worse

– Instead of thinking “EVERYONE CAN SEE I’M HAVING A HOT FLASH” focus on “Hardly anyone will notice and the hot flash will be over in a few minutes”

• Additional, natural medicines can safely relieve anxiety and depression

– Echinacea angustifolia has been shown to reduce anxiety safely and effectively – take 20-40 mg, once or twice daily

– Saffron was shown in a clinical trial to reduce hot flashes AND depression after 6 weeks of use – take 265 mg of saffron and curcumin twice daily

Latest Food Fad: The “Healthy Alternative”

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Are the plant-based alternatives ‘natural’ or healthy?

• ‘Eggs’ made from mung bean protein (plus water, canola oil, gums, and seasoning)

– Real eggs: complete protein PLUS B vitamins, vitamin D, lutein, choline (great for the brain!), carotenoids, vitamins A, E, and K, selenium, iron and phosphorus

• ‘Butter’ that is 80% water (plus tiny amounts of vegetable oil and milk fat)

– Real butter: 80% healthy fats, plus vitamins A and D, E, B12 and K2

• ‘Burgers’ made from processed GMO soy

– Real grass-fed beef: about 50% more healthy omega-3 than conventional beef, plus antioxidants, vitamins, and conjugated linoleic acid CLA

Dark Chocolate for Depression(1 slide)

Dark chocolate makes people happy!

• Researchers collected data from 13,000 adults, asking them about what kinds of chocolate they ate and when, and to rate their mood

• Results– People who ate dark chocolate were 70% less likely to report

depression– Same results were not seen for milk chocolate– Even after controlling for physical activity, age, smoking, weight,

and presence of other chronic medical conditions, there was still an association between dark chocolate consumption and reduced rates of depression

– On average, those eating dark chocolate consumed a little less than half an ounce of at least 45% cocoa daily!

• Eating a small serving of dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa (usually at least 70% is suggested) maximizes the beneficial flavanols and minimizes calories and sugar

Herb of the Day: Horsetail(4 slides)

Horsetail is a source of Silica

• Horsetail is a plant related to ferns

• It contains almost 80% silica – rich source of this mineral

• Silica is essential for bone formation/mineralization

• Gets calcium into bones: increases calcium absorption and retention in bones by over 50%

– Stronger bones – less risk of fractures, faster recovery after a fracture

– In an animal model of osteoporosis, supplemental silica was associated with a 30% increase in bone density

Silica is not just for bones

• Silica is also required for collagen and connective tissue: hair, nails, and skin

• Increases collagen formation by over 50%

• In a study of women with fine hair, nine months of supplemental silica increased hair strength by almost 10%

• In women with sun-damaged skin, 20 weeks of silica treatment reduced skin roughness by almost 20%, and strengthened hair and nails

What to know about silica

• Look for plant-based silica from horsetail– Did you know? Orthosilicic acid is synthetic, it is made

from sand

– Bamboo silica isn’t easily absorbed – the silica molecules are much larger than silica from horsetail

• For skin, hair, nails, and basic bone support: take 20 mg daily

• If you have experienced a bone fracture, have osteoporosis, have had dental implants, or have any other bone concerns: 40 to 80 mg daily for 4 to 8 weeks

Improved Absorption

• Proprietary extraction method – water and low temperature – discards the insoluble, abrasive compounds

– Leaves silica bound to flavonoids, sugars, acids and phenols – much more soluble form

• Flavonoids enhance the solubility of the silica, increasing bioavailability– react with several intestinal transport systems to increase

the cellular absorption of molecules bound to them

• Purification and marine lipids also increases absorption

Gallstone Prevention(3 slides)

Quick refresher: what are gallstones?

• Gallstones are crystalized deposits of digestive fluid that form in the gall bladder

• Major risk factors– Obesity– Diabetes– Female (women are 3 times more likely to develop

gallstones than men)– Rapid weight loss: as the liver metabolizes fat from weight

loss, it secretes more bile, which can form a gallstone

• Gallstones are associated with a significantly increased risk of gallbladder and liver cancer– One study found that 75% of patients with gallbladder

cancer also had gallstones

Coffee for Gallstone prevention

• Researchers followed over 100,000 people for 8 years, tracking their dietary intake and their incidence of gallstones

• Results: coffee drinking was associated with a decreased incidence of gallstones– One cup of coffee a day was associated with a 3% decrease

in gallstone risk– 3-6 cups a day was associated with a 17% reduced risk of

gallstones

• Why? It might be because coffee stimulates the gallbladder to contract, pushing out small crystals before they have a chance to turn into large gallstones

• NOTE: benefits were associated with regular coffee containing caffeine, not decaffeinated coffee

Also important for gallstone prevention…• Avoid the low fat, high carb diet

• Over 50,000 men between ages 40 and 75 were surveyed every 2 years for 12 years, including collecting data on diet and incidence of gallstones

• Results

– Highest carb intake was associated with a 59% increased risk of gallstones versus low carb intake

– Looking at starch intake only, high starch intake was associated with a 43% increased risk of gallstones versus low starch intake

• High carb intake stimulates the liver to produce cholesterol, raises inflammatory triglycerides, and reduces HDL cholesterol – all factors that can play a role in gallstone formation

A Closer Look at: Lung Cancer(3 slides)

Keep Your Lungs Healthy

• Lung cancer is the second most common cancer (after breast cancer) and the leading cause of cancer death

• Most people with lung cancer are not active smokers when diagnosed– Most are former smokers – only 20% are actively smoking at

the time of diagnosis, and about 15% have never smoked

• Reduce your risk of lung cancer by– Not smoking and avoiding second hand smoke– Exercising: women who exercise vigorously more than once

a week are 29% less likely to develop lung cancer than non-exercisers

– Watching what you eat: In a study of over 1,000 people, those who ate diets with a high glycemic index had a 49% increased risk of lung cancer, even if they never smoked!

Natural Medicine for the Lungs: Boswellia • Resin from the boswellia tree has been used

medicinally for thousands of years

• Boswellia opens airways, reduces bronchial and sinus swelling, and is a specific inhibitor of the 5-LOX enzyme, which is associated with inflammation in the lungs• 70% of asthma patients treated with boswellia had

improved lung function versus only 27% of participants in the control group

• Boswellia is anti-cancer: reduces cancer cells on its own, and also increases the effectiveness of conventional cancer drugs

How to pick a boswellia extract

• Look for boswellia extracts which are labeled to contain less than 5% beta boswellic acids and at least 10% AKBA – the most powerful compound in boswellia

• Boswellia has no known adverse effects

• Use in combination with oils of thyme, ravintsara, and myrtle for the respiratory system