Q:

Can patients who are allergic to sulfite and sulfate-containing drugs still take glucosamine sulfate or will that set off an allergic reaction?

A:

Patients who are allergic to sulfite and sulfate-containing drugs and other substances can safely take glucosamine sulfate because the word sulfate in this instance refers to the mineral sulfur and not the class of molecules categorized as sulfites and sulfates that are used in drugs and as preservatives. It is impossible for any human being to be allergic to the mineral sulfur as it is an essential mineral that occurs in all body cells. Thus, it is safe for these patients to use glucosamine sulfate.

Q:

I understand most vitamins pass out before we get the full benefits. They must be easily digested – it that true. LaurelPbl.

A:

Vitamins and minerals are absorbed from the intestinal tract into the bloodstream. Each of these nutrients has its own unique rate of absorption and absorption capacity. For example., young women aged 11-24 absorbs up to 40 percent of dietary calcium. After age 24 the absorption capacity is less. Only 10-30 percent of the iron we ingest gets absorbed whereas a much higher percentage of vitamin C and the B-vitamins are readily absorbed by the body.

As a general rule the absorption of vitamins and minerals from supplementation is as good and often better than from food itself. Once absorbed each nutrient plays distinctive and vital roles in the body's metabolic processor that are unique to that nutrient. Some vitamins and minerals pass out of the body before they participate in their intended role.

However, my concern is that 91% of the population doesn't acquire the base line of vitamin and mineral intake, thus marginal deficiencies of these nutrients is more of a concern then excess vitamin intake that never has a chance to participate at a biochemical level. In the body's machinery, vitamins and minerals keep all the little wheels turning to keep the motor humming. Don't worry about vitamin losses, focus on optimizing intake. Your body's internal wisdom will take care of the rest.

In our book, Break The Weight Loss Barrier - the proven mind/body, program for lifelong fitness, reduced body fat and minimizing your risk of degenerative diseases), I dedicated an entire chapter (chapter nine) to the crucial role of vitamins and other productive nutrients.

Q:

One of my patients was told by his medical doctor that glucosamine supplementation can worsen his diabetic condition by disrupting his sugar regulation. Is that true?

A:

A recent report in the Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (Pouwels, M.J., et al, 2001: 86, 5: 2099-2103) demonstrated that even when glucosamine was infused directly into the brachial artery of 18 healthy subjects, there was absolutely no evidence o blood sugar irregularities or disruption of insulin secretion. The authors conclude that these results do not support involvement of the hexosamine pathway in the regulation of insulin sensitivity in humans. To date, there are no reports of glucosamine having a negative effect on diabetics, even though a large number of patients have been taking it on a self-selected basis for a number of years. Conversely, because arthritic patients can become more active with the help of glucosamine, then that in itself will improve the diabetic state as exercise improves insulin sensitivity, reduces excess body weight and improves many facets of cardiovascular health. The truth is that, if glucosamine can enable an arthritic to be more active, this intervention will improve the diabetic state and reduce related complications of the disease. In some animal studies, there has been the indication that glucosamine induces mild insulin resistance, but this is at a very preliminary level of research, compared to the work of Pouwels. At any rate, it is best to keep the attending physician aware that the patient is using glucosamine so that blood sugar monitoring can be performed. However, glucosamine is not contra-indicated in diabetic patients at this time, but more rigorous monitoring of blood sugar may be advisable in the early period of supplementation.

Q:

What are the important clinical differences between soluble and insoluble fiber? And/Or…compare Metamucil and BiosLife2Natural. Thanks. I BE BONES.

A:

Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol and bile acids (building blocks of cholesterol) in the intestinal tract and drags them out of the body during a bowel movement. This helps to lower blood cholesterol levels in high cholesterol patients. In turn this lowers heart attack risk.
Insoluble fiber draws water to itself like a sponge. This bulks up the developing fecal matter, softens stools and stimulates easier and more frequent bowel movements. The high water content of these stools helps to dilute any cancer – causing agents, making them less harmful. Thus, insoluble fiber is linked to better bowel function and reduced risk of colon cancer. For more details check out my articles on dietary fiber under the heading of "Nutrition and Exercise Basics" on this site.

Q:

I have a patient who is taking a fat-burning supplement that contains ephedra. How dangerous is this in your opinion?

A:

As it turns out, the number one natural health product that is associated with the greatest number of reported adverse side effects each year are the ephedra-containing products (i.e., Ma Huang). In fact, 17% of all reports of this nature are related to the intake of ephedra-containing supplements. Ephedra directly stimulates the nervous system, upsetting heart function and other tissues. The net result is that it can produce a number of serious outcomes including sudden death, heart attack and stroke, severe nervousness, panic attacks, irregular heartbeat, insomnia, headache and inability to concentrate. There are other nutritional supplements that can work to enhance body fat reduction in a safe manner. These include: chromium, hydroxycitric acid, coleus forskholin, and L-carnitine. I strongly advise you to keep your patients away from ephedra and related nervous system stimulants (tea extracts containing caffeine and bitter orange), and seek out safer alternatives. I formulated a product called Body Burn for Nutra Therapeutics that meets this criteria if you are looking for something safe and effective to provide to your patients.

Q:

Some nutrition companies imply that calcium carbonate is not a bioavailable source of calcium and should not be used as a calcium supplement to help prevent or manage osteoporosis. Is this valid information?

A:

This is absolutely false and misleading information. An extensive review of the scientific literature reveals that calcium carbonate is as bioavailable as is calcium citrate when taken with meals (and that is the best time to take a calcium supplement regardless of the form of calcium). In fact, a great number of intervention trials with human subjects have shown that calcium carbonate supplementation can slow the rate of bone loss in post menopausal women and significantly lowers the risk of osteoporosis development in this high risk population. As well, the carbonate molecule is much smaller than the citrate molecule allowing a much greater amount of elemental calcium to be included in a single caplet. As a rule, the same size caplet yields 500 mg of elemental calcium from calcium carbonate and only 350 mg of elemental calcium from calcium citrate. In cases where the patient has had a previous kidney stone, then calcium citrate may be preferred because it is more soluble; otherwise, I would not impose the much higher cost of calcium citrate on a patient unless it were combined with other bone-building nutrients such as Vitamin D, magnesium, etc. But, head-to-head, calcium carbonate is a more cost-effective intervention when compared to other calcium supplements, including the citrate form. For a complete referenced report on this subject, refer tot he osteoporosis education articles on this website and review the article entitled, “How to Choose a Calcium Supplement.”

Q:

Can you give me any info on minerals?

A:

Here is the short course on minerals:
1. All minerals are natural (you can’t convert iron into magnesium).
2  Iron and calcium are the most common mineral deficiencies in our society and worldwide.
3.  Many people also have marginal deficiencies of zinc, magnesium, selenium, and chromium.
4.  A well-designed multiple vitamin and mineral is worth its weight in gold in its ability to correct mineral deficiencies.
5.  Minerals serve a multitude of roles in health from bone density, brain function, oxygen transport, insulin regulation, muscle development, heart rhythm regulation to sperm development and much more.

Q:

Can my patient take Body Burn if they have diabetes?

A:

It depends. If the patient is a non insulin-dependent diabetic, then Body Burn will be tremendously beneficial because the chromium helps to lower the need for insulin by enhancing insulin function. In this type of diabetes, their bodies are having to secrete excessively high levels of insulin brought on by insulin resistance that typically defines this condition, especially if they are overweight. Thus, this person benefits from anything that will enhance insulin function of peripheral insulin receptors or helps to lower postprandial blood glucose levels. Body Burn also provides hydroxycitric acid, which is also beneficial in terms of helping to regulate blood sugar and assisting in weight loss by interrupting the conversion of carbohydrates into fat within the liver. All in all, Body Burn is an excellent supplement for the non insulin-dependent diabetic, and will not only aid in weight loss, but can assist in the entire management of their condition without any untoward side effects.
   For the insulin-dependent diabetic, the story is different. Because the chromium and the hydroxycitric acid have an effect on lowering blood sugar as I have described, the patient will need to adjust their dosage of insulin down if they were to begin taking Body Burn. So, it can be used and really ought to be used in this instance to help get these diabetic patients to a lower dosage of insulin. However, for some unknown reason, the diabetic associations caution against the use of chromium-containing supplements for these patients. Therefore, the attending physician has to be included in the decision to use this product in these cases, to help the patient make the appropriate adjustment in their insulin dosage. Without the physician’s consent, it is not advisable to proceed as the patient may end up in a severe hypoglycemic state or coma.

Q:

If my patient is taking an anti-inflammatory medication, can they still use Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory at the same time?

A:

Yes, patients can take Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory concurrently with other prescription anti-inflammatories in the beginning, as there are no drug-nutrient interactions of concern here. With time they should be able to wean themselves off of the prescription drugs or greatly reduce the dosage as Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory kicks in. the only thing to be concerned about is combining Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory with Warfarin or Coumadin as the curcumin and ginger content from Nature’s Anti-Inflammatory may potentiate the anti-coagulant effects of these drugs. However, to date there are no reported cases of either of these nutrients producing a bleeding disorder in patients taking Warfarin or Coumadin, so it requires that the attending physician monitor the prothrombin time or INR, to be sure that it is in the ideal range. In fact, the use of this supplement should help to lower the required dosage of Warfarin to attain the desirable range in regards to the INR. Interestingly, the white willow bark in this product has not been shown to inhibit platelet function, although it is a natural source of slow-release salicylic acid. The reason is that the level of salicylic acid is too low to affect platelet function and it is released slowly to the bloodstream due to is arrival into the body as a phenolic glycoside (salicylic acid is combined to a carbohydrate side chain that is slowly cleaved off by the body’s enzymes in the intestinal tract and in the liver, slowly releasing the active anti-inflammatory agents to the tissues in a controlled manner).