Ben Fuchs

Ben Fuchs is a nutritional pharmacist from Colorado. He specializes in using nutritional supplements when other healthcare practitioners use toxic pharmaceutical drugs.He is the founder and formulator of Truth Treatment Systems for skin care, host of The Bright Side syndicated radio show, a member of Youngevity's Scientific Advisory Board, health expert and frequent guest on Coast to Coast am with George Noory."The human body is a healing and regenerating system, designed divinely to heal & renew itself on a moment to moment basis." "Take charge of your biochemistry through foods and supplements, rather than allow toxic prescription drugs to take charge of you." ~Ben Fuchs

Jun

2013

Daily Dose of Fiber is Detoxification

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

I have a good mom, a conscientious mom and a healthy mom. She’s almost 80, but boy is she spry, with a spring in her step and the boundless energy of a woman half her age. And, if you asked her to tell you her secret to her good health and remarkable vim and vigor she’d smile at you and point you to the pantry where she keeps her box of Grape Nuts cereal and bottle of roughage, which is her quaint, if antiquated, term for what is one of the most poorly understood and under-appreciated of all essential health nutrients, fiber.

Fiber is defined as inactive carbohydrate, it’s not really a single substance and this complexity gives a clue to the confusion that surrounds this super important nutritional substance. It consists of sub-fractions, various components including cellulose, lignin and pectins and although it contains no calories and it’s not digestible, it passes through the digestive tract completely unscathed, getting enough of the stuff in your diet on a daily basis is a major key to good health.

One of the most important benefits of getting a daily dose of fiber is detoxification. In fact, inert as it may be, of all the important nutrients the human body needs, none has more purifying properties than fiber.

When looked at under a microscope fiber reveals itself to be composed of numerous, tiny net like molecular structures that act to trap poisons in a spider web-like fashion. Once toxins are trapped, the fiber plus the trapped poison is eliminated through the large intestine.

Fiber also helps support the excretion of toxic, sludgy bile. After it’s produced in the liver, bile passes through the digestive system where it picks up waste materials such as used hormones, old, dead cells, food toxins, bacteria and medications and then heads for a return trip to the liver. From there, bile recirculates around the digestive tract and picks up more toxins and wastes. Like the oil in your car’s engine, eventually bile can get goopy and thick with waste materials. Under ordinary circumstances some of this sticky biliary muck is supposed to be excreted through the large intestine thereby helping maintain the cleansing properties and fluidity of the remaining bile.

Fiber, as it passes through the digestive tract, large intestine and exits the body adheres to old bile and thereby assists in the excretion of the toxin fluid substance. The net result is cleaner biliary fluid and more effective detoxification. This cleansing, bile assisting property of fiber can be especially important for anyone dealing with hormonal issues, impaired liver functioning or general toxicity. If you’re one of the many millions of Americans without a gall bladder, making sure you’re getting a daily dose of fiber can be an important strategy for offsetting the digestive impairment associated with removal of this critical structure.

Finally fermentation, the breakdown of dietary fiber by gut bacteria produces important and helpful biochemicals. The cecum, the entrance to the large intestine contains vast colonies of probiotic bacteria that breakdown fiber material and produces something called short chain fatty acids (CSFAs). The SCFAs function as a source of fuel for the cells of the intestine providing yet another mechanism for fiber to promote digestive wellness.

There are two kinds of dietary fiber and they’re both important. Soluble fiber (SF) dissolves in water while the second kind of fiber, insoluble fiber (IF) does not. Most foods will contain both forms although usually one type will predominate. Soluble fiber is found in soft and squishy fruits and vegetables such apples, pears, peaches and pumpkin. Beans and legumes are especially good sources of SF. Insoluble fiber predominates in nuts and seeds and whole grains. A regular dose of non- GMO popcorn is a great way to get a dose of insoluble fiber.

According to a May, 2012 study that was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Diet, the Americans average fiber intake is around 15-20 grams a day. Yet according to The Institute of Medicine, children and adults need to be consuming nearly twice that much. Given this humble, yet essential nutrient’s importance for detoxification and bile cleansing and elimination, could it be that low fiber intake is behind the US of A’s well-documented degenerative health crisis?

The easiest way to get soluble fiber is to eat more veggies. Veggie soups are good too. If you’re juicing, the soluble fiber will come out in the liquid (because it’s soluble). Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, won’t and is typically lost in most juicers. Making a daily veggie juice in a Vitamix or similar high powered, which grind insoluble fiber up rather than extruding it like an ordinary juicer is an effective way to make sure you’re getting enough IF. I like grinding seeds in a coffee grinder and then putting the ground powder (which contains not only fiber but also protein, minerals vitamin and essential fats) in smoothies, yogurt and salads. You can also bake with insoluble fiber and although you may lose some of the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients, you won’t be losing the detox and digestive benefits.

Did you know: Starting off meals with 1 or 2 cups of streamed veggies or heaping teaspoonfuls of soluble fiber powder (I like Garden of Life) can put a dramatic dent in your appetite. You’ll find yourself feeling fuller faster, eating a lot less and losing weight easily.

Jun

2013

Most Notorious of Statin Induced Symptoms

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans taking a statin drug you should know that yet another study was released yesterday, this one published online in the venerable Journal of the American Medical Association, implicating these best-selling billion-dollar babies in the development of muscle weakness and pain.

By Ed Yourdon (Flickr: Jogging couple) via Wikimedia Commons

Apparently, according to the study, which analyzed data gleaned from the health records of San Antonio-based beneficiaries (i.e. victims) of the U.S military health care system, statin drug use is associated with an “increased likelihood of diagnosis of musculoskeletal conditions”. In English, that means that if you’re on statins your likely to mess up your muscles.

Now if anyone is surprised by this kind of finding which mimics the results found many other studies and corroborates the information on the drug company own insert that’s included in all statin drug packages, they’re clearly not paying attention to biochemistry, medicinal mechanisms or for that matter the news. Even mainstream media outlets like Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/statins-linked-to-muscle-pain-sprains/ and CNN http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/statin-side-effects/MY00205.html have weighed in on this most notorious of statin induced symptoms. At this point, a quarter century after their release on an unsuspecting and unfortunately sometimes gullible public, no medical practioner worth his salt can plead ignorance to the muscle pain and weakness that is clearly associated with long-term statin use.

Now when most of us think of muscles we tend to think of biceps, triceps, quadriceps and other body structures connected to the skeleton, i.e. what is generally referred to as the musculoskeletal system. What is often forgotten however, is the fact that that one of the largest, strongest and certainly the most important muscles in the body is … the heart!

How ironic that a drug that is a supposed to be used to protect against cardiovascular disease boasts as a primary side effect toxicity to the heart, the very organ the poison (medicine) is supposed be treating! What’s even worse, last month in an article published on the website Medical New Today, researchers from the British Medical Journal reported on evidence that statin use can increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. And the most notable system affected by this serious life-threatening disease? You guessed it, the heart. Again the supposed structure that statin drugs are supposed to be supporting.

Look, it’s not complicated: the human body cannot function in a healthy fashion unless it can make cholesterol and a lot of it. This important raw material for hormones and cells is arguably the most critical chemical in the body and the molecule that singularly distinguishes animal life from plant life. Put another way, cholesterol is the quintessential molecule of animal life. If you mess around with the body’s ability to make this stuff you are playing with fire and the longer you poison cholesterol manufacturing bio-machinery the more likely you are going to be to be dealing with toxicity and side effects.

If you’re concerned about cardiovascular disease or if you’ve had a heart attack and want to prevent another one there are numerous non-toxic, non-pharmaceutical strategies that you can use to keep yourself out of the cardiologist’s office and out from under his knife. Magnesium Glycinate, Essential Fatty Acids, Taurine, Arginine and Sulfur (MSM) are just a few gentle, benign and multi-functional nutritional supplements that you can use to keep heart healthy and strong. And Niacin is a great supplement that can reduce cholesterol production just as effectively as any statin drug without the side effects. Perhaps the most important cardiovascular health strategy is to stay away from insulin spiking foods. Excess ingestion bread, pasta cereal, cakes candies fruits and fruit juices and many other mainstays of the Standard American Diet (SAD) are a sure fire way to mess up your heart and circulatory system. Staying off of these foods is way better heart-healthy strategy than taking a poison anti- cholesterol drug. You won’t have to worry about side effects and you’ll lose weight too. You’re likely to lower your blood pressure and increase your longevity to boot. And unlike the deadly drugs dispensed by your doctor you’ll actually drop your risk diabetes.

Jun

2013

Youngevity’s Beyond Tangy Tangerine

I’ve been designing consumer chemistry products for over a long time. I’ve developed oven cleaners, paint, paint removers, toothpaste, shampoos, skincare products and a whole bunch of nutritional products; hundreds of different products in all. I’m making this point because I want you to know that I know a good formulation when I see one and Youngevity’s Beyond Tangy Tangerine (BTT) is not just a good formulation, in my opinion it’s a great one!

Beyond Tangy Tangerine is a powder that you add to water and drink. Although most folks tend to underestimate the therapeutic advantages of fluids over solid medicines, pharmacists don’t. Because we are steeped in the importance of absorption and dosages forms, we know it’s not only the medicine that counts it’s how much is medicine absorbed and used. That’s why in pharmacy school students are trained to understand the singular and unique effectiveness of the liquid format.

This potability affords the Beyond Tangy Tangerine numerous important benefits that you don’t get with ordinary capsules and tablets.

For example, because the BTT nutrients are in solution, there’s no need for dissolution, i.e. the dissolving of nutrients by the action of digestive secretions. The liquid format also allows for rapid absorption form the stomach and intestines. Rapid absorption means quick action.

This bypassing of the digestive mechanics makes liquid nutrition ideal for patients and clients who have some kind of impairment of digestive secretions i.e. acid and enzymes.

When you swallow a capsule or a tablet, that capsule or a tablet has to be processed before it can be used. That means digestive chemicals and juices such must be secreted for said tablet or capsule be disintegrated and dissolved and for the included nutrients to be released. If you’re not making enough of these digestive juices and many Americans aren’t you can quite literally be flushing your pills down the toilet.

The facility with which the nutrients in the BTT enter into the blood can also be important for folks dealing with inflamed or irritated or otherwise broken down digestive lining.

What’s more important, if you’re dealing with celiac disease, Crohn’s Disease, IBS, or ulcerative colitis you are at especially high risk for nutritional deficiencies as absorption through the intestinal wall may be compromised. High concentrations of liquid nutrients can be used to “drive” vitamins and minerals and accessory nutrients through a damaged digestive lining.

The liquid format of the Beyond Tangy Tangerine also allows for formulation of a super concentrated nutritional supplement. There are over 100 different nutritional components in a scoop of BTT; it would impossible to deliver this kind of this kind of nutritional density in a tablet tor capsule. And if you have problems swallowing a pill, once again the liquid nature of the BTT makes dosing yourself with nutrition much easier to accomplish than with the more traditional capsules and tablets.

There’s yet another advantage to the powder/liquid nature of the BTT: flexibility. Because the powdered nutrients can be dissolved into liquids in a literally infinite variety of concentrations, dosages can be tailored to both need and taste. You need more concentrated dose of nutrition? No problem, just add a bit more powder. Your BTT tastes too strong? Again, no problem, just use a little less. Sometimes I’ll just put a half teaspoonful in a glass of water when a need quick pick-me- up. This kind of flexible dosing once again gives the Beyond Tangy Tangerine an ease and convenience that is impossible to achieve with tablets and capsules.

The liquid format of the BTT also allows for what is in essence a sustained release of nutrients. In other words, you can sip on the stuff. In fact you should sip on the stuff! Delivering the nutrients in the Beyond Tangy Tangerine to the body slowly gives you several important benefits. First of all, slow delivery means slow excretion. That means more time for the body to absorb the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. In the world of nutrition what we don’t use we lose. An overly rapid delivery of nutrition to the body will inevitably result in overly rapid excretion. Even if the digestive tract and system are healthy, this means that much of the nutritional benefit of the BTT vitamins and minerals and accessory nutrients will be lost. That can be unfortunate. But, if the digestive tract is not healthy, swallowing down your BTT to quickly can lead to even more distressing results. Rapidly delivered nutrients will not only be lost via excretion, but even worse, they will tend to attract water as the body attempts to excrete the unabsorbed material. This can cause loose stools and diarrhea. If you use your BTT and find yourself running to the bathroom, for an evacuative emergency, chances are you’re dealing with impaired nutrient absorption. By sipping slowly and using a less concentrated dose you’ll be assuring a more complete absorption of the BTT and preventing the distressing diarrhea that can be caused by malabsorbtion and disturbed digestive chemistry.

Would you like to try some? You can get Beyond Tangy Tangerine at the Youngevity Shop.

Jun

2013

Dermatitis, Psoriasis, Eczema and Rosacea

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema and rosacea are all the signs of potential invasion into the body through the digestive system. And considering the Standard American Diet which is filled with potential food enemies like dairy, grains, refined, processed and chemical laden Franken-food, this should come as no surprise.

By James Heilman, MD via Wikimedia Commons

It seems counterintuitive to regard skin symptomology as the manifestation of internal or systemic conditions. It just makes sense to think that if we have s boil or a cyst or a rash or a zit, why of course we have a skin problem. This confusion arises as an understandable result of the obliviousness with which most of us regard the “underneath”, the area below the visible skin that is not only intimately integrated with the internal environment of the body, but even more importantly, that is threaded with tributaries through which inflammatory chemicals and immune cells are constantly streaming. When the internal defenses of the body have been breached and allergens or toxins, which are perceived as an enemy and as a threat enter into the blood, they can understandably initiate a defensive response. This response can show up anywhere there is blood and often the circulatory stream beneath the skin is one such affected area. When this happens, the swelling, out of control or chaotic skin cell growth, itching and redness associated with cutaneous pathologies can result.

If you’re dealing with rashes or itching or psoriatic plaques or eczematic symptoms, as always focus on the digestive system first. Look for gastro-intestinal related issues like bloating, gas, heartburn, loose stools, constipation etc. and link them to foods. Eliminating digestive problems can go a long way toward helping eliminate skin conditions too. Use digestive support supplements like digestive enzyme (with bile salts) and apple cider vinegar. Probiotics can be especially helpful and on their own have been known to eliminate many skin conditions. And Omega 3 fats can have a tremendous impact on all inflammatory and immune heath challenges. Your best bet is to take both flax seed oil cod liver oil to make sure your covering all your Omega-3 bases. The Omega-6 EFA derivative known as gamma linoleic acid can be helpful too. Evening primrose and borage oil are your best sources of GLA.

Jun

2013

The Problem with High Fructose Corn Syrup

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

The next time you see that commercial where the two people are trying to figure why high fructose corn syrup is problematic, here’s somethings YOU can think about…

Table sugar is made up robust chemical bond that connects fructose and glucose; it’s a natural product with a natural bonding that makes it very strong. High fructose corn syrup, which is made up of an artificially processed combination of fructose and glucose has no such chemical constituency. The two sugars aren’t bonded. And that means it’s is fructose is free and easily absorbed by liver which doesn’t really know how to handle kind of fructose load. The net result is a too horrible words that when it comes to your health and longevity that you don’t want to hear together “fatty liver”.

High fructose sweeteners have another unpleasant quality. While all sugars can make you fat, fructose-fat may be specific for the belly. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers showed that volunteers who consumed fructose sweetened beverages experienced significantly higher accumulations of fat within the abdomen even though they and their glucose drinking experimental colleagues gained the same amount of total weight.

Got gout? Well, it turns out one of the ways the the liver handles all that excess fructose ends up creating the uric acid crystals that wreak so much havoc in millions of big toes around the country. And uric acid doesn’t just cause the grief of gout. It associated with high blood pressure and kidney disease too.

And if that’s not enough, there’s recent literature that suggests that even though fructose doesn’t raise insulin, it may increase insulin resistance. In article published earlier this year in Diabetes Care, fructose consumers were more likely to have depotentized insulin than glucose consumers.

Perhaps the worst thing about high fructose corn syrup is a particularly distressing feature it shares in common with most common sweeteners, artificial and “natural”. They make you want to eat more. In the book ‘Salt Sugar Fat” by Michael Moss, there’s an interesting and revealing vignette about how surprised researchers were to discover that sweetened beverages more hungry not less. And now it turns out that fructose may be particularly culpable. Two papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007 showed that pure glucose decreases food intake while fructose had the opposite effect fructose increased it .