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

Mental Flexibility, Health & Happiness

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

An oversplit by former Olympic gymnast Irina Tchachina

Understanding that we don’t live in the world, but rather we live in our world is one of the keys to well-being. If we are not aware of the neurophysiological processes of meaning-making and perception, it is easy to make the critical error of assuming that the way we perceive “it” is the way “it” is. We can never know, as first pointed out by Immanuel Kant in the 18th century, the way “it” is.

We are marooned on an island of meaning, our own meaning and the best we can hope for is to understand this built-in facet of the human experience and operate accordingly. This means: don’t assume that you know the truth about anything. Always be prepared to maintain flexibility. That is flexibility of mind-set. In fact, perhaps the most important markers of mental health and happiness is the ability to absorb and integrate new information and allow the mental nature to morph in response.

Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher. He is a central figure of modern philosophy. He argued that human perception structures natural laws, and that reason is the source of morality. His thought continues to hold a major influence in contemporary thought, especially in fields such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics.

Kant’s major work, the Critique of Pure Reason (Kritik der reinen Vernunft, 1781), aimed to bring reason together with experience and to move beyond what he took to be failures of traditional philosophy and metaphysics. He hoped to end an age of speculation where objects outside experience were seen to support what he saw as futile theories, while opposing the skepticism of thinkers such as Hume.

He stated:

It always remains a scandal of philosophy and universal human reason that the existence of things outside us … should have to be assumed merely on faith, and that if it occurs to anyone to doubt it, we should be unable to answer him with a satisfactory proof.

Kant proposed a “Copernican Revolution-in-reverse”, saying that:

Up to now it has been assumed that all our cognition must conform to the objects; but … let us once try whether we do not get farther with the problems of metaphysics by assuming that the objects must conform to our cognition.

[Wikipedia]

May

2013

N-Acetyl Cysteine Protects Your Liver

One of my all-time favorite nutritional supplements is N-acetyl cysteine, known to most simply as NAC (pronounced: “knack”). Not only is a NAC a building block of the body’s most important detox molecule, glutathione, but it is also a very special and important detox and even medicinal molecule on its own. It’s a prescription drug called Mucomyst which is used by victims of cystic fibrosis to help clear out thick sticky mucoid secretion which clog unfortunate CF patient’s lungs and organs. It can also improve lung function folks who are dealing bronchitis or emphysema or tuberculosis. And, it’s available in intravenous form as a medication called “Acetadote” which is used as an antidote Tylenol liver poisoning. According to an article published in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, Tylenol or acetaminophen (which is the generic name for Tylenol) poisoning is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, with nearly half of acetaminophen poisoning cases due to unintentional overdose. Even if you’re not dealing with acute, full blown liver poisoning taking a couple hundred milligrams a day of NAC might not be a bad idea if you’re taking Tylenol on a regular basis.

NAC is used in the food industry to protect butter and other fatty foods from going rancid. It seems to be especially protective against oxidation of fats. If you’re dealing with osteoporosis, NAC can protect bone making cells from oxidation. It can be helpful for folks dealing with kidney disease. In article published in the American journal of physiology in 1997, researchers concluded that NAC can reduce the impact of ischemic renal failure. Other researchers are exploring the use of NAC for chronic cystinosis, which is an accumulation of crystals in the kidney as well as the eye and the lymph nodes. And there are currently studies aiming to find out if NAC can be used to treat coon inflammation. Keep in mind now, all of these potential uses for NAC are independent of NAC’s important and most well-known role as a building block for the glutathione tripeptide molecule.

One of my favorite uses for NAC, which is truly a versatile detox supplement, is in a topical form to alleviate some of the toxicity associated with the acne medicine Benzoyl peroxide. There’s not a lot of topical medications for acne, you pretty much count all the approved topical acne meds on one hand and Benzoyl peroxide is pretty much the only medication for acne that you’re going to find in a drug store. It’s a rare acne sufferer who has not used Benzoyl peroxide containing products at least once, and most people who have acne are using it on a daily basis. It’s the stuff in proactive, most Neutrogena acne products and pretty much all Clearasil acne products too. The problem with Benzoyl peroxide is its somewhat extreme toxicity. The FDA regulate the amount of BPO (as Benzoyl peroxide is referred to), so theoretically at least, toxicity should not be a problem. The maximum percentage you can get of BPO is 5 per cent or 10 percent if you have a prescription and toxicity with includes tumors and cancer has only been shown to occur at high levels say, at 50 percent or higher concentrations, but do you really want to use any percentage of a known tumor causing agent. If you are using Benzoyl peroxide washes or creams you should now that you can protect yourself number one by supporting glutathione using the building blocks; glutathione is an important skin cell protector. But you should also know that you can use NAC on its own to protect yourself from Benzoyl peroxide toxicity. You can even use NAC to protect yourself from the irritation that Benzoyl peroxide can cause. Simply dump the contents of a 500mg NAC capsule into your favorite skin care cream, mix it in real well so it’s completely dissolved, and apply it to your face after you use your BPO. If you add some Vitamin E, you can stick a pin in a Vitamin E capsule and add the oil to your cream along with the NAC, you can even better anti-irritant effects. Of course taking NAC orally and Vitamin E for that matter can also help your body fight off some of the toxicity associated with Benzoyl peroxide. And because acne may be related to deficiencies in glutathione, taking NAC as a supplement may clear up your skin enough so that you won’t even need your Benzoyl peroxide products in the first place.

And that’s not the only topical benefits you can get form NAC. It turns out folks who have psoriasis may get at least some symptomatic relief form topical application of NAC. According to an article published in The Lancet in 1999 a 10 percent N-acetyl cream was shown to slow down the hyper growth of skin cells. Although this study was not done directly on psoriasis patients, given the non-toxic and gentle and healthy benefits associated with NAC it might be worth a try. One thing to keep in mind if you are going to make use of NAC cream for acne or psoriasis or simply as an anti-oxidant (which might not be a bad idea, given the numerous benefits associated with this interesting nutritional substance) you have to make sure to use it fresh. NAC breaks down pretty quickly and if you add it to your favorite lotion or cream and let it sit for more than10 or 15 minute, the sulfur component of NAC will be released and it can destroy the structure of your product, and it’ll probably give off a pretty stinky sulfur smell too.

You can support and improve the effects of taking NAC if you use it with selenium and alpha lipoic acid. A good daily dose of these three musketeers of detox is 500mg of NAC, 400micrograms of a chelated selenium and 400mg of alpha lipoic acid. Taking these nutrients with 100mg of Vitamin C (1000mg) and 400 i.e. of Vitamin E, (as mixed tocopherols) can provide even more detoxification and protective benefits.

Bet you didn’t know:
NAC’s important liver detox role makes it an important anti hangover alcohol clearing supplement. Take 500mg to 1000mg before you go out drinking and another 500mg when you get home and may another 500mg the next morning. Drink lots of waste and use the B-complex with each dose and you can eliminate or at least dramatically reduce the headaches and yucky feelings associated with alcohol overdose and toxicity.

Glutathione is a three part molecule made up of the amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine. In addition to getting cysteine from NAC, for maximizing glutathione production make sure you’re getting a teaspoonful of glutamine powder every day and using gelatin capsules, whey protein bone soup to get your glycine.

According to the folks at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NAC has benefits for reducing the symptoms of HIV/AIDS and cancer the toxicity associated with chemo- and radiotherapy.

NOW Foods N-Acetyl Cysteine

N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is a stable form of the non- essential amino acid L-Cysteine. A sulfur-containing amino acid that acts as a stabilizer for the formation of protein structures, also necessary for the formation of Glutathione.

Molybdenum & Selenium are essential trace minerals that facilitate the production of several important enzymes.

NOW Foods Nac-Acetyl Cysteine 600mg, 250 Vcaps

May

2013

Enterocytes Love Glutamine!

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Glutamine is one of the most important supplements you can take for digestive problems. While it plays a significant role in the functioning of the entire digestive system from mouth to anus, it is especially important for the “enterocytes” which are cells of the small intestine. Enterocytes use glutamine as a preferred fuel for producing the large quantities of energy they require for food absorption.

Glutamine supplementation has a well-deserved reputation for helping heal small intestinal health issues. In 1990, research published in the Archives of Surgery showed that oral glutamine accelerated the healing of the small intestine after abdominal stress. Anyone suffering for Crohn’s or Irritable Bowel disease would be well-advised to begin supplementing with at least 1 or 2 grams of glutamine daily.

Enterocytes, or intestinal absorptive cells, are simple columnar epithelial cells found in the small intestines and colon. A glycocalyx surface coat contains digestive enzymes. Microvilli on the apical surface increase surface area for the digestion and transport of molecules from the intestinal lumen. The cells also have a secretory role. [Wikipedia]

May

2013

Inflammation is Immune System Manifestation

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

One of the latest red herring boogie men of the medical world is inflammation, which many doctors will tell you is the cause of accelerated aging and disease.

Well, of course inflammation is related to all illness including cancer and diabetes and digestive distress and adrenal ailment and every other symptom known to man. Inflammation is immune system manifestation. It’s the way immune system activation shows up. And inflammation completely changes the health milieu of the body’s chemistry. Disease cannot help but result. The biggest shock is how long it sometimes takes.

Inflammation/immunity typically means one thing and that is that there is a breach in the body’s defenses. Historically battles sites would forts or city walls. The objective of an enemy invader was to breach the fort or the walls. And typically the site of the battle, at the direct juncture or connection between the enemy invader and the city wall would be a horrific scene. There’d be all kinds of dead bodies and blood and guts and body parts. If the battle had been raging for days or weeks eventually there would be all kinds of rotting and putrefying flesh. The smell would be hideous. Can you imagine the horror?

Now, in your imagination, take our walls and cities and dead bodies and replace them with your digestive wall and the rest of the body and dead, rotting cells and pus. You see where I’m going here folks. Of course symptomology will result. Blood sugar changes would be inevitable. Pancreatic and Liver function challenges likewise cannot help but result. And from there it’s a short hop to the adrenal glands which must provide emergency energy to fuel the chronic distress response. And then? Everything from diabetes to heart disease to depression, mental fog and emotional disorders. Everything, really, including the Emperor of All Maladies, cancer, which is the title of a new book on the subject. The study which focused ON INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE AND WAS published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences didn’t really reveal anything that hadn’t previously been suspected although it did highlight a specific molecular mechanism, connecting inflammatory chemistry to tumors. My point is who cares about the specifics of the molecular mechanism. You see, that what scientists do when they perform these investigations. They look for specific molecular markers so they can create drugs that manipulate the specific molecules. That’s the wrong approach. It creates the illusion, that whatever you’re doing you can keep on doing and we can sell you a drug at a ridiculous cost – and keep in mind the cost of these drugs both creating them and selling is borne by everybody in the form of higher insurance costs and other ways too- keep in mind if a patient is interacting with an inflammatory trigger and then takes a drug that masks the symptoms, but doesn’t do anything for the inflammation, we, all pay for that patient!

There is no need folks to find the specific molecule, we just need to do simple things, maybe not easy, but simple! Stop activating the immune/inflammation system. And where is the largest percentage of immune attack’? The digestive system. What we’re talking about here folks is the digestive link to all disease. Yes its inflammation and there is no disease that can possibly occur without inflammation. But the inflammation is not the problem. It is a sign of the problem It is secondary to the problem. And what’s more significant it is the body’s way of healing and resolving the problem. The inflammatory process should never be suppressed except as a last resort. There’s a reason why drugs like Vioxx and prednisone and even Motrin are associate d with significant side effect and toxicities including death. The inflammation is not the problem, and more studies that highlight specific molecules that are related to the inflammatory process aren’t needed to take care of the problem. All we need to do is begin to incorporate lifestyle changes. I talked to a good friend of mine yesterday. He’s a diabetic and has a history of kidney problems. Now keep in mind diabetics’ often have problems with their kidneys and have to take special care of these important organs. Blood sugar explosions, remember we talked about glycation in the past and how small blood vessels are especially prone to damage. Well the kidneys are made up of tiny blood vessels that are easily damaged by high blood sugar and my friend has all the signs of kidney problems. When I told him that he better thinking about changing his diet, well let’s just say that didn’t go over so well. But that’s really the choice we’re left with folks. Whether it’s diabetes or kidney disease or inflammation of any kind. The medical model that targets this molecule or that enzyme flat out doesn’t work. That’s why I say ambulatory medicine is an abject failure. The responsibility for health and wellness is not the doctors or the drugs companies. It’s ours.

So what’s the solution? Eat your veggies, among other strategies, and eat more protein, essential fatty acids and get yourself on a well-rounded supplement program that feature digestive support and blood sugar control. And, don’t forget to breathe deeply in for oxygen and to move lymph and exhale deeply out to move out acid and toxins. Is it simple? Very! Is it easy? Maybe not so but definitely worth it.

May

2013

“Obesity Gene” a Ploy of Big Pharma

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Some time ago, scientists from King’s College in London proudly proclaimed success at finding an obesity-causing gene. It’s linked to diabetes and functions as a “master switch” in controlling other genes that are involved in obesity and obesity related disease. While some may feel like congratulations are in order, others, including myself, are taking the approach that the obesity epidemic that is currently raging across the planet (100 million obese or overweight in America and 500 million worldwide) would be more appropriately treated as a biochemical breakdown due to poor lifestyle choices than as a genetic malady.

It can be instructive to recall that research requires funding and drug companies are always on the lookout for data that can support and lead to profitable pharmaceutical treatments. Scientific manipulation of DNA can provide a cornucopia of potential drug treatments and pharmaceutical companies love research that studies the genetic links to disease. Even in today’s unfavorable economic climate, there are lots of dollars available to researchers who are willing to participate in the genetics-causes-disease hypothesis.

Clearly, weight and obesity issues are significant health problems. However, while obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10% of medical spending in the United States, what are needed are not more pharmaceutical remedies. For most people, weight loss can be easily and simply accomplished through effective nutritional strategies.

The most important of these involves taking advantage of the glycemic index (GI), which measures how much carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels. Foods with a high GI value cause a surge of the hormone insulin and this is one of the most significant causes of weight gain issues. The so-called fat-insulin axis has been regarded as a key component of the body’s obesity-inducing mechanism for over a decade. In fact, it is now recognized that fat tissue actually secretes hormones that have an impact sugar metabolism.

Nutritional supplements that improve blood sugar control can and should also be included in a nutritional weight loss-based program. Chromium and vanadium are two such mineral supplements.

Chromium is a component of the glucose tolerance factor, which is a dietary agent that is involved in sugar control. Taking 200 mcg with every meal is probably a good idea.

Vanadium is an insulin-supporting mineral. Some research suggests it may even act to replace insulin in some cells. There is a a lot of research currently being conducted on vanadium’s use as a blood sugar control agent. I’d suggest at least 200-400 mcg a day.

The B-complex of vitamins, especially thiamin and niacin, play an important role in sugar metabolism. You can take as much of these as you want and err on the side of extra. The B’s are non-toxic and because of their important role in helping the body process all food material including sugars, you want to take these around mealtime.

Magnesium, the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body, helps improve blood sugar control. Take at least 1000 mg a day. The mineral zinc is involved in several hundred chemical reactions in the body. Some of these involve sugar control and 50 mg a day is a standard daily dose.

The genetic connection to disease is a red herring that serves to distract us from the real issues confronting us in the fattening of America (the title of an interesting book by health economist Eric Finkelstein). As always, good nutritional behaviors should be the first place we look to improve our health.

The obesity crisis we’re confronting can be corrected without genetics, medicine or academic posturing. It’s simply a question of the lifestyle choices we make. The correct application of dietary and nutritional strategies are a healthy, non-medical route to blood sugar control, and weight loss that can play an important non-pharmaceutical role in alleviating the obesity epidemic.