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

May

2013

Zinc’s Powerful Hormone Balancing

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

We’ve discussed all the ways zinc and the lack of it can affect the body: skin health, bone, health and immunity are just some ways this essential nutrient can impact health. taking a daily 50mg dose of Zinc can prevent colds, eliminate acne and improve eczema. Zinc’s powerful hormone balancing properties can help improve prostate health and prevent male pattern baldness. All in all, for hundreds of different biochemical reactions, this stuff is amazing!

This is what I mean when I talk about the importance of nutrition supplementation. Think about the leverage here: one little pill with 50mg of Zinc in it (about the amount of zinc that would fit on the head of a pin) can control and stabilize and spark several hundred chemical processes in the body. Now that is some serious clout! And the most incredible part how little 50mg
of Zinc costs. What would you expect to pay for a (magic) pill that could keep hair on your head, cure your acne, strengthen your bones, build your immunity, enhance your digestion, strengthen your heart and make you think better?

And, with no down side when taken as directed. Would you expect to pay 100 dollars for a month supply? It would be worth it! In fact, for all those benefits, 100 dollars would be an incredible bargain. Well, surprise, surprise! A 30 day supply at a health food store will typically cost less than 5 bucks!

You can tell if you’re deficient in zinc by doing the “Zinc Taste Test”. You can use a solution of zinc sulfate and water (available online) or you can place a zinc sulfate tablet on your tongue. If you are not instantly repelled by a strong metallic taste chances are pretty good that you’re suffering from a lack of zinc.

The best way to get zinc is supplementally in the picolinate and monomethionine forms. These are available in most health food stores, but they are harder to find at drug stores where the typical forms available are zinc gluconate and zinc sulfate. The bioavailability of these cheaper zinc varieties is less than satisfactory and many people find that they can cause nausea or other digestive distress. A good daily dose is 50mg a day. Interestingly the signs of zinc deficiency (such as acne, hair loss, frequent colds and flues) can be duplicated by taking too much zinc (100mg a day or more). It’s also important to note than there is an antagonistic relationship between zinc and copper and it’s probably a good idea to take 2 mg of copper with every 50mg of zinc.

Look for chelate or glycinate forms of copper which are easily handled by the body. For those of you who want to try to obtain zinc through diet, in addition to the aforementioned oysters and the Rocky Mountain variety, the best sources include liver, lamb, venison, and seseme and pumpkin seeds. However, it should be noted than even the highest zinc concentration foods provide 10mg or so per serving.

SUMMARY:
– Zinc deficiency is relatively common.
– It’s important for hundreds of different biochemical systems to work effectively
– Deficiencies can show up in dozens of different ways including depressed immunity, bone problems, skin rashes and acne, digestive distress and hormone issues.

May

2013

Electricity is a Dieter’s Best-friend!

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Living systems are electricity-generating at every level, from the atomic to the organismic. The brilliant Noble-prize winning biophysicist Albert Szent-Gyorgi, who is most recognized for his discovery of Vitamin C said: “…life is driven by nothing else but electrons (electricity) and by the energy given off by these electrons.”.

In terms of our human bodies, we are bioelectrical systems that depend on the generation and and conduction of electrical charges to operate effectively. This energy is at least partially carried via special atoms and molecules called “buffers” and “electrolytes”. There are 3 parts to our biological electrical system. There are alkaline substances like minerals (e.g. potassium, calcium, magnesium) and bicarbonate that function to suck up and carry electrical energy. These are said to be positively charged. Acid substances like fatty acids, ascorbic acid or amino acids spew out or contribute electrical energy. These are said to be negatively charged. And then there is the fluid medium (blood and lymph) that mixes everything together so the electricity can be conducted.

This relationship between electrolytes, vitamins and other nutritional components in combination with liquids is one of the easiest biochemical phenomena that we can take advantage of for our nutrition and good health. Because all living systems contain electrolytes and buffers we can soak fresh fruits and veggies and eventually the energy conducting compounds will gradually leach out, turning plain old water into a highly electro-conductive beverage packed with potassium, magnesium and calcium and chloride and vitamins among other substances. It will amp up the body’s electrical energy, without contributing a caloric load or stressing the digestive system. You’ll feel a sense of vitality and vigor without the drowsiness that can follow normal dining. That’s why lemon water is a dieter’s best friend! The same is true about cucumber water, strawberry water, blueberry water or even fresh veggie soup. Just throw your fruits and veggies sliced up (make sure you leave the peels!) into a pitcher of water and let it sit for a few hours. You will have a tasty, electrical drink that functions as a source of trace nutrients and electricity-carrying substances. Drink up, you will find it energizing, and stimulating in a smooth, healthy and non-caffeine-like fashion. It’s zero-calorie, satisfying nature makes it ideal for dieters too!

May

2013

Phospho-lipid Phun!

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Cell membranes are largely composed of fats (along with some proteins). There are two main types of cell membrane fats, cholesterol and phospholipids. We’ll discuss cholesterol in a later post. For this article we will be addressing phospho-lipids.

Phospho-lipids are interesting chemical structure with a watery end which contains the mineral phosphorus (phospho-) and a fatty end (-lipid). Phospho-lipids help cell membranes maintain their integrity and structure. They also conduct electrical energy which helps the membrane maintain its battery-like charge. This electrical activity is important for the health and function of the internal cell environment. Nutrients enter in the cell in part via pores and channels on the membrane. The openings dilate or constrict at least partially in response to phospho-lipid generated electrical energy. They have a voltage-sensing property which allows them to open and close pores on cellular demand.

The electrical nature of phospho-lipids makes them especially important for brain and nerve cells (neurons), which are highly electrical in nature. Phospho-lipids are also important for skin health and play a particularly important role in maintaining skin softness and hydration.

Because phospho-lipids have a watery and fatty nature, they can help disperse dietary fats into digestive fluids. Bile is largely composed of phospholipids. The fats in cell membranes are protected from oxidation (rancidity) by phospho-lipids which bind the very active and oxidation-inducing metals iron and copper.

Because of the relationship of diseases to cell membrane health, taking advantage of phospho-lipid nutrition is an important step in the return to or the maintenance of health. While the body can make its own phospho-lipids, they do require the use of precious enzymes and energy so including them in the diet can be a helpful health strategy.

Also, if you have fat malabsorbtion, liver health issues or have had a gall bladder removed you may want to consider supplemental phospho-lipids to take advantage of their fat dispersing properties mentioned above. The same is true if you have neural problems such as Parkinson’s disease or cognitive issues such dementia, memory problems, or learning disorders. Up to 60% of the brain by weight is composed of phospho-lipids and similar compounds.

By far the best source of dietary phospho-lipids is eggs. Muscle and organ meats are good sources too as are wheat germ and peanuts. The fatty components of soy (not the protein) also contain phospho-lipids.

Supplemental phospho-lipids can also be obtained by using lecithin, either in its powder or liquid form. Taking 200 to 300 mg a day of choline and inostitol may also help improve the production of phospho-lipids.

May

2013

Energy System of the Body & Electricity

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

The energy system of the body depends on the generation and movement of electricity. , which must be delivered to cells in an efficient and orderly fashion. This energy movement is, at the end of the day, the cells life blood.

This movement can be likened to a train. In a later post we’ll take about the wheels and rails and engine of the train, but for now I want to address the train itself, the cars of our electrical energy train, which deliver the electricity. Each one of our cars carries a little piece of electricity called “electrons”. And where do these little pieces of electricity come from? Foods, i.e. carbohydrates (which include sugar and fat) and protein.

Because foods are the body’s main source of electrical energy, we want to eat foods that are electrically active, electron dense. And the electron dense foods are live foods, or foods that are close to alive as possible. Veggies, fruits, raw eggs, raw dairy can all are considered live or close to alive foods.

You can also electrify foods. Spin things in a vortex. A cumber and a Vitamix and salt can be super delicious and satisfying and if you throw in some Celtic Sea Salt, you can amp up the electrical energy even more and if you put a touch if oil even more so. If you like your veggies cooked, try mixing butter and oil on roasted or steamed (don’t overcook or overheat) broccoli, or Brussels sprouts or onions. After the veggies are roasted or steamed, add some Udo’s Oil, or butter with coconut oil. A good, fresh EFA rich oil carries with it lots electrons, this is what makes essential fatty acids such a spectacularly multi-functional food. And don’t forget to be generous with salt which conduct electrical energy. And spices can add some electron support as well as phytonutrient medicinal value.

What you’re doing is increasing electronic energy, electrons that are available for use. When you add essential fatty acid oil and spices and salt to lightly steamed veggies you are likewise supporting the electrical energy of the food. Cold-processed, fresh EFA-rich oils from flax and hempseed can provide delicious flavor and lots of electrical energy. And salt contain elements which act as efficient conductors of electrical energy.

And when you grind a vegetable in a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, you are freeing the electrons from the vegetables. And if you drink the juice quickly enough, ideally, super quickly like a tonic, you can notice some pretty instant effects, mostly in a sense of well-being. But you need to use these kinds of foods/drinks quickly. Those electrons that have been freed in the juicing process don’t sit around. If you let a veggie juice sit on your counter you can watch the electrical energy dissipate as the solid matter in the juice, solid matter that was hanging in the liquid vita electronic forces begins to settle as the electrons dissipates into the atmosphere. The electron dense nature of food renders them unstable. Only life can lock up electrical energy. That is really the definition of aliveness, a locking up a controlling of electrci9al energy’s and electrical forces. Once the life force has been cut off, as when you pick a plant or crack an egg, it tends to dissipate and that food becomes unusable.

That’s why good food is so hard to come by. Good food is alive and live food is not ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. Much like we’ve created a medical system that couldn’t be better designed to destroy our health; we’ve created a food commodity system that is equally destructive to human health and well- being. Corporate profits are maximized by selling dead food. Dead food is easier to ship and easier to store and has a long shelf life. 90 per cent of American calories come from food with long shelf lives. If you eat a food that has a long shelf life you will have a short shelf life.

Dead foods are foods that have been mummified. It’s like when The Egyptians wanted to make a dead body look as it did was alive they would stuff it full of chemicals. That’s how a TV dinner or American “cheese” works. These kinds of foods are, as much as possible, stripped of their electronic energy, chemically killed via processing then coated, embalmed really with chemicals tom make them look the way they did when they were alive.

May

2013

Eggs, Lecithin, Choline & TMAO

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Summary:
1) Gut bacteria can convert eggs and lecithin into chemicals that are associated with heart disease.
2) These chemicals are also produced by the body they have a long and proven reputation for NON toxicity and perform many vital functions especially for the heart.
3) While elevated blood levels of these substances are associated with heart disease, the body has very efficient mechanisms for clearing them out.
4) If your blood levels of this chemicals are elevated, don’t blame the foods which can very helpful, healthy and nutritionally valuable.
5) If your blood levels of these chemicals are elevated you probably are dealing with a digestive health issue or a detoxification issue and not a food issue.

Earlier this week a study was published in the New England Journal of Medline that has raised quite an internet ruckus. According to the article, gut bacteria can metabolize substances found in eggs like lecithin, and choline into precursor of something called TMAO which again supposedly is linked to heart disease. And now the mainstream media, as they tend to do, are making the leap to “eggs and lecithin consumption is associated with heart disease”.

The NEJM study follows fast on the heels of another study, this one released by the Cleveland Clinic that implicated carnitine, an amino acid found in red meat in the production of TMAO. As with the egg and lecithin study researchers as well as the media again the hastily linked the carnitine derived TMAO with heart disease.

Here’s the problem with drawing these types of conclusions. First of all, they leave out the important and relevant fact that these substances, (e.g. carnitine, lecithin, choline) that are supposedly so dangerous for the health of your heart in addition to being found in foods, ARE MADE BY YOUR BODY! And , researchers advocating abstinence seem to be unaware of the fact that there is voluminous literature published over the course of at least 50 years that lend credence to these biochemicals as not only being gentle and benign, but really being very, very important. They perform numerous vital functions in the body and are beneficial for overall health as well as cardiovascular health.

Is it conceivable, even likely that blood levels of chemicals like TMAO are increased by the ingestion of certain foods and perhaps supplements like choline and carnitine? Yes. And no one disputes the possibility, based on their chemistry, that when these chemicals build up in the blood, toxicity, especially heart toxicity, can result (remember however: possible does NOT mean proven!)

The link between the offending cardiotoxic chemical TMAO and eggs and lecithin and choline and meat are bacteria that live in our large intestine. The critters, generically referred to as “probiotics” feed on these types of foods and readily convert them into precursors which the body then metabolizes into TMAO precursors

Bacteria like fatty nutrients as much as we do! And bacteria produce waste materials as a function of their digestion of foods just like we do. Our gut bacteria eat the food we eat and then they poop! Bacteria poop! This makes all food is a potential problem. Eating and digesting can, even under normal healthy circumstances result in the production of these kinds of wastes. This is why we want to be careful about what and how we eat. But we do need to eat.

We have trillions of bacterial cells that live with us. And they are our friends! They make vitamins and purify our blood and help us digest our food. They make good fats for our digestive tract and the fight yeast and other bacteria and cancer. And, they need to eat too. And, they eat what we eat. In other words, anything we eat is likely to feed these little critters. And one of the things bacteria produce as a result processing and digesting eggs and other foods are TMAO precursors. They’re the bacterial version of feces. And like all waste, it’s not supposed to hanging around. That’s why the body has mechanisms for dealing with these types of chemicals. The liver has enzymes for processing it and most of it is eliminated very effectively through urine.

The bottom line is if blood levels of TMAO are elevated, eggs are not the issue. Nor is lecithin or choline or carnitine or any other vitamin or nutrient biochemical. The issue is bad blood chemistry following a breakdown in digestive tract health that leads to an accumulation of food derived WASTE; it’s not the fault of the food. If your metabolic and detoxification systems are whacked out and you are accumulating TMAO in the blood, solving the problem by avoiding eggs and lecithin and choline is simplistic and silly. These supposed bad guys like lecithin and eggs, are not only innocent bystanders, they are motherlodes of nutrients that make your heart strong and health. Substances like Vitamin A and D and Zinc, the b-complex, choline, essential fats and precious phospholipids. And meat carnitine is one of the most important, heart- strengthening amino acids you can ingest. Please, don’t blame these healthy foods. It’s not their fault. What we need to be doing instead of staying away from these powerful and important foods and supplements is fixing our guts, fixing our digestive systems.

Is elevated TMAO problematic? Perhaps. The chemistry is right for it. These kinds of chemicals are unstable and need to be eliminated from the body. That’s why you have a liver and that’s why you should be careful about how you eat. But this is a far cry from the claim that eggs or lecithin cause or are even associated with heart disease.