Glutamine

Jul

2019

Nutrients from Flaxseeds

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben
If you’re looking for a vegan protein powder, you might want to think about ground up flaxseeds. They contain up to 30 proteins, which works out to around 10 grams per 1 ounce scoop. Although they don’t have all the essential amino acids – they’re missing lysine which is important for connective tissue – they have a good amount of both arginine and glutamine, which are youth promoting and build amino acids.

At $2.00 or so a pound (and that’s for the organic type), the price is certainly right.

Flaxseeds are chock full of other nutrients, including Omega 3 fatty acids, thiamine, manganese, magnesium and potassium. They’re also good sources of selenium and zinc, important for prostate health and the health of the male reproductive system. Selenium and zinc also make flaxseeds the perfect anti-diabetic food. In my opinion, using flaxseed fiber after meals or even just once a day as a supplement can be a powerful way to keep blood sugar stable.

The flax is not just biochemically powerful, it also has a more mechanical value. It acts like a broom that can sweep out excess estrogen, and estrogen metabolites as well as other toxins, out of the intestine and the body. The fiber can further enhance detoxification by helping support bile and the health of the microbiome, all of which can support estrogen clearances. Flaxseeds are also a good way to get your Vitamin E, in both the tocopherol and tocotrienol forms which are the two major versions of this key essential nutrient. In fact, to some degree, all 8 forms of Vitamin E are found in flaxseeds.

All of these qualities make flax a true super food and pretty darn cheap one too!

But there’s more! Flaxseeds also contain lignans, a plant chemical which can very helpful for balancing out estrogen levels. Lignans are found in pretty much all plants, it’s what gives them their hardness and crunchiness. The crunchier and harder a plant material (think seeds) the more lignans they contain. If you’re eating fiber, you’re going to get lignans. However, while you can get lignans in various seeds and plant foods, the champion source is flaxseeds. Flaxseeds contain 7 times as many lignans as sesame seeds which is the next highest source, over 300 times as many as sunflower seeds, nearly 500 times as many as cashews, and over 3000 times as many as peanuts, which are all considered high lignan foods.

According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD), flaxseed can be effective for digestive ailments including constipation, diarrhea, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome , gastritis, enteritis, ulcerative colitis, and laxative-induced colon damage. The NMCD also cites that flax has also been utilized for the treatment of acne, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, obesity and weight loss, osteoporosis, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, HIV/AIDS, hemodialysis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and nephritis as other health challenges that may improve with a daily dose of flaxseed. Finally, flaxseed has also been used for depression, cystitis, malaria, upper respiratory tract infections as a cough suppressant and expectorant, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Feb

2014

Destroying Cancer Cells

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Cancer is a sign of a body, tissues and cells that have been abused for decades. And, because cancer cells are OUR very own cells (dysfunctional, delinquent, and perverted as they may be), anything that “kills” cancer cells is in essence suicide medicine that ultimately kills the very body it is supposedly healing! That’s why chemotherapy is such a miserable experience and is rarely effective. The idea of using supplements to address what is essentially a trashed out biological system (I don’t mean to be mean or graphic, but think putrid, fetid, stinky landfill) is naive and simplistic, and like trying to eliminate the horrific smell of a sewage dump with a stick of incense. And herbal formulas like Hoxsey, Essiac and Cantron (which bills itself as an “amazing bio-electrical wellness formulation”) etc., while generally non-toxic, are not much more effective.

Healthy cells become cancer cells as a survival mechanism in response to long-term deprivation of oxygen and energizing nutrients which leads to an inability to produce energy AND eliminate toxins. The net result is a starved, suffocated, and toxic cell and ultimately multiple cells, then tissues and organs. The hallmark signs of a cell gone cancerous, i.e. rapid chaotic growth/division and the greedy utilization of sugar and nutrients, represent a cell’s desperate attempt to survive under conditions of toxicity, nutrient deficiency and oxygen deprivation.

Because this process takes many years to develop, reversal while certainly possible (according to medical researcher Anthony Campbell www.acampbell.org.uk over 20 research articles on spontaneous remissions are available on Medline), for the most part effectively addressing the scourge of cancer requires converting the body’s biochemical environs to a state that is non-conducive to carcinogenesis. Thus, hawking herbs and supplements or dispensing medical poison to “cure” the condition by (supposedly) destroying cancer cells is ignorant at best and exploitative and predatory at worst. Not that there aren’t charlatans and hucksters everywhere who will be glad to exploit the sick, scared, desperate, innocent, and gullible by selling “magic” cancer-“killing” formulas. As always Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware)!

On the other hand, using supplements (especially intravenously), food/diet, oxygenation, and other health strategies are important for providing the body with what it needs to maintain its health, vigor, immunity and defense systems. This includes the use of vitamin C, glutathione-building NAC and glutamine, organic cold-processed whey protein, fermented foods, probiotics, and essential fats. Also, The Mighty 90 essential nutrients, fasting, CRON (Calorie Restriction Optimum Nutrition) Diet, laying off sugar and processed supermarket and restaurant foods are also advisable.

Bottom line: if you are dealing with cancer or any other degenerative state, rather than thinking of killing or curing, consider supplementing and making lifestyle choices (including spiritual, mental and emotional techniques) and doing what it takes to create a healthy body and biochemical environment in a manner that is no different than addressing the needs of a well body that is not confronted with a disease condition.

Oct

2013

Lupus is a Disease of the Immune System

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

Lupus is a non-tissue specific (it can show up in many parts of the body) autoimmune disease with broad based symptoms, the most common of which is a butterfly shaped pattern of redness that appears on the face. At one time physicians used to believe it was caused by a bite from a wolf (lupus is the Latin word for “wolf). Today doctors and other medical geniuses will tell you that there is no known cause, but I’m only a simple little pharmacist so I’m going to tell you that there is. Lupus is a disease of the immune system. It represents a characteristic immune system malfunction called autoimmunity, which simply means the body’s defensive chemistry turns on itself (auto = “self”). According to the Lupus Foundation website the symptoms of lupus “mysteriously” show up. They claim that they are “devoted to solving the mystery of lupus”. Oh really? Well, perhaps they should listen to The Bright Side where we talk about the real causes of lupus and other autoimmune diseases, which is quite obviously a jacked up and malfunctioning immune system. The only mystery is what exactly is it that is causing this hyperactive and misguided immune initiation.

Drawing of the typical “butterfly rash” found in lupus. By National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Ok, good question. What is it that causes a confused defensive response? That is, a defensive response that instead of focusing its wrath on an enemy instead turns its considerable biochemical firepower on the organism that it’s supposed to be defending. Well, in order to answer that question we have to understand where in the organism the immune system is located.
The vast majority of the immune system, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent, is located in a specialized tissue of the digestive tract. It’s technically called “Gastro Intestinal Lymphoid Tissue”, or GALT, and it’s responsible for initiating all immune responses to troublesome foods that pass through the digestive tube called the intestine. The most significant GALT response involves increasing the permeability of the digestive lining thereby allowing immune cells, which live in the blood, to have access to said troublesome food.

Unfortunately this permeability of the digestive lining is a two way street. In addition to allowing immune system cells to enter into the intestine from the blood, it unfortunately also permits food particles to enter into the blood from the intestine. Big problem!

Once food particles enter into the blood, a second defensive response is then initiated within the blood. And now we really have problems! The immune system is intelligent; it learns and “remembers”. Foods have a chemical constituency and the immune cells learn to respond to and can “remember” the specific chemical constituency of a food particle. Once the offending food structure is “remembered”, the immune system will become activated by ANY similar chemical structure. In other words, it will attack any substances with that same or a similar chemical constituency. Because chemical constituencies are consistent throughout nature and biology, there are many organs and systems in the body that “look” like foods that the immune system has learned to react to. The immune system will then react to those tissues too. If, for example, the immune system learns to react to a chemical structure in hamburger particles that have entered in to the blood AND those hamburger chemical structures are similar to patterns of chemicals in the skin, the immune cells can (cross-) react to the skin, in addition to hamburger. Thus will be born an autoimmune disease of the skin perhaps psoriasis or vitiligo or scleroderma. If you’re eating soy and a defensive response is triggered, the immune system can learn to respond that troublesome legume’s chemical makeup. Soy’s chemical structure may resemble the structure of the thyroid, which can then become a victim of the immune activity that was supposed to be defending the body from soy. That’s called autoimmune disease of the thyroid, or Hashimoto’s Disease, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. If you eat bread or pasta and a wheat particle get into the blood, the immune system can learn to react to the chemical makeup of the wheat particle. Wheat particles may resemble the chemical structure of the intestine, and voila, autoimmune disease of the intestinal lining which is known as Celiac Disease. Sometimes learned immune reactions to food can affect connective tissue which provides structural support for everything in the body. If this occurs the disease is given the term “lupus”, which is essentially an autoimmune disease that can affect anything, including the joints, kidneys, lungs, blood and heart. In other words lupus can be a big autoimmunity mess!

If you’ve been diagnosed with lupus (or any other auto immune disease) there are NO curative medications. But that’s not a problem because immune system issues need not be medical issues. By definition, an immune health condition is a defensive (immune) response to an offending agent. An immune (and autoimmune) disease means we’re doing something that is activating the immune system. Best bet is to figure out what the heck we’re doing to activate the immune system and then STOP DOING IT! Clue: it usually involves food. Eliminate foods that cause any digestive distress. Using nutrition to build up the digestive tract is also important. Probiotics are always helpful. Glutamine powder can help rebuild the digestive lining, and polysaccharides from aloe, noni and ocean vegetation can have a wonderful soothing and supporting effect for digestive tissue. And strengthening the immune system with Vitamins E, C, and A; and minerals like selenium and zinc is a good idea for any autoimmune or immune health condition.

Jun

2013

Adult Persistent Acne or APA

By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben

SUMMARY

Millions of Americans have Adult Persistent Acne
APA? Think adrenal and ovary/testes hormones
Causes as always: digestive, insulin, blood sugar, adrenal stress
Ovarian involvement sometimes results in cysts in the ovaries. This condition is called Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome
Symptoms include obesity, blood pressure issues fertility development of body hair, loss of head hair and oily skin and blemishes
For all APA use nutrition, diet and lifestyle strategies, they work!

Think zits are for kids? Think again! According to The International Dermal Institute between 40 and 55 percent of the adult population age 20-40 have with low grade, persistent acne and oily skin.That means millions of unfortunate Americans and what’s even more disconcerting is the fact that dermatologists who refer to this condition as Adult Persistent Acne (APA) are, for the most part, impotent and clueless when it comes to addressing this difficult and unpleasant skin condition. The accepted medical protocols for dealing with APA remain mired in the tired antiquated, decades-old saws of steroids and antibiotics or worse barbaric deep chemical peels using toxic substances and potential carcinogens like croton oil, phenol or aminolevulenic acid.

When it comes to the biology of APA, no health condition screams adrenal and reproductive gland dysfunction louder. Both the adrenals as well as the ovaries/testes produce substances that regulate the skin oil production, pigmentation and skin cell growth that are the hallmark features of adult acne.

To put it simply and concisely, the symptoms of adult persistent acne are a classic case of hormone pathology. And, hormone pathology is itself more often than not a reflection of digestive and blood sugar problems.

Food toxins and allergies can result in malabsorbtion of raw materials for hormone production In fact, one of the more poorly recognized causes of APA is food intolerance and digestive issues. If you find that in addition to problem skin you have digestive health issues, including loose stools and/ or constipation, chronic heartburn bloating, gas, or simply general gastrointestinal discomfort and unpleasantness AND you’re breaking out, the chances are pretty good that you’re dealing with some kind of digestive related skin condition. And once the digestive distress becomes long-term and chronic you’re very possible that you’ll end up dealing with adrenal stress which can then function as a secondary cause of problem skin. This is especially likely if your facial blemishes appear as rashy and diffuse (spread out all over the face) and if they are showing up on the back or chest or other non-facial parts of the body.

Then there’s blood sugar connection to adult acne. Elevations in insulin, the sugar controlling hormone are often involved in the development APA. Once the blood sugar system become overwhelmed, the adrenal activity is unregulated. Many of the more common features of adult persistent acne, especially skin oiliness and hyper-pigmentation are a common sign of adrenal hormone activation.

Even more significant, the dermal distress of APA is more than merely an unsavory superficial skin condition. The hormone pathology behind the appearance of blemishes, dark spots and oily patches can be the harbinger of much more serious health issues to come. Because the gland chemicals that are involved in causing adult acne are largely cleared by the lymphatic system, it’s like likely the over the long haul APA can result in congestion in this significant circulatory conduit for biochemical waste. Because the lymphatic system is charged with eliminating the acne-inducing toxic and old hormones over time congestion of lymph fluid is likely to occur. Clogging of the lymphatic system may then manifest as immune activity and inflammation and causing even more adult acne, hyper-pigmentation and oiliness. Ultimately lymphatic congestion can wreak even worse biochemical havoc; liver disease, heart disease and cancer are just some of the ways lymphatic congestion can show up.

As mentioned previously, the hormone issues associated APA may be related to blood sugar dysfunction. And because of the close connection between blood sugar and female reproductive hormones, women are especially prone to blood sugar induced APA. Over the course of years and decades of sugar abuse (the average American consumes nearly half a pound a day, far more than the human body is supposed to handling) chronic elevations in insulin are likely. Insulin as growth inducing substance stimulates cell growth and division. In the ovaries this rapid cell growth and division can cause cysts. Ovarian cysts produce symptom hormones and this can be especially problematic for some women. In fact, elevations ovarian hormones the resulting symptoms, collectively known as Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) include weight gain, hair loss and the oily skin and blemishes associated with adult persistent acne.

If you are one of the many unfortunate sufferers of APA don’t despair. Because ultimately acne like all skin and health conditions is a biochemical/nutrient problem, there are many biochemical/nutrient strategies(as opposed to pharmaceutical) for dealing with APA. Below are my Top 17nutrients and strategies for addressing adult persistent acne:

1) Zinc Picolinate ( 50mg a day) – best taken with 2mg of Copper chelate, important for blood sugar control as well as hormone production and balance

2) Vitamin A (20,000 iu a day) – premier skin vitamin stabilized the growth of skin cells and sebum (skin oil) producing cells too

3) Vitamin B5 (1000-200mg three times a day taking each dose with the entire B-complex) – key vitamin for skin oils and adrenal gland hormones

4) Vitamin B3 (timed release 100-300 mg daily,taking each dose take with the entire B-complex) – anti-inflammatory, improves blood sugar control

5) NAC (500-1000mg) a day – important liver support nutrient, improve hormone processing

6) Selenium Monomethionine (600mcg a day) – detoxification of old hormone

7) Glutamine (1000 mg a day) – general detoxification and anti-inflammatory properties

8) MSM (2000mg a day) – detoxification, improve hormone elimination

9) Vitamin C (5000-10,000 mg a day) – the “primal panacea”, good for everything. Involved in hormone production as well as blood sugar chemistry

10) Probiotics (80 billion units of multiple strains) – improves fat metabolism, detoxification and hormone processing

11) Vitamin E (400 iu a day) – dramatic anti-inflammatory and healing properties

12) Isolate and eliminate problem foods (dairy, grains eggs and legumes are BIG problem foods; ANY vegetable can be a trigger as well)

13) Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy) – improves hormone processing and detoxification. Steam lightly if you have any thyroid issues

14) Reduce intake of insulin spiking foods

15) Reduce intake of ALL foods caloric intake, fasting can have a dramatic impact

16) Slow down and deepen breathing, deep diaphragmatic breathing techniques daily to improve adrenal function

17) Exfoliate and cleanse daily 2% salicylic acid toners and cleanser. Keeping excess skin oils off of the face is important. These secretions from oil glands, technically called sebum undergo chemical when they’re exposed to air that can cause inflammation and increase zittiness. Proper and regular exfoliation will assure that potential poor clogging dead skin cells are removed off of the skin surface.

18) Use Retinoic Acid cream or gel!! It is by far and away the most important topical skin product you can use. It improves all markers of skin health including hyper-pigmentation, oily skin and blemish formation. It’ll even prevent the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

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.