Three Questions I Ask Before Considering The Use Of A Supplement (Part Two)

If you’re just joining us, you may want to check out Part One of this supplement series.

The second question I ask myself when considering the use of a supplement is:

Does it work?

The nutrition industry is currently not regulated. And the FDA needs to clean up it’s own house before taking on any additional oversight responsibilities. So, we are left with an industry that releases semi-medicinal products that is not required to verify quality, results, or safety. And we just look at a label and shove those pills down.

It’s up to us to do the homework.

There are really two components contributing to the effectiveness of any supplement: quality and efficacy. These are the same measurement standards applied to regulated pharmaceutical drugs.

Quality refers to the quality of the ingredients used, the quality of the manufacturing facilities, and the quality of the testing that was used to evaluate the product. Efficacy refers to the power or capacity of the product to produce the desired effect. For example, the efficacy of a particular fish oil supplement refers to it’s effectiveness in supplying the stated dosage of raw omega-3 fatty acids to the blood.

Some supplements dissolve in stomach acid and are destroyed before their ingredients, good or not, can be released into the blood. These supplements effectively have an efficacy rating of 0.

The reality is that not all supplement manufactures are producing “true quality” products. In order to assure the highest quality product, manufacturers must be able to document and verify the following:

1. Comprehensive scientific evaluation of ingredients.

2. Comprehensive safety reviews.

3. Human clinical evaluations to assess safety and efficacy.

4. Advanced scientific staff, equipment and facilities.

That’s alot of effort to produce an economically priced supplement. So, many manufacturers don’t undertake such stringent controls. They instead trust the quality of the ingredients that are delivered.   And maybe they skimp a little on having the latest, greatest, and cleanest in facilities and equipment.

Quality manufacturerers who do perform testing on their ingredients often send batches back due to low quality. Sometimes they’ll even receive a batch of something that contains none of the substance that was represented on the packaging. It happens.

So, what do the supply houses do with these returned batches? Throw them away?

Nope.

Remix them to improve quality?

Not usually.

These defective batches get “Walmart-ized”. That is they get sent to low quality supplement manufacturers who don’t typically test the quality of their ingredients.

Some people are tempted to purchase their supplements from discount suppliers or commercial supermarkets because the prices are better. I have always said “if you want to save money, buy toilet paper in bulk”. Don’t compromise on the quality of your supplements just to save money!

It requires three major metabolic functions (digestion, absorption and utilization) to occur to get any kind of benefits from a supplement. You need the supplement to be of a high enough quality to make it through the processes intact in order for it to work. There is usually a very legitimate reason why a supplement is higher in price than another. Bargain nutritional supplements are often made with poor-quality, low-cost ingredients.

So, take a look at the supplements you buy. Go online and check the manufacturer’s web site. Quality suppliers will publish information around there manufacturing processes and quality assurances.

Do your homework.

Next, the third question I ask before considering the use of a supplement.

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Three Questions I Ask Before Considering The Use Of A Supplement (Part One)

When I’m browsing through my local GNC or online health shop, there are generally three questions I ask myself about any supplement pill, powder, or potion that I might be interested in.

Today I’ll address the first question, which is:

Do I need it?

And by need, I mean is this supplement supposedly providing something I can’t get from my daily diet or a generic multi vitamin?  Not the FDA’s recommended daily diet that includes eight servings of fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, etc. But my daily diet - the one that I’m realistically able to maintain.  Because who consistently gets eight servings of fruits and veggies in every day?  Easy to do when I was living in Australia, but not so easy here in Processed Food, USA.

But I do get enough protein, so no need for whey supplements or generally any other protein or amino acid-based add-ons.  And I’m generally a pretty happy guy who sleeps well, so no need for the mood enhancing or sleep improvement lines of herbs and minerals.

What about all the energy boosting, fat “burning” fire in a bottle supplements that are so popular? Do I need those?

I used to be a poster child for popping ephedra supplements back in the day when I used to hit the weights pretty hard, but between chasing a three year old around and wearing out the corporate treadmill, I tend to shift into third gear pretty easily without the need for any of the energy-enhancers that are out there.  And man, those things can be expensive.  Just to be honest though, I do still have a big bottle of Hydroxycut that I may occasionally dip into that has lasted me well over a year.

So, what needs does my body really have that can’t be met by my diet or the multi vitamin I pop each morning?

Additional Cardiovascular Support

My father died of a heart attack at age 62.  My 45 year old brother just recently had a heart attack.  He weighs 185lbs, works out, and plays rec basketball 3-4 times a week.  So, I’m pretty sure that there’s some hereditary family risk there that has nothing to do with cardio fitness.  Understandably I’m a little paranoid in doing what I can to maintain heart health.

In the interest of boosting cardio strength and controlling cholesterol, I do take omega-3 supplements.  This is in addition to eating fish at least 2-3 times a week.  I take both fish and flax seed oil supplements.  Reputable brands don’t have to expensive, although, as with any supplement, do your homework on the quality of the manufacturer.

In addition, I pop a Red Yeast Rice pill each day.  Science looks good on the cholesterol reducing benefits, and they also are not expensive, so better safe than sorry.

Additional Anti Oxidant Support

I’ve done alot of research into the science behind free radicals and the power of antioxidants.  There’s alot of hype out there around the miracle effects of antioxidants.  Most of the anti aging product lines are based on their anti oxidant ingredients.  But the research behind their beneficial effects is solid.  As we get older, our body cannot keep up with the destructive oxidative processes that result in many of the inner and outer effects of aging, such as skin wrinkling, loss of bone density, and reductions in mental clarity.

I wish I could get more fruit in my diet, especially the dark berries.  They are chock full of antioxidants.  So are carrots, bright peppers, and other colorful vegetables.  But I don’t get enough of those either.  Of course I could beef up my red wine intake.  The resveratrol in red wine is a powerful antioxidant.  But I’m not sure I want to start my day with a glass of Merlot.

So, I take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA).  ALA enhances the abilities of vitamin C and vitamin E, and is a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals throughout the body, including the major organs such as the heart and brain.  There are many studies around the use of ALA for a variety of disorders, but it also seems to be beneficial for anyone just looking to boost their intake of antioxidants.

And that’s pretty much all I need.  Well, this and my handy bottle of V8 Juice.  I do try to get those vegies in one way or another.

What supplements do you take?  And do you really need them?

Tomorrow I’ll discuss the second question I ask when considering a supplement:

Does it work?

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• Get Acai Berry in Germany (projectswole.com)

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Pond Scum: It’s What’s For Dinner

Everyone is going green these days. In the interest of reducing the supposed man made effects of the supposed crisis called !GLOBAL WARMING!, we are all encouraged to take actions to reduce our carbon footprints. I’m fine with adopting a lifestyle that minimizes reliance on fossil fuels and encourages conservation and environmental responsibility, but don’t get me started on the whole !GLOBAL WARMING! thing. That’s a debate for another day when I’m feeling particularly dry and ready to spit out statistics that would turn An Inconvenient Truth into A Wildly Speculative Lie.

Where was I? Oh yeah, going green. Even our supplement industry is going green. One of the more popular lines of nutritional supplements these days are the pills and powders made from blue-green algae and it’s cousins spirulina and chlorella.

There’s alot of marketing out there that claims that blue-green algae, spirulina, and chlorella are wonder foods that will:

• increase energy
• enhance mental clarity
• oxygenate and purify the blood
• improve the immunity system
• eliminate toxins from the body
• nourish the nervous system

Wow!  Sounds like a real miracle “superfood”.  Let’s do our homework, and my apologies if this brings back scary memories of high school biology.

Blue-green algae, chlorella and spirulina are all in the algae family, a huge class of organisms that range in size from microscopic single cell organisms to hundreds of feet long (multi-celled seaweed). More than 200 species have been harvested and used as food since prehistoric times in virtually every landmass that has a coastline. They are also commonly used as fertilizer.  Algae are abundantly available in fresh and salt waters, high in minerals, and can be good sources of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, essential fatty acids and vitamins.

Sounds good Teach.  But where can I find some of this healthy algae stuff?

Well, blue-green algae, spirulina, and chlorella actually grow in stagnant fresh-water lakes and ponds.  They can be easily harvested because they collect in large clumps on the surface and can be skimmed off.  Yes, Johnny, this is what is commonly referred to as “pond scum”.  The green ooze that we see covering the surface of still lakes and ponds.

Okay, not the most appetizing source of nutritional goodness, but neither is the thought of squeezing fish for their oils.  The real question is, is the ooze really healthy?

If you recall, I previously wrote about the nutritional value of omega-3 fatty acids and their popularity’s effect on fish populations.  In addition to being found in cold water fish, high concentrations of omega-3s can be found in the algae that grows on the floors and reefs of the earth’s cold water oceans.  Makes sense, right?  We eat the fish that eat the plankton that eat the algae.

However, the algae that grows on the surface of ponds and lakes does not contain any significant concentrations of omega-3s or any other beneficial fatty acid.  Again, it does contain protein, carbohydrates, and other beneficial ingredients, but no high concentrations of omega acids. The nutritional makeup of the algae is similiar to soybeans.

Ancient tribes in Central and South America used to harvest the algae from their lakes, dry it in brick form, and use those bricks for food.  But based on the concentration of ingredients, you would need to eat a pound of blue-green algae to equal, say, a pound of soybeans.

And that’s why it makes no sense to buy blue-green algae in pill or powder form.  Dried soybeans sell for roughly 89 cents per pound.  A pound of dried blue-green algae in pill form would cost you hundreds of dollars at your local GNC.

Blue-green algae does not contain any “miracle” substances and has the nutritional value of an equivalent amount of soybeans.  And at 100x the price.

Not a very good use of your supplement dollars.

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Relaxing To The Binaural Beats

So, awhile back I decided to put something different on the iPod. I was looking for something I could plug into that would be relaxing or even sort of meditational when I needed a few minutes of down time. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from yoga, it’s that sitting still, eyes closed and mind blank is a pretty nice break from the normal rush hour traffic that is my brain.

Was looking around on the net and came across some sites that advertise these binaural beat audio programs Binaural beats are unique auditory signals that are “heard” in the brain only. The science around these things states that binaural beats can alter the dominant brainwave frequency of the mind via a process called frequency follows response. By altering ones brainwave frequencies one may effectively go into what has been labeled as an alpha, theta, or delta state. Each of these brain states has been associated with a different state of consciousness. For example, the alpha state is associated with relaxation and calmness, and delta is associated with healing deep sleep.

Okay, sounds pretty cool. Maybe a good way to help manage stress and fatigue.

There are a few sites out there that offer these recordings. Some offer free samples. Some of the recordings are pure tones, others mix the tones behind music. The key to the science behind the binaural beats is that you must be wearing headphones to ensure that the appropriate tones get to the left and right ears. It’s what the brain does with the different tones being piped into each side that forms the binaural beat.

I don’t know if they work for everyone, but I did experience some of the touted results. One of the recordings I listened to was focused on the lower tones associated with inducing a delta state in the brain. After 10 minutes of sitting and listening, I found myself feeling like I was dozing off, but without the sleep. Hard to explain, but afterwards I did feel re-energized like I had just woken up from a good night’s sleep. Sounds crazy and all new age, I know. Just relaying what I got out of it.

You can learn more about binaural beats here.

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Dr. Seuss Explains The Bailout

This is the house that Bob bought.

This is the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is Senator Chris Dodd who gave the payouts the nod that led to the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is Secretary Tim who went out on a limb to help his friend Senator Chris Dodd who gave the payouts the nod that led to the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is CEO Liddy who was totally giddy when he suckered Secretary Tim who went out on a limb to help his friend Senator Chris Dodd who gave the payouts the nod that led to the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is the Stimulus Bill that crawled down from the Hill and handed the keys of the city to CEO Liddy who was totally giddy when he suckered Secretary Tim who went out on a limb to help his friend Senator Chris Dodd who gave the payouts the nod that led to the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and paid for the house that Bob bought.

This is our President who’s spending and killing all lending who wrote the Stimulus Bill that crawled down from the Hill and handed the keys to the city to CEO Liddy who was totally giddy when he suckered Secretary Tim who went out on a limb to help his friend Senator Chris Dodd who gave the payouts the nod that led to the bonus they weren’t supposed to have shown us that turned into the cash that came from the stash and led to the foreclosure of the house that Bob bought.

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Bonus Babies (Or How I Got My Piece Of The AIG Bailout)

I have a friend who is one of the 400+ AIG employees, current and former, who received one of those “retention” bonuses that everyone is in such an uproar about.  As an aside, why do you pay retention bonuses to people who have left?  Wouldn’t that be more of a “please come back” bonus?

Anyway, my friend’s share of the total $165m that was paid out last week was small, but it was enough for a nice vacation or a decent used car (which he might need as he is no longer employed).

Now, I am not surprised by the public outcry around these bonuses being paid by a company that ran itself into the ground and is only being propped up by Barack Obama’s ever spinning printing press. And I love the way that the same lawmakers that 1) authorized the billions of dollars for the bailout, and 2) selected the management team to go in and run the company, are jumping onto the pile and lambasting AIG for so “frivolously” spending their our money.

But let’s look at the stated rationale for paying out these bonuses. The Federal Government decided to rescue AIG from a certain and deserved corporate death by handing over billions of dollars to be used to keep the company afloat. Why do I say deserved? Because if I start a company, make bad decisions, and consequently go out of business, I don’t expect the government to reward my efforts by handing me a blank check. I fail, I fall, and hopefully I dust myself off and learn to make better decisions the next time around.

So, AIG gets all this cash to keep the doors open. Well, if they are to have any chance of success, they need to keep the only real assets they have left - their key employees. Retention bonuses are a common method that companies use to keep key people during periods of upheaval such as a merger or bankruptcy. So is paying out a chunk of cash to retain valuable assets wrong? Not in theory.  It happens all the time.  So I get that retention bonuses might be needed to keep the employees necessary to fulfill the government’s pipe dream of making AIG self reliant again.

I just find it laughable that all these lawmakers who handed over the money and chose the people to come in and run the company are so vehement and loud in their criticism. Hello?! You’re giving out all this money to these beleaguered companies without demanding a comprehensive plan on how they intend to use it? What do you expect?

If nothing else, the silver lining in all this AIG bonus mess is that public sentiment for the bailouts and the government jugheads who approved them is taking a decidedly nasty turn. Hopefully the seeds of discontent will continue to grow and force some changes.

Oh, my buddy, the AIG bonus baby? He gave me $10. So, I gots me my piece of the bailout pie.

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Time To Start Raising Goldfish

Eating fish is healthy. That message has been pushed ever since the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, substances contained in most cold water fish, were discovered.

Omega-3’s are good for the heart. Omega-3’s are good for the skin. Omega-3’s can cure male pattern baldness. Okay, maybe not the last one. But aside from multivitamins, omega-3 based pills are probably the most popular supplements sold. And my local Kroger can’t keep fresh salmon stocked due to demand from my health conscious suburban neighbors.

Well, it appears that the popularity of the omega-3’s has led to a severe depletion in the fish populations of the oceans, especially the waters surrounding the United States, Europe, and Asia. Fish activist groups are warning of critical shortfalls that will significantly affect the oceanic balance of life.

The activists are even sponsoring studies that “prove” that omega-3s really aren’t the miracle cure they are touted as being. They claim that the benefits are minimal and the reason they seem to improve health is because healthy people eat them. You really have to read that twice to get the gist.

I’m all for the replenishment of our oceans. I mean I want something to look at down there when I go scuba diving. I’d even be in favor of stronger regulations around fishing to prevent trawlers from hauling out ton after ton of netted sea creatures. Make it one man, one boat, one fishing pole.

But what I’d really be in favor of, is to start harvesting some of the omega-3 nutritional goodies from other sources. Large concentartions of omega-3 fatty acids can also be found in ocean plants and algae. And trust me, there’s plenty of that stuff down there.

So, if the fish activists want to really help their friends with fins, maybe they should divert some of that money away from omega-3 attack campaigns into research on how to economically harvest other omega-3 sources.

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No Funny Quips - This Just Ticks Me Off

If you don’t need bailout money, you’re doing something wrong

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The Death of Another Good Idea

Panacos Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech developer of viral disease vaccines, will probably not survive through the Summer.

Over the last few years I have invested a good chunk of change into various biotech stocks and funds.  Aside from the obvious distress of watching my portfolio value drop faster than Barack Obama’s approval ratings, I am saddened by the realization that many of these small niche companies will not survive through 2009.  Current estimates say that 60% of the publicly traded biotech firms will run out of money before the end of the year.

It is typically in these small biotech companies where real advancements are made in the fields of medicine and treatment research.  A niche biotech company will typically form around an idea for a new treatment approach for some specific disease or disorder.  Initial funding is usually provided by VC firms, with a public offering to follow if the “idea” can be sold to the investing public.

Then comes the years of development, testing, and approval cycles mandated by the FDA for all new drugs and artificial devices.  If a company can navigate the process and end up with a successful drug or product that does work, then a  big Pharma company will typically step in and partner with or outright buy out the smaller firm at a premium price.  Everyone wins.  Big Pharma gets exclusive rights to sell a new “miracle” drug.  The employees and stockholders of the biotech company make money.  The United States moves forward in the field of medicine.  And maybe some lives are saved, or at least improved.

In the current economic climate, funding is drying up for many of these cure development companies.  No money equals out of business.

It is a shame that so many good ideas and potential scientific breakthroughs may be derailed.

I’ve got an idea.  Instead of bailing out inefficient and mismanaged mortgage companies and banks, why not send some of that money to promising companies that are actually developing products that will potentially save lives?

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