HealthyLife.Net Radio Show
Wendy’s Animal Talk, Host Wendy Nan Rees, Guest Russell Louie
Wendy’s Animal Talk, Host Wendy Nan Rees, Guest Russell Louie
Not Another Supplement? New Holistic Paradigms!, Part II
October 20, 2009, 1-2:00 PM PDT
Russell, has studied holistic health and spirituality for over 30 years and lived a holistic lifestyle for over 57 years. He specializes in integrating his scientific background with his knowledge of health, to holistically help both people and pets. His greatest talent is being able to cut through all the marketing hype using his scientific background to tell people what is truly holistic. Today, we will talk about his upcoming e-Book, Not Another Supplement? New Holistic Paradigms!
So, Russell, we want to continue Part II of our August 18 show, Not Another Supplement? New Holistic Paradigms! First, what do you mean by that title?
Wendy, holistic remedies have gone mainstream. There are vitamins, herbs and all kinds of supplements selling at Walgreens, K-Mart and local grocery stores. People are demanding holistic options for themselves and their pets. But based on my 57+ years of holistic living experience, I feel 90-95% of these isolated supplements are not entirely holistic. So, my goal is to introduce and educate people on the next holistic paradigm.
Wendy, holistic remedies have gone mainstream. There are vitamins, herbs and all kinds of supplements selling at Walgreens, K-Mart and local grocery stores. People are demanding holistic options for themselves and their pets. But based on my 57+ years of holistic living experience, I feel 90-95% of these isolated supplements are not entirely holistic. So, my goal is to introduce and educate people on the next holistic paradigm.
You stated 90-95% of all supplements are not entirely holistic. Can you explain your reasoning to my listeners?
Sure, Wendy. First let me give your listeners my definition of what is allopathic or Western medical treatment. If one has a hypothyroid condition (thyroid functioning too low), then a doctor would prescribe a red thyroid pill to make the thyroid values higher. But if one had a hyperthyroid condition (thyroid values too high), then the doctor would probably prescribe a blue thyroid pill to bring the thyroid values down. The treatment is predicated on the exact values from a lab test and the symptoms are matched to a specific pill.
Now if the patient had arthritis, the doctor would probably prescribe a different pill specifically for the arthritis. In other words, allopathically they are simply treating a single gland, single organ or a single symptom and NOT the whole body.
Sure, Wendy. First let me give your listeners my definition of what is allopathic or Western medical treatment. If one has a hypothyroid condition (thyroid functioning too low), then a doctor would prescribe a red thyroid pill to make the thyroid values higher. But if one had a hyperthyroid condition (thyroid values too high), then the doctor would probably prescribe a blue thyroid pill to bring the thyroid values down. The treatment is predicated on the exact values from a lab test and the symptoms are matched to a specific pill.
Now if the patient had arthritis, the doctor would probably prescribe a different pill specifically for the arthritis. In other words, allopathically they are simply treating a single gland, single organ or a single symptom and NOT the whole body.
So why is that not holistic?
Let us go back to my definition of being truly holistic, that is to address the WHOLE body and not its individual parts, such as one organ, gland or body system. I do not know why the preceding letter “w” from the root word “whole” got dropped from the word now used as “holistic” but it lost the entire meaning of the root wood “whole” when they did that. So, by giving supplements that address a single organ or body part, one is not boosting and balancing the WHOLE body.
Why is addressing the whole body important?
Let me give you an example of why supplements do not fix the original illness.
Say a pet’s digestive function is below normal, so one gives a digestive enzyme supplement. The stomach now signals the brain that is has enough digestive enzymes. So the brain stops looking for more raw materials, namely co-enzymes and co-factors, to manufacture its own digestive enzymes. The brain stops sending a signal to the pancreas to produce more digestive enzymes. In essence, one has left a lazy pancreas and made the body dependent on this external enzyme supplement.
Let me give you an example of why supplements do not fix the original illness.
Say a pet’s digestive function is below normal, so one gives a digestive enzyme supplement. The stomach now signals the brain that is has enough digestive enzymes. So the brain stops looking for more raw materials, namely co-enzymes and co-factors, to manufacture its own digestive enzymes. The brain stops sending a signal to the pancreas to produce more digestive enzymes. In essence, one has left a lazy pancreas and made the body dependent on this external enzyme supplement.
Is that necessarily bad?
Well, as the pet ages one is going to have to give more enzymes each year for the same health benefits. The body never gets to see if it can stand on its own to produce more digestive enzymes. This shows their body has an ever increasing dependency on the supplement and the body is not healing from within. Giving them supplements, in some instances, is creating a crutch and therefore, not balancing their whole body. This obviously cost more money with the ever increasing dosage.
Another disadvantage is if the pancreas is not producing enough digestive enzymes, perhaps its insulin production is also deficient. Could this lead to diabetes in the future? Do you see all the ramifications of just treating one isolated symptom?
Yes, I do now. How can I tell if a supplement is only addressing one organ or body part?
Simply ask the question: Would I give this product/supplement to my pet if it also had any of these conditions: allergies, diabetes, poor digestion, thyroid imbalance (hypo- or hyperthyroid), lipomas (fatty tumors) or an auto-immune disease? If you answered, “No,” or you would give six different supplements for each of the above conditions, then what you are doing is just supplementing the symptoms and not taking a whole food product that would activate the body’s own natural ability to heal.
Now that we understand the specific definition of a supplement versus a truly holistic whole food product, what other differences should our listeners look for?
They should be aware that the way supplement doses are determined and benefits measured, are totally different from that of whole food products.
OK, first tell us about the dosage differences.
When scientists seek to determine the exact dosage of a nutrient needed in a supplement, they do so in controlled studies. For example, if they wanted to determine the Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) or Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin C, they would subject participants to varying doses of a Vitamin C supplement, while keeping all other variables (e.g., vitamins, food, medicine) constant. They would use isolated Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) made most often from a synthetic source (cheaper and purer). When their study shows that 75-90 mg. are needed, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and looks for Vitamin C supplements that contain a minimum of 75 mg. Of course the general public now assumes if a supplement contains more (i.e., 100+ mg), then it must be better and those that do not contain at least 75 mg. are inferior.
That sounds logical to me. What is your holistic opinion?
From our holistic viewpoint, we would say that logic and comparison is not valid. The above study results would only be valid if one were to get their Vitamin C source from the exact isolated Vitamin C supplement (most likely synthetic) used in the study. If one chose another supplement whose source was natural Vitamin C or even better, a whole food Vitamin C, then the results would be different than from study. In essence, we have an unintended dosage deception.
OK, better explain this unintended deception to me?
Recent studies show the body absorbs and utilizes only 20-25% of isolated vitamins and supplements it ingests. When the source is not an isolated vitamin or supplement but a whole food product, this absorption and utilization rate increases to 90-95%. The reason is, Nature did not intend for us or our pets to get our nutrition from a man-made supplement but by eating whole foods. Modern research shows to obtain benefits from Vitamin C one needs not just pure ascorbic acid but a host of other complementary nutrients such as rutin, bioflavanoids, Vitamin E, selenium and zinc to work properly. So, when one takes an isolated Vitamin C tablet (from pure ascorbic acid) to boost their immune system, the body has to search out and even rob the rest of the dietary food and body for these complementary nutrients to make the supplemental ascorbic acid work properly.
To make up for this lack of 90-95% absorption that whole foods have, one has to take a high therapeutic dosage of a vitamin C supplement, such as 2-5,000 milligrams just to get results. This high dosage is only needed when taking isolated supplements and not whole food products. So one is spending extra money and possibly exposing the body to side effects from these artificially high therapeutic doses.
Are there any concerns regarding this dosage difference?
Scientists are always making new discoveries every year. What other complementary vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes are needed to make Vitamin C work that scientists have not yet discovered? One gets a false sense of security when taking the Minimum Daily Requirement of a Vitamin C supplement that all of it is being absorbed, the body’s nutritional needs are met and all is well in the body, when it could be missing tens or hundreds of complementary nutrients.
Scientists are always making new discoveries every year. What other complementary vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes are needed to make Vitamin C work that scientists have not yet discovered? One gets a false sense of security when taking the Minimum Daily Requirement of a Vitamin C supplement that all of it is being absorbed, the body’s nutritional needs are met and all is well in the body, when it could be missing tens or hundreds of complementary nutrients.
Yes, that is a natural assumption. Well then, how can one compare supplements to whole food product dosages?
When comparing the MDR, RDA or prescribed therapeutic dosages of supplements to whole foods, one must look at real results in terms of absorption and utilization in the body, not allopathically prescribed dosages according to Western medicine. For example, if one takes a 1000 mg isolated calcium supplement and multiplies by the absorption rate of 25%, one absorbs only 250 mg (1000 mg X 0.25). However, whole food products have a 90-95% absorption rate because they contain all the complementary vitamins (i.e., Vitamin D), minerals (i.e., magnesium), amino acids, enzymes, etc. that Nature dictated are needed to make calcium work. So, taking 350 mg of calcium from a whole food product will yield absorption of 333 mg (350 mg X 0.95) of calcium. Anyone can see then that 333 mg of real absorption from whole foods is better than 250 mg from the isolated supplement. So, the whole food product is actually supplying the body with more calcium, even though the labels state the whole food product only contains 350 mg calcium on the label while the isolated calcium supplement advertises 1000 mg.
Wow, that is very deceiving.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wendy. I am not saying supplement manufacturers are intentionally deceiving us with this dosage deception. It is just that most people do not holistically look at the big picture like we do. So your listeners should not be comparing dosages in milligrams of supplements to whole food products when trying to determine the ultimate benefits.
Now don’t get me wrong, Wendy. I am not saying supplement manufacturers are intentionally deceiving us with this dosage deception. It is just that most people do not holistically look at the big picture like we do. So your listeners should not be comparing dosages in milligrams of supplements to whole food products when trying to determine the ultimate benefits.
What then should my listeners look for in terms of comparing ultimate benefits?
They should look for real results and not milligrams of dosages. Here is a real life example. One human customer broke her foot. A week after the cast was taken off; the foot broke in another place just from walking. A bone density test confirmed the customer was in the beginning stages of osteoporosis. X-rays confirmed the bones were not knitting together and she would need an operation. She decided to start taking our whole food algae product, BioSuperfood, as an alternative.
What were the results?
After taking BioSuperfood for about two months she went back to the doctor and the X-ray revealed her foot bones to be normal and new shoots of calcium were being formed between the two bones in the second break. These amazing results were obtained from a mere dosage of 3.54 mg of calcium per (290 mg) capsule of BioSuperfood. So, assuming she was taking the average 6 capsules per day, she was only getting a dosage of 21.24 mg of calcium per day. That is compared to the recommended dose (RDA) of 800-1200 milligrams a day for adults
It is not the Western medical dosage that matters but the total absorption, utilization and synergy of the other 5,000 individual nutrients in BioSuperfood that make the calcium work, just like Nature intended. By taking BioSuperfood, this person experienced new shoots of calcium forming between the broken bones. Do not be concerned with taking a certain minimum, prescribed dosage of calcium for benefits but instead, observe the holistic results of taking BioSuperfood based on your whole body.
I think that is very important. Can you give us a pet story?
Pepper is an Australian shepherd/Border Collie mix that is 10.5 years old and weighs about 45 pounds. The dog has degenerative arthritis and was limping in her back legs. The guardian told us within 10 days of starting BP went away the limp was gone and Pepper now jumps on the bed and runs up the stairs again. But the benefits did not stop there. Pepper’s coat got better and her eyes cleared up from being cloudy. All this happened after they starting our whole food algae product, BioPreparation, and they stopped giving colostrum and other the isolated supplements.
No more supplementing the symptoms.
Pepper is an Australian shepherd/Border Collie mix that is 10.5 years old and weighs about 45 pounds. The dog has degenerative arthritis and was limping in her back legs. The guardian told us within 10 days of starting BP went away the limp was gone and Pepper now jumps on the bed and runs up the stairs again. But the benefits did not stop there. Pepper’s coat got better and her eyes cleared up from being cloudy. All this happened after they starting our whole food algae product, BioPreparation, and they stopped giving colostrum and other the isolated supplements.
No more supplementing the symptoms.
So, Pepper did not need the usual supplements of colostrum, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate usually given for arthritis?
That is right Wendy. Now look at all the money Pepper’s guardian saved by not buying all those isolated supplements to just treat the symptoms.
Before we run out of time, give our listeners one last benefit of using whole food products over supplements.
OK, Wendy. Supplements, and of course drugs, need an exact diagnosis of what gland, organ, body part or body system is diseased. In other words, if the practitioner determines the kidneys are the issue they would prescribe a kidney supplement but if the heart is the issue a different heart supplement would be prescribed. Not so for whole food products. I would suggest using a therapeutic whole superfood product whether the issue was the kidneys, heart, arthritis, allergies, thyroid imbalance and even cancer.
The advantage of using whole food products is that they do not need all those expensive lab tests and sometimes invasive procedures in order to get an exact diagnosis. Also, if one has multiple problems, such as a senior pet with arthritis, low functioning thyroid, recurring seasonal allergies and perhaps fatty tumors, they would not need four different supplements but simply one whole food product to balance the WHOLE body and not just treat the symptoms. Not that is true wellness, in my opinion.
OK, Wendy. Supplements, and of course drugs, need an exact diagnosis of what gland, organ, body part or body system is diseased. In other words, if the practitioner determines the kidneys are the issue they would prescribe a kidney supplement but if the heart is the issue a different heart supplement would be prescribed. Not so for whole food products. I would suggest using a therapeutic whole superfood product whether the issue was the kidneys, heart, arthritis, allergies, thyroid imbalance and even cancer.
The advantage of using whole food products is that they do not need all those expensive lab tests and sometimes invasive procedures in order to get an exact diagnosis. Also, if one has multiple problems, such as a senior pet with arthritis, low functioning thyroid, recurring seasonal allergies and perhaps fatty tumors, they would not need four different supplements but simply one whole food product to balance the WHOLE body and not just treat the symptoms. Not that is true wellness, in my opinion.
You seem to have wealth of pet knowledge. How can we access more of your 57 years of holistic wisdom?
One way is to go to our website, http://www.optimumchoices.com/ and sign up for our free monthly e-newsletters. We have written articles on such topics as, Is glucosamine the answer for arthritis? Healthy water for you and your pets and Whole Food Nutrition vs. Supplements. All past articles are archived online and one can search for a specific topic. If your listeners will check the box at the bottom of the subscription form, we’ll send subscribers a free report entitled What Pet Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know. This report contains 11-points on how to look for healthy, holistic pet food.
What other holistic resources do you have that would be of interest my listeners?
We have written a series of Holistic Choices e-Books. Readers can take advantage of the latest holistic research we find and absorb the information in a small chunk rather than a 100+ page book. The first three titles that have been published are:
· Save Your Dog or Cat
· Secrets of Longevity (for people )
· How to become a canine massage provider
Tell me more about your dog massage e-Book.
My wife, Margaret, wrote this e-Book. She writes about the ins and outs of pursuing a career in dog massage including training and certification requirements, legal considerations, schools offering training, finding your personal style of practice, obstacles to building a practice and marketing tips.
My wife, Margaret, wrote this e-Book. She writes about the ins and outs of pursuing a career in dog massage including training and certification requirements, legal considerations, schools offering training, finding your personal style of practice, obstacles to building a practice and marketing tips.
How can me and my listeners get a copy?
Go to our website http://www.optimumchoices.com/ and click on the [e-Books] button in the left column on our home page. As a special offer, I will give your listeners one e-Book of their choice free with a purchase of any BioPreparation for pets or BioSuperfood for people product. Just have them say, “Wendy sent me” and ask for the free e-Book title of their choice with any product purchase in the Special Instructions box of our shopping cart. This is very important—the must mention the title of the e-Book they want free.
Your fourth e-Book was the subject of today’s show. When will it be coming out?
Our fourth e-Book will be entitled New Holistic Paradigms! We are still accumulating many holistic topics that our clients are demanding we include and researching all our answers. We do not have a release date yet but I will be sure to keep you informed.
For more information on Optimum Choices and holistic options for your pet, go to Russell’s website at www.OptimumChoices.com. You can call toll-free 866-305-2306 or e-mail them at info@OptimumChoices.com.
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