Getting the Goods
I know that most of you -- like most of my patients -- are committed to taking your vitamins and minerals every day. But if you're going to spend the time and money taking these things, it's important that you know if you're getting your money's worth.
What many people don't realize is that you don't always get everything you're paying for when it comes to supplements. Even though that vitamin E pill you're taking may say 400 IU on the label, you may not be getting that much in your system. And the same goes for other supplements. Turns out, a big part of getting your nutrients depends on a lot more than how many milligrams or units you're taking every day.
You see, a lot of things happen after you swallow any pill, including vitamins. That little pill has about 30 feet of digestive tract to navigate. And if it's a low-quality supplement, it may not even fully dissolve, which means your body may not completely absorb it, before the pill winds up in your bathroom plumbing.
If you want to make sure you're getting all you can from nutritional supplements, there are some tips and tricks you need to keep in mind.
Look for higher-quality supplements, preferably in capsule form instead of tablets. It may not seem like it, but there's a pretty big difference between the two. Capsules are made in two different ways -- a hard version made from two halves filled with medicine, or soft version, which typically is thicker, made as one unit, and also filled with medicine. Tablets, on the other hand, are all of the ingredients tightly compressed together into pill form. And, unlike capsules, tablets contain extra ingredients -- called binders -- to hold its contents together.
The downside of tablets is that they sometimes get pressed too tightly during manufacturing, and as a result they don't break down properly in your system. Gel capsules offer a faster release, improving your body's chances of absorbing the nutrient before it leaves your system.
You could also subscribe to www.ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing bureau that reviews a wide variety of supplements. Test results are available on its Web site, but you have to pay a subscription fee. Another useful resource is the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements by Lyle MacWilliam, a Canadian scientist. It evaluates and ranks over 500 products and is available for $21 at www.comparativeguide.com.
Shoot for natural supplements instead of synthetics, especially when it comes to carotenoids and vitamin E. Natural vitamin E is absorbed twice as well as synthetic forms, and the same goes for carotenoids. Even though some scientists insist there's no difference, the truth is that your body knows how to make better use of the natural forms. This means you're more likely to get the health benefits you're supposed to from the particular vitamin or mineral.
Avoid taking any pharmaceuticals that you don't really need. Certain drugs can interfere with nutrient absorption, making all that money you're spending on supplements a waste. The most notorious examples of this are the cholesterol lowering "statin" drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor. These drugs deplete coenzyme Q10, a powerful antioxidant and key factor in the production of energy -- especially in the heart.
I always recommend that a patient who's taking a statin also take at least 50 mg a day of coenzyme Q10. Also, I highly recommend an inexpensive book called The Nutritional Cost of Drugs: A Guide to Maintaining Good Nutrition While Using Prescription and Over the Counter Drugs by Ross Pelton and James LaValle. Check your local library or bookstore for a copy. If they don't have it, you can find it on www.amazon.com.
Poor digestion can hinder your ability to absorb nutrients. The solution to this can be as simple as chewing your food more slowly and eating less junk food. It could also be helpful to start taking probiotics, which help your digestive system function better. Certain spices, like red pepper, mustard, and ginger, also increase your secretion of digestive enzymes.
There's also a tonic called Swedish Bitters that has a long history of safe use supporting healthy digestion. I've found that a teaspoon or two before meals can work wonders. Products from Flora, Source Naturals, Nature's Answer, and Nature's works are all pretty much the same. You can find them at ww.vitaminshoppe.com.
All shook up
I recently got an e-mail from a fellow who wanted to know how to treat essential tremor, a condition that causes severe shaking in your hands and arms, and sometimes in your head and legs. This problem can make it especially hard for people to do tasks that require good motor skills, like threading a needle, writing, working with tools, or even using a fork.
Doctors don't really know what causes this disease, only that it is usually triggered by stress and could be genetic. In fact, about half of the people out there with essential tremor have a family member with the same problem. When that's the case, it's usually called benign familial tremor (but it's basically the same problem). People often first start getting tremors after a traumatic event, like a car crash or the death of a loved one.
I've treated several mild cases of essential tremor, and found that the best remedies are simply to manage stress and be aware of what triggers your shakes. In some cases I might prescribe propranalol, a medication that is also used to treat high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats. It works by calming the stimulating effects of the hormone epinephrine, which your adrenal glands produce more of during stressful times. But, this medication does have side effects like fatigue and mild depression, so I'm usually pretty cautious about prescribing it.
I'm also reluctant to prescribe herbal tranquilizers, such as valerian or kava kava, for this problem. Valerian can cause over-sedation in some people, so it's best if used just as a sleep remedy. Kava kava works as well as tranquilizers like Valium, but because of some reports of liver toxicity, I'm still not sure how safe it is.
So instead, a very nice, gentle, and calming supplement you could try is L-theanine. This is an amino derived from green tea, and it's known for its balancing and calming effects on the brain, but without sedation. Don't worry, it doesn't have any caffeine. Try 100 to 200 mg once or twice a day. The Suntheanine product is available from many companies including Source Naturals and Enzymatic Therapies. Any of these are easily found on the Internet by plugging in "L-Theanine" into your search engine.
Reducing stress is also a good bet for fighting off essential tremor, since stress is a very common trigger. Regular exercise, deep breathing, meditation, prayer, and biofeedback -- these are just a few things you could try for eliminating stress.
Finally, beware of alcohol. Even though a couple of drinks may calm your tremors, over time your body will adapt to the alcohol, and you'll need more to get the same result. This could lead you down a slippery slope of addiction and dependency if it goes too far.
If your shaking limbs are seriously interfering with your quality of life, you need to see a neurologist with experience in treating essential tremor. You can locate a neurologist in your area by going to www.neurologychannel.com. There is also a national support group with local chapters that you can find through www.essentialtremor.org.
Calcium only helps you when you help yourself
For a long time, doctors have recommended that women at risk for osteoporosis take calcium supplements to ward off fractures. So it might surprise you that a recent study shows that those supplements aren't working. Well, it's not because the supplements aren't good or the doctors are wrong. Instead, researchers found that too many women aren't taking the supplements properly, if at all.
During this recent study, researchers realized that many women who reported that they do regularly take calcium supplements weren't actually taking large enough doses to do any good, or they just weren't taking the calcium as often as they should. Those women were later shown to be more at risk for hip fractures than the women who took their calcium like the doctor ordered.
One of the easiest ways to make sure you'll keep taking your calcium once you know the right dose is to set aside a certain time every day to take your vitamins. If you make it a part of your regular routine, you're less likely to forget -- and more likely to keep your bones (and the rest of your body) healthy.
Also, even if you're religious about taking your calcium, you also need to be taking at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D each day (in fact, more and more evidence is showing that the usually recommended 400 to 600 units just aren't enough). Vitamin D and calcium work together in the body to keep your bones strong.
