Jacob Teitelbaum MD is the author of 'From Fatigued to Fantastic!' a popular book on managing chronic fatigue, and 'Pain Free: 1-2-3', a step-by-step program to help identify the source of pain and understand how to alleviate it.

He frequently speaks on chronic fatigue, Fibro and on the use of supplements to manage these conditions, and has previously appeared on CNN, FOX News and the Oprah and Friends Show with Dr. Oz in the US. On Monday August 18th, he appeared on ITV's 'This Morning' Show.

My interview with Dr Teitelbaum is up on the FibroAction website here. It was hugely interesting to meet with him and discuss Fibro. Although Dr Teitelbaum speaks more often on Chronic Fatigue, which is easier for the media to understand, he is very knowledgeable about Fibro as well.

We discussed everything from the importance of Fibro patients removing major stressors, such as hated jobs, from their lives in order to move forward with treatment, to the importance of finding out actual test results, instead of just whether they fell within normal ranges. He used the analogy of shoes sizes: size 4-11 is the normal shoe size range in adults, yet this does not mean that his size 11 shoes would fit my size 5 feet. A normal test result could still mean that you are low in a hormone compared to the level your body needs, which was something backed up by Dr Patrick Wood who I later met at the World Congress on Pain (more later) who said that if patients showed classic signs of low thyroid, he often treated them even if their test results were in the normal range.

Dr Teitelbaum advocates the use of nutritional supplements for Fibro and CFS and we discussed these. One of the subjects that he feels very strongly about is that supplements need to be of good quality so that you know exactly what you are getting. This is why he recommends using Corvalen - the supplement previously mentioned by Dr Chris Steel on This Morning in April - in place of other forms of D-Ribose, which he has often found to contain very little useful D-Ribose. Dr Teitelbaum agreed wholeheartedly that supplements are not the full answer for Fibro patients and that Corvalen is verymuch not a cure for Fibro, just a possible part of a treatment regime.

I met Dr Teitelbaum along with Dr Tom Gilhooly, from the complementary healthcare clinic Glasgow Solutions. It was interesting to talk to Dr Gilhooly, whose background is in Drug Abuse and latterly MS, but who now sees a number of CFS and Fibro patients.

Dr T, as he is often called, agreed to join the FibroAction Professional Advisory Board (PAB), which I am very pleased about. I hope that we be able to make use of his knowledge, especially as concerns supplements for Fibro, in order to help Fibro patients in the UK. Dr T's article 'The Top 10 Supplements for CFS and Fibro' is available in the FibroAction Patient Section here.

Genistein is an isoflavone extracted from soybeans.  In the body, Genistein inhibits various enzymes that have many wide-ranging actions on the tissues.  The half-life of these supplements is about 8 hours.  Clinical trials, animal studies, cell-culture experiments, and epidemiological studies have provided evidence for the following physiological effects of genistein:

• strengthening the bone (especially the spine) due to estrogen deficiency
• inhibition of growth and spread of various cancers - including lung cancer

Tissue culture experiments suggest that Genistein's cancer-fighting effects occur at dosages that are hard to attain from food alone.  Reliable dosing requires the use of concentrated supplements.

The ability of genistein to reduce post-menopausal bone-loss is attested to by many studies.  These substances prevent bone loss and promote bone formation, especially in the spine.  Among the dosage regimens found to be effective are: 1 mg/day genistein + 0.5 mg/day daidzein + 42 mg/day other isoflavones (biochanin A and formononetin, in this case).

Source:  The Delano Report

I was on netrition.com looking around to see what they had for joint support supplements and found Therajoint. For the price and the fact that it has all-natural ingredients, I figured I'd try it and worst case scenario - it doesn't work and I send it back [netrition.com has great customer service]. 

Well, I just took 2 capsules in the morning with breakfast and another 2 at night with dinner and I swear each day I felt my knees feeling a little better. After about a month, the clicking and popping stopped and the soreness was gone, and it didn't take long before I had the strength in my knees to do all the exercises with full range of motion. My knees have never felt better. I've had issues with them since I was little, so needless to say, I love this product. 

It says that you should take 8 capsules a day from the start until your joint pain is gone, but I never took that many. I still take at least 2 in the morning, and if I feel I need it [if I had a particularly hard workout that day], I'll take another 2 with dinner, but if they feel okay then I skip it in the evenings. 

If you suffer from achy joints that don't seem to get any better no matter how much strengthening exercises you do for them, try Therajoint - hopefully you'll have the same results I did... and for the record, I don't make money off promoting other peoples' products or websites - I just like passing on a good find if I feel it really works, and I love it. Enjoy!

By ALISON YOUNG
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Over the years, a Woodstock company’s fruit-flavored vitamin supplement gained a loyal following. Customers swore it made them healthier and their testimonials persuaded friends and family to take it, too.

They never imagined it would be the cause of bizarre and frightening symptoms that stumped their doctors.

At least 197 people in a dozen states — 53 of them in Georgia — were sickened earlier this year after taking the liquid supplement Total Body Formula. Their hair fell out in clumps, their fingernails fell off. They suffered nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Some had disabling joint pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials.

Doctors treating 21-year-old Felicia Blasingame of Acworth this spring first thought she had the flu, then tested her for everything from parasites to lupus to rheumatoid arthritis, trying to figure out what was causing her nausea, seizures, knee pain and hair loss, she said.

Edgar Gurley, 78, of Marietta said he went from being active and healthy to suddenly in January battling a cascading array of symptoms, including diarrhea, fatigue and confusion. Gurley said doctors struggled to explain why his blood chemistry and thyroid levels were out of whack, his kidneys were failing and his hair was falling out.

As their symptoms worsened, Blasingame and Gurley said they continued to take their daily 1-ounce dose of Total Body Formula, thinking it was critical to their health.

Yet several batches of Total Body Formula and Total Body Mega Formula contained hazardous amounts of the mineral selenium — up to 40,800 micrograms per serving, 200 times the amount listed on the product’s label, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA is still investigating how this happened, and state health officials are still tallying the human toll.

Because of several pending lawsuits, lawyers for three companies involved in the manufacture and sale of Total Body products declined to discuss what happened.

3 FDA warnings

Total Body is one of more than two dozen dietary and herbal supplements that in the past year have been the subject of product recalls or FDA warnings because of various safety issues.

*SNIP*

article found here

Muscle Milk is great during workouts, I feel like I maintain or sometimes even go above what I normally do without it. So it's a nice boost without feeling weighed down. I actually drink a little before I start, a little during and then finish it off when I'm done. It doesn't have that powdery texture that other workout shakes usually do and the flavors..wow!

I usually buy the pre-made shakes but that's not to say that the powder form is not good, as well. I can do either. I just hate to clean the cups after, haha!  I can say that when I used Muscle Milk as my meal replacement, I felt full and satisfied until my next meal and maintained a nice pepped feeling.

The best part is, it comes in LIGHT and Regular formulas. So if you're trying to ADD calories, it's a great source but they haven't forgotten us calorie counters!

Benefits of using Muscle Milk Light® Ready-to-Drink

Control your cravings: Muscle Milk Light fuels your body and helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, to stop hunger attacks in their tracks.

Good nutrition, great taste: Formulated for sustained energy and satisfaction, with a complete balance of protein and fats that promote lean muscle development.

Less is more: Muscle Milk Light builds on the proven science in original Muscle Milk, yet cuts fat and calories to promote better intelligent weight management.

3 ways to fill the gaps in your daily diet: New Muscle Milk Light RTD is available in 3 user-approved flavors, to satisfy your need for energy and your desire for great taste.

Best ways to use Muscle Milk Light® Ready-to-Drink

All-around: Integrated daily: Muscle Milk Light is a satisfying way to balance out the energy rollercoaster of your busy day at work, in the gym, or at play. Drink some mid-morning and mid-afternoon to avoid the loss of focus and fatigue that often result from low blood sugar levels.

Benefits of using Muscle Milk®

Efficient Energy Production: Lean Lipids^TM are special fats that are easily mobilized for workout energy, enhance your body's fat metabolism and promote protein synthesis, anti-inflammatory effects and mineral retention.

Muscle Growth and Repair: EvoPro^TM is a complex ratio of proteins, peptides and amino acids designed to replicate the amazing benefits of mother's milk for rapid tissue growth and repair.

Best ways to use Muscle Milk®

Before: Take one serving of Muscle Milk® one hour prior to training. Muscle Milk provides the caloric energy needed for intense workouts while flooding nutrients to hungry muscles.

After: Take Muscle Milk® within 30 minutes after workouts, games or events to shift the body from catabolic to anabolic. Muscle Milk provides nutrients to kick start the recovery process.

I challenge you to try the Muscle Milk because I think you'll find that it's a nice "treat" to reward your hard workouts. I even had a friend who I was helping to lose weight via internet tell me that he loved to have one at night when he came home from a long day. He works as an architecht so there were times he wouldn't get to workout until really late and he'd drink a shake after as his "chocolate fix" for the day. It becomes something you look forward to instead of something you try to drink as fast as you can so you don't taste it.

Obtained from [ AOL Article, Natural Obesity Remedies ]

It's always nice to see AOL catch up to what's already been going on. I'm not one who likes to point out flaws and rip on things unless it needs to be, but this was kind of amusing. At the same time, I felt that it was at least catching up and informing people.

The APEX Fat Burn 2 that I take contains Pyruvate and I love it. It doesn't give me a jittery feeling or make me want to hide at home in the bathroom. It's just a subtle jump/boost to my metabolism and, as we like to say in the health club industry, an "ace in the back pocket". (if you have no idea what I'm talking about with that term, maybe it's just my own personal health club experience, haha!)

There were some other things listed on that list that I'd have to do some more research on but I liked that there was another source backing up the APEX products. It was a big decision for me to committ to taking pills, anyway. I don't like taking them and sometimes it makes me ill but even though the APEX pills are a little big, they are coated so that they go down without a problem.

So there ya go! A little "sticky note" of some helpful supplements. If you're going to spend money on something, I'd rather it be something worth the money.

It is obvious from observation in daily practice that the nonspecific musculoarthritic stiffening of older people -including polymyalgia rheumatica-  is usually easily reversed by early replacement with antioxidants including fish oil  and  appropriate steroid   hormone replacement  HRT  according to bloodlevels - vitamin D3 and testosterone in both sexes,   plus estradiol-progesterone  in deficient women, +- lowdose prednisone.

Obviously, collapsing spine and hips incur increasing immobility  osteoarthritis and frailty;

increasing arthrits incurs increasing immobility  osteoporosis; and frailty;

and increasing vascular disease (including rheumatoid/ lupus arthritis) with worse microcirculation  incurs increasing ostoporosis, frailty  otheoarthritis, and tissue, cartilage, bone and disc ischemia.  .

But, just as gouty tophi melt away with alkalis, allopurinol and probenecid, it is gratifying to see how osteoarthritic nodules and pain gradually regress and functionality return over months,  with restoration of  youthful bone density and  articular cartilage on modest dose of anabolic glucosamine plus chondroitin, combined as always with  the safe natural anti-inflammatories and antiosteoporotic agents - the vitamins  nicotinamide, pantothenate,  pyridoxine, folic acid and B12, C, D, K; the minerals calcium magnesium boron zinc and manganese; and the biologicals  fish oil, proline, .MSM, cat’s claw, boswelia, bromelain, curcumin,  and appropriate anabolic  HRT including testosterone for both genders. 

Since daily practice is clear proof, it does not need sophisticated randomized controlled trials to prove the obvious, that

provided prevention is started before spine, bones and joints are seriously damaged,

*osteoporosis is  easily safely and cheaply preventible and curable;

*chondroglucosamine restores lost articular cartilage, as two controlled  trials (Belgium; Czech)  have shown .

And it does not take wild imagination that combining  early and permanently the above  anabolic bone-muscle- cartilage-restorative and anti-inflammatory supplements with remittive substances for inflammatory arthritis will permanently prevent disability.

So it is gratifying to find trials of both
* the benefit of chondroglucosamine on synovial retention in both humans and rats with inflammatory arthritis;  and
* The full  4 year   BeSt  (Dutch)  trial report of last month, that starting with methotrexte plus inflximab instead of methotrexte prednisone + sulfasalazine  makes negligible difference  to 4year outcome -  without the farcical costs  and potentially deadly adverse effects of infliximab. 
It is instructive that the BeSt paper did not give P  or confidence intervals in the abstract- and  the full paper confirmed  that the differences are not statistically significant.

The  BeSt paper confirms that-: starting with methotrexate in all cases,  adding one drug at a time for unresponsiveness gave much poorer result than combined therapy from the start. The  endresult after 4 years was much better if infliximab , OR prednisone + sulfasalazine, was started ab initio;. 

 BUT infliximab gave 13% neurological adverse events AEs vs 2% with preds; and more infectious deaths and more non-melanoma skin cancers with infliximab.
 In the end after 4 yrs, the overall risk:benefit in the respective groups favoured initial 

*initial mtx  + preds + SSA- 4yr totals of 4gm preds (174 pt yrs)  (and  with last resort where required) infliximab 39pt yrs;  over  
*initial mtx +  infliximab  -4yr totals  181pt yrs infliximab  and (as last resort)  0.6gm preds 28pt yrs preds .

Since preds costs about 3c/mg & the total high dose preds  averaged 1gm/yr , thats

 Prednisone about R30/yr; 

 Chloroquine about R750/patient year;

  Methotrexate perhaps R500/patient year;
  SSA around R 6000 /patient year. 

  infliximab about  R100 000/ patient year
so keeping infliximab as last resort rather than first makes major sense to both cost and survival.

   
David Gotlieb of the SA Arthritis group still recommends as primary therapy
“methotrexate -   hydroxychloroquine
 methotrexate -    Sulphasalazine
 Sulphasalazine - hydroxychloroquine
  methotrexate -    hydroxychloroquine - sulphasalazine.
 plus for Articular RA, my usual regimen is to start at 7.5mg per day and maintain this dose until the DMARDS take effect. This is usually at approximately 2 months. Ithen start a slow reduction - to 5mg per day for a further month to 2 months, and then 2.5mg per day. Further reduction then depends on progress. If possible, the dose is then reduced to 2.5mg alternate day, an subsequently to 2.5mg every third day.    Only then do I consider stopping the drug.
If at any step reduction, the patient becomes stiff or swollen, I maintain the previous level a further month before attempting a reduction again.
If a small maintenance dose is still required - it is almost invariably at 2.5 mg per day or less.”

The UK and USA guidelines do not recommend  early anti-TNF tumour necrosis  drugs like infliximab.   

Indomethacid has been reported to accelerate articular loss, whereas other anti-inflammatories do not slow the loss; while in one  2005 USA trial, doxycycline merely slowed the progression of OA joint narrowing by 30%.   

CONCLUSION:  all cases of arthitis  (and suspected fracture) should be seen early - within days- by a medical doctor; and osteoporosis risk also assessed; if only by ultrasound; 

if symptoms do not settle rapidly on symptomatic therapy (eg for gout, sexually transmitted disease)  and appropriate antimicrobials for possible micro-organism causes, and apprpriate HRT,

then appropriate baseline xrays and blood tests should be done, (including hormones, and  to exclude tuberculosis, STDs) ,

and appropriate anti-inflammatories and anabolics should be started:

modest initial symptom-controlling prednisone+chloroquine+ methotrexate -  R100pm.

+appropriate HRT(testosterone for all, + estradiol for women)  about               R40pm;

add       4gm cod liver oil /day                                                                    R20pm;  

+ modest natural  anti-arthritic antiosteoporotic agents  about                     R200pm

I'm off this morning for a lunch meeting with Dr Jacob Teitelbaum and the organisers of his visit to the UK which should be extremely interesting. Dr Teitelbaum is the author of 'From Fatigued to Fantastic' and 'Pain:1-2-3' and frequently speaks publicly about chronic fatigue, Fibro and the use of supplements to manage these conditions. As well as giving a lecture in Glasgow on Thursday, "Dr T" is doing quite a bit of media during his week long visit - look out for him on ITV's 'This Morning' tomorrow. He is mainly concentrating on chronic fatigue when dealing with the media, but he does a lot of work with Fibro patients too. For more information on Dr T's visit, see the FibroAction website.

After that, I am hopping on a plane to Glasgow to attend the first day of the World Congress on Pain tomorrow. Fibro expert Daniel Clauw MD is speaking and a number of other Fibro experts and researchers are presenting posters. I'm expecting it to be fascinating... but also exhausting.

Flying home Tuesday after  - hopefully - a productive few days!

Hello again! Thought I’d post an update on the experience of beginning the full Conscious Planet program, which we started on August 7^th. It’s been quite the ride so far, and the next phase is yet to come!

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had been given our individualized CP programs by Dorothy when she completed our wellness assessments. We got our products in the mail on August 6^th and were excited to finally begin and see whether our experiences would match the amazing testimonials we had read on the website. We were already using the hemp seeds and the hemp oil, and I was using the digestive enzymes, but we had not tried anything else in the program and we were eager to get started.

We had our first Shapeshift shake on the morning of the 7^th and have had one every day since then. Shapeshift is designed to give you a raw, enzyme-rich, and alkaline start in the morning, which is really important to help get the body closer to homeostasis—a balanced internal environment—for the day. This state is what enables the body to use its innate intelligence for self-healing and cleansing, rather than using vital resources trying to return the body to an alkaline state.

Shapeshift is a potent dark powder created from a combination of hemp protein powder, hemp nut powder, cacao powder (raw chocolate—mmmmmmmmm), and organic vegetables and greens including carrots, spinach, beets, kale, asparagus, broccoli, wheat grass, and barley grass. It also contains crystallized cane juice, rice brain, Catalyze enzyme blend (the same as the capsules I am taking) and spices to give it a chai-like flavor.

That first day, we decided to blend the Shapeshift powder with some hemp milk and water, and after letting it sit for 10 minutes to re-hydrate it was time to test it out. To quote Alexander, “Bottoms up!” Despite its slightly gritty texture, I found the taste to be subtle and quite delicious, especially being the lover of chocolate that I am! Over the past week, even when I hesitantly started to add raw spinach to the smoothies (as per our instructions to start at least 4 mornings with a full-on green drink), I have found myself enjoying the smoothies more and more. We both find them a satisfying start to the morning and have not been eating anything else until a mid-morning snack or lunch time.

Alexander started with the potent Genesis product right away and found that each time he took it (every second day) he would get a headache—a good sign, in the world of detoxification, even if uncomfortable. It means the product was beginning to move junk out of his cells.

I was surprised at the potency for me of the little bottle of Hydralyte, which is described as a “accelerated ionic mineral elixir.” (You can read more about both Genesis and Hydralyte on the products page on the CP website. ) Hydralyte is made of a concentrate of humic shale ancient plant minerals and Zeolite clay, neither of which I had ever heard of. I have done a bit of research online and discovered that Zeolite is a naturally occurring mineral group consisting of over 50 different minerals. It has been adapted for many different uses, including decontaminating radiation! Apparently, Zeolite clays are particularly known for their ability to remove toxic metals from the air, water, and soil because of their unusual structure of “pores” (channels and holes) that allows them to absorb huge amounts of contaminant materials. That should be good for my heavy metal toxicity!

Within a couple of days of taking the Hydralyte I was experiencing some really uncomfortable emotional detox symptoms—a heavy sort of hopelessness and depression as well as some fairly potent feelings of anger started to come up, kind of like triple strength PMS. Luckily that passed after a couple of days, but I was surprised by the emotional discomfort I was experiencing. I slowly increased my dose of Hydralyte to the dose recommended by Dorothy, and then increasingly began to experience more physical symptoms—feeling slightly dizzy and spacy, intermittent nausea, and increased frequency of bowel movements.

When I wrote to Dorothy about my experience, she said that “emotionally detoxing is definitely a big part of what happens as you physically detox.” She generally finds that people go through the emotional aspect of detoxing much more quickly than the physical part, which is exactly what I experienced. Who knew that physical toxins and emotions could be so connected?! She suggested that I reduce my dosage of Hydralyte if I wanted to reduce my symptoms—it’s our choice how we want to detox, and she says she prefers slower and longer herself, although some people want to get through it “fast and furious.” I have chosen to reduce my dosage slightly so that my liver and kidneys can handle the addition of Genesis, starting today! Meanwhile, Alexander will be beginning his enzymes and probiotics in week three. I very much look forward to seeing where these new detoxified bodies can take us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

If you are interested, there are some new video testimonials on the home page of the Conscious Planet website. I was especially interested in the testimonials of Challamar and Sam. Check them out here!

With appreciation,

]]> http://yourdreamsizeblog.wordpress.com/?p=11 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:59:05 +0000 DebbieJ http://yourdreamsizeblog.wordpress.com/?p=11

What is Your Dream Size? What are you doing to get there? What are you eating? Are you eating healthy? Are you exercising? These are just some of the questions we will answer. I have had yeast issues and food allergies and will share my experiences and what I have done to correct these problems. It is truly amazing how much food can effect our everyday lives and how simple it is to fix...if you know what to do.

I am not a doctor, and will not make any medical claims or anything like that. I just want to help educate you and share experiences I have had along with the experiences of my friends and family. Please be open minded as far as learning about all natural products/supplements, and what food can do to your body. I'm not saying that I don't believe in prescriptions and doctors...what I am saying is that there can be other alternatives to drugs. There is a time and place for everything.

In today's day and age, so many of us go to a doctor, where they diagnose the problem, prescribe medication and send you on your merry way. We never get to the "root" of the situation. Doctors treat from the outside, in. With alternative medicine, the treat from the inside out. Huge difference. They are not just looking to treat the symptoms, they are looking at what is causing the symptoms and the reason why.

Many, many years ago, I had yeast issues. I went to the doctor and was prescribed an antibiotic. Yes, my yeast infection went away, and then it would come back. Obviously, something was causing this. Before I had yeast problems, I didn't know any different either. I have learned a lot over the years, and continue to learn about how different foods can effect us.

If you are having problems, been to doctors over the years and still have no answers, maybe it's time to try something different. Be open minded when it comes to alternative medicine, natural remedies and supplements. It could just be the answer you don't even know you are looking for.

To your health!

Debbie James
Energy Flows Where Attention Goes

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