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Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File healthy_talk/1525ht3e.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 17, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
It's time for you to be a part of the show. Email or call with questions for Dr. Mike now. Email AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call 877-711-5211. What are you waiting for? The doctor is in!
DR. MIKE: My first question comes from a listener. Her name is Connie. Connie, thanks for sending me in your question. She's asking:
"I've been taking NAD+ for six months now for longevity."
Now, I'm going to stop right there and just let my other listeners know that NAD+ is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, and when you supplement with it, it helps the cell to manage energy better, make more energy to function better. It really is about cell longevity. But if the cell's living longer, you're going to live longer. So, that's what NAD+ is. It's a supplement. Life Extension has a product that is NAD+.
"However, I recently started taking one gram of nicotinamide to decrease my chances of getting another bought of skin cancer, as recommended in a recent Australian study. Do I really need to be taking the NAD+? Or will the nicotinamide cover both health concerns?"
Okay. Now, let me back up, Connie, in answering this question, too. The NAD+ is a product. When you're taking the NAD+ product, you're not actually taking NAD+; you're taking the precursor to NAD+ and that precursor, the best one out there is called nicotinamide riboside. It's just usually abbreviated NR for nicotinamide riboside. Now, you're adding, it looks like, nicotinamide; just straightforward nicotinamide, not nicotinamide riboside. You're just adding another nicotinamide to your regiment for the skin cancer.
The question becomes then, do you need to do both? Do you need to do nicotinamide riboside and also the nicotinamide? The answer to that is yes. The nicotinamide riboside is directed towards the cell and is able to become NAD+ in the cell in only one step. The nicotinamide is going to have to go through a conversion into a riboside-type compound that then becomes NAD+.
So, to answer your question, Connie, yeah, you should. You should do both. The nicotinamide riboside is going to boost NAD+ levels very quickly for you. The nicotinamide that you're doing might become some NAD+, but it has other benefits in regards to the skin cancer that the nicotinamide riboside doesn't. So, I would do both. Of course I can't tell you to do anything. You need to talk to your own doctor, Connie. That's my disclaimer. But I don't see any problem with doing both. You can almost think of the nicotinamide that you're doing as for the cancer and then you can consider the nicotinamide riboside in the NAD+ product for cell energy. Kind of think of it like that. Keep it separate in your mind.
Alright. Thank you so much, Connie, for sending your question.
Next question came from a loyal listener of mine, Manny. Manny, by the way, has sent me lots of questions before or at least one email with a few questions a couple months ago. So, he has some new ones for me. I love that! I must have gave him some good answers. [laughing] Manny, so I want to thank you for sending me some additional questions.
The first one is really interesting, and I get this a lot actually. Manny's first question:
"I did the Life Extension nutrient panel blood test, and my vitamin B-12 and folate levels are very high: greater than 1,999, where the reference ranges 211 to 946. Is that going to be a problem for me?"
Well, Manny, no. It's not a problem. There's no harm in having high levels of vitamin B-12, and even folate. The reason that I can say that is these are very transient nutrients for your body, and they fluctuate; they have high peaks, low valleys. After you've maybe done your multivitamin that has a nice B-complex in it, for a couple hours your levels are going to be high. But the body uses B-12 and folic acid like crazy, and those levels are going to come down. So, it's not really a concern. The only B-vitamin that's a concern when it comes high, by the way – when it comes back high from these panels – is vitamin B-6. That one does have some nerve issues if it gets too high. But B-12, folic acid, people who take supplements, I see them high all the time. And it doesn't bother me. So, I think you're fine there.
There's another question here that's kind of a part two of this.
"I take Life Extension mix." So, Life Extension mix, for my listeners, is really, in my opinion, one of the best multivitamins on the market. He tells me he also does – oh, I see what he's doing here. He's just telling me what he takes. He does the mix, which has a B-complex. He does a Nature Made Balanced B-100. Yes, you're getting a lot of B vitamins in there, Manny. I'm not so sure why you're doing the extra B-complex because the Life Extension mix has a wonderful B in it, the equivalent of about a B-100. So, I'm not sure why you're doing that extra B-100. Maybe your doctor said. You might want to ask, "Why am I doing this extra B?" This is why your B-12 and folic acid are a little bit high, and it doesn't bother me. So, I think you're fine.
Okay. Question number two from Manny:
"I have been taking magnesium with calcium. I wonder if magnesium citrate is better. And how much do I need to take per day? Some people said magnesium and calcium ratios should be 1:2. I also take vitamin K-2. Is there a ratio to calcium as well?"
So, the first part of this question, Manny, is magnesium citrate better than the combination you're getting in the other product when it's mixed with calcium? Magnesium citrate does absorb better than any other form of magnesium, that's true. The problem is any time you have citrate added to the minerals – so calcium citrate, magnesium citrate – it becomes this huge molecule and you really can't mix it with anything else. It's just too big. So, magnesium, if you were going to do just straightforward magnesium by itself and that was the only thing you were going to do, magnesium citrate would be better. However, when you mix it with another mineral like calcium, it's too big. You can't do it, so we have to use other forms, like magnesium bisglycinate for instance. The studies that we've done at Life Extension, those other forms of magnesium that were mixing with the calcium absorbed not quite as good as the citrate, but pretty darn close.
So, I think you're fine with the combo of magnesium calcium. I don't think you need to be switching to the citrate.
As far as the ratio, most people do about a 1:2. So, if you're doing 500 milligrams of magnesium, you want to do maybe a gram of calcium, something like that. Most men probably need between 500 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams of calcium and then you can do half that for your magnesium and that's a fine ratio. But there's no ratio with vitamin K-2. Regardless of how much calcium you're bringing in, you want to make sure you're bringing in about a milligram or so of vitamin K-2. It doesn't really matter how much calcium you're bringing in.
Great, great questions. Manny, I really appreciate you sending me those in.
I only have 60 seconds left, so let me find a short question here. Here we go:
"What's your opinion, Dr. Mike, about drinking unpasteurized milk?"
If it's stored properly and consumed within a couple days of milking the cow, I actually think unpasteurized milk is fine. I know there are probably some doctors out there going, "Oh my god, he's going to kill people!" No, give me a break. Pasteurization kills everything. Pasteurized milk is just basically sugar. It causes acne and allergy problems because there's weird proteins in it now because the heat causes weird proteins. Unpasteurized milk, I think, is fine. I think it's been demonized for no reason. I think if it's stored properly and you drink it quickly, it's perfectly okay.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File healthy_talk/1525ht3d.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 17, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
You're listening to RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike on Healthy Talk. Call or email to ask your questions now. Email AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: The next listener question is asking, "Can someone get hooked on Adderall?" Have you heard of Adderall before? It's a stimulatory type drug that's used pretty commonly now to treat ADHD or Attention Deficit Disorder. There are some concerns about it becoming habit forming, and that's what people mean by getting hooked on it. Is it habit forming?
Well, first of all, let's just talk about what is Adderall. Adderall is a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, so it is a combination of two speed-based chemicals. Right there, I can tell you the answer to this is very simple. I don't care what the manufacturer says about its habit-forming potential. It's speed, and it's two forms of speed. Yes, you can get hooked on it. Amphetamine and dextroamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants that affect chemicals in the brain, nerves, it contributes to – it has an effect – these speed-based compounds have an effect on hyperactivity and impulse control and we're not really sure how these drugs work ultimately. So, here you have somebody with an attention problem, even a hyperactivity attention problem, and we give them speed amphetamine? It does seem to help bring people who really need it into focus.
This is what is really interesting about it: talk to people who are addicted to crystal meth--crystal methamphetamine on the street, speed on the street; they'll tell you – talk to people in treatment programs – that one of the best things about it is that for a couple days (because it will keep you up for a couple days), they're focused; they're able to actually do some things for a while: organize, get some cleaning done. It actually gives you some focus on things. Of course, as you continue to abuse it, that becomes less and less. There's this interesting side effect to speed as it does help organize thought a little bit.
Adderall is used to treat narcolepsy (which is where you fall asleep) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Bottom line here: amphetamine and dextroamphetamine absolutely have the potential for being habit forming. Then, you combine them in one drug called Adderall. Yes. This is speed.
So, I don't want to just leave it there, though. The listener that asked this question, I don't want to just leave it there. So, what are some of the alternatives?
Before I go into these alternatives, let me go back and say something, though, about Adderall. It does have some benefit. There are some people with extreme cases, in my opinion, with ADD or ADHD that do benefit from it. Please understand that if you're someone who's taking Adderall and it's the only thing that's worked and you actually are doing a little bit better, that's fine. There are situations where these speed-based, amphetamine-based drugs do work and they do need to be used and they can make a major impact on people's lives.
I have concern about giving these kinds of drugs to kids. We have no idea what's happening with these speed-based drugs in a developing brain. We just don't. There is a situation where these drugs are important and can help you but what are some natural alternatives to Adderall that may not be so habit forming or not even habit forming at all?
The first thing really is about diet. I think if you have ADHD or ADD, whether adult or kid, diet really is key—very, very important. No artificial anything in your diet. Nothing. No artificial colors, especially. It's the artificial colors that really are starting to pan out in the research to have a link to attention deficit. Things like Quinoline Yellow. Have you ever heard of that? It's an actual color we use in food. The number is E104. That's my opinion--that research shows pretty clearly that that has a link to ADHD. Another one is called Sunset Yellow. E110. Allura Red. E125. You've got to avoid those things. No artificial colors. No artificial sweeteners. You've got to be eating fresh, organic food. That's number one.
Number two. You know when it comes to supplements, it's a little tougher. There's not a lot of research using supplements in ADHD. There are some out there. We've written about it at Life Extension. We even have an ADHD protocol. So, fish oil--the Omega 3 oils--2-4 grams a day. One called Phosphatidylserine; PS is how it is abbreviated. PS caps. About 100 milligrams a day. Anything that's choline based: phosphatidylcholine products. Choline is important to the production of acetylcholine, which could play a role here. Carnitine might play a role in ADHD. Magnesium. There's some interesting research linking a lot of these types of attention problems to gut issues, digestive issues, so maybe some probiotics thrown in the mix. Ginseng has shown some benefit in ADHD. And, of course, everything I just said – fish oil, PS caps, choline, carnitine, magnesium, probiotics, ginseng – obviously, these are not habit forming. They might be some alternatives for you. Give them a try. If they don't work, trust me, your doctor will always be fine writing a prescription for Adderall. Again, there are some people out there – I may even have some listeners – who take Adderall and it's the best thing they've ever done. I get that. But you're a one percenter if that's the case. Most people don't get that kind of benefit from Adderall. It is habit forming and I think there's other things that we can do.
Alright, great question.
Question number two. "What's better to take for aches and pains: Tylenol or Advil?" Tylenol is acetaminophen. Advil is ibuprofen. So, it's the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen versus the acetaminophen Tylenol. Most people probably are familiar with both of these. It's hard to answer this question because it's very variable. The effect of nonsteroidal drugs like ibuprofen and acetaminophen in people is all over the place.
I can give you my own personal experience. I mean, I don't use these drugs a lot. I do a lot of good supplements. I like tart cherry for aches and pains; that always does well for me. But, obviously, I've been around for a while; I've used both Tylenol and ibuprofen. From my own personal experience, Tylenol never does anything for me; even some higher doses of Tylenol. Fevers, aches, I don't ever get any effect out of Tylenol. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, works really well. There you go. So, I think it's just kind of a trial-error approach.
I think they key thing to remember though with both of these drugs is dose. These types of aches and pain drugs have very narrow dose ranges, and it's important not to go over those because they can be dangerous. If you do too much Tylenol, liver damage. Too much ibuprofen, kidney damage and bleeding in your gut can happen. Tylenol dose: the max dose is 4000 milligrams a day. That's the max 24-hour dose. 4000 milligrams. You cannot go over that. The problem with Tylenol is, it's mixed with all kinds of other drugs now. You might be doing a Tylenol product plus another pain reliever that has some Tylenol in it and you don't even know it. So, you've got to look at labels. Do not do more than 4000 milligrams of Tylenol a day. For Advil or ibuprofen, the max in a 24-hour period is 1600 milligrams. If you go over that, you could have kidney issues, ulcer issues, bleeding issues. So, you've got to be careful with that.
So it's trial and error. For me, ibuprofen works better. Watch those max doses. 4000 for Tylenol. 1600 in a day for ibuprofen.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
What are some safer alternatives to mercury fillings?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File healthy_talk/1525ht3c.mp3
- Featured Speaker Robert H. Gregg II, DDS
- Organization LANAP
-
Guest Bio
Dr. Robert Gregg is a former faculty member at UCLA School of Dentistry, Section of Hospital Dentistry.
He has been using lasers clinically since August 1990, including CO2, free-running pulsed (FRP) Nd:YAG, both single- and variable-pulsed; FRP Ho:YAG, surgical Argon, CW Diodes, and Er:YAG. He has given lectures nationally and internationally on the subject of clinical laser applications.
Dr. Gregg is a co-developer of the FDA-cleared PerioLase® MVP-7™ pulsed Nd:YAG laser, and is a co-developer and patent holder of the LANAP® laser periodontitis treatment. He maintains a group private practice where he sees patients. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 17, 2015
Host: Mike Smith, MD
Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer, and national medical media personality, Dr. Michael Smith MD, with Healthy Talk.
DR. MIKE: So, I'm back with Dr. Robert Gregg. He is the President and Chairman of the Board for Millennium Dental Technologies. He's worked with the School of Dentistry over at UCLA. He's worked with lasers most of his career; he's even the co-developer of a specific laser that we'll talk about a little bit later in the show.
Dr. Gregg, welcome to Healthy Talk.
DR. GREGG: Thanks, Mike. Good to be here with you again.
DR. MIKE: We just talked a lot about the issues with mercury fillings, and you mentioned a few alternatives to mercury and what's available out there. So, I want to talk a little bit more about that with you. But before we do that, let's say a patient comes into your office, Dr. Gregg, and they have mercury fillings. How do you actually remove that? It would seem to me that that might even be an issue, just removing the mercury. What kind of process do you go through?
DR. GREGG: There's a very specific process for removing silver amalgams. It's interesting that OSHA doesn't allow us to dispense any of our residue amalgams into anywhere but a secure container covered in water. So, if their concerned about it, what are those concerns for the patient? [laughing]
DR. MIKE: [laughing] Right.
DR. GREGG: We have to handle it like a hazardous waste in our office. I don't use it anymore, but in the days back in the 80's when I did, we had to handle it like it was a hazardous waste. What you do is you put a rubber mask over the tube that surrounds the tooth and you use high volume evacuation. In some cases, you have an additional vapor remover that looks kind of like an elephant's trunk that can suction any additional vapor out of the room. But you do it underwater, and most of the time it is just the safety process. As long as you're submerging amalgam underwater, it's fairly safe but you don't want to be touching the skin and the tissues.
DR. MIKE: This is interesting. Even OSHA recognizes the toxicity of mercury.
DR. GREGG: Oh, my gosh, yes.
DR. MIKE: Yet we're putting this in people's bodies and stuff, so that right there tells you something.
DR. GREGG: It's quite ironic. That's why I stopped using those amalgams in the 80's.
DR. MIKE: Can any dentist remove it? Is this extra training people go through?
DR. GREGG: No.
DR. MIKE: If I have mercury fillings, can I go in just a general dental office and get it removed?
DR. GREGG: Yes. I think the difference lies in those that take the additional steps of safety precautions—isolating the tooth with a rubber band is what it's called – but more and more dentists are going back to our dental school training which is what we did. We put rubber bands over the teeth we were working on, a rubber mask.
DR. MIKE: Let's talk about some of those alternatives that you had mentioned before. You mentioned that these can be costly, so why don't we start with maybe some of the alternatives; let's move it from least costly to most expensive as you discuss this.
DR. GREGG: It's fascinating and I'm sure you probably see some irony in your medical literatures, that the dental literature looks at the success of a filling, whatever it is, by how long the filling lasts, not how much damage happens to the tooth. Why aren't we grading our restoration by how well they service the tooth?
There's a very inexpensive, white filling material, it's called Ketac, and you do not have to create the wedge shape prep in the tooth (where you actually undermine the supporting walls of the tooth), you can bond that in, it releases fluoride to the tooth, it's not supposed to be a permanent restoration, but I've had patients slip way and out of my practice for 10 and 20 years and when I finally get them back in to re-care and I take that Ketac out, there's absolutely no damage, no fractures, no residue, no metal sulfites that have been leeched because there are no metals in the Ketac at all. If you were to go to peer review and represent that as a permanent restoration, they'd scold you and slap your wrist and I don't know what else. But it doesn't damage the tooth. That's the point. And they do last, even if they wear. So, we start to grade our restorations by how successful they are in longevity, regardless of all the damage it's doing to the teeth.
DR. MIKE: Dr. Gregg, but where did the standard come from then, that we're going to look at the actual filling itself and how long that lasts versus tooth damage? Where did that start? Why are they measuring that?
DR. GREGG: American Dental Association.
DR. MIKE: That's just the standard they came up with? Because I sense some frustration even in you when you talk about this. [laughing]
DR. GREGG: I am. I am very frustrated. There's a reason why the Academy of General Dentistry formed. It was some disaffected general dentists with the ADA. And it's the same thing with the AMA. My dad was a physician. They often don't represent the interest of frontline general practitioner.
DR. MIKE: So, that's one alternative. Let's go into the different alternatives, because I'm going to make sure we get through all this, Dr. Gregg.
DR. GREGG: Sure.
DR. MIKE: So, that's one. Now how expensive is that that you just described?
DR. GREGG: You're talking comparable with silver filling. It's right in there.
DR. MIKE: But long term less tooth damage, so probably a better option. What's another option that people can use if they want to spend a little bit more money?
DR. GREGG: A little bit more money might be some of the new packable composites, that's really what they're referred to, because they're a composition of resin and glass. Some people call them porcelain fillings. That's kind of a misnomer. They're really composites. Those are probably two and a half times maybe a silver filling per surface, so they do start to go up and more technique sensitive. The Ketac is not as technique sensitive; it's pretty simple. You put it in just like you do an amalgam. Just a little bit different, but no technique sensitivity.
Then you go up from there, and you start to get into some of the fifth and six generation ceramics that are cast just like gold is cast, and you bond them to the tooth. And they actually are restorative versus the filling. So, you can take a tooth that's been hollowed out from a previous amalgam and insert these in and unless some extreme force like a car accident, these don't break. I used the first generation stuff and it was more brittle. This stuff nowadays is called E-max, to a lesser degree zirconia, E-max especially, it just doesn't fracture under duress of the mouth, and chewing on things and biting on inappropriate things like corn nuts and things like that on Super Bowl Sunday.
DR. MIKE: [laughing] So, Dr. Gregg, if one of my listeners is interested in learning about some of these alternatives that you're speaking of, is there a website or source – your own website – that they can learn about this stuff?
DR. GREGG: Not on our website. There are a number of websites. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry probably is a good one. You might find some information on the ADA's website, but it would be kind of limited. Of course, the restoration of last resort is a full coverage crown. That can be all porcelain, all gold, it could even be stainless steel that might be filled with color.
DR. MIKE: Let's do this, Dr. Gregg. I'm going to put you on the spot here because we only have about a minute left. I have two questions that I'm going to put together in one. And these questions came from the last time that you were on. I have a listener from Houston named Amy, and a listener from St. Louis named Kevin. I'm going to kind of put their questions together. What is a deep pocket exactly and how do the lasers help with deep pockets?
DR. GREGG: Deep pocket is where the gum tissue meets the tooth. You measure that with a probe that has millimeter markings on it. So, normal is one to three, and anything three and above--so four, five, six, and up--is a deep pocket.
DR. MIKE: What's the downside to the deep pocket? What's in there and what does the laser do? You've got about ten seconds. [laughing]
DR. GREGG: It's an inflammatory process. It's destructive to the attachment of the tooth to the bone, and the laser is designed to kill the infection and kill the inflammatory process.
DR. MIKE: Okay, perfect timing, Dr. Gregg. We're going to have to leave it there. Thanks for coming on. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Mercury fillings have been used for decades, but are they safe?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File healthy_talk/1525ht3b.mp3
- Featured Speaker Robert H. Gregg II, DDS
- Organization LANAP
-
Guest Bio
Dr. Robert Gregg is a former faculty member at UCLA School of Dentistry, Section of Hospital Dentistry.
He has been using lasers clinically since August 1990, including CO2, free-running pulsed (FRP) Nd:YAG, both single- and variable-pulsed; FRP Ho:YAG, surgical Argon, CW Diodes, and Er:YAG. He has given lectures nationally and internationally on the subject of clinical laser applications.
Dr. Gregg is a co-developer of the FDA-cleared PerioLase® MVP-7™ pulsed Nd:YAG laser, and is a co-developer and patent holder of the LANAP® laser periodontitis treatment. He maintains a group private practice where he sees patients. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 17, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Living longer, and staying healthier. It's Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith MD. Here's your host, Dr. Mike.
DR. MIKE: Are mercury fillings really that bad? My guest is Dr. Robert Gregg. He's the President and Chairman of the Board of Millennium Dental Technologies. He's a former faculty member at UCLA, School of Dentistry. He's been using lasers clinically since the 1990s; he's given lectures on how to use laser treatments for your gums and teeth all over the world. Dr. Gregg is also the co-developer and patent holder of the LANAP laser periodontitis treatment.
Dr. Gregg, welcome to Healthy Talk.
DR. GREGG: Thank you, it's nice to be with you.
DR. MIKE: Sorry about that. I stumbled through a lot of your introduction there. We were on before and we talked about the lasers that you use, we talked about gum disease, all that kind of stuff, and I do have some follow-ups on that past interview. But I want to focus – I brought you on again because I thought you were a great guest – and I wanted to talk about mercury fillings with you. I found a site, Dr. Gregg, here that kind of went through the history of mercury as a filling for teeth and cavities, and it looks like – and I didn't know this – it was first used in the United States way back in the 1830's. Can you just give us a little bit of history about mercury in dentistry?
DR. GREGG: Well, it goes back all the way to the Ming Dynasty in 600 AD. It was used in Germany in 1500. It's a simple composition of quicksilver, or mercury, and silver powder. So, you mix those two together and they form a solid, which is really quite an interesting property. It's easy to put in the mouth; just about anybody could put it in.
It's like wood spackle for the walls; it's a pasty type substance when you put it in, and then it hardens. It doesn't get any easier than that. So, even midlevel providers are being advocated to place it because there's no real skill involved. I talk to patients at Civil War Dentistry about why are we doing that sort of dentistry in the age of resins, ceramics, bonding, and hi-tech dentistry.
DR. MIKE: Looking at the history, even when it was first used in the United States in the 1800's, there was some concern about it back then, true?
DR. GREGG: Sure. Mercury is a known neurotoxin, and there's always a concern about what happens to that mercury as the amalgam is setting up, because it isn't an instant set; it does take a few minutes for that to set up. There is now some evidence-- even on the FDA's website it talks about the release of mercury vapor in the mouth during chewing, drinking carbonated beverages, tooth grinding at night, and the like.
DR. MIKE: If the mercury – obviously, we know, as you said it's a neurotoxin – what are some of the other health consequences of mercury in your system?
DR. GREGG: Well, neurotoxins affect the liver, the kidney, brain, and they can cause MS type symptoms like shaking, tremors if you get a high level. I don't think we're talking about that high level with silver mercury fillings.
I think we're talking about whether or not it affects the immune system. I've seen that the localized immune response with tissues that turn fire red in the presence of amalgam touching the tissue or near the tissue. As soon as you remove and replace the amalgam tissue, that fire red tissue goes away. Other people are just very sensitive to chemicals in the environment, and I replace them on doctor's orders, if you will, because of a patient's compromised immune system. So, anything that challenges the immune system.
Some of the other interesting things that never get talked about is that silver is a metallic substance-- or mercury fillings are a metallic substance. They interact with saliva and other metals in the mouth, like gold, and you create a galvanic current. Now galvanism has other problems, again in sensitive people. I've worked with Chinese doctors who tell me that it affects the meridians in the body if they have this low-grade electrical current where it's not supposed to be. There's also the issue of galvanic decay underneath a crown.
So, you have a silver filling that was once there, you prep the tooth for a crown, you leave some silver behind, and then you put a gold crown on or a gold crown with a porcelain overlay, and that actually starts an electrical current that can cause decay underneath the crown. That's another concern.
There's a saying – it's an inside joke with dentists – that silver fillings grow up to be crowns. Now, say that to any dentist and you'll get a smile. He or she knows exactly what you're talking about.
But the scary thing is, when I got out of school in the mid 80's, I never was told that silver fillings break teeth. That's what kept me in business my first five years. Silver fillings fracture cusps; they split the teeth into two; they split the teeth into the pulp chambers, so we have to do root canals. If you want to have an annuity in a dental practice, just put a lot of silver fillings in because you'll be doing business ten, twenty years down the road. Nothing else breaks teeth like silver fillings.
DR. MIKE: Wow. Interesting. When I was telling a friend of mine, Dr. Gregg, that you were going to come on and we were going to talk about mercury, she was really interested in this. She's had fillings before and she asked me an interesting question. She said, "How do I know if the fillings I have are mercury fillings?" I guess a lot of times when fillings are placed in, dentists aren't telling the patients exactly what they're using. So, how does somebody know if they actually have a mercury filling?
DR. GREGG: One survey said 72 percent of the US did not know silver fillings contained mercury, and 92 percent would like to know if they were going to have those silver fillings or mercury fillings when they were placed. So, clearly there's not a lot of informed consent going on with silver filling with placement.
But how do you know? They look like something gray in the tooth. They're a metallic gray. There's rarely anything else that we put in the teeth that has that color. So, if it's gray, it's probably silver filling. But the other thing is, you don't know if you've got a white filling, that there might be some silver filling underneath, unless the doctor says, "Hey, I removed all of the metal content in that tooth, then I placed the white filling."
DR. MIKE: I do want to get into – well, probably we'll have to move that over into the next segment talking about what are some of the alternatives. What do you like to use, Dr. Gregg, in these cases? So, how prevalent is this? If we have decided that maybe mercury fillings aren't the best thing for people and that type of message is getting out there, I think more and more people are going to be going to their dentist one, wondering if they have mercury fillings, and two, if they do, wanting them removed. I mean, are we talking about a significant number of people here?
DR. GREGG: Oh, my gosh, yes. Yeah, we're talking about 70 percent of the population has silver fillings. For decades, and even longer than that, it's been the primary restoration for the dental community. It's only recently within the last 30 years that we've come out with some ceramics, some plastic white fillings, bonded; those are more technique sensitive and they require more skill and training to place, and they're more expensive. That's the pushback and it's understandable. If you can place something on a tooth that restores the tooth versus just fills it, you're investment over time is going to be that much greater.
You're not going to have the toxicity effects, the allergic effects, the fracture problem, root decay, a lot of these ceramics have fluoride in them in small amounts. There are other options out there; they just have to go to the dentist and have a conversation.
DR. MIKE: Well, let me ask you this, Dr. Gregg. If somebody, let's say they have mercury fillings and they've been in their mouth for 40, 50, 60 years, and they don't seem to have any problems, do they have to go have them removed? Would you still suggest that?
DR. GREGG: No, I wouldn't say do a wholesale replacement. But I have told patients that there's not a single silver filling I've taken out of a tooth that didn't have at least one and, depending on how many decades, many multiple fractures in the tooth. And that's not good for the tooth. A lot of people don't realize silver fillings and mercury fillings leech metal sulfide out into the tooth.
DR. MIKE: You know, Dr. Gregg, let's leave it there. This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received Yes
- Host Mike Smith, MD
A ketogenic diet is high in fat, low in carbohydrates and has an average amount of protein. Could this combination help fight cancer?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File healthy_talk/1525ht3a.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 17, 2015
Host: Mike Smith, MD
Living longer and staying healthier. It's Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. Here's your host, Dr. Mike.
DR MIKE: I have a couple of good friends that are fighting cancer right now. One friend of mine has liver cancer and another one has colon cancer. I came across a really nice article written by my friend Maylin Paez, who also is at Life Extension, and you can read the full article at blog.lifeextension.com. She's writing about a type of diet that might be able to play a major role in helping people fight cancer and that is the ketogenic diet.
So, what is a ketogenic diet?
Well, the main source of energy for your body, especially the brain, are carbohydrates, right? The carbs, even the complex ones, eventually are all broken down into the simple sugars like glucose and that should mean glucose is your main energy source.
The body is really kind of geared, the cells are really kind of geared, to run off carbs. But if you limit the amount of carbs coming in, it forces the body to use a different source and the main source it will use are fats. When you break down fats to burn as energy, you produce these ketones that are called ketone bodies. The brain can run off these ketone bodies from the breakdown of fat and so can muscle cells and pretty much everything in your body. It's not the preferred source but it works.
It's the whole basis of say, the Atkins diet or even the South Beach diet in which you limit carbs, you burn more fat, that kind of stuff. But if you really limit the carbs, you will produce a lot of these ketone bodies because you're breaking down so much fat and that's where the word ketogenic diet comes from.
This diet initially was used to treat epilepsy, a seizure disorder, with some success. It kind of fell out of favor not because it wasn't working but because the anti-convulsant drugs came out in the market and so those were being prescribed for epilepsy. The anti-convulsant drugs are not perfect but the benefit-risk analysis for those drugs is actually pretty good. So, the ketogenic diet just kind of fell out of favor a little bit and people are being prescribed the anti-convulsants. The anti-convulsants do work better in controlling seizures than the ketogenic diet.
But the ketogenic diet does work for epilepsy a little bit. In some cases it can be quite dramatic. There's always these case reports of people going on a ketogenic diets and eliminating their seizure disorders but those are rare. It just helps to control it.
But now what we're seeing is an appreciation of the fact that cancer cells are obviously dividing like crazy. That's what a cancer cell does. It just divides, divides, divides.
So, because it's dividing so much, there is this new appreciation for how metabolically active a cancer cell is. So, obviously, a cancer cell needs a lot of energy to do this, to do this growth process, and it needs a lot of carbs, a lot of glucose. So the theory is pretty straightforward. If you limit the amount of carbs or ultimately the simple sugar is glucose, for instance, that a cancer cell can use; if you limit that supply, maybe you could hamper the growth of the cancer a little bit. That's the theory at least.
Some researchers from the University of South Florida wanted to test this theory. If we place cancer patients on a ketogenic diet, limit the carbs as a fuel source for the cancer cells, does that decrease cancer cell growth? And that's what they wanted to look at. Now, I have to set this up a little bit because they did something else in this study as well.
By the way, this study was published in a peer reviewed publication, the PLoS ONE--that's the Public Library of Science One in June 2013. Again, from the University of South Florida. So, the headline following the results of this study was this: Mice--so it was a mouse study, an animal model. Mice with metastatic cancer on a ketogenic diet lived 78% longer.
So, the South Florida researchers took mice who had cancer; not just cancer but, essentially, had Stage IV cancer--cancer that was already spreading throughout the body. Pretty sick mice, right? And they were fed a standard diet called the control or a ketogenic diet. So, there were two broad groups.
So, all the mice had metastatic disease. Half were placed just on a regular mouse diet and the other half placed on a ketogenic diet. Now, each group was further randomized to receive or not receive oxygen therapy as well. It's believed that a lack of oxygen is thought to fuel cancer growth. I have to explain that, I think, a little bit too. So, a lack of oxygen is thought to fuel cancer growth. Why would that be? Well, because cancer cells are cells that are less and less specialized. They kind of use real simple systems to create energy. See, a normal cell uses a lot of a oxygen.
It's called cellular respiration. You've got your glucose, you have your oxygen and you produce a lot of ATP and that's where the mitochondria enter it. Cancer cells have an ability to make a lot of energy without oxygen. It's called glycolysis. They need a lot of glucose to do this but they don't need a lot of oxygen. So, in a situation where there is a lot of carbs, less oxygen, that's like a perfect storm for cancer growth. Lot of carbs, less oxygen.
Let's look at how they studied this then. They had some of the mice, basically a quarter of the mice on a standard diet. They had a quarter of the mice on a standard diet plus oxygen. They had a quarter of the mice on a ketogenic diet and then a quarter of the mice on a ketogenic diet with oxygen. Then, they analyzed tumor growth using what is known as a bioluminescent technology. So, they can actually see the tumor grow throughout the body.
Here's what they found. Mice on a ketogenic diet--so we're limiting the amount of carbs, making them use fat, hopefully, starving those cancer cells--mice on a ketogenic diet lived 56% longer. That's huge. Here's where it got interesting. Mice on a ketogenic diet and oxygen, calming down that perfect storm for cell cancer growth. Calming down that storm. Ketogenic diet plus oxygen, the mice lived 78% longer.
So, again, how does this work? Well, the premise behind the ketogenic diet is that sugar is the primary source of energy for cancer cells. So, if we deprive the body of sugar, if we deprive the cancer cells of sugar, they kind of starve and they can't grow as well. There isn't much research examining this effect, the ketogenic diet, on cancer in humans.
I think we need now to take this animal model and maybe start doing some small pilot studies in humans with different types of cancers to see exactly what kind of effects we could see. I know right now, there's a lot of interest in using a ketogenic diet in really aggressive cancers like melanomas. They spread very easy--glioblastoma which is brain cancer and which spreads really easy--so in those kind of cases.
Again, the ketogenic diet is not replacing different types of therapies for cancers, both natural and conventional. The ketogenic diet just may be used in conjunction with those medicines and supplements and hopefully will get a pretty awesome result. The typical ketogenic diet it's not easy to follow but if you're in a Stage IV situation with a brain tumor, you might be more prone to stick to a tough diet than someone who's not sick.
So, the ketogenic diet is something that I find interesting. I think that this offers a lot of hope for people. If you know somebody with a cancer like my friends, I think you should share this research. I'm going to share it with them, and really suggest talking to their doctor about a ketogenic diet.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File healthy_talk/1524ht3e.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 10, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike. Do you have a question about your health? Dr. Mike can answer your questions. Just email AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call now 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: I have three questions now from Bart Taylor. He is a long time listener of my show and he has sent me other questions before. He always sends me challenging, thoughtful questions. Smart guy. Let me start first with really a reply or response to a past show that I had where one of my guests was talking about chronic pain. I want to say it was Dr. Twogood.
He has a book out: Chronic Pain Gone in 90 Days and he links a lot of chronic pain to inflammation and, of course, inflammation to inflammatory substances that we are putting into our system. He talked about things like MSG, toxins, etc. One of the things he talked about is chocolate.
He made the connection between chocolate, when it's processed. Obviously, we use milk to make milk chocolate and there's a protein in milk called casein that is big time pro-inflammatory. So, in his own practice, when he removes casein – milk products like chocolate--out of his patient's diet – they feel better. He's had some pretty dramatic examples of that. That's his experience.
So, Bart says, "Your recent guest who advised not eating chocolate because he thought the casein in the chocolate was inflammatory to the joints, the problem with this is that the plants don't make casein" – meaning the cocoa bean. Plants don't make casein. "If there is casein in chocolate it's because the manufacturer used milk to process it. Most dark chocolates, such as 85% cocoa, is not made with milk products and as such has no casein in it."
Correct, but when you just look at chocolate, cocoa bean, there's no casein. It's the processing of it to make the chocolate bar. I'm going to defend Dr. Twogood here. That's what he is talking about. He's not talking about 85% cocoa. He's talking about opening up a wrapper, a chocolate candy bar--whether it's milk chocolate or dark chocolate, doesn't matter--and eating it.
That has been processed with milk and that has the casein in it. I'm pretty sure that's what he was talking about. That was my take on it. When he was talking about that, I didn't challenge him on that because I just assumed that he was talking about Snickers. Just don't eat that chocolate Hershey Kisses. Should I stop branding other companies? Bart, I'm pretty sure that's what he meant. The real issue with Dr. Twogood is milk products and, in particular, one protein in there called casein.
Next question from Bart. This is a really good one.
"What is the point of taking the same probiotic every day? Bacteria seem to multiply so fast that I doubt that if someone swallows a probiotic one day that there's none of the probiotic bacteria in the colon the next day after consumption. I could maybe see taking probiotics once a week. What do you think about cycling probiotics throughout the week?"
Great question, Bart. This is a question that we've actually looked into at Life Extension. How often do we really need to take probiotics? It is true that bacteria divide very quickly. They go through multiple generations in one day.
So, that's true but that's in a perfect environment. That's in an environment in a petri dish. That's in a wound. You get an anaerobic type of bacteria that just festers in the wound and that wound is just a perfect environment for that kind of growth. The problem is the gut.
Although, in a perfect world, the gut should be a perfect environment for that kind of growth and sustained growth of healthy bacteria, but given how we live today and given the environment that we live in, that's not the case. The average American gastrointestinal system is no longer that perfect growth medium for those healthy gut bacteria.
It turns out that we have better mediums for the bad guys. For the good guys, it's not really that perfect growth medium. When you take a probiotic pill, in theory, it should release all those live bacteria; they should seed it; they should divide; they should be happy. Everybody is doing great and maybe you could cycle your probiotic pill.
That's not what the case is in the average person. We take the probiotic pill and, by the way, Bart, no matter how well that probiotic pill is manufactured you aren't going to release all of them. There is no way that probiotic pill is 100% live bacteria even when you protect them and provide the prebiotic.
That's just not the case. Right there, you are losing some just by taking the probiotic. Then it gets out there and it seeds the gut like it should but then we are eating bad foods and we are talking antibiotics and we are eating food with antibiotic in it; we have nitrates and we have pesticides and we have plastics. You just add all that in – our own stress, emotional stress, and physical stress – you add all that in and how many of that good bacteria really take hold and really start to divide? That is the question. We don't believe it's that many.
We do believe in today's world, based on how the average American is eating and living, we need to take a probiotic every day. Bart, I think you are the type of guy that is much more keen into health. You are a health enthusiast. You ask very intelligent questions. You probably even have a background, I would say, in medicine of some sort or you've done a lot of great reading or research on your own, which is awesome and I commend that and I love questions from you, Bart. So, someone like you who is much more health conscious and who is eating right and who is decreasing stress, who is not eating the gunky food, yes. Go ahead and try it. Save you some money.
Take it once every three days. I guess that would be fine. Maybe if you get a stomach issue for whatever reason then you take it every day for a while and then you go back to a cycle. I have no problem with that assuming that you are healthier than the average American.
The average person I talk to is not like you, Bart. They are eating the standard American diet, which is sad. They are stressed out, overworked, not sleeping well, drinking diet Cokes – I would tell them to take it every day. I love that question, Bart.
Bart then says, "This is another cycling question. Should you cycle resveratrol and curcumin? It appears that these two supplements work by hormesis. As such, I understand that you shouldn't do the same hormesis every day without a break.
What would be a good cycling time? Maybe five days on and two days off? Are there other supplements that would work off hormesis?"
So, I guess the first thing we have to make sure is that the listeners understand hormesis. Hormesis is the theory that a little bit of a stressor goes a long way and a little bit of radiation actually from just living on earth is helpful for you. It stimulates protective processes in the body. Calorie restriction is a perfect example of hormesis. Restricting calories is kind of a little bit of a stressor that turns on defense mechanisms – the anti-aging genes. I do believe in hormesis. I think there is some legitimate science behind the theory of hormesis – that a little bit of a stressor is good for you.
Bart, the immune system is totally based on hormesis. You get a little bug in there, you react to it, and you develop some antibodies that can crossreact to the bigger bug that might hit you. The immune system is based on hormesis. Bart is correct.
There are nutrients that have both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory properties like curcumin. So, you get some anti-inflammatory effect but in some cell lines it actually stimulates it a little bit that actually activates a defense mechanism. I don't think the hormesis mechanism is quite that strong in curcumin and resveratrol.
So, I don't think you need to cycle it but you want to sure. How about during the week you take them and on the weekend you take a break? That's perfectly fine.
You save some money, too. We haven't really worked out exactly what would be a good cycling regimen for a product or a nutrient or some therapy that is based on hormesis. That's a little bit down the line, Bart, but great, great question.
This is Healthy Talk on Radio M.D. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File healthy_talk/1524ht3d.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 10, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
You're listening to RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike on Healthy Talk. Call or email to ask your questions now. Email AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com or call 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: I'm going to start this Ask Dr. Mike segment with two questions from April Lawrence. Remember when you send me your questions to AskDrMikeSmith@RadioMD.com, you can give me your name, you can be anonymous, you can be vague, specific. It doesn't really matter. Just send me your questions, let's see what we can do with them.
So, April has two questions and I'm going to start with the second one. She says:
"What is the best probiotic pill to take daily?" Then she puts in parenthesis "are blueberries sufficient?"
I'm not sure about that part of the question but let me start with just what is the best probiotic pill to take daily. I'm going to tell you what I take, April. Sometimes I think because I hear this with other doctors and other shows and stuff like that that there's this whole movement in medicine to almost be PC. So, when someone asks you a direct question, you kind of just skirt around it.
I don't think there's anything wrong with telling you what my favorite brand is for something. I really don't. That's kind of what you're asking me, right, April? Personally, there's two probiotics that I think are outstanding on the market. One is called Theralac. That is the one that I do use. Theralac. There's another one by Life Extension called Florastor which is very similar to Theralac in terms of the different species and the concentration of those species. So, there you go.
Those are my opinion. Now let me give you the more PC type answers. Not talking about a specific type brand, let me teach you what you should look for, April, and then you can decide for yourself. Again, I talked about this in a past segment. When you are taking or deciding which probiotic to buy (there are several products on the market now) the most important thing is to look for a balanced collection of healthy bacterial species and to make sure that they are the right concentration.
That's the first thing. Balanced and the right concentration. You want to make sure that there are lactobacillus species and bifidobacterium species. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium ranging somewhere between and 5 and 10 billion CFU's. That's colony forming units – that's the concentration. So, a nice balance of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. That's the balance part. 5-10 CFU's – that's the concentration part. Once you've done that, you are not done. These are live bacteria and they need to be fed.
The next thing you want to do is to make sure that product you are buying has that food source. It's called a prebiotic. Prebiotics are usually listed in the other ingredient part. So, you want to make sure you see that, something like oligosaccharide.
That's a fancy word just for a sugar-based compound that's going to feed the bacteria. Lecithin can be used. Lecithin is sometimes used in combination with oleic acid. Lecithin plus oleic acid actually has a patent pending formulation from a company called LactoStem. That's becoming more and more used as a prebiotic for some of these products.
Again, what you want to find is the balanced bc's, the right CFU's, colony forming units or concentration and then the prebiotic to feed them. Oligosaccharide, lecithin, oleic acid. You want to see that in the other ingredients. If you don't see that, it means that there's not a prebiotic in there and you are going to have to take a prebiotic. If you really want the probiotic to work right you have to make sure that there's something the probiotics can feed off of. You know what's another good one? Agave. Agave nectar is a good prebiotic. So, you can take a probiotic, use agave nectar as a sweetener in your coffee and boom there you go. That's a good idea.
The third thing you have to look for, April, is, going back to the idea that these are live bacteria, not only do we have to feed them the prebiotic, we have to protect them. We have make sure that they actually survive from the time you swallow it to the time they get into the distal part of the small bowel and the colon.
That's essentially where we are seeding these. The bacteria actually are from your mouth to the anus but most of the healthy gut species, the gut flora, concentrate around the distal small bowel and the proximal beginning colon. So, when you take a probiotic pill not only do you want the nice balanced species, lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, not only do you want the right concentration 5-10 billion CFU's, not only do you want to feed them a prebiotic, you have to protect them so that they get to that part of the gut.
Things like sodium alginate – alginate comes from seaweed and it forms this barrier around the bacteria in the capsule or soft gel and it protects them. The alginate will protect them from the acid from the stomach and the upper small bowel as they move to the distal small bowel and the colon. Sodium alginate. You want to see that listed in the other ingredients. Some companies, like the one I like, Theralac, uses grape seed extract. I'm sorry. Grape skin extract not seed. Skin. That also adds like a protective barrier over the bacteria. Life Extension, we use a really cool technology which is kind of like this double capsule technology.
The first capsule, as it goes through the stomach and the proximal upper part of the small bowel, dissolves away and by the time it dissolves away you've got the second capsule that then releases all these live, healthy bacteria in the distal, distant small bowel and beginning or proximal colon. So, we use a double capsule system. Balanced, right concentration, a prebiotic and protection for those live bacteria.
April, those are the best probiotic products. And yes, Theralac and Florastor from Life Extension meet those criteria.
April's second question: "How much water is necessary for weight loss and a normal healthy diet?"
So, this is really two different questions, right, April? So, "How much water should I be drinking if I'm trying to lose weight?" and then the second part of this is "How much water should I drink?" just, I guess, like normal in ounces.
Wait. Wait. I've got to back up. I'm sorry. April, I've got to back up. So, April asked "What is the best probiotic pill to take daily?" and then in parenthesis I forgot that she put, "Are blueberries sufficient?" April, I'm sorry. I just don't know what you mean by that. Are you saying blueberries contain probiotics? I'm just not sure what that part is, so I don't know how to answer that. Blueberries are not a probiotic. So, I guess they are not sufficient.
Okay. Now, back to the water question. "How much water is necessary to drink for weight loss?" Listen, we know that, I think there have been some studies looking at if you put people on a diet so there are two arms. People in one group they are dieting, they are exercising and they are drinking more water than another group who is dieting, exercising and drinking less water. The more water group does do better. I don't think it's significant but they do a little better. The question is how much, then, do we have to drink to simulate those results. I don't know. I think it's so individualized even with just part of a healthy diet, April. How much water you drink is really individualized.
I know some people say five servings of water a day; six, eight, whatever. I don't know. I think it's just really individualized. I know this. This I know for sure. When you are thirsty, your body is telling you something – drink water. It's pretty simple. I don't have a straight forward answer for you on the water question, April, but thanks for your questions. I appreciate it.
This is Healthy Talk on Radio M.D. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Wasabi is a root vegetable that's typically grounded into a paste and served with Japanese foods.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File healthy_talk/1524ht3c.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 10, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. And now here's the country doctor with the city education, Dr. Mike.
DR MIKE: Let's talk about why we all should be eating more wasabi. You know, that stuff you get with sushi. Although the stuff you get with sushi is probably not wasabi and I will get into that in a moment. That stuff that clears your sinuses, gives you that real kick, your eyes water and then it's gone and you just feel awesome. I love it. We should be eating more wasabi. Let me just tell you about wasabi. Let's discuss the wasabi japonica story because that's the plant name. Wasabi japonica has been grown and eaten in Japan for centuries. It is believed that the daily consumption of this plant wasabi japonica improves the health and fights off a large number of illnesses.
This has now been born out in a large and increasing number of scientific studies on the actions of these naturally occurring compounds in wasabi. For centuries, there have been a lot of traditional uses of wasabi, a lot of anecdotal evidence, historical evidence, even folklore, surrounding wasabi and its medicinal properties. More and more scientists are starting to back up what traditional users of wasabi have always known: it's good for you.
More and more people are seeing wasabi as a functional food for human health--consuming it on a daily basis. Let me just tell you the problem, though. At least in the United States, when we think we are eating wasabi, we are probably not. Wasabi, apparently – and I had to do the research because I really don't know anything about wasabi japonica- but what I've come to understand is that it's not a very hearty plant. It's hard to grow and cultivate mainly because it has to be done at higher elevations.
Of course, in higher elevations temperature can change so much and if it gets too warm the wasabi plant doesn't do too well and if it gets too cold it doesn't do well. So, there's this right elevation, this perfect elevation, where it's not too cold not too warm in the mountains of Japan. Yet people don't want to go up there and cultivate the plant anymore. Then you add to the fact that there's so much pollution in Japan and the bottom line is the actual plant wasabi japonica is not really grown that much anymore because it's just too hard and no one wants to do it. Here's what the Japanese did, knowing that this was going to be a growing industry.
The Japanese having a great business eye for this kind of stuff. In order to make up for the reduction in true wasabi, the Japanese food industry provided a solution. They took powder or paste that contains European horseradish mixed with mustard seed and FDA approved coloring. So, that green stuff that you thought was wasabi that you are getting with your Americanized sushi is horseradish with food coloring in it and maybe a little mustard seed. And it's really not providing us that much benefit.
Now, I've talked about horseradish before on the show a long time ago. It does have some benefit but probably not to the level of wasabi. So, when you think you are eating wasabi in this country, you probably aren't. You can get it and you have to ask for it. It's going to cost a little bit more but it's probably worth it. When you look at the wasabi plant, the most important part of it is the stem. There's a specific type of compound in the stem called an isothiocyanate. That's the key compound that we want from the wasabi.
I did some research after learning about wasabi and learning about how hard it is to grow the plant and cultivate it and all that kind of stuff and then learning about how the Japanese kind of have a work-around with horseradish. I left all of those sites. I decided I'm going to do some straight forward, good, old-fashioned research and searching on PubMed to find out what are the true benefits of wasabi that maintain this isothiocyanate compound.
Here's what I found. Number one, real wasabi with isothiocyanate inhibits the development of lung tumors, at least in mice. There are a lot of cancer researchers who are now are pushing the NIH to do some human clinical trials with wasabi standardized to isothiocyanate.
This was published in Cancer Letters 2000. There hasn't been much follow up with this, I don't think. If you go to clinicaltrials.gov, you can search "wasabi" and/or "isothiocyanate" and "lung cancer" and see what kind of trials are out there. I don't think there are too many. This has been shown, at least in mouse models, to work. Number two, real wasabi has potent anti-bacterial activity. Now, this has been known and this has probably been one of the big reasons that traditional cultures have used real wasabi in wounds and when people are sick with cold, flu, whatever.
Historically speaking, they made the claims it works wonders but now there is some research evidence that it truly does have at least anti-bacterial activity not so much anti-viral. The International Journal of Food and Medicine, 2004 did a really good study on this. Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Biochemistry (that's a long name for a journal) ,1998 did some research looking at the anti-bacterial activity and it does seem to have some. Number three, real wasabi suppresses glandular stomach cancer.
This is a good one. We don't have a lot of great treatments for stomach cancer. This was published in Nutrition and Cancer, 1991. Looking at real wasabi and isothiocyanate and the effect on cancer was positive published in a peer review journal a long time ago. Again, go to clinicaltrials.gov and there's not a lot of follow up with these things and that's a shame. Number four, wasabi has some anti-platelet properties so it can help work in kind of the same way aspirin does.
Maybe in a post-stroke type situation or maybe even used in combination with other anti-platelets with people with A-fib to prevent blood clot formations. This was shown to be true in a publication in Biofactors, 2000. So, you see what I'm doing here.
There's a bunch of traditional benefits of wasabi, a lot of historical, anecdotal claims about wasabi and I took those claims and I'm backing it up with solid, peer reviewed publications, sometimes in animals, sometimes in a petri dish, sometimes in humans. Here's another one. This is number five. Wasabi increases the abundance of protective detox enzymes. Those are your liver enzymes. Detox is a big issue. My friend Suzanne Somers has a new book out about detox and the toxins in our environment.
I've seen her on her show talking about it. She's been on my show talking about it. We know that we have a built in, really awesome detox system called the liver. But the liver is overwhelmed, so it needs help. Maybe wasabi can be that help. The Journal of Biology and Chemistry, 2002 showed that wasabi can enhance the activity of phase one and phase two detox in the liver. Other things that can do that are milk thistle, melon extracts, B Vitamins and now you can add wasabi to that list.
Number seven, wasabi has a protective effect against colon cancer risk. That was in Nutrition and Cancer, 2004. Just a lot of really good benefits of wasabi but you have to make sure you're doing real wasabi if you are going to cook with it. If you are going to do a product make sure it's standardized to isothiocyanate.
This is Healthy Talk on Radio M.D. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
How does healthy gut bacteria influence your body, mind and life?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File healthy_talk/1524ht3b.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 10, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Anti-Aging and Disease Prevention Radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer and national medical media personality, Dr. Michael Smith, MD, with Healthy Talk.
DR MIKE: According to an article published in the journal Nature in 2007, we have about 10 times more microbes, bacteria, yeast species in our bodies than human cells.
So, there's more microbes than us in our bodies. This has prompted the question of exactly who we are. It's interesting, isn't it? Ten times more bacteria than your own cells. I know when you think of bacteria. what comes to mind? What images do you see? Probably swarming, filthy bacteria on an open sore or something like that. I don't know. Or maybe somebody coughing up phlegm or something like that. We just had the whole Ebola thing. When we think of microbes, bacteria, viruses, they are not even yeast species. Usually, the images are pretty bad, right? It's obviously a lot more complicated than that.
It's important to understand that yes, there are a lot of bad bacteria, yeast species and stuff out there but there are good ones. These healthy, good bacteria and yeast species are critical for us. We metabolize certain nutrients because of them. When you have a lot of these good guys in your system, you fight off the bad guys better. As a matter of fact, you have 10 times more of these good guys in your system than your own cells.
So, who are you? Who really are you? The human body can be compared to a city that contains 10,000's or more of these different living species. So, your body is like this city – a melting pot of just all kinds of different living species. The roles played by these life forms, both good and bad, are of growing interest to researchers, doctors like myself and even lay persons, just like my listeners.
We are learning more about probiotics. The microbiome. We are learning how devastating this thing called dysbiosis, which is where you have an imbalance of the normal, healthy gut flora. We are researching all this and more and we are finding some fascinating things. The National Institutes of Health Common Fund Human Microbiome Project – the government--has to come up with better ways of naming things.
The NIH Human Microbiome Project is sequencing the genes of these diverse microorganisms. The mission of the project is to analyze the role microbes have on human health and disease.
What they are coming up with is some fascinating stuff. Why are certain bacteria good for you? I know, as my listeners and listeners to RadioMD and the other great shows on this platform, if you've read any of the literature from Life Extension or any of the alternative websites and practitioners out there, you're hearing more and more about probiotics, right? You're hearing more and more. It's even making mainstream commercials with yogurt products.
People are understanding that we need these good bacteria. What do we mean by that? What is a good bacteria? Well, a good bacteria or bacteria that is good for you – I don't think the bacteria cares if its good or bad. It's just living in an environment and doing its thing whether it hurts you or benefits you, the bacteria itself could care less. There are some of those species that are good for us.
They help with digestion and absorption, they can prevent malnutrition, and they can prevent infection by just keeping out the bad guys. Bacteria fight. What's interesting is that the bacteria that are good for us, there are all kinds of different species. They love to live together. But the minute you introduce a bacteria that could cause some harm to that environment they are living in, they don't like it just like you don't like it. They fight them. They kick them out. There is even evidence that the composition of gut bacteria may play a role in reducing obesity.
If you have a nice balanced gut flora, that's just another way of saying a microbiome. It's just gut flora-- gut bacteria. If it's nice and balanced with even some good yeast species thrown in there ,you could reduce the risk of obesity. This was published in Microbiome – a nice journal – in 2015. So, a study in Microbiome 2015 looked at a study examining sewage--I know it sounds gross--from 71 U.S. cities. It was discovered that bacterial patterns in the sewage were able to detect if a population was lean or obese with up to 89% accuracy. So, they could look at human waste in the sewage and based on the microbes there, they could predict whether that population and the people feeding that part of the sewer were fat or thin.
That's amazing. Beneficial bacteria can also release hormones to help control appetite, modulate levels of inflammation which could play a role in metabolism and weight gain and all that kind of stuff. There's even examples of very specific species of bacteria – one in particular – lactobacillus reuteri 30242 (that's the species number) has been shown to lower cholesterol. We are using this species at Life Extension in a product that's helping people to improve their lipid profiles.
A bacteria! Other research involving this particular strain and even some other lactobacillus strains have been shown that they can help to produce and maintain levels of Vitamin D. This is just amazing, all of this new stuff, we are learning about the importance of bacteria in your gut. The problem, though, that we are facing today is we are having a lot of things going on in our environment, things that we are doing to our environment and to ourselves, that is really affecting the gut bacteria. The first thing that we are seeing is that we are overusing these antibiotics and we are developing these superbugs. It's not just antibiotics in humans.
We give antibiotics to livestock that produces output from the livestock, whether it be eggs or meat or whatever. Although antibiotics have obviously contributed significantly to modern medicine, what we are finding, because we are overusing them is that we are developing these very rare resistant bugs that are now starting to take over our gut bacteria. When that begins to happen, along with other things in the environment like toxins, plastics and all that kind of stuff, we now have an imbalance in our gut system called dysbiosis.
It's really important, in my opinion, to go ahead and replenish those healthy gut bacteria. I think the best thing you can do is take probiotics. Yogurt products are fine but we just don't know how many live species are in the yogurt and that's the problem with yogurt. There are some commercials out there for specific products that say all kinds of claims.
I don't believe that modern day yogurt is that loaded with these bacteria that you need so you really do need to take a supplement. The main thing that you have to look for is a probiotic supplement product that is balanced and has the right concentration of what are called CFU's (colony forming units). You want to make sure you have lactobacillus species in the product and bifidobacterium species. Lactobacillus and bifidobacterium – those are the most important averaging around 5-10 billion CFU's. Those are the best probiotics.
This is Healthy Talk on Radio M.D. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
A recent survey found that men who consumed 85-170 mg of caffeine had a lower risk of erectile dysfunction (ED).
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File healthy_talk/1524ht3a.mp3
- Featured Speaker Mike Smith, MD
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: June 10, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD, and now here's the country doctor with the city education – Dr. Mike.
MICHAEL SMITH: On April 28, 2015, the Public Library of Sciences published findings obtained from the National Health and Examination Survey, called NHANES, of an association between a greater intake of caffeine and a lower risk of erectile dysfunction. So, this resulted in me asking the question, "Is caffeine an ED treatment?" Well, probably not but if you drink caffeine, guys, it may help a little bit or at least reduce the risk. Here we have David Lopez from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. I've been there several times.
It's a beautiful campus. His colleagues evaluated survey-based data. You know, you ask survey/interview questions from 3,724 men who registered in NHANES. This was data that was collected between 2001 and 2004. What Dr. Lopez and his colleagues were specifically looking for were the interview responses that obtained information about erectile dysfunction and food and beverage consumption over 24-hour periods. So, they really had to really do a lot of data mining, teasing out the data here.
They found men who consumed between 85-170mg of caffeine per day (that was based on beverage intake) had a 42% lower risk of reporting ED in comparison with those who consumed 0-7mg daily. By the way, consuming 0-7mg is pretty much not drinking any caffeine. For those whose intake was between 170-303mg (that's a lot of caffeine equivalent to three cups of strong coffee) the risk was 39% lower.
So, it looks like one or two cups a day for us guys could lower the risk of ED by about 42%. It's not a treatment. It's an association. Don't flip it and think that the absence of caffeine is a risk factor for ED. It's an interesting finding that does have a hypothesis of what's going on here. The finding is simple. Drinking caffeine does seem to lower the risk of ED. So, what's the caffeine doing? Why would caffeine do that? Caffeine does have an effect on the microvasculature. Those are the capillary beds.
So, your heart pumps oxygenated blood-- nutrient rich blood-- into the arterial system and the arterial system travels it out to the individual organs and muscles. The arteries get smaller and smaller and smaller to the point where they dump into what are called capillaries. The capillaries are where you get the exchange of nutrients into the tissue, waste products back into the capillaries and now you dump into the venous system. That's how it works.
So, everything really occurs at the capillary level. Caffeine has an effect on the capillaries also known as the microvasculature. No one has really worked it out exactly what's going on but as a stimulant, it does seem to be able to relax a lot of the arteries feeding the capillaries and even the veins draining the capillaries.
So, it's able to engorge, if you will, the capillary bed – that includes in the penis--and that is going to help with blood flow and erection. That's, at least, the theory. I have to tell you. I think it makes sense to me. Caffeine is affecting ultimately blood flow. Caffeine consumption 1-2 cups of coffee a day might reduce the risk by about 42% because the effect on the microvasculature. I have a quote here from Dr. Lopez in Houston.
He says "Coffee and its most studied component, caffeine, may have been implicating potential health benefits to the rich sources of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds contained in this beverage." They recommend further investigation of the association between ED and caffeine consumption in future prospective studies. That's how we always end all of our studies, which is good. Science is always evolving. There is never an absolute. So, caffeine may help to reduce the risk.
I thought I might use this opportunity (I have a few minutes left here) to talk about what, in my own experience in treating patients and Life Extension customers, has been successful. This is included in the Life Extension protocol. If you go to lifeextension.com there are great protocols. I always forget the number of protocols we have now. I think it's like close to 200. 200 health protocols and Erectile Dysfunction is one of them. These protocols aren't just a listing of nutrients. They go into the pathology, the statistics of it, the epidemiology, the current treatment, where current treatment is successful and where current treatment fails.
When I say current, I mean more conventional and then where diet and exercise and targeted nutrients can help with these disorders. These are comprehensive protocols. They are quite popular, not just for consumers, but even for doctors and hospitals. So, I went to the Life Extension Erectile Dysfunction protocol and I want to talk about the combination of arginine and pine bark extract called pycnogenols. When you combine arginine, an amino acid, with pycnogenol, the effects are pretty awesome for guys with ED. Let's first just talk about arginine by itself. This has been a "go to", a mainstay in ED treatment on the natural side for many years.
Arginine is the pre-cursor to nitric oxide, which is what allows vessels to dilate. When you ingest arginine, you make more nitric oxide which means the arteries feeding the capillary beds can open up more, the veins open up more, so there's just more blood flow through the penis. That's how arginine works. One of the best studies on arginine was published in the journal Urology in 2011. Great peer-reviewed journal. It's one of my favorites when it comes to things like ED and stuff like that. This journal is very open.
They do publish a lot of information on alternative therapies and I like that. Not all of the journals do that. Some are very conventional. Urology is very unbiased. It's very fair and it's a great journal. It needs to be a standard for other medical journals. Urology 2011 showed that supplementation with L-arginine was able to restore erectile quality and increase sexual satisfaction by boosting nitric oxide bioactivity and improving blood flow to the penis.
Again, Urology 2011. Here's where it gets powerful. The one issue with arginine is that we really don't know the dose and that was even admitted in this publication. The dose could range anywhere in between 1 gram up to 8 grams a day depending on your situation. You just have to start low and go slow. Start low and go slow. That's a great rule of thumb in anything in medicine. So, start at 1 gram a day and work it up. When you take the arginine and combine it with the pine bark extract called pycnogenol, the effects are just amplified.
Not only is arginine boosting nitric oxide production, pycnogenol has some effects on the vasculature just like arginine does. So, they work synergistically. As a matter of fact, the combination of arginine and pycnogenol has been tested in 5 independent clinical studies and have been shown to improve male sexual function.
There was one clinical trial involving 40 men between 25-45 years old suffering from mild ED. They were given 80mg of the pycnogenol and about 2g of the arginine daily and yielded significant improvements with 32 of the patients (80%) enjoying normal erections. That's pretty good. Even the blue pill guys use works in only about 90% of the cases.
So, here's a natural safe alternative to that blue pill. That was published in the International Journal of Impotence Research 2008. So pycnogenol and arginine and a little bit of caffeine for ED. How's that? It may work.
This is Healthy Talk. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay Well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
