Alternative Medicine

Top Anti-Inflammatories to Ward Off Arthritis and Inflammatory Issues

| johnas9000

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or illness, but chronic inflammation can lead to a host of health problems, including arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Fortunately, there are several natural anti-inflammatories backed by evidence-based research that can help manage and reduce inflammation. Below is a list of some of the top anti-inflammatories that may support your journey toward better health.

Note from John:

For those who don’t like to read or just want the quick version (hey, we’re all a bit lazy sometimes), here’s my cliff notes or “quickie for dummies”:

When I worked with Oz Garcia, I had the job of writing vitamin labels. This wasn’t just a matter of slapping on some buzzwords—I had to back every claim with solid studies, which then went through a rigorous review by the nutritionist and legal team at the vitamin manufacturer. One of our big projects was creating the Longevity Pak, which even Hillary Swank raved about. I also wrote individual labels, and let me tell you, the easiest one to write was for fish oils. The benefits are practically endless: they start with the brain, move down to the heart, and cover the whole body’s inflammation issues. When it comes to fish oils, focus on Omega-3s—trust me, we already get more than enough Omega-6s in our diet. Funny enough, they used to sell products boasting Omega-3, 6, and 9, but really, just stick with Omega-3s.

If you’re going to pick one supplement, Omega-3s would be it. My second favorite? Turmeric or curcumin. Over 25 years ago, I used to buy organic turmeric powder (the kind sold for seasoning) and mix half a teaspoon with water. I don’t recommend it—it tasted awful! But do be careful about the source.

As for resveratrol and SAMe, they’re way too pricey. One of my favorite go-to doctors, who was on Steve Jobs’ medical team and has a PhD in nutrition and biochemistry, told me resveratrol isn’t worth it. I don’t have two PhDs, so I take his word for it.

Everyone is vitamin D deficient—even my friends in Florida. That says a lot because vitamin D is crucial for so many things. Magnesium is another essential; it’s involved in everything from energy production to relaxing your muscles. Most of us need it. Start there, and remember, we are all biologically unique—or as Joshua Rosenthal coined it, we have “bio-individuality.” So, pay attention to what works for you.

PS: If you want to see Oz Garcia in person, be prepared to shell out $25,000 just to walk through the door. The first thing he’ll ask you to do? Write down everything you eat for a week. Duh. Not only are we biologically different, but we also all have different diets. You can’t hire someone to follow you around for a week to track your meals. Well, actually, you can—Oz does one-week retreats with his billionaire clients. But assuming most reading this aren’t in that category, you’ll need to track what you eat and how you feel. Personally, I use an Excel sheet to track my supplements and medications (I take testosterone and growth hormone). It’s essential for reference.

1. Turmeric (Curcumin)

Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, has been extensively studied for its anti-inflammatory properties. It works by inhibiting several molecules involved in inflammation, such as NF-kB, COX-2, and TNF-alpha. Curcumin has shown effectiveness in managing inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil)

Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA found in fish oil, are powerful anti-inflammatories. They reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines and eicosanoids, providing relief from joint stiffness and pain, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis.

3. Ginger

Ginger contains bioactive compounds such as gingerol and shogaol, which are known for their anti-inflammatory effects. Research shows that ginger can significantly reduce inflammation and pain in conditions like osteoarthritis.

  • How to Use: Ginger can be consumed fresh, dried, or in supplement form. A common dose is 1-2 grams of ginger extract daily.
  • Learn More: Journal of Medicinal Food

4. Green Tea (EGCG)

Green tea, rich in epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It has been shown to reduce inflammation and cartilage degradation in arthritis.

  • How to Use: Enjoy 3-4 cups of green tea daily or take 400-800 mg of EGCG as a supplement.
  • Learn More: Journal of Nutrition

5. Resveratrol

Resveratrol, found in red grapes, berries, and red wine, has anti-inflammatory properties. It works by inhibiting NF-kB and other inflammatory pathways and is studied for its potential to reduce inflammation in arthritis and cardiovascular disease.

6. Boswellia Serrata (Indian Frankincense)

Boswellia Serrata is known for its anti-inflammatory effects, particularly in osteoarthritis. The active compounds, boswellic acids, inhibit the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme, reducing inflammation and pain.

7. Bromelain

Bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapples, has anti-inflammatory properties and is particularly effective in reducing inflammation from soft tissue injuries and osteoarthritis.

  • How to Use: Bromelain is typically taken in doses of 500-2,000 mg daily.
  • Learn More: Planta Medica

8. Capsaicin

Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their heat, reduces inflammation and pain by depleting substance P, a neuropeptide involved in pain transmission. It is commonly used for osteoarthritis pain relief.

  • How to Use: Capsaicin is available in topical creams, with concentrations ranging from 0.025% to 0.1%.
  • Learn More: Pain Journal

9. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for immune function and inflammation regulation. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with higher inflammation and an increased risk of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

10. Quercetin

Quercetin is a flavonoid that has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. It works by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-alpha, making it a beneficial supplement for reducing chronic inflammation.

11. Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA)

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation by neutralizing free radicals. It is particularly effective in reducing inflammation in people with metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

12. S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe)

SAMe is a compound naturally produced in the body that plays a role in reducing pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis. It also supports joint health by promoting cartilage production.

13. Magnesium

Magnesium is involved in many bodily processes, including the regulation of inflammation. It helps lower levels of CRP (C-reactive protein), a marker of inflammation, which can reduce the risk of chronic inflammatory diseases.

14. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals, reducing inflammation. It also supports immune function and is essential for collagen production, which is vital for joint health.

  • How to Use: While the RDA for vitamin C is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women, higher doses (500-1,000 mg) are often recommended for their anti-inflammatory benefits.
  • Learn More: Nutrients Journal

15. Zinc

Zinc is crucial for immune health and has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps modulate the immune response and reduce inflammatory cytokines, which can be beneficial in managing chronic inflammatory conditions.

  • How to Use: The RDA for zinc is 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women, though supplements typically provide higher doses (15-30 mg).
  • Learn More: Biological Trace Element Research

Conclusion

Incorporating these natural anti-inflammatories into your daily routine can support your body’s ability to manage inflammation, potentially preventing or reducing the severity of conditions like arthritis. Always remember, before starting any new supplement, it’s important to consult with a healthcare provider, especially if you are managing a chronic condition or are on medication.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for educational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new treatment or supplement regimen. Individual results may vary, and what works for one person may not work for another. The statements in this post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Getting Started Non Surgical Treatments Explained

| johnas9000

I have been answering phone calls for more than 10 years. There are some who call who have already decided what treatment they want and merely want a price. They ask for a procedure by name. Ironically those are the stupidest. Seriously unless you are a doctor in this particular industry with at least 15 year experience treating thousands of people each year, how would you know which technology is going to get the best results for someone with combination of varying amounts of loose skin, fat plus or minus some cellulite or stretch marks ? We all lose collagen every day of our life, so if you are over 30 years old you probably have some loose skin, or maybe just want to prevent the signs of aging. Sorry I digress could not resist.

So this is for those who are starting out. I get a lot of phone calls from people who have no clue what all these strange names and technologies are all about, Thermage, Exilis, Ultherapy, Ultrashape, Velashape, Coolsculpting, Emsculpt, Emtone, Emsculpt. I could list 100 more, but you get the idea. This all began in 2002. Thermage was the first radiofrequency device approved by the FDA in 2002 to tighten skin and treat wrinkles and since that time over 2 million treatments have been performed. So for you newbies Let me explain this with an analogy we can all relate to. Most of us have some idea that lasers have been around for a long time. You can “burn” off sun spots and other superficial blemishes. What is different here is radio frequency. We are all also familiar with a microwave oven. ( PS the doctor hates when I make this analogy) But learning is usually best accomplished by analogies. You know how your microwave can heat the middle of a chicken without browning the skin ? Well thats the beauty of radio frequency. if you tried to use a laser to reduce even a very fine wrinkle you would burn the skin before you approached the depth to which you would need to get to improve the wrinkle. So what Thermage did was have that radio frequency in a hand held wand so the technician could go over your face ( and body) and “hit” the collagen for an immediate tightening and subsequently because of the stimulation of the collagen you grow more collagen over the next 6 months. Think how elegant. Instead of losing collagen every day you are growing more collagen. Hello Gwyneth Paltrow, we have your secret.

Cancer Cures ? Alternative Medicine

| johnas9000

Are there alternative cures for cancer ? Natural Cures ?   Another question I answered on Quora that is worthy of repeating here. Is complementary/alternative medicine harmful?   

The uneducated practice of alternative or complementary medicine or even orthomolecular ( mega doses of vitamins) can absolutely be dangerous !!! I am the biggest health nut and pop dozens of supplements daily. But I studied first. We just watched an episode of strange deaths. Some nut job poisoned himself with vitamin A. Anyone taking supplements should know at least the fat soluble ones like A, E, K. You must have some level of understanding even to take a few vitamins. Most water soluble vitamins like vitamin C and most B vitamins will harmlessly wash out of your body every day.  Other vitamins, like vitamin A,  can literally kill you if you are stupid enough to take toxic amounts.  Herbs are also something to be extremely careful with.  Some herbs are extremely strong.  Remember ephedra ? A few people died from that. Its pretty much speed in herbal form. Most drugs were actually modeled on herbs. Where do you think the drug companies got the idea for ephedrine ? Plus you have to consider if its going to interact with any drugs or pre-exisiting conditions. Also they compete with each other, so by overdosing with one supplement you could create an imbalance or shortage of another one. I can think of countless issues where I have been helped as well as times I was surprised at a side effect. For example some make you more photo sensitive. I remember taking St John’s Wort and getting a really bad sunburn. I am olive skinned and rarely burned in my whole life. But the absolute worst thing you can do is to avoid getting proper, or conventional treatment because you are trying your alternative path first. I honestly dont know what I would do if I got cancer.  I have seen and listened to alternative cures both here and in Europe at the World Anti Aging Congress. But I also know that for certain types of cancer, if treated early there are many conventional therapies that are extremely effective and have very high cure rates if caught early. Also if you wait until it is spread throughout your body even the best conventional cures might be hopeless. If you are lucky and have a good complementary or integrative doctor that understands how to integrate alternative and conventional therapies for the best possible outcomes you would be in the best hands. But don’t do it yourself and dont take anything without telling your doctor no matter how much of a health nut you are. Certain supplements are terrific for your liver. But if you need a medication and the supplement or vitamin is clearing your liver out too quickly the medication will not be in your system long enough to be effective. So there is no blanket answer except for no, without proper education, yes with a good integrative doctor. That would be someone who is an MD and also a PHD in biochemistry and nutrition and or organic chemistry who also has clinical experience. Its a very new field of medicine and you should seek out the most experienced providers to assist you who work with conventional doctors that are open minded to complementary alternative treatments to integrate with your conventional treatment. But again I cant emphasize enough do not wait to get a conventional opinion on the speed and progression of whatever is ailing you. PS if you want a great education, the vitamin companies that sell exclusively to doctors have a tremendous amount of great research that together with guidance from a qualified practitioner can be carefully integrated into your treatment.  But dont do what my friend recently called me and did.  He got me on a three way call with his cousin and father in law who had cancer, for my opinion about a specific natural “cancer cure”  That is simply absurd.  There are dozens of different types of cancer that could be at various degrees of progression.  Unless you have a medical degree and are also a PHD in biochemistry and a ton of experience with different complementary medicines and the knowledge of how they can interact or effect a specific treatment you have no business messing with people’s lives.  That being said the time for alternative therapies is before anything bad happens.  Limit your exposure to the thousands of cancer causing chemicals.  There is nothing wrong with taking the brocolli sprouts and other wonderful natural substances that detox harmful cells before they get expressed as cancer.  There is a theory that we constantly have damaged cells.  Our body naturally eliminates them with our T cells and killer cells.  Its only when our system is overwhelmed that it becomes expressed as cancer.  Dont wait til things get that far gone. You can live very well without all of the cancer causing ingredients and chemicals. Paradoxically the wonderful natural supplements that eliminate “bad cells” or cancer cells or help your liver flush out all of the toxins will also flush out the drugs before they have a chance to help you.  This is a compelling reason to take all of those wonderful supplements now.  Because you literally cant, or will be betting your life if you wait until you have a serious disease before you pay attention to your health and embrace complementary or natural remedies.

 

Fermented Foods

| johnas9000

Although I cant even find complete agreement on what the best fermented food are for you to eat, I do believe that they play a large role in your immune system and in breaking down your foods.  There is a ton of research and focus on “probiotics” lately.  Basically your gut has around 3 pounds of friendly bacteria which kill off bad bacteria, help you digest food and fight off infection.  Many believe that it is so important it deserves to be called an organ or an organ system.   Depending on where you live the actual strains might be a little different.  Been to Mexico lately ?  Well their guts are obviously different then ours.

The one we are all the most familiar with is Yogurt.  But if its full of sugar and you are lactose intolerant than its not a good choice for you.  You probably never gave it much thought but pickles, sauerkraut are also some more of the “good guys”  I even read a post that said sauerkraut helps to prevent cancer cells from forming.  But to be clear, I dont like to throw out stuff I read on blogs as truth unless I can find a real medical school study at the National Institute of Health,  ( hang on I will check)  Pubmed.com  Ok there are some studies that show it does inhibit the expression of some cancers.   And sorry for another detour, but Pubmed.com is like google for medicine.  Dont listen to people trying to sell you stuff.  And the studies literally pour in to that website.   Every day the latest research from medical schools all over the world are being submitted to pubmed.com . This is the real deal, research that uses established standards of proof and many with placebo controls as well.

Back to fermented foods.  sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, miso soup, tempeh, kombucha, Pickles, Natto.  Most people agree on these.  But there are whole websites dedicated to probiotics.  Many list dark chocolate and brine cured olives as well.  This is a big topic.  Suffice it to say find some that you like and introduce them into your diet.   You may even find weight loss more easy when probiotics are part of your diet. PS beer and wine count too, in moderation.

December 2021 Women’s health. I think I have a valuable contribution to make. When it comes to vaginal health, who hasnt had an infection of some sort ? Ill give you a hint every female has dealt with this numerous times. I did some research today. I was actually surprised that its not only mainstream and countless products are being sold. But the research is all over PubMed The National Institute of Health website. The NIH website only shows published research with hard core data peer reviewed often with placebo groups, often from either med schools or major pharmaceutical companies. Which is one and the same since they fund the research in medical schools. I thought it was only fringe doctors. I remember 20 years ago sitting with my good friend Celebrity Nutritionist Oz Garcia when he was counseling a patient. At that time he counseled her to douche with probiotics and rotate the three different ones. He gave her a jar of each. By the way the patient was extremely wealthy and had gone to every top doctor in NY and was really in bad shape had to drop out of college. She had been working with Dr Oz for 10 years was not only back in college but had completed Med School. At that time we were considering me working with him in a more hands on way counseling patients. I did formulate his Longevity Pak. I put a lot of work into it. I even visited a number of vitamin manufacturing facilities from NJ to as far away as Arizona. I forget all of the experience I have had sometimes. Sorry for the segue. So fast forward to today. They do sell countless probiotics and probiotic suppositories. And if you want to read the research yourself, I made a search for probiotics and vaginal health on PubMed There were 447 articles and over a dozen in just the past 2 months. I tried reading for an hour and concluded that its almost impossible to standardize a treatment with living organisms and even harder is to get funding for that. Ironically but not surprising was that a drug maker had two groups one with the drug and one with the drug with probiotics. Thats often the only way they can get funding. So I went back and looked at gut health and probiotics. So its actually not that different yet I saw a promising article on alzheimers and gut health published just this month December 2021. I guess we are back to square one with probiotics as well as vitamins and my favorite expression. We all get to place our bets in life. I can find you someone over 100 years old that smokes cigarettes and another one that swears by a glass of scotch every day. Ironically when I googled vaginal health and probiotics a Harvard Health article popped up from 2018 which pretty much was negative about the idea. However when I googled how many people take probiotics ( 4 million by the way) another Harvard Health article from 2020 popped up which said how great they are for gut and vagina. So its obviously an evolving science. They did have one caveat to know the source of your probiotics. That goes double for vitamins as well. When I was helping Dr Oz Garcia with his vitamins the facility I visited in Arizona was also certified to make drugs. In fact we had to sign in and out, wear little booties and a paper like space suit to make sure we didnt contaminate anything. They pointed out to me how they inspected the “stainless steel mixing drums” yet later that month when I inspected a facility in NJ who manufactures for many common products that we all buy they were scooping protein powder with a shovel. So in my opinion you should take vitamins and enzymes and probiotics and you should look for some certifications like NSF, UL I like Consumerlab.com as well.

I didnt mean for it to get that complicated. Lets go old school for a moment and look for correlation ( which doesnt neccearily mean causation but its a good place to start) I dont know if you are old enough but there was a yogurt commmercial that featured Georgians. My parents are Armenian next door to Georgia in the middle east. They ate yogurt every day lived to their mid nineties. I recently asked my sister if my memory is any good because I dont remember either of them ever being sick not even a cold. Not only did she agree but she believes it was the yogurt. And she was having the same experience. PS it was home made. They actually always saved some yogurt to start the next batch. So you were literally saving the bacteria to “curdle” the next batch of milk with the same bacteria. No scientist measured what was in there but it was handed down for generations and each grandmother swore hers was the best. If you ate the last bit of it which was needed for the next batch all hell would come down on you.

We do know that your body is an ecosystem that has mostly non human cells trillions of them. Here is a revised estimate its not 10 to 1 but an average 150lb man is about 30 trillion human cells and 39 trillion bacteria, say Ron Milo and Ron Sender at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and Shai Fuchs at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. I think our science it going to continue to evolve on the majority of the cells in our body which are non human and killing them with an “Antibiotic” which does kill certain infections is not the most elegant way to treat your body. However it is often necessary and life saving. Dont fall into the trap of 100% holistic. Sometimes you need an antibiotic to kill off a life threatening pneumonia and countless other diseases that can kill you. However a little self care can go a long way. My conclusion is do your best with going crazy. Actually back to where I started the article try to eat some fermented foods even yogurt. I believe activia did a study, oops they got sued and lost here is their revised claim from the lawsuit “As part of the settlement, Dannon agreed to make changes to its ad campaign to bring it in line with the product’s actual benefits (or lack thereof). Dannon will change the wording on the Activia® yogurt products. The company also promised to make changes to the yogurt’s labels and packaging. It will now say that the Activia® yogurt will help to regulate your digestive system if you take it for 2 weeks and also participate in a healthy lifestyle. They will remove the statement that says that it has a positive effect on the immune system. But some supplements and probiotics will do the body good. Actually check out my research on vitamin D. Sorry its complicated but its easy to take a few supplements and eat some fermented foods even if its merely a yogurt. PS try plain yogurt and add what you like fruit, jam or even honey. Ooh great idea for another topic love the benefits of honey, pollen and propolis.

A Few Anti Aging Books

| johnas9000

A book I mentioned in my previous post about melatonin,  “Stopping the Clock” by Klatz and Goldman, provides a list of supplements recommended by the top anti-aging scientists in the world. Another book I loved is “Lights Out,” bu TS Wiley which extensively references hundreds of studies that correlate every disease to the advent of electricity and lights which really is a twentieth century phenomena that wasnt even completely adopted across the US until after the depression in the thirties. If you follow the premise of that book every modern disease is the result of unrelenting light vs natural circadium rhythms. And the book was written before ipads and our now total dependence on light based products late into the night.

If you are too lazy to read and or take care of yourself you can spend $25,000 to see celebrity nutritionist Oz Garcia or read his books like “The Healthy High Tech Body” or “Redesigning 50,” I had the opportunity to observe him devouring five feet of literature in a single weekend. I even asked him random questions about what he had read. Clearly, he possesses a remarkable ability to assimilate health-related literature from the best research in the world. By the way, his current favorite is cryotherapy, an experience I recently shared with him.

Before authoring his own book, Garcia used to recommend “Your Body Knows Best.” In a nutshell, the book recounts the author’s journey multiple times from vegetarianism back to a non-vegetarian diet. Each time she attempted vegetarianism, she experienced illness, including significant hair loss, which explains the book’s title. By the way, if you believe in biochemical individuality, you might appreciate Dr. Dean Adamo’s books on blood types. You don’t have to buy and read all of them, but Adamo suggests different foods for different body types. In two sentences, here’s the gist: Human beings have been around for millions of years, while agriculture has only existed for the past 10,000 years. Adamo postulates that if you carry the ancient blood type O, you may have low tolerance for grains (for more information, refer to the book “Against the Grain,” but I digress). Furthermore, he suggests that blood types A or B might be more tolerant of grains. A quick Google search for “diet for blood type A” yields immediate results. At the very least, pay attention to your blood type and observe how certain foods agree or disagree with you.

Regarding the book “Against the Grain,” the title is self-explanatory.  In the 80s, I personally saw Dr. Atkins and was on his diet. I consumed more eggs and meat in a month than I had in the previous ten years, and my cholesterol levels dropped (I was also taking fish oil). As another anecdote, my mother’s cholesterol remained consistently high at 300 throughout her life because she refused to see doctors and never took cholesterol-lowering medication. I’m not necessarily advocating anything here, but it’s worth noting that she lived to be 95 and was playing tennis until her early 80s. Although there is an overwhelming amount of conflicting information, the real disagreement centers around vegetarianism versus eating meat or fish. In my opinion, your body knows best. Consider exploring your blood type and pay attention to how certain foods make you feel. In fact, when I attended the Integrated School of Nutrition, they recommended a breakfast experiment for clients. Each day, try a different breakfast option like oatmeal, eggs, a shake, cold cereal, or even a muffin, and observe how you feel. Something as simple as this can help you understand how quickly your body processes simple carbohydrates, making you hungry again in a few hours, compared to eggs, which provide protein and a complete range of amino acids. However, keep in mind that everyone’s body is unique.

By the way, the books shown in the picture are not ones I’m recommending. I simply felt like throwing in a photo :).