Author Archives: Mark Schauss

About Mark Schauss

History was always a passion for me since I was a little kid. Even majored in it in college. Loved my Russian history professor, the late Dr. Paul Avrich who inspired this podcast. Also to my mother Alla who kept the Russian side of me going. Wish I had listened to her to learn Russian when I was younger.

EHP Update – January 2007

Here is a review of the major articles in this months issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Pilot Study of Urinary Biomarkers of Phytoestrogens, Phthalates, and Phenols in Girls – While this study does not link serious health issues with these ubiquitous chemicals, it does show that many young girls have measurable amounts of these hormonally active toxins. Very disturbing indeed.

Maternal Fish Consumption, Mercury Levels, and Risk of Preterm Delivery – In this landmark study, it was shown that there is a relationship between mercury and the risk of pre-term delivery. Even with low- to moderate-exposure, there was a relationship. The researchers tracked pregnant women’s fish intake from canned, sport caught and fresh purchased. The worst offender was canned fish. If you are pregnant, please do not eat canned fish or any predatory species such as shark or swordfish. If you need (and you do) Omega-3 fatty acids, take supplements.

Environmental Estrogens Induce Mast Cell Degranulation and Enhance IgE-Mediated Release of Allergic Mediators – In an interesting study, researchers suggest that environmental estrogens like DDT, PCBs, bisphenol A and others, may promote allergic reactions in humans. More evidence that these toxins need banning.

A Case-Control Analysis of Exposure to Traffic and Acute Myocardial Infarction – Pollution from automobile and truck traffic is once again linked to an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease and heart attack. If you live near heavy traffic, test for solvents through US Biotek, then use the Bio-ClarityTM Report from Health Director through your health care provider to come up with a detoxification protocol. Your heart will love you for it.

Increased Rate of Hospitalization for Diabetes and Residential Proximity of Hazardous Waste Sites – These researchers found a statistically significant relationship between diabetes hospitalizations and proximity to toxic waste dumps.

Potential Risks Associated with the Proposed Widespread Use of Tamiflu – Because of the fear of a viral pandemic, the World Health Organization suggested stockpiling hundreds of millions of doses of Tamiflu, an anti-retroviral drug. These authors believe that we need to be aware that because the drug does not easily degrade, if that many doses were to be taken, humans would eventually excrete the active ingredient which will then make its way to the environment. The risk is if birds ingest the drug and begin to breed Tamiflu resistant strains of viruses. This could have horrendous ramifications for people worldwide.

Hair Manganese and Hyperactive Behaviors: Pilot Study of School-Age Children Exposed through Tap Water – My fellow researcher and author, Robert Crayhon, has been a strong opponent of supplements containing the mineral manganese. After reviewing this paper, which shows a relationship between exposure to manganese and hyperactivity, I am becoming more and more convinced of the correctness of his position. I know of a couple who have taken so much manganese over the years that have exhibited very odd, almost psychotic behavior because of it. I suggest that everyone have their water tested through Doctor’s Data for this and other heavy metals and trace minerals.

First Nutrition Update of 2007

Long-Term Supplementation with Zinc May Exert a Beneficial Effect – This study was done on the effects of zinc on macular degeneration. While somewhat poorly designed, this study does seem to suggest once again that zinc supplementation is beneficial in preventing macular degeneration.

Inadequate Intake of Vitamins and Minerals May Lead to Mitochondrial Decay and Degenerative Diseases of Aging – Basically, Dr. Bruce Ames, on of the world’s foremost biochemists shows that nutritional supplementation is critical in slowing down the aging process. His opening comment in the abstract says: “Inadequate dietary intakes of vitamins and minerals are widespread, most likely due to excessive consumption of energy-rich, micronutrient-poor, refined food. Inadequate intakes may result in chronic metabolic disruption, including mitochondrial decay.”

Supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Benefit Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis – Another excellent study showing the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation.  Remember to get your fatty acids from a reliable source (e-mail me for more info at schauss at carbonbased dot com).

Effects of Folic Acid Supplementation on the Development of Breast Cancer – This provocative study suggests that excessive folic acid supplementation may increase the risk of breast cancer. This finding may be why green tea has been found to be beneficial in breast cancer prevention as it blocks a folic acid enzyme.

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Serum Markers of Cardiovascular Disease – This review suggests that the major cardiovascular marker benefited from Omega-3 fatty acids is triglycerides. This fat went down an average of 27 mg/dL which was quite significant. HDL, LDL and total cholesterol showed far less change.

Use of Cod Liver Oil Inversely Associated with Symptoms of Depression – Maybe Mom was right in telling you to take your cod liver oil. The authors of this study conclude, “The findings indicate that regular use of cod liver oil is negatively associated with high levels of depressive symptoms in the general population.”

Elevated Homocysteine Levels Associated with Erectile Dysfunction – Instead of taking expensive drugs to improve erectile dysfunction, maybe taking B-complex nutrients in order to lower homocysteine is a better idea.

Vitamin E Supplementation May Benefit Athletes – This study suggested that athletes would benefit greatly from additional vitamin E supplementation. I would further suggest that they would have seen better results if they used a mixture of gamma- as well as alpha-tocopherol.

Turmeric Supplementation Holds Potential for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis – The more I look into tumeric and circumin, the more I believe in these herbs in the treatment and control of inflammatory disorders. After my Achilles tendon surgery, I have had great results with tumeric and circumin.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Prevent Sudden Death – In this remarkable study, it was determined that Omega-3 fatty acids are more beneficial than many other, more traditional treatments and medical devices. The authors said that: “Based on central values of candidacy and efficacy, raising omega-3 fatty acid levels would have about eight times the impact of distributing AEDs (automated external defibrillators) and two times the impact of implanting ICDs. Raising omega-3 fatty acid levels would also reduce the rates of sudden death among the subpopulation that does not qualify for ICDs (implanter cardioverter defibrillators).”

Please go to www.Vitasearch.com to get more details and the full information about all the studies in today’s blog.

Nutrition News for the Week

Magnesium Supplementation May Increase Hip BMC in Girls – Bone mineral concentration is an important factor in preventing fractures.  This study clearly shows that magnesium supplementation can help increase BMC in women especially if taken early on in life. Just 300 mg’s split into two doses a day will do the trick.

Drinking Green Tea Regularly May Lower the Risk of Breast Cancer – Yet another good report on the benefits of drinking green tea.  One caveat, my suggestion is to avoid green tea when pregnant as it does seem to inhibit folic acid which is a critical nutrient in fetal development.

Diet and Lifestyle Intervention Reduces Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Obese Older Adults – From the University of the Obvious 😉 this study suggests that improving your lifestyle and diet is beneficial to ones health. Do we really still need studies like this? I would find it sad if the answer was yes.

Almonds May Help Control Blood Sugar – After reading this review, I’m going out to get some almonds as a snack food at my desk.

L-Carnitine: Safety, Tolerability, and Improvement of Fatigue in Cancer Patients – One more excellent study on the benefits of carnitine. The authors seemed to be convinced that adding L-carnitine to the regime of advance stage cancer patients is highly beneficial. They went to say about the test subjects that “…fatigue was found to significantly decrease, depression was found to decrease and sleep was found to improve.”

Circulating Levels of Vitamin D May be Inversely Associated with Risk of Multiple Sclerosis – In a well designed prospective study, researchers suggested that higher levels of circulating vitamin D was protective against developing multiple sclerosis.  Does anyone need convincing that they should be supplementing vitamin D regularly?

To all my friends, a Merry Christmas

Whatever your religion or belief, may this holiday season be a good one to you and your family. May the coming year bring you peace and happiness. I’m looking forward to bringing you a lot of news on health, the environment and other important issues that will make your world better.

Environmental Health Perspectives Wrap Up for December 2006

One of my favorite journals is Environmental Health Perspectives whose articles can be downloaded free of charge from their website. It is the one journal I most look forward to reading each month.  In today’s blog, I’ll list the articles which I think are the most relevant regarding human health from the December 2006 issue. Click on the topics you’re interested in and you will be led to the actual article.

Pollutants May Put On The Pounds – (pg A692) – The evidence keeps piling up linking environmental toxins and obesity.

Unidentified Inert Ingredients in Pesticides: Implications for Human and Environmental Health – Caroline Cox and Michael Surgan. This article suggests that all pesticides should have all ingredients assessed for safety and not just the active components.

Global Environmental Change: What Can Health Care Providers and the Environmental Health Community Do About It Now? – Brian S. Schwartz, Cindy Parker, Thomas A. Glass, and Howard Hu – This article is a call to action for health care providers to help educate the public about the risks of global warming.

Whole-Body Lifetime Occupational Lead Exposure and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease – Steven Coon, Azadeh Stark, Edward Peterson, Aime Gloi, Gene Kortsha, Joel Pounds, David Chettle, and Jay Gorell – In this article the authors report on the association of lead exposure to the development of Parkinson’s disease.

Exposures to Environmental Toxicants and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children – Joe M. Braun, Robert S. Kahn, Tanya Froehlich, Peggy Auinger, and Bruce P. Lanphear – Here we see direct correlations between exposure to prenatal tobacco and lead and the development of ADHD.

Response Inhibition During Differential Reinforcement of Low Rates (DRL) Schedules May Be Sensitive to Low-Level Polychlorinated Biphenyl, Methylmercury, and Lead Exposure in Children – Paul W. Stewart, David M. Sargent, Jacqueline Reihman, Brooks B. Gump, Edward Lonky, Thomas Darvill, Heraline Hicks, and James Pagano – Low levels of toxins such as PCB, methylmercury and lead are potentially harmful in children (no kidding) is what this article suggests.

Are We Winning the War on Cancer? Absolutely Not!

In a brilliant commentary in the December 16-22, 2006 issue of New Scientist, Dr. Ralph Moss, director of the online information service CancerDecisions.com, provides powerful evidence that the war on cancer is failing miserably despite the tens of billions of dollars spent over the past 35 years.

He writes that in 1971, Congress passed the National Cancer Act assuring the nation that cancer would be cured by 1976. Guess what?  We’ve had the same success here as we are having in Iraq.  In other words, we’ve failed.

Here are a couple of major points Dr. Moss makes:

  • The number of people diagnosed with cancer is roughly double from 1971.
  • Because of our improved diagnostic techniques, cancers are being caught earlier which is great but early detection has been known as a way to cure cancer for over 100 years so no real improvements have occurred.
  • Statistically, there have been games being played as if someone with late-stage cancer dies of pneumonia, that is what is listed as the cause of death and not cancer.
  • Males with elevated PSAs are being diagnosed with prostate cancer even if they may not have cancer. So the more people who are diagnosed without dying, the better the data looks
  • In 2002 cancer deaths in the U.S. numbered 557,272.  In 2003, it dropped to 556, 902, a decline of 370. As Dr. Moss says, “if progress continues at this rate, cancer deaths in the U.S. should be entirely eliminated by the year 3508, a little more than 1500 years.
  • The autopsy rate has declined from 45 percent several decades ago to 11 percent today so it is likely cancer mortality is vastly underestimated.

Bottom line is, we need a new approach to fighting the war against cancer.  The pathway we have taken is just not working. Yes, early detection is getting vastly better but once diagnosed with later stage cancers, all that money has really accomplished very little.

Warning Labels for Pain Killers Added

In a recent decision the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) put out an advisory asking pharmaceutical companies to put additional warning labels on pain killers such as aspirin, acetometaphen, ibuprofen and naproxin. While I heartily applaud the action, my big question has to be; “What the heck took you so long?”

Did you know that an estimated 16,000 people die each year from taking these NSAID’s (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs).  This is a staggering number considering if 1/10th of a percent of those deaths occurred using a natural substance, you can bet the house it would be yanked off the market in the blink of an eye. Yet, over and over, the media claims that natural supplements are unregulated (which is a lie) and have potential for harm. So allowing 16,000 people to die each year is regulated and few if any deaths on natural substances is unregulated. Am I missing something here?

Something, somehow is terribly wrong in our health care system.  This doesn’t seem like and issue that can be resolved easily but something has to give and soon.

Supplements Aren’t Going Away

There are a few chicken little fear mongerers who are claiming that the Dietary Supplement and Non-Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (the “AER bill”), S. 3546, just passed by Congress, will somehow cut back on our ability to access nutritional supplements. These are the same crackpots who claimed Codex Alimentarus was going to do the same thing in January, July, August, September, October and December of 2004.  Guess what?  It didn’t happen.  The fear mongers are looking for handouts and attention and care little about the truth.

The utter stupidity of their claims sounds more like conspiratorial theorists who claim alien domination of world governments. They claim that because the Natural Products Association, uses the same law firm as a couple of pharmaceutical companies, that they are nothing more than a front for Big Pharma. So I guess if you use a lawyer from a firm that defended a murderer, you too are implicated in that crime.  Pretty pathetic argument wouldn’t you say?

The fact of the matter is, the nutritional supplement industry needed this bill to be passed to show that we can govern ourselves and protect the public from sham artists and other quacks in our industry. The bill simply states that in case of severe adverse reactions to supplements a reporting mechanism needs to be in place for the manufacturers of the products, not the retailers. For more details and the true story, go to the Natural Products Association website and learn what really is going on.

Weekly Nutrition Update

Beta-Carotene May Help to Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease in People with a Certain Genotype – This interesting report suggests that people with the ApoE4 allele (arginine versus cysteine) would benefit from adding beta-carotene to their daily regime.  The protection is against developing Alzheimer’s disease.  Given this research I would certainly test for the gene.

Intake of Whole Grains and Fish Linked to Lower Risk of Asthma in Children – With the high rates of asthma in today’s world, this study suggests that children fed more whole grains and fish versus refined carbs and red meat have a lower rate of developing asthma. This common sense study should make the parents of all children sit up, take notice and change their childrens diet right away.

Curcumin Protects Against Gamma-Radiation Induced DNA Damage – The more and more I read about this herb, the more I am convinced that it should be part of everyones daily regime.

High-Dose Folic Acid Improves Endothelial Function in Coronary Artery Disease, Independent of Its Homocysteine Lowering Effect – If you aren’t taking a minimum of 400 mcg of folic acid a day, go get a big stick and whack yourself in the head.  Then, get in your car and go to the health food store and get some folic acid right away.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine May Benefit Patients with HIV and AIDS through Antioxidant Action – Carnitine is another essential nutrient that should be taken on a regular basis.  If you need more convincing, go get the book “The Carnitine Miracle” by my good friend Robert Crayhon,  It is a true timeless gem of a book.

Intake of Fruits and Vegetables Protects Against Oxidative Damage – Yes, your mother was right; eat your veggies. Is more research really needed to drive home the need for the addition of more fruit and vegetable into our diet?

Diagnosis and Treatment of Vitamin B12 Deficiency – This study clearly suggests that 1 mg of B12 daily over a 2-3 month period is quite successful in treating B12 deficiency. If you are a vegetarian, you should be aware that you are likely not to get enough B12 from your diet so you absolutely need to supplement this essential vitamin.

Breast Cancer and HRT – The data is conclusive

If you are a menopausal women and you are on hormone replacement therapy and your doctor isn’t screaming at you to stop, fire the doctor immediately and get off of the hormones under the auspices of an intelligent physician.  The dramatic drop in the incidence of breast cancer being reported in the media should be the final nail in the coffin of HRT.

The use of artificial hormones to treat the symptoms of menopause was just another wrong direction taken by the pharmaceutical industry.  It was a money maker and nothing more.  The fact that there was a 7% drop in breast cancer in the U.S. is fantastic news. Let’s hope that researchers begin to question all drugs and whether they really are benefiting patients.