My Aminoplex Replacement – Synerplex Amino Acids

This is a small plug for the new amino acid blend I created recently called Synerplex Amino Acids. It is meant to not only replace My Aminoplex which was carried by another company for a few years but to greatly improve the formula. The new formula contains increased levels of co-factors that were in the My Aminoplex namely vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc. New to the formula is vitamins B12 and B5 (Pantothenic acid). I decided to remove folic acid as there is quite a bit of folate being added to our diets and supplements and I felt that having another source may cause oversupplementation of this B vitamin.

More unique supplements, electrolytes and herbals will be available at the Knowledge Through Solutions website in the coming months. Hopefully in a week or so, a new and improved version of Peltier Electrolytes will also be available. We are naming it Synerplex Electrolytes Maintain (similar to the old standard formula), Recover (replacing the executive formula) and Active (replacing the sports formula).

New Epilepsy Drug – Vimpat

Finally, after 6 months of waiting, we were able to see a new neurologist and she suggested that we try Tasya on a new drug called Vimpat®. We were desperately trying to get our daughter off of Topamax® as it was hurting her cognitively and she was beginning to have breakthrough seizures again.

So one day on it shouldn’t make much of a difference but something happened that hasn’t occurred ever before. Tasya was about to have a seizure upon waking (her most common type) but it didn’t happen. I rushed to the room hearing the cry that she has right before a seizure and there she was, clear eyed and talkative. She told both my wife and I how different she felt and that she felt clearer and sharper than before.

Vimpat’s® mode of action supposedly is to stop a seizure by changing the sodium channel slowly as opposed to older drugs which did it very quickly. Side-effects seem to be less than other drugs which try to dampen the entire brain like Topamax®.

While we are in the early stages of trying this med out on Tasya and the fact that it is only approved for people over the age of 17, we remain hopeful but not fully convinced of Vimpat’s® efficacy. Still, the fact that Tasya showed such a quick positive reaction makes us feel that maybe, just maybe, we have the answer to help stop her seizure activity completely.

Two New Podcast Series

Now that my creative juices are strating to flow, I’ve started two new series of podcasts with my Let’s Talk Real Health podcast. The first one is on amino acids starting with my favorite, Glycine. The second coming out tomorrow is on the question I get asked more often than any other which is “What test should I run if my patient has _______”? I will be answering that question for 21 different health disorders.

Hope you enjoy them and have a great Independence Day weekend.

Podcast update

After another long hiatus, I’ve restarted my podcast and vow to keep up with a regular schedule. The latest interview is with Shari Kingston Adams who runs the Sykia Group, an educationbased marketing agency focused on the health lifestyles industry. For any health care professional who wants to improve their practice and increase the educational component of their practice, this is a can’t miss podcast.

Future podcasts already in the works includes information about amino acids, what laboratory tests to run for over 21 different disorders and health concerns and more interviews with top people in the complementary and alternative health industry.

Why We Are Really in the Mess We Are In

The problem with the American society today is that we forgot that hard work and compassion and not over consumption is what made us a great country. We think that we have to have a bigger house, a better car, fancier clothes and more money than our neighbor that twisted our minds away from what truly makes us happy and that is compassion for others. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama once said, “I truly believe compassion provides the basis of human survival, the real value of life, without that there is a basic piece missing. We cannot be happy ourselves without thinking about the happiness of others.”  Isn’t that the truth?

From my vantage point, this is why the Republican party is in a free fall. They seem to want to retain the greed mentality without offering anything in return to society. Consumption, consumption, consumption. Drill for more gas, the hell with reducing our consumption. Cut taxes for the wealthy so that in some mythical way it will trickle down to the poor (what a monumental con job that was).

Lest the Democrats and liberals rejoice, they have lacked the backbone to make it clear to the American people that the way we’ve been doing things just doesn’t work. They meekly push half baked projects to curtail consumption but in reality, they still like the ability to enrich themselves and their friend. Just ask the thousands of lobbyists that roam the hallways of Congress.

Compassion for others is the only way out of the morass we live in. We don’t need a million man march to do that, we need each and everyone of us to think about it, and do something compassionate whenever we can. It doesn’t need to be everyday, just whenever you can. The ripple effect from one small act, can change the world.

Sometimes, Being Nice Comes Back in a Big Way

Just got one of those feel good emails I felt like sharing with everyone. Thanks to Frank Cook for the big smile I got after reading it.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make   a living for his family, he heard a cry for
help coming from a nearby bog.   He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the
lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman’s sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and
introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

‘I want to repay you,’ said the nobleman. ‘You saved my son’s life.’

‘No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,’ the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son
came to the door of the family hovel.

‘Is that your son?’ the nobleman asked.

‘Yes,’ the farmer replied proudly.

‘I’ll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy  If the lad is anything like his father, he’ll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.’ And that he did.
Farmer Fleming’s  son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary’s  Hospital Medical School in London, and
went on to become known throughout  the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman’s son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.
What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son’s name?

Sir Winston Churchill..

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don’t need the money.

Love like you’ve never been hurt.

Dance like nobody’s watching.

Sing like nobody’s listening.

Live like it’s Heaven on Earth.

Nice Definition of Open Mindedness

While Stumbling around the internet, I came across this video clip about what open-mindedness really is. Most people know that I am pretty open-minded about a lot of things but I have been accused of being very close-minded about products that just don’t have sufficient evidence to be anything except a scam. The video here shows how some people who accuse others of being close-minded are themselves the very thing they are accussing the other person.

Zeolite Criticisms – The Truth Hurts Sales?

Of all the issues I blog about, my criticism of zeolite, a much hyped, poorly researched, money maker, is one I get the most comments about. Usually, it is in the form of threats (I refuse to allow those to see the light of day), angry diatribes, accusations which border on the ridiculous and downright silly comments. But the one thread I see is a total lack of any responses to my belief that zeolite is nothing but volcanic ash that has uses in industrial cleanups but no value in promoting human health.

I cannot wait to hear from the supposed cancer survivors who claim zeolite cured them. Of course, when confronted with the request to prove they had cancer and to publicly reveal their name with the proof, they vanish. When asked to provide research papers that have gone through the peer-review process, the constant whining that “it is about to be published in a major journal” comes out. Unfortunately for them, this claim has been going on for years with no paper being published.

Then we see the conspiracy theory coming out that the big, bad establishment is out to get them and wants to hide the positive effects of zeolite so big pharma can make more money. When you have nothing to stand on, it is time to bring out the boogie man. Why can’t they can’t release the studies on their own? Maybe because they show that their product does little but chelate money from peoples wallets into their coffers.

Boy, I can’t wait to see the comments I get on this post.

Another Series of Pharmaceutical Studies in Question

I know I sometimes harp on the pharmaceutical industry and how so many studies that show negative effects or less than positive ones, but a report out of Massachusetts has me very concerned about the validity of many studies out there. If you read this report from MSNBC.com, you can see why I am so disturbed.

It seems that Dr. Scott Reuben was fabricating data about the effectiveness of a number of drugs, including the pain killer Celebrex made by Pfizer and the antidepressant Effexor XR made by Wyeth among others. While this is certainly bad news for the two pharmaceutical companies, it should make us wonder how pervasive this is not only in the pharmaceutical world but also in the nutraceutical community.

I have often times railed against outrageous claims made by the makers of supplements that seem to be heavily anecdotal and curiously non-scientific. One case is the zeolite claims of chelating heavy metals. Still waiting for that study that is due any day showing how great it really is. Been waiting for over three years for something that was supposed to be out already. I’ve heard doctors get on stage and claim super high “cure” rates for autism, only to hear different numbers every conference he spoke at.

Research fraud is more common than you might think which means you need to read the studies with a more critical eye and not to jump on the latest hot drug or supplement. The studies have to make biochemical sense and not just report possible effects that seem too good to be true. There are a lot of Bernie Maddoff’s in science so approach those claims from the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies with a grain of salt. The life you save could be your own.