Tamara Jankoski
Bill Evans
Tamara Jankoski
Editor's Note
Last month, we included an article on an herb
known as Echinacea. Several weeks later, I
became involved in a discussion about the merits
of herbs, and was dismayed to hear how many
in that particular group did not understand the
many health benefits of herbs. Because of this,
I realized that maybe I was putting the cart before
the horse, by doing articles on specific herbs,
instead of starting with an explanation of herbs.
I hope to remedy that this month by raising
awareness of herbal therapy.
Also, this newsletter has an article about Silica,
and the importance of having it in our daily diets.
Though it is a little known essential trace mineral,
the definitive word here is essential. Evidently,
tests have shown a distinct correlation between
dietary Silica availability and normal growth
patterns in both animals and humans. Hopefully,
this article will heighten your appreciation of its
necessity.
I must also take this opportunity to mention that
we recently received the results of a placebo
controlled clinical trial study that was conducted
using the Collagen Type II in our CellRenew product.
This study was conducted by two rheumatologists on
89 patients with varied arthritis symptoms.
The results showed an 89.9% positive response in
45 days.
We have uploaded a summary of the study and a table
of the results to our web site. If you experience
symptoms of arthritis, or you know someone who does,
please take the time to review results here.. They
are encouraging.
In a future issue of this newsletter, we will be
instructing our readers how they - or someone they
know - may submit an application to become involved
in another trial using the same material. So stay
tuned.
For your good health. . . .
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Silica: An Essential Trace Mineral
Bill Evans
Silica, also referred to as dietary "Silicon", is a
little known trace mineral. It is a mixture of
silicon and oxygen - two of the most common
elements in our environment. The importance
of silica, in the proper maintenance and function
of human (and animal) health, can no longer be
ignored.
In 1878, Louis Pasteur believed that the need
for silica in treating many diseases, would
someday be widely recognized. Various scientists,
in the 20th century, supported Pasteur's theory
by extensively studying the effect of silica on
animal and human life.
Through research done in 1972 at UCLA, Dr.
Edith Carlisle found that silica is an essential
trace element, necessary for normal bone
development. The developed internal organs.
It was determined that optimal growth and
skeletal development could not occur without
adequate amounts of this essential trace mineral.
While studying mice, depressed growth and skull
deformities occurred due to an inadequate supply
of silica.
Humans showed the following symptoms when
lacking a sufficient amount of silica in their diet:
cardiovascular and arterial problems, fragile bones,
joint deterioration, digestive disorders, along with
weakened gums and teeth.
Once supplied with the appropriate amount of
silica, the above symptoms showed considerable
improvement, in addition to this: collagen levels
elevated, calcium absorption increased, and
cardiovascular support strengthened. The texture
of the hair, skin and nails showed improvement,
as well.
Scientists also discovered that silica is important
for making the collagen matrix structure, where
calcium deposits are used for building and
strengthening bones. Silica is so imperative
for forming healthy bones, that some scientists
believe silica supplements are even more
important than calcium for maintaining bone
strength.
Earl Mindell, author of the "Earl Mindell's
Supplement Bible" says "many athletes and
body builders take silicon supplements to help
prevent connective tissue injury and to speed
recovery, if they are already injured."
A well-known New York nutritionist, Edward
Lemmo, says silica is "the mineral-building
block that promotes healthy bone and connective
tissue and helps prevent premature aging and
cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases." It is
believed that silica can help protect against
Alzheimer's, because it decreases the amount
of aluminum absorbed by the body.
Silica supplements become even more necessary
as we age, because the human body absorbs and
uses less of it, with each passing year. This
may be one reason we lose flexibility and joint
stability as we get older. In Jack Williams column
"Keeping Fit", he writes, "because silica is
essential for collagen production, it's not a leap
to assume that a decline in silica content in the
skin can lead to visible signs of aging."
In addition to our ever increasing need for silica,
another challenge is that silica cannot easily be
found in large quantities in most foods. Though
it can be found in certain cereal grains, such as:
oats, millet, barley, wheat and potatoes, along
with fruits, beets and turnips - most silica is
usually lost in the refinement process of these
foods.
The average daily intake of silica from the diet
is approximately 20 to 50 milligrams per day,
but the optimum dose is higher. Researchers
are finding that by supplementing the diet with
a minimum of 40 milligrams of silica a day, the
skin shows an improvement of elasticity, texture
and thickness. Added benefits include helping
weakened teeth and gums, strengthening bones,
and decreasing hair loss. Overall, silica was
found to help the body repair, rebuild, strengthen,
and lessen or eliminate many body ailments
associated with aging.
Silica is considered safe and virtually non-toxic.
For easiest assimilation, the best form is to take
it in liquid, for internal assistance, or lotion for
direct application to the skin. Nutritionists can
recommend as much as 1000 milligrams per day.
RESOURCES:
"Silicon Biochemistry,"
Ciba Foundation Symposium 121.
John Wiley & Sons, 1986.
"Silica," Edward a. Lemmo, Ph.D.
Keats Publishing, Inc., 1998.
"Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible", Earl Mindell.
"Public Eye - Keeping Fit," Jack Williams.
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 13, 1998.
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The Benefits of Herbal Medicine - Part I
Tamara Jankoski
The most ancient form of health care known to
man is herbal medicine. For generations, herbs
have been used to provide medicinal benefits.
Historical records have shown that Egyptians,
Romans, Native Americans and many other
cultures have used herbs to cure most ailments.
Even the word "drug" has its roots from this
natural healing method. "Drug" is derived from
the Dutch word "drogge", meaning "to dry",
which is one of the more common forms of
herbal medicine.
For years, pharmaceutical companies have used
healing properties from herbs to produce drugs.
Approximately 25% of prescription drugs come
from plants and are similar in purpose and use
to that of ancient times. Of the approximate
500,000 plants, including subspecies, in the
world today, a mere 5,000 have been studied
for their medicinal benefits.
Norman R. Farnsworth, Ph.D., Professor of
Pharmacology at the University of Illinois at
Chicago says, "This illustrates the need for
modern medicine and science to turn its
attention to the plant world once again to find
new medicine that might cure cancer, AIDS,
diabetes. . . .Considering that 121 prescription
drugs come from only ninety species of plants,
and that 74 percent of these were discovered
following up native folklore claims, a logical
person would have to say there may still
be more jackpots out there."
There are reasons why modern medicine has
retreated from using pure herbs in treating illness
and health problems. The main reason has to do
with economics. Herbs can not be patented.
Another reason is that the gathering and
preparation of herbal medicine is neither as
easy to control, nor are supplies as constantly
available, as laboratory pharmaceuticals.
In developing new drugs from plants, a point
often ignored is that the removal and isolation
of the active ingredient may leave out other
healing properties contained in the plant.
Nature knows best how to balance all the
essential healing properties, and when we
extract only specific ingredients from the herbs,
we tend to lose a vast array of other healing
characteristics the plant may offer.
These "missing" properties could be needed as
enzymes, catalysts, buffers, etc. When we use
these properties in their complete form, the
body may better use this balance of ingredients -
as nature intended - for healing, and not just
masking symptoms.
Andrew Weil, MD, of Tucson, Arizona says
that herbs have a slower and less dramatic
effect than drugs, in the initial results. . . .
"doctors and patients accustomed to the rapid,
intense effects of synthetic medicines may
become impatient with botanicals for this reason."
Even so, herbal medicine is having a resurgence
in popularity. Executive Director of the American
Botanical Council, Mark Blumenthal says, "the
revival of interest in herbal medicine is a
worldwide phenomenon."
David Hoffmann, of the American Herbalist
Guild, says herbal medicine". . . has an
abundance of gifts to offer both individuals in
search of health and a society in search of
compassionate, affordable health care. With the
growing recognition of the value of herbs, it is
surely time to examine the professional
therapeutic use of these herbs. There are
profound changes happening in the American
culture and herbal medicine (green medicine) is
playing an ever-increasing role in people's
experience of this transformation."
Due to growing interest in natural healing,
increased availability, few side effects, along
with being one of the least expensive ways to
improve our health, the popularity of herbal
medicine will continue to grow as we enter
the 21st Century.
Next month: "The Various Forms and Use of
Herbal Medicine"
RESOURCES:
"Prescription For Nutritional Healing:
A Practical A-Z Reference To Drug-Free
Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs
& Food Supplements",
James F. Balch, M.D., Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C.
Avery Publishing Group, 1997.
(Available through our Book Store)
"Alternative Medicine," Burton Goldberg Group.
Future Medicine Publishing, Inc., 1994.
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"People are always blaming their
circumstances for what they are.
I don't believe in circumstances.
The people who get on in this world are
the people who get up and look for the
circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them,
make them."
George Bernard Shaw