Many of you who have known me and been around AlaskaFit for a while know that the only supplements that I have ever recommended are Shaklee supplements.  I’ve been in the fitness business since I was about 12 years old and never bought into supplement-company claims (even though I briefly worked for a supplement company in my early 20s), let’s just say I was not convinced that there was any real benefit to supplementing.

Dr. Stephen Chaney is also one of my favorite experts in the area of health and nutrition.  Here’s what he says about Shaklee supplements.

“A number of you have contacted me requesting a clear
explanation of the Shaklee Difference.

“I understand your frustration. I have looked at the
literature and web sites of many of Shaklee’s
competitors.

“Most of Shaklee’s competitors excel in marketing.
Their web sites and literature tell compelling stories.
Every company claims to have the highest quality
standards and products backed by outstanding science.

“They all claim to be the best.

“So what is it that truly distinguishes Shaklee from
the rest?

“In my opinion there are five things that make Shaklee
stand out from the crowd.

“#1) Integrity: To me integrity means three things:

- No hype or false claims. One reason why other
companies are able to tell such compelling stories is
that they feel free to make claims that they cannot
back up with clinical studies (more about that next
week).

Shaklee does not resort to hype or false claims in
promoting their products. Shaklee has never been asked
by the FTC or FDA to retract any of their product
claims – something that cannot be said for many of
their competitors.

- No testimonials. One reason why other company’s web
sites are so compelling is the testimonials.

In evaluating testimonials you need to understand that
the placebo effect is close to 50% for things like pain
relief, energy and feeling of well being.

That’s why I always ignore testimonials unless they are
backed by sound science.

- No paid endorsements. Endorsements are commodities.
They are bought and sold.

That’s why I always ignore endorsements by doctors and
professional athletes.

So what is the bottom line for you as a consumer?

My recommendation is to pay very little attention to
testimonials and endorsements.

And, of course, remember those venerable words of
wisdom “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably
isn’t”. Don’t get caught up in the hype. Just use your
common sense.

“#2) The Golden Rule. I know that sounds kind of hokey,
but by that I mean:

- Shaklee’s commitment to only make products of proven
benefit.

Some of you may remember earlier fads concerning
chromium picolinate and colloidal minerals. The current
fads seem to be magic water and exotic juices.

Shaklee has looked at all of those products. They could
have made lots of money from marketing those kinds of
products, but there was no good evidence that they
actually worked – that they provided a real benefit to
people using them. So Shaklee chose not to make those
products.

- Shaklee’s commitment to only make products that will
do no harm.

“Some of you may remember those weight loss products
containing ephedra (ma huang) from a few years ago.

“Shaklee evaluated ephedra for their weight loss
products. It is effective at increasing metabolic
rate, but it also causes arrhythmia – it kills people.

“That was abundantly clear from the scientific
literature at that time. Of course, Shaklee chose to
not use ephedra in their weight loss products. But many
of their competitors used it – until enough people died
that the FDA stepped in and banned ephedra.

- Shaklee’s commitment to make their products as
natural as possible. We are exposed to too many toxic
chemicals in the food we eat, the water we drink and
the air we breathe. Because of that I prefer to avoid
artificial ingredients in the supplements that I take.

“I have seen the list of artificial ingredients that
Shaklee will not use. It’s the size of a small
telephone book.

“And that list includes sucralose. While many experts
will assure you that sucralose is safe, other experts
aren’t so sure.

“My rule of thumb is to not knowingly consume any
artificial ingredient unless it has been in the food
supply for at least 20 years and is still considered
safe.

“If you think about it, we have been assured by the
‘experts’ that other artificial ingredients were safe
only to have the FDA announce years latter “Oops – we
were wrong”

“I prefer to avoid the ‘Oops’ factor.

“Shaklee’s list of ingredients that they will never use
also includes GMO ingredients. Again, this is a
controversial area, but I believe that there are too
many unresolved environmental and health concerns
around GMO foods.

“So what is the bottom line for you as a consumer?

“It is difficult for the layperson to evaluate the
efficacy and safety of an ingredient or product, but
you can become a discerning label reader.

“I would recommend avoiding supplements containing
artificial colors, preservatives and sweeteners
(including sucralose).

“And for food products (shakes, bars and gels) I would
also recommend avoiding them unless the label
specifically states that they use non GMO ingredients.

“Coming Next Week: The Shaklee Difference in product
quality, clinical studies and, of course, the Landmark
study.

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney

P.S. Visit http://www.chaneyhealth.com for archives of
my “Tips From the Professor” and other free resources.
While you are there, check out the benefits that you
can receive when you sign up for my VIP program. For
example, on Thursday November 17 I will be offering a
special webinar to VIP customers on the effects of
vitamin D on human health. It’s called “Let the Sun
Shine In”.

Dr. Stephen Chaney
http://www.chaneyhealth.com
888.860.2075

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food
and Drug Administration. This information is not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.

From Providence Hospital’s Newsletter:

Calorie-burning benefits of vigorous exercise last for hours

 Sept. 18, 2011—People who exercise vigorously continue to burn calories for up to 14 hours after their exercise session ends, according to a small study published by the American College of Sports Medicine.

“We found that 45 minutes of vigorous exercise caused 190 additional calories to be burned later in the day while the participant was at rest,” said David Nieman, PhD, lead author of the study and a professor of health and exercise science at Appalachian State University.

Researchers at Appalachian State and the University of North Carolina looked at energy expenditure among 10 healthy men during two separate 24-hour sessions in a metabolic chamber. Metabolic chambers look like normal rooms—equipped with a bed, sofa, laptop, toilet and sink—but they are highly controlled and capable of measuring energy expenditure.

During the first session, the participants were inactive most of the time, except for two minutes of standing and stretching every hour. They also performed routine tasks such as washing their hands and brushing their teeth as needed.

Participants followed the same routine during the second session, but they also cycled vigorously for 45 minutes at 11 a.m.

The researchers found that increased calorie burn lasted for an average of 14.2 hours after exercise, including the first 3.5 hours the participants were asleep.

“The calories burned after exercise represent a 37 percent increase in net energy expended compared to no exercise,” Dr. Nieman said. “These findings may have implications for people trying to lose or manage their weight.”

Ready to burn more calories during AND after your workout?  Call us at 783-1241 for you FREE consultation and we’ll tell you exactly how you can do it.

 

As you know, Dr. Stephen Chaney is one of my favorite health professionals. He is a well-respected Professor at a major university, has a BS in Chemistry from Duke University and a PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA.

Dr. Chaney has taught biochemistry to medical and dental students for more than 30 years and has won several awards for teaching excellence.

He runs an active cancer research program and has published over 100 scientific articles and reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has also written two chapters on nutrition for a popular medical biochemistry textbook.

This week, in his e-mail, he addressed a study on multi-vitamins that has been making headlines across the globe. I believe his insights are invaluable and truly make a difference when you understand WHY we supplement. Supplements are not and never were, meant to replace food. They are part of a healthy lifestyle and enhance the good you’re already doing.

Enjoy!
________

Last week I discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Iowa Women’s Health Study (Mursu et al, Archives of Internal Medicine, 171: 1625-1633, 2011) which has been
interpreted as suggesting that multivitamins and certain individual vitamin or mineral supplements could actually increase the risk of mortality in older women.

This week I’d like to focus on the bottom line for you, and give you my personal recommendations.

1) As I mentioned last week the sample size for women taking a copper-only supplement was exceedingly small (108), so I do not have much confidence in the data reported for copper supplement users in this study.

However, high doses of copper can be toxic and there is no reason to be taking a stand-alone copper supplement unless it is recommended by your physician.

On the other hand, copper is an essential nutrient, so some copper should be included in your multivitamins. I recommend looking for multivitamins providing around 1mg of copper (50% of the DV) on a daily basis.

2) The potential toxicity of iron in adult men and post-menopausal women is well documented. About 5-10% of these population groups have an increased need for iron that can be easily diagnosed by their physicians. There is another 10-15% that have a genetic condition that can lead to iron overload and premature death. This condition is insidious and is often not diagnosed until considerable damage has been done. For the rest of the people in these population groups iron offers neither a risk nor a benefit.

This is why the standard recommendation for adult men and post-menopausal women is to avoid iron supplements and iron-containing multivitamins unless supplemental iron is specifically recommended by their physicians.

To be quite clear, if you are an adult man or post- menopausal woman there is no reason to be taking an iron-containing supplement unless it has been recommended by your physician.

3) The potential toxicity of vitamin B6 and folic acid as stand-alone supplements in this study was quite small and was not seen in several previous studies. However, as I pointed out last week there was no risk involved in taking a B complex supplement containing
B6 and folic acid.

This reinforces a continuing theme of mine – namely that we should be focusing on a holistic, balanced approach to supplementation rather than relying on supplements providing individual, high potency nutrients.

4) Similarly, the potential toxicity of magnesium and zinc was also quite small, was seen only after considerable adjustment of the primary data, and has not been seen in several previous studies.

My recommendation would be to get both of these nutrients from a well-designed multivitamin supplement where all of the essential minerals are provided in the appropriate amounts and balance. If you do use magnesium and zinc as stand-alone supplements my recommendation would be to avoid very high doses of either unless directed by your physician.

5) The very slight increase in mortality associated with multivitamin use is not completely surprising because some previous studies have suggested this posiblity.

As last week one needs to know why the participantswere taking a multivitamin (ie, was it because they had a medical condition) to appropriately evaluate these data.

However, it is also important to ask how well designed and tested the multivitamin was. There are some multivitamins in the marketplace that are so poorly designed and/or manufactured that they could possibly cause more harm than good. Here are the questions
that you should ask about the supplement that you are using:

- Does it represent a holistic approach to supplementation?

I have already talked about the value of having all of the B vitamins in balance rather than high dose B6 or folic acid alone. However, both pure alpha tocopherol alone (even all natural d-alpha tocopherol) or pure beta- carotene alone have the potential to cause some harm by interfering with the absorption of similar nutrients.

You should look for a supplement that provides all of the naturally occurring tocopherols and tocotrienols – especially gamma-, beta- and delta tocopherol rather than pure d-alpha-tocopherol alone.

You should also look for a supplement that provides all of the major carotenoids (beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) rather than beta-carotene alone.

And finally, a truly holistic supplement will contain omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols and probiotics.

- Does the manufacturer do quality controls that guarantee the supplement does not contain contaminants tat can harm you? Ask them how many quality controls they perform with the product that you are using.

- Can the supplement manufacturer provide you with clinical studies done with their product showing that it delivers the nutrients to your bloodstream and has the intended effect in your body? Animal and cell culture studies don’t count.

- Are there clinical studies showing that long term use of the supplement actually decreases disease risk? The study should be at least as long as the Iowa Women’s
Health Study (19 years).

6) Finally, we should not ignore the “good news” part of the study – namely that calcium supplementation decreased mortality risk. Of course, this conclusion is subject to the same limitations as the previous ones and not every previous study has come to the same
conclusion.

The DV for calcium for women in this age range is 1,200mg/day and some 40-60% of older women do not achieve this from diet alone. I recommend that everyone strive for the DV for calcium from diet plus supplementation. Intakes slightly above 1,200 mg/day are probably safe for older women, but I don’t recommend going above 2,000 mg/day.

I’ve covered a lot of ground over the past two weeks.

Let me close with a quick summary.

- The Iowa Women’s Health Study has a number of significant design flaws and its conclusions should be confirmed by subsequent studies before recommendations are made to the public.

- The study’s warning against taking iron-containing supplements and copper-alone supplements is, however,right on. In postmenopausal women these supplements should only be taken if prescribed by a doctor.

- Individual high dose B6 or folic acid supplements are also probably not a good idea unless prescribed by a physician, but a well designed B complex or multivitamin supplement containing those nutrients appears to be safe.

- The risk associated with individual high dose magnesium and zinc is weak and needs to be confirmed by additional studies. Holistic supplements containing magnesium and zinc should not be a problem.

- The risk associated with multivitamin use was also weak and needs to be confirmed. My take on this is that many of the multivitamins on the market are poorly designed and could conceivable cause more harm than good. I recommend looking for holistic supplements
backed by strong clinical studies showing that they are safe and effective for long term use.

- This study suggests that supplemental calcium may decrease the risk of death. While this needs to be confirmed by subsequent studies, it does make sense to make sure that you are getting the DV for calcium on a daily basis.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney

P.S. To find a multi-vitamin that meets all of the above recommendations, click here.
and check out the Vitalizer.