Pharmaceutical profits are down. Time to attack vitamins!

Did you hear the breaking news that multivitamins may shorten your life? Here’s how junk science from the AMA set off the media frenzy.

Bloomberg phrased it this way: “Multivitamins and some dietary supplements, used regularly by an estimated 234 million US adults, may do more harm than good, according to a study that tied their use to higher death rates among older women.” The study’s authors outrageously concluded, “We see little justification for the general and widespread use of dietary supplements.”

The study, published in the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Archives of Internal Medicine, assessed the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in nearly 39,000 women whose average age was 62. The researchers asked the women to fill out three surveys, the first in 1986, the second in 1997, and the last in 2004, reporting what supplements they took and what foods they ate, and answering a few questions about their health.

That’s right, all the data was self-reported by the study subjects only three times over the course of the 19-year-long study. To say the data is “unreliable” would be a generous description. This kind of “data” has no place in a valid scientific study.

Then the researchers looked at how many of the women had died by 2008. They reported that the number of deaths were somewhat higher for women who took copper, a little bit lower for women who took calcium, but about average for most of the women.

In the study, all of the relative risks were so low as to be statistically insignificant, and none was backed up by any medical investigation or biological plausibility study. No analysis was done on what combinations of vitamins and minerals were actually consumed, and no analysis of the cause of death was done beyond grouping for “cancer,” “cardiovascular disease,” or “other”—there was certainly no causative analysis done. The interactions of potential compounding risk factors is always tremendously complex—and was ignored in this so-called study.

“Multivitamin” can mean many different things, and of course changed tremendously over the 19 years during which this “study” was conducted. Were they high quality? Were the ingredients synthetic or natural? How much of each nutrient was taken? Were they really taken at all? How good is anyone’s memory in describing what took place over many years? One would assume that that the women’s diets fluctuated greatly over the same period; when self-reporting only three times in 19 years, there is a great deal of information one would naturally leave out even if some of it was accurate. No analysis was done of the effect of supplements on the women’s overall health, nor of their effect on women of other ages.

According to Dr. Robert Verkerk the Executive & Scientific Director of ANH-International;

“This study is a classic example of scientific reductionism being used to fulfill a particular need. In this case, it’s supplement bashing, a well-known preoccupation of Big Pharma — and an approach that appears to be central to the protection of Big Pharma’s profit margins.”
Read Dr. Verkerk’s article critical of the AMA’s goals and scientific methodology here.

In short, this study is less than useless: it is dangerous, because it is being used by the media and the mainstream medical establishment to blacken the eye of nutritional supplements using poor data, bad analysis, and specious conclusions—otherwise known as junk science.

What are your thoughts?

Mary Beth
www.mamabearproductions.net

Why Supplement?

Many times I hear, "I'm healthy or I'm young so why do I need to use supplements (or some say vitamins)?"  If you eat according to the food pyramid guide, breathe only clean air, drink only the purest of water, exercise at least 3 times weekly, and have no stress in your life then no you don't need to supplement.  Does this sound like you?

When I first started taking supplements, I thought to myself am I going to do this for the rest of my life?  Fourteen years later I'm still taking supplements.  I don't take a day off either.

Why do I say supplements versus vitamins?  Because the products I use and market, supplement what we don't get from our diet.  Be careful because not all supplements are created equally. 

Click here for an even better explanation of Why Supplement. 

If you are already using supplements, are you getting the results  you want?  Why did you start taking supplements?  Did a doctor recommend them?  Were you told "all brands are the same, just go to the grocery store"?

I'm not here to treat or diagnose, but many traditional doctors aren't knowledgeable in supplements.  They have their reasons.

But if you are looking for someone who has your best interest at heart, email me and we can set up a time to discuss what is best for you.  Because that is who matters, YOU.

Give yourself the gift of health this holiday season so that you can enjoy many more to come.

Many blessings,

Mary Beth
marybeth@mamabearproductions.net
www.mamambearproductions.net

Calling all teachers

It's that cold and flu season again.  Who seems to be on the receiving end?  Teachers.  Kids come to school with runny noses, coughing, and a whole array of other "fun" things. 

On top of all that, it is the stress of dealing with 30 different personalities, teaching something they love and with the hope that those children will be passionate about learning.

And if all of this isn't enough, they don't receive a raise, benefits are reduced and they are struggling financially. 

So what can teachers do to offset the affects of stress, have a balanced immune system, create an additional income to offset their paycuts, and not go crazy while doing all of this?

Let's start with stress.  When a person is stressed, reach for the good foods.  For example: fresh fruit, fresh veggies, protein.  These food choices will offset the affects of stress and put the body in a more calm state.  Did you know that stress is a major contributing factor in 100% of disease? 

Next the immune system.  It is imperative to have a balanced immune sytem to ward off the flu and it is a great prevention against more serious illnesses such as cancer.  Eating healthy 80% of the time and 20% of the time eat what you want and enjoy it.  We don't live in a plastic bubble and limiting oneself can add to stress. 

Next is a balanced immune system.  I say balanced because there are Auto Immune Disorders where the immune system is overproducing and is attacking the body.  What can one do to have a balanced immune system?  Because we can't get everything we need from our food supply, we need supplements.  Go here for my favorites. 

If you had a flu shot but want something that is a great defense against all flu bugs, click here.  If you like to know what you are putting into your body, click on the Science portion. 

Last is creating an additional income.  Teachers know that education is empowering.  I conduct Healthy Workshops for businesses, schools, churches, and organizations in the community.  My business is expanding and I'm looking for teachers to teach these workshops and have a flexible business to create an additional stream of income.  If this sounds like you or someone you know, email your resume to Mary Beth at marybeth@mamabearproductions.net. 

The Heart of a Teacher is a book and also you can see a brief video on the book.

Thank you to all teachers!  You are a blessing.

Mary Beth