Posted by vitaqueen on May 27, 2005, at 11:03:55
In reply to Re: Anyone sea that infomercial for Sea Vegg? » vitaqueen, posted by Larry Hoover on May 24, 2005, at 8:57:22
First, thank you so much Larry for your response to my post. I really am very new to all this vitamin/herb/mineral supplementation, as new as last November after reading Dr. Strand's book (referenced in my initial post). So I'm like a hungry sponge eager to whet [pun intended] my appetite by seeking new and valid information. I so want to improve the quality of the rest of my life (triple bypass 2+ years ago I guess can do that to you), but I also want to be intelligent about it, and not jump at every "advertised miracle cure" that saturates all media.
Inasmuch as I have a "guarded faith" about the medical profession (AMA), I do trust at least my cardiologist (to a point). I don't want to take any prescribed medication unless absolutely positively necessary. The biggest issue right now (as has always been) is my cholesterol level, which it has been without a doubt determined that my body manufactures. My diet has absolutely no trans fats, I eat lean meats only and infrequently, there is no dairy whatsoever in my diet either, and yet without statin medication, my # is over 400. I refuse to put another statin in my body for many reasons, and it appears the red yeast rice (2400 mg/day) and/or acupuncture, dropped my # so far by about 150 points (but that was with a home test and I'm not sure how accurate they are.
I have been hearing and reading by the naysayers, that "cholesterol" is over-hyped due to the billions of $ in statin therapy, and that the homocysteine level is really the truer indicator of what's going on in the arteries. Since on B-complex, folic, and trimethylglycine (500 mg/day which I forgot to mention previously), my homocysteine dropped from 13.5 to 9.8. But my doctor is very concerned about the cholesterol # and wants me back on Crestor & Zetia, or the new one, Vytorin. I am fighting him tooth and nail on it though, because I hated the way my muscles and legs felt while on it.
> Sea vegg (or any other product) cannot cram into one capsule that which presently requires 26 tablets. It's a physical impossibility.Common sense at least, tells me that you are absolutely correct. I didn't think the product could "hurt" me in any way and ordered it to give it a try. But I believe I will be returning it. Thanks.
> Five mg of vanadium?!? 8 mg manganese? I'll get back to you on those doses.I look forward to it. What about Vitamin D?
> You could definitely cut some of these out, or reduce doses. In acute treatment of symptomatic conditions, some of these doses are required, but maintenance of health does not require the larger dose. You soon learn how to "listen to your body", and increase certain supps as needed.
Problem is right now, I'm not sure which ones are doing what for what. The combination gave me a somewhat sustained feeling of betterment; I guess I need to read up more on each individual one. Are there any that could harm me after a prologed use????
> You could halve the CoQ10. Halve the milk thistle. (I wouldn't take it every single day, anyway. Give your body a break from herbs. I would take it half the time, or less.)
The CoQ10 was referred by my cardiologist at the time I was taking statins, and this specific one is the only water soluable grade he is aware of. I WAS on 200mg/day, but dropped it to 100mg shortly after I stopped the statins. You feel I should still halve it?
Likewise, the 200 mg of Milk Thistle I started when on statins. Would 100 mg 3X a week still be too much?
> If you've been on the selenium for a few months, you could halve it.
I have been on the selenium (200 mcg) for 6 months; I will take that now every other day.
> You don't need to take the antioxidant polyphenol supps every single day. (lycopene, grape seed)Same for alpha lipoic acid and Vitamin C?
> Oral glutathione is a waste of money, in that the glutathione is digested. Glutathione is a protein, and it doesn't survive the stomach intact. You're better off just ignoring this, or substituting in some whey protein powder (high in cysteine). Or some other source of cysteine, such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC).OK. I have heard of NAC. What dosage would you recommend?
> Where's the zinc? I see no zinc on your list. It is the most likely mineral for deficient intake, of them all.
I was on 15-30 mg/day of zinc throughout the winter, but discontinued it in March; would you suggest I reinstitute zinc in my regimen?
> You would probably be doing just as well, health wise, if you took all this stuff every other day. That would cut your bill in half, right there. And, you'd till get all the benefits. Some of your blood numbers might shift a tiny bit, but I seriously doubt there would be any significant shifts back the wrong way.
This makes complete sense. I also forgot to mention . . . I am taking 600 mg/day of Omega 3 fish oil, glucosamine sulfate (1500 mg/day), and the aforementioned TMG. I tried Policosanol for about 2 months, but no change at all in the cholesterol. I am also taking whole enzymes and aloe juice (which has done wonders to get me off of Prevacid), and 400 mg acidopholous which likewise did wonders to alleviate a pain I had in my side for 4 years (diagnosed as IBS, although I seriously doubted it); nevertheless, I was also able to discontinue dicyclomine.
Larry, thanks again, and I am wide open to any suggestions you may have, or books to read, if it will help me to better understand all the health choices available.
I truly believe we are an overmedicated country in dire need of more "unbiased" and objective knowledge about prescription drugs versus vitamin, herb, and mineral supplementation.
poster:vitaqueen
thread:469333
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050510/msgs/503644.html