by W. Gifford-Jones M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
Common Sense Health

Isak Dinesen, author of the great book “Out of Africa”, wrote, “The cure for anything is sea water.” Human physiological and environmental circumstances today suggest merit in Dinesen’s advice to look to the sea for replenishment of key minerals.
Magnesium is one of the most important minerals that too many people are neglecting, and a good place to source it – whether in diet or supplement – is from the sea.

Mineral deficiencies can sometimes cause minor problems. But they can also become lethal. Studies show that magnesium deficiency can range from 33% in young people to 60% in adults. This is the result of depletion in the amount of magnesium in the soil, as well as an increase in consumption of processed foods.

Magnesium is required for over 300 metabolic reactions in the body. It’s also nature’s dilator, helping to keep arteries open. This fights hypertension and spasm of coronary arteries. It also has a vital function in maintaining the heart’s normal rhythm. By making platelets more slippery, and therefore less susceptible to blood clotting, the chance of heart attack and stroke decreases.
Each beat of the heart depends on a complex electrical system that must be in sync for survival. Low blood magnesium tosses a monkey wrench into the process causing an irregular heart rate (atrial fibrillation). Adding magnesium often restores the normal beat.

Today, a worldwide epidemic of diabetes creates a huge health problem. Studies show that since magnesium helps to control blood sugar, patients with low magnesium have an increased risk of this disease. And it is a critical mineral for maintaining bone health.
Since magnesium is involved in several hundred metabolic reactions, it’s not surprising that deficiency is associated with muscle weakness and twitching, sleep issues, fatigue and confusion.

But what makes sea-sourced magnesium the perfect magnesium? Sea water has an amazing similarity to the plasma portion of human blood. Although we cannot drink sea water because of its salt content, it does contain the entire range of minerals needed by humans.

This led an Irish company to develop a method of extracting these minerals from clean sea water to make the multi-mineral complex called Aquamin Mg that is low in sodium.

by W. Gifford-Jones, M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
Common Sense Health

Would you like to improve your physical endurance? An exercise routine is the answer. Being physically and mentally active leads to a longer life.

But diet can help too. You can start “beeting” yourself to improved health simply by adding beets to your menu. You should also know that nitrates in beets can treat more than one medical problem.

Atherosclerosis, thickening of the inside lining of arteries, decreases the flow of oxygenated blood to coronary arteries.
This results in anginal pain or heart attack.

For years researchers have known that nitroglycerine eases angina. But they had no idea why it dilated coronary arteries and increased blood flow to the heart.

Then, three U.S researchers received the Nobel Prize for proving it was nitric oxide (N0) that caused arteries to dilate. Early in life the inner lining of arteries processes large amounts of NO. But as we age the amount of NO decreases, often with disastrous consequences.

In 2009, a research team at the University of Exeter in England reported a surprising discovery.

They showed that athletes who drank beet juice for six days improved their physical endurance by 16 percent while cycling. Equally amazing, beet juice was even more effective than physical training!

The active ingredient in beets is nitrate. This becomes converted into nitrite and finally to nitric oxide which is continuously synthesized in the endothelium (the inside lining of arteries).

Lay this exceedingly thin layer of endothelial cells on a flat surface and they would occupy an entire soccer field!

Nitric oxide has been labelled the “miracle molecule” as it helps so many diverse medical problems. For instance, since it dilates coronary arteries it can help to decrease the pain of angina and lower blood pressure.

Experiments show that NO also adds lubrication to the circulatory system. After all, it impossible to eat beets and direct them only to coronary arteries.

Rather, NO travels to all organs and in the process prevents blood platelets, part of the clotting process, from stick together causing a heart attack. It also decreases chronic inflammation, another factor associated with coronary attack.

Other research shows that NO lowers blood cholesterol, triglycerides, increases good cholesterol and lowers bad cholesterol.
It also prevents bone destruction by osteoclasts.

Today, millions of North Americans suffer from asthma due to inflamed, constricted, mucous clogged airways. Part of the problem is pollution and allergies.

Experts at Hammersmith Hospital in London, England, report that NO helps to maintain a biochemical balance in the air passages, decreasing inflamed airways.

Another major problem worldwide is the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes. This disease causes insulin resistance, making it hard for glucose to enter cells.

High blood sugar gradually destroys the circulatory system triggering a series of problems, the big one atherosclerosis. Decreasing the amount of blood to organs results in blindness, kidney failure, leg amputations and heart attack. NO helps to control these problems.

What can you do to increase NO? Losing weight and exercising boost NO levels. But people with unhealthy endothelial cells may have diminished nitric oxide bioactivity as compared to those in good health.

So why not improve the diet with foods rich in nitrate? Adding more beets is good advice. Other foods with a high content of NO include leafy green vegetables such as spinach, wild radish, kale and swiss chard.

You don’t like any of these vegetables? Try dark chocolate and wine. Both increase NO. But remember moderation.
If you are interested in a safe, natural supplement, then NEO40 is yet another option.

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by W. Gifford-Jones M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
Common Sense Health

Vaccines are now reaching the wider community, and Spring is near. As we emerge from isolation, there are predictions for the “Roaring 20s” ahead. But is this a good time for an assessment of your financial health?

If you reach your 90s and are in good health, congratulate yourself. You are among the fortunate. In fact, more and more North Americans are living longer.

In Canada, between 1921 and 2011, average life expectancy at birth increased from 57.1 years to 81.7 years, a gain of nearly two and a half decades.

In the U.S., the Population Reference Bureau reports that the number of Americans ages 65 and older will more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise to nearly 24 percent from 15 percent.

It sounds promising. But many people who reach old age are not in good health.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. President, had it right. “Old age is like everything else,” he said. “To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”

If you start thinking about how to pay for health care needs when you are already old, there’s not much you can do when a crisis arises.

George Clooney was looking on the bright side when he said, “I’m kind of comfortable with getting older because it’s better than the other option, which is being dead.” But George Clooney doesn’t need to worry about money.

It doesn’t take a genius to know, you’ll compound any future health challenges by not having enough savings to help you manage the added costs. CARP, formerly the Canadian Association for Retired Persons, reports that 12 million Canadians do not have a pension plan and 600,000 people over 65 are living in poverty.

Across North America, depending on where you live, you can expect wildly different levels of support from governments and employers in the event of a medical emergency. Canadians tend to believe that a universal health care system will look after them in every case. Americans used to benefit from employer plans that carried over into retirement years. But times have changed.
The Canadian public purse has limits, and as boomers age, there will be hard choices to make. In the U.S. and Canada alike, no matter where you are, private insurance is a good idea.

A recent survey for the Sun Life Canadian Health Index showed that among respondents who have had someone close to them suffer a health issue, 29 percent indicated it “caused them to re-evaluate their finances.”

A rainy-day fund may not be top priority for people in their 50s who are paying for children’s education, paying off mortgages, and ready to take the next available flight to southern beaches.

But regular deposits into a savings account or low-risk investment can add up over time. By the time you are in your 70s, needing money to pay for extra physiotherapy, increased dental care, or drugs not covered by regular insurance, you’ll be happy you had the foresight to save.

Take care of your financial affairs. If you’ve got the time to do it, make sure you are investing in your long-term health by paying off debt, living within your means, and regularly setting aside money as a buffer against unexpected health care costs.

If you are already in your golden years with medical or long-term care costs that are crippling your financial well-being, then talk with an advisor about how to stretch your dollars. Finally, if you are well along into the later stage of life, then do what you can to inspire your grandchildren to avoid senseless mistakes and to start saving for the big crisis.

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by W. Gifford-Jones M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones
Common Sense Health

It’s said, “Being wrong is acceptable, but staying wrong is unacceptable.” So think twice if you believe a high fish diet alone is providing you with enough essential fatty acids (EPA and DHA) to decrease your risk of heart attack.

We were shocked when blood tests showed, despite our healthy diets, that our absorption of fish oils was not making the grade. What are people getting wrong? And how can you get it right?

Oil and water do not easily mix, and most oils pass through your water-based body until enzymes in the small intestine break down fats. But it’s a mistake to believe this process is perfect.

We wrote previously about a supplement called Omega3X which uses digestive enzymes to facilitate absorption of essential fatty acids. And we promised to put it to the test and report back to you.

First, we stopped taking any omega supplements but continued a diet rich in fish. Then we tested our blood using the Omega-3 Index.

We both failed. (Giff 5.56% and Diana 5.47%) These scores placed us barely above the “undesirable” high risk zone as measured at 4% or lower on the Index.

Then, for three months, we took Certified Naturals Clinical Omega-3X Fish Oil, a specific product containing MaxSimil that breaks down the hard-to-digest triglycerides of fish oil into more readily absorbed monoglycerides.

Then another blood test. The results were compelling.

The measurement of the two most important omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) was now in the category of low risk for coronary heart disease – a result of between 8-12% on the Omega Index. (Giff 9.64% and Diana 11.64%)

You can visit www.docgiff.com to read the advice shared with readers for years. First, to decrease your risk of a fatal coronary attack, you gain advantage with high doses of vitamin C. Dr. Linus Pauling, a Nobel Prize recipient, observed that most animals escalate vitamin C production when confronted with stress, but humans lack this ability.

Then Dr. Sydney Bush, an English researcher, showed that high doses of vitamin C opened clogged arteries, a huge discovery.
Any vitamin C product will do, but we recommend Medi-C Plus because its powdered form makes high doses easier to take and because it includes lysine, which builds strong cell walls.

Second, our experiment shows it is important to supplement with omega 3. But not all omega supplements are equal. MaxSimil, developed by a Canadian company, is a fish oil that is absorbed three times better than typical fish oils. It’s produced from small fish like sardines and anchovies rich in omega-3 fatty acid.

Fatty acids help prevent heart attack by decreasing cellular inflammation. Researchers have reported for years that chronic inflammation is a factor in coronary attack. Now, the Omega-3 Index can accurately measure the amount of these fatty acids in our red blood cells.

Studies also report that people consuming fish oils show decreased blood triglycerides, decreased total cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol, and raises good cholesterol.

These patients also had fewer irregular heartbeats and heart attacks.

Low levels of essential fatty acids have been associated with mood imbalances and joint problems.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has reported that the Omega-3 Index is just as important as cholesterol blood level. It’s alarming that nearly half of all North Americans are in the high-risk category for heart attack.

The message is clear. If you want to be certain that you are absorbing essential fatty acids, get a blood test to measure EPA and DHA. Send a single drop of blood using a test kit provided by OmegaQuant. Your result is mailed to you.

Take it from a 97-year-old, it’s never too late to reduce the risk of a coronary!

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by W. Gifford-Jones M.D. and Diana Gifford-Jones

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” Avoiding disease may be the gift of lucky genetics, but it helps to put some work into managing your chances for health and longevity.

Maintaining rubbery arteries is key to the delivery of oxygenated blood to the heart’s muscle that guards against hypertension, stroke, and heart attack. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that what’s good for the heart may also be good for the brain.

The study involved 9,300 people ages, 50 and older with an average age of 68, with hypertension. They also had one other cardiovascular risk factor, history of stroke, or dementia. It was a huge study involving patients in over 100 carefully supervised medical centers across the U.S.

Half of the patients were provided “Gold Standard” care. This meant they were given medication that lowered their systolic blood pressure (the top number), to less than 120. The other half simply aimed for the standard systolic target of 140 or lower.

What happened? When a study shows after a period that one group is getting the raw end of the deal, it must be stopped for ethical reasons. So, when the gold standard group was winning after a period of three years, the study abruptly ended.

The gold standard of treatment had reduced cardiovascular problems and death by 25 percent. But the study ignited the still on-going debate as to whether normal blood pressure level should be changed from 140/80 to 130/80.

There was another effect. Researchers wondered if a lowering of blood pressure in the gold standard group would have any effect on the risk for dementia. So they followed these two groups further to see if changes in blood pressure had any effect on brain function.

The result? After another two years, researchers found no statistical difference in the amount of “probable dementia” between the two groups. But they did notice a 19 percent lower rate of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the gold standard group.

MCI is a gray, undefinable area between normal brain function and early dementia. Looking at it another way, 287 of the 4,280 patients in the gold group and 353 of the same number in the standard group, developed MCI over a five-year period. Not a huge difference, but big enough to warrant notice.

Researchers stressed that, although some cases of MCI go on to develop dementia, many others go for years without any problems. Some patients even revert to normal.

So what’s the bottom line? Good sense dictates that controlling hypertension is a sound measure for the brain, but lowering it too much can cause hypotension (low blood pressure), fainting and possible kidney injury. In effect, in the real world, trying to obtain the perfect blood pressure can be questionable.

Researchers say the best option for brain health is to stay physically active and maintain a sense of purpose in life. This is always good for the brain. Weight control, particularly in the abdomen, is essential, as it’s linked to dementia.

But since obesity is so often associated with Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dementia, it’s difficult to know which is the main culprit.

Since Type 2 diabetes narrows cerebral arteries and decreases oxygenated blood to the brain, this along with hypertension, is a bad combination.

Take Eleanor Roosevelt’s sage advice to heart. You need more than luck to avoid these two killers. Rather, your diet and lifestyle may need to undergo dramatic changes.

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by Dr. W Gifford-Jones

“It was like going through hell,” he said. A friend had developed facial shingles, involving his ear, and despite medication the pain continued for weeks. So what is the best way to prevent an attack of shingles? Take action quickly. If you delay, you’ll wish you hadn’t when the pain from hell strikes.

Today, most children are vaccinated against chickenpox. But it was not in the mix of common childhood shots until the mid-1990s. It’s a rare older person who escaped this childhood infection. Unlike other childhood diseases, the varicella zoster virus never leaves the body. Rather, it goes into hiding in nerve cells near the spinal cord. These cells transmit messages from skin to the central nervous system. The virus continually tries to escape and when it does, it surfaces as shingles. This is never good news. Even when its lesions subside, pain may last for months or years.

Dr. Peter N. Watson, a neurologist at the University of Toronto, reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that of 261 patients with shingles 24% suffered lingering pain. This complication results in chronic anxiety, depression, insomnia, and poor quality of life.

The problem is not rare. In North America, every year, over two and a half million people develop shingles, 350,000 end up with post-shingles pain, and 400 die. Living with pain day after day is bad enough, but for some the result can be inflammation of the brain, facial paralysis, or the loss on an eye. Of those over 50 years of age, post-shingles pain can affect up to 40% of patients.
Once shingles strikes, a number of antiviral drugs such as Zovirax, Famvir and Valtrex are available to decrease the severity of the attack. The earlier these drugs are prescribed the better the result.

But prevention is better than cure and the Zostavax vaccine has been available for several years for those who have had chickenpox but not shingles. The vaccine halves the risk of getting shingles and decreases by two-thirds the chance of post-shingles pain. The cost of the vaccine is about $200. But anyone who has had shingles, or its complications, is quick to advise finding the money to avoid hellish pain.

Pregnant women, those breast-feeding, and anyone who has had a reaction to neomycin should not take the vaccine.

What about natural prevention? Lysine, an essential amino acid, possesses antiviral effects which are helpful in fighting the shingles virus. For instance, it’s been known for years that lysine can often decrease recurrent attacks of the herpes virus. The addition of vitamin C can make it even more effective in building up immunity to shingles.

But large doses are essential. This means taking 4,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C and at least 2,000 mg of lysine daily. This high-dose combination, available as Medi-C Plus, must be used daily and for years to be helpful. Moreover, this high-dose combination of C and lysine also provides protection against heart attack and viral infections.

The big problem is what to do when the lesions of herpes have faded away and patients are left with unrelenting pain. An ancient Chinese and Middle Eastern medical practice, known as cupping therapy, has helped many people suffering from this debilitating pain.

Needle cupping involves pricking the skin at acupuncture points along the herpes nerve roots. A small cup is heated to remove oxygen and then placed over the pricked area. This creates a suction effect drawing internal blood to the area and diseased blood flushed out.

So now you have some options. As always, the message is, choose prevention before hellish pain occurs.

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