I’ve warned you in the past about the danger coming from your shower. The chlorine in most municipal water supplies can have devastating effects on your health. But there’s an even bigger problem with your shower. And most filters — even whole house filters — won’t help.

This problem with your shower can contribute to COPD and many other lung diseases. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), as you may know, is a progressive lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. While it is incurable, there are steps you can take to slow down its progression. The problem is that your shower may neutralize these treatments. In fact, just taking a shower can make just about any lung condition worse.

If you have a persistent cough, chronic lung problems, or a compromised immune system, you need to know how to protect yourself when you shower. So what is this threat to your lungs? It’s your showerhead.

Your showerhead may look clean, but it’s not. It is the perfect dark, warm, moist environment for bacteria, mold, and mildew to grow. Showerheads are breeding grounds for a number of bacteria and other microbes that can get into your lungs and cause infections, coughs, shortness of breath, and other problems.

Every time you turn on your shower, you spray yourself with airborne pathogens that you breathe into your lungs. “Water spurting from showerheads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs,” says researcher Professor Norman Pace of the University of Colorado in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

These pathogens are not particularly harmful in healthy people. But if you have a weakened immune system or lung problems, it can be downright dangerous. That’s what Dr. Pace and his team of researchers found. They carefully monitored 45 showerheads from nine cities across the country and found that 30% of the showerheads tested had significant amounts of Mycobacterium avium. This bacterium can cause lung problems in people with compromised immune systems – and in some healthy people as well. It also forms particularly tough biofilms – colonies of bacterium that are difficult to eradicate. I’ll tell you about biofilms and the part they play in lung diseases shortly.

Unfortunately, that’s not all.

The researchers also found that there were 100 times more pathogenic bacteria of various kinds in the showerheads than in tap water.

Leah M. Feazel, the study’s lead researcher, has a simple solution. “If you are immune compromised or are susceptible to pulmonary infections, take a bath instead of a shower,” she advises. This may sound simple, but it may not necessarily be one that you want to do. Showers are faster to take than baths. A better option would be to take steps to make your shower safer.

This is easier said than done, because these pathogenic bacteria are tenacious. They’re difficult to get to and even more difficult to dislodge. If you could take your showerhead apart you’d see some slime. This is called biofilm. Biofilms are substances that form when bacteria, algae, fungi, and other microbes join together and stick to surfaces. They live in communities and have hard protective shells that are difficult to penetrate. So they sit in this warm, moist environment and multiply.

You need to disrupt their shells to get rid of the biofilms. One method that some people use is to soak their showerhead overnight in hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, or other antibacterial solution. They scrub the outside of the showerhead with a cleaning solution and wire brush, and use a toothpick to open any clogged holes. Then flush out any loosened microbes with blasts of water.

Sometimes this works. But not always. In the study, the researchers cleaned one showerhead that had high levels of Mycobacterium gordonae with a solution of bleach. Several months later, they found it contained three times as many of this same bacterium. The pathogen had become resistant to bleach.

A better solution is to use a metal showerhead rather than one made of plastic. The researchers of this study found that biofilms don’t attach themselves to metal showerheads as easily as to plastic ones. The downside is that metal showerheads are more expensive than those made of plastic. And none of them last long without needing to be replaced because the antibacterial coating eventually wears out. However, metal ones will last longer.

This is why many hospitals change showerheads frequently. If you’ve got lung problems and suspect biofilms may be contributing to your health problems, you may need to change your showerhead once a year or more. Some people suggest getting a new showerhead every four to six months like many hospitals.

The best solution

For some people, changing a showerhead that often might be unfeasible. So I went looking for a better option.

After much searching, I located a showerhead that has antibacterial properties that don’t wear out. That’s because it’s made entirely of copper, which is naturally antibacterial. Tests show this Bubble-Rain® showerhead reduces pathogen-carrying aerosols by 80% by preventing the formation of biofilm. It also prevents limescale, so there’s not a lot of buildup clogging the holes.

The manufacturer, a German company, Wolf Environmental Technology, also makes a shower hose that uses water pressure to move a silver-coated steel spring through the hose every time you turn the water on or off. Silver is also antibacterial. This action cleans the whole length of the hose, also preventing biofilm from forming. In fact, a German study found that biofilm growth was 95% lower in this FlexClean® hose than in other tested hoses.

One thing I like about this system of shower hose and showerhead is that there’s no filter to change. Yet it significantly reduces bacteria and other germs, lowering your risk of infection. Together, the Bubble-Rain showerhead and FlexClean hose give you the most protection against pathogenic bacteria.

Microbes that copper kills

Among the numerous bacteria that copper destroyed in EPA laboratory tests include legionella, E.coli, MRSA (the flesh-eating bacteria that’s antibiotic resistant and becoming more common in hospitals and nursing homes), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a bacterium in immunocompromised people that infects the lungs), and Enterococcus, the second leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. As you can see, using copper is an easier, more convenient way to fight these bugs than changing your showerhead all the time. And it’s much cheaper in the long run.

You can get both the Bubble-Rain Shower Head XL and the FlexClean hose from www.americanbluegreen.com/bubble_rain.html or by calling 888-668-3661. If you have any chronic lung problems — or just want to avoid them for the future — this could be an excellent investment.

Feazel, Leah M., Laura K. Baumgartner, Kristen L. Peterson, Daniel N. Frank, J. Kirk Harris, and Norman R. Pace. “Opportunistic pathogens enriched in showerhead biofilms,” Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0347; and Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO 80045.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 14, 1012.

Health Alert: High Blood Pressure Affects Your Brain

Most people think that high blood pressure is dangerous only for older adults. We don’t tend to pay any attention to our blood pressure when we’re in our 30s and 40s. That’s when it feels like we’re immortal. We’re not going to ever have a heart attack or a stroke, and surely never come down with a major memory problem like dementia. Now we know better. High blood pressure affects your brain.

A study published in The Lancet has found evidence of structural damage in the brains of people under the age of 50. And these changes, the same as those found in older people with cognitive decline, are the result of high blood pressure.

One way to prevent cognitive problems later in life is to know and treat your high blood pressure early. It’s important to understand that even if your blood pressure isn’t high enough to need medical intervention, it could still damage your brain’s white matter and the volume of its gray matter. The key is to treat slightly high or moderately high blood pressure as early as possible.

The blood pressure in these study participants wasn’t always thought to be high enough to warrant medical intervention. It was just “a little” high — as in pre-hypertension. But this was high enough to cause their brains to age faster than in people with normal blood pressure. That’s right. High blood pressure in young adults was predictive of future cognition problems. And it was high enough to put them at risk for stroke and heart attacks.

Nearly 30% of adults in this country have hypertension. Many don’t know it because they’re not being tested. In this respect, their doctors are failing them. It’s easy for them to assume that their blood pressure is normal when they have no symptoms.

Just what is normal?

The first step in evaluating blood pressure at any age is to understand
when it’s safe and when it’s not. Your blood pressure is normal if it’s up to 120/80. If you fall into this category, you’re at a low risk for heart and brain problems. Prehypertension is when your blood pressure is within the ranges of 120-139/80-89. This is a warning sign. It’s time to get serious and reduce the sodium in your diet, exercise regularly, and begin a daily meditation regime.
Any reading over 140/90 is considered to be hypertension — a condition that can lead to stroke and heart disease — and affect your memory. At this stage, consider doing everything I just mentioned along with taking a blood pressure-lowering supplement.

Check your blood pressure today

High blood pressure is nothing to fool around with or ignore. The sooner you know your numbers, the sooner you can protect yourself.

Why not just listen to your doctor and take a prescription medication like a diuretic, beta-blocker, or ACE inhibitor? Because they’re more likely to have side effects, like an increased risk for falling and breaking your hip. What about diuretics? They may lower your blood pressure, but they also can have side effects, including fatigue and leg cramps.

I prefer nutritional supplements that have no side effects. My first recommendation is to increase your nitric oxide (NO) levels. Nitric oxide is a molecule in all cells that lowers even extremely high blood pressure. But make sure that the nitric oxide supplement you take does not contain l-arginine. It often doesn’t work. Instead, take a formula like CircO2, which contains the NO precursors, beets, hawthorn, and citrulline from watermelon. They convert into nitric oxide better.

Another effective supplement without the side effects of medications is Circutol. It’s a formula that relaxes blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. It also provides you with nutrients your heart needs to function normally including nattokinase, a nutrient that helps regulate blood pressure.

Can you take both supplements? I do. My mother had heart disease and I’m determined to avoid it. That’s why I support my heart and brain with these products. I’ve found that clinically and personally they are more effective than anything else I’ve tried. You can order both of them by calling 800-791-3395.

Maillard, Pauline, Sudha Seshadri, Alexa Beiser, Jayandra J Himali, Rhoda Au, Evan Fletcher, Owen Carmichael, Philip A Wolf, and Charles DeCarli. “Effects of systolic blood pressure on white-matter integrity in young adults in the Framingham Heart Study: a cross-sectional study,” The Lancet Neurology, 2 November 2012.

Paddock, Catharine, PhD. “High Blood Pressure Ages The Brain,” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 November 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/252389.php>

How You Can Slow Down Aging With This Common Supplement

One of the biggest complaints I hear from patients is that they want to take fewer supplements. The problem is, they tell me, the more they hear about a particular nutrient, the more it sounds like they need it. And taking a lot of supplements is expensive. They’re constantly asking me whether or not they really need everything they’re taking.

They probably do. In fact, we all probably need more than we’re getting, even when we eat a nutrient-rich diet. This is due to aging.

You can be getting plenty of nutrients in your diet and supplements and still be deficient. And this deficiency can lead to chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Or low immunity, increased inflammation, and accelerated aging. It’s all part of the natural phenomenon of getting older.

I’ve talked about this before. As we age, everything slows down — including nutrient absorption. A healthful diet may have given you the vitamins and minerals you needed in the past, but if you’re over the age of 60, you need them more than ever. Recently, several studies illustrate the part a common nutrient plays in aging. That nutrient is zinc. It preserves DNA and reduces inflammation — key factors in the aging process.

Zinc deficiency damages DNA

Years ago, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, I had a phone call from Alex, a young man who was HIV-positive. He was too weak to come in to see me, and he had no appetite. I knew that a zinc deficiency could have caused a lack of taste or smell, leading to a loss of appetite, so I asked him to send a friend out for a bottle of zinc tablets. I suggested he take 30 mg a day until his appetite returned. It took just one week for his sense of taste and his appetite to return. His lack of appetite pointed to a zinc deficiency that accelerated his immune problem – and aging – by damaging his DNA.

Around 40% of older Americans have diets deficient in zinc. We often don’t eat enough oysters, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, crab, lamb, and dark chocolate (foods rich in zinc). A study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found that laboratory animals showed signs of a zinc deficiency and increased inflammation. And they had this deficiency even when their diets contained sufficient amounts of this mineral – which was rare. In fact, these animals had to eat 10 times the daily dietary requirement before their inflammation markers became normal!

This need for zinc is true in people, as well. Our need for zinc increases with age, but our diets don’t fill in the gap. It’s unlikely that we seniors, often with impaired immune systems, can get enough zinc from our foods. We not only don’t get enough of it, we don’t absorb it well, and this explains its effects on aging.

Prior studies have found that a zinc deficiency can lead to inflammation and cause DNA damage. This current study showed that zinc is needed to protect against oxidative stress and help repair DNA damage — more signs of aging.
You need zinc for your immune system to function properly. That’s why people with serious immune problems, like Alex, often have low levels. It’s also true for anyone who gets frequent colds or the flu.

Study authors recommend that men take 11 mg of supplemental zinc a day and 8 mg for women. But you could need more. A multivitamin/mineral supplement like Healthy Resolve contains 15 mg, which may be all you need. If you’re deficient, you may need more – like 20 mg once or twice a day. But don’t take more than 40 mg. Higher amounts may block the absorption of other nutrients like copper and iron. Blood tests are not particularly accurate and are rarely done. But a lack of taste can be a clue.

The zinc tally test

PureFormulas has a zinc taste test that can let you know within minutes whether or not you’re deficient. You can order their Zinc Tally test, which costs $22.50, by calling them at 800-383-6008. The test couldn’t be simpler. You hold two teaspoons of the liquid (zinc sulfate and distilled water) in your mouth for a few minutes, and the taste determines whether or not you need more zinc. If it’s dry and “furry,” you’re deficient. If it tastes pleasant, you don’t. I’ve used this test for years. It works even if you use less than two teaspoons, making this
test very affordable.

Liuzzi, Juan P., P. Wong, Emily Ho, and Ashley Tracey. “Regulation of hepatic suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 by zinc.” The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2012.07.011.

Does this extract fight cancer better than chemo?

One problem with cancer cells is that they mutate, and with some kinds the more the cancer progresses the more often they mutate. Colorectal cancer cells, for instance, can mutate as much as 11,000 times! The problem with this is that it causes the cancer to grow.

Fortunately, a number of natural substances have the ability to keep cancer cells from mutating, while leaving healthy cells alone. One such substance is grape seed extract. What's so special about grape seed extract is that the more advanced the cancer, the better it works.

We've known that grape seed extract has anti-cancer properties for some time. This new research shows us when it's most effective.

In the study, the researchers looked at the effect of grape seed extract on colon cancer cell lines from various stages of the disease. What they found was quite surprising. Normally, as cancer progresses into the fourth, and most deadly, stage, your doctor will have to use more, or more toxic, chemotherapy to kill the cells. But that’s not the case with grape seed extract. In fact, just the opposite is true.

One of the study authors said, “It required less than half the concentration of grape seed extract to suppress cell growth and kill 50% of stage IV cells than it did to achieve similar results in the stage II cells.”

In other words, the worse your cancer, the better the extract works — and the less you need.

The researchers say the reason the grape seed extract works this way is because it causes oxidative stress in the cells, which results in the cell dying.

But that’s not all. Grape seed extract offers other advantages over chemotherapy. Most chemo drugs target only one specific mutation. But as cancer progresses, more mutations can occur. That makes the chemo less effective. It also can make cancer resistant to chemo. Grape seed extract, on the other hand, can target multiple mutations. And, more impressively, the researchers said, "The more mutations a cancer presents, the more effective grape seed extract is in targeting them."

So if you’re looking for another way to fight cancer, then make sure you include grape seed extract in your supplement regimen. A fantastic source of grape seed extract is Advanced Resveratrol Formula (available by calling 800-791-3395), which contains 300 mg of grape seed extract. It also contains other powerful compounds that make this a must for anyone wanting to prevent cancer.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

The Carbs That Can Kill Colon Cancer Cells

Wouldn’t it be nice if, in between colonoscopies, there was a way to kill pre-cancerous cells in the colon just by adding particular foods to your diet? Well, there is. You may already be eating some of them, but perhaps not often enough. They are foods high in something called resistant starch.

Resistant starch is a carbohydrate that isn’t digested in the large intestines. Instead of breaking down there, it leaves your body pretty much in the same condition as when it entered it. The skins of peas, corn, and beans are examples of carbs with resistant starch.

Resistant starch has important qualities that help reduce your risk of getting colon cancer. These undigested carbs increase colonies of probiotics and decrease pathogenic bacteria in the colon. And they do much more. A review in the journal Current Opinion in Gastroenterology from the University of Colorado Cancer Center, found that it also kills pre-cancerous cells and reduces inflammation in the colon.

In addition to legumes, a number of other carbohydrates have these same actions – but only if you eat them at the right temperature. When some starches are cooked and then cooled, and eaten either at room temperature or a little cooler, they contain resistant starch and kill pre-cancerous cells in the colon. However, as soon as you heat these foods, the resistant starch disappears. These cooked-and-cooled starches include sushi rice, pasta salad, hummus, and bean dip.

If you find it difficult to add these foods to your diet regularly, next month I’ll tell you about an herb tea that has some of these same properties.
Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, February 2013.

University of Colorado Denver. “For Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Resistant Starch Should Be On The Menu.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 22 February 2013. Web.

LETTERS

Q: I’m frustrated. It seems like all I’m doing is watching the clock so I can take my supplements with food, without food, and separated from one another by half an hour or more. I can’t live like this, and yet I think the supplements I’m taking are benefitting me. Do you have any suggestions? — J.K., e-mail

A: I know exactly how you feel. I have had the same problem – and frustrations. So I contacted Dr. Isaac Eliaz, the MD who has formulated some of the supplements available through this newsletter. He indicates that you should take some of his formulas with food, while you need to take others on an empty stomach. And the directions for a number of his supplements say to separate each of them by 30 minutes.

When Dr. Eliaz heard that a number of people were having trouble with this half-hour separation, he took a closer look at his formulas and at the results his patients were getting with various levels of compliance. He concluded that it is important to take some products on an empty stomach, but often less important to separate them from one another. This strategy should work for most if not all supplements – not just his. If what is ideal isn’t practical for you, choose a method that’s workable – even if it’s not ideal.

So take the supplements that should be taken on an empty stomach together. You might get slightly better absorption if you were to separate them from one another. But you should get good results as long as you take them regularly.

Q: I am taking one Advanced Probiotic Formula every morning and one Integrative Digestive Formula with lunch and supper. I still suffer with gas and bloating. What else can I do? — M.M., e-mail

A: The first thing you need to do is to figure out why you have so much gas. You’re treating the symptom and not the cause. This is a common problem. But until you know the cause, it can be difficult to find a solution. In some cases, what you’re doing can be sufficient even if you don’t know why your problem began. In other cases, you may need to explore other avenues, beginning with your diet.

Are you eating too many sugars —including fruits? They can cause gas and bloating, especially if you eat them at the same time as proteins and fats. Do fruits, like apples, cause digestive problems? You may have a fructose intolerance. Is your diet high in fats, which tend to be difficult to digest? Reducing fats at a meal may solve some of your problems.

Next, look at your supplements. Are you taking enough of the right kind? You could need two or more capsules of a strong probiotic formula twice a day for a while to build up your friendly bacteria. You may also need to take as much as two capsules of the digestive formula with each meal for a while.

Finally, I’d look at the possibility that you may need to take hydrochloric acid (HCl) with any meal containing protein. As we age, we produce less stomach acid, and you need HCl to help digest proteins. If these suggestions are not enough, it’s time to find a naturopath or integrative doctor to help you unravel your mystery. It’s possible you have a bacterial overgrowth, which I discussed last month. And a good doctor can help you figure this out.