READER QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
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How is Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever different from other health books? Transcend doesn't just say "this is how to be healthy, maybe you will live to 100," rather it takes it a step further to say "this is how to stay healthy and have a chance to live forever." The plan in Transcend is based on extensive scientific evidence (see FV) that significant life extension is possible. Modern humans have the opportunity to transcend their biology in the future if they take conscious steps in the present. Many health books focus on one or a few of the points needed to maintain health. Rather than making general health recommendations in a narrow scope (like eating less fat and doing aerobic exercise), Transcend offers an integrated step by step plan to improve health habits and maintain the health of your entire body and mind. The plan includes recommendations for specific questions to ask your healthcare professional and testing to consider for a broader approach. The plan is also individualized (e.g. various levels of carb diets) and explains how to tailor the recommendations for your age, weight, gender, family history and so on, responding to reader feedback asking for specific personal guidance. The authors bring both medicine and innovation to the table, taking cutting-edge science into account. Because of their innovative futuristic view, the collaboration extends beyond the idea of wellness to the ideas of reprogramming cells and merging with technology to actually transcend human biology. What has changed since Fantastic Voyage? Fantastic Voyage presented the scientific case for significantly extending longevity, but it was not straightforward to translate this information into a practical program for a specific individual. That is what TRANSCEND is designed to do. Building on that base, it presents an easy-to-follow nine step personalized up-to-date program that readers can follow to maintain their best health now so that they can stay healthy long enough to take advantage of the developing technologies to significantly extend their life expectancy. The TRANSCEND device makes it easy to remember the steps, each is important to maintain good health
The new book contains updated recommendations for diet, supplementation, testing, health research and technology, including:
How can I customize the TRANSCEND program for my own personal needs? For those anxious to harness science to extend healthy human life span, Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman M.D. created the new personalized TRANSCEND health program to provide tools and a plan that anyone can use to fight aging. By taking a free interactive questionnaire, available online at rayandterry.com/personalprogram, individuals can evaluate their health status and receive personal recommendations scientifically designed to slow down the aging process. The evaluation program closely tracks Ray & Terry's new book, Transcend, 9 Steps to Living Well Forever, which presents a practical plan to slow down aging in order to take advantage of the accelerating developments in biotechnology and nanotechnology that will soon allow us to live even longer. "Kurzweil and Grossman provide a remarkably thorough and enjoyable program to optimize your health," says Dean Ornish, M.D.. "If you want to have the greatest chance of seeing the next century, read Transcend today." The authors offer everything from updates on relevant research to tips on talking to your doctor about cutting-edge testing. After collecting feedback including current lifestyle and family medical history, the online evaluation uses technology to immediately provide three tools to help fight aging: a robust report detailing lifestyle suggestions, a customized supplement packet combination, and targeted supplement recommendations. Registered users have the option to purchase a monthly supplement foundation tailored to their individual needs and contained in separate dosage packets. In the report, users receive personalized lifestyle recommendations for each of the nine steps of the TRANSCEND program, including diet, stress management, detoxification, and weight loss. The evaluation pairs these recommendations with supplementation suggestions that have been shown to combat allergies, relieve headaches, enjoy better sleep, and increase feelings of well-being. Staying healthy today and actively preventing disease and hereditary conditions is your best chance to live for a very long time in good health. By following the personalized health plan, any individual can immediately begin to improve and maintain their health status in order to have a chance to transcend their genetic legacy and live long enough to live forever. Are Vitamins Beneficial? Reporters sometimes write slanted articles that mislead the public on the uses and potential benefits of vitamins and nutritional supplements. Numerous studies indicate the nutritional causes of disease and the many ways in which supplements support wellness, but slanted reports often overlook the bigger picture. Vitamins should not be considered a "quick fix." However, taken in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle, many supplements have been shown to have properties that help ward off disease. To ignore the valid implications of years and volumes of detailed research is to ignore the true complexities of human health. Below, will we expand on some of the specific reports both for and against the efficacy of vitamins and nutritionals.
>>Multivitamin use and telomere length in women Telomere length may be a marker of biological aging. Multivitamin supplements are a major source of micronutrients, which may affect telomere length by mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation. In this study, researchers compared telomere length between female multivitamin users and nonusers, adjusting for dietary micronutrient intake. They found that the vitamin users had longer telomeres. This is the first study to show this association. Am J Clin Nutr (March 11, 2009). http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2008.26986v1
>>The study appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2009) did not conclusively come out against vitamins in general as reported by some news sources. The study attempted to examine the relationship between multivitamin use and cancer in postmenopausal women. >>The study used observational data rather than rigorous clinical research. Co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson said the results do not indicate that vitamins are useless. It is not clear from this research whether vitamins have helped prevent cancers that take a long time to develop. The study concluded that multivitamins may still be a useful "form of insurance." Multivitamins were the focus of this study, but there are a number of supplements beyond vitamins that have been shown in research to improve and prevent various health conditions. Multivitamins vary widely by brand and type, so without standardized data, the results are inconclusive and vague. "Multivitamin Use and Risk of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease in the Women's Health Initiative Cohorts." Neuhouser, PhD et al. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(3):294-304.
>>Antioxidant Supplements Won't Hurt Us, But Misinformation Might By James J. Gormley May 3rd, 2008 Lately we've heard quite a lot about how nutritional supplements, including antioxidant vitamins, are regarded by a few scientists as a great danger–or so we might gather from recent media coverage that has treated us to such fear-mongering headlines as "Potential for harm in dietary supplements"1, "Vitamin pills may do more harm than good" 2 and "Why some popular pills might kill you" 3. The scientific review to which these sensationalistic stories refer was a meta-analysis in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 4. A meta-analysis is supposed to be careful re-review of many studies whose results are pooled together. The Cochrane Database meta-analysis, authored by Goran Bjelakovic and others, is an updated version of a review that originally appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association 5 that had been roundly criticized by scientists. While 67 clinical trials were included in this new review, most people are not aware that 748 trials were excluded for a number of reasons, including 405 studies that failed to show anybody died 6. One could persuasively argue that the authors of this review only included studies which could be molded to support the viewpoint that antioxidant vitamins are dangerous. Dr. Bjelakovic has made no bones about his skeptical attitude towards dietary supplements. In 2007, he co-authored an article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute entitled: "Surviving Antioxidant Supplements" 7 and has posted an article on a newspaper syndicate entitled "Do antioxidant supplements work?" 8. While meta-analyses, when properly conducted, can be an insightful tool; when ill used they are subject to bias by those who hold pre-determined conclusions and are seeking a way to force studies into them. A wide body of scientific evidence has established that taking antioxidant supplements–including vitamins C and E, beta carotene, selenium and zinc–can help reduce the risk of chronic disease. That being said, we know that antioxidant supplements (and supplements, in general) are not magic bullets, but they can be an important complement to a healthful diet. If we twist science to create worldwide distrust in healthful dietary supplements, then we are truly harming consumers.
>>Response to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 2: "Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases" Our criticism of this report is similar to our criticism of a number of similar so-called studies. In each case, these reports were not actually studies, rather, they were meta analyses, which is to say, an analysis of other studies, which had previously been performed. A meta analysis can provide valid data, but only if it is not subject to underlying bias. It appears there was an extreme degree of bias associated with this analysis. In particular, I would like to point out that the authors of the study chose to ignore 91% of available studies on the effects of vitamins on mortality. One reason for exclusion was because a study reported NO MORTALITY! By excluding all studies, which showed that vitamin supplementation had no effect on mortality, the authors immediately introduced an extreme degree of bias right from the beginning. There was also no consistency in either the doses or the dosing schedule of the supplements examined in this study. For example, they looked at studies of vitamin A that varied from 1333 units all the way up to 200,000 units per day. This means is some these studies included doses too low to provide a meaningful effect or were so high as to almost guarantee toxicity. One of the studies included merely 1 individual. Two thirds of the studies were performed on sick people, yet, the conclusions were that vitamins should not be taken by healthy people because they increase mortality The study authors also made use of specific statistical techniques designed to produce their desired conclusions -namely, that vitamin supplements increased mortality. They were able to do this by combining studies that had widely varying doses of vitamins, or single or multiple vitamins and supplements and widely disparate numbers of test subjects. By utilizing what is called the "fixed effect" method of statistical analysis, they were able to demonstrate an increased mortality of 4 percent. The "random effect" model of statistical analysis would have been more relevant for study of this nature, but was not used. We do not feel this study represented a significant advance in our knowledge about the effect of supplementation on mortality.
>> Response to the JAMA Report: "Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis" There are many conflicting reports on health products and their components. Based on extensive scientific research, Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D. continue to advocate antioxidants as an integral part of supplementation and disease prevention. We believe that the conclusions drawn by the Journal of the American Medical Association report are misleading. The report was based on a meta-analysis of over five dozen studies, which had serious flaws:
As is pointed out in Fantastic Voyage and Transcend, dosages need to be in therapeutic ranges (which are usually much higher than the out-of-date RDA's) in order for these nutrients to have a measurable effect. Among the 2,000 scientific citations in Fantastic Voyage are many that support the use of these and other nutritional supplements.
For further reading on the merits of vitamins and supplements:
Can Vitamin use lead to Prostate Cancer? We carefully reviewed the study on prostate cancer and multivitamin use. This large study involved nearly 300,000 men and examined the correlation between supplementation and advanced prostate cancer. After a thoughtful analysis of the study data, we observed the following:
To put the results of this study in perspective, for every 10,000 men who took larger doses of supplements for 10 years there were 7 to 8 extra cases of fatal prostate cancer. This is less than 1 fatal case per 1,200 - 1,500 men per year. This is before taking into consideration the bias factors mentioned above. In light of the bias factors, it would not be correct, in our view, to conclude that supplements are necessarily the cause of the few extra cases of advanced prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is found in the following groups of men who supplement in higher amounts:
The above factors are associated with an increased rate of detection of advanced prostate cancer that is not related to supplement use, but simply found in the same group of men who tend to supplement in greater amounts. This explains the apparent correlation between higher doses of supplements and advanced cancer. Keep in mind that correlations are not clear indicators of cause and effect. The following are quotes from the article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (see first reference below) that discuss the bias factors indicated above: "The increased risk of localized prostate cancer with heavy multivitamin use among men concomitantly using a vitamin E, selenium, or Folate supplement could be due to detection bias if supplement users were more likely to undergo PSA screening. . . .Indeed this interpretation is supported by the Health Professional Follow-up Study, which showed that current smokers were more likely to undergo screening for prostate cancer than nonsmokers." ". . . the observed relationship between multivitamin use and advanced prostate cancer in our study may have been due to increased multivitamin use among men with early symptoms related to prostate cancer because the association with advanced prostate cancer disappeared when those diagnosed in the initial years of follow-up were excluded." "The increased risk of advanced prostate cancer and prostate cancer mortality with heavy use of multivitamins among men with a positive family history of prostate cancer could be due to men with a positive family history taking additional, unspecified supplements as part of a "prostate health" package to prevent the future development of prostate cancer. A recent survey found that 50% of men at high risk for prostate cancer (defined by African American ethnicity, positive family history, or positive BRCA1 gene mutation) took one or more supplements to prevent prostate cancer, and more than 25% took three of more agents concomitantly." See also: Is vitamin E still safe?
Many vitamin E users were upset to read the headline from the November 11, 2004 issue of USA Today -- "Study: High dose of vitamin E may increase death risk." This has led to a storm of controversy about the safety of Vitamin E supplementation. This concern is largely the result of a recent scientific paper by Miller et al entitled "Meta-Analysis: High-dosage vitamin E supplementation may increase all-cause mortality" that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine." What the researchers from Johns Hopkins found was that people who took 400 units or more of what they describe as "vitamin E" had a 5% greater risk of premature death than people who took lower doses. Therefore, the researchers concluded "High dosage vitamin E supplements may increase mortality and should be avoided." There are several flaws with this "meta analysis." According to Steven Milloy of FOXNews.com's "Junk Science," "The researchers didn't study any vitamin E-users first-hand; instead they simply reviewed data from 19 earlier vitamin E clinical trials, including 11 ‘high dose' trials. But 10 of the 11 ‘high-dose' trials didn't make any statistically significant correlations between vitamin E use and premature death." The research in the paper was a meta study, meaning that it combined data from other studies. While results of meta studies can be valid, there are methodological challenges in combining studies that have different control guidelines. The biggest problem with this paper, however, was its confusion of the terms "vitamin E" and "alpha tocopherol." It used these terms interchangeably, and did not take into account that vitamin E is not the same thing as alpha-tocopherol, but contains several other components such as beta-, delta-, and gamma-tocopherol in addition to alpha. Rather, the generic term "vitamin E" was used throughout the paper: According to Huang and Appel, we know that "Vitamin E is a collective term for eight naturally occurring compounds, four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta)." Yet, by equating alpha-tocopherol with vitamin E, the authors of the meta analysis arrived at seriously flawed conclusions about vitamin E. Their conclusions only apply to alpha-tocopherol. In addition "these eight forms of vitamin E are not interconvertible in humans." According to Huang and Appel, when people supplement their diets with alpha-tocopherol alone, they reduce their blood levels of gamma- and delta-tocopherol. This is important because gamma- and delta-tocopherol are critical to health. Many researchers now believe that gamma-tocopherol is the most important fraction in vitamin E, contributing to vitamin E's well-known anti-oxidant benefits. In fact, gamma-tocopherol constitutes 70% of the vitamin E consumed in the average American diet. Therefore, we can draw the following conclusions:
Therefore, the primary conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that you might have a slightly increased risk of premature death if you take alpha-tocopherol alone. We recommend, therefore, that you do not take alpha-tocopherol as a stand-alone vitamin E supplement. Instead, you should take a blend which contains all of the vitamin E subfractions. In our book, Fantastic Voyage, Live Long Enough to Live Forever, we recommend that people do not take just alpha tocopherol, but take a vitamin E blend that includes all the tocopherols including gamma tocopherol. The Vitamin E contained in Ray & Terry's Total Daily Care is such a vitamin E blend. Related Articles: Nutritionist Says Wall Street Journal Wrong on Vitamins (Thursday, 13 April 2006)
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What is your position on HGH (Human Growth Hormone) for anti-aging?
Current Thoughts on Hormone Replacement Part One: Human Growth Hormone, DHEA, Thyroid, Melatonin
Introduction Human Growth Hormone Over the 15 years that have passed since publication of "The Rudman Study," numerous writers in the lay press and medical community have hailed GH as the latest contender for the long sought "Fountain of Youth" title. Yet the waters of this fountain have become progressively muddied over the years. For example, while some additional studies have confirmed that rhGH injections can, in fact, help increase muscle mass and decrease fat mass, it appears that the increased muscle mass is merely cosmetic and that growth hormone-treated patients do not have increased muscle strength.4 Frisch found "no increase in maximal strength during concentric contraction of the biceps and quadriceps muscles, although levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 were doubled."5 (Insulin-like growth factor-1 is the most commonly used blood test for assessing average GH blood levels.) Growth hormone injections have been found to be beneficial in regard to a number of other markers associated with aging, Studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of GH supplementation on cardiovascular function, lipid levels and blood pressure.6,7 Osteoporotic women 68-75 years old given rhGH injections for one year had increases in radial bone mineral density of 8.1 percent and increased lumbar bone density of 3.8 percent.8 GH replacement can help patients with fatigue. In a placebo-controlled experiment of 20 patients disabled by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 40 percent of patients who received rhGH injections were able to return to work.9 Unfortunately, side effects are often experienced by patients who undergo rhGH injections. A 2002 National Institutes of Health study found that 24 percent of patients developed glucose intolerance or frank diabetes, 32 percent complained of carpal tunnel symptoms and 41 percent experienced arthralgias.10 Another study found that one-third of patients on hGH experienced side effects secondary to fluid retention, but that most of these disappeared spontaneously or responded to dose reduction. Cumulative dropout rates were 29% at one year and 38% at two years. Two-thirds of dropouts were because of lack of perceived benefit of the therapy.11 There is conflicting, but mostly reassuring, evidence regarding GH replacement and risk of malignancy. Bengtsson reported "in 289 hypopituitary patients on GH replacement, overall mortality and the rate of malignancies were similar to the normal population."12
But some studies have shown small increases in colon cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma in individuals treated with GH.13 Of greater concern are animal experiments which suggest higher GH levels produce decreases in longevity. One study showed that transgenic mice specifically bred to over-express growth hormone experience a "drastically shortened life span" and experience symptoms of "accelerated aging."14 Conversely, "hereditary dwarf mice deficient in GH, prolactin, and TSH live much longer than their normal siblings."15 Since animal experiments suggest an inverse relationship between increased levels of growth hormone and longevity, it is prudent to question whether use of growth hormone therapy should be recommended as part of a serious longevity program. Long-term human experiments have yet to be conducted, but we do know that individuals with lifelong exposure to increased growth hormone levels (acromegalics) have decreased longevity.16 Because injectible GH has been available as a potential anti aging strategy in healthy adults for only a few years, we feel caution is the better part of valor at the present time. There are no results of any long-term studies on the safety of GH injections in healthy adults. Therefore, until more research is available, we recommend that GH injections be reserved for individuals who have documented growth hormone deficiency syndromes based on appropriate evaluation and testing, including IGF-1 level determinations and response to l-arginine or insulin challenges. rhGH injection therapy should not be routinely prescribed as a matter of course to "prevent aging" as promulgated by many anti aging clinics. ___________________________________
I have read on the Internet that it is not possible to create alkaline or acid water from pure water and that water that is pure enough to drink can't be split into alkaline and acid components. Is this true?
As responsible scientists, we had the same skepticism when we first heard about alkaline water. Therefore, the first thing we did was to purchase a water alkalinizer as well as an accurate electronic pH meter. We ran tap water with pH 7.1 from our home faucet into the device and found that the water coming out of the alkaline outlet had a pH of 9.5 (indicating very alkaline), while the water from the acid outlet measured pH 4.5 (indicating very acidic). We repeated this experiment with a variety of tap waters obtaining alkaline outputs with a pH ranging from 9.5 to 9.9. It is true that "pure" or distilled water can not be ionized. If you were to try to "split" distilled water, it would not work. Tap or spring water, however, has dissolved minerals in it. It's the minerals in the water; primarily calcium, potassium and magnesium that allow water to be "split" by an electric current into alkaline, "electron-rich" (i.e., containing negatively charged ions that can engage in chemical reactions to provide electrons to positively charged free radicals) and acid, "electron-deficient" components. Individuals who say it is not possible to split tap or spring water are misinformed. One site on the Internet states "Ionized water is nothing more than sales fiction; the term is meaningless to chemists. Most water that is fit for drinking is too unconductive to undergo significant electrolysis." The above statement is easily shown to be incorrect with a simple pH meter and an electrolysis machine. Most tap waters run through the machine produce highly alkaline water as measured by a pH meter. Since you advocate drinking alkaline water, why not simply mix something like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) with water and drink that? There are, in fact, alkaline waters sold that are made by mixing water with bicarbonate. Wouldn't that work as well and be much less expensive than a water alkalinizer?
There are more benefits to "alkaline water"than simply the alkalinity or pH. The most important feature of alkaline water produced by a water alkalinizer is its oxidation reduction potential (ORP).. As discussed below, water with a high negative ORP is of particular value in its ability to neutralize oxygen free radicals. ORP can also be directly tested using an ORP sensor and meter. We have conducted these experiments as well. We found that water coming directly from the tap had an ORP of +290mV, while the water coming out of the water alkalinizer had an ORP of -140mV. The more negative the ORP of a substance (that is, the higher its negative ORP), the more likely it is to engage in chemical reactions that donate electrons. These electrons are immediately available to engage in reactions that neutralize positively charged free radicals. This is the key benefit of water produced by a water alkalinizer that is not available by simply drinking water than has had some bicarb or other compounds dissolved in it to make it alkaline. Although water mixed with bicarbonate is indeed alkaline, it does not have a negative ORP; rather it has a positive ORP, meaning that it is unable to neutralize dangerous oxygen free radicals. Alkaline water produced by running tap water through an electrolysis machine does have a high negative ORP, meaning that it does have the ability to neutralize oxygen free radicals. We have confirmed these ORP measurements through our direct tests. OK, why is it important to drink alkaline water with a high negative ORP?
All chemical reactions occur with the transfer of electrons. Negatively charged entities are said to be reducing agents, meaning they are relatively electron rich and are able to donate electrons, reducing the charge of the entity with which they react. Relatively electron-poor entities are referred to as oxidizing agents, meaning they tend to pull electrons away. Thus, each substance in our body may act as either an oxidizing or reducing agent. However, not just any negatively charged ion will be able to engage in the specific chemical reactions needed to neutralize oxygen free radicals. The HCO3- (bicarbonate) ions in alkaline bicarb water do not have this potential, whereas the OH- and mineral-rich water coming from an electrolysis machine (from tap water) does have this potential. That is implied in the negative value of the "oxidation reduction potential." Free radicals are among the most damaging molecules in the body and are highly unstable molecules that are oxidizing agents and are electron deficient. They are a principal cause of damage and disease in the body. Oxygen free radicals contribute significantly to a broad variety of harmful conditions in the body ranging from life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, stroke and cancer, to less severe conditions such as sunburns, arthritis, cataracts, and many others. Free radicals MUST get electrons from somewhere and will steal them from whatever molecules are around, including normal, healthy tissues. Damage to tissues results when free radicals strip these electrons from healthy cells. If the damage goes on unchecked, this will lead to disease. For example, the oxidation of LDL cholesterol particles in arterial walls by free radicals triggers an immune system response that results in atherosclerosis, the principal cause of heart disease. The negative ions in alkaline water from an electrolysis machine are a rich source of electrons that can be donated to these free radicals in the body, neutralizing them and stopping them from damaging healthy tissues. Specifically, these ions have the potential to engage in the chemical reactions necessary to neutralize oxygen free radicals. Interestingly, we also tested vegetable juice with the ORP meter and found that it also has a high negative ORP, meaning that it is able to neutralize oxygen free radicals. So at least one of the important benefits of eating vegetables can be obtained from drinking the high negative ORP alkaline water from an electrolysis machine. Another benefit of drinking alkaline water is that it assists in the absorption of minerals. We know that if the body is not absorbing enough minerals, it will rob minerals from the body's mineral reserves, chiefly calcium from the bones. It is well known that many chronic diseases result in excess acidity of the body (metabolic acidosis). We also know that the body tends to become more acidic due to modern dietary habits and lifestyles and the aging process itself. By drinking high negative ORP alkaline water, you combat metabolic acidosis and improve absorption of nutrients. The blood is carefully buffered to keep it in a narrow range between pH 7.35 to 7.45. The body keeps blood pH stable by utilizing alkaline buffers, chiefly bicarbonate, to neutralize acidic liquids (such as colas, which have a pH as low as 2.5) and other acidic products and byproducts. But as the blood stream receives these acidic substances, the alkaline buffers get used up. Drinking alkaline water helps reduce the burden on the limited alkaline buffers which are needed for the body's natural detoxification processes. Is there research that actually shows the benefits of drinking alkaline water?
A number of studies are summarized below. One study described below suggests that alkaline water encourages "friendly" anaerobic microflora in the human intestinal tract, and discourages "unfriendly" aerobic organisms. The researcher (see Vorobjeva NV below) writes: "Many diseases of the intestine are due to a disturbance in the balance of the microorganisms inhabiting the gut. The treatment of such diseases involves the restoration of the quantity and/or balance of residential microflora in the intestinal tract. It is known that aerobes and anaerobes grow at different oxidation-reduction potentials (ORP). The former require positive E(h) values up to +400 mV. Anaerobes do not grow unless the E(h) value is negative between -300 and -400 mV. In this work, it is suggested that prerequisite for the recovery and maintenance of obligatory anaerobic microflora in the intestinal tract is a negative ORP value of the intestinal milieu. Electrolyzed reducing water with E(h) values between 0 and -300 mV produced in electrolysis devices possesses this property. Drinking such water favours the growth of residential microflora in the gut. A sufficient array of data confirms this idea." How can alkaline water with a pH of 9 or 10 be expected to affect the body when the pH of the stomach is 2 or less?
It is important to remember that large amounts of hydrochloric acid are present in the stomach primarily when food is there. There is only a small amount of acid in stomach when it is empty, and this can be easily overcome when alkaline electron-rich water is consumed. Therefore, in order to gain maximum benefit, we recommend drinking alkaline water in between meals. Water consumed between meals will very quickly pass through the stomach and the GI tract. A sample of studies on the health benefits of alkaline electron-rich water ********************************************* BACKGROUND: Increased oxidative stress in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients may oxidize macromolecules and consequently lead to cardiovascular events during chronic hemodialysis. Electrolyzed reduced water (ERW) with reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability may have a potential effect on reduction of hemodialysis-induced oxidative stress in ESRD patients. METHODS: We developed a chemiluminescence emission spectrum and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis to assess the effect of ERW replacement on plasma ROS (H2O2 and HOCl) scavenging activity and oxidized lipid or protein production in ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis. Oxidized markers, dityrosine, methylguanidine, and phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide, and inflammatory markers, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined. RESULTS: Although hemodialysis efficiently removes dityrosine and creatinine, hemodialysis increased oxidative stress, including phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide, and methylguanidine. Hemodialysis reduced the plasma ROS scavenging activity, as shown by the augmented reference H2O2 and HOCl counts (Rh2o2 and Rhocl, respectively) and decreased antioxidative activity (expressed as total antioxidant status in this study). ERW administration diminished hemodialysis-enhanced Rh2o2 and Rhocl, minimized oxidized and inflammatory markers (CRP and IL-6), and partly restored total antioxidant status during 1-month treatment. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that hemodialysis with ERW administration may efficiently increase the H2O2- and HOCl-dependent antioxidant defense and reduce H2O2- and HOCl-induced oxidative stress. Shirahata S, Kabayama S, Nakano M, Miura T, Kusumoto K, Gotoh M, Hayashi H, Otsubo K, Morisawa S, Katakura Y. Electrolyzed-reduced water scavenges active oxygen species and protects DNA from oxidative damage. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 May 8;234(1):269-74. Vorobjeva NV. Selective stimulation of the growth of anaerobic microflora in the human intestinal tract by electrolyzed reducing water. Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(3):543-6. 96-99% of the "friendly" or residential microflora of intestinal tract of humans consists of strict anaerobes and only 1-4% of aerobes. Many diseases of the intestine are due to a disturbance in the balance of the microorganisms inhabiting the gut. The treatment of such diseases involves the restoration of the quantity and/or balance of residential microflora in the intestinal tract. It is known that aerobes and anaerobes grow at different oxidation-reduction potentials (ORP). The former require positive E(h) values up to +400 mV. Anaerobes do not grow unless the E(h) value is negative between -300 and -400 mV. In this work, it is suggested that prerequisite for the recovery and maintenance of obligatory anaerobic microflora in the intestinal tract is a negative ORP value of the intestinal milieu. Electrolyzed reducing water with E(h) values between 0 and -300 mV produced in electrolysis devices possesses this property. Drinking such water favours the growth of residential microflora in the gut. A sufficient array of data confirms this idea. However, most researchers explain the mechanism of its action by an antioxidant properties destined to detox the oxidants in the gut and other host tissues. Evidence is presented in favour of the hypothesis that the primary target for electrolyzed reducing water is the residential microflora in the gut. Chen H, Kimura M, Zhu Z, Itokawa Y, Evaluation on ionized calcium as a nutrient. The 11th symposium on Trace Nutrients Research, Japan Trace Nutrients Research Society, p131-138, 1994. ********************************************* Summary: To clarify effect of ionized calcium water for drinking water in rats, 36 Male Wister rats weighing about 50g were randomly divided into 6 groups, and given following diet and drinking water : (1) Ca-sufficient diet, tap-water; (2) Ca-sufficient diet, tap-water;(3) Ca-sufficient diet, calcium lactate added-ionized calcium-water : (4) Ca-deficient diet, calcium lactate added-water ; (5) Ca deficient diet, calcium lactate added-water :(6) Ca-deficient diet, calcium lactate added ionized calcium-water. The diets were given by paired-feeding method 4 weeks and drinking water was ad libitum. The significant change of calcium concentration in the rats were was follows; Ca concentration of plasma, spleen, of plasma, spleen, kidney, testis and tibia in Ca deficient groups (4), (5), (6) were significantly low compared with these in Ca sufficient groups (1),(2),(3) Ca concentration in brain of groups (4),(5),(6) was low compared to these in groups (2), Ca concentration in heart and muscle of group (4) was low compared to Ca deficient groups (1),(2),(3), but these in group (5) drank Ca added-water was recovered and these in group (6) drank ionized-Ca-water was higher than these in any other groups. Ca concentration of liver in groups (4) were significantly lower than that in group (1),(3) and Ca concentration of liver in Ca deficient rats (groups (5),(6)) drank Ca-added-water were high compared to these in group (4). In 24 hours urine discharge of group (2) was high compared with groups (4), (5), (6). These results suggest that ionized Ca in drinking water may be active for intestinal absorption. Vormann J, Worlitschek M, Goedecke T, Silver B, Supplementation with alkaline minerals reduces symptoms of patients with chronic low back pain, J Trace Elem. Med. Biol. Vol. 15, pp. 179-183, 2001 Abstract: The cause of low back pain is heterogeneous, it has been hypothesized that a latent chronic acidosis might contribute to these symptoms. It was tested whether a supplementation with alkaline minerals would influence symptoms in patients with low back pain symptoms. In an open prospective study 82 patients with chronic low back pain received daily 30 g of a lactose based alkaline multimineral supplement (Basica) over a period of 4 weeks in addition to their usual medication. Pain symptoms were quantified with the "Arhus low back pain rating scale" (ARS). Mean ARS dropped highly significant by 49% from 41 to 21 points after 4 weeks supplementation. In 76 out of 82 patients a reduction in ARS was achieved by the supplementation. Total blood buffering capacity was significantly increased from 77.69 ± 6.79 to 80.16 ± 5.24 mmol/L (mean ± SEM, n=82, p < 0.001) and also blood pH rose from 7.456 ± 0.007 to 7.470 ± 0.007 (mean ± SEM, n=75, p < 0.05). Only intracellular magnesium increased by 11% while other intracellular minerals were not significantly changed in sublingual tissue as measured with the EXA-test. Plasma concentrations of potassium, calcium, iron, copper, and zinc were within the normal range and not significantly influenced by the supplementation. Plasma magnesium was slightly reduced after the supplementation (-3%, p < 0.05). The results show that a disturbed acid-base balance may contribute to the symptoms of low back pain. The simple and safe addition of an alkaline multimineral preparate was able to reduce the pain symptoms in these patients with chronic low back pain. What are your views about consumption of soy products? Many people claim that eating soy products is associated with heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's and other problems. A number of books, articles and newsletters have taken the position that soy is far from the health food that many vegetarians and others have claimed. Rather, their feeling is that soy is harmful and should be completely avoided. Yet, in the course of our research, we have concluded that consumption of moderate amounts of soy products can (and should) play an important role in our longevity program. The Ray & Terry Longevity Program advocates a reduction in carbohydrate consumption for most people in order to help control weight and appetite, as well as to help control blood cholesterol, sugar and insulin levels. As carbohydrates decrease, then, of necessity, the percentage of calories derived from fat and protein must increase. While there are good fats such as in the form of olive oil, avocados, fish and nuts, most medical authorities advocate that fat consumption be controlled to avoid excess weight and other potential health problems. Therefore, protein consumption needs to increase somewhat. Protein can be obtained from animal or plant sources. While there are beneficial aspects to consuming healthful animal protein such as fish, low fat dairy products and skinless poultry, there are also problems associated with each of these foods. For example, almost all fish are now contaminated to some degree with mercury, and many people are allergic to dairy products or intolerant of the lactose in milk. Therefore, it is beneficial to obtain a significant part of our daily protein from vegetable sources. Soy has been the major source of vegetable protein in Asia for centuries and the Japanese diet includes multiple servings of soy products every day. We based our dietary recommendations in part on the Japanese diet in large part because the Japanese live longer than any nation on earth. This seems an unlikely result if they have been eating a toxic food every day for centuries. The bottom line is that every food is toxic to some degree, and this toxicity is often magnified when animals are fed large amounts of a specific food and then conclusions are drawn about what would happen if people eat this food. For example, celery can raise blood pressure, broccoli contains a naturally occurring pesticide shown to cause mutations, while mushrooms and peanuts contain known carcinogens. But, few people would suggest that these foods never be eaten. Moderation is the key. The same applies to soy. Laboratory studies have shown that there can be problems when soy is consumed in large amounts by animals. We do not advocate large amounts of soy consumption; rather, we suggest daily consumption of smaller amounts that have been shown to be associated with health benefits. For example, animal experiments have shown that soy protein consumption can lead to a 22% decrease in breast cancer, a 30% decrease in colon cancer and a 34% decrease in prostate cancer. (Badger TM, Ronis MJ et al. Soy protein isolate and protection against cancer. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Apr;24(2):146S-149S.) Soy has been proven to protect against heart disease and the FDA has allowed the following health claim about soy: "25 grams/day of soy protein, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." The American Heart Association has officially recommended consumption of 25 grams or more of soy protein daily. Much has been made over the association between soy and Alzheimer's in Japanese men in Hawaii reported as part of the Honolulu Heart Program. But, according to author John Robbins, there is a lower incidence of Alzheimer's in Japanese men living in Japan where more soy is eaten than in Hawaii. He cites a Hawaiian physician, Dr. Bill Harris, who found that soy products in Hawaii have a higher content of aluminum than soy products made elsewhere. He suggests that it is the increased amount of aluminum in Hawaiian soy products that led to the higher incidence of Alzheimer's in this population. It remains our contention that moderate soy consumption can play an important role in anyone's longevity program. For more information, please see The Food Revolution web site by John Robbins. What is the digestive problem called hypochlorhydria?
Hypochlorhydria is a common problem affecting the digestive process. More simply, it means having inadequate hydrochloric acid. This condition results in poor absorption of vital nutrients. How do I know if I have hypochlorhydria?
The most accurate test for hypochlorhydria is done with a Heidelberg capsule, which tests stomach acid directly by way of a swallowed electrode (in the form of a capsule). Contact info@phcapsule.com to find a doctor in your area that can perform this test. An easier (although indirect) method of assessing whether stomach acid is low, is with a hair minerals test. Low stomach acid often correlates with low hair minerals. You can contact Dr. Grossman's clinic at 877-548-4387 for a test kit that you can use at home. What are your recommendations to alleviate hypochlorhydria?
Often people with acid reflux are hypochlorhydric and are helped by taking stomach acid (betaine hydrochloride). However, certain precautions must be followed, so we recommend researching your condition thoroughly first. For more information, a good book on the subject is Why Stomach Acid is Good for You, by Dr. Jonathan Wright: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871319314/ref=pd_sim_2/002-5916979-4829630?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance . |