Quackery

claims. ese are carefully selected and often use the name of a person who doesn’t exist. Everyone is passionate about something. Remember that famous personalities are paid big bucks for their support.

• Testimonials and claims from various “institutions” should be checked out. For example, advertisements for Metabolife say, “Metabolife 356® was the rst herbal product to achieve the A.C.E.R.I.S. Quality Assurance Seal and continues to surpass regulatory requirements.” In fact, to use a vendor’s language, this is “a lot of fancy verbiage from Metabolife.” e A.C.E.R.I.S. Quality Assurance seal is a seal that any manufacturer may purchase. e vendor does not need to demonstrate any assurance of quality or provide any documentation to use this seal—they just need to hand over money!

• LOOK CLOSELY. Marketing geniuses can advertise a product with myths and misinformation but the package you open has to tell the truth. Look at the bottle or package itself. Here are two examples:

Ads for chromium picolinate claim the supplement builds lean tissue and burns fat. But the bottle itself never says that because it isn’t true. Strength training builds lean tissue. Cardiovascular conditioning promotes the use of stored body fat. e box for a popular nutrition bar reads, “to burn stored body fat, you must eat the correct ratio of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats,” but the statement isn’t on the wrapper because it isn’t true.

• In tiny print, somewhere on a page, the word “Advertisement.”

• Product availability from only one source.

• Evidence that is purported to be valid because the person has a M.D. or Ph.D. degree or “has studied at a reputable institution.” Anyone can audit classes at almost any institution, and a job as a lab assistant doesn’t mean the individual has done research.

Be a savvy consumer. Watch out for:

3 Logic without proof

3 Motive of personal gain

3 Authority not cited

3 Unreliable publication

3 Fake credentials

3 Advertisement

3 Unpublished studies

3 Testimonials

3 Suspicions about food supply

3 Persecution claims

3 Simple answers

3 Too-good-to-be-true solutions

High Doses of Vitamins Lead to Vitamin Toxicity

By Dr. Keith Roach

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have been diagnosed with vitamin D toxicity, according to the blood work from a month ago -- my result was 122 ng/mL.

I was taking high doses of vitamin D3 in pill form (15,000 IU a day for three years) bought from a drugstore. I have stopped taking it, but I need to know how long it will take to have a normal amount in my body. (Weeks, months?) Can you shed any light on this question? I would like to take it again when my level comes down, but in a lower amount. Also, by any chance, would the high amount of D3 in my system have any correlation to a diagnosis of stenosis of the aortic valve? -- C.I.

ANSWER: Vitamin D toxicity is not common. I have seen one case in my career requiring hospitalization, due to a very high elevation of the blood calcium level. Vitamin D increases absorption of calcium from food through the intestines. In addition, calcium can come out of bones in people with very high levels of vitamin D. With high vitamin D levels, calcium levels can also become dangerously high. Common symptoms of very high calcium levels include constipation, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, kidney stones, and neurological symptoms, including poor concentration and fatigue. These symptoms tend to happen at levels higher than yours, above 150 ng/mL. Years of high calcium levels can absolutely cause existing heart valve disease to worsen quickly.

In cases of acute intoxication from vitamin D, available treatments include steroids and pamidronate (an injectable medicine similar to alendronate and other drugs used to treat osteoporosis), which can quickly bring the calcium levels back down to normal.

Without this kind of intervention, a vitamin D level will still come down on its own, only more gradually. Vitamin D3 is removed slowly from the body, because it can go into fat tissue. It takes about two months for half the excess to be removed from the body, but because the active forms are removed more quickly, toxicity from excess vitamin D3 usually only lasts for weeks, not months. Still, you are likely not to need any vitamin D for many months, and if you do take it again, do not exceed the safe dose of 5,000 IU a day. I recommend you also get your blood levels tested. Recent studies have questioned the bene t of supplemental vitamin D for most people, although some people, such as those with osteoporosis and low vitamin D levels, probably still bene t.

I’m very glad you wrote. Many people still don’t know that excess of some vitamins can occasionally be dangerous. Vitamin A is the other vitamin where high levels can be very dangerous.

By: Dr. Dana Lillestol, PhD

Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is the most prevalent phytocannabinoid that has been identi ed to date. A cannabinoid is a chemical compound exerted from the cannabis or hemp plant. A phytocannabinoid is a cannabinoid brought into the body from a plant-based source that has medicinal properties in the body. It is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the hemp plant or if sourced from cannabis a minimally active psychoactive substance. It will not make you feel high.

CBD is one of 100 cannabinoids that bene t the body and its functioning. Right now, all the buzz and craze are surrounding CBD. It seems everywhere you go it is for sale. Why the hype? What is the big deal?

You may be asking yourself, “Maybe I need this in my life?” en there are friends and family testimonials that give credence to its validity and e ectiveness. So why not give it a try? What could it hurt? But wait a second, could it hold some side e ects that would not be okay? Also, does my doctor recommend it?

All of these questions are good and necessary to ask. You deserve to know how this substance works in the body and what it claims to deliver. CBD activates the endocannabinoid system or ECS. is amazing communication