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I’ve been saving this one for a while. I try and keep my eyes on the best info and the best stuff you can buy, like most of you. Do you know how I know?

#1 You are regular consumers of Standard Process vitamins.

#2 Many of you would bring in health newsletters that can solve every problem under the sun.

Could they help, sure…are they likely the magic cure of any health problem, no. Most people have health problems for some basic reasons. Most Americans eat processed food grown with artificial fertilizers, processed vitamins made with vitamin pieces and no actual whole food, and every one knows exercise is necessary. I know that is probably a run on sentence, but it makes a better point that way. There are more things that make people unhealthy, but those cover the majority.

Ok, so now there is a problem; big belly, thyroid, gray hair, achy joints, green eyeballs, or a horse tail growing out your back side. What do you do?

Most people wait until it is unbearable or creates enough interference to make them do something about it. This is the market of the many health newsletters. Don’t get me wrong these newsletters are often amazing sources of great information, but many of them only exist to sell a product. Also, not bad, because sometimes they are the only sources of some very special stuff.

For instance, one newsletter gave out sources of a black salve that had terrific results with skin cancer. Are you likely to see that on the nightly news?

But when it comes to herbs you need to know a few things. We talked about herbs in a previous letter. Let’s see how much you remember?

This is a good example of why you need to be a good label reader.

A patient came in with a product offer from Mr. Whittaker’s newsletter. Very famous, and very good advice, and often a great reference. I sat and looked at the product for a minute and figured out what was off. They made a big deal about the potency of this Bilberry extract. This was so good and all the usual stuff about the herb and I take Bilberry because it is the traditional herb for the eyes and does some great stuff for a lot of eye problems.

The bottle had 320mg and no extract ratio.

What does that tell you right away? No ratio, not very strong and not made by a competent herbal company. You could put it back on the shelf, or in this case send it back.

Is it bad for you? No

Will it help? Maybe

Will it cost more than it should? Yes

Cost is relative. Here is why. Because I take Bilberry I happen to have a bottle on the counter and was able to show this nice lady the difference. The Bilberry from Mediherb has 6000mg/pill with the extract ratio. The Mediherb product is about $5 more and about 19x stronger. This is why cheap vitamins and herbs abound. People don’t know the difference and focus mainly on price and the flashy advertising.

If you buy herbs look for an extract ratio. If you want to make life easier, just buy them from Mediherb.

There are herbs for a lot of things. Medications were primarily derived from herbs then artificially twisted so they can be patented. I take a few herbs everyday. People in Okinawa eat about 14 herbs a day, and they live longer than we do.

If you want to chat about herbs or order I am just a phone call away 612-BE-GREAT or an email works too (docaltman[at]gmail[dot]com. I like email because I can answer later in the day when I have more time. Also, the consultations are free for those of you who order any of the Standard Process or Mediherb products.

Health is yours for the taking,

Dr. Altman

I was sitting in a coffee shop early in the morning and reading some philosophy about life and all the wonders it has to offer. Actually it was a book by the Stoic Seneca that was written about 65 A.D. There is a lot of wisdom in old literature.

As most of you know I read a lot of nutrition literature from the 1930’s- 1950’s because this is some of the best literature on nutrition. They did a lot of their own research, and they weren’t affected by research money, advertising, or politics. Today’s research is very tough to listen to. I hope to bring you some of that great stuff soon, but I went into the way back machine and found this from nearly 2000 years ago.

This was written after an illness of Seneca’s:

“The doctor will be telling you how much walking you should do, how much exercise you should take; he will be telling you not to over do the inactivity- as is the tendency with invalids- and recommending reading aloud to exercise the breathing; he will recommend you take a trip by sea and derive some stimulation for the internal organs from the gentle motion of the boat; he will prescribe a diet for you, and tell you when to make use of wine as a restorative and when to give it up in case it starts you coughing or aggravates your cough.”

In reality, that sounds pretty good, especially if you are looking at loads of antibiotics, medications, and who knows what else. Did you know one of my favorite prescriptions was a “vacation”. I can’t even count the number of people who would come in and get adjusted then go on vacation and feel better than they have felt in years. People rarely have problems on vacation…something to ponder. Yet, when they come home, they return to all their old habits, and old problems.

How cool would that be if your doctor said “Go take a cruise and drink some wine, and while your out there take a long walk about the deck.”

In fairness, they didn’t know about many of the medications we have today, but they did have some. But, it is tough to argue with good basic advice, and I found it fascinating that it was 2000 years old.

Not much changes when it comes to health. People have wanted to be healthy since the dawn of time. Consider some of this old advice.

Enjoy your weekend,

Dr. Altman

.This could very well be one of the most under used and least understood vitamins that I take every day.  Vitamins and supplements in general are a huge topic.  There is so much to know, it will always be difficult to find good knowledge.  This could be a deciding article for you on how you view supplements.  Yes, this may separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls and the dogs from the cats.When it comes to supplements there are whole food supplements and the rest of the synthetic / fractionated supplements (pretty much everything else).  So it is very clear with this supplement that we will see the big difference.  So what are we talking about?

• Vitamin C …and more specifically Standard Processes Cataplex C supplement.  #1  Lets start with why this is so important that I take it everyday.  To give you an example of the nutritional problem we have today, in 1950 an orange contained 50 mg. of natural vitamin C complex, now an orange has only 5 mgs.  So over the years, the soil hasn’t been cared for and we get less, even eating the raw fruit.  #2  Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin.  Meaning, it isn’t stored in any great quantities by the body.  So you need to have a regular intake of this critical vitamin.
• This is such a critical vitamin.  It is the vitamin the fends off scurvy.  Scurvy was made famous by sailors.  When guys would go out to sea and before they figured out that fresh fruit (ie… Limes) the sailor would suffer from massive body problems that lead to death.  Basically their body tissues would fall to pieces and when you rattle like a kids toy, that’s not good.Interesting side note,  when one sailor was getting sick, two other sailors would pick him up and swing him.  If he rattled, he was a goner.  You likely  don’t have such a dire deficiency, but more subtle deficiencies may be hanging around. Somethings to ponder.  A deficiency may include:
• Infection problems
• healing problems
• fatigue problems
• stress
• bruising easily

Yes, those are often related to vitamin C deficiencies.  So here is where the rubber meets the road.  Vitamin C is NOT vitamin C complex, huh?  The guy who “discovered” vitamin C only discovered the outer shell, the ascorbic acid.  But, alas, it was too late, the world took off and assumed that ascorbic acid was all there was.Here is the real simple difference.  If you go and buy vitamin C off the shelf you will likely get 500mg. of “ascorbic acid”.  That is how it is labeled, even worse would be 1000mgs.  This is what 99% of all nutritionists and doctors will recommend, so don’t be surprised if most people don’t know what you are talking about.

A “vitamin C complex” is what occurs in nature.  Much like the way a banana grows.  It has a peel and a soft yummy inside.  All the good stuff is on the inside.  A “vitamin C complex” has ascorbic acid, copper, rutins, bioflavinoids, P-factors, K-factors, J-factors, and things scientists haven’t identified.  This is the stuff your body needs to run your immune system, heal your cuts, makes your blood vessels strong, and is essential for strong BONES.  Yes ladies, this is one of the lost secrets to good bones.This is why Cataplex C is one of Standard Processes fundamental supplements and some of the reasons I take it every day.

• To order just email docaltman [at] gmail [dot] com
• or call our SP order line 612-BE-GREAT

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This is a bit much, but sometimes you need a few extras.  Standard Process started with one supplement (Catalyn) in 1929 and now there are hundreds.  Why so many?  Well, people are more unhealthy than anytime previous.  As more and more processed food creeps in and soils keep getting stripped of nutrients (vitamins and minerals) there has been a greater need for whole foods and whole food supplements to offset these  deficiencies.

This is one of the reasons I feel so bad for a lot of people who just don’t know that whole food supplements exist, they only get exposed to vitamins on T.V.

Because we feel vitamins are critical to good health.  I’m pretty sure we’re right.  No vitamins, no health.  This may be surprising, but fake vitamins are even worse for you.  Back in the 40’s, Agnes Fay Morgan did some feeding experiments with dogs and she gave one group nothing and the other artificial vitamins.  I know, I love dogs too, and they wouldn’t do this experiment today, but since it is already done, I can share the knowledge.  The dogs fed the fake vitamins died first.  When you think of fake vitamins you can think of all processed foods.  One thing to look for is Thiamine mononitrate.  That one is really common.  If you stick to foods that grow in the ground or moo or cluck or swim you are going to be in better shape.

I gave you some great basics that my family takes last weeks.  I have 4 more with me that are somewhat more specific.

Because my access to organic food and the such has been disrupted until we get a new routine, the quality of food has dropped slightly and my digestive system has taken a bit of a hit, so I am pretty happy with the Standard Processes newest supplement;

Enzycore:  It is an all around digestive supplement.  When things aren’t moving perfectly this seems to  get things going good.  I take about 2 a day.  Your digestion is a direct reflection of what you are putting in.  The vast majority of digestive problems boil down to what you eat, how you digest, if you are allergic to foods, and if bad bacteria and the likes are over populating.  Enzycore really helps the digesting part.  Now, if you happen to have GERD, acid reflux, or taking and acid-stoppers a product called Zypan would serve you better than Enzycore.

Antronex:  This is used mainly to offset allergic type reactions.  A few years ago I was at a catered party and a funny thing happened the next day.  My feet started burning and itching, then my legs and then my hands.  I went to the grocery store and got home and my wife says “What happened to your face?”  I was splotchy and itchy.  I was reacting  to some food additive in the catered food.  I used a lot of Antronex to knock the histamine reaction of my body down.  I had the same thing happen at 3 other restaurants over the years.  Never once with natural, home cooked food, only from restaurants.  We eat out very little.

Ovex-P:  This isn’t for me but my wife.  Just in case.  For the women out there you know sometimes your hormones aren’t up to snuff and the men in your life are suddenly absent.  This is not a hormone product, but it has enzymes that help the body make progesterone versus estrogen.  The vast majority of women are deficient in progesterone.  In general, hormone problems are difficult to help right away.  But, many problems can be helped over time if women keep extra estrogens at bay; like pesticides, solvents, non-organic meats, etc.  and help clear more estrogens with lots of green veggies or taking Cruciferous Complete. Then making sure there is adequate progesterone, by not taking the birth control pill (whacks progesterone production) , or using something to support progesterone production or supplying the raw hormone materials so the body can make it.   That topic is large enough and confusing enough to be all by it self.

These are some of the extras that were important enough to pack.  If you have a question on any of these topics or want more info just email or better yet, if you are reading this as an email, click through to our site and leave a comment.

For questions about Standard Process or to order call 612-BE-GREAT or just email:  docaltman [at] gmail [dot] com  and if that isn’t enough you can try and catch me on Skype: docaltman