Ultimate Prescription

Supplement and Nutritional Prescriptions

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Nick Evenson (Host), Dr. James Marcum

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Series Code: UP

Program Code: UP000068B


00:01 Welcome back... On today's program,
00:03 we're talking with Dr. Marcum about supplements
00:05 and nutritional prescriptions.
00:07 And, we have some questions from viewers just like you
00:10 that have been submitted to our website at
00:12 heartwiseministries.org
00:14 And, Dr. Marcum, our first question for today is:
00:17 "What do you consider a natural remedy?"
00:19 Yeah, and Nick that's a great question
00:21 because there are so many people out there
00:24 that watch the internet or seen this;
00:26 everyone is trying to make money selling supplements,
00:29 this and that, herbs and there's nothing
00:31 wrong with that if needed. Sure!
00:33 But sometimes they're just not needed period.
00:36 So what do I consider a natural remedy?
00:38 Well, you know, things that God gave us
00:42 at the beginning are natural remedies.
00:44 Getting enough rest, that's a natural remedy.
00:47 Drinking water - that's a natural remedy. Right
00:49 Movement - that's a natural remedy.
00:52 Eating foods that have lots of
00:54 fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains,
00:55 those are natural remedies because they have substances
00:58 in those that changes the chemistry of the entire body.
01:01 Being happy - that's a natural remedy.
01:04 Having worship in our life and service,
01:06 those are natural remedies,
01:07 so we were made to do those things.
01:09 Those are positive inputs that help us for the good.
01:12 Now, some people have a deficiency.
01:16 If you have a deficiency in something,
01:18 then you would need to supplement. Sure
01:20 For instance, if you have diarrhea,
01:21 you might run low on magnesium.
01:23 If you don't get out in the sunshine,
01:25 you might run low on vitamin D.
01:28 If you don't eat certain foods,
01:30 you might run low on the B vitamins.
01:33 If you have bleeding, you might run low on iron.
01:37 But as a general, a person that's healthy
01:39 and eats a well-balanced diet, they usually don't have
01:42 a lot of deficiencies... so if they take a lot in,
01:45 they just get more than they need,
01:47 and it's usually not needed.
01:49 So that's what I consider a natural remedy...
01:51 something that God has given us at creation
01:54 to do every single day that changes the chemistry
01:56 of the entire body rather than just not one chemical pathway
02:00 which some supplements and nutrients do,
02:03 you know, something that just changes everything...
02:05 those are more natural remedies. Right
02:07 And so, if you have a deficiency,
02:08 you're going to be experiencing some symptoms
02:10 to let you know something is not right. Right
02:12 So if you feel healthy, you may not need those supplements.
02:15 For instance, someone might have a broken bone,
02:17 and the doctor might discover that they don't have enough
02:20 vitamin D and they need calcium and vitamin D for strong bones.
02:24 Some might have lots of diarrhea
02:26 or might have a funny heart rhythm...
02:28 And during evaluation, we found, "Oh, you're low on magnesium."
02:31 Well, you have a deficiency and then I would
02:33 try to supplement it with things like,
02:35 greens which have magnesium.
02:37 If you're running low on potassium,
02:38 maybe things like bananas and potatoes.
02:40 But they might benefit from boosting their level quickly
02:43 and we have pills that will do that for a short period of time
02:46 so we can make sure they get all the things that they need
02:48 over a long haul.
02:50 Does that make sense, Nick, or did I confuse you?
02:51 No, I think that's some great advice.
02:53 Yeah, natural remedies isn't what everyone thinks...
02:55 "Oh, it's a natural herb or natural this..."
02:57 Not to me, more of a natural remedy is something
02:59 that changes the entire chemistry of the body
03:01 that God gave us... that's a natural remedy!
03:03 I guess a God-given thing that we're not
03:06 paying attention to anymore sometimes. Sure
03:08 It can be really simple. Yes, it's really simple.
03:10 Another viewer asks: "Is it true that the hibiscus
03:13 flower helps lower blood pressure?"
03:16 Yes, well hibiscus is... if you have
03:19 blood pressure problems and they can't figure out
03:21 the reason why - it's sort of a genetic thing,
03:23 yes, hibiscus tea is something that is used naturally
03:27 that lowers blood pressure.
03:28 Is it the leaves from the flower
03:30 or what part is it, do you know?
03:31 It's the chemicals of the flower that lowers it. Okay
03:35 But remember, when people take hibiscus or whatever,
03:38 natural things, you know, I don't see that
03:41 a whole lot different than a medication.
03:42 Because the medicine changes your chemistry,
03:45 hibiscus changes your chemistry,
03:46 it still has chemical compounds in it.
03:49 A lot of the medicines were originally derived from plants.
03:53 So... but the hibiscus is one that's very safe
03:56 that people can use to help lower their blood pressure.
03:58 It's sort of... what I would say - a natural remedy
04:01 if a person does have a disease state.
04:03 Now that's another situation where people would benefit
04:07 from a natural remedy if you have a disease state.
04:10 For instance, if people have plaques of coronary
04:13 artery disease - that's a disease state,
04:15 they would benefit from more greens and less fat.
04:18 Another disease state is if people have diarrhea,
04:21 they would benefit from more magnesium which
04:23 slows the bowel down and replaces electrolytes.
04:25 You see where I'm getting at? Yes
04:27 I keep hearing a theme also about eating more greens.
04:30 Yeah well, greens are very good for things like magnesium.
04:34 It's very good to help take toxins out of the body,
04:37 keep the bowels running good.
04:39 God gave us lots of green things to eat.
04:41 Some of us don't eat as many greens,
04:44 but fruits are good to eat and nuts are good to eat.
04:46 All of these have chemicals in them that help our body,
04:49 and some people have deficiencies and they can
04:51 get the deficiencies just from the food they eat.
04:54 Now, can supplements ever do harm?
04:57 Yes they can... in fact, some people would
04:59 take too many of a substance called, "beta-carotene,"
05:01 and some of the other ones, they didn't really need them.
05:04 They took too many and it actually did harm to the body
05:06 because it saturates receptors
05:08 so they can't get the good things and I guess
05:10 too much of any good thing can be bad.
05:14 Too much exercise can be bad.
05:16 You can cause oxidation if you exercise.
05:18 Too much sleep - rest, can be a bad thing. Yeah
05:21 Too much water can even be a bad thing.
05:24 So, yes, you can get too much of a good thing,
05:27 and that's why I think it's about moderation in life. Right
05:30 Once again, a balance of all the right ingredients.
05:33 Now if you are short of a nutrient or substance
05:36 or chemical in your body, then you might want to
05:39 take a supplement until you can bring it up
05:42 to the balance that you need.
05:43 If you have a disease state, you might need something.
05:45 So those are the specific cases when you do need
05:48 supplements and extra things and nutrition.
05:51 Now another viewer asked: "When is Coenzyme Q10 useful?"
05:56 First of all, what is Coenzyme Q10?
05:58 Coenzyme Q10 is a substance that the muscles need
06:02 sometimes to keep it from being sore.
06:06 And, I use Coenzyme Q10 in people that are usually
06:09 on statins that have sore muscles. Okay
06:13 Because there are proteins in muscles that sometimes
06:15 can be hurt by a statin and if they have really sore muscles,
06:17 Coenzyme Q10 can also help muscles.
06:21 So some people that have a deficiency in certain proteins,
06:24 Coenzyme Q10 might help it because the deficiency
06:26 could be generated by medicines they are taking
06:30 or other different problems.
06:32 Now, other things that are good for muscles
06:34 besides Coenzyme Q10 is muscles love water.
06:38 Muscles loves magnesium and calcium and potassium,
06:42 and you get all those if you eat 3 to 5 fresh fruits
06:45 and vegetables a day - so muscles like those things too.
06:48 But in people that have deficiencies in certain
06:50 enzyme systems, Coenzyme Q10 might help bring that
06:53 enzyme system up - especially I use it specifically
06:57 in people that have soreness on statins that we don't want to
07:00 stop the statin because we really need to keep it going
07:03 in people that have sore muscles that sometimes helps them a lot.
07:07 So where does Coenzyme Q10 come from?
07:09 I don't know... It's not found in a natural
07:11 diet or plant resources? You can get it in your diet,
07:14 but sometimes in deficiency, you don't get the numbers
07:16 that you need to be at, but it's a coenzyme.
07:18 It's a chemical that helps enzymatic reactions,
07:21 specifically in proteins in the body.
07:24 But I don't know, specifically, what foods have it. Okay
07:27 You know, we had another question come in:
07:29 "What are some natural sleep aids?"
07:31 I know, once in a while, I have a hard time getting to sleep
07:33 because maybe I'm thinking about stuff,
07:35 so if I can just relax my mind, and just try and not focus on
07:38 the day's work or whatever I've been worrying about all day,
07:41 that helps, but what are some natural sleep aids?
07:43 Well, some of the natural remedies to help people
07:45 sleep is exercise because it gets people tired;
07:49 it makes chemicals called "endorphins" that help
07:51 relax you - everyone feels relaxed after this,
07:53 so that's one natural remedy that helps you sleep.
07:56 Of course avoiding stimulants...
07:58 You know, too many stimulants can do that.
08:00 There are foods that help like bananas - that helps.
08:04 Bananas and kiwi have chemicals in it that get turned to
08:08 serotonin in the brain which helps people relax.
08:12 So any of those things... anything that decreases the
08:16 process called oxidation could help us rest better. Right
08:20 So things that are oxidizing in our body are things that
08:22 cause inflammation... people that eat lots of fats,
08:26 lots of proteins, lots of animal that causes inflammation
08:29 in the body that hurts our ability to rest and relax.
08:32 So anything that puts also stress on the body,
08:35 helps keep us awake.
08:36 For instance, if you watch TV at night,
08:38 too much light at night... that might put stressors
08:42 in the body that also stimulates the body not
08:45 to produce the medicines, the chemicals
08:48 that we need to sleep better.
08:49 So those are some simple things to do that might help
08:51 people rest better.
08:53 Do you ever have a hard time, yourself, getting to sleep?
08:55 No, I never do - I can hit that thing and I'm
08:59 asleep in no time at all.
09:01 Sometimes if my mind is really busy, Nick,
09:05 working on a project that I'm really working on,
09:08 sometimes my mind works on it as I'm asleep,
09:10 and I don't sleep as deep, but I don't have
09:12 too much problems going to sleep,
09:14 but a lot of people do, and a lot of people
09:16 go for these medications that help them sleep.
09:19 But unfortunately, these medicines don't solve the
09:21 problem - they just treat the symptom.
09:24 and all the medicines have been shown to hurt
09:26 the cognitive ability... you're not as smart,
09:28 and you're not as safe like driving.
09:30 So I don't really, if we can find out other ways to
09:33 help people rest and sleep better,
09:35 it's always better than taking a sleeping pill. That's right!
09:38 You know, I have a 6-month-old son and we have found
09:41 that whenever we get him lots of fresh air during the day,
09:43 he seems to sleep a little bit better at night,
09:45 so exercise, fresh air, that's really good for us.
09:47 All those things help out a lot.
09:48 So those are natural remedies that can help us sleep better.
09:52 Now we've got a question about aging, someone asks:
09:54 "How do foods help with aging?"
09:57 Like what foods might be useful?
09:58 Yeah, aging - you've heard this word called "oxidation." Yeah
10:03 That's like the body is rusting!
10:06 So foods that cause oxidation are bad.
10:09 They cause aging, they change our genetics,
10:12 they make us get older quicker.
10:14 Things that cause antioxidants prevent these free radicals
10:19 performing that slows down the aging process.
10:22 That protects - there is a part of the chromosome
10:25 called the "telomere," it helps with that.
10:28 So basically for aging, we want to take
10:30 more antioxidants and less oxidants.
10:33 So what are foods that cause oxidation?
10:36 Well, unfortunately, those are things that come from animals,
10:40 the cheese, dairy, lots of processed foods.
10:45 That stimulates the process called "oxidation" in the body,
10:49 turns on all these bad chemicals that sort of
10:52 makes us more acidic - oxidizes.
10:55 But when we take the antioxidants,
10:57 that sort of turns off the oxidation process.
11:00 So antioxidants not only helps aging,
11:03 but it helps inflammation in the body,
11:05 it helps the genetics of the body.
11:07 Now what are foods that have antioxidants in them?
11:09 Yeah, what are some sources of antioxidants?
11:11 Blueberries - one of the best!
11:13 All the berries are good antioxidants.
11:15 Goji berries, but basically the fruits, vegetables, nuts,
11:19 mainly fruits and vegetables have lots of antioxidants. Right
11:23 Now some people that are especially low in antioxidants,
11:26 really focus on the berries, those type of things.
11:30 A handful of berries every now and then really helps
11:33 bring up the oxidation to counteract all these
11:36 antioxidants we're getting. Oh okay
11:38 So I tell people, if they have to have something that
11:42 oxidizes it - you know, foods that they
11:44 have to eat some bad food occasionally
11:46 for whatever reason...
11:47 Well chase it with some greens which helps the body
11:51 move it through quicker;
11:52 help it through some magnesium that will help
11:54 the bowels move quicker;
11:56 chase it with some antioxidants that help balance
11:59 some of the bad effects of the food.
12:01 So antioxidants are very important in the aging process,
12:05 very important in inflammation and keeping the blood vessels,
12:09 has lots of good things that help the entire body.
12:11 So eat more blueberries, more antioxidants...
12:15 More fruit, more vegetables, basically the things that
12:17 we've talked about all along has all those good things
12:20 and less of the things that cause oxidation...
12:22 less of the fat, less of the cheese, less of the meat,
12:25 less of the processed foods.
12:27 And unfortunately, guess what's happened?
12:29 In our world, we're eating more of the bad stuff,
12:31 so we're aging quicker, we're turning on our genetics,
12:34 we're causing all these inflammatory things in our body
12:37 which causes all these health problems
12:39 and sooner or later turn on symptoms,
12:41 and rather get at the cause, well they say,
12:43 "Well let me get rid of the oxidation things in my life,"
12:46 rather than get at the cause, we're treating the symptom.
12:50 So we're not really fixing the problem,
12:52 and sometimes when we treat symptoms,
12:54 we can make things worse. Right, right
12:56 I think that's some great advice.
12:58 We've got another question here, somebody asks:
13:00 "Is hawthorn useful for hearts?"
13:03 You're a cardiologist, so you should be know.
13:05 Yeah and we get a lot of questions about herbs
13:08 and supplements and I'm not an herbologist,
13:12 but a lot of doctors that are good at herbs are called
13:15 "naturopaths," and they are very good because they
13:17 use these every day similar to how I would use medicines.
13:22 And there are some herbs out there that have been studied
13:25 very well and that are very useful for certain conditions.
13:29 Now the herbs, if you're taking an herb, you have to make
13:32 sure it doesn't interact with something else you might be
13:34 taking in the body. Okay
13:36 A lot of herbs interact with blood thinners and antibiotics
13:39 and things to make them less or more effective...
13:41 So you have to talk to your doctor about that,
13:43 and you have to get someone that really knows
13:45 the amount that you should take because we're
13:47 assuming we're taking an herb or a supplement
13:50 for either a deficiency or a disease state. Yeah, right
13:54 For in hawthorn, the disease state is the heart is not as
13:57 strong as it needs to be.
13:59 And this hawthorn helps the heart through chemicals
14:05 called "glycosides" makes the heart beat stronger.
14:09 So this is one - hawthorn that actually will help
14:12 the heart beat stronger.
14:13 It's used very often in Europe to make the heart beat stronger,
14:17 similar to a medicine we use here called, "digoxin."
14:20 Another herb that's used on the cardiovascular system
14:24 that's been proven in scientific studies,
14:26 double-blinded studies that shows they work
14:29 is one called "horse chestnut,"
14:31 and some people with vein problems and vascular problems
14:34 can take horse chestnut because there are chemicals
14:37 in horse chestnut - it helps the veins do better.
14:43 So there are many herbs out there that do work
14:46 and a good naturopath could help guide you through that.
14:51 There's an "Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine"
14:54 that can help if you want to learn more,
14:55 but I see these herbs and supplements - the place for
14:59 them is to help get over disease state,
15:01 or if you're running low on something - then natural.
15:04 But most people can get what they need in the foods
15:07 and supplements that they take from what God gave us.
15:10 They don't need that extra boost.
15:12 So, other than supplements,
15:14 how about the vitamins, let's talk about that for a minute,
15:15 what are some needed vitamins?
15:17 Yeah, the most common one I see is people that don't
15:20 go out in the sun 30 minutes, 3 times a day,
15:22 need vitamin D.
15:24 Vitamin D is really a pro-hormone.
15:26 It helps the bone, it helps the brain.
15:29 Vitamin D is needed in every cell of the body.
15:31 So if you have vitamin D
15:33 deficiency, you're not going to feel good.
15:34 It helps the blood pressure, it helps the vessels,
15:36 helps you fight depression, helps the bones,
15:39 many different things.
15:40 Another one that's very important is "thyroid."
15:43 Now even though that's not a nutrient,
15:45 Every cell in the body needs thyroid hormone. Right
15:48 So will have your thyroid checked;
15:50 sometimes you run low on that.
15:51 We already talked about the B6 and B12,
15:53 especially for people that eat a whole food plant-based diet,
15:56 and don't take any things like fortified soy, fortified...
16:02 You know there are certain milks are fortified with B vitamins.
16:04 Some people don't take cereals and grains that have that...
16:08 They might need a supplement if they stay away
16:10 from all of that fortification.
16:13 Now if somebody wants to learn more about where they can get
16:15 information on supplements and nutritional prescription,
16:17 where would you direct them?
16:19 There's an "Encyclopedia of Supplements,"
16:22 they can get that on the website,
16:24 and could check with a naturopath that
16:26 might be able to help you,
16:28 or some doctors have some basic knowledge.
16:29 I have some basic knowledge, but I try to get specialized
16:33 help, but remember - I only use it if a person
16:35 is in a diseased state or has
16:37 a deficiency and I try to use the things that God gave us
16:40 first, and then if that doesn't work and we have to add some,
16:44 then I want to do it under a very supervised situation,
16:47 on someone that uses these and knows the proper amount,
16:49 and the interactions.
16:51 So everything we put in either has a benefit or a harm.
16:54 Well thank you, Dr. Marcum, for sharing with us about
16:56 this important topic.
16:58 Stay right there, we're going to be back in just a moment.
17:06 Let's pray together...
17:07 Father, Thank You for helping us to learn about our
17:10 bodies today, Father, and continue to guide us.
17:13 And thank You so much for Your everlasting love.


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Revised 2016-06-22