Participants: Timothy Howe and Sheryl McWilliams
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000392
00:01 The following program presents principles
00:03 designed to promote good health 00:04 and is not intended to take the place of 00:06 personalized professional care. 00:07 The opinions and ideas expressed are those 00:10 of the speaker. Viewers are encouraged to 00:13 draw their own conclusions about the 00:14 information presented. 00:35 Hi and welcome to 'Wonderfully Made.' 00:37 My name is Sheryl McWilliams. 00:39 And our guest today is Dr. Timothy Howe. 00:41 Hi, Dr. Howe, and thank you for being here. 00:44 It's a pleasure to be with you. 00:45 This is a wonderful program on 00:48 Wonderfully Made. Certainly our creator 00:50 has made us wonderfully. Absolutely, today 00:54 we're gonna be talking about a topic that 00:55 I find very interesting. It seems that whenever 00:59 I'm in the supermarket or the store these days 01:01 I'm seeing ads for vitamins and supplements. 01:05 Folks even knocking on my door requesting 01:07 that I listen to their information about 01:10 their particular brand or vitamin. 01:12 I'm really confused on which ones 01:14 are the best ones to take and how do I know and, 01:17 and really what to do. So, I'm hoping 01:19 you can shed some light on this topic. 01:21 Vitamins and supplements are a very 01:24 interesting topic. We know from hundreds of 01:28 scientific studies that the more vitamins 01:31 and minerals you get in your food, 01:34 the richer your diet is in anti-oxidants, 01:37 the less heart disease you'll have, 01:40 the less cancer you have, the less infections 01:43 you'll have. And we are so interested 01:47 as people of course to have less cancer 01:50 and heart disease and less infections, 01:52 less chronic diseases. So, we assume that 01:56 if you need more and more is better than 01:59 let's open up a bottle and get them. 02:02 Because of that idea, scientists started 02:06 several big studies to answer the question, 02:09 will taking vitamins help us. 02:13 One of the best studies done was published 02:17 in 1994, in the New England Journal of 02:20 Medicine. It's referred today 02:22 to as the finish study. What they did is 02:26 they took a large group of men, 02:28 who were all smokers, from our studies in 02:33 populations looking at their diets, 02:35 we knew that taking vitamin A, Beta-carotene, 02:40 vitamin E, Alfa-Tocoferol would lower 02:45 the risk of cancer. If you get it in your diet 02:50 it lowers your risk, let's give you a 02:52 little more in a pill form and see 02:54 if it helps even more. So, they did that study 02:58 and they found something very interesting. 03:00 They found that in the men that 03:03 they supplemented vitamin A or a Beta-carotene 03:06 and vitamin E, their risk of cancer didn't go down, 03:12 it went up, it actually went up. 03:15 Now, that is a little frightening. 03:19 The last thing that I want to do, 03:21 is go out to the store and buy these wonderful 03:25 vitamins and find out that as a result of 03:28 taking them, I have a higher cancer risk. 03:31 Absolutely, we take them supposedly to decrease 03:35 our risk of disease and not to mention 03:37 they're extremely expensive 03:38 or at least the ones that I've seen. 03:40 People spend a lot of money on this stuff. 03:43 They certainly do spend a lot of money. 03:46 They couldn't believe that study you know, 03:48 they, they, they, they scratch their heads 03:51 and they said, how can this be. 03:52 We have hundreds of studies, 03:54 literally hundreds of studies showing that 03:56 if we get more Beta-carotene 03:58 and anti-oxidants and vitamins in our diet, 04:02 we'll have a lower risk. And yet when 04:04 we give them to people from a pill bottle, 04:07 the risk goes up. What's at play here? 04:10 Well, they had to repeat the study and so they did 04:14 another study, it's called the caret study, 04:16 not RROT, but CARET study, published in the 04:22 New England Journal Medicine in 1996. 04:24 In that study, they also supplemented vitamin A 04:28 and vitamin E. You know, they found early 04:31 on in this study that cancer rates went up 04:34 and heart disease rates went up. 04:36 In fact, it was such a mark change 04:39 that they stopped the study. 04:41 Because, people were dying from supplementing 04:45 these vitamins. Wow! They went back 04:48 and looked at the finished study 04:51 and did subgroup analysis and found something 04:55 very interesting. What they found is, 04:57 in the people that had the highest intake of 05:03 Beta-carotene in their diets, 05:05 they were the ones that have the lowest risk 05:08 of cancer at the end of the study. 05:12 So, you have sort of a conundrum here, 05:14 if you have a high amount of Beta-carotene 05:19 in your food, you have a low risk of cancer, 05:23 if you add vitamin A or Beta-carotene 05:27 in from a pill, you have a high risk. 05:31 Confusing, isn't it? Very confusing. 05:34 Yeah, interesting though, what they fail to 05:38 realize is, Beta-carotene is only one of over 600 05:46 different types of carotene. 05:48 And I can't tell you which one of those 600 05:53 might be important, but I can tell you 05:56 that if you take excess Beta-carotene, 06:00 you will interfere with the absorption of those 06:04 other carotenes or carotenoids, 06:06 carotene like compounds. Balance is what 06:11 we're after, it's very important to maintain 06:14 that careful balance of nutrients 06:17 found in our food. So, what I hear you saying 06:21 is that it's better to actually get our, 06:25 our nutrients, our vitamins from the food 06:28 that we eat as apposed to a pill. 06:30 Absolutely, you know, I, I, when I eat 06:34 my vegetables, and when I eat my fruits. 06:36 I, I'm, I'm kind of particular, 06:39 I don't like to eat old fruit you know, 06:43 that's a little bit bad or I don't like 06:46 wilted vegetables, I like them fresh. 06:49 You know, the last time you ate your vitamins, 06:52 did you open up the bottle and say, 06:55 I wonder if you're fresh, you know. 06:58 How long has it been since those 07:02 vitamins were fresh? I simply look at the 07:05 expiration date. Well, is that what you do with 07:09 fruit and vegetables? I think it's very important 07:12 to have your vitamins fresh plus, 07:14 the last time you looked at your vitamin pill, 07:18 your bottle you know if you look at it. 07:20 There's a whole long list vitamin A, 07:23 vitamin B, 1, 2, 3, 4, you know, 07:26 all of these things, but are you sure 07:30 you're getting them in the right balance? 07:31 And what about the ones that aren't mentioned 07:34 there? For instance, blueberries. 07:36 Now, blueberries are an interesting fruit. 07:39 They're one of the richest, the very richest 07:42 in anti-oxidants. Do you know that blueberries 07:47 have over 150 phytochemicals in them. 07:52 Wow! Now, does your vitamin pill have over a 07:57 150 phytochemicals? I doubt it, 08:01 and that's only one. But there are many 08:04 other fruits and vegetables, aren't they? 08:07 Another one that people have looked 08:10 at is vitamin E. You perhaps have some friends, 08:13 I'm sure you wouldn't take vitamin E, 08:15 but you maybe have some friends 08:17 that are taking vitamin E. We used to say, 08:19 you have-to-have vitamin E for your heart, 08:22 it will reduce your heart disease risk. 08:24 And indeed vitamin E does seem to thin the blood, 08:30 but it doesn't reduce your risk of 08:33 heart disease. In fact, it's not recommended 08:36 any longer that you take vitamin E to reduce 08:38 your risk of heart disease. Not only does 08:41 heart disease not go down very much, 08:43 but your risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke 08:48 goes up. So, you take your vitamin E to help 08:53 your heart. You don't help your heart 08:55 and on the other hand, you have a stroke. 08:58 What kind of a trade is that? 08:59 Doesn't sound like much of a bargain to me. 09:01 Not one that I want. Something that I've read 09:05 recently is that, it seems that and some of the, 09:08 the cases of vitamins that perhaps 09:11 what's listed on the bottle, is it 09:13 necessarily what's inside? Well, that maybe 09:17 the case because they're not controlled by the FTA, 09:21 they put on there and what they put on there 09:25 and there's not a lot of oversight. Furthermore 09:28 just because it has the vitamin on the, 09:30 on the, listed on the bottle doesn't mean that 09:33 it is well absorbed. When the vitamin is in the food 09:37 usually it's very well absorbed the way 09:41 it's presented to your body, but not necessarily 09:46 so in the pill. I have a saying that, 09:49 if humans have messed with it, 09:51 they probably messed it up and this seems 09:53 like a good example of that. 09:54 Yes, I think there's some truth in that. 09:56 Another question I have is related to the source 09:59 of these vitamins. Not long ago, 10:02 I was prescribed a prenatal vitamin 10:05 as a result of the pregnancy. 10:07 And I went to the pharmacy in order to; 10:09 to inquire about this and asked the source 10:12 of the vitamin, where did the vitamin come from? 10:14 Was it an animal source or vegetables source, 10:17 synthetic, where exactly did it come from? 10:20 The pharmacist didn't have a clue and was most 10:23 uninterested in, in learning, 10:25 he gave me a number, I called the number 10:27 and learned that many of the vitamins 10:30 in this particular brand came from animal sources 10:35 and a number of them came from pig from, 10:37 from swine that was a problem for me. 10:40 So, I went back to the pharmacist and said, 10:43 this is what I learned and, and can you help me 10:45 find the vitamin that does not contain at least 10:48 pig products and that was a concern for him 10:52 due to religious consideration. 10:54 So, he started and of that particular pharmacy, 10:56 which is in a very well-known pharmacy, 10:59 they did not have a vitamin, 11:02 a prenatal vitamin which did not contain 11:04 animal products and specifically 11:06 you know pig. I mean and, and that was primarily 11:09 related to vitamin D, but that was shocking to me. 11:12 Yes, many of the vitamins, their source 11:15 is not identified on the bottle. Vitamin B12 comes 11:20 from animals specifically. It is not 11:23 naturally occurring in plant food. 11:26 It has to be from an animal source. 11:29 Even the vitamin B12 in the soil 11:32 and this is one question that has to be answered 11:35 for vegans. Now, vegans they don't have anything, 11:39 they don't eat anything that had a mother 11:41 or has a face or came from an animal. 11:45 You know, it's just fresh fruits and vegetables 11:49 and grains and nuts. And the only place 11:52 that they get B12 is from the little bacteria 11:57 in the soil, on root vegetables 12:00 and on vegetables as the soil splashes up on them. 12:04 And that isn't a very rich source, 12:06 all other B12 comes from animal sources. 12:09 Unless, it's synthesized, made in the laboratory. 12:14 You can get synthetic B12, and then it doesn't 12:18 come from your animal source. Vitamin D, 12:21 another classic example, we get it from sunshine. 12:26 You're a vegan I know, so am I and we get vitamin D 12:30 from sunshine, but apart from that the only 12:33 sources of vitamin D are animal sources. 12:36 Now, if your pharmacist was a Muslim, 12:40 or if he was a Seventh-day Adventist 12:44 that would be important to him or Jewish to know 12:48 that most vitamins contained B12 12:51 from animal sources. And almost always 12:55 it's from pigs or swine that they get it. 12:59 Interesting, interesting. Is there ever a time 13:02 when a person should supplement 13:05 and use vitamins from pills? 13:07 That's a good question, and let's first of all go 13:11 back to B12. In the studies that 13:15 had been done, if today you had adequate B12 13:19 in your system. And I said, 13:21 alright no more B12, none, it will take about 13:26 20 to 30 years for you to become deficient in B12 13:30 if you didn't have a problem with 13:33 re-absorption of B12 from your gut, 13:37 backup to your liver and if, as long as 13:40 you were recycling it normally, 13:42 you would not become deficient. 13:43 What would cause you to not be able 13:45 to do that normally? If you had a deficiency of 13:49 intrinsic factor in your gut. And that would be 13:52 B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia 13:56 can cause that. Now, there are varying 13:58 diseases of pernicious anemia or failure 14:01 to absorb B12. You can have someone who just 14:05 has a slight problem with intrinsic factor 14:08 or absorption. People that have for instance, 14:12 had a partial Gastrectomy for because 14:16 they were obese and wanted to lose weight. 14:18 They maybe deficient or if there is a disease of 14:22 the terminal ileum, they may become 14:25 deficient in B12, if there's a question 14:28 and you are on a strict vegan diet, 14:31 get a B12 level tested. It's a very simple 14:34 laboratory test and if you are a little bit low 14:38 or tending toward that side even in the 14:40 normal range, it's a good idea to have a 14:43 synthetic supplement, but that's not 14:47 the majority of people. The majority of us 14:50 get plenty of B12. B12 is found in many of our 14:54 milk, milk substitutes. Of course, 14:57 it isn't milk itself, but most, 14:59 much of the soy milk and nut milks, 15:02 they have B12 added, so, that's not a problem. 15:06 Many of the dry cereals have B12 added too. 15:11 So, that's a very unlikely situation, 15:14 B12 deficiency. As long as you 15:17 don't have a medical problem, but if you are a 15:20 vegan have it tested, if you have a question. 15:23 And particularly, if you don't have a 15:25 regular source of B12. Apart from B12, 15:29 I don't know if any situation were taking 15:33 multi-vitamins and anti-oxidants 15:36 will help you except there are a few studies 15:40 in the elderly showing that they may do better, 15:44 may do better, if they have a multi-vitamin 15:47 supplement. Well, why is that? You know, 15:52 I do, we work with a lot of elderly people 15:55 and you will find that after their spouse dies, 15:59 it's really hard to fix good food. 16:02 And instead of having their fresh vegetables 16:07 and fresh fruit. They just have something 16:10 out of a box. Usually pour a little milk on it, 16:14 and they have dry cereal or something like that. 16:17 Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they don't, 16:20 they don't get a good diet. Well, 16:23 is it better for them to take it out of a 16:25 pill bottle or would it be better for them 16:28 to eat a wider variety of fresh fruits 16:31 and vegetables. Of course, it would be 16:35 better to get it from a good source. 16:38 If you just take it out of the bottle, 16:40 you're going to get Beta-carotene, 16:43 but how about those other 599 carotenes, 16:47 you may need them. And in fact, you do. 16:51 There are, are many who talk about the 16:55 depletion in terms of soil and, 16:57 and that they take supplements 16:59 because our soil is in such poor shape 17:01 in that without supplements because 17:04 of the, the situation, the soil, 17:05 they just wouldn't be healthy. I'm not sure 17:09 what to think about that? Well, they have a point 17:12 because if your soil is deficient in selenium 17:17 for instance. Then the food isn't going 17:19 to contain as much selenium, 17:22 if it's deficient in Boron, the food isn't 17:25 going to have quite as much Boron, 17:27 but that's not that common, number one. 17:32 And number two, it does not apply to vitamins 17:35 and the anti-oxidants because they don't come 17:38 from the soil. The plants manufacture them 17:41 with sunlight. Even if you have a hydroponic 17:44 tomato that's just grown in the greenhouse, 17:46 if it has that good deep rich red color 17:50 it's going to have plenty of those lycopenes, 17:54 that are so important in the prevention of 17:56 prostate cancer, if you have kale or collards 18:00 grown wherever, if the soil's deficient, 18:04 but they have that deep green color. 18:06 They're still going to have their vitamin A 18:09 and their vitamin C. They're still going to 18:11 have the folate, they're still going to have 18:13 everything you need maybe the minerals. 18:16 I say, if in doubt grow some your own, 18:21 grow your own. You know, it's not a bad idea 18:24 in the summer, try organic gardening. 18:28 I have a son, lets say, organic gardener 18:31 and he has a main organic farmer 18:34 and gardening and association, everything 18:37 he sells is certified organic, 18:39 and when I eat that, I think well I'm set 18:42 and we usually are. It doesn't hurt to grow 18:45 a few, or buy organic, is it necessary? 18:48 No, it isn't, absolutely necessary, 18:50 are there toxins in our food? Sure, 18:53 there are toxins in our food. 18:55 There's mercury in water everywhere 18:57 on this planet, it's not ideal, but it's important 19:01 for us to eat low on the food chain to avoid some 19:05 of those and that's fruits and vegetables, 19:08 nuts, and grains, you'll get all of your 19:11 anti-oxidants. If you want to make sure 19:14 you're getting the full spectrum, you want to go 19:18 for the colors. You want the deep reds, 19:22 you want the greens, those living greens, 19:26 you want the yellows, they're very important. 19:29 You want different types at different seasons, 19:33 and you'll get the full flavor and you'll get 19:38 all of the anti-oxidants and vitamins you need. 19:40 You don't have to think about, what did I, 19:43 what am I gonna do with my vitamin A, 19:45 if you're getting the deep green and yellow. 19:48 You don't need to think about vitamin E, 19:50 if you're getting seeds and nuts. 19:52 It's not a problem; you don't need to 19:56 think about. Well, am I, am I getting enough 19:57 vitamin C to stop my colds. You know, 20:01 the good thing about vitamin C is it; 20:03 you don't get it toxic very easily on it because 20:06 if you take it and don't need it, 20:08 it's excreted in the urine. Many of these are 20:12 you know, you might say that it's wonderful 20:14 all the vitamins we're taking in this country. 20:17 We have the most vitamin rich sewers in the world. 20:22 There are many parents who out of concern 20:26 for their children, give their children vitamins 20:29 and they usually wash it down 20:30 with a glass of juice. What should parents 20:33 think about as it relates to, to vitamin 20:36 supplementation? I don't think parents should 20:38 supplement vitamins. I think they should give 20:42 their children good food. Good food is the 20:45 best supplement there is, as far known 20:48 it is the best. You're, that's what 20:50 the studies show, if you get it in your food, 20:53 lower cancer risk, lower heart disease risk, 20:56 lower stroke risk, lower infection risk, 20:59 if you get it in the bottle you maybe 21:01 harming yourself. That's not only true 21:04 with the vitamins; it's also true with iron. 21:07 You know you hear a lot about anti-oxidants, 21:10 do you know that iron is the most potent 21:13 pro-oxidant in your body. Wow! Oh! You need iron, 21:17 you need it, but too much iron will cause problems. 21:24 It will increase cancer rates; it will increase 21:29 your problems with heart disease. In fact, 21:33 some people think and I think wisely so, 21:36 that one of the main reasons why women 21:38 don't have the rates of heart disease 21:40 that men do, is because they're menstruating 21:43 every month and they're keeping their iron 21:45 stores low. As soon as that stops, 21:48 women's rate of heart disease quickly catches 21:51 men, just from too much iron. 21:54 Now, iron deficiency isn't good either, 21:57 but if you're not iron deficient, 22:00 if your hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal, 22:03 please don't supplement iron. 22:05 You won't be helping yourself, 22:07 you'll be hurting yourself. There's a whole 22:09 disease category of iron overload. 22:13 Hemochromatosis, it's not that uncommon 22:16 and it's getting to be a, a problem. 22:19 Hemochromatosis, increase risk of heart disease, 22:23 increase risk of cancer, increase risk 22:26 of diabetes, increase risk of liver problems 22:29 all from iron overload, don't supplement iron, 22:33 if you are going to take a multi-vitamin 22:35 make sure it doesn't have iron. 22:38 Unless, you're iron deficient, 22:41 you have a low amount of hemoglobin 22:44 or a low hematocrit and that can be very 22:47 easily tested. So, we should instead of 22:52 thinking about which pill to take, 22:54 we should think about the colors of the rainbow. 22:56 That's right. You know, I often say, 22:59 if you're an artist, you like a palate 23:02 with many colors on it, when you're painting 23:05 your picture and think of the artist when you eat, 23:08 you want many colors to pass your palate, 23:11 if you do you'll get plenty of anti-oxidants. 23:15 Some people ask well what foods are best? 23:18 What foods are richest in anti-oxidants? 23:20 Well, in fresh fruit, fruits, the one that top 23:25 the list are the ones I like the most 23:26 in the fruits. It's blueberries 23:30 and strawberries. They top the list 23:32 for fresh fruits, if you go to dry, 23:34 raisins are very high and prunes are very high in 23:39 anti-oxidants. They're also high in vitamins 23:42 of course. In the vegetables it's kale 23:45 and then you go to broccoli, you pick up 23:48 tomatoes, you pick up peppers, 23:50 you pick up collard greens, 23:52 all the green leafy vegetables and the, 23:56 and the vegetables with rich colors 23:58 are where you get the anti-oxidants from. 24:01 And they're the ones that will reduce 24:03 your risk of chronic disease. 24:05 So, if we eat our food the way the good Lord 24:08 grew it then perhaps we'd be better off 24:11 than trying to get nutrition from a bottle. 24:13 You know, you'll never find health in a bottle, 24:17 you will never find it. You'll find health 24:20 in making wise choices. And making decisions 24:24 and following through with them. 24:26 Sometimes we get the idea that you know, 24:30 there's just something missing in your 24:32 and in my diet. You know, that is true, 24:34 there is something missing in your diet 24:37 and in mine, but I don't think 24:39 we can find it here. It left many years ago 24:42 and that, guess what? The tree of life. 24:46 I think somewhere in our collective consciousness, 24:49 if you will we know that there is a, a missing 24:53 part in our lives. The tree of life isn't here, 24:58 but we do have something that is available 25:02 and Jesus told us what that is? 25:04 He said, if you want life you must eat my flesh 25:09 and drink my blood, you must dwell in me 25:13 and I in you, if you want eternal life 25:17 and you know sometimes I think 25:18 this desire to find that elixir of life 25:22 really what we're doing is, we are looking 25:28 for life in the wrong place. And if we would 25:32 focus on Jesus and the life he gives. 25:35 And the food he's given us, read it 25:38 right there in Genesis, you'll find it. 25:40 And he gave them and it tells you just 25:44 what to eat right there in Genesis. 25:46 And if we follow that and look for life 25:49 in our Lord and savior, then we will have 25:54 not only abundant life here. 25:56 Remember what he said, I came to give them life 25:59 and to give it more abundantly. 26:03 We'll have life here and we'll have eternal life. 26:06 Instead of looking in a bottle and counting 26:09 our pills and spent you know, how much we spend 26:12 in this country on vitamins and 26:14 vitamin supplementation. That's a lot. Billions, 26:17 three or four billion dollars we spend, 26:20 and we are helping ourselves? No. 26:22 We're hurting ourselves. We are actually worsening 26:27 our health instead of improving it. 26:30 Please, don't supplement any Beta-carotene 26:34 or vitamin A, don't do it, don't 26:37 supplement vitamin E, don't do it, 26:40 it raises your risk of disease. Vitamin C 26:43 it's counted as wonderful. We excrete 26:45 a lot of it, but it, if you supplement 26:47 vitamin C there is some evidence that 26:49 you will increase your risk for heart disease. 26:51 Macular degeneration, everyone's taking 26:54 vitamins for this. Three fruits a day will reduce 26:58 your risk of macular degeneration markedly. 27:02 Go for the fruits, go for the vegetables 27:05 and most importantly Jesus is the 27:10 word of life; he is our tree of life here. 27:14 And if we focus on him rather than 27:17 on a bottle ah! Then we'll have life, 27:21 life not only now, but forever. 27:27 So, it seems that God grew our food perfectly. 27:30 I think he did. You know, it's unlikely that 27:35 he would design us and give a poor fuel. 27:38 And, if we follow his instruction manual. 27:41 I think our bodies will run quite well. 27:46 It's obvious that we are fearfully 27:48 and wonderfully made and our food 27:50 was made well too. So, if we follow 27:54 the instruction we've been given then perhaps 27:57 we can spent less money on supplements 27:58 and more attention on, on eating the rich foods 28:01 that Christ has so abundantly 28:03 blessed us with. Well, thank you Dr. Howe, 28:05 and thank you audience for joining us today. |
Revised 2014-12-17