AUGUST 19, 2010 SURRENDER TO ....D-RIBOSE, GOD AND YOURSELF

"DETACH - LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW. Allow life to happen and unfold instead of always trying to control it. Release regrets over the past and fears about the future."

Yes, back to living in the NOW. Not the past and not the future. I think I need to reiterate this for me more than for you. I have heard time and time again, it is Life on Life's terms. It sounds easy, but it is not. I can attest to that. I miss some of the past. I miss the family of the past that are no longer here. I see patients who do not talk to their parents nor grandparents. I cannot understand that. But I understand how it happens. I miss the calls from my dad. Rick and I miss his weekly visits to my office with eggplant parmigana and expresso. I especially miss the holidays. That is a lie, I miss every single Sunday at my childhood home.

Now do I miss the days of active alcohol/drug use? Not at all. A bad day today cannot even compare to a bad day back then. I am so far removed from those days in years, but I never forget them nor take anything for granted. Do you take anything for granted? Do I miss past relationships of friends, family and partners? It depends on who it is, what happened, and if they are in my life today. I have always said that things change. Change is good; Change is fear; I am trying to be fearless. No one can be completely fearless. I know I cannot. Instead of holding on to resentments and anger, I let it out. Let the chips fall where they may. Let God, prayer and meditation guide me in the right direction. I have met some who have a real need to hold on to relationships of the past. I would love to in every single case, but if it doesn't happen naturally, then I must move on. Have you moved on from past love relationships ? I had to, I did it and let go. These relationships were toxic. Every one deserves happiness. This means you do also.
Get to know and love yourself first. Let life unfold. Get happy :)

Back to our heart... Two days ago I was writing about D-ribose. This important nutrient is underutilized. Any patient with heart disease has depleted energy. The addition of L-carnitine and D-ribose will revitalize the energy lost. There are no drugs that increase the energy pool. I hoped to find it in a product called NT-Factor. I had favorable results but when the NT-factor was discontinued, the low energy level of the patient returned. You need to consult a health care professional and ask can you take D-ribose. There are no contraindications and no toxic effects if taken as directed. There is not enough data for pregnant females, nursing mothers or woman contemplating pregnancy. I have seen people take too much D-ribose and have gastrointestinal side effects of nausea and abdominal pain. Since D-ribose is a sugar you would think it would cause an insulin spike after consumption. However, it has been studied and it does not.

There are no known drug or nutritional interactions with D-ribose. Prior to L-carnitine and D-ribose, the one nutrient that has been a powerhouse to the cell , tissues and body is Coenzyme Q10. I do not want to go 'biochemical or medical' with you, so in the next two days I will try to make the discussion brief. I am happy to write that Coenzyme Q10 is used more today by conventional cardiologists than I ever would have thought. Could I say to a great extent? Absolutely not. The literature in this country, and Europe is ignored by allopathic profesisonals when it comes to vita-nutrients. I could say the same about herb use. The general public knows more about supplements and herbs than their own doctor. This is due to the internet. If you search the internet , how many article would you read about the benefits of Coenzyme Q 10?
a. 10,000
b. 20,000
c. 30,000
The correct answer is choice (c). Keep reading daily to find out why.

Living in New York City is never dull. Most people do not take advantage of what the city has to offer. Yes, it might be pricey, but there are many things to do that are for free. A walk in Central Park is free. Did you ever notice or count the number of great sculptures and statues in Central Park? So while going to a meeting two days ago, I went by Times Square. I was in awe. A huge statue in Times Square resembling the famous Life magazine photo of a sailor kissing a woman. The statue was unveiled this weekend on the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II in Japan.

This 25 foot statue is based on a famous Life Magazine photo of New Yorkers celebrating the end of the war with Japan on Aug. 14, 1945. The name of the sculpture is Unconditional. Johnson said it is based on a similar, less well known, photograph by Victor Jorgensen.

Go see it !
Since books are part of my life and always will be, enjoy the hand made cross stitch bookmarks.

Until tomorrow...

AUGUST 15,2010 WHY WORRY--- USE L-CARNITINE

"When we stop worrying about unimportant matters, we can devote more to what is truly important."

How true is that. How many times have I worried about such nonsense things? My Stinking Thinking!! I used to worry about so many unimportant matters, then I heard this quote and said to myself, "Why am I worrying? What good is it doing me?" I used to worry about what people thought of me. Boy, did that one always have me in a mess-up. Then I would worry what people thought of how I carried myself in a conversation! For what purpose was I worrying? Worry is thoughts and images of a negative nature in which mental attempts are made to avoid anticipated potential threats. As an emotion it is experienced as anxiety or concern about real or imagined issues.

What truly is important is if I owe anyone amends for this day--today. I worry if I didn't thank God for a blessed day. I worry about my patient's health... There are some unfortunates who worry about everything. I know how you feel I used to be one of those people. I do NOT worry about the things I used to. That means I have changed. Change is good. Try for one hour not worrying about anything. See if you can start to not worry everyday for one hour. It does work.

I was discussing L-carnitine in yesterday's blog. I want to continue with L-carnitine and then move to other nutritional support for the heart. Remember that the heart is a form of muscle. It is cardiac muscle. I have to get into a little biochemistry for you to understand why carnitine is important to the heart. The primary function of carnitine is the transport of fatty acids to the inner mitochondrial membrane where they are burned for fuel. Our human heart gets 60% of its fuel from fat so those with heart disease need to maximize the fat.

Using L-carnitine will help patients with heart disease. It is simple as that! Therefore L-carnitine can be used for individuals with angina pectoris. The most common cause of chest pain (angina) is the partial blockage of a coronary artery. The coronary arteries supply blood to the heart. L-carnitine limits angina pectoris by its metabolic effects. Studies have shown benefit in exercise tolerance with as low as 900mg of L-carnitine. I usually give upwards of 2,500 mg of L-carnitine for most of my cardiac patients. There has even been a reduction in extra ectopic ventricular beats in patients using L-carnitine versus the group that didn't use L-carnitine.

I do not understand why conventional cardiologists do not use L-carnitine. Many of these studies have been published in peer review journals (Circulation and Journal of the American College of Cardiology). There are smaller studies on the benefit of L-carnitine for CHF. Those with CHF using L-carnitine did have benefit, but I feel more studies need to be done. There are even studies using L-carnitine in those patients with peripheral artery disease who have intermittent claudication (squeezing of their legs when the patients walk). The data does show that L-carnitine supplementation has been used for the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of cardiovascular conditions.

V S Gulevich and R Krimberg first discovered L-Carnitine in muscle extracts in 1905. Its chemical structure was confirmed in 1927, but it was not until the 1950s that Gottfried Samuel Fraenkel discovered the role of the substance in fat oxidization.

Something we all enjoy today that was initially discovered in 1905 is The Movie Theater. The Pittsburgh movie theater owners Harry Davis and John Harris also established the first of what would become a popular form of movie theaters spread throughout the country, which were five-cent nickelodeon movies.

The photograph above is a famous theater in NYC. It was named for an individual of the theater. As said in Funny Girl, "Who would name their son Florence? Or is it Florenz?"
He did marry the Good Witch- Glenda, so I forgive his mother.

Until tomorrow...

AUGUST 14, 2010 FAILURE - HEART OR SELF

"LET GO OF YOUR ATTACHMENT TO BEING RIGHT AND SUDDENLY YOUR MIND IS MORE OPEN. YOU'RE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THE UNIQUE VIEWPOINTS OF OTHERS WITHOUT BEING CRIPPLED BY YOUR OWN JUDGMENT." - Ralph Marston


The attachment to being right...Do you ever notice that in a group of individuals whether friends or family, there is always someone who believes they are always right? When I look closely I feel that there are many things that most of us need to let go of. For example, Letting Go of Perfection, Letting Go of Timing, Letting Go of Being the Victim et al. Or perhaps shame, mistrust, fear or denial. Even more to the point is Letting Go of desire. That's it! I used to think I was always right in a conversation. I am trying to this day not to talk a lot in a conversation. Just listen. Absorb.

I am always working on not interrupting my partner's or other individual's conversation. I first had to recognize the issues. It took time, patience, prayer and meditation to identify them. Now that I have identified many of the things I want to let go of, I am letting go of them on all levels--mental, emotional, spiritual and physical. Then as the quote above states, my mind can be more OPEN. Giving up the idea that I was always right. An educated man should always be right. Doctors are always right. WRONG! I could be wrong and still be loved and worthy of conversation.

I want to get back to the heart. I want to discuss the right side valves, both tricuspid and pulmonary. I have so much to tell you. Even though the number of heart attacks have been reduced due to technology and awareness, the number of patients with heart failure has increased. I do not think the medical community, cardiologists particularly, understood the treatment. The causes we did understand. The causes of heart failure are numerous--coronary artery disease, valvular, and enlargement of the heart (cardiomyopathy- due to alcohol, viruses and heavy metals). The conventional drugs are used because they do work. These can be angiotension converting inhibitors (ACE), beta blockers, diuretics, and even the beloved foxglove (digitalis).

Conventional physicians should be open to powerful nutritional support like Coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine and D-ribose. This is nutrition directed at the cellular level. This is not easily understood by the general public and even medical professionals. For the medically inclined, he/she must go back in time to Biology and Biochemistry to the Kreb Cycle and other metabolic pathways of the body.

I will discuss CoEnzyme Q10 in the future. Most readers know something about that source of energy. I have used Coenzyme Q10 in a wide variety of cardiovascular diseases such as angina, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure (CHF), arrhythmias, and even hypertension.

I want to touch on L-carnitine. It is derived from two amino acids--lysine and methionine. To get to carnitine the body needs cofactors to help it along. These cofactors are other vitamins like Vitamin C, niacin and B6. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, therefore a pure vegetarian will have low levels of L-carnitine. In the diet the greatest source of carnitine is from meat. I am not advocating eating meat. If you read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan you can understand why you wouldn't touch a piece of red meat. Those of you who are purists need to supplement your L-carnitine. The asparagus isn't going to do it at 0.08 mm/g carnitine versus beef or lamb at levels of 3.80 - 4.80 mm/g carnitine. So you say I eat beans! Yes that is protein but beans lack methionine even though they contain lysine, so there will be little L-carnitine. You need both of those amino acids to form L-carnitine.

So you could supplement both amino acids, yet isn't it easier just to take L-carnitine. A pure vegetarian from childhood will develop muscle weakness and even failure to thrive. If you are a vegetarian, just simply supplement your carnitine. Those cancer patients who have tried a strict macrobiotic diet need to supplement L-carnitine. Carnitine is produced on a cellular level and exerts its effects on a cellular level. Let's make this easier. It helps with the conversion of energy. In the body, cells must use energy in the form of ATP. ATP is made in cells from larger food molecules like glucose.

Go back to seventh grade biology. Every cell has organelles that do this job. These are called the mitochondria. So a major role of L-carnitine is to assist in the making of ATP within the mitochindria. Other roles include ridding the body of toxins (example, lactic acid and detoxifying ammonia), and acting as an antioxidant. L-carnitine is a free radical scavenger. Free radicals cause disease, so L-carnitine is the vacuum cleaner of the free radicals.

Major deficiency in L-carnitine results in muscle deficiency. So why discuss it here since we are not talking about muscles? I am--the heart is a muscle. It is cardiac muscle as opposed to the other types of muscles, skeletal and smooth. It can lead to cardiomyopathy--weakness of the heart muscle. This cardiomyopathy will lead to CHF (congestive heart failure).

To end our blog today, I want to tell you about an herb I use in heart failure. Actually it is a combination of herbs. I will only mention one, Night Blooming Cactus. I bet you thought I was going to say Hawthorne. I use that also, but not always discussed is the Cactus. The nightblooming cereus is also known as the lunar flower, moon flower and luna flower. This plant is native to the Sonoran Desert in North America. The plant grows as a thin, almost dead looking stick from a single stem in the ground. They bloom just on one or two nights of the year, typically around May 30. Beneath the ground is a large tuber, often the size of a watermelon, that was eaten by Indians and early settlers because of its nutritious content.

I do not know the mechanism of the Queen of the Night flower, but I find it effective when used with hawthorne, motherwort, and scotch broom. I met a medicine man years ago who told me to use the combination for arrhythmias. I did use it--it worked and I continue to use it.

Until tomorrow...