M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E
Getting Healthy: Remedies or Maladies?
By Stan M. Gardner, M.D.
Once again, I was astounded at the volume of response to my last article. Mind you, we haven’t even gotten to the controversial stuff yet! Nevertheless, readers have sent email after email, either applauding my take on various issues and saying “it’s about time,” or questioning my “agenda.” Space does not permit addressing all your emails, so I’ve tried to address the most relevant. I’ll try alternating the positives and the negatives, and answer each as we go:
Aspartame
I take issue with Stan Gardner’s claims about aspartame (“Drowning in Toxic Fluids,” January 22nd). His alarmist statements about “formaldehyde” and “fire ants” are taken almost word for word from a very old, repeatedly-debunked absurd Internet email health scare that has been making the rounds since at least 1999. Check out, for example, https://www.acsh.org/press/editorials/HealthHoax012899.html. Careful scientific research, not Internet hysteria, has shown that aspartame is perfectly safe. Statements from the Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the FAO/WHO, the European Community, and the American Medical Association have confirmed this. It doesn’t say much for Dr. Gardner’s credibility when he repeats silly health myths like this one, nor does it enhance the credibility of your otherwise excellent magazine when you print articles like this without checking the facts.
I must admit you make an interesting point, as I have not read the email that has been making the rounds since 1999. However, let us be careful in our dialogue with each other that we maintain the openness to fully explore others’ viewpoints before resorting to emotionally charged adjectives like “alarmist” and “hysteria.” Certainly there is much on the Internet which we need to question. However, there are some things we know regarding aspartame. I refer you to one site which contains some good studies: https://suewidemark.netfirms.com/blaylock.htm. The site gives some of the scientific basis for my concerns about aspartame. I have four specific comments in response to this email:
1. All chemists agree that methanol (wood alcohol, Aspartame/NutraSweet) breaks down into formaldehyde and subsequently into formate or formic acid. Formaldehyde does attach itself to DNA and is considered a carcinogen. The only debate on the issue is whether the dosage taken in the form of drinks, foods, medications, and chewing gum is sufficient to cause cumulative damage to the body, especially in combination with so many other toxic exposures around us. I say yes-others say no. Each of us must decide for himself.
2. The food industry is more concerned with sales than they are concerned about our health.
3. “Careful scientific research” done by Monsanto, the maker of Aspartame, does indeed support aspartame’s safety. However, almost all independent research studies done in the last 15 years do not support Monsanto’s findings.
4. See Dr. Blaylock’s well documented scientific documentation of aspartame’s neurotoxicity, site listed in the paragraph above.
Milk
Another alternative for people who like milk is to buy it from a small, local dairy. Because small dairies are more immediately accountable to their customers, they do not suffer from the “factory farm” mentality. They generally avoid hormones completely, and limit antibiotics to animals that are actually sick. Our local dairy offers non-homogenized milk, and knows there is a demand for raw milk, if they can sort out the legal ramifications.
I agree with you. “Certified raw milk” means farmers are checking the milk for pathogens.
Thank you so very much!!! I felt lately that I was the only one out there who felt diet was a major part of health. I am an exercise physiologist who has had to do additional studying and exploring because of health problems, of the last 14 years, including chronic fatigue syndrome. My conclusion (again and again): Diet plays a major part of the healing process. (I have also found out that heavy metals have been the barrier (and hopefully the missing link) to the health I have worked so hard to achieve! Keep the articles coming! What you are saying is what I have been teaching for many years. I wish my former college nutrition students could see I am not the only one who advocates “clean” foods, exercise, sleep, etc., and the Word of Wisdom!!! Thank you, again!
Thank you for your kind comments. The fatigue syndromes will be addressed in articles coming later. Perhaps they will be able to provide you some additional help.
Water
My wife and I have a distiller. The distilled water is passed through three carbon filters (a fourth carbon filter is used before the water is distilled). We add minerals to the distilled water, and it tastes great! We bought the distiller to get water that wasn’t contaminated with fluorides. I hope Dr. Gardner will go into the fluoride issue!
This is the best idea yet for pure water! How are the minerals added back into the water? I’d love to hear from you about what you do. I’ll be discussing fluoride in the upcoming articles, either the one on toxins or the one on teeth health.
I would like to ask Dr. Gardner his opinion on Splenda. Also, would he share the brand name of the water filtration system he uses?
As with many “approved” products, Splenda has not withstood a test of time. However, pre- approval research showed these results. Splenda at high doses caused:
- shrunken thymus gland
- enlarged liver and kidney
- breakdown products 1/6 dichlorofructose-not tested
- chlorine added is not like salt (NaCl) but is like chlorinated pesticide
This isn’t very easy to understand, but for me it reinforces the need to stick to stuff that is more wholesome and natural, and not try to create a substitute for something that isn’t very good for us in the first place. I feel that Splenda can be used as a transition to decrease our sugar intake, but the ultimate goal is to start eating foods without sugar or sweetener, and just use fruits as our sweeteners.
Amen. Amen. Amen. What is your filtration system? I am currently using something that is called 8-Stage Re-Natured water that includes magnetism and oxygenation, but which I fetch myself in those big blue bottles. I have read several articles that suggest you drink half your weight in ounces per day. For instance, since I weigh 140 lbs., I would drink 70 ounces. My husband is 260 pounds and his amount would be 130 ounces. One suggestion was to have elastic bands around a water bottle to the amount you needed to drink and then moving them down when you had drunk that and then refill for the next bottle or glass. I don’t know if that made sense. Great article. It’s good to see a credible professional speak out against established, but harmful practices.
Sounds great! I would love to see the research (if any) on those water volume recommendations. Regarding the brand of filter I use, I feel it’s probably best not to recommend any particular brand. Careful research on your part will expose you to many types, and you will be able to determine what best meets your needs.
Doesn’t the world have enough genuine things to fear without fanning our paranoia with this nonsense? Give me a break! Now I need to be afraid of the milk, juice, soda, and the water I drink. This kind of dribble is why bottled water now costs more per gallon than the gasoline I put in my car.
Discussing the pros and cons of various fluids is done with the intent to create an awareness instead of a blissful ignorance. Each of us individually is responsible to act to protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from things which potentially could do us harm.
Soy Milk
Dr. Gardner, I agree with every part of your article except one (I’ll get to that in a second here and it is not fluoride). I want to say that I really appreciate your articles on Meridian. They are a breath of fresh air in the mainstream LDS culture of extremely poor eating and pharmaceutical consumption. The point I disagree with is in recommending soy milk for a good substitute for milk. From my research it is much less desirable for your health than something such as rice or nut milks. Soy adversely affects the estrogen levels for instance. I cite this article as a starting point for soy consumption research: https://www.thedoctorwithin.com/articles/magic_bean.html
Thank you for the courteous way you chose to bring up a different viewpoint. I remember hearing Elder Maxwell talk about the importance of being able to “disagree without being disagreeable.” The whole topic of soy, and whether it is good or bad for you, is in such controversy, that one can find plenty of data to support either side. I take the position that two to three servings per day (40 to 60 gm/day) is healthy, but more than 60 gm/day may be harmful. Soy milk has isoflavones, which are phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are herb and plant products that have mild estrogenic effects in the body. Oriental women do not have problems with early exposure to pure soy, as in tofu and miso. If a person has too much estrogen these weaker estrogen-like molecules (phytoestrogens) may decrease the excessive estrogen symptoms. If a person has too little estrogen, phytoestrogens may improve the estrogen deficient symptoms. Phytoestrogens do not actually affect the estrogen levels in the body. Other phytoestrogens include Black Cohosh, Dong Quai and wild yam. My understanding is that soy milk is heated and strained, and not pasteurized or homogenized. Unfortunately, as much as 2/3 of the soy consumed currently is genetically engineered. Rice and nut milks are excellent alternatives.
Soda
I never realized how bad soda pop was until I read this article, as I sit here with a 2-liter bottle beside me. Since my son will be dieting soon, it will be a perfect time to give up my soda.
Glad this provided you with the motivation you needed!
For future consideration, it would be very beneficial to clarify, in great detail, the term “herbal tea.” Those products are a mystery to many of the Saints.
Tea
“Black tea” and “green tea” are both from the plant camellia sinensis. Black tea leaves have been allowed to oxidize. The oxidized state of a molecule is the free radical state. This causes an increased risk of cancer and other degenerative diseases. Studies show increased risk of cancer in the gall bladder and endometrium, and four times the risk in the rectum, from black tea. Green tea, made from a lightly steamed leaf, contains antioxidant polyphenols, with reports of decreased cancer risk in the gastrointestinal tract (stomach, small intestine, pancreas, and colon), as well as in the lungs, and in estrogen-related cancers, such as breast cancer. However, it contains 50-100 mg of caffeine, a substance we know to be harmful. We have been told in the Word of Wisdom to avoid hot drinks, and those have been defined as coffee and tea. Ice tea is black or green tea over ice.
Herbal teas are all other teas not from the tea plant, such as peppermint, cinnamon, chamomile, or fruits.
Outside the Box
I am so glad to see someone write on what you said. So many times people think I am a quack for feeling the same as you. Most people are interested in health but they cannot accept the new facts.
Any time you think outside of the accepted “box,” you must be better prepared to defend it than if you live within the “box”-and you must be wiser about those with whom you share your thinking!
Scientific Studies
While Dr. Gardner may be a physician, his knowledge of foods and food processing is apparently lacking. His credibility is challenged as soon as he starts to talk about milk. Homogenization has nothing to do with centrifugation. The information he uses on milk, mucus production, xanthine oxidase, and lactose issues are all derived from an alleged study (unscientific to say the least) that has been circulating in the LDS and anti-dairy community since the late 1970s. His proposed alternative is to have us use soy milk, a product whose own safety is in question due to insufficient inactivation of protease inhibitors found in soy. As a physician, he should make sure his facts are correct. Legitimate scientific studies should be used, not anecdotal evidence. The latter parts of his article would be very good if he hadn’t lost this audience and his credibility with his inattention to detail. Physicians that use their medical credentials to add credibility to their misinformed notions and theories only contribute to the overabundance of confusion in this world. LDS and many others are often susceptible to those in authority due to a lack of understanding of the Word of Wisdom and health concerns.
“Legitimate scientific studies” is an interesting phrase, perhaps inferring that truth or knowledge comes from scientists or those that practice the scientific method. Let’s evaluate two scientific scenarios:
1. Referring to smoking: “If excessive smoking actually plays a role in the production of lung cancer, it seems to be a minor one.” Dr. W. C. Heapes, National Cancer Institute, New York Times, April 14, 1954. “Lung cancer is the largest cause of death from cancer in men and women. Approximately 85% of mortality due to lung cancer is causally attributed to cigarette smoking. . .” Cecil’s Textbook of Medicine, 19th Edition, p.35.
2. Referring to autism: “Many parents believe that vaccines are at the root of the problem . . . some mention that a mercury-based preservative in the vaccines is the problem . . . but there is absolutely no evidence for that,’ according to Dr. Robert Edward of UC San Francisco.” Los Angeles Times October 18, 2002. “Under independent investigation, CDC’s (Center for Disease Control) data concludes children are 27 times more likely to develop autism after exposure to 3 thimerosal-containing vaccines than those who receive thimerosal-free vaccines.” Washington Newswire February 9, 2004.
Thus we can see that although all four quotes were based on “legitimate scientific studies” or legitimate scientific thought, they come to markedly different conclusions. There are many reasons for these discrepancies among scientists:
1. Inadequate study of the subject.
2. Bias by the investigator of the study.
3. Bias by the people funding the study (they will only print the study if the results match their need).
4. Conclusions are “outside the box” of present thinking and may subject them to ridicule.
Although randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are designed to remove bias, if all future funding of your research (and your career) is dependent upon the conclusions of your “scientific study,” those results may be worded very carefully in order to keep your job.
We would all like to think that the practice of medicine is based on scientific support. However, the Office of Technology Assessment, which is the research branch for the US Congress, stated “only 10-20% of all medical procedures currently used in medical practice have shown to be efficacious by controlled trial.” And finally, “scientific progress” means that many concepts that we were “certain” about 20 years ago are no longer true.
Now, regarding the homogenization issue, I will share with you the following excerpt from Jeffrey W. Foss, Natural Starch and Chemical Company, Bridgewater, NJ, written in August of 2000:
“The purpose of homogenization is to achieve mixtures . . . that are less likely to separate, as well as to produce smoother, more glossy textures. This is accomplished by particle size reduction of the ingredients in this mix, particularly the milk fat. Homogenization involves forcing a mix through a small orifice or passageway. As the passageway size is reduced and the flow rate is maintained, pressure builds and particles break apart as they pass. This makes the mix more “homogeneous.” The higher the pressure, the greater the particle size reduction. Homogenization is often more effective when done twice, because low particle-size fat globules tend to agglomerate. A two-stage homogenizer is therefore often employed to break up those agglomerates. Fat particle sizes of 5 microns or lower are normally achieved under moderate homogenization pressures (1000/500 psi.) and adequately stabilize the milk fat. . .”
My understanding is that a centrifuge is used to generate the pressure needed to reduce the fat particles.
Xanthine Oxidase hypothesis was proposed by Kurt A. Oster, M.D. and Donald J. Ross, M.D. in their book, The XO Factor.
The mucus issue is observational, but consistent with the known allergens to the milk protein.
Type II Diabetes
I just wonder if you will really answer. Before I ask you 6 or 7 questions, I am going to send this-just to see if you will really answer. I have read in a book by an LDS doctor that Utah has the highest per capita number of people with diabetes II of any state in the Union. Have you any knowledge about this?
According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts Online, Utah ranks #41 in the nation, with 5.1 per 100 people. Alabama was highest with 8.4 per 100 people. Gayle Burns of the America Diabetes Association in Utah ranks Utah #8 at 6.7 per 100 people in 2000. These numbers include both Type I and Type II, although Type I diabetes typically accounts for less than 10% of the total. Obesity and diabetes will be covered in a later article.
Low Carb Diet
I have very much enjoyed reading your articles on the function of carbohydrates, sugars, fats, and fluids; all very informative in an easy to read fashion. I have been diagnosed with partial complex seizure disorder and have wondered about the role of menstrual cycles in the occurrence of seizures. I have also wondered about the role of diet and how much benefit observing a healthful diet would help in this end. I currently am taking Phenytek, the generic for Dilantin. Also, from one who has quite a love for carbohydrates, but would like to make a change to this end, but also lacks in imagination for diet replacements, have you any sample menus or even just a list of suggested items that will leave one feeling satisfied, as carbohydrates are good at doing?
Thank you! Diet is helpful for all conditions, including neurological. However, it will probably take much more than just diet, which will be discussed when we cover neurological conditions. You may want to read about the Ketotic diet (extremely low carbohydrates) and its effect on intractable seizures. Outside of eating less overall carbs (breads, pastas, rice, potatoes)-many people not only crave them but exhibit characteristics of addiction to sugar with regard to these foods-here are some things we have found to be easy and quick for low carb or wholesome, high fiber carb foods:
Breakfast:
Eggs-all varieties
Hot whole grain cereal with fruit as sweetener
German pancakes, made with whole wheat
Snacks:
Nuts
Vegetables
Smoothies-pureed fruit, yogurt or tofu, cream, water (you have to play with this a little bit)
Soups:
Steam vegetable (our favorites are asparagus, cauliflower, or broccoli). Puree the steamed vegetable with chicken soup base-about a teaspoon makes a batch for four. Add cream to the right consistency and heat on the stove.
I’ll cover diabetes and low carbohydrate diets in greater depth in future articles.