Dear Friends,

We hope you are enjoying the month of August.

We've officially moved into our new office space at HeartLight Healing Arts and are enjoying the new space and other health professionals very much. We also have a sauna in the office to help with our detoxification program.

We have been doing a number of speaking engagements lately, with great feedback. If you have an event you'd like us to speak at, please let us know.

Have a happy and healthy month,

Dr. Kniess Lectures:

Statins have been in the news a lot lately. 

Too much, if you ask us.

In the month of July alone, statins have been reported to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, be an effective treatment for kidney transplant patients and, perhaps most alarming of all is the American Academy of Pediatrics latest recommendation to allow children as young as 8 years old to be put on statins. 

With Halloween right around the corner, don’t be surprised if you see boxes of Lipitor being handed out along with the Milk Duds.

Why is their rampant use bad?  There are a few reasons . . .

Firstly, cholesterol is not the evil it was once thought to be.  In fact, it’s basically been vindicated as a cause of heart disease.  The fact that doctors still hang their hat on the cholesterol model just shows you how slowly things change.

Let’s consider the good things cholesterol does for us.  Cholesterol is . . .

1. A precursor to Vitamin D, which has also been in the news a lot lately – namely at how deficient everyone is and how important it is to our health.  Helps with strong bones and cancer prevention.

2. A precursor to all of our sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen) as well as our stress hormones (cortisol, DHEA).

3. An antioxidant and is the substance that creates cell membranes.  Without cholesterol, it is difficult to make new, healthy, sturdy cells.

4. Essential for the digestion of fats.

5. Important for brain and neurological function, including bringing hormones into our brain.

And that’s what we know of so far.  Healthy levels of cholesterol are vitally important for a number of reasons.

The Problem With Statins

(While we’ll briefly describe it here, you really must see this process to understand it.  Therefore, to see how statins work in blocking cholesterol production, as well as how they block other important things, click here for a short video on why statin drugs are so harmful.)

The main problem with statins (i.e. Lipitor) is that they block more than just cholesterol.  One such molecule that gets destroyed is CoQ10, a very important nutrient for energy production in the heart and muscles.  In fact, CoQ10 is more abundant in the heart than anywhere else in the body, and depleting it can lead to heart failure, muscle aches and pains, and slurred speech.

It is proposed that there will be an epidemic of congestive heart failure from the rampant use of statins in the coming years due to the CoQ10 depletion it creates.

Another problem with statins is the neurological effects the cause.  Many statin users report brain fog and cognitive impairment, though they are not likely reported as often as muscle pains due to the nature of forgetfulness.

Other problems with statins include liver toxicity, depression and cancer (statins have caused cancer in every animal study they have been involved in).

Perhaps most importantly is, to date there have been no studies showing statin use extends life and in fact according to research, statin users have a higher all cause mortality rate than non-statin users.  In other words, according to published studies, you have a better chance of living longer if you stay away from statins.

What to Do

If you are still concerned about your cholesterol levels, the first thing to do is use diet and exercise modification.  Start by reducing sugar and processed carbohydrates – elevated insulin levels increase cholesterol.  Exercise is also very helpful in reducing cholesterol levels by a number of mechanisms.

Once those are in place, there are other strategies to use, including a number of natural supplements that include niacin, artichoke leaf, garlic, plant sterols, red yeast rice and pantothine.

If you are interested in getting a complete blood chemistry screen with a full interpretation of the results, please let us know. If you are interested in getting a comprehensive cardiac blood chemistry panel, we would love to hear from you.

Since we talked a little about CoQ10 in the statin article this month, we decided to tell you a little more about this interesting nutrient.

1. Is CoQ10 a vitamin?

Technically no, though people have debated this.  It is considered to be a “conditionally essential” nutrient, meaning that your body can manufacture it, but not always in the amount it needs, so we get some in food. 

CoQ10 is a fat-soluble vitamin-like substance that is present in every cell of the body and plays a vitally important role in cellular energy production.  It is also an important antioxidant.

It is found naturally in a number of foods, such as sardines and peanuts, though you’d have to eat a large of these foods to achieve a significant dose.  For example, two and a half pounds of peanuts yields only 30mg of CoQ10.

There is no known toxicity or side effects with CoQ10.

2. Who should take CoQ10?

If you are reasonably healthy and feel good, with normal amounts of energy, it’s questionable whether supplementing with CoQ10 will offer any additional benefits.  However, there are some people that think CoQ10 can help with anti-aging and maintaining optimal cellular energy levels.

If someone is interested in taking CoQ10 for a medical condition, such as congestive heart failure or to counterbalance statin drugs, first check with your physician.  There are many studies showing benefits in taking CoQ10 for a weak or failing heart. 

3. What is a good dose of CoQ10?

The first thing to consider in dosing CoQ10 is to consider the quality of the supplement.  The older powdered forms have limited absorption, compared to the newer formulas, and therefore would dictate a higher dose to get the desired levels in the body.  Also, CoQ10 is better absorbed when taken with fat – some of the original research used CoQ10 taken with peanut butter to demonstrate this fact.

Generally speaking, the higher the levels of statins someone is on, the higher the dose of CoQ10 is needed – 100mg a day of a good quality supplement would likely be helpful.  For heart failure, more might be needed depending on the severity of the condition.

There is no information on the use of CoQ10 for prevention of illness, but a lower dose of 30mg a day is a decent amount for most people.

4.  Can I test to see if I need CoQ10?

Yes.  There are two tests you can use.  The first is a standard blood test to see how much CoQ10 you have in your blood (serum).  This is the method used to monitor heart failure patients to determine their CoQ10 need.  However, serum levels of CoQ10 only give a partial picture of CoQ10 status.

The other test is a urine test that measures biomarkers to indirectly identify low CoQ10 status.  It is possible to have normal serum (blood) levels, but an increased CoQ10 demand based on the more functional urine test.  Below is a sample test result of a woman

5.  What causes low CoQ10 in people?

As we mentioned above, medication – especially statins – rob your body of CoQ10.  Other causes include: poor digestion and absorption of dietary CoQ10, genetic abnormalities, organ dysfunction, or an increased metabolic demand for cellular energy, such as with a high performance athlete. 

During my weekly Sunday morning workout session with the Fat Loss Team, I felt motivated and inspired by the ladies performance.

First of all, each one of them had lost weight since our last weigh in, their measurements are shrinking and they have 6 more weeks left to go.

Secondly, one of our participants, Karla, admitted that she recently lost her job, her son had been hit by a car yesterday and she had been with him all night in the Emergency Room – yet here she was at 9:30am Sunday morning, ready for her weekly Fat Loss workout.  If that’s not enough to inspire you, I don’t know what will. 

Even more, this Sunday was our hardest workout to date. In fact one woman was almost in tears she was working so hard, wanting to quit, but in a display of encouragement I’ve rarely seen, each of the other women, working equally as hard and wanting to quit, helped her so that everyone finished the exercises together.  It was awesome.  In a day and age when people make excuses for so many things, these women worked harder in one hour than most people will do all year, and they did it!  They finished their workout and should feel so proud of themselves.

I went to the gym after our workout and did not see anyone working 1/10th as hard as my Fat Loss Program ladies did.  In my opinion, they are in the top 1% of Marylanders, working their butts off, trying to get in shape.

Great job ladies . . . you made my week.

(Stay tuned for next week when I show you video of their workout!)

Question:

I saw your email about the Twice Daily Support packs you now offer and was wondering if you could tell me a little more about them, and how they will replace what I'm taking. 

Answer:

Thanks for the question.

We decided on the Twice Daily Support packets for three primary reasons:

1. Convenience - You take two packets a day, and can bring them with you anywhere.
2. Nutrients - These packets contain things that virtually every adult needs today, and in the amounts they need them.
3. Value - If you bought all of these separately, you'd be spending a lot more money. For about $2 a day, you are getting strong foundational nutritional support.

Again, each packet contains:

• Multivitamin
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Fish Oil

They cost $58 and you can order them on our website or by calling us directly 443.867.7619.

Please email us if you have questions you'd like answered in Ask the Doctors.

Enjoy a happy and healthy month of August.

Dr. Julie Kniess 443-867-7619 julie@drjuliekniess.com	Dr. Bryan P. Walsh 443-458-8307 bryan@drbryanpwalsh.com