Michael Carlston, M.D. - Family Practice & Complementary Medicine

Carlston, M.D.
Family Practice and Complementary Medicine

www.carlstonmd.com

June 18, 2007

Dear Patients

Summer is upon us with lots of travel plans for most of you. I will also be gone a couple of times, once in late July and then in midAugust each for a week or less.

There has been even more in the way of interesting health items in the news lately. For this newsletter, I’ve picked some that really stood out for me.

It looks like my multiple vitamin/mineral supplement will be available July 1. We are offering a 10% discount for orders prepaid before July 1. If you are interested or want more information, send an email to [email protected].

What Is The Ideal Blood Level Of Vitamin D?
Novel Treatment for Head Lice
Milk Thistle Not What It Is Supposed To Be
Ovarian Cancer Warning Signs
Prenatal Multiple Vitamin Use Prevents Cancer
Arsenic And Cancer

Best
Michael Carlston, M.D.
www.carlstonmd.com

What Is The Ideal Blood Level Of Vitamin D?
In the ongoing discovery process surrounding the benefits of vitamin D, we still lack clear indications of its limits. It is customary, when researching any helpful substance, to find many situations when it does not help, and some when it is harmful. So far, we have found next to nothing like this in the case of vitamin D.

One way of finding a biochemical “ideal” is to investigate an association between specific blood levels and optimal biologic effects. One of the foremost vitamin D researchers in the world, working at Creighton University, has been following this line of investigation with vitamin D and bone production. Dr. Heaney has learned that current normal levels are dramatically lower than ideal for bone metabolism.

The officially recognized normal level was raised last year from 16 to 32. Dr. Heaney found that even a blood level of 50 was associated with significantly poorer bone metabolism and lower calcium absorption than blood levels above 80. He believes that the safe upper limit for daily consumption of vitamin D should be 10,000 iu/day.

I would not conclude, based upon these very early findings, that levels above 80 are optimal year round for every action of vitamin D. My interpretation is that this is another reminder of the importance of vitamin D, and that it may well be that the current normal level of 32 is too low.

Novel Treatment for Head Lice
As head lice become more and more resistant to long-standing toxic treatments, parents and clinicians are eager to find new, effective and safer options. A product available in England and Canada looks to be a very positive advance.

This product (sold as FULL MARKS or RESULTZ) works by drying out the lice. The cure rates have been three to four times that of RID and NIX, with only minor and much less frequent adverse effects. The active ingredient (isopropyl myristate) is commonly found in soaps.

Milk Thistle Not What It Is Supposed To Be
Milk thistle is one of the most basic and essential herbs we have. Unfortunately, it appears that we have problems with milk thistle quality. Consumer Labs is an independent company that analyses products (herbs, supplements and vitamins) that are widely in use. Their recent testing of milk thistle was disappointing.

They found a number of brands (Designs for Health, Enzymatic Therapy™ Milk Thistle X, Nature's Apothecary® Milk Thistle, Planetary Herbals™ Full Spectrum™ Silymarin 80, Rite Aid Milk Thistle and Whole Foods) that contained less of the active component of milk thistle than claimed on the label. One brand, Rainbow Light® Milk Thistle Plus, contained high levels of lead. Milk thistle by Gaia, Nature’s Way and Trader Darwin’s tested fine.

Again, please do your best to be certain that the supplements you use are as pure as possible. My multiple vitamin, for example, has been tested to make certain that the ingredients are pure, what they are supposed to be and meet USP 30 standards (http://www.usp.org). Remember to read labels, look for quality certifications and standards!

Ovarian Cancer Warning Signs
Ovarian cancer is very frustrating because it is common, early detection seems to make a difference in survivorship and ovarian cancer screening tests are not good. A number of cancer organizations have endorsed a new set of symptoms guidelines that, although far from perfect, are likely to be of help.

The new onset of any of these symptoms on a daily, severe and persistent basis lasting more than 2-3 weeks, indicates the woman should consult her physician. The symptoms are abdominal bloating, pelvic/abdominal pain, urgent or frequent urination and feeling full sooner than you’d expect while eating.

The problem is that very few women who meet these criteria will have anything seriously wrong with them so these guidelines will lead to lots of healthy women visiting doctors and testing that will be entirely normal. Sometimes the tests then ordered, like CA-125 for example, will lead to more false alarms. This is what happens when a test or a complex of symptoms has what we call a high false positive rate and a poor predictive value. However, it is the best we have right now and similar to what many of us have been doing in clinical practice for some time.

Prenatal Multiple Vitamin Use Prevents Cancer
A study of data compiled from seven international studies found that children of women who took multiple vitamins before and during pregnancy had a markedly reduced risk of certain cancers. The overall risk of brain tumors dropped by 27%, while the risk of childhood leukemia dropped 36% and neuroblastoma 47%. These percentages translate into a reduction of 1,200 – 1,300 pediatric cancers a year in the US.

Researchers guess that it may be the levels of folic acid that afforded the greatest protection.

Arsenic And Cancer
Following the homeopathic principle that substances that can cause a problem can also cure it, a form of arsenic is proving to be a potent treatment for some leukemia patients whose cancers did not respond to other treatments. Maybe more importantly, there are indications that this very small dose of arsenic is so effective that it might be a better choice than chemotherapy not just something else to try when chemotherapy fails.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070602/hl_nm/cancer_blood_arsenic_dc

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June 18, 2007

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