Health Products that Work for Me

Opinion page by Duane Alan Hahn.

Some people roll their eyes and ridicule those who suggest that supplements or a change in diet can affect the human body in a positive way. I guess they never heard of beriberi, pellagra, rickets, and scurvy. Those aren't the only diseases that can be prevented by changing the diet or taking supplements. Most of us don't eat enough fresh, clean, uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, so we make ourselves sick with all of the cooked and processed foods we eat. If we can't overcome our addictions and dislikes, we can at least take certain supplements to improve mental and physical health.

Skeptics say that any health improvement that you might get from a supplement is just an example of the placebo effect. I wanted every supplement I have ever tried to work, but some of them did nothing to improve my heath. Where's that good old placebo effect when you need it? Why didn't they all work? I know there are a lot of nutty, delusional people out there, but for me, a supplement either works or it doesn't. My wishful thinking doesn't change the result.

My own doctor and at least one of his nurses believe that all supplements are the same and a waste of money. That's until he puts you on something like a potassium pill and then supplements magically become good for you and worth the money.

The following is a list of health supplements and related products that seem to work for me. I am not giving out medical advice. You could be allergic to one or more of these products or have some other strange reaction, so get your doctor's permission before even thinking about changing your diet, trying a health product, or doing anything else health related (even if your doctor is an evil pill-pusher who gets kickbacks, equipment, and vacations from drug companies).

Vitamin B Complex

It seems there are a lot of people who don't get enough of the various B vitamins. Some people cannot metabolize vitamin B supplements, so it's important for them to make sure they are getting the B vitamins in their diet. A lack of certain B vitamins can cause things such as anxiety, depression, hostility, and what seems like insanity. Right now there are probably a certain number of people who are locked up in mental hospitals and others who are just on powerful drugs that could have been 'cured' by making sure they were getting enough of the B vitamins and other vitamins and minerals a human needs every day to stay sane and healthy.

I've always had a problem with depression and irritability, but when I take a vitamin B complex every day, I'm much easier to live with. No B complex I have tried so far has worked perfectly, so it's nice that I found Chlorella which you can read more about in the next section. Both supplements seem to complement each other and make me feel more normal. I seem to have some food allergies and intolerances, so I have found that MSG and whole grains such as wheat and oats can almost neutralize the positive effects of both Chlorella and the B complex. I tried Phosphatidylserine in August of 2006 to see if it would help improve my memory and it seemed to lessen the effects of the B complex and Chlorella by at least 50 percent. The Phosphatidylserine was made from soybean oil, so it's possible that I'm also allergic to soybeans.

I have no idea which B complex is best, but you might want to know that I am using Jarrow Formulas B-Right at this time.

Visit jarrow.com or buy this product from Amazon.com

Chlorella

Chlorella in tablet form doesn't seem to work for me. What does work is Chlorella that looks like green powder in a capsule by companies such as Nature's Way. Most anyone interested in health knows that a vitamin B complex has many benefits including balancing mood, but that wasn't enough for me. A vitamin B complex and Chlorella together make me feel calmer, less irritable, and less depressed. Chlorella also got rid of my constant upset stomach.

Visit naturesway.com or buy this product from Amazon.com

Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil

You don't get any fish flavor coming up on you with Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil Capsules. As far as I know, Nordic Naturals is the only company that has learned how to eliminate that problem. Don't settle for cheap and disgusting, buy the best; it's worth it. This stuff has also improved my eyesight and makes the aching pain in my eyes go away. I take one in the morning and one at night.

If your favorite heath food store refuses to carry it and they tell you that the stuff they sell is just as good and act like you're an idiot because you don't want to take their inferior brand, you might want to find a different health food store that will carry Nordic Naturals. You don't have to put up with that crap.

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Acidophilus

Books such as The Yeast Connection and The Yeast Syndrome back in the 1980s helped my family to understand that we needed to take acidophilus capsules every day. It puts the 'good germs' back in your intestines and fights Candida overgrowth, among other things.

Acidophilus capsules also seem to be good for preventing and 'curing' canker sores. Sometimes I forget to take my Acidophilus capsules since they are kept in the refrigerator and I'll get a canker sore once every 3 to 5 years. To get rid of the canker sore, I just open up an Acidophilus capsule, empty it into my mouth (being careful not to breath it in) and hold the 'powder' in there as long as possible, swishing it against the sore, and when I think I have waited long enough, I take a drink of water and swallow it. I do that a couple of times a day and the canker sore disappears pretty fast (goes away in a day or two instead of weeks). As long as I remember to take an Acidophilus capsule three times a day, I don't get canker sores.

A semi-relative of mine had a painful canker sore when he was around 9 years old. He drank milk, so I opened up an Acidophilus capsule and dumped the 'powder' into his glass of milk and stirred it up. After doing that whenever he had milk, his sore was gone in a day or two.

I have no proof, but I still wonder if scientists are wrong about why people have trouble with the appendix. It's supposedly true that the appendix holds and incubates the good germs and helps the digestive system to get back to normal during times when all of the good germs have been killed off for various reasons.

It is claimed that underdeveloped countries have fewer cases of appendicitis, so some say that our clean living in the United States is the problem. But is it because we're too clean or is it because their food isn't as processed and full of antibiotics? Have you ever eaten something like chicken from a fast food restaurant and then smelled that nasty antibiotic smell in your urine hours later? I wonder if things like antibiotics in our food kill the good germs much too often and the appendix is overworked or possibly even overrun by the bad germs?

I take a Jarro-Dophilus capsule with every meal to make sure that I always have the good germs in my intestines. I don't know if it will help prevent appendicitis, but there are other good reasons to take it.

Sometimes I have gone weeks without taking Jarro-Dophilus instead of three times a day like I'm supposed to. One day I was cutting down a weed-like tree with an electric chainsaw and a piece of tree hit me below my left eye. I had a red patch for days. It turned into seborrheic dermatitis and started to spread around my face and ears. I had the problem for months. My doctor said that nobody knows what causes seborrheic dermatitis. I looked up seborrheic dermatitis on the Internet and saw that it's caused by yeast and that acidophilus capsules might help. I felt like smacking myself in the head. If I would have kept taking Jarro-Dophilus, there's a possibility that I wouldn't have gotten seborrheic dermatitis!

The triamcinolone acetonide cream that my doctor gave me didn't help, so based on the knowledge that taking acidophilus capsules might eventually help, I decided to speed up the process. I opened up a few Jarro-Dophilus capsules and dumped the 'powder' into a fragrance free Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion 12 oz. pump bottle, screwed the pump lid back on, shook it up, and placed it in the refrigerator (the same place you're supposed to keep your Jarro-Dophilus capsules). I applied some of my homemade Jarro-Dophilus cream to my face and ears and most of the seborrheic dermatitis disappeared that day. It wasn't a one-time permanent cure for seborrheic dermatitis since it will come back if I don't apply the cream at least once every other day, but it's a better treatment than what the doctor gave me. (Remember, do not copy anything that I do without asking your doctor first or Jesus won't love you and the Easter Bunny won't bring you a basket filled with candy.)

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Twinlab Allergy-C Caps

Drinking distilled water helps to keep me from getting sick, but it seems that I am even less likely to get colds and the flu when I take a Twinlab Allergy-C Cap every day.

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Cranberry Capsules

I take Nature's Way Cranberry capsules to help keep my urinary tract healthy since I do not like cranberry juice.

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Fenugreek

I got a couple of unexpected results when I tried Fenugreek. I took one Fenugreek capsule two times a day at first. My skin started to smell like the stuff. A kind of sweet smell. I noticed my skin started to look a little younger as if it was holding more moisture, so I increased to two capsules two times a day. My skin smelled sweeter and it look even better (I didn't have to use hand cream on my hands and arms as often as I used to). After a few more weeks, the strange sweet smell disappeared, but my skin still looked better. I did not expect younger-looking skin and I sure didn't expect what was to come next.

I tend to get a sunburn fairly quickly, so I used to mow the yard after the sun popped down below the tops of the trees across the street where I used to live and that gave me around 4 hours of light, depending on the month. I had to go out earlier to mow one day because a storm was supposed to be on the way. I thought it would be OK since there seemed to be a thick batch of clouds blocking the sun, but the clouds soon moved on and I had sunlight beating on my face, neck and bare arms for at least two hours. I didn't want to waste time changing my shirt since I still thought a storm was coming. After a while I could see and feel the signs on my skin that I was in for some sunburn pain later that night. Well, night came, but there was no pain and the redness went away. I thought the pain would surely come the next day, but nothing. Fenugreek must provide some kind of sunburn suppression or protection (at least for me anyway). It may not work the same for you, but I'm glad I tried it.

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Ultra-One Daily Caps (Iron Free)

Even the clueless who claim that all supplements are a waste of money will take a multi-vitamin every morning. I take Ultra-One Daily Caps by Nature's Plus at this time. There might be something better that I haven't tried yet, but I like these so far.

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Enzymes

I take MegaFood DailyFoods MegaZymes whenever I have the extra money because I think it's possible that taking enzymes with every meal might increase the human life span. I could be wrong, so don't count on it. The problem with taking these enzymes is that they do such a good job. I tend to overeat and MegaZymes seem to make me digest every last molecule of food, so I gain weight when I would normally maintain my current weight. That's good news for people who are trying to gain weight, but I don't need to add more pounds. Once I learn how to eat smaller portions, I'll take MegaZymes all of the time.

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Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar

Their web site says "Certified Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is unfiltered, unheated, unpasteurized and 5% acidity. Contains the amazing Mother of Vinegar which occurs naturally as strand-like enzymes of connected protein molecules." Their web site also says that "Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar does not carry the E.Coli bacteria as the acidity in the vinegar is effective in killing the 0-157 strain of E.Coli bacteria."

They say that you don't have to keep it refrigerated, just keep it out of direct sunlight, but I always keep mine refrigerated. There are supposedly various health benefits from taking Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, but the main thing I like is how it can get rid of my worst stomach aches from eating too much or eating something that was too greasy. It works better and faster than any product I have ever used that is supposed to calm an upset stomach. You can read more about that by clicking here.

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Le Bleu Ultra Pure Distilled Water

I've been drinking distilled water since 1989 and I haven't had any noticeable problems because of it so far. I rarely get sick (colds, flu, etc.) as long as I drink distilled water 90 percent of the time. I used to get sick a few times a year before I started drinking distilled water, but I'm still not convinced that it's the best thing for the human body. There is one thing I'm sure of though: Le Bleu ultra pure distilled water is better than most gallons of distilled water sold at grocery stores and other places. Le Bleu seems to be more stable, so it can sit around for a long time without sucking a bad taste from the air. I was also tired of spending the extra time to run poor quality distilled water through a Brita filter so it would taste better (and it still didn't taste that good). Le Bleu tastes great straight out of the bottle. Switching to Le Bleu has also made it easier to keep track of how much water I drink, which is usually 4 to 6 bottles a day.

People make a big deal about Penta water, but I tried some and it didn't taste better than Le Bleu and it didn't make me feel any better, so I'm sticking with Le Bleu as long as it stays affordable. I had Le Bleu delivered for a while, but it started to cost too much, so I'm back to buying it from the store. I buy the 20 ounce bottles that come in boxes of 24.

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