In the January 16th issue of the British Medical Journal, it was published that calcium supplementation increased hardening of the arteries, soft tissues, and increased the risk of heart attacks. I've spelled out the exact physiology of those changes for almost three decades in this newsletter, so this might be the right time to do a quick review.

First, let's expel the medical myth that bones are made of calcium. Bones are made of minerals, of which calcium is a major player, but must be in perfect balance with magnesium and phosphorous and a host of other minerals that increase in number every five years or so according to new findings in the research literature. All of these essential minerals must be present in proper balance for bones to re-mineralize. If there is imbalance among the minerals available, they are stored in the secondary storage sites, the lining tissues of the body, which include the linings of the arteries. Therefore, when all the needed minerals are present in balance, the body will take them from the secondary storage sites and return them to the primary storage sites, the bones. Calcium supplementation, or supplementation with a calcium/magnesium supplement will eventually result in calcification (mineralization or hardening) of lining tissue. A short list of lining tissue chan ges include; arteries, arteriosclerosis; joints, osteoarthritis; and skin, with premature aging.

Secondly, calcium is a "neurological exciter." When it gets out of balance with magnesium, the "neurological relaxer," it will cause neuromuscular excitation with cramping. Restless leg syndrome is a good example of this, and so is one type of heart attack. Calcium is an important mineral, but in my opinion the best way to supplement it is in a balanced medium with all the other minerals that bones need in order to remodel, heal and be healthy. This has been brought home to me many times over the last forty years, as patients have come to me with broken bones that have been diagnosed as "failure to heal syndrome." By removing them from the medically recommended calcium pills and replacing them with Preventics Bone 350 Plus, the patient's broken bone will usually show a callous on X-ray within a 2 week time period. I have yet to see this approach fail. Therefore, to get calcium and other mineral s out of soft tissue and back into the bones where they are supposed to be stored, you need a balanced mineral supplement, and the balance found in bone is the perfect balance for getting minerals back into the bones.

The sub heading read, "Research suggests harm to humans. Alarming changes already seen in fish and other wildlife." I've written about this so many times that I prefer to simply remind you that your body is mostly water. It is the precious solvent that all chemical reactions that occur in your body take place in. It doesn't make sense to put chemical sewage into the body as a solvent. We suffer enough from chlorine and fluoride poisoning without adding toxic pharmaceuticals to the mess. Examinations in my practice clearly demonstrate that these chemicals are poisoning our children and adding to the ever increasing rate of childhood morbidity.

I use Mountain Valley Water in my home and office. I especially request it in glass bottles. It's worth the extra effort and cost. Consider it.

The most common symptom seen by a general practitioner used to be fatigue, but now it has been eclipsed by depression and/or anxiety. In these challenging economic times, many of you, as well as members of your families, are challenged by increased feelings of anger, hopelessness and depression. With that in mind, I decided to reprint a previous newsletter that has helped many of my patients through tough times. A supplement won't make tough times go away, but can make it a whole lot easier dealing with the mess.

History Reflects A Need
If we study the history of almost any human society, ancient or modern, we find people indulging in behaviors that make them feel better. Over the centuries, both natural and artificial, and legal as well as illegal substances have been used to accomplish these means.

Eli Lilly and Co. And Prozac
In the late 1980's, Prozac was introduced by Eli Lilly as a major advancement in the treatment of clinical depression. In fact, it became so popular that according to a report published in 1997, it had already become the number two prescribed drug in the USA. Its chemical cousins, Zoloft and Paxil, were numbers five and eight respectively. Prozac has made so much money for Eli Lilly that the firm endowed the largest private charitable foundation in the USA with assets of approximately $13 billion dollars from sales of Prozac.

What Has Made Prozac So Popular?
Obviously, it is a powerful positive mood altering drug. In addition, it is successfully used for the treatment of many other conditions. Most new drugs don't last a decade before being pulled off the market. Prozac has lasted. Additionally, in the first decade of its use, researchers, physicians, and patients discovered that many other difficult to treat conditions responded to Prozac or one of its relatives. The evidence suggests that these drugs can be effective for treating: depression; anxiety disorders, up to and including panic; obesity; insomnia; premenstrual syndrome (PMS); migraine; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); aggressive or violent tendencies; fibromyalgia; and alcoholism.

What should arouse attention is many people are taking this drug that have nothing diagnosably wrong with them. This phenomenon is described in Listening to Prozac, by Peter Kramer, M.D. What Dr. Kramer claims, and numerous people have discovered, is that for many, Prozac improves personality. Many normal people experience greater confidence, increased popularity, improved mental acuity, and additional emotional resilience. To support this, a recent study of Zoloft found that participants experienced reduced hostility and a general decline in negative affect, even if they were not depressed. These qualities become even more important during difficult economic times both on the work front and within the family.

Unfortunately, the side effects of these drugs are considerable. Foremost on the list of side effects is a loss of sexual desire (libido), and/or nausea and vomiting in as much as 30 to 40% of users. Side effects notwithstanding, people are flocking to their physicians for prescriptions of these mood-altering drugs. However, the considerable side effects and high cost have also driven many to seek an alternative.

How SSRIs Work
Prozac and the members of this drug family work by increasing the availability of a brain hormone called serotonin. To simplify this explanation, serotonin can be characterized as a "happy hormone." The more "happy hormones" you have, the better you feel. The drugs act by interfering with a natural process, the re-uptake or recycling of released serotonin molecules. The net effect makes more serotonin molecules available to stimulate serotonin receptors. Because they inhibit serotonin re-uptake, these drugs are classed as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

Good News - The 5-HTP Option
A growing number of scientific studies on both animals and people suggest that the natural substance, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) produces the same results that the SSRI drugs do, but with almost no side effects beyond occasional indigestion.

How 5-HTP Works
Similarly to the SSRI drugs, 5-HTP works by affecting serotonin. Whereas SSRIs increase serotonin levels by inhibiting re-uptake, an un-natural process that yields considerable side effects, 5-HTP increases serotonin levels naturally. 5-HTP increases serotonin levels by enhancing the synthesis of new serotonin molecules. It is thought that this natural action is why 5-HTP produces so few side effects.

Is 5-HTP The Same As Tryptophan?
Tryptophan was used for decades to treat the same conditions, but it wasn't nearly as effective, because although they are closely related amino acids, 5-HTP is a metabolite of tryptophan. This means that nerve cells use tryptophan to make 5-HTP. Brain researchers refer to tryptophan as a precursor to 5-HTP. 5-HTP, in turn is a precursor to serotonin. Research suggests that 5-HTP is more likely to be converted to serotonin than tryptophan, making it more effective at increasing "happy hormone" levels. 5-HTP also crosses the blood-brain barrier more easily than tryptophan, making it more readily available.

How Is 5-HTP Made?
This is an important question, because you may remember that decades ago, tryptophan was withdrawn from health food stores because of contamination in the manufacturing process. Tryptophan is synthesized in the laboratory by a fermentation process, not unlike the process used to make beer or wine. 5-HTP is made by extracting it from the seeds of a West African medicinal plant called Griffonia Simplicifolia. The important point to be made here is for the safety of 5-HTP.

Preventics Product and Recommended Usage
Preventics calls its product Tryptophan - 5-HTP. It is standardized at 100mg per pill. Recommended dosage is one 5-HTP 3 times a day, and if sleep is a problem, 1 before bed. Preventics 5-HTP sells for $23.00, half the suggested retail price. You can appreciate this the most if you have paid for a prescription of SSRIs.

Personal Experience
Over the years, I have had good results helping customers and patients carefully substitute 5-HTP for their SSRI drugs. This, with a few exceptions, has been very successful. Many patients have been grateful to have their libido back while still getting effective, and comparably inexpensive, anti-depressant activity. However, I think the most interesting positive response has been from patients and customers who have no diagnosable depression or anxiety but just want to feel better. I have found that word-of-mouth has generated a great many new customers in this category, and after running a clinical trial on myself, I have become a regular user of 5-HTP, too.

If you are taking Prozac, or any other SSRI, and choose to try 5-HTP as an alternative, you need to be withdrawn from your SSRI by the prescribing physician. This needs to be done carefully, and over time. SSRIs, like many drugs, can become addictive, and sudden withdrawal can produce problems. If you choose to try 5-HTP, it would be wise to call me on the help number (800-888-4866) for advice on how to accomplish that safely with the help of your prescribing M.D.

If you are not presently on mood-altering medication, but are interested in trying 5-HTP for increased feelings of general well-being, improved positive attitude, insomnia, depression, anxiety, etc., it is easy to run a short an inexpensive trial of this natural amino acid. You can do this by trying two bottles of Preventics Tryptophan (5-HTP).

Although the literature is firm about the need for three or four dosages of 5-HTP daily to produce the desired therapeutic response, I have found this not to be the case. My experience suggests that it is best to start with the recommended dosage of 100mg of 5-HTP, three or four times a day. However, after experiencing the therapeutic effect (feeling better), I find that by gradually reducing dosage, many people can attain an acceptable therapeutic response on less dosage. I have many patients who need only two 5-HTP's per day, and a few get by very nicely on just one per day