Expansionist Knowledge - First Look at Supplements (Article)

There are quite a few supplements out there that serve many different purposes. There are even more people that make quite a few claims about supplements. I want to examine some of those purposes, some of the scientific considerations supplements, and review the claims for two of those products (colloidal silver and Keybiotics). Before I get into my review of supplements, let’s talk about something important in gaining information from interpersonal communication.

I am going to take a specific interaction I had a few months back to use as an example. Let’s call the gentleman Mr. Smith. This works out well because that was his name. I had a few questions for him after his presentation. I will key into the question that was, for me, the crux of the situation.

Mr. Smith was giving a sales pitch on keeping an herbal emergency medicine kit. I’ll admit that the chemist in me went intrigued at the potential to learn about herbal remedies, turned scared that his number one choice was silver, became excited at later revelations, and then wondered about the science behind some of the claims. I decided it was time to have a discussion with him. Toward the end of the discussion I brought up Pau D'Arco (pronounced: paw-dee-ark-o, at least by me). It went something like this:

Me: That was wonderful information concerning using Pau D'Arco as an anti-fungal agent.

Mr. Smith: It is quite powerful.

Me: Have you heard of jatoba?

Mr: My company doesn’t sell it and I’ve never heard of it.

Me: It makes Pau D'Arco look like a weak, little sister.

Mr: Pau D'Arco really is the best choice.

Me: Jatoba has some good information surrounding it. Have you heard of Pub Med?

Mr: I don’t believe in using Western Science.

Me: That’s the great thing about Pub Med. I prefer to read journal articles from Japan, China, India, Europe and places like that. Their cultural values have influenced the attitudes of what is being studied by their scientists.

Mr: Western science has failed when it comes to herbs.

Me: Your presentation was wonderful, filled with great information. Thank you.

Mr: Thank you.

At this point, I had three initial concerns. In the order of the conversation, they were: First, he wasn't open to new ideas (jatoba versus pau d'arco). Second, the best selection of herbal options was only from his company. And third, western science was not to be trusted, even when practiced in an eastern culture. He had spent much of his presentation making claims. And whenever those claims were also backed by science, he would use science. After speaking with him, I felt as though science that backed his company’s claims gave him a reason to boast a little.

This interaction provides me with two primary concerns I regularly have with information concerning supplements. First, is the person willing to interact in an open-minded manner in the exchange of ideas? Second, what role does science play in this person’s views?  I’ll admit, I had some rather closed minded moments in Mr. Smith’s presentation. He started with colloidal silver as an internal and external supplement. As an external supplement, I can get behind it. You can find a type of bandage that is pre-soaked with silver. It is good at killing bacteria. Silver is a heavy metal. Heavy metals kill things. Heavy metals will do some terrific damage to your liver. Something that Mr. Smith disclaimed because the colloidal part of colloidal silver kept it from doing damage to anything but bad bacteria and then was flushed from our bodies by the kidneys. I went looking for information on this later. I tried to open my mind a little to what he had to say.

I wanted to find information on the process for silver being flushed, information on what form the silver was flushed in, and information on the quantities flushed over time. I also looked into the mechanism that silver used to attack microbes. This last one particularly interested me. Mr. Smith claimed that the silver attacked bad bacteria and left good bacteria alone. What was the mechanism that would allow silver to attack one microbe and not another. As evidence, he mentioned how he, his wife, his family members, his customers all took silver and never had the side effects associated with antibiotics. Not the best evidence for convincing me. I won’t go into the deep chemistry of what I found. Instead, the general conclusion of the articles I read describe that silver will kill any and all viruses, bacteria, microbes, fungi, and numerous specific organisms. There were numerous descriptions of using a silver solution for preparing Petri dishes. From this kind of information, proponents of silver say that silver attacks pathogenic organisms. Yes, it does. But it also attacks beneficial organisms. I was not able to locate information concerning how and in what form the silver is flushed. As for the mechanism, in my understanding, silver attacks everything but it causes less intense damage towards some colonies as others. I hypothesize that this allows the good bacteria to come back quicker than the bad bacteria.

I will not be recommending the use of silver for my family. But that doesn't mean there aren't some good points in articles written by the proponents of silver. One point that addresses my initial concern is that there are no documented cases of silver poisoning when using colloidal silver. But I’m still not convinced. Should silver come into contact with the wrong item, such as a chloride ion as delivered in common table salt, that silver is going to create a solid and coat some part of somebody’s internal organs somewhere.

I do not recommend silver. There are plenty of other options available. Even Mr. Smith provided a long list of options that would do the work of silver against specific types of pathogens where silver worked against all. And since that is the case, I became excited to hear the rest of his presentation. There are many herbal choices out there. But before discussing specific supplements, let’s discuss some of the biology behind herbal remedies.

There are several ways an herb can be ingested. It can be ingested directly, as a powder, for example. It can undergo some extraction, such as a tea, as a tincture, and so forth. The differences in the herbal ingestion process get at the two more important steps in a supplement being efficacious. Those steps are extraction and absorption. The key component or components of an herb that will assist in inducing health benefits first need to be extracted. Some components extract very easily. They can be taken directly as an encapsulated powder or in a tea. But once the components have been freed, then it must be absorbed before it can be used. Absorption cannot be presumed to occur just because the item in question has been extracted.

For comparison, the benefits of cayenne can be extracted and absorbed easily. This means that the herb cayenne can be taken directly, in a pill form, or brewed into a tea. Both methods will work very well. Cayenne is known to promote heart health and healthy circulation. At the other end of the spectrum is resveratrol. Resveratrol is the supplement behind the lower rate of heart disease in countries that drink more red wine than most other countries. Resveratrol is difficult to extract. That is why it is extracted chemically for supplements. But even worse, it is very difficult to absorb. Most of the resveratrol is broken down by our bodies as it floats through the blood stream waiting to be absorbed.

The mechanism that our bodies use to induce healthy benefits is one issue. Backing up a step from the mechanism, there is also the concern of the nature of the item itself. Is the component water soluble or insoluble? This makes a difference. The more water soluble, the less extraction is a concern. The more water insoluble, the more extraction needs to occur before consumption. There is also the concern that components of one type are wanted when the components of the other type from the same herb are not desirable. This distinction is great if the desirable component is water soluble. A tea will not bring out much of the water insoluble components. If the problem is the reverse, then there needs to be a purification process as well as an extraction process.

And then there are the concerns of the source itself. I am going to set aside the concerns around quality of the herb. Herb growers have as much variation in quality as vegetable growers. The best have a vested interest in producing the best.

And while there is much touting of the use of the term organic, when it comes to herbs, it frequently means lesser, not greater quality. In many instances, organic herbs were herbs grown in the wild where they had to compete for nutrients. Herbs grown this way compare very poorly to farm cultivated herbs in nutrient density, quality, and other characteristics. Herbs that are grown organically on a farm fair essentially the same as their traditional counterparts. Residue tests on traditional counterparts rarely show signs of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemical concerns. The real danger is herbal supplements is in prepackaged pills, especially mixes. DNA testing of herbal supplements showed that people were frequently getting little of what they were paying for and occasionally none of what they were paying for.

Being aware of what you are paying also means being aware of what it is you need. For example, cinnamon has been shown to have health promoting properties. There are four varieties of cinnamon:  Ceylon (AKA: True Cinnamon or Mexican Cinnamon), Indonesian (AKA: Korintje Cinnamon or Padang Cassia), Saigon (Vietnamese Cassia or Vietnamese Cinnamon), Cassia (AKA: Chinese Cinnamon). Cassia is the predominate variety sold in the United States. But of these varieties, the one with the no blood thinners and the highest percentage of cinnamon oil is Vietnamese Cinnamon. Researching varieties becomes important.

Here is a short list of some supplements that I have taken or am taking and what they do -

N-acetyl cysteine - promotes liver health, anti-oxidant

Jatoba - Anti-fungal. A friend has been candida free for the last three years after medication had failed. Higher doses promote efficient burning of calories.

Cayenne - Promotes heart health and healthy circulation

Lecithin - Assists in removing bad cholesterol from the blood stream

Raspberry Ketones - Aids the exodus of fat from fat cells

White bean carb blocker - Blocks breaking down starches to sugars in intestines. The starch then passes through the digestive track undigested.

Vinegar - Promotes weight loss. Numerous theories for mechanism. No one of them stands out. Results are consistent.

Glucomannin - Promotes feeling of fullness in the tummy. Must be drunk with at least 12 ounces of water

Melatonin - Induces sleep / anti-oxidant. Start dosage at 1 mg per 10 pounds of body weight. Adjust accordingly. It has been shown to reduce incidences of heart problems and cancer in populations that have increased their likelihood of these issues by working third shift.

This is not an exhaustive list. I partake or have partaken of many other supplements: ashwaganda, ginger, astragalus, spirolina, zinc, panax ginseng, vitamin C, Vietnamese cinnamon, stevia (from the powder, not processed any further), and aspirin, just to name a few. Frequently, what I take is based more on economics than anything else. Not on the previous list is the last supplement under review: probiotics. Probiotics have been shown to produce many health benefits. Beyond the intestinal balance, probiotics have been the recipient of many cure-all claims. They are not a panacea, but the can assist your health.

Interested in improving my understanding of health, I clicked on an online advert (link) that teased me into clicking it with the tag line, "250 million Americans are infected." I watched the sales pitch. The first few problems I had were related to many of the ads of similar character I had seen before. Some of the common aspects of so very many of the online sales pitches I have witnessed are these:

1. There is an evil bad guy that created the trap you unwittingly stumbled into
2. It’s not your responsibility for getting out of the consequences of the trap because the trap is still in effect
3. The complete solution is the instantly available in their pills, drink, book, etc. they are selling

In the case of this ad, it was for a product called Keybiotics. Keybiotics were the cure for the consequences of candida, which included cravings for bad foods, belly fat, depression, and so much more. I didn’t do any more digging into the claims from Keybiotics. I take probiotics for my own reasons. But I decided to compare Keybiotics to the supplement I purchase (Probiotics 15-35) from a company called VitaCost. The 15 means there are 15 separate strains of good bacteria in the pill. The 35 means there are 35 billion colony forming units. Take a look for yourself at the comparison.

Comparison of VitaCost and Keybiotics

(All information obtained on January 3, 2013 by 8:45 am)

Overview

Item of Comparison	VitaCost	KeyBiotics	Winner
Colony Forming Units (CFUs)	35 billion	37.5 billion	Keybiotics
Number of Strains	15	14	VitaCost
Price per Quantity	$49.99 per 240 pills	$39.99 per 30 pills	VitaCost
Price per Pill	20.8¢	133.3¢	VitaCost
Shipping Included	Yes*	Yes	The consumer

* - But only because the price of one bottle of 240 pills automatically puts the order over the $49 limit for free shipping. A smaller quantity of the same product would not have free shipping.

Active Ingredients

Quick comparison of active ingredients. Number of Ingredients available:

• In both: 13
• 12 strains of bacteria
• 1 bacterial food source - Fructooligosaccharides
• Only in Keybiotics: 2
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus (mentioned prominently in their video)
• Lactococcus lactis
• Only in VitaCost: 3
• Bifidobacterium infantis,
• Lactobacillus fermentum
• Lactobacillus helveticus

Comparison of Active Ingredients

Item of Comparison	VitaCost	KeyBiotics	Winner
Bifidobacterium bifidum	P	P	The consumer
Bifidobacterium breve	P	P	The consumer
Bifidobacterium infantis	P	O	VitaCost
Bifidobacterium longum	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus acidophilus	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus brevis	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus bulgaricus	O	P	Keybiotics
Lactobacillus casei	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus fermentum	P	O	VitaCost
Lactobacillus helveticus	P	O	VitaCost
Lactobacillus lactis	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus paracasei	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus plantarum	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus rhamnosus	P	P	The consumer
Lactobacillus salivarius	P	P	The consumer
Lactococcus lactis	O	P	Keybiotics
Streptococcus thermophilus	P	P	The consumer
Fructooligosaccharides	P	P	The consumer

Other Ingredients

Keybiotics: Cellulose (capsule), organic rice concentrate, rice maltodextrin

VitaCost: Pectin, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, cellulose (vegetarian capsule), sodium carbonate, silicon dioxide and stearic acid (vegetable source).

In terms of the number of other ingredients and identity of those ingredients, it looks like Keybiotics is the winner.

Mathematical comparison

I couldn’t help but apply a little math to the problem. In the first round, this was the set up as:

Average cost per pill of ingredients

x = in both

y = in Keybiotics

z = in VitaCost

There are only two numbers available, the 20.8¢ per pill for VitaCost and the 133.3¢ per pill for Keybiotics. This means that there will not be a numerical result, just a relationship. But there are boundaries that can be established. For example, all costs are positive. A negative cost would mean that the company was paying you to take them, like a subsidy. I doubt that is the case here.

Key assumptions in this calculation:

1. The cost per 35 billion CFUs is the same as the cost per 37.5 billion CFUs.
2. All of the mark-up is in the ingredients only available to one company.
3. Both companies have the same fixed costs, variable costs, and identical average cost for the same ingredient.

Consequences of these assumptions:

1. This will cause an possible uncertainty as high at 7.1%
2. This is problematic because the companies will add their mark-up based on factors that have nothing to do with this assumption.
3. While the average cost for the same ingredient is probably comparable to maintain product quality, profitability, and other economic concerns, the two companies are very different in fixed and variable costs. Keybiotics appears to be one trick pony. They only have the one product. VitaCost produces their own products and resells a wide range of products.

The last two assumptions make the conclusions of the calculations an intellectual exercise. But I had fun with the math, so let’s take a look.

Through a mathematical process known as linear programming, which takes into consideration mathematical relationships and boundaries, the results for y and z are:

y has a value between 54.3¢ and 66.7¢

z has a value between 6.9¢ and 8.3¢

As mentioned before, it is unlikely that the strains that distinguish the two products are of particularly disparate expenses to the company. This information only serves to confirm the conclusion you would arrive at from the original values comparing the 20.8¢ and 133.3¢ per pill prices. Keybiotics has a much larger mark up than VitaCost. And that information makes me even more suspicious than I already was of their 50% off offer if you order in the next 24 hours.

I did calculate the cost per pill per billion CFUs to remove the first assumption. I did this because I enjoy such calculations. But in the end, there was no new information to be obtained.

And as for Keybiotics specific claim of curing candida, take jatoba.

As you seek to promote your own health, look for information from sources you trust. Trying reading some of those links in the footnotes of a Wikipedia article. Look for a variety of sources offering input to your research. Take the time to be informed.

Be your own best advocate for your health! - Eliot from the Expansionist Knowledge articles

Posted: 6 January 2014

(c) 2014, Scientific Consulting Services