TABLE OF CONTENTS Ingredient FOCUS Chlorella vulgaris - More Than Just a Natural Chelating Agent (P3) Trans-Resveratrol - A Multi- Mechanistic Approach to Optimal Vascular Protection (P5) Weight & Metabolic Control with White Kidney Beans (P6) Coptis chinensis - More Than Just Berberine (P9) Vegetarian Glucosamine (P15) A Unique Alternative To Commercial Glucosamine Supplements D-Limonene - A Promising Natural Medicine for GERD (P17) The Next BIG Thing in Gut-Healing: Zinc L-Carnosine (P19) Piperine - World’s First Bioavailability Clinical FOCUS Enhancer (P26) A Holistic TCM Approach to Chronic Viral A New Hope for Treating Neuropathy Hepatitis (P12) (P30) Harmonizing Shao Yang Pyrroloquinoline Quinone (PQQ) - A Novel, Multi-Faceted Approach A TCM Approach to Seasonal Allergy (P14) St. John’s Wort For Depression and Utilizing Digestive Enzymes in SIBO Anxiety (P32) Treatment (P16) Not All Standardized Extracts Are Treating PCOS with Myo-Inositol (P20) Created Equal An Insulin Sensitizer & Mood Stabilizer A Critical Look at Curcumin’s Target the “Heart” of Insomnia (P22) Bioavailability (P34) Restoring Yin-Yang Balance in Kidneys (P23) Research FOCUS Can Magnesium Supplements Be Used to Treat Both Migraines & Constipation The Science behind Apple Cider Simultaneously? (P24) Vinegar (P8) Two Opposing Indications of Magnesium Supplements Citrulline - “The Superior Arginine” in Nitric Oxide Synthesis and Vascular Recognizing and Treating TCM Patterns of Health (P10) Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) (P27) What Does the Research Say about Enzyme Supplements: Benefit or Burden? Saccharomyces boulardii? (P28) (P33) 2 TherapeuticFOCUS Volume 3 Issued by: Vita Aid® Professional Therapeutics www.vitaaid.com Ingredient FOCUS ChlorellaChlorella vulgarisvulgaris -- MoreMore ThanThan JustJust aa NaturalNatural ChelatingChelating AgentAgent hlorella vulgaris (previously known as C. pyrenoidosa) is measures and enzyme activities, such as reduced Cknown for its use in heavy metal chelation. However, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, glutathione its toxin-binding ability works not only on heavy metals, peroxidase, and catalase [8] to help body eliminate toxins but also on common environmental toxins, such as dioxin and protect against oxidative stress. [1] aflatoxin. [2],[3] and In a clinical trial investigating correlations between the Chlorella contains high amounts of amino acids, dietary administration of Chlorella and dioxin concentrations fiber, chlorophyll, essential fatty acids, as well as various in breast milk, pregnant women treated with Chlorella vitamins, mixed carotenoids, antioxidants, and essential showed significant reduction in dioxin and its toxic minerals - making it more than just a chelating agent. equivalents in their breast milk compared to the control [10] Detoxification of Heavy Metals & Organic Toxins group (p=0.003). Heavy metals and organic toxins are two of the main Immune Tonic environmental pollutants affecting modern society, and Research has also demonstrated Chlorella’s ability to Chlorella is Mother Nature’s counteraction against them. enhance various immune cytokines and NK cells against [9] Chlorella exerts great binding ability to common heavy viral infection and tumors. metals, such as mercury [4], lead [5], and arsenic [6],[7]. So In the above-mentioned clinical trial involving pregnant much so that it is in fact largely used to clean up polluted women, [10] Chlorella significantly increased the bodies of water. immunoglobulin A concentration in the breast milk This attribute of Chlorella is due to its production of (p=0.03) of the experimental group. “phytochelatins” - thiol-rich peptides that interact very In another clinical trial involving chronic hepatitis C efficiently with heavy metal ions. This makes Chlorella a patients, Chlorella intake for 12 weeks significantly great potential oral chelating agent that helps render the lowered ALT liver enzyme levels & viral load and heavy metals in the GI tract. improved the quality of life in 77% of the subjects.[9] Moreover, thanks to its rich contents of various essential Nutritive Support for Cancer Patients an adjunct mineral minerals, Chlorella can be utilized as Chlorella has demonstrated its nourishing benefits support to intravenous chelation therapy, which often in chronic illnesses, such as cancers. A randomized removes significant amounts of minerals along with the controlled trial (RCT) involving patients with breast toxic elements. cancer demonstrated that Chlorella was able to Chlorella is also able to enhance many antioxidant significantly improve the overall quality of life scores 3 TherapeuticFOCUS Volume 3 Issued by: Vita Aid ® Professional Therapeutics www.vitaaid.com (i.e. mental/ emotional wellbeing, energy, appetite, skin, 2. Jubert C, Mata J, Bench G, Dashwood R, Pereira C, Tracewell etc) during the treatment period of one month (p=0.042). W, Turteltaub K, Williams D, Bailey G. Effects of chlorophyll and chlorophyllin on low-dose aflatoxin B(1) pharmacokinetics in [11] human volunteers. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2009. 2(12): 1015-22. Serum Lipid Profile 3. Egner PA, Wang JB, Zhu YR, Zhang BC, Wu Y, Zhang QN, Qian GS, Kuang SY, Gange SJ, Jacobson LP, Helzlsouer KJ, Bailey GS, Chlorella has also been shown to help improve serum lipid Groopman JD, Kensler TW. Chlorophyllin intervention reduces profile and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis via its rich aflatoxin-DNA adducts in individuals at high risk for liver cancer. levels of omega-3 and mixed carotenoids, as well as its Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2001). 98(25): 140601-6. inhibitory effect on intestinal absorption of dietary and 4. Gomez-Jacinto V, Garcia-Barrera T, Gomez-Ariza JL, Garbayo- endogenous lipids.[8] Nores I, Vilchez-Lobato C. Elucidation of the defence mechanism in microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana under mercury exposure. In one RCT, adults with high cholesterol were administered Identification of Hg-phytochelatins. Chem Biol Interact. (2015). 238:82-90. 5 g of Chlorella per day for 4 weeks; the results showed significant reductions in total cholesterol (p=0.036), 5. Queiroz MLS, Torello CO, Perhs SMC, Rocha MC, Bechara BJH, Morgano MA, Valadares MC, Rodrigues APO, Ramos AL, Soares triglycerides (p=0.002), VLDL (p=0.006), apo B (p=0.044), CO. Chlorella vulgaris up-modulation of myelosuppression and non-HDL (p=0.032) levels.[12] induced by lead: the role of stromal cells. Food and Chemical Toxicology (2008). 3147-3154. How Clean is Chlorella? 6. Zahran E, Risha E. Modulatory role of dietary Chlorella vulgaris Due to Chlorella’s toxin-binding ability, its cultivation can powder against arsenic-induced immunotoxicity and oxidative be prone to environmental pollution. In other words, if stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Fish Shellfish Immunol. (2014). 41(2): 654-62. a cultivation region is heavily polluted, chances of the products being polluted will be very high. 7. Toxicity of arsenic species to three freshwater organisms and biotransformation of inorganic arsenic by freshwater There are 4 major countries of origin for all commercially phytoplankton (Chloreappa sp. CE-35). Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. sold Chlorella supplements in the world: China, Japan, (2014). 106:126-135. Korea, and Taiwan. Korea is the only country that utilizes 8. Panahi Y, Mostafazadeh B, Abrishami A, Saadat A, Beiraghdar F, Tavana S, Pishgoo B, Parvin S, Sahebkar A. Investigation of the a closed laboratory-controlled environment to grow effects of Chlorella vulgaris supplementation on the modulation Chlorella; however because of that, their Chlorella is NOT of oxidative stress in apparently healthy smokers. Clin Lab (2013). qualified as certified organic, and there is no regulation 53(5-6): 579-87. on addition of growth-enhanced substances. On the other 9. Azocar J, Diaz A. Efficacy and safety of Chlorella supplementation hand, China, Japan, and Taiwan cultivate their chlorella in adults with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. World J Gastroenterol (2013). 19(7): 1085-90. in open environments, and a few companies produce certified organicChlorella products. 10. Nakano S, Takekoshi H, Nakano M. Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) supplementation decreases dioxin and increases Chlorella 3000 sources the cleanest certified organic, immunoglobulin A concentrations in breast milk. J Med Food (2007). 10(1):134-142. non-GMO, irradiation-free, broken cell (which increases absorbability) Chlorella from Taiwan (Table 1). We use 11. Noguchi N, Maruyama I, Yamada A. The influence of Chlorella and its hot water extract supplementation on quality of life in absolutely no fillers - nothing but 100% pure Chlorella is patients with breast cancer. Evidence-Based CAM (2014). enclosed in each bottle (168g; 56 doses). 12. Ryu NH, Lim Y, Park JE, Kim J, Kim JY, Kwon SW, Kwon O. Impact Table 1. Heavy Metal Specifications of Chlorella 3000 of daily Chlorella consumption on serum lipid and carotenoid profiles in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults: a double-blinded, Heavy Allowable Limits Results (per daily 6 g randomized, placebo-controlled study. Nutrition Journal (2014). Metals dose) 13:57. Mercury < 20 micrograms/day Non-detectable (<0.06 micrograms /day) Lead < 10 micrograms /day 0.54 micrograms /day Cadmium < 6 micrograms /day Non-detectable (<0.06 micrograms /day) Arsenic < 10 micrograms /day 0.3 micrograms /day Reference: 1. Morita K, Ogata M, Hasegawa T. Chlorophyll derived from Chlorella inhibits dioxin absorption from the GI tract and accelerates dioxin excretion in rats. Environ Health Perspect (2001).