Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones (50 page)

Paul Schulick is founder and CEO of New Chapter and a Master Herbalist. He is so pure and honest in his search for the finest herbs on earth that when he could not find the quality of ginger he wanted, he started a ginger farm in the rain forest of Costa Rica to grow his own. If we all thought like Paul, there would be no war and we would all live to be 150 years old and happy. Paul Schulick has been my dear friend for many years
.

SS:
I am thrilled to bring your knowledge to the public. People don’t understand herbs and supplementation. For years, you’ve told me about herbs such as turmeric, green tea, ginger, and curcumin, among others. What supplements do you most frequently recommend?

PS:
There are literally hundreds of different supplements that could be recommended. Even when recommendations are made with the best of intentions, there are huge choices involved. If stranded on a desert island, I would want with me the following eight supplements:

• selenium
  
• rhodiola
  
• cinnamon
  
• coenzyme Q10
  
• omega-3 fats
  
• LycoPom, a new formulation of lycopene, pomegranate, and cinnamon
  
• Zyflamend, a formulation that is a combination of ginger, turmeric, green tea, and rosemary
  
• reishi mushroom
  

SS:
So let’s talk each one through, beginning with selenium.

PS:
Successful aging involves how well you can protect yourself against life-shortening diseases such as cancer. Selenium is a mineral that helps guard against cancer. Published in the
Journal of the American Medical Association
, a large-scale study involving 1,312 people over an eight-year period pointed out the incredible value of selenium. With selenium supplementation, the researchers found there was a 46 percent reduction in lung cancer, a 58 percent reduction in colorectal cancer, and a 63 percent reduction in prostate cancer when people took 200 millionths of a gram of selenium. It’s like nothing, a little speck of this trace mineral, but it elevates the body’s detoxification capabilities. Selenium works by elevating certain enzyme systems in the body that help fight free radicals.

SS:
In which kinds of foods would you find selenium?

PS:
Almost every green vegetable is very high in selenium. However, the selenium content of food depends upon the soil in which the plant is grown, and many soils around the world are selenium-depleted. In some of the epidemiological research (population studies), investigators found that the soils with the lowest amounts of selenium were also (not surprisingly) the areas that have the highest incidences of multiforms of cancer. Selenium is a highly abbreviated answer to cancer protection, but it’s really one of the most important nutrients and one of the simplest to take.

SS:
If we eat adequate amounts of broccoli, kale, and dark green leafy vegetables, do we need to supplement with selenium?

PS:
It all depends upon where the broccoli is grown.

SS:
If we buy organically grown vegetables, are we getting those foods from selenium-rich soil?

PS:
Not necessarily. That’s why supplementation is important; it’s
insurance that we take in sufficient selenium. It’s a relatively inexpensive supplement. You can take it in its yeast form, too.

SS:
Does your company, New Chapter, sell selenium in yeast form?

PS:
Yes. It’s called Selenium Food Complex.

SS:
Let’s go to the next supplement on your list: rhodiola. I’ve been taking it for years because you gave it to me and I trust your instincts, but please explain why.

PS:
Rhodiola is native to arctic eastern Siberia, Alaska, Lapland, and Scandinavia and has been used as a medicine for several centuries for increasing stamina, mental fortitude, and athletic performance. It has a pronounced antifatigue effect, too. If you are to age successfully, you need to have energy and a positive mood state so that you’re motivated to exercise.

SS:
So you are saying that with rhodiola you will feel in the mood to exercise because you will have the energy to do so?

PS:
Yes. Many people who are depressed don’t exercise. Why aren’t they exercising? They don’t have the energy, nor do they have the brain chemistry that gets them off the couch to move. So an herb like rhodiola gets people moving; in that regard, this herb may be helpful in treating obesity. It may also dampen food cravings.

The beautiful thing about rhodiola is that it was discovered in Russia as part of a process to help elevate the consciousness of athletes.

Rhodiola has a pronounced antifatigue affect. It improves exercise endurance. Also, it helps the general fatigue that people suffer from so much in our culture. If one is to age successfully, one needs to have his or her brain chemistry in good shape and needs to have the experience of having energy so one can exercise.

SS:
Why are we all so lacking in energy and stamina? Why are we having such trouble sleeping? And why are we so fat?

PS:
I have to go to a broader perspective to answer that. We lack a sense of deep connectiveness with the earth. When I’m in Costa Rica, or when I’m taking a walk in the woods, there are literally thousands of life forms all around me, chirping and singing. You feel such a oneness with the force of creation that it’s almost impossible to be depressed or feel a lack of energy. But in today’s world, we live in self-imposed cages. We don’t get out enough. We don’t experience the
force of nature. As a result, I think we are like animals in a zoo. We lack our connectiveness with the earth, a void that saps our vitality.

SS:
When my mother died, I had an uncontrollable urge to hike the mountains that I love so much in the desert. But it was more than that. I wanted to go to the highest part of the mountain that I could get to. Maybe it was to be close to her, or maybe it was just to get away from all things of the earth and just
be
. Sometimes I go back up to that spot, just to feel her. So I know what you mean about the oneness. I remember on that day, it was the only way I could heal my heart—through nature.

PS:
Why does everybody go to the beach? What is it about the beach that attracts people? It’s the primal force of creation. We just need more of that. It is in our natures.

I went to the movies the other day; it’s rare for me to enjoy a movie these days (I have kind of gotten stranger and stranger, as I’m getting older). But what I noticed were all the previews for all the different movies that I didn’t come to see. The assault on the senses was amazing. That people need this … but if you’re not going to go to the ocean or you’re not going to go to the top of a mountain or you’re not going to go into the woods or into the rain forest, the only alternative is this assault on the senses. It’s the end result. Just as you were saying at the beginning of this interview, our health care system is not working. It is failing, and it’s failing miserably, because more and more people are feeling sicker at a younger age. It’s a sign of our times.

SS:
Let’s talk about the third supplement, which is just so natural—cinnamon. Are you talking about cinnamon that we buy at the grocery store to put into our cookies or sprinkle on oatmeal?

PS:
Yes, the same one. If it’s added to our diets, people would be a lot healthier.

SS:
Tell me why.

PS:
Compounds in cinnamon have been shown in research to significantly lower blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol—and may represent a treatment for diabetes, which is now the fifth deadliest disease in the United States, one that kills 210,000 people annually. A study sponsored by the U.S. government looked into how
different foods affected elevations in blood sugar—and produced an unusual finding. When people ate apple pie, their blood sugar stayed relatively normal, as opposed to spiking upward as you might expect. After all, apple pie is high in sugar.

The researchers found that the apple pie contained cinnamon and that cinnamon enhanced the metabolism of sugar in fat cells by a factor of twenty times. It normalized blood sugar.

Research also shows that there are constituents in cinnamon depending upon the species of cinnamon. There are two major species of cinnamon. There’s one called verum, which is a true cinnamon, and the other is called aromaticum, or cassia. This species has a number of constituents that if you consume a lot, it might not be healthy for you. But at the dosage or serving size of 1 gram, it was found to be highly effective.

SS:
Do you sell cinnamon supplements?

PS:
We sell it in a very small capsule in the form of an extract, so it’s very concentrated. One dose is equivalent to 1 gram of cinnamon, which is about a quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon.

SS:
So I could either take your supplement, or I could make it a point to use a quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon in my cooking a day?

PS:
Exactly.

SS:
Now, how about coenzyme Q10?

PS:
Coenzyme Q10 is a vitaminlike nutrient naturally produced by the body but available as a supplement. It is responsible for converting food, oxygen, and water into energy. The heart muscle contains highly concentrated amounts of coenzyme Q10 due to the high energy requirements of cells located there. Given supplementally, coenzyme Q10 may help reduce high blood pressure, treat heart disease, prevent and treat cancer, and provide general antiaging benefits.

SS:
Is there any difference between taking coenzyme Q10 in capsules or as chewables?

PS:
With my company, our whole philosophy has been to deliver nutrients in the form of food, so we make coenzyme Q10 in a cultured food form, but packaged in a capsule.

SS:
Next on your list are omega-3 fats.

PS:
Now considered essential in the diet, omega-3 fats, found
most abundantly in fish, have a wealth of antiaging benefits. They may help prevent heart disease, block inflammation, fight weight gain, and alleviate depression. Besides fish, you can obtain these healthful fats from omega-3-rich eggs, flax, and walnuts.

SS:
What about omega-3 supplements like fish oil?

PS:
Fish oil capsules are an excellent source, especially if you don’t like eating fish. I take 4 grams every day.

SS:
The next supplement on your list is LycoPom, which is a combination of lycopene and pomegranate. From writing my own books, I know that lycopene is a powerful antioxidant found in cooked tomatoes.

PS:
That is correct. Lycopene is also found in a number of herbs, including saffron and rosehips. What I found to be quite remarkable is that of all the risk factors for prostate cancer, the number one risk factor (according to a Harvard study) was a lycopene deficit. Also, a shortfall of lycopene is a significant factor for cardiovascular disease among women, according to other research. So lycopene is one of these nutrients that I think is really, really important.

The other ingredient is pomegranate. It is a simple fruit. There is an antioxidant test gaining a lot of popularity called ORAC, which stands for oxygen radical absorbance capacity. The ORAC is being considered a model to evaluate the free radical scavenging capability of a food. Compared to wine, green tea, tomatoes, and all the foods that are considered to be potent antioxidative foods, pomegranate rated among the highest of all of them. More so, as I said, than wine or green tea. It has five times the ability of vitamin E to inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins. Pomegranate, again, is one of these kinds of wonderful foods. There are a number of companies that sell pomegranate juice. That could be very beneficial for cardiovascular health.

SS:
How much pomegranate juice would you need to drink a day, a glass, two glasses, to get the benefits?

PS:
One glass, or eight ounces. It is also available in supplement form. In LycoPom, you get lycopene, plus a supplemental dosage of pomegranate that is equivalent to fifteen pomegranates, so you can get a fairly effective therapeutic amount in a relatively small capsule.

SS:
Let’s talk about Zyflamend.

PS:
Zyflamend is a combination of herbs that include turmeric and curcumin. Curcumin is actually an extract of turmeric, which is the spice that gives curry its color and flavor. Both herbs are known primarily as anti-inflammatory herbs. But they have other well-researched properties. Research suggests that they are protective against heart disease, diabetes, even cancer.

Zyflamend also contains green tea, which is a powerful antioxidant. Studies show that populations that consume the largest amounts of green tea happen to also have the best overall health. We are now also doing research with Zyflamend at the Cleveland Clinic, at Columbia University, and at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

SS:
So could you not get the same effects by cooking with it?

PS:
No. When you’re cooking with these herbs, all their oils are extracted and the biologically active compounds are lost.

SS:
You’ve used the term
oxidation
, a word most people have heard but don’t really understand. What does it mean, and why should we be concerned about oxidation?

PS:
I was asked that same question when my daughter was in elementary school. To explain oxidation, I peeled an apple and asked the kids, “What’s going to happen now that I’ve removed the skin from the apple?” All the kids chirped up, “It’s going to turn brown.”

Of course, they were right. The brown discoloration was a sign of oxidation—oxygen hitting a substance and spoiling it. The same thing happens in our bodies. I showed the kids that I could preserve what’s inside the apple by keeping the order, the integrity, the synchrony, of those nutrients intact. So when you look at a food like ginger, or garlic, and you leave them out, they’ll be good for a couple of months on your shelf because they have a certain organization, a certain intelligence, which is very profound.