Scantastic

We doctors love our metrics. I can measure your weight, height, cholesterol level, blood type, BMI, etc. I can easily check your sugar, your insulin level, your liver function tests and your thyroid to name just a few factoids.

This scanner used by Pharmanex which can measure specific antioxidant by passing a beam of light through your palm—no x-rays, no needles, no dyes and nothing invasive. In 30 seconds you get an antioxidant score.

I recently have offered all my patients a measurement of their memory using the Cognivue machine and a measure of their fitness with a 6 minute fit test. Until recently I had no way of really assessing your nutritional status. Until now.

Finally there is a way to assess a patient’s nutritional status. There is a scanner used by Pharmanex which was developed by the University of Utah and it can measure specific antioxidant by passing a beam of light through your palm—no x-rays, no needles, no dyes and nothing invasive. In 30 seconds you get an antioxidant score. A very reliable and reproducible score. Pharmanex is one of the biggest companies investigating and marketing supplements. They have more scientists on their payroll than any other company making nutritional supplements. The reliability and accuracy of the scanner has been proven by multiple independent tests and is well grounded in basic science. So, finally, we have a way to individually assess your nutritional status … at least as in regards to antioxidants.

Antioxidants are chemicals that reverse and/or prevent damage caused in your body by free radicals. Free radicals are generated due to stress In the body either from smoking, diabetes, recurrent trauma, etc. Antioxidants are thought to limit the damage caused by free radicals and therefore act as an antiaging, anticancer, and anti-heart disease compound. The damage caused by oxidation in the benefit of antioxidants has been shown in mice and rats and then many many laboratory studies but it has been difficult to prove in humans primarily due to the type of testing that has to be done to prove it. So far the best evidence regarding the benefits of antioxidants comes from the ophthalmologic world. It has been shown in not 1 but 2 large trials that antioxidants given to people that have early macular degeneration slows down the progression of the disease. Since macular degeneration Is the #1 cause of blindness in America, anything that we can use to slow the process is a winner. Ophthalmologists have been prescribing antioxidants for years. What has always made me reluctant in the past regarding antioxidants or any vitamin/supplement for that matter is you don’t know what’s in the bottle. Yes, it says on the label quite clearly “the contents of this package have not been been proven to prevent, treat, or diagnose any disease.”

Because of current law the supplement industry is essentially unregulated. The government can only intercede when the contents of some supplement have proven to be harmful otherwise it’s the wild wild west. Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, (a company that has tested over 2,000 dietary supplements made by more than 300 manufacturers) has found that one in four have quality problems. If you look at the American Cancer Society website you will find more evidence. “In 2013 researchers in Toronto published a report in which they sampled and analyzed 44 herbal supplements. The supplements were sold in both the US and Canada, and labeled as containing single herbs. Using DNA barcoding analysis, less than half the supplements (48%) contained any of the herb listed on the label. More than half of the supplements contained something that wasn’t on the label (substitutions or fillers). Even among the samples that contained the herb on the label, many also contained fillers or contaminants.”

You can have a good antioxidant score either by having an excellent diet with plenty of nuts, fruits and vegetables or by taking a supplement.

In our own state of New York the Attorney General has had to sue Walgreens, Target and CVS amongst others because the products, when tested, did not contain any active ingredients 4 times out of 5. So besides the problem of contamination the possibility that when you buy a supplement bottle that it actually doesn’t contain anything like what it says on the label. Consumer Reports has evaluated this as well and came to the similar conclusion that all too commonly the label doesn’t match the ingredients. These are serious charges have been confirmed by multiple investigators. What’s the average consumer to do? We know that even buying a random name from a major retailer does not protect you from the possibility of contamination and/or inadequate contents. In the past you had to just trust to Faith, Now you can actually put your supplements to the test.

You can have a good antioxidant score either by having an excellent diet with plenty of nuts, fruits and vegetables or by taking a supplement. Is your supplement working? Are you getting your monies worth? In the past we have had absolutely no way of knowing this. Since, up until now, we haven’t had any good way of knowing whether you supplement is worthwhile I have been reluctant to recommend them. If you know me you know I’m also reluctant to recommend a lot of prescription drugs but for different reasons. Now, however, we have an inexpensive and reproducible way to measure your antioxidant/nutritional status and also compare different supplements. Unfortunately your doctor is unlikely to get a scanner because it’s not covered by insurance and if it’s not covered by insurance most doctors want nothing to do with it. We have become so reliant on the insurance dollar that most physicians just don’t even think of new procedures and tests unless they are going to be reimbursed by the major insurance companies. How sad is that! There is, I understand, a doctor on the East side of town who has a scanner but it’s reserved only for his patients.

Does your vitamin or supplement have any antioxidant benefit at all? Go ahead and get scanned and find out for yourself. Once you get a score you can decide on how to improve it.

I am so excited that we finally have a way of measuring your nutritional status and a way of evaluating your supplements that I have purchased a scanner and have partnered with Lorraine Gruninger who owns Preventive Esthetics at 5100 West Genesee Street. Her phone is 628-734. She runs a fun service esthetics practice including cool sculpting but shares my interest in nutrition and healthy living. Call or stop by her place and put your diet and your supplement to the test. I hear ads for Texas Superfoods on the radio all the time. Vine ripened this and that … well it may have ripened on the vine but is there any nutrient value in the capsule? Finally we can independently and cheaply put all these claims to the test by using your own body as proof of what you are absorbing. Dr. Oz took the scan on his show and scored very well with diet alone. How many fruits and veggies a day are you really eating? Does your vitamin or supplement have any antioxidant benefit at all? Go ahead and get scanned and find out for yourself. Once you get a score you can decide on how to improve it and if you take a supplement you can get rescanned to make sure you are getting your monies worth. This is real progress in an area which we have had no real benchmarks and since your diet and activities are the bedrock of your health, having a way to actually measure this crucial information is great news! It’s your health, your nutrition and now you are in the driver’s seat and can make informed decisions about your diet and health. What’s holding you back now?!

Dr. Barry