100% Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil

Question: Hello Dr, and thank you for the opportunity to ask you health questions regarding caoh’s products. I have been trying to ascertain if I should take this your sea buckthorn oil on an empty stomach. I had called and asked someone who answered the phone, and she said she takes it on an empty stomach, but I got the feeling that she wasn’t sure which was best either (empty vs. with food) so I wanted to ask you what you think.

Thank you!

James

Answer:  James,

Since sea buckthorn oil it is a food, it will digest better when combined with other foods. Also, this particular oil will be more effective if combined with a complete spectrum of essential fatty acids, like our Ultra Omega 3-6-9 (2 per day).

What are you looking at handling and maybe I can make a better recommendation.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger, BSc, DC

Question: This product (Pure Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil) was recommended to me for dry eyes. Does it help this condition, and if so, how?  Thank you.

Emma Reid

Answer: Emma,

Research has shown that Sea Buckthorn Oil may help relieve symptoms of “dry eye syndrome”. Sea buckthorn is rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants.

In one study, researchers recruited 100 adults with symptoms of “dry eye syndrome”, a condition that occurs when the eyes don’t produce enough to tears to stay properly lubricated. For three months, participants took two grams of sea buckthorn oil or a placebo each day. By the study’s end, those who’d taken sea buckthorn oil showed a reduction in several dry eye symptoms (including redness and burning).

In my practice I have found that increasing one’s intake of essential fatty acids has helped ease dry eye symptoms. I like a combination of Pure Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil and our Ultra Omega 3-6-9.

Please let me know how this works out for you. Give it at least 3 months, and make sure you also drink your 8 glasses of water each day.

Sincerely,

Dr. Marcus Ettinger

Question: Hi Dr E,

I’ve completed my first month on the program that you recommended for me and I am extremely happy with the results. My energy is vastly improved , my spirit is high and my skin seems so very clear. My morning shake is completely magic and I look forward to it each and every morning. This is the program:

Yogurt with blueberries and strawberries
cinnamon
flax seed oil & lecithin
Absolute Acai
Liquid Power
whey protein
1/2 cup cranberry juice & 1/2 cup organic apple juice

I also take an extra 1,000mg Power C and 200 IU vitamin E

To start my second month I’m thinking about adding the Ultra Supreme Greens and Goji Juice. If so, should I continue with the extra C and E or would the new additions be sufficient. (the greens from the Liquid Power seem to be a bit gassy to me so my thought is to take 1/2 the recommended serving of the Supreme Greens). Please give me your thoughts.

Thank you so very much for all you help.

Sincerely,

Steve

Response: Steve,

I am glad you are doing so well with the program.

As far as the greens and goji go, I would do the greens and berries. ½ tblsp greens and ¼ cup berries. A little extra C and E will add a more protective quantity of antioxidants, a good thing. If gas persists you may want to try adding digestive enzymes to help break down the fiber.

Let me know how this work out.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Q: Hello,

I am on Warfarin therapy and I would like to know if the Acai berry has too high a level of salicylates as a lot of red/purple berries have, therefore thinning the blood too much.

Regards

Susan Armstrong

A: Susan,

I am going to write my personal definitive statement here so I can use it for all future questions of this kind. It will be posted to the “most frequently asked questions” category of our blog.

First, acai does not contain salicylates. Anthocyanins (ACNs), proanthocyanidins (PACs), and other flavonoids are found to be the major phytochemicals. Resveratrol is present in very low concentrations. In addition, components including fatty acids, amino acids, sterols, minerals, and other nutrients have been identified and quantified.

Second, if “I” were taking Coumadin/Warfarin or another blood thinner “I” would not avoid fruits or vegetables, juices or whole. The amount of blood thinning properties contained in one, two, or even three ounces of acai, goji, or whatever is so negligible that I wouldn’t even question consuming the fruit for a millionth of a second.

Now remember this is me, an 18 year practicing holistic doctor with tens of thousands of hours spent in research and treating patients. What you ultimately do is up to you or you and your doctor. I can’t make the decision for you, all I can do is to tell you what I would do and why.

What the medical and pharmaceutical professions do is to take a piece of data like this: “goji or acai has been shown to possess blood thinning properties”. Then what they fail to tell us by a crime of omission is: Was it mild, slight, moderate, or severe? What amount of fruit caused it? Was the test performed in a test tube, animal, or human? …….?

Medications should be a last resort not the first. A deficiency state existed first which made the body susceptible to becoming sick, and it sure as heck wasn’t’ a deficiency of a medication. The lack of certain minerals, vitamins, protein, and/or essential fatty acids caused the body to move from the “brick house” (strong and immune to disease), to the “stick house” (weaker and now susceptible to body problems), to the “straw house” (weaker still and unable to avoid body problems).

What causes diabetes or cardiovascular disease, the above or a medication deficiency? So why not correct the above instead of activating or suppressing a normal and needed body function with: blood thinners, heart muscle regulators, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers, diuretics, cholesterol-lowering medication, and others.

For almost every medication there exists a natural substance that can perform the identical job without side-effects, maybe not as quickly or as strongly but far more efficiently. Here are just two examples: fish oils (EPA/DHA) and Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol) as a combination work famously to keep platelets from forming clots, exactly what Warfarin is for. The number one cause of high blood pressure and high cholesterol are being over weight. Being overweight can also cause diabetes. Two symptoms caused by diabetes are high blood pressure and high cholesterol? What a vicious circle. Analytically, a natural diet and exercise program sounds like the right treatment, yes. You and I both know what the majority do and it’s not the side-effect free, diet and exercise option.

This is probably a little more than you were expecting but I had to put this to rest. I hope it was at least educational.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Q: My name is Sandy. I need a liquid multi vitamin with little or no vitamin C in it. Ascorbic Acid and citrus make my mouth and throat very sore. If you can help please e-mail me back.

Thank you

A: Dear Sally,

Our Liquid Power multi does not contain ascorbic acid, it contains the patented Ester-C, which is buffered (neutral pH) and will not cause those un wanted effects. 

For a complete nutritional program I also recommend our Ultra Supreme Greens, Omega 3, 6, 9 and the Whey Protein. These four products make-up the base for most of my nutritional programs. Alkalinity, good essential fatty acids, a high quality protein, and comprehensive multi all make for a strong and healthy body.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Synergy – the Essence of Health!

Marcus Stewart Ettinger DC, BSc.
Chief Science Officer (CSO)
California Academy of Health

Copyright © May 23, 2006, By Dr. Marcus Ettinger and California Academy of Health, Inc.

A 100% pure, nothing added, nutritional juice or nutritional supplement sounds great when advertised and looks good on paper but the plain truth is, it’s not as impressive as it looks or sounds. For one thing it lacks synergy.

Synergy or synergism (from the Greek synergos meaning working together) refers to the phenomenon in which two or more discrete influences or components acting together create an effect greater than the sum of the effects each is able to create independently. Synergy can also mean: A mutually advantageous partnership where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Synergy is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

I am asked on a daily basis, “is a 100% juice or supplement better than a blend?” Here is the long answer: in relation to a nutritional juice, such as a mixture of say Goji and/or Mangosteen or a vitamin supplement such a B-Complex, all of the component parts aid and enhance the overall benefits of the complete product. A 50/50 Goji and Mangosteen mixture for example, is synergistic and thus more beneficial than a 100% Goji or Mangosteen product is alone. A B-Complex supplement is more synergistic than say B-1 or B-2 is alone, thus it is better utilized and ultimately more beneficial.

Our bodies can’t thrive and flourish with the consumption of a single vitamin any better than it will on a single mineral, amino acid or antioxidant. Our complex organism known as the human body requires vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids – A through Z. That’s synergy!

It would be close to malpractice for me as a doctor to say that an individual would only require or need one of the above to stay healthy and disease free.

As far as antioxidants go; xanthones are great, flavonoids are fantastic, phenols are terrific and polysaccharides are phenomenal. So are Vitamins A, C, E, sulfur containing amino acids and thousands of other natural substances. They are all amazing in their own right and only with synergy will they produce their truest benefits.

Most experts agree that consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables everyday is the best way to insure that we are getting a full spectrum of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant-phyto-nutrients (xanthones, flavonoids, phenols and polysaccharides). If an individual consumed a salad made of just celery or apple, it would leave his or her body wanting for more life sustaining nutrients.

Markers of nutritional juices and supplements would love for us to believe that purchasing their highly touted and advertised 100% nothing added products are the only way to go and the most advantageous for us, the consumer, to buy. It is totally false and at best it’s only this way for a small percentage of consumers: the rich and those seeking only that one specific product and not interested in the concept of synergy.

For the rest of us who are truly interested in staying healthy and getting the biggest bang for our buck, it’s all about synergy. As an example: a fruit salad made with 10 different fruits will yield more health benefits than a salad made with just one, that’s synergy! Or a freshly juiced vegetable blend made with 5 fresh vegetables will yield more health benefits than a juice made from just one, again that’s synergy!

It is disingenuous for any producer of a nutritional product or products to advertise or claim their 100% nothing added product as a panacea, (A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all). No one product has ever been or will ever be such a thing. Only through synergy can we ever come close.

Ultimately, it is the educated consumer who will reap the benefits from the products that possess synergy and it will be the easily led or the rich who will spend their hard earned dollars on many unique 100% pure, nothing added products that could have been gotten with fewer products utilizing synergy.

Authors note: I am not saying that a 100% pure, nothing added product is bad or has no health benefit. There is a time and place for everything. What I am saying is that if I had the choice of a 100% pure, nothing added product or a blend, I would choose the blend.