Letter from Publisher

The Growing Problem of Adulteration in Chinese Medicine and Food

In July the US Food and Drug Administration recalled a variety of medications containing the drug, valsartan, commonly prescribed to treat hypertension and heart failure.¹ The products were determined to be adulterated with a carcinogen, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The valsartan was manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in Linhai, China. Zhejiang supplies valsartan to generic drug manufacturers in the US and abroad for making products combining valsartan with other drugs; the company has ceased to sell and supply the pharmaceutical. China has its own Food and Drug Administration, which failed to discover the disreputable manufacturing process. One wonders how many other Chinese drugs are adulterated.

Also, in July, China announced that a drug company was producing adulterated vaccines.² DPT vaccines administered to infants are now considered ineffective. The same vaccine manufacturer’s production of a rabies vaccine has also been deemed substandard. The Changsheng Biotechnology Co. in Jilin, China, used expired raw materials, mixed improperly vaccine batches, failed to conduct satisfactory rodent testing, falsified testing data, and destroyed production records. Local authorities discovered falsification of data last November but did not disclose this information until the rabies vaccine was determined to be adulterated in July. Chinese authorities were mum until an anonymous party posted on WeChat (similar to WhatsApp) corrupt regulators’ failure to make the public aware of the improperly manufactured vaccines. Unlike the usual worry about criticizing the government, the public’s anger about endangering their children with faulty vaccines has created a crisis that Xi Jinping has had difficulties controlling. The Chinese are rightly concerned that Chinese-made pharmaceuticals cannot be trusted. Jinping’s clamor to transform the Chinese pharmaceutical industry by 2025 is justifiably dubious.

Adulteration is not just an issue with drug manufacturing. One recalls the imbroglio that followed the Chinese dairy industry’s manufacturing of adulterated infant formula contaminated with melamine. The toxin resulted in kidney damage to hundreds of thousands of children. It is no wonder that many Chinese will only feed their children imported formula. The question that we face in integrative and naturopathic medicine is whether or not herbal and nutraceutical supplements are adulterated. One of the world’s leading manufacturers of ascorbic acid is Zhonglan Industry Co. Ltd. In Shandong, China. There are no reports of adulterated Vitamin C manufacturing—but how do we know for sure? It is critical that vitamin manufacturers do quality control studies on all raw batch materials from China, and for that matter, India as well.

Cover Story – The Biology of Hope by Leigh Erin Connealy

Each year there is a new book that offers the consumer (and health professionals) an overview of the world of alternative medicine cancer treatments. Last year I reviewed Leigh Erin Connealy’s The Cancer Revolution in the August/September 2017 issue. Connealy writes our cover story in this issue on the very important concept that we, as practitioners, have the responsibility to ensure that our patients can maintain hope in their recovery. Too often we focus on the diagnostics and treatments, the lab results and the minutiae of the protocols, ignoring how the patient is really doing emotionally and mentally. We have too lift our heads from the charts and look the patient in the eyes not being falsely hopeful, nor brutally honest, but encouraging that spark of hope that fosters healing. Yes, this does take time, but it may make all the difference in what Bernie Siegel, MD, frames as whether the patient is living or dying day-to-day. In addition to reading Connealy’s article, get her book for her insights on the best alternative approaches to treating cancer.

Outside the Box Cancer Therapies

Dr. Mark Stengler and Dr. Paul Anderson are physicians who have excelled in offering integrative naturopathic oncology care. Their approach combines not just the best of conventional care and naturopathic medicine, but they administer numerous unconventional therapies that are truly, Outside the Box: Cancer Therapies, their 2018 book available from Hay House. Stengler and Anderson explain better than most how alternative cancer therapies offer benefit to the patient who is engaging in conventional therapies. Contrary to the unproven claims of many oncologists, naturopathic care and intravenous therapies augment the benefit of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immune modifiers. It is immensely frustrating to have patients be informed that supplemental herbals and nutrients will interfere with chemotherapy. Stengler and Anderson make the case for coordinated use of supplementation with conventional therapies detailing efficacy from the literature. Diet is very important, a point that has always been emphasized by cancer clinics for the past half century, but Stengler and Anderson sort out what aspects of dietary inclusion and restrictions are supported by the literature. Indeed, they argue that diet and supplementation must be carefully combined to offer the best enhancement of conventional and unconventional care.

The authors are strong advocates for the administration of i.v. therapies. Intravenous high-dose vitamin C is a mainstay but so are glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid. They also advocate specialized proprietary formulations in their protocols that have had demonstrated effectiveness in stage IV malignancies (you will need to read their book for this information). Stengler and Anderson examine the pros and cons of unconventional therapies including hyperbaric oxygen, hyperthermia, IPT, and vaccines. This is definitely a book you would like to have handy for the family coming in for a cancer consultation. And if you haven’t read it yet, look at the August/September 2018 issue for Anderson’s article and more.

James Greenblatt, MD, on Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention with Lithium

Readers of the Townsend Letter are familiar with Dr. Greenblatt who lectures and writes about implementing integrative medicine in treating psychiatric disorders. One of Greenblatt’s favorite tools is the mineral lithium commonly prescribed in pharmaceutical doses of 1200-1800 mg for manic-depressive disorder. He uses much lower dosing of lithium, 5-50 mg, which he refers to as “nutritional” lithium treatment. Unlike the high-dose treatment that requires monitoring and may have serious adverse effects, low-dose lithium poses no risk of side effects and offers benefit not only in treating a variety of psychiatric disorders, but also helps to preserve brain function, a key aspect in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s. Given the paucity of effective therapies for dementia, it would make sense to add lithium supplementation to the daily routine. Even better: supplement lithium together with Vitamin D3 and K2.

Is MSG Always a Dietary Trouble Maker? “No,” says Sue Visser

Like many other medical and nutritional disciplines, there are numerous principles that we subscribe to that may or may not be true. One of the big ones is the common belief that eating meals prepared with heavy quantities of MSG, such as Chinese restaurant meals, will precipitate a variety of allergic reactions including headaches, skin rashes, and brain fog. Glutamine, an amino acid, is closely related to MSG; yet nutritionists and practitioners frequently prescribe it because of its touted benefit for a variety of medical conditions, for example, relieving side effects of chemotherapy. But glutamine and MSG are not separate entities; there is a close relationship between the two.

In this issue Visser examines that relationship between them and asks the question why and how they could have such diametrically opposite effects on the body. Visser would argue that many individuals would benefit from using MSG in their cooking and may achieve the same health benefits at much less cost than using supplemental glutamine.

David Minkoff, MD, and Julie Mayer Hunt, DC, on Craniocervical Chiropractic Care

While medicine has had a long-standing animosity to the chiropractic profession, the growing implementation of MRI technology has confirmed anatomical abnormalities diagnosed by chiropractors. In particular, the “Cranio-Vertebral Junction,” involving the relationship between the occiput, atlas, axis, and adjoining ligaments, is subject to traumatic disruption. Minkoff and Hunt discuss how these disruptions will impact both blood flow and cerebral spinal fluid flow “dynamics.” If the anatomic dislocations are not addressed, symptomatic problems, minor to major, will persist and not be corrected despite medical and nutritional interventions.

Minkoff opines that all patients with chronic head and brain pathologies should be assessed for craniocervical junction (CCJ) dislocation and treated accordingly.

Jonathan Collin, MD

1. Kaplan, S. Blood pressure medicine is recalled. New York Times. July 16, 2018.

2. Editorial: China’s Vaccine Scandal. Wall Street Journal. July 28-29, 2018.