Ethical Aternative Products Donates Premium Alpha Lipoic Acid Product to Support Awareness Program

Neuropathy Awareness Week May 13 – 17, 2013:
Ethical Aternative Products Donates Premium Alpha Lipoic Acid Product to
Support Awareness Program

Peripheral neuropathy is a devastating disease that afflicts more than 20 million people in the U.S., with most individuals unaware of the nature of their illness and the available treatment options. The widely studied nutritional supplement, alpha lipoic acid, is an option that has been demonstrated to be of great value in dealing with neuropathic pain.

Wyckoff, NJ (PRWEB) April 30, 2013

Peripheral neuropathy, or “nerve damage,” affects over 20 million Americans, making it one of the most common chronic neurological diseases and one of the leading causes of disability in adults in the U.S. Early warning signs can include pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness. There are over 100 known types of peripheral neuropathy. One third of all neuropathy patients receive an “idiopathic” (or of an unknown cause) diagnosis. Another third of neuropathy patients have diabetic peripheral neuropathy (50-70% of all diabetics develop diabetic peripheral neuropathy). And, the remaining third have neuropathy resulting from autoimmune disorders like CIDP, heredity, cancer, HIV/AIDS, effects of chemotherapy, nutritional imbalances, infections, and toxins. With early diagnosis, neuropathy can often be managed. If ignored, symptoms can progress to persistent weakness, loss of sensation, chronic pain, or disability. Too often neuropathy is discovered after causing irreversible nerve damage.

Despite neuropathy’s devastating physical, emotional, and financial toll, awareness of the chronic neurological disease and its risks remains abysmally low. The amount of federal research funding dedicated to neuropathy research pales in comparison to the amounts for other neurological diseases. Since its founding in 1995, The Neuropathy Association has been working with patients, health care professionals, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and policymakers across the U.S. to raise neuropathy’s profile and encourage research to bring forth more treatment options and cures.

Ethical Alternative Products, a leading supplier of science-based dietary supplements, with a special focus on high bioavailability formulations of alpha lipoic acid, is supporting Neuropathy Awareness Week through product donations to local Chapter support groups. In addition to these group donations, individuals can obtain free trial samples of ThioGel Solubilized Alpha Lipoic Acid by visiting http://www.thiogel.com.

About Ethical Alternative Products:

Ethical Alternative Products is a dietary supplement supplier that is focused on the research and manufacturing of a select group of scientifically sound, broad-use supplement products. The company mission is to develop and produce high-value supplements, employing innovative formulations and highest quality raw materials. Products produced by Ethical Alternative Products include ThioGel, ThioGel-L triple antioxidant liver formulation, OmniFlex multi-nutrient joint health product and Tendonex topical pain reliever.

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OnAugust 14, 2013, posted in: EAP In The News by

Appropriate Clinical Use of Statins: A Discussion of the Evidence, Scope, Benefits and Risk.

If you have a free hour of time and the willingness to slog through some heavy scientific terminology, this interview article with Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. Beatrice Golomb, and Dr. Steven Sinatra is about the best analysis of statin drug use you are likely to find.  Statins are the largest selling category of ethical drugs that are used to reduce cholesterol levels and presumably heart disease.  There is reasonably strong scientific evidence that use of statins in patients with existing heart disease is beneficial, but prevailing efforts to extend statin use to all people with “high” cholesterol, would appear to be unwarranted, and in fact, increase all-cause mortality rather than lowering death rates.

If you have high cholesterol, but no existing heart disease, and you are already using or considering use of a statin drug, this article will probably change your thinking.  If you are a senior (>70 yrs), high cholesterol has actually been shown to improve mortality, making statin use even less appropriate.

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Heart Health 2013 Vol 19. SUPPL. 1

http://alternative-therapies.com/digital/2013/AThh/#

 

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OnAugust 12, 2013, posted in: Aging by

A New Topical Pain-Relief Product, Tendonex Hits the Shelves This Month

A New Topical Pain-Relief Product, Tendonex Hits the Shelves This Month

Ethical Alternative Products announces their latest product, Tendonex, to be available commercially this month. Tendonex
helps those suffering from chronic pain or sports-related injuries.

(PRWEB) April 16, 2013

Offering immediate and lasting relief, Tendonex is the superior solution for those looking to reduce pain in a tendon,
muscle or nerve. Released recently by Ethical Alternative Products, Tendonex is now available commercially.

Safe for all skin types, the topical pain reliever contains a highly concentrated formula of alpha lipoic acid. The benefits from alpha lipoic acid allow the Tendonex formula to counteract the free radicals associated with inflammation
and promote tissue repair. The oil can be applied to the painful area without causing a burn sensation or local irritation.

“Tendonex is a category-changing topical product that acts rapidly and provides lasting relief,” stated Gerald Bruno, Ph.D., founder of Ethical Alternative Products.

This unique formula allows for a safe alternative from drug-based pain relievers. Tendonex is useful for those suffering from a variety of pain, including but not limited to tendinitis, carpal tunnel, plantar fasciitis, muscle damage and nerve pain. The exceptional product can also help with wrinkles or skin damage.

“The dramatic pain-relief properties of Tendonex are based on an innovative formulation of alpha lipoic acid, that delivers the highest concentrations of alpha lipoic acid in a bioavailable molecular dispersion,” Bruno continued.

Providing fast and effective pain relief, Tendonex is now available commercially or can be found online.

About Ethical Alternative Products:

Ethical Alternative Products offers a unique line of scientifically based products. With a strong belief in science partnering with nature, EAP only offers products that have a substantial body of scientific and clinical studies that support product efficacy and safety. It is EAP’s singular goal to employ the pharmaceutical expertise of their management team to identify, evaluate, and supply dietary supplement products that meet the highest ethical standards.

 

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OnAugust 8, 2013, posted in: Aging, EAP In The News by

Healthy Aging: 3 People Who Are Changing What it Means to Age

In light of a recent article on agingcare.com called “3 People Who Are Changing What it Means to Age” written by Anne-Marie Botek, Ethical Alternative Products (EAP) has decided to weigh in on what it means to age in a healthy way.

The article highlights 3 influential people attempting to change what it means to age. Aging, in the U.S. culture, tends to have a negative connotation to it. One presenter, Tim Carpenter, asks his audience at every speaking event, “how many of you want to get older?” He reveals, only about half the room raises their hands, perhaps not realizing the nature of the other option.

Many people associate “dying of old age” to be a peaceful way to “go” resulting from natural causes. However Aubrey de Grey, another influential speaker, points out “death from aging is not only “natural causes”, it’s anything that mainly kills older people.” Two-thirds of the people that die every day, die from old age. Death from old age is basically anything young people do not die from.

There is a better way to go about aging so you continue to have a full life, rather than allow your body to “die of old age”. This is where healthy aging becomes important. While exercise and eating right is a key element in healthy aging, so is addressing body issues such as, joint pain, as they arise. One should not assume this is just a “natural” aspect of growing older. While supplements and regenerative medicine solutions may come at a cost, imagine all the hospital and doctor bills you will be paying in the long run if you put off the issue. A simple solution is available now. In a sense, “why put off tomorrow, when it can be done today”.

Here at EAP, healthy aging is a primary goal of ours and is the idea around a handful of our products. OmniFlex keeps joints healthy to maintain mobility, with added benefits to overall well-being. ThioGel is the premier anti-oxidant for oxidative stress, which is believed to play a major role in biological aging.

Making small changes now will not only promote a new attitude towards aging, but also increase the quality of life that we maintain as we age.

http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/people-changing-what-it-means-to-age-157794.htm?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20May%2018,%202013

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OnAugust 2, 2013, posted in: Aging, Anti-Aging by

Combination Antioxidant Therapy May Help Fatty Liver

November 7, 2011 (National Harbor/Washington, DC) — A combination of vitamin E and alpha lipoic acid (ALA) can improve the inflammatory and steatosis scores in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, according to the results of a study presented here at the American College of Gastroenterology 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course.

Researchers sought to examine the effects of antioxidant combination therapy on patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Inflammation and steatosis scores improved from baseline to 6 months in patients receiving the antioxidants, compared with placebo.  Compared with placebo, combination therapy resulted in a 70% difference in change in tumor necrosis factors-alpha levels from baseline.

ALA alone or vitamin E alone were not as effective. Findings revealed a 47% difference in change between ALA monotherapy and placebo and a 49% difference in change between vitamin E monotherapy and placebo.

“ALA and vitamin E should be considered as therapy in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis to reduce inflammation and the profibrogenic effect on the liver to preclude end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma,” said P. Patrick Basu, MD, MRCP, AGAF, FACG, assistant clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City, clinical professor at Hofstra University Medical School, and division chief of the Department of Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy at North Shore University Hospital in Hempstead, New York.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in the world, and a global epidemic, Dr. Basu noted. In the United States, 20% of the general population and 75% to 92% of the morbidly obese population suffer from the disease.  In the disease, excess carbohydrates and lipids can affect metabolic pathways, increasing fatty acid levels in the liver, which can lead to liver damage, according to Dr. Basu.

Factors linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease include obesity, hyperlipidemia, and inflammation. The disease spectrum associated with it ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and end-stage liver disease.

This study builds on earlier studies that tied individual antioxidant treatments, such as vitamin E and ALA, to improved liver pathology and diagnostic end points. Dr. Basu chose ALA because of its panantioxidant effect, he said.

The trial was a randomized, placebo-controlled, open-label, prospective clinical trial that involved 155 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and a body mass index from 28 to 33 kg/m². Patients were excluded from the study if they had diabetes, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hypothyroidism, or syndromes with known insulin resistance; consumed more than 30 g of alcohol per day; or took any other medications, including herbs and supplements. The patients followed 1 of 4 daily regimens for 6 months: 300 mg ALA; 700 IU vitamin E; 300 mg ALA + 700 IU vitamin E; or placebo.

Levels of various markers were assessed at baseline and at 6 months. Combination therapy for 6 months reduced triglycerides to reference levels (<160 mg/dL). Compared with placebo, combination therapy also resulted in a 43% difference in change of triglyceride levels from baseline, a 71% difference in change of steatosis scores from baseline, a 51% difference in change of retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) from baseline, and a 63% difference in change of homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) scores from baseline.

The only scores that remained unchanged with antioxidant combination therapy were fibrosis scores. In all the other cases, the combination of ALA plus vitamin E was more effective than ALA or vitamin E alone.

“In conclusion, no matter what you do, how you squeeze the data, this trial is statistically significant, and this is [using] over-the-counter, very inexpensive drugs,” he told Medscape Medical News. The regimen should have no adverse effects, he added.

The most impressive effects in the study appeared in the group that received vitamin E plus ALA, noted Paul Kwo, MD, FACG, professor of medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis, who comoderated the liver session at the conference.

Dr. Kwo also predicted a trend toward more combinations of antioxidants and other novel approaches to reduce liver injury through slightly different pathways.

Although many single studies have come out, he expects to see more research on combination therapies in the future. “Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a very heterogeneous disorder,” said Dr. Kwo, “so it makes sense that therapies that address different pathways in the mechanism injury might be more beneficial.”

Sandra Yin

 

American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2011 Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course: Abstract 38. Presented November 3, 2011.

 

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OnNovember 7, 2011, posted in: Articles by

Getting the Miracle Molecule Where It Needs To Go by Gerald A. Bruno, Ph.D.

I have taken the liberty of describing alpha lipoic acid as the “miracle molecule” because it is among the most valuable nutritional supplements we can take for our over-all well-being. I believe that alpha lipoic acid ascends to the “miracle” level because it has a wide spectrum of biological activities that are useful in treating serious diseases, it is valuable in protecting against the formation or progression of serious diseases, and it can be a major contributor to achieving “healthy aging”.

Read the entire article here.

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Be a Liver Lover

Quick: what is the largest organ inside your body that weighs about three pounds, is shaped like a football that´s flat on one side and is located under your ribs on your right side? If you guessed the liver, you’re right.

Although it may not be a pretty organ it is an extremely important one that has a month-long health observance named after it by the American Liver Foundation (www.liverfoundation.org), called Liver Awareness Month.

Reasons to love our liver abound since this organ does all of the following, and more: saves up energy; makes bile to help break down food; keeps pollution from hurting us; stops cuts from bleeding too long; kills germs; gets rid of toxic chemicals; and helps build muscle.

According to the foundation, liver disease affects one in 10 Americans, or about 30 million people — including children.

Liver disease begins with inflammation. If left untreated, especially over time, inflamed liver tissue starts to scar or become fibrous, which is called fibrosis. If fibrosis is not treated or healed, irreversible damage can occur, called cirrhosis; this can lead to liver cancer. If the liver loses most or all of its function, a life-threatening condition called liver failure can result.

To make matters worse, there is also hepatitis C, a disease of the liver that is caused by the hepatitis C virus, or HCV. While it is fortunate that 15 to 40 percent of people who contract HCV are able to successfully fight off the virus within the first six months, sadly most of the patients who are not able to get rid of the virus wind up developing a long-term, chronic hepatitis C infection.

One of the most common reasons for liver transplants, more than four million Americans have been infected with hepatitis C and the virus is responsible for 8,000 to 10,000 deaths every year.

New Hope Emerges: Nutritional Supplementation

In recent years, enlightened medicine has brought popularity to a variety of botanical liver lovers, including milk thistle, which has been used for what we now know as liver disease since the 12th century.

Today, research often attributes milk thistle´s liver supportive effects to a compound complex in milk thistle, called silymarin, which is extracted from the milk thistle seed.

Other nutrients and herbal extracts that have attracted scientific interest, of late, in liver protection include: selenium, zinc, probiotics and branched-chain amino acids.

One nutrient, however, that has been the subject of research and which shows the greatest promise for liver health has curiously not yet attained the level of popularity enjoyed by milk thistle; it is: alpha lipoic acid.

Alpha lipoic acid (or ALA) was first discovered by University of Illinois enzymologist Irwin Gunsalus in 1948 and described and characterized by University of Texas biochemist Lester J. Reed in March 1951.

It is a natural substance that, according to ALA pioneer Burt Berkson, M.D., in the December 2007 edition of the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, is the “rate-limiting factor for the production of energy from carbohydrates.” In other words, without alpha lipoic acid we could not obtain energy from the food we eat and we could not stay alive.

The first large-scale human clinical studies using alpha lipoic acid in the U.S. were conducted by Berkson, Frederick C. Bartter, M.D., and other scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 1970s. The researchers gave the nutrient to 79 people with severe liver damage; 75 of those, according to Berkson, recovered full liver function.

More recently, in 1999 Berkson published three case reports using a triple-antioxidant supplement regimen in patients with liver disease, including chronic hepatitis C infection. After several months of treatment with a combination of alpha lipoic acid, selenium and silymarin, all three patients recovered most or all of their liver function, avoided liver transplantation and went on to live healthy, productive lives free of the symptoms of liver disease.

James J. Gormley
September 29, 2008

 

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OnSeptember 28, 2011, posted in: Articles, Liver Disease Articles by

Bioavailability: Is It A Concern With Nutritional Supplements? By Gerald A. Bruno, Ph.D.

Bioavailability is a large word that is hard to spell and probably even harder to understand. Human nature being what it is, we tend to ignore things we don’t understand, unless it is impacting our lives in a meaningful way. In the world of prescription and over-the-counter drug products, bioavailability concerns are addressed by the pharmaceutical research staff of the drug company, and with the possible exception of Advil LiquiGels, these concerns seldom reach the conscious level of the average consumer. In the dietary supplement world, bioavailability of natural substances is largely ignored, with only CoQ10 products focusing significant attention on the bioavailability issue…

READ MORE HERE.

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Occupying the Middle Ground — Q&A with Ethical Alternative Products’ Founder, Gerald A. Bruno, PhD

ATH: What prompted you to create Ethical Alternative Products?

Dr. Bruno: After a long career in pharmaceutical industry research and a successful stint as an entrepreneur, I invested in a startup company that had developed an innovative formulation of the recently recognized “universal anti-oxidant” alpha lipoic acid. This product was my first real exposure to the world of natural medicines. Performing “due diligence” on alpha lipoic acid started my transition from the hard science of pharmaceutical development and conventional medicine, to the softer, gentler world of alternative medicine. Over the past ten years, I have studied a substantial number of natural substances from a scientific and personal perspective and have concluded that natural medicines offer enormous benefits to our overall well-being. Ethical Alternative Products was created as a vehicle to share my view of how these valuable natural substances could be best formulated and sometimes combined to achieve a meaningful clinical effect.

Read the entire interview here.

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People With OA More Sedentary Than Previously Believed

Study finds 40 percent of men and 56 percent of women with knee osteoarthritis are completely inactive.
By Jennifer Davis
8/19/11
It’s long been known that many arthritis patients tend to be sedentary, but a new report shows just how pervasive the problem is. The study, published in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, found that fewer than 1 in 7 men and 1 in 12 women with knee osteoarthritis, or OA, were physically active enough to meet federal guidelines. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, low-impact activity per week.
In fact, 57 percent of women and 40 percent of men were classified as “inactive” – that is, they did not engage in moderate-to-vigorous activity for 10 minutes or more at any time during the course of a week.
This level of inactivity is higher than that found in earlier studies, mainly because previous studies relied on self-reporting as opposed to objective measurements.
“I think everyone knew people with arthritis were not particularly active. This proves that … it’s a major, major issue,” says study co-author Rowland W. Chang, MD, MPH, a professor of preventive medicine and rheumatology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “The lack of physical activity is the major health issue for persons with arthritis to confront.”
Using a machine called an accelerometer to register all motion during waking hours, the researchers measured the activity of 1,111 knee OA patients between the ages of 49 and 84. Although this study didn’t compare self-reported physical activity levels with actual accelerometer data, Dr. Chang notes that most people overestimated their activity level by at least two-fold.
Dr. Chang says the study defined “moderate intensity” as activity that raises your heart rate, making you a little sweaty but still allowing you to carry on a conversation.
Physical activity is very important for people with OA: It has been shown to help reduce pain and symptoms of depression, fight fatigue, increase function and physical performance, and prevent or delay disability in knee OA, as well as improve general health and reduce the risk of several chronic diseases. An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that OA patients benefit from some physical activity even if they don’t reach the recommended 150 minutes per week, and the more they exercise, the greater the potential benefit.
“You could argue it’s an important challenge for our entire society, but for people with arthritis, it’s a particularly daunting challenge,” says Dr. Chang. “It’s a wake-up call for people with arthritis and physicians who care for them.”
Patience White, MD, vice president, public health for the Arthritis Foundation and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., says these numbers are sobering.
“Americans aren’t hearing the message, but people with arthritis aren’t getting it either,” says Dr. White. “I think people feel [physical activity] will make their arthritis worse. Somehow the pain makes them think something isn’t right. It’s counterintuitive to say, ‘Actually, it will make me feel better.’”
Dr. White says awareness campaigns help get the message out that physical activity is important. But she says that, as a rheumatologist, she also believes physicians have to spend time with patients to find out what individual barriers keep them from being physically active.
“I think you have to [deliver the message] on all levels, and people need to hear it five times in five different ways. So the more people who are delivering this message, the better,” Dr. White adds.
She recommends patients ask themselves why they aren’t active, and then to look for small ways throughout the day to change that, such as:
• Parking at the far end of the parking lot so your walk is a little farther.
• Scheduling a walk into your day – say, in the evening after dinner or in the morning before breakfast when you’re less busy.
• Making exercise a social event with family or friends who will hold you accountable.
• Walking around the block during your lunch break.
• Finding a fun activity, such as swimming, biking or playing an easy game of tennis.
“Figure out how you can do 10 minutes. If you are going to get the mail and you have to walk down the driveway, go up and down three times and then pick up the mail,” Dr. White suggests.
Regular physical activity can help relieve the sleep problems that dog many people with arthritis. It also can lead to weight loss, and losing just 1 pound eases 4 pounds of pressure from your knees. “People with arthritis say it’s remarkable – even just losing 5 pounds can make pain much better,” Dr. White says.
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OnAugust 19, 2011, posted in: Articles, Featured Stories by