Do your joints tendons and ligaments make "clunking", "popping" and "snapping" noises?

Osgood-Schlatters -  Seen as a
hard bump just below the knee.

Do your joints tendons and ligaments make "clunking", "popping" and "snapping" noises?

If you come and see me about chronic joint, ligament or tendon pain, I take careful note of any sign that of joints and ligaments that audibly make cracking and popping noises, or hips that go clunk.  I look for any unusual boney prominence where tendons and ligaments connect with bone, such as below the knee or the heel bone.  I  note any history of tendon and bone pain (Often referred to as "growing pains"), especially during childhood and adolescence.

If any of these boxes have been ticked, it is possible that you have a chronic manganese deficiency.  Let me explain.

Skeletal abnormalities, postural defects 

and even slow growth are common in people with low manganese.  Tendon problems and osteoporosis, including bowing bones, are common in the presence of a manganese deficiency.  This is often confused with vitamin D deficiency.

Manganese deficiency can lead to cartilage and connective tissue disorders including Osgood-Schlatters and Perthes Disease.  

Osgood–Schlatter disease or syndrome 

(also known as tibial tubercle apophyseal traction injury and epiphysitis of the tibular tubercle) is an irritation of the big tendon of the knee where it attaches to the tibia bone.  It is characterized by painful lumps just below the and is most often seen in young adolescents.  It may also manifest as sore Achilles tendons, elbow ligament pain.

Perthes 

An example of very low manganese (Mn) levels.

is a nasty condition in children characterized by a temporary loss of blood supply to the hip. Without an adequate blood supply, the rounded head of the femur (the " ball " of the " ball and socket " joint of the hip) dies. The area becomes intensely inflamed and irritated.

Metabolic disorders

Such as PKU and disturbances of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are associated with manganese deficiency.  Manganese may be involved with insulin formation and therefore a factor in diabetes.

Are athletes low in manganese?

I have done over 1,000 Hair Tissue Mineral Analyses on active people and I can't recall a single one with high levels of manganese.  The majority are low.  It appears that athletes need more manganese than usual.  This may be due to the high demand during exercise for tissue repair and metabolism.

Manganese toxicity

A manganese overload is rare and may lead to degeneration of the neurons and abnormalities of the neurotransmitters. 

Mild toxicity symptoms may include

Anorexia, insomnia, muscle aches and pains, mental excitement, hallucinations, unaccountable laughter, impaired memory and compulsive actions.

Moderate toxicity symptoms may include

Speech disorders, clumsy movements, gait abnormalities, poor balance, hyperactive reflexes and fine tremors.

Severe toxicity symptoms may include

Rigidity, spasmodic laughter, and other symptoms associated with Parkinson's.

Excess manganese is implicated in the condition known as "tardive dyskinesia" (TD), a disorder associated with abnormal twitches or movements.  TD is often associated with the use of an anti-psychotic drug, Chlorpromazine, which apparently causes an accumulation of manganese in the brain.

Reversing toxicity is done by firstly identifying any sources of excess manganese exposure in the environment and giving vitamins and minerals which are antagonist of manganese and therefore help dissipate the excess from the body.

If manganese levels are found to be low, one of the safest sources of additional dietary manganese is a scoop of my Super Smoothie each day.  If you have any doubts about whether you have high or low manganese, please contact me about getting your levels tested.  Its always best to know exactly what your status is with these matters and then go from there.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

The National Sugar Rush

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

I am a diabetic, and would like to know how many carbohydrates are in your super smoothie recipe?

I am a diabetic, and would like to know how many carbohydrates are in your super smoothie recipe?  I control my diabetes with diet and exercise (I walk 4 miles a day).  I enjoy your website and find it filled with valuable information.  Thanks for a response. ______________________________ Gary responds: The Super Smoothie is ideal as part of the management of diabetes. Diabetics need to ensure a rich supply of protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals spread over the day.

My Grandmother has Parkinson's and I have decided to be her carer

Hello Gary,
I have decided to be my grandmothers carer, she has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and has also had a brain clot removed and has type 2 diabetes. She is only 70 years and has always looked after herself never drank or smoked and has always been active. She is quite non responsive, does not have the tremor and is now walking with assistance. I have been walking her and doing exercises, she has recently been taken off Panadol as she was receiving it 8 times per day and drowsy and tired. Is there anything I should be doing by way of recovery and exercises, or can you suggest or advise alternative activities for her, or dietary supplement to prevent her tiredness? She is very keen to get active again but is always tired. Can you help? We were thinking of trying the acai berry drink, do you know of any other alternatives for energy boosting? I look forward to any suggestions you have regarding this, kind regards, "S"

Further information from "S" - She is currently on Sinemet and simvastatin recently taken off Panadol, but is still quite sleepy maybe due to the fact she is unstimulated, and sits for long periods of time at once.
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Gary Moller comments:
"S"; Please discuss this with your Grandmother's doctor and heed the advice given.

Sinemet is prescribed to reduce the tremor associated with Parkinsons and Simvastatin is prescribed to lower cholesterol. While I can understand the need for Sinemet, I do wonder about the merits of prescribing a cholesterol lowering drug even though she has had a brain clot.

The problem with any drug is the side effects which can be worse than the disease in many cases, or can lead to complications, especially in the elderly and/or debilitated individual. Statins can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, joint and muscle pain, as well as "brain fog". Cholesterol, in combination with cholecalciferol (vitamin D) is esssential for life. It also happens to be the precursor to hormones, including the sex hormones which gives us the drive and energy for life. And it just so happens that cholesterol lowering drugs also reduce the uptake of critically important fat soluble vitamins - A, D, E and K. Without these in large quantities an already debilitated person will fail to thrive. These are essential for healthy brain function as well as other things like strong bones, strong muscles and resistance to disease.

If raised cholesterol is a problem, there are good alternatives for healthy management including:

• Taking vitamins E and C and a broad spectrum anti oxidant to mop up any harmful free radicals from oxidising cholesterol before it can do harm to healthy tissue, including arteries. These also thin the blood.
• Increasing her intake of healthy Omega 3 oils, including falx oil, evening primrose oil and fish oil. These help create a healthy cholesterol profile in the body and thin the blood so that it flows better and is less likely to clot. These oils are beneficial for the brain.
• Taking Lysine amino acid daily along with vitamin C. This combination has been patented by the Linus Pauling Institute as a treatment for heart disease.

For robust health, including a good brain, strong bones and muscles and resistance to disease, your Grandmother needs large amounts of vitamin D. The best way for her to get vitamin D is to put her out in the midday sun, exposing her thighs and body. In most cases, just 10 minutes per side is ample time - just enough to go slightly pink. On days she does not get sun on her body, give her a quality vitamin D supplement. Free range eggs, liver and whole raw milk (if you can get it) are excellent sources of the fat soluble vitamins. Fish heads and eyes are one of nature's richest sources of vitamin A. All of these supplements are available from my internet store. Call me if you need help with narrowing the choice of product.

You might want to start the day with a Super Smoothie for breakfast - exactly as the athletes would have. Make sure there are plenty of dark berries in it. Berries like blue berries and blackberries. Treat your mother as if she were an athlete in serious training.

With regards to diabetes, you need to ensure that her condition is extremely well managed beginning with monitoring her blood sugar several times a day and keeping a diary record. She should be on a diet that is natural and without processed fats, sugars and oils and definitely no flavouring, colourings and preservatives. Please read these articles about diabetes. Give her foods that are wholesome and rich in anti oxidants. It is too easy to feed a diabetic up on junk food that ultimately does much harm over the long term.

Brains, like any organ in the body, shrivel will lack of use. On the other hand, they strengthen with use. Your Grandmother needs constant stimulation. But the same principles of conditioning apply to the brain as they do to muscles: Weak muscles must be exercised gently at first with ample rest in between and good nutrition. As the brain becomes used to the stimulation, you increase the intensity and the duration. So start gently because she is recovering from a brain injury and has Parkinson's to cope with and age is not on her side. The goal is to prevent further deterioration with any improvements being a welcome bonus, if you get any.

Get her to do daily brain exercises, like cross word puzzles, chequers, scrabble, card games like Snap. I am particularly keen on the "Memory Card Game". Start with simple brain exercises and go from there. Get her outdoors into parks, the beach, shopping malls, theatre and so on as much as possible. Socialise. Stimulate, stimulate and stimulate.

There is a tendency to develop the Parkinsonian Shuffle - small jerky movements affecting walking in particular. Have your Grandmother practice marching, try using a drumbeat, a metronome or music with a good beat for her to follow. Each time she falls into a shuffle, have her stop and always restart the walking by a distinct instruction that has her stop, stand up straight and then step forwards with her left foot and right hand. Ballroom dancing with its rhythm and music may be perfect for her. Whatever you do, keep it simple and repetitive.

I am especially keen on doing long sweeping movements in a chest deep swimming pool. This helps get rid of the short jerking movements that are characteristic of Parkinsons. You will need to visually demonstrate the movements. Keep them long and flowing. If she begins to jerk and shuffle, stop the action, get back into position and then resume the movement. Be patient.

At all times, take care that she does not slip or trip, since risk of a fall is high. The exercises described will reduce her risk of a catastrophic fall. Take care.

Finally, "S", you must not neglect your own needs. The needs of a carer are often overlooked with the consequence that there are exceptionally high rates of depression, alcoholism, exhaustion and financial distress. Plan for regular breaks. Arrange for others to take over at regular intervals. Do not be shy in asking other family for help, including helping with the bills. Make sure that you have others who you can turn to for help. People you trust who you can talk with. Do not get isolated and worn down. Seek out helping services in your area and make full use of them. Ensure that you get everything, including financial and other support from Government and non-Government agencies.

All the best and please let us know how you get on.

Advice about exercise and diabetes

“Hi! I have a question…. He says that you should not have high sugar or carbohydrate drinks/food while training just water – I am an insulin dependent diabetic and would like to know how to survive under this regime. Until now, I have a normal breakfast without insulin and eat during the ride. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards Rhonda”
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Gary Moller replies:

Here is a very helpful newsletter by Heidi-Jane Humphries about sport and diabetes.

The interaction between exercise and insulin with the insulin dependent diabetic is an ongoing fascination for me, there is much to learn and there is constant development, so I appreciate the questions you ask.

First of all, what I have to say should not be taken as medical advice. Please discuss any changes you are thinking of making to your diet, exercise and insulin regimes with your doctor first and heed his or her advice.

Much of what I am about to comment on, you should already be aware of. However; nothing any of us does is ever perfect. We can always do a little better with a tweak here and a tweak there. So, here we go:

First of all, you need to ensure that your blood sugar is being monitored accurately and regularly. This means systematically taking readings several times a days and maintaining a diary record. You could go a step further and enter this data onto a computer spread sheet to produce various charts. A most useful function is to insert trend lines that indicate whether or not what you are doing is pushing you in the right direction with regards to optimum blood sugar levels. many athletes have opted for an insulin pump. With the technology improving almost by the month, this is a worthwhile option for the steady delivery of insulin throughout the day.

Exercise is very healthy for you and it should assist you with managing the condition. As your fitness improves, you may find that your body needs less total external insulin and you need fewer carbohydrates to maintain optimum blood sugar levels throughout the day and your total requirements for insulin will be less.

Experiment with the time of day you exercise. Some diabetic athletes have found exercising during the early morning is best when blood sugar levels may be quite high. With regular monitoring of blood sugar levels and subjectively gauging how you feel, you should be able to work out the time of day that best suits you to do most of your exercise and how to adjust your insulin needs.

Have a set routine of exercise and diet from one day to the next with regards to diet and exercise. If your exercise is all over the place from one day to the next you may have difficulty maintaining blood sugar stability.

When doing a long ride, it is important to maintain optimum blood sugar levels, so it makes sense to have some carbohydrates coming into the blood from the gut. Each diabetic person is different and factors such as the intensity and duration of the ride and your base fitness complicate matters, so it would be foolish of me to give firm advice on what to eat and drink and how much. However; I would suggest some experimenting on a few rides, taking blood sugar readings as you go and monitoring how you feel in terms of energy levels and general well-being.

With regards to diet, I recommend that you give strong preference for quality carbohydrates from sources like whole grains and crops like taro, potato, bread fruit, kumara and pumpkin. Avoid refined carbohydrates like white bread, sugar, white rice and pasta. Keep the refined sugars in reserve for a quick blood sugar fix if you need one and use the more nutrient rich slow release carbohydrate sources, like taro, as your main source.

Experiment with a rich source of protein and healthy fats with each meal. For example; you could try having a couple of desert spoons of low fat cottage cheese with flax oil mixed in ten minutes prior to meals and snacks. You could also try incorporating a nutrient packed whey protein Super Smoothie before and after training rides. The Super Smoothie recipe is in the Recipes Section of www.GaryMoller.com.

A diabetic should ensure that her diet is rich in antioxidants because it is free radical damage that is the cause of many of the long-term health problems associated with diabetes. The Super Smoothie, with its dark berries and raw free range egg yolk is a great source of antioxidants and the fat soluble vitamins. You could add extra vitamin C and E to this.

Diabetes drug increases the most serious complication of diabetes

Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's widely used drug for treating type 2 diabetes, raises the risk of heart death by 64 per cent and the risk of heart attack by 43 per cent, US researchers have said.

The news about Avandia, a US$3 billion ($4.1 billion) a year drug also known as rosiglitazone, triggered a free fall in GSK's shares, which closed off more than 5 per cent on the London Stock Exchange. The slide continued on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares closing down nearly 8 per cent.

Glaxo said it strongly disagreed with the conclusions of the report, based on an analysis of other studies.

"Unfortunately, rosiglitazone appears to increase, rather than decrease, the most serious complication of diabetes, heart disease," Dr. Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement.

"The whole reason you want to treat diabetes is to prevent the complications of diabetes," Nissen added in a telephone interview.<
Go here for the full story

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Gary Moller comments:

Is this a joke? Sadly, it is not. Let me expalin why these dangerous drugs keep rolling out into the market place and keep being promoted and prescribed by doctors despite known health risks. The answer is simple: It is very, very good business. Take this diabetes drug for example.

This drug brings in over $4 billion a year with, say a profit of $1 billion. Let's say they get sued for a billion. That's a lot of money. But is it really? Not really.

First they know that they can sell the drug for 4-5 years before any real concerns are collated and red flaged. Then they delay, delay, delay and obfuscate like crazy, hiring the best lawyers on the planet. They know from past expereince that many of the suers will die, others will get too sick and tired to continue and even more simply run out of money to pursue the case. After 5 years, the first cases are being heard with judgements being made. If they do this really well and get lucky, as has been the case with the Agent Orange scandal of the Vietnam War, they will manage to drag this process out over decades.

Sure, it might be a billion dollars; but they have been able to pocket at least $10 billion in profits in the meantime, all the while developing their next wonder drug to foist on the ever swelling ranks of passive "sick" consumers and to replace the drug that has run its course in the market place.

This also explains why natural therapies for conditions like diabetes get little more than lip service. There's no money to be made from helping people stay healthy.