Dear
Tango,
I
am reading your information on OsteoPhase, but my
one big concern is after hearing all the problems
with imports from China, I find it scary to purchase
this product. Is this manufactured in China and imported to the US?
D.S.
Dear
D.,
We
appreciate your concern about possible contamination
of herbal products imported from China. Your question
is not unusual, of course, as we are asked
the same
thing 2-3 times per day by new customers evaluating OsteoPhase and our other
products. All of our formulas are produced as concentrated powders at certified
GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) factories in China, and after clearing customs
and being released by the FDA are encapsulated, bottled and labeled at GMP
facilities in California.
The
issue of formula purity as related to recent news
regarding products from China is also not new. When
I began my acupuncture practice over
20 years ago
quality control of herbal products was already an important issue in the acupuncture
community, especially since licensed acupuncturists are allowed to prescribe
herbal formulations to patients, and all of us practicing the medicine wish
to ensure that we are working with clean products.
The
majority of Chinese herbs and herbal formulations
imported into the United States come in through California
ports, and are regulated, in part, by the California
Department of Health Services as dietary supplement products. For the last
16
years the California Department of Health Services, under the direction of
Dr. Richard Ko, has worked closely with the FDA to
establish standards for evaluating
herbal imports and detecting contaminated products (see sidebar).
Dr. Richard Ko
Dr. Ko received
his undergraduate degree in biochemistry
from the University of California, Berkeley,
and his Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of
Philosophy from the University of Southern
California, Los Angeles. His doctoral dissertation
was on pharmacokinetic drug interactions.
As a Research Scientist
(Food and Drug Scientist) at the California
Department of Health Services, Food and Drug
Branch, Dr. Ko was actively involved in regulating
dietary supplements and investigating herbal
products related to injury and death.
Dr.
Ko has published numerous peer review articles,
including “Adulterants
in Asian Patent Medicines” (New
England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 17,
1998, Vol. 339:847, Num. 12), and most recently
co-authored “Safety of Green Tea
Extracts: A Systematic Review by the US Pharmacopeia,” in Drug
Safety, a premier international journal
covering the disciplines of pharmaco-vigilance,
pharmaco-epidemiology, benefit-risk assessment
and risk management.
Under the direction of
Dr. Richard Ko, the California Department
of Health Services evaluated and identified
products with contaminants as well as the
factories where they were produced. He has
also located factories producing safe products.
The work of his office has enabled Tango
to identify sources for products with
standards of purity that exceed USP (United
States Pharmacopeia) standards.
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Product
purity was foremost in our minds when we launched
Tango five years ago to import advanced
herbal formulas from leading Chinese doctors, hospitals and
research institutes. Prior to beginning our lengthy clinical evaluation
programs all potential formulas were submitted
to Dr. Ko’s lab at the California
Department of Health Services for initial testing for some 300 potential
contaminants (drugs, heavy metals, pesticides,
etc.). Additionally we submitted samples of
each formula to independent testing labs for further verification before
allowing the powders to be released for production.
This process has guaranteed that all
of our products exceeded the exacting standards for safety and purity as
set by Dr. Ko and the USP, including OsteoPhase.
Dr.
Ko is now a consultant to Tango Advanced Nutrition,
assisting in our quality control programs and overseeing
product evaluation and testing processes, most
recently for ArthriPhase. Our quality control program is especially important,
since China is at least 20 years ahead of the rest of the world in developing
breakthrough herbal medicine formulations for every conceivable disorder. These
breakthroughs are based on the following:
1.
Due to its large size and variety of climates from
deserts to tropical areas and mountains to seashores,
the base
of natural medicinal ingredients is the
largest of any country.
2.
Thousands of years of traditional empirical development
have improved current herbal medicine formulations. Formulas are preferred
for both efficacy and safety
over individual herbs.
3.
Over the past 50 years scientific advancement at
hospitals and research institutes in every major
Chinese city have focused on developing
treatments for specific
disorders. This research effort is currently the equivalent of three or more
US Apollo programs to put a man on the moon. It is doubtful that the rest of
the world combined will match this ongoing research any time this century.
Our
task at Tango is to identify, evaluate and introduce such important products
as OsteoPhase. OsteoPhase, in particular, is a product of modern scientific
research and biotech production. Manufacture
of the powder involves a skilled extraction
of protein peptides from the inner lining of the oyster shell that act
as directing agents for biological processes. In
this case, these protein peptides regulate
how calcium is used and stored in the body, including regulation and enhancement
in the bone building process.
French
scientists also identified these protein peptides
and concluded that they would be able to reduce osteoporosis,
but they
were unable to come up with a
commercial extraction process that would enable use as a dietary supplement.
I
realize this is a long answer to your question, but I wanted to provide
a summation of our efforts in making OsteoPhase
available.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
VP of Product Development
Dear
Tango,
Enclosed is a copy
of my latest bone density test (see below). I have
taken your OsteoPhase formula for the last year and
a half
and
have had good
results with it. I take three capsules daily and my
bones feel much stronger now. I also have more energy
and better mental concentration in general.
My bone
density report compares my current test with the
one from last year, and again from 1998.
Thank you for
your excellent product.
Sincerely,
Waltraud H.
Click
on images or links below to see full size
image in new window.
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Editors
Note:
At
the age of 67, Waltraud H. was bedridden with spinal
fractures caused by an extreme case of osteoporosis.
The year was 1998 and a DEXA bone scan of her left
hip revealed that she only had 25% – just
one-fourth – of the normal bone density of
a typical woman of her age. To make matters worse,
her T-score of -6.2 indicated that her bone density
was lower than 99% of all women in her age group.
In
June 2005, at the age of 74, Waltraud began taking
OsteoPhase in the hopes of forestalling further
loss in hip bone density. Three months later, after
taking
2 capsules twice per day her next DEXA showed,
despite aging trends and expectations, that she
actually
experienced a 12.3% improvement in her hip bone
density (see images above). Waltraud reported to
us at that time that she was
feeling stronger, was able to walk with greater
ease and generally go about her daily chores with
much
less pain than before.
Waltraud
continued to take OsteoPhase at a rate of three
capsules per day.
One year later, at age
75,
her DEXA test scan again indicated a significant
gain, revealing a further improvement in hipbone
density of 22.4%. During this period in which
Waltraud took OsteoPhase daily, her T-score improved
0.8
points.
Today
Waltraud now has 50% of the bone density of a woman
her age, compared to seven years previously
when it was down to 25%. While her bones are
still brittle, her recent scores reflect a significant
30 to 40 percent reduction in her risk of suffering
a severe fracture when compared to data from
a
National
Osteoporosis Risk Assessment study of 200,000
postmenopausal women.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
Dear
Tango,
My
wife has mild osteopenia and wants to know much OsteoPhase
she should take. On your website it says to take
1 to 2 capsules daily, and elsewhere it says to take
2 capsules, twice daily. Can you clear this up?
Thanks,
D.B.
Dear
D.B.,
If
your wife has only mild osteopenia she is at extremely
low risk for fracture. Doctors and drug companies
are trying to get women and men to take osteoporosis
drugs even when they only have mild bone loss,
or osteopenia. Her main focus should just be on
developing or maintaining leg strength and balance
to prevent falls, her actual greatest risk for
fracture at this point.
Bone
density diminishes slowly, so there is no need
for fear when she just has osteopenia. Unless a
subsequent bone density test indicates a speed
up of bone density loss progressing rapidly towards
osteoporosis, she does not really need to change
much at this time. If she does wish to retain her
current, relatively healthy bone density, she would
only need to take two capsules, once per day of
OsteoPhase.
Or,
she could take 2 capsules, once per day of Herbal
Boost, a comprehensive formula that supports bone
density, improved circulatory health and restored
hormone balance for post-menopausal women. OsteoPhase
primarily focuses on improving calcium regulation
and bone density, while Herbal Boost gives a broader
systemic benefit that aids in supporting many of
the disorders that occur with aging.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
Dear
Tango,
A
male patient of mine in Susanville, CA, has been
taking your OsteoPhase bone formula for some time
now. Last Friday after his appointment with a dental
hygienist in my building, she commented that she
was amazed at the bone growth in his teeth and the
improvement in his gums since his last visit 6 months
ago. We plan to have a new bone scan in a few
weeks when he has finished his treatment with an
additional 3 bottles of OsteoPhase and will send
you a copy.
Thanks,
Jim C.
In January we reported
on how osteoporosis affects over 2 million men, often
without their knowledge. Recently we received a set
of DEXA scans from a client, a man in his sixties,
who reported an 8 percent increase in bone density
of his lower spine from using OsteoPhase. What really
caught our attention were copies of two letters he
included from his dental hygienist who was impressed
by signs of improved bone health in his jaw.
Previously, the client
had suffered severe bone loss, infection and tooth
mobility throughout his mouth, leading to a loss of
teeth and requiring upper dentures. His most recent
exam after using OsteoPhase revealed that his remaining
teeth are no longer loose and showed significant improvement
in the soft tissues and bone of his lower jaw.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
Director of Product Development
Our
second report involves a woman who wrote in to share
her experience after
using OsteoPhase for a fractured ankle. Her doctors
had become concerned because her ankle fracture was
not healing properly, causing her continual pain while
walking. This type of non-union fracture is actually
quite common, and occurs in about 10 percent of all
fractures. After a four-month course with OsteoPhase
her ankle pain disappeared completely and her doctors
canceled plans for further surgery to stabilize her
ankle. Today she has been able to return to walking — and
dancing — in her favorite high heels.
But
the story doesn’t
end there. As with the previous case, this client had
also lost several teeth and had planned on undergoing
oral surgery for dental implants. An appointment with
her orthodontist prior to taking OsteoPhase for her
ankle was a disappointment, as x-rays had revealed
that she had lost too much bone in her jaw to allow
for the implant surgery.
Just four months later,
after taking OsteoPhase for her fractured ankle, a
follow-up set of x-rays revealed that she now has enough
bone tissue for the dental implants. Physicians and
researchers consider bone growth to be very significant
when it is so extensive that it appears on x-rays,
and these reports further underscore that the disruption
of the healthy regulation of calcium balance in the
body is a primary underlying factor in poor bone growth.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
Director of Product Development
Dear
Tango,
Does
your company make anything that would treat Gout?
Logain
Dear
Logain,
Yes.
Our formula, OsteoPhase, works to restore healthy
calcium balance by removing excess calcium from
the blood and soft tissues and redirecting it to
its proper place in skeletal bones. While this
process is beneficial in treating osteoporosis
and arterial plaque, it also helps to re-establish
proper pH balance by making the body more alkaline.
The
developer of OsteoPhase has found that all of his
gout patients suffer from abnormally high acid
pH levels. Subsequently he reports that he has
successfully treated gout with OsteoPhase, and
that symptoms generally resolve within a few days.
He
recommends taking 6-8 capsules of OsteoPhase daily
until the pain goes away, usually within 3-4 days.
He also suggests opening one capsule per day and
dissolving it in hot water. After letting the water
cool, soak the toe in the solution to get quicker
results. Any recurrent attacks of gout would be
treated the same way, or you could use a low daily
dose of 1-2 capsules of OsteoPhase to keep your
ph in balance.
Sincerely,
John Steinke, L.Ac.
Director of Product Development
Dr. Mitch Fleisher has
informed us of his success with a patient, a 67-year
old woman suffering from severe osteoporosis caused
by chemotherapy treatments for her breast cancer.
After only four months
of taking a combination of two capsules of OsteoPhase
and 2000 I.U. of Vitamin D-3 per day she achieved a
remarkable 12% increase in bone density as measured
by a bone scan. Her gynecologist was surprised since
such increases are not observed in patients using estrogen
or Fosamax.
John
Steinke, L.Ac.
Director of Product Development
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