Cellfood - Not What It's Made Out To Be!

Someone on one of the DS listservs I am on was asking about a supplement called Cellfood. I told them I'd look into it and this is what I found. I thought I'd post it up here for anyone else interested.

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Cellfood – Not What It’s Made Out To Be!

I looked at the ingredients of Cellfood and there are many unnecessary and potentially harmful substances in it. The list of ingredients in Cellfood is massive! I was shocked to see how many ingredients were in it. When I started looking at each ingredient, I started realizing there are a lot of ingredients in here which are not necessary for the human body to consume as a dietary supplement. Several of these substances are particularly dangerous for an individual with Down Syndrome. Let’s look at that now:

Trace Minerals:
Unnecessary: Actinium, Antimony, Argon, Astatine, Barium, Berylium, Bismuth, Bromine, Carbon, Cerium, Cesium, Cobalt, Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Fluorine, Gadolinium, Gallium, Germanium, Gold, Hafnium, Helium, Holmium, Hydrogen, Indium, Iridium, Krypton, Lanthanum, Lutetium, Neodymium, Neon, Nickel, Niobium, Nitrogen, Osmium, Oxygen, Palladium, Platinum, Polonium, Praseodymium, Promethium, Rhenium, Rhodium, Rubidium, Ruthenium, Samarium, Silica, Silicon, Silver, Sodium, Sulfur, Tantalum, Technetium, Tellurium, Terbium, Thallium, Thorium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Xenon, Ytterbium, Zirconium.
Harmful: Copper, Iron. Some of the other metals such as Gold, Tin, Nickel etc.
*Individuals with DS have problems with too much copper already. Iron, given unnecessarly (i.e. not low or anemic) causes increased oxidative stress and other problems. Heavy metal deposits have been found in the brains of AD patients and we know that individuals with DS have a higher chance of developing AD at an earlier age than most individuals. Excess sulfur is an issue in individuals with DS, therefore additional sulfur should not be given.

Metabolic & Digestive Enzymes:
Harmful: Copper Enzymes: Tyrosinase, Ascorbic Acid, Oxidase. Iron Enzymes: Catalase, Cytochrome oxidase, Peroxidase.
*As I mentioned above copper is harmful for individuals with DS. And, iron should be not be given unless it is absolutely needed. The enzymes Oxidase, Catalase and Peroxidase all are implicated in the increased oxidative stress and pro-oxidant state of individuals with DS, therefore they should not be given.

Amino Acids:
Unnecessary: Alanine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine, Threonine, Valine.
Harmful: Cystine, Serine.
*Both Cystine and Serine are in excess amounts in an individual with DS, due to disturbances in biochemical processes. These should not be given, unless they are absolutely needed (i.e. deficient).

The list of ingredients from Cellfood is below.
Trace Minerals
Actinium
Antimony
Argon
Astatine
Barium
Berylium
Bismuth
Boron
Bromine
Calcium
Carbon
Cerium
Cesium
Chromium
Cobalt
Copper
Dysprosium
Erbium
Europium
Fluorine
Gadolinium
Gallium
Germanium
Gold
Hafnium
Helium
Holmium
Hydrogen
Indium
Iodine
Iridium
Iron
Krypton
Lanthanum
Lutetium
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Neodymium
Neon
Nickel
Niobium
Nitrogen
Osmium
Oxygen
Palladium
Phosphorous
Platinum
Polonium
Potassium
Praseodymium
Promethium
Rhenium
Rhodium
Rubidium
Ruthenium
Samarium
Selenium
Silica
Silicon
Silver
Sodium
Sulfur
Tantalum
Technetium
Tellurium
Terbium
Thallium
Thorium
Tin
Titanium
Tungsten
Vanadium
Xenon
Ytterbium
Zinc
Zirconium
(Note the absence of aluminum, cadmium, chlorine, lead, mercury, and radium)

Metabolic and Digestive Enzymes
Hydrolases, Carbohydrases: Maltase, Sucrase, Emulsin.
Nucleases: Polynucleotidase, Nucleotidase.
Hydrases: Fumarase, Enolase.
Peptidases: Aminopolypeptidase, Dipeptidase, Prolinase.
Esterases: Lipase, Phosphotase, Sulfatase.
Copper Enzymes: Tyrosinase, Ascorbic Acid, Oxidase
Iron Enzymes: Catalase, Cytochrome oxidase, Peroxidase
Enzymes containing coenzymes 1 and/or 2: Lactic Dehydrogenase, Robison Ester, Dehydrogenase
Enzymes which reduce cytochrome: Succinic Dehydrogenase
Yellow Enzymes: Warburg's Old Yellow Enzymes, Diaphorase, Haas Enzyme, Cytochrome C reductase
Amidase: Urease
Mutases: Aldehyde Mutase, Glyoxalase
Desmolases: Zymohexase, Carboxylase
Other Enzymes: Phosphorylase, Phosphohexisomerase, Hexokinase, Phosphoglumutase

Amino Acids
Alanine
Arginine
Aspartic Acid
Cystine
Glutamic Acid
Glycine
Histidine
Isoleucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Proline
Serine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Tyrosine
Valine
All information regarding Cellfood’s ingredients is from their website - www.luminahealth.com