Bio-identical Hormone Therapy and Sage Advice 4 Women from

January is always the start of a new year with new goals and aspirations to be more organized and less stressed.  One of my patients recently shared this tip.  Make a list of all your medications and supplements and put them on your cell phone. Most cell phones have a Tools section and place to write notes. A big thanks to her husband for this suggestion.

December starts just after our Thanksgiving celebrations have come to a close. Most of us are lucky enough to have gathered with friends and family and shared a day of food and good conversation. We are getting ready for Christmas. This can be a time  full of  parties and too much sugar in the form of sweets and alcohol.  It can also be a time of great stress for some. Stress affects adrenal function and adrenal function affects metabolism and fosters weight gain.

It is time for us to think about our diets before the holidays not just after we have gained all the weight and feel badly. In my nutrition tips section, I have mentioned Dr. Diana Schwartzbein, MD. Here is a link to one of her web site pages that really talks about how we should eat. It is certainly worth the time to read. We can be proactive about the Holidays and enjoy the food and celebrations  more. http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/dr_schw/sp_I_intro.html.

Remember that everything can not be perfect. The 80/20 rule is good. Do your best 80% of the time and allow yourself to be less than ideal the other 20% so you can enjoy life too.

November is our month of giving thanks. Being grateful for all the parts of our lives that are working out: good, better, best and even not working.  Being grateful for life itself. We live such better lives than most on our planet.

We should all wake up and affirm all the people, relationships and things that we are grateful for. Things as great as the air we breath, the water we drink , the food we eat and as small as the bees pollinating our flowers and giving us honey and good bacteria and all the good bacteria in our guts that keep our second brains functioning at their best..

 One of my favorite restaurants in Berkeley is the Café Gratitude.     It is a marvelous raw food restaurant that has a game at each table that is a venue for fostering fruitful family and friend conversations. The game is insightful. Check it out at http://cafegratitude.com/boardgame. It would be a great Christmas gift for the whole family.  It is an interesting way to get to know your friends and family better.

 I have their bumper sticker that simply says “What Are You Grateful For?” Just in case I have forgotten to remember them every day, all I have to do is get in my car and am reminded. Most of us concentrate on what is wrong with our lives and need to be affirming what is good.

What are you grateful for today?

October is here,the seasons are changing and flu season is upon us! My secret weapon against the flu is vitamin D. Most of us do not get enough anyway.   And very few make their own from sun exposure.   According to Medscape, a study out of Hawaii in 2008 showed that 80 % of a population of Hawaiians and Caucasians exposed to twenty hours of non sun screened sun exposure still had insufficient vitamin D levels.  I have found when testing almost all my patients for Vitamin D levels that only one patient  was making her own this past year.

With winter on the way we will be getting less sun. Anyone living north of the latitude of Atlanta, Georgia really does not get enough vitamin D from the sun  all winter. If you are found to be deficient, supplement with at least 4000 to 5000  international units of vitamin D each day for a few months and test your levels after three months to see if you need more.

 Vitamin D aids the immune system. Then when you are exposed to flu viruses, your immune system can help you the very most. Of course, you also have to rest and eat well.  Vitamin D also aids in conversion of relatively inactive T4 made by the thyroid gland to active T3 and deficiencies are very detrimental to those persons with thyroid disease and thyroid dysfunction.

 

 

September is the time for getting back to school and contemplating the future. With the untimely passing of Teddy Kennedy in 2009 from brain cancer, I am writing about how we can possibly protect ourselves from some of the radiation that we get exposed to everyday.   The cell phone has changed reality and life as we know it.  Many can not live without them.  There are some researchers in neurology and oncology who have been warning us that cell phones may contribute to brain tumors. 

 The safest way to use a cell phone is not to.  That being said, use the speakerphone mode as much as possible, not just in the car as a hands free auto safety precaution. Do not talk on the phone with it up to your ear or limit that to a minimum. Using a wired ear phone is a little safer but the radiation is still conducted to your head. There is something called Blue Tube (not Blue Tooth) where the last few inches of tube are air filled. You can take the Mercola site quiz about how much you know about cell phone affects on children who use them on the following website. It is very interesting.

http://products.mercola.com/blue-tube-headset/

 

August was my month to take time for family and travel. Time to recharge your mind and energies is always a good idea. We all work too hard and forget to take it easy and enjoy the little things that can bring us joy. You do not have to travel to do this. Just have gratitude for something you find special in every day.

The Union Tribune had a piece about safe travel that made me think about how lucky it was that my trip was joyous and uneventful. The point of the article was that persons who travel might just start packing n95 respirator masks in case of an obviously sick person near you (or any face mask would be better than none), hand sanitizer for frequent use and disposable disinfectant wipes for your tray and armrest.

In addition to these protections,Dr Mercola advises making sure that you have adequate levels of Vitamin D will help protect your immune system in the event of exposure. Mercola.com

 

July is half over and tonight I found out why I was waiting to be inspired to write about for this month.  I just watched an amazing movie "Under Your Skin" that will continue to be shown at the Gaslamp 15 Theatres until July 16th. This is a must see documentary.  If you or someone you love has ever been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, Alzheimers, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gerrigs disease, Parkinson's, ADHD, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia or are frustrated by knowing that something is wrong with you and no one can figure you out, some of your answers may just be found in this movie. The documentary is about Lyme Disease. The most important things  that I learned were that most tests for Lyme done by Elisa are not generally effective for diagnosis and that the disease is thought to be underdiagnosed significantly.  It is more prevalent than AIDS. The best testing is done  by a company called  IGenix,Inc (www.igenix.com) using a combinations of Western Blot and other tests, not solely Elisa.

 The point of this  movie is that this infection if diagnosed early is more easily treated and,if not, may be debilitating for life. There is great contraversey politically regarding it's chronic form  and treatment due to the potential cost of treatment and the burden of insurance companies to comply with treatment  for their insured since treatment would have to be continued ,for some, indefinitely like AIDS medicines.

I highly recommend this movie. It is deeply thought provoking in terms of our medical system and at a time when we may be at the cross roads of having health care reform and a system that works for the good of pure science and serving the public interest, not just the profit motives of special interests. It is worth the time to see. If you miss it, I hope that it can be found on line for purchase or rent from video stores.

 For more information:  www.lymedisease.org

www.underyourskin.com

www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/dcdc/disb/disbindex.htm

 

Prior Tips:

February is a time to continue what you started in January. Now add a list of your medical conditions, allergies and your ICE numbers. In Case Of Emergency numbers in your cell phone aid people helping you in an emergency. Some phones have a special place for these numbers. If yours does not, just change the name of your contact to ICE. Emergency personnel know how to look for this .

 March  It is time to take a breath or two. I was at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim on March 5th and 6th,2009. I had the pleasure of hearing Andrew Weil speak again. His breathing exercises really help to relax you better than any drug. Sit in an upright  position with yourback straight and feet on the floor. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind your teeth. Exhale through your teeth. Then inhale through your nose for the count of 4. Hold your breath for the count of 7. Exhale through your mouth,past your tongue for the count of 8 with your lips slightly pursed.. Repeat this for  a total of 4 repetitions each morning and night. You may be dizzy doing this at first. You can build up to 8 breaths but should never exceed 8 at a time. You may do this more often than twice a day. Relax and enjoy the benefits!

 

April    Early this month, I finished reading Suzanne Sommer's newest book"Breakthough"   I do recommend the book.  Most of the information in this book  was not new to me.  I am not yet ready to get on the band wagon that we must continue to have our periods for life in order to fool Mother Nature into thinking we still possess reproductive function. Suzanne's point is that the body tries to self destruct in order to make room on the planet for those capable of continuing the species. I do commend her for bringing bio-identical therapy to the awareness of the American women on the recent Opera Show.

One of my many practice pearls  that one of her MD interviews discussed is the use of d-Mannose for the treatment of bladder infections. D-mannose is a sugar. It  treats bladder infections and eliminates the need for antibiotics that destroy all the good bacteria in the body while eliminating the invading bacteria. Our GI function is dependent on good intestinal bacteria. D-Mannose powder in juice or water every 2 or 3 hours dislodges bacteria from the bladder wall so they are eliminated from the body when we urinate. How simple! For more information, go to any of the following websites:   http://www.d-mannose-utislip.com/       http://www.healingtherapies.info/D-Mannose.htm    

      According to E-Vitamins.com, normal therapeutic dosage is 1/2 tsp. daily for chronic suffers of UTIs or weekly for preventative measures. It can be mixed with juice, milk or water. However, it is easiest to just take the powder plain.

 They state that according to Dr. Jonathan V. Wright, editor of Nutrition and Healing, during an infection it is recommended to take 1/2 tsp. every 3-4 hours. If the infection is not considerably better within 24 hours, it is probably not being caused by E.coli. (Most bladder infections are caused by E.coli).

For women who experience bladder infections related to intercourse, it is recommended taking 1/2 tsp. 1 hour prior to and just after intercourse.

As a dietary supplement, take 3 capsules 2-3 times daily.

 

 May  If you must have testing that requires radiation. These tests are mammograms, CT scans, xrays,etc.   One of the supplements which may reduce radiation damage is the use of curcumin 100 mgs twice daily for one week prior and 4 week after.  I have previously recommended high doses of antioxidants like A,E, C, CoQ10,  and Selenium. 

June is the month of the summer soltice. It holds the longest day of the year. Longer days to be more productive but that may cause you to lose some of your valuable sleep. Sleep is one of the most valuable commodities for  humans .  During sleep, we repair ourselves.  We make necessary hormones to fuel us the next day.  We produce enough REM deep sleep to produce cancer protective melatonin. A British study reveals that eight hours of interrupted sleep induce a 72% reduced risk for breast cancer. 

Are you getting enough sleep? You need to do whatever you can to ensure this.  If not, get help to figure out how to do it and preferably without pharmaceutical drugs.

 

 The most important tip:

The Brain needs three things basically to work for us all our lives. If we deprive it of any of these we are failing ourselves.  According to Datis Kharrazian, the brain needs stimulation, oxygen and glucose. This means that we must both physically and mentally stimulate our brains. We must physically exercise to activate all the neurons we possibly can. We must mentally stimulate our brains with new and different ideas to create new pathways to utilize our neurons as much as possible. Take up new interests, learn a new language, and read new books. Do crossword puzzles or Soduko.  The old adage use it or lose it is truly key!

 

 The key to providing oxygen to the brain lies in keeping healthy so that the blood going to the brain is well saturated with oxygen. We must not become anemic which requires that attention be made to essential nutrient that work for us.  Among many other things we must breathe.

 

We must also pay attention to what, when and how we eat. Glucose is essential for brain function. We must eat in such a way that we avoid hypoglycemia and insulin resistance. Eating good nutrients that are combined well for absorption and breakdown and eating at frequent intervals is essential.

 

We need hormone balance and adequate amounts of hormones to make brain neurotransmitters. Women need estrogen and men need testosterone to make serotonin. We make our melatonin  from  serotonin. We need progesterone to make Gaba.

`

 

            Perimenopause is the time to really prevent all the usual aging that is caused by inflammation that comes with hormone decline.