I was reading recently in Aging Matters Magazine (Issue 2, 2013), and came across an article
by a Dr. Richard Lippman. I want to thank the good Doctor for his opinions on
the topic of anti-aging. They exemplify exactly what we as the humble patient
need to be cautious of while seeking medical help.
What I see all the time in the mainstream
medical practice is a “God-like” attitude and an absolute black and white view
of health and the human body. Indeed it
appears that if the information did not come directly from the Pharmaceutical
companies themselves it does not exist in the mainstream clinic.
Bio-identical hormone therapy is no
different, it is just the newest thing. So
what we are told as patients is that without these powerful treatments we are
lost. Without things like Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT) we humans are doomed to suffer the terrible
consequences of physical and sexual atrophy, cancer, depression, etc. Without them we will most certainly suffer,
and who would be so silly as to allow that to happen?
Now with due credit to Dr. Lippman, he does indeed recommend
healthy diet and lifestyle, though these recommendations only amounted to two
sentences of the entire article. Salads,
sushi, avoiding fast food, tennis and swimming are examples of healthy choices Dr.
Lippman recommends. In this we are in
agreement, but if I may point out a few of his other more telling statements…
“Bio-identical
hormones are the only practical way to avoid stroke, blood clots, and
cancer and to enhance one’s sex life.”
“Nature is out to
destroy our bodies by limiting our hormones and nutrients. Correcting our hormones will trump Mother
Nature’s rampage that often starts in middle age.”
Now this is the type of statement that should automatically
concern the average person. It reeks of
fanaticism and closed-mindedness to the mountains of other well cited and peer
reviewed research articles on the subject.
This is downright dangerous when put into practice with such inherent
authority. Remember, the status of the
MD has risen to that of a noble lord. To
question the authority is tantamount to blasphemy and to do so means that you
are adrift on your own with no chance of salvation. At least that is the
feeling we get right?
So if I may just contribute a few thoughts:
- First
I want to highly recommend the book The
Menopause Industry, by Sandra Coney.
This book was previously “banned” in
- Regarding
HRT being the only practical way to avoid stroke, blood clots and
cancer… Let’s not forget that there
have been hormone replacement studies that have had to be stopped due to
increased deaths associated with certain hormone protocols. No not every hormone strategy mind you,
but please people, these things are very powerful medicines! And yes they can kill you. There was one particular study I read
about many years ago that touted the vascular benefits of HRT in
women. It clearly stated that the
proposed mechanism of benefit was that it appeared to elevate blood levels
of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids found in fish oils which are known to have
anti-inflammatory effects and benefit vascular health. Therefore they
concluded that HRT was valuable for heart disease. I had to chuckle at
this one. Why not just take the
fish oils if that was the proposed value?
- Regarding
the cancer specifically… The real
concern for people here is the rampant inflammatory scenario that we are
all wallowing in these days. How
about we focus on the terrible corporate provided diets that permeate our
daily life? How about we talk about
the Xenoestrogens and Bisphenol A that we consume every day while we
suckle from our plastic topped corner store coffee cup or our bottled
waters? How about we discuss the
raging food sensitivities which are shown to drive cancers of all kinds
and increase all causes of mortality?
Is the medical system really looking out for our greater good? Or do they just want to sell more
medicine?
- Regarding
the concept of “anti-aging” itself.
Why is it that these anti-aging doctors focus so squarely on the
Endocrine system? Hormones aren’t
everything that’s for sure. They
are potent and they can produce immediate benefits. But I can speak from experience that
there is a price to pay eventually.
If you really think about it, aging is not really a matter of
hormonal decline. Everything that
we are, including the hormone system, is a function of brain health. Neurological decline is everything and
it takes more than hormone replacement therapy to keep a brain
healthy. I would hope that these
“anti-aging specialists” will soon clue into that concept. It will do their patient populations
wonders and may even require less replacement therapy in the process. Now isn’t that the goal anyway? One school of thought drives dependence
and the other drives empowerment.
Hmmm… Just try getting off
of your HRT sometime if you are already on it. It is generally not a comfortable thing
to go through.
- And
finally, if you think that you can “trump mother nature” you are sadly
mistaken. It certainly has not
stopped us from trying to manipulate the weather, or genetically modify the
food chain, or eventually terra-form Mars!
I guess this is no different.
But I suppose that is the
largest difference between the mainstream and “alternative”
practitioners. We alternative folks
aren’t trying to pull one over on nature or the body. Shame on those who would propose this
way of life! If you are in constant
opposition to nature and your own body how can you be a part of them in a
healthy way? A much better goal in
my opinion would be to work with nature and the body. You would be surprised what nature has
to offer. And just because the
doctor does not understand natural medicine does not mean that it is not a
perfectly valid and effective way to reduce cancer, heart disease, stroke,
depression, or sexual decline. Give
me 6 months and a compliant patient and I would challenge any medical
protocol in not only lowering these risk values but in improving overall
quality of life.
So I hope that this little article offers at least a little
food for thought. I admit that I can get
a little steamed from topics like this because I see it as a gross abuse of
power and influence over an often desperate and under informed patient
population. I can tell you one thing
though… If your doctor or any other medical
practitioner comes off like our good Dr. Lippman, touting outlandish tales like
these, I recommend that you look for another doctor.