Is Our Low Fat Lifestyle Actually Killing Us?
If there has ever been a medical dogma that has taken hold so tightly as to actually cause us harm it is the concept of eating low fat foods for better health. The fact is that there is no credible evidence proving this to be true, but came into its own in the 80’s when the cholesterol fighting boom took over healthcare. All of the sudden fatty foods, particularly the saturated fats, became a boogey man for heart health and a massive campaign was launched to stop us from eating the stuff. The idea was that since cholesterol (found in fatty foods) is a major constituent in arterial plaque we should therefore avoid consuming fatty and cholesterol containing foods. And then there is also the misconception that since we are all avoiding fat on our bodies, we should avoid fat in our diets, as if it goes directly from our mouths to our thighs! Hogwash… So what is this low fat diet actually doing for us other than not increasing our overall health or lengthening our life spans? There are quite a few things going on here that perhaps you have not considered. I hope to bring up a few concepts here that might just get you thinking about how to eat for better health.
Probably the most significant mishap through this whole saturated fat scare is the switch from good old saturated fats to hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are things like margarine and Crisco, which are actually just artificially made saturated fats! What they have done here is take a vegetable oil which is normally liquid at room temperature and add some hydrogen atoms to the long carbon chain that makes up its chemical structure. This makes a liquid a solid so that it can be used like a spread, or to make packaged baked goodies with a longer shelf life. The trouble here is that doing so creates trans fats. Losing the natural saturated plant and animal fats and replacing them with factory made trans fats has probably single handedly killed more people than any other factor today, and all in the name of better health. And I can guarantee that a good number of people reading this article now still feel that they should avoid butter over their butter-like spread. In fact butter is one of the most stable of the fats out there and does not turn to trans fat when heated. The same cannot be said for the hydrogenated oils. Once heat is applied, whammo, you get trans fats. Even the ones that claim to be trans fat free, once heated have the potential to turn to trans fat in the pan. Sneaky advertising to say the least. So please be very careful about what you are putting in your mouth! If it was made in a lab it probably isn’t good for you!
The second concept that comes to mind is that in order for us to think clearly and have healthy and powerful cognition we need to have plenty of the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine. In order to make Acetylcholine we need several raw materials in our diets to be present. The main constituent required is Choline. Without adequate intake of Choline containing foods we cannot make Acetylcholine. So where do we get Choline you ask? Well guess what… We get Choline in high fat foods such as fatty pork, cream, cheese, egg yolks, nuts and seeds for example. Besides the nuts and seeds (which need to be raw mind you) the other foods listed are generally on the naughty list by mainstream standards. So an argument could be made that eating a diet void of these fatty foods, or even low in these foods could actually make you less sharp in the long run! But to take it a step further, if you do not stimulate the neurons in your brain with the various hormones and neurotransmitters like Acetylcholine, the brain cells begin to die. The Hippocampus is a structure in the brain that, among other important jobs, is responsible for turning short term memory into long term memory. It happens to be rich in Acetylcholine receptors and when these receptors do not get stimulated by Acetylcholine you get degeneration of the Hippocampus. This is the first structure in the brain to decline in cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. It is vital that we keep our Hippocampus and Acetylcholine system primed to avoid the ravages of mental decline as we age. And a diet without Choline (ie. a fat free diet) can be a quicker road to dementia and brain health decline than you think. Remember, our brains are made up primarily of fat and cholesterol. We need these raw materials to keep our brains healthy.
Overall, once you get past the scare tactics, the reasons for avoiding fats are few compared to the reasons for including them as a main player in your diet. I only chose a couple of points here to spotlight but there are plenty more. And don’t get me wrong, fat is of course a high energy food and should be respected. Over eating any high energy food is a bad thing to do. But when you factor in good fats like what you might find in raw nuts and seeds, meat, fish, avocados and coconuts (yes you can and should consume coconut oil. It is one saturated fat that actually helps you burn body fat!) you are not only protecting your brain, but you are giving every cell in your body what it needs to carry out the millions of functions that keep you a healthy and thriving person. Keep your fats natural and your body will know exactly what to do with them. It is the new factory made stuff that causes the trouble. So please people, understand that we have come a long way in our understanding of health since the 80’s. I know that we are told by our doctors and by the commercials and ads every day that we should avoid fats. Fat is an easy scapegoat. But one thing to really take to heart is that outdated medical dogmas like this one don’t die easily. But it doesn’t mean that they are correct. If saturated fats were really killers then there would be no more Eskimos. They eat a diet consisting primarily of saturated fats and very little vegetables yet live longer and healthier lives than those of us in the lower states eating the low fat stuff. It isn’t until they come down here that they suffer the same poor health as us average Americans. Go and Google the “Eskimo Paradox,” to see what I am talking about. But above all, do what the elders did. Enjoy your healthy and yummy fats in moderation. Avoid the synthetic stuff and the simple sugars and carbs and you will be way ahead of the mainstream concept of what is considered healthy. And not to mention your food will taste better.
Happy eating, and good health!
Probably the most significant mishap through this whole saturated fat scare is the switch from good old saturated fats to hydrogenated vegetable oils. These are things like margarine and Crisco, which are actually just artificially made saturated fats! What they have done here is take a vegetable oil which is normally liquid at room temperature and add some hydrogen atoms to the long carbon chain that makes up its chemical structure. This makes a liquid a solid so that it can be used like a spread, or to make packaged baked goodies with a longer shelf life. The trouble here is that doing so creates trans fats. Losing the natural saturated plant and animal fats and replacing them with factory made trans fats has probably single handedly killed more people than any other factor today, and all in the name of better health. And I can guarantee that a good number of people reading this article now still feel that they should avoid butter over their butter-like spread. In fact butter is one of the most stable of the fats out there and does not turn to trans fat when heated. The same cannot be said for the hydrogenated oils. Once heat is applied, whammo, you get trans fats. Even the ones that claim to be trans fat free, once heated have the potential to turn to trans fat in the pan. Sneaky advertising to say the least. So please be very careful about what you are putting in your mouth! If it was made in a lab it probably isn’t good for you!
The second concept that comes to mind is that in order for us to think clearly and have healthy and powerful cognition we need to have plenty of the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine. In order to make Acetylcholine we need several raw materials in our diets to be present. The main constituent required is Choline. Without adequate intake of Choline containing foods we cannot make Acetylcholine. So where do we get Choline you ask? Well guess what… We get Choline in high fat foods such as fatty pork, cream, cheese, egg yolks, nuts and seeds for example. Besides the nuts and seeds (which need to be raw mind you) the other foods listed are generally on the naughty list by mainstream standards. So an argument could be made that eating a diet void of these fatty foods, or even low in these foods could actually make you less sharp in the long run! But to take it a step further, if you do not stimulate the neurons in your brain with the various hormones and neurotransmitters like Acetylcholine, the brain cells begin to die. The Hippocampus is a structure in the brain that, among other important jobs, is responsible for turning short term memory into long term memory. It happens to be rich in Acetylcholine receptors and when these receptors do not get stimulated by Acetylcholine you get degeneration of the Hippocampus. This is the first structure in the brain to decline in cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. It is vital that we keep our Hippocampus and Acetylcholine system primed to avoid the ravages of mental decline as we age. And a diet without Choline (ie. a fat free diet) can be a quicker road to dementia and brain health decline than you think. Remember, our brains are made up primarily of fat and cholesterol. We need these raw materials to keep our brains healthy.
Overall, once you get past the scare tactics, the reasons for avoiding fats are few compared to the reasons for including them as a main player in your diet. I only chose a couple of points here to spotlight but there are plenty more. And don’t get me wrong, fat is of course a high energy food and should be respected. Over eating any high energy food is a bad thing to do. But when you factor in good fats like what you might find in raw nuts and seeds, meat, fish, avocados and coconuts (yes you can and should consume coconut oil. It is one saturated fat that actually helps you burn body fat!) you are not only protecting your brain, but you are giving every cell in your body what it needs to carry out the millions of functions that keep you a healthy and thriving person. Keep your fats natural and your body will know exactly what to do with them. It is the new factory made stuff that causes the trouble. So please people, understand that we have come a long way in our understanding of health since the 80’s. I know that we are told by our doctors and by the commercials and ads every day that we should avoid fats. Fat is an easy scapegoat. But one thing to really take to heart is that outdated medical dogmas like this one don’t die easily. But it doesn’t mean that they are correct. If saturated fats were really killers then there would be no more Eskimos. They eat a diet consisting primarily of saturated fats and very little vegetables yet live longer and healthier lives than those of us in the lower states eating the low fat stuff. It isn’t until they come down here that they suffer the same poor health as us average Americans. Go and Google the “Eskimo Paradox,” to see what I am talking about. But above all, do what the elders did. Enjoy your healthy and yummy fats in moderation. Avoid the synthetic stuff and the simple sugars and carbs and you will be way ahead of the mainstream concept of what is considered healthy. And not to mention your food will taste better.
Happy eating, and good health!
The Testosterone - Brain Connection
We men are often times accused of thinking with our penis and not our brains. Though I admit to such accusations at least on some occasions the fact is that we do indeed think with our brains. But if you consider how testosterone works on our brain the accusation of us thinking with our penis isn’t all that far from the truth. Indeed both our brains and our reproductive organs have a high sensitivity to testosterone. We think like men because our male hormone testosterone has very significant impacts on our brains. In this article I want to explore some of these concepts and hopefully offer the man (or woman) reading this a little more insight into how we men experience the world.
The first thing to understand about a hormone like testosterone is that it is nothing without its hormone receptor. These hormone receptors are located on the surface of the many different cells throughout our body. Think of this interaction like a key and lock scenario. The hormone is the key which turns the mechanism of a lock on a cell in the body to produce some significant result. You can’t have a functioning system without having both the hormone and the receptor functioning well together.
As men, our brains are loaded with testosterone receptors, which is why we experience the world through the stereotypical male point of view. The frontal lobe of our brain in particular is rich with testosterone receptors, and it is this part of our brain where we process much of our sense of reason. So when we see, hear, taste, smell or touch something our brain decides how to respond to the stimulation based upon how well our frontal lobe is firing. If for example we are low in testosterone our frontal lobe will not fire well and we will begin to lose the response of what we have all known as typically male. Included in this concept could be things like low libido and/or poor motivation for other activities such as work or relationships. This could even include wanting to put positive energy towards the children, or how you interact with your wife. Significant stuff! Remember, our hormones greatly effect how we view and respond to our surroundings. We understand things only as much as what comes through the testosterone filtered actions of the frontal lobe.
Low testosterone in men is also a common cause of depression and is mostly associated with the Dopamine pathways. So these men are often on medications like Wellbutrin or Abilify. Depression from a neurological perspective can be described as a low firing rate of the frontal lobe. And without adequate exposure to testosterone the firing rate will decline rapidly. So you must ask yourself if you are taking these medications if you are treating the core problem or just the symptoms. And at what cost? It is an important concept to consider because without working on the core problem you might be required to take the symptom masking medications indefinitely.
Lastly, it has been well reported in the literature that loss of testosterone in men is correlated with brain aging and cognitive decline. This can lead to poor memory, cloudy thinking, dementia and eventually Alzheimer’s. This is not something you want when there are children to be present for and not to mention the enjoyment and quality of your personal life. Other studies show that poor testosterone status in men can hinder the healing and recovery from brain related injuries. Testosterone can therefore be considered neuro-protective in men. From a brain health perspective, it is imperative that men have healthy testosterone status.
So having said all that one might want to run out and get on some testosterone replacement therapy. In fact, your doctor will most certainly recommend it. This may be necessary for some individuals, but please understand that hormones are very strong and I can tell you that I see hormone therapy overdose all the time in my clinic. It is one of the things that I often help people recover from in fact. If you end up with testosterone levels higher than what is normal in a healthy male, you will begin to induce receptor site resistance. Remember the hormone receptors? This means that though there will be elevated hormone present, the person will experience life as though he were low in that hormone. If you are currently taking testosterone and have ever felt the need to increase your dose this is a bad sign. You are probably becoming resistant to your hormones and more is definitely not better! Please contact me if this is the case for you.
Instead of starting out on a replacement model for Testosterone status, I would hope that you would first consider the Functional approach. It is always better to produce your own hormones naturally. This leaves your body stronger and more able to function on its own without the added stress to your system. The replacement model almost always leads to a weakened system that is dependant on hormone replacement for the rest of your life. It also leaves you open to other more serious problems like cancer for example. If you like your prostate, I recommend avoiding artificially elevated male hormone status as you can experience with hormone replacement therapy. Digging out from such a thing is often difficult and uncomfortable to say the least. There are many natural ways out there to stimulate healthy testosterone physiology in your body without the use of such medications. And if you can keep the interplay of testosterone and brain function squarely in mind you can achieve amazing results. And in the end you will be a better man for it.
The first thing to understand about a hormone like testosterone is that it is nothing without its hormone receptor. These hormone receptors are located on the surface of the many different cells throughout our body. Think of this interaction like a key and lock scenario. The hormone is the key which turns the mechanism of a lock on a cell in the body to produce some significant result. You can’t have a functioning system without having both the hormone and the receptor functioning well together.
As men, our brains are loaded with testosterone receptors, which is why we experience the world through the stereotypical male point of view. The frontal lobe of our brain in particular is rich with testosterone receptors, and it is this part of our brain where we process much of our sense of reason. So when we see, hear, taste, smell or touch something our brain decides how to respond to the stimulation based upon how well our frontal lobe is firing. If for example we are low in testosterone our frontal lobe will not fire well and we will begin to lose the response of what we have all known as typically male. Included in this concept could be things like low libido and/or poor motivation for other activities such as work or relationships. This could even include wanting to put positive energy towards the children, or how you interact with your wife. Significant stuff! Remember, our hormones greatly effect how we view and respond to our surroundings. We understand things only as much as what comes through the testosterone filtered actions of the frontal lobe.
Low testosterone in men is also a common cause of depression and is mostly associated with the Dopamine pathways. So these men are often on medications like Wellbutrin or Abilify. Depression from a neurological perspective can be described as a low firing rate of the frontal lobe. And without adequate exposure to testosterone the firing rate will decline rapidly. So you must ask yourself if you are taking these medications if you are treating the core problem or just the symptoms. And at what cost? It is an important concept to consider because without working on the core problem you might be required to take the symptom masking medications indefinitely.
Lastly, it has been well reported in the literature that loss of testosterone in men is correlated with brain aging and cognitive decline. This can lead to poor memory, cloudy thinking, dementia and eventually Alzheimer’s. This is not something you want when there are children to be present for and not to mention the enjoyment and quality of your personal life. Other studies show that poor testosterone status in men can hinder the healing and recovery from brain related injuries. Testosterone can therefore be considered neuro-protective in men. From a brain health perspective, it is imperative that men have healthy testosterone status.
So having said all that one might want to run out and get on some testosterone replacement therapy. In fact, your doctor will most certainly recommend it. This may be necessary for some individuals, but please understand that hormones are very strong and I can tell you that I see hormone therapy overdose all the time in my clinic. It is one of the things that I often help people recover from in fact. If you end up with testosterone levels higher than what is normal in a healthy male, you will begin to induce receptor site resistance. Remember the hormone receptors? This means that though there will be elevated hormone present, the person will experience life as though he were low in that hormone. If you are currently taking testosterone and have ever felt the need to increase your dose this is a bad sign. You are probably becoming resistant to your hormones and more is definitely not better! Please contact me if this is the case for you.
Instead of starting out on a replacement model for Testosterone status, I would hope that you would first consider the Functional approach. It is always better to produce your own hormones naturally. This leaves your body stronger and more able to function on its own without the added stress to your system. The replacement model almost always leads to a weakened system that is dependant on hormone replacement for the rest of your life. It also leaves you open to other more serious problems like cancer for example. If you like your prostate, I recommend avoiding artificially elevated male hormone status as you can experience with hormone replacement therapy. Digging out from such a thing is often difficult and uncomfortable to say the least. There are many natural ways out there to stimulate healthy testosterone physiology in your body without the use of such medications. And if you can keep the interplay of testosterone and brain function squarely in mind you can achieve amazing results. And in the end you will be a better man for it.
Healthy Brains Equals Healthy Bodies
I had discussed in my last newsletter about the concept of how the brain plays a vital role in physical modalities like acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy and even aromatherapy. I explained that by stimulating particular areas of the body we are actually directly stimulating the brain. The brain then responds to that stimulus which creates immediate and specific affects back out into the body. This is why needling a point on the hand can have positive affects in the abdomen for example. My teaser at the end of that last article brought up the concept of why acupuncture or any of the other modalities might work better for some people and not others, or why they might work better for you on some days more than others. I hope to answer this question here. You will find that the answers are often time quite simple. And reading this article may just allow you to gain more benefit from your particular modality of choice, in which case I will feel that I have done my job. The idea is to extract the most benefit out of what we do and how we choose to heal.
As you all probably know by now I use quite a bit of blood chemistry with my patients. Using blood chemistry as a tool I am able to find many different things that are causing stress to the body. I use much narrower reference ranges than the average MD which are called "Functional Ranges." There are a few factors in a blood chemistry panel that when out of range Functionally speaking, can have dramatic affects on brain function and other bodily functions alike. Blood sugar for example is one factor that is often times overlooked because the mainstream ranges that are used are so very broad and based upon an illness model and not a wellness model. But it is important to understand that blood sugar only needs to be out of range slightly to begin to have negative impacts on the body.
So it is important to consider three major factors when thinking about brain health and optimal brain function. I have listed them here:
The first is stimulation. This is really quite simple... Use it or lose it! People who do not continuously stimulate their brains with new information or challenging tasks tend to suffer mental decline quicker than those who do engage in these activities. It is one thing to be really great at something, but to keep your brain healthy you will need to find new things to learn or ponder. Learn a language for example. Learn to play an instrument. Dance. Exercise. All of these things challenge the brain and help maintain good brain health.
Second is healthy blood sugar. The brain, unlike most other tissues in the body, can only use sugar for it's energy. If the brain tissue is not getting an adequate supply of blood sugar, function declines and so does brain health in general. I see poor blood sugar scenarios in close to 75% of the people that I do blood chemistry work-ups with. So I can tell you that this is one area that is wreaking havoc for a lot of people, brain health or otherwise. I either see reactive hypoglycemia, or sub-clinically low blood sugar, meaning the doctor won't pick up on it. This is a fasting blood sugar under 85. Or elevated blood sugar which is a fasting blood sugar over 99. In this case there will be insulin resistance and the cells simply cannot take in the sugar floating around in the blood. The sugar is there, it just can't be used adequately. So either way the cells of the brain (and body) are not able to get adequate sugar supply and therefore health and function decline. Poor blood sugar equals poor brain function.
Lastly the brain needs a healthy supply of Oxygen. This is an obvious one. Without oxygen to our brains we die! But really what I am talking about here are conditions like anemia where the red blood cells cannot deliver adequate oxygen to the cells of the body, brain included. Or this could be something like poor circulation due to arterioscleroses, or the clogging of the blood vessels. Look for things like cold hands and feet, hair loss on the lower part of the leg which often times gets brushed off as, "my boots rub on that area." Or look for nail fungus. Smokers are also prime suspects for poor circulation. All of these things may be indicators that inadequate oxygen is making it to your brain and is therefore hindering function and supporting mental decline.
So going back now to my original concept of acupuncture working better for some people and not others, or better on one day vs. the next. Considering the above three brain health concepts you can see how some people may have all three of these things out of whack. Knowing that healthy brain function is vital for good acupuncture results you would want to make sure that the above mentioned concepts are in order to maintain the best results from your particular modality of choice. Let's consider a 65 year old man who is overweight and a smoker. He sits around on the recliner chair all day watching Jerry Springer while drinking his 2 liter bottle of Pepsi. How well do you think this guy's brain is working? How well do you think that his acupuncture results for his knee pain would stack up against a 30 year old athlete who eats well and is going through a Ph.D. program in astrophysics for example? But forgetting that for a second, how well do you think that you would respond if all you had for breakfast that morning was a cup of coffee and you roll into your acupuncture appointment at 1pm? Let me tell you... You would get more for your time and money if you squeezed in at least some eggs that morning. Stable blood sugar is the key.
So to reiterate, brain function is everything. Without it we have nothing. Our brains are our link to the outside world. Without healthy brain function we lose our connection with our surroundings and we lose the ability to maximize the benefits of the healing energy around us. I urge you to keep brain health in the forefront of your concerns. Not only will doing so ensure a long and healthy life ahead, but will have dramatic impacts on your life today. You will be happier, healthier, and have the ability to enjoy things more fully. You will be stronger, have better balance, have a better sex life, have better memory and you will maximize the benefits of medical modalities like acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy. I work worth people on customizing healthy brain plans. This is the kind of work that I do. To embrace Functional Medicine means to find out what is hindering optimal health. And we all, MD's, acupuncturists, Chiropractors and Massage Therapists alike need to think more about the health of our patient's brains. Without doing so we cannot achieve the superior and lasting results our patients expect from us.
As you all probably know by now I use quite a bit of blood chemistry with my patients. Using blood chemistry as a tool I am able to find many different things that are causing stress to the body. I use much narrower reference ranges than the average MD which are called "Functional Ranges." There are a few factors in a blood chemistry panel that when out of range Functionally speaking, can have dramatic affects on brain function and other bodily functions alike. Blood sugar for example is one factor that is often times overlooked because the mainstream ranges that are used are so very broad and based upon an illness model and not a wellness model. But it is important to understand that blood sugar only needs to be out of range slightly to begin to have negative impacts on the body.
So it is important to consider three major factors when thinking about brain health and optimal brain function. I have listed them here:
The first is stimulation. This is really quite simple... Use it or lose it! People who do not continuously stimulate their brains with new information or challenging tasks tend to suffer mental decline quicker than those who do engage in these activities. It is one thing to be really great at something, but to keep your brain healthy you will need to find new things to learn or ponder. Learn a language for example. Learn to play an instrument. Dance. Exercise. All of these things challenge the brain and help maintain good brain health.
Second is healthy blood sugar. The brain, unlike most other tissues in the body, can only use sugar for it's energy. If the brain tissue is not getting an adequate supply of blood sugar, function declines and so does brain health in general. I see poor blood sugar scenarios in close to 75% of the people that I do blood chemistry work-ups with. So I can tell you that this is one area that is wreaking havoc for a lot of people, brain health or otherwise. I either see reactive hypoglycemia, or sub-clinically low blood sugar, meaning the doctor won't pick up on it. This is a fasting blood sugar under 85. Or elevated blood sugar which is a fasting blood sugar over 99. In this case there will be insulin resistance and the cells simply cannot take in the sugar floating around in the blood. The sugar is there, it just can't be used adequately. So either way the cells of the brain (and body) are not able to get adequate sugar supply and therefore health and function decline. Poor blood sugar equals poor brain function.
Lastly the brain needs a healthy supply of Oxygen. This is an obvious one. Without oxygen to our brains we die! But really what I am talking about here are conditions like anemia where the red blood cells cannot deliver adequate oxygen to the cells of the body, brain included. Or this could be something like poor circulation due to arterioscleroses, or the clogging of the blood vessels. Look for things like cold hands and feet, hair loss on the lower part of the leg which often times gets brushed off as, "my boots rub on that area." Or look for nail fungus. Smokers are also prime suspects for poor circulation. All of these things may be indicators that inadequate oxygen is making it to your brain and is therefore hindering function and supporting mental decline.
So going back now to my original concept of acupuncture working better for some people and not others, or better on one day vs. the next. Considering the above three brain health concepts you can see how some people may have all three of these things out of whack. Knowing that healthy brain function is vital for good acupuncture results you would want to make sure that the above mentioned concepts are in order to maintain the best results from your particular modality of choice. Let's consider a 65 year old man who is overweight and a smoker. He sits around on the recliner chair all day watching Jerry Springer while drinking his 2 liter bottle of Pepsi. How well do you think this guy's brain is working? How well do you think that his acupuncture results for his knee pain would stack up against a 30 year old athlete who eats well and is going through a Ph.D. program in astrophysics for example? But forgetting that for a second, how well do you think that you would respond if all you had for breakfast that morning was a cup of coffee and you roll into your acupuncture appointment at 1pm? Let me tell you... You would get more for your time and money if you squeezed in at least some eggs that morning. Stable blood sugar is the key.
So to reiterate, brain function is everything. Without it we have nothing. Our brains are our link to the outside world. Without healthy brain function we lose our connection with our surroundings and we lose the ability to maximize the benefits of the healing energy around us. I urge you to keep brain health in the forefront of your concerns. Not only will doing so ensure a long and healthy life ahead, but will have dramatic impacts on your life today. You will be happier, healthier, and have the ability to enjoy things more fully. You will be stronger, have better balance, have a better sex life, have better memory and you will maximize the benefits of medical modalities like acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy. I work worth people on customizing healthy brain plans. This is the kind of work that I do. To embrace Functional Medicine means to find out what is hindering optimal health. And we all, MD's, acupuncturists, Chiropractors and Massage Therapists alike need to think more about the health of our patient's brains. Without doing so we cannot achieve the superior and lasting results our patients expect from us.
Bone Health 101
Perhaps one of the most significant and measurable successes that I see in my practice comes in the treatment of bone health. As we get older the risk and incidence of bone related diseases and or fractures increase. And at the age of 65 the medical establishment starts routine bone scan tests to determine bone density and therefore risk of fracture and disability. This is usually when someone will come into my clinic asking about a natural way to protect or heal their bones. My first task is to educate my patients about the particular problem at hand. I feel that this is lacking to a large degree in the standard medical experience. When it comes to bone health there is a lot to know, and once again there is a lot more going on than drugs like Fosamax and Boniva are able to treat. I hope to provide for you here some important facts that you need to know about your bones, and how to go about preserving or even rebuilding any bone loss that you have had already.
The first and most important thing to understand about your bones is that though they are indeed hard like rocks or wood, they are not a static material. By this I mean that they are a living tissue that is constantly changing. A rock is created and then remains basically the same until it is either pulverized or melted again. It is a static material. But bone tissue in contrast is built upon a framework of bone matrix. This matrix is like a cartilage lattice work where minerals are attached to create a hard and strong structure. These minerals and protein lattice structures are constantly being broken down by specialized cells called Osteoclasts. The bone tissue is then rebuilt by cells called Osteoblasts. So there is a constant interplay between bone resorption and formation. You can't build new bone tissue without breaking down the old stuff. This process allows for constantly new bone tissue formation that is healthy and strong. Out with the old and in with the new so to speak. The trick here is to keep things in balance. Too much resroption and you end up with a net loss of bone tissue, weakening and fracture. But remember, some breaking down of bone is essential for healthy bone repair.
When people take one of the many "Osteoporosis drugs," like Fosamax for example the drug is designed to shut down osteoclast activity. This means that the drug is stopping or slowing down the breakdown of bone. This all sounds great, but remember without breakdown of bone tissue there is not going to be any bone rebuilding. So these medications are not stimulating the building of bone. The bones of people who use these medications may remain thicker, but the bone tissue becomes old and brittle over time. And it can easily be said that thick but brittle bone is not much better than thin but strong bone. If it were me I would choose the thinner yet stronger bone. So take this info for what you will. These medications may indeed slow the breakdown of bone, but at what cost. Very little research has shown that these medications have helped to stop fractures in any significant way. And they are very harmful to the digestive tract particularly the esophagus.
On the other hand, there are ways to stimulate production of new healthy bone tissue and decrease bone breakdown at the same time. And what do you know, they are all natural:
· Calcium
· Vitamin K
· Strontium
· Ipriflavone
· Genestein
· Vitamin D
Taking in these compounds on a daily basis is a great way to optimize bone health. But bones also respond to stress. By this I mean weight bearing exercise. When bones experience physical stress they grow stronger. This is really important in your younger years. What you build when you are young directly relates to what you will have when you are older. So young people, get in your weight bearing exercise now! And for those of you out there who are currently experiencing bone loss, now is the time to get in your exercise as well. Walking, jogging, light weights, yoga and tai qi are all good examples of weight bearing exercises. Doing these activities on a regular schedule will help in more areas than just bone health so take them seriously. There is no such thing as a work out in a pill. "Just one pill provides for a whole week of exercise!" No... You have to get out there and do the work!
And as a final note it is important to realize that it isn't really the bone density itself that we are all worried about after all. It is the fall and the bone break that causes the problems. How much is being done to reduce the numbers of falls in the elderly? Do you think that insurance companies are willing to pay for balance training? Or working with a living space to reduce the hazards that lead to falls? I think not. Do not forget this very important part of your concern over bone health. This alone makes activities like yoga or tai qi extremely powerful in reducing bone breaks. Balance and core stability is everything. Find a trainer and regain your balance! Your bones depend upon it.
So putting all of these concepts of supplementation, physical exercise to strengthen bone density and increase balance, and optimizing one's living/work environments will create a powerful and effective strategy for increased bone health and reduced fractures. This goes way beyond taking a pill and hoping for the best. It is something that you need to understand and take action on now. I would be happy to schedule an initial consultation with you to discuss this further and get you on your way to healthier bones!
The first and most important thing to understand about your bones is that though they are indeed hard like rocks or wood, they are not a static material. By this I mean that they are a living tissue that is constantly changing. A rock is created and then remains basically the same until it is either pulverized or melted again. It is a static material. But bone tissue in contrast is built upon a framework of bone matrix. This matrix is like a cartilage lattice work where minerals are attached to create a hard and strong structure. These minerals and protein lattice structures are constantly being broken down by specialized cells called Osteoclasts. The bone tissue is then rebuilt by cells called Osteoblasts. So there is a constant interplay between bone resorption and formation. You can't build new bone tissue without breaking down the old stuff. This process allows for constantly new bone tissue formation that is healthy and strong. Out with the old and in with the new so to speak. The trick here is to keep things in balance. Too much resroption and you end up with a net loss of bone tissue, weakening and fracture. But remember, some breaking down of bone is essential for healthy bone repair.
When people take one of the many "Osteoporosis drugs," like Fosamax for example the drug is designed to shut down osteoclast activity. This means that the drug is stopping or slowing down the breakdown of bone. This all sounds great, but remember without breakdown of bone tissue there is not going to be any bone rebuilding. So these medications are not stimulating the building of bone. The bones of people who use these medications may remain thicker, but the bone tissue becomes old and brittle over time. And it can easily be said that thick but brittle bone is not much better than thin but strong bone. If it were me I would choose the thinner yet stronger bone. So take this info for what you will. These medications may indeed slow the breakdown of bone, but at what cost. Very little research has shown that these medications have helped to stop fractures in any significant way. And they are very harmful to the digestive tract particularly the esophagus.
On the other hand, there are ways to stimulate production of new healthy bone tissue and decrease bone breakdown at the same time. And what do you know, they are all natural:
· Calcium
· Vitamin K
· Strontium
· Ipriflavone
· Genestein
· Vitamin D
Taking in these compounds on a daily basis is a great way to optimize bone health. But bones also respond to stress. By this I mean weight bearing exercise. When bones experience physical stress they grow stronger. This is really important in your younger years. What you build when you are young directly relates to what you will have when you are older. So young people, get in your weight bearing exercise now! And for those of you out there who are currently experiencing bone loss, now is the time to get in your exercise as well. Walking, jogging, light weights, yoga and tai qi are all good examples of weight bearing exercises. Doing these activities on a regular schedule will help in more areas than just bone health so take them seriously. There is no such thing as a work out in a pill. "Just one pill provides for a whole week of exercise!" No... You have to get out there and do the work!
And as a final note it is important to realize that it isn't really the bone density itself that we are all worried about after all. It is the fall and the bone break that causes the problems. How much is being done to reduce the numbers of falls in the elderly? Do you think that insurance companies are willing to pay for balance training? Or working with a living space to reduce the hazards that lead to falls? I think not. Do not forget this very important part of your concern over bone health. This alone makes activities like yoga or tai qi extremely powerful in reducing bone breaks. Balance and core stability is everything. Find a trainer and regain your balance! Your bones depend upon it.
So putting all of these concepts of supplementation, physical exercise to strengthen bone density and increase balance, and optimizing one's living/work environments will create a powerful and effective strategy for increased bone health and reduced fractures. This goes way beyond taking a pill and hoping for the best. It is something that you need to understand and take action on now. I would be happy to schedule an initial consultation with you to discuss this further and get you on your way to healthier bones!
Morning Wood Vs. Morning Tofu
Ok, I joke a little with the title, but the concept is a valid one. The truth of the matter is that many men today are experiencing less than satisfying erectile function. And for many of those men the first thing that they are greeted with in the morning isn’t the rock hard erection of their earlier years, but rather a penis that would just rather sleep in a while. So what does this all mean? What is our morning erection, or lack thereof, indicating to us about our current health? I hope to explain this topic here and offer a couple of quick tips to help turn things around if this situation is something you experience.
Quite simply put men go through hormonal decline just like women. Our version is called andropause. While women get their symptoms all of the sudden with the hot flashes and the loss of their menstrual cycles, men get their symptoms more gradually. Men might begin to experience lower energy or drive at work, a decline in libido and/or erectile function, or might end up diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or blood sugar disorders. A man might experience any or all of these symptoms but will generally experience them over a number of years. Unlike women who have a well known diagnosis of menopause, men often times have their individual symptoms of anrdopause isolated from one another and the underlying hormonal condition may get missed completely.
But this article is about morning erections in particular. What exactly is going on in our bodies to create such a significant start to our day? The answer is that men have a significant testosterone release in the early morning. This sudden rise in male hormone provides for us our morning erection ans sets the mood for the day. When there is a decline in testosterone there isn’t the same stimulus and erections are not just a strong. The morning erection is generally the first indicator that there is something going on hormonally. Pay attention to how you are in the morning because chances are that if it is lacking, full blown erectile dysfunction is just around the corner. The morning erection is our canary in the coal mine so to speak and is an early indicator of andropause.
So what can be done about these morning erections? If just waking up in the arms of a beautiful woman isn’t enough then you may want to consider a couple of these helpful tips:
• Make sure to eat a high protein breakfast every day and snack on low carb foods throughout the day to stabilize your blood sugar. If you do not have stable blood sugar estrogen levels tend to rise which will alter the ratio of estrogen to testosterone.
• Get in frequent exercise. I suggest that you start from a cardio base and then add in weights. Try and maintain a target heart range of 180 minus your age +/- 5 for 30 minutes at least 3 times per week. This will help to elevate the release of testosterone and stabilize blood sugar.
• Eat foods rich in zinc or supplement with zinc. Many studies show that low zinc status is bad for erections.
• Consider the herb called Peruvian Maca. Research shows that this herb is safe and effective for male sexual function.
• Lastly, go and get your hormones checked out. Most men want nothing to do with this, but please guys, put your ego aside and get checked out for not just testosterone, but estrogen as well. Many MD’s don’t order this as a routine screen, so if you find this to be true for your doctor please contact me and I can order any of the hormone tests that you need.
So in conclusion guys, pay attention to what your penis is telling you. Not only does it offer you joy and happiness in your sex life, but it is also your partner in health. It can be an accurate indicator about your hormone status and your health in general. I strongly urge you to look into your current hormone picture and consider supporting your hormones naturally and without the use of replacement hormones. And of course please consider me a valuable resource for any of your hormonal concerns. I am located in San Diego, CA, but can consult anywhere in the country.
Best of health to you!
Quite simply put men go through hormonal decline just like women. Our version is called andropause. While women get their symptoms all of the sudden with the hot flashes and the loss of their menstrual cycles, men get their symptoms more gradually. Men might begin to experience lower energy or drive at work, a decline in libido and/or erectile function, or might end up diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or blood sugar disorders. A man might experience any or all of these symptoms but will generally experience them over a number of years. Unlike women who have a well known diagnosis of menopause, men often times have their individual symptoms of anrdopause isolated from one another and the underlying hormonal condition may get missed completely.
But this article is about morning erections in particular. What exactly is going on in our bodies to create such a significant start to our day? The answer is that men have a significant testosterone release in the early morning. This sudden rise in male hormone provides for us our morning erection ans sets the mood for the day. When there is a decline in testosterone there isn’t the same stimulus and erections are not just a strong. The morning erection is generally the first indicator that there is something going on hormonally. Pay attention to how you are in the morning because chances are that if it is lacking, full blown erectile dysfunction is just around the corner. The morning erection is our canary in the coal mine so to speak and is an early indicator of andropause.
So what can be done about these morning erections? If just waking up in the arms of a beautiful woman isn’t enough then you may want to consider a couple of these helpful tips:
• Make sure to eat a high protein breakfast every day and snack on low carb foods throughout the day to stabilize your blood sugar. If you do not have stable blood sugar estrogen levels tend to rise which will alter the ratio of estrogen to testosterone.
• Get in frequent exercise. I suggest that you start from a cardio base and then add in weights. Try and maintain a target heart range of 180 minus your age +/- 5 for 30 minutes at least 3 times per week. This will help to elevate the release of testosterone and stabilize blood sugar.
• Eat foods rich in zinc or supplement with zinc. Many studies show that low zinc status is bad for erections.
• Consider the herb called Peruvian Maca. Research shows that this herb is safe and effective for male sexual function.
• Lastly, go and get your hormones checked out. Most men want nothing to do with this, but please guys, put your ego aside and get checked out for not just testosterone, but estrogen as well. Many MD’s don’t order this as a routine screen, so if you find this to be true for your doctor please contact me and I can order any of the hormone tests that you need.
So in conclusion guys, pay attention to what your penis is telling you. Not only does it offer you joy and happiness in your sex life, but it is also your partner in health. It can be an accurate indicator about your hormone status and your health in general. I strongly urge you to look into your current hormone picture and consider supporting your hormones naturally and without the use of replacement hormones. And of course please consider me a valuable resource for any of your hormonal concerns. I am located in San Diego, CA, but can consult anywhere in the country.
Best of health to you!