Pesticides Mimic Hormones!?

Posted on January 14, 2012 by drgaily

OH, no!   YES!  This is true.  Please Google:  Agritoxins: Ventura County’s TOXIC TIME BOMB.  The Wishtoyo Foundation from Oxnard, CA helps monitor the toxic pesticides used in agriculture.  Did you know that about 44% of the land in Ventura County is used for agriculture?  Most of this farmland (mostly strawberries) are sprayed with pesticides such as methyl bromide from the air and on windy days, about 80% may not even go onto the field they are spraying!  Wow.  They are spraying us!  These chemicals  run off and go into our rivers, estuaries and into our ocean affecting ALL life.

I have a practice that helps people detox and we balance hormones in people who have been exposed.  I run blood and saliva tests and find MANY thyroid and male/female malfunctions.  Studies show that some pesticides mimic the effects of natural human hormones, especially estrogen and thyroxine.  There are about 58 counties in California and Ventura is ranked about 9th in the use of the most toxic pesticides used in any other county!  Ventura County also has the highest death rate from breast cancer in all of California!

Please use this blog as a “wake-up call” and get yourself cleansed and away from the fields!

 

 

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What is Muscle Testing?

Posted on December 13, 2011 by drgaily

Muscle stress testing is different from muscle strength testing. Muscle strength testing is checking for neurological damage or muscle damage which is usually the result of a trauma. Chiropractors use this kind of testing most commonly on patients following an automobile accident.

Muscle stress testing is a test concerning control and distraction. A muscle is found that when “stressed”, the patient has precise control over it (usually a shoulder or a leg muscle). This muscle is used to control (distract).

An area of the body is then “stressed” by putting a bit of pressure on it and the test muscle is stressed to see if the patient maintains precise control of the test muscle, then the area stressed causes a “distraction” to the test muscle.

Is the distraction from a fixed bone, a muscle in a spasm or from an organ that has its nerve supply from the area of the spine being stressed? Furthermore, there can be other stressors to the area such as: viral or other types of infection, food sensitivity or even a scar on the skin. Any combination of these could be correct. Therefore when something is found there are several possible fixes. Doctors call this variety of possible answers, “different diagnosis”.

When using muscle testing and other chiropractic analysis or diagnosis procedures, an area of the body that is in a lowered functional state can be spotted and corrected.

Posted in Articles, Health Tips | 9 Comments

Pre-Menopause and Menopause

Posted on November 11, 2011 by drgaily

What is Pre-Menopause?

This is a good question because, to tell you the truth, the beginning of Menopause can start after age 21!  What?  No!  Wow!  Yes, look at these changing hormone levels:

From Birth to start of your first Menses:  When you are born, your levels of hormones are going up and down, but are up-trending until puberty begins and then you soon start your first period. 

From first Menses to age 21:  From your first period until about age 21 your hormones are still going up and down with more up-trend.  At Age 21 you are in your “prime”.  As far as hormone levels in your blood stream and the production of all these special chemicals, it never rises again! 

Age 21 to 35:  It begins to go up and down with a down-trend!  So, now you can see why you can be ‘Pre-menopausal” after age 21.  Many women are getting pregnant and having babies during these years, so they may not always feel some of the hormone changes that are occurring.  The fluctations of the hormones from pregnancy can mask those “pre-menopause” changes.

SYMPTOMS

Ages teens to 21 years:  Symptoms occurring during this period of time are usually toxins, stress, strenuous exercise, diet and genetics.  Toxins are a very big part of the reason a period or mental changes can occur.  The foods are laced with chemicals and hormones.  The environment exposes us to pesticides, insecticides, glues, heavy metals, plastics and a long list of knarly compounds.  Many of these toxins are broken down by the liver. 

 The liver takes these toxins in (many of these toxins are oil-based) and starts the process of breaking them down into safer (water-based compounds).  Now, this gets very interesting because the liver can partially break down a chemical and throw it back into the bloodstream!  Oh, that means trouble because some of these “partially” broken down chemicals have been converted to xeno-estrogens!  What is a “xeno” estrogen???  Well, I will tell you:  Xeno means foreign.  So, these are foreign estrogens!  Your body doesn’t know this!  The blood only knows that it is estrogen and so carries it around until some receptor site (receipt point) picks it up thinking it is estrogen.  Where are the “receiving” points for estrogen??  First that comes to mind are the uterus, ovaries, breast, prostate, testes, bone, skin, heart, brain and more!!

 

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Cycle Your Hormone Creams

Posted on November 9, 2011 by drgaily

I want to help you use your creams!

Many women have tried using bio-identical hormone creams with no success.  Are you one of them?  Join the crowd!!  Patients have been calling me for years with questions and frustrations.  Many other doctors or other practitioners have not taken the time to show what you should do to have success!!

After 10 years of helping women “get it right”, I have seen just about every way that they can get confused!

REASONS WHY IT DOESN’T WORK:

a)  You have the creams and you are NOT MEASURING THEM!  You either properly measured them in the beginning and then stopped, or you just wanted to “make them last longer” or maybe just got lazy.  If you cut down your hormones and you start getting symptoms, you may think the products are not working, which is not usually the case!  Measure your hormones as directed!  If you are just dunking your finger in and slappin’ on some creams, you may not notice you are not using enough.

b)  You could be using the wrong kind of hormones (like oral, patch or sub-lingual), when in fact you need a different source.  You could also be getting Estriol instead of Estradiol.  Or you could be using Progesterone and you also need Estradiol.  (Please read the post on Hormones to learn more).

Note:  Many women are “backing off” from using Estradiol because of the media talking about the risk of developing cancer.  I have not found ANY studies showing the use of bio-identical Estradiol used with bio-identical progesterone according to a natural cycle as causing cancer.  The studies linking hormones with cancer have been with prescribed SYNTHETIC hormones.  Most of the scare was created after the Womens Health Initiative study report came out in 2004.  (please read my post on Hormones to read more).

c) Another reason for problems balancing your hormones is because you are taking herbs, hormones, medications, phyto estrogens (such as soy, ginseng, Black Cohosh, yam, etc.) supplements or other creams that may be interfering with the balance.  Some of you will need to do my detox program first to “clean out” these other products before we can make progress.

HOW TO CYCLE YOUR CREAMS CORRECTLY

First of all, I want you to remember that women remain having a cycle, even when they are not menstruatiing.  You may not know where your natural cycle is, but we want to use the creams in such a way that is as close to the way the body does it a possible.  Cancer is a trouble we do not want and, when hormones are used improperly, it can develop (no matter if it is “natural” hormones, bio-identical, or not!)

My favorite way to show a women how to use HRT follows the graph that was devised to mimic a monthly cycle.  This was devised by Sindi Holmund, Researcher,  Author and Master Herbalist.  You will be using your creams according to the natural cycle of the female reproductive system.

Below is a chart that we can use to mimic the monthly hormone cycle.  It is 28 days long so we can break it down into 4 weeks.  Here’s what you do in each week:  Please print this chart or email us for a copy so you can use it to make notes on as you learn what your doses will be.

We sell a special, double-sided measuring spoon.  One side is 1/8 teaspoon.  This 1/8 level teaspoon is equal to .5 (1/2) gram.  The other side is 1/4 teaspoon.  One level 1/4 teaspoon is equal to 1 gram.

Week 1 (days 1-7)

During the first 7 days is when blood levels of hormones are very low because a woman is suppose to be having her period here.  So, during week 1, you would apply the same amounts of each hormone you’re using in small amounts.

Start with 1/2 gram (1/8 teaspoon), if that doesn’t stop your symptoms, apply another 1/2 gram of each and keep adding 1/2 gram until you feel fine.  The symptoms you are having could be anything from insomnia, anger, frustration, headache, anxiety, depression, cravings, brain fog, etc.  You should make a notation of these symptoms in the blanks of the graph so that you know what amounts you needed to get rid of your symptoms.  Once you find how many applications it takes to stop your symptoms, you add them all together and that’s your dose.  Example:  If it took 3 applications of 1/2 gram of each cream, then you would know that the first week of every month you should apply 1.5 gram all at once and not in .5 gram stages.  I usually need to apply 1 gram of each per day the first week.

Week 2 (days 8-15)

The second week the Estradiol goes up very steeply.  So you would apply whatever amount you figured out that you needed of any of the other hormones you’re using and start to raise the Estradiol.  I usually need to apply 1 gram of Progesterone and 2 gram of Estradiol the second week.  If I get any symptoms, I add an extra .5 gram of Estradiol.

Week 3 (days 15-21)

The third week you start raising the Progesterone.  I usually need 1.5 gram of Progesterone and 2 gram of Estradiol.  If I get any symptoms, I add an estra .5 of Progesterone.  (Note:  signs of too much Progesterone is sore/tender nipples, and too much Estradiol is sore/tender breasts and bleeding symptoms–but please remember that these symptoms can happen in the first month while you are trying to get your proper amounts figured out).

Week 4 (days 22-28)

Keep using the amounts from the 3rd week until about day 24, then cut everything in half until day 26 and cut it in half again for the last two days.  If cutting your dose down causes you to experience any symptoms, just put the dose back up.

Note:  Some people need to apply their HRT 2 times per day and some are fine with just once.

Some people who are very sensitive to supplements should start with small amounts and work their way to higher doses in .5 gram increments.  It’s easier to go up until you find your correct amounts.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Are you having problems, still?  OK, then try this:  Look at what day of your cycle you are on–or at least what week you are in. 

1.  You will see that the chart shows that in the first week, your hormones can get very low.  In Pre-menopause and Menopause these blood levels of hormones could be VERY LOW.  This is a time that you may need to increase each hormone you are using.

2.  This second week, it is best to start with adding an extra gram of progesterone.  If your symptoms don’t go away, start adding Estradiol at .5 grams until symptoms subside.

3.  In the third week, it is best to add 1 gram of progesterone first.  If you have added 2 grams and still having symptoms, start adding .5 grams of estradiol until the symptoms are gone.

4.  In the fourth week, you would add more of each hormone you are using in the same amount.

If you start spotting/bleeding, stop the estrogen and double your progesterone until it stops.  If you’re having heavy periods or having more than one period a month, you’ve been using too much estradiol.  Cut down the next cycle and use 1 gram of progesterone wherever the chart says to use .5 gram.

HEADACHES:  If you get a headache in the back of your head, add 2 grams of progesterone.  If it’s in the front and/or top of your head, add 2 grams of estradiol.

Be sure to keep track of what you’re doing on your chart.  That way you can see what you did the month before and check your symptoms to see if you are having “clusters” of repeat symptoms and also so you can keep your doses appropriate for each day of the month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GOOD OILS, BAD OILS and BEAUTY

Posted on November 3, 2011 by drgaily

Beautiful hair, skin and nails are sought after by many.  Many creams, oils, potions and lotions are sold every day to women for “quick” cures on improving our hair, skin and nails!

 Slathering these products on our outside may not be the answer—The way you look on the outside is a clue as to what is happening on the inside!!

It is VERY important to do the following:

 Remove toxins and chemicals from your food and environment.  Detoxification and sweat programs help remove what you have already put in there.   The way your hair looks, skin and nails are all from what gets pushed out from the inside.  Your skin is the largest excreting organ you have!!!  What are you breathing in your house?  What are you cleaning with??  What is rubbed into your skin, painted on your nails and squeezed into your scalp? 

 Most of us will be very careful to buy the “expensive” facial mask, put it on for 15 minutes while we go clean the bathtub with Comet!!

  •  Switch to all safe “green” clean, hair, skin and nail products.
  •  Remove artificial sweeteners (gum and soda are big ones)
  • Eat plenty of fresh foods with emphasis on vegetables 
  • Drink purified water
  • Shower filters
  • Air filters
  • Switch to organic foods
  • Add Probiotics
  • Add OIL to your diet

   (What kind of oil?)

 Oils are used in the body as precursors for hormones.  How much do hormones have to do with your looks???

 Oils are the body’s natural anti-oxidants!  Needed for removal of poisons, fighting infection and much more.  Your skin and hair are the end of the line for toxins getting out…

Good oil or Bad oil??

Our knowledge of dietary fats has changed.  We use to think all fat was “bad”.  People were (and still are) reaching for “fat free”.  And now, every weight loss program I instigate has you ADDING MORE OIL into your diet!

 Fats were deemed unhealthy because they were supposedly responsible for anything from cardiovascular disease to diabetes.

 All fats are not created equal, there are good fats, bad fats and “not so bad” fats.

 What’s the difference in all these fats?  We hear Omega 3’s, 6’s and 9’s.  We hear about unsaturated fat, mono and poly unsaturated fat, etc.  What does it all mean?

 At first, all we heard was about Omega 3’s being important and later, the Omega 6’s were in the headlines and now we hear about oils such as Olive oil that has Omega 9’s in it!

 The main reason for the names has to do with the configuration of the molecules.  Slight differences in how they are bonded or chained together make the difference in how they work in our bodies. 

 All fat is made of fatty acids, and all fatty acids are composed of chains of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms.  Some are straight as an arrow with no double bonds—these are saturated fatty acids.  Some have double bonds and bend different ways—these are the unsaturated fats.  The numbers (like, 3 or 6 or 9) correspond to the number of Carbon atoms they contain, and designate where they bond and twist.

 This all matters because the configuration of a fat molecule’s single and double bonds have implications for its properties and effects in our bodies!

 Omega 3’s (also called Alpha linoleic acid which breaks down into EPA and DHA)

 Omega 3 fatty acids are extremely important for our health—probably the most important of the three.  These are good at working as anti-inflammatories—which helps suppress any diseases that have inflammatory processes.

 Our body cannot make these.  Therefore, are called “essential” fatty acids.  These are the most lacking in our diet! 

Wild-caught salmon, mackerel, anchovies, walnuts, flax seed and green leafy vegetables.

Omega 6’s (also called Linoleic acid)

 These are more prominent in our every day foods.  Omega 6’s can be found abundantly in many common cooking oils.  Soybean oils, sunflower oil, canola oil and corn oil (not olive oil).  Many of us have an imbalanced ratio of omega 6’s to 3’s.  Omega 6 intake should be raw oil as much as possible.

 Too many Omega 6’s have been shown to do the opposite of the Omega 3’s.  Instead of creating an ANTI-inflammatory effect, the 6’s can cause an inflammation.

 Omega 9’s (Oleic Acid)

 Omegas 9’s are the most common fatty acids we have, and they are easy to get in our diets.  Our bodies can make this one, so it is not considered “essential”. 

 Omega 9’s are most commonly found in animal fats and some vegetable oils, especially olive oil.  Olive oil also contains a saturated fatty acid known as palmitic acid.  Olive oil is high in polyphenol, which gives olive oil the strong anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticlotting and antibacterial effects.

Ratios: 

 The ratio of Omega 6’s to 3’s should be somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1.  Instead, most of us are getting somewhere between 10:1 and 30:1!!

Posted in Articles, Health Tips | 8 Comments

Nutrition

Posted on August 2, 2011 by drgaily

 

To perform a proper nutritional:

I need to ask you a lot of questions.  For example, I will need to know how much stress you have in your life, any anxiety you might be experiencing, if you are depressed or a variety of other factors.  So, the first step is to get a very thorough history of YOU.  This is when you get to tell me all about everything going on with you.

Once I have that data, then I start doing my tests.  I like to start with blood chemistry, but other tests may be needed such as saliva, stool and urine.  The lab tests that I do are more specific than any tests you have probably ever had–the tests I run are not routinely done with MD’s, so a lot of body conditions are missed!  After gathering a history from you and the laboratory work, I then start my homeopathic energy testing.  This is a very unique way of finding out what is going on with you. We will find where your specific disturbances are in your body and then personalize a program with just the right remedies needed for YOU.  The lab work we do is called “Functional” testing. That means that were are not just looking for “disease” states in your values.  For instance, when you get a blood chemistry done with another Dr., you will see your number in one column and then the “normal” ranges are in the column next to it.  Let’s use glucose as an example:  Let’s say your glucose level comes back as “72″. You look and see that the lab has “65-99″ as the “normal” values.  With your number of “72″–you may think that is normal.  Well, I use a set of “Functional” numbers.  My “functional” range is 84-99! So, if you are “72″, you would definitely show as Hypoglycemic–meaning Low Blood Sugar!  Another Dr. would totally miss that you are having this problem.  You are already having symptoms at this point, so let’s start fixing it right away! Why wait until you are in the disease range?  Why wait until you are diagnosed with a “Disease”.  My goal is to handle you NOW.  This is PREVENTATIVE medicine.

I will do a very thorough blood and other lab analysis on you and base you program on getting you FUNCTIONING!

I love to educate you on the best way to care for your body.  The miracles I see every day makes my “job” never seem like a job.  To me, it is so inspiring that I can’t wait until the next person comes in for care! Sometimes, I am so charged up at the end of the day I just can’t stop talking about it to my husband.

I am going to make a list of those conditions that I have helped.  And I don’t just mean “helped”.  Many of these conditions are completely CURED!

Allergies – Changing from Pharmaceutical drugs to Natural Meds

Immune System problems – Pre-menopause, Menopausal symptoms

Headaches – Menstrual irregularities

Chronic Pain – Ovarian cysts, Fibroids, Endometriosis

Depression – Weight Loss

Anxiety – Hormone imbalances

Respiratory conditions – Neck and Back Pain

Sinusitis – Fibromyalgia

Constipation/Diarrhea – Shoulder, arm, hips, knees, ankles, wrists, elbows

Crohns, Celiacs, IBS, etc.

And don’t forget this:

I also help women with fertility issues, do chiropractic and nutrition during the pregnancy and do specialized adjusting and care DURING labor and then care for your newborns, babies and children using chiropractic and nutrition.

I love helping women get their hormones into balance. I have a special technique to get you back on track. Menopause, Peri-menopause and any other glandular imbalances are what I like to fix. Many psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, moodiness, OCD, and more have been erroneously diagnosed as your problems, when in fact, it is just an imbalance in hormones.  We can balance these naturally and get you back on track without the use of synthetic hormones or dangerous drugs.  Headaches, menstrual cramps, hot flashes, endometriosis, fibroids, cysts, overweight, bloating, etc. are all symptoms that I can help you with.

It is also a passion of mine to help parents and children who have been put on psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin and anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, etc.  I find that the schools and MD’s are to quick to try and cover up a problem and are missing the real underlying problem with the body.  And then there are the toxic vaccinations that are being forced on the parents!! Many behavioral problems can be fixed with natural remedies and it is too bad that I don’t get to see these people before being told that there is no other choice.  Such labels as ADD/ADHD are just that a “label” and there is soooooo much we can do before using these poisonous drugs.  Ask me!  I have answers!

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Weight Reduction

Posted on August 2, 2011 by drgaily

Weight loss is about the glandular system!!  What is the glandular system?  All those chemicals and hormones that run your body!!

You are not going to achieve weight loss if the hormones in your body are working against you.  In other words, if you starve yourself and your basic “chemistry” has not changed, then you are getting nowhere.  You may lose some weight, but you are going to gain it back because your metabolism is still the same.  As we know, this causes many anxiety and added stress!

The other problem is that many people are very toxic.  A proper cleanse needs to be done to clean up the glandular system.  It is very important to receive a nutritional consultation before starting a weight loss program to determine a program SPECIFIC to YOUR needs. There are all kinds of different cleanses and we need to find what YOU need.  For instance, you may need to handle a chronic infection before trying to do a cleanse.  Maybe you have a viral, parasite or fungal problem.  These little buggers can really mess up your metabolism and appetite fluctuations.

After handling chronic infections and cleansing properly, we are now ready to look at what is going on with your hormones.  Many conditions in our environment and our foods can throw off your hormone balance.  We need to talk about such things as “estrogen mimics” and other chemicals that may be reeking havoc in your body! Insecticides, plastics, hormones in foods are just examples of common things to watch out for.

We have had the most SUCCESSES WITH THE HCAG DIET in our office.  This diet has helped to reset the metabolism of men and women. Not only do they lose the weight they want 90 PERCENT OF THE TIME, but they KEEP IT OFF!  Please read Dr. Simeon’s original book on HCG diet.  The original studies on HCG were performed by him in the 1950′s.  This MD was working in India as a doctor helping women to give birth.  He was curious why these women, many of whom were very skinny and really even emaciated, were having healthy, robust babies.  This led him to study a hormone that is high in the bloodstream during pregnancy.  This hormone is called HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin).  Now, please remember that this is not a “pregnancy” hormone in the sense of being named a “sex” hormone like progesterone, estrogen or testosterone.  This hormone, HCG, is released from the hypothalamus and is considered a hormone of “metabolism” such as thyroid and adrenal hormones are.  Dr. Simeon found that the HCG “protected” the fetus because the release of this hormone by the hypothalamus during pregnancy kept the bloodstream high in nutrition for the baby, regardless of a low calorie diet.  In fact, the circulation of this hormone, told the body, to take calories from the fat storage in the body and maintain lots of nutrition in the blood stream.  When you give this hormone to an overweight person and then they consume a low calorie diet, the body will take calories from storage to maintain the nutrients in the blood stream. Dr. Simeon said that this process will not usually happen when a person in on a low calorie diet.

Now, in my office we use a homeopathic remedy that is called HCAG–which is different than most HCG products you will see out there.  Somce patients are taking the injections of the actual hormone and some products offer “frequencies” or “vibrations” of the hormone.  Both products are getting some results.  In my office, however, WHAT WE DO DIFFERENTLY, and what makes for better results, is TO DO A PROPER DETOX, and to BALANCE THE HORMONE system first.  THEN, we use HCAG.  HCAG is a product that uses only the ACTIVE PART OF THE HCG molecule.  This helps us “cut to the chase” on getting the HCG reaction in the system!!  Please call us and you can order the booklet called hAcg Success ! It is only $10.

 

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Leaky Gut

Posted on August 2, 2011 by drgaily

LEAKY GUT SYNDROME

So, let’s get back to treating the underlying cause.  With Auto-immune conditions, something is causing your immune system to get TOO ACTIVE and it can start attacking tissue randomly.  Your system could attack your brain cells, your joints, your pancreas, your joints, your intestines, and more.  What could be he reason for this?  If you look for the “cause” of these auto-immune diseases in our medical books, you will see the words, “Idiopathic”, which means, “Cause unknown”.  But, researchers and doctors who are really looking for the truth know that we have a genetic predisposition and a toxic world.  And I am not just talking about the obvious poisons that are in our environment, but the state of the FOOD we are eating.  Because of the genetically modified foods, over-processing and added chemicals, over use of pesticides, food dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers and more, we are EATING POISON.  Even the “Whole Wheat Bread” that so many are eating instead of the old “White” bread is not safe anymore.  Well, neither are safe, now.

If you could see microscopically into your intestines (your “gut”), you would see a row of white blood cells in and outside the lining.  This is your “army”.  They are on their posts there just in case something that isn’t suppose to be there needs to be destroyed.  Let’s use wheat bread as an example of something that gets attacked by this army. Why would your army attack wheat bread? Since many of our crops have been changed, such as the genetic altering of the seed, many of our foods look “foreign” to our system.  This message creates a “stress” to the system.  Once our system gets “stressed” about something, it sets up a cascade of events.  Our bodies produce chemicals that bring in more blood, hormones, white blood cells (army), more heat and other ingredients.  This is “inflammation”.  And with inflammation can follow PAIN. With the eating of this wheat bread, the pain or reaction may or may not be limited or even felt in the gut area. These inflammatory products can actually “leak out” into your blood stream and cause problems in your joints, brain, pancreas, skin and other places in your body.

So, let’s get back to looking microscopically in your gut.  You also have (or should have) a special population of organisms in your digestive area (your “gut”).  These organisms are called “biotic”—the special bacteria that is SUPPOSE TO BE LIVING IN YOUR GUT”. Ever heard of “PRO” Biotic?  These are the “good” bugs that are living in your body.  We call them the natural FLORA and we should have a natural balance of these there. A good balance of these little buggers helps with digestion, help drive reactions that covert chemicals, hormones and production of vitamins.  The mere presence of them is like having soldiers in place in case a bad guy (an organism that can make you “sick”) comes in a tries to flourish by setting up it’s own growth.  If you have enough soldiers there already, these bad guys are allowed to proliferate.

So you probably know where this story is leading you…  Most of us have long ago messed up this balance in our gut.  Not just the balance in our gut, but the one in our sinuses, on our skin, in our lungs and everywhere.  How does this flora get OUT OF BALANCE? We are exposed to anti-biotics, ingested as medicine, from our meat and dairy and other chemicals such as pesticides/insecticides. What do pesticides and insecticides kill? Bugs!!  You must eat organic! What about bleach, chlorine, household cleaners, anti-bacterial soaps and more?  Please see me or go to my website to “Go Clean” at my Shaklee website with all natural cleaners for your home.

So, let’s get back to the eating wheat bread example. The wheat is grown by genetically altered seeds.  Some of these seeds have been altered to be “pest resistant”.  What an invention. The plant is designed to NOT be attractive to the microbes (little bugs and insects).  So, they know not to eat it. BUT WE DO! They are smart to stay away from the food, but WE EAT IT.  What does this food do to our natural flora?

We grow this genetically altered food (and in this case we are using Wheat as an example). The wheat is then ground up and stored in big “graineries”.  It sits there while the grower waits for the market to be just right to sell. While the wheat is sitting there,  it grows a neuro-toxin. What is a “neuro” toxin?  That is a chemical that will poison your brain and nerves!  The neurotoxin has been isolated to the protein in the wheat. There is a protein in wheat called GLUTEN.  Now you can start to understand why I am finding allergies and intolerance to the protein, gluten.

When gluten enters the gut, our army starts attacking it!  Now, as I mentioned earlier, your immune system is becoming very active and the system is getting very inflamed.  With this constant attacking going on, coupled with the fact that your natural flora balance is compromised, we have a serious problem developing. The organisms that start to flourish in your gut are of the wrong population. This imbalance in allowing the growth of Candida Albicans and other strains of bugs and parasites that are not being kept in check!  Some of these bad bugs are so strong that our immune system doesn’t catch them as they bore out (actually drill out) through the intestinal wall and become blood borne!  They leave a hole behind them where they tunneled out and we call it a “leaky gut”. The medical term is “intestinal permeability”. Once these bugs and inflammatory products are blood borne, they can travel to different parts of the body.  These conditions are being linked to brain problems such as mental illness, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Thyroiditis, Diabetes, Glycemic conditions, Fibromyalgia and other joint pain, Acne, Skin conditions, etc.

Posted in Articles, Health Tips | 1 Comment

Hormones

Posted on July 28, 2011 by drgaily

Do you feel like you are aging TOO EARLY???
Do you feel worn out and tired all the time?
Do you want that “young” feeling you use to have?

If you answered, “YES” to any of the above questions, then read on.

There is such a study called “Anti-aging”.  Aging is considered a disease!  There are ways to slow down this process occurring in the body!
BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY is one of the answers!  But before we go just slathering on some hormones, we should look at the whole picture.  Usually, when you go to the doctor, they will do some “tests”.  One of the tests they start with is running a blood chemistry.  The problems is that many of of have SYMPTOMS of early aging or other diseases, but because these processes are in the early stage, the blood tests show us to be “normal”!!  Funny thing is that we don’t feel “normal” and so we are perplexed when the doctor has no answers to give us on what to do with our body problems. If our cholesterol is too high, there is a drug for that.  If our blood pressure is too high, there is a drug for that.  If our blood glucose is too high there is a drug for that: a drug for the headaches, a pill to sleep, a pill to pep us up, one to slow us down. But, what if you are in the very early stages of these just mentioned problems?  Then what?  Who can help you find out WHY you are not functioning properly?  What about PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE?  That is something you won’t find your insurance company promoting!! Sure, you can get prescriptions paid for, but not vitamin, food and herbal supplements!

So, the proper way to go about this “getting better” business is to go do a doctor that checks you for proper FUNCTION.  Maybe all your blood tests are “normal” but you are not FUNCTIONING OPTIMALLY! Right?  So, if a man or women comes to me with a desire to get BIO-IDENTICAL hormone therapy, I must first check the function of their body. If this patient has some issues affecting their immune system (such as a chronic infection or an auto-immune disorder), we must clear that up first before going onward to hormone therapy. Other functions to check first would be blood sugar, toxicity, adrenal function, thyroid function, heart and digestive issues and don’t forget joint and pain issues!
It is best to get you as balanced naturally before jumping into the hormone replacement.
But, if you want to slow down aging with proper hormone balance, keep reading.
Please remember this: Bio-identical hormones are different from synthetic hormones such as Premarin, Provera, Prometrium that are prescribed by most doctors.
Your body synthesizes ALL HORMONES from a substance called CHOLESTEROL. Isn’t that amazing?! Let me repeat, ALL HORMONES ARE MADE IN THE BODY FROM A SUBSTANCE CALLED CHOLESTEROL. This amazing lipid (fat) has been given such a bad rap!!  When your cholesterol levels are high in the bloodstream, the doctors automatically want to put people on statin (lipid lowering) drugs.  These drugs can cause such a lowering of cholesterol, you will not be able to make hormones that are vital for LIFE!

Did you know that hormones are ESSENTIAL to life?  Hormones are messengers.  A gland releases a hormone to send a message to the rest of the body (kind of like texting, but different).  The hormones are floating around looking for a certain “keyhole” to go into.  It is like the hormone is the lock that only fits into certain keys. The “key” is the receptor.  Did you know that you have receptors for hormones in the brain, heart, bone, gut, skin, and more!  Many think that the receptors for sex hormones such as testosterone, estrogens, and progesterone are only around the sex organs, but that is not true. You have receptors (or “locks”) looking for estrogen hormones (“keys”) in your brain and also your intestines?  Why would those areas need hormones?  Well, in the brain, for cognition and for conversion of serotonin (the calming hormone)!  Pretty interesting, huh?  The bacteria and other ‘bugs” that naturally live in your intestines are so important, because they help convert hormones to their “active” state. In other words, when a gland releases a hormone, it is not always active until it gets to a “target”.  Having a natural balance of the right flora (bacteria) in the gut is vital so that you can convert hormones such as thyroid and estrogen to their “active” state.  With the use of antibiotics and state of our pesticide-laden foods, many DO NOT have a normal gut balance! Now you can see how the intestines are related to hormone levels!

So what is so nice about BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES?  First of all, they are “identical” to what our bodies make. Supplementing with hormones that are “identical” to your body WORKS!  We want to would directly with your body’s built-in receptor mechanism!  We want that “lock” to recognize the “key”.
If you are deficient in a hormone, and your body is not going to make it anymore, we can use the BHRT (Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy) to get to the ROOT CAUSE of your hormone problem. When the hormones have been low (deficient) for quite some time, the locks or receptors become inactive.  When we use the BHRT, we are striving to keep these receptors active.  It is the old, “Use it or lose it” proverb.
Having multiple hormone deficiencies can increase the AGING and this can start as soon as age 32 on!!  That is for a MAN or WOMAN! And you can actually have hormone deficiencies younger than 30 years, but it depends on your diet and what hormone changing chemicals you have been exposed to.  The Birth Control Pill, pesticides, insecticides, vaccinations, heavy metals, animal hormones from meat and dairy, plastics and more can all affect your hormone levels detrimentally.

You may have MANY hormone deficiencies. I don’t just mean the sex hormones, such as Testosterone, Estrogen, or Progesterone.  I am talking about hormones for blood sugar balance, stress balance, immune balance, anti-inflammatory reduction, brain chemistry, thyroid and more!  So, you may have more than one deficiency.
So, it doesn’t matter how old you are, male or female, BHRT may help you. If you have tried BHRT before, and it didn’t help, you may not have had the proper instructions, care or doses.
We have to start figuring out which hormones are out of balance and start fixing them! I like to use the HQL Protocol lab to evaluate. Check the link, “Hormone Replacement” on my home page.

ESTROGEN: This hormone is responsible for “female” characteristics. Every woman needs this vital hormone to function sexually. Men also need this hormone is much smaller amounts.

In estrogen imbalance in a woman can cause sleeping disorders (usually insomnia), some anxiety, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, dizziness, brain fog, grief, loss of sex drive. They also experience mood swings, which affects every relationship they have!  If you do not have any unpleasant symptoms, that doesn’t mean you are safe, you just don’t have any symptoms.  When you estrogen is low, you are more prone to heart disease, bone loss and strokes!

Studies also show that normal estrogen levels help you with: brain cognition, lean muscle increase, tighter skin, healthy nerves, immune function and sense of well being!

PROGESTERONE: This hormone got its name originally from “Pro” “Gestation” because of its high level during pregnancy.  Progesterone works in conjunction with estrogen.  When progesterone is out of balance, you can also see insomnia, weight gain, mood swings, “fog” brain, joint and muscle pain. This is the hormone that disappears when a woman is not ovulating.  A woman may not ovulate every month, especially after age 30, therefore, this hormone is diminishing. Women who are on the birth control pill will not ovulate and they will be deficient in this hormone.  When progesterone levels decrease, a woman becomes “estrogen-dominant” which has a whole array of problems such as weight gain, large/swollen breasts, bleeding disorders (endometriosis, menstrual cramps, “bitchiness”, uterus and ovary changes (such as cysts and fibroids) and more.
TESTOSTERONE: This one is usually called “the male hormone”. But, ladies, this one is vital to you, too!
For men, they need it for lean mass, mood, production of sperm, sexual arousal. Testosterone has also been shown to lower cholesterol, help increase endurance in exercise and maintaining a healthy heart function. A very common affliction for me is “ED” which is called erectile dysfunction.  Male testosterone levels will drop as they age. It slowly happens until it can be half of what it was by the time they reach 50 years old!  This decrease accelerates the aging process and helps normalize the erectile dysfunctions. Men can become “estrogen” dominant which comes from intake of alcohol, pesticides, plastics, hormones from meat and dairy and more. They will get the “pregnant” belly.  They can get irritable and apathetic about life.  Use of BHRT can help restore the levels back to normal.

Some of my male patients have a lack of desire for sex or are feeling tired and they consider this a normal part of aging. But when you check their levels and restore them to the natural balance they feel more alive and closer to how they were in their prime!

For women, studies have shown that it helps them with increasing their own sex drive, decreasing fat, increasing lean mass, increasing desire to exercise, better endurance, lowering cholesterol, maintaining a healthy heart and more.

The Three Sisters – (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone)
Hormone Balancing (of Pre- Peri and Menopause)
There are approximately forty million women currently going into menopause.  This is growing by about 2 million women a year. Those of you not in menopause or are at a “pre” or “peri” menopause need to prevent as many problems as you can NOW.  Making the decision to use nutritional supplements and/or hormones to treat hormone imbalances is more confusing than ever! Recent studies raise important concerns about whether hormones may cause more harm than good.  Many women are now left to make their own decisions about whether or not to use hormone therapy.  Most are asking, “Are there any better, safer hormone balancing options?”

Fortunately, there are. There are many systems involved with balancing your hormones that can be done to help you balance naturally.  If you are a woman who really needs to use actual hormones to balance you, there is an answer, too.  We may use nutritional supplements and/or Bio-identical hormones.  Bio-identical hormones are natural plant-based hormones that are exactly like the hormones our bodies normally make. Each woman has her own “hormone blueprint” that feels best for her.  Levels of hormones can be measured and adjusted to match each blueprint. Bio-identical hormones are specially formulated by compounding pharmacists in more convenient, effective forms than standard drugstore brands. Individualizing doses is superior to the traditional “one size fits all” approach to hormone therapy, having more health benefits and fewer side effects.

THE WORKSHOP: The Three Sisters of Hormone Balance is a full day, 6 hour workshop and group consultation with Dr. Gail Marasse. This will enable you to: Go over your blood, urine and saliva labs. We will review your hormone levels and give clear guidelines on exactly what your current levels are and how to adjust your programs to acquire healthier levels.  Adjusting your lab values enables you to control hot flashes and night sweats, improve sleep, slow down skin aging, increase metabolism, increase bone strength, clear up “brain fog”, strengthen muscles, improve heart health and restore sex drive and desire.
Understand all of your choices for nutritional and/or hormone replacement
therapy. You will know the advantages & disadvantages of the different ovarian
hormones. You will know which delivery routes are best for you. Learn how to
minimize your risks of breast cancer.

Develop your own personalized hormone prescription with the help of Dr. Gail
Marasse and Dr. Jeffrey Polito, MD. Arrangements will be made to receive your
nutritional supplements and hormone therapies. Dr. Gail reveals valuable ways of
“fine tuning” your doses to achieve valuable benefits, like handling stress better, super
boosting your sex drive and restoring skin elasticity and decreasing wrinkles.

HORMONES OF METABOLISM, ENERGY & STRESS
The hormones that help regulate metabolism, increase energy and manage stress become less active as you age past thirty five. This results in more fatigue, weight gain, depression and less vitality. Many women especially notice these changes occurring with menopause. Besides estrogen, other important hormones change during menopause and affect your body weight, moods, sleep pattern, sex drive, appetite control, cravings and energy. These include testosterone, thyroid, adrenal hormones (cortisol and DHEA) and insulin. Stress also negatively affects these hormone levels. Studies show that by measuring and correcting these hormones you can profoundly improve your mood, energy, appetite, metabolism, weight loss, sleep and even sex drive.
The brain hormone, serotonin, is critical for maintaining a good mood, controlling appetite and cravings. The same hormones that are affected by stress and aging (pre, peri and menopause) also lower your serotonin levels. Studies show that measuring and restoring all these hormones to younger, healthier levels can result in dramatic improvements of your mood, energy, metabolism, sleep and sex drive.
The WORKSHOP: Hormones of Metabolism, Energy and Stress
ENABLES YOU TO:
–Understand which supplements you need to improve your metabolism and energy.
–Measure and adjust the hormones that improve your metabolism and energy.
–Find out which metabolism imbalances you have and how to manage it. For instance: Insulin Resistance, blood sugar imbalances, adrenal stress, thyroid imbalances. Improving cholesterol, triglycerides, body weight, blood sugar balance, cravings and appetite control.
–Dr. Gail and her team will help you with identifying food allergies and adjustments to your diet.
–Speed up weight loss using “tried and true” methods.
–Learn how to naturally increase your levels of serotonin, your brain’s main regulator of mood, appetite and cravings.
Workshops are 6 hours long ( 9 am to 3 pm). Please ask for schedule and pricing.

Posted in Articles, Health Tips | 12 Comments

Auto Immune Thyroid

Posted on July 28, 2011 by drgaily

AUTO IMMUNE THYROIDITIS (Hashimotos)

This is one of the most missed body conditions out there! You can go from Dr. to Dr. and end up very frustrated. The underlying problem is AUTO IMMUNE. What does “Auto immune” mean? Auto means self. And, of course, immune is your body’s defense or attack system. So you are “self” “attacking”. Your immune system is literally attacking your own body. There are other “auto immune” diseases and examples of those would be something like Multiple Sclerosis, Asthma, certain Arthritis conditions, Fibromyalgia, Allergies, Lupus, etc. In Multiple Sclerosis you are attacking your own and in Fibromyalgia you are attacking your own myelin sheaths on your nerves.  With allergies, your body may attack things that are NOT considered “foreign” to OTHER people, such as pollen or certain foods, for instance, but your body thinks they ARE foreign invaders!

Symptoms may range into a wide spectrum. In fact, you may be experiencing so many different symptoms that you have not had any wins getting better because each practitioner, or doctor that you see focuses on only one part of the picture. One doctor may zero in on your blood sugar issues, another on digestive disorders, another on hormone imbalances, thyroid, adrenal or other issues and still another tries to detoxify you from heavy metals or other toxins. This is where the frustrated patient gets ready to “throw in the towel”. It is not that you don’t have these problems; it is just that the UNDERLYING cause was not addressed. You may spend a lot of time on a program that was designed to re-build your adrenals, or cleanse your liver or bowel, for instance, or even given thyroid hormone, and you may or may not get RELIEF. This auto-immune problem can really fool you because this body problem is prone to remissions and exacerbations. What does that mean? It means that without doing anything, you can start feeling better—even for several months and then your symptoms come back again with a vengeance.

The condition that is most mis-diagnosed is a THYROID condition. You may have this Auto-immune Thyroiditis and your doctor doesn’t know it. You may have routine blood chemistry performed and a Dr. notices that your thyroid hormones are “off” or out of balance and can even prescribe thyroid hormone for you. If you have a “Classic” or Primary and true Hypothyroid, thyroid hormone can help.  However, if you have an autoimmune thyroid, it needs to be evaluated differently.  If an autoimmune condition has gone on unhandled for a long time, you may STILL NEED thyroid hormone.  Let’s say that you are autoimmune thyroid and you are put on thyroid hormones.  Next time your labs are reviewed, your numbers may look OK, so they think that the thyroid hormones are helping, but, indeed what has occurred, is that your numbers are fluctuating so much that the REAL problem is missed. Many women even come to me and they don’t understand why they have a whole list of thyroid symptoms, but their doctor told them that their “labs are normal for thyroid”. What are the usual thyroid symptoms? That is a long list, but the most common are:

Low or Hypothyroid:  fatigue, dry hair, dry skin, dry eyes, cold feet/hands, depression.  High or Hyperthyroid: anxiety, feeling “wired”, insomnia.

Most common exacerbations of thyroid condition are the consumption of iodine and gluten.  Iodine is used by the thyroid to make thyroid hormone, so many practitioners use it to “help” the thyroid.  And this could very well help you IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN AUTO IMMUNE THROID.  With Autoimmune thyroid conditions, using iodine is like throwing gasoline on a fire! 

Gluten is also a common intolerance that autoimmune conditions are sensitive to.

LEAKY GUT SYNDROME and THYROID

So, lets get back to treating the underlying cause. With Auto-immune conditions, something is causing your immune system to get TOO ACTIVE and it can start attacking tissue randomly. Your system could attack your brain cells, your joints, your pancreas,  your intestines, and more. What could be the reason for this? If you look for the “cause” of these auto-immune diseases in our medical books, you will see the words, “Idiopathic”, which means, “Cause unknown”. But, researchers and doctors who are really looking for the truth now and we are finding that we have a genetic predisposition and a toxic world. And I am not just talking about the obvious poisons that are in our environment, but the state of the FOOD we are eating. Because of the genetically modified foods, over-processing and added chemicals, over use of pesticides, food dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers and more, we are EATING POISON. Even the “Whole Wheat Bread” that so many are eating instead of the old “White” bread is not safe anymore. Well, neither are safe, now.

If you could see microscopically into your intestines (your “gut”), you would see a row of white blood cells in and outside the lining. This is your “army”. They are on their posts there just in case something that isn’t suppose to be there needs to be destroyed. Let’s use wheat bread as an example of something that gets attacked by this army. Why would your army attack wheat bread? Since many of our crops have been changed, such as the genetic altering of the seed, many of our foods look “foreign” to our system. This message creates a “stress” to the system. Once our system gets “stressed” about something, it sets up a cascade of events. Our bodies produce chemicals that bring in more blood, hormones, white blood cells (army), more heat and other ingredients. This is “inflammation”. And with inflammation can follow PAIN. With the eating of this wheat bread, the pain or reaction may or may not be limited or even felt in the gut area. These inflammatory products can actually “leak out” into your blood stream and cause problems in your joints, brain, pancreas, skin and other places in your body.  If you have “Autoimmune” thyroid, for instance, you may eat a meal with gluten and then start attacking your thyroid even MORE because the immune reaction goes everywhere through the body.  Everything can get inflamed!

So, lets get back to looking microscopically in your gut. You also have (or should have) a special population of organisms in your digestive area (your “gut”). These organisms are called “biotics”—the special bacteria that is SUPPOSE TO BE LIVING IN YOUR GUT”. Ever heard of “PRO” Biotics? These are the “good” bugs that are living in your body. We call them the natural FLORA and we should have a natural balance of these there. A good balance of these little buggers helps with digestion, help drive reactions that covert chemicals, hormones and production of vitamins. The mere presence of them is like having soldiers in place in case a bad guy (an organism that can make you “sick”) comes in a tries to flourish by setting up it’s own growth. If you have enough soldiers there already, these bad guys are allowed to proliferate.

So you probably know where this story is leading you…Most of us have long ago messed up this balance in our gut. Not just the balance in our gut, but the one in our sinuses, on our skin, in our lungs and everywhere. How does this flora get OUT OF BALANCE? We are exposed to anti-biotics, ingested as medicine, from our meat and dairy and other chemicals such as pesticides/insecticides. What do pesticides and insecticides kill? Bugs!! You must eat organic! What about bleach, chlorine, household cleaners, anti-bacterial soaps and more? Please see me or go to my website to “Go Clean” at my Shaklee website with all natural cleaners for your home.

So, let’s get back to the eating wheat bread example. The wheat is grown by genetically altered seeds. Some of these seeds have been altered to be “pest resistant”. What an invention. The plant is designed to NOT be attractive to the microbes (little bugs and insects). So, they know not to eat it. BUT WE DO! They are smart to stay away from the food, but WE EAT IT. What does this food do to our natural flora?

We grow this genetically altered food (and in this case we are using Wheat as an example). The wheat is then ground up and stored in big “graineries”. It sits there while the grower waits for the market to be just right to sell. While the wheat is sitting there, it grows a neuro-toxin. What is a “neuro” toxin? That is a chemical that will poison your brain and nerves! The neurotoxin has been isolated to the protein in the wheat. There is a protein in wheat called GLUTEN. Now you can start to understand why I am finding allergies and intolerance to the protein, gluten.

When gluten enters the gut, our army starts attacking it! Now, as I mentioned earlier, your immune system is becoming very active and the system is getting very inflamed. With this constant attacking going on, coupled with the fact that your natural flora balance is compromised, we have a serious problem developing. The organisms that start to flourish in your gut are of the wrong population. This imbalance in allowing the growth of Candida Albicans and other strains of bugs and parasites that are not being kept in check! Some of these bad bugs are so strong that our immune system doesn’t catch them as they bore out (actually drill out) through the intestinal wall and become blood borne! They leave a hole behind them where they tunneled out and we call it a “leaky gut”. The medical term is “intestinal permeability”. Once these bugs and inflammatory products are blood borne, they can travel to different parts of the body. These conditions are being linked to brain problems such as mental illness, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Thyroiditis, Diabetes, Glycemic conditions, Fibromyalgia and other joint pain, Acne, Skin conditions, etc.

Posted in Articles, Auto-Immune Thyroid | 4 Comments