The Better You Feel, The Better Life Gets

Hello there!

It has been a while since I have written. Today’s topic is very Important to us all!   Did you know that tiny ‘leaks’ in the lining of the small intestine may play a role in diseases as diverse as asthma and arthritis?  What is happening is a new awareness of one of the best immune weapons we have-our own gut lining.  The lining of our intestine is meant to absorb food, but it also acts like a barrier to keep out invading pathogens.  When things like aspirins, bacteria or even pesticides are sprayed on our food, the lining gets ‘battered’ and it loses its integrity.

When the gut lining loses its integrity, the door is open to letting in bacteria, viruses, parasites and even undigested food.  This then activates the immune system as well as the autoimmune system. We call this condition, Leaky Gut Syndrome. Here are some of the symptoms of Leaky Gut:  fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia, fever, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, skin rashes, toxic feelings, memory deficit and shortness of breath.(Leo Galland,M.D.)

It behooves us to keep our “immune barrier” healthy! People who smoke, drink too much, take alot of nsaids such as ibuprofen, take frequent antibiotics,  are exposed to environmental toxins, have poor digestion, or who have bacterial or microbial infections have a greater risk of increased intestinal permeability.

I would like everyone reading this to choose to optimize their health and well-being.  Taking the right supplements, getting adjusted, drinking filtered water and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, can make a huge difference in how you feel and in how strong your immune system is.

Thank you for joining me on the path to good health!  As always, I welcome your comments and questions.

Have a magical day!

Dr. Judy

Hello Everyone!

I am writing to you today about xenoestrogens because these environmental hormone disruptors are creating so much ill-health and imbalance with the body’s hormones that awareness and avoidance is key to sustaining good health both for men and women.

Xenoestrogens are foreign estrogens. They are estrogen ‘mimickers’ that effect the estrogen in our bodies and can alter hormone activity. Growing evidence implicates xenoestrogens in a wide range of human and wildlife health problems.

There are some 70,000 registered chemicals having hormonal effects, in addition to being toxic and carcinogenic. The synergistic effects of exposure are well -documented, but largely unknown. These substances can increase the estrogen load in the body and are difficult to detoxify through the liver. Xenoestrogens in food may have harmful consequences to our health specifically in regard to cancer, birth defects and a weakened immune system by disrupting delicate hormonal balance.

It is now being discovered that these synthetic estrogens are making their way into our bodies and pretending to be our biological estrogen. They are present in our soil, water, air, food supply, personal care and household products. I googled this issue and there were many health professionals writing about this. I am going to only mention some of them at this time. I encourage you to look them up, become more aware and take some action on your behalf.

Here are just a few of the website that I consulted: www.suite101.com; endojourney.wordpress.com; www.ehow.com.

Image From Mercola.com

The following are lists of offenders:

* Organ chlorines, are one of the largest sources. They are used in pesticides, dry cleaning, bleaching of feminine-hygiene products and the manufacture of plastics.
* Bisphenol-A, a breakdown of polycarbonate, is used in many plastic bottles. It’s found in the lining of many food cans and juice containers.
* Avoid heated plastics, plastic lined items and Styrofoam (microwave, oven, sun), as the polycarbonate escapes
* Use glass, ceramics or steel to store/consume foods and liquids.
* Choose organic produce. Always go organic with thin skinned fruits and vegetables.
* Buy hormone-free animal products (eggs, poultry, meats, dairy). To avoid xenoestrogen injections, supplements, bovine growth hormone.
* A common food preservative in processed foods (BHS: butylated hydroxyanisole).
* Avoid non-organic coffee and tea.
* Use reverse-osmosis filter water or purchase your own filter (drinking and bathing).
* Many creams and cosmetics contain parabens and stearal konium chloride. Choose natural brands (preservatives made with minerals or grapefruit seed extract).
* Most skin lotions, creams, soaps, shampoo, cosmetics use parabens and phenoxyethanol as a preservative. Substances are 100% absorbed into the body. Go natural or organic.
* Phthalates are commonly found in baby lotions and powders.
* Sunscreen can contain benzophenone-3, homosalate, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor, octal-methoxycinnamate, octal-dimethyl-PABA. Go organic.
* Many perfumes, deodorizers, air fresheners have artificial scents and contain phthalates.
* Most perfumes are petrochemically based.
* Nail polish and removers contain harsh chemicals.
* The birth control pill contains high concentration of synthetic estrogen. Choose a condom or diaphragm gels without surfactants. Use a condom without spermicidal.
* Hormone replacement therapy (contains synthetic estrogens) – opt for paraben-free progesterone cream.
* Research ingredients in your pharmaceuticals.
* Dryer sheets, fabric softeners and detergents put petrochemicals right on your skin. Use laundry detergent with less chemicals or use white vinegar and baking soda.
* Be aware of noxious gas that comes from copiers and printers, carpets, fiberboards, new carpets.
* Do not inhale and protect your skin from: electrical oils, lubricants, adhesive paints, lacquers, solvents, oils, paints, fuel, industrial wastes, packing materials, harsh cleaning products, fertilizers.
* Become educated on: pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, parathion, plant and fungal estrogens, industrial chemicals (cadmium, lead, mercury), Primpro, DES, Premarin-cemeteries, Tagamet, Marijuana, insecticides (Dieldrin, DDT, Endosulfan, Heptachlor, Lindane/hexachlorocychohexan, methoxychlor), Erythrosine, FD&C Red No 3, Nonylphenol, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Phenosulfothizine, Phthalates, DEHP.

I am including the following in case you see these names on the label:

* 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC) (sunscreen lotions)
* butylated hydroxyanisole / BHA (food preservative)
* atrazine (weedkiller)
* bisphenol A (monomer for polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin; antioxidant in plasticizers)
* dieldrin (insecticide)
* DDT (insecticide)
* endosulfan (insecticide)
* erythrosine / FD&C Red No. 3
* heptachlor (insecticide)
* lindane / hexachlorocyclohexane (insecticide)
* methoxychlor (insecticide)
* nonylphenol and derivatives (industrial surfactants; emulsifiers for emulsion polymerization; laboratory detergents; pesticides)
* polychlorinated biphenyls / PCBs (in electrical oils, lubricants, adhesives, paints)
* parabens (lotions)
* phenosulfothiazine (a red dye)
* phthalates (plasticizers)
o DEHP (plasticizer for PVC)

Dr. Peter Eckhart, MD:

1. Do not heat food or water with plastic in the microwave. Do not drink hot liquids in foam styrofoam cups or receptacles.
2. Change your laundry detergent because it cannot be fully washed from the clothes and can be absorbed through the skin. Do NOT use dryer sheets or fabric softener.
3. Do not use anything on the skin with parabens or phenoxyethanol in them. This includes shampoo, soap, makeup, hand lotion, body lotion, and toothpaste. Oral substances are 90% filtered by the liver. Skin-absorbed substances are 100% absorbed by the body, thus, a skin dose is 10 times an oral dose.
4. Avoid coffee. Avoid decaf coffee. No caffeine. No tea. No colas. Caffeine increases estradiol levels by 70%!
5. No sunflower oil, no safflower oil, no cottonseed oil, no canola oil. (Guess that leaves olive oil).
6. Avoid shampoos that are “rich in hormones” and have estrogen added to them.
7. Avoid estrogenic herbs especially TOPICALLY such as sage and rosemary. (Good to know coming up on Thanksgiving!)
8. Many sunscreens are estrogenic. Use a hat and long sleeved shirt.
9. Use cosmetics with minerals or grapefruit seed extract as a preservative.

Dr. Elizabeth Smith, MD:

* Use glass or ceramics whenever possible to store food and water. Heat up your food using a glass or ceramic bowl covered with dish. When plastic is heated, it diffuses very rapidly into food.
* Use a simple detergent with less chemicals; Nature Clean is a good choice for both laundry detergent and dish washing detergent.
* Simple Soap is a safe choice for shampoo and a body soap.
* Use natural pest control not pesticides.
* Avoid Synthetic Chemicals – Healthy Living in a Toxic World by Cynthia Fincher PhD. is a good place to start.
* Don’t use herbicides; use a cup of salt in a gallon of vinegar.
* Buy hormone free meats to eat.
* Buy “Organic” produce, produce grown without pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizer or hormones.
* Use Condoms without spermicide for Birth control instead of Birth Control Pills. Use Natural Progesterone instead of HRT.
* In general, the hormones taken orally are first pass metabolized by the liver 80%-90%. However, when these hormones are applied to the skin, the hormones are directly absorbed by the body. Thus, any skin dose is 10 times that of an oral dose. The vast majority of skin lotions and creams use the parabens as a preservative. Avoid them at all costs. Instead apply a vegetable oil right after a shower to hydrate the skin and lock in the moisture.

More helpful suggestions:

• Avoid heating up food with plastic wrap in the microwave. A Dartmouth University Study showed how plastic wrap heated in the microwave with vegetable oil produced an overabundance of xenoestrogens.
• Don’t eat commercially raised meat products. Some farmers fatten up their livestock with xenoestrogen injections and supplements. While this practice has been regulated since the ’80s, it is still in use in the United States.
• Use other methods of birth control besides birth control pills. Birth control pills are made with a high concentration of synthetic estrogen that can become toxic with long-term use. Use alternative forms of birth control whenever possible.
• Refrain from using shampoo made with estradiol. Shampoo that contains estradiol may contain high levels of active estrogen. Check your shampoo bottle label for a thorough ingredients list.
• Check the ingredients list of your sunscreen and UV block. Researchers in Europe indicate that certain chemicals found in sunscreen and UV-block products can mimic the effects of estrogen. Five chemicals to avoid include benzophenone-3, homosalate, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC), octyl-methoxycinnamate and octyl-dimethyl-PABA.
• Avoid using products that contain phthalates. Phthalates are commonly found in baby lotions and powders and even some cosmetics. Check the ingredients list to make sure these common household products are free of this potentially dangerous harmful compound.
• Use only organic products that do not contain bovine growth hormone that is in commericial dairy products.
• Drink and bathe with unfiltered water, including water you bathe in – Use reverse-osmosis filtered water
• Laundry detergent – Use white vinegar, baking soda, or tri-sodium phosphate (TSP)… According to some experts, avoid even the Seventh Generation and Eco brands
• Avoid dryer sheets and fabric softeners – Use white vinegar is a marvelous natural fabric softener, no smell after it dries
• Avoid Primpro, DES, Premarin, Cimetidine (Tagamet), Marijuana, and Birth Control Pills.
• Avoid Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if possible
• Progesterone creams made with paraben preservatives
• Use olive oil or grapeseed oil and avoid sunflower oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil and canola oil
• Avoid coffee and caffeine
• Shampoos, lotions, soaps, cosmetics that contain paraben or phenoxyethanol – Almost all contain them, you have to look far and wide. You’re getting hundreds of times more exposure through your skin than through your diet. Try “Kiss My Face” brand
• Shampoos that purposely include estrogen (these are shampoos that cater to the African-American market)
• Avoid reheating foods in plastic or styrofoam containers
• Avoid drinking out of plastic cups and containers
• Air fresheners that contain pthalates

As you can see this is an exhaustive topic. Take some time to investigate what products you use. It is that important!

Have a magical day!

~Dr. Judy

Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo wrote this book in 1996 and lots of people are still talking about it!  But why, with all of the newer, possibly more sophisticated diets coming out almost daily?   I would say that almost a week doesn’t pass by without one of my patients asking me about this diet.    In re-reading this book, I realize, that Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type still promotes a novel idea;  that your blood type is a cellular fingerprint that unravels many mysteries surrounding a quest for good health.  The author believes that there is no right or wrong lifestyle or diet; only right and wrong choices based on individual genetic codes.

The theory of this book is that your blood type–O, A, B, or AB is a more reliable measure of your identity than race, culture or geography and that as a guidepost for eating and living, you can be healthier and maintain ideal weight.  Further, the key to the significance of blood type can be found in the story of human evolution.  Type O is the oldest; Type A is agrarian; Type B emerged as humans migrated north into colder, harsher territories; and Type AB was a thoroughly modern adaptation, a result of intermingling of disparate groups.  What an interesting concept!  No one that I know of to date, has refuted this. If you have read anything to the contrary, please write to me as I am interested in following this remarkable evolutionary understanding.

The rest of the book provides meal planning, medical strategies, weight loss factors, supplement advisory and the stress-exercise connection. The book is very detailed and gives specific information on beneficial foods, neutral foods and foods to avoid for each blood type.  I have found through the years of testing foods on my patients using Applied Kinesiology that there are tendencies and truths to what Dr. D’Adamo is recommending.  If anybody reading this, would like to explore your connection to your blood type with reference to the information in this book, please let me know and we can write our results in a future blog.

Have a magical day!

~Dr  Judy

Nutrition is quite a broad topic!!   As you know so many books have been written on this topic.  Why is that?  Many ‘authorities’ write as if their protocol is the ‘right’ one for all of us and that is impossible.  We are all biochemically and genetically different.  We all live different life styles and therefore require different nutrients to support our energy expenditure. Some of us have food allergies. Different seasons, different ages, sizes, and heights have different nutritional needs. How can there be one RDA for all of us?  Pre and post surgery require different nutrition. Pregnancy and post pregnancy also have different requirements.   This is a dynamic process. It truly is difficult to figure it out on your own.

Which supplement is the right one for you and from which company? Are all vitamins equal? What is the difference between a natural and a synthetic vitamin?  I am sure that you care about your health, you want to take vitamins that give you the greatest bioavailability possible. What is ‘bioavailability’?  In my office, I can test nutrients using Applied Kinesiology so that you are not taking anything that your body doesn’t want or can’t absorb. I believe that if you are going to spend the time and money taking vitamin supplements, it would be best to take the ones that are right for you, right?  I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

In the future, I will write on different nutritional topics.  Any requests?

Some of the vitamin companies that I use in the office are:  Nutri-west, Metagenics, Biotics, Zymogen, Da Vinci, Tyler, Designs for Health, Progressive Labs, Edom Jarrow and Greens from Greens First.