Balanced Bio-identical Hormones will help you lose weight and sharpen your memory
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
A recent report in the Gynecology and Endocrinology literature reinforced all the amazing benefits of Bio-identical hormone therapies. This study looked at 189 patients in an over a 12 month study using natural topical estrogen plus progesterone with or without DHEA or testosterone. 97% of patients experienced control of their menopausal signs and symptoms. Mental symptoms experienced upon presentation improved an amazing 90% of time in patients. Sixty percent of the patients, who had gained weight during menopause, lost an average of 14.8 lbs. Studies from Europe have also demonstrated a 24% reduction in breast cancer. The benefits of using bio-identical hormone replacement therapies is finally become more elucidated. The disadvantage (to Big Pharma) of course is there is a dramatic reduction in the sale of their products which are made from horse urine estrogens, and a synthetic cancer-causing progestin. Twelve studies in last five years have proven that synthetic progesterone, or progestins CAUSE breast and Uterine cancer. With the balancing of hormones, I see a tremendous drop in the need for antidepressants, anti-anxieties, and sleeping pills. Just remember, “they” don’t want you to get better, they just want you to keep taking all the drugs they promote on TV (Cymbalta, Lexapro, Effexor, Lunesta; Sonata etc).
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Navigating The Truth About Vitamin D...keep taking at least 5000 units a day
Navigating The Truth About Vitamin D
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
As a Cardiac surgeon with extensive training in Oncologic (cancer) surgery, I find comfort and trust in the articles from the heart and cancer journals as a foundation for guiding my practice in medicine. The Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular had an incredible overview of the cardiac benefits of Vitamin D with the reduction in inflammation, the primary cause of heart disease, reduction in blood pressure, reduction in heart wall thickening and peripheral vascular disease, as well as reduction in Diabetes for about $20 a year. I trust the DeBakey heart center. And of course numerous Epidemiologic studies, Meta –analyses, and Double Blinded Randomized Prospective trials that have clearly demonstrated a dramatic reduction in cancer. In addition, Dr. Cannell devotes hours to researching the benefits of Vitamin D and offers his non-profit organization’s web site to review his plethora of studies and insights. Dr Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Cedric F. Garland, a Professor from the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, openly share their excitement and knowledge in identifying something so inexpensive, and beneficial to health, that would essentially break the American Cancer Society into shreds and reduce the need for unnecessary chemotherapies by over 50 %, and reduce a majority of the disease of aging. Now a quasi-governmental group of profit-only, hired guns, called the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, with only a few physicians hidden deep in their Ivory towers, and the rest nutritionists, want me to disregard all of my cardiac and oncology literature…well I’m not changing the way I take care of my heart patients because some nutritionist didn’t like the articles he read about the medical benefits, and told me to forget about the over 500 articles written about the amazing benefits of Vitamin D, and actually reduce the acceptable low levels of vitamin D in your blood stream because…well I have no idea. Especially when levels in the mid to upper range have repeatedly demonstrated dramatic improvements in health. Well I’m sorry guys. If I depended on a nutritionist to interpret medical journals identifying the cardiac and cancer reducing benefits of Vitamin D, then I should just bury my head in the sand and wait for a 20 year randomized double blinded placebo control trial that will tell me when I am 75 years old that I could have dramatically reduced my risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis. If only I would have taken more vitamin D, but they frightened me away from doing the right thing. By the way, the article that suggests that maybe, kinda, sorta, that Vitamin D could increase pancreatic cancer is impossible to locate on pub med and other reliable sources and the only way I could possible see where the article is located is if I pay them sixty dollars to see there documentation. Also why would this “committee” of wise men disregard the intellectual writings and research of over 14 of the nation’s experts in Vitamin D metabolism? It’s because this report, which you and I paid for to be done through our hard earned money and paid taxes, and can’t read it unless you pay even more money, is a needless waste of paper and should be disregarded. Nobody is making any money selling vitamin D supplements at 20 dollars a year, but what about all the poor cancer patients that are receiving deadly, expensive chemotherapies and the pharmaceutical companies and oncology practices that are making massive amounts of money managing cancer patients, a condition, cancer, that was reduced by 77% by Vitamin D supplementation in a well designed study. You do the math…you follow the money...
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
As a Cardiac surgeon with extensive training in Oncologic (cancer) surgery, I find comfort and trust in the articles from the heart and cancer journals as a foundation for guiding my practice in medicine. The Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular had an incredible overview of the cardiac benefits of Vitamin D with the reduction in inflammation, the primary cause of heart disease, reduction in blood pressure, reduction in heart wall thickening and peripheral vascular disease, as well as reduction in Diabetes for about $20 a year. I trust the DeBakey heart center. And of course numerous Epidemiologic studies, Meta –analyses, and Double Blinded Randomized Prospective trials that have clearly demonstrated a dramatic reduction in cancer. In addition, Dr. Cannell devotes hours to researching the benefits of Vitamin D and offers his non-profit organization’s web site to review his plethora of studies and insights. Dr Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Dr. Cedric F. Garland, a Professor from the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, openly share their excitement and knowledge in identifying something so inexpensive, and beneficial to health, that would essentially break the American Cancer Society into shreds and reduce the need for unnecessary chemotherapies by over 50 %, and reduce a majority of the disease of aging. Now a quasi-governmental group of profit-only, hired guns, called the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board, with only a few physicians hidden deep in their Ivory towers, and the rest nutritionists, want me to disregard all of my cardiac and oncology literature…well I’m not changing the way I take care of my heart patients because some nutritionist didn’t like the articles he read about the medical benefits, and told me to forget about the over 500 articles written about the amazing benefits of Vitamin D, and actually reduce the acceptable low levels of vitamin D in your blood stream because…well I have no idea. Especially when levels in the mid to upper range have repeatedly demonstrated dramatic improvements in health. Well I’m sorry guys. If I depended on a nutritionist to interpret medical journals identifying the cardiac and cancer reducing benefits of Vitamin D, then I should just bury my head in the sand and wait for a 20 year randomized double blinded placebo control trial that will tell me when I am 75 years old that I could have dramatically reduced my risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis. If only I would have taken more vitamin D, but they frightened me away from doing the right thing. By the way, the article that suggests that maybe, kinda, sorta, that Vitamin D could increase pancreatic cancer is impossible to locate on pub med and other reliable sources and the only way I could possible see where the article is located is if I pay them sixty dollars to see there documentation. Also why would this “committee” of wise men disregard the intellectual writings and research of over 14 of the nation’s experts in Vitamin D metabolism? It’s because this report, which you and I paid for to be done through our hard earned money and paid taxes, and can’t read it unless you pay even more money, is a needless waste of paper and should be disregarded. Nobody is making any money selling vitamin D supplements at 20 dollars a year, but what about all the poor cancer patients that are receiving deadly, expensive chemotherapies and the pharmaceutical companies and oncology practices that are making massive amounts of money managing cancer patients, a condition, cancer, that was reduced by 77% by Vitamin D supplementation in a well designed study. You do the math…you follow the money...
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Can I get enough Vitamin D from being in the sun?
CAN I GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D FROM BEING IN THE SUN?
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Spending 15 minutes in the sun each day will allow your body to produce plenty of Vitamin D – that may be true if you are sitting on a beach in Florida at noon wearing nothing but a bikini, but for the vast majority of us that’s just not happening. For a Caucasian wearing no sunscreen, sitting in the summer sun in the mid-afternoon with 40 percent of their body exposed for 20 minutes will produce about 10,000 units of vitamin D. Unfortunately, once sunscreen is applied the Vitamin D production drops to nothing. If you have darker skin, the time required in the sun increases to 45 minutes a day. If you live above 35 degrees latitude, the body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D from the winter sun. In fact the only adequate amount of sunshine in Boston occurs, between May and Sept, otherwise there’s just not enough sunlight for Vitamin D metabolism. So, the person working in Chicago during the middle of the winter will get absolutely no Vitamin D from sunlight, and vitamin D fights the common cold better than Vitamin C. So that’s why cold and flu season occurs during the winter season.
So can I get enough Vitamin D by eating a balanced diet? That won’t work, because Vitamin D is present, in small amounts, in only a handful of foods – oily fish, and eggs. Vitamin D fortified foods such as Vitamin D fortified Milk and Orange Juice are a joke containing a measly 50 units of Vitamin D2(the wrong kind of Vitamin D), not Vitamin D3. You will need about 5000 units a day to help your body fight the battle against the cold viruses, and by the way, that dose also reduces breast and colon cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. I don’t recommend Cod Liver Oil since its nasty tasting, and is full of Vitamin A, which blocks all the amazing benefit of Vitamin D. Now Vitamin D in gel cap form, sprays or liquids will provide all the necessary Vitamin D you will need, and will cost you only a few pennies a day.
For more information check-out www.andlos.com
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Spending 15 minutes in the sun each day will allow your body to produce plenty of Vitamin D – that may be true if you are sitting on a beach in Florida at noon wearing nothing but a bikini, but for the vast majority of us that’s just not happening. For a Caucasian wearing no sunscreen, sitting in the summer sun in the mid-afternoon with 40 percent of their body exposed for 20 minutes will produce about 10,000 units of vitamin D. Unfortunately, once sunscreen is applied the Vitamin D production drops to nothing. If you have darker skin, the time required in the sun increases to 45 minutes a day. If you live above 35 degrees latitude, the body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D from the winter sun. In fact the only adequate amount of sunshine in Boston occurs, between May and Sept, otherwise there’s just not enough sunlight for Vitamin D metabolism. So, the person working in Chicago during the middle of the winter will get absolutely no Vitamin D from sunlight, and vitamin D fights the common cold better than Vitamin C. So that’s why cold and flu season occurs during the winter season.
So can I get enough Vitamin D by eating a balanced diet? That won’t work, because Vitamin D is present, in small amounts, in only a handful of foods – oily fish, and eggs. Vitamin D fortified foods such as Vitamin D fortified Milk and Orange Juice are a joke containing a measly 50 units of Vitamin D2(the wrong kind of Vitamin D), not Vitamin D3. You will need about 5000 units a day to help your body fight the battle against the cold viruses, and by the way, that dose also reduces breast and colon cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. I don’t recommend Cod Liver Oil since its nasty tasting, and is full of Vitamin A, which blocks all the amazing benefit of Vitamin D. Now Vitamin D in gel cap form, sprays or liquids will provide all the necessary Vitamin D you will need, and will cost you only a few pennies a day.
For more information check-out www.andlos.com
Monday, September 20, 2010
Another Amazing benefit of Vitamin D...Stanley Cup Hockey Championship
Another Amazing benefit of Vitamin D...Stanley Cup Hockey Championship
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Team physicians from Chicago Blackhawk’s Hockey team credit the winning of the Stanley Cup to Vitamin D, well some of the credit. The Chicago Blackhawk team physicians apparently began diagnosing and treating vitamin D deficiency which was identified in ALL Blackhawk players. Most players were placed on 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day. After many losing seasons, two years ago, loaded with Vitamin D, the Blackhawks came out of nowhere to get to the Western conference finals, and this year captured the Stanley Cup. Improved athletic performance is only one of the benefits for the Blackhawk players, the other include reduction in the number and severity of colds and flu and a reduction in the number and severity of injuries.
There are new lines of evidence now that demonstrate clearly that vitamin D plays a role as an anti-carcinogen, aids the body in fighting infections, building and supporting bone growth, stimulating wound healing, bolstering the immune system, hindering cognitive degeneration, and promoting cardiovascular health…..and now the Stanley Cup Championship. And only for 8 cents a day!!! I personally feel that during the winter season, 5000 units may not be enough to fight off the common colds, flu’s and the depressive blahs of the winter, and 10,000 may be required. Measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may be beneficial to optimize your dose, but don’t accept the low levels below 50. Demand levels between 60-80 ng/ml as acceptable, and if you have auto-immune diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, or lupus set your goal to be between 100-120 ng/ml
New evidence suggests that maintenance of the suggested vitamin D levels is crucial for athletic performance and keeping players on top of their game. In short, this is due to Vitamin D’s reported ability to: increase speed, improve balance, improve a reaction time, increase both muscle mass and strength, and promote the treatment and prevention of chronic neuromuscular injuries. What about bringing Vitamin D into our work places and promoting health, reducing respiratory infections, as well as all the things that promote a Stanley Cup Champion hockey player to remain in his top game. You deserve it and so do your co-workers and employees. Bring Vitamin D into work today! Have a Vitamin D party and squash the flu all winter long.
How about home? Kids can have 2000 units/day (not babies, although a Finnish study said in infants at that dose reduced the incidence of Childhood Diabetes by 8 fold). Studies have shown that children with low vitamin D levels were over 10 x more likely to develop a respiratory infections, whereas a study supplementing with Vitamin D completely eradicated respiratory infections during the six months of treatment. One study, published in February 2009 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, concludes that adolescents with higher levels of vitamin D can jump higher, quicker, and with greater power than those with lower vitamin D levels. You gotta love vitamin D and all its amazing benefits.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Team physicians from Chicago Blackhawk’s Hockey team credit the winning of the Stanley Cup to Vitamin D, well some of the credit. The Chicago Blackhawk team physicians apparently began diagnosing and treating vitamin D deficiency which was identified in ALL Blackhawk players. Most players were placed on 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day. After many losing seasons, two years ago, loaded with Vitamin D, the Blackhawks came out of nowhere to get to the Western conference finals, and this year captured the Stanley Cup. Improved athletic performance is only one of the benefits for the Blackhawk players, the other include reduction in the number and severity of colds and flu and a reduction in the number and severity of injuries.
There are new lines of evidence now that demonstrate clearly that vitamin D plays a role as an anti-carcinogen, aids the body in fighting infections, building and supporting bone growth, stimulating wound healing, bolstering the immune system, hindering cognitive degeneration, and promoting cardiovascular health…..and now the Stanley Cup Championship. And only for 8 cents a day!!! I personally feel that during the winter season, 5000 units may not be enough to fight off the common colds, flu’s and the depressive blahs of the winter, and 10,000 may be required. Measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may be beneficial to optimize your dose, but don’t accept the low levels below 50. Demand levels between 60-80 ng/ml as acceptable, and if you have auto-immune diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, or lupus set your goal to be between 100-120 ng/ml
New evidence suggests that maintenance of the suggested vitamin D levels is crucial for athletic performance and keeping players on top of their game. In short, this is due to Vitamin D’s reported ability to: increase speed, improve balance, improve a reaction time, increase both muscle mass and strength, and promote the treatment and prevention of chronic neuromuscular injuries. What about bringing Vitamin D into our work places and promoting health, reducing respiratory infections, as well as all the things that promote a Stanley Cup Champion hockey player to remain in his top game. You deserve it and so do your co-workers and employees. Bring Vitamin D into work today! Have a Vitamin D party and squash the flu all winter long.
How about home? Kids can have 2000 units/day (not babies, although a Finnish study said in infants at that dose reduced the incidence of Childhood Diabetes by 8 fold). Studies have shown that children with low vitamin D levels were over 10 x more likely to develop a respiratory infections, whereas a study supplementing with Vitamin D completely eradicated respiratory infections during the six months of treatment. One study, published in February 2009 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, concludes that adolescents with higher levels of vitamin D can jump higher, quicker, and with greater power than those with lower vitamin D levels. You gotta love vitamin D and all its amazing benefits.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
I Love Vitamin D, but watch out for Vitamin A in your multivitamin
I Love Vitamin D, but watch out for Vitamin A in your multivitamins
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
No other nutrient, hormone or even drug has gained so much scientifically supported credibility than Vitamin D, demonstrating reductions in cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, chronic inflammation, diabetes, viral infections and the autoimmune diseases( arthritis, Lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis). Even though Vitamin D has been shown to be so incredibly beneficial , it is often in very low doses in standard multivitamins, and often side by side with high doses of Vitamin A. Unfortunately some forms of Vitamin A actually BLOCK the benefit of Vitamin D. So grab your multivitamin bottle and look at how much vitamin D and Vitamin A is in it. Most multivitamins have woeful amounts of vitamin D , often ranging from 200 units to 1000, but we should be taking at least 5000 units a day and now more studies show absolutely no toxicity at 10,000 units(should consider this dose in the fall/winter months) and incredible benefits. So what about Vitamin A? The preformed Vitamin A (retinols) are often excessive in multivitamins and having Vitamin A in the beta-carotene form is the form you want. “Preformed” vitamin A comes only from animal products, fortified foods, and supplements. It is most commonly measured in International Units (IU). The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin A is 2,310 IU daily for women, 3,000 IU for men, although some food products identify the recommended dose as 5000 IU. Watch out because preformed Vitamin A is not your friend. Studies have proven that too much preformed Vitamin A results in a two fold increase in hip fractures, and a 16 % increase in total mortality, undoubtedly because it blocks all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D. Keep that form of Vitamin A no higher than 1000 IU. Now if the Vitamin A is in the beta-carotene form, there are fewer issues because it is found in plant foods, especially dark green and highly colored vegetables and fruits. It is converted to vitamin A only as our body needs it. Therefore one can’t get dangerous levels of vitamin A by consuming too much beta carotene. By the way that foul tasting modern day Cod Liver oil has up to 10,000 units of preformed Vitamin A….so don’t drink that stuff!
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
No other nutrient, hormone or even drug has gained so much scientifically supported credibility than Vitamin D, demonstrating reductions in cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, chronic inflammation, diabetes, viral infections and the autoimmune diseases( arthritis, Lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis). Even though Vitamin D has been shown to be so incredibly beneficial , it is often in very low doses in standard multivitamins, and often side by side with high doses of Vitamin A. Unfortunately some forms of Vitamin A actually BLOCK the benefit of Vitamin D. So grab your multivitamin bottle and look at how much vitamin D and Vitamin A is in it. Most multivitamins have woeful amounts of vitamin D , often ranging from 200 units to 1000, but we should be taking at least 5000 units a day and now more studies show absolutely no toxicity at 10,000 units(should consider this dose in the fall/winter months) and incredible benefits. So what about Vitamin A? The preformed Vitamin A (retinols) are often excessive in multivitamins and having Vitamin A in the beta-carotene form is the form you want. “Preformed” vitamin A comes only from animal products, fortified foods, and supplements. It is most commonly measured in International Units (IU). The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin A is 2,310 IU daily for women, 3,000 IU for men, although some food products identify the recommended dose as 5000 IU. Watch out because preformed Vitamin A is not your friend. Studies have proven that too much preformed Vitamin A results in a two fold increase in hip fractures, and a 16 % increase in total mortality, undoubtedly because it blocks all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D. Keep that form of Vitamin A no higher than 1000 IU. Now if the Vitamin A is in the beta-carotene form, there are fewer issues because it is found in plant foods, especially dark green and highly colored vegetables and fruits. It is converted to vitamin A only as our body needs it. Therefore one can’t get dangerous levels of vitamin A by consuming too much beta carotene. By the way that foul tasting modern day Cod Liver oil has up to 10,000 units of preformed Vitamin A….so don’t drink that stuff!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Weight Savior and Irvingia-Getting Rid of Fat...and Inflammation-Part 2
More about how Weight Savior enriched with Irvingia works its magic, reducing your abdominal fat, cholesterol, and diabetes.
Fat cells function is to store calories and release them for energy use when needed. Fat cells are engorged with triglycerides, which is the main storage form of fat. Problems occur when these fat cells become bloated with triglycerides, and become enlarged. They also tend to accumulate excess fat, because of increase intake, lack of exercise, hormonal imbalances and inflammation, and there lies the problem. Fat cells also release another hormone called Adiponectin, which controls diabetes, decreasing sugar levels in your blood stream, as well as reducing inflammation, and heart disease. Irvingia, and weight Savior make Adiponectin’s work better and be more effective. 10 weeks of using Irvingia alone increased the amount of Adiponectin by 160%. And that’s a good thing in the battle against belly fat, as well as controlling diabetes and inflammation.
The third major benefit of having Irvingia in Weight Savior is the inhibition of the enzyme glycerol-3-phospate. What has that enzyme done for me lately? Well produced in fat cells, it causes excess sugar to be converted to triglycerides so as to make the fat cells bigger and plumper. Now that doesn’t sound too good to me. Blocking it reduces fatty acid formation and reduces the amount of sugar converted into fat. Now that’s good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs
Fat cells function is to store calories and release them for energy use when needed. Fat cells are engorged with triglycerides, which is the main storage form of fat. Problems occur when these fat cells become bloated with triglycerides, and become enlarged. They also tend to accumulate excess fat, because of increase intake, lack of exercise, hormonal imbalances and inflammation, and there lies the problem. Fat cells also release another hormone called Adiponectin, which controls diabetes, decreasing sugar levels in your blood stream, as well as reducing inflammation, and heart disease. Irvingia, and weight Savior make Adiponectin’s work better and be more effective. 10 weeks of using Irvingia alone increased the amount of Adiponectin by 160%. And that’s a good thing in the battle against belly fat, as well as controlling diabetes and inflammation.
The third major benefit of having Irvingia in Weight Savior is the inhibition of the enzyme glycerol-3-phospate. What has that enzyme done for me lately? Well produced in fat cells, it causes excess sugar to be converted to triglycerides so as to make the fat cells bigger and plumper. Now that doesn’t sound too good to me. Blocking it reduces fatty acid formation and reduces the amount of sugar converted into fat. Now that’s good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs
Weight Savior and Irvingia-Getting Rid of Fat...and inflammation
Weight Savior is just one, but six separate ingredients blended together to maximize weight loss. One of these amazing ingredients is Irvingia. This natural compound actually circumvents the molecular factors critical in causing obesity. This breakthrough compound, Irvingia, may actually be the key to reversing today’s epidemic of obesity. One of the main reasons we develop increasing abdominal fat is something called Leptin-resistance. So what is Leptin? It is released from our fat cells for two primary reasons. The first, is to tell the brain that you have eaten enough and it quiets your appetite. Secondly, Leptin then causes triglycerides that are stored in the fat cells (increase waist line) to be broken down so that the body can use them as an energy source. So decrease in fat cells, and increase in energy. That sounds pretty good to me. Unfortunately in people with increased abdominal fat they produce more inflammation ( increased CRP levels) and that blocks the benefits of Leptin. Obese people have much higher CRP levels, markers of inflammation, and even higher Leptin levels but CRP binds to Leptin stopping it from entering the brain and from breaking down fat.
Okay, so how does Irvingia, and Weight Savior reduce fat? It dramatically reduces CRP and thus freeing up Leptin to work its magic. We also know that Heart disease is associated with elevated inflammation and CRP. Newest studies show taking very high doses of Crestor, albeit associated with massive side-effects, reduces CRP by 17 % in a year. But Irvingia, a main component of Weight Savior reduces CRP by 52% in only 10 weeks. Now that is impressive, and the only side-effects were weight loss and a 16% reduction in your waist line in 10 weeks.
More to come about how Irvingia, and Weight Savior work their magic, reducing your abdominal fat, cholesterol, and diabetes.
Okay, so how does Irvingia, and Weight Savior reduce fat? It dramatically reduces CRP and thus freeing up Leptin to work its magic. We also know that Heart disease is associated with elevated inflammation and CRP. Newest studies show taking very high doses of Crestor, albeit associated with massive side-effects, reduces CRP by 17 % in a year. But Irvingia, a main component of Weight Savior reduces CRP by 52% in only 10 weeks. Now that is impressive, and the only side-effects were weight loss and a 16% reduction in your waist line in 10 weeks.
More to come about how Irvingia, and Weight Savior work their magic, reducing your abdominal fat, cholesterol, and diabetes.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Get Rid Of My Tummy Fat...with Weight Savior
I hope you enjoy this new video on a new supplement for weight loss that specifically attacks the fat around our tummy and inside of our belly (visceral fat).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs
Dr. C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs
Dr. C
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Lose Weight And Not Be Hungry With Low Carbohydrate Approach
Low Carbohydrate approach to successful weight loss
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Patients often ask me for a dietary recommendation. I believe that a change of habits is better than a “new diet”, and my preference is a low carbohydrate approach. The low fat diet is just forcing large amounts of sugar into your system, making you fatter and increasing you risk of developing diabetes. Let me give you an example of a daily low carbohydrate approach:
Goal is to keep your total carbohydrate intake to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day for two weeks and then increase to 30 grams. You can’t eat bread, pasta, rice, ice cream or candy. For instance one can of mountain dew has 46 grams of carbohydrates or over two days worth of carbohydrates. A two ounce serving of pasta, has 42 grams of carbohydrates! Alright here we go:
Breakfast- Coffee/Tea with/without cream, no sugar but can have splenda or estevia or even better Erythritol.
Two egg omelet with bacon and cheese using only water to mix eggs. (no carbohydrates or maybe 1 total for breakfast. Avoid low fat cheese, because that means high sugar cheese No bread
Snacks: Macadamia nuts, almonds (8 nuts is about 2 grams carbohydrates), avoid cashews
Lunch- Roll-ups Go to your favorite deli and get the thicker slice cheese and meats. Roll the cheese and meat together and use mayonnaise or mustard... I even take lunch meat and put cream cheese into the roll-up…no carbs! You can eat these all day long and there are essentially no carbohydrates in a roll-up.
Dinner- Go to Publix and get a lemon pepper chicken, or to sonny’s BBQ ( or your local favorite) and eat the chicken, beef etc, but avoid too much red sauce as they sneak sugar into that. And of course NO sweetened tea. I also eat steak, seafood, turkey as well. No ketchup.
Also at dinner I recommend a salad, and this has some carbohydrates in it. I like spinach, with cucumbers, olives, and some tomatoes. The tomatoes have some carbs in them. Putting blue cheese dressing/most Ranch dressings, balsamic vingarette on your salad and cover it with sharp cheddar cheese. There is very few carbs in this meal, with the exception of the tomatoes. Onions are ok as well, but I just don’t eat them very often. Avoid Garbanzo beans as well
At bedtime you should try another roll-up or eat some more nuts as it is important to have some protein at bedtime.
An evening snack when craving sweets is my favorite. I take two or even three containers of sugar free jello, my favorite is the cherry, and cover it generously with whip cream, you can even use the heavy whipping cream. There are absolutely no carbohydrates in this and you can even go back for seconds or sneak a shot of whipping cream from your own personal can. In the past I have eaten popcorn, but I would definitely avoid it as it is a source of carbohydrates. Fruits I like are strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, but you need to avoid bananas and oranges (very high glycemic index).
I hope this gives you some direction. When you go shopping look at the labels for how much carbohydrate is present per serving.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Patients often ask me for a dietary recommendation. I believe that a change of habits is better than a “new diet”, and my preference is a low carbohydrate approach. The low fat diet is just forcing large amounts of sugar into your system, making you fatter and increasing you risk of developing diabetes. Let me give you an example of a daily low carbohydrate approach:
Goal is to keep your total carbohydrate intake to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day for two weeks and then increase to 30 grams. You can’t eat bread, pasta, rice, ice cream or candy. For instance one can of mountain dew has 46 grams of carbohydrates or over two days worth of carbohydrates. A two ounce serving of pasta, has 42 grams of carbohydrates! Alright here we go:
Breakfast- Coffee/Tea with/without cream, no sugar but can have splenda or estevia or even better Erythritol.
Two egg omelet with bacon and cheese using only water to mix eggs. (no carbohydrates or maybe 1 total for breakfast. Avoid low fat cheese, because that means high sugar cheese No bread
Snacks: Macadamia nuts, almonds (8 nuts is about 2 grams carbohydrates), avoid cashews
Lunch- Roll-ups Go to your favorite deli and get the thicker slice cheese and meats. Roll the cheese and meat together and use mayonnaise or mustard... I even take lunch meat and put cream cheese into the roll-up…no carbs! You can eat these all day long and there are essentially no carbohydrates in a roll-up.
Dinner- Go to Publix and get a lemon pepper chicken, or to sonny’s BBQ ( or your local favorite) and eat the chicken, beef etc, but avoid too much red sauce as they sneak sugar into that. And of course NO sweetened tea. I also eat steak, seafood, turkey as well. No ketchup.
Also at dinner I recommend a salad, and this has some carbohydrates in it. I like spinach, with cucumbers, olives, and some tomatoes. The tomatoes have some carbs in them. Putting blue cheese dressing/most Ranch dressings, balsamic vingarette on your salad and cover it with sharp cheddar cheese. There is very few carbs in this meal, with the exception of the tomatoes. Onions are ok as well, but I just don’t eat them very often. Avoid Garbanzo beans as well
At bedtime you should try another roll-up or eat some more nuts as it is important to have some protein at bedtime.
An evening snack when craving sweets is my favorite. I take two or even three containers of sugar free jello, my favorite is the cherry, and cover it generously with whip cream, you can even use the heavy whipping cream. There are absolutely no carbohydrates in this and you can even go back for seconds or sneak a shot of whipping cream from your own personal can. In the past I have eaten popcorn, but I would definitely avoid it as it is a source of carbohydrates. Fruits I like are strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, but you need to avoid bananas and oranges (very high glycemic index).
I hope this gives you some direction. When you go shopping look at the labels for how much carbohydrate is present per serving.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Progesterone and Men- GETTING RID OF BELLY FAT Robert Carlson, MD
Is It Hot In Here?
We joke gingerly about women having a “personal summer” or “power surges” but for those going through it it’s no joke. And men who have low progesterone and excess adipose (brown) fat around the belly that actually produces estrogen can experience a form of male menopause called andropause. Progesterone helps reduce hot flashes in women; but men with low levels of progesterone and testosterone along with higher levels of estrogen will get hot flashes too. For both men and women, progesterone can help calm the fire.
Men can even fall victim to breast cancer thanks to hormonal imbalances! Progesterone can protect men breast tumors. Progesterone insufficiency causes norepinephrine and epinephrine levels to go up which increases your anxiety levels. Your aldosterone levels will also go up which results in swelling. Progesterone stimulates the parasympathetic system which helps to calm you. However if your levels are low you’ll get stressed, anxious and find yourself constantly worrying. And if that weren’t enough problems because of low progesterone, if you have elevated estrogen levels you’ll have problems with constipation too.
Let Me See Your Guy Card
One of the more surprising things I’ve been seeing in my patients’ lab work lately is men with estrogen levels that are off the charts! Estrogen dominance in men is a recipe for disaster. When you have a progesterone deficiency and elevated estrogen levels, you will have difficulty voiding because estrogen causes an increase in the size of your prostate. Men with progesterone deficiency have an enlarged hard fibrous prostate. Estrogen also promotes the development of fibrous tissue within the prostate. The urethra which carries urine from the bladder, passes through this enlarged fibrous tissue and gets narrowed and subsequently blocked by the enlarged prostate. Numerous studies have identified the effects of elevated estrogen levels and an enlarged prostate. Sadly, most of the studies are missing the point! Researchers aren’t measuring progesterone levels. You can easily combat the problem and reduce estradiol levels up to 30% with the addition of 100 mg of progesterone at bedtime. Progesterone will reduce prostatic volume, weight, and the DNA content.
I am deeply concerned not just about progesterone deficiency, but also about the estrogen mimics and interrupters men are flooding their bodies with. Our rabid fascination with soy is dangerous. Soy is a phytoestrogen. Chemicals in our shampoos (dandruff shampoos are the worst), skincare products and *** are fooling our endocrine systems and creating sky-high levels of estrogen in men.
We need to balance our bodies and replenish our depleted levels of progesterone. Progesterone helps men and women fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up rested, while getting rid of their sleeping pills and the nasty brain fog side effects. Do you find yourself feeling grouchy? Men can be very irritable and tense in the face of low progesterone levels. By just correcting progesterone levels we can restore calmness and help you get a better night’s sleep. It protects you from the accumulation of fat within the abdomen – the dangerous fat doctors call visceral fat.
Is Your Health a House of Cards?
Everywhere I look I see the effects of excess estrogen and low progesterone in men. Metabolic syndrome with its high blood pressure, dyslipidemias, elevated insulin levels, and increased abdominal fat can be turned around with progesterone. Belly fat can begin to melt off with progesterone. Prostate enlargement can be shrunk with progesterone. And male pattern baldness can be reduced just by using progesterone.
Without enough progesterone over a prolonged period of time, you’ll start to see major problems domino out of control in all the systems of the body. Progesterone is foundation for health, youth, and vitality.
It’s time to work with your doctor to assess your hormone levels in a full blood panel screening. So when was the last time you had your progesterone checked? Consider using bio-identical (not synthetic!) hormone therapy to restore your body’s progesterone levels. If your doctor poo-poo’s your request, find another doctor who will listen to your concerns. Remember, if your lab results are “normal” but you still don’t feel up to par, you need a doctor who will help you get to the bottom of the problem and put your health back on top.
We joke gingerly about women having a “personal summer” or “power surges” but for those going through it it’s no joke. And men who have low progesterone and excess adipose (brown) fat around the belly that actually produces estrogen can experience a form of male menopause called andropause. Progesterone helps reduce hot flashes in women; but men with low levels of progesterone and testosterone along with higher levels of estrogen will get hot flashes too. For both men and women, progesterone can help calm the fire.
Men can even fall victim to breast cancer thanks to hormonal imbalances! Progesterone can protect men breast tumors. Progesterone insufficiency causes norepinephrine and epinephrine levels to go up which increases your anxiety levels. Your aldosterone levels will also go up which results in swelling. Progesterone stimulates the parasympathetic system which helps to calm you. However if your levels are low you’ll get stressed, anxious and find yourself constantly worrying. And if that weren’t enough problems because of low progesterone, if you have elevated estrogen levels you’ll have problems with constipation too.
Let Me See Your Guy Card
One of the more surprising things I’ve been seeing in my patients’ lab work lately is men with estrogen levels that are off the charts! Estrogen dominance in men is a recipe for disaster. When you have a progesterone deficiency and elevated estrogen levels, you will have difficulty voiding because estrogen causes an increase in the size of your prostate. Men with progesterone deficiency have an enlarged hard fibrous prostate. Estrogen also promotes the development of fibrous tissue within the prostate. The urethra which carries urine from the bladder, passes through this enlarged fibrous tissue and gets narrowed and subsequently blocked by the enlarged prostate. Numerous studies have identified the effects of elevated estrogen levels and an enlarged prostate. Sadly, most of the studies are missing the point! Researchers aren’t measuring progesterone levels. You can easily combat the problem and reduce estradiol levels up to 30% with the addition of 100 mg of progesterone at bedtime. Progesterone will reduce prostatic volume, weight, and the DNA content.
I am deeply concerned not just about progesterone deficiency, but also about the estrogen mimics and interrupters men are flooding their bodies with. Our rabid fascination with soy is dangerous. Soy is a phytoestrogen. Chemicals in our shampoos (dandruff shampoos are the worst), skincare products and *** are fooling our endocrine systems and creating sky-high levels of estrogen in men.
We need to balance our bodies and replenish our depleted levels of progesterone. Progesterone helps men and women fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up rested, while getting rid of their sleeping pills and the nasty brain fog side effects. Do you find yourself feeling grouchy? Men can be very irritable and tense in the face of low progesterone levels. By just correcting progesterone levels we can restore calmness and help you get a better night’s sleep. It protects you from the accumulation of fat within the abdomen – the dangerous fat doctors call visceral fat.
Is Your Health a House of Cards?
Everywhere I look I see the effects of excess estrogen and low progesterone in men. Metabolic syndrome with its high blood pressure, dyslipidemias, elevated insulin levels, and increased abdominal fat can be turned around with progesterone. Belly fat can begin to melt off with progesterone. Prostate enlargement can be shrunk with progesterone. And male pattern baldness can be reduced just by using progesterone.
Without enough progesterone over a prolonged period of time, you’ll start to see major problems domino out of control in all the systems of the body. Progesterone is foundation for health, youth, and vitality.
It’s time to work with your doctor to assess your hormone levels in a full blood panel screening. So when was the last time you had your progesterone checked? Consider using bio-identical (not synthetic!) hormone therapy to restore your body’s progesterone levels. If your doctor poo-poo’s your request, find another doctor who will listen to your concerns. Remember, if your lab results are “normal” but you still don’t feel up to par, you need a doctor who will help you get to the bottom of the problem and put your health back on top.
Progesterone and Men-Optimizing the Aging Male's Health
Progesterone and Men-Optimizing the Aging Male's Health
Dr Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Progesterone – It’s Not Just for Girls!
Every day we see a new article dedicated to explaining how important progesterone is for women in the array of hormones that are key to good health and healthy aging. But what about men? Most men and women along with many doctors would be surprised to find that progesterone is very important to a man’s health!
So Men Produce Progesterone?!
Most men have about seven times lower levels of progesterone than testosterone; but it is actually more abundant than DHT, the primary metabolite of testosterone that makes a man look like a man. Hormones give us our secondary sex characteristics –
curves for a woman, a lower voice etc. for a man. Even though some hormones are more prevalent in men or women, both sexes have all the same hormones just in different levels. Healthy men have more progesterone than the other “female hormones” like estradiol or estrone, 10 times more of it than melatonin, and much more of it than thyroid hormones like free T4 or thyroxin. Progesterone is actually just as important to a man’s health as a woman’s!
We’re Wired for Equality…Most of the Time!
For a short time every month, men and women are equal…in progesterone! The levels of progesterone that men have is equivalent to what women have during the follicular phase each month; this is the first phase of a women’s cycle when progesterone is low, just like a man’s progesterone level.
The reason that men and women will have equal levels of progesterone is because a man creates progesterone in his adrenal glands and the primary source of progesterone for a woman during the first 2 weeks after the onset of the menstrual cycle is from the adrenals as well. In fact, for both men and women the adrenal glands make 1 ½ - 3 mg a day of progesterone.
A woman will have a much higher level of progesterone over the course of each month though because during the second phase of her cycle her ovaries will also produce it. So for two-thirds of every month, men and women will have the same level of progesterone!
Progesterone can also be a precursor of testosterone, aldosterone, and even cortisol. Progesterone is also very important as a base of hormone production; it joins with cholesterol to create””. Progesterone is also a bellweather of how your body is handling stress. During stressful crisis situations, you may have higher levels of progesterone and your body may react by making lots of cortisol (and creating that dreaded spare tire around your waist!) If you are under chronic stressful situations, you can suffer from adrenal fatigue and your body will no longer produce adequate amounts of cortisol.
Our bodies are designed to respond to stress as a self-protective reflex – we either fight, flee or freeze. Crisis triggers cortisol production to help the body manage stress. Cortisol is so important to the body during stress that it becomes the body’s primary focus and the cortisol “sink” is where most of the substrate for other hormone production is often shunted to fortify the body’s arsenal of protection. Remember, we developed in a very unsafe world where we were under constant threat so our bodies are hard-wired for self-preservation by using hormones to respond to stress and keep us alive.
How Much Stress Can You Handle?
Our bodies are designed for a quick, reflexive, self-preservation response to stress but our lives today are one crisis after another. At some point we do “accommodate” to stress, we become more capable of bearing the stress load. But is it healthy? Some stress is good, but too much stress is a killer. One of the key hormones we need for health and longevity – progesterone – falls by the wayside when we are stressed. Everything becomes focused on cortisol production. If you have the typical, chronic stress levels of American daily life, you probably are deficient in progesterone. If you are walking through a crisis event, you may be producing far too much progesterone. In either scenario, you need to support your body’s hormone levels. So, high progesterone levels maybe an indicator of stress, whereas very low levels indicate a serious adrenal fatigue condition.
“You Are Getting Older!” – Bite Me!
Progesterone levels decline with age just like all the adrenal hormones and this affects most of your major organ systems. There are progesterone receptors in your heart an in your major blood vessels such as your arteries and veins. Progesterone is the hormone of calmness. It is nature’s valium, the Feng Sui of hormones. When you have low progesterone levels, some of your organ systems may demonstrate more tenseness or nervousness. The gall bladder has progesterone receptors and a stressed gallbladder with low progesterone may lead to a danger situation like acalculous cholecystitis, which we see in very stressed patients in the ICU. In the prostate, epididymis, and the testicles, there are also progesterone receptors, and there must be a purpose for that? Sperm also has progesterone receptors as well.
Progesterone – What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Progesterone is the peacekeeper hormone that keeps the levels of other hormones in balance and it helps maintain the hormonal symphony resonating in through your body. For instance, estradiol in men is not a good thing; it results in higher stroke rates, increased heart attack rates, and increased prostate cancer. Progesterone keeps your estradiol levels in control.
Progesterone also keeps the levels of Dihydrotestosterone(DHT) in balance. Too much DHT leads to hair loss and increased prostate cancer risks. Progesterone will also keep your aldosterone in balance. You can also blame progesterone if your wife or girlfriend complains that you fall asleep right after sex. Progesterone levels spiral during intercourse and peak after an orgasm; it’s progesterone that creates a calmer, more relaxed state after an orgasm. Many of my male patients like taking progesterone in the evening because it does make everything so much more relaxed and some of them tell me it also increases their deep breathing almost like yoga.
You Gotta Have Heart!
Progesterone has a role to play with regard to cardiovascular disease. Not only are there progesterone receptors in the heart and all the major blood vessels, but it’s also been shown to reduce lipids in the blood. It also helps protect against damage to the arterial system from elevated insulin levels. Too much insulin floating around in your blood can prematurely break down and age the walls of the arteries. Progesterone protects the blood vessels from the effects of insulin.
For people who are progressing into atherosclerosis, there is an overgrowth of smooth muscle cells within the lining of the blood vessels. Progesterone has been shown to stop this out of control growth. And those coronary arteries? The major cause of death from heart disease is the decreasing blood flow to regions of the heart that need it. We call these “ischemic changes” which is the technical term for lack of blood flow. Most doctors have been trained to provide medications that improve blood flow through the coronary arteries like nitroglycerin. But who wants to swallow the poisonous basis of explosives? There are numerous natural compounds throughout the body that do the same thing, including progesterone and testosterone; and they may even help reduce hypertension by helping to relax the muscular walls of arteries and reduce water retention/edema by helping the body excrete sodium.
More to come....
Dr Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Progesterone – It’s Not Just for Girls!
Every day we see a new article dedicated to explaining how important progesterone is for women in the array of hormones that are key to good health and healthy aging. But what about men? Most men and women along with many doctors would be surprised to find that progesterone is very important to a man’s health!
So Men Produce Progesterone?!
Most men have about seven times lower levels of progesterone than testosterone; but it is actually more abundant than DHT, the primary metabolite of testosterone that makes a man look like a man. Hormones give us our secondary sex characteristics –
curves for a woman, a lower voice etc. for a man. Even though some hormones are more prevalent in men or women, both sexes have all the same hormones just in different levels. Healthy men have more progesterone than the other “female hormones” like estradiol or estrone, 10 times more of it than melatonin, and much more of it than thyroid hormones like free T4 or thyroxin. Progesterone is actually just as important to a man’s health as a woman’s!
We’re Wired for Equality…Most of the Time!
For a short time every month, men and women are equal…in progesterone! The levels of progesterone that men have is equivalent to what women have during the follicular phase each month; this is the first phase of a women’s cycle when progesterone is low, just like a man’s progesterone level.
The reason that men and women will have equal levels of progesterone is because a man creates progesterone in his adrenal glands and the primary source of progesterone for a woman during the first 2 weeks after the onset of the menstrual cycle is from the adrenals as well. In fact, for both men and women the adrenal glands make 1 ½ - 3 mg a day of progesterone.
A woman will have a much higher level of progesterone over the course of each month though because during the second phase of her cycle her ovaries will also produce it. So for two-thirds of every month, men and women will have the same level of progesterone!
Progesterone can also be a precursor of testosterone, aldosterone, and even cortisol. Progesterone is also very important as a base of hormone production; it joins with cholesterol to create””. Progesterone is also a bellweather of how your body is handling stress. During stressful crisis situations, you may have higher levels of progesterone and your body may react by making lots of cortisol (and creating that dreaded spare tire around your waist!) If you are under chronic stressful situations, you can suffer from adrenal fatigue and your body will no longer produce adequate amounts of cortisol.
Our bodies are designed to respond to stress as a self-protective reflex – we either fight, flee or freeze. Crisis triggers cortisol production to help the body manage stress. Cortisol is so important to the body during stress that it becomes the body’s primary focus and the cortisol “sink” is where most of the substrate for other hormone production is often shunted to fortify the body’s arsenal of protection. Remember, we developed in a very unsafe world where we were under constant threat so our bodies are hard-wired for self-preservation by using hormones to respond to stress and keep us alive.
How Much Stress Can You Handle?
Our bodies are designed for a quick, reflexive, self-preservation response to stress but our lives today are one crisis after another. At some point we do “accommodate” to stress, we become more capable of bearing the stress load. But is it healthy? Some stress is good, but too much stress is a killer. One of the key hormones we need for health and longevity – progesterone – falls by the wayside when we are stressed. Everything becomes focused on cortisol production. If you have the typical, chronic stress levels of American daily life, you probably are deficient in progesterone. If you are walking through a crisis event, you may be producing far too much progesterone. In either scenario, you need to support your body’s hormone levels. So, high progesterone levels maybe an indicator of stress, whereas very low levels indicate a serious adrenal fatigue condition.
“You Are Getting Older!” – Bite Me!
Progesterone levels decline with age just like all the adrenal hormones and this affects most of your major organ systems. There are progesterone receptors in your heart an in your major blood vessels such as your arteries and veins. Progesterone is the hormone of calmness. It is nature’s valium, the Feng Sui of hormones. When you have low progesterone levels, some of your organ systems may demonstrate more tenseness or nervousness. The gall bladder has progesterone receptors and a stressed gallbladder with low progesterone may lead to a danger situation like acalculous cholecystitis, which we see in very stressed patients in the ICU. In the prostate, epididymis, and the testicles, there are also progesterone receptors, and there must be a purpose for that? Sperm also has progesterone receptors as well.
Progesterone – What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Progesterone is the peacekeeper hormone that keeps the levels of other hormones in balance and it helps maintain the hormonal symphony resonating in through your body. For instance, estradiol in men is not a good thing; it results in higher stroke rates, increased heart attack rates, and increased prostate cancer. Progesterone keeps your estradiol levels in control.
Progesterone also keeps the levels of Dihydrotestosterone(DHT) in balance. Too much DHT leads to hair loss and increased prostate cancer risks. Progesterone will also keep your aldosterone in balance. You can also blame progesterone if your wife or girlfriend complains that you fall asleep right after sex. Progesterone levels spiral during intercourse and peak after an orgasm; it’s progesterone that creates a calmer, more relaxed state after an orgasm. Many of my male patients like taking progesterone in the evening because it does make everything so much more relaxed and some of them tell me it also increases their deep breathing almost like yoga.
You Gotta Have Heart!
Progesterone has a role to play with regard to cardiovascular disease. Not only are there progesterone receptors in the heart and all the major blood vessels, but it’s also been shown to reduce lipids in the blood. It also helps protect against damage to the arterial system from elevated insulin levels. Too much insulin floating around in your blood can prematurely break down and age the walls of the arteries. Progesterone protects the blood vessels from the effects of insulin.
For people who are progressing into atherosclerosis, there is an overgrowth of smooth muscle cells within the lining of the blood vessels. Progesterone has been shown to stop this out of control growth. And those coronary arteries? The major cause of death from heart disease is the decreasing blood flow to regions of the heart that need it. We call these “ischemic changes” which is the technical term for lack of blood flow. Most doctors have been trained to provide medications that improve blood flow through the coronary arteries like nitroglycerin. But who wants to swallow the poisonous basis of explosives? There are numerous natural compounds throughout the body that do the same thing, including progesterone and testosterone; and they may even help reduce hypertension by helping to relax the muscular walls of arteries and reduce water retention/edema by helping the body excrete sodium.
More to come....
Thursday, September 2, 2010
How To Stop Sugar Cravings-Video
This is a great video showing STOP-IT works. This at a recent T-Tapp Retreat in Safety Harbor Florida. Dr Carlson demonstrates what every sugar-craver needs... his revolutionary product STOP-IT. Please click and check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkWT5UZlxQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkWT5UZlxQ
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sugar Addiction -riding the rollercoaster
Unfortunately the association of adrenal fatigue and type 2 sugar addiction is more common than we know. One of the key components of adrenal fatigue is a plummeting sugar level in your blood stream. This takes your sugar cravings and drives it to another level of severity. It makes you irritable, and your need to eat is urgent…and it is usually something really sweet that finds its way into your mouth. Now when you do satisfy you’re craving for sweets, your blood sugar level skyrockets again, making more insulin which then causes your sugar to plummet again. It is a nasty cycle of cravings, euphoria, and a crash to the ground. This emotional rollercoaster will take control of your life….if you let it. Just think about STOP-IT, the new sugar craving blocker, as a means of assisting you in fighting this battle for control of your body.
http://www.andlos.com/information/stop%20it%20booklet.pdf
The diet that supports this tragic rollercoaster ride is called the Low-Fat Heart Healthy Diet! What? I thought that was good for your heart? It isn’t…..it has caused an epidemic of diabetes and obesity as well as the army of sugar addicts we are now faced with. Try a low carbohydrate diet, and it will reduce inflammation, triglycerides, cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Dr. Atkins was correct. Try today to keep your carbohydrate intake below 20 grams/day for the next week, and then increase to 3o grams/day. Stay away from the pastas, breads, potatoes, and candy! It sounds really difficult, but it will be the best thing you ever did. Fat and cholesterol does not cause heart disease, but inflammation does. And high sugar diet causes incredible inflammatory changes within our body.
http://www.andlos.com/information/stop%20it%20booklet.pdf
The diet that supports this tragic rollercoaster ride is called the Low-Fat Heart Healthy Diet! What? I thought that was good for your heart? It isn’t…..it has caused an epidemic of diabetes and obesity as well as the army of sugar addicts we are now faced with. Try a low carbohydrate diet, and it will reduce inflammation, triglycerides, cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Dr. Atkins was correct. Try today to keep your carbohydrate intake below 20 grams/day for the next week, and then increase to 3o grams/day. Stay away from the pastas, breads, potatoes, and candy! It sounds really difficult, but it will be the best thing you ever did. Fat and cholesterol does not cause heart disease, but inflammation does. And high sugar diet causes incredible inflammatory changes within our body.
Sugar Addiction and Sress-It's making you fat
So we talked a little about the type 1 sugar addicts who are hooked on energy drinks and caffeine. How about the Type 2 sugar addicts? This person‘s life is always in crisis. It seems like you are always reacting to your challenges. But how can you prepare for anything because you are always putting out fires? These patients seem to be women, moms with all the household duties, as well as a full time job. Now you have three full time jobs, home, children and your profession, and you have to also be a wife in there somewhere or deal with an emotional relationship. But your testosterone levels are plummeting with stress and you no longer think about romance. And that’s even more stress!
You are stressed out and always running either to swim practice, running your house or your office. Your adrenals help you for a while; unfortunately this exhausting lifestyle takes its toll. Ahhh sugar, or those comfort foods. They give you the boost you need, but inside of your body your adrenals are in maximum overload, and they will give out. The type 2 sugar addict finds that it is getting more difficult to fit into her clothes and that is because the adrenals and the sugar boosts cause your adrenals to work overtime with even higher cortisol levels. Your insulin levels then spike and sugar in the blood stream becomes fat in your belly. It’s your body’s way of surviving the anticipated stress. Studies have shown, women in adrenal fatigue will gain an average of over 30 lbs. Does this sound like any one you know? More to come…..
You are stressed out and always running either to swim practice, running your house or your office. Your adrenals help you for a while; unfortunately this exhausting lifestyle takes its toll. Ahhh sugar, or those comfort foods. They give you the boost you need, but inside of your body your adrenals are in maximum overload, and they will give out. The type 2 sugar addict finds that it is getting more difficult to fit into her clothes and that is because the adrenals and the sugar boosts cause your adrenals to work overtime with even higher cortisol levels. Your insulin levels then spike and sugar in the blood stream becomes fat in your belly. It’s your body’s way of surviving the anticipated stress. Studies have shown, women in adrenal fatigue will gain an average of over 30 lbs. Does this sound like any one you know? More to come…..
THE AMAZING VITAMIN D...JUST THE FACTS
Please check out all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D in this linked video. Even in Florida we don't get enough because we wear sunscreen all the time, that blocks all of the Vitamin D production. In the winter we did a study on women 30-65 years of age and 92 % of the women were below the lowest normal range of vitamin D, essentially Vitamin D deficient. When Vitamin D protects from Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes,Autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis,the common cold as well as upper respiratory infections so prevalent in the winter months, we would be better off if we kept our Vitamin D levels. Doesn't that make sense? And it is so inexpensive...not cheap!
check this you tube video out....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbVTEesb3I
check this you tube video out....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQbVTEesb3I
Thursday, August 26, 2010
ARE YOU A SUGAR ADDICT?
ARE YOU A SUGAR ADDICT?
ARE YOU A SUGAR ADDICT?
Robert Carlson, MD, FACS
Essentially there are four different types of sugar addictions as described by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. I would like to use his categories but make some changes on management and descriptions.
The first group is the Type 1 sugar addicts. Do you fit into this group? This group is addicted to energy drinks and coffee, or even soft drinks laced with caffeine. Sugar and caffeine are the mainstays for this Type 1 addict. Here is the problem however. You start feeling exhausted and need a little “buzz”, turning for your favorite energy drink with it’s empty calories and skyrocketing blood sugar levels. Think about this. We normally have only about one cup of sugar circulating through our entire body via our blood stream. These drinks often provide up to 10 cups of sugar immediately dumped into your system.
This immediate rush is obviously satisfying but the plunge one to three hours later caused by spiking insulin levels pushing the sugar into our cells and driving the blood glucose level to bottom of the barrel. And that’s how you feel, until you get another slug of sugar or caffeine. It is a vicious cycle. Let me tell you how to break this sugar addiction…..just say STOP-IT and press the button below to learn more about how you can STOP the sugar addiction!
More to come…..
ARE YOU A SUGAR ADDICT?
Robert Carlson, MD, FACS
Essentially there are four different types of sugar addictions as described by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. I would like to use his categories but make some changes on management and descriptions.
The first group is the Type 1 sugar addicts. Do you fit into this group? This group is addicted to energy drinks and coffee, or even soft drinks laced with caffeine. Sugar and caffeine are the mainstays for this Type 1 addict. Here is the problem however. You start feeling exhausted and need a little “buzz”, turning for your favorite energy drink with it’s empty calories and skyrocketing blood sugar levels. Think about this. We normally have only about one cup of sugar circulating through our entire body via our blood stream. These drinks often provide up to 10 cups of sugar immediately dumped into your system.
This immediate rush is obviously satisfying but the plunge one to three hours later caused by spiking insulin levels pushing the sugar into our cells and driving the blood glucose level to bottom of the barrel. And that’s how you feel, until you get another slug of sugar or caffeine. It is a vicious cycle. Let me tell you how to break this sugar addiction…..just say STOP-IT and press the button below to learn more about how you can STOP the sugar addiction!
More to come…..
DHA - The Importance of Omega 3
DHA - The Importance of Omega 3
A video on Omega 3 fatty acids.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
DHA is a major structural and functional component of our central nervous system, accounting for over 30 % of the total fatty acid content of the human brain. It is essential for the growth and development of brain tissues in infants and children. In adults, it helps assist in supporting normal brain function, including memory and, learning. Horrocks in 1999 described the associated increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease in patients with low DHA levels. In concert with phosphatidylserine, researchers at the NIH revealed that DHA supports energy production in brain cells, and is critical in healthy brain function.
A large number of studies have shown that omega-3 oils can improve brain function, decrease inflammation, reduce the incidence of lethal heart attacks and ischemic strokes,, improve the outcome of autoimmune diseases, and improve vision, reducing the development of macular degeneration.
Please sign in in the upper right corner to follow my blogs. Dr. C
Hey don't forget to check out the video about the Omega-3's on you tube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIFoc8roxdk.
Other videos about your thyroid and vitamin d as well.
P
A video on Omega 3 fatty acids.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
DHA is a major structural and functional component of our central nervous system, accounting for over 30 % of the total fatty acid content of the human brain. It is essential for the growth and development of brain tissues in infants and children. In adults, it helps assist in supporting normal brain function, including memory and, learning. Horrocks in 1999 described the associated increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease in patients with low DHA levels. In concert with phosphatidylserine, researchers at the NIH revealed that DHA supports energy production in brain cells, and is critical in healthy brain function.
A large number of studies have shown that omega-3 oils can improve brain function, decrease inflammation, reduce the incidence of lethal heart attacks and ischemic strokes,, improve the outcome of autoimmune diseases, and improve vision, reducing the development of macular degeneration.
Please sign in in the upper right corner to follow my blogs. Dr. C
Hey don't forget to check out the video about the Omega-3's on you tube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIFoc8roxdk.
Other videos about your thyroid and vitamin d as well.
P
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Reasons not to take Lipitor,Crestor,Vytorin, besides making healthy people patients and unnecessarily increasing your insurance premiums
Reasons not to take Lipitor,Crestor,Vytorin, besides making healthy people patients and unnecessarily increasing your insurance premiums
The controversy involves this question: which people without evident
occlusive vascular disease (true primary prevention) should be offered
statins? The authors note that in formulating recommendations for primary
prevention, the authors of the guidelines did not rely on the data that
already exist from the primary prevention trials. Indeed, the authors note
that the guidelines cite seven and nine different randomized trials, in support of
statin therapy for the primary prevention of this disease in women and
people aged over 65 years. Yet NOT ONE of the studies provides such evidence!!!
Why do you think they recommended using statins? Just follow the money….
32 billion dollars made selling/pushing statin drugs on unsuspecting healthy people.
Furthermore, they note: "the absolute risk reduction of 1.5% is small and
means that 67 people have to be treated for 5 years continuously to prevent one such event. That’s certainly a lot different than being told by your doctor that if you don’t take the Statin drug (Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, etc) you will have a heart attack or stroke. It’s just not true.
Statins did not reduce total coronary heart disease events in 10,990 women
in these primary prevention trials!!
Similarly, in 3,239 men and women older than 69 years, statins did not
reduce total cardiovascular events!
A Harvard physician cited that: "Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years. High-risk men aged 30-69 years should be advised that about 50 patients need to be treated for 5 years to prevent one event."
This is the real data and make sure your doctor who is demanding you take a statin (lipitor,pravachol,crestor etc) knows about this.
The controversy involves this question: which people without evident
occlusive vascular disease (true primary prevention) should be offered
statins? The authors note that in formulating recommendations for primary
prevention, the authors of the guidelines did not rely on the data that
already exist from the primary prevention trials. Indeed, the authors note
that the guidelines cite seven and nine different randomized trials, in support of
statin therapy for the primary prevention of this disease in women and
people aged over 65 years. Yet NOT ONE of the studies provides such evidence!!!
Why do you think they recommended using statins? Just follow the money….
32 billion dollars made selling/pushing statin drugs on unsuspecting healthy people.
Furthermore, they note: "the absolute risk reduction of 1.5% is small and
means that 67 people have to be treated for 5 years continuously to prevent one such event. That’s certainly a lot different than being told by your doctor that if you don’t take the Statin drug (Lipitor, Crestor, Vytorin, etc) you will have a heart attack or stroke. It’s just not true.
Statins did not reduce total coronary heart disease events in 10,990 women
in these primary prevention trials!!
Similarly, in 3,239 men and women older than 69 years, statins did not
reduce total cardiovascular events!
A Harvard physician cited that: "Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years. High-risk men aged 30-69 years should be advised that about 50 patients need to be treated for 5 years to prevent one event."
This is the real data and make sure your doctor who is demanding you take a statin (lipitor,pravachol,crestor etc) knows about this.
The Best Sleep You'll Ever Have....is in your grasp and so simple
The Best Sleep You’ll Ever Have…….is in your grasp and so simple.
Robert G Carlson, MD, Sarasota, FL
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Or perhaps you’re able to fall asleep, but then plagued by constantly waking up throughout the night, resulting in a broken, restless sleep that leaves you feeling like a zombie the next morning?
Have you been given sleeping pills to help with your sleep, pills that leave you spaced out, like you’re moving in slow motion and not fully rested? Not being able to sleep is critical, resulting in loss of memory, ineffective work habits, and increasing irritability. Starting in their early 40’s, women are in commonly plagued with sleeping problems. The answer is really quite simple. About ten years before menopause, ladies progesterone levels start to plummet. This sets them up for sleepless nights. Progesterone, natural progesterone that is soy-based, not the peanut oil pharmaceutical progesterone Prometrium, provides improvement in sleep, dramatic reduction in irritability (who wouldn’t be irritable if you can’t sleep and remain exhausted), reduction in headaches and the reduction in the signs of estrogen dominance. Besides natural progesterone, NOT synthetic progestins like Prempro or Provera, has now been shown to reduce breast and uterine cancer, reduce cholesterol and reduce heart disease. And it also makes you feel better!
Sleep medicines don’t deal with the real underlying causes of why women are having trouble sleeping as they get older. The major reason is because progesterone levels are so low. Progesterone is like nature’s valium, it is the Feng-Shui of hormones providing calmness and relaxation, factors critical in falling asleep.
With women who are either perimenopausal(which can be up to 10 years before menopause), menopausal, or suffering from surgically induced menopause (hysterectomy), the progesterone levels can drop to such low , immeasurable level that ladies simply can’t sleep. It often takes women an hour or more to get to sleep or they find themselves waking up throughout the night.
So how does bio-identical hormone replacement therapy help? When natural progesterone is taken as a pill, versus in the cream, it travels to the brain and interacts with the GABA receptors. These receptors when activated naturally promote sleep and help patients reach the restorative sleep (REM sleep) more quickly.
How does hormone replacement with progesterone differ from taking sleeping pills when it comes to the quality of sleep a woman might expect? Sleeping pills are synthetic, not natural. There is nothing natural about them, and because of that the natural restorative REM sleep is never achieved. Oh yes, sleeping pills will help you get to sleep, but they don’t get the quality of sleep achieved naturally. When I treat women struggling with sleep issues in their 40’s and 50’s, sleep undoubtedly affected by progesterone levels, one of the most common response I hear after starting progesteroneis ‘This is the best sleep I’ve ever had’.
How quickly can patients expect results? I have seen patients experience results very quickly. Sometimes within the first one or two doses. They often can’t believe how rested they are when they wake up and want to get rid of their sleeping pills as soon as possible.
One patient of mine, Erika is a perfect example of the difference a good night’s sleep can make. In her early fifties, I met Erika with major concerns of “I just can’t sleep”. She had been experiencing “on and off sleep” – waking up frequently throughout the night for years. Essentially sleep deprived. The lack of sleep was making her feel older than her years, and mentally and physically exhausted. She told me, “It was horrible and very hard to function.”
After only a few weeks of hormone replacement however Erika reported to me with excitement in her voice, “I can sleep now. I can think clearly now. It’s unbelievable.” Though still dealing with the stresses and pressures of before, she finds it easier to deal with now she has the benefit of a full and restful night’s sleep. “I really do feel like this very huge dark cloud has been lifted, thanks to you, Dr. Carlson.” She said fighting off tears of joy. “I see everything in a different view.” Her words of encouragement to ladies struggling with menopause and sleeping problems are: “I’m sleeping through the night and feeling like I’m back in my twenties or thirties. It’s amazing.”
Robert G Carlson, MD, Sarasota, FL
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Or perhaps you’re able to fall asleep, but then plagued by constantly waking up throughout the night, resulting in a broken, restless sleep that leaves you feeling like a zombie the next morning?
Have you been given sleeping pills to help with your sleep, pills that leave you spaced out, like you’re moving in slow motion and not fully rested? Not being able to sleep is critical, resulting in loss of memory, ineffective work habits, and increasing irritability. Starting in their early 40’s, women are in commonly plagued with sleeping problems. The answer is really quite simple. About ten years before menopause, ladies progesterone levels start to plummet. This sets them up for sleepless nights. Progesterone, natural progesterone that is soy-based, not the peanut oil pharmaceutical progesterone Prometrium, provides improvement in sleep, dramatic reduction in irritability (who wouldn’t be irritable if you can’t sleep and remain exhausted), reduction in headaches and the reduction in the signs of estrogen dominance. Besides natural progesterone, NOT synthetic progestins like Prempro or Provera, has now been shown to reduce breast and uterine cancer, reduce cholesterol and reduce heart disease. And it also makes you feel better!
Sleep medicines don’t deal with the real underlying causes of why women are having trouble sleeping as they get older. The major reason is because progesterone levels are so low. Progesterone is like nature’s valium, it is the Feng-Shui of hormones providing calmness and relaxation, factors critical in falling asleep.
With women who are either perimenopausal(which can be up to 10 years before menopause), menopausal, or suffering from surgically induced menopause (hysterectomy), the progesterone levels can drop to such low , immeasurable level that ladies simply can’t sleep. It often takes women an hour or more to get to sleep or they find themselves waking up throughout the night.
So how does bio-identical hormone replacement therapy help? When natural progesterone is taken as a pill, versus in the cream, it travels to the brain and interacts with the GABA receptors. These receptors when activated naturally promote sleep and help patients reach the restorative sleep (REM sleep) more quickly.
How does hormone replacement with progesterone differ from taking sleeping pills when it comes to the quality of sleep a woman might expect? Sleeping pills are synthetic, not natural. There is nothing natural about them, and because of that the natural restorative REM sleep is never achieved. Oh yes, sleeping pills will help you get to sleep, but they don’t get the quality of sleep achieved naturally. When I treat women struggling with sleep issues in their 40’s and 50’s, sleep undoubtedly affected by progesterone levels, one of the most common response I hear after starting progesteroneis ‘This is the best sleep I’ve ever had’.
How quickly can patients expect results? I have seen patients experience results very quickly. Sometimes within the first one or two doses. They often can’t believe how rested they are when they wake up and want to get rid of their sleeping pills as soon as possible.
One patient of mine, Erika is a perfect example of the difference a good night’s sleep can make. In her early fifties, I met Erika with major concerns of “I just can’t sleep”. She had been experiencing “on and off sleep” – waking up frequently throughout the night for years. Essentially sleep deprived. The lack of sleep was making her feel older than her years, and mentally and physically exhausted. She told me, “It was horrible and very hard to function.”
After only a few weeks of hormone replacement however Erika reported to me with excitement in her voice, “I can sleep now. I can think clearly now. It’s unbelievable.” Though still dealing with the stresses and pressures of before, she finds it easier to deal with now she has the benefit of a full and restful night’s sleep. “I really do feel like this very huge dark cloud has been lifted, thanks to you, Dr. Carlson.” She said fighting off tears of joy. “I see everything in a different view.” Her words of encouragement to ladies struggling with menopause and sleeping problems are: “I’m sleeping through the night and feeling like I’m back in my twenties or thirties. It’s amazing.”
Youthful Skin with Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Bio-Identical Hormones make you look younger
Youthful Skin with Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
Bio-Identical Hormones make you look younger
So how much control do you have over how quickly your face ages? You know, sagging cheeks, wrinkles and frown lines? The surprising answer is that you have more control over facial aging than you think. Factors such as divorce, smoking, and the use of anti-depressants dramatically accelerate facial aging. So what is beneficial in making women’s faces look more youthful? Hormone replacement therapy. Yes , a Case Western Plastic surgery study found that hormone replacement therapy made a big difference by reducing the aging process.
Aging, especially in the skin seems to accelerate after menopause in women. Aging faster with wrinkles spreading rapidly, skin quickly loses elasticity and smoothness are common features in postmenopausal women not receiving hormone replacement therapy. The basis for the use of topical estrogen therapy stems from the documented evidence of reducing diseases of aging, including heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer but also in the estrogen depleted chronological aging of our skin. To a large degree the features of aging skin seem to result from the decline in estrogen levels after the menopause. Of all hormones that decline with age, estrogens have the most dramatic effect on the skin. Estrogens are known to protect women from heart disease, and now it seems that they also slow down skin aging. Several studies indicate that postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy develop less wrinkles and have better skin texture and elasticity than those not taking estrogens.
Studies in postmenopausal women have demonstrated significant decrease skin thickness with marked thinning of the epidermis (outer skin layer), loss of critical collagen resulting in deterioration of skin structures, deepening of wrinkles and widening of skin pores. The more rapid the collagen loss, which occurs in the first two years after menopause, the more dramatic the appearance of aging in these women. Studies have shown up to a 30 % loss of skin collagen immediately after menopause and the loss continues if there is no estrogen replacement received. This British Medical Journal study amazingly showed that women who then received topical estrogen therapy experienced an increase in skin collagen content 48 % higher than those who did not received hormone replacement therapy. Proper bioidentical hormone replacement with estrogen, progesterone and testosterone replacement is a complex decision requiring the analysis of one's medical history and a physician who has the knowledge to expertly balance a women’s hormones.
Women after menopause have been shown to have improved skin benefits using estrogen topical preparations. A University of Vienna study in postmenopausal women demonstrated a marked improvement in skin elasticity and firmness after only six months of therapy; wrinkle depth and pore size decreased by over sixty percent in both estradiol and estriol groups. Skin moisture and collagen synthesis increased significantly.
I believe that estrogen creams could also improve the signs of aging in premenopausal women as well although further studies are needed to confirm that. The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery article showed that hormone replacement therapy dramatically reduced the appearance of facial aging in women. So not only does hormone replacement reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer , and osteoporosis, but it also makes you look younger. So now you have European and American studies that support the benefits of Hormone Replacement therapy on the skin. The benefits of Hormone replacement therapy on the heart, bones, memory and cancer are being clearly documented in the medical literature. So, it’s about time we took the fear out of HRT and provide women with a safe and healthy approach to wellness. Now that sounds like a great idea to me.
Robert Carlson, MD, FACS
Bio-Identical Hormones make you look younger
So how much control do you have over how quickly your face ages? You know, sagging cheeks, wrinkles and frown lines? The surprising answer is that you have more control over facial aging than you think. Factors such as divorce, smoking, and the use of anti-depressants dramatically accelerate facial aging. So what is beneficial in making women’s faces look more youthful? Hormone replacement therapy. Yes , a Case Western Plastic surgery study found that hormone replacement therapy made a big difference by reducing the aging process.
Aging, especially in the skin seems to accelerate after menopause in women. Aging faster with wrinkles spreading rapidly, skin quickly loses elasticity and smoothness are common features in postmenopausal women not receiving hormone replacement therapy. The basis for the use of topical estrogen therapy stems from the documented evidence of reducing diseases of aging, including heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer but also in the estrogen depleted chronological aging of our skin. To a large degree the features of aging skin seem to result from the decline in estrogen levels after the menopause. Of all hormones that decline with age, estrogens have the most dramatic effect on the skin. Estrogens are known to protect women from heart disease, and now it seems that they also slow down skin aging. Several studies indicate that postmenopausal women on estrogen replacement therapy develop less wrinkles and have better skin texture and elasticity than those not taking estrogens.
Studies in postmenopausal women have demonstrated significant decrease skin thickness with marked thinning of the epidermis (outer skin layer), loss of critical collagen resulting in deterioration of skin structures, deepening of wrinkles and widening of skin pores. The more rapid the collagen loss, which occurs in the first two years after menopause, the more dramatic the appearance of aging in these women. Studies have shown up to a 30 % loss of skin collagen immediately after menopause and the loss continues if there is no estrogen replacement received. This British Medical Journal study amazingly showed that women who then received topical estrogen therapy experienced an increase in skin collagen content 48 % higher than those who did not received hormone replacement therapy. Proper bioidentical hormone replacement with estrogen, progesterone and testosterone replacement is a complex decision requiring the analysis of one's medical history and a physician who has the knowledge to expertly balance a women’s hormones.
Women after menopause have been shown to have improved skin benefits using estrogen topical preparations. A University of Vienna study in postmenopausal women demonstrated a marked improvement in skin elasticity and firmness after only six months of therapy; wrinkle depth and pore size decreased by over sixty percent in both estradiol and estriol groups. Skin moisture and collagen synthesis increased significantly.
I believe that estrogen creams could also improve the signs of aging in premenopausal women as well although further studies are needed to confirm that. The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery article showed that hormone replacement therapy dramatically reduced the appearance of facial aging in women. So not only does hormone replacement reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer , and osteoporosis, but it also makes you look younger. So now you have European and American studies that support the benefits of Hormone Replacement therapy on the skin. The benefits of Hormone replacement therapy on the heart, bones, memory and cancer are being clearly documented in the medical literature. So, it’s about time we took the fear out of HRT and provide women with a safe and healthy approach to wellness. Now that sounds like a great idea to me.
Robert Carlson, MD, FACS
Monday, June 21, 2010
Vitamin D myths and management-Robert Carlson,MD
THE MANY VITAMIN D MYTHS
Patient EB is a 50-year-old female with a family history of colon cancer and breast cancer as well as a history of arthritis with probable autoimmune etiology. She takes a daily multivitamin which includes 10,000 units of Vitamin A as well as a separate 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 and her 25-(OH) Vitamin D3 level is 36 ng/mL (reference range 33-100 ng/mL). Should EB increase her dose of Vitamin D3? Should she continue her multi-vitamin?
There are so many myths surrounding Vitamin D. First and foremost, is the myth that Vitamin D is
a Vitamin. Vitamin D is not a Vitamin, it is actually a steroid hormone. Vitamin D is produced in one part of the body (the skin), and then travels to a remote site, where it exerts an endocrine effect. Thus, it fulfills the definition of a hormone. Another Vitamin D myth is that its only function is calcium regulation. That idea has been well and truly debunked in recent years. Then there is the idea that 1000 IUs a day is more than enough, which is simply not true. Also many believe that taking over 2000 units a day might cause toxicities. I hear this from numerous health professionals and even from pharmacists who should know better. The literature is very clear…..evidence from clinical trials shows that a prolonged intake of 10,000 units of Vitamin D per day poses no risk of adverse effects for adults 1 ……therefore one can take 10,000 units a day and have no risk for toxicity.
Other myths of interest include:
1) Most people living in the US get adequate amounts of Vitamin D – not true (see below).
2) Extreme care must be taken to avoid toxicity – not true! There have been numerous
studies on Vitamin D toxicity and no toxicity has been seen in doses lower than 30,000
IU/day (200 ng/mL). An excess of Vitamin D causes hypercalcemia, however all known
cases of Vitamin D toxicity with hypercalcemia have involved intakes of 40,000 IU or more
per day.2
3) Spending 15 minutes in the sun each day enables the body to produce ample amounts of
Vitamin D – that may be true if you are sitting on a beach in Hawaii at noon wearing
nothing but a bikini, but for the vast majority of us that is a myth. Unfortunately, once sunscreen is applied the Vitamin D production drops to nothing. If you live above 35 degrees latitude, the body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D from the winter sun. In fact the only adequate amount of sunshine in Boston occurs, between May and Sept, otherwise there is inadequate sunlight for Vitamin D metabolism.
4) Eating a balanced diet will provide adequate amounts of Vitamin D – not true! Vitamin D is present, in small amounts, in only a handful of foods – oily fish, eggs, and fortified
foods. Vitamin D fortified Milk and Orange Juice only contain 50 Units of Vitamin D2, not Vitamin D3. Thus it is very unlikely that adequate amounts could be obtained from the diet.
• Vitamin D does not prevent cancer – it does , in fact one study showed the reduction in all cancers by 77 % over a four year period in a well designed study.(see below).
• Vitamin D does not prevent autoimmune disease – it does , reducing Systemic Lupus ,Rheumatoid Arthritis and Childhood onset diabetes(see below).
• Vitamin D does not prevent acute MI and heart disease – it does (see below).
As mentioned above, the notion that most people living in the US get adequate amounts of
Vitamin D is far from true. Research has shown that Vitamin D deficiency is present among all age groups of US citizens from children to the elderly, and especially in African-Americans.3 Studies have shown that the prevalence of low 25-(OH) D levels (<20 ng/mL) is approximately 36% in young adults aged 18-294 ,42% of African-American women aged 15-495 ,41% of outpatients aged 49-83,6 and 57% of inpatients.7
In Europe, it is believed that between 28 and 100% of healthy adults and 70-100% of hospitalized adults have low 25-(OH) D levels (<20 ng/mL).8,9,10
A study we completed examining women age 35-65 in Tampa, Florida in December, demonstrated that 92 % of the women had 25-(OH) D levels less than the low normal range of 32. Can you imagine what the Vitamin D levels are in the same group of women in Minneapolis, Minnesota in December?
Research has shown that the incidence of many diseases could be dramatically reduced by
increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels, and by looking at the list below, it is easy to see why Vitamin D has become a very hot topic in recent years:
1) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to 35 ng/mL could prevent 30% of MI in men11 and
reduce the risk of fracture in elderly people by 50%.12
2) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to approximately 40 ng/mL could reduce the risk of
cancer in postmenopausal women by 35%13 and reduce the risk of falls in elderly people
by 50%. 14
3) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to 50 ng/mL could reduce the incidence of breast
cancer by as much as 80%,15 multiple sclerosis by as much as 60%,16 and type I
diabetes by up to 50%.17
Why is Vitamin D so beneficial? There is no clear answer at present. However, anything that has
such wide-ranging benefits has to possess the ability to modulate inflammation. Indeed, studies have shown that Vitamin D inhibits nuclear factor-κβ (NF-κβ) 18 – a protein that plays a key role in the inflammatory response and in the proliferation of cancer cells. It has also been shown to lower levels of the inflammatory marker CRP.19 Thus, it is vital that we ensure our patients are getting plenty of Vitamin D.
What about Patient EB, does she need to increase her daily dose of Vitamin D3? Yes. The
reference range for 25-(OH) D is 32-100 ng/mL Given the evidence published in the medical literature over the last few years, it is advisable to try and keep patients at the top end of the reference range – so, we should be aiming for 75-100 ng/mL The optimal dose for an average person is 5000-15,000 IU/day; however this should be lowered for people who get a lot of sun exposure. Ideally check Vitamin D leveIs and regularly check serum calcium in patients who take supplementary Vitamin D, just to ensure there is no risk of hypercalcemia.
So what about her multi-Vitamin choice? Some multi-Vitamins may be doing more harm than good. I recommend avoiding excessive amount of pre-formed Vitamin A in the retinol form, as opposed to the beta-carotene form that converts to Vitamin A in your body. The presence of excessive pre-formed actually will neutralize all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D3.20 Unfortunately, multi-vitamins often continue a lot of Vitamin A(average 4400 units) as retinol and very low levels of D3( average 400). Vitamin A and Vitamin D receptors are very close to each other and excess Vitamin A will block the beneficial effects of Vitamin D. Women who took the highest intake of pre-formed Vitamin A actually had twice as many hip fractures. 21 So keep the non- beta carotene Vitamin A supplements to less than 1000 units, and this will allow all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D3.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
There are many myths surrounding hormone replacement therapies, however from the evidence
presented above, we can see that not one of them is true. Hormone optimization provides us with an extremely powerful anti-aging tool to maximize quality of life.
REFERENCES
1. Vieth R. Vitamin D and Cancer Mini-Symposium: the risk of additional Vitamin D. Ann Epidemiol. 2009; 19(7):441-5.
2. Vieth R. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyVitamin D concentration, and safety. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69:842-56.
3. Holick MF. High prevalence of Vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clin Proc.
2006;81:353-373.
4. Tangpricha V, Pearce EN, Chen TC, Holick MF. Vitamin D insufficiency among free-living healthy young
adults. Am J Med. 2002;112:659-662.
5. Nesby-O'Dell S, Scanlon KS, Cogswell ME, Gillespie C, Hollis BW, Looker AC, Allen C, Doughertly C,
Gunter EW, Bowman BA. HypoVitaminosis D prevalence and determinants among African American and
336 white women of reproductive age: third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Am
J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:187-192.
6. Malabanan A, Veronikis IE, Holick MF. Redefining Vitamin D insufficiency [letter]. Lancet. 1998;351:805-
806.
7. Thomas MK, Lloyd-Jones DM, Thadhani RI, Shaw AC, Deraska DJ, Kitch BT, Vamvakas EC, Dick IM,
Prince RL, Finkelstein JS. HypoVitaminosis D in medical inpatients. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:777-783.
8 . McKenna MJ. Differences in Vitamin D status between countries in young adults and the elderly. Am J
Med. 1992;93:69-77.
9. Isaia G, Giorgino R, Rini GB, Bevilacqua M, Maugeri D, Adami S. Prevalence of hypoVitaminosis D in
elderly women in Italy: clinical consequences and risk factors. Osteoporos Int. 2003;14:577-582.
10. Passeri G, Pini G, Troiano L, Vescovini R, Sansoni P, Passeri M, Gueresi P, Delsignore R, Pedrazzoni M,
Franceschi C. Low Vitamin D status, high bone turnover, and bone fractures in centenarians. J Clin
Endocrinol Metab. 2003;88:5109-5115.
11. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-hydroxyVitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1174-80.
12. Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Willett WC, Wong JB, Giovannucci E, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B. Fracture
prevention with Vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA.
2005;293:2257-2264.
13. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium
supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85:1586-1591.
14. Broe KE, Chen TC, Weinberg J, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Holick MF, Kiel DP. A higher dose of Vitamin d
reduces the risk of falls in nursing home residents: a randomized, multiple-dose study. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2007;55:234-239.
15. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Grant WB, Garland FC. Breast cancer risk according to serum s5-
hydroxyVitamin D: Meta-analysis of dose-response. Presented at: American Association for Cancer
Research Annual Meeting; April 12-16, 2008; San Diego, California.
16. Munger KL, Levin LI, Hollis BW, Howard NS, Ascherio A. Serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D levels and risk of
multiple sclerosis. JAMA. 2006;296:2832-2838.
17. Hyppönen E, Läärä E, Reunanen A, Järvelin MR, Virtanen SM. Intake of Vitamin D and risk of type 1
diabetes: a birth-cohort study. Lancet. 2001;358:1500-1503.
18. Szeto FL, Sun J, Kong J, Duan Y, Liao A, Madara JL, Li YC. Involvement of the Vitamin D receptor in the
regulation of NF-kappaB activity in fibroblasts. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007;103:563-566.
19. Boxer RS, Dauser DA, Walsh SJ, Hager WD, Kenny AM. The association between Vitamin D and
inflammation with the 6-minute walk and frailty in patients with heart failure. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2008;56:454-461.
20. Melhus H, Michaëlsson K, Kindmark A, Bergström R,. Excessive dietary intake of vitamin A is associated with reduced bone mineral density and increased risk for hip fracture. Annals of Internal Medicine, 1998;129(10):770-8.
21. Johansson S, Melhus H. Vitamin A antagonizes calcium response to vitamin D in man. J Bone Mineral Res. 2001;16(10):1899-905.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Patient EB is a 50-year-old female with a family history of colon cancer and breast cancer as well as a history of arthritis with probable autoimmune etiology. She takes a daily multivitamin which includes 10,000 units of Vitamin A as well as a separate 1000 IU of Vitamin D3 and her 25-(OH) Vitamin D3 level is 36 ng/mL (reference range 33-100 ng/mL). Should EB increase her dose of Vitamin D3? Should she continue her multi-vitamin?
There are so many myths surrounding Vitamin D. First and foremost, is the myth that Vitamin D is
a Vitamin. Vitamin D is not a Vitamin, it is actually a steroid hormone. Vitamin D is produced in one part of the body (the skin), and then travels to a remote site, where it exerts an endocrine effect. Thus, it fulfills the definition of a hormone. Another Vitamin D myth is that its only function is calcium regulation. That idea has been well and truly debunked in recent years. Then there is the idea that 1000 IUs a day is more than enough, which is simply not true. Also many believe that taking over 2000 units a day might cause toxicities. I hear this from numerous health professionals and even from pharmacists who should know better. The literature is very clear…..evidence from clinical trials shows that a prolonged intake of 10,000 units of Vitamin D per day poses no risk of adverse effects for adults 1 ……therefore one can take 10,000 units a day and have no risk for toxicity.
Other myths of interest include:
1) Most people living in the US get adequate amounts of Vitamin D – not true (see below).
2) Extreme care must be taken to avoid toxicity – not true! There have been numerous
studies on Vitamin D toxicity and no toxicity has been seen in doses lower than 30,000
IU/day (200 ng/mL). An excess of Vitamin D causes hypercalcemia, however all known
cases of Vitamin D toxicity with hypercalcemia have involved intakes of 40,000 IU or more
per day.2
3) Spending 15 minutes in the sun each day enables the body to produce ample amounts of
Vitamin D – that may be true if you are sitting on a beach in Hawaii at noon wearing
nothing but a bikini, but for the vast majority of us that is a myth. Unfortunately, once sunscreen is applied the Vitamin D production drops to nothing. If you live above 35 degrees latitude, the body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D from the winter sun. In fact the only adequate amount of sunshine in Boston occurs, between May and Sept, otherwise there is inadequate sunlight for Vitamin D metabolism.
4) Eating a balanced diet will provide adequate amounts of Vitamin D – not true! Vitamin D is present, in small amounts, in only a handful of foods – oily fish, eggs, and fortified
foods. Vitamin D fortified Milk and Orange Juice only contain 50 Units of Vitamin D2, not Vitamin D3. Thus it is very unlikely that adequate amounts could be obtained from the diet.
• Vitamin D does not prevent cancer – it does , in fact one study showed the reduction in all cancers by 77 % over a four year period in a well designed study.(see below).
• Vitamin D does not prevent autoimmune disease – it does , reducing Systemic Lupus ,Rheumatoid Arthritis and Childhood onset diabetes(see below).
• Vitamin D does not prevent acute MI and heart disease – it does (see below).
As mentioned above, the notion that most people living in the US get adequate amounts of
Vitamin D is far from true. Research has shown that Vitamin D deficiency is present among all age groups of US citizens from children to the elderly, and especially in African-Americans.3 Studies have shown that the prevalence of low 25-(OH) D levels (<20 ng/mL) is approximately 36% in young adults aged 18-294 ,42% of African-American women aged 15-495 ,41% of outpatients aged 49-83,6 and 57% of inpatients.7
In Europe, it is believed that between 28 and 100% of healthy adults and 70-100% of hospitalized adults have low 25-(OH) D levels (<20 ng/mL).8,9,10
A study we completed examining women age 35-65 in Tampa, Florida in December, demonstrated that 92 % of the women had 25-(OH) D levels less than the low normal range of 32. Can you imagine what the Vitamin D levels are in the same group of women in Minneapolis, Minnesota in December?
Research has shown that the incidence of many diseases could be dramatically reduced by
increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels, and by looking at the list below, it is easy to see why Vitamin D has become a very hot topic in recent years:
1) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to 35 ng/mL could prevent 30% of MI in men11 and
reduce the risk of fracture in elderly people by 50%.12
2) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to approximately 40 ng/mL could reduce the risk of
cancer in postmenopausal women by 35%13 and reduce the risk of falls in elderly people
by 50%. 14
3) Increasing serum 25-(OH) D levels to 50 ng/mL could reduce the incidence of breast
cancer by as much as 80%,15 multiple sclerosis by as much as 60%,16 and type I
diabetes by up to 50%.17
Why is Vitamin D so beneficial? There is no clear answer at present. However, anything that has
such wide-ranging benefits has to possess the ability to modulate inflammation. Indeed, studies have shown that Vitamin D inhibits nuclear factor-κβ (NF-κβ) 18 – a protein that plays a key role in the inflammatory response and in the proliferation of cancer cells. It has also been shown to lower levels of the inflammatory marker CRP.19 Thus, it is vital that we ensure our patients are getting plenty of Vitamin D.
What about Patient EB, does she need to increase her daily dose of Vitamin D3? Yes. The
reference range for 25-(OH) D is 32-100 ng/mL Given the evidence published in the medical literature over the last few years, it is advisable to try and keep patients at the top end of the reference range – so, we should be aiming for 75-100 ng/mL The optimal dose for an average person is 5000-15,000 IU/day; however this should be lowered for people who get a lot of sun exposure. Ideally check Vitamin D leveIs and regularly check serum calcium in patients who take supplementary Vitamin D, just to ensure there is no risk of hypercalcemia.
So what about her multi-Vitamin choice? Some multi-Vitamins may be doing more harm than good. I recommend avoiding excessive amount of pre-formed Vitamin A in the retinol form, as opposed to the beta-carotene form that converts to Vitamin A in your body. The presence of excessive pre-formed actually will neutralize all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D3.20 Unfortunately, multi-vitamins often continue a lot of Vitamin A(average 4400 units) as retinol and very low levels of D3( average 400). Vitamin A and Vitamin D receptors are very close to each other and excess Vitamin A will block the beneficial effects of Vitamin D. Women who took the highest intake of pre-formed Vitamin A actually had twice as many hip fractures. 21 So keep the non- beta carotene Vitamin A supplements to less than 1000 units, and this will allow all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D3.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
There are many myths surrounding hormone replacement therapies, however from the evidence
presented above, we can see that not one of them is true. Hormone optimization provides us with an extremely powerful anti-aging tool to maximize quality of life.
REFERENCES
1. Vieth R. Vitamin D and Cancer Mini-Symposium: the risk of additional Vitamin D. Ann Epidemiol. 2009; 19(7):441-5.
2. Vieth R. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyVitamin D concentration, and safety. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;69:842-56.
3. Holick MF. High prevalence of Vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clin Proc.
2006;81:353-373.
4. Tangpricha V, Pearce EN, Chen TC, Holick MF. Vitamin D insufficiency among free-living healthy young
adults. Am J Med. 2002;112:659-662.
5. Nesby-O'Dell S, Scanlon KS, Cogswell ME, Gillespie C, Hollis BW, Looker AC, Allen C, Doughertly C,
Gunter EW, Bowman BA. HypoVitaminosis D prevalence and determinants among African American and
336 white women of reproductive age: third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Am
J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:187-192.
6. Malabanan A, Veronikis IE, Holick MF. Redefining Vitamin D insufficiency [letter]. Lancet. 1998;351:805-
806.
7. Thomas MK, Lloyd-Jones DM, Thadhani RI, Shaw AC, Deraska DJ, Kitch BT, Vamvakas EC, Dick IM,
Prince RL, Finkelstein JS. HypoVitaminosis D in medical inpatients. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:777-783.
8 . McKenna MJ. Differences in Vitamin D status between countries in young adults and the elderly. Am J
Med. 1992;93:69-77.
9. Isaia G, Giorgino R, Rini GB, Bevilacqua M, Maugeri D, Adami S. Prevalence of hypoVitaminosis D in
elderly women in Italy: clinical consequences and risk factors. Osteoporos Int. 2003;14:577-582.
10. Passeri G, Pini G, Troiano L, Vescovini R, Sansoni P, Passeri M, Gueresi P, Delsignore R, Pedrazzoni M,
Franceschi C. Low Vitamin D status, high bone turnover, and bone fractures in centenarians. J Clin
Endocrinol Metab. 2003;88:5109-5115.
11. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-hydroxyVitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1174-80.
12. Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Willett WC, Wong JB, Giovannucci E, Dietrich T, Dawson-Hughes B. Fracture
prevention with Vitamin D supplementation: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA.
2005;293:2257-2264.
13. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium
supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;85:1586-1591.
14. Broe KE, Chen TC, Weinberg J, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, Holick MF, Kiel DP. A higher dose of Vitamin d
reduces the risk of falls in nursing home residents: a randomized, multiple-dose study. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2007;55:234-239.
15. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Grant WB, Garland FC. Breast cancer risk according to serum s5-
hydroxyVitamin D: Meta-analysis of dose-response. Presented at: American Association for Cancer
Research Annual Meeting; April 12-16, 2008; San Diego, California.
16. Munger KL, Levin LI, Hollis BW, Howard NS, Ascherio A. Serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D levels and risk of
multiple sclerosis. JAMA. 2006;296:2832-2838.
17. Hyppönen E, Läärä E, Reunanen A, Järvelin MR, Virtanen SM. Intake of Vitamin D and risk of type 1
diabetes: a birth-cohort study. Lancet. 2001;358:1500-1503.
18. Szeto FL, Sun J, Kong J, Duan Y, Liao A, Madara JL, Li YC. Involvement of the Vitamin D receptor in the
regulation of NF-kappaB activity in fibroblasts. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007;103:563-566.
19. Boxer RS, Dauser DA, Walsh SJ, Hager WD, Kenny AM. The association between Vitamin D and
inflammation with the 6-minute walk and frailty in patients with heart failure. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2008;56:454-461.
20. Melhus H, Michaëlsson K, Kindmark A, Bergström R,. Excessive dietary intake of vitamin A is associated with reduced bone mineral density and increased risk for hip fracture. Annals of Internal Medicine, 1998;129(10):770-8.
21. Johansson S, Melhus H. Vitamin A antagonizes calcium response to vitamin D in man. J Bone Mineral Res. 2001;16(10):1899-905.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Prostate Cancer and Men Robert G Carlson, MD
Prostate Cancer Myth:
Testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer
Absolutely not, in fact lower testosterone levels are associated with an increased incidence of Prostate cancer.
For over 60 years there has been an overwhelming fear that testosterone therapy for low testosterone levels will cause new cancers or hidden ones to grow. There is very little scientific data to support that philosophy but even in the face of numerous recent studies saying there is NO association, doctors are still telling their patients that testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer. Instead the opposite is true. Low blood levels of testosterone don’t protect against prostate cancer, but in fact lower testosterone levels are associated with increased incidence of prostate cancer.
A Journal of National Cancer Institute article in 2008, pooled 18 separate studies looking at the effect of testosterone therapy and prostate cancer. In over 9000 men studied, there was no relationship between testosterone therapy and Prostate cancer. NONE. The authors pleaded with the medical community to move past the long-believed, but unsupported view that testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer. IT DOES NOT CAUSE PROSTATE CANCER.
To summarize:
1) Low testosterone levels do not protect against prostate cancer, and in fact are associated with a higher incidence of prostate cancer.
2) High testosterone levels in men are not associated with an increased incidence of prostate cancer.
3) Treatment with testosterone therapy does not increase the incidence of prostate cancer, even in the men who are presumably at a higher risk.
4) If a man has metastatic prostate cancer (spread all over) and has been aggressively treated to lower testosterone levels, then careful management with testosterone therapy is recommended.
5) By restoring Testosterone levels to healthy levels, aging men should expect higher energy levels, memory improvement, improvement of depression, reduction of osteoporosis, and improvement in erectile dysfunction.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer
Absolutely not, in fact lower testosterone levels are associated with an increased incidence of Prostate cancer.
For over 60 years there has been an overwhelming fear that testosterone therapy for low testosterone levels will cause new cancers or hidden ones to grow. There is very little scientific data to support that philosophy but even in the face of numerous recent studies saying there is NO association, doctors are still telling their patients that testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer. Instead the opposite is true. Low blood levels of testosterone don’t protect against prostate cancer, but in fact lower testosterone levels are associated with increased incidence of prostate cancer.
A Journal of National Cancer Institute article in 2008, pooled 18 separate studies looking at the effect of testosterone therapy and prostate cancer. In over 9000 men studied, there was no relationship between testosterone therapy and Prostate cancer. NONE. The authors pleaded with the medical community to move past the long-believed, but unsupported view that testosterone therapy causes prostate cancer. IT DOES NOT CAUSE PROSTATE CANCER.
To summarize:
1) Low testosterone levels do not protect against prostate cancer, and in fact are associated with a higher incidence of prostate cancer.
2) High testosterone levels in men are not associated with an increased incidence of prostate cancer.
3) Treatment with testosterone therapy does not increase the incidence of prostate cancer, even in the men who are presumably at a higher risk.
4) If a man has metastatic prostate cancer (spread all over) and has been aggressively treated to lower testosterone levels, then careful management with testosterone therapy is recommended.
5) By restoring Testosterone levels to healthy levels, aging men should expect higher energy levels, memory improvement, improvement of depression, reduction of osteoporosis, and improvement in erectile dysfunction.
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Monday, March 8, 2010
DHA - The Importance of Omega 3
A video on Omega 3 fatty acids.
DHA is a major structural and functional component of our central nervous system, accounting for over 30 % of the total fatty acid content of the human brain. It is essential for the growth and development of brain tissues in infants and children. In adults, it helps assist in supporting normal brain function, including memory and, learning. Horrocks in 1999 described the associated increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease in patients with low DHA levels. In concert with phosphatidylserine, researchers at the NIH revealed that DHA supports energy production in brain cells, and is critical in healthy brain function.
A large number of studies have shown that omega-3 oils can improve brain function, decrease inflammation, reduce the incidence of lethal heart attacks and ischemic strokes,, improve the outcome of autoimmune diseases, and improve vision, reducing the development of macular degeneration.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Best Sleep You’ll Ever Have
The Best Sleep You’ll Ever Have… is in your grasp and so simple.
Robert G Carlson, MD
Do you have trouble falling asleep? Or perhaps you’re able to fall asleep, but then plagued by constantly waking up throughout the night, resulting in a broken, restless sleep that leaves you feeling like a zombie the next morning?
Have you been given sleeping pills to help with your sleep, pills that leave you spaced out, like you’re moving in slow motion and not fully rested? Not being able to sleep is critical, resulting in loss of memory, ineffective work habits, and increasing irritability. Starting in their early 40’s, women are in commonly plagued with sleeping problems. The answer is really quite simple. About ten years before menopause, ladies progesterone levels start to plummet. This sets them up for sleepless nights. Progesterone, natural progesterone that is soy-based, not the peanut oil pharmaceutical progesterone Prometrium, provides improvement in sleep, dramatic reduction in irritability (who wouldn’t be irritable if you can’t sleep and remain exhausted), reduction in headaches and the reduction in the signs of estrogen dominance. Besides natural progesterone, NOT synthetic progestins like Prempro or Provera, has now been shown to reduce breast and uterine cancer, reduce cholesterol and reduce heart disease. And it also makes you feel better!
Sleep medicines don’t deal with the real underlying causes of why women are having trouble sleeping as they get older. The major reason is because progesterone levels are so low. Progesterone is like nature’s valium, it is the Feng-Shui of hormones providing calmness and relaxation, factors critical in falling asleep.
With women who are either perimenopausal(which can be up to 10 years before menopause), menopausal, or suffering from surgically induced menopause (hysterectomy), the progesterone levels can drop to such low , immeasurable level that ladies simply can’t sleep. It often takes women an hour or more to get to sleep or they find themselves waking up throughout the night.
So how does bio-identical hormone replacement therapy help?
When natural progesterone is taken as a pill, versus in the cream, it travels to the brain and interacts with the GABA receptors. These receptors when activated naturally promote sleep and help patients reach the restorative sleep (REM sleep) more quickly.
How does hormone replacement with progesterone differ from taking sleeping pills when it comes to the quality of sleep a woman might expect?
Sleeping pills are synthetic, not natural. There is nothing natural about them, and because of that the natural restorative REM sleep is never achieved. Oh yes, sleeping pills will help you get to sleep, but they don’t get the quality of sleep achieved naturally. When I treat women struggling with sleep issues in their 40’s and 50’s, sleep undoubtedly affected by progesterone levels, one of the most common response I hear after starting progesteroneis ‘This is the best sleep I’ve ever had’.
How quickly can patients expect results?
I have seen patients experience results very quickly. Sometimes within the first one or two doses. They often can’t believe how rested they are when they wake up and want to get rid of their sleeping pills as soon as possible.
One patient of mine, Erika is a perfect example of the difference a good night’s sleep can make. In her early fifties, I met Erika with major concerns of “I just can’t sleep”. She had been experiencing “on and off sleep” – waking up frequently throughout the night for years. Essentially sleep deprived. The lack of sleep was making her feel older than her years, and mentally and physically exhausted. She told me, “It was horrible and very hard to function.”
After only a few weeks of hormone replacement however Erika reported to me with excitement in her voice, “I can sleep now. I can think clearly now. It’s unbelievable.” Though still dealing with the stresses and pressures of before, she finds it easier to deal with now she has the benefit of a full and restful night’s sleep. “I really do feel like this very huge dark cloud has been lifted, thanks to you, Dr. Carlson.” She said fighting off tears of joy. “I see everything in a different view.” Her words of encouragement to ladies struggling with menopause and sleeping problems are: “I’m sleeping through the night and feeling like I’m back in my twenties or thirties. It’s amazing.”
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Why T4 is prescribed when T3 is what patients need?
Most endocrinologists doggedly follow practice guidelines from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. As many patients have told us, their endocrinologist switched them to T4 only replacement and they became ill and dysfunctional again. These reports are consistent with studies that show the ineffectiveness and potential harm of T4 alone replacement. The studies show that T4 only replacement leaves many patients suffering chronically from hypothyroid symptoms [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] and gaining weight they can't lose through dieting and exercise.[8] The patients are also likely to be prescribed additional medications to take care of side-effects and mistreated symptoms, which can lead to the development of one or more potentially-fatal diseases.[9]
Potential harm from T4 only replacement has been documented in studies and reports to some of the most reputable scientific and medical journals. In view of the risks, you must consider for yourself whether to allow your therapy to be changed from a T3+T4 combination treatment to a T4 alone treatment. If you decide not to permit it, there are doctors who know the risks and will not let you continue to suffer this mistreatment. A doctor who understands how ineffective and harmful T4 alone replacement is for patients. Some doctors provide individualized care, and are willing to listen to their patients and take the time to find how to treat them, rather than blindly treat them as if a medical guideline is some kind of perfect law written by an all knowing entity.
One needs only look at the history of the practice guidelines to find they are refined when there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that there is a better solution. Bleeding people, lobotomies, electroshock therapy were all widely prescribed practice guidelines at one point. More recently, we have an ever expanding list of medications withdrawn from the market each year, a trend that increased dramatically in the last two decades. Brand names like Fen-Phen, Propagest, Vioxx, Levaquin, Chantix, Prempro, and many others have made the news after overwhelming evidence finally caused them to fall from widely prescribed guideline standards to the focus of public outcry and lawsuits. From this standpoint, it is hard to understand how doctors not prescribing medications with mounting evidence against them are dismissed as “alternative”. Many of these “alternative” medications have long-term evidence of their efficacy and low risk of side effects. In fact, they all have the stamp of approval from the FDA to treat what they are symptoms/disease/disorder for which they have been prescribed. Armour Thyroid, for instance, was the first thyroid medication. The original patent predates the FDA. Until recently, the FDA listed it as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), a designation with more stringent requirements than a new medication goes through. It was only when it was discovered that taking an extremely high dose could worsen heart problems that it was downgraded to a medication like everything else on the market.
What “alternative” medications have one in common is they are available in generic brands. What is revolutionary about them is not that they are some brand new medication. Rather, they is a well refined, heavily researched, better understanding of how best to treat the disorders/diseases/symptoms. The medical community simply knows more about medicine than we did even a year ago. There are many instances when something as simple as knowing when to or how to take a medication is more revolutionary than a new medication to treat the same problem.
Armed with not only the research available, but the knowledge of the issue at hand, you should be able to determine who will help you ferret out and correct the cause of your symptoms.
References
1. Walsh, J.P., Shiels, L., Mun Lim, E.E., et al.: Combined thyroxine/liothyronine treatment does not improve well-being, quality of life, or cognitive function compared to thyroxine alone: a randomized controlled trial in patients with primary hypothyroidism. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 88(10):4543-4550, 2003.
2. Sawka, A.M., Gerstein, H.C., Marriott, M.J., et al.: Does a combination regimen of thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine improve depressive symptoms better than T4 alone in patients with hypothyroidism? Results of a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 88(10):4551-4555, 2003.
3.
4. Cassio, A., Cacciari, E., Cicgnani, A., et al.: Treatment of congenital hypothyroidism: thyroxine alone or thyroxine plus triiodothyronine? Pediatrics, 111(5):1055-1060, 2003.
5. Bunevicius, R., Kazanavicius, G., Zalinkevicius, R., and Prange, A.J. Jr.: Effects of thyroxine as compared with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine in patients with hypothyroidism. N. Engl. J. Med., 11:340(6):424-429, 1999.
6. Bunevicius, R. and Prange, A.J.: Mental improvement after replacement therapy with thyroxine plus triiodothyronine: relationship to cause of hypothyroidism. Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol., 3(2):167-174, 2000 (June).
7. Bunevicius, R., Jakubonien, N., Jurkevicius, R., Cernicat, J., Lasas, L., and Prange, A.J. Jr.: Thyroxine vs thyroxine plus triiodothyronine in treatment of hypothyroidism after thyroidectomy for Graves' disease. Endocrine, 18(2):129-133, 2002.
8. Tigas, S., Idiculla, J., Beckett, G., and Toft, A.: Is excessive weight gain after ablative treatment of hyperthyroidism due to inadequate thyroid hormone therapy? Thyroid, 10(12):1107-1111, 2000.
9. Saravanan, P., Chau, W.F., Roberts, N., et al.: Psychological well-being in patients on ‘adequate' doses of L-thyroxine: results of a large, controlled community-based questionnaire study. Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.), 57(5):577-585, 2002.
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