Green Tea, Diabetes, and Metabolic Syndrome

Green tea is one of those beverages that just seems perfect for health. Hardly anything has been written bad about it, and more benefits are being discovered and confirmed every day. In particular, a compound in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (more easily remembered as EGCG) seems to be the main reason for green tea's benefits. A quick perusal through journal article abstracts on EGCG gives nearly 2200 articles - and that's just as of today. (A search for green tea gives over 4000 article references!)

Considering also that diabetes and its precursor, metabolic syndrome, are at epidemic levels in our country today, it is worth looking at EGCG and green tea to see if it has benefits for these people. The results are quite impressive. Just a few articles:

• In September of 2008, the Journal of Medicinal Food released a study concerning EGCG. This study determined that EGCG significantly increased uptake of glucose by muscle cells - over 70% more than the control used in the study. This is great news for diabetics searching for additional ways to help increase control over their blood sugar. It's also great news for athletes who want to ensure their muscles are getting all the fuel they need. (The dose used was not given, unfortunately.)
• A study from February of 2010 showed that when subjects with metabolic syndrome either drank 4 cups of green tea a day or took 2 grams of a green tea extract over 8 weeks, they decreased their weight significantly. The average weight loss was 5.5 pounds with the tea, and just over 4 pounds with the extract. Further, the subjects who drank green tea decreased their LDL levels (the form of cholesterol that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease).
• Another study from September of 2008 demonstrated that when mice were simultaneously fed a high fat diet as well as EGCG gained less weight and had less insulin resistance, lower total blood cholesterol, and liver triglycerides than mice only fed a high fat diet.

The take-home message here: if you are diabetic or have metabolic syndrome, drinking green tea on a regular basis is in your best interest. Four cups a day is excellent, but sometimes not to everyone's taste. In a case like this, a more concentrated extract (called a solid extract) that retains all the properties of the original tea can be more easily consumed; only 1/2 teaspoon of this molasses-like sweet extract is equal to four cups a day.

If you are interested in controlling or preventing diabetes or cardiovascular disease with a comprehensive protocol that may include green tea solid extract - especially if drinking 4 cups of green tea a day seems a bit much - contact your nearest naturopathic doctor. And if I happen to be that nearest naturopathic doctor, of course I'd be happy to see you! Check out either of these two websites - you can schedule an appointment from there, or simply call 303-797-6656. And be well!

Sesame Oil, Diabetes, and Cholesterol

Calling all diabetics and people who are flirting with diabetes! Cooking with sesame oil, it seems, can help lower triglycerides, blood glucose, and normalize blood cholesterol in your body. So says a study published in December of 2010 in the journal Clinical Nutrition.

In this study, diabetics used 35 grams of sesame oil a day for 60 days. (This equates to about 2 1/2 tablespoons of oil.) They either cooked with it or used it as a salad dressing. Here are the results after 60 days:

• Total cholesterol decreased 20%.
• Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs - the bad form of cholesterol) decreased 33%.
• Triglycerides decreased 14%.
• High-density lipoproteins (HDLs - the healthy form of cholesterol) increased 16%.

These results are cause for celebration. Diabetics have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than non-diabetics. If a food that can be easily integrated into a daily diet can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and angina, ideally, it should be.

It's good to note that the study also tested diabetics who were on a drug called glibenclamide (aka glyburide, a powerful drug used to reduce blood glucose). Some only took glibenclamide, while others took the drug in addition to sesame oil. The cardiac risk factors listed above were slightly normalized when subjects took the combination, except for LDLs, which were decreased 38% - a 5% advantage over sesame oil alone.

Here's another great example of letting your food be your medicine, just as Hippocrates suggested thousands of years ago. Integrate sesame oil into your daily diet. Add it to salads. Use it in stir-fries. And decrease your chances of cardiovascular issues easily, harmlessly, and tastefully!

Oil Pulling

It's a bit hard to discuss oil pulling without making it sound sensationalistic, or without sounding like a huckster hocking the latest miracle cure. I'll do my best to ground myself here.

Oh, what the hey. If you have any sort of gum disease, bad breath, cavities, or tooth pain, you REALLY need to read this. This therapy will drastically help you! And if you have asthma, diabetes, arthritis, migraines, chronic sinus infections, or some other chronic disease, you still need to read this. You might find this a great help.

Oil pulling is one of the simplest natural health therapies I've yet discovered. Here it is in a nutshell: When you wake up, take 1-3 teaspoons of oil and put it in your mouth. (The most common oils recommended are sesame, sunflower, olive, or coconut.) Swish it around for about 15-20 minutes. Spit the oil out in the toilet or the trash once you're done, so you don't clog up the sink. (Spit ONLY in the trash if you use coconut oil, which solidifies below 76 degrees Fahrenheit.) Don't swallow it. If you want, you can repeat it again before meals or just before bed. That's it. Seriously.

Why in the world would you want to do this? Read on.

Oil pulling is a safe and effective natural therapy that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. The successes that people have enjoyed from oil pulling are vast. Perhaps the most common one is the rapid healing of tooth, gum, and mouth diseases, such as abscesses, gingivitis, halitosis, and toothaches. Many have successfully used it to whiten their teeth. Some people have even claimed that unsightly tooth gaps have closed up as a result of oil pulling. But remarkably, if we believe the (literally) hundreds of testimonials about oil pulling, both online and in surveys done in the past, many other diseases and conditions far removed from the mouth have been healed by this simple therapy.

There's some positive scientific evidence for oil pulling, from studies that have been published within the past two years. The first study demonstrates that Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium responsible for tooth decay and cavities, is indeed significantly reduced after at least a week of oil pulling; this benefit is even more pronounced after two weeks. The second study showed that plaque was reduced, and gingivitis healed as well. Both studies were done using a chlorhexidine mouthwash as a control, and both studies showed that oil pulling produced beneficial results that were similar to chlorhexidine. (Chlorhexidine is an antiseptic agent very effective at killing Streptococcus mutans.)

There's also a wealth of evidence linking oral health to the health of the body. The mouth can indicate diseases ranging from heartburn and irritable bowel syndrome to AIDS and cancer - not just by appearance, but often by the bacteria present. And infections can spread quickly and easily from the mouth throughout the body. Dentists who treat patients with a history of rheumatic fever know this...they require that such patients take antibiotics before dental procedures to prevent life-threatening heart infections.

Oil pulling works simply. Consider that the mouth is the ideal place for bacteria to thrive. It's warm, humid, and at a constant temperature. In fact, the human mouth contains more bacteria than a dog's mouth, and more bacteria than the population of the whole world. Oil pulling dramatically reduces the bacteria in the mouth, much more than just brushing your teeth - and as the study above indicates, just as much as strong chemical mouthwashes. As you swish the oil in your mouth, it attracts the oily surface of bacteria away from all surfaces of the mouth and teeth. As it decreases the billions of bacteria in your mouth, the gums become tighter, stronger, and are less likely to bleed. The mouth becomes a stronger barrier against harmful bacteria. And as a result, the body can concentrate more of its energy toward eliminating infections and diseases that are harming itself.

Oil pulling is one of the very cheapest natural remedies for health. You could start today without even spending a penny on a kitchen ingredient you probably already have in your cupboard. Healing and even potentially cures from disease may come quickly or may take months; it often depends on how long you've been dealing with a condition, how severe it is, and how healthy your lifestyle is. But even if all you want to do is make your teeth whiter, you have nothing to lose! Here's to your health!

Other sources:
Oil Pulling Therapy, by Bruce Fife, CN, ND
http://www.earthclinic.com/
http://www.oilpulling.com/

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

"Are naturopathic doctors worth it?"

Here was an excellent question recently posed by someone from around Detroit, Michigan, and who stumbled onto my blog as a result. So...are naturopathic doctors worth it? Absolutely.

A popular view of naturopathic doctors is that the cost of seeing us is very high. Indeed, I have had a number of people call, ask me about what I do, then get excited about how I might be able to help them. Then they ask about my rates, and their enthusiasm often wanes. Then they say they're gonna shop around, and I usually don't hear from them again.

Let's look at what allopathic (or conventional) medical doctors charge, in comparison. A few years ago, I went to see my primary care physician (an MD) to get a prescription refill. I forgot my insurance card, so I was billed for my quick, 5 minute visit. How much? A whopping $89! Compare this with an initial visit with a naturopathic doctor, where the cost may be anywhere from $120-$250 for an initial visit, but you see the doctor for up to two hours. You may also be paying for research done outside the visit, so that you can get a thorough treatment plan. Taken in this perspective, naturopathic care is an excellent deal. (If we go by the scale of $89 for a 5-minute visit, a 2-hour visit would cost over $2000!)

Many people ask whether I take insurance. This is a legitimate question. But in a state like Colorado, where naturopathic doctors are not regulated, the question really should be "does insurance take you?" At this time, unfortunately, the answer is almost exclusively "no." Insurance offers reimbursement for services provided by a licensed practitioner, and as long as the practice of naturopathic medicine is not regulated in Colorado, insurance will not cover services provided by a naturopathic doctor. (Incidentally, I often tell patients that I do take insurance, but strictly for chiropractic services only.)

Here are some reasons why seeing a naturopathic doctor really is worth it.

First, naturopathic doctors aim to address the fundamental causes of disease. When you see a naturopathic doctor, most likely, you will not just be given a supplement or a drug that simply acts as a band-aid, covering up symptoms that warn us of potential major health issues. Rather, you will see a doctor who actively probes, researches, and questions exactly why you ended up with the health condition or malaise that you currently have - often outside of your visit as well as during your visit. Let's say you have insomnia. It could be caused by any number of things - a neurotransmitter imbalance, too much light in the room at night, drinking too much caffeine late in the day, or even an emotional trauma. Simply giving sleeping pills does not address the cause of your disease.

Second, naturopathic doctors often offer a wealth of information on preventive care. Notice that I did not say "a wealth of supplements for preventive care." There are some naturopathic doctors that do use a lot of supplements, and some get great results. And often, if you are dealing with a severe health condition, you may expect a fair number of supplements to jump-start you on the road to health again. But the best naturopathic doctors will also provide information for patients that will empower them to take charge of their own health. For example, I often provide handouts on simple hydrotherapy treatments that patients can do at home to help boost the immune system. I also provide information on ways to make eating organic food easier; this might include pamphlets on local farms that provide an abundance of organic produce in exchange for a relatively inexpensive share on the farm.

Third, naturopathic doctors take the edict to "first do no harm" very seriously. This entails two things. First, the best naturopathic doctors support the body's health and its innate tendency to heal itself when given the right conditions. With this strategy, it is difficult to do much harm; frequently, this results in no harm done at all. Second, naturopathic doctors will use the least invasive therapies first. Eliminating obstacles to cure, establishing a healthy daily regimen, and providing gentle treatments like homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and simple botanical medicines to support health can and regularly do work wonders. Often, this is all that needs to be done to help a person heal.

Fourth, visits with naturopathic doctors tend to be longer than with conventional physicians. You get more individualized care, with all attention devoted to you for the entire visit. Naturopathic doctors are interested not just in your disease. They want to get to know you as a person, how you got to the state of health you are at during your visit, and what makes you tick. What excites you? What irks you? What foods do you like? How's your sleep? You get the idea.

If this all sounds enticing, then by all means, naturopathic doctors are worth it.

However, you may not be a good candidate for naturopathic care. Here's some possible reasons:

• If you are looking only for quick fixes that provide symptomatic relief, naturopathic care might not be what you should look for. (Keep in mind that naturopathic doctors often do provide symptomatic relief, but that's not where they stop.)
• If you are only looking for a source for supplements without consulting a health care professional, naturopathic care may not be for you. (I once had a woman call me just to ask if I carried strontium to address her osteoporosis; she did not want to come in for a consult. To be blunt, this is what health food stores are for.)
• If you only want your disease treated, you may be better off seeing a disease specialist. Naturopathic doctors usually specialize in health, not disease. (There is a big difference between just getting your disease treated and actively becoming healthier.)
• If you are simply looking for an herbal or nutritional supplement that takes the place of a drug, you may want to reconsider your options. For example, naturopathic doctors may give St. John's wort or 5-HTP to address depression, but this is not merely to replace Prozac or Paxil. You can expect more out of naturopathic doctors.

To the reader in Detroit who originally posed this question...I hope you came back, and I hope you found this enlightening! To everyone reading this: best wishes for health and happiness!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

"Do you treat...?"

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

-- World Health Organization, 1948

Quite often, I get e-mails from potential patients asking me if I treat X condition. They are happy to have received a diagnosis, be it hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes, or whatever they have been labeled as having. At least these people know that what they are suffering has an official name, and thus a potential exact treatment, usually a drug of some sort. (Unfortunately, in many cases, these drugs are not effective, or have undesirable side effects.)

I also often get e-mails from patients who have a mysterious array of symptoms that are not easily pigeonholed into a diagnosis. They have run through a barrage of lab tests that indicate - at least on paper - that all their blood/urine levels are normal, or that there was nothing abnormal found on the imaging they received. These are the people who often come to me like Princess Leia, saying, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

In either case, when working with patients, I generally adhere to a philosophy known as the naturopathic therapeutic order. It goes like this:

1. Remove obstacles to cure.
2. Instill a healthy regimen.
3. Support the body's natural healing process.
4. Support individual weakened or diseased organs or organ systems.
5. Address structural abnormalities.
6. Address the condition or pathology.
7. Suppress the condition or pathology.

Notice that in this therapeutic order, there is no emphasis on whatever condition a person has been labeled with until all other health-supporting priorities have been addressed. Often, an effective treatment protocol may include just the first three or four parts of this order, and the patient gets better. (Incidentally, treatment almost always includes patient education, so that not only does the patient get better, but he or she has tools they can use for the rest of their lives to help keep themselves healthy.)

This emphasis on creating health is often the rationale behind naturopathic doctors who say, "We don't treat conditions. We treat people (who happen to have these conditions)." This is not to say that naturopathic doctors do not understand these conditions; four years of excellent in-residence education with many classes in pathology, public health, and pharmacology (among others), ensures that they do. But patients are more than the labels of diseases they have been given. Addressing only these labels without addressing the fundamental causes of their diseases - the obstacles to cure, the less-than-optimal health regimens, the weakened organ systems - does a patient disservice. To address each patient wholly and to pursue the real cause of disease is the ultimate goal of a naturopathic doctor. Only by doing this can we achieve the true definition of health: complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Recipe: Simple Breakfast Smoothie

This is a simple recipe for a breakfast smoothie I adapted from a elimination diet program that I recently did. It's wonderful that smoothies are as quick and easy to prepare as they are. (Cleanup is a snap, too.) And there are many, many recipes out there for smoothies. However, I like this one because it is so simple, because it uses whole foods, and because it is a balanced source of macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates, and proteins). And depending on what ingredients you use, this smoothie can become a powerhouse of antioxidants, bioflavonoids, vitamins, and minerals. (Hint: if you use more colorful fruit, such as berries, peaches, or mangoes, the nutritional value skyrockets.) Here's the recipe:

• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 cup rice, soy, almond, or oat milk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit of your choice
• 8 ice cubes

Blend the first two ingredients together for approximately 1-2 minutes, until thoroughly blended. Add remaining ingredients, blend thoroughly, and enjoy.
There are many variations on this recipe. Here are some of my favorites:

• Add a splash or two of coconut milk for a creamier texture and for healthy medium-chain fatty acids.
• Substitute almonds or walnuts (soaked overnight) for the cashews.
• Blend a date with the nuts and milk for a sweeter flavor.
• Add 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or ginger.
• If using a banana as fruit, add 1 tsp coffee substitute.
• Add 1 tsp ground flax seeds.
• Add a splash of vanilla extract.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Dispelling Health Myths: Fevers Are NOT Bad

Flu season has hit with a vengeance. I hear many people talk about how many in their family have fallen ill with the flu virus, and all the strategies they have used to get themselves and their loved ones through it. Almost inevitably, I hear about people using acetaminophen to lower a fever. This strategy is ultimately misguided, and blunts the body’s ability to heal itself. It may even cause an illness to last longer than it needs to.

A fever is the body’s way of killing off a bacterial or viral infection. It is, in the vast majority of cases, not a dangerous symptom to be frightened about. For children, a temperature of up to 105° is not a cause for concern; it is instead a sign that the body is mounting a healthy response to a foreign invader. This is particularly true if a child has a high fever, but otherwise shows little sign of illness. (For adults, a temperature up to 103-104° is healthy.) Indeed, in some cases, it may be beneficial to stimulate a fever if it is not high enough.

So how does a fever come about? If a flu virus, for example, is detected in your body by an immune cell called a macrophage, it eats the flu virus up, then sends a signal to the hypothalamus. This signal tells the hypothalamus (basically the control center of the body) to raise the body’s “thermostat.” You respond by shivering and feeling chills. You may also cover yourself up and try to warm yourself. This results in a fever.

Fevers are actually effective immune stimulants. When the body temperature is elevated, white blood cells are produced at a higher rate, and they are released into circulation more quickly. Antibody production is increased up to 20 times the normal rate as well!

Moreover, fevers provide an inhospitable environment for invading organisms. Many harmful bacteria cannot thrive in temperatures above the body’s normal temperature of 98.6° F, and growth rates of many viruses are decreased significantly.

Finally, fevers often decrease appetite, which is why you seldom see people with fevers craving food. This is a normal and important aspect of fighting colds and flus. The body expends 60% of its energy digesting food. When you fast for awhile (e.g., when you have a fever), your body suddenly has that much more energy it can put toward fighting an infection.

Knowing all this, is there a reason why you would want to decrease a fever? The answer should be, in most cases, “no.”

There are certain issues with fevers that should be addressed. If a fever does get too high, the best way to decrease it is to rub the body down vigorously with a tepid washcloth; this will allow blood to move toward the surface of the skin, releasing heat naturally. Also, febrile seizures are a cause for concern, but are usually the result of dehydration and/or an electrolyte imbalance; making sure someone who has a fever is drinking plenty of fluids with electrolytes often will prevent febrile seizures.

Indications for hospitalization include a fever in children that stays above 105° for prolonged periods (or in adults if it stays above 104°), or febrile seizures, particularly if they last longer than 15 minutes.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by traditional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Honey and MRSA

Before my blogging days, I sent out occasional newsletters to my patients about pertinent health issues. Here's one from a few years ago, responding to a serious issue at the time: an increase in the cases of MRSA, or "methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus." This newsletter/blog post also dovetails with another one I wrote about the use of honey to treat skin infections.

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Recently, there have been a number of articles in the media reflecting one of the biggest dangers to public health nowadays: antibiotic-resistant skin infections. Specifically, there is a strain of a bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus that has become resistant to one of the more powerful antibiotics known, methicillin. As the name implies, methicillin is indeed related to penicillin. However, methicillin is seldom used nowadays for treatment; instead, it is used to determine whether or not an organism can be eliminated by any form of penicillin. So for all intents and purposes, this strain, called “methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus,” or MRSA, is resistant to all forms of penicillin.

A little background on this organism: Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium which sometimes causes a skin condition called “bullous impetigo.” This infection is easy to identify by blisters that cause a honey-colored crust on the surface of the skin when popped. Sometimes, Staphylococcus aureus can take hold in a skin wound, also creating this honey-colored crust. Usually, the infection is caught early, treated effectively, and remains at the level of the skin. But if it is not treated effectively, it can migrate through the body and cause a host of dangerous conditions, including pneumonia, lung abscesses, sepsis (i.e., blood poisoning), meningitis, brain abscesses, endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart chambers) and kidney infections – major threats to health and life. According to an article published in the October 17th, 2007 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association, MRSA caused a higher death rate in 2005 than AIDS; it caused over 18,000 deaths out of 95,000 documented cases. Lately, MRSA seems to be concentrated in high schools and hospitals, and is particularly prevalent among high school athletes, African Americans, and the elderly.

Raw honey could be a powerful weapon in the battle against MRSA. It has been used successfully to treat skin infections that have been resistant to many other antibiotics. The most recent study, published in the Journal of Wound Care in September 2007, documented seven patients who had experienced full healing from the use of topical honey where antibiotics had failed to control their MRSA infections. The type of honey used in this study is called Manuka honey, found in New Zealand. Most honey has an enzyme called glucose oxidase which, when exposed to wounded skin, begins to release hydrogen peroxide at levels strong enough to kill bacteria, but not so strong that tissue is damaged. Manuka Honey has a second antibiotic component, simply called UMF or Unique Manuka Factor. Hospitals around the world are beginning to recognize the power of Manuka honey and use it in their wound dressings.

What does this mean for you and your loved ones? Simply enough, if you do suffer a skin wound of some sort, put raw honey over the wound, and bandage it up. Since most honey already has glucose oxidase in it, it has significant natural antibiotic properties. Using honey also will decrease the need for pharmaceutical antibiotics, and simply relies on the wisdom and healing powers of nature…the best kind available to us!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Why Flamingos Don't Get Hip Fractures

Okay, I admit that flamingos may get hip fractures. But heck...if zebras don't get ulcers, as a well-known book says, then maybe flamingos don't get hip fractures! And if they don't, here's a big reason.

Osteoporosis is one of the biggest issues plaguing the mature and elderly population today. One of the biggest risks that occurs alongside osteoporosis is a fall that may result in a dangerous, possibly life-threatening fracture. Fractures of the femur are among the most dangerous.

The femur, or thigh bone, is one of the strongest and largest bones in the body. It usually takes a tremendous force to fracture a femur through the center. But there is a weak point, and it is located toward the top, at the neck of the femur, at its narrowest point. This is just below where the femur inserts into the pelvis and creates a ball-and-socket joint. It is this area that is prone to fractures, particularly in the elderly and/or those with osteoporosis.

A Japanese researcher by the name of Sakamoto has studied a treatment – originally called “unipedal standing” – to help counteract both falls and the risk of femoral neck fractures. The name has been switched to “dynamic flamingo therapy,” perhaps because it sticks in the mind more easily. But talk about your simple, noninvasive, inexpensive and potentially very helpful treatments for osteoporosis as well as fall and hip fracture prevention!

It goes like this: Stand on one foot for one minute. Then stand on the other foot for one minute. Hold on to something steady if your balance isn’t all that great. Keep your eyes open the entire time. Repeat this three times a day. You’re done. Seriously. That’s it.

How does something as simple as this work? First off, recall that weight-bearing exercise is often recommended as a means to ward off osteoporosis. Mild to moderate weight and stress on a bone will induce that bone to become stronger and denser. Doubling the weight that one femur is supporting certainly qualifies. (In one study, the force exerted by one minute of standing on one foot was determined to be the equivalent of walking for 53 minutes!) Second, standing on one foot forces the brain to concentrate on maintaining balance…even if you’re holding on to something to keep from falling. If you regularly force the brain to concentrate on balance, you will, in time, become more adept at maintaining balance. This may help prevent the falls that cause hip fractures.

Sakamoto began studying dynamic flamingo therapy in the early 1990s. Starting in 1993, he recruited 86 women (with an average age of 68) to do this very exercise three times a day. He evaluated their bone density regularly over the span of the next 10 years. During this time, anywhere from 32% to 63% of the women had increased bone density in the femoral neck, and at the end of the study, fully one-third of the women had higher femoral neck bone density than when they started. Not necessarily the results you’d expect in elderly Japanese women…you’d expect bone density to decrease across the board. More significantly, none of the women had hip fractures. A study on Swiss women around the same time showed that the average risk for hip fractures in women was 455 per 100,000 person-years. If we transfer this statistic to the Japanese women (knowing that yes, Swiss women and Japanese women are different), we would expect to see roughly four hip fractures.

Especially for those people who are not able to exercise regularly, this is potentially an incredibly helpful therapy. You can file dynamic flamingo therapy under “certainly won’t hurt, and quite possibly may help.” But consistency is the key here…act like a flamingo only every once in a while, and the therapy won’t work. Only six minutes a day in one exceedingly simple exercise can end up preventing a possibly life-threatening hip fracture.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: Naturopathic Medicine and Chronic Disease

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to open up my Facebook profile and see this video about naturopathic medicine and its role in treating chronic disease. Paul Mittman, ND, is the main speaker and the president of Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. Joining him is Jane Guiltinan, ND, a clinical professor at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington, and a past president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Together, they give a good introduction to naturopathic medicine and what it can contribute to the health epidemics of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other related conditions. (These conditions are, unfortunately, rampant in what my old pathology professor referred to as "the overdeveloped world," or the first world countries.)

Watch and enjoy!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Dispelling Health Myths - An Introduction

Naturopathic doctors are an interesting lot. Many of us came from backgrounds that enabled us to look at things from a different perspective than many of our friends, peers, and colleagues. And not only are we geared to do this, some of us actually delight in presenting information that goes against what society considers to be true. Some of this information is foolish, to be sure, but a lot of it isn't. It sticks and becomes something to contend with. Witness the rise of echinacea and the debate over whether or not it actually stimulates the immune system and whether it's really good for the common cold. Twenty years ago, St. John's wort was barely known outside herbal and naturopathic circles; now, it's often cited and studied for its effects not only on mild and moderate depression, but also for its (potentially dangerous) ability to speed up the metabolism of certain drugs. Heck, even homeopathy entered our collective consciousness in June 2009 as a result of the Zicam fiasco. That these debates are now part of our culture's conversation is cause for celebration. Naturopathic doctors may not have been the cause of these debates, but as experts in natural medicine, we are uniquely situated to bear witness to the truth or lack thereof of these issues.

Over the past century, our culture has become laden with a number of health myths that seem to have undermined our...well, our health. To gloss over a few of them, if we're taking care to adhere to a low-fat diet, why is obesity such an issue in our society nowadays? Are diet sodas an okay way to decrease calories and lose weight? What about butter vs. margarine? Do we need to stay away from saturated fats to keep our arteries clear? Is high cholesterol dangerous? Is red wine really as good for you as studies seem to indicate?

These are just a few of the issues that will be addressed on this blog. You can expect some answers to make sense, but you may also encounter some answers that completely contradict what you've learned throughout your life. Such is the nature of much health information nowadays...complex, sometimes contradictory, and often difficult to understand. Come to this blog to learn more and hopefully have your confusion about certain health myths cleared up. And if you have questions you'd like to be answered, feel free to ask!

Be well.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

The Best Natural Skin Moisturizer

Annie Berthold-Bond is the author of an excellent book called Better Basics for the Home, which I recommend wholeheartedly to anyone interested in decreasing exposure to noxious household chemicals. She provides many "recipes" for making the basis for a nontoxic home. These recipes range anywhere from homemade facials to wood cleaners, whitewash to pesticides.

One of the best recipes in this book is for a skin moisturizer. Living in Denver certainly has its advantages, but one of the drawbacks is that skin that might seem healthy in more humid climates suddenly becomes dry, scaly, and just looks plain unhealthy. There are certainly plenty of moisturizers out there to help out the skin. But many of them contain chemicals that may not be so great for the skin - or for the body itself, since the skin tends to absorb whatever is placed on it.

For example, parabens are used as preservatives for many skin lotions, but they may interfere with testosterone production, as these studies conclude. Synthetic fragrances often contain multiple chemicals, including two that are on the EPA's hazardous waste list, and one that has even been banned by the FDA. (Companies get past this ban because of laws that do not require them to list the ingredients that make up a product's fragrance.) And a compound called benzophenone-3, widely used in skin care products and sunscreens, is absorbed into the skin and actually generates free radicals -a known cause of cancer.

Hence, the need for a great skin moisturizer that is not only effective, but nontoxic. And this one fits both criteria. In fact, it is the best skin moisturizer I have ever come across, bar none. And it's very inexpensive! Here's the recipe, courtesy of Better Basics for the Home:

1/2 cup aloe vera

1/8 cup vegetable glycerin

How simple is this? Just combine the two in a small glass container. If it seems too sticky, add more aloe vera. If it doesn't seem to moisturize enough, add more glycerin. It also works great to heal the skin after a sunburn. Berthold-Bond claims that after using it daily for four months, her age spots disappeared. If you have age spots, why not give it a try? It can't hurt, it just might help, and in any case, your skin stands to benefit tremendously from the added moisture.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey towad optimal health!

Honey for Wound Healing

It may come as a surprise that I would advocate something as simple and inexpensive as honey. But the health benefits of honey are astounding, particularly when it comes to healing the skin. Honey is a skin infection’s worst enemy, and healthy skin’s best friend. It is powerfully antibacterial and antifungal, yet moisturizing and soothing to wounds.

In 2005, just as I had ended chiropractic school and was ready to fly back to Denver, I sliced my hand on a sharp wicker basket, and the wound was terrible. I put bandages and some Neosporin on it, but it didn’t seem to heal all that quickly. A few days later, while at a naturopathic convention in Arizona, I recalled reading that honey was an exceptional wound healer, so I tried putting some on a bandage over my wound before bed. I was astounded at how much better my hand looked and felt when I woke up – it was probably 75% better overnight! Since then, I’ve seldom overlooked honey’s role in healing damaged or infected skin.

The antimicrobial effects of honey have been tested and proven many times. In the 1930s, a bacteriologist by the name of Dr. W.G. Sackett from Fort Collins, Colorado, wanted to prove that honey actually harbored disease, so he placed various bacteria on cultures of honey. The results shocked him. Bacteria that caused typhoid fever, dysentery, chronic pneumonia, peritonitis, pleuritis, and suppurating abscesses all were killed within a few days – and often within a few hours. Since then, studies done as recently as 2005 have shown that honey also inhibits the growth of E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans – three organisms that have been plaguing the general population (and health care facilities in particular) tremendously in recent years. It’s exciting to think that honey could potentially be used to treat Staphylococcus aureus infections that are resistant to powerful antibiotics such as methicillin and vancomycin.

Honey has been documented in medical journals as an effective treatment for diabetic and venous ulcers, even when all other measures (i.e., antibiotics) fail to bring them under control. A 2003 study found that a mixture of equal parts honey, beeswax, and olive oil is effective in reducing the itchiness, redness, and scaling associated with eczema and psoriasis. And a pilot study completed in 2005 reported that this same mixture is effective in reducing the bleeding, itching, and pain associated with hemorrhoids and anal fissures.

Of course, as a practitioner of natural medicine, I strongly advocate the use of honey in helping skin wounds and even conditions like eczema and psoriasis to heal. The advantages are numerous: It’s natural, safe, inexpensive, readily available, painless, soothing, and effective. And perhaps most importantly – especially from a public health perspective – it does not contribute to antibiotic-resistant organisms.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: Naturopathic Philosophy - First Do No Harm

My brother, who has a great sense of humor, gave me an excellent book for my birthday a few years ago. It was called Kill as Few Patients as Possible, by Oscar London. What a worthwhile goal! (Fortunately, most doctors, being intelligent, skilled, confident, and circumspect, manage to keep most of their patients alive.)

Here is a video on the basic tenets of naturopathic philosophy. The first principle is perhaps the most fundamental principle, not only for naturopathic medicine, but for health care of all sorts: first do no harm. Watch this video for an interesting spin on this principle you may not have considered before. And be well!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

The Sad Story of Zicam

Nationwide, the Zicam cold remedy nasal gel was ordered to be pulled off the shelves on Tuesday, June 16th. The charge was simply that using the nasal gel could lead to anosmia, or a permanent loss of smell. Indeed, 130 people had reported a loss of smell after using Zicam. As a rather randomly-chosen Dr. Charles Lee points out, anosmia goes much further than merely not being able to appreciate a rose or a home cooked meal. “People without the sense of smell may not be able to detect life dangerous situations, such as gas leaks or something burning in the house,” he says.

But why did the Zicam nasal gel cause anosmia? The answer is actually quite simple. Zinc is the culprit. In this case, it takes the form of zinc gluconate. Zinc has been known in the past to cause loss of smell when used intranasally. (One of my brilliant colleagues wrote about this very issue, first back in 2006, then again two years later.) Worse, studies using intranasal zinc gluconate to treat the common cold did not show an appreciable difference in the duration or severity of symptoms. They did show a risk of potentially irreversible anosmia.

Another issue: how did this product get placed on the shelves in the first place? Usually, it’s the Food and Drug Administration that dictates whether or not a drug is able to be put on the shelf. But Zicam got past this by stating that the active ingredient was homeopathic zinc gluconate. The FDA does not regulate homeopathic remedies, and so was not beholden to restrict the sale of Zicam. But in this case, the matter was all semantics. Specifically, the active ingredient was zincum gluconicum 1X. This is a homeopathic way of saying “a 10% solution of zinc gluconate.” Usually, homeopathic remedies are very dilute…dilute to the point where some of the most powerful remedies don’t have a single molecule of the original substance in them. (How and why these remedies work is an issue for another post.) But if not dilute enough, these remedies can exhibit properties of their original substance – precisely because they contain that substance. And a 10% solution of zinc gluconate certainly qualifies.

This is one of those instances where something that seems harmless or beneficial may end up being quite harmful. Many people are drawn to alternative medicine precisely because they feel it is less harmful than drugs – and in many instances they are right. But this is not always the case. Are herbs safe to use? Not if they’re herbs like foxglove (from which we get the highly regulated heart medication digitalis) or poison hemlock (which Socrates drank to commit government-ordered suicide). Similarly, are nutrients safe? Usually, yes, but as we now know, not if it’s zinc applied to the inside of the nose.

Another disturbing aspect of the Zicam issue is that blame is being wrongly placed on the whole practice of homeopathy. As I mentioned above, it was not the homeopathic quality of zinc that caused the cases of anosmia. It was the zinc itself. An article by the Associated Press about this issue misrepresents homeopathy as a whole. Dr. Jerry Avorn, an expert in pharmaceutical safety at Harvard dismisses homeopathy as having only alcohol as the active ingredient, saying “the therapeutic effect is no greater or lesser than a martini.” The article’s author also discovered that some homeopathic remedies are composed of more than 10% alcohol, when the American Academy of Pediatrics dictates no medicine contain more than 5% alcohol. All three entities might be surprised to know that a homeopathic dose usually consists of a pellet or two or a drop or two of the remedy in the mouth – hardly enough to give either adult or child an alcohol “buzz-on,” as Dr. Avorn claims.

It’s a sad issue. Zicam willfully deceived both the FDA and the public in an effort to get its product out to consumers wanting to treat their colds effectively. Thousands of consumers bought Zicam’s products, thinking that since it was homeopathic, natural, herbal, and/or non-pharmaceutical, it was safe. And as a result, scores of people have permanently lost one of their vital senses.

But what can we take from this? Some people might consider this evidence of the “snake oil” nature of alternative medicine. It isn’t. It’s evidence of greed taking precedence over the health of the public, and greed is not limited to alternative medicine. It may also be an indication that alternative medicine should be regulated more, although I have great doubts about the ability of the FDA to effectively regulate this profession. It is possible to view this as a societal need for qualified health care professionals who are thoroughly trained in the realm of natural medicine – and naturopathic doctors are precisely those health care professionals.

If you are prone to cold and the flu, it’s definitely a good idea to see if you can deal with issues from a natural perspective, with the help of a naturopathic doctor. Check my website out for more information about naturopathic medicine, and what it might be able to do for you. And be well.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Water bottles: plastic vs. glass

As I mention in this video, it is prudent to stay away from plastic water bottles that leach out bisphenol A, or BPA. For those of you who are curious about which water bottles those are, they're the ones that seem virtually indestructible - the prototypical Nalgene water bottles. Ironically, Nalgene water bottles were originally marketed as water bottles that would not leach plastic byproducts. They once were seen as the environmentally sound brand. Oops.

So what is the big deal about BPA? Studies have linked it to a number of estrogen-sensitive conditions: obesity, breast cancer (even the CDC acknowledges this), premature onset of puberty in girls (the average age of menarche, or a woman’s first menstrual cycle, has dropped by at least one year, if not more, over the past 50 years or so), gynecomastia (development of breast tissue in males) and birth defects. BPA was actually used as a estrogen mimicker in lab tests during the 1930s before diethylstilbestrol (DES) replaced it as a stronger estrogen substitute. (Babies were exposed to DES when their mothers took it to prevent miscarriages. Unfortunately, we discovered that “DES daughters” experienced a greater risk of vaginal and cervical cancer, infertility, and pregnancy complications. It was subsequently taken off the market years ago. But I digress.)

Which plastics leach BPA? Apparently, the hard plastics (like Nalgene) that are imprinted with the number 7 inside the recycling symbol are the ones to avoid. According to this website, plastic #7 is a catch-all for “miscellaneous plastics.” This includes Tupperware. Often, plastic #7 is not recyclable.

There are a few arguments against studies showing the dangers of BPA. First, some studies have shown that BPA doesn’t really increase the risk of, say, cancer. These studies, though, don’t take into account the synergy that occurs when other compounds interact with BPA, and the combination can be particularly dangerous. (Also consider that adipose tissue, or fat, in itself tends to favor the production of estrogen. Being obese may also act synergistically with BPA. With obesity being rampant in society today, this issue becomes even more vital to address.) One could also argue that these studies have all been performed on rats and not humans. Unfortunately, humans are often more sensitive to toxins than rats, particularly when fetuses are exposed to them. BPA is no exception. (And who would willingly undergo a study that exposes them to a potentially carcinogenic substance?)

Stick with glass water bottles if you're looking for an environmentally sound alternative to plastic water bottles. If you want to get something more stylish and perhaps more resilient than glass, there are many companies that sell excellent metal water bottles. Like glass, these water bottles do not leach out harmful substances, and they are completely recyclable after being used. They just cost a bit more.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!