Monthly Archives: April 2008

Of all the lifestyle-related health risk factors, smoking probably produces more overall damage to more organs and body systems than any other “bad habit”.  You probably know that smoking is bad for the lungs and heart, but you may not be aware of how damaging it is to muscles (besides the heart), bones and joints, spinal discs, your liver and kidneys, your reproductive organs (forget Viagra, just quit smoking!), your immune system, and even your brain (of course the brain must be damaged if you’re still smoking after that list of adverse health effects!).

 I am sympathetic to smokers who just can’t seem to quit.  Smoking is a very powerful addiction and it takes pretty strong motivation to take the necessary steps to quit once and for all.  It has been observed by many experts that the main part of the addiction is psychological, as the chemical addiction to nicotine is pretty much gone after abstaining for smoking for a week or so.  But the mental part of the addiction can last for many years – long after a person has quit.

If you are reading this blog, you know doubt are aware that you should quit smoking, and you may have even tried many times to do so.  So my intention with this post is not to make you feel bad that you haven’t been able to quit, but to provide you with some suggestions on how to get the job done. 

One popular “quit smoking” method is to use some type of nicotine replacement such as patches or gum.  From what I have observed, this method is usually not very successful.  As stated earlier, the majority of the problem with quitting smoking is the psychological addiction, not the physical nicotine withdrawl.  If you go “cold turkey” and don’t cheat, you’ll be past the physical addiction in less than a week.  If you feel like nicotie replacement will help, definitely use it, but remember that the bigger challenge is probably going to be getting your brain on your side.

For handling psychological addiction, there are a number of different approaches.  You can simply get pigheaded and decide that you will never smoke again.  In my experience, people who can find a good enough reason why they’ll never smoke again usually are the most successful at quitting.  For most people though, they need something to help them through. 

Hypnosis works well for some people, either working one on one with a skilled hypnotherapist.  To find a hypnotherapist in your area (in the U.S.) I suggest checking with the American Hypnosis Association.  There are also many resources for “do it yourself” hypnosis to quit smoking.  One good resource for self-hypnosis audios (both downloads and CD’s), including a stop smoking program is Better Living With Hypnosis.

In addition to hypnosis, I have seen great results in my practice for a variety of emotional/psychological/addiction issues using a technique called Emotional Freedom Technique.  On their website, you can download a free step by step manual that tells you what you need to know to start using the technique right away. 

Getting support from friends, family, and co-workers is always a big help.  Make yourself accountable – let people know your intention to quit and enlist their help to keep you on track through encouragement when you need it, and through pressure when you need that.  If you don’t have anyone you can rely on to help you, you might want to try the National Cancer Institute Smoking Quitline – their toll-free number is 1-877-44U-QUIT.

 Good luck!

The title of today’s post is a comment that one of my patients received from her medical doctor when she asked him if there was any kind of diet that might help her fibromyalgia symptoms.  Her doctor replied that there were things she could do diet-wise that would probably help, but then told her that it really wasn’t worth discussing because…

“You don’t want to go through life never eating a cookie, do you?”

Now, of course there are people who have no motivation to change their diet, or try to make their lifestyle any healthier in any way, shape, or form, and those people would no doubt agree with that statement.  But this was an answer to a question from a person who had been suffering for some time with fibromyalgia and who was seeking something she could do to help herself.  It would have been one thing if the doctor really didn’t know anything about nutrition and either didn’t think or didn’t know that dietary changes can have a profound impact on fibromyalgia symptoms for many people.  But this doctor apparently (judging by the first part of his response) KNEW that diet could make a difference and dismissed this woman’s question as if suffering daily was of no more consequence than eating a cookie. 

Fortunately, not all doctors have the attitude that the doctor in this story did and many do encourage their patients to learn and do all they can to live a healthy lifestyle.  But it seems that many more medical doctors, probably the majority from what my patients tell me, consider diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors to be of minimal importance in their care and advice to their patients.  But let me not pick solely on medical doctors – chiropractors, physical therapists, and any number of other healthcare providers can be dismissive of these issues too. 

Now, as a practicing clinician, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t volunteer self-care and lifestyle recommendations to every patient I see – there simply isn’t enough time in the day to do that.  There are also many patients who are not receptive to hearing about things they can do to help themselves – or at least are not interested in making any changes, so to lecture to them about diet, exercise, etc. is simply wasted time.  But when a patient asks for help in this area, I believe that all healthcare practitioners have a duty to assist in whatever way they can. 

There has been much debate in recent years regarding whether childhood vaccinations pose a risk of autism development.  Much of the concern over vaccines centers on the mercury-based preserving agent, thimersol, which is being gradually phased out of vaccines, but still present in many of the vaccinations kids receive. 

While the evidence regarding a possible vaccine link to autism is still hotly debated, I want to offer a slightly different perspective of the issue based on my experiences as a holistic healthcare practitioner.  For many people the issue is whether or not the mercury in the vaccines causes autism.  I propose that we table that debate in favor of the known fact that mecury causes mercury toxicity. My thinking is that mercury toxicity can produce a wide variety of neurological disturbances which in some cases may be quite similar to the symptoms of autism.

I base this hypothesis on my experience that over the years I have had occasion to treat a few autistic children and found a mercury toxicity in most (actually my recollection is all, but I’m allowing for the possiblity that after 15 years of practice, my memory may not be perfect) of those patients.  In addition, I have observed those patients who were given a mercury de-toxification program had a rapid improvement in their “autism symptoms”.  The recovery in some cases was so rapid that I found it hard to believe that those fast responders actually had autism to begin with.  From this I came to the thought that maybe they simply were exhibiting the neurological signs of mercury poisoning and never really had autism at all.

 It seems to me that there may be two different problems that are being considered as one.  There may be kids who develop true autism (whether from their vaccines or from other causes) and there may be kids who develop mercury toxicity (most likely from thimersol-preserved vaccines).  Since mercury detoxification can typically be done with relative ease and at a pretty low cost, especially with homeopathics, it makes sense to me to evaluate for potential mercury toxicity and begin treatment there if it is present.  For those who do not show up with mercury or other heavy metal toxicity and/or do not respond to detoxification, proceed with more in-depth analyses and search for better answers. 

Anyway,  that’s my “two-cents” on the issue.  Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more health and healing information.

There are a number of natural arthritis remedies on the market, but which ones really work, and are they really any better than medications?

The first thing we have to keep in mind is that there’s more than one kind of arthritis and different things work for different people.  For the purposes of this article, I’ll be discussing degenerative arthritis (sometimes called osteoarthritis).  As long as it has not progressed too far, degenerative arthritis can not only be helped symptomatically by certain natural remedies, in some cases it can even be reversed to some extent. 

Probably the most popular and most well-accepted natural of the natural arthritis remedies are the “chondroprotective (cartilage protecting) agents” such as glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate.  These compounds form  large part of joint cartilage (the smooth tissue that allows the joint surfaces to move easily) and supplementing with them has been shown by several studies to improve arthritis symptoms and stimulate regrowth of joint cartilage. 

Even so, many people who try these supplements are disappointed with the results.  While glucosamine and/or chondroitin are not effective for every person’s arthritis, one problem with these supplements is that there are a lot of products on the market that are basically junk.  Unfortunately, there is no real regulation of nutritional supplements and many manufacturers put out products with little to no actual glucosamine or chondroitin, despite what the label may say.  While this is more often a problem with the really cheap supplements, even expensive supplements can be essentially worthless.  I have seen many cases in which a patient has been buying the cheapest glucosamine/chondroitin they could find – usually found in huge bottles at warehouse club stores, and have not seen any benefit who rapidly respond when they switch over to a good quality supplement.  Yes, the junk supplements are much cheaper, but are they a good deal when they don’t do any good?

MSM supplements have a dual benefit – MSM acts as an anti-inflammatory (without the side-effects seen with drugs), and also participates in cartilage regeneration.  I suggest using a supplement that combines MSM with glucosamine and chondroitin in order to cover one’s bases.  Here again, I recommend investing in a good quality supplement for best results.

Another good anti-inflammatory supplement is omega-3 fatty acids, which may be sold as “fish oil”, “krill oil”, or may be listed as EPA and DHA (the two main omega-3 fats).  Omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for a lot of other health concerns besides arthritis, an the usual Western diet tends to be very deficient in them, so supplementing is a good idea for easing arthritis symptoms, as well as generally reducing inflammation, improving mood, and improving cardiovascular health. These supplements can thin the blood and should be avoided by people taking blood thinning drugs, especially coumadin.

Another excellent natural remedy for arthritis pain and other types of inflammation is proteolytic enzymes, such as bromelain (which comes from pineapples).  Proteolytic enzymes also have benefits with aiding in digestion when taken with meals, but taking them between meals appears to enhance their anti-inflammatory effects.  As with omega-3 fatty acids, proteolytic enzymes can thin the blood and should not be taken by individuals who are on prescription blood thinners.

A variety of other anti-inflammatory supplements and herbs are available and they can be quite effective.  These include hesperidin, quercetin, curcumin, ginger, and others.  Because these products can interact with prescriptions drugs, I recommend that you consult with a pharmacist or your doctor before combining them with any medications you may be taking.  In addition, the herbal remedies in particular can sometimes cause stomach upset, so it is best to take them with food, rather than on an empty stomach.

There are a number of other products that may help with arthritis primarily due to high anti-oxidant content.  Anti-oxidants usually help reduce inflammation, and they have a number of other health benefits as well.  Among the more popular products are those containing Noni or Mangosteen juice.  These can be good products and if you find that they work well for you, they are probably a good investment, but you may be able to get similar, and possibly better results with less expensive products. 

Finally, there is a relatively new product gaining in popularity for treating arthritis called CMO (Cetyl Myristoleate), which is a natural compound found in beef fat.  Purifying CMO is a difficult process and therefore the supplements are relatively costly.  Even so, it sometimes provides relief in relatively severe cases of arthritis where nothing else (including strong prescription drugs) has worked.  Unfortunately there are a lot of “bargain brand” CMO supplements that often have little to no actual CMO in them, so it is very important to only purchase CMO from reputable companies that have independent lab certification of their products.  One other word of warning about CMO is that it can irritate the liver in certain individuals, so it is a good idea to have liver enzymes checked periodically to be safe. 

So how do the natural arthritis remedies stack up agains the over the counter and prescription medications for arthritis.  Well, the chondroprotective products (glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM) not only compare favorably to even the strongest prescription arthritis drugs in terms of long-term symptom relief, they do something the drugs can’t – they help the body re-build cartilage.  As far as the anti-inflammatory products, their effects vary from person to person, much like the effects of the various drugs.  The primary advantage of the natural remedies is that, when used appropriately, as a group they have a much lower potential for risks and side-effects than even over the counter medications.  So, while the natural arthritis remedies may not always work for everyone, I feel they are definitely worth trying, especially before resorting to drugs with a releatively high risk of side-effects. 

In summary, there are several natural arthritis remedies that can provide excellent results for the majority of arthritis sufferers, usually with minimal to no side-effects.  In my opinion, the most important key to getting good results is to only use supplements from reliable manufacturers.  Trying to find a bargain by looking for the cheapest price typically only gets you poor quality products and little to no results. 

Check back regularly on my blog for more information on natural arthritis remedies.

Chocolate Does Have Some Health Benefits, But Try To Control Yourself!

Recently dark chocolate has been touted for its health benefits that stem from its high antioxidant content.  Among other things, dark chocolate seems to improve circulation to the heart (reducing the risk of angina and heart attacks), reduce blood pressure, raise HDL (“good” cholesterol), and decrease cardiovascular mortality.

All of these are good things of course, but it should be noted that these effects occur with a relatively small amount of chocolate – about an ounce to an ounce and a half per day.  It should also be pointed out that these health benefits are for dark chocolate, preferably a minimum of 60% cacao (and higher is better), with the least amount of sugar possible.

It has been my observation that some individuals will use the potential health benefits of chocolate as a reason why they are eating it – many times a LOT of it!  There’s certainly nothing wrong with eating chocolate for its health benefits, nor is there anything wrong with eating chocolate from time to time because you enjoy it, but be careful.  One or two ounces per day is fine and the sugar content of that amount is not terribly high.  It’s a different story though when you start to snack on chocolate several times per day, and the daily intake goes way beyond an ounce or two.

Unless you are eating unsweetened chocolate, the sugar content will sneak up on you the more chocolate you consume.  It doesn’t take long before you are getting a hefty dose of sugar.  In most cases, 2 ounces of dark chocolate will have about 25 grams of sugar – which for many people is enough carbohydrate all by itself to stimulate enough insulin release to actually prevent them from burning any fat for 1 to 2 days!  For anyone with weight control issues, that’s a big deal. 

In addition, with a high sugar intake day in and day out, there is a high risk for developing Type II diabetes, which will more than wipe out any health benefit the antioxidants in the chocolate will provide. 

So, sorry to be a killjoy to all of you who were eating those candy bars because you heard chocolate was healthy.  If you enjoy a little dark chocolate for a reasonably healthy dessert – go for it.  Just don’t kid yourself that eating a candy bar every day is good for you.

For more health informationa and weight control tips, stay tuned to my natural remedies blog

Omega 3 fatty acids are getting more and more good press as an important part of preventing a number of common health problems.  But why is supplementing with Omega-3′s so important?

First you have to understand that supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acids does not give you “extra” of these beneficial fats.  In fact, most supplementation recommendations probably give most people the minimum they need to balance the other fats in their diets.  Various studies have indicated that indigenous cultures (which typically have very low rates of cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and other chronic conditions) consume a ratio of omega-6 fats to omega-3 fats of approximately 1:1 to 2:1.  Currently in the United States, that ratio ranges from 20:1 to more than 30:1!

Why the huge difference?  First of all, grains and most commercially produced vegetable oils are primarily omega-6 fats and these are staples in the modern American diet.  Second, the primary source of omega-3 fats in the American diet used to be from meats, fish, eggs, and poultry.  What do I mean used to be?  Don’t we still eat those foods in relatively large quantities?  Yes, but what those foods are being fed has changed.

 At one time, most of the meat and poultry came from “free-range” livestock, meaning the animals ate insects and plants that grew wild in their environment.  Insects and plants are high in omega-3 fats, so the animals that eat them are likewise high in omega-3′s.  Today though, most commercially raised meat, poultry, eggs, and even farm-raised fish, are fed primarily grain – which is high in omega-6 fats, not omega-3′s, so the meat, eggs, and fish are also high in omega-6.  This combined with our own tendency to eat a lot of grain-based foods has led to a dramatic shift in the ratio of fats in our diets. 

This shift in the dietary fat ratio with very little omega-3′s being consumed sets us up for a wide variety of health problems.  Because omega-3′s are essential to a number of biochemical processes, the lack of these important fats has led to a general increase in problems that include depression, inflammatory conditions (such as arthritis and allergies/asthma), and cardiovascular disease.  There is even speculation that a lack of omega-3′s may be at least partially involved in the development of neurodegenerative disorders and some types of cancer. 

In any event, except for those very rare individuals who eat almost no grains AND who consume primarily free-range meats, wild game, and/or wild-caught fish, I strongly recommend taking a high-quality supplement at a dosage of 1000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per day.  Omega-3 supplements are usually made from fish oil, or may be from krill oil.  In either case, if you are getting a good product from a reputable company that has independent lab certificaton of their supplements (as to purity and potency), you should be fine. 

For those who are strict vegans and do not consume animal products of any kind, I suggest using flax seed oil supplements(at least 1000 mg per day).  Flax oil is not high in omega-3′s but the fats in it can be converted to omega-3 in the body in most individuals.  There are some people who cannot efficiently make the conversion to the needed omega-3′s, and if you are having problems with depression and/or inflammatory conditions despite taking flax oil, you may want to consider fish oil, or you may want to try walnut oil (which is high in omega-3′s).  Another option is to try evening primrose or borage oil , as these contain fatty acids that don’t require as much conversion in the body to produce omega-3 fats. 

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more nutrition information for a healthy life!

Stress is a big factor in many, if not all, physical ailments. With the fast pace of life and challenges we all face in an increasingly complicated world, most of us are under considerable stress every day.   If one were to eat a “perfect” diet, get regular exercise, get adequate sleep, and manage stress through meditation, yoga, etc., the physical effects of stress would probably not be all that serious.  But very few people are that good to themselves, and usually the stress takes a toll.

The adrenal glands are the body’s primary stress-handling organs.  Long periods of poorly-managed stress lead to adrenal fatigue.  Adrenal fatigue results in numerous health problems and significantly increases the body’s vulnerability to illness.Several years ago, Dr. Hans Selye published a book, “Stress Without Distress,” in which he detailed the effects of stress on the glands in the body. He found that excess stress in anything, whether work, play or emotional upset (in other words, both “good” or “happy” stress and “bad” or “unhappy” stress) would cause exactly the same reaction. In people subjected to chronic stess, Dr. Selye found the adrenal cortex to hypertrophy (enlarge), while there was shrinking of the spleen and thymus gland (both of which are important in normal immune system function) . At the same time there was gastrointestinal irritation and progressed to ulceration rapidly.

 

While things are definitely changing, there’s still a good number of medical doctors who consider “alternative” healthcare providers such as myself to be “quacks”.  With increasing regularity though, conventional medical practices that make absolutely no sense from a physiological or scientific basis become popular and widely-used on an unsuspecting public.  It is these practices that have led me to my exclamation of frustration, “And I’m the quack?!!”.

One of these practices is the prescribing of steroids to patients with upper respiratory infections.  Now, while steroids are not my favorite type of drug in general because of their potential side-effects, there are situations in which I think the use of steroids is justified, at least for short-term application in emergency situations.  For example, a severe allergic reaction which without aggressive treatment might otherwise close off a person’s airway and cause him to suffocate would be an appropriate situation for using steroid drugs in my view.

But to prescribe steroids to patients with upper respiratory infections is an incredibly inappropriate use of these drugs in my opinion, yet this practice has become routine in recent years.  A common scenario is a case where a patient catches a cold or flu and develops a cough.  For a variety of reasons, some of these coughs can be quite difficult to get rid of, so a doctor prescribes steroids to alleviate the inflammation in the airways and quiet the cough and other symptoms.  Now that may sound reasonable enough at first, but there’s a teeny little problem with treating someone who has an infection with steroids…

Steroids suppress immune function!  That immune suppression effect isn’t even a side-effect that happens “once in a while”.  That’s an actual intentional effect of using steroid drugs!  That’s why they’re prescribed to people with autoimmune disorders – to suppress the immune system. 

So what do you suppose happens to someone who has an infection and their doctor gives them steroids?  Well, they may have a reduction in the cough and other symptoms at first (which is all the doctor is thinking about – give the patient some symptom relief and they’ll be happy).  But because the steroids suppress the immune system, the body now is unable to fight the infection effectively. 

But that’s no problem, because then the doctor can give the patient antibiotics, right?  Well, the doctor can do that, but in most cases it doesn’t help anything because the infection is usually from a virus, which is immune to antibiotics.  So now you’ve got an immune system that’s not working, plus you’ve killed off the healthy bacteria in your GI tract with the antibiotics, leaving you wide open for all sorts of new infections (but that’s a subject for another time). 

So you stay sick (and maybe add some additional infections while you’re at it) for a long time.  But wait, there’s even more goodness that steroids bring:  weight gain, water retention/bloating, mood swings – now that’s a party!  And that’s just the short-term stuff.  Long-term use of steroids is associated with osteoporosis and tissue and organ damage.  Good stuff, huh?

But you wouldn’t need to worry about the long-term problems if you were just taking the steroids for a little while until you get over your cough, right?  Remember though, your immune system is suppressed, so it takes forever to fight off the infection.  When you run out of your steroid prescription, the cough comes back.  If you don’t know better, you go back to the doctor and he does what to help your cough?  He gives you steroids again!!!!

…and I’m the quack?!!

So what should you do to handle upper respiratory infections?

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more upcoming posts on this topic.

The Women’s Health Initiative has produced a questionnaire that allows you to calculate your statistical hip fracture risk according to family history and lifestyle factors.  To calculate your risk (and to help determine the need for taking extra osteoporosis prevention measures, visit the hip fracture risk calculator.  When you get to the question about physical activity, scroll down to the bottom of the page to get information on estimating your MET hours.

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more osteoporosis information.

 Spraining an ankle once is bad enough, but for those who repeatedly injure the same ankle, it can develop into a major long-term problem. A chronically unstable ankle will usually become arthritic over time, leading to chronic pain and difficulty running, walking, or even just standing.

The ankles have considerable stress placed on them, and once one or more of the supporting ligaments are damaged, the joint will probably never be 100% as stable as it should be, but with appropriate care, repetitive ankle injuries  can be avoided and much of the degenerative arthritis that develops subsequent to joint instability can be prevented.

The primary way to achieve this is through exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles enough to provide support that the damaged ligaments cannot.  Most people who have sustained a significant ankle sprain have gone through rehabilitation for this purpose, but in many cases, the rehab exercises fall by the wayside after the major pain is gone, and over time without ongoing exercises to keep them strong, the muscles will decondition.

In a future post, I’ll be providing you with a video of exercises to keep the muscles around the ankle strong and supportive.  Look for that in the next few weeks here on my natural remedies blog.   Until then, if you have already gone through ankle rehab, but you’ve stopped doing your exercises, I highly recommend you get back to doing them on a regular basis again.  Your ankle may feel fine right now, but it’s better to put forth a little effort to keep it that way than to get lazy and allow things to deteriorate to the point where you’re having pain ankle trouble all the time and there’s not much you can do about it.

Until next time…

Dr. George Best