Everyone dreads about hearing the C word from their doctor. Actually, it’s nothing to be afraid about. That is, if you have a healthy immune system. Each one of us has cancer cells in the body. Cancer cells are just abnormal cells resulting from a defective manufacturing process (cell division). Factors that contribute to this malfunction include excessive free radical formation (oxidative stress), chronic inflammatory processes, chronic toxicity, poor oxygenation, defective metabolic processes (such as impaired blood sugar metabolism, sluggish thyroid), defective DNA repair mechanisms and inefficient detoxification processes, among many other things. Oftentimes, the only risk factors for cancer that doctors discuss with their patients are smoking and drinking alcohol. It’s not that doctors conveniently forget about these numerous other causes. It’s just that a functional or molecular or nutritional approach in medicine has not been espoused in medical school or post-graduate training. There is a heavy empasis on pharmacology during medical training. After med school, continuing education primarily comes from pharmacaeutical companies. Unless a doctor’s interested in a different approach in healing, then it’ll always be the same approach in dealing with patients and that is, the allopathic approach. Anyway, ways to ensure that you have a healthy immune system to prevent chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, is first and formost, having a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet, exercise, rest and relaxation, adequate water intake and sunlight exposure, and healthy relationships are important. In today’s industrialized and over-polluted world, I would add nutritional supplementation and regular detoxification procedures as part of one’s ultra-preventive program. There’s an abundance of superfoods or nutrients that have anti-carcinogenic properties. It’s important to work with licensed health practitioners who have a knowledge and experience in integrating allopathic and complementary/alternative if one’s ever diagnosed with it. And just FYI, there’s a test available called a chemosensitivity test. This takes the guesswork out of what natural and synthetic chemotherapy drugs to use for a particular cancer. No more trial and error or better yet, guesswork on what would or wouldn’t work. A holistic personalized approach in treating any illness beats a one-size-fits-all approach any time. More info on this chemosensitivity testing in future blog entries. Have a great weekend everyone!
How to Avoid the C word
Gluta, anyone?
By now, most people are aware of IV glutathione. People who use it actually do so because of it’s whitening effect. Unknown to many, there are actually other benefits of glutathione. Among these are it’s antioxidant role in the body, it’s liver cleansing effect, and it’s support for immunological, dermatological and neurological system health as well. The most effective form of glutathione is through the intravenous route. Topical glutathione such as those found in soaps are garbage. Don’t even believe the marketing hype about it. The marketers repeat the lie so often that people eventually accept is as Gospel truth. Anyway, back to IV glutathione, it’s best given with vitamin C because of it’s synergistic effects. Vitamin C that’s derived from beet sources is better than the ones derived from corn since most corn grown in the US are GMO, unfortunately. A lot of places, including salons are offering this treatment. One should be wary of going to those places because it’s unsanitary and the staff are not trained to do so. Even some clinics that do offer it have medical staff that didn’t actually train in organizations like ACAM or A4M, the organizations that are at the forefront of age management medicine. So, before you even think about having nutrients put directly into your veings, do your research. More next time on different kinds of IV therapies specific for asthma, headaches, macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, heavy metal toxicity, etc.
Who’s afraid of Zika (or any other virus, for that matter)?
My answers to that is, probably everybody. Most especially, the uninformed. You see, there’s not enough antiviral medications available in the market and those that are, are very specific for certain viruses. Those that are synthetic, come with a significant number of side ffects. Those are that natural, supposedly do not come with enough clinical studies (or we’re not looking at the right journals). So, what are we to do? We know that a healthy immune system is a very formidable defense against microbes and tumors. What you can do then is something really simple. First, make sure that you’re getting enough vitamin C, not plain ascorbic acid, but whole vitamin C, complete with bioflavonoids and all. Vitamin C’s RDA is a joke so definitely do not follow that. What you need to follow is a vitamin’s ODA or Optimal Daily Allowance. For vitamin C, that may vary from 3 to 6 grams per day, taken in divided doses. When someone encounters a viral infection, the timing and dosage of ingestion of vitamin C really matters. An often repeated advise would be to take a gram per hour until symptoms abate or until a person has loose stools. If someone has access to intravenous nutritional drips like the Myer’s cocktail (vitamin C and other nutrients), that would be great! Another vitamin that has antimicrobial properties is vitamin D. Notice why the flu is more prevalent during the winter (or rainy) months? Well, it’s because of the marginal exposure to sunlight, the best source of vitamin D. What about other natural ways to fight off viruses? There’s one modality that stands out and that is medical aromatherapy. It involves the use of clinical grade essential oils such as lemon, cinnamon, oregano, clove, thyme, etc. Numerous clinical studies done at major US hospitals have proven that these oils can be effective against a whole slew of infectious agents. The quality of the oils matter though. Make sure to choose one that’s really pure and are not synthetically-cut like possibly 98% of the oils out there. There are companies that self-regulate themselves in the absence of industry standards. Careful identification of plant sources, quality processing, and clinical validation matters. 
Waiting for weight loss….
Are you in a rut when it comes to your weight loss goals? Eating like a bird and exercising 24/7 (I’m exaggerating, of course) and still not an iota of change in your body composition? This, inspite of being on a “scientific” weight management program? Maybe it’s about time to look into other possible causes of weight gain. In the next few blog entries, I’ll be discussing a few of the most common causes of being overweight or obese. Let’s begin with your thyroid. Most doctors screen for thyroid function only by checking the pituitary hormone TSH. The normal range for TSH is quite wide. And remember, normal values are based on statistics. The healthier the population, the higher the normal values. Case in point, the normal values in Western Europe are somewhat higher than that of the North American population. This is definitely influenced by diet and lifestyle. Anyway, the optimal range for TSH is between 1-2. If you’re above or below that, further testing may be necessary esp. if you have symtoms of a sluggish thyroid, one of which is poor metabolism leading to weight gain. Ideally, a comprehensive thyroid test should include the following: fT3, fT4, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies. A functional test for the thyroid includes basal body temperature testing. A temperature less than 97.8 could mean a sluggish thyroid. There’s a condition called Wilson’s syndrome which basically is a person with all the classical symptoms of low thyroid, has normal basic thyroid tests and when it comes to temperature testing, has subnormal temperatures. All enzymatic processes in the body function optimally at ideal temperatures. If temperature is sub normal, then these physiologic processes don’t proceed as normal. One condition that could also affect thyroid function is chronically elevated cortisol levels with stress. This prevents conversion of T4 to T3, the active form of thyroid hormone. Deficiency in minerals like selenium also prevent this conversion process. A group of elements belonging to the halide family such as fluoride (in water/toothpaste), bromide (in baked products, soda), and chlorine (in water), actually affects thyroid hormone production by competing for the same receptors for iodine. In conclusion, there are a lot of possible causes of thyroid hormone imbalance that could ultimately affect one’s metabolism. Make sure that this is addressed comprehensively prior to starting a weight management program. Otherwise, it’ll be a complete waste of time and resources. Another way to put it, you only lose days, not inches (or fat, for that matter).
Different diagnosis, same treatment. That goes for most autoimmune diseases, where the ongoing medical belief is that it’s due to an immune system gone haywire. That is, the immune system starts attacking the body’s own cells. There is no explanation on why these conditions happen to certain people. It’s often explained away as a genetic predisposition to have the disease. The standard treatment is to suppress the immune system using steroids or through the use of chemotherapeutic agents. Symptom relief is quick for most but the attendant side effects are horrendous. Long-term steroid use for instance, can cause osteoporosis, hyperglycemia, hyperuricemia, peptic ulers, etc. Side effects of chemo drugs vary depending on the class of meds used. (An example is the class of meds called anthracyclines, to which Doxorubicin belongs. It’s notorious for causing heart damage by depleting coenzyme Q10 levels) You really have to weigh the risks versus benefits when someone decides to go for the traditional treatment. In holistic medical circles though, it is our belief that autoimmune disease can be due to different conditions such as food intolerances/sensitivities, chronic toxicity, hidden infections and chronic inflammatory states. Just like any chronic degenerative diseases, it is our belief that once we address the root of the problem, then the symptoms typically disappear. In contrast, treating symptoms alone, whether using synthetic drugs or natural medicines, may provide temporary relief. The underlying disease process wreaks havoc elsewhere, however, ultimately leading to future complications. In summary, my job as a holistic MD is like that of a private eye, look diligently for the cause of the problem and when it comes to treatment, always personalize treatment recommendations based on biochemical individuality. And of course, always work in partnership with the client.
Got high BP?
Are you aware that high blood pressure is not a medical illness but actually just a symptom (of some underlying problem)? Unfortunately, high blood pressure is being treated like it’s a disease. And as such, there’s always a corresponding medical treatment. The usual treatment to control high blood pressure is to take any of the different classes of anti-hypertensive meds. Nothing bad about that especially if it’s only given during times of extremely high blood pressure. These meds are sometimes taken indefinitely however, resulting in long-term side effects. Are you aware that a lot of nutrients can actually be depeted by chronic intake of these medications? Among them include vitamins B1, B6 and C, CoQ10, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc, and Sodium. Once people start having symptoms of nutritional deficiency, unfortunately they’re treated with more medications. It becomes a vicious cycle until eventually, the combination of medications cause damage to the liver and kidneys, among other things. Anyway, there a lot of underlying causes of high blood pressure. Treat the cause or causes and you resolve the underlying problem. Treat only the symptom and you’ll run into more problems. Among the possible causes of hypertension could include nutritional deficiencies (potassium and magnesium), toxicities (elevated tissue levels of lead and mercury), hormonal imbalance (low testosterone in men, evelated cortisol levels in both sexes, estrogen dominance in women), chronic inflammatory states, obesity, dehydration, stress in general, etc. These underlying conditions can be addressed by a nutritionally-minded doctor who can order tests such as a comprehensive nutritional profile, blood or salivary hormone panel, hair mineral analysis, autonomic nervous system analysis, skin carotenoid testing, body composition assessment, and genomic testing. In my practice, it’s not uncommon to get people off of synthetic medications once the root cause of the problem is addressed. Chronic conditions can be reversed by using what we call TLC or Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes. More to this TLC on subsequent blog entries. Have a great week everyone!
Reset Your Genes
Reset what? Yes, you heard it right. We are now able to reset our genes through the use of pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements. I won’t be mentioning the brand but suffice it to say, this synergistic blend of nutrients can actually reset our genes to that of a younger individual. This has been so effective that the technology has been patented and was also featured in the Discovery Channel. There are a few ongoing clinical studies and a couple that has already been completed. I’m the type of doctor who would try whatever I recommend to my clients, except bioidentical female hormones of course. I use food supplements, bioidentical hormones like testosterone and thyroid, homeopathic medications, IV nutritional therapies, and even energy medicine devices like the Scanar device and low level laser therapy. Anyway, I’ve been on this synergistic supplement blend that resets the genes for about a year now and symptomatically, I’ve never felt better. Objectively though, I’ve run tests including the biophotonic scanner which shows that my skin carotenoid score is almost double of what it used to be. My blood chem and hormone panels are not just normal. They’re actually in the optimal range. My biological age is quite lower than my chronological age, based on different forms of testing, which I’ll discuss in future posts. Overall, I can say that I’m a happy camper.
Skin Savers
Hello everyone! I just wanna share comments that I usually get from clients when I first meet them (or even those I haven’t seen in a while). Modesty aside, they usually ask what I do for my skin. Like most guys, I don’t wanna put too much stuff on my face so I try to keep it really simple. I don’t use soap on my face since most of them cause dryness. I use gentle, organic facial cleansers. My current favorite is the one from Nuskin. It’s important to use a moisturizer on the face and neck area. One of my favorites is the sandalwood moisturizer from Young Living Essential oils. They’re certified organic and they’re very pure as well that you can actually eat them (although I don’t recommend this unless there’s a famine going on). I remember the founder of the company taking a bite of their deodorant stick at one of their annual conferences held a few years ago. If it’s good enough for your skin, then it must be good enough for the rest of the body (or to be taken internally). Makes sense! What a lot people don’t know is that what you eat actually affects the quality of your skin. Eating a lot of refined carbs causes something we call “Advanced glycosylation end-products” or AGE for short. This process takes place when there’s excess blood sugar. This excess sugar combines with protein molecules rendering them non-functional. When these sugars combine with collagen in our skin, that’s when wrinkles begin forming. What gives skin a healthy glow? It’s the pigments coming from fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates and many more. What helps in the formation of collagen, the main supporting structure of the skin? Vitamin C, L-lysine and L-proline. What about collagen supplements? I started trying a famous Canadian brand which is now sold in the PI. Let’s see how that goes. In summary, healthy skin can be achieved through a good diet, exercise and topical skin regimen.
Fishy fish oil study
Hi everyone! I just got inquiries from friends and clients regarding the new fish oil study that recently made it in the front pages of MSM (mainstream media). This controversial “study” supposedly showed that the use of high doses of fish oils in men could cause an increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer. First off, it might be a good idea to find out who funded the study. Next is, find out what kind of fish oil was used in the study. Third, before making that conclusion, find out if there were other risk factors that could’ve caused such a result, such as the use of cigarettes, alcohol or even hormonal imbalance in the men involved in the study. I can come up with more reasons why this study stinks and I tell you, it’s not the fish oil.
Dazed and confused about supplements?
Herbal supplements (Photo credit: Ano Lobb. Follow on Twitter: @healthyrx)
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Hot Tips, News and Trends for Healthy Aging By Dr. Joel Lopez, M.D. 