I’m sure you’re familiar with hormone therapies. Even a small deficit in a hormone can have a major impact on your energy, weight, mood, and cognitive functioning. Many doctors (including me) believe that bioidentical hormones are safer and more effective than many of the conventional hormones available today.

The first hormone you should consider is thyroid. This one isn’t new to you. As you may know, our thyroid stimulation hormone (TSH), the most commonly tested thyroid hormone, may be high but still within the range of what is generally considered “normal.” Many doctors will take this “normal” result at face value, but if you dig deeper and ask for Free T3 and Free T4 testing, you may find that you do indeed have low levels or are on the low end of normal. Even if your thyroid levels fall into what’s considered a “normal” range, treatment may be worthwhile. You need to determine what is “normal” for you, not for the “average” person. In my clinic, I have seen fatigue, depression, weight grain, frailty, osteoporosis, and loss of libido all be associated with a low-normal thyroid.

That was the case for Patricia. When she was young, she’d been a star athlete. But when she visited me, she was 52 years old and experiencing weight gain, mild depression, cold hands and feet, brain fog, and hair loss. She said she’d felt “fat” and “lazy” for the past 10 years, and this was especially frustrating for her because she’s been so active, energetic, and engaged for the first 40 years of her life. Many doctors encouraged her to exercise, but she couldn’t work up the energy. Psychiatrists put her on medication, but they just caused her weight to go up even more without boosting her mood. At that point, I was just glad she was willing to give yet another doctor a chance.

We ran her blood work, and everything was normal except for her thyroid, which has low, and her cholesterol and lipids, which were high. I wasn’t surprised to see that – if you’ve been struggling with depression and low energy for years, it’s hard to maintain the diet and exercise habits needed to have healthy cholesterol and lipid levels. Plus, for years, high cholesterol has been recognized as a possible sign of low thyroid. So the two often go together. I knew that if we could get her thyroid under control, the other issues would be much easier to tackle.

I began supplementing Patricia’s thyroid with a product called Thyroplex, made by Life Enhancement and designed by Dr. Jonathan Wright (Note: I have no financial association with this formula or company www.tahomadispensary.com). And just three weeks later, a different woman walked into my office. She said she felt like she had her life back. She had already lost six pounds – without dieting – and finally had the energy to start exercising again.

After three months of supplementing Patricia’s thyroid, I reran her blood work. Her thyroid function had greatly improved, though her lipids and her blood sugar were a little higher than I liked. Fortunately, Patricia had the energy to take action on those. With further supplementing, including Mediterranean Cholesterol Formula (two capsules twice daily, which is more than the recommended dose, for the first two weeks and then two daily in the evening or at bedtime) and Advanced Blood Sugar Formula (two at bedtime), Patricia’s new exercise routine, and some weight loss – especially around her abdomen – those numbers soon moved into a healthy range. It’s been five years since I first saw Patricia, and her husband still says that she looks and acts younger than she did a decade ago.

Many doctors looked at Patricia’s thyroid levels and considered them to be in the low range level. But since I run a full panel, I get a better picture. Many people need T3 in addition to T4, but because most doctors don’t check for that, their patients don’t see much benefit from T4 alone. Doctors will often prescribe a synthetic T4 product called Synthroid, which can work if T4 is all you need. But if not, there are some excellent natural products available, particularly Armour and Nature-Throid. If you are taking thyroid medication and still experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism, it’s essential that you ask for a complete thyroid panel. Then be sure NOT to take any medication the morning prior to your test so your results aren’t skewed by the supplementation.

Often, if you have low or low-normal thyroid, supplementation is all you need. That was the case for Patricia. But there are times when supplementing a low thyroid can actually make you feel worse. That’s because our hormones don’t work in isolation. It’s important to have a full picture of what’s going on so you understand when supplementation will help and when it won’t.

Another hormone that can affect your thyroid is cortisol. If you’ve ever felt stressed (and I’m sure that’s everyone), you know what significant effects cortisol can have on your body. And that includes your thyroid gland.

When you get stressed, whether from a physical, emotional, or mental cause, your hypothalamus tells your pituitary gland to have your adrenal glands start making cortisol and other stress hormones. These hormones then tell your body to divert all its energy to dealing with the stressor. Anything that’s not essential to this process gets moved to the bottom of the priority list. If you’ve ever gotten sick after a stressful season, it’s likely because your body de-prioritized your immune system. And producing and distributing thyroid hormones is typically considered a non-essential as well.

This is okay for a time of acute stress. Once it passes, thyroid production will return to normal. But many of us are experiencing chronic stress, which takes a tremendous toll on our health. The constant production of stress hormones means that thyroid hormones are consistently under-produced. When cortisol shows up in the bloodstream, it tells the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to hit the brakes so that you don’t end up with too much stress hormone flooding your system. The problem is that the hypothalamus and pituitary gland also govern the thyroid, so when they slow down, everything slows down.

The presence of stress hormones also takes a toll on the enzymes that convert T4 to T3. This can make it even harder for doctors to recognize a thyroid issue, since T4 is often all they check. But even if you have adequate T4 levels, if you’re not converting it to T3, you’re going to have a problem. Plus, stress triggers an inflammatory response that makes your thyroid receptors less sensitive, so you’ll need more thyroid hormones to get the same effect. Even if your levels appear normal, the inability of your receptors to recognize the thyroid hormones available can lead to symptoms of underactive thyroid.

In time, chronically elevated cortisol may cause extra estrogen to accumulate throughout the body. The problem with this is that the estrogen triggers an increase in your thyroid binding globulin (TBG) levels. TBG is a protein that helps move thyroid hormones around your body via the bloodstream. But when the hormones latch onto TBG for a ride, they aren’t active, which means they can’t get to your tissues or be converted to Free T3. So you really don’t need too many chauffeurs. With extra TBG, once again, even “normal” T4 levels aren’t doing you as much good as they should.

Finally, as noted above, chronic stress decreases your immune response. This can cause a couple of thyroid-related problems. The first is that you’re more susceptible to latent viral infections, which can lead to autoimmune thyroid disease. If you have this challenge, consider an adaptogenic complex, such as Advanced Adaptogen Complex (800-791-3395). This is a superb, beautifully crafted, and remarkably effective supplement for slowly strengthening immune function without unwanted side effects. When chronic stress repeatedly turns your immune system off and on, it can become uncalibrated, causing it to overreact.

Clearly, prolonged periods of elevated cortisol can do a number on your thyroid. But in this case, just supplementing your thyroid won’t get you very far. In fact, adding more thyroid hormone to your already-overloaded system can make you feel worse. You may experience a racing heart or a feeling of shakiness as your body tries to handle more hormones than it knows what to do with.

If you know your thyroid levels are low or you have symptoms of hypothyroidism, including low energy, unexplained weight gain, and even depression, consider whether you’ve been experiencing chronic stress. If you have, it’s vital that you get your stress levels under control before you begin to address your thyroid so the treatment doesn’t backfire. Each person’s situation is as unique as they are, so unfortunately, I can’t give you a one-size-fits-all solution for combating stress.

However, please be willing to take a good look at the sources of stress in your life and to make a dramatic change if necessary. Your health is more important than your job, if that’s what’s causing the issue. You may need the help of a counselor or therapist to identify and reduce the sources of stress in your life, and I believe that can be a worthwhile investment.

You can also reduce stress with mindfulness exercises, deep breathing, sauna therapy, warm baths, and aromatherapy. I recently wrote a series of articles on lavender’s ability to reduce anxiety that may be helpful for you. You can find these on our website (www.womenshealthletter.com). Of course, healthy foundation habits like eating right, exercising if you have the energy, and getting enough sleep will all help you combat stress as well.

Once you’ve significantly reduced your stress levels, you may find that your thyroid issues resolve themselves as your body gets back into balance. If not, it’s certainly worth talking to your doctor about checking your hormone levels. You may still need a boost to your thyroid, or your adrenals may be burnt out after having worked so hard for so long. This can create a situation called adrenal insufficiency that can masquerade as hypothyroidism. Next month, I’ll have more information on what adrenal insufficiency is, how to recognize it, and how to treat it. Our adrenals are another vital source of hormones that can make or break our health.

https://www.holtorfmed.com/understanding-the-adrenal-thyroid-connection/

The Sour Tea That Lowers Your Blood Pressure Better Than Other Teas

Most of my readers probably know that I’m a big fan of tea. Green tea, black tea, herbal tea, you name it. All of them are loaded with healthful benefits thanks to their polyphenol and antioxidant content. But one tea you don’t hear me talk about as much is hibiscus tea.

This herbal tea is indeed made from the hibiscus flower, and it’s as stunning as the bloom itself, turning a deep magenta as it brews. However, some people find the taste of hibiscus tea to be somewhat sour, so I understand if it’s not your first choice when you want a soothing cup of tea. Nevertheless, hibiscus tea is worth trying. Here’s why.

Hibiscus tea has actually been in use as a traditional medicine for centuries. And now modern medicine is confirming that it does indeed have some powerful health benefits, particularly when it
comes to your blood pressure. For a study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension, researchers pitted hibiscus tea against one of my other favorite beverages, black tea, to see which would benefit a group of type-2 diabetics with mildly high blood pressure the most.

The participants were divided into two groups at random. One group drank a cup of hibiscus tea twice a day for a month, while the other drank black tea. They were all allowed to add one cube of sugar to each cup, which I’m sure the hibiscus group appreciated.

The average systolic blood pressure in the hibiscus group was 134.4 +/- 11.8 mm Hg when the study began. By the end, that number had dropped to 112.7 +/- 5.7 mm Hg. That’s a big difference! In contrast, average systolic blood pressure in the black tea group actually increased from 118.6 +/- 14.9 mm Hg to 127.3 +/- 8.7 mm Hg. None of the participants experienced significant changes in their diastolic blood pressure.

The researchers believe that the hibiscus tea worked so well because it has both antioxidant and diuretic effects, helping the body fight inflammation and flush out unwanted toxins.

If you’re concerned about your blood pressure, you could drink a couple cups of hibiscus tea every day. But you don’t have to – especially if you’re more concerned that you won’t enjoy the taste than you are about your blood pressure. You can take Advanced Blood Pressure Formula (800-791-3395) instead and get all the benefits of hibiscus tea because hibiscus is included in the formula. And that’s not all. It also boasts 50 mg of magnesium and a blend of 11 Chinese herbs used to support healthy blood pressure. Advanced Bionutritionals has received piles of letters thanking us for this formula. If you have been diagnosed with “pre-hypertension” this is definitely worth a try.

Hibiscus tea certainly is an effective way to lower your blood pressure. So if you can tolerate the taste, go ahead and brew yourself a cup or two. Otherwise, you can get the same blood pressure benefits with an easy-to-swallow capsule.
Mozaffari-Khosravi H, Jalali-Khanabadi B, Afkhami-Ardekani M, et al. The effects of sour tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) on hypertension in patients with type II diabetes. J Human Hypertension 2009;23:48-54.

How to Lessen the Negative Impact of a High-Fat Diet

Do you sometimes eat fat and feel miserable? Between the blood-sugar spike, which can result in fatigue, and not quite digesting the fats (good or bad) fully, you just don't feel good. You may get bloated and sometimes even nauseous. If so, here are some simple tips found in your own kitchen to help you resolve the bloat, nausea, and digestive discomfort. Not only will some of these solutions help lower an after-meal blood-sugar spike, but will improve your digestion as well.

The first strategy involves using cinnamon to protect your heart. In a study presented at an American Heart Association meeting, researchers indicated that consuming cinnamon may be able to help protect the cardiovascular system in a few key ways. First, it tells the body’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory systems to kick into high gear, minimizing acute and chronic damage. Second, it slows down the body’s storage of fat.
The researchers determined this by giving rats on a high-fat diet cinnamon supplements over the course of 12 weeks. The rats eating cinnamon gained less overall weight and less belly fat than the rats that didn't. They also had better levels of sugar, insulin, and fat in their blood.

Cinnamon is a great flavor booster in addition to being rich in nutrients. Try sprinkling it on oatmeal, adding it to a smoothie, or even adding it to your coffee or the coffee grounds before brewing to get the benefits of this fat-fighter.
The second strategy is where the surprise comes in. I’m sure you’ve heard of fighting fire with fire. Well, you can also fight fat with fat. Researchers have recently found that a particular compound found in extra virgin olive oil can help combat the negative effects of a high-fat diet on your liver.

While we’ve known for some time that extra virgin olive oil can help reduce the risk of heart disease, researchers weren’t exactly sure how or why it worked. Chilean researchers believe they have discovered the answer: a polyphenolic compound called hydroxytyrosol. Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant, and we all know how beneficial antioxidants are to our health.

But hydroxytyrosol doesn’t just help the heart by reducing inflammation. It also protects the liver, according to a study these researchers published in Lipids in Health and Disease. The researchers fed mice a high-fat diet so they could examine how some particular liver enzymes help synthesize polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids in turn help lower LDL cholesterol while boosting cardiovascular health, brain function, and cell growth.

When the mice received the high-fat diet, as expected, both their total cholesterol and their LDL cholesterol as well as their insulin resistance markers skyrocketed. But when they received a supplement of hydroxytyrosol to go with their fatty food, their levels weren’t nearly as bad. The mice on the fatty diet had lower levels of those helpful enzymes I mentioned above, which seemed to be contributing to the problem. But when they got some hydroxytyrosol in their systems, enzyme activity levels bounced back. The researchers believe the work of these enzymes and their subsequent effects on fatty acid balance in the body are key to explaining the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil.
Another study, published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, also had positive findings related to hydroxytyrosol, though this study focused on markers of cardiovascular health in patients with diabetes (note that a high-fat diet can contribute to diabetes risk). In this study, diabetic rats that received hydroxytyrosol showed improvements in oxidative stress, inflammation, platelet aggregation, and other important markers of cardiovascular health. In fact, their aortic walls began to nearly resemble those of non-diabetic rats, indicating the important protective and restorative effects of the antioxidant.

It is important to note that the animals eating a regular diet fared better than those who were fed a fatty diet, even when those animals received a supplement. So this isn’t a license to eat all the fatty foods you want. You’ll still protect your health far better by consuming a balanced diet and choosing your fat sources wisely.

Still, many of us are trying to reverse the effects of choices we made when we either didn’t know better or didn’t care as much. If that’s you, cinnamon and extra virgin olive oil are a great place to start. And if you do occasionally indulge in a particularly fatty meal, these nutrients can help offset its effects right away. Better yet, use them to make some smart swaps in your diet. Olive oil is a far better choice than margarine, and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon can often help you skip the sugar bowl. With these easy dietary tweaks, you’ll be helping your health, not harming it.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28962661
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29046261
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28808476
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28973999
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28965785

Nutrition Detective

This Superfood Helps Build Your Gut’s Good Bacteria

You probably know by now that your gut health is vital to your overall well-being. And you also probably know that your diet plays a big part in the makeup of your gut microbiomes. But when we think of gut-friendly foods, we tend to focus on fermented options like yogurt and sauerkraut. Those are certainly good options, but they aren’t your only choices. In fact, some foods that are good for your gut might surprise you!

Researchers at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine have been studying gut bacteria in mice, trying to determine if various dietary changes will have beneficial effects. For a study published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, the researchers made one “superfood” change to the mice’s diets: they added walnuts.

We’ve known about the health benefits of walnuts for a long time. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linoleic acid, fiber, and antioxidants. We also know that fiber is fuel for friendly bacteria. But the researchers weren’t sure if the benefits of walnuts would extend beyond that. They tried adding walnuts to the diets of one group of mice, comparing them to a group that received no walnuts. When they measured both the quantity and quality of their gut bacteria, they found that the walnut group showed improvements in both categories. In particular, they experienced a big jump in their numbers of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus, and the bacteria’s functional capacity improved as well.

The researchers believe that the walnuts are functioning as a prebiotic, a nutrient that gives good bacteria the food and fuel they need to thrive. Prebiotics are essential to a healthy gut environment; even if you fuel your system with probiotics, they may not be able to survive without a steady stream of prebiotics.

Walnuts have a number of other health benefits that I’ve written about before. You can find that information in the archives. So I definitely recommend having a handful regularly as a snack or adding them to salads or oatmeal. Just keep in mind that they are calorie-dense, so don’t go overboard.

Combined with other fiber-rich foods, walnuts help prepare your gut to host a variety of friendly bacteria that will improve nearly every aspect of your health. And once you’re eating a diet full of prebiotics, I strongly encourage you to add to your bacteria’s ranks with a probiotic such as Advanced Probiotic Formula (800-791-3395). The walnuts and other fruits and vegetables will give you plenty of nutrients to sustain these “good guys.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170728100832.htm.

LETTERS

Q: Is there a vitamin or mineral, single or in combination, that will reduce or prevent migraines? ­­ Joan L., via email

Dear Joan,

It’s unlikely that one single nutrient or combination will solve your migraines. Migraines are complex and can be very hard to treat. It could be hormone or diet related. So I recommend starting with a gluten-free non-inflammatory diet. This will often resolve the issue. Josh Turknett, MD has the most popular diet, which he discusses in The Migraine Miracle. His diet is sugar-free and gluten-free.

With that said, there are a few supplements that are worth trying. If you’re deficient in one of these, they could resolve your migraines. But it could take more than one, all of them, and the diet to see results. You can try magnesium (200-600 mg daily – try the glycinate form if you have a sensitive stomach), vitamin B2 (200-400 mg daily for three months – consider adding B complex after a month or two because this is a very large amount of B2), butterbur (75 mg standardized, twice daily), or the herb feverfew.

Q. My last test showed I have a rare disorder called dural venous sinus thrombosis of a small vein. I have seen several specialists that seem to have little knowledge. Taking Plavix. Have facial numbness, headaches, and some head pain. What can I do? Thanks for any help. — Agnes K., via email

Dear Agnes,

Dural venous sinus thrombosis is a disorder that’s really a subset of cerebral venous thrombosis. And it may often coexist with similar disorders, such as cortical or deep vein thrombosis. It may even have similar symptoms, depending on which sinus is involved. It’s important to find the cause of the disorder. You didn’t state your age, but it’s possible the cause is hormonal, particularly if you’re young and have taken birth control pills. If this is the case, you’ll want to have a doctor check your hormone levels and make sure they’re balanced correctly. If it’s not hormonal, then you may want to try acupuncture. It’s one of the most effective treatments for this type of disorder.

Q. There was a study that showed improvement of toxins excreted in the urine by using 15 g of PectaSol for four days and then 20 g on the fifth day. However, the dose you sell is only 1 g a day. That's a far cry from 15 g. Is the 1 g per day effective? How can we know for sure? — Julie H., via email

Dear Julie,

That’s a very good question. The study you mention was for a very short term. Our product is designed to be taken every day to produce safe and steady detoxification. As you may know, rapid detoxification can actually release toxins from the body into the bloodstream. This can cause other health problems and make you feel even worse!

The study also used PectaSol-C, which is Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) only. Our product includes both MCP as well as Alginates that work in your digestive system to prevent absorption of toxins in the gut from the foods you eat.

For people with high heavy metal load, we do recommend three capsules, twice daily (six capsules). That delivers a total of 4.5 grams, which is quite effective. Take that for 30 days then reduce to two capsules for long-term maintenance.