FEBRUARY 26, 2020 ST JOHN'S WORT
There are many herbs that are better than conventional drugs. Some of the herbs have gotten a bad rap- examples are Kratom and Comphrey. One herb that falls into this category is St John’s Wort.
St. John’s wort is a common herb that many people may be surprised to find in our list of forbidden remedies. Its Latin name is Hypericum perforatum and it is a small, shrubby plant with yellow flowers.
It is one of the most famous herbal remedies for depression, with several studies backing up its use. However, experts have urged caution when using St. John’s wort as it can interact with many other medications. I have never had a bad reaction with this herb and medications . I just don’t see it. It is also possible to use the herb as a topical preparation to aid wound healing.
Other uses include sunburn, nerve trauma, sore muscles, bruising, burns, and varicose veins. I use it for the neuropathy after shingles, or Bell’s Palsy. It is a very helpful herb
Until tomorrow…
FEBRUARY 25, 2020 PROGESTERONE
The use of natural or bioidentical hormones or synthetic hormones are very controversial. This months Townsend Letter had a great article on the Use of Progesterone. It explained the physiology, use and myths of the hormone progesterone.
The article demonstrated the following:
The most efficacious and safest way to protect the endometrium is with topical progesterone
Topical progesterone has been shown to effectively reduce estrogen’s mitogenic influence on the endometrium
Topical progesterone achieves higher cellular and blood levels of progesterone than oral progesterone
Progestins did not perform better than progesterone and carry far too much overall health risk to be considered for use in long term therapies
Progestins differ greatly from progesterone in form and function
Until tomorrow…
FEBRUARY 24, 2020 LOW DOSE NALTREXONE
I have been a proponent for low dose naltrexone for more than 15 years. You should know that naltrexone is an opiate receptor antagonist. This is not a new drug It was approved at 50 mg by the FDA in 1984.
The off label use of low dose naltrexone is a drug shown in many trials to have therapeutic benefit in modulating the immune system. A physician in 1985 in New York discovered the effects of low dose naltrexone. He reduced the drug from 50mg to as low as 0.5 mg and as high as 9.0 mg
This lower dose can modulate the immune system and may provide relief to those patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases. We only have blood tests for about 36 of these diseases. Some of the autoimmune diseases that I have used LDN in are systemic lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjorgen’s syndrome and many more. There is a web based Home Page for Low Dose Naltrexone
I have used LDN in patients with cancer and with Lyme Disease as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It can only be prescribed by a medical doctor. The key to success in using LDN is understanding that there is no set protocol. It is patient specific. Ask your physician for LDN if you or a loved one has an autoimmune disease
Until tomorrow..
FEBRUARY 22-23, 2012 MUSHROOMS AND CANCER
Japanese researches published a study in September 2019 on the effectiveness of eating mushrooms and reduced risk of prostate cancer. In 2019 there were 175,000 new cases of prostate cancer. The treatment for this type of cancer has improved over the last 20 years. The study which started in 2012 stated that certain mushrooms have anticancer, antibacterial and antidiabetic properties.
It also found that extracts of certain mushrooms can slow tumor growth.
The study specifically looked at mushrooms reducing the biomarker for prostate cancer, the PSA ( prostatic specific antigen) It was a large population studied - 36,499 Japanese men from two Japanese cohort studies.
Those participants who ate mushrooms one or two times a week had an 8 % lower relative risk of prostate cancer. Those who ate mushrooms three to four times a week had a 17 %^ lower relative risk. This is a great study. More studies need to be done
Until tomorrow…
FEBRUARY 21, 2020 YOGA AND PD
Parkinson's Disease is devastating for both the individual and the family. There is always associated depression and anxiety with PD. There was a single blind randomized study done to look at the effects on yoga on these psychological factors.
At baseline measures of mobility, severity of motor symptoms, symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed and at 20 weeks
Participants in the mindfulness of yoga program arm of the study had signi9ficant improvement in anxiety and depression compared to participants who did not do yoga
However motor functioning and mobility was improved in both groups.
More studies on the effectiveness of yoga need to be done
Until tomorrow…
FEBRUARY 20, 2020 IF YOU ARE HAVING A HEART ATTACK
There are many different symptoms if you are having a heart attack. The classic crushing chest pain only occurs in two thirds of men and one third of women. It could be burning, aching, and the classic elephant is sitting on your chest. There are things you must do
Call 911 immediately for any of these symptoms
Chew one baby aspirin ( so always have in your house in the medicine closet )
Unlock your door and stay close to the front door
If you have a sublingual nitroglycerin, please take
Have a list of medications in your pocket
Call someone you love if you live alone and let them know