JULY 31-AUGUST 2, 2020 GOOSEBERRIES

I tend to write what is familiar to me or on a subject I am becoming familiar with. Last year I planted a Gooseberry bush in my front yard. This year I am tasting gooseberries.

The gooseberry, with scientific names Ribes uva-crispa, is a species of Ribes. It is native to Europe, the Caucasus and northern Africa. The species is also sparingly naturalized in scattered locations in North America. Gooseberry bushes produce an edible fruit

Although ripe gooseberries are hard to come by, both red and green types darken in color as they mature, taking on a boozy, Muscat grape-like flavor. When they are consumed raw and unripe, gooseberries taste like sour grapes. I ate my gooseberry when they were green. And they were sour but very tasty.

I consider Gooseberries to be a Superfood. They are high in Vitamin C and rich in antioxidants . Gooseberries are good for balancing female hormones and a great benefit as a low glycemic fruit for patients with cancer. They are rich in Vitamin A which improves eyesight, and immunity. They are also rich in iron

Try gooseberries today

Until tomorrow…

JULY 27, 2020 MINERALS

We all need minerals. Minerals are found in Mother Earth and in our food. They are essential for life and so important to heart and brain function. I feel we take these minerals for granted. Yes we all know the important of macrominerals which are potassium, sodium, calcium , magnesium and chloride. We do not think of the trace minerals as often as we should These are copper, selenium, zinc, fluoride, iodine, chromium. manganese, and molybdenum. There are some foods that are abundant in the trace minerals.

One of thee food that contain an abundance are Nuts and Seeds. I advocate these as snacks during the day While I am writing this I am having a Trail Mix of nuts and seeds that I put together. It contains pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts , walnuts and hazelnuts. I DO NOT put dried fruit in it. One Brazil nut provides more than enough selenium and pumpkin seeds deliver the magnesium that is required. You need to know what moderation means when having nuts and seeds It does not mean a full bag of almonds. If you do not munching on nuts and seeds, you can incorporate these as nut butters into a smoothie or protein shake during the day.

The other sources are shellfish, organ meats , eggs, and cocoa. I prefer beans and cruciferous vegetables besides nuts and seeds for the minerals. You need the cruciferous vegetables for the Sulphur. Sulphur is needed for cellular function, DNA production and detoxification It is also needed for the production of a powerful antioxidant, gluthathione.

So try the nuts and seeds It is the easiest , most convenient and delicious

Until tomorrow…

JULY 24-26,2020 CANCER CAUSING TOXINS

We live in a toxic world. Not everything you think healthy is actually healthy There are more than 70,000 chemicals in everyday products that each of us has used that is not safety tested for potential harm to humans. Independently many of these products have caused cancer. Yes it is an overwhelming task You need to pick and choose what to fight for and what to believe.

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide . As a matter of fact, 1 in 6 deaths are cancer related. Every 60 seconds a person dies of a cardiovascular disease while every 60 seconds —3 new people are diagnosed with cancer.

As a integrative/functional medicine physician as well as a cardiologist/herbalist I see many cancer patients. The cause could be food related as a diet high in refined sugar, or even diet sodas containing aspartame. Mold has been implicated in the causes of cancer, but toxins in forms of glycophosphates is a major cause. You can be tested for these chemicals or toxins in your system. There are many herbal remedies, even some from the rainforest that can be beneficialfor the fight against cancer. I recently listened to a webnar about toxins as well as receiving a book entitled “ 17 cancer causing Toxins” I found this to be very informative, educational and interesting. Individuals who are battling cancers or know someone who is need to get the ‘low down’ on other treatment modalities that are available.

At both Fratellone Medical Associates in NYC and at Connecticut Integrative Medical Center , we specialize in the treatment of cancer. We take an integrative approach using testing no where else available.

Until tomorrow…

JULY 23, 2020 IMMUNE DEFENSE AND COVID

Let me be clear about the pathophysiology of COVID 19 ( SARS C0V-2) and its interaction with the immune system. WE DO NOT KNOW. There are gaping holes in our knowledge. There are different courses that patients take. All in all, in a young healthy individual the disease could be benign and self limited. I have had some surprises in this kind of patient. The risk factor for progression are dominated by age and some comorbidities, especially cardiovascular disease, obesity, asthma and diabetes.

There has been some research and headway with anti viral and immunotherapy. There are conflicting reports that have been published. I have seen intravenous vitamin C and IV gluthathione as well as low dose naltrexone to be of benefit .

The question is why do young and healthy individuals succumb to COVID 19? We do not have the complete answers. Why does the third phase of the disease as multisystem dysfunction, coagulopathy and shock happen. This phase has been called a ‘cytokine storm” Why does this happen. I have seen these patients quickly succumb to death. More studies need to undertaken and more studies with immunotherapy treatments needs to take place

Until tomorrow…

JULY 22, 2020 YOUR PET AND CORONAVIRUS

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals" ~ Anonymous

I have been asked many times … Can I give corona virus to my pet whether cat or dog ? The simple answer is NO Coronaviruses occur in virtually every species of animal, including humans, and are commonly associated with unapparent or transient intestinal and respiratory infections. There has been discussions about coronaviruses and cats. Cats do have feline coronaviruses. There is debate whether if your cat has feline coronaviruses can the cat give you antibodies and protect you against coronaviruses. I would say yes, but possibly not the coronavirus that we have been dealing with in the pandemic.

The various coronaviruses have been sequenced and their relationship to each other determined. The common cold-causing coronaviruses of humans (OC43, 229E and NL63) are in the alphacoronavirus group, along with the intestinal coronavirus of our pet cats and dogs. The more recently humanized strains of coronavirus, MERS, SARS and COVID-19 have jumped over from the beta coronaviruses of bats, possibly by intermediate infection of other animals such as camels and civet cats

.Although coronaviruses can jump from one host to another, this is a slow process and requires significant genetic change. There is no evidence that coronaviruses of our common veterinary species have entered humans in the recent past or vice versa.

So in conclusion, hug and kiss your pet .. that includes your dog ( or bird, in my case) despite we discussed all cats

Until tomorrow…

JULY 21, 2020 HYPERTENSION

In 1982 my mother died from a cardiovascular event. It was a subarachnoid hemorrhage ( of an artery in the brain) At that time there were not MRI nor CT scans available in every hospital. Her blood pressure the day before was check and was not elevated Perhaps she had a BP surge that caused an already unknown middle artery cerebral aneurysm to rupture. I will never know. I do know this

Hypertension is a global public health problem characterized by a persistent elevation in arterial pressure that often has no signs or symptoms. Uncontrolled hypertension increases the risk for a number of health conditions and diseases including angina, heart failure, cardiovascular events, cerebrovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease. Standard treatment guidelines for the management of hypertension involve lifestyle modification and pharmacological anti-hypertensive treatment.

There is more to be studied. There are many plants that have a beneficial effect on lowering blood pressure. These include Snakeroot, Artichoke, Green tea, Ginger, Gingko, and Hawthorne. Still, the demand for naturally occurring medicinal plants with hypotensive or anti-hypertensive properties continues to grow.

There are beneficial studies on all of these herbs. Green tea is the extensively studied herb for a variety of medical conditions. In addition tp plants herbs there are supplements as Magnesium, Essential Oils, Arginine, Citruline, CoEnzyme Q10, carnitine and taurine that can be used. As a cardiologist I feel all modalities of medicine should be used to reduce cardiovascular risk factors This combined with dietary and exercise modification should be discussed with every single patient

Until tomorrow …

JULY 20, 2020 COVID LONG TERM EFFECTS

I must tell you that my patients who have COVID still months later do not feel well. You would think the main long term problems would be respiratory, but that is not the only issue. Many of my patients have memory issues and ‘ brain fog’ they never had before I can understand chronic fatigue, muscle aches and breathlessness after the virus. What I do not understand is why these symptoms are still there 2 months later.

One of the symptoms include breathlessness walking up stairs, These are healthy individuals whom never had asthma, lung or heart problems. This is not only the older population that had COVCID and survived. This is my younger population.

We do know it is NOT only a respiratory disease. It is a multisystem disease that has effected kidneys, brain, liber, heart and GI tract. Most of the CPVID cases have been mild in the office setting, but 20 % do have severe symptoms. In my practice I lost 12 patients to COVID with ages from 41 - 87.

Be careful . Follow guidelines and use a mask

Until tomorrow…

JULY 17-19 2020 COVID 19

We are still in deep with COVID 19. I have not written abut it here for a week or two, but I wanted to let you know—it is not over . Some say the COVID deaths are going down despite some states have flattened and some states have numbers soaring

First, I do know what is true and what is exactly being reported. We don’t now until three to four later about deaths from surges. I do know from colleagues that those that have had COVID are still suffering. I have seen individuals in my offices that had COVID ( blood test proven) that still do not feel well. I had a patient with persistent pericarditis( fluid around the heart) that still is suffering. There are long lasting impacts on patients S0me of those still suffering although fearful to go into the ER —require hospitalization THIS IS NOT OVER There is a dramatic change in lung status

As you have read my blogs about COVID in the past, there are many theories about the virus origin, 5G input, germ warfare etc. I do know this—people have died, people are still dying and people are suffering who have had the illness and people are grieving from their losses

Be pro-active . Be smart. Wear a mask and social distance

Until tomorrow…