Weight loss, male hormones, clinic services

After hours reminder

We can't promise 24 hour coverage, but if you call after hours or on weekends for a minor emergency, most of the time I'll be able to help. Be sure to leave a message on the answering machine at home.

Weight Loss

In January I attended a conference on intracellular signaling. One way that our cells signal each other utilizes hormones such as insulin, cortisone, adrenalin and others you are familiar with. In recent past, a new hormone was discovered that tells us to stop eating. This hormone is called leptin. When researchers discovered this they said, Aha! Obviously, fat people aren't signaling themselves to stop eating so we're going to find low leptin levels in their blood. To the researchers' surprise they found greatly elevated leptin levels in the blood of people who are overweight. This mirrors the situation we see with adult onset diabetes. People who have adult onset diabetes have higher levels of insulin than the average person. This is because their cells are resistant to the action of insulin and so the pancreas has to produce more insulin to get the sugar into the cells. Eventually the pancreas can't keep up this overproduction, slows down and sugar levels start to build up in the blood.

So people who are overweight and people who have adult onset diabetes have something in common. Their cell membranes are not sensitive to the signals being sent them. As a matter of interest, sometimes these people are not sensitive to the signal sent by thyroid hormone or by estrogen.

We have been using, for a few months on some of our patients, a program involving a short-term caloric restriction along with nutritional measures to improve function of the cell membranes and have found it helpful. They report that their weight has been coming down and that they feel more normal than they've felt in some time.

Guar gum is a substance produced in the orient often used in ice cream to make it bulky. In studies in which patients are given guar gum or wheat gum, those given the guar gum tend to eat less and lose weight compared to the others. Similar studies have been done with 5-hyrdroxytryptophan. We have a videotape to help you learn more about this.

Complexed PSA

The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test has been further refined by testing also for complexed PSA. We now offer this test.

Male Menopause

Of course I don't speak from personal experience here, but I am told that men's hormones can fall in their 50s just as a woman's do. We all know, of course, that this can result in erectile dysfunction. However, what isn't in the news is that decreased testosterone levels lead to heart disease. I used to think that since women got less heart disease when they were in their child-bearing years and had higher levels of estrogen, that estrogen was a substance that protected us from heart disease and that testosterone, being the opposite hormone must be hard on the heart. I (and a lot of other people) was wrong. Studies also are pointing to testosterone being a protective hormone in terms of the prostate gland. (but this is still under investigation) Men who develop prostate cancer seem to have relatively higher level s of estradiol, a female hormone. This fits with research in the 1940s showing that estrogen hastened the death of men with prostate cancer, something we didn't expect. We have given testosterone to women for some years in small amounts as it can help a woman's libido if it happens to fall during menopause. In a dose of 5 milligrams we have not seen any women grow facial hair or have other adverse side effects. Many women report that it makes them feel stronger and more vigorous as well. Testosterone is important not only for sexual function but also for maintenance of strong muscles and wound healing. Sometimes people can develop an ulcer on the leg which can be very difficult to heal and we have found that giving testosterone in this event greatly hastens the healing of these ulcers.

We can test for testosterone and other hormones in the urine. We can do this for both men and women to guide us in the use of these hormones and to be certain that we're not replacing with too high a dose.

Lectures

I like to teach. If you have a group that would like to hear me talk about medical subjects such as those mentioned in this newsletter, please call Dixie Scoffield at our office.

You Can Bill Your Insurance

Although we have stopped billing insurance, we do give you a triplicate form with the proper codes that many of you can submit to your medical insurance company for reimbursement.

Health Information

Although we have a box of health information in the reception area, to comply with FDA regulations we keep our most detailed and useful information behind the counter. As a patient here, you're entitled to ask for that information at any time. In general we have information on most of the nutrients that we carry in the office, as well as on health topics such as inflammation, digestion, malabsorption, allergy, quitting tobacco, winter depression, memory loss, daily vitamins, urinary tract infections, liver cleansing herbs, self-care of infections using herbs, osteoarthritis and other topics.

Although we do have some written material about female hormone replacement and weight loss, you can find much more recent and comprehensive information on our web site.

3/28/04