Staying Strong For Men

When women age, we can talk about it freely because women are allowed to be concerned about their hormonal changes, their faces, and figures.  For men, the problems of aging may be just as concerning, but not so easily discussed.

Just like women, men have a need for hormone balance. The adrenal glands (those tiny but mighty glands sitting above the kidneys) make the steroid hormones that allow us to run faster in danger, monitor libido, and determine energy levels. Men and women both make hormones out of cholesterol. Then the cascade of hormones proceeds into progesterone, DHEA, testosterone and estrogen. Estrogen is lowest on the hormone chain, and estrogen is formed from testosterone.

An enzyme called aromatase causes the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Aromatase can surge when too much sugar, alcohol or refined carbohydrate is consumed, spiking blood sugar. As more fat accumulates around breasts (man boobs) and belly, the fat can also produce estrogen, adding to the problem. http://blogs.christianpost.com/health/is-your-testosterone-turning-into-estrogen-5890/

All cells in the body have hormone receptors on them. For men, testosterone should be more dominantly parked in the cells. If there is too much estrogen, then the male sexual characteristics diminish. Muscles turn to fat and the prostate can enlarge. Too much circulating estrogen is a risk for prostate cancer. http://e.hormone.tulane.edu/learning/docking-receptor-binding.html

Higher amounts of circulating estrogen increase risk of stroke.  Estrogen dominance, which is the ratio of estrogen to testosterone, is a risk for heart attack and thicker arteries. Low testosterone levels can be associated with depression and anxiety. http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/low-testosterone-8/default.htm

Statin drugs decrease cholesterol, which in turn can decrease testosterone levels. This may lead to Erectile Dysfunction caused by low testosterone. Statin drugs have also been associated with higher risk of Diabetes Type II. Sufficient healthy fats in the blood keep blood sugar levels more balanced.

You can monitor your testosterone levels through blood or Salvia hormone testing. Another simple way is to have a zinc taste test. Adequate zinc is needed for testosterone. We offer all of these tests at Well Body Clinic.

We also have herbal DHEA and testosterone boosters, in cream and tablet form that will encourage the body to make more testosterone. A detox program for weight loss, or a Blood Sugar balance program, will help you kick the carb habit, stop the snack cravings, drop weight and lose the excess belly fat.

Lifestyle choices may influence your testosterone levels. Avoid excess alcohol, sugar and grains. Eat sufficient protein, but make sure it is digested well; so digestive enzymes can be used. Get plenty of cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels Sprouts to help the liver metabolize excess estrogen. Get moderate exercise and sufficient sleep. (Maybe Mom was right all along.)

No matter what kind of a job you have, life itself is an Olympic event and those who train for it usually come out ahead of the crowd. Breaking old habits is never easy until the new habits have replaced them.

For Father’s Day, and every day, stay strong and ready for the next event. Healthy guys are sexier. And out-running your kids is always satisfying.

Happy Father’s Day to all the great men in our lives.

Memorial Day Special!

Summer is almost here and it is time for family gatherings, graduations, school letting out, summer camps, vacations and getting swimsuit ready. Even wonderful events and changes can bring stress and time constraints.

To celebrate summer and help you be at your best, Well Body Clinic is offering a Memorial Day special. Mention this email and receive 10% off any supplement order, Saliva Hormone Testing, Food Sensitivity Testing, Toxic Metals Testing, and $15 off consultation fees. If you can't make it into the office, call Lucas and place a phone order at 818-562-1400. 

Kids don't always eat well, and they have their own stresses, so this is also a great time to bring the kids in to get checked. Building their immune systems over the summer is the best way to ensure strong immunity during the school year. If you don't live in the LA area, call for a phone consultation. We have helped hundreds of people long distance.

At Well Body Clinic we love making people healthy and we want you to have the best summer ever. Happy Memorial Day and hope to see you soon!

Could Herbal Preparations Help You?

You already know how important vitamins, minerals and proteins are for your health. Along with air and water, they provide the essential building blocks for the repair and maintenance of tissue, glands, organs and cells of the body.

How often have you wished that you could just shift gears as fast as life requires? Imagine if you could speed up or slow down your body’s responses as needed. The ups and downs of life are inescapable. It may be that those who can adapt the quickest have the best health, and likely have more fun.

To shift gears, your body has to be able to make fast changes in various systems that monitor the whole show. How do you ensure that your body’s “monitors” are working?  This is the true function of medicine, to help the body adapt to demands and challenges on the body. The immune challenges include chemicals, toxic metals, radiation, and bacteria, viruses and fungus. The demands include the various stresses from all the incoming messages and requests, the tugs and pulls on our time and energy, we each get every day.  These bring emotional responses ranging from joy and happiness to anger, frustration, anxiety and grief. Basically anything you run into in life requires the body to adapt to the new circumstances, every moment of every day.

Even a perfectly functioning body-machine needs to monitor how to adapt to changing conditions when more or less production is needed. This is the challenge of our modern world.  Generally speaking, there are more factors to interfere with normal function, and less vital nutrients available, than in previous times.

Herbal medicine can assist by acting to temper, or regulate, the reaction of an organ or gland to the degree of stress it is under. This can work in both directions. If you are exposed to a large degree of stress, such as missing sleep, experiencing emotional highs and lows, or suffering an injury, different body parts may have to shift into high gear, and herbal preparations help them do this efficiently. Likewise, when the stress has subsided, the glands or organs in question need to shift down and switch to a more normal or moderate amount of activity so they don’t burn too many nutrients, or send the wrong signals to their partner body-parts.

 This ability to shift up and down gives you more stamina, mental clarity, a stronger immune system, stress reduction, deeper sleep, a healthier libido, and can promote healing and longevity. Some herbal medicines can work quickly to help you through immediate needs. Other herbal preparations work over time to strengthen the body and minimize the wear and tear of every day living.

Herbal medicine must be prepared according to exact methods and standards to give you the full benefits. Look for companies that source and prepare according to standard herbal guidelines. At Well Body Clinic we use MediHerb brand from Australia. If MediHerb cannot source plants to their specification they will suspend manufacturing for weeks rather than make an inferior product. Potency and results are ensured this way.

Recently many of our patients have gotten help with sleep, stress, immune, fertility, bloating/digestion and allergies from MediHerb preparations. The herbs can be used when needed, or taken every day. Either way, herbs can improve your life and give you much-needed help to live a healthier/happier life. Ask for a sample at your next visit or email us to find out more.

The herbal world may not be quite as magical as suggested in Harry Potter, but getting on top of your world may be miracle enough.

Coconut Oil for Beauty and Health

You might call coconut oil the best beauty oil for inside or outside the body. As a skin oil, coconut oil can be used at any age. Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer for moisturizing dry skin, or removing make-up and cleansing the face. For infants, coconut oil can be used for moisturizing or diaper rash.

Mix coconut oil with Epsom salts and use as an exfoliating treatment that won’t dry out the skin and may even be beneficial for acne, without drying out blemish-prone skin like harsher acne cleansers.

Added to shakes and smoothies, coconut oil may contribute to weight loss and has even been shown to decrease belly fat and improved blood cholesterol levels, as reported in The Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  Despite the increase in calories participants in the study lowered their body mass and increased metabolism. That means that the rate of calorie usage by the body was improved, making weight loss easier, and increasing energy.

Subject to flus, viral infections or cold sores? Coconut oil is 50% Lauric acid, which converts to Monolaurin in the body, which has powerful anti-viral effects. These days our immune systems need all the help they can get, so coconut oil could be part of your defense system. Children could benefit both from the immune enhancement and from the brain/nervous system support. Ulcers caused by H-pylori bacteria and candida infections have also been helped by the properties of coconut oil. http://www.livestrong.com/article/476661-coconut-oil-the-immune-system/

If you are concerned about Candida over-growth or have gut/intestinal issues, coconut oil contains caprylic acid, which is anti-inflammatory, discourages unhealthy bacteria and fosters the growth of healthy gut flora. We can’t live without the good bugs that line our intestines, so keeping them happy and strong is the best kind of prevention.  http://www.thealternativedaily.com/alerts/coconutoilsecret/click-thyroidspecial.php

You can check your own candida levels by spitting in a tall glass of water first thing in the morning, before brushing your teeth. Allow a few hours and see if the glass begins to look like a science experiment, with long strings and odd lumps forming. That means you need digestive help to restore normal gut function. If the water remains clear, that is a good sign of gut health.

Healthy fats like coconut oil are also vital for helping vitamins and minerals get absorbed. Some vitamins are fat loving, and they need fat to help them pass through the intestinal walls into the blood to be carried to the cells. Fats are a component of cell membranes and form a lipid layer that protects the cells. Fats may protect against neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Natural, unaltered, fats allow the transmission of nerve impulses. Processed fats like corn, canola, soybean oil, and margarine can interfere with nerve transmission. http://www.thenaturalvet.net/Fats-and-Their-Relationship-to-Cell-Membrane-Function_ep_61.html

Adding a good fat like coconut oil to your diet can make you feel more satisfied, so may actually help with appetite and over-eating.

What makes coconut oil so unique? Fats are arranged in chains of fatty acids. Coconut oil is composed of medium-chain fatty-acids (MCFA’s). In the 90’s it was discovered that medium-chain fatty acids helped control seizures in children and now elite athletes have discovered their benefits for endurance.

The beauty of MCFA’s is that they are burned easily for energy and cannot be converted into fat cells in the body. MCFA’s appear to improve mental clarity and provide energy for the heart muscle, so may be protective.

So, if coconut oil sounds like a good thing to you, try incorporating it into your diet for a month and see if you notice a difference.  All you have to lose is belly fat, excess appetite and dry skin or acne.  

One of the best ways to include coconut oil is to add it to a morning protein shake. If you would like a sample of the Standard Process Nutritional Shake, ask us and we will include healthy recipes. Ask us about our flavored Stevia that can turn your shake into a yummy snack or dessert as part of a detox, weight loss, or blood sugar balancing program.