Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Thyroid Disorders, Hormones, Nutritional Supplements, Iodine, Salt, Cholesterol Drugs, Drug Reactions and More Were All Part Of…

A Holistic Approach to Overcoming Thyroid Disorders medical seminar I attended two weeks ago.  A group of about 100 attended this lecture.  The majority were Chiropractors,   maybe ten or so M.D.’s, a few Nutritionists and one Pharmacist.  It was a nice group of professionals and I made some great contacts.

Staying current on procedures, treatment options, statistics and research have always been important to me.  Why?

1)    I enjoy it

2)    It helps me to deliver the best possible care to my patients

3)    The more I know the better resource for healing and education I can be for my patients

4)    I satisfy my requirements to practice in the state of Texas. 

Important right?

The seminar reinforced much of what I attempt to educate patients about every day in my practice.  But I did pick up a few new jewels of wisdom that many of you will benefit from.

What you may not know is many of the lectures I attend like this one, are given by Medical Doctors who work with, appreciate, teach and learn from Chiropractors.

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough MD’s that are truly interested in anything other than blindly following the tragic and harmful path of doling out dangerous medications.

Those MD’s who have questioned that path,  stepped off of it and onto a holistic path that we Chiropractors are on, often are black listed, ridiculed and criticized by their colleagues.  You may know some of the big names like Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil, Julian Whitaker and in the last few years, Dr. Oz.   There are countless others, most not in the national spotlight.

David Brownstein is the Medical Doctor who gave the lecture on thyroid disorders.  I’ve wanted to meet him for a while now.   He’s written about eleven books on natural healing.  He was a traditional MD that believed like many, what he was taught in med school—don’t associate with or ever refer to Chiropractors.  We are evil.

Dr. Brownstein had become extremely disillusioned with medicine, the problem drugs were causing in patients and the lack of results!

He had serious discussions with his wife about quitting the profession.  That’s a huge decision.  Fortunately she introduced him to a Chiropractor (that he didn’t really want to meet), but would ultimately change his path and his life.  That decision has translated to thousands of patients eliminating their medications and healing naturally.  Not to mention it also put him on the road of writing and lecturing.

Brownstein cited statistics, and studies that would bore most of you.  Such as:

∙ over 100,000 people die each year from properly prescribed medications

∙over 500% increase risk in breast cancer in women deficient in progesterone

∙1,000% increase risk in developing cancer of any sort in women deficient of progesterone

Are you aware that the #1 cause of death in this country is due to medical drugs, medical procedures and cancers caused by nuclear scans?  You’ve likely heard me talk about this before if you’ve attended one of my lectures or read some of my articles or books.

 Brownstein also spoke about the pitifully poor quality of the majority of nutritional products available to consumers.  Again, something I speak about incessantly and every patient who sits with me for a nutritional consultation gets to hear.

You know, I’m amazed by humans.  We fall from one end of the spectrum to the other.  Example?

Some people buy nutritional supplements from places like warehouse stores, drugstores, and the like.  Buying quantity for the lowest possible price.  (They delude themselves into believing that they are getting a great deal for their dollar.  We all love bargains, sales and free, things, etc.  Don’t we?

But should we sacrifice quality, performance and results for a bargain?  I don’t think so.

Others buy a product because they identify with a brand or store they believe is good. i.e. Whole Foods, GNC, etc.

Then there’s the group that is attracted by outrageously high pricing and names or ingredients that appear or sound exotic.  Something from a distant land, with a foreign name, from the top of the Himalayas, to the depths of the oceans, or from deep in the rain forest or outer space.  All seem to hypnotically entrance some people and trigger a belief that the product must obviously be superior!

I’ve even seen one product that has lutein, grape skin extract, selenium, Co-Q 10 with special processing that costs but a mere $350 per month!  Are they serious?  Listen, don’t get taken in.  You don’t want to buy garbage, but you don’t need to lose your mind and spend too much either.  Generally too low or too high, don’t bother.  Do expect to pay more for better products, however.  You will get results.  Most doctors carry high quality products, while most retail stores don’t.  Sorry that’s the fact of life.  Know the source, but don’t get taken in.

I’ve seen people’s lives change with a $60 consultation and maybe a hair analysis, or food allergy test and some reasonably priced high quality nutritional products.  I’ve also had patients throw away bags full of products worth hundreds of dollars because the supplements were junk and not doing a bit of good for them.  The goal is not to be on the most products but to supplement some key ingredients for a therapeutic benefit.  And this can be done without spending $2000 to $5000 for testing, consultation, and products.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen patients run in to this trap too with some doctors in our area.

After Dr. Brownstein changed to a holistic practice, he would write scripts for nutritional supplements to be purchased at the health food store.  He did this because he thought it was “beneath him to sell nutritional products”.  But what he learned is something I’ve taught you…most nutritional supplements are not good quality!  His patients weren’t getting well.    So, Brownstein began spending his own money, sending products out for independent lab testing.  He was shocked and appalled by the majority of products from retail stores.  He found what we have—there are a handful of really good companies that guarantee their products are:

∙consistent potency from one bottle and pill to the next.

∙the product in the bottle is actually the product that is supposed to be in the bottle

Biotics is one company that both he and I rely on.  We get great results and our patients love them.   I have used them for many years because of their superior quality and the team of experts that formulate their products.

The bottom line for the patient = effective results.

Oh yes…and for those 70 million people who are gluten sensitive (68 million seem to be patients of mine).  All Biotics Research products are gluten free!  This is over 300 products.  Other companies may boast one or two gluten free products.

Another area that Brownstein spent a lot of time on was the use of iodine, the right type and dosages of iodine.  Most of you know this is a product we love to use in our practice because it really transforms lives.  Some of his case histories were fascinating.  One was even his nurse.  I’m sure she wasn’t thrilled about being discussed at a seminar.  We both agreed iodine supplementation can give dramatic effects in a short period of time.  Typically patients will lose their “brain fog”, increase concentration and see dramatically improved energy fairly rapid.  But many other problems disappear too.

Brownstein also spoke about toxicities in the body and medical drugs that destroy our nutrients.  A good reference on this is the handout by Spectracell Laboratories “Do the Prescriptions You Take Deplete Your Nutritional Status?” Likely it’s stuck in a drawer somewhere.  Go find it.  Check any medications you are taking to see how it’s depleting certain key nutrients and what health problems could result.  If you don’t have the chart, let me know.  I’ll send it to you, or you can come and get one.  Here are a few examples from the chart. 

Anti-Inflammatories             

Deplete these nutrients:                   What potential health problems might result?

 Vitamin D                                           Osteoporosis, muscle weakness, hearing loss

Vitamin B6                                          Depression, sleep disturbances, increased cardiovascular disease risk

Chromium                                           Elevated blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes risk

Diabetic Drugs

Coenzyme Q10                                    Various cardiovascular problems, weak immune system, low energy

Vitamin B12                                        Anemia, depression, tiredness, weakness, increased cardiovascular risk

Antacids/Ulcer Medications

Calcium                                               Osteoporosis, heart and blood pressure irregularities, tooth decay

Iron                                                      Anemia, weakness, fatigue, hair loss, brittle nails

Cholesterol Drugs

Coenzyme Q10                                    Various cardiovascular problems, weak immune system, low energy

To stay healthy you must keep your physiology (your internal chemistry) balanced.  Not bombard yourself with medications.  Ideally we should get all the right nutrients our bodies need from our foods.  But that is not realistic in today’s world.  Don’t fool yourself; you need nutritional supplements as much as I do.

This article is getting way too long and I haven’t even scratched the surface.  Let’s talk.  If we haven’t consulted on nutrition or your unwanted health problems in a while, let’s get updated.  Give me a call.  (281) 499-4810

You may also want to read one of Dr. Brownstein’s many books.   You’ll find he recommends much of the same types of supplements and treatments that we do.  But it’s nice to have a second opinion.  Let me know if you want to pursue changing your health.

Now, there are a few things that only a prescribing doctor can help you with.  I can’t take you off your medications, but I can show you what works for others and I teach you what I and my family do to keep healthy, which allow us to be drug free.  Interested?  If you have a good relationship with your MD, and he or she is alternative minded we can work as a team for your benefit.

Oh yeah…one last thing.  Brownstein really hammered statin drugs and discussed the research.  I hate to keep saying I’ve told you this before but…

A four year study followed thirty severely ill diabetic patients.  The result?  No difference between Lipitor and placebo in terms of combined risks of heart attacks, strokes and death.  When fatal strokes looked at individually, fatal strokes found to be over 200% higher in Lipitor group.

I realize sometimes hearing it from another source or an “M.D.” makes it more real for you.  That’s okay.

Bottom line.—I want you and yours to live a long healthy life. 

Stop believing commercials and advertising.  Look at the research.  Everything I share with you is documented.  I read other doctor’s research and you can too, if you want to be bored.  Anyway, I’ve always got your “back” and I’m here to help however I can, whenever you want.

Blessings,

Dr. Rick Barrett

P.S.  Mention this article and my staff will give you a 10% discount on your next nutritional supplement purchase.