Hormone Replacement Therapy is Risky…..
Here’s a link to an article about how Pfizer was ordered to pay millions of dollars in a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) lawsuit: Pfizer Ordered to Pay $34.3 Million in HRT Lawsuit
While not as prevalent at the 80′s and 90′s, HRT (premarin,prempro, and provera) is still utilized by some women. The problem is, there are some risks that go along with HRT:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Stroke
- Ovarian cancer
- Breast cancer.
Presumably, women are on HRT to combat the symptoms of menopuase and perimenopause. What many of them don’t know is that these symptoms often resolve when natural therapies are utilized to balance the hormonal shifts that are occurring at this moment in a woman’s life-cycle. The process with which LH and FSH (pituitary hormones that affect the rest of your female hormonal system) flip their dominance and estrogen production all but stops completely is a natural process that occurs (to varying degrees) in ALL women. The key to minimizing perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms lies in the balance between all these processes. In fact, with respect to hormones, balance is key….. it doesn’t matter if you’re a man, woman or child.
At my Portland, Oregon chiropractic, nutrition, hypnosis and functional medicine clinic, Optimum Function; I often run a female hormone profile to get an very individualized picture about my patients’ female hormonal status. Once that’s obtained, it’s MUCH easier to determine how best to support her during this time of hormonal change and turmoil. If you want to investigate what natural treatments can be effective to balance out your hormones and help decrease your menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms, feel free to contact me here or through my website Functional Medicine Portland, Oregon
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health
A Health and Wellness Program to Rule Them All
Picking “one therapy” seems nearly impossible but in light of the current debate about the future of health care in the United States, I have to give homage to not one, but rather three therapies that stand above the others in helping to reduce the risk and prevalence of many chronic illnesses.
These three therapies can drastically reduce pain, inflammation and fatigue; these are three of the major components of the major diseases plaguing Americans. The medical names of the disorders associated with these signs and symptoms include but are not limited to the following:
- Fibromyalgia (muscle pain and fatigue)
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Chronic headache
- Arthralgias (arthritis symptoms)
- Metabolic Syndrome (pre-diabetes)
- Chronic fatigue
- Fibrocystic breast disease
- syndrome
- Allergies
- Environmental/Chemical Sensitivities
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Dyslipidemias (elevated cholesterol)
- Prostatitis (prostate irritation)
- Cognitive impairment (short term memory)
- Dyspepsia and gastrointestinal reflux disorder (digestive problems)
- Sleep apnea
- Eczema and rosacea
Although none of these conditions are immediately “life threatening,” they are common chronic problems that become more troublesome over time if not corrected. These are also conditions that can progress to more serious diseases if not detected and corrected early.
In a pharmacological model each of these conditions would be treated with its own family of medications to manage symptoms not reverse the condition in many cases. This often results in people taking several medications, all of which have the potential for adverse side-effects and drug to drug interactions. This opens-up a “pandora’s box” of prescription medications often being prescribed to counter the side-effects of the original medication. It can become a “cyclical nightmare” for many patients
In the Lifestyle and Functional Medicine models, the clinical approach treats the underlying cause of the signs and symptoms. Here are my choice of the three foundational therapies that I use in my Portland, Oregon chiropractic, nutrition and lifestyle medicine clinic, Optimum Function:
- The “Four R Program”
- Metabolic Detoxification
- Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (dietary, stress-relief and exercise)
Stay tuned for posts that explain each of these therapeutic interventions. If you are in Portland, Oregon and want to learn more, you can go to www.OptFunction.com and click on the button at the top of the site that reads, “Schedule Appointment Online”. In addition, you can learn more about functional medicine at Optimum function by clicking on this link: Portland, Oregon Functional Medicine.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health“How Can You Help Me Escape the Pain I’m in?”
This is a question I receive quite often when potential patients in Portland, Oregon and other places in the U.S. and Canada call me, email me or contact me through the Optimum Function Website.
At Optimum Function, patients not only have access to various chiropractic and soft tissue techniques, they also have access to functional rehabilitation and training that includes kettlebells, TRX suspension systems and body weight exercises. My patients have access to nutritional interventions to decrease pain and inflammation that include diet and lifestyle counseling, body composition analysis, anti-inflammatory supplements, and blood work or other lab work if necessary.
In fact, there are not many chiropractic, nutrition, functional medicine and hypnosis clinics in Portland, Oregon; and even fewer that treat patients from all over the U.S. and Canada. As a doctor, I decided to pursue treatments that allowed me to help my patients from a few different avenues.
- Chiropractic, soft tissue therapies and manual medicine allow me to restore motion in joints and balance tension throughout your body. Techniques used include; Graston Therapy, Kinesiotape, Cold Laser, Electrostimulation, Arthrostim, Vibracussor, Adjusting, Active Muscle Release, and more!
- Functional rehab. and training allows me to “turn-on” the muscles that are your prime movers. After this is done, I can give you full-body functional workouts to help solidify your body’s stability and reduce your risk of re-injury.
- Nutrition and functional medicine allows me to look at and treat your particular chemical and physiological processes. Often, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are the first line of defense against diseases like type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity
- Hypnosis helped me round-out my treatment paradigm by allowing me to help my patients on a subconscious level, dealing with habits, issues and problems on a level deeper than the conscious mind for long-lasting, effectiveness.
Well, there you have it, at Optimum Function in Portland, Oregon, you get one-on-one treatments that address many of your health concerns. Escape pain and live the life of your dreams!
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthOptimum Function Chiropractic, Nutrition and Hypnosis Now on RateItAll.com
Hey everyone, I am now on Rate It All.com
Click on the following link to rate me; Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon Chiopractic, Nutrition, Hypnosis and Functional Medicine on RateItAll.com
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthMercury Destroys Brain Cells
Here’s a link to a very scientific explanation about how mercury vapors from fillings and mercury in our blood stream can kill neurons, the major cells of our brains.
Here’s a video from Fox News dealing with the issue of mercury levels in the H1N1 vaccine.
What are you doing to prepare yourself for flu-season? I have numerous natural health supplements that can boost your immune system and help fight-off flu viruses in my Portland, Oregon clinic. In addition, I perform Silver Argyrol treatments in my office that work wonders in fighting-off sinus infections and swabbing this anti-microbial substance onto tonsils helped me fend-off a particularly nasty strain that’s going around Portland right now.
Here’s a link to my Function ENT site: Optimum Function, Portland, Oregon’s Natural Ears, Nose and Throat Treatments
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthDo You Want To Learn Functional Medicine?
OK all you docs and purveyors of health out there. I am going to share some resources that have helped me integrate Functional Medicine into my Portland, Oregon Chiropractic, Nutrition, Functional Medicine and Hypnotherapy Clinic; Optimum Function.
Click on the following link to learn more about the Functional Medicine Training program that I would recommend to anyone and have participated in myself a few times now: Functional Medicine University: Functional Medicine Training with Dr. Weatherby and Dr. Grisanti
Click on the following links to get a glimpse at the various ways functional medicine practitioners treat hypertension and how we test for “leaky gut”: A Functional Medicine Approach to Hypertension; The Mucosal Barrier Function Test for “Leaky Gut”
If you have any questions about the program, don’t hesitate to contact me any time at info@OptFunction.com. I have turned 3 or 4 docs onto this program and would love to have more docs out there practicing functional medicine in Portland and throughout the US.
Yours in Health, Tim Irving DC, MS, LMT, CKTP, GSTM cert. Nutritionist, Hypnotherapist, FMU cert. Optimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97214 Optimum Function = Optimum HealthYours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health
Supplements to Help Reduce the Severity of Migraines and Homocysteine Levels
Here’s an interesting study (specifically a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study) involving 52 patients diagnosed with migraine headaches with an aura (any episode that “warns” a person of a pending migraine headache). The participants in the supplementation group were given 2 mg of folic acid, 25 mg vitamin B6, and 400 mcg vitamin B12 per day. The participants experienced a 30% reduction in migraine disability over the course of 6 months.
For those of you who have had your homocysteine checked by me and determined it to be high, you know that I will recommend an increase in folic acid, B6 and B12 to reduce this in addition to some dietary modifications; this therapy works quite well. Homocysteine is thought to be a protein that is analagous to a “brillo pad” in your arteries. As it moves through, it “scratches” and “nicks” the walls of the arteries giving plaque a good surface to attach to; this is not a desirable situation. Not only did this therapy reduce the supplement group participants’ migraine disabilities, it was found to reduce homocysteine levels by 39%. In addition, frequency of headaches and pain severity were also reduced among subjects who received the vitamin supplementation.
These results suggest that supplementation with folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 may reduce homocysteine levels and reduce migraine disability. The authors conclude, “Larger trials are now warranted to establish whether vitamin therapy is a safe, inexpensive and effective prophylactic option for treatment of migraines…”
For more info on checking your homocysteine levels, or, if you are a migraine sufferer and want to try this regimen, click on the following link; Optimum Function: Chiropractic, Nutrition and Functional Medicine in Portland, Oregon with Dr. Tim Irving . Feel free to leave a comment here and I will try and respond to it ASAP.
Yours in Health, Tim Irving DC, MS, LMT, CKTP, Nutritionist, Hypnotherapist Optimum Function: Portland, OR, 97214 Optimum Function = Optimum HealthReference:
Lea R, Colson N, et al, “The effects of vitamin supplementation and MTHFR (C677T) genotype on homocysteine-lowering and migraine disability,” Pharmacogenet Genomics, 2009 April 20.
Women Who Have Trouble Falling Asleep at Risk
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center say they may have figured out why poor sleep is more harmful to women than men.
Their study, appearing online in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, found that poor sleep is associated with greater psychological distress and puts them at higher risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. These associations were found to be significantly stronger in women than in men.
“This is the first empirical evidence that supports what we have observed about the role of gender and its effects upon sleep and health,” says Edward Suarez, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke and the lead author of the study.
“The study suggests that poor sleep — measured by the total amount of sleep, the degree of awakening during the night, and most importantly, how long it takes to get to sleep — may have more serious health consequences for women than for men.”
The study was performed on 210 apparently healthy, middle-aged men and women without any history of sleep disorders. None smoked or took any medications on a daily basis and investigators excluded any women who were on hormone therapy, which has been shown in some studies to alter sleep patterns in some women.
Using a number of assessment measures, including blood samples that were looked at for various markers of cardiovascular health the researchers found that about 40 percent of men and women were classified as poor sleepers, defined as having frequent problems falling asleep, taking 30 or more minutes to fall asleep or awakening frequently during the night. But while their sleep quality ratings were similar, men and women had dramatically different risk profiles.
“We found that for women, poor sleep is strongly associated with high levels of psychological distress, and greater feelings of hostility, depression and anger. In contrast, these feelings were not associated with the same degree of sleep disruption in men,” says Suarez.
Women who reported higher degree of sleep disruption also had higher levels of all the blood markers that suggest an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,obesity and type II diabetes.
“Interestingly, it appears that it’s not so much the overall poor sleep quality that was associated with greater risk, but rather the length of time it takes a person to fall asleep that takes the highest toll,” says Suarez. “Women who reported taking a half an hour or more to fall asleep showed the worst risk profile.” That length of time is 30 minutes or more. If this happens every once in a while, it’s not a huge deal. If this occurs 2-3 days a week or more; it may lead to cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome or diabetes.
Suarez says he’s planning further studies to understand the complex relationship between health risk and poor sleep in men and women. He believes that the gender differences may be due, in part, to variation in the activity of a number of naturally occurring substances in the body, such as tryptophan, an amino acid; serotonin, a neurotransmitter; and melatonin, a neurohormone. “All of these substances are known to affect mood, sleep, onset of sleep, inflammation and insulin resistance,” he says.
“Good sleep is related to good health. More research needs to be done to define gender-linked responses to poor sleep, including the role that sex hormones play over a lifetime and how sleep needs and responses change from childhood to maturity,” says Suarez.
To find out more about having a complete blood chemistry performed including important markers that are often overlooked like C-reactive protein and Glycated Hemoglobin, comment on this blog or email info@OptFunction.com. To find out more about Portland, Oregon’s Chiropractor and Nutritionist, Dr. Tim Irving’s other health and wellness programs, click on the following link: Portland, Oregon Chiropractor and Nutritionist/ Tim Irving
Yours in Health Tim Irving DC, MS, LMT, CKTP, CHt, Nutritionist Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon, 97214 Optimum Function = Optimum HealthChiropractic, Nutrition, Functional Medicine, Functional Movement, Body Fat Testing, Clinical Hypnosis, Graston, Kinesiotape
Reference:
Duke University Medical Center (2008, March 11). Poor Sleep More Dangerous For Women.
New Marker From Routine Bloodwork May Be An Important Risk Factor in Type II Diabetes
A study that spanned 4 years and followed 877 men found that lower creatinine levels were associated with the development of type II diabetes.
Creatinine is a by-product of muscle creatine phosphate breakdown during muscle contractions. Creatine phosphate is a substance that stores energy for the muscle to use when needed. After creatinine is released into the blood, it is excreted by the kidneys. Increased levels (over 1.5mg/dl) may indicate that the kidneys are not doing their job very well or are even damaged/failing but little attention has been given about creatinine being too low; especially if a person’s muscle mass seems reasonable.
Now, this study shows us clinicians/doctors that levels below .60mg/dl may be an indication that you are at risk of developing type II diabetes….especially if you are a male between 40-55 years of age.
In my clinic (Click here for more info: Optimum Function: chiropractic, nutrition and functional medicine in Portland, Oregon), I like to see creatinine levels between 0.8-1.1 mg/dl.
Do you want to have your blood work run in a complete and thorough way? I will do your lab work through Quest Diagnostics, running creatinine and many other important blood chemistry markers like glucose, homocysteine, hemoglobin A1c and more. Click on the following link for more details Portland, Oregon Chiropractic, Nutrition and Functional Medicine; you can also email me at info@OptFunction.com or call me at 503-866-9739 for more info.
Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, LMT, MScan. CKTP, CHt, Nutritionist
Optimum Function: Portland, OR, 97214
Chiropractic, Nutrition, Functional Movement, Functional Medicine, Graston, Kinesiotape, Body Fat/Composition Testing, Clinical Hypnosis
Source: Nobuko Harita, MD, Tomoshige Hayashi, MD, PHD, et. al. Lower Serum Creatinine Is a New Risk Factor of Type 2 Diabetes; Diabetes Care 32:424-426, 2009 Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health