Women continue to promote “pink” associated with runs, walks, fund raisers and fashion shows that raise millions of dollars for the “cure”, yet the incidence of breast cancer have been increasing the past 40 years. 

On the brighter side, evidence shows that the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer abruptly began falling after the Women’s Health Initiative study in 2002 reported the direct link of the use of synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to an increased risk of heart disease, breast cancer, dementia, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

Donald Berry at the University of Texas who led the analysis published in The New England Journal of Medicine can hardly believe it and states, “But it really looks like it’s a story that holds together.”

Choosing NOT to use HRT is in every woman’s best interest. 

Cancer institutions across the country tout new technology for treatments and detection devices while assuring women they are in good hands.  Tamoxifen, a very popular drug prescribed to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer promotes uterine cancer, strokes, blood clots and eye disorders.  Women are told not to worry because a hysterectomy is a viable solution.  Interestingly, Tamoxifen is on the US Government’s list of known human carcinogens. 

Chemotherapy, the drug of choice to treat breast cancer as well as others, is thrust upon women and men as the gold standard. Heaven forbid if one refuses.

Recently, sixteen year old Abraham Cherrix, who has been battling Hodgkin’s Disease refused a second round of chemotherapy after he became debilitated by three months of the regime. After thoroughly researching their options, he and his parents decided upon an herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method to treat the disease. This enraged the medical establishment. His doctor reported him and his family to the authorities. He was taken from his parents by social workers and the legal system, accusing them of child abuse and neglect because they refused to comply with doctors orders.
Finally after a battle, Abraham and his parents won the right to make a personal choice of treatment. However, the family must report into the courts with updates every three months on his progress. This emotional turmoil is more than any family should endure during this time.

How have we arrived at this point in America where it is illegal to choose our own medical care? Who can fault this family for choosing an alternative option when the outcomes of chemotherapy are dismal at best?

How interesting that a confidential survey taken at Canada’s McGill Center, one of the most prestigious mainstream cancer treatment centers in the world reported that 58 out of 64 oncologists claimed that they would NOT undergo chemotherapy themselves if suddenly faced with a cancer diagnosis of their own. In addition, they would not allow any of their family members to undergo this treatment either.

Why is it that 90.6% of the expert cancer specialists at a world-renowned cancer treatment center would not have anything to do with chemotherapy, even if their lives depended on it? But they have no problem prescribing it to folks like you and me.

Their reasoning is that it is ineffective and toxic, it does not work and can hasten death, yet we as consumers have accepted the insidious idea that a toxic chemical will heal us. Perhaps this analogy puts it in perspective. Using chemotherapy is like trying to kill a mouse in your garage by blowing up the garage. You may kill the mouse, but destroy everything else.

This is more of a reason why we need to learn about preventive measures regarding not only breast cancer, but all illness and disease. The informed person has a chance of winning this battle.

Another disturbing study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported that adverse events related to chemotherapy and the associated costs may have been underestimated. Women experienced more hospitalizations and emergency room visits for side effects of chemotherapy. Also reported is that only one study has been done to measure the side effects of chemotherapy in the general population! Again, understand this treatment is considered the gold standard and is fully supported by our medical institutions.

Asked why this could be happening, Dr. Michael Hassett, a clinical instructor in medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston said, “There are a number of possible explanations. Clinical trials may not detect all of the side effects that occur. People enrolled in clinical trials may be less likely than those treated in the general community to experience serious side effects of chemotherapy. Clinical trials may not have enough power to detect rare side effects. Or, our study could have overestimated the likelihood of experiencing serious side effects of chemotherapy, because we used hospital bills rather than medical records to identify these events.”

Did you get that? This sounds like political/cover your bases psycho babble to me. There are too many hidden agendas in drug trials today, not to mention the self interests and conflict of interests that exist between scientists, pharmaceutical companies and other big business.

He ends with, “Hopefully, women with breast cancer who hear about this study will understand that deciding whether or not to have chemotherapy must be made on an individual basis.” “Women should talk with their doctors about both the benefits and risks of chemotherapy. For women with small cancers, the benefits may not outweigh the risks.”
What can you do to make good choices about health care?  Think Prevention…it’s the best cure.  Ask questions, use your common sense, and research like your life depended on it. It does! And do not hesitate to consider other options even when others disagree with you.

References
1. realhealth@healthiernews.com August 14, 2006
2. Michael Hassett, M.D., clinical instructor, medicine, Center for Outcomes and Policy Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; John Erban, M.D., director, breast cancer program, and associate professor, medicine, Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston; Aug. 18, 2006, Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Visit the links below for more information.
www.navi.net/~rsc/chemorad.htm - for information on chemotherapy and oncologists
http://www.whale.to/cancer/kelley/app3.html - for information on the war on cancer
http://www.westonaprice.org/women/mammography.html for information about mammography madness.
 

By Shane “The People’s Chemist” Ellison
www.thepeopleschemist.com (C) 2007

As a drug chemist, I used to fear going to work. I risked numerous health hazards – like being exposed to a cancer causing reagent and even losing my wedding ring to a chemical drain.  Cancer is bad, but having your wife feel like you are being careless about your marriage is worse. Unknown to her, I was washing off DNA twisting molecules that burned my skin and eyes while they vacuumed the air from my lungs.  My ring fell off somewhere between stripping off my clothes, pulling the lab’s evacuation button, and yanking the emergency shower cord. I naively assumed that these were necessary risks for making so-called life saving drugs. I was wrong.
 
Outside of emergency medicine, prescription drugs are just as deadly as the reagents used to make them. Antibiotics, antivirals and vaccines are a perfect example. Some would argue that this arsenal of anti-infectious agents is a cure. This is almost true. They make us feel better and can even save us from the perils of death in an emergency. But using them outside of an emergency can cause them to become a growth medium for producing stronger and deadlier infectious agents – think drug resistant Super Bugs like the flesh eating Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Additionally, they can give rise to some nasty side effects – think depression, cancer, liver and kidney failure.  Five year old Jennifer learned this the hard way.

Ten days after taking an antibiotic for an earache, Jennifer asked, “Why are my eyes yellow Mommy?”  Cured from her earache, Jennifer lost her life to liver failure a few months later. 

This is hardly a cure.  Vaccines and antivirals are no different.  To beat infectious disease and avoid the horrors (like MRSA) that often accompany the use of Western Medicine, Mother Nature’s total immune boosting breakthroughs are a wiser option. 

As a pharmaceutical chemist, I employed Mother Nature as the guide for the design and synthesis of drugs. Logic and science – not pharmaceutical hype - dictates that we “go natural first.”

Prescription drugs only mimic a single isolate and rely on a single mechanism of action for effectiveness. Their non-toxic, plant based predecessors contain a multitude of active substances.  And instead of depending on one single method of protecting the body, they work in unison to increase the power of the whole immune system.  This is the “adaptogenic effect.” 

Whether you are fighting flu, getting over whooping cough, or warding off the next Super Bug, adaptogens are your key to beating them!  They are so potent in fact, that Big Pharma has been attempting to make counterfeits in their top secret labs for over 15 years!

Garlic is known as “the poor persons” antibiotic.  I call it the smart person’s adaptogen. Not only will it help you live young, but it will also protect against a whole host of biological “nasties” – even tuberculosis.  This “mycobacterial infection” manifests into chest pain, coughing blood, night sweats and premature death. A new infection of tuberculosis occurs at a rate of one per second among our population! Western Medicine contributes to this unwittingly by using antibiotics that actually teach the bacteria how to work around the body’s natural defenses – resulting in drug-resistant strains. Garlic is different.  Thanks to its adoptogenic effects, the active ingredients confer super powers to the whole immune system, allowing it to eradicate “nasties” as they enter our system – and before they can replicate themselves into resistant strains.  Garlic can be synergized with the adaptogen andrographis. 

Andrographis was first used for its success in treating snakebites and overcoming malaria and dysentery.  It is considered to be especially effective in clearing heat from the body and blood and is commonly used in treating heart conditions which include infection in the lungs, urinary tract, and throat – think strep throat.  Within the halls of Big Pharma, modern research has proven andrographis to be beneficial at removing blood clots, stopping the spread of multiple types of cancer, and increasing the amount of immune enhancing white blood cells.  Its active ingredients have been identified as andrographolides.  The Journal of Ethnopharmacology recently showed andrographis to be more effective than the well known astragalus and echinichea for warding off the flu.

I no longer fear going to work.  Since tendering my resignation as a corporate drug cook, I don’t face the hazards associated with deadly reagents (and have since acquired a new wedding ring). I chose the natural route for health and if you do the same, you’ll no longer have to fear biological nasties.  Nor will you have to default to using Western Medicine’s arsenal of toxic counterfeits. 

About the Author

Ellison’s entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules; how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand experience in drug design.  His combined experience gave him access to unique research that has proven to be invaluable for obtaining real answers to the biggest health problems. Learn to Live Young naturally at www.thepeopleschemist.com. Don’t miss his Stinky Sulfur Awards!

References:
1. Han-Chieh Koa, Bai-Luh Weib and Wen-Fei Chiou. The effect of medicinal plants used in Chinese folk medicine on RANTES secretion by virus-infected human epithelial cells. Journal of Ethnopharmacology . Volume 107, Issue 2, 19 September 2006, Pages 205-210

The conversation about hormones is raging around the country, in households and in the healthcare fields. Conventional medicine addresses hormones in the setting of synthetic hormone replacement therapies and treatments for diseases like cancer, thyroid, diabetes, prostate cancer and pituitary abnormalities. Alternative doctors see hormones as the fountain of youth.

Media trails behind unsuccessfully attempting to clarify the muddy waters of the world of hormones so few understand.

As my column develops, I will try to help shed light into the overall issue of hormones, how they affect our lives, identifying symptoms of hormonal imbalance and safe methods of treatment with an eye for balance and honest, unbiased reporting.

Understanding Hormones

Hormones are agents of change. Hormones are invisible to the naked eye, they are manufactured by specialized cells in specific organs in our bodies and they float throughout our blood stream affecting the action of every cell in our body and helping or ruining our lives depending on their balance, quantity, strength and body’s reaction.

Hormones are made in the ovaries, testes, adrenals, pituitary, pancreas, brain, thyroid, parathyroid, hypothalamus and other areas still not known to science.

By hormones I mean: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin, thyroid, cortisol, adrenalin, dopamine, serotonin and others either labeled as hormones or neurotransmitters. They are all hormones.

When our hormones are in balance we are young, healthy, radiant, fertile, wrinkle free and excited abut the possibilities life can offer.  Young people with healthy hormone balance have low incidence of heart disease, cancer, arthritis or other chronic illnesses.

Hormone levels that have declined or out of balance produce and contribute to chronically ill, dried up, sexually disinterested, overweight and fatigued people. In fact when you have no hormones, all you get is an old person.

So if, hormones are great for you in your 20s and keep you beautiful and healthy, then why would anyone debate their usefulness and desirability as we age?

Of course we would all benefit from a little hormone support as we age and in fact those of us who do, find aging a lot more fun and certainly trouble free. So, why doesn’t every doctor in the country prescribe hormones that are safe to the aging or hormonally challenged throngs?

Why Are Natural, Bioidentical Hormones a Secret or a Threat to Conventional Medicine?

Well, to answer that question we need to look at the pharmaceutical industry.

While everyone in both conventional academia and alternative circles agrees that we all need hormones and hormones are crucial to youth and health, drug companies are reluctant to improve our health with natural methods of hormonal supplementation.

Why would they be reluctant to give us a safe alternative to keeping us out of harm’s way?  Enter natural/bioidentical hormones.

Natural hormones or bioidentical hormones are molecularly identical to the chemical formula of hormones that our bodies make when we were young and healthy. Anything that occurs “naturally”, made by Mother Nature and not tweaked by human hands, cannot be patented. In business terms that translates into no dominion or ownership over the product, because everyone can use it without paying a fee to the owner.

To drug companies, who are only interested in making a profit, having no patent means not making enough money. So natural, bioidentical hormones are undesirable to the drug companies. Forget about the fact that they have been around since Adam and Eve and have been safely used by millions of people.

Enter Synthetic Hormones

Synthetic hormones are hormone impostors. Odd shaped molecules, which have been tweaked to look totally different from Mother Nature made hormones, become the desirable option for drug companies because they can own a patent on them.

Billions are spent on marketing them, supporting academic research and eliminating the bioidentical hormone distinction in the physician and public consciousness. End result: a patented product with no competition, a billion dollar industry and many sick people who need more and more drugs and procedures.

Back to Natural, Bioidentical Hormones

Supplementation of natural, bioidentical hormones have been used as an effective method of treatment for more than 30 years and there have been no reports of cancer or other side-effects. The fact that our bodies recognize bioidentical hormones as their own and do not react to them negatively is significant to you and me since all we care about is to be able to stay health and well for as long as possible.

To summarize the facts;
1. Hormones in balance are good for us. They keep us healthy, young and free of disease.
2. Only bioidentical hormones can help achieve the above goal due to their similarity to our own hormone structure.
3. Synthetic hormones are created to provide financial profit for big drug companies, not to help us feel healthy and well.
4. As we age and our hormone levels decline or become imbalanced, we can help boost our hormone levels safely and naturally by supplementing with natural, bioidentical hormones. 

Breast Cancer: Counterfeit Synthetic Hormones vs. Bio-identical Hormones

The Associated Press distributed an article for publication in newspapers across the country on December 13, 2008 entitled, “New Study firmly ties hormone use to breast cancer”.   The title of this article erroneously refers to “hormone use”, when it should correctly be entitled “counterfeit hormone and synthetic drug” use.  It discusses the results of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a study which was launched in 1991 and involved 161,808 postmenopausal women.  The clinical trials were designed to test the effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy, diet modification, and calcium and vitamin D supplements on heart disease, fractures, as well as breast and colorectal cancer. This initiative had two studies: the synthetic estrogen-plus-progestin study of women with a uterus and the synthetic estrogen-alone study of women without a uterus.  It did not study the effects of bio-identical human hormones.

This article correctly states that Prempro increases the risk of breast cancer in women who use it.  This is what our Center expected since Prempro is not a hormone which naturally occurs in women. It is a combination of horse estrogens extracted from pregnant mare’s urine and a counterfeit, synthesized progestin. The progestin, medroxyprogesterone, is not a naturally occurring molecule and is a drug which is foreign to the human body. Wyeth, the manufacturer of both Prempro and Premarin, admits to not knowing all the types of horse estrogen contained in Premarin. 

What is not mentioned in this article is the fact that breast cancer is commonly caused by hormonal imbalance.  While the three female estrogen hormones, estrone, estradiol and estriol are essential hormones, the risk of breast cancer is directly related to either an excess of estrogen or an imbalance between the estrogen hormones and progesterone.  A number of studies have found that a progesterone deficiency may play an important role in increasing a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

Progesterone and estrogen operate in balance and the optimal balance of these two hormones is crucial to a woman’s health and well being.  Correcting this imbalance, which is called estrogen dominance and increases as women progress through their menstrual lives, is key to decreasing the risk of breast cancer.  Bio-identical progesterone helps to reduce the risk of breast cancer by balancing the estrogen in your body. 

This was the conclusion of the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health study, published in the August 1981 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology. This study demonstrated that women who were infertile due to a progesterone deficiency had a premenopausal breast cancer risk that was 540% greater than those women whose infertility was not related to a progesterone deficiency.  This study also found that women with progesterone deficiency had a 1,000 % greater risk of death from all types of cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should prohibit counterfeit hormones, such as Premarin and Prempro from being marketed and prescribed.

Natural, bio-identical hormones provide a safe, natural alternative for women who are experiencing significant side effects from hormonal decline and imbalance.

Hotze Health & Wellness Center                      
20214 Braidwood, Houston, Texas 77450        
Today’s Date – December 16, 2008

Contact: Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
281.698.8698

Franklin’s sage advice is more relevant now than ever.

It is difficult and frustrating to sift through conflicting and complex health information to make healthy choices.  Reports over past decades, supported by scientific evidence, have unfolded the life cycles women experience and how there appears to be an epidemic of hormonal disruptions and the drive to medicalize women’s health, governed by prescription medicine.

Women Classified as Diseased

Ponder this for a moment.  Why:

•  are more babies born with brain tumors and cancers?
•  is a girl’s age of menarche (the first menstrual period) younger today than three or four decades ago?
•  do women increasingly suffer from dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), irregular periods and eating disorders?
•  do girls begin physical development earlier?
•  do so many women suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS), fibroids, endometriosis, infertility, breast and other cancers?
•  is it that twenty years ago the breast cancer rate was 1 in 20 and today it is 1 in 8?
•  does the United States have one of the highest hysterectomy and cesarean rates in the world?

Are these valid questions to explore?

Until the advent of modern pharmacology (the science of drugs), physicians were trained in nutritional and botanical medicine.  Doctors understood that specific nutrients were effective in treating specific disorders, particularly deficiency syndromes.  Many substances found in nature prevented disorders from occurring. 

Pregnancy and childbirth are now classified as medical conditions and treated as such, despite a several millennia history of being a normal and natural occurrence.  Between 1938 and 1971 women who suffered miscarriage were administered diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen with assurances of a healthy pregnancy.  Unintended consequences, covering more than three decades, included an increase in infant deformities, cancer in offspring and the mother, and infertility problems not only in the offspring but in their offspring a generation later.

The remedy to this devastating situation was electronic fetal monitoring (EFM), adopted as the standard of care, absent valid research.  New discovery has shown this technology leads to more delivery complications and is associated with higher cesarean section rates, lower five-minute Apgar scores, and a higher rate of respiratory distress.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), formerly known as Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT), was popularized by Robert Wilson, MD. in the 1950’s.  He coined the term “feminine forever” as he espoused a better life through chemistry.  Unwarranted enthusiasm, perhaps over profits, and skewed scientific evidence increased the use of these synthetic hormones.  Research now indicates they increase the incidence of cancer and other deadly conditions in women. 

It was not until the Women’s Health Initiative in 2002 reported an increase in heart disease, stroke, breast and uterine cancer and Alzheimer’s disease that enthusiasm floundered for the use of Premarin, the most widely used of the HRT synthetic hormones.  

Oral contraceptives are also synthetic hormones.  They have been popular since the 1960’s and supposedly liberated women from the jaws of a committed marital relationship and allowed for multiple partners without fear of pregnancy.  “The Pill” has been widely prescribed for other female maladies such as PMS, dysmenorrhea and other hormonal difficulties.  Evidence has raised fear in women who use them due to an increase in cancer, blood clots, anxiety, weight gain, osteoporosis and infertility.  It’s those unintended consequences again.

Additionally, infertility has skyrocketed over the past 15 years and continues.  Medicine’s answer to this dilemma is fertility clinics offering solutions that range from in vitro fertilization to procedures that require injecting a woman with high doses of synthetic hormones in hopes of stimulating an egg and sperm connection.  Reproductive specialists control pregnancy through invasive procedures that do not come without risks.

Keep this in mind.  Biogenesis is the natural law that states “life can only be passed on by living things”.  Just like only living food can sustain a living organism.  All life contains a vitalistic component that promotes and sustains the chain and cycle of life.  Remove the vitalistic component or replace it with synthetic substitutes and the cycle of life begins to deteriorate.

Women are being diagnosed with depression and mood swings at an alarming rate which is perceived as being “normal” due to PMS and other hormonal irregularities.  A class of anti depressant drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), have been accepted as the “gold standard treatment”, however, little inquiry focuses on the serious side effects of these drugs.

Might these conditions, symptoms, breakdowns or maladies be the result of pharmaceutical therapies?  Is the body drug deficient?  Does it make sense to prescribe a drug or modality to treat a symptom or condition knowing that the side effects may cause other glaring problems that not only increase risk to other diseases and death, but also foster the need for the use of more drugs?  Aaaah!  Maybe, that is the purpose.
Restoring Women’s Health …a cultural movement

A fresher approach is needed to help women avoid the cycle of synthetic substitutes and restore their health and obtain balance.  Rather than treating or suppressing a symptom, the body’s attempt to heal, a better approach is looking for the cause and treating it while avoiding, or at least, diminishing risky lifestyle choices.

The science of nutrition can be traced back to 400 BC when Hippocrates stated “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”  A perfect example of this is demonstrated in the use of folic acid. 

For about 15 years the March of Dimes has been teaching mothers about the need for folic acid (vitamin B9) prior to and during pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects and spina bifida by as much as eighty percent.  One study reported that multivitamins fortified with folic acid could lower the chances of contracting brain tumors by twenty-seven percent, leukemia by thirty-nine percent and neuroblastoma by forty-nine percent.  There is healing power in real food.
Women’s hormones are influenced by diet and lifestyle choices in many ways through:

•  fats
•  fiber
•  gastrointestinal flora
•  amino acids
•  dairy products
•  processed foods
•  xenobiotics (artificial hormones not known to man)
•  hormones and antibiotics in feed lot animals (factory farming)
•  trans fats
•  sugars and carbohydrates
•  artificial sweeteners
•  alcohol
•  environmental toxins (pesticides, herbicides
•  cosmetics
•  drugs
•  hormones

The inextricable link between nutrition and health is well documented.  Unfortunately, there is a major disconnect the way we look at chronic disease and conditions.  What is worse is the mindset that convenience, not only in foods, but everything we do supersedes common sense and personal responsibility.
Creating Balance

Hormone balance can be achieved through diet and lifestyle changes with the help of supplements.  Hormones can be stabilized and balanced through diet that in turn will decrease symptoms that plague women including:

•  hot flashes
•  mood swings
•  loss of libido
•  joint pain
•  bloating or weight gain
•  headaches
•  tender enlarged breasts
•  depression
•  uterine fibroids
•  cystic breasts
•  irregular menstrual cycles
•  heavy bleeding
•  infertility

Learning to make healthy, rational choices daily as a part of a new way of life is very different than popping pills to suppress symptoms, eating at fast food restaurants, and living as a couch potato.  The benefits are noteworthy in that you reduce risk of disease and enjoy a better quality of life.
Nutrition and Lifestyle… a safer and long term solution
Avoid drug therapies and consider the following if you experience painful breasts, cervical dysplasia, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) endometriosis, uterine fibroid tumors, vaginal dryness, mood swings, depression, weight fluctuations and lupus:
• Avoid organochlorine chemicals such as vinyl chlorides, dioxins, and PCB’s that are endocrine disrupters.  They are found in household products, cleaners, wall coverings, furniture and other artificial substances.
• Avoid chemicals such as phthalates found in nail polish products and other plastics.
• Avoid medications such as hormone replacement, oral contraceptives, tamoxifen and cimetidine.
• Avoid feed lot animals that are injected with agricultural hormones that fatten them up quicker for market.
• Consume foods close to nature such as fruits and vegetables including beans, peas, clover, alfalfa, lignans, flaxseed, wheat and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.
• Exercise.  Managing weight is very helpful to facilitate estrogen metabolism and excretion which has a profound effect on many illnesses and diseases.
• Drink pure water preferably from a home water system.
• Consume fiber daily to improve digestion and to assist in reducing levels of free estradiol, one of the most potent estrogens our bodies produce.
• Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids in the form of cold water fish like wild salmon (not farmed), sardines, and herring.
• Avoid simple carbohydrates and artificial sweeteners.  They have detrimental effects on blood glucose levels and stimulate the production of insulin resulting in hormonal imbalances.
• Consume Isoflavones in moderation.  Soy isoflavones such as genistein and daidzein, consumed in traditional Japanese diets are associated with low rates of hormone-dependent cancer.  American culture consumes genetically modified soy products such as soy nuts, beans, crackers, cookies and tofu that have been highly processed.  These are not the fermented forms like miso, tempeh and soy sauce consumed by the Japanese.
• Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) is a naturally occurring compound derived from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage that actively promotes the breakdown of estrogen.  Because our modern diets are deficient in these rich compounds, it is beneficial to consume concentrated I3C in supplemental form for those with health issues related to estrogen dominance.
• Consume supplements that include a multi vitamin, probiotics, and DHA/EPA fatty acids.  The multivitamin should contain minerals like calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D, all B vitamins like folate and B6, which plays a role in the development of brain neurotransmitters, helps prevent heart disease, and can relieve symptoms of morning sickness and carpal tunnel syndrome and  antioxidants such as selenium and vitamin E.  Augment these with Evening Primose oil and or GLA.
• Magnesium promotes estrogen detoxification and is necessary for calcium to enter the bones.  Take a good combination mineral supplement.
• Good hormone modulating herbs include black cohosh, chasteberry, ginseng (Panax ginseng), dong quai and licorice.  These herbs, valued by women for centuries, promote healthy estrogen balance.
• Use natural progesterone crème.  To learn more about the benefits of this miraculous cream, purchase a copy of Do You Know What You Don’t Know…About Women’s Health Issues at www.preservion.com
and visit JohnLeeMD.com
The evidence is clear.  Women’s bodies are breaking down and they are NOT drug deficient.  Drugs beget drugs and are not necessary for women to be healthy.  The rules of Nature provide a comprehensive approach for women who wish to thrive and remain healthy.  A more natural approach will ensure a safe and smooth transition during all phases of a women’s life.
References

1.  Veurink M. Koster M. Bert LT. The history of DES, lessons to be learned.  Pharm World Sci. 2005;27(3):139-143.  Review.
2.  McCusker, D R Harris, and D W Hosmer, Jr, Association of electronic fetal monitoring during labor with cesarean section rate and with neonatal morbidity and mortality. Am J Public Health. 1988 September; 78(9): 1170–1174
3.  Prenatal Multivitamin Supplementation and Rates of Pediatric Cancers: A Meta-Analysis, Journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, February 2007
4.  Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients-February/March 2004 Pgs. 106-107
5.  Hyman M A, MD, The Life Cycles of Women:  Restoring Balance, Alternative Therapies, May/June 2007, Vol. 13. No. 3
 

Why didn’t anyone tell me about natural, bioidentical progesterone when I was young and in the throes of hormonal imbalances caused by PMS?

Unfortunately, even today millions of women within the teen through menopause age groups suffering with mild to severe symptoms of PMS are offered antidepressants, birth control pills or are just being told to grin and bear it. Conventional medicine has failed to address this incapacitating and all pervasive problem. A woman cannot lead a happy life if she suffers with PMS every month.

PMS is a problem that conventional medicine still chooses to ignore with the possible exception of the diagnosis of endometriosis.

PMS includes but is not limited to the two weeks before the period starts. As we get older the problem often expands to encompass the whole month. The most common description I hear from women in their mid-forties is “I live in a perpetual state of PMS” and “I only feel better when I get my period.”  Many women I see have learned to manage their lives around the time of the month when the scourge of PMS hits. I see young women who stop caring for their children, miss work and get into horrible fights with husbands, lovers and friends. Suspiciously, these dramatic situations seem to occur more frequently when the woman is suffering with PMS.

Another statement I hear that makes me shudder is “I’ve learned not to trust my judgment during PMS.”   These are women in their 20s and 30s, with children and careers speaking and they are severely handicapped by PMS.

The symptoms of PMS include

• bloating
• weight gain up to 10 pounds in 24 hours
• mood swings
• depression
• irritability
• sleep problems
• loss of sex drive or heightened sexuality
• food cravings
• cloudy thinking
• migraines
• muscle pains
• itching
• visual disturbances
• anxiety and panic attacks
• joint pains
• extreme fatigue
• complete personality changes
When I started to write about hormonal imbalances and made the connection between symptoms of hormonal imbalance and the lack of progesterone, estrogen and thyroid hormones at all ages, not just at menopause, I was overwhelmed by the response I received from women in all walks of life.

These women had given up, they were desperate and their physicians had told them that there was no hormone basis for their symptoms.  They were told they were basically crazy and the level of validation and care they received from their doctors was minimal to non-existent.

Yet the problems exist and they need to be addressed. Discarding and discounting the women is no longer an option. The time has come to do something about it. Life is too short to pull the blanket over your head during PMS or second guess every decision you are making.

No, you are not crazy; you are suffering with a concrete change in your hormonal balance that affects everything you do. Correcting the change is possible, even easier to achieve than you think.

PMS is easy to understand if we think of the hormonal changes the woman’s body undergoes every month. As we ovulate, in the middle of the cycle, exactly 15 days before our next period, the levels of estrogen and progesterone we make peak. If we do not get pregnant, the estrogen and progesterone are no longer needed so they start to drop. As they drop, we start to develop PMS.

The best times of the month for a woman are the times when we are having our period and the times right after when we are building our hormone levels. When the levels start to drop we are no longer on the top of our game.

So, how can we minimize or even eliminate the symptoms that are ruining our perfectly okay lives for the rest of the month.

The answer is- natural, bioidentical progesterone. The hormone that is leaving us PMSsy is easily supplemented by adding it to our regimen during the two weeks before the period.

I personally work with cream from progesterone. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, I prescribe between 50- 200 mg a day in those difficult times. The lower doses go for younger women, the higher often for women in their 30s and 40s.
For women nearing menopause or further along in age, I have found that if progesterone alone does not suffice, we add estradiol to help even things out.

In addition to the bioidentical hormones, diet and supplements as well as exercise are a must to keep the PMS at bay. A hormone friendly diet is key and you can find it’s ingredients in my book The 30 Day Natural Hormone Plan. Exercise will help keep the good hormones in balance and even if you feel like it’s the last thing you want to do, believe me it’ll help you once you do even a little bit. Sleep is another key ingredient so make sure you get that shuteye instead of partying till dawn. It will pay off in your life and stave off the PMS blues.

There’s been a deep lying suspicion that a deliberate push to get each and every American hooked on drugs, while at the same time bankrupting them, exists among Big Pharma, the U.S. government and the popular media. But now, a new study confirms this suspicion as fact. It’s the JUPITER study.

JUPITER stands for Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin. It’s not a clinical trial. It’s a rouse to promote drugs as vitamins. Dr. Timothy J. Gardner, president of the American Heart Association, was so excited by it that he insisted, “this one [JUPITER] is pretty clearly a winner for statin therapy.”

The New York Times gave us the infomercial, scripted response of, “Taking the statin Crestor, also known as rosuvastatin, slashed the risk of heart attack by more than half according to the JUPITER results.” But if you believe this, then you’re already on too many drugs.

Big Pharma money can be intoxicating. Like a frat boy with beer goggles, few health professionals or popular media outlets could see the ugly truth. Four important points of the JUPITER rouse were missed, which serve as four reasons to avoid Crestor.

The media failed to mention that Crestor makers - AstraZeneca - funded the study. When a company pays for a study, they pay for the interpretation of results, which always involves statistical trickery. Most of us learned this with the heart attack inducing, pain killer Vioxx. Touted as the safest NSAID of all time, it proved to be the deadliest once unleashed with the rubber stamp approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - it snuffed out an estimated 40,000 lives, fast. Its’ wake of destruction still resonates within Americans, but apparently not with the media.

The media failed to mention the statistical trickery at work. Cardiovascular events were reduced by an absolute, paltry 0.9% with Crestor use. Using a few tricks of the statistics trade, this bland number was converted into the more lucrative, “relative risk reduction” of 53%. This trickery happens so fast, it’s like watching magician David Blaine pull his heart out of his chest. You don’t know if it’s real or just a cheap magic trick. Dr. Mark Hlatky of Stanford shows that it’s just a trick.

Commenting on the trickery, he told the New England Journal of Medicine that, “absolute differences in risk are more clinically important than relative reductions in risk in deciding whether to recommend drug therapy, since the absolute benefits of treatment must be large enough to justify the associated risks and costs.” But, using statistical sleight of hand helps AstraZeneca make some serious cash.

The media failed to mention that it would cost bookoo bucks to follow JUPITER’s recommended Crestor protocol. The drug giant stands to pocket an estimated $500,000 per patient, courtesy of their insurance company, if the drug is used as recommended by the study - over a patient’s lifetime.

And finally, the media failed to mention that Crestor users risk the particularly, nasty side effect of liver failure, rhabdomyolysis, diabetes and more. If you really needed another one, that’s the fourth reason to say no to Crestor: It’s a seriously expensive way to get sick.

Falsely promoting ineffective and dangerous drugs, while pillaging bank accounts, is illegal. Street thugs go to jail every day for it. If the JUPITER rouse is to be condoned by the federal government and supported by the media, then there is no need for the FDA since Big Pharma can violate the laws with predatory prescription hype disguised as science. Say no to Crestor and all the other cholesterol-lowering drugs. Otherwise, face the outcomes of government mandated drug addiction.

Author Note

Ellison’s entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules; how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand experience in drug design. Use his knowledge and insight to look and feel your best in 90 days with his AM-PM Fat Loss Discovery: http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/obesity_cure.php

I love to spend money. Whether it’s buying books for my child’s education, a lift ticket for a day of snowboarding, or Date Night with my Wife (see cool photos at MySpace), I always get great satisfaction spending money on products, services, and activities that I perceive as having great value.

But more than spending, I enjoy investing. Wise investing serves as a security blanket - in an insecure world - for family and future. It allowed me to escape an arduous nine-to-five career with one of the world’s largest drug providers. And making wise investments in my health - in the foods I eat and the activities I engage in - has been one of the most important things I’ve ever done.

The fact is, your health is an investment. Possibly the most important investment you will ever make. If you invest in it now, you can see big returns in the future. If you don’t invest in your health, it could cost you big time down the line.

According to a recent report by CNN Money, “The retirement health tab can run between $64,000 and $122,000 for a 65-year-old man whose former employer pays his insurance premiums, and between $86,000 and $140,000 for a woman of the same age. For retirees who don’t have access to an employer-offered plan, the costs - mostly for prescription drugs - run even higher.”

In addition to these exorbitant drug expenses, most Americans have one foot in the grave. Obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer are at an all time high. And it’s expected to get worse! The Journal of the American Medical Association predicted that one in three born in the year 2000 will succumb to type II diabetes, which is simply a “gateway” disease to all the pandemic killers. This rampant sickness is being met with an arsenal of cholesterol-lowering drugs, blood pressure meds, anti-depressants, and hypoglycemics. None have been proven to increase lifespan - just toxic and ineffective. Yet, they are continually pushed upon us for one reason: Financial gain.

Health doesn’t have to be so damn expensive or risky. Science proves this. Mother Nature provides four cardiovascular cures that cost next to nothing. Combined, they can help us overcome a weakening heart and even type II diabetes.

Low-Cost Cardiovascular Cure #1: Psyllium Husk. Psyllium husk is a soluble fiber, meaning it is an indigestible, complex carbohydrate. Once consumed, it undergoes fermentation in the large intestine, yielding a broad range of heart-healthy benefits, most notably the control of appetite, blood sugar and insulin.

A pooled analysis of 10 prospective cohort studies of dietary fiber intake in the US and Europe found that each 10 grams/day increase in total dietary fiber intake was associated with a 14 percent decrease in the risk of coronary events, such as myocardial infarction (MI), and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from coronary heart disease.

Psyllium husk is one of my favorite supplements due to its ability to help control blood glucose. Excess glucose in the blood stream can cause heart disease for its ability to become “oxidized.” This oxidation leads to a change in the molecular structure of glucose - causing what is known as advanced glycation end products or AGE-products. Like a knife carving clay, AGE products scar arterial walls. The scarring results in plague buildup and excess blood clotting. This mechanism is why diabetics have a 4.5 times increase of suffering from heart attack and stroke relative to non-diabetics.

Go to your local health food store and purchase psyllium husk. This will cost you no more than a few bucks. In the bulk isle, psyllium can be purchased for about $3 per month.

Low-Cost Cardiovascular Cure #2: B Vitamins. These vitamins are required for proper functioning of the brain, nervous system, and the formation of blood. They are also involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body, especially for proper DNA synthesis and regulation, but also for fatty acid synthesis and energy production. Harvard researchers writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that women could cut their risk of heart disease by half with daily consumption of B vitamins.

B vitamins are responsible for igniting a chemical cascade within the body known as methylation. This process rids the arteries of the damaging molecule known as homocysteine.  The lower your levels of homocysteine, the less risk you have of suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Start supplementing with B vitamins today. A daily B vitamin supplement should cost no more than $10 per month.

Low-Cost Cardiovascular Cure #3: Flavonoids. These are plant derived pigments. Over 4,000 have been studied for their cardiovascular and anti-cancer benefits. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported a 20 percent decrease in heart disease mortality risk among those who consumed at least 7.5 mg daily.

Flavonoids preserve the cardiovascular system and heart by three major actions: improving blood flow in order to enhance oxygen and nutrient delivery throughout the 100,000 miles of adult veins, arteries and capillaries, preventing the formation of artery-scarring, oxidized LDL, and relaxing the coronary arteries to prevent high blood pressure.

Make sure your shopping cart is loaded with food that are packed with flavonoids. The best sources of flavonoids are broccoli, hawthorn, grapeseed extract, black tea, citrus fruits, and organic dark chocolate.

Using these three cardiovascular cures to preserve health rather than drugs is a wise investment. It could potentially save you $64,000 in drug costs. What could you do with an extra $64,000 and good health? For me, it is more education, snowboarding, and of course Date Nights in exotic places around the world.

Author Note

Ellison’s entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules; how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand experience in drug design. Use his knowledge and insight to look and feel your best in 90 days with his AM-PM Fat Loss Discovery: http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/obesity_cure.php

By Shane “The People’s Chemist” Ellison

Everyone has cancer.  Johns Hopkins recently reminded us of this fact while studying how most of us beat the deadly outcome:  the immune system.  When it identifies a cancerous cell, it attacks and eliminates it from the body.  But every now and then, this system gets hoodwinked by rogue cancer cells.

Rogue cancer cells have the ability to become invisible and therefore overcome our immune system defenses.  This superpower helps it invade other regions of the body.  Internally, we become a playground for cancerous infection and disease.  Slow death ensues.  Fortunately, anyone can overcome it. 

To beat rogue cancer cells, you need to eliminate their ability to become invisible.  What keeps cancer cells out of sight from your immune system? Trophoblast cells. You can expose cancer for what it is - deadly - by boosting your pancreatic enzymes.  Pancreatic enzymes eliminate trophoblast cells and thus reveal any underlying cancer cells to your “immunity radar” for eventual eradication.

Several natural medicines have been identified that attack trophoblast cells.  The most effective are flavonoids found in broccoli; whey isolate; B-17 from the apricot seed; and curcumin (which is available at Wal-Mart). 

Considering their aggressive attack on invisible cancer cells, boosting pancreatic enzymes should be a daily habit among anyone who wants to ward off the everyday occurrence of cancer.

About the Author

Shane Ellison holds a masters degree in organic chemistry and is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his studies in biochemistry and physiology. Creator of the Hormone Intelligence Therapy (HIT) program he exposes how men and women can reverse diabetes, lose fat and build sexy, lean muscle, at any age. Get access to Shane’s free articles at: http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/articles & discover how to cheat metabolism, lose weight and master your best physique in 90 days naturally.