Joint Pain Relief-Find the Source

Here is a Success Story from one of my patients who has his own handyman company and is very physically active.
My right knee was hurting for almost a week. Dr. Dunev tested the knee, did her “magic” and no more pain! Thank you! A.H.

I did not touch his knee. The “magic” I did was locate the actual source of the inflammation in the knee joint. In this case it was the gall bladder/bile duct. The bile duct is the avenue that carries toxins from the liver to the intestine. The gall bladder is a little sack that attaches to the duct and catches some of the bile and stores it. When you eat fats such as avocado, butter or oil the gall bladder releases some bile, which also acts as a detergent and emulsifies (breaks down) and disperses  fat so that it can be absorbed along with other nutrients to protect cells and help brain function. The brain is the only organ that is about 80% fat and healthy  dietary fats and a well-functioning gall bladder help keep the brain operating  well.

If the gall bladder is so important, why do surgeons remove them so often? There are two reasons. They have no other solution when stones form in the gall bladder and people can live without their gall bladder, just as they can live without an appendix.

That does not mean that the gall bladder is not important-it just means you won’t die if it is removed.

If you have gall stones, seek a holistic doctor and find out how easy it is to get the body to purge stones. Even large gall stones are made from cholesterol and are  soft enough that they usually pass easily through the bile duct and out the intestine when a gall bladder program is followed.

Many odd symptoms and pains in the body can be relieved when the gall bladder and bile duct are not congested and partially blocked.  Migraine headaches and acne are often dramatically improved, also.

One way to love your liver (vital for detoxification) is to take good care of your gall bladder.  Avoid phoney fats like margarine and corn oil and eat organic butter, virgin coconut oil and raw nut oils.  90% of the fat in steak is the same kind of fat that is in olive oil!  The gall bladder needs good fats to keep the bile flowing so stones do not form. Good fats are a friend to the body and will also help cut sugar and bread cravings.

Eat healthy fats because they taste delicious- and they happen to be healthy! Nature equals nurture.

Is Red Meat Healthy for Real Men and Women?

Red meat has taken a bashing in recent years. I cannot tell you how often patients tell me proudly that they have dropped red meat from their diet. Some of them are relieved to find out that I am not opposed to red meat consumption. I do advise that pasture-fed and organic meat be chosen instead of commercial red meat.
Our fears about red meat seem to center around two very legitimate concerns-cancer and heart disease. The question is how much of a risk is red meat to  our risk of these diseases?

What I find interesting is that we become focused on a food like red meat, which has been consumed by humans for thousands of years, long before cancer and heart disease became problems. Along with Diabetes Type II and Obesity, these are the modern diseases of the twentieth century and have only continued to increase dramatically and alarmingly despite our avoidance of red meat and our being prescribed cholesterol and blood pressure lowering drugs.

Let’s look at the studies. A meta-analysis of studies about red meat show there is no increase risk of cancer or heart disease, even for commercial red meat (from feed-lot cattle). However, there is evidence of risk from processed meats. A meta-analysis means that a large number of relevant studies were analyzed and conclusions were drawn from the analysis. Here is the link to the meta-analysis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2885952/ Scroll down to bottom for the conclusion.

What is the concern about red meat? First there is concern about carcinogens storing in the fat. But there seems to be no evidence that meat  and animal products contain more toxins than vegetarian products like plant-based oils. Some fish contains a high quantity of toxins and other fish does not. So, source may be very important.  http://www.westonaprice.org/environmental-toxins/dioxins-in-animal-foods? http://www.westonaprice.org/environmental-toxins/dioxins-in-animal-foods?

The other concern is about saturated fats. But very early cancer research demonstrated that animals fats, including butter, were actually protective of heart and cells, and cancer preventive. Margarines and corn oils were the oils to avoid. We know that cholesterol is made, by the liver, out of starches and sugars and only about 10% is derived from the cholesterol in foods. And in the case of eggs Nature has included lecithin so that the cholesterol is broken down.

So, enjoy red meat, but choose wisely. And you may need some digestive enzymes or extra hydrochloric acid to properly digest the meat. Chew it well, as digestion starts in the mouth with the saliva and signals get sent to the stomach to get ready. There is a reason why red meat smells delicious to us when roasted or barbecued. Our cells can use the nutrients and our ancestors ate meat. We are Omnivores, plant and animal eaters. We need the vital proteins from animal, fish, dairy, nuts and eggs to be strong and fit. If our suppliers would just raise animals wisely, we would not have to worry so much about the source of our food. More on that in future blogs.

Is Organic Food Really Worth the Extra Price?

It has been pretty well established that eating more vegetables and fruits is healthy for us.  Buying organic adds to the food bill, but how much difference does it make to your health?
Let’s take a look at what organic means in the U.S.A.  (Europe has higher standards.) For the most part “certified organic” simply means that the crops have not been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides.  Unfortunately, this does not mean that the soil has been carefully prepared so that the pesticide-free produce has plenty of vitamins and minerals. However, organic farmers must be more soil-conscious because rich soil is more resistant to bugs.

Today we are exposed to thousands of chemicals that have never existed before in our history. All of those chemicals must be processed through the liver and kidneys. Pesticides are neurotoxins. That means they kill insects by attacking their nerve cells.  Pesticides are just as toxic to human nerves. We just happen to have more nerve cells, so killing off a few thousand at a time does not kill us. But how good can that be for our health in general?

A Harvard study from 2010, showed that kids exposed to pesticides were twice as likely to be diagnosed ADHD. This study appeared in Pediatrics.

People with high levels of dichlorophenol (a product of a herbicide) were more likely to have allergies to peanuts, eggs, milk and seafood, according to researchers at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

A study found in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring showed that mothers exposed to pesticides had a two to seven times risk of having a child with the most common form of childhood cancer- acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Pesticides and chemicals can interfere with the delicate dance of the endocrine and hormonal system, according to the World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2013/hormone_disrupting_20130219/en/

The list of commercially grown foods with the highest amount of pesticides includes coffee, strawberries, bananas, apples, celery cherry tomatoes, grapes, peppers, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, hot peppers, bell peppers, kale, collard greens and summer squashes.

Pesticides are manufactured to resist rainfall, so just rinsing your produce is not enough. You can make your own spray by mixing 1 TBLS lemon juice, 2 TBLS white vinegar with 1 cup of filtered water. (Be sure to use organic lemons.) Rinse well or soak,  spray and wash, and rinse again.

So, even if organic is not always in your budget you can help protect your family and yourself from neurotoxins. This is one area of chemical exposure you can control. There is so much we cannot avoid, and it is the cumulative burden that may tip our bodies over into the cellular damage that precedes a disease state.

I mentioned coffee and I highly recommend organic coffee.  Marie et Cie, at the corner of Riverside and Colfax, is one of my favorite places for organic coffee. They also offer light meals and home-made goodies, some gluten-free, served with a great French vibe.

Donut Prince on Olive Street in Burbank, close to my office at Reese, has a coffee bar with an organic selection. Don’t go unless you can resist the donuts! No gluten-free selections here.

Starbucks claims to use coffee from crops that are not sprayed, but are not certified organic. Let me know any other cafes that serve organic coffee and I will list them in a future blog.

Hope you are enjoying all the wonderful summer fruits and veggies, and now you know how to have the flavor and health benefits, and avoid the toxins.

Summertime and the Living is Hot and Humid-How to Thrive

I am currently in Florida for business and a class. I prefer coming here in the winter months, but here I am, with 90 degree temperatures. Today the humidity is only 67% but my phone app says it feels like 104 degrees outside.
As if frizzy hair and melting make-up were not enough, I also find I get a mild headache and drained feeling after only a short time outdoors in this weather. So, I thought I would share with you my own secret weapons for this severe climate change from California.

There are several factors that come into play in severe weather. First is liver health. If you find that bright sunlight bothers your eyes, or you feel sick in hot weather, consider liver support or a cleanse.

If hot weather makes you tired consider your adrenals. These small glands situated above the kidneys make a number of hormones that help your body adapt to environmental conditions. Strong emotions, as well as weather and temperature changes bring a surge of adrenal action. If your adrenals are tired from over-stimulation, too much sugar or caffeine or medications and drugs, your body will not be able to adapt well. Supporting adrenals with herbal medicines such as licorice, rhodiola, eleuthero will help. Licorice should be used in small amounts by anyone with high blood pressure issues.

Nutrition such as whole food B vitamins from brown rice, organ meats, and brewer’s yeast is important. Adrenals are also the largest storage place in the body for Vitamin C, but you need C from foods, not ascorbic acid vitamins. Supplements from Standard Process ™ include food source B vitamins, whole complex C, as well as glandular extract support that will actually get your adrenals working at an optimum level again.

Adrenals also are affected by salt levels. You may need more sea salt (not iodized table salt) in hot weather, especially if you get headaches. Potassium is lost in sweat, so consider eating potassium rich foods such as bananas, oranges, prunes and broccoli. You can also supplement with potassium. Plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits and drinking water while avoiding caffeine and sodas is always a wise policy.

Cal Amo® from Standard Process is my favorite hot weather friend. It has various chlorides and calcium that help your body’s water balance, without making you too alkaline and upsetting your salt/potassium balance.

Knowing how to help your body cope with temperature and humidity and other environmental changes can help your holiday stay happy. One of my patients, who always suffers from severe headaches when visiting her family in Colorado’s high altitude country, recently was able to avoid her usual medication by getting on a supplement program a couple of seeks before her trip.

Your own bio-chemistry is unique. You do not have to suffer when the seasons change or you have to travel. Email me with any questions you have.