Should Knees and Hips Last a Lifetime?

A few years ago I attended my ex-husband’s reunion party for Vietnam Veterans and their wives. Out of all the couples there, my ex and I were the only ones who had not had a knee or hip replacement. We were also the only people with weight in normal range.

Many of my patients have had hip or knee replacements or are now having difficulty severe enough so that their medical doctors are talking about it. How did we reach this point where our own hips and knees don’t last a lifetime?

Cartilage does not just “wear out”. Like everything else in the body, new stuff is made on a regular basis. So, the question becomes what are some people lacking to make new cartilage and why do some people have too much wear and tear?

For a pro athlete, it may be understandable that such a high demand on their joints, plus traumatic injury, might cause some long-term problems. But most of us are not working out that hard! In fact, lack of exercise may be one of the problems, or at least lack of the proper type of exercise.

Here are some things you can do to protect your joints so that you can keep them working for your entire lifetime.

1)   Move around.  The new data on exercise is indicating that is more important to exercise a few times a day instead of going to the gym and then sitting all day at a desk, in a car, or on a couch. Maybe every office should have a jogging track, mini trampolines, or workout stations. At least try to take a walk at lunchtime. One of my patients told me that she tries to change straight into walking shoes after work and head out for a walk. Of course, you may have to organize dinner around this, but putting off exercise for last often means skipping it.  Your joints need the lubrication of movement.

2)   Don’t go over your ideal weight and lose weight if you are more than ten pounds over your ideal weight. Hip to waist ratio is the big key. Your waist should be smaller than your hips-at any age. It is not hard to understand that carrying around extra pounds puts a burden on joints.

3)   Get your adrenals checked. Adrenal glands make hormones that hold the structural integrity of the body, and help muscles to be strong. Low back pain is a sign of adrenal fatigue.

4)   Wear correct footwear. Knees are very dependent on the foot, which has 27 small bones. If the foot bones are out of place, that can put a lot of pressure on the knee, just as a building will not be structurally sound if the foundation is not stable. Self-treatment with orthotics is not a good idea. Get your feet checked out by a professional like myself, or your chiropractor who understands how to assess structure. I use wonderful orthotics that are not at all expensive, and are very thin, soft and flexible.

5)   Check out “Pain Free” by Peter Egoscue for special exercises for joints. There are two Egoscue Centers where you can get personalized programs for joint pain relief. Or see a Physical Therapist or Chiropractor. Take Yoga or Pilates or Tai Chi or dance classes. Starting a lifetime of proper movement may give you back the great pleasure of flexible and pain-free movement later in life.

6)   Curcumin or Tumeric has been shown to inhibit cartilage degeneration. http://science.naturalnews.com/C/Curcumin_and_cartilage.html There are dietary sources. http://www.livestrong.com/article/142078-foods-with-curcumin/ You can also supplement. We have a Boswelia complex and another herbal complex called Vitanox that both include Curcumin. Ginger is anti-inflammatory for joint health, also. And good fish oil will help to protect against or reduce inflammation.

Have you noticed all the commercials that direct our attention to having enough money in retirement? Perhaps the only thing worse than running out of money is running out of health. All the money in the world will not make up for chronic pain or debilitating illness.  The human body was designed to move. Look how flexible our skeleton is and how beautifully it can move. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kuYGKVa4t4

Think of all the joy of movement in your life. Dancing, running, skipping, walking. When a baby takes its first step, the whole world opens up. I want to be able to dance until my last breath in this body. All it takes is to keep on dancing, with a few stretches in between. I believe our hips and  knees were made for a lifetime of moving to the beat.

Love and Romance for Valentine's Day

You may have heard that sex is 90% between your ears, but sex hormones are made in the little glands above your kidneys called the adrenals. When adrenals are tired or you are stressed, the adrenals make cortisol, instead of testosterone. And testosterone is the main hormone governing libido or sex drive men. For women[i] the libido is also affected by levels of testosterone.

Juggling careers, kids, family and social lives can make finding the time and energy for romance a big challenge. Judging from the number of patients who mention this as an issue, both sexes and all ages can suffer from lack of interest. Both men and women describe a lack of shared time and intimacy with their partners as a problem for creating romance. So, you might say that sex starts at hello, and is fostered by giving your partner the attention and interest they need. But even when relationships are strong, the physical expression may be elusive.  Addressing the  physical/hormonal component can provide a remedy.[ii]

So, if you are looking to rekindle fires for this and future Valentine’s Day, here are a few pointers.  First, keep your weight in normal range. Excess pounds mean excess estrogen for both men and women.[iii]

Second, eat plenty of healthy fats and protein and limit sugar and excess carbs. Blood sugar issues can interfere with blood flow. And a junk food diet can make you feel lethargic and bloated.

Third, get your adrenal hormone levels checked. If excess cortisol is a problem, reduce your stress. Moderate exercise, like walking, is one of the best ways to reduce stress. If you need more DHEA or Testosterone, consider adrenal supplementation.

Fourth, keep alcohol, drugs and medication to a minimum. More than a little can numb your responses, rather than enhance them. Herbal medicine can work better than alcohol or drugs to relax you, without impairing your liver or your sexual response.

Fifth, get enough sleep. Spend more time sleeping between the sheets, in order to enjoy more romance between the sheets.

Notice how all these factors go together. More sleep, better eating habits, moderate exercise, weight loss and less stress are all part of the recipe for more love.

I wish you all Happiness and Romance for Valentine’s Day. Lucas and I will be joining some of our family in Napa, so the office will be closed on Friday. If you need supplements for this Valentine weekend, let us know.

[i] http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/news/20030626/testosterone-increases-libido-in-women

[ii] http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/ss/slideshow-sex-drive-killers

[iii] http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/male-reproductive-system/testosterone-and-estrogen-balance-in-men.htm

Should You Eat a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet?

Many people do feel better when they make a drastic dietary change. And this is especially true if they have been eating too much junk food. By making a substantial switch in foods, they may lose weight, feel less bloated, and generally feel healthier.

There is one Golden Rule of Nutritional Health. That is-Eat Whole Foods. A whole food is a food that is minimally processed and was recently growing in a field or running around a barnyard or swimming in an ocean or brook.

Once you start processing foods health becomes a slippery slope. Processed foods will not support the various functions of the body. Death begins a slow starvation at a cellular level. The symptoms of wasting may be confusing because they are so common that is easy to think they are genetic, or bad luck. As a doctor-friend of mine Bruce Bond says, “There are no bad genes are bad luck in health- only bad habits. We have Frankenstein foods that are not even really food anymore. They please the taste-buds, but kill the host slowly. So, no matter what type of dietary regimen you choose, sticking to whole foods is the most important category.

The food that vegans and Paleo/primal eaters have in common is vegetables. Lots of vegetables are healthy for everyone and provide the necessary minerals and vitamins and fiber and chewiness (yes, chewing is very healthy for the teeth and gums and stimulates all kinds of positive bio-chemical processes.)

One place where vegans/vegetarians and Paleo-eaters part ways is bread and grains. Too many vegans/vegetarians are really bread-eterians. They drop out animal protein but have weight issues and inflammation because they are eating too many grains and not enough healthy fats, which are anti-inflammatory. Even the best grains may be too many carbs for today’s sedentary life-style. When you see a vegetarian or vegan with a weight problem, grains and sugar are usually at the bottom of it. When you see an omnivore (someone who eats animal protein) with a weight problem, usually grains and sugar are at the bottom of it. Add in chemicals and Frankenstein foods that disrupt hormones and cannot be easily broken down and metabolized, and ill-health will follow.

Soy based foods suppress thyroid function, because the high level of plant estrogen can bind with the cell receptors that need thyroid hormones. Soy is also highly processed and many people are allergic to it. Think about this. Monsanto is the company that has pushed soy in the American market. Do you think they have your good health on their agenda? Unless fermented, soy products will interfere with the absorption of other vital minerals. Many vegan and vegetarian foods are soy-based substitutes, and they can create long-term health problems.[i]

The big lie that vegans swallow is that all plants contain protein, so humans can get plenty of protein by eating vegetables alone. It is true that plants contain amino acids. Few plants contain all the amino acids that are vital for human protein formation. Humans need nine essential amino acids.[ii] Every type of animal protein, including dairy, contains all the essential amino acids.

The reason this is so important is because every process in the body utilizes amino acids that are broken down into peptides and made into enzymes. Enzymes are the “keys” that unlock all the cellular functions, so they are vital. That is why certain amino acids are labeled “essential”. They must be present or the enzymes are not present in sufficient quantity and human life cannot be sustained.

Generally, plants do not contain all the essential amino acids for humans. But careful combining of different plant types can allow the necessary combinations.[iii] Note that many of the choices may include a lot of starch, such as beans and rice or nut butters and wheat. Unless you limit quantity or get a lot of exercise, this may lead to weight gain.

Vegetarians who can eat eggs and some dairy, such as cultured products like kefir and yogurt will have an easier time. Vegan/vegetarian women are often anemic, so iron supplements should be taken until menopause. B12 is a vital nutrient that is very hard to find in the plant world. B12 deficiency includes mental health issues, and I have seen a lot of depression in vegans/vegetarians. So, do use B12 supplements.

My preference for sufficient Vitamin D is to take good quality fish oil, especially because of the Vitamin A that Nature provides with the D. Recently it has been found that Lichen (a fuzzy moss) also contains Vitamin D and supplements are now available.

Regardless of your religious or philosophical considerations, please consider the science in your food choices. The internet is full of half-truths about vegan- and vegetarianism, and there are people who are very sick because they do not understand that these dietary changes should not be taken lightly. The anthropological evidence indicates that there were no vegan or strict vegetarian cultures in human history. People, having access only to local food, could not afford to be choosey. Women who do not get enough protein during pregnancy did not survive well. Please do not be mistaken about the vital need for adequate protein, and take all necessary measures to ensure that you and your family get enough, regardless of the source.

If you are wondering how vegetarian animals like elephants, horses and cows can eat vegetation and sustain their large bodies, consider two points. First, cows’ stomachs contain bacteria that convert vegetation to protein and humans do not have this type of bacteria. Wild horses and elephants eat grasses that contain protein and their need for the right essential amino acids are met by those grasses (or hay.) And all of these animals must graze constantly to eat enough to maintain their body sizes. Humans do not need to eat continuously, and the human system is quickly overwhelmed by too much food. If we were meant to “graze” our metabolism would speed up to accommodate our food intake. Instead, our too-too efficient systems just store the excess food as fat cells.

Right now I like the science behind the high fat/low carb approach, with moderate protein.[iv] Eat your carbs green, in the form of vegetables and some fruit. I will explain more about why I think this approach is the anti-cancer/diabetes/heart disease diet.

Let me know if you have any questions, concerns or stories about your own quest to find the right eating plan for yourself.

[i] http://www.utne.com/science-and-technology/the-dark-side-of-soy.aspx

[ii] http://chemistry.about.com/od/lecturenoteslab1/a/Essential-Amino-Acids.

[iii] http://www.wikihow.com/Combine-Food-to-Make-Complete-Protein

[iv] http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

How To Know if You Have a Food Intolerance

You can probably recognize an actual food allergy.  Classic symptoms would be hives or difficulty breathing.

But food intolerances are harder to spot. They may not appear immediately and you may mistake the symptoms for a variety of other issues.

More and more people have food intolerances these days, even kids. As our food supply is more chemical, and the “natural foods” have more pesticides and are genetically modified, the human body is faced with trying to break down and metabolize an entire new type of ingestibles.

You can’t really call some of this “food” anymore, since lab-created chemicals or chemical/food hybrids won’t actually support human life.  These pseudo-foods will kill slowly, and they won’t support healthy physiology and function of organs and glands, so the quality of life suffers. This is why many obese people are actually starving at a cellular level.

The benefits of addressing food intolerances include:

1) Easier weight loss   2) better, deeper sleep   3) reduction of cravings  4) less PMS 5) mood stability  6) less bloating  7) improved immunity.

Even if you don’t suspect that a food you are eating is bothering you, check out this list. You may be surprised.

A short list of symptoms that could point to food intolerance includes stomach pain, reflux, ear infections, frequent illnesses, red cheeks, eczema, joint pain, frequent diarrhea/constipation, asthma, temper tantrums, fuzzy thinking, fatigue, headaches, failure to thrive, excessive gas, and sleep disturbances.

On one hand, eliminating foods that your body can’t handle will help. On the other hand, improving digestion, from stomach to gut, is also vital. Food intolerances are an indication of “leaky gut” which means that the gut wall is compromised and toxins or undigested foods are able to pass through to the blood. Normally the body is very protective of what goes into the blood, and anything that slips by the protective mechanism is going to trigger an immune response, and may lead to chronic inflammation-one of the main risks for heart disease.

Probiotics and digestive enzymes can be used by most people to support healthy digestion and replace the protective gut “bugs” that guard the intestinal walls. Fermented and cultured foods also help. We now know that food is not just a matter of putting gas in your tank. It is also a means of maintaining a strong fortress against disease.

So, if you have some puzzling symptoms, consider that something you are eating may be causing you digestive distress and compromising your immune system. It is far more likely that you are suffering from inflammation than a serious disease. But chronic inflammation from a gut and stomach that are not working correctly leaves you susceptible to disease. So, catch it early. You will feel so much better for it.