Weight
Weight Management
Energy Conversion and Hormones
Fat Metabolism
Insulin Resistance
Thyroid Hormone Problems
Sex Hormone Problems
Serotonin Deficiency
Educational Medical Considerations are included at the end of each topic.
MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY:
“ID” means Once per Day
“BID” means Twice per Day
“TID” means Three Times per Day
“QID” means Four Times per Day
My personal directive as a Naturopathic Doctor is the utilization of only natural therapeutic suggestions whenever possible. As this is a teaching website, when a drug is commonly prescribed by conventional doctors for common ailments, I have made reference to those drugs for educational purposes. There is no such thing as free calories. Every calorie is accounted for, either in energy production or energy reserves (fat.) There are drugs available which can stop digestion/assimilation of foods, thereby assisting in unnatural weight loss. I have not included these drugs in this educational material. My focus is natural foods and natural food supplements.
Garcinia:
The active ingredient in Garcinia is “Hydrooxycitric Acid” (HCA). It is a variant of Citric Acid. Citric Acid is a required ingredient for the enzyme ATP-Citrate-Lyase, which is the enzyme used to convert glycogen into fat, for storage in Adipocytes (fat cells).
Carbohydrates are broken down into Glucose (blood sugar). Simple carbohydrates are broken down rapidly, giving a sudden rise in blood sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates break down slowly, thus there are no rapid “spikes” in blood sugar levels. (Diabetics should stay far away from simple carbohydrates.) Insulin, which is released by the pancreas in response to glucose levels, picks up the glucose molecules and delivers them to waiting Insulin Receptor Sites on the outside of cell walls. From here insulin releases glucose into the cells. Each cell has several mitochondria. Mitochondria can convert both fats and glucose into energy.
Excess glucose is converted into glycogen which is a starch. Both liver and muscle tissues are able to store about 24 hours worth of glycogen to be used later if needed for energy. Glycogen is considered “short-term” energy storage. It is easily converted back into glucose. Glucose is the only food the brain can use, so some level of glucose is always needed in the blood.
Excess glycogen is converted into triglycerides which adipocytes (fat cells) grab onto for “long-term” energy storage. Before adipocytes release triglycerides back into the blood for conversion back into blood glucose, all remaining stores of glycogen must be used up. The result is hunger pains which occur between the time glucose is running out and before adipocytes begin releasing their food storage (triglycerides).
Garcinia helps out in several ways.
- HCA is a member of the Citric Acid family. It can compete with the Citric Acid which makes ATP-Citrate-Lyase, the enzyme that converts glycogen into fat. The more HCA in the blood during the times of high blood sugar (glucose), the less blood sugar (glycogen form) that can be converted into fat.
- HCA helps to revert fat stores back into glycogen, then glucose. This helps avert hunger pains, diminish fat stores and keep blood glucose levels consistent. Consistent blood glucose levels keeps the brain fed, which improves both cognitive brain functions and mood behavior.
- Women in their middle age have a particularly hard time losing weight. A woman’s body preferentially stores calories as body fat. HCA helps women use more food for energy, rather than building up fat stores.
It is important to understand, Garcinia does NOT “eliminate” calories. It does however extend the amount of time those calories remain available for energy production, instead of quickly converting those calories into fat stores. Exercise, or other physical activities, will be required to burn off excess calories, or eat less food.
Chitosan:
Chitosan is a natural fiber that binds fats in the stomach. (One gram of fat contains nine calories. One gram of either protein or carbohydrates contains four calories.) Binding fats while still inside the stomach renders those calories as indigestible.
CAUTION: : Chitosan will interfere with digestion/assimilation of all fat soluble vitamins and other food supplements. It is important to keep about a four hour window separating ingestion of food supplements after taking Chitosan. If it is possible, try taking vitamins and minerals alone with water, about one hour before taking Chitosan. Normal stomach acids should be able to break down food supplements quickly when your stomach is either empty, or you ate just a tiny amount of food.
Chitosan is derived from shellfish (shrimp and crab). Caution is required if you have a known allergy to shellfish.
Medical Considerations for Garcinia and Chitosan Supplementation
Company: Bio-Design
Bio-Design is only available through licensed physicians. Call our clinic.
Educational Suggestions:
1) Garcinia Cambogia Plus: 3 capsules with water, 20 minutes before each meal. Eat slowly and remember to establish a regular exercise program.
2) LipoSan Ultra F.B.C. (Fat Binding Complex): Take 3 (or more) right at the start of each meal.
NOTE:
1)Taking Garcinia 20 minutes before a meal is necessary to get all the active HCA into the blood stream before your meal begins. Garcinia needs to be in the blood stream so it can access the liver. The liver is where food is converted into triglycerides, then transported into adipose cells for storage. It takes about 20 minutes for the Garcinia capsule to dissolve, allowing Garcinia to enter into the bloodstream.
2) LipoSan Ultra is formulated to become active immediately after consuming. If consumed 20 minutes before meals it may already have passed from the stomach into the small intestines, rendering it useless to absorb any fats in the stomach. Taking “3 or more” depends on the amount of fat consumed in a meal. If you are going to consume a lot of fat, take 6 caps right at the beginning of that high fat content meal.
Objective: Understand fat cell metabolism.
“Adipocytes” (fat cells) are the primary storage sites for fat. “Triglycerides” is the most abundant storage form of fat stored in adipocyte cells. For the most part, adipocyte cells are “created” at about age 5 and again at about age 13. This is the time when it is determined how many trillions of adipocyte cells an individual will have for their lifetime. Later in life when we gain weight, we do not normally create more adipocyte cells. The number of adipocytes cells we retain remains fairly constant throughout life. What happens instead is these cells can enlarge, or shrink, depending on the amount of stored triglycerides in each adipocyte cell.
Note: Allowing young children to become grossly obese will make it extremely hard, if not impossible, to become thin in adult life.
Overeating dramatically increases the amount of triglycerides in the blood. The body converts excessive carbohydrates into triglycerides to be stored as fat. Adipocytes engulf this overabundance of triglycerides and the adipocyte (fat) cells increase in size. Nutritional deficiencies will also promote storage of fats as a natural defense mechanism against starvation.
The amino acid L-Carnitine, in the presence of Chromium, mediates the transfer of fatty acids across the membranes of mitochondria, converting fatty acids into energy instead of fat storage. Mitochondria is the location where the “Krebs Cycle” occurs, that cycle of biochemical reactions that creates ATP, the fuel our bodies run on. (Remember back to your high school biology days.) There are numerous mitochondria in each cell. L-Carnitine, with chromium, will help us convert more of the food we eat for energy, rather than fat storage.
Medical Considerations for Fat Metabolism:
Company: Metagenics
Index link: Health Categories (under picture)
Category: Blood Sugar Balance
Educational Suggestions:
1) L-Carnitine with Chromium
Educational Medical Considerations for Fat Metabolism:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Blood Sugar Balance”
Educational Suggestions:
1) L-Carnitine with Chromium: 1 tablet BID between meals
Objective: Reverse insulin resistance, restore insulin sensitivity.
Part of the normal aging process is a pathological condition called “Sarcopenia.” On the membrane of cells are receptor sites for insulin. As we age, these receptor sites begin to fail. The result is an increasing difficulty for cells to receive the glucose (blood sugar) needed for energy. In an attempt to get more glucose into the cells, the body will elevate insulin production, trying to force more insulin into the cells. This condition is called “Hyperinsulinemia.” Hyperinsulinemia is well documented to increase the chances of heart disease.
There are two natural ways to help reverse this trend.
- 1) Reduce caloric intake. A significant reduction in the amount of calories consumed on a daily basis will begin to restore insulin sensitivity. It is like reverse psychology to the cells, but only on a biochemical level. Hyperinsulinemia’s flooding of blood with insulin will hasten sarcopenia. By reducing caloric intake, there will be less insulin with less attached glucose circulating in the blood. The cells become hungry, so they increase the sensitivity of their insulin receptor sites so they can get more glucose. This is well documented. Eating five “small” meals per day, is far better than eating three “huge” meals per day. This is how I counsel my diabetic patients to eat.
- 2) The nutrients: Chromium, Magnesium and Fish Oils
Educational Medical Considerations for Insulin Resistance:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Blood Sugar Balance”
Educational Suggestions:
1) Chromium Picolinate: 1 – 2 tablets TID with meals
2) Insinase: 1 tablet TID with meals
3) MetaGlycemx: 1 tablet TID with meals
Conventional Medicine:
- Metformin
Objective: Restore Normal Thyroid Hormone Levels.
The thyroid gland controls metabolic rates. A hyper-thyroid condition means your biochemical pathways are jogging too fast. A hypo-thyroid condition means your biochemical pathways are crawling too slow. It is nearly impossible to loose weight with hypothyroidism. If you restrict calories dramatically, you may loose some weight, but usually your body will just slow down even more to compensate.
There is a tendency for many doctors to only test one thyroid hormone, maybe two. There are four known thyroid hormones: TSH, T3, T4 and T7. The most accurate diagnosis will be made when your doctor orders all four hormones. Your doctor should also order an additional test: “Thyroid TPO antibody.” Some of my patients have developed a thyroid autoimmune disease, meaning the patient’s immune system appears to be attacking its own thyroid gland. One of the common reasons are a high accumulation of environmental toxins. If the Thyroid TPO antibodies are high, your doctor needs to identify the probable cause, if possible. It is not always possible.
A simple home test is, measure your Basal Metabolic Temperature using thermometers. I recommend using two thermometers to verify the results. Shake down the thermometers before going to bed. Lay the thermometers within arms reach. First thing upon waking up, do not move your body except to reach over and grab the thermometers. Place the thermometers deep inside one armpit. Do not move for ten minutes. Normal armpit temperature range is between 97.0 and 97.7 degrees F. (In women, ovulation causes an increase of one-half to one degree Fahrenheit.) Temperatures below suggest a hypo-thyroid, above a hyper-thyroid. This can be confirmed with a doctor prescribed blood test.
Stress is cruel to an individual’s body. Type A personalities are more affected then Type C (now called Type B). Stress will have many strongly negative impacts on the overall health of anyone. High levels of stress can and often does contribute to a hypo-thyroid condition.
Exercise: Don’t knock it. It works. There are so many health benefits associated with a rigorous and regular exercise routine, it would require several pages to write. A patient who is no longer in his or her 20s will benefit more then teenagers because metabolism begins to slow down after about age 25. Metabolism slows down more as age progresses. Exercise is defined as raising your heart rate/pulse, above what is considered “normal” for you; usually the higher the better, within reason. If a patient has a day job at a desk, then comes home only to eat and watch TV, they will have a tendency to develop a hypo-thyroid state earlier in life. The more physical activity any person does, the greater the tendency of that person’s metabolic rate to remain normal. Exercise is the ultimate way to keep metabolic rates closer to normal, despite aging.
Educational Medical Considerations for Hypo-Thyroid:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Stress Management”
Educational Suggestions:
1) Thyrosol: 1 tablet BID with meals
Conventional Medicine:
- Armour Thyroid is desiccated cow thyroid gland. It is the most natural alternative to drug therapy. It contains both T3 and T4
- Levothyroxine is synthetic T4
- Cytomel is synthetic T3
Objective: Restore Sex Hormone Levels to Your Younger Days.
Abdominal fat is the most dangerous type of body fat. For many years research has clearly shown a high increase in belly fat corresponds to higher increases in heart attacks and strokes. Age related natural reduction in sex hormones will cause this dangerous type of fat to accumulate. This holds true for both men and women. (Of course there are other reasons for large amounts of belly fat when occurring early in life. Usually too much junk food and little-to-no exercise.)
As we age our daily caloric requirement diminishes. This is natural. If a body required 2500 calories as a youthful male in his teens; by the time that same male has reached his golden years, his caloric requirement might have fallen to about 1500 calories.
Women: During menopause is the time when women will begin to experience significant decreases in estrogen, which often leads to development of belly fat in women. Women can resist accumulation of belly fat by reducing their caloric intake and maintaining a regular and rigorous exercise routine. Women can be tested for blood estradiol levels, then prescribed either natural food supplement methods to help restore estrogen levels, or prescribed either synthetic or bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. As a physician, I have seen women, who for years have used bioidentical hormone therapy. They do not look as good as you would have expected. From experience, I prefer the natural approach.
Men: We all know “testosterone” is the primary male sex hormone, but do you know women also have testosterone? How about estrogen in men, does it exist? Both males and females have both types of sex hormones. The percentages of these hormones are tightly held in balance when men and women are in their prime of life. As men age, the percentages of these hormones begin to turn upside down. The natural progression of aging in men is a huge decrease in testosterone followed by a subsequent increase in estrogen. This will cause in increase in dangerous belly fat. The amount of belly fat will be determined by caloric intake, coupled by whether or not a regular and rigorous exercise program is maintained. Men can be tested for “free testosterone” as well as “estradiol” levels. Men have a choice to go natural, or drug therapy. Testosterone is a Federally Controlled Drug. It must be prescribed by a doctor with DEA authorization. Almost all testosterone drugs are synthetically derived. That is a problem. Synthetic testosterone has warning labels, stating testosterone therapy can cause heart attacks. Bioidentical testosterone is believed to be safe.
Educational Medical Considerations for Women:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Women’s Health”
Educational Suggestions:
OVERALL FEMALE HEALTH
1) Fem Essentials: 2 tablets TID with food. Note: A total of six tablets per day is suggested.
HORMONE BALANCE
1) EstroFactors: 1 tablet ID with meals
2) Chasteberry Plus: 1 tablet BID with meals
3) Fem Premenstrual: Use for the 10 days before menses
4) SpectraSoy: 1 tablet BID with meals
MENOPAUSE TRANSITION
1) Black Cohosh Plus: 1 tablet BID
2) Estrovera: 1 tablet ID, with full glass of water. To be taken at the same time everyday.
3) Selestro: 1 tablet BID with meals
ESTROGEN METABOLISM
1) Meta 1-3-C: 1 capsule BID with food
Educational Medical Considerations for Men:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Men’s Health”
Educational Suggestions:
TESTOSTERONE BALANCE
1) Testralin
DHEA LEVELS
1) BioSom
PROSTATE HEALTH
1) Ultra Prostagen
2) Concentrated Ultra Prostagen
OVERALL WELLNESS
1) Wellness Essentials for Men
HEALTH SEXUAL FUNCTION
1) Tribulus Synergy
Objective: Restore Brain Serotonin Levels
Studies have shown a Serotonin deficiency is associated with overindulgence of carbohydrates and that chronic inflammation, if coupled with an overly reactive immune system, is associated with obesity. What links these two together is that long term (chronic) inflammation dumps inflammatory cytokines into the body. The body responds by releasing an enzyme to neutralize those cytokines. Unfortunately, this enzyme also destroys tryptophan. Tryptophan is a precursor to Serotonin. Serotonin, if present in the brain at sufficient levels, allows the brain to feel satisfied sooner, that enough food has been consumed, then satiety occurs. To restore satiety and thus avoid binging of carbohydrates, taking a supplement with Tryptophan 20 minutes before meals will allow food satisfaction early in the meal, without the constant urge to keep on eating. Tryptophan can also be taken between meals if that is the time when a person likes to begin their all-day-long snacking binge.
Stress causes an increase in brain activity. Stress is perceived as an emergency situation. The only food the brain can use for energy is glucose. The brain will require an abundance of readily available glucose to keep up with that stress load. Carbohydrates are converted into glucose. Simple carbohydrates are converted rapidly into blood glucose. This means the stressed individual is driven to keep eating simple carbohydrates to keep their brain fueled up. The body converts excessive carbohydrates into triglycerides to be stored as fat; so eating a lot of food to deal with stress will put excess weight on rapidly.
Serotonin will assist the brain to have feelings of fulfilment and relaxation, reducing the drive to put the brain on high alert. Thus, reducing the need to keep loading up on simple carbohydrates.
Educational Medical Considerations for Serotonin:
Click on “Visit our Online Store”
Click on “Metagenics”
Click on “Health Categories” (under picture)
Category: “Neurological Health”
Educational Suggestions:
1) Somnolin: 1 tablet 20 minutes before meals, and between meals if needed to avoid binging.