Get Your Body Back On Track With These 5 Points of Wellness

Dr. Nathan Goodyear To Speak at Health & Wellness Conference

Dr. Nathan Goodyear

Dr. Nathan Goodyear of Seasons Wellness Clinic will be speaking at the ZRT Laboratory Conference for The Balance For Health & Wellness on November 4-5, 2011 at the World Market Center in Orlando, Florida.

“Featured at the conference are world-class experts presenting evidence-based science focused on prevention, diagnosis and management within a broad range of health and wellness topics inside hormone replacement therapy, anti-aging and functional medicine” [zrtlab.com]. It is an extraordinary honor to be asked to speak at The Balance For Health & Wellness Conference and Dr. Goodyear is looking forward to the event.

“My hope is to continue to lead metabolic medicine to the forefront, to bring new physicians into the metabolic medicine field and to help lead the health and wellness revolution,” said Dr. Goodyear. “This gets to the heart of the reason why I went into medicine – to reach true healing and obtain real prevention, not just early detection, and to look to God’s creation to discover true wellness through health restoration.”

Dr. Goodyear will be speaking on the following topics: male Metabolic Syndrome, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), PMS, infertility, and fatigue. He will provide insight on various health imbalances, symptoms and disease states. He will also discuss case studies demonstrating evaluation, treatment options, and follow-up for different imbalance states. In addition to Dr. Nathan Goodyear, the two day conference features three other expert speakers: Alicia Stanton, M.D., David Zava, Ph.D., Jim Paoletti, R.Ph.

ZRT is a diagnostic laboratory dedicated to supporting consumers and healthcare professionals in health management through accurate, convenient and innovative lab testing. Established in 1998, ZRT Laboratory is a CLIA certified saliva hormone testing facility serving the global community utilizing the most advanced technologies to help providers and patients detect hormonal imbalances, and Cardio Metabolic risk, while also providing testing for Vitamin D and Iodine deficiencies. “The mission of the The Balance For Health & Wellness Conference is to provide continuing education which will improve, promote and enhance clinicians’ competence and performance as well as patient outcomes” [zrtlab.com].

Alicia Stanton, M.D. is one of the world’s leading specialists in hormone therapy. Dr. Alicia Stanton focuses her practice and research on preventative medicine, anti-aging and maintaining health through fitness, nutrition, and bio-identical hormone therapy. By using hormone treatment and other alternatives to prescription medicine, Dr. Stanton has been able to help men and women make a lifestyle change through a holistic approach that leads to a healthier, happier life. Dr. Alicia Stanton is co-author of the book Hormone Harmony: How to Balance Insulin, Cortisol, Thyroid, Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone To Live Your Best Life. Hormone Harmony addresses millions of women who are struggling with hormone imbalance. Follow Dr. Stanton on Twitter @AliciaStantonMD for tips on nutrition and how to lead a healthy and happy life.

 

 

 

David Zava, Ph.D., is the President and Director of ZRT Laboratory in Portland, OR. He is a Ph.D. graduate in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee with extensive experience in breast cancer research. He  is an internationally known speaker and leading expert in the field of hormone health. Over the past 25 years, he has published extensively on basic and clinical research relating to the effects of estrogens and progesterone on breast cancer. Dr. Zava is co-author with Dr. John Lee of the breakthrough book on preventing breast cancer: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance May Save Your Life.

 

 

 

Jim Paoletti, Pharmacist, is the Director of Provider Education at ZRT Laboratory. Jim has over 25 years experience in bioidentical hormone therapies both in clinical practice in retail pharmacy, as a pharmacy consultant, educator, and educational program developer. Jim was instrumental in developing a compounding laboratory at the Medicine Shoppe, Beavercreek, Ohio. As the Vice President/Director of Continuing Education for Professional Compounding Centers of America, Inc. (PCCA), Jim developed and implemented Continuing Education programs for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. He also consulted with compounding pharmacists located throughout the United States, in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, helping them to solve patients’ unique medication problems. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimPaoletti for updates on his speaking events and news on bioidentical hormone therapies.

 

Dr. Nathan Goodyear is the founder and lead physician at Seasons Wellness Clinic and is dedicated to offering the latest advancements in traditional medicine with the most holistic approach to treatment possible. Dr. Goodyear received his Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana Tech University and Doctor of Medicine from LSU Health Sciences Center. He is Board Certified in Gynecology and a Fellowship Trained Metabolic Specialist (Anti-Aging/Regenerative Medicine). He recently completed his Master of Science studies in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine.  Follow Dr. Goodyear on Twitter @drgoodyear and Seasons @SeasonsWC for the latest news on health and wellness.

Why Doesn’t My Endocrinologist Know All Of This?

Historically, relying on a consensus statement to treat or not to treat a particular patient has been shown to result in poor care and, as such, society consensus statements and practice guidelines are considered to be worst level of evidence in support of a particular therapy or treatment. A number of organizations, including the World Health Organization and others, have ranked the strength and accuracy of various types of evidence used in the medical decision process. In all scoring systems, the highest strength of evidence is randomized control trials and meta-analyses, with lower scores for other types of evidence. All grading systems place consensus statements and expert opinion by respected authorities (societies) as the poorest level of evidence, because historically they have failed to adopt new concepts and treatments based on new knowledge or new-found understanding demonstrated in the medical literature (1-6).

For instance, a recent study published in the 2009 Journal of the American Medical Association studied the evidence supporting the practice guidelines and consensus statements published by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. It was found that only 11% of the recommendations, practice guidelines and consensus statements were based on quality evidence and over half were based on poor quality evidence that was little more than the panel’s opinion. The review also found that even the strongest (Class 1) recommendations, which are considered medical dogma, cited as a legal standards and often go unquestioned as medical fact, were only supported by high quality evidence 19% of the time and not revised based on new evidence (6).

Similarly, the Endocrine Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association also have a long history of guidelines and recommendations that are not supported by the medical literature and fail to adjust or abandon recommendations when new understanding and knowledge contradicts their recommendations. A case in point is the recommendation by these societies that a normal TSH adequately rules out thyroid dysfunction, despite massive amounts of literature that demonstrate this not to be the case (see Diagnosis of Hypothyroidism) or that T4 only replacement is adequate for most patients. A doctor who simply follows outdated society treatment guidelines that relies on a simple laboratory test and ignores the clinical aspects of a patient is not practicing evidence-based medicine. (1-7). Such doctors may be adequate as lab technicians, but as doctors and clinicians they fall short (1-7). This method of practice is consistently rebuked as improper and poor medicine, but has become the standard used by a large percentage of endocrinologists and physicians who feel medicine can be related to simply reading “normal” or “abnormal” in a laboratory column.

Discussing the lack of scientific basis of most medical society’s consensus statements and treatment guidelines in Internal Medicine News, Dr. Diana Petritti states, “Expert opinion and consensus statements can be quite misleading when used as the basis for a practice. Expert opinions imply that there is something that the experts know that clinician doesn’t know. I don’t think it’s always appreciated that it’s only opinion. There is a tendency to make guidelines and recommendations seem authoritative. I believe that physicians think that there is a great deal more behind authoritative recommendations than there might be when you lift the lid of the box and see what’s underneath(8).”

There has been significant concern by health care organizations and medical experts that physicians are placing too much reliance on consensus statements and failing to learn of new information presented in medical journals. Thus, they lack the ability to translate this new information into treatments for their patients. The concern is that doctors fail to practice evidence-based medicine, erroneously relying on what they have previously been taught and on “expert” societies instead of changing treatment philosophies based on new information as it becomes available. This is especially true for endocrinological conditions, where physicians are very resistant to changing old concepts of diagnosis and treatment — despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary — because it is not what they were taught in medical school and endocrinology residency.

This concern is particularly clear in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Clinical Research to Clinical Practice: Lost in Translation” (9). The article was written by Claude Lenfant, M.D., Director of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and it is well supported. He states that there is great concern that doctors continue to rely on what they learned 20 years before and are uninformed about scientific findings. According to Dr. Lenfant, medical researchers, along with public officials and political leaders, are increasingly concerned about physicians’ inability to translate research findings in their medical practice to benefit their patients. He says that very few physicians learn about new discoveries from reading medical journals or by attending scientific conferences; thus, they lack the ability to translate new knowledge in the field into enhanced treatments for their patients. He states that a review of past medical discoveries reveals how excruciatingly slow the medical establishment is to adopt novel concepts, noting that even simple methods to improve medical quality are often met with fierce resistance. “Given the ever-growing sophistication of our scientific knowledge and the additional new discoveries that are likely in the future, many of us harbor an uneasy, but quite realistic suspicion that this gap between what we know about disease and what we do to prevent and treat them will become even wider. And it is not just recent research results that are not finding their way into clinical practice; there is plenty of evidence that ‘old’ research outcome have been lost in translation as well (1).”

Dr. Lenfant discusses the fact that the proper practice of medicine involves the combination of medical knowledge, intuition and judgment and that physicians’ knowledge is lacking because they don’t keep up with the medical literature. He states that there is often a difference of opinion among physicians and reviewing entities, but that judgment and knowledge of the research pertaining to the patient’s condition is central to the responsible practice of medicine. “Enormous amounts of new knowledge are barreling down the information highway, but they are not arriving at the doorsteps of our patients. (9).”

These thoughts are echoed by physicians who have researched this issue as well, such as William Shankle, M.D., Professor, University of California, Irvine. He states, “Most doctors are practicing 10 to 20 years behind the available medical literature and continue to practice what they learned in medical school….There is a breakdown in the transfer of information from the research to the overwhelming majority of practicing physicians. Doctors do not seek to implement new treatments that are supported in the literature or change treatments that are not (10).”

This view is echoed by the Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine who states that in the absence of translational medicine the delivery of medical care would remain stagnant and uninformed by the tremendous progress taking place in science and medicine (11).

This concern has also received significant publicity in the mainstream media. An example is an article by Sidney Smith, M.D., former president of the American Heart Association, published in 2003 in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Too Many Patients Never Reap the Benefits of Great Research.” Dr. Smith is very critical of physicians for not seeking out available information and applying that information to their patients, arguing that doctors feel the best medicine is what they’ve been doing and thinking for years. They discount new research, Dr. Smith says, because it is not what they have been taught or practiced, and they refuse to admit that what they have been doing or thinking for many years is not the best medicine. He states, “A large part of the problem is the real resistance of physicians…; many of these independent-minded souls don’t like being told that science knows best, and the way they’ve always done things is second-rate (12).” The National Center for Policy Analysis also expresses concern for the lack of ability of physicians to translate medical therapies into practice (13).

A review published in The Annals of Internal Medicine found that there is clearly a problem of physicians not seeking to advance their knowledge by reviewing the current literature, believing proper care is what they learned in medical school or residency and not basing their treatments on the most current research. The review found that the longer a physician is in practice, the more inappropriate and substandard the care (14). Thus, it is not a surprise that the scientific evidence as expressed in the literature is often opposite to what is continually repeated as dogma by most physicians and those considered to be “experts.”

Another example is a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (15). In reviewing the study, the National Institute of Medicine reports that there is an unacceptable lag between the discovery of new treatment modalities and their acceptance into routine care: “The lag between the discovery of more effective forms of treatment and their incorporation into routine patient care averages 17 years.” (16) In response to this unacceptable lag, the Business and Professions Code passed an amendment relating to the healing arts. This amendment — CA Assembly Bill 592; An Act to Amend Section 2234.1 of the Business and Professions Code — states: Since the National Institute of Medicine has reported that it can take up to 17 years for a new best practice to reach the average physician and surgeon, it is prudent to give attention to new developments not only in general medical care but in the actual treatment of specific diseases, particularly those that are not yet broadly recognized [such as the concept of tissue hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia] (17).

The Principals of Medical Ethics adopted by the American Medical Association in 1980 states that a physician shall continue to study, apply, and advance scientific knowledge, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, and the public (18). This has, unfortunately, been replaced with a goal of providing merely “adequate” care. The current insurance reimbursement system in the United States fosters this thinking, as the worst physicians are financially rewarded by insurance companies. While it is true that the best physicians are continually fighting to provide cutting edge treatments and superior care that the insurance companies deem not medically necessary, even these physicians eventually get worn down and are forced to capitulate to the current system that promotes substandard care.

This was clearly demonstrated in a study published in the March 2006 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Who is at Greater Risk for Receiving Poor-Quality Health Care.” The study found that the majority of individuals received substandard, poor-quality care, and that there was no significant difference among different income levels or whether or not the individual was covered by insurance. It used to be the case that only those in low socioeconomic classes without insurance received poor-quality care. But insurance company restrictions on treatments and diagnostic procedures have made the same poor care afforded to those of low socioeconomic status the new standard-of-care for society at large (19). An example of this is a physician’s failing to spend the time to adequately assess a potential hypothyroid patient and instead simply does a TSH test.

Most physicians will satisfy their required amount of continuing medical education (CME) by going to a conference a year, usually at a highly desirable location that has skiing, golf, boating, etc. Physicians are rarely monitored as to whether or not they actually showed up for the lectures or went skiing instead. One must also understand that the majority of conferences organized by medical societies are in fact sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. These payments by pharmaceutical companies are called unrestricted grants, so that the society has free reign to do what they want with the money and thus can claim there is no influence of lecture content by the companies. The problem, however, is that if the society wants to continue getting these “unrestricted” grants, they must think twice about providing content that the sponsoring pharmaceutical company might disapprove of. Consequently, ground breaking research that goes against the status quo and does not support the drug industry receives little attention.

Evidence-based medicine involves the synthesis of all available data when comparing therapeutic options for patients. Evidence-based medicine does not mean that data should be ignored until a randomized control trial of a particular size and duration is completed. A physician who tries to avoid the need of being a physician and is fine with just being a technician or health care provider will adamantly defend the “one-size fits all” method of diagnosis and treatment. But the best doctors who truly practice evidence-based medicine and not merely the perception of such will not rely on consensus statements to best provide their patients. Instead of relying on old dogma, the best physicians will seek out and translate both basic science results and clinical outcomes to decide on the safest, most efficacious treatment for their patients. Further, the best physicians will continually assess the current available data to decide which therapies are likely to carry the greatest benefits for patients and involve the lowest risks.

References

 

The Truth About Low T: Men, Middle-Age and More

I admit it. Those low T commercials are great marketing. The middle-aged man dancing with his testosterone shadow, all his strength, energy and vigor restored. His simple solution? Testosterone supplementation. It paints an oversimplified picture of men, as if we are nothing but testosterone sponges. When we get low, we just stop off at the local testosterone dispenser and we are good to go. However, the truth is not that simple about low T.

Low testosterone is a very common problem in men today. But it is much more complex than just adding testosterone to solve the problem. Men are complex. (And you thought only women were complex!) Looking at the specific causes of low T in an individual is a critical part of creating a plan to solve the low T problem.

What is testosterone? Testosterone is the predominate hormone in men. From the moment of conception, it is the key to male development. It is what makes a man a man. It is what gave us Tim “the tool man” Taylor.

What is low T? Quite simply, it is low testosterone. Symptoms include fatigue, reduced libido, estrogen dominance, weight gain, and loss of confidence and motivation. Low T is, in many ways, the middle-aged man suffering the dreaded “mid-life crisis.” Think about it. At the same time that women experience menopause, men are experiencing their own life change. Men are just as hormonal as women; however, the symptoms of change are different.

Low testosterone is a lot more common than you think. Approximately 40 million US men suffer from low testosterone. Only a fraction of these men are symptomatic, which means most men with low T don’t even know it.

Not only is low T a silent problem, it is a growing problem. Men are discovering low T at younger ages, too. I’ve seen men as young as their mid-20’s with low testosterone. Typically, however, most men living with low T are in their 40’s and beyond.

What is the cause of low T? It would be convenient if the answer was simply low testosterone production. But look at our bodies. We are complex creations. In most cases, low T results from a combination of issues.

Cause #1: Excess weight. Today, we eat so many items that suppress the body’s natural testosterone production. Just look at the American diet. Americans eat up to 200 pounds of refined sugar, 90 pounds of fats, 63 dozen donuts, 60 pounds of cakes and cookies, 23 gallons of ice cream, 22 pounds of candy, and 15 pounds of chips, popcorn, and pretzels annually. Obviously, this leads to excess weight.

Excess weight, especially around the mid-section, becomes a major estrogen-producing factory. Not only does the associated weight gain help produce more estrogen, but the enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen increases as we age as well. We become estrogen dominant. Increased weight = increased estrogen and decreased testosterone.

Cause #2: The environment. The environment is full of hormone-like chemicals. Xenoestrogens are environmental estrogens. They range from pesticides and insecticides to plastics to hormone-laden meat and dairy products. Although not native to the body, the body views them as estrogens nonetheless. Xenoestrogens = increased estrogen and decreased testosterone.

Cause #3: Hormones. That’s right. Even giving testosterone to some men can be a problem. A 27-year male patient came to me after he was given testosterone for a suspected low T problem by another physician. The testosterone replacement made him feel worse. Why? He was already estrogen dominant, and the additional testosterone was like throwing gasoline on the fire. His proposed cure, testosterone supplementation, turned out to be the source of his problem: excess estrogen. Too much testosterone = increased estrogen.

What is the answer to low testosterone? There is no single answer. Answers are found through customized testing which determines exact hormone levels. From these results, we can create an individualized therapy plan. Because we are all created uniquely, causes can vary. Likewise, your therapy plan should be unique. Your symptoms are clues to the underlying problem. By uncovering the problem’s root cause, an effective treatment plan can be developed which will solve those health issues and eliminate your symptoms.

The truth about low T? Only a few men really need testosterone. The majority of men need weight loss, reduction of estrogen, and the elimination of environmental xenoestrogens. It is easier to simply supplement testosterone. But that will NOT treat the problem at the source and achieve true healing.

Now that you know the truth about low T, what will you do about it? If you have symptoms and need answers or more information, call our office at 318-255-3223.

 

Confession #17: Making Peace and Making a Plan

Aging is a fact of life. From the time we are born, we’re aging. In our younger years, aging is manifested as growth. But it’s official. I have arrived at the point in life where growth has ended. Well, at least the kind of growth that is good. Now we’re in the area of bad growth…growth of the gluteus maximus. But that’s a story for another day. Let’s just say…I’m at the turning point…the crossroads…it’s time to make peace and make a plan.

Isn’t this what middle age is all about? It’s saying good-bye to your youth. It’s an acceptance of where you are. If you don’t make peace with life at this stage of the game, you are headed for a MID-LIFE crisis. You’ve seen it before. It’s usually an impractical two-seater sports car. Or maybe an infidelity that wrecks your life forever. No thanks. I’m all about making peace and making a plan.

Grow old gracefully. My mantra has always been to grow old gracefully. And I still subscribe to that. There’s nothing more beautiful than a mature woman who has grayed naturally and looks comfortable in her own skin. Cindy McCain, wife of Arizona Senator John McCain is a great example of that. She’s just lovely. I’m pretty sure she’s made peace and made a plan.

My goals for growing old gracefully are these:

1. To have the energy to do what I want when I want.
2. To live my life to the fullest without a lifetime of poor health and disease.
3. To look younger than I am, but not so young I look foolish.

Make peace with the present. I’m a practical girl by nature. I’ve learned to push up my sleeves and solve the problem. And making peace with the present is best done with action. Guess what? There’s no way you’re going to avoid aging. And guess what else? There are advantages to being older.

1. Wisdom. You’ve heard the expression, “If I knew then what I know now.” The wisdom I’ve gained in my life is a precious commodity. And honestly, I wouldn’t go back to my youth because I had too much to learn. I like knowing a lot about life and sharing that with my kids. They love my stories. And I love telling them. If you’re not sharing what you’ve learned with someone, it’s just knowledge. Knowledge becomes wisdom when you share to help others live a better life and learn from your life lessons.
2. Warmth of heart. I remember one thing about my great-grandmother in particular. My Mee-Maw, Lula Leonard Haynes, was always good for a hug. She poured unconditional love straight from her heart into mine. Her hugs were so memorable that I still vividly recall them after 3 decades. Having a warm heart, not a cold one hardened by the trials of this world, is what I want people to see in me. It’s what I want to give to my children…and one day…my grandchildren.
3. Priorities. The great thing about having years of life behind you is you gain a clear vision of what isn’t important, which helps you determine what IS important. The peculiar thing about a high school reunions is this: at the 10-year reunion everyone returns to impress with worldly accomplishments; at the 20-year reunion everyone returns happy to see each other and visit like the old friends that they are. My dad, organizer of an annual high school reunion at Shongaloo High School, told me the later reunions were so much sweeter than the earlier ones. I think people lose sight of the materialistic goals they might have embraced at a younger age, thank goodness. Over time, we learn the real value of relationships…and we learn the lack of value in possessions.

There’s no doubt that growing older has substantial benefits. I can think of several things that I am happy to give up. Changing diapers is one. Cleaning up my then-4-year-old’s vomit because the concept of throwing up IN the trash can was not yet mastered. I’m happy to move past that one. Dating…my husband and I regularly look at each other and express thanks that we don’t have to be in the dating world anymore.

Leaving the past where it belongs is an important part of making peace with the present. My desire is to embrace the life I have now and enjoy the positives at this stage, not looking back longingly at a past that will not return.

Make a wellness plan for the future. Prevention is one of my favorite words. Why in the world would you sit back and allow something bad to happen if prevention is possible. When it comes to healthcare, this is where our priorities should lie. Instead, our entire healthcare system is based on a DISEASE model. We go to the doctor when we’re sick. We get a quick fix. We go home and run ourselves into the ground until the next round of getting sick and then head back. It’s an agonizing treadmill we’re on that leads to a poor quality of life.

What if we spent our time pursuing wellness instead of just stopping the sickness? How would we go about doing that? Are we relegated to the genetics that we are born with?

While genetics plays a role in our health, it’s probably only 20% of the deciding factor according to Dr. Nathan Goodyear, a board certified and fellowship trained Metabolic Specialist. Our environment contributes the other 80% of influence in determining our health status.

We can’t change the genetics, but we can improve our body’s environment. How? There’s five areas that need to be part of our wellness plan: nutrition, exercise, hormone balance, reducing inflammation and detoxification.

Here’s a quick rundown.

1. Nutrition. You are what you eat. But are you really eating healthy? Eat foods rich in nutrients. Choose organic and eliminate your exposure to toxins. If you read the label and can’t pronounce the ingredients, don’t eat it. Yes…that includes giving up soda. Have you read that label?
2. Exercise. There’s no way around it. You will feel better every time you invest your time in exercise. You don’t have to run a marathon. You can just run a couple of miles. Or maybe just walk around the block a few times. As Nike so eloquently says: “Just do it.”
3. Hormone Balance. Hormones are the communication system of the body. And when hormones become imbalanced due to stress, poor nutrition, or even genetics, they need to be rebalanced. Keeping a healthy hormone balance requires proper testing and follow-up. Bioidentical hormones can help rebalance a body that has been tilted out of balance by the world.
4. Inflammation. Cited as the source of all disease in much of the latest research, reducing internal inflammation is key. But how? Avoiding foods that cause silent inflammation and increasing the ones that decrease inflammation is a great beginning. A diet rich in Omega-3s is key. Supplementing with fish oil, nuts and seeds, and wild fish will boost your Omega-3 intake and reduce chronic inflammation.
5. Detoxification. There’s no denying it, we live in a toxic world. Getting the toxins out of the body and reducing your exposure to toxins is an important lifestyle choice that will pay dividends in your longterm health. Using natural cleaners and avoiding chemicals is a great start. Detoxify your body with exercise (sweating is good for you) and infrared sauna, too. Again, buy organic and reduce your exposure to more toxins.

We plan for our retirement. We plan our vacations. But when was the last time you sat down to plan your wellness routine? You can’t enjoy the retirement or the vacation if you feel bad or suffer from chronic disease.

Here’s what I want. I want a healthy living plan that actively returns my body to optimal wellness. I want to feel good from the inside out. And by feeling good on the inside, the outside will look better, too. I’m doing my retirement planning…it’s just not financial planning, it’s wellness planning! I’ve got to be healthy to enjoy my future grandbabies.

Elizabeth Haynes Drewett: a hormonal woman rumored to be somewhere between the age of 30 and 50. Her job: Operations Manager and Marketing Director for Seasons in Ruston. Her training: bachelor of arts in journalism degree from LSU and a bachelor of fine arts degree in piano performance from LA Tech University. Her life: wife of C.P. Drewett, Jr. and doting mother to Langdon, age 12, and Reagan, age 6. Her passions: the state of Louisiana – as Miss Louisiana 1992 she devoted her year of service to breast cancer education and the importance of early detection; lover of music – invested 10 years as a piano teacher into the lives of the most wonderful kids in the world; lover of a good game – job experiences include PING Golf Equipment and the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Her favorite things: an underdog who overachieves, a good laugh, a good book, a good word, and a good hair day. You can follow her on Twitter. Her column, Confessions of a Hormonal Woman, is published bi-monthly in The Minute Magazine.

Wellness Open House

The staff at Seasons would like to invite the public to wine and dine with them at their Wellness Open House from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 21. Guests can take a tour of Seasons’ new location at beautiful Northpointe Office Park in Ruston, learn about the many new services they now offer, and help raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

On hand will be Seasons’ friendly and highly-trained aestheticians Lisa Best and Joy Smith, massage therapists Bethany Cox and Aaron Jennings, RNs Susan McWhorter, Jennifer Johnson, and Amanda Williams, registered dietitian Valerie Costanza, nurse practitioner Anna Stephens, as well as board-certified and fellowship trained Metabolic Specialist Dr. Nathan Goodyear. In addition to the entire Seasons staff, representatives from respected companies such as Guinot, Xymogen, Allergan, Sprayology, and more will attend.

Guests can freely make their way through Seasons Wellness Center and Seasons — The Spa by following the event maps available at the door. They’ll find stations set up throughout the facility where they can test Seasons’ products and services, ask questions and learn more about what Seasons has to offer.
With the purchase of a gift card during the event and during the entire month of October, the business will donate 10 percent of the total to Susan G. Komen for the Cure in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Gift wrapping is complimentary.

Purchasing a gift card or just simply making a donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure at this event enters guests into a drawing to win a Seasons Spa Package featuring Smooth Shapes. The lucky winner will say good-bye to cellulite with this pain-free treatment that uses dynamic laser and light energy to tighten and smooth skin. The Smooth Shapes treatment also regenerates collagen, improves circulation, and restores metabolic processes. The package includes a series of eight treatments and is valued at $2,000. Additional door prizes will also be awarded.

So, save the date, get a babysitter, and come join us for a fun event for a good cause.

Toxic World

We live in a toxic world. There is no denying it. And concern over our exposure to toxins as a result of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast are voiced to me on a daily basis.

Oil, however, is not the only toxin to which we can be exposed. Pesticides, insecticides, phthalates, and heavy metals are all toxins. Even prescription medicines are a source of toxins. Prescription drugs and their side effects are the third leading cause of death. They deplete us of vitamins and minerals and block metabolic pathways, the body’s internal communication highway. Vitamins, minerals, and even bioidentical hormones, if in excess, can be toxic to our bodies. The key is balance. When the body’s chemistry is balanced, then the body is able to work at its designed optimal level.

It’s obvious from the oil spill that toxins are a big issue. But what about reversing the damage done by toxins? Can it be done? Detoxification is a hot topic these days. The word toxin comes from the Greek word toxikon meaning arrow poison. This term was first introduced to medicine by Dr. Ludwig Briegger in 1888. Dr. Briegger determined that toxins equal poison to our body.

The idea of detoxification, however, goes back even further than the introduction of toxins to the medical vocabulary. It goes back to the creation of man. Every cell in our body performs detoxification. The most prominent detoxification organs are the liver, kidneys, and skin.

The idea of body cleansing (detoxification) goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. They understood that the body cannot continue to receive loads of toxins without eliminating them from the body. Remember, this was an Ancient Civilization, not yet exposed to the toxic world in which we currently live.

With the rise of modern civilization and Western medicine, physicians disregarded the idea of detoxification early in the 20^th century. However, the body of evidence supporting detoxification remains unchanged. Evidence supports the fact that we are exposed to many toxins and these toxins accumulate and overwhelm our God-given detoxification systems.

The oil spill impact. Let’s talk about the immediate and future affects of the oil spill. What can we expect as a result of this toxic exposure? We can expect a significant impact in three areas: water, food, and air.

Water. The impact on the waster is already evident in the large “dead zones” resulting from clouds of methane gas in the Gulf waters. Eventually, the impact will spread to the Gulf’s tributaries as well as our drinking water.

Food. The impact on our food is not yet determined. But we can already see the impact on the cost of Gulf seafood. Based on our current knowledge of mercury toxicity and the fish industry, it is also reasonable to extrapolate that their will be some kind of effects from the oil on seafood from the Gulf and its contributory waters.

Air. The impact on the air is not yet determined. But if we look at the increased risk of lung disease in the Exxon Valdez oil spill clean-up crews, we can assume there might be similar issues with clean-up crews of the BP Horizon oil spill. Suspicious evidence is already appearing in the crops of the lower Gulf Coast states.

The immediate impact on the Gulf region’s wildlife is evident to all. Look to the long-term impact on wildlife in Alaska for clues as to what the Gulf Coast region may face for years to come.

What if the cure is worse than the disease? Cleaning the oil spill with chemical dispersants may be worse than letting Mother Nature clean up the mess all on her own. Let’s look at the long-term results of cleanup for another oil spill.

The 1978 oil spill off the cost of Normandy was cleaned up two different ways due to the large size of the spill and the economic impact of the spill area. Some areas of the oil spill were treated with chemical dispersants, while others were left untreated. The untreated areas had recovered in five years. Yes, you read that correctly. The ecosystems of the untreated oil spill areas returned to normal in just five years. Now here’s the really interesting part. The areas treated with chemical dispersants are STILL recovering. What if that’s the case with the chemical dispersant-treated areas in the Gulf? Oil is a biological compound and will be consumed by bacteria — though the time frame may be long.

Now here’s the real kicker. The chemical dispersant used in the Gulf oil spill is the same used in the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and was banned in England. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s been banned. But BP (which stands for British Petroleum) used it to clean up the oil spill. Ironic, isn’t it. It was banned in England, but is it okay for us?

Here’s a frightening fact: no person directly associated with the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill is still alive today. In fact, the average age of death was 51. From that, I think it’s safe to say that the toxic exposure that Gulf Coast residents are receiving is not safe for the body.

In 20 years, we will look back and know the long-term effects of this toxic exposure. We will know what diseases developed and what the secondary effects were on our drinking water and our crops. If we are already toxic from everyday exposure to chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, etc., then what will be the result of the added toxins from the Gulf oil spill?

The bottom line? We should not wait. We need to detoxify our bodies. Toxins, whether man-made or man-induced, were not intended to be inside our bodies. It doesn’t take a Ph.D., M.D., D.O. (just fill in your letters) to understand that. It is just common sense.

We need to support the God-created detoxification systems already present in our bodies with proper cleansing, targeted nutrition, conscientious reduction of our exposure to toxins, and, when needed, medically-supervised detoxification programs.

Dr. Goodyear is a board certified and fellowship-trained Metabolic Specialist.

Hormones And Their Effects On The Body

People ask me all the time for more information about hormones and why we need them. Hormones are the communication tools of the body. They deliver messages. So here is a list of a few hormones and what they contribute to your body.

Estrogen

• Protects against osteoporosis, heart disease, memory loss, colon cancer, incontinence and tooth loss
• Enhances sleep, emotional well-being, mental acuity and focus, memory, attention span, communication ability, vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell, digestion, libido and skin tone.
• Relieves menopausal symptoms and depression
• Increases tolerance to pain

Progesterone

• Has a calming effect and enhances mood
• Regulates fluid balance
• Increases blood sugar, thyroid function and mineral balance
• Relieves menopausal symptoms
• Decreases risk of endometrial cancer and may help protect against breast cancer and fibrocystic breast disease
• Protects against osteoporosis and heart disease

Testosterone

• Builds muscles and promotes muscle tone
• Increases energy and libido
• Enhances sense of well-being
• Helps strengthen bone

DHEA

• Helps protect against heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, memory loss, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis
• Can increase and enhance energy levels, libido, memory and immunity
• Protects against the effects of stress
• Aids weight loss and healing of burns
• Helps to prevent wrinkles and dry eyes

Cortisol

• Helps in responding and coping with stress, trauma, and infection
• Increases energy and metabolism
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Enhances the integrity of blood vessels
• Reduces allergic and inflammatory response

Balance of each of these hormones is a key element of optimal health and absence of disease. Proper testing, a customized treatment plan for out-of-balance hormone levels, and follow-up testing are all important for achieving healthy hormone levels in your body. For more information about metabolic testing at Seasons, contact our office at 318-255-3223 (Ruston) or 318-387-2828 (Monroe).

From the Doctor’s Desk: Salivary Hormone Testing Backed by Science

Testing hormones through saliva is backed by science. But don’t take my word for it. In fact, it is well supported in the medical literature and is the right thing to do.  Below are links to several abstracts regarding salivary hormone testing. Read them for yourself and learn about the science behind this form of hormone testing.

• Belkien LD, Bordt J, Moller P, Hano R, Nieschlag E. Estradiol in saliva for monitoring follicular stimulation in an in vitro fertilization program. Fertil Steril 1985;44:322.
• Bolaji II, Tallon DF, O’Dwyer E, Fottrell PF. Assessment of bioavailability of oral micronized progesterone using a salivary progesterone enzymeimmunoassay. Gynecol Endocrinol 1993;7:101-110.
• Campbell BC, Ellison PT. Menstrual variation in salivary testosterone among regularly cycling women. Horm Res 1992;37:132-136.
• Aardal-Eriksson E, Karlberg BE, Holm AC. Salivary cortisol- and alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests. Clin Chem Lab Med 1998;36:215-222.

These articles are published in well-respected journals; and if you notice, they are not recent.  Salivary testing of hormones has been well published in the medical literature for some time now.

Here are a few quotes from these studies:

• “…salivary cortisol may be used as an alternative parameter in dynamic endocrine tests.”
• “…assessment of ovarian function…can be performed precisely with the saliva estradiol assay.”
• “…saliva collection has provided the medical and research community with an excellent medium for the monitoring of plasma steroid levels.”

Nowhere else in medicine do we blindly treat people without assessing a baseline and post treatment level(s). Balance is the key; not one individual hormone. Unfortunately, the medical field is very slow to learn and change.

From the Doctor’s Desk: Health and Wellness Defined

Definitions.

Health can best be defined as the absence of disease.  Wellness is best defined as the existence of positive health.  So health and wellness can be best defined as the absence of disease in the presence of positive health.

Why the focus on health and wellness these days? I think modern medicine gets a failing grade. Obesity is epidemic in the American culture today. One of my patients knew that her weight was not healthy. However, her previous physician told her that she should learn to live with her new heavier weight and maybe the weight would level out. That statement haunted her and led her to find a physician who offered her more hope and solutions.

Health and wellness cannot be achieved through a traditional, allopathic (Western modern medicine) medical approach. Why? Western modern medicine (we’ll call it traditional for our purposes) uses a disease-focused model utilizing pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals block biochemical reactions, produce mitochondrial toxins, and deplete important nutrients. There is no positive health there.

In fact, the 4^th – 6^th leading cause of death is from prescription drugs (Mol Aspects Med. 2005 Aug-Oct;26(4-5):363-78). In contrast, functional medicine is a health and wellness model utilizing natural substances found in the body to enhance cellular processes. A health and wellness model looks to work with the body, to facilitate metabolic reactions and optimize physiologic function (The principles of metabolic therapy for heart disease. Heart, Lung and Circulation 2003; 12:S55-S62).

In some ways, the two are complementary; but in many ways, the two are not. I am not advocating a boycott of traditional medicine. In fact, I still practice some traditional medicine when disease exists.

The key is this — does disease exist or not?  If disease doesn’t exist, and health and wellness or health restoration is your goal, then a functional or integrative approach is the way to go to facilitate and optimize physiologic function.

So, what is a functional medicine approach?  To help define functional medicine, let’s look at a few examples.

The traditional medicine approach.

Metformin or Glucophage is a well-recognized drug used to treat diabetes.  Metformin works to improve insulin sensitivity and thus facilitate glucose uptake inside the cells.  Type II Diabetes is marked by very poor insulin sensitivity and thus blood sugar rises.  Traditional medicine prescribes Metformin to provide a 13% improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Remember, pharmaceuticals block biochemical reactions.  Metformin reduces folic acid and vitamin B12 and can elevate homocysteine. Elevated homocysteine levels increase blood clot risk (this is one of the ways that birth control pills increase blood clot risk).  Diabetics and those with insulin resistance are already at an increased risk of blood clots. Can you see how the treatment is piling on in this situation?

The functional medicine approach.

Let’s contrast that with a functional medicine approach. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant today. Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in heart failure, myocardial dysfunction, sudden cardiac death, and is required for normal insulin release and glucose control.  Remember the 13% for metformin? Higher vitamin D levels resulted in a 60% improvement in insulin sensitivity (Chiu K., et al., “hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction,” Amer Jour Clin Nutr  2004).

Remember, functional medicine works with and facilitates the body’s functions. Vitamin D does not block any biochemical reactions, nor does it interfere with any. Thus, there is no negative effect comparable to Metformin. Now, too much of a good thing can be a problem. Too much Vitamin D can elevate calcium. Because of this, Vitamin D should be prescribed under the watchful eye of a physician.

Why do I do what I do?

Amazing results — as naturally as possible. This is why I practice functional medicine. This is why I created Seasons. A health and wellness model, through functional medicine, works with the body to enhance and optimize physiologic function.  Health and health restoration can only be achieved by working with the body. Let’s get out of the way and let the body heal itself.

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