According to a report from the Institute for Healthcare Informatics, the top ten most prescribed drugs are:

Wow!  6 out of 10 of the most prescribed medicines decreases libido in men and women!

So which ones are the culprits?  Let’s start with the cholesterol-lowering medication Zocor.  This class of drug also includes two of the top 10 selling drugs:  Lipitor and Crestor.  Cholesterol is the backbone of all our hormones; therefore it makes sense that anything that lowers cholesterol will lower our hormone production.  A 2010 study showed men prescribed statin drugs had lower testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction.   Testosterone is required for sexual arousal so anything that inhibits it will likely reduce your sex drive.

Opiate analgesics such as hydrocodone, oxycontin, and codeine have been shown to lower testosterone and are linked to erectile dysfunction in men.  Blood pressure medications such as Lisinopril, Norvasc and Hydrochlorothiazine (HCTZ) are notorious for causing erectile dysfunction in men.   Metoprolol is another commonly used anti-hypertensives linked to a decreased interest in sex.

Serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain, is manipulated by a class of drugs called SSRIs.  These are commonly used to treat anxiety and depression.  Serotonin is responsible for regulating sexual behaviors such as erection, orgasm and ejaculation.  However, high serotonin levels will decrease sex drive.  A common side effect of SSRIs, which        are designed to increase serotonin levels, is decreased libido.

In addition to these commonly prescribed meds, over the counter medicines like antihistamines such as Benadryl can disrupt your sex life.  Just as antihistamines dry up allergy-induced sinus congestion, they dry up or decrease vaginal lubrication thereby decreasing sexual interest and pleasure.

Birth control pills cause a drop of in a woman’s libido.  They increase the production of a protein called sex hormone binding globulin.  This protein binds to hormones but has an affinity for testosterone.  When testosterone binds to this protein, the body cannot use it.  Ironically, even though many women take birth control for the freedom to have sex without getting pregnant, the pill actually lowers a woman’s interest in having sex.

This list is just the tip of the iceberg.  Unfortunately there is a very long list of drugs that disrupt your libido.  If you think your meds may be affecting your sex life, please talk to your doctor.  Never just stop taking a medicine because you don’t like the side effects.  Your doctor may be able to switch you to a different medication or help you make lifestyle changes that allow you to withdraw from the drug under supervision.

Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put the number of Americans suffering with all types of arthritis at over 43 million. In general, there are many different types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus and ankylosing spondylitis, to name a few. The most common form is osteoarthritis that we associate with the aging process; rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is an autoimmune condition where the body mysteriously turns its own immune system against the joints. Both conditions can cause significant joint pain and in some cases, deformities to the joints.

Joint pain is not a “modern day” problem, however, as skeletons excavated from as far back as the Paleolithic times have shown physical changes to bones consistent with arthritis (1).  It is thought that the high incidence of arthritis within this primitive population was a result of an extremely high level of physical activities such as hunting and gathering.  Yet as time went on and especially through medieval times, evidence suggests that as we became more sedentary (agriculture vs. hunter gatherer), incidence of arthritis dropped, probably a result of the vast difference of physical stress placed on the body during primitive times compared to more “civilized” periods.  There does seem to be a balance, however because around the 18^th and 19^th centuries, when we became more sedentary compared to our medieval counterparts, cases of arthritis started to rise again (2). These studies do not suggest that a sedentary lifestyle can prevent or, on the other hand, cause arthritis, but recent data indicate that moderate exercise, three times a week, can actually reduce arthritis-related disabilities by 47%.

This leads us to ask, besides regular mild to moderate exercise, are there other treatment options for arthritis? At the top of the list lies the food that you put into your body. It appears that foods that cause gastrointestinal inflammation like sugar, members of the nightshade family, trans fats, and to some degree red meat can worsen joint pain. In addition, the lack of good omega-3 fatty acids in the diet along with absent fruits and vegetables, particularly berries, green, orange and yellow veggies (not corn!) prevent your body from creating its own anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Another simple addition to your diet is fresh, clean drinking water. Arizonans are chronically dehydrated and you should try to aim for about half of your body weight in ounces for water intake each day.

Secondly, nature has also provided us with a number of botanical herbs that for centuries have been highly effective in treating arthritis. These botanicals include quercetin, boswelia, curcumin, nettles and cramp bark to name a few. More recently, studies have demonstrated that botanicals target a number of inflammatory signaling molecules and shut down the inflammatory process. One well-designed study in 2009 showed that curcumin and resveratrol were superior to traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines in reducing inflammatory markers, but more importantly reducing pain felt by test subjects.

Finally, a treatment option becoming more and more popular (although founded in the 1940s) is prolotherapy. It is a type of injection medicine where regions of tendons or ligaments around joints are injected with a non-pharmacological natural solution (glucose, lidocaine, vitamin B12 and folic acid) to stimulate the body to strengthen weakened connective tissue and therefore reduce or eliminate pain. Unlike steroid injections (“cortisone”), which only provide temporary relief and carry numerous side effects, prolotherapy is designed to stimulate tissue growth and promote true healing that ultimately alleviates pain without any side effects.

Although arthritis is quite common, it is not something that derails you from your daily routine or causes significant discomfort. From the foods you eat, to naturally occurring herbs to modern interventions like prolotherapy, your arthritic pain can be controlled and help you return to normal range of motion in your joints and feeling pain free!

1. Rogers J et al. Arthritis in Saxon and mediaeval skeletons. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1981 December 19; 283(6307): 1668-1670.
2. MacLennan WJ: History of arthritis and bone rarefaction evidence from paleopathology onwards. Scott Med J. 1999 Feb;44(1):18-20.

Thriving on the go:  3 Key Steps
Ok, you’re taking care of yourself and getting healthier.  You’ve worked out some good habits and healthy routines in your daily life.  You’ve probably learned that it is easy to lose momentum and drift back to unhealthy habits.  Whether you’re going across the globe, or over the river and through the woods, don’t let travel do this to you!

Think of your health as drawing energy from 3 main sources:  your sleep, your exercise and your diet.  If you can keep these sources working for you, you’ll be OK.

Sleeping on the go.  Nothing ruins your memory of a good trip like the lingering bronchitis you picked up on the flight home.  What is the main reason this happens?  Your immunity was down from lack of sleep.  When you’re traveling, you want to take it all in and you have time zone changes to deal with.  Put these factors together and our bodies really need as much or more sleep than normal, not less.

• Start scheduling the week before traveling; shift your sleep schedule towards your new schedule as much as possible.  This works best when you are moving your sleep schedule forward.
• Avoid sleep at your destination until it is your bedtime in local time.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine the day of travel.
• Adults can use 2-3mg of time-released melatonin at bedtime during short trips and the first few days back home.  This resets your internal clock.

Exercise on the go.  How do you workout when you can’t get to the gym?  Easiest answer is do lots of walking.  Fortunately this is easy whether you’re going to an amusement park, beach or most other parts of the world.  You can also get an good workout with simple body weight exercises.  Here is a great link to a page with 20 amazing exercises you can do anytime and anywhere.  P.S.  If you’re a climber, you can always find a place for pull ups : )

Eating on the go.  OK, so far so good, but how about food?  When traveling, think about food in terms of fuel, protein and produce.  Your fuel needs are minimal when you’re on a plane, car or boat, so don’t worry about it then.  I love using meal replacements like MediClear when traveling.  I’ll make up single servings in snack size baggies and mix them up in a water bottle.  Have 2-3 servings per day while en route.  This way you get a nutritionally complete low calorie meal and your body gets to rest and detox.  You’ll also drop a few pounds which may help you break even by the time you get home.  When you arrive, focus on soups as an easy way to get produce and protein without lots of fat or the risk food-borne illness.

DIAGNOSED
18.8 million people

UNDIAGNOSED
7.0 million people
35% of U.S. adults ages 20 years or older and 50% of adults ages 65 years or older have pre-diabetes
79 million American adults ages 20 years or older are estimated to have pre-diabetes
Source: National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC)

The most popular medications have only a slight impact on blood sugar and at the cost of significant side effects and possible complications, including fatal acidosis.  For thousands of years, Ayurvedic physicians from India have recognized diabetes and called it “thirsting and wasting disease”.

Sorry about the picture, I had a 10:30 AM photo shoot and had to ride 100 miles that day for training. I started the ride at 5, got to the office a little after 10 and had no time to loose the red-eye from all that wind!

Fruits and vegetables

Brightly colored fruits and vegetables – Carotenoids have been shown in one study to reduce your risk of breast cancer by up to 50% in women with dense breast tissue. Dense breast tissue is one of the strongest risk factors associated with breast cancer.   Papaya contains the carotenoid beta-cryptoxanthin. Yellow and orange vegetables are high in beta-carotene, one of the most abundant carotenoids in our diet. Research illustrates that people who eat the most fruits and vegetables have the lowest breast cancer risk.

Cruciferous vegetables – Broccoli and cauliflower contain indole-3-carbinol, which promotes healthy estrogen metabolism. When estrogen leaves your body through unhealthy pathways, your risk of breast and other estrogen-fed cancers increases.

Good Fats

Walnuts – The journal Nutrition and Cancer recently published a study that shows walnuts slow the growth of breast cancer and may prevent its development. Rich in omega 3 fatty acids, these nuts have been shown to cause destruction (apoptosis) of cancer cells. Try walnut oil on your salads.

Fish – Good fatty fish like salmon is also rich in omega 3s. Studies suggest that women with higher levels of omega 3s in their diets have lower rates of breast cancer.

Olive oil – like walnuts, EVO oil is also high in omega 3s.

Get some flavor in your diet

Herbs and spices – According to the National Cancer Institute, a French study found a statistically significant reduction in breast cancer risk in women who consumed a lot of garlic. Oregano and thyme have antioxidant properties that inhibit tumor growth. Curcumin suppresses cancer cell growth.

Green tea – Buy quality stuff, not all green teas are created equal and you want to make sure that you are getting a good dose of the cancer-fighting compound EGCG.

Dark chocolate – Yum! Although dark chocolate does have sugar, it is also rich in antioxidants that reduce inflammation and suppress cancer cell growth. Please note that I am not referring to Hershey’s type dark chocolate, but to high quality organic varieties.

Things to avoid

Sugar – No cell in your body will consume sugar faster than a cancer cell. Sugar is very inflammatory and cancer thrives in an inflamed environment. Aside from the fact that sugar taste addictingly good, it has no redeeming value. This is one of the first things to remove from your diet, and once you do so, liking the taste disappears.

When my mother went through chemotherapy, she craved Coke and McDonald’s french fries. This stunned my brother and me because we did not grow up as a family that ate McDonald’s. Looking back I now realize the cravings were a die-off reaction from the cancer cells. As the chemotherapy weakened and destroyed them, the cancer cells caused my mom to crave the sugar and simple carbohydrates that were their primary fuel source.

Alcohol – According to a January 2011 study in the British Medical Journal, 5% of female breast cancer can be attributed to alcohol consumption. The upper limit for women is one drink, which contains about 12g of alcohol. The more alcohol consumed in excess of this limit, the greater your risk of breast cancer. If you are drinking red wine for the cancer-fighting properties of resveratrol, please take a pill or drink concord grape juice instead.

Charred meat – If you like your meat well-done or blackened, think again. The black is full of carcinogens and has been linked to many types of cancer. Lower your cancer risk by cooking meat enough to sufficiently kill bacteria without excess charring. If you do accidentally burn the meat, cut off the charred portion.

Check out these resources

Eattodefeat.org – The Angiogenesis Foundation has launched the Eat to Defeat Cancer campaign. The focus of this campaign is to eat foods that reduce the blood vessels that feed tumors. By depriving them of a fuel source, the tumor cannot grow. This website has teamed up with some top chefs to create recipes that contain cancer-fighting ingredients.

AICR – the American Institute for Cancer Research is a charity research organization that focuses on nutrition and exercise to reduce cancer risk. This group funded the study that showed walnuts help prevent breast cancer. Sign up for their newsletter to receive weekly healthy recipes.

“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” – Hippocrates

Everyone knows someone who has had it – family, friends, or coworkers. According to BreastCancer.org, 1 out of every 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. And our risk of getting breast cancer increases as we age.

Many women do not go in for regular screening because they do not want to hear bad news. The idea is that “no news is good news.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Breast cancer, like most cancers, is completely treatable if caught early. Regular screening and follow up with your doctor is extremely important, but what can we do to prevent breast cancer?

Research shows that the way our bodies break down estrogen can increase our risk of breast cancer. Estrogen is metabolized in the liver and the metabolites, or byproducts of metabolism, are a key to developing breast cancer. There are six metabolites that we look at – four metabolites are considered “bad” and only two are considered “good”. And although all six metabolites may be present, it is the ratios of these metabolites to one another that are important. One of the most reviewed ratios is commonly called the 2:16 ratio. If this ratio is less than 2, meaning that you have too much of the bad estrogen (16) and not enough of the good estrogen (2), studies show that you are at an increased risk of breast cancer, as well as other estrogen driven cancers such as cervical cancer and ovarian cancer.

How can you find out how your liver is breaking down estrogen? A simple morning urine sample can be sent to the lab for evaluation to determine your estrogen metabolism ratios. Once we have that information, we can assess your risk and take steps to mitigate that risk. This test can also be used to monitor current treatment plans to reduce breast cancer risk, as well as to monitor hormone replacement therapy. It is a great test to determine a woman’s osteoporosis risk as well.

What can affect the balance of this ratio? Diet and exercise have a strong impact on the 2:16 ratio. Adding flax seeds, cruciferous vegetables, and soy products into your diet can increase this ratio. Likewise obesity and alcohol consumption can have a negative impact. Definitely kidney function and fluid consumption can affect this ratio so I recommend a basic CBC and CMP with the estrogen metabolism test. Your doctor will be able to interpret your labs, determine how you metabolize estrogen, and create a plan to shift your metabolism to a different pathway if necessary.

Even more, we are seeing a less severe variation of these dangerous food allergies, called “allergy sensitivities” that don’t typically cause life-threatening symptoms, but can still be quite uncomfortable nonetheless.  If you have symptoms like indigestion, gastritis, eczema, asthma, celiac disease, arthritis, and even depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue, it could be a result of a “food sensitivity.”  Additional reports suggest that at least 60% of Americans suffer from symptoms due to adverse food reactions as a result of food sensitivities.

Food allergies/sensitivities may be a reaction to a protein, a starch, a contaminant found in the food (e.g., pesticide residues) or a food additive (e.g., colorings, preservatives, flavor enhancers, etc).  Once the body decides it’s uneasy with a food, a complex cascade of events takes place that can result in either a life-threatening situation (anaphylaxis) or simply the aforementioned unpleasant symptoms.

Driving this reaction is the immune system’s production of multiple types of antibodies.  For example, during an anaphylaxis response, IgE antibodies are produced within two hours of exposure.  These antibodies then bind to specific cells called mast cells and basophils which release their inner contents–histamine.  This is why an anti-histamine, like Benadryl or Quercetin, is often prescribed for allergies.

Yet, it’s the more delayed allergic response found in food sensitivities, one that can take up to 72-hours after exposure, that causes the aforementioned “uncomfortable” symptoms.  This response is usually driven by IgG antibodies and although it can stimulate the release of some histamine, it usually recruits many more players of the immune system, further complicating the reaction in the body.

Studies suggest that dairy, wheat and eggs are the three biggest sources of food sensitivities in people.  How is this determined?  In the past, the skin prick test was used where small amounts of foods were injected into the skin either on the back or forearm.  Now a simple blood test does away with this antiquated test.  These blood tests can measure for both IgG and IgE antibodies and help guide you and your provider in a direction for food avoidance, which is the mainstay of treatment.

So if you suffer from indigestion, asthma, eczema, etc., simply avoiding problematic foods could be your ticket to feeling well.  In addition to elimination, I recommend rotation of food families (e.g., veggies, fruits, meats, etc.) along with assisting the body with its normal digestive processes through the use of pancreatic and stomach enzymes.  Probiotics can be quite helpful as well.

Living in fear of foods because of their potential to make us sick is unnecessary when you recognize there are easy ways to identify possible sources of food allergies/sensitivities.  Combined with practical and realistic interventions you can take to calm the reaction and subsequent symptoms, you can alleviate a multitude of health conditions.