Answer: YES.

If you are a woman and you are currently going through hot flashes and or night sweats then you might want to hold off on melatonin until the flashes are under control with your estrogen (and I hope you are using bio identical hormones–so much better for you and your body). Then gradually start to add in the melatonin for sleep and anti aging benefits at night. Stop it of course if the flashes come back and restart the melatonin again a month or two down the road. It’s a gradual process but you will eventually get there. :)

If you are taking estrogen take it in the morning and progesterone at night for better sleep. If you hot flashes start just at night then consider breaking your estrogen in 1/2 and take 1/2 in the am and 1/2 in the pm. Of course you’ll want to run this by your individual physician but it usually works.

Answer: On your face if you are caucasian only.

Sorry to all the women that have color on their skin you don’t want to try this because this can cause a variation in your pigment…but lucky you because you also don’t have to worry about all those early wrinkles us caucasian women get.

So if you are caucasian and you have been given a bio identical estrogen make sure you put your dose on your face and neck just after cleansing your skin in the morning. It is absolutely AMAZING to prevent wrinkles (especially around the eyes) and it gives us that twenty year old glow back again. Just be careful not to kiss young kids and men when the estrogen is on you because you can pass it along to your loved ones and that’s the last thing you want to do is put someone in early puberty or make your husband the ultimate shopping buddy (okay so the last side effect isn’t a bad idea until he starts to develop that womenly body). Just kidding ;)

Anwswer: Yes

Did you know it’s easier to take capsules when you put your chin to your chest? Yup, it’s true. Capsules float, so when you put your chin to your chest after taking a gulp of water, your capsule floats all the way back to your throat making it ten times more easier to get it down. This works especially well with kids.

ANSWER: Healthy.

It seems that a large norwegian study this month just determined that a sedentary lifestyle could increase your risk of having frequent headaches by 14%. One more reason to encourage us to get out there and keep up our exercise routine!

Here’s the gist of the study:

*They had two groups of people greater than 20 years of age who were living in Norway. The researchers questioned them about whether or not they have headaches, their exercise routine and their medical history.

-1984-1986: This is when they questioned the first group of 22,397 adults. 11 years later they revisited them.

-1995-1997: The second group consisted of 46,648 people.
Conclusion:  *People who did not exercise were 14% more likely to develop non migraine headaches than those who did exercise.
* Low physical activity was associated with higher prevalence of migraine and non-migraine headaches

*If you had headaches in the beginning of the study you were less likely to exercise (probably because it was difficult for these people to exercise with pain). I personally would recommend yoga for someone that has headaches to the point that they can not exercise. There are some wonderful studies that show this can also reduce headaches.

*More studies are needed to understand why exercise can help prevent headaches.

Cephalalgia. 2008 Dec;28(12):1292-7. Epub 2008 Sep 11.
Physical activity and headache: results from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT).

Do you need a quick solution to relieve that sore throat…..try mixing 1 part (1 tablespoon) of an antihistamine (like benadryl or dimetapp) with 1 part (1 tablespoon) of MOM (milk of magnesium) and gargle for a minute…..it truly coats and soothes that painful sore throat :) Swallowing the mixture isn’t necessary. :)

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.

Answer: Healthy.

Another fantastic all natural Swedish study was just released….Sweden has the BEST studies!

Since one in five infants suffer from the uncomfortable itchy eczema during their first year of life this is an important study to consider. This study found that when infants were fed fish before the age of nine months they decreased their risk of getting eczema (an allergic skin condition) later in life.

Here’s what happened in the study:

• 4921 infants participated.
• At six and 12 months the parents of the infants were interviewed about their diets and eczema.
• At six months, 14% of the infants had eczema
• At 12 months, eczema increased to 21%
• Researchers noticed that the strongest risk factor for developing eczema as an infant was having a mother or sibling with eczema.

Conclusion; the infants who did not eat fish before nine months of age compared to infants who did eat fish were 24% more likely to develop eczema by 12 months. And the interesting thing is that it didn’t matter if the fish contained large amounts of omega-3.

Other results:
-Introducing dairy, eggs, cats or dogs were not a factor in developing eczema at this age.

Comments: I would personally be cautious of giving fish to infants on a regular basis because of the possible mercury levels. If your infant has a risk for eczema, I would try mercury free fish oil first to see if that helps and if not then talk to your doctor about introducing some low level mercury type fish to your infants diet.

Arch Dis Child. 2008 Sep 25

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.

Answer: NOT.

There was a 52 year old man who came to the doctor with a seven year history of worsening joint pain and neck immobility.

His x-rays showed axial osteosclerosis (meaning increase bone density in his neck).

They checked his fluoride levels and guess what he was off the charts. (His urine fluoride levels were 26 mg/L and a normal level is 0.2-1.1 mg/L).

He was diagnosed with skeletal fluorosis.

The 52 year old man had been brushing his teeth at least six times a day with fluoride toothpaste. His drinking water was not a source nor was he taking any other fluoride source.

When he stopped his fluoride toothpaste this is what happened:

• After three months his urinary fluoride levels dropped to 16 mg/L
• After eight months his urinary fluoride levels dropped to 7 mg/L
• After two years, all joint pain resolved
• Nine years later his urinary fluoride levels dropped to 1.2 mg/L
• Nine years later his xrays showed a decrease in osteosclerosis (less bone density in his neck).

Comments: Fluoride can cause osteosclerosis, decrease neck and lumbar mobility and kyphosis. So if you use your fluoride toothpaste make sure you rinse your mouth extremely well after brushing. Also if you aren’t getting any answers to your “arthritis” you may want to ask your doctor to check your urinary fluoride levels.

J Bone Miner Res. 2007 Jan;22(1):163-70.

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.

Answer: Not after reading this recent article just released today.

Okay, I’m trying to keep this website “fair and balanced” as Fox news would put it…but I have to put the recent article about cell phone risk up here so people can just ponder it :) I know after reading it our daughters don’t have a chance in getting a cell phone or their ears pierced until they are 21! :)

So a recent article was been plastered all over the internet today about scientists who approached US legislators on Thursday about the possible risks of brain cancer from cell phone use….especially for children.

“We urgently need more research,” said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, as he approached the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.

“We must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer,” Carpenter said.

For instance did you know this part of US history?

-It took 70 years to remove lead from paint and gasoline
-It took 50 years to establish the link between smoking and lung cancer

So maybe they are on to something…..

Another scientist from University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute , brought up a great point on Thursday too. He said that most studies that have claimed that there is no link between cancer and cell phones are outdated and they did not include long term cell phone users. In fact, most studies define regular cell phone use as “once a week”.

Their concern on Thursday were for the children. They showed lawmakers how radiation from a cell phone penetrates very deep into the brain of a 5 year old compared to an adult. And how several Scandinavia studies show radiation from cell phones had definite biological consequences. In fact, adolescents who start using cell phones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who didn’t use a cell phone. And a 2008 Swedish study showed frequent cell phone users were twice as likely to develop a benign tumor on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the cell phone, compared to the other ear.

The scientist presented their case on Thursday in hopes that lawmakers will put a precautionary message on cell phones just like we see on cigarette packs.

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.

Answer: Healthy. woo hoo

Yes, it’s true. Applying Vitamin A on your skin could help wrinkles. Here’s the latest study to prove it!

-36 participants (mean age 87 years) in a double blind study
-Applied topical (apply on the skin directly) 0.4% vitamin A (retinol) lotion to one arm and a placebo to the other arm three times per week for 6 months.
-They took biopsy samples (ouch) to see if the fine wrinkles improved….and poof they were significantly improved with the vitamin A.

How does this work…

Vitamin A can increase the production of glycosaminoglycans which will help retain water and increase collagen.

Comments: I’ve been using topical A for many years to combat those fine wrinkles. Personally I enjoy using topical Vitamin A much more than Retin-A because of the harsh side effects with Retin-A (skin irritation, peeling, photosensitivity and redness). I’m so glad there is a wonderful natural study out there to help us combat those fine wrinkles.

Remember pregnant women need to be cautious with vitamin A–it could cause birth defects

Arch Dermatol. 2007 May;143(5):606-12

updated comment: I’ve had a couple of people ask where can I get this topical vitamin A…..I’ll make a mixture within the next couple of weeks of the best pharmaceutical grade and have it available to everyone….so stay tuned :)

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.

Answer: NOT.

Sorry to take all the fun out of your favorite starch like foods but unfortunately eating simple carbs that are baked, roasted, toasted or fried will cause a byproduct called acrylamide which has now been shown to cause cancer in humans.

This byproduct, acrylamide, is also used it help elimate sewage and waste and manufacture certain plastics…so it’s sad that is is also seen in some of our favorite simple carbs like potatoe chips, baked breads, french fries, rice, cereals etc.

Here’s what the 11.3 year human study found:

-They evaluated 62,000 women in the Netherlands for 11.3 years aged 55-69 years of age

-Average acrylamide intake was 8.9 mcg per day.

-At this dose, they discovered that acrylamide may raise the risk of endometiral cancer by 29% and ovarian cancer by 78%.

-If you consume 40.2 mcg/day of acrylamide you put yourself at even more risk for endometrial and ovarian cancer. They found a 99% increase in developing endometrial cancer and a 122% increase for ovarian cancer at this dose.

-They found that acrylamide did not increase your risk for breast cancer.

Comments: Did you know that the worst possible foods known to man kind are potato chips, french fries and donuts. They have to cook these at such extreme temperatures that it increases the acrylamide. But since acrylamide is also used to help elimate sewage I guess we can just dump our favorite chips in the toilet and save on drano. :)

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(11):2304–13

And if you think this article doesn’t apply because your male…..FYI, acrylamide has also been linked to the following cancers in mice/rats per the government funded NIH studies: adrenal pheochromocytomas
and mesotheliomas of the tunica of the testes in male rats; pituitary
adenomas, mammary adenomas and adenocarcinomas, oral cavity
papillomas, uterine adenocarcinomas, and clitoral gland adenomas in
female rats; and follicular adenomas of the thyroid in rats of both
sexes. When administered by gavage or by intraperitoneal injection,
acrylamide increased both the incidence and multiplicity of lung
adenomas in mice of both sexes. When administered topically, by
gavage, or by intraperitoneal injection followed by long-term topical
treatment with 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, acrylamide
induced skin squamous cell papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas
in female mice.

This site is not meant to replace or alter the advice of your personal primary care provider (PCP). Everyone should consult with their PCP before incorporating these suggestions.