Vitamin D, in addition to its important role in calcium homeostasis, has recently been discovered to play a role in immune and inflammation system modulation. According to research, Vitamin D deficiency may have a negative influence on immunological function, cardiovascular health, and cancer risk.
What is Inflammation, and What Does It Mean?
Inflammation is a defense mechanism used by your body’s white blood cells and the substances they produce to keep you safe from outside intruders like germs and viruses. In cases when there are no invaders to fight, some disorders, such as arthritis trigger your body’s defensive system. These conditions cause your immune system to consider your regular tissues as infected, causing damage.
What Does Vitamin D Do for Inflammation?
Vitamin D, in addition to its important role in calcium homeostasis, has recently been discovered to play a role in immune and inflammation system modulation by regulating the production of inflammatory cytokines and inhibiting the proliferation of pro-inflammatory cells, both of which are important in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Several studies have linked low vitamin D levels to an increased risk of acute infections and a poor outcome.
Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency
- Muscle weakness
- Weak bones
- Discomfort
- Depression
- Frequent illness
- Inflammation
Symptoms of Inflammation
- Redness
- A swollen, warm-to-the-touch joint
- Joint discomfort
- Joint stiffness
- A joint that isn’t performing as well as it could be.
You can also have flu-type symptoms in case of inflammation, such as:
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Appetite loss.
- Muscle stiffness,
Also read: INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISORDER (IBD) AND FOOD SENSITIVITIES: KNOW THE CONNECTION
Can Low Vitamin D Cause Inflammation?
In healthy women, vitamin D deficiency is linked to inflammation, which is a detrimental immunological response. In women with low vitamin D levels, higher levels of serum TNF-a, an inflammatory marker, were discovered. This could explain the vitamin’s significance in inflammatory disorders like heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis prevention and treatment.
Do Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Joint Pain and Swelling?
Vitamin D is important for bone and muscle health, and it may also help to reduce inflammation. As a result, many people feel that vitamin D helps to relieve joint discomfort, especially when inflammation is involved. Vitamin D insufficiency causes bones to weaken and become weak. In adults, this is known as osteomalacia, and in children, it is known as rickets. Vitamin D can also help prevent osteoporosis, which is a bone-weakening disorder. Furthermore, the vitamin has the potential to alter the immune system, which could aid in the management of autoimmune diseases such as RA, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Also read: Probiotics and Prebiotics: The Best Foods You Should Eat
Vitamins That Fight Inflammation
- Vitamin A.
- B Vitamins.
- Vitamin C.
- Vitamin D.
- Vitamin E.
- Vitamin K.
If you’re looking for skilled treatment for inflammatory ailments, give us a call at 843-572-1600 or make an appointment with one of our specialists now. At the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, we have a team of doctors dedicated to improving your overall health.
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Progesterone gets its name from “for gestation” because its highest levels occur during pregnancy. Without the high levels a mother would reject her boy baby. But, progesterone is present and functioning throughout our entire life. It is equally important to both men and women.
Everyone is trying to reduce their cholesterol levels but cholesterol is the essential molecule we begin with to synthesize Progesterone as well as all of our sex and adrenal hormones. This is one good reason you should explore the alternatives to taking cholesterol-blocking drugs. Let’s focus on Progesterone, the subject of this alert.
Progesterone’s contributions to health and well being are:
1-Essential for maintaining pregnancy.
2-Lowers blood pressure.
3-Converted by the adrenal glands into all of the stress hormones.
4-Promotes calmness.
5-Relieves water retention.
6-Protects the brain against estrogen induced brain fog.
7-Helps form the protective layer around nerve endings.
8-Provides significant protection against heart disease.
9-Offers protections against osteoporosis.
10-Is necessary for balancing many other hormones and nutrients in the body.
And most importantly, it balances the proliferative effects of estrogen preventing breast, prostate and uterine cancer. The epidemics of these cancers, remember, are caused buy dominance of the hormone estrogen. Not because there is an overabundance of estrogen in our bodies but because we have so little progesterone.
During Menopause your estrogen levels drop about 50% but your progesterone drops 99% leaving what Dr. John Lee calls “estrogen dominance”. Another disastrous situation of young women is the occurrence of anovulatory menstrual cycles. If you don’t ovulate, even if you have normal menses, you do not make progesterone. It is estimated that as many as one third of women are having anovulatory cycles.
The point of all this is that risk of cancer to the breasts is increased in young women with little to no progesterone and to perimenopausal and menopausal women when again progesterone is very low to absent.
Therefore, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for women to have adequate levels of progesterone. (200-600 times more progesterone than estrogen.) The only way to be sure if you have adequate levels is to measure it in the saliva. This applies to both men and women. The only way to measure the free and available levels of hormones is to use saliva. Blood levels measure only the bound and non-useable form.
Although I have said this before it bears repeating again and again. A physician with many years of experience said, “I have never seen a woman with high levels of progesterone ever get breast cancer, not one.”
Also, the most common pathology of the breast found on mammography and thermography is Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. It is said to represent stage 0 cancer. Dr. Lee felt strongly that this was caused by a deficiency of progesterone and if supplemented the lesion returned to normal. And men, don’t feel left out because treating men with progesterone often also reverses prostate cancer.
A deficiency of progesterone can lead to many health issues. It is fortunate that this can be treated.
The Comprehensive Saliva Hormone Kit tests for the following:
A. Estradiol
B. Progesterone
C. Testosterone
D. Morning/noon/evening/pm cortisol levels
E. DHEA
F. Estriol
We are offering a special introductory price for the month of March for Comprehensive Saliva Hormone Panel testing. This test is performed at home and shipped to the laboratory. UPS fees are included in the price.
Probalance (2 oz. cream) is offered here at the Center. This transdermal cream supplies the recommended effective dose of natural progesterone (400 to 500 mg. per ounce) in a base suitable for proper absorption. (Not all progesterone creams are.)
CLICK HERE to order Comprehensive Saliva Hormone Kit or ProBalance Transdermal Cream.
Allan Lieberman, M.D., F.A.A.E.M.
Medical Director, The Center for Occupational and Environmental
Medicine
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- Vitamin D and Inflammation: How It Can Affect Your Health
- Progesterone – One Heck of a Hormone
- Spring Checkup – Hair Loss & Aging Skin
- Aging Gracefully and Beautifully
- Healthy for Life Weight Loss
- Bone Health
- Breast Health
- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
SPRING CHECKUP – HAIR LOSS & AGING SKIN
Today is the first day of spring and we are almost into the second quarter of the year. We all promised ourselves we would pay more attention to our health and welfare. Some of us have by adding Vitamin D 2,000 to 4,000 I.U.’s and Vitamin K2 as MK7 to our daily regimen. Whether you realize it or not you have reduced your risks to all of the major disease processes including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, autoimmunity and osteoporosis. Now, you have to admit, that was pretty easy.
How we look has a lot to do with how we feel and also vice versa. As we all would like to look good I am going to discuss a few important points about our hair and skin; two parts of our body we are all so aware of.
I never really noticed how many women style their hair with tight curls close to their scalp in order to cover up for what they see as thinning hair. Men don’t have that luxury. Hair loss is a part of the aging process, which can be reversed, and more importantly prevented.
Hair loss in young women is more often associated with low levels of hydrochloric acid in our stomachs. In older women it’s acid deficiency but often also deficiencies of the hormones: thyroid, progesterone and DHEA.
The Center has one of the few Heidelberg Systems in both North and South Carolina, which measures accurately your stomach’s ability to produce acid. This is such a critical piece of our health maintenance that if you have any suspicion of malnutrition you should really undergo testing. (Click here to learn more about the Heidelberg System) When HCL is low in the stomach you cannot breakdown proteins or absorb minerals. Sublimely simple but incredibly important to our health. The best part is this deficiency is correctable and minerals can also be repleted.
Hormone testing is also easily done using a simple saliva panel and blood for testing the thyroid. How you interpret the results of hormone testing is critical because you don’t want “NORMAL FOR AGE”. You want “OPTIMAL” which is normal for a youthful age.
We discovered, empirically that the Pantothenic acid formula we developed to treat Acne Vulgaris and Acne Rosacea was also a remarkable skin cream. Almost overnight your skin would appear so much younger as a result of the great moisturizing properties of Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid). Acne Rosacea is a very common problem of older people. It is nice to have not only a therapeutic agent for this skin disease but also one that has an anti aging effect.
The message for this alert is that we can both prevent and correct the causes of hair loss and aging skin. If this is a concern for you call (843) 572-1600. Click on one of these links for more information on the discussed products, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2 MK7, Pantothenic acid, hormone panels, thyroid panels, Heidelberg System Analysis.
Related Article
- Vitamin D and Inflammation: How It Can Affect Your Health
- Progesterone – One Heck of a Hormone
- Spring Checkup – Hair Loss & Aging Skin
- Aging Gracefully and Beautifully
- Healthy for Life Weight Loss
- Bone Health
- Breast Health
- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
AGING GRACEFULLY AND BEAUTIFULLY (ANTI-AGING SKIN CARE)
The Trienelle Photodocumentation Project:
***Daily Renewal Creme
Following is a series of case studies showing the various stages of skin improvement on subjects who used Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme for a specific time.
SUBJECT: Female, 41 y.o.
CONDITION: Early “crow’s feet” wrinkles around eye area HISTORY: The subject began to notice wrinkles around the eyes in her late 30’s and used a variety of moisturizers and facial cremes, none of which affected the appearance of the wrinkles. Trienelle was applied twice daily for three months.
OUTCOME: The appearance of the wrinkles improved gradually over the three month period and are virtually gone at the end of three months. The slightly rough, “pebbly” texture of the skin appears smoother.
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SUBJECT: Female, age undisclosed
CONDITION: Advanced photodamage over face; ‘crow’s feet’ at eye area
HISTORY: Many years of ongoing unprotected sun exposure resulted in significant photodamage to this woman’s face and other exposed skin. The skin had become dull, dry and wrinkled despite use of various products.
OUTCOME: Trienelle was applied to the face twice daily. While mildly pleased with the changes in the first two months, the subject was elated with the changes seen by the end of the third month. Other areas of the face show similar improvements.
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SUBJECT: Female, age 41
CONDITION: Wrinkling and creasing of skin beneath and around eye area
HISTORY: Skin shows evidence of moderate photodamage and aging. Wrinkles around the eyes indicate loss of collagen beneath the surface of the skin. Uneven pigmentation and freckling suggests long-term, chronic UV exposure.
OUTCOME: Regular use of Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme has led to a substantial improvement in the appearance of lines and wrinkles. The skin is significantly smoother and firmer. Pigmentation is more even, with fading of freckles and age spots.
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SUBJECT: Female, 48 y.o.
CONDITION: Severely photodamaged skin
HISTORY: Concerned about the prematurely aged appearance of her skin, the subject had tried a variety of high-priced skin care products, without significant results. She has very sensitive skin and frequently cannot tolerate even high-quality skin products. These unretouched photographs demonstrate the effects of the use of Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme.
OUTCOME: After three months, a dramatic reduction in the depth of facial wrinkles is apparent. Skin appears tighter and skin tone is noticeably improved. Coloration and texture is more uniform. The subject reports that acquaintances have begun to mention that she looks younger. She reports no irritation or sensitivity to Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme and has even noticed decreased skin reactivity to other medications.
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SUBJECT: Female, 80 y.o.
CONDITION: Chronic dry skin with severe desquamation (flaking)
HISTORY: Despite routine use of a moisturizer, the subject’s lower legs were extremely dry, itchy, and “tight” feeling. She continued to apply the old moisturizer daily to the left leg and used Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme on the right.
OUTCOME: After 3 months, the skin on the right leg has been transformed to smooth, healthy skin while the left leg remains unchanged… The subject reports that the itchiness and discomfort were relieved within the first week of using Trienelle Daily Renewal Creme. No moisturizer was applied for 24 hours before both photos were taken.
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The Trienelle Photodocumentation Project:
*** Eye Reviving Gel
Following is a series of case studies showing the various stages of skin improvement on subjects who used Trienelle Eye Reviving Gel for a specific time.
SUBJECT: Female, 49 y.o.
HISTORY: Subject’s change in appearance after using Trienelle Eye Reviving Gel for five months.
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SUBJECT: Female, 49 y.o.
HISTORY: Subject’s change in appearance after using Trienelle Eye Reviving Gel for four months.
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SUBJECT: Female, 66 y.o.
HISTORY: Subject’s change in appearance after using Trienelle Eye Reviving Gel for three months.
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- Vitamin D and Inflammation: How It Can Affect Your Health
- Progesterone – One Heck of a Hormone
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- Healthy for Life Weight Loss
- Bone Health
- Breast Health
- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
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At the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, we are very pleased to offer a comprehensive Weight Loss Program that maximizes our patients’ success because it addresses all the major reasons for weight gain:
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Our program is designed to not only successfully produce weight loss in our patients but to improve their health, energy, and fitness levels. This is accomplished by means of:
- In-depth medical/laboratory assessment prior to entering the program
- Counseling on appropriate diet, exercise, allergy, and other individualized factors
- Lipotropic (fat-burning) nutrients that decrease hunger
- Specific nutritional supplements
- NO amphetamines, diet pills, herbal stimulants, or unhealthy gimmicks of any kind
- When needed, allergy desensitization to decrease food cravings
As a medical practice, it is in our best interest, too, if you succeed. As your weight normalizes and the very real and severe medical risks caused by obesity are diminished, our ability to help you in other ways with your health is facilitated. Your success in this program makes our overall job as your chosen health care provider much easier. We consider ourselves partners with our patients in this program, and that is why we wish to give you the best tools and knowledge we have to make this program work for you.
You know the reasons why you, yourself, wish to lose weight and look and feel better. But did you know that the US government, medical and even insurance industries recognize the enormous risks and costs of obesity and are willing to do something about it?
In April 2002, the Internal Revenue Service recognized obesity as a disease, instead of a precursor to other diseases. You may now claim weight loss programs that are under a physician’s guidance (such as this one) as a medical expense when you file your taxes. The cost of diet foods is not included, but if your insurance company does not yet provide reimbursement for a weight loss program (many do now), then the cost can be itemized as a tax-deductible medical expense.
We look forward to helping you achieve your weight loss and health goals.
For a testimonial from a participant in the Healthy for Life Program, see A Patient’s Story: I Had Accepted the Fact…
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- Breast Health
- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
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- Healthy for Life Weight Loss Program
Bone loss is the second most commonly occurring health problem in women (after breast and other cancers). Since osteoporosis does not have any outward symptoms until a fracture occurs, early diagnosis and intervention are critical. Although a DEXA scan is valuable for measuring base line Bone Mineral Density, assessment of overall bone remodeling is possible only by comparing repeated scans.
At the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, we have been highly motivated to find a means of monitoring a woman’s bone building status without repeated radiation exposure. In time, our doctors found a safe, accurate, and very affordable test for measuring biochemical markers of bone turnover. Whenever collagen and bone are being broken down or resorbed, specific byproducts of the disintegration are found in the urine. With just one urine test, bone loss is not only identified but the severity of bone breakdown is also determined without the added risk of radiation.
When a woman’s health history and family history indicate a need for bone monitoring, the Center provides both noninvasive measurement of bone loss and a comprehensive and natural bone building program, including broad-based nutritional supplementation, dietary counseling, and when necessary, natural hormone balancing. Our Bone Health Program is a safe, natural means of preventing and overcoming osteoporosis, and is up to three times more effective than currently prescribed drugs.
For more information, please call The Center at (843) 572-1600. |
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- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
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BREAST HEALTH AND THERMOGRAPHYDISCLAIMER: Per the FDA, Thermography should not be used as the sole device to diagnose or screen for breast cancer or other conditions. Thermography should not be used in place of mammography and is only for use in addition to other diagnostic or screening devices. Use of thermography carries the risks of a delayed or missed diagnosis.
The Center for Women’s Health at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine is pleased to be the first medical facility in the Charleston area to offer Breast Thermography, utilizing infrared digital thermal imaging. The Center’s Breast Health Program has been operating for nearly five years, and has performed over 1,000 breast thermography studies for women from all over the Southeastern United States.
Women seem to especially like that The Center’s program not only provides visualization of breast tissue but can also include recommendations for individualized nutritional supplementation and lifestyle changes, depending upon the results of the thermogram. With application of these viable prevention measures, women can see for themselves when cancer risk factors have decreased by observing the positive changes in breast tissue. |
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We are pleased that many women have found the experience so helpful that they have chosen annual follow-ups as part of their own preventive medicine programs.
These are some of the Frequently Asked Questions about our program:
1) Why did The Center decide to offer a Breast Thermography Program?
Eighty percent of all cancers are environmentally triggered, so environmental causes such as diet, lifestyle, and exposures to toxic substances all need to be addressed in order to reduce cancer risk. Also, the Center’s Breast Thermography Program offers women the best opportunity to identify changes in breast tissue up to 6 years before a clinically recognizable tumor or malignancy presents itself and before it can be seen by mammography.
The Center’s Breast Thermography Program offers women a secondary diagnostic tool to identify potentially dangerous changes in breast tissue which could indicate the presence of a tumor or malignancy..
The thermogram is able to identify early pre-cancer/cancer cells because it can detect changes that occur in the tissues surrounding the cancer cells. Just as scaffolding goes up at the construction site of a new building, an infrastructure of new blood vessels forms to nurture and sustain a developing cancer. It is these blood vessel changes, with their increased blood flow and heat, which Thermography’s ultra-sensitive infrared camera can detect.
2) What are the advantages of The Center’s Breast Thermography Program?
- The thermogram is painless and safe
- Uses no radiation or compression
- Can be used effectively and safely for all women, including pregnant or nursing women
- Is effective even for women with dense breast tissue and women with breast implants
- Causes no embarrassment—only a trained technician is present during the scan itself
- Natural preventive measures can be recommended, depending upon the results of the thermogram
3) Why should women get breast thermograms?
- Breast cancer rates are increasing every year. Today 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and a new case is diagnosed every 2 ½ minutes.
- Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 20 to 59.
- This year 39,800 women are expected to die of breast cancer in the United States.
- Recovery rates for breast cancer patients have not improved significantly in more than 40 years.
It is clear that one of the most important keys to avoiding or surviving breast cancer is to diagnose the problem as early as possible. If pre-cancer/cancer cells are identified in the earliest stage, it is possible to not only significantly improve survival but to even reverse the process before a cancerous mass is formed! At The Center, we help patients learn how to apply specific preventive measures.
Since The Center’s Breast Thermography Program is a safe and effective adjunct tool for identifying early pre-cancer/cancer cells in breast tissue, it can be a very important part of a woman’s preventive medicine program. Please note that Thermography should be used in conjunction with Mammography and not as a substitute for Mammography.
For more information, please contact our office at (843) 572-1600, or see our in-depth website devoted just to The Center’s Breast Thermography Program at www.earlycancerdetection.com.
References:
Epstein, Samuel. Dangers and Unreliability of Mammography. International J. Health Services, Vol.31(3):605-615.
Wright CJ, Mueller CB. Screening Mammography and Public Health Policy. The Lancet July 1 2005 vol.346:29-32.
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- Healthy for Life Weight Loss
- Bone Health
- Breast Health
- Natural Hormone Balancing for Women
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Because a woman’s intricate hormonal balance determines how she feels, looks, and functions, hormone testing and monitoring can be essential to her aging gracefully and beautifully. The Center’s Natural Hormone Balancing Program is one of the most loved and appreciated programs we’ve offered to date.
Hormone evaluation is one area where it is critical to have professional testing and monitoring based on years of clinical experience in order to achieve optimal hormone balance. In addition, laboratory results must be interpreted in light of a woman’s total health history and family history.
If your laboratory test results indicate a need for hormone balancing, our doctors recommend or use only bio-identical hormones and/or other natural therapies. These do not increase cancer risk but have been shown to actively prevent cancer when used in proper balance. We believe in partnering with each patient to arrive at a course of treatment that will not only support female hormone balance and relieve any uncomfortable symptoms, but also support every other aspect of health over time, without additional risk.
An important part of addressing hormone balance is to accurately assess whether |
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all the major hormones (all three forms of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA) not only exist in proper quantities but in proper ratios to each other. Thyroid and insulin levels are other important hormones that must be considered. Test procedures need to adequately reflect levels over time, not just the quantity of hormones circulating in the blood on one particular day.
With accurate assessment of a woman’s hormonal balance, any necessary fine-tuning can be applied—always with natural, bio-identical hormones.
Typical comments have been: “I got my life back,” “My long-lost energy returned,” and “My mental clarity improved tremendously and my depression is gone.” Through careful assessment, using only natural and bio-identical hormones, women can safely restore that all-important part of a woman’s health–her delicate hormonal balance.
For more information, call The Center at (843) 572-1600 and ask to speak to our New Patient Coordinator.