According to Janet Lang, DC there are several signs and symptoms that can indicate a loss of androgen dominance in males.  Some of these include the following:  low mood, irritability, depression; discouragement, pessimism; loss of energy, strength, stamina; concentration and memory problems; brain fog; weight gain, central weight gain; loss of libido; sleep problems; elevated blood pressure; increased cholesterol and triglycerides; osteoporosis.  In short, when male hormones are out of balance there are a variety of possible psychological and physiological symptoms.

In general, the traditional medical approach very often includes hormone replacement therapy which is intended to eliminate the symptom(s).  This form of treatment focuses on directly changing or improving hormone levels.  The nutritional approach takes more of an in-depth look at the possible causes of the imbalance and includes strategies for helping the body to balance it’s physiology.  

From this perspective Dr. Lang suggests that four different areas of functioning be assessed for their possible contributions to a loss of male dominance (i.e., hormone imbalance).  She recommends looking at digestion and absorption of food, cravings for sweets and carbohydrates, stress management needs and hormone metabolism as defined by liver-gall bladder function.  Stress management and/or nutritional suggestions are provided to support the body’s ability to operate at its fullest potential.

I welcome your comments and questions.  

Maintaining good health can mean different things to each of us.  For some it means symptom management i.e.,  suppressing the symptom or forcing a change.  For others it means identifying the underlying cause and giving the body what it needs to heal itself.  The first approach is usually what traditional medicine does.  The second approach is more typical of alternative health approaches including, but not limited to nutritional assessment, accupuncture, accupressure, reflexology, chiropractic, meditation, yoga, qi gong, etc..

Both approaches require the individual who is seeking assistance to follow recommendations.  The difference between the two approaches is the first seeks compliance until the symptom is managed and the second seeks ongoing lifestyle changes.  An example of the first approach is to take an antibiotic for a prescribed length of time.  An example of the second approach is to make some lifestyle changes.  Each approach makes a valuable contribution to our ongoing health status.

It is important to recognize that following the alternative approach requires a lengthier time commitment than the traditional approach.  This is because the traditional approach generally focuses on affecting  symptoms and the alternative approach seeks to affect the underlying cause of the symptom.  To illustrate, you can take a muscle relaxant to relieve a muscle cramp or you can exercise and/or take a nutritional supplement.  The important thing to remember is each choice has its limitations (e.g., amount of time to see/feel a difference) and a time frame for maintaining positive change.

I welcome your comments and questions.   

My July 5th blog described an approach, NRT (i.e., Nutrition Response Testing), that uses muscle testing to identify possible difficulties people may experience while trying to attain their psychological health goals.  These difficulties are suspected when someone says he/she experiences an exacerbation of symptoms from taking something that “should help” or initially he/she feels better and then starts to feel worse again.  These comments indicate something may be preventing the person from completely resolving his/her psychological health challenges.

Our mind’s ability to function properly can be affected by an unblanced nervous system.  According to NRT there are three initial muscle testing steps which help to identify anything which may be interfering with the functioning of a person’s nervous system.  First, they must have a strong muscle that can be tested for strength or weakness.  Second, they must be physiologically open to healing.  Third, their nervous system must be in balance and, in NRT terms, not be switched.   

If any of these condions exist the next step, according to the NRT approach, is to determine if any of five possible blocks are affecting the body’s ability to be muscle tested.  These blocks are immune challenges, chemical toxicity, heavy metal toxicity, food sensitivities, and scars.  A psychologically healthy individual is someone whose nervous system is in balance and working in harmony with the rest of the body.  If someone has any of these blocks their body’s ability to be in balance must be strengthened to enhance their potential to experience psychological health and freedom from addictions.  

I welcome your comments and questions.

Some people believe that all nutritional supplements are basically similar and it does not matter very much which one you take.  I think that there are several differences among nutritional supplements worth noting.  These differences include cost, amounts recommended and sources of the nutrients.

The price of a supplement is very often related to the cost of manufacturing it.  A supplement sold in a department store will usually cost less than one sold at a health food store.  The less expensive one usually costs less to produce and may be composed of several fillers and synthetic vitamins. 

The amounts recommended are based on the minimum amount needed to address a specific symptom and does not account for individual differences among people.  These individual differences include but are not limited to the following:  age; genetics; health status; activity level; the bioavailability of the nutrient; and the individual’s ability to absorb it adequately.  More expensive supplements or larger doses are not necessarily the best approach.  

Also of importance is the source of each nutrient.  Is it synthetic or natural?  Synthetic substances tend to be more difficult to absorb and you may need greater amounts to obtain the desired effect.  Natural substances are more readily absorbed since they are closer, in structure, to food.  They provide the body what it needs so healing comes from within the body.  Whole food supplements from natural sources contain smaller amounts of nutrients that include synergistic effects and provide the fuel the body needs to heal itself.  

I welcome your comments and questions.

Have you noticed that you do not feel as well as you would like to mentally even though you are doing all the “right things”?  Do you sometimes feel better initially only to have your psychological and substance use challenges return?  Do your challenges sometimes increase even though you are taking something to help?

There is an approach that may help you to get the answers to these questions.  Nutrition Response Testing (i.e., NRT) assesses neurological reflex points on your body by using a technique called muscle testing (i.e., Applied Behavioral Kinesiology).  The principle behind muscle testing is that anything which is not good for you results in you having a weak muscle response when gentle pressure is applied to your arm or any other major muscle group.  Anything that is good for you will not result in any weakness when the gentle pressure is applied.  The NRT practitioner uses muscle testing and touches various neurological reflex points along your body to check for weak and strong responses.  Supplements are then checked to see the one(s) that may change the weak response and the person takes those supplements until the reflex point maintains a strong response and previously identified challenges no longer occur.

You may be wondering if there is anything specific that could be stopping you from achieving optimal psychological health and freedom from addictions.  Another question often asked is what makes one supplement different from or better than another?  These two areas will be discussed in my upcoming blogs.

I welcome your comments and questions.   

My answer to the question posed by the title of this article is yes.  Before proceeding I want to make something clear.  There are many approaches available to people who have psychological and/or substance use issues.  These approaches offer varying degrees of relief to individuals that last different amounts of time.  One of the most important factors which contributes to someone’s ongoing successful management of symptoms is the extent of their willingness to take responsibility for their recovery.  However, there is another component of recovery that, if successfully addressed, could help people to experience long-term solutions.   

These seemingly elusive component involves addressing the underlying factors which could be contributing to existing symptoms rather than solely treating the symptom itself.  It is my belief that chemical/nutritional imbalances fuel psychological/substance use distress.  Thus, assisting the body/brain to perform at its optimal functioning level by giving it the fuel (i.e., nutrients) it needs can provide the so called missing link to achieving a long-term solution.

To illustrate this point let’s consider the following example.  Imagine the situation in which someone  regularly drinks alcohol.  This substance is broken down into a simple sugar in the body.  Generally speaking, ongoing use of sugar contributes to the craving of simple carbohydrates and sugar.  Ongoing consumption of simple carbohydrates and sugar has been shown to correlate with the existence of a medical condition called diabetes.  It is not unusual for a doctor to give someone who is showing diabetic tendencies suggestions about foods to eat and foods to decrease.  This advice might come directly from the doctor or from a referral made by the doctor to a trained profesional.  The doctor’s objective would be to help his “patient” prevent the development of the need to take insulin in the future.  This same rationale would apply to someone who already has the diagnosis of diabetes.  Eating less sugar and simple carbohydrates could affect the individual’s needed insulin dose.  Based upon this line of reasoning, helping to manage ”sugar cravings” could then help someone abstain from the use of alcohol.

I welcome your thoughts and questions.            

Stress affects each of us everyday to varying degrees.  The important issue is not related to the fact that we all have stress in our lives.  It is our ability to deal with stress that determines, or at least contributes, to someone’s current state of health.  Therefore, it is useful to know what we can do that will allow us to manage the stress in our lives as effectively as possible.

How our experiences affect us is related to our overall state of health which includes mental, emotional, physical and spiritual functioning.  Whatever compromises any of these areas creates an extra challenge to our ability to manage stress effectively.  If any of these areas are overly stressed then that area is the “weakest link” and is the most likely area to be adversely effected.  This, in turn, will put extra stress on the other areas and result in additional difficulties over time.

Consider an individual who is experiencing stress related to work and finances.  Over time his/her mental and emotional state will be affected.  If this person resorts to smoking cigarettes, using drugs or alcohol to manage the stress physical health as well as other areas of functioning will be influenced.  In a sense, this person will have resorted to indirect and inefficient ways of dealing with the existing stressors that will eventually result in additional problems.

Consider someone else who is experiencing the same scenario I just described.  However, this person eats healthy, exercises, takes time to relax and has some spiritual practice (e.g., attends religious services, prays, meditates, does volunteer work, etc.).  This way of life provides a foundation of strength and health that will help minimize the negative effects of stress over time.  Therefore, it is important for each of us to identify our “weakest links” and to develop a strategy for managing our stress that takes our individual values and strengths into account.

I welcome your questions and comments.            

People give a variety of reasons for wanting to be in a relationship.  For some it is an escape from loneliness.  For others it is to have a family.  Many people talk about wanting to find their soulmate.  What many people do not realize initially is that they have very little idea of what they will experience in a relationship.

The early stages of a relationship tend to be a honeymoon period.  This is the time when the hormones are flowing and expectations are high.  We tend to be carefree and our troubles are few.  At some point we start to become concerned about some of our partner’s traits and begin to question if this is the person with whom we want to spend our life.

Just because the infatuation stage does not last and we feel disappointed what follows is not necessarily a sign that we made a bad decision.  Very often it is just the natural progression of a relationship that reflects someone else’s character traits that can be a mirror showing us what needs to be changed in ourselves.  This is a common experience for many couples.

This is what I refer to as the spiritual aspect of a relationship.  It is the aspect of a relationship which reveals the lessons we are here to learn and what we might need to change about ourselves.  Of course there are some things like being abused or being disrespected that are not reasonable ways to be treated over time.  However, if you are able to identify certain patterns that consistently occur in your life this might be a sign that something about you needs to change.    

I welcome your comments and questions.

During the past three weeks I have written about the function of our digestive organs, what happens when something goes wrong with one or more of them and suggested some beneficial products.  By taking this perspective I did not mean to imply that any of our body’s systems (e.g., digestion, circulation, etc.) operate in a vacuum.  The reality is that they are all interdependent upon one another.  

To illustrate let’s consider the pancreas.  This organ secretes digestive enzymes.  If this does not occur as needed the result can be incomplete food digestion.  According to Anthony Cichoke, DC this can contribute to adult-onset diabetes, food allergies and pancreatitis.  People with diabetes need to monitor their blood sugar leves and are at risk for developing problems with circulation.  Unstable (i.e., low blood sugar levels) have been associated with depression.  Serious circulatory challenges can result in decreased mobility and social interaction with friends and family.   

When we have a problem with any aspect of our health it is important to identify the cause and not just treat the symptom.  If someone experiences low blood sugar eating candy or drinking orange juice would be an example of treating the symptom.  Determining the reason for the low blood sugar (e.g., over production of insulin) and treating it is an example of treating the cause.  An accurate identification of the cause is essential.  The next step would be to identify available treatment options and to choose the one with the fewest risks and most benefit.

I welcome your questions and comments.   

In this last article on improving digestion I will discuss the digestive roles of the liver and the large intestine.  I will identify the adverse factors which affect each of them.  I will also suggest beneficial approaches to provide nutritional support in response to the adverse factors.

The liver metabolizes proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  It also detoxifies hormones, toxins and drugs and manufactures bile.  The bile is secreted into the small intestine or stored in the gallbladder.  Bile is important in the digestion of fat and fat-soluble vitamins and keeps the small intestine free from harmful organisms.

When we overly burden our livers with excessive use of alcohol and drugs this can interfere with its daily functions.  A compromised immunne system can lead to liver Infection and also compromise optimal organ performance.  Beneficial approaches include the use of whole food supplements that provide nutritional support to the liver and herbs such as milk thistle, artichoke and dandelion.  In general, these herbs are reputed to protect against toxicity and/or increase the production of bile.

The large intestine’s principle functions are to concentrate, store, and excrete food wastes through absorption of water and electrolytes.  A small amount of nutrient absorption also occurs.  A section of the large intestine, the colon, contains friendly flora (i.e., bacteria) which produce enzymes that break down remaining food from the small intestines. 

An important aspect of good colon health is to maintain its healthy environment.  This can be accomplished by eliminating toxic bacteria, maintaining healthy flora (e.g., lactobacilli & others), identifying and avoiding any food sensitivities and getting an adequate amount of fiber.  Good intestinal health contributes to overall physical functioning.

I welcome your comments and questions.