by admin | Mar 25, 2014 | Doctors Perspective
Greetings! Well, we all survived the frigid and brutal Minnesota winter and that is a good excuse to talk about the importance of vitamin D.
Preliminary studies have suggested that vitamin D may have a role in prevention of heart disease and even certain cancers. That is in addition to its known benefits for maintaining healthy bone mass (and thereby preventing osteoporosis) as we age. It allows us to absorb the calcium that we eat.
I will agree with most other physicians and scientists that the best way to get your vitamin D levels up is by exposing your skin directly to sunlight. Unfortunately, in the Midwest we get very little exposure to the sun during the winter and if we are being smart we keep our skin covered up during those times. Interestingly, scientists have noted that in tropical regions of the world where the local people wear less clothing and have much more sun exposure, multiple sclerosis (MS) is almost unheard of. I remember being told during my residency training back in Michigan, that the upper Midwest is referred to as the ‘MS belt’ by physicians because the incidence of MS is so high compared to other parts of the country.
The use of vitamin D supplements in prevention and treatment of MS (if deficient) is a classic example of how American healthcare decisions are guided mainly by interests of the pharmaceutical companies.
Why don’t we use vitamin D more often since it is an inexpensive and highly effective treatment? Read briefly the 2 links below. Then compare the average costs of the ‘cutting edge’ immune system modifying MS drugs (which are all patentable) and vitamin D (which can NOT be patented).
My question is: Why didn’t this research make it to the general public since it was very big news with huge medical decision making implications? I’ll give you a hint – no patent…. no profit to be made ….. no incentive to get the word out.
Here is something else to think about:
- Taking 5,000 units of Vitamin D daily costs about $2 to $3 per month.
- Multiple sclerosis specialty drugs cost about $1,800 to $3,500 per month.
Research Links:
http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/february2014/02032014ms.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/expert-answers/vitamin-d-and-ms/faq-20058258
The benefits of taking a vitamin D supplement are enormous. Talk to us or your family doctor about testing your vitamin D level and taking a vitamin D supplement.
– Dr. Rich Sinda Request a consultation
by admin | Feb 25, 2014 | Doctors Perspective
I would make a bet to anyone dollars to donuts that in the very near future, the medical scientists will make these three points very clear to physicians and to the general public:
1. Having a very low level of sex hormones is very risky and leads to all sorts of health problems and poor quality of life.
2. Over treating with high dose and/or synthetic hormones is very risky.
3. Treating patients with low dose, closely monitored bio-identical hormone replacement using the proper route is the best treatment to maintain quality of life and good health with aging.
There is almost nothing that is controversial in those points and the medical science that is published already suggests those 3 conclusions. These finding are coming out of places like the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, not ‘Larry’s Basement Medical Blog.’ Feel free to open the following links to read more and see what I’m talking about….
Dr. Rich Sinda
Join me and we’ll discuss at our next Q/A Round Table discussion! Click here.
by admin | Feb 21, 2014 | Doctors Perspective
Hello, I am Dr. Khalid Mahmud. Here is a little about how I got into Anti-Aging Medicine.
I was a board certified Internist and Hematology-Oncology specialist, and practiced these specialties for a long time successfully. I even opened a cancer center which became quite successful.
After many years of treating these dreadful diseases, I questioned myself, “Why not prevent them?”
So I got into Anti-aging and Preventive Medicine and received a board certification in this discipline. I have treated approximately 1,000 patients. This profession has been very rewarding for me to watch my patients respond so positively. I have also been able to share my experience and medical data to the public and medical community through my book, “Keeping aBreast” and medical publications.
In one of the articles, published in the Journal of General Practice. I shared my experience of about 460 menopausal women that I have treated with natural hormone therapy. Not a single one developed heart attack or stroke. Conventional hormone therapy (using synthetic drug hormones) would have caused 33 such events. Two women developed breast cancer, which statistically is good, considering the fact that one out of seven American women develop this disease.
My hope is that conventional medicine will notice this and stop using synthetic (drug) hormones.
– Dr. Mahmud, MD
If you want to learn more about this topic attend a seminar. Click here to register.
by admin | Feb 18, 2014 | Doctors Perspective
I see women all of the time who say throughout their entire adult lives, they have had a stable/upbeat mood, optimistic outlook, great sleep and no anxiety until they hit menopause. The women say their personal lives are stable and these changes seemed to start for no good reason after menopause. When they reached out to their physician most were told that all hormones everywhere, used in any form, are dangerous and should be avoided (which we know is not true).
They were often offered sleeping pills like Ambien and anxiety medicine like Xanax (both of which usually lead to dependence) and an antidepressant like Prozac or Effexor. Some try these for 1-2 months and then realize they feel like a ‘zombie’ so they stop. Others receive the sleeping, anxiety and anti-depressant prescriptions, promptly throw them in the trash and then come to see me to treat the hormone deficiencies that are the true cause of these new symptoms.
Women Do Not develop Ambien, Xanax and Effexor deficiencies, they develop estrogen and progesterone deficiencies. Almost universally, treating their hormone deficiencies makes their insomnia, anxiety and depressed mood improve and/or resolve. The scary part to me is the group of women (who are very common) take all 3 of these medicines day-in and day-out. Their symptoms might be controlled but they are dependent on these habit forming medicines and take them daily for several years. This treatment is risky and does NOTHING to address the underlying deficiencies that are causing these symptoms in the first place…..a hormonal imbalance of estrogen and progesterone.
– Dr. Rich Sinda
by admin | Feb 13, 2014 | Doctors Perspective
Hello! I am Dr. Rich Sinda a physician here at Innovative Directions in Health. Here’s a little about me.
I completed my residency in 1994 and am a Board Certified Family Practice Physician. I have practiced in a variety of care centers: office-based, hospital and urgent care. In 2002, I became very frustrated when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study was released showing that hormones derived from horses given to menopausal women by mouth increased their risks for heart disease, strokes, blood clots and breast cancer. After the findings of this study a “knee jerk” response was made by the traditional medical community and presumed (in my opinion, wrongly presumed) that this study concludes all hormone replacement for women in all forms is dangerous. Modern large studies (like a large French study in 2010) showed this is not the case. Also, a study by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) made up of research scientists and Ob/Gyn physicians, concluded that topical estrogen does NOT seem to have the same risk and IS much safer.
However, I was being urged to take all of my menopausal patients off of hormone replacement as quickly as possible – leaving these women high and dry and miserable with poor quality of life – I knew deep in my bones there MUST be a way to relieve the suffering and deterioration associated with menopause in a safe and effective manner. Telling women they had to suffer was not acceptable to me (or to them). So after over about 5 years of extensive reading and research, I found that a safe and effective path to post-menopausal hormone replacement DOES exist with bio-identical hormone therapy given in the right way. I joined into this practice at Innovative Directions in Health because I believe in keeping the body at optimal health by practicing prevention and replacing the hormones that already exist in our bodies to a safe level.
Since I have been using bioidentical hormones in my practice, I must say I have never seen any therapy transform the lives of my patients for the better. I look forward to seeing my post- menopausal patients. I have also become acutely aware of the vitamin and nutrient deficiencies that are rampant in people starting around mid-life and the need to supplement. Stay tuned, I’ll get more into that later.
– Rich
by admin | Mar 4, 2013 | Doctors Perspective
Despite the fact that many people having a cold receive antibiotics, being a viral infection, it remains unresponsive to such therapy. On the other hand zinc, easily available over the counter, has been shown to decrease the duration and severity of such infection in both children and adults, and should be tried. ~ Dr. M
