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DHEA – Important Information from Dr. Gordon & Dr. Mercola

Linda’s comment:  I’m now taking DHEA and it makes a   difference in how I feel…. I will be 68 yrs old in September and feel DHEA is now a must in my daily supplement routine…

Dr. Gordon’s Comments: I find DHEA is useful and I have taken it for years, 50 mg a day. We always need to learn more about it to avoid side effects and achieve the optimal dose. One study showed cancer patients survive far longer if they receive DHEA and oral melatonin. 

This link provides useful information on DHEA, which is an extremely useful hormone that most of us will want to be taking at some point in life depending on your blood tests results. I do not feel that I need to bother to take this in a topical form, as this article recommends, but for many other hormones like testosterone and progesterone topical administration can be very useful.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/19/the-most-common-mistakes-in-bioidentical-hormone-replacement.aspx

Excerpt:

Supplementing With THIS Hormone Can Lead to Tumors and Insomnia 
Posted By Dr. Mercola | March 19 2011 

Before I begin this article I want to state very clearly that hormones are not my primary specialty. I have used them clinically but I found the science quite controversial, so this is a summary as I best understand it.

If you are a clinician with considerable experience in this area I invite you to present your views to update the information on DHEA.

Bioidentical hormone comments from Dr. Gordon

Dr. Gordon’s Comments:

There will always be controversies around Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy but the attached review article at the bottom helps to bring out some very useful information. I particularly appreciate this since it strongly encourages the use of Progesterone Creams either from over the counter or from compounding pharmacies. I strongly favor that approach and feel that there is useful information here about the limitations of various approaches to hormone testing. 

All of that being said, we still need to understand Estrogen Receptor Sites and why I fear the estrogen mimics, which are not discussed in most discussions regarding BHRT. Also the ongoing need to balance these chemicals out with I3C, DIM, glucosinolates, as in MACA, and the wonderful all natural approach we have with PUERARIA (H.R.T. Plus) acting at the molecular level, as a selective estrogen receptor modulator S.E.R.M. beta, which then leads into advanced concepts to protect breasts, bones, brains etc. This approach alone, however, will never provide total support, as topical progesterone will always be needed. 

Read Dr John Lee’s books but today we must add additional information if we are to achieve our maximum intended useful lifespan. Today we hear about the need for supplementation of iodine to maintain healthy breasts and thyroid etc. Some advocate aggressive supplementation with iodine and if we realize that some toxins like fluorine, bromine etc are blocking iodine the need for aggressive iodine supplementation makes more sense. Dramatic reversals of Fibrocystic breast disease and even cases of breast cancer responding to systemic and in some cases topical Iodine treatment directly to the breasts are being reported world-wide today. 

Why do we seem to need such high intakes of Iodine? Let’s look at toxins and their effect on hormone function. 

We have seen documented improvement in growth hormone levels in chelated patients where pituitary function was restored, as mercury levels we lowered. We have seen thyroid function return, as Lead levels were lowered with chelation. There are hundreds of toxins in all of us today and these toxins makes it necessary to use far higher levels of many nutrients including Iodine, Magnesium, Selenium, Vitamin C etc than are usually recommended in nutritional texts to achieve OPTIMAL health in our patients today. 

This is the link to a well written analysis of an OPRAH show on BHRT that may help you in counseling your patients who will easily get confused about all this.

Sincerely,

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Link: http://www.virginiahopkinstestkits.com/bioidenticalhormonebreastcancer.html

Excerpt:

Dear Oprah,
Your show on bioidentical hormones will surely help millions of women lead healthier lives, and inspire thousands of doctors to learn more about prescribing them. Once again you’ve shown amazing courage in speaking out on a touchy but important subject. Bioidentical hormones are on Big Pharma’s blacklist, and we know how many millions of advertising dollars they bring to television. I also applaud your choice of Dr. Christiane Northrup as an intelligent, rational, informed voice in bioidentical hormone replacement. She has been an articulate spokesperson for bioidenticals for many years.

Fascinating info on Vitamin D & Hypothyrodism

Linda’s comments”  DIET is everything…..we are what we eat….VitD plays an important factor in our wellness journey….it is a MUST…..when you have a chronic illness this is one test that you should insist that your doctors run on you….while you are at it also ask for a B12- and Magnesium level too.

Dr. G’s comments:

Why are our tissues so calcified when we age? What has vitamin D got to do with it???

I have lectured on this for over 35 years now and we all suffer a tendency toward secondary hyperparathyroidism. This is because our SAD diet supplies on average 1400 mg of phosphorus and only 800 mg of calcium. This stresses our endocrine system and we get secondary hyperparathyroidism, as a result that leads to weak bones and hard calcified arteries. See text and CALCIPHYLAXIS by Hans Selye published by Univ of Chicago Press.

What this article shows you is that higher levels of vitamin D clearly help overcome this serious but nearly epidemic Endocrine condition. Vitamin D then can lead to less bone pathology and if bones are better mineralized, less of the calcium will wind up in blood vessels and you can achieve better blood vessel elasticity.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Link: http://www.nhiondemand.com/hsjarticle.aspx?id=987&utm_source=NHI+OnDemand+Newsletter+List&utm_campaign=49b87e5f60-HSJ_Jan18_2011&utm_medium=email

Excerpt:

“Hyperthyroidism” is when the thyroid gland is overactive instead of underactive. It secretes too much thyroid hormone. In this case, more of a good thing is definitely not better. Excess thyroid hormone can cause rapid heartbeat. Body temperature is elevated. The hyperthyroid individual may experience extreme weight loss, in spite of a huge appetite, because they burn up calories too fast. Hyperthyroidism can make a person nervous, emotionally unstable, and unable to sleep.

Dr. Gordon comments on Thyroid Issues

There is an epidemic of patients who need thyroid support! The attached shows how thyroid can protect pregnancies from untoward outcomes.

Nonetheless, the current January 2011 Townsend Newsletter reports that the Oregon Medical Board is attacking a licensed MD there for prescribing thyroid when the T4 and TSH target levels they are insisting on were not present. They are ignoring all of the overwhelming clinical evidence that the patient needed and was benefited by the thyroid prescription. 

This is very sad since   subclinical hypothyroidism is EPIDEMIC in our toxic world. Just consider the levels of Fluorine and Bromide present today that induce iodine deficiency in our population, as one cause of suboptimal thyroid function. For many other causes please consider owning the $300 new text on Nutritional Medicine by Alan Gaby with nearly 30,000 references behind it.

But look at this report. How many miscarriages or other pregnancy problems would be eliminated if doctors were not living in fear of their medical licenses? If they read Broda Barnes’ book on Thyroid Disease later reviewed by Dr Stephen Langer and then the book, Hypothyroidism Type 2 by Mark Starr that brings the rationale for diagnosing borderline or subclinical hypothyroidism into clear focus.

We should err on the side of more thyroid support for patients since there are so many contributors to low thyroid function instead of putting doctors in harm’s way for practicing real medicine.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Link: http://www.peerview-institute.org/news/content.nsf/PaperFrameSet?OpenForm&pp=1&id=126B011F4ED45893852575D20063B434&refid=3473&specid=26&newsid=852576140048867C8525780F002FD1C6&locref=ntkwatch&u=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_s=21193190

Excerpt:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether levothyroxine (LT4) treatment has beneficial effects on IVF results and pregnancy outcome in infertile patients with subclinical hypothyroidism undergoing IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized trial.

SETTING: University-affiliated infertility clinic.

PATIENT(S): A total of 64 infertile patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, defined as an elevated serum TSH level associated with a normal free T4 level and without frank symptoms of hypothyroidism.

INTERVENTION(S): Patients were randomized into an LT4 treatment group or control group. For the LT4 treatment group, 50 μg LT4 was administered from the first day of controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Results of IVF and pregnancy outcome.

RESULT(S): There were no differences in patient characteristics between the two groups. Total dose and days of recombinant human FSH used for controlled ovarian stimulation were also similar. The number of grade I or II embryos was significantly higher in the LT4 treatment group than in the control group. There was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy rate per cycle between the two groups. However, the miscarriage rate was significantly lower in the LT4 treatment group than in the control group. Embryo implantation rate and live birth rate were significantly higher in the LT4 treatment group. In the control group, both thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroglobulin antibody levels were significantly higher in the miscarried subgroup than in the delivered subgroup.

CONCLUSION(S): LT4 treatment can improve embryo quality and pregnancy outcome in subclinical hypothyroid women undergoing IVF/ICSI.

Can Progesterone Cream Work?

Since I like topical Progesterone, I thought this rather balanced review might be interesting to all. 

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H) 
President, Gordon Research Institute 
www.gordonresearch.com 

Excerpt:

Can Progesterone Cream Work? 

By ROBERT J. DAVIS 
Special to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
August 30, 2005; Page D5 

Concerns about the safety of hormone-replacement therapy have prompted many women to seek alternatives. One option, “natural” progesterone cream sold over the counter, is gaining in popularity among women looking for relief from symptoms of menopause or PMS. While some doctors recommend the creams, many others question their effectiveness and worry that unsupervised use could pose long-term risks. 
Most of the creams contain progesterone derived from soybeans or Mexican yams. In contrast, the most commonly prescribed hormone-replacement medications, which are taken orally, contain synthetic progesterone, known as progestin. Because progesterone in creams comes from plants and is structurally identical to the human hormone, it is often called “natural.” But like progestin, it is synthesized in a lab. 
The creams, which are sold in health-food stores and over the Internet, are classified by the Food and Drug Administration as cosmetics, not drugs. Therefore, manufacturers aren’t permitted to claim their products can treat or prevent conditions. But some do anyway. Most, however, make vague promises to promote “healthy hormone balance” or “balance and harmony within the female body.” 

The leading proponent of natural progesterone, the late physician John Lee, argued that in premenopausal women, too much estrogen relative to progesterone can lead to weight gain, bloating, irritability, fatigue, uterine fibroids, endometriosis and lumpy and tender breasts. Correcting the imbalance with progesterone cream, he said, can alleviate such problems. Likewise, he claimed creams reduce symptoms associated with menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings, memory loss and decreased bone density. 

Environmental Estrogens Contaminating Our Food

Synthetic sex hormones (Environmental Estrogens) are contaminating our food!  Now you will know why it is so hard to get your patients well without an all organic diet and my detox program. The link to the news broadcast below will shock you.  For instance, did you know…

Bisphenol A is found in most plastic food containers today. Not only is it found in plastic containers, but also in the lining of most cans. BPA is essentially a synthetic estrogen that enters the body when one consumes food or beverages out of plastic or plastic-lined containers. This is not only harmful to the male reproductive system, but has been found to also stimulate breast cancer growth in women. Knowing this, it should be of no surprise that the sperm count of the average Western male is on a steady decline as many males are becoming more and more feminine. What most people don’t know is that Bisphenol A was actually considered as the form of estrogen to be used in estrogen pills going back to the 1930s.

Everyone should detox regularly and continually on a daily basis.  Everyone needs my F.I.G.H.T. program! It is not just the Lead and Mercury; it is toxins like Bisphenol A but most people have no idea how they get these toxins!  Bisphenol A is what made all the lean brown Agouti mice turn yellow and become obese and diabetic for all time in Randy Jirtle’s  research (Duke) covered by PBS (Nova) as “Ghost In Your Genes” that causes the epigenetic change overnight.

There is defective methylation to handle all toxins, which is why BIOEN’R-G’Y C comes with Trimethylglycine and Methylsulfonomethane, as a true vitamin C delivery system to help fight this Bisphenol A toxin induced need for more methylation support. So get sublingual Beyond B12 and have methyl cobalamin delivered sublingually instead of having to give B12 IM, as oral B12 is about 1-2 % absorbed and we must help our loved ones and patients F.I.G.H.T. back.

Everyone has 10,000 times more phthalates today than was present just 10 years ago. Watch this video and then watch it again and learn my F.I.G.H.T. program, as you and your patients need to feel as good as I do and I know how toxic you are unless you are using my power drink and zeolite!

Watch this YouTube Video and make your OWN decision…
Bisphenol A (BPA) Contaminating Our Food
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3_cYZKksvI&feature=player_embedded

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Hormone Therapy in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer

Landmark Study on Hormone Therapy in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer: Results Now In
Nick Mulcahy

November 3, 2009 (Chicago, Illinois) — The practice of administering short-term hormone therapy to men with low-risk prostate cancer who undergo radiation therapy is not necessary.

The treatment does not improve survival in these men, according to the “greatly anticipated results” of a new study presented here during the plenary session of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 51st Annual Meeting. Continued

Low levels of bioavailable testosterone and frailty

October 30, 2009 — Low levels of bioavailable testosterone are independently associated with a greater level of frailty in elderly men, according to results of a study appearing in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Continued