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hormone

Circadian Cortisol in Response to a 72-hour Fast in RA Patients – (05-10-01)

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Circadian Cortisol in Response to a 72-hour Fast in RA Patients

Fasting has long been a tool used in functional medicine and this study does show one aspect of why this is beneficial. An increase in cortisol, the body’s own natural anti-inflammatory hormone, is increase in patients while fasting. A few things to consider here before you go on a 72 hour fast. First, one of the main goals of a fast is to halt the insulting of the body with foods that the patient may be allergic to while giving the liver a chance to eliminate backlogged toxins. Next, I always recommend therapeutic fasting–replenshing the body with substances needed for healthy detoxification (supporting both phase I and II). Finally, cortisol can be a very damaging hormone if the body is exposed to it for extended periods. It is designed to be produced in response to stress to help our bodies get through the stressful period and then be gone. Proper attention to adrenal function is essential for maintaining a healthy, balanced cortisol response.

Springer LINK: Clinical Rheumatology – Abstract Volume 20 Issue 2 (2001) pp 85-87

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Transdermal Dihydrotestosterone in Older Men with Androgen Deficiency – (09-10-01)

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Transdermal Dihydrotestosterone in Older Men with Androgen Deficiency

We get into a topic that always gets me a little concerned. I am usually against adding hormones to a patient’s body, especially when alternatives are available. This study uses DHT to affect these patient’s “youthful” status. A few things to consider here… DHT has been implicated in prostate cancer risk and this study only checks values at 3 months–hardly an adequate time frame in my opinion. Balancing the body is the key here; especially making sure that the adrenal glands are functioning optimally so they can provide adequate levels of testosterone. Next, how do we know, in our laughingly poor overall understanding of biochemistry, that lowered hormone levels in old age is bad?? There is much evidence that suggests that this is indeed a protective mechanism done deliberately by the body to protect from diseases such as cancer. Personally, in a bet of nature vs science being right, I’d put my money on nature…

JCEM — Abstracts: Ly et al. 86 (9): 4078

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Effect of long-term changes in diet and exercise on plasma leptin – (02-08-01)

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Effect of long-term changes in diet and exercise on plasma leptin

Leptin is one of the newly discovered hormone that is related to weight control in the body. Adipose tissue produces most of the body’s leptin, and with high levels (as with insulin) it is believed that the body becomes resistant to the leptin, and it loses its ability to bring body weight down. This study shows that leptin levels are reduced by exercise. This is not a surprise, but adds further importance to the recommendation for exercise in any lifestyle improvement.

AJCN — Abstracts: Reseland et al. 73 (2): 240

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Preprandial Rise in Ghrelin Levels Suggests a Role in Meal Initiation – (08-06-01)

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Preprandial Rise in Ghrelin Levels Suggests a Role in Meal Initiation

I don’t have much to say on this issue at this time. The hormone ghrelin is a newly discovered hormone and may show to play a role in weight management and appetite. Considering the fact that we just discovered a new hormone, does anyone out there feel comfortable about taking drugs that alter appetite in an attempt at weight management? We have no idea what the long term impacts are on messing with this process. I’m sure that as research on ghrelin progresses, we will find that it has impacts on other body systems, much like where we were with leptin several years ago.

Diabetes — Abstracts: Cummings et al. 50 (8): 1714

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Many people are taking insulin-like growth factor-I w/o knowing it – (12-10-01)

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Many people are taking insulin-like growth factor-I w/o knowing it

This is one of those letters to the editor that makes me smile with further vindication for my anti-dairy recommendations. The author makes a nicely referenced point about the dangers of elevated IGF in humans (and especially children and patients with increased intestinal permeability) and how our current better-than-Mother-Nature approach using bovine growth hormone increases the levels and bioactivity of IGF in milk. Think of this next time you see that smiling face and milk mustache on a billboard.

wjm — Mercola and Mermer 175 (6): 378

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Determinants of serum enterolactone concentration – (06-04-01)

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Determinants of serum enterolactone concentration

Enterolactone is a lignan found in many whole grains, fruits and berries. This study looks at factors that would influence plasma levels of enterolactone. Enterolactone is a substance that has a wonderful effects on lowering risk of many hormone-related cancers. The authors lend much weight to the contribution that healthy GI flora play a large part in production of these lignans.

AJCN — Abstracts: Kilkkinen et al. 73 (6): 1094

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Weight Loss Increases Adipose-Derived Anti-Inflammatory Adiponectin – (08-20-01)

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Weight Loss Increases Adipose-Derived Anti-Inflammatory Adiponectin

Two things here. First, keep your ears open for adiponectin. It is a newly identified protein that may play a key role in hormone modulation of obesity and inflammation. Second, we see the tangled web that is woven in health and disease. As we gain adipose tissue, levels of adiponectin are reduced and inflammation may rise, leading to many other disease states. Once the dominoes of bad health begin to fall, the pieces are set in motion. On the other hand, on the road back to health, once these factors start working in our favor, many aspects of biochemistry fall back into place.

JCEM — Abstracts: Yang et al. 86 (8): 3815

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Age-related changes of sex hormones, IGF-1 levels in men – (01-25-01)

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Age-related changes of sex hormones, IGF-1 levels in men

This study identifies a decrease in levels of circulating IGF-1 levels in men as they age. Many in the anti-aging camp would jump on this as support for the use of growth hormone (which stimulates release of IGF-1) as a fountain of youth. Too many times in the past we have jumped on just such a bandwagon; DHEA, colostrum and many others. Many times, what we find when we dig deeper is that these hormonal levels have dropped because of some shift in metabolism; either as a result of deficiencies in some nutrient or as a protective factor. I always hesitate to mess with Mother Nature. Lets work on quality of life, not quantity.

Synergy Abstract

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