Boost your Energy  

Connie Hernandez, N.D.

Whatever your sex or age, your mood, mental status and physical well being are affected by the balance of hormones in your body.   A laundry list of hormonally influenced symptoms would include insomnia, fatigue, lack of libido, anxiety, depression, irritability, mood swings, memory problems, changes in hair, skin and nails, weight gain and more.

Fatigue is a great example of a symptom influenced by hormones. Naturopathically, we might first evaluate both lifestyle factors and various excesses and deficiencies. Examples would be an excess of sugar laden foods, or a lack of exercise, or a deficiency of iron or another nutrient.

Hormonally speaking, ups and downs in energy may reflect ups and downs in cortisol output and indicate adrenal imbalance. Fatigue originating with thyroid deficiency tends to be more pervasive, and to be accompanied by signs and symptoms such as constipation, hair loss, dry skin, weight gain, or high cholesterol. The fatigue of sex hormone deficiency or imbalance often has a cyclic component in women, and, in both men and women, an onset during times of hormonal change such as puberty, pregnancy, menopause or andropause.

In naturopathic medicine, we often treat the symptom of fatigue by assessing and correcting hormonal balance and metabolism. Through health histories, blood tests, saliva tests and/or urine tests we can evaluate the effects of hormonal interactions, and the function of the endocrine glands....thyroid, adrenals, ovaries or testes.  Rather than looking at these glands as independent of each other, we look at them as interdependent, and attempt to discern which is primary in causing your symptoms. Treating the primary gland influences the others, and the order of treatment may be critical to the outcome. A patient with both thyroid deficiency and weak adrenals, for example, may become agitated if the adrenals are not addressed before the thyroid.

Treatment of any of the endocrine glands may involve lifestyle changes, working with the energetics of the gland, nourishing the gland with botanicals, providing the nutrients the gland needs for proper functioning, or replacing the hormones the gland is not producing. Balancing any one of the glands helps balance all of the glands. And balancing your hormones boosts your energy!

 The Case of the Reluctant Patient: A True Story 

Ron was 64 years old when he sat across from me in my office and first told me his story.  His wife, Amy, sat quietly beside him as he began to speak.

Ron started off by saying that he didn't like going to doctors and was only there because his wife had insisted that he see me.  He said he had done a lot of reading about prostate conditions and he knew exactly what was going on with himself.  He was absolutely certain that all of his symptoms were due to BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), a non-malignant enlargement of the prostate that most aging men experience.

When I asked him what symptoms he was referring to he answered, "the usual." I then prompted him to elaborate and he told me that he was getting up several times at night to urinate, had a marked decrease in the strength of the flow of his urine and a feeling that he had not voided all of the urine in his bladder, even after standing at the urinal for what seemed like several minutes.  At times he also had difficulty starting a stream.  He quickly added that his the symptoms had gotten somewhat better after he started taking saw palmetto extract and some other supplements that he had read about on-line as being helpful for reducing the symptoms of enlarged prostate.  In his mind, his positive response to natural supplements was proof that he had BPH.  He felt that an office visit was an unwarranted expenditure of time and money.

I asked him if he had ever had a prostate evaluation and he answered that starting at age 55, he began to get an annual PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test.  He said that although his PSA had risen from an initial result of 0.7 eight years ago to 2.4 last year, the rise had been gradual and the results consistent with what he understood about BPH.  He was due for another PSA in the next couple of weeks.  I suggested that I order the test for him and we could then discuss the results.  He nodded his assent.

I asked him if anything else was going on that he wanted to bring up and he replied that there wasn't, that he had told me everything.  Amy piped in for the first time and said that Ron had forgotten a few things: his libido was very low and he seemed to be tired all the time.  After more questions and answers about this new information, the visit with Ron and Amy ended and they departed with lab requisition in hand.  Two weeks later, the results came back.

Ron's PSA had risen to 4.5, a rapid rise for one year.  This is not indicative in itself of prostate cancer. However, his free PSA percentage was very low -- an indication that further evaluation was necessary.  A biopsy revealed that Ron had an aggressive form of prostate cancer and is currently following a program I designed for him and is also under the care of a urologist. Ron's prostate cancer was discovered in time for him to have a number of treatment alternatives.

* * * * *

Finding out exactly what is going on when the prostate is involved can be a challenge because the symptoms of a number of conditions overlap.  This is especially true when it comes to BPH and prostate cancer.  Like Ron, many of my male patients have been literally pushed into my office by their partners.  Men, in general, tend to ignore subtle changes in function that occur over time.  Please read the questions below.  Your answers could save your life.

It is important to note that the entire field of prostate evaluation, diagnosis and treatment is presently under intense scrutiny and debate. However, we DO have the tools to make a positive difference in your experience of life.

Find out more about Dr. Marcel's work with men at:

To Men Over Fifty:  

Your Answers to These Questions Can Save Your Life

Do you have:

1) need to urinate often at night

2) frequent or urgent need to urinate

3) difficulty in starting or stopping the urine flow

4) inability to urinate

5) weak, decreased or interrupted urine stream

6) dribbling at the end of urination

7) straining while urinating

8) a sense of incompletely emptying the bladder

9) burning or pain during urination

10) blood in the urine or semen

11) painful ejaculation

12) bone pain (especially in the back, hips, thighs or neck)

13) weight loss

14) fatigue

15) low red blood cell count (anemia)

If you answered "yes" to more than two of these questions, you need to be further evaluated by a doctor.  Questions 1 through 11 may fit a variety of conditions, mostly involving the prostate.  If you answered yes to any question between 12 and 15 as well, it is even more imperative that you find out as soon as you can what is going on.

About Dr. Marcel's work:

Elijah Free, MH, CMI, CMT  

Elijah Free is a Master Herbalist who designs and produces all of his own herbal products for his healing practice. He is an herbal product designer for Ridgecrest Herb Co. Elijah also holds a patent for his herbal fibromyalgia formula. To contact Elijah, please either call the clinic at 650-917-1121 or e-mail at [email protected].

La Stone Into Springtime

Limited Time Special

Introductory Price   

Springtime approaches early in California, and for all those who have been reclusive through the relative cold and rain of the winter, it's back to nature again. LaStone therapy is a great way to start touching back in with the elements. The stones themselves ground your body. The temperature of the stones warms the body and activates the circulation of lymph and blood.  The movement of lymph and blood activates respiration and elimination.

At Pacific Naturopathic, for a limited time, we're offering Thursday only LaStone Therapy specials. On Thursdays through April, massage therapist Ardell Hill is offering introductory hour long sessions with hot and cold massage stones for only $95. Take this opportunity to experience this rejuvenating and transformative therapy! 

Find Out More About Ardell Hill 

The Chakras  

For Health and Healing   

A Class Series  

With Dr. Connie and Dr. Shanti

* * * * *

The Transforming Power of the Chakras

Wednesdays, April 6-27 & May 4-25, 7:30 pm  

Register online at www.anandapaloalto.org

or call 323-3363 to register

$120  for the entire class series

or Register for a single class ($15)

Drop-ins for individual classes are also welcome 

Restore Energetic Balance and Release Tension With a BioMat Session 

By Tushti Conti

 

More and more attention is being given to Energy medicine. Doesn't it make sense since we are Energy bodies? Yogananda, a great spiritual teacher, said we have enough energy in one pinch of our skin to light the city of Chicago.

When our bodies suffer from disease or injury, the polarity of our cells is pulled out of balance. This affects their ability to remove accumulated waste as well as receive the nutrients needed for healing. Such an imbalance can also affect the endocrine system, whose glands secrete hormones to specific organs, an essential process in maintaining the body's chemistry and normal functions.

The BioMat supports the body's innate wisdom in helping to maintain this delicate balance.  Its amethyst crystals act as conductors for the healing properties of far infrared rays, which deliver life-force energy deep into our tissues and organs. The BioMat also emits an abundance of negative ions, which assist in promoting a healthy alkaline environment that allows the body to effectively eliminate cellular waste, absorb nutrients, facilitate proper hormonal activity, and strengthen immunity throughout the system.

How does all of this feel? It feels great. The BioMat's healing light rays

penetrate 6-8 inches into the body deeply relaxing the muscles, enabling the body's energy to flow freely, unobstructed by tension.

To schedule an utterly relaxing 30-minute BioMat session with Tushti please phone Pacific Naturopathic at 650-917-1121.  Sessions are available on Wednesdays only and cost $45. 

A  Serene, Revitalizing, Healing Vacation Awaits You
at Pacific Naturopathic Hawaii Retreat

Our Guests Tell Us the Reality
is More Beautiful Than the Photos

View From Your Living Room Couch at Pacific Naturopathic Retreat

The comment we most frequently hear from our guests at Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center/Hawaii Peace Garden Vacation Houses is that the actual experience of being on our small estate is more profound than the photos or our web site words can communicate.  There are just some experiences in nature and in life that simply cannot be captured with language -- like the emotional response to the deep blue of the ocean and the robin's egg blue of the sky from the View House deck, or  the feel of the sun and the caress of the gentle trade winds on your neck and shoulders.  The ineffable must be experienced to be understood. 

See our websites for more details. Phone 808-775-1505 for reservations, or email    

[email protected]

www.hawaiipeacegardenvacationhouses.com   

www.naturopathicretreatcenter.com

Click HERE to Visit Our Hawaii Retreat on  

RARELY OFFERED SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR OUR NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS:

Book before June 30 for reservations any time during 2011 and receive a 25% discount off our nightly rate. 

Because we would like to make this newsletter responsive to you and your needs, you are invited to send health questions you would like to see addressed to us at

[email protected]   

We would also like to invite you to share with other readers your experiences of health remedies that have worked surprisingly well for you.