Our Doctors
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Allan Sosin, MD
Internal Medicine & Nephrology
German Zermeno, MD
Family Medicine
 Julie K. Harden, ND, LAcNaturopathic Medicine
Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture
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Vital Information
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We found this very interesting article in the February 8, 2010 issue of Newsweek containing compelling evidence against the use of antidepressant drugs.
The Depressing News About Antidepressants
"Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse."
to read this article in full.
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Featured DVD
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The Marketing of Madness: Are We All Insane?
This is the definitive documentary on psychotropic drugging. Here is the story of the high-income partnership between psychiatry and drug companies that has created an $80 billion psychotropic drug profit center. But appearances are deceiving. How valid are psychiatrists diagnosis - and how safe are their drugs? Digging deep beneath the corporate veneer, this three-part documentary exposes the truth behind the slick marketing schemes and scientific deceit that conceal a dangerous and often deadly sales campaign.
In this documentary, discover that: - Many of the drugs side effects may actually make your 'mental illness' worse
- Psychiatric drugs can induce aggression or depression
- Some psychotropic drugs prescribed to children are more addictive than cocaine
- Psychiatric diagnoses appears to be based on dubious science and how
Purchase online
$15.00
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During February On Popular Cold & Flu Supplements
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The Institute for Progressive Medicine Supplement store and IV department are open on selected Saturdays.
This is a great time for those busy during the week to receive IV therapy!
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I.V. Therapy
"Another great staff member in your IV Room - Debbie was so pleasant - making everyone feel comfortable as she efficiently moved from patient to patient setting up IV's, rechecking those in process and then adding second drips for others. As new patients entered the room, blood pressure checks were completed and blood draws done. I marveled at her ability to do so much and then learned that she usually had an assistant, but he was out today!! An A+ employee - J she is a real asset to your conscientious team here." -P.P.
Chest Pain and EECP
"My angina has decreased considerably in frequency and severity. My quality of life is greatly improved. Thank you to all at the Institute for Progressive Medicine for your caring and professional help throughout my EECP treatment experience." -M.R.
Hormone Therapy
"I can't thank Dr. Sosin enough. The natural hormones he prescribed have completely changed my life. The night sweats, moodiness and "brain fog" have finally disappeared. I sleep wonderfully and have more energy. My menopause "spare tire" around my midsection is gone! The protein shake and supplements have made me feel fantastic. My skin texture and elasticity are greatly improved. Dr. Sosin has a wonderful bedside manner and employs friendly professionals. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" -R.M.
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Artist's Quote
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"Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children?
We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France.
When will we also teach them what they are?
We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you.
Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.
You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?
You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children."
-Pablo Picasso
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| Vol. 3 Issue #2 |
February 2010 |
| Featured Video: |
In our latest video, Dr. Allan Sosin talks about osteoporosis and bone density.
Click Here to Watch
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Raising Bone Density
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 I had a bone density study performed the other day, one year after my last study. My lumbar spine bone density had increased nearly 10%, a remarkable increase, considering that bone density is not thought to rise after the age of 30.
This occurred without benefit of using Fosamax, Actonel, Zometa, or any of the other osteoporosis drugs that are handed out, mainly to women, whose bone densities are often only marginally decreased.
So what's the secret? Weight-bearing exercise. I have been working out with a trainer, an exercise kinesiologist, two hours a week for the last year and a half, with my own exercise between sessions.
The skeleton is a living, changing organ system that responds to use with growth, and to rest with atrophy. The main reason bones get thin is lack of use, due to a sedentary lifestyle or to illness. To make them thicker, you need to do more, in ways that increase the force of gravity on bones. Squats, lunges, twists, bends, stretches, steps, dips, using weights as little as 1 pound depending on your ability to lift them, may all yield an increase in bone density if they are done consistently.
In my opinion, initial use of drugs to raise bone density should be relegated to situations of symptomatic or severe osteoporosis. Patients should otherwise be given a trial of weight-bearing exercise combined with optimal nutrient supplements (including vitamin D, vitamin K strontium, calcium and magnesium), and hormone replacement if they are low. Bone density should be tested again in a year, and medications offered if there has been no improvement.
Why not use the body's ability to regenerate in preference to drugs with only partial benefit (bisphosphonates often do not increase hip bone density) and known risks (jawbone necrosis, esophageal problems). Follow an exercise program, and get checked again in one year. If you are already on these medications, find out if your situation really warrants their use. If you can safely do without them, do so, and check your bone density in a year.
-Allan Sosin MD
The Institute for Progressive Medicine has a full program to help improve bone density and bone health. To make an appointment with a doctor, please call 949-600-5100.
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Revisiting Our Philosophy of Care
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As we enter a new decade and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Institute for Progressive Medicine, I would like to take a moment to reaffirm what we strive for in the practice of integrative medicine, and shed some light on why we practice the way we do.
Our philosophy is to support the mind and the body with as little use of artificial and invasive methods as possible. It has become customary in today's medicine to intervene early with drugs and surgery, even in the absence of disease.
Thus men and women without disease are advised to take aspirin to prevent future heart attack and stroke, and take statin drugs for the same reason. Women have prophylactic mastectomies and ovariectomies to prevent cancer. Stents are inserted into partially blocked coronary arteries in the absence of chest pain. One hundred thousand men and women a year have gastric balloon, lap band or bypass surgery in order to lose weight to prevent disease. Insurance companies are paying for these procedures in the belief that future medical costs will be lower. From a certain perspective they are right.
Yet we see the damage done by this approach. Our medical costs per capita are the world's highest, and exceed those of the country next in line by nearly 100%. Our longevity lags behind that of twenty other nations. We are enveloped by growing waves of disease we have been unable to alter: diabetes type 2 in children and adults, autism in children, Alzheimer's disease in adults, cancers of obscure origin. We have a dreadful problem with addiction to legally prescribed medications, greater than the addiction to street drugs.
The result of assigning health to drug and surgical priorities is to place it under the jurisdiction of politics and business, and to subvert individual responsibility. Government becomes more powerful, and business more productive, while the individual loses the opportunity to fully determine what he can do for himself. At the same time, the individual exposes himself to the cost and complications of surgery, and the cost and unpredictable adverse effects of drugs.
One might argue that the individual could assert himself even while taking medications or after a procedure. In reality, however, drug and surgical interventions mitigate the urgency for change. Since blood pressure is lowered by blood pressure medication, it is no longer important to restrict salt, take magnesium and exercise. Since the statin drug lowers cholesterol, it is allowable to eat fast foods and pizza. Drug side effects of impotence, fatigue and muscle pain are not attributed to their origins, instead are blamed on aging, or simply dismissed.
The mind and body are monitored by an elaborate web of interconnected happenings. Interventions aimed at altering a single focus of activity unavoidably impact other areas, seemingly unrelated because the threads connecting them are unknown, or the intervention itself has unrecognized diverse actions. Thus an antibiotic may cause confusion, and an antipsychotic drug may cause cardiac arrest. The entry of a foreign chemical into a balanced biochemical system, like a magnet into a clock, can mess up the works.
Much of our current plight is the unanticipated consequence of scientific and social revolution. Something new is found to help, but there is also a trade-off in the exposure to harm. Examples: farming grains averts starvation but engenders obesity; discovery of antibiotics cures infection but predisposes to other infection; psychiatric drugs reduce agitation but cause addiction and unanticipated psychosis; hospitals treat the sick, but sometimes make them sicker. Often, we really do not know what we are doing, and what the result will be. We need to be more careful about how we apply our inventions, and in how little regard we hold our basic strengths.
Human beings possess enormous capacities for self-determined change. Acquiescence to drugs and invasive procedures may invalidate those capacities, and render people the effect, not the cause, of their conditions. Our practice has programs to help almost everyone, but we can most benefit those who have determined to take responsibility for their health, and decline both the exclusive dependence on drugs and surgery, and the arbitrary denial of both, in favor of an informed assessment of options. In that way they are more likely to choose the safest and most effective actions.
Our purpose is to promote the individual's ability to influence his own health, and to provide powerful tools to that end. We have been doing this for many years and will continue to help our patients achieve their health goals and live happier healthier lives.
- Allan Sosin MD
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Pesticide Exposure May Increase the Risk of Dementia
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 According to a new study completed at Duke University by Kathleen Hayden, PhD, exposure to pesticides may increase the risk of dementia by as much as 70%.
Dr. Hayden based her finding on data from the Cache County Study of Memory and Health, an ongoing study that began in 1995 and includes over 5000 subjects. The population used for this study was especially relevant because the subjects live in a rural area with lots of agriculture, including the cultivation of wheat, soybeans, apples, corn and hay. Dr. Hayden's study assessed the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in 4012 of these subjects, all of which were free of dementia when the study began. Her analysis found consistent significant relationships between new-onset dementia and exposure to organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides. In addition, any exposure to pesticide was associated with a 56% increase in the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
"Pesticide exposure has increased drastically over the last 50 years and there are now over 18,000 pesticides licensed for use in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency and over 2 million pounds are applied to our crops, parks, homes and forests," stated Dr. Hayden who also said, " exposure to pesticides may have long term damaging effects on the nervous system and contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease or other dementias." This statement is sensible, since most pesticides are designed to attack or disrupt the nervous system of insects.
There is something you can do to curb the use of dangerous pesticides. Let government, industry and homeowner's associations know that you do not want your family exposed to toxic chemicals in the environment or through your foods. You can help by purchasing local organic produce that is grown without pesticides or fertilizers and avoiding conventionally grown items. Studies have also shown that foods grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers are more nutritious and provide vitamins and minerals in much higher levels. You can also use natural pesticides in your garden, or switch to native landscaping that does not require to the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The more you do to discourage dangerous practices, the safer we can make our environment!
-Nicholas Sosin
Source: Internal Medicine News, Dec 2009
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Healthy Eating for Everyone
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 A worldwide movement has been evolving over the last 30 years toward locally and sustainably grown food. It is a win-win situation: the crops are healthier; the soil is preserved so that it can continue to be farmed; this type of agriculture is no longer a source of pollution; and last, but not least, the resultant produce is tastier and more nutritious than its "conventionally grown" counterparts.
Yet there is a considerable barrier to bringing sustainably grown food into the mainstream, because many economies, particularly those of lower-income families, have become based on cheaper-than-ever fare, both from supermarkets and from fast-food chains. Healthy food can be more expensive-which means that lower-income families continue to rely on empty calories and consumables that may well lead their children to early onset diabetes and other disorders.
The city of Austin, Texas, however, is home to a program that could be a model for all communities to follow in giving everyone access to healthy food. A multi-faceted program that targets lower-income consumers, the Austin SFC (Sustainable Food Center) has truly been making a difference in raising the average food standard.
"SFC's mission is to cultivate a healthy community by strengthening the local food system and improving access to nutritious and affordable food," Ronda Rutledge, executive director of Austin SFC, told Organic Connections. "Each of our programs envisions a food-secure community where all children and adults can grow, share and prepare healthy, local food."
Access
 The first point of access to healthy food created by the SFC was (and is) a series of farmers' markets in low-income communities. There are also seasonable farm stands specifically set up to accept WIC (USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) vouchers, and all farmers accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps) benefits.
It was discovered early on in these programs that there was another interesting barrier to providing healthy food. "People weren't picking certain vegetables because they didn't know how to cook them for their families," said Rutledge. "So that's when we developed the Happy Kitchen Program."
The Happy Kitchen is a six-week series of classes that focus on one aspect of a food guide, featuring seasonal, local food. It is offered free of charge to low-income communities, and it has been a considerable success. "You would think it would be really hard to get people to stay for all six classes, but there's not a lot of drop-off in that program," said Rutledge. "It's very interactive and attendees are all participating in some way. At the end of the class, they go home with a free bag of groceries to prepare the meal they've just learned how to cook. If they attend five out of six classes, they get a free cookbook. The cookbook we have produced is bilingual, and the recipes are set up according to the seasons."
Schools Going Local
Children do not just eat at home, however, as pointed out by food activists such as Alice Waters; it is vitally important that children have healthy lunches and snacks at school. Hence, the SFC has started a farm-to-school program. "About two and a half years ago, we got some initial funding through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to embark on a farm-to-school program in Central Texas, which had not occurred previous to that," Rutledge related. "We started out slow and are currently in six middle schools. Five of them have populations such that 90 percent of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunch, so these are very low income populations that we're serving."
When the program first started, the farm bill contained language that prohibited schools from specifying that they had a preference for locally grown produce; but last year that provision was changed, allowing local farmers to step up and bid for neighborhood school contracts. Now at least some of their produce is making it into cafeterias. "We're not totally replacing the food that's already being supplied at the schools with local produce, but something is going in weekly that's very locally identified," said Rutledge. "We use all kinds of shelf tags and point-of-sale messages so that kids know what is coming from a local farm. We also have the farmers coming into the cafeteria and doing taste testing with the children. In addition, we are able to take the kids that come to the after-school program out to a farm so that they can see firsthand how their food is being grown."
The SFC has developed in-class lessons as well, in math, science and other subjects that are tied to the Texas Education and Knowledge Assessment requirements. The lessons are food-system based and use food-system principles in their instruction.
Self-sufficiency
One of the most compelling programs offered by the SFC is the Community Gardens program, through which participants learn to plant and grow their own gardens. "The basic organic gardening classes are a three-part series, offered at the beginning of each growing season," said Rutledge. "We're really blessed here in Central Texas to have two amazing growing seasons-spring and fall-even though we have our water challenges. The program allows folks to grow their own food organically in the context of the community garden, a school garden or a church garden-pretty much anywhere people want to engage in urban agriculture."
Changing Policy
Another barrier that the SFC is overcoming-the same type of barrier that exists for many cities-is one of local government policy. "In the last couple of years we've developed a policy task force that consists of some board members, a couple of staff members and various community members," said Rutledge. "We've been able to make some pretty big strides in what's happening locally. While that was going, the city of Austin and Travis County formed a sustainable food policy board, so we finally have our equivalent of local food policy counsel happening right here in Austin. I'm one of 13 members on that board, and we're seeing the city very receptive to various resolutions that we've put forth, such as looking at vacant lots in the city and making those more available for community gardens."
The SFC certainly has some heavy-hitting guidance from their advisory council, which contains such luminaries as Alice Waters, Eric Schlosser, a US Congressman, a bishop, and writer-director Richard Linklater. Many of these came on board when the SFC helped host a local screening of the documentary Fast Food Nation, based on the book of the same name. Schlosser, of course, wrote the book, and Linklater, a local filmmaker, made the movie. They have since provided assistance to the SFC in terms of advice and publicity.
A Lesson for All
 Our future as a society depends, in large part, on the health of its participants. Programs such as the Austin SFC lead the way in ensuring that, as a nation, we have a fighting chance to eat and live healthily.
To learn more about the Austin Sustainable Food Center, visit their website at www.sustainablefoodcenter.org.
Source: Organic Connections Magazine
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MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
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The information contained in this e-mail is included for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. The above recommendations have not been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Do not attempt to increase, reduce or discontinue the use of any medication except under the direct supervision of a physician. Unsolicited e-mail may not be answered and is not a substitute for obtaining medical advice in person from a qualified health professional. | |
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