Category: <span>Blog</span>

Dysphagia means difficulty swallowing. For some people, there may be the sensation of a lump in the throat, like you might get when you’re sad. Others may have difficulty keeping food down without vomiting, resulting in hunger and potential weight loss. Dysphagia is usually a functional issue, not a structural issue. This means that while it feels like there may be a lump in the throat, all tests will come back normal, and that’s a good sign that symptoms can be improved. I have used homeopathy to help people swallow normally. Think back to when your swallowing problem started. Was there a change in your life? Did you experience the loss of a loved one or a pet? Sometimes these issues can cause a physiologic lump in the throat, which homeopathy can stimulate you to resolve. Of course, there are other causes of dysphagia, but this is the one I see  most often.

For women with male-patterned baldness, one of the causes can be too much testosterone. We find that insulin and testosterone can be related and there is another growth factor involved. For whatever reason, milk products increase growth factor (which, of course you would want if you were a calf drinking mother’s milk). This growth factor increases testosterone levels in women, so women with excessive facial hair or darker arm hair (hirsutism) should refrain from drinking milk to help lower this growth factor (called insulin-like growth factor 1).

Did you know that testosterone is the driving force for male-patterned baldness in both men and women? But, how can this be if testosterone is a normal hormone for men (and at lower levels, for women)? It’s actually not the testosterone that’s the problem, but the fact that it is not metabolized correctly. Testosterone can turn into dihydro-testosterone, and this is actually much more active than testosterone, and too much of this is what causes baldness in men and women. There are a number of compounds that reduce the conversion of testosterone to this less healthy form, including green tea and turmeric, as well as other anti-inflammatory compounds. For men and women, we want to reduce this conversion to reduce male patterned baldness.

Coconut oil is the new olive oil, and you’ll be seeing more and more of this in 2015. Coconut oil has a number of different benefits versus olive oil: it can be heated to high temperatures, so it is good for making stir fries and for cooking eggs and French toast. Coconut oil supports immune function and can support memory. This is because it contains a type of fat that is easily and quickly absorbed by the body and which directly supports brain function. It’s for this reason that Alzheimer’s patients and others with dementia benefit almost immediately from eating coconut oil. For more information see the book by Mary Newport, MD. Food for thought!

Adding in omega 3 fatty acids is easy when you shop at the co-op. You will recognize your omega 3’s that are coming from cold-water fish, like salmon in the frozen section. But, did you know that other animals produce this oil also? All people need this oil, so in areas that historically didn’t have access to cold-water fish, they got this nutrient from free-ranging (grass-fed and grass-finished) animal products, including eggs and meats. When animals eat their normal diets, they produce omega-3 fats from the vegetation they eat. This also includes deer and other game animals. You’ll also find canned salmon to be a good, convenient source of omega 3s that can help keep our skin healthy, along with adequate water intake, would be recommended to prevent dry skin from cracking in the winter.