YouTube Livestream Q&A Transcript, May 14, 2024

Question 

“Lifestyle aside because I do all the “things” that you recommend, but can't get this weight off from menopause and my CRP is high, so I am desperate. Would you ever recommend a GLP-1?” [0:03:29]

Answer

These are the types of medicine that are out there like Ozempic. These are the injectables that block the GLP-1 receptors in the intestine. And they act as you might say an inhibitor to gut peristalsis, moving and churning, and that gives you a sense of fullness. And some people have terrible reactions to this. There are some thyroid concerns and lung issues. I would have to say I would not try a new medicine like this. One of the jobs I have as a doctor is to try and do no harm, and I have to balance between what is out there in research, and that is new versus trying to look ahead like a parent over a child, you know, how you're always trying to let your child have the best life and you're trying to advise them that something that looks like a quick solution to something they want and I have reservations about the Ozempic injections that are GLP-1 inhibitors. 

Therefore, I would have to say no. I would not go to the GLP-1. These shiny, silvery, tinkling-looking items do not appear at this time to be safe enough, in my opinion, to recommend to my patients. I would wait a couple of years. I don't know how old you are. I don't know what other comorbidities or concerns you have, or what other medications you might have. 

Question 

“What about micro-dosing peptides using a compounding pharmacy? I have almost zero food noise. Low carb for years but can’t lose any weight, gained 35 pounds in menopause. My body won’t switch to fat burning.”  [0:06:03]

Answer

I'm not quite sure I know what you mean by saying zero food noise. Maybe you mean you don't have food allergies. I have to say I'm almost in the same boat, and I certainly, if anybody, know all the gimmicks and stuff, and I have resolved, now that I'm 70, to just enjoy the fact that I am healthy and I can work out and do things. I have not really gotten down to the weight that I wanted to. And I don't want to use risky new inhibitors of receptors in my body. I don't want to use stimulants like phentermine. I don't want to use high doses of thyroid as a metabolic stimulant. Some people do that.

And I would rather just be honest with you. I don't have the answer. 

But I do know that there's research. If you look in the research regarding the mesomorphic person, and these are people who actually may have a BMI above 30, but really still under 34, that these people have about an extra 30-40 pounds on their body. And long-term research appears to show that mesomorphs have the longest life expectancy, and they don't understand why, what is the metabolic understanding, the lab identification, if it's possible, certainly we don't have a gene identification code to find out why some people who live right, eat right, exercise, go to bed, drink enough water, avoid food allergies, try to eliminate food allergies, why some of these people are mesomorphs and they always carry about an extra 30 or 40 pounds, and yet they are the longest-lived group. 

So, I don't have the answer except I rejoice in health. One of the things, if you have a high C-reactive protein, you might have root canals or you might have a crown. Dental health is another whole field of looking at chronic low-grade infections and you wouldn't necessarily have any pain. Especially in a root canal, the nerve is killed, but it could be a site of infection, very low grade, and that could be creating the elevated C-reactive protein. So, going to see a biological dentist. Here in the Newport Beach area, there is a Dr. Son right by John Wayne Airport. I know about him. I'm sure there are others that are good. But when I did my second doctorate in integrative medicine, this was an area that was certainly a concern for C-reactive protein elevation. So, that would be another area I would look into. And indeed, I'm looking into that myself. So hopefully that gives you some background in it and some encouragement and some direction. 

Question 

“Hi, Dr. Rita. What can help with a cough from a virus? The virus is gone, but the cough is lingering. The doctor said the lungs are clear, but I do have mucus on and off.”  [0:10:05]

Answer

Well, damage to the cilia, these are the little wavy fronds on the top of the respiratory epithelium that are waving and trying to move up and bring up the phlegm, can be damaged, and that can be inefficient in trying to expectorate, bring up this damaged fluid until a new cell grows in its place. That's one cause. Also, this is the time of the year with pollens and we've had a lot of water, and we are having an increased allergen phenomena. So, that could add to a cough that would be a non, you know, like an infectious cough from viruses. We're having some concerns about the vaccinations that were administered, the mRNA vaccines, that may have had some long-term impact on the microvasculature in the lungs. We are also concerned about, of course, hopefully, you're in a healthy air environment and not breathing in toxins from cleaning agents in your house and dry-cleaner material, things like this. 

We usually encourage people to do a high-dose vitamin C drip. We often will use EDTA chelation to improve the capillaries that are right at the cell membrane surface to help bring, repair material, and remove waste material. We also use the high enzymes to facilitate the dis-inflammation from that. Sometimes, with the new studies and concerns about long-haul COVID, we'll use a trial of ivermectin and we'll run that for maybe three months, putting them on Ivermectin for 10 days, and then twice a week thereafter for another maybe 10 weeks, and see if that will improve it. 

We often give n-acetylcysteine. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a micronutrient that is very much involved in glutathione production, which is very important in cell energy and respiration, and in the lungs, glutathione production helps restore, repair, and return the mitochondrial function into producing very good energy. Acting also as a mucolytic agent. Mucomyst is a medicine that has been used to help with this. Tylenol overdoses have hurt the cells in the liver. Using N-acetylcysteine is helpful for that and other cell damage including the lungs. 

So, there are many things that we can do to work with that. Using Argentyn silver and squirting the nose, squirting it up your nose morning and evening or multiple times a day for any lingering viral or secondary viral low-grade infections that may follow the initial insult. We try not to use antibiotics, so we preserve your good probiotics in your gut, which helps your immune system. Drinking plenty of water to help facilitate the entire environment of healing. That's some of the areas that I would start to look into. Hopefully, that's helpful to you.

Question 

“I am 53 and on no medications. No food noise means I don't crave food, but I do have lipedema.”  [0:14:41]

Answer

You might just be one of us who has the mesomorphic genome and presentation and that is just your body's mechanism of health and maintenance in your body. The fat in our body is a toxic dump site. We do know that toxins will go into the fat to try and be an inert depot to put these toxins. And so, some of this fat gain we are realizing in research is indeed a safety mechanism. But I still would go look at your teeth. I don't know if you've had a hip replacement or a knee replacement or other implants, breast implants. These implants are also another source of chronic quasi-toxic stressors to our body that would raise our C-reactive protein and present challenges to our metabolic well-being. I hope you have a good functional doctor that will work with you on this. I don't know if you're on natural hormones. I don't know if you have systemic enzymes, or if you're using that to help disinflame your body. I certainly would do a trial of EDTA chelation therapy with vitamin C to kind of promote detoxification and microcirculation enhancement. All these things tend to improve the metabolism and some of the detoxing pathways. 

I would want to look at an antioxidant assay. I would like to look at a complete digestive stool analysis and maybe food sensitivity. You could be innocently eating healthy food that you have developed an immunoglobulin G slow reaction to, and this low-grade inflammation may be sensing irritation, and it holds on to the weight as a mechanism of self-protection, you might say. 

Question 

“How do you know if you have ovarian cysts? I suspect I have them sometimes. I have a lot of symptoms. Is it normal to get them? Should I get a pap smear?” [0:17:31] 

Answer

Well, you wouldn't necessarily know. You would have to have an ultrasound for that. You suspect you have them sometimes, yes, because they can come and go. Simple cysts are, you know when an egg ovulates and a cyst is trying to be developed, other ovocytes/oocytes don't actually rupture out and these become cysts on the ovary. 

You know, nuns who are sexually inactive don't need pap smears, but if you're sexually active, you should. And I would get a transvaginal pelvic ultrasound to look at the soundwave imaging of your uterus and the two fallopian tubes on the ovaries and see if they have cysts on them. I would explain to you that stress, and we are in a world of stress today, stress on the cortisol reaction, cortisol or stress hormone is a prevention of the follicle-stimulating g luteinizing hormone to our gonadal access, so the ovary does not get its proper hormonal stimulation cyclically every month for ovulation. Therefore, progesterone is usually very, very valuable and very benign, very safe, very natural to take day 15 through 25 of your menstrual cycle, 100, maybe 200. I have some women that I've used up to 800 mg day 15 through 25. There are many ways to do it, creams or orally, and that is very helpful, plus systemic enzymes. 

Now, if you're eating a high-carb diet, a lot of bread, starch, sugar, cereal, buns, crackers, tortilla chips, corn, rice, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, gummies, sweetened drinks, soda pops, that sugar component, fructose component, will stimulate in your pancreas insulin. Insulin is a growth-promoting factor, and the ovaries are associated with sensitivity to the insulin, and so they will develop these cysts and ineffectual ovulation leading to infertility. So, a low-carb diet and exercise are a very important part of eating and a healthy diet to prevent these cysts. So, systemic enzymes are anti-inflammatory, chew up the debris from the old corpus luteal sac and the inflammation, which is ovulation, rupture, midcycle, and the progesterone helps to talk to the feedback of the gonadal access that all is normal, because if you didn't ovulate, at least you will have had the progesterone to balance the estrogen stimulatory effect of the menstrual cycle. Estrogen is also somewhat of a growth-promoting hormone as well. Those are the things that I would do and look at, and we'll go from there. 

Question 

“I just got testosterone cream from the compounding pharmacy. Where is it best to put it on? Inner arms? Inner thighs? I have heard that hair growth in this area happens.”  [0:22:03]

Answer

Testosterone is associated with the darkening and the thickening of the hair follicles. So, if I did it, I would put it on the inner side where your blood vessels are here, on the insides of your wrists. That's where I apply a lot of my hormones, except I put my estradiol on my face because I like the elastin collagen to work to hold my face up and keep the wrinkles without a facelift and stuff like that. But that's where I would put it all the time, and really hair doesn't grow here. And It should be a low dose. If you were prescribed testosterone, typically a milligram a day or 2 for a woman is very, very tolerable and that helps us with our muscle mass, and it's very valuable to the woman and her bodily health. So, hopefully, that's where I would say it. The idea is that if you start rubbing it elsewhere, even on your inner thighs, you know, hair does grow there, it will promote hair growth. And so, you might rotate it. They'll say one thigh, then the other thigh the next day, and then one arm, the other arm. All of these are fine. 

The vast majority of women do not get this hair growth, so don't go looking for it. As women get older, I test my hormone levels, my estradiol, my progesterone, and now that I'm 70, I do cycle monthly, even though I have these hormones, I am still having some thickening of the hair on my chin and I'll have to pluck a hair just to, and it's darker and it's unfortunate, but that's the way it goes. And I don't mind doing that. I would far rather have the energy and the health and be able to do my workouts and weight training and lift up my grandson, my little toddler grandsons, and enjoy that than worry about having to check or pull a hair on my chin every so often. 

Question 

“It is amazing how little research has been done on post-menopausal care for women. What is your thought on the bill being pushed in the Senate to garner more funding?”  [0:24:40]

Answer

I'm for research absolutely on this, but I am very suspicious of federal funding for anything now. It's as if it is a candy that you offer out to children before you kidnap them and abuse them. I see federal funding as a common corruption pool for all institutions, and I think people who want answers should make their case, and find their own funding because people who pull it out of their own pockets, even wealthier people who can offer more for it, they're going to watch their money. But when you have some big government that can tax the population and just get in all this money and prints it out of nothing because the federal reserve is not federal and there are no reserves, they just print money out of nothing, they can use this in very concerning ways, making people dependent on a production list institution called government rather than true hard work and activities and get people addicted to it, and then they lie to keep working in their position in government to support this endless dope of money coming to support their bureaucratic job and office and just ignore the truth that its corruption filled. I was on active duty. I've worked in government healthcare as a physician. It's not good. 

Question 

“Are there vast differences between the synthetic hormones versus the plant-based?”  [0:27:06]

Answer

Well, there really isn't plant-based. There are human bioidentical estradiol, estriol, estrone, and human bioidentical testosterone, and these can be made exact copies of the human female hormone. We can use precursors. I had one patient 20-30 years ago who asked me, do they harvest dead women's ovaries, and I said, no, most of the women who have died are so old, their ovaries don't work anymore. 

Now, the original synthetics were equine estrogen, and horse estrogen derivatives, and these are not natural at all. That was in the Premarin-type original hormones, and they're meant for a 2000-pound female horse. So, those estradiols, I think, have long since been poo-pooed. You can still get Premarin-type products but I haven't seen that in years and years now. The estradiol is now educated in the population and the medical prescribing for, so that I think almost all the patches and the estradiol tablets, these are all pure, perfect human female bioidentical estradiol. So, that is safe. It needs to be monitored. You should check it twice a year probably. It should be balanced with progesterone. I'm against prescribing estradiol without giving progesterone as well or at least cyclically half the month. So, that's what I would say about that. 

It's really the potency and vast differences between the synthetic. And when we say synthetic, let's call those the equine horse-derived estrogen products of the 40s, 50s, and 60s in Premarin products. And the plant-based references the concept that these are biochemically transformed into human pure identical estradiol. So yeah, there are differences, and yes, it's important. 

Question 

“What are your thoughts on hyaluronic acid or methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)? I need something for joint pain. I am hoping testosterone will help. I do take progesterone and estrogen.”  [0:30:18]

Answer

Joint pain, as we age, is very much associated with our lifestyle, our weight, our activity level, our muscle strength, and how much water we drink. Our enzymes decline with age. And that's another thing, by the way, I don't give hormones to women who won't take enzymes. So, if young girls have lots of enzymes in them and they heal up quickly and their joints are moving nice, I insist on trying to recreate youthfulness in hormone replacement by demanding that they drink their water every day, that they take their systemic enzymes on an empty stomach every day, and they balance with progesterone, they let me check their levels once or twice a year, and go from there. 

So regarding the joints, estradiol and progesterone are natural hormones, that help us with growth repair and maintenance even of things like our tendons and cartilage. So, yes, women do get less hip pain and longer. I'm at 70 and have absolutely zero joint pain. I have no hip pain. I have no shoulder joint, or anything pain. And I think it's because I have been using my hormones since age 37. And I'm 70 now. So, that's 33 years. And yes, they will help your joints, but not outside of drinking plenty of water and not outside of being on a low-carb diet and not outside of trying to stay away from inflaming foods that are genetically modified that inflame the gut that create inflammation, that will inflame the joints and the blood vessels, and give you migraines and all kinds of things. 

So, nothing is ever a single item. Everything is a style of living. So, I like MSM. I like hyaluronic acid, but I rarely, rarely ever need it in women who will do the basics of the water, the low carb, not eat late at night, look at eating a simple menu, rotating their diet so food allergies don't develop, taking their natural hormones, taking their enzymes, and so forth. And sometimes joint injections, if you've already injured your joint, they'll use things like hyaluronic acid involved in the collagen elastin linkage between collagen and elastin, and you need vitamin C for that microcirculation. EDTA chelation improves all body tissue everywhere. That's why I always recommend chelation with vitamin C on a routine ongoing basis. 

Question 

“Hi, Dr. Rita. My son is on Rosuvastatin 20 mg since last September 2023. His cholesterol was 198 and triglycerides 302. He needs to go back to be re-tested since taking medication. What are your thoughts about his cholesterol and triglyceride levels? He is 52 years old.”  [0:33:45]

Answer

He has been bitten by the carbohydrate addiction monster that we've all been bitten by. High fructose corn syrup hidden in ketchup, hidden in soft drinks, lattes, all these frappuccino drinks and flavors, all the high fructose corn syrup in gummies and all these treats, high fructose corn syrup in so many commodities, too many fruits, too many sugars, starches, carbs, pasta, nuts, seeds, bread, pasta, rice, beans. All this sugar is not being burnt up, so we're eating to gratify. And they market to us, they do all of this activity to promote through commercial, manage your reaction, your thought, your environmental responses to seeing, smelling, hearing pictures of people taking pictures of their meals, sending them out to say, look what I'm eating and all this. We are marketed to like little lab rats to eat, eat, eat, consume, consume, buy, buy, buy, and these have addicting features to them. High fructose corn syrup, fructose is so addicting. Then we just keep on eating and keep on eating and keep on eating. Our insulin goes up. The blood vessels thicken. We don't burn down all the sugar. The sugar hits the lining of our blood vessels, and that hits to the endothelium creating damage. That sets up an injury site, which will start attracting inflammatory initial repair reactions, which, if hit by these sugars, which happen every day, it's never-ending. Then we start getting calcifications of these sites and we get plaque, and then we get vascular disease. The intima lining of the blood vessels is hypertrophied through the action of insulin. And they'll never tell you to lower your sugar, starch, carb, sugary drinks, and so forth. Or they'll say, you're such a typical human being. You are nothing more than a... they're taught evolution that you crawled out of a swamp. You'll never change. Just eat it, take the drugs, and let us make money off of your coronary bypass. 

And the cholesterol suppression, basically, since our cell membranes here are made up of a lot of cholesterol to help them with their plasticity and cell membrane function if you take away the cholesterol and lower it, then the cell membrane becomes stiffer, your brain function, just all kinds of things can go wrong, memory, aging, decline. I am just known for being a doctor who says to take responsibility. I believe in my patients. I see them as created by God, not some swamp creature that crawled out of a pond. I'm against evolution. It's already been proven wrong. 

And so, I try and tell each of my patients how unique they are and how valuable they are. I just had a woman today who I was seeing, and she was talking about how she's in her 70s and she has her grandchildren, and I think she was up in my hometown, it was a telehealth visit, and I was telling her how important maintaining your health is because all her history of experience, all her knowledge, all her service, memories, this is so valuable to her children, to her in-laws, her daughter-in-law, to her grandchildren. They need to see and have this link to the past through grandma and grandpa, and I said there's no one that can fill that role but you. That's how important you are and in so many other ways. She told me how that really inspired her to take care of herself, that it does mean something. 

I really dislike these 7-minute visits with doctors and drugging you. So, I don't like Rosuvastatin. Besides, 198 was his cholesterol. When I was a young doctor in the 70s starting to practice medicine, my military men all had cholesterols of 430 and 360, and those men back in the 70s were much healthier, stronger, less medical issues. And so, his triglycerides should probably be around 50-60. And so, this is all messed up. These doctors aren't going to sit here to help the patient realize their value, and how unique they are, and to disengage from the marketing propaganda to get you to be a consumer, to harm yourself, to gratify this whole because nobody loves you, nobody cares about you. Yes, you do matter. All my patients matter to me, and I just really point out this to them, and I ask them to change their lifestyles for that reason. 

Everyone is valuable. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. I live by this. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I must serve each of my patients with that love for them and their hope. So, yeah, I don't like Rosuvastatin at all. Try and get him to see a good functional doctor, someone who loves being a doctor, someone who loves their patients and will stay informed. 

So, exercise, don't eat late, become more like a simple eater, eating a protein and a vegetable for dinner and lunch the next day, fasting more, skipping breakfasts, and that should turn around. If he's only 52, my goodness, that's his most productive time in life. You know, it's really from 50 to 80. So, let's keep on encouraging him. 

Question 

“So you use, have any experience or recommendations for essential oils?”  [0:41:34]

Answer

You know, these essential oils, lavender, these Bach remedies, flower essence oils, in the world that I work in, in the time that I'm seeing patients, there are many wonderful things out there. So, there are people who do work with these oils and they have their benefit, but it's such a niche kind of thing, and the impact that I've seen has not been as moving as just exercising, as drinking enough water, as not eating late at night, as valuable as lowering your carbs. So, I'm not against essential oils and Bach remedies and things like this, but I don't have the time to practice it in my office. But I do appreciate it and it does have scientific value, and God didn't create these oils and flower essences for no reason. And so, I'm not going to put it down. I just don't find the impact that great. 

Now, maybe if that's all I did, I would find it to be impactful in that niche of the world that I'm working in. But certainly, it's not going to overcome the high carbohydrate inactivity, lack of water, and dehydrated patient.

Question 

“My husband said he has muscle fatigue. Some days, it's worse than others. Any tips?”  [0:43:28] 

Answer

Well, I'd begin by, you know, I don't know how old he is, what comorbidities or medications he might be because statins will often give muscle aches, and many times patients are given statin cholesterol-lowering drugs so liberally, they started coming in for other joint pains, muscle pains, and it's all since they started a statin. So, look at that, get water in them, half his weight in pounds as ounces of water every day. if he does this for three days, he'll start seeing the difference and systemic enzymes to disinflame, don't eat after 6 o'clock, and then try and keep the carbs low, or even have him do a 24 to 48-hour water fast. And minerals are very important and the cell membrane of all the muscles, these membranes here, these cell membranes are made of cholesterol and fat, phospholipid proteins, two sides to that cell membrane, and protein. So, have them eat plenty of fish, turkey, chicken, beef, and eggs, systemic enzymes, and see if he doesn't improve right away, and check some of those things out.

Question 

“Will starting hormones at 55 mess with my perimenopausal bleeding/periods or prolong my journey to menopause?”  [0:44:54]

Answer

Well, I've certainly prolonged mine because I menstruate about this time every month because I use my progesterone from day 1 through 15 and I always start my period right around the 14th 15th, or 16th. And so, I have gone through menopause, you might say. I've never let it happen. Just like a man has his testosterone up to his dying day. So, I don't want to go to menopause. I want to live in pre, you know, natural hormones and monitor them and live a healthy lifestyle. 

Now, when I give hormones to my patients in their 40s and 50s, I'm always looking at trying to educate them to say, by the time you're in your 40s, you're probably only ovulating maybe three times a year.

That's why you're less fertile as you get older. And so, to think that you run your menstrual cycle by ovulational monthly cycles is a fallacy. And so, I'm trying to find out the right time to take the lead in the dance, lead them in the dance by giving them the natural hormones on a cyclical basis and kind of get them on a cycle. So, I'm in a cycle where I'm on my estradiol every day, just like the woman always has estradiol every day made, but a woman only makes progesterone about two weeks out of a month she has under the influence of progesterone. So, I give myself progesterone day 1 through 15 every month. I always have a light cycle right around the middle of the month. So, I have not relied on my own follicle-stimulating luteinizing hormone, and that's old, it's not working anymore, and I just use the natural hormones. So, when someone is saying perimenopausal bleeding periods, I'm always going to give them the option to keep their cycle going. Yeah. So, that's what I would do if you see a functional doctor.

Question 

“A friend's young daughter has pancreatitis. How to treat it holistically?”  [0:47:18]

Answer

Well, I would work with your doctor. Again, none of this advice is meant to be individual personal advice. This is just how I'm thinking about all these challenges and medical concerns. But you have to have your own functional doctor. You have to see your medical doctor. All these things are serious. And so, pancreatitis is no small thing. The pancreas has become inflamed and then the enzymes and the insulin production in the pancreas can get all messed up with the breakup of the cells that are in the pancreas, and you can become a diabetic and have trouble with insulin production and you can have trouble with pain and vomiting, diarrhea, all these kinds of things. So, holistically, you need to work with a functional doctor alongside of your medical doctor to try and find out your blood type, your digestive stressors, are you having food allergies, are you having a high-carb diet, are you overtaxing the pancreas with a high-carb diet and the beta cells, islets of Langerhans, producing insulin, insulin, insulin, and learning how to provide the phospholipid lining that will help heal the cells there, which are from eating meat, fish, turkey, chicken, beef, eggs, and, and so forth. And maybe giving Digestive Enzymes to give the pancreas a break from making so many of the enzyme productions. So, this is a complex thing, and you need to work in tandem with your gastroenterologist or internist who's helping the person with pancreatitis.  

Question 

“Do you have any experience or recommendation regarding the use of a photon infrared therapy light?”  [0:49:27]

Answer

Well, I would say yes. I'm all for infrared because it helps with electromagnetic energy, and that energy can be absorbed into the human body and helps with function because we are all electrochemical beings. I mean, just the mere lining of this cell membrane here, the difference in electricity from the inside of a membrane to the outside of a membrane has a voltage. And if you touch it, move it, bring an electrolyte, a positive ion, and a negative ion to the membrane, these voltages and potentials are going to vary, and this is talking to the cell and the function of the cell. So, when you bring in infrared light, this is energy-supportive to the cell membrane and very helpful. So, yeah, I'm very, very supportive of infrared therapy and these light therapies. 

Question 

“Wow, interesting. It never occurred to me that you could keep periods going. Thank you. Also, what systemic enzymes do you recommend?”  [0:50:49]

Answer

There are various forms and there are many out there. Are they good? Do they have in them what the label is saying? See, as a doctor, my management of my patients is critical to me. So, I want to know what's in my supplements. Therefore, I deal with just a very few suppliers, and we fly out to them, my prior history and training in chemistry, I'm able to look at assays and quarantine, lot numbers, sample size, and assays of contents. And so, you start developing a relationship with these suppliers and these makers, and they start realizing you're the real deal, you really care, your patients depend on the quality of it, and it's just a win-win situation when doctors start going to these places and getting really involved. So, the ones I use are Vitalzym. This is one produced by a Japanese pharmaceutical. It's more expensive, but it's an extremely high-quality systemic enzyme. Three a day is the standard recommended dose on an empty stomach. Then I helped Ortho Molecular with developing Vascuzyme to bring it up to the quality near to the Vitalzym that's produced as a pharmaceutical in Japan. We can get it here without a prescription, our laws are different. In Japan, Vitalzym is a prescription item, but here it's not. So, fortunately, we can use that. Vascuzyme, our systemic enzymes, is the name of our private label of that, taken on an empty stomach. 

Question 

“I had a hysterectomy 41 years ago, and for sure menopause. I'm on the estradiol patch, but it's not helping. I'm 61 and have gallstones and horrid digestion. My pancreas isn't working well either. My primary care doctor wants me to take progesterone too, but it makes me depressed. Maybe the oil would be better than Prometrium, too high of a dose? I also just started taking magnesium. They didn't take the ovaries.”  [0:52:56] 

Answer

Well, by now the ovaries are non-functional. So, yeah, there are many ways to work with the patient on progesterone dosing and the cream, the troches in the mouth sublingually, and various compounding doses of the progesterone level. And so, we would want to work with you as knowing where you're at, in age, your blood type, inflammation, whether are you on enzymes, what is your diet like, how late are you eating, what is your exercise level, what is your healing, rehabilitation, sleep time like? All these things would come into play. And then we would want to look at your digestion, especially with your blood type, maybe a stool analysis, and track you that way along with your primary care. But I'm very pleased to hear your primary care is starting to use natural hormones and this is most encouraging. I mean, I will die someday and we have to train the younger people and leave a heritage to them. 

Question 

“I'm scheduled for an MRI and two MRAs, with contrast. Should I have chelation as soon as possible afterwards?”  [0:55:16]

Answer

Well, I would certainly encourage it because these contrasts are usually a gadolinium heavy metal, which is toxic, it's a dye so that they can outline the features of the tissues much better and with more accuracy. So, if you had the MRI or the contrast imaging study, I would try and get the EDTA chelation afterward the same day or the next day. Now, it will be helpful in 10 days, two weeks, three months, or even later, but the quicker you do it, I think the easier it is to capture it before it tries to embed itself deep into a bone or fat. So, yes, I would do that. 

Question 

“A mammogram report from May 7 found a “focal asymmetry in the central region of my left breast”. Was told to schedule an appointment for another mammogram and ultrasound of my left breast. Do you think it's safe to get a second mammogram with the radiation? I had a CT scan that same day, full chest to pelvis. Or is there an alternative?”  [0:56:07]

Answer

Yes, I would because there's an area of concern now. You need to follow through on the advice of the doctors who did the study and saw the area there and let them do a more focal, targeted look. The ultrasound is very benign, the second mammogram will be more focal, and I would do it and follow their advice on that.

Question 

“I was a patient of Dr. Warwick. I need help dealing with my gut issues. I had gastritis, so was taking Pepcid. I no longer take that and have been taking Glutagenics, SBI Protect, and Probiotics 225. Also doing the diet for Inflammation foods. I have SIBO. What antimicrobials can I take and when do I take what? Also filling FODMAP diet.”  [0:56:59]

Answer

Well, if you did a complete digestive stool analysis, we could get a layout of the various kinds of natural items, maybe like uva ursi or silver or grapeseed extract. But I would do a complete digestive stool analysis and see another functional doctor there and go from that point.

Question 

“What is a better bread option if you had to pick? White, wheat, sourdough, or are they all the same?”  [0:57:55]

Answer

Well, if the grains are coming from the American genetically modified glyphosate sources, I think they're all horrible. I think we get too much of this, especially in light of we've had so much sugar, and high fructose syrup, and we have carbohydrate problems and addictive behaviors to the sugars that were done purposely to us. We have to be very cautious. But if I had to pick one, I'd probably go with the sourdough and only with grain made from Europe, and try and only use it limitedly.

Question 

“I experience vertigo every so often and I'm trying to figure out what triggers this. I drink my water and follow your recommended diet, exercise, and sleep well. I usually can stop the vertigo by doing the Epley maneuvers, but this time it's lingering and it’s frightening and debilitating. Would exposure to too much Wi-Fi, etc., be a cause? Thank you, Dr. E.”  [0:58:42] 

Answer

Well, it certainly is another form of disruptive cell membrane challenging to create more irritation. And I assume you're on enzymes. I don't know if you're doing chelation therapy, but that is a very good thing to improve the microcirculation and help repair things more quickly. I don't know what your highly sensitive C-reactive protein is, your sed rate, or your insulin level. All these things have to be looked at to try and get a better experience because it's inflammation and these loops of (0:59:39) that are in our ears and deep in our brain, that our fluid levels with otoliths and little hairs in these tubes that give the fluid flow to be binary side to side. So, you have to look into that. Try and get your doctor to evaluate that.

Question 

“We’ve had about a flu here. The kids had it first. It involved throwing up and diarrhea and fever. They have recovered, took about five days, but now I have the runs. I've been using the LifeWave patches and taking charcoal. Is there anything else you would recommend?”  [1:00:04]

Answer 

Well, I would go on a clear liquid diet, like a chicken broth, or beef broth, for two days and just let your gut heal, and that would be my very first as well. So, I would go from there. And of course, if it's not improved, you have to be seen. 

Question 

“Can a specialized diet impede the progression of cancer?”  [1:00:44]

Answer

Absolutely, because cancer is so much dependent on eating a high-carb diet because a dysfunctional cancer cell usually means the mitochondrial batteries of the growing tumor cells cannot process fatty acids. And so, they depend on sugar continuously. There are only two ATP produced for every mitochondria that is in an aerobic, low oxygen, acidic environment, and that's what fast-growing tumors live in, versus a healthy cell that can work with oxygen and burn the fat and gets 34 ATP energy cycles. So, an extremely low-carb diet and fasting will help impede it. 

Question 

“I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and suspect my 17-year-old daughter may have it as well. Is there a genetic component? Is there a way to get tested without blood work? (Clinically has a phobia of needles) What can I be giving her just in case she has it, that would also be okay for her if she doesn't have it, to help support her until we're able to navigate needles?”  [1:01:43]

Answer

Well, progesterone cyclically days 15 through 25 of her cycle, a low-carb diet, and systemic enzymes. 

Question 

“What, if anything, have you found will help control foot and nail fungus? I tried a prescription from my regular MD. That resulted in hives. I try to wear shoes one day, spray them with disinfectant, and let them rest for a day or two, before wearing them again. A podiatrist gave me laser treatments and told me to only wear white socks. I still need help.”  [1:02:23]

Answer

You’ve got to know your fasting blood sugar. And what they call normal is not normal to us. We need that blood sugar, never to be fasted higher than 85, your insulin never higher than 4 fasting, your triglycerides never to be higher than your HDL, somewhere on the range of 50 to 70 maybe, and your hemoglobin A1C to be 5.2. Then I would apply right to the toenail or the nail involved Argentyn silver which is a silver-based liquid that will sink into the nail and under the cell to fight fungus. 

Question 

I have a dear friend who would love to be a patient at TLC. She’s on the waiting list. Is there any other way she might get an appointment? She’s fed up with traditional medicine. They keep prescribing meds that get her sick, dizzy, and nauseous.”  [1:03:20]

Answer

Pray for us. We are trying very hard to find good doctors and to work with helping train them and educate them. And pray for us and for our health and our stamina because we’re trying to fill this hole and we’ll do the best we can.

Question 

“What is the brand of Berberine you use and recommend? I could not find it on your website. If I'm correct this helps with sugar cravings.”  [1:03:58]

Answer

Its TLC Metabolic Formula or the other one by Ortho Molecular is called Diaxinol. Does this help with sugar cravings? Well, not really. It helps burn the sugar down. So, if you don’t keep on taking in the offending addicting agent, then once you get on the other side of the higher sugars, the ghrelin hormone that gives you cravings gets lower and lower. And within about three days, it should go away. 

Question 

“Hi Dr. Ellithorpe, thank you for all the work you do! What treatment do you recommend for perioral dermatitis around the mouth? I'm 58 years old.”  [1:04:38]

Answer

Usually, that’s a B vitamin deficiency. I would take TLC Methyl B Complex. Be low-carb. And then I would use Argentyn silver to stop all the bacteria growing into the corners there.

Question 

“I'm 64 years old and I have been on NP thyroid for at least 10 to 15 years three tablets a day 60 mg. I was wondering if I would ever be able to get off of it, or do I need to be on for the rest of my life? I just hate being on any pharmaceutical products. Thank you for your time!”  [1:05:06]

Answer

Well, you know, I’m going to be on my natural hormones all my life, estradiol, progesterone, and DHEA. And I am on thyroid because this gland of mine doesn’t work as well. So, natural hormones, glandular hormones, are only being given because the function of the organ is not working as well. So, in that sense, you’re not on pharmaceuticals, you’re on natural hormone replacement therapy.

Question 

“I have been diagnosed with severe osteoporosis. How would you treat this?”  [1:05:47]

Answer

All the things I’ve been saying, exercise, stomping, vitamin D, higher levels, 80 to 120, on your lab reports with K2, taking a TLC Multimineral, natural hormone replacement, progesterone, estradiol, a low-carb diet, and these are the ways we keep our women and ourselves healthy here. 

Question 

“I got rid of my vertigo by going on low oxalates.”  [1:06:31]

Answer

Yeah. If you’re seeing a good functional doctor, they’re going to be thinking about phytates, tannins, lectins, and oxalates. Plants have materials in them that can be harmful to us.