YouTube Livestream Q&A Transcript, September 3rd, 2024

Question 

“My husband has more than his share of muscle aches, especially after strenuous activity. He’s not used to this. He’s 71 and in overall good health but has ongoing digestive issues. He's altered his diet as needed, but do you think exercising might help to mitigate his aches and pains? Again, thank you for your answers.”  [0:01:23] 

Answer

I would say without hesitation one of the major pillars to go into your older years, and I'm about the same age as your husband, the major pillar is to add weight training exercise to your program, to try and shift your eating to a breakfast and a lunch-type emphasis and omit dinners. In other words, don't eat late. But really, if you can eat a hearty breakfast, a good lunch, and really not eat dinners, that's the best, and that way your stomach is very empty when you go to lay down. And thirdly, we would ask you to say aging would be to be someone who is also eating a richer protein diet. The older we get, the less we digest well. Protein has to be digested, and fat, that's harder to do, and you need digestive enzymes for that. We lose it with aging, just like other hormones. And so, to age is to be someone who uses Digestive Enzymes and betaine hydrochloric acid, which is in our Ortho Molecular Digestive Enzyme. To become more like a carnivore or very high protein, to add in weight lifting exercise two to three times a week minimum, and to be an eater of breakfasts and lunches and really omit dinners. So, yes, without a doubt, that would tremendously help him. 

Question 

“How effective is red-light therapy (using LED panels) on 'recharging' your mitochondria and improving your body's energy levels? Will it help with insulin resistance?  [0:03:36] 

Answer

The answer is very effective and very valuable. I would certainly encourage anyone to wake up in the morning and go into the wet grass, or wet sand if you're near the beach, or moist dirt and stand at the sunrise where a large amount of red light, infrared light, the richest amount is for a minute and a half to three minutes every morning, facing the east. Take off your glasses or contacts and let that infrared light hit you. It's free. Everyone can start doing this in the morning. And do that on barefoot wet grass or wet sand or wet dirt. And then we would encourage you to understand that all these far red lamps are valuable and do add to the energy that we're learning about that envelopes every cell membrane, and all water-loving surfaces have a type of water that's called structured water, and if that red light can get through and it penetrates your skull, it goes through your clothes, goes through your eyes, it will help your circadian rhythm¸ it'll help with anxiety, it'll help with energy, it'll help with your sleep quality. Many, many things. So, the answer is yes. 

Question 

“I'm taking Systemic Enzymes and I want to know how they differ from Vitalzym. Is one better than the other? Do I need both?”  [0:05:30]

Answer

Vitalzym has been produced in Japan as a pharmaceutical enzyme compilation, which is very rich in serrapeptase. It works as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent and reduces sticky blood platelet aggregation, and when it reduces this inflammation, it reduces pain. It works all over the body and you take it on an empty stomach once or several times a day. You should take it as far away from eating as you can. 

Is it better than Systemic Enzymes? Systemic enzymes are really the Ortho Molecular formulation that I've privately labeled. So, Ortho Molecular’s Vascuzyme is a systemic enzyme, and it contains the serrapeptase in it. So, I think it's nearly identical. What it doesn't have is the capsulation that is unique to Vitalzym which helps protect it from going through your stomach acid. It does have a very good capsule, but the reason why it's a pharmaceutical in Japan is, according to their bylaws of medicine, they want it listed as a medication, and they put the effort to put in that coating that's probably better. So, I'm going to say, you know, it's really equivalent in a clinical point of view. I've been using these two for decades. So, the systemic enzymes or Vascuzyme are larger capsules. Vitalzym are small little pellets. So they're easier to take, but they're much more expensive. So, that's all I can tell you. Their effect is similar. Their value clinically seems to be equivalent and systemic enzymes are cheaper. 

Question 

“Are the Systemic Enzymes on the TLC website the same as Vitalzym Xe?”  [0:08:00]

Answer

I just explained that. Essentially, they are. 

Question 

“Dr. Rita, can you please share your thoughts on eating fruit in moderation? I usually start my day with a banana, coffee, and nut butter. I may have some strawberries and blueberries in the afternoon. Other than that I consume no other fruit, with the exception of a daily avocado. Can this routine coexist with your current dietary recommendations?”  [0:08:10]

Answer

Well, yes. Everything depends on how healthy you are, how active you are, what your age is, do you have any comorbidities, what are your lab insulin levels, your lab fasting blood sugar levels, your lab triglycerides, your lab hemoglobin A1c. And the ranges that are on the lab are population averages, so I'm much stricter. And certainly the fructosamine level, that's another lab. So, if these are all very healthy, and you can be active enough and you can eat this fruit and berries daily and an avocado, I don't see a problem. I would just work with your doctor and monitor those levels. 

The other thing would be anytime you eat food over and over again, the likelihood of that food showing up and generating a little leak through some of the injuries in your gut tube increases. So, if you eat a very healthy food, but you eat it every day, it's likely that you'll develop a food sensitivity to it. So, we teach them to break up things and to not have these patterns. So, yes, it's compatible. Yes, these things can be done. I would try and buy organic, I would monitor my lab, and I would try and rotate them a little more. Hopefully that helps. 

Question 

“Hi Dr. E., are there benefits to adding DMPS to IV-EDTA to chelate heavy metals, especially mercury? Are there risks with DMPS in the short term or over a 40-week period of weekly IV Chelation? Thank you kindly for sharing your expertise with everyone each week.  God bless you.”  [0:10:18]

Answer

DMPS is dimercaptopropane-sulfonic acid. DMSA is dimercaptosuccinic acid. I don't use these for chelating on any regular basis. I just use the DMSA (dimercaptosuccinic acid) as a one-time challenge. And then the reason is I don't like to introduce any increased risk for nausea, too rapid of a toxic metal move that can cause headaches, neurological symptoms, fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea. I just like to keep things very simple. 

Now, we give EDTA chelation to infants/toddlers that have accidentally eaten a paint on their toy or chip-off of the window sill or on their bed crib, and that tiny amount can create the neurological and gut reactions, even death. And they all tolerate EDTA, calcium disodium EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). So, I'm very conservative and I try and use the simplest things. So, EDTA is what we use, and I do not use DMSA or DMPS simply because I get the same end result, I get the mercury reduced, I see nice reductions, and have, for many decades, just using the calcium disodium EDTA, and I have massive experience in this over many, many decades. So, DMPS, DMSA, why take the risk? Just use the old standard safe calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, or EDTA. 

Question 

“I had massive surgery 6 years ago. Cyto Reductive Surgery with HIPEC. Hot chemotherapy was injected into my abdomen. Lots of complications and additional surgeries. I have motility problems. Neuropathy of the abdomen with slow motility. Had a KUB and it showed stomach debris. Research shows that as a bezoar.  What is the treatment? Is this serious? Thanks.”  [0:12:47]

Answer

Bezoars are usually from nervous anxiety and women chewing their hair and they swallow it and they can't digest it and it builds up as a ball like a cat has a cat hairball that they cough up, but they don't digest it. I'm not sure that's true, but that's what she's saying. 

I would certainly find a functional medical doctor who is trying to incorporate functional medicine into the standard of care. I don't know you. I'm not trying nor are any of these comments meant to be personal medical advice, but general impressions for the types of questions people have. Yours is a specific problem, and you have physicians who know the diagnosis, your age, and many other things about you. But we can, with functional medicine, work alongside oncologists and all the specialists to optimize the function of the gut, the healing of the gut, and improve the immune system and your nutrient levels. We can also promote detoxing. So, when you work with a functional doctor, they'll look at all these things, all that you've been exposed to, including the surgery and types of problems you have, and start to construct a plan. It's very complex to do this type of medicine because there are many aspects that all come into play, and you may need multiple visits to gradually move yourself to an endpoint. Your age, your background, your comorbidities, your diet, your blood type, all these things play into this. So, I would certainly ask you to work with your local doctor but do find a functional medicine trained or experienced physician to help you along. And we've seen some wonderful support getting the gut performance back in. We've had many people who have cancer, they're under the care of their oncologist, and we treat them not for their cancer, but we treat people who have cancer to help them with all these issues, and we do see the benefit. I hope that helps you.

Question 

“What is the name or website for the organization to look up integrative doctors in other areas?”  [0:15:56]

Answer

ACAM.org. 

Question 

“I have a friend who is a young mother in her early 30s with chronic Lyme disease. I have told her about you. Is there hope for her?”  [0:16:15]

Answer

Most definitely. There's hope for everyone. And it's just taking the time to work things through, building up a history and management plan with your doctor. Taking the entirety of the scenario in your background about you, from your age, menopause, any comorbidities, your stressors in life, your blood type, all these parameters, and your body type, your exposures, and we can start building up the immune system to help augment the resistance to these chronic low-grade infectious scenarios using various modalities, high dose vitamin C, reducing toxins with chelation, hyperbaric, ultraviolet light radiation of the blood, UVB, to help kill off these virals and spirochetes and things like this, along with dietary advice. Exercise, proper circadian rhythm. She would be someone who should very much get up in the morning, and stand in the wet grass, in the infrared light of the horizon from the sunrise for two to three minutes. Yes, there are many things we could help her with. And then she should have an infectious disease probably to work with and work with us to ascertain where she's at in her treatment protocol for her history of Lyme’s.  

Question 

“Should I be concerned about a chest X-ray result: Peribronchial thickening bilaterally, no asthma, PFT results: moderate diffusion impairment and isolation reduction in diffusing capacity and dyspnea on exertion?  Also, post nasal drip. I rarely have any mucus and don’t feel postnasal drip, but have chronic sore throat. Is loratadine good?”  [0:18:12]

Answer

This is very complex. We would have to know a lot more about you. It would certainly be more serious, you know if you were a long-term smoker, if you had any known heart disease, ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, how active you are, if you've done a stress treadmill. There are many parameters that will aggravate something like this, and then there are many people that just have chronic bronchitis, some people have cystic fibrosis, and we've managed them for decades here, doing chelation, high dose vitamin C, giving them mucolytic agents, iodine, N-acetylcysteine, glutathione IVs, checking their antioxidant assays, doing their blood oxygen saturation levels, helping them to gradually work in physical therapy and build up their tolerance to exercise and their exertional capacities. So, there are many things that we can do. So, I would have been concerned simply because I don't know who you are and what comorbidities, background, age, and weight you might have. So, this has to be followed with your doctor and discussed. That's the best I can suggest for you.  

Question 

“What is the difference between TLC Energy Core and the TLC Multi Min? I already take Juice Plus.”  [0:20:25]

Answer

TLC Energy Core is a multimineral vitamin. So, it contains the broad spectrum of all the vitamins that we know of that should really be in a comprehensive multivitamin-mineral, the B vitamins, the antioxidants, the minerals, some of the other trace minerals, and some iodine. So, it's a whole multivitamin-mineral complex. Whereas, the TLC Multi Min is strictly a higher dose amino acid chelated multi-mineral. So, it'll have the various ones in it and trace minerals, but it won't have the B vitamins or iodine or things like that in it.

Question 

“Do you have a natural product to replace Ondansetron HCL? The doctor prescribed it for “head nausea” which started after I had strabismus surgery in my right eye on 5/1/24. Unfortunately, I still have blurred vision and bad nausea in my head. I also have pain behind that eye, but maybe it’s from my right upper wisdom tooth that won’t grow in. Three others are in.” [0:21:23]

Answer

I would certainly encourage you to work with your functional medicine and your ophthalmological consult to make sure everything is going in the best direction possible. Fasting is very helpful for nausea of any sort. Fasting is helpful to stimulate growth hormone release and promote spurts. Like I'm on my Labor Day fast right now. So, I do that for several days. So maybe that's another reason why I'm a little bit tired. I would certainly recommend a two-day 48, at most 72-hour, fast, hydration half your weight in pounds as ounces of water every day, rich amount of systemic enzymes like the Vitalzym or the systemic enzymes Vascuzyme twice a day, say five roughly twice a day on an empty stomach. I would probably then go carnivore for two to three months to richly build up that muscle. Strabismus is a muscle problem with the six muscles that help you move your eyes together. When you don't move in unison, that gives you a signal also back that things are off if your vision parameter in each eye isn't well coordinated. So, there are many things that I would look at doing that, and I would talk to your functional doctor, and work with your ophthalmologist closely to get the best solution. So, no, there's no individual supplement that acts as an anti-nausea agent. There's just this lifestyle that would work. 

Question 

“How would I test for malabsorption? I have severe chronic constipation and taking vitamins and supplements but fear I’m wasting time and money if not absorbed. What information would you need about me to answer this question? Type A+, 55 years old, hysterectomy, RHT, drink 2x wt H2O, lift weights, AM sunrise, negative Cologuard, hypothyroid, bloating.”  [0:24:10]

Answer

Well, I would strongly recommend a good functional medicine doctor to work with your gastroenterologist. I would want to know that you've at least had one colonoscopy in your life, and no family history of colon cancer. You would certainly need Digestive Enzymes whenever you eat. I would try the Digestive Enzyme with both vitamin C and the magnesium chelation and why I say it that way is you can take a vitamin C capsule once every half hour until you feel that potential sensation to have a bowel movement. Maybe it'll take you taking in six or eight or 10 vitamin C capsules. The magnesium is our TLC Multi-Mineral. So, if you drink enough water half your weight in pounds as ounces daily if you try an oral vitamin C supplement every half hour, but the magnesium TLC Multi Mineral would just be at most probably three twice a day, that should begin things. I'd want to know your thyroid level and your free T3 level. Hormones help, and estradiol helps with bowel movements. Exercise helps. Enzymes help the digestive enzymes. Anti-inflammatory systemic enzymes help. Serum bovine immunoglobulin IGA, which is the SBI Protect Powder mixed with Phospholipids twice a day. And a very gut-calming diet, which would be a carnivore diet, for a season, like two to three months, working with your functional doctor and your gastroenterologist, and usually we see things moving that way. So, hopefully, you can find some help. 

Question 

“I've got a bladder infection that did not respond to Monurol. Now, I'm taking Bactrim which may or may not be working but is putting me at risk for a recurrence of C. Diff. Is there a better way to treat UTIs?”  [0:27:17] 

Answer

Monurol is a new antibiotic just for urinary tract infections. It's a type of Fosfomycin. 

Well, I'm not going to say there is a better way because I would have to know a lot more about you. You have to work with your urogynecologist/urologist and have this closely monitored, especially if you've already had C. Diff. But gut health is very important. So, a complete digestive stool analysis and also for the lady before, I hope I told you I would want a complete digestive stool analysis. And then hormone replacement would be very helpful to help the lining of the vaginal area and the periurethral area, your testosterone level to help with the muscle contraction of the pelvic floor, and possibly Womanology, which is physical therapy for the pelvic floor and women to help with the position posturing. I don't know if you've had children, if you've had a bladder lift or not. So, there are many things that we will be talking about. We'd have to know where your blood sugar level is because the higher American diet of blood sugars is depressing our immune systems. There are many things that go into this answer but many areas that we could begin to help you with. Hopefully, that gets you a good start. 

Question 

“What is the best way to test for heavy metals, blood, hair, urine? Thank you. PS, I do have a new patient appt at TLC, it’s at the end of October, so I was thinking of getting testing done prior. I just started reading your book, Detox Outside the Box.”  [0:29:32]

Answer

I would probably recommend that I'm going to say, in my over 40 years of doing chelation and heavy metal reduction, that hair and blood just are not where the answer is. It's in the challenge. It's the urine. It's a reproducible picture with a known amount of kidney function, a known amount of calcium disodium EDTA with the DMSA capsule, and the volume of your urine and how much came out. So, if we give the same test to everyone, it's the most reproducible, repeatable, scientific way to look at this. The challenge is the name that we give it, which is our standard treatment to get a picture of the burden people have. And it screens for 21 metals, and it's the response to your body's ability to release. And there are many things that go into it. Your general health, your age, other medications you're on, how good your kidney function is, how hydrated you are. And so, all these factors can impinge upon your body's release of these toxins. But if we compare you with yourself after about 30 to 40 chelations over the course of a year, then we can get a pattern. And with experienced chelating physicians, we usually see great benefit with this. So, I'm going to say it is the urine challenge test.

Question 

“When taking a fasting morning blood test with glucose reading included, does it matter if the blood is taken at 6:30 AM or 9 AM? I think I remember you saying it did, but not sure why.”  [0:31:45]

Answer

There is what we call a dawn effect. The stress of waking up, the cortisol that kicks in around 4:00 or 4:30 in the morning, is a known mobilizer of glucose out of the gluconeogenesis glycogen stores out of the liver, out of the muscle tissue. And so, that can create a false spike in your blood sugar for very early morning levels. However, if your doctor knows you and knows that you're coming in the early morning, but can look at all the other parameters, they can understand if they're well trained that this is the morning dawn effect. If you wait until 9:00 or 9:30, then that dawn effect should be over with, and we would see more of a typical true fasting blood sugar without the kick that cortisol gives. 

Question 

“My relative has an E. coli infection. Can you help?”  [0:33:02]

Answer

Is the E. coli infection of the urinary tract? That's typical to see E. coli in the urinary system. Normally this needs to be treated with an antibiotic and then a repeat urinalysis is done to show that it's been cleared out. You can have E. coli infections in other parts of your body, and there are many different types of E. coli. So, we would have to know more. But you see, if you build up your health, if you build up your immune system, if you exercise and build up your muscle mass and your ability to burn sugars down, increase your circulation with exercise, adequately hydrate yourself so you have optimal cell membrane energy potential that water gives to the cell membrane, morning light, a low carb diet, not eating late, a diet rich in protein to make your white blood cells to fight infections off. There are many things that go into building up a healthy immune system and a good nutrient profile. So, the answer would be, yes, we can help anyone, but there are so many unanswered questions about this open-ended question, that I would have to leave it at that. 

Question 

“Hi Dr Rita, I have a friend in his late 50's - a full Navy career as a Diver. He developed a lung condition, called Barrett's Esophagus. Currently, the VA is treating him with chemo. He has been approved for a TIF Procedure. However, the rehab of 6-8 months is pretty much out of the question as he runs a ranch in Montana. Any insights or suggestions?”  [0:34:33]

Answer

Barrett's esophagus is not a lung condition, although you can get reflux and that reflux out of the stomach acid into the esophagus can climb up to the throat create inflammation, and have like a silent aspiration. That's a potential thing that would in a backhanded way impact the lungs. 

That's not enough information for me, and I don't know what the TIF procedure stands for. And then there's the challenge that Barrett's esophagus is a lung condition. You would have to think of a silent aspiration or that kind of condition. Barrett's esophagus can have such chronic inflammation that you would get cancer at the site of the chronic inflammation of the acid into the esophagus. And then if you had cancer, you would need procedures maybe surgically, and chemotherapy. 

Now, given all that vagary, and I'm not exactly sure the whole nature here, we would certainly let him know that the eating, just a window of time, let's say breakfast to lunch, and then fasting 18 hours or 20 hours a day and that food really should probably just be a carnivore diet. So, if there is cancer involved, you're going to help starve the cancer, plus all that protein will help build up white blood cells and the nutrients for repair and a good immune system. Proteins in a carnivore diet are so satisfying and satiating that your hunger becomes not a problem if you become a carnivore. Using certain nutrients, finding a functional doctor who can give high doses of vitamin C, and monitoring him that way, finding out his blood type. He may already need Digestive Enzymes to help him digest his food. I would need to know him better and his blood type to answer that. So, Systemic Enzymes can reduce inflammation. The chelation will improve the microcirculation. The vitamin C helps to work as a pro-oxidant to kill off cancer stem cells. The diet would tend to starve cancer. Eating just breakfast and an early lunch in a 4-hour window will tend to keep all the food and the use of the stomach early when you're upright so that there isn't any reflux. High-dose vitamin D, he would probably benefit from the vitamin D with K2 20,000 international units, but again, that needs to be tested to make sure his levels reach adequate levels and don't get too high. So, there are many things that could be done and supportive, of him. But again, it's quite vague. So, find a good functional doctor, find your local GI, and it sounds like he's under the care of an oncologist with chemotherapy, and all should work together to help him. Hopefully that helps. 

Question 

“Hello, my dad had a triple bypass at age 65 and my dad’s brother had a bypass at age 55. And now his son (my cousin) just had a triple bypass over the weekend. I am 55, and this seems to be genetic, I would like to know how to avoid this occurrence in my life if possible. Thank you!”  [0:39:03]

Answer

It’s probably more lifestyle because the American diet promotes high carb, high insulin, and endothelial damage along the blood vessels, and that creates chronic irritation/inflammation to attract plaque formation. So, I would definitely find a good doctor who will check your fasting blood sugar, insulin, triglyceride, hemoglobin, and A1C. I would let you know that the EDTA chelation therapy would improve microcirculation and that bypass surgery has not really extended the longevity and life of people. Instead, if you don't do these lifestyle changes, that would be the direction to go. I would find a good cardiologist. Some of them are describing themselves now as functional cardiologists who appreciate the nutritional approach alongside the specialty cardiology approach, and they would probably do a coronary artery calcium CT of the chest to help look at your parameters, along with your insulin resistance workup to see with those sugars and triglycerides and hemoglobin A1c, things like that. And then they would probably do some stress tests or a nuclear stress test to look at your microcirculation to see if there's any perfusion problem, and that's why EDTA chelation therapy is so fantastic. If you look up the TACT Update 2019 Dr. Lamas, and you'll see we had a fantastic chelation trial for people who had suffered heart attacks, and their survivability compared to the standard of care was superior, and this is something you need to look into. 

Question 

“Hello, Dr. Rita, regarding your cold/flu protocol, would you front load the daily 50,000 International Units of vitamin D3 or disperse them throughout the day?”  [0:41:46]

Answer

I would say it's been studied with these single dose elements, very well documented, that it's just as adequate. So, I don't think you have to go through the effort to spread it out throughout the day.  

Question 

“Hi Dr. E., my husband is 47, and has bradycardia, all tests came back "good" and his heart looks good, but he still isn't 100%. He’s tired. The heart rate is in the 40s at night, 50s is the average avg resting heart rate. He has occasional PVC (5.5% of the time). The magnesium level was "normal" but low. His cardiologist prescribed magnesium oxide. Would magnesium malate, magnesium orotate, or another magnesium be a better option?  Thank you!”  [0:42:14]

Answer

I would say he probably should get up in the morning, put his feet in the wet grass at sunrise for a minute and a half to 3 minutes, and help his ion, his level gets improved, he has to drink enough water, and he needs to reduce his sugar, starch, carbs, not eat late, start to do gradual, as tolerated, weight training along with some limited cardio as tolerated, and not eat late at night, use Systemic Enzymes. I'm not going to say magnesium oxide is wrong, although I don't prefer it. There are some studies that uniquely have shown that it is beneficial in cardiac arrhythmias. There are many types of magnesium, and the amino acid chelated magnesium does various jobs throughout the physiology of the human body. Therefore, I'm not going to say magnesium oxide is wrong. But if he did chelation therapy to improve his microcirculation, I would certainly expect the magnesium that's in it and the microcirculation enhancement to benefit him. As long as he's under the care of a cardiologist who is monitoring the electrochemical physiology of his heart, and he's doing well, I think he should be able to work with a functional doctor alongside the cardiologist to see him improve, and exercise to be a feature of this with weight training. He might need testosterone. He may be very low in his testosterone level, and that would be very helpful to his cardiac performance. So there are many things. So, you have to be seen, you have to be working with your cardiologist and a functional specialist.

Question 

“Would hyperbaric oxygen chamber help at all with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) patients?”  [0:45:13]

Answer

The answer is yes. We really do strongly believe this is an autoimmune from the gut. You should have a good functional doctor working for gut health. The natural antihistamine quercetin has been found to be beneficial. Chelation has been found to be beneficial. Avoiding food allergies, getting your immune profile for your food sensitivities, getting a complete digestive stool analysis, along with hyperbaric, all these things tend to help very much, yes. Hormone replacement therapy helps ALS. A carnivore diet helps ALS in the rich repair of the rich membranes of the brain and the nerves are full of phospholipids and cholesterol. 

Question 

“Hi, Dr. Ellithorpe. Thank you for taking my question. Very much blessed by you and your whole staff!

I am a 71-year-old woman, 185 lbs. and 5'5''. I have had to heal spurs, and my podiatrist gave me cortisone injections. A year later, I fell and broke the metatarsal in my foot. What can I do to heal the spurs naturally?”  [0:46:19]

Answer

Spurs usually occur at sites where there's chronic irritation, the pull of a tendon, poor posture, having weight distribution problems that put a strain on your gait, and the way you walk. Pulling on the tendons attached to the bones then creates inflammation. That inflammation then gets calcium deposited. So, doing exercise, weight training, physical therapy, posture. Addressing your posture, and getting to an optimal weight is tremendously beneficial. Vitamin D with K2 helps to prevent abnormal placement of calcifications in the soft tissues and mobilize them in proper places. EDTA chelation therapy helps the microcirculation of these sites. Enzymes systemically on an empty stomach twice a day helps. A very low-carb diet helps. So, many of these things would be the direction I would go.

Question

“Hi Dr. Rita, I was wondering, when is the best time to take the Digestive Enzymes that I get from your store? Would it be before a meal, during the meal, or after the meal? I hear so many different opinions and would like to know what your thoughts are. Thank you!”  [0:48:13] 

Answer

My thoughts are as long as it works for you, whatever works for you. I always take mine after I've eaten because I can get called away at a moment's notice and not have time to eat anything. And there, if I took my Digestive Enzyme, anticipating I'm going to sit down and eat, then I'm stuck with this acid extra and digestive enzymes on an empty stomach, which is unpleasant. So, whatever works for you. There's no best and no research published data that I'm aware of, I doubt exists, that clearly identifies that before eating, in the middle of the meal taking it, or even an hour, two or three hours after eating. Now, in my 70s, I will forget to take my digestive enzymes, and it might have been two to three hours since I ate. But I know at my age, my stomach is not emptying like it did when I was younger. So, I'll take my digestive enzyme even two, three, or four hours after eating to help the digestion and the food that's just sitting there, which will help promote the opening of the pylorus and dumping it into the duodenum. So, you have to have enough stomach acid, so it doesn't sit in your stomach and burp up and give you bloating. 

Question 

“One more UTI question. I've been prescribed estradiol to use vaginally to help to prevent recurrences. However, I've been told due to multiple cardiac comorbidities that I should not use it due to the increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Is this true or just another medical myth?”  [0:49:58] 

Answer

If you are a low-carb, exercising, water-drinking, systemic enzyme-using person who does intermittent fasting, natural hormone replacement therapy has never been shown to be a comorbidity confounder for heart disease, stroke, and clotting. I've never seen it in all my years, and I've dealt with everything.

I have people with clotting disorders that tend to promote clotting and they still are on natural hormones, and they've never clotted for the decades I've managed them. Now, if you're going to do the good lifestyle, low carb, drink enough water, take Systemic Enzymes, exercise, these things I've never seen complicated by hormones, natural hormones.  

Question 

“What do you feel is the healthiest type of protein powder? I currently use a non-soy-plant-based one with no sugar added, as well as grass-fed collagen powder. I am in my mid-40s but I also give it to my teenagers and young adults to try to get in enough protein.”  [0:51:27]

Answer

I don't like protein powders. I like eating real meat, fish, chicken, turkey, beef, eggs. I would use the amino acid called Perfect Aminos. It comes as a powder and the amino. This way, you know you're getting all the essential amino acids in, and that's the only thing that I would supplement with. The rest is very controversial.  

Question 

“I'm a 65-year-old healthy male. My diet consists mainly of meat, eggs, fish, and vegetables. In the morning, I eat a banana with some organic nut butter. In the afternoon, maybe a few strawberries and blueberries. Other than avocados, I do not consume other fruits. Your thoughts pls.”  [0:52:26]

Answer

I already answered this. And so, it depends on other aspects of your general health. And I do recommend that you rotate things and not have a chronic pattern, because the more you eat something, the more likely it will become a sensitivity. 

Question 

“Thank you and bless you, Dr. Ellithorpe, for your commitment to lead others in their health journey. I am 68 and until January had no health issues. After a small stroke, I take weekly IV chelation and use the Detoxamin suppositories.  What are your thoughts on retinal auras?  Thank you.”  [0:53:01]

Answer

You know, one of the things that helps the retinas is getting up in the morning and getting your feet in that earthing, grounding wet grass, wet soil, wet sand, and for a minute and a half, three minutes, let that infrared, take off your glasses or contacts, so it can get into past your skull and through your eyes, through your clothes. And we're seeing improvement there, especially if you're already chelating. I think Systemic Enzymes need to be taken. I think you should look for a doctor who is measuring your hs-CRP, sedimentation rate, triglyceride, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1C, and fasting blood sugar. And if all those things and Systemic Enzymes and you're drinking your water and you're low carb, not eating late at night, and I would certainly exercise, that's the best you can do. However, the data on infrared light in the morning is very encouraging for vision concerns. Hopefully, that helps you.  

Question

“I have an insulin level of 4.0, an A1C of 6.0, and a fasting glucose of 110. Does that mean I have an insufficient insulin level to process my amount of glucose?”  [0:54:37]

Answer

Well, the HOMA-IR test for insulin resistance, that's multiplying your insulin times your fasting blood sugar. So, you would be 440, and that would put you at a HOMA IR level, if I can do the math in my brain, somewhere around a 1.1. A 1 or less or getting under 1 means you're not insulin resistant. So, this is something you do have to address and look at. Either you need to do more weight lifting, build up your muscle mass to burn down the volume that you're eating of carbs, starches, and fruits, or you'll have to do some time-restricted feeding, more intermittent fasting or periods of fasting for a day, 24 hour- to 48 hours once a week or two to three times a month. So, there are various ways to address this. But overall, yeah, you have to work on building up your mitochondria and your cell membrane health to pull down the glucose and the hemoglobin A1c. Although I will say there's a caveat. If you are very low carb, it doesn't look that way with the fasting glucose, unless you did it right at 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning and that's a dawn effect reading. Those people who eat a very low-carb diet and their blood sugar are on the continuous glucose monitoring sticks that they put on the arm, if you're always between 50 and 100, then you truly are chronically in the low glucose range. And you're red cells last longer. And remember, the hemoglobin A1C is a red blood cell sampling. And so, if yours are living longer, they're going to have more experience. to have possibly bumped into glucose and get stuck to it. So, we're starting to realize some people who are really very healthy and low carb actually do have some higher hemoglobin A1Cs. So, it's complex, and you have to work with your doctor and look at these various issues. 

Question 

“What do you think about systemic enzyme supplementation?”  [0:57:46]

Answer

I love it and you need it with aging. 

Question 

“My question was whether the time of the blood test affects the glucose number.”  [0:57:55]

Answer

The answer is yes, the dawn effect can falsely bump it up if it's very early in the morning. 

Question 

“What supplements do you recommend for colitis?”  [0:58:09]

Answer

I recommend a carnivore diet to most of my colitis patients, and that they only eat breakfast and lunch, that they take the SBI Protect Powder with the Phospholipid powder mixed in some warm water, like you're making a baby bottle of warm tepid, and you drink that cup first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Then I recommend vitamin D. I recommend the TLC Multi Min. I recommend the D with K2 at least 10,000 IU. And then I recommend TLC Energy Core and a probiotic. Initially, I start with a powdered probiotic called Ortho Biotic Probiotics two to five powder packets, and I mix that in one of the two drinks of the Phospholipid, SBI protect powder. And if you do it once a day, there are 15 in the box, so that'll last you two weeks. Then go to the oral Sporebiotics IG one a day with Ortho Biotic 100 one a day. And then normally everything calms down radically within a month to six weeks, some people even in just a few days. 

Question 

“Hi, Dr. Rita. I've been going outside early in the morning to expose my eyes to the early light. It seems to get me a boost. What is your opinion regarding red light therapy giving my mitochondria a boost?”  [0:59:49]

Answer

What's happening here is the science on the www.Analemmawand-water.com. And you see the drip here on this thing, it just doesn't seem to want to drip off. So, this water is structured. And if you watch the YouTube called Dr. Gerald Pollack's ‘Electrically Structured Water,’ you'll realize that water that envelopes all of our cell membranes inside and out of every cell is massive and is electrochemically negative, which amplifies the cell membrane potential, even the mitochondrial membranes and the cristae in them. So, when the sunlight can penetrate your bones, go into your eyes, go through your clothes, and you're drinking this water, and actually structured water will amplify the level of capacity, it will help your body to have more electrochemical energy. And I’ve seen the same with myself. So, hopefully, that answers your question.