IMMUNOLOGY TODAY: 2016

To stop and heal from any severe or chronic disease requires the addressing of the underlying issues of stress, infection, toxin or nutritional deficiency to create a movement towards health. Using a variety of immuno-active agents, nutritional supplements and detoxifiers we endeavor to reconstitute the immune system to re-engage in the healing process of any Disease- let it be immune deficiency, auto-immune diseases, allergies, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or immune dysfunctions such as cancer.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

COMFORT FOOD vs SELF LOVE: THE BATTLE AGAINST BAD EATING HABITS (part 1) - by Lennard Gettz

All the education in the world will never get you off bad foods if you are not ready. To condition yourself to a healthier lifestyle is more than just what you eat, it's what you do, how you live, what you think... and how you LOVE yourself. Life extension and prevention are just some of the major ways of thinking but even before this, you need a mental overhaul to build a solid foundation for a true future of health.

"I'LL START TOMORROW"
Many of us who fall into temptation over a tempting bowl of ice cream, colorful pastries or other fattening foods will justify this act with excuses. Fact is, it's okay to have them IF you have the right perspective. The problem lies in our own selves- where quitting anything cold turkey is known to often collapse and the very idea of "diets" just never work! To kick-start a healthy lifestyle starts with an upgrade in SELF-RESPECT.

"ILLEGALIZE THE BIRTHDAY CAKE"
I would associate acts of binging and reaching for things that our logical brain identifies as 'bad for us' with depression. Terms like LIFE TRAPS arise where we tend to play a broken record with bad habits that often lead to self-destructive behavior. If you ever felt "blue" and had the impulse to reach for "fun foods" or "comfort foods" (sweets being a popular one), it seems to be a common pattern that the very things we want to make us feel better are those that have been PRE-PROGRAMMED in us since childhood that now have repercussions to bring harm. A sugar addiction expert once told me jokingly about her "wish" to ban the birthday cake from kiddie parties because this very childhood brain conditioning creates the psychological foundation for sugar habits in adults.

COMFORT FOOD! I blame this term for much of why we are attracted to some of the worst crap out there. Processed foods like RICE, WHITE BREADs and PASTA for example have made their way as popular staples but have nothing good to offer our bodies except filling up you and tricking your system to a false-sense of fulfillment. Comfort Food is defined as a "treat" or anything that's familiar to eat- while giving a false sense of self-love. In the end, emotion-inspired eating is the start of a negative lifestyle.

And then there's the FRIED FOODS; we all know what they do for you from cholesterol to heart burn to blood pressure to digestive issues to outright dangerous weight gain. Pass by any deli counter, 7-11 or gas-station convenient store and you'll see some nasty dripping chicken parts or sausages under brightly lit glass roasting over a greasy tray all day.

If you find this photo disgusting, there's hope for you yet. But imagine the millions of Americans out there that fall into the retail trap of IMPULSE MARKETING (that's putting junk next to the register that the unsuspecting victim will fall prey for- prompted mostly by their angst of being on line).

What makes food a powerful industry in the U.S. is mostly because the buying power is in US. All the store owner has to do is to put it out there on a shelf, a display or on a menu and the visuals will speak for themselves. There are signals and triggers in our heads that will (1) kick in recognition and personal connection and (2) self-convincing in the decision making process as to why "I want this now". You're smart enough to know this is greasy junk- but both sides of your brain are doing its' job to actually surrender to temptation.

Make no mistake. These foods are NASTY and provide you no sustenance- only that feeling that you about to have something that will fill a void. We will often lie to ourselves while eating but the truth will come out when your body has one of a number of negative reactions from gas pains, bloating, energy loss - and not to mention the long term effects.

But again, NONE of this will make a bit of difference if you DO NOT LOVE YOURSELF.

Dr. Marla Friedman, (recognized North Shore psychologist) published the book "Love, Freedom, and Wellness: A Guide To Living an Empowered Life" and she expresses this very idea to drive the entire program to change your diet by changing your life. Everything is connected and our actions to choose what to eat stems from how we feel about ourselves.

CONVENIENCE & THE MARKETING DRIVE

Marketers have designed the heck out of the food industry to make things cheaper, faster, more appealing, portable and accessible. Many food sources are now open 24 hours to bring an "anytime-access" of your favorite foods.

From the overload of commercials to pumping hormones in chickens to celebrities pushing caffeine drinks that have been proven to instigate heart condition- Americans are constantly prompted to "celebrate" the power to consume... and consume... and consume more.

Here are just a few (among thousands) of man-made food prompts that keep us from a healthier lifestyle upgrade:
- The invention of the drive through: you don't need to leave your car because walking is a pain
- Fast food: the idea of the no-wait food speaking to the lazy & the impatient in us all.
- Supersize: the greed factor in us says "more" for less $$
- Ice cold drinks: we are programmed to believe cold beverage is glamour and luxury
- The soda (sugared drinks): we are programmed since childhood that soda is home
- The hamburger: fits in your hand, easy to eat while you work or drive, meat tickles our carnivorous nature (another psychology spin right there)
- Colorful packaging: just walk down any cereal or snacks aisle in your local supermarket, try to resist those primary colors and shiny packaging!

We can keep going with this article, but the message of LOVING YOURSELF FIRST (I believe) is the one true solution in overcoming the battle against unhealthy eating. I welcome your thoughts on this article so please comment below.

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DR. JESSE A. STOFF is an internationally renowned physician with extensive credentials in clinical immunology and holistic medicine. A graduate of New York Medical College, he pursued extensive post-doctoral training including a fellow- ship at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital in London, England. He has authored/co-authored countless articles and 8 books including co-authoring the bestseller "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Hidden Epidemic" and The Prostate Miracle.

This article is produced and written by the writing team at IMMUNOLOGY TODAY- The Official Newsletter of Integrative Medicine of N.Y. of Westbury NY-- Edited and co-published by Dr. Jesse A. Stoff exclusively for the purposes of this blogpost (Immunology Today) and rejuvenatesoliutions.com The publisher(s) hold all rights (c) to all elements, images and content herein. All distribution, sharing or re-posting of this article is only with the express permission from Dr. Stoff and Integrative Medicine of NY (formerly Linchitz Medical Wellness). 265 Post Ave. Suite 380 Westbury, NY 11590 | 516.759.4200 | www.StoffImmunology.com. Rejuvenate! is a registered trademark of Intermedia Communications Ltd. All written content in this newsletter is produced by the Stoff Institute for Medical Research (SIMR) exclusively for private distribution at the Integrative Medicine of NY ©2016- All Rights Reserved.

DISCLAIMER: Integrative Medicine of NY (formerly Linchitz Medical Wellness) and Dr. Jesse A. Stoff make no claims pertaining to any of the institutions or funding information listed, make no warranty or guarantee of funding, and bear no responsibility and disclaim any liability for the privacy of communications or the outcome of any applications for the listed resources. No further information about any of the institutions nor funding programs (other than the links and contact information listed here) is available. Written content provided in this article/blog is for informational purposes only; consult your physician before making any changes to your treatment plan.

Monday, August 15, 2016

How to RESEARCH on Cancer Resources- by ANNIE BRANDT

Taking into consideration that deer-in-the-headlights behavior that most of us experience with the cancer diagnosis, let’s break down the how-to’s for research on cancer.

Probably the most important thing to do is to just start. That in itself is a positive action in a sea of indecision, angst, and fear. How do you choose a place to begin? Start at the beginning: the diagnosis - do you know what it means?

After creating a hard-copy file on myself and inserting my biopsy and lab reports, I spent time on the computer, in the library and bookstore reading about just what the type of breast cancer and the stage that I had been diagnosed with meant. I examined the therapies that my oncologist had planned for me – surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. That conjured up the picture of the typical cancer patient: the picture that I didn’t want to become. I reminded myself that it was just information.

The information told me that the ‘standard of care’ was not the path I wanted to take. I knew I was already in a weakened condition, and evidence indicated those therapies would weaken me further. I had only been given 3-5 months, and I knew I did not want to spend my time in that way.

I read about survivors. Although I believe we are all individuals and therefore I have my own solution, it was helpful to read about survivors and to know that it was possible.

Most importantly, I looked at options: integrative medicine. What I was looking for were methods that would detox, heal, and strengthen my body while making the cancer weaker. Knowledge is power, and I wanted to have a toolbox full of power to use. “Do your research.” is probably the first thing I say to cancer patients as well as the most-repeated phrase that comes out of my mouth. You have time to make an informed decision.

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- About the author

This blog article is submitted by our guest writer, MS. ANNIE BRANDT, President Emeritus of Best Answer for Cancer Foundation and author of "THE HEALING PLATFORM- Build Your Own Cure!"

This book is a wonderful illustration of the journey of a Stage 4 cancer survivor who went on to create the Best Answer for Cancer Foundation that supports the work of physicians in integrative oncology and educates patients about treatment options for cancer and chronic disease. This is Annie Brandt's ultimate, hands-on resource for patients navigating their way through the cancer healing process. She opens her heart to share her own story, reveals valuable pearls of wisdom gained along the way, shares her expert opinions tested after years of working with cutting-edge integrative oncologists, and extends a loving hand to everyone who wants to survive - and thrive!

For more info, visit: www.bestanswerforcancer.org

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

TRIATHLETE'S HEALTH GUIDE 1: THE SCIENCE BEHIND WARM-UP

Some people exercise to reduce their risk of various chronic and severe diseases. Other people exercise because they like the endorphin release (also known as the runner's high). Some people exercise as a social event or to help recover from an injury. There's many reasons that one will start an exercise program, but when one begins to exercise, each and every session is very important that one go through a warm-up period. So a warm-up period is a time that you gently start to use the muscles that you're going to be exercising, whether it be by stretching or starting off at a slow walk and gradually increasing it if you're escalating to a full run. But whether it be throwing a baseball at 92 miles an hour or running around the block, the point of doing a warm-up is to start to stretch the muscle fibers- that’s number one.

KICKSTARTING AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE

To “warm up” means increasing the actual temperature of muscle fibers causing a vasodilation. In the warm-up phase, you gradually bring more blood flow to those muscle fibers and to the muscles before you start to really stress it. This is crucial because when one is stressing their muscles through a vigorous exercise program, there forms a build up of waste products of that metabolic activity in the form of lactic acid, carbon dioxide and uric acid from breakdown of proteins. These waste products accumulate and, if they are not flushed away in a timely manner, can cause cramping, and can lead to actual muscle damage. And that defeats the whole purpose of exercising to begin with.

NUTRITION
Warming up also has to do with one's nutrition in this process. So for example, there are certain vitamins and minerals that help with the warm-up process because they contribute to the process of vasodilation, which is the key component to getting the muscles ready for vigorous exercise. When we think about the nutritional aspects of what it takes to have a successful warm-up period, the two things that lead to mind are MAGNESIUM. Of course, magnesium is a vasodilator, it causes blood vessels to dilate. It relaxes muscles. It makes them more pliable, so that you're less likely to strain it or injure it or tear something. The in rush of the magnesium ions counter balances some of the calcium channels that are important for the biochemical process that allows the muscles to contract.

Another important element in the warm-up period would be NIACIN - a B vitamin that causes direct vasodilation. But unlike magnesium, if somebody isn't used to taking niacin, they can turn bright red and they start to have this itchy, creepy, crawly feeling all over their body as these blood vessels open up and toxins start to move out of the tissues that haven't seen the blood flow in approximately one week or two. To blunt that flushing effect, some recommend taking an aspirin tablet with the niacin or start with a very low dose of niacin.

These two substances or supplements are very helpful in the warm-up period. In the form of magnesium, there is a, there are a number of ways you can do this, there is a supplement product called Calm. It comes in different flavors. It's a powdered form of magnesium and as a powder, you throw it in a little bit of water, or a little bit of vegetable juice, down the hatch. Doesn't taste bad, but as a powder and as a liquid, it gets into the bloodstream very quickly.

… AND THEY’RE OFF!

As vasodilation occurs in your core and in the muscles, you won't have as much vasodilation in the superficial blood vessels in your skin, so you won't get that flushing feeling, but it will still greatly benefit your muscles during the warm-up period before you start to exercise. These two things can be used together or separately to prep for a major workout and by getting a better blood flow through your muscles right from the start, you gain better endurance because you'll be washing out waste products due to the higher blood flow much more efficiently. Also, you reduce or eliminate cramping problems or the risk of muscle injury, strain, or something torn. This is because the muscles are already pumping the juice through to remove the waste products, and it will also pump in the oxygenated blood as an important energy source for aerobic metabolism and the production of ATP, the energy currency of our body.

ARTIFICIAL COLD

The aerobic process means the more oxygen you can get to the tissues equals efficiently and better performance. There are trendy things called nitrogen baths (Cryotherapy Sauna) where you stand in a chamber and they dump COLD from liquid nitrogen in a gaseous state. This gives your body the feeling similar to jumping in the snow in the middle of winter half naked. The immediate effect is that it causes a VASOCONSTRICTION- causing the blood vessels to constrict and send all of your blood into your core to maintain body temperature. Because the cold passes very quickly, there is a secondary hyperemia which causes a huge vasodilation. This allows the blood vessels to get into your tissues very quickly, and in doing so, greatly increases the oxygen retention long-term in these tissues and washes out waste products which often leaves people feeling somewhat energized and energetic as a result of this rather cold and freezing experience.

This "freeze therapy" is the flip side of taking a niacin pill- but the end result is the same. You've increased blood flow and you've gotten rid of waste products much faster. You've increased oxygen tension and made muscle metabolism more efficient and faster while relaxing the muscles with a little magnesium and it makes a much safer process if you're going to be doing some sort of strenuous activity. Sports that require major endurance (like a triathlon, per se) where you really need the muscles to perform long-term demands maximizing the blood flow to the muscles even before you start to take that first step.

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Sunday, April 24, 2016

Neurotoxins- Silent Poisons from our Environment

A neurotoxin is a substance that is ingested, or inhaled or taken into our body by direct contact that has an adverse effect on our central nervous system, manifesting either indirect neurological symptoms of trouble with memory, focus, concentration, coordination. It can also affect us emotionally in terms of irritability, depression and things of that nature. Such toxins are often undetected until symptoms (like chronic fatigue and frequent headaches) begin to show

-leading to other effects on the body that may prove difficult to diagnose.

Neurotoxins can come from many places in our in-home environment, and they can come from outgassing from furniture that's made from compressed wood, formaldehyde that's outgassing from that, and from volatile organic hydrocarbons from carpeting and rugs that have that new-carpet smell. And also we can get neurotoxins that are emitted by various kinds of molds that you could find in the bathroom, black molds and things of that sort. And these neurotoxins, depending upon the individual's biochemistry, will have different levels of toxicity, so at some level, everybody will be affected by a neurotoxin, but the dose is going to be different for different people, depending upon their individual biochemistry; some people are exquisitely sensitive and can smell mold three rooms away, other people can either piece a moldy bread and look for some blue cheese for dessert.

Everybody has a different susceptibility to neurotoxins- but those who are affected may suffer symptoms that could be prove quite debilitating. To address neurotoxins, we must first review the patient's environment. If you happened to live on the sea shore and there happens to be a red tide, that's the Dinoflagellate that releases a neurotoxin. It kills the fish, but also as the ocean waves are crashing upon the rocks, the toxins disperse into the atmosphere and people can breathe the toxins and can make them very sick. There's many well-documented cases about people getting very sick from exposure to these kinds of neurotoxins that can occur naturally and just the ocean water around us.

ANALYSIS OF NEUROTOXIN EFFECTS
I see many patients with strange neurological symptoms, and the first thing to assess is whether this a structural problem or a functional problem? By a structural problem, we mean "is there a tumor? Is there an MS plaque? Is there something structurally that's chewing on their nervous system creating weird symptoms?" Otherwise, one has to (then) look at the possibility of neurotoxin exposure. Now the problem with that is that the blood test that exists currently, are very bad for trying to isolate these things and document exposure to these neurotoxins as causing these symptoms. There are blood tests for these things, but the exposure that someone has to have in order for it to show up in a blood test is pretty big, so if somebody is very sensitive, as a lot of people are, then they're going be having symptoms at levels below which our current technology can detect. So as a result, these poor folks are going to go, basically, from doctor to doctor to psychiatrist to whatever; whereas people are going to think they're crazy because they're having symptoms from exposure to something that can't be measured with our current technology, but is nonetheless a physical reality.

So to address these neurotoxins, you have to see where it's coming from; was it coming from outside the house? Do you live in the seashore? Do you live in a white house? Is it some place where you might be breathing in something from the ocean? Or is it coming from inside the house? Is it coming from your exposure to volatile organic hydrocarbons from outgassing? Did you buy some new furniture? Did you get some new carpeting? Do you have new insulation put in the house? There was a period of time that they had UFFI insulation, which they removed from the market because the outgassing from that was so toxic, but there're still a lot of houses that have UFFI, and if you are doing renovations on a house that happen to open up a wall that's got this stuff in it, you can release potentially a lot of this toxic stuff into the air, and whether you're particularly sensitive or not it can make you really sick.

So the first thing to do is to try to identify the source and avoid it; so if it's new carpeting, then open all the windows and go take a long vacation someplace and come back when the house is aired out. The other alternative is to get yourself a nice wool berber rug or carpeting, then you don't have to worry about outgassing of anything right from the start, or just have hardwood floors that are made out of real wood and not laminate, so these are things that one can consider.

DETOX SOLUTIONS
Other things that one can do are to take things that are going to help detoxify us from the inside out. So, just as there are red organisms in the ocean that can make us sick with these neurotoxins, there are green organisms in the form of chlorella or spirulina that can make us well, and these green organisms, these microbes, because of the levels of chlorophyll in them and how biologically available and accessible they are, can absorb these toxins and help our body to excrete them, and can help tremendously in reversing and undoing a lot of this problem. Now the neurotoxin exposure will cause a functional problem with our central nervous system causing the misfiring of neurons and cell receptor sites resulting in weird and variable symptoms.

First, you want to pull the toxins out of the system by doing some gentle detoxing, (spirulina and chlorella are good gentle treatments), but then as a matter of repairing the damage that may have been done, and that's a matter of taking amino acids that support the production of neurotransmitters in our brain, things like tyrosine and 5-Hydroxytryptophan and the amino acids that support and the trace minerals that support that, and the vitamins that support them, but it becomes a whole complex of things that help to rebuild the capacity of our central nervous system to produce appropriate levels of neurotransmitters to then reconnect things where they should be and reverse the symptoms of damage that the neurotoxins can cause.

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

The North-American Prevention Protocol of VITAMIN D

Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin because our body can actually manufacture vitamin D. It's a fat-soluble vitamin, and it's metabolized in our body from various fat-soluble steroid complexes, as they're referred to. And vitamin D is then metabolized in the skin and split from some of these molecules into the active form of vitamin D- which then has a wide range of effects on basically every single cell in our body. Vitamin D isn't just about having strong bones and strong teeth; vitamin D also has some really wonderful effects from a preventative medical point of view.

Long Island, unfortunately, has been classified as a geographic cluster for various chronic diseases including Cancer. Interestingly enough, there are toxins that are known to trigger certain enzyme systems in our liver called cytochrome P450 system, a system that then can split some of the toxins that we find in our environment and certain forms of xenoestrogens, or estrogens that we take in from contaminated food and water sources, which unfortunately abound. These xenoestrogens are actually carcinogenic, and the pathways of how these things trigger breast cancer as an initiating factor is well known. It's also well known that vitamin D will block that process.

Vitamin D also has some very excellent effects in a similar sort of vein, but different biochemistry of helping to minimize the risk of prostate cancer, and minimizing the effects and growth rate of prostate cancer. Moreover, Vitamin D is critical for the normal functioning of our immune system to help prevent all sorts of severe and chronic diseases.

EFFICACY OF THE SUPPLEMENT FORM
Vitamin D is something that we can get very simply from a tablet that we could find in literally any drugstore or health food store. The reason that one should look to supplement their vitamin D is because we live in a somewhat northern climate, and as such, we have less sun exposure over the 12 months than somebody who, say, lives down in Tucson, Florida, or down in the Amazon or some place where they have much more vitamin D exposure in the course of a year than we do.

So as a result, if one were to look at our average vitamin D levels for the year, you would find that if you do not supplement or you're not eating a good supply of fresh wild-caught fish that can give you some vitamin D, too, then you're gonna wind up on average being deficient in vitamin D and this is a very important vitamin to help minimize our risk of severe and chronic disease, and also from the point of view of our longevity and preventive medicine, vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients that we have in our armamentarium to help us to 'live long and to prosper'.

So, when in doubt take some vitamin D, but another point here is that some people don't metabolize vitamin D as efficiently as they should, and if they take too much vitamin D it can become an excessive and even toxic level of the vitamin because now it's not being converted on a as-needed basis by our body. But when you're taking it from a pill, it is possible to overload on it, so it is important to do a blood test every now and then and see what your vitamin D level is and what your reserves are and what your metabolic rate is so that you can take it in an appropriate level. What I find with most of my patients is that 5,000 units a day is an appropriate level for an adult. But I have patients that are taking 15,000 or 20,000 units a day and barely maintaining a normal vitamin D level because their body's burning it so fast, neither preventing an illness or in combating an illness, but vitamin D can be burned very quickly, so you have to really watch that level.

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

MIGRAINES- A PHYSICIAN'S PERSPECTIVE

Migraines are a form of debilitating headaches that often begins as an aura. An aura is an early warning that something bad is going on- and the aura is different for different people. So some people have an aura where they'll smell something weird. They'll be in their car, in their home and start smelling cigarette smoke, and they don't smoke and nobody around them smokes. Or they may see some flashing lights or they may get a strange numbness feeling someplace. But there's some sort of neurological symptom that occurs prior to the onset of the migraine, and that's an early warning. And if they get that and they know from past experience that a migraine's about to hit them, they should do some things to try to prevent that migraine if they can.

When I used to work in the emergency room, one of the best treatments for people with vice-like migraines (the kind where a person was light-sensitive and sound-sensitive and they couldn't move because every little movement would cause excruciating pain) was to put them in a dark room and you put them on pure oxygen. You give them five or seven liters a minute of oxygen and you'd just flood their system with oxygen. Because the oxygen level of the blood becomes so high, it actually causes a bit of a reactive constriction-- because they're not exercising, their body isn't really using all that oxygen, so the blood vessels will constrict a little bit. And in doing so, it will help break the vascular cycle that they get into that triggers the migraine to begin with.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR MIGRAINES
There are drugs, of course, that could be helpful. There's over-the-counter things that are helpful too such as caffeine. Caffeine is often helpful in the very early stages of a migraine for the same reason, in that it breaks the vascular cycle that's going on, that is part of what's causing the migraine. But there are supplements that can be helpful too, such as magnesium. Magnesium can be very helpful for people with migraines, both as a preventive and a treatment. Now, one of the most common triggers for a migraine (and there are many) are structural, such as an old injury to the neck and putting pressure on nerves can actually trigger a cluster headache or a migraine.

Another solution is an herb called Feverfew which can both be used for a preventative and a treatment for migraine headaches. It works much better as a preventative because if you're already photophobic and throwing up in a corner, it's a little late to be swallowing pills of Feverfew, you might be looking for some pharmacology instead.

Sometimes over-the-counter things like evening primrose oil could be helpful. And there's various herbs, black cohosh for example, that could be helpful in some of these hormonally-triggered headaches.

CAUSES
A sudden change in blood sugar can often trigger a migraine. I've treated over the years who were chronic migraine sufferers and the simple cure, if you will, to their years and years of suffering from migraines was to throw out the doughnut and coffee for breakfast and eat a vegetable omelet instead, because protein stabilizes blood sugar levels. If you switch to a diet that starts the day with protein and have more animal protein in the course of the day, it's going to give you a much more stable blood sugar level and be much less likely to trigger a migraine event. And then, of course, I would tell them that you don't want to tempt fate, you want to keep the sugars as low as you can in your diet, get rid of as much as the processed sugar as possible, and try to keep the blood sugar as stable as you can.

Hormonal changes can trigger migraines too. There are many women who will get a migraine during PMS time, for example, because of the change in hormones, and there's ways to address that. But the bottom line is that migraines can be a very debilitating sort of symptom and there are people who may spend several days of the month literally debilitated in bed because of a severe migraine. But there's a lot of things that could be done to look into the triggers for their particular migraine and therefore do things to help prevent it. It's not just about pharmacology, it's about looking into patterns of keeping a diary, when do you get your migraine?

If you're a woman, is it in relationship to your cycle? Is it mid-cycle? Is it during PMS time? Is it the end of the period? What's going on? And then look at the hormonal levels at that time and see what's out of whack and do things to correct it. Because, for example, there's over-the-counter progesterone creams you could buy at any health food store that can often be helpful for a migraine headache if this was triggered by a hormonal imbalance. Switching to a high-protein diet is very, very excellent and getting into a regular pattern of exercise that increases the oxygen levels in your blood on a regular basis is also very good and can also help you to minimize migraines. And taking a supplement like CoQ10 which increases the oxygen retention in the blood can also be very good in helping to minimize migraine headaches.

Migraines don't have to be a debilitating part of one's life if one starts to go after them in a systematic sort of way. What triggers it? What is the pattern? what time of day did they tend to occur? Over a period of time, you look for these kinds of patterns and then look for a common denominator so that you can find ways to break that cycle. But in most cases, people can have a tremendous amount of relief, if not complete a "cure" from their migraine headaches by taking a systematic approach to it in the ways I've just said.

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Monday, February 29, 2016

Maintain Your Brain: Tips to Retain Concentration and Memory

by, Jesse A. Stoff, MD, MDH, FAAFP (Posted on southampton.patch.com on March 12, 2011)

This question is from E.T. in Bridgehampton: Last week you wrote about depression and you mentioned trouble with concentration, my dad has trouble with his memory and concentration but I don’t think that he’s depressed. Any ideas?Many of us, in the “49 and holding” crowd joke about “senior moments.”But when they starthappening to you more often, they’re not funny at all. Instead, they’re frustrating, embarrassing and perhaps even worrisome especially to your kids who immediately have visions of nursing homes and diapers. Have you ever walked into a room —and forget what you went in to get? Run into someone you haven’t seen lately —and can’t recall their name? (I can never remember names.) Misplaced your glasses, your house keys or your car? It’s ironic. Just when you’ve got life almost figured out with all of this wisdom and experience under your belt, your brain is no longer “old reliable.” You never know when it’s going to trip you up, frustrate you, embarrass you, or make you wonder if you’re starting to lose your marbles.So what’s a dad to do?

Researchers at Harvard have been doing extensive studies in this area, lest they suffer the same fate as us mortals, and have dutifully been reporting their findings. Aside from stress and the myriad distractions of daily life, they have concluded that there are both structural and functional reasons for our brain faux pas.Once we become an (AARP) card carrying member of the “49 and holding” crowd, structural changes become evident in our brain. Oxidative damage and the accumulation of toxins cause damage to the protective myelin sheath which makes our nerves short circuit a bit thus causing “data loss.”Furthermore, as we age our levels of neurotransmitters and brain hormones, decrease causing a functional slowing of the transmission of information.

The pharmaceutical industry has responded with drugs like Provigil, Aricept and Namenda to name but a few. These drugs try to close the gate after the chickens already flew the coop by manipulating neurotransmitter levels.From a more pro-active perspective there are some natural supplements that have proven themselves to be helpful. Phosphatidylserine restores the brain's supply and output of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter so important to memory, and so may turn back the clock in an aging brain. Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine, or Alpha-GPC is a cholinergic brain supplement that increases the synthesis and secretion of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is the brain's messenger responsible for sending signals across the brain and to the muscles of the body. And Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALC) is basically a fat soluble amino acid that has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and get to the brain blood circulation, where it acts as a powerful antioxidant, which helps in prevention of the brain cells' deterioration.

Its supplementation has been shown to be neuroprotective in instances of cerebral ischemia and may be useful in treating peripheral nerve injury. There are numerous supportive supplements ranging from blueberriesto ginko and vinpocetine, to name but a couple.Back to our friends at Harvard who put together 10 research-proven tips for a better memory:

1. Believe in yourself. Middle-aged and older learners do worse on memory tasks when exposed to negative stereotypes about aging and memory, and better if exposed to messages about memory preservation into old age.

2. Economize your brain use. Take advantage of calendars and planners, maps, shopping lists, file folders and address books to keep routine information accessible. Designate a place at home for your glasses, keys, and other items you use frequently.

3. Organize your thoughts. New information that’s broken into smaller chunks, such as the hyphenated sections of a phone or social security number, is easier to remember than a single long list.

4. Use all your senses. The more senses you use when you learn something, the more of your brain will be involved in retaining the memory.

5. Expand your brain. Widen the brain regions involved in learning by reading aloud, drawing a picture or writing down the information you want to learn (even if you never look back at your notes).

6. Repeat after me. When you want to remember something you have just heard or thought about, repeat it out loud. For example, if you’ve justbeen told someone’s name, use it when you speak with him or her: “So John, where did you meet Camille?”

7. Space it out. Instead of repeating something many times in a short period, as if you were cramming for an exam, re-study the essentials after increasingly longer periods of time —once an hour, then every few hours, then every day.

8. Make a mnemonic. Mnemonic devices are creative ways to remember lists. They can take the form of acronyms —such as the classic “Every good boy does fine,” to remember the musical notes E, G, B, D and F on the lines of the treble clef.

9. Challenge yourself. Engaging in activities that require you to concentrate and tax your memory will help you maintain skills as you age. Discuss books, do crossword puzzles, try new recipes, travel and undertake projects or hobbies that require skills you aren’t familiar or comfortable with.

10. Take a course. Memory-improvement courses are becoming more common. Choose one run by health professionals or experts in psychology or cognitive rehabilitation. Stay away from courses that center on computer or concentration games, which generally won’t help you with real-life memory problems. Select a course that focuses on practical ways to manage everyday challenges.Send in your questions and be well.
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