Practical Tips from Doc

2009-11-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything but it's been interesting since last post. I've been treating hypertension patients with vitamin D deficiency (actually a symptom) and somewhere between 20 and 40% are either getting completely off their BP meds or markedly reducing the dosages they take to control their BP.
I'm also aggressively supplementing D in patients I'm treating for obesity. To that I have been insisting that patients eat 5 servings of foods per week rich in vitamin K or take a supplement. It needs to be either K1 or K2 as K3, K4, and K5 can be toxic. K1-2 occur in nature while K3,4, and 5 are synthetic.
The reason the K is our central fat has vitamin K receptors and our "belly fat" makes a substance called adiponectin that regulates insulin sensitivity. So less K, less adiponectin, more insulin, and the insulin protects your "belly fat." Extrapolating this out K deficiency could contribute to people with big "belly fat" becoming diabetic when/if their pancreatic beta cells fizzle out or they become so insensitive to their insulin that have to take meds to keep their sugar controlled.
Peace Love Joy and obviously don't forget your Vitamins D and K

New Success and New Thoughts

2009-07-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I have no idea if anyone is reading this. If not then it will serve as documentation of my suspicions that the increasing number of children with ADD and ADHD is not due to increased awareness of the symptoms of these diseases but to increased frequency related to increasing numbers of children with vitamin D deficiency. The American diet can't solve our vitamin d problems so our exposure to the sun is our only chance. Increasingly statistics show our children are spending less and less time outside in the sun and if they are their loving parents are covering them up with sunscreen. Presently, most of my ADD and ADHD patients are coming back into the office before school restarts. I'm checking each and every one's Vitamin D level. My thoughts for this stem from research linking vitamin d deficiency to cognitive defects in the elderly population. Defects such as decreased attention span and short-term memory deficits. Also, I would like to report that I've had several patients with Vitamin D deficiency either get off ALL their blood pressure meds or greatly reduce the number of BP meds they're needing. If anyone has a question, email me at rwoodruff@yahoo.com. Have a good'un. Peace, love, joy. Woody

Practical Tips about Vitamin D Deficiency

2009-05-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Over the last 4-5 years, I have checked hundreds of patients for Vitamin D deficiency. It's a pressing problem and I fear it's worse that I had even imagined. Colon, prostate, and breast cancers. Juvenile onset diabetes. Multiple sclerosis. Schizophrenia. Depression. Asthma. All have correlations to low Vitamin D levels. I have treated 3 patients with ALS in my career. The incidence of ALS is 1 per 250,000. I don't think I've treated even remotely close to 750,000 patients in my 25 year career. Southeastern Oklahoma has an inordinately high incidence of Vitamin D deficiency if the numbers in my practice are any indication.
I have had the opportunity to treat multiple patients whose orthopedic surgeries have failed. Most of the failures were patients with low Vitamin D levels. I recommend that if you are going to have an orthopedic surgery, get your D level checked. If you have any of the diseases mentioned above, get your D level checked.
If your D level is low, I suggest vigorous replacement with a liquid or mycelle D formulation. Then have your D level checked again in 3-4 months. In about 15% of my patients, the D level still did not go up. After much searching I was able to find a compounding pharmacy, that provided me with an injectable Vitamin D. So far this has worked in every patient.

Rule 7 of Practical Tips for Weight Loss

2009-05-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

7. Weigh daily. I've preached this for twenty seven years. A couple years ago a study came out verifying what I've said. I remember I heard about it on Good Morning America. Diane was asking Dr. Tim Johnson what he thought. He said it kinda bothered him as he'd been trained to recommend weighing weekly and that 1-2% of the population can develop eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia. I was yelling at the TV telling Dr. Tim to wake up. Two thirds of our adult population is already overweight and he's worried about the small percentage that MAY develop an eating disorder.
Well, I forgot to mention in Rule 3 that if you drink a caffeine containing beverage you need to drink one extra glass of non-caffeine fluid to offset the diuretic effect of the caffeine. This is what I've told patients for twenty five years with a few additions over the years. Feel free to copy this for yourself or for someone you care about that may be struggling with being overweight. Peace, love, joy. (This is my bye and probably comes from growing up in the '70s and sincerely believing that we could sure use more of this nowadays).

Rules 5 and 6 of The 7 Rules for Weight Loss

2009-05-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

5. Avoid to much red meats and fatty food. Fatty foods are calorie-dense which means their are lots more calories per bite than are in the same sized bite of fruits, vegetables, breads, or cereals. I like my red meat but I'm going to eat a reasonably sized portion and earlier in the day (see rule 1 and 2).
6. Exercise at least 5 days per week. Studies have shown that people who are thinner have a longer list of ADL's (activities of daily living) ie yard work, stair climbing, or parking further from the entrance of the store. When it comes to exercise, I love my treadmill. This morning I ran 2 miles in twenty minutes and then worked my upper body on my Total Gym. I tell my friends my upper body will one day look like Chuck Norris's and my legs will probably look like Christie Brinkley's. I have several patients who have WiiFits and love them. It's most important to have a vigorous workout and remember that as you get in better shape you'll have to work out harder because you're actually becoming more efficient (that's what being in shape is-you are becoming a high efficiency model).

Rules 3 and 4 of the 7 Rules for Weight Loss

2009-05-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

3. Drink 8 glasses of non-caffiene containing beverages per day. I used to say it needed to be water but actually fruit juices, vegetable juices, and milk have worked their way into what I advise as most people don't get enough fruits, vegetables, or dairy products in their diet nowadays. So why is this so important, you ask? A waste product of fat breakdown is a class of chemicals called ketones. Ketones are flushed out of your body in the urine. If you don't flush out the ketones, your body will disable fat breakdown plus to many ketones can make you feel bad.
4. Eat 3-4 servings of fruits/vegetables plus 3-4 servings of breads/cereals each day. I'm embarrassed to admit that in my homestate of Oklahoma our adult population eats an average of less than one serving of fruit per day. That puts at number dead last of fifty states. I've recently instructing patients to drink juice as a way of getting their fruits/veggies. The breads/cereals need to be whole grain and preferably not highly refined.

The First 2 of 7 Rules

2009-05-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

1. Don't skip meals. I read a survey that stated 80% of obese patients in the US skip breakfast. A study was performed years ago. Two groups of people were eating off buffets. Their meals were carefully measured and the people participating in the study were not trying to lose weight. One group ate 2 meals per day the other 3 meals per day. The group that ate 2 meals per day took in more calories than the people that ate 3 meals per day. Sumo wrestlers don't eat breakfast. How's that for convincing evidence to not skip meals. As an additional note, breakfast should be your biggest meal if you really want to lose weight. There's an old adage: Breakfast like a king, lunch like a duke, dinner like a pauper (back in the olden days of knights, jesters, dukes; the paupers were the really poor folk).
2. Don't eat within 4 hours of bedtime. The best evidence I have to make this point is the infamous Sumo wrestler. They eat lunch and take a three hour nap then eat their biggest meal of the day right before they go to bed. Traditionally, Sumo wrestlers eat primarily rice, vegetables and fish. That doesn't sound fattening to me. How 'bout you?

Practical Tips from Doc on Weight Loss

2009-05-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Nearly two-thirds of the US adult population is overweight. I know from being in medicine for 25 years that being overweight contributes to high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis of weight-bearing joints. Numerous medications such as muscle relaxers, narcotic pain meds, insulin, some antidepressants, and several blood pressure meds can slow one's progress when losing weight. I treat hundreds of people each year that sincerely want to lose weight and I do what I can to equip them so they can. So here goes with my first blog and I hope it helps someone who's having difficulty losing weight. Oh, by the way I got REALLY OVERWEIGHT in med school and I've kept it off for twenty seven years now. I'm not getting big bucks like Jared who's kept his off for ten years but the tips I'm going to give are the same ones I've used successfully for going on three decades.