One of the areas receiving the most attention these days is that of "women's issues," especially mid-life issues. These issues have not been addressed by main-stream medicine in a satisfactory way. I need only point out the treatment of hormone imbalances with "Hormone Replacement Therapy," and of rheumatoid arthritis with Vioxx and Celebrex! Another area that I will touch on in this segment is the use of Fosomax for treatment of osteoporosis and the diagnostic use of X-rays to detect this disease.

The issues revolve around hormonal changes, defective function of thyroid and adrenal glands, depression, fatigue, and many other symptoms. And that's the problem - medicine has always treated the symptom instead of treating the cause. Symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, fatigue, dryness, etc. are just symptoms. The cause is often much more complicated.

These medical problems are often caused by incomplete reactions in the body. For example, in both men and women there are certain chemical reactions that lead to to the formation of testosterone and to the formation of estrogen. Men and women both need estrogen and testosterone to function well. But the chemical reactions that form both estrogen and testosterone are very similar, and often the symptoms of menopause and andropause (male menopause) are caused by the same defective chemical reactions.

By this I mean: suppose that the initial chemical (call it "A") goes to form "B", which forms "C," etc. to estrogen as a final product:

This can affect every one of the problems that are plaguing women (and the men in their lives) today. The body has so many complex chemical reactions, and they all are driven by enzymes which are aided by nutritional factors.

I have always liked the idea of testing for hormones with a woman's (or man's) saliva, because of its simplicity and accuracy. But first, the PMT must be done! For instance, while the saliva will show the status of the hormones, this is not the cause of the problem, it is the symptom. This is important for all of the above-mentioned factors and for many others such as chronic illnesses and the ravages of aging.

Osteoporosis (overly porous or weak bones) is one of the most common afflictions among middle aged and elderly people, with 10 million Americans affected, of whom 8 million are women. An estimated 20 million more suffer from osteopenia (softening of the bones), a condition that typically precedes full-blown osteoporosis.

The response to the mainstream medical community is usually two-pronged: drugs and calcium supplementation. Drugs, such as Fosomax work by blocking the action of osteoclasts, which our Creator intended to break down old worn-out bone. This results in bones that have greater density, but lack flexibility, and are therefore more brittle than ordinary bones.

The other recommendation generally made is for calcium supplementation. This strategy is based on the assumption that osteoporosis is a disease of calcium deficiency, whereas it is often a disease of calcium metabolism. Furthermore, it assumes that calcium ingested will necessarily end up in the bone; however, calcium, if not properly metabolized, can just as easily end up in the joints (contributing to osteoarthritis), soft tissues (contributing to tissue calcifications), or the lining of the arteries (contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.) Calcium is every bit a major player in the formation of arterial plaque as is cholesterol. (All of this is supported by numerous controlled scientific studies!)

In the parlance of Metabolic Typing, Type I's are not helped by supplemental calcium, whereas Type II's might be helped by supplemental calcium. Too much supplemental calcium given to the wrong Metabolic Types can actually create or exacerbate a blood pH imbalance. Because the body draws on the minerals stored in bone tissue to buffer blood pH, this will often result in a net loss of bone tissue!!!!

Furthermore, the best way to measure the rate at which you are currently losing bone is not the DEXA-Scan (X-rays), but rather the Bone Resorption Test, done with first morning urine. This test shows in "real time" that there are bone elements being "dumped" from the body, and it does it without the dangerous X-rays used in the DEXA-Scan. With this information and knowing the Client's Metabolic Type, we can address the issue of bone loss and bone strength individually and effectively.

Call Dr. Baldwin at 410-326-6690 for more information.