Progress Your Health Podcast

Getting rid of stubborn belly fat is one of the main complaints I hear from patients. In particular, the female patients. More specifically, the female patients over 40 years old. Why is it you can eat a cheeseburger, fries and shake when you are 20, but forget it at 40? Why does it seem that the waistline keeps growing regardless of exercise and diet? This is where it becomes an issue of balancin...

Two common questions we get all the time is: how much does BHRT cost? And will my insurance cover it? If I had a dollar for every time, I have been asked this question I might have a pair of those fancy Christian Louboutin heels. It’s okay because I can’t stand heels anyway, but the cost of Bioidentical Hormones is undoubtedly a significant concern. People have budgets, so they need to know if the...

Traditionally when one thinks of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT), they immediately think of menopause. That hormone therapy is used to treat menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. But in the last 10-15 years, hormone replacement has become more than a fix for hot flashes. But did you know that you can use BHRT for memory, energy and even libido? Did you know that...

As I have always stated before, us ladies are a symphony of hormones. If one hormone is out of tune, it is quite apparent. However, sometimes it is hard to hear what instrument (hormone) is out of tune because when one hormone is out of balance, others seem to follow suit. So remember, it is not a good idea to fixate on one hormone being out of balance. It’s about balancing them as a whole. Patien...

You know you have heavy periods when . When you have tampons everywhere.  In every single purse, the glove box of your car. In t he glove box of your friend’s and spouse’s car. In the kitchen drawers, all bathrooms, in your jacket pockets, even your grocery bags. You never wear white. You don’t own white underwear because at some point they will no longer be white. You know exactly when and how mu...

With all of the recent changes in health insurance, blood testing is more expensive than ever.  Below are few questions and situations we get from our patients and thought it would be good to discuss.  Do any of the following sound familiar? My Doctor Won’t Order Thyroid Function Test, What Should I Do? We see this often. Patients complain that they have been to many doctors, internists, endocrino...

Which thyroid medication is best?  This is a question we get from patients quite often.  Conventionally for hypothyroidism, there is one medication prescribed. Regardless of your gender, family/personal history, symptoms, goals. If you need thyroid replacement, you will get Synthroid. If you have had your thyroid gland radiated, now it is hypothyroid. If you have had thyroid cancer and your thyroi...

Hashimoto Thyroiditis is an autoimmune process where your immune system will attack your thyroid gland. This attack will eventually cause the thyroid function to drop. Inevitably, Hashimoto’s disease causes hypothyroid. There are two primary blood antibodies to test for Hashimoto’s disease. Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPO) Thyroglobulin Antibody (TgAb). If you have one or both of these antibodies...

The most common test for thyroid is the TSH, which stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Unfortunately, this is also the only test most conventional doctors use to screen for thyroid disease.   If the TSH is elevated (above 4.5 mIU/L), you are hypothyroid, and if the number is low (below 0.45 ng/dL), you are hyperthyroid.  Yes, this is a bit hard to understand because it is the opposite of what...

The most common test for thyroid is the TSH, which stands for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. Unfortunately, this is also the only test most conventional doctors use to screen for thyroid disease.   If the TSH is elevated (above 4.5 mIU/L), you are hypothyroid, and if the number is low (below 0.45 ng/dL), you are hyperthyroid.  Yes, this is a bit hard to understand because it is the opposite of what...

“My doctor will only test my TSH level for my thyroid. He/She says my thyroid is normal based on my TSH level, but I feel I have a thyroid problem! I hear this all the time with my new patients. They have been to their internist, their primary care, and even endocrinologists, but they get the same answer, your thyroid is normal, and you are fine. I’ve had patients tell me their doctors offer antid...

First off, who gets hot flashes and night sweats? There are medical conditions, medications that can cause hot flashes and night sweats. But commonly, hot flashes and night sweats are a female thing. I know… us ladies are so complicated. But so worth it! Why do women get hot flashes and men do not? Why do you hit every red light when you’re late? Why do you always pick the slowest lane at the groc...

Do you have trouble falling asleep? There are many reasons that people have trouble falling asleep. Reasons for poor sleep quality vary from medications, menopause, chronic pain to travel. For this episode, we want to talk about stress and its effect on your sleep. Stress can come in many forms from physical to mental. Stress can include cardiovascular exercise to arguing with a family member. It...

As I mentioned, we recently moved to Washington state. It was a quick move to find a place to live, get an office and deal with some family drama. As well, we had to maintain our Las Vegas and California offices in the meantime. For me, it has been pretty stressful. I am certainly not complaining, as many other people have way more stress than me. But we all know that moving/family/business can be...

First, an apology is necessary because we have been away for so long.  Even though we have been away for some time,  we are glad to be back. The Progress Your Health Podcast and all our listeners are very important to us.  We enjoy providing you with hormone related information.   As our loyal followers, you should know where we have been. This year, 2017 and also most of 2016 there have been a lo...

What is Leptin Resistance?   The body has an elaborate hormonal mechanism to regulate appetite and hunger. One of the major hormones is leptin, which is a satiety hormone produced by our fat cells in response to a meal.   Once released, leptin signals an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. This signaling turns off the appetite, so someone will stop eating. As time goes on, leptin will decre...

Generally speaking, hormones control how the body either loses or gains weight. Stress has a major effect on hormones, which also contributes to weight gain. Thus, cortisol, which is often referred to as the ‘stress hormone,’ plays a major role in this process.  Cortisol is a glucocorticoid,’ because its effect on blood glucose. For example, if you go to bed hungry and skip breakfast in the mornin...

The body spends a great deal of energy to balance blood sugar with a very specific hormonal mechanism.  The two main hormones are insulin and glucagon. Insulin an incredibly important hormone in our bodies. It is released in response to glucose in the body and allows the glucose to enter the cell to supply energy.  Without insulin, blood sugar would rise to unhealthy levels, and would diagnosed as...

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, which is abbreviated to FAP, is a genetic condition resulting in a mutation to the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) gene. The APC is a tumor suppressor gene located on the 5th chromosome. Mutations to this gene result in an increased risk of developing colon and other types of cancers throughout life. In addition to classic FAP, there...

For women, testosterone is not a reproductive hormone.  Obviously, estrogen and progesterone are the main reproductive hormones.  Testosterone is an androgen produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands and peripheral tissues.  However, testosterone acts as more of an adrenal hormone, similar to DHEA, so the symptoms of low testosterone in women can mimic that of adrenal fatigue. Symptoms of Low Testos...

Over the past few years, testosterone has become very popular.  There have been countless ads for prescriptions, herbal products and clinics all over TV and the internet.  This begs the question, does testosterone really live up to all the hype?  Is testosterone the panacea as it has been claimed?  The answer to this question is both yes and no.   There is certainly a low testosterone epidemic in...

One of the big challenges when trying to lose weight is our brain.  We may experience an exaggerated appetite or cravings, which can sabotage any weight loss goal. Most weight loss programs are focused on caloric restriction and providing medications, one being  phentermine for appetite suppression.  A safer, more effective alternative is Amino Acid Therapy (AAT) can be very helpful for appetite s...

One of the big challenges when trying to lose weight is our brain.  We may experience an exaggerated appetite or cravings, which can sabotage any weight loss goal. Most weight loss programs are focused on caloric restriction and providing medications, one being  phentermine for appetite suppression.  A safer, more effective alternative is Amino Acid Therapy (AAT) can be very helpful for appetite s...

Up until fairly recently, a popular dietary approach for weight loss was to consume several small frequent meals throughout the day.  The rationale behind this strategy is that eating every 2-3 hours would increase metabolism and the pounds would drop off. A popular new dietary strategy called Intermittent Fasting is questioning this previous approach.  We know that employing a caloric restriction...

Why do we have so much trouble losing weight and keeping the weight off over time?  This is an important question that millions of people are struggling with everyday.   For decades, doctors, fitness professionals and even the government have promoted  the idea that weight loss is simply a calorie problem.  To have success, all you have to do is follow the simple math concept of reducing your calo...