011-Ask Dr Soram-Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gas, Bloating and SIBO-Part 2

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This is part two of my interview with Dr. Mark Pimentel, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles California. Dr. Pimentel is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai medical center.

In the last podcast I talked with Dr. Pimentel about the diagnosis and treatment aspects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and our current understanding of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth as its cause.

In this part two of my interview, I talk with him about the causative factors in this condition, additional aspects of treatment, and the direction that Dr. Pimental's research is taking him to get a deeper understanding of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

You can buy Dr Pimental’s book here.

Do you have friends and relatives with Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Are they aware that SIBO appears to be the cause? What symptoms do they have? How are they treated for their symptoms? Have you made them aware that SIBO is the most likely cause and is relatively easy to treat? Please let me know in your comments below or email questions to me at questions@askdrsoram.com.

010-Ask Dr Soram-Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Gas, Bloating and SIBO –An interview with Mark Pimentel, MD. Part 1

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common chronic medical condition worldwide with 15% to 20% of all populations suffering from IBS.

In the United States, over 60 million people of all ages suffer from IBS.

Other studies show that 30% of all health related costs in people with Gastrointestinal problems are due to IBS. Although it is an important disease, just by the sheer numbers of people with it, it does not kill people. For this reason, research for this condition is not as extensive and not as funded or widely discussed as conditions with major emotional impact like breast cancer and heart attacks.

Mark Pimentel MD has been my friend and colleague for several years and I am delighted that I had the opportunity to interview him about his work with  Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO). 

Gas, bloating, abdominal distention are such common symptoms in our society today. This is confirmed by the number of commercials on radio and television for a vast variety of digestive complaints.

In this podcast I interview, Dr. Mark Pimentel, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cedars – Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program and Laboratory at Cedars – Sinai medical Center.

In my interview I discussed Dr. Pimentel's participation in the discovery and recognition that Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not a psychological condition, but rather a condition that is being recognized to be caused by bacteria in the small intestine. This condition is therefore called Small-Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO for short. 

I was delighted to be able to interview Dr. Pimentel because I diagnose so many hundreds of my patients who were told they had Irritable Bowel Syndrome and treat them effectively with appropriate antibiotics and dietary therapy.

Because this interview was long, I have divided it into two sections.

In this, the first part, I discuss with Dr. Pimentel how the diagnosis is made, which antibiotics work best, and the diet that works best for the treatment of this condition.

Next week we will go on to Part 2 of the interview.

You can buy Dr Pimental’s book here.

Do you have friends and relatives with Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Are they aware that SIBO appears to be the cause? What symptoms do they have? How are they treating their symptoms? Have you made them aware that SIBO is the most likely cause and is relatively easy to treat? Please let me know in your comments below.

009-Ask Dr Soram-Vitamin D- New Findings -Part 2

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In this podcast I pick up where we left off on the last podcast and talk about the many myths about vitamin D. These are shown in the picture below.

I also discuss my seven tips for optimizing your and your families vitamin D. You can also see the video I made of my tips for vitamin D by clicking here.

Are you telling your friends and relatives about the importance of vitamin D? This is the most important time of year to get your levels measured which you can do with this at home test kit or with your personal physician.
 

Are you taking Vitamin D? How much ? What have you noticed when taking it?

I look forward to hearing your comments in the box below.
 

008-Ask Dr Soram-Vitamin D -New Findings on Why You Must Take This Vitamin!

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On this podcast I remind you how important it is to get your vitamin D levels tested and into the optimal range at this time of year before the flu season.

I talk about the two epidemics that are going on in our country at this time in regards to vitamin D, and why over 1 billion people worldwide have a vitamin D deficiency.

I review  the 11 factors affecting vitamin D levels which I show on this graph below:
 

I also review the multitude of diseases that are connected with vitamin D deficiency, and the economic burden in the United States caused by vitamin D deficiency.

I also discussed the recent recall of the NOW brand of Calcium- Magnesium with vitamin D, due to the capsules containing a massive overdose of vitamin D. This was specifically product numbers 1251 and 1252. I ask the question why did this happen?

I review the 2005  study that was published that showed that vitamin D plays a crucial role in the production of certain types of white blood cells that are needed to fight infections.

Also new research on vitamin D is showing that vitamin D deficiency adversely affects respiratory health.

In addition steroid use, including the use of prednisone and Medrol, is strongly linked to having a vitamin D deficiency.

In another study the European Food Safety Authority has declared that "Vitamin D may reduce the risk of falling. Falling is a risk factor for bone fractures." This corroborates all the evidence which I cite in my book, The Vitamin D Revolution, showing that low vitamin D increases the risk of falling in the elderly.

You can check my store and get the highest quality Vitamin D right here.

And you get get my book HERE as well and DVD HERE

Are you taking vitamin D? What brand are you using? Have you measured your vitamin D levels? Do you have your family checking their levels as well? How much vitamin D are you taking at this time?

I look forward to hearing your replies in the comments section below.

 

Promising Treatments for Tinnitus -Part 2

In my blog, “Ringing in Ears Affects Fifty Million,” I gave you some background and some startling statistics about tinnitus, commonly referred to as ringing in the ears. I also stated that, currently, there is no cure. This is frustrating and disruptive to the 10–12% of Americans, roughly 50 million, who suffer from tinnitus.

Once thought to be a disease of the ear only, research indicates that tinnitus has a neurological component as well. The brain tries to fill in sounds that the ears can’t pick up. However, often this compensation is faulty, and the tinnitus sufferer is left hearing sounds he or she shouldn’t hear at high decibels and for prolonged periods of time.

If this continues for a while, the patient can also experience a stress response. While a “Fight or flight” response is helpful when faced with a real threat, in this case, it does more harm than good. Instead of sending a message to the brain to stop filling in the missing noise, it does the opposite. The internal noises get louder, thereby contributing to additional neurological and physiological responses. This further explains why patients report anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating, and so forth.

Tinnitus is often triggered by loud noises. For example, many soldiers returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to gunfire and explosions without proper ear protection. Over the past ten years, MRIs of the brain (imaging of the brain) have been able to pick up differences that can be attributed to tinnitus. It is possible that brain images taken before and after combat will help doctors diagnose and treat tinnitus in years to come. 

Currently, there is no standard treatment for tinnitus. Some doctors prescribe medication, even though none has been approved specifically for the condition. If you seek medical help for tinnitus, your treatment may include: sound therapy, acupuncture, hearing aids, cochlear implants, electrical brain stimulation, mindfulness training, and neck exercises. Here are some highlights:

•    Electrical Brain Stimulation
Jay Piccirillo, a professor of otolaryngology at Washington University in St. Louis, has conducted research with electromagnets to keep the brain from overcompensating when hearing loss is present. He told National Public Radio (NPR), “We think that perhaps that electrical stimulation just clears away that pathological, or that faulty, connection,” Piccirillo says, “with the hope that the reconnections are more normal and more healthy.” (http://www.npr.org/2011/07/18/138163304/tinnitus-why-wont-my-ears-stop-ringing)

•    Sound Therapy
A man who was suffering from extreme tinnitus symptoms and unable to work was interviewed by NPR, after an unsuccessful trial of electromagnetic therapy. He went on to try a form of sound therapy that involved listening to radio static. Although it was annoying at first, after a while, he was able to tune out the radio static. As time went on, the phantom sounds he heard as part of his tinnitus faded to background noise, like the radio static. Although it didn’t go away, he experienced enough relief that his quality of life improved. 

•    Neuromonics—Sound and Neural Stimulation
Neuromonics, www.neuromonics.com, makes a device that has been approved by the FDA. It addresses the neurological component of tinnitus, but delivers treatment via sound. According to their Web site, “The treatment utilizes a customized neural stimulus combined with specific music, delivered according to a coordinated program. The treatment is designed to interact, interrupt, and desensitize tinnitus disturbance for long-term benefit.” Each treatment is unique to the patient and each teaches the brain to filter out the extraneous, “inner” sounds.

The therapy usually takes place daily, for two or more hours, during the times of day when the sufferer is most affected. Treatment typically takes six months and can be done when relaxing, reading, working on the computer, cooking, and during other activities. The best results have been achieved when the patient follows a multi-stage process.

•    Mindfulness Training
Mindfulness training, which includes the practice of being present and of meditation, has been used very successfully for pain management. As I said in my first blog, there is often a similarity in the mindsets of chronic pain sufferers and tinnitus patients. The lack of control over their lives and the disease creates psychological struggles, such as anxiety and depression.

Currently, phase 2 of the “Mindfulness Based Tinnitus Reduction (MBTR): A Symptom Perception Shift Program” is being conducted. In Phase 1, researchers verified that cognitive behavior therapy and MBTR relieved distress and reduced symptoms caused by tinnitus. The researchers believe that mindfulness training alone will also benefit participants significantly. (http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT01229709)

•    Nutritional Supplements
Several nutritional supplements have been found helpful for people with tinnitus.
Ginkgo biloba has been found in seven studies to show clear improvement over placebo. It is believed that Ginkgo's mechanism of action is because of glutamate antagonism and neuroprotection. In addition, ginkgo increases circulation because it acts as a vasodilator allowing the capillaries to carry more blood.

Zinc is one of the most important mineral supplements. In one study in January 2003 patients treated with zinc daily for three months had a significant improvement in their tinnitus. This was true for people without or with zinc deficiency. Its benefit is thought to be due to the antioxidant properties of zinc.

Deodorized Garlic improves blood circulation and helps prevent arteriosclerosis. It is a natural antibiotic and antiviral. Several studies have shown that garlic reduces plaque and improves blood flow. It is also natural antioxidant.

***
At the time this blog was written, the Fifth Tinnitus Research Initiative Conference, “The Neuroscience of Tinnitus,” was being held. Scientists were expected to introduce a new drug, which had been used effectively to treat tinnitus in animals.

I will keep you posted as I learn more.

 

007-Ask Dr Soram-All About Homeopathy and Part 2 of My Interview with Gaya

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This podcast  is the second part of my interview with noted homeopath Gaya Bhola, who uses homeopathy to help people heal their body and grow spiritually.

Homeopathic medicine is based on the idea that "like cures like". It was originated by Samuel Hahnemann who lived in the late 1700’s. He found that by giving people very dilute doses of common plants and minerals, repeatedly that they would get certain symptoms. This he called a "proving".

He kept very strict records of his work and all the symptoms that taking the same medicine over and over multiple times for days or weeks would produce. This is very analogous to a modern person taking a drug over and over too frequently and getting side effects.

He then used this information when a patient came to visit him. He would carefully notate all of the patient's symptoms and see which of the many different homeopathic medicines he had tested would produce those same symptoms. He then gave this "medicine" to the patient in a very dilute dose and the patient's symptoms would resolve and they would get well. This lay the foundation for homeopathy.

Since that time much study has been done on homeopathy and the variety of naturally occurring substances that have been tested has expanded tremendously. Today's homeopath is much  more sophisticated than Samuel Hahnemann could have ever been, and a gifted homeopath is able to decipher the patient's symptom complex and address it with a homeopathic remedy.
If you want to learn more about homeopathy I would prefer you to Dana Ulman’s excellent book at Amazon here or another one if his books HERE

I hope you enjoy part 2 of my interview with Gaya, as much as I did speaking to her. She is not accepting new patients at this time. However you may reach her directly at her e-mail, Gaya 909@gmail.com.

You can contact the American Institute of Homeopathy here and find a practitioner near YOU!

If you read more about homeopathy, let me know what you think! Have you taken homeopathic medicines? What type of results did you observe good or bad.  Leave a comment below or send me an email !

Forks Over Knives- The Movie and the Book

Forks Over Knives is a movie and a book that will change your life. Here are some facts from the movie, which will probably surprise you:
•    The average American carries an extra 23 pounds of weight.
•    Heart disease and stroke claim the lives of 460,000 American women per year.
•    There are 215,000 new cases of prostate cancer per year in American men.
•    “We have a growing problem and the ones who are growing are us.” – Katie Couric.
•    40% of Americans today are obese.
•    Almost one in five American four-year-olds are now considered to be obese.
•    “This could be the first generation of children in the United States that lives less than its parents.” – Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States.
•    “We have an unprecedented amount of type II diabetes in our children, and we are starting to see hypertension in our children in grammar school.” – Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General of the United States.
•    About half of all Americans are taking some form of prescription drug.
•    We spend $2.2 trillion on health care, over five times the amount we spend on the defense budget.
•    We pay more per person for health care than any industrialized country in the world yet we are sicker than ever.
•    Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are all diet-related health issues that cost this country more than 120 billion dollars per year.

As most of my readers know I took a six-week intensive training course in the spring of this year at Cornell University (online) called "Whole Food Plant Based Nutrition." This course was taught by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and several other prominent physicians who have been leading the charge for documenting the benefit of a whole food, plant-based diet.

After taking the course I changed my own diet from being a vegetarian for the last 39 years to being a pure vegan. It has helped my own energy and vitality. And even though I am quite slender it helped me reduce the belly fat, which had accumulated over the last several years.

In August of this year a new study was published in Lancet magazine entitled "Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK.” Researchers point out that excessive weight gain in populations forecast an increased burden from several diseases, most especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers. They use a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences for the next two decades from the continuing rise in obesity in the United States and the UK.

The researchers project an additional 65 million obese adults in the United States and 11 million more obese adults in the UK by the year 2030. This is expected to lead to an additional 6.0 to 8.5 million cases of diabetes, 5.7 to 7.3 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 492,000 to 699,000 additional cases of cancer. They predict that this will lead to  a loss of an additional 26 to 55 million quality—adjusted life years for the United States and England combined.

The researchers also predict that the medical costs associated with these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48 to $66 billion per year in the United States by the year 2030. They recommend that effective policies to promote healthier weight be put in place as soon as possible because of the economic benefits.

It is because of all these statistics and studies that I urge you to watch Forks Over Knives. It is a simple way to learn the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet, which has been documented to help improve ALL of the conditions mentioned in this article.

I can also recommend that you read the book associated with the movie, because it is loaded with recipes to help you get started on this diet.

The DVD for the movie is available at Amazon.com, as is the book. Also check out the Forks over Knives website HERE

Those of you with a Netflix account can watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix for free.

Let me know what you think about the movie and/or the book. Is it possible for you to implement this for even two or three months to see if it makes a change in your lives? What are your stumbling blocks? What are your roadblocks?

You can leave a comment here, e-mail me at questions@askDrSoram.com, or leave me a voicemail message at 310-499-0275. I look forward to hearing from you.

LANCET ARTICLE

 

006-Ask Dr Soram-All About Homeopathy and Healing Our Body at its Core-Part 1

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This podcast is all about Homeopathy as practiced by a master practitioner of this art, Gaya Bhola. (Pictured with me in the photo to the left).  Because it was almost an hour in length I have divided it into 2 podcasts and the second part will be posted next week.

I have known Gaya for well over 10 years. I referred her my patients and they have all been benefited by her ability to prescribe the optimal homeopathic remedy for the growth and health of the person.

Born and raised in India, Gaya migrated to the United States in 1984.  She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from India. Her diploma in homeopathic medicine is from The Hahnemann College of Homeopathy, London and Masters degree in homeopathy is from Hahnemann Post-Graduate Institute of Homeopathy, London. She also carries a Fellowship from the British Institute of Homeopathy, London. Her paternal grandfather and great grandfather were Doctors of Unani medicine (a fusion of Persian, Arabic and Indian Ayurveda). 

She is also keenly interested in Ayurvedic medicine which she studied with Dr. Vasant Lad and on her own for years. Gaya has been practicing Homeopathic Medicine in the Los Angeles area since 1996. Her soon to be released book, 'UNDERSTANDING HOMEOPATHY'  gives her in-depth understanding of the philosophy of Homeopathic Medicine and it's far – reaching healing potential.

Gaya is not currently taking new patients. You can email your questions to her at gaya909@gmail.com .

For newcomers to homeopathy, the use of a remedy to carry an energy frequency into the body to heal the body may seem unusual.

For beginners to homeopathy I refer you to my colleague Dana Ullman’s article entitled Why Homeopathy Makes Sense and Works.

I also refer you to his article about the work of Luc  Montagnier Ph.D. a Nobel laureate, and his new work on highly diluted DNA (homeopathically diluted) and the structural changes it produces in water as well as the electromagnetic waves that he says emanate from the highly  diluted DNA of various pathogens. Montagnier believes that this will have application to many chronic diseases that we see in society today.

I look forward to your comments about this interview which will be concluded in next week's podcast.

 

Ringing in Ears Affects Fifty Million-Part 1

One of the most prevalent conditions affecting Americans today is tinnitus. In fact, more than 50 million people in the U.S. alone have been diagnosed with tinnitus, a term used for hearing a sound (or sounds) in your head when no sound exists. These phantom sounds are usually annoying, the way that radio static or high-pitched emergency signals are bothersome. About 12 million Americans are disturbed enough to seek medical help for the ringing in their ears; 2 million are literally disabled by their tinnitus, unable to work, sleep, or function normally.

Tinnitus affects patients differently. Some notice changes in cognitive abilities, equilibrium, and ability to sleep soundly. Although patients do not typically experience pain with tinnitus, like pain syndromes, there is a feeling of helplessness associated with the condition. This often leads to secondary medical problems, such as depression, anxiety, and exacerbated stress levels.

Obviously, these primary and secondary conditions can impact one’s personal and professional relationships and one’s ability work—even inside the home.

For some, the ringing, whooshing, and/or buzzing, which can occur in one or both ears, is caused by an event. The actor William Shatner has suffered from tinnitus since an explosion on the set of Star Trek occurred decades ago. He is now a spokesperson for the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), helping to raise awareness of the disease and funding for research.

Shatner and others (including me) are particularly concerned for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Respected tinnitus researcher Richard Salvi, Ph.D., of the University of Buffalo says, “As many as 50 percent of combat soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who come back have tinnitus. In 2010, the Veterans Administration paid out more than $1 billion for tinnitus disability claims alone. It’s become a huge problem for military and VA hospitals.” (http://www.buffalo.edu/news/12768)

You don’t have to go to war or be around an explosion, though. Some individuals develop tinnitus for no apparent reason. Others will experience it after an ear infection, especially a severe one. Tinnitus is very prevalent in younger people. In fact, 75% of people aged 18 to 30 experience tinnitus from listening to very loud music at live venues or through headphones. (Holmes S, Padgham N. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; 18(21): 2927.)

To date, there is no cure for tinnitus, no pill to take, although there are some treatments which provide relief. I will discuss these options and an exciting new treatment in my next blog.
 

005-Ask Dr Soram-The Whole Food Plant Based Diet and You!

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The advantages of a whole food plant based diet are legion. I encourage you to check out the new movie Forks over Knives which you can buy on Amazon or from their website. Also the BOOK with recipes will be out this week !

  For those of you with a Netflix account can watch the movie streaming free from Netflix !

The online course at Cornell University that I took is here, with more information about Dr Campbell.

You can buy Dr Campbell’s book here
And also get the books by Dr Esselstyn here and from Dr Mcdougall here and from Dr Barnard here

.
Here is the interview on CNN of president Bill Clinton with Wolf Blitzer.

Let me know what you think about this diet? Have you tried it? Do have relatives or friends that you want to encourage to get on it? Are there any questions about it that I can answer for you. You can put a comment in the box below or you can drop me an e-mail at questions@askDrSoram.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.

 

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