March 2007 || August 2007 || December, 2007 || February, 2009 || March, 2009

Dear Patients and Friends,

Dental Health

Above and beyond the obvious need to keep your gums free of inflammation and infection is the controversial concept of “cavitations.” Many integrative health care practitioners believe that chronic health problems can be caused and/or worsened by cavitations, which are infections in the jawbone at the site of an extracted tooth or root canal. These cavitations are visible on x-ray, but for inexplicable reasons, most dentists see them and ignore them. If this same thing appeared on an x-ray of your thigh bone, for example, you would be immediately hospitalized and put on intravenous antibiotics for 6 weeks!

These infections are smoldering growths of anaerobic organisms, whose waste products are more toxic than cyanide. Your body must work incredibly hard to detoxify these incredibly toxic waste products. To do this, your body uses a lot of liver energy, as well as, your immune system function to keep trying to reach and kill the infection. Since bones don’t have a large blood supply, it is very difficult for bone infections to heal.

If you have chronic illness that hasn’t responded to all of our other efforts, talk with me about getting checked for cavitations.

Supplement Sale

I am offering 25% off all supplements through March 31, 2009. This applies only to my patients, for supplements I have prescribed, from my regular stock.  If we are out of a supplement that you usually order, we can order it for you. This sale does not apply to special orders.

Digestion and Absorption

As you know, during my consultations with you, I spend quite a bit of time going into the details of how digestion and absorption are essential to a healthy functioning body.  It is truly a key component of health.  Without effective digestion and absorption, our body systems do not function optimally.  If a body is unable to absorb minerals, proteins, fats and other nutrients, then toxins cannot be effectively excreted from the body and cells cannot be renewed. 

For many of you, I have prescribed hydrochloric acid, especially if you have low ferritin (iron stores).  Low ferritin can result from other problems, as well, such as excessive menstrual bleeding, trauma, colon cancer, polyps and inflamed stomach ulcers.  If you have had problems tolerating the hydrochloric acid or have not had a colonoscopy and/or stool check to check for hidden blood in the stool, please call for a consultation.  I have been prescribing a different approach to use if hydrochloric acid is too strong for you.

It is very important to persevere with the endeavor to improve digestion and absorption.  If this aspect of the body’s functioning is not optimized, then the possibility of success in balancing other body systems, such as the adrenals and sex hormones and in alleviating associated symptoms is greatly reduced.

Vitamin D and Vitamin B12

The amount of research being done on Vitamin D has increased dramatically over the past few years.  As you know from my past newsletters (where you can read more about this), I have been advocating testing and adequate Vitamin D intake for quite some time.  My current take on this situation is that most of us need at least 2000 IU per day on going, after a loading period of 5000-10,000 IU per day (to bring levels up) for a period of 3 months. If you are a larger person, have dark skin, or have poor absorption, you will need more. 

When taking Vitamin D supplements, it is important to take and ensure adequate absorption of Calcium and Magnesium so these are not pulled out of the bones and teeth. Low Vitamin D levels have been linked to emotional disturbances, immune dysfunction, bone structure dental cavities, and much more.  Get your levels checked and take your supplements!

If you have ever had your Vitamin B12 levels checked and found it to be below 400, you need to stay on B12 supplementation for life. Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in irreversible dementia, urinary incontinence, anemia and numb hands and feet.  Levels should be checked yearly if you have had a result below 400, to ensure that your supplement is being absorbed.  If you are getting injections, you don’t need to have levels rechecked but you must continue with B12 supplementation for life.

Health Screenings

Women need to get PAP testing every 1-3 years and consider ultrasound if you still have your uterus and/or ovaries, especially if you have any bleeding after menopause.

I support yearly PSA testing for men. It is controversial, as there are many false positives, elevated results leading to unnecessary worry. Men, if you get your PSA blood draw just after having the dreaded rectal exam of your prostate or had sex/ejaculated within 48 hours of the blood draw, your PSA could be falsely elevated subjecting you to needless worry and possibly dangerous follow-up testing.  I have seen many urology specialists send men to the lab just after the rectal- just say “NO! – I will do it later” and get the blood draw done after a 48 hour waiting period.

Hormone Implants

For any of you using sex hormone therapy, such as estrogen or testosterone, you may benefit from my latest therapeutic addition – sex hormone implants.  They are for women with difficult menopausal issues and for men with low testosterone.  The implant replaces hormone creams, gels, patches or injections for up to 6 months.

They require an office visit in which I apply a local anesthetic, make a small incision and insert the implant.  The procedure takes just 5-10 minutes and is usually less expensive than the other forms of hormones. The upfront cost for the implants is at minimum $400 and depends on the amount of the hormone you need.

Thank you all for the honor you have given me by choosing me to be your health consultant.  I look forward to our continued collaboration in improving your health and helping you to participate fully in your life!

Sincerely,

Julie Anderson, ARNP

March 2007 || August 2007 || December, 2007 || February, 2009 || March, 2009