In this week's episode of the Cura podcast, we are covering mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This form of therapy has been more and more in the headlines because it has allowed hyperbaric oxygen to become readily available with the creation of the 1.3 atm and the 1.5 atm chambers. With these mild hyperbaric oxygen chambers it removes a lot of the complications of the high pressured chambers as well as the expense. Making it possible for almost anyone to enjoy the benefits of the increased oxygen saturation in the areas of the body where it is most needed.

For myself, I have only recently become a convert to this form of therapy. In this case I seemed to fall into the same trap that many people find themselves, where if we don't know enough about something or haven't experienced it for ourselves then we tend to be down on it. I think this is probably something all of us have experienced at some point.

For many years I have used what is known as EWOT training, or exercising with oxygen therapy. This form of training has a very similar action to hyperbaric oxygen but does require vigorous exercise to gain the benefits while breathing close to pure oxygen for short periods of time. When I was able to try the mild hyperbaric oxygen chambers for myself I realised how important they were for athletic recovery and for those that did not want to exercise or in many cases were actually struggling to be able to move. So the simplicity of being able to lie down or sit in a chamber that is filled with oxygen under pressure, that then allows a significant increase in oxygen saturation into the areas of the body that are most inflamed, and most starved of oxygen while you simple rest or read a book seems like a win win situation.

As I have mentioned before I have found that the best forms of healing modalities are those that are not invasive to the body. Modalities that are simple to use and very kind. There are many benefits of using hyperbaric oxygen and I personally find it a wonderful complement to the ozone therapy.

I hope you find this episode interesting.

In this episode of the Cura podcast I speak with Gemma about ozone therapy. More specifically the HOCATT. Which is a very powerful ozone sauna. This particular sauna makes use of many different healing modalities within a single session. I have personally used one for close to 3 years.

I have been amazed at the power it has for healing the body. But most importantly of just how non-invasive it is.

I personally have been a big fan of ozone therapy and have used it in almost every way possible for about 20 years. This has included such techniques as intravenous. A method that was taught to me by two separate doctors. The method of utilising intravenous ozone is very safe providing you know what you're doing and you are under the guidance of an experienced ozone doctor or health care practitioner. Having said that anything that is that invasive I do not feel is necessary with the exception of life threatening circumstances. I personally have been very grateful for intravenous ozone as it has made significant improvements in some health issues that I was struggling to overcome in my early twenties. But I have used it rarely which is why I was so grateful to find this particular ozone sauna. From my experience it is as powerful as intravenous ozone without ever having to be invasive to the body.

Now I personally have many concerns about the company that makes this particular product but nevertheless the device is very profound in its healing ability. So in this episode Gemma and I speak in detail about the different modalities that are offered within this unit and how it can be supportive for individual health, to restore vitality and to really help the body to clear out bacteria and toxicity with relative grace and ease.

There is a lot of fear around ozone and ozone therapy. Most of it is unnecessary and can make people shy away from its simple and clean way to super oxygenate the body. I hope this episode will help people have a better understanding of ozone therapy and what it might be able to offer as an alternative support for restoring balance and helping each one of us to thrive in a somewhat toxic world.

This week Gemma McDonnell and I go into a deep dive about what the refocus program (which is the collaboration between her work and Cura Romana) is all about. We speak in depth about the nature of healing. The role that patterns and traumas play in both the healing process and the physical symptoms that often express themselves through these unresolved conflicts we often carry within our body. This episode is well worth listening to even if you're not considering looking further at the refocus program but simply wanting to learn more about the power that you have and your body has to heal itself. This is a beautiful and surprising process that I continue to be in awe of. I hope you enjoy.

Focus health offers an integrated, collaborative care approach to health care. We believe in order to heal, the body must be balanced in every way-mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

This approach has come about through years of working with clients. Using various methodologies we have come to the realisation that there are common thread’s affecting one's health. In order to give the body the best opportunity to heal we must detoxify both our bodies and our minds. We have spent collective years gathering the tools and knowledge and more recently the technology needed to achieve this.

The ReFocus program is an holistic approach uniquely designed to help you address your health and emotional challenges. The program is made up of 10 dedicated one-on-one sessions delivered over a 5 day period. These sessions include extensive testing through kinesiology, homeopathy and followed by a nine week detoxification plan.

In addition, to ensure maximum benefit and to help better support your body we utilise specialised detoxification technologies, unique and only available in the Irish market through Focus Health. Importantly, focus will be put on identifying and clearing emotional triggers and stressors that are a huge part to everyone’s optimal health.

Today I have for you an interview with Gemma McDonnell. Who has a remarkable story to share with you of her Cura Romana program. She has been on the inner circle program twice. Once with myself and once with Leslie. Using the Cura Romana protocol she has been able to overcome her Lyme disease.

Through the process of working with Gemma we have become close friends and collaborators in sharing knowledge about how to support people's health naturally. This has been a fascinating process for both of us which has also led to a joining of forces to offer a programme that combines both her work with her company Focus Health and with Cura Romana. This has allowed us to be able to really help support some of the more significant health challenges that participants have been faced with.

This is the first interview in a series of interviews with Gemma. In this episode Gemma largely tells her own story of Cura Romana and how it has helped her to overcome her health difficulties surrounding Lyme's disease. In future episodes we will be taking more of a deep dive into some of the protocols that she uses at focus health. Some of which I am very familiar with and have used myself and some that are relatively new to me. I do hope you enjoy this first interview.

The misrepresentations and ignorance surrounding arguments about fluoridation never cease to amaze me. Let me share with you a few of them:

There is still a common belief that countries which fluoridate water have less tooth decay than non-fluoridated countries. This is completely untrue. Yes US with its fluoridated water did experience a big decline in tooth decay in the past 60 years. But the same decline in tooth decay took place in European countries and other in developed countries which had no fluoridation. The World Health Organization has made clear that there is no difference in decay between the small number of developed countries that do fluoridate their water and the majority that do not.

In truth the majority of developed countries do not fluoridate their water. Actually, more people drink fluoridated water in the US alone than in the rest of the world combined. In Western Europe 97% of the population drinks water with no fluoride added to it.

What few people know is that fluoride affect many parts of the body besides the teeth. It has the ability to interfere with the functions of your brain for instance. Studies conducted in China have shown quite clearly that fluoride lowers the intellectual abilities of people. You see fluoride disrupts our endocrine system. There is even recent research that shows fluoride can increase the severity of many kinds of diabetes. And since diabetes became widespread in the last 40 years this is something to be taken seriously. It has long been known by those informed that being exposed to fluoride interferes with good thyroid function. There is even a lot of information about how fluoride can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. All of these important pieces of information come from the national research Council in the United States who did a scientific review of of the effects of drinking fluoride in water.

Few people realize that fluoride is the only "medicine" which is added to public water. Of course chlorine is added to water to control the bacteria that may be present but this is not a medicine either. Many keen on bringing fluoridation into countries like New Zealand—and there is right now a big push to do this—have concocted all sorts of arguments such as claiming that fluoride is a "nutrient". National Academy of Sciences has vehemently confirmed that this is not the case. Meanwhile most countries in Europe have completely rejected fluoridation because they are aware that the water supply is a totally inappropriate way to deliver a fluoride—most definitely not a "medicine." With a medicine it is the patient who has the right to decide which medicine or drug to take. Fluoridation of the water as is done now in the UK, Ireland, a few areas of the United States and, if government has its way, is soon to be forcibly introduced to the whole of New Zealand.

This is ridiculous of course since fluoride in water brings virtually no benefit to teeth. Fluoridation although it may provide good PR for dental trade associations it is bad medicine. What is needed is not fluoridated water making people more vulnerable to fluoride toxicity, but rather an improvement in diet eliminating high levels of sugar and junk food. It is sadly true that children from low income families have high levels of tooth decay. Education is the answer not fluoridation. Another aspect of fluoridation which very few people are aware of is that fluoride's toxic effects are cumulative. According to a 500 page scientific review fluoride can negatively affect your bones, brain, and even your blood sugar levels. Actually there are more than 100 studies published illustrating the harm that fluoride does to the brain alone as well as another 43 studies showing how fluoride can reduce the IQ in children.

Here are some of the conditions which fluoridation and overexposure to fluoride can lead to:
muscle disorders
arthritis
increased tumor and cancer rates
damage sperm and increased infertility
inhibited formation of antibodies and immune system disruptions

there is no way that fluoride should be ingested through the waters we drink this is why the EPA’s research laboratory have classified fluoride as "a chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity."

Not long ago Paul Connett PhD, director of the fluoride action network (FAN) was asked to debate Mike Berridge PhD of New Zealand's Malaghan Institute of Medical Research on the topic of whether or not it would be wise to fluoridate date all of New Zealand's water. It's an important issue both in the United States as well as in New Zealand and the few countries in the world where water fluoridation is still used. At the moment only 52% of the population of New Zealand gets fluoridated water. The government has proposed legislation that requires men to introduce water fluoridation for the entire country. This is an important short video. I highly recommend that you watch it on You Tube then, given the information above decide for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjkpMofBFfQ

In 2015 The Cochrane Collaboration which is considered the gold standard in evidence-based reviews released a comprehensive review pointing out truths that are nearly impossible to dispute. Fluoride does not work to prevent cavities yet is is clear that it causes harm. What concerns me is that in New Zealand where until now fluoridation has been something that the local councils and the population itself were consulted as to whether or not to bring fluoridation into the area in which they live. What the New Zealand government has now done is remove this possibility completely so that they and they alone have the right to decide if the entire country is to be fluoridated. What ever happened to our democracy?

For those of you who have already seen our first five videos on bio-identical hormones I think it's time to deal with some frequently asked questions as well as help you refresh your memory about the nature of bio-identical hormones. They are so very different from synthetic drugs, which can damage your body. So let me explain by answering a few simple questions. Well-known examples of bio-identical hormones like estrogen, progesterone, pregnenolone, DHEA, melatonin, and testosterone can be obtained from a compounding pharmacy provided you have a prescription from your doctor. The rules and regulations governing bio-identical hormones vary dramatically from one country to another. In the United States a number of bio-identical hormones are sold over the counter. This does not mean that they are the best. It is far better to locate a good quality pharmaceutical compounding company in whatever country you're in, such as United States, Great Britain, New Zealand, or Australia and, with your doctor’s help, order them direct from the compounding company.
 A good compounding pharmacy can make medications to suit your individual needs in a safe and correct way—in capsule form, cream, gel, oil, pessary, or even in the form of a suppository—whichever your doctor decides is right for you.
 Another question that I am often asked is: Can bio-identical hormones be beneficial for men? The answer is an unequivocal yes. There are many symptoms that can be relieved or resolved for men by using carefully selected bio-identical hormones. These include disturbed sleep, muscle weakness, irritability, poor concentration, memory lapses, erectile dysfunction, reduced sex drive, and depression.
 As a reminder, bio-identical hormones are chemically identical to the hormones that are produced in the glands of your own body. They bear no resemblance to synthetic hormones, which in truth are not hormones at all but drugs, such as those used in HRT. Your body's cells are incapable of making good use of synthetics. This is a major reason why so many dangerous side effects can be experienced from using these pharmaceutical synthetic drugs.
 Where do bio-identical hormones come from? Most are made from diosgenin taken from wild yam. Our bodies can't obtain these hormones directly from these plants, so diosgenin is synthesized in the laboratory into the chemically identical equivalent of whatever hormone is being made.
 Another question I am often asked is: If I have a hysterectomy does that mean that I may still need bio-identical hormones? The answer to this question is yes: You see, hormone receptors are found in many areas all over your body, not just in the uterus, breasts, and bones. Your body still needs adequate hormones to function properly.
 Okay, here's some other stuff that you need to remember about the complete hormonal picture:
 Bio-identical progesterone, which has the same molecular structure as the hormones that your body produces naturally, is a long way from “progestin” synthetic drugs commonly prescribed by mainstream medicine. Progesterone—the natural hormone—has shown itself beneficially able to protect your body from arteriosclerosis, help maintain healthy HDL levels, decrease the risk of blood clots, and improve cardiovascular health all round.
 There are three major types of estrogen produced naturally in a woman's body. These are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estriol is well known to promote youthful skin, improve sexual function, enhance urinary health, and improve bone density. Estriol is also highly effective in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Progesterone (the real thing) balances and complements estriol in its bio-identical form. One study showed that this combination substantially improved how much time women with a history of heart attack or coronary heart disease were able to work out on the treadmill before blood flow to the heart was reduced. Progesterone—the real thing—plays a major role in relieving menopausal symptoms. The beneficial effects of bio-identical progesterone compared to progestin drugs include a 50% reduction in anxiety, a 60% reduction in depression, a 30% reduction in sleep problems, a 25% reduction in menstrual bleeding, and a 40% reduction in cognitive problems as well as a 30% improvement in sexual function. In four studies 80% of women reported overall satisfaction with bio-identical progesterone formulation.
 And what about some of the other common bio-identical hormones like testosterone and DHEA? DHEA is well known for its ability to improve mood, neurological function, energy, immune function, and the maintenance of bone mass and good quality musculature. It is a natural steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, the gonads, and even by the brain to some degree. A combination of DHEA and pregnenolone has been shown to improve memory. DHEA can also improve insulin sensitivity and triglyceride levels. In both men and women, the levels of DHEA their bodies make decrease as they get older.
 Like DHEA, testosterone in women gradually decreases as they get older. This can result in a loss of bone and muscle mass, loss of interest in sex, and a significant loss in libido. Testosterone used in conjunction with the right estrogen can enhance vigor, mood, concentration, and sexual satisfaction. The same combination has also been shown to reduce sleep disturbances in women, including hot flashes and night sweats. And because DHEA is converted into testosterone some studies show it is possible to raise testosterone levels by using DHEA on its own. Any comprehensive hormone restoration program almost always includes these hormones.
 

There are many books on the market that purport to tell you all you need to know about bio-identical hormones. Unfortunately few of them are written by people who are tops in their fields. So if you want to learn more, I suggest that you go back and find the names of specific practitioners who are particularly skilled in the use of the bioidentical hormones that I've mentioned in the previous sacred truth videos as part of this series. Begin by reading books by these people before you do anything else. You will discover your own excitement and the information you need to know to be able to become one of us, whose lives have been dramatically altered by making use of these wonderful—yet very little known—forms of treatment. You won't go wrong. Meanwhile, an exciting journey of discovery and transformation lies waiting for you.

The number of people I work with on Cura Romana who report that they have long been suffering from a thyroid condition never ceases to amaze me. Almost none of them are aware that low thyroid function is treatable by using well-prescribed bio-available hormones. Your thyroid is responsible for so many functions in the body that are absolutely critical to wellbeing. Even a minor deficiency in the thyroid gland’s ability to produce adequate levels of thyroid hormone can not only disrupt the body’s entire hormonal symphony but also tremendously impact your health.

Your thyroid—the butterfly-shaped gland located in the lower part of your neck—is a primary hormone-producing gland that regulates body metabolism and is directly responsible for the production of energy. When the thyroid is not working properly this can lead to any number of other hormonal imbalances in the pituitary, the adrenals, and other hormone-producing glands in your body.

When attempting to diagnose hypothyroidism it is not enough just to carry out blood tests and a physical examination. The trained practitioner will also want to listen carefully to your own description of symptoms. It is equally essential to measure your basal body temperature. This was something devised by Broda O Barnes MD, who many years ago carried out exhaustive research, leading him to report that at the time some 40% of the population was likely to be suffering from hypothyroidism. I highly recommend Dr. Barnes’ excellent book Hypothyroidism: The Unexpected Illness to anyone who is keen to promote high-level health. You see, hypothyroidism can reduce the strength of every cell in your body, including those responsible for maintaining your immune system. More about this in a moment.

The symptoms of low thyroid function can be many. These include cold hands and feet, dry skin, recurring infections, menstrual disorders, PMS, infertility, obesity, thinning hair and eyebrows, poor memory, depression, headaches and migraines, and general weakness in the body as a whole.

Your thyroid should be functioning properly. When it is not, your body can seem to pick up every viral illness that's going around. You may find it difficult to recover from infections. And, amazing as it may seem, when your thyroid is not functioning well, one of the common issues, which is rarely associated with this, is infertility—often a woman cannot conceive. So much for the bad news. The good news is that many men and women respond well when treated with bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

Conventional medicine has little understanding of glandular imbalances and of the most effective treatments for thyroid disorders. This is why, synthetic thyroid preparations like Synthroid or Levothyroxine—both relatively inactive forms of thyroid treatment—are commonly prescribed. These drugs contain T4 thyroid hormone, which must be converted into the more active form of T3 in the body for it to be effective. In fact, a great number of people simply do not respond at all to synthetic thyroid drug treatments because the human body cannot adequately convert T4 into its active form of T3. As a result, people get a poor response to conventional medical treatments. This is similar to the way a body does not respond adequately to being given synthetic HRT. So what is the answer? There is desiccated thyroid, a porcine preparation that contains both T4 and T3 in proportions close to your body’s natural thyroid production. The most commonly used natural thyroid hormone presently available is Armour Thyroid.

The thyroid, like every other gland in the body, depends on adequate levels of the body’s natural hormones to support your health and energy. As a result of aging, poor diet, pollution in the environment, or ongoing stress, your glands are unable to supply your body with the level of hormones it needs for optimal health. It can be wise to turn towards bio-identical hormones prescribed by a skilled practitioner well versed in these procedures since bio-identical hormones are as close as possible to the natural hormones made by glands in your own body.

And how does one find out if there is a thyroid hormone deficiency? Blood tests on their own are not enough. Thyroid hormones influence your body at a cellular level—the deepest level possible. Lab tests on their own are not capable of identifying a hypothyroid state. Its important that you form a close cooperation with a practitioner well versed in bio-identical treatments who will listen carefully to your perceptions of how you feel and what you sense you may be struggling with. He or she will want to correlate blood or saliva lab tests with a clinical examination, health history, and serial monitoring of your basal temperature. This can be carried out at home following Broda O Barnes’ method for measuring your basal body temperature.

Briefly, here’s how it works:

• Before bed, shake down a basal thermometer and place it on a table at the side of your bed.
• When you awaken in the morning, tuck the thermometer snugly into your armpit. Leave it there for 10 minutes while you stay quietly in bed. Then record your temperature on paper. Repeat this for five days in row.
• If you happen to be menstruating it's best to take your temperature on the second day of menstruation and then for the following four days in order to get an accurate basal temperature.
• If the function of your thyroid is normal your temperature should be within the range of 97.8–98.2°F. If your temperature turns out to be lower than this range this often points to a hypothyroid condition in need of treatment.

People who are hypothyroid frequently report that their capacity to remember, to understand, and to stay alert can be very challenged. In the past six or seven years I have worked with many women on Cura Romana’s Inner Circle program who, had spent a small fortune on infertility drugs and treatments while attempting to become pregnant, all to no avail until they discovered the power of bio-identical hormones and the way these can be used to restore healthy thyroid functioning. Some of these women reported that this was literally life changing.

A practitioner competent in the use of bio-identicals in addition to analyzing and handling any other glands in your body that also need attention is likely to prescribe a low dose of say, Armour Thyroid. He or she then titrates up the amount until he or she discovers what the optimum levels of natural hormones in your body are. This is important because best results from the use of bio-identicals take place when one bio-identical is used together with other bio-identicals carefully chosen to work with it such as natural progesterone, pregnenalone, DHEA or others

It is most important that you have proper nutritional support for your thyroid gland while this is happening. Drink good quantities of pure water every day and eat foods high in iodine like seafood, all of which can be helpful in restoring high-level health to your body. Many practitioners also insist on checking to make sure you have adequate iron stores and that you do not have anemia before they begin hormone replacement therapy. Its important that you remember this: it is virtually impossible to balance your endocrine system without taking into consideration the interrelationships of thyroid hormone with other natural hormones in your body. This is perhaps the most important secret of successful hormonal treatment for your glands, which produce hormones that have a powerful synergistic effect with one another. This makes it important for you to identify a brilliant practitioner who knows his or her stuff. The average GP has no training in the use of bio-identical hormones, he has been trained to use drugs.

Next week we will look into important questions such as how to learn more, where to find the right practitioner, and where you can get bio-identical hormones.

How do we identify hormonal deficiencies and imbalances? It’s an important question. Many practitioners trained in the use of bio-identical hormones rely heavily on laboratory tests to guide them in establishing which hormones in a patient’s body are not functioning at optimal levels. These lab tests are most commonly carried out by an analysis of the blood, saliva, or 24-hour urine tests. The problem is that lab reports can be confusing. Hormones are by far and away the most powerful molecules in the human body. They affect every tissue and every system—in fact, every aspect of health and well-being—and it’s impossible to test the action of any specific hormone in the body directly.

Too many practitioners rely on lab reports, which can often be confusing. The hormone reference ranges they give are little more than population statistics including two standard deviations from the mean, which is 95% of a group of "apparently healthy" adults. But, as endocrinologist Henry Lindner M.D. points out, the subjects are frequently little more than employees, friends, and relatives, who themselves have been screened for symptoms of deficiency. So the lowest 2.5% of this unscreened adult population is defined as "low." Then a physician might tell a patient with so-called "low normal" levels—say within the 5th percentile—that his or her symptoms are caused by a hormone deficiency even though 95% of adults have higher levels!

Such a reference-ranged approach can easily fail to identify disjunctions in the endocrine system, which makes it virtually impossible to identify hormonal deficiencies that may be occurring as a result of chronic stress, environmental poisons, poor diet, and deterioration due to aging. Henry Lindner asks an important question about all of this: "Why don't endocrinologists offer a symptomatic patient with ‘low-normal’ levels a trial hormones supplementation to see if higher ‘normal’ levels relieve their symptoms? I find they are unaware of the literature for instance about the benefits of higher thyroid, testosterone, DHEA, estradiol, and progesterone levels within the population ranges.” This is often one of the consequences of practitioners holding false beliefs about possible harms of hormone optimization.

Like Thierry Hertogue, both Henry Lindner and David Brownstein (another expert in bio-identical hormones whose work I admire) agree that although laboratory tests can be of use, it is at least as essential, maybe even more so, that a physician listens carefully to the complaints and symptoms that each and every prospective patient experiences.

Take hypothyroidism. Here are some common symptoms associated with hypothyroidism as a result of even a minor deficiency in thyroid hormone:

obesity and difficulty losing weight
infertility
hypercholesterolemia
poor memory
headaches and migraines
intolerance to cold
infections
ovarian cysts
fatigue.

A combination of laboratory tests and listening carefully to the specific symptoms and concerns that a patient has when consulting a physician trained in the use of bio-identical hormones is a good way to go while planning treatment.

Another important question for anyone who is being guided by a skillful practitioner in bio-identical treatments is this: Are there ways of eating and drinking that can help support a body's glands for the best possible health creation and results while using the bio-identical hormones prescribed? There are indeed. Your body's hormonal system does not work alone. Using top-quality minerals, vitamins, trace elements, and amino acids will exert a positive influence on both hormone utilization and hormone production.

It’s also important to make sure you are getting the very best nutrition possible in regard to the foods you choose to eat as well as the nutritional supplements that you choose to take. This has never been more important given the widespread pollution in our environment and all the dreadful convenience foods that ill-informed people continue to buy from supermarket shelves then feed on with no idea how destructive these foods can be for their own health and the health of their families. Good diet and healthy exercise are essential in creating hormonal balance and restoring the your youthful vibrancy.

What are the most important nutritional supplements? Here are a few which you need to know: Both niacin and Vitamin C lower blood lipid (fat) levels. L-glutamine can decrease carbohydrate cravings while the trace element chromium can help to both lower insulin levels in the blood and reduce sugar cravings. Equally essential are Vitamins D3 + K2 and magnesium.

I find the best way when choosing nutritional supplements is to go for top-quality food-based multiple vitamins. Alternatively, what I often suggest to people working with me on Cura Romana whose systems had become depleted of top-quality nutrients when beginning their Inner Circle program, is that they can often benefit greatly by using an exceptionally powerful nutritional supplement such as Life Extension Mix Capsules or Life Extension Mix Powder. These are advanced, state-of-the-art multivitamins that are vastly superior to most multivitamins on the market. For, in addition to carefully chosen vitamins and minerals, they also provide a broad array of important fruit and vegetable extracts plus many essential minerals and other elements.

What about foods? Although each human being is unique, it's important for all of us to remember this truth: It can take 100,000 years for a human being to adapt to new ways of eating. Sadly, the way of eating that most people these days follow relies on convenience foods, which, along with junk foods, are the easiest way to rapidly undermine your health. Many people these days cannot handle cows products, including cheeses, yogurt, cream, and milk. I’ve also found that a vast majority of people whom I work with are not adapted to handle grains of any kind unless they have been sprouted first.

Sugar is deadly for your health. It contributes to an overgrowth of bacteria and yeast in your body and undermines the proper functioning of hormones. What we all need in order to help bio-identical hormones thrive is plenty of top-quality, preferably organic, meat, fresh eggs, seafood from unpolluted waters, some low-sugar fruits like berries, and plenty of organically grown vegetables.

The foods you choose to eat play an important part in your hormonal balance and wellbeing, sometimes in very specific ways. For instance, eating more top-quality proteins can increase your ACTH levels naturally. Finally, here are a few wonderful foods for high-level well-being and optimal hormonal balance:

kale
wild salmon
spinach
broccoli
asparagus
extra virgin olive oil
organic coconut oil
butter that comes from cows that have for at least part of their lives grazed on green grass.

I hope in this sacred truth video that I’ve been able to cover a few of the important aspects of bio-identical hormones and how best to support them, and by doing so enhance your well-being now and for years to come. Next week we'll look specifically at one of the most important and least understood conditions and find out how bio-identical hormones that are well chosen can transform thyroid issues. Do join us then.

Welcome to the third video in our Sacred Truth series, exploring the power of bio-identical hormones. These hormones, even when made in a laboratory, carry a molecular structure closely resembling the molecular structure of natural hormones made by glands in your own body. Here is something else important for you to know: Any other so-called hormones are drugs. These include all the highly promoted pharmaceuticals prescribed for HRT.

Working with people as closely as I do, I’ve learned far too much about the suffering of those who, in their ignorance, have opted to walk down the road of these synthetic drugs. By swallowing synthetic substitutes such as those given to half of the participants in the huge Woman’s Health Initiative study of 2002 this can seriously undermine their health and make them highly susceptible to serious illnesses including cancer. The study involved 40 large medical centers in the United States and 16,608 women. It was supposed to have lasted for 8.5 years, but researchers were forced to end it at 5.2 years as a result of far too many unexpected dangers which surfaced to those who had been prescribed synthetic HRT. If you don’t know about all this, now’s a a good time to go back to my last video and review it.

When I wrote my biggest book on menopause PASSAGE TO POWER...Natural Menopause Revolution, few women had ever heard of bio-identical hormones. Even fewer practitioners knew much about the important role bio-identicals could play in improving health and slowing the aging process. Instead, women all around the world had been taught to believe that synthetic drugs were the answer to female problems. Already, pharmaceutical corporations were busy flogging their wares to the media, to the medical profession, and directly to women themselves who did not realize that these drugs are capable of not only of undermining health in the long term and sometimes even ruining lives.

I knew there was a better way and I was determined to find out what it was. I studied the visionary work of many knowledgeable pioneers for change. They included prolific writer Dr Ray Peat, female Canadian endocrinologist Dr Jerilynn Prior, and of course Dr John Lee, the family physician who had spent years exploring the actions of a plant-derived natural form of progesterone and making it available to women in most countries. John taught me everything he had learned. Within a few months we’d become close friends.

That was then. And it was quite a breakthrough. What about now? Sadly far too many men and women remain unaware of the wonderful transformations that are now possible with the use of carefully selected bio-identical hormones. Happily, knowledge about this is steadily growing. Unfortunately, so is the persistence of multi-national corporations who have no concern with healing, saving lives, and slowing aging. Their goals are simple: increase profits at all cost

I’ve been determined to discover as much as can about good things that are happening in the realm of bio-identical hormones. I’ve explored the work of the some of best practitioners working in these realms. These include Dr Tessa Jones, a gifted and dedicated female practitioner much admired for her work and her lectures on anti-aging and bio-identical hormones. Then I tackled the writings and presentations of Belgian physician Dr Thierry Hertoghe. His goal is to optimize health for every patient while delaying—at times even reversing aging. Then I came across the work of the brilliant American endocrinologist Dr Henry Lindner—an expert in metabolism and bio-identical hormone replacement as well as a man of great vision in regard to the nature and workings of the whole universe. What I’ve learned from them and others is that the possibilities for transforming health naturally and slowing aging has never been better, provided we are willing to learn and make use of their skills and their wisdom. Given that our environment is becoming more and more contaminated by poisons, pesticides, and junk food there has never been a better time for us to make use of the valid knowledge that’s available to us and the help being made available to us in the form of bio-identical hormones.

Hormone deficiencies are now widespread. Yet they are too often ignored by conventional medicine, which has no idea how to handle them. A hormone deficiency is akin to a deficiency in one or more specific nutrients that your body does not make for itself but which it needs more of to support your health. When, because of illness, poor diet, pollution or the aging process your glands are no longer able to produce the levels of hormones that your body needs in order to truly thrive you have been hormone deficient.

What are some of the common signs of hormone deficiencies? Say a woman who is deficient in one or two of the estrogens that make up female sex hormones. She may find herself losing hair, especially at the top of her head. This is something that often takes place around the time of menopause because glands are producing far too little estrogen. Or, if there is not enough progesterone being made in a woman’s body, she can find herself developing abdominal obesity. For each of the body’s hormones there can be a number of signs that may indicate a hormone deficiency.

Take Cortisol, which is a vitally important hormone because it gives us lots of energy. If you become deficient in cortisol you may find yourself feeling dog tired all the time or continually stressed. Another sign of deficient in cortisol is a tendency to constantly complain and blaming others around you for how you feel without realizing that it is your own health that is in need of support. DHEA, which is made in your adrenals, is another hormone vitally important to your health. A common sign of DHEA deficiency can be moderate levels of anxiety which are hard to shake.

Your body’s natural hormone production is rich and can be hard to understand since unless you are aware of how interdependent all your hormones are. They need each other to thrive. Here’s a sample of how this takes place. Cortisol, on which vitality depends, creates energy by consuming tissues in your body. Meanwhile, DHEA protects against the consumption of too many tissues. As the body ages we want to make sure our DHEA production is high enough to create balance between cortisol and DHEA so they are working in harmony. Actually, cortisol production can also be improved by identifying and then correcting any other hormonal deficiencies that influence the working of the adrenal gland such as testosterone for instance, which can also support good cortisol levels.

Next week we’ll look at some important questions in regard to bio-identical hormones such as “How does one identify hormonal imbalances?” “Are there special foods and drinks that can help support your body’s glands for the best possible hormonal levels?”, and “How good or poor are standard laboratory tests as a means of identifying hormonal deficiencies? And many more. See you then...

What few people know is that the body's natural hormones are far more powerful than drugs. They can even alter the expression of our genes. When you have good hormonal control this leads to experiencing the very highest capacity for human health.
  Your body contains more than 100 different kinds of hormones. These amazing powerhouses pour into your bloodstream and supply your body with literally thousands of billions of units each day. When they are in good balance they help control heartbeat, encourage good sleep, manage blood pressure, maintain strong firm muscles, lubricate your joints, and even build good bones. Of course they influence the menstrual cycle as well as countering stress, relieving depression, and preventing fatigue. They can even help protect you from infections and allergic reactions. However, knowledge about what the body’s natural hormones offer and how important they are for high-level health has long been marginalized and hidden from popular view by information that is largely controlled by pharmaceuticals.
  In last week's Sacred Video I tried to introduce you to bio-Identical hormones. We examined how the body’s natural hormone levels decrease with age and what effect this has upon our vitality, and what can be done to counter this. Now let’s look deeper into the wonderful mysteries of bio-identical hormones, where they come from, and how, with guidance from a practitioner well versed in their use, they can be used to restore strength and balance to the body regardless of age. We will also begin to explore how they can help improve all sorts of chronic ailments, including thyroid issues, menstrual problems, fibromyalgia, PMS, autoimmune disorders, and heart disease. And there’s a lot more to come.
  But first, let me share with you some information about the huge health study identifying the failure of conventional HRT, which opened the doors to exploring natural, bio-identical hormones not long ago. A randomized, placebo controlled study conducted by The Woman's Health Initiative (WHI) involved 40 large medical centers in the United States and 16,608 women. It was designed to find out the benefits and risks of using conventional hormone replacement. Half of the women in the study were given HRT in the form of Prempro (Provera and Premarin) and the other half received no active drugs, only a placebo. Researchers wanted to find out if there would be increases or decreases in heart disease, stroke, cancer, hip fractures, and death due to any cause. The study was intended to last for 8.5 years. However, researchers were forced to halt it at 5.2 years. Why? Because it became evident that the overall risks of giving conventional HRT far outweighed the overall benefits and it would have been completely irresponsible to continue the study. For example, they discovered that there was a 29% increase in coronary heart disease in women given conventional HRT, a 41% increase in the incidence of stroke, and an incredible 2,100% increase in pulmonary embolism—blood clots in the lungs. Women in the synthetic HRT group also experienced a surprising 26% increase in risk of breast cancer.
  In short, results from the WHI showed that the use of conventional hormones could be seriously harmful. This outcome rang a death knell for synthetic, pharmaceutical drugs, which have been aggressively promoted for 30 years and are still being promoted. It also helped vindicate the doctors who are well trained in the use of natural bio-identical hormones rather than their synthetic counterparts. 
  Here’s the bottom line: Natural hormones are not only safer in the hands of practitioners who are knowledgeable in how to prescribe them but also more effective. This is why they are on their way, slowly but surely, to becoming a first choice in the treatment of patients who have need of hormonal help.
  Now let's take a quick look at some of your body's major hormone glands and the natural hormones they produce. If some of the names seem foreign to you, don’t worry—in the next couple of videos they will become familiar to you. Here are some of your most important glands and a sampling of some of the natural hormones that they make:
  •  Your brain makes three very important natural hormones: DHEA, pregnenolone, and ACTH.
•  The anterior pituitary gland within the brain makes growth hormone, TSH, and ACTH, while the posterior of your pituitary gland produces another important natural hormone named vasopressin.
•  Your pineal gland is where your body makes melatonin, a hormone infinitely valuable for good sleep and to help protect your body from premature aging.
•  Your thyroid gland in the throat area is where vital thyroid hormones are made, which are so important for metabolism throughout the body.
•  Your adrenal glands make DHEA, pregnenolone, cortisol, and aldosterone.
•  In a woman, ovaries make estrogens and progesterone in addition to some androgens (male hormones), which are also important to a woman.
•  In men, testicles produce testosterone, which is a hormone absolutely vital for men to be men but, in smaller quantities, equally essential to every female body.
  In the earlier part of our lives, provided we have been eating well and looking after ourselves, we can enjoy hormonal abundance. Then, bit-by-bit, each one of us experiences some degree of glandular deterioration. With it comes an inevitable decrease in hormone secretions. There are other factors involved that influence this degenerative process too; for example, we live in an increasingly polluted environment. These things can cause a buildup in our glands, which causes damage to them.
  Our blood vessels in which hormones are carried all over the body can gradually deteriorate. Blood circulation becomes more problematic. Instead of oxygen and nutrients being delivered in a steady stream they begin to arrive drop by drop. This deprives our glands of what is needed for them to function well. So can infections, and the presence of parasites, bacteria, and other microbes in our bodies. Probably the most important cause of decreased natural hormone production is the inevitable aging that takes place in the glands themselves.
  For young people in optimal health of say, between 18 and 28 for women and 21 to 34 in men, hormone levels can benefit from being regularly monitored. Most of us begin to accumulate more obvious shifts in hormone levels between 35 and 45. This is a good time to begin testing levels of all the natural hormones in the body in order to find out where in our glandular system the hormones being made are no longer at optimal levels. This can be done with blood tests and 24-hour urine tests. And, with the help of your health practitioner who is well trained in the use of bio-identicals they can be used to support your glands and enhance the levels of your natural hormones so you are able to live at the highest level of wellbeing possible for you.
  There are all sorts of things that can place extreme stress on the glands and cause a drop in natural hormone production. Overeating is one. So is the regular consumption of alcohol, drug use, smoking, intense athletics training, illness, infections, and exposure to pollution. These things place enormous strain on the body, which makes it susceptible to poor hormone production.
  OK, where do we go from here?
 

Next week we we’ll look deeper into the body's natural hormone system and how important it is when correcting hormonal imbalance not to try doing this using only a single bio-identical hormone. It’s important to use "physiologic doses" of several natural hormones. This way your body will not cause a gland or several glands to cease producing hormones naturally. Learning this stuff can be a lot of fun. It can also be life changing—when after following a well-conceived program of bio-identical hormones you discover it has brought you to a place where you look and feel a good 20 to 30 years younger.

I keep being asked about bio-identical hormones. How do they work? How early in life can we benefit from using them and how late in life? Are they safer and more effective than synthetic HRT or other pharmaceuticals drugs that go on being prescribed for depression, thyroid, cancer, and heart conditions? Since PASSAGE TO POWER, my biggest book on natural menopause, was first published, the suppression of truths about the value of natural hormones has been violently suppressed. This is not surprising since Big-Pharma now exerts almost total control over the medical community, the FDA, and the mainstream media.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be covering natural alternatives and giving you information about the powerful blessings you can experience from using bio-identical hormones. This information is so rich and vital that it may take me three or more weeks to bring all of this to you on our Sacred Truth videos. I’ll tell you all about the health-changing, often even life-changing bio-identicals, which the majority of medical doctors, even many practitioners of integrative medicine, still know little about. Let’s get started.

For the past 30 years, synthetic hormones have unleashed vicious monsters on men and women of all ages. Together with increasingly dangerous chemicals and pesticides that now riddle our foods and environment, synthetic hormones continue to create serious deficiencies in any body’s natural hormonal interactions. Used over time, as most are, these drugs also bring about deficiencies in essential nutrients—from magnesium and Vitamin D3 to zinc, selenium, Vitamin C, and many more that are vital to our good health.

None of this destruction takes place if you choose to use bio-identical hormone therapies, which rely on a combination of natural thyroid hormones, human growth hormone, DHEA, natural testosterone, natural estrogens, and many others. Natural hormones can bring great blessings, provided they have been chosen and prescribed by well-trained practitioners who are knowledgeable about the fundamental principles of good medicine. Sadly, most conventional doctors who continue to prescribe synthetic drugs do not understand these principles. This is why they go on selling synthetic hormones to their patients. They have little idea of the way our biology works. They do not realize, for instance, that injured tissues heal themselves with nutrients and natural hormones. They do not know that receptors on our cell membranes have long evolved to be able to support the body’s own rich symphony of natural hormones. Nor do they know that human cell receptors have no way to adapt to the synthetic molecules that are continually bombarded with synthetic pharmaceutical drugs. No wonder synthetics can wreak havoc with a patient’s body and undermine its ability to heal itself. Anyway, enough of the bad news. Now for the good news:

Although conventional medicine is always slow to change, interest in the use of natural, bio-identical hormones has been steadily rising as a result of the failure of conventional drug treatments, and the damage to patients’ health continues. Physicians that conscientiously search for safer alternatives are beginning to investigate bio-identical, natural hormones as being less dangerous and a far more effective way of helping patients to heal.

What are bio-identical hormones anyway? Most often they are made from substances in plant products that closely mimic our bodies’ own natural hormones. Not only can bio-identical hormones restore hormonal balance to a body at just about any age; these bio-identicals working together can promote optimal health as well. They can also be used to treat all sorts of chronic illnesses: PMS, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue, menopausal troubles, fibromyalgia, thyroid issues, and many others. There is no better support for the body’s own natural production of hormones than supplying it with a carefully prescribed collection of bio-available hormones.

These hormones can offer all sorts of wonderful gifts for health and healing. A carefully tested combination of appropriate natural hormones can dramatically improve one’s health. Older patients, including myself, report that after taking the right combination of natural hormones they look and feel 20 to 30 years younger.

Here are just a few of the conditions that bio-availables improve and can often cure: Crohn’s disease, endometriosis, intransigent obesity, infertility, chronic fatigue syndrome, recurring infections, ulcerative colitis, headaches, and migraines. They slow down and can even reverse signs of aging, including loss of mental clarity, poor muscle tone, wrinkling, and lots of other conditions, which the world still looks upon as negative changes that most people believe accompany getting older. Many patients who arrive in a doctor's offices complaining of being unwell discover that just changing over to natural hormones dramatically improves their condition.

Natural hormones work best when they are used in combinations. Self-prescribed individual hormones such as DHEA, which you can buy over the counter in many countries, are not the way to go. To restore your system to a genuinely balanced condition, you need to use a combination of various natural hormones since they work synergistically with each other. These must be carefully chosen and prescribed by a practitioner well versed in the art of reestablishing the hormonal symphony that best supports a body, whether male or female. The hormones must be given in what are called “pharmacologic doses.” They begin with a small enough amount of each hormone that does not cause the body to cease production of its own capacity to make innate hormones. Natural hormones, used inappropriately, can do harm. You need to be under the care of a skilled health care provider who will carry out simple but profound tests to establish your current physical state of health at the beginning and then design a program that makes use of the exact bio-identicals your body needs in the best dosages to begin your process. He or she may also use other natural products, such as vitamins, minerals, and herbs, which bring wonderful support to your transformational process and help take you to a higher level of health, vitality, good looks, and wellbeing.

What few people realize is that from the age of 30 onwards the body’s ability to produce the level of its own natural hormones begins to wane. By the time we reach 70 the levels of hormones that that the body is still producing are practically nonexistent. This is why, no matter what your age, it is never too early and certainly never too late to begin your own natural hormone transformation.

Ok, so this is your introduction the bio-identical hormone story. In our next sacred video about natural hormone therapy, we’ll examine more deeply what you need to know and how best to begin your own search for help if you decide to use them. I can't wait to share more of these truths with you. See you then.