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Vitamin D Deficiency May Predict Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Doctors May Be Able to Monitor your Prostate Cancer Rather than Removing the Prostate!  

Article by By Michael Jurgelewicz, DC, DACBN, DCBCN from the designforhealth.com blog.

      In a new study published February 22nd in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers found a major link between low levels of vitamin D and aggressive prostate cancer. This study showed that low serum vitamin D blood levels in men may predict aggressive prostate cancer identified at the time of surgery. 

The research team stated that

“Vitamin D deficiency may predict aggressive prostate cancer as a biomarker and that a deficiency should be corrected with supplements."

      Previous studies that showed this association were based on labs performed well before treatment. This study provides a more direct correlation because it measured D levels within a few months before the tumor was visually identified as aggressive during surgery.

      This new study was part of a larger ongoing study of 1,760 men in the Chicago area investigating the association between vitamin D and prostate cancer. The recent study consisted of 190 men with an average age of 64 who had a radical prostatectomy to remove their prostate between the years 2009 to 2014. Eighty seven men of this group had aggressive prostate cancer. Those with aggressive cancer had an average vitamin D level of 22.7 ng/ml.

      The researchers determined that all men should be assessing and supplementing accordingly to optimize their vitamin D levels. This is smart preventive health care. Since vitamin D is a biomarker for bone health as well as for the severity of many other chronic diseases, it would benefit everyone to have their levels routinely checked.

     Most people should be taking Vitamin D supplements, specifically during the winter months. However, vitamin D supplementation is really required year round. It is rare to have normal vitamin D levels when you work indoors in an office every day, no matter what time of the year it is. It is found that most people need about 4000 IU daily to maintain normal, healthy levels, whereas a daily intake of 8000 - 10,000 IU is usually required to bring low vitamin D levels up to an optimal range. 

Click here to browse through all our Vitamin D suppletments.

The Good Doctor

He is a member of the American College of Nutrition, the Institute for Functional Medicine, the Council of Nutrition, and the Endocrine Society. He is a Diplomate of the Certification Board of Nutrition Specialists, a Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, a Diplomate of the International Board of Applied Kinesiology, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Chiropractic Neurology.  You can look at his other qualifications on his website www.thyroid360.com.

Testing

Most everyone is familiar with blood (serum) testing.  This is probably the most common.  It can be used to test a very broad range of levels from vitamin and mineral deficiencies or toxicity to viruses and bacteria.  We have access to low cost blood testing to minimize the cost of lab work for those who don't have health insurance.

At our clinic we also offer saliva testing and hair analysis.  Saliva Testing has been known to be very accurate.  It is especially useful in testing cortisol (Adrenal) levels because it can be done at home and the samples can be acquired throughout the day.  Blood testing for cortisol would be very difficult as it would require multiple samples during a 24 hour period in a clinic setting.  Hormones and food sensitivities can also be checked with saliva.  

We have access to hair analysis also.  It is used for testing heavy metal toxicity such as mercury, lead, arsenic and others.    Degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis and  Fibromylagia to name a few, can be caused by heavy metal accumulation.  Hair analysis can also test for various essential minerals that may have been displaced by heavy metal toxicity.  

Testing can be the key to properly supporting all of the organs and processes of the body.  In a natural approach to whole body health testing can be the guiding light to turning your health around and can be very reassuring that you are on the right track.

Seeing is Believing

So the next step is to improve the lab levels that are still off.  I plan to continue with the gluten free food choices and increase the exercises.  Each time we run tests we make adjustments to the supplements that I am taking.  We plan to do more extensive food sensitivity testing (we offer a test that can check for 164 different foods sensitivities) to make sure that I understand exactly what to avoid in my diet and to pin-point what continues to cause my auto-immune condition.

I have hope that I will continue to improve and that we will know the answers to a lot of the questions that started this journey to health.  Looking back I see how different things could have been had I taken a different road - to destroy part of my body and rely on prescription drugs for the rest of my life.  Let your body heal itself - God has given us the answers to our health conditions - we just have to listen and learn and understand.

My Goal Continues

My goal in working on this blog is to get the word out that there are natural options available for the various forms of thyroid disease.  Today I heard about at 21 year old young woman that was given Radioactive Iodine for treatment of overactive thyroid. I'm sure I gasped when I heard.  That is so young to spend the rest of your life without a vital organ.  I don't know her specific situation but I do know there are times when more drastic measures cannot be avoided but once Radioactive Iodine or a thyroidecotomy has been done, it cannot be undone.  There are, however, natural thyroid supports that can help you to deal with the symptoms that don't go away and also help to minimize the amount of medication that must be taken.

Give me a call at our office (231-421-5213) and I would be happy to talk with you.  There is no cost for the initial consultation and it just might give you some guidance that will help you control your condition without taking extreme measures. 

It has been almost a year since I was originally tested and I am happy that my symptoms have diminished to the point that I only have a mild occassional recurrence.  I know I am still far from being "cured" but I think I am on the right course and look forward to even more improvement in my thyroid health.  In the next couple of days I plan to get my thyroid levels retested and I will let you know how things are going from a functional analysis standpoint.  

In the next post I will talk about some of the diagnostic testing options that are available at our office. We have access to low cost lab testing locally for those individuals without insurance coverage.

Learning about Thyroid

After my hyperthyroid diagnosis I became more and more obsessed with finding a natural solution but there were still so many questions.  Many things came up as I scoured the internet.  Did I have an iodine deficiency? Was I toxic with Bromine, Chlorine, Fluoride?  The more I read the more confused and paranoid I became.  It made me think and contemplate the poor health condition we are in as a society. 

Tony spoke with the doctor that teaches the Thyroid classes for some advice and he basically said to follow what my Endocrinologist was telling me.  That was a disappointment.  I had read the side-effects of the prescriptions he had given me and already decided I didn't want to take the Methimazole.  I did however, take the Atenolol for my heart as the heart palpitations were unsettling and the more I reasearched it the more nervous I got about them.  Tony contacted Standard Process, a reputable vitamin and supplement company that makes completely natural products.  They came up with a protocol for me to follow.  It included Thyroid & Adrenal Supplements & Multi-Vitamins and minerals as well as some tinctures that directly worked on slowing the thyroid.  They helped to reduce my syptoms and within 3 months I was off of the prescription heart medicine.  There was/is still much work to do and more tests to be run.

A word of caution to the reader.  You can find something that will contradict everything that you read, no matter what.  Take it all more lightly than I did.  Do not self-diagnose or self-treat.  There are many competent doctors out there that can help you with thyroid conditions.  Search in your area for either a Natropathic Doctor or a Chiropractor who has taken Advanced Thyroid Post-Graduate Studies.  They will work to get to the cause of the problem.  

To be told that you need to destroy a body organ to solve a problem is wrong.  This is not only wrong but also leads to additional problems down the road.  What caused the problem in the first place?  What can you do to make corrections and improve the situation?  What can you change in your life to improve your health?   This is what you need to ask yourself.

Hair Analysis

Hair Analysis is another tool that we use at Advanced Chiropractic to determine where problems lie in overall health.  No one laboratory test can be said to be definitive in making these determinations.  It is always best to look at blood, urine, hair and saliva to find the best course of action.  The unique factor about hair analysis is that it can show long term rates of various elements.  

It is a very simple test and can be done at home or by your hair dresser.  You simply measure out .25 grams of hair from the back of the head (other options are also available).  Then it is mailed to the laboratory for analysis which takes about 5-10 days.  

I had always thought that hair analysis was primarily used to find high levels of toxicity in the body so when we decided to do the hair analysis I expected that I would find out that some of my problems were related to toxic levels of mercury or lead or another heavy metal.  When the results came back I didn't show toxic levels in my body but this could also mean that my body is not properly excreting toxins.  The biggest surprise to me was that I was deficient in multiple necessary minerals including Lithium, Iodine, Germanium, Chromium and Vanadium.  Some of them I was not that familiar with but in looking them up and talking to the Doctor, some of these minerals will take iodine from the body affecting the function of the thyroid.  Lithium is related to concentration and focus, something I have been complaining about for most of my life.  Iodine is a mineral that is not produced by the body so it has to come from external sources; food, supplements, etc, but it is very necessary for proper thyroid function and can affect muscle weakness, weight, dry skin, hair loss and pregnancy possibly resulting in miscarriage and still birth.  Germanium helps to increase oxygen absorption in the blood and boost the immune system, something I need, knowing that Hashimoto's Disease is an auto-immune condition. Chromium deficiency affects blood sugar and cholesterol metabolism, energy levels, boosts the immune system and contributes to lean muscle mass.  Vanadium works in combination with Chromium to aid in blood sugar and cholesterol regulation and has been shown to be effective in protecting against breast cancer.

Some of the minerals were tested again with blood work and they did show low levels. Supplementation needs to be monitored by a heathcare provider because some of these elements can become toxic in high doses.  

AS you can see these are important to know and understand and much testing and investigative work is needed.  I have added many of them into my health care protocol but again I advise you to always work with a competent healthcare provider to make these changes.  They can oversee your overall health and lead you in the right direction.

Consequences to our Actions

I have always believed that there is a natural approach to sickness and health and if we don't keep our bodies in balance things begin to go awry.  It seems there can be a domino affect in our health related decisions whether it is thyroid or another health care issue.  

Before we started a family we knew we wanted everything as natural as possible, so we made the decision to deliver our four daughters at home.  During the course of our births there was something different about each one that made it unique - preruptured membranes, meconium staining, blue coloring, nuchal umbilical cord and knotted cord.   We were told these would more than likely have been handled differently in a hospital possibly leading to a more invasive birth or a c-section.  I'm sure arguments could be made both ways but we were blessed to have very knowledgeable midwife and others guiding us with our birthing decisions.

I think the same can be said for all health care decisions.  If I had followed what my Endocrynologist had recommended I believe things would have been very different for me.  I have spoken with and know people that have had Radioactive Iodine and thyroid removal and had further problems after that.  I talk to patients on the phone often that are regretting extreme decisions they have made.  I'm not recommending that you stop seeing your Endocrinologist or other specialist.  I am suggesting that you be an active and educated participant in your health care choices and find a doctor that is knowledgeable in natural support to the body.

Working at our Chiropractic clinic I speak almost every day with patients who have suffered chronic pain for years.  Sometimes it was an accident or injury that caused it.  Other times this has been compounded by surgery, prescription drug use and frustration with modern medicine.  But most of them have decided, some too late, that they don't want to go the conventional route and want to find something natural to help them. 

As I look back on my own life, I feel certain that much of what has happened in regard to my health has been mismanaged, mishandled or just missed.  I believe my thyroid condition, though never diagnosed as more than borderline, has been present since I was having my children and sadly I also believe undiagnosed thyroid conditions can be passed on to our children.  Two of my daughters suffered a rare kidney condition that was probably related to my thyroid insufficiency.  (Fortunately they are both in remission.)  It is quite possible that the four miscarriages I suffered between my daughters were also related to thyroid disease or chemical imbalances that went unnoticed. 

Investigate your options when you have to make a health related decision.  There may be a more natural approach to treatment rather than prescription drugs or invasive procedures.  And if it's thyroid related - Be sure to have ALL the necessary testing and get a competent doctor to decipher the results for you.  Be sure to have all the information you can so that you can better know what the consequences to your actions will be.

Cleansing and Detoxification

Finding out that you have an auto-immune conditions makes you want to find the answers.  What caused this condition?  What is the best way to manage it?  Will it ever go away?  Most of these questions I am still working to answer.  We are still working to find out what caused my condition and to correct it.  It is obvious that gluten played a part in it but to what degree?  As for managing it - I feel I have made great progress.  It's a learning curve to see if what I am doing will continue to work and improve. 

The next step is to do a liver detoxification cleanse.  The liver has many functions and the primary one is to produce bile which helps to break down fats and carry away wastes.  The liver also cleanses the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances and helps to resist infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream.  (My blood tests indicated that I had possible liver  function problems so this was a natural course of action, to clean out the liver.)

For 21 days the entire family has been doing a liver detoxification cleanse by Apex Energetics called ClearVite.  The reason for doing a detox cleanse is to remove the toxins that have built up in your body as well as improve the livers functions.  For the first week you build up the amount of protein/detox powder and you go on a fairly strict diet.  This eliminates all of the primary food allergens and leaves you with fruits, vegetable, rice, potatoes, fish, chicken, turkey and lamb.  It eliminates any gluten products, dairy (casein), soy, peanuts and peanut butter, tomatoes, coffee, caffeine, sodas, alcohol, beef, pork, cold cuts, shellfish and off course any known allergens.  It basically becomes a "Cave Man Diet", only allowing fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats legumes and nuts.  Well at least for the first and last week.  For the second week we had to cut out all the animal products and increase the protein shakes to 3 per day.  I have gone on meat restriction before but I always had cheese or yogurt or peanut butter or another protein to fall back on.  Not for the second week of the detox  I am so proud of my family.  Three of our daughters that were tested were also encouraged to do the ClearVite cleanse so they will be one step ahead of the  game. Through this process three of them have already identified foods that have caused them discomfort after eating them.  These were rice, potatoes and pecans.  Being on such a limited diet it was easy to see what the problem foods have been. 

Following the detox begins the reintroduction of foods; one at a time, three days apart.  Each member of the family had their own favorite foods that they were anxious to reintroduce.  The reason for allowing three days in between was to allow the body to recover from any changes that would occur.  You start out with smaller quantities of foods and build up as the day goes on. 

The food groups you will want to reintroduce include beef, pork, milk, cheese, yogurt, gluten (wheat), eggs, soy, corn, yeast, oats, chocolate, coffee, tea, caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners and preservatives.  The possible reactions that could occur include itching in the mouth and difficulty swallowing or breathing (this is serious and may require medical attention).  Other symptoms that may occur include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.  You could have reactions like indigestion, bloating, constipation, gas, skin breakouts, itching, rashes, hives and headaches.  Make note of any reactions and what food they relate to. 

This entire detox process has been an awesome experience.  I think the entire family has been positively affected by it.  We have begun to make more foods from scratch using more organic products.  We are eating more fruits and vegetables and lean meats.  We are eating out less and enjoying our foods more and saving money in the process.