This is the feedeback we got from a patient

“I came initially as a last resort. Between my psychiatrist and OB/GYNe, we could not find any combination of medication or therapy to help me stabilize my moods and emotions. The worst times were the weeks before my menstrual cycle. Finally, my psychiatrist referred me to Dr. Bawa. He got me started on adrenal support and bio-identical hormones after a couple of appointments making adjustments to dosages. I have never felt better. I am feeling stable and in control of my emotions. I have energy and an increased libido. His staff is amazing. They are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. I recommend Dr. Bawa and his staff to everyone.

SH

P.S. I live in Fort Walton Beach and it is a long drive, but so worth it!!!

Recently someone told me how the military used natural therapies to help them get over Gulf War syndrome! Unbelievable? I thought so..

I was returning from a conference on Integrative Medicine and was talking to another medical professional about the conference in the airport shuttle. We were talking about different natural therapies and the shuttle driver must have overheard us. The driver turned to us and told us his story of how the military used natural therapies to help treat his Gulf War syndrome!

The military use natural therapies? Shocking!

He explained that after participating in the Gulf War he became terribly sick. He thinks he might have been exposed to depleted uranium, nerve agents and fumes from burning oil wells. He developed terrible fatigue and had trouble getting out of bed. Some physicians told him that he did not have long to live

Then someone in the military decided to take him under their wing. They told him that everything had to be completely confidential and he was taken to a secret facility somewhere in West Virginia. It was a facility build in the mountains and people outside could not tell that the facility existed in the mountainside, or so he said.

He stayed there for several days and says that he got chelation treatments and other natural therapies. His diet was completely changed and he was given strict information on supplements to take.

Now he says he does 30 push ups every time he has a break in his shuttle trips and eats healthy and has good energy. Remarkable story but he said that everything had to be confidential and I could not quote any names or identifying information.

Natural therapies do have considerable benefits that do not get much credence in traditional medicine. It is possible that natural therapies might help to detoxify people exposed to toxins. Then why is it so secretive? It is just a tall tale? Probably not, I think.

Most of us think that eating salmon is a good thing and is supposed to be healthy. However, most salmon these days is farmed salmon and this might actually be worse than eating beef!

Farmed salmon has high levels of Arachadonic Acid which is used by the body to make molecules that cause inflammation. A great book called, “Inflammation Nation” by Dr. Chilton talks about how decreasing levels of Arachadonic acid might help to reduce inflammation in the body.

Reducing chronic inflammation in the body is important as it has been shown to be an underlying cause of heart disease, dementia and other vascular disorders. There is even a blood test for inflammation that we use called C-Reactive Protein (CRP). CRP is a measure of inflammation and there is a study showing that those who have high levels of CRP are at increased risk of heart disease. Basically, first comes inflammation in the arteries and then comes plaque and when this stops blood flow in the small arteries of the heart muscles, you get a heart attack.

Therefore, slowing inflammation might help to prevent heart disease. Having more omega-3 fatty acids and less of the omega-6 fatty acids like Arachadonic acid helps to reduce inflammation. Lot of people think that flax seed oil is better than fish oil but that is not true. This is because flax seed oil has more omega-6 fatty acids that the body can use to make arachadonic acid.

Stay away from farmed salmon and no need to have flax seed oil. Use fish oil and hopefully they did not use farmed salmon to make it!

“You should bathe in that cream.” That is what Sarah’s husband told her after I gave her a hormone cream to help adjust her hormones.

Sarah’s husband was so impressed with the change in outlook, the change in attitude and sheer crabbiness. Menopause really makes people bitchy and a simple cream made a big difference!

How could a cream make such a big difference? Actually, creams are a lot better than pills when it comes to hormones. Hormones are oily, greasy molecules so putting them in a greasy cream keeps these molecules happy. It also allows for hormones to be absorbed easily through the skin. Right under the skin is a lot of fat and this fat loves to store these hormones and gradually release them. Therefore, the fat serves as a depot and stores the hormones.

Unfortunately, most physicians do not know how to order such creams as they have to come from a compounding pharmacy and it is difficult to decide which hormone and what dose.

Women need several hormones, mostly estrogen and progesterone but also small doses of testosterone and DHEA. Checking levels can also be tricky because blood work makes everyone look normal. Hormones in blood are bound to protein and mostly inactive so the measure we get in blood is mostly of the inactive hormone. Saliva testing is a better way of checking hormone levels because hormones that come out in saliva are only the active, unbound hormones.

I will not go into any more details but my patient was able to get the right cream for her problem and she did wonderfully. Her husband wanted her to bathe in it but we must remember too much of a good thing is not necessarily good. Only use the minimum amount necessary and not any more!

Recently, I helped a patient get her hormones adjusted. Not only did she feel a lot better but she reported that she had started getting very hairy legs and that got better. The patient reported that she would get a stubble on her legs by evening and it would bother her that when she was in bed, the stuble would rub against her bedsheets and annoy her.

Once the hormones were adjusted the hair stopped growing excessively. I have seen other patients whose hormones were adjusted also say that their legs were not as hairy. Some women with menopause start to lose hair on their scalp. Using a salva test to check hormones and adjusting hormone levels helps with this as well.

In particular progesterone is known to help with all of these things. Bio-identical progesterone is even available as an over-the-counter cream but I prefer to check levels with a saliva test before I start anyone on hormones. I also like to check levels after the patient has been on hormones to make sure that they are not getting too much or too little.

Make sure to have someone who really knows about bio-identical hormones help you with this issue. Most doctors do not know about bio-identical hormones and I had to go to several seminars to learn about this. Call our clinic at (850)534-4170 if you need any help.

Check out our new website at http://www.drbawa.com

This website talks about bio-identical hormones, weight loss, aesthetics, general medicine and much more. 

Note: Besides thermage, we also use botox and dermal fillers.  Numerous patients have said that our prices for this are the lowest in town!

Some of the foods you buy have MSG added but MSG is not listed as an ingredient! 

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer that can cause side effects for some people and might be detrimental to brain health.  Consuming MSG can cause headaches for some people and others can feel flushed or warm.  It should be avoided by pregnant woman as Glutamate is considered toxic for brain cells. 

Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter and too much of it can kill brain cells.  Glial cells or the supporting cells in the brain work hard at sucking up excess glutamate as it can be harmful for brain cells. 

If MSG is used an ingredient in packaged foods, companies have to list it as an ingredient.  However, companies have found a convenient way to add MSG without actually listing it as an ingredient. 

Protein hydroxylates such as Soy Protein Hydroxylate or Casein Hydroxylates have a high concentration of MSG so companies put that in soups and packaged foods as a source of MSG.  Look for the ingredient protein hydroxylate and you will find it on lot of items including “Healthy Choice” soups. 

Protein Hydroxylates are made by boiling a protein with sulfuric acid which releases the amino acids including glutamate.  This allows for the glutamate to be used as a flavor enhancer without listing it as an ingredient. 

There are even websites that sell protein hydroxylates that talk about how their product can be used as a source of MSG without listing MSG in the ingredient list! 

Stay away from protein hydroxylates and avoid packaged foods whenever possible!  Eat fresh foods that are not packaged!