TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH
Parathyroid issue can affect calcium
PAUL G. DONOHUE
Q: My doctor recently referred me to an ear, nose and throat doctor because my calcium was elevated and so was my parathyroid hormone. The ear, nose and throat doctor ordered a 24-hour urine test and found elevated calcium there, too.
The doctors think I have a slow-growing tumor of one of my parathyroid glands. I have a sestamibi test yet to take and surgery tentatively scheduled.
I read that this condition can be watched for years if you don’t have symptoms. Would you recommend surgery? I’m in my 50s.
A: The parathyroid glands are four small glands located in the neck behind the thyroid gland. They make parathyroid hormone, which regulates the blood level of calcium. (among other things)
When one (or possibly more) of the glands overproduces its hormone, calcium levels rise, and complications can occur.
Among the complications are kidney stones, stomach and duodenal ulcers, and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs because parathyroid hormone takes calcium from bones. (I see, hmm)
Removal of the overproducing gland cures the condition. (Who would have thought that?)
It is true, however, that many people with hyperparathyroidism have no symptoms. If these people are older and are suffering no complications, they can be watched.
A person’s age (younger people are advised to have surgery, and 50 is considered young), the blood level of calcium, the level of parathyroid hormone and the appearance of any of the complications of too much calcium are major considerations for surgery.
In some hospitals, the gland is removed through minimally invasive surgery.
A sestamibi scan spotlights which of the four glands is acting up.
For you, I would recommend surgery.
(This may be logical and text-book (allopathic medicine) to many but I like the logic of Dr Hulda Clark and her simple magic, David Wolfe with his splendid new-age science wherein he discusses the over-mineralization of our bodies (especially calcium), or the concept from Dr. John McDougall, that we don’t need to take calcium especially from dairy in an effort to build stronger bones. His logical concept reminding us that many of our planet’s biggest animals like cows and elephants do not need supplementation of calcium – they eat grasses and they manage beautifully to grow massive frames and maintain them well. These are all experts in their own way – tho, different.
Let me relate from the Paleo Diet book written by Dr Loren Cordain (loosely interpreted), because I am generally enamored with his easy to understand scientific logic.
After the food we eat, digested and metabolized is presented to the kidneys for processing and entry into the circulatory system – - it is recognized as either base or acid. With a heavy reliance of fruits and vegetable (as was available to our ancestors – - the hunter-gatherers), it is a net base (alkaline) diet. However, our modern standard American diet (SAD) which tends to be net-acid-producing with heavy reliance on dairy products and cereal grains with only scant amounts of fruit and vegetables – - it is this which sets up our problems. It is this which paves the way for the kidney problems and the risk of mal-function, osteoporosis, kidney stones, hypertension, exercise-induced asthma and age-related muscle-wasting. Remember, you are what you eat!
As David Wolfe sas, Americans are over calcified. We have one of the highest calcium intakes in the world. And yet we have one of the highest rates of bone de-mineralization (reduction in bone-mineral-density). It isn’t simply calcium; it is dependent on many other micronutrients as well such as vitamin D, zinc, copper, magnesium, folic Acid, vitamins K, B2, B6 and B12 and protein intake which is necessary for intestinal calcium absorption and has an anabolic affect on bone, important with a net-base-yielding diet. Also consider the Omega 3 – 6 ratio and the glycemic load.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of all is the insulinotropic effect of the diet- – in other words, your sugar intake. High blood insulin levels cause calcium loss. I have spoken of this book before, but I will again, Dr. Richard Johnson’s The Sugar Fix is one splendid book. He discusses all this and lays much blame on prepared food and the over-use of high-fructose-corn-syrup. Dr Mercola has a video-interview with Dr. Johnson if you want to check out his archives.
It’s all about calcium balance! How much we are taking in thru diet, and how much we are losing because of diet thru our urine due to eating incorrectly for the body’s needs. . . high-glycemic load food choices, e.g. sugar containing foods, potatoes and grain based products and milk, even fermented milk. Calcium excretion is increased when one eats a net-acid-yielding diet. This is key to bone health, for if the diet is net acid-load. . . .the acid must be buffered by the alkaline stores of base in the body such as calcium salts which are then released from the bone and then eliminated in the urine. This gradually leads to osteopenia (low bone mineral density), and then to osteoporosis.
We can’t blame Dr Donohue for not having the real low down on this problem. Allopaths are not schooled in nutritional needs or what it takes to maintain a healthy body. The Allopathic approach is generally to focus on disease and then to try to fix that disease with a medicine (some chemical, generally) or surgery.
I like the way Charlotte Gerson expressed it. She claimed her father, Dr Max Gerson explained that it is not for us to try to cure diseases, but rather, to simply heal the body which will allow it to take care of everything else. As for me, I absolutely love that. Jan)
Q: I have restless-leg syndrome. Is there anything I can do to ease the symptoms?
A: Almost one-fifth of the elderly population contends with restless-leg syndrome.
The syndrome produces a pins-and-needles or creepy-crawly sensation, which comes on mostly in the evening. It can also cause achy, burning or stabbing sensations.
Restless legs make a person get up and move about. Movement temporarily suppresses the discomfort. People can be wakened from sleep by restless legs.
Cut the use of caffeine and alcohol. A warm bath followed by a leg massage in the evening can sometimes keep restless legs at bay.
Medicines such as Mirapex, Requip, Neurontin and Horizant are effective for some patients.
Dr. Donohue answers letters only in his North America Syndicate column but provides an order form of available health newsletters. Write him at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.
For RLS, its very simple and straight-forward EFT. Emotional Freedom Technique does such a great job on a problem like this. Please go up to FIND IT and look for the section on EFT and look over the available posts. There are several on RLS. as well as the How to do EFT which I lifted from the original Gary Craig teaching document given out freely to millions while he ran the show.
The few times this has happened to me, it is when I am exhausted and it is late at night (in my case, early in the wee hours), so I crawl back out of bed and grope for my little bedroom chair and do a few rounds of EFT.
I had an emotional black hole recently. As soon as I figured out that I was indeed in need of some lovin and fixin, (slow learning curve – don’t catch on too swiftly sometimes), I started in right away with my tapping. No need to go into the particulars – we all get down once in a while – or stuck. So I belted it all out, tapping away, and inch by inch could feel the tension dissolve and then it’s going left such gratitude and quiet peace, it occurred to me that I didn’t want that heavy crap I had just got rid of to be lying around anywhere for anyone else to be stung by it, so it seemed like a good idea to send it far, far away. I decided that I wished to send it to the farthest reaches of the universe, and there to be dissolved into the light. Once I tapped on that, I was so lifted up, I felt I was practically on cloud nine. Why had I never thought of this before?
When a dear young person (relative) called recently with an emotional problem, I could hear her pain over the phone As she began to effuse and cry, I told her to let me help her- – lets tap together. She forgets to do it and is amazed when her pain leaves. We tapped, but this time we sent her pain to the far reaches as I just told you. And she responded in utter amazement – I feel so much better – its GONE!
Anyway, when I had the last episode of RLS, I remembered to try this. EFT works on the problem legs, but sometimes it can take a little doing (I don’t get it often). Remember, it is not important to say “magic words” or the right words- you are just expressing how you feel honestly, it’s just you talking to your body – the listener inside. You express your problem and how it feels as closely as you can. It could be something like: :”my legs are really bothering me, they ache and I am so tired, But I can’t sleep (all the while tapping about 7 times each spot (EB, SE, UE, UN, Ch, CB, UA, That’s one round); Top of head > EB, SE> Legs are aching tap tap, afraid I won’t sleep tonite, tap, tap, I need my rest, tap, tap, so very tired, need to lie down, want to sleep, tap, tap, - - go 2, 3, or however many rounds you need to, keep reinforcing how you feel. On a scale of 1 – 10, you may have started out an 8 for pain level, but now feeling maybe it’s down to 6 or 7, so it’s time to start the releasing phase, tap, tap, time to let this pain go, time to let it go, tap, tap, tap another round, I know my body can release this pain, tap, tap, tap, I don’t need it anymore, tap, tap, tap body releasing the pain, feeling better now, tap, tap
Finally, you are feeling more relaxed and the pain is either much less or gone completely. It is a wonderful thing to tap in your gratitude and happiness for this blessing – - for that is what it is.
Tapping in happiness or joy is a bringer of peace. and a very good thing. Good nite all Jan)
