HORMONE D…WELL THAT SOUNDS WEIRD

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Vitamin D, Denver, COShocker…Vitamin D is a hormone, not a vitamin. Hormones are substances that interact with target cells to signal the cell’s activity to change. (Most likely you hear “hormones” and think back to your days of “raging hormones” and incessant dreams of sex.) So anyway, this hormone-not-a-vitamin has been found to have far-reaching effects across body systems, from bones, cardiovascular, endocrine, neural function, immune health, and a whole lot more. “Staggeringly crucial” would be a good way to describe it. Strange thing is that Vitamin D is actually pretty useless at first and has to go through all kinds of technical stuff you probably wouldn’t care about. So gratefully, we’ll skip all that and move on.

THE BIG “D”

First thing that comes to mind are bones, right? Well as we mentioned above, Vitamin D (which is what we’ll call it from here) does a boatload more for the body. From serious illnesses-heart, cancer and MS, to illnesses much lower on the horrible scale like carpal tunnel, sleep apnea and horrors…erectile dysfunction. If you can think of it, in one way or another, D does a lot for a lot that keeps you going.

JUST HOW SOAKED SHOULD YOU SOAK UP THOSE RAYS?

Vitamin D is the only vitamin you can make from the sun. Maybe that’s why it’s often referred to as the “sunshine vitamin”. While the sun does not provide Vitamin D directly, standing in the ultraviolet rays of it for a couple of minutes every day (worshippers, beware, though…) helps your body meet some of its needs for the vitamin.

The amount of vitamin D made by exposure to sunlight varies from person to person. Some factors that affect vitamin D synthesis include amount of skin exposed to direct sunlight, time spent outdoors in the sun and presence of clouds, smog, haze and dust that block sunlight. Vitamin D production also decreases with age, application of sunscreen and presence of melanin in people with dark skin. Additionally, living in northern geographical locations may reduce your sun exposure, thereby decreasing the amount of vitamin D your body produces. If you live in the tropics you’re in better shape than most. But the further you get from the equator, the less of those must-have rays you get. And because the Earth rotates on a tilted axis, those rays are virtually non-existent in winter months at far northern or southern latitudes. At least two thirds of the US is at a latitude where Vitamin D production from the sun during winter is nearly impossible. The farther north you go, the more months of the year you’re not able to get those rays. Poor Alaska.

STUDIES IN HOPE

Studies of the effects of Vitamin D levels are constantly being conducted around the world and reported in highly respected medical journals. The results of three recent tests are game changers. JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) shared a study which showed that elderly people with the lowest Vitamin D levels are three times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Another study was done on autism. This was what is called a meta-analysis which is a combination off multiple studies and the strongest proof in Medical science. This combined study looked at the way Vitamin D is involved in brain function and found low levels of D can cause brain malfunction including malfunctions exhibited in autism. 8 of 11 of the multiple studies found children with autism have much lower vitamin D levels. This happening in random chance is like one in a million.  And lastly, researchers evaluated Vitamin D status over a four-year period to determine if low Vitamin D levels are related to survival in breast cancer patients. They discovered the survival rate was significantly better in women with higher Vitamin D levels. No research is completely definitive, but it does present a brighter horizon.

VITAMIN D IS JUST ONE OF THE 50 TYPES OF HORMONES IN OUR BODIES. SO IF DEFICIENCES IN JUST THIS ONE CAN CAUSE SUCH PROBLEMS, IMAGINE IF ALL OF YOUR OTHER HORMONES ARE DEFICIENT. THIS WOULD CREATE A SIGNIFICANT HORMONAL IMBALANCE THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY THROW OFF YOUR WHOLE SYSTEM. YOU COULD REALLY BE SUFFERING. AND THAT IS THE ONE THING DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH WANTS HIS PATIENTS TO AVOID. ALL HE CARES ABOUT IS THEIR OVERALL GOOD HEALTH. WITH SIMPLE TESTS, HE DETERMINES YOUR HORMONE LEVELS AND CREATES A UNIQUE TREATMENT PLAN TO HELP YOU FEEL BETTER THAN EVER.

JUST CALL AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY.

IT’S SOMETHING YOU DON’T HAVE TO HOPE WILL HELP.

THESAURUS REX

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may-16Is it post four already? This is where we try to sum it up and make sense of the big picture. The language of understanding your body and how it works is endless. No synonyms. No antonyms. It’s beyond our comprehension. (AND CERTAINLY NOT PART OF OUR EVER DAY VERNACULAR) Which is why we should be extremely grateful to all those Doctors with all their specialties spending all that time arduously working to keep us healthy and happy. (FORTUNATELY TO THEM IT’S NOT JUST MEDICAL MUMBO JUMBO) And that’s language all of us can relate to. And so our little list winds down.

PHARMACOLOGY

A synthetic substance used in medicine to act like such a compound when introduced into the body

PEPTIDE

Any organic substance of which the molecules are structurally like those of proteins but smaller. The class of peptides includes many hormones, antibiotics and other compounds that participate in the metabolic functions of living organisms

PREMARIN

Horse estrogen (JUST ONE REASON YOU WANT BHRT WHICH PROVIDE HORMONES THAT HAVE THE SAME MOLECULAR MAKEUP AS THOSE ALREADY IN OUR BODIES)

RECEPTORS

A protein-molecule that receives chemical signals from outside a cell and transmit a signal to a sensory nerve

T CELL

A type of white blood cell that is of key importance to the immune system. The are like soldiers who search out and destroy the targeted invaders (KILL THOSE BUGGERS, GUYS)

HORMONE SPEAK

BALANCING YOUR HORMONES IS A CRUCIAL STEP TO ATTAINING OPTIMAL OVERALL HEALTH. HORMONES ARE THE CHEMICAL MESSENGERS OF YOUR BODY, SO WHEN THEY’RE PROPERLY BALANCED AND FUNCTIONING, ALL OF YOUR BODY SYSTEMS WORK MORE SMOOTHLY.WHEN YOUR HORMONES ARE OUT OF BALANCE YOU CAN SUFFER FROM SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS SLEEPLESSNES OR BE DIAGNOSED WITH SOMETHING AS DEBILITATING AS DEPRESSION. FEW KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT HORMONE IMBALANCE AND ALL THE WAYS IT COULD BE EFFECTING YOUR BODY AS DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH. (WITHOUT QUESTION, HE IS QUITE SIMPLY THE FIRST PLACE TO GO) BY THE EXCELLENCE OF HIS WORK With Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, Dr. Goldstein has the ability to not only relieve your symptoms, but also eliminate them. Based on an in-depth consultation and tests, he HE CAN CREATE AN INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT PLAN FOR YOUR UNIQUE HORMONE NEEDS MAKING IT PERFECTLY CLEAR HOW IT CAN HELP.

SO CALL NOW FOR AN APPOINTMENT.

(THE REASONS ARE EASY TO GRASP)

HOLY-WIKI-MOLY

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may-16Post three, and by now, your head is probably spinning. But we’re on a roll here, as we keep rolling through our micro condensed medical dictionary. It is easier than you having sit with a CARAMEL FRAPPUCCCINO and try wiki-ing  it all yourself.  It’s o.k. if you only want to check out a few. Remember, this isn’t a quiz, it’s just a taste of your body’s functions.  If you can, actually try to have fun with it. (TRY SOME OF THESE OUT AS CONVERSATION STARTERS AT A COCKTAIL PARTY AND SEE WHERE IT GOES).

IMMUNE SYSTEM

A complex network of interacting cells, cell products (such as antibodies) and cell-forming tissues that protects the body from pathogens and other foreign substances including destroying infected and malignant cells

LIPID-SOLUABLE MOLECULES

Also known as fat-soluble hormones that can pass through cell membranes to mechanically enclose its contents controlling the movement of particles like molecules into and out of the cell

METABOLISM

The sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its material substance is produced, maintained and destroyed, and by which energy is made available

MEDULLA (ISN’T THIS A GREEK MYTHOLOGY WOMAN WITH A HIDEOUS FACE AND LIVING VENOMOUS SNAKES IN PLACE OF HAIR?)

The soft, marrow-like center of an organ such as the kidney or adrenal gland

(OH, AND YOU’RE PROBABLY THINKING OF “MEDUSA”)

NEUROTRANSMITTER

A chemical substance that is released at the end of a nerve fiber by the arrival of a nerve impulse causing the transfer of the impulse to another nerve fiber, muscle fiber, organ other tissue

OSTEOPENIA

Bone density that is lower than normal peak density by not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis

OXYTOXIN

Widely referred to as the love hormone, also the hug hormone, cuddle chemical, moral molecule and bliss hormone due to it’s effects on behavior between the sexes (THIS ONE EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND. AND, BE HAPPY ABOUT)

HORMONE SPEAK

WHEN YOUR HORMONES ARE PROPERLY BALANCED AND FUNCTIONING, ALL OF YOUR BODY FUNCTIONS WORK MORE SMOOTHLY. WHEN YOUR HORMONES ARE UNBALANCED YOU JUST DON’T FEEL RIGHT, NO MATTER HOW YOU THINK YOU’RE TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF. The good news, for both men and women, is that hormone imbalance is easily correctible with the right specialist. That specialist is DR. STEPHEN GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. at Denver Hormone Health. (HIS WORK IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF EXCELLENCE IN THE FIELD) With years of experience, he knows how negatively hormone imbalance can effect every part of your life. With individualized Bioidentical Hormone Replacement THERAPY, he can help you feel your optimal best. Which is his only goal. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

SO CALL NOW FOR AN APPOINTMENT.

(CLEARLY YOU’LL FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU DO)

And with that, be sure and check out our final list of little known medical facts in the next post.