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Questions and Answers Segment
Your questions answered
every 2 weeks. If you have a question for Dr Elstein,
click here.
QUESTION 1:
I have had a lower sore throat for six
months. The ENT has looked at my vocal cords, and
another doctor has looked at my oesophagus and stomach.
The only problem found was a bad case of acid
reflux. I
have changed my diet and been put on prevacid, nexium
and protonix which all seem to slow the reflux down but
do nothing to heal my sore throat. My newest symptom,
which may or may not be related, is my tongue. The back
half has a heavy brown coating on it. I have a metallic
taste in my mouth and the taste buds especially in the
centre are very large.
I have been on nystatin for a week but am not
getting better. Any suggestions as to what might be
going on would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: The
formation of a heavy brown coating on the back of your
tongue suggests that you have excess acidity in your
body. Acid
forming foods include meat, dairy, grains and refined
sugars. To
make it simple fruit and vegetables are alkaline and all
the rest are acidic. It might help to change to a more
vegetarian pattern of eating including fish and eggs if
you so desire. Aloe
vera juice can have an alkalinising effect on your
digestive system. It
is also possible that you have a candida infestation or
yeast overgrowth even though the nystatin is not helping
you. A
yeast free diet would be a good idea as well and you can
find lots of tips on how to go about this on the web.
The other area you need to explore which is in this vain
is the presence of food intolerance.
Gluten found in wheat, rye, oats and barley is a
common offender. I
had one patient with problems very similar to yours who
improved dramatically when it was discovered that he had
a problem with gluten, which we uncovered by assessing
his gliadin antibodies on a blood test.
Dairy is another food item that can cause
problems.
QUESTION 2: I have recently taken
Vioxx and have lost my sense of smell. Is this
unusual? Will it come back?
Answer: I’m not aware of any evidence that
indicates that Vioxx does this.
You might try coming off Vioxx and noting any
improvements. Remember
that there are natural alternatives to Vioxx including
the herbs ginger, turmeric and boswellia as well as fish
oil, New Zealand green-lipped mussel extract and
glucosamine.
QUESTION 3: Is there a solution to the
bad taste left in one's mouth from chemotherapy drugs?
Answer: This
can be the result of a zinc deficiency or the body’s
attempts to deal with toxins.
Herbs such as st mary’s thistle, globe
artichoke and dandelion, which boost liver function,
might help your body to detoxify more efficiently.
Drinking
peppermint tea might help to reduce the bad taste.
QUESTION
4: I have been on HGH treatment with GENOTROPIN
16iu(5.3 MG)
by injections 6 units on an ultra fine needle U-100
insulin needle for 6 months
on daily injection. My question is; should I continue
indefinitely or with pauses?
I tried pausing last week and the result is that
the pain returned in my hips and buttocks.
I assume it is my rheumatism so I started again
with my daily Genotropin injections.
Answer:
I’m having difficulty deciphering how much
growth hormone you are actually taking as a dose of
6—7 i.u. per week is considered reasonable and it
appears that you are taking at least double this amount.
While you don’t necessarily have to cease your
programme you should have your levels monitored either
via an IGF-1 blood test or by means of 24-hour urine
growth hormone evaluation.
Exposing your body to excessive amounts of growth
hormone is not a good idea.
Regular breast checks would also be a good idea.
QUESTION 5: I
have suffered for a year now with a blockage in my chest
that has now moved into my upper stomach. I have had
treatments for irritable bowel syndrome to no effect. I
have terrible with bloating even if I have eaten small
quantities. My stomach rumbles lots and I am always
tired. Could I be suffering from something such as
helicobacter pylori? I seem to get no joy from my doctor who just says that there
is nothing wrong when I know this is not the case.
Answer:
I have some concern that you are experiencing
bloating even with the consumption of small amounts of
food. Having
this investigated would appear to be prudent. However
you doctor appears to be convinced that you have no
major problems, which is reassuring.
You may be suffering from helicobacter pylori and
having a simple breath test would determine this.
Another possibility is the inadequate production
of digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid. Taking
digestive enzymes and a tonic called Swedish bitters
might help in this regard.
Food intolerance might also be implicated and
here you would need to avoid dairy, yeast and then
gluten containing foods.
Gluten is found in wheat, rye, oats and barley
and I’ve referred to this problem many times on this
site. It is
quite amazing how many folk suffer from this problem.
Ideally your doctor would be able to help you
discover exactly which foods you have a problem with.
Failing this I have found that the most common
culprits are dairy, yeast and gluten.
QUESTION 6: Topical
hair solutions whose main ingredient is conjugated
linoleic acid are being touted for hair growth.
Will ingesting conjugated linoleic acid capsules be just
as or more effective than the topical application to the
scalp?
Answer: I
don’t believe that the oral route would be as
effective as the topical application but I have to
confess that this is the first I’ve heard about
conjugated linoleic acid being utilised in this fashion.
QUESTION
7:
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Woolloomooloo
Sydney
AUSTRALIA
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