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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:
l have just been told by my doctor that l am Hep C
positive, and have an acute virus infection.
Is there any alternative therapy or medicines?
Answer: There is some evidence that an extract of
liquorice known as Stronger Neominophagen C has some
efficacy in treating hepatitis C. Unfortunately this
product is more effective when injected and is not
freely available. You might have to get your doctor to
import this remedy. In one clinical trail patients given
600mg of alpha-lipoic acid, 900mg of st mary’s
thistle, 400mcg of selenomethionone, 200mg of vitamin B
complex, 1—6 grams of vitamin C, 400IU of vitamin E
and a multimineral supplement together with a diet
consisting of 6 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables
daily, meat restriction and eight glasses of filtered
water with exercise and stress reduction added to the
mix showed marked improvements in their liver enzymes
which reflect liver inflammation.
QUESTION 2: Since I bumped my head and neck 2
years ago I have had tremors on my right side and I
feel weak. My
walking is poor. I
have had an MRI on my brains and neck with little
revelation about what is wrong.
Could you please advise?
Answer: It
would be a good idea to have your condition reviewed by
a neurologist who specialises in conditions involving
the nervous system.
You could try also try the nutrients coenzyme
Q10, vitamin E, the B group vitamins, phosphatidylserine
and acetyl-l-carnitine.
Unfortunately this can be a very difficult
condition to treat.
QUESTION 3: I have been suffering
severe dry eyes for over one year due to meibomian oil
gland dysfunction. I have been tested for male hormones
as I have read that androgen deficiency could be linked
to the gland dysfunction, however my levels were within
the normal range. I suspect that I may have a hormonal
imbalance as I suffer from hair loss, weight gain,
tender breasts as well. I have been tested for
Sjogren’s syndrome and returned a negative result. I
also believe I may have a gluten intolerance. Is there a
relationship between hormonal imbalance and Meibomian
gland dysfunction and if not, what else may be causing
it?
Answer: I
agree that there is evidence that a deficiency of
testosterone can lead to Meibomian gland dysfunction and
there is further evidence, which indicates that topical
testosterone can be an effective form of treatment.
It is also possible that progesterone and
oestrogen are involved. The symptoms you describe
strongly suggest that you have hormonal imbalance and it
would be a good idea to have all your hormones measured
including thyroid hormone, insulin and
dihydrotestosterone.
Gluten intolerance can certainly be
implicated.
QUESTION
4: I have a fibroid.
I am on natural progesterone cream and it has
helped to alleviate some of the condition.
I would like to shrink the fibroid.
Do you know of any ways of doing this naturally?
I would like to avoid a hysterectomy. I am on a
herbal iron supplement, and I wondered if there is any
natural product or dietary change that I can take to
bring my oestrogen levels down as they are sometimes up
over 620, which apparently is in the upper range of the
normal levels. I feel if I could get these down, a lot
of the symptoms would be much more manageable until
menopause. Also
is the Protocel a 100% natural product as I
notice it is available from pharmacies?
I do not wish to take anything that is not as
close to nature as possible.
Answer: There
is one clinical trial indicating that herbal treatments
can be an effective means of reducing the size of
fibroids. This
trial included the herbs Paeonia lactiflora and
suffruticosa, Poria cocos, Cinnamon cassia and Prunus
persica. You would have to get a herbalist/naturopathic
physician familiar with these herbs to initiate this
treatment. Herbs, which may be effective in reducing
oestrogen levels, include dandelion root and milk
thistle. Phytoestrogens such as soy and red clover can
also have a modulating effect on excessive oestrogen as
can an extract of broccoli called indol-3 carbinol.
It is a long time since I’ve had any hands on
involvement with protocel but I believe it is derived
from soy.
QUESTION 5: What
is arthritis and how we can treat it and are there any
new study about arthritis?
Answer: There
are different types of arthritis and if you scroll down
the side panel on your left you will find an explanation
of these and their treatments.
Glucosamine is a natural substance, which has
been found to be effective in the management of
osteoarthritis.
QUESTION 6: I
have had a hysterectomy for a disease called
endometriosis. I
thought everything was fine and then I started having
bad chest pains and bad stomach pains again...for a
while no one could figure out what was causing the chest
pain and then I was told I had an infection called
helicobacter pylori. I have had an upper GI done that
confirms that I have gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
I have just recently (two weeks ago) started
having more symptoms.
Everything I eat comes right back out either by
vomiting or diarrhoea. I have lost my appetite and when
I do eat I get full really fast but then after only a
little while I feel like I am starving again. Do you have any suggestions on what might be my problem and
why all of this is happening to me when I am so young?
Answer: Firstly
you need to have these symptoms reviewed by your
physician, as they are some cause for concern. It would
also be a good idea to have those tests, which
investigate gluten intolerance and candida infestation.
I have often found that these medical problems
can cause all sorts of digestive disturbances.
While I should warn you that candida overgrowth
is not a condition that is embraced by all medical
practitioners I have found that it is certainly worth
treating if symptoms such as the ones from which you are
suffering are present and blood tests confirm this
diagnosis.
QUESTION
7: I'm a private practitioner interested in
live-cell therapy as a form of rejuvenation therapy.
I know this is quite a common mode of therapy in
places in like Switzerland.
I would be grateful for your expert opinion on
the use of live-cells with particular reference to its
scientific basis & its possible side effects like
transmission of infection, allergic reaction etc.
Answer: As
this treatment is not available outside of certain
clinics in the world I have no experience with this type
of approach. I presume you are not talking of stem cell
therapy. I’m
not aware of any scientific evidence, which supports
this therapy and would be happy to here of any if you
can provide such information.
QUESTION 8 : I
have recurring large sores (nickel to quarter sized) on
my left buttock. They are red and cause a slight
itch, but no real pain. They occur during
stressful periods in my life, remain for a week and go
away. Is there anything besides Herpes Simplex 2,
which could cause this? I'm sure I did not pick up
a STD. This has occurred for the past 20 years,
and first happened during an extremely stressful
evening. I thought I'd been bitten by an insect in
three places at the same time because of the quickness
of the onset. Since then they come on gradually.
Do you have any ideas?
Answer: I would be putting my money on the
recurrence of a herpes lesion, as the features you
describe are typical of this condition. The other
possibility is a staph skin infection but this is far
less likely. There
are natural remedies that you can take to diminish the
frequency of these events including lysine, creatine,
zinc, vitamin E, red grape extract and vitamin C.
However you should understand that the effects of
stress can be pretty powerful and these substances might
not always be 100% effective.
Naturally practising safe sex would be extremely
important. There are also drugs you can take to suppress
these outbreaks and you should speak to your doctor
about these.
Question 9: I am
enquiring for a 26 year old women who has low levels of
oestrogen, and is suffering mood swings.
She is fearful of hormone replacement because of
a history of cervical cancer.
Can you help please?
Answer: It
would be important to look at all the hormones
implicated in this scenario. In this connection I would
suggest that progesterone and thyroid also be evaluated.
Uncovering the reasons for low oestrogen levels would
also be prudent as it is unusual for a 26-year old to be
deficient in this hormone.
Consuming extra soy can increase oestrogen, as
can the herb black cohosh.
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