Search Podcasts
There's so much hype surrounding CoQ10, but are you still wondering why it's so beneficial for your health?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File healthy_talk/1514ht1a.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 30, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer and national medical media personality, Dr. Michael Smith, MD, with Healthy Talk.
DR MIKE: So, recently, I did a survey of some family and friends and some church friends of mine—about 50 people total—and I asked them how many of them took supplements. About 50 people total. About 65% said they took supplements, but when I started asking about specific nutrients, I thought this was kind of surprising. Only about 10% take CoQ10 and about half of my friends and family members that were surveyed had never really heard of CoQ10. As a matter of fact, a couple of them were taking CoQ10 and they really didn't know why. It turns out, they were on a statin drug that lowers cholesterol. So, their doctor told them. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I guess I have to because I think that's way too low. I consider CoQ10 to be one of my four foundational supplements. Right? I've got a multivitamin, the Omega 3 oils, probiotic and, of course, CoQ10. I guess I was assuming more people who take supplements would be taking CoQ10 and they're not. So, let's talk, again, why I think it's important to take this foundational nutrient.
First of C, the full name is coenzyme Q10. What does that mean? It means that it's not an enzyme, but it helps enzymes. Coenzyme. A partner with enzymes. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell where food energy and oxygen come together to make ATP, adenosine triphosphate. That's your energy currency for the cell. It's a high energy molecule. When you break it up, it releases energy to drive cell function. There are several steps, a series of steps, chemical reactions, that occur to make ATP and they're run by enzymes. There are several enzymes that are involved in the production of energy currency. CoQ10 helps those enzymes. If you take CoQ10 out, those enzymes can't work as efficiently and you're not going to make near as much ATP as the cell actually needs. That's why it's so important.
It turns out CoQ10 is also just a good antioxidant. Now, I know there was a study recently and I talked about this study, questioning CoQ10 as an antioxidant, but that was just one study. As of now, based on other studies, CoQ10 is also a really good antioxidant. So, it's a nutrient that supports health mitochondria function, healthy ATP production and it's an antioxidant. Very, very important. That's why I consider it foundational.
It turns out, as we get older, we lose the amount of CoQ10 in our cells. You know, I think the classic way that more and more people understand the way that CoQ10 is depleted is when you take, as I mentioned before, the statin medications. Statin drugs, Lipitor is the big one out there. Crestor is a drug that I actually worked on at AstraZeneca several years ago and these statin medications deplete C. That's why doctors, more and more, they should be, at least, giving CoQ10 with statins. But, it turns out, it's not just statin that depletes C, just the aging process does. As a matter of fact, one study concluded that statins can reduce plasma CoQ10 levels by 40%, but normal aging by 72%.
So, just getting older you lose C. I had a question recently by a listener, "Why do I always talk about losing things as we get older?" We lose hormones. We lose antioxidants. Now, I'm telling you we lose C. That's because the cells that produce these compounds and these hormones just aren't able to function as well. That's why we lose the ability to produce and maintain these important nutrients like C.
So, now, let's go back to taking CoQ10 on a daily basis as a foundational nutrient. There are two basic forms of CoQ10 on the market, ubiquinone and ubiquinol. You definitely want to do the ubiquinol form. That's the form that absorbs up to 8 times better than the original ubiquinone. There's even an added ingredient that I know Life Extension uses and I'm not sure if others companies do this, but it's called shilajit.
It's peat moss or it's a compound from peat moss that's been known for centuries as a vitality nutrient. Turns out when you add shilajit to C, you deliver more of the CoQ10 to the mitochondria. So, you get more delivery to the actually target organelle in the cell called the mitochondria. So, at Life Extension, we talk a lot about CoQ10 with shilajit. Of course, it's the ubiquinol form of C. So, yes, I think you should be taking the ubiquinol form of C. Whether or not you do it with shilajit or not, that's up to you. I, personally, do. I like the combination and I, again, I consider it a foundational nutrient. I tease people sometimes when I do lectures and I've said this before. You know, looking out, maybe there's 100, 150-200 people and I'll make a broad statement like, "I know how everybody's going to die."
I know that sounds kind of morbid, but I'm setting up a message here. But, I know how everybody is going to die. Eventually your cells stop making energy. Now, why they do that, that's different. That could be from cancer, heart disease, whatever. But, the how is, you stop making cell energy. When that happens, the heart fails, the muscles fail, the nerves fail, the brain. I mean, it just fails and so, as a matter of fact, most of the original longevity research looked at loss of cell energy production. I mean, it makes sense. If we're dying off, if our cells are dying and eventually we die, it must mean we're not functioning and so maybe we're losing our energy connection.
So, you know, that's why it's foundational. It really goes to living healthy, living healthier longer. But, you know, it's not just about longevity. I mean, CoQ10 has all kinds of benefits. Let me just review some of the benefits to the heart. We know that heart failure patients, for instance, for a variety of reasons. It could be past infections, past heart attacks, valve problems. Whatever it is. In some cases, peoples' hearts don't pump out the blood as well as it should. That's known as ejection fraction. It's the fraction of blood that is actually pumped out to the body and as your heart becomes weaker and weaker, even just with age, that ejection can drop. Well, several studies support CoQ10 in increasing ejection fractions.
As a matter of fact, there was a review that investigated 19 different clinical trials looking at CoQ10 and heart failure and what they found was that CoQ10 supplementation across the board, in all of these 19 human clinical studies significantly improved ejection fraction, on average of about 4-5%. I mean, maybe 4-5% doesn't mean anything to you, but as a medical doctor, an increase of 4-5% in ejection fraction is significant. It can be the difference of not being able to get out of bed and being able to get out of bed and do something. It still baffles me a little bit why CoQ10 is not a part of the standard regimen for heart failure patients.
There was another, really, what I consider ground breaking study, published in the European Journal of Heart Failure. It was called the "Q-Simbio Trial". "Q" standing for CoQ10 and this was a 10-year study that showed the following results. Again ,a 10-year study called "Q-Simbio". It showed that people who took 100mg of CoQ10 were significantly less likely to die from heart failure, significantly less likely to die from any cause, significantly less likely to have a major adverse cardiac event during the study period compared with controlled subjections. One hundred milligrams of C.
So then, preparing for this little review about CoQ10 and my frustration of why my friends and family members aren't listening to me, obviously, I did a quick PubMed search. I just put in CoQ10 and I could pull up several human clinical studies showing CoQ10 supporting nerve and brain disorders, muscle disorders, mood disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disorders, obviously, and digestive disorders. Ubiquinol C, at least 100mg a day, is foundational.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht5e.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 27, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
You're listening to RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike on Healthy Talk. Call or email to ask your questions now. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR. MIKE: Alright. That's This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. I need more questions, listeners. When we first started this, I received a bunch so I still have quite a few to go and I received some just last night, but I could use some more. Challenge me, put me on the spot! Well, don't do that. Be nice. Only ask me questions I know the answers to. Just kidding! That makes my job easier.
Alright, this first question is actually two questions. It comes from Amy. I'm going to handle them separately, but they're related. The first question is:
"I take CoQ10 for energy but it doesn't seem to work as well anymore. What's going on?"
Let's handle that question first, Amy. That's not uncommon for CoQ10 and let me explain why. When you first start taking CoQ10 and, to review, CoQ10 is an energy co-factor. It's used by the mitochondria to make ATP. If you've never taken CoQ10 before and you're in your 30's 40's or 50's, something like that, most likely your CoQ10 levels are low. And we can measure them, by the way. There's a blood test for CoQ10 but I don't think I need to test it, Amy, because at the beginning when your energy levels were low--and I'm assuming you're in your 30's 40's.
I don't know why I'm assuming that, but I'm assuming you're in your 30's 40's, 50's, I could just guess your CoQ10 levels are low. So, when you first start taking CoQ10, yes, you feel energized. You get this immediate effect and you feel good often after the first dose. But once you reach what we call in medicine a "steady state" where that dose that you're taking on a daily basis doesn't really increase your blood level anymore, but it maintains it, that's called a steady state. You may not feel as energized anymore outwardly, but it's still good for your cells. So, this is common. I don't think you have to do anything. I don't think you have to change a thing.
Now the caveat to that is, Amy, unless you're feeling low energy again. If everything is fine, but you're just not feeling energized from it, leave it alone. Your cells are feeling energized and that's what you want. But if your energy levels are starting to drop back down to where they were when you started taking CoQ10, now that's a different story and we might have to think about increasing the dose of the CoQ10.
Make sure you're doing ubiquinol CoQ10, which is better. There's even a combination of ubiquinol CoQ10 with this type of herb--this vitality type of herb. It's not really an herb. It's more of like peat moss. It's called shilajit. That helps to deliver more of that ubiquinol from the supplement to the mitochondria. So that's something you can do. Or even the combination of CoQ10 with PQQ. I've talked about that before-- pyrroloquinoline quinone. Here's something to consider for all my listeners. This is actually really important.
I'm surprised I haven't talked about this before. As we get older, we lose the mitochondria. Those are the powerhouses of the cell. When you're young, your muscles, your brain, everything, your cells are just loaded with these powerhouses-- these mitochondria. They're producing ATP like crazy. It's awesome but as you get older, each decade of life, you lose a certain amount of that mitochondrial biomass.
The number of mitochondria decrease in each cell with age to the point that you're in your 60's, 70's, 80's and you've lost a lot, maybe even half. And so at some point, I have to consider this if I'm giving you these nutrients like CoQ10 that are meant to enhance the production of energy from the mitochondria but you don't have anymore mitochondria left or very little left. I may start losing my effect with that nutrient like CoQ10. So, what's really important maybe is to make more mitochondria and that's what PQQ does. So, I can give you PQQ to make sure you make more mitochondria and now I give you things like CoQ10 and carnitine, ribose with the shilajit I just mentioned.
I can give you more of that and you're going to get a better effect because you have more mitochondria to work with. So, I think PQQ is really important. I like the combination of CoQ10 and PQQ. However, Amy, back to my original point, though, if your energy is fine and you're just not feeling energized after you take a dose of CoQ10, leave it alone. Your cells are loving it. Now, Amy goes on. Now that I really look at this second part of her question--remember Amy had two questions here--and now that I read this second part more closely, Amy is having some energy issues. Her energy is dropping again.
She says, "I need more "even" energy and mental focus while I'm at work."
Okay. So, Amy, your energy levels are dropping from what I understand. So, you had low energy, you took CoQ10, you felt better. You reached that steady state but your energy levels dropped again. So, maybe add the shilajit to the CoQ10. Maybe add the PQQ.
You can even do something like D ribose which is an important energizer. D ribose comes in a powder. It's sweet tasting but it's not going to affect insulin levels or sugar levels or anything like that, so it's fine to take but you can sweeten up your coffee with it and stuff. Or drink a protein shake. Whatever it is, it's a good energizer. But this idea of more even energy is interesting because I think you're hitting on to something. You know, we have a lot of energy things at our disposal, specifically caffeine and sugar, in a lot of our energy drinks. You know which ones I'm talking about.
They're out there. Do a quick little shot, you get energy. They're still mostly caffeine. And there is a crash. There is. Let's just admit it. There is a crash with those things. So, when I hear people like Amy mention wanting more "even" energy, to me that means energize without crash, that kind of thing.
Well, there are two things you might consider, Amy. One is the cordyceps. Cordyceps are these weird, weird nutrients. It's this fungus and parasite relationship. It's a fungus parasite that, I think, latches onto a worm. I know it sounds weird but when this parasite, this fungus, attaches to the worm it takes over the worm, the worm dies, and the fungus starts to grow on the worm.
If you cultivate some compounds out of that fungus at that point it's called a cordycep. Those compounds have been shown to significantly increase ATP production without crash giving you that even energy. There was a study I have it right here. This was from the Journal of Alternative Complimentary Medicine in 2010. So, in one study healthy adults 50-75 took 333 mg of cordyceps 3 times daily for 12 weeks. These study subjects were able to perform a stationary bicycle exercise at a maximum level for over 10% longer before muscle fatigue could be scientifically detected. So, you're talking about significant improvements with ATP production. This study went onto say that at the same time this energy was lasting in the subjects, it lasted even after the exercise. They still had energy.
They felt good. So, cordyceps might be something for you to look into and when you combine cordyceps with ginseng, we think of ginseng more as stress or mental stuff, but ginseng also plays a role in maintaining ATP production. The thing that you want to look for is a ginseng that has been fermented. It needs to be fermented ginseng. A lot of your stand alone ginsengs for your brain and stress, they're not fermented and they're good for maybe stress and stuff but fermented ginseng. You need to look on the back label and make sure. And if it does say that, that's good for ATP production. The combination of fermented ginseng with the cordyceps is pretty significant. Even, significant level of ATP production. People feel energized; they feel good and their cells are loving it.
So, Amy, consider cordyceps and ginseng because you're looking for that even energy. Cordyceps and ginseng. So, there's nothing wrong with your CoQ10. You know, some people reach a steady state. Losing that energized feeling is normal. But if your energy levels are dropping, I'm not just speaking to Amy now, I'm speaking to everybody, if your energy levels are continuing to drop even on CoQ10, think about making more mitochondria with PPQ; some other energizers like D Ribose and carnitine. And then for that even energy throughout the day without needing caffeine, cordyceps and fermented ginseng. There you go!
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. This is Dr. Mike, stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht5d.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 27, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
It's time for you to be part of the show email or call with questions for Dr. Mike now. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 877-711-5211 What are you waiting for? The Doctor is in.
DR MIKE: So this first question I got just last night so I confirmed what this person was saying because I went to this website and watched this video so I thought, "Yes, this is a good question." I just saw a report on Fox News that artificial sweeteners may treat cancers. Now I am confused. So I went to Fox News and, sure enough, I did see on Fox News Health there's a report about saccharin, Specifically, how it may be able to block a certain type of protein that's important for cancers that allows it to be able to stick together and grow.
The lead investigator for this study was on Fox News, his name was Dr. Robert McKenna. By the way ,I don't know him personally but I know of him. He's down here in Florida, I think, where I'm at. And so I watched this video with Dr. Robert McKenna and he said, this is--now I'm paraphrasing—so, let me paraphrase this this is what he said. Isn't it amazing that a few years ago we thought saccharin caused cancer. Now it may, in fact, treat it.
Wow, um, no. I think that's where mainstream medicine gets a little misleading. So, let's talk a little bit about this. What's going on here? And I think in order to answer this question, I don't want you to be confused because it's really not that confusing. It seems confusing just when you watch this report but when you think about it, I think I can help you here.
You have to understand thought there's two different things that we're really talking about here when it comes to cancer. We're talking on one end, things that cause cancer, that's called carcinogenesis. And then on the other hand, we're talking about once the cancer is developed what are things that can treat it or even make it worse, or whatever. So you really have two different fields of study. You've got people who study causes of cancer and people that study, "Well, once it's happened, what am I going to do with it?"
Saccharin, through research in the 1970's and 80's has been well established, at least in animal minds, to be a carcinogen. It is involved in carcinogenesis, the genesis of cancer cells. There was even a couple studies, animal models, or maybe these were more petri dish laboratory studies, showing that it could actually cause DNA mutation, which is what ultimately cancer is. That hasn't changed. Saccharin is a carcinogen. I mean that is well established.
But let's move to the other side of that now. Things that cause cancer. Saccharin falls on that list. Now, once you have a cancer it turns out, based on the research that Dr. McKenna did down here in Florida, saccharin is able to block...Now, of course, it's high levels, right? Nigh high levels, more than you're going to get in a little pink pack, but high levels of saccharin is able to block an enzyme called "carbonic anhydrase".
And what happens is, when you block carbonic anhydrase, cancer cells can't aggregate together as well. And that's important because of cancer cells want to get together and spread they first kind of have to clump and once they clumpm then they can act more like a solid tumor a growth and then they can travel to distant parts. That's called metastatic disease. But the first step in metastatic spread is these cancer cells are kind of just talking together and sticking together. And an important enzyme that they use to do that is called "carbonic anhydrase".
It has to do with regulating pH within the cancer cell environment which if you've got the right pH, then the cancer cell proteins that are sticking on the surface can kind of stick together but if you block that enzyme, they're not able to regulate pH properly those proteins sticking out on their surface aren't sticky and they can't aggregate and they can't spread. That's what his research was. Saccharin is an inhibitor, in a sense, if I can just summarize it, is an inhibitor of cancer cell aggregation which could decrease the ability of cancer cells to spread.
Listen, this is great research because now, forget the saccharin. What this means is if we can find more safe and targeted drugs that are not carcinogens like saccharin, so find a drug or a compound that's not a carcinogen but that also inhibits carbonic anhydrase, now we're talking about something really cool. You know, it's kind of like radiation. This just came to mind. Radiation--UV radiation from the sun, gamma ray- radiation, radioactive nuclear, whatever.
Radiation x-rays (laughing) can cause cancer. They're ionized radiation, an x-ray. It's a carcinogen but if done in the right amount in the right way, it can actually be used to treat cancer so same thing. Saccharin is a carcinogen but it also turns out that once the cancer is formed in a high enough dose, it can maybe stop cancer cell aggregation. So, the real potential and opportunity with this research about saccharin isn't using saccharin as a treatment.
Remember, I don't want to do any harm to people, but it's focusing on inhibiting carbonic anhydrase. Boy ,if I can find something now that's more natural, more safe, that's not a carcinogen like saccharin that can block carbonic anhydrase, now we're on to something. So, Dr. McKenna on this video on Fox News who said maybe now saccharin may even be used as a treatment for cancer?
No, no, no. Saccharin has opened up a potential research field for us to look at carbonic anhydrase inhibitors that are more safe. That's what it's done. Saccharin's not going to be the treatment. It's a carcinogen. It could possibly do more harm. I might start a cancer somewhere else in the person's body. So, I don't like his quote and I think maybe that's why you were confused.
Artificial sweeteners aren't good. They're not. They're not good. They cause nerve issues, intestinal issues and many of them, like saccharin, are carcinogens. And so, no, that's not the treatment but this research specifically about saccharin blocking carbonic anhydrase has opened up a whole field of study now in helping us to prevent spread of cancers. That's awesome! And we should look more at safe carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. That's what I took out of this research.
Okay, next question: When is it not okay...how am I doing on time? I think I'm okay.
"When is it not okay to take a generic drug?"
When is it not okay to take a generic drug? So, we know that when a pharmaceutical company receives approval for a new drug, they submit what's called a new drug application to the FDA. The FDA reviews all their research and if the benefit is high and the risk is low, it's usually approved knowing that they're going to do additional research testing which is known as Phase 4 out in the general population.
That's how it's done. Once that drug has been approved, they get a patent and they're able to patent that compound--that chemical compound. And I don't remember exactly, I worked for a pharmaceutical company. You'd think I would know this, but I think a patent is for like 15-20 years. Something like that. Once that patent goes out, other companies, other chemical-manufacturing companies, can copy that chemical compound and sell it as a generic derivative.
But there are two types of generic drugs. One of the types called "Type A" generic drug that is perfectly fine to take anytime because it's an exact copy of the original drug. The bioavailability, the absorption, it's all exactly the same. However, some generic drugs are called "Type B" where it's been changed a little bit because it's cheaper to make it that way and it changes the bioavailability. They're pretty much safe for the most part but maybe you don't want to do "B" type, do "Type A" generic drugs.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD with Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
By taking certain supplements, you may be able to relieve your carpal tunnel symptoms in a less invasive way.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht5c.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 27, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Living longer and staying healthier. It's Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. Here's your host, Dr. Mike:
DR MIKE: So, let's talk about carpal tunnel syndrome and how we may be able to treat it naturally. Carpal tunnel syndrome--it's pretty common today. Basically, it's an overuse type of condition. Typing on typewriters, I guess we don't use typewriters any more. That was funny. We don't? No. I don't even think kids know what typewriters are. Computer keyboards and typing on computer keyboards. That would have been a better way of saying that.
What happens is, there is a nerve that runs through your wrist, on the palm side of your hand and it goes right underneath this band of connective tissue and when you're overusing your wrists, even baseball players get this because, you know, they're using the wrist a lot in swinging the bat. Golfers can get this. Even tennis players and just office workers typing on typewriters. Sorry. I make myself laugh sometimes.
So, what happens, there's some inflammation that can occur within that connective tissue. You can even damage the connective tissue which then seeps down. That damage, that inflammation seeps down and into the nerve and begins to affect the nerve that runs through that connective tissue right at the wrist and then that starts to affect your hand. Symptoms range from pain and tingling and numbness, even changes in sensation and it's mainly wrist and fingers. That nerve, by the way, is called the "median" nerve. There is some evidence, a significant portion of the population will be affected by carpal tunnel at some point in their lifetimes with estimates of lifetime prevalence ranging from 3-20%.
That's a pretty big range. I actually think it's on the higher end of that—20%. Especially kids. When I was young, I actually did take typewriting class. I did. That was in middle school. I'm telling my age a little bit, but other than that, we didn't us that. I didn't use keyboards and stuff, but kids today, gosh. Before they talk, they're on smartphones and computers, so this could become a significant issue for a larger and larger percent of our population in the future.
How do you treat it now? Surgery . That's what you do. They go in there and they cut that connective tissue and that relieves the pressure off the wound. It only works about half the time, about 50% of the time, because what happens in some people is, the repair process can be worse. That connective band that covers the median nerve can actually be thicker and impinge the nerve even more, so about half of the people that get surgery need to have the surgery again. Then, we have to do steroids and stuff like that to decrease inflammation. They've got to wear these wristbands all the time. So, conventionally speaking, we don't really do much for carpal tunnel. So, let's talk about some things that might be a little bit better for you if you are dealing with CTS—carpal tunnel syndrome.
The first one is called low-level laser therapy. This was a study in 2014 that was published in Lasers, Medicine and Science. It's interesting. It involves the use of a low power laser, so it's not like it's a weaponized laser. It's a low-powered laser. As a matter of fact, that's what it's called. Low level laser therapy—LLLT. It stimulates the nerve. It's been shown to enhance some aspects of median nerve function. Several clinical studies have shown that LLT , low level laser therapy, improves the very symptoms related to carpal tunnel. One study showed that it could be as effective as surgical treatment for mild to moderate cases and while other demonstrated to be as cost-effective as surgery. Observed benefits—these are research proven benefits of low level laser therapy (LLLT).
Improved grip strength; alleviation of pain; improved nerve conduction study parameters and reduced tingling and numbness. Those have been well proven in research papers and that was reviewed in Lasers, Medicine and Science in 2014, so that might be something you talk to your doctor about if you don't want to do surgery. Or, maybe you've already tried surgery and you don't want to do it again and you fall into that 50% that didn't get too much from the surgery, you might consider LLLT (laser therapy).
Another interesting therapy for carpal tunnel which was becoming popular in 2010, 2011, but it's dropped off a little bit. I'm not sure why. It's called "microwave heat treatment". One of the original studies for this—for the microwaves—was published in clinical rehabilitation, 2011. It's called "microwave hyperthermia" which uses micro waves to heat the skin to about 39.7 degrees and I pulled this right out of the study, and it may be helpful for CTS. A 2011 trial, used hyperthermia to treat 22 subjects with mild to moderate CTS. Over 3 weeks, 11 subjects underwent 6 microwave hyperthermia treatments and 11 underwent 6 sham treatments (placebos).
After 3 weeks, significant reductions in pain and significant improvements in hand function were reported in the microwave hyperthermia treated group, but not in the sham (placebo) group. I don't know how often this is used. Maybe I should talk to some hand specialists, but I don't hear about microwave heat treatment as much as I do the laser therapy, but it works great. I mean, so this is another option for you if you're doctor has said, "Well, you're going to have to have surgery."
Maybe rehabilitation is not working for you. I mean, you don't want to go through surgery, or you've gone through surgery. This is another option just like the laser therapy. Obviously, both of these, the laser therapy and the microwave heat treatment, what they offer beyond surgery is, hopefully, better results, longer lasting results and, of course, they're not invasive. That's always a good thing if we can find something in medicine that replaces an invasive diagnostic study or treatment study or whatever. If we can replace something invasive with something non-invasive and it's not as good, that's always best.
There's always risk when you have to cut somebody open, right? There's inherent risk to that type of procedure. That doesn't mean that laser therapy and microwave heat treatment don't have their own risk, but, generally speaking, it's best not to cut somebody open unless you absolutely have to. So, we try to be as non-invasive as we can because my oath is to do no harm. Lastly, I want to mention something called "protease therapy". This is even something you can do over the counter with supplements. Protease is a type of enzyme that breaks down protein, so protease therapy is going to be using these types of natural proteases. I think in this one study, they used one called "serratiopeptidase" and it helps just to break down some of the connective fiber that's pushing on that median nerve. In this one study, they took proteases derived from silkworms, right?
Oh, and they also said these proteases, not only is it breaking down the connective tissue, it's also anti-inflammatory. By the way, there are protease supplements out there that people take to reduce inflammation, so not only is it helping maybe to break down that connective tissue from pushing down on the median nerve, they're also anti-inflammatory. So, this one study reported that 10 mg of oral serratiopeptidase, given twice daily for 6 weeks was associated with significant clinical improvement in 13 of 20 subjects. That's 65%. You know, you might think, "Well, not that great," but when you put it in the context of maybe the beginnings of carpal tunnel, maybe this is where we begin--with protease therapy. It's a supplement. It's easy to do. That was published in the Journal of Association for Indian Physicians in 1999.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
Flower pollen has been used for years as a natural remedy for many health aliments.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht5b.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 27, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD. And now, here's the country doctor with the city education, Dr. Mike:
M: So, if any of my male listeners are out there today who have an enlarged prostate, you might want to consider flower pollen as something to add to your enlarged prostate treatment regimen. If you're not a man and you're a woman listening, here's your trivia question for the day:
Do women have prostate glands?
It's a trick question. I'll give you that answer at the end.
Okay. By the way, flower pollen is becoming more and popular in the industry. It should. I think it does have some merit, especially in urinary issues, prostate issues, stuff like that. Be careful, though. I think some manufacturers of flower pollen are getting a little carried away with all the other benefits. It's kind of becoming the next "cure all" miracle thing. Come on. Let's not get into that.
But, there is some good research in flower pollen when it comes to prostate health and urinary health. So, this came from the DVA Coordinating Center of the Cochrane Review Group Disease and Urologic Malignancies in 2012. I think it's a bi-annual report that they put out. So, the objective of this study was to review the evidence for the clinical effects and safety of rye grass pollen extract in men with symptomatic, benign prostatic hyperplasia. That's your common BPH. By the way, we forget sometimes that grass is part of the flowering plant kingdom.
I mean, there's...You know, when you think of the plant kingdom, you basically have seeds and spores. That's the big breakdown of the plant kingdom. Then, those plants that have seeds are broken up into flowering and non-flowering. I mean, that's the basic. That's pretty much all the botany I remember. So, there's seeds versus spores and then within the seed category, there's flowering plants versus non-flowering plants. The grasses fall under the flowering plants. We forget that. They do flower. So, in this case, they were using rye grass pollen. What they did is--this was, again, a review.
So, they were looking back at a bunch of different studies. They chose randomized controlled trials that included men with symptomatic BPH who were treated with the flower pollen and had a control group of either a placebo or a drug therapy. So, in some cases, they were looking at flower pollen versus a drug which is pretty cool. They were looking at studies that were longer than 30 days which is good, again. Remember, I just talked about the importance of giving natural compounds more time and not to study them exactly like a drug. So, that's good. I don't have the total number of studies that they used, but I do have the total number of people.
It was 444 men in two placebo controlled studies and 2 comparative trials. So, 4 trials total, 444 men in this medi-analysis. The average time was between 12-24 weeks. So, that's good. I like that. What they found was that the flower pollen improved self-rated urinary symptoms versus placebo and other plant products. The flower pollen reduced nighttime urination compared with placebo and the flower pollen, though, and this is an important point. It really didn't improve the size of the prostate gland, itself, though. So, what you have here is the compounds in flower pollen improving urination and urinary flow, but not necessarily any of the size of the prostate gland. So, it's really about symptom control here, when it comes to flower pollen.
You know, at the Life Extension Foundation, we have a really nice prostate formula that we added flower pollen, maybe about 2 years ago right before this study came out and we based it off some of the smaller reviews that they're looking here. So, it's nice to see that this was put together in a nice collection. And, we were right. We were right to put flower pollen in a prostate formula, but flower pollen by itself is not, at least based on these results here, is really not, by itself, a standalone prostate ingredient. Instead, it can be used in conjunction with some other prostate nutrients to help urinary flow and the size of the prostate. By itself, it's not going to affect the size of the prostate.
So, what are some of the classic prostate nutrients that we like to use? Number one, would be saw palmetto. There was a pilot study examining the effects of 320 mg of saw palmetto and they found that it was able to reduce BPH symptoms by over 50% at 8 weeks. That was published in Phytotherapy Research in 2013. That's probably your "go to" prostate nutrient right there, saw palmetto. It blocks 5 alpha reductase which is the enzyme that makes DHT. You see, the problem with an enlarged prostate is not testosterone. It's the fact that the testosterone turns into a more potent form called dihydrotestosterone, DHT. If you can block that conversion that helps with prostate issues.
Also, more research is showing that enlarged prostates are a result of estrogen. So, as a man gets older, we lose testosterone. Why? Well, we stop making it. At least, we make it less. And, what we do make gets turned into DHT and estrogen. So, our free testosterone drops. Estrogen goes up. DHT goes up and that's when the prostate issues happen.
Beta Sitosterol is another classic prostate nutrient from the Cochrane Database Systemic Review of 2000. There was a review of 4 studies looking at 519 men with BPH. Beta Sitosterol improved urinary symptoms and urinary measures. So, that's another classic one with saw palmetto. Pygeum is an herb from Africa that also has been shown to help with prostate size and urinary symptoms from the Journal of Urology, 2008. Stinging nettles is another classic.
By the way, nettles is a plant. There is a form of the plant called "stinging nettles" that actually does sting. If you touch it, it burns. It's true. That's why it's called stinging nettles. A study found that a combination of saw palmetto with stinging nettles was as effective as the drug, Finasteride, which is a very common 5-alpha reductase inhibitor. When you use Finasteride, you block the production of DHT, so you grow some hair on your head and you decrease prostate size. Turns out, stinging nettles and saw palmetto is just as good as the drug. Of course, the natural compounds were much more tolerated.
As a matter of fact, they concluded in the British Journal of Urology, 2000, that the herbal combination had fewer side effects than the drug. There you go. Other prostate nutrients would be isoflavones and lignins. Isoflavones are plant-based compounds and kind of really ubiquitous throughout the plant kingdom. Supplemented with isoflavones has been shown to reduce PSA levels in men with prostate cancer. Lignins are something I talk about a lot. Lignins are a form of a plant fiber.
Again, ubiquitous throughout the plant kingdom. Lignins help to reduce estrogen production, improve estrogen metabolism in the liver, so even though it may not necessarily bring down estrogen, you tend to make or produce more healthy estrogens. That's for men and women. So, lignins can help women when it comes to breast health and ovarian health. It can also help men when it comes to prostate health. So, combinations. You're going to see this more and more of isoflavones and lignins together in treating prostate. Then, of course, there's lycopene. Lycopene is the chemical compound that gives the tomato its red hue. It's a carotenoid. Men with higher lycopene levels in their blood suggesting greater dietary lycopene consumption are less likely to develop prostate cancer. That was a great study by Dr. Gann in 1999. It kind of started the whole lycopene revolution.
It's just a carotenoid, so it's good for other parts of your body as well, but lycopene is pretty classic. Then, pumpkin seed oil is another good one for urinary health. You can add to this, so in my opinion, a good prostate formula, because an enlarged prostate is multifactorial, should include all those plus maybe flower pollen.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
You may be familiar with well known vitamins B, C, and D; but do you know how important vitamin E is to your health?
Additional Info
- Segment Number 1
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht5a.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
- Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 5
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht4e.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 26, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike do you have a question about your health? Dr. Mike can answer your questions just email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call now at 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR MIKE: So, hey you've got a question. Send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I really love this part of the show and, as I said before, I do my best to kind of read these and answer these off the cuff and if I need to do some research, I will, if I don't know the answer. I will help you. Specifically, me personally, will reach out to you and I will help you find that answer, so send me your questions.
This next one, when I first read it, I'm going to be honest, it made me laugh a little bit. When it comes to guys, you know, I could be doing a lecture on the brain; I could do a lecture on bad joints. You know I do lectures for Life Extension Foundation all over the country. I could be doing a lecture on macular degeneration and there's always at some point in my Q&A point, there's always somebody, some guy, somehow trying to relate what I just talked about to erectile dysfunction and low libido. So, I laughed, when you think about us guys, it is what it is. So, here it is:
"Is there anything natural for erectile dysfunction? My doctor said I can't take Viagra and what about improving libido in general?"
So, let me just mention the Viagra thing. Just so you know Viagra does work. What's nice about it is you can take it when you need it. It does dilate vessels. It's a vasodilator, which is part of the mechanism of how it works, so you have to be careful if you're already taking like blood pressure medications or if you have heart issues. So, that's probably why your doctor might say you can't take Viagra, okay? There are definite contraindications to that drug.
So, what can we do naturally? Well, if the whole point of helping an erection is to dilate the blood vessels so the blood can fill the penis better, that's the whole goal. Well, the natural thing to that or to accomplish that is to increase nitric oxide production. Right? If you listen to my show, I've talked about nitric oxide a lot. That's the compound that is made by the cells that line the inside of the arteries. Those cells are called "endothelial cells".
And so, the best thing you can do is help those cells produce nitric oxide. That's going to help your heart. That's going to help your blood pressure and it can help erectile dysfunction. So, the one supplement that has been studied in this context for this very reason, is arginine. Arginine is the precursor to nitric oxide production by the endothelial cells. So, arginine has to come into the endothelial cells. They bring they bring the arginine in, and out pops nitric oxide.
A couple of studies have shown that supplementing with arginine does help. Now it's about 50/50 and what that means is that if you look at these studies, you have one group of guys on the arginine and another group not and about half of the guys in the arginine group get a significant positive benefit compared to the placebo. But about the other half, they don't have anything, even at high doses of arginine. So, it's a hit and miss thing. Why is that? I don't know if I have an answer. Arginine is used in the body for lots of different things, so maybe it's just not being delivered to the endothelial cells. Maybe the amount of nitric oxide production from the arginine is less in some guys than in others.
I don' t know if I have an absolute answer but for at least half of the guys who try arginine,--1 gram, 2 gram, maybe even 3 grams. Just increase slowly. That's the key thing. Increase slowly. You can get up to even 4, even 5 grams of arginine a day and you should be okay. It does help. It helps with erectile dysfunction.
Now libido is a different story. Libido simply means sex drive. I think a great place to start when you have low libido--and don't just assume it's part of aging, that's an old thought process. "Oh I'm getting older, I'm not supposed to have sex anymore." That's not true. Sexually active couples live longer. That's been shown over and over again. Sexually active couples live longer and they stay together longer, too. Why is that? Well, when you're sexually active, it's just healthy for you. It's just a sign of a healthy body. So eat right, exercise, do all of your supplementations.
If you have a partner, stay sexually active and that's a really good thing. So, if your libido is dropping, that doesn't have to be like that. Low libido is not normal no matter what the age is once you start getting up into the adult years, right? Eighteen and up. I guess I have to say that. So, low libido, I think, is something that should be addressed. The first thing I want to mention here, because I think this is something we forget, most of libido happens in your brain. As a matter of fact Dr. Eric Braverman, -- think he's a doctor in New York. Don't quote me on that.
But, he used to be a Life Extension Health Advisory board member. And 2 or 3 years ago, when he was working with us, on occasion he wrote a really, really good article on low libido and what's going on in the brain when that happens. He talks about boosting certain neurotransmitters to improve low libido. In particular, I remember from this article, dopamine and acetylcholine. Those two neurotransmitters need to be optimized.
You can boost dopamine levels. There are supplements that are related to what's called Levodopa, which is a drug we use for things like Parkinson's and stuff, so there are supplement forms of that that can boost dopamine. But also things like the polyunsaturated fats, B Vitamins, phenylalanine which is an amino acid, you can use those to boost dopamine. And then acetylcholine, pretty much anything that is choline based. Products that have choline as the backbone-phosphatidylcholine, phosphorylcholine, any supplement like that will help to boost acetylcholine.
So, dopamine and acetylcholine are extremely important to boosting your brain if you have low libido. Now, other things that have been known to work are, for instance, at Life Extension we did some research on the combination of arginine, which I mentioned before with the ED, arginine, aspartic acid and pycnogenol, which is pine bark extract. That combination helped with ED and with libido. There is an herb, Epimedium Sagittatum, it's also called icariin. It's not one of the more commonly known libido boosters like matcha or something, but icariin from Epimedium Sagittatum has been shown to be quite good at boosting libido in men. Matcha seems to be a little bit better in women but matcha is an option for men as well. Also, muira puama, which is a rainforest herb. It's listed in the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia as an aphrodisiac, although I don't really know if there's really a true aphrodisiac.
This rainforest herb information was presented, by the way, in France at a libido type conference--I don't remember the full name of the conference--but it was in the 90's when it was really introduced. We're talking like 62% improvement in libido. Men just felt better, they had more energy during sex so that's another herb that you can consider.
So, muira puama, matcha, pycnogenol, aspartic acid, arginine, don't forget the neurotransmitters dopamine, B Vitamins. Phenylalanine can boost dopamine, acetylcholine--any choline based fat will produce that neurotransmitter in your brain. And then, just for good ole' fashioned erectile dysfunction plain old arginine. Give it a try. Start with a gram a day. Work it up to, maybe 5 grams a day. Just go slow with it and that might work for you. So, there you go. Some natural treatments for ED and low libido.
This is Healthy Talk with Dr. Mike on RadioMD. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Listen in as Dr. Mike provides the answers to a wealth of health and wellness questions.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 4
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht4d.mp3
- Organization Life Extension
- Guest Website Healthy Talk MD
-
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 26, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
You're listening to RadioMD. It's time to ask Dr. Mike on Healthy Talk . Call or email to ask your questions now. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 877-711-5211. The lines are open.
DR. MIKE: So, I'm part of the California Wine Club. I do enjoy wine. I don't drink a lot but, you know, especially on the weekend some nice red wine or something is really awesome. There was a story that came out and I saw this. Now, I saw this before this listener's question and it had to do with, I guess, some of the California wineries. I'm not going to get into names. That's not important. They're being sued because some third-party lab in some other state decided to test some of these wines and they found arsenic. (ahh!) And, of course, then the media picks it up and it's all over. "There's arsenic in your wine." And I saw it. Listen, I'm going to tell you the truth about this in a moment. But here's the question and when I saw this I said, "Oh, yes. I have to do this question today."
"Is the amount of arsenic found in some wines dangerous?"
So, there was a little bit more to the question but that is the gist of it. Is the arsenic found in wines dangerous? You know arsenic is a poison and it can kill you.
Yes. But it takes a lot. I mean, a lot of arsenic over a long period of time to kill you and cause sickness. In large doses over an expanded period of time, you can get brain disorders, cancers and, as I said, death. So, yes, arsenic is bad. It's a poison, but it takes a lot and here's the thing about arsenic. It's everywhere. Arsenic is found naturally in our water sources. It's found in food.
I mean, arsenic, even though it's a poison, it's found everywhere. It's ubiquitous in food and water and it takes a lot. So, as a matter of fact, knowing that most states in their water supply, they allow 10 parts per billion of arsenic. So, what that means is, let me put it this way, for every 1 billion part of water you will have 10 little itsy, bitsy parts of arsenic. Ten parts per billion is considered 100% absolutely safe when it comes to water and
I agree. It's fine. So that's the first thing to understand about arsenic it's ubiquitous. It's all over the place but the good news is, it's in such small amounts and so dilute that and it really doesn't affect us that much and even the water has it.
Okay, so now, if you look at the amount of arsenic that is found naturally in wine, it can range anywhere between 5 parts per billion all the way up to 200 parts per billion. Now, I'm going to tell you right now, even at 200 parts per billion it's perfectly safe. It's not going to do you any harm. Don't listen to other websites and other crazy people out there telling you even just 1 part per billion is bad. That's just not true. As a matter of fact, the International Wine Standards allows 200 parts per billion. Canada, allows 100 parts per billion in their wine.
It turns out that the amount of arsenic found in the California wines was less than the Canada standard. I could have told you they were going to find some arsenic in the wine. It's not just cheap wine. It's just because it's in the water. Rice has arsenic. Why? Because rice is pretty much grown in water. So, don't freak out about this. Enjoy your glass of wine. You're fine. It's okay. Dr. Mike said so.
Matter of fact I'm going to go home and have a nice glass of red wine tonight. Relax. I'm not going to worry about the arsenic. Okay there you go, next question.
"Are gummy bear multivitamins as good as capsules? Other than taste that is? Thanks, Carrie."
So, Carrie, you like the taste of gummy bears? Are they as good? So, I have to ask the question, Carrie, what do you mean "as good"? I mean we have to define that a little bit right? In terms of vitamins and minerals, yes, they're just as good as capsules and you should be getting all the basic vitamins and minerals, so in that sense, yes, they're just as good as capsules.
But, maybe when we talk about dose, well, maybe they're not as good. I would actually have to look at which product you're taking which, by the way, this is a movement in the industry--looking at ways of formulating multivitamins and supplements, in general, so that more and more people will consume supplements. Not everybody likes powders or capsules or tablets, so gummies are something that a lot of companies have looked into.
Gummies, in terms of just giving you the vitamins and minerals, yes, they're just as good as capsules. But then, the next question is, "Are you taking a gummy product, Carrie, that has the right amount of vitamins and minerals? Is it dosed properly?" Well, that I don't know. I need to know what one you're doing. So, I really can't answer that but what I have found is that many of the gummy multivitamins, that is, some of the really big brands producing are still under dosed. But so are their capsules.
Anyway, that's just how they make their multivitamins, they just underdoes everything. The one thing I would caution you when you do a gummy based product, is be careful about the artificial colors. I mean, why do you want to do a supplement that's supposed to help with your health but do it in a form that gives you artificial stuff like colors and sweeteners. So, make sure that they are coloring the gummies and sweetening the gummies with all-natural things. Make sure you read the label.
Don't assume that. Some of the big brands out there are kind of notorious for using artificial gunk, so be careful with that. I think overall gummy bear multivitamins are fine. I think most of them are a little low dose but as long as it's natural coloring and natural sweeteners, I don't have a problem with it. I was just at, not this past year but a year ago, I was at the Expo West. It's the largest industry conference that we have out in Anaheim, California. And at least a year ago, it's kind of funny. There are like multiple levels at the convention center and in the basement is where they put, at least right now, all the functional food and stuff like that because it's not quite as popular as all the other supplements.
So, on the basement level I was walking around and there was a whole aisle of companies who are developing natural coloring and natural sweeteners that can be used in gummies and they were pretty good. So, just watch the sugar content. Make sure there is no artificial stuff and you should be okay Carrie.
Okay, next question. I think I'm okay on time. Maybe not, but...
"You often say things like hormones and antioxidants decrease with age. Why does that happen? Sometimes I feel like doctors and nutritionists say that so they can sell me a product."
You know that's good question. The reason I can tell you hormones decrease and antioxidants decrease is because I've seen the studies showing that is the case. When I develop a product or Life Extensions develops a product where we want to replace an intrinsic antioxidant or replace a hormone, we have these studies called "proof of concept" studies showing you that, yes, at your age you're lower in DHA or you're lower in glutathiones, so we need to replace that.
So there's proof of concepts studies showing and backing this up. Why does this happen? Why does your body stop making hormones and antioxidants? Because as you get older, the cells that produce them become damaged. They become dysfunctional. That's just part of the aging process. They're not functioning at an optimal level. So, replacing hormones and antioxidants is, in my opinion, very important as we get older. I can back that up with these proof of concept studies that we use when formulate a product.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Internal Notes NO GUEST
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Learning to let go of emotional wounds can be difficult, but it's necessary to stay healthy.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 3
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht4c.mp3
- Featured Speaker Charles A. Francis, Co-Founder of Mindfulness Meditation Institute
- Organization Mindfulness Meditation Institute
- Book Title Mindfulness Meditation Made Simple: Your Guide to Finding True Inner Peace
-
Guest Bio
Charles A. Francis is the co-founder and director of the Mindfulness Meditation Institute. He has studied the practice of mindfulness with Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. For over 18 years, he has worked to help people find inner peace through mindfulness.
He has published numerous articles, and is the author of the new ebook, Mindfulness in the Workplace: How Organizations Are Using Mindfulness to Lower Health Care Costs and Increase Productivity.
Charles has a master's degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University, with a focus on healthcare management and policy. He has worked for the North Carolina State Senate in writing legislation to address childhood obesity, and improve government efficiency. He has a background in accounting and business management, and has served as CEO of ITC, an international telecommunications company.
In addition to teaching mindfulness meditation to individuals, Charles is a speaker and does consulting to help organizations develop mindfulness training programs for their staff, in order to help them realize the cost-saving benefits of the mindfulness practice. He also leads workshops and mindfulness meditation retreats. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 26, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Anti-aging and disease prevention radio is right here on RadioMD. Here's author, blogger, lecturer and national medical media personality, Dr. Michael Smith, MD, with Healthy Talk.
DR MIKE: My guest is Charles A. Francis. He's the co-founder and director of the Mindfulness Meditation Institute. He's published many articles. He has a couple books on mindfulness meditation. Charles, welcome to Healthy Talk.
CHARLES: Well, thank you for having me on.
DR MIKE: You know, before we go into this next part about, you know, emotional wounds and healing from emotional wounds—because I find that topic really interesting. Before we do that, there is something that was in your e-book. I think it was the Mindfulness in the Workplace e-book about writing meditation. What do you mean by "writing meditation"?
CHARLES: Well, I'm glad you brought that up because that's a very powerful tool that we've developed for healing the wounds from our past. It all works together. The writing meditation is based on loving kindness meditation which is not new.
That has its roots in Buddhism and other Eastern traditions. Basically, what it is, is a set of affirmations, for example, "May I be more loving, more compassionate, more understanding," and the idea being that we change our attitudes and our views about other people.
So, we reinforce these ideas in our minds and we'll begin to see the world along those lines. Now, traditionally, what they've done is they've either recited the verses or they've listened to somebody else read or repeat them silently in their minds, but I don't know if it occurred to anybody to see what would happen if we write them down. So, that's what we did. We've taken the verses and we've kind of modified them a little bit to specifically target certain things that we want to reinforce and then we just write them, by hand, in a notebook, for about 5-10 minutes a day.
That's all it takes. What we found is, within less than a week, we found our attitudes and our behaviors change because we start to see people differently. For example, some people who were very shy, all of a sudden, they're at the store talking to strangers. You know, just engaging them in pleasant conversation; talking to the cashier. And, what we found later on, is that was very instrumental in resolving issues with people from our past. People that we may have had some anger and resentment towards and the reason that happens is because we change our views about people in general. So, that allowed us to see them with more compassion; be more understanding of their suffering when they did the thing that harmed us.
DR MIKE: Does this naturally, then, just lead to forgiveness more? You know, being able to forgive somebody that's harmed you in the past. By understanding them more, are you able to forgive them a little bit more—easier—and now you can move on from that?
CHARLES: Oh, absolutely. That's exactly what it does. It just changes our overall attitude toward people. People in our present day and people in our past. Also, the practice of mindfulness as we being to see things a little deeper. We start to, say, for example, our parents may have done things or said things that hurt us, but when we were children, we couldn't understand what they were going through. Maybe they were struggling to make ends meet and they were under a lot of stress. You know, as children, we don't understand that. All we know is that they made some comment that hurt us. So, when we can see that, we begin to let go and forgive.
DR MIKE: In your experience, Charles, when you are dealing with somebody with an emotional wound from their past; dealing with somebody or a situation—whatever it is—if they don't deal with it, if they can't move on from that, how does that affect them in the "now"? In the present? Not just emotionally, but even physically. I mean, do you see holding on to these kinds of emotional wounds, does that even affect people physically?
CHARLES: Oh, yes. Well, what the mindfulness meditation practice does is, it helps us function at a more optimal level. When we think of good health, we generally think of not being ill. However, on the flip side, how do we want to perform better? You know, we don't think of how can our body and mind perform at an optimal level? The mindfulness meditation practice does that. So, anything that prevents us from being mindful is going to be an obstacle to us having the best health possible. That's both mentally, physically and emotionally because they've found that mindfulness meditation actually improves the immune system. So, if you improve the immune system, that's something that's going to prevent a whole host of physical ailments.
DR MIKE: Yes. And, you know, just as a medical doctor myself and doing some counseling and stuff, I also notice that when people hold on to a lot of things in their past, even when there's something good happening in their lives, they somehow taint it a little bit because of that past. They somehow are always able to bring up that past and use the word "but". Things are going well, "but".
CHARLES: Yes.
DR MIKE: I just feel like they never fully experience the success of something that's going on for them in the present. I'm going to give the website real quick again. It's MindfulnessMeditationInstitute.org--all one word. His name is Charles A. Francis and on that site, you can find his articles and his book.
I want to move the conversation a little bit to this mindfulness in the workplace. You mentioned that organizations are using this to increase productivity, for instance, so are you working with specific companies and corporations, Charles?
CHARLES: At the current time, no. Right now, my focus has been the book itself. But, the way mindfulness and mindfulness meditation helps us increase productivity is because it improves a lot of our mental functions. It improves memory. It improves concentration, focus. It improves our abstract thinking. It improves our creativity.
Now, these are skills that are vital for us in being productive in the workplace because, very often, we go into the workplace and we do the best job we can, but if our mind is filled with unnecessary or excess thinking or cluttered...A lot of things that go on in our mind is just rehashing of things. So, that's like unnecessary traffic. But, when it's clear from that, the thoughts that we want to get through can get through a lot easier and a lot quicker. So, it literally improves our ability to think faster and, therefore, our I.Q. and our memory, as well. It makes it easier to access our memory.
So, it makes us more efficient and with mindfulness, we can also see things from much broader perspectives. In other words, you can see things in terms of our departments or the whole organization; the whole community; how our actions are affecting and having farther reaching implications.
DR MIKE: So, I'm going to give the website again. It's MindfulnessMeditationIntitute.org. My guest is Charles A. Francis. He's the co-founder and director of the Mindfulness Meditation Institute.
So, what's in your future, Charles? Are you working on a new book or something? What's up?
CHARLES: Well, I'm thinking about next year. The next book is going to be about mindfulness and relationships. How to delve deeper into that.
DR MIKE: Well, we're going to have to leave it there, Charles. I appreciate you coming on.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike.Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
Mindfulness meditation involves your mind focusing only on the present.
Additional Info
- Segment Number 2
- Audio File healthy_talk/1513ht4b.mp3
- Featured Speaker Charles A. Francis, Co-Founder of Mindfulness Meditation Institute
- Organization Mindfulness Meditation Institute
- Book Title Mindfulness Meditation Made Simple: Your Guide to Finding True Inner Peace
-
Guest Bio
Charles A. Francis is the co-founder and director of the Mindfulness Meditation Institute. He has studied the practice of mindfulness with Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. For over 18 years, he has worked to help people find inner peace through mindfulness.
He has published numerous articles, and is the author of the new ebook, Mindfulness in the Workplace: How Organizations Are Using Mindfulness to Lower Health Care Costs and Increase Productivity.
Charles has a master's degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University, with a focus on healthcare management and policy. He has worked for the North Carolina State Senate in writing legislation to address childhood obesity, and improve government efficiency. He has a background in accounting and business management, and has served as CEO of ITC, an international telecommunications company.
In addition to teaching mindfulness meditation to individuals, Charles is a speaker and does consulting to help organizations develop mindfulness training programs for their staff, in order to help them realize the cost-saving benefits of the mindfulness practice. He also leads workshops and mindfulness meditation retreats. -
Transcription
RadioMD Presents: Healthy Talk | Original Air Date: March 26, 2015
Host: Michael Smith, MD
Living longer and staying healthier it's Healthy Talk with Dr. Michael Smith, MD . Here's your host Dr. Mike.
DR MIKE: Mindfulness meditation made simple. Mindfulness meditation I'm going to be honest with you I'm not even sure what that means but that's why I have the expert on that. His name is Charles A. Francis. He's the co-founder and Director of the Mindfulness Meditation Institute. He has published numerous articles and is the author of a new e-book Mindfulness in the Workplace: How Organizations are Using Mindfulness to Lower Healthcare Costs and Increase Productivity. Charles has a Master's degree in public administration from Syracuse with a focus on healthcare management and policy.
Charles, welcome to Healthy Talk.
CHARLES: Well, good morning. Thank you for having me on.
DR MIKE: So, this idea of mindfulness meditation. I guess maybe I just need to start off with a basic question. What is that?
CHARLES: Yes. Well, that's a big source of confusion. Mindfulness meditation is one from of many different forms of meditation to help us calm our minds so we can focus better and relax and lower our stress levels. The purpose behind the mindfulness meditation is the develop mindfulness. Now, mindfulness in it's simplest form, simply means awareness of what's happening around us; awareness of what's happening within us. Our mind, body, our emotions because we often don't see things as they really are.
We see things from the lens of our pre-conceived ideas/ things that we've heard in the past form our emotional reaction, so with mindfulness meditation we train ourselves to observe objectively. The other thing that it does is it helps to bring us into the present moment because if you think about it all of life is happening in the present. Very often, we are caught up in thinking about what happened in the past or thinking about what's going to happen in the future; how things are going to be better or going to be worse in the future. So, we lose touch with the present moment which is where reality and life is always taking place. So, mindfulness meditation helps bring us back to the present moment.
DR MIKE: So, Charles I think it was Mark Twain who said "I have so many problems in my life. Thank God most of them have never happened." I think that's kind of what you're saying. We're so focused on the past and the future, we forget to live and be mindful of the present. If I am more mindful, if I become more mindful of the reality of my current situation right here, right now, how does that help me health-wise and emotional-wise?
CHARLES: Well, it helps steady our emotions because we don't get into all these unrealistic thoughts of things, like you said, that are never going to happen. So, we don't jump to conclusions as to what's the worst thing that's going to happen. So, we don't react to that. The other thing that it does is by calming our minds, we eliminate a lot of the excess thinking which really agitates our minds and it keeps us from being at peace.
I really think our minds, it's natural state is to be at peace. The problem is, we're always agitating and stimulating it with something. We're stimulating it with a lot of activities, too many commitments, a lot of background noise, so anything that stimulates any of our senses will trigger thinking. With mindfulness meditation we release stress by just helping our mind calm down more naturally by itself.
DR MIKE: You know, Charles it's a rare segment that I don't try to fit in something about my dog. She's really good about living in the moment, being mindful of the moment. She seems like she has not a care in the world, but, of course, that's just a dog. What was your inspiration for all this? I mean what made you want to focus on helping people be more mindful of the reality of right now?
CHARLES: Well. I've been following a spiritual practice for most of my life, so for me it was more natural to want to do that and it was always engrained in me to be a service to other people from a very young age. Now, when I started meditation it took me a long time to understand it and to figure it out because everybody was doing something different.
I just couldn't put my head around it as to what exactly meditation was. Then, I realized that everybody was doing a different form of meditation. And the other thing is, back in the 90's, we really didn't understand the technique very well. At least not many people here in the West. Once I learned about mindfulness meditation--I learned the technique--I figured them out and I realized it was a lot simpler than I thought. Now, what took me years to figure out, I teach in a one and a half hour session through a demonstration and I show people that inner peace is just a few minutes away when you know the techniques and how to apply them.
DR MIKE: So, let's talk about that. In your book you write about 12 steps of the mindfulness meditation practice and I don't expect you to go over all 12 because I want your listeners to go buy your e-book. But, maybe just give us 3 or 4 of some of the key steps in mindfulness meditation practice.
CHARLES: Okay. Well, first of all the reason I developed 12 steps is to make it a lot easier for a beginner to get started. Very often in this fast-paced world, we want things shown to us step by step. Just tell me what to do so I can do it. So, that's what I've done with the 12 steps. Now, the first few steps 1, 2, and 3 they're about basic principles of meditation practice. Like first of all, understanding our suffering, how we suffer, why we're not at peace. We also talk about some of the things that get in the way of our development of mindfulness.
In step 2, we talk about our tools of observation which are concentration and mindfulness itself because, remember, what we're trying to develop is our ability to see the world more objectively without our views being tainted by our emotions or our preconceived ideas which may not be entirely correct because we develop these views from years ago.
In step 3, we look at some of the things that over stimulate our minds like I was talking about the background noise, too many activities, too many commitments, too many unresolved issues from the past.
And Step 4 is an important one because there we learn to structure our meditation sessions or our practice so that it suits our individual lives. Everybody's different and everybody has different commitments, different availabilities of times, different times when we feel...
DR MIKE: So let me ask you, though, Charles. You have these 12 steps and it sounds like it's kind of like the "mindfulness meditation made simple" for people just like me. But I think when people picture somebody meditating, they picture the person in that weird sitting posture and they're able to just really get into that meditation. So, I think a lot of beginners are a little worried that they're not going to be able to do that. Do you break down some of those barriers? Do you have instant tips of how to get through some of those challenges of meditation?
CHARLES: Yes. One of the first things we talk about it not to expect perfection because very often we think that if we don't completely quiet our mind when we start meditating that we're not doing it properly and that's just not so. It takes a mind a few minutes and sometimes over time for it to settle down and be quiet. It's difficult for any of us even with experience to completely shut our mind down.
DR MIKE: Right. Let's do this Charles. Is there a website that my listeners can go to, to check out your articles and books on mindful meditation?
CHARLES: Yes. So, it's MindfulnessMeditationInstitute.org
DR MIKE: That's MindfulnessMeditationInstitute.org. When we come back, we'll continue with Charles Francis and we're going to talk about emotional wounds.
This is Healthy Talk on RadioMD. I'm Dr. Mike. Stay well. - Length (mins) 10
- Waiver Received No
- Host Mike Smith, MD
