Is Intermittent Fasting For You?
“We don’t treat patients. We work with health participants,” David Y. Wong, M.D., tells me, a pioneer in the field of Integrative Medicine and the owner of the Health Integration Center, that opened in Torrance in 1978. His approach to health care is of no surprise, as their center offers a wide range of wellness programs including but not limited to preventative care, naturopathy, acupuncture, nutrition, energy healing, and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.
In the area of hormone balance, his interest in helping health participants with hormone balance began after reading “What Your May Not Tell You About Menopause” that was written by John R. Lee in 1996. Dr. Wong began prescribing bio-identical hormones in 1997. He believes that one therapy does not fit all and that you do need to individualize for each person.
How might someone come to Dr. Wong for hormonal balance? First, he tells us, pay attention to the symptoms. Many women, as you may have heard, will experience hot flashes, mood swings, poor sleep, and feeling unwell overall. This could indicate low levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
He points out that it is important to note that men also experience hormonal changes as they age, called andropause, and while not as apparent as the symptoms might be for women, it can impact their life negatively as well. They may be experiencing low mood swings or feeling depressed. They may find they are losing muscle strength and have lower energy levels. They usually start to notice more abdominal fat, and might have a low libido. This could all be caused by low testosterone.
Dr. Wong will test hormone levels through various means. This can be done through a blood test, a saliva test or urine test. The type of test that is done he says depends on age and other things he might be looking for based on what the health participant is experiencing. For instance, a urine test can be done to not only check for hormonal levels, but also check for metabolites, (a substance made or used when breaking down food, drugs, chemicals or its own tissue).
Depending on the test results, Dr. Wong may prescribe Bio-identical hormones. He says working closely with a compounding pharmacy (like Pacifica Pharmacy) to compound these hormones is key. These hormones can be taken orally, or as a cream and to him it is mostly about preference as to which delivery method is chosen.
Dr. Wong also says it’s important to check the thyroid gland, that is part of the endocrine system that produces hormones T3 and T4, responsible for things like metabolism, growth, and sleep. Commonly a practitioner will test for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). If it is high, it indicates you are lacking in T3/T4. When you have too little T3/T4 you may experience weight gain, lethargy, memory loss, constipation, brain fog, dry skin. If your TSH levels are low, you might be making too much T3/T4. If you have too much T3/T4 you might experience anxiety, irritation, hyperactivity, hair loss, tremors, shaking, or skipped periods. Dr. Wong will do comprehensive testing to check for thyroid antibodies and if they are present, it means the body is acting against its own tissue, a condition known as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. This is where prescribing natural thyroid is important. He also mentions that Low-Dose Naltrexone can be prescribed to help with the autoimmune component of the thyroid condition.
Aside from hormone replacement to bring your hormones into balance, Dr. Wong reiterates the importance of treating the whole person. One aspect of this includes paying attention to allergies, as allergies cause inflammation that causes imbalances in the body’s system.
Some other areas to pay attention to that is in your control to change or maintain as a health participant:
Nutrition– Nutrition is an important aspect to caring for oneself. He recommends reducing dairy, reducing refined carbohydrates, reducing alcohol and sugar. He states that rotating your foods, so that you are taking in many different nutrients is best. He suggests eating more organic foods and plant-based as well. Try eating fruit, more so than drinking juices. Juices are more concentrated and you end up consuming more sugar than you need.
Reduce Stress– Try deep breathing techniques and meditation to calm your nerves. Do activities that help you to calm, like reading or doing moderate exercise, like yoga.
Sleep– Keep a regular sleeping schedule of when you go to bed and when you wake up. Keep your bedroom at a cooler temperature. Keep your room dark. Eliminate electronics from your room to minimize distractions. He also recommends soaking in an Epsom salt bath, as this will help to absorb magnesium into the skin. Herbal tea before bed, like chamomile tea can help. Also, lavender oil applied to your neck or temples at bedtime will relax you as well.
Supplements– He recommends vitamin B (for hormonal synthesis and utilization in the body), Vitamin D3 (controls production and activity of estrogen and progesterone to keep hormones balanced), and magnesium glycenate (regulates your cortisol levels which aids in hormonal balance as well). Keep in mind that high quality supplements are best, and that supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet, but are meant to be just what the name implies, “a supplement” to what might be difficult to get in your daily diet.
Thank you, Dr. Wong, for sharing his extensive knowledge and integrative approach to health care with us.
References:
https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/thyroid/thyroid-what-are-t3-t4-tsh
https://www.birchandwilde.co.uk/blogs/news/how-why-does-vitamin-b-complex-support-your-hormones
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