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Dr. Berkson's Best Health Radio Podcast

Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson shares decades of experience as a hormone and nutrition specialist to help you live a healthier, happier life. Disclaimer: The entire contents of these podcasts are based upon the opinions of Dr. DL Berkson, unless otherwise noted. Individual discussions are based upon the opinions of the respective individuals, based on their research, experience and communities. The information on this podcast or any related websites are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice from practitioners that know your personal medical situation. All material is educational and is intended only as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Berkson and her community. Dr. Berkson encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, you must consult with your health care professional before using protocols or products based on any of this content.
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Now displaying: April, 2017
Apr 26, 2017

All earth’s populations are struggling with pollution. There are over 700,000 pollution related deaths a year, but what about your baby’s brain? Dr. Barbara Demeneix is a scientist and professor at the Sorbonne University, Paris, France. Dr B’s 40-year career focus has been on endocrinology with a particular investigation of the thyroid gland and its essential role in intelligence. 

Dr. Demeneix discusses how contemporary thyroid health, especially in fetuses and babies, is under attack by today’s toxic environment. Dr. Demeneix’s book is called Toxic Cocktail. She shares how thyroid function, in both the pregnant mom and baby, are a major influence of the child’s IQ and brain function. In contrast, the thyroid gland is one of the most vulnerable tissues of the human body, affected severely by endocrine-disrupting pollutants in today’s chemical soup that we all eat, live and breathe. 

There are many “action steps” that a pregnant woman can take in putting the new baby room together, in choice of self-care products, food choices and preparation, and even weight loss and detox protocols, to help protect your baby’s brain.  

The last chapter of Dr. D’s book gives a list of to-dos for specific protection. 

Toxic chemical exposure during pre-conception (before the egg and sperm come together), throughout pregnancy, and up to 3 years of age of your infant, are all “vulnerable windows” of exposure where chemicals that lurk in your home, air and water can damage your baby’s brain, health and immune system. This radio show should be heard and shared foreword to all those with children, grandchildren or planning to continue to grow their families. 

Pesticides on commonly consumed inorganic foods, foam often found inside furniture or baby mattresses, flame-retardants in computers heated up from prolonged use, and on and on, put your child at increased risk of ADHD or Asperger’s syndrome or even obesity and cancer. Dr. D. explains the details of how this is possible.  

These are real human health threats, yet, as Drs. D and B deliberate, at the same time Trump has just signed an EPA gag-order to deny the use of research to block more pesticide sales. The argument is that de-regulation creates more jobs. But it makes more people ill, especially children. California has the strictest environmental laws but has accomplished one of the most robust economies in the world. Dr. D shares how regulatory action can actually create more jobs.  

We go on to discuss specific minerals that are protective against these environmental assaults. Dr. D warns about the “dangers” of relying solely on sea salt as your salt of choice. Sea salt is deficient in iodine and may be contributing to thyroid disorders as well as increasing human vulnerabilities of the thyroid gland to today’s toxic exposures. We also discuss “zinc fingers” and oral contraceptives. Birth control pills appear to be potentially increasing thyroid vulnerabilities to toxic exposures by causing zinc deficiency inside red blood cells. Two atoms of zinc, called “zinc fingers” are critical for all sex, thyroid and adrenal hormones to deliver their signals to genes effectively. This spurned possibly new research directions with some of Dr. D’s European cohorts with banked blood. That would be so cool.

Drs. D. and B. discuss the intimate role of the adrenal hormone cortisol with the thyroid hormones. 

Dr. D. explains that thyroid dynamics are extremely complex. Wherever there is more complexity, more can go wrong and there can be more vulnerability to all these toxic interfaces.

We discuss the use of IQ air filters to come to the aid of the “gray matter “of your family. Click here for IQ airlifters. Click here for Dr. Demeneix’s new book, Toxic Cocktail.

 

 

Apr 21, 2017

Dr. Berkson speaks on new information about the power of food. The more fresh veggies you eat, the later you die. How you choose to eat effects how long and well you live. Everyone is looking for the holy grail to live longer and it’s a combination of moving more, eating less and consuming a smarter plant-based diet. Research out of the Imperial College of London shows that eating up to 10 portions of veggies and some fruit a day, appears to prevent 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide. If you thought 5 veggies and fruits a day was a stretch, getting double that increases your healthier years on your lifespan. Berkson discusses how to achieve getting lots of healthy veggies easily and with plenty of flavor.

Fruit juice, frozen fruit and canned fruit are linked to living less long and well. Berkson explains why. Both raw and cooked vegetables give similar benefits in relation to preventing earlier death from various causes but fresh veggies and fruits had the highest protection compared to frozen, canned or processed in other ways. Fruit and vegetables reduce cholesterol levels, normalize blood pressure, boost the health of our blood vessels and immune system and protect DNA damage that can lead to cancer and various diseases. Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, broccoli sprouts, kale, etc.,  are high are high in glucosinolates that activate enzymes that protect against cancer and growth out of control. Vegetables along with moderate fresh fruit intake also protect the bacteria inside our gut microbiome.

In terms of lifespan, up to 10 veggies and some fruit servings daily, protect more years well lived than anything else other than regular exercise (see Berkson’s Move More and Die Later podcast). Fresh vegetables had the strongest protective effect, with each daily portion reducing overall risk of death by 16%. Salad contributed to a 13% risk reduction per portion, while each portion of fresh fruit was associated with a smaller but still significant 4% reduction.  In contrast, fruit juice, canned fruit (worse in syrup) and frozen fruit had more links to dying sooner. 

Food is gut protective, if you make wise choices. Monash University and the CSIRO are using specialized diets rich in “resistant starch” to prevent and treat gut disorders (leaky gut and inflamed gut wall) and illnesses like Type 1 Diabetes. Monash University was where the low FODMAP diet was first introduced.  These researchers found -- for the first time -- that a diet high in “resistant starch” yields high amounts gut healing short-chain fatty acids.  When you consume foods high in resistant starch your gut bugs ferment these foods and then produce short chain fatty acids such as acetate and butyrate. These short chain fatty acids heal your constantly turning over gut wall as well as boost immune function in the immune system that lives inside the gut wall.  Short chain fatty acids protect against type 1 or juvenile diabetes and even help once someone has this disease. A typical Western diet is insufficient in resistant starch as well as diverse veggies and fruits. Too few short-chain fatty acids are formed. Insufficient short-chain fatty acids starve gut wall cells and set the scene for diseases like autoimmunity.

Berkson discusses which foods are high in resistant starch and what temperature they must be consumed at to gain these benefits! Resistant starch also helps the body fight off pre-cancerous lesions. Small blue potatoes are cancer busters. They are shockingly high in both anthocyanins as well as resistant fat. So these mighty small spuds help fight cancer stem cells as well as boost gut immunity. Links to 2 easy tasty recipes by Berkson that make it easy to get in 10 veggies in one meal at a time XXX

 

 
Apr 13, 2017

Evan Brand hosts one of the top 25 ranked health podcast shows in the US called Not Just Paleo. Evan, author of three health books, is also a nutritional sleuth specializing in identifying and naturally treating hidden gut infections. When he was a teenager he got very ill from what turned out to be multiple gut infections that his regular doctors could not identify. By identifying the exact organisms and learning how to use herbs to eradicate the infection, and becoming healthier than ever, launched Evan into his career. He shares that healthy diets alone will not treat fungal, parasitic or bacterial infections; they must be addressed. Natural answers are often more effective with less complications and often even reduce later recurrences better than many pharmaceutical interventions. But the practitioner has to really know what they are doing. Hidden gut infections are often the unappreciated root cause of various issues from inflammatory bowel disease to depression and even serious chronic fatigue. Evan healed himself and went on to become a healer of others. We discuss h. pylori infections, which can cause gastric ulcers and even cancers down the road. But this infection is very responsive to natural herbal treatments. H. pylori damages the cells that make stomach acid so often replacement of this is part of the natural protocol to heal the condition. If not replaced, this increases the risk for collateral infections like candidiasis. We discuss two nutraceuticals that prevent friendly yeast from morphing into more dangerous mycelized yeast, which can embed into the gut wall causing leaky gut and mycotoxin release fallout. We discuss the positive and sometimes negative role of digestive enzymes, especially the role of pepsin and bile on esophageal mucosal membranes. Esophageal aging is a real issue for many in mid and later life and we discuss the pros and cons of enzyme replacement keeping this in mind. Evan reminds us that nutrition is important but obsession with healthy eating, called orthorexia, can be a certifiable eating disorder.  Evan shares his typical healthy moderate menus and we discuss being sane and nutritionally moderate in an American world prone to obsession and hyperbole. Evan is a wealth of nutritional knowledge and treats patients internationally. We discuss testing methods of gut infections to hormones. Berkson and Brand have a lot of fun with a gentle authentic give and take of factoids to make your life more fun, healthy and yet nutritionally reasonable.

Apr 4, 2017

Discrimination against aging women in romance, the market place and the good old USA, is rampant. Nobody makes a big issue that President Trump started up his relationship with Melania when he was 52 and she was 28. But if a woman did that, boy would she and the younger dude get hit with a tonnage of criticism. Women are judged on their looks. Older men want younger women who look better. Corporations want younger female employees that look good, too. But fact is fact. Maturing women are the fastest growing demographic in the world, so what are we going to do about this injustice? We fight for the rights of African Americans, Muslims, disabled people, but what about the deep pervasive cultural bias against aging women. We walk around with "mind bugs" which are prejudices we inherit from how we were raised or that we take on from our culture. But we can do something about clearing these mind bugs out of our heads. It takes awareness and intention. But we have to start clearing the mind bug decks. Why? When we discriminate against a huge proportion of our human family, our country becomes ill and it's harder to be healthier for each of us. The health of the family of mankind affects each of our personal health. To put down, to make feel judged and made less than, a huge portion of older people, who in contrast are rich in resources, wisdom and often more patience and compassion, we harm our selves. And we harm and isolate these older women who were our mothers and caretakers and upholders of our early families. Even candid gerontologists are admitting there is excessive  "granny bashing" among doctors behind closed doors against older women. These mind bugs need to stop. Maturing women  themselves need to not buy into being less than. It isn't easy to buck a societal perceptive addiction. But change always takes tools and Berkson offers up a bunch. Berkson takes this topic head on. You are guaranteed to have your mind and heart expanded. You'll never think about living longer on third ball from the Sun in the same way again.

 

 

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