PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) is a female endocrine disorder where too much androgen hormone (testosterone) is being made in relations to estrogen.  It affects up to 10% of all women.   It is thought that improper insulin  regulation is a common cause and shows up in girls as young as 9 years old through post menopausal women. PCOS is one of the main causes of infertility, but PCOS is a symptom of an underlying endocrine imbalance not the reason for the infertility.

Common symptoms of PCOS include:

• Irregular or no menstrual periods (for women of reproductive age)
• Irregular ovulation, with or without monthly bleeding
• Acne
• Excess hair growth on the face and body
• Thinning scalp hair
• Accumulation of un-ruptured follicles on the periphery of the ovaries (mislabeled as “cysts”, often called polycystic ovaries)

It is not necessary to have all of these symptoms to have PCOS. In fact it is not necessary to have “polycystic ovaries” to have PCOS.  PCOS manifests itself differently in each woman.

I believe that Chinese Medicine is the best medicine on the planet to deal with PCOS and any hormonal imbalances.  Using acupuncture, herbs and nutrition we can regulate the hormonal levels sometimes within a few cycles.

There have been a couple of recent studies which show what has been known clinically for 2000 years.  Below are some of the articles written about the studies:

• Acupuncture and Exercise Relieve PCOS In this 16 week study from 2009 the once a week acupuncture group had fewer menstrual irregularities and a significant drop in testosterone.     Here is another article regarding this study.
• Acupuncture relieves PCOS better than exercise alone - In this similar study to the one above the acupuncture group had more menstrual regulation and a higher drop in testosterone than the exercise group.

In addition these studies only used acupuncture and exercise.   There was no dietary intervention or herbal medicine used as treatment.  Once we add in these modalities the success rate increases dramatically!

So if you have been diagnosed with PCOS absolutely consider using Chinese Medicine as a treatment modality.

Yours In Health,

George Mandler CNS LDN LicAc

Although the flu season has ended (yeah Spring!) a study just came out showing the inhibitory function of elderberry against certain bacteria and viruses. Joy and I kept a bottle of Elderberry on the counter all winter and put it in water a couple of times per day.  We sneak it in our sons applesauce or hide it in juice in the hopes of protecting him from daycare buggers.   This is the first winter we’ve done that and I think believe it helped combat various pathogens that came our way.

Now before we get all excited about this study (like I did), realize that it just showed activity in petri dishes, not humans.  What happens in the body can be different.  Also it may work for some people but not others.    I always tell my patients to try something and see how you feel.

Yours In Health,

George Mandler
Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist
Licensed Acupuncturist

Given the work I do on food sensitivities I appreciate how a minor change in protein structure can cause someone to have an immune reaction to a food vs. not having a reaction.   From the research I’ve done on genetically modified foods I would say we are in danger of having an explosion of food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances among us all.   We simply do not know the long term effects of introducing new protein structures to foods.   Nor do we know of their effects on the environment.    I cut and pasted a great Op-Ed from the Los Angeles Times last month about how the companies that make the genetically modified seeds are protected by their patents.   Also see Jeffrey Smith for more information on the dangers of Genetically Modified Foods.

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Since I do a considerable amount of work with food sensitivities and how it relates to our health the recent Lancet study that made headlines came as no surprise to me. However reading the comments section on NPRs coverage had me realize that we are still in the dark ages in terms of food/emotions/health.    The saying “you are what you eat” is very true -  Whatever we eat has the potential to express certain genes that can have marked effects on our physiology.  Food that we may have lost oral tolerance for will cause an inflammatory response that when eaten over and over eventually will cause chronic disease. Read the rest of this entry

I always tell my patients that Chinese Medicine has a lot more to offer than allopathic medicine for the treatment of many gynecological issues. I feel that most cases of menstrual irregularities can be succesfully treated with Chinese Medicine and there is 2000 years of clinical data to back it up.
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Chinese Medicine which includes acupuncture, herbal medicine and nutrition can often treat conditions concerning poor egg quality.   Often when a woman is labeled with poor egg quality they have other signs of poor circulation such as cold extremities, low energy and maybe skin conditions.   Most often the cause does not lie with the eggs, but the overall health of the body and poor circulation to the uterus and ovaries.

The quality of the eggs depend on the DNA and the environment in which they are developing.  The lifecycle of an egg is upwards of 150 days, but the 3 months prior to ovulation is the most critical time of cell division. During this critical time we want to increase blood flow to the ovaries and work on getting supportive nutrition to the body.  This may include herbal medicine and nutraceuticals such as minerals and vitamins if necessary.   We also want to make sure we aren’t causing additional inflammation in the body (and thus preventing reproductive blood flow) by eating foods which are causing immune reactions.

Acupuncture can increase blood flow to the reproductive organs which can thereby provide more blood flow to the ovaries and improve egg quality over time.  With any fertility treatment strategy besides using Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs, shiatsu) we always want to make sure nutrition is sound.  Nutraceuticals such as powerful antioxidants like ubiquinol and alpha lipoic acid can help reduce an inflammation response.   Blood tests can uncover and food sensitivity issues.

In addition to the services we offer your home treatments of castor oil packs on the abdomen are used to increase blood flow to the uterus and ovaries.  Self massage and visualization are also important tools and we will provide information and resources on these techniques.

Each patient will follow a different treatment protocol based on their Chinese Medical Diagnosis. Some women conceive naturally after a couple of months of treatments for poor egg quality.  But many go on to have a successful IVF or IUI as the chances of conceiving improve greatly after a treatment protocol.

Yours In Health,

George Mandler CNS LDN LicAc

A recent study showed that uterine lining health may be more important than egg quality in creating a healthy birth weight baby and carrying to term.    (Click here for the Time article about this published research).   This was a large study out of Baylor that reviewed over 300,000 IVF cycles  with specific interest in birth weight and gestation.  What they found was that IVF cycles that stimulated the uterus (which is the majority) had lower birth weight and less chance of carrying to term than ones that were unstimulated such as donor egg, surrogate or frozen transfer.

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Acid reflux is a disorder often dealt with symptomatically by giving acid blocking medication. However they do not always relieve the issue and long term use of these drugs (more than 6 months) can have deleterious effects on our health. They can cause mineral deficiencies leading to osteoporosis and decreased digestion of proteins thereby causing a vitamin B12 deficiency. They can also cause an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut. Sometimes what is diagnosed as GERD is actually a histamine intolerance. [More...] This can often be when someone gets pain in the esophagus immediately after eating a certain food. What is happening is that a person has a loss of oral tolerance for a certain food triggering an immune response and a release of histamines. This is felt as burning in the chest and often mistaken for GERD.
Also acid reflux can often easily be controlled with acupuncture or herbs. Chinese Medicine is wonderful for dealing with gastrointestinal issues such as GERD.

However another reason not to use the class of acid reflux medication known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) for long term is that the FDA just stated that they can cause magnesium deficiencies. Alternative practitioners and holistic MDs have been saying this for a while, but it isn’t just magnesium as it can be any mineral. Magneisum is needed for over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, therefore the use of these drugs can have far reaching health effects.

If you are prescribed acid reflux medication I urge you to look at the cause of it and try to heal it through diet, acupuncture or herbs. The acid reflux isn’t the real problem, it is just a warning light. We don’t cover the warning light when it comes on in our car as we take it to a mechanic. So why would you cover the warning light by taking GERD medication? (Unless you had irritation that could be cancerous, but still you need to correct the underlying imbalance.)

Yours In Health,

George Mandler

Licensed Acupuncturist

Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist.

I am not a huge fan of the algae Spirulina. It has been questioned to potentially cause vitamin B12 deficiencies. From a Chinese Medicine perspective it would be good for someone that is robust as the Spirulina can be very cooling and cleansing. Read the rest of this entry

Although almost every woman I’ve helped with fertility was using some sort of Prenatal vitamin/mineral there are two recent studies below that show their benefit.   When undergoing IVF there are large non-physiological quantities of hormones that need to be metabolized and certain minerals such as copper and zinc are used as co-enzymes in their metabolism.   Therefore it is possible that deficiencies can develop.

For any kind of fertility issues I strongly feel that Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture are superior than modern assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for a majority of cases.   With acupuncture and herbs you not only help the woman conceive, but also to create healthier offspring, as well as support the health of the mother.   However I also prefer to use some sort of whole food multi vitamin and mineral to support general health.  If there have been miscarriages I also use potent antioxidants (not ones found in a multivitamin/mineral) to help reduce oxidative stress.  As shown by one of the studies below oxidative stress can be high in some IVF cases.
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