Brand New -Old Fashion Doctors

That's what my instructors in school told us students people wanted (and that was 20 years ago ). Everyone wants their doctor to know the newest and latest developments in whatever branch of medicine they are in. My experience has been that new is not always improved. New drugs are introduced every year and every year drugs are removed because of dangerous/ deadly effects are noted (Vioxx or estrogen for example) . I'm reading about (and know of one person) who has had a spinal disc replacement. This is amazing that the body can survive such a procedure, but that is no reason to have it done.. Many surgeries are done that alternatives exist for, but the patient is not given the option. As a chiropractor I meet people weekly who have had back surgery without trying some form of natural medicine first (so that you don't think I'm just picking on the surgeons, there are chiropractors who fail to educate patients on home care and nutrition ).We all seem to have our own set of beliefs and often fail to educate ourselves on other fields.
So, I believe the best doctors should be trying to prevent whatever they are treating , be knowledgeable about other fields than their own and be able to explain the pros and cons of their suggestions. The word DOCTOR means teacher and that should include the answering of questions by patients. Help your doc out by writing your questions out and doing some research yourself. You are the ultimate decision maker. No one can make you take a pill or have a procedure unless that is what you want. If you doc doesn't like questions or is rushing to do something you are unsure of feel free to take a time out or get a new doctor. This brings us back to the point I ended the last blog on. There are a lot of FNP's or PA's out there who may listen better and have more time to talk. For natural medicine options talk to a chiropractor that is savvy a bout nutrition or ask at a health food store or a massage therapist who they go to. One of the best sites I know of for natural medicine options is MERCOLA.COM. I wish everyone in the medical field agreed on what is the best procedure, the fact is even experts differ. I was raised a Quaker and believe the simplest solutions should be sought first. Western medicine is the best in the world for life and death matters. We're less good when it comes to dealing with day to day problems that most of us have to deal with. Keep this in mind, your body wants to heal. What you need to find out is how to help it. That's when the advice and service of a good doctor comes in
Thanx for reading, as always I welcome comments and suggestions.

Ezra Edgerton, DC fasion

More Eggs and Less Biscuit

The one factor that is killing more Americans than anything else is their right hand ( or whichever hand they use to feed themselves ). If only everyone would start to be aware of what constitutes sugar...starch...carbs (carbohydrates ) and try to reduce them and especially avoid them unless consumed with some kind of protein (eggs, meat, fish, poultry, cheese etc. ). I know, I know...eggs are to be some kind of poison. The short answer is ... that's wrong. Your liver makes 10 eggs worth of cholesterol each day and GOD is no fool. Why would your body produce 2000 mg of a substance a day if it was bad for you. Cholesterol is used to make your hormones, cell walls, to repair wounds...the list goes on and on. The cholesterol that is found in people's arteries is there as a patch to keep the blood vessel wall from tearing. It's not the cause of the problem, it's there trying to solve a problem (inflammation the vessels). Eggs have been eaten by humans for 1000's of years. Does it make sense to you that in the last 50 years we have changed so that they are now poison. I don't think so. So here is the diet I suggest to people: Divide the body weight you would like to be by 50 , this is the number of protein oz. you should eat at each meal. For example a 150 pound person should eat 3 oz. of protein three times a day ( 9 oz. per day ) At each meal if you eat at least that much protein , you can have some carbs. That may be bread, corn, pasta fruit, wine, beer (spaghetti in a glass) or plain old sugar ( this is all written out on a handout you can get at my office). Two eggs equals 3 oz....3/4 a cup of cottage cheese equals 3 oz.... a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards equals 3 oz. For your 2 eggs , you can have a cup of pasta ( not a Jethro bowl, but a cup ), 2 slices of bread, 1/4 cup of raisins ( a lot of people think fruit is great, but you can overload on sugar quick if you eat too much...on a side note the best thing you can do with a juicer is pour the juice down the drain and eat the pulp, that's where the the most nutrients are). For people on the run ( that includes a lot of men and most all women) having a bowl full of boiled eggs handy is one the best things you can do to stay healthy-diet wise. Anyway enough for today. Next time I'd like to talk about how to find a good doctor ( hint a lot of times it's a nurse) Thanks for reading this

Ezra Edgerton, DC

Thyroid Mysteries

Synthroid medication is often given to, mostly women in an effort to give them a boost of energy. Sometimes it helps sometimes not and sometimes it can make matters worst. Synthroid is T-4 ,the storage form. When the blood levels go up the control gland in the head tells the thyroid gland to slow down production. This can work against having the body regulate itself. There are two other forms of thyroid medication, Armour Dessicated ( a form of the dried whole thyroid gland from an animal) and Cytomel T-3(this can also come from a compounding pharmacy).
One of the problems with taking thyroid medication is that the blood tests are often almost useless. Regardless of what is done the values stay the same. So oft times Synthroid is given on a trial basis and the patient may end up being worst off. If you do get blood tests, I would suggest the following: T3, T4, TSH, RT3 (reverse T3), and thyroid microsomal antibodies. The following is a general guide and should be discussed with your doctor (you may have to ask around to find one interested in looking ) : If T3 low try T3, if Thyroid microsomal antibodies are high try T3, if TSH is high try T4 and if TSH is low do NOT try T4.
There are several metabolic imbalances that can effect the thyroid. Too much estrogen and/or too little progesterone, not enough Iodine, bad effects from pharmaceuticals and a poor diet (too much biscuit and not enough eggs). If you are interested in knowing more about this , please contact my office or you can educate yourself by reading about the thyroid at nutri-spec.net, they have a great search engine. I'd like to talk about what I consider to be a good diet next time. Remember ,your body wants to heal. Be curious and find someone you can work with to find what you need to do to get with the program. You don't have to be a hermit and worry about your well being all the time. It's easier than you think to be healthy.
Thanx for taking the time to read this. Ezra Edgerton, DC

Eat Fat To Lose Fat

I know this may sound crazy , what with all the fear of fat around, but the truth of the matter is you get fat by eating starch/carbs/ sugar (three words for the same thing) and not enough protein and fat. I hope everyone knows by now that margarine/ Crisco /trans fat (three more words for the same thing ) is bad for you. This is what they make bio-diesel fuel out of. It has a long shelf life (like 500 years) and won't rot or spoil. That's a bad sign for food quality. I can appreciate that during WWII the food industry was trying to find substitutes for products that were in short supply, but today , there is plenty of data to prove that trans fat is horrible for you.
The next bad fat is all the seed oils like corn oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, etc. Your best fat is animal fat. butter , olive oil and a little known fat these days COCONUT OIL. From my own experience and that of my patients this stuff is great. It is a medium chain saturated fat and I know the party line is that saturated fat is bad, but from all I can find out that emperor is naked. Without boring ya'll to tears, suffice it to say this stuff is great for healing. Please contact my office for more extensive info or of course google it.
I mentioned last time about PROGEST-E (a progesterone/ vitamin E mixture you take by mouth). Someone wrote in to ask about thyroid disease and coconut oil (hence this article). Coconut oil and progesterone work great together to support the thyroid. Make sure you have enough Iodine in your diet also.
Next blog will be about the thyroid and what can be done to support it.

Was that a hot flash or it is just August in Carolina

Menopause is not a disease. Women have gone through this change for thousands of years. In the last 40-50 years , our diets in the west have changed drastically. We now have an abundance of food but the quality/ nutrient value tends to be poor. Way too much starch/ sugar/ carbohydrates (call it what you will , these three are in essence the same) and not enough protein and good fat. Add to that an excess of drugs which force the body to respond in such a way that symptoms are covered up. For many that is fine and they would see no problem. For a person seeking to find the cause of the problem, drugs can cover the body's natural reactions and cause more problems down the road. A prime example of this is the use of estrogen for menopause symptoms. It is pretty evident by now that taking estrogen raises a woman's risk of breast cancer big time. But that's not all, how about these effects which are also associated with taking estrogen:
seizures / allergies / fluid retention / weight gain / depressed thyroid function /endometriosis.
This is a partial list. Please feel free to contact my office if you would like the complete list and references. In the meantime, eat more egg and less biscuit, get some good fat in your diet,find a good multi vitamin and mineral, get your spine adjusted and include some PROGEST-E in your nutrition. This is available on line . Progesterone ( NOT progestin ) is great for women. The only adverse effects if you take too much is you will feel a little giddy or sleepy. Again call the office for handouts and info. Let me know of any subjects you would like to be addressed.

Till next time Ezra Edgerton DC

Aspirin is not a vitamin / margarine is not a food

There is more and more information these days about how we can all live better through natural medicine. The purpose of this blog is to sort through the piles of suggestions and offers such that rational and useful decisions can be made. For all its powerful good the fact is that drugs and surgery are being overused because people (and their doctors) are either ignorant of the good choices or are so overwhelmed by so many choices.
First and foremost, I believe people have to realize that their bodies want to heal. If you increase the good things and decrease the bad things your odds of healing are enormous. Sounds simple I know , but most people want to blame their parents ( genetic) or their lot in life. There are always things a person can do to improve their odds of healing. I can guarantee there is no magic pill or procedure that will take the place of personal responsibility. I can also guarantee that the steps you need to take are not as hard as you may think. Small changes at first will most often result in big results. So here goes:

1. Quit whining
2. Eat more egg and less biscuit (I'll give more details in later posts about how we've been mislead about eggs and cholesterol)
3. Find a source of good water (spring/ well/ filtered)
4. Take a good multiple vitamin / MINERAL daily (most have a lot of vitamins and not enough minerals)
5. Move every joint through every motion every day and note any restrictions
6. Find a dentist and chiropractor you trust and can work with.



There you go for starters. Please contact me through this blog or my e-mail (ezra34@hotmail.com) if you have particular questions you would like addressed or if you would like to talk about a situation in your own health


Dr. Edgerton Looking for alternatives to drugs and surgery