In this study researchers looked at 4 groups of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): (1) treatment with clomid, (2) treatment with metformin, (3) clomid + metformin (4) lifestyle modification. The results were that the lifestyle modification group achieved the highest clinical pregnancy rates (20%). The next best was clomid + metformin (14.8%). Our patients always ask us why we are so concerned with diet and exercise modifications and this is why. We see huge differences clinically in people who follow our dietary and lifestyle recommendations. This is the foundation of a successful treatment and the foundation of a healthy pregnancy. As you have seen from other posts, you can’t just do any kind of diet or exercise. This is why we have specific dietary recommendations for people with different conditions. If someone has poor ovarian function they generally don’t get the same diet as someone who has a lining problem unless they have the same underlying causes. Exercise is also crucial and can even make up for some dietary lapses. However, exercise can enhance or inhibit fertility depending on how you do it. The fertility yoga DVDs are excellent routines geared toward each part of your menstrual cycle. They provide the right kind of exercise at the right times of the month. You can learn more about them here.
 
Fertil Steril. 2009 May 20. [Epub ahead of print]

This is yet another study demonstrating that the wrong kind of exercise can cause fertility problems. Researchers did a population based health survey in Norway examining close to 4,000 women and found that after adjusting for age, parity, smoking, and marital status, women who exercised on most days were over 3 times more likely to have fertility problems than inactive women. Out of the group that exercised a lot, if the exercise was to exhaustion they had double the odds of infertility when compared to those that had lower intensity workouts. The authors concluded that awareness of the possible risks of infertility should be highlighted among women who exercise vigorously. Interestingly, BMI (body-mass index) was not associated with fertility problems in this study.
 
Our clinical experience confirms this. Many of our fertility patients exercise regularly and vigorously and that was creating problems for them. However, proper exercise can greatly enhance fertility as it facilitates blood flow, proper hormone function, reduces stress and can balance the acid/alkaline ratios. So we created a yoga DVD that is specific to improving reproductive function. If you are interested, you can learn more about it here.
 
Hum Reprod. 2009 Dec;24(12):3196-204. Epub 2009 Oct 3.

While not a new study, I just came across it. It turns out that men who had 100 orgasms per year had significantly lower mortality (50% lower!). This was especially the case for coronary heart disease. There is a caveat here though. The study only looked at men aged 45-59. So this turns out to be about 2 orgasms per week. In Chinese medicine they historically recommend less frequent orgasms as we age, so I would like to see what happens after 59 if they keep that up. My guess is that in the 60’s and 70’s it might be better to reduce orgasm to once per week and in the 80’s once every other week. In the 90’s you should probably have orgasms daily as a reward for making it that far.
 
BMJ 1997;315:1641-1644 (20 December)

In a frantic race to find substances to combat the most recent H1N1 outbreak, scientists have been looking to botanicals. In this study they found that Echinacea pupurea not only inhibited H1N1 by preventing its ability to enter cells (in vitro), but inactivated the virus as well. In addition, Echinacea inhibited the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1, H7N7). The clincher is that it even worked against Tamiflu resistant strains! Also, Echinacea didn’t seem to develop resistant strains of H1N1. One caveat is that it worked best if it was taken prior to contact with the virus. Therefore it should be taken as a preventative and may not work as well after the fact.
 
Virol J. 2009 Nov 13;6(1):197. [Epub ahead of print]

A very interesting study that examined the effects of phthalate exposure during pregnancy on behavioral characteristics of boys found that they were much less aggressive due to the anti-androgen effects of some phthalates (i.e., they block testosterone). We’ve been warning our patients for years to minimize the use of plastics, however now I’m rethinking that. Perhaps what the world needs is to take a chill pill and become less violent. If plastics are the answer, then I guess we’ll just have to put up with smaller penises and lower testicular weights.
 
Int J Androl. 2009 Nov 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Drug resistance is a huge problem. As you can imagine, if you get a drug resistant strain of anything … as the name implies, it’s quite difficult to get rid of. If that happens to be a candida infection it can cause many problems from allergies to infertility. E. Coli infections can also be extremely problematic and occasionally a really bad strain gets into the food supply and some people die. In this study researchers found that the essential oil of rosemary was able to kill drug-resistant mutants of candida and E. coli as well as some other nasty organisms. If you are ingesting any essential oils you should be under the care of a health care practitioner that has training in herbal medicine. Fat soluble substances can bioaccumulate and become toxic so caution is necessary when taking essential oils internally. Suppositories can also be made from essential oils to treat local problems (such as vaginal yeast infections), however, recurrent yeast infections are rarely limited to the vagina. On the other hand, if you are susceptible to recurrent yeast infections, adding rosemary to your diet on a regular basis could be helpful. But you have to eat the leaves or cook them in oil in order for it to work.
 
Altern Ther Health Med. 2007 Sep-Oct;13(5):54-9.

Compounds from yet another Chinese herb (Ai Wei/F. Assafoetida) were found to be potent inhibitors of the H1N1 class of viruses. They were also shown to kill breast cancer and liver cancer cells as well. Chinese herbs have been used for millenia to help fight off a wide variety of epidemics. In fact, there are entire schools of Chinese herbal medicine dedicated to identifying infectious disease patterns and treating them. We will be finding many more novel compounds in the future from herbal medicine. Unfortunately, as conventional researchers get a hold of these, they mass produce them, use them inappropriately and then organisms develop resistance to them. In the mean time, herbal medicine extracts are novel enough to our pathogens to be very effective. If you want to learn some of the ancient Chinese strategies for dealing with epidemics, including the use of herbs, you can learn about it here.
 
J Nat Prod. 2009 Sep;72(9):1568-72.

For those of you who missed our workshop today in our LA office, here are the recipes in PDF form. We wanted to highlight seasonal produce that we can find in our local farmers markets (which we should ALL be shopping at) put into side dishes to serve at our holiday table that are less cloying than traditional holiday fare. Our recipes are vegetarian and do not include dairy. What you missed was a lovely Saturday morning at ECCM, a tasty sampling of Steve’s cooking and unlimited COCONUT BLISS ICE CREAM! We had 6 different flavors and toppings that included cacao nibs, granola, fresh banana, young coconut slivers, chocolate covered goji berries and a yummy red wine persimmon compote. Thank you Luna and Larry’s for our morning of bliss! Now my only hopes are that ants don’t devour our office and that the treatment rooms don’t smell like squash and shallots on Monday.  
Next workshop: My UNOFFICIAL guide to pregnancy and postpartum on December 5. 
 
recipes-fall-09.pdf

A number of studies have now shown that certain viruses (adenoviruses such as Ad-36 and SMAM-1) can cause obesity in humans. This is not new to Chinese Medicine and, in fact, they have herbs that can kill adenoviruses (e.g., Ocimum basilicum). Therefore, if you are overweight and trying everything to lose weight (unsuccessfully), then it could be that a viral infection is part of your problem, and unless you address the infection it may be very difficult to manage. In our practice, Steve Gomberg has a lot of experience treating obesity. He is an herbal medicine specialist and a certified clinical nutritionist.
 
Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2009 Mar;53(2):159-64.
Mayo Clin Proc. 2007 Oct;82(10):1192-8.
Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2005 Oct;32(10):811-6.

Researchers from the CDC analyzed data from 13,155 women who had children with birth defects. They found statistically significant correlations with antibiotic use. Two classes were identified as the main culprits: sulfonamides and nitrofurantoins (commonly used to treat UTI’s e.g., Macrobid). Other classes of antibiotics such as penicillins, erythromycins and cephalosporins seemed safer and were not significantly associated with birth defects, though there were some.
 
The main point here is that we need to be very careful with indiscriminate use of antibiotics. If you are sick, it doesn’t mean you have a bacterial infection and if you have a bacterial infection it doesn’t mean that just any antibiotic will kill it. There are also a lot of people taking antibiotics prophylactically during pregnancy to prevent all sorts of things like UTI’s, etc. I think this study is a wake up call. We should only use antibiotics when they are necessary and when we know that the organism is susceptible to the particular antibiotic.
 
Also note, that the women they looked at included women who took antibiotics one month before becoming pregnant. Prevention is the best medicine and during pregnancy there are many things you can do that have been proven to optimize your immune system such as acupuncture, good food choices, moderate exercise and stress relief.
 
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2009; 163 (11): 978