Brandon and I recently decided to start a vegetable and herb garden and wanted to have our soil tested for its composition and contaminants. We used a company in El Segundo called Wallace Laboratories and it cost $75 per sample and $70 if submitting more than 1 sample. Their results came relatively quickly and we were disheartened to find out that we had moderate levels of lead in our soil. According to our eco-friendly gardening instructor Darren Butler, he has found that the properties in the Eagle Rock/Mount Washington/Highland Park area are relatively high in lead. Boo. 
 
So what to do? First off, we removed all of the soil from our side yard that we want to designate as garden space. We had it legally dumped (I thought we could just drop it off on the side of the road!). Then I started asking around for good compost soils. A horticulturalist patient told me about Cal Blend, a compost soil that sells for $12.95 per cubic yard. She swears by this stuff. I also hunted around online and found a guy named Tim Dundon. He’s a legend in the Pasadena area and calls himself the guru of doo doo. I’m not kidding. He looks like he belongs in Humboldt County and not in the LA area and has been lovingly caring for his gigantic compost heap since 1973. He uses wood chips from trees in a pristine area in Oregon, horse manure from a local stable that really takes care of their equine friends. Anyway, he offers his compost soil for free and charges a small delivery fee. He does this out of the goodness of his own heart and thinks everyone should be growing their own food. I thought that was too good to be true so then we went to check out his property and obtain a sample for testing. So we did and the results are below. They came out really clean so now we can have him deliver us some rich, wormy compost for us to start living off our own land! 
 compost-testing.pdf
 
Tim Dundon 
(626) 794-1351 

This is the only post I’ve done that has absolutely nothing to do with health. Okay maybe financial health. A flying rock cracked our windshield and it’s been expanding ever since and we had to get our windshield replaced ASAP after unsuccessfully trying one of the windshield repair kits. Got a quote from my Toyota dealership for $1200. Are they kidding me? So I Yelped it and found an awesome place next to LAC-USC called GTO Auto Glass. We pulled up on a Saturday afternoon and as soon as we parked, they started working on it right away. Less than 30 minutes later they were done and they charged us $150 out the door. $1200 vs $150??? Isn’t that an insane difference? 
 
Brandon and I were joking that the guys working there probably work there on the side but their main jobs are probably stripping cars because they are so darn efficient at what they do. But we could care less. 
 
GTO Auto Glass 
1001 N Mission Road 
Los Angeles, CA 90033 
323.222.0115 
www.gtoautoglass.com

I like foods with function. And I love curry. So here’s a simple recipe that I have been making a lot that is high in antioxidants (some of these spices are high on the ORAC index) and easy to digest since coconut oil bypasses the gall bladder. Keep in mind that whole spices are the most flavorful so you can toast whole seeds and grind them in a spice grinder instead. Also feel free to use whatever vegetables are seasonal at the farmers market. 
 
Ingredients 
 

 
Method 
 

In this study they examined the effects of cows milk on mouse testicles. They found that Cows milk lowered serum testosterone levels and reduced the weight of the seminal vessicles. In general, dairy is not a great idea for male fertility in my opinion. For female fertility there is some support for using dairy, however, there is a lot of contamination in dairy products so unless you are getting pristine dairy, its best to avoid.
 
Biomed Environ Sci. 2009 Apr;22(2):161-3.

In this first study, researchers orally administered black pepper to male mice. They found that 0.5mg (the equivalent of 1 - 2 grams of black pepper per day in humans) was enough to induce testicular damage and resulted in a reduced litter size. The second study, researchers administered raw garlic and found that the rat germ cells (meaning the things that become sperm) would die off. This goes along with what we’ve been teaching for many years: many of the foods that are good at killing cancer cells, are good at killing your fertility as well…
 
Indian J Exp Biol. 2009 Sep;47(9):706-14.
Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2009 Jun 24;7:65.

With serious lapses of hygiene in hospitals, we are now facing an epidemic of antibiotic resistant strains of potentially deadly microorganisms that are now being found outside of hospitals. One of these antibiotic resistant organisms is known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA initially looks fairly innocent and may resemble pimples, boils or spider bites. However, they can then turn into abscesses and go into the body, causing potentially life-threatening infections. This is one of the reasons we are always wearing gloves in our clinic. MRSA is spread between patients very easily by doctors, nurses, etc. It is especially common on cell phones, ties, stethoscopes, pagers, etc. So if your doctor washes her hands and then checks her pager and touches you, that could spread MRSA or other organisms.
 
So it’s not a surprise that researchers are frantically looking for compounds that these bacteria are not resistant to and so they are turning to phytochemicals (plant-chemicals) for clues. In this study, they looked at Olive leaf extract and found that it was able to kill MRSA. Interesting it was also selective against Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori.
 
Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2009 May;33(5):461-3. Epub 2009 Jan 9.

A new study found that distal metastases for breast cancer tumors occurs through the action of a molecule called Transforming Growth Factor beta or TGFb. It turns out that when TGFb is expressed, single cells break off of the tumor and can metastasize through the blood stream. However, without TGFb, only chunks of cells can come off the tumor which are too big to get into the blood stream. Thus they travel through the lymphtaics which are much slower and tend to stay local. This is very interesting news and they are now looking into drugs to downregulate TGFb. However, we don’t need to wait to take advantage of this fascinating research because acupuncture and certain herbs like astragalus have already been shown to downregulate TGFb. Steve Gomberg and Brandon Horn published an article in a peer reviewed journal called Alternative Therapies in Women’s Health discussing research on how powerful Chinese herbal medicine can be in fighting breast cancers. With the new information from this study, we now have yet another mechanism by which acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help: in this case, in the prevention of distal metastases.
 
Nat Cell Biol. 2009 Nov;11(11):1287-96. Epub 2009 Oct 18.
World J Gastroenterol. 2009 Oct 7;15(37):4720-5.
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2004 Sep 2;84(17):1412-5.

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)