Your Eye Doctor Needs To Know This Supplement – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 529
If you spend your days staring at phone, TV or computer screens, you need to know about what supplements can benefit your eye health, and your eye doctor should, too.
Tag: magnesium
TMJ vs Teeth Grinding – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 528
Are you grinding your teeth or do you have TMJ? Many people confuse these two issues. Find out how they are different and what you can do to help from Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.
Bladder Pain and Pressure – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 527
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Bladder Pain and Pressure – InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 527
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] Have you ever heard of interstitial cystitis? This is a common issue that affects mainly women, but can also impact the urinary tract of men as well. And today I want to talk about the details of interstitial cystitis, the symptoms, what you can be doing and just how common this is. So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH, Scientific Director here at InViteⓇ Health. And when it comes to our urinary system, we want to make sure that we are doing the right things when it comes to our fluid intake, when it comes to the right vitamins and minerals, as well as the foods that you eat every day that can really help to optimize and support the health of your bladder.† [00:01:26]
[00:01:27] So we know that the high antioxidant foods are certainly beneficial. Many times people have heard of cranberry, for example, when it comes to bladder health. And we know this to be the case because what the mannose, which is a carbohydrate contained in the cranberry actually does, is it creates a slippery environment within the bladder wall, which makes it very difficult for bacteria to adhere. So when in the setting of UTIs or urinary tract infections, which we know are incredibly common, it’s one of the most common causes for outpatient infections in this country, and the lifetime incidence is somewhere around 50, 60% for women who will experience a UTI throughout the course of their lives. And then you have women who will have recurrent UTIs. Now, as men get older, the prevalence or occurrence rate of urinary tract infections begins to go up because of incomplete bladder emptying, so men are more prone to urinary tract infections as they age.† [00:02:34]
[00:02:35] So we know that this is a common problem, but we also know that there is something known as interstitial cystitis that can really be problematic. And what interstitial cystitis is, sometimes they also call it bladder pain syndrome, but this is a chronic condition, and it’s a feeling of pain or pressure in the bladder area. Some people will describe it even as a burning sensation, but it’s not associated directly with a UTI. So it’s bladder pressure, bladder pain, sometimes it’s just described in general as like pelvic pain. The pain can range from mild and irritating to significant and very severe.† [00:03:20]
[00:03:21] We know that when it comes to interstitial cystitis, oftentimes doctors are at a loss as to what to necessarily do because it’s not like, “OK, well, they have a urinary tract infection. Let’s give them an antibiotic,” because this is not going to create any type of relief for those who are dealing with cystitis. And so cystitis, bladder pain syndrome, kind of the two go hand-in-hand. It’s interchangeable just depending upon how your doctor may describe it to you. But we know that this is a common condition. Initially, they thought that cystitis affected roughly around 2 out of every 100,000, in particular, women. Now they recognize that this is probably more like 10 to 15% of women who experience this problem. And I’ve talked to many women throughout the years, and they’re generally at a loss as to how to manage this because there is no good direct targeted treatment.† [00:04:27]
[00:04:28] So when you look at the pathophysiology of this, it’s even fairly well unknown, one could say, because they don’t necessarily know why it is that women are prone to experiencing this bladder pressure, bladder pain. You know, you can look at pelvic floor dysfunction. We can look at certainly a dysregulated immune system, increase in inflammation in the body. So chronic inflammation can certainly drive this. So you can look at women, perhaps, who have a history of diabetes or high blood pressure may be more prone to developing cystitis. So there are many unknowns when it comes to cystitis, but we definitely know that the prevalence is relatively high. Now, keep in mind, there are many women who suffer with this and even men as well, so this is not just, you know, solely women who experience this, who can have this problem and are never necessarily diagnosed. Maybe they never mentioned it to their doctor, or maybe they don’t see their doctor on a regular basis. But we definitely know that this is a problem not only here in the United States but worldwide. And we can tie those chronic disease states, things like diabetes and kidney disease and, you know, heart disease into putting someone into a greater risk for developing interstitial cystitis.† [00:05:54]
[00:05:55] But what can we do once someone has this? Because at the end of the day, if someone is dealing with interstitial cystitis, they are incredibly uncomfortable and having just this irritated bladder wall all of the time. And this can actually get to the level where it creates scarring within the bladder, which can then really be incredibly problematic. So when it comes to traditional approach, most even urologists are once again at a loss as to how to manage these patients. And so when you look at the, you know, diagnosis and the treatment, they generally once again are looking at, “OK, let’s try antibiotics. Maybe there’s an underlying infection and we’re just missing this and this is what’s creating this inflammation in this pain within the bladder.” But for many people who have cystitis, the antibiotic is not going to do anything because this is not where the problem resides. The problem resides within that oxidative stress and the inflammation. So what we do know is that there are many different nutrients that someone who is dealing with interstitial cystitis can utilize that can provide a lot of support.† [00:07:21]
[00:07:22] We can look at an amino acid known as arginine. L-arginine, we know is very beneficial when it comes to many functions in the body, including blood pressure regulation through its action of releasing nitric oxide. But they did an interesting study where they took a group of people who had diagnosed interstitial cystitis and they gave them 1500mg of arginine daily. And then they assessed if they had any improvement on their pain intensity and the pain frequency, as well as any other urinary symptoms that they may have been experiencing. Maybe that, you know, urge to have to go to the bathroom more often. And what they found was that the group that was given arginine compared to the placebo group did really well in terms of overall improvement across all areas. Now they did another study where they compared L-arginine to a drug called elmiron, and elmiron oftentimes is another one of those go to trial by errors that a doctor may prescribe to someone who is dealing with interstitial cystitis. That’s actually a prescription medication whose indication is to treat bladder pain and discomfort. What we know is that elmiron comes with significant side effects, and there’s actually lawsuits out there against that drug because people who have been prescribed that have actually experienced detrimental effects on their vision and even had, to serious degrees, loss of sight from being on this medication. So OK, well, if the arginine, this amino acid, is working better than the prescription medication, then perhaps that’s what they should be utilizing, right? Well, we know that the arginine can be very helpful and it’s working on a couple of different fronts. Number one, we’re getting better blood flow, oxygenation, targeting oxidative stress, targeting the inflammation within the bladder.† [00:09:32]
[00:09:33] And then we partner this up with omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil in particular. They have looked at dietary intake of those who suffer from cystitis and those who have high amounts of omega-3s in their diet will have a lessening of those symptoms. So as soon as they start to incorporate in things like salmon and walnuts, avocados into their routine, their inflammatory levels in the body begin to go down and they start to get improvement overall within the bladder. So we know that supplementation with fish oil is also incredibly beneficial for anyone who is dealing with that type of bladder irritation or bladder pain that is not associated with a urinary tract infection.† [00:10:18]
[00:10:19] Now here’s another little fun tip is quercetin. That powerful bioflavonoid has been shown in clinical trials to be very, very powerful when it comes to patients who have interstitial cystitis. So all of those symptoms that are driven up because of the inflammation. We know that when you have foods that are high in quercetin, things like broccoli and onions and blueberry, that this is going to lower the inflammation in the body. But when we take quercetin as a supplement, they have been able to show how it could actually reduce pelvic pain. And this was shown in men who have prostatitis, so inflammation within their prostate, but also in patients who have interstitial cystitis.† [00:11:06]
[00:11:07] Now, I oftentimes will even partner the quercetin up with bromelain. Remember, bromelain is coming from the stem of the pineapple. I have found that many folks who deal with cystitis and are in this chronic state of discomfort that when they include in quercetin along with bromelain, bromelain, taking that on an empty stomach around 1000mg twice a day, quercetin at least 1000mg per day, and then the fish oil at least 2000mg of your omega-3s per day, and then we look at the arginine, at minimum, we want to be using 1000mg per day, upwards to 2000mg per day. This can really yield an awful lot of support for someone who is dealing with that chronic bladder pain, pressure and discomfort.† [00:11:58]
[00:11:59] And you think about other things that we need to create balance in. So if someone has low Vitamin D, low magnesium, these can also be driving reasons that are exacerbating that pain and inflammation within the bladder. So it’s a comprehensive approach, but it’s definitely much more manageable than traditional doctors lead on to, to believe because they never look at the foods, they never look at supplementation. And we definitely can see through scientific research that when it comes to getting interstitial cystitis under control, that there are many different nutrients and lifestyle modifications that can certainly lead you to a point where this very debilitating at times problem can be managed, controlled and not be that pain in your bladder.† [00:12:56]
[00:12:57] So that’s all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now, do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:12:57]
*Exit music*
Your Cardiologist Needs To Know This Supplement – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 524
Magnesium is one of the most important nutrients for making sure the heart is functioning properly, yet your cardiologist may not put it on your radar. Here’s why your heart needs magnesium.
What Is Lupus? – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 522
Lupus is an autoimmune condition that is closely related to inflammation and low levels of Vitamin D. Learn more about this issue and what you can do to help from Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.
Birth Control Pills and Vitamin Deficiencies – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 514
birth control
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Birth Control Pills and Vitamin Deficiencies – InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 514
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] Did you know that approximately 25% of women in this country between the ages of 15 years old and 44 years old use oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills? The reason I want to bring this up is because there is a strong correlation between nutrient depletions and the use of birth control, and this can affect women’s health in a variety of different ways. So it’s important to know what nutrients for sure that you should be taking, and to also just be aware of the fact that you may be exhibiting certain symptoms that are directly correlated to the use of your oral contraceptive, but because of the fact that it’s depleting these key and essential nutrients. So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH and let’s get right to it.† [00:01:27]
[00:01:27] We know that birth control pills are still one of the most commonly used forms of contraceptive in this country, and we can see how the use of these synthetic hormones can definitely disrupt different systems outside of our sex hormones. Because remember, when we’re thinking about the endocrine system, we’re understanding that many different hormonal pathways are kind of interrelated. And when you start to break down… And this goes all the way back to the 1980s in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. And this is quite interesting because they talked about this since the 1980s, but if you were to talk to most women who have been put on oral contraceptives, whatever birth control it is the likelihood that their physician who prescribed them that, so whether it’s their primary doctor or it is their OB-GYN, the likelihood that they have also been told that you need to be taking said nutrients in conjunction with this is very low. But yet we can go back to the study out of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine in 1980, and we can see how it is that they’ve been able to link that close to 80% of women who are on birth control pills for upwards of six months are at a much greater likelihood for experiencing all of these decreases in key and essential vitamins, including things such as Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, your other B-vitamins, including folate, for example. These are important because we understand the significant role that these B-vitamins and our antioxidant vitamins are actually playing when it comes to so many functions in the body when it comes to our immune system, for example. So seeing this in what was really quite interesting about the study in the 1980s is that the fact that they could see the linkage to a deficiency in Vitamin B6, the fact that they could see a linkage to a deficiency in Vitamin B12. These were in and of themselves quite interesting.† [00:03:30]
[00:03:30] But what was really profound was that they could see that there was this abnormal ability to actually process tryptophan. So the metabolism of the amino acid tryptophan was implicated in so many of these women who were utilizing birth control pills. Now why does that matter? Think about the pathway of tryptophan. We know tryptophan is the amino acid, and then that’s in charge of helping to make serotonin and then melatonin. So what do we know about serotonin? Not only is that for our mood, our happy neurotransmitter, but we also have to recognize how it is that serotonin plays a role when it comes to appetite and in the setting of low serotonin, we have a greater likelihood of having cravings. So, many times you’ll talk to women who are on birth control and they’ll say, “Oh, I gained weight,” and they link it solely to the water gain that potentially the, the estrogen and progesterone creates this imbalance in the system. We certainly know that to be the case, but also this increase in appetite, and you have to then go back and say, “Oh, wait, this is because tryptophan is implicated in this whole problem here.” And then we look at how the B-vitamins are certainly playing a role in this as well.† [00:04:49]
[00:04:50] So then we look at a study that came out of the European Review of Medical Pharmacology, where they talked about how the use of oral contraceptives is at such a high rate and the influence of these oral contraceptives and nutrient requirements is really an area that needs to be addressed and because it has significant clinical relevance to this. This was in 2013. They looked at the main concern nutrients that can get depleted, including, as I mentioned, folic acid, looking at riboflavin, Vitamin B6, B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E. There’s also the underlying potential that certain minerals, including things like selenium and zinc, can also take a hit because of the use of those birth control pills. So this is very, very problematic.† [00:05:43]
[00:05:44] Now, certainly when it comes to what women should be doing and we say, “OK, if we know that pretty much all of our B-vitamins are going to take a hit, we know that key minerals, including magnesium, zinc, selenium can also take a hit. Vitamin C, Vitamin E. What should women be doing?” Well, first and foremost, if you are prescribed a birth control pill, your physician should be telling you at minimum that you need to be taking a daily multivitamin. Now I take it a step further and I say we know that 80% of women are going to experience this, and we know that that tryptophan component is also playing a very important and problematic role into this. So what I would advise is that you are taking not only a comprehensive daily multivitamin, multimineral formulation such as the Core Multivitamin, but that you also look at taking additional B-vitamins. And I always turn to the Methyl-B because if we can take the biologically active form of those key B-vitamins, we’re taking the methylfolate, we’re taking that methylcobalamin for the B12, we can really help to support within the body the true function of those vitamins. We’re not worrying about any of those water-soluble vitamins somehow washing out if we take the biologically active form. So taking the Methyl-B in conjunction with your daily multivitamin, multimineral.† [00:07:05]
[00:07:05] But then it would also be advantageous, if you are starting to see any issue when it comes to increased cravings, if it comes to disruption in sleep would be to add in 5-HTP, so that is 5- hydroxytryptophan. That’s the rate-limiting step between the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. So I would advise looking at taking perhaps 50 or 100mg of 5-HTP in the evening to really help to support that serotonergic pathway. And this is always very important because we can look statistically and we understand that just in this country alone, 25% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 are using oral contraceptives and knowing that 80% of women who are on a birth control pill for over the course of six months are going to start to experience significant nutrient depletion and think about even for your skin, for example. If your Vitamin E and your Vitamin C levels are starting to plummet, this will have an impact on the health of your skin. So this is an area that many women need to just be cognizant of, because certainly, whatever your choice of birth control is your choice. But you also have to be aware of the fact that your doctor is likely not to tell you because they may not actually be aware of it themselves that there is a significant likelihood for these severe nutrient deletions to occur. So the more that you know, the better off that you are. So if you’re on birth control, make sure that you stock up on your Core Multivitamin, so the comprehensive blend. Taking, in addition to that, the Methyl-B formulation and consider the 5-HTP if you are experiencing issues, whether that be with cravings or whether that be with sleep.† [00:08:46]
5-HTP: THE HAPPINESS MOLECULE FOR WEIGHT CONTROL – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 91. Listen Now>>
[00:08:47] So I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @invitehealth and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:08:47]
*Exit music*