Dec
26
2020

Hormones Play an Important Role in Survival from Covid-19

By | andropause, Hormones, immune system, Infectious Disease, Menopause

I am describing here that hormones play an important role in survival from Covid-19. There are two publications that illustrate that point.

Estrogens protect women against Covid-19

A study from Dec. 4, 2020 covering 17 countries and involving nearly 70,000 women discovered these principal findings.

  • Women aged 20 to 50 have moderately higher Covid-19 infection rates than men
  • In all of the age groups men have higher mortality rates than women
  • Beyond the age of 50 the fatality rate from Covid-19 is 50% higher in men than that of women
  • Postmenopausal women above the age of 50 and on estradiol supplementation had 50% less mortality from Covid-19 than women without estradiol supplementation

The researchers said about the study: “In a nutshell, it’s likely that the apparently protective effects of 17β-estradiol, a naturally occurring, abundant female hormone, relate to a key property of this molecule: it attenuates the so-called “cytokine storm” that’s thought to underlie much of the cellular-scale and organ/tissue-level damage wrought by a SARS-CoV-2 infection, via dysregulation of a patient’s immune response.”

Men need enough testosterone to fight Covid-19

Another study from September 17, 2020 pointed out that males have much worse outcomes with Covid-19 than females. Men are affected by Covid-19 twice as often as females and they experience a much more severe course with a higher mortality. The authors also point out that there is a direct correlation between lower serum testosterone levels in men and inflammation severity by cytokines and poor clinical outcomes. The decline in total and free testosterone in aging men leads to serious pulmonary complications and the need to treat the patient in the ICU. The Covid-19 coronavirus utilizes Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme II (ACE2) for entry into the host cell. A male requires testosterone for ACE2 expression. Lower testosterone causes higher mortality in men. In contrast, if testosterone in a male is too high, blood clots can form in the circulatory system, which often lead to complications and deaths in patients with Covid-19.

Vitamin D levels and course of Covid-19

There are three major effects that vitamin D has.

  1. A strengthening of the epithelial barrier not allowing the coronavirus to penetrate into the lung tissue as easily.
  2. Release of defensins and cathelicidin, two crucial antiviral polypeptides, that eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the system.
  3. Interruption of the “cytokine storm”, an overwhelming inflammation which is responsible for viral pneumonia to develop. Without the cytokine storm there is no damage to the lungs, and people do not need treatment in the ICU. This is particularly important for people above the age of 60 and for people with pre-existing diseases.

Similarly, with the stabilizing effect of vitamin D regarding the immune function more severe forms of Covid-19 can turn into less severe forms with a better outcome.

Discussion

Research showed that in women estrogen has a modifying effect on the course of Covid-19. In males it is testosterone that leads to an improved course of Covid-19. Both sexes require adequate doses of vitamin D, which helps to strengthen the epithelial barrier. In addition, enough vitamin D releases defensins and cathelicidin, two crucial antiviral polypeptides that eradicate any virus in the system. Vitamin D also interrupts the “cytokine storm”, an overwhelming inflammation, which is responsible for viral pneumonia to develop. All of these factors together modify the course of Covid-19 and improve the probability of survival from this otherwise serious viral illness.

Hormones Play an Important Role in Survival from Covid-19

Hormones Play an Important Role in Survival from Covid-19

Conclusion

Two lines of research showed that both women and men do better with Covid-19 when their hormone levels are either adequate or are substituted to normal levels. Women in menopause taking estradiol for postmenopausal symptoms had 50% less mortality from Covid-19. Men who were testosterone deficient and were put on testosterone supplementation do better with respect to Covid-19. In aging men total and free testosterone decline and serious pulmonary complications occur with a need to treat the patient in the ICU. On top of hormones both men and women benefit from high doses of vitamin D, which strengthens the epithelial barrier. Vitamin D also releases defensins and cathelicidin, two crucial antiviral polypeptides that fights the SARS-CoV-2 virus directly. In addition, vitamin D interrupts the “cytokine storm”, an overwhelming inflammation which causes the viral pneumonia. Taken together the hormones and vitamin D can improve the outcome of Covid-19 significantly.

This text includes part of this blog.

Apr
08
2017

Breast Cancer Risks

By | breast cancer, Cardiovascular disease, fiber, Fitness, heart attack, Hormones, immune system, Menopause, premenopause, Stress management, toxins, Vitamins and supplements

Dr. David Zava, PhD gave a talk on breast cancer risks. His presentation took place at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The detailed title was: “The Role of Hormones, Essential Nutrients, Environmental Toxins, and Lifestyle Choices on Breast Cancer Risk”.

He pointed out that both estrogens and progesterone are safe hormones, as long as the doctor does not overdose them and keeps a hormone balance. Unfortunately many women in menopause have too much estrogen on board as the ovaries are still producing them, but there is a lack of progesterone, the moderating hormone that makes estrogen safe.

In the following I am summarizing Dr. Zava’s talk with regard to the essential messages, but leave away much of the highly technical detail of the presentation. This would dilute the message of this blog. I will include a few links for those who wish to read more details about the topic.

Balance between estrogen and progesterone

Most of her life a woman is used to cyclical hormone changes between estrogen and progesterone. When a woman no longer ovulates in premenopause and menopause there is a surplus of estrogen and a lack of progesterone. Having no ovulation means that there is no corpus luteum developing, which is where in the past progesterone production took place. This creates a disbalance where estrogen is dominating; it is called “estrogen dominance”.

This is a dangerous hormone disbalance, because the breast ducts experience a growth stimulus, but the modifying, calming effect of progesterone is missing. Mixed into this is that the stress hormone, cortisol also can make the effect of estrogen worse. On the other hand Dr. Zava showed slides from studies documenting replacement of missing progesterone with a skin progesterone cream (percutaneous bioidentical progesterone cream).

Progesterone concentration in breast lumps after progesterone cream applications

Plasma and breast tissue concentration of progesterone were measured in 40 premenstrual women. The diagnoses were breast lumps and the physicians arranged surgery for them. One group received progesterone cream treatment for 10 to 13 days; the other group was the placebo group. At the time of surgery the plasma (blood) values of progesterone were the same, but progesterone levels in breast tissue were more than 100-fold higher than the values from the placebo group who had received a neutral skin cream. The same experiment also showed that progesterone reduced the number of proliferating epithelial cells (experimental progesterone group). Estrogen on the other hand led to an increase of the number of proliferating epithelial cells (placebo group).

Progesterone cream applied to breasts of premenopausal women

Another example that Dr. Zava gave was a study where 25 mg of bioidentical progesterone cream applied directly to breasts of premenopausal women increased breast tissue progesterone 100-fold, while blood concentrations of progesterone remained the same. Again progesterone decreased the breast stimulation by estrogen of normal epithelium cells.

How to measure progesterone levels

Dr. Zava who runs the ZRT laboratory spent some time to explain how to measure progesterone in a physiological way. He said that these experiments and others that he also projected tell a clear story. Blood (serum) progesterone levels do not adequately reflect what tissue levels in a woman’s breasts are. On the other hand saliva hormone levels do give an accurate account of what breast tissue levels are like. A woman received 30 mg of topical progesterone application. She then had hourly progesterone levels in the serum and in the saliva done. The serum progesterone levels remained at around 2 ng/ml, while the saliva progesterone levels peaked 3 to 5 hours after the application. It reached 16 ng/ml in saliva, which also represents the breast tissue progesterone level.

Blood progesterone levels are unreliable

As a result, Dr. Zava said that the important lesson to learn from this is not to trust blood progesterone levels. Too many physicians fall into this trap and order too much progesterone cream, which leads to overdosing progesterone. In contrast, with salivary progesterone levels you see the physiological tissue levels, with blood tests you don’t. Dr. Zava said: avoid using venipuncture blood or urine in an attempt to interpret hormone test levels, as you will underestimate bio-potency and overdose the patient.

Historical failure of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT)

A review of breast cancer would not be complete without mentioning the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated this trial in 1991.

Researchers prematurely terminated Women’s Health initiative

The WHI ended suddenly in July 2002. The authors stated: “The overall health risks exceeded benefits from use of combined estrogen plus progestin for an average 5.2 year follow-up among healthy postmenopausal US women.” The study found a 41% increase in strokes, 29% increase in heart attacks, 26% increase in breast cancer, 22% increase in total cardiovascular disease, a doubling of blood clots. The recommendation made by this study was to discontinue PremPro.

Breast cancer in the Million Women Study from synthetic hormones

Another study that was mentioned was “Breast cancer and hormone-replacement therapy in the Million Women Study”.  In this study postmenopausal women received HRT with synthetic hormones, either estrogen alone or estrogen mixed with a progestin (in British English “progestagen”). After 5 years estrogen alone had a 30% increased risk of developing breast cancer. HRT with an estrogen-progestagen mix had a 100% increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Huge difference between bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormones

Unfortunately in both of these human experiments the researchers used the wrong hormone substances, namely synthetic estrogens and synthetic progestins. They are NOT identical with natural estrogens and progesterone that a woman’s body makes. As long as the hormones used for hormone replacement therapy are chemically identical to the natural hormones, the body will accept them as they fit the natural hormone receptors in the body. It is the misfit of synthetic hormones that blocks the estrogen receptors or the progesterone receptors. You can readily see from the illustrations of this link that there is a fine balance between the workings of these receptors and there is absolutely no room for patented side chains that Big Pharma introduced into synthetic HRT hormones.

Individualizing bioidentical hormone prescriptions based on blood tests

The other problem of both these studies was that every woman was getting the same dose of hormones and that nobody measured their estrogen blood or estrogen saliva hormone levels. In retrospect the regulatory agencies should never have allowed these “hormones” to hit the market.

Breast cancer develops in three stages

Dr. Zava explained that it common knowledge for some time that breast cancer develops by going through 3 stages.

  1. Initiation

First of all, damage to the DNA of one of the cells types in the breast is what starts the process in the development of breast cancer. This can be done by catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones as was shown by these researchers.

Aromatase inhibitors is useful to reduce estrogen in overweight or obese women where aromatase is present in fatty tissue. The reason obese women have more breast cancer is likely from the extra estrogen production from androgens. Aromatase converts these male hormones from the adrenal glands into estrogen.

Iodine/iodide alters gene expression, which reduces breast cancer development, but also slows down cell division in existing breast cancer. The authors suggested to use iodine/iodide supplements as adjuvant therapy in breast cancer treatment.

  1. Promotion

Furthermore, the next step is that something has to promote the DNA mutation into becoming part of a cancer cell. Estrogen quinones are dangerous estrogen metabolites. They can form from catechol estrogens (other metabolites of estrogen) by reactive oxygen species. But selenium, a trace mineral can interrupt the formation of estrogen quinones, which stops the breasts cancer promotion process. A study from the Klang Valley, Malaysia showed that selenium showed a dose-response effect with respect to prevention of breast cancer; the more selenium in the food, the less breast cancer occurred.

  1. Progression (includes invasion and metastases)

Finally, several factors can help the breast cancer cells to progress, grow bigger locally and eventually move into other areas of the body as metastases. Dr. Zava showed several slides where details of metabolic processes were shown and how changes in some of these would lead to progression of breast cancer. Estrogen excess is a common pathway to breast cancer. The key is to balance it with progesterone, supplements, remove anything that causes estrogen overproduction like obesity (via the aromatase pathway).

The fallacy of overdosing or underdosing

When estrogen is overdosed, it becomes aggressive as indicated before; it can initiate DNA mutations that can cause breast cancer. If it is under dosed, the lack of estrogen can cause heart attacks, strokes and osteoporosis. When estrogen is balanced with progesterone a postmenopausal woman feels best and she is protected from the negative effects of estrogen.

Measures that help prevent breast cancer

Supplement only with bioidentical hormones

When supplementing with bioidentical hormones, keep estrogen within physiological limits and don’t overdose. This can be measured through blood tests or saliva hormone tests. Your most important natural opponent of estrogen is progesterone, which is usually missing in menopause. Measure hormones using tests (progesterone only with saliva tests, estrogen either by blood tests or saliva tests). Don’t rely going by symptoms.

Progesterone to estrogen ratio

Keep the progesterone to estrogen ratio (Pg/E2) at an optimal range, which is in the 100- to 500-fold range. Measure the saliva hormone level of both progesterone and estrogen and calculate. Remember that progesterone serum levels are meaningless. The much higher progesterone level protects the postmenopausal woman from estrogen side effects. Here is a statement worth noting: “Until evidence is found to the contrary, bioidentical hormones remain the preferred method of HRT.” This was the conclusion of a study using bioidentical hormones, where the protection from breast cancer and heart attacks and strokes was also noted.

Eat more fiber containing foods and less beef

Increase fiber intake and reduce red meat consumption. This will eliminate conjugated steroid hormones in the stool. It also increases the sex hormone binding globulin in the blood, which limits the bioavailability of estrogens. Fiber absorbs bile toxins and removes them from the body.

Calcium supplement

Calcium-D-glucarate is a supplement that will decrease beta-glucuronidase. The estrogens were conjugated with the purpose to be eliminated, but beta-glucuronidase causes the conjugated estrogens to be reabsorbed.

Reduce breast cancer risk with probiotics

Probiotics likely stimulate the immune system and help reduce the risk of breast cancer.

No pollutants and toxic chemicals

Avoid toxins like petrochemical pollutants and toxic chemicals. Avoid trans fats. If toxic, heavy metals are present (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury) remove these. Some naturopaths use EDTA chelation to do this.

Other useful supplements

Supplements: sulforaphane (broccoli), EGCG (green tea), alpha-lipoic acid (antioxidant), cruciferous vegetables, resveratrol, selenium and iodide/iodine, N-acetyl cysteine-glutathione. All these supplements/nutrients will prevent estrogen to go to the “dark side”. The dark side is the formation of toxic 4-OH estrogen that could further be converted into catechol estrogen-3,4-quinones that can damage DNA and cause mutations.

Methylation of catechol estrogens

Increase methylation of catechol estrogens: vitamin B1, B6, B12 and folic acid. Methyl donors also are useful for this purpose: MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), SAMe, and Betaine.

Healthy lifestyle (diet , exercise) helps your immune system

Improve your diet (Mediterranean type), exercise moderately, reduce stress, and replace hormones in physiological doses as discussed under point 1 and 2.

Breast Cancer Risks

Breast Cancer Risks

Conclusion

Dr. David Zava, PhD gave an interesting talk at the 24th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. Estrogens, when unopposed by enough progesterone, can cause mutations in breast tissue of women and cause breast cancer. He also reviewed two major clinical trials that utilized hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The problems with these were the synthetic estrogen hormones that caused breast cancer and the synthetic progestins that also behaved like estrogens (not like progesterone) and caused even more breast cancer. The lesson from this is that only bioidentical estrogens and progesterone work in hormone replacement for menopause. Also, the hormones balance each other as discussed under measures that help to prevent breast cancer. In addition there was a list of other useful supplements given that can be taken to reduce the danger of breast cancer.

Jan
03
2013

Thinking Of Health In The New Year

By | Anti-aging medicine, Fitness, Health, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Hormones, Nutrition, Obesity, Prevention

The following article is about thinking of health in the New Year. As we start a New Year (2013) it is a good time to reflect on our health, what makes us healthy, what keeps us healthy and what makes us age less quickly.
Here are a few thoughts, partially my own, partially influenced by the 20th Anti-aging conference in Las Vegas in December of 2012.

Stay away from cigarettes

1. In particular, we know that cigarettes are no longer in. But in the casinos of Las Vegas and outside of restaurants a lot of people are still smoking! Here is a website that tells you why you should quit.  Notably, cigarettes cause lung cancer, hardening of the arteries, strokes, and often reduce life expectancy by 10 to 15 years. To emphasize, if you are smoking do anything to quit this habit! Acupuncture helps, Nicorette assists you in overcoming the addiction part of smoking. In addition, self hypnosis discs are also helpful.

Reducing toxins

2. Reduce toxins in your life: you may think that toxins consist of lead, mercury and other heavy metals and that only people in certain industries would be exposed to those. Not so. It is in the air we breathe. Your tooth fillings (silver amalgam fillings) may leech out mercury, old paints at home could still expose you to lead, as would fashion jewelry made in China. Various foods contain toxins in them in form of residues from herbicides and insecticides. How do we detoxify? Vitamin C is a good start. It can be taken as a daily vitamin supplement (see below).

Intravenous chelation therapy

Detoxification can be done intravenously, if urine and blood tests show high levels of toxins.

This is something an anti-aging doctor or a naturopathic doctor can help you with. Glutathione and vitamin C can be given intravenously for chelation treatment with the least side-effects. Here is a link that tells you more about chelation in general.

Staying away from modern wheat and genetically modified foods

3. Cut out wheat and other genetically modified foods: What’s the thing about wheat? Read my blog about this.
All of the wheat we get today in bread, cereals, pasta, pizzas etc. has been genetically modified and has about 7 times the gliadin concentration that the original wheat species had before BASF did the chemical modification of  wheat in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Today practically all of the commercial wheat is this type.
As a result I have avoided wheat in my food intake since 2001. When you avoid wheat and sugar, which is another culprit (sugar is simply too strong for your body to handle and leads to hyperinsulinism and diabetes) you will likely loose whatever weight is too much for you without any effort.

Thinking Of Health In The New Year

Thinking Of Health In The New Year

Eat mostly organic food

4. Eat only organic food , if you can afford it. Or grow your own vegetables and lettuce in your vegetable garden, if you can. Because of what I said under point 2 above, I stay away from regular vegetables and lettuce that are sold in super markets as they contain residues of round-up (herbicides) and insecticides on them. Organic food nowadays is affordable as enough of us demand it. Even Wal-Mart has some organic foods! Keep an eye on your body weight and aim for a body mass index between 21.5 and 23.0. Several long-term studies have shown that the BMI is worth observing in order to reduce mortality.

The Singapore Chinese Health Study: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014000

The Buffalo Health Study:  http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/146/11/919.full.pdf+html

Regular exercise

5. Exercise regularly 5 to 7 times per week. Perhaps one of the most important points is regular exercise. Engaging in ½ hour of vigorous exercise three times per week reduces your probability of coming down with a serious illness that could kill you by 15%. If you exercise 5 to 7 days per week for 30 minutes or more this percentage goes up to about 40%. If you exercise 60 minutes 6 to 7 times per week in a gym, you reduce mortality by about 50 to 60%. Here is an interesting graph that shows that older adults benefit more from exercise than younger adults do.

Have your hormone status checked yearly

6. Have a yearly check-up including a check-up of your hormone status: As we age, our hormones reduce in a characteristic patterns with melatonin and growth hormone production going on a downhill slope after the age of 30, followed soon by DHEA and cortisol. Often by the time a woman reaches menopause at the age of 35 to 50, there is a lack of estrogens, progesterone, and often also of thyroid hormones. In a man this decline (andropause) may take longer until the age of 55 to 65 before he experiences a lack of energy, erectile dysfunction and muscle weakness from testosterone deficiency. Sex hormones are best measured in saliva samples, the remaining hormones in blood samples. Here is a website that describes the various hormones that often need replacement (note that I am not endorsing this website, just citing it as an example of what to look out for).

Bioidentical hormone replacement

  1. Replace hormones only with bioidentical hormones: When there is a hormone deficiency, a doctor would usually replace the deficiency with synthetic hormones from Big Pharma. This was good for the profits of the companies, but bad for people as the Women’s Health Initiative has shown.
    As a result of this study (showing heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer) a lot of American women and women around the world were unjustly horrified of hormone replacement.

Bioidentical hormone replacement safe

However, many trials with bioidentical hormones around the world have proven that bioidentical hormone replacement with hormone creams from compounding pharmacies add years of life expectancy as these hormones restore all body functions back to normal. No breast cancer, no heart attacks and no strokes were noted on these natural hormones. The key is to replace with low doses and slowly under the supervision of a naturopathic physician or anti-aging physician.
Here is a site that explains bioidentical hormone replacement (note that I am not endorsing this center, just citing it as an example of what to look out for).

Friendships and hobbies

8. Have hobbies, cherish friendships. Social networking is good for your emotional health. It reduces stress, re-balances your hormones, reduces your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Cherish your spiritual life

9. Don‘t neglect your spirituality. Be part of a church community that builds you up, if you are religious. For those who no longer belong to a church group, meditate instead, use yoga, do self hypnosis or read an inspiring book. Music can energize you or contribute to relaxation.

Vitamin and mineral supplementation

10. Use vitamin and mineral supplements. There are a number of vitamins and minerals that have anti-oxidative effects. They help to detoxify your body and protect you from some of the environmental challenges. I have discussed them elsewhere in more detail under this link.

So, here they are, the 10 steps to a healthier 2013. Review what you are doing in your life . You may need to only modify the one or the other point. Otherwise, if you have identified several points you want to change, just start with the ones you feel can be achieved the easiest first and then gradually tackle the rest. Your reward is more energy and you will probably find it difficult to hide your successes from your friends.