I Disagree

by Patrick Flynn

  A study followed women in Denmark for ten years and found those women taking hormonal contraception had a 40% higher rate of developing depression. For young women, birth control pills are even gloomier. Those who were between the ages of fifteen and nineteen taking combination birth control pills, were diagnosed with depression at a rate seventy percent higher than those who weren’t taking the pill. Another study tracked half a million women and found that the risk of attempting suicide doubled for those taking hormonal birth control!

  When we look at the risks and the impacts on hormonal balance, it’s much bigger than just preventing pregnancy, or treating another condition. Prescription birth control is actually causing conditions we are working feverishly to stop! What’s the easiest way to stop a condition though? Taking a different path—one that won’t harm you to begin with.

  CHAPTER 11

  Puberty Comes Too Soon

  Imagine a young girl visiting my office with her mom. Her feet swing underneath her chair as she reads a book, so the seven-year-old doesn’t seem to hear us talking about precocious puberty—puberty at an early age. Her mom looks at me nervously as we sit in my office. Not only is this mom’s niece experiencing this “normal phenomenon” of boobs at age eight, but she hears other moms at the playground talking about it too. Someone told her it was because of the meat they ate; another person said it was because of the milk. Mom looks at me with a panicked look that I have seen a lot lately from patients who have children, “Do I have to worry about my second grader and puberty? Isn’t that something for middle school and high school? Is this normal?”

  Having daughters, I get extremely serious about this. No, it’s not normal, but we have been seeing the first signs of puberty is happening younger. It’s now eight and nine-year-olds. Sometimes it’s even kindergartners or younger. Who wants to be teaching their kindergartner about bras and how to tie their shoes? Not me. That comes fast enough.

  If you go back in history, even fifty years ago, the average start of menstruation was between fifteen and sixteen years old. If you look at Biblical times, the Bible is such great documentation of history, most people were married and sometimes having kids right after menstruation began. Could you imagine if your daughter had her cycle at ten years old? Go back in history and with menstruation starting at fifteen, sixteen or even seventeen, these young women were almost adults already. What has been the change that has happened to cause early development?

  Over the past century, the age of first period has gone down worldwide from sixteen to under age thirteen.

  What used to be late teens, and a signal it was time to be married, is happening too soon. Eight years old is too soon. Who would be ready to marry off their eight-year-old? I want more time for tea parties and doll houses. Over the past century, the age of first period has gone down worldwide from sixteen to under age thirteen. We are also seeing increased incidents of precocious puberty. This is when very young girls are experiencing puberty outside the normal window. What causes early puberty?

  Our genome has not changed. A common thought is that this is controlled by genetics; however, that’s not the case. The purpose of genetics is to keep your body normal, to support life. When you are born your genes make sure you develop to a healthy and normal state. If there is disruption during development, you can see some changes, but genes are not the determining factor here.

  What causes puberty? What changes for girls that doesn’t happen to boys? Estrogen levels go up for girls and this leads to many of the changes that girls see when they enter puberty. Girls are ten times more likely to experience central precocious puberty. Also, when girls are diagnosed, they do not know the cause, whereas with boys they are able to identify an underlying cause.

  So, what’s the cause? As we’ve learned, females are complicated, and so is our modern environment. As such, there are several contributing factors, rather than just one. The only thing that causes you to go from child to young adulthood is estrogen levels starting to rise. Estrogens can come from any number of places, including food and environment. If they are forced synthetically (prescriptions) or introduced to your body through other means, your gene system will respond to that environment. Once you have induced puberty though, there is no going back.

  What do you want to avoid? What in our environment is leading to estrogen levels increasing? We see the impacts of increased estrogens easily on young girls, but the same increased levels of estrogen are impacting us all. Making changes for our daughters is important, but we also want to make them for ourselves. The meat and hormone issues are very well known and well documented—we’ll look at that first.

  They put the hormones into the cow to increase the growth rate and the mass of that animal. If you go back 200-300 years ago, the only people who ate muscle meat were the peasants, the slaves, and people of lower social statuses. Organ meats were the delicacy. The king wouldn’t eat a muscle meat, that’s peasant meat. What changed? If you talk to a young person about an organ meat, they freak out. Years ago, Grandma’s house had liver paste. She happily served it, and we happily sat there eating heart, liver, kidney, and tongue. The shift came when the farming industry recognized they couldn’t increase production of organs at a high rate, but they could increase muscle meat. Now instead of grass feeding livestock, we’re grain feeding them, which makes them grow bigger and faster. The food industry has come to value speed, convenience, and quantity. This is as a result of a number of influences, but the clear result is a clear decline in quality. I get people who say, “Doc, healthy food is so expensive.” Now that’s opening the door to an entirely new conversation, but the question I usually ask then is: “Do you ever wonder why other food can be so cheap?” Most of it something closer to a food-like product, not food.

  The industry has focused on getting the animal to be larger, to weigh more so they can sell more as quickly as possible. This makes sense for them as a business—more product equals more sales! I understand! But the other side of the conversation is this: if you ingest the synthetic hormones added to meat, you’re going to alter your hormones. Growth hormones in meat are causing women’s estrogens to go up higher than they are supposed to and it’s inducing faster maturity and puberty. So yes, meat can do it, but it’s not the only thing. Let’s be clear, I am not saying to quit eating meat. I’m saying get a good source. Ask a local organic farmer what they feed their cows and buy half a cow. It’s cheaper, healthier, and supports local industry!

  The number one source of hormone introduction to the human body comes from city water.

  There are many other triggers of precocious puberty. Meat is just one. If there is an introduction of hormones into any food source, it can induce early maturation and puberty. Do you know what the number one source for everyone—male, female, and child—to come in contact with hormones? It’s not meats. The number one source of hormone introduction to the human body comes from city water.

  Not long ago, I went up to see my sister in Spokane, Washington. We went to the gorgeous river. Right next to it was a water treatment facility. They’re sucking the water and cleaning it out and pushing it back into the system. When we drove by, I pointed out to my sister that there’s no filtration. Well, there’s filtration, but here’s what’s happening. Water is treated for mineral content—anything that is naturally occurring in nature is treated and filtered in the plant. Things like Sulphur and Iron. If you’ve ever been somewhere with high Sulphur in the water, you appreciate how great that filtration is! What’s not filtered however, are chemicals. When a woman who takes birth control pills pees, it goes into the water system and gets recycled back. Water treatment facilities don’t have the type of filtration necessary to get prescription drugs back out of the system. With the increasing number of prescription drugs getting flushed into the system, this is a growing issue. At a municipal level, getting the filtration in place to address this is cost-prohibitive to say the least. However, you can easily add filtration to your home! The al
ternative, if you do not have proper water filtration on your house, is that you are exposed to everyone else’s synthetic hormones in your showers, your cooking, and your drinking water.

  Meat and water are two major contributors to early puberty. There are many other things considered endocrine disruptors that will also raise the estrogens levels in young girls. Many of them we come into contact with daily. The heavy metals in dental fillings, plastic water bottles and food storage, soft plastic toys and vinyl, metal cans for canned food, household cleaners and fragrances, flame retardants on children’s pajamas and other household products all contain endocrine disruptors that change reproductive hormones.

  There is one more “healthy food” that needs to be addressed. Soy. Soy contains phytoestrogens. These are plant-based compounds that mimic human hormones. Soy is very prevalent in our processed foods today. It is used in so many ways throughout the food industry that you are still most likely getting soy even when you don’t realize it. Then there are the “health” advocates who say they are avoiding meats but turn to soy as a protein source. They are no better off on the hormone issue than those eating meat.

  Here’s an interesting one—one that seems indirect but isn’t. You know what else can impact the onset of puberty? Whether your child plays outside or not. Children who are inside all the time playing video games or watching T.V. are more often less physically active. Physical activity is key to preventing obesity. According to the CDC, 17.4% of children ages six to eleven are obese. This is important because estrogen is stored in fat. Studies have shown, girls who are obese will get their first period a year earlier than those who are not. Overweight boys will also see earlier signs of puberty, but studies have shown obese boys will have later start of puberty which could be because of greater estrogen production in the obese boys.

  Studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and early puberty.

  Another reason to get your kids outside—they need vitamin D. Vitamin D is a vital hormone to keep the body functioning optimally. Studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and early puberty. Girls closer to the equator will have a later start than those further away who don’t see the sun as much. That’s not good. One study showed girls who were vitamin D deficient were twice as likely to get their period early than those who had plenty of vitamin D.

  There are multiple things that can drive up estrogen levels. Remember, the body is like a Swiss watch. Like we have talked about, the only thing to cause the change from child to young womanhood are those estrogen levels coming up. If they are forced artificially, your gene system will respond to the environment and bring on puberty. There is no reversing this effect.

  You are not genetically programmed to suffer or be sick.

  So yes, we are looking at this issue of breasts getting bigger and earlier in girls. There are a number of things we can do to address this. The mother was right that the meat source is possibly one of the causes due to the hormones that have been injected into that animal. That is a simple change—meat without hormones is becoming more and more readily available as we learn the impact of those synthetics. Some of the other exposures to hormones through the diet may need to be addressed. Does she need to worry because they are related? No, this is not a genetic issue. Your genes respond to help you to live the longest and healthiest life possible. You are not genetically programmed to suffer or be sick.

  It seems like a lot. There are a variety of triggers. We can’t blame one thing or take a pill to get our desired outcome. But I’m excited to share this information with you, because there are so many things you CAN do. There is a lot we can control if we take the time. We can clean it up—starting at home. Then in our communities—for our daughters and ourselves. Estrogens effect boys and adults too.

  It’s worth the time. Time is precious especially when it’s time to be a kid. As the father of four girls, I know it goes fast. They deserve this time to swing their legs under their chair and not worry about our conversations about puberty. It all comes soon enough.

  CHAPTER 12

  The “M” Word

  Menopause is a bad word for many women. Most women cringe and fear the experience even before they enter this natural process. There aren’t many women throwing parties for this transition in their life. But what if I told you women do not have to experience the difficult “symptoms” of menopause that cause? First, let’s understand what menopause is and what it isn’t.

  When you say the word menopause to a woman, do they think healthy, vital and sexual right away? No. They think vaginal dryness, period problems, night sweats. That’s not menopause. If you have any of these problems, I’ll agree they’re common, but with the new way of thinking we’re learning in this book, I want to show you that these symptoms are actually a sign you are sick. Menopause doesn’t have to be that way.

  For a guy, we hit puberty and then we die.

  Standard medical thinking and approach treats menopause like an unavoidable syndrome for women. The inevitable monster that is bound to rough you up any time after fifty years old. Its waiting for you, and it’s just the way it is. It’s exclusive to women, and very different from anything a man experiences. For a guy, we hit puberty and then we die. That’s about it; if we keep ourselves healthy.

  The largest medical establishment in the country is Mayo Clinic. Mayo defines menopause perfectly, but let me use their definition to show you the incongruent thinking.

  Here’s the Mayo Clinic definition:

  Menopause is defined as occurring 12 months after your last menstrual period and marks the end of the menstrual cycles. Menopause can happen in your 40s or 50s with the average American woman beginning at age 51.

  Ladies, if you go through menopause in your forties, that’s alright, just get your hormone levels tested to be sure that is what is really happening. So far we’re doing great with this definition.

  Menopause is a natural biological process. Although it also ends fertility, you can stay healthy, vital and sexual. Some women feel relieved because they no longer worry about pregnancy.

  They’re correct. Everything Mayo Clinic said to that point is perfect. But there’s a disconnect. If I were to walk up to a woman and tell her, “Menopause keeps you healthy, vital and sexual,” they’d look at me, laugh, and ask, “What planet are you from?”

  Here’s why. Mayo’s next paragraph, after that perfect definition, is what women actually identify menopause with.

  Even so, the physical symptoms such as hot flashes, and emotional symptoms of menopause may disrupt your sleep, lower energy and for some women trigger anxiety and feelings of sadness and loss.

  This is where the confusion comes in. How can you be healthy, vital and sexual with that list of symptoms? This is where traditional medicine is limited in their perspective. Everything they’ve been taught—and therefore teach—is correct, but what they don’t have is the thinking that would allow them to support hormone levels and prevent those symptoms. Menopause is a natural biological state and process, but it doesn’t have to be miserable or medicated. Recently, Mayo updated their definition—sadly, they removed the part about staying healthy, vital, and sexual.

  I had a sixty-four-year-old woman come in to see me. Her primary complaint was how she was suffering so badly from menopause symptoms. Guess what my first question was. Have you ever had your hormones tested? I wanted her to say it out loud, so she could hear it herself. You already know her answer. Nope. I tested her hormones and they were devastatingly bad. We had discovered what was causing the fire and built her hormones back to their proper levels and retested.

  The next time I saw her our conversation went like this, “Doc, I’m doing so awesome, I feel amazing. I feel healthy, vital, and sexual!”

  To which I replied, “Thank goodness I got rid of your menopause!”

  She looked at me like I had grown a second head. I knew right away she had caught what I had said. I didn’t get rid of her menopause! Menopause is a n
ormal state of life if you live long enough. The only way for a woman to avoid it is to not reach that age in life.

  It’s so common for women to have a long list of symptoms of menopause: irregular periods, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats, mood changes, weight gain, thinning hair, breast fullness, they believe those symptoms are menopause. This is not menopause. This means you are sick. Your hormone levels are off. Just because the symptoms are so common, women have accepted it as normal. Don’t confuse common with normal. Is PMS normal? Why then is it a “syndrome?”

  The body doesn’t make mistakes.

  When The Wellness Way doctors come along and talk about hormones and the basic biology of this transition, all of a sudden it makes sense. It doesn’t matter which Wellness Way Clinic across the country you go to or which doctor you see there, we all look at it from the same perspective. The body doesn’t make mistakes. If women go through those symptoms, it’s a signal their bodies are struggling as they are going through the change.

  Our thinking is different, and our testing approach is different. We get a complete picture of what is going on and start to find out what is throwing those hormones off so that we can help women live in that healthy, vital, sexual state of menopause. Traditional medicine can address the symptoms with synthetic hormones. Yes, the synthetic hormone works to relieve the symptoms, but the side effect is cancer. That’s not a fair trade.