The body requires an “alphabet soup” of vitamins, some of which get more attention than others. We all know vitamins A, C, and D, and lately vitamin B12 has become a household term. One vitamin that hasn’t received the attention it deserves is vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone (men-uh-QUINE-own). Vitamin K1 is well known for its role in blood clotting, but the mainstream application of this knowledge is incomplete. Daily Recommended Values for vitamin K are based only on the known effects of vitamin K1, phylloquinone. Research suggests that vitamin K2 is even more important than K1 in the prevention of heart disease (Beulens et al., 2013).* Vitamins K1 and K2 are both...
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Filtered by author: Geo Espinosa
Treat People, Not Just Disease!
The Takeaway First No two people are the same, and the only way to treat disease effectively is to see that there is noone way. Treatment is usually better when personalized. Standardized Medicine? Dr. Kathy Miller, MD put up a video online last month in which she raised a provocative question: “Will clinical pathways go the way of the dinosaur?” Clinical pathways, if you don’t know, are sets of standard methods or guidelines (you might call them road maps) for the treatment of disease. They were first invented in the ‘80s as a way to make the healthcare industry more efficient. These systems have proven to cut costs and shorten hospital stays (Chang et al., 1999; Chen et...
Is it true that aspirin reduces prostate cancer risk?
New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that a low dose of aspirin (81mg a day) may decrease the risk of prostate cancer in men who are high risk. According to the study, high-risk men who took aspirin or another NSAID lowered their risk for overall prostate cancer by 13% and potentially deadly prostate cancer by 17%. This association (not causation) is thought to be a result of reducing the inflammatory marker Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the body. Over six thousand men between the ages of 50 and 75 participated in the study. They included men from North American and Europe. It would seem like this is great news. After all, anything that reduces one’s...
Organic Food is Simply Better: A New Study
Doggy Bag Message First Organic food is seemingly more nutritious; contain more protective antioxidants, contain 4 times less pesticides and lower amounts of unhealthy metals like cadmium. While not everything that’s labeled organic is healthy or local, buying organic produce, especially the dirty dozen is worth the extra buck. Like I tell my patients; don’t be skimpy with your food. Study Details A meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications were carried out • A meaningful differences in antioxidant content between organic and non-organic crops/crop-based foods. • Types of antioxidants to be higher in organic foods were; phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes,...
Choosing the Right Prostate Cancer Treatment
I sat down with Dr. Geo to discuss a variety of subjects that matter greatly to our XY Wellness community. The following excerpt pertains to those initial, confusing days following a prostate cancer diagnosis: David: In my opinion, there is such a wide range of choice in treatment options that newly diagnosed men need to take the time to properly profile their prostate cancer, examine the various treatment alternatives, and then make an informed choice based on prognosis and quality of life. Dr. Geo: Yes. When you were going through this same decision process way back in 2004, the range of options was more limited than it is today. What did you end up choosing? David: Based on the...
What does PSA recurrence mean? And what you should know about it.
63 year old patient, one year after prostate cancer surgery, see’s me at the clinic for his recent diagnosis of recurrence PSA. He looks at me strangely. I ask him – what’s wrong? He responds, “ I thought I don’t have to ever worry about prostate cancer again since I had it taken out. I expect my PSA to be zero forever, no? I’m confused” – he says. The confusion with PSA recurrenceMen who opt for aggressive treatment of prostate cancer (i.e. Radical prostatectomy, Radiation Therapy, etc), unfortunately believe they are “home-free” after treatment. If this were to be true, why are patients required to return to their urologist every 3 to 6 months for a PSA test after...
Animal protein as bad as Smoking? Really?
Study published in the journal of Cell Metabolism says diet high in animal protein may kill you prematurely if you are between the ages 50 to 65. If you are over 65 then animal protein may protect you. One of the headlines online read: Diet High in Meat, Cheese Can Be as Bad as Smoking Study Details: This was an observational epidemiological study where researchers look at the relationship with one or more occurrences (consumption of animal proteins) and its relationship to (in this case) disease and death. 6,381 US men and women aged 50 and above were observed for 18 years. The participants were categorized into three groups based upon their protein consumption (low, med,...
Introduction to Mr. Happy
Introduction to Mr. Happy from Mr. Happy on Vimeo.
Dr. Geo’s 12 simple rules to eating right
Don’t eat ANY food with guilt. Guilt is much more indigestible. Don’t eat until you have the “full feeling.” Stop before you get there. If bugs would not eat it, it’s probably not good for you. Good food spoils. If it doesn’t spoil within 2 weeks in room temperature – it’s crap. If the ingredients list is more than 4 unpronounceable words, it’s probably JUNK. The best foods have just one word as an ingredient – and it’s not listed. Limit eating white foods. Cauliflower you can have as much as you want. Sugar, fruit juice and soda’s are also crappy. If eating anything that once had a face , make sure it they ate their natural diet e.g. Cattle eat grass and hay...
Cutting Through the Fish Oil Confusion
Has the latest news flash on fish oil and prostate cancer caused you to be confused and concerned? For me it has led to frustration and fatigue from having to do a significant amount of damage control. Making matters worse is that this need for damage control is due primarily to the irresponsibility of the media in their successful attempt to grab headlines without critically reading the scientific study by Brasky et al. before drawing conclusions. Here's an example of some of the headlines: "Fish oil may raise prostate cancer risk, study confirms" - NBC News "Taking Omega 3 supplements may increase the risk of prostate cancer" - Daily Mail "Men might want to shun fish...