Did you know that Vitamin D deficiency is found is 95% of patients that we test?

Studies show that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to the following health concerns:

• Cancer
• Auto-immune disorders
• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood pressure issues
• High cholesterol levels
• Neurological disorders
• Reproductive system disorders
• Kidney failure
• Muscle weakness
• Obesity
• Skin disorders

The single best way to get all the Vitamin D your body needs is to spend time outside in the sunshine.  Vitamin D is often called “the sunshine vitamin” because 15 minutes in the sun for a light-skinned person will create 10,000 to 20,000 IU of Vitamin D. That’s many times more than the current FDA requirements of between 200 and 400 IU. The problem here is the amount of Vitamin D you get from the sun varies greatly from person to person. Optimal sun exposure is based on where you live, the altitude where you live, whether you are dark-skinned or light-skinned, and many other factors.  The manufacture of Vitamin D from the sun requires UV-B rays to reach the skin. You might think that would be pretty easy.  However, most of us work indoors during the peak hours of sun exposure. That short walk from your office to your car at lunchtime doesn’t count as “optimal sun exposure” and many people use sunscreen daily.

The truth is there is evidence that exposure to the sun’s UV rays, without sunburn, does not cause cancer. There is no real evidence that it does cause cancer. The research does show, however, that exposure to sunlight can potentially protect you from many forms of cancer, not just skin cancer.  Sunscreen comes with its own set of problems and I would recommend not using it at all.  The chemicals in sunblocks are toxic by themselves and can increase your risk of disease and health problems.  One common ingredient, titanium dioxide, is literally identified as “a potential occupational carcinogen” by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health! You’re better off practicing safe sun exposure and trusting in nature.  - Information adapted from an article by Dr. Mercola.

Vitamin D testing is available at Bodhi and replacing Vitamin D is easy.

Don’t wait, get tested this month and enjoy a special promotion:
New Patients – Full integrative medical consultation and lab review with the physician, Vitamin D testing and one bottle of liquid Vitamin D for only $500 (full value is $625). 

Existing Patients - Vitamin D testing, lab review and liquid Vitamin D for only $175 (Full value is $225).

Email us or call us now to reserve your appointment today

“Hormone replacement is restoration. Restoration stops the deterioration”, comes from the book “Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness” by Suzanne Somers.  If you haven’t read this book, you should consider reading it soon.  In her book, Suzanne discusses what she believes to be the critical steps each adult person must take to head off aging at the pass and actually restore our bodies to optimal health.  One of the key tenants of course is bio identical hormone restoration.  Others include restful sleep, proper diet and nutritional supplements, regular exercise and stress management.  Our doctors have advanced training in hormone restoration for men and for women.

At Bodhi Body we look at all these factors and more to help you achieve your health goals.  But the first step is up to you. Make an appointment today for a complete assessment with one of our physicians at 888-271-8877 or email us at info@bodhi-body.com

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging –

Digital Infrared Digital Thermography (DITI) is a procedure that uses ultra-sensitive infrared cameras and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze and produce high-resolution diagnostic images of temperature and vascular changes. The procedure is both comfortable and safe using no radiation or compression.

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging

Early detection is key to avoid having a medical nightmare on your hands later. For example, studies have clearly shown that the smaller the size of the breast cancer when detected, the better the chance of effective intervention and long-term survival.  Mammograms compress the breasts tightly, which could lead to a lethal spread of any existing malignant cells. They expose your body to radiation that can be 1,000 times greater than that from a chest x-ray. This makes you unnecessarily vulnerable to further risks of radiation-induced cancer.

By carefully examining changes in the temperature and blood vessels of the breasts, signs of possible cancer or pre-cancerous cell growth may be detected years prior to being discovered using any other procedure. This provides for the earliest detection of cancer possible. Due to breast thermography’s extreme sensitivity, these temperature variations and vascular changes may be among the earliest signs of breast cancer and/or a pre-cancerous state of the breast.

A clinical thermographer, a technician who specializes in the procedure, will be on hand to discuss the benefits of breast thermography; how it works, and how it can detect signs of breast cancer without radiation and years ahead of a traditional mammogram, at the seminar tonight at 5:30pm  Please RSVP to 888-271-8877 or RSVP at RSVP@bodhi-body.com

*** Free Lecture Wednesday April 20th 6pm at Bodhi Body RSVP HERE

We have all been touched by the C word, cancer.  A mere whisper of the word brings fear to the eyes, uncovering memories and experiences of pure horror which few should ever be forced to relive.  We have all experienced the pain of cancer whether it is a loved one or ourselves.

Generally, the American public believes that chemotherapy is the single most effective treatment for most cancers.  And most cancer patients choose to undergo chemotherapy based on their doctor’s recommendation.  But does chemotherapy really contribute to increasing survival?  And are the risks and side effects of chemotherapy worth the potential benefits?

An article published in 2004 in The Royal College of Radiologists, surveyed 22 major adult cancers from the United States and Australia and found that chemotherapy is ineffective, costly, and does not contribute to overall survival.  This is the most efficacious, largest, and most significant evidence based finding on chemotherapy and its outcomes.

The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adult malignancies.  Mileshkin L, Rischin D, Prince HM, Zalcberg J.

The 5-year relative survival rate for cancer patients diagnosed in Australia between 1992 and 1997 was 63.4%.  This evidenced-based survey estimates that only 2.3% of these patients saw a survival rate benefit, related to the use of chemotherapy as a curative and adjuvant therapy.

The five most common adult malignancies (colorectal, breast, prostate, melanoma and lung cancer) accounted for 56.6% of the total cancer cases in Australia in 1998.  In this group, the 5-year survival rate due solely to cytotoxic chemotherapy was only 1.6%.

Have I gotten your attention?  Conventional physicians pride themselves on only practicing evidence-based medicine.  Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars have been invested into “finding” a cure for all different types of cancers through researching chemotherapy drugs.  In fact, 200 billion+ dollars have been invested into cancer research since 1971 (http://www.news-medical.net/health/Cancer-Research.aspx).  This means that since 1971 the medical institutions have continued to latch onto this naive idea that cancer is an acute illness that can be cured through extremely cellular toxic substances.  It is blindingly clear that at this point (40 years of experimentation with no real success) resources should be used to fund appropriate treatments that identify cancer as a complete body breakdown of the person.  Breaking down the body even more with cellular toxic actions is illogical, always has been, and always will be.  Put 200 billion dollars into physicians and scientists who identify that cancer is in fact a “complete body breakdown” and a cure will be instituted within a minimal amount of time for all cancers.  The truth is that the complete body breakdown stems from individuals who have an overabundance of environmental chemicals in their bodies.  The physicians and scientists who recognize this as the causative factor are the ones curing cancer and keeping it from ever coming back.

A “Heated” Discussion About Your Breasts: 
How Breast Thermography’s digital infared imaging can detect early signs of breast cancer

You may think mammography is the ideal way to screen for breast cancer but guess what? That may not be true.  Most mammograms detect breast cancer only after they have reached stage 2, or 1 million+ cancerous cells.

That’s not exactly DETECTION or PREVENTION is it?

That’s more of a confirmation. Plus you’ve now added harmful radiation to an already possibly grim diagnosis.

That’s why Bodhi Body physicians recommends using Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI) to complement your breast health plan and cancer prevention strategy.  Digital Thermography is a procedure that uses ultra-sensitive infrared cameras and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze and produce high-resolution diagnostic images of temperature and vascular changes. The procedure is both comfortable and safe using no radiation or compression.

What is Breast Thermography? Breast thermography takes thermal images of the breasts and surrounding areas to aid in the early detection of breast cancer.

The principle: Thermography assesses blood flow patterns, inflammation and function.

How it works: State-of-the-art breast thermography uses ultra-sensitive infrared cameras and sophisticated computers to detect, analyze, and produce high-resolution diagnostic images of these temperature and vascular changes.

Detection: The procedure is both comfortable (no pain!) and safe using no radiation or compression. By carefully examining changes in the temperature and blood vessels of the breasts, signs of possible cancer or pre-cancerous cell growth may be detected years prior to being discovered using any other procedure. This provides for the earliest detection of cancer possible. Because of breast thermography’s extreme sensitivity, these temperature variations and vascular changes may be among the earliest signs of breast cancer and/or a pre-cancerous state of the breast.

Research: Breast thermography has been researched for over 30 years, and over 800 peer-reviewed breast thermography studies exist in the index-medicus. In this database well over 250,000 women have been included as study participants. The numbers of participants in many studies are very large– ranging from 37,000 to 118,000 women. Some of these studies have followed patients up to 12 years. Breast thermography has an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%.

Unique Capability: Just as unique as a fingerprint, each patient has a particular infrared map of their breasts. Breast thermography has the ability to detect a pre-cancerous state of the breast, or signs of cancer at an extremely early stage, and therein lies in its unique capability of monitoring the temperature variations and blood vessel alterations produced by the earliest changes in tissue physiology (function). The procedure is based on the principle that chemical and blood vessel activity in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in the normal breast. Since pre-cancerous and cancerous masses are highly metabolic tissues, they need an abundant supply of nutrients (blood flow) to maintain their growth. In order to do this, they increase circulation to their cells by sending out chemicals to keep existing blood vessels open, recruit dormant vessels, and create new ones (neo-angiogenesis). This process results in an increase in regional surface temperatures of the breast.

About Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging

As a non-invasive preventative breast screening, DITI looks for good thermal symmetry in the breasts. Areas of heat in the breast which are not symmetrical and vascular in nature are more likely to develop into breast cancer. Perfect candidates for breast Thermography include women who:

• Are between the ages of 25-40 with concerns and/or a family history
• Women over 40 who have radiation and/or compression concerns
• Have had breast cancer before
• Have implants or mastectomies

DITI can be used in conjunction with other breast diagnostics because it has no side effects (radiation or compression). Note: DITI should not be seen as a replacement for mammography. The two tests complement each other. DITI can be used in addition to mammography as part of a woman’s regular breast health care, for the most comprehensive approach to early breast cancer detection.

Bodhi Body is one of the only integrative medical centers in the Valley to offer DITI. Bodhi Body believes everyone can be empowered to maintain their health and wellness with treatment programs that make use of all appropriate, science-based therapies, both conventional and alternative. Natural, less-invasive approaches to health are given priority.  Bodhi Body creates a customized wellness plan based on each individual’s medical needs.  The staff at Bodhi Body understands that most chronic disease can be prevented simply by taking preventative measures today.

Bodhi Body will be holding a lecture discussing details and benefits of this procedure on Saturday January 16^th at 9 am.   A clinical thermographer, a technician who specializes in the procedure, will be on hand to discuss the benefits of breast thermography; how it works, and how it can detect signs of breast cancer without radiation and years ahead of a traditional mammogram.  This is a free event.  Please call 480-237-2410 or email info@bodhi-body.com for more information.

By Dr. Garrett Wdowin

Bisphenol A was first synthesized in 1905 and since the 1930’s there have been health concerns over BPA and animal consumption.  BPA, due to its estrogenic activity in the body, was expected by the pharmaceutical industry to be used as an estrogen replacement medication in humans.  Then when it was tested, it was deemed too deadly and dangerous for human medical usage.  This information didn’t stop capitalism and a new use for BPA was found in the plastic industry.  BPA has become a prominent and very important chemical to the plastic manufacturing process.  The global production of BPA is around 3 million tons annually.  This annual production accumulates in the environment and our bodies causing and promoting disease.

It is interesting that a chemical that was found to be too hazardous for human consumption in the medical field was then added to almost every food container in the USA for everyone to be exposed to.  BPA has been seeping into our food and bodies from plastic wraps, plastic bottles, dental sealants, the inner epoxy coating of cans, etc, providing the population with a chronic low dose exposure.

This chronic exposure has been shown to increase cancer rates in animals and in humans it has been linked to a number of diseases, decreased semen in males, and found to effect chemotherapy.

BPA blocks the ability of chemotherapy to kill breast cancer cells.

A medical research study from early 2009 showed that concentrations of BPA, comparable to those found in the bodies of the general public, decreased chemotherapies effectiveness to kill breast cancer cells.  The ability of BPA to block chemotherapies kill rate has to do with BPA’s high binding affinity to estrogen receptors on the cancer cells.  BPA blocked the effects of the chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin, cisplatin, and vinblastine in the study.

BPA is just one of the 100’s of toxic chemicals that pollute our bodies.  Take the time to become educated on how to protect yourself and your family from unnecessary exposures.

Start today by taking simple steps:

• Don’t put plastic in the microwave
• Use stainless steal, wood, or glass cooking and eating utensils
• Eat organic food when possible
• Take your shoes off in the house
• Don’t buy canned foods

Learn More. Live Better. Love your Bodhi Body.

It is expected that approximately 1.5 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States during the year 2008.   According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 600,000 Americans are expected to die of cancer in 2008, or more than 1,600 people per day.[1]

More specifically in 2008 it is also estimated that 180,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 41,000 women will die from the disease.[2] Breast cancer rates have nearly tripled in the United States over the last 60 years making it the second most common cancer in women.  The lifetime risk for a woman to develop breast cancer in 1940 was 1 in 22.  In 2008 it is now up to 1 in 8, and will probably continue to rise.[3] The probability of a woman contracting any form of cancer in the United States is an astonishing 1 in 3.[4]

Similar increases can be seen in “developed” countries such as England, Japan, and Denmark.  Within the European Union a woman dies of breast cancer every 7.5 minutes[5] making it the number one killer of women between the ages of 34 and 54.  These are “developed” nations, with increased screening through mammograms, breast exams, and regular doctor visits.  What can help to explain this drastic increase?

The genetic component of breast cancer (BRCA-1 and BRCA-2) plays an important role, yet how much of the recent increase in breast cancer does genetics actually account for?  Ponder these next three statements.  Only 5% of breast cancers are thought to be due to the inheritance of a particular gene.[6] There is no history of breast cancer among female relatives in over 75% of patients.[7] Research today has proven the BRCA-1 gene isn’t a guaranteed cancer sentence and the un-mutated BRCA-1 gene actually plays a role in DNA repair, protecting a woman from breast cancer.[8] Therefore, the recent climb in breast cancer rates cannot be solely explained by genetics.

A fact worth exploring is “the risk [of breast cancer] is higher among women born after 1940, presumably due to promotional effects of hormonal factors.”[9] Breast tissue is estrogen-dependent, this is why the breasts will become larger when a woman takes birth control pills or becomes pregnant.  Besides estrogens the body makes there is also a substantial number of estrogen mimicking, disrupting and promoting substances, both natural and manmade, that we are exposed to in our environment every day.  This poses a significant question: are environmental toxins acting on the breast tissue and increasing your risk of cancer?  A plausible answer is given by Colbom et. al. “because total estrogen exposure is the single most important risk factor for breast cancer, estrogenic chemicals, toxins and compounds, which would add to this lifelong exposure, are an obvious suspect when searching for the cause of rising rates (of breast cancer) over the past half century.”[10] Although no firm data correlation exists across all breast cancer cases it is certainly more than plausible that estrogen and estrogen like substances are contributing to the increase in these cancers in the modern era.

History will show us that the idea of industrial and environmental toxins inducing cancer is not a new one.  We have known for over a hundred years that manmade chemicals can cause cancer.  Way back in 1895 aniline dyes, made from coal tar, were proven to cause bladder cancer.[11] Later on during the environmentalist movements of the 1960’s Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring. In this book she exposed the known and proposed health hazards of the pesticide DDT while also warning us about many other chemicals that we surround ourselves with everyday of our lives.  Since the writing of the Silent Spring medical research has mounted in support of her claims.   Today we know convincingly that DDT’s metabolites, especially p,pi-DDE, increases the progression, and risk, of hormone-dependent breast cancer.[12]

Between 1938 and 1971, an estimated 5 to 10 million pregnant women in the United States were encouraged to take DES (Diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic estrogen, which was originally prescribed by doctors for women who were at risk for miscarriage.  Not coincidentally, in 1970, a rare cancer called Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma (CCA) began to show up in unprecedented numbers of young women.  Studies were performed to answer the rising number of questions and in 1971 and 1972 DES was identified as a cause of this cancer in young women who had been exposed to DES in the womb. [13] Researchers have also found that DES daughters are 40 times more likely to develop cancer of the vagina and cervix than women who were not exposed to the drug.[14] We know estrogenic compounds can cause and promote cancer.

Medical research is mounting a huge collection of evidence showing that our environment, and the toxins we are all exposed to, increases the likelihood of breast cancer and cancer in general.  Studies show that hormone (endocrine) disrupting chemicals can act together and that small, seemingly insignificant quantities of individual chemicals can have major cumulative effects on the body.[15] Multiple estrogenic chemicals can collect in the body and act together to produce unknown effects, even when each individual component is believed to be within the considered “safe zone” set by the EPA.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals capable of disrupting the normal functioning of the endocrine system, and may pose a growing threat to human and wildlife health. These compounds can modulate both the endocrine and immune systems resulting in alteration of homeostasis, reproduction, development and behavior.[16] The endocrine and reproductive effects of these chemicals are believed to be due to their ability to: (1) mimic the effect of endogenous (produced in the body) hormones, (2) antagonize the effect of endogenous hormones, (3) disrupt the synthesis and metabolism of endogenous hormones, and (4) disrupt the synthesis and metabolism of hormone receptors.[17]

From heavy metals to industrial accidents to conventional medicine, your body is being exposed to and storing these endocrine disruptors.  Studies have shown the heavy metal mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd), mimic the effects of estradiol in estrogen-responsive breast cancer cell lines[18] and potentiate cancer growth. [19] Cadmium is found in cigarette smoke, certain art supplies, and is usually a component of air pollution.  Mercury is a universal contaminant we are all exposed to.

A study of 981 Italian women, who were exposed to dioxin (a toxic chemical formed during combustion and paper bleaching), from an industrial explosion in 1976, showed a significantly increased risk of breast cancer when the data was compiled and evaluated.[20]

Even modern medicine has to take its share of the blame.  Antibiotics have been instrumental in our health, in certain situations, yet when over prescribed they stress the liver, create dysbiosis (imbalance of bowel flora) and leave residues or metabolites that can add to the toxic mixture in your body.  “When they analyzed all the information they were able to gather, the researchers found that the more antibiotics women used, the greater their breast cancer risk was.”[21]

With all of this information and research helping us to understand how our environment can be increasing our risk of breast cancer, among other diseases, it seems only logical to take steps to protect your loved ones and ourselves.  The environmental medicine movement is picking up momentum and people are beginning to understand that we really do live in a toxic world.  “The world that surrounds us; including the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink; is full of toxins.  Many of these toxins are known carcinogens (cancer causing), and the vast majority have never been studied for their effects on humans.”[22] The effects on the body are complex and are influenced by many factors, including the route and site of exposure (skin, oral, injection, inhalation etc), the timing, the duration and frequency of exposure, and the susceptibility of the individual exposed.  Although, some of the pieces are still unclear, we do know that there are many chemicals in our environment that cause cancer.  We also know that everyone has these toxins, to some degree, stored in their body.  “Our findings revealed that under the current regulatory system, toxic chemicals from consumer products and industrial pollution contaminate each of us and threaten our health.”[23]

We need to start the movement of prevention in the breast cancer world, and I don’t mean things like preventive mastectomies.  Find a physician who is trained in preventative medicine because breast exams and mammograms only detect, they do not prevent breast cancer.  Detection without prevention is like standing on the train tracks, watching a train roll towards you, and being content that after you get hit the medical community will try to put you back together.  When possible, use prevention, and step off the tracks.

[2] Cancer.org

[3] The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 18^th Edition, Merck Research Laboratories 2006,p 2112

[4] American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/STT/stt_0_2005.asp?sitearea=STT&level=1

[5] Stella Kyriakides, President of Europa Donna, the European Breast Cancer Coalition. Sue Claridge, in ‘The Beacon’ (Breast Cancer Network Australia’s magazine) Issue 29,Summer 2004 p10

[6] http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understandingcancer/cancer/Slide35

[7] Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment, 45^th Edition, Lange 2006, p682

[8] http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080117/biological-link-between-brca1-and-breast-cancer-detailed.htm

[9] Harrison’s Ibid

[10] Colborn et al 1996

[11] Michael R. Edelstein, Contaminated Communities, Coping With Residential Toxic Exposure, 2003, p. 2

[12] http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/97286.php

[13] Women’s Health Advisor, Diethylstilbestrol (DES), online at http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/wha/wha_des_crs.htm

[14] CDC, Known Health Effects for DES Daughters; http://www.cdc.gov/des/consumers/about/effects_daughters.html

[15] Brody & Rudel 2003

[16] J. J. Amaral Mendes, The Endocrine Disrupters: a Major Medical Challenge, Univer de Evora, Portugal, 2002

[17] Carlos Sonnenschein and Ana M. Soto, An updated review of environmental estrogen and androgen mimics and antagonists, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1998

[18] Adriana Stoica, et al Activation of Estrogen Receptor by Heavy Metal Cadmium Mol Endo 2000(14-4) pp545-553

[19] Sukocheva et al, Methyl Mercury Influences Growth-Related Signaling in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells, State University of New York at Albany, 2004

[20] Marcella Warner et al, Serum Dioxin Concentrations and Breast Cancer Risk in the Seveso Women’s Health Study, Environmental Health Perspectives v110 n7 (2002): 625–628.

[21] C. Velicer et al. Antibiotic Use Linked to Breast Cancer Risk? Journal of the American Medical Association, 2004

[22] http://www.breastcancer.org/environmental_risk_factors.html

[23]Erika Schreder et al, Pollution in People, Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition, 2006, p.4