YourHealthMatters

Welcome to YourHealthMatters

I hope this becomes an important source of health-related information for you. My practice and philosophy combines both conventional approaches and complementary approaches to improving health, treating disease and improving healthspan.

I ALSO HAVE A WEBSITE FOR THE PRACTICE- www.drbobsager.com

I am writing and posting content here frequently and if you sign up for email alerts on the left hand column, you'll get emails about new postings. There is also an RSS feed on the right hand side for people with RSS readers. I also plan to use the email alerts to let my patients know when Lynda & I will be away, when flu shots arrive and other news about the office.

I welcome questions, comments, and ideas for content. Please click on the categories on the right side to find information which I think is useful. You will find files to download on various health issues. Tell your friends and share what I have written.

I hope you explore this site and return often to sample the new content. 

To Your Health -

drBob

Point - Counterpoint on Fructose

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the most commonly sweeteners in our foods and drinks. It is cheap, readil,y available and supports our farms. But is it really good for humans?
Here are two views recently found on our Web.
1. The AMA recently supported fructose as healthy but it may have some political goals.
View what they did at www.sleekURL.com/?fructose1

2. In contrast read what Dr. Joe Mercola has written about a media push to try and improve the image of fructose in the public eye.
Read what he wrote at www.sleekURL.com/?fructose2

Now that corn is being funneled into ethanol plants, the price of corn will go up and maybe we will see another sweetener appear at a lower cost.

High carb intake can raise your risk of high cholesterol, diabetes and raise your inflammatory symptoms. I encourage my patients to remove HFCS from their diets.

drBob

Point - Counterpoint on Vitamin D

Here are two very divergent views on the need for making enough Vit D3 in our bodies.
The first link describes what I believe and advocate - adequate Vit D3 in the blood for a multitude of good reaons - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/06/28/if-you-choose-to-take-oral-vitamin-d-how-much-should-you-take.aspx?source=nl

• bone structure maintenance because Vit D 3 promotes adequare calcium  absorption
• use in blood sugar maintenance
• use in PCOS - polycystic ovary syndrome - hormone regulator and I have seen women with PCOS get pregnant little more than adequate D3 levels and carbs restriction
• autoimmune effects on MS, rheumatoid disease and lupus.

The second link is an article opposed to sunlight  or tanning and ignores its use in making Vit D because of the risks of any sunlight exposure. It ignores the Vit D3 research of the past year which is so important.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25378496/

Read both for an eye-opening look at two opposing views.

I regularly test Vit D3 levels in many adults and find most are deficient by today's latest standards. Insurance often pays for this test and if not, it is $125 in Liberal for non-insured adults. I suggest between 2 and 8 thousand units D3 for adults and retest their levels as they increase their doses of D3 to achieve at least 55 ng/ml level as the research supports this level as optimal. I have rarely found an adult in this range without oral supplementation. It is likely that Vit D3 is absorbed best with other fats as it is fat soluble. I have not found any research on this issue. Wyeth published research a couple of years ago that showed calcium absorption is also best at D3 levels between 55 and 60 ng/ml, So get your D3 blood level tested and make sure it is between 55 and 60 ng/ml. It is by far the cheapest vitamin on the planet to make major improvements in your health and your risk of future disease.

drBob

For My Patients - Rumors, Rumors....

For my patients who may be hearing rumors about me, here are the current fanciful tales about me:

1.  "Dr. Sager is dying of brain cancer." Actually I had surgery at KU Med Center April 24, 2008 to clip and totally remove an anuerysm. I'm recovering and back to work. No cancer found or suspected.

2. " Dr. Sager has lost his license to practice."  Truth is I have renewed my Kansas and Oklahoma medical licenses just recently.

3. "I've retired and moved back to Canada." No plans to retire for some years. I'm in good health with no other health issues except my recovery from surgery.

I am accepting new patients. Call the office at 620-626-7080 and speak to my wife Lynda if you wish to see me.

The office is closed now for the July 4 holiday to give my staff a week off. We will all be back to work Monday, July 7, 2008.

drBob

PS - heard any other juicy rumors about me? - please post here in the Comments.

For My Patients - upcoming time out of office

For my patients - I got a good report from my surgeon but he urged me to take it easy on the road to recovery. So I wish to announce Lynda and I will be away Friday June 20 until  Monday July 7 when the office will re-open.
Check your renewals on all prescriptions before then. The office will be closed so the staff can have a holiday from June 30-July 4.

drBob

For My Patients : Coming Back to Work

I am slowly returning to the office this week after surgery in KUMedCenter April 24. I  am also still using Dr. Jim Wiley part time as a locum physician. He has been a great help.

I am mentally fine. It is my physical stamina that still is less than normal. I certainly learning firsthand what it is to be a patient.

On May 28 I have a followup appointment with my surgeon at KUMedCenter and I expect to be out of the office May 27,28 and 29. The office will be open and staff available to help you. Thanks to everyone who has called and for your support through your thoughts and prayers. I will be writing more later.

drBob

Free Report - Self-Improvement Tips

I'm interested in the health of our body, mind and spirit. The three are intertwined and affect each other. Here is a free report on 21 TipsforSelf-Improvement.pdf released by Dan Gonzalez. Download, read, check out the links to other information and share with your friends.

To download, right-click on your PC, or Crtl-click on your Mac. To view the report just click on the link. The report is virus-free.

One of the great advantages of the web is the ability to move information around much faster and wider than ever possible before. I hope you find this information helpful and share it with others. Leave your comments on how this report has helped you.

drBob

For My Patients - Advance Notice of a Trip

Lynda and I will be away on a course in late April. We leave Wed April 23 and will be back Monday May 5. The staff will keep the office open for your calls. We have arranged a locum physician for April 28,29,30.
drBob

Who Wants Prevention & Alternative Medicine Covered?

On John Weeks' The Integrator Blog this week comes a post about an unusual survey done of the attitudes of Republicans and Democrats about health care insurance coverage. The full post is here. Voters, not candidates or any politicians, were surveyed in Iowa and Washington state.

Question #1 - "Basic health benefits should include coverage for any licensed health care professional, such as naturopathic  physicians, acupuncturists and chiropractors, as long as they are certified and licensed by the state and by their profession."

Both Democrats and Independents supported this from 72-81%, while  only 60% of Republicans supported this policy. This question does not mention alternative therapies performed by physicians.

Question #2 - "Health care services should stress preventing disease rather than relying on high technology cures."

Again over 70-77% of Democrats and Independents supported this policy, while only 60% of Republicans supported it. This question does not ask specifically what type of prevention measures should be paid for.

I'd like to see this survey done country-wide for even more revelations.

Missing was a survey of the Presidential candidates. It's one thing for voters to want these measures adopted, it's another for our representatives or our President to make it happen.

I enjoy reading John Weeks' blog and highly recommend it to you.

drBob

PS - How would you vote on these questions? Leave me a comment on your views.

Change Your Brain Chemistry - What's So Different About Our Brains?

In a departure from my previous posts on this subject, I came across a YouTube video explaining in very simple terms, the differences between the brain of a man and of a woman.  Unfortunately, it offers no way to reconcile the vast differences. Otherwise, I could not have said it better. Enjoy -

FDA Attacks Our Freedom of Choice Again

Here comes the FDA, guardian of corporate profits, trying to stop the use of compounded hormones again. This time it's doing the corporate bidding of Wyeth who lost billions after the 2002 WHI study scared women off Premarin© and PremPro©.

Somehow the FDA has decided that the natural female hormone estriol should be banned from compounded products, because it is an "unapproved drug". However there is at least one FDA approved study underway on the use of estriol in improving MS. How can it be approved for this study and not for compounding use? Then consider that estriol is produced in every woman's body, so how can it be a drug and unapproved for use in your body?

A new group, the HOMEcoalition, opposed to the FDA attack, has published a full page ad recently presenting the other side of the argument. Please go to their website here and add your name to the opposition. Sign up for their free email list to keep up to date on this issue. I support the aims of this organization and have known the organizers as teachers and mentors for years.

This is about two approaches to healthcare - on the FDA and Big Pharma side the approach is One Symptom needs One Big Pharma Drug. On the side of health freedom the approach is to assess each patient as an individual with biochemical differences and individual requirements for treatment. Using a compounded prescription for hormones allows me to change the concentrations of the ingredients and the dosing instructions for each individual woman or man as needed.

Which type of care do you support?

Download the HOMECoalition_AD here. Please circulate this email and the ad to anyone who supports the need for access to individualized care.

drBob