Lesley Burton-Dallas

So GURLS!

It's come down to me writing about Mold AND Menopause!!!WHOOHOO! What a joy-boy am I???

Anyway, I've been learning alot as of late from my Women to Woman OB/GYN group, that I thought maybe some of you who are sharing this time of life with me may benefit...

Maybe a Women-opause Blog in the future???haha

This is the first in a series I thought I'd bring you, so let me know if it rings a bell and if I should contine.

Have a blessed day and love to all my AR family!

Lesley

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

I talk to women daily about hypothyroidism in my practice, and one thing I hear over and over from those who have been diagnosed is, "I thought I was healthy. How did this happen?"

Many women with hypothyroidism are struggling with weight gain, fatigue, poor concentration, hair loss, even depression - and they want answers about how to feel better.

About one in five of the midlife women we see at our practice have abnormal TSH levels. So it isn't just a problem for women who don't pay attention to their health - even Oprah Winfrey, who's extremely health conscious, has talked about her hypothyroid condition.

The fact is, women are often diagnosed with hypothyroidism during perimenopause and menopause, but few conventional practitioners talk about this connection. And even fewer offer solutions beyond synthetic thyroid hormone replacement medications like levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, Unithroid) to bring TSH levels down.
I know women want to support their thyroid health. One way to start is by realizing that hypothyroidism is rarely an isolated condition. There could be several factors leading to your thyroid disturbance, especially during the menopause transition, and these vary from woman to woman.

This recent story written by the prominent restaurateur Raymond Blanc raises the issue of genetically modified food (GM) and its implications for vegetarians, food allergies & intolerances.

Raymond Blanc's restaurant Le Manoir is very famous and highly professional in all aspects of preparing food but they feel that they have been caught by insufficient GM food labelling.

Le Manoir now set about sourcing cheese that was suitable for vegetarian use and came across a dilemma. Rennet is now produced by several organisms including Aspergillus niger that have had the gene for rennet introduced into them by genetic manipulation.

Quite apart from the debate of whether or not we should be eating GM food and whether or not those foods are appropriate in a high class restaurant that insists on the finest sourced ingredients, this means that we can now have rennet - in some ways an animal protein - produced by micro-organisms that are certainly not animal in origin.

Should a vegetarian accept these proteins as non-animal? They have never been near an animal but the DNA sequence originates in an animal. Perhaps individuals should be able to make that choice themselves? - but here there is a second point. Food that has been produced using a GM product does not have to be labelled GM, so no-one, restaurateur, customer or consumer knows that they are there and thus cannot make that decision for themselves.

There are now many more examples of foods or food constituents being made using Aspergillus. There is some evidence that foods can cause allergic reactions, even in parts of the body remote from the digestive system - in fact there are examples of a food made from a fungus (Quorn) that can cause repiratory problems and include cross reactivity to Aspergillus. This raises the possibility that such foods could adversly effect the allergies of patients suffering from a wide range of allergies, including allergy to Aspergillus e.g. ABPA, sinusitis.

If some foods can contain Aspergillus or other microorganism without our knowledge then perhaps the labeling regulations need to be rethought-out.

Although Stachybotrys is the scary mold that captures the headlines, you won't find a six-thousand-page website dedicated to it.

That distinction belongs to another mold, Aspergillus.

Aspergillus, is a common genus of mold known for its practical uses (soy sauce, soft drinks) and serious effects on human health (aspergillosis).

The Aspergillus Website: http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/ is owned and funded in part by the Fungal Research Trust, based in Manchester, UK.

Here are five sections of the website:

• History of Aspergillus
• 371 Mycotoxins and Metabolites of Aspergillus
• Blog that is enjoyable to read
• Articles Database
• Aspergillus: a primer for the novice (learn about the soy sauce and soft drink connection)
  

If you have more time, I recommend going through the menu of the website. You'll find videos, discussion forums, conference proceedings, links to other online resources, and a free newsletter.

The next time Aspergillus is affecting indoor air quality on one of your real estate transactions you'll be well armed with scientific research and fun facts on the genus of mold named after a brush for sprinkling holy water!

If this does not make your eyes bug out, nothing will. It's about 3 minutes...

<http://www.youtube.com/user/fiercefreeleancer>

I would really like to hear your feedback to this horror story and if any of it rings true...

...almost made me sick!

I had to share this with you because I am so excited about it I can barely stand it!

Was in Boston a few weeks back and had a meeting with a young Doctor who has a proprietary way of growing any kind of fish or shell fish in closed loop systems that are completely free from all the horrifying stories of current methods of fish farming which is almost as bad as eating antibiotic filled beef.

We are bringing this technology to First Nations Peoples around the world providing communities with a sustainable crop, an organic wholesome fish to eat, and economic development!

I'm really excited about this project, so wish us luck!

I just can't wait to eat fish that won't make me feel guilty for eating endangered species or scared about all the chemicals, mercury, antibiotics etc...