-AN OUTSIDER’S INSIDE SCOOP-

Natural Life News & Directory HEALTH PEARL # 12

Back in 2004 Montana became one of several states that voted “yes” on medical marijuana. In order to better understand what Montanans voted for, I’ll share some of the technical language used to get this initiative on the ballot.

The Montana Medical Marijuana Act, Initiative #148 states under Definitions for Use: “Debilitating medical conditions” means

a)   Cancer, glaucoma, or positive status for HIV, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or the treatment of these conditions;

b)   A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

1. I.     Wasting Syndrome;
2. II.     Severe or chronic pain;
3. III.     Severe nausea;
4. IV.     Seizures, including epilepsy; or
5. V.     Severe or persistent muscle spasms, including multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease;

c)    Any other medical condition or treatment for a medical condition adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Initiative #148 also states that a Written Certification means a qualifying (i.e. diagnosed by a licensed physician as having a debilitating medical condition) patient’s medical records or a statement signed by a physician stating that in the physician’s professional opinion, after a full assessment of the qualifying patient’s medical history and current medical condition made in a bona fide physician-patient relationship, the qualifying patient has a debilitating medical condition and the potential benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks for the qualifying patient.

Initiative #148 further mentions that a Registry Identification Card can be given to a minor with required paperwork, and written statements from parents or legal guardians.

All in all the 2004 Montana Medical Marijuana Act is a well-written document, including clear language for: a) reporting changes in medical conditions; b) when and where not to use medical marijuana, including …operating, navigating, or being in actual control of any motor vehicle, aircraft or motorboat, while under the influence of marijuana; and c) legal ramifications for unlawful growing, production, distribution and use of medical marijuana.

But after President Obama, late last year, allowed the practical application of its use in those states that approved that law, nobody had any idea what would happen next.

With every good intention and wise invention comes abuse, often in the way of deceit, dishonesty, misinterpretation and bending of rules. This is an apparent fact in regards to the afore-mentioned Initiative. I believe that the word debilitating is key here, since it can be interpreted as devastating, incapacitating, unbearable, and to impair strength. This has allowed a lot of potential patients to re-visit physicians and discuss that old nagging pain issue.

Besides the fair amount of people who qualify for all the right reasons, there are those who are desperate to get their hands on marijuana. And they know that explaining pain is medically indefinable; it is in the eye of the beholder. In Montana, during the last eight months, those in possession of a legitimate medical marijuana card have increased from about three thousand to around seventeen thousand!

Yes, hemp is a complex natural plant (Cannabis Sativa) with more than 400 different chemical compounds, 60 of which (called cannabinoids) are unique to marijuana. One of those cannabinoids is THC, a feel-good chemical that, inside the body, breaks-up in over 80 different metabolites before it is eliminated from the body. Once in the bloodstream it quickly starts looking for cannabinoid receptors in the brain and central nervous system**. These are believed to induce the pain-relieving effects medical marijuana is used for. But as with any other medicinal herb, there is a time and a place for its use, and it may not be for everyone.

I have never used marijuana in my life, so I don’t know the immediate feelings it provides, nor the long-term effects it may have for me. However before you inhale, swallow, inject, rub-on, or insert anything into your body, you owe it to yourself to be educated first, and act second. Depending on its preparation and use, marijuana can have pain-relieving or mind-enhancing effects. A good caregiver should be able to explain to you which method is best for you, based on your current chronic health condition.

During my June 5^th radio program Jim Gingery (Executive Director of the Montana Medical Growers Association), Misty Carey (a Caregiver), Charlie Gaillard (South-Central Chapter Director of the MT Medical Growers Assoc.) and Richard (a Patient/User) contributed to a panel discussion. Topics included the medical history and use of marijuana; methods of growing; different species and parts used; active medical components of the male- and female plants; myths around marijuana; as well as the benefits of medical marijuana use versus the overall negative effects of (long term) prescription pain medication on one’s overall quality of life.

During my June 12^th program Jim was back, this time joined by Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss, and Chris Lindsey (a Criminal and Civil Attorney in Helena, specializing in medical cannabis issues). The discussion focused on zoning regarding growing marijuana plants, and the tremendous amount of work done by the Montana Medical Marijuana Work Group, which has been formed at the direction of The Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee. During their sessions the twelve carefully selected participants (including Jim and Chris) have been reviewing the Medical Marijuana Act, Initiative #148, and they have been developing recommendations for consideration by the legislative committee. These should be ready as early as July 1^st.

Both men acknowledge that, based on the recent public outcry about the activities by roving Cannabis Caravans, negative public press, criminal activities against growers around the state, the import of black-market marijuana from out-of-state, questionable past of many dispensary operators, and the sudden explosive increase in registered card-holders, their recommendations will be extremely important for the correct future use of medical marijuana for all parties involved (i.e. doctors, law officials, growers, care-givers, licensed users, the media, as well as the public perception and acceptance).

Historical use of Cannabis Sativa is well documented, and it is prudent to legally reinstate its beneficial uses to people who qualify. All should respect the upcoming definitive guidelines put forth by those in the know. There are other all-natural proven pain relievers available to many who have second thoughts, or to those who stretch the meaning of pain (as in chronic and debilitating). Let’s not spoil it for those whose quality of life has only been improved by medical marijuana, after all other avenues have failed.

* Jacobus is not a Doctor and does not intent to diagnose, treat or cure any disorder. The information is based on self-study, interviewing experts on his weekly 3-hour Saturday morning Radio Program “Gesundheit! With Jacobus”, which runs from 8-11, on AM 1450-KMMS and AM 1340 KPRK, and on feedback received from retail customers visiting his dietary supplements retail store Gesundheit! Nutrition Center at 2855 N. 19^th Avenue, Suite N, in Bozeman (585-4668). If in doubt please visit a professional of your own choice and/or educate yourself with available published materials.

** Some of this information comes from the Do It Now Foundation (www.doitnow.org)

ADRENALS

This magazine is all about educating and creating awareness about issues and topics that help us become better and healthier people. I enjoy the opportunity to contribute to that, because not only does it force me to put a lot of thoughts into words; it is also educational for me, because I have to do research to help fine-tune information I thought was already correct.

In Part 1 of Our Confusing Hormones, I tackled the activity in the lobes of the pituitary gland. This time I will talk about our adrenal glands, located on top of our kidneys. They look like little pyramids about 3 inches wide and 1 inch high, and they consist of two parts: the Medulla (inner) and the Cortex (outer).

The CORTEX produces cortical hormones, but these hormones are all considered steroids (organic fat-soluble compounds). Steroids are often reproduced in prescription medications to quickly fight inflammation and pain (i.e. Prednisone®, which is synthetic cortisol). Naturally, we produce just enough to maintain our body’s normal function and pain levels. There are three different types:

• Mineralocorticoids: of these Aldosterone is the best known and deals with conserving sodium ions and water in the body.

• Glucocorticoids: one of these is Cortisol, which helps to increase blood glucose levels.

• Gonadocorticoids or sex hormones: In men that would be the Androgen hormones, in females the Estrogens. The amounts produced here are smaller than what males produce in the testicles, and what women produce in the ovaries. But nevertheless, surgical removal of ovaries (i.e. full hysterectomy) or one or both testicles, does not mean that no more sex hormones are produced. Our adrenals, if healthy, can continue to manufacture gonadocorticoids. Interesting side-note here is that we cannot live without an adrenal cortex, but we can live without the medulla, in case surgery was needed on our adrenals.

The MEDULLA produces two hormones, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine. These hormones are produced during stressful situation of all kinds (environmental-, food-, relationships-, illness-, emotional-, etc.).

Cortisol is more often seen as the stress hormone. This is partly caused by a change in our eating habits when we get stressed, and what cortisol does with the nutrients we put into the body, …or not. Cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine are all responses to stress; but cortisol has an effect on our metabolism. According to the article Cortisol Connection: Tips on Managing Stress and Weight** : cortisol regulates energy by selecting the right type of substrate (carbohydrate, fat or protein) that is needed by the body to meet the physiological demands that is placed upon it. Cortisol mobilizes energy by tapping into the body’s fat stores (triglycerides) and moving it from one location to another, or delivering it to hungry tissue such as working muscle. Under stressful conditions, cortisol can provide the body with protein for energy production by converting amino acids (protein building blocks) into useable carbohydrate (glucose) in the liver. Additionally it can move fat from storage depots and relocate it to fat cell deposits deep in the abdomen. And, cortisol (or Prednisone®) may act as an anti-inflammatory agent, suppressing the immune system during times of physical and psychological stress.

As far as the stress response pathways are concerned, there are different strokes for different folks. If stress is perceived as a challenge to take over control, the adrenal medulla releases the fight hormone norepinephrine,. In case that stress causes a feeling of loss of control, then the medulla releases epinephrine, the flight/anxiety hormone. Both fight and flight responses cause an accelerated heartbeat, and release of fatty acids in the blood.

When stress is prolonged and there is a hopeless feeling of defeat, then the adrenal cortex releases cortisol. This may cause a change in eating habits, often referred to as stress-eating, which can lead to enhanced fat creation (lipogenesis), deep abdominal (visceral) obesity, tissue breakdown, and immune suppression.

Many people who try to lose weight will tell you that they don’t eat much. But it is the stress in their life that causes the over-production of cortisol, which will take everything they eat and store it, in case better times may never come. It is a survival mechanism. For these people to lose the weight, they will need to do more than just eat differently. Breath-Work, yoga, light exercising, listening to gentle classical music, T’ai Chi Chuan, are all needed to feel in control again and lose the defeat energy.

Hormones can be a bugger, but we can’t live without them.

Michael Lang, ND (Nature’s Wisdom Clinic – 586-1100) describes hormones as a Symphony of Music: notes all come together to give us a harmonic musical piece. Sometimes the trumpets will be louder, other times the violins will go solo, or we hear a false note, that makes us sit-up in our chairs. But they (hormones) are all part of the musical symphony that is our life.

Next time, I’ll discuss more tips for better hormonal harmony.

* Jacobus is not a Doctor and does not intent to diagnose, treat or cure any disorder. The information is based on self-study, interviewing experts on his weekly 3-hour Saturday morning Radio Program “Gesundheit! With Jacobus”, which runs from 8-11, on AM 1450-KMMS and AM 1340 KPRK, and on feedback received from retail customers visiting his dietary supplements retail store Gesundheit! Nutrition Center at 2855 N. 19th Avenue, Suite N, in Bozeman (585-4668). If in doubt please visit a professional of your own choice and/or educate yourself with available published materials.

** Article by Christine A. Maglione-Garves, Len Kravitz, Ph.D., and Suzanne Schneider, Ph.D. (http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/stresscortisol.html)

NATURAL LIFE NEWS AND DIRECTORY – HEALTH PEARL #10

Symptoms of ill health that we experience are not always caused by a deficiency in nutrition, or a shortage of supplementation, and definitely not by a lack of prescription drugs. Too often, they are caused by a hormone imbalance.

And hormone production we have aplenty. Insulin is a hormone, so is vitamin D. But the most well known are estrogens, progesterone and testosterone. We need to understand – and I will need more than one Health Pearl to explain it- where they are coming from, and how they work in conjunction with each other. This will help us to make adjustments as we recognize symptoms that in some cases may have affected us for decades.

Hormones are chemicals that circulate in the body to carry messages and signals to other parts of the body. So, every day of our lives, these hormones are on a schedule, without breaks or vacations, to do their jobs. Going faster, slowing down or quitting is not an option for any hormone – nor is failure, since one of them can deregulate the work and function of the others.

Thanks to modern science and diagnostics, we are able to identify correct levels, and either slow (hypo-) or fast (hyper-) activity, and we are able to understand how hormones work together.

Our cholesterol is crucial for hormone production, starting with the hormone pregnenelone, which then divides into two path ways: 1) through its conversion into progesterone and trickling down into the different forms of estrogens (Estrodial, Estrone and Estriol); and 2) through the DHEA pathway, converting into testosterone and the three forms of estrogens. (I will elaborate on the cholesterol pathways later).

Then there is our pituitary gland, located in the brain that is very active in hormone production. It consists of two parts, the anterior lobe and the posterior lobe. The posterior lobe produces two hormones:

• Anti-diuretic Hormone (ADH), which induces water conservation in the kidneys, and plays an important role in maintaining fluid balance and vascular and cellular hydration.

• Oxytocin (OCT), which induces uterine contractions during birth, and induces milk movement and production after giving birth.

The anterior (frontal) lobe produces:

• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), which assists the thyroid gland to secrete its hormone thyroxine (T4). The thyroid lives off the nutrients iodine and l-tyrosine through our diet and produces T4. If it doesn’t, then TSH production will increase in order to keep the T4 going. Science has determined that the range in which TSH is supposed to work is between 0.5 and about 4.75. When it is forced to go above this range, it indicates that the thyroid is getting weaker (hypoactive), probably because of not getting enough iodine and l-tyrosine. If our TSH production falls below that range, it indicates that the thyroid is somehow over-producing (hyperactive). A blood test will tell when your thyroid is hyperactive or hypoactive.

However, recent research in the natural-health field has determined that healthy levels are more between 0.3 and 2.0. What that means is that when your TSH-levels on a blood test come back at 3.5, most endocrinologists would diagnose your thyroid as being normal, whereas a naturopath would determine that it is hypoactive. It is advisable to get and keep copies of your recent blood tests to observe changes, and to act upon those when necessary.

• Human Growth Hormone (HGH), also called Somatotropin, which is active in most cells. This hormone promotes bone and muscle growth in young people, and plays a role in both glucose and protein metabolism in adults. Some athletes supplement with anything that helps release HGH in their system, trying to build more muscles, and increase speed and power. But since Mother Nature still has the last word, this doesn’t always turn out as expected.

• Prolactin (PRL). During pregnancy, this hormone helps in the preparation of the breasts for future milk production. After birth, PRL promotes the synthesis of milk. This is simple and straightforward, but also not to be denied for helping to build the immune system of a future adult.

• The Gonadotropins (GnRH) include the luteinizing hormone (LH) and the follicle- stimulating hormone (FSH). Both of these affect women differently than men. LH in females helps the ovaries to release an egg in the middle (ovulation) of her 28-day cycle; and then it helps the follicle to secrete the hormone progesterone during the second half of the menstrual cycle. In males, LH helps to stimulate the testicles to synthesize and secrete the hormone testosterone.

FSH in females helps the ovarian follicle, after ovulation, to produce estrogens, especially the estrogen Estrodial. In males, FSH, with the help of testosterone, helps to produce sperm.

I’m not done yet – as we still need to address the adrenals and skin pigmentation- but you already realize there is a lot going on with our different hormones. They need a healthy body, mind and emotions to live-up to their fullest potential. A need for extra hormones in one gland or organ may slow-down or completely stop the production of others in another part of our body, causing illness, fatigue, and frustration on a daily basis.

With our hormones in balance, we can all feel younger, more fit, and have better digestion. Next time, I’ll explain more about balancing our hormones.

* Jacobus is not a Doctor and does not intent to diagnose, treat or cure any disorder. The information is based on self-study, interviewing experts on his weekly 3-hour Saturday morning Radio Program “Gesundheit! With Jacobus”, which runs from 8-11, on AM 1450-KMMS and AM 1340 KPRK, and on feedback received from retail customers visiting his dietary supplements retail store Gesundheit! Nutrition Center at 2855 N. 19th Avenue, Suite N, in Bozeman (585-4668). If in doubt please visit a professional of your own choice and/or educate yourself with available published materials.