Dr. Maupi his is episode 32 of the BioBalance Healthcast. I’m Dr. Kathy Maupin. Dr. Newcom nd I’m Brett Newcomb and today we are continuing our conversation about fatigue. Dr. Maupi nd this part of the program is about things you can do. Things that I find in my patients’ histories and I just advise them on changing what they do at home. That’s very important. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and everyone can do it. Dr. Newcom t’s important for clients to know that they can impact the outcomes. It’s not just a matter of seeing a doctor or taking a medicine. You know, from practicing medicine, how seldom people follow what their doctors tell them what to do. They start but they don’t finish. Dr. Maupi adly. That’s why I use handouts, but they drop it in the trash on the way out. Dr. Newcom r they don’t listen and absorb. They start off with good intentions and the minute they start to feel better they quit taking the medicine. Dr. Maupi he statistics show that people only hear 20% of what we tell them in the office. So I usually write as I’m talking and give them copies of my notes because that’s the only way they can kind of remember. If they can get through my handwriting, they’re good. Dr. Newcom ere’s a sticky note, here’s a checklist. Take this home and stick it on the fridge. Dr. Maupi nd I have handouts for everything and that helps people remember. But in this case, to stop being tired, they have to look at many things. One is diet. Some people come in and go I’m great, I eat one time a day. One time a day! That’s terrible because your body goes into hibernation and then you become hypoglycemic and you become tired. It’s just as bad not to eat as it is to eat too much too, many times. I think you should eat 6 times a day, small meals. Dr. Newcom ut that is so difficult for most people to do, or at least they say that it is. Dr. Maupi ell you have to pack it with you. You can’t just go to the vending machine and find something that’s low carb. Dr. Newcom ou can just go to McDonalds and get a Big Mac 5 times a day? Dr. Maupi ou’re out. You’re going to be tired the rest of your life. No, less than 25g of carb 6 times a day. That’s not starvation, that’s a really good diet. You’ll always be full. Dr. Newcom ow wait a minute. When I was kid, many, many years ago, we had a food pyramid that we were taught about. They said you got to eat all these carbs all the time and a little bit of protein and a little bit of fat but eat all these carbs and you’ll be healthy wealthy and wise. And just recently the National Institute of Health came out and said the pyramids great but it’s upside down. Dr. Maupi Oops, we told you the wrong way to eat your whole lives.” So 30 years of being told the wrong thing by the government basically. Sadly, we make grains in America. Our government, I love our government but our government tells us to use grains because we make grains in America, tons of grain. In fact we give it away, we sell it to other countries. Dr. Newcom o does that turn us into electro cattle? Dr. Maupi ’m not sure Dr. Newcom o carbohydrates are a problem whether the government tells you to eat them or you eat them on your own. Dr. Maupi ut we’ve learned that, our school lunches were made that way. And then all of a sudden, two years ago, they said what I’ve always been saying. I’ve said this forever because that pyramid made me feel terrible. Three times a day I had to eat small meals and I had to eat often to feel good so I experienced it myself. And I followed the 6 meal low carb diet. But everybody, even Canyon Ranch, I went there and they said ‘oh you’re eating the wrong way. Here some more carbs.’ And I said I can’t eat that way I’ll gain weight working out all day. Dr. Newcom any, many years ago when I was teaching high school and then started teaching college I used to teach psychology courses and part of what we would teach is strategies for testing well. How to improve your test results without your knowledge base going up one way or the other. Just the knowledge of how test work and how you’re body works. And of the things we would talk about you know study habits, you study better if you’re a little cold and slightly hungry. Dr. Maupi ight but not hypoglycemic. Dr. Newcom ot hypoglycemic. And at lunch you don’t want to eat a lot of pasta if you have a test at . Dr. Maupi r bread. You should eat salmon or meat or a vegetable and a salad. But skip desert. Dr. Newcom e’ve known those things for a long time Dr. Maupi ut we finally have justification because they did retract the old pyramid. Now it is based more on protein and fats and then at the very small little top is carbohydrates. Dr. Newcom o they literally turned it upside down. Dr. Maupi nd they asked a bunch of Harvard doctors to help them decide how America should eat and they said finally, (they didn’t follow all the things that the doctors said; they have a book about it and I can’t recall the title at this point; it’s a very interesting way that they went about), “oh we have to have a little more carbohydrate in there, not because it’s healthy, but because it’s America. Dr. Newcom ow. Dr. Maupi eally the best diet to not be a diabetic when you get old, and not to be a diabetic when you’re young, and not gain weight, and be healthy and happy, and have energy is a small feeding diet. We were meant to be grazers. Dr. Newcom o people will say to me so I don’t eat a lot of protein and I don’t eat a lot of fat. I’m trying to lose weight. Especially those that are vegans that don’t eat mean at all. How to vegans get protein into their diet? Dr. Maupi hey have protein through soy and beans. Beans have a lot of carb in it as well. However, there are certain proteins called essential amino acids, they are made up of essential amino acids. They are only found in meat, and often in red meat. For us to be fully fed and to have all the nutrients our brain needs, our body needs, our muscles need. You can’t be a weight lifter and not eat meat. Because your muscles are broken down and replenished with the essential amino acids. It is very important to eat meat on a daily basis. So all my patients come in and think they’re being very healthy being vegan and they’ve gained 20 pounds and they don’t know why. Dr. Newcom o they are weight lifters they’re just lifting a different kind of weight. Dr. Maupi ifting their own weight. And they’re trying to exercise and get muscle. Well, testosterone helps you get muscle. Dr. Newcom nd then they’ll say well muscle is heavier than fat. So that’s why my weight’s going up. Cause I’m exercising now and I’ve got muscle. Dr. Maupi f you’re doing it truly the right way, your muscle takes the place of fat. That much fat, that volume of fat ways the same as that much muscle. So you shrink first. If you’re not shrinking, and you’re saying I’m just gaining weight because I’m working out. That means you’re not on the road to a healthy diet. And you’re going to be tired because we’re talking about fatigue. Dr. Newcom nd I distracted you. You were talking about something that I think is really important. And I took you away from it because you were talking about the essential amino acids and the vitamins that come from this particular food group that generates [energy]. Dr. Maupi 12 is the biggest vitamin. B12 is an interesting vitamin. It is necessary for all neurologic function; your brain, your fingers;I feel very numb and tingly when my B12’s low. And I have a genetic issue. I’ve got every genetic issue so I know all about them. I found them out and I treat them. By 40 I wasn’t absorbing B12 from all the meat I eat. I was absorbing all my essential amino acids. But with this genetic thing it’s often in Italians, and I’m half Italian. It’s one of those things where you can eat all the meat in the world but it’s not getting into your blood. So that’s an issue. But not eating meat you have no chance of it getting into your blood. So B12 is something that should be checked. And if you don’t absorb it through the stomach you should take it sublingually under the tongue or in a shot. Because if you take it orally it goes through the stomach, it’s not going to be absorbed. Dr. Newcom ust like if you ate the meat and it went to the stomach and it wouldn’t absorb. Dr. Maupi ight, you’ll get your essential amino acids, which is good, but you won’t get B12. And you’ll have the little aching tingly finger tips and numbness and aching all over. And the minute I get replaced with a shot of B12 it’s over. Dr. Newcom o we’re talking about fatigue. And as your talking I’m thinking about cluster issues that are relative to this. One of the things that we talked about it in a previous podcast on insomnia is the fatigue factor that comes from not getting a good night’s sleep or not getting an adequate amount of sleep. Of course there are medical reasons and stress reasons and life reasons sometimes for people to have insomnia. But the balancing, we started this podcast by saying that patients can contribute to their well being and they can contribute to the reduction of this issue as an issue in their lives. And one of the things has to do with diet. One of things has to do with exercise. One of things has do with sleep and stress reduction. And if you can learn to do the things that help reduce the negative affect of the negative impact of those ingredients then that’s beneficial to you and that can supplement what you can do with medicines that you provide for other reasons, for other causative issues. Dr. Maupi hat’s actually a perfect, a perfect summary. Really. Dr. Newcom h good. Dr. Maupi o exercise we haven’t talked about. But exercise is something everyone is told do but doesn’t know how exactly how to do it. You have to find the exercise that you love to do. I hate running. My girlfriends love to run. They feel awesome. I feel worse if I run. My hips hurt, my knees hurt. I feel like I’m going to fall apart. That’s not my exercise. Dr. Newcom here’s a woman that lives near me. She runs all the time, in all kinds of weather. Except she doesn’t run. She’s so crippled up, she’s so anorexic and in pain and you can see her trying to run. And every time I see her I want to stop and say honey, go home, relax, eat something. Put on 10 lbs. I mean she’s so addicted to running. Dr. Maupi rarely tell people to eat something1 and gain weight Dr. Newcom ell.1 Dr. Maupi ut that’s an addiction to the endorphins that are created when you run.1 But there are all kinds of exercise. You can exercise by biking; you can exercise in front1 of a Wii machine. You can exercise in so many different ways. You should exercise at least1 three times a week for an hour, or every day for half an hour. And that keeps your energy1 up and that stimulates testosterone in people that aren’t taking it.1 Dr. Newcom do 8 ounce curls. Dr. Maupi eah, I hate that. I have to tell1 people that they’re not going to feel good in the morning if they drink a six pack every1 night. Or if they drink two glasses of wine they’ll be hypoglycemic. So we haven’t1 even talked about those things. Those are bad habits.1 Dr. Newcom nd that’s where you get your calories. Absolutely.1 Dr. Maupi ad habits. Sitting on the couch. Americans all do it because we’re tired1 and stressed so we sit on the couch instead of actually getting up and doing something1 and exercising. And then we drink too much and we eat too many carbs. It just turns out1 to be the perfect storm for developing diabetes across the country. I’m trying to stop that.1 I don’t want any of my patients to be diabetics. So when they come to me, and they’ve already1 been doing this, I often treat pre-diabetics with metformin or victoza so that they can1 actually lose weight and bring their blood sugar back in order. And it works.1 Dr. Newcom specially women in their 40s and 50s that I’ve talked to who’ve attempted1 to do that and say “well I’m starving myself. I’m literally not eating anything.1 And I’m exercising and I’m not losing weight. What is the problem?” And what you’ve1 told me in other venues is that there’s a plateau that they seem to lock out. And1 something like metformin or victoza can break through that plateau. And once they lose those1 first three to five pounds then if they are eating a responsible diet and exercising the1 weight really starts to come off. Did I understand that correctly?1 Dr. Maupi ou did. And when you build enough muscle, which is impossible without testosterone1 after 40, you burn calories while you sleep. Dr. Newcom he lazy man’s way.1 Dr. Maupi hat means you’ve exercised enough or weight lifted enough. Which really,1 if you’re wanting to lose enough weight, weight lifting interval training, which is1 alternating aerobics with weight lifting is the fastest way to lose weight because it1 not only builds your muscles but it gives you aerobic strength. It strengthens your1 heart and it burns calories. So that’s the best way to exercise.1 Dr. Newcom kay, going back 20, 25 years I remember that they were really promoting1 something the British army developed called isometrics. And they were saying you can exercise1 at your desk you tense and relax muscle groups at a regular, is that, I mean you’re making1 faces at me. Dr. Maupi o. That’s not going to cause1 you to lose weight or feel less tired. You should probably stretch.1 Dr. Newcom o you actually really have to work out.1 Dr. Maupi ou actually have to sweat. It’s not working out by walking the dog and talking1 to every neighbor. Although that’s really good for your psyche.1 Dr. Newcom ocial behavior. Dr. Maupi t’s not really good for losing1 weight. You actually have to out your head down and run, walk, exercise with somebody1 else. If you have to have a partner, that’s good. Know that that’s your issue. You have1 to have someone with you. It’s a social event and do it. Or, I don’t have to do1 that, but I do have to have someone demand that I be there. And work out like a trainer.1 Dr. Newcom ecause of your schedule. So you make a commitment to somebody and that1 helps you show up for that event. Dr. Maupi therwise I have to pay for it1 and I don’t get the training so I don’t do it. So it has to be something that actually1 will motivate you. Dr. Newcom hat’s what we call economies1 of scale. Get on the scale. Dr. Maupi hat’s right, that’s absolutely1 true. It works. I’ve built muscle that way, and I have maintained my weight that way.1 And my patients do the same. Dr. Newcom o if you’re tired of us talk1 about fatigue and would like to tune into the next podcast, we’ll be talking about1 something else. If you have questions about this issue or about any of the podcasts that1 we have done, you can reach us at podcast@biobalancehealth.com or if you like you can read my blog brettnewcomb.com.1 Dr. Maupi nd if you’d like to know more about BioBalance Health or bioidentical hormones1 visit our website biobalancehealth.com. Or call 314-993-0963.