Teaching Your Body How To Fish

There is a natural intelligence that directs your body in every internal and external interaction. For instance, how does your body "know" when to make more (or less) of a certain hormone or fat or protein? How does it know where to move nutrients to places where they are needed?

This is still one of the great mysteries that conventional medicine has yet to understand. Conventional medicine has become so adept at MEASURING the changes in the body, and learning how to INTERVENE to override pathology. But, it is still sorely lacking in its understanding of how to NOURISH and SUPPORT the body's natural healing intelligence. In other words:

Conventional medicine gives the body a fish, while natural medicine teaches the body to fish on its own.

By no means am I advocating natural medicine always be used over conventional. Quite the contrary. There are many conditions where rapid and direct intervention is absolutely necessary. This intervention may be surgical, pharmacological, or a combination of both, and there is no shame in using conventional medicine to treat a condition, EVER. It is a personal choice, and it is often the right choice.

However, I would like to offer to you the idea that, indeed, there is another way in many cases. A way that avoids many of the risks and pitfalls of conventional interventional medicine.

Natural medicine, instead of overriding the body, gives the body what it needs to do what it already knows how to do -- HEAL ITSELF.

For instance, I have seen cases in my clinic of low progesterone output manifesting as shortened menstrual cycles. For someone trying to get pregnant this is a significant issue, as progesterone is necessary during the second half of the menstrual cycle in order for successful initiation of a pregnancy. Even for someone who isn't trying to get pregnant, having a menstural cycle every 21 - 25 days can be viewed as a significant problem. And, progesterone deficiency can sometimes be the culprit in estrogen dominance (which can cause lengthened cycles over the long term), PMS, severe mood swings, and other issues.

The conventional approach to treating this is simple:

1. If the woman is not trying to get pregnant, give her the birth control pill, or
2. If the woman is trying to get pregnant, give her supplemental progesterone.

In the case of #1 above, the body's own inherent intelligence is completely overridden and the exogenous hormones take control of the woman's cycle. Therefore the woman is completely dependent on the pill for her cycle to be "regular" or "normal". And, there are risks to the birth control pill, not the least of which is increased clot formation -- I have a friend whose wife had a mini-stroke after getting on birth control.

In the case of #2 above, there is much lower risk, but still the clinical track record of giving supplemental progesterone to correct luteal phase defect (low progesterone) is poor to moderate at best. I believe this is because we have not yet discovered or identified other co-factors involved in sustaining pregnancy, and that just giving progesterone is and over-simplified solution to the problem that only works in very specific cases.

An interesting case in correction of progesterone deficiency

Annie (not her real name), came to me for help in correcting luteal phase defect. She had been trying to get pregnant for some time with no success, and had used conventional medicine for several cycles along the way. Her cycle was fairly regular at around every 25 days, but she would always start spotting about 6 days after ovulation, with her period coming about 4 or 5 days after that.

I used Traditional Chinese Medicine combined with nutritional knowledge to formulate a treatment plan. The treatment plan included herbs, weekly acupuncture, and nutritional supplementation that includes high doses of Vitamin C (2,000mg daily) and moderate doses of Zinc (30mg daily). Both of these substances have been shown to be essential components of the body's ability to produce progesterone.

This patient is not yet pregnant, however, her spotting has stopped and her cycle has lengthened to 27 days at this point, with onset of flow being immediate and unmistakable. She is also reporting less symptoms premenstrually. Her chances of successful conception have just increased dramatically.

It is important to note here that all we are doing is giving her body the NUTRIENTS it needs to express its own natural function. We are not giving her any progesterone or other hormone. This is the power of natural medicine when used in the right way and in the right circumstances.

Both Annie and I are confident that, even if she must go back to a conventional method of fertility treatment, her body is in a position to have a much better response to the more drastic interventions offered.

Until next time...

Chris Axelrad, M.S.O.M., L. Ac., FABORM, director of the Axelrad Clinic for Natural Fertility Enhancement and Women's Health,
is a recognized expert in women's health and fertility
enhancement using Traditional Chinese Medicine integrated with conventional medical knowledge. He is known for his
easy-going manner and sincere compassion for his patients.

Mr. Axelrad provides coaching and support to fertility patients across the country via his remote treatment programs, and he also maintains a busy full-time specialty clinical practice in Houston, TX.