Office News

 Dr. Weitz will be speaking on Nutrition on Monday, October 27 from 7 to 8 pm at the Santa Monica Synagogue at 1448 18th St. (18th and Broadway).  The topic is "Prevent and Control Diabetes and Heart Disease Without Drugs!"

 

The following are from two of our satisfied patients who received First Line Therapy nutritional counseling:



First Line Therapy really worked and continues to work for me.  I not only lost my desired weight but feel great!

Sheryl F.
Marina Del Rey




For many years I thought I was eating correctly. A high carbohydrate, medium protein, low-fat diet, just like the ones’ the “experts” recommend.  No matter how much I watched what I ate, and how much exercise I did, I always had those extra pounds to loose “in my mid section”. I decided to try the First Line Therapy Program being offered at Dr. Weitz office. I left with a new diet plan, which really doesn’t seem like a “diet” but more of an eating plan. It is very simple to follow, and included all my favorite foods. Within 24 hours, I noticed a difference in the way I felt. Within a week, I was down a couple of pounds of body fat, and within seven weeks, I lost all the body fat I wanted to loose. Overall, I eat more volume of food than I did before, and I never get hungry. Actually quite the opposite happens, I always feel full! Now I am eating the right foods and in proper combinations. After seven weeks, I found myself having to eat more “cheat” meals to maintain my weight, not wanting to loose any more. I highly recommend the First Line Therapy Program to any one looking for results.

 

Robert M.  
Santa Monica  


                                FIRST LINE THERAPY

We are getting great results with our First Line Therapy (FLT) nutritional and lifestyle counseling program.  This is an exciting, new nutrition/lifestyle program designed to help you improve your health and your body composition.  While most such programs are focused on weight only, FLT is a comprehensive Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) program, effective as a first line treatment for common, chronic health problems.  The FLT program is the perfect prescription for conditions such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, and many others.  It works because it addresses the underlying causes of these conditions, such as unhealthy body composition (lean mass to fat mass ratio), insulin resistance, hormone imbalance, inflammation, and other physiological issues.

Therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) programs, like FLT, are based on the premise that many of the chronic conditions associated with aging—e.g., hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and osteoarthritis—are not inevitable consequences of the aging process. Instead, these conditions are largely preventable simply by making sound lifestyle choices.  Symptoms that many view as signs of aging—such as low energy, poor memory, low libido, chronic pain, and weight gain—are not signs of aging, but rather signs of illness.

The FLT dietary plan uses a low-glycemic, modified Mediterranean diet, that is consistent with current research.  Low glycemic foods do not cause a spike in your blood sugar levels and do not stimulate insulin secretion. New research has shown that low-glycemic diets are more effective than low fat diets in treating obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.(3,4) Patients report less hunger, more energy, and higher compliance with the FLT diet than with commonly recommended lowfat diets. 

A percentage of patients are placed on a detoxification program, initially, to get their liver functioning at a higher level. Many Americans have fatty buildup of their liver and this decreases their liver's ability to function.  An efficient liver is necessary for removing toxins from the environment and for the metabolism of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. 

The FLT program often incorporates medical foods and nutraceuticals.  Medical foods (like Ultrameal 360, Ultrainflamx, and Ultraclear Plus) are designed to address the unique nutritional needs of patients with specific health problems. Nutraceuticals provide targeted nutritional support for specific functions, such as supporting insulin sensitivity (Insinase, fish oil, EGCG, cinnamon), managing blood lipids (phytosterols, EPA/DHA, Policosinol, Bonito Peptides), slowing glucose uptake (soluble fiber, Ultraglycemx, Fenugreek), etc. Their appropriate use can improve patient compliance, enhance program effectiveness, and shorten the time it takes to achieve risk reduction goals.

FLT has been demonstrated in controlled clinical trials to be effective both in reducing bodyfat without losing muscle, and in reducing cardiovascular risk factors.(1,2)  Most other dietary programs have not.

Dr. Weitz and Ms. Amber Hoch, our Lifestyle Educator and Health Coach, are administering the FLT program.  Please make an appointment at the front desk or speak to Dr. Weitz or Amber about the program. Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, improve your health, or feel better, we can help you!


References:
1.  Lukaczer D, Lerman RH, Liska D, Schiltz B, Bland JS. Initial observations of a controlled trial comparing a soy and phytosterol beverage and dietary program with the American Heart Association (AHA) Step 1 dietary program. 2004 Experimental Biology meeting abstracts. The FASEB Journal: Abstract #8642.
2.  Lukaczer D, Liska DA, Lerman RH, et al.. Effect of a low glycemic index diet with soy protein and phytosterols on CVD risk factors in postmenopausal women. Nutrition. 2006;22(2):104-13.
3.  Ebbeling CB, Leidig MM, Sinclair KB, et al. Effects of an ad libitum low-glycemic load diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors in obese young adults.
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition. 2005; 81: 976 - 982.
4.  Harbis A, Perdreau S, Vincent-Baudry S, et al. Glycemic and insulinemic meal responses modulate postprandial hepatic and intestinal lipoprotein accumulation in obese, insulin-resistant subjects. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition. 2004; 80: 896 - 902.
Green Tea Promotes Fat Burning and Insulin Sensitivity

 

 

There’s more to green tea than meets the eye, or the tongue, according to a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Green tea extract improves your body’s ability to burn fat during exercise (fat oxidation) and also improves insulin sensitivity. Reduced insulin sensitivity is the process that leads to type II diabetes.

 

When healthy young men ingested green tea extract capsules during the day and then engaged in moderate intensity cycling, they burned 17% more fat.  It is believed that green tea extract exerts its effect on fat oxidation through the inhibition of catechol O-methyltransferase, an enzyme that degrades noradrenaline. This means that the stimulatory effects of caffeine, which results from stimulating the release of noradrenaline, may last longer in your system. 

 

The study also found that consuming 3 green tea extract capsules per day results in a 13% increase in insulin sensitivity, and therefore reduces the insulin response to a glucose load by 15%.  Celapro from Metagenics, which we sell at the office, is a great source of green tea extract, along with d-limonene, lycopene, and turmeric (tissue protective phytonutrients) .

 

Reference:
1.  Venable MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr; 2008: 87; 778-84.



Cholesterol Drugs Do Not Reduce Risk of Heart Attack or Death as Much as Claimed

There was a scathing critique of the claimed benefits of cholesterol lowering drugs like Lipitor in the January 17, 2008 issue of Business Week. This article pointed out that for many patients, while statin drugs like Lipitor (Zocor, Mevacor, Crestor, Pravachol) may lower cholesterol levels, they do not significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death. According to a government funded group of physician researchers in Canada, for patients over age 65 and for women who have no history of heart attack or stroke, taking cholesterol drugs provides no reduction of death or illness.
And for men under age 65 and for those with previous heart disease, the benefit was quite small. And there is a risk of harm by taking these drugs. 

Pfizer claims in a t.v. and newspaper ad that Lipitor reduces the risk of heart attack by 36%.  But this is based on a 3 1/2 year study that found that for every 100 patients in the study, 3 patients who took placebo had a heart attack, compared to 2 patients who took Lipitor who had a heart attack.  So to spare one person a heart attack, 100 people had to take Lipitor for more than three years! The other 99 got no measurable benefit.

Researchers have also found that another leading cholesterol drug, Zetia, has no real benefit. Zetia reduces cholesterol levels, but there is no statistical decreased risk of heart attack or death. It was recently discovered that Vytorin, a combination of Zetia and a statin drug,  increases the speed with which plaque clogs arteries, thus potentially raising your risk of heart attack or stroke!.(1) This was found in documents on the FDA web site alluding to studies that the drug companies had conducted but had not published. And taking Zetia with a statin drug also raises the risk of liver damage, associated with taking statin drugs.

But isn't having lower cholesterol associated with fewer heart attacks and strokes? Yes. So why don't taking these drugs always help to prevent heart attacks. Because, while it is good to lower your cholesterol levels, it matters how you do it.  If you do it by changing your diet, exercising and losing weight, it will improve your health. If you accomplish this with drugs, it may not have the same benefits. Dr. Jerome Hoffman from UCLA states in the Business Week article that "The things that really work are lifestyle, exercise, diet, and weight reduction." 

We also need to consider that a considerable proportion of those patients who use these cholesterol lowering drugs like Lipitor suffer side effects, including muscle pain, cognitive impairments, and sexual dysfunction.(2,3,4,5,6,7,8) Muscle problems, including muscle pain and even muscle damage, results from the fact that these statin drugs decrease the body's production of Coenzyme Q10. Some of these muscle problems can be countered by supplementing with Coenzyme Q10 while taking these statin drugs.


References:
1.  Data About Zetia Risks Was Not Fully Revealed.   Alex Berenson. New York Times. Dec 21, 2007.
2.  Wagstaff LR, Mitton MW, Arvik BM, Doraiswamy PM. Statin-associated memory loss: analysis of 60 case reports and review of the literature. Pharmacotherapy. 2003 Jul;23(7):871-80.
3.  King DS, Wilburn AJ, Wofford MR, et al. Cognitive impairment associated with atorvastatin and simvastatin. Pharmacotherapy. 2003 Dec;23(12):1663-7. 
4.  Statin-associated myopathy. Hamilton-Craig I.Med J Aust. 2001 Nov 5;175(9):486-9.
5.  Eleanor Laise. The Lipitor Dilemma, Smart Money: The Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business, November 2003.
6.  Sinzinger H, O’Grady J. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2004 Apr;57(4):525-8.
7.  E Bruckert et al. Men treated with hypolipidaemic drugs complain more frequently of erectile dysfunction. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapy 1996 21: 89-94.
8.  A Carvajal et al. HMG CoA reductase inhibitors and impotence: two case series from the Spanish and French drug monitoring systems. Drug Safety 2006 29: 143-149.