WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.100 Prepare to have your health questions answered 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:07.059 here on Safe, Effective, Natural Solutions with 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:10.439 Dr. Todd Binkley, owner of Binkley Healing Center 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.439 in downtown Ventura. Now, here's Dr. Todd. Good 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:17.600 afternoon. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley, board -certified 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.760 doctor of non -force chiropractic and practitioner 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.379 of functional medicine. If you're a first -time 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:24.920 listener just tuning in, thank you. For joining 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:27.300 me today, if someone you love is frustrated with 00:00:27.300 --> 00:00:28.800 something they've been suffering with and no 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:31.000 doctor has been able to help them, I hope you'll 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.820 find the material I present here each week useful. 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:36.979 My mission each week with this show is to arm 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:39.200 you with reliable information you can use to 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:42.280 fill the gap between standard medicine that most 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:44.820 people get when they show up in most doctors' 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:48.659 offices. The gap between that and maybe why you're 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:51.060 still not getting what you want or what you need 00:00:51.060 --> 00:00:54.039 or what you feel like you should have. Results, 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.380 feeling better, feeling like yourself again. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:59.859 Why do you still have unexplained symptoms that 00:00:59.859 --> 00:01:03.200 are very real? So here's one of the most important 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.819 things anyone can take away from any episode 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:08.500 of this program. And it's a little bit of a challenging 00:01:08.500 --> 00:01:10.700 conversation, but it's important. It's just if 00:01:10.700 --> 00:01:13.540 you don't, people don't believe this. And so 00:01:13.540 --> 00:01:17.340 I hope you will. And it is this. People who feel 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:21.760 fine with no symptoms, healthy as a horse, suddenly 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.569 drop dead every day. What? Did he really say 00:01:25.569 --> 00:01:27.489 that? He's beginning his show by talking about 00:01:27.489 --> 00:01:30.750 people dropping dead. Yes, it's important for 00:01:30.750 --> 00:01:32.010 people to understand this. If you're convinced, 00:01:32.150 --> 00:01:33.569 if you're still convinced that you're fine because 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:36.989 you feel fine, then I'm really glad you tuned 00:01:36.989 --> 00:01:39.549 in because the message is this. The important 00:01:39.549 --> 00:01:43.709 thing to understand is how you feel is a very 00:01:43.709 --> 00:01:47.680 poor indicator of how healthy you are. most of 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:49.799 the time people go to the doctor when they don't 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:51.379 feel healthy anymore, when they feel sick and 00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:52.900 there's nothing wrong with it. That totally makes 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.780 sense. That is the practice of medicine. If you 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:58.500 show up to most doctor's offices when you feel 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:01.879 fine, maybe for an annual physical or for whatever 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.140 reason, they're going to, you know, see if you 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:06.340 need medical care today, do some basic tests, 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:08.099 make sure your cholesterol is not high enough 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.400 to recommend. A statin drug, make sure your blood 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:13.319 pressure is not too high. Make sure you don't 00:02:13.319 --> 00:02:16.680 need medical care today. And if you leave and 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:19.439 you don't have any of the things that trigger 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.800 some evidence that you need a pharmaceutical, 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.599 some kind of a medication, or a follow -up test, 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.539 or a referral to a specialist, when you walk 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:32.159 out of that typical annual physical regular doctor's 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:34.099 visit and you don't have any of those things, 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:37.099 you're told you have a clean bill of health. 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:39.919 There's nothing wrong with you. And people assume 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:43.879 that that means you're healthy. It does not. 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.500 When you leave a doctor's office without any 00:02:47.500 --> 00:02:51.280 recommendation for medical care right now, you 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.800 could drop dead next week. It happens all the 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:57.599 time. What I'm trying to say is people assume 00:02:57.599 --> 00:02:59.780 that if they've been to a doctor and he knows 00:02:59.780 --> 00:03:02.460 what he's doing and he's checked them and done 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:04.599 an annual physical or whatever the standard workup 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:07.120 is that you get when you go to your physician. 00:03:07.710 --> 00:03:10.250 If you leave there and you're told you're fine, 00:03:10.430 --> 00:03:13.590 that means you're healthy. It does not mean you're 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:15.719 healthy. It just means you don't need medical 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:17.960 care today. You don't need a prescription. You 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.360 don't need a referral to a specialist or a CAT 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:24.020 scan or an MRI or an ultrasound. Come back when 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:26.520 you do. The practice of medicine is treating 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:28.780 symptoms that you already have when you have 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:31.120 a full -blown disease like diabetes or high blood 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.360 pressure or heart attack or a stroke or hypothyroidism 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:38.659 or liver disease, kidney disease, an immune condition, 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:40.919 an infection that requires antibiotics. When 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.219 you have something like that that requires medical 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:46.000 care, then the care you receive is likely to 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.919 be excellent. The medical profession in the United 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.960 States of America is the best in the world. And 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:54.199 when you're in a crisis, when you need medical 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:57.560 care, you will get excellent medical care. But 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.259 what if you've already done that? Or what if 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.860 you don't have something that rises to the need 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:06.740 to justify the risks and expense of pharmaceuticals, 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.800 surgery, et cetera, but you still don't feel 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:12.340 right? And maybe you've been to several doctors 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:16.300 and you've done various tests and all your tests 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:20.319 are normal. You get CAT scans and MRIs and ultrasounds 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.139 and blood tests and, you know, any other test 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:26.339 that seems like should identify what's going 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:28.240 on with you and all the tests are normal. What 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.160 about that? How does that happen? Why is it? 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.319 It's actually really common to go in and get 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:36.379 a whole battery of tests and be told by your 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.480 doctor that there's nothing wrong. All your tests 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:41.079 are normal. and yet still you don't feel right. 00:04:41.300 --> 00:04:43.279 There actually is something wrong with you. If 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.480 you don't feel right, there is something wrong 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.000 with you, or you would feel right. The problem 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:50.819 is the standard practice of medicine is using 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:53.240 these broad ranges to identify conditions that 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.740 are bad enough to need medical care. But if you're 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:58.019 just inside that range, that doesn't mean you're 00:04:58.019 --> 00:04:59.759 healthy. That doesn't mean there isn't a problem. 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.040 That doesn't mean there isn't a solution, a safe. 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:06.470 Maybe just eating better food. Maybe doing a 00:05:06.470 --> 00:05:09.009 little bit more exercise. Maybe a different type 00:05:09.009 --> 00:05:10.970 of something different. Obviously something that 00:05:10.970 --> 00:05:13.370 you haven't been doing already. Otherwise you'd 00:05:13.370 --> 00:05:15.870 feel good. There are ways to identify these things. 00:05:15.970 --> 00:05:19.560 Functional medicine means using more tests. and 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:21.959 using a different yardstick to measure for earlier 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.560 signs of stress on your kidneys, on your liver, 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.240 on your heart, on your lungs, on your immune 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:30.319 system. When you identify, and not just one thing, 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.319 most people's problems are never one thing. We 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:35.579 want that. Our brains, we have these huge brains 00:05:35.579 --> 00:05:38.279 that we're so proud of, and it's always, we think, 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:40.740 I do the same thing. We think, oh, if I feel 00:05:40.740 --> 00:05:42.560 this, there must be, if I could just find that 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.120 one thing that's causing all of my problems, 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:47.879 my life would be better. Well, most of the time, 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:50.209 if you've had a problem, that's a chronic condition 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:52.430 chronic doesn't mean bad chronic means that you've 00:05:52.430 --> 00:05:55.029 had it for a while chronos chronology chronic 00:05:55.029 --> 00:05:57.110 doesn't mean really really severe it could be 00:05:57.110 --> 00:06:00.529 mild a lot of chronic conditions have are mild 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:02.639 Chronic just means something that you've been 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:04.399 struggling with for a while that nobody's been 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.360 able to help you with. So if you have a, especially 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:07.680 if you have a chronic condition, if you have 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:09.199 anything that's been bothering you that's been 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.500 going on for a while, for weeks, months, years, 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.220 even if nobody's been able to help you with that, 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:17.759 even though you've had all kinds of tests and 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.300 you've been to several different doctors and 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:20.879 they all tell you all your tests are normal, 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.810 that does not mean... that there's nothing wrong 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:25.990 with you, and it does not mean that there isn't 00:06:25.990 --> 00:06:29.829 a potentially really effective, safe, natural 00:06:29.829 --> 00:06:32.829 solution to what's ailing you. So when you use 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:35.189 the same test, when I use, when a practitioner 00:06:35.189 --> 00:06:37.410 of functional medicine uses the same standard 00:06:37.410 --> 00:06:41.009 blood tests, but usually more of them, you know, 00:06:41.009 --> 00:06:42.910 why more of them? Functional medicine requires 00:06:42.910 --> 00:06:45.290 using more tests than you get when you go to 00:06:45.290 --> 00:06:47.870 your standard annual physical. Why is that? Well, 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:51.290 it's really easy to diagnose full -blown kidney 00:06:51.290 --> 00:06:54.029 disease. A comprehensive metabolic panel that 00:06:54.029 --> 00:06:56.250 most doctors will order on a routine visit includes 00:06:56.250 --> 00:06:59.189 three or four basic kidney tests, your liver 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:03.089 enzymes, your protein levels, electrolytes. And, 00:07:03.170 --> 00:07:06.550 you know, if you have severe inflammation of 00:07:06.550 --> 00:07:09.189 your liver, that's really easy to diagnose. If 00:07:09.189 --> 00:07:12.110 your fasting glucose is above 125 on two separate 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:14.790 occasions, you get a diagnosis of diabetes. Easy 00:07:14.790 --> 00:07:18.310 peasy. Or if your A1C level is above 5 .6. These 00:07:18.310 --> 00:07:20.449 are common tests, really easy things to diagnose. 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:23.899 this, most doctors will test your cholesterol 00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:26.040 because everyone needs to be on a statin drug 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.379 if your cholesterol is above a certain level. 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:30.300 Put air quotes around that previous statement. 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:32.420 There's lots of ways to lower your cholesterol 00:07:32.420 --> 00:07:34.600 without medication. If you're lucky, they'll 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:36.459 also test your thyroid, especially if you're 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:38.160 a woman over 50, because a lot of women have 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:41.000 hypothyroidism. But even then, they usually only 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:45.149 test TSH. thyroid stimulating hormone, which 00:07:45.149 --> 00:07:47.850 isn't even a direct thyroid test. It's a pituitary 00:07:47.850 --> 00:07:51.149 test. Your pituitary makes thyroid stimulating 00:07:51.149 --> 00:07:54.370 hormone to tell your thyroid to make more thyroid 00:07:54.370 --> 00:07:56.189 hormone if you need it. And it's a good test. 00:07:56.269 --> 00:07:58.189 It's a useful test. It's very accurate, but it 00:07:58.189 --> 00:08:00.649 doesn't give you the whole picture. Most doctors 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:02.850 will also do not even, that's not even true. 00:08:02.930 --> 00:08:04.990 In my experience, a lot of people don't. I'm 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:08.339 always, I keep thinking that. Most doctors test 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.639 this, but in fact, they don't. Sometimes you'll 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.180 get a complete blood count, which is really important 00:08:13.180 --> 00:08:15.139 to do a CBC, a complete blood count that will 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:17.819 tell you if they suspect an infection, then they 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:19.360 will do that to see if your white cell count 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:21.800 is elevated, to see if your lymphocytes or your 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:23.839 neutrophils or other forms of white blood cells 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.220 are out of range, indicating you have a certain 00:08:26.220 --> 00:08:28.480 type of infection that may warrant antibiotics, 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:32.110 for example. These are all great tests and they 00:08:32.110 --> 00:08:36.049 constitute a good brief overview of whether or 00:08:36.049 --> 00:08:38.370 not you need medical care, but they don't tell 00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:40.330 you whether or not you're healthy. And that's 00:08:40.330 --> 00:08:42.870 why so many people go to the doctor and get the 00:08:42.870 --> 00:08:45.190 standard tests and get told there's nothing wrong 00:08:45.190 --> 00:08:47.370 with them. Come back later. Let's watch and wait. 00:08:47.470 --> 00:08:49.269 Maybe even something's a little bit out of range, 00:08:49.370 --> 00:08:51.889 but not bad enough to need drugs. So it's watch 00:08:51.889 --> 00:08:54.450 and wait. Well, if you're in that situation, 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:58.919 you've had that experience. There are other ways 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:01.659 to see what's missing. Why didn't, you know, 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:03.379 I don't feel right. If you don't feel right, 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:06.860 something is wrong. So standard practice of functional 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:09.899 medicine always includes more tests. So in addition 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:13.200 to that CBC, for example, which among other things 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.230 will also diagnose anemia. Millions of people 00:09:16.230 --> 00:09:19.289 have functional anemia, meaning it's not medical 00:09:19.289 --> 00:09:21.690 anemia. It's not far enough outside of the range. 00:09:21.710 --> 00:09:24.629 Your hemoglobin level isn't low enough that they're 00:09:24.629 --> 00:09:27.669 going to recommend medication for it. Maybe even 00:09:27.669 --> 00:09:30.610 not low enough that they'll recommend iron for 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:34.309 it, an iron supplement for it. But you're functionally 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:36.429 low, meaning it's outside of the range of what 00:09:36.429 --> 00:09:38.529 your hemoglobin was like when you were in your 00:09:38.529 --> 00:09:41.950 teens and your 20s. And this is really important. 00:09:42.070 --> 00:09:46.409 A slight deficiency. in iron impairing your bone 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:48.409 marrow's ability to make adequate red blood cells 00:09:48.409 --> 00:09:50.789 to deliver oxygen to all of your cells if that's 00:09:50.789 --> 00:09:54.309 even a little bit low a little bit that's a constant 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:58.590 strain on your heart 24 -7, 365. Your heart has 00:09:58.590 --> 00:10:02.190 to pump those deficient red blood cells around 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:04.509 further and further and faster and more frequently 00:10:04.509 --> 00:10:07.070 to deliver adequate oxygen to your cells. Your 00:10:07.070 --> 00:10:09.789 body has very sensitive feedback mechanisms to 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:13.049 ensure that you get adequate oxygen to all of 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:15.669 your cells. And the carriers for that oxygen 00:10:15.669 --> 00:10:18.389 are red blood cells. So if there's any slight 00:10:18.389 --> 00:10:21.549 impairment in the ability to maintain all those 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:24.350 guys that are carrying that oxygen around, then 00:10:24.350 --> 00:10:26.299 your heart has to take up the slack. by pumping 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:29.340 the deficient red blood cells that you do have 00:10:29.340 --> 00:10:32.000 around more, which is going to, what's that going 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.179 to do? It's going to increase your blood pressure. 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.860 It's going to increase strain on your heart just 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:40.009 a little bit. But all day long, all night long, 00:10:40.070 --> 00:10:42.149 that's going to have an impact. So that's one 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:45.809 of the reasons I test a CBC on every single patient 00:10:45.809 --> 00:10:48.669 because I often find that people have slight 00:10:48.669 --> 00:10:52.490 deficiencies in iron that's impairing their body's 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:54.289 ability to make adequate red blood cells, that's 00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:56.490 causing their hemoglobin to be a little low, 00:10:56.610 --> 00:10:59.070 not medically low, but still low enough that 00:10:59.070 --> 00:11:01.970 it's having an impact, contributing to fatigue. 00:11:02.309 --> 00:11:04.870 It's something that just fixing that, just giving 00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:06.750 people iron supplements have lowered their blood 00:11:06.750 --> 00:11:09.179 pressure. Just giving people iron and sometimes 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:12.440 B12. So the other really common and commonly 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:14.899 overlooked nutrient deficiency that causes slight 00:11:14.899 --> 00:11:19.000 anemia is deficiencies of vitamin B12 and folate. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:21.460 The B vitamins, you almost never want to take 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:23.539 on their own. They work in combinations. So a 00:11:23.539 --> 00:11:26.559 good methylcobalamin, the active form of B12 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:29.919 in combination with methylfolate, the active 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.419 form of folate, and a sublingual form in a tablet. 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:36.399 that you hold under your tongue can make all 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:37.559 the difference. So that was a lot. What does 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:40.559 all that mean? Well, a lot of people have heard 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:43.600 about or even tried, you know, they have low 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.299 energy, they go and get a B12 shot. Oh, I need 00:11:46.299 --> 00:11:48.960 to get a B12 shot. Or my friend had B12 shots 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:51.580 and he felt amazing afterwards. Well, you know, 00:11:51.580 --> 00:11:53.659 that's not an uncommon experience because a lot 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:57.080 of people are deficient in vitamin B12. And, 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:58.379 you know, when they do those shots, they usually 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:00.220 include folate and sometimes some other things 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.419 in with it. But a lot of people are deficient. 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:05.419 And vitamin B12, for several reasons, there's 00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:07.899 a genetic snip that about 15 % of the population 00:12:07.899 --> 00:12:11.379 has that makes it very difficult for you to absorb 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:14.820 vitamin B12 from food or even from supplements 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:18.039 that you swallow. A lot of people have deficient 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:19.940 hydrochloric acid in their stomach, which is 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:23.759 essential to break down. vitamin B12 in food 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:26.639 and in supplements that you swallow. And then 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:30.340 that broken down, prepared vitamin B12 isn't 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.519 absorbed until 20, 30 feet later at the very 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.700 end of your intestine. And, you know, that's 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:38.000 a couple of examples. There are several other 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.120 reasons that are testable, that come up all the 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:44.000 time. And I don't recommend necessarily testing 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.779 your blood levels of vitamin B12. The only really 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:48.639 purpose to do that, the only reason you ever 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:52.779 want to do a serum vitamin B12 or folate test 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:55.980 is if you suspect a liver condition that's impacting 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:58.700 those levels. People are often surprised. They 00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:00.299 go to their regular doctor and they come back 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:03.200 and say, oh, I have my vitamin B12 level tested 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:05.039 and it's off the charts. It's really, really 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:06.840 high or my folate is really high. I said, that's 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.399 normal. If you take a vitamin B, an effective 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:12.759 vitamin B12 and folate, supplement, then your 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:14.840 blood levels of those vitamins will always be 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:16.899 really, really high because the test is assuming 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:19.620 that you're an average person who does not supplement 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:21.799 those things. So it is totally safe to have a 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:25.340 really high blood level of vitamin B12 and vitamin 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:27.940 folate if you're supplementing. That is the way 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:30.600 it will always be. But you don't need a shot. 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:34.379 Very few people need to get an injection if you 00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:38.600 take the active form, the methyl form, methylcobalamin 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:42.059 and methylfolate. and a tablet that dissolves 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:45.120 under your tongue because then it also goes directly 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.179 into your bloodstream. Under your tongue, it 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:49.279 gets absorbed directly into your bloodstream. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.000 It's as effective as getting a shot. It's a lower 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:54.240 dose, but for most people, it's as effective 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.809 as getting a shot. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley. You're 00:13:57.809 --> 00:13:59.990 listening to Safe, Effective, Natural Solutions 00:13:59.990 --> 00:14:02.289 to Almost Any Health Challenge. We're talking 00:14:02.289 --> 00:14:04.549 today about some of the things that people experience 00:14:04.549 --> 00:14:07.830 when they go to a regular doctor's visit. An 00:14:07.830 --> 00:14:11.190 annual physical, the routine visit to your gynecologist, 00:14:11.490 --> 00:14:14.250 your gastroenterologist, your internist, whoever 00:14:14.250 --> 00:14:17.289 your regular doctor is that you check in with 00:14:17.289 --> 00:14:19.529 once in a while, or who you go to when you're 00:14:19.529 --> 00:14:21.769 just not feeling right. And this frustrating 00:14:21.769 --> 00:14:23.809 experience that so many people have where they 00:14:23.809 --> 00:14:26.279 come away from that visit to their doctor. And 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:28.759 they're basically told, you're fine. There's 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.580 nothing wrong with you. Let's watch and wait. 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:33.580 Come back when you're bad enough to need the 00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:36.539 big guns that I offer in the form of drugs and 00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:38.919 surgery, etc. That's a slight exaggeration, but 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:41.379 I'm just trying to address this huge gap that 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:43.899 exists between the practice of modern medicine 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:47.820 and the difference between that and a way to 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:51.179 assess whether or not you're truly healthy. And 00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:54.730 it lies in doing more tests. to identify earlier 00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:57.649 signs of stress on your various organs and tissues, 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:01.350 and then applying years of experience and evidence 00:15:01.350 --> 00:15:04.889 -based protocols to help your body heal itself. 00:15:05.429 --> 00:15:08.450 So what does your blood test look like when you're 00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:10.210 in your teens and 20s and everything's working 00:15:10.210 --> 00:15:13.230 perfectly? That's what we call the functional 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:16.649 range. It's roughly the middle third. So if you 00:15:16.649 --> 00:15:19.169 look at your regular blood tests and what are 00:15:19.169 --> 00:15:21.389 called the normal medical ranges, outside of 00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:24.700 which... medical care is indicated. If you look 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:27.299 at the middle third of those ranges, it varies 00:15:27.299 --> 00:15:30.000 from test to test, but roughly the middle third 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.679 is what most people will find. Most doctors have 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:36.480 found, the research shows, years and years of 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:38.399 experience shows, this is what your blood work 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.840 looks like when you're in your teens and 20s 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:41.740 and everything's working perfectly. That's what 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:45.720 we call normal function. So when you use that 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.019 metric in addition to the standard medical range 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:52.980 and see if you have areas that different tests 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:55.679 whose numbers are outside of this narrow functional 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.799 range. Maybe these are indications that you have 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:00.960 some kind of inflammatory process that needs 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.320 support with something like a good form of turmeric. 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:06.500 And I stress a good form because a lot of turmeric 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.740 supplements are not very bioavailable. It's notoriously 00:16:09.740 --> 00:16:11.779 difficult to absorb, but there are good forms 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:14.879 that can dramatically change inflammatory markers 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:17.299 on your blood tests like C -reactive protein. 00:16:18.300 --> 00:16:20.500 sedimentation rate there are specific tests that 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:22.379 measure for inflammation in your body and when 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:24.220 you take something you should see a difference 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.799 in those tests that's how we know we're restoring 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:29.860 normal function. Another common thing that comes 00:16:29.860 --> 00:16:32.360 up a lot is people are borderline deficient in 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:34.899 thyroid, not necessarily indicating that you 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.019 need to be on thyroid medication for the rest 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:38.980 of your life. And even if you're already on thyroid 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:41.620 medication for low thyroid, for hypothyroidism, 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:43.620 if you've only been on it for a few years, sometimes 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.940 you can just take some nutrients that improve 00:16:46.940 --> 00:16:49.879 your body's ability to make thyroxin and especially, 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:54.279 really importantly, to convert the thyroxin, 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:56.480 the drug that you get if you put on Synthroid 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:59.279 or Levo. So levothyroxine, that is T4 thyroxine. 00:16:59.340 --> 00:17:02.059 That is the main hormone produced by your thyroid 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.740 gland. But it doesn't do anything in your body. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:08.619 It's the inactive carrier form to make your thyroid 00:17:08.619 --> 00:17:12.619 work normally. Your body has to convert. T4 into 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:16.079 T3. And it has to convert a tiny portion of that 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:20.960 T3 into unbound free T3. So most doctors never 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:23.079 test this. They just test TSH. If you're lucky, 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:25.539 they might test your T4 levels. They very rarely 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:30.019 test T3 and almost never test free T3. And that's 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:31.579 the most important test. That's the active form. 00:17:32.059 --> 00:17:34.920 Millions of people take Synthroid or Levothyroxine. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:38.539 Same thing. brand name, generic name, thyroxine, 00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:41.720 medication for low thyroid, and they're not getting 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:44.579 the results they want, that they expect, because 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:46.420 their body's still not converting adequate amounts 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:50.359 of that carrier form into the free unbound form, 00:17:50.460 --> 00:17:53.539 T3, which is the form that actually executes 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:56.309 the function of the thyroid gland. This is something 00:17:56.309 --> 00:17:58.630 that comes up all the time, especially in women 00:17:58.630 --> 00:18:02.329 over 50 who have hypothyroidism, may not even 00:18:02.329 --> 00:18:04.750 know it. And there are supplements available 00:18:04.750 --> 00:18:07.369 that enhance your body's ability to increase 00:18:07.369 --> 00:18:09.690 the production of thyroid where needed, and especially 00:18:09.690 --> 00:18:15.190 to convert the T4 into the free T3 active form. 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:17.940 And it makes all the difference. If you know 00:18:17.940 --> 00:18:20.279 someone who has unexplained fatigue, difficulty 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:23.599 losing weight, hair loss, cold hands and feet, 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.119 puffy face, these are the most common signs of 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:29.180 low thyroid. But low thyroid also increases your 00:18:29.180 --> 00:18:31.160 cholesterol levels. If you want to not have to 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:33.099 take statin drugs for the rest of your life to 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:34.660 lower your cholesterol, then it's really important 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:37.900 to check your thyroid and make sure that your 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:40.119 body is able to carry out the functions of the 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.500 thyroid hopefully without becoming dependent 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:45.099 on medication for the rest of your life. Well, 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.680 it's bad enough to... become dependent on medication. 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:51.019 But even worse is if you go to your doctor and 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:53.059 get told that you need something that you really 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.940 do need and you can't get it because your insurance 00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:57.359 won't pay for it. Here's a really interesting 00:18:57.359 --> 00:18:59.220 piece that came out in the medical press this 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:03.400 year titled, Stuck in Prior Authorization, Some 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.579 Patients Run Out of Options. And the subtitle 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:09.359 is, Many Doctors Complain That Insurance Denials 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:12.730 Are Worse Than Ever. Right. Can I hear an amen? 00:19:12.910 --> 00:19:15.009 A lot of people are experiencing this. It's always 00:19:15.009 --> 00:19:17.049 been a problem. Insurance, you know, they they 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:20.789 do have to obviously put checks on expenditures. 00:19:21.069 --> 00:19:23.849 If they just authorized every single thing that 00:19:23.849 --> 00:19:25.609 every doctor recommended, then they'd run out 00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:27.430 of money pretty quickly. So it's obviously, you 00:19:27.430 --> 00:19:29.910 know, they do have to do some kind of evaluation 00:19:29.910 --> 00:19:32.630 of whether or not you need. But it's just everyone 00:19:32.630 --> 00:19:34.849 you everyone knows this already. All doctors 00:19:34.849 --> 00:19:36.910 know it. All patients. Everyone's experienced 00:19:36.910 --> 00:19:39.289 this. Their denials are ridiculous. It's just 00:19:39.289 --> 00:19:41.990 like pulling teeth to get them to pay. for anything 00:19:41.990 --> 00:19:44.630 you've paid in your premiums you've you know 00:19:44.630 --> 00:19:47.269 donated your payroll contributions to medicare 00:19:47.269 --> 00:19:49.869 and you know paid your premiums on your health 00:19:49.869 --> 00:19:52.309 insurance and you go to a doctor who's obviously 00:19:52.309 --> 00:19:54.829 done the right tests done a proper diagnosis 00:19:54.829 --> 00:19:57.809 and recommended medical care for you and still 00:19:57.809 --> 00:20:00.269 your insurance denies it The article highlights 00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:03.170 the case of a man named Eric Tennant, who was 00:20:03.170 --> 00:20:05.650 diagnosed in 2023 with a rare cancer of the bile 00:20:05.650 --> 00:20:08.369 ducts that had spread to his bones. He weighed 00:20:08.369 --> 00:20:12.109 97 pounds and wasn't expected to survive a year 00:20:12.109 --> 00:20:15.720 because he had stage. Well, he had grueling rounds 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:17.740 of chemotherapy that slowed the cancer's progress, 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:21.079 but it did continue to spread. And so they're 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:23.099 looking for other options. And, you know, the 00:20:23.099 --> 00:20:25.880 man's the 58 year old man's wife had recently 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:28.039 had reason to hope that things would improve 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.880 because she found learned of a new non -invasive 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.099 procedure called histotripsy, which uses targeted 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:38.980 ultrasound waves to destroy tumors in the liver. 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.660 The treatment could potentially extend his life 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.440 and by him. more downtime between rounds of chemotherapy. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.079 Well, I'm not familiar. I'm not an oncologist. 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:49.980 I'm not familiar with this particular procedure. 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:53.220 But most of the time, when you're using something 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:55.740 that applies ultrasound, that's pretty inexpensive. 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:59.460 form of therapy. It's got to cost less than chemotherapy, 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:02.019 which insurance companies authorize all the time. 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:05.519 But the problem is, even though this man's oncologist 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.259 told him he was a good candidate for this procedure 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:10.299 because the largest tumor in his body was in 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:12.579 his liver, and that's what this is documented 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.839 to work on, his family had to fight another battle, 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:17.700 an even bigger battle than the cancer itself, 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:19.920 and that is the battle with their health insurance 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.259 because they decided the treatment was, quote, 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:25.920 say it with me, not medically necessary. What 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:29.460 does that even mean? Health insurers deny millions 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:32.140 of claims every year, and they're often denied 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:35.140 by consumer service representatives that don't 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:37.380 even have any medical training. Well, that's 00:21:37.380 --> 00:21:40.039 a mess, and I don't know how to change that anytime 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.440 soon. What I try to do instead is offer you ways 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:44.539 to take better care of your own health so that 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:45.940 you don't end up in that situation. And when 00:21:45.940 --> 00:21:48.819 you do, there are often options that you can 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:50.819 do yourself, and I try to make them as affordable 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:52.940 as possible. It often costs much less than you 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:55.940 might imagine to get comprehensive functional 00:21:55.940 --> 00:21:58.039 testing that will identify things that you can 00:21:58.039 --> 00:22:01.099 do to enable your body to better heal itself, 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:04.740 even when you have severe conditions. I'm Dr. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:07.279 Todd Bankley talking about safe, effective, natural 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.819 alternatives to standard medical care when indicated 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:13.599 based on testing. And I'm looking at the calendar 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.920 now and I'm realizing when I started this program 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.940 two years ago, I could only imagine the response 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:22.299 I would get. And it has been a profound blessing. 00:22:22.890 --> 00:22:25.569 So thank you to all of you who keep tuning in 00:22:25.569 --> 00:22:27.750 and keep sending me questions and keep informing 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:30.690 yourselves so that you can take better care of 00:22:30.690 --> 00:22:33.910 yourselves. It requires taking responsibility 00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:35.730 for your own health. If you don't want to end 00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:39.430 up in that morass of insurance denials and waiting 00:22:39.430 --> 00:22:41.569 until it's too late and the only thing is modern 00:22:41.569 --> 00:22:43.470 medicine, things with lots of side effects and 00:22:43.470 --> 00:22:46.069 are not fun, you know, you've got to take responsibility 00:22:46.069 --> 00:22:48.710 for your health. So I appreciate you tuning in 00:22:48.710 --> 00:22:50.289 and letting me arm you with the things that you 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:52.859 can do to make better. better health choices 00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:55.359 and hopefully prevent ending up in a situation 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.299 like that. I spend a lot of time each week perusing 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:00.059 and reviewing the medical literature, coming 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:02.059 up with interesting topics to present to you. 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:04.559 People are always telling me I've got a great 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:07.079 voice for radio. That's nice. I love doing it. 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:09.140 I love doing this show. But I also want to announce, 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:11.299 I'm excited to announce, that I also love doing 00:23:11.299 --> 00:23:14.140 live presentations. And I have a number of them 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:16.839 already prepared that I've done for years at 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:19.579 Rotary Clubs and at local hospitals and at various 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:25.980 organizations, PowerPoint presentations. and 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:29.839 invite you to join me once a month live in my 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:31.619 office. I'm calling it live at Binkley Healing 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:34.140 Center. I'm going to do a 30 -minute talk with 00:23:34.140 --> 00:23:37.539 some light refreshments and a Q &A, answer your 00:23:37.539 --> 00:23:40.299 questions afterwards, bring your friends and 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:43.980 family every first Wednesday of the month, the 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:45.740 first Wednesday of the month, every month, live 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:48.539 in my office in downtown Ventura, 961 East Main 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:50.859 Street. You're invited. Please come join me. 00:23:51.309 --> 00:23:52.750 Bring your friends and family. There'll be a 00:23:52.750 --> 00:23:54.750 different topic each month. October is Breast 00:23:54.750 --> 00:23:56.490 Cancer Awareness Month. I don't know about you. 00:23:56.529 --> 00:23:58.089 I think it should be Breast Cancer Prevention 00:23:58.089 --> 00:24:00.009 Month. So on October 1st, I'm going to be talking 00:24:00.009 --> 00:24:01.809 about how to reduce your risk of getting breast 00:24:01.809 --> 00:24:03.990 cancer in the first place, how to reduce the 00:24:03.990 --> 00:24:05.809 risk of recurrence if you've already had it, 00:24:05.849 --> 00:24:07.410 and if you're in recovery, how to reduce the 00:24:07.410 --> 00:24:09.650 risk of the debilitating side effects that accompany 00:24:09.650 --> 00:24:12.009 standard cancer therapy. So to reserve your spot, 00:24:12.230 --> 00:24:17.859 text 805 -612 - 5531. I'd love to see you there 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:20.539 on October 1st. Thank you for listening. Remember, 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.140 the condition of your body is always more important 00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:25.559 than any condition you've been diagnosed with. 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:28.460 Have a fantastic weekend. You've been listening 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.920 to Safe, Effective Natural Solutions with Dr. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.599 Todd Binkley. If you have a health question you 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.039 want discussed on the show, email your health 00:24:37.039 --> 00:24:40.839 questions to drbinkley at binkleyhealingcenter 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:44.619 .com. Take advantage of this opportunity to ask 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.160 questions for yourself and for your loved ones 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:50.940 because our health matters. Join him next Friday 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:55.099 at 2 p .m. for safe, effective natural solutions 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:58.279 here on 98 .3 FM, The Word.