Is Your Hypothalamus Causing Your Health Problems?

Hypothalamic dysfunction could be root of your health issues, if you have the following symptoms:

• Weight gain and inability to normalize weight
• Hair loss
• Exercise intolerance
• Lack of endurance
• Hot flashes
• Temperature intolerance
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Skin rashes
• Moodiness
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Intolerance of usual stressors
• Forgetfulness or brain fog
• Irregular periods or No periods
• Infertility
• Headaches
• Thyroid disorders
• Adrenal disorders
• Auto-immune diseases

I have been writing articles regarding the hypothalamus for years and finally the public is reading them. When I got this email, I realized that the time is ripe for the role the hypothalamus plays in our health to be appreciated:

I have been doing research on the Hypothalamus and more specifically the disorders that can plague that gland. I stumbled upon an article you wrote which included a link to your product Genesis Gold®. I have to say that I am very intrigued, as the information you have provided speaks to me and the trials facing me. I would like to give you a history, if you do not mind….

Then she went on to describe a myriad of the above symptoms…which she assessed was hypothalamic after many doctors and treatments later had not relieved her of her problems. Her health goals were to:

• Lose fat and gain muscle
• Improve sleep and energy levels
• Balance hormones and improve fertility
• Ease symptoms of  depression

I guess the whole point of this email is to inquire about your products. I am willing to try just about ANYTHING and I am impressed by the "idea" of your products. My main concern is the cost and the validity of your products and company. I mean no offense, but it is so hard to tell what is real, and what is a scam. I find the information on your site to be very accurate, and informative...especially since there really isn't a lot of information on hypothalamus disorders and even more so on what to do about them. I would appreciate it if you would write me back.

Thank you very much.

So I wrote back:

I understand your reservation.

Genesis HealthProducts was incorporated in 2000. The product has been on the market since 2003 and available online since 2007. I waited to make it available to the public to take time to collect data on a wide variety of populations. I seeded the internet with articles in 2008. It’s just been the past couple of years that people are interested in the hypothalamic connection.

GenesisGold® and Sacred Seven® are the only plant based nutraceuticals that focus on balancing the hypothalamus, improving hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and supporting the neuro-immune-endocrine system. I created them because I could not find anything in allopathic or naturopathic medicine that would correct hypothalamic dysfunction.

As you know, there is no way to measure the hypothalamic hormones without killing the lab rat. So we have to make an assumptive diagnosis based on the decline of hormones directly related to hypothalamic function—like those controlled by pro-opiomelanocortin—the thyroid, adrenals, and pancreas.

Since Genesis Gold® has been available, I have seen patients completely dependent on hormone replacement therapy (adrenal, thyroid, sex steroids) with hypometabolism and metabolic syndrome heal.

One of my patients, a woman in her mid 30’s diagnosed with hypopituitarism and an anatomically normal pituitary gland, came to me wanting bio-identical hormone replacement rather than the synthetics she had been taking for years. She had never had a period and only with obsessive exercise and HRT was she able to keep her weight under control.

She did very well on the bio-identicals for years. When I finally got Genesis Gold® manufactured, she agreed to give it a try. Over the next eighteen months, she was able to wean off her hormones, all of them. And had her own periods not induced by exogenous hormones. I told her it was time to think about contraception. She laughed. She still believed what the doctors had told her all her life—that she was infertile.

She gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the age of 43. She has been hormone free since. I suspect that when she gets close to menopause, she may need some transitional hormone supplementation.

She is my most dramatic case. I have others with hypothalamic dysfunction yet not full panpituitary syndrome who have been able to start functioning on their own.

So far fourteen babies have been born to previously infertile women using Genesis Gold®. I have had insulin dependent diabetics be able to cut their insulin dosages in half. I have patients with  thyroiditis normalize their anti-thyroid antibodies and reverse their hypothyroidism. I have seen polycystic ovary and amenorrheic women menstruate normally after just a couple of months of use.

GenesisGold® and Sacred Seven® are the only plant based nutritional supports for the hypothalamus. With glandulars you are limited to six months of use as after that studies show that the glandular is dispersed through the system rather than concentrated in the target gland. We were not meant to consume the glands of animals for more than medicinal purposes.

I wish that I could afford to do the research necessary to support my findings. All I have are case studies. Yet Genesis Gold® sells itself. People see how well their friends and family are doing and start taking it too.

I recently started consulting in a conventional medical practice. These patients are over medicated and undereducated. The physicians do not believe in supplementation. I’ve broached the subject with some of their tough cases. And those who have chosen to take Genesis Gold® are responding quickly. Perhaps that is because they are so very toxic with all the medications and poor diets.

Most of my customers/patients find that Genesis Gold® replaces many bottles of supplements saving them at least half in cost and a whole lot in convenience.

While Genesis Gold® contains Sacred Seven® amino acids, I find that adding extra Sacred Seven® hastens the healing in the toughest cases.

It's about time we got to the root of so many health issues.

The hypothalamus is maestro of the entire symphony of hormones, neurotransmitters, and immune factors. Plus it controls all our basic body functions including those essential for survival.

Thankfully, the hypothalamus is very responsive to nutritional therapeutics. And I created Genesis Gold® to support the hypothalamus. If the maestro gets support, the whole orchestra is more harmonious.

Feed the body what it needs to heal and it will heal.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Yours in Health,

Deborah Maragopoulos MN FNP-BC

Intuitive Integrative Medicine

www.genesisgold.com

Your Adrenals—How Stress Makes You Fat

Stress—a fact of modern day living and the cause of so many diseases. Stress has been linked to heart disease, cancer, allergies, autoimmune disease, thyroid dysfunction, mood disorders and obesity.

While stress affects many parts of the body, the adrenals are responsible for creating the stress response.

What are the Adrenals?

The adrenals are small glands that lie on top (ad) of the kidneys (renals). These amazing glands have multiple functions. While the adrenals are endocrine glands producing hormones in response to pituitary stimulus that control carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, the adrenals also respond to neurological stimuli to initiate the fight or flight response, as well as electrolytes circulating in the blood to control blood pressure, and produce cytokines that influence immune function.

That's a lot of responsibility for one pair of glands.

So what happens when you are under stress?

First, the adrenals are stimulated by the nervous system and produce adrenaline. Adrenaline increases heart rate and blood pressure to initiate the fight or fight response.

Then the adrenals produce cortisol to fuel the fight or flight response. Cortisol is a catabolic steroid hormone. Catabolic = breaks down. Steroid = made from cholesterol. Hormone = chemical messenger.

Like most endocrine glands, the adrenals are stimulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in a negative feedback system. Think of a seesaw. Cortisol is on one side and Adrenal Cortico Trophic Hormone (ACTH) is on the other. If cortisol is high, ACTH is low. If cortisol is low, ACTH is high.

Let's say a tiger is chasing you. Your autonomic nervous system stimulates the adrenals to produce adrenaline. Your heart beats faster raising your blood pressure so you can get away. The adrenaline surge stimulates the hypothalamus which checks to see if you have enough cortisol to fuel the stress response. If not, the hypothalamus tells the pituitary gland to produce ACTH which travels via the blood stream to the adrenal cortex and stimulates the production of cortisol.

Cortisol then tells the pancreas to produce glucagon which is the hormone that releases glycogen (stored sugar) from the muscles and the liver. Now your muscles and heart have the energy to get away from that tiger!

Whew! Following the surge of cortisol, the adrenals produce dehydroepiandrostione also known as DHEA. DHEA controls protein and fat metabolism to help repair the damage from the flight or fight. The leftover cortisol is converted to cortisone, a natural anti-inflammatory, to soothe your aches after getting away from the tiger.

At first the high stress response causes a catabolic reaction as tissues breakdown. You might lose weight initially but over the long haul, the high levels of cortisol can cause you to store body fat. Remember cortisol stimulates the release of stored sugar. How can the glucose get into the cells without insulin? So the pancreas also produces more insulin in response to the stress. If you are really running away from the tiger, then of course, you will use the glucose. If not, well then, you develop insulin resistance.

What is Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance is your body's way of protecting itself from all that circulating sugar. You see, insulin escorts glucose into the cells. Cells use glucose to produce energy. If the tiger is not really chasing you and you are not expending the energy, then your cells become resistant to insulin. All cells that cannot store sugar become insulin resistant. Your liver and muscles can store about 400 calories worth of glucose. Your heart, on the other hand, cannot store even one gram of sugar. Your heart can only use glucose to beat faster or grow bigger. A bigger heart is not an efficient pump, so your heart becomes insulin resistant.

What does your body do with the extra sugar? It stores it as fat. Thankfully, your adipose cells never become insulin resistant. No, they will store that extra sugar in the form of triglycerides (triple sugar molecules) to protect the rest of your body.

Insulin resistance is why you end up gaining weight after prolonged stress.

My recommendations for stress induced insulin resistance:

• RELAX - first of all, take time to chill out. Yes, meditation, relaxation exercises, soothing music, long walks, just being in nature can help calm the stress response. A regular meditation practice has been shown to reduce the stress response.

• DIET - The best diet to reverse insulin resistance is a plant based, moderate fat and protein, low carb. Click here for my insulin resistant diet. 

• EXERCISE - Yes, exercise is important, but it matters when you do it.  Exercise early in the morning to follow the natural cortisol circadian rhythm. Exercising late in the day and especially after dark creates a stress reaction. Exercise induces cortisol production and cortisol opposes melatonin so you will not sleep deeply.

• WORK - Take vacations. Work to live, don't live to work. If you do what you love, look forward to work, then work becomes as therapeutic as play.

• SUPPLEMENTS - the key to supplementation is to balance the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response. One of the biggest reasons I created Genesis Gold is to help balance the stress response.  Adrenal function improves, insulin resistance reverses, and metabolism increases when the hypothalamus is supported. Plus the adaptogenic herbs help provide natural adrenal and hormonal balance.

Most people describe a more Zen approach to life when taking Genesis Gold. One middle aged male patient described a new found ability to take a higher perspective when dealing with stressful family situations since taking Genesis GoldÒ.

Years ago, my husband was asked what Genesis Gold did for him. He said he felt more mellow. We all noticed the change, even the dogs. When he would pay bills he would get so uptight that the dogs would hide. Now they lie happily at my husband's feet as he navigates the monthly bills!

Physically, his triglycerides dropped, his waistline slimmed, and he looks younger-- the benefits of a healthier metabolism and less stressed attitude. Of course, I was happy he was taking better care of himself, especially since he worked for 30 years as a police officer—such a high stress job that within a few years of retirement many cops suffer heart attacks and die. He's been consistent with taking Genesis Gold since 2008 and it shows— at 51, his lab tests are that of a healthy thirty-year-old.

So take good care your adrenals and you'll stay trim and healthy.