Embark on a journey with us, Dr. Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenni Berman, as we dissect the crucial difference between slapping a Band-Aid on symptoms and truly healing from the inside out. Prepare to be enlightened by our own experiences and professional insights, which reveal a surprising reality: age-related health declines such as muscle mass loss and metabolic dysfunction are not written in stone. We discuss the often overlooked connection between hormonal imbalances and blood sugar instability, which can lead to a reliance on hormone replacement therapy and quick-fix medications that fail to address long-term wellness. Our candid conversation promises to equip you with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of your health, by understanding the critical role of nutrition and lifestyle in preventing and reversing these issues.
Throughout this episode, we highlight the importance of personalized health monitoring and the limitations of hormone therapies and medications like semaglutide injections that merely mask the symptoms. With a focus on proactive measures like continuous glucose monitoring and adjusting dietary deficiencies, particularly protein, we show how these steps can enhance sleep quality, reduce hot flashes, and promote clearer thinking. Join us as we explore the benefits of functional medicine and the importance of personal investment in health monitoring, even when insurance falls short. By the end of our discussion, you'll be ready to take the reins on your health journey, armed with actionable strategies that prioritize sustainable lifestyle changes over temporary pharmaceutical interventions.
Check Us Out On Social Media - Facebook: @bermanwellness , @physicaltherapynaples, @Berman Golf Instagram: @berman_wellness, @bermanphysicaltherapy , @Berman Golf Youtube: Berman Golf, Berman Physical Therapy TikTok: Bermangolf, Bermanwellness
Email us - drberman@bermanpt.com jenni@bermanwellness.com
Check out our website - https://www.bermanpt.com/ https://www.bermanpt.com/wellness/ https://bermangolf.com/
Embark on a journey with us, Dr. Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenni Berman, as we dissect the crucial difference between slapping a Band-Aid on symptoms and truly healing from the inside out. Prepare to be enlightened by our own experiences and professional insights, which reveal a surprising reality: age-related health declines such as muscle mass loss and metabolic dysfunction are not written in stone. We discuss the often overlooked connection between hormonal imbalances and blood sugar instability, which can lead to a reliance on hormone replacement therapy and quick-fix medications that fail to address long-term wellness. Our candid conversation promises to equip you with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of your health, by understanding the critical role of nutrition and lifestyle in preventing and reversing these issues.
Throughout this episode, we highlight the importance of personalized health monitoring and the limitations of hormone therapies and medications like semaglutide injections that merely mask the symptoms. With a focus on proactive measures like continuous glucose monitoring and adjusting dietary deficiencies, particularly protein, we show how these steps can enhance sleep quality, reduce hot flashes, and promote clearer thinking. Join us as we explore the benefits of functional medicine and the importance of personal investment in health monitoring, even when insurance falls short. By the end of our discussion, you'll be ready to take the reins on your health journey, armed with actionable strategies that prioritize sustainable lifestyle changes over temporary pharmaceutical interventions.
Check Us Out On Social Media - Facebook: @bermanwellness , @physicaltherapynaples, @Berman Golf Instagram: @berman_wellness, @bermanphysicaltherapy , @Berman Golf Youtube: Berman Golf, Berman Physical Therapy TikTok: Bermangolf, Bermanwellness
Email us - drberman@bermanpt.com jenni@bermanwellness.com
Check out our website - https://www.bermanpt.com/ https://www.bermanpt.com/wellness/ https://bermangolf.com/
Speaker 1:
This is the Berman Method Podcast, featuring Dr Jake Berman and physician assistant Jenny Berman. We are here to treat problems and not symptoms. Disclaimer this podcast is for entertainment purposes only and not to treat anyone or to give medical advice. If you are interested in any information that we are giving and would like to use this for yourself, we recommend that you contact your primary care physician or reach out to us and ask us questions about yourself specifically. Enjoy.
Speaker 2:
And we are back, baby, for part two of the two part series that we started last week. This is the Berman Method Podcast. We're focused on treating problems and not symptoms. We're going against the corporate medical system. Dr Jake Berman, here with my lovely co-host.
Speaker 1:
Jenny Berman, physician assistant.
Speaker 2:
We laid it on thick last week. I know it could have gotten a little confusing. I thought we did pretty good of keeping it high level and superficial and layman's terms. This is part two, so if you didn't listen to last week's episode, you've got to go back and listen to last week's episode to make this one make way more sense. What we're going to get into today is the actual treatments, things that you should be doing, which is 99% of the time, not focusing on actual hormones. So quick recap we're talking about semaglutide, which was the hat. Right now is the popular lose weight quick drug or easy pill, but it's actually not a pill and it's an injection.
Speaker 1:
The easy shot.
Speaker 2:
You take a shot and you just magically start losing weight, and we talked about hormone replacements or hormones going lower. Those are the two big topics we talked about last time, and then we talked about how there's a lot of things that are happening at the same time that your hormones are changing, because that's a normal part of aging is your hormones changing. However, the things that are happening simultaneously are not a normal part of aging, meaning let's just use sarcopenia. So the act of losing muscle mass. As we're getting older, you're losing muscle mass. That's not necessarily as normal as it is nowadays. Let me say that differently.
Speaker 2:
Look at third world countries. Right, third world countries don't have chairs. They have to do a full squat. Ask DeGrasse to use the restroom or bathroom. Right, bowel movement every single day. So think about it. If you're 60, 70, 80 years old and you've got to do a full squat so that you can go have a bowel movement, you're going to be way stronger than the vast majority of Americans that just plop their ass on a commode and sit there. Right, sit on a nice comfy commode. So they're going to have way more muscle mass than we are, so they're not going to experience as much muscle loss as their hormones are changing, compared to Americans.
Speaker 1:
That's true. So I think where you're going with that is sarcopenia is meaning the loss of muscle mass as we age is a normal occurring process if we are not fueling our body appropriately. But it does not have to be normal. We do not have to lose muscle mass as we age. In fact, when I look at a body composition scale myself, I actually have more muscle mass now than I did five years ago.
Speaker 2:
Hell yeah, you do. That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1:
Midway through my 30s have more muscle mass than I did early in my 30s, and the science shows that we lose 1% of muscle mass each year as we age after age 30. But my gut health is way better than it was five, six years ago.
Speaker 1:
So I'm actually absorbing nutrients more efficiently. My vitamin levels are much better because I'm actually checking them versus, I would say, 10 years ago I had not had my blood work checked in years and years until I really got into the world of functional medicine and realized how important it was to check blood work on myself, and that was with going through PA school. I went through PA school, learned how to be a primary care physician and still didn't even know the right tests I should be checking until I got into the functional medicine world. So to bring this back and we really want to get into the rest of the conversation, so I'm going to make this quick is the breaking down of your muscle mass does not have to be normal. We have the ability to stop that process or slow that process with feeling our body efficiently. And the same thing goes with the effects of the hormones changing that our metabolism experiences. So the fact that our body does not metabolize sugar as efficiently, meaning we hold on to food. We store food as fat. That is a common thing that occurs with hormonal changes, but it doesn't have to be that way if we know how to fuel our body for it.
Speaker 1:
So what we want to talk about today, because last episode if you didn't listen to it, please go back we talked about all of the simultaneous changes that are occurring within our metabolism as our hormones change, and so we think that, because our hormones are changing, we should just go on hormone replacement. But that is not going to stop the rest of these processes. That is not going to stop the sarcopenia. That is not going to stop the effects that our body shows on blood sugar stability by just taking hormone replacement. It's not going to stop our vitamin deficiencies. So we actually have to look deeper into our self, look into our blood work, understand our blood sugar stability. Like you mentioned, the glucose monitor check. You know, wearing a glucose monitor for 24 hours a day for 10 days to really see how your body is breaking down food. But we want to talk a little bit more about the treatments that we utilize without actually utilizing hormone replacement therapy in men and women.
Speaker 2:
Or some aglotide.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, some aglotide is part of it, so let's talk about it. Our primary focus in helping clients with these symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, poor sleep, low energy, mood swings, weight gain, brain fog, all the effects they think that they're low estrogen, low progesterone or low testosterone and men are causing. We have to come back to what is causing the problem. So we know I already mentioned that the blood sugar instability, or the fact that our body is not breaking down food into energy but storing it as fat, is a primary problem. So certainly the new medication out there ozempic, mangero, semaglotide will govii. These are medications that actually help the body to metabolize sugar. So it helps the body to break down sugar so that we're not storing in us food.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I want that.
Speaker 1:
Right, so it's helpful in that aspect. What it's actually treating is this insulin resistance or this glucose problem that our body has because of the loss of muscle mass and because of the hormonal changes that we're having. But the problem is it's a pill injection, some pill. It's an injection that we use for a period of time, but we're not actually fixing the problem. We're not changing the nutrients that are coming into our body, the lifestyle, to help with getting ourselves to metabolize more naturally. We're using this injection, we're losing weight, but then what happens?
Speaker 1:
So the other part of ozempic and semaglotide will govii, mangero, all of these that people experience is they also change the hormones of our brain that balance our hunger and satiety, meaning how full we are hormones. So it's the hormones of our brain that tell our body we are hungry or we are full. Those medications actually play on those hormones, which is why people have a significantly lower appetite and they get fuller a lot faster with using these medications. So again, we go down to using these medications, which are helping with our glucose level, and they are helping to control our appetite, but if we don't fix the lifestyle aspect, the food that we're bringing into our body, the fuel that we're putting into our body. We are not going to get lasting effects from using this medication.
Speaker 2:
I love this, absolutely love this, because this is identical, based off of what you just said. This is identical to my knee hurts. I'm going to go get a steroid injection oh, my knee doesn't hurt anymore. I'm going to keep doing crappy squats and using my knee joint the wrong way, but it doesn't matter because it doesn't hurt anymore.
Speaker 1:
Until it wears off.
Speaker 2:
Until the shot wears off and because you've been doing the wrong things even more aggressively because you didn't have pain there. Now it's even worse. So this is the same thing as that. It's the same thing as your wheel bearing in your car Start squeaking. Instead of getting your wheel bearing fixed, you just take out a can of WD-40, spray some WD-40 in there and the squeaking goes away immediately. You think the problem's fixed. You keep driving down the road. Next thing you know, your tire passes you down the road because your wheel bearing just gave up and quit Some agglotide. I'm struggling with losing weight because I cannot metabolize sugar the right way, so I'm going to take this synthetically composed chemical that was made in a lab. I'm going to stick it in my ass or wherever you want. Right, where does it go? On the shoulder or the butt cheek?
Speaker 1:
Usually the abdomen.
Speaker 2:
Okay, abdomen, neither one, damn it. And then, magically, I'm synthesizing sugar. Magically I'm losing weight. But you never fix the reason why you're gaining the weight in the first place. You never fix the reason why you're not metabolizing sugar in the first place. So where does this end? How much longer or how long can you take this synthetically compounded pharmaceutical? じゃあ, I just generated a 20 minute markup. I just created a 20 minute markup, I'm sorry. So here's the diagnosis of sequin-globeble, now your 5 drug and injected into your body. How long can you do this? How sustainable is this before something else breaks?
Speaker 1:
Right. So to come back to this, you know we I'm not saying that we don't use some agglutide or ozimpic in our office, because we certainly do, but we utilize it with lifestyle and dietary changes and we use it as a tertiary option when the lifestyle and dietary changes by themselves are not enough to improve the glucose metabolism. We've tried Metformin, which is an FDA approved medication for type two diabetes, also used off label for insulin resistance, has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years and is a safe medication. When we've tried these things and we're not seeing the effects that we need for glucose metabolism, then certainly ozimpic is an option.
Speaker 1:
Somagletide is an option, though our clients understand that they have to continue with the dietary and lifestyle changes that we are teaching them to make this an everlasting effect.
Speaker 1:
For when they are able to come off of somagletide or ozimpic, the problem is when we do not combine the somagletide or ozimpic with the lifestyle changes, so you're still eating the same or better, yet you're just not eating because the medication makes you not hungry, it makes you not have an appetite.
Speaker 1:
So now we're getting back into what we talked about last episode, where, when we have years and years of a low calorie diet. That actually is decreasing our ability to burn fat and calories. It's reducing our metabolic rate. So when we come off of this medication, if we go back to eating a 1000 to 1200 calorie diet, which is still pretty low, we're actually going to gain weight back because our body now has been used to this medication plus a 600 calorie diet because we just weren't hungry on the medicine, and we're going to have a rebound effect to our weight. There are side effects to ozimpic and somagletide. They do decrease our gastric emptying, meaning the ability to move food through our gastric system, so it can cause reflux, it can cause constipation, sometimes even diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and so we again have to make sure that our clients are utilizing this with the right meal plan to mitigate the side effects and make sure that is a healthy option long term.
Speaker 2:
Love it, absolutely love it. Let's take this back to the physical component in my world. So if I can't get you to get the muscles firing around your knee joint or your hip joint because it's too painful, then that's going to limit our ability to get you better. So there are times where I'll say, okay, this is not working, I don't think you need to have surgery. However, we can't avoid surgery unless we get these muscles firing. And we can't get these muscles firing the right way because it's just too inflamed, it's too painful, so let's go and get an injection. We're going to get an injection, a steroid injection, to get rid of the pain, so that we can work on the muscles and get the muscles to do their job, so that they can support the joint the way that they should, so that we can avoid surgery. So it's a very different reason that 99% of the population does get injections for, especially in the shoulder. Oh, my goodness, my shoulder hurts. I got an injection in my shoulder. My shoulder doesn't hurt anymore. Problem's gone.
Speaker 2:
Until two years later, you actually tear your rotator cuff and then have to have surgery which requires minimum of six months to get back to prior level of function usually 12 months. So, yeah, let's use this the right way. Let's use some aglotide the right way. If we can't get the results that we're looking for with lifestyle change and dietary changes, let's take this drug to give us a jump start in the right direction so that we can get the momentum going. Let's get the ball rolling, which is the exact opposite of how 99% of the population is using some aglitide, ozempic and metformin right now, which is an easy drug, an easy pill, an easy shot. Just give me a shot and I'll start losing weight. Who wouldn't wanna do that? Hell, that's even appetizing for me If you could give me a shot of that and I can continue eating box after box of Girl Scout cookies and still maintain a six pack and a 10 or 11% body fat mass. Yeah, sign me up until what happens, right?
Speaker 1:
until the five years from now the side effects that come out. So just be smart. Talk with your provider about the right options. Are you fueling your body appropriately?
Speaker 1:
If you're having night sweats and hot flashes, I am 99% sure that your blood sugar is not stable through the night while you're sleeping. So instead of going on medication or a hormone replacement, why don't we look at how you're fueling your body? What does your carbohydrate, protein and fat ratio look like? What does your blood sugar look like with using a continuous glucose monitor? If you're waking up between two and four am, your blood sugar is probably not normal. Your magnesium level is probably low.
Speaker 1:
So look at the problem. Meaning the blood sugar is most commonly the issue post-menopause or post hormone changes, and men, as our testosterone levels decline, and actually in men, because we're losing muscle mass. But also insulin resistance, meaning your blood sugar is unstable as you. Aid actually decreases testosterone levels. So if we see that your testosterone levels are low, was it the testosterone dropping that gave you the insulin resistance? Probably not. It was probably the insulin resistance impacting your body's ability to maintain elevated testosterone levels as we age. We have to have to have to change the nutrients coming into our body. We have to increase protein. 85% of the United States is protein deficient. They are not eating enough protein as we age. We have to increase our protein intake and balance it with our carbohydrate intake, whereas majority of the population consumes more carbohydrates than they do protein.
Speaker 2:
And this is one of the most common things that I hear from your clients that work with you upstairs and work with us downstairs, or people that I just happened to know that start working with you. The most common thing I hear, especially from the ladies, is I can't believe how much protein they're asking me to eat. And when I look at what you're asking them to eat, I'm going that's not a lot of protein, like that's something that we've been doing for years. But in comparison to what these people are used to eating men too, not just women, men too it's like, really, that's how much protein you have been living on for the past 30 years. That's what you've been utilizing to fuel your body for the past 30 years.
Speaker 2:
Think about this there's so many cars nowadays that when you drive them off the lot, you have to put premium fuel in them. You cannot put anything less than 93 octane in them or they won't run. You can't buy the cheap gas anymore. So think about it this way you drive this brand new car off the lot and it's recommended that you put premium fuel in it. You have to put 93 octane in it every single time, but you're putting 80 in it. You're putting this crappy gasoline in it that they used to make back in the 70s the leaded gasoline. The thing might still run, but it's not gonna run optimal. That's the same thing that we're doing to ourselves. Which is how in the world are you living off this much protein? It's not okay.
Speaker 1:
Right, right. And then, once they start eating the right amount of protein, they're like, wow, I actually slept through the night. Or, oh my gosh, I'm not having hot flashes anymore, or I'm thinking so clearly because I'm eating protein within an hour of waking up. It's amazing the differences people will feel without even going on medication, just by simply Adjusting their nutrients eating more protein, reducing their simple carbohydrates and maintaining healthy fats. So, to bring it all back, talk with a functional medicine provider talk with you me, yeah, really understand.
Speaker 1:
What is your blood sugar doing and is this the primary reason that you're feeling the hormonal symptoms that you're feeling? Check your blood work, look at these specific vitamin levels. We didn't even talk about things like a ferritin or a cortisol level, which is a whole another topic but plays into this as well. So get someone to actually look at your blood tests the way you should be and not through a primary care doctor who is dictated by insurance and what they can order.
Speaker 2:
Love it, absolutely Love it. My biggest take-home message for all of this is that Nowadays it's 2024. There is absolutely no excuse to not know exactly what is happening With your body. Insurance is not going to pay for this crap. It's not not crap, I shouldn't say crap. Insurance is not going to pay for this benefit because it's a benefit. So reach into your pocket, pull out that plastic thing and swipe it for something that's actually going to do some good for your life, versus Spending it at Starbucks. You're not even think twice about spending a hundred bucks at Starbucks this month, right? So measure.
Speaker 2:
If you cannot change what you don't measure, you've got to measure what your supplements in your blood, whatever it is in there, you have to measure it. You have to know what your blood sugar is doing throughout the day. You have to measure it. Put on a continuous glucose monitor. This is what completely changed my outlook on all of this thing. First time, you put one of those monitors on me. When I first started, I had a 11% body fat so that's not quote-unquote fat, right? I'm relatively in shape. I thought. Right, I put that thing on and I'm going. Oh, my goodness, this will never last much. This can't last much longer, because my blood sugar was all over the place. It never even came down below a hundred and I'm going this is not good right? This is actually really really bad. This is what leads to pre diabetes in 20 years or a heart attack and stroke in five years.
Speaker 2:
I'm like what the? Hell. But once I was able to measure it and see a direct correlation with eating more protein and more veggies, I'm going oh, jenny's been right, dammit Good.
Speaker 1:
All right, thanks for joining in. Share these two episodes and we will keep going. Maybe we'll talk about the cortisol effects on blood sugar next, just to tie it all in.
Speaker 2:
Oh that. I'm just so excited that I just can't hide it. Share this like this. Subscribe to us and until next time.
Speaker 1:
Chaffa now. Thank you for subscribing on your social media and podcast platforms to the Berman method Dr Jake Berman with Berman physical therapy and Jenny Berman, physician assistant, with Berman health and wellness. You can find more information on our website wwwbermanptcom for physical therapy, bermanptcom forward slash wellness for the health and wellness. You can also find us on social media, facebook, instagram and on your Podcast platforms, so be sure to follow us, like us, subscribe to us and, if you would like any further information, definitely visit our website and reach out to us. You may also find our free reports on the websites as well, where you can download this free information For yourself. Have a great day, you.