035 Dr. Michael Platt: Stress and Increased Adrenaline CAN actually be treated successfully with hormones

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Stress & Increased Adrenaline CAN be treated successfully with hormones

In this episode, Barbara and Michael discuss:

What doctors need to know about the CoronaVirus and adrenaline.
Conditions caused by and related to excess adrenaline.
How to reduce the adrenaline in our bodies and other benefits of progesterone.

Key Takeaways:

The brain uses more sugar than any other part of the body. Any time the body detects a drop in sugar, it releases adrenaline.
The best source of sugar for the brain is vegetables.
It only takes 24 hours to get rid of the excess adrenaline.

“It’s fairly pervasive, this idea about excess adrenaline, and nobody ever seems to talk about it.” — Dr. Michael Platt

Transcription

Barbara: Welcome to the newest episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors. This is your host, Dr. Barbara Hales. Today, we have with us Dr. Michael Platt.

Dr. Platt has been board certified in internal medicine. He is a wellness physician and is known internationally as an expert in bioidentical hormones. His two books have received 11 literary awards. His first book, The Miracle of Bioidentical Hormones, was the #1 hormone book in Germany for 10 years and his book, Adrenaline Dominance, is the only book ever written that explores the clinical consequences of excess adrenaline. Welcome to the show today.

Michael: Well hi there!

Barbara: Well, we certainly are all walking around with excess adrenaline as we’re all really stressed out about Covid-19. What do doctors need to know with regard to the coronavirus and adrenaline?

Michael: Well, anytime when people are in distress or they’re feeling anxiety both of these things are cause by excess adrenaline. When the body releases excess adrenaline and creates stress the body responds to this by actually putting out another hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is known to cause weight problems and osteoporosis, but the other thing is, is that cortisol also is very damaging to the immune system which makes it sort of important to try and control adrenaline especially in this day and age with regard to the virus.

Barbara: What are some of the conditions that patients might have indicating that they’re suffering from excess adrenaline?

Michael: Well and I should tell you that doctors in general have increased adrenaline but in any event people who have excess adrenaline these are the ones that have trouble sleeping. Some people toss and turn, some people grind their teeth at night, TMJ; other people they have what’s called restless leg syndrome, people get up at night to urinate. These are all symptoms of excess adrenaline. But, excess adrenaline is also the underlying cause of things like ADHD. ADHD is all about adrenaline.

Fibromyalgia is also caused by excess adrenaline and there are 10 million people in this country with fibromyalgia. Other conditions related to adrenaline…chronic interstitial cystitis. You know it’s a known cause of anxiety. People who have irritable bowel syndrome because adrenaline is a survival hormone, cuts off blood supply to the intestines and causes IBS.

Other things PMDD which is premenstrual dysphoric disorder is caused by excess adrenaline. It’s probably the #1 cause of headaches and certainly the #1 cause of tinnitus. It starts at a young age…baby’s have colic in babies is caused by excess adrenaline and the only thing that cuases bedwetting in children is excess adrenaline. People with road rage, again its adrenaline. It’s probably the #1 cause of weight gain because the reason why the body is releasing adrenaline is to raise sugar levels and this goes on mostly at night while people are sleeping or trying to sleep.

Barbara: That is interesting. I have never heard of it in relationship to colic in babies. That’s a new one for me.

Michael: Ok. You know these are the babies that do a lot of kicking in the womb before they’re born. That is adrenaline also. You may have heard of woman who vomit during their entire pregnancy, hyperemesis gravidarum. That is also caused by excess adrenaline. So, it’s fairly pervasive, this idea of excess adrenaline and nobody ever seems to talk about it.

Barbara: What can doctors do for themselves and their patients to reduce adrenaline?

Michael: One of the tellings that doctors realize is that doctors are not basically trained to treat the cause of illness but because a lot of what we learn is taught to us by drug companies. But anyway, but when it comes to adrenaline what makes it relatively simple…there’s only 2 reasons why the body releases excess adrenaline. One is if you’re in danger. They call it the flight or fight hormone.

We don’t live in a war zone right now so the only other reason the body puts out adrenaline is any time the body detects that the brain is running out of fuel most people do not realize that the brain uses more sugar than any other part of the body for weight. Any time you take sugar away from the brain, you know hypoglycemia people get sleepy. And this could happen at three or four in the afternoon when insulin peaks and a lot of people get sleepy when they’re driving which is also a low sugar. But any time the body detects a drop in sugar from the brain it just simply puts out adrenaline.

Doctors probably remember the gluconeogenesis which is where the body can put protein into glucose. So, if you understand that the body is putting out adrenaline to provide fuel to the brain then it’s simply a matter of providing the fuel to the brain so the body doesn’t have to use adrenaline. The only other thing that is required to control adrenaline is a 5% progesterone rate. The reason I say 5% which is 50mg per pump is that that is the exact strength you need to block adrenaline and then the two fuels that the brain uses; one is glucose and the best source of glucose for the brain comes from vegetables.

It certainly is not the only source but why it’s a good source is that vegetables don’t produce a lot of insulin. They are low glycemic. When you give high glycemic foods like candy and soda even though they’re high in glucose but they also steal out a lot of insulin which lowers the sugar levels and defeats the purpose. So, vegetables are probably the best source of glucose for the brain.

Ketones which is the other fuel that the brain needs can be derived from either coconut oil or MCT oil. Also keep in mind that the brain uses a fuel in about three hours so these are the kind of fuels that have to be provided throughout the day and especially if people have a problem with sleeping. To eat something right before they go to sleep like some leftover vegetables or something with MCT oil. It only takes 24 hours to get a significant drop in adrenaline levels.

For example, people with road rage can get rid of it in 24 hours. People with ADHD believe it or not, kids can get rid of it in 24 hours. You can get rid of fibromyalgia, all these 10 million people have been told that there is no cure for it, but that’s not true. You just have to treat the cause of it which is excess adrenaline and that goes away in about 3 days to 3 weeks.

Barbara: So, what is your answer in reducing the adrenaline.

Michael: Well, the answer is to provide the right fuel and to use progesterone cream. People with a lot of adrenaline very often carry a lot of tension in the back of the neck. This muscle tension is what creates headaches. There is a headache called occipital neuritis which causes severe excruciating headaches and they are always mistaken for migraines. What’s interesting, they are more common than migraine headaches but nobody ever talks about these headaches. They are all put under the general headache of migraine headaches. Occipital neuritis headaches are really easy to get rid of. You just put some progesterone cream on the back of the neck. And also ringing in the ears, tinnitus, again the back of the neck is a real good place to put progesterone cream 5%.

Barbara: Does that work for men as well as women?

Michael: What’s interesting is that most doctors think that progesterone is a women’s hormone and they don’t realize that men and women have the identical hormones, different levels but exactly the same hormones. Men stop making progesterone right around the age of 50 and you’re probably aware that is when men start putting on weight around the middle and that is when they start getting prostate cancer because they no longer have progesterone to protect them from estrogen. Men and women same thing and it is an extremely safe hormone to use. We use it in babies.

Keep in mind that when fetuses are in the womb it gets exposed to incredibly high levels of progesterone. So, you can’t hurt babies exposed to progesterone. I just wanted to let you know that.

Barbara: Is there any adverse reaction to the progesterone cream or do we have to worry about having hyperplasia of the uterus with progesterone cream being given on a regular basis?

Michael: Well actually the hyperplasia is mostly caused by estrogen and progesterone would prevent that. There is only one down side to using progesterone cream. In certain individuals, it can actually increase adrenaline levels.

You may be familiar with the term Type 3 Diabetes, which is insulin resistant to the brain and a lot of people equate Type 3 Diabetes with Alzheimer’s disease because it’s probably the #1 cause of Alzheimer’s but they don’t have a test for hit. However, if people have Type 3 Diabetes, insulin resistant to the brain, and the use of progesterone within minutes they’ll all of a sudden start feeling a lot more symptoms related to excess adrenaline. So, this is really a test for Type 3 Diabetes even though they don’t have one but this can be considered a test for it.

One of the benefits of progesterone is that it does increase insulin resistance and this is what prevents people from getting sleepy when they’re driving or sleepy in the afternoon but if they already have some insulin resistance and they use some progesterone it increases the insulin resistance and causes more of a release of adrenaline to try and get glucose into the brain cells. But if you have somebody who reacts like that, if you know that they might have Type 3 Diabetes well the whole thing about Alzheimer’s it’s a disease of prevention. You start these people on MCT oil which can actually reverse Alzheimer’s to begin with.

I’m just saying there are things that can be done and something like Berberine which is great for insulin resistance. So, there are things that can be done but that is the only downside of using progesterone and it’s a rare down side. Otherwise, there is no downside to it. You can’t overdose on it.

Barbara: Can you tell our listeners what MCT stands for?

Michael: It stands for medium-chain triglycerides and you get it in any health food store or off the internet. People may have heard of bullet proof coffee. Bullet proof coffee is coffee with MCT oil in it. Some people even put in a tablespoon of butter. Great for the brain that bullet proof coffee. But anyway…

Barbara: Well that is interesting. Does it change the taste of coffee?

Michael: Actually, MCT oil has no taste to it. Its derived from coconut oil. You could also put coconut oil into coffee. Coconut oil is great for cooking. It’s a great cooking oil. Like an ideal breakfast for people who have a slot of adrenaline would be something like scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil and put on a bed of spinach. That is like the ideal breakfast. Sweet potatoes which are the only potato that’s allowed when you have problems with increased adrenaline. Sweet potatoes that are sliced up and fried in coconut oil is a great side dish. That is also something people can eat before going to sleep. If people are interested in any of this my book, Adrenaline Dominance, they can get it on Amazon or my website. It goes into a lot of this information.

Barbara: Well, I’m sure that a lot of what you told us today will be news to most people. I don’t think that a lot of people have really been schooled in the relationship between progesterone and adrenaline before. So, for all of those people who would like to learn more about it, please get Adrenaline Dominance by Dr. Platt. You can get it at Amazon.com or on the website PlattWellness.com. Thank you so much for sharing the time today and being on the program.

Michael: It’s been my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Barbara: This has been an episode of Marketing Tips for Doctors with your host Dr. Barbara Hales. Until next time…

Connect with Dr. Michael Platt:

Twitter: @PlattWellness

Facebook: Platt Wellness

Website: PlattWellness.com

Books: The Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones & Adrenaline Dominance

YouTube: Michael Platt

LinkedIn: Platt Wellness

Instagram: @plattwellness

Connect with Barbara Hales:

Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales