How to Live Beyond Age 120 – Part V

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By The Eismans(And we should know as we are doctors)

MAGIC MEDS

Testosterone: Okay it makes you feel great. The men become tigers in bed, and the woman become nymphomaniacs. It builds muscle. Men and women look absolutely great when taking testosterone. It stops you from looking older. Who wants to look like they are aging? Many physicians prescribe it. One minor problem; it kills you. Yes, you look great in your coffin. Besides making great medicine, it causes blood clots in your veins, and atherosclerosis. You die an early death from a heart attack or a stroke. Case in point; Dallas McCarver. He was a Floridian who was a champion weight lifter. He was a mountain of muscle and looked great. He died at age 26 of a myocardial infarction, and at autopsy was found to have a high concentration of testosterone in his blood. There was a great line from the movie, “Knock on Any Door.” It was, “Live Fast, Die Young, Have a Good Looking Corpse.” Besides arterial disease, there are other problems with testosterone.

Many men have small, slow growing prostate cancers that will kill us after the age of 150 years. After all we only want to live a bit longer than age 120. However, taking testosterone is like pouring gasoline on a fire. These harmless little cancers grow like crazy. Furthermore, the improvement in sex performance, etc. is minimal. The data regarding testosterone is still debated in the scientific circles, but until this is settled, I tell my patients, “DON’T TAKE TESTOSTERONE.”

Protein supplements: Fine, if you exercise regularly and need additional protein. If you don’t exercise, the excess protein is converted to fat. Not good for those of us who are overweight. Protein should be from 15 to 30 percent of our diet. Excess protein can lead to renal failure and kidney stones. Excess protein can make our endocrine system crazy, as soy-based protein has phytoestrogens and can mimic estrogen. Men are feminized and develop large breasts that are mostly fat and not muscle. Of course, those of us that spend a lot of time in the gym doing weight training require more protein.

HERBS

Many of my patients are nuts about herbs. After all, they are just plants. They have to be healthy. Well, Nux Vomica is a plant. The fruit looks like beautiful juicy oranges. Enticing! Well, Nux Vomica is the fancy name given to a plant that is a source of strychnine. I once came across a woman having seizures in the hallway of a Vietnamese hospital. Between episodes she was able to tell me that she was given very bitter tea by a Chinese doctor. I turned to the physician trying to care for her and said, “This has to be strychnine poisoning.” Neither of us had ever seen a case previously, and we had to run to the hospital library to look up the antidote. We administered intravenous Phenobarbital. The woman survived.

The problem with exploring plant products is that the FDA has very little control. It is not the same as taking a medication that’s on the market after years, and underwent hundreds of millions dollars of testing. Herbs come from plants, and you must be careful. The following is a partial list of the problems you can get into:

May cause menstruation and possible miscarriage: Angelica, Black Cohash, Catnip (warn your cat), Fever Few*, Comfrey*, Goldenseal, Mistletoe (kissing is allowed, but no swallowing, Mugwort*, Yarrow.

May harm dogs and cats, Herbs that are toxic to humans tend to be toxic to our pets: Buckeye, Foxglove (a source of digitalis, and physicians are cautious regarding prescriptions for digitalis because of its risks), Holly berries, Mistletoe, Pennyroil oil, tobacco (no really very good for humans also),

This list is not complete by any means. People have needed kidney transplants or died from liver failure due to some herbs. Some herbs cause fetal abnormalities if the woman is pregnant. It is wise to be extremely cautious of herbal meds from other counties, especially China. There are often constituents in the herbal medication that are not listed on the label. A few years ago there was a great Senna tea for constipation. The label was very clear. It stated that the teabag should be removed from the tea within one minute. How many of you stand near you tea, stopwatch in hand? Tsk, Tsk! Many of those that didn’t – died. This was one time the FDA acted. It took this brand of tea off the market. You can still buy Senna tea.

Dr. Eisman is the author of Bitter Medicine. To purchase a copy, click HERE.

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