HouseCall: Interstitial Cystitis, Parathyroid, Food Combining Smoothies, Décolletage Lines, Vitreal Macular Traction, Supplement Dosing, Red Dots, Fascia Blaster

I’m excited to bring you our first Cabral #HouseCall of the weekend where I share answers to our community’s wellness, weight loss, and anti-aging questions!

Here are today’s Q&A topics:

Jodi: Hi Dr. Cabral, Love your podcasts. I started listening about a month ago and I’m learning a lot. What are your thoughts on the new fascia blaster that is being advertised to break up cellulite? I’m wondering if I should purchase one. What are other ideas to eliminate cellulite? Thanks, Jodi

Anonymous: Hi Dr. Cabral, my mom and I both have little red dots, primarily on our arms. Some are the size of a pinhead and some like the tip of a ballpoint pen. They look like red freckles. My mom has had them all my life and I’ve had them for at least 20 years. Any idea what causes these and how to get rid of them? Thank you so much for any light you can shed on this topic.

Anonymous: Hi Dr. Cabral -I love your podcasts and appreciate the amount of helpful information you give on a daily basis! Two questions: 1. You mentioned in another podcast that not every person can take a probiotic depending on other internal issues. What if you don’t know whether your child has one of those? Is it better not to give them at all or is it safe to give them daily? My child takes a gummy by Renew Life called Ultimate Flora with 3 billion daily and I’m concerned I’m doing more harm than good. Thoughts? Also if okay to take – do you know if this is a good quality option? 2. I loved your interview with Sara Gottfried – have been reading her book Younger, which is excellent and following her work. I believe I read on a recent post of Sara’s that she is recovering from breast cancer. Part of me feels discouraged that a functional medicine doctor with access to all of the preventative tests, information and resources — and who has been following the best possible protocol for over 10 years — can still end up with breast cancer. I would like your thoughts on this. I think very highly of her and her work and wish her a full recovery and this is by no means a criticism of her work or of her. It just left me questioning if there just isn’t a way to prevent disease even if you do everything possible to get it “right”,

Michelle: Hi Dr. Cabral – I have a few questions that are inter-related. I just purchased The Daily Support and wonder the following: 1. Would I as a 105-pound woman use two scoops and my husband at 200 pounds using the same amount every morning or should we adjust based on weight? 2. Am I getting all of my daily vitamins with it only if use the two scoops? 3. If I’m deficient in Bs and Ds is it okay to take an additional supplement? If so, when would I take them? 4. You suggest using it for morning and afternoon shakes – is it possible to take in too many vitamins during a day? I know certain vitamins build up and others like C don’t so don’t want to take too many or too little. 5. Is it safe to take a daily liver detox that your supplement contains or isn’t this something you do once a quarter? Thanks!

Lisa: Hi Dr. Cabral, I’m so overjoyed to have found you and your podcast! I’m hooked! Your teachings, insights, and dedication are a blessing in my life. Thanks so much for all you do. I have a question regarding CBD and eye health. I was diagnosed with Vitreal Macular Traction in my left eye in October of 2013 (a piece of the macula stuck to the vitreous). I’m in good shape, with no major health issues outside of mild IBS which I manage with diet and probiotics so I was shocked to have this happen. I can see out of the eye, just can’t read out of it which is so depressing. Although there’s a surgery and gel injection for VMT it isn’t always successful and can lead to a permanent black spot on the eye. To support eye healing, I shifted my diet to mostly vegetarian with occasional chicken and salmon at least once a week. Many people with VMT heal spontaneously, so I’m (still) hoping that will be me. My question is this: I have read a few articles stating that people taking CBD for other health issues, had their Macular Degeneration healed as a by-product. Could you speak to the potential for healing of eye dis-ease with a CBD protocol? Many thanks!

Ava: Hello.. a vain question more than a health one.. I have noticed deeper and more visible creases on my chest area (Decolletage Lines) and I really don’t want them to get worse, even more so I’d like to get rid of them without injection/laser. Do you have any tips? I am mid-thirties and these lines are making me v self conscious. Thank you v much for your insight.

Ciara: Hi Dr. Cabral, I have some questions about episode 481 concerning food combining. I’ve been studying nutrition and holistic health for several years now and I really loved your breakdown about proper food combining. A lot of this information is consistent with what I’ve studied and I’ve incorporated what makes the most sense to me. I typically eat fruit on its own or in a green smoothie. What is your opinion on combining sweet and sub-acid fruits with leafy greens in a smoothie, as the food has already been predigested? I’ve read that leafy greens and fruit combine well together, but I just recently heard that this is a bad combination and only apples will mix well in a green smoothie. Also, your Daily Fruit & Vegetable Blend supplement contains similar combinations. How does this product demonstrate proper food combining?

Britney: Hi Dr. Cabral, I listened to your podcast on the thyroid, which prompted me to ask about the parathyroid. I went to the Dr. for lab work and my parathyroid hormone level was high and my calcium level was high by 1 point. They ran the numbers again 2 weeks later and the parathyroid number had lowered and was slightly outside of the reference range. My calcium had gone down by a tenth of a point. The only things that I changed between the first test and the second were eating a bit more iodine because I thought that I had a thyroid issue, and I began taking one of your daily supplements. I was advised to see an Endocrinologist and I haven’t had my appointment yet. I’ve tried not to read too many resources because some of what I have read has made me nervous. My Vitamin D is lower than the reference range and my LDL is slightly high. All other numbers were fine for my annual physical. Do Vitamin D and LDL play a role in a high parathyroid number? Do I need more calcium or am I lacking it? Which foods are helpful to lower the parathyroid number? Will foods/supplements keep my levels normal or will these levels need to be maintained constantly? Are any of the foods that are helpful to the thyroid also helpful to the parathyroid?

Thomas Brunhart: Hello, I found the Cabral Concept podcast a few weeks ago and love it. I have listened to many not all of the episodes. I am trying to have this email read on housecalls. Not sure if this proper way to do that or if there is a different website for that. I am a 42 year old male with Interstitial cystitis. I was diagnosed 5 years ago. It started pretty much overnight. I am otherwise very healthy. I am 6′ 2 ” and 175 pounds. I swim 3-4 times a week and go to the gym for weight training. I have tried many different treatments for my IC. I have tried stem cell treatment, was on a high dose of antibiotics for 1-2 months, I had my bladder stretched, tried Elmiron. The only thing so far that seems to have helped a bit was the first bladder stretching and going on a completely anti-inflammatory diet. I eat little to no gluten and processed sugars. I started taking CBD oil about 8 weeks ago can not say it changed much. However that said living with IC is still a nightmare. I am told there is no cure and would love your opinion or thoughts on the topic. Thank you, Thomas

Thank you for listening and I’ll be back with another HouseCall tomorrow so stay tuned!