HouseCall: Vasectomy Risks, Digestive Itchiness, Zinc Testimonial, BP Symptoms, Dientamoeba, Exercise on CBO Protocol

Welcome back to our weekend Cabral HouseCall shows!

This is where we answer our community’s wellness, weight loss, and anti-aging questions to help people get back on track!

Check out today’s questions:

Hayley: Hi Dr. Cabral, I would love an opinion about vasectomies. I have read many men suffer side effects following the procedure, which isn’t really talked about. Are there long-term hormonal implications from interfering with the normal flow of things down there? Thanks so much!

Lizbeth: Hi Dr. Cabral, Thank you for all the knowledge that you keep sharing through your podcasts. I will forever be grateful for everything I am learning through your podcast! I finally decided to purchase the CBO protocol! What made me make the final decision was getting a skin reaction after dinner at a work-related event that I had to attend. None of my co-workers had it, and so I figured my body is definitely asking me to take care of this situation once and for all. I have always had a weak digestive system, but never had experienced rashes because of food consumption. These rashes also made me feel hot in those specific areas where the rash was happening. It did itch but I was not able to see any type of bump caused by it, only red skin. And I still get the itchy sensation after eating most meals. I do follow a very healthy diet, organic produce and meats, and Mediterranean style as you have suggested in other podcasts. Also, after that meal I suddenly gained a couple of pounds, and I can tell I am inflated because of how my watch and rings feel. I do have to say your team was extremely helpful in helping me make a choice to start at least with the CBO, and they suggested I contacted you as well to have a better idea of whether there are more steps I need to take besides the CBO Protocol. I have had h pylori in the past, and I have been concerned whether I have it again or no. I have listened to your how to leak a leaky gut in the past, as well as the one on food poisoning and H pylori, but I still can really put down the proper timeline of the products that I need to heal my body because I think I may need the intestinal cleanse. I know your upcoming book will have this info, but I would much rather not wait. I would think (for what I have heard you say) that I need the Healthy Belly, digestive enzyme, the intestinal cleanse and the CBO protocol, but for instance the CBO protocol already has the healthy belly and I have no idea if that bottle is all I need. Could you help me and guide me on whether or not I need an intestinal cleanse to heal my gut and the timeline on how to heal my digestive system? Thanks for your advice!

Anonymous: Stephen, thanks for your uplifting and informative podcasts! I get a lot of value from them. First I need to add a testimonial to your “super-nutrient of the week,” zinc, that you discussed on the March 2, 2018 podcast: I had extensive plantar warts on my toes for decades. I tried virtually all OTC remedies and liquid nitrogen at the MD’s office and none of these worked. Finally, a dermatology PA suggested I try oral zinc along with my OTC topical remedy. Having decided by experience the OTC topicals were useless, and the zinc dose she suggested was high (400 mg) the literature cites up to 600 mg/day, I took (only) like 200 mg zinc per day for several weeks. My decades-long infection with plantar warts went away. I went off the supplemental zinc and the infection did not recur. This personal nutritional medicine outcome is why I listen to your podcast. You can find scientific studies showing the effectiveness of Zn on Pubmed for example, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11952542 “Oral zinc sulfate in the treatment of recalcitrant viral warts: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.” However, you won’t find Zinc supplements in the plantar wart department at your drug store. Despite its effectiveness, its use doesn’t seem to be widespread. Zinc may have some special properties for viral infections, for example, the production of antiviral interferon. See http://piel-l.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Zin-en-verrugas-virales.pdf (You might be interested in the authors’ acknowledgment of the limitations of blood trace element analysis in diagnosis) Now, on to my question. (I’m hoping a naturopathy based therapy might help for my other medical problems) I’m 64 and suffered a heart attack about 12 years ago and had a stent implanted in my right coronary artery, Then I immediately changed my diet to a healthy plant-based one, and also do a moderate exercise program 5+ days a week and often do mindfulness meditation. For 95% of the 12 years since I have taken statins, blood pressure medicine and aspirin. My BMI is good, all blood-based testing is good, except lipids if off the statin. I drink alcohol moderately. Since the heart attack, I also have ED and pain/stiffness in calf muscles when walking. I also get some swelling in my ankle sometimes if walking or standing for a length of time. I also have some degree of plantar fasciitis Conventional medicine has me diagnosed with peripheral artery disease, based on ankle/wrist blood pressure ratio. I’m a little skeptical of this because many people show similar patterns in these pressures and are asymptomatic. My cardiologist doesn’t think I am at high risk for another heart attack. Generally, I feel great. I’ve recently gone off my statin to see if my calf stiffness problem will go away. So far no luck. While they were OK with an experiment, the MDs highly recommend staying on the statin. I think the literature overall indicates statins help reduce the likelihood of a second cardiovascular event, but it’s not like a silver bullet. My blood pressure is not terrible without the medication so I could go off it temporarily, or permanently if a natural method would give adequate reduction. Could you recommend a course of action that might help identify and treat the underlying cause(s) and symptoms? Are the symptoms all the result of systemic vascular disease? What would you recommend? I did hear you mention cayenne, ginger and argenine that might help my condition but you didn’t mention how much. I am sure there are many people with a similar set of symptoms. What do you think of Nobel prize winner Dr. Ignaro’s recommendation of argenine, citrulline, Vitamin C, E, folate, and lipoic acid? (published in “NO more heart disease” 2005) Thanks so much for any comments and keep up the great work!!!

Peta: Hello, My name is Peta, I’m 28 and live in Australia. I’m wondering if you would recommend I do a lab test first or go straight to one of your detoxes. My main concern was acne, and being tired a lot of the time. Acne is at its worst before my menstrual cycle (so maybe hormonal?) It is a lot better when I eat good fats and reduce sugar intake. However the past few months my bowel movements have changed – constipation and then diarrhoea and acne has worsened. My DR ran a blood test. Results say A mild thrombocytopenia (not sure what that is). The stool test detected Dientamoeba – the doctor said they are not sure if this is causing my symptoms and has prescribed antibiotics. Is this the best option? I am yet to take them. Thank you, Peta

Kathryn: Hi Dr. Cabral, I listen to your podcast every week after someone from my yoga teacher training told me about it. I find myself relating strongly to the questions from your house calls that deal with digestive issues. You always have the same advice, do the Candida & Bacterial Complete Protocol. My question is when is the best time to start this? for some background information about me (I’ll try to keep it short) I’m 33 years old and have had digestive issues for the better part of 5 years. For the first two years of this, I would get sick almost every time I ate, I was advised by doctors and dietitians to only eat what I didn’t have a reaction to which was almost everything. I was also told to eat chicken and eggs to get nutrients I might have been missing. for most of 2 years, I had every medical test done to check my gallbladder, my stomach, and intestines but the only thing found was legions on my stomach and an increased number of mast Cells in my stomach. my Doctor theorized I had an overactive immune system called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. I was put on medication and told again not to eat anything that I had a reaction to. I mostly ate potatoes and eggs for a year but saw no improvement. I eventually took my health in my own hands and became a plant based vegan eating mostly fruit. This helped a lot and the occurrence of my digestive problems reduced dramatically. I did this for about 6 months and started training for Ironman triathlons which had been a dream of mine. My coach said I needed to eat a mostly high fat diet, I tried this for a a few weeks but my symptoms returned. in the last 2 years I’ve stayed plant based vegan, but now I eat a more balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and starchy vegetables. it comes out to about 10-15% protein, 25-30% fat, and the remaining carbohydrates in the form of fruit or starchy vegetables. I’ve been seeing a naturopath for the past year and have done an organic acids test and food sensitivity test. As well as numerous blood tests to check nutrient levels and hormone levels. I never eat foods that I have a severe or moderate reaction to according to the food sensitivity test and very rarely eat foods that I have a mild reaction to and when I do it’s in very small amounts. The organic acids test showed that under yeast and fungal markers Arabinose, Carboxycitric, and Tricarballyllic are high being 50, 35, and .76 respectively. Under Bacterial markers Hippuric and 2-Hydroxyphenylacetic were high at 575 and .76. My naturopath suggested Candida and SIBO but instead of advising on how to treat it because I was in the midst of Ironman Training has instead been trying to correct my low nutrient levels with supplements even though I’m not absorbing them well despite sticking to my whole food lifestyle. I literally never have a cheat meal or day. I experience diarrhea and nausea about once or twice a week still and would really like to put my digestive problems behind me for good. Right now I’m taking a Heart Burn medicine for inflammation in my stomach, St. John’s Wort, HPA Stress Adapt, 10,000 IU Vitamin D3, Iron, and Liquid Vitamin B Complex, and probiotic. I’m again heavy in ironman training so I’m reluctant to start the protocol while training 12-15 hours a week. what amount of exercise do you recommend while doing the protocol? Is it an violable option for me during training? or would I need to reduce my exercising until I finish the protocol? I really appreciate your podcast and will be bringing this up to my naturopath the next time I see her. Thank You, Kathryn

Thank you for tuning into today’s Cabral HouseCall and be sure to check back tomorrow where we answer more of our community’s questions!