Taken from his book Nutritional Medicine: Fact & Fiction
Introduction
by Christine Sutherland
of the Lifeworks Group, Perth, Western Australia
Since discovering the work of Safe Harbor, we began to arrive at a much greater appreciation of the medical causes or medical influences on mental disorders, or seeming mental disorders. We then commenced a search to locate a qualified medical practitioner with the depth and breadth of biochemical knowledge and applications which we required to assist us to provide the best possible care for our clients.
We found Dr Igor Tabrizian, a general practitioner in Perth, Western Australia, specializing in nutritional investigation and treatment. Dr Tabrizian is leading the way to the practice of what I call “sane medicine”: away from inappropriate pharmacotherapy and toward an informed and intelligent investigation and treatment of the patient’s unique biochemistry.
I have a personal reason for my commitment to Dr Tabrizian’s work. When you read the excerpt from his book, printed below, you will see his description of a typical example of the effects of Estrogen dominance. When I first read it I cried: from both sadness and rage. My own history is very much like that one: losing 6 babies, gall bladder removed in an emergency operation aged only 33, severe post-natal psychosis after the birth of a female baby and total inability to bond, and thyroid malfunction. And none of it needed to happen. What should have been glaringly obvious was completely overlooked. And how could it be any other way? This stuff is not taught to doctors in medical school. The only comprehensive biochemistry or pharmacotherapy they learn comes straight from the pharmaceutical companies.
Medicine must get sane. Doctors must be taught thorough biochemistry. We need to promote the work of doctors like Igor Tabrizian because they are true champions of health.
Dr Tabrizian’s web site is: www.nutritionreviewservice.com.au
Lifeworks’ web site is: www.lifeworks-group.com.au
Nutritional Medicine: Fact & Fiction
Dr Igor Tabrizian
“Warning: This book contains explicit biochemical pathways and therefore is not suitable for doctors.” Dr Igor Tabrizian
Chapter 8
Strangers in the night: Xenoestrogens and health.
What is Estrogen dominance? This refers to the balance of Estrogen and progesterone. In a normal menstrual cycle (see Fig 1 – not shown in this extract) Estrogen is the dominant hormone up until ovulation day (usually day 14). Then progesterone is the dominant hormone until the period. Progesterone rises to increase the store of Magnesium, Zinc and Vitamin B6. It also brings down the copper, which has gradually risen to a mid-cycle peak. Overall there is no net gain of copper, if progesterone kicks in properly. If there is a lack of Progesterone (see Fig 2 – not shown in this extract), then Magnesium, Zinc and B6 tend to be low and copper tends to rise.
Another example is the oral contraceptive pill. The Estrogens in these pills do have Estrogenic effects, but the progesterone (being synthetic) tends not to have true progesterone effect (see Fig 4 – not shown in this extract). Another version of Estrogen dominance. This explains why zinc and magnesium fall and why copper rises while on the OCP (oral contraceptive pill).
John R Lee’s work in the 80’s on Estrogen dominance was largely ignored by the medical fraternity. The suggestion has been made that they were caught up in the glossy hype generated by pharmaceutical companies pushing Estrogen therapies. His premise was that even without a uterus, the women still needed progesterone. This was never really accepted despite the expanding body of evidence that Estrogen dominance would have been directly responsible for the woman’s hysterectomy! By giving Estrogen only therapy, the doctor was perpetuating the hormone imbalance. His suggestion that natural progesterone was a better treatment was shunned because Progesterone was not patentible (not chic enough) and hence not lucrative enough. His work too the issue to an important level but clearly just giving progesterone creams did not always solve the clinical problems, which were quite diverse in symptoms (see list below). His original observations on women with Estrogen only HRT (hormone replacement therapy) were expanded to include women on the oral contraceptive (see Fig 3 & 4 – not shown in this extract). His assumption was that the lack of progesterone in the second half of the menstrual cycle was due to pesticide exposure of the foetus in utero (while still in the womb). This observation was just the tip of the iceberg and maybe it was the lack of encompassing data that turned away many medicos.
Now despite what doctors may think they may be prescribing, all HRT is unopposed Estrogen. It has the mentality of unopposed Estrogen. It has the biochemistry of unopposed Estrogen. It has the side effects of unopposed Estrogen. Some doctors have claimed that their “special” synthetic progesterone is the real thing. If you want the truth, ask them who pays for their conferences and publishing costs. The disappointing results from natural progesterone were due to the fact that the legacy of copper excess was not addressed just by giving progesterone.
The effect of Xenoestrogens in the body is to shift the baseline of total Estrogen level upwards (see Fig 5 – not shown in this extract). The effect on copper is that it never returns to the starting point by day 28. Hence the connection between Xenoestrogens, Estrogen only HRT and copper excess.
List of Estrogen Dominance Symptoms
Acceleration of aging
Agitation or Anxiety
Allergy (asthma, hives, rashes, sinus congestion)
Autoimmune disorders Lupus, Thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s)
Breast cancer (men and women)
Breast tenderness with period
Cervical dysplasia (abnormal pap smear)
Cold hands and feet
Copper excess
Decreased sex drive
Depression with anxiety or agitation
Dry eyes
Endometriosis
Fat gain around abdomen hips and thighs
Fatigue
Fibrocystic (lumpy breasts)
Fibroids
Foggy thinking
Gall bladder disease
Hair loss
Headaches
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar esp. 3-4 pm)
Increased blood clotting
Infertility
Irregular menstrual periods
Irritability
Insomnia
Magnesium deficiency
Memory loss
Mood swings
Osteoporosis
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cysts
PMS/PMT
Polycystic ovaries
Pre-menopausal bone loss
Prostrate cancer (in men)
Sluggish metabolism
Thyroid dysfunction
Uterine cancer
Water retention, bloating
Zinc deficiency
Since that time it has become clear that many chemicals behave as Estrogens. What is also clear is that we are exposed to these all our lives, not just in the womb. This group of compounds have been called the Xenoestrogens. Xeno is the Greek word for stranger, hence the comment about strangers in the night. The list is represented below. These are chemicals which are cumulative in some instances and increase in quantity in the body as we get older. One of the effects of Xenoestrogens is to reduce the excretion rate of copper from the body. All estrogens cause copper accumulation, xenoestrogens look like estrogens to our biochemistry and hence also cause copper retention. These patients have very high copper levels. These Xenoestrogens (especially the pesticides) over time have progressively been classed as carcinogens. The combination of high copper (which disables iron, zinc, Vitamin C and Vitamin E) and intracellular carcinogens may explain the more unpleasant problems in this list.
List of the Xenoestrogens
Pesticides (DDT, DDE, 2,4,T, Dioxin, Dieldrin, endosulfan, methoxychlor, kepone, toxaphene, chloropicrin etc)
Petroleum products (car fumes, methlybenzene, toluene, benzene, styrene, pyrene)
Plastics (PVC, PCB’s biphenyl, nonylphenyl, octaphenyl, lunch wraps etc)
Hormones: a. From Doctors (OCP & HRT), b. From poultry industry and antibiotics in animal feed
How would this problem manifest? Let’s take a typical example. A young girl is born. She is a difficult child. Fussy eater, poor sleep pattern, lots of colds. She loves chicken and craves chocolate. She has trouble with her periods from almost the onset of menstruation. They are irregular and painful and she suffers PMT. Her doctor puts her on the oral contraceptive to suppress ovulation and this seems to quieten things down. Eventually she comes off the pill to start a family. Her periods take 6 months to resume and they are worse than ever. She has trouble conceiving because the pill has depleted her zinc levels. She is low in progesterone and loses a few pregnancies at multiples of 4 weeks (4, 8, 12, 16). She eventually gets pregnant but her copper accumulates and she develops postnatal depression. Her baby is zinc deficient and probably has excess copper.
She tries for another baby but this time she can’t because she’s developed endometriosis. Answer: the oral contraceptive. She starts to gain weight, starts to get depressed, then her skin changes. Her face develops a reddish tinge. Then she develops anxiety symptoms. She is told this is anxiety/panic disorder causing her depression and is put onto antidepressants, but these don’t help her tiredness. Then she finds out that she’s iron deficient, but she can’t raise her iron levels with supplements. Then she’s told she’s got an under active thyroid and needs thyroid replacement. Still no real improvement in energy.
After a few years of this purgatory of health, she goes off the pill and develops heavy periods. She finds out that now she also has fibroids and consents to hysterectomy. Then she discovers that her Estrogen levels are low. Then the punch line. “You don’t have uterus, therefore you don’t need progesterone”. She starts Estrogen only HRT. Despite complaining of breast tenderness, she is told to continue. One day one of the painful lumps in her breast is brought to her doctor’s attention. She has a mammogram, then a biopsy. The pathology shows breast cancer. She has a lumpectomy with axillary node clearance. Her tumour is Estrogen receptor positive. So then it starts. Chemo then tamoxifen. Five years later she gets a terrible pain in the back. She has spinal metastases. More chemo. Then liver secondaries.
Sorry, not much more medicine can do, we’ve really done our best. We’ve followed the book; every single health recommendation. Oh, and by the way, don’t go near those natural therapists. They have no idea of how to help you. End of story.
This case represents the full house of Xenoestrogens symptoms, and unfortunately many of the patients with breast cancer have some version of this story. Do you think that the medical professional would accept any blame for these events? Do you think that the Health Authorities would be interested in checking copper levels or Xenoestrogens? Recently it was found that Alcoa was burning compounds in its liquor burner that released a multitude of chemical in to the atmosphere. Guess what class of compound these were? Yep, all Xenoestrogens. Recently PCB’s were found in drain water near a toxic waste plant in the Perth metropolitan area. Guess what class of compound PCB’s are? Yep, Xenoestrogens again.
Do you think that the pharmaceutical companies who make oral contraceptives, HRT or chemotherapy stand to lose or gain if doctors were made aware of these problems? No, it’s probably all just a conspiracy theory with no evidence whatsoever. Or is it …..?
References
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