698. Q&A with Dr. Martin

THE DOCTOR IS IN Podcast


Dr. Martin answers questions sent in by our listeners.

Some of today’s topics include:

  • Vitamin D 
  • Protein intake post Reset
  • Balancing high pH
  • B12 by mouth or by shot
  • Treatment for diverticulitis
  • Optimizing your B12
  • Diabetics craving sugar
  • Citrulline malate for ED
  • Supplements for MS
  • High levels of ALT liver enzyme

Tune in to hear Dr. Martin’s responses!

TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S EPISODE

Announcer:  You're listening to The Doctor Is In Podcast, brought to you by MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.

Dr. Martin:  Good morning, everyone. Once again, welcome to another Live this morning here. Okay, here we go. Doreen is asking, "What if you're allergic to vitamin D?" You're weird. Now, Doreen, I'd have to ask you a couple of questions. Number one, how do you know if you're allergic to vitamin D? Two, are you allergic to the supplementation with vitamin D? Are you allergic to the sun, VitDerma? So those are questions I would ask you. Like some people that have lupus, for example, they're allergic to the sun. They can't go in the sun. They should be taking vitamin D, but the sun bothers them. Now that's a very rare thing. If you're talking about the supplement, Doreen, well, you better get your VitDerma when it's out. And if you live in Canada, you live in the Northern hemisphere, well, good luck with that.

Can I be honest with you, though? I've never heard of anyone and I'm sure there are, that are allergic to vitamin D, the supplement. I never heard of that. It's an essential vitamin. So it's a hormone. Your body makes vitamin D. Again, I have lots of questions, so I don't want to get into too much detail. Maybe ask me on the side or answer some of those questions for me. I can help you even better. And Barb's asking, this is about vitamin D, too. “What's the difference between vitamin D and vitamin D3?” While there's different forms of vitamin D in terms of supplements, there's D2, never take that. And if you go to even a pharmacy or health food store, and you're getting vitamin D, you really don't have to read the label anymore, as far as I think, I don't even think they sell vitamin D2.

I don't think you can even buy it now. Sometimes food companies will use vitamin D2 to enrich like bread or cereal, but vitamin D3 is the real vitamin D. And that's the one that you need to take. So to be honest, like I said, go look around. I don't think you can even buy vitamin D2 anymore. It's vitamin D3. Okay. In terms of supplementation and when the body produces, it doesn't produce vitamin D2, I'll tell you that, when you get in VitDerma, you get vitamin D3. Okay? Good questions, though they are, because I want you to think, I want you to be sure. 

Penny, another one on vitamin D. So let's get vitamin D right off the top. Penny's talking about vitamin D as topical in an ointment type of thing for your skin. I’ve seen a few. I like the sun on your skin. You want healthy skin? Get in the sun. Don't burn. I've known people, especially my generation and I guess even in the younger, because they've made the sun the boogeyman. People don't go in the sun. They think, oh, it ages my skin. Guys, nothing can be farther from the truth. VitDerma, the sun, does not age your skin. 

Now, if you burn in it, don't go burning in it. Vitamin D topically, I don't know. I've never used it. I'm not sure. I like VitDerma. Plus I like Revera, our skin product. That's formulated just for the Martin Clinic, because it uses a specialty ingredient that I love the most is pine bark extract, tremendous for the skin inside and out. Whenever you look at skin, guys, you can spend a lot of money topically, but skin is an organ. It's your largest organ, the one you can see. But if you want healthy skin, you got to start inside and especially in the gut. Okay. Especially in the gut. Very, very, very good questions. 

Now Jenny, “Post Reset, how much protein should I eat?” Well, Jenny, here's the answer as much as you like. I won't give you numbers. I'm not into numbers. I'm not into calories. I'm not into numbers when it comes to food. When you were eating The Reset, Jenny, you noticed there was no numbers. Eat certain foods, eggs, meat, and cheese, stick to the animal kingdom. When you come out of The Reset, you can add some plant kingdom. The kingdom I want you to stay away from is the man-made food kingdom, okay? Your crappy carbs, your fast food. Those are man-made stuff. As much as you can, stay away from that. Animal protein is king. Dairy protein, eggs, meat, cheese, these are perfect foods. There's no number to them. 

Now, the good thing is when you have a nutrient dense food, Jenny, you're not hungry. Read the testimonies of people that have done The Reset. It's meant to give you the best fuel. When you have that kind of fuel, you're not hungry because every cell in your body is getting the nutrients it needs. Inside of your cells you have a little battery pack there, it's called a mitochondria. It releases ATP, fuel. But it's only going to release the ATP that you feed it. So when you feed it nature's perfect food, high protein, healthy fat, eggs, meat, and cheese. It's not counting. If you're still hungry, eat more. If you're not hungry, stop. And post Reset you can have some plants, a little bit of fruit, have some vegetables. No problem. You're not going to hear me give you a numbers on how much protein you should eat. That's a recipe for failure. Count numbers, count calories, count points. This food is worth two points. I can only have how many points in a day. I don't like that. To be honest, I don't like it. There's no points here. Eat the right fuel. Very good question. 

Aaron, “If you have a high pH, how do you balance it?” Well, first of all, Aaron, what do you mean by that, a high pH? As I've explained in the past, pH in your body is very, very tightly regulated in your blood. Everything in your body keeps your pH slightly alkaline. You have a buffering system, so when people say you have an acidic diet, it's really not true. It isn't true because think of something acidic, tomatoes. Tomatoes, they're acidic. Yep, they are. But not when they get inside your body because your body buffers it. It releases sodium bicarbonate, baking soda to make you alkaline. That's why tomatoes are good for you after the Reset. 

There's a reason I don't let you have it during the Reset for 30 days, but you can have tomatoes. You like tomatoes, go for it. Oh they're a nightshade. I don't like that. I don't like that. That was a theory. It's like last Friday, I brought to you Eating for Your Blood Type. Guys, that's a hypothesis, it's not science. The nightshades, don't eat tomatoes and potatoes and... Nah. Look, if they bother you, don't eat them. I agree with that. But I'm not big on that, I really am not. I want you to cut out the crap out of your diet, cut out the junk, cut out the sugar, cut out the breads and the noodles and that kind of stuff. But it's not acidic in that sense. 

So it's not that I don't measure pH. In my days in the office, I did the urine pH. There is a reason I did urine pH, why? Because in the morning I always had patients bring me first morning, urine. Why did I do that? I did it for a lot of reasons, but one of the reasons was to check the pH of the urine. You see, your first morning urine should be very acidic. That means your body's detoxing. You're getting rid of garbage overnight. And so your first morning urine should be highly acidic. Not alkaline, you don't want your urine to be alkaline. It will become more alkaline as you eat and drink water and whatever. But I used to look at pH of the urine for that reason. When you go and all the gurus on the social media and whatever, “Oh that red meat is acidic.” No, it's not. No it's not. Not when it gets inside your body, it's not acidic, it's not. Thanks for the question though. 

Laurie's asking a question about B12. "Is taking B12 better to have as a shot or a supplement by mouth?" Very good question. And I think somebody else is asking another one about B12, hold on a minute, Nancy too. So let me answer two questions about B12. One B12, better by shot or by mouth. Well, first of all, B12 shots, doctors in the 50s, even in the 1960s, that was so common to get a B12 shot. You're tired, come here, get them to give you a B12 shot. And when you take B12 as a supplement, it has to be a methylcobalamin, and it dissolves. You know what they're finding? Studies have shown that if you want to increase your B12 levels in your blood, it's better if you do it on a daily basis than... I guess you could take a B12 shot. Not going to kill you. It's good for you, but it's so much more convenient to take a supplement. 

So when they developed the dissolvable B12, that doesn't have to go through your gut in the mouth... I like topping up B12. I've talked to you almost without ceasing about the importance of B12, the vitamin B12. You can't live without it. You'll never live properly without good levels of B12. That's just the fact B12 is found in red meat. It's not found in chicken. It's not found in the plant kingdom. It's found in the animal kingdom and very specifically in red meat, and it's essential. That's why when someone tells you... I don't care what guru it is because let me, before I answer the other question on B12, somebody asked me right at the end. Mary is T-M-A-O, TMAO is that harmful to your health? Well, one person said it was, it's a byproduct of when you eat a steak, you get TMAO. How can it be bad for you? How can red meat be bad for you? How? 

Think about this for a minute. If B12 is only found in red meat, you'll never being healthy without B12, not fully, you can't. Because your body relies on B12. Your nervous system relies on B12. Your immune system relies on B12. Your brain relies on B12. Your blood vessels rely on B12 because B12 helps open your blood vessels, relaxes your blood vessels in the form of nitric oxide. How on God's earth can red meat be bad for you? “Well doc, it makes TMAOs.” So what, what's that? Somebody said it was bad. Well, other people have said, "Well, it causes cancer." 95% of gurus will tell you not to eat red meat. Dieticians will tell you to limit your red meat. Cancer doctors will tell you to limit your red meat because... “I read a study by a vegetarian and it's hard on your heart.” Cardiologists will tell you not to eat red meat because it's full of saturated fat. Saturated. Saturated means it's loaded with fat. That's what saturated... Saturated, guys hate to break the news to you. It's the best food in the world. Nothing's better than red meat. Not only B12, it has heme iron. Has the essential amino acids. I could go on and on and on and on and on and on. So don't believe it, guys, don't believe those lies. Eat your vitamin S. 

Look what Cheryl says, "I have a severe bout of diverticulitis treated with Cipro, which is an antibiotic." Oh, I don't like Cipro. "I'm still not well. And I've researched food." You see? "And it says no fat and no red meat." Cheryl, I love you, I do. I don't know you, but I love you. Cheryl diverticulitis, is little pouches in the transverse colon. It's very common today. And when you get diverticulitis, it's no fun. Diverticulosis is no fun. Diverticulitis is seriously no fun. And you can die from it because you could get sepsis from all that ca-ca going into those little pouches and becoming infected. But you know what? You're not going to read this anywhere else as far as I know, but I'm going to tell you what causes it. 

Why do women, 95% get diverticulosis and not men? I'm waiting. It's a question. It's not a trick question. Well, maybe it's a trick question. It's a trick question for the world, but not for you guys. Salad, fiber. “We can't live without fiber, Doc!” brought to you by the cereal companies. You got to have fiber. You're not a rabbit. Ladies, you're not a rabbit. Cheryl, you're not a rabbit. You don't have four stomachs like a cow that eat grass. Salad is glorified grass. It's full of fiber. You're eating too much fiber, it'll irritate your gut. You ever eat spinach and you get it caught in your teeth? You had a salad and you got spinach caught in your teeth, you ever had that? You go in the mirror in the bathroom at the restaurant and you go, "Oh, gee, I didn't know I had that. I'd been talking for 10 minutes with something in between my teeth, it's spinach." 

Guess what gets caught in those little diverticulosis pouches? Spinach. Guys, I am telling you, it's not red meat that causes diverticulosis. And it's not red meat that's going to make your diverticulosis worse. I'm telling you guys, vegetarianism and veganism is religion, guys. It's not science. And they will push it and push it and push it till the cows come home. I'm telling you, and it's not true, Cheryl, it's the opposite. You want to heal your diverticulosis, get off the fibers, do The Reset. It gets you away from the lectins and the oxalates and the gluten and the fibers that irritate the gut. I wish I was opinionated. Okay? 

And then Nancy, I knew there was another question on B12. “What causes high B12 on blood work panels?” Well, you want high B12. You see there's two schools on B12. There is the traditional school that hardly recognizes B12. They used to, but for the last 40 years or so, B12, doctors get no training in it. They used to, they used to talk about the intrinsic factor and B12 deficiencies, if you take Metformin, for example, a diabetic medication, you're going to be low in B12, 100%. You take any medication, you're going to be low in B12. And remember, B12 blood work is a hundred years old. We should have a birthday party for it and put it to bed because it's miscalculation. It's like vitamin D, they miscalculate it. It's bad math. And B12 is the same, it's bad math. 

We've learned so much more about B12 than we used to know and how important it is. And I want it optimized, optimize your B12, get it up high. I like 800, 1200, if it's over that, stop taking a supplement, eat red meat. You'll never overdose on steak, ever. But sometimes you need to supplement because you can't digest and you're older and you're a senior and you can't masticate. You can't break down the red meat. Every senior in the universe is low in B12, just about. That's a blanket statement, but I stick by it. They need more of it. They need high B12 and high vitamin D. The waiting rooms in the emergency departments are not full of people with high B12. “I know why you're here, your B12 is high. You're going to die.” No. Oh, I know why you're here, your vitamin D is high. You're going to die. No, you're going to live. You need that. Oh, okay. Nancy, thanks for the questions.

Marcy, why did diabetics crave sugar so much? Well, because usually they're on meds and they're taking insulin and insulin's job is to take sugar out of your bloodstream so, they often fluctuate and get into hypoglycemia, low levels of blood sugar, and they're going to crave sugar. The worst thing you can feed yourself is sugar because your body does everything it can to regulate sugar. Sugar can't stay in your bloodstream. So when insulin, especially if you're taking it as a drug, it will oftentimes lower the blood sugars too much. And you crave sugar and even type 1 diabetics do much better when they live on steak and eggs and cheese, they do much better.

Liliana, “I want the doctor's opinion regarding citrulline malate for ED.” One of the things for ED, what causes it? It's a microcirculation problem. It's the little capillaries and you need a couple of things to restore that. One of them is B12, the other one I love is pine bark extract because of what it does to the capillaries and elevates nitric oxide. Nitric oxide opens, relaxes your blood vessels. Citrulline malate, on its own nah, but one of the things that destroys your capillaries… The first thing that happens when sugar is left in the bloodstream, and even at normal, high normal rates, it starts to destroy capillaries. You see, this is why diabetics, they have trouble with their eyes, it's capillaries. They have trouble with their kidneys, it's capillaries. They have trouble, men do with ED. It's capillaries. They attach your arteries to your vein, they're so tiny. But the first thing that get destroyed is capillaries, microcirculation. That's why The Reset, it helps that so much guys. 

Anonymous, “What supplements do you recommend for MS?” Well, MS, autoimmune starts leaky gut, leaky brain, it's yeast in the brain, MS. Well established, vitamin D, probiotics, high DHA. Somebody asked about a DHA question. Let me get to that and then we'll come back. "My parents recently started taking DHA and probiotics and the doctor said, stop." Oh, they're too strong for your body. That was Lenise. This is the message I give to them, you can tell this to your parents, Lenise. When they want advice on DHA and probiotics, first of all, check with me, but they'd be better off... Do they have a plumber? You're going to get better advice from your plumber than their doctor when it comes to probiotics and DHA. 

Well your brain's made up of DHA, why wouldn't your parents take DHA? I do. I have fish every day in the capsule. I had them this morning already. I want to preserve my brain. Your brain's made up of fat, DHA fat. There's so many studies on high DHA guys, I'm telling you, I could give you 200 studies on DHA and the benefits just for your brain. Nevermind what it does for your heart, what it does for your joints, what it does for your eyes, what it does for your skin. DHA. Omega-3, all of it is good. DHA is the Cadillac, the Lamborghini, how's that, for young people. We used to say, this is the Cadillac, okay, well the Lamborghini of omega-3 is DHA. Are you having fun? Lenise, I wish I could talk to their doctor just for five seconds, but they don't take it in school. Probiotic, my word, you should see the studies on probiotics and what it does. And getting back to MS, yeast comes out of the gut travels into the brain, and that's what MS is in my humble opinion. It's a yeast infection in the brain that causes plaque and sclerosis in four areas of the brain in MS patients. I've been screaming that for 40 years and nobody's listening. Well you guys are, I think. 

Francis, “What do I think of teeth whitening gel?” Look guys, if it's all chemical, just use baking soda. You want to whiten your teeth, try not to use garbage, chemical. We get enough of that stuff. So if it's chemicals, you can't pronounce it, I wouldn't put it in your mouth.

Janet, "Dr. Martin, what do you have to do to clean out your blood vessels? I'm on The Reset." You are cleaning them out. You want to clean out your blood vessels? Remember the Rodney Dangerfield of your vitamins is vitamin K2. K1, salad. K2, eggs, meat, and cheese, mostly in cheese curds and butter. Vitamin K2 takes calcium out of your blood. When you're on The Reset, you're doing a detox of your liver. Six days it'll empty it. Six days on the road, and I'm going to empty my liver tonight. You remember that song? No, but guys, listen, you empty your liver when you stop eating garbage and stop eating sugar. Empty your liver on The Reset, then you'll clean your blood because the liver detoxifies, you're going to make glutathione, which is Velcro when you have an empty liver, when you have a clean liver and somebody asked, let me make this the last one. Because I saw this one, I forgot it. I, somebody was asking about ALT. 

“Oh, Doc, what's it mean if I have high levels of ALT?” Sorry, I can't remember who was asking. Oh, here it is. "What do you do for high ALT?" ALT or liver enzymes? It's a marker that you got liver damage if they're real high. Fatty liver perhaps, cirrhosis of the liver and someone else is asking too, by the way. And that was Barbara. Someone was asking about how long does it take to reverse damage? Like if you got cirrhosis of the liver, can you reverse it? The liver is amazing, it's amazing. It's an organ that if you cut in half, it can grow back. You can't live without it. Now, is it reversible? I've seen it happen. Alcoholics with severe cirrhosis of the liver, they stopped drinking and they survived. Not all of them, though. Because sometimes the liver is too far gone. But if you got an elevated ALT you got liver problems, you need to do The Reset, number one. 

Good questions today, guys. We appreciate it very much. Next week, just a little housekeeping here. Next Wednesday if you haven't signed up for it, we're going to do a webinar. You get Tony Jr. for a couple of hours and daddy alongside him. Should be fun. Tell your friends. We're going to go over some basics. And I think you'll really appreciate it. So if you haven't signed up for that, I think it's Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. Join us for a webinar. You can sign up. Where? If you get an email, I know you can sign up there, but I'm going to get Brandi, Nic, and Ginette or whatever to put that up on our private Facebook group too. We'd love for you to sign up. So I didn't get to all of the questions, just about. But we appreciate that. So send in your questions for question and answer Friday, which is always a popular program and we appreciate it very much, guys. So we'll talk to you soon.

Announcer:  You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In Podcast, with your hosts, Doctor Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening!

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