743. 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:

  • Creatinine levels
  • Uric acid & the kidneys
  • Oxalates
  • Alkalizing of urine
  • Instant coffee vs brewed
  • Scleroderma
  • Birth control with estrogen
  • Reducing bilirubin
  • Thyroid nodules
  • Benefits of pork
  • Bile salts

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:  Well, good morning everyone. Welcome to another Live. Our Question and Answer Friday. Hope you're having a great start to your day, and we can't wait to get to your questions. We appreciate you so, so much. Okay. Francis is asking about creatinine levels in your blood work. Well, what should they be? They should be normal. You can google the numbers, Francis. Because if your blood work isn't flagged, as far as your creatinine, but what is creatinine? What's the test for? It really is to test for what they call kidney function test, or kidney flow-through test. And that's an important test. Absolutely. But Francis, I am going to tell you this… Kidneys, kidneys, kidneys. You usually have three or maybe four possible things that bother a kidney. 

Number one on the hit parade is dehydration. Now, I say this a lot, but again, I'll tell it to you again, your kidneys are like Niagara Falls, and your kidneys work on water. Number one. The number one problem in kidneys not clearing properly. Remember, your kidneys, you're peeing out bad stuff. Now, remind me, if I don't do it, someone put their hand up and say, "You forgot to mention something, because somebody else asks another question about..." Well there are actually just two more questions about kidneys. So I'm going to get to those right at the top of the program. Okay? There's two other questions about kidneys. 

So number one problem with kidneys is water, or a lack of it. Now, your kidneys are not going to be destroyed overnight if you're dehydrated, but chronic dehydration is extremely hard on the kidneys. Kidneys filter out garbage. You're getting rid of stuff, and you want to keep your kidneys flowing with water. Niagara Falls. It never gets turned off. There's no switch at Niagara Falls, they go and they push a button, "Oh, the Falls have stopped." No, it's just 24 hours a day, water goes over there. Think of your kidneys. And only water is water for your kidneys. Nothing else is water. So number one is water. Chronic dehydration. And the vast majority of people are chronically-dehydrated. They don't drink enough water, they eat too much sugar, which really destroys your electrolytes. And with a bad diet, a second thing happens, and that's number two on the list, is insulin, sugar, bad eating. How does that affect my kidneys? 

Well, here's the answer. When sugar stays in the bloodstream too long, and you develop a condition called insulin resistance, the first thing that it affects is little capillaries. Capillaries attach your arteries and your veins. And they're so tiny, but that's number one, when you're a bad eater. That affects your kidneys. Ask a diabetic. Look, one of the number one epidemics today is dialysis. It used to be rare, but today, they got more places for dialysis because people's kidneys are not working. And you die when your kidneys are not working, because you become toxic. You're not getting rid of your toxins.So sugar, if you don't think it's destructive, then I'm sorry. I can't help you. But it's extremely toxic on your kidneys. And sugar, in just a side note, causes high blood pressure, not salt. Don't blame salt for what sugar is doing. It's not salt that makes your blood pressure go... Well, one way it will, if you consume garbage with a lot of salt in it, and you don't drink water, thickens your blood, and then, you can get high blood pressure. But it's not the salt. It's the lack of water. So kidneys, it's very important you drink water, you avoid blood sugar. 

And the question was asked, because we have another question. Let me see if I can find it fast. Oh, Teresa. "Dr. Martin, discuss how uric acid affects the kidneys." Well, someone that gets kidney stones, there's two possible stones that you would get in your kidneys, oxalates, somebody asked me a question about that too, and uric acid stones. Uric acid. Look, everybody makes uric acid, okay? So you're a human being, you make uric acid. It's a byproduct, guys, of fructose. You make uric acid, everybody does. The problem is when you don't clear uric acid out of your body. That's when it becomes a problem. And the number one reason is because, and that's why we see so much gout today, and kidney stones that are uric acid, is that people insist on eating high fructose corn syrup. The scourge in our society today. People don't realize how they're elevating their uric acid. So again, it comes back to food. Oxalates. I'm going to answer a question because somebody asked about oxalates. Let me answer it right now.

Kevin and Kim asked a question, "What about oxalates? There's a lot of buzz right now about them causing issues, and should be avoided." Well, I write about that, Kevin and Kim, in my book, The Reset. One of the reasons I take you off vegetables is because of oxalates. I want you not to produce any oxalates for 30 days. So oxalates come primarily, yeah, chocolate, but mostly from vegetables. So I always tell people don't live on vegetables, because you're making way too many oxalates. One can be fructose from high fructose corn syrup, number one. I mean fruit, look, God's candies are good. Okay? Don't drink it, don't drink any fruit. You can have a few fruits, I'm not against that. Don't live on bananas, and it's not an apple a day keeps the doctor away. It's a steak a day keeps the doctor away. I made up a new one. I mentioned it on the program yesterday. A steak a day keeps the doctor away. Not an apple a day. We've changed it because the world's changed. There's so much uric acid, which is very inflammatory, if your kidneys do not filter it out. There's too many oxalates, and your kidneys have trouble filtering out that. That's how you get oxalate stones. Calcium stones are made from oxalates. So look, I'm not telling you not to eat it. I'm just telling you to be careful. Be careful. Those are good questions.

Now, I'm going to take Joanne's question right now, because she's talking about something I want to mention at this time. Joanne says, "Doc, what do you suggest for alkalizing your urine?" Joanne, don't do that. Don't alkalize your urine. Why do you want to alkalize your urine? No, seriously. Why? Your urine should be acidic. It's garbage out. You're drinking water, it's good for you, especially if you got a little bit of salt in it. Like, I love minerals, you know that. Trace minerals. That's why I like spring water more than tap water. But if you're going to drink tap water, add a pinch of salt to it, Himalayan salt. You got 84 minerals in there. But you don't want to alkalize your urine. It doesn't make sense, Joanne, because your urine is toxic. It should be. It's coming out. Body gets rid of garbage. Garbage is acidic. Garbage is acidic. You want your urine to be very acidic, especially in the morning. It should be at five, very acidic, your urine. 

I know a lot of people do that. They got a pH strip, and they're checking their urine and their saliva all the time. I used to test it, but I tested urine to make sure your urine was very acidic. When I saw alkaline urine, I go, "That's not good for you, man. You're not detoxing." Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made. It knows how to detox, drink a lot of water and your body detoxes. Amazing. Empty your liver. When you're emptying your liver, by the way, you're helping with your clearance in your kidneys. Oh, the other thing that I wanted to mention too. I'm a senior. So I get away with forgetting. I'm pulling out my senior card. One of the hardest things on your kidneys is meds, Tylenol, Advil, over-the-counter medications. Any medication you take is hard on your kidneys. It's hard on your liver, it's hard on your kidneys.

Now, I'm not telling you not to take them, but just understand there's always a side effect of any kind of medication on your kidneys. Your kidneys are hypersensitive. And when your creatinine levels go up, I tell people, "Could be the meds, could be the meds. Your body's smart. It's trying to detox them." I know people are taking 15-20 medications a day. That's hard on your kidneys. Make sure you drink enough water. Anyway, I've done teaching on kidneys, blood supply, how it gets affected by insulin and sugar. How those little capillaries are the first ones to start giving you trouble in your kidneys, and now you don't filter properly. That's why diabetics have so much trouble with their kidneys and their eyes. It's microcirculation they have trouble with. Even nerves, see? When a diabetic gets neuropathy, it's circulation to the nerve endings. It gets damaged. They don't have good blood supply. Diabetes is because you're a carboholic. There's no other reason to be a type-II diabetic. You're a carboholic. And you and carbs don't get along. You've got a very bad relationship. You keep eating them, but they hate your guts. Carbs hate your guts. They're very addictive, and they're making us sick. Now, "Dr. Martin, it’s All Bran, it's all full carbs. It's sugar." Oh, okay. Thanks, Francis, to start off the day. That was a good question. Okay?

Maria, "Is there a cream or something can do for dry skin in the winter?" Well, listen, go on our private Facebook group. I love that group because they give so many good answers there. Look, I'll tell you, skin, first of all, because somebody asked another question on skin this morning. Look, I'm big on skin, inside out. Skin is an organ. It's the one you see, but it's an organ. Just like the rest of you. Dry skin. First of all, H2O. Vitamin W. That's why I call it a vitamin. You can't live without it. And that's water. The best thing you can do for your skin is not topical. Topical is good. We have a cream. We have a gel. I use it every day. Rivera. It's our formula. We love it obviously. It's topical, but the best thing for your skin is you work inside and out. Oh, by the way, I'm going to bring you a study next week on wrinkles and osteoporosis. Their connection. And your brain. I'm going to bring you a study. I found it fascinating. I just wanted to wet your appetite. 

So skin, largest organ in your body, one of the best things you can do for your skin is probiotics, because your skin has got gazillions of bacteria on it. Don't overclean it, please. Don't overclean your skin, because you'll dry it out. We've gone crazy on overcleaning everything. Ooh, you talk about bad science. That is the worst science guys. Wash your hands 67 times a day. That is stupid. And use all these chemicals... I can't stand it. When I go into a store or whatever, and I see all these chemicals, squirt, squirt, squirt. And then at the restaurant there, you're getting blasted by Chernobyl in a restaurant. I feel like grabbing those young ladies, and it's, "Please. What are you doing?" I know they think I've got a tin hat on. Tin foil. Crazy, but you're killing yourself. Oh anyway. Why do I get so excited? So what do you do? Yeah, you can use a moisturizer. I often do this too, because my skin will dry out to some extent, especially when I'm not drinking enough water. I'll put a little bit of coconut oil with Revera, just so I get even more moisture topically, but you better start inside out. Maria, thanks for that question.

Linda, "Is instant coffee just as good as brewed." Taste-wise or therapeutics? Linda, I think you're asking therapeutics. Taste-wise, nah. That's me. I know some of you drink instant coffee. I feel sorry for you. No, it's alright. You can have it. It's what you put in the coffee with your coffee. Don't put any milk. Don't put any sugar, because what is instant coffee? Just freeze-dried. They brew the coffee and they freeze dry the crystals. Is it as good antioxidant? Eh, probably not quite as good as a freshly-brewed coffee. But it's still good. It's still good. And again, don't negate the benefits of coffee by putting sugar in it. Please. Cream, not milk, if you insist. I like it black. That's me. And it's better for you black. How do I know that? Because I said so. I'm just teasing, okay? Linda, thanks for the question. 

So Milagro is asking about scleroderma. Now, scleroderma is an autoimmune disease, Milagro. Autoimmune, meaning your body has turned on itself. It creates an enormous overreaction to food. It's constantly on high alert. The immune system turns on itself. I've never seen a case of scleroderma. I've never seen a case of rheumatoid arthritis. I've never seen a case of any kind of Crohn's, or whatever, that doesn't start with leaky gut. And in my opinion, it is a fungal infection, a candida yeast infection gone astray, meaning it's taken over the body, and feeding the bears. Somebody asked me yesterday, they got a fridge magnet, with my face on it, that says, "Don't feed the bears." And they said, "Dr. Martin, what does that mean?" I said, "Well, you must be new to the program." Yes. I said, "Well, listen, don't feed the bears came from about three or four books ago, in Northern Ontario where I live. They literally have signs, as you come into our communities, and they tell you, "Don't feed the bears." And I always found that strange, because I've never had a pet bear. You? 

Now, my sister used to say, "There's so many bears in Timmins, they're buying condos." They come right into town. And they tell you don't feed them. Now, what they meant is, I think, put your garbage away. Don't let your bears get at the garbage. Guys, autoimmune is leaky gut. Leaky gut. Remember how you get leaky gut. Leaky gut can start right in the placenta, when you don't have enough friendly bacteria. Remember the war. Good guys, bad guy. Whenever you hear big words, because medicine loves big words to keep you confused. Microbiome, why don't they just call it bacteria? But they call it the microbiome. Good guys, bad guys. And you got two competing armies in your body, mostly in your gut. But leaky gut comes when you got rid of the good guys, because the good guys keep the bad guys down. Plus, the good guys help to make up a border between your gut and your blood. 

Leaky gut is when you got leaks in the little border between your gut and your blood, then you get stuff going into your blood that don't belong there. You see, autoimmune is when, especially proteins or whatever, they haven't been broken down, food that hasn't been broken down properly, and then it gets into your bloodstream. Your body wants micronutrients. But if you allow bad bacteria, yeast to get into your bloodstream, because you don't have enough friendly bacteria that are the border guards. Like guys, try crossing the border to the United States. Well, maybe the Southern border is leaky gut. But the Northern border between... I thought we were friends. Have you ever seen such a rigmarole to cross borders between... I thought Canada and the United States loved each other. We're friends, but you got border guards, and they're not always pleasant. "What are you doing here? Where are you going? When are you coming back?" 

But you see, your gut has that. It's very protective to keep your blood pristine. When someone gets autoimmune, like scleroderma, it starts in the gut. And here's me, I'm going to give you a couple of reasons very quickly. One, the biggest reason we have so much leaky gut today, why? Number one reason, antibiotics. They can save your life, but they destroy your bacteria, the good guys. They get rid of the bad guys, but they get rid of the good guys, and you need good guys. In five days, you wipe out all your good guys. You know what happens after that? You get an invasion of the third army, it's called yeast. Yeast outside your body, you make bread with it. Yeast inside your body, a little bit, no problemo. But if it gets into your bloodstream, it invades. It'll get on your skin, it can. That's why psoriasis, eczema, acne, it's autoimmune. It loves moisture. So guess where yeast goes, to your lungs. It can get on your skin, it can go to your lungs, loves sinuses.

Now we know, we've known for about 10 years now, how it loves to get into the brain. It's kind of funny, because I said this 40-something years ago, but people thought, like I said, "Oh, Dr. Martin, he's got a little tin hat on, tin foil hat, because he's crazy." And I used to say, "Well, yeast will get into your brain." And this is why we have autism today. In my opinion, that's what autism comes from, plus it crosses the blood-brain barrier, and now they've proven me to be right about this. Parkinson's, what do you think it is? It's a fungal infection in the brain. And by the way, so is MS. And they said I was crazier than two Uhthoffs, when I used to say that. And I took a lot of flak for that, even for saying autism. I said, "Well, autism, you just got to look at it, man."

We have an epidemic today, it's worse than it ever was, and why is that? It is the overuse of antibiotics, the very thing that saved our lives, the greatest discovery in medicine. There have been some good ones by the way. And antibiotics are the greatest discovery, in my opinion, in medicine. But it's a double-edged sword, because it kills your good microbiome, you don't replace it, and guess what happens? You got the invasion, that third army invasion that makes you sick. Now, you don't drop dead right away. And I'll tell you something, if I went into a medical school today, and just repeated what I just taught you, they'd probably bring me out in handcuffs. "This guy needs to go in a Loony bin." Because do you know how many doctors that I talked to about this, and they said to me, "But yeast can't get in your blood, because if it gets in your blood, it would kill you." I said, "Yeah, you're right. It'll just slowly kill you" Anyway. Is that a tangent or what? I couldn't help myself. Milagro, I couldn't help myself.

Okay. Beverly, "If someone is on birth control, which contains estrogen." Oh, again. Okay, Bev, that gets my heart racing. Ladies please, don't come after me, okay? Birth control pills, they increase your estrogen. Estrogen is the biggest cause of breast cancer, it's the biggest cause of uterine cancer, it's the biggest cause of ovarian cancer. Knock it down. So if you're taking birth control, please use DIM. Knock the estrogen down. We got too much estrogen in the world, way too much. Good question though, Bev.

Francis, "How do we reduce bilirubin?" It's a good question. When your bilirubin is high, it's because you got fatty liver, and you need to empty your liver. Get rid of your carbs, get rid of the sugars. It's the Costco parking lot, it's full. Stop. That's how you lower your bilirubin guys. There's nothing that'll stress your liver like sugar, because it gets parked there as fat. Sugar gets parked in the Costco parking lot as fat, and it clogs up that suitcase. What do we call the liver? Costco parking lot, suitcase, minivan, when you're going on a vacation and you're stuffing. I watched my grandson last year, he had a little carry on. I said, "You are no way getting all that stuff in your carry on." He said, "Grandpa, watch me." I couldn't believe it. He actually had to sit on it to get it to close so he could carry it on. But that's what your liver is like, quit packing it up. And what packs up your liver, and you can't live without your liver, and bilirubin, you want to lower it, lower your sugars, lower your, not fat, lower your sugars and lower your crappy carbohydrates. 

So I answered Joanne's about alkalized urine. Colette, "What causes thyroid nodules?" Well, look. Again, any nodule you get, to me, it's too much estrogen. You got to DIM that out, get that estrogen down. So that's the biggest thing in the thyroid. You see the thyroid is just a puppet, guys. It's just a puppet, it never acts independently. It's got a lot of strings attached to it. Strings, ladies, right to your ovaries and estrogen. Strings attached to your stress glands, your adrenals, strings attached to your liver, because that's where T4 is made. T4 is turned into T3, where? In your liver. And one of the biggest problems, when you get nodules on your thyroid, is because you don't eat enough cholesterol. Cholesterol is what transports your hormones, and you only get cholesterol when you eat animal products. Eggs, meat, and cheese. 

We don't eat enough cholesterol. We didn't hold up our bargain with God. See, God made your liver to produce 85%. 15% is up to you. And most people they're off. "Cholesterol, that's bad for me." No, you can't live without it. That's why 85% of it is made, whether you eat cholesterol or not. You know me. God don't trust you. He knew how stupid we would become. "Oh, fat makes you fat. Shouldn't be eating that stuff, that's not good for you." Yes it is. You're wrong. God's right. And don't get me going.

Esther, "Benefits of pork." Well look, pork's got a bad wrap. And you know what? I'm going to do a session on, because pork's got a bad wrap. Now listen. In the Old Testament, and I think Muslims are like that today. They don't need a lot of pork. And it was an unclean food, but what did Jesus said? "What's outside the body is no longer unclean. It's what's inside your body." So pork, bacon, olive oil, oleic acid. Bacon, oleic acid. That's what makes olive oil good. What makes bacon good? Oleic acid. That fatty acid. Oleic. Olive oil, do we all agree, it's good for you? Put your hand up. Yep. Bacon, it's got oleic acid just like olive oil. “Well, you mean bacon's good for me, Doc?” Absolutely. Every day, if you like it. Every day, have bacon. It'll only help you. It's got oleic acid. Just like olive oil. I know people that drink olive oil every day. Have a tablespoon or whatever of olive oil. Do I like that? Yeah. It's good for you. I prefer bacon and sausage. I love sausage.

Laura. “Cracked heels.” Well, same thing, Laura. If you got severely-cracked heels, you have leaky gut. Plus, Laura, I'm going to tell you something about your cracked heels. Not only do you have leaky gut, but you're feeding the bears. You got fungal right on those heels, and you better clear it up. So don't feed them. Quit eating sugar. And that wasn't for Laura. That was for your daughter. Well, tell Laura, I think there's a song. Tell Laura to stop eating sugar. I think that's an old song somewhere. Tell Laura. Anyway, I'll have to look it up. Okay, Laura? I mean it, you got cracked heels. Why are you drying up like that? Gut yeast. I mean it.

Okay. Linda, "My nutritionist said undereating is the primary cause of thyroid problems." Not eating enough calories. Linda, listen. Change nutritionists. Now, tell that nutritionist that I love them, first of all. Don't insult them. Tell them that Dr. Martin would like to teach nutrition 101 to you, again, from a different source. Okay, now, look, I know where they're coming from. It ain't calories, babe. You know what it is? It's sugar, and the thyroid, and the liver, like I talked about earlier. Empty that liver, you get thyroid problems. That's one of the big reasons, too much estrogen, not calories. Eat the right fuel. I don't care about calories. I care about fuel. Eat the right fuel.

And Marna, "I have a relative of mine, male, done blood work," And that's who it happens to the most. "They have too much iron in their blood." And I'll tell you why. Tell your male, and a relative. Say, "Hey, Cos, Dr. Martin's got a message for you. You got fatty liver. That's why your blood's too thick." The liver. Boy, we talked about the liver a lot today. Stop the carbs and the sugars. It's amazing how your blood will thin out. Plus, number two, we talked about this too. You're not drinking enough water. You're severely dehydrated. And you got blood like molasses. It's thick, and it's very dangerous. Now, medicine would tell you to go do some blood letting. What's that? Well go give blood, get rid of it. Yeah. But that doesn't fix it. You got to get to the problem. You're only using a bandaid. Men get too much iron, not from their food. Well, from sugar, not from meat. That's why we see so much of it today. And they're dehydrated.

Sandra, "Can a person eating a low-carb diet have hypoglycemia." Yeah, but not from the low carbs. You got insulin resistance. Hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, or high blood sugar, hyperinsulinemia. They're the same cause. So Sandra, you got a bad relationship with carbohydrates, and you say you're eating low carb. Very good. Eat no carbs, and see what happens. You're not eating enough protein. I talked about the macros yesterday. Protein, protein, protein.

Okay. I think I've only got two more. Leslie. I named one of my daughters Leslie. "Can Dr. Martin talk about TUDCA, and gallbladder benefits?" Now TUDCA is something that it's like a bile salt that your body actually makes. And now, they have it in a supplement. I'd be careful about that. I'm not a big guy on taking bile salts. I'm really not. I find too many people react to it, and they get a lot of digestive issues. Again, change your diet, empty the liver. It's amazing. And a lot of women don't have a gallbladder left because they weren't using it. Plus they got hormones. Thanks for the question. 

Last one. Hazel, Raynaud's. Raynaud's is an autoimmune disease. Fingers and toes, poor circulation. Change your diet. Fix your gut. Change your diet. Fix your gut. Really helps in Raynaud's. It really does. Okay, guys. We love you guys. Thanks for all the questions. I went way overtime, but hopefully I answered your questions properly. Thank you very much. We love you guys. We'll see you next week.

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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