Hormone Therapy

The relatively new term environmental endocrinology addresses the effect of daily stressors such as light, food and crowding on multiple endocrine systems and how they control the rate of aging and quality of someone's life.

Medical practitioners have started to learn and participate in an intensive introduction to the newest emerging specialty of environmental endocrinology, and that includes hormone therapy.

One team of experts teaches it at the GCC Planetarium in Glendale California. Doctors spend two days becoming familiar with environmental endocrinology and biomimetic hormone restoration therapy of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, HGH, melatonin, cortisol and thyroid.

The main aspects of diabetology and reproductive endocrinology are converging to become what we call menopause medicine. Once medical practitioners attend the course, they come away with a working knowledge of hormones and environmental endocrinology.

Medical practitioners who take this course are in part of an elite group of forward-thinking researchers who trying to put science back into medicine.

One of the issues they talk about is sleep. Sleeping controls eating, how you eat, what you eat. Sleeping and eating control aging which we call menopause. The number of trips around the sun that a person takes depends on the food supply and whether or not it was three, four months of high insulin and long life which is summer or it was 12 months and in which case you will age four times as fast because you only get one summer every trip around the sun.

Once you understand all that and you realize that just simple entropy winds you down as your hormones run out, so you don't have the raw materials. But, you don't have the effectors to deal with the raw materials, the food and the like.

You have to put the big pieces together first and if you do that, most people get significantly better and quality of life goes through the roof.

The one symptom in menopause that women discuss the most would be hot flashes. sleep issues are next, and mind fog, aches, pains and feeling discombobulated. Many women feel as if they are having a tough time relating, and they are over reactionary or a little irritable.

After most women begin taking bio-identical hormones they feel reconnected and like they have balance again. Physically and emotionally they say their sex lives improve tremendously, and that life seem to be smoother and happier. Many say that when they You take hormones, they feel good, or well. In most cases they feel fabulous.

Doctors are learning more about endocrinology every day, and women have to do their own research and then go by how they feel.

As one doctor said who attended the most recent endocrinology seminar said, "I have been prescribing identical hormones for nearly nine years... and I was able to feed a part of my intellectual quest to understand the hormones: why the human body behaves so much differently when it is in harmony."

To get to the bottom of human growth hormone stimulators, let us examine its purpose, the reason it is needed, and whether it is really is necessary.

HGH, as it is known in the medical profession, is an important hormone made by the pituitary gland, situated in the middle of the human brain; the pituitary gland releases these hormone that helps with various health duties that the body has and makes a contribution to the general growth of the body. The question is that since our bodies are already producing it, why should we even to add growth hormone at all?

Is this only a marketing fraud by bad business persons that allege their products will give bulk, increase height, stop aging, and promote wound healing - or is there really something true about reduced levels of these hormone that requires quick action from monitored medical help and special therapy.

Answering fundamental doubts concerning the need for such stimulators: Yes, we need human growth hormone supplements at some point in our lives, even if only in small doses, to sustain development and overall well being, provided we get the go-ahead from our doctor, making sure that this therapy will improve our current HGH levels and that it's safe to use.

Even though it is the truth that HGH is produced inside the human body, scientists and medical professionals agree that its levels go down after someone is 20 years old and keep on reducing after someone is 30 to 36 years old, and this is hard for the body causing a lot of health problems - some moderate, some very bad, but other problems are not identified because people don't know about them.

To start with, when the levels of growth hormone go down at such a constant rate, as it was found out and verified by scientists investigating human growth patterns and problems with getting older, it causes various ailments connected to getting older such as putting on extra weight, less energy, losing muscle, wrinkling, decreased mental awareness, impaired immunity, eyesight problems, and other things. Now, compare this with common statements you hear sometimes, like 'I am tired constantly', 'I have lost concentration,' and you will have a sharper sense about how typical the effects of reduced growth hormone are, right near you. Hence the importance of getting back in good health again by utilizing HGH natural herbal supplements, for example, to rebuild the lost robustness to the bones and muscles.

Certainly, you will have to know what are the best choices for human growth supplements to use for your specific problem and this should start with introducing yourself to a nice doctor to find out if this is a safe and worthwhile way to get results from such therapy.

How human growth hormone stimulators work: HGH pills replenishing lost hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which show a significant decrease with age, thus slowing the effects of aging. Loaded with potent antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and various nutrients to avoid getting old prematurely, a dependable product will naturally invigorate your body's to bring them back to youthful levels.

Hormonal Imbalance Treatment (HIT) potentially offers a respite for those who are facing various kinds of problems like mood swing, nausea, and fatigue, weight gain, low sex drive, loss of short term memory and pain. This diminishing of sex hormones that results in stress and adrenalin occurs to everybody over the age of forty. It often begins in the mid twenties and increases year by year. There are three treatment approaches that address the imbalance: Life-style changes, Alternative medicine, and Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The use of each of these method depends on the the intensity of symptoms caused by the hormone imbalance.

Life-style changes are a no-brainer. Exercise each and every day of your life. Whatever you do during the day is money in the bank. The critical part is what is known as LSD training. That is, long, slow distance. If one moves slowly (2-4 miles per hour) for 30 minutes to one hour before bed, we get rid of the day's accumulation of adrenaline. This allows us to burn an increased amount of fat for several hours. It also gets rid of enough adrenalin to let us get more deeply asleep and thereby rest better during the night.

Changes in lifestyle like improved diet, yoga or meditation, and regular exercises can be very useful in fighting the symptoms. Follow a low carbohydrate diet. Avoid sugar, soft drinks, citrus fruits and juices. If you smoke...QUIT! Moreover, increase in food which is rich in omega-3 and omega-4 fatty acid can help in maintaining the hormonal balance. Flax seeds, pumpkins seeds, and sunflower seeds are rich in omega-3, while eggs, nuts, and poultry are rich in omega-6.

Hormone imbalance treatment can be most effective if you:

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol


• QUIT smoking!


• Sleep 7-8 hours night


• Balanced diet (low carbohydrate)


• Stay hydrated (drink on half your body weight in ounces of bottled water daily)

Alternative Medicine is a method which includes low risk and is effective in treating hormone imbalances. Herbal remedies can be very effective and are widely used today. Herbal remedies include the use of phytoestrogenic (Black Cohosh) and non-estrogenic (Macafem) herbs. But estrogenic herbs may decrease the body's own level of hormones while non estrogenic herbs don't have estrogens and nourish women's pituitary and endocrine glands. However, other treatments like acupuncture, biofeedback, massage, aromatherapy, and hypnosis have also shown results.

Hormone Replacement Therapy is used when the symptoms are chronic and have reached the point that the patient seeks relief of the symptoms. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has launched the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) which provides answers to questions regarding the risks that are incurred in the therapy. HRT comes as pill, cream, patch, injection, and vaginal creams. HRT is used when there are symptoms of hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, and decreased sex drive.

It is evident that herbal remedies are the safest method of treatment as it incurs least amount of risk. Changing of life style is the easiest if it can be followed diligently.

The experience of menopause is different for different women. Some women do not experience any symptom at all. Such women do not need any menopause treatment except for regular medical check-up that ensures that there are no signs of osteoporosis or other complications.

However, women with more bothersome symptoms must think of a multi-pronged, comprehensive menopause treatment.

In general, the most common menopause treatment is hormone replacement therapy. The uncomfortable symptoms that accompany menopause are the direct result of hormonal imbalance. This hormonal imbalance is a part of aging and nothing can be done to prevent it. Hormonal imbalance is what causes signs of aging, hot flushes, lack of sex drive, vaginal dryness, mood swings and other symptoms associated with menopause. The most effective way to re-establish hormonal balance is to supply the missing hormones in the right levels to the body. This can be achieved through hormone replacement therapy.

However, in recent years, hormone replacement therapy has been the subject of much speculation because synthetic hormones can cause severe side effects, like cancer and heart problems. An NIH-sponsored study showed that women on long-term hormone therapy had greater risk of developing endometrial cancer and stroke. These findings have led to a decline of interest in synthetic hormones.

In recent years, however, doctors have been using natural hormones in hormone replacement therapy. These hormones are called bioidentical hormones as they are similar in structure to natural hormones. Therefore, there have been no reports of any undesirable side effects associated with natural hormones.

The benefits of natural hormones are many:

* They are metabolized more easily by the body
* They mimic the action of natural hormones
* They may be administered in just the right dosages
* They may be administered transdermally, which means that these are not metabolized in the liver

However, for bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to work as an effective menopause treatment, it is important to customize the treatment according to individual requirements.

Along with hormone replacement therapy, it is also recommended that patients adopt a comprehensive treatment for symptoms. This includes the intake of essential supplements. Alternative treatments for menopause are also effective in alleviating the discomfort associated with menopause. For instance, Black Cohosh is known to be helpful for hot flashes. Soy supplements are also helpful.

Women who are going through the symptoms of menopause should take particular care to eat a balanced diet. They must take in sufficient quantities of calcium to minimize the impact of osteoporosis. Kegel exercises relieve symptoms of incontinence. An active lifestyle and sound hygiene practices also help a lot.

When transsexuals seek to physically change their bodies, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is utilized. This article will give a brief overview of the HRT process and its effects on the body for trans women.

Definition of Trans Woman

First of all to clarify, "trans woman" or "transwoman" refers to someone born with male genitalia who is transforming themselves physically into a woman. Therefore, a trans man is someone born female transforming themselves into a man. For the purposes of this article, we are only addressing trans women.

What is HRT used for?

Hormone replacement therapy is used in conjunction with sexual reassignment surgery for trans women. Sexual reassignment surgery is the actual surgery that physically changes the individual's reproductive organs from male to female. HRT is used to alter the "secondary" sexual characteristics of the person. Secondary sexual characteristics include the outward physical traits that define a sex other than the reproductive organs. For trans women that includes the development of breasts, less body hair and softer skin. HRT is also used to stop or slow down testosterone production.

Estrogen

Men and women have levels of both testosterone and estrogen in their bodies. However, men have the majority testosterone, women estrogen. So one of the basic parts of HRT for trans women is to add a considerable level of estrogen where there is physically only a small amount. The goal is to bring the trans woman to a natural level of estrogen found in individuals born as women. Estrogen functions in women as a way to regulate menstrual cycles and other physical needs of the reproductive system. It also is associated with moods and libido.

Progestogens

These hormones benefit the body in several ways, including the skin and libido, but are generally given so trans women can develop their own natural breasts. This includes mammary glands, alveoli and so forth. Trans women will have real breasts. They are not simply surgically augmented to appear as breasts.

Anti-androgens

HRT uses anti-androgens in order to suppress testosterone production. This is most beneficial before the individual has had the sexual reassignment surgery and still has his testicles. Anti-androgens do not always stop the production of testosterone. Rather, they weaken the hormone so it does not bind to the androgen receptors, allowing the estrogen to do so in its place.

Puberty

HRT cannot reverse the affects of puberty on the individual. For example, the location of body hair will often have to be physically removed through laser hair removal or other methods. Over time, the less testosterone in the body, the less the hair will return. But it is not going to fully change what puberty has already created. Likewise, during puberty the bones reach their DNA pre-destined size and length. HRT will not alter this at all. So the natural shape of the pelvic bone, for example, is smaller for males than females (genetically destined to bare children), and will not alter with HRT. Neither can hormones change the voice. Once a male's voice has changed, HRT will not affect its timbre.

Our bodies' hormones exist in a delicate balance with one another, and correcting imbalances can be a tricky thing to achieve. In order to understand what exactly we are dealing with, let's take a closer look at our endocrine system, the bodies' messaging system. Then we will further examine how Chinese Medicine can help to balance the female hormones in order to address a variety of common women's health disorders.

The Endocrine System Creates and Distributes Messages

Our Endocrine systems are a fascinating and complex thing to look at. What is the function of this system? The endocrine system is comprised of a series of glands whose job is to produce and distribute hormones. Hormones are one of of our bodies primary messaging systems, and they coordinate our body's physiological activities, much like a symphony conductor coordinates all the musical instruments to create a harmonic performance.

Our key players are the Hypothalamus and the Pituitary gland. This pair of glands regulates the other glands of the body including the adrenals, thyroid, and sex organs. The Hypothalamus and Pituitary team up with several different key glandular players to form multi-functional "Axis'" that work to regulate very important processes of the body. Here are the three major axis' and their functions:

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonad-Think 'Reproduction'

Regulates male and female reproductive systems. Problems with this axis include infertility, menstrual irregularities, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, sexual dysfunction and menopausal problems.

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Thyroid-Think 'Metabolism'

Regulates metabolism and energy production and usage. Fatigue, weight gain, emotional disorders, anxiety, and insomnia and heart palpitations indicate problems here.

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal-Think 'Stress & Digest'

Regulates a wide variety of activities including stress response, digestive function, immunity, emotions and energy. Problems with this axis may present as fatigue, IBS or other organ functional disorders, insomnia, emotional disturbances, and alcoholism.

TCM View of Hormonal Effects

Chinese Medicine developed a different twist on the perspective of hormones and where they come from. The endocrine system is the basic equivalent of the Kidney system in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). It is responsible for maintaining functions related to genital, urinary, endocrine, bone, blood and central nervous system. The Kidney is our most basic energy source and is primarily responsible for reproduction, growth and development of the body.

How Can Chinese Medicine Help With Women's Hormonal Balance?

Chinese medicine excels at balancing the hormones of the women's body and is an effective treatment for regulating menstrual disorders, treating menopausal symptoms, and addressing infertility. It is also great for addressing mood swings, stress, low libido and poor energy.

Treatment begins with a full heath intake in which we formulate a Chinese medical diagnosis and then go from there. Every woman's body is different and will be treated in an individualized method, unlike Western medicine where a specific health disorder is treated the same with each patient. For example, an irregular menstrual cycle could stem from several different patterns depending on your body and what is going on with you. I will identify your unique pattern and treat you in a customized fashion.

Your treatment plan generally includes a combination of acupuncture treatments and customized herbal prescription and preparation. When you leave the office, you will be equipped with the knowledge of what the problem is, how we are going to treat it, and how frequently you will need treatment.

Using Herbal Formulas to Treat Hormone Imbalance

Chinese herbal formulas have been clinically proven to be effective in altering hormone levels in the body. A commonly used formula in the treatment of menopause, for example, known as Rhemmania Six alters female sex hormones by directly affecting the adrenal cortex, other endocrine glands, or both.

From a biomedical perspective, it has been reported that this formula increases plasma levels of cortisol (our stress-dealing hormone), increases estrodial (an estrogen derivative) and decreases overall FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone). It also increased estrogen receptors significantly. What does all of this mean? The overall effect of the above data indicates a balance of hormone levels resulting in reduction of menopausal symptoms.

Your herbal formula will be designed based on the symptoms you may be experiencing. From a TCM perspective, we would treat imbalances in the Kidney system. I will prepare a formula for you based on your TCM diagnosis that is completely customized for your body using powdered herbs that can be combined to address both your symptomatic picture and your root causal disorder. In other words, we will treat both your symptoms so that you feel better, but we will also be addressing the underlying cause of your symptoms so that your body cab find balance again.

Using Acupuncture to Treat Hormonal Imbalance

Your acupuncture treatment will focus on balancing the systems of the body that are unbalanced by exerting a strong homeostatic effect utilizing the nervous and hormonal systems. You will likely be treated for imbalances in the Kidney and Liver systems in order sedate your nervous system and balance endocrine function.

Your acupuncture regimen will include weekly treatments until the symptomatic presentations have dissipated, then a monthly maintenance treatment schedule will be established to prevent your symptoms from returning. Once we have have achieved maintenance, you may come in for preventative care if you wish.

If you or someone you know is dealing with hormonal imbalances such as menstrual pain or irregularity, menopause, infertiliy, low libido or poor energy, please refer them to my office for a free consultation.

Hormones are chemicals produced in your body. The hormones role is to influence tissue or organs within the body. Some hormones we produce are Thyroid, Insulin, Growth Hormone and the sex hormones Testosterone, Estrogen and Progesterone. In the last 20 years the list has grown to over 100 different known hormones.

Menopause is the cessation of the menstrual cycle for one year. The estrogen that had been abundantly produced previously, is now at a much lower level. Symptoms occur as the hormone ratios change. Women who have experienced this know that they can experience:

• liability of emotions


• sleep disturbances


• temperature regulation problems like hot flashes, sweats and chills


• change in sexual desire


• loss of the ability to orgasm


• inability lubricate enough to enjoy sexual activity

Some women complain of word finding difficulty they sometimes call "Foggy Brain". These symptoms are a great source of discomfort and anxiety for many women.

Not that many years ago it was recommended that women take hormones to "replace" those they no longer produced. Over time it was discovered that these pharmaceutical grade hormones predisposed the individual prescribed them to some serious problems. These problems seem to be related to the

• dose,


• ratio,


• length of time taken,


• age of the patient and


• smoking habits


• as well as hereditary risk factors.

Bottom line, they made symptoms go away but caused blood clots, breast and uterine cancer. They did not prevent many of the diseases for which they were being taken. The pendulum swung completely away from hormone therapy. Then women began taking hormones from plants but those plant estrogens might cause some of the same problems.

Now enter "bio-identical hormones". These are hormones derived from plants and chemically altered to "exactly" resemble human estrogen and progesterone. Also, about the time these bio-identical hormones became available, new studies indicated that topical use and use up to age sixty probably solved some of the symptom problems but did not cause the side effects.

Some studies suggest nonidentical progesterone actually predisposed a woman to greater inflammation and possibly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

A whole raft of scientific studies carried out over the past few decades has shown conclusively that turmeric's principal antioxidant phytonutrient, curcumin, has powerful cancer fighting properties. This new research is yet a further endorsement of this spice's fantastic disease fighting capabilities.

Curcumin

Curcumin is found in turmeric, ginger and a number of other spices. It is a widely acknowledged to be one of the most important cancer fighting, food-based compounds as it has also been shown to help prevent a number of cancer types as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Researches at The Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center and the College Of Veterinary Medicine in the USA have discovered another string to this wonderful spice's medicinal bow. In a recent paper published in the journal Menopause the scientists describe how curcumin blocks the carcinogenic effects of hormone replacement therapy in post menopausal women.

The culprits

Most hormone replacement preparations prescribed for post menopausal problems include a combination of estrogens and progestin hormones. It is the latter synthetic progesterones that increase the risk of breast cancer in those who have such bad menopausal symptoms that they cannot do without hormone replacement therapies.

Progestins increase the risk of breast cancer by stimulating the blood supply to developing cancer cells. They do this by enhancing the production of a growth factor that is responsible for the formation of new blood vessels.

By blocking the production of the progestin-stimulated growth factor, curcumin attenuates the blood supply to breast cancer cells without which they cannot survive.

Anti-obesity activity of curcumin

Coincidentally another recent bit of scientific work indicates that curcumin's ability to inhibit the growth of blood vessels may also make it a useful in the fight against obesity! In a similar fashion to its cancer-fighting effects it does so by inhibiting the blood supply to new fat cells. By inhibiting the formation of fat cells curcumin slows down the rate at which the body stores fat. More importantly it makes it easier for individuals to lose weight as, once a fat cell has formed, the body can't get rid of it.

It is important to note that curcumin taken on its own is not well utilized by the body - i.e. it has a low bioavailability. This is because enzymes in the intestines and liver break it down before it has had a chance to do its good work.

Spicy synergism with curcumin

Fortunately other spices contain compounds (like black pepper's piperine) that increase the bioavailability (and thus efficacy) of curcumin by several thousand per cent. Therefore taking a capsule of curcumin on its own is unlikely to be of much benefit in terms of the prevention or treatment of disease. It is far better to follow the culinary wisdom of thousands of years and use a wide variety of spices with curcumin-containing turmeric as phytonutrients in plant foods tend to have synergistic effects with one another.

Many people want to look younger or stop themselves from looking older and they try different ways to regain that youthful look. One of the recent additions to the long list of age defying products is human growth hormone or HGH. With so many people believing that growth hormones can slow down aging, it is not surprising that these hormone-containing products are flooding the marketplace. However, before you reach for any HGH supplements in the market, first take the time to learn about this naturally occurring hormone.

What is growth hormone?
The pituitary gland is a pea-sized structure found at the base of the brain. Its main function is to produce hormones that become major players in the growth and development of human beings. Its role during puberty is significant. Together with other hormones, HGH works to rapidly create proper bone structure and muscles in people entering adolescence. This hormone is also responsible for maintaining cells throughout the life cycle.

The release of HGH is affected by age. Once you reach middle age, the pituitary gland slows down and the amount of hormone it releases declines. According to proponents of HGH supplements, the decline in the released amount of this hormone leads to aging. They also say that you can take synthetic versions of the hormone and this will cancel the aging process and make you look youthful. Not all consumers are persuaded by such unfounded marketing gimmicks. The skeptics are abundant and object to various aspects of HGH supplements, including the fact that not everyone can tolerate synthetic hormones.

Can anyone take this hormone?
For medical reasons, some people require regular doses of HGH. These patients are not looking to unwind the hands of time, but need to ease the suffering due to growth hormone deficiency. HGH deficiency is a rare condition of people with a pituitary gland tumor. The condition can be treated through radiotherapy, surgery and hormone therapy. The purpose of hormone therapy for these people is to increase bone density and muscle mass. One significant effect of this hormone therapy is to reduce body fat. Take note, HGH is also prescribed to people with HIV/AIDS to delay muscular atrophy.

There are not many studies which conclusively determine the effects of synthetic HGH in healthy individuals. There are reports saying that HGH injections have caused an increase in muscle mass in healthy people, but the increased muscle mass was not shown to also increase strength. Its fat reducing abilities have also been noted in various studies.

However, there have been negative side effects reported upon injecting HGH in healthy people. The side effects are carpal tunnel syndrome, swelling of arms and legs, joint pains, muscular pains, and gynecomastia. There is also some evidence linking HGH use with development of heart disease and diabetes. Studies also confirm that conclusive evidence regarding the side effects of HGH injections is lacking. For the moment, the general opinion in the scientific community is it is safer not taking synthetic growth hormone if you do not need it.

HGH is usually administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly and not orally. But many websites now sell it in pill form, claiming that the supplements produce similar results as the injected hormone. Some supplements do not contain HGH, but claim they can activate the natural release of HGH in the body. Unfortunately, many of these supplements are not backed up by laboratory studies.

One such alternative approach to treat cancer is insulin potentiation therapy or IPT, a relatively new procedure in oncology. Dr. Stephen B. Ayre, the main proponent of IPT, first introduced the term when he stated that this procedure causes little to no adverse effects like headache, hair loss, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, which are all common problems experienced by cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The principle of IPT is based on how insulin lowers the blood sugar level, thereby depleting the energy source of cancer cells. A significantly low blood sugar level also stimulates the production of growth hormone, which strengthens the immune system to further combat cancer.

IPT allows for the administration of insulin to decrease the dosage of chemotherapeutic drugs. Essentially, IPT works by injecting insulin into the bloodstream, the dose of which is calculated according to the patient's body weight. Because insulin enables the transport of nutrients from the blood to the cells, glucose or sugar is able to penetrate into the cellular membranes. IPT takes advantage of this biological structure because as the cellular walls become penetrable, low-dose chemotherapeutic drugs can be administered and absorbed immediately by the cells. Its effect when compared to the usual dosage of chemotherapy is said to be almost the same, but very few studies support this claim.

The claimed therapeutic effect of IPT is not actively caused by insulin itself, as it only optimizes the effects of chemotherapy in an indirect manner by making the cellular walls more penetrable to drugs. Therefore, metastasis, or the spread of cancer cells from one point of the body to another, is halted not by insulin, but by the chemotherapeutic drugs themselves.

Very few studies have been made to establish the therapeutic effect of IPT. One such study was conducted in Uruguay, where 10 breast cancer patients were given insulin and methotrexate. This group responded with a stable condition, compared to another group of breast cancer patients who received insulin or methotrexate alone. The study was conducted in a span of eight weeks, and although the group of patients who received IPT displayed a decrease in the tumor size, they reported to have suffered mouth sores as an unpleasant side effect. This somehow negates the assumption of Dr. Ayre that IPT causes minimal to zero adverse effects. The appearance of mouth sores is actually an area of concern because a cancer patient's immune system is too weak to heal the wound and prevent infection by harmful microorganisms, especially when the oral cavity has ideal conditions conducive to bacterial growth. Moreover, mouth sores dramatically decrease a cancer patient's appetite, whose weight is almost always compromised by cancer in the first place.

Although IPT is claimed to be likewise effective against other chronic diseases like arthritis, many medical experts highly criticize its therapeutic claims against cancer. The study conducted on the breast cancer patients in Uruguay failed to consider necessary areas in oncologic research, such as patient well-being, quality of life and prognosis. Furthermore, the study did not report any long-term improvements among the breast cancer patients.

Some practitioners may believe that IPT is promising, but other than the Uruguay experiment, only individual reports have been published, which are not even strong enough to support that IPT may be used as a first-line therapy akin to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The supporters of this alternative approach have argued that their studies are well-researched, but the overall effectiveness and safety of this procedure are yet to be established. The safety concern is indeed relevant, especially when insulin causes clinical hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose levels. This condition can be very life-threatening because it can cause confusion, seizures, heart arrhythmias, coma and even sudden death. It is also not uncommon for some cancer patients to have diabetes, and the sudden change in blood glucose level may pose as an additional clinical threat. It is for this reason that many oncologists and medical experts do not advocate IPT, as the risks clearly outweigh the benefits of the procedure. Lowering the blood glucose levels, according to most cancer specialists, is not recommended, and especially not at the expense of the health of the patients whose quality of life is already affected by the disease in the first place. Hence, any theoretical assumptions that IPT can either increase or decrease the effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy have yet to be verified.

Until then, the indication of IPT as a main approach to cancer management cannot be approved according to medical standards. As of the time being, chemotherapy and radiotherapy remain to be the two most commonly prescribed treatments to treat cancer. Although they are capable of producing adverse effects of their own, countless research, clinical trials, theoretical studies and even patient testimonials can vouch that these treatments are safer and more effective.