Zinc and B12 are an important team for your mental and emotional well being.

In “The Townsend Letter of Doctors “, I was reading about all the B12 health benefits: everything from fighting anemia to memory and mood elevation. While I don’t practice psychiatry, the function of the central nervous system is key in my practice.
One study caught my eye. This one, (Mitsuyama et al) brought up the issue of how important zinc is in getting the B12 across the blood-brain barrier and into the central nervous system. No matter how good your B 12 status, if Zinc isn’t available the vitamin won’t arrive where it’s needed. Without B 12, the brain is vulnerable to a host of mental and functional difficulties.
Various obstacles exist to Zinc’s availability: mercury, cadmium and copper. How do we know if you have adequate Zinc? I have a simple, cheap and direct test at my Union Square Spinal Care office. A weak solution of Zinc is given to patients to swirl around in the mouth. I time how long it takes for any taste to develop. The more deficient a person, the longer it takes to notice.
Zinc supplements are cheap and effective. Who is most likely to develop Zinc deficiency? People exposed to cadmium, lead and copper like mechanics, plumbers, electronics technicians and those in the dental industry. Cigarette or marijuana smokers are exposed to cadmium and should also be checked regularly.
So before resorting to powerful medications consider increasing B12 and evaluating Zinc availability.

Ignore Your Health, It'll Go Away

I was walking in the West Village last weekend, when the sight of this ice encrusted car caught my attention. I had to take the photograph you see above. As you can see the vehicle in the background is free and clear. The past weeks of snow, freezing rain, partial thaw then re-freezing created this miserable condition. Yet it is the result of doing nothing that made the difference between the two vehicles.
I constantly urge my patients to keep the small problems small. Stay of aware of your body, and take action early. Get the exercise, the massage, of course see me; before you have to take drastic action and see a surgeon! The owner of the car may have to wait for the Spring thaw, the owner of our bodies (that's us) don't get that luxury.

Self Assessment, an important starting place

“Know Thyself” is credited to Socrates. In ‘The Art of War,’ Sun Tzu wrote: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” And, John Lennon; “How can I move forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing?”

Living in the information age, what tools do we have to assess ourselves? Tests should be simple, inexpensive, and accurate. Equally important, they must point to solutions that allow us to determine choices.
-What small changes will greatly improve your condition (ex: quit smoking)?
-What large change will be worthwhile (ex: you may really need a surgery)?

I am currently reviewing several symptom survey forms that "cast a broad net" over a great variety of health issues.