RN&R Health Guide

Write a le t ter to your g r e a t- g r a n d c h i l d r e n he alth y k ids s tar t Wi t h ou t door pl ay TELL E VERyBOdy Weed for the Week What mak e s a man ?

Reno City CounCilmembeR n e o m a Ja R d o n ta l k s a b o u t ov e R C o m i n g CanCeR

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become major concerns. ROC’s joint team is dedicated to restoring movement, eliminating pain, and getting patients back to they’re lives.

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When our hands and arms are healthy, they enable us to painlessly perform many endless tasks and activities. When they’re not, well, they need help. And ROC’s hand and upper extremity team provides everything from surgical expertise to occupational therapy.

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ROC is proud to maintain a leadership role in the design and management of our region’s only referral trauma center, Renown Medical Center. They also provide emergency services in all of the area’s emergency departments, year-round and round the clock.

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Our knees, hips, and shoulders are primary sources of power, stability, and movement. When they’re damaged, discomfort and mobility loss 2 • HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

THERMOGRAPHY

by Jeff Von Kaenel

Write a letter to your great grandchildren

BREAST

WARNING

Each Mammography examination is like having 20 chest x-rays at one time, according to the FDA!

W h at W i l l t h e y i n h er i t ?

Editor’s note: There is, potentially, no single development that will have a greater impact on our families’ health than global warming. This is a message from my boss, Jeff vonKaenel, regarding a project we have coming up. Check it out.

—Thanks, D. Brian Burghart, editor/publisher Reno News & Review

Radiation Exposure is cumulative over your lifetime.

Breast cancer is occurring decades before it shows up as a lump or mass, and your body is sending signals.

Radiationexposurealwaysincreasesyourriskfordeveloping cancer. Minimize your exposure as much as possible.

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1in8

women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

Visit www.LettersToTheFuture.org RJ-0000512480

They only weighed eight pounds each. They were made up mostly of water. One had blue eyes and one had brown eyes.

When I cradled the little blue-eyed homo sapiens in my arms, my life changed. The purpose of my life moved instantly away from myself over to this tiny helpless creature.

The things I would do were endless.

I would go without sleep. I worried about the silliest things. I was thrilled about even sillier things. I spent untold hours caring for this tiny creature. And then, four years later, when the brown-eyed one came into the world, it happened all over again.

Obviously I am not alone. Billions of others have had the same experience. Many of my friends are again having their lives turned upside down by their children having children.

This has not yet happened to me. In case my children happen to read this column, let me mention that I’m definitely prepared to have my life turned upside-down again.

There is no doubt that billions of us would do anything for our children and their children. We would sacrifice time, money and even our own lives. However, are we willing to do something even more important? Will we support a carbon tax? Ridiculous expensive toys are great, but are we willing to pay more for solar instead of oil energy? Will we support the initiatives that are needed to reverse global warming?

Every reasonable person knows that the future of our children’s children is in danger. Our current practices will lead to disastrous environmental outcomes, endangering

the lives of future generations as well as nearly all current life forms on this planet.

This December, the world’s leaders will be coming together for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris. This will be one last chance to decide how much we are willing to sacrifice for our children, their children, and their grandchildren, and for the wonderful planet that has enabled our very existence.

Future generations need our help.

I believe that if we could hold these little creatures in our arms and see the world through their eyes, we would change. If we could be transported into the future and see how our current actions will impact our children’s grandchildren, then we would change.

We need to imagine those precious children in our future. And Melinda Welsh, the Sacramento News & Review’s founding editor, is asking us to do just that.

This coming Thursday, News & Review is launching a national letterwriting project featuring letters from authors, artists, scientists and others.

These letters are written to future generations of their families, predicting what happens at the upcoming Climate Talks in Paris and imagining what the world will be like that we leave to our great grandchildren.

In November, just before the Climate Talks begin, some of these letters will be published in this newspaper, as well as in alt weeklies across the country and on partnering websites.

I invite you to write a letter. Post it online at www.LettersToTheFuture. org. Your letter will connect with thousands of people, who you may not know, but who you share a planet and a future with.

And who knows, maybe an eight pound creature, made mostly of water, will see a better planet one hundred years hence. Ω

• NO Compression • NO Radiation • NO Contact No referral necessary, call today to schedule your appointment

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HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015 • 3

4 • HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

Healthy kids start with outdoor play

helping you on the path to

by Tim Hauserman

Is a child who enjoys old fashioned play getting an edge over the other children?

I n pa r en ts’ d es I r e f o r s a fe t y, t h e y s ta rt t h eI r c h I l d r en o n a l I felo n g h a b I t o f s ed en ta ry b eh av I o r

I

f you are at least 40 years old you probably spent claims leads to attention difficulties and higher rates of much of your childhood playing football in the street, physical and emotional illnesses. or wandering aimlessly around in the forest searching In fact, the lack of connection between humans for dragons. Parents were creatures that you saw at night and nature has even spawned a whole new field: who asked you how your day went (and whether you Ecopsychology, which, according to Wikipedia, “seeks did your chores), but for much of the day they were out to develop and understand ways of expanding the of sight and out of mind. It was a lifestyle that required emotional connection between individuals and the imagination, self-responsibility and the physical stamina natural world.” necessary to spend the day playing at full speed. And So why are we so afraid to let our children get wild it helped you to develop the skills to become a well in the wild? Lenore Skenazy wrote Free Range Kids adjusted adult. and has begun a movement of parents who are pushing What happened? Why did the same people who for kids to have the opportunity to play again. She says lived independent childhoods become parents who are that we have developed a worst-first mentality. We have determined to make their kids live lives surrounded by come to believe that if anything bad happens to any kid safety-first bubbles? Why are those of us who fondly anywhere it could happen to mine … so I better not risk remember our childhoods playing in the wilderness it. She believes that the phrase “safety first” has come to so bent on keeping our own kids under constant mean “safety only.” This leads us to be so afraid of the supervision? one-in-a-million possibility of something bad happening Richard Louv, in Last Child in the Woods says what that we keep millions of kids from leading healthier, happened is that “our society is teaching young people happier lives. Fear is keeping kids indoors, or in some to avoid direct experience in nature. Public school sort of structured sport programs packed full of rules systems, media and parents are effectively scaring and procedures. children right out of the woods.” Louv says the result HEALTHY KIDS START WITH OUTDOOR PLAY is what he calls “Nature Deficit Disorder,” which he

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“Parents who were successfully babysitting when they were 13 are now afraid to let their own kids be alone at that age.”

Lenore Skenazy

author

the nerve to actually want their kids to experience some of the freedoms that they did. Unfortunately, the commonly used phrases: “Aren’t you worried that (the fear of the day) will happen to them?” or the ever popular “I would never let my kid do that,” have a chilling impact on parents.

Are you ready to get off the helicopter merry go round and set your kids free to find a connection with nature? Try these ideas:

» Think about the things you did

as a child and why you will not let your child do them today.

Are these realistic fears or overblown paranoia by exposure to the media and the fear mongering society? For example, were you aware that the crime rate is actually lower now then when we were kids?

» Make the time to get your

children into nature. You can begin by taking a walk along the river, letting them explore while you stay a comfortable distance away. Then let them play with friends in the woods or mountains within shouting distance.

Next, how about taking on a three day backpack trip? Find a beautiful spot, arrange for plenty of down time, leave the technology at home or turned off. Live life without a game plan, and let your child’s imagination go free.

Recycle this paper

We need to take a step back and remember what we were capable of doing ourselves when we were 10 years old. “Our view of what children can do and figure out and survive is at its utter nadir. We can’t imagine them not hurting themselves in a vacant lot, much less finding their way around the neighborhood without a trusted adult,” says Skenazy. In the past, a 10-year-old was perfectly capable of doing many of the things we don’t trust 18-year-olds to do now.

» Allow your kids to fail in situaParents who were successfully babysitting when they were 13, are now afraid to let their own kids be alone at that age.

Those who protect children at all costs, are ready to use the government or lawyers to take on anyone who dares to do anything that might hurt their precious charges. Schools and government organizations are forced to cover their butts with so many safety rules for any outdoor activity that it takes away from the fun, the adventure and perhaps most importantly, the spontaneity, which is what builds imagination and self-confidence.

Missy Mohler, executive director of the Sierra Watershed Environmental Partnerships in Tahoe City says that while her organization takes hundreds of children out into the woods to study ecosystems, “All those rules get in the way of what we can do with the schools.” It limits the chance for kids to use their imaginations to help develop a healthy interest in natural science.

Parents are certainly not afraid to shame other parents who have A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

tions where there is little danger, this is how they grow and learn.

True self-esteem comes from completing a tough task successfully, not by being patted on the back for just participating.

» Talk to a parent from another country and discover that in many parts of the world, children actually do responsible things and take care of themselves.

When I look back at raising my now-25 and 22 year old daughters, I realize without a doubt that the best experiences we ever had together were our backpacking trips. Those trips not only assisted in the parent-child bonding process, but helped my daughters in their journey to become more independent and capable of taking care of themselves. While it is often forgotten now, our most important job as parents is helping to create children who are actually capable of functioning on their own by the time they leave the house. Ω Tim Hauserman wrote Monsters in the Woods: Backpacking with Children, and the official guide to the Tahoe Rim Trail.

This message brought to you by the Washoe County Health District with grant funding from the CDC through the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health.

HeaLTH GUIDe • oCToBer 1, 2015 • 7

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A reminder that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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1. Perform regular self-exams 2. Get an annual mammogram m 3. Don’t forget your annual clinical breast exam

One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime.

8 • HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015 CTH-3437_MammographyAd_RNR.indd 1

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS 4:18 & REVIEW 9/11/14 PM

Tell everybody R en o C i t y Co u n C i l m e m b eR n e o m a J a R d o n ta l ks a b o u t ov eR Co m i n g C a n C eR

O

n Sept. 24, the Regional Transportation Commission launched its new bus that is intended to raise awareness about issues regarding dense breast tissue. The big pink bus is project of Each One, Tell One., a local nonprofit, and sponsored

by Renown Regional Medical Center.

Neoma Jardon, who recently completed her radiation treatment for breast cancer, attributes the group’s public awareness campaign with saving her life, giving her the proper questions to ask at her annual mammogram, which spotted an aggressive cancer before it metastasized.

More information about Each One, Tell One. can be found on the group’s website, www.eachonetellone.com.

Tell me about your cancer diagnosis.

My breast cancer was discovered during a routine mammogram. I had some heightened awareness about dense breast tissue through the Each One, Tell One. organization prior to my mammogram. It prompted me to be much more aware about doing self-exams and being more in tune with my own body and symptoms and things to be watching out for. Most importantly, it kept a kind of in-frontof-mind awareness about it because it was local. It gave some local reliability and relate-ability to this issue.

You know those people so you trust them.

I know them, and I trust them, yes.

I heard the story of [local television anchor] Wendy Damonte and her mother’s passing from breast cancer because it wasn’t detected early enough because she didn’t have the right exam. She had dense breast tissue, and by the time it was discovered, it was too late. And so, when I went in to get my mammogram, I knew the questions that I needed to ask. I knew to make sure to tell my doctor of some tenderness that I was having. Certainly, there was no lump, nothing to that effect. That prompted the doctor to do the screenings to suit my dense breast tissue.

So how are those screenings different than a typical mammogram?

They are not just your typical mammogram because dense breast tissue is similar to cancer. Finding cancer in dense breast tissue is similar to trying to find a snowflake in a snowstorm unless you have these additional screenings, which are ultrasounds, and some new technologies that have come out that help decipher early cancers in dense breast tissue. Otherwise, it all looks like a fuzzy TV screen.

In a regular mammogram, it’s the dense tumors they’re looking for. So if it’s in the middle of dense tissue, you can’t spot it.

It doesn’t stand out, so, number 1, you need to identify if you have dense breast tissue, and many women do. So you need to ask the question first, to make sure when you’re having your routine mammogram that you’re asking, “Do I have dense breast tissue? Once it’s identified if you do, ask your doctor if you can have some of the new screenings, like ultrasound and SonoCine [automated whole breast ultrasound] exams to identify early-stage cancer due to your dense breast tissue, which during a normal mammogram may not be detected. So asking the right questions is critical. Telling your doctor any symptoms you might have. In my case, there was not lump. It wasn’t really pain; it was just tenderness. So I had the appropriate screenings, and it was determined that I did have breast cancer at one of its earliest stages so it was caught literally at probably the earliest stage it is possible to catch breast cancer. I had surgery to remove the ductal cancer.

It had not spread beyond the ducts. So I had surgery to remove it, and I just finished two months of everyday radiation—ten days ago I finished.

What does “ductal” mean?

The cancer that I had was called ductal cancer in situ. What that means is it’s cancer in the milk duct, but it’s in one place. So they did the biopsy first. The worst part was the waiting, the initial waiting in the waiting room after your normal mammogram was TELL EVERYONE continued on page 10

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HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015 • 9

s a h e s l e o h Guess w ? t u o g n i k been wor

y h t l a e h y a t S – n o s a e s s i h t cin e c a v u l f a ge t and healthy,

ard to get fit While you work h ll around you – a rk o w t a es rc there are evil fo ived and rr y, help has arr o w ’t n o D . s m er flu g u vacc ine. it ’s calle d the fl shou ld f age and older o s h nt o m 6 ne E ve ryo ’s fast, easy and It r. a ye y er ev e get a flu vacc in ranc e. your health insu h g u ro th ee fr usually vice for o a cove re d ser ls a is e in cc va u T he fl lled in Medic aid ro en n re ild ch r Medic are and fo k- Up. and Nevada Chec ep eating right ke , ym g e th t a So ke ep s weating old vacc inate d . eh s u o h r u yo in and get ever yone on tion ne are st you ca lo e in cc va u fl Find the our website.

This campaign is supported by the Nevada State Division of Public and Behavioral Health through Grant Number: 5H23IP000727-03 from the CDC.

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TELL EVERYONE continued from page 9 just a little too long, and that’s when I knew something might be wrong.

Then the nurse called me back: “We’d like to do some additional screenings; come back in, let’s do some more screenings.” Then when I told the doctor I’d been having some tenderness, then he said, “OK, we’re now going to do the ultrasound as well.” That led to the doctor saying, “Come into my office.” That was when he put up on the screen what might be cancer. But it wasn’t until I had the biopsy, where they literally pull some of the tissue out and tested it, that it was determined to be cancer. ... And then you start going into the question phase. “What does this mean? How is it going to impact my family? How am I going to tell my family? How am I going to tell my son?” That was heartbreaking.

Anytime someone utters the word “cancer,” your immediate reaction is not a good one. No one wants to get the diagnosis of cancer. Certainly in my case, through talking to the doctors and getting some research, my cancer was caught so early that it was confined to the duct, and through surgery and radiation, my cure-rate and my probability of not having any other issues is very high.

So is that a lumpectomy?

Yes, that’s exactly what it is. In my case, rather than being a lump, there was a duct. There was no actual lump; it was in the duct. Cancer cells kind of look like little white dots on the radiology exam. It’s when those little white dots start to cluster together and a have a shape to them, that it starts to signify that something is going haywire. That’s what happened in my case. I have no family history, and I had genetic testing done to show that I don’t have any mutated genes or anything that would predispose me to cancer, but I still got it.

Right. And it seems to me they just recently changed how often women are supposed to do mammograms. Would yours have been caught if you’d waited?

I doubt it. And I’ll tell you why.

There are some new guidelines coming out from some of the insurance companies that say unless you have some of the high-risk probabilities, you are recommended to have your breast exam every two years. I can tell you if I had waited two years, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you. The indicators of my cancer had the word aggressive, and it

had changed so much from the prior year’s mammogram, that if I had waited another 12 months, I wouldn’t have just had surgery and radiation.

I would have been talking about something far more serious. Or may not have been talking at all.

So tell me about the nonprofit.

Each one, Tell One. was founded

by Wendy Damonte and Heather Reimer. She too had had a standard mammogram, but had a promotional thing where she worked at Renown where you got some insurance points if you did some health-screening things. She just had a mammogram clear, and she decided, “OK, I’m going to get these points from my insurance, I’m going to have this additional screening for dense breast tissue.” Low and behold, she had a pretty significant lump and had to have surgery right away. They both initiated Each One, Tell One., which was not only to promote “Talk to your doctor about having breast exams,” but make sure you’re asking your doctor about dense breast tissue.

Do you have it? If you have it, are you having the right screenings to make sure cancer is caught at its earliest stage. They went down to the legislature, I don’t believe it was this session, it was the one before, and got some legislation passed. I immediately called Wendy and Heather up and said, “It’s your awareness campaign, you promoting not only get em checked, but ask your doc the right questions, get the right screenings.

You literally saved my life.”

So Each One, Tell One. Are you supposed to tell a friend about what you’ve learned now?

Yes, the whole thing is, “Hey, we’re all busy mothers, wives, businesswomen, all those things, all those house responsibilities, husband responsibilities. First off, stop putting it off. Stop postponing that appointment.

Stop canceling that appointment. The idea was if we just tell one person, and they tell one person, and they tell one person, that’s how Each One, Tell One. came to be. “Did you hear Wendy’s story? Did you hear Heather’s story?

Did you hear Neoma’s story? That’s how her cancer got caught because she asked the right questions because Heather told her about it.” That’s the premise behind it. Ω

More information about Each One. Tell One. can be found on the group’s website, www.eachonetellone.com.

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A n ed i to r At o u r s i s t er pA p er u s ed A d i ffer en t m ed i c A lp ot s t r A i n e v ery dAy to s ee w h At m ed i c i n e wo r ks b es t

I

’ve used pot less than a handful of times over the past few years. But starting tonight, I’ll be getting high every evening for the next seven days. What a job!

You’ve heard the claims: Pot will melt away stress. Pot will tuck you into bed for eternal slumber. Four out of five doctors prefer pot over alcohol as a coping mechanism for your crummy job (perhaps true; there was a recent New York Times feature on this).

Maybe I need more pot in my life?

There are, however, hundreds upon hundreds of different marijuana strains.

You know, with the disconcerting names like Green Crack. And each strain leaves you feeling a different way.

With a nod to writer Roberto Jamon of Willamette Week—he’s a selfdescribed “weed hater” who did a story up in Portland about smoking different strains for a week to see if he would hop on the state’s legal-pot bandwagon—I too obtained a physician referral, bought some pot, packed bowls into an Iolite vaporizer and got high for seven straight days. Would I learn to love weed? Or would I just get fired from my job?

Day one, Girl Scout Cookies:

This strain is an indica-dominant hybrid and is supposed to relieve stress with its intense euphoria. Its impact is sudden.

I’m overtaken by the idea of doing A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

laundry. And then, I actually get up off the couch and start a load.

The danger of this strain is that it’s one of those pot highs that makes you think you’re hilarious—but you’re probably just pissing your girlfriend off while she’s trying to watch Modern Family reruns. Upside: It makes brushing and flossing your teeth amazing.

I think about how it’s inappropriate to name marijuana Girl Scout Cookies.

It’s like calling a cigarette Sesame Street.

The next morning, I can’t recall what happened the night before. This is the weed for you if you want to forget an unseemly hook-up.

Day two, Blue Dream: This sativa-dominant hybrid is, according to Leafly.com, supposed to proffer “gentle cerebral invigoration.” Leafly.com is full of crap.

Almost immediately upon vaporizing, a dryness overtakes the eyes, which feel as if they’re wobbling inside their sockets. I start obsessing over my heart rate.

Sitting on the couch in hopes of relaxing only leads to more racy emotions. I’m going to die death by cerebral overload.

It’s like my mind is watching every David Lynch film at once.

Day Three, OG Kush: After last night’s anxiety meltdown, I’m nervous

by Nick Miller

Weed for the week

about another bad experience. This strain delivers, though, and the high is similar to Girl Scout Cookies. I’m once again the funniest man in Sacramento. My girlfriend insists that I crack wise in the kitchen while doing dishes. The sink water is is warm like Hawaiian tides. I never want this dishwashing to end.

Day Four, Thin Mints: All sorts of lethargy kicks in with Thin Mints.

I watch that Vince Vaughn movie The Internship and actually like it. On TV news, there’s a bear stuck in a tree in the city of Tracy. The bear eventually tumbles from the branches, falling several feet before landing on a blanket held by firefighters. Onlookers shriek.

KCRA shows this clip over-and-over.

I’m too lazy to reach for the remote to change the channel. When I finally grab the remote, I rewind the news telecast to watch the bear fall again. I can’t stop!

This entire time, my entire body feels like it’s atop one of those foot massagers at the State Fair. I wake up on the couch at 5:30 a.m. and feel uh-mazing.

Day Five, Charlotte’s Web: This strain is packed with CBDs, which supposedly help with pain relief. But you hardly feel a head change. I’ve gotten more high from a poppy seed muffin.

Day Six, Sour Diesel: Had to take the dog for a walk after a bowl of this

I think about how it’s inappropriate to name marijuana Girl Scout Cookies.

It’s like calling a cigarette Sesame Street.

sativa strain. The mind was too racy to simply loaf around the apartment. I come up with the idea of starting a local business that installs smartphone chargers at restaurants and bars. I’m going to be a millionaire. And, if I had a million dollars, I’d give it all to you to make this insane high end. Too. Much.

Day Seven, Grandaddy Purps:

Like the Thin Mints, the so-called GDP is a couch-lock medicine that leaves a sweet taste in the mouth. Or maybe that’s the pint of ice cream I just finished off.

What did I learn from this week? As a career guy pushing 40, indica cannabis better suits by my desire to chill after work. Indica strains were phenomenal for relaxation—too powerful, even.

Sativas are for those of you painting murals or deejaying EDM music.

Will I keep using medical pot?

Probably not. Stoners get have a bad reputation for being lazy, but getting high every day was a commitment. I’m already working full-time, and while getting stoned didn’t impact my job, it’s pretty hard to carve out time to do absolutely nothing every day. Had no idea pot was so much damned work. Ω HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015 • 13

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ight. A walk into Sierra Wellness Connection is a passage into the natural light that fills the reception area with warmth– a welcoming contrast to the dark rooms and closed doors associated with the medical marijuana of yesterday.

Hues of green and comfortable seating create a relaxed atmosphere for visitors to fill out initial paperwork. A tour through the facility reveals the careful consideration given to every detail of the patient experience. The patient consultation and resource room is a private area where patients, in a confidential setting, can learn about the benefits, dosages and strains of medical marijuana. In the main room of the dispensary, modern displays offer a variety of rigorously tested, high-quality cannabis strains, and a wide assortment of useful merchandise.

Jeff and Eva Grossman have responsibility for the daily operations of the Sierra Wellness cultivation and the dispensary operations, respectively. They have a deep knowledge of state laws and regulations governing the medical cannabis industry, and they ensure that the company’s operations are fully compliant. What is more, this husband and wife team brings to the company their business background and years of experience in customer service.

The dispensary is a place of education, helpfulness, and compassion.

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Sierra Wellness Connection is supported by investors with rich and various experience in a wide range of industries.

Deane Albright, Del Marting, and Steven Nightingale all 14 • HEALTH GUIDE • OCTOBER 1, 2015

“ medical cannabis is helping them personal stories of how

survive and thrive despite the symptoms of various diseases - Dr. Joe Crowley

”

have long and reputable backgrounds in business, and have shown a conscious and dedicated commitment to the quality of life in Northern Nevada. The company is also privileged to have as a Director Dr. Joe Crowley, who served as President of the University of Nevada for over 23 years. He has a national reputation, and has played a key role in formulating the ethical standards for Reno’s first medical cannabis cultivation and dispensary.

A key investor in Sierra Wellness Connection is its President, Morgan Carr, a pioneer of the use of medical cannabis in Colorado. Mr. Carr has brought his considerable industry and product expertise to the company. In addition to his experience as a state consultant on operational and regulatory standards, and his work as a member of the Medical Enforcement Division (MED), his experimentation with over 150 strains and medical cannabis has made him an expert on the growth of cannabis and the variety of treatment options.

dedication to serve the needs of the patient community with knowledge, support, and respect. To this end, the company developed operations manuals that have set an industry standard for the rest of Nevada, as well as extensive training programs for all personnel, with an emphasis on patient privacy and comfort.

“Our patients are diverse,” said Eva Grossman. “The population spans the conservative and liberal, the young and old, and every socioeconomic class.”

Even more varied are the conditions they seek treatment for, from veterans suffering from PTSD to breast cancer patients needing treatment for nausea caused by chemotherapy, to patients suffering from chronic pain, to those plagued by persistent muscle spasms including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

“So many people – and ones I never would have expected – have thanked me and shared personal stories of how medical cannabis is helping them survive and thrive despite the symptoms of various diseases,” Dr. Joe Crowley said.

The team has worked together closely and cooperatively to ensure Sierra Wellness Connection would operate as a model facility that holds to the highest professional standards, and proves daily its

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

Testosterone is crucial, but it’s misrepresented in popular magazines.

by Matthew Bieker

What makes a man?

T h er e a r e h e a lT h fu l ways To i n c r e a s e T es To s T er o n e

T

estosterone plays a vital role in both men’s and women’s bodies. Its dominion over muscle function and a healthy sex drive are often marketed as the gauge of a guy’s essential “manliness.” Men’s fitness articles and ads for combatting “Low-T” stress the importance of avoiding testosterone “bombs” and tout many foods and supplements as T-“boosters.” But in clamoring to help readers squeeze more manpower out of maca root and egg yolks, this “bombs versus boosters” mentality can sometimes miss the point.

Dr. Daniel Caruso is a graduate of the University of Nevada medical school and a practicing endocrinologist in Reno.

Endocrinologists specialize in hormone conditions and treatments, and many male patients come to him when they, or sometimes a wife or girlfriend, notice something “off.”

“Decreased stamina, decreased muscle strength, muscle mass, change in libido, sex drive—that isn’t otherwise attributable to anything else,” Caruso said. “When it’s part of the bigger picture, then it’s a pretty big indicator that there’s something wrong.”

In an effort to stave off sexual frustration or aid in their fitness goals, many men will subscribe to the newest T-boosting super-foods and avoid certain products and habits purported to sap testosterone.

For example, soy products have long been blacklisted in men’s health forums as estrogen powerhouses, but Dr. Caruso believes there is little cause for concern.

“There isn’t enough estrogen in soy to make a difference,” Caruso said. “They’ve actually done formal studies looking at that, comparing testosterone levels to soy intake and didn’t see any appreciable change.”

A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO RENO NEWS & REVIEW

Caruso says that many of these products rumored to increase or decrease T levels offer more of a clinical connection as opposed to hard and fast lifestyle rules.

Even physical behaviors like masturbation don’t seem to have any discernible effect.

“It’s a theoretical difference,” said Caruso. “You can show it in a test-tube, you can show it in a receptor analysis, but practically speaking you can’t measure a person’s blood-level change.”

Diet and lifestyle choices are crucial in maintaining overall health, but those looking for quick hormonal fixes should focus on what Caruso considers to be the greatest threats to testosterone production: obesity and stress.

“Anything raising stress levels is going to decrease reproductive hormones,” Caruso said. “There’s always stress in life, but in terms of how you respond to it, that makes a big difference. Going out for a run instead of drinking a six-pack might be a better way to deal with the stress.”

While obesity quickens the transformation of testosterone to estrogen, chronic stress suppresses the release of hormones not immediately useful for the “fight or flight” reflex. Basically, if your body believes you are in immediate peril (even if you aren’t), you have little need for sex.

Testosterone is crucial for normal bodily functions and its absence is readily noticed in men of any age. Rather than turning to lists of do’s and do-not’s, however, men might have better luck focusing on the basics: normalizing sleep patterns, regular exercise, and avoiding unhealthy stress or coping mechanisms. And as always, consult your doctor before you take a magazine’s prescription. Ω

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