Dr. Oz’s Pain: Constipation and Bursitis

Dr. Oz has complained several times about his constipation and the pain he feels in his shoulders during surgery.  He has recommended numerous treatments.  Since I feel a friendly affection toward Mehmet after talking/shouting at his image on the screen for hours, I think that I should give him some advice to relieve his pain.

Hot, Cold, Topical Treatments Are Effective, but Don’t Penetrate Themselves

Dr. Oz keeps talking about how various topical applications penetrate the skin.  He has even recommended the use of an electrical system to carry pain relieving steroids into his tissue by what looks to be electrophoresis.  This is dubious.  I would recommend that he stick to the topical chemicals, e.g. capsaicin, menthol, that target the hot and cold sensors of the superficial layers of the skin and result in deep penetrating nerve signals that trigger anti-inflammatory responses in the underlying bursa.

Constipation Is Caused by Damaged Gut Flora or Dysbiosis

Dr. Oz, like most physicians, does not usually explain the causes of diseases, such as bursitis.  Unfortunately, when he tries to explain problems, such as constipation, he overlooks important aspects of the problem for a facile physical model.  In the case of bursitis, it is important to realize that the patient, Dr. Oz, is also constipated.  Constipation can be aggravated by dehydration or “holding it”, but in Dr. Oz’s case, the combination of bursitis, an autoimmune disease, with constipation (and gas) suggests the more complete explanation of dysbiosis or damaged gut flora.  Dysbiosis is what causes constipation, because bowel stools, poop, is mostly packed, hydrated bacteria that grow in the colon by digesting soluble fiber.  If you eat an apple a day, there is enough pectin and other plant polysaccharides, i.e. soluble fiber, to increase the volume of the stools to make one regular.  [Don’t be confused by the misconception promoted by Dr. Oz that the volume of stools results from insoluble fiber, such as in whole grains.  The husk part of whole grains is useless or unhealthy and grains in general are not needed for a healthy diet.]  

Flush Toilet Hero

Dr. Oz’s constipation suggests a damaged gut flora.  Since he is a physician, one would suspect that he has used antibiotics in the past few years and wiped out essential types of gut bacteria.  Dr. Oz probably followed his own advice and attempted to patch up his damaged gut flora with probiotics.  Unfortunately, as I have repeatedly explained, dairy probiotics don’t survive in the gut and cannot repair damaged gut flora.  But Dr. Oz is even harder on his gut flora.  He has recommended the use of colloidal silver throat spray when he has been exposed contagious germs.  Silver, although ineffective for its intended use, is very toxic to gut flora after it is swallowed.  Dr. Oz also subscribes to numerous approaches to house and body hygiene, which are probably occupational hazards for surgeons.  Hygiene is the enemy when it comes to ingesting bacteria lost to antibiotics.  The atomizing flush toilet is my gut flora hero for spreading contagious health.

Damaged Gut Flora = Damaged Immune System

Constipation is bad enough, but damaged gut flora can mean that some of the bacteria needed for the gut-based development of cells regulatory T-cells (Tregs) that keep the immune system under control, are missing.  Constipation can lead to deficient Tregs and that means a major predisposition to autoimmune disease and allergies.  [Fecal transplants cure autoimmune diseases and allergies.]  Antibiotics, silver, hygiene excesses and constipation suggest to me that Dr. Oz has been cruising toward some rude immunological sequelae.

Autoimmunity Results From Antibiotics, Dysbiosis and Compromised Tregs

Autoimmune diseases result when a trifecta of inflammation, compromised Tregs and appropriate antigens occurs.  Normally physical damage, such as abusive shoulder exercise, results in inflammation as the first step in healing.  The inflammation can rev up the immune cells in the local area of tissue damage and some of the proteins, such as lubricin, which lubricates the bursa, may have basic triplet amino acid sequences that lead to presentation to immune system cells.  But no antibodies against self tissues are produced, because the Tregs stop the process.  Healthy gut flora produce healthy Tregs and block autoimmunity.

Dr. Oz abuses his shoulder bursa during surgery, but it can’t heal properly, because he has damaged his gut flora and compromised his Tregs.  The result is the autoimmune bursitis from which he now suffers.  He can reduce the symptoms and inflammation with topical anti-inflammatory natural chemicals, but he needs to repair his gut flora to repair his Tregs and reduce autoimmunity.  In the mean time, he is contaminating his local environment, family and friends with his unhealthy bacteria.  I wonder if Dr. Oz’s friend, Dr. Mike Roizen also suffers from autoimmune diseases?

Prescription to Repair Gut Flora:  Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Soluble Fiber, Fermented Vegetables, Less Hygiene

KEEP YOUR TOOTH BRUSH NEAR THE OPEN TOILET 

Dr. Oz, Pain, Hot/Cold Receptors

The production of endorphins in tissues in response to nerve stimulation relieves inflammation and pain. Dr. Oz and the medical community seem to forget that hot and cold receptors in the skin can be readily triggered by natural products in foods, to stimulate the release of endorphins and treat inflammation in nearby tissues.

Hot and Cold Don't Easily Penetrate the Skin
Athletic trainers commonly apply hot and cold packs to avoid swelling and inflammation from injuries, and they are always discussing the virtues of various hot/cold regimens. They ignore the extraordinary efficiency of the circulatory system in regulating tissue temperatures and avoiding temperature changes. They also ignore the fact that chemical "hot and cold" salves and ointments are effective without actually changing the temperature of the skin. The essential observation is that triggering hot and cold sensing nerves is more important than changing the temperature of the damaged tissues.

Common Food Molecules Activate Hot/Cold Nerve Receptors
Peppers are hot, because they contain capsaicin that binds to protein receptors on nerves in the skin, which results in the brain sensation of heat. Camphor and castor oil bind to the same receptors. Menthol binds to corresponding cold receptors. Vicks Vaporub has both menthol and camphor, and therefore stimulates both hot and cold sensors. Vicks is also an effective treatment for tissue inflammation.

Vicks and Castor Oil are Effective Treatments for Pain and Inflammation
A bee sting or a burn on a finger will produce reddening, swelling and pain, that can be quickly alleviated by applying Vicks to the wrist. The hot and cold sensors of the wrist would be stimulated and the returning nerve signals would be generally detected in the whole hand and produce endorphins that would calm the inflammation and sooth the injured finger. In a similar way, an inflamed joint can be treated by topical menthol and castor oil, and lower abdominal discomfort can be alleviated by castor oil applied to the belly.

Tendonitis can be Treated with Peppermint Soap
I have treated a persistent tendonitis in my shoulder by applying Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap liberally to my shoulder and waiting a few minutes before continuing my shower. This gentle, persistent treatment produced relief within a week. This was a cure for this persistent inflammation and pain. It also works on joints.

What Dr. Oz needs to communicate is that there are simple ways to stimulate hot/cold receptors that have nothing to do with changing the temperature of deeper tissues, but these treatments are very effective in stimulating general endorphin production that reduces troublesome inflammation and pain. As an addendum, vagal stimulation, i.e. through yoga postures such as shavasana or the Valsalva maneuver, can produce a reduction in general inflammation.