February 3, 2014
Autoimmune reactions to the thyroid gland go largely undetected and cause many deleterious health effects including unexplained fatigue, weight gain, infertility and depression. There are an estimated 13 million Americans each year that have this treatable condition that go undiagnosed and needlessly suffer. And I predict that this number will rise dramatically, as we are exposed to more radiation and environmental toxins then ever before. Click here for a recent article on this topic published in the Journal of the Association for the Advancement of Restorative Medicine. I have given lectures for thousands of physicians over the years on ways to properly diagnose and treat this condition, and hopefully their patients are benefiting from the training. Our patients experience “miraculous” health benefits from proper treatment using prescription natural thyroid medication and simple diet and lifestyle changes. Their depression lifts, weight is no longer an issue, and energy levels rise.
Here’s to a healthy new you in the new year!
–Dr. Gina
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Thyroid Health, Toxins and Detoxification | Tagged: autoimmune thyroid disease, Depression, Dr. Gina (Nick) Cushman, drgina.com, environmental toxins, fatigue, infertility, iodine and radiation, radiation, radiation and thyroid | 
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
November 2, 2013
The Environmental Working Group has published an excellent article detailing the 12 most common chemicals in our environment that cause hormone disruption leading to everything from cancer to infertility to shrunken testicles…and actions you can take today to help protect yourself and your family from harm.
The first step is to remove the source of the chemicals if you can. Read here to learn more.
The second step is to support the body’s natural detoxification processes daily, and seasonally, through medically supervised detoxification programs that are customized to your specific situation, your lab test results and your metabolism.
No one can afford to ignore this issue. Chemicals in our environment can cause irreversible harm to our health, if we allow it.
In health,
Dr. Gina
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
May 29, 2013
A new study 
reveals that prolonged exposure to pesticides, bug and weed killers, and solvents raise the risk for developing Parkinson’s disease.
Italian investigators who reviewed more than 100 prior studies found exposure to such agents boosted Parkinson’s disease risk by anywhere from 33 percent to 80 percent, they reported in the May 28 issue of the journal Neurology.
“Due to this association, there was also a link between farming or country living and developing Parkinson’s in some of the studies,” study leader Dr. Emanuele Cereda, of the IRCCS University Hospital San Matteo Foundation in Pavia, said in a journal news release.
Some studies specifically explored how home or work environment affected disease risk. Where individuals got their water also was the subject of some investigations.
Environmental toxins absolutely contribute to this disease and there are ways to test the blood and urine which we regularly do for our patients at HealthBridge to identify possible exposure and associated damage to neural tissue years before a disease like this has the opportunity to manifest. We implement customized purification programs to assist in lowering the toxic burden and risk of disease.
In health,
Dr. Gina
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1 Comment | Latest Nutritional Research, News, Prevention, Purification, Purification Program, Toxins and Detoxification | Tagged: Cellular Purification Complex, Dr. Gina Cushman, environmental toxins, Parkinson's, Purification Program, www.purifyforhealth.com | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
April 29, 2013
The non-profit Environmental Working Group recently released their 2013 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists. Apples and celery were at the top of the list of the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, while asparagus and avocados were at the top of the list of the least contaminated fruits and vegetables. Click here for more.
Pesticide residues are an important contributor to the increased incidence of chronic illnesses worldwide, including obesity, estrogen sensitive cancers, neurological disorders, depression and anxiety.
In an effort to protect the body from harm (especially children whose detoxification mechanisms are not fully developed, and older adults whose detoxification systems are less efficient), do your best to stick with organic when consuming the Dirty Dozen.
In health,
Dr. Gina
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
April 11, 2013
From the The New York Times (nytimes.com) – Air Pollution Tied to Birth Defects – By Nicholas Bakalar – (Monday, April 08, 2013)
Exposure in the first two months of pregnancy to air pollution from traffic sharply increases the risk for birth defects, a new study has found. Researchers used data from two large studies carried out in eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley in California. One has tracked birth defects since 1997, and the other has recorded concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter at 20 locations in the valley since the 1970s. The results are posted online in The American Journal of Epidemiology. Setting aside defects attributable to other known causes, there were 849 cases of birth defects.
The researchers adjusted for smoking, maternal age and other variables, and compared these cases with 853 healthy control subjects.They found that a mother living in areas with the highest levels of carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxide concentrations (the top 25 percent) was almost twice as likely to give birth to a child with neural tube defects — severe and often fatal defects of the brain and spinal cord— as one living in areas with the lowest concentrations.
I hope that all of us do the best that we can, to pay attention to the impact of environmental pollutants on health, and take action to reduce the toxic load on our planet and our children.
–Dr. Gina
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Leave a Comment » | Latest Nutritional Research, Pregnancy, Prevention, Toxins and Detoxification | Tagged: air pollution in pregnancy, environmental toxins | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
September 16, 2010
A new study (1) published in the International Journal of Obesity found that those individuals who lost a significant amount of weight had an average of 50% higher levels of six of the most toxic organic environmental pollutants in their blood, as compared to those who gained weight! This is based on data collected from among 1,099 adult participants age ≥40 in the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Toxins are stored in fat cells and once fat cells purge their contents, those toxins will begin to circulate in your blood stream. There is an association between the increased level of toxins in our environment beginning with the industrial age, and the increased incidence of obesity in our country. This new research provides further evidence that undergoing a 21 Day Purification Program can be a wise step to take on your weight loss journey. This program is clinically researched and includes custom formulas that are proven to bind to environmental toxins and remove them from your body so that they do not cause DNA damage and disease.
If you are interested in learning more about the role toxins play in the body and how detoxification methods help, click here.
To your health,
Dr. G
(1)The authors declared they had no conflicts of interest. Lee D-H, et al “Inverse associations between long-term weight change and serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants” Intl J Obesity 2010; DOI: 10.1038/IJO.2010.188.
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
June 12, 2010
There is no question that toxins are the culprit for many unnecessary health challenges we face today, and employing a purification program, at least twice per year is essential to supporting your health and well-being. Taking daily steps to support your body’s innate detoxification mechanisms is equally important, as they are bogged down with the high volume of toxins our society produces each day. Our bodies have not evolved to the point of being able to keep up with the level of toxins we are exposed to each day.
In health,
–Dr. G
Via Time Magazine, April 12, 2010. With so many scary-sounding, potentially toxic compounds turning up in our household products, it’s hard to know which agents are really worth worrying about. Here is a guide to some of the most commonly found toxins Read more. … Read More
via Luna’Spring
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1 Comment | Heavy Metals, Latest Nutritional Research, Purification, Purification Program, Toxins and Detoxification | Tagged: dr. gina nick, environmental toxins, LTP Medical Purification Program, LTP Natural Medical Center, Purification Program, toxins, www.drgina.com | Permalink
Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
June 10, 2010
Even at low levels generally considered to pose little or no risk, exposure to environmental lead might increase – by as much as 2.3 times – the risk of depression and panic disorder but not of generalized anxiety disorder. That was the suggestion of a Canadian study appearing in the December, 2009 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. Gender and ethnicity were also factors and the researchers stressed that lead exposure cannot be determined to be a cause of these psychological problems.
One of the main, and often overlooked, sources of heavy metals, including lead, is our water supply-both drinking water and shower water. I recommend investing in a quality water filtration and ionization system to all of our patients. The link between heavy metal exposure and mental illness suggested in this study and proven in many others (including practical, real life studies completed with patients at LTP Medical) is one of the reasons why we always test patients with mental health challenges for exposure to environmental toxins including heavy metals and treat them using the LTP Medical Custom Purification Program to remove the toxins from their systems. This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to see immediate benefit in patients suffering needlessly with these challenges. Other treatments include custom amino acid therapy, fatty acid therapy, orthomolecular therapy, hormone therapy and food allergy testing and treatment.
In health,
Dr. G
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
August 20, 2009
Resveratrol is a naturally occurring chemical found in the skins and seeds of red grapes, peanuts and in Polygonum, a popular and well respected herbal medicine from the Far East. Currently, the research on Resveratrol is promising as a protective chemical against the damaging effects of toxins, synthetic estrogen and xenoestrogens, inflammation, and the process of aging. It has specific actions on the brain, immune system, and heart.
In my practice I will use between 200 and 500 mg per day of Resveratrol as part of a treatment protocol. This typically is added to a protocol after a patient has been tested to determine if he or she has a deficiency of antioxidants or an imbalance of free radicals relative to antioxidants in the body. All too often patients come into my practice with a huge bag of supplements, with no idea of what is working, what is not working and still battling the same symptoms that led him or her down the path of supplementation.
You know your body better then anyone else… you have been living in it your entire life! You may have a sense of what is causing your symptoms and you also may have a sense for what medicines are helping or harming you. To help confirm that sense, and develop a balanced approach to solving your health challenge, I encourage getting lab testing completed through a qualified Naturopathic Medical Doctor who has access and has experience with taking objective measured to get to an underlying biochemical cause for your symptoms. And at that point, adding a powerful antioxidant such as Resveratrol to your protocol, and then re-testing after 3-6 months, this will let you know for certain if what you are taking is actually helping to balance your body!
In health,
–Dr. Gina
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
November 14, 2008
A hopeful new report entitled “Taking Toxics out of Maryland’s Health Care Sector: transition to Green Pest Management Practices to Protect Health and the Environment” was recently published by the Maryland Pesticide Network and Beyond Pesticides, in collaboration with Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment.
The report discusses the results of a statewide survey that revealed a general reliance on toxic pesticides at Maryland Hospitals and elder care facilities. There were 25 pesticides identified by the survey that are used at these facilities. And of these, 11 
are linked to cancer, 12 are associated with neurological effects, 10 are associated reproductive harm, 5 cause birth or developmental defects, 10 cause liver and kidney damage, and 6 are suspected endocrine disruptors.
Pesticides are extremely toxic to the body and it does not make sense that they are being used in healthcare facilities. Even though they are classified as “safe” by the federal government, there is a compounding effect. This means that if you were only exposed to a “safe” dose of a single pesticide, and you were otherwise a healthy individual, then you may not see immediate effects. However, these toxins accumulate in fat cells and, over time, lead to cellular damage. Also, you are never only exposed to one toxin at a time. Your body is exposed to many different toxins at one time, and the added exposure to a known toxic pesticide will lead to a combined damaging effect on the body, regardless of its classification as being “generally recognized as safe.”
The Human Detoxification System is equipped to remove toxins from your body on a minute by minute bases. And it is a brilliant system. However, it is not designed to handle the sheer volume of toxins that we are exposed to in our society today- through our food, water, air and the mental and emotional stresses of our time. So eventually, your body’s ability to remove toxins slows down, and the toxins get stored near your cellular DNA, causing damage.
To learn more about toxins, and their impact on the body click here. Eight years ago I published a medical textbook on the effects of toxins on the human body and the use of herbal and nutritional medicines to support the Human Detoxification System, and protect the body from harm. My intention with writing the book was to bring scientific evidence to the timeless health tradition of cleansing the body and to inspire physicians and medical students to employ this simple health program to prevent and treat many diseases of the human body, mind and spirit.
Equally important to taking steps to detoxify your body, you must also remove sources of toxins from the environment as much as is possible. To learn about natural alternatives to toxic pesticides click here and here for some straightforward advice.
In health,
– Dr. G
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Posted by Dr. Gina Nick
Autoimmune reactions to the thyroid gland go largely undetected and cause many deleterious health effects including unexplained fatigue, weight gain, infertility and depression. There are an estimated 13 million Americans each year that have this treatable condition that go undiagnosed and needlessly suffer. And I predict that this number will rise dramatically, as we are exposed to more radiation and environmental toxins then ever before. Click here for a recent article on this topic published in the Journal of the Association for the Advancement of Restorative Medicine. I have given lectures for thousands of physicians over the years on ways to properly diagnose and treat this condition, and hopefully their patients are benefiting from the training. Our patients experience “miraculous” health benefits from proper treatment using prescription natural thyroid medication and simple diet and lifestyle changes. Their depression lifts, weight is no longer an issue, and energy levels rise.
