April Notes from Dr. Klug

Compounded Hormones At Risk

This may not be a drill. The FDA and Big Pharma may have found a back door way to stop compounded hormone by adding them to a “difficult to compound list.” This regulatory sleight of hand requires no legislation and is based on a biased–shall I say rigged–study. Please go to compounding.com to write your legislators and add your story about the difference compounded hormones have made in your life. At one time, I may not have taken this seriously, but considering how the past few years have gone in the US and worldwide, anything seems possible. Please act.

Great Articles on Benefits of Vitamin D

Just as I roll my eyes 🙄 at yet another report showing no benefit to vitamin D supplementation, here come two terrific articles showing what we all know is true. The most tragic finding: maintaining a vitamin D level of 50 ng/mL could reduce COVID mortality to near zero. You read that right: near zero. Check out Vitamin D is Top Priority for Protecting Your Patients This Winter and VITAL: Vitamin D, Omega3s Quell Autoimmune Risk. The only reason Omega 3s did not perform better in the VITAL study was that, as usual, the dose was too low.

What’s In My Smoothie? Natto.

My morning smoothie isn’t a treat. It’s a nutrition delivery vehicle and a way to reduce the number of supplement pills I take by getting those nutrients from real food. A patient and I were recently comparing notes about our smoothies and at her suggestion, I will be sharing my recent additions over the next months.

Natto is a Japanese condiment routinely eaten for breakfast. Made from fermented soybeans, it is the best food source of vitamin K2. It is rich in the probiotic bacillus subtilis and the enzyme nattokinase, which I rarely prescribe in supplement form anymore due to it’s expense. Vitamin K2 clears calcium from the arteries, and keeps it in the bones, making it essential from artery and bone health. The probiotic supports gut health in many ways. Nattokinase reduces blood sludging and clotting as it occurs, instead of keeping the blood thin all the time. This improves blood flow and oxygenation leading to many benefits including reduced pain, improved cognition, libido, blood pressure, migraine, fertility and even hemorrhoids. Here is the freeze dried powder I use, 1/2 teaspoon per person.

Beets: Tied for Best Source of Nitric Oxide

Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in the 1990s for the discovery of nitric oxide. Only now can we test for it and take action to improve it. Most of us know that when we breathe, hemoglobin in our red blood cells snatch oxygen from the air, then release it to the tissues that need it. However, we now know that nitric oxide must bind to hemoglobin for this to occur. We meet 50% of our nitric oxide by eating beets and leafy greens, and the rest via bacteria on the back of the tongue that exist only in a healthy mouth. So if you don’t eat beets and leafy greens or you have pocketing, dry mouth or other oral health issues, you are slowly asphyxiating your organs and tissues. Oxygen is the essential nutrient and without it, we slowly break down.

So why not go for number one, beets! I guess about 50% of my patients don’t like them, but then they haven’t tried them roasted. Roasting caramelizes the sugars in most any vegetable, make this method a gateway for even the staunchest vegetable hater. Remember how Brussels sprouts became a favorite once people tried them roasted? Take a look at Easy Steps to Perfectly Roasted Beets.


You think you don’t like fish because fish sold in the heartland is not and can no way be fresh! Vital Choice is the only fish and seafood Dr. Klug recommends. Fresh and tasty delivered flash frozen to your door, Vital Choice specializes in high omega 3 fish and seafood.

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Dr. Bethany Klug has practiced holistic and functional medicine since 2003, after it resolved health challenges that conventional medicine could not address for her. She is known for taking time to listen and to tease out the root causes that when addressed lead to more vibrant health. The name of her practice, HealthSpan, was inspired by her wish for everyone to enjoy lifelong vibrant health, instead of a long life plagued by chronic disease. She is known as an osteopath, and for her skill in natural medicine and bioidentical hormone replacement. Her practice is located in Prairie Village, KS, a suburb of Kansas City. Learn more at HealthSpanKC.com.

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