Just an update

I finally had my right hip replaced. It was an unusually long surgery but went well. I am recovering and aggressively doing physical therapy (no..my wife Daryl is not my physical therapist).

I have been back in the office two weeks after the surgery and getting stronger every day.

My surgeon, Edward Sutter MD, achieved a miracle with the 3+ hour surgery. I recommend him very highly for hips and knees. My right hip was so locked into the hip socket that he needed to use a corkscrew (yes...a literal corkscrew) to get out. Who knew he had a sterile corkscrew in the operating room :)?

I enjoyed it so much that I scheduled my next hip for September 22nd.

In This Issue

1. Ultra processed foods and dementia
2. Fibromyalgia...definition, therapy options and cure
3. Coffee...good or bad?
4. Is single payer healthcare coming?

New Office

I know this post is repetitive but I am still getting some patients who do not realize we have moved...please bear with me.

If you are using google maps for directions...google ALT-MED and you will get proper directions. If you google 473 Army Trail Road it is hit and miss.

We look forward to seeing y'all soon...bring chocolate as a house warming gift :)

Patrick Massey MD PhD MhD

Daryl Massey PT MPT

Ultra Processed Food and Dementia Risk

There is solid medical evidence that people who regularly consume highly processed foods are at a significant increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia.  Many of the food additives in our food and how they are processed are not conducive for long-term mental (and physical) health.

One recent study strongly suggested that not only is a diet of highly processed foods toxic but that highly processed foods even in smaller amounts has measurable health risk.

The study the medical journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring (click here), found that eating ultra-processed foods increased the risk of cognitive decline and dementia even among people who have a generally healthy diet!

In this study analyzed data from 2,100 middle-aged and older adults. They had cognitive testing recorded food intake. Surprisingly (at least to me) participants got 41% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods include products like packaged cakes and cookies, soft drinks, frozen ready-made meals and have undergone extensive industrial processing far beyond simple cooking or preservation. Ultra-processed foods contain industrial additives, emulsifiers, artificial flavors and preservatives that do nothing for the quality of the food but simply extend shelf life.

Now here is the scary part:  for every 10% increase in ultra-processed food consumption (a bag of chips) there is a measurable decline in cognitive function and an increase in dementia risk factors.

This study was done in Australia where people generally get 42% of their calories from ultra-processed foods. Here in the good ol’ USA we get more than 55% of calories from processed foods. The effect of eating ultra-processed foods persisted among people who have an otherwise healthy diet like the Mediterranean-style diet. Healthy foods cannot completely offset the detrimental effects consequences of highly processed foods.

An example of how the food industry has cut corners and the FDA has allowed it: today, Hostess Twinkies contain about 39 ingredients…sugar, enriched bleached flour, water, high fructose corn syrup, tallow, dextrose, and eggs.

Evolution of ingredients

·        Original Twinkies: Real milk, butter, eggs, sugar and banana cream filling.

·        Twinkies today: Ingredients maximizing cost savings and increased shelf life: Sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, water, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, and eggs. Tallow, hydrogenated tallow (hydrogenated foods generally bad), soybean oil, cottonseed oil, and corn syrup solids. Modified food starch, glycerine, whey, baking soda, soy lecithin, cellulose gum, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium stearoyl lactylate (soap), polysorbate 60 (soap), xanthan gum, natural and artificial flavors, Yellow 5 and Red 40 dyes (suspected carcinogens).

We are the culmination of the foods we eat…good food yields good results…ultra-processed foods the opposite.  



Fibromyalgia Update

Fibromyalgia originally was called “muscular rheumatism” until 1976 when the current term was coined. Since it was found primarily in women, modern medicine often dismissed it as a psychological issue. Finally in 1987 it was recognized as a real, physical condition.



It is characterized by widespread and persistent muscle pain across many areas of the body. In addition, pain can be variable and influenced by seasonal changes and low physical activity levels. Fatigue even with minimal exertion is common as are sleep disturbances and cognitive dysfunction (“fibro-brain”).

After all of the years of research the reasonable cause of fibromyalgia is INFLAMMATION as the result of an interplay between the immune and nervous systems! 70% of our immune system lives in the bowels and 90% of all neurotransmitters are made in the bowels. Bowel issues are a common symptom in fibromyalgia…maybe the bowels are a major player.

Traditional Medicine

This approach has been to continue to assume that fibromyalgia has a neurologic cause and so\ most medications focus on brain chemistry. Antidepressants, monoamine reuptake inhibitors, serotonin and dopamine receptor antagonists, gabapentin, opioids, and cannabinoids are the foundation of this approach. The main goals are to affect sleep, depression and fatigue. As effective as these medications can be, they do not address the underlying cause.

New Directions

Inflammation is considered to be the central element in fibromyalgia and the gut may be where this inflammation begins. There is a complex interface between gut microbiota, the bowels and systemic inflammation resulting in elucidating the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia. Most recently, fecal transplantation from fibromyalgia patients into germ-free mice induces pain hypersensitivity but that transplantation from healthy individuals does not reproduce pain hypersensitivity.

The bacteria in fibromyalgia patients are characterized by certain bacterial species like Flavonifractor, Parabacteroides and Faecalibacterium. These imbalances promote the synthesis of pain-enhancing amino acids and when coupled with an altered gut microbiota there is in increased intestinal permeability. This leads to an inflammatory cascade affecting pain signals.

Current Anti-Inflammatory Strategies

Without going into all of the research, the bottom line is that anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and pain medications like acetaminophen simply do not work long-term.

Interestingly dietary modifications now regarded as first-line treatments…excellent safety profiles and long-term benefits. I have been recommending dietary changes for my fibromyalgia patients for decades and having good success including reduced pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal challenges.

Exercise, particularly aerobic and strength training programs have been shown to be effective in reducing pain, improving sleep, helping fatigue, and depression. However not all fibromyalgia patients may be able to initiate a consistent exercise program but any form of exercise can help. 

Herbs and Supplements

The list of herbs and supplements purported to reduce inflammation is legion. Whether or not they have a benefit on fibromyalgia is often speculative and claims unsupported by anything more than an opinion.  

Mind-Body Therapies

Stress is a major player in fibromyalgia. Stress also has a profound effect on the bowels, increases inflammation and negatively impacts the immune system and healing. There is robust medical research on stress reducing therapies impacting the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Mind-Body therapies include:

• Massage
• Meditation
• Guided imagery
• Hypnosis
• Energy-based therapies
• Reiki
• Qigong

My Approach

I have been treating patients with fibromyalgia for 30+ years (I’m pretty old 😊). I do not just throw a few medications at the patient and say to follow up in 6 months. 

I incorporate therapeutic approaches that address the bowels, muscle pain, personal stress, diet, sleep, anxiety and fatigue. Fibromyalgia is the result of many levels of imbalance and medications alone are woefully inadequate.   

Fibromyalgia is not a genetic disease. It is the result of the body and mind responding to the physical and mental environment it finds itself in. Change the environment and the body responds appropriately…it heals…and if you or someone you know has fibromyalgia…you/they can heal too! 

My second health information booklet is now available

Symptoms of a covert infection that persist for three or more months after the infection has resolved is the definition of long Covid. Some people with long Covid do not experience any real difficulty in function however, many patients with long Covid have significant impact on the quality of life and their ability to work.

This booklet on long Covid explains what long Covid is, where it comes from and what options are available both in traditional medicine as well as nontraditional medicine.

For patients who are experiencing long Covid, there is hope backed by serious medical research that this condition can resolve.

The second information book (about 20 pages) on Long Covid sent to you from me via email as either a Word or PDF file.

The cost is $4.99 plus tax ($0.38). There are no handling or other mark-up fees. Payment can be made using a credit card (call Sheryl (847) 923-0046) or through a Paypal link (click here).

I hope you enjoy it. I will be endeavoring to add one book every month or so on important health conditions. 

Coffee...Good or Bad?

The American Heart Association has finally made a statement on the health implications of drinking coffee. This recommendation was based on combining years of research into a coherent opinion. 

The bottom line is that modest consumption of coffee has a myriad of health benefits. Outside of the caffeine, coffee contains a number of important biologically active compounds…decaf has the same health benefits as regular coffee.

Modest consumption of coffee reduces the risk of cardiac arrythmias, heart disease and stroke. In addition the regular consumption of coffee lower blood pressure and lowers the risk of diabetes.

These benefits may not be found in high caffeine sports drinks or with synthetic caffeine. Synthetic caffeine is often found in energy drinks, is absorbed faster and causes faster “crashes”. It is used because it is cheaper. Most of it is made in China and I believe quality control is often "suspect".

Is Single Payer Healthcare Coming ?

One of the hot topics on the political scene is that of single payer healthcare or universal healthcare or Medicare for all (different titles for the same concept). Regardless of political feelings the one thing that is being brought to the forefront is the reality that American medical system has a lot of problems:

• Most expensive in the industrialized world and costs go up every year
• Prescription medications most expensive in industrialized world
• Millions (including elderly and children) not longer have ANY health insurance
• A large portion of healthcare dollars go to people not proving healthcare
• Quality measures of American healthcare place it last in the industrialized world
• AI is being used increasingly to deny needed healthcare in order to pay executives and stockholders
• No industrialized country has our healthcare system…because it is so dysfunctional and expensive

My opinion, the American healthcare system is so broken, it cannot be saved and needs to be scrapped. On the other hand, a Medicare option for everyone…not forced, an option, would eliminate most of the middle men and venture capital siphoning off healthcare dollars. Studies have shown that single payer is less expensive to the individual and provides better medical care.



Just a thought…this topic will be big in November.

Dr. Massey's Free Lectures youtube.com/altmed1544

• Science behind bio-energy healing (click here)

• Dr. Massey's Bio-energy Therapies...color and sound (click here)

• Dr. Massey's Bio-energy Therapies...condition focused (click here)

• Dr. Massey's Bio-energy Therapies...medical past life regression (click here)

• Sub-clinical Hypothyroidism and You (click here)

• Breast Cancer and High Dose Vitamin C, part 1 (click here)

• Breast Cancer and High Dose Vitamin C, part 2 (click here)

• Breast Cancer and High Dose Vitamin C, part 3 (click here)

• Leaky Gut Syndrome (click here)

• Intravenous Vitamins (click here)

• Fibromyalgia and the ALT-MED Approach (click here)

• Sick Euthyroid Syndrome (click here)