Dr. Brian McGuckin, Laboratory Nutrition Chiropractic Internist

08/26/2026

Is Hormone Replacement for Women Safe?

A wonderful patient and friend was in last week, and her daughter had a fantastic question: Is hormone replacement therapy safe?

I said yes — we use human duplicate hormones, also called bioidentical hormone therapy. They're identical to what your body naturally produces, and we test to confirm you're taking the right amount for your age. Research data has documented that it's safe and effective.

I did some digging this week to find the latest research on natural hormone replacement therapy and what researchers actually think.

A recent article in Climacteric made a case that really stuck with me. Researchers are arguing that premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause shouldn't just be treated as an early version of normal menopause — they should be recognized as their own chronic endocrine condition, and as an early warning sign of accelerated aging in women. Their conclusion: hormone therapy shouldn't just be about symptom relief. It should be viewed as a way to prevent long-term disability. (You can read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2026.2691828)

In plain terms: low hormone levels don't just make you feel bad now — over time, they're linked to a shorter lifespan and a higher risk of chronic illness.

So how do we actually measure your hormones?

There are three ways to test: saliva, urine, and blood. All three are accurate — the right choice depends on what you're looking for.

Blood testing is my least favorite. Most labs don't give ranges based on your age or where you are in your cycle.
Urine testing gives a pooled value over a period of time, which can be useful in certain situations.

Saliva testing measures hormone levels at an exact point in time — just like blood — but the lab gives ranges based on your age and cycle timing. That makes the results far more meaningful. Saliva measures hormones at the cellular level, and it's just as accurate as blood.

Don't put up with not being 100%. If any of this sounds familiar — weight gain, poor sleep, PMS, night sweats, hot flashes, or achy joints — call the office. Let's test and find out exactly what your hormones are doing, and what to do about it.

Call me. I'll tell you if I can help. Photo credits: logan-voss-KDbV-WwIofw-unsplash

08/21/2026

Why won't the weight come off?

I am convinced it is not a lack of discipline. It is much deeper than that. There are hormones and food additives that sabotage your ability to lose weight.
The two reasons we see most often:

Stress
Stress can come in any form. It could be low estrogen, progesterone, or thyroid. Life stresses. When we get stressed, the glands on top of the kidneys release the “get up and go” hormone cortisol.
Cortisol is supposed to be high in the morning. You’re ready to go and you feel good throughout the day until evening. This is when cortisol is dropping to let your body rest and repair while you sleep.

This has a purpose. If you wanted breakfast, you needed sugar in your muscles to go catch it, find it, or pick it.

When cortisol levels rise, the liver releases stored sugar (glycogen), providing your muscles with the energy to start your day. But what about being stressed while sitting at a desk? Or if you have low progesterone, causing constant stress on your adrenal glands ? Sugar is going to be released by the liver.

Corn syrup interferes with a hormone called leptin. Leptin tells you, your full - stop eating.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22446-leptin

Effects of Consuming Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for 2 Weeks on 24-h Circulating Leptin Profiles, Ad Libitum Food Intake and Body Weight in Young Adults
Nutrients 2020, 12(12), 3893;
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12123893

Here’s an experiment you can do at home to actually see leptin work.

Have your test subject(s) drink the cane sugar soda. See how many cans they can finish.The next day, do the same with the High Fructose Corn syrup. I think you’ll see a big difference.

Cravings
When we experience stress, our adrenal glands release cortisol. This cortisol then signals the liver to release sugar into the bloodstream. If we don’t use it, insulin will allow cells to take it in as food or store the sugar as fat.
The adrenal glands use a large amount of vitamin C, magnesium, B6, and salt. This is where cravings begin. You are fighting your body’s attempt to feed and support the adrenal glands.

Magnesium is in chocolate and nuts. Peanuts and almonds covered in chocolate. Yes, they taste good, but when you crave them?

Men typically go for salty snacks; potato chips and pretzels. Spicy salty foods. Hot peppers have vitamin C in them.

Vitamin C in the quantity needed for a stressed adrenal gland is very high. If the diet does not meet demand, our body signals us to look for it.
Cane sugar - table sugar has a very similar molecular structure to nature’s ascorbate vitamin C.

One of the surprising things we noticed was that as a person began losing weight and their cravings dropped, they wanted foods high in minerals. Dark green vegetable intake went up dramatically. The cells need the minerals and B6 to make cell energy.

You can find the food you're looking for without corn syrup it takes time to read through labels.

You can do it. Call me if you need help.

08/13/2026

Why Hot Flashes & Night Sweats?

It turns out there is a nervous system protein called a Neurokinin, and when it elevates, it irritates nerve cells. This happens when estrogen is lower than what your body wants. The irritated nerves start firing, and you feel what is called a vasomotor (blood and muscle) change giving off heat dissipation - the sweat.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-026-01247-8

Neurokinin. Receptor antagonists for vasomotor symptoms from KNDy neurons to clinical translation. Published in the journal Nature, Vol 14, April 2026.

Let’s go through this.

The ovaries are beginning a long process of reducing their production of estrogen and progesterone. Certain foods, such as cherries and soybean tofu, along with production from fat cells, keep estrogen levels normal. The adrenals support progesterone production to keep this level healthy.

There are people who do not have or had very minimal reactions to peri-menopause. This means they could balance life stresses, allowing them to balance their hormones.

So why you?

There is a thing called stress. And if we keep our adrenal glands busy managing day-to-day life, progesterone production can drop and not meet demand.

When progesterone drops, the body pulls estrogen out of circulation, meeting a balance between estrogen and progesterone. I call it a ratio. When estrogen levels decrease in the bloodstream by putting it in storage, the nerve cells detect the low estrogen, triggering the release of the neurokinin alarm, causing heat.

Most often, because of low progesterone, some women will experience early cycles - two in a month or they become heavy, and you can lose too much iron. Iron carries oxygen in the bloodstream. When your brain does not have enough oxygen, it gets stressed very fast. A stressed brain will trigger the release of the Neurokinins.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12905-025-03906-w

Beyond anemia: a comprehensive analysis of iron deficiency symptoms in women and their correlation with biomarkers. BMC Women’s Health Published 28 2uly 2025.

Finding the culprits

1. Check the hormones. There are three estrogens. We need to know the levels of all three. Estrone, estradiol, estriol. And we want to match the levels to your age.

2. Check the thyroid. The TSH is the thyroid-stimulating hormone coming from the pituitary to the thyroid. This has to be in an ideal range. Thyroid hormone 3 T3 Free measures the T3 hormone that is available to the cells. Again, we want an optimal, healthy range.

3. Check your iron in storage. Ferritin on a blood test.

4. Stress. Your brain’s pituitary gland can signal your adrenals to produce cortisol at the wrong time, interfering with sleep. This also accompanies unexpected weight gain.

What to do?

Specific herbs can help. Holy basil works well if the cause is stress. We use this herb along with balancing the hormones and adrenal signaling from the brain.

For women who do not want to balance with natural bioidentical hormones, we use a formula from a pharmaceutical company that helps very well. We use them because they test and guarantee every herb in the formula.

The rest is testing. You need to know.

I did a Youtube video on this last week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj4Z85WfiIk&t=14s

08/10/2026

Hot flashes and night sweats can be disruptive, but understanding their cause is key. This video explores the hormonal and nervous system connections, including the role of neurokinins and estrogen. Learn about chiropractic adjustments, hormone testing, and stress management as natural approaches to find balance and relief.

08/07/2026

Things you can do at home to keep inflammation at its lowest.

Avoid Food Colorings

It sounds easy until you read food and drink labels.

Pickles and other jarred foods have colorings in them. Take the time to read the label. Good news here, I just recently saw a pickle company say on their label they took the yellow food coloring out. Yes, the consumer has a voice.

Preservatives

Sodium Benzoate. This is a common preservative in jarred foods, dressings, sodas, mostly liquids. This one is not good for you.

Sulfites. Metabisulfite. Dried fruits, wine, beer, buns, some pickled items where they are preserving color. Read labels carefully.

Bromates. Mostly used in flour products to extend the shelf life of bread. Europeans will not allow bromates into their market because research studies link them to cancer. Look for bread with ascorbic acid, which is vitamin C.

Clean water. If you drink city water, filter it. I consider spring water best because of the extra minerals that you will get.

Food Reactions. A lot of inflammation is from a delayed-onset food reaction. I eat something and have a runny nose the next day or that night, but not immediately after eating. We will see reactions continue 3 - 4 weeks after ingestion.

This is where you have to be a detective.

Food Journal for 3 weeks. What you are looking for is a pattern. Every morning I have a cough, a rash, a stuffy nose, or a headache. Look back 3-4 days of food eating. What is the routine or what is new to my diet. Most often, the troublemaker food is something that causes a reaction 12 - 48 hours after you ate it.

Fried foods and omega -3 oils. Unless you are supplementing, we are all low in omega-3 oils. This imbalance between the essential omega-3 oils and the high intake of omega-6 oils from processed foods and fried leading to inflammation.

Please, everyone check your omega-3 oil concentration with blood testing yearly. It really can keep you safe and out of pain.

Which gets to the harder inflammation troublemakers. Chemicals and toxic metals.

This is where the ongoing, stubborn inflammation takes root. If the omega-3 oils are low, the cells cannot release stored chemicals and toxic metals. It builds up and causes the cells to stop working properly, leading to all kinds of problems and many auto-immune conditions.

Read labels

Drink spring or filtered water

Get outside and enjoy the last leg of summer.

Call if you're stuck.

07/30/2026

Digestion Tips for Summer Picnics

* Belching is a lack of stomach acid.
* Indigestion after eating can be an issue with digesting fats.

If you are feeling digestive pressure - bloating a few hours after eating, try probiotics such as Digesta Guard®️ from Perque®️.
All of us love summer picnics and getting together with family and friends. So let’s get prepared.

If you are one to belch, try the following before eating or leaving for the party.

1-2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar in water. Apple cider vinegar is 10% hydrochloric acid (stomach acid), which breaks down proteins.

Pro tip: Eat protein first. For example, if you had a hamburger, eat this first before the starchy foods like potato salad.

Proteins stimulate hydrochloric acid production. Starches shut off hydrochloric acid production, so the pancreas does not have to work as hard to neutralize the stomach acid.

Next, eat the crunchy vegetables.

Fiber binds fat. Think of coleslaw or any type of salad. The fiber binds the fat from the protein and the mayonnaise on the potato salad.

When you get home, use a probiotic like Digesta Guard from Perque. This will keep bloating down and protect you from outdoor eating.

Pineapple and papaya both have digestive enzymes in them and are helpful in after-eating indigestion.

We did not invent indigestion. Support for digestion has been around for a long time, and people have been having a lot of fun making drinks to keep themselves eating.

Aperitifs and Digestifs

Aperitifs use bitter herbs to stimulate the stomach to make hydrochloric acid. To hide the bitter herbal taste, the before dinner drink began its popularity. There are many aperitifs; this is a list of the more common ones.

Campari®️ bitters from Italy.
Champagne
Dry Sherry
Gin- juniper and other herbs
Lillet ®️- An herbal fortified white wine from France.
Pimm’s®️- bitters from England.
Vermouth - herbal fortified white or red wine.
Digestifs are more complex and stronger, with the goal of finishing digestion after the meal.

Of these, the Italian fortified wine called Amaro is by far the best. Thank you to my dear friend Andrea for introducing me to this one.

Alcohol stimulates hydrochloric acid production, and this is in part why brandy or aged spirits became popular after a meal.
Stronger coffee and espresso work as well.

And for you Germans out there. Jagermeister®️. The green color is the herb gentian. Yes, there is actually a purpose for that stuff.

Perque sells DigestivAid®️, a non alcohol herbal bitter that works very well before and after eating to help with digestion.

Enjoy the summer.
Dr. McGuckin

06/20/2026

An apple a day keeps the …………….

Well, it kept me out of the office while I ate it.

Try an apple instead of caffeine for an afternoon boost. Better yet, visit Short and Sweet Candy Shop this weekend downtown Frankfort, IL for an apple.

Caffeine has a fairly long half life meaning it leaves the body somewhat slowly. Roughly 30% of caffeine has left your body after 4 hours, it can take a full 12 hours for caffeine to leave completely.

The problem is that this messes with sleep quality and increases insomnia. The trap of being tired the next day from not sleeping soundly leads to you and me getting more caffeine, keeping the cycle going.

An apple’s potential for afternoon energy is a worthwhile consideration. The natural fibers slow digestion, preventing a blood sugar spike like candy does. Your blood sugar levels stay consistent for a longer duration because of the mild insulin release post-apple intake.

Better energy, you sleep better, wake up happier, and can get out from under the fatigue and poor sleep cycle.

Besides, my apple from Short and Sweet came with Carmel.

3 1/2 ounces of apple will give you 12 grams of sugar.

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/1750343/nutrients

Happy Father's Day everyone.
Brian McGuckin

06/19/2026

June is Men's Health Month

I didn't know that until a few days ago. So, fellas — two doctor's orders.

First, get the grill warmed up this weekend.

Second, read this, because your family needs you.

(There's some eating fun at the end.)

Vitamin D and the Prostate

Low vitamin D is linked to increased prostate cancer risk. Most of us aren't getting enough sun to maintain adequate levels, and if you have any kind of digestive trouble, you're absorbing even less through the gut. Everyone needs supplementation — but first, you need to know where you stand. That means testing.

Prostate Support — What Actually Works

By age 60, every man has some degree of prostate inflammation. It is far easier to prevent than to fix.

Repair Guard® from Perque® contains quercetin dihydrate and dried pomegranate juice. Together, they form a class of compounds called phenolics — strong anti-inflammatory and reparative agents that protect and repair prostate tissue.

Saw Palmetto is one of the best antioxidants for the prostate. Call us for this one. It is also the most falsified herbal product on the market. Herbalists who track adulteration don't fully understand why, but the only safe source is a supplier who tests raw ingredients before anything goes in a capsule.

Omega-3 fatty acids. Most of us are chronically short on omega-3, which throws the omega-6 to omega-3 kateryna-hliznitsova-wZX0NsH2ZBE-unsplashratio out of balance. That imbalance drives unnecessary inflammation — including in the prostate. We carry Perque and Anabolic omega-3 oils, both verified free of mercury and PCBs, and packaged in nitrogen so the oil stays fresh. No fishy burps. This is another thing worth testing.

Speaking of omega-3 — fire up the grill and make some salmon.

Cardiovascular Testing: What Your Doctor Isn't Ordering

Earlier this week I sat in on a Zoom lecture with Dr. Pradip Jamnadas, a cardiologist in Florida. Find him on YouTube — he's worth your time. He covered something I find fascinating: there is a substantial body of research on cardiovascular testing that goes well beyond a standard cholesterol panel, and almost no one is talking about it.

He was emphatic that the right lab work can tell you whether you're heading toward trouble or steering clear of it — well before trouble arrives.

He also hates belly fat. Probably best to have the grill going before you watch him.

One point he came back to repeatedly: even small elevations in blood sugar cause ongoing inflammation in the artery walls. That inflammation eventually affects the liver, kidneys, and digestive tract — and it ends as cardiovascular blockage.

With one blood draw, we can run 88 tests covering:

Glucose regulation
Metabolic and inflammation markers
Liver and kidney function
Artery inflammation
Clotting risk
Insulin resistance
Omega-3/6 ratios
Full lipid panel with ratios
Inner artery wall lining function
Plaque-recruiting white blood cell activity
Ceramides and their ratios
Sterol production markers
Absorption markers
DNA fragmentation and redox potential
Call me. We'll figure out where you actually stand.

Ginger: More Than a Spice Photo by Julia Vivcharyk on Unsplashjulia-vivcharyk-43seK8CwOGM-unsplash

Ginger contains over 400 phytonutrients — phenolic compounds, terpenes, lipids, and carbohydrates. The phenolics and terpenes do most of the heavy lifting.

Research shows ginger supplementation can boost testosterone production and increase luteinizing hormone (LH), which signals the body to make more testosterone.

Ginger is also high in sulfur, which helps your body produce glutathione — a key player in cellular detoxification.

And for fertility, the research is striking. Ginger has been shown to increase:

S***m count by 16.25%
S***m motility by 47.3%
S***m viability by 40.7%
S***m volume by 36%
It also reduces DNA fragmentation in s***m.

References:
Effect of Ginger on Inflammatory Diseases.
Ballester P, Cerdá B, Arcusa R, et al. https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/21/7223

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/and.13296
Banihani SA. Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on semen quality. Andrologia. 2019;51(6):e13296. doi:10.1111/and.13296

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vms3.538
Gholami-Ahangaran M, Karimi-Dehkordi M, Akbari Javar A, et al. A systematic review on the effect of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on improvement of biological and fertility indices of s***m in laboratory animals, poultry and humans. Vet Med Sci. 2021;7(5):1959-1969. doi:10.1002/vms3.538
Hormones

Know where your levels are. Know if you're metabolizing hormones properly.

Now fire up that grill. Click on the link for a very good recipe.

Grilled Ginger-Marinated Flank Steak
https://www.saveur.com/grilled-ginger-marinated-flank-steak-recipe/


Stay healthy,

Dr Brian McGuckin
Laboratory & Nutrition
Chiropractic Internist
Health Coach
Appointments: (779) 324-5741
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06/17/2026

Chicken, the amino acid tryptophan, and a happy brain.

Another reason for grilling. Chicken, the amino acid tryptophan, and a happy brain.

The meat in chicken and turkey is high in the amino acid tryptophan. When combined with a meal high in starches like potatoes, the intestines absorb tryptophan at a high rate.

6 ounces of chicken has 687 mg of tryptophan
https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/high-tryptophan-foods.php

The body then converts tryptophan into serotonin. Melatonin, which serotonin converts into, lets your brain relax so you can go to sleep.

And, serotonin has an additional benefit, making tryptophan (Sleep Guard from Perque) the better choice over melatonin supplementation. Serotonin helps the adrenal glands manage stress. It helps balance the brain’s signaling to the adrenal glands while we sleep. This is very important when trying to stay asleep through the night.
https://advancestudy.org/does-serotonin-reduce-cortisol/

Things you can do:

A. Enjoy summer and grill a chicken and maybe a turkey.
B. Walking really helps, as well as stretching before you go to bed.
C. Getting outside first thing in the morning. The green light from the sun going through the trees relaxes the brain.
D. Sleep Guard®️ from Perque®️ is 100% pure tryptophan.
E. Test

A very simple overnight urine test will measure your brain signaling amino acids called neurotransmitters. The goal of testing is to determine if stress levels have diminished your ability to cope, leading to anxiety, and affecting attention, focus, and stress management.

Names of neurotransmitters that are tested:

Serotonin helps with appetite, mood, and sleep.
GABA - Gamma amino butyric acid promotes calm. Important for anxiety, stress, and sleep.
Glutamate - Learning and memory.
PEA - Phenylethylamine - Promotes energy, elevates mood, and regulates attention.
Dopamine - the happy hormone neurotransmitter. This gives you the feeling of reward - happy.
Norepinephrine - Increases alertness, heart rate, and blood pressure during stress.
Epinephrine - Elevates with stress, stimulating the brain.
Norepinephrine / Epinephrine ratio
Creatinine - This will elevate with prolonged memorized stress.
The issue is the brain memorizing a stress pattern, leading to anxiety, mood, and the inability to lose weight.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra012941

The reason for testing and talking.
Listening + Testing = Understanding and solutions
Call - just a conversation. I'll tell you if I can be of help.

https://stan.store/drbrianmcguckin - Cookbook and digestive self help.
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Email: [email protected]

05/27/2026