PRODUCTS & SPECIALS

• New Maintenance Products on Special this Month: Stop by one of our locations today and sample the following items: Jalapeno Honey Mustard and Cinnamon Toast Pretzels, and Sweet BBQ Snack mix. These products have 10 grams of protein and <10 grams of carbs. Each package is $1.25 - an introductory price.
• Special of the Month For This Month Only! All Prepaid Office Visit Packages on Sale! Set a goal and keep on track this spring and take advantage of our prepaid office visit packages; 4, 12, or buddy visits. Whether you are a new, established or returning patient, you can purchase these already discounted packages and receive an additional 10% off. Commit, lose and win so that you will be better prepared for the summer months ahead. Call or stop by the office and get prices on the various packages. Dont wait this is only valid for the month of April. Tell a friend - what a savings for someone who wants to get started this month.

FROM THE DOCTOR Ed J. Hendricks, M.D. Phentermine Therapy in Obesity Treatment and its Effect on Blood Pressure Shibboleths, ideas everyone knows are true but for which the evidence suggests the opposite concept, abound in modern society. Medicine too has its shibboleths. One of these is that phentermine treatment produces increases in blood pressure. Almost any doctor will tell you to not take phentermine because it will make your blood pressure go up. However, our 20 years of experience has been that the opposite is true we typically see decreases in blood pressure in our patients on phentermine. Frustrated with the constant repetition of this conjecture, we undertook a research study to investigate whether phentermine treatment in an obesity treatment program had any impact on baseline blood pressure and heart rate in 300 consecutive patients, 269 of whom were treated with phentermine for as long as 13 years. Of the 300 patients, 32% had hypertension, 54% were pre-hypertensive and 14% had normal blood pressure. Our findings:

• We found that phentermine treated patients had significantly greater weight loss than untreated patients.
• Both systolic blood and diastolic pressures in phentermine treated and untreated patients were decreased compared to baseline values.
• There were no significant differences in the decreases in systolic or diastolic blood pressures, or in heart rate between phentermine-treated and untreated patients at any time point.
• Phentermine-induced hypertension was not observed in any patient with prehypertension or normal blood pressure.
• Phentermine treatment did not induce loss of blood pressure control in hypertensive patients.

We conclude that weight loss typically produces lowered blood pressures and that phentermine has no direct impact on blood pressure or heart rate. Phentermine treatment improves long-term success and therefore assists indirectly in lowering blood pressure. Dr. Hendricks intends to publish the study and present it at national medical meetings. FROM THE NUTRITIONIST Paula Hendricks, BS, Nutritionist-C Recipe of the Month Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing. This is a delicious dressing, especially when you make it one day ahead. I usually make this dressing at the beginning of the week and use it on salads or as a vegetable dip. I like to use Point Reyes Bleu Cheese found at Safeway and Raleys or the Buttermilk Bleu Cheese from Whole Foods. I like to use the remaining buttermilk for marinating chicken. I take thin-sliced chicken breasts, put them in a container, and cover them with 1-2 cups of buttermilk (depending on how many chicken breasts you have), the juice of a half of a lemon, some fresh minced garlic, and the Made in Napa Valley Meritage Blend. I let it marinade for about 20 minutes or even overnight. This marinade makes the chicken very tender and gives it a tangy taste that works well with a salad and the buttermilk bleu cheese dressing to make a complete meal. Enjoy on any of the Key Diet plans. Download from our website or pick up a copy in the office.