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The Truth About Hormones
We write a lot about hormones ourselves. But, we also do a lot of studying and reading other experts’ material. Here are a couple of comments from experts in the field of bioidentical hormones.
“Synthetic hormones are simply no replacement for natural hormones. After many years of getting poor or no results with conventional HRT in my practice, natural hormones proved more effective and safer than any other treatment I’ve seen or used.” Erika T. Schwartz, M.D. author of The Hormone Solution.
“What people need to understand is that when their natural hormones are at optimal levels in their youthful prime is when they are the healthiest. It’s only when hormones decline and synthetic hormones are introduced to the body that we see these problems. In my practice of prescribing natural hormones to women for five years, I have never seen the problems and side effects as we have seen with the synthetic hormones. Why not replace the body with natural biologically identical hormones. Anything else, as we have seen with the recent discontinuation of the WHI Trials, is dangerous to a woman’s health.” Neal Rouzier, M.D., author of Natural Hormone Replacement for Men and Women: How to Achieve Healthy Aging.
The Dangers Of Synthetic Hormones
Synthetic hormones produce toxic metabolites in the body, whereas natural hormones do not. Studies have shown that altered, unnatural hormones will cause side effects. Premarin, derived from pregnant mare’s urine, has over 30 different equine estrogens that are foreign to a female, human body.
Provera, another synthetic drug, has been molecularly altered and has been known to cause uncomfortable side effects from its very inception. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that progestin (the same content found in Prempro), the synthetic progesterone, raised the risk of breast cancer well beyond the risk found in the use of estrogen alone. This has not been the case with Natural Progesterone. This result was made clear in the Women’s Health Initiative Study which reported that synthetic prempro increased the risk of heart disease, stroke and breast cancer in women.
A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reported that out of the women who were placed on three different regimens: estrogen, estrogen and progestin, or placebo, the women on estrogen and progestin had a greater breast epithelial cell proliferation and density than women on estrogen alone or nothing at all. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute has also concluded that there is an associated 10 percent higher risk of breast cancer for every five years of supplementation with a synthetic progestin. The common denominator, of course, is the synthetic progestin.
What Are Natural (Bioidentical) Hormones?
Natural hormones are identical in structure to the hormones naturally found in the body. For this reason, they are called bioidentical. They are compounded in a special type of pharmacy known as a compounding pharmacy. These are regular licensed pharmaceutical companies. They acquire the pure pharmaceutical grade hormone and compound it into the form ordered by the treating physician. This makes your program very customized and personalized.
Aren’t health food store products “natural”? Products in health food stores provide people with a variety of natural options, usually from an herb or plant source. Folk medicine, naturopathy, and herbalists have evolved such that there is more substantiation and better acceptance of these alternative, herbal products.
However, the products from compounding pharmacies are different in several ways. First, the dose provided by a pharmacy requires a prescription. Health food store products (and over the counter products sold at pharmacies) are most often of a dose that is insufficient to produce a measurable difference in the body based on actual laboratory tests. They do sometimes help to relieve symptoms.
Second, the products from the compounding pharmacy utilize ingredients of pure pharmaceutical grade that are micronized. Micronized means that the product is a fine grain that will be well absorbed. This results in less waste as it processes through your digestive system.
Menstrual Bleeding and Progesterone – A Special Case
Younger people can also suffer from untreated or mistreated hormone deficiencies. For example, at Natural Bio Health, we treat many ladies, some as young as 12 years of age, with natural progesterone. We also treat ladies in their peri-menopause years. Why? Because they have heavy bleeding during their periods.
The heavy bleeding can be accompanied by cramping, migraine headaches, skin breakouts, low energy and even weight gain. Conventional medicine generally treats with pain medications, birth control pills and eventually, hysterectomies or other surgical treatments. More than 60,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States each year. Many can be avoided with the proper hormonal treatment.
The heavy bleeding, cramping, migraine headaches, skin breakouts, low energy, and weight gain can, in most instances, be successfully treated with a medically supervised regimen of natural progesterone.
Natural Hormone Replacement with Bioidentical Hormones
By: Mike Clark, Director, Natural Bio Health Wellness & Longevity Clinic
Most of us know that we are supposed to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and take supplements. However, most of us do not know that even a healthy lifestyle cannot prevent our body’s deterioration from unhealthy levels of hormones.
Few of us realize that our hormones decline with age – irrespective of our lifestyle –and that many of our diseases and daily aches and pains are in fact caused by hormonal deficiencies.
Most of us do not realize that hormonal deficiencies are often the cause of many illnesses
and misery that are either:
(1) unrecognized and untreated by conventional (pharmacological) medicine;
(2) treated incorrectly with dangerous drugs that address symptoms not causes; or
(3) diagnosed as depression, bi-polar disorder, add.
As we age, our hormones decline. This is a fact that can be shown with lab testing. With that decline comes reduced energy, increased body fat, lower sex drive, increased risk of heart disease, cancer, PMS for many ladies, disabilities, aches and pains, etc. Conventional medicine considers this progression a normal part of aging. Wellness medicine, sometimes referred to as Anti-aging medicine or preventive medicine, offers bioidentical hormones to prevent and treat these conditions.
So you think you have a thyroid problem but your physician says you are “Normal?” It is possible that you are both RIGHT!
Unfortunately, for YOU, the physician is RIGHT in that you are ”normal.” This just means that you are within the range of a lab test that tests TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and not your Free T3 (the active part of your thyroid). More often than not, since you did not meet your physician’s understanding of a thyroid deficiency, you would be prescribed an anti-depressant.
The truth is that YOU are also RIGHT, because you may suffer from “subclinical hypothyroidism”, a condition not understood or recognized in a conventional medicine approach to health. Further, even if you were diagnosed as suffering from hypothyroidism based on the physician’s TSH lab test, you would likely be prescribed a synthetic thyroid and not a natural thyroid. Either way, you would not receive the benefits of natural thyroid.
Therefore, if you believe that you may have a thyroid deficiency, ask for a Free T3 lab test. If that test is low, you may in fact improve your symptoms and quality of life with natural thyroid.
Hormone Information – Thyroid
Thyroid hormone is a metabolic hormone secreted by the thyroid gland. It regulates temperature, metabolism and cerebral function that result in increased energy, temperature and warmth. It increases fat breakdown resulting in weight loss and lowers cholesterol. Thyroid hormones control the growth differentiation and metabolism of each cell in the body. They also control how fast our body uses the fuel that we consume particularly carbohydrates and fat. This in turn helps to regulate our temperature and body fat percentage.
The thyroid hormone protects against cardiovascular disease by its cholesterol lowering properties. It improves cerebral metabolism, prevents cognitive impairment and relieves symptoms of thin, sparse hair, dry skin and thin nails.
Persons who suffer from low thyroid function tend to experience fatigue and low energy, slowness in their speech and actions, forgetfulness, mental confusion, depression, arthritis-like pain and susceptibility to colds and infections. Many of these aspects are considered normal aging. However, we now know that it is secondary to thyroid insufficiency. The thyroid hormone is an indispensable ingredient in the total hormone package.
Benefits of Thyroid Supplementation:
- Regulates temperature, metabolism, and cerebral function
- Increases energy, body temperature, and warmth
- Increases fat breakdown resulting in decreased weight and lower cholesterol
- Protects against cardiovascular disease
- Improves cerebral metabolism
- Prevents cognitive impairment
- Relieves symptoms of thin sparse hair, dry skin, and thin nails
Possible Side Effects:
Most common side effects from too high a dose include chest pain, increased pulse rate, palpitations, excessive sweating, heat intolerance, or nervousness.
Administration:
Most physicians continue to prescribe the synthetic thyroid hormone T4 or Synthroid. Synthroid is only T4 and may not be converted to the T3 the body needs. The recommended form of thyroid replacement is with Armour Thyroid or compounded thyroid which is a combination of T3 and T4. The combination allows the body to receive the active form as well as the inactive to treat those patients who are not able to properly convert. The standard dose is 1-2 grains taken once daily in the a.m.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What do I do if I forget to take my thyroid? If you forget to take your thyroid in the morning you may take it later in the day and resume your schedule the following morning. Do not take two the following day to make up your dose.
- What will happen if I forget to take my thyroid for a few days? You will generally start to feel more fatigued, decreased energy and possibly feel more cold than usual.
Additional Information:
Thyroid production declines as we age, similar to other hormones. This is not considered to be true hypothyroidism but rather a thyroid insufficiency that has in the past been thought to not need hormone replacement. Research suggests that improving thyroid levels will alleviate the symptoms of thyroid insufficiency and allow our system to function more effectively and efficiently.
Mitochondria need thyroid hormone to burn oxygen and produce ATP, the fuel that runs the body. If the mitochondria are weakened due to an inadequate supply of thyroid hormone, then we will not be able to burn up proper amounts of oxygen thereby giving us less energy and symptoms of thyroid insufficiency. In addition, we will be unable to keep up mentally and physically as we once did. In addition, our immune system slows down becoming weaker and less effective. Physicians have been hesitant to supplement thyroid hormones largely due to a lack of understanding of the importance of optimal thyroid levels and the relationship to the quality of daily life.
There are two types of thyroid hormones, Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3). T4 is inactive and kept in reserve, T3 is the active hormone. Thyroid hormone initially is produced in the thyroid gland as a storage form of the thyroid called T-4. Once in the body, this circulating T-4 is converted to the active form of T-3 by an enzyme. As we age, the production of T-4 diminishes. In addition, the conversion of T-4 to the active form of T-3 also diminishes, resulting in less stimulation of the cells.
Low thyroid levels results in complaints of fatigue, lack of energy, weight gain and all the other symptoms typical of low thyroid. Tests often show a “normal†thyroid. Patients are treated with synthetic T-4 products and still experience hypothyroid symptoms even though the laboratory test values appear normal. The reason for this is that the treating doctor may rely on one thyroid test, TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone. This is an indirect measurement of thyroid function. The new paradigm is to measure the free hormones in our body, which is the Free T-3 in thyroid. The free hormones are the œactive hormones and are a more accurate indication of the body’s metabolism of the hormone.
About 80% of the thyroid hormones we produce is T4, the inactive thyroid hormone that is typically held in reserve by the body. T3 makes up only 20% of the thyroid hormone, but is about four times more potent than T4 and is the active hormone that the body uses to function. T4 is converted into T3 when thyroid hormone is needed.
The release of the thyroid hormones is controlled by the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which is produced in the pituitary gland. Low circulating levels of thyroid hormone are detected by the hypothalamus which then instructs the pituitary to release TSH. When sufficient amounts are released the hypothalamus communicates with the pituitary to stop or slow down.
Because of this complicated feedback loop, high levels of TSH in the blood often means the pituitary is trying to stimulate production of the thyroid hormone but the thyroid gland is not responding. This condition, known as hypothyroidism, is more common in women and the elderly.
Mike Clark, Clinic Director
Are you taking Melatonin? Maybe You Should.
Many members of Natural Lifetime Health have included the hormone Melatonin in their prescription regimen for years. We tend to think about Melatonin as a sleep hormone but it also is a strong anti-oxidant. We find that the prescription triturate form in higher doses seems to work much more effectively than the capsule form or over the counter products.
Melatonin is produced in the dark, while we sleep, and wanes upon daybreak: bright light signals the production cycle to shut down. It is secreted by the pineal gland, a small organ set behind and between the eyes. The pineal is called the “third eye,” a reference to our evolutionary heritage-a time when the pineal may have extended the sensory capacities. The pineal gland serves as the timekeeper of the brain, helping to govern the sleep-wake cycle and, in animals, seasonal rhythms of migration, mating, and hibernation.
In the human population, melatonin levels are highest in children and lowest in the older adults.
Melatonin is made from an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid-we can get it only from the foods that we ingest. The tryptophan we consume during the day is converted into serotonin, a brain chemical involved with mood. Serotonin, in turn, is converted into melatonin.
WHAT MELATONIN DOES
Although research on melatonin has been ongoing since its discovery in 1958, it is only recently it has attracted high interest. Why? Research breakthroughs over the past decade have revealed some startling properties of this amazing substance:
- Studies by immunologist Dr. Walter Pierpaoli of the Biancalana-Masera Foundation for the Aged in Ancona, Italy, and various colleagues have shown that melatonin treatments extended the life span of mice by as much as 25 percent. Moreover, mice that had been treated with melatonin not only lived longer, they also appeared younger, healthier, more vigorous, and sexually rejuvenated.
- Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans have done studies suggesting that melatonin can stop or retard the growth of human breast cancer cells. Cancer specialists in Milan have added melatonin treatments to chemotherapy and immunotherapy in their treatment of cancer patients. They have found that such patients experienced tumor regression, in addition to living longer and suffering from fewer side effects than patients who received chemotherapy and immunotherapy alone.
- Studies suggest that melatonin may be a kind of “natural” sleeping pill, inducing sleep without suppressing REM (dream) sleep and without producing side effects, such as those caused by sedatives and other artificial sleep aids.
- Travelers have found that by using melatonin they can “reset their biological clocks” after flying across one or more time zones. Numerous studies have confirmed melatonin’s efficacy in combating jet lag and restoring restful sleep patterns.
- Melatonin may help to prevent heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol in people with high cholesterol. (Interestingly, melatonin seems to have no such effect on those with normal cholesterol.)
- In a study conducted by the Medical University of Lodz (Poland) in April 2002, women between ages sixty-four and eighty years took melatonin at bedtime for six months, and were found to have a slight but significant increase in IGF-1 and an increased level of DHEA.
- New research suggests that melatonin may be effective in combating, treating, or preventing AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, cataracts, diabetes, and Down’s syndrome. Some scientists also believe that it may be the basis of a new estrogen-free birth control pill that combats breast cancer at the same time that it prevents conception.
Studies conducted by pioneering University of Texas melatonin researcher Dr. Russel Reiter show melatonin to be the most potent scavenger of free radicals-unstable molecules that promote cancer and heart disease by damaging DNA, cells, and tissue.
Men and Andropause: Part 3
By Mike Clark, Education Director and CEO of NBH Lifetime Health
Hypogonadism (low testosterone) and Heart Trouble
Low testosterone levels have also been implicated in playing a role in the development of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and cardiovascular heart disease. One study found that, in assessing a group of men and postmenopausal women over 50 years of age for levels of various hormones as they might relate to health conditions, plasma estradiol levels were highest in hypertensive men and testosterone levels were lowest in men with coronary heart disease. The researchers conclude that perhaps, “Decreased testosterone and/or increased estradiol may have an adverse effect on lipid profile in elderly men.”
Another study conducted among a male population likewise reported that low testosterone may be a risk factor for coronary heart disease, which may relate to lipoprotein metabolism by endogenous testosterone. Results showed that mean plasma testosterone levels among patients with coronary heart disease were significantly—about 40%—lower than in healthy subjects. Moreover, there was a negative association between plasma testosterone levels and plasma triglyceride levels and lipoprotein (a), which translated into higher blood lipid levels relative to lower testosterone levels. Contrarily, a positive association between plasma testosterone levels and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein 3 cholesterol meant that higher testosterone levels equaled higher “good” cholesterol levels.
The Natural Aging Factor
It is well documented in research that sex hormones such as testosterone are vital components in the sexual development of pubescent males, as well as contributing to the increase of their muscle and bone mass as they transform from boys into men. Meanwhile, dwindling testosterone levels as a result of metabolic aging trigger the opposite kind of effects, including the loss of body hair and progression of male pattern baldness, loss of muscle and bone mass, and increased fat.
Low testosterone levels aren’t just the prospect of a small segment of the male population but rather, they tend to affect the male population as a whole. Natural aging causes a gradual decline in male hormones, so that by age 70, men have less than a quarter of their optimal testosterone levels. Some figures reveal that free testosterone levels start to fall at the age of 25. While men with normal testosterone levels sometimes exhibit some of the symptoms, which may very well stem from other causes besides hypogonadism, the fact that androgen therapy usually alleviates these symptoms suggests a hormonal deficiency as the root cause of such deterioration in health.
Many study results show a positive role in maintaining adequate testosterone levels in aging males. In terms of overall body composition, for example, research has demonstrated a measurable increase in lean body mass and in mid-arm circumference and the decrease in waist-to-hip ratio in elderly men, after they received androgen replacement therapy to treat their low testosterone levels.
Environmental toxins may affect testosterone
There’s evidence that chemicals in the environment known as endocrine disrupters may be causing a decrease in testosterone. Endocrine disrupters interfere with the normal functioning of the endocrine system. Scientists in Britain have done research in rats on the estrogen-mimicking chemical HPTE, which is a metabolite of the commonly used pesticide methoxychlor. These scientists have shown that HPTE causes a decrease in, testosterone production from Leydig cells. Other compounds, such as those found in plastic bottles that hold everything from bottled water to laundry detergent, are man-made mimics of estrogen. This may be one of the reasons why we are seeing more young males with low levels of testosterone.
NBH Lifetime Health Lab Tests
It is recommended that all males over the age of 35 be tested for their levels of free testosterone, total testosterone, estradiol and DHEA. We also suggest the standard tests for cholesterol as well as tests for the major heart factors including homocysteine, fibrinogen, and CRP.
I would like to thank Dr. Edward Rosick for some of the scientific material contained herein.
Men and Andropause: Part 2
By Mike Clark, Education Director and CEO of NBH Lifetime Health
Testosterone-the Key to Andropause
In women, estrogen and progesterone are the two key hormones that decline during menopause. In men, it is the hormone testosterone that falls most in production as a man ages, and it’s thought that this fall is the single most important cause of andropause. Testosterone levels peak in a man at approximately age 25 to 30 and then begin a gradual decline. Some men have low testosterone by age 30.
One reason that aging men are not diagnosed as being testosterone deficient is that blood test laboratory reference ranges are age-adjusted to reflect the anticipated reduction in testosterone production. So, when a doctor looks at an aging man’s free testosterone blood test result, he often sees it fitting neatly into the standard reference range for a “normal” aging man. The problem is that normal aging men are expected to have lower testosterone levels, which are far from optimal (youthful) ranges. The optimal testosterone level for most aging males are those of a healthy 21-to-30 year old.
Testosterone is vitally important for its anabolic properties, including effects on cholesterol levels, protein breakdown, muscle mass and bone density, and its androgenic effects, including the development and maintenance of male secondary sex characteristics (deep voice, increase in facial and body hair, muscle
How Testosterone Changes in Aging Men
One change found in aging is in the ratio of free testosterone to testosterone bound to SHBG. In many aging men, especially those who are obese, free testosterone levels drop significantly as the levels of SHBG increase and “bind up” whatever free testosterone is left. As if this news isn’t bad enough, there are also steep declines (40% to 75%) in other steroid hormones, including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-sulfate (DHEA-S) seen in men as they age from 20 to 80.
Testosterone Strengthens Muscles and Bones
One of the most destructive effects of aging is the loss of muscle and bone mass. While the loss of bone mass, or osteoporosis, is now widely recognized as a significant factor in robbing elderly women of their ability to walk, osteoporosis is also a significant health concern for older men. In addition, the loss of muscle tissue, or sarcopenia, is now finally being recognized as a major debilitator of both men and women. In men, both sarcopenia and osteoporosis can be linked to the decline in testosterone and other steroid hormones.
Adequate levels of testosterone are also needed for optimal brain functioning. Multiple studies have confirmed that men who maintain optimal testosterone levels as they age have significantly fewer symptoms of senility compared to men with low levels of testosterone. In a hallmark study published in 2002, 407 men aged 50-to-91 were followed for 10 years and were given multiple tests to determine their testosterone levels and cognitive functioning.
The authors concluded: “Higher FTI [free testosterone levels] was associated with better scores on visual and verbal memory, visuospatial functioning and visuomotor scanning and a reduced rate of longitudinal decline in visual memory.” Furthermore, those randomized, placebo-controlled studies showed that testosterone supplementation improved verbal memory, working memory and visuospatial performance in elderly men.
Declining Testosterone Levels
Declining testosterone levels can lead to the development of numerous symptoms such as a decrease in virility, libido and sexual activity, general sense of well-being, as well as fatigue, depression and sleep disturbances. In addition to problems such as sexual dysfunction or general malaise, low testosterone also translates into decreased muscle mass and strength, as well as a decrease in bone mass and an increase in abdominal fat. Studies show that the latter two pay a role in degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Moreover, depleted testosterone levels are being linked to the incidence of various lipid disorders and heart disease.
Less Bone, More Fat
While osteoporosis hasn’t always been considered a disease that afflicts males, the rising incidence of bone mass degeneration among aging men points a finger to some age-related cause. As androgen receptors are expressed in osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) researchers now believe that androgens have some direct effect on bone formation and resorption.
Declining Testosterone, Fat Mass and Heart Risk
A growing body of research now suggests that an age-related increase in fat mass, or obesity, can be attributed to a fall in free testosterone and growth hormone levels. Moreover, studies report a connection between abdominal obesity and increased cardiovascular mortality and Type II diabetes mellitus. Recent findings from the University Hospital in Ghent, Belgium illustrate that age is related to a drop in free testosterone levels and free insulin-like growth factor-1, while contributing to an increase in body mass index and fat mass.
One recent study consisting of 372 males aged >20-85, revealed that body mass index and age were independent factors in determining testosterone levels. These decreased by about one quarter when researchers compared the young controls to men in the elderly group, while free testosterone levels fell by almost half with age. Likewise, fat-free mass decreased by 18.9%. In a subgroup of 57 men aged 70-80 years, the lower that testosterone levels dropped, the higher the percentage of body and abdominal fat, as well as plasma insulin levels.
Low Testosterone and Increased Risk of Diabetes and Adipose Fat.
Other findings indicate that low testosterone levels predisposed men to adipose fat which, in turn, seemed to raise their risk of diabetes mellitus. Researchers at the University of Washington’s Department of Medicine set out to examine the effects of age-related decreasing serum testosterone levels on intra-abdominal fat in a group of 110 second-generation healthy Japanese-American men. Measurements were taken first to establish baseline levels of glucose, body mass index, visceral adiposity, subcutaneous fat, fasting insulin and C-peptide levels, and overall testosterone levels (which were within the normal range relative to the men’s age).
When the researchers performed follow-up measurements 7.5 years later, their results indicated that intra-abdominal fat had increased by an average of 8.0 centimeters squared. More importantly, though, they found that the change in intra-abdominal fat correlated to baseline total testosterone levels, but they were not significantly related to other measurements such as body mass index, total fat or subcutaneous fat. The study authors concluded that, in their sample, “lower baseline total testosterone independently predicts an increase in intra-abdominal fat. This would suggest that by predisposing to an increase in visceral adiposity, low levels of testosterone may increase the risk of type II diabetes mellitus.”
Low testosterone Levels, Excess Abdominal Fat and Heart Disease
Similarly, another study that analyzed some of the health effects of excess abdominal fat, also referred to as android obesity, reported that individuals exhibiting upper body excess fat distribution tend to have lower levels of plasma testosterone and growth hormone levels, suggesting what the authors describe as “complex hormonal abnormalities”.
Abdominal obesity lends itself to an apple-shaped figure and has been related to a heightened risk of conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. These researchers believe that, “Visceral fat tissue, through its portal drainage, could be an important source for free fatty acids that may exert complex metabolic effects: involvement in hepatic lipogenesis, increase in hepatic neoglucogenic flux, reduction in insulin metabolic clearance and involvement in peripheral insulin resistance through a competition mechanism described by Randle.”
They conclude that abdominal obesity may be related to diabetes by means of an enhanced fatty acid made available from fat tissues (visceral and subcutaneous) in individuals who are genetically predisposed to type II diabetes. Research has also pointed to the possibility of a link between abdominal obesity and hypercorticism, or elevated cortisol levels. A reason for this, suggest scientists, might be that excess cortisol opposes testosterone and growth hormone production, both of which are regulators of body fat. Moreover, low testosterone levels also seem to encourage cortisol levels to rise and elicit their many aging effects, including immune dysfunction, brain cell injury, arterial wall damage and other assaults.
…continue to Part 3 for “Hypogonadism and Heart Trouble” and “The Natural Aging Factor”