From belly fat to painful sex, Dr Jeff answers your health questions
DR JEFF FOSTER is The Sun on Sunday’s new resident doctor and is here to help YOU.
Dr Jeff, 43, splits his time between working as a GP in Leamington Spa, Warks, and running his clinic, H3 Health, which is the first of its kind in the UK to look at hormonal issues for both men and women.
See h3health.co.uk and email at drjeff@the-sun.co.uk.
Q) I’M 58 and 15 years ago I was diagnosed with primary progressive MS.
Since then my sporting activities have slowly declined.
I’m still able to complete an hour on my spin bike two to three times per week and I do weights two to three times too.
I take protein powder most mornings and with smoothies most evenings but as I’m not able to be as active as I used to be, am I having too much whey protein as I’m struggling to lose my belly fat?
Roy Anderton, Essex
A) At its most basic level, if you eat more calories than you expend, you will put on fat.
This applies to every under and overweight person alike.
The detail is in how calories affect us all differently.
Some people eat less than others but remain overweight, and the reason is that their body requires less energy to maintain basic daily function than the person they compare with.
Several factors affect our energy requirement and, of these, our basal metabolic rate is the most important factor.
It is essentially the process of keeping us functioning and determines things such as fat metabolism, heart rate, hormone levels, brain function, blood pressure, and many other key physiological processes.
After this, other things that impact our calorie requirement include age, activity, existing muscle mass or body fat, and overall size and height.
As we get older, our metabolism slows so we need less food.
How much of this is due to simple age or a drop in hormones would be something you need to speak to your doctor about (especially if you have other symptoms) but I would keep the protein shake, as protein is vital for muscle mass as we age, and then try to reduce your carbohydrate or fat consumption elsewhere.
Q) I HAVE lichen sclerosus and sex is painful.
I’m using Estriol cream twice a week yet I’m still sore when we have sex. Any advice?
Shirley Dale, London
Lichen sclerosus is a skin condition that usually affects the vulva or the penis.
It is not sexually transmitted and cannot be spread.
Common symptoms include itching, soreness and changes in the appearance of the affected area.
It is important to treat it early as, if left untreated, over time the vulva may shrink and make the entrance to the vagina narrower, making sex painful and increasing the risk of secondary infections.
No one really knows why the condition occurs, although there is some suggestion it could be an autoimmune condition.
In general, treatment is a strong topical steroid cream prescribed by your doctor and monitored carefully.
Estriol cream would not be the treatment of choice.