If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’re part of a growing group of Americans who suffer from daily drowsiness due to “adrenal burnout.” Adrenal Burnout makes life harder by impacting your daily life activities, such as driving a car, work related activities, sex interest, regular sleep pattern disruptions, and can cause you to miss family events and leisure time activities (according to the National Sleep Foundation). Alarmingly, growing numbers of Americans are now being diagnosed as “chronically fatigued!”

Fatigue can be caused by many health related issues; if you have been feeling fatigued on a consistent basis, we suggest that you visit our Functional Medicine practice. We are trained to look at all of your body’s energy producing systems, in order to best ascertain why you have low energy levels. This includes your environment, work, home, and lifestyle, as well as your physical issues.

Many nutrients play a vital role in maintaining your energy levels.

Co-Enzyme Q10, or Ubiquinone
Co-Q10 is responsible for pumping up the mitocondria in your cells. Mitocondria are considered the “powerhouses” of your cells and regulate cellular respiration. Without healthy mitochondrial function, your cells underperform their duties. Co-Q10 is also helpful in liver function as well as maintaining a healthy heart and kidneys, and is known for helping to lower blood pressure.

B-Vitamins
Several B Vitamins are needed to perform chemical reactions in your liver, adrenal glands (the energy organ in your body that produces bursts of energy when needed), brain tissue, nervous system cells, our heart, and many other areas of the body.

Vitamins B1 (Thiamine), B3 (Riboflavin), B6 (Pyroxidine), B12 (Cobalamin), Biotin, and Folic Acid are also critical B Vitamins necessary for carbohydrate and protein metabolism. This is carried out in our liver and other digestive organs. B-Vitamins are also lost in greater amounts, and beverages such as coffee, taken at the same time as Vitamins, can inhibit their absorption. Many Americans have Vitamin B deficiencies, and in many cases their medication may be a contributing factor. Not taking bio-available vitamins also contributes to deficiencies. Often people are surprised to find out that their body is not absorbing what they are taking as supplements.

Enzymes
Many of us have rapidly depleted our digestive enzymes required to break down and utilize our nutrients. According to Nobel Prize Enzymologist Ronald K Schneider, we lose approximately 10% of our digestive enzyme producing capacity per decade, after puberty. For example, if puberty ends in a person at the age of 20, by the time they are 60 years old, they will have 40% less enzyme producing capacity then when they were 20 years old. Enzymes are required to break down and assimilate your nutrients. Without nutrients, our cells have no fuel to carry out their duties. (see our blog on enzymes for more information about this nutrient)

There are many things that “rob” us of our energy:

Insufficient Sleep
Many Americans lack sufficient sleep today. Many Americans cannot sleep soundly through the night! Without sufficient sleep, our body cannot perform the deep healing and recuperation necessary to carry out the next day’s activities. Most commonly, sleep issues boil down to thyroid and adrenal gland issues brought on by inadequate diet and system toxicity. Having too many EMF generating electronics in the bedroom also contributes to quality of sleep issues. EMFs, or Electromagnetic fields, are a part of the invisible light spectrum. Having light waves bathe you while you sleep may contribute to your body’s ability to produce melatonin, which is a major hormone in the body and affects many major functions, including the immune system.

Low grade and hidden infections steal our enery
Many Americans are suffering from low grade infections, many of which can remain “hidden” from traditional lab tests and can slip by undetected. Parasitic Bacteria, fungal infections, Candida Albicans Yeast infection, Lymes, Herpes Simplex I and II, Shingles are several examples of infections that go undetected in the body for a long time. We use functional lab tests, which do a better job of detecting these infections before they fully manifest.

Hypothyroidism
The Thyroid Gland is considered a very important gland when it comes to energy management in the body. When operating normally, our body temperature operates at an ideal range so that we can function in a body in an optimal manner. When our body temperature gets too low, our cell function begins to slow and we can feel tired.

Adrenal Fatigue
Our Adrenal glands produce many hormones and chemicals provide bursts of energy that help us live well despite having stress. Unfortunately, most Americans have “adrenal burnout” because our fast paced lifestyle and inadequate diet are major contributors to adrenal insufficiency. Instead of eating the foods and taking the supplements that continue to build good adrenal health, it is often much easier for people to opt for the ‘band aid’ approach and quick fix, by reaching for poor quality, and high sugar energy drinks in an attempt to ward off fatigue. The real adrenal energy that your body needs is not in an energy drink can or bottle. While these products provide the sensation of a “quick pick up,” they drain our adrenal glands more rapidly. This is because they fail to replace nutrients needed for our adrenals to function healthfully. The best way to detect adrenal insufficiency is with an Adrenal Salivary Index (ASI).

Alcohol
Alcohol robs us of our energy by disrupting normal R.E.M deep sleep patterns. Many people drink alcohol before going to sleep, because it is a depressant which provides a temporary feeling of relaxation. This helps many people fall asleep more easily. Alcohol does not help us maintain the deep sleep patterns necessary to feel energized the next day. Web MD summarized 27 studies showing us how alcohol and quality sleep don’t mix!

Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMFs)
Besides the EMF issues that can impact our levels of Melatonin production, our bodies are constantly being stressed by being bathed in these man made frequencies, 24/7. Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are both analog and digital. The human body evolved with the Earth’s natural analog frequencies. Man made EMFs first interacted with humans when motors and other electric devices became a part of our quality of life. In the late 1970s the Wertheimer and Leeper study revealed the connection between indoor electrical wiring and health issues; certain wiring configurations were known to create higher levels of EMFs within the home. By the 1980s, Power Lines were also an issue because of their “always on” effect if you lived close to one.

By 2013 we now also have a swathe of digital EMF waveforms that our human, analog body interacts with. Virtually every electronic item we live with and use is emitting EMFs. Dr Robert O. Becker, MD had done much research on the negative bio-effects of EMFs on the human body. These EMFs affect subtle areas of our brain, such as the pineal gland, which can disrupt healthy sleep needed to feel energized the next day.

To learn how you can achieve more restful sleep, contact us today!

References:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-related-problems/excessive-sleepiness-and-sleep
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep

Receiving quality Chiropractic care is excellent for managing pain and increasing function. When a patient comes in and needs corrective Chiropractic adjustments to their physical structure, and if your joints and cartilage are in optimal health, then we typically do not need to see you again until there is another misalignment occurring.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 3 Americans today have joints and cartilage that are not in top-notch health. If this is you, this indicates that there re other problems that go beyond what an adjustment can do. At this point we need to address turning around, i.e., reversing what is contributing to joint degradation, which can be done via nutritional adjustments. When our joints degenerate there is a breakdown, and ultimately a loss of cartilage, along with inflammation. In order to reverse cartilage loss we need to replace the ingredients that make cartilage in the body. Those ingredients are: Type II collagen (specific to joints and connective tissue), Hyaluronic Acid (also called H.A.), chondroitan sulfate, glucosamine and MSM. These ingredients make up all joints and connective tissue in the body, and must be replaced if we are to halt or reverse the process of joint degeneration.

Less Chiropractic maintenance and better joint health can be achieved!
Lower levels of these joint and cartilage nutrients begin to occur after the age of 35; and we begin to lose some after birth! It makes sense that we replace these nutrients to minimize our losses, and more importantly raise the levels of these nutrients in higher amounts in our body. Most over the counter nutritional supplements that contain the needed replenishment ingredients are not completely bio-available. Their cellular forms tend to be very large. In order for your body to effectively utilize these nutrients, they must be modified into a smaller form or your body cannot absorb them. There is a modified version of these nutrients called Liquid Biocell Collagen that provides optimum absorption, which translates into being able to more fully reverse many of the symptoms associated with joint degeneration caused by illness or injury. Chiropractors have been successfully treating back and neck pain for decades; our patients who are on both protocols have reported feeling more energy and not noticing their joints the way they used to when they would walk, run, exercise or climb stairs.

Using our approach, pain levels not only noticeably decrease within a 90 day period, but our patients report that their pain levels continue to decrease as they continue on their home based nutritional therapy. During this time, our patients are able to decrease the frequency of chiropractic treatments. Unlike targeted injections, this nutritional support helps every joint in the body, not just your neck and spine. Our ultimate goal is to hear our patients come into the office for a maintenance appointment while telling us how much their mobility and range of motion has improved, all without surgery! This doesn’t mean that you should entirely stop your maintenance schedule of care with your Chiropractor, but our goal should be to get you to the point where you’re not as dependent upon your Chiropractor, or at all, in order to manage your joint concerns.

We can create better outcomes by reversing the causes of joint degeneration
We provide both the physical therapy via Chiropractic treatments and other Physical Therapy modalities used in our office. We work with a clinically proven joint formula that’s backed by clinical trials. This is liquid Biocell collagen, which contains all the ingredients that comprise our joints such as: Type II collagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Chondroitan, Glucosamine, and MSM. Many of these ingredients are not new to joint nutrition: however, a very important aspect of nutritional therapy involves taking the right supplementation that provide optimum bio-availability to your body.

Bio-availability means that these ingredients are in a more absorbable form that can be assimilated by our joints. Liquid Biocell simultaneously addresses joint pain anywhere in the body. This allows for quick results that continue to improve with time; this is aligned with our goals for our Patients, to get your quickly and firmly on the path of healing and recovery.

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1033256
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22486722

Common examples of neurodegeneration are:

• Speaking abilities deteriorate and the pace of speech is sluggish;
• The person frequently struggles to remember people, places and events;
• Low or no “affect” – the ability to show outward facial emotions and expression;
• Presence of poor body posture: this indicates the body is unable to sustain proper muscle tone in our postural muscles. The result is a tendency to slouch and have a “stooped over posture.”
• Our gait refers to how we walk and move, and can indicate brain degeneration and brain neuron loss:
  • A decreased gait, from a full stride to some form of a shuffle.
  • The loss of our normal opposing arm swing while walking, or a diminished arm swing.
  • A loss of balance, or feelings of “vertigo” is another indicator of a rapidly deteriorating brain.

Many people either have these warning signs or see it in people they know, but feel helpless to change what they think is just a natural occurrence (aging) or a condition that they have no way to control the problem or even or even to reverse it. There are non-drug options that can help this brain degeneration, which can help improve a person’s quality of life.

The chemistry that happens when the brain degenerates:

Much of our brain damage is the result of “free radicals” that lead to a lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain. Free radicals are stray electrons that damage our cells and tissues, and are a key contributor to “oxidative stress,” inflammation, and lack of sufficient oxygen to the brain. This can lead to a buildup of plaque in our brain, and the rapid deposit of “Tau Proteins.” In combination, these factors have been shown to be at the center of many neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and memory loss.

Minimizing and reversing your brain’s neurodegeneration is possible
The saying, “use it or lose it” applies here. Our brain is the master control center for our nervous system, and if we don’t exercise it, then we start to lose it more rapidly. It’s important to participate in daily activities that help to stimulate the memory. Playing the card game “Concentration” we played as kids is a great way to have fun, and maintain healthy brain neurons. Crossword puzzles provide another great way to challenge a person’s recall of events, places, words and details, as is studying a new language or learning a new skill.

Physical exercise and exertion activates areas of our brain in other important ways. Our muscles are directly wired to specific areas of our brain and provide stimulation to these areas when we move. Exercise temporarily increases blood oxygen levels which gives our neurons an essential fuel needed to function, which is important for brain and memory health.  Whenever we experience or see a diminishing ability, we need to challenge this system by engaging in therapeutic activities. Diminishing abilities include poor speech quality, balance, or movement.

Nutrients to protect our brain
We want to look at brain essential nutrients that can protect our brain from free radicals, inflammation and oxidative stress, so that our brains can continue to be sharp as we age.

• Co-Q10 is a co-enzyme that increases the efficiency of energy production, and serves as a potent brain and heart antioxidant.
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid regenerates other important brain antioxidants such as Vitamins C, E, and Glutathione, thus extending the life of other antioxidants while providing powerful antioxidant properties.
• N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) dramatically increases the body’s production of glutathione, another very important brain antioxidant. It also helps detoxify our brain.
• Acetyl-L_Carnitine, like Co-Q-10, enhances our nerve cell energy production. This benefits damaged brain neurons, which have low energy production. Studies show that this nutrient profoundly slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It enhances our nerve cell energy production by transporting fuel into the mitochondria (energy plants) of our cells.
• Vitamin E has been shown to limit free radical damage in the brain and has been noted to outperform an Alzheimer’s drug in clinical trials, per the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Diets rich in Vitamin E, when supplemented with Vitamin C, have been shown to reduce the risk of Parkinsons by 61%.

• Gingko Biloba improves brain metabolism, increases brain blood flow and provides additional antioxidant protection according to double blind placebo trials published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Gingko Biloba was also shown to stabilize Alzheimer’s progression, and was cited in contributing to actual improvement results in standardized psychological tests.

• Vitamin D has been shown in studies to have many free radical scavenging abilities that help the brain.

• Vitamin B12 is essential for maintaining the “myelin sheath” around your neurons, which is the equivalent to the protective coatings on electrical wires. The myelin sheath not only helps to conduct electrical nerve signals throughout your body, but helps to prevent “mixed messages” when neurons cross. When neurons messages become “crossed” we can see problems such as neurological tremors.

• Phosphatidyl Serine produces the important neurotransmitter Acetylcholine, which is responsible for healthy muscle contraction, organ function and most of all memory.

• Flavonoids are found in citrus fruits and many types of berries. These nutrients function like antioxidants and help build the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) which keeps toxins out of our brain.

Other nutrients that are also essential to a healthy brain include Magnesium, Calcium, all of the B-Vitamins, Sodium, Potassium, EPA, DHA, and many amino acids. Many of these nutrients and more are already included in the highly bio-available daily multivitamin our patients take.

When our discs degenerate, many things can happen:

• The outer walls of our discs, which hold everything intact, can become weak and give way, resulting in a protrusion or “bulge”, and even tear in serious cases. This may cause impingement upon a nearby nerve root, with pain being the result.
• Our discs become “irregularly shaped”, and have a “lumpy” and “bumpy” appearance on X-Ray or MRI. These irregularities can create stiffness and discomfort in our spinal joints.
• Our discs “dessicate”, or dehydrate. When this happens, our disc height shrinks due to fluid loss; the fluid lost is largely water, supplied by synovial fluid. This is one of the most common occurrences people experience when they have vertebral disc degeneration.

According to Dr Louis P Brady MD, who pioneered hip replacement surgery in the US, our joints begin to degrade when our joints no longer produce adequate amounts of a special fluid, called “synovial fluid” that nourishes our joints. This fluid contains the ingredients needed to repair and rebuild our joints from the inside. A lack of this fluid contributes to disc degeneration.

Why Do Our Vertebral Discs Shrink?
The discs in our spine, called Vertebral Discs, or Intervertebral discs, are made up of cartilage. This cartilage is very tough, resilient, and long lasting, especially when you have the proper therapeutic activities and nutrients in your diet to support the repair and healthy maintenance of your discs. Under healthy circumstances, cartilage can withstand intense pressures and torsional forces, even into old age. Cartilage tends to not fail unless it is neglected from proper care. Our discs degrade due to wear and tear, trauma, injury, chemical and emotional stress, and an American diet that not only fails to support healthy discs and cartilage, but can also hasten their deterioration and demise.

Disc Degeneration Can Be Reversed!
Many of us have varying degrees of disc degeneration in our spine, but may not yet be expressing outward symptoms. It is unfortunate that conventional healthcare typically views disc degeneration an irreversible part of the “natural aging” process. Alternative health views that focus on nutritional effects address the cell biology, and the many ways that our discs can be nourished to re-establish healthy growth.

Drugless and non-surgical solutions to rehydrate our vertebral discs
Many of us have been told of the multiple healthful benefits of drinking pure, quality water. While one such benefit is that it replenishes lost water in our tissues, including our joints, drinking water alone is not enough to rehydrate our discs. Our joints need to transport and retain water, and a vital, missing ingredient in this chemical process is called Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A.

Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A., also makes up synovial fluid. This all important protein is supposed to be present in our joints, and is capable of holding 400 times its own weight in water. Our body’s loss of this important protein is most evident when we begin to show wrinkles. Our skin begins to wrinkle because H.A. holds water in the good places of our skin and joints. This all important protein, Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. not only lubricates and nourishes our joints, but it “holds” the water in our discs keeping them hydrated so they don’t shrink.

As we lose H.A. in our discs, they begin to lose their hydration. As a result, we can begin to experience stiffness and possibly impinge nearby nerves. This occurs because of lost “disc height space” needed to keep our spinal vertebrae from collapsing upon each other.

Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. can be effectively replaced
In our clinic, we use a unique and highly absorbable clinically proven form of H.A. called “low molecular weight Hyaluronic Acid.” The low molecular weight allows this very large protein to be absorbed when consumed orally. Without this modification, the H.A. is too large to be absorbed and must be injected if it is to be of any use; if not, it will pass through our digestive tract unabsorbed, and exits via the bowel. Low molecular weight H.A. has an additional benefit; it has been shown in studies to inhibit the enzyme Hyaluronidase, which is responsible for breaking down H.A. in our body.

Drinking this low molecular weight H.A. inhibits the enzyme Hyaluronidase; this allows your H.A. levels to rise by over 60 fold (6000%) in the blood as demonstrated in clinical trials. The result for you is a better nourishment of your joints which provides better outcomes, and delays the effects of aging throughout our entire body.

For more information about how to increase disc, and skin hydration, and decrease joint discomfort and stiffness, contact us today. (link to FHS contact page)

Hormone imbalance is not an inevitable and natural consequence of old age, but really results from an organ or gland(s) inability to produce optimal amounts of a hormone due to the presence of unhealthy conditions in the body. Research shows that we are capable of producing normal amounts of hormones well into our later years of life. In order to do so, it is crucial to correct the underlying unhealthy conditions causing the imbalance, because hormone imbalance can occur at any age.

Hormones are chemical messengers that bind to our cells which create changes in our metabolism that affect our mood, memory, libido, fat metabolism, energy levels, temperature regulation, appetite, and much more. Because hormones affect so much of our quality of life, including weight gain issues and a feeling of sluggishness and our mental and emotional outlook in life, having the proper amount and types of hormones is important if we are going to enjoy life.

Hormone Replacement Therapy
With HRT, a deficient hormone, or hormones, is introduced into our body. A problem with HRT is that the gland or glands involved then “go to sleep.” This reduces the amount of hormone that the body is able to then naturally produce, because your body will sense higher amounts of a hormone and adjust production accordingly.

Disruption of Bio-rhythms
Another problem with HRT is that our body no longer undergoes the natural hormonal bio-rhythms that normally occur throughout the day. Because HRT doses are largely static, it does not allow our hormones to fluctuate naturally throughout the day as we are designed, even when the dose is adjusted and monitored closely by a health professional. Most significantly, this previously considered “safe” process, paradoxically carries many significant health risks such as increased rate of heart attack, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. This study, the largest of it’s kind, was conducted by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI, 2004), initiated by the National Institute of Health (NIH), concluded that many of the risks outweighed the benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

Bioidentical hormones – are they really safer?
According to The Harvard Newsletter on Hormone Replacement, the fact that hormones are bioidentical does not guarantee that they are safer than regular hormone replacement. Bioidentical hormones carry the same “black box” warning (the strongest warning in prescription labeling) that non-bioidentical hormones carry.

Although bioidentical hormones can contain naturally occurring hormones in their composition, they also carry unnatural modifications required to qualify as a drug: prescription drugs must be modified chemically because naturally occurring substance cannot be patented.

Celebrity Suzanne Somers, who popularized the use of biodentical hormones, stated that despite daily applications of bio-identical progesterone cream, she required a hysterectomy due to endometrial hyperplasia (a precancerous transformation).

Common physical complaints related to hormonal imbalance

Feeling too hot and sweaty?
Thermoregulation, or the healthy maintenance of body temperature, is a common complaint that we see in our practice. This includes looking at two main areas, the Thyroid Gland and Estrogen levels. Estrogen is considered to be the “thermogenic”, or heat producing hormone in the body. An overactive Thyroid Gland can also cause a person to feel “overheated.” An often overlooked factor is that if your blood sugar, which plays an important role in estrogen fluctuations, can be the primary cause of your discomfort. This is due to an enzyme called Aromatase, which is responsible for a key step in the biosynthesis of estrogens. In this case, looking at your blood sugar must be a focal point.

Low Libido, in both men and women?
For women, the common complaint is vaginal dryness, which is related to insufficient estrogen levels. Libido relates largely to testosterone levels for both men and women, but other sex hormones much also be in balance. In these cases, we address nutritional and other issues that help the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal gland and ovary (testes in men) to work properly again, and “in concert” with each other.

Drugs Affect Hormone Levels
Very often people take medications without knowing that a common side effect is that the medication suppresses your body’s hormone production. When there are multiple medications involved, the problem is further exacerbated. The ability of your organs and glands to produce and regulate hormone levels becomes impaired as multiple medications interfere with your body’s natural process to regulate hormone production. Not only does the presence of multiple medications interfere with hormone production, but they also interfere with hormonal transport and utilization. Other artificial chemicals such as artificial food additives and preservatives can contribute to hormone imbalance much like medications.

The HPA Axis
The Hypothalamic- Pituitary- Adrenal Axis, or HPA axis, involves a master regulatory area of your brain, your hypothalamus, which serves as a type of “command center” that communicates with a very important part of your brain, the Pituitary Gland. The Pituitary gland, is known as the “regulator of regulators” and is considered a master gland that directs all the glands in your body.

Your Pituitary gland tells your Thyroid Gland to make Thyroxine, also called thyroid hormone. It tells your testes (or ovaries for females) to secrete reproductive hormones, and so on. Another very important communication channel your Pituitary gland has is with your adrenal glands, which produce cortisol, known as the stress hormone. Your adrenal glands produce other hormones, besides cortisol.

If you have a weak adrenal function, there will be cortisol fluctuations. When cortisol levels are high, it throws other hormones out of balance. Overproduction of cortisol suppresses overall hormone production. It is difficult for most everyone to have normal cortisol levels due to the stressors of daily living such as poor diet, improper exercise, chemical exposure, pollution, radiation, harmful drug side effects and electro-magnetic pollution.

The role of your liver, kidney and colon
The body’s major detoxifying organs are the liver, kidney and colon. New research shows how these organs play a role in hormone clearance in the body. Because these organs play a role in hormone clearance in the body, they cannot easily process and eliminate hormonal excess when toxins build up in the body. Interestingly, dietary fiber has been shown to assist with the clearance of excess hormones in the blood.

A build up of toxins can have the opposite effect as well. Toxic excess can stress an organ to the point where it can suppress gland activity, resulting in lower than normal amounts of a hormone. Toxins in your body can contribute both to unnaturally high and low amounts of hormones.

What is Hormone Rejuvenation Therapy?
Hormone Rejuvenation Therapy involves the use of appropriate foundational ingredients to stimulate the glands so that it makes healthy amounts of a hormone on its own. Hormone rejuvenation therapy can also work for people who have an organ or gland missing due to surgical or radiation treatment as verified from our clinical results using lab tests. Even when a gland is considered to be “entirely removed”, there are still levels (low) of hormones being produced. Hormones are made in many areas of your body; for example, people who have their thyroid gland missing from a thyroidectomy they will still produce levels of thyroid hormone. Women who have had a hysterectomy still produce levels progesterone and estrogen. This is largely possible because of the compensatory effects of the adrenal glands, and other areas of the body, which are capable of producing many of our hormones as a backup. With Hormone Rejuvenation Therapy, these other areas of your body are stimulated to help produce healthy amounts of deficient hormones.

Salivary Testing versus Blood Testing
At Fundamental Health Solutions, we use a home testing hormone salivary kit by Diagnos-Techs, which provides for a more accurate depiction of hormone levels in the body than can be provided by blood testing. Salivary hormone testing measures the “free fraction” of hormones floating around our body. Many of our hormones also circulate in a protein bound form, which is not usable by the body. Salivary testing measures the amounts of hormones that are an unbound form that the body can readily use. It is important to know what hormones your body can use, as these levels change most quickly in response to illness or a proper schedule of care.

References:
Women’s Health Initiative Data: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/whi_faq.htm
The study, which spanned over 15 years, included over 160,000 women ages 59-70, had to be prematurely terminated by the WHI Data Safety and Monitoring Board due to the marked increase in cardiovascular disease and breast cancer incidences.

PUBMED http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12117397

Bioidentical hormones: Help or hype?  
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2011/September/bioidentical-hormones-help-or-hype

The aging brain
We all know the brain appears to suffer aging problems that contribute to memory loss.  Most people who have moved into middle age often notice that their brain does not seem to work as fast as it was when they were in their early twenties.  A degenerating brain is the result of losing more and more neurons as a consequence of normal aging. This process is called “neural degeneration” or “neurodegeneration.”

The process of neural degeneration is different for everyone because our brains, and neurons can be challenged by a number of factors which are different for each of us and can occur in different combinations.  Our brains are constantly dealing with inflammation, overproduction of cortisol (the stress hormone), high homocysteine, improper immune responses, irregular blood sugar, nutrient deficiency and a lack of oxygen and proper stimulation.  One might infer that when we have headaches, it is because our brain hurts.  You may be surprised to know that our brain cannot directly sense pain. Surgeons can cut into it without anesthesia, but the scalp and other surrounding tissues need anesthesia.  Blood vessels within the brain experience innervation (stimulation) that can cause it to expand and contract, and thus transmit pain throughout our head.

Neurotransmitters for brain and overall health
Our brain and nervous system is comprised of neurons that electrically talk to each other. This brain and nervous system communication requires chemicals called neurotransmitters.  Our neurotransmitters are used to relay, amplify and modulate signals between a neuron and another cell. Neurotransmitters are largely responsible for how good we feel.

Neurotransmitters are not just important to the brain but have a profound impact on our entire body. Neurotransmitters are made in the brain, as well as in our organs and glands throughout our body.  If we truly want good health, then we must have good brain and body health.  Because our brain health affects our emotional view of the world and our sense of well-being, it follows that poor brain health will generally reflect itself in kind.  The main neurotransmitters are serotonin, melatonin, GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), acetylcholine. dopamine and norepinephrine/epinephrine.

Key Neurotransmitters needed for an optimum functioning brain

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter produced in the brain and gastrointestinal tract that is also called 5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5 HTP. When our Serotonin levels are optimal, we are upbeat, calm, peaceful, and can maintain interest in daily living activities, even during periods of low sunlight.  Optimal serotonin levels allow us to enjoy hobbies, have interests, have non-repetitive thoughts, have fewer extreme fluctuations of “highs” and “lows”, enjoy life, experience restful sleep, maintain enthusiasm for favorite activities, have regular bowel activity, and feel more calm or centered when juggling life’s many emotional challenges. Normal amounts of serotonin are associated with a decrease in headaches. Additionally, an area of the brain called the pineal gland requires sufficient amounts of serotonin to make another type of neurotransmitter called melatonin.

Melatonin is required for regulating sleep patterns and the behavioral changes.  When our bodies are under excessive stress from too much caffeine, nicotine, work deadlines, overtraining and poor diet, we experience adrenal overload and levels of a hormone called cortisol elevates (also known as the stress hormone). High amounts of cortisol decreases the amount of melatonin in our body, making restful sleep more difficult.

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) is a neurotransmitter that our body makes in our pancreas, kidneys and several areas of our brain. Optimal amounts of GABA are associated with feeling calm, focused, and relaxed without fidgeting or excessive body movement, and able to turn your mind off when you want to relax. Healthy GABA levels can help us feel less anxious and to feel calmer in most situations.  Because GABA relaxes, it decreases uncontrolled muscle contractions. Oral GABA supplements are too big to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) therefore approaches which focus on improving the body’s GABA synthesis show the greatest promise.

Acetylcholine is made in the areas of our brain and spinal cord. This neurotransmitter is responsible for memory and cognition. Optimal amounts acetylcholine is associated with memory recall, quick mental response and processing, creativity, accurate mental calculations and good judgment. More specifically acetylcholine is responsible for recognition such as visual memory (remembering faces, pictures, places and events) and verbal memory (recollecting sounds, voices).

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is mostly made by our brain, as well as our adrenal glands and kidneys. Dopamine is associated with feeling pleasure, increased libido and reward. Optimal levels of dopamine help us experience pleasure in life, manage stressful situations, gives us a feeling of worthiness and importance, stay focused on tasks, helps us stay on task to completion, stay alert, feel comfortable in social situations, and remain flexible and more relaxed during stressful moments. If we have sufficient nutrients in the body to make dopamine, exercise, yoga and meditation may naturally elevate this neurotransmitter and is responsible for the “euphoria” or “natural high” we experience.

Norepinephrine/Epinephrine (Adrenaline) functions as both a hormone and neurotransmitter and is made by our adrenal glands. Optimal levels of this neurotransmitter allows us to experience feeling rewarded.  This also helps us to maintain a state of physical and mental alertness. Additionally, proper levels help us experience a normal heartbeat and blood pressure. Norepinephrine is required to make melatonin, required for healthy sleep.

Low transmitter levels can translate o mental difficulty and challenges
Having a healthy brain requires having a healthy body because healthy adrenal glands, thyroid, gastrointestinal tract, blood sugar metabolism, sufficient enzymes, hormone levels and an efficient immune system all impact the health of our brain and its synthesis of neurotransmitters.  Our neurotransmitters also need specific amino acids, vitamins, minerals herbs and fatty acids for their synthesis in order to be effective. Compromised digestion or a nutritionally deficient diet may mean that we are not absorbing the needed nutrients even though we are consuming them.  Having low transmitter levels often translates to mental difficulty and challenges.

How brain function begins to deteriorate
Everyone knows the brain is important, but we rarely make an effort to keep it healthy until problems become serious. A healthy brain has an intact blood brain barrier (BBB) which serves as a first line of defense preventing the entry of harmful substances. When this layer is compromised, your second line of defense rests with your brain’s immune cells. In people exhibiting brain degeneration, both of these defense mechanisms are not working properly. A healthy brain is a well nourished and stimulated brain, one that has the ability to heal and repair itself in order to deliver optimal output.

When patients come to us with brain clarity and memory issues, we will conduct a thorough assessment along with appropriate tests.  Brain clarity and memory issues can be related to a number of health challenges, which can include:

• Inflammation and oxidative stress
• System wide toxicity which includes liver and bowel
• Subluxation throughout the neck vertebrae
• Subtle Energy Blockages that may not appear on an MRI or CT
• Residual trauma from injuries that can include whiplash, concussion or other brain trauma
• Physical issues resulting from severe muscle contraction in the occipital region (often related to stress)
• Allergic reactions to environmental or food
• Nutritional depletion of certain enzymes, vitamins, minerals or other substances
• Or other causes…

It is important to be aware that oxidative stress, inflammation and autoimmunity can contribute materially to brain issues.  For example, recent research demonstrates autoimmunity plays a major role in Parkinson’s.  In addition to specific brain boosting nutrients, the importance of reducing inflammation and oxidative stress are crucial places to start when recovering the health of your brain, and yourself.

Because these issues can be related to a variety of triggers, a throughout patient history, interview and assessment are always the best starting point.

References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3215724 (5-20-2012):  Autoantibodies associated with Parkinsons

http://www.jneuroinflammation.com/content/3/1/1 (5-20-2012):   Antibodies formed against dopamine secreting cells (Parkinsons is a disease of low dopamine; low dopamine is associated with tremors, poor movement patterns, depression and poor cognition;

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1502878 (5-20-2012):  Complement pathway (part of the autoimmune process) with Parkinsons;

Nutritional deficiencies can contribute to visible signs of aging, as well as feeling that loss of vitality! This can happen for a number of reasons. The high stressed, fast paced lifestyle that most people experience increases poor dietary choices, which hastens nutrient depletion even if you are eating well.

As we age, most people begin to experience an increase in fine lines and deep creases, skin wrinkles, our faces begin to appear more hollow and less plump the way we looked when we were teenagers, and even issues like receding gums. We address these issues by looking at what builds health in the body by focusing on the foundational areas that contribute to looking older. In addition to helping our skin and joints look and feel better, a key to turning around the aging challenge also addresses digestive issues. As a result, the visible signs of aging slow, and even reverse, for people who have followed our schedule of care.

Skin, Joints, and Gum Health
After the age of 40, our collagen levels begin to decline. Collagen, the most abundant body protein, is responsible for giving skin a youthful, resilient, wrinkle free appearance. It is also an important protein that helps to hold our joints together as well as to cushion them. With collagen, we can have a bounce to our step. When collagen levels are lower than they should be, the bounce is replaced by a feeling of stiffness and discomfort. Less collagen also means our skin begins to lose the fullness we had in the past.

That “bounce to your step” is also impacted by the presence of Chondroitin Sulfate, due to the shock absorbing features that it provides. Low levels of it can make you “feel” your joints with every step you take. If your levels of Chondroitin Sulfate are sub-optimal, then maintaining a lively gait can be much of a challenge.

Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. also is a key factor needed to maintain a youthful appearance, because it is responsible for giving our skin a more full, wrinkle free look. It also lubricates our joints! Maintaining the right levels of H.A. means that we look and feel more youthful. As our H.A. levels decline after birth, we often experience more physical effects of aging, including joint stiffness, discomfort and decreased range of motion. Low levels of H.A. are also associated with skin wrinkles, creases, deep folds, and fine lines. Patients have also reported improved gum health as well as reduced, and even corrected dry eye problems. With regular use of highly absorbable form of H.A., the body is able to produce the natural lubrication that the eyes need for good ocular health.

Food Absorption Impacts Muscle Mass
Even if you eat the right foods which contain quality protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, that does not mean you will necessarily absorb them! Under production of Hydrochloric (stomach) acid, and stomach acid suppressive therapies, along with low levels of enzymes can lead to mal-absorption of nutrients. One way this is evident is with a decline of muscle mass. Without addressing this, a person can become frail, which means they have inadequate muscle mass for their age. As we lose muscle mass, we begin to more easily accumulate fat since muscle is required to burn fat. Once the stomach’s acid production is returned to normal levels, and sufficient levels of enzymes are present, we can absorb our nutrients.

Weight gain and loss
Enzymes, exercise, and good colon health help our bodies regulate proper weight by absorbing and eliminating our food quickly, thereby speeding up our metabolism. Enzymes help us detoxify our tissues more quickly, and at a deeper level, which helps our body have a proper metabolism needed to maintain a healthy weight. Eating foods that are appropriate for our blood type can determine how efficiently we “burn” calories, and how we look and feel. Weight gain can often occur when we eat foods that are not compatible with our blood type.

Regain that peppy feeling
Today most people are drained and tired, feeling depleted of energy. One of those factors is stress. Stress can come from environmental factors, our demanding lifestyle, and physical injuries, whether from accidents, traumas, or sports related. While we can mask the feeling of stress by using caffeine, nicotine, and refined sugars, the key is to address your energy levels at the cellular level so that you can feel energetic in a way that helps your body and builds good health, while helping you feel more energetic.

Mental Clarity
Low levels of blood oxygen have been shown to contribute to physical and mental fatigue, “fuzzy” thought, poor endurance, lactic acid build up and a decreased ability to heal. To increase your blood’s ability to carry oxygen, debris in the blood needs to be cleaned up. The cleaner the blood, the more effectively it can transport oxygen to essential body parts of your body such as the heart, muscles, and the brain. Debris includes high serum protein levels, and oxidized solids such as plaque, cholesterol, uric acid and fibrin, all which decrease the blood’s ability to carry oxygen by congesting your blood and thickening blood vessel walls via inflammation.

Blood tests to identify these conditions can be done in our office via live blood cell analysis, and out of office via our comprehensive functional blood chemistry analysis.

At Fundamental Health Solutions, our anti-visible aging supplementation program includes the use of a clinically tested, bio-available liquid supplement that contains highly absorbable collagen, chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid, known for helping to hydrate your skin, as well as the ability to contribute to joint lubrication

Aging and Cardio Vascular Health
Free radicals damage our cells as well as leave small tears on the inner surface of our blood vessels, which can result in scarring and perpetuate inflammation. The body’s ability to repair these micro-tears diminishes with age, leaving spaces that allow the build-up of arterial plaque, which can eventually lead to clogged circulation. Over time, your heart muscle has to work harder to pump the same amount of blood through congested, rigid, less flexible blood vessels. This can lead to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. Important first steps to combat this and related effects begins with anti-oxidants, cardio tonic nutrients, and techniques for correcting chronic inflammation. A healthy heart is a well nourished and oxygenated heart. By using nutrients that can help the heart receive and use oxygen, many common cardio-vascular issues can be corrected with bio-available supplementation, without drugs. We also suggest taking the Myeloperoxidase enzyme test, known for identifying heart problems before they happen

Muscle Mass is key for weight loss
Eating the right foods, which contain quality protein, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients does not mean you will necessarily absorb them. Under-production of Hydrochloric (stomach) acid due to stress and aging, or stomach acid suppressive therapies, along with a lack of enzymes, leads to mal-absorption of nutrients. One way this is evident is with a decline of muscle mass. Without addressing this, a person can become frail, which means they have inadequate muscle mass for their age. As we lose muscle mass, we begin to more easily accumulate fat since muscle is required to burn fat. Once the stomach’s acid production is returned to normal levels, and sufficient levels of enzymes are present, we can absorb our nutrients.

Healthy bones depend upon many things
Optimal bone health means strong, flexible bones, not necessarily thicker bones, and is dependent upon good digestion, coupled with a variety of nutrients. Studies which include only calcium supplementation show mixed results in restoring healthy bone density. Since our bones require many nutrients, we obtain the best results when we supplement with all of these nutrients. Using a non-radiation, urinary assay to measure present bone loss, and the bone loss rate, we can measure your bone health every 3 months, or less, versus less frequently if you have a DEXA (radiation) scan. This enables us to monitor the effectiveness of the recommended protocol, as well as measuring system wide bone loss, versus (DEXA) focal bone loss.

Skin, Joints and Gum Health
Our supplementation program includes the use of a clinically tested, bio-available liquid supplement that contains highly absorbable hydrolyzed collagen, chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid, known for helping to hydrate your skin, as well as the ability to contribute to joint lubrication and regenerate cartilage. Together, these three nutritional substances can help turn around many of the more uncomfortable contributors to aging such as joint discomfort, losing mobility, and joint flexibility. Patients have also reported improved gum health as well as correcting dry eye problems.

Weight Gain
Often, the aging process includes weight gain, especially where hormonal shifts contribute to metabolic slowdown. Enzymes, exercise, and good colon health help our bodies regulate proper weight by absorbing and eliminating our food quickly, thereby speeding up our metabolism. Enzymes help us detoxify our tissues more quickly, and at a deeper level. Virtually all weight experts agree that minimizing toxins in organs and glands are needed to ensure their proper metabolism and maintain a healthy weight.

What Is Telomerase? Telomerase is the enzyme which builds and maintains our Telomeres.  We are distributors for Telezyme, the only product which contains the actual Telomerase enzyme. Telomere lengthening is significantly enhanced by supplying adequate amounts of actual telomerase enzyme prior to cell replication. Younger people have higher amounts of Telomerase enzyme in their cells than older people. As we age, we gradually lose the capacity to produce Telomerase enzyme which is required to make an exact copy of your cells.

What Are The Best Ways To Help My Telomeres? Good Nutrition, exercise and managing stress minimize the shortening of our Telomeres. If you want to elongate your Telomeres, like when you were younger, take Telomerase enzyme. Telomerase enzyme supplement gets absorbed by our cells and replaces lost Telomerase enzyme required to make an identical copy of your cells.

The Significance Of Telomerase And Aging Shortened telomere caps lead to unraveling of our DNA which damages our genetic material, as a result our cells function less efficiently. Once a critical length is reached, called the “Hayflick limit”, the cell dies and cannot reproduce. If telomerase activity is high, our cells can reproduce and we see a profound delay in the aging process. If telomerase activity is low, we see accelerated aging, and problems associated with aging. PhD Biologist, Dr. Michael West, cites telomerase enzyme as the “cellular fountain of youth”. Cell biologist Calvin Harley shows that cells can live up to 100 times longer, and in a more youthful state under the influence of telomerase enzyme.

Are There Other Products Like This?
We have found only one commercial product that contains the actual telomerase enzyme based on the Nobel Prize Winning Research in 2009. In 2011, the commercial product was developed by a Nobel Prize Finalist and Enzymologist, and his research team. (unrelated to the Nobel Team of 2009) Since the Nobel Prize was awarded to the team of scientists who discovered Telomerase enzyme, many commercial products have resulted that claim to elongate our Telomeres by using special nutrient co-factors and/or hormones.  However, we take our cue from the research provided by the Nobel Prize winning scientists who demonstrated that the critical influence that limits Telomere elongation is due to insufficient amounts of Telomerase enzyme.  Therefore, only by increasing quantities of actual Telomerase enzyme in the blood, like when you were younger, can regenerate your Telomeres. 

Some interesting facts about telomerase:

• Younger people have longer telomeres than older people. When compared to older people, younger people tend to have less illnesses, less risk factors for illnesses and recover faster from injuries and illnesses.
• Studies peformed on healthy people versus people who were seriously ill showed that healthy people had longer telomeres than sick people, therefore higher activity levels of telomerase enzyme. This measurement was statistically significant.
• A preponderance of research which shows that decreasing stress, good nutrition, and healthy amounts of exercise all minimize the shortening rate of telomeres.
• Certain nutrients, such as antioxidants, have been shown to minimize the shortening of telomeres and offer protection to telomerase enzyme.

How Long Do I Need to Use Telomerase Enzyme in Order to See Results?
Telomerase enzyme works by elongating our Telomeres during cell division, therefore it is the rate of cell division that determines how soon we see and feel results.  Each of our cells divide at different rates, and this rate slows down as we age.  Some of our blood cells, such as platelets, can divide in 8-12 days. Other cells can take as long as 6-8 months.  In both cases, the time needed for our cells to divide increases with age (which is why we heal more quickly when we’re younger).  Although we are all unique biochemical individuals who respond differently to therapies, a general rule of thumb is that if you take 11% of your age, you can estimate the time needed to see external results.  For example, for a person who is 40 years old, he or she can expect to see external changes in about 4.4 years while taking Telomerase enzyme on a consistent daily basis.   Additionally, people who follow our health and wellness schedule of care will tend to see results more quickly than those who do not.

Besides providing our body a structural framework which allows our muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue to work, our bones provide a mineral reserve that our body calls upon during times of depletion and stress.

Contained within our bone tissue are large amounts of important minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, boron, protein, and vitamins.  These are used by our body, released from our bones, to drive other essential chemical reactions in the body. For long term bone and overall health, your bones need to have an adequate supply on reserve.

Why is bone health so important to the rest of our body?    Our bone marrow, the innermost portion of our bones, is the “manufacturing plant” for all our blood cells.   Bone marrow makes our red blood cells, which carry precious oxygen to our organs and glands, and returns the gaseous waste product carbon dioxide back to our lungs.  Bone marrow makes all of our immune cells, called white blood cells, which are the guardians of our health.   Our bone marrow also makes platelets, the third type of blood cell, which serves to clot blood when we are bleeding.  When our bone health suffers, only a good “Health Detective” will seek out the underlying cause.

Thick Bone Versus Strong Healthy Bone
It is the quality of a bone’s composition that makes them strong, not necessarily the thickness.  Because conventional approaches only look at thickness, and not bone quality, the structural integrity of our skeletal system is suboptimal.  For example, one type of conventional approach allows weaker, poorer quality bone tissue to build up to achieve thicker bones.  The quality of these thicker bones often contains dead bone tissue that should have been removed in the first place. Good quality bone means that the bone is of strong architecture.

At Fundamental Health Solutions we use a more sensitive laboratory test called the NTx Osteomark Urinary Assay to assess bone health. The NTx urinary assay measures a specific amino acid unique to bone which is found in the urine and detects subtle changes in bone loss, which occurs in everyone over the age of 50. This test provides more information than traditional tests, such as a DEXA scan, without radiation exposure.

DEXA Scan Versus The NTx Urinary Test

The NTx Osteomark Urinary Assay measures present, not past bone loss and it measures the bone loss rate.  Unlike DEXA scans, we can measure your bone health every 3 months, or less, versus annually.  This also allows us to monitor the effectiveness of the recommended protocol, as well as measuring system wide bone loss, versus (DEXA) only focal bone loss.  The NTx Urinary test is an easy and non-invasive way for our patients that enables us to monitor and identify potential problems with your bones before they turn into a more serious problem.