Only an athlete understands why spending a lifetime to shave off a second, claw an extra inch, or lift another pound seems like a fair trade off. Pain, imbalance, and performance issues arise for various reasons.  At Fundamental Health Solutions, we use a non-drug based, health building approach which has helped athletes ranging from Hall of Fame Professional Caliber to Junior Varsity.   We sell the same nutritionally based products that have been adopted by pro athletes, to gain a competitive edge.  By optimizing your cellular health, we can help eliminate many of the physical issues that prevent you from taking your performance to the next level.

• Nutritional Depletion
• Reducing and eliminating Fibrin- scar tissue
• Strengthening the overall health of your blood
• Increasing Blood Oxygen Levels
• Decrease Recovery Time
• Managing Inflammation Associated with Training
• Reducing Injuries and Oxidative Stress

Nutritional Depletion
Nutritional depletion can contribute to a number of physical issues.  For the athlete, this can include impaired peak performance, range of motion, pain, stiffness, joint and fascia restrictions.Athletes utilize nutrients more rapidly than non-athletes.  Neglected nutrient depletion can contribute to lack of stamina and endurance, improper coordination, inability to provide “bursts” of strength, stiffness, a decreased range of motion, poor flexibility, and a feeling of “heaviness” in the limbs.

How fibrin can slow your athletic performance
Athletes and others who engage in physical activity, including competition and training, experience more frequent, and severe traumas.  Your body begins the repair process with a protein called fibrin. Fibrin surrounds damaged tissue in order to provide stability.  Strains, sprains, tears, cuts, running, leaping, colliding, throwing, punching, pedaling, and kicking can lead to increased fibrin deposits throughout the body.  Our body creates fibrin-removing enzymes (fibrinolytic) whose function is to clear scar tissue and facilitate healing. Insufficient amounts of fibrinolytic enzymes in the body can delay healing and repair needed to accelerate recovery times. This can result in physical performance limitations.

Fibrin is required to stabilize an injured area, however, one of the unfortunate side effects is called “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (D.O.M.S.).” This pain is felt most intensely from 24-72 hours post exertion, and is largely the result of uncleared fibrin.  When uncleared fibrin chokes the much needed blood supply delivering nutrients to our muscles and tissues, our recovery is prolonged.  Because fibrin creates a “mesh net” around muscles, tendons and ligaments, we begin to experience range of motion limitations as fibrin layers grow. This leads to distortions in the fascia- the connective tissue network that surrounds everything in the body. This distortion creates resistance, which has a limiting affect on how well you sprint, throw, hurdle, leap, press, push or pedal.

Increasing blood oxygen at the cellular level
Therapies that only rely upon exposing the blood to oxygen, such as breathing oxygen from concentrators or hyperbaric chambers, or artificially increasing the number of red blood cells such as with blood doping, fail to recognize the most critical part of blood oxygen saturation: the red blood cell’s ability or inability to carry greater amounts of oxygen. Exposing the blood to oxygen does not guarantee it can deliver it to our tissues.

To increase your blood’s ability to carry oxygen, debris in the blood needs to be cleaned up, and your red blood cells must be an ideal size and shape. The cleaner the blood, and the more ideal shape your red blood cells are, the more effectively they can transport oxygen to essential body parts such as muscles and the brain. Achieving peak performance requires foundational changes that need to occur at the red blood cell level.  Debris includes high serum protein levels, and oxidized solids such as plaque, uric acid and fibrin, all which decrease the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.

Reducing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Any amount of physical exertion increases something called “oxidative stress” which includes harmful byproducts called “free radicals”.  Free radicals damage our cells making it difficult for our cells to heal, and carry oxygen and nutrients.  Exertion also yields an increase in pro-inflammatory proteins.  In controlled amounts, inflammation is critical and essential to help us heal.  However, in larger amounts inflammation can have an adverse affect on our health and make it difficult to deliver peak performance.

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 and specialized functional lab tests.  Jump start your athletic competitive edge in sports by calling our office, or clicking the link above, for more information on how we can help you reach that next competitive level.

Human blood pH needs to remain around 7.4, which makes it slightly alkaline. This helps it carry proper amounts of oxygen. When our pH goes below 6.8 or above 7.8, it can have serious if not lethal consequences, therefore is crucial that we maintain optimal pH throughout our body to run critical health giving processes. pH is one part of the overall health picture.

The reason why blood pH levels generally remain stable is due to our body’s buffering system that generally insures quantities of compatible acid and base are already present. This provides a stabilizing effect so that the addition of acidic or basic material from outside does not overwhelm the preexisting balance.

Why is pH Important?
The stomach pH is one of the most acidic, so that we can digest food and to kill many types of germs. Germs and microorganisms can take advantage of unbalanced pH levels, causing infections.  If your stomach is not acidic enough, you can have problems digesting your food, including making your minerals usable for your cells. High amounts of acid in the stomach are evident in Reflux.

pH determines the activity level of all our cells. Our metabolic enzymes contained within our cells run every single process in the body and are extremely sensitive to pH. Improper pH can prevent reactions from occurring therefore make it difficult for our cells to carry out their tasks. This can include growing healthy nerves or repairing our joints and skin.

According to Medline Plus, kidney conditions, diabetes, dehydration and lung problems can all cause forms of acidosis, a condition in which the blood pH drops below normal. This can result in shortness of breath, confusion and fatigue, and in serious cases can lead to potentially fatal shock.

The pH levels — or balance between acid and base chemicals — of the lungs must remain constant to ensure proper detoxification when we breathe.  Inhaling toxic chemicals, pollutants, and fumes can damage the delicate avleoli of the lungs—where oxygen exchange occurs– and may contribute to unhealthy carbon-dioxide levels in the blood. This is important because high carbon dioxide levels in the blood can lead to many health problems including serious organ damage.

Other chronic conditions which include metabolic acidosis, such as diabetic acidosis, in which the kidneys cannot remove the excess acid and contributes to the build-up of ketone bodies. Hyperchloremic acidosis, which results from excessive losses of sodium bicarbonate; and lactic acidosis, which results from a build-up of lactic acid caused by alcohol, cancer, excessive exercise, low blood sugar levels and seizures.

Alkalosis
If your body’s pH gets too high, a person can experience mental confusion, light headedness and muscle twitching. Many times alkalosis can result as an overcorrection by the body to a long term overly acidic state. Having your pH levels is a fairly easy test that can be done in our offices through blood work.

Correcting pH levels
pH levels can be corrected by diet and nutritional supplementation, after we have determined the cause that created the imbalance.

Inflammation has a positive health function… for awhile
Inflammation is a required response by your body that springs your immune system into action.  This helps your body to call in nutrients and chemicals when tissues are damaged, and to whisk away toxic debris, dead tissues and waste. Without inflammation, a simple injury could leave an area of our body permanently disabled. After inflammation has played its essential role in managing the acute response, your body also needs the capacity to shut it off when it is not needed.

Chronic inflammation
Chronic inflammation is a state where many body tissues remain in a perpetual state of stress, which creates more damage and problems. Only our body’s innate intelligence can decide when it is appropriate to turn off, but we have to do our part by supplying the proper nutrients which allow it to do so.

In physiological terms, inflammation operates as a “positive feedback loop.”  What this means is that small inputs, in this case inflammation, creates instability that will grow exponentially and affect many areas of your body unless a signal tells it to stop. Sometimes when people suffer acute inflammation in the body, often they lack the nutrient “chemical intelligence” which directs your immune system to turn off this process when it is appropriate, which leads to chronic inflammation.  When inflammation is stuck in the “on” position due to missing nutrients, a state of “chronic” or “systemic” inflammation occurs.  Inflammation can be attributed to nearly every disease and injury in the body in varying degrees. Reducing inflammation can change the way your body feels.

Are Statin Medications A Good Way to Lower CRP?
The short answer is NO! Even though certain Statin medications have been shown to lower CRP values, they do not address the cause of inflammation, and allow inflammation to continue unnoticed in the body. As mentioned earlier, C- Reactive Protein, abbreviated “CRP,” is a protein that is produced by the liver as a response to high levels of inflammation in the body. Because “CRP” is made by the liver, we first must have a healthy liver in order to make adequate amounts of this protein.  If our liver is sick, then we will not make adequate amounts of this protein, even when we have high levels of inflammation in the body, and therefore may not even realize it.  

People who have diseases that affect the liver, or people with high liver enzymes, such as Hepatitis patients, people suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, patients on multiple drug therapies, and people taking Statin medications all have hindered liver function.  A Statin medication lowers cholesterol in the body by impairing the function of the liver, so it doesn’t produce cholesterol…this is how this drug works. When Statin’s impair our liver function, they essentially make our liver sick; it also cannot produce adequate amounts of CRP, even as inflammation levels rise in the body. Statins can give us a false sense of security that we have inflammation under control, when we really do not.

Identifying CRP (C- Reactive Protein) levels and lowering CRP levels naturally
In order to detect CRP levels, we use a Comprehensive Bioscreen blood panel, which is part of our general screening. We also use the Inflammation Panel developed by cardiologists at Cleveland Heart Lab, and this test is considered the premiere blood test when it comes to detecting heart disease or stroke.  We work with a blend of several nutrients to help reduce your CRP levels, addressing the cause of inflammation, which provides longer lasting results.

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

Fibrin’s role to protect the body
Fibrin is the main protein found in any type of scar tissue, and is elevated anytime we have injury or trauma in the body as a result of a stressor. It is normal to see high amounts of fibrin in the blood when we injure ourselves: cuts, bruises, a broken bone, athletic injury of any sort, or experience anything that can create swelling and inflammation. No matter how tiny an injury, our body instantly elevates levels of cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” which then initiates an enzymatic cascade of reactions which transform the inactive form of this protein, called fibrinogen, into the active form fibrin.

Once this protein is in the active form, called fibrin, it creates a mesh-like barrier used to hold tissues together, and can be seen under a microscope. This is a healthy and normal response by the body to protect itself. When we cut or bruise ourselves, or traumatize any area of our body, we need this net-like structure to bind damaged tissues together which have become torn apart and porous, as they can no longer do the job (for example, a blood vessel with a hole in it). The inactive form of this protein, fibrinogen, stands ready for action, waiting its signal from the body via cortisol needed to transform and provide assistance.

Unintended consequences of a good thing
Anytime we have an injury, fibrin is one of the first proteins to appear on the scene used to start the clotting and repair process. In addition to binding damaged tissues together, it also slows blood circulation by “choking” the flow of blood, thereby trapping nutrients and other components needed for repair. Unfortunately, this can have unintended consequences by also trapping harmful toxins and restricting the flow of much needed oxygen to tissues, especially when a person’s body becomes overwhelmed with excess fibrin and we do not have the enzymes to remove it. Fibromyalgics lose their ability to clear the excess amounts of fibrin being produced by their body which is typically done by protein dissolving enzymes made in the body.

What is the pain of “ischemia”
When we were kids, many of us tried wrapping a rubber band around the end of our finger, and then noticing it would first turn red, then purple, and then then it started to hurt! It hurt because there was a lack of oxygen to that area. This pain, caused by a lack of oxygen, is called the pain of “ischemia”. When you have ischemic pain, or the pain caused by lack of oxygen, there’s very little relief that can be gained by using pain relievers. The only thing that can relieve this type of pain is to cut the rubber band restricting the flow of blood (oxygen) to that area, which will begin to provide relief. Similarly, this is what is occurring in the body of a Fibromyalgic. Imagine millions of tiny rubber bands wrapped around organs, glands and muscle tissue, choking the flow of oxygen to these tissues, only instead of actual rubber bands, the blood is being restricted by an overabundance of fibrin which is doing the same thing.

Why fibromyalgics have more fibrin in their blood than other people
Fibromyalgics agree that they feel worse when they’re “stressed out,” or under stress. We now understand why after the explanation above, however let’s look at additional stressors. Previously, we identified physical trauma as a source of stress, but we must also include emotional stress, as this elevates cortisol too. Feeling “stressed out” from another person or emotional event most definitely raises cortisol. Furthermore, chemical stress is one of the most commonly overlooked mechanisms of fibromyalgia which can be triggered by food allergies, poor diet, weak adrenal glands, pro-inflammatory foods such as refined sugars, and toxins such as insecticides, pesticides, toxic fumes, hydrogenated oils, and harmful chemicals (gasoline, kerosene, propylene glycol-found in commercial products), to name a few. All of these chemicals can elevate fibrin levels. Ironically, most medications elevate fibrin levels in the blood to include many of those that are anti-inflammatory, such as aspirin, or those that reduce pain. There is more ongoing research suggestive that certain Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMF’s) from cell phones, satellites, etc. may contribute to higher amounts of stress in the body, creating more fibrin.

Reducing excess fibrin
The first, and most important step in providing solutions for the Fibromyalgic are to remedy their severe deficiency of fibrinolytic (fibrin dissolving) enzymes. There are some very strong fibrinolytic enzymes that break down unwanted levels of fibrin in the blood, while maintaining normal levels, without harmful side effects (1). Once excess fibrin is cleared, tissues such as muscle can begin to receive normal amounts of oxygen and Fribromyalgics begin to experience dramatic relief from tenderness, discomfort and fatigue.

There are additional factors to address in Fibromyalgia. To find out more about our complete health and wellness protocol for Fibromyalgics, please visit us at www.austinhealthdoc.com and contact us for our free 15 minute consult for new patients.

1. Certain exogenous enzyme preparations have repeatedly been shown to favorably impact normal bodily levels of fibrin, without adversely affecting other bodily functions. This information is validated from the studies from Nobel Prize finalist, and Immuno-enzymologist, Ronald K. Schneider. The degradation of fibrin by fibrinolytic enzymes has also been validated by Dr. Max Wolf MD, and further elaborated by Dr.’s Miehlke, Williams and Lopez MD’s in the book Enzymes, the Fountain of Life.

Why Do We Produce Stomach Acid?
Our stomach needs to secrete stomach acid so that our body can use the food we ingest.  This is done via digestive enzymes.  Digestion for certain foods, such as starch and sugar, begins in the mouth. When we eat, our stomach needs enzymes to perform this process, which include enzymes called proteases.  Protease enzymes are needed for digesting proteins, which are found in many types of foods, including vegetables, grains and certain types of starch.

All enzymes require a specific pH (acid/alkaline environment) in order to work optimally.  Our protease enzymes require a very acidic, or low pH environment.  HCL, also known as Hydrocholoric Acid, is secreted to provide the right environment for our protein digesting enzymes to work.  It’s important to note that hydrochloric acid itself does not digest protein, only protease enzymes do.  The acid merely creates an optimal working environment needed for these enzymes to operate.

Digestive Capability and Aging
According to Nobel Prize Finalist, Ronald K. Schneider, as we age our ability to synthesize all enzymes, which includes our protein digesting enzymes, decreases by roughly 8-10% percent for every decade past puberty.  For example, if we assume puberty ends at 20 in an individual, then when she reaches the age of 60, she will have roughly 40% less digestive capability than when she was 20.  This means we are unable to breakdown and assimilate our food, which means we become more nutrient deficient as we age due to insufficient enzymes. Another complication of incompletely broken down foods in our digestive tract is that they end up in the blood lending to the creation of harmful plaque, uric acid crystals and can cause our cells to stick together.  Also, incompletely digested foods that end up in the blood can end up feeding an environment that is opportunistic to parasites such as harmful bacteria and yeast.  We feel this in a number of ways, such as with bloating, gas, fatigue, joint pain, poor circulation, all stemming from enzyme deficiencies as a key root of the problem.

So Why Do We Overproduce Acid?
Because our ability to make enzymes decreases with age, we can experience a stomach acid conundrum from enzyme deficiency.  We are still eating the same types and amounts of enzyme deficient foods that we did when we were younger;  this rapidly expires our finite supply of enzymes. This forces our stomach to produce higher amounts of stomach acid, in order to recycle the smaller amounts of protein digesting enzymes that we are still able to produce. Our body responds to protease enzyme deficiency by secreting larger amounts of acid to keep our digestion working to the best of its ability.  When we have sufficient amounts of protease enzymes, our stomach doesn’t have to produce large amounts of acid.

How Heartburn connects to “GERD”
Heartburn is typically associated with insufficient stomach acid, and appears when we are incompletely digesting our foods, mainly proteins, which are allowed to ferment in our stomach. The fermentation process releases gas, which is forced up into our esophagus.  There are additional nutrient deficiencies with heartburn, but enzymes are needed to completely digest fermenting foods in order to correct the problem.

Acid Containing Foods Do Not Cause Reflex!
A commonly held erroneous belief is that when we eat acid containing foods, such as citrus fruits, which contain ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), that this  will trigger Reflux.  This is not true, because when acid containing foods are digested, they leave behind an alkaline ash due to their mineral content, not acid ash, provided we are eating a whole food. The triggers of reflux have to do with insufficient stomach acid needed to digest proteins in foods.  Citrus fruits can play a role in Reflux but for different reasons.  When a citrus fruit is eaten within hours of a previous meal that was poorly or incompletely digested, the already strained digestive system has become overloaded.  This is because the fruit has strained the digestive burden by adding to a pile of incompletely digested food (containing protein) that is sitting in our stomachs or upper small intestine.  The is an excellent example as to why so many different types of foods can appear to trigger reflux, and why this can vary widely from person to person, but the underlying fix is still the same.

Conventional Approaches Fail to Address the Cause
The conventional approach to Reflux requires the use of over the counter (OTC) antacids such as TUMS, or prescribed proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec, Prevacid and Zurcal, or stomach Histamine antagonists such as Tagamet, Zantac and Pepcid. These serve to shut down stomach acid to take away the symptoms of indigestion.

When we force the shut down of stomach acid, we set ourselves up for serious long- term complications, in addition to poor digestion.  Stomach acid provides an initial barrier that kills pathogens that we ingest, such as harmful bacteria, which we ingest on a daily basis. Low stomach acid also sets us up for stomach ulcers, which are partially caused by the H. Pylori bacteria, which can survive in low stomach acid environment.

We need stomach acid to completely digest our proteins, and proteins are used not only to build important tissues such as muscle, but  also used to run thousands of processes in the body such as making antibodies required for a healthy immune system.  Poor protein digestion due to low quantities of stomach acid contributes to frailty and/or insufficient muscle mass for a person’s size.  When we fail to completely digest protein, it can end up in our blood, which congests our cells, and can see this under a microscope.  This in turn leads to a low oxygen environment, which can leave us fatigued. Stomach acid is also required to ionize, or put into a usable form, all of our metal-based minerals such as zinc, boron, iron, manganese and many more required for good bone, brain, and organ health.  Medications that suppress stomach acid can result in a person suffering from poor bone quality and bone loss, as well as many other deficiencies and health problems.

What’s the Fix?
It is clear that reflux is related to enzyme deficiency.  Often, when people are unsuccessful with enzyme supplementation, this is related to the quality of the enzymes being used.  We also need to look at the entire patient, not just the reflux issues.  Enzymes must be able to be activated in a wide range of pHs, but especially an acidic pH.

When quality enzymes are introduced, we typically see the problems associated problems clear up in 6-9 days.  Most people start seeing a change in 2-3 days.  In our office, we have a series of tests that determine how effectively you are breaking down, absorbing, and eliminating what you eat.  By working with blood analysis, you can see if there are debris in your blood that are not only a symptom of overall digestive issues, but how our enzyme protocol can help clean this up and reduce the strain on your digestive system.  This can help your digestion, and stomach acids, operate the way they did when you were younger.

References:
American College of Gastroenterology
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases-test/new-treatment-guidelines-on-gastroesophageal-reflux-disease-gerd-published-by-the-american-college-of-gastroenterology-195355401.html

Dr Mehmet Oz – silent reflex epidemic
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/silent-reflux-epidemic

Breakthrough (medical) procedure provides relief for Acid Reflux
http://www.nmh.org/nm/breakthrough-procedure-povides-relief-for-acid-reflux

Understanding how our body works on a cellular level
Before we begin to answer this question, we must understand some basic fundamentals:  All chemical reactions in the body are catalyzed by enzymes, every single one, and an enzyme is simply “stuff that makes other stuff happen in the body”. Within our physiology, there are two categories of enzymes:  Digestive enzymes, and metabolic enzymes.  For this discussion we will focus mostly on metabolic enzymes since this is where “the action” is taking place for all drugs and nutrients. Our metabolic enzymes run every single process in the body.  They make and degrade neurotransmitters which affect our mood, keep us young looking, allow for the expression or suppression of genes, make hormones, grow our hair, allow our brain to form thoughts, they do it all.  Both natural and conventional healthcare practitioners seek to understand and influence metabolic enzymes, but in different ways.  The difference is a drug is a metabolic enzyme inhibitor, while a nutrient is a metabolic enzyme activator.

Why enzymes are a key to good health
Enzymes work like a lock and key mechanism.  When you insert the right key into a lock, the lock opens.  In this analogy, the lock represents an enzyme acted upon by a nutrient, which is the key.  The open lock is now “activated” and can be used for its intended purpose.  Now imagine having a different key that can fit into the same lock, but when you insert this key it doesn’t unlock it.  As a matter of fact, it doesn’t do anything but occupy the keyhole space.  Not only does this key prevent the lock from opening, it blocks any other keys from entering the keyhole.  This is how a drug works.

Drugs occupy a space on an enzyme preventing it from being activated.  Drugs shutdown, suppress, and turn off functions in the body by blocking enzymes from working; while a nutrient activates, expresses, and turns on bodily functions like the key that opened the lock.  Both drugs and nutrients act upon metabolic enzymes.  There are a few exceptions to this rule as there are a small handful of drugs which are enzymatic preparations.  Notably streptokinase and urokinase, which are protease (protein digesting) enzymes used in hospitals as clot busting drugs for people who suffer heart attack or stroke.  Hormone replacement therapy is another exception.  Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are not enzymatic inhibitors as they indiscriminately attack and destroy cells in the body.  But, in the most common application, today’s drugs are largely enzymatic inhibitors.

Examples Of Medications / Drugs Blocking Metabolic Enzymes
These are a few examples of drugs suppressing bodily processes.

• NSAIDS, (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Fenoprofen, Naproxen) block the COX enzyme which produces prostaglandins—a pain mediating molecule in the body.
• Statin drugs (Crestor, Lipitor) block the HMG CoA Reductase enzyme found in the liver which produces cholesterol.
• Blood thinners (Warfarin) blocks an enzyme in the liver, Vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR) which helps to clot blood, therefore making it difficult for your blood to clot, thereby thins the blood.
• Anti-viral medications (Acyclovir, Valtrex) block enzymes which allow a virus to reproduce, thereby limiting its reproduction ability but does NOT kill a virus, only your immune system can do that.
• Antibiotics (Penicillin, Vancomycin) inhibit enzymes which maintain the integrity of bacteria’s outer cell wall.  When the cell wall is destroyed, the bacterium break apart and essentially dies. Successful outcomes with antibiotics still require a healthy immune system to win over any infection.

Examples OF Nutrients Activating Our Metabolic Enzymes
These are also called “co-factors” or “co-enzymes,” and they are needed to make our body work properly.

• Vitamin C- activates enzymes which helps form collagen as well as enhance the lethal granules in immune system cells that destroy pathogens.
• Vitamin B12- activates the enzyme in the bone marrow which triggers the release of red blood cells into circulation; this release increases oxygen and energy in our body.
• Calcium- activates enzymes involved with nerve impulse transmission, blood clotting, and muscle contraction.
• DHA- is an essential fatty acid that is used to form brain and nervous tissue.
• Arginine- is an amino acid derived from proteins which activates an enzyme called Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS).  This enzyme can dilate blood vessels and decrease blood pressure.

How We Get Side Effects from Drugs
There is more to this story, both enzymatic activators (nutrients) and enzymatic inhibitors (drugs) don’t just fit with one enzyme; they fit with many enzymes in the body.  This is good for nutrients, but bad for drugs.  This is why we get “side effects” with all drugs, and multiple benefits with one nutrient.  One drug will block both the intended enzyme along with numerous other enzymes because they fit together, like a key that fits with many locks.

For example, statin drugs block the enzyme that produces cholesterol by the liver, thereby lowering cholesterol.  Because other metabolic enzymes are blocked as well, we additionally experience weakness, joint pain, insomnia, rashes, muscle pain, headaches, other infections, sinusitis, chest pain and peripheral edema, in addition to the cholesterol lowering effects.  All of the enzymes which control these functions are blocked as well, therefore they don’t work properly.

Conversely, a nutrient doesn’t activate one enzyme, it activates many enzymes.  Magnesium is a nutrient which is known to activate several hundred different enzymes; this is why nutrients are so important.  All nutrients activate many different enzymes, and are the reason why we need a variety of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and other goodies to sustain those life giving metabolic enzymes which run everything in the body.

Nutrients are the “chemical intelligence” that your body needs to be healthy.  Enzymes operate in cascades, which mean once an enzyme is activated by a nutrient, that enzyme seeks out other enzymes to activate and so on.

While there  times when the benefits of using a drug may outweigh the risks, it is important to note that no drug has ever cured anyone of any disease, only the immune system can do that. More importantly, a medication cannot correct the condition which allowed the health problem to present itself in the first place.  This highlights a philosophical difference between functional medicine versus a conventional approach to health.  Functional medicine works with the body to seek out the underlying cause of the health problem or deficiency, and then nudge it in the appropriate direction. 

Fixing your health problems means making a choice
You have a choice when it comes to fixing health problems in the body.  Do you want to force your physiology to behave a certain way by using an enzymatic inhibitor (drug) and deal with harmful side effects, or have someone help you identify the underlying deficient physiology and help it work better with a nutrient in order to increase your vitality and well being?

This requires looking at the entire patient, to determine what can be creating the kidney problems.  Many Chiropractors and Physicians who practice these concepts have also used the term “Integrative” to describe this healthcare approach.

A basic philosophy in Functional Medicine is that imbalances in your metabolic function often occur as a result of a person’s unique “biochemical individuality”.   Biochemical individuality recognizes that we are all unique individuals with different health needs. Metabolic imbalances can be caused by factors that include diet, pollutants, nutrients (including air and water), exercise, as well as trauma.  Trauma can be processed by one’s body, emotions, and spirit differently for different people, as we have unique set of genetic predispositions, attitudes, and beliefs related to our cultural and social experiences.

Functional Medicine (integrative health care practices) works well with people who have health concerns that are not always easy to resolve and those who have not improved with traditional, symptom-based health management approaches. These would include chronic health challenges involving fatigue, pain, neuromuscular, immune and auto-immune and structural imbalances.  Blood tests that are done generally go beyond the normal blood type testing, and can identify nutritional deficiencies that can be materially contributing to health issues.

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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.