Having the proper nutrients can affect everything from your DNA to how happy you feel. Proper nutrition is an important factor in maintaining good emotional and physical health. Alcohol consumption and eating refined foods negatively exacerbates both your emotional and physical health.

Drinking alcoholic beverages requires your body to use nutrients more rapidly. When your liver begins to feel the strain brought on by alcohol, your bloodstream, organs, glands and skeletal system then become the source by supplying much needed nutrients to boost liver function needed to detoxify alcohol, and its toxic metabolites. As a result, there are several physical issues that often occur when people try to stop drinking alcohol such as muscle weakness, blood sugar imbalances, fatigue, and generally feeling “hungover”. More serious issues include tremors, “the shakes”, nervousness and tension, poor sleep and insomnia, appetite issues, and memory issues. In many cases these issues are the result of nutrient deficiencies and chemical imbalances.

Alcohol also perpetuates a cycle of dependency which stems from a person’s lack of ability to ‘feel relaxed’ in their body. Many people reach for an alcoholic beverage because they feel they cannot relax without it. This tension stems from overly toxic organs and glands, strained to their limits, which in turn can communicate with our muscles creating ‘muscle tension’, besides an overall feeling of unease and agitation. When this occurs, the body cannot produce the adequate levels of hormones, neurotransmitters, and chemicals needed to achieve relaxation, and a deep restful sleep with few interruptions. This also can prevent your muscles from relaxing.

After a stressful event
Following a stressful event, if your body is healthy, your muscles and your mind can calm and relax itself in a ‘normal’ period of time. As a chiropractor, when palpitating the backs of patients, I frequently find that they have overly tight (‘stiff as a board” as I call it) muscles that are rigidly locked in tension. This is a result of an overly toxic burden resulting from poor diet and reliance upon medications, and alcohol plays a role in this process. Alcohol merely numbs us from feeling this tension, but does nothing to address the cause of why we feel stressed. This perpetrates a continued cycle of reliance on alcohol.

How alcohol makes you gain weight, and makes you “fatter”
Many people are unaware that alcohol, in any form, makes you fatter. Any benefits to drinking “low carb” alcoholic beverages are an advertising gimmick to fool you into thinking that you won’t gain as much weight. Believing that you can avoid the carbs and not gain as much weight, and fat, if you drink more concentrated forms of alcohol such as vodka instead of beer, isn’t accurate.

Alcohol metabolism yields a highly toxic metabolite called Acetaldehyde, which is hugely damaging to liver and pancreas; both of these organs are required for sugar metabolism. Ingesting alcohol has shown to create large spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels in certain studies. Higher blood sugar and insulin levels not only perpetuate inflammation, but also fat accumulation! Alcohol increases Triglycerides, which is a type of fat made from sugar. Triglycerides elevate in our blood, which in turn can travel and deposit anywhere in the body, but especially around our belly, and can also transform our liver into a ‘fatty liver. Every patient who has quit or cut out alcohol, and moderately changed their diet to include more whole foods, all mention how easily the fat fell off their body, and many times this was without adding exercise.

Alcohol destroys critical vitamins you need for good health.
Vitamin B-complexes are easily destroyed by alcohol. These vitamins are essential to mental and emotional well-being. Strict vegetarians can also often have Vitamin B deficiencies. Vitamin B deficiencies can trigger depression and irritability can cause neurological and cardiac disorders among alcoholics, contribute to feeling anxious, depressed, fatigued, chronically stressed and depressed. Often these feelings trigger an alcoholic’s need to ‘self-medicate’ which leads to more alcohol consumption.

Vitamin B12 is also known as “the energy vitamin” because your body requires it for a number of vital functions. These functions include energy production, blood formation, DNA synthesis, and myelin formation. According to an article by Dr Mercola, MD, “Recent studies from the U.S. Framingham trial show one in four adults in the United States are deficient in this vitally important nutrient, and nearly half the population has suboptimal blood levels.”

Other nutrient deficiencies can cause chronic depression and fatigue (Vitamin C), confusion, apathy, loss of appetite, weakness and insomnia (Magnesium), apathy, lack of appetite and lethargy (Zinc), and so on. Calcium depletion affects the central nervous system as it is required for nerve impulses.

How we detect nutritional and health related issues
Even if you take the RDA (Recommended Daily Amount) of micro-nutrients, how can you be sure you are absorbing them? Drugs can also play a role in nutrient deficiencies, as they may interfere with the proper absorption of nutrients in your body http://fundamentalhealthsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/DrugNutrientDepletion.pdf. You may be eating the right foods and yet you may still be deficient in key health building and maintaining nutrients.

Our practice uses the TRIAD Blood Spot test. This is a simple test that our patients perform in the comfort of their home. It requires obtaining a blood spot/smear, and a urine collection, all contained within the kit performed by the individual and does not require a lab. This test, which is billable to insurance, collects a large amount of data, more than most lab tests used today, that tells us what nutrient deficiencies you are experiencing, how well your body is healing and repairing itself, neurotransmitter status required for optimal brain function, gut health, any hidden infections, food sensitivities which can hinder your energy and fatigue levels, energy production and maintenance. We continually hear from patients how amazed and appreciative they are from the results, which are printed in a neat, easy to read 10 page colored report, which also outlines your nutritional deficiencies.

This test can provide answers for many people who feel as if they are aging faster than they should, or for those who are approaching their senior years but who want to maintain an active and vital life.

Call or contact us now for more information on how we can help you feel good again, avoid the nutrient depletion “pull” to drink again, have more energy, and reduce aging related issues that can be reversed.

References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/05/19/warning-potentially-life-threatening-vitamin-deficiency-affects-25-percent-of-adults.aspx

https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/articles/Alcohol_Nutrition.htm

According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a night, and children and teens need more. Approximately 29 percent of U.S. adults report sleeping less than 7 hours per night and an estimated 50-70 million has chronic sleep and wakefulness disorders. Ten percent of American adults report experiencing chronic insomnia.

Sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of health promotion and chronic disease prevention in the public health community. Insufficient sleep is associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes>, cardiovascular disease, and mental illnesses including depression. It can also result in drowsy driving which can lead to motor vehicle accidents.
— http://www.cdc.gov/media/storyideas/2010.html

Newer research shows we may require more than this, and less can interfere with important metabolic bodily functions.  Most of us have experienced problems trying to fall asleep, and the frustration that comes with it.  Many insomniacs also feel the fear of insufficient sleep and how this can impair their ability to be fully present and able to work or take care of others when they feel so tired and foggy the next day.

Research confirms the serious consequences resulting from lack of sleep.  Several studies indicate that insufficient sleep can cause insulin and blood sugar levels to fluctuate erratically, resulting in sharp increases in cortisol (the “stress hormone”),  which mimics blood sugar behavior that occurs in diabetics.

Consequences of insufficient and quality sleep
Most importantly, our lack of deep sleep prevents us from achieving the cellular healing needed for our cells to repair themselves from chemical, emotional and physical stress most of us experience daily.  Lack of sleep impairs our immune system, opening us up to opportunistic infection. Lack of sleep contributes to impaired mental clarity and problem solving. Experiencing insufficient sleep on a nightly basis leads to what is called a cumulative “sleep deficit”. This means if we miss more than one night of normal sleep, we can’t just “make it up” with one good nights rest following the period of sleep deficit.  Instead, it may take several nights of normal sleep to correct the deficit.

Types of insomnia
Most of us think that insomnia is only one type, but there are actually two main types of insomnia:  “sleep onset insomnia” and “sleep maintenance insomnia.”  Sleep onset insomnia is the inability to fall asleep, while sleep maintenance insomnia is the inability to stay asleep.  Both types of insomnias can occur simultaneously.  When considering nutritional deficiencies for insomniacs, we must start by looking at the areas of the body that deal with energy production and regulation.

Adrenal Glands, Cortisol levels and Sleep
Having the appropriate levels of cortisol during the right times of the day is an important factor.  When cortisol levels are high, we can pop out of bed in the morning. When cortisol levels are low in the evening, we can relax and fall asleep at night.  The health of our adrenal glands is a key factor in how cortisol translates to helping us to feel alive in the morning and ready for a good night’s sleep in the evening.  We can get insights to what is happening by using the Adrenal Stress Index Test.

The Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) test is done via saliva, and can help determine the health of your adrenal glands.  The ASI monitors the adrenal gland’s secretion of cortisol, which influences a person’s circadian rhythms, also known as your biorhythms or sleep/wake cycle.  An important factor in assessing ASI results is to identify both the cortisol quantity and the circadian rhythm of the cortisol, produced by the adrenal glands.  Having the right quantity of cortisol but at the wrong time of the day will not help you sleep, or wake feeling rested.  Identifying and correcting the circadian rhythm of your cortisol can make the world of a difference in your sleep cycle.

Cortisol production, which yields an energy increase, should peak when we wake up in the morning, then taper off gradually during the day, and then dip to its lowest levels a few hours after we fall asleep, allowing us to reach a deep restful sleep.  For many people, this is not the case.  Some people may actually show a reversing trend with cortisol levels peaking later in the day, or even at night, thus making sleep extremely difficult.

The thyroid gland’s role to getting a good night’s sleep
Our thyroid gland also plays a major role in regulating energy output in our body, which in turn affects our sleep.  Every single cell in the body has a receptor for thyroxin, or thyroid hormone. In situations of hyperthyroidism, the production of thyroid hormone becomes elevated which affects our entire body to include specific areas of the brain that regulate sleep; the result can be a lack of normal sleep producing signals from these areas of the brain.

Brain health and sleep
Our brain also requires the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and melatonin. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that affect our nervous system and are considered chemical messengers. Neurotransmitters not only contribute to feelings of pleasure, euphoria, happiness and help us concentrate, but inadequate amounts of neurotransmitters make it difficult for us to sleep.  Similar to the body’s needing the appropriate amount of cortisol during different times of the day, we also need to have the proper amounts of these neurotransmitters at the proper time of day if we want to achieve a deep restful sleep.

While over the counter and prescription medications can provide some chemical assistance, usually it will mask the problem of why a person’s sleep is not restful, versus providing corrective help at the cellular and foundational levels that your body needs.  We use specific nutrients to help the body boost its natural production of neurotransmitters, and bring balance to these areas of the brain.

According to a Harvard newsletter, over the counter and prescription medications can disrupt healthy sleep.  Medications such as cold and flu medicine (Nyquil, Dayquil, Theraflu), nicotine replacement products (nicoderm), antihistamines (Benadryl, Dimetapp), thyroid medications (thyroxin, Levathyroid), antidepressants (Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac), pain relievers (Anacin, Excedrin), high blood pressure medications such as beta blockers and diuretics , steroids, drugs used to treat heart arrhythmias, and any medication that contains alcohol to name a few.  You can view the list yourself by clicking on the link that follows.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2010/July/medications-that-can-affect-sleep

Alcohol and sleep
Although alcohol may help someone fall asleep due to its relaxing and calming effects, it interferes with certain areas of the brain that allow us to achieve a deep restful sleep.  The result is that we feel less rested the next day.

Adrenal Stimulants
Common food related stimulants are often used to mask a person’s feelings of fatigue.  This is done in place of correcting the problem at the cellular level, and using these substances will often end up rapidly depleting our energy and contributing to poor sleep. Examples of these products are concentrated quick energy drinks and sodas, both of which contribute to “adrenal burnout.”

Adrenal burnout occurs when we burden and stress our adrenal glands with foods that provide a “quick fix” as well as stimulants.  Examples of these would be refined sugars and excessive caffeine, both of which can cause our adrenal glands to severely malfunction.  The use of these types of stimulants give us a temporary feeling of energy at the expense of our adrenal glands, which is similar to the tale of robbing Peter to pay Paul.  At some point Peter will run out of money.  There are consequences to stressing our adrenal glands with excessive stimulants rather than allowing our adrenals to be healthy and provide the proper nutritional support.  Malfunctioning adrenal glands contribute to erratic circadian rhythms and cortisol production leading to poor quality sleep.

By working with the Adrenal Stress Test and other blood work, we can help correct adrenal gland issues while developing the most effective nutrient program to repair and correct the problem, which in turn can help you get the quality sleep that your body needs to maintain good health both physically and mentally.

—————
References:
Insufficient sleep:  http://www.cdc.gov/media/storyideas/2010.html

Functions of the autonomic nervous system:
http://www.medlink.com/medlinkcontent.asp

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2701283/

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.

Click here for more information about Functional Medicine

Click here for more information about practice of Dr Phil Sleldz, DC and his Functional Medicine practice in Austin, TX

How Cardio Vascular Health Declines
Free radicals not only perpetuate inflammation and damage our cells, but they also leave small tears on the inner surface of our blood vessels, which can result in scarring. 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. Because long standing nutritional deficiencies can lead to poor oxygenation, and cramping of the heart, we use a special set of nutrients that provide nourishment and help the heart receive and use oxygen. We’ve consistently seen people have non-drug improvements with common cardio-vascular issues using bio-available supplementation.

We have a unique set of tests that we can use to detect a lack of antioxidants in the body, or can assess if your antioxidants are working properly. By working with blood tests and developing the right heart health protocol, inflammation and free radical damage can be reduced and tissues can begin to heal.

How do we recognize impending heart problems?
To identify heart problems before they happen, we use the Myeloperoxidase enzyme test. This test, developed by leading cardiovascular doctors at Cleveland Heart Lab, is specific and very sensitive, with the ability to detect heart problems months prior to the actual event. The Myeloperoxidase enzyme test is more accurate than any other lab test, including cholesterol, C-Reactive Protein, and homocysteine, used to detect impending heart problems. (For more information about the reliability of cholesterol to predict heart problems, please search under “cholesterol”  on our blog site.)

The professional online journal, DentalEconomics.com, began their 2013 publication year with an article titled, “State of the oral-systemic union: 2013.” The author of this article, Dr. Richard H. Nagelberg, DDS, discusses MPO (refers to Myeloperoxidase), “Other parameters that indicate an increased risk of vascular disease include the level of myeloperoxidase (MPO). MPO impairs endothelial function and increases the vulnerability of arterial plaque to rupturing, which triggers CV events. MPO predicts the future risk of coronary artery disease in healthy people.”

Blood Oxygen Levels Help us Look and Feel Younger
Low levels of blood oxygen have been shown to contribute to physical and mental fatigue, “fuzzy” thought, poor endurance, a sluggish metabolism leading to weight gain, 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 such as muscles and the brain. 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.

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.

Regaining a clearer mind
When our cognitive skills begin to decline, it largely results from oxidative stress, inflammation, and low oxygen present within the brain, which begins to degrade our nerve cells, called neurons. Our brain can suffer a similar fate as our blood vessels and heart, when oxidative stress and inflammation are present. Like our blood vessels, the brain is susceptible to damage from free radicals, and can accumulate plaque and inappropriate clumps of proteins called Lewy Bodies (associated with dementia), which hinders normal function.

Additionally, the outer protective sheath of our nerve cells, called myelin, is largely responsible for the directed transmission of impulses from one nerve cell to another. When this sheath is damaged by oxidative stress, and unable to repair itself due to key nutritional deficiencies, our nerve cells function less effectively. As a result our nerves can send “mixed messages” and transmissions can fail to get to their intended destination. We may experience this as poor cognition, decreased memory, or lack of proper muscle control and coordination. Working with our schedule of care, we can help your brain feel clearer as well as improve your overall energy levels.

Reference:
http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-103/issue-1/practice/state-of-the-oral-systemic-union-2013.html

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

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.

When living tissue is shocked, or dies, it’s protein structure cracks open. Bacteria or enzymes contained in the food itself subsequently convert many of the protein fragments into polyamines, and is why they are found in high amounts in injured or traumatized patients. Polyamines are also found in foods that are have been permanently altered—shocked by rapid freezing, overly processed, canned, packaged, and radiated. Certain types of plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes also contain high concentration of polyamines.

Indicators of high polyamine levels
There is no convenient direct method to assess polyamine levels, although you can use several other indirect measures as barometers of polyamine levels:

• High or abnormal serum albumin: Polyamine synthesis has a positive effect on albumin levels.
• High urinary indican: Large amounts of indicans are a sign of high bacteria counts in the upper intestine. High indican levels are associated with liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal health problems.
• Halitosis (Bad breath): If you experience persistent bad breath, despite diligent brushing and flossing, you probably, then it’s likely your polyamine levels are too high.
• Frequent headaches from fermented foods- (red wine, raw sauerkraut) Polyamines enhance the effect of histamines, which are implicated in certain types of headaches. Histamines dilate blood vessels, including those in the brain, which can then transmit pain throughout the head.
• Certain Grains- when consumed by certain blood types, such as when type O’s consume wheat, will increase your production of polyamines which can lead to inflammation, joint problems, bowel difficulties and difficulty losing weight.
• Several other problems such as odiferous stools, mental agitation, carbohydrate intolerance, fatigue can also indicate improper balance of polyamines.

Eating for your Blood Type can have an important effect in reducing your exposure to weight gain related lectins. If you follow your specific blood type diet, you can balance the proper amount of polyamines along with minimizing your exposure to lectins that are incompatible with your body. Eating for your blood type can give you more energy, greater mental focus and clarity, reduces stress and helps you lose weight.  It is important to have a complete nutritional assessment which determines your blood type, secretor status, and genotype when it comes to choosing a diet that will create optimal health and wellness and allow us to age gracefully. Genotype refers to the genetic make up – this takes into account one’s genetic history. We perform this type of analysis in our office, which can help everyone, and help unravel some of the mysteries that some people of mixed race ancestry have also experienced when it comes to diet and their health.

SWAMI can help!
In our practice, we incorporate a detailed diet plan as an integral tool to optimize energy, decrease inflammation, and most importantly change the way your immune system expresses itself within the blood. We believe that each person has “biochemical individuality.” This means that we respond differently to foods and our environment. The food you eat can affect you negatively or positively, or be neutral. To build good health, you need to eat the foods that create positive effects for you.

To help patients turn their health issues and symptoms around by changing their diet and eating for their blood type, we develop a highly specific set of dietary guidelines complete with individualized recipes. This not only takes into account your blood type, but mitigates food allergies and sensitivities by helping you avoiding foods that are problematic for you. We do this with SWAMI GenoType software. This enables us to quickly tailor unique one-of-a kind diets, based on a person’s blood type, fingerprints, health history, biometric measurements and over ninety other variables.

SWAMI GenoType helps you to understand why certain diets that have been great for your friend’s ability to lose weight may have left you feeling less than well. It is a tool we use to help our patients select foods that work to build your immune system, blood, and entire body chemistry. You can read more about SWAMI on our website by clicking here:

What are antioxidants? They are certain vitamins (A, C, E), some minerals such as selenium and zinc, and other nutrients that protect and repair cells from damage caused by free radicals. Many experts believe this damage plays a part in a number of chronic diseases, including hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), cancer, and arthritis. Free radicals can also interfere with your immune system. So fighting off damage with antioxidants helps keep your immune system strong, making you better able to ward off colds, flu, and other infections. (WebMD, 2012)

The body needs a variety of antioxidants to accomplish a variety of tasks. Not all antioxidants can go everywhere in the body. Some antioxidants can only work inside our cells, like glutathione, and certain enzyme based antioxidants. Some antioxidants are small enough to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and protect our brain from excess oxidation which contributes to neurodegeneration and plaque buildup in the brain. Antioxidants protect our cells from a secondary form of oxidation, also called “oxidative stress”, which yields free radicals.

What is “oxidative stress”?
The terms oxidative stress and free radicals have become familiar in recent years, but what does this mean? If you want a detailed explanation, please check out our article called Anti-Oxidants and Oxidative Stress  in the Library Section of our Blog. “Oxidation” is the chemist’s term for the process of removing electrons from an atom or molecule. Oxidation occurs whenever our cells use oxygen.  We must have oxidation in order to survive, without it we would die. However, oxidation can yield harmful byproducts after our cells burn an oxygen molecule; these harmful compounds are called “free radicals”. A free radical is a stray, unpaired electron.

Free Radicals Electrons don’t like to be unpaired, therefore an electron will seek out other electrons by stealing them from healthy tissues in order to stabilize itself. After stealing the electron, a damaged leftover cell that unwillingly gave up an electron is left behind. This damaged cell functions less optimally than before, and if it gets damaged by enough free radicals can become crippled and not do its job properly, or die prematurely. This process continues on and on, free radicals damaging tissues unless it can be stopped with an antioxidant.

Ways that we increase oxidation are through exercise, inflammation, stress, poor diet, smoking, exposure to radiation, illicit drugs, several medications, and pollutants to name a few. Being alive requires oxidation, there is no stopping it, and therefore it is important to have a healthy diet to absorb these free radicals which result from oxidation.

Exercise increases oxidation because anything that considerably speeds up our metabolism yields more free radicals. Exercise is good, we need it! However, we must consume foods that provide healthy amounts of antioxidants to neutralize the harmful byproducts that exercise can leave behind. We’ve all heard of Marathoners who have had a heart attack at a young age. Free radical damage can not only affect our cells, but can scar the inner smooth surface of our blood vessels. If these tiny micro-tears are not properly repaired by the body, they can create spaces that allow arterial plaque to take hold and build up.

We have defenses against oxidative stress: substances in our diets, for example, Vitamin C and E, can donate electrons and end the destructive chain reactions, as well as aid in repair. We all experience different levels of oxidative stress. The key to slowing down aging and age-related sickness is reflected in our ability to cope with oxidative stress over time.

How does an antioxidant work?
Have you ever seen the movie “The bodyguard” with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston? At the end of the movie the bodyguard hero, played by Kevin Costner, jumps in front of Whitney Houston as the villain attempts to shoot her. Kevin Costner, the bodyguard, “takes the bullet”, sparing Whitney Houston and saving the day. This is how an antioxidant works. Antioxidants “take the bullet” of free radicals, so your joints, tissues and cells don’t have to. An antioxidant has the unusual ability to safely absorb free radicals, therefore prevent further damage to your cells and tissues. An antioxidant does this by generously sharing its outer ring electrons to bond with harmful free radicals. The greater the number of electrons in the outer ring, the more powerful the antioxidant due its higher absorbency potential. Antioxidants essentially “mop up” free radicals in the body.

How do you recognize a lack of antioxidants in the body?
Many common health issues are a result of short or long term Free Radical damage. Before experiencing serious health problems, it is recommended that you get tested to identify whether you have a lack of antioxidants in your body. Even if you are taking antioxidants, we can assess if they are working properly.

References:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/antioxidants-your-immune-system-super-foods-optimal-health
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400537/Stumped-by-Oxidative-Stress.html

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.

When you eat a food that’s incompatible with your blood type, they can interfere with digestion, metabolism, and your immune system. Not only can this contribute to poor health, inflammation, and illness, but it can also contribute to weight gain and make it extremely difficult to lose weight. Not only do lectins cause our blood to needlessly stick together, making it difficult to eliminate toxins, but lectins interfere with an appetite suppressing hormone called leptin (note the difference).

Lectin’s role in weight gain
When the hormone leptin is found in sufficient amounts, it tells the brain that “we’re full” thereby suppressing appetite and helps us burn calories more efficiently. When we have hormonal leptin resistance, incompatible lectins can occupy these hormone sites causing an abnormal and voracious appetite.  When these hormone receptor sites are blocked, it is difficult to feel satisfied even after eating enough food, and we may constantly feel hungry. Obese people have been shown to have very high levels of hormonal leptin resistance. Poor quality calories, lack of enzymes and nutrients, eating junk food or refined overly processed foods can also be a source of incompatible lectins.

Lectins, Blood Type and weight gain
Our blood type plays an important role interacting with lectins. A common effect of lectins is to cause the sugars on the outer surface of our cells to cross-link with those of another cell, effectively causing our cells to stick together. This process of cells sticking together is called agglutination, which is the most well known effect of most lectins. Not all lectins cause agglutination. A few types of lectins cause certain cells to proliferate. Basically, lectins make things stick to other things. The degree that lectins “choose” the cells they stick to is primarily determined by the degree of “glycosylation” that a particular tissue has. Glycosylation refers to when a sugar attaches to proteins, fats and other molecules. For example, the cells lining the small intestine wall usually are very well glycosylated therefore have many sites for lectin binding.

If you have incompatibilities with wheat, and you eat wheat, these lectins bind to the intestinal wall. This can cause a myriad of problems, one of which can be weight gain. This is also one reason why some people who are diagnosed with CD, or Celiac Disease, are not necessarily the extremely underweight sterotype that plagues many CD diagnosed people.

Lectins and digestive issues
A person who is incompatible with certain types of meat (because of lectins), can become weak, lethargic and susceptible to infection. Lectins have been known to cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bloating, fatigue, buildup of unfriendly bacteria and a smorgasbord of immune system problems. When cells begin to stick together, and there’s not a specific reason requiring this to happen such as clotting, serious health problems can begin to appear. Lectins that are incompatible with your blood can cause the inhibition of digestive hormones as well as the production of toxins. Some lectins resemble the sugars found on harmful bacteria; therefore can cause an autoimmune attack on our own cells.

Lectins can attack your system in various ways—well beyond what we normally think of as digestive problems:

• Lectins can cause weight gain, and make weight loss difficult
• Lectins can interfere with the immune system
• Lectins can interfere with protein digestion
• Lectins can activate autoantibodies in inflammatory and autoimmune conditions
• Lectins can damage the intestinal lining
• Lectins can influence gut permeability and can contribute to “leaky gut”
• Lectins can block the transportation of hormones
• Lectins can impair absorption of nutrients
• Lectins can stimulate organ overgrowth (such as our pancreas in cases with insulin resistance)
• Lectins can penetrate the blood brain barrier (BBB) and contribute to cognitive problems

Eating for your Blood Type can have an important effect in reducing your exposure to weight gain related lectins. If you follow your specific blood type diet, you can balance the proper amount of polyamines along with minimizing your exposure to lectins that are incompatible with your body. Eating for your blood type can give you more energy, greater mental focus and clarity, reduces stress and helps you lose weight.

It is therefore important to have a complete nutritional assessment which determines your blood type, secretor status, and genotype when it comes to building the foundation needed to create optimal health and wellness and allow us to age gracefully. Genotype refers to the genetic make up – this takes into account one’s genetic history. We perform this type of analysis in our office, which can help everyone, and help unravel some of the mysteries that some people of mixed race ancestry have also experienced when it comes to diet and their health.

What if my genetics are the cause of my health decline?
Genetic issues regarding diet and health do not need to be a problem where you have to give up, and believe that you have to accept “the hand we were dealt.”  While we can’t eliminate or add new genes, we can turn up the volume on certain genes and silence others through careful application of diet and supplementation. This is called epigenetics. The net result is a vast improvement in our health and happiness. Supplementation is imperative today, but we only get partial results with our health when we leave out the importance of diet.

SWAMI knows genotypes and what you should eat to build your health!
We work with the SWAMI GenoType software to help our patients build health through food and nutrition. SWAMI creates one-of-a kind diets, based on a person’s blood type, fingerprints, health history, biometric measurements and over ninety other variables. SWAMI incorporates over

100,000 years of forensic anthropology following ancestral diets. By emphasizing cultures with good health and longevity, SWAMI GenoType evaluates each of over 700 foods for over 200 individual attributes (such as its cholesterol level, gluten content, presence of antioxidants, etc.) to determine if a food is either a superfood or toxin specifically for you.

Based on your specific test results, SWAMI GenoType considers a food to be either of three values: a ‘superfood’, ‘neutral’ or ‘toxin-avoid’, then each category of foods are broken down based on these values. Certain genotypes of people can pack on the pounds when consuming certain whole grains like wheat, while others require these foods for adequate blood sugar balance.

SWAMI is especially helpful for those who have made many changes to eat healthy, but have still hit plateaus in feeling better or turning around chronic health issues. SWAMI provides the analysis and provides many recipes that can work for you. Additionally, we apply our clinical judgment by identifying specific nutritional deficiencies during the examination and provide appropriate supplement recommendations needed to bring about rapid optimal healthy change.