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.

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

Having the proper nutrients can affect everything from how healthy and strong your bones are, to how happy you feel. Proper nutrition is an important factor in maintaining good emotional and physical health. Often we think of people who easily break their bones as being elderly, and in obvious poor health. Lifestyle choices that include alcohol consumption, strict vegetarianism and refined foods can contribute to early onset of poor bone health and other issues, as a result of nutrient deficiencies. Many strict vegetarians also are very diligent about their nutrient sources and for good reason.

I was recently told of a woman who was an avid runner, and a strict vegetarian. She was not diligent about addressing her nutrition. At around 40 years of age, one day she took what seemed like a misstep on a sidewalk and fell, screaming in pain. Part of her shin bone had shattered in pieces and she now has metal plates in her leg. At no time previous nor after this event were any nutritional tests run, so this woman still runs the risk of further injuries.

Vitamin D is important to your bone health
According to the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:”
“For adults, vitamin D deficiency has more subtle effects on the skeleton, and can lead to a situation of reduce bone mineral density and ultimately precipitate or exacerbate osteoporosis. Vitamin D deficiency causes a mineralization defect of the collagen matrix that is laid down by osteoblasts. The rubbery matrix does not provide structural support, which increases the risk of fracture.”

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? Besides RDA values being outdated and insufficient, drugs can also play a role in creating nutrient deficiencies, as they can interfere with the proper absorption of nutrients in your body. 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.

Bone Health
We also work with the NTx Urinary test, which is a non-radiation based test that provides information on bone health. 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. Read more about this on our main website: (http://fundamentalhealthsolutions.com/services/diagnostics/bone-density/)

Both tests can provide answers for people who are concerned about their bone health, and are wondering if nutritional deficiencies are contributing their feeling suboptimal in terms of vitality and energy.

Call or contact us now for more information on how we can help you feel good again, avoid nutrient depletion, physical and emotional drain, and to assess how good your bone currently is, compared to where it should be.

References:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/6/1678S.full
http://fundamentalhealthsolutions.com/services/diagnostics/bone-density/

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Common examples of neurodegeneration are:

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

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

The chemistry that happens when the brain degenerates:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Statin-Heart Disease connection came about when cholesterol was identified as an indicator of heart disease. The study responsible for this is the Framingham study, and was conducted during the 80’s. The outcome of this study then focused on a need to keep one’s cholesterol levels low as being a good indicator of heart health. The common ways this was addressed was by taking Statin medications, and to adopt a so called, “heart healthy low fat” diet. Without proper nutritional balance, many Americans adopted a high carbohydrate diet of refined foods and refined sugars, but “low fat.” This type of diet has contributed to the prevalence of heart related illnesses, diabetes and obesity.

For decades, organized healthcare has touted the effectiveness of Statin medications amidst the ever-growing prevalence of heart disease. Today, Statins are the most widely prescribed medications throughout America, with some estimated 32 million Americans taking Statin Medications today according to Harvard School of Medicine. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/statin-use-is-up-cholesterol-levels-are-down-are-americans-hearts-benefiting-201104151518

What you should know about Statin Drugs:
1.The health risk calculator for cholesterol appears flawed
Leading Cardiologists admit that the cholesterol “over predicts” heart attack risk is “flawed”, and now Dr Peter Libby MD, chairman of the department of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s hospital says they have a “real disaster in terms of credibility”, and “something is terribly wrong”. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/health/risk-calculator-for-cholesterol-appears-flawed.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&nl=todaysheadlines)

2.Statin drugs are good for lowering cholesterol, but not at reducing heart disease. According to Cardiologists at Cleveland Heart Lab, at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, 50% of all heart attacks and strokes occur in people who have normal to below average cholesterol. This indicates that high Cholesterol alone is a poor predictor of heart attacks and strokes.

3. A byproduct of taking Statins is that the liver becomes “more sick,” which contributes to a lowered level of health for you. In your liver, 80-90% of your cholesterol is made by your liver, versus dietary intake of cholesterol containing foods. The use of Statin medications serves to shut down the enzyme in the liver that produces cholesterol, which limits the amount of cholesterol produced. It does not heal the cause of why your body is producing more cholesterol than it should.

Other known issues with Statin drugs
4. Statin drugs cause neuropathy. Neuropathy refers to “nerve pain”. The outer coating of our nerve cells, called the Myelin sheath, is a cholesterol based fatty sheath. Statin drugs inhibit our ability to make this sheath, which leaves our neurons in a damaged, weakened, and irritated state; as a result we can experience pain. Neuropathy is a common side effect of Statins.

5. Statin drugs cause myopathy, which is the most common side effect. Myopathy is a term that means muscle pain. Your liver also processes and packages most of your body’s proteins, and proteins are needed to repair muscle. Statins disrupt protein synthesis, leaving your body unable to adequately repair muscle tissue. Interestingly, your heart is also a muscle, therefore places the Statin user at an even greater risk for heart troubles!

6. Statin drugs can cause elevated blood sugar levels.
The FDA now requires this risk to be labeled on all Statin medications. Erratic blood sugar contributes to a host of additional problems, including diabetes. One of the most common complications of diabetes is heart attack and stroke!

7. Statin drugs can cause memory loss.
The FDA has mandated this warning be added to the labels as well. Memory loss is a symptom of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and traumatic brain injury.

8. FACT: Cholesterol is needed by your body!
Cholesterol is used to make many of your hormones, to include your sex hormones. Taking Statins is a powerful and unintentional way of throwing your hormonal system into an unnatural state of disarray.

We require cholesterol in order to metabolize cholesterol!
Cholesterol makes up “bile salts” which are a component of bile. Bile is the mostly green fluid produced by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, which is used to emulsify, digest and remove cholesterol and other fatty acids. Statin drugs make it harder to make bile, and cholesterol, which in turn makes it harder for your body to metabolize cholesterol, in spite of seeing lower cholesterol values in the blood after taking Statins.

Not all cholesterol is the same
Oxidized cholesterol is the culprit of plaque, not the non-oxidized type of cholesterol tested in a standard lipid panel. Oxidized cholesterol has been transformed into a solid, which can now clog blood vessels. The non-oxidized form cannot. Oxidized cholesterol can be detected, and even lowered with proper care, but your doctor has to use the right test, and have a good protocol in place to create a favorable outcome. We use the Ox-LDL lab test developed by cardiologists at Cleveland Heart Lab.

Elevated cholesterol levels indicate a metabolic problem.
Elevated cholesterol indicates that we have a liver metabolism problem, not necessarily an impending heart disease problem. Usually when our liver starts to raise cholesterol levels in the body, it due to nutritional deficiencies, including: Vitamin C, many of the B vitamins, plant sterols, chromium, selenium, glutathione, copper, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, and enzymes.

Because our liver produces most of your body’s cholesterol in our body, when these levels elevate, this indicates that your liver is losing its ability to metabolize cholesterol. Tumeric and krill oil are two supplements among many that can be used to help your liver metabolize cholesterol, thereby lowering its levels.

Alternative healthcare protocols for heart disease
The real cause of heart disease is inflammation!
Inflammation is what damages and scars the inner lining of our blood vessels, which in turn allows oxidized solids, such as plaque, to deposit into these freshly cut scars. The byproducts of inflammation transform cholesterol into its oxidized, solid form. It’s the oxidized form of cholesterol that we need to be concerned about, but this is not what’s tested in your standard lipid panel. The standard lipid panel tests for the pre-oxidized form of cholesterol.

Identifying oxidized solid cholesterol in your body and determining heart attack risk
There is a test to detect oxidized solid cholesterol in the body, called Ox-LDL. This test measures the amounts of oxidized cholesterol in your body, which is the kind of cholesterol found in plaque. This test was developed by leading cardiologists at Cleveland Heart Lab. The other test looks at a very specific enzyme, called Myeloperoxidase, that is capable of detecting “vulnerable plaque.” Vulnerable plaque is plaque embedded in your blood vessel walls that is capable of clogging your circulation. It can be large enough to break away, float through your bloodstream and block a smaller blood vessel further downstream. These tests provide a more accurate method to detect heart disease, and is a part of a larger Inflammation Panel that we recommend to many of our patients.

Besides providing the capability of predicting these impending heart events, our protocol is designed to help your body reduce the inflammation that lowers the level of health, well-being, energy, and quality of life that we all deserve to have. We have a choice as to how we want to lower the inflammation and restore healthy cholesterol levels, and reduce these levels in a way that promotes health and well-being. Contact us today for more information on scheduling a consultation or taking the Cleveland Heart Lab test.

When our discs degenerate, many things can happen:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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