The Gut "Connections to Health & Disease"
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The Gut "Connections to Health & Disease"
The Gut is the source of many diseases and pathologies. Our understanding of the gut work has much improved over the last decade. As Functional Medicine doctors, we understand that taking care of our intestines is critical in patient outcomes. To that point, the gut microbiome resides in your large intestine and is host to more than 1000 species of bacteria that perform certain important functions from shaping the immune system to influencing the metabolism of nutrients to fortify the intestinal mucosal barrier (gut barrier). It is important to know the abundances of the bacteria that symbiotically live in the human gastrointestinal tract because imbalances in the gut microbiome may lead to gastrointestinal symptoms, skin conditions, autoimmune disorders, immune system imbalances, and multiple inflammatory disorders. Dr. Jimenez uses an array of proprietary microarray hybridization technology platforms, using the whole-genome data to simultaneously detect over 300 microorganisms with 99% specificity and 98% sensitivity, unheard-of levels of accuracy in the detection of pathogenic microorganisms. Please take our Functional Medicine Assessment today: https://bit.ly/functionmed .  You can also Book an Appointment Online: https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment
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May 5, 2021 4:42 PM
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A Functional Approach To Hormone Imbalance •

A Functional Approach To Hormone Imbalance • | The Gut "Connections to Health & Disease" | Scoop.it
Functional Medicine allows the body to get in sync with itself again, re-build the foundation&get back to the basics without inflammation.
Dr. Alex Jimenez's insight:

When treating the body with a functional medicine approach, it is necessary to give the body at least three months. A 3-month protocol allows the body a chance to get in sync with itself again, re-build the foundation and get back to the basics without inflammation. To begin, a case history is needed. This detailed history allows the practitioner to determine what diagnostic lab work will be most beneficial for you. 

Hormone Balance 

Many patients have some degree of hormone imbalance, especially females. Females’ cycles and hormones are typically imbalanced due to contraceptives such as birth control pills, patches, or shots. For tracking hormone levels, we use a diagnostic lab test from DUTCH. The DUTCH plus test uses a 24-hour collection method consisting of urine and saliva samples. This allows us to track and follow hormones all day to give us the best picture of what is occurring. Below is a sample of a male and female DUTCH Plus test. 

Next Steps

The results of the DUTCH Plus test often come back with some degree of irregularity. This test, along with the detailed history form, allow us to create a custom protocol per patient. The treatment protocol involves natural supplements, dietary adjustments, and lifestyle changes. For hormone balance, one of the best supplements to use is chaste tree. This natural supplement helps with: 

  •  PMS symptoms
  •  Dopamine
  •  those who have heavy bleeding
  •  irregular, short, or long cycles
  •  pain during ovulation
  •  Acne
  • Is safe for lactation, so it can be used to help reduce baby blues 

Dietary Adjustments 

When it comes to balancing hormones, it is crucial to consume healthy fats. Omega 3s are the building blocks the body needs to reduce inflammation and combat symptoms of menopause. Additionally, foods that contain selenium are important. Selenium is an antioxidant that helps to remove free radicals that cause damage to the body. A list of foods to consume while balancing hormones include: 

  • Salmon 
  • Mackerel 
  • Sardines 
  • Tuna 
  • Chia Seeds
  • Brussel Sprouts 
  • Avocado 
  • Walnuts 
  • Hemp Seed
  • Flaxseeds
  • Eggs
  • Coconut Oil 

Lifestyle Changes

One of the biggest endocrine and hormone disturbances come from the daily products we wear and use. Perfume is a major trigger to the endocrine system and scented laundry detergent, aluminum deodorant, body wash, and air fresheners. By removing these disturbances you are getting rid of a slow poison and reducing your chances of thyroid disruption. Additionally, changing to an all-natural deodorant, body washes, and free clear laundry detergent will help your body heal. This article by Patel shows how harmful these scented products really are: 

 “…It has been observed that this fragrance-laden unhealthy lifestyle runs parallel with the unprecedented rates of diabetes, cancer, neural ailments, and teratogenicity…” 

To many people’s surprise, even cleaning products advertised as organic or antibacterial contain these toxic chemicals. As a general rule of thumb, stay away from scented products. 

Additionally, regular exercise and stress management will help the body maintain homeostasis, reduce inflammation, and produce good sleep hygiene for optimal healing. 

Phase Angle 

Phase angle is a snapshot of an individual’s cellular health. The lower the phase angle, the more permeable and fragile the cellular membrane is. This means that individuals are more susceptible to infection, inflammation and will not be able to attack a virus as well. Those who have high phase angles have strong cellular membranes that are hard to infiltrate. When a virus enters the body, those with a high phase angle can fight off the virus and inflammation easier. Phase angle is important because if the endocrine system is off-balance, your body is already at war with itself. Hormone imbalance combined with a low phase angle is a recipe for disaster. We can improve a phase angle by reducing visceral fat (the fat held around the internal organs)

In today’s society, everything smells “good”. These fragrant chemicals are being pumped into everything and constantly disrupting the endocrine system. Many people do not realize this but “clean” does not have a smell. Clean is not lemon fresh or fresh laundry. That is the chemicals. Clean is odorless. It has become so normal to cover up scents that trash bags are now infused with scents, when in reality, if the trash can smells, you just need to take it out. The first step is to get rid of all these added chemicals in the home. Ditch the plug-in air fresheners and get plants to naturally clean your air instead. -Kenna Vaughn, ACSM-EP Senior Health Coach

References: 

Patel S. Fragrance compounds: The wolves in sheep’s clothings. Med Hypotheses. 2017 May;102:106-111. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.03.025. Epub 2017 Mar 22. PMID: 28478814.  

Additional Online Links & Resources (Available 24/7)



 

Online Appointments or Consultations:  https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment



 

Online Physical Injury / Accident Intake Form: https://bit.ly/Fill-Out-Your-Online-History



 

Online Functional Medicine Assessment: https://bit.ly/functionmed

 

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support, directly or indirectly, our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.  Read More…

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, CTG*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

phone: 915-850-0900

Licensed in Texas & New Mexico

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Scooped by Dr. Alex Jimenez
June 23, 2020 8:31 PM
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Health & Wellness: Inflammation • Call Us For More Information 915-613-5303

Health & Wellness: Inflammation • Call Us For More Information 915-613-5303 | The Gut "Connections to Health & Disease" | Scoop.it
Chronic inflammation is an ongoing problem that many are not even aware of. Inflammation puts constant stress on your joints.

 

Health & Wellness: Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is an ongoing problem that many are not even aware of. Internal inflammation puts constant stress on your joints, immune system, and all other organ systems. The inflammatory process causes tissue damage overtime and impacts the bodys natural ability to heal and repair. There are important environmental factors that affect the healing process such as age, nutrient deficiencies, and metabolic diseases.

Genes

Our genes have been linked to playing a role in inflammation. Polymorphisms have been noted in several genes to result in higher proinflammatory markers. However, our genes load the gun but our environment pulls the trigger. It is important to remember that nutrition and lifestyle interventions can affect these genes and how they are expressed.

For every one pound an individual is overweight, it puts ten pounds on your joints. This is an early life stressor that easily leads to chronic low-grade inflammation. Additionally, this can lead to diabetes, depression, cancers, and even cardiovascular diseases. We use DNA Health from DNA Life to determine an individual’s genetic predisposition and risk factors when it comes to inflammation. A sample of the report is shown below:

TNFA 

Tumour necrosis factor is a proinflammatory cytokine. It is secreted in the body from macrophages and adipocytes. In fact, it has been shown to alter whole-body glucose homeostasis and is implicated in the development of obesity. For individuals who have the wild type, GG genotype there is no impact. However, those with Heterozygote GA have a moderate impact. Lastly, those who have an AA homozygote genotype has a high impact.

If you have the A allele, you have a two-fold increase in TNFa transcription. This leads to elevated levels of TNFa protein circulating in the body. This is what leads to an increased risk for insulin resistance, obesity, and other health conditions when the intake of fat is high.

For individuals holding an A allele, it is best to maintain a healthy weight and watch your fat intake. By increasing healthy fatty acids we see an improvement in individuals. For more information regarding the TNFA gene, please see GeneCards, The Human Gene Database for TNFA. 

IL-1A

Interleukin 1 is one of the first genes activated by any challenge to a tissue. Certain genetic variations lead to a more active inflammatory response in the body. The combination of IL-1 SNPs has been linked to different clinical trajectories and diseases. Overall, those who have a IL-1 positive result have been associated with increased plasma concentrations and genotypes linked with pro-inflammatory diseases like autoimmune diseases and coronary artery disease. Those who have a negative IL-1 response show no impact.

If you are IL-1 positive it is important to add supplements like curcumin and ginger to your diet. This will help to decrease inflammation. Additionally, adding in phytonutrient foods like blueberries and blackberries will help inhibit the secretion of pro-inflammatory markers. For more information regarding the IL-1A gene, please see GeneCards, The Human Gene Database for IL-1A. 

IL-6 

Interleukin 6 is another pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a role in inflammation y regulating c-reactive protein (CRP). Low-grade chronic inflammation is a silent killer and is heavily correlated with fat deposition, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease. The wild type, CC, shows no impact. However, the Heterozygote GC shows a moderate impact and then CC Homozygote shows a high impact. In this case, the C allele has been associated with raised IL-6 numbers and CRP levels in the blood.

For those who have the C allele, it is best to follow a low-inflammatory diet and increase the intake of omega fatty acids. Not only does this decrease inflammation, but it helps with a healthy heart as well. Additionally, increasing vegetables and antioxidant-rich foods will improve your inflammation. For more information regarding the IL-6 gene, please see GeneCards, The Human Gene Database for IL-6. 

Test Pairing

When it comes to inflammation, we want to make sure we understand the exact areas that are being impacted the most. With this, it is best to first use the genetic information provided by DNA Health and then use additional testing to get a direct measure. One way we do this is by measuring inflammatory markers in serum (blood). A cardiovascular assessment from Genova Diagnostics measures inflammatory factors such as C-reactive protein. A sample is shown below:

Lifestyle Changes

As mentioned, our lifestyle has a lot to do with how our genes are being expressed. For starters, we want to decrease toxins. This means getting an air purifier, making sure our house is dusted frequently, using natural cleaning products that do not contain a long list of chemicals, and adding more plants into the house to reduce carbons and clean the air rather than using scented wall plug-ins.

Secondly, we want to ensure our diets are promoting anti-inflammatory factors. Decreasing the amount of transfat and increasing antioxidant-rich foods will help our inflammation decrease. Along with dietary factors, increasing omegas by taking supplements like high-grade fish oils will improve overall omega levels and decrease inflammation.

Third, exercise. Exercise promotes our bodies to stay healthy and help cycle out inflammatory causing factors. This can be low impact such as yoga. It is also important to exercise the mind and meditate to reduce stress. The less stress on the body, the less inflammation.

Remember that we need inflammation. Inflammation is a natural response to fighting off infection. However, chronic inflammation is where we see trouble. Reducing the amount of stress you have will significantly reduce the amount of inflammation the body feels. Stress drives negative behavior and we want to eliminate that as much as possible to give our bodies a better fighting chance. -Kenna Vaughn, Senior Health Coach 

To get started with your health, take this metabolic assessment below:

References:

Roy, R. A., Boucher, J. P., & Comtois, A. S. (2010). Inflammatory response following a short-term course of chiropractic treatment in subjects with and without chronic low back pain. Journal of chiropractic medicine9(3), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2010.06.002

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require additional explanation as how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 <tel:9158500900>. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas*& New Mexico*

Dr. Alex Jimenez's insight:

JOINT PAIN? IT COULD BE YOUR GENETICS AND INFLAMMATION! 

 

Our genes have been linked to playing a role in inflammation. Polymorphisms have been noted in several genes to result in higher proinflammatory markers.

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