Syringomyelia is a disorder in which afluid-filled cyst/syrinx forms within the spinal cord. It is progressive, meaning that the cyst grows with time causing compression and damage to the spinal cord. The cyst usually begins in the neck/cervical spine but can develop in any area along the spinal cord. There are several possible causes; however, most are associated with a condition known as Chiari malformation. This is where the skull and neck come together, and either the skull is too small or shaped in a way that causes brain tissue to come out and settle in the spinal canal.
Syringomyelia Causes
Syringomyelia can be caused by or from complications of:
Chiari type I malformation develops during the fetal developmental stage and causes the lower part of the brain or cerebellum to stick out from its standard location.
Hemorrhage/bleeding
Inflammation of the spinal cord from virus or bacterial infection like meningitis
Spinal cord injury
Spinal cord tumor
Symptoms
A damaged spinal cord disrupts communication between the brain and the body. Symptoms differ for every individual, but common syringomyelia symptoms include:
Pain, stiffness, or weakness in the neck, arms, back, and/or legs
Symptoms usually develop slowly, but exercise, coughing, or some form of strain can cause sudden onset.
Diagnosis
Physical and neurological exams are performed to determine loss of feeling or inability to move around normally, like walking. Diagnostic tests of the spine will include a CT scan with contrast dye and/or an MRI. Early detection can help before it progresses, causing further damage, and delaying treatment can cause irreversible spinal cord injury. It is recommended at the first sign of symptoms to contact a doctor.
Treatment
Some individuals who have syringomyelia may have no symptoms. These individuals can go about their everyday lives but are recommended to be cautious with neck and back strain. For individuals experiencing symptoms, the primary treatment objectives are to:
Stop or control damage to the spinal cord
Preserve function
Prevent disability
Treatment options include:
Draining the cyst
Surgical removal of the cyst
Chiropractic and physical therapy could be included in the treatment plan to help the individual rebuild lost muscle strength and regain flexibility.
All too often, individuals with this disorder experience treatment delay/s because symptoms can be nonspecific or vague. Education is the key, and individuals can be diagnosed sooner by paying attention to the body’s warning signs.
Body Composition
Does too much protein hurt the kidneys?
While protein restriction can be appropriate for treating existing kidney disease, research shows that high protein intake in healthy individuals does not disrupt or cause damage to the kidneys or kidney function. The amino acids in protein are more likely to be excreted through urine when not being used. However, there are certain risks associated with consuming too much protein, and it is recommended to keep track of protein intake. Eating more protein:
Makes the body feel full longer
Can help curb overeating
Is essential for recovery and growth
When achieving daily caloric goals, maintaining a balance of nutrients like carbohydrates and healthy fats is essential for overall health.
References
Batzdorf, Ulrich. “Primary spinal syringomyelia. Invited submission from the joint section meeting on disorders of the spine and peripheral nerves, March 2005.” Journal of neurosurgery. Spine vol. 3,6 (2005): 429-35. doi:10.3171/spi.2005.3.6.0429
Di Lorenzo, N, and F Cacciola. “Adult syringomyelia. Classification, pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches.” Journal of neurosurgical sciences vol. 49,3 (2005): 65-72.
Fernández, Alfredo Avellaneda et al. “Malformations of the craniocervical junction (Chiari type I and syringomyelia: classification, diagnosis, and treatment).” BMC musculoskeletal disorders vol. 10 Suppl 1, Suppl 1 S1. 17 Dec. 2009, doi:10.1186/1471-2474-10-S1-S1
Naftel, Robert P et al. “Worsening or development of syringomyelia following Chiari I decompression: case report.” Journal of neurosurgery. Pediatrics vol. 12,4 (2013): 351-6. doi:10.3171/2013.7.PEDS12522
Roy, Anil K et al. “Idiopathic syringomyelia: retrospective case series, comprehensive review, and update on management.” Neurosurgical focus vol. 31,6 (2011): E15. doi:10.3171/2011.9.FOCUS11198
In today’s podcast, Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Mario Ruja discuss how health and immunity play a role in the human body to achieve overall health and wellness.
How To Protect Our Health & Immunity?
[00:00:00] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: And it is going live, Mario. How are you doing, man? Today we’re doing a presentation, my brother on health and immunity. How are you doing, my brother?
[00:00:12] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Excellent. You know what, this is a topic that everyone’s talking about, and we all deserve to have a great conversation and, most of all, to support each other with knowledge and with positive intent. Absolutely.
[00:00:32] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Mario, what we’re going to do today is you and I, as we discuss, we want to present this information for the public so that they can understand that first of all, this is by no means any treatment, this is a disclaimer. I have to say that a licensed doctor must perform all treatments. This is only for educational purposes. It is not treated and is not used for diagnosis and treatment as standard disclaimer would go. Typically, I’d had that presented, but what we’re going to be doing now is going to be doing a webinar series, Mario and I. We’re going to be doing a four-series webinar where we will discuss health and immunity and how we can improve our immunity in getting our bodies strong enough. Now we’ve been going through this process of COVID 19 and the SARS and all the SARS-CoV-2 viruses. And what we want to do is give ourselves a better option, a better treatment protocol that is there for us so that we can kind of come up with a plan to help our body support itself. So Mario and I put together these program protocols here. And what we want to do is we want to present an excellent presentation where we’re going to go over natural approaches and natural forces to help in immunity. Now, Dr. Ruja practices on the central side of town. I practice in the far east of El Paso, and what we provide our patients is quite a bit of information, but people often want to know what they can do. So what we’re going to start doing today is we’re going to start talking about what we can and cannot control the virus. One of the things that we’ve learned is that separation is probably the best key, and we’re using social distancing as one of the things that prevent us from getting close now. I like to give people some insight into what we’re doing in our offices to prevent the virus from spreading. Mario, tell us a bit of what you’re doing in your particular practice when you’re doing prevention for treating patients, and you’re working through your protocols with your patients?
[00:02:33] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: In my office, we have a system through which we use the enviro masters in each of the rooms that fumigate each room, and then we utilize U.V. light for the specific use of disinfectant from bacteria, virus and fungus, U.V. light. And the other thing that we use is the masks. We wear masks inside we space patients, and we also ask them if they can wait in the car until they get to be seen and they can call us directly. And that way, they feel more comfortable. So if we get more than, let’s say, three patients at one time where we can’t place them in different rooms and we like to put everyone in separate rooms, so they’re not together next to each other, we ask them to wait in the car and then we will call them and let them know we are ready for you. And then they walk in. They go directly into the room and do a procedure is done. And so those are things that we’re doing. And then, of course, you know, we’re, you know, disinfected tables. We’re doing all of that. We use a lot of U.V. lighting that is positive in terms of prevention. You know, when everyone washes their hands, when they walk in, the first thing they do is wash their hands. And we’re encouraging people to do the same thing when they get home. So we want to be a model to our community to say, Look, don’t just do this because you come to my office, do this at home with your family. How about that?
[00:04:29] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We’re likewise in terms of our office; we’ve taken the no-touch approach. One of the things that we do is we don’t have any sitting areas in our office, no more. We have quite a few rooms. So what we have is the ability to open the door. And we make sure that everybody has a mask when we walk them in. Now they don’t touch anything. We are touchless. We walk straight into the room. We have them lay down. We have the tables covered with special paper that prevents viral static. And also, once we work on them, they get up, walk out a different door, and don’t touch anything other than the table. So one of the things is that we don’t allow anyone to get near each other and they walk in, walk out almost in the design of our office. It’s a flow-in and flows out process. There’s no treatment in the sense of touching the diagnostic treatment protocols, such as the computers. None of that goes on. We ask all the questions and the moment before the patient comes in. We sterilize a room, and after the room, they’re also sterilized. So it’s a great process because if we look at the area of contact, the doctors are wearing gloves, our face masks are protected. We have masks on and provide the mask for the patient itself. So we try to give it the most comfortable thing like yourself. We also do the process by which we had them wait in the car until they were ready. Once they call, we go, OK, we’re ready. And as soon as we got the room ready cued, it allowed us to bring in a patient. So one of the most important things is to do the pre-post-treatment protocols on the viral static processes. And that’s the way we control the host. You know, sort of we are the potentials, right? So together with the doctor, the mask, and the staff with the mask and gloves. This prevents all the processes from occurring, at least in our area, because in your side of town, we’ve noticed that there’s also there’s this predisposition as well as on our side. My side of town has a more significant number, so many shows up. So we have to be very careful to control those hosts in that capacity now. I want to go over and begin the presentation, and we’re going to talk about the things that create our predispositions, and you and I were going over this. We coronary vascular disease is one of the highest predisposing factors. Diabetes, we’ve talked about things like obesity, hypertension, age. Tell me a bit about your situation with Mario. When you look at this list here, when you’ve seen that in the studies, what have you learned about the predisposing factors that are also out there causing dramas to our patients?
[00:07:23] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You know Alex, that is something that we all have not just to be mindful of, but we need to motivate people towards the highest level of health, which means decreasing your inflammatory process or inflammatory state of your body. OK. So when we’re talking about cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension. I connect that with metabolic syndrome, which we’ve had other shows before I can remember. And this is unbelievable because we talked about that before three or four months. I mean, do you remember that, Alex?
[00:08:09] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah, we were talking about it.
[00:08:10] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, we talked about it before anything COVID 19. And we wanted to inspire our community and everyone to decrease their risk for metabolic syndrome again, which is one of the biggest ones because obviously, you know, 150 plus triglycerides, the belly fat about obesity, and type two diabetes. So that is huge. So this is such a, I should say it’s a connection. It’s follow-through with our insightful conversation you and I had three or four months ago, Alex. Absolutely.
How To Protect Our Health?
[00:08:54] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, the studies were presented, and it became evident early on in the COVID 19 saga that it’s still going on that those that were unhealthy were the predisposed ones. It’s seamless when you are the, I hate to say, but you could sometimes tell people were morbidly obese; it wiped out the whole family. And in one case where you could see that many were, you have to ask yourself, Well, why does the entire family? But then we found out there were underlying issues regarding their health, whether they had diabetes or had hypertension issues. One of the ones that are also really big is chronic kidney disease. I heard the number, and then the statistics show that up from two percent higher increase mortality to over 16 times more mortality rate with kidney disease. There’s a clear link between the blood pressure, the ability for the body to profuse that gets limited when the oxygen level goes down, that the failure of the kidneys and the heart and the liver gets compounded by this disorder that affects the alveoli of the lungs. From what we’re understanding, it’s not so much the virus that kills us. It’s the inflammatory cytokine storm that causes this drama. So they’ve learned that people with radiation therapy, people with predisposing chemotherapies, their lungs are predisposed to injuries, autoimmune conditions like lupus. Some disorders like even chronic neurological diseases like M.S. Those people are predisposed because their immune system is in a different, responsive state. So when we talk about these treatment protocols, one of the things that we have to do is how do we squelch? How do we deal with these reactive oxygen species that cause this cytokine storm? So our goal and our emphasis are until we have an inoculation or a vaccine for this process as we develop it, our job is to mitigate the inflammatory reaction. And there are quite a few things that naturally we can do to minimize this inflammatory response. Now what we’re going to do is we’re going to continue with the hearing, and we’re going to take a look at specific areas here. We talk about co-morbidities. Mario tells us a bit of what we’ve seen here regarding co-morbidities. And by the way, we have all the studies here. So as we do this presentation, all the links will be provided at the bottom so that you can look at these studies individually, and they make more sense to you when you pull them up.
[00:11:29] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Alex, as we spoke earlier, three or four months ago, when we started going…
[00:11:38] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Across the aisle…
[00:11:43] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Thanks for the intro music, Alex,
[00:11:50] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No problem.
[00:11:51] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Was that Van Halen or what?
[00:11:53] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No, Alexander’s music is actually.
[00:11:57] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: OK, I’ll tell Alex. Thank you. So getting back to what we’re talking about again. Again, our natural innate immune system is that blueprint through our DNA, RNA in our recovery resilient pattern within our cells. We can adapt and thrive and get through all of these variables in life; I mean, we’re dealing with viruses all the time, Alex. I mean, last year it was again influenza. You know, 50000 people again, I don’t have the exact numbers, but 50000 people die. OK. And you know, through that, we’re looking at who the risk factors are? What are the co-morbidities? What are those things that set us up for the most significant failure rate? So when we’re looking at 71 percent and 78 percent of those cases that are not working through and creating that resilience and working through the COVID 19 or other things? I mean, again, that’s what we spoke about three-four months ago. I mean, I want to say like, we’re psychic, you know, like, wow, you know.
[00:13:32] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It affects it, you know? And one of the craziest things is that the school’s out, and you know, as well as I do, is that every time we hear about this, we may find out that this virus is present in our population way before we’re even talking about it. We’re talking about it’s gone from March to February to now, early January. We’re going to hear about facts that this thing was present even in mid-December. You’re going to see.
[00:13:56] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I was not surprised. I wouldn’t be surprised.
[00:13:59] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: There is no logic behind the fact that it keeps on in Greece other than the fact that this thing got out of hand way before even there were notifications.
[00:14:08] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And you know what, Alex? Just to, you know, beyond the point with what you mentioned, the three things whether it’s COVID 19 or whether it’s influenza or whether it’s anything, you know, stressing our immune system, we will fail if we have these predispositions. Alex, which is one diabetes just like diabetes, gives us a predisposition for cancer. Yes, it does. Diabetes provides us with a predisposition for cardiovascular disease, correct? Yes. Diabetes gives us all that. And then you’re looking at chronic lung disease, obviously, because the ecosystem where COVID 19 thrives is that respiratory environment. So, of course, if that is at risk or altered or at a shallow resilience pattern, of course. I mean, you will know people who have asthma. Like my wife, Karen has asthma and chronic health issues. I mean, my gosh, you know, it’s critical that we are aware and we are mindful again; let’s not panic. OK, but we’re aware, mindful, and strategic planning to deal with and work through these times. So if you have diabetes, type two diabetes, or type one diabetes, please be extra cautious. If you have asthma and any chronic lung disease, please know. I mean, you know what? You’ve got to decrease your exposure because your body cannot deal with it, right?
[00:16:00] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: And when the craziest components of this virus are that it’s very silent in most cases and most of the situation as we see the numbers come in. Those in the 70s and 80s range are suffering the most significant amount. So many times, it’s the kids who are bringing it to their homes. And when we look at places like Italy, we look at places like Pakistan, where there’s a high concentration of populations and youth; it’s almost like they’re inoculating their homes. And then those with these predisposing issues become the victims. So clearly, we’re seeing that the individuals who may have nothing to do with being exposed are indirectly exposed by those who visit them. So that’s why we, as a population, you’re going to hear it everywhere in the news; as you listen to it consistently, we have to be mindful of those that we surround ourselves with.
[00:16:51] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I want to jump in and make this correlation that you just mentioned right now, the youth with the elderly and the secondary morbidity risk factors within our population. And I honor and respect the fact that we as a nation, as a society and a city, I’m just going to verbalize this. I know it’s not comfortable. I know it’s very irritable. It has economic effects. It has emotional consequences. It has all of these things. But let me say this, OK? Number one. The youth, the children, they’re not going to school. The child care facilities are shutting down. That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it, Alex, because now the symptoms were children. You don’t have any symptoms. I mean, we have seen a study right here. Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of CDC, March 31, 2020. We’re talking about less, you know, 25 percent have symptoms. So for children…
How To Protect Our Immune System?
[00:18:02] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: And the studies, 25 percent, as you said, 20 percent of people.
[00:18:06] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: What happens is those children have they’re very resilient. They’re very strong. So now, if they are exposed, they have multiple exposures with other children and teachers. With all that, they go back to their parents, and then their parent is either diabetic or has, you know, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, or asthma. They are actually putting their own family at risk. So, it’s such a sensitive area, Alex. And nobody wants to stay at home, and we want our kids at school. I mean, I can tell you right now, you know, it gets to the point where it gets irritable. But I think for the greater good right now, and it’s absolutely good.
[00:18:54] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: When we got this on the fact that these underlying issues, you know, as the studies are 60 percent of the people, as you see right, there has one underlying issue. Even if these one, just one, whether it’s heart disease, kidney disease, a chronic liver disorder, these are the underlying diseases that basically and asthma and asthma is an issue, OK? So these are of the three.
[00:19:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Let me ask you what the percentage is? OK, you may or may not know this, but it just came to mind. What percentage of our population is dealing with asthma or asthma-related issues? What are they?
[00:19:33] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It’s a pretty good substantial amount. I mean, I don’t know the percentage; it’s at least about five percent of the population is chronic or has a predisposing issue with asthma, and if not there in the triggering zones as they trigger that area, let’s assume they get it. Their body becomes distressed in some capacity, and they launch themselves into an asthma attack. That’s just the asthma of not including the inflammatory response of this virus. In terms of the cytokine storm, you know?
[00:20:03] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You know, Alex, earlier this year, my wife Karen had to go to the E.R. due to respiratory issues and things like that. And I mean, it was a trigger again, December, January. You know, it’s like the flu. You know that that time where if you’re on edge, that’s it. OK, that’s it. You won’t recover. And it’s like, Thank God that that happened then instead of now, Alex. Absolutely. I think it, I mean, and then my oldest son, Gabrielle, he’s always had challenges, you know, kind of like that. It’s like, man, it’s so frustrating for children. But I could just imagine this is devastating for people 50 and older.
[00:20:54] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Exactly. It is. It’s an issue that what we have to do is we have to figure out what’s going on. We’re noticing it’s most likely males are 1.3 times the chance to see this.
[00:21:07] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: More males again. Why is it, males?
[00:21:09] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Oh, yes. We’ll look at this percent smoking two point five times a morbidity risk COPD congestive obstructive pulmonary disease 2.5 to 11 times. Smoking is almost devastating. If you’ve done it and you’ve been ill overnight.
[00:21:30] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: This is a game-changer. And I want to advocate and motivate and support and show love. Suppose you are smoking, not just smoking, but vaping. Also, I’m just going to throw that out. Absolutely not. You have to agree with me, but hear me out again for the greater good. OK. Vaping, smoking, any of those things, please, it will put you at risk, and of course, certain people need to, you know, again, medications, I mean, I have, you know, patients that are using cannabis and CBDs and all that for chronic pain. And you know what, I understand. Again, it’s for the greater good. But the thing is, do you notice Alex within our conversations that we started five months ago, six months ago? Do you notice the same culprits showed themselves over and over and over again? Do you see that? Look at this. I mean, metabolic syndrome. Did we have the same conversation four months ago? Look at smoking males. Do males remember smoking in overweight? Remember that one? Yeah, crazy. Yeah, it’s crazy for me.
[00:22:47] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: With the kidneys, I mean, if you can see the disparity between two and 50 percent, that’s one that kind of is. It’s perplexing because of the range. But when you understand kidney pathology, there are five stages of kidney disorder from kidney stage level one, which is a mild amount of kidney issue to the severe extent. Usually, we have a blood test going to test that. But if you’re in stage five or stage four…
[00:23:11] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You will have kidney dialysis, I mean, come on, Alex. I mean, this is going to…
[00:23:17] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Affect…
[00:23:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Your liver.
[00:23:19] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No, the ability to break down the the the byproducts and to purify the blood, so to speak, and to clean it, so to speak, is going to be diminished if the kidney function is impaired in any way. So these are things that we have to look at in terms of what we’re doing now. We have some studies here in China, and they’re already coming in and saying that three percent of the 80-year-olds were the first reports. Of this, 87 percent of the people live between the ages of 30 and 79 years of age, eight percent, 80 percent, only eight percent are in their 20s. Moral OK. However, it’s a negligible mortality rate in the 20s, teens less than one percent. We live in a very culturally similar environment, such as we’re like in Italy, where the children and the grandparents do co-mingle, and specifically, we rate we stay. And, commonly, grandmas live with their families, and the young are involved in that situation. It’s like the perfect storm if the kid gets it and brings it to the parent. Well, that’s precisely what’s going on, the love of the passion of hugging those children, though they carry it, and they don’t have the presentation of the symptoms, which most, you know, a large number of people don’t have this presentation at all. They don’t have symptoms. Eighty percent of people don’t even have symptoms. So when they get that 20 percent of that of mortality, that’s the ones that associate with people with issues. And when they’re in their 80s and 90s, that’s what happens here. We have fatality rates averaging in the U.S. Go ahead, go ahead of two point three percent.
[00:24:57] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: When you threw this out, we’re talking about China now; we’re not talking about the U.S.
[00:25:03] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No, but this was China, but if you look at this, this is the fatality rate in China, so this is the same, very similar to what’s going on in Italy, right?
[00:25:13] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: What I’m thinking about it because I’m looking at three percent, 80 years old and older. Right. And then huge 87 percent, 30 to 79. And I’m thinking. It should be a lot more for a more senior right, Alex. I’m just thinking, you know? Oh, sure.
[00:25:36] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The reason is I say, Well, no, it’s not so much. At the elderly age, the immune system isn’t as vigorous as when you’re younger. So as what they’re seeing is that the immune system when you’re younger is a much more explosive potential, right? So in that situation, someone in their late 80s and 90s, because we’re having even in our own town, we’ve only had one person over over 80s that passed away. The majority of our people are again in exactly these ranges, which is what they say.
[00:26:07] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And Alex, they said this because I want to understand the article from February with JAMA. Are they saying that the mortality is three percent death or three percent survival?
[00:26:21] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No mortality percent is mortality. The death rate.
[00:26:24] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: OK, so that’s what I’m saying. I was expecting 80 and older to have higher mortality. That’s right.
[00:26:32] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah. OK, so that makes sense.
[00:26:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, I mean, it’s expensive for them to be like 90.
[00:26:37] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No, and actually, if you look at El Paso Times and the Apostle presentation, you’ll see that the parabolic curve actually happens between the 70s and 60s. So that’s where a significant number of people pass away.
[00:26:51] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Obviously, there’s more. You know what? I’m trying to like, understand the y factor, Alex. So what I’m thinking about is those people from 30 to 79, they have more interaction, social interaction with diversity, people who are 80. Again, I hate to say this; they’re pretty much secluded, like on their own, if we visit like grandma once a month. Exactly, yes. So that’s one thing that’s got to play into, right?
[00:27:19] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That’s got to play into it. Because the reality is when I see my elderly, many of them want to live on their own. And many of them do. And the perfect storm is having the elderly come cooped up together. And that’s where we have the rest homes where people are actually in the health care, in the hospice areas, in the elderly are sick homes. Those people have high numbers. And you see in the news where those areas are huge, and we see that happening. So I think there’s a lot to be learned as we’re going in this. One of the things that we’re trying to do here is to give people a heads up about what’s going on. And we’ve noticed that an early sign of susceptibility or that you’re being exposed to this is anosmia. Do you believe that Mario? Anosmia, the lack of smell.
How Inflammatory Factors Affect Our System
[00:28:10] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: That was very surprising. For me, like the inability to smell if you’re OK because of the damage, like, you know, what’s happening? But again, I’m thinking because of the pathway, the pathogenic path, you’re breathing in all of that. And then there is taste.
[00:28:36] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: As they both go into effect in the match of the smell is what we taste on. So we see that these kinds of parables or parallels are being noticed. One of the things that we’re witnessing is high inflammation burn induced by vascular inflammatory myocarditis. So in the inflammatory response, we’re seeing if the person is having some sort of inflammatory response. It goes from the lungs to the heart and the liver; these people have myocardial issues in inflammatory areas because they work on the type two receptors, the type two receptors easy to remember type two, there’s two lungs, two valves, two kidneys. OK, so those areas that have the two in there. Type 2s are the ones that are going to get pounded really hard. So when we see that, we understand that there is an association with inflammatory vascular issues for that. Now we also noticed that there’s a lag time. Now we’ve seen here that there’s a five-day lag time. Now the influenza virus hits two at a rate of almost two days. We’ve had a range between actually it’s nearly seven, but they’ve averaged the number to five days, meaning by the time the symptoms are present, you can know that someone’s affected you. The influenza virus nails you at two to three days, a very fast-moving bug. This one doesn’t move as fast, but it has symptoms within five days.
[00:30:06] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Getting back to what you’re saying about, can you move back to the previous one, please? Absolutely. So again, I just want to reiterate in our conversation, the first five minutes of the conversation when we talked about was about inflammatory processes of the body. Yes, that reaffirms that anything in your body is at a risk factor of inflammation, whether it’s your heart, your lungs, or your kidneys. Those are direct, specific markers, risks, and morbidity factors, all of our outcomes with COVID 19. Absolutely right. There’s no question, so if you are dealing with heart issues, on heart medication, or beta-blockers, please be not just mindful if you’re in that conversation. Again, don’t panic, but listen to our discussion on our podcast and in our, you know, future presentations because we want you to plan and understand, but not to panic and, you know, be all over the place. You see, we want to make it through this time, you know, and not just buckshot, you know, wear a mask. And because I wear a mask, I’m going to be OK. No, you’re not.
[00:31:53] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Mario, we talked about the common symptoms presented because there’s a lot of confusion about I’m sneezing, and I got it. Right? Yeah. So one of the things is is that we have to look at the common presentation. The virus stimulates interleukin six and interleukin nine interleukin eight to these particular ones, affecting the hypothalamus through the prostate gland and approaching what that does. That creates the immediate response for temperature. So the body, once the body releases those are inflammatory cytokines. It causes the immune system to kick off. So at the immune system gets kicked off. It’s usually done at the launching of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus raises the body temperature, the first one of people’s very first signs. So when we look at this, it’s not. It’s not uncommon that the most common symptom in this presentation is a fever. The fever is the thing that we assess, which; you mentioned that one of the things that we also do is to assess these dynamics to determine if you have a fever. In the beginning, people were sneezing, and it caught us at the same time as the hay fever stuff, you know, in the sneezing that happens locally. So almost if you sneeze, you feel like you were exposed to it. But the reality of sneezing is not the presentation that is noticed on this virus. This virus starts replicating. And by the end, it makes its heyday when it hits the lungs. So by the time it hits and causes a reactionary thing at the lung wall or the alveoli, it causes the inflammatory reaction to spilling out the cytokines that trigger the temperature change. So it’s like it does not like normal. Like, I got hay fever, I got nasal congestion. These people are being affected in a much more drastic way. It goes directly to the lungs. It enters the blood system. It goes, and it trends later does translations of the DNA. And once it starts producing that the body identifies it, the cells die, and then the immune system kicks in. By that time, you begin having congestion. So the cough and the fever are somewhat kind of misplaced sometimes. So we had the one that usually tipped us off the earliest is the fever.
[00:34:13] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And this is where again. It is the same pattern, the same pattern as the flu. Exactly. It would be mindful. I mean, this is not something; it’s not a different animal. No, it’s another species, but it’s in the same family. OK, so we’re talking about fever as the body’s response to fight the virus, correct? Correct. So that’s what it’s doing. Your body responds to fight and increase temperature and look at the correlation again. I want to make things simple because sometimes we get so complicated and things like that. I want to kind of bring it down to the common conversation. Number one, what do you hear in the news and media? The higher temperature in your environment, once it goes over 80 degrees, the COVID 19 decreases. Is that what we’re hearing?
[00:35:14] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Absolutely. That’s it.
[00:35:15] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Matter of fact, it escalates with fever. So now the body is attempting to do the same thing. The body is fighting to increase its own heat for lack of better words to fight the virus. OK. And then with that, you’re talking about coughing now. Again, cough, shortness of breath. Now it gets a little more specific because, again, it’s not just a runny nose. Many people, you know, all have runny noses and say, Oh, I have COVID 19. Well, that’s not such a significant marker because I have shortness of breath and I have a fever. OK, with coughing. Now that one, we need to get real. Because just for you, coughing without fever and shortness of breath is a different conversation, Alex.
[00:36:08] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: One of the common things is that people have headaches. They have dizziness. These are all the chills. That’s a big one that people sometimes start feeling overall aches. They start having shortness of breath. Once the lungs are involved in the pulmonary exchange of oxygen is limited. That’s where the body starts trying to produce. The heart kicks up the same receptors, and temperature increases to tachycardia. So these are the areas that are being identified so we can see a correlation between those coronary issues that are secondary sputum production. So from here to here, we can see that we got the majority of symptoms from this area. We do end up having headaches. But look, where you notice nasal congestion, it’s way down there. Two percent to five percent of the people have the presentation and COVID virus of nasal congestion. OK? There are cases where we’ve noticed that the method and mode of transmission sadly is hand-washing touching the face in the triangular region of the eyes and the nose area in the mouth. This is an area. Also, oral-fecal is a place with the virus propagates. So when we’re looking at that, we have to make sure that we wash our hands very well when it comes to oral-fecal. It seems disgusting, but the reality is in our population, people may sometimes not wash their hands, or if they do wash their hands, they touch the faucet before they wash their hands. Does it make sense? So at that point, someone comes in after and handles the faucet in a public restaurant. And bam, you got it, and you touched your face.
[00:37:48] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: It makes sense, and you don’t want that, Alex. This same conversation, again, is nothing new. So people need to use common sense. They need to be mindful and focused. When you and I go to the gym, OK, let’s forget COVID 19, forget all this stuff, OK? You know, going to the gym to work out. You have everybody’s stuff on the bench, on the dumbbells, on everything. Correct? It will get everyone very aware. So let’s look at it this way again. Go back to the basics of life. Number one, wash your hands before you eat. Wash your hands after you go into a different environment. Wash your hands. Sanitation. Hygiene. Let’s step it up, everybody. Step up your hygiene. Don’t take it for granted, OK? And just because you wear a mask, but you’re not washing your hands. Well, let me tell you, you have your mask over your nose in your mouth, correct? Right. Happens to your eyes. Exactly. That’s a conversation, right?
[00:39:03] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: So you realize that it comes in through the eyes as well.
[00:39:06] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And then let’s say you eat what you’re going to have to take your mask off to eat. So this is where that exposure is if you don’t wash your hands. And many people are using these hand sanitizers like crazy, right? And they’re dumping it. My point is to wash your hands, correct? Absolutely. And do that. So that’s an excellent point, Alex. Again, when we go to the gym and work out, how often do we wash our hands after leaving the gym? How many times, Alex?
[00:39:37] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Every single time we don’t leave. We don’t leave until we wash our hands.
[00:39:42] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: We wash at least three times before leaving.
[00:39:44] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We wash it the first time, the second time you get the bugs off, and then spend a little bit cleaning the arms and the elbows down because you have to.
[00:39:52] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And then we are finished? No. Three times, you want to get that movement in and wash it all the way here. You know, like all the way to this, not just here. Don’t just rinse your fingers.
How To Stop Inflammation?
[00:40:04] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The virus protects itself by an outer coating that is liposomal? So one of the crazy things is just thinking about it. How do you get grease off your dishes? You wash them with soap. Soap destroys the cell wall of the bacteria. So in a situation, you can see that just hand-washing. That’s why everyone talks about it is one of the main reasons we can discuss that. We noticed that the eyes we heard early reports that that the eyes would be like almost they’d all have, like bloodshot eyes. In the beginning, it was a very common presentation. Well, the reason is the immune system is protected very much at the eye level, at the conjunctival level. So one of the things, if something enters through the conjunctiva, you will have a reactionary response at that level. So often, you’re going to see many people producing kind of eye weeping, and because it enters through the eyes as well, it’s not as common as it does in the nose, in the mouth. But it is an area which is which goes to your point. We have to have eye protection. So in that sense, the best thing we can do if we’re in an environment such as a clinic is to have at least some sort of face coverage to prevent that stuff from occurring from floating around anywhere that it goes. Did you want to add anything to that particular point?
[00:41:25] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah. You know, what I wanted to add is, again, the connections with other viruses. You see, I remember what we were dealing with AIDS, right? Fluid exchange eyes. You know, again, aids, HIV, those things need to be renewed in our daily usage and function. Likewise, be aware that just because you’re not touching your mouth, you’re touching your eyes. That’s an open portal. Going to see it is it’s an open portal to our blood-brain barrier. It’s an open portal to our system. And so with that, we mustn’t be only aware of it, but we protect ourselves in those areas. And what I would say is overall, the distancing, you know, I think this is the distancing. I mean, we’re not going to wear goggles everywhere we go, OK? The distancing is essential. And again, that spread, that coughing, OK, you’re not going to catch it by walking next to someone, and all of a sudden, it jumps into your eye. That’s right. Is that OK? To say yes, I’m going to jump into your eye?
[00:42:55] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: No. But yeah, that’s what they’re talking about.
[00:42:58] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: So what we’re talking about is we’re talking about those things. So I don’t want people to get confused and go, Oh my gosh, I got to wear goggles all day everywhere.
[00:43:09] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: So in terms of once it breaks into the cells and once it does that, one of the great is that once inside the cell, the virus can make up, then 10000 copies itself per hour. 10000 copies. Mario, the cell, once it enters the liposomes in the ribosomes, it takes over the system. It uses an Android system where it just recreates its body parts and creates all the parts to propagate 10000 per hour. That’s per cell.
[00:43:40] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Hey, Alex. And I love this quote by Andrew Pecos. I love that guy, John Hopkins, who knows exactly what is going on. I love this quote. It’s like, you have these unexpected visitors breaking into your house, and they’re there for a while, and they’re going to eat your food. You know what? They’re going to use your furniture, and they’re going to produce 10000 babies and just trash it. And there it is. I love that because that’s where our own immune system has to block these unexpected visitors; say, No, you know what? We’re going to quarantine you, and we’re going to kick you out. And that’s where the older we are, the more susceptible we are, the less resilient we are. And with our secondary morbidities of CVD, diabetes, obesity, stress, sleep, we didn’t talk about that; Alex, lack of sleep we seeing right now. Are you? You and I haven’t come up to deal with these guys.
[00:44:52] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We will be discussing at length the things that we can do, Mario, regarding the treatment protocols because what we’re just doing is the beginning of this process. But here we discussed, and we discussed this earlier. We talked about the ranges. You can see here that the fatality rate is one point thirty-eight, but you can see that the ratio is the highest in this particular group here. And as you look at that age group between the 60s and the 70s, that much falls in line with our town. And what we’re seeing is that in ours, ours is more like this in this town, and it’s going like this in our side. We don’t have this because we’ve usually done an excellent job, and we were able to identify early that the carriers of these things were non-symptomatic. So we’ve been able to hold that number of the elderly.
[00:45:45] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: We are doing a great job. Yeah, in our town. So you know what I mean? We looked at the ratio from the Chinese model earlier, Alex. But again, I want to elucidate and complement the mayor, Mayor Margo, and all county and city officials working diligently. Veronica Escobar and the other representatives, you know what? We are doing great. We’re doing a great job, are doing exceptionally well compared to Houston, Dallas, Austin. We’re doing tremendous, and we need to pull together, work together, support each other to do this.
[00:46:38] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I got to tell you this Mario, at that point, Dee Margo, had like a linear cut to this day as soon as we had 65 that were positive. He shut the downtown. He shut the town down. He just basically shut it off instantly. He put into the effects of the greater order, which was the governor’s orders. He put that into effect, closing down the schools, closing down all the aspects, closing down the parks, closing down everything. Because he knew then that his job was before us having one loss of life, just one loss of life, that’s before all that happened. Our mayor jumped on it, and we’re actually fortunate in this particular town where we live that we’ve been able to stop the massive hits that happened because we triggered the parachute push or the pull to slow down the city way before most towns would ever. I doubt there were very many towns that, after 65 people, positively shut it down. We are the 17th largest city in the United States. We are bigger than guess where? We are bigger than Miami. Mario, do you realize that we are bigger than Miami, and we were able to stop it? So to your point? Our mayor did very well by shutting down the city and threatening those promises during those tough times.
[00:47:55] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Leaders have to make tough decisions. Period. You know, we have to they have to step up. May not be popular, may not be, you know. Warm and fuzzy. But for the higher good.
[00:48:15] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The higher the good, exactly,
[00:48:16] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Exactly. We have to do that. And in another component, I’m not sure if you have a slide on this one, but in terms of our exposure, you know, with our sister city Juarez, Mexico. It’s a different conversation, isn’t it? Yeah. If that were to be considered delineation because they shut down the border.
[00:48:44] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: What happened in terms of, let’s say, our sister city has a lot to do with the awareness, also the proximity and the close quarters of how people live here. We’re probably a little bit more spaced out. We closed down the city and did many mitigating factors to prevent distinct from getting out of hand on us. So as we looked at this, we have been able to respond in a bit much more aggressive fashion than what most people would have been able to do. So why does it spread so quickly? This is what we were talking about earlier we were talking about. This is getting to the mechanics of the ACE2 area or receptors. This virus has these tiny prongs and these little spikes they call, and it’s engulfed. It’s a bilipid layer area that protects it. And inside, it has an RNA molecule, a chain that will deploy on you. But the question is, it will land on some body component. And what we’re learning and this goes to the treatment protocols that we’re going to be discussing a little bit later than when we discussed these areas, we can see that the receptors in these areas are the ones that receive it. And from there, it deploys its pod. And once it deploys its pod, the virus actually enters the system through that area. This area, through the membranes, typically through a membrane wall, usually at the alveoli or the tissue that it affects. So these are the areas where the body works on it. So the Antigua’s antibodies treatment disrupts the interaction between the virus and the receptors. So what we’ve been trying to do is to stop it here. We’ve been trying to vaccinate against it directly. And then now, when we do natural effects, we go from the insides’ ability to mitigate the messy reaction in this area. OK. So those are the dynamics of what’s going on. It’s not so much that the virus itself makes the killing, but the inflammatory reaction that the body strikes against it causes the direct response to the virus. So because once the virus kills the cells, the cell membrane dies. Then what? Because macrophages, granular sites, and all the cool things we’ve been talking about actually cause inflammation in the body. This is the virus that we have seen. We talk about the spikes. This is the spike. This is where the ACE2 blocker or the receptor is received, which would be the cell in this area. So in that particular region, that’s how the science of soap, because this right here, this is what you and I were talking about that layer. There is a bilipid layer that gets disrupted with Mario, soap. So just hand-washing would be very useful in this area. I know you’ve been doing a lot of hand-washing in your office, correct? Yes. To avoid certain foods. OK, so you know, we have a DNA of foods, anti-inflammatory diets. We talked about that, you know, one of the things that you and I were discussing: the metabolic diet, the metabolic syndrome diets. You know, these Mediterranean diets, when we’re dealing with anti-inflammatory dyes, are what we would be focusing on. And what we’re going to be talking about now is explicitly focusing on anti-inflammatory foods and foods that prevent sensitivities to our body that cause immune reactions. Because if we mitigate the inflammation, it’s almost like we slow down the inflammatory process in our body or almost create a body that is less susceptible to inflammation. That’s the kind of treatment protocol we want to focus on. Now, when you look at these diets, what sort of proper diets would you recommend in terms of helping with the immunity of your patients?
What Is The GPS In The Body?
[00:52:45] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Very simple. If you can, go back to the previous slide. So let’s look at this one. Let’s look at that GPS conversation. Can you circle that one right there? Excellent check. Yes. Number one. Get rid of gluten foods. Gluten, again, really simple. Gluten is all about the glue that is the glue in your foods, in your breads, preservatives get it out. Eat raw. OK, there you go. Or gluten-free? You can’t go wrong with popcorn. It’s going to be all right. The other thing that we’re looking at again is to decrease the processed foods, Alex. P is for processed. So if it’s in a can, if it’s in a box and it’s been sitting there for more than twenty-four hours or 48 hours, you know what? Let’s not put in your body because obviously those artificial flavorings, those preservatives, which are what chemicals preserve the taste and the process of that food right for storage. That is not something that your body needs. It’s not. You know what? I just need more preservatives to my body because I want to be stronger and increase my immune system. So that’s the P. The P is for preserves. Get rid of them, OK? And then the S is our favorite, and it’s not for supersonic. It’s sugar. Sugar. Get rid of it because sugar is the most potent inflammatory sizzle. It’s that atomic nuclear bomb. OK.
[00:54:48] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You see, and this is when you and I go to the store. We’ve noticed that everything is gone in the process and the sugar aisles.
[00:54:55] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yes. From there, the shelves are empty. If it’s a box, it’s gone. And then you go, and then you go into produce man guacamole, you got tomatoes, and you got the spinach is there, but we got the boxes.
[00:55:17] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, that’s amazing.
[00:55:19] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Of course, the feel-good foods. And we need to be mindful of that because the longer you stay in your house, you will start to munch and crunch and start to have snacks. And usually, those snacks are not baby carrots and celery sticks. No, they’re not. There are those snacks that you buy the Dollar General. For a dollar, and they have a lot of sugars, so that is what we call emotional foods, balanced emotional foods, you want to feel good, you know, drink some wine. Let’s not forget about the wine. You’re emotional. Yes, I did throw that just because I love you.
[00:56:04] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I don’t do wine.
[00:56:06] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Anyway, I know you used to be part of it. We want to be mindful of red wine, especially.
[00:56:14] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, stop the inflammation. And as we’re looking at those anti-inflammatory foods, the same kind of approach to a metabolic-free diet, even a ketogenic diet, is the whole focus is stopping inflammation, and inflammation is at the core of this. If we can squelch the inflammation in our bodies, we prepare our bodies in the event that we become exposed to this virus. So it is a simple approach to almost whenever you prepare your body for an event, a competition, you want to allow it to be as ready as possible. You don’t want it to be beaten down with processes that are inflammatory or reactionary that can burden itself. So it’s a critical component that what you’re saying, no, we have to look at a proper diet equals increased enhanced immunity. It’s as simple when we look at it. A poor diet impairs the immunity reaction, which will cause a more reactive oxygen species. Our processes, known as the body, are a way to destroy things that are reasonable winning control, but anything in excess causes the issues. Suppose our body is already cued up if we have inflammatory foods. If your BMI is above, the main number we’re using was 26, if your BMI, and that’s a measurement of waist versus hip and height. So we have to look at those numbers, and you start to notice that people that are not as healthy, that don’t exercise to a certain extent, those are the people that are more predisposed to this event when it happens. So it’s wise now, under a doctor’s watchful eye, to exercise, do cardiovascular exercising, drink the right amount of water, and make sure you get the proper sleep? Simple things like that will go very far in the healing process or prepare your body for it. Let’s say an event where, as they’re saying at this point in New York, they did a sample of the population. They said that at present, even of the non-symptomatic population that they’re testing in the suburbs, thirteen point nine percent only 14 percent of people already have been exposed to it. So when we’re looking at that, if this thing is going to go throughout a population at the rate that it is, it is wise to prepare our bodies. It is wise to prepare our bodies in an anti-inflammatory way. It is wise to get sleep. It’s wise to get the body mentally prepared and give ourselves this opportunity to eat appropriately to actually prevent a massive assault in inflammation or an inflammatory way that helps the body so things that we can do here to support our immune system. Take a look at that, Mario, so we have that.
[00:59:04] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You love this stuff, Alex.
[00:59:06] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: So when we look at, you know, wild, you know, smash fish, OK, so we look at that…
[00:59:14] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: What is smashed fish, Alex? Is it like salmon?
[00:59:20] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It is basically organic fish.
[00:59:23] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: When you look at organic, wild salmon.
[00:59:34] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah, we call it smash fish.
[00:59:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Call me on my hotline. We all put my hotline at the bottom, Alex; I think we need to.
[00:59:42] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I will ensure that. And by the way, we’re going to get to this one in a few minutes. So in terms of the plant-based diet, we want to make sure that that goes on too. So what kind of things do you do for a plant-based diet, Mario?
[00:59:54] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: You know, I will say this. I am basically vegan, Alex, with this wonderful COVID 19. I have become vegan. Yes, that’s right. So I am doing lentil soup. I am doing spinach with balsamic vinaigrette. Oh man, I’m telling you, I’m going crazy.
[01:00:20] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Fruits and vegetables?
[01:00:24] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Oh, all the time.
[01:00:26] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Grass-Fed meats?
[01:00:28] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I don’t know if they’re grass-fed, Alex, but I’m still looking for those.
The Gut-Lung Connection
[01:00:35] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: What we’re talking about here is we’re also going to be talking, and we’re going to have a unique addition to this process because one of the areas we’ve learned that the gut-brain is a well-connected organ system. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal connection is established. Now we’ve known of a great one, which is the intestine two long connection. OK, so we’re starting to see that the intestine and the flora in the intestine have much to do with the reactionary or inflammatory response in the lung. I’m going to be discussing that, too. Here we got a lot of amazing stuff that we will be talking about.
[01:01:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: The gut-lung connection.
[01:01:20] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The gut lung connection, right? So we’re going to be discussing that. So when we’re dealing with things like high fiber, the whole purpose of the fiber is to feed our bugs right to provide our probiotics or our bacteria that are evident at different stages of the colon. So what we want to make sure is to establish that a high fiber diet does not have roughage. But a variety of fibers is not good to have one type of kale, but different kinds of vegetable green leafy to different hard celery. All other fiber types assist different stages of bacterial growth in the intestinal colon. So we must do this in terms of the nuts and the seeds. The oils. Chicken soup? Yeah. Yeah, you know, chicken soup. Why would chicken soup be so good? We’ve learned that when we look at the ingredients in chicken soup, it has everything from the enzymes to the bio mechanisms that help our body heal better. The bioflavonoids, all those things that help our body heal properly, are in the chicken soup.
[01:02:29]Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I hear this; I don’t know if it’s correct, but it’s an excellent old wives tale, and it goes something like this. Chicken soup is Jewish penicillin or Mexican penicillin. I’m not sure. But you know what? It’s powerful. Yeah, because I mean, you hear that it’s like all of a sudden.
[01:02:56] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It allows the body to react to all these things, right? So when we look at these kinds of things, we see that these foods are all put together in chicken. You know, it’s great. It’s got everything it needs, man. So when we deal with snacks, we deal with ginger. We deal with turmeric.
[01:03:14] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Turmeric is awesome. Turmeric is what I call liquid gold for your immune system. Anti-inflammatory liquid gold.
[01:03:27] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yes, organic coffee. And one of the things about coffee is that when we look at the coffees if it doesn’t say organic, it’s full of pesticides. So we need to make sure that all are our coffee and your tea is very organic. The oils, the avocados, the macadamias. These are important because they establish normal inflammatory responses.
[01:03:54] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I love guacamole. Avocados. Great fats, plentiful, I mean, I’m telling you that one, I can eat that for like breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
[01:04:05] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I can too. And there’s the problem that it’s too good; actually, it’s kind of really good. We got all these things like the turkey tail. Mario, do you like that turkey tail? Now, why would turkey tails be so good, huh?
[01:04:19] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Turkey tail is so good when you think about that.
[01:04:22] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Culturally speaking, my parents would love that. They eat that as the essential part of the rest of the turkey. Oysters, lion’s mane. We’re going to have to kind of figure out where to get these kinds of things.
[01:04:36] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: OK, I’ll go with this one. And you can circle this one. Shiitake mushrooms are my favorite. They’re awesome. And why is that? I just like, say it’s right there. There it is. I like saying its name.
[01:04:57] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Shiitake.
[01:04:58] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I don’t know. It’s cool. I mean, Turmeric. I don’t know. It sounds kind of deadly, man. Like that tomb turmeric. What are you going to do? Shiitake is cool. You got to eat fun foods, Alex.
[01:05:12Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Mario, you said right here, clean eating. Clean eating is one of the most important foods.
[01:05:20] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Red peppers, blue peppers, green peppers, purple eggplants. I mean, the more color, the better. More the rawer, the better. I mean, keep it simple. And, of course, there are so many things like Golden Seals. You can go into the many herbs like crazy. Yeah, this I’m telling you. Just go to basics. I mean, you may not find my grass-fed meat. I mean, I don’t know if you have a farm or something, where are you going to go after the chickens, but just make it simple. And I would say during this time of quarantine, being at home with your family, spending more time than you ever have maybe wanted to spend with your husband or wife and children, perhaps. But also, there are no more excuses for you not to eat healthily. Yes. Not to cook your meals. OK. There are no more excuses. And, and I would say again in our prior conversations, the blessings of COVID 19. I know people probably like, Whoa, what’s he talking about? Which was Dr. Jimenez, and not talking about this is risky or crazy guys. OK, well, let me tell you. Make put this into your testimony. Yes, utilize this time to come closer together to your family. Start to cook together and eat together. You have no excuse, then you can’t say, well, I have a meeting at seven o’clock. And you know, you have a meeting, maybe you have no meeting. How about that one? You have all day to cook. Look at this video, go on YouTube, go somewhere, and cook your own meal with your wife, daughter, and son. Like, start cutting some stuff. Make sure you don’t cut your fingers because I know that’s new art for you. OK. And fix it in like, eat over it. And I like, you know, hey, how does it taste? I think it needs more salt. Do you know? And you know what? Let’s make it spicier. This is such an unbelievable opportunity to take advantage of it, guys. Yes, you may not see this time ever in your lifetime.
Conclusion
[01:07:46] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, I want to say, Mario, I get that. You’re absolutely right. You hit it on point. It is a very important time to retool our bodies, fix them, and replenish them. It almost seems as if the reports are coming in because the world has been different since that first presentation we made. The carbon footprint is a whole lot smaller in the skies, and the seas are clearer than they’ve ever been before. If that pause is good for the Earth, that pours is good for us as humans. So we need to take that moment and appreciate it. We’re going to be coming across with these, you and I, we’re going to be doing these presentations. We will be doing this webinar will stand the next one next week, particularly. We’ll probably do more this week on other subject matters with this particular report on health and wellness and specifically on immunity. We need to hit it’s a four-part series. We will be hitting this in as we have many more components to discuss. We’re going to be going deep into the actual things that we can do because from what we gather, the initial onset was to give us some list of supplements that we could take. We gave those on our prior presentations and our and our YouTube presentations, and they’re there for you to review. But the and it’s under the antiviral strategies that we did. But this will elaborate on the things that we can do to supplement our immune system and make our immune stronger, not just the supplementation but the nutraceuticals. We’re looking at it from a neutral genomics area, a neutral genetics component. We’re going to be talking biochemistry, but we’re going to be dealing more realistically. So today was the beginning of our new presentations that we’re going to be doing here with Eventbrite and through Eventbrite protocols. We’re now going to discuss our topics and present them to the population out there, not just to El Paso. Hopefully, we can help change more than just the clinical components and the biochemistry and people’s lives, but also the spiritual components of their lives because that’s the functional medicine approach. Our whole goal is to prepare the body to heal itself to deal with complex degenerative issues and holistically assist the body. So wellness components and natural medicine are a very important part of what we’re doing. So we look forward to doing that. And Mario, thank you so much for being part of this because you and I will make an impact. Little by little, day by day, hour by hour, we’re going to be making some impact. So it looks very good in terms of our presentation, and we look and see if you can share this out there, and I’ll give it to the people. Anything else, Mario?
[01:10:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, I want to reaffirm and enlighten you, Alex, and the vision you started and being so gracious and inviting me to the party, as they say, this is not a conference. It’s fun. Yeah, it’s not about us. This is about. Impactful health, functional medicine. It’s about motivating, inspiring, and supporting life change and legacies. And I am happy and look forward to connecting with as many people as possible, not only in our community but also in the viewers. We are here to share. And we’re here to be authentic. And we’re here to create the simplicity of life function. So please take the time for yourself and your loved ones. Take the time because you have it now to let them know how much you love them, how much you forgive them, how much you care for them. And then I will say this. Cook a meal together, eat it, and share the love.
[01:11:52] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Amen, brother. We’ll catch it there. We went a few minutes over, but we’ll be ready for next week. Brother, I love you, and we’ll keep on going forward. OK, but so I ended. I’ll call you in the back end. Bye-bye, brother.
Individuals talk about how they don’t sleep much because they have so much to do and can operate/function on only 5 or 6 hours of sleep and are surprised when they develop serious health problems and mental health issues. However, inadequate sleep is a big deal. Depriving the body and mind of proper sleep leads to all kinds of health problems that include:
Chiropractors focus on whole-body health, are specialists in the musculoskeletal system, and take a multifaceted approach to treat fatigue and inadequate sleep. They can help with sleep problems and other health factors by bringing the body back into alignment/balance, improving circulation, nerve energy flow, and nervous system function. This includes chiropractic adjustments and therapeutic massage.
Spinal Adjustments
Misalignment of the cervical spine could be contributing to issues breathing and getting into a deep sleep.
Spinal realignment can help with better sleep.
Posture Analysis and Sleep Positions
Posture is a significant part of optimal health, especially when breathing correctly.
A chiropractor can analyze and correct any posture misalignments.
They can also advise how best to sleep, so the airway does not become obstructed during the night.
Health Factors
A recommendation for fatigue and inadequate sleep is to lose weight if overweight or obese.
A trained nutritionist or health coach can help develop healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
Less Stress and Plenty of Sleep
The combination of spinal adjustments and therapeutic massage can generate significant benefits to help keep the body healthy. Chiropractic adjustments have been found to release stress-reducing hormones like oxytocinand neurotensin. And therapeutic massage has been shown to improve inadequate sleep patterns, as well as:
Jamison, Jennifer R. “Insomnia: does chiropractic help?.” Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics vol. 28,3 (2005): 179-86. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2005.02.013
Jehan, Shazia et al. “Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity: Implications for Public Health.” Sleep medicine and disorders: international journal vol. 1,4 (2017): 00019.
Kashani, Fahimeh, and Parisa Kashani. “The effect of massage therapy on the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients.” Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research vol. 19,2 (2014): 113-8.
Kingston, Jana et al. “A review of the literature on chiropractic and insomnia.” Journal of chiropractic medicine vol. 9,3 (2010): 121-6. doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2010.03.003
It is one thing to wake up with back pain, but another when the pain is combined with a fever, body aches, and chills. It could be the flu or another infection. However, after checking the body’s temperature and fever is present with no other symptoms than back pain unless it is the flu; the fever could be another issue that may or may not be related as there are a variety of causes for back pain like:
Muscle or ligament strain – If in poor physical condition, repeated and constant tension on the back can cause muscle spasms. Repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement can strain the back muscles and spinal ligaments.
Bulging or ruptured discs – Discs act as cushions between the bones/vertebrae in the spine. The soft material inside a disc can bulge or rupture and press on a nerve. However, a bulging or ruptured disc can present without back pain. Disc disease is often found by accident when spine X-rays are performed for another reason.
Arthritis – Osteoarthritis can affect the lower back. In some cases, arthritis in the spine can narrow the space around the spinal cord, a condition called spinal stenosis.
Osteoporosis – The spine’s vertebrae can develop painful fractures if the bones become porous and brittle.
Back pain without a fever is usually an indication of a misaligned spine.
Fever A Sign of Something Else
A fever is the body’s way of trying to raise its core temperature in an attempt to kill off a virus or a bacterial infection. Possible causes of back pain with fever include:
Kidney Infection
This type of infection often presents with low back pain and fever.
Spinal Epidural Abscess
This is an infection of the lower region of the spine, causing fever and lower back pain.
Vertebral Osteomyelitis
This is an infection of the lower spine that causes pain in the arms, lower back, and legs, along with a fever.
Meningitis
This causes swelling and inflammation of the brain and spine and needs to be addressed immediately.
Spinal Cord Abscess
This is an infection of the internal part of the spine. It is rare but can happen, causing low back pain and fever.
Symptoms
This is when seeing a chiropractor can help. A few signs that should not be ignored include:
Recently involved in an automobile accident.
Suffered a serious fall.
Feeling a tingling in the legs.
Having balance issues.
Having abdominal pain.
Pain is not going away, or it goes away for a while, then comes back.
Have weakness in the arms or legs.
Having bowel or urinary problems that were not present previously.
The pain is worse when sitting or standing up after sitting.
Have upper back pain after alcohol consumption.
A chiropractor will take a complete medical history, X-rays, an MRI if necessary, and a thorough physical examination will be performed to determine the cause. After a diagnosis is reached, the chiropractor will perform adjustments to relieve the pain and open the nerve pathways to increase circulation to the area. A chiropractic massage will help reduce stress, relieve back pain, and reduce depression, which can also help reduce the fever unless it is from another issue.
Body Composition
Influenza
Influenza or the flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness and, in extreme cases, can lead to death. Like a common cold, the flu is spread primarily through tiny droplets that get expelled from an infected person when they sneeze, cough, or talk. Approximately 8% of the population gets the flu each season. Flu symptoms are sudden, causing the following:
Fever
Chills
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Cough
Fatigue
Vomiting and diarrhea which is more common in children.
Most individuals with healthy immune systems will recover around seven days. However, the elderly, pregnant women, individuals of any age with certain chronic medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, and children under the age of five have an increased risk of developing complications. Flu vaccination is currently recommended for anyone older than six months in the U.S. and effectively prevents infection in 50 – 80% of the population. The primary treatment method for the flu is to support the immune system with plenty of rest, proper nutrition, and hydration.
References
Ameer MA, Knorr TL, Mesfin FB. Spinal Epidural Abscess. [Updated 2021 Feb 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441890/
Kehrer, Michala et al. “Increased short- and long-term mortality among patients with infectious spondylodiscitis compared with a reference population.” The spine journal: official journal of the North American Spine Society vol. 15,6 (2015): 1233-40. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2015.02.021
Rubin, Devon I. “Epidemiology and risk factors for spine pain.” Neurologic clinics vol. 25,2 (2007): 353-71. doi:10.1016/j.ncl.2007.01.004
Tsantes, Andreas G et al. “Spinal Infections: An Update.” Microorganisms vol. 8,4 476. 27 Mar. 2020, doi:10.3390/microorganisms8040476
In today’s podcast, Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Mario Ruja discuss the importance of the body’s genetic code and how micronutrients provide the necessary functional nutraceuticals that the body needs to promote overall health and wellness.
What Is Personalized Medicine?
[00:00:00] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Welcome, guys. We’re Dr. Mario Ruja and me; we’re going to be discussing some essential topics for those athletes that want the advantage. We’re going to discuss fundamental necessary clinical technologies and information technologies that can make an athlete or even just the average person a little bit more aware of what’s happening in terms of their health. There’s a new word out there, and I have to give you a little heads up where we’re calling. We’re actually coming from the PUSH Fitness Center, and that people still work out late at night after going to church. So they’re working out, and they’re having a good time. So what we want to do is bring in these topics, and today we’re going to be talking about personalized medicine, Mario. Ever heard of that word?
[00:01:05] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, Alex, all the time. I dream about it. There you go, Mario.
[00:01:12] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: There you go, Mario. Always giving me a laugh. So we’re going to be talking about is the personalized arena of what we have now. We’ve come to a state where many people tell us, Hey, you know what? It would be best if you had some more proteins, fats, or they come up with some convoluted idea, and you’ll end up with your eyes crossed and, most of the time, more confused than anything else. And you’re pretty much a lab rat to all these different techniques, whether it’s the Mediterranean, low fat, high fat, all these kind of things. So the question is, what is it specific to you? And I think one of the frustrations that many of us have, Mario, is that we don’t know what to eat, what to take and what’s good exactly. What’s good for me doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for my friend. You know, Mario, I’d say it’s different. We come from a whole other type of genre. We live in a place, and we’ve gone through things that are different from two hundred years ago. What do people do? We’re going to be able to figure this out nowadays in today’s DNA dynamics; though we don’t treat with these, it gives us information and allows us to relate to the issues that are affecting us now. Today, we will be talking about personalized medicine, DNA testing, and micronutrient assessments. So we’re going to see what it is that how are our genes, the actual predisposing issues, or they’re the ones that give us the the the workings of our engine. And then also, if it’s good for that, we want to know what our level of nutrients is right now. I know Mario, and you had a very dear and near question the other day with one of your, I think, was your daughter. Yeah, so what was her question?
[00:02:52] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: So Mia had had a well, excellent question. She was asking me about utilizing creatine, which is very predominant in athletes. You see, it’s the buzzword, you know? Use creatine to build more muscle and such. So the point that I talk to you about, Alex, is that this is something so important that we cannot let in terms of the sports environment and performance environment. It’s like taking a Bugatti, and you’re saying, “Well, you know what? Do you think about just putting synthetic oil in it?” And well, is it the synthetic oil necessary for that Bugatti? Well, it’s good because it’s synthetic. Well, no, there are lots of different synthetic forms, you know, it’s like five-thirty, five-fifteen, whatever it is, the viscosity level it has to match. So same thing for athletes and especially for Mia.
[00:04:06] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Let the audience know who Mia is, what does she do? What kind of things does she do?
[00:04:08] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Oh, yeah. Mia plays tennis, so her passion is tennis.
[00:04:13] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: And she’s nationally ranked?
[00:04:15] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Nationally, and she plays internationally on the international circuit ITF. And she’s right now in Austin with Karen and the rest of the Brady Bunch, as I call them. You know, she’s working hard and through all this COVID kind of disconnect. Now she’s getting back into the fitness mode, so she wants to optimize. She wants to do her very best to catch up and move forward. And the question about nutrition, a question about what she needed. I needed a specific answer, not just general. Well, I think it’s good. You know good is good and better is best. And the way we look at it in that conversation of sports performance and genetic, nutritional, and functional medicine, it’s like, let’s get really functional, let’s be on point instead of buckshot. You know, it’s like you can go in and say, you know, generalities. But in terms of this, there is not a lot of information out there for athletes. And that’s where the conversation is linking the genetic and linking the micronutrients. That is phenomenal because, as you mentioned, Alex, when we look at the markers, genetic markers, we see the strengths, the weaknesses, and what’s at risk and what is not. Is the body adaptive, or is the body weak? So then we have to address the micronutrients to support. Remember, we talked about that to support that weakness in that DNA, that genetic pattern with something that we can strengthen. I mean, you can’t go and change your genetics, but you surely can increase and be specific with your micronutrients to change that platform and strengthen it and decrease the risk factors.
[00:06:24] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It’s fair to say now that the technology is such that we can find the, I wouldn’t say weaknesses, but the variables that allow for us to improve an athlete at the genetic level. Now we can’t alter the genes. That’s not what we’re saying is that there’s a world of what they call SNPs or single nucleotide polymorphisms where we can figure out there’s a specific set of genes that can’t change. We can’t change like eye color. We can’t do those. Those are very coded in, right? But there are genes that we can influence through neutral genomics and neutral genetics. So what I mean by my neutral genomics is nutrition altering and affecting the genome to more adaptive or opportunistic dynamics? Now, wouldn’t you like to know what genes you have that are vulnerable? Wouldn’t she want to know where her vulnerability is as well?
Is My Body Receiving The Right Supplements?
[00:07:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: What do we all want to know? I mean, whether you’re a high-level athlete or you’re a high-level CEO, or you’re just a high-level mom and dad, that’s running around from tournament to tournament. You cannot afford to have low energy that, when we talked about the markers, you know that methylation within the body we want to know, are we processing or how are we doing in terms of the oxidative pattern within ourselves? Do we need that extra boost? Do we need to increase your knowledge of that green intake detoxified pattern? Or are we doing well? And this is where when we look at the patterns of genetic markers, we can see that we are well-prepared or we are not well prepared. Therefore, we have to look at the micronutrients. Again, those markers to say, “Are we meeting our needs, yes or no? Or are we just generalizing?” And I would say 90 percent of athletes and people out there are generalizing. They’re saying, Well, you know, taking vitamin C is good and taking vitamin D is good and selenium, you know, that’s good. But again, are you on point, or are we just guessing right now?
[00:08:36] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Exactly. That’s the thing when we’re in that store, and there’s a lot of great nutritional centers, Mario, that are out there, and we’re looking at a wall of a thousand products. Crazy. We don’t know where we have holes, and we don’t know where we need them. You know, there are certain deficiencies. You’ve got bleeding gums; most likely, you’ve got some scurvy or some kind of issue there. That unit may need a specialist, but let’s assume if we look at things like scurvy, right? Well, we know that gum starts bleeding. Well, it’s sometimes not that obvious, right, that we need certain things. There are hundreds and thousands of nutrients out there. One of the things that we call them, we call them, is cofactors. A cofactor is a thing that allows an enzyme to work right. So we are a machine of enzymes, and what codes those enzymes? Well, the DNA structure. Because it produces the proteins that code those enzymes, those enzymes have code factors like minerals like magnesium, iron, potassium, selenium, as you mentioned, and all different components. As we look at this, this hole that we’re we’re facing a wall. We would love to know exactly where our holes are because Bobby or my best friend says, you know, you should take protein, take whey protein, take iron, take what may be so, and we’re hit or miss. So today’s technology is allowing us to see precisely what it is, where we have the holes.
[00:10:00] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And this point that you mentioned about the holes, again, the majority of the factors are not that extreme like scurvy, you know, bleeding gums. We’re not, I mean, we live in a society where we’re gosh, I mean, Alex, we have all the foods that we need. We’ve got too much food. It’s crazy. Again, the issues that we talk about are overeating, not starving, OK? Or we’re overeating and still starving because the nutritional pattern is very low. So that’s a real factor there. But overall, we are looking and addressing the component of what subclinical issues, you know, we don’t have the symptoms. We don’t have those significant marker symptoms. But we do have low energy, but we do have a low recovery pattern. But we do have that problem with sleep, that quality of sleep. So those are not huge things, but those are subclinical that erode our health and performance. For example, little by little, athletes cannot be just good. They need to be the tip of the spear top. They need to recover quickly because they do not have time to guess their performance pattern. And I see that they don’t.
[00:11:21] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, as you mentioned that, I mean, most of these athletes, when they want to, they want to assess their bodies. They want to know where every weakness is. They’re like scientists and laboratory rats for themselves. They’re pushing their bodies to the extreme, from mental to physical to psycho-social. Everything is being affected, and put it in at full throttle. But they want to know. They want to see where that extra edge is. You know what? If I could make you a little bit better? If there was a little hole, what would that amount to? Will that amount to a two more second drop over a while, a microsecond drop? The point is that technology is there, and we have the ability to do these things for people, and the information is coming faster than we can even imagine. We have doctors worldwide and scientists around the world looking at the human genome and seeing these issues, specifically at SNPs, which are single nucleotide polymorphisms that can be changed or altered or assisted in dietary ways. Go ahead.
Body Composition
[00:12:21] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I’ll give you one: the Inbody. How about that? Yeah, that’s a tool right there that is critical for a conversation with an athlete.
[00:12:31] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The Inbody is the body composition.
[00:12:32] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, the BMI. You’re looking at it in terms of your hydration pattern; you’re looking at in terms of like, yes, body fat, that that whole conversation everyone wants to know, you know, I’m overweight my belly fat again. We had discussions on metabolic syndrome. We talked about risk factors, high triglycerides, very low HDL, high LDL. I mean, those are risk factors that put you in a pattern in that line towards diabetes and that line towards cardiovascular disease in that line of dementia. But when you’re talking about an athlete, they’re not worried about diabetes; they’re concerned about, am I ready for the next tournament? And I’m going to make the cut going to the Olympics. That’s yes, I mean, they’re not what they want to do that Inbody. They’re the micronutrient, the combination of genome nutrition, that genomic nutrition conversation on point allows them to honor their work. Because I’m telling you, Alex, and you know, this here, I mean, everyone’s listening to us, again, the conversation I share with people is this, why are you training like a pro when you don’t want to be one? Why are you trained like a pro when you are not eating and have the data to support that pro-level workout? What you’re doing? If you don’t do that, you are destroying your body. So again, if you’re working as a pro, that means you’re grinding. I mean, you’re pushing your body to little miss neuromuscular. Furthermore, we’re chiropractors. We deal with inflammatory issues. If you’re doing that, you’re redlining that, but you are not turning around to recover through micronutrition-specific chiropractic work. Then you’re going to damn it; you’re not going to make it.
[00:14:26] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We’re going to show that we’ve been able to see in a lot of times cities come together for specific sports, such as like wrestling. Wrestling is one of those notorious sports that puts the body through massive emotional and physical stresses. But a lot of times, what happens is individuals have to lose weight. You’ve got a guy who’s 160 pounds; he’s got a drop-down 130 pounds. So what the city has done to avoid these things is to use body-specific weight and determine the molecular weight of the urine, right? So they can tell, are you too concentrated, right? So what they do is that they have all these kids line up all the way to UTEP, and they do a specific gravity test to determine if they’re able to lose any more weight or what weight they are allowed to lose. So someone who’s about 220 says, You know what? You can drop up to about, you know, x y z pounds based on this test. And if you violate this, then you do that. But that’s not good enough. We want to know what’s going to happen because when the kids are in a load and are fighting another person that is just as good of an athlete, and he’s pushing his body, that’s when the body collapses. The body can handle the load, but the supplementation that the person has had, maybe their calcium, has been so depleted that suddenly you got this kid who was 100 injuries; the injuries, the elbow snapped dislocated. That’s what we see. And we wonder how did he snap his elbow because his body has been depleted from these supplements?
[00:15:59] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And Alex, on the same level, you’re talking about one on one like that pugilistic, that intense three minutes of your life on the other level, when it comes to tennis, that’s a three-hour conversation. Exactly. There are no subs there. There’s no coaching, no subs. You are in that gladiator arena. When I see Mia playing OK, I mean, it is intense. I mean, every ball that’s coming to you, it’s coming to you with power. It’s coming in like, can you take this? It’s like someone fighting across a net and looking at it. Are you going to quit? Are you going to chase this ball? Are you going to let it go? And that is where that definitive factor of optimal micronutrition connected with the conversation of what exactly you need in terms of genomic conversation will allow someone to scale up with a decreased risk factor of injuries where they know they can push themselves more and have the confidence. Alex, I’m telling you this is not just nutrition; this is about the confidence to know I got what I need, and I can redline this thing, and it’s going to hold. It’s not going to buckle.
[00:17:23] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know what? I’ve got little Bobby. He wants to wrestle, and he wants to be the biggest nightmare is the mom. Because you know what? They’re the ones that wish Bobby to thump the other Billy, right? And when their kids are getting thumped on, they want to provide for them. And moms are the best cooks. They’re the ones who take care of them, right? They’re the ones that make sure, and you could see it. The pressure on the child is immense when parents are watching, and sometimes it’s incredible to watch. But what can we give moms? What can we do for the parents to provide them with a better understanding of what’s going on? I got to tell you today with DNA tests. You know, all you have to do is get the kid in the morning, open his mouth, you know, do a swab, drag that stuff off the side of his cheek, put in a vial, and it is done within a couple of days. We can tell if Bobby’s got strong ligaments, if Bobby’s micronutrient levels are different to provide the parent with a better kind of a roadmap or a dashboard to understand the information that’s affecting Bobby, so to speak, correct?
[00:18:27] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Because and this is what we’ve come a long way. This is 2020, guys, and this is not 1975. That’s the year when Gatorade came over.
[00:18:42] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Come on; I got my tub. It’s got a lot of things on the side of it. I will have everything you look like Buddha when you develop diabetes with so much sugar from those protein shakes.
The Right Supplements For Kids
[00:18:52] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: We have come a long way, but we cannot just go in and go; oh, you need to hydrate here drink these electrolytes, Pedialyte and all that. That’s not good enough. I mean, that’s good, but it’s 2020, baby. You got to scale up and level up, and we can’t use old data and old instrumentation and diagnostics because the kids now start at three years old, Alex. Three years old. And I’m telling you right now at three, it is unbelievable. By the time they’re five and six, I mean, I’m telling you the kids that I see, they’re already in select teams.
[00:19:33] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Mario…
[00:19:34] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Six years old, they’re in a select team.
[00:19:36] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: The thing that determines if a child is ready is their attention span. Yeah, I got to tell you, you can watch this. You got to see a kid who’s at three years and six months, and he isn’t paying attention. Three years and eight-month, all of a sudden, he can focus.
[00:19:50] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: It’s on like a light switch.
[00:19:52] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: In front of the coach, right? And you can tell because they wander and they’re not ready. So we’re bringing the kids and exposing them to loads of experiences. Then what we need to do is give moms and dads the ability to understand and athletes of the NCAA and see how I can see what’s happening in my bloodstream? Not a CBC, because the CBC is for basic stuff, like a red blood cell, white blood cell. We can do things. Metabolic panel tells us a generic thing, but now we know more profound information about the susceptibility of the gene markers and see this on the test. And these reports tell us precisely what it is and how it pertains now and progression.
[00:20:37] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: So this is where I love. This is where I love everything in the world of performance is pre and post. So when you’re a sprinter, they time you. It’s electronic time; when you’re a wrestler, they look at you. Do you know what your winning ratio is? What’s your percentage? Anything, it’s all data. It’s data-driven. As a tennis player, a soccer player, they will track you. Computers will track how strong? How fast is your serve? Is it 100 miles an hour? I mean, it is crazy. So now, if you have that data, Alex, why is it that we do not have the same information for the most critical component, which is that biochemistry, that micro nutritional, the foundation of performance is what happens inside of us, not what happens outside. And this is where people get confused. They think, “Well, my kid works four hours a day, and he has a private trainer. Everything.” My question is that is good, but you’re putting that kid at risk if you are not supplementing on point, say precisely when it comes to the special needs of that child or that athlete, because if we don’t do that, Alex, we are not honoring the journey and the battle, that warrior, we’re not. We’re putting them at risk. And then, all of a sudden, you know what, two-three months before a tournament, BAM! Pulled a hamstring. Oh, you know what? They got fatigued, or all of a sudden, they had to pull out of a tournament. You see, I see tennis players doing all of that. And why? Oh, they’re dehydrated. Well, you should never have that problem. Before you go in exactly where you are, you should already know what you’re doing. And I love the combination and a platform that we have for all of our patients because, within two or three months, we can show pre and post, can we?
[00:22:39] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We can show body composition to the Inbody systems and the incredible systems we use. These DEXAS, we can do bodyweight fat analysis. We can do a lot of things. But when it comes down to predispositions and what’s unique to individuals, we go down to the molecular level, and we can go down to the level of the genes and understand what the susceptibilities are. We can go on once we have the genes. We can also understand the micronutrient level of each individual. So what’s pertaining to me? I may have more magnesium than you, and the other child may have depleted magnesium or calcium or selenium or his proteins or the amino acids or are shot. Maybe he’s got a digestive issue. Perhaps he’s got lactose intolerance. We need to be able to figure out these things that affect us.
[00:23:29] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: We can’t guess. And the bottom line is there’s no need for that. Everyone has that beautiful conversation, Alex, about, “Oh, you know what? I feel OK.” When I hear that, I cringe, go, and feel OK. So you mean to tell me that you are putting your health the most precious thing you have and your performance based on a feeling like, wow, that means that your urine receptors and turns the pain tolerance are dictating your health. That’s dangerous. That is completely dangerous. And also, so clinically, you’re not able to feel your deficiency in terms of vitamin D, your deficiency in terms of selenium, your deficiency in vitamin A, E. I mean, all of these markers, you can’t feel it.
[00:24:21] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We need to start presenting to the people out there, the information, it’s out there because what we want to let people know is that we’re going deep. We’re going down to these gene susceptibilities, the gene understanding as it is today; what we have learned is so powerful that it allows parents to understand a whole lot more of the issues pertaining to an athlete. Not only that, but the parents want to know what my susceptibility is? Do I have a risk of bone arthritis? Do we have issues with oxidative stress? Why am I always inflamed all the time, right? Well, believe it or not, if you got the genes for, let’s say you got the gene that makes you eat a lot, well, you’re likely going to gain weight. You can raise 10000 people’s hands who have that same gene marker, and you’re going to notice that their BIAs and BMI are way out of there because it’s the susceptibility to that now. Can they change it? Absolutely. That’s what we’re talking about. We’re talking about understanding the ability to adapt and change our lifestyle for the predispositions we may have.
[00:25:26] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, this is wonderful. And I see this quite frequently in terms of the conversation about losing weight, you know, and they go, “Oh, I did this program, and it works great.” And then you have 20 other people doing the same program, and it doesn’t even work, and it’s almost like hit and miss. So people are becoming disillusioned. They’re putting their bodies through this incredible roller coaster ride, which is like the worst thing you could do. You know, they’re doing these unnecessary things, but they cannot sustain it because why? At the end of the day, it’s not who you are. It wasn’t for you.
[00:26:05] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You may need a different type of diet.
[00:26:06] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yes. And so we, again, our conversation today is very general. We’re starting this platform together because we have to educate our community and share the latest in technology and science that addresses the needs.
[00:26:26] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Personalized medicine, Mario. It’s not general; it’s a personalized health and personalized fitness. We understand that we don’t have to guess if a diet is better for us, such as a low calorie, high-fat diet or a Mediterranean style food or a high protein diet. We won’t be able to see that these scientists are putting information together from the information we are continuously gathering and compiling. It’s here, and it’s a swab away, or blood works away. It’s crazy. You know what? And this information, of course, let me be mindful of before this starts. My little disclaimer comes in. This is not for treatment. Please do not take anything; we’re taking this for treatment or diagnosis. You got to talk to your doctors, and your doctors have to tell you exactly what’s up there and what’s appropriate for every individual we integrate.
[00:27:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: The point is that we integrate with all healthcare professionals and physicians. We are here to support and champion functional wellness. OK. And as you mentioned, we’re not here to treat these diseases. We’re here to optimize again when athletes come in and want to be better. They want to get healthier and help the recovery rate.
Can Stress Age You Faster?
[00:27:46] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You know, that’s it. Do you know what the bottom line is? The testing is there. We can see Billy’s not been eating well. OK, Billy has not been eating well. I can tell you, well, he eats everything, but he hasn’t had this level of protein. Look at his protein depletion. So we’re going to present to you some of the studies out here because it’s information, though it’s a bit complex. But we want to make it simple. And one of the things that we were talking about here is the micronutrient test we were providing here. Now I’m going to present you guys to see a little bit here. And what we use in our office when a person comes in and says, I want to learn about my body. We present this micronutrient assessment to figure out what’s going on. Now, this one was, let’s say, just it was in a sample for me, but it tells you where the individual is. We want to be able to level the antioxidant level. Now everyone knows that, well, not everyone. But now we understand that if our genes are optimal and our food is optimal, but we live in an oxidative stress state…
[00:28:45] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Exactly
[00:28:46] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Our genes will not function. So it’s important to understand what the problem is.
[00:28:51] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: It’s rust. I mean, when you’re looking at this, and I see two markers, I see the one for oxidative, and then the other one is the immune system. Yes, right? So again, they correlate together, but they are different. So the oxidative I talk about is like your system is rusting out. Yeah, that’s oxidation. You see apples turning brown. You see metals rusting. So inside, you want to absolutely be at your best, which is in the green in that 75 to 100 percent functional rate. That means you can handle the craziness of the world tomorrow, you know?
[00:29:31] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yes, we can look at the stress of the human body, Mario. What we can see actually what’s going on, and as I continue with this kind of presentation here, we can see what this individual is and what is his actual immune function age. So a lot of people want to know this stuff. I mean, I want to know where I lie in terms of the dynamics of the body, right? So when I look at that, I can see precisely where I lie, and my age is 52. OK. In this situation, OK, now as we look down, we want to know.
[00:30:02] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Hold on. Let’s get real. So you mean to tell me that we can get younger through this incredible system? Is that what you’re telling me?
[00:30:14] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It tells you if you’re aging quicker, OK, how does that sound, Mario? So if you can slow down, if you’re in that top 100, the green, you’re going to be looking like a 47-year-old man when you’re 55. Right? So from the structure, immune function, and oxidative stress in the body, what’s going to happen is that we’re going to be able to see exactly where we are in terms of our body.
[00:30:37] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: So that is correct? Yes. So we could be our birth certificate could say 65, but our functional metabolic markers can say you’re 50.
[00:30:51] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yes. Let me make it real simple, OK? People often understand oxidative stress; yes, we hear about antioxidants and reactive oxygen species. Let me make it simple, OK, we’re a cell. You and I, we’re having a family meal right where we’re enjoying ourselves. We are normal cells. We’re happy, and we’re functioning where everything is appropriate. All of a sudden, there’s a wild-looking lady. She’s got blades and knives, and she’s greasy, and she’s slimy, and she comes on. She hits the table, boom, and she kind of walks away. You know, it’s going to unsettle us, right? It’s going to be, let’s call her an oxidant, OK? She’s called a reactive oxygen species. Now, if we got two of those walking around the restaurant, we kind of keep an eye on her, right? All of a sudden, a football player comes and takes her out. Boom knocks her out, right? In that situation, this greasy, slimy weapon-looking lady, correct, that’s scary. That was an antioxidant. That was vitamin C that wiped her out, right? There’s a balance between oxidants and antioxidants in the body. They have different purposes, right? We have to have antioxidants, and we have to have oxidants in order for our body to function. But if you got 800 of those ladies like zombies all of a sudden.
[00:32:02] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:I could see them as zombies.
[00:32:07] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It is. You know what you’re going to want. Where are the football players? Where are the antioxidants, right? Take them out. The football players come in, but there are just too many of them, right? Anything that you and I do in a conversation could be healthy cells, and we’re having this conversation at the dinner table. We’re disrupted totally. We cannot function in an oxidative stress environment. No. So basically, we may have all the supplements, and we may have all the nutrients, and we may have the proper genetics. But if we’re in an oxidative state, right, an elevated level, we’re not going to be aged. It will not be a comfortable night, and we will not recover.
[00:32:46] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: We will be at a higher risk factor for injuries. Exactly. And the other thing is we also have the risk factor where we will age faster than we should.
[00:33:04] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: That night would be rough is there’s like a hundred of those people around. So we need to know the state of the balance in life, the antioxidants we see, and all the antioxidants foods like A, C, E. That is what this test does. It shows you the level of oxidants in the body.
[00:33:19] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Hey, Alex, let me ask you this. Everyone loves to work out. When you work out, does that increase or decrease your oxidative stress? Please tell me, because I want to know.
[00:33:30] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It increases your oxidative state.
[00:33:31] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: No, stop it.
[00:33:32] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It does because you’re breaking the body down. However, the body responds. And if we are healthy, Mario, right? In that sense, our body first has to break down, and it has to repair. OK? We want to have antioxidants because it helps us go through the process. Part of healing and part of inflammation is oxidative balance. So, in essence, when you’re working out too hard or running hard, you can overburn the bar, and those are the things that you and I have to kind of look at, and this is the balance.
[00:34:08] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Now this is like the paradox, right? You know what, if you overwork, you’re going to look fabulous. But you know what? You’re actually breaking down. And if you don’t work out, there goes your cardio. There go other risk factors. So this is where it is so critical that we need to balance and know precisely what each person needs to be at their best. And we can’t guess; you can’t take the same supplements as me and vice versa.
The Right Cofactors For Your Body
[00:34:41] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I can, we can. But it’s to me, I may not be a lot of waste of money, or maybe we’re just missing the whole process. So in this entire dynamics here, just looking at this test, Mario, just using it at this particular assessment, we want to see also what our cofactors are on. We talked about proteins; we talked about genetics. We talked about things that make these enzymes work, our body functions, and pure enzymes in this particular model that you’re seeing what the cofactors are and the metabolites are. Well, you see amino acids levels and where they are in your body. If you’re an extreme athlete, you want to know what those things are.
[00:35:14] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Oh yeah, I mean, look at that. Those aminos. Those are critical.
[00:35:20] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: You think Mario?
[00:35:21] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Yeah, I mean it’s like every athlete I know, they’re like, Hey, I got to take my aminos. My question is, are you taking the right ones at the right level? Or do you even know, and they’re guessing. Ninety percent of the people are assuming you’re looking at antioxidants. Look at that. That’s the beast right there, glutathione. That’s like the granddaddy of antioxidants right there. And you want to know is, is that football players, that linebackers are going to crush those zombies, you know? And again, vitamin E, CoQ10. Everyone talks about CoQ10 and heart health.
[00:36:00] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Coenzyme Q, exactly. A lot of people take cardiac medications specifically to lower their cholesterol.
[00:36:10] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: What does CoQ10 do, Alex? I want to get you started.
[00:36:15] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Because you know what? Many documentation came out early on when they did many of these medications. Yeah, they knew they had to end it and put coenzyme Q in it. They knew, and they patented it because they knew that they had it. Because if you don’t give coenzyme Q right, you have inflammatory states and neuropathies. But these people have issues, and now they’re starting to understand. That’s why you see all the commercials with the coenzymes. But the point is that we need to know where our present state is right. So when we understand those things, we can look at the tests. And we can look at the dynamics of it. Wouldn’t you like to know which antioxidants? It’s so clear.
[00:36:52] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I love this. I mean, look at that. You know what? It’s red, green, black and that’s it. I mean, you can see it right away. This is your board. This is your command center. You know, I love the command center. It’s like, everything’s there.
[00:37:10] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I know Mario, you know, with those athletes, they want to be at the top level. Yes, it looks like this person’s floating somewhere in the middle, but they want to top it at 100 percent, right?
[00:37:19] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Alex, they’re on the bench.
[00:37:23] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah. And when they’re under a lot of stress, who knows what? Now, these tests are straightforward to do. They’re not complex to go in. Take a lab test sometimes are these are urine tests, something we can do.
[00:37:33] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: And we can do those in our offices in a matter of minutes, precisely in a matter of minutes. Crazy.
[00:37:38] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: It’s crazy.
[00:37:40] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: This is why it’s so simple. It’s like my question is, what color is the red bus? I don’t know. It’s a trick question.
What Supplements Are Right For You?
[00:37:50] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Well, going back into our topic today was personalized medicine and personalized wellness and personalized fitness. Doctors around the country are starting to understand that they cannot just say, OK, you’re pregnant. Here’s a folic acid pill. OK, here are some nutrients, though every doctor has to be taking care of their own clients. They’re the ones that are doing this. But people have the ability to understand; where are the other holes? Wouldn’t you want to make sure you have suitable selenium?
[00:38:17] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Before you have symptoms. That’s the thing, and this is why we are not treating. We’re not saying that issues, diagnosis issues, what are you doing to optimize and decrease your risk factors?
[00:38:35] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: There’s the issue of longevity, too, because I mean, the issue of longevity is if you’re providing your body with the right substrates, the right cofactors, the right nutrition. Your body has a chance to make it to 100 years plus and actually function. And if you have a depleted life, well, you’re burning the engine, so the body starts having issues, you know, so as we look at those kinds of things…
[00:39:00] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Can you return to our two markers? Look at that immune system.
[00:39:12] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Yeah, there’s a reason they stop here at 100 because that’s the whole idea. The entire idea is to get you to live 100 Centennial. So if we can do this, if you’re a person who’s, let’s say, 38 years old, and you’re in the midst of your life, and let’s say you’re a business person and you’re a junkie for business. You’re a junkie for entrepreneurship. You want to throttle you against the world. You do not want a kind of Nicholas the worm weakness, so to speak, taking you out of your football run in life. Because otherwise, you can trip up on things. And what we want to be able to provide people through nutritionists who registered dietitians to doctors through the information out there to supplement your lives better. And it’s not just about little Bobby; it’s about me, it’s about you. It’s about our patients. It’s about every single one of them who wants to live a better quality of life. Because if there’s a depletion in certain things, it’s not now. But in the future, you may have a susceptibility that will bring out diseases. And that’s where those susceptibilities are. We can take it to the next level because we can see what’s going on. In terms of this, I’m going to go ahead and bring this back up here so you can just see what we’re looking at. You can see the B-complex is now we have a lot of B-complexes, and we got people texting all over the place here, and I’m getting zapped with messages.
[00:40:42] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Your oxidative stress is going up, Alex.
[00:40:45] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Well, it’s crazy that we’ve been here an hour, so we want to be able to bring information out for you guys as time goes on. I want to go through this and talk about the individual antioxidants now; those are your football players, man, those are the ones taking those people out. Making your whole life a lot better, right, Mario. This is the kind of stuff that we look at. You know your glutathione on your knees. Your coenzyme Q selenium is your vitamin E’s carbohydrate metabolism.
[00:41:10] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Look at that, I mean, glucose and insulin interaction called energy. The last time I checked, it was called turbo.
[00:41:21] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: We got to listen; we got a lot of good doctors. We got like Dr. Castro out there. We got all the great doctors out there that are running over.
[00:41:30] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I mean, we’re going to get in trouble.
[00:41:32] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: All right. Facebook is going to knock us out.
[00:41:41] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: It will put a time limit on this.
[00:41:43] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I think it’s our views. But the bottom line is to stay tuned. We’re coming. This can’t cover everything. Hey, Mario, when I went to school, we were terrorized by this machine called the psycho cycle.
[00:41:58] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*:How many ATP’s, Alex?
[00:42:00] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: I mean, how many miles? Is it glycolysis or aerobic or anaerobic, right? So when we start looking at that, we start seeing how those coenzymes and those vitamins play a role in our energy metabolism, right? So in this individual, there were certain depletions. You can see where the yellow comes in. It affects the whole metabolic process, energy production. So the person is always tired. Well, we kind of understand the dynamics of what’s going on. So this is critical information as you and I kind of look at this, right? We can see what is it that we can offer? Can we provide information to change how the body works better dynamically? So this is crazy. So, in terms of it, we can go on and on, guys. So what we’re going to be doing is we’re probably going to be coming back because this is just fun. Do you think so? Yeah, I think we’re going to come back to what we’ve got to change the way that all El Paso is and not only for our community but also for those moms who want to know what is the best for their family members. What can we offer? The technology is not. We’re not going to allow ourselves in El Paso to be ever called the fattest sweaty town in the United States. We do have unbelievable talent out here that really can teach us about what’s going on. So I know that you’ve seen that, correct? Yeah.
[00:43:18] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: Absolutely. And what I can say is this Alex? It’s about peak performance and peak ability. And also, getting the correct specific customized genomic nutrition pattern for each individual is the game-changer. That’s the game-changer from longevity to performance and just being happy and living the life that you were meant to live.
Conclusion
[00:43:51] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*: Mario, I can say that when we look at this stuff, we get excited about it, as you can tell, but it affects all our patients. People come in all depleted, tired, in pain, inflamed, and sometimes we need to find out what it is. And in our scope, we are mandated to be responsible and figure out where this relies upon and where this lies in our patients’ problems. Because what we’re doing, if we help their structure, the musculoskeletal, neurological system, their mind system through a proper diet and understanding through exercise, we can change people’s lives, and they want to be able to fulfill their lives and enjoy their lives the way it should be. So there’s a lot to be said. So we will come back sometime next week or this week. We’re going to continue this topic on personalized medicine, personalized wellness, and personalized fitness because working with many doctors through integrative health and integrative medicine allows us to be a part of a team. We have GI doctors, you know, cardiologists. There’s a reason we work as a team together because we all bring a different science level. No team is complete without a nephrologist, and that person will figure out precisely the implications of all the things we do. So that person is very important in the dynamics of integrative wellness. So for us to be able to be the best kind of providers, we have to expose and tell people about what’s out there because a lot of people don’t know. And what we need to do is bring it to them and let the cards lie and teach them that they had to tell their doctors, “Hey, Doc, I need you to talk to me about my health and sit down. Explain to me my labs.” And if they don’t, well, you know what? Say you need to do that. And if you don’t, well, time to find a new doctor. OK, it’s that simple because today’s information technology is such that our doctors cannot neglect nutrition. They cannot neglect wellness. They cannot overlook the integration of all the sciences put together to make people healthy. This is one of the most important things that we got to do. It’s a mandate. It’s our responsibility, and we’re going to do it, and we’re going to knock it out of the ballpark. So, Mario, it’s been a blessing today, and we’ll continue to do this in the next couple of days, and we’ll keep on hammering and giving people the insights as to what they can do in terms of their science. This is a Health Voice 360 channel, so we’re going to talk about many different things and bring a lot of other talents. Thanks, guys. And you got anything else, Mario?
[00:46:11] Dr. Mario Ruja DC*: I’m all in.
[00:46:12] Dr. Alex Jimenez DC*:All right, brother, talk to you soon. Love you, man. Bye.
Inflammation is the body’s response to infection, injury, or irritation. It causes swelling, redness, pain and sometimes causes the affected area to be unable to function. Acute inflammation happens after spraining the ankle or getting a mosquito bite and is the body’s method of preserving itself. This type of inflammation helps remove harmful irritants and pathogens, so healing ensues, along with healthy beneficial swelling that disappears with time. Chronic inflammation is when the body generates a stronger-than-necessary inflammatory response from an imbalanced immune system or a condition that causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue. Certain foods, lack of sleep, and constant stress increase the risk of developing chronic inflammation. Chiropractors are known for their expertise in stretching the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and adjusting/realigning joints and bones. Chiropractic treatment can also affect inflammation positively.
Inflammation Affects Health
When inflammation presents, there is significant potential that disease is also present in the body. Inflammation is a natural response to restore the body to homeostasis or balance. White blood cells and other immune cells are sent to the area to ward off invading bacteria, viruses, debris, etc., and reduce or defeat the infection. For some individuals, inflammation occurs within their body regularly and reappears repeatedly. This can be caused by injuries that never completely healed, frequent strains, and injuries from a weakened musculoskeletal system. Inflammation can also come from infection, irritation, the production of diseased cells, or allergies. Organs and tissues can be inflamed for a long time and can cause damage to the cells that comprise those regions of the body. This can lead to:
Thinning and weakening of organ walls and tissues.
Decreased organ function.
The overall deterioration of the body’s systems and wellness.
Causes
Some common diseases and conditions that create chronic inflammation are:
Asthma
Chronic peptic ulcers
Tuberculosis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Periodontitis
Ulcerative colitis
Crohn’s disease
Sinusitis
Active hepatitis
Risk Factors
Certain risk factors that can increase the likelihood of inflammation are:
Stress is one of the leading causes of illness and disease in the body and contributes significantly to inflammation. Organs and tissues can also become inflamed under pressure. When stress kicks in, chemical reactions occur, causing the release of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is initially an anti-inflammatory hormone, but a prolonged release can eventually create a dysfunctional cycle of widespread inflammation. Chronic stress can cause inflammation throughout the body. Usually, the body’s weakest or most strained region will suffer the most effects of overall inflammation. Even after the stress reduces or is resolved, the inflammation effects can continue to linger. Inflammation can:
Decrease organ function
Strain tissues
Strain ligaments
Force bones and joints out of alignment and subluxation.
Cause decreased efficiency and performance of the body’s systems and organs.
Chiropractic Affects On Inflammation
When the body is out of alignment, it can compress tissues, muscles, and ligaments. Chiropractic works primarily on the skeletal structure and the nervous system. The nervous system plays an essential role in regulating immune response, which creates or decreases inflammation in the body. When the bones and joints are out of alignment, they cause strain on the nervous system and the immune system, often triggering an immune response. Chiropractic adjustments of the bones and joints reset and rejuvenate nervous system function. Realignment of the spine, including neck, shoulders, arms, pelvis, hips, knees, and feet, enhances nerve circulation and alleviates abnormal immune system function. To begin relieving inflammation from injury, misalignment, stress, and strain on the body, consult and see how chiropractic affects inflammation.
Body Composition
Dietary Fats
There are four main types of dietary fats listed on food labels:
These are not to be confused with adipose tissue/stored fat in the body. These four fats have different physiological effects once they are digested. Some are beneficial, and some can negatively impact health and are recommended to be taken in moderation.
Saturated vs. Unsaturated fats
Fats are made up of chains of carbon atoms with a carboxyl group COOH at one end and methyl groups CH3 at the other end. Carbons are attached to each other and to hydrogen atoms. The way the carbons are chained differentiates saturated and unsaturated fats and impacts how the body processes them. Unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds between the carbon atoms, and foods rich in unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature, like olive oil. Saturated fats contain no double bonds and are generally solid at room temperatures, like butter and cheese.
References
Arulselvan, Palanisamy et al. “Role of Antioxidants and Natural Products in Inflammation.” Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity vol. 2016 (2016): 5276130. doi:10.1155/2016/5276130
Hannibal, Kara E, and Mark D Bishop. “Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation.” Physical therapy vol. 94,12 (2014): 1816-25. doi:10.2522/ptj.20130597
Pahwa R, Goyal A, Bansal P, et al. Chronic Inflammation. [Updated 2021 Sep 28]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/
Many individuals are trying to get fit and stay active through physical activity and exercise. Getting back to a previous fitness routine is an achievable and realistic goal. Fitness means having the energy and strength to perform physical activity and the body feeling as good as possible. Getting fit improves total health. But it does not require training like an athlete. Just walking for a half-hour every day can help individuals reach an adequate fitness level that helps them feel better and increase energy levels.
Benefits of Getting Fit
Getting the body fit and in shape:
Increases endurance
Increases muscle strength
Delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues
Improves cardiovascular health
Helps release toxins
Improves overall energy levels
Improves sleep
Handle stress better
Being fit allows the body to work harder without as much work, the mind is better focused, the body burns more calories, even when at rest, and proper weight is maintained. Fitness reduces the risk of falls, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.
How Much Physical Activity Is Needed?
Experts say the goal should be one, or a combination, of these:
Moderate aerobic activity, like brisk walking, for at least 2½ hours a week.
It is up to the individual how many days to exercise, but it is best to be active at least three days a week.
Activity is recommended at least 10 minutes at a time. For example, an individual could:
Take a 10-minute walk three times a day, five days a week.
Take a half-hour walk three days a week.
On the other four days, take a 15-minute walk.
Take a 45-minute walk every other day.
Vigorous exercise is recommended at least three days a week for at least 10 minutes at a time. This activity makes the body breathe harder and increases heart rate. More vigorous activities, like running, could be included for at least one hour a week. This can be spread out 75 minutes, whichever way is more convenient for the individual. For example, an individual could:
Run for 25 minutes 3 times a week.
Run for 15 minutes 5 times a week.
Children as young as preschool age need activity as well. Encourage children ages 6 to 17 to engage in moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 1 hour every day.
Types of Physical Activity
Aerobic fitness
This makes the body breathe faster and makes the heart work harder.
Activities include walking, running, cycling, and swimming.
It is also known as cardio or cardiovascular training.
Muscle fitness
Muscle strength means building stronger muscles and increasing the length of time they can be used.
Activities like weight lifting, push-ups, squats, and resistance bands can improve muscular fitness.
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability to move the joints and muscles through their full range of motion.
Moderate physical activity is safe for most individuals, but it’s recommended to talk to a doctor before engaging in physical activity/exercise. To help get started:
Make physical activity part of everyday
Make a regular habit of using stairs, not elevators, and walking, bicycling to do errands near home.
Start walking
Walking is a great fitness activity that most individuals can do.
Make it a habit to take a daily walk with family, friends, coworkers, or pets.
Find a workout partner
Working out with a partner can make exercising more enjoyable.
Find fun activities that you can stick with
Vary activities, so they don’t become boring and monotonous.
Use a calorie-burning application to determine how many calories are burned during exercise and daily activities.
Body Composition
Damaged Collagen
There are several reasons the body’s collagen production can slow down or become less efficient. The quality of the collagen made can decrease as well. Environmental factors can be avoided to protect collagen production; however, damage from disease and natural processes is inevitable. Aging is the most common cause of decreased natural collagen. As the body ages, collagen production and quality decrease. This leads to thinner, more fragile skin and achy joints. Certain chronic diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis cause collagen deficiency, leading to issues that include:
UV exposure can accelerate the average rate of collagen damage that comes with aging.
UV exposure damage can also play a role in certain skin cancers.
Excessive sugar and fat intake increases inflammation and decreases protein synthesis.
References
American College of Sports Medicine, et al. (2009). Position stand: Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 41(7): 1510–1530.
Anspaugh DJ, et al. (2011). Building muscular strength and endurance. Wellness: Concepts and Applications, 8th ed., pp. 111–137. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Strength training among adults aged 65 or older. MMWR, 53(2): 25–28.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (ODPHP Publication No. U0036). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Available online: www.health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/default.aspx.
Williams MA, et al. (2007). Resistance exercise in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease: 2007 update: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council on Clinical Cardiology and Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism. Circulation, 116(5): 572–584.
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