Back Clinic Functional Medicine Team. Functional medicine is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms.
Practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.
By changing the disease-centered focus of medical practice to this patient-centered approach, our physicians are able to support the healing process by viewing health and illness as part of a cycle in which all components of the human biological system interact dynamically with the environment. This process helps to seek and identify genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that may shift a person’s health from illness to well-being.
When it comes to body composition analysis and body composition testing, most tend to think about muscle mass and body fat percentages. However, today’s medical BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) equipment does a lot more than that.
Body fat percentages are only a small part of a body composition analysis. For body composition equipment utilizing Direct Segmental Multi Frequency-BIA technology (DSM-BIA), means that you are able to measure and monitor other valuable indicators of your health such as visceral fat, body water, segmental readings, and phase angle values.
What�s Phase Angle?
Phase Angle or PhA allows us to see how the body is responding to changes in health – good or bad.
For example, people with cancer or who are malnourished have low PhA’s.
PhA decreases with age. This is due to the body’s slowed down capacity to repair cells quickly.
When ill, the Phase Angle goes down
When healthy the Phase Angle goes up.
When you boost your Phase Angle, aging slows down.
Solving The Riddle of Phase Angle
PhA is a�direct measurement of cell integrity and the distribution of water inside and outside the cell membrane.
How Do You Measure Phase Angle?
In healthy humans, the cell membrane is made of a layer of non-conductive (insulator) lipid material that’s between two layers of conductive fluids (the body’s water).
Two conducting materials that surround an insulator are often referred to as a capacitor.
The cell membrane is a fortress with capacitor capabilities that prevent currents from entering the cells and other unwanted materials, e.g., toxins and waste.
This means healthy cells/tough capacitors better prevent unwanted substances from entering.
Lean Body Mass (LBM) is the total weight of the body’s organs, skin, bones, body H2O, and muscles.
Describes the entire body weight minus body fat.
Also referred to Fat-free mass.
Resistance/Reactance/Impedance
Resistance is when a conductor transfers the energy of an electric current.
Greater the conductor, lower the resistance.
Low resistance/associated with large LBM.
High resistance/associated with low LBM.
A person that has large lean body mass, has a lot of body water, which means greater conductivity of the current and less overall resistance.
Reactance�measures the cells� ability to store energy.
The body has high reactance if the cells can store energy easily and has low reactance if it stores energy poorly.
Healthy cells with healthy cellular membranes hold the electrical energy charge longer.
Impedance�is the sum of resistance and reactance.
Measuring PhA and cell health can be done with a Bioelectrical impedance device, which assesses cell membrane health.
To measure impedance a small alternating current is run into the body, which then measures the effects on the current caused by the body.
50 KHz is considered ideal to maximize reactance and determine the point where the strongest cells resist the current.
As current travels through your body, the body’s water will naturally resist the flow of the current and this is referred to as resistance.
When current encounters a cell, the cell wall causes a delay, as the voltage builds up, in order to pass through the cell wall while the current continues instantly.
This brief time delay, which is caused by the cells is compared to the amount of water, which provides us with a PhA.
Impedance is a combination of these two values.
Phase Angle and Overall Health
Tracking your PhA, allows you to gain a more precise picture of your health, as it examines cell health/integrity and the amount of water inside.
Higher PhA values mean greater cellular integrity and reflect better cell health.
Low PhA, is predictive of decreased muscle strength, compromised quality of life, and increased mortality in older adults with cancer.
Low phase angles are consistent in individuals with malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic alcoholism.
How To Know If My PhA Is Normal?
Certain factors can influence PhA such as (Age, Gender, BMI) but there are differences in PhA’s across different populations. Which means that PhA values tend to differ based on the BIA equipment being used.
Example of a Phase Angle Reading Utilizing The InBody 770:
What everyone needs to know is that phase angle depends on the individual makeup of everyone.
The Connection Between My Body’s Composition & Phase Angle
Inflammation reduction along with body fat reduction
Phase�Angle�Decrease�May�Result�From:
Muscle tissue loss
Increased inflammation
Phase Angle In A Clinical Practice
A study, monitoring PhA values in a hospital setting found that it helped identify nutritionally at-risk patients quickly, thus saving the staff time, as the patients did not have to answer the in-depth nutritional questions. Instead, they took a quick BIA.
Phase Angle Takeaway
PhA values can be highly informative of what is going on in one’s body.
PhA can help in identifying health risks/issues
Track lifestyle change progress
Medical Clinics can use PhA to help create custom treatment and health care plans
Each chemical reaction which occurs in the human body requires enzymes and each one of these processes needs a coenzyme. But what are coenzymes? They are vitamins and minerals. Approximately 37 billion, billion chemical reactions occur in the human body every second.
That is why proper nutrition and a balanced diet rich in whole foods with vitamins and minerals is fundamental towards overall health and wellness. The majority of people in the United States are vitamin and/or mineral deficient. But, how do you know if you�re a part of the 90 percent of individuals with enough deficiencies to develop disease? We will discuss the tests you can utilize to find out if you�re vitamin and/or mineral deficient and what you can do about it.
What�is�Nutrition?
Hello, welcome to part three of �Taking Control of your Healthcare�. Today, we will discuss one of the fun topics of functional medicine: nutrition. Unfortunately, nutrition is one of the most essential conversations that many doctors aren�t willing to have with their patients. The average medical doctor learns about disease and malnutrition rather than learning how to use nutrition as treatment or even how to use nutritional therapies to achieve optimal health and wellness.
I personally believe that food can be utilized as a form of medicine. That it should be the foundation of medical practice, not an afterthought in medicine. There is no better treatment than proper nutrition. Approximately 90 percent of individuals in the United States aren�t getting the essential nutrients they require for healthy bodily functions. And more than that probably aren�t getting enough nutrients to prevent diseases associated with nutritional deficiencies. However, what is ultimately needed to achieve optimal well-being? More than 98 percent of Americans are deficient in omega-3, 80 percent in vitamin D, 50 percent in magnesium, and 10 percent in vitamin C. Nutrient deficiencies can also continue to cause health issues for years.
Acute diseases, such as rickets, scurvy, beriberi, or iron deficiency anemia, are often the most talked about health issues associated with nutrient deficiency, however, there�s also something known as long latency deficiency diseases. So, how much vitamin D do we need to not get rickets? Not a lot, only 30 units really. And how much do we need to not get osteoporosis? Perhaps about 3,000 to 4,000 units per day. Now, how much folate do we need to not get anemia? Also not very much. But, how much do we need to prevent heart disease, cancer, and dementia? You definitely need a lot more units per day.
Each chemical reaction which occurs in the human body requires enzymes and each one of these processes needs a coenzyme. But what are coenzymes? They are vitamins and minerals. Approximately 37 billion, billion chemical reactions occur in the human body every second.
That is why proper nutrition and a balanced diet rich in whole foods with vitamins and minerals is fundamental towards overall health and wellness. The majority of people in the United States are vitamin and/or mineral deficient. But, how do you know if you�re a part of the 90 percent of individuals with enough deficiencies to develop disease? There are only several nutrients which we are generally tested for. And for a majority of these, doctors aren�t aware of what the optimal values should be which can make correcting the nutrient deficiency so much difficult to do.
Taking Control of Your Nutrition
One of the most fundamental nutrients you need to measure is vitamin D. Although it�s referred to as a vitamin, it�s actually more like a hormone and it�s produced from cholesterol. This is yet another reason why cholesterol is essential. Approximately 80 percent of the population is deficient in vitamin D. Unless you�re in the sun 20 minutes every day between 10:00am and 2:00pm, you might need to take vitamin D supplements. In order to supplement properly, however, we need to know from what level you are starting at first. By way of instance, optimal vitamin D levels should be anywhere between 50 and 80 nanograms per milliliter of blood. The recommended amount of vitamin D we can supplement is about 2,000 to 4,000 units.
If you have lower vitamin D levels or if you have genetic problems, you may actually need to supplement with up to 10,000 units of vitamin D. That�s why it�s fundamental to work with a doctor or functional medicine practitioner who can measure and test your nutrient levels as well as help you optimize them. Most supplements contain about 400 units which is 10 times less than the amount most of us need. The optimal levels are generally just over 20. This is way too low. In one research study, women with vitamin D levels between 45 and 60 experienced reduced preterm labors by up to 60 percent. Vitamin D is also essential to help build strong bones and muscles, to improve immune system function, to prevent cancer, and ultimately, to help you live longer. It�s incredible.
Another measurement or test that�s performed by most doctors but is not always interpreted correctly is referred to as the MCV or mean corpuscular volume. The MCV measurement evaluates the size of your red blood cells in a test called CBC, or complete blood count, which is one of the most common blood panels ordered by healthcare professionals. So, if you are deficient in nutrients, your cells can either become smaller or larger. By way of instance, if your cells are too big, it could be a signs of a folate or vitamin B12 deficiency.
B vitamins are essential in numerous chemical reactions within the human body. They help us produce energy as well as help us regulate gene expression in order to create proteins that will ensure our overall health and wellness. If our B vitamins are too low, we could eventually develop an iron deficiency, anemia, or it could even cause a genetic disorder.
Optimal levels of B vitamins should be between 80 to 90. B complex vitamin supplements can help easily optimize levels of B vitamins. But, why would anyone be deficient in B vitamins? Is their diet not providing them with enough nutrients? Are they vegan? Are they taking any drugs and/or medications that prevent vitamin B12 absorption? Moreover, B vitamins are depleted during times of high stress which, as a practicing chiropractor, I can say it happens frequently to a majority of the population in the United States alone.
MCV is not the only measurement or test which evaluates a patient�s levels of B vitamins. Homocysteine is an alternative marker we will discuss in future articles which demonstrates B6, folate, and B12 levels. However, both the MCV and the homocysteine measurement or test only demonstrates that one or more of these nutrients may be deficient. It doesn�t necessarily tell us which one. Therefore, some additional, follow up evaluations may be required.
The MMA, or methylmalonic acid, measurement or test also shows vitamin B12 levels. Ultimately, vitamin B12 is essential for many processes in the human body, including energy production, gene expression, methylation, nerve function, and mood, among many other processes. Vegans have a higher chance of developing a B12 deficiency because it�s only found in animal products. Folate is another fundamental B vitamin. It can be determined directly in the blood, but, homocysteine is a more precise marker for folate levels.
In this section, we�re also going to discuss genetics because there is a measurement or test which can demonstrate a lot more regarding the status of your B vitamins and your ability to utilize them. Our genes are capable of making proteins. We have approximately 20,000 genes which are designed to create proteins. And one third of all the proteins they make are for our enzymes. Enzymes convert molecules into other molecules. These enzymes are also largely dependent on specific nutrients. One of the most fundamental genes which can be affected is known as MTHFR, or methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. But you can just call it MTHFR.
MTHFR is essential because it helps regulate methylation, homocysteine, and folate, which are vital towards our overall health and wellness. When you have elevated levels of homocysteine, you should check your methylation status by looking for the MTHFR gene through a simple blood test.
Methylation is a key biochemical process which is fundamental towards the proper function of most of the human body�s systems. It triggers billions of times each second. And it ultimately helps control homocysteine, a substance which can damage blood vessels and has been associated with dementia, heart disease, and cancer, among other health issues. Methylation also helps repair your DNA on a regular basis as it helps recycle molecules necessary for detoxification, or getting rid of toxins. It also helps control your mood and it helps manage inflammation. Methylation is critical.
But, to make sure that methylation is active, the human body needs optimal levels of B vitamins. Without enough B vitamins, the methylation process can break down and the effects can be destructive. This is where we start seeing an increase in birth defects, such as spina bifida, down syndrome, and more miscarriages.
MTHFR is frequently abnormal in approximately 35 percent of the population. Methylation breakdown can also increase the risk of developing health issues like osteoporosis and diabetes, cervical dysplasia or cancer, including colon cancer and lung cancer, and even depression, pediatric cognitive dysfunction as well as mood and behavioral disorders, dementia, and stroke. Methylation is truly a key biochemical process.
When we discuss genetics, we have to understand that our environment can alter our genes. So, what if you have an MTHFR variation in your genes? First of all, not all mutations cause health issues. One mutation, by way of instance, known as C677T, is one version of the gene which is more significant than another version of the gene, known as A1298C. Now there�s no need to worry about these gene variations. They serve as examples to demonstrate you the quality of these mutations and how they function. People with these variations of the gene, by way of instance, might only need more folate or they might need a particular type of folate known as methylfolate. This is where a functional medicine practitioner can help their patients.
A genetic test can let you known if you have one of these gene variations. But, don�t get stressed. There�s a lot you can do to optimize your overall health and wellness. Many patients have visited my office after they find out they have these variations in their genes. And they quickly learn that they do have the option to take control of their well-being. However, what you do control is not your genes, you control your gene expression.
If you alter your healthy eating habits, you alter your nutrients. If you alter your environment, you alter which genes become active and which genes become inactive. And with these mutations, you can do just about the same thing by simply following the proper nutrition. When you find a doctor or functional medicine practitioner that�s willing to work with you, they�re going to tell you what lifestyle modifications you should follow to prevent health issues.
So, we�ve only just discussed the B vitamins. Next, we will discuss another fundamental nutrient in the human body: magnesium. Magnesium is a super essential mineral. Approximately 48 percent of people in the United States consume less than the required amount of magnesium from food. Magnesium is necessary in over 300 chemical reactions in the human body. It is also fundamental in the production of ATP, or the energy the human body utilizes as fuel.
A magnesium level blood measurement or test can help determine if you have a deficiency. Magnesium can also help reduce anxiety, calm the nervous system, and improve sleep. It is also an essential nutrient in the management of blood sugar levels. If you�ve been told by a healthcare professional that you have an average blood sugar level of over five and a half in something known as A1c, then magnesium can help.
Also, it�s very easy to know if you have a magnesium deficiency by looking at your current diet and symptoms. Do you eat enough magnesium rich foods like dark, leafy greens, beans, nuts and seeds? Or do you eat a lot of processed foods? Perhaps you also have symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, constipation, muscle twitching, muscle cramps, PMS, and/or palpitations. If you have one or more of the symptoms I just mentioned, you may have a magnesium deficiency.
Next, we will talk about zinc, the immune-boosting and testosterone-boosting mineral in the human body. This important nutrient is in charge of maintaining your hair volume as well as repairing your gut lining. It�s also responsible for making sure your thyroid is functioning properly. Zinc can be easily measured or tested in the blood and unfortunately, it�s another nutrient we are highly deficient in, in the United States. Additionally, you can also look at your alkaline phosphatase levels, which can be calculated through a liver function evaluation on a regular blood panel. High levels of alkaline phosphatase may indicate the presence of cancer or bone problems, among other health issues, however, low levels of alkaline phosphatase may indicate a zinc deficiency, because it�s a zinc-dependent enzyme.
Finally, the last fundamental nutrient we are going to discuss is iron. Iron is frequently deficient in vegans and vegetarians, or in women in general due to menstruation. Iron is necessary for transporting oxygen throughout the human body and it�s ultimately essential for brain health and wellness. Iron is also important for hair and nails, sleep, and so many other things.
Ferritin is a stored type of iron and it�s this nutrient which helps you see your iron levels. Optimal ferritin levels should be between 50 to 150 in women and 100 to 300 in men. And many times I�ve seen women visit my office who have ferritin levels of less than 50, or worse, in the single digits. This is because pre-menopausal women lose blood every month due to their menstrual cycles and it becomes so much harder for them to maintain proper ferritin levels. Many women also eat way less than what they�re supposed to be eating every day. High levels of ferritin, on the other hand, could be a sign of inflammation, generally caused by insulin resistance to sugar, or it could be a sign of hemochromatosis or iron storage disease, a very dangerous genetic disorder.
Having decreased levels of ferritin can also make you feel tired, and it can cause hair loss, it can cause insomnia. So, even if your blood count is normal, if your ferritin levels are low or your iron levels are low, it can also cause these symptoms. That�s why if you experience symptoms of fatigue, it�s essential to measure or test your ferritin levels. And it can be easily supplemented.
Aside from ferritin, a low MCV can also determine if you have an iron deficiency. Iron deficiencies can cause red blood cells to become very small and that can be demonstrated in low MCV levels, which evaluate the size of your red blood cells. Additionally, transference saturation, serum iron, TIBC, or total iron binding capacity, and hemoglobin, can provide us with a more in depth look at your iron status to distinguish different causes of anemia. These are included on a regular iron blood panel in a lab test.
We�ve discussed several nutrients which can be ordered by a majority of healthcare professinals with access to conventional lab testing. Furthermore, there�s another test which can tell us more about which type of nutrients we need based on our genes. It�s called the DNA health test and it�s provided by a company called DNAlife. This test evaluates a variety of genetic markers associated with detoxification, lipid metabolism, and inflammation, including the MTHFR gene and other B vitamin markers. Now, DNA Health demonstrates the different genes we evaluate. And most of these are common genes, they�re those we can do something about. We analyze the genes we can change based on your nutrition and other lifestyle factors.
It shows us the MTHFR gene, other B vitamin markers, genes that control B6, folate, and B12 as well as demonstrating how they function and whether you have nutrient deficiencies. Then it tells us which nutrients you will need to supplement and how much we will need to give to you. It�s tremendously helpful.
There was an individual who had two variables of the MTHFR gene. This woman had miscarriage after miscarriage after miscarriage. She visited her doctor for an evaluation and it turns out that she had a folate-regulating mutation. So her doctor then started giving her the proper amount of folate she needed and she started having healthy babies. Sometimes, nutrition can be that powerful towards improving a patient�s overall health and wellness.
The DNA health test can help personalize your approach when optimizing your well-being based on your genetics. What we measure utilizing the DNA health test provide well-established insights about your genes as well as what you can do about them.
A micronutrient test known as the individualized optimized nutrition profile or the ION panel, are alternative test options which can also provide information about your current nutritional status. This test is by Genova. This is a robust test which measures all the essential vitamins and minerals, fatty acids, organic acids, and antioxidants you currently have. Ultimately, this test looks for imbalances, insufficiencies, or deficiencies, rather than looking for a specific disease. It looks for things that a majority of doctors never look at.
Functional medicine practitioners or doctors look at patient�s amino acid levels, mineral levels, and even toxin levels from heavy metals like mercury, lead, arsenic, and many more. We also look at your antioxidant levels, vitamin A and vitamin E levels, as well as your CoQ10 antioxidant and beta carotene status. We can determine if a person eats vegetables or not if, by way of instance, they have low levels of beta carotene. We also look at vitamin D levels, essential fatty acids, including your omega-3 fats and your omega-6 fats. We can tell if a person eats junk food. We can tell if a person is eating fish. And We can tell if a person is eating too much olive oil or saturated fats. It�s all demonstrated in these measurements and tests.
An OAT test, or organic acids test, also looks at what is known as organic acids. This test demonstrates a wide array of parameters associated with your mitochondria, which we will discuss in the next article, your B vitamins, your neurotransmitters, your gut flora, and your detoxification. It�s ultimately a comprehensive test which shows me if a patient is well or sick. It shows me where the imbalances are and where I need to recommend lifestyle modifications. It also helps provide clues about other health issues.
By way of instance, if your mitochondria aren�t functioning correctly because you have decreased levels of essential amino acids or you have increased oxidative stress or if you simply have low levels of selenium and zinc, there�s a possibility that you might have some form of toxic overload due to heavy metals. And that�s precisely what I would go looking for. Signs like these provide a lot of information about what we can do to treat a patient. And an experienced functional medicine practitioner or doctor can determine what�s really going on with a patient or they can help patients discover how to optimize their overall health and wellness.
Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food and how the human body utilizes nutrients as well as the relationship between diet, disease and overall health and wellness. Nutrients are a source of nourishment, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water. Functional medicine focuses on the use of food as a form of medicine. A balanced nutrition can help prevent as well as treat a variety of health issues. Similarly, nutrition in functional medicine involves how certain diseases and conditions may be associated with dietary factors, such as poor diet or malnutrition, food allergies and food intolerances. Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T.
Understanding Your Nutrition
As good functional medicine doctors we�re often left asking ourselves, why is it that so many people in the United States are overfed but undernourished? Or, why is it that Americans eat too many calories and too few nutrients? The leading causes for the widespread nutritional deficiencies are the following: First, humans evolved from eating wild foods which contained tremendously higher levels of nutrients. Second, the soil we currently utilize to grow our crops in has become greatly depleted of nutrients. Hybridization techniques from industrial farming are yielding animals and vegetables to have decreased levels of nutrients. Third, processed foods have absolutely no nutrients, which is why they frequently have to be fortified. And last but not least, exposure to environmental toxins, lack of sunlight, chronic stress, and poor diet, including increased alcohol, caffeine, and sugar consumption, can increase our nutritional needs, much of which we�re already not getting enough from our current nutrition.
Well you might not need any vitamins, however, if you can meet certain conditions. Perhaps if you only hunted and gathered wild food and if you weren�t exposed to environmental toxins. Or maybe if you went to sleep with the sun and woke up with the sun, sleeping nine hours a night. And if you experienced absolutely no amount of chronic stress. Ultimately if you only drank pure, clean water and breathed pure, clean air. Then, you probably wouldn�t need any vitamins. But the rest of us that don�t follow these conditions, we do need them.
And with that thought, we wrap up this article. In the next article, we will talk about hormones. Hormones can affect almost every aspect of our well-being, and many healthcare professionals don�t understand what our optimal hormone levels should be or even when to test them and what to do about it once they do. Measuring and testing hormone levels should be standard practice, and many patients have never had a blood panel to look at their hormones. It�s fundamental to know as well as understand what�s going on inside your own body. And that�s why this next article is so important. You won�t want to miss our next update. See you soon.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal health issues as well as functional medicine topics and discussions. To further discuss the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at�915-850-0900�.
Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topic Discussion:�Acute Back Pain
Back pain�is one of the most prevalent causes of disability and missed days at work worldwide. Back pain attributes to the second most common reason for doctor office visits, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Approximately 80 percent of the population will experience back pain at least once throughout their life. The spine is a complex structure made up of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, among other soft tissues. Injuries and/or aggravated conditions, such as�herniated discs, can eventually lead to symptoms of back pain. Sports injuries or automobile accident injuries are often the most frequent cause of back pain, however, sometimes the simplest of movements can have painful results. Fortunately, alternative treatment options, such as chiropractic care, can help ease back pain through the use of spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, ultimately improving pain relief. �
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Today we will begin to discuss how the spectrum which medicine currently considers �normal� may not actually be optimal towards your overall health and wellness. These reference ranges can change based on age, gender, physical activity, and more. As a matter of fact, if we were to evaluate an individual�s weight in the United States, it would be considered �normal� to be overweight, simply because 70 percent of the population is overweight. Reference ranges for lab tests today are based on a sick population when we should aspire for optimal well-being.
Then, I will demonstrate how this knowledge can apply to the most basic medical measurements: your vital signs. Everyone knows that when you first visit a doctor, they take your vital signs, including your weight, your blood pressure, your heart rate, and your temperature. However, does your doctor tell you what your results mean? How can you tell if you�re healthy?
What�are�Vital�Signs?
Hello everyone, it�s Dr. Alex Jimenez. Welcome to part 2 of �Taking Control of Your Healthcare�. Today, we will discuss laboratory reference ranges associated with your vital signs. It may not sound like an interesting topic, but it�s really important for your well-being.
Most doctors generally define a patient�s test results as either �normal� or �abnormal�. But what exactly does �normal� and �abnormal� mean? Normal is when 95 percent of the population falls within a common range while abnormal is when the remaining percent of the population falls outside that common range. Whether you�re healthy or sick, young or old, although there can be some variations for children, normal and abnormal are simply statistical numbers which fall within two standard deviations.
However, these standard deviations don�t necessarily mean it�s optimal or not. It�s only a statistical number, after all. As a matter of fact, disease can occur along healthy and unhealthy individuals. These lab reference ranges should be defined according to what is best for a human being.
By way of instance, vitamin D levels are classified as normal if they�re over 20, however, the ideal levels are over 50. So why is 20 considered �normal�? This is because approximately 80 percent of the population is deficient in vitamin D, therefore, they fall under what is considered to be the �normal� range. However, this doesn�t mean that these levels are best for your overall health and wellness. Furthermore, �normal� blood sugar levels have been classified to be under 100, although we know �optimal� blood sugar levels have been classified to be between 70 to 80. Blood sugar levels over 80 can have an increased risk of disease. And unfortunately, our �normal� laboratory reference ranges are not optimal because we�ve become a sick population. In the United States it can be considered �normal� to be overweight because 70 percent of our population is overweight. But, although being overweight or obese is considered normal in the United States, that�s not something we would want to aspire to. We want to aspire to achieve overall health and wellness.
Now let�s continue to discuss the meaning of normal. Many patients often visit the doctor only to be told that their lab tests have returned normal, however, they may still be feeling sick. What does that mean? Does it mean you�re sick? Does it mean you�re healthy? As I�ve mentioned previously, either your doctor is missing something or you�re crazy, and I�m pretty sure your doctor is missing something. This is one of the main differences between conventional medicine and functional medicine. Through functional medicine, many doctors focus on health care rather than sick care. We�re looking for more subtle deviations from optimal.
Until your liver function is considered abnormal according to the current standard, your liver cells may already be dying. A functional medicine doctor may review your lab tests differently than a conventional doctor. This is primarily because the reference ranges that we�re focusing on aim towards optimal health, not disease. Many conventional doctors evaluate lab tests differently than functional medicine doctors, and then they either follow a �watch-and-wait approach�, or they label you as �not sick� after the most minimal amount of lab tests. As a matter of fact, one patient who visited me had blood sugar levels of 120, where a blood sugar of 126 is already considered type 2 diabetes. And I said, �Did you see your doctor regarding this?� And he said, �Yeah.� I asked him what the doctor said. And he finally said, �Well, he said to wait until I actually had diabetes and then to come back for medication.� And that is the last thing we want to be doing as healthcare professionals.
Reference ranges give us an average number of values which have been recorded among the general population. But let�s not forget, �normal� reference ranges are relative. They change based on age, gender, physical activity, and more. If you were to evaluate an individual�s weight in the United States today, it would be normal to be overweight, as I mentioned, only because 70 percent of people are overweight. And unfortunately, we keep changing our reference ranges based on our sick population. This is not what we should aspire to do as doctors. This is why functional medicine treats the individual, not only the numbers.
Additionally, reference ranges which were once considered normal can also change over time. One instance of how reference ranges change was demonstrated by a known global laboratory company called LabCorp, where they recently changed their reference ranges for male testosterone levels. Previously, LabCorp considered normal testosterone levels for an adult male to be between 348 to 1,197. This value was based on a population of lean adult males. However, in 2017, they lowered normal testosterone levels for an adult male to be between 264 to 916. Moreover, overweight men, excluding obese men, were probably included in the cohort study, ultimately changing reference ranges for male testosterone levels. Research studies have found that excess abdominal fat can cause lower testosterone levels. By changing reference ranges, however, this demonstrates that conventional medicine is considering overweight individuals to be a part of the norm. But this isn�t what we want. We want to strive for overall well-being.
This is why you need to start taking control of your own healthcare. As one in two people have some type of chronic disease, we have to evaluate how we interpret lab tests as well as how �normal� may not necessarily mean health and wellness but simply an average for a growing sick population in the United States.
Taking Control of Your Vital Signs
The primary goal of this series of videos is to encourage you to become the leader of your own well-being by understanding what your lab tests mean, understanding what optimal looks like, and understanding which lab tests are designed to help you achieve overall health and wellness rather than focusing on the disease. I would also like to educate you in order for you to make an informed decision on who you choose to be your doctor, or partner, in your journey to well-being. Now let�s look into the most common medical measurements: your vital signs.
Your vital signs are initially taken by the nurse when you visit the doctor. These vital signs generally include blood pressure, weight, heart rate, temperature, and even oxygen saturation. However, are you aware of what these numbers mean? Has your doctor discussed these numbers with you? Why would they take your vital signs if they�re just going to record them and never discuss them with you? Do the numbers actually demonstrate your health and wellness? If you have high blood pressure or a heart rhythm problem, your healthcare professional is most likely going to tell you, but otherwise, you may not find out what the value of your vital signs is.
Your heart rate is probably one of the most important vital signs taken during a doctor visit. The pulse is a measure of how fast your heart is beating. The human heart beats more than 115,000 times per day. So, if your heart rate is above 100, then we define that as having a high heart rate. But, if you have a heart rate higher than 80, that can increase your risk of developing heart disease. What causes this increase? Although many factors can lead to cardiovascular disease, stress is one of the most common causes because it raises your adrenaline and causes increased heart rate and blood pressure. Drinking too much coffee, stimulating medicines like Adderall, or an overactive thyroid, heart or lung health issue can also increase the risk of heart disease.
The fight-or-flight response, a physiological reaction which becomes activated during times of stress, can also cause an increase in heart rate. When an individual�s heart rate is frequently above 80, it might be time to begin incorporating some stress management techniques into their life, by way of instance, mindfulness meditation and other forms of meditation. Stress is not the only cause of an increased heart rate. Anxiety, magnesium deficiencies, being out of shape and dehydration can also cause an increased heart rate. Ideally, we want to achieve a lower heart rate, optimally under 70.
On the other side of the spectrum, a decreased heart rate below 60 might also demonstrate the presence of thyroid gland dysfunction or low thyroid function. Athletes and distance runners actually have low heart rates because they�re so well-conditioned. Their heart rates can be as low as 50 or even 45. But, if you have a low heart rate and you�re not an athlete or a distance runner, it may be time for you to go talk to your doctor.
While heart rate is one of the most important vital signs taken during a doctor visit, there�s another vital sign which can be just as important, your heart rate variability. This reflects the health of your automatic or autonomic nervous system, which is in charge of controlling all of the unconscious elements of your nervous system, such as digestion and breathing. Heart rate variability has frequently been associated with longevity and even death. The less variable the heart rate is, the higher the mortality rate. Many doctors don�t measure a patient�s heart rate variability, but fortunately, you can manage it yourself. Hot-and-cold therapies, saunas, exercise, yoga and meditation, can all help improve a patient�s heart rate variability.
Now let�s move on to the next most important of the vital signs taken during a doctor visit, blood pressure. If you were to line up all the blood vessels in your body, they would extend approximately 59,000 miles. That�s almost seven times around the earth. These same blood vessels carry over 7,500 liters of blood throughout your entire body on a regular basis. With each heartbeat, blood is pushed against the artery walls, which causes an increase in pressure.
Medical measurements for blood pressure have two numbers. The top number is known as systolic, or the pressure when the heart is contracting, and the bottom number is known as diastolic, or the pressure when the heart is relaxing or at rest. Normal reference ranges for blood pressure continue to change because we keep finding out that the reference ranges we used to think of as normal, which were first 140/90, then 130/80, were still associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart attack. Many doctors today may mention a problem with your blood pressure only if it�s over 130/80.
The reason why blood pressure is so important is because when it�s elevated, it can place additional pressure on the heart and arteries, potentially leading to heart disease, or stroke, heart failure, or even kidney failure. And it�s not only the heart and arteries which are affected by blood pressure: the brain, kidneys and even the eyes can all be tremendously affected, leading to strokes, dementia, kidney failure, and blindness, among other health issues. Maintaining your blood pressure at an optimal level is fundamental towards your overall health and wellness. As a matter of fact, normal blood pressure is currently believed to be under 120/80, however, it may turn out to be even lower.
While high blood pressure is bad, low blood pressure can also be just as bad. A good functional medicine doctor will discuss with you the risks of both high blood pressure and low blood pressure. Blood pressure below 100/60 may cause problems but not necessarily. Blood vessels in the human body function just like pistons in a car. If not enough pressure is built up, it can become really difficult for the blood to flow against gravity. And because the human brain is positioned higher than the heart, we depend on our blood pressure to supply our brain with the necessary amount of oxygen and nutrients required to function accordingly.
If you have low blood pressure, you might experience other symptoms, such as fatigue. Other symptoms associated with low blood pressure include dizziness when standing, weakness and even brain fog. Also, both chronic high blood pressure and chronic low blood pressure may contribute to an increased risk of dementia.
Now we�ve discussed the importance of heart rate and blood pressure. But, how about we discuss another important vital sign: your body temperature? A fever or an elevated body temperature can often be a sign of infection. Temperature can also provide an insight into the function of our metabolism. The lower an individual�s metabolism, the less heat they produce, which may manifest as a slightly lower-than-normal body temperature. The thyroid gland plays a big role in metabolism and regulating your temperature. So, if you frequently feel cold, you might want to discuss ordering the right thyroid panel with your doctor. But, what tests should you ask your doctor to determine this? Don�t worry, we will discuss which thyroid tests you should take in the video on hormones. The optimal body temperature should be approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. If it�s lower than 97.7 degrees Fahrenheit, however, it may indicate that you have a thyroid problem.
The final medical measurements we�re going to discuss are your height and your weight. Doctors utilize your height and weight to calculate your body mass index, or BMI. At our clinic, by way of instance, we utilize the InBody 770, a body composition and body water analyzer, to help easily determine your body mass index and more. However, body mass index doesn�t always factor in body composition, or the percentage of fat versus muscle in the human body. By way of instance, a pro football player who is 6�6� and 265 pounds has a body mass index of over 30, which puts them in the obese category.
But if you were to take a look at this individual�s body, they would never be categorized as obese. This demonstrates that BMI isn�t an accurate measurement, especially for athletes. Also, a 65-year-old woman may have more fat than muscle in their body while their BMI measurements may appear �optimal�. Instead, many functional medicine doctors use waist-to-hip medical measurements. This is a simple measurement you can do at home to determine body fat distribution, which can also help demonstrate the risk of metabolic dysfunction. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease are caused by excess belly fat or fat accumulated around the organs. Excess fat around the midsection can ultimately increase the risk for heart disease and metabolic issues, such as diabetes, dementia, cancer and many other health problems.
But first, let�s discuss how you can calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. To measure your waist, you simply take the measurements of the widest area around your waist, which is generally the biggest part around your belly button. To measure your hip, you then take the measurements of the widest area around your hip, which is generally where your hip bones are on your sides. So, you take these measurements and then you divide the measurements of your waist by the measurements of your hip. And this is the most fundamental number you have to look at.
In men, a waist-to-hip ratio of less than 0.9 is considered optimal. If the ratio is greater than one, meaning that your belly is bigger than your hip, it can put men at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and dementia. In women, a waist-to-hip ratio of less than 0.8 is considered optimal. If the ratio is greater than 0.85, it can put women at higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome as well as the other health issues mentioned above.
Medical measurements, including heart rate, temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure, are several vital signs which help indicate doctors the state of a patient’s fundamental body functions. Reference ranges today are utilized to determine “normal” health and wellness spectrums, however, research studies have demonstrated that these reference ranges may actually not be optimal spectrums. Understanding the most basic medical measurements, or vital signs, is important towards a patient’s well-being, as it can help people recognize whether they are feeling healthy or sick, regardless of the standards.
Understanding Your Vital Signs
And those were your vital signs, your most basic medical measurements. These numbers are very essential as they are fundamental towards your overall health and wellness. Understanding how your body functions as a whole is important to optimize your well-being. Therefore, next time you visit your doctor, ask about your vital signs and discuss these reference ranges with them. I truly believe that a combination of your own research and having a good relationship with a qualified healthcare professional can lead you on the right path to overall health and wellness.
Finding a doctor that will work with you is essential towards achieving the results you deserve. If your doctor is not willing to have a conversation with you about your well-being or the lab tests that are needed to track your results, then you might want to consider finding another doctor.
If you learned about the simplest medical measurements then you will definitely enjoy the next video, where we will discuss the blood tests utilized to determine nutritional deficiencies. Over 90 percent of individuals in the United States are deficient in nutrients at the RDA level. That�s the minimum amount necessary to prevent diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies, such as scurvy and rickets.
We�re going to discuss how a doctor who specializes in functional medicine evaluates results and what other tests your doctor might be unaware of that can tell us a lot about your nutritional status. Thanks again for joining me so far and I�ll see you later. The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal health issues as well as functional medicine topics and discussions. To further discuss the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at�915-850-0900�.
Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topic Discussion:�Acute Back Pain
Back pain�is one of the most prevalent causes of disability and missed days at work worldwide. Back pain attributes to the second most common reason for doctor office visits, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Approximately 80 percent of the population will experience back pain at least once throughout their life. The spine is a complex structure made up of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, among other soft tissues. Injuries and/or aggravated conditions, such as�herniated discs, can eventually lead to symptoms of back pain. Sports injuries or automobile accident injuries are often the most frequent cause of back pain, however, sometimes the simplest of movements can have painful results. Fortunately, alternative treatment options, such as chiropractic care, can help ease back pain through the use of spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, ultimately improving pain relief.
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Today we will discuss the fundamentals of functional medicine and how you can build a healthy doctor-patient relationship.
If you visit the doctor because you�ve been experiencing migraines, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome and depression, you�re most likely going to be referred to four different specialists and you may even be prescribed four different drugs and/or medications, at minimum. A functional medicine approach understands that there may be common underlying health issues which can be causing a patient�s symptoms. Once you get to the source of the problem, you can fix the health issues that create the symptoms.
Functional medicine asks, �Why do you have those symptoms and how can we treat the source of the problem and improve your overall health and wellness?� rather than, �What disease do you have and what drug do you use to treat it?�
What is Sick Care vs Health Care?
Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Alex Jimenez. I�m a chiropractor and practicing functional medicine doctor in El Paso, Texas. I�m so happy to introduce you to part one of �Taking Control of Your Healthcare�, where we will discuss the differences between �Sick Care and Health Care�. So, I frequently hear people talk about how difficult it is to find the right doctor, someone who is willing to work with them, who listens to them, and who is open to meeting their demands while teaching them everything they need to know about their problems. A doctor who accepts innovative advances in science and system approaches to determine the source of the problem. This is known as functional medicine, and we will discuss more of that in a minute.
My goal right now is to show you how you can find the right doctor and build the best relationship with them to get the care you deserve. It�s important to ask your doctor several questions to determine if they are the appropriate fit for you, if they�re willing to work with you, to listen to you, and if they�re open to your requests as well as learning about problems they�re not familiar with and following new treatment approaches. By way of instance, if the doctor you choose says that nutrition has nothing to do with disease, then you should probably go find another doctor. Now let�s discuss what questions you should ask your doctor regarding your overall health and wellness in order to be informed about what�s happening in your own body.
I�ve talked to patients who have visited numerous doctors in hopes of finding an answer as to why they�re not feeling well or have some type of disease. Many are frequently referred to one or more specialists and, in some cases, they�re given Prozac, or they�re told that their symptoms are all in their head or sometimes they�re even told that there�s nothing wrong with them after their lab results are all normal. And it�s frequently these same patients who are often sent to various doctors for each part of their body rather than being sent to a doctor who can diagnose and treat their body as a whole. If you go to the doctor and you have migraines, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression, in most cases, you�re going to be sent to four different specialists and you�re going to be given, at least, four different medicines instead of visiting a specialist who can understand the underlying source of the problem and treat the root of the symptoms.
Have you ever visited a doctor who, after explaining your symptoms to them, said, �Oh, I did a full blood panel and everything came back normal.� This could mean one of two things, either you�re crazy or they�re missing something. And I�m sure they�re often missing something because they�re not looking in the right places for the answers. It�s like the guy who dropped his keys in the street and when his friend sees him looking under a lamppost, he says, �Hey, what are you doing?� He says, �Well, I�m looking for my keys.� �So, where did you lose them.� He says, �Well I lost them down the street.� �Then why are you looking here?� �Well, the light�s better here.� And unfortunately, that happens a lot in medicine. Doctors will look for answers where problems are easy to find. And that is the purpose of this article. To help you understand how you can find the source of the underlying health issues that are making you feel sick.
This reminds me of a case of a woman I saw in my office who had psoriatic arthritis, an autoimmune condition which caused her to have rashes all over her body along with joint pain and swelling. As a result, she was on large amounts of drugs and/or medications which added up to about $60,000 dollars a year or more. She also had other health issues, she had acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, pre-diabetes, migraines, insomnia and depression. This woman visited many different specialists and she was taking prescriptions to address each of her symptoms. When it came time for me to see her, all I did was get to the source of the problem.
So, during diagnosis, I said to myself, �Okay, this patient has inflammation, but what�s the cause of her inflammation?� And instead of referring her to numerous other specialists so she could receive medicine for her migraines, acid reflux, depression, etc., I said to myself, �Oh, all of these symptoms are inflammatory, so what�s the root of the inflammation?� Well it turns out that the patient had problems with her gut all along. I then helped her clear out the �bad bugs� in her gut by recommending her an anti-inflammatory diet, I included some supplements, fish oil, vitamin D, probiotics. Honestly, really basic natural remedies. When she returned six weeks later, all of her symptoms had disappeared. She had gotten off all of her prescription medicines and she had lost 20 pounds. I didn�t tell her to stop taking her meds, she just did it on her own. It was absolutely remarkable and that�s what happens when you treat the source of a patient�s underlying health issues. And you don�t have to do a lot to get to the root of the cause.
I understand that it may not always be possible to work with a doctor who�s trained in functional medicine, which we will discuss what that means in a minute, however, it is possible to find a doctor who�s going to be willing to work with you, who�s going to listen, who�s going to have an open mind and who�s going to be your partner during your journey to overall health and wellness. Throughout this article, I�m going to discuss conventional lab testing as well as innovative functional medicine lab testing, demonstrating it all for the purpose of creating well-being rather than viewing it all from the perspective of the disease in order to find the source of a patient�s health issues and correct imbalances through a functional medicine approach.
Taking Control of Your Health Care vs Sick Care
Functional medicine is often referred to as the future of medicine, but it�s currently being offered by many doctors if you visit the right place. The purpose of functional medicine is to diagnose and treat the root cause of a variety of diseases by evaluating the body as a whole, rather than by analyzing each collection of organs independently through separate specialists. Functional medicine treats the whole system, not just the symptoms. Doctors who practice functional medicine frequently ask themselves, �Why does the patient have these symptoms and how can I fix the root causes and improve their overall health and wellness?� rather than �What disease does the patient have and what drug and/or medication do they use to treat it?�
I�ve been a practicing chiropractor for over 25 years. And I�ve witness countless of miracles every day. My patients don�t simply find relief from their symptoms, they truly achieve overall well-being. Unfortunately, our current healthcare system is broken. Many doctors are tremendously affected due to time constraints set by insurance companies to pay bills, causing them to rush through their appointments. In turn, this continuous cycle can frequently end up leaving patients with unanswered questions followed by frustration. Our current healthcare system makes people feel powerless, often keeping them stuck in disease.
As a part of this healthcare system, it�s important that we understand that some diseases are not as easily treatable as a cold. Several diseases also don�t just develop randomly. The majority of diseases which exist today are related to your environment and how these external as well as internal factors alike interact with your genes and lifestyle to influence your health and wellness.
What we know today as the �conventional medicine� approach is typically referred to as the �name it, blame it, and tame it� game. First, the doctor will diagnose the patient and provide them with a label, by way of instance, they say a patient has depression. Now they have the name of the disease. And finally, the doctor will treat the disease with prescription drugs and/or medications. In the end, the patient is left taking an antidepressant. However, depression can be caused by a wide array of factors and the solution isn�t necessarily an antidepressant. Not only is this type of practice outdated, it�s actually considered to be quite unsafe in the long-run. And it�s often not providing patients with the results they need. People are being misdiagnosed and mistreated, frequently being left sick without really getting the proper care they deserve.
Conventional medicine can also be helpful at the very end stages of some diseases as well as for acute diseases. If you have an emergency or you�re feeling very sick, if you break a bone, or if you have a raging infection, conventional medicine, acute care, drugs and/or medications can be the right solution and we should be highly grateful for them. But this is not the approach we need to prevent and cure chronic diseases. If we actually understood how to care for our bodies the way we should, most of us wouldn�t be feeling as sick as we do. And many people will walk around feeling sick, but you don�t have to, it�s not normal. Many doctors now understand that a change is required to turn our entire sick care system into one that actually supports health care.
I would like to empower you to help transform the future of the medicine field by taking your well-being into your own hands. Throughout the next articles I�m going to share with you how you can find a doctor that takes consideration of your personal values and beliefs so you can achieve the results you�re looking for while in a safe and comfortable environment. You can learn how to be your own health advocate and become a true partner with your doctor. And there are many other doctors and functional medicine practitioners like me who are waiting to help.
Furthermore, I�m going to share with you how you can find the best doctor and I�m also going to provide you with many other tools to help you be the leader of your overall health and wellness. How you can take control and make the calls for your own well-being. Including what lab work you should ask your doctor for, and how to understand what the information means and what you should do with it. One of the most common ways doctors utilize labs is to evaluate what goes wrong when a patient isn�t feeling well and to analyze the end of a continuum of disease. If your liver function changes your liver cells may already be dying. If they�re normal, however, many doctors say, �Oh, you�re normal.� But it may actually not be normal. The good news is that you may be able to find imbalances sooner in order to treat them in time.
Although it�s slowly been changing, many doctors have the custom of not giving patients their actual lab tests. And if this isn�t the case, several doctors don�t provide detailed explanations of patient�s lab tests other than, �Your lab tests came back normal,� or �Your cholesterol is a little high,� or, �Your blood sugar is a little high.� As a chiropractor, I believe that everyone should have access to their lab tests and that these should be explained to the patient. We need to start democratizing health care. And this has become more fundamental than ever before.
Now why is this so important? Approximately 133 million Americans are affected by chronic disease and that number is even higher depending on how chronic disease is defined. About one in two individuals in the United States has pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. The rate of a variety of diseases, including digestive problems, allergic diseases, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dementia have all been increasing. Where approximately one in three kids born today will have type 2 diabetes in their lifetime and one in two people over the age of 85 and one in four people over the age of 75, are going to have dementia.
Health issues like these are manifesting throughout our population at a tremendous rate and they can affect everyone, either personally or through the suffering of a loved one. Additionally, chronic diseases have caused a dramatic economic burden within our country.
However, the reason why I�m so happy to share this article with you is because there�s a lot we can do to change the future of our healthcare system. Many doctors and I have the knowledge we need to decrease or even eliminate the suffering of so many people and to save the economy. Every day in my office, I see patients recover their quality of life after they were expecting to suffer their entire lives due to chronic diseases such as, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, fatigue, and arthritis, among other health issues. Problems like allergies, hormonal issues, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and depression. And patients can truly get better and thrive, not just cope with or manage their disease. Within a few months, even weeks, of visiting me and my staff, the lives of patients can tremendously change.
Functional medicine looks at how the human body functions as a whole, and its most basic approach is to first understand the factors, genes, and triggers for disease, and how lifestyle and environmental inputs, including diet, stress, toxins, allergens, and microbes, interact with the human body to create imbalances which can commonly lead to chronic health issues.
So, let me take a moment to discuss something. The human body is a system. And this entire system is made up of smaller, �mini-systems� which are all dynamically interacting. But, when one or more of these systems get out of balance, you can become sick. And when these systems get in balance again, you become healthy. And that�s what functional medicine is. Functional medicine is simply understanding what causes imbalances in the human body and treating them to restore balance and provide essential needs to all the systems in the human body. Creating overall health and wellness. It is the science of creating well-being. And doctors achieve this by utilizing a patient�s detailed medical history, combined with targeted lab tests. Doctors who follow a functional medicine approach, like me, by way of instance, generally evaluate your gut and your microbiome, which not many doctors look into. We also want to look at your immune system and whether inflammation is affecting you, something which we refer to as defense and repair. And we want to know how your mitochondria produces energy from food and oxygen. Functional medicine practitioners want to know if you have any dysfunctions in energy production, which is typically the source of numerous diseases, such as Alzheimer�s disease and autism, type 2 diabetes, and fatigue, among many others. We also determine your toxic load and your ability to detoxify, involving the function of other communication systems in your body, such as your hormones. Finally, we evaluate your structural system, from your cells to your biomechanical structures and how these interact with your beliefs, emotions, and more.
I�ve used these procedures, over and over again, to help reverse chronic disease in my patients and educate them on how to achieve long-term health and wellness, all while feeling like the best versions of themselves. We are all given the opportunity to cure or tremendously improve health issues or problems which are often misdiagnosed and mistreated by conventional medicine. Functional medicine provides the opportunity to discover overall well-being at any age.
As a matter of fact, I treated a man named, George, who was 63 years old, weighed 300 pounds, and who had a variety of health problems. He had acid reflux, sinus problems, diabetes, angina heart failure, prostate problems, sexual dysfunction, and edema in his legs. And as a result, he was under a wide array of prescription medicine. He came into my office one day and he said to me, �Can you help me.� I said, �Yes, but you will have to do everything I say.�
So, I recommended him an anti-inflammatory diet, consisting of whole foods and a low intake of sugar, and I advised him to take a variety of supplements in order to optimize his nutrition, all while I guided him into participating on exercises and physical activities. Within a year, it was like a miracle, the patient had lost 155 pounds, he reversed all of his health issues and he stopped using his prescription medicines. Now, he�s planning the rest of his life, when before he came to visit me, he was planning the end of his life. Another patient I treated, named Isabel, struggled with an autoimmune disease. She was only 10 years old and she was already under a pile of drugs, steroids, immunosuppressants, and even chemo drugs. It turns out that her diet and exposure to heavy metals was affecting her gut and causing inflammation. Now, I simply treated the source of her problems and her autoimmune disease went away. She stopped using her prescription medicines and, altogether, her quality of life improved and she thrived.
Functional medicine is an alternative treatment approach which focuses on the interactions between external or environmental factors as well as internal factors associated with the gastrointestinal, endocrine, and immune systems of the human body. Finding the right doctor can make a big difference when it comes to getting health care over sick care. Functional medicine treats the source of the problem rather than treating the symptoms alone. As a chiropractor and functional medicine practitioner, my primary goal is to provide patients with the care they deserve for their health issues as well as to educate them on the fundamentals of functional medicine. The purpose of this article is to help patients find the right doctor and build a healthy doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight
Sick Care vs Health Care Overview
Over the next few weeks, we�re going to go through some of the fundamental principles and concepts that helped me find the underlying cause of disease through the use of functional medicine. And that will help you achieve overall health and wellness.
In our next article, I�m going to teach you how you can take your own measurements to understand your own well-being and what you can do to improve your vital signs. This procedure is going to help provide you with important baseline data and information to help you better understand your health risks. It�s also going to allow you to evaluate and analyze your own progress as you work towards your ultimate wellness goals.
In the third article, I�m going to try to cover everything about nutrition. I will explain how we can test your nutritional status and how you can utilize food as treatment to start changing your overall health and wellness as soon as possible. Your diet is one of the most effective parts you can control to create a healthier lifestyle. I�ll be sharing tips and tricks for a better nutrition.
Because hormones can impact nearly every aspect of our health, we�re also going to be highlighting them in the fourth article. Unfortunately, a majority of doctors do not understand what optimal hormone levels should look like nor are they aware of the proper methods for testing hormones. I will be preparing you to have an effective conversation with your doctor on which type of hormone test actually matters, what they mean, and what you can do about them.
In article five I�m going to focus on heart health, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease. These conditions are extremely common, and unfortunately, conventional medicine frequently tries to treat them by simply controlling the symptoms. Lowering cholesterol, lowering your blood pressure, that does not solve the root cause of the problems. Most of the time, increased levels of blood sugar, obesity and diabetes are the cause of cardiovascular disease. I�m going to demonstrate how we can prevent and reverse these diseases using lifestyle modifications, including nutrition, to improve heart health.
In the sixth article, I�ll be discussing obesity and diabetes, something I�ll be frequently referring to as diabesity. Metabolic disorders ranging from minimal fat and moderate insulin resistance to pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes. The great thing about these metabolic disorders, however, is that they are completely reversible. But most conventional doctors don�t know it�s reversible. I�m going to help teach you how you can recover a healthy metabolism and how you can reverse the range of problems involved in diabesity, which as you will learn, are a lot of different diseases.
In article seven, I�m going to talk about the immune system, particularly discussing hidden inflammation and disease. As inflammation is described to be the underlying cause of a majority of chronic diseases, we continue to see increasing rates of autoimmune diseases and allergies, which are signs that our immune systems are not functioning properly. However, inflammation is also associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and even depression. I�ll explain how you can talk to your doctor about testing for inflammation, what the markers mean, and how you can care for your immune system on a deeper level.
In article eight, we�re going to move into the topic of the metabolism and mitochondria. Now every one of our cells hold hundreds or thousands of mitochondria, the energy generators of our cells. When these become damaged, we can suffer from a variety of problems, including pain, memory loss, fatigue, and many other symptoms. I�m going to explain how we can care for your mitochondria at the cellular level and why this is a vital piece of optimal health and wellness.
Then, in article nine, we�re going to explore the meaning of detoxification, or the human body�s innate detox system and why this is an essential part of the healing process. From mold to heavy metals, and other toxins, I�m going explain what you need to know to avoid toxins and how you can eliminate those that you are already carrying to optimize your capability to detoxify. With the amount of toxins we�re exposed to on a regular basis, it�s important to identify the causes that may be affecting you and how you can begin eliminating them right away. Fortunately, this is something you can easily do to create a cleaner lifestyle for you and your loved ones.
Finally, in article ten we will be talking about digestion. Digestive health is one of the most commonly discussed topics in functional medicine. Because our digestive system is the center of our health, by diagnosing problems in this system, we can improve everything from mental health, nutrient absorption, and cardiovascular risk to immune system function. In the tenth article, I�m going to guide you through the tests that are available for monitoring your gut health, as well as what you can do to improve your own digestive health, as soon as possible.
I�m so happy you�ll be joining me throughout this series of articles because the future of medicine depends on it. When you learn how you can impact your well-being by being proactive and by creating a partnership with your doctor, everything changes. Through functional medicine, you can also help transform our sick care system into an actual health care system.
So, let�s finish up this article with the questions you want to ask your doctor as you interview them to see if they can be a partner for you and your overall health and wellness. These are just a few high-level questions to start with your discussion. Are you willing to work with me as a partner for my well-being? Also, what�s your point of view on nutrition and health? Do you think food is medicine? Are you willing to give me copies of my test results and explain what they mean? The reason why we�re asking these questions is to make sure that your doctor is willing to work with you and understand the role of functional medicine.
I�m so happy to be a part of your journey to better health and wellness. Thank you very much for joining me today. The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal health issues as well as functional medicine topics and discussions. To further discuss the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at�915-850-0900�.
Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topic Discussion:�Acute Back Pain
Back pain�is one of the most prevalent causes of disability and missed days at work worldwide. Back pain attributes to the second most common reason for doctor office visits, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Approximately 80 percent of the population will experience back pain at least once throughout their life. The spine is a complex structure made up of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, among other soft tissues. Injuries and/or aggravated conditions, such as�herniated discs, can eventually lead to symptoms of back pain. Sports injuries or automobile accident injuries are often the most frequent cause of back pain, however, sometimes the simplest of movements can have painful results. Fortunately, alternative treatment options, such as chiropractic care, can help ease back pain through the use of spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, ultimately improving pain relief. �
Most people don�t think of chiropractic to treat conditions that do not involve the spine, but study after study shows it is effective in treating a wide variety of health issues. Ulcerative colitis seems to have no real connection with the spine, yet patients and researches alike are touting the effectiveness of chiropractic care to treat the condition. This is due, in part to chiropractic�s approach to whole body wellness, but spinal alignments are incorporated into the care as well. Bottom line, chiropractic care is extremely effective in treating uncreative colitis, and many patients are finding relief from their symptoms and discomfort.
What is Ulcerative Colitis?
Ulcerative colitis is a disease that causes ulcers (sores) and inflammation in the rectum and colon. Typically, only the sigmoid colon (the lower portion of the colon) is affected, along with the rectum.
However, the entire colon can be affected, and the percentage of the colon that is affected tends to coincide with the disease�s severity of the symptoms. While ulcerative colitis can affect people of any age, the majority of people who are diagnosed with it are younger than 30 years old.
Researchers are not sure what causes ulcerative colitis, but many believe that it occurs when the body�s immune system overreacts to bacteria that naturally occurs within the body, specifically in the digestive tract. There also seems to be a genetic predisposition for the disease; it tends to run in families.
What are the Symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis?
The type and severity of symptoms that present with ulcerative colitis depends upon how advanced, or severe depends on which area of the colon is affected and how severe the condition is. The symptoms may subside or disappear for several weeks at a time (some patient reports are stating they had no symptoms for years), then they return � about half the people with ulcerative colitis experience mild effects.
Diarrhea � This is the most common symptom. Diarrhea may have pus or blood in it, but it is possible to have blood in the stool and not have the ability to see it. In severe cases, the urge to go to the restroom to empty the colon may come on suddenly and powerfully. It may happen after a meal or after eating certain foods. Other times there may be no discernable pattern; it can happen at any time, even waking the patient out of a dead sleep.
Pain � The most common type of pain with ulcerative colitis is in the belly and may feel somewhat cramping. However, some patients report joint soreness and photophobia (sensitivity to light) accompanied by eye pain.
Nausea � The cramping can cause nausea, as well as the condition itself.
Fatigue � The other symptoms such as pain and nausea can cause fatigue, but effects of the disease such as swelling in the colon and bleeding in the colon that depletes the body of red blood cells can also cause extreme tiredness.
Dehydration � This can be caused by diarrhea.
Weight loss � Caused by diarrhea and loss of appetite. The body may not be able to absorb the nutrition from foods due to the disease adequately, so weight loss and malnutrition follow.
Sores � Mouth and skin sores may form as well as rashes.
What Treatments are Available for Ulcerative Colitis?
Different people are affected differently when they are battling ulcerative colitis. Patients with mild symptoms may be able to take an over the counter medication that treats diarrhea.
The majority of patients with the disease take prescription medications that help decrease the immune response in the body. Lifestyle changes may also work. If the condition is very severe, the patient may need to undergo surgery and have their colon removed.
Chiropractic for Ulcerative Colitis
Many patients turn to chiropractic care to treat ulcerative colitis. When the body is out of alignment, it can hinder the function of the organs and other parts of the body. By realigning the spine and pelvis, the chiropractor can help the patient lessen or completely alleviate their symptoms.
The whole body health approach that chiropractic promotes can also help with recommendations regarding lifestyle changes and diet modifications. Many patients who get regular chiropractic care for their ulcerative colitis report a significant decrease in symptoms and often the complete elimination of them.
Why is it that the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting always seem to fall within the same topic of conversation? This is simply because intermittent fasting may be utilized as an instrument to achieve ketosis, the metabolic state associated with the keto diet. During intermittent fasting, the human body is depleted of glycogen stores. Once these glycogen stores are eliminated, fat stores are then released into the bloodstream in order to be converted into energy molecules, known as ketones, from the liver.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a metabolic state which uses ketone bodies, or ketones, as fuel for energy. On a normal carbohydrate-based diet, the human body burns glucose as its main fuel source, where excess glucose is subsequently stored as glycogen. If the human body cannot utilize sugar as fuel for energy, it will utilize glycogen as fuel for energy. Once glycogen is depleted, you begin to burn fat. The ketogenic diet generates a metabolic state which enables you to break down fat into ketones, or ketone bodies, in the liver for energy.
There are 3 major types ketone bodies found in the blood, urine, and breath, including:
Acetoacetate: The type of ketone which is created first. It may be converted to beta-hydroxybutyrate or flipped into acetone.
Acetone: Made spontaneously in the breakdown of acetoacetate. It is a very volatile ketone and it is frequently detectable on the breath once an individual first enters ketosis.
Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB): The type of ketone which is utilized for energy and is most abundant on the bloodstream as soon as you’re completely into ketosis. It is the kind that is located in exogenous ketones and what blood tests quantify.
Intermittent Fasting in the Keto Diet
Intermittent fasting is composed of eating within a specific feeding window rather than eating throughout the day. Each individual, whether they are conscious of it or not, fasts intermittently from dinner to breakfast. There are lots of methods to intermittent fasting. A few individuals fast for 16-20 hours intervals on alternate days while others follow a 24-hour day fast. The most common intermittent fasting variety is the 16/8 method, in which you eat in an 8-hour window followed by a 16-hour fasting window.
Other fasting programs incorporate the 20/4 or even 14/10 methods. Other people follow 24-hour fasts one or two times each week. Intermittent fasting can get you in ketosis quicker because your cells will immediately absorb your glycogen stores and begin burning fat. However, what about once you get into ketosis? Is intermittent fasting worth following consistently? Following the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting can be a great addition towards an individual’s overall health and wellness, providing various health benefits.
The keto diet and intermittent fasting can provide the following health benefits, including:
Healthy weight-loss
Fat reduction, not muscle reduction
Balancing cholesterol levels
Enhancing insulin sensitivity
Maintaining blood glucose levels steady
Health Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet dramatically reduces your caloric intake, forcing your body to burn fat instead of sugar, which makes it a powerful tool for weight reduction. While individual results vary, the keto diet has always resulted in a decrease in body fat in a selection of situations. Within a 2017 study, subjects who followed a very low carbohydrate keto meal program significantly decreased body fat percentage and body fat mass, losing an average of 7.6 lbs and 2.6 percent body fat while preserving lean muscle mass.
Likewise, a 2004 research detecting the long-term consequences of a ketogenic diet in overweight patients discovered that the weight and body mass of those patients diminished dramatically over the span of two decades. Individuals who radically reduced their carb intake saw a substantial decline in LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and enhanced insulin sensitivity. In 2012, researchers compared a ketogenic diet to eating fewer calories for overweight kids and adults. The results showed kids after the keto diet lost significantly more body fat. They also revealed a dramatic decline in insulin levels, a biomarker of Type 2 diabetes.
Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting may be an effective weight loss tool, more powerful than just cutting calories. In one analysis, intermittent fasting has been proven to be as successful as constant calorie restriction in combating obesity. In studies done by the NIH, there was reported weight reduction with over 84 percent of participants, regardless of which fasting program they picked.
Much like ketosis, intermittent fasting increases fat loss while preserving lean muscle mass. In one study, researchers reasoned that fasting led to greater weight loss compared to a low-carb diet, though the overall caloric consumption was exactly the same. If you are attempting to lose weight, then a keto diet or intermittent fasting can be a massive help. But that is not where the rewards stop.
Intermittent Fasting and the Keto Diet for Mental Health
Both intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet can provide various mental health advantages. Both have been clinically shown to boost memory, improve mental clarity and focus, as well as prevent the development of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. On a carb-based diet, changes in glucose can cause changes in energy levels. During ketosis, your brain employs a more consistent supply of fuel: ketones from the fat stores, leading to better productivity and psychological performance.
Whenever you’ve got a consistent and clean energy source from ketones, the brain works better. In addition to this, ketones are better at protecting your brain. Studies reveal that ketone bodies might have antioxidant properties which protect your brain cells from free radicals and oxidative stress. In one study conducted on adults with diminished memory, the growth of BHB ketones in their own blood helped enhance cognition. Also, when you’ve got difficulty staying focused, your hormones can be to blame.
Your brain has two chief neurotransmitters: glutamate and GABA. Glutamate will help you form new memories, and get your brain cells to communicate with one another. GABA is what helps restrain glutamate. If there is too much glutamate, it can cause brain cells to quit working and finally perish. GABA is there to control and slow down glutamate. If GABA levels are reduced, glutamate reigns free and you experience mental fog. Ketones stop damage to cells by processing surplus glutamate into GABA. Considering that ketones raise GABA and lessen glutamate, they assist in preventing cell damage, preventing cell death and enhancing mental focus.
Researchers believe that intermittent fasting enhances memory, decreases oxidative stress, and conserves learning abilities. Since your cells are under moderate strain whilst fasting, the top cells adapt to the stress by improving their particular ability to deal with these circumstances while the weakest tissues die. This is much like the strain that your body gets when you reach the gym.
Exercise is a kind of stress that your body adjusts to improve and get more powerful. This also applies for intermittent fasting: so long as you are still alternate between routine eating habits and fasting, it is going to continue to benefit you. Implying equally that ketosis and intermittent fasting will help improve your cognitive functioning because of the synergistic and protective effects of ketones.
The ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting are two different nutritional strategies which provide many common health benefits. According to various research studies, both the keto diet and intermittent fasting can help boost ketones, helping the body burn fat more efficiently than any other nutritional strategy. And when these are utilized together, they definitely form a powerful dietary program. The article above discusses the differences between the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting as well as demonstrates the health benefits of both of these dietary programs and how they can help improve overall health and wellness. Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight
The Perks of Intermittent Fasting and the Keto Diet
The ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting possess similar health benefits because both approaches involve ketosis. Ketosis has lots of physical and mental advantages, from weight loss to enhanced brain function. People following a ketogenic diet may use intermittent fasting as a tool to achieve ketosis and enhance their general well-being. The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal health issues. To discuss the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at�915-850-0900�.
Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topic Discussion:�Acute Back Pain
Back pain�is one of the most prevalent causes of disability and missed days at work worldwide. Back pain attributes to the second most common reason for doctor office visits, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Approximately 80 percent of the population will experience back pain at least once throughout their life. The spine is a complex structure made up of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, among other soft tissues. Injuries and/or aggravated conditions, such as�herniated discs, can eventually lead to symptoms of back pain. Sports injuries or automobile accident injuries are often the most frequent cause of back pain, however, sometimes the simplest of movements can have painful results. Fortunately, alternative treatment options, such as chiropractic care, can help ease back pain through the use of spinal adjustments and manual manipulations, ultimately improving pain relief. �
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