Back Clinic Nutrition Team. Food provides people with the necessary energy and nutrients to be healthy. By eating various foods, including good quality vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products, and lean meats, the body can replenish itself with the essential proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals to function effectively. Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Healthy eating does not have to be hard.
The key is to eat various foods, including vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. In addition, eat lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products and drink lots of water. Limit salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated fats usually come from animals. Look for trans fat on the labels of processed foods, margarine, and shortenings.
Dr. Alex Jimenez offers nutritional examples and describes the importance of balanced nutrition, emphasizing how a proper diet combined with physical activity can help individuals reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce their risk of developing chronic diseases, and promote overall health and wellness.
PODCAST: Dr. Alex Jimenez, Kenna Vaughn, Lizette Ortiz, and Daniel “Danny” Alvarado discuss nutrition and fitness during these times. During quarantine, people have become more interested in improving their overall health and wellness by following a proper diet and participating in exercise. The panel of experts in the following podcast offers a variety of tips and tricks on how you can improve your well-being. Moreover, Lizette Ortiz and Danny Alvarado discuss how they’ve been helping their clients achieve their optimal well-being during these COVID times. From eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, good fats, and complex carbohydrates to avoiding sugars and simple carbohydrates like white pasta and bread, following a proper diet and participating in exercise and physical activity is a great way to continue to promote your overall health and wellness. – Podcast Insight
[00:00:00] You know, Lizette we have been working with patients for a long, long time. And I want to ask you a little bit about what got you into fitness. OK. So start from kind of the beginning of, like what got you into this, let the people know what it is that, who you are and what it’s about. What was the reason? Yeah. Your story. So it really makes it real easy for us to kind of get it going. [00:00:30][20.8]
[00:00:31] OK, I’ll try to make it short. [00:00:33][2.3]
[00:00:40] OK. So basically, I’m originally from Juarez. So I’m originally Mexican. And I grew up over there and I went all the way through high school. And then I moved to El Paso to go to UTEP and get a degree in psychology. So my whole life growing up, my mom’s been struggling with weight. She’s always struggled with weight because my mom’s family tends to be overweight. They even suffer from, like, you know, heart disease and other diseases that just come with it. And so I grew up with that. Like, my mom was always on a diet. She was always exercising. She always had exercise tapes. [00:01:18][37.5]
[00:01:18] So I guess it was ingrained in me to not be in that situation, but it still didn’t stop me from gaining a lot of weight. Did you get heavy? [00:01:27][9.1]
[00:01:29] Yes, of course. Of course. Because I didn’t have the tools, you know, I didn’t know any better. So I was eating like we all normally do, you know, like when you don’t know about things, just a lot of bread and sweets. Soda. I didn’t really drink water like water, water daily until I was sixteen. Yeah. My drinks were always Coca-Cola, it was the family drink. The family beverage and then maybe like Kool-Aid and things like that. Yes. And so I didn’t start drinking water until I had to be on treatment for a UTI or something. When I was 16, and that’s when I learned my first lesson was, OK, well, you’re on treatment so you can’t eat like acidic things. So I couldn’t even eat lime, but I couldn’t eat candies either, so I couldn’t eat sugar. I loved tamarind candies. I couldn’t eat that. I couldn’t eat sugar, no chocolate, no coffee, no cream. Like, they cut a lot of things. And I had to drink only water. Like the first time that I had to drink a glass of water. I thought I was going to throw up like that bad like that’s how bad it was. [00:02:35][66.5]
[00:02:36] And so then a month of this treatment, I lost like 15 pounds and I felt amazing. And this is I’m 16. I’m like, oh, my God, this feels great. I lost all this weight. Of course, that’s all I was focusing on at that point because that’s, I was 16. Right. So it’s like, oh, my God, I lost all this weight. I look great. [00:02:54][18.2]
[00:02:55] And so I started exercising more with the focus of being more fit. And so little by little that happened. So that happened the rest of my high school. Then I came to the U.S., I started college and I gained like 30 pounds. Right. Like you do like one does, right? Yeah. And then I didn’t really care. I did care. I did care. But I didn’t care. Like, I wasn’t doing anything about it. But it did depress me. And it caused me a lot of inner turmoil and anxiety and just depression and things, among other things. [00:03:25][29.7]
[00:03:26] And so I started exercising. I always kept active. [00:03:28][2.4]
[00:03:29] Is what’s interesting because I grew up with my mom, like having the videotapes and stuff. I always was on and off exercising. And so then I started doing more research. And that’s when I started kind of teaching myself, you know, like, look up, exercises, look up. But luckily, we already had the Internet and things. So I learned a lot about that. And I started doing my own workouts and I started watching what I ate. And I started like eating every three hours because supposedly that accelerated metabolism, which now we know is not the case. But I started doing that. So that actually shrunk my portions and I learned how that helps, too. Mm-hmm. And then I was going to move to L.A. because that’s what I always wanted to do when I went to go over there and pursue a career. [00:04:09][39.9]
[00:04:09] At what age did you go to L.A.? [00:04:10][0.9]
[00:04:11] When I graduated from college, I was. Twenty four. Yeah. Twenty four. So I was twenty-four when I moved and. But before I moved I was like, well I can’t go to L.A. to want to be an actress and have 30 extra pounds. Because when I see TV, that’s not, you know, you’re sold this image, this image of I need to look like this and this and this. And of course, I never filled out any of the requirements, but I still wanted to do it. And so I really focused on this. Not in a healthy way, though, you know, like I was really not eating well enough. I was probably exercising too much and not eating the right things because while I was losing weight, I wasn’t necessarily feeling any better. And so once I moved to L.A., I continued to work out and study and learn and then I studied nutrition. When I was over there in the university, not the university, the city college. And so that’s when I learned and that was my next big lesson was when I learned about nutrition, how like certain foods and the like, too much of this, too little of that, the wrong balance of things, the importance of vegetables and fruits, which I’ve always loved. But you see the difference between filling up on vegetables and fruits instead of filling up on pasta and bread. Yeah. And the repercussions that that has on your health, not only on the way that you look like we were mentioning earlier, right, not only in the way that you look but also the way that you feel and just learning that changed my life completely. I remember one day when we learned about additives in foods and dyes. We talked about Red 40 and like how, you know, like all these additives can have repercussions. You know, they build up in your system. Kids usually get hyperactive more because of the mix of dyes and additives than they do because of the sugar. Because if you eat like a lot of honey, you don’t get hyper necessarily. But if you eat a bunch of like Skittles, maybe because it has a bunch of other things in it. And so we learned about that. And like oh red 40 and then I get home and my husband had like this three-pound thing of red vines and I’m like, oh, red vines? [00:06:17][126.0]
[00:06:17] What are those? Those like Twizzlers? [00:06:19][2.3]
[00:06:20] Oh, no, no. Three pounds, literally three pounds. Yeah. Yeah. [00:06:25][5.2]
[00:06:26] Oh, we can’t eat that. Like, I just learned all this. And so every time I learned something about something, it’s like a new epiphany and a new item that I didn’t keep on my shelf anymore. And you know, I was like this fluffy white bread that’s delicious on sandwiches has zero nutrition for me. I need to get something that’s more whole grains, you know, like if I’m going to do a PB & J, I need to find my peanut butter. [00:06:50][24.5]
[00:06:50] That’s just peanuts and my bread. That is like sprouted grains and whole grains. And if I’m really going to stick to the bread, I at least need to do it right. And so that really, like, just that knowledge changed everything for me. And then I decided to… [00:07:05][14.4]
[00:07:08] Get certified as a personal trainer, because I kept being told by people at the gym that I should. As they would come, I was like on my training and I was like, oh, we should exercise together or whatever. And they would see how I would exercise and push myself. And they’re like, have you ever thought of being a trainer? And I was asked that so many times. I was like, no, no, I just. [00:07:27][19.8]
[00:07:28] You’re crazy like no. [00:07:30][1.5]
[00:07:31] Of course not. Like, I just had that, I was told that by several trainers over the course of maybe five years. And I was like, you know what, maybe I should, because then people would ask me, hey, how do you do this? How come you’re fit? How come you’re this, well, OK, all right, I’ll do it. [00:07:47][16.1]
[00:07:48] But I also wanted to live in Japan. That was another dream that I was waiting to fulfill while I was in L.A. I went in the meantime while because, as I said, I’m from Mexico, but to go teach English in Japan, I needed to be an American citizen and my mom’s American. But I was a resident. I had to wait until I had my citizenship to apply to go to Japan. So in the meantime, I went to L.A. and I did acting and modeling there. And then I was like, OK, but let me go to Japan first. But what if I don’t get in? So I got my certification before I left. I did get in. I went to Japan for two years. [00:08:17][29.7]
[00:08:18] I taught PE classes in Japanese high school and it was super fun. I was an English teacher. But, you know, they have you get involved with the students. And it was just really, really fun because I taught them, I did three different ones and one was just all cardio, like high-intensity interval training then the other one was just yoga. And then the other one was strength training. And so, like, I kicked their little butts, but, you know, like it was awesome. [00:08:42][23.5]
[00:08:42] And then the teachers were, how old were they? How old were the kids? [00:08:44][1.8]
[00:08:44] They were high school. [00:08:45][0.4]
[00:08:45] The last three years of high school, because they do years like in Mexico, where it’s like three middle school, three high school. So they were between 15 and 18. [00:08:52][7.0]
[00:08:53] Wow. Yeah. Yeah. No, that sounds familiar. How did you begin. How did you begin your fitness stuff. [00:08:57][4.4]
[00:08:58] Oh, my mom’s always been super active. We come from a super active family just because my mom has like crazy amounts of energy, she’s always like, yeah, she’s like, let’s go hiking, let’s do something. [00:09:11][12.3]
[00:09:11] Let’s do this. Like, we never just watched TV or did anything. [00:09:14][2.6]
[00:09:14] So I just grew up exercising. And in sports, it was just always a thing. So yeah, I just continued it and then in high school joined high school sports. And then once I got to college, I wasn’t in any sports. And I just felt weird. Like once you have been active for so long, you can’t just sit around. So I kept working out, kept doing that. And then, you know, I really loved watching your body change. It’s fascinating. It’s so. Yeah, it’s so. I just watch my own body change and not even that, like you said, how you feel. You’re like, oh, I have so much energy, I’m sleeping great, I’m doing better in school. Like, everything just starts to come together. So I just changed my major. I originally wanted to do physical therapy because I wanted to help people. But then I realized that I wanted to help them in more ways than just that. And so I switched it to exercise science where it’s more focused around nutritional aspects and things like that, where I could kind of do almost I felt a little bit more with it for where I wanted to go in life. So then I switched into that and then we ended up moving to El Paso. And now we’re here and I’m oh, we love it. And we’re still working out when I have a son. So he’s always busy, always playing, and we’re always looking up like what’s the youngest soccer league that they have, like something to get them interested. I also think if you give people tools early on, it also helps so much then they don’t have to have that same struggle that you had, because even though my mom was always active, she was still always like on a diet. She was wanting to look how TV looks. And it’s not always realistic for us, you know. [00:10:56][101.2]
[00:10:57] Right. So and she never really went about it the healthy way because she was uneducated. So she was just kind of, sorry… [00:11:04][7.4]
[00:11:05] Mom, she just didn’t know about it. [00:11:11][5.7]
[00:11:12] She doesn’t know about fitness and how carbs and everything actually work in your body. She just sees Pinterest and she’s like, oh, same as how you were talking about earlier. Well, this keto works for them, so I’m gonna do it. But if you don’t know what’s actually happening in your body, you don’t know the results because you’re not doing it correctly, you’re not following everything, there’s so much misinformation. So I love that you love to spread information and teach our clients like real-life skills that they’re going to use and implement. [00:11:44][32.6]
[00:11:44] Lizette what kind of other clients do you have? What kind of clients do you like to train? What’s your thing that you enjoy the most? [00:11:49][4.5]
[00:11:49] My thing. Look, you know what? I enjoy all kinds. And I really have had all kinds of clients. [00:11:55][6.0]
[00:11:56] I’ve had everything from people who used to be athletes in school who now aren’t like they’ve only been out from being athletes for like six months. So they’re still super fit and they want to keep training, you know, so I can really push them really hard for that. [00:12:08][12.9]
[00:12:10] So that’s really fun because I get to play with them and really push them and have them do crazy things that I’d come up with. It’s like, OK, now let’s jump over that box. And then you’re gonna pick up this weight and then you’re going to do a clean & press and then you gonna turn around. Are you’re going to do it again? OK. Because they can. Right. [00:12:26][16.5]
[00:12:27] But then also something that I love is the people that are looking for transformation. They’re like, you know what? Like, I just feel sluggish. I feel tired. I just don’t feel good. I’m starting to feel the pounds adding up and I just have aches and pains. It’s like, OK, let’s start. I love seeing them progress. I love seeing a person who can do 10 squats and be dying. And then by the end of the month, they’re hitting out the 20 and by the 20, they’re dying. But they look so much stronger. They feel great. They already told me, I feel stronger, I can sleep better, you know. And that’s just so I feel like my favorite is probably the transformation. [00:13:11][44.1]
[00:13:13] Like seeing their aha moments almost when they realize that they’re like, I’m here is when I’m doing this is what I’ve wanted. And yeah, like you said, that progress. That you first start seeing that it gives them, you even motivation to help them even more. And it’s great. It just…� [00:13:29][15.9]
[00:13:29] Keeps going. Exactly like when people are like struggling to do a push up on their knees. And then the first time you see them do five off their knees and they’re so proud of themselves. Yes. [00:13:39][9.6]
[00:13:39] You’re so proud of them. It’s like, yes. Over like, oh, I didn’t have any cravings this week because they finally were able to put themselves through, you know, like cleaning out their eating. [00:13:52][13.1]
[00:13:52] And now they’re used to eating healthy and eating like the healthy versions of sweet things or whatever it is, you know, and just having them have their aha moment, having them feel and live the transformation and understand it and be like, I love this, I can do this and I want to do this forever. That’s my favorite. [00:14:10][18.1]
[00:14:11] That makes a big difference, you know. El Paso has been in the last couple of years. I’ve been here since 1991, so I’ve seen the transition. When I first came here, El Paso was really dilapidated. It was a different town. And I got to say that when I first, I came from South Florida, my background was a fitness person and we were all into exercise physiology in Florida and California when we came out. When I came out here in 91, it was, there was no one into fitness. It was hard. They didn’t understand what it was to diet. There were a lot of metabolic syndromes, a lot of issues with weight, you know, waist-hip ratios. It just wasn’t important at one point. As I mentioned before in a prior podcast says that El Paso was considered the fattest sweatiest town in the United States. At one point. So this is within about. Around 2000, I started seeing a migration of a lot of fitness people and a lot of people that really took to it. And it’s really cool to see you guys because you guys have a love for fitness. [00:15:07][56.4]
[00:15:09] That’s endemic everywhere in El Paso, where right now we’re inside of the Push Fitness Center. It’s a Crossfit type of fitness center. Daniel Alvarado owns it. And he’s the one that actually might be here in a few moments. But what I wanted to say was that the world has changed in terms of fitness and it’s got a lot of individuals like yourselves out there teaching people, showing people. Where do you teach people at? Where is your fitness center at? [00:15:33][24.4]
[00:15:34] Well, right now, at the moment, I am not at a fitness center, but when I do have a fitness center, where I have been is Matt’s personal training and wellness center, which is on Airport Road. And so I am one of the trainers that use those facilities. [00:15:51][16.5]
[00:15:52] Before that, I was working at Gold’s Gym. But right now the goal is to have my own small, just small gym for only personal training. Personal coaching. Yeah, yeah. I originally wanted to have like actually kind of like this, like the push fitness, you know, not necessarily Crossfit but like a small gym where anybody can come and do their workouts. And also I’d like hit, I like teaching like short 30 minute hit classes. [00:16:16][23.9]
[00:16:16] When you say hit, what do you do particularly in your hit classes? [00:16:18][2.1]
[00:16:19] My gosh, so many things. [00:16:22][3.2]
[00:16:24] So for hit, I enjoy anything that is a lot, enjoy is a very particular word because it’s like you kind of hate it at that moment, but then you feel so good afterward. [00:16:34][9.8]
[00:16:35] And it’s a lot of jumping. So a lot of plyo. Plyometrics. So a lot of jumping. A lot of like box jobs. Burpees, love the burpees. The best thing is the combos of burpees and something else. So for example, like a burpee to a clean & press, burpee, clean & press and then just do that like 10 times and then you do something else. A lot of slam ball. You know, I love doing those in a lot of compound movements. And I also like doing the HIRT, which is high-intensity resistance training. So it’s kind of like hit. But instead of so much jumping. Right, you’re doing more of the strength. So really pushing, pushing, pushing short sets. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Between four and six minutes. And then I give a break, maybe 45 seconds to a minute and then we keep going. [00:17:18][43.0]
[00:17:19] That’s awesome. You know, with the transition, with the people who are stuck at home. How have you adapted to that situation in terms of the COVID protocol? [00:17:27][8.4]
[00:17:27] No. Well, basically virtual. Just seeing everybody virtual. I live in a small apartment, but I have a space where I can move. So I just tell my clients, make sure you find a spot in your house, your backyard, wherever you can. Where you have enough room to do A, B, and C before we have our meeting. And then we meet up and on Zoom. Zoom. Uh-huh.[00:17:49][21.6]
[00:17:49] And basically I usually end up working out with my clients. I’m going to be honest with you. I can’t stand there watching you do push-ups. [00:17:58][8.1]
[00:17:58] You know what? That’s true. It’s true. It is a fitness individual. I don’t know the idea that the best workouts are when you do it with somebody. Right. So, you know, in terms of even as a young kid, I was involved in training individuals and it was not fun watching. You know, it’s like I’m wasting my life here watching you. Right. So you get in there with them, you know, and while you’re in there, you give them the right amount of time to rest. And it’s almost like back and forth. So it’s kind of in tune the same way. So I like that. What other things do you do in terms of the times? The time? [00:18:32][34.0]
[00:18:33] Well, besides that, because a lot of people don’t have equipment at home. So I am implementing a lot of my hit workouts with the people that can do it. But for example, my older clients, they can’t really be, you know, like jumping around and doing things like that. But we work more on balance and flexibility and just basic strength. So no equipment workouts, which honestly, you don’t necessarily need equipment to get a good workout. You can always kick your butt with nothing like you, just your own body weight. So I do a lot of body weight. If people happen to have a lot of us have equipment, you know, at home, like some of us have a couple of dumbbells or a band or something. So I just adapt to whatever they have at home, be that nothing or a full gym at home. You know, some people are lucky and they just have a full gym so I can go all out. [00:19:22][49.1]
[00:19:22] What do you think of this new movement with the rubber bands and people using, you know, elastic bands to be able to supplement? [00:19:27][4.7]
[00:19:27] I like it. I like it a lot because of several things. One, it’s cheaper, so it makes strength training more reachable for anybody. More approachable. [00:19:39][11.5]
[00:19:41] And you can take it anywhere so you can travel with them. You can keep your routine even if you travel. And another thing that I like as a trainer and fitness person, you know, you need variety both in what you eat and what you do activity-wise. So I think they also add a nice variety to what you can do with them. The only thing is you need to know, like with so many other things, you need to educate yourself or have someone educate you about how to properly use them because it’s so easy for a band, for example, to put it in the wrong place by your knees and put the pressure in the wrong place, and I’m sure as you know, you could mess up joints and things by not putting the right equipment in the right place. So if you’re using a band wrong, you could potentially maybe cause some damage if you don’t. Don’t know how to use it properly. [00:20:29][48.3]
[00:20:29] Yeah, we were, I was watching, my son, who he actually trains people and they got caught in Chicago and they were kind of held in the university and no gym. The gyms were closed and out there in Chicago as well. And they developed these kinds of rubber band techniques. [00:20:45][15.2]
[00:20:46] That are amazing. And he calls his group, the functional fitness fellows. But what they learn is with all those exercises that you guys do with the rubber bands, you know, it really helps out the joints because the rubber bands kind of glide in the direction of the body movement. And that’s not obvious until you go through it. You feel like, man, this feels good. This rubber band. And then you also get the negative joy out of it, too, because you’re holding it from snapping back. Right. So it’s really a really cool thing. So I think that’s cool. What are the, do you work on diets as well? [00:21:19][32.6]
[00:21:19] Yes. Yes, I actually do a lot of nutrition. So anybody that I train for fitness, I also coach them in their nutrition. Again, we were talking about how they go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other. And so for diets, I usually, it depends on what people’s goals are. Most people, especially in El Paso, like we’re talking about, most people are looking to lose weight, get fit. Right. So first of all, to lose weight, we need to balance things out. I always, always suggest to everybody, just for health in general, is to balance your plate in a way that half of it, half to 75 percent of it, should be vegetables. [00:21:59][39.3]
[00:22:00] That’s what I just, makes me happy, you know. Yeah. And I think that’s the best. Why? Because they have fiber. They have vitamins, minerals. They have all the good stuff that we need. [00:22:08][8.6]
[00:22:09] Well, if you look at a food plate now, if you just Google like what a food plate should be. So much of it is grains and bread. And it’s not. It’s like the person who made it isn’t. They need more vegetables, you know. So that, yeah, we need more. [00:22:24][15.1]
[00:22:24] I struggle with that with clients precisely because they see that plate. And it’s like but here it says that I need to have bread every day. A quarter of my plate should be bread. Well, no though. Yeah. Especially not if you want to lose weight and especially not that bread. It’s like, you know. [00:22:42][17.7]
[00:22:42] And so basically I always recommend. You want weight loss. You want to feel better. Let’s cut out all the super processed grains first. First of all, no pasta, no bread, no cookies, no processed sugar, no added sugars. That’s my first step. [00:22:55][12.5]
[00:22:55] And what do you, what do they say when that happens? What are they going to get? [00:22:58][2.7]
[00:22:58] They get very sad. But it’s also like unknowing sadness. [00:23:06][8.0]
[00:23:07] Like I knew you were going to say that, you know, it’s kind of like they don’t say it, but you can see it in their eyes. And it’s like, I’m sorry. Like, I know everyone wants to hear magical. What do you call like a recipe, a magical recipe that just like snaps and I can eat and do whatever and just Netflix all day and eat chips and be skinny but and fit? But you can’t like. You can’t. Yeah. So, yeah, 50 to 75 percent veggies. The other quarter or half should be balanced between proteins and healthy fats and maybe a few carbs but whole grains. And I always suggest that whole grains and that type of starches and things are kept to a minimum. [00:23:49][42.0]
[00:23:49] I always recommend especially for weight loss, either just keep them out completely or two to three times a week. I would say no more than three times a week is what I recommend. And I usually recommend my clients to eat their grains, whole preferably, you know, brown rice or quinoa or buckwheat. Oh, my God, I’m loving buckwheat. I just started buying it and eating it. And I love it. [00:24:11][22.1]
[00:24:12] I mean, but it’s very little like you literally need half a cup. You know you don’t need a million pounds of this. You don’t need to fill up a bowl with rice or something and then put like three vegetables on it. [00:24:24][12.5]
[00:24:24] It’s the opposite. [00:24:25][0.3]
[00:24:25] So do you do the Zoom diets, too, as well. Do you help them out with their diet? [00:24:28][3.0]
[00:24:28] Yeah. Yeah, we do. So I do. For nutrition coaching we usually talk and kind of like this. [00:24:32][3.8]
[00:24:33] It’s basically a conversation, you know the first time I get to know my client, we talk about it. What are your needs? What do you do? What is your schedule? Do you like to cook? Do you have time to cook? [00:24:44][11.7]
[00:24:45] Because all of these are important things, you know, and. Yeah, and yeah cooking makes life easier. But at the same time, not everyone has the time or ability. [00:24:52][7.6]
[00:24:53] And you want to make a plan for them that they’ll stick to. [00:24:55][2.2]
[00:24:55] Yeah, exactly. And you want them to stick to it. So I always try to work with them in regards to. Okay. What do you have available this and this and this. I make a note. We talk about it. I give them the information we verbally. But then once we’re done, now that we’re doing it this way, once we’re done, I send an email that has all the knowledge that I have. So everything that we talk about portions, the plate, portion sizes. So, like, measure your proteins like this. Like, for example, your fist is good to measure your vegetables. And for example, for women, we want to eat at least four to six portions a day. [00:25:29][33.9]
[00:25:30] So it’s like that’s an easy way to eyeball it. [00:25:33][3.2]
[00:25:36] I’m not the best. Always, at getting four to six, but it’s a good number to have again. [00:25:41][5.5]
[00:25:43] Four to six is good. You know what? For many of the diets, you kind of try to figure out which diets can work for people. Sometimes we end up with like Mediterranean, low fat, low carbohydrate diets. These diets, they change. I’m finding that a lot of the, just for El Paso in general, from the Mediterranean to low fats to even the ketogenic diet and though there’s been a lot of talk about the ketogenic diet. Do you do that? Do you offer those or what kind of diets do you like working with an individual, with an individual? [00:26:12][29.8]
[00:26:13] It really again, it depends on the person, because you also have to take into account like vegan people, people who are vegan, who are vegetarian or who have certain allergies to certain things. And so you need to really take a lot of that into account. And so I don’t necessarily prefer those like very restrictive diets, like keto and things only because people have a really hard time sticking to them. [00:26:41][28.2]
[00:26:42] I don’t know anyone who can for a long time, no. It’s hard. [00:26:44][2.4]
[00:26:45] And then they always want to, like, kind of cheat. And it’s like, oh. But I had this, too. And it’s like, no, no, no. Like, if you’re doing keto, it’s so specific. [00:26:52][7.1]
[00:26:52] Like Kenna was talking about, if you don’t know what this process is doing in your body, like there’s a specific reason why you’re only supposed to eat A, B, and C, but not D, E, F, you know. And if you add a little bit of these other ones, you’re throwing the whole thing off balance and instead of losing weight and still feeling better, you’re going to actually ruin it. So I prefer to work on something that is sustainable, which would be just OK. Kind of like portioned yourself. Try aim for the plates. But I do like paleo. Yeah, I love paleo or like primal ish. Yes. I always say that my diet is kind of primal ish. How so? Because I stick mostly meats, vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruits, meats. I don’t do a lot of byproducts like I’ll eat eggs for example that. But that’s something that you could have gotten, you know, primally. I do. And then the ish comes from the grain sometimes, you know. Mm-hmm. So my ish comes from grains, sometimes cooked potatoes which, obviously that wasn’t a thing that they were doing. And my added sugars, I guess, which I don’t do a lot of. And I use monk fruit and I use stevia. But for the most part, I try to eat as whole as possible. And I consider that primal ish. Because it’s mostly things that are the least processed possible, and that’s what I prefer to give people. [00:28:24][92.0]
[00:28:25] Do you give your clients like help in the grocery store? Like, I know I learned when I first went to college and I had to buy my own groceries, that if you stick to usually the outside of the grocery stores, you’re gonna be way healthier because once you start going in those aisles, that’s where you start. All of the bad stuff, all the additives, it all starts coming in. And a lot of people I didn’t even think about it until I was in that position. I was like, wow, that’s true. Yeah. So what kind of tips do you give your clients when it comes to grocery shopping and success and things like that? [00:28:57][32.6]
[00:28:58] Basically that. Exactly, yeah. When I first heard the saying I was already doing it, but I hadn’t thought about it. [00:29:04][5.8]
[00:29:05] And so when I heard shop the perimeter of the store is when I thought, oh, no wonder I never know where anything is inside, like in the middle. I always if I ever need a can of something. Yeah. I’m like I don’t know where they have that or like if I’m going to bake. And I actually need regular flour for something like I don’t know where that is because I always just like shop the perimeter of the store. So yes, that’s I would definitely do that when shopping. [00:29:31][26.1]
[00:29:32] Just stick to buying things that have the least amount of processing. [00:29:36][4.4]
[00:29:37] So if you go around the perimeter, you get all your vegetables, you get your meats, you get your animal products right. You have your eggs, your milk, your cheese, you have all those things. So I think that’s a really good idea. You also have your freezers, which while they do have all the bad frozen stuff, they also are frozen fruits and veggies, which, as we know sometimes can be better than buying fresh, because if the zucchini is sitting in your fridge for two weeks, it’s lost a lot of nutrition. [00:30:04][26.5]
[00:30:04] But if you buy some frozen stuff, you can actually, you know, it keeps its nutrients a little better so you can make smoothies, especially for people who don’t have a lot of time. [00:30:15][10.5]
[00:30:15] I recommend frozen fruits, for example, and just kind of like throw them in there for the smoothies, some yogurt and let’s go, you know, quick breakfast. [00:30:22][6.9]
[00:30:23] We’re big fans, big smoothie fans here. Yes, big fans. Because, as you said, they’re just so fast. Yes. And you just throw everything you need in there. You’ve got your fruit. You can do vegetables in there, too. [00:30:33][10.3]
[00:30:34] Lizette, we have Daniel here. Daniel, come on in. Have a seat, please. [00:30:40][6.8]
[00:31:30] Daniel. Just to turn to you for a little bit here. I’ve noticed that in the last couple of days this place gets really packed in terms of people looking for new fitness during these periods of time. How has it been during this COVID period of time for you in terms of the diets, in terms of fitness? [00:31:43][14.0]
[00:31:46] It’s been a lot of adaptabilities trying to make sure to make everybody feel as comfortable and safe as possible, so we have constant like screening in every single class as far as wiping things down and mopping the area. I mean, the cleaners, the gym has never been cleaner than ever before, which is. [00:32:03][16.3]
[00:32:03] And I can attest to that. I love this place. I really wanna eat in this place, man. I want to eat off the floor. [00:32:07][3.9]
[00:32:10] But with that and then with still the online training promos that we’re doing, that I’m sending online it still gives people the option of either coming into the gym or doing it at home. We were able to rent, lend some equipment so they can feel comfortable and so do it at home until they feel safe and coming back to the gym. But through all of that, what I’ve told people is that they have to make sure that the workouts have to be a little bit longer than here because they’re living more sedentary lifestyles so they can’t eat the same as they were before. Even if you were used to driving from point A to point B, up and down, and round, you’re still doing more activity than you were before, because now you’re just behind the computer, sitting down and you sit down and then you go to the sofa. And then when you’re on the sofa, you water the grass. Isn’t going to the refrigerator… [00:33:04][54.5]
[00:33:05] Exercise? Unless you put your refrigerator a mile away from your house. That’s a good idea. Come to your house. Everyone can eat it at your refrigerator. [00:33:15][10.7]
[00:33:16] Only. Ten burpees on your way to the fridge every time. [00:33:19][3.3]
[00:33:20] Yeah, that’s a good idea. Ten burpees on the way to the fridge. You know what? That makes it worthwhile. Just punishment for opening the door. Exactly. [00:33:28][8.1]
[00:33:29] So I’ve noticed that everyone’s doing a lot of people, as I was just speaking regarding that she does the I guess the telehealth over the phone, over the systems, and in the Internet. And Zoom, you found that to be very comfortable. I know you began that process when this COVID got really hard and heavy. [00:33:45][15.9]
[00:33:46] You were all over it, like just talking to people one on one on the Internet. How did that work out? [00:33:51][4.9]
[00:33:52] Danny oh, me? Yeah. Yeah. [00:33:56][3.6]
[00:33:57] You know, it was a little bit. It was a harder transition for me first. Took me about a week after we shut down. To actually get it going. Just because. First of all, I’m not the craziest about even face time, I don’t like looking at myself when I’m talking to someone it’s weird. So I would have to shut off the camera. But then it defeats the purpose. You know, some people want to see you. So we develop videos and it shows you how to whether it’s me or another instructor and how to do the workouts and things like that. And then all our app is messaging. So you can instantly message on the app. And now we send out motivational quotes, daily tips, you know, things like that to help them keep them going. This is a transition because I got used to, you know, interacting with people on a day to day basis. So seeing me on a computer, which I hadn’t done in a very long time since I was back in school. Yeah. Was different for me, but it was good. I mean, you have to adapt to survive, you know. [00:34:54][57.0]
[00:34:56] You know, I’ve seen the whole world go through a massive transition in terms of the fitness. She was talking about the diets and how do you help people with diets and tune in to diets during this period of time? [00:35:07][10.9]
[00:35:09] Initially, first I ask what their lifestyle was like. Obviously, if they love working in a warehouse trying to keep them on a low carb diet like that is probably not the most ideal. They’re sweating, losing electrolytes, things like that. So they’re gonna be grumpy and dehydrated at the end of the day, so once they get their lifestyle, then from there I can adapt to their cording needs. You know, if they only work out three times a week, will we adjust more carbs on those workout days, less carbs on the non-workout days? So everything’s just right. Yeah, balance and manageability according to what the individual’s lifestyle is like. [00:35:50][41.4]
[00:35:52] You know, it’s really a big thing. And let me ask you this, how are people adapting to coming out and especially during these times? How are they feeling when they come in? And with all the regulations and all the fear that is behind people? [00:36:05][13.1]
[00:36:06] Well, we ensure that if before they walk into a door, if our main focus is that they can smell bleach, OK, if they can smell bleach, then our gym facilities are clean. So we try to keep that and I know this sounds kind of dumb, but I do ask people, hey, how does it smell? I’m sure you can smell the cleaning from the parking lot. Cool. We’re good. So that’s what makes people feel initially comfortable. Obviously they’re not inhaling it. So don’t misconstrue my words. [00:36:37][30.9]
[00:36:38] Well, well, well. We do have a biochemist on the line here. OK. So the biochemist would be my son and he calls me up and he goes… [00:36:46][7.2]
[00:36:46] Hey, Dad, listen, I know that you like the smell of bleach and I go yeah, that means it’s clean. But I want you to know something, chlorine is odorless. [00:36:54][8.3]
[00:36:56] It’s a good point. So he says it’s when it binds to certain urea molecules. Right. Where the smell of the chlorine comes out. So actually, the smell at a pool and the smell in an area is the actual effect of it’s combining with human dynamics. Isn’t that interesting? [00:37:14][18.1]
[00:37:15] So I don’t know if I wanted to know. [00:37:16][1.4]
[00:37:17] Oh, yes. I don’t think you wanted to know. But hey, you know what? [00:37:19][2.2]
[00:37:19] I got to tell you, it lets you know that when it’s being used and you smell that combination, it’s doing its job, working and working. [00:37:27][7.3]
[00:37:27] It’s working because chlorine. [00:37:30][3.0]
[00:37:31] Oh yes. Well yeah. Well you know I don’t know. This a different kind of show. I mean. He just took it to far. Yeah. Thank you. You took it too well but thank you for coming by Danny. No, no, no. [00:37:44][13.1]
[00:37:44] So, we’re looking at it and it really, really is a big difference because we’ve seen a lot of people. And what I was surprised with Danny is knowing how many people are, Lizette, there’s a lot of people out there, you know, that need the fitness. Right. Are you finding a lot of people coming to and knocking on your door to asking for your kind of like, help me now? [00:38:01][16.1]
[00:38:01] Because this is a real big problem. A lot of people don’t know what to do and they need help. Do you see that there’s a lot of people outreaching towards you right now because of the situation? [00:38:10][9.2]
[00:38:10] Yes, yes. Yes. Now, especially now that it’s been months and people are seeing the effects of their change of lifestyle, you know, the less walking, the less activity and the improper eating. Yeah, I have actually over the last week even I was approached by like three people within two days. Yes. That’s like not normal. [00:38:34][23.9]
[00:38:35] Right. Right. Because I’m not even promoting right now and we promote via social media. [00:38:40][5.3]
[00:38:42] You know, it’s like. Oh. Oh, jeez. OK. Yeah. Yeah. [00:38:45][2.6]
[00:38:45] You know what? I get ready to see sometimes though the context through the push and I see people 3:00 in the morning, hey I need help at 2:00 in the morning. People all over the time just we need help. We need to have individuals out there that can help us and guide us. So it’s really cool to see what’s going on. Let me ask you this in terms of these times, nutritional tips. Tell me a little bit about like what kind of nutritional tips you tell people. Danny just mentioned some things about, you know, certain things to eat. How do you do it? [00:39:13][27.9]
[00:39:14] Well, along the lines of what Danny was saying is exactly like a great point is making sure that what you’re taking in matches what you’re doing during the day. So if you’re doing your workout that day and you have like really intense workout or really intense job, you can eat maybe your carbs that day, you know, like add some rice or some buckwheat or quinoa to your lunch. On the other days, if you’re not doing anything, you only maybe walked for 30 minutes or an hour and then went home and just chilled all day. Then good salad, some grilled veggies, some steamed veggies, some grilled proteins or alternatives would be good. So my biggest tip is cut out all the additives that you don’t need, like sugars and super processed foods. But make sure that if you are exercising the days that you are active, you are ingesting the right amount of food and the right types of foods too, you know, like just basically that just match your foods, your intake to what you’re doing and mostly stick to the veggies, stick to the lean proteins. And then when you’re active, you can have a little bit of the starches. [00:40:26][71.4]
[00:40:27] I’d like to ask both you these questions because I know what we can talk forever and we have some gifted communicators here. But let me ask you this, Danny, in terms of like a visual how to set up a kitchen, you know, in terms of for success. I was, you know, kind of questioning. How do you approach a person and say, this is how I want you to set up your kitchen so that you can be successful? This is the domain. Everything starts in the kitchen. It starts there and from there propagates. So how do you help them out in terms of preparing the philosophy or the way of thinking for their kitchen? [00:41:01][34.2]
[00:41:03] In, man, that can be designed in 100 or one different, it depends on the person. [00:41:08][5.3]
[00:41:09] But. What I tell people is if they’re going to lose weight. [00:41:13][4.0]
[00:41:14] And it’s not healthy. Don’t buy it. That’s probably the easiest thing. Chips. Obviously, don’t buy them. Candy. Don’t buy it. [00:41:24][10.2]
[00:41:27] That’s true. Yes. [00:41:28][0.6]
[00:41:28] It’s a realistic way. Because if you buy it, I don’t care who you are. Even me, there’s a bag of chips at home. I’ll open them up and start eating away. [00:41:37][8.9]
[00:41:38] Yeah. Actually, yes. [00:41:38][0.6]
[00:41:39] So I’m not gonna tell people, you know, willpower. Just say no to those chips. It’s dumb, you know? It’s just don’t buy it because obviously at 9:00 at night, you’re less likely to go out to the corner store and buy chips or candy or ice cream or something like that. So it’s better you don’t buy it. So if, for example, your cheat day is on a Saturday, then go out on a Saturday and go buy, go to the grocery store and buy like somalo kind of ice cream. Don’t buy a tub of ice cream because you know, you’re eating it. [00:42:14][34.6]
[00:42:14] Well, I mean, you might finish in a day, but don’t. [00:42:17][3.2]
[00:42:18] But at least you have a gauge as far as what to do and what not to do. And then you can also do it as far as. Right. All right. So I didn’t buy this amount of extra and I saved forty bucks. Why don’t you take that 40 bucks and put it into like an extra count, you add it up? That’s an extra 300 bucks a month. And use that to reward yourself. You could buy, I don’t know whatever you’re into, not necessarily new clothes, something for your cars and for your house, you know, but find other means of reward for yourself, because if you’re just looking for food as a reward, then you’re going to go into a constant cycle of never losing weight. [00:42:56][37.9]
[00:42:56] Danny, you mentioned something that was real, real important. And I think sometimes we need some weight up quarantine ourselves because we’ll be good if we’re quarantined. [00:43:04][7.5]
[00:43:05] And one of the things is through the budget, if you can take the budget and you can say, I want to you know, my family typically spends, let’s say, four hundred dollars on their food a week because it gets expensive. Right. How about just say, you know what, I am not going to allow me this myself to spend more than 300 dollars. Right. And in that three hundred dollars, you kind of make you got to shoot it. Perfect. In other words, you’re not going to get the extra junk. The ice creams and the stuff you’re gonna get them, the stuff that is healthy inside the diet. And if you can do that. I bet you say that if a family that eats 400 hours a week can say, I’m going to make my budget last for 250, 250, let’s say 250, start with 250, and bust yourself to work 250 in that store and make sure that you don’t put anything extra at that point. You’ve hit close to the market. And before, you know, your refrigerator starts looking good, it starts looking nutritional things and you don’t have the extra the bonbons, the sugary stuff, the chocolates, the cookies, all those things get that are really, really bad in our diets. If they are expensive, too. And that’s what you were alluding to, that you say, you know what? That’s extra money. But if we don’t know and what’s 100 bucks a week for food and for a family that’s four hundred dollars a month? Well, that’s four hundred dollars. That’s five thousand dollars a year. That’s five thousand dollars. So if we look at it, if you look at one hundred, you can save about two thousand dollars almost. If you want a hundred fifty dollars. What can you do with two thousand dollars a year? That’s just on the budget side of things. Right. So if you can contain it and say, you know, I want to stick to that, it may help people also guide and make the right choices because I don’t have the option to go ahead and buy the chips aisle. That’s expensive. And that’s the stuff that gets us, you know, kind of unhealthy. Well, the well-nourished is what they call it. That’s what I call it in the books. Well-nourished. So those are the cool things. So let me ask you this in terms of nutritional tips for people to kind of be left with today, because I know we can talk for three days here. Nutritional tips. What are the nutritional tips during these times? If you could give them Lizette. Tell us about your nutritional tips for people during these times that would help them out. [00:45:14][129.0]
[00:45:14] My nutritional tips. [00:45:15][0.8]
[00:45:15] Well, part of like with the kitchen set up one thing that I feel like it’s important that you can implement. Some of the suggestions that I’ve said before is having the right kind of equipment in the kitchen, for example, if you have, for example, good nonstick pans. [00:45:31][16.2]
[00:45:32] That’s going to reduce the amount of oil because so many people are like, oh, well, just so it doesn’t stick a million gallons of oil, it’s like no no no get a good nonstick pan. [00:45:41][8.8]
[00:45:42] And then one teaspoon of oil should be enough to give your food a good flavor and kind of like, you know, measure yourself basically, measure your oil and make sure you have the right equipment. Bake things. Make sure you have stuff in the kitchen to bake, to grill. Anything baked, anything grilled is much better than anything fried. Right. Of course. [00:46:02][19.7]
[00:46:03] And get an air fryer. You can have. Oh, my gosh. Yes. You can get fries. You can have wings. But not extra greasy. You know, like every now and then when you have your treat instead of a super greasy meal, you know, you can make it. [00:46:17][13.6]
[00:46:17] So basically, just make sure you have the resources to make healthy choices. Like Danny’s point is exactly something that I always say is don’t keep it. That’s also my number one, is don’t keep junk at home. Only get it when you want it at the weekend. Whenever you cheat day is get one for that day and that’s it. Other than that, fill up on veggies and lean proteins and save the starch and the carbs for either when you worked out really, really hard, or only two to three times a week and only wholegrain. [00:46:48][30.9]
[00:46:49] Those are amazing tips. I could totally see myself doing that. You got some tips, Danny, for people during these times. [00:46:54][5.8]
[00:47:04] Make sure you distinguish whether if you’re thirsty or you’re hungry. It’s a lot of times people will confuse that. And so if you drink eight, 16 ounces of water, even you can swing it with a little crystal light. I don’t always recommend that, but you can chug that first. And if you’re still hungry, then your body needs some nutritional value. [00:47:25][20.3]
[00:47:25] But if you get full after you get energized, like you should be good, you’re just thirsty, dehydrated. [00:47:30][5.0]
[00:47:31] And then another thing too, is moderation of fruits. You know, apples and strawberries, blueberries, things like that. Anything like mangoes, bananas, a little bit higher in sugar. So maybe you can stay away from those because they sometimes will make you hungrier because they’ll release, certain hormones and they’ll trick your body into thinking that it’s really hungrier when it’s not. So a lot people will confuse that when you eat carbs. You sometimes get full, you get full for a short amount of time, and then you’re hungry right away again. And then you think your metabolism is going. But it’s not necessarily true. It’s releasing hormones as tricking the mind and the body to thinking that it’s hungry and it’s not full. [00:48:12][40.6]
[00:48:12] But in reality, you like it. You’re not hungry. Yes. Yes. So distinguishing those two as part of those, the top two of them on top of. Well, as I just said, that would help you. Like I said, the more basic, the better. The more complex, the more options give yourself, the harder it’s going to be. Every. There’s so many diets out there and they’re all good in their own way as long as you stay consistent. Yes. Reason diets don’t work is because everybody stops after fourteen or fifteen days and then they have to start the loop all over again. Takes 21 days to create a habit. So if you break that before you got it, you have to start every single time. So it’s like drive yourself crazy. It’s insane. You know? Yeah. [00:49:00][47.9]
[00:49:00] Well, I tell you, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned. You know, I’ve learned about monk fruit. You have mentioned the monk fruit and tell me before. But before you go, what do you, what’s your theories on monk fruit? Lizette. [00:49:10][9.8]
[00:49:11] Well, for now. So far. Yeah. Remember when Splenda was good? [00:49:16][5.2]
[00:49:17] What I gotta tell you right now, Splenda is like they’re saying, hey, you know what? Even stevia. You mean even organic stevia. It’s already like, you know, it’s on the cutlist. [00:49:24][6.6]
[00:49:24] Now it’s my Alzheimer’s. That’s right, Bill. You’re gonna leave me with no options. [00:49:31][7.3]
[00:49:32] Well, so far for until. For now, it seems like monk fruit. It tastes a lot like sugar. So it helps you with that like craving. But it doesn’t have the like the effect that the fruits or the grains will give you where your insulin is going to drop and then you’re gonna be hungry again. Or you store it in. It turns into fat or anything like that. So far it looks like it doesn’t. I love it because it doesn’t have that bitter chemical aftertaste. [00:50:01][28.7]
[00:50:01] That maybe some stevias do. And I’ve gotten away with sneaking that into desserts for kids and other people that don’t know that’s in it and they don’t notice the difference. Yeah, and they’re cutting a ton of calories. You know, I love it so far. [00:50:17][15.8]
[00:50:18] It’s an amazing little dynamic option there, because one of the things is, is that with diseases now, the monster is insulin. And if we can stop the insulin reaction from occurring, that is the name of the game, whether it’s through periodic eating or limiting your time slots of eating, the whole thing is to stop Lipoprotein lipase from putting it into fat. And the thing that does that is insulin. And monk fruit seems to not stimulate an insulin response. So that becomes the biochemistry, from what I understand. [00:50:49][30.5]
[00:50:49] And like you said, as of today, right now we don’t know. [00:50:53][4.4]
[00:50:53] So we’ll talk about those things as we go. Listen, guys, I want to thank you guys up and down on the bottom. You’ll see the connection to everybody here and the links directly to their facilities. And I look forward to having that. So we’ll be able to talk about some more things in the future. Thank you, Kenna. Thank you Lizette. Danny, thank you. Thank you, me. We’re all here. And it was a pretty comfortable place and it was a really interesting dynamics. And we’re gonna be bring different topics in. And as we go through the times and discuss those issues that are important to our people in El Paso, it’s very important to be able to kind of understand the minds, to be in with our patients. It’s not about them and us. It’s about we. So when we work together, we look together for solutions and it’s not so mezocryptic when you realize that people like us are all really trying to help everybody here. So look forward to connecting again and look forward to hearing from you. So, thank you, guys. Thank you again. [00:51:44][51.0]
PODCAST: Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Marius Ruja discuss the importance of personalized medicine genetics and micronutrients for overall health and wellness. Following a proper diet and participating in exercise alone isn’t enough to make sure that the human body is functioning properly, especially in the case of athletes. Fortunately, there are a variety of tests available that can help people determine if they have any nutritional deficiencies that may be affecting their cells and tissues. Vitamin and mineral supplements can also ultimately help improve an individual’s overall health and wellness. While we may not be able to change certain aspects of our genes, Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Marius Ruja discuss that following a proper diet and participating in exercise while taking the proper supplements, can benefit our genes and promote well-being. – Podcast Insight
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Thank You & God Bless.
Dr. Alex Jimenez RN, DC, MSACP, CCST
PODCAST: Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Marius Ruja discuss the importance of personalized medicine genetics and micronutrients for overall health and wellness. Following a proper diet and participating in exercise alone isn’t enough to make sure that the human body is functioning properly, especially in the case of athletes. Fortunately, there are a variety of tests available that can help people determine if they have any nutritional deficiencies that may be affecting their cells and tissues. Vitamin and mineral supplements can also ultimately help improve an individual’s overall health and wellness. While we may not be able to change certain aspects of our genes, Dr. Alex Jimenez and Dr. Marius Ruja discuss that following a proper diet and participating in exercise while taking the proper supplements, can benefit our genes and promote well-being. – Podcast Insight
[00:00:00] Welcome, guys. We’re Dr. Marius Ruja and myself. We’re going to be discussing some really important topics for those athletes that want the advantage. We’re going to be discussing real important clinical technologies, as well as information technologies that can really make an athlete or even just the average person a little bit more aware of what’s actually happening in terms of their health. There’s a new word out there, and I just have to kind of give you a little heads up, where we’re calling. We’re actually coming from the PUSH fitness center, it’s this huge monster that actually people are still working out late at night tonight and after going to church. So they’re working out and they’re having a good time. So what we want to do is we want to bring in these topics. And today we’re gonna be talking about personalized medicine. Mario, you know, ever heard of that word, Mario? [00:01:04][63.8]
[00:01:05] Yeah, all the time, Alex. All the time. I dream about it? There you go. Mario. [00:01:13][8.3]
[00:01:14] So we’re going to be talking about is the personalized arena of what we have now. We’ve come to a state where a lot of people tell us, hey, hey, you know what? You should have 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, is that what is specific to it. And I think one of the frustrations that a lot of us have, Mario, is that we don’t know what to eat, what to take, and what’s good for me doesn’t mean that it’s good for my friend. You know, Mario, it’s different. We come from a whole different kind of genre. We live in a place and we’ve gone through things that are different from 200 years ago. What do people do? Well, we’re going to be able to figure this out nowadays in today’s DNA dynamics, though, we don’t treat with these. It just gives us information and it allows us to relate to the issues that are affecting us. Now, today, we’re gonna be talking about personalized medicine and DNA testing and micronutrient assessments. So we’re gonna see what it is that we. How are our genes, the actual predisposing issues, or they’re the ones that give us the workings of our engine? And then also, if it’s good for that, then we also want to know what our level of nutrients is. Right now, I know, Mario, you had a very dear and near question the other day with one of your I think was your daughter. Oh, yeah. What was she? What was her question? [00:02:51][96.9]
[00:02:51] Yeah. So Mia had an excellent question, you know, she was asking me about, you know, utilizing Keratin, which is very predominant in and, you know, athletes, you know, it’s the buzz word, you know. You know, use creatine to build more muscle and such. So the point that I talk to you about, Alex, is, you know, this is something so serious, so, so important that we cannot let in in terms of the sports environment, performance environment. It’s like taking a Bugatti and you’re going, well, you know what? Hey, what do you think about like just putting, like, you know, synthetic oil in? Well, is it the synthetic oil that is necessary or that Bugatti? Well, it’s good because it’s synthetic. Well, no. There are lots of different forms of synthetic. 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, you know, the generality. Well, let them know who Mia is?� [00:04:06][75.0]
[00:04:07] What does she do? What kind of. Oh, yeah. [00:04:08][1.1]
[00:04:08] Mia, you know, Mia plays tennis. So her passion is tennis. And she’s nationally ranked 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, you know, kind of disconnect. Now she’s getting back into, you know, the fitness mode. So she wants to optimize. She wants to really, you know, 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 that we look at it in that conversation of sports performance and also genetic nutritional conversation, functional medicine conversation. It’s like let’s get really functional. Let’s be on point instead of buckshot. [00:05:20][71.3]
[00:05:21] You know, it’s like you can go in and say, you know, it generalities. But in terms of this, there’s not a lot of information that is out there for athletes. And that’s where the conversation 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, we see 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…� [00:06:00][39.3]
[00:06:00] Talked about that, to support that weakness in that DNA, that genetic pattern with something that we can strengthen. [00:06:11][10.7]
[00:06:12] I mean, you can’t go and change your genetics, but you surely can increase and be specific with your micronutrients to really change that platform and strengthen it and decrease the risk factors. [00:06:23][11.4]
[00:06:24] It’s fair to say now that the technology is such Mario that we can actually find the… I wouldn’t say weaknesses, but the variables that allow 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 SNP or single nucleic polymorphisms where we can actually figure out there’s a certain set of genes that 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 nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics. So when I say nutrigenomics, this is nutrition, altering and affecting the genome right. To a more adaptive or more opportunistic dynamics. Now, wouldn’t you like to know what genes you have that are vulnerable? Wouldn’t she like to know where her vulnerability is? [00:07:18][53.8]
[00:07:18] What do we all want to know? [00:07:19][0.8]
[00:07:19] 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 too, from tournament to tournament. [00:07:30][11.0]
[00:07:31] And you cannot afford to have low energy that, you know, 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, you know, increase that green intake, that 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, they’re 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? Are we just guessing, right, Alex? [00:08:36][65.4]
[00:08:36] 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. Right. Crazy, we don’t know where we have holes. We don’t know where we need them. That, you know, there are certain deficiencies. You got bleeding gums. Most likely you’ve got some sort of scurvy or, you know, some sort of issue there that you’re meeting especially. But let’s assume we look at things like scurvy. Right. Well, we know that gums start bleeding well, and it’s sometimes not that obvious, right. That 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 cofactors, a CO factor 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, right. Because it produces the proteins that code those enzymes. Right. So but those enzymes, they have cofactors like minerals, like magnesium, iron, potassium, selenium, as you mentioned, and all different components. As we look at this, this hole that we’re facing a wall. We would love to know exactly where our holes are because, Bob, you’re my best friend says, you know, you should take protein, take whey protein, you should take iron, you should take this. Maybe so. And we’re hit or miss. Right. So today’s technology is allowing us to see exactly what it is, where we have the holes and this point that you mentioned about the holes. [00:10:03][86.7]
[00:10:04] Again, the majority of the factors are not that extreme, like. Like scurvy, you know, bleeding gums. We’re not. I mean, we live in a society where gosh. I mean, Alex, we have all the food that we need. As a matter of fact, we got too many foods. It’s crazy. I mean, again, the issues that we talk about is 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 really looking and addressing the component of what. [00:10:35][31.4]
[00:10:37] Subclinical issues. You know, we don’t have the symptoms. We don’t really have those big marker symptoms, you know, 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, again, are not things that are huge, but those are subclinical, that erode our health and performance little by little. For example, with athletes, they can not be just good. They need to be tip of the spear top. They need to recover so quickly because, in their performance pattern, they do not have time to guess. [00:11:19][41.9]
[00:11:19] And I see that they don’t. You know, as you mentioned, that I mean, most of these athletes, when they want to assess their bodies. They want to know where every weakness is, they’re like scientists or laboratory rats for themselves. They’re pushing their bodies to the extreme from mental to physical to psychosocial. Everything is affecting them, put it in at full throttle. But they want to know. They want to know 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? A two more second drop in over a period of time, a microsecond drop? Well, the point is that the 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. [00:12:04][44.8]
[00:12:05] We have doctors around the world, scientists around the world looking at the human genome, and seeing these issues specifically at SNPs, these single nuclear polymorphisms that can be changed or that can be altered or can be assisted in the dietary ways. [00:12:19][14.5]
[00:12:20] Go ahead. I’ll give you one, the InBody. [00:12:23][2.6]
[00:12:24] How about that? Yeah, that’s a tool right there. That is critical for a conversation with an athlete. The InBody is body composition. Yeah. BMI. Yes. You know, you’re looking at it in terms of your hydration pattern. [00:12:37][13.2]
[00:12:38] You’re looking at in terms of like. Yes. Body fat, that whole conversation, everyone wants to know. You know, I’m overweight, my belly fat. Again, we’re talking about how we had conversations on metabolic syndrome. We had conversations on risk factors, you know, high triglycerides, very low… [00:12:53][15.9]
[00:12:54] HDL. High LDL. I mean, those are risk factors that put you in a pattern in that line towards diabetes and that line towards, you know, cardiovascular disease in that line of dementia. But when you’re talking about an athlete, you’re not worried about diabetes. They’re worried about am I ready for the next tournament? And I want to make the cut. [00:13:15][21.0]
[00:13:15] I’m going to the Olympics. That’s yes. [00:13:16][1.1]
[00:13:17] That’s I mean, they’re not, that’s what they want to do and that InBody and the micronutrient that 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, I mean, everyone’s listening to us, you know, if you 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 like a pro, that means you’re grinding. I mean, you’re pushing your body to limits, neuromuscular. Again, 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 micro nutrition-specific chiropractic work. Then you’re going to damn it, you’re not going to make it. [00:14:25][68.4]
[00:14:26] We’re going to show that we’ve been able to see in a lot of times cities come together for certain sports, such as wrestling. Right. Wrestling is one of those notorious sports that puts the body through massive, massive emotional and physical stresses. But a lot of times what happens is individuals have to lose weight. You’ve got to have guys hundred sixty pounds. He’s got to drop down 130 pounds. Right. So what the city has done in order to avoid these things is to use specific bodies, specific weight, and they determine actually what’s the molecular weight of the urine. Right. So they can actually tell you are you too concentrated. Right. So what they do is that they have all these kids line up all the way to UTEP. Right. And they do a specific gravity test to determine if they’re able to lose any more weight or what’s the weight that they’re 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. Right. [00:15:19][53.4]
[00:15:20] 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 what happens is when the kids in a load and he’s fighting another person that isn’t 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 maybe the supplementation that the person has had, maybe their calcium has been so depleted that all of a sudden you’ve got this kid who’s 100 injuries, pops say it again, injuries, the elbow snaps he has dislocated. That’s what we see. And we wonder, how did he snap his elbow because his body has been depleted from these supplements. [00:15:58][38.0]
[00:15:59] 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 is no coaching, no subs. You are in that gladiator arena. I mean, when I see Mia playing, okay. 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 like 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. The factor of…� [00:16:46][46.6]
[00:16:47] Optimal, optimal micronutrition connected with the conversation of what exactly do you need in terms of genomic conversation, will allow someone to scale up with a decrease risk factor of injuries where they know they can push themselves more and they have the confidence. [00:17:09][21.4]
[00:17:09] Alex. Alex, I’m telling you, this is not just nutrition. This is about the conference to know I got what I need and I can redline this thing. And it’s going to hold. [00:17:21][11.2]
[00:17:21] It’s not going to buckle. You know, that said, you know, I got a little Bobby. He wants to wrestle and he wants to be in. And the biggest nightmares, the moms, because you know what? They’re the ones that want Bobby to thump the other Bobby. Right, Bob or Billy. Right. And when their kids are getting thumped on, they want to provide them. And moms are the best cooks. They’re the ones they take care of. Right. They’re the ones that make sure. And you can see it that the pressure on the child is immense when parents are watching. And sometimes it’s just incredible to watch. But what can we give moms? What can we do for the parents to give them a better understanding of what’s going on? I’ve got to tell you, today’s with DNA tests, you know, all you have to do is kind of get the kid in the morning, open his mouth, you know, do a swab, drag that stuff off the side of his cheek, put it in a little done, done within a couple of days. What we actually can tell if Bobby’s got strong ligaments, if Bobby’s micronutrient levels are different in order to provide the parent with a better kind of, um, kind of a roadmap or a dashboard to be able to understand the information that’s affecting Bobby, so to speak. Right. [00:18:26][65.3]
[00:18:27] Because and this is what we’ve come to a long way. This is 2020 guys, 2020. This is not 19. You know, 75. No. [00:18:37][10.2]
[00:18:37] You know where Gatorade. Come on. Let’s talk about that Gatorade. I got my tub. I got my tub. And he’s got a lot of things on the side of it. I’m going to have everything. You look like Buddha. By the time you become diabetic with so much sugar, you’re eating. What is your thinking about this? [00:18:52][14.8]
[00:18:52] We have come to a long way, but we cannot just go in and go, oh, you need to hydrate here, you know, 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, you know, instrumentation and diagnostics because the kids now they’re starting at three years old, Alex. Yeah. 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. [00:19:29][36.8]
[00:19:30] I mean, I’m telling you the kids that I see they’re already in select teams, six years old and the select team is the thing. You know what, the thing that determines if a child is ready is 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 ain’t paying attention three years and eight months. All of a sudden, he can focus more in front of the coach. Right. Yes. And you can tell because they wander and they’re not ready. [00:19:57][27.4]
[00:19:57] So we’re bringing the kids and we’re exposing them to loads, experiences. Then what we need to do is to give moms and dads the ability to understand and as well as athletes of NCAA. How can I see what’s actually happening in my bloodstream? Not a CBC, because the CBC is for basic stuff. You basically, you know, basic you know, a red blood cell, a white blood cell. We can do things. Metabolic panel tells us a generic thing, but now we know deeper, deeper information. Mario, we can go into the susceptibility of the gene markers and actually see this on tests. And these reports tell us exactly what it is and how it pertains. [00:20:35][37.5]
[00:20:35] And progression. So this is where I love. This is where I love, everything in the world of performance is pre and post. So, you know, when you’re a sprinter, they time you. [00:20:49][13.7]
[00:20:50] It’s electronic time. When you’re a wrestler, they look at you. You know, what’s your winning ratio? What’s your percentage? Anything. It’s all data. It’s data-driven. As a tennis player, as a soccer player, they will actually track you. Computers will actually 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 data for the most critical component, which is that biochemistry, that micronutritional, the foundation of performance is what happens inside of us, not what happens outside. And this is where people get confused. They think, well, you know, my kid works, you know, four hours a day and he has a private trainer, everything. My question is that is really good. But you’re putting that kid at risk if you are not supplementing on point, just as specifically when it comes to the special needs of that child or of 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, pulled a hamstring. Oh, you know what? You know, they got fatigued or all of a sudden they had to pull out of a tournament. You know, I see tennis players doing all of that. And why? Oh, they’re dehydrated. Well, you should never have that problem. You should already know before you go in exactly where you are, what you’re doing. [00:22:29][99.3]
[00:22:29] And I love the combination and a platform that we have for all of our patients, because within two, three months, we can show pre and post, can’t we? We can show, yes. Lists and body composition to the InBody systems and the systems that we use are incredible. These Dexas, we can actually do a bodyweight fat analysis. We can do a lot of things. But when it comes down to predispositions and what’s unique to individuals, go down to the molecular level. We can go down into the genes level and understand what the susceptibilities are. We can go on once we have the genes. We can also understand what the micronutrient level is on each individual. [00:23:09][39.4]
[00:23:09] So what’s pertaining to me? I may have more magnesium than you and the other child may have totally depleted magnesium or calcium or selenium and/or his proteins or its amino acids are shot. Maybe he’s got a digestive issue. Maybe he’s got lactose intolerance. We need to be able to figure out these things that affect them and we can’t guess. [00:23:29][20.0]
[00:23:30] And we know. The bottom line is there’s no need. [00:23:32][1.6]
[00:23:32] Everyone has that wonderful conversation, Alex, about, oh, you know what? I feel okay. When I hear that I cringe, I go, I feel okay. 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 neuroreceptors in terms of pain tolerance are dictating your health. That’s dangerous. That is completely dangerous. And also subclinically, you’re not able to feel your deficiency in terms of vitamin D, your deficiency in terms of selenium, your deficiency in terms of vitamin A, E, I mean, all of these markers, you’re not, you can’t feel it. [00:24:21][49.2]
[00:24:22] You know, we need to start presenting to the people out there the information that’s out there, because what we want to let people know is that we’re going deep. We’re going down to this gene susceptibilities, that gene understanding as it is today. [00:24:34][12.5]
[00:24:35] 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 are my susceptibility? Do I have a risk of bone arthritis? Do we have issues of oxidative stress? Why do I always inflame all the time? Right. Well, believe it or not, if you’ve got the genes for let’s say you’ve got the gene that makes you eat a lot, well, it’s likely that you’re going to gain weight. You can raise 10000 people’s hands who have that same gene marker and you’re going to notice that they’re BIA’s and BMIs 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 to change our lifestyle for the predispositions that we may have. [00:25:26][50.9]
[00:25:26] Yeah, and 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’s shot. It doesn’t even work. And it’s almost like hit or 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 extreme things and but they can not sustain it because why? At the end of the day, it’s not who you are. [00:26:02][35.8]
[00:26:02] It wasn’t for, it’s not who you are. You may need a different type of diet. Yes. [00:26:06][3.6]
[00:26:07] And so we. And again, our conversation today is very general. And we’re kind of starting this platform together because we have to educate our community and we have to share the latest in technology and science that addresses the needs. [00:26:26][19.1]
[00:26:28] Personalized health, personalized fitness. We understand that. We don’t have to guess if a diet is better for us, such as a low calorie, a high-fat diet or a Mediterranean style food or a high protein diet. We won’t be able to see that from the information that we’re continuously gathering, these scientists are putting information together and it’s compiled and it’s here and it’s a swab away or blood work away. It’s crazy. You know what? And this information, of course, you need to. And let me be mindful. Before this started, my little disclaimer comes in. This is not for treatment. Do not take anything. We’re taking this for treatment or for 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. [00:27:17][48.9]
[00:27:18] The point is this. We integrate with all of the health care professionals, all the physicians, we are here to support and champion the functional wellness. Okay. And as you mentioned, we’re not here to treat these diseases. We’re not, we’re here to optimize again when athletes come in and they want to be better. They want to get healthier and help the recovery rate. [00:27:46][27.2]
[00:27:46] You know, the bottom line is the tester there. We can actually see Billy has not been eating well, OK? Billy has not been eating well. I can tell you well, he eats everything no, but he hasn’t had this level of proteins. Look at his protein depletion. So we’re going the present to you some of these studies out here, because it’s information, though, it’s a little complex, but we want to make it really, really simple. And one of the things that we were talking about here is the micronutrient test that we were actually providing here. Now I’m going to present it to you so you can see it a little bit here. And what we are using is some in our office when a person comes in and says, I want to learn about my body. We present this micronutrient assessment where we can actually figure out what’s going on. Now, this was one that was, let’s say, just it was in a sample for me, but it kind of tells you where the individual is. We want to be able to level the antioxidant level. [00:28:33][47.0]
[00:28:34] Now, everyone knows that if 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. Exactly. Our genes will not function. So it’s important to understand what the, it’s rust. [00:28:50][16.3]
[00:28:51] It’s 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. Yeah. So again, they correlate together. But they are different. So the oxidative I talk about it about rusting. Like your system is rusting out. Yes. 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. And that’s 75 to 100 percent exact functional rate. Exactly. That means you can handle the craziness of the world. Mario, you know? Stress. Yes. [00:29:31][40.8]
[00:29:32] So we can yes, we can look at the stress of the human body. Mario, we can see, is actually what’s going on. So as I continue with this kind of presentation here, we can kind of see what this individual is and what is his actual immune function age. So 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 actually see exactly where I lie. And my age is 52. OK, in this particular situation. OK. Now, as we look down, we want to know at. Hold on. Hold on. Let’s get real. [00:30:03][31.6]
[00:30:04] So you mean to tell me that through this incredible system that we can actually get younger? Is that what you’re telling me? [00:30:14][9.5]
[00:30:14] Well, it tells you if you’re aging quicker. How’s 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, from the immune function, from the oxidative stresses in the body, what’s gonna happen is, is that we’re going to be able to see exactly where we are in terms of our body. [00:30:37][23.4]
[00:30:37] So that is correct. Yes. So we could be, our birth certificate could say 65, but our metabolic functional markers can say you’re 50. [00:30:50][12.4]
[00:30:51] Yes. Let me make it real simple. Yeah. People sometimes understand that oxidative stress is. It is. We hear about antioxidants. Yes. And reactive oxygen species. Let me make it simple. We’re a cell, you and I. We’re having a family meal right, we’re enjoying ourselves. We are normal cells. We’re happen. We’re functioning where everything is properly. All of a sudden, there’s a wild-looking lady 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 gonna unsettle us. Right? It’s going to be… Let’s call her an oxidant. OK. She’s an oxidant. 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. Right. That’s kind of scary. That was an antioxidant. That was a vitamin C. It just 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 us to body to function. [00:31:58][67.2]
[00:31:59] But if all of a sudden you got eight hundred of those ladies, walking around like zombies, I can just see that. Zombies man. [00:32:08][8.9]
[00:32:08] You know what you’re going to want. We’re football players. We’re the antioxidants. Right. Take them out. Take them out. Football players come in. But there are just too many of them, right. Anything that you and I do in a conversation, we could be healthy cells. And we’re having this conversation at the dinner table. Right. We’re disrupted totally. We cannot function in an oxidative stress environment. No. [00:32:31][22.9]
[00:32:31] 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 are not going to be aged. It is not going to be a comfortable night. And we will not recover. 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][32.5]
[00:33:04] That night would be really rough. If there’s like one hundred of those people. [00:33:07][2.8]
[00:33:07] The balance in life, in the antioxidants, we have A, E, C, and all the foods that are antioxidants. We need to know the state. That is what this test does. It actually shows you the level of antioxidants. Hey. [00:33:19][11.8]
[00:33:20] Hey, let me ask you this, Alex. Everyone loves to work out. When you work out. Does that increase or decrease your oxidative stress? [00:33:28][8.8]
[00:33:29] Please tell me. It increases your oxidative stress. You’re right. No, no, no. Stop it. No, it doesn’t. No, because you’re breaking the body down. However, the body responds. And if you are, if we are healthy, Mario, if we are healthy. Right. Our body first has to break down and it has to repair. Okay. In that process, 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 you’re running hard, you can overburn the bar, there you go. And those are the things that you and I have to kind of look at. And when people, and this is the balance. Now, this is a balance that is like the paradox. [00:34:10][41.5]
[00:34:11] Right. You know what? If you overwork, you’re gonna look awesome. But you know what? You’re actually breaking down. And if you don’t work out, there goes your cardio. There goes. I mean, other risk factors. Yeah. Right. So this is where it is so critical that we need to balance and know specifically what each person needs to be at their best. And they. And we can’t guess. No. You can’t take the same supplements as, I can’t take the same supplements as you. We can. [00:34:41][30.1]
[00:34:42] We can. But it may not be. It may be a lot of waste of money. We may just be missing the whole process. Exact. So in this whole dynamics, you’re just losing this test, Mario. Just using it at this particular assessment. We want to be able to see also what our cofactors on. We talked about proteins, we talked about genetics. We talked about things that make these enzymes work, our body functions, and pure enzymes. [00:35:02][20.9]
[00:35:03] In this particular one, you’re actually seeing what the cofactors are and what the metabolites are. Well, you see amino acids. There are levels where they are in your body. If you’re an extreme athlete, you want to know that those things are. [00:35:14][11.0]
[00:35:14] Oh, yeah. I mean, look at that. Those aminos. Those are critical. I mean, you know, I’m sorry, Mario, you think. Yeah. I mean, you know, 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 and or do you even know? And they’re guessing, you know, 90 percent of the people are guessing. You’re looking at antioxidants. Look at that. That’s the beast right there, glutathione. That’s like the granddaddy of antioxidants right there. Exactly. And you want to know is that football players, that linebacker gonna, like, crush those zombies, you know? And again, vitamin E, I mean, CoQ10. Everyone talks about CoQ10. What? Heart health. Right. Coenzyme Q10. Yes. Right. Exactly. Yeah. [00:36:02][47.6]
[00:36:02] A lot of people taking cardiac medication specifically to lower the cholesterol. [00:36:07][4.7]
[00:36:08] Well, they’ve pulled the beta-blockers. What does it do to CoQ10?. Don’t get me started. I want to get started, man. As you know what? [00:36:15][7.6]
[00:36:16] Documentation came out early on when they did a lot of these medications. They knew they had to end and put Coenzyme Q in it. They did. They knew. And they patented it because they knew that they had it. Because if you don’t give coenzyme Q Right. What happens is you have them having inflammatory states. People have issues that are just, they’re starting to understand now. That’s why you see all the commercials with the coenzyme. But the point is here is this. We need to know where our present state is at. Right. So when we understand those things, we can take a look at tests as these and we can actually look at the dynamics of it, wouldn’t you like to know which of these antioxidants, it’s so clear? [00:36:52][35.5]
[00:36:52] I love that. Exactly. Look at that. You know what? It’s red. Green, black. I mean, 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. I say everything’s there. [00:37:09][16.7]
[00:37:10] I know. Mario, you know, with those athletes, they want to be at the top level. Yes. It looks like this person’s kind of floating somewhere. [00:37:15][5.7]
[00:37:16] But they want to top in at one 100 percent. Alex, they’re on a bench, they’re on a bench, baby. Yeah. [00:37:23][6.6]
[00:37:24] And when they’re under a lot of stress, who knows what they are. Now, these tests are really simple to do. They’re not complex to go in. Take a lab test, sometimes… [00:37:30][6.3]
[00:37:30] These are urine tests. We can do those in our offices in a matter of minutes. [00:37:35][5.0]
[00:37:36] Exactly. In a matter of minutes. Crazy. That’s crazy. This is why it’s so simple. [00:37:41][4.9]
[00:37:42] It’s like my question is what color is the red bus? [00:37:45][3.5]
[00:37:47] I don’t know. No, it’s a trick question. [00:37:49][2.2]
[00:37:50] Well, going back into what our topic was today was personalized medicine and personalized wellness. Personalized fitness. Doctors around the country are starting to understand that they can not just say, OK, you’re pregnant. Here’s a folic acid bill. 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? [00:38:15][24.8]
[00:38:15] Wouldn’t you want to make sure you have the right selenium before you have symptoms? That’s the thing before. And this is why we are not treating issues, diagnosed issues. We’re not. We’re saying, what are you doing to optimize and decrease your risk factors? [00:38:35][19.3]
[00:38:36] There’s the issue of longevity, too. Because, I mean, the issue of longevity is if you’re providing your body with the right such substrates, the right cofactors, the right nutrition, your body has a chance to make it to a hundred years plus. Plus. Exactly right. 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 kind of things. [00:38:59][23.3]
[00:38:59] If you go back, can you go back to our two markers, the immune. [00:39:04][4.4]
[00:39:06] Yeah, antioxidants. Look at that. ImmunoDex. [00:39:10][3.8]
[00:39:11] ImmunoDex. There’s a reason why they stop here at 100, because that’s the whole idea. The whole idea is to get you to live 100, centennial. Right. So we if we can do this, if you’re a person who is, 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. Right. 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. Right. Because otherwise, you can trip up on things. And what we want to be able to do is provide people through nutritionists, through registered dietitians to doctors through the information out there to better supplement your lives. 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. We can take it to the next level because we can actually see what’s actually going on in terms of this. I’m going to go ahead and bring this back up here so you can to see what we’re looking at. You can actually see the B complexes. Now, we have a lot of B complexes. [00:40:33][81.2]
[00:40:34] And we basically oh, we got people texting all over the place here. [00:40:38][4.1]
[00:40:38] And I’m getting zapped with messages. Your oxidative stress is going up, Alex. [00:40:44][6.0]
[00:40:45] 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, individuals, your football players, man, she was taking those people out right, really making your whole life a lot better. Right. Mario, this is the kind of stuff that we look at. You know, your glutathione and your coenzyme. [00:41:06][21.0]
[00:41:06] Selenium, your vitamin E, carbohydrate metabolism. Look at that. I mean, glucose and insulin interaction that is called energy, baby. [00:41:16][9.6]
[00:41:17] And I know that’s called turbo. Last time I checked, you know. Listen, we got a lot of good doctors. We do. We got like Dr. Castro out there. We got all great doctors out there that really understand. We’re running over.� [00:41:29][12.6]
[00:41:30] I mean, this is like we’re going to get in trouble. Facebook is going to knock us out. [00:41:37][7.6]
[00:41:38] Facebook is going to put a time limit on this. I think it’s actually about an hour. But the bottom line is, we really start to work on, this can’t cover everything this time. Hey, Mario, when I went to school, we were terrorized by this machine called Krebs Cycle. For those of you, how many ATPs, Alex, tell me how many. Thirty-two is it glycolysis or anaerobic. Right. [00:42:06][27.5]
[00:42:06] 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 them, the whole metabolic process, the 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 say, what is it that we can offer? We can offer information to better, dynamically change the way the body works. Right. So this is a crazy right. 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. You think so? Yeah, I think we’re going to come back. We’ve got to change the way that all El Paso is and not only for our community but for the people that that those moms, those moms that 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, sweatiest 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, absolutely. [00:43:18][72.2]
[00:43:19] And what I can say is this, Alex. It’s about peak performance and peak ability and also getting the right specific. Customized. Genomic nutrition pattern free for each individual. And that is the game-changer. That’s the game-changer all the way from longevity, all the way to performance and just being happy and living the life that you were meant to live. [00:43:50][31.0]
[00:43:51] Mario, I can just say that when we look at this stuff, we get really excited about, as you can tell. But it affects all our patients. People come in all depleted, tired, in pain, inflamed, and sometimes we just, you know, we need to go find out what it is. And we in our scope, we are mandated to be responsible and to figure out where this lies in our patient’s problems, because what we’re doing, if we help their structure, the musculoskeletal neurological system, their mind system through a proper diet and through 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’re gonna come back in probably sometime next week or this week, and we’re gonna continue this topic on personalized medicine and personalized wellness and personalized fitness because working with many doctors through integrative wellness and integrative medicine allows us to be a part of a team. Well, we have G.I. doctors, you know, cardiologists. There’s a reason we work as teams together because we all bring a different level of science. There’s you know, no team is complete without a nephrologist. And that dude is gonna figure out exactly the implications of all the things we do. So that cat is very important in the dynamics of integrative wellness. So in order 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 we need to bring it to them and let the cards lie and teach them that they have 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 can not neglect nutrition. They can not neglect wellness. They can not neglect the integration of all the sciences putting 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 gonna knock it off 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 given 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 a lot of different things and bring a lot of different talents. Thanks, guys. And you got anything else, Mario? [00:46:10][138.8]
[00:46:11] I’m all in. All right, brother. Talk to you soon. Love you, man. Bye. [00:46:11][0.0]
Crohn�s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBDs are health issues that affect the digestive tract by causing inflammation that lasts longer than an average upset stomach or mild infection. Most people think that the digestive tract only consists of the stomach, which stores and breaks down food, as well as the small and large intestines, which take the waste out of our systems through urine and feces. But it�s more than just that. The mouth and esophagus are also part of the digestive tract and problems within can make things difficult and painful down the line. While researchers have been researching Crohn�s disease for several decades, they have no undisputed answer on the cause of this disease. This article will take you on a journey through the history, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Crohn�s disease as well as what the future holds. According to the Crohn�s and Colitis Foundation of America, as many as 700,000 people in the United States suffer from Crohn�s disease while 3 million total have some sort of IBD. That is equivalent to the number of people living in Washington D.C.
Understanding Crohn’s Disease
Crohn�s disease was first described by Dr. Burrill B. Crohn in 1932 with the assistance of Dr. Leon Ginzburg and Dr. Gordon D. Oppenheimer. Crohn was born in 1884 in New York City as one of 12 children. He became a doctor because of the sympathy he had for his father who suffered terrible digestion problems. Crohn was part of an enormous group of doctors who joined many reputable medical schools at the beginning of the 20th century, graduating from Columbia University�s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1907. At the university, he earned an M.A., Ph.D., and an MD� for his research on an intra-abdominal hemorrhage. He could not pay the high cost ($35) for the former two degrees because he did not want to ask his father for the money. He spent 2.5 years as an intern at the illustrious Mount Sinai Hospital, one of only 8 interns selected from 120 candidates. He found humor in his chosen profession which he quoted in his biography saying, �It has been my misfortune (or perhaps my fortune) to spend most of my professional life as a student of constipation and diarrhea. Sometimes I could wish to have chosen the ear, nose, and throat as a specialty rather than the tail end of the human anatomy.�
Most gastroenterologists of the time were surgeons, but Crohn�s research was such that he joined the American Gastroenterological Association in 1917, having been mentored by Dr. William J. Mayo whose clinic remains one of the foremost bodies of American medical knowledge more than 100 years later. Although he was married with two children, Crohn was consumed with his work and his patients, with daily and nightly house calls. Perhaps even more important was his work on �Affections of the Stomach� which he published in 1928. He worked with Dr. Jesse Shaprio at Mount Sinai who suffered from IBD himself. Crohn found that many Jews had the condition and, since Mount Sinai admitted many of them, he found plenty of patients to study. He ended up as the first head of Mount Sinai�s Gastroenterology Clinic and was associated with the hospital for 60 years. He joined the efforts of surgeon Dr. A. A. Berg along with Ginzburg and Oppenheimer to start a project dedicated to bowel tumors and strictures. Their combined research allowed Crohn to present a paper to the American Gastroenterological Association in May 1932 in Atlantic City called �Non-specific Granuloma of the Intestine� followed by a second called �Terminal Ileitis: A new clinical entity�. Crohn preferred the term regional ileitis because he believed it only existed in the distal part of the small intestine and was worried people would assume it was fatal when they saw the word �terminal�. Soon after, the term Crohn�s disease became the catch-all for any terminal or regional enteritis. Crohn did not want the �honor� but his colleagues insisted.
The history of the disease is recorded as far back as 850 AD, affecting England�s King Alfred. The populace believed that he was being punished for his sins, but the presence of fistulas and pain from eating speaks otherwise. About 150 years before Crohn�s disease got its name, an Italian physician named Giovanni Battista Morgagni described the disease in 1761. Crohn officially retired in 1948 but continued practicing medicine well into his mid-90s. He passed away on July 29, 1983, 11 months short of his 100th birthday. In his final year, his friends, family, and colleagues began the creation of the Burrill B. Crohn Research Foundation at Mount Sinai Hospital.
What Causes Crohn’s Disease?
Crohn�s disease has troubled doctors and researchers for decades because an exact cause can’t be found, which limits their ability to fully treat it. Poor diet habits together with high levels of stress were the original leading cause for the health issue, but over the years those have come to be thought of as factors that aggravate the condition, not cause it. Two factors that stand out in today�s research are heredity and a malfunctioning immune system.� Like many major diseases, if someone in your family has suffered from Crohn�s disease, there is a much higher chance that you will too. Anytime you go to a new doctor, this should be one of the first things you inform them of when filling out a family history chart. That way if any of these symptoms do manifest, your doctor will have a knowledge base from which to proceed. Despite believing that genetics plays a fundamental part, currently, doctors can’t predict who will get Crohn�s disease based on family history.
Another leading theory is that an invalid response by the body�s immune system can cause Crohn�s disease to develop. The theory suggests that some bacteria or viruses can trigger Crohn�s disease by causing an abnormal immune system response when the body is fighting it off. The response causes the immune system to attack its own cells in the digestive tract, leading to the inflammation. Crohn�s disease attacks people of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, however, these characteristics are thought of as leading to a greater chance of getting the condition.
Geography:�People who live in urban/industrialized areas are more likely to develop Crohn�s disease than those living in rural areas. This suggests that diets full of refined foods or heavy in fat are more likely to trigger Crohn�s disease, while people eating diets that are more fresh and free from additional chemicals are more likely to avoid it.
Family History:�Although plenty of people get Crohn�s disease without a single relative suffering the same, as many as 1 in 5 people with Crohn�s disease (20%) have a relative who also has it.� Between 1.5% and 28% of people with IBD have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, child) that have an IDB as well.
Smoking:�Like many other diseases, smoking augments the severity of Crohn�s disease and is the single most controllable risk for developing it. No one can make you stop smoking, but if you are experiencing the initial signs of Crohn�s disease, it is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Ethnicity: One of the most frustrating parts of Crohn�s disease is the randomness it seems to possess in who it strikes. Caucasians are the highest risk group, particularly those of Eastern European Jewish descent. However, African-Americans and people of African descent that live in the United Kingdom have seen their numbers consistently rise over the past decades when it comes to developing Crohn�s disease.
Age:�Another rarity. Anyone at any age can Crohn�s disease, but it is usually diagnosed before the age of 30, suggesting it is tied to growth and maturity. It is among the rare diseases where your chance of developing it lessens as you get older.
Ingesting anti-inflammatory medications: Nonsteroidal medicines that include ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, diclofenac, etc., can lead to inflammation of the bowels, which worsens Crohn�s disease. If you have the symptoms of Crohn�s disease, do your best to avoid the likes of Aleve, Advil, Voltaren, Motrin IB, etc.
What are the Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease?
As Crohn�s disease begins to take hold of a person�s body, they will experience abdominal pain, fatigue, weight loss, malnutrition, and severe diarrhea. It does not follow a set pattern as Crohn�s disease can affect different parts of the digestive tract for different people. While there are many similarities, it is rare for two cases to be exactly alike. Crohn�s disease causes inflammation in the digestive tract that spreads deeper and deeper in the bowel tissue of the affected areas. Normal medicines can lessen the intensity of the pain, but the infection runs too deep for them to be able to do much more. These symptoms can be extremely painful, embarrassing for those who suffer from fatigue or severe diarrhea, and debilitating, making the sufferer miss days, weeks, or even months of work or school while seeking treatment and learning how to cope. The most commonly affected parts of the body for someone suffering from Crohn�s disease are the small intestine and the colon. The biggest problem with diagnosing Crohn�s disease early on and starting treatment for it is that many of its symptoms are similar to a host of other maladies, including:
Cases of diarrhea
Fever
Abdominal pain/cramping
Appearance of blood in the stool
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Unexplained weight loss
Mouth sores
Fistulas around the anus causing pain or drainage
In most cases, the appearance of one or even a few of these symptoms could be attributed to any number of infections or viruses. A good doctor will rule out those first, often with a simple medication plan. If progress is not made, then the potential of Crohn�s disease heightens. The surefire symptoms that demand a trip to the doctor include: blood in your stool, multiple episodes of diarrhea that don�t stop with the application of over-the-counter medications; a fever that lasts more than two days without an explanation; losing weight without meaning to or without a proper explanation (food poisoning, a stomach bug, etc.) Loss of appetite, undereating, and fatigue are all signs of malnutrition. When your body isn�t getting the right nutrients from the food you eat, it is difficult for it to fight off illnesses and infections. Left untreated, the symptoms of Crohn�s disease become extremely serious, including:
Inflammation of the liver and/or bile ducts
Inflammation of joints
Inflammation of eyes
Inflammation of skin
In children, delayed growth and/or sexual development
What is the Diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease?
When one or more of the symptoms persist and your physician has ruled out more pedestrian causes, attention must focus on the possibility of Crohn�s disease as the cause. Different symptoms can mean different types of Crohn�s or even a different type of IBD. Types of Crohn�s disease include:
Ileocolitis:�This is the most common form of Crohn�s disease. It affects both intestines � the end of the small intestine, which is also known as the terminal ileum. Common symptoms include diarrhea, cramping, pain in the middle and lower-right abdomen, and significant weight loss.
Ileitis:�This type of Crohn�s disease only affects the ileum. Its symptoms are generally the same as ileocolitis. In severe cases, fistulas and inflammatory abscesses can appear in the lower right part of the abdomen.
Gastroduodenal Crohn�s Disease:�Affects the stomach and the beginning of the small intestine which is known as the duodenum. Symptoms can include weight loss, loss of appetite, frequent vomiting, frequent fits of nausea.
Jejunoileitis:�This type of Crohn�s disease affects the jejunum, which is the upper half of the small intestine. Patchy areas of inflammation in the upper half of the jejunum are typical of this type of Crohn�s disease. Symptoms are not as severe in this form, but no less important to have diagnosed. They include mild-to-intensive pain or cramps following meals in your stomach or abdomen; bouts of diarrhea; fistulas forming long term in severe cases or if the inflammation goes a long time without being treated.
Crohn�s Granulomatous Colitis: This type affects only the colon. Typical symptoms are diarrhea, rectal bleeding, conditions around the anus that include ulcers, fistulas, and abscess, and joint pain, or skin lesions.
No single test confirms a diagnosis of Crohn�s disease. Other conditions have the same symptoms, including bacterial infections, so it might take some time to actually get the diagnosis despite days, weeks, or months of the symptoms.
What Can You Expect From Your Doctor?
The first thing a doctor will do is to do a standard physical exam of your entire body including questions on your family history, daily routine as well as diet and nutrition. Answering all of these completely and honestly will allow your physician to rule out or narrow in on certain maladies a lot quicker. Diagnostic tests will come in the form of blood draws and stool samples. These can eliminate the presence of a lot of diseases and focus in on what might be the case. If those are inconclusive, most doctors will likely perform X-rays on your upper and lower GI tract, looking for things like inflammation and ulcers. A contrast test might also be ordered to see the clear difference between what should be there and what should not. Remember to bring a friend or family member with you to these appointments, as it can be overwhelming to go through all the possibilities and potential diagnosis of Crohn�s disease. As the tests progress, it is a good idea to contact your insurance company and let them know what is going on so they can give you information on what tests are covered and which might not be. Make sure to write down as much information as you can with your doctor and ask questions that you don�t understand.
If the initial X-rays are not successful in narrowing down the issue, your doctor might recommend an endoscopy. This is a procedure done by putting a tiny camera mounted with a light to look at your GI tract and intestines. They are much more invasive than chest X-rays, but many technological advancements have made it much more tolerable. A GI doctor can use a bit of local anesthesia and a small camera to deaden your throat and disable your gag reflex. This allows the GI to view your mouth, esophagus, stomach, and the first part of your small intestine, known as the duodenum, looking for tell-tale signs of inflammation or ulcers.
A second endoscopy is a bit more of a chore. Also known as a colonoscopy, it requires the total evacuation of your GI tract before doctors can take a look. This means you�ll take medicine to clear it out, which will induce quite a few trips to the bathroom and be none too pleasant. This procedure usually requires drinking a liquid that acts as a fairly extreme form of laxative and will require you to take time off from work or school for at least a day while its effects take place. Once you get to the medical facility, you will be given anesthesia to knock you out, which is a good thing as the camera will enter through your rectum and move up to look at your colon. If there are any unusual structures present in either endoscopy, doctors might want to collect a biopsy of your colon or another area. This is done by using a tool to remove a small bit of tissue from inside the intestine or inside some other part of your GI tract for analysis. There is zero pain associated with a biopsy.
During the colonoscopy, the doctor might want to do another procedure known as a chromoendoscopy. In this procedure, a blue liquid is sprayed into the colon. It reveals slight changes in the lining of your intestine which can be polyps or other changes that are believed to be precancerous. This means they might be precursors to changes to your body that can become cancer cells. If polyps are discovered, they can be removed and a biopsy is taken to determine if they are benign or malignant. If the blue liquid is used, bowel movements will have a definitive blue tinge to them for the next few days.
There are some parts of your small intestine that cannot be seen during either colonoscopy or endoscopy. This requires small intestine imaging which works using an oral contrast � something you drink � in conjunction with computer tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI). As radical as it sounds, this can involve swallowing a camera that size and shape of a bill which then takes pictures of your small intestine and bowel as it moves through your GI tract. It is harmlessly expelled during a future bowel movement. If parts of the intestine are too hard to reach, a balloon endoscopy can be used. It�s not a real balloon, but the concept is the same. The displacement of the structure with an air-filled object creates space for the camera to get in close and record.
What is Crohn�s Disease Activity Index (CDAI)?
The Crohn�s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) is a research tool that allows researchers, doctors, and patients to quantify how painful symptoms of Crohn�s disease are at any given time. It was first developed by W.R. Best and his colleagues at Illinois�s Midwest Regional Health Center in 1976. The index has eight factors that it considers, each weighted and then added together to reveal a final score. The CDAI helps major studies diagnose how well the medicine is effective for people suffering from Crohn�s disease. It is excellent for determining the quality of life for Crohn�s disease sufferers to give doctors a good grasp on how much pain a person can endure before their quality of life really begins to suffer. The eight variables involved in the CDAI are:
Percentage deviation from standard weight
Hematocrit of <0.47 (men) and 0.42 (women)
Presence of abdominal mass (0 if none, 2 if questionable, 5 if definite)
Is the patient taking Lomotil or opiates to reduce bouts of diarrhea?
How is the patient feeling in general on a scale from 0 (well) to 4 (terrible). This is accounted for every day for seven days straight.
Presence of complications
Abdominal pain graded from 0 (none) to 3 (severe) for seven days straight.
A recording of the number of liquid or soft stools for seven straight days.
These eight factors are all assigned different weights, with the presence of complications and taking of Lomotil or opiates getting the highest weights (x30 and x20). Points are also added for things like joint pain, inflammation of the irus, anal fistulas, and fissures, a fever, etc. When all of this information is tallied a number, usually three digits are presented. If a person has a score of more than 450, they are considered to have severe Crohn�s disease and actions are taken accordingly. If the CDAI is less than 150, a person is considered to be in remission. If a person�s CDAI score drops 70 or more points be responding to treatment. A working version of the CDAI scale can be found here. Although it is very helpful, the CDAI has also been met with some criticism. The fact that it does not consider the typical quality of life, fatigue, endoscopic factors, protein loss, or other systemic features.
What are the Complications of Crohn’s Disease?
Similar to many other severe diseases, the lack of treatment of Crohn�s disease or the worsening of it despite treatment can lead to several other complicated illnesses, some of them life-threatening. They include:
Bowel obstruction: When Crohn�s disease inflames the digestive tract it can thicken the intestinal wall, which causes parts of the bowel to develop scar tissue and begin to narrow, making for irregular bowel movements. If the passage becomes too narrow it will actually block the flow of your digestive system, causing its contents to become stuck and form a barrier of their own. This will start as constipation but will eventually become obvious that something more severe is going on as treatments are applied. Surgery, usually done quickly after the diagnosis is made, will be required to remove the part of your bowel that has become scarred. If the bowel obstruction is complete, it requires emergency surgery. This sort of surgery is done under general anesthesia, meaning you are asleep for the procedure and will not feel any pain as it is performed. A surgeon makes a cut into the belly to see the intestines. Sometimes this is done laparoscopically to minimize how much cutting has to be done. From there, the surgeon will find the part of your intestines that is blocked and unblock it. This is not the extent of the procedure, however. If any part of the bowel is damaged, it must either be removed or replaced. This is known as bowel resection. If it is removed, the healthy �ends� on either side of the removed section are connected together, using either staples or stitches, which can either dissolve or be removed with another procedure, this one much more likely to involve laparoscopy. There are some incidences where the ends cannot be connected because such a large part of the intestine has to be removed. When this happens, the surgeon brings out one end through an opening in the abdominal wall via a colostomy or ileostomy. The key is to perform the surgery before blood flow in the bowel is affected. The surgery has many risks including more scar tissue forming, damage to nearby organs, and more bowel obstructions.
Ulcers:�When parts of the body are chronically inflamed, they lead to open sores that do not heal like normal. These are called ulcers and can be found almost anywhere in your body, inside or out. For people suffering from Crohn�s disease, they can be found in the mouth, the anus, the stomach, or in the genital area. Ulcers along the GI tract are often the first sign of the disease, although since they are undetectable except in the mouth, for most people, they are often missed until other symptoms form. Ulcers can also form in your duodenum, appendix, small intestine, and colon. A similar condition, known as ulcerative colitis, only forms in the colon and is not as serious as Crohn�s disease. If an ulcer breaks through the intestinal wall it can form a fistula, a connection between the intestine and the skin or different parts of the intestine. This is a very dangerous condition that may lead to food bypassing your bowels or even bowels draining onto your skin. If they develop into abscesses they can be life-threatening. Ulcers can also cause a person to become anemic if there is more than one of them in the small intestine or the colon. This can cause frequent loss of blood and can require surgery.
Anal Fissure: This is a small tear in the tissue of your anus or the skin around it that can become infected. It results in painful bowel movements. It can heal naturally, but left untreated threatens to come to a perianal fistula.
Malnutrition: Anyone suffering from diarrhea, abdominal pain, and cramping is likely to not be getting enough nutrients into their body for proper function. Common results are anemia from not intaking enough iron or enough B-12. If the small intestine is inflamed, it can cause problems with digesting food and absorbing nutrients. If the problem is in the large intestine, including the rectum and the colon, the problems include the body�s inability to absorb water and electrolytes. What causes malnutrition? There are several ways that it can form. One that most people have experienced over the course of their lifetimes is severe diarrhea. Have you ever had food poisoning that resulted in multiple incidents of bad diarrhea or vomiting? The next time you step on a scale you might be astonished to see that you have lost several pounds in a single day, maybe even as many as 10 or 12! When your body detects something in your GI tract, it makes every effort to evacuate it one way or another. This results in the body using fluids to transport the foreign elements out of the system and can lead to dehydration as fluids, nutrients, and electrolytes such as zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and sodium get ejected along with it. � Other causes of malnutrition include abdominal pain and nausea. If you�re a woman who has ever been pregnant and dealt with morning sickness, you know how these feel, and when they strike, eating is the last thing on your mind. However, it also makes it tough for your body to gather sufficient nutrients and the correct number of calories, which makes it weaken over time. Rectal bleeding, both painful and embarrassing, also causes malnutrition because the ulcers in your intestines are leading to deficiencies. Frequent trips to the bathroom can also cause malnutrition because people will seek to cut down on this habit by eating less to avoid embarrassment. But cutting back on your body�s calorie intake can lead to malnutrition and weight loss. An even tougher pill to swallow is that certain IDB medicine damages your ability to say nourished. Prednisone, which is a common corticosteroid, can cause a decrease in healthy muscle mass over long-term use. Other treatments, like sulfasalazine and methotrexate, can interfere with the absorption of folic acid, which is crucial in healthy cell growth.
Colon cancer:�The �Big C� rears its ugly head in association with Crohn�s disease, unfortunately. Having Crohn�s disease increases your risk of colon cancer. People without a family history of Crohn�s disease or colon cancer are advised to get a colonoscopy every 10 years beginning at age 50 to check. If you have a family history, ask a doctor about having it done sooner and more frequently. Colon cancer starts in the colon or rectum when cells grow abnormally. Most starts as a growth called a polyp on the inner lining of the colon or rectum. There are two types of polyps: Adenomatous and Hyperplastic/Inflammatory. The latter are generally not cancerous and are more common. The former sometimes change into cancer. If they are larger than 1 cm, this is more often the case, or if more than two are found. A condition called dysplasia also is a warning sign of cancer. This means that after the polyp is removed, there are areas in the polyp or in the lining that don�t look normal, suggesting they are cancerous in origin.
Other health problems:�Any number of maladies can befall someone stricken by Crohn�s disease. How it affects the rest of the body is different from person to person. Common problems can include anemia, skin disorders, arthritis, liver disease, and gallbladder disease.
Malabsorption:�A complication of malnutrition, it makes it difficult for vital nutrients such as fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and proteins to make it through the small intestine. Inflammation of the intestines, a symptom of� Crohn�s disease, can also make this possible.
Decreased Bone Strength:�A complication of malnutrition, it increases your risk of bone fractures. If your body is not getting enough Vitamin D, is not absorbing enough calcium, or you have long-term inflammation, this is more likely to happen.
Growth Delays:�A dangerous complication for kids suffering from� Crohn�s disease is a lack of growth due to IBD. About one-third of kids with� Crohn�s disease and 1/10th of those with ulcerative colitis in the US will be shorter than expected. Children with either of these diseases should have a dietitian consulted by their parents.
What is the Treatment for Crohn’s Disease?
Hearing that there is no known cure for Crohn�s disease can be a debilitating blow to people suffering from it. However, developments in therapy allow for the ability to greatly reduce it symptoms and even invoke long-term remission in some patients. Given proper treatment and with a commitment by the sufferer, people afflicted with Crohn�s disease can function well and lead a long, healthy life. The good news is that if one treatment option does not work well, there are others to try. It�s a balancing act for most people, and the need to titrate that balance between medicine, changes to their diet and nutrition routines, and sometimes surgical procedures is the best way forward to getting on track and healthy.
Medication: Medication is what most people think about when they get sick, and such is the case here. Medicine for Crohn�s disease is designed to suppress the response of your immune system to the inflamed parts of your GI tract. Suppressing that inflammation can go a long way to reducing the pain from fever, pain, and diarrhea. It also gives your body time to heal up. The medication can help you avoid flare-ups (see below) and extended periods of remission to great and greater lengths of time. We�ll talk about remission later in this book.
Combination Therapy:�Combination therapy is exactly what it sounds like; using more than one source of treatment to get Crohn�s disease under control. This sort of treatment can also up the risk of side effects or even toxicity, so your doctor needs to analyze both you and the treatment plan to see what makes the most sense.
Diet & Nutrition:�The amount of diseases that get dramatically better when one starts to make drastic changes in their diet and nutrition habits is truly astounding. Good nutrition via eating the right kinds of foods for your specific form of Crohn�s disease can really lessen the painful symptoms of the disease and prevent flare-ups. Understanding your body�s needs in terms of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, and minerals can give you a great education on why you�re developing certain side effects and how to lessen their effect. Much like when you get food poisoning or an upset stomach, reverting to a bland diet � the universally known Bananas, Apple Sauce, Rice, Toast (BRAT) method is a great way to lessen the discomfort that may occur when eating spicy foods or those that cause flare-ups.
Surgery:�No one wants to have a surgery especially in an area as sensitive as your GI tract. However, statistics say that as many as 66%-75% of people with Crohn�s disease will require surgery at some point. That number is daunting, but since most people don�t understand or can identify that they have Crohn�s disease until they have suffered inflammation of the intestines. Surgery is necessary when medications are not working or if the inflammation has turned into an obstruction, fissure, or fistula, that is not allowing your intestines or anus to work correctly. As mentioned earlier, these surgeries include removing a diseased portion of the bowel, known as resection, and taking the remaining healthy portions and moving them together (anastomosis). Although this sort of surgery can make a huge difference and send someone suffering from Crohn�s disease into remission, it is not a cure. Post-surgery statistics show that 30% of patients that have surgery related to Crohn�s disease have a return of symptoms within three years, and as many as 60% have a return of symptoms within 10 years.
How Can You Avoid and Contain Crohn’s Disease Flare-ups?
Flare-ups are an unfortunate but expected part of suffering from Crohn�s disease. Very rare are the patients who are diagnosed with Crohn�s disease, get treatment, and they are in remission for the rest of their lives. Eventually, a flare-up will come to any Crohn�s disease sufferer. Being prepared and understanding the causes is very important to keep a flare-up from becoming a longer-term suffering session. When a flare-up does happen, sufferers of Crohn�s disease must be on their guard to take care of themselves but also to identify possible causes of the flare-up. Doing so will make it much easier to avoid them in the future.
The first thing to check on when you have a flare-up is your recent diet. Lots of foods can exacerbate your GI tract and cause inflammation anywhere along the tract, from your mouth to your intestines. Foods that contain spices like garlic, chili powder, onions, paprika, and so on are among the types of food that can easily agitate the digestive tract and cause inflammation that can cause severe pain and severe diarrhea. A great way to pinpoint what foods might be causing the flare-up is to keep a food diary in which you record everything you eat. This way you can really target foods that when consumed are followed by a flare-up. It might not even be food but an actual ingredient that causes the flare-up. Knowing what foods cause these symptoms in you makes it easy to avoid them. If you are struggling to define what foods are safe for you and which ones trigger your Crohn�s disease, ask a doctor about the possibility of consulting a dietician about the matter.
If you�ve ruled food out as a probable cause of a flare-up, your next best bet is to analyze your patterns for taking medicine. Skipping a dose, taking the wrong dosage, or even taking pills at different times than normal can trigger a reaction or lessen the potency of the drug�s effectiveness at quelling your Crohn�s disease symptoms. If you are an adult or a teenager, the only person who can make you take your pills on time and in the correct dosage is you. If you are a parent of a child with Crohn�s disease, you must ensure they are taking the exact dosage at the exact time each day. If you are finding your current dose to not be taking good enough care of your symptoms, you must contact your doctor, explain what is going on, and work with them to find a solution or possibly change the medication itself, how often you take it, when you take it, or the dosage you are taking. Doctors want to help you find that healthy medium between being too drugged up and being in too much pain.
If it�s not your Crohn�s disease medication bothering you, it might be another form of medication, particularly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Despite that tongue-twister of a name, these are some of the most well-known drugs in the world with more common names like aspirin and ibuprofen. Unfortunately for sufferers of Crohn�s disease, these analgesics also have painful side effects that can irritate the bowel and kick up inflammation quickly. If you suffer from frequent fevers, headaches, or other body pain, ask your doctor if it is safe for you to take acetaminophen (commonly found in Tylenol) to avoid the NSAIDs.
Another medicine that can cause flare-ups are antibiotics, frequently prescribed to treat bacterial infections. If you�ve ever been prescribed antibiotics, you�ll know that the doctor, the nurse, and the pharmacist will all insist you take them with food to lessen the chance of an upset stomach. This still happens in even the healthiest of people because it changes the balance of the bacteria in your intestines. That can cause diarrhea, and when diarrhea appears in the tract of someone suffering from Crohn�s disease, it can spell trouble.
If your diet is good and you are avoiding medicines that are known to cause flare-ups, there are still two more places to look among the likeliest causes. The first is if you are a smoker. Look, we all know that smoking is bad for you for any number of reasons, increasing your risk for stroke, heart attack, and lung cancer among others. That same risk holds true for patients suffering from Crohn�s disease. Introducing smoke and tobacco to your digestive system is one of the worst ideas you can have. If you are tempted to smoke while going through Crohn�s disease, be aware that you are much more likely to need surgery because of it. One other cause of flare-ups is increased stress. Stress was originally thought of as one of the causes of Crohn�s disease, but in fact, it is more commonly believed to be an agitator of the disease. If you are struggling with stress and can feel it spilling over into you Crohn�s disease, consult a doctor on how to incorporate stress-management techniques. If your need is immediate, things like taking a warm bath or a long shower can help relax your muscles. Other ideas are to exercise or simply take a walk to pull out the strain from muscles you did not even know you were clinching. You can also try yoga or meditation, for which there are thousands of online resources to get you started.
What Can You Do When You Have a Crohn’s Disease Flare-Up?
It�s hard not to feel stress and/or panic when you have a flare-up of your Crohn�s disease. Some last a day, some for a week, and some a month as it really depends on the person, the circumstances, and how well they are able to handle it. Although it has no true healing powers, a positive frame of mind that this condition is temporary and that you will improve can greatly affect the mindset of a person suffering a flare-up.
Maintain a healthy diet:�It could very well be something you ate that is driving you into a flare-up, but that does not mean you should stop eating or try some radical purge diet. Proper nutrition is the essential foundation of dealing with Crohn�s disease on a day-in, day-out basis. If you have bouts of diarrhea that drain your body of fluid, adjust accordingly by increasing your fluid intake and eating bland foods that are much less likely to have spicy ingredients or high concentrations of fat that can lead to more inflammation.
Stay regular with your diagnostic tests:�When you are first diagnosed with Crohn�s disease and your doctor provides you with prescriptions and treatment plans, part of that plan should be regular scheduled diagnostic tests to see how your body is faring. If you have a flare-up, call your doctor and let them know about it, as well as any guesses on your part on what could have caused it. The doctor might want to move up a diagnostic test to see what sort of side effects are occurring and why you had the flare-up, this can allow the doctor to analyze what is causing it and how to prevent it from happening again.
Set up a support system:�No one should have to go through any disease along, particularly one like Crohn�s disease that has so many miserable side effects. No matter your age, your marital status, or what you do for a living, you�ll need a network of friends and family you can rely on for emotional and physical support when you suffer a flare-up. This will involve an initial period where you let them know what you are suffering from and give them transparency and knowledge about what Crohn�s disease is and what it does to people. While it can be very embarrassing, the more open and honest you are with the people who care about you, the easier it will be to reach out when you need help. This can be anything as simple as driving to the doctor or as serious as picking your kids up at school because you have to go to the emergency room. Other times, it�s just someone who can lend an ear and talk when you are frustrated by the flare-up in particular or what the future might bring. Make sure at least one member of your support network works or lives close-by in case of an emergency.
Maintain a great relationship with your doctor: We all get how busy most people are. You find a doctor, get your prescriptions filled, and see them again in 6-12 months. That�s not how things work when you�re battling against Crohn�s disease. Having a doctor you know, trust, and feel confident about in his or her ability to accurately and honestly get you on the right path from the get-go. This extends past your primary care physician as well. Getting on good terms with his or her office staff front desk, nurses, any other physicians, such as a dietician or a counselor can have enormous benefits down the line.
Respect your prescribed treatment: Too many people get into their heads that they know the best overtime on how their treatment should go. These are the types that end up altering their dosage, not taking medicine at the right time, or not taking it altogether. Doctors aren�t just diagnosing you to hear themselves think. They are using all the tools at their disposal to make you feel better and let your body heal. Consider that the next time you don�t feel like taking a pill.
Try Corticosteroids:�This medication is often prescribed to treat flare-ups for the short term. They are not recommended over a long period of time as patients can either get addicted to them or become resistant to them.
Get better sleep:� Research has shown that patients with Crohn�s disease are more likely to have relapses if they do not get enough sleep at night. The poor sleeping in a study of 3,173 adult patients with IBD found that many 60% of patients suffering from flare-ups reported poor sleep, linking it to the likes of depression, tobacco use, and use of corticosteroids.
What is Remission Like with Crohn’s Disease?
Remission is the stage of Crohn�s disease where the symptoms go dormant. The inflammation which infects your digestive tract goes away and the damage to your bowel, colon, and other parts of the GI tract ceases. Your immune system stops attacking your own body and returns to its normal functioning. During this time, you will notice fatigue and pain diminishing and you will cease having bouts of severe diarrhea. Diagnostic blood tests by your doctor will likely show your inflammation levels have returned to normal and lesions found in your bowel, colon, stomach, anus, esophagus, and mouth will close and start to heal. No one can say what causes remission or how long it lasts, but it clearly is a cycle. After the first flare that triggers the diagnosis of Crohn�s disease, about 10%-20% of patients report long-term remission. This statistic is on the uptrend thanks to advance studies and research that better prepare doctors and patients to deal with Crohn�s disease more rapidly and effectively. There are several types of remission associated with Crohn�s disease, with accompanying characteristics. They are:
Clinical remission: This means you have zero symptoms associated with Crohn�s disease at the time. This can happen naturally or it can be the result of the diligent taking of medicine. Note that if your remission is a result of taking corticosteroids, it�s not really considered remission, mostly because these drugs are meant only for short-term use as they can become addictive or the body can become resistant to them.
Endoscopic remission:�This means your doctor does not find any sign of disease when he checks your colon during an endoscopy. If there is no inflammation and no lesions or polyps are present. This can also be termed as deep healing or mucosal healing. It does not really guarantee remission however, as there is a lot more to Crohn�s disease than simply what is going on in the colon. Inflammation can occur anywhere on the GI tract, but the colon is a major part of this.. Nevertheless, the colon is a major player in the disease and is one of the most painful parts of the process, so a clean bill of health there is worth celebrating.
Histologic remission: This term refers to the condition where cells are removed from your colon during endoscopy and tested as normal under a microscope. This indicates there is no presence of cancer nor inflammation commonly associated with Crohn�s disease. This remission is discovered when a follow-up to a surgical procedure is done and a lack of disease activity is found, especially is the procedure involved an ileocolonic resection, which is the most common surgery associated with Crohn�s disease. In this procedure, the area where the small and large intestines meet each other, known as the terminal ileum, is removed.
Biochemical remission:�Blood and excrement do not contain substances that signal the presence of inflammation. This is proven by blood tests and stool samples.
The path to remission is different for every Crohn�s disease patient, which can make it all the more vexing when you have a much harder time than someone else in achieving it. Doctors will try lots of different medications to get you going, while others will try more aggressive routes. Here are some of the routes that your doctor might take in his or her pursuit of remission for you.
Medications
Medicine is the obvious first choice for any sufferer of Crohn�s disease. Drugs have been tested for years before gaining approval from the Federal Drug Association (FDA) and most side effects are known. Since there is no real known cause for Crohn�s disease, patients are more than likely to be put on more than one drug at a time in order to titrate a cocktail that works for you. The goals in taking medications for Crohn�s disease include reducing chronic symptoms like pain and diarrhea, helping intestines heal from the damage that the inflammation has caused, and ease the inflammation itself. The following drugs are all used to fight Crohn�s disease:
Steroids
Prednisone:�Also used to treat arthritis, blood disorders, severe allergies, breathing problems, eye problems, and cancer, it is the most well-known corticosteroids. It decreases the immune system�s response time. Is addictive, and the body can also start to resist its effects if taken for too long.
Drugs to Slow Down Your Immune System
Vigilant immune systems are a big cause of Crohn�s disease, although no one has been able to figure out why. Slowing the reaction and response time of the immune system can limit the inflammation damage it does on your GI tract. These drugs include:
Azathioprine: Commonly used to prevent organ rejection in people that have had a kidney transplant. Also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It�s an immunosuppressant that weakens the immune system. It can be taken by injection or by mouth.
Cyclosporine:�Used to prevent organ rejection for people who have had a liver, kidney, or heart transplant. Is taken orally once per day.
Mercaptopurine:�This drug is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells, slowing their growth and spread across the body. It is largely used to take on leukemia. It has rough side effects that are fairly similar to Crohn�s disease, including nausea, diarrhea, and loss of appetite, as well as temporary hair loss, mouth sores or pain, and symptoms of liver disease.
Methotrexate:�It is classified as an antimetabolite that works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells and suppressing the immune system. It is often used to stop juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and comes in tablet form. It is a strong medication that requires lots of water consumption to get it out of the kidneys.
TNF Inhibitors
TNF Inhibitors are drugs that help stop inflammation. In addition to Crohn�s disease, they are useful for fighting rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, and ulcerative colitis. The three most frequently used with Crohn�s disease are:
Adalimumab:�Used to reduce pain and spelling in arthritis, it also is used in certain skin conditions. It works by blocking a protein found in the immune system that causes joint swelling and red, scaly patches.
Certolizumab:�Also used to kill tumors, it can defeat a certain type of spine condition in addition to treating Crohn�s to a degree and battling arthritis.
Infliximab:�A champion for chronic plaque psoriasis, it also treats Crohn�s disease and arthritis. It works by blocking the tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the body. It also decreases swelling while weakening the immune system.
Doctors typically start with mild drugs and then move into more strong ones to try and get you into remission. If your Crohn�s disease is atypically severe when you are first diagnosed, the opposite might be true and treatment will start with stronger drugs, drifting toward milder ones once you are in remission.
Surgery
If drugs or steroids aren�t working for you, or if your Crohn�s disease is particularly severe by the time it is first diagnosed, doctors might skip the drug regiment altogether and head straight for surgery. Up to 50% of all people diagnosed with Crohn�s disease will need surgery at some time in their life. The most common surgery will see a doctor remove parts of your intestine where there is too much damage for it to function properly. They then use staples or stitches to reconnect the healthy areas. After this kind of procedure, you will be out of commission for a while, and it might take several months before you feel completely normal again.
After the surgery, you will be fed through a feeding tube with liquid food or even have it injected into your veins to give your bowel the chance to both heal and rest. Once the intestines are determined to be rested and ready to return to active duty, you will be encouraged to eat a low-fiber diet in order to make your body conducive to smaller stools that reduce the risk of bowel blockage. Within a month to four months, you should start seeing the real results of such a procedure.
Understanding Crohn�s Disease in Children
Parents fear any type of health issue for their children, but being diagnosed with a problem, particularly one with no known cure can open up a lot of feelings of panic for both children and their parents. Since most people diagnosed with Crohn�s disease are 30 years old or younger, it stands to reason that it affects many children. And because it can cause malnutrition and other problems that affect growth and development, learning about Crohn�s disease can’t be understated for parents. The best way to talk to your child about having Crohn�s disease is to tell them in a language they can understand that involves the whole family, their doctors, their school, etc. Having a prepared, informed child will make what is to come much easier on them and reduce a lot of their fears of the unknown. If your child is a teenager and more responsible for the food they eat, guiding them in diet and nutrition is a big deal. Honesty is always the best answer for older children on how to manage Crohn�s disease. This is not a temporary condition that has an attainable cure right now. Helping them understand that controlling it will be their responsibility as adults are something that must come into play as well. Clearly, younger children will need more of a hands-on approach. But don�t do everything for them. Unless they are very young, this is a great chance to teach them a gradual taking of responsibility. For younger kids, there are going to be several new events happening that will be either scary or unfamiliar that you can help them transition into. These include:
Taking Medication
For younger children, being sick usually means taking a cough syrup or something similar for a few days and then feeling better. For children with Crohn�s disease, this can elevate to taking pills, getting injections, or sitting during lengthy intravenous transfusions. Taking medication over a long period of time is a new thing for most children. Many will fear it, even something as simple as swallowing pills. Start by introducing them to the medicine � what it looks like, how to take it without chewing it, and explain what the medicine. Let them know that the medicine is the bridge between them feeling bad and having to stay home feeling sick and them feeling good and being able to get out and enjoy some of their favorite pastimes.
It�s also important to remember that children don�t have as good as memories as we do, especially when it comes to remembering what days certain things are taking place. Well into elementary school plenty of kids don�t always know the day of the week or the time of the day without consulting a grownup. That�s why a family calendar with dates marked for medications is a great way to keep everyone on the same page. Make a big deal out of each pill swallowed and appointment completed. Praise is important. When your child feels they are doing the right thing to battle their illness, they will feel better about themselves.
Also, be aware that different medicines do different things and have different side effects. Make your child know that their feelings are important and valid. Ask them how the medicine is making them feel. Better or the same? Explain to them what side effects are and let them know that there are no wrong answers here. If the medicine is making them feel bad, they need to let you know, so you can let the doctor know. Medicine not working is not a sign of defeat, it just means that it�s not the right medicine for them.
Emotional Support
Emotional support is the best medicine for kids diagnosed with Crohn�s disease. It�s not a one-time conversation you have and then move forward with treatment and never talk about it again. Your child is going to have questions as they get older that manifest in many different ways. They will want and need someone to share their thoughts, their fears, and their hopes for the future. The question of �Why me?� is probably going to come up a lot, particularly for children who believe heavily in a particular faith. Some will wonder if the religious figure they worship is punishing them for some wrong they�ve committed. If someone else in the family also suffers from Crohn�s disease, the child might lash out at this relative and blame them for the illness. It is extremely difficult for a child to be different from their peers because of a physical condition, especially when it is one that deals with an already sensitive subject and one that can be rife for bullying at pretty much any age.
If it is too much for your child to take or if you are seeing trouble arise with their schoolwork, friends, or other previously healthy relationships, consider consulting a mental health professional, particularly one who specializes in childhood diseases and how to cope with them. Therapy, medication, or counseling (or some combination of the three) could be just what your child needs to get back on track and learn the process of coping with their illness. Older children and teenagers might need a completely different remedy � space and time alone to rationalize their feelings and decide how best to deal with it. This can include time talking to the doctor alone, without parental involvement. This should not be construed as a panic sign, but a positive that your child is taking charge of his or her own care and wants to discuss with a doctor how to cope with certain conditions. Don�t think you as the parent is in charge of every decision being made. Your child is the one with Crohn�s disease, and that will last a lifetime.
What is a 504 Accommodation Plan?
A 504 accommodation plan, also known as a 504 plan, is a government-approved legally binding document that requires a school to give your child special accommodations due to their disability. It is your job to inform your child�s school of the disability and you�ll be required to give proof of it � a simple doctor�s note will do. The plan covers your child having an unexpected flare-up of Crohn�s disease at school or if they are hospitalized and miss time. Accommodations will vary from child to child, but you must advocate for their rights at all times to ensure the school staff knows exactly what procedures must be followed, particularly in the event of a flare-up. Flare-ups can make anyone feel extremely uncomfortable as it can cause diarrhea or irregular bowel movements. In a school setting, this can be scary, humiliating, and embarrassing for a child, so all precautions must be in place, such as your child having the right to visit the bathroom at any time during the school day without being questioned, or bringing another pair of clothes to school in case of an accident. The school nurse in particular should be made aware of the situation, as she will usually be the most knowledgeable of Crohn�s disease and the best suited to help your child should they have an accident or need help during the day. If your child misses a lot of school for doctor�s appointments or hospital stays, the 504 plan should include provisions to allow them extra time to do assignments or things like take-home tests to give them the time and atmosphere to perform their best.
How Can You Handle Your Job When Your Child Has Crohn�s Disease?
Most jobs these days make all sorts of allowances for employees when it comes to paid time off (PTO) in the form of sick days and personal days. Having a child with Crohn�s disease can seem like a very personal issue and one that you don�t necessarily want to share with a lot of people, but it is necessary to inform your job, especially our human resources (HR) representative of the situation so you can best handle your responsibilities at work while also being there for your child. Your job will most likely be sympathetic to your child�s needs and do its best to accommodate you when you need to stay home with him or her or if you need to take them to the hospital. However, try and let your job know about planned hospital visits or procedures as far in advance as possible to give them the best chance to schedule someone to do your assigned tasks. If your job allows you to work remotely, try and see if you can make the accommodation for days that you might need to stay home with your child. Do everything possible to do your work, even if it is not at the precise date and time as everyone else in the office. Share your child�s schedule for surgery, blood draws, imaging, or any other scheduled appointment with your supervisor and your HR representative so they can appropriately deduct the time missed from your PTO, sick days, or family leave days, however, your company works it out. The more information that you can give your job about your schedule, the more likely they are to work with you. A company cannot legally fire you for a child�s illness, but if you do not communicate with them on the amount of time you take off, or if you are only informing them of time you need off with very little or no notice, you could find yourself getting dismissed for being unable to perform your duties and an unwillingness to keep an open dialogue.
Children�s Health Insurance and Crohn�s Disease
Your child is covered by either you or your spouse�s health insurance, but you�ll need more information than that to make sure that your child gets the best care possible. Once a diagnosis has been made by your child�s doctor, set aside some time to call your insurance company, explain the situation, and get all of your questions answered. Your insurance plan will have operating procedures based on the coverage plan you have preselected. These will include a deductible that you will likely have to meet before all expenses are paid for, co-pays for your child�s visits to the doctor, and possibly a number of treatments that are covered as part of the plan. During this meeting, you should also ask questions about prescription medications as well as which brands and drugs are covered under your plan. If certain drugs are too expensive, you can contact drug companies or look for discounts and coupons online. For health issues like Crohn�s disease, manufacturers and discount organizations often work hard to make otherwise unattainable drugs more affordable for suffering patients.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease or IBD. Although healthcare professionals today still don’t know the true cause of this health issue, several doctors and researchers believe that factors like poor diet and stress can aggravate the symptoms associated with this health issue. Common symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease can include pain and inflammation. Proper diagnosis and treatment for this health issue are essential because it can lead to a variety of complications, including joint pain and arthritis, among other health issues, if left untreated. Diet and lifestyle modifications, stress management, medication, and surgery, can ultimately help improve Crohn’s disease. For people following several of the previously mentioned treatment options, chiropractic care and physical therapy can also help relieve joint pain and arthritis, among other health issues, associated with inflammation. – Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation as to how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas*& New Mexico*�
Our brain is constantly working to help us make decisions, speak, read, and perform many other important functions. It’s also responsible for several involuntary processes, including breathing, regulating body temperature, and secreting hormones. The brain needs a consistent supply of energy in order to perform these essential functions. It mainly uses glucose as fuel for energy, however, does the brain really need glucose from carbohydrates to function properly?
What Happens When You Don’t Eat Carbohydrates?
According to healthcare professionals, the brain needs between 110 to 145 grams of glucose per day to function properly. Most people who follow a high-carb diet provide their brains with an abundant supply of glucose. However, what happens when you eat less than 110 grams of carbohydrates per day or even no carbs at all? Does your brain starve? Absolutely not! Our muscles and liver store glucose in the form of glycogen, a polysaccharide of glucose.
When you don’t eat carbs, glycogen in the liver is broken down into glucose and released into the bloodstream to prevent low blood glucose levels. While more glycogen is stored in the muscles than in the liver, it stays in the muscles to meet their demand for energy and it can’t be broken down and released into the bloodstream to prevent low blood glucose levels. After about 24 to 48 hours without eating carbohydrates, glycogen in the liver is depleted and insulin decreases.
The liver will then produce ketones, water-soluble compounds produced by the breakdown of fatty acids. Ketones are produced from the fats you eat or the movement of stored body fat. Ketones can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and enter the bloodstream in order to reach the brain and provide additional energy. This ultimately means that ketones can also be used as fuel for energy when our body is running low on glucose from carbohydrates.
Can Your Brain Use Ketones Alone for Energy?
Our brain always needs some glucose for energy. However, healthcare professionals have shown that for several people following a ketogenic diet, ketones can be used to meet up to 70 percent of the brain�s energy needs. As for the rest of the brain�s energy needs, your liver can produce the glucose it needs through a process known as gluconeogenesis. Thus, the liver can meet the brain’s energy needs through stored glucose, the production of ketones, or gluconeogenesis.
Glucose Alone vs Glucose and Ketones for Energy
If you follow a moderate-carb to a high-carb diet, your brain may not be properly adapted to use ketones as fuel for energy. Therefore, glucose will be the main source of energy for your brain. However, when your body has adapted to following a low-carb or carb-free diet, the brain can easily use ketones to meet the brain’s energy needs and the liver can make as much glucose as it needs to meet the rest of the brain’s energy needs in order to function properly.
What are the Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diet?
While there is a lot of similarities between the low-carb and ketogenic diet, there are also several important differences. The differences between the low-carb and the ketogenic diet may include but are not limited to the following:
Ketogenic Diet
Carbohydrates are limited to 50 grams or less per day.
Protein is generally limited or restricted.
The main goal is to increase the production of ketones.
Low-Carb Diet
Carbohydrates can vary from 25 to 150 grams per day.
Protein is typically not limited or restricted.
Production of etones may or may not increase.
In conclusion, eating carbohydrates to use as fuel for the brain’s energy needs is an option, not a requirement. It�s true that the brain can�t depend on ketones alone as it always needs some glucose as well. It’s important to understand that your brain isn�t in any danger if you follow a low-carb or a ketogenic diet. However, before following any particular diet, always make sure to talk to a healthcare professional to determine if these nutritional guidelines are right for you.
For information regarding the effects of carbohydrates on the brain, please review the following article:
Our brain is constantly working to perform many important functions. The brain needs a consistent supply of energy in order to perform these essential functions and while it mainly uses glucose as fuel for energy,� the brain doesn’t really need glucose from carbohydrates to function properly. Glycogen in the liver is broken down into glucose. The liver will then produce ketones, water-soluble compounds produced by the breakdown of fatty acids. Ketones are produced from the fats you eat or the movement of stored body fat. Ketones can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and provide additional energy for the brain. However, our brain always needs some glucose for energy. Your liver can also produce the glucose it needs through a process known as gluconeogenesis. Thus, the liver can meet the brain’s energy needs through stored glucose, the production of ketones, or gluconeogenesis. A low-carb or a ketogenic diet can provide a variety of benefits. Always make sure to talk to a healthcare professional to determine if these nutritional guidelines are right for you.�- Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight
Zesty Beet Juice
Servings: 1 Cook time: 5-10 minutes
� 1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced
� 1 apple, washed and sliced
� 1 whole beet, and leaves if you have them, washed and sliced
� 1-inch knob of ginger, rinsed, peeled and chopped
Juice all ingredients in a high-quality juicer. Best served immediately.
Just one carrot gives you all of your daily vitamin A intake
Yes, eating just one boiled 80g (2�oz) carrot gives you enough beta carotene for your body to produce 1,480 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin A (necessary for skin cell renewal). That’s more than the recommended daily intake of vitamin A in the United States, which is about 900mcg. It’s best to eat carrots cooked, as this softens the cell walls allowing more beta carotene to be absorbed. Adding healthier foods into your diet is a great way to improve your overall health.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation as to how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas*& New Mexico*�
Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T.
References:
Spritzler, Franziska. �Food for Thought: Does the Brain Need Carbs?� Diet Doctor, Diet Doctor Media, 17 Jan. 2019, www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/does-the-brain-need-carbs.
Spritzler, Franziska. �How Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diets Boost Brain Health.� Healthline, Healthline Media, 26 Mar. 2016, www.healthline.com/nutrition/low-carb-ketogenic-diet-brain#section1.
Dowden, Angela. �Coffee Is a Fruit and Other Unbelievably True Food Facts.� MSN Lifestyle, 4 June 2020, www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/did-you-know/coffee-is-a-fruit-and-other-unbelievably-true-food-facts/ss-BB152Q5q?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout#image=24.
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