Nitric Oxide TechnologyCardiovascular health is one of the most important aspects of your health to pay attention to. Are you familiar with powerful molecule nitric oxide? Don't get this confused with Nitrous oxide, the gas dentist use. They are very different. Nitric oxide is a molecule every cell in your body produces, as we age nitric oxide production decreases. If you want to significantly improve your health in 2023 it is time to learn about the power of this new technology. We carry this supplement in the office and it is the only clinically proven and researched Nitric oxide supplement on the market. Here's a little you should know about the health benefits of this supplement. These come in lozenge form and are dissolved in your mouth producing large amounts of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide supplements are considered to have a number of potential health benefits, including: (MEN OVER 50 READ NUMBER 5) 1. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, which means it widens blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help deliver oxygen and nutrients to muscles during exercise. 2. Improved endurance: Improved blood flow can also help to improve endurance during exercise by allowing the muscles to work for longer periods of time before becoming fatigued. 3. Nitric oxide supplements may also aid in muscle growth by increasing blood flow to the muscles and delivering more oxygen and nutrients to the cells. 4. Lower blood pressure: Nitric oxide supplements may aid in blood pressure reduction by widening blood vessels and allowing blood to flow more freely. 5. Improved sexual function: Nitric oxide aids in the relaxation of smooth muscle in the penis, resulting in erections. Nitric oxide supplements may help men with erectile dysfunction improve their sexual function. Now is the time to start making decisions that will drastically improve your health for 2023. Grab a bottle next time you're in the clinic.
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As you’re quarantined at home with little to do, here is a fascinating piece of history and health to read.
The 1918 flu pandemic established Chiropractic as a valid healthcare force. The premise of Chiropractic hasn’t changed in the lifetime of the profession: health comes from the overall health of the spine, nervous system and cell health. The Vagus Nerve: Vagus nerve, also called X cranial nerve or 10th cranial nerve, is the longest and most complex of the cranial nerves. The vagus nerve runs from the brain through the face and thorax to the abdomen. It is a mixed nerve that contains parasympathetic fibres. The vagus nerve has two sensory ganglia (masses of nerve tissue that transmit sensory impulses): the superior and the inferior ganglia. The branches of the superior ganglion innervate the skin in the concha of the ear. The inferior ganglion gives off two branches: the pharyngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve. The recurrent laryngeal nerve branches from the vagus in the lower neck and upper thorax to innervate the muscles of the larynx (voice box). The vagus also gives off cardiac, esophageal, and pulmonary branches. In the abdomen the vagus innervates the greater part of the digestive tract and other abdominal viscera. The more you know ✌️ This model shows how beautifully everything is connected. Yes, it’s all connected. That knee pain, chances are its coming from the spine. The foot pain, chances are its coming from the spine. Posture is the window into how the spine is functioning. An unbalanced spine leads to stress on joints, ligaments and muscles often causing unexplained full body aches and pains. These misalignments can also lead to headaches, digestive issues and an overall feeling of poor health.
How do you correct this? A combination of great corrective Chiropractic (most Chiropractors don’t specialize in this), soft tissue re-education, traction, and lifestyle. Do you have a great Chiropractor on your team? www.northernmichiganspine.com
ARDS is disease marked by lung tissue injury, inflammation, and respiratory failure. It affects between 3 and 17 percent of people with COVID-19. Of people hospitalized with COVID-19, 20 to 42 percent will develop ARDS, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number skyrockets to 67 to 85 percent among those admitted to intensive care. Research conducted prior to the pandemic suggested that approximately 45 percent of patients who develop severe ARDS will die, according to the press release. Exercise may help prevent ARDS by triggering the production of a powerful antioxidant called extracellular superoxide dismutase (EcSOD). Our muscles naturally produce EcSOD and pump it into circulation. From there it binds to vital organs like the lungs where it acts like a shield protecting tissues from free radical damage and preventing disease. The review shows there is a decrease in EcSOD in diseases like lung disease, ischemic heart disease, and kidney failure. Endurance exercise ramps up the production of EcSOD, which in turn may provide protection against this COVID-19 related severe respiratory disease, says lead researcher Zhen Yan, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who promotes regular exercise as medicine. Regular exercise also boosts immunity and generally leads to lower blood pressure and helps prevent hypertension, which is one of the underlying risk factors that appear to increase the susceptibility to the coronavirus among older adults and raises the risk of developing more severe symptoms for those who contract the virus. “Exercise-induced EcSOD in protection against ARDS is just one example of many health benefits of regular exercise,” Yan told Bicycling. “The positive impact of regular exercise on hypertension [also] removes one of the risk factors for the negative consequence of COVID-19.” Whether you’re Zwifting indoors or riding solo outside, keep your pedals turning for added protection. There’s a growing body of evidence that it can help with your mental and physical health as we all do what we can to protect ourselves and others during this global pandemic. “I generally ride about 16 miles per day if weather permits,” Yan told Bicycling, and he urges others to prioritize exercise along with physical distancing as part of their defense against the coronavirus pandemic. “All you hear now is either social distancing or ventilator, as if all we can do is either avoiding exposure or relying on a ventilator to survive if we get infected,” Yan said in the press release. “The flip side of the story is that approximately 80 percent of confirmed COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms with no need of respiratory support. The question is why. Our findings about an endogenous antioxidant enzyme provide important clues and have intrigued us to develop a novel therapeutic for ARDS caused by COVID-19.” Chiropractic is truth in science. It is based on a set of principles of how the human body functions. For over 100 years medicine has tried to deny Chiropractic; we're seeing a shift in the fundamental understanding of how to care for the human body. Chiropractic is based upon the law of biology that inborn in every human is the innate ability to adapt to its environment, maintain health and overcome sickness and disease. It is further based upon the theory of physiology that the nervous system controls and coordinates every function in the body either directly or indirectly. Therefore, Chiropractic as a clinical science hypothesizes that because there is an integral relationship between bone (primarily the spinal column) and the nervous system (primarily the spinal cord) that subluxation within the spinal column will cause interference to the nervous system limiting the ability of the body to adapt to its environment and thus will cause dis-ease in the body. Furthermore, removal of the said subluxations will then remove the interference of the nervous system and thereby allow the body to once again adapt to its environment and overcome the dis-ease Do you have a great Chiropractor on your health care team? https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/wellness/integrative/treatments-services/chiropractic Ice and heat can bring relief in different ways for different types of pain.
Keep in mind: Heat is primarily for muscles and ice is best for injuries/swelling. Dr. Mike and Dr. Kallie's Review
Just above, you'll find all of the great technical information about this particular detox program. The OrthoMolecular Supplement Company is one of two top favorites of mine. They have amazing products along with tons of research for each and every product. I take many of their supplements on a regular basis, plus I experiment with new products that they release. The latest experiment was with this detox kit. Now I must be honest, I am not a "detox kit" type person...at all. I eat healthy and supplement my diet with protein shakes regularly, but a structured detox has never been a thing for me personally. So, this was putting me up for a challenge and I wasn't about to do this alone, so I recruited my husband. We started the program on a Wednesday. We opened our boxes and read through the great little manual that comes with the kit. The manual has all of the instructions needed, tons of helpful information, and great recipes for your week ahead. On page 16 and 17 of the manual, you are given substantial lists of what foods you are allowed and what you are not. Not Allowed List:
So basically you are leaning toward a whole food diet for 7 days. You are sticking to all organic fresh fruits and veggies, plus organic meats, and your grains can include rice, quinoa, etc. It's really not too bad, minus the coffee part! It's truly quite refreshing to know that you are putting such clean foods into your body. There is one small kicker in this program. The first two days are recommended fasted. This is an OPTION and not truly fasted because you are drinking two shakes (am and pm). Here is where I need to be honest, this is downright HARD! I survived (kind of and I'll get to that shortly) and I can understand the importance of this step. Fasting allows for digestive system to take a break and start making repairs. The shakes are simple and safe on your digestive system with enough nutrients to help your mind remember that you are not actually starving, plus the fiber helps you feel full. After the first day, I switched from 2 shakes for the day to 4 by splitting them in half. It just helped me feel more full throughout the length of the day. The hidden secret here is also this: by day three when you are allowed food, you really don't care about how "tasty" something is or isn't without your favorite condiments and such because you just want to EAT FOOD. A chicken breast with a side of raw veggies will never taste so good. Honestly, the recipes in the book are super yummy and enlighten you on a fresh new way to cook with a healthier approach. Plus, by day three you are allowed to mix fruit into your shakes if you would like. The idea is to still stay around 1200 calories a day while on the cleanse, so there is no over indulging after coming off of the fast. Again, the fast is completely optional. It all depends on your personal health whether it is a safe option. As I said earlier, this is a personal review and I am going to try my best here at reviewing the program. Unfortunately, I had a slight hiccup with my program, so I can't give you as much info as I'd like about how I did. The very first day, a fasted day, I got pretty sick. I can't tell you if it was exactly the flu, exactly the detox, or a combination of both. This was the week spring break up here was letting out and it seemed like everyone had the flu. Both of my youngest daughters' teachers and half of their classes were out with the flu. I really believe I had a touch of the flu and the detox (especially being fasted) didn't help me. Not to drag on about a story here, but this helps justify my husband. I was about and hour drive from home when I got sick. This wasn't just a slight stomach ache, this was full on I felt like I was going to die sick. Thankfully my oldest daughter was with me to help me out a little with GPS and calling her dad since I had to pull over on a side road 15 times in 40 miles. During this fiasco, my blood sugar tanked and long story short, my husband had to pick us up to get us home. The second day of my fast was pretty easy since I still didn't feel well. I finished the detox through day 7 and was happy that I made it through. I felt great after I was finished and I do think I'll try it again this year. Mike on the other hand decided that he was going to wait and not do it at the same time as me. When he got the phone call from my daughter that I was sick, he threw in the towel and decided to hold off. We still believe a lot had to do with a touch of the flu, so giving you an honest assessment like I wanted, unfortunately isn't in the cards for this one. I do want to note, we just had a patient finish the detox yesterday and she said she absolutely loved it. She lost 7 pounds and feels great. So happy to hear this and makes me look forward to trying it again. Please comment with any questions about the detox you may have, and I'll try my best to help. If there is enough interest, we are happy to open one of our kits and let people taste test before you make a decision. If you skipped the information sheet above, please go check it out because there is so much information about the importance of detoxing the liver and healing the gut. Healing the gut takes some time, it unfortunately doesn't happen over night. On the bright side, it's not too complicated to figure out how to start the healing process. It does take discipline to commit yourself to a healthier eating program, supplementation, and some lifestyle changes. There are simply 4 R's to follow: Remove Here is where we begin. This is truly the most important among the 4 R's. As we discussed in the past two posts, there are many factors that play a role in disrupting gut health. Those main sources being stress, unhealthy food and drink choices, and chemicals from medications.
Replace How do we replace? We replace the everyday repetitive stress with time management and spending some ME time to decrease/manage the stress. Next, replace the fast food with healthy foods prepared at home (again pre-plan just a little). Replace the fake processed foods and snacks with healthy fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. Read labels and avoid poor food choices. Also replace the food sources that are highly inflammatory with alternatives. With the Gluten free trend, there are MANY options now available to help you avoid gluten. Same goes for dairy alternatives as well as eggs and nuts. As I mentioned just above, replace some of the medications with all natural supplements, whole foods, and lifestyle changes. The key here is to replace unhealthy stressors in your gut to foods that promote healing. Repair After you have made the commitment to remove and replace factors in your diet and lifestyle that are unhealthy for your gut, the next step is to repair the damage. Repairing the gut wall is a process. Thankfully the human body is amazingly resilient and SMART! This process can only happen if the stressors are all removed. It is a delicate process that involves healing the gut barrier wall, the villi, and the mucosal layer. Remember from the last blog, 70-80% of our immune system cells live within the gut.
Rebalance The last step is to re-balance the GI system. While whole foods are imperative to providing nutrition for your GI health, they are typically not enough in the beginning when we are re-balancing the GI tract. The damage to the gut lining makes it difficult to utilize all of the nutrients we digest, especially if the foods are not superior quality. At this phase, reestablishing the micro-flora is paramount through probiotic support. Take a peek at the picture below Since starting to research this amazingly indepth topic on Gut Health, I have spent a lot of quality time speaking with our supplement companies to see what they officer to patients for gut health and inflammatory healing, and immune support. I was amazed at the amount of literature they were able to produce on this well studied topic. We are excited to have one of our favorite supplement reps in town next week, February 13th, to speak with not just us but also our patients and community about this interesting topic. There is so much to learn about gut health and how it's related to your overall well being. If you would like to hear more about the supplements we offer in the office for detoxification, gut repair supplements, and probiotics, please send me an email and I would be happy to help.
Part I of our health gut series was an introduction into the importance of striving to keep our gut healthy. As we read, gut health is the foundation to our immune system. If we don't take care of our gut health, we disrupt our microdome, which results in damage to the intestinal barrier needed to keep foreign materials out of our blood stream. This leakage of material into our blood stream is also known as Leaky Gut. Lets go back a little bit to address the 4 top struggles that contribute to an unhealthy gut/intestinal/digestive system. 1) Stress Stress changes our hormonal balance within our bodies. With stress we find increased bowel motility and defecation while at the same time reducing gastric emptying time. Stress induced changes in the bowel motility can result in altered gut pH and nutrient absorption causing bacterial overgrowth which leads to vulnerability to pathogenic organisms. Additionally, mucosal barrier disruptions equating into an over stimulation of the immune system. 2) Diet The GI tract is exposed to 30-50 TONS of food in the average lifetime. Too many highly processed foods that are devoid of nutrients needed for health are taking over our food industry. Our diets are consisting of too many refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated fatty acids, food preservatives and food additives. Chronic poor eating places a burden on the digestive tract leading to reduced bowel transit time, sluggish detoxification, and increased inflammation. 3) Medications Drugs (over the counter or prescribed) alter the gut microbia composition. Relying on chemicals comes at a risk of damaging the gut and can be counter intuitive since these drugs have the potential to create future disease development or simply be causing the chronic issues that you are trying to treat. Common examples of medications that do a number on your gut health are:
4) Food Allergies, Sensitivities, & Intolerances Any of the above can be characterized by any negative reaction to food. Food Sensitivities are non allergic immune responses to a component(s) of a food, an example is Gluten. The gliadin protein in gluten triggers an immune response causing inflammation along the inner lining of the small intestinal wall. Food Intolerance is the difficulty digesting certain foods due to a lack of proper enzymes. There is no immune response with a food intolerance, and symptoms are typically limited to diarrhea and/or vomiting. Commonly seen with eggs, milk, and gluten. Food Allergies affect 3% of our population in the IgE category. There are two types of allergic reactions from the body due to a food allergy, IgE and IgG/IgA. A little about our IgA, IgE, and IgG immune responses. IgA, IgG and IgE refer to immunoglobulins, or “antibodies.” These antibodies are part of our immune system, and are produced in response to things we come in contact with on a daily basis. Our bodies make antibodies to foreign substances like bacteria and viral cells, but can also respond to foods, dust, dander, and pollen. Antibodies help the body mount an immune system response (“fight”) against foreign invaders. IgA and IgG reactions are known as delayed response reactions, that include food sensitivities, where IgE responses are immediate and are considered a true food allergy. IgA and IgG reactions may not happen immediately, but can take hours to days to show up in your skin or intestines, and cause symptoms related to inflammation like headaches, fatigue, brain fog, or joint pain. People with food intolerance may experience digestive upset like nausea, constipation, or diarrhea, or skin itching and rashes including conditions like eczema and psoriasis. IgE immediate hypersensitivity reactions are characterized by hives and throat swelling that accompany anaphylactic reactions some people experience when exposed to certain foods. Other symptoms can include wheezing, coughing, a runny nose, vomiting, swelling of the lips or tongue, tearing or redness of the eyes, or even a weak pulse and loss of consciousness. Common foods that trigger IgE reactions are peanuts, shellfish, egg, dairy products, soy, tree nuts, wheat and fish. So how does your gut health contribute to an autoimmune disease? Autoimmune disease is on the rise in a major way. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 23.5 million Americans suffer from a form of an autoimmune disease, but some think that number is actually closer to 50 million. There are at least 80 to 100 different diagnosable autoimmune diseases worldwide, and more are being studied and diagnosed every single day. We turn back to the relationship of the gut and overall health. Also the gut and our immune system, or lack thereof. Let's re-familiarize ourselves with the word below... dysbiosis /ˌdisbīˈōsəs/ an imbalance between the types of organism present in a person's natural microflora, especially that of the gut, thought to contribute to a range of conditions of ill health. Over time, having dysbiosis in your gut microbiome will eventually lead to a leaky gut. If your gut is leaky, food particles, toxins and infections can get through your intestinal lining and into your bloodstream where your immune system detects them as foreign invaders and goes on high alert, attacking them and creating inflammation. One main way inflammation occurs is that the food particles (especially gluten and casein, a protein found in dairy), toxins and infections look very similar to our own body’s cells and our immune system gets confused and accidentally attacks our own tissue, which leads to autoimmunity. This process is called molecular mimicry. Molecular mimicry is defined as the theoretical possibility that sequence similarities between foreign and self-peptides are sufficient to result in the cross-activation of autoreactive T or B cells by pathogen-derived peptides. (*This is google worthy on a snowy day if you are more interested in autoimmune origins.) It’s a cycle that works like this: altered gut microbiome or dysbiosis => leaky gut => food, toxins and infections into bloodstream => immune system attacks body due to molecular mimicry => autoimmune disease. In March of 2018, Yale University did a study on the gut bacteria in humans and mice. They discovered that certain bacteria in the gut (E. gallinarum) is able to trans-locate outside of the gut into the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. This bacteria attacked tissues outside of the gut and initiated the production of auto-antibodies and inflammation. It was a theory that these foreign substances that leaked out of the gut and trans-located also invaded the incorrect cell space by Molecular Mimicry. Dr. Axe that helps to simplify and describe the cycle we start to struggle with when health of our gut starts to decline. SymptomsThis is a list of symptoms that are the most common with people struggling with poor gut health. It's truly exciting to think that we can start healing many health problems simply with diet. Going back to eating whole foods is understandably not the easiest when McDonald's has your food ready in 2 minutes with barely any clean up, BUT 5, 10, 20+ years from now when you are living with a slew of medical problems and feel miserable every single day you are guaranteed to look back and regret taking the extra time and effort to prevent your problems. Next week we will discuss taking those first steps to heal your gut. I will try to help simplify your plans for eating healthier and simply making better choices for yourself and your family. “A huge proportion of your immune system is actually in your GI tract,” says Dan Peterson, assistant professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.Welcome to our series on gut health. This is one of those topics that is overwhelmingly MASSIVE and hard to even know where to start. You have likely heard or maybe even researched a little for yourself, on the topic of gut health. Maybe you know that probiotics are pretty good for you, you are just not sure why. I'm just going to scratch the surface a little bit today on gut health, then I will dig deeper for you in the subsequent weeks to come. What is the gut Microbiome? “Just like any other environment on the planet, our bodies have their own ecosystems -- made up of 100 trillion microorganisms, or microbes, that live in and on our bodies," says Rachael Buck, PhD, Abbott's lead research scientist and resident gut health expert. "These include bacteria, fungi, viruses and other types of tiny organisms. It’s so large in fact, that the genes of microbes outnumber our body’s genes by 100 to 1." The Gut Microbiome Explained (© 2019 Abbott) When it comes to the microbiome, the large intestine (or, the colon) receives the most attention because it contains the highest concentration and greatest diversity of microbes in the entire body. The large intestine is lined with a layer of mucus and the microbes that live there form a gut biofilm. The biofilm contains an array of different microbes that carry out different tasks in your body and also work together to keep you healthy.What’s even more fascinating is that each and every person has a unique make-up of microbes. What determines the different types of microbes in a person is a result of ones genes, age, gender, diet, hygiene, and even the climate you live in and your occupation. In fact, studies show that the gut microbiome affects everything from pain, mood, sleep and stress, to how our bodies use the food we eat and how we fight off infection. |
AuthorsDr. MJ Wegmann, Archives
July 2023
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