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Slow Down The Aging Brain

Alzheimer’s disease is one that impacts many lives. There are multiple factors that go into the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, some people’s diet, environment, genetics, head trauma and more. The classic symptoms include loss of memory, memory issues that begin to disrupt everyday life (such as where you keep your coffee mugs), difficulty completing familiar tasks in the workplace or home, confusion with time or place, and trouble understanding images. 

Normal Aging vs Alzheimer’s 

With normal aging, we see brain atrophy, some neurotransmitter loss, and oxidative damage. These changes occur but they do not interfere with daily tasks or quality of life. To determine the difference, we can perform a simple test in the office that consists of a few questions. The score will determine if the aging of the brain is within normal limits. 

Synapse Loss 

As mentioned above, head trauma can lead to Alzheimer’s as it increases synapse loss. Things that contribute to head trauma include physical trauma, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes. Additionally, high cholesterol, high homocysteine, low exercise, and specific genes. 

Genes

Although we are unable to change the genes we were born with, we can alter their expression. There are steps that we can take to alter these genes to express in a positive manner rather than negative. This can help slow down the progression or onset of Alzheimer’s. The genes we specifically look at in reference to Alzheimer’s are those that impact lipid metabolism, inflammation, and are dopaminergic and neurotrophic. These include:

CRP
IL-6 
TNFA 
COMT 
BDNF 

We have the ability to perform genetic testing through DNA Life to assess your genes and your susceptibility. DNA Mind provides an identification of the level of impact of any genetic variant. It also provides us with a broken down explanation of the genes and their specific impact on the biochemical area and mental health. Additionally, this test not only reports on Alzheimer’s disease but also dementia, cognitive decline, addictive behavior, risk-taking behavior, and mood disorders. A sample report can be seen below: 

 

Lifestyle : InBody 

As previously mentioned, we see a direct link between lack of exercise, poor nutrition, and Alzheimer’s disease. We are able to create personalized nutrition plans for your body as well as determine other predisposing factors with the help of the InBody 770 system. This advanced machine provides a great deal of information for us regarding the patient. We track patients Anthropometric measurements in order to determine their lean muscle mass, fat density, visceral fat (fat surrounding the organs- a key indicator of disease risk), water percentage, and height and weight. We measure our patients every 8 weeks and keep a detailed record. These reports are great indicators for health and also assess inflammation and edema. There is more information regarding the InBody below. 

[embedyt] www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3_BEhgJCGc%5B/embedyt%5D

InBody_E_Book.pdf

GENETIC TESTING IS AVAILABLE NOW AND PROVIDES US WITH MORE INFORMATION THAN EVER BEFORE. WITH THIS INFORMATION AND THIS TECHNOLOGY, WE ARE ABLE TO CREATE PREVENTABLE PLANS GEARED TOWARDS YOU. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND YOUR GENES. -KENNA VAUGHN, SENIOR HEALTH COACH 

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dyslipidemia nutrition

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Metabolic syndrome

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Leaky Gut What Is It | El Paso Texas Chiropractor
Anti-Inflammatory Diets

The link between inflammation and many diseases was made less than 15 years ago. With that being said, there is still so much we are constantly finding out about the connection. Inflammation and disease can be thought of as a circle, the relationship is complex and goes both ways. Inflammation is not always felt by the patient. Majority of inflammation happens in the gut and digestive tract. This leads to something we call “Leaky Gut” or Intestinal Permeability. 

Contributing factors to systemic inflammation include:
Smoking 
Environmental pollutants 
Overweight
Sedentary lifestyle 
Stress
Diet

It is important to keep in mind that not all inflammation is bad. In fact, we need inflammation. Inflammation is a natural and normal response within the body to help repair damaged areas. However, when the inflammation gets excessive, we begin to see problems arise. The first steps we take is to eliminate and reduce the contributing factors of systemic inflammation. Smoking includes second hand smoke as well environmental pollutants. These create excessive inflammation in the body and we are unaware of what we are truly breathing in. A sedentary lifestyle and being overweight typically go hand in hand. Adipose tissue or fat cells produce inflammatory chemicals at a faster rate than lean muscle mass. When we live a sedentary lifestyle and begin to carry around added weight, we are adding fuel to the inflammatory fire. Lastly, stress can add unnecessary inflammation to the body by causing cortisol to release into the adrenal pathways.  

Nutrition

Anti-Inflammatory diets are constantly circling around. There have been studies with benefits linking to diets that include healthy fats, low glycemic, wheat-free, Mediterranean, ph-balanced, and antioxidants. One thing that all healthcare providers seem to have in common is agreeing that nutrition is linked to inflammation and pro-inflammatory foods include trans fats, SFA, ARA, and high glycemic loads. 

In order for a patient to be on a true anti-inflammatory diet that helps recover their gut and reduce inflammation, lab work is needed. The reason is that one food that is anti-inflammatory in one individual, might be causing major irritation and inflammation in another. 

Labs 

To start off, we run a Food Sensitivity Test from Vibrant America. This tests to make sure they do not have any specific IgG reactions to foods consumed, like wheat, vegetables, fruits, and more.

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Cardiometabolic disease
Cardiometabolic Risk: How to Manage it

Coronavirus definitely took us all by surprise. With an uncontrollable infection rate, the medical world seemed to forget about the chronic and metabolic diseases. Yes,…

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Root Causes of *GUT DYSFUNCTION* | El Paso, Tx (2021)

Welcome to our Functional Medicine episodes brought to you by Dr. Alex Jimenez. In this episode, we have a presentation by a Chiropractic Specialist; where…

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Treatment of GI Dysfunction *PART THREE* | El Paso, Tx (2021)

Welcome to our new Functional Medicine series, brought to you by Dr. Alex Jimenez. In this edition, we feature part three of a presentation titled…

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*GASTRO-INTESTINAL* dysfunction treatment | El Paso, Tx (2021)

Welcome to our new Functional Medicine series, brought to you by Dr. Alex Jimenez. In this edition, we feature part two of a presentation titled…

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Diagnosis & Treatment of Food Allergies | El Paso, Tx (2021)

Welcome to part two of a Functional Medicine presentation titled “Food Allergies, Hypersensitivity and Intolerances: Diagnosis and Treatment” featuring Naturopathic specialists. who will present to…

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A guide for Food Allergies, Hypersensitivity and Intolerances | El Paso, Tx (2021)

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC brings to you Part Three of a Functional Medicine presentation titled “Food Allergies, Hypersensitivity, and Intolerances: Diagnosis and Treatment” featuring a…

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C. majus
Detox Therapy with Chelidonium majus L.

Once again, traditional Chinese medicine and herbal medicine are coming back to treat chronic conditions’ underlying cause potentially. Consequently, Chelidonium majus L., commonly known as…

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Image of Dr. Alex Jimenez with thumbs up standing in front of his office clinic.

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