Functional Medicine Series

Welcome to Taking Control of Your Healthcare. I will introduce you to a series of functional medicine articles where we will discuss various health and wellness topics as well as describe the best ways you can work with your doctor and find a health coach to receive the health care you deserve. Functional medicine is an individualized, science-based strategy which intends to naturally deal with the underlying causes of disease. However, most individuals do not have access to a functional medicine doctor or health coach and they are often given treatments for their symptoms instead of long-lasting solutions for their well-being. This functional medicine series aims to enable individuals to work together with their current healthcare professional or encourages them to seek a useful functional medicine doctor or health coach to appraise their particular genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle variables in order to be able to leverage that information to guide a personalized treatment program.

The material in these articles was made available for educational and informational purposes. Always seek medical attention for a healthcare professional when making lifestyle modifications.

Sports Performance: Genetics Part 1
Sports Performance: Genetics Part 1

Growing up, there always seemed to be the kids in P.E. who were just naturally better at sports than others. Additionally, there were kids who seemed like they were always hurt. Genetics make up a large factor when it comes to athletic performance and recovery. Over the last few decades, research has emerged proving that athletic performance, training responsiveness, injury-related traits, and the ability to recover from a workout can be tailored down to the genetics of an individual. We have the capability to do a genetic test on individuals so that parents and coaches are able to learn more about the athlete and how to train them for optimal performance. Many parents take advantage of this test and use it to see the athlete’s weakness, therefore building them up and focusing on that area. This allows the athlete to have a better chance of success. We use DNA Sport from DNA Life.

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Regenerative Medicine: El Paso

Regenr8 is a company we work with that developed an Epigenetic Biomarker Profile test to assess where your body is lacking in essential vitamins and minerals, hindering proper expression of biochemical pathways. The test determines the impact of your environment based on your unique gene function by identifying various metabolites based on the metabolic and enzymatic cellular process. 

The test will show an assessment of overall cellular energy production, methylation activity, vitamins, inflammation and oxidative stress, sleep markers, muscular performance, gut dysbiosis, amino acids, and neurotransmitters. Based on your test results, they create an all-natural, organic, and plant-based superfood that you are able to drink daily to ensure your body is getting the nutrients it needs.

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Food Responsiveness | El Paso Texas Chiropractor Health Coach
Health & Wellness: Food Responsiveness

The way our bodies respond to and break down food is being studied more and commonly linked to many chronic health conditions. The reactions we have to certain foods have been known to cause international permeability and over time leaky gut syndrome, leading to inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Not all food reacts the same way inside the digestive tract, some individuals are fine eating milk while others have digestive complications. Specific genes can be tested to provide a deeper insight to how someone might respond to a food component. To test an individual’s genes, we use DNA Health from DNA Life.

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Health and Wellness: Joint Inflammation | El Paso Health Coach
Health & Wellness: Inflammation

Our genes have been linked to playing a role in inflammation. Polymorphisms have been noted in several genes to result in higher proinflammatory markers.It is important to remember that nutrition and lifestyle interventions can affect these genes and how they are expressed.  For every one pound an individual is overweight, it puts ten pounds on your joints. This is an early life stressor that easily leads to chronic low-grade inflammation. Additionally, this can lead to diabetes, depression, cancers, and even cardiovascular diseases. We use DNA Health from DNA Life to determine an individual’s genetic predisposition and risk factors when it comes to inflammation

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Health & Wellness; DNA Methylation El paso Texas Health Coach
Health & Wellness: DNA Methylation

DNA methylation is a very important factor in our biochemical pathways. Methylation uses a process of donating methyl groups to a substrate. These methyl group substrates contain DNA and RNA, chemicals, neurotransmitters, hormones, and immune cells. A few examples of methylation include: regulating gene expression, biotransformation, myelination which is the production of the protective coating that surrounds our nerves), building neurotransmitters, immune cells, processing hormones, and DNA/RNA synthesis.

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Osteoporosis and Gut Health | El Paso TX Health Coach
Osteoporosis & Gut Health

Osteoporosis is a disease process based on stem cell and immunological dysfunction and it is where this dysfunction collides with energy regulatory mechanisms leading to weak and brittle bones. The skeleton is a large block of calcium that the body taps into to survive. This leaves the skeleton depleted of essential nutrients if not properly maintained. One thing that is important is to work on skeletal health from a metabolic level.

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Lizette Ortiz Live Podcast

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Nutrigenetics: Bitter Taste | El Paso Texas Chiropractor Health Coach
Nutrigenetics: Bitter Taste

Taste perception impacts the food choices we make, our nutrition, and our overall health. Genetically speaking, the taste response we have represents a phenotype. The five taste qualities we have include sweet, bitter, salty, umami, and sour. Genetics shows that humans who are more susceptible to the liking of sugar and fat are influenced by a specific genotype. Similar to this, individuals who have the ability to detect bitterness and rotting food have another genotype. Understanding the genotype people possess is highly important and can be used to create tailored programs for individuals.

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Arthritis: A Functional View

There are currently 54 million adults who suffer from Arthritis. Additionally, about 9% of adults have some type of arthritis-attributed activity limitation. The CDC predicts the number of those diagnosed with arthritis will only continue to rise in the years coming. Arthritis means inflammation of the joints. With Arthro meaning joint and itis referring to inflammation, it is clear that joint inflammation is the symptom being referred to. Many conventional approaches to arthritis treatment are aimed at reducing the inflammation of the joints. These medications also come with a heavy dose of side effects including kidney failure, gastritis, and bleeding in the stomach. Looking from a functional perspective, we pinpoint what is causing the inflammation in the first place. By resolving the overall inflammation in the body and creating a holistic plan to treat and reduce what is causing the inflammation, the joint inflammation ultimately subsides.

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Nutrigenetics: Lactose Intolerance and Genetic Expression

For those who have lactose intolerance, the LCT gene transcription is reduced, leading to a low level of lactase. To turn off LCT it involves blocking an activator or turning up a repressor. In fact, it is theorized that lactase persistence is a human evolutionary adaptation to drinking milk from domesticated animals. The mutation in the gene started to appear around the same time as the domestication of cattle.

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Depression: Integrative Approached | El Paso Health Care
Depression: Integrative Approaches

Depression is a natural response of the body and brain when there are biochemical imbalances occurring. These imbalances can involve toxicities, inflammation, metabolic issues, and genetic predispositions. When we are in a stressful state that lasts for too long, dysautonomia occurs and we burn out, leading to depression. Bun out is what occurs when any system is operating at too high of levels for too long. No matter what the issue is, depression or adrenal exhaustion, all chronic health issues can be related back to stress. We have the ability to test the neurotransmitters and take on depression from a holistic approach.

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