Insulin resistance is a problem that is strongly associated with obesity due to excess body fat and diabetes. However, growing evidence suggests that gut microbiota…
In this Functional Medicine podcast, Dr. Alex Jimenez, Master Nutritionist Ana Paola Rodriguez Arciniega, and Senior Health Coach Kenna Lee Vaughn discuss Fibromyalgia, migraines, its…
Oxidative stress is a critical factor in cardiometabolic conditions. As previously demonstrated by the PREDIMED study, high-risk CVD patients have low antioxidant enzymatic activity and…
Patients’ dietary patterns are important triggers or modulators when it comes to cardiometabolic disease risk assessment. It has been stated that cardiovascular disease is the…
If we take a look at breast cancer, there are common roads that everything links back to. Those roads are an increase in estrogen or activation of the estrogen receptor in the mammary epithelial cell. This is important because there are triggers in our lives that have estrogen or stimulate estrogen production, ultimately leading to an increased risk of developing breast cancer.Â
FactorsÂ
Environmental factors like pollutants and stress are highly associated with breast cancer. For example, the pollutant xenoestrogen has estrogen-like activity. From here, when women age and move towards menopause, they produce more estrogen. When there is a relative increase in natural estrogen plus the pollutants sending the body false signals, we see a relative increase in estrogen and stimulation through the estrogen receptors in the body. A great way to decrease these pollutants and fake hormones is to switch to all-natural products. These fake hormones are being stored in products like:
Aluminum deodorantÂ
Body wash
ShampooÂ
Laundry detergentÂ
Air freshenersÂ
And moreÂ
The other factor mentioned above is stress. The stress that is being referred to in this instance is emotional stress. The type of stress we do not have as much control over (aka physical). The reason we take a look at stress is that stress leads to more cortisol being released throughout the body. More stress can lead to less melatonin production. Consider the fact that those with breast cancer have a decrease in melatonin. Over time, a decrease in melatonin results in an upregulation of estrogen receptors, leading to an increase in estrogen. Ways to help reduce stress include:
MeditationÂ
ExerciseÂ
GroundingÂ
Deep breathing techniquesÂ
DNA
As we have learned over the years, the DNA we are born with is not the DNA we die with. Yes, we are given a specific set of genes when we are born but our environmental factors have been proven to alter the expression of these genes. When we have a highly oxidized reactive molecule, it can adduct with DNA. This ultimately leads to DNA adduct formation that clips portions of our DNA out causing a mutation. Over time, with enough mutations, we can see patients develop cancer and their immune system is unable to fight it off as it no longer works properly.Â
The “pill for every ill†therapeutic approach is not enough to ensure its health improvement. In fact, ACC/AHA clinical guidelines are more interested in the…
Welcome to our new Functional Medicine series, brought to you by Dr. Alex Jimenez. In this edition, we feature part one of a presentation titled…
We want to welcome you to our podcasts, in this edition we will be introducing the Nutrition and Nutrigenomics Team. Dr. Alex Jimenez, Senior Health…
Dr. Alex Jimenez brings to you this Functional Medicine presentation titled “Food Allergies, Hypersensitivity, and Intolerances: Diagnosis and Treatment†featuring Naturopathic Specialists. who will present…
– If you have enjoyed this video and/or we have helped you in any way please feel free to subscribe and share us. Thank You…
In this episode, Dr. Alex Jimenez brings to you this presentation titled “An Introduction to Functional Medicine” where Medical Specialist will help us distinguish the…
In this edition of our nutrition podcasts, Dr. Alex Jimenez, Master Nutritionist Ana Paola Rodriguez Arciniega, and Senior Health Coach Kenna Lee Vaughn discuss the…
In this new functional medicine episode Dr. Alex Jimenez brings to you this part 3 of a presentation titled “Immune Dysfunction and Inflammation: A primary…
Welcome to our Functional Medicine episodes brought to you by Dr. Alex Jimenez. In this episode, we have part 2 of a presentation by a…
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.Â
Normal Aging vs Alzheimer’sÂ
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.Â
Synapse LossÂ
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.Â
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-6Â
TNFAÂ
COMTÂ
BDNFÂ
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:Â
Â
Lifestyle : InBodyÂ
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.Â
[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 COACHÂ
We have talked about the comorbidities of high visceral fat and insulin resistance; well, dyslipidemia is one of them. What you need to know about…
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of signs and symptoms that are found in many patients. The standard of care determines that MetS diagnose should…