Nutrition and Wellness

Nutrition and Wellness go hand in hand. Food provides people with the necessary energy and nutrients to be healthy and for their bodies to perform optimally. By eating a variety of colorful foods, including good quality vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and lean meats, the body can replenish itself with the essential macronutrient (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to function effectively. Healthy eating does not have to be hard. The key is to eat a variety of foods, which include vegetables, fruits, and whole-grains. Eat lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products and drink about half your body weight in ounces 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, margarines, and shortenings. Dr. Alex Jimenez and his health coach offer nutritional examples as well as describe the importance of a balanced nutrition throughout this series of articles, 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 like heart disease, and ultimately promote overall health and wellness.

Tissues of the body | El Paso TX
Tissues Of The Body

Tissues

The human body is composed of many tissues. Each organ in the body can be broken down into tissues. Tissues are sorted based on their basic functions. These include:

Epithelial Tissue
Connective Tissue 
Muscle Tissue
Nerves Tissue
Muscle Tissue

Out of these tissue types, the only tissue that contracts is muscle. Muscle tissue is further broken down into skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. These tissues are contracted when stimulated. 

Connective Tissue

Connective tissue has three types as well. Connective tissue proper, fluid connective tissue, and supporting connective tissue. However, all three of these connective tissue types are made up of the same components. They all include specialized cells, protein fibers, and ground substances. 

The differences between these tissues can be seen in what subdivides them. For example, the fluid connective tissue is subdivided into blood and lymph, whereas supporting connective tissue can be divided into cartilage and bone. Lastly, connective tissue proper is divided into loose connective tissue and dense connective tissue. 

The substance that connective tissue is composed of is a clear fluid. This fluid has a similar consistency to maple syrup but is clear and odorless. Its primary function is to fill the spaces between the cells and surround all fibers. 

Loose and Dense Connective Tissue 

The loose connective tissue binds many structures together. Loose connective tissue allows mobility. Dense connective tissue forms collagen that is strong and flexible. These fibers form branching frameworks for the rest of the body. With the fibers being parallel to each other and very tightly packed, there are forces applied to the issue. Dense connective tissue is responsible for forming tendons, ligaments, capsules of organs, and fascia. 

Fascia

Fascia varies as its function is primarily based on location. Fascia forms individual muscle fibers and the portions between muscles. These sheets can be thin or thick. Fascia is flexible and can stretch. Fascia lies under the skin, and deep fascia lies overs the muscles. Therefore, it is important that we move fascia frequently. Over time, if we are not stretching, the fascia will become tighter and tighter and eventually restrict movement. Fascia is in every cell, tissue, and organ. 

When fascia is functioning properly, it has a positive impact on the autonomic and central nervous systems. However, when it is impacted by poor posture, inflammation, or trauma, the fascia can become distorted and apply abnormal pressure to areas of the body. 

Phase Angle 

When focusing on the orthomolecular science of the body, we see how important tissue is. Fascia surrounds every cell, which can help determine cellular health. The phase angle is a snapshot at cellular health where we are able to see how healthy and strong an individual’s cells are. We want patients’ phase angles to be as close to a seven as possible. With a low phase angle (closer to 3 and 4), we see weakness in the cell. Below is a video that helps describes phase angle in more detail: 

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

IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE HEALTHY CELLS AND HEALTHY TISSUE. WITH THE USE OF THE INBODY 770, WE ARE ABLE TO ASSESS PATIENTS’ MUSCLE MASS, BODY FAT MASS, AND PHASE ANGLE. THE INBODY IS NOT JUST FOR PATIENTS WHO ARE WORRIED ABOUT MUSCLE MASS BUT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL WE SEE. IT PROVIDES IMPORTANT MARKERS EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE OF. -KENNA VAUGHN, ACSM-EP, SENIOR HEALTH COACH

References: 

Grisanti, Ron, and Brad Hayes, DC  FDMT580G Myofascial Disruption Technique. Functional Medicine University, www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/members/598.cfm.  

Additional Online Links & Resources (Available 24/7)  

 

Online Appointments or Consultations:  https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment  

 

Online Physical Injury / Accident Intake Form: https://bit.ly/Fill-Out-Your-Online-History  

 

Online Functional Medicine Assessment: https://bit.ly/functionmed

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Immunonutrition, COVID-19, and Obesity. Part 2 El Paso TX
Immunonutrition, COVID-19, and Obesity. Part 2

Immunonutrition therapy application is varied, ranging from severely ill patients, perioperative immunonutrition, athletic enhancement, and more recently in the COVID- 19 patients. However, the underlying…

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The Perioperative use of Nutraceuticals: Probiotics
The Perioperative use of Nutraceuticals: Probiotics

Nutritional assessment is a critical step that inpatients have to go through before undergoing surgery. Unfortunately, even with the obesity pandemic, most patients fall into…

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Microbiome

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gluten-free
What to eat when a Gluten-Free Diet is not Enough?

Food sensitivities reflect gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and overall discomfort. Additionally, multiple other symptoms like headache, wheezing, brain fog, depression, and even…

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Neuromuscular reffered pain | El Paso
Neuromuscular Referred Pain, Is It Impacting You?

When it comes to Neuromusculoskeletal disorders, many techniques are available for one to learn. Some of these techniques include: 

Activator methods 
Applied Kinesiology
Atlas Specific 
Meric System 
Network Chiropractic 
Pro-Adjuster 
And Many More 

As a healthcare practitioner, upwards of 90% of your consultations involve a clinical investigation. The most often asked questions to patients include “How long have you had the pain?” and “What aggravates the pain?” However, it is imperative to determine the best course of treatment for patients. To properly do this, you do a functional history that includes all dimensions of wellness, not just physical and pain. These questions include: 

Past Medical History 
Occupational Status 
Social Status 
Medication History 
Surgical History 
Identifying non-neuro muscular disorders the patient may have like diabetes, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer 

Understanding all areas of injury is vital due to neurological referred pain. Neurological referred pain occurs when signals get mixed in your neurological wiring. Sensory inputs from different areas of the body combine into single neurons (the nerve cells) in the spine. In the spine, they are integrated and modified before being sent to the brain. To properly assess and have successful treatment, one must identify the proper tissue that has been compromised. 

Along with this, there are perpetuating factors that can lead to downfalls as well. 

Mechanical Stresses

The stresses that directly impact pain and the skeletal system include short leg, hemipelvis, long second metatarsal, short upper arms, postural stresses, misfitting furniture, poor postures, abuse of muscles, and immobility. 

Short leg is seen frequently and puts a biomechanical strain on the supporting muscle. This creates a distortion of axial alignment. The main muscle impacted is the quadratus lumborum. This muscle being compromised is one of the most overlooked sources of low back pain. Once this is identified, the shoulder girdle should be evaluated next. If individuals are suffering from low back pain frequently, nutritional inadequacies should be considered. 

There are research studies done showing nutritional deficiencies to be associated with chronic neuromusculoskeletal system disorders. For optimal health, we focus on the body down to the orthomolecular components. These include: 

B1
B6
B12
Folic Acid
Vitamin C
Calcium 
Potassium 
Iron 
Magnesium 
InBody

Part of obtaining a full history is having patients undergo an InBody scan. This scan focuses on body composition and inflammation. It provides a full report of water, percent body fat, phase angle, visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, ECW/TBW and contains multiple segmental analysis sections. The InBody 770 high power technology to accurately assess patients.

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

 

THE HUMAN BODY IS VASTLY INTERTWINED AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT EVERY AREA IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PAIN OR DISCOMFORT. A DETAILED HISTORY CAN HELP DOCTORS GET TO THE ROOT SOURCE OF YOUR PAIN. -KENNA VAUGHN, ACSM-EP, SENIOR HEALTH COACH 

References: 

Dr Ron Grisanti,D.C “Insiders Guide.” Functional Medicine University (FMU). 

Williams FH. Neuromuscular complications of nutritional deficiencies. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2008 Feb;19(1):125-48, vii. doi: 10.1016/j.pmr.2007.10.006. PMID: 18194754.  

Additional Online Links & Resources (Available 24/7)



 

Online Appointments or Consultations:  https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment



 

Online Physical Injury / Accident Intake Form: bit.ly/Fill-Out-Your-Online-History



 

Online Functional Medicine Assessment: bit.ly/functionmed

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, 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 provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of 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.  Read More…

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, CTG*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

phone: 915-850-0900

Licensed in Texas & New Mexico

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Syntrophy
Microbial Syntrophy and Gastrointestinal and Anti-inflammatory Benefits

The interaction between beneficial bacteria and the host is called symbiosis. Furthermore, symbiosis depends on multiple factors such as microbial diversity, nutritional intake, lifestyle factors,…

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Apple Cinnamon Gluten Free Newtons

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The Orthomolecular Function of Akkermansia Municiphila.

The beneficial effects of using probiotics in our diets or supplementation have been studied in the last years. Indeed, these studies provide positive information about…

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Oregano

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Detecting and Treating Histamine Intolerance (HIT).

Histamine is closely related to allergies and immune responses. Certainly, histamine’s involvement in common allergies is the main reason why antihistamines were developed. However, the…

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How Is Stress Impacting You?

Stress can be defined as any external or internal challenge that disrupts homeostasis in an individual. How stressed an individual feels varies depending on their coping skills and mechanisms. For most, stress is anything that causes a flight or flight response. There are several emotions that cause individuals to feel this flight or fight response. A few possibilities are:

Bitterness
Resentment
Retaliation
Anger
Trauma
Betrayal
Rage
Depression 
Gossip 
Self-hate
Being rejected 
Loneliness 
Shame 

A stressor produces different mixes of the nervous system and hormonal responses. One stressor may lead to the nervous system activation releasing catecholamines, but small amounts of adrenaline and cortisol. However, another stressor may result in the opposite reaction. In studies performed, it is stated that there are direct relationships between behavior, the brain, and immunity. One association that is well studied is the relationship between autoimmune diseases and self-hatred. By attacking ourselves with our own harsh words and negative thoughts, we see a direct relationship corresponding to an autoimmune response, ultimately ending in autoimmune disease. The study can be viewed below:

Dangers of Excessive Cortisol 

Cortisol is released in times of stress. It is necessary, but when too much cortisol is released for too long, the body sees side effects. The adrenal glands are consistently producing cortisol. Cortisol stimulates the conversion of noradrenaline to adrenaline. This creates an increased amount of adrenaline in the blood. Cortisol also blocks the conversion of the T4 thyroid hormone. Due to this, individuals under stress may develop systems of hypothyroidism. Additionally, cortisol suppresses the production of T-cell activity. This increases the risk of infection. 

Another study states that animals genetically susceptible to insulin-dependent diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes) developed the disease more frequently when they were subjected to stress. While under stress, the elevated cortisol levels in the bloodstream block insulin, making it difficult to control blood glucose.  

Phase Angle 

Stress plays an essential factor in phase angle as it disrupts homeostasis. The phase angle is a snapshot at cellular health that provides practitioners with the integrity of your cellular membranes. The healthier an individual is, the higher their phase angle, making it harder for inflammation and infection to infiltrate. The more stress an individual is under, the higher their cortisol is. This increases their blood glucose level and can result in a higher body fat percentage. These combined decrease cellular health and cause a permeable cellular membrane. We evaluate and monitor our patient’s phase angle by using an InBody 770 machine. The anthropometric measurements show us where inflammation is and other significant numbers such as visceral fat, basal metabolic rate, and segmental water analysis. 

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

Diagnostic Testing 

Although we utilize many different diagnostic lab companies, we use the Adrenal Hormone Report from Doctors Data to measure cortisol levels. A sample report is shown below: 

 

 

CORTISOL IS NECESSARY, AND STRESS IS A NATURAL RESPONSE TO PROTECT THE BODY. HOWEVER, WHEN WE SEE THE “STRESS RESPONSE” ON FOR TOO LONG, WE KNOW OTHER ISSUES ARE GOING ON. IT IS CRUCIAL TO REMEMBER TO RELAX, TAKE TIME TO FOCUS ON DEEP BREATHING, MEDITATION OR YOGA, AND UNWIND. -KENNA VAUGHN, ACSM-CEP, SENIOR HEALTH COACH 

References: 

Maier SF, Watkins LR, Fleshner M. Psychoneuroimmunology. The interface between behavior, brain, and immunity. Am Psychol. 1994 Dec;49(12):1004-17. doi: 10.1037//0003-066x.49.12.1004. PMID: 7818221. 

Dr Ron Grisanti,D.C “Insiders Guide.” Functional Medicine University (FMU).

Additional Online Links & Resources (Available 24/7)



 

Online Appointments or Consultations:  https://bit.ly/Book-Online-Appointment



 

Online Physical Injury / Accident Intake Form: bit.ly/Fill-Out-Your-Online-History



 

Online Functional Medicine Assessment: bit.ly/functionmed

 

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, licensed physician, and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified health care professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from a wide array of disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the musculoskeletal system’s injuries or disorders. Our videos, 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 provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of 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.  Read More…

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, CTG*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

phone: 915-850-0900

Licensed in Texas & New Mexico

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SIBO
Treating SIBO and IBS with the 5R’s Framework

Gastrointestinal issues are one of the main reasons why patients come into a doctor’s office. Certainly, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the primary gastrointestinal diagnosis.…

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The Role of Dysbiosis and Thyroid Function
The Role of Dysbiosis and Thyroid Function

Dysfunction of the immune system is the common denominator of diseases like Grave’s disease (GD), Hashimoto’s disease (HD), and celiac disease (CD). In addition, we…

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