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.

The Importance of Heart Health and Lipid Metabolism | El Paso Health Coach
Health & Wellness: The Importance of Heart Health & Lipid Metabolism

We all have specific genes that either increase or decrease our risk of developing cardiovascular disease. These genes can have SNPs, and each has the ability to influence lipid metabolism. These influences can be modulated by the gene’s metabolism. There is heavy evidence that suggests environmental factors will influence most premature cardiovascular cases if action is taken in favor of an individual’s genetic predisposition.
We use DNA Health by DNA Life to test our patients for their genetic variations and to create a personalized healthcare plan for them to better lower their risk of developing diseases.

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Image showing a group of carbohydrates for brain health.

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Lizette Ortiz Live Podcast

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CoQ10 an essential supplement: Health Coach El Paso
CoQ10: An Essential Supplement

One of the most important nutrients in the body is Co-Enzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is involved in the electron transport chain as well as playing a role in endothelial function. As of late, the medical literature has shown that statin medications like Lipitor, Crestor, and Zecor shut down the production of CoQ10. CoQ10 is needed for many biochemical reactions throughout the body. However, one of the most important factors to realize is that when CoQ10 is depleted in the body we have adverse reactions like the LDL cholesterol becoming oxidized. This event unleashes further destruction to the body and results in the LDL cholesterol drilling holes in the arterial wall, causing extreme inflammation. Inflammation is directly linked to chronic health conditions as well as an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.

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Image of several food groups containing folate and folic acid.

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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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What is Folate Metabolism? | El Paso, TX Chiropractor

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Nutrigenetics: Salt Sensitivity| El Paso Texas Chiropractor Health Coach
Nutrigenetics: Salt Sensitivity

Salt is in nearly every food consumed, but some may have a genetic variation causing them to have salt sensitivities. Salt sensitivity is estimated to be present in 51% of the hypertensive (high blood pressure) population. The ACE and AGT genes are both apart of the Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS). The ACE gene codes for the angiotensin-converting enzyme and is part of the RAS. This system controls the blood pressure by regulating the specific volume of fluids in the body.

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Exercise Prescriptions for High Risk Individuals

Exercise has been proven to help many medical conditions and reduce inflammation. However, those who are high risk do not usually feel comfortable exercising. Treating disease and developing a program for long-term health is the overall goal with exercise prescriptions. To begin, all patients must undergo an assessment of physical capabilities as well as physiological. The hard push of exercise is not something all patients are mentally ready to tolerate.

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PCOS and genes
Functional Wellness: PCOS

The first Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) conference was held in 1990 and discussed what PCOS is and how they were diagnosing and treating patients. They looked at oligo-anovulation, no ovulation, and too many androgens. Now, we use the Rotterdam criteria. This criterion groups together anovulation abnormal ovulation, clinical hirsutism acne (signs of hyperandrogens), and an ultrasound to view the presence of 12 or more follicles and determines if you have two out of those three then you are diagnosed with PCOS. There are multiple pathways that PCOS develops. Ultimately, these pathways are categorized into 4 groups: LIfestyle induced PCOS, Poor Fat Digestion/Sugar Burner, Inflammatory Diet/Poor Food Choices, and Genetic Predisposition.

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Good Calories vs Bad Calories Overview | El Paso, TX Chiropractor

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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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