Month: June 2021

Categories
Functional Medicine Health Concerns

A Functional Approach to Insulin Resistance

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Understanding the cellular mechanisms of insulin resistance helps us choose more effective therapeutic interventions for the treatment and prevention of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and other chronic health disorders. Insulin resistance contributes to most chronic disease in America, a country with world-renowned health care, yet 90 percent of people who have this condition have not been diagnosed.

Understanding Insulin

Insulin is a peptide hormone that’s made in the pancreas, an organ that contains clusters of cells called islets and beta cells within the islets that make insulin and release it into the blood. Insulin maintains normal blood sugar levels by facilitating cellular glucose uptake; regulating carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism; and promoting cell division and growth. It plays a major role in regulating how the body uses digested food for energy. With the help of insulin, glucose is absorbed by the cells of your body and used for energy.

When blood glucose levels rise after a meal, insulin is released by the pancreas into the blood. Then insulin and glucose travel in the blood to cells throughout the body. Insulin is responsible for several mechanisms throughout the body. It helps muscle, fat and liver cells absorb glucose from the bloodstream, thereby lowering blood glucose levels; it stimulates the liver and muscle tissue to store excess glucose; and it lowers blood glucose levels by reducing glucose production in the liver.

Insulin Resistance Symptoms

The higher your insulin levels are, the worse your insulin resistance. Your body starts to age and deteriorate. In fact, insulin resistance is the single most important phenomenon that leads to rapid, premature aging and all its resultant diseases, including heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer.

Insulin resistance and the resulting metabolic syndrome often comes accompanied by increasing central obesity, fatigue after meals, sugar cravings, high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood pressure, problems with blood clotting, as well as increased inflammation… Unfortunately, however, we can’t always feel all these symptoms as insulin resistance is building.

How To Treat Insulin Resistance

Get Your Insulin Levels Tested

Think about this. insulin resistance contributes to most chronic disease in America, a country with world-renowned health care, yet 90 percent of people who have this condition have not been diagnosed. A simple test could change all that. Even without these warning signs, one test can determine high insulin levels years or even decades before diabetes develops. Early detection can help you reverse these symptoms, yet doctors rarely use this crucial test that can detect high insulin levels.

Long before your blood sugar rises, your insulin spikes. High insulin levels are the first sign that can precede type 2 diabetes by decades, Damage begins with even slight changes in insulin and blood sugar.

A two-hour glucose tolerance test can help detect high insulin levels. This test measures not only glucose but also insulin levels, yet doctors rarely order it. Instead, they usually don’t express concern until blood sugar is over 110 or worse, over 126, which is diabetes. Many of our patients have normal blood sugar levels but very high insulin levels and other signs of pre-diabetes, yet when they come to see me they have not been diagnosed with pre-diabetes.

Even when patients have a blood sugar level over 100 mg/dl and a two-hour glucose tolerance test result of over 140 mg/dl, 90 percent of patients who display these conditions have not been diagnosed. That’s because doctors don’t measure insulin…

If your results show high insulin, you need to eliminate the things that are sending your biology out of balance and include what’s needed to help your body rebalance itself. These eight interventions can become extraordinarily powerful to normalize insulin:

Eat REAL foods.

Food is information that controls your gene expression, hormones, and metabolism. Choose low-glycemic real foods including fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, non-gluten grains, nuts, seeds, and high-quality animal protein.

Remove ALL processed sweeteners. 

Far from the free pass some people consider them, artificial sweeteners can raise insulin levels and contribute to insulin resistance. One study in the journal Diabetes Care found sucralose (Splenda) could raise glucose and insulin levels. Give up sugar but also stevia, aspartame, sucralose, sugar alcohols like xylitol and maltitol, and all of the other heavily used and marketed sweeteners unless you want to slow down your metabolism, gain weight, and increase insulin resistance. Many of us have lost touch with what constitutes “sweet,” and we have to retrain our taste buds to appreciate the natural sweetness of, say, natural vanilla or roasted almonds.

Control inflammation. 

Dietary sugars of all kinds and refined vegetable oils are the biggest contributors to inflammation. They increase insulin levels and turn on genes that lead to chronic inflammation, creating a downward spiral into more inflammation, poor blood sugar control, and chronic disease. Besides removing the offending foods, address food sensitivities and allergies to control inflammation. Incorporate plenty of anti-inflammatory foods including wild-caught fish, freshly ground flax seed, and fish oil.

Increase fiber-rich foods. 

Whereas our Paleolithic ancestors got 50 – 100 grams of fiber a day, we now average less than 15 grams. It’s not a coincidence that high-sugar fruits are also high in water and fiber. Fiber slows sugar absorption into the bloodstream from the gut. Studies show high-fiber foods can be as effective as diabetes medications to lower blood sugar without the side effects.  Eat a wide variety of fiber-rich plant-based foods including nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

Get enough quality sleep. 

A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found in healthy subjects, even a partial night of poor sleep contributes to insulin resistance.  Make sleep a top priority to normalize insulin levels. Avoid eating heavy foods before bed and find natural ways relax your muscles (warm baths, gentle stretching, self-massage, etc.). Go to bed and wake up at consistent times, only use your bed for sleep (no phones or tvs!), and try herbal therapies such as chamomile or minerals such as magnesium.

Address nutrient deficiencies. 

A number of nutrients play a role in insulin management, including pre-hormone “vitamin” D, chromium, magnesium, and alpha lipoic acid. Deficiencies in any nutrient can stall your biochemical machinery, knocking your blood sugar levels out of balance and making you more insulin resistant.

Incorporate the right exercise.

Exercise might be the most powerful medicine to manage blood sugar levels and make your cells more insulin sensitive. When it comes to exercise, time becomes a huge hurdle for many people. That’s why I recommend high-intensity interval training (HIIT), also called burst training, which you can do in just minutes a day. A study in the Journal of Obesity found among its other benefits, burst training helped decrease fasting insulin and reduce insulin resistance. Combining burst training with weight resistance provides the most effective, efficient way to normalize blood sugar and insulin levels.

Control stress levels.

Chronic stress elevates cortisol, your main stress hormone. Increased cortisol levels elevate blood sugar and promote the accumulation of belly fat that we commonly see in patients with insulin resistance or diabetes. You can’t eliminate stress, but you can reduce its impact. Find what works for you. That might be prayerful meditation, mindful movement & stretching, deep breathing, or exercise.

If this seems like a lot, don’t worry.

We are here for you!

Each person is unique – so what works for some, may not work for others.
It’s important to listen to your body, address what is interfering with your daily life, and take the steps to aid your body in returning to its optimal state of health!

 

Resources & Further Reading

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1204764/

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/prediabetes-insulin-resistance?dkrd=hiscr0002

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11460565[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Functional Medicine Health Concerns

Men’s Health

According to the CDC, women are 100% more likely to visit the doctor for annual examinations and preventive services than men. Here at Kingdom Health, half of our patients are men (usually thanks to some caring yet persistent women)! Nonetheless, kudos to you awesome guys!!
Thank you for understanding that your body was created intelligently. And, that admitting when there is an interference, taking the steps to seek care, and then taking action allows you to live fuller so you can get back to doing the things you love.

There is a silent health crisis in America…it’s that fact that, on average, American men live sicker and die younger than American women.” Dr. David Gremillion Men’s Health Network

The main reasons men come to our office is due to symptoms of hormonal imbalance such as:

  • hair loss
  • muscle mass loss
  • loss of bone mass, otherwise known as osteoporosis
  • difficulty concentrating
  • hot flashes
  • erectile dysfunction
  • cognitive decline
  • depression
  • fatigue
  • memory loss

We also see men due to hypertension, cardiovascular health, inflammation, gut issues, and food sensitivities – because, like so many, prescription medication wasn’t fixing anything.

Men tend to wait until its the last resort until seeking help – DON’T WAIT! There are better options out there!

Here at Kingdom Health, we do not guess – we test. Our providers start care with in-depth functional testing – not your conventional lab work.  We test based on your individual health history, your symptoms, and your lifestyle. And, the test we do are full panel tests so that we can uncover what is going on physiologically and biochemically.

Comprehensive testing provides our patients with information and knowledge about the function of their body that they typically do not receive from their conventional doctor visits. These tests are performed to get to the root cause of the symptoms or disease.
In addition to helping resolve health issues, we also have testing to optimize health. Perhaps you are feeling good but you want to feel and function even better. We have testing that analyzes the factors of aging and then allows us to modify these factors. The goal is to Function Optimally and to Thrive, not to merely ‘not be sick’.

HORMONE OPTIMIZATION plays a huge role in not only women’s health but men’s health as well! Testing helps us uncover root of these symptoms so we can work with you to create a plan that will get your body back to optimal health!

Better energy, better libido, better recovery, better gut health, better moods! These are all things are male patients walk out of our office saying.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to start LIVING life!

Resources & Further Reading:
https://www.menshealthnetwork.org/healthfacts
J Chiropr Med. 2008 Sep;7(3):86-93.
J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2012 Jan;35(1):7-17
Categories
Functional Medicine Health Concerns

A Functional Approach to a Healthy Weight

I started my program focused on gut health & overall better function in the body – and the weight just took care of itself!!

Approaching Weight from a Functional Perspective

Healthy Weight: (adj. + n.) a body’s relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, that does not negatively impact but rather regulates optimal bodily functions; can be comfortably maintained with lifestyle and does not consume one’s thoughts.

You take up space. A measurement of space is weight. The weight of your body is a compilation of purpose! Down to every one of your 724+/- trillion cells.

One of the beautiful things about how we are designed is that we have the ability to guide the purpose of our cells by what we do and how we live.

An Integrative Approach to Healthy Weight

The etiology of unhealthy weight in today’s world is multi-factorial including genetic, psychosocial, emotional, behavioral and environmental factors.  Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight may require attention to deeper issues in all aspects of lifestyle including:

  • Nutrition
  • Mindfulness
  • Physical activity
  • Lifestyle imbalances
  • Stress management
  • Quality sleep
  • Spiritual connection

Addressing Root Issues

When journeying on the path to a healthy weight, it is necessary to address not the symptom of unhealthy weight but rather the root issues that is causing it. With functional medicine, providers often do in-depth testing to uncover what is going on or not going on internally such irregular thyroid activity, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, toxic overload, nutrient deficiencies or imbalances, etc.

Evidence suggests the following therapies may be helpful for weight management:

  • Body therapies such as chiropractic, message therapy, and acupuncture
  • Mind-body techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, and artistic expression
  • Talk therapy including counseling, support groups and motivational interviewing

“We used to eat to fill our stomachs but now we eat to fill our hearts.” – Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

If we stop to look at the real reasons people eat certain foods, it’s not a lack of self-control like the stigma suggests- it is a lack of other things in life.

Don’t Weight! A Better Approach to Healthy Weight

Here are five key elements that can help us tune into our hunger cues, emotional needs, and physical responses to food in a way that makes us feel better overall, with weight loss as an added benefit. Stopping to ask yourself what, when, why, where, and how, every time you eat, creates a sense of awareness and sustainable results that are often missing from diet culture.

When we regulate the body’s biological systems, we automatically regulate the brain chemistry, hormones, and other factors that can lead to an unhealthy weight when left unchecked. And, when we begin to understand that the food industry knows how to hijack those systems at the highest level, we can stop blaming ourselves and start making positive changes!

If the body still can’t seem to find its healthy weight, seek assistance! There may be deeper issues going on.

Schedule An Appointment

Categories
Functional Medicine Health Concerns

A Functional Approach to Inflammation

What is Inflammation?

Inflammation – we know you’ve heard of it.
You probably know it is a root cause of countless health problems and is the only factor common to all chronic diseases – including Alzheimer’s & dementia due to an antimicrobial response to pathogens or other inflammatory causes. The word inflammation comes from the Latin word inflammatio; inflammare which means to set on fire. The best way to describe inflammation is to say the tissues of the body are “on fire.” Your body is creating this fire in response to damaged cells in your body.

What Causes Inflammation?

In functional medicine, we are very interested in the subject of #inflammation because until it is brought under control we simply cannot help people’s bodies restore function and therefore health. When your cells are damaged by anything, your body starts a fire. The purpose of this fire is to contain/limit the damage so it does not spread, break down damaged cells for removal and permit the development of new, healthy cells — just like controlled burns in nature!
So, while your body is not technically on fire, inflammation is like a fire in your body. But, what causes this body-fire? A lot of natural chemicals your body creates in a response to damaged cells.

Below are some of the chemicals your body makes to create this fire:

“Body-Fire Chemicals”

  • Histamine
  • Bradykinin
  • Serotonin
  • Prostaglandins
  • Complement system (a group of about 20 different proteins)
  • Cytokines including lymphokines and monokines
  • Etc.

As you can see from the list above, the process of inflammation is not caused by a single chemical; it is a complicated process, involving many different chemicals. This is why so few people understand what inflammation actually is… there is not a single cause. You just need to know that inflammation is like a fire in your body.

What Triggers an Inflammatory Response?

Inflammation is an immune response. Innate immune response is how your body recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, and substances that appear foreign and harmful. The inflammatory response (inflammation) occurs when tissues are injured by bacteria, trauma, toxins, heat, or any other cause that damages cells including microorganisms, physical agents, chemicals, inappropriate immunological responses, and tissue death.

Infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria are some of the most common stimuli of inflammation. Viruses give rise to inflammation by entering and destroying cells of the body; bacteria release substances called endotoxins that can initiate inflammation.

Physical trauma, burns, radiation injury, and frostbite can damage tissues and also bring about inflammation, as can corrosive chemicals such as acids, alkalis, and oxidizing agents. As mentioned above, malfunctioning immunological responses can incite an inappropriate and damaging inflammatory response. Inflammation can also result when tissues die from a lack of oxygen or nutrients, a situation that often is caused by loss of blood flow to the area.

The damaged cells release chemicals including histamine, bradykinin, and prostaglandins. These chemicals cause blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissues, causing swelling. This helps isolate the foreign substance from further contact with body tissues.

The chemicals also attract white blood cells called phagocytes that “eat” germs and dead or damaged cells. This process is called phagocytosis. Phagocytes eventually die. Pus is formed from a collection of dead tissue, dead bacteria, and live and dead phagocytes.

Most Common Causes of Inflammation That We See

  1. Chronic Infections – such as infections of the gut, Lyme’s Disease, Epstein–Barr virus, etc
  2. Food Sensitivities
  3. Genetic Issues – MTHFR, Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT)
  4. Heavy Metals

Healthy vs Chronic

When inflammation is short-term and controlled, it is a very good thing because it is a necessary part of the healing process. The “fire” of inflammation cleans out the useless and damaged cells and lets new healthy ones take their place. This is what we call “healthy inflammation.”  Every time we eat, we also consume a significant quantity of bacteria. The body is faced with the challenge of simultaneously distributing the ingested glucose and fighting these bacteria. This triggers an inflammatory response that activates the immune systems of healthy individuals and has a protective effect In healthy individuals, short-term inflammatory responses play an important role in sugar uptake and the activation of the immune system.

Supporting a balanced intestinal microbial community is essential for the integrity of the immune system, for the prevention and response to infections (inflammation), and for recovery from illness. The microbes and their metabolites influence physiological function (particularly metabolism), local mucosal homeostasis, inflammation, and interactions between multiple body systems. Therefore, an imbalanced intestinal microbiota may have system-wide effects and contribute to blunted immune reactivity. Gut microbiota alterations due to unhealthy lifestyle factors and dietary triggers may contribute to inflammation, intestinal permeability, immune system dysfunction, and the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of chronic diseases. Healthy lifestyle factors, including a diversified diet, limited consumption of processed and refined foods, and consumption of adequate dietary fiber, may all promote a healthy microbiome and therefore a healthy immune response!

 

CHRONIC inflammation is BAD
Just like how fire is a cleansing process in forests; this process in nature is beneficial when it occurs periodically. It would be harmful if the forest was constantly burning or if it burned down every year. This is what happens in your body with chronic inflammation…the fire never dies out. The cells of your body cannot repair themselves and new, healthy cells can’t form. Your “forest” can’t rebuild and thrive and function as nature intended.
If the agent causing an inflammation cannot be eliminated, or if there is some interference with the healing process, an acute inflammatory response may progress to the chronic stage. Repeated episodes of acute inflammation also can give rise to chronic inflammation. The physical extent, duration, and effects of chronic inflammation vary with the cause of the injury and the body’s ability to ameliorate the damage.

Some of the most common and disabling human diseases, such as tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic lung disease, are characterized by this type of inflammation. Chronic inflammation can be brought about by infectious organisms that are able to resist host defenses and persist in tissues for an extended period. These organisms include Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the causative agent of tuberculosis), fungi, protozoa, and metazoal parasites. Other inflammatory agents are materials foreign to the body that cannot be removed by phagocytosis or enzymatic breakdown. These include substances that can be inhaled, such as silica dust, and materials that can gain entry to wounds, such as metal or wood splinters.

 

In autoimmune reactions the stimulus to chronic inflammation is a normal component of the body to which the immune system has become sensitized. Autoimmune reactions give rise to chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

 

We could keep going, but we think you get the idea, chronic inflammation causes many problems for your body. Functional medicine providers specialize in connecting symptoms + health history to pinpoint the type of inflammatory response and finding the root cause/s of unhealthy inflammation by asking questions such as what is damaging the cells? what microorganisms, physical agents, or chemicals are prevalent? are the intestinal microbial communities balanced?

Now you have a more in-depth understanding of what inflammation is…the body on fire and this fire is your body’s response to damaged cells. Discover what is causing the damage to cells and you can reduce inflammation.

Schedule a Consult with a Provider

 

Resources & Further Reading:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Inflammation”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/science/inflammation.

Cammarota G, Ianiro G. Gut microbiota and cancer patients: a broad-ranging relationship. Mayo Clin Proc. 2017;92(11):1605-1607. doi:1016/j.mayocp.2017.09.009

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/imagepages/9071.htm

Shanahan F, van Sinderen D, O’Toole PW, Stanton C. Feeding the microbiota: transducer of nutrient signals for the host. Gut. 2017;66(9):1709-1717. doi:1136/gutjnl-2017-313872

Categories
Functional Medicine Health Concerns

A Wholistic Approach to Brain Health – Alzheimer’s & Dementia Breakthroughs

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

This illness affects a third of people over the age of 85 in the U.S.  By 2050, there could be as many as 7 million people age 85 and older with Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for half (51%) of all people 65 and older with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease. It’s an overall term that describes a group of symptoms.

This Brain Dis-ease can rob people of the ability to think clearly, perform everyday tasks and ultimately, remember their family or who they even are. Because the disease is so devastating, and since previous treatments failed to come up with a cure, we’re always on the lookout for Alzheimer’s natural treatment options and Alzheimer’s news, scouring the medical journals for Alzheimer’s breakthroughs.

It is claimed that “no one survives a diagnosis of dementia,” a disease with “no effective treatment.” As practitioners, we have struggled over the years with patients with cognitive decline, since there has been so little to offer… There is still much that we do not know about the brain, but there are several theories for dementia root causes including  free radical damage, an inability to use glucose properly, vitamin deficiencies or environmental toxins that can be used to improve cognitive function and, perhaps, prevent dementia and its related diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Understanding the Brain

Your brain is your most powerful organ, yet weighs only about three pounds. It has a texture similar to firm jelly. It is comprised of 3 main parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem.

Your brain is nourished by one of your body’s richest networks of blood vessels. When you are thinking hard, your brain may use up to 50 percent of the fuel and oxygen. With each heartbeat, arteries carry about 20 to 25 percent of your blood to your brain, where billions of cells use about 20 percent of the oxygen and fuel your blood carries. The whole vessel network includes veins and capillaries in addition to arteries.

Your brain’s wrinkled surface is a specialized outer layer of the cerebrum called the cortex. Scientists have “mapped” the cortex by identifying areas strongly linked to certain functions. Your brain is divided into right and left halves. The right side is responsible for controlling the left side of your body and the left side is responsible for controlling the right side of your body.

Your brain is a NEURON FOREST. Neurons are information messengers. They use electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between different areas of the brain, and between the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Neurons are the chief type of cell destroyed by Alzheimer’s disease.

Cell Signaling & Signal Coding

The real work of your brain goes on in individual cells. The neurotransmitters travel across the synapse, carrying signals to other cells. Scientists have identified dozens of neurotransmitters. Alzheimer’s disease disrupts both the way electrical charges travel within cells and the activity of neurotransmitters.

100 billion nerve cells. 100 trillion synapses. Dozens of neurotransmitters. This “strength in numbers” provides your brain’s raw material. Over time, our experiences create patterns in signal type and strength. These patterns of activity explain how, at the cellular level, our brains code our thoughts, memories, skills and sense of who we are.

Understanding How Alzheimer’s and Dementia Affects the Brain

Alzheimer’s disease leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting nearly all its functions.

Scientists can also see the terrible effects of Alzheimer’s disease when they look at brain tissue under the microscope. Scientists are not absolutely sure what causes cell death and tissue loss in the Alzheimer’s brain, but the plaques and tangles in the figures below are prime suspects.

Alzheimer’s tissue has many fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain.

More About Plaques…

More About Tangles…

Tangles destroy a vital cell transport system made of proteins. This electron microscope picture shows a cell with some healthy areas and other areas where tangles are forming.

In healthy areas:

  • Orderly, parallel strands for delivering key materials to the cells
  • A protein called tau helps keep the strands straight

In areas where tangles are forming:

Nutrients and other essential supplies can no longer move through the cells, which eventually die.

  • Tau collapses into twisted strands called tangles
  • The strands can no longer stay straight and disintegrate

Progression Through the Brain

Plaques and tangles tend to spread through the cortex in a predictable pattern as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. The rate of progression varies greatly. On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives four to eight years after diagnosis, but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors. The course of the disease depends in part on age at diagnosis and whether a person has other health conditions.

In the earliest stages, before symptoms can be detected with current tests, plaques and tangles begin to form in brain areas involved in.

In mild to moderate stages, brain regions important in memory and thinking and planning develop more plaques and tangles than were present in early stages. As a result, individuals develop problems with memory or thinking serious enough to interfere with work or social life. They may also get confused and have trouble handling money, expressing themselves and organizing their thoughts. Many people with Alzheimer’s are first diagnosed in these stages.

As Alzheimer’s progresses, individuals may experience changes in personality and behavior and have trouble recognizing friends and family members.

In advanced Alzheimer’s disease, most of the cortex is seriously damaged. The brain shrinks dramatically due to widespread cell death. Individuals lose their ability to communicate, to recognize family and loved ones and to care for themselves.

Using Functional Medicine To Treat Alzheimer’s And Cognitive Decline

With functional medicine, the goal is to treat the root cause of the issue instead of only alleviating the resulting symptoms. For instance, the leading hypothesis from conventional medicine asserts that amyloid plaques in the brain cause Alzheimer’s and aims to remove the plaques to cure Alzheimer’s. Thus, billions of dollars have been invested in trials to clear amyloid-beta with no success to date.  In fact, there is some evidence that several have worsened cognitive decline.

Functional medicine goes deeper. Rather than solely focusing on the removal of amyloid plaques, functional medicine asks why plaques arise and seeks to prevent their development in the first place.

The whole-body systems approach of functional medicine has proven optimal for treating the chronic illnesses that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and more. Consequently, these efforts have led to unprecedented success for treating Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s Is a Multifactor Pathological Condition

Dr. Dale Bredesen, a renowned AD researcher, goes against popular opinion and states that AD is a multifactor pathological condition. Amyloid-beta is not the main problem, but rather the brain’s response to one (or more than one) insult (3). By removing the insults and optimizing health, this method has reversed AD in many cases. Through years of work, Dr. Bredesen has identified several types of AD, each with unique causes (4, 5):

  • Type 1 (“inflammatory”) is due to an antimicrobial response to pathogens or other inflammatory causes.
  • Type 2 (“atrophic”) is associated with reductions in factors that support brain health, like estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, insulin, and vitamin D.
  • Type 1.5 (“glycotoxic”) is a composite of types 1 and 2. Inflammation from high blood glucose levels combines with a trophic loss of insulin sensitivity.
  • Type 3 (“toxic” or “cortical”) is associated with exposure to toxins or toxicants (a toxicant is any toxic substance; toxicants can be poisonous and they may be man-made or naturally occurring) such as heavy metals, insecticides/pesticides, antimicrobials, and commercial/industrial toxins.
  • Type 4 (“vascular”) is associated with reduced vascular support.
  • Type 5 (“traumatic”) is associated with previous head trauma.

Your Lifestyle & Environment Play Key Roles

Since lifestyle and environmental factors play a major role in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a functional medicine approach is the ideal strategy for addressing Alzheimer’s at its roots. To accomplish this goal the Functional Medicine operating system consists of the Functional Medicine Timeline, Advanced Testing, and the Therapeutic Lifestyle Factors (Sleep & Relaxation, Movement & Exercise, Nutrition, Stress, and Relationships). Advanced Testing allows the practitioner to evaluate imbalances at the cellular level. This helps sort out why the disease has occurred in the first place. By understanding each of these imbalances, the patient is empowered & supported to make changes to correct them!

Schedule a Free Consultation

Ready to talk with a provider about getting to the root of you or your loved ones cognitive decline and discover pathways to healing? Our staff and practitioners are eager to help you!

Further reading & research:

The New Era of Alzheimer’s Treatment with Dale Bredesen, MD

https://www.alz.org/abam/overview.asp#takeActionBox

https://www.alzheimers.net/alzheimers-statistics

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Bredesen+D

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505565/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789584/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25654508/