Got Cravings? What to eat instead…

Anyone who has made changes to their diet has probably experienced cravings! I came across a similar chart a few years ago and it has been a huge help when I go through times of craving foods I know are not a healthy choice!!!  Here is my rendition and hope it is beneficial to you in your health journey 🙂

cravings-what-to-eat-instead

I’ve been diagnosed with an Autoimmune: 4 tips to reclaim your health

So many diets, so many protocols, where do we start???  I’m allergic to this, sensitive to that, it’s complicated, I don’t have those ingredients…  it is just too overwhelming!  Can you relate to any of those statements?  {This is where we were two years ago}

What can we do when we realize we have an autoimmune disease.  Specifically what is it that we can do that also supports a calm lifestyle? You know, one without stress?  Here are some of the basics which are found in nearly every protocol for reclaiming your health.

  • Bone broth
  • Prebiotics & Probiotics
  • Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut
  • Relaxing time

Why these?  Malfunction most often originates in our digestive system.  To restore that system think of what we would do for our children when they were sick.  Soup, right?  Broth, right?  Why?  It is gentle and nourishing!  4-keys

So – What about the others?  Well, prebiotics, probiotics and fermented foods help to repopulate our microbiome with healthy bacteria.  Several studies have shown a link between autoimmune and a disruption in the digestive tract flora.  Restoring proper flora is another beneficial, and necessary component to reclaiming health.

Which leaves us with rest and relaxation.  Moms – I know you have that instinct that tells you when your child needs to rest just a little bit more.  We instruct our sick child to take it easy, rest just a little bit more… Somehow we forget that applies to us as adults as well 🙂 When our body is in a state of stress, exhaustion and overworked it doesn’t have time to repair and spend energy on repairing.  Priorities get out of whack!  It sounds soo simple yet I have spent a good amount of time brushing off this aspect – only to find myself spinning wheels wondering why I am not seeing the results I expected.   I have found it to be extremely refreshing to spend 10-15 mintues a day sitting in quiet, solitude while I take deep breaths in(counting to 5) holding for count of 5 and then exhaling (count of 5).

We are all individuals and have different stressors and underlying causes which will require an individualized plan of action.  The four things mentioned above are at the core of nearly all plans.  These four tips can help calm down a stressed and overworked digestive system, helping to smooth the road on your journey to better health!  If you are looking to take your health to the next level and would like help formlating a customized plan you can get in touch with me on my contact page!

This Blood Test Predicts Death, Even When Everything Else Looks “Great” (Re-blog: Functional Medicine University)

This Blood Test Predicts Death, Even When Everything Else Looks “Great”

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

As I discussed in a recent article, I mentioned the prognostic power of the blood test brain natriuretic peptide (BNP).

Remember there is a 25% increase in death if the BNP is elevated one year after a heart attack. And don’t forget a BNP persistently over 80 pg/mL can be an important indicator of when a more invasive approach is needed such as bypass surgery.

In fact, a BNP twice the normal range can indicate a quadruple risk of death in folks who don’t even have symptoms. There is no other test that has the ability to have this crystal ball power of determining your chances of succumbing to heart failure even if you have no symptoms.

As a brief explanation, BNP is a neuro-hormone made in and released from the heart ventricle. The ventricles of the heart make up the biggest part of the heart muscle that squeezes blood through all the rest of the body. When the ventricles are under too much tension or the work load on the ventricles is too much the BNP goes up.

Basically, if the heart is working overtime to function, the BNP is made in larger quantities to help rescue the heart. The key thing to remember is the BNP will commonly increase long before you have any signs or symptoms that you have any trouble. This is one reason to make sure you keep your blood pressure well within normal levels because it reduces stress on the ventricles

What I find so disturbing is the fact that this is not a new test. It has been around for decades. Can you believe that most cardiologists are not aware of it and if they are, they still don’t order it? blood-1761832_1920

On the other hand knowledgeable “research” cardiologists over ten years ago published in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated the BNP test “was a stronger biomarker for cardiovascular disease and death than the C-Reactive Protein”.

One of the reasons you have not heard more about this test is because there is no drug the pharmaceutical has to treat the elevated BNP.

It is important to understand that a normal BNP according to the traditional medical think should not indicate that you are ok. Studies show that you have a ten-fold risk of early death if you’re in the fourth quintile or in other words in the top ¼ of the normal range, but still in “normal”. Others have shown a 50% increase in death in the fourth quintile while others have shown 20% increase in death above the fourth quintile.

The main point I want to make is to insist your doctor orders the BNP/pro-BNP test to determine if you are heading toward heart failure.

Clearly the BNP has provided information about the risk of dying than no other test can, yet it has been persistently ignored. The leading cardiology journal says, “Serial determinations of BNP levels during outpatient follow-up after acute coronary syndrome predicts the risk of death or new congestive heart failure.

How to treat an elevated BNP

I will now show you natural nutrients that down-regulate the BNP.

The solution is taking real vitamin E which includes four tocopherols and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta).

It turns out that the tocotrienols is a precursor to natriuretic hormone and is an essential part of what the body uses to make BNP to help heal the heart. The sad thing is if you ask your cardiologist or other doctor about tocotrienols, most have never even heard of them, even though they are crucial for treating an abnormal BNP. And of course this is not new, as it has been known for over a decade that gamma tocotrienols can lower BNP.

Don’t forget tocotrienols are necessary for fighting cancers making cancer cells commit suicide and stopping metastases. In fact, tocotrienols have been shown to stop the growth of human breast cancer cells, improve blood pressure, prevent abnormal clotting, improve diabetes and much more. Name one medication that does all of that! Instead we have cardiologists and oncologists who have never heard of tocotrienols and do not prescribe this absolutely necessary nutrient to people who need it the most.

One of the other parts of vitamin E, gamma tocopherol also lowers the BNP. And this one as well as the gamma tocotrienol are usually low in patients with coronary heart disease. Be careful that you stay away from plain generic “vitamin E” (which is usually synthetic alpha-tocopherol) which actually lowers the gamma tocotrienols. Always check your multi vitamin and see if it only contains alpha-tocopherol, one of 8 parts of vitamin that you see advertised on TV because they will drive down the other forms of E that are not in it. Get rid of it.

So again what do you do for your elevated BNP ?

First thing is to make sure you have good levels of the eight forms of vitamin E.
{You are probably wondering WHERE do I get a balanced supplement?  Well – here is a linkcapsule that has a great spreadsheet with details of the different supplements Toxinless.com}

BNP also responds to low salt. Change your salt to a potassium salt substitute, available in all grocery store.

The bottom line? The BNP blood test shows risk even when all other tests are normal and even when the person has no symptoms. So after you have ordered your BNP and Pro-BNP, then do not hesitate to take the complete vitamin E and also request your doctor orders a Cardio/ION. Might as well get the best test to get an accurate status on your other heart markers and know what to do to treat any of the abnormal findings.

References

Weidemann A, et al, Hypoxia, via stabilization of the hypoxiainducible factor HIF-1a, is a direct and sufficient stimulus for brain-type natriuretic peptide induction, Biochem J, 409:233-42, 2008 (predicts before symptoms, also useful for cancer hypoxia as well as heart)

  • Rogers Sherry, Total Wellness, Prestige Publishing, May 2013

Lorgis L, et al, High levels of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide are associated with ST resolution failure after reperfusion for acute myocardial infarction, Q J Med, 100:211-16, 2007 (better predictor than ejection fraction, level over 900 means EKG ST damage not resolved, hypoxia leads to CHF)

James SK, et al, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and other risk markers for the separate prediction of mortality and subsequent myocardial infarction in patients with unstable coronary artery disease: a Global Utilization of Strategies To Open Occluded Arteries (GUSTO)-IV substudy, Circulation 108:275-81, 2003

Tapanainen JM, et al, Natriuretic peptides as predictors of non-sudden and sudden cardiac death after acute myocardial infarction in the beta-blocking era, J Am Coll Cardiol 43; 5:757-63, 2004

Omland T, et al, B-type natriuretic peptide and long-term survival in patients with stable coronary artery disease, Am J Cardiol, 95:24-8, 2005

Morita E, et al, Increased plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide in patients with acute myocardial infarction, Circulation, 88:82-91, 1993

Morrow DA, NACB Writing Group, National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry laboratory medicine practice guidelines: clinical characteristics and utilization of biochemical markers in acute coronary syndromes, Circulation 115: e356-75, 2007

Omland T, et al, N-terminal pro-B-type type natriuretic peptide and longterm mortality in acute coronary syndromes, Circulation 106:2913-8, 2002

Morrow DA, Prognostic value of serial B-type natriuretic peptide testing during follow-up of patients with unstable coronary artery disease, J Am Med Assoc 294:2866-71, 2005

Richards M, et al, Comparison of B-type natriuretic peptides for assessment of cardiac function and prognosis in stable ischemic heart disease, J Am Coll Cardiol, 47:52-60, 2006

Richards AM, et al, B-type natriuretic peptides and ejection fraction for prognosis after myocardial infarction, Circulation 107:2786-92, 2003

Kragelund C, et al, N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide and long-term mortality in stable coronary heart disease, New Engl J Med 352:666-75, 2005

Kistorp C, et al, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, C-reactive protein, and urinary albumin levels as predictors of mortality and cardiovascular events in older adults, J Am Med Assoc, 293:1609-16, 2005

Harma N, et al, Rapid ventricular induction of brain natriuretic peptide gene expression and experimental acute myocardial infarction, Circulation 92:1558- 64, 1995

Saito H, et al, Gamma-tocotrienol, a vitamin E homolog, is a natriuretic hormone precursor, J Lipid Res, 44;8:1530-5, 2003 (a decade ago!)

Hattori A, et al, Production of LLU-a following an oral administration of gamma-tocotrienols to rats, Biol Pharm Bull 23; 11:1395-7, 2000

Parker RA, et al, Tocotrienols regulate cholesterol production in mammalian cells by post-transcriptional suppression of 3-hydroxy3- methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase, J Biolog Chem 268; 15:11230-8, 1993 (2 decades ago!)

Inokuchi H, et al, Anti-angiogenic activity of tocotrienols, Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 67:7:1623-27, 2003

Wan Nazaimoon WM, et al, Tocotrienols-rich diet decreases advanced glycosylation end products in non-diabetic rats and improves glycemic control in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, Malaysian J Pathol 24; 2:77-82, 2002

Sylvester PW, et al, Role of GTP-binding proteins in reversing the anti-proliferative effects of tocotrienols in preneoplastic mammary epithelial cells, Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr 11 (suppl 7): S452-9, 2002

Steiner M., Vitamin E: more than an antioxidant, Clin Cardiol 16 (4 suppl 1): 116-8, 1993

Newaz MA, et al, Effect of gamma tocotrienols on blood pressure, lipid peroxidation and total antioxidant status in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), Clin Exper Hypert (New York) 21; 8:1297-1313, 1999

Nakagawa K, et al, DNA chip analysis of comprehensive food function: inhibition of angiogenesis and telomerase activity with unsaturated vitamin E, tocotrienol, BioFactors 21; 1-4:5-10, 2004

Ohrvall M, et al, Gamma, but not alpha, tocopherol levels in serum are reduced in coronary heart disease patients J Intern Med, 239:111-7, 1996

Uto-Kondo H, et al., Gamma tocopherol accelerated sodium excretion in a dose dependent manner in rats with a high sodium intake, J Clin Biochem Nutr 41: 211-17, Nov 2007

Uto H, et al, Gamma-tocopherol enhances sodium excretion as a natriuretic hormone precursor, J Nutr Sci Vitaminology 50:277-82, 2004

Kantoci D, et al, Endogenous natriuretic factors 6: the stereochemistry of a natriuretic gamma tocopherol metabolite LLU-a, J Pharmacol Exper Therap 282:648-56, 1997

Murray EED, et al, Endogenous natriuretic factors 7: Biospecificity of a natriuretic gamma tocopherol metabolite LLU-a, J Pharmacol Exper Therap 282 657-62, 1997

Before prescribing treatment, FMU recommends that you follow the standard of care of your profession, as well as confirm the information contained herein with other sources.

Functional medicine embraces the totality of the regulatory functions of the body. It encompasses all of the biophysical, biochemical, enzymatic, endocrine, immunological, and bioenergetic regulatory capacities.

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

Compliments from Functional Medicine University

http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/department88.cfm

Side note… How secure are our emails?

One of the questions I get often is: Is my information safe to email you?  In the past I have answered well, you know pretty much everything is scanned, when it comes to hackers I think we are all vulnerable to some degree.  It is something you have to consider and weigh the pros and cons to decide what you are comfortable with.

Recently I had a family member receive emails that came from a friend whose account had had been hacked.  This prompted them to look for other email providers.  Since privacy and freedom are important to me I started thinking about my own situation.  How I need to take steps now to ensure any communications with my clients are secure and out of the hands of not only hackers but those who intrude through surveillance.

While I have been aware of our government reading our emails, this article was one more layer of icing on the cake of the disturbing practice of scanning our private communications.  I didn’t see a way to re-blog it so here are a couple of excerpts and a link to the full article…

Updated October 7, 2016 with additional clarification and analysis of Yahoo’s denial

Dear ProtonMail Community,

Two weeks ago, we published a security advisory regarding the mass hacking of Yahoo. Unfortunately, due to recent events, we are issuing a second advisory regarding all US email providers.

What happened?

This week, it was revealed that as a result of a secret US government directive, Yahoo was forced to implement special surveillance software to scan all Yahoo Mail accounts at the request of the NSA and FBI. Sometime in early 2015, Yahoo secretly modified their spam and malware filters to scan all incoming email messages for the phrases in the court order and then siphoned those messages off to US intelligence. This is significant for several reasons:

  • This is the first known incident where a US intelligence directive has indiscriminately targeted all accounts as opposed to just the accounts of suspects. Effectively, all 500 million+ Yahoo Mail users were presumed to be guilty.
  • Instead of searching stored messages, this directive forced Yahoo to scan incoming messages in real-time.
  • Because ALL incoming email messages were targeted, this program spied on every person who emailed a Yahoo Mail account, violating the privacy of users around the world who may not even have been using a US email service….(Click here to continue reading the rest of the article)

Needless to say, I have switched who my email service provider is 🙂  The specific reason due to that first point of all users presumed guilty.

The problem is it takes both sides of the communication to ensure complete security.  My end is secure.  Is yours?  ****UPDATE: It appears as though I can send secured messages to non-proton mail users and the message remains secure! 🙂 ****

(As always welcome comments and questions 🙂

Spectacular Kohlrabi & Beef Vegetable Medley Quiche

The weather has turned brisk which calls for warm delicious snacks.  We had some kohlrabi that I needed to do something with so a quick search on pinterest and thus the inspiration for our afternoon snack!

Spectacular Kohlrabi & Beef Vegetable Quiche

[recipe title=”Spectacular Kohlrabi & Beef Vegetable Medley Quiche” servings=”4-6″ time=”approx 1 1/2 hour” difficulty=”easy” image=” description=”Spectacular combination for those brisk winter days.”] [recipe-notes] Credit: The Functional Perspective
Inspired by: Flavor and Savour
[/recipe-notes] [recipe-ingredients] – 2 Small Kohlrabi – grated
– 1 cup grated Carrot
– 1 small Leek
– 1 cup Baby Spinach leaves(before chopping)
– 13 Eggs
– 1/2 lb ground Beef (I used grass-fed)
– 1 1/2 tsp Salt (I most often use “Real Salt”)
– optional garnish: Avocado slices
[/recipe-ingredients] [recipe-directions] 1. Pre-heat oven to 375
2. Rinse and grate Kohlrabi, add 1 tsp of salt – mix well and sit aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
3. Brown the Ground Beef on medium low with 1/2 tsp Salt while preparing the rest. Remember to check for being fully cooked while preparing the other ingredients.
4. Crack eggs and mix well in large mixing bowl
5. Peel and grate Carrots – add to eggs.
6. Rinse and chop Leek – add to egg mixture.
7. Chop the Baby Spinach and add to the egg mixture.
8. Finish cooking the ground meat, if it is not done yet and then set aside in a small bowl to cool off a little before adding to the eggs.
9. With a cheese cloth or by another method – squeeze out as much water from the Kohlrabi as you can before adding it to the mixture. Then add to egg mixture
10. Add the Beef to the egg mixture.
11. Mix all of the ingredients together well. Be sure to stir from the bottom as the eggs will sink to the bottom of the mixture.
12. Spoon mixture into 3 individual large ramekins.(again making sure to get at least one spoonful from the bottom of the bowl. Place remainder into a quiche or small pie pan. Place ramekins on a baking sheet, optional for pie plate, and place in oven for about 45 minutes.
13.TIPS: Keep some ground beef cooked in your freezer in 1/2 to 1 lb packages, when you are in the need for a quick meal you can pull them out and make a casserole or simple quiche. When preparing leeks make one slice long ways and that will allow you to rinse any dirt that may get down in the lower layers, this also makes it easier to chop them by laying them on the flat side.
[/recipe-directions] [/recipe]

Expert Talk: David Perlmutter, MD Brain Inflammation, Autoimmune Disease and Nutrition

I just listened to the first ‘bonus’ video from the Autoimmune Revolution and I was STUNNED! ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!  I am looking forward to the rest of the videos – I have a feeling it is going to end up being a great resource for me on this journey…  If you missed my previous post here is another link below to sign up for the free content!

After registering you will get an email confirmation with a link to the bonus content – The video I just watched was:

Expert Talk: David Perlmutter, MD Brain Inflammation, Autoimmune Disease and Nutrition

(Here is Dr. Perlmutters website http://www.drperlmutter.com/

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/50763-the-autoimmune-revolution/embed

Have you ever wondered why insurance won’t cover alternative options? Reblog:FunctionalMedicineUniversity

I had actually learned this sometime during the past year from a local physician and I was astounded this type of thing goes on – it is yet one more disturbing aspect of our main-stream medical system 🙁  Re-blogging this from FMU: Functional Medicine University

The Secret Insurance Companies Don’t Want You To Know

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

I have always wondered why insurance companies easily cover drugs and surgery. It would seem logical to me that if the insurance company discovered that there was a successful and medically proven non-drug approach to treating a disease they would love it. Just think, the insurance company would save lots of money if there was a proven solution to diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Then why on earth aren’t they interested in doing what is best for the patient, or at least interested in saving money? {My thoughts exactly!!}

If the insurance companies would take the time to study the enormous amount of research on actually fixing folks, I would think they would jump all over it. And I mean actually getting people better instead of pumping them with a truckload of expensive drugs.

As a chiropractor for over 30 years, it never made sense to me that us chiropractors have to fight tooth and nail to get paid for a few chiropractic adjustments while the insurance companies don’t blink an eye to paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for, many times, needless back surgeries.

Well you won’t believe what I discovered from an article published in the Wall Street Journal.

To my utter surprise and something I was totally unaware, is the fact that insurance companies make money on the claims they pay out. You can basically compare it to getting a sales commission for keeping people sick. “Insurers generally earn a profit by charging a premium on claims they pay, so they don’t necessarily have an incentive to crack down on excess spending” — Wall Street Journal

Yes, I know that may be a hard pill to swallow (sorry for the pun) but you can read about it yourself and see that what I am sharing with you is correct. For what it is worth this continual income is the essence of their business. There simply is no incentive or motivation to get to the root cause of health problems.

Let me quote directly from the Wall Street Journal, “insurers generally earn a profit by charging a premium on claims they pay”, so “they don’t necessarily have an incentive to crack down on excess spending”.

So the bottom line is, insurance companies make money on handling the claims they pay for, sort of like a sales commission, but at your and my expense.

You deserve better than that.

The only way we will change the face of drug induced medical care is to become super educated on how to fix and solve disease.

References:

Winslow R. Study questions evidence behind heart therapies, Wall Street Journal, Dl, Feb. 25, 2009

Winstein, KJ, A simple health-care fix fizzles out, WSJ, 2/11/10, Al, A18

The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com to find practitioners thoroughly trained in functional medicine. Look for practitioners who have successfully completed the Functional Medicine University’s Certification Program (CFMP).

This article may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Grisanti is required. http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/879.cfm

 

Beta cell regeneration – Hope for T1 Diabetics

I was at a wedding this evening and as our creator would have it my path crossed with another functional medicine minded individual with a Type 1 Diabetic family member!  One of the tidbits I picked up from this blessed encounter was the role the spleen plays in beta cell regeneration.. So you all can probably guess one of the first things that I did upon returning home was head to the research portals to see what I could dig up.. Well this was the first one I came across (while I was munching on leftover chili)

Here is the abstract:

Approaches Towards Endogenous Pancreatic Regeneration

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1783561/
Banerjee M, Kanitkar M, Bhonde RR. Approaches Towards Endogenous Pancreatic Regeneration. The Review of Diabetic Studies. 2005;2(3):165-176. doi:10.1900/RDS.2005.2.165.

The phenomenon of pancreatic regeneration in mammals has been well documented. It has been shown that pancreatic tissue is able to regenerate in several species of mammal after surgical insult. This tissue is also known to have the potential to maintain or increase its β-cell mass in response to metabolic demands during pregnancy and obesity. Since deficiency in β-cell mass is the hallmark of most forms of diabetes, it is worthwhile understanding pancreatic regeneration in the context of this disease. With this view in mind, this article aims to discuss the potential use in clinical strategies of knowledge that we obtained from studies carried out in animal models of diabetes. Approaches to achieve this goal involve the use of biomolecules, adult stem cells and gene therapy. Various molecules, such as glucagon-like peptide-1, β-cellulin, nicotinamide, gastrin, epidermal growth factor-1 and thyroid hormone, play major roles in the initiation of endogenous islet regeneration in diabetes. The most accepted hypothesis is that these molecules stimulate islet precursor cells to undergo neogenesis or to induce replication of existing β-cells, emphasizing the importance of pancreas-resident stem/progenitor cells in islet regeneration. Moreover, the potential of adult stem cell population from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, liver, spleen, or amniotic membrane, is also discussed with regard to their potential to induce pancreatic regeneration.

Did you catch that?  Look at several factors which play a role in the regeneration…

“Various molecules, such as glucagon-like peptide-1, β-cellulin, nicotinamide, gastrin, epidermal growth factor-1 and thyroid hormone, play major roles in the initiation of endogenous islet regeneration in diabetes.”

Looks like I have the next few days cut out looking more in-depth as to what gets those things out of balance, what is needed to return those molecules to a homeostasis, what tests available to determine the status of those molecules in our system… my list will grow!

Anyway – just had to share as it’s another confirmation of hope for T1’s – when our perspective is changed from symptom management to system restoration our health takes on a whole new meaning!  Hope you all are excited about our upcoming new year – I know I am!  That’s it for now…