The UltraWellness Center - Part 2

We are going to review these steps in the order of priority for peeling the onion of chronic illness. This is how we practice functional medicine and what we have found leads to the most success in healing. Sometimes we will do multiple things at once. For example, start hormone therapy along with immediate dietary changes and treatments to heal the gut. Healing is a process and it's not always linear. It's more like tailoring, making adjustments each step along the way until we get it right. Here are the steps we usually follow.

At the Center we often incorporate our therapeutic individualized nutrition plans in phases. We start with whole, real foods. As Michael Pollan writes, Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. A refinement of this is what Dr. Hyman has termed the Nutrigenomic Index. Food is by far the most powerful clinical intervention in chronic disease. We will help you to learn to apply it and use it skillfully. What is the Nutrigenomic Index? A plant-based diet consisting of whole, unprocessed, predominantly plant-based foods provides the highest nutrient genomic index. It is based on the following properties: a low glycemic load. This is the overall balance of the macronutrients in a meal: your proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Proper fatty acid composition. Consuming adequate, healthy, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats balanced with the correct form of omega-6 low in saturated fats and no trans fats, a high phytonutrient density, high levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, lean, healthy, predominantly plant-based proteins and pasture raised organic animal products, high micronutrient density, contains high amounts of vitamins and minerals, low toxic burden, This minimizes the toxic burden of food, so for example, no or low added hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, or other artificial additives. It helps to eat locally and more seasonally whenever possible. A healthy pH balance. This provides the proper balance between acidity and alkalinity from foods. A healthy salt potassium ratio. lower in salt and higher in potassium. High fiber content, high in fiber to help slow the insulin response of the body to food and also optimize your digestive health. The second phase in many nutrition plans involves the removal of food allergens and sensitivities. Delayed food sensitivities are among the most potent triggers of chronic symptoms and inflamed immune system. This is even more common if your digestive tract is compromised. A trial of a comprehensive elimination diet with a systematic food reintroduction is a powerful therapeutic and diagnostic tool. The closer you follow this, the faster you'll know how much food is playing a role in your illness. Sometimes we just recommend elimination of the most common triggers gluten, and dairy, and sometimes we recommend a more comprehensive program. After introducing a whole foods, low glycemic load, vita-nutrient dense diet, food elimination and reintroduction is the least expensive and most powerful diagnostic tool we have available. For many, just the removal of gluten can be one of the most powerful treatment methods for their chronic illness.

Health starts in the gut. The digestive tract has its own independent nervous system and contains 60% of our immune system. We will assess your gut through history and appropriate diagnostic tests for gluten sensitivities, inflammation in the gut, unwanted bugs like parasites or yeast, and then we will aggressively treat the causes of gut dysfunction including leaky gut, delayed food allergies, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, yeast overgrowth, and parasites. We may use herbs, antibiotics, antifungal treatments, antiparasitic treatments, and medications, or botanicals to eradicate the triggers of intestinal dysfunction. Repair and healing of the gut requires use of digestive enzymes, prebiotics, which is food for healthy bacteria, probiotics, which are the healthy bacteria, and nutrients needed for repair of your gut lining which include zinc, omega-3 fats, GLA, glutamine, and anti-inflammatory botanicals such as quercetin and curcumin.

Step 4, optimize nutrient status. Not only am I a physician, but my undergraduate and graduate degree is in nutrition. and I'm a registered dietitian, so I really believe in the power of nutrition. Nutrient deficiencies affect up to 92% of Americans. Vitamins and minerals are necessary for every biochemical reaction in your body. Without adequate amounts for optimal health, your biochemistry gets stuck and you get sick. Some common nutrient deficiencies include magnesium. If you have anything that is tight, irritable, or crampy muscles, bowels, lungs, mood, Think about magnesium, zinc, we always think about zinc for many things including the immune function. Vitamin D, if you live north of LA to Atlanta and you're not on supplementation, especially in the winter, we need to think about vitamin D. Methylation cofactors are also important to think about, B6, folic acid, B12, these are necessary for detoxification, cognitive function, and DNA repair among hundreds of other essential biological functions. And of course, omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA and DHA, the stuff of which we were, or are, supposed to be made of. Depending on testing at the Ultra Wellness Center, other deficiencies may be found and treated.

Hormonal and neurotransmitter dysfunction is rampant because of dietary influences on hormones. sugar and refined flour, endocrine disruptors, also known as xenobiotics, which include petrochemicals and heavy metals, and chronic stress. The delicate balance of hormones is essential for health. Understanding the factors that cause disruption is crucial to restoring the balance of your hormones. Of the dozens of hormones, four categories are the most important for treatment of chronic disease. insulin resistance, the stress response and adrenal insufficiency, thyroid dysfunction, and sex hormone dysfunction. Diet, exercise, stress management, bioidentical hormone replacement, nutrient support, and herbal therapies are among the most effective tools we use along with complementary or alternative therapies including acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine.

The end result of many nutritional, toxic, allergic, infectious and dietary insults is injury to the mitochondria. This is our body's energy factories. Unchecked, this results in oxidative stress, loss of energy and ultimately cell death. Oxidative stress has led to the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, fatigue, developmental and neurodegenerative disorders, and accelerated aging. We assess mitochondrial dysfunction using organic acid analysis and support and protect mitochondrial function through the proper use of phospholipids, essential fatty acids, acetyl-L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, D-ribose, magnesium, potassium aspartate, arginine, resveratrol, alpha-lipoic acid, NADH, riboflavin, niacin, and N-acetylcysteine. This is often an important step in supporting health and recovery from chronic illness.

Detoxification is one of the most important and metabolically demanding functions of our physiology and one that health professionals learn little about. Just ask anyone with renal or liver failure or chronic constipation. The toxic burden of 2.9 billion pounds of petrochemical toxins and 6 million pounds of mercury unloaded into our environment every year has put an undue stress on our capacity for detoxification. We can do a variety of tests for environmental toxins including volatile organic solvents, PCBs, phthalates, parabens, and chlorinated pesticides. Identifying heavy metal toxicity, particularly mercury and lead through provocation challenge testing can be an important part of diagnosing and treating chronic disease. We always test for heavy metals at the first visit. We do not usually treat this until three to six months after our first visit, after we have normalized your digestive, immune function, hormones, and nutritional status as much as possible. Then we can safely begin the detoxification and chelation of heavy metals if necessary. We support your body's own detoxification enzymes through phytonutrients, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. However, mobilizing toxins must be done after all other aspects of our biological systems have been optimized and pathways for detoxification are working full speed.

Finding meaning and connection in the context of your illness and within the tapestry of your life, relationships and beliefs is indeed an essential pillar in the healing process. We support you to develop skills in self-care and nourishment and stress management such as exercise, yoga, meditation and other ways to balance your mind and body. These are actually both the first and last steps in healing. Learning to deeply relax let go of worry, and build trust in life and the healing process is a necessary ingredient for becoming well. Look for hidden infections. Finally, if we find you don't fully respond to the treatment of the basic systems outlined so far, or if you have an elevated C-reactive protein, Testing for hidden infections often identifies unsuspected triggers: viruses, atypical bacteria, tick-borne illnesses, and dental infections. If there are no bugs inside, we must also think about mold in the home or workplace.

Despite the exceedingly complex world of systems biology and medicine, the way into the web of dysfunction and healing is actually quite simple and effective for most patients with chronic disease. The puzzle of chronic illness is not so difficult if we start with food, address food allergens, fix the gut, optimize nutrient status, balance hormones, support energy metabolism, enhance detoxification, teach self-care and nourishment of mind and soul, and if we get stuck, dig around for hidden bugs. Slowly progressing along this road into the web of chronic disease works for most patients most of the time. It is based on a clear framework for understanding the impediments for optimal function and the necessary conditions for thriving, and understanding of the essential physiologic systems that are at the root cause of more than 12,000 different diseases that indeed are only the effects of these causes. Keeping in mind the right order of things will get us from effect to cause, from illness to health. Thank you for your trust in partnering with us on your healing journey. —.