Colorado Springs Functional Medicine

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Childhood and AutoImmune Expression: How Your Current Immune Overload Could Stem From Childhood Trauma

A trend that I have noticed on my intake forms from new clients over the past 4-6 months is that there are 2 questions answered that breaks my heart.  Both are yes/no questions.

Question #1:  Did you feel safe growing up?

Question #2:  Have you ever been abused?

I can say more often than not, I have seen more ‘Noes’ when asked if they felt safe growing up and I have seen more ‘Yeses’ when asked if they have ever been abused.  And a common ailment in those answers are autoimmune conditions.  Is there a direct correlation?  I wouldn’t rule it out but that’s just based on my observation.

Functional medicine Colorado SpringsI’ve had conversations about this with colleagues as well as I’ve talked about these similarities in my workshops.  But what I didn’t know, is that my speculation has already been quantified.

I was recently introduced to the ACE study.  I hadn’t heard of it but as it was described, I had to go find it.  The ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) was conducted between 1995-1997 and eligible for follow up through 2005.  ACEs included childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; witnessing domestic violence; growing up with household substance abuse, mental illness, parental divorce, and/or an incarcerated household member.

In an autoimmune analysis based on those results, the outcome was hospitalizations for any of 21 selected autoimmune diseases and 4 immunopathology groupings.  64% reported at least one ACE.  First hospitalizations for any autoimmune disease increased with increasing number of ACEs.  Compared with persons with no ACEs, persons with >or=2 ACEs were at a 100% increased risk for rheumatic diseases.

MIND. BLOWN.

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3 of My Favorite Energy Gadgets that I Use on a Regular Basis but Actually Have No Idea if they Work.

Functional Medicine Colorado Springs

 

Energy Gadgets

I’m not big into the energy world.  I understand there are countless electromagnetic influences surrounding us each minute but rarely are those the type of strategies I initially recommend with clients.  But because I’m in constant self experimentation and there’s no harm in these things, these are ‘3 of My Favorite Energy Gadgets that I Use on a Regular Basis but Actually Have No Idea if they Work.’

Red Light Laser

I was introduced to a red light laser by a client of mine that has reported great success with pain flare ups.  At the time I was going through some knee pain.  It wasn’t a joint issue but more of a tendonitis/Osgood Schlatter type pain.  I attribute it to poor squat mechanics while where a pair of gym shoes that were just too small.  This pain was at its height about a year ago.

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You Don’t Have Adrenal Fatigue | Stop Making Your Identity a Catch Phrase

For those that aren’t familiar with the adrenal glands, they have huge function in your health expression.  Every second of your day, your nervous system has to organize and coordinate your life experiences:  What you eat, how you think, how you move, wind changes, social influences, spiritual experiences, and congruency in purpose and practices.

With every single item, within microseconds, your nervous system has to decide if these particular influences will cause you harm or cause you happiness.  More often than not, your nervous system will be cautious and engage functions that shift you into immediate survival and protection. The first set of organs that your nervous system talks to are your adrenals.

Functional medicine Colorado SpringsThere are two major hormone groups (but many more) that the adrenals release to help you adapt when life throws curve balls at you.  One group is the catecholamines (adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine, etc) that primarily work on functions of heart rate, blood pressure, muscle contraction, and triggering your brain for reaction over reason.  The other class is cortisol that primarily works to get your body to release stored energy (sugar) to give you instant fuel to escape a potential danger.

The longer someone is in the this state of protection, the more the body creates a default setting into that expression.  And the longer than is expressed, the more apt you favor catabolism (tissue destruction).  This sounds bad but no reaction or symptom is stupid.  These expressions are creating pathways for you to buy time to escape what is potentially life threatening. The more this reaction is repeated, the harder it is to keep up with the demands.  It’s like if you sprinted instead of walked to do everything.  You’re going to get tired.

Tired ≠ Fatigue

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Two Truths and A Lie | Why What You Believe Determines Your Health

If there’s one thing I have learned from both working with clients for 12 years and trying this thing called parenting is that beliefs dictate behavior. If someone believes they can do something, they will at least attempt it.  If they don’t believe they can do something, they won’t attempt it.  Their belief dictates whether something is true or not.  If they feel something is true, there is subsequent action.  If they feel something is a lie, there is subsequent action in the opposite direction.

With that said, your belief regarding health will have a massive determining factor on your action steps, which will result in the promotion or negation of health expression.  I will present you with 3 statements.  Your belief in their trueness factor will be a good indication as to which path you choose in creating health.  And if you’re not satisfied with your health expression, then maybe you have to challenge some beliefs you hold regarding health.

Functional Medicine Colorado Springs

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Pregnancy Gainz | Why You Shouldn’t Avoid Exercise During Pregnancy

During the first trimester visit, many medical practitioners will tell pregnant women not to lift more than 15 lbs until 6 weeks after the birth of their baby (maybe). I truly believe these practitioners are doing what they think is best, but unfortunately, they are missing the mark for the vast majority of women under their care.

The positive intention here is that there are a handful of women who should not be lifting more than 15 lbs due to an impeding medical condition. I also believe there are a handful of women who do not have sound movement patterns and lifting more than 15 lbs resulted in a preventable injury (prevention being the right coaching not necessarily the lifting itself). So, to reach the widest audience with medical advice, practitioners speak to the lowest common denominator and continue to recommend not lifting more than 15 lbs during pregnancy.

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4 Permissions to Dramatically Change Your Health that May Make Your Doctor Hate You

Ready to make a change?  Feeling guilty about the choices you’re trying to make because it goes against everything you have heard or done the past 40 years?  Here’s 4 permissions to dramatically change your health…that May make Your Doctor Hate You.  Now go rock it.

Permission to Eat Fat

On my intake forms, I have a line of questions that ask the person if they feel better eating certain foods.  An overwhelming majority of people mark they feel better when eating higher fat foods.  But because doctors, media, and all things medical industry have villainized fat and cholesterol for 40 years, people shy away from it out of dogmatic guilt that they are harming themselves, not helping.  The reality is that we all know what has happened to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, auto-immune conditions, and dementia the last 40 years as we have removed fat.  We’re not any healthier.

If there’s something you should feel bad about eating, it should be sugar.  Sure it tastes good, gives you an instant energy boost but have you ever looked back an hour later and said, ‘I wish I just ate more cake, cookies, breakfast cereal, and whole wheat bread. I just feel so good.”  You’re chronically fatigued because you keep feeding the insulin-energy-store-overload reaction based on your high glycemic choices.

WORDS THAT MEAN SUGAR: Tango Yankee Nicole Recine RN, MSN

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Biohacking Your Biohacking

bi·o·hack·ing

/ˈbīōhakiNG/

noun
  • The activity of exploiting genetic material experimentally without regard to accepted ethical standards, or for criminal purposes.
  • Do-it-yourself biology, a social movement in which individuals and organizations pursue biology and life science with tools equivalent to those of professional labs.
  • What you get when you combine biology with hacking. It’s a way for individuals to effectively “hack” their bodies to achieve certain goals. Sometimes, this hack is as simple as taking a nootropic supplement every day to boost your cognitive ability.

Whatever fits your definition of biohacking is up to you, hopefully it isn’t the criminal end game.  But if you want amazing health and performance expression, it all comes down is the basics.  You don’t need to hack anything.  You already possess the most amazing blueprint and access to quality building materials to create sustainable longevity and a phenomenal quality of life.  You just have to follow some basic guidelines.  You need to biohack your biohacking.

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Genetic Pet Peeves

I have a number of pet peeves.  For those that know me really well, you know I can go from zero to maximum irritability in 0.2 seconds when I see random shopping carts in a major retail parking lot.  If I see you NOT put it away, even though the cart return is only 3 spaces away from your car, I’m ready to punch a hole in your car.   I’m considering creating a personality assessment and job interview process centered around your shopping cart etiquette.  If you can’t push a Costco cart without walking half bent over, leaning on the cart, you’re not even getting an interview.

For the sake of this post, your shopping cart habits are none of my business…unless you don’t put it away.  But a more pertinent pet peeve of mine are the analogies surrounding genetics.  I’m sure you’ve heard them and you thought they were clever and didn’t even question them.  Hopefully these become pet peeves of yours as well.

Functional Medicine Colorado Springs

Your DNA is NOT a Loaded Gun

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Tight Muscles Or Intelligent Feedback

I’m an avid semi-competitive-worker-outer.  At almost 38 years old, I can say I’m the fittest over all I have ever been in my life and there are is still lots of room for improvement.

One of the things I see repeatedly at the gym is people constantly stretching, smashing, and rolling the chronically tight muscles.  I’m not one to offer advice unless asked.  That’s why I write these posts.  You will come across it when you’re looking for information that pertains the post’s topic.

When someone does finally approach me, I make sure to get one point across.

The Body Never Does Stupid Stuff!

If you have a chronically tight muscle, it’s happening for a reason.  If you have high blood pressure, it’s happening for a reason.  If you have cancer, it’s happening for a reason.  The reason isn’t because the body is stupid.  It’s because the body has been trying to adapt to all the stupid stuff we put it through to keep us going.  At some point, those silent adaptations becomes a screaming alarm to stop and slow down.

Tight muscles are no different.

Context is Everything

When you walk on an icy sidewalk, you instinctively activate muscles and ‘tighten’ them to make sure you walk more carefully and avoid falling.  But have you ever walked on an icy sidewalk and when you’re inside, you stop and stretch out?  Not at all.

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