Colorado Springs Functional Medicine

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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.

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Your DNA is NOT a Loaded Gun

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The #1 Question I Hate Answering

I get asked a LOT of questions.  It is the nature of my profession.  But there’s one question I cringe at answering.  I hate this question because it’s usually in an awkward social setting with people I will probably never see again.  Honestly, I would rather speak to a group of 200 people than make small talk with 5.  Don’t even get me started about flying alone.

The question I dread is, “so what do you do for a living?”  I don’t dread it because I’m embarrassed or hate what I do.  I’m more excited and passionate today than I was 12 years ago when I started my professional career.  I dread it because the answer limits what I do and have done in the minds of the question asker, especially over this last year.  

If I say I’m a chiropractor, I often get the obnoxious response of someone grabbing their neck or pretending that their back just went out.  Or I get the totally uninformed person that responds with, “I love having my back rubbed.”  At this point, I’m ready to put a knee in the middle of their back.  Or it’s the total opposite and they think I’m the spawn of Satan and practice voodoo.

I could say I’m a writer, but it’s just a piece of what I do.  Yes I wrote a book and have written probably 200 articles the past 4-5 years.  I could also say I’m a speaker, but again, it’s just a piece.  I use these pieces more as one of the core expressions (Education) of my core values (Leadership, Family, and Community) to ultimately support my mission of helping you create ‘More Health Less Healthcare.’

What I usually say is that I practice Functional Medicine.  The problem is that unless you’re looking for a functional medicine practitioner you’ve probably never even heard of the term.  This role of ‘what I do’ has been the focus of my career over the past few years.  

I just have completed the course work and passed the 12 exams through Functional Medicine University in the credentialing process.  This means in the near future you will see some additional letters after my name, CFMP.  In all honesty, the letters don’t matter.  What matters is if I’m able to use all that information, apply it to each individual and move them towards their health goals. 

So what is Functional Medicine?  I would define it as assessing and supporting systems and origins, instead of treating symptoms and organs.  Honestly, it takes my chiropractic education and biochemistry background and ties it all together to assess the root cause of a person’s health problems more efficiently, effectively, and thoroughly.  

Functional Medicine Colorado Springs

Many practitioners are using the term ‘functional medicine’ in their marketing.  I have a cynical feeling this term will get as bastardized as the term ‘wellness’ has.  A doctor can say they practice functional medicine but how do you, the consumer, know? 

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I Wrote A Book, It’s Probably Not For You

I wrote a book.  It’s probably not for you.  If you’re reading this, you’re more choir than congregation to my message.  This is why I haven’t promoted it that much to you.  There’s really nothing ground breaking in it that you probably haven’t heard me say or someone else say when it comes to health related content.

In fact, I didn’t set out to write a health book.  I actually set out writing a blog post as a call to action for leaders to focus on health outcomes as one of their greatest strategies to expand their effectiveness as a leader.  It just kept building until one day I looked up and tens of thousands of words had been written.  Much too long for a blog post.

Even more, it was mostly intended for pastors of small congregations or those small business entrepreneurs that have roles of being the CEO, accountant, IT department, marketing, and facilities.  It’s for the leader, no matter the size of the following that does it all and won’t stop until it’s all done (hello super moms).  These are the people that need to find rest before rest finds them.  These are the people that look a lot like my brother, who died at age 37, and my father, who developed Alzheimer’s by his late 60’s and is under 24 hour surveillance being a hostage to his own home.  Both great leaders with great aspirations, that ignored (at least in my eyes), the single greatest determining factor on their leadership effectiveness and longevity…their health.

I’ve seen too many of those leaders, both my family and clients, that face burn out or have faced burn out.  They are then coming to me with health conditions that could have been prevented with a little TLC of their health to keep leadership effectiveness strong.  If this is you, then I’m wrong, you will get value out of this book.  If you don’t think you’re a leader, then you’re wrong again.  If you have influence (good or bad) with even one other person, you are a leader.  And again, you will find value in these pages.

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20 Reasons to Break Up With Sugar

Sara VanceI’ve reached out for some help with the content on the site.  I’m lucky to have an article written by Nutritionist Sara Vance, author of the book The Perfect Metabolism Plan. A regular guest on Fox 5 San Diego, you can see many of Sara’s segments on her media page. She also offers corporate nutrition, school programs, consultations, and affordable online eCourses. Download her free 40+ page Metabolism Jumpstart eBook here.  If she looks and sounds familiar to you, she was the amazing host of The Metabolism Summit.  Need a refresher?  Click here.

DO YOU BELIEVE THE MYTH THAT “SUGAR IS JUST HARMLESS EMPTY CALORIES?”

Millions of people believe that myth…and I used to be one of them.

Sugar is definitely empty calories.

But the part that is the lie is that sugar is “harmless.”

FRIENDS. IT IS A BIG. FAT. LIE. 

Not only is excess sugar the #1 reason for a sluggish metabolism and stubborn weight gain, the false idea that it is just harmless empty calories is making billions of people sick….including our children.

Woefully, the real truth is that sugar has a dark side, a very serious dark side.  Chronically elevated blood sugar leads to stubborn weight gain, and raises the risk of almost every major disease. Excess sugar is quite possibly is the worst possible thing for our health overall. Let’s take a closer look….

Sara vance

20 REASONS TO BREAK UP WITH SUGAR:

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3 Rs for Gut Restoration

I’m sure there isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t see a Facebook post talking about the gut.  In fact, I just posted one from some researchers concluding:

The study results support the hygiene hypothesis which, in the case of IBD, argues that the absence of exposure to worms in too-clean modern living spaces has left some with oversensitive, gut-based immune systems vulnerable to inflammatory diseases. Gut worms have helped to train and balance immune systems throughout human evolution, but are now missing in developed nations, which, in turn, have the highest rates of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. #GetDirty.

I’m currently reading Dr. Kelly Brogan’s book, A Mind of Your Own:  The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives.  She is tackling the gut as a major source of mental illness.  The gut’s affect is linked to WAY more than just belly discomfort.  It’s linked to thyroid issues, hormones, joint destruction, autism, chronic fatigue, and so on and so on.

So what’s a person to do about it?  How do you know if you have gut problems?

The safe answer is to assume that you do have gut problems.  The solution is to create an internal ecosystem that promotes gut health.  What’s the danger of doing this if you don’t have gut problems?  Nothing.  It’s called creating health.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your brain.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your hair. If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your sex drive.  If it’s good for your gut, it’s good for your mitochondria.

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The #1 Thing To Impact Your Health

I had an ‘aha’ moment this morning that I think can potentially help a lot of people.  Most of my days begin between 4- 5 am…planned and willing (mostly).  Yesterday, Colorado had one of those Spring snowstorms that shuts down major highways, international airports, and causes mass hysteria on all local news outlets telling people to stay home.  The next morning, there’s always a good chance that local businesses and schools have delayed starts.  On a typical Thursday morning I go to CrossFit for the 5 am class and then I meet with a men’s group at 6:30 am.

With the knowledge that most people (the ones I workout with and the guys from the men’s group) are going to roll out of bed a little later than normal and there’s potential for icy roads that could still be a bit hazardous, there’s an internal dilemma.  Should I still get up early or create a lazy morning?

The #1 Thing That Impacts Your Health

Functional Medicine Colorado SpringsThe ‘aha’ was that the changes and success I have made and been able to sustain in my own personal health, my career, and other proud moments in life is that my strength is in the consistency of just showing up.  I’ve never been the most talented.  I’ve never been the smartest.  I’ve never had an abundant of resources.  I’ve made a lot of mistakes.  I have failed too many times to count.

But when you show up a lot more times than not, there’s a chance you get ahead of the curve.  Showing up that day doesn’t mean you will have a win that day or be greatly rewarded.  It means you showed up.  There’s a lot of things that I show up for that I still really suck at.  But I’m still going to show up.  Eventually, I will suck a little less at it.

The more you show up to do something about your health, the more impact you will create in your outcomes.  Keep showing up.

Why don’t people show up?  They let their emotions and feelings get in the way.  I know we’re in a post modern society where experience and emotion are more valued than information, but experience and emotion are the constant variable in the showing up equation.  Information is abundant.  Your lack of health success is rarely due to a “I didn’t know” factor.

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Magnifying Magnesium

The past 2 months, I feel like I have had more and more people indicate on their intake forms that they are taking magnesium.  It’s not taking magnesium for general health.  It’s often the consumption of magnesium for symptoms like headaches, constipation, hypertension, poor energy, sleep, and restless leg.  Magnesium is being used and consumed like a medicine.

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I know you’ve seen the Hippocrates quote of “Let food by thy medicine and medicine by they food” but I think with a little understanding of magnesium’s role in the body in addition to my favorite hormone, insulin, you will start magnifying magnesium.

Magnesium:

Searching the the criteria “magnesium deficiency”[MeSH Terms] OR “magnesium deficiency”[All Fields] in Pubmed elicits over 4,000 references.  Although it’s the least abundant blood electrolyte, it plays critical roles in regulating other processes in the body.  It is extremely important for the metabolism of Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper, Iron, Sodium, Lead, Cadmium, Hydrogen chloride, acetylcholine, and nitric oxide (NO).  Magnesium is essential in the production of ATP.  It’s necessary for your methylation processes.

Why are so many deficient?  Other than our poor soil quality, magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, phosphoric acid (sodas) and coffee intake, by profuse sweating, by intense, prolonged stress, by excessive menstruation and vaginal flux, by diuretics and other drugs and by certain parasites (pinworms).

Therefore the range of ailments associated with magnesium deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.), recurrent bacterial infection due to low levels of nitric oxide in the cavities (sinuses, vagina, middle ear, lungs, throat, etc.), fungal infections due to a depressed immune system, thiamine deactivation (low gastric acid, behavioral disorders, etc.), premenstrual syndrome, calcium deficiency (osteoporosis, hypertension, mood swings, etc.), tooth cavities, hearing loss, diabetes type II, cramps, muscle weakness, impotence (lack of NO), aggression (lack of NO), fibromas, potassium deficiency (arrhythmia, hypertension, some forms of cancer), iron accumulation, etc.

What do many people do to treat these ailments that don’t want to to use pharmaceuticals?  They take more magnesium.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  But if you want to magnify magnesium, there’s one physiological process that may have the most impact on how your body utilizes this key nutrient.

I'm exhausted, but I just can't seem to relax. Maybe it's more of an insulin problem than adrenals. Click To Tweet

Insulin Sensitivity:

Many are confused on the concept of insulin sensitivity.  Let me try and put it in context.

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Breaking Fear

There’s a saying, ‘We fear that which we do not know.’  Many will recite this as a way of self comforting after being criticized.  While I think this is true, I also think ‘we fear that which we do know.’

After the birth of our 3rd son, we joined the ranks for minivan owners.  If I could give advice to my 25 year old self, I would tell me, ‘Don’t fear the minivan, those things are freakn’ sweet.’

We got a used one, with all the features possible.  Since it wasn’t a hassle to get 3 kids into the back of a sedan anymore, we were more open to driving around a bit.  Little did we know, we had a battery terminal that could pop off the positive terminal just by blowing on it.  My wife found out the hard way after being stranded in a parking lot after a mom’s group.  Thankfully, when it appeared to be a dead battery, the cable had come off.

It doesn’t seem like a big problem except now we know something.  We know that there could be a possibility of hitting a pot hole (a probability of that here in Colorado Springs), it could shake the cable loose and then risk the battery not being charged while driving. The fear of getting somewhere, enjoying our time together, and then not being able to start the van back up, permeated through our thoughts.

Constant #fear is just as damaging as drug addictions, trans fats, and cubicle living. Click To Tweet

I decided that I would use Google University to see how to change the battery terminal.  Surprisingly, it looked like something I could handle, and I’m not a car guy.  I built up the confidence, went to the car parts store, found all the parts I needed in less than 2 minutes and was ready to tackle the project of saving the minivan.

I opened the hood up, located the battery cables and was dismayed at all the extra cables that weren’t on the Google videos. I began to fear that which I did not know, especially when it comes to electricity.  Long story short, under the many suggestions from my wife, I called our car whiz, motor-cross racing friend.

He looked at it, assessed the situation and fixed the problem in about 8 minutes.

What’s the point?  The point is that fear is paralyzing, whether you know what you’re getting yourself into or you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.  As I watch and observe our nation during this political season, I think fear of the known and unknown is destroying our nation’s physical health just as much as our low fat diet recommendations, sedentary lifestyles, sugar obsessions, and badges of busyness.

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Before Running For Suncreen

Earlier this week, mega star High Jackman posted this on his Instagram page.  In case you missed it, here it is.

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Mr. Jackman is making a plea for anyone that has had skin cancer or if you want to prevent skin cancer, to wear your sunscreen.  Before running for sunscreen, let’s take a look at the giant elephant in the room first.

Sun Exposure is Not the Cause of Cancer

There are no absolutes when chronic illness develops like cancer, Alzheimer’s, autism, heart disease, and auto-immune conditions.  Chronic illness does not occur because of an event.  It takes a lot of hard work to get really sick.

“There’s no such thing as a healthy person with a bad body part or organ.” – Jeffrey Moss, DDS, CNS, DACBN

How can someone like Hugh Jackman get cancer?  He works out, eats right, and looks so healthy.  This is what traditional doctors think too.  If diet and exercise don’t work, then it must be something else.  Let’s blame the sun.

Did anyone consider job hazards?  He’s had some major movie roles.  What do you movie sets provide all the actors?  LOTS of makeup.  How many times has his skin been lathered in lotions, sprays, powders, concealers, fragrances, and spray tans?  Then how many different soaps, shampoos, and cleaners have been used to get all that makeup off?

Many, if not all the cosmetics have links to being carcinogenic (cancer causing), hormone disruptors, developmental and reproductivity disruptors, as well as toxic to the liver and kidneys.  In what bottle of lotion do you find many of these same chemicals?  Check your sunscreen.

It’s a contradictory message.  You will hear about the chemicals in your cosmetics and how they can be harmful but in the same breath you’re told to wear sunscreen.  It’s as ridiculous as telling kids not to do drugs but don’t forget your Ritalin.  Or what about how chocolate milk is a superfood, power recovery beverage but chocolate ice cream is horrible for you?  Contradictions lead to destruction.

The Sunscreen Elephant

With almost any diagnosis, the more it’s ‘early detected and treated,’ the more disability is associated with that diagnosis.  In Robert Whitaker’s book, ‘Anatomy of an Epidemic,’ he states,

“The rise in the number of disabled mentally ill has been especially pronounced since 1987, the year that Prozac, the first of the “second-generation” psychiatric drugs, arrived on the market. The number of adults on SSI or SSDI due to mental illness has risen from 1.25 million in 1987 to more than 4 million today. The number of children and youth on SSI due to a serious mental illness has skyrocketed from 16,200 in 1987 to more than 600,000 today.”

The use of sunscreen and skin cancer is no different.  See the chart on increasing sun screen consumption by the world. Guess who consumes the most?  What has happened to skin cancer rates as sunscreen consumption has increased?  Are people that much more irresponsible?  Are people just buying sunscreen but not applying it?  It’s like Bill Clinton claiming he smoked but didn’t inhale marijuana.

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Source: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Incidence – SEER 17 Regs Limited-Use, Nov 2006 Sub (1973-2004 varying) – Linked To County Attributes – Total U.S., 1969-2004 Counties, National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released April 2007, based on the November 2006 submission

Skin Cancer is a System of Dysfunctions

Could there be a component to skin cancer that is sun related?  Sure.  But any cancer has a series of underlying dysfunctions that are contributing to the expression of cells growing and dividing faster than programmed.

There is going to be cell damage, inflammation, insulin resistance (insulin is a power promoter of melanocytes), nutrient deficiencies, non-required chemical toxicity, and so much more.   For your doctor or anyone with influence to automatically conclude that they have skin cancer because they are deficient in sunscreen is practicing lazy healthcare and dogmatic healthcare that is no different than assessing your thyroid function with a TSH or heart function with a cholesterol panel.

I know Hugh Jackman means well and his intent is probably pure.  It’s just that his recommendations have no basis for proven outcomes.  As we head out of winter and into the warmer weather, you have some time to think and do your research before running for sunscreen.  Need help?  You know how to find me.

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Your Omega Omen

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know I harp on inflammation a lot.  I’ve mentioned inflammation coming from the immune system, your belly fat, and even your liver.  Another source of inflammation that can cause your body to keep cycling in protection mode and away from growth and recovery are your levels and ratios of Omega fats.

We have all heard of Omega 3 being good for us.  You will see commercials advertising Omega 3 supplements and I’m seeing more and more, medicine-first minded MDs even telling their patients to start taking fish oil.

Why are Omega 3 fats so good for you?  Omega 3 fats are extremely important in the structure and function of every cell in the body.  The function of your cells is what determines your health.  Your cells are what determines your immune function, healing, hormone levels, heart function, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, digestion, moods etc.  Literally, the function and health of your cells determines every aspect of your health.

Omega OmenThink of Omega 3s like your bouncer at your favorite club (your cell membrane).  You want strong bouncers to keep the riff raff out of the club.  If I showed up to be your bouncer, you would laugh, push me to the side, and the club would be in shambles.  All hell would break loose and the club owner would have to spend a lot of time and money to repair all the damage (inflammation) that could have been prevented with bigger, stronger bouncers.

One of the problems is that when people jump on the Omega 3 bandwagon, they supplement with either an inferior type or not enough of the good type.

Club Troubles

Me being a bouncer at your club would be the inferior type of Omega 3.  Most often, this comes in the form of flax seed or vegetable based omega 3s.  There’s nothing wrong with them.  They provide a type of omega 3 (Alpha-Linolenic Acid) but what the body requires and craves the most are omega 3s in the form of EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).  EPA and DHA would be the 6’6″, 245 lbs bouncer that is also a blackbelt in all martial arts, a trained sniper, and expert hostage negotiator.

I could try and train to become those things and pack on the mass but it will be a lengthy process, not serve your immediate needs, and most likely not serve your long term needs.  In other words, the body has the capability of converting ALA to EPA and DHA.  The problem is that even though the body can do those things, there’s a limitation to the amount of how much EPA and DHA can be produced just from an ALA source alone.

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