by admin | Mar 9, 2022 | Health Awareness, Chelation Therapy
Chelation therapy is an effective treatment for heavy metal poisoning. First used in the 1950s to treat lead poisoning, healthcare providers now use chelation therapy regularly to remove several heavy metals from the body, including lead, mercury, iron, copper, arsenic, aluminum, and calcium.
How Does Chelation Therapy Work?
Chelation therapy removes metals from the bloodstream using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). A healthcare provider injects EDTA into the bloodstream. ETDA travels throughout the body, collecting metals and forming a compound. The kidneys eliminate the compound through urination.
What Are the Symptoms of Heavy Metal Toxicity?
Environmental metals in the body can cause short and long-term health consequences. Metal toxicity affects the central nervous system, the skeletal and muscular systems, and the immune system. Symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include:
- Forgetfulness
- Chronic fatigue
- Joint or muscle pain
- Autoimmune disease
- Mood changes
Heavy metal toxicity can also cause long-term damage to vital organs if left untreated.
What Are Potential Benefits of Chelation Therapy?
While research into the benefits of chelation therapy is still ongoing, promising studies show that the treatment can potentially reduce inflammation, improve heart health, and reduce infections.
Heart Health
Atherosclerosis, also referred to as the hardening of the arteries results from the buildup of cholesterol and calcium deposits. Injecting EDTA into the bloodstream may collect and remove the calcium in the arteries, loosening blockages and aiding in blood flow.
Antioxidants
Chelation agents, like EDTA, may work similarly to antioxidants in the body, reducing inflammation and removing metals that serve as the foundation of disease development.
Cognitive Health
Research shows that increased copper, iron, and zinc may be associated with various neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Using chelation therapy to remove metals throughout the body can potentially relieve these cognitive disorders.
The potential of chelation therapy for treating various conditions continues to emerge. New studies and research suggest that this alternative treatment may soon become more mainstream.
by admin | Mar 2, 2022 | Health Awareness, Pain Management, Rheumatoid Arthritis
Do you suffer from aches and pains due to rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? The stiffness caused by RA is a nuisance for many patients and it is especially prevalent in the morning. When you awake from even the most comfortable of sleep, your joints may feel painful and stiff for several hours. How can this be avoided?
4 Ways to Reduce Morning Stiffness for RA Patients
Most patients turn to over-the-counter pain medications to ease their RA morning stiffness, but there may be some other alternatives. The following are four ways to reduce rheumatoid arthritis stiffness and start your day off right.
1. Turn Up the Heat
Experts suggest turning your heat up about 30 minutes before you plan to start your day. This will allow time for your joints to warm up and feel less stiff while you take it easy and relax in bed or have your morning coffee. By the time you need to get ready and head out the door, your body will feel more relaxed, and stiffness may be decreased.
2. Take Medication as Soon as You Wake Up
While you’re turning up the heat, go ahead and take any of your rheumatoid arthritis medications. You want to give your medication time to kick in and take effect before you begin your morning routine. This will help ease most of the aches and pains that you may feel in your joints during morning activities.
3. Practice Gentle Movements
Once you are ready to get out of bed, practice gentle movements rather than jumping to your feet and rushing around the house. Simple range-of-motion exercises can help stretch your muscles and loosen joints in the hands, wrists, and feet.
4. Take A Hot Shower
While many people opt for nighttime showers, RA patients may benefit from taking a hot morning shower. Taking a warm shower upon waking in the morning will help loosen and relax the joints, decreasing any stiffness or aching.
If you suffer from chronic pain from your rheumatoid arthritis, you may want to explore how regenerative medicine, also known as stem cell therapy, may help manage symptoms. In addition, some patients are discovering help from peptides. These are chains of amino acids, and some may have the potential for those with chronic pain. Alternative medicine does not offer a cure, but for some, it may help improve quality of life.
by admin | Feb 23, 2022 | Health Awareness
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that is composed of three amino acids: glutamine, glycine, and cysteine. Every cell of the body contains glutathione, and by researching the effects that glutathione levels have on a variety of diseases, scientists continue to discover its benefits.
Functions of Glutathione
Like all antioxidants, glutathione serves many essential functions for the body. These include:
- Making DNA
- Forming sperm cells
- Breaking down some free radicals
- Supporting immunity
- Helping the liver and gallbladder process fats
- Regenerating vitamins C and E
- Transporting mercury out of the brain
Despite the body’s ability to make glutathione, levels tend to decrease as you get older. Poor nutrition, stress, and environmental toxins can also lower glutathione levels.
Benefits of Glutathione
Benefits of maintaining your glutathione levels, either through a healthy diet and exercise or through topical, oral, or intravenous supplementation include:
Antioxidant Activity
Antioxidants help counteract free radicals, which contribute to aging and some diseases. Therefore, powerful antioxidants like glutathione can protect the body from the damaging effects of free radicals.
Reducing Cell Damage from Liver Disease
Antioxidant deficiencies can worsen the fatty liver disease, contributing to further cell death. Conversely, glutathione may improve the protein, enzyme, and bilirubin levels of patients with chronic fatty liver disease.
Reduced Insulin Resistance in Older Patients
A study examining the role that glutathione plays in weight management and insulin resistance connected low glutathione levels to less fat burning and higher rates of fat storage. Increasing glutathione levels may help older patients manage symptoms of insulin resistance.
Reduced Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
While further research is still needed, a study connecting the effects of intravenous glutathione treatments on Parkinson’s disease symptoms, including tremors and rigidity, reported improvement for patients.
Assistance in Fighting Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases can cause chronic inflammation and increase oxidative stress. Glutathione may help in reducing oxidative stress by eliminating free radicals and protecting cell mitochondria. Scientists are still uncovering the ways that glutathione can benefit our overall health. Meanwhile, you can work to maintain your natural glutathione levels through a healthy diet, getting enough rest, and avoiding environmental toxins.
by admin | Feb 16, 2022 | Health Awareness
Cholesterol is necessary for normal metabolic functioning, but excess cholesterol in blood vessels leads to heart attacks, coronary disease, and strokes. To fully understand cholesterol’s role in your health, you need to understand cholesterol itself.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that your body needs to build cells and manufacture vitamins and hormones. Your body produces all of the cholesterol it needs in the liver.
Certain foods, most animal products, contain dietary cholesterol and trigger the liver to produce more cholesterol. Other foods that can raise your cholesterol levels are oils containing saturated fat, such as palm and coconut oils.
Types of Cholesterol
The circulatory system carries cholesterol through the body through two different lipoproteins: high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL).
HDL
HDL earned the label of “good cholesterol” because it removes the LDL cholesterol from the arteries and carries it to the liver, where it can be broken down by the liver and removed from the body.
LDL
LDL, the “bad cholesterol,” earned its title because when too much LDL cholesterol is in the arteries, it can build up and form plaque on the artery walls. The buildup of plaque in the arteries narrows the arteries and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Managing Your Cholesterol
The best way to lower your cholesterol is through exercise and reducing saturated fats and trans fats in your diet. You can accomplish this by limiting your consumption of red meat, fried foods, and full-fat dairy. Replacing animal products and fattening foods with plant-based foods will positively affect your cholesterol. If your cholesterol levels continue to stay elevated, you may need prescription cholesterol-lowering medication. However, even if you are on medication for your high cholesterol, you should still implement a healthier diet and exercise to ensure you fight off the risks of heart disease.
by admin | Feb 9, 2022 | Health Awareness
Inflammation is part of the body’s natural response to injury and infection. However, sometimes the body’s inflammatory response works overtime, causing several health conditions.
Good Inflammation
When the body is working correctly, inflammation occurs when you’re sick or injured. This kind of inflammation is a good thing. Chemicals in the bodywork to fight infections and heal injuries by heading to damaged tissues to treat them with blood, fluid, and proteins or by protecting and repairing damaged tissues with swelling and heat.
This good, or “acute,” inflammation gathers up immune cells, blood vessels, and molecular mediators to clear out damaged tissue, initiate repairs, and eliminate the cause of cell injury. One of the key elements of acute inflammation is that it goes away once it does its job.
Bad Inflammation
In contrast, bad inflammation occurs when your body has an inflammation response without injury or illness. The body’s immune response can overfire, which causes low levels of inflammation that can’t seem to dissipate, causing bad, or “chronic,” inflammation.
Chronic inflammation can cause problems of its own and is a factor in conditions like arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, blindness, cancer, and diabetes.
What Causes Bad or Chronic Inflammation?
Common causes of chronic inflammation include:
- An undiagnosed food sensitivity
- Exposure to irritants, such as environmental pollutants
- Chronic stress
- Autoimmune disorders
Identifying the causes of chronic inflammation serves as an essential step in treatment.
Determining the Cause of Chronic Inflammation
There are many ways your healthcare provider can work with you to identify the cause of your chronic inflammation. Some tests that may determine inflammation causes include:
- Food sensitivity testing
- Fatty acid profile
- Inflammation Patient Assessment Panel, which tests:
- High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)
- IL-6
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Ferritin
- Fibrinogen
- TNF-a
- Element analysis
In addition to testing for the source of your inflammation, you may also benefit from altering your diet to include anti-inflammatory foods, which may help your body calm its inflammatory response. For example, the foods included in the Mediterranean diet may provide some relief and support your immune response.
by admin | Feb 2, 2022 | Health Awareness
Beans really might be a magical fruit. Recent studies find beans to be nutritional powerhouses rich in fiber, resistant starch, and plant protein. Adding beans to your diet promotes weight loss, insulin sensitivity, and cardiovascular health.
However, the power of a tiny bean may be even more impressive than previously thought. New studies on the body’s gut microbiome reveal that this internal ecosystem may affect our overall health in significant ways and that beans may be the key to unlocking its powers.
The Gut Microbiome
The human body’s microbiome is a collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and microorganisms that live throughout the body’s surfaces, like the skin and the digestive tract. However, most of the microbiome lives in the gut, which contains over 1,000 species of bacteria and trillions of organisms.
The gut microbiome produces vitamins, develops immune responses, and enhances the benefits of food. For instance, the gut microbiome converts dietary fiber and resistant starch into short-chain fatty acids that protect the intestines’ cells and regulate metabolism.
How Do Beans Help Gut Health?
The large intestine’s bacteria rely on prebiotics to survive. Prebiotics serves as food for gut bacteria. When your body isn’t getting enough prebiotics through your diet, the gut bacteria need to find new food, which ends up being the immune defense on the surface of the intestinal lining.
While all plants contain probiotics, beans, which are full of fiber and resistant starch, are especially rich in prebiotics. In addition, beans’ ability to nourish the gut microbiome and promote short-chain fatty acids production helps kick your immune system into gear.
Additionally, as studies dig deeper into the species of bacteria living in the gut microbiome, researchers have discovered that people with multiple sclerosis lack a bacteria that breaks down isoflavones. This nutrient is also highly prevalent in beans.
As new studies into the gut microbiome find connections between chronic conditions and the foods and nutrients that offer potential remedies, beans may be a powerful tool in improving your overall health.
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