How Functional Medicine Helps You Identify Blood Sugar Issues Earlier

Photo Credit: Ben White

According to National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, around 96 million U.S. adults over 18 years old have prediabetes. Plus, more than 80% of them do NOT know about it! That’s an insane percentage. So, how do you know if you have prediabetes? And is there anything you can do to reverse course?

You need to change the way you test. Ultimately, we need to use different tests, perform them earlier, and intervene sooner—before patients become diabetic.

But we’ll get back to testing and remedying blood sugar.

First, we need to talk about the type of symptoms you experience when you have a hidden blood sugar issue. Here’s a list:

·      Major mood swings

·      Anxiety/depression

·      Highly painful periods/PMS

·      PCOS

·      Thyroid issues

·      Sleep troubles

·      Energy issues

·      Difficulty losing/gaining weight

·      Elevated cholesterol (especially LDL cholesterol levels)

·      Hair loss

·      Regular headaches/migraines

·      Frequent hunger

·      Infertility issues

And there are many more. Remember, blood sugar regulation impacts every cell of your body. It influences the function of mitochondria, which generates energy for every single cell in the body. So, controlling blood sugar is very important.

How Functional Medicine Doctors Test Blood Sugar

 There are three tests I order for my patients to make sure they are not trending towards blood sugar instability.

1.     Fasting glucose found on CMP: this should be in the 80s for a healthy response.

2.     Fasting insulin: the ideal range is 2-4, and research shows that after 7 you have a much higher cardiovascular risk.

3.     Hemoglobin A1C: this is a marker of your average glucose levels over a 120-day period. It should be 5 and under.

I find that if all three of these tests are not run, your information is not sufficient. Patients are told by other doctors that their sugar levels are NORMAL, when in fact they are sitting on pre-diabetes and experiencing very real day-to-day symptoms. You can have elevated fasting insulin and HgA1C, for example, with a completely “normal” looking glucose. That’s why its important to gain a holistic picture by testing all three. When one of these markers is out of range, you may not feel well, or you can have an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Typically, the more of these markers that are off, the greater the issue.

How to Address Blood Sugar Issues

Here are my 6 top things to do if you have blood sugar levels and one or more of these three markers are NOT in range.

1.     Take out processed sugar and grains (yes, all grains) for at least 30-60 days. These will help your body stabilize blood sugar.

2.     Walk after meals. Research shows that even a 10-15 minute walk can significantly lower/maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

3.     Stress response. High stress means high cortisol which can lead to high blood sugar. Doing your best to create a positive response is highly important to maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.

4.     Work with a functional medicine doctor to evaluate other aspects of your health that need support. This can include liver/kidneys/gut/adrenals/thyroid/immune system, and nervous system health.

5.     Wear a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor). My favorite is the Nutrisense monitor(use code: DRVERONIKA25 for a little discount), which helps to measure your blood sugar over 2 weeks, and helps you to figure out what you’re doing (not only eating) that’s making your sugar good or bad. Things that can impact blood sugar include, but are not limited to, foods you’re eating, hydration status, stress response, infections, gut health function, sleep, movement (or lack of), etc. This is an invaluable tool which has really helped my patients get and STAY out of diabetes. It helps them not only monitor their food choices, but holistically evaluate their lifestyle.  

6.     Supplements: My favorite supplements for blood sugar support can be found in my online store. These include Diaplex, Gymnema, and Metabol. You can add a new one every 1-2 weeks to see if things improve as you’re monitoring your blood sugar levels.  

The best way to monitor and address blood sugar issues would be to work with a functional medicine provider (like me) to figure out what your specific issues are and receive customized treatment for your issues.

But let me leave you with some good news. THERE IS A LOT OF HOPE in this space. You don’t have to just “wait it out” until your glucose gets so bad that you get put on a diabetic med. There are things you can do to address this issue and get help.

Remember you were put on this earth not only to survive but to thrive!

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

How Functional Medicine Can Help with PCOS

Photo credit: Becca Tapert

The most common hormone imbalance that I see in women—but one that is frequently underdiagnosed—is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Considering that it is underdiagnosed, is it possible you have PCOS?

Below, I’ll show you what PCOS can look like symptomatically, and then we will outline what can be done to address it. 

What are some signs of PCOS?

·      Irregular or heavy/painful periods

·      Hair growth in places it shouldn’t grow like the face

·      Hair loss in places where hair should be (the head)

·      Some women get cysts on their ovaries (while some women don’t)

·      Insulin resistance (PCOS is also known as diabetes of the ovaries)

·      Androgen imbalance

·      Weight gain

·      Mood issues (anxiety, depression or both)

·      Acne

·      Anovulatory cycles

·      Infertility

What is the traditional approach to PCOS?

If you go to your traditional doctor, here is how the treatment plan may unfold. They will likely run some tests, including a reading on your androgen level. Then, they will likely prescribe one or more medications, which may include:

1. Birth control to “manage” your periods

2. An anti-diabetic medication to “regulate” your blood sugar

3. Possibly a statin for your cholesterol levels

4. SSRI (mood stabilizer) for emotional swings.

And then they will send you on your way. So, is the issue solved? I would argue that being put on longstanding medication without addressing the root causes of those health issues is not the most ideal course of action. If a girl put on birth control for 10-15 years wants to have a baby later in life, or get off of those medications, the symptoms will not only come back, they will also potentially cause longstanding infertility issues.

What’s the alternative approach to PCOS?

Functional medicine is the alternative. Why and how do we approach things differently?

1.     Testing: Women often come to my practice with blood work that doesn’t include pertinent information. For example, with PCOS it’s very likely that the way your body regulates blood sugar is suboptimal. Yet, with a garden variety CBC panel to check for glucose, your glucose might appear totally normal, when your insulin isn’t. So, how do functional doctors approach this problem? We order fasting insulin. We also order more specific hormone panels. This may include blood, salivary, urinary, etc. Not all hormones are best tested in the blood (your blood shows which hormones you have circulating, but not hormones which are actively being used by the body). I will typically order a series of extensive blood work and an adrenal test, depending on presentation. Other types of testing can be performed as needed (including imaging).

2.     We address the blood sugar dysregulation: Most women with PCOS have insulin management issues. Meaning? You get to the root cause of the blood sugar mess. Yes, women are often eating the wrongs foods at the wrong time for decades. Sometimes they inadvertently believe they are being healthy by following the latest trends (soy milk, oatmeal, low fat, vegan). You get my drift. However, other factors impact your blood sugar, too. This may include long standing trauma, especially from childhood.

3.     We address autoimmune components: This is something we also see a lot with PCOS. Autoimmune issues drive the inflammatory cascade, causing your body to attack healthy tissues (like your thyroid). So, I often see PCOS and thyroid problems go hand in hand.

4.     Toxicity: One of the major issues with PCOS is that the liver and other detoxification organs, like your gut, don’t clear toxins/hormones that your body is producing internally or being exposed to externally. If we don’t clear this burden, we will continue to have certain levels of elevated hormones, leading to constantly driving the disease deeper into the system.

5.     Infections: There are always infections present here. Here’s what I see: a combination of mold, bacteria, parasites, viruses and other infections—or a combination of all of these—which drive the autoimmune and neuroendocrine system out of balance. Your regular blood work doesn’t always show this. I use a variety of various functional tests here. Again, if you don’t know to test for, you won’t see it.  

6.     Other therapies:

a.     Adjusting-because I’m a chiropractor, I adjust my patients. If you don’t address how the brain is communicating and regulating all the body systems, you won’t go anywhere fast. Adjusting clears the blocks in the nervous system enabling your body’s biocomputer to talk to various organ systems.

b.     Herbs/supplements/homeopathy-Everyone is super different here. I use a variety of herbals/supplements to help support and address the underlying root issues (see above). Herbs/supplements/homeopathy restore the natural balance of the body and help to heal the body from the inside. There is no “one-size-fits- all” approach here; you should address every person individually in order to get the results you are seeking. Just because your friend/sister-in- law/mother/neighbor is taking a specific set of supplements doesn’t mean they are the right ones for you. In fact, most of the time they aren’t. Working with a trained professional will get you to the correct answer faster. Some of my favorite products I’ve utilized with my patients who struggle with PCOS are Ashwaganda for adrenal support, Neuroplex, a multivitamin geared at supporting HPA axis and hormone balance, Chase tree to help support healthy ovulation and progesterone levels, Cataplex D (vitamin D), Cod liver oil, and Inositol to help support blood sugar levels. All can be found in my online store here. However, always talk to your health care provider to make sure these are the right supplements for you.

With this functional integrative approach we see lots of outstanding results. PCOS often goes into remission, women lose the weight, lose the hair on their chin, their periods stabilize, their energy returns, their emotions stabilize, they start to ovulate and they get pregnant.

So, instead of putting a bandage on the problem, address it and fix it from the inside out. Your body was designed to heal, so stop “managing” symptoms and start addressing them at the root cause.

There is hope. Just because one doctor told you this is the best you’ll ever get, doesn’t mean that it’s true. If you have PCOS, be encouraged. There is another way.

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

My Top 5 Favorite Supplements—and Why

Photo Credit: engin akyurt

I get this question a lot: “what supplements should I take?” Here is my answer 99% of the time: “It depends.” That’s because supplements should be individualized to your own health needs. They regulate different biochemical mechanisms, which can up or down regulate genetics, digestion, hormone secretion, neurotransmitter production, muscle relaxation, enzyme secretion, etc. There is no magic bullet that works perfectly for everyone. Your individual health history and environmental factors ultimately determine what you need.

Yet, there are some supplements that tend to work well for a lot of people. Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite supplements and herbs and why.

To clarify, the supplements I’m sharing today are used in my own regimen and are evaluated and tested by my doctors. I’m not just taking things “to be healthy” because there are millions of varieties of supplements, and you need to make sure you’re taking what’s best for you. Sometimes the right type of food is a better option than vitamins and minerals. I would recommend you work with a functional integrative provider who knows your history and can guide you in your health goals.

Here is what I take and why I love these products:

1.     B vitamins-There are different types of B vitamins. Some can be inhibitory (calming) and some can be excitatory (bring up energy). B vitamins support cellular health. You need them for almost every single process in the body. You need them for detoxification, brain health, hormone stability, nervous system health, etc. However, you need to take one that’s right for you. Most B vitamins are sold separately, not as combination. For example, on store shelves you will often see B6 or Biotin (a favorite of women for hair growth). Despite the way they are often sold, B vitamins are best when taken in combination with each other. Personally, I take a B complex that’s calming and relaxing, as my life can be very busy and it helps me not only wind down but also helps support healthy hormone balance and brain health.

2.     Magnesium-Another heavy hitter. Mg has gotten a lot of publicity recently and it deserves the attention. Mg is involved in over 400 various processes in the body, from detoxification, smooth muscle support, hormone detoxification, teeth health, digestive health and many more. There are various types of magnesium though. Different types have different functions in the body. When I take Magnesium, I take one that’s relaxing but also supports other functions that I’m trying to encourage in my physiology.

3.     Adrenal support-Most of the time living in this crazy world we need a form of adrenal support, whether that’s an herb or supplement. Adrenals are like your back up generators. If you have a “storm” roll through, your adrenals make sure the functions in the body don’t shut down. They regulate inflammation, blood sugar, water/salt balance (those of you feeling bloated towards the end of the day), how you respond to stress, etc. While taking adrenal support I also work on the root causes of adrenal fatigue such as diet, stress support, toxic burden, etc. Adrenals, when low, also seriously impact your thyroid. I personally have a strong family history of thyroid issues, I often see impaired adrenal function with thyroid issues. Without addressing the adrenals, the thyroid will continue to suffer, even if you are taking medications.

4.     St. John’s Wort-This is one of my favorite little herbs I take on a semi-regular basis. St. John’s Wort is historically an immune herb. It helps with microbiome regulation and is fantastic for autoimmune issues. It’s great for sleep, for mood support, for pain management, and many more conditions. I give St. John’s for variety of various needs in my practice. St. John’s Wort has recently gotten a rough rep for being an herb which interacts with many medications; however, the most recent research and literature doesn’t support this notion. In fact, recent research demonstrates better mood support even compared to SSRIs (mood stabilizers), which is incredible! Unlike medications, St. John’s Wort, isn’t addictive, so you never have to worry about having to wean down from it, unlike the over-the-counter medications. I would recommend working with a health care provider though, as it can impact the way your medications are working. I’ve taken it for years for an underlying autoimmune condition I manage, and I’ve found it positively impacts the way that I feel.

5.     Cod Liver Oil-I strongly feel like fish oil (high quality) doesn’t get enough of a spotlight. Cod Iiver oil, along with having anti-inflammatory properties, contains both vitamin A and vitamin D, in food form. Often I see people supplementing with the wrong types of Vitamin D and not seeing the response they are looking for. In order to be fully utilized in the body, Vitamin D needs to be paired with Vitamin A (which is another type of fat-soluble vitamin). I like to give cod liver oil, instead of simply giving Vitamin D to my patients, because the type of cod liver oil I use is food source, so I know it will absorb well and have the best type of utilization in the system. One caveat I would say about fish oil, you cannot get 10-dollar retail brands and think you’ll get the same result. Just like with most supplements, you get what you pay for. If you pay 5 dollars for supplements, you’ll get 5 dollars’ worth of results.

This leads to an overall point I should make. Unfortunately, if you are supplementing using standard over-the-counter products, you cannot verify that in fact what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle. In 2015, the NY AG did research looking at supplements sold at the largest retailers. From all the supplements sampled across the main stores, many actually did not contain the active products advertised on the bottle. So, when patients bring me over-the-counter products and are frustrated by lack of results, it's because they aren’t often taking what they think they are. Solution? Buy supplements from a reputable provider which has vetted and ensured that the products you’re buying are screened for quality control. The scary fact about fish oil is that most of the fish oil on the shelves you buy is rancid. One way to know if you bottle is rancid: you get fishy burps.

This is a quick summary about supplements I regularly take. There are more but these are five of my favorites. And as you can see, I do not have a multivitamin included. Why do you ask? I find that multivitamins contain too many products at too little of quantities to really produce any therapeutic effect.

I hope this has been helpful. I have other blogs on various types of supplements and how to evaluate supplements before taking any and why not all supplements are created equal.

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

How—and When—Should You Test Your Hormones?

Photo Credit: Mathilde Langevin

Women often come into my office suspecting they have hormone issues. Yet, they aren’t able

to pinpoint exactly what is wrong and how it correlates to a hormonal issue. So, what type of symptoms will

you see when your hormones are out of balance?

• Headache

• Inability to lose weight

• Heavy periods

• Irregular periods

• Bad period cramps

• Hair loss on their head

• Hair growth on their face

• Mood swings such as anxiety or depression or both

• Sleep issues

• Digestive issues

• Thyroid issues

• PCOS

• Endometriosis

• And many more…

Often these women have gone to see their traditional medical provider without many answers.

Their blood work suggests “normal” hormone levels. So, their doctor shrugs off their

worries as mere anxiety and the underlying issue remains untreated.

Frankly speaking, this isn’t good enough.

Most of the time, there IS a valid hormone issue. Yet, the testing isn’t function-based, it is

disease-based. Let me explain.

Modern blood work testing is geared towards evaluating disease-based hormones. This type of

blood work is intended to only recognize severe function loss—not subclinical irregularities.

This means that you may have a functional problem—symptoms you will notice—that the

blood work test will not pick up.

Again, I don’t believe relying on this is good enough.

So, what alternative does functional/integrative medicine have to offer? Let me outline a few

tests that can identify a functional issue and help us know WHERE to start treatment.

1. Blood work: Yes, we will occasionally do a series of blood panels to identity the issue.

However, we do not read the panels for disease, but instead interpret them for function.

You don’t want just to be “in range” for lab values, you want OPTIMAL ranges for health

and function. The other caveat that’s different in function levels is that we order a more

extensive number of markers. Let me give you an example. If a typical primary care

doctor suspects a thyroid issue, the doctor will order a TSH (thyroid stimulating

hormone, which comes from the brain) marker and a T4 (inactive thyroid hormone)

marker. This is currently the standard of care for thyroid management. This, once again,

is not sufficient to identify most thyroid issues. Functional doctors will also order

markers for T3, which is the active thyroid hormone. If you don’t order both T4 and T3

you don’t know the conversion rate and thereby won’t know how your body is

ACTUALLY using the hormone once it’s in your body. We will also order antibody levels if

we’re suspecting Graves (hyperthyroid) or Hashimoto’s disease (hypothyroid) markers,

if clinical presentation supports it. Unless you rule out an autoimmune presentation

which is impairing your thyroid, you will continue to chase your tail and never address

the issue. We will often see autoimmune patients being put on thyroid hormone with

little results for many years, still experiencing many of those type of symptoms. So, it’s

important to order ENOUGH of the markers.

2. Saliva testing: Saliva testing, unlike blood work, measures ACTIVE hormones that your

body can utilize, instead of protein-bound hormones. When you measure active

hormones, your results are more accurate because it is like measuring the number of

players on the bench who CAN play. A protein-bound hormone is a hormone your body

has, but can’t necessarily use. Saliva testing, in my opinion, is more accurate and will

quickly identify issues when the blood work reads everything as being normal. We do

this type of testing for hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin,

DHEA, LH and FSH just to name a few. This is an easy, quick and cheap way to identify

problems at the root level.

3. DUTCH test: The third way that we look at hormones and identify issues is what’s

known as the DUTCH test. It’s a dried urine test that measures the CLEARANCE of

hormones through the body. This means that if you aren’t clearing hormones at

appropriate rates, they can build up and cause toxicity in your system, which often

messes up your hormone balance.

4. Muscle testing: However, my favorite and most accurate test is the one which we do in

office. Muscle testing gives us a LOT of information quickly and it shockingly correlates

with what we find in other types of testing. Muscle testing is a neurofeedback

mechanism which tests your body and its response to various stressors. It’s able to

identify the root causes of health issues in real time. Why I prefer to always start there is

because once it identifies the issue, we can also identify the stressor and remove it. For

example, if you do a series of hormone tests and they are “out of range,” you then still

have to dig through the history and trial and error of treatments to figure out WHY the

hormones have gone out of balance. With a muscle test you get both sets of

information right away and are able to deal with the trigger right off the bat. Personally,

in my practice, this is where I start. By being able to identify the stressors and removing

them, we can give patients the lifestyle tools, as well as

herbs/supplements/homeopathy to get to the root cause and bring those pesky

hormones back into balance.

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

How hormone balance impacts your health

Photo Credit: Lesly Juarez

Have you ever had a health issue but can’t figure out the cause? I often see patients in my office who don’t realize they have early or ongoing stages of hormone imbalance. Yet, this issue impacts their lives and gives them very real symptoms.

Hormone balance touches every single aspect of our health including immune support, digestive system, mood regulation, sleep quality, aging, weight balance and more.

It’s important to identify hormone imbalances (and know the early signs) so you can reverse the effects before it leads to disease (yes, it is possible to do this). When we are able to put a label on a health issue, we no longer feel helpless. We can follow a plan of action that empowers us to succeed.

In Part 1 of this two-part blog post, I’m going to be giving you signs that you may have hormone imbalance. In Part 2, we will dive deeper into what can be done to resolve it.

Is your symptom hormone imbalance?

This is a list of major symptoms that I see that often I see in my office with patients who might not know that they are related to imbalance of hormones. These are symptoms that conventional medical providers often say are “normal”:

·      Headaches

·      Mood swings—including anxiety or depression

·      Sleep issues—falling asleep or staying asleep

·      Lumps and bumps—if you are having a dense breast tissue, cysts on your ovaries/breasts/thyroid, that’s not normal

·      PCOS

·      Endometriosis

·      Fibroids

·      Thyroid disease-hypo/hyper

·      Autoimmune issues/immune problems where you often get sick

·      Dry skin/hair/nails

·      Blood sugar imbalances/prediabetes/diabetes

·      Adult onset of acne

·      Infertility

·      Symptoms that flare up around your ovulation/right before your period

·      PMS-yes, it’s not normal

·      Painful periods

·      Irregular periods

·      Nausea before your periods

·      Growing hairs on your chin/places where hair shouldn’t be

·      Skipping your periods

·      Using birth control to regulate your periods—you’re not regulating your periods as much as simply putting a band aid over the bigger issues

·      Circulation problems such as cold hands or feet

·      Gaining weight around hips/abdomen

·      Swollen achy joints

·      Nodules on your thyroid

Have you ever gone to a medical doctor and they tell you your blood work looks fine, so you can check back in 6 months to a year? I have. I believe there is more we can do.

By identifying the root causes of all of these hormone imbalances we can reverse course and help to stabilize your hormones before they become “disease.” Unfortunately, you need to be experiencing about 60-70% of function loss for results to show up on blood work. So, if you have lost 50% of function and you are feeling really crappy, that’s a problem. I don’t personally think that’s good enough. And the unfortunate part is that I see people come in like this all the time.

In my practice, we look to solve the underlying issue. Fortunately, we have the tool of muscle testing which helps us identify any dysfunction at a level of 2%. That is a lot better than blood work that identifies a health problem at 60-70% function loss! I always focus on looking at the root cause of the health issue in order to identify and remove the blocks to healing, to allow your body to heal and get back into balance! If you simply do that, miracles can happen.

Today we talked about different signs to help identify hormone imbalances in your body. Stay tuned for next week where I’ll be talking about natural ways we can help bring the hormones back to balance, many of which don’t require you to leave your home and you can try out right away!

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

2020: The Year of Allergies

Photo Credit: Brooke Cagle

Let’s be real: 2020 has been a rough year for all of us. I mean, can we just put up our Christmas tree, wrap ourselves in a cozy blanket with a beverage of choice and call it a year? We wish! I pray for better days ahead.

Today, I want to chat with you about something a lot of my patients have struggled with this year: allergies. With extremely high levels of stress, we’ve seen an incredible increase in allergy symptoms. Stress destabilizes us, not only emotionally/mentally, but also physically. It puts a huge toll on our immune system, which helps to mediate the way our body handles any allergic substance.

In a typical year, we see light allergy symptoms through Spring and various other times, but this year it has seemed that allergies have been high non-stop. Symptoms include runny nose, itchy/dry eyes, scratchy throat, sinus pressure, headaches, post nasal drip, congestion, etc. So, what am I doing with my patients to help combat these? Below are just a few tips for combating allergies. This isn’t an all-encompassing list, but it’s a good foundational start. 

1.     Get adjusted - Your nervous system, which is housed by the joints of your spine, controls every single system of your body including respiratory, lungs, heart, digestion, hormones, etc. Getting an adjustment helps to remove some of the blocks in the communication highways of your body. If your body is trying to relay a message from your brain to your lungs but the signal gets blocked, it’ll put a stress onto that system. This is true not only for physical elements such as muscles and joints but also for things like digestion, hormone secretion, etc. This is done through viscerosomatic innervation. Getting adjusted is huge in helping people feel better. 

2.     Drink more water - You would be shocked to hear that most people who come into my office are chronically dehydrated. That’s right. We think drinking coffee, teas or other beverages hydrate us, but that’s simply not the case. Your body make up is about 70% water, if you are chronically dehydrated, it interrupts the processes that are supposed to take place. For example, if you are chronically dehydrated your enzymes (little guys who break down your food) won’t be active, so your food will just sit there and give you nice digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, heartburn, etc. The same goes for allergies. If you aren’t flushing out all the toxins from the body, this will stress your immune system and will give you allergy symptoms. Simply drinking more water helps to reduce the histamine reaction which, when high, promotes inflammation and pain and, in this case, upper respiratory symptoms.

3.     Eat clean nutrient dense foods - You’re thinking, it’s the pandemic, I need my comfort food. I get it. But if you are experiencing some of these pesky symptoms, it’s time to go easy on that processed sugar and instead opt out for things like healthy grass fed meats which will give you plenty of vitamin B12 to help your body’s detoxification process, reduce mucus producing foods in your diet like dairy, which increase mucus production in your sinuses and upper airways, and eat more green leafy vegetables to help support healthy elimination process in your digestive system as well as giving you plenty of chlorophyll which helps to rebuild the gut. Food is our medicine and when used appropriately will help to either promote or fight disease. Food sensitivities, which are very individualized, make a big difference in the way that your body responds to allergens. Simply removing foods which you are allergic to you can be a huge game changer. In my practice, I muscle test everyone for their specific allergies, while the suggestions above will help everyone to one extent or another, individual testing is the best way to hone into your individual weak spots in order to help you reduce your stressors.

4.     Deal with your stress - Stress makes everything worse. It will spike up cortisol (your stress hormone) increase glucose and insulin, predispose us to diabetes, create gut imbalances, sleep issues, immune system issues and frankly any and all chronic diseases. There are wonderful calming herbs and vitamins such as magnesium and chamomile that can help to offset the stress response. However, some practical steps I recommend to patients include going on daily walks or low intensity exercise, which can help to strengthen the body and reduce the cortisol and promote healthy endorphins making us feel better. Meditation has also been shown to rewire our brains positively and teach us practical tools on how to day to day deal with stress. Although some people associate meditation with certain religious practices, it is essentially a breathing exercise to help you achieve a state of calm and stress reduction.  There are a lot of fantastic smartphone apps to help guide you in this process. I personally use Headspace (I’m not affiliated with it, I just really love their app). There are other tools, but these are great places to start!

5.     Supplements and herbs - There are so many of these that can be helpful. Here’s the first rule of thumb, not everyone needs everything. Just because your next door neighbor is selling the “cure all” product or your mother-in-law thinks that you need X Y or Z does NOT mean that you actually do. I know this sounds silly but I hear this all the time. When dealing with allergies it’s most important to identify WHY you’re having them. Where is the allergy coming from? Is it something you’re eating that’s irritating your body (food sensitivity), is it a particular cleaning product which you’re using that’s the culprit, is it that your detoxification processes in the body are sluggish and you’re not able to get rid of metabolic waste at appropriate levels? Are you regularly exposed to mold, or is it something else? As you can tell, identifying WHERE your allergy is coming from will drive your treatment and will drive what supplements/herbs you may or may not need. Some of my favorite herbs and supplements for allergies can range anywhere from Licorice to Turmeric, to simple things like Vitamin C, D or digestive enzymes, emotional support herbs/supplements and many others. Because you are unique as an individual with individual needs, your supplement/herb regimen should reflect that.

 These are some of the foundational things that I address with patients as to support and work through allergy symptoms. If you continue to struggle with allergies after trying everything and not getting anywhere, know that there is hope. Reach out! Let’s get you feeling better!

 Dr. V

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

Want to Lose Weight? Are You Focusing on the Wrong Thing?

Photo Credit: Jonathan Borba

All of us tend to focus on losing weight to “get healthy.”  

In my office, though, I never start by focusing on weight loss. We start focusing on overall health. Why? Because weight gain is simply a SYMPTOM of other underlying, chronic issues.

Friends, focusing primarily on weight loss will not make you healthier. Just like going on an extreme diet for your best friend’s wedding will not be sustainable. If you want to really address your weight, keep the weight off and get healthier, you have to dig a little deeper. You will not only look better, you will feel better too. And let’s be honest, I think that’s much more important!

Here are six areas I work with my patients on to get healthier and lose weight.

1.     Gut health. If you’ve ever read any of my blogs, you’ll see a familiar pattern: I talk about gut health. In my other blogs I talk about how to naturally restore gut health, how gut health leads to autoimmune disease, how gut impacts various skin issues, how gut impacts our moods (anxiety/depression), and other commonly asked gut related questions. Gut health touches all aspects of our health. Did you know that your gut even has its own nervous system? It secretes hormones that we need for proper balance and regulation, fights off illness with its innate immune system, allows us to absorb all the nutrients that we need to rebuild ever single cell of our body and gets rid of toxins that we encounter every day in our environment. This is also related to weight loss in many ways. If you don’t address the gut and you’re constipated, you’ll be holding onto toxins for far too long (which will mess up your hormone balance). As a result, you can’t lose weight. If your gut is constantly fighting chronic underlying infections, then you’ll certainly not lose weight. If you keep irritating your gut with allergic chemicals, foods, etc. your weight will also suffer. On and on it goes. Bottom line: gut health is a cornerstone to ALL health. If you don’t take away anything else from this blog, I hope you take away this.

2.     Regulating and treating emotions. More research studies continue to reveal how our emotions are impacting our body. When we’re under stress our immune system gets suppressed and our bellies ache (longterm stress can predispose us to IBS, colitis, enteritis etc.). We know that when we’ve not dealt with past trauma or painful experiences, these things can impact us as triggers down the road. Have you ever had something happen in childhood and as an adult it comes up in totally unexpected, reactionary ways? There is something there! We all have it. But how does it impact our weight? When our bodies are constantly under stress, even when we don’t “feel stressed,” our bodies hold onto any extra resources (weight) to keep you going. Our fat cells are an excellent resource of hormones. When we’re stressed, we tend to need more of those to keep us going. When a patient wants to lose weight, we always talk about stress reduction. Some tools we talk about are prayer/meditation, journaling, therapy, etc. Another excellent tool for stress relief, past trauma, dealing with anxiety/depression that I use in the office is a technique called Neuro Emotional Technique (NET). This technique helps to get to those hard to reach emotions that we can’t seem to shake and helps our bodies process them not only emotionally but physically. I find with my patients that there are always physical reactions in the body to an emotional response. If you want more information on Neuro-Emotional Technique and what it’s all about, read it here. If you’ve been on a long weight loss journey, it’s likely that there is an emotional component associated with what’s going on.

3.     Diet. This one is obvious, right? You hear a lot of things about weight loss, but here is something important: it’s very difficult to lose weight and keep it off when you eat processed foods and “junk food.” You might be thin as a rail now, but you are likely not healthy if those foods make up a large part of your diet. This eventually catches up to you. No one gets a free lunch! Eating healthy does NOT mean starving yourself. It does NOT mean only eating salads and white meat chicken. You can eat a nutrient-rich, healthy diet and NOT feel deprived. This will look very differently for each individual person. For instance, some people do really well on 6 small meals a day, some do great on 2, some people tolerate a little dairy in their life and some can’t do any, some can do nightshades and other get arthritis from it, on and on this goes. There is no one thing that is a solution for everyone. What I would recommend is working with a healthcare doctor, preferably an Applied Kinesiology doctor, who you trust and who can muscle test individual foods for you to ensure that they help to strengthen and help your body THRIVE. But I will leave you with one bio hack: if it comes from a box or a can, don’t eat it. Start there and I bet you’ll notice a difference!

4.     Movement. You don’t have to be a marathon runner or lift cars for a living to be fit, but you have to move. With patients in the office, we talk about gearing exercise to whatever is going on in your life. Some people can handle more anaerobic exercise (think sprinting, weight lifting, etc.) some need to slow it down and do more gentle aerobic exercise (think gentle walking, jogging, swimming). This has to be again, geared towards what’s going on in your life and can be determined with muscle testing. As a general rule, pick an activity that you like, that brings you joy. It can be Zumba, Pilates, running, etc. Heck, walking your dog three times a day counts. You don’t even have to join the gym. Outside air is pretty good too, but you have to do something.

5.     Don’t rely on one “magic product” or solution. We’ve all heard inflated product claims like this before. “Just take this product. You don’t have to make any other changes to your life, you will just lose tons of weight and live your best life now.” These types of product pushes, which are becoming more common on social media, often highlight how much income the seller is making as an attempt to enlist more people to sell the product on behalf of the company. But as you can tell if you analyze the claims, these “magic” products don’t work. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. A better idea is to work with your healthcare provider on a multi-faceted, holistic solution to keeping you healthy.

6.     Be consistent. You are what you do. Epigenetics, the study of how our behavior impacts our gene expression, demonstrates that about 80% or more of our gene expression (whether you get a disease or not) is determined by our lifestyle. 80%! That should both scare and bring you so much joy! If you can live in a way that allows you to not only feel better, but also to prevent disease, you should be empowered. Now go and do it!

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

6 Steps to Staying Healthy During Flu Season

Photo Credit: Alexandro Espinar

First of all, you may be surprised to learn that there is not actually a flu season. I mean that in the sense that our bodies don’t suddenly decide that “it’s winter, we’re giving up on you for a while.” We see more sickness around the change of season because of compromised immune systems. This happens for a variety of reasons and includes low exposure to sunlight (your body gets less Vitamin D), less exercise (we tend to be way more sedentary when we can’t go outside), loading up on bad holiday foods, and drinking less water because we don’t feel as parched as we do in the summertime.  

But you don’t HAVE to get sick. In fact, many patients have been telling me lately that after following some simple guidelines and getting treated regularly they either haven’t gotten sick the past few winters, or have gotten over sicknesses very quickly.

So, what can you practically implement into your lifestyle to improve your immune system? Here are six important things to do this winter to help you stay healthier longer.  

1.     Cut the sugar. I get it. Sugar season lasts from Halloween to Valentine’s Day and is hard to avoid. But it’s also not a shocking coincidence to see that is when the rate of sickness tends to be highest. Having a treat occasionally at the holidays is fine. Having treats constantly, like daily cookies and pie at the office, can become a problem, not only for your waist line but also for your immune system. It’s okay to enjoy your favorite holiday traditions. But cutting it down to the actual holiday will significantly reduce your chance of getting a cold/flu/virus/etc. Why? Because sugar actually PARALYSES your white blood cells. You know, the guys that do the fighting of infections/viruses for you. So, if they can’t do their work, you get sick!

2.     Drink plenty of fluids. Here in the Midwest we don’t drink enough water when it gets cold. When we’re cold our first thought is not “let me pick up a nice, refreshing glass of aqua.” Hey, if that is what you’re thinking, you’re a cut above the rest. Our mucous membranes protect us from incoming viruses/infections/flus. So, when those guys dry out (due to lack of humidity in the air) you are WAY more likely to get sick. So, it’s important to stay hydrated. And, yes, getting a humidifier can also be a great asset.

3.     Find ways to move. I know we all want to hibernate when it gets this cold. I know I do. But finding ways to move, going to the gym, bundling up and even taking a short walk (when temperatures are reasonable) can go a long way in keeping you healthy. If you are sweating your toxins out, you will support your immune system and be able to stay healthy. 

4.     Alter your dietary regimen. I see this with patients all the time: you get away with eating certain foods during the summer months but aren’t so lucky in the winter. With my patients (and in my own personal life) I work on changing diet to fit the increasing demands and stressors of the season. This can include specific muscle testing to see what’s best for you over the course of a few days, weeks or months. Making sure your digestive tract is working well is imperative for a healthy immune system. My other blogs explain how to naturally address digestive health.

5.     Stress reduction. First of all, winter and thermal stress IS a stressor. And don’t discount the fact that we tend to experience more stress around family issues during the holidays! By doing stress relief techniques, such as simple breathing meditation, you will also help to boost your immune system. Research demonstrates that prolonged increased stress can negatively impact our immune system. Even if you don’t “FEEL” stressed, you might have stress in your life. Regular routines of journaling, meditation/prayer, spending time with your loved ones, recharging alone (for those introverts among us), etc., will go a long way to keeping you healthier AND saner around the holidays! In the office, I do a technique called Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) which helps people work through their underlying stressors or emotions. This is beneficial if you’ve had a history of mental/emotional struggles, anxiety, depression, etc., which can be prone to come up again during the harshness of winter or during family events at the holidays. In a previous blog I’ve outlined more about Neuro Emotional Technique. I’ve also written about the impact of stress on the body.

6.     Vitamins/Herbs/Homeopathy. There are a lot of great nutrients/vitamins that I test my patients for every time the weather turns which helps them stay off the path of sickness. For example, herbs such as garlic, echinacea, licorice, and a number of adaptogen herbs are incredible for supporting the immune system. Supplements such as Vitamin A, C, D, Zinc, digestive support, adrenal/thyroid support and many others go a long way in helping people feel and stay healthier. Of course, it is important to work with a provider on getting proper dosages and types of these supplements. Not everyone needs the same thing. So, just because your sister-in-law, neighbor or your best friend is on something, doesn’t mean that it’s good for you. I’ve written before about the importance of quality supplements and when to take supplements.

If you have more questions on how to best support your immune system through the winter months, don’t hesitate to reach out. If you are getting sick more than once a season, or even getting sick at all, you will likely need some form of immune support. The best way to keep the holiday season happy is to stay healthy!

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

Relieve Sciatica Pain Naturally

Photo Credit: Mark Zamora

If you have been dealing with sciatic nerve pain, you know that it can be a long-term struggle. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. You can actually find long-term relief naturally and prevent the pain from coming back.

Let’s back up a little bit. What does sciatic pain look like and why do we experience it in the first place?  

 The sciatica or the sciatic nerve is one of the largest nerves in the body. It is located in your low back. When the nerve gets irritated, you may experience the following symptoms: pain in the butt extending to the leg, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your leg or foot.  All of these symptoms typically come and go. But for many people, they are never truly resolved.

So, what causes these issues? There are a few reasons, some of which may surprise you.

1.     Irritated spinal discs - when spinal discs are unhealthy, they leave their proper place and put pressure on spinal nerves (sciatic nerve to be precise) which can cause the symptoms above.

 2.     Muscle imbalance – sciatic pain may not be related to the disc at all. Instead, it could be caused from a muscle imbalance. If your muscles are improperly putting tension on the nerve due to weakness, tightness etc., it may result in pain and irritation of the sciatic nerve.

3.     Gut health - I write all about how to naturally address the gut here. For a lot of ailments in your body, the gut can actually be the cause. This surprises a lot of my patients, but it is true. To give you a general idea, if you have low grade chronic (long standing) gut irritation, you might also experience joint or nerve pain. Addressing the gut has allowed my patients to be pain free AND to continue to STAY pain free. Addressing the gut not only requires a modification of diet (which is very important), but can be aided by supplements/herbs (when necessary). At my office we also provide gut-related treatments, address specific mineral deficiencies, evaluate any underlying infections, viruses, parasites, or heavy metals which could be irritating the gut. We also help to naturally support stress levels, etc.

 4.     Addressing chronic inflammation – inflammation can be attributed to a variety of issues including hormone imbalance, autoimmune, poor diet, lack of hydration, high stress levels, lack of sleep, improper gut health, etc. However, if this component is not addressed or regulated, you very well might not only be having back pain, but also other issues related to increased inflammation.

5.     Getting adjusted - if the joints of your spine are not aligned properly you will also tend to put pressure and stress on the spinal nerves. Caveat: if you keep getting adjusted and at first you feel better, but then your back pain/sciatica comes back, you likely will need to apply the tips from numbers 1-4 to get full resolution.

It’s important to remember that the organs and systems of the body are interrelated and a holistic approach, outlined in the five points above, will help you resolve your issues naturally. There is hope! I see these issues permanently resolved often. Lifestyle matters. Improve it, and you can put your pain behind you and get your life back.

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.

Stress and its Negative Impact on Your Hormone Balance

Photo Credit: Alexander Mils

In my last blog post we discussed the negative consequences stress can have on our bodies. Today we’ll explore how stress specifically impacts our hormones.

First, we’ll talk about what hormone problems look like. I’ve spoken with a lot of people who suspect there is a problem with their hormones. Here are some symptoms of unbalanced hormones. If you suspect this may be your issue, I encourage you to seek natural treatment, even if your blood work isn’t showing anything concerning (more on this later).

 1.     You have a hard time losing or gaining weight.

2.     Hair growing in places it shouldn’t (for women this would be on your face).

3.     You are a man and you have developed breast tissue.

4.     You are an adult with bouts of periodic acne.

5.     You have painful periods/cramps/PMS symptoms/irregular periods/spotting between periods.

6.     You have digestive issues (frequently constipation, but can be diarrhea). While this isn’t necessarily hormone-specific, it can be.

7.     You have migraines/regular headaches.

8.     Your lateral 1/3 of your eyebrows are thinning, or your hair is thinning and you don’t know why.

9.  You have blood sugar fluctuations when you don’t regularly eat (hello, hangry friend!).

10.  You are overly emotional about everything (yes those kitty commercials count).

11.  You have beginnings of osteoporosis/osteopenia.

12.  If you have PCOS/Endometriosis/infertility.

13.  If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes and your blood sugar is not your best friend.

14.  Etc.

These are just some of the signs that your hormones may not be functioning well.

So you might be asking, how does stress play into all of this?

Well, I’m glad you asked!

When we’re stressed, we release a stress hormone called cortisol. When we are stressed over the long term and this hormone is continuously released, it is toxic for our bodies. Here is how it impacts our hormones.

·      It impacts the way your Thyroid Stimulating Hormone secretes from your brain (this causes issues with the thyroid ). Read more about how to naturally help your thyroid here.

·      LH/FSH (reproductive hormones) secretion from your brain diminishes, which will negatively impact your ovaries and reproductive organs.

·      You get insulin resistance (pre-diabetes).

·      You get depressed/anxious (can’t think straight/brain fog).

·      Sleep issues (falling or staying asleep).

·      Chronic infections/frequently getting sick.

·      Water retention/feeling bloated. It PROMOTES you retaining your fat (can’t lose weight).

·      Increases your blood cholesterol levels.

·      It promotes osteoporosis as well as reduces bone mass.

·      Predisposes you to heart disease.

·      And more.

THIS is how stress impacts our hormones directly and why it’s IMPERATIVE to address stress.

In my chiropractic clinic, I work extensively with men and women who have hormone imbalances ALL the time, even if their blood work demonstrates perfect hormone balance. It’s not enough to simply take hormone supplements and think that it solves your issues (it does not). This is like putting a Band-Aid on the real issue. Your blood work may look normal but your body continues to deteriorate and be damaged unless you address the root cause of your stress! How do we do it? We do functional assessment utilizing muscle testing (a neurological feedback mechanism system which tests for predispositions/weaknesses in the body before they become disease), to figure out where the stress is coming from and how best to remove it, so that it STOPS impacting your body. You might not always FEEL stressed, but if you are showing signs of stress, and not just emotional stress (see first post), then you definitely need to address how your body physically is being impacted because long term cortisol (stress hormone) secretion in the body is toxic and can produce massive damage and predispose you to disease.

If you are struggling, reach out! I’m here to help!

Stay tuned for the next blog post on stress and how it impacts our emotions and how best to address it!

If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.