Functional Medicine Services

Each and every day of our lives, we are exposed to toxins from multiple sources. This includes beauty products, deodorants, cleaning products, heavy metals (such as amalgam fillings), and harmful chemical additives in the foods we eat. In addition, a good history may reveal a chemical exposure, mold exposure, or perhaps even an emotional or physical trauma around the time symptoms began. These toxins or toxic exposures drive systemic inflammation at the cellular level, leading to congested cells with blunted cell receptors. As a result, we begin to see:

• A drop in cellular glutathione (GSH), our body’s own naturally produced antioxidant
• A decrease in ATP production
• A decrease in our cells’ ability to hear and respond to hormones
• A drop in our body’s ability to eliminate waste and detoxify itself

If we don’t remove the sources of the toxins entering the body and driving inflammation and congestion at the cellular level, then any detoxification program is just going to be a temporary solution. This is the first step to our protocol and, in our opinion, is the most important. Without removing the source, fixing the cells and allowing the body to heal itself is going to be an uphill, if not impossible, battle.

Reducing inflammation on the cell membrane must be accomplished for normal cell function. Inflammation of the cell membrane driven by the environmental sources listed above damage or blunt cell receptors (integral membrane proteins also known as IMPs). This renders them incapable of receiving messages. The cell membrane and membrane receptors are what allow the cell to communicate hormonal and other chemical messages to the DNA on the inside of the cell. This communication allow for the function of the cell's needed processes. In other words, inflammation of the cell membrane affects gene expression and hormone function because the blunted receptors are now unable to hear hormonal and chemical messages needed to have normal cell function. A few of the ways the these process are affected include:

• ATP production
• Normal mitochondrial function
• Sugar and thyroid metabolism
• Glutathione (GSH) production
• Cellular ability to eliminate waste

These processes are all vitally important to cellular function and respiration.

After removing the source, regeneration of the cell membrane has to take place. The funny thing is we have been misled for years about the proper diet necessary to help achieve this goal. What have we been told? Low-fat diets, low cholesterol diets, and more grains are the way to go. Are we sure this is the best option? Our cell membranes have a phospholipid bilayer, which is made of saturated fats and cholesterol! Grains are nothing more than super sugars, and many are loaded with gluten or other GMO products. All of this contributes to driving the inflammation we are trying to eliminate. 

This kind of diet drives diabetes, thyroid problems, heart disease, obesity, autoimmune and other serious health conditions. Elimination of grains and other sugars and increasing our intake of healthy fats and cholesterols are necessary to repair the cell membranes and help combat these serious conditions. Proper omega 6/3 ratios and cardiolipin are also important to help heal the cell membrane and the mitochondrial membrane respectively.

It is imperative to reduce inflammation on the cell membrane to affect proper cell function and gene expression. Doing so will help us achieve long-lasting health. There are three main areas of focus that drive inflammation of the cell membrane.

The first is the control of glucose and insulin. Obviously, the best way to do this is to eliminate sugar from the diet. Our diet recommendations are high in good saturated fats, moderate in protein, and very low in sugar. This also means NO grains that elevate insulin levels more than sugar! All grains are removed from the diet until cell inflammation has been corrected.

The second major contributor is bad fats. Polyunsaturated fats, like vegetable oil, oxidize and denature easily, turning into bad fats. Trans-fats are also no good either and all should be eliminated from the diet. We also need to be careful about fish oil because many on the market are polyunsaturated, fragile, and in the wrong ratios. This can create omega 3 dominance, damaging the mitochondrial membrane and leading to a decrease in cellular energy and even DNA damage. Vista is a great product we use because it prevents the ingestion of omegas in the wrong ratio and also contains cardiolipin, which will protect and help heal the mitochondrial membrane.

The third is toxins, which in the opinion of most experts, are the largest driver of inflammation in the body. Heavy metals, household products used daily for cleaning or pest control, amalgam fillings, mold, halides in our tap water, and more all count as toxins. We must remove these toxins from the body to the best of our ability in order to eliminate the chronic inflammation that is disrupting cell function, impacting hormones, affecting gene expression (epigenetics), and driving most chronic health problems. Another great product we use to regulate inflammation and the NO/ONOO cycle is EPIC.

Methylation is a crucial process in the body. It is largely involved in the turning on and off of genes, affecting their expression (epigenetics). Methyl groups also help to protect our DNA, and when methyl groups are depleted, stressors such as toxins and inflammation can turn on bad genes. There is a principle theorized by Dr. Alan Vinitsky coined “The Methylation Priority Principle” that suggests that there is a hierarchy of importance as to how the body uses methyl groups with survival being at the top of the list. In other words, in times of stress, the body will use methyl groups to adapt to the situation for survival at the expense of the protection of DNA and bad gene expression. The body knows its first priority is survival. Unfortunately, depleting methyl groups leaves DNA and other processes vulnerable to other problems.

Stress is number one on the list for depleting methyl groups in the body. Whether physical, chemical, or emotional stress, the body doesn’t discriminate. It’s going to use the methyl groups to adapt. Methyl groups needed to initiate the stress response are also needed to shut it down. The problem is that if someone has been under prolonged stress or is so depleted due to multiple stressors, they don’t have the methyl groups needed to shut the stress response down. This can be a huge problem, leaving the individual in a chronic sympathetic (stress response) state that can lead to a whole host of other problems. The product MORs helps us restore methyl groups in the body to help us shut down the stress response, protect our DNA, and turn off bad genes and their expression. This is a very important part of our program, and it is focused on helping our patients overcome their health challenges.