There is a lot of conflicting information regarding sun exposure and our health.  Too much exposure may lead to skin cancer yet not enough may result in vitamin D deficiency which can increase our risk for cancer in general.   We at The Healing Center have been keeping up with the latest by following the Sunlight Research Forum.  Take a look and see why proper exposure to sunlight is vital to our health.

By now we are all aware of the importance of Vitamin D in many aspects of our health from healthy bones to protection from cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases.  Although it is known as the “Sunshine Vitamin” you are not always getting Vitamin D when the sun is shining.  In fact it is estimated that 50% of the population in North America are Vitamin D deficient.  Our mechanism for making Vitamin D depends on the availability of UVB rays and as you will read in this article from the Vitamin D Council, anyone above latitudes of 37° north of the equator and below latitudes of 37° south of the equator experience what is known as a “Vitamin D Winter” in which no UVB rays can penetrate the ozone and thus shuts down our ability to make our own Vitamin D.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/?o=3427

What you need to know:

• Your body is designed to make its own Vitamin D with exposure to the UVB rays of the sun.
•  Just 10-15 minutes of sun exposure (chest, arms, legs, torso- think 40% of your body) between 10 AM-2 PM will give you 10,000 IUs of Vitamin D.
• When your skin is pink to the touch, you’ve made 10,000 IUs of Vitamin D, do not overexpose.
• Keep in mind sunscreen with as little as SPF 8 can block your Vitamin D production by 100%.
  • Burning leads to skin cancer so be mindful of your time in the sun and when you do apply sunscreen be sure to refer to EWG’s sunscreen guide http://www.ewg.org/2012sunscreen/ for the latest research and recommendations of the safest sunscreens available.
• Vitamin D levels – the only way to monitor your Vitamin D levels is through a 25-Hydroxy-vitamin D blood test
  • ≥50 ng/mL is recommended
  • 80-100 ng/mL for people with autoimmune disease
• Vitamin D Supplementation
  • There are many factors that affect vitamin D levels such as the season, time of day, and skin color so it is important to monitor your blood levels while supplementing.
  • Vitamin D is fat soluble and is best absorbed in liquid form not through pills.
  • We recommend Liqui-D3 by Rx Vitamins
  • For those without a gallbladder we recommend an emulsified form for better absorption, we use Bio-D-Mulsion by Biotics Research
  • It is essential to supplement and eat foods high in Vitamin D throughout the winter when your body is not able to make its own from the sun.  Here in Denver that is November through March.
• Vitamin D food sources
  • Wild caught salmon
  • Eggs
  • Mushrooms

Sources:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/time-for-more-vitamin-d.htm

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2008/06/23/time-in-the-sun-how-much-is-needed-for-vitamin-d

http://www.mercola.com/article/vitamin-d-resources.htm

The Healing Center is pleased to bring you useful information about importance of Vitamin D.  To learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle in Denver, contact us  today: 303-721-9800.

1. Gluten allergy – an inappropriate response to gluten by part of your immune system.

2. Present gluten antibodies – positive testing on blood labs having a wide-range of effects across all organ systems including your brain, heart, joints, digestive tract, and more.

3. Gluten intolerance- you do not have the digestive enzymes to break down gluten.

4. Diagnosed with Celiac Disease – tissue transglutaminase antibodies.

By failing to identify gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, we create needless suffering and death.  Health problems caused by gluten sensitivity cannot be treated with better medication. It can only be resolved by eliminating 100 percent of the gluten from your diet.

A gluten free diet is certainly becoming an easier lifestyle as the accessibility to gluten free packaged foods, gluten free cookbooks and gluten free menus at restaurants have increased.

Many patients who have gone gluten free feel much better but can hit a plateau in their healing.  When you have an immune reaction to gluten the antibodies your body makes bind to the gluten. The immune system can mistake other foods as gluten and react in the same way. To your immune system, the “cross-reacting” food is the same thing as eating gluten.

Why go gluten and dairy free?  So if you’re on a gluten-free diet BUT also consuming dairy, dairy is a known cross-reactor.   Therefore, your immune system is still going to create the antibodies as it would if you were still eating gluten.

Cyrex Labs, a new laboratory dedicated to gluten sensitivity, autoimmune disorders, and the overall topic of immunology, has been key in uncovering these cross-reactivity issues. They have actually identified a group of cross-reactive foods that do not contain gluten, but may be triggering the immune response for gluten sensitive patients.

At The Healing Center, we can help you identify cross reactive foods through Cyrex Labs, as well as help you manage when to re-introduce these foods if at all.

Although cross-reactivity is not the only reason to cut dairy from your diet, according to Gluten Free Society here are many other reasons:

1. Lactose in dairy is hard to digest for humans over three years of age.  We go through a genetic down regulation in the production of this enzyme as a natural part of aging.
2. The majority of dairy sold in the U.S. is genetically modified and loaded with hormones.
3. The cows that produce the milk are not pastured, they are gluten fed.
4. Most dairy products contain thickening agents made with grains.
5. Products are pasteurized.  This denatures the proteins and damages the other immune boosting properties of milk.
6. Fat is removed. Skim milk is toxic.  Fat is not unhealthy. Unhealthy fat is. The difference is in how the animal is fed.  In the case of the cow – grains are the primary staple.  Fat derived from grain is highly inflammatory thus promoting and perpetuating chronic disease.
7. Many products contain added sugar or artificial sweeteners and flavors.  These chemicals are not conducive to good health.
8. One of the main proteins in GMO dairy, casein, has been shown to contribute to autoimmune diseases of the skin including eczema and psoriasis.  This same protein is strikingly similar in structure to gluten.
9. Clinically speaking, people who go gluten and dairy free typically have faster recovery of illness than those only going gluten free.

To learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, contact The Healing Center today: (303)-721-9800.

We are in the middle of cold and flu season and everyone is wondering how to boost their immune system so they don’t get sick.  Many are reaching for extra vitamin C at the sign of the first sniffle, but is this an effective strategy?   It can be if you cut out the sugar. So what is the relationship between sugar and your immune system?

Your Immune System at Work

When exposed to bacteria, viruses and other foreign invaders, your body goes on attack.  The white blood cells (WBC’s) of your immune system are called into action to gobble up these invaders.  This is called phagocytosis.  If your immune system is strong, your WBC’s will get their job done and the pathogen will never take hold, keeping you from getting sick!

The Vitamin C Connection to Immunity 

It has been known since the 1970’s that vitamin C is critical to the function of our WBC’s through the work of Linus Pauling.  Through his research he discovered that WBC’s must contain 50 times the concentration of vitamin C on the inside of the cell than the outside.  Therefore it is critical for WBC’s to accumulate vitamin C to maintain their phagocytic function.

The Problem with Sugar

Here is where the problem with sugar arises when considering the relationship between sugar and your immune system.  Sugar (glucose) and vitamin C have a similar chemical structure.  They also share the same receptor sites for entry into the cells.  This puts them into direct competition for absorption, so the more sugar available the less vitamin C can get into the cell.  As a result the 50 time internal concentration of vitamin C doesn’t occur in the WBC and suppresses the immune system’s ability to take out the foreign invaders.  It then takes 4-6 hours to rebuild the vitamin C levels inside the cell again.  NOW you get SICK!

Interesting Facts

• A blood sugar level of 120 (1 can of soda) reduces phagocytosis (Immune function) by 75%
• Consumption of sugar can suppress your immune system for up to 6 hours
• American Heart Association recommendation for sugar consumption (gram/4 = tsp):
  •  Women < 100 calories/day = 6 tsp
  • Men < 150 calories/day = 9 tsp
• High doses of vitamin C have been shown to boost immune function
  • Always remember 50% vitamin C & 50% Bioflavonoids for max effectiveness
• Beware of the sugar content of popular vitamin C supplements; Emergen-C is over 50% sugar so it isn’t the most effective choice to raise vitamin C levels!
• Here at The Healing Center we can help by evaluating you on an individual basis and identifying your specific immune requirements as well as providing you individualized support.

Sources:

www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin.htm

www.naturalnews.com/034185_glucose_vitamin_C.html

www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm

Acute Inflammation (Good)
Acute inflammation is the early stage of inflammation. The most immediate signs of acute inflammation are:

•  Pain
•  Heat
• Redness
•  Swelling
•  Loss of function

These symptoms are due to the increased blood flow and increased permeability of the vasculature which are bringing the neutrophils to the affected site as rapidly as possible. This protects the injured areas from further harm while the body goes into overdrive to fend off bacteria, viruses, pathogens, damaged cells, or other irritants. It not only kills off the invaders, but damaged tissue as well, until your body wins the battle. Without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal.

Chronic Inflammation (Bad)
Prolonged inflammation, known as chronic inflammation, leads to a progressive shift in the type of cells present at the site of inflammation and is characterized by simultaneous destruction and healing of the tissue from the inflammatory process. It can result from:
• Failure to eliminate whatever was causing an acute inflammation
• An autoimmune response to a self antigen – the immune system attacks healthy tissue, mistaking it for harmful pathogens.
• A chronic irritant of low intensity that persists
The symptoms of chronic inflammation are:
“Chronic inflammation typically will not produce symptoms until actual loss of function occurs somewhere. This is because chronic inflammation is low-grade and systemic, often silently damaging your tissues over an extended period of time. This process can go on for years without you noticing, until a disease suddenly sets in.”

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/06/eft-on-chronic-inflammation.aspx

How We Can Help

At The Healing Center we see many patients with chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases. We support each patient to reduce the inflammation or manage the autoimmunity through diet, supplements, and allergy clearings.

Diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthful lifestyle, and keeping inflammation in check is a major part of these benefits. It’s important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body.
Supplements such as fish oil, turmeric and probiotics are just a few that can reduce inflammation along with an anti-inflammation diet. Using these products or others can ramp up the inflammation diet for faster results.
Allergy Clearings is a non-invasive elimination of food, seasonal, and environmental allergies using applied kinesiology and acupressure providing a whole body solution to disease care.
In addition, we have access to comprehensive blood lab testing through Cyrex Labs to find antibodies present in the different stages of autoimmunity. Having these labs can provide the information needed to either stop destruction of the tissue or catch it before it begins.
The stages of autoimmunity:

1. Silent Autoimmunity – present antibodies, no symptoms
2. Reactive Autoimmunity – present antibodies with symptoms
3. Autoimmunity – present antibodies with destruction of tissue

Contact us today to learn more about chronic inflammation, autoimmunity and your individual plan to support you.

People can be allergic to many things, but most fall into four main allergy categories:

Things that are inhaled

• Examples: pollen, dust, mold, mold spores and pet dander

Things that are eaten

• Examples: dairy, eggs, shellfish, gluten, wheat, and nuts

Things that are injected

• Examples: penicillin and other medications

Things that are touched

• Examples: nickel in costume jewelry, dyes in nail polish and shampoos and latex

Reactions to these allergies can be as mild as a stuffy nose or as severe as death. Allergic reactions are unique to you and reaction times to allergens can vary widely. Some may have an allergic reaction immediately and others may take time to develop.

Different types of allergies.

Immune reaction

-when the immune system involves either the Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody or T-cells.

Once the immune system is triggered

1. The white blood cells produce antibodies
2. The antibodies detect and help destroy invaders by producing histamine
3. Histamine triggers the inflammatory response

Symptoms of the resulting immune reaction can include:

• breathing problems
• eye irritation
• rash
• nasal congestion
• nausea and vomiting
• headaches
• back aches
• joint pain

Sensitivity

- is a reaction to a substance.  A sensitivity involves no immune system response, but it can still yield a multiplicity of symptoms, ranging from issues in the digestive tract to neurological problems.

Some of the issues associated with sensitivities can become life threatening, especially if someone is exposed to a substance repeatedly.

Symptoms of sensitivities can include:

• fatigue
• weight loss
• constant upper respiratory infection
• general feeling of being unwell
• brain fog

Intolerance

- is a digestive system response, or the inability to digest or break down a particular food. This means the digestive system is not producing sufficient quantities of a particular enzyme/chemical, needed to break down the food and aid digestion.

Symptoms of intolerance can include:

• Gas, cramps, or bloating

• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Heartburn
• Headaches
• Irritability or nervousness

In Summary:

• Allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances should all be taken seriously.
• Medical professionals all over the world are taught to look for and treat the symptoms of disease rather than diagnose the underlying causes. By treating the underlying causes, these symptoms could be reduced or eliminated permanently.
• When left untreated, allergies can trigger symptoms of disease becoming serious life threatening illnesses.

At The Healing Center we can support you in the management and treatment for an allergy, sensitivity or intolerance.

This is well explained in the book Say Goodbye To Illness by Devi S. Nambudripad, M.D. (WI), D.C., L.Ac., Ph.D. (acu). Dr. Starling has worked to perfect the technique of Dr. Nambudripad over time. By combining NAET with chiropractic and functional medicine, she provides a whole body solution to disease care and can quickly help you with many lingering problems. Contact us today to learn more about Colorado allergy care for patients in and near Denver.

Trick or Treat?
With Halloween quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about the costumes, the parties and what most parents dread, the candy.
The American Heart Association lists the following foods as containing high amounts of refined sugars.
*carbonated soda *candy *cookies *fruit juice drinks
*dairy desserts *ice cream *cereals *waffles *pies

Watch your list of ingredients!
Refined sugar will appear in product labels under other names, such as:
*brown sugar *corn sweetener *corn syrup *high-fructose corn syrup
*malt sugar *dextrose *lactose *cane sugar *molasses

What are the dangers of refined sugar?
Not only are sugary foods high in calories, but it also suppresses your immune system, can cause sleep problems, weight gain and feed the bad bacteria growth in your belly. The dangers of refined sugars can wreak havoc on your body.

In the book, Sugar Shock, by Connie Bennett C.H.H.C., with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D. defines this havoc:
A mood-altering, emotionally devastating, mentally damaging, physically destructive constellation of symptoms affecting million of people worldwide, who are caught in a cycle of overindulging in refined sweets and much-like-sugar carbohydrates like white bread, pasta and chips. Mounds of research reveal that repeatedly over consuming these nutrient deprived quickie carbohydrates and caloric sweeteners wreaks havoc on your blood sugar levels, over stimulates insulin release, triggers inflammation, and could contribute to 150-plus health concerns, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome, failing memory, sexual dysfunction, and infertility. Victims of SUGAR SHOCK! May also experience depression, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, cold sweats, anxiety, irritability, tremors, crying spells, severe PMS, nightmares, heart palpitations, mental confusion, muscle pains, blurred vision, temper outbursts, suicidal thoughts, and more. Ultimately, this insidious roller-coaster effect, which occurs whenever you eat lots of sweets and quickie carbohydrates, hampers sufferers’ ability to function at full or even half throttle.

At The Healing Center we can support you with:
1. “Cleaning up” your diet
2. Reverse hypoglycemia →symptoms include irritability between meals, sugar cravings, unexplained weight gain, and moodiness
3. Support your adrenals → symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and afternoon fatigue
4. Prevent serious disorders → such as diabetes and heart disease
5. Stabilize your miscellaneous and hard to diagnose disorders and autoimmune disorders

Learn more about the dangers of refined sugar and how The Healing Center can help stabilize your diet. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.

CF-EA is a powerful, yet non-invasive system of medicine.  By addressing not only symptoms, but also the root cause of disease, Colorado acupuncture treatments can over time lead to a restoration of health, improved immunity, youthful energy, emotional balance and openness towards life.  As a preventative health care system, CF-EA has traditionally been used to correct small imbalances before they become more serious diseases.  Though the list of diseases and conditions that acupuncture can treat is extremely impressive (see link below), the effect of acupuncture is not simply relief from a specific condition.  Because CF-EA treats the person as a whole, patients often experience additional unexpected changes such as an overall sense of wellbeing, greater vitality, mental clarity and improved sleep to name just a few.  We have all had the experience of feeling unwell or out of sorts in some way, but not necessarily “sick” medically.  One does not need to have a named illness per se in order to benefit from treatment.

Stephen will begin seeing patients this week.   He is currently offering $25 off the initial intake for new patients, as well as a free 20 minute phone consultation to answer any questions concerning treatment.  Reduced-rate treatment packages are also available for both new and existing patients.

To schedule either an initial intake examination for Colorado acupuncture or free consultation, please contact The Healing Center at 303-721-9800.  For more information about Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, please visit our website.

Most allergy sufferers are all too familiar with rhinitis (inflammation of the nose), sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), and asthma (inflammation of the airways, but inflammation is also behind arthritis (inflammation of the joints), dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), and more.  It’s clear that chronic inflammation can be a systemic cause of a lot of serious illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and many others, therefore it is important to know how to reduce inflammation properly.

Inflammation is the activation of the immune system in response to infection, irritation, or injury. It is characterized by an influx of white blood cells, redness, heat, swelling, pain, and dysfunction of the organs involved. It is known as the cornerstone of the body’s healing response and allows more nourishment and immune activity to enter into an injury or infection site. On the surface, inflammation may present itself as local redness, heat, swelling and pain. Yet when inflammation endures without serving any function, it becomes damaging to your health and contributes to dis-ease.

In the case of allergies, the immune system responds to the presence of an allergen, a normally harmless substance to which it has become overly sensitive. Allergens bind to antibodies, which trigger the release of chemicals like histamine that result in allergy symptoms. In the case of asthma, inflammation causes the airways to swell, making breathing difficult.

As the initial response that fires up the immune system, inflammation is the crucial first step in fighting off infection and healing wounds. Chronic inflammation begins to occur when inflammation persists and the immune system is constantly activated and is known to lead to chronic disease. Stress, lack of exercise, dietary choices, genetic predisposition, and exposure to toxins (such as secondhand tobacco smoke) can all contribute to such chronic inflammation. Learning how to influence the inflammatory process is the best strategy for containing it and reducing long-term disease risks. The Healing Center relies on Apex Energetics Resvero Active and Turmero Active to help fight and dysfunctional immune system and repair immune mechanisms.

Many individuals have heard of resveratrol and know it’s found in wines and grapes. Resveratrol is a member of a group of plant compounds called polyphenols and these compounds are known for their antioxidant and potent anti-inflammatory properties. Resveratrol polyphenols protect the body against the kind of damage linked to increased risk for conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Studies on resveratrol have shown how it supports healthy immune mechanisms, supports a healthy mucosal-induced immune response, and aids in anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic response mechanisms. However, when you are researching how to reduce inflammation, the quality of your supplement matters. Because the most efficient way of consuming resveratrol is by direct absorption through the inside of the mouth, the bioavailability of an oral pill is low. When absorbed this way, it is rapidly metabolized in the intestines and the liver into conjugated forms and only trace amounts are detected in the blood. For this reason, APEX Energetics new Resvero Active uses a syringe style delivery system making it a high end, cutting edge source of concentrated resveratrol.

Another anti-inflammatory The Healing Center recommends is curcumin. Turmero Active, by APEX Energetics, provides individuals with a rich source of concentrated curcuminoids and is also delivered syringe style making its compounds as bioavailable they can be. Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid found in the Indian spice turmeric, known for giving it its yellow color and is actually a member of the ginger family. Curcumin has outstanding anti-inflammation and neuroprotective effects. Studies even suggest that it has the potential to protect against cardiac inflammation and may ameliorate autoimmune disorders. It acts as a free radical scavenger and is known to provide key antioxidants, help support a normal biotransformation process in the liver, support healthy immune functioning and anti-inflammatory response mechanisms, and has proven to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety.

Individually, both Resvero Active and Turmero Active are powerful. Combined, they can significantly decrease the cellular expression of inflammation. Together, studies indicate their antioxidant agents are a feasible therapeutic tool that interferes with chronic inflammation and the development of autoimmune disease. Obviously it’s easy to tell if you’ve got some acute inflammation going on—swelling, pain, heat radiating from a part of your body that’s suddenly assumed a rosy hue, and chronic migraines are all blatant indicators of the inflammatory process. However, tests for markers of inflammation are not yet standard in most medical practices.

At The Healing Center, we use comprehensive blood work panels to evaluate your level of inflammation. Systemic inflammation can be a fairly nebulous state, and pinning it down can be tough, even with the help of actual objective lab markers. Since inflammation and the maladies associated with are intricately interwoven and have a tendency to feed off each other creating a vast array of symptoms, it can feel like you are chasing symptoms. Contact us and schedule an appointment today to learn how to reduce inflammation and eliminate the ultimate cause, or causes (because there is always more than one) of chronic inflammation.

You can watch their video as well.

For even more information, check out our blog post on why we decided to become a CSA pick up location.

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