What is Chiropractic Care and Why it Matters as a Part of Functional Medicine?

What is Chiropractic Care and Why it Matters as a Part of Functional Medicine? As functional medicine practitioners, our job is to have as many tools in our toolbox as possible and to know which is appropriate to use and when. One tool we use at The Healing Center is chiropractic care. A chiropractic adjustment is a manual therapy technique we often think of as treating pain. Chiropractic is amazing at getting rid of neck pain and headaches, pain and stiffness in your jaw, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, as well as pain in the hips, pelvis, knees, and ankles. But it is much more than just that. When you are adjusted it resets the nervous system so your brain can properly see what is happening throughout the body and recalibrate function as needed. Research shows adjustments positively affect immune function, blood pressure, and stress responses, actually, all things your nervous system regulates are impacted by an adjustment. You are an intricately self-regulated system and to heal we don't want interference at the level of the nervous system. Pain is just the last resort to tell you to pay attention…much like the oil light in your car. Stiffness and tightness are the first indicators of dysfunction at the level of the spine which affects the nervous system input and output and eventually leads to issues in the gut, thyroid, pancreas, etc. Misalignments or restrictions in the spine, called subluxations, can interfere with the normal function of the nervous system and surrounding tissues. Chiropractic adjustments aim to correct these misalignments or restrictions, thereby reducing nerve irritation and restoring proper joint function. This can alleviate pain,...

The Forgotten Organ – Your Microbiota

The Forgotten Organ - Your Microbiota Dr. Mercola recently came out with an awesome video and post regarding one of the most vital influences on physical and mental health; beneficial bacteria.  Watch The Forgotten Organ – Your Microbiota Video or read full article here. Here are some of the highlights. It helps to view your body as a “super organism” composed of a diverse array of symbiotic microorganisms. Proper balance of these microbes is essential for optimal physical and psychological health Recent research suggests that many people are deficient in beneficial gut bacteria, making it a very important consideration if you’re not feeling well, physically or psychologically Gut bacteria influence the processing and utilization of dietary nutrients; help protect against food borne disease, and can impact drug efficacy. Recent research claims chemotherapy drugs need certain gut bacteria in order to work Certain microbiota and beneficial bacteria have been found to produce beneficial psychotropic signals such as serotonin and dopamine. Such “psychobiotics” may soon be used in lieu of drugs to treat psychiatric illness Researchers have identified specific gut bacteria that correlate with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the 80s, Dr. Brown suggested RA was caused by a mycoplasma How to Optimize Your Gut Flora As you can see, consistently reseeding your gut with healthy bacteria may be crucial for the prevention of virtually all disease, from colds to autoimmune disorders, to psychiatric disturbances and even cancer. In light of this, here are my recommendations for optimizing your gut bacteria. Fermented foods are the best route to optimal digestive health, as long as you eat the traditionally made, unpasteurized versions. Healthy choices include lassi (an Indian yoghurt drink, traditionally...

Pay the Farmer Now or the Dr. Later: The Case for High-Quality Organic Food

Pay the Farmer Now or the Dr. Later: The Case for High-Quality Organic Food By Jessica Yoches, MNT The low prices of conventionally grown food conceal a greater hidden cost. These foods contain chemicals and food additives that cause ill health and the necessity for prescription drugs. The US is one of the few countries that invests such a small portion of their income on food; Americans spend double on healthcare than on groceries. Large-scale conventional farms are subsidized and able to grow food cheaply to sell at artificially low prices. However, this food can be toxic and poor in nutrients.While paying for high quality, organic foods is more expensive, it is worth the cost. These foods are the richest in disease-fighting nutrients and antioxidants, and are essential for maintenance of health and disease prevention. This is especially important for our patients with leaky gut and autoimmune issues such as Celiac, Lupus, Hashimoto’s, and MS. Hippocrates knew this long ago, coining the phrase: “let food be our medicine, and medicine be our food.”By food, we are referring to unprocessed, fresh, organic, and local food that is free of chemicals and food additives. This also means avoiding GMO foods that have less nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than those grown organically. As mentioned in our recent blog on GMOs, “genetically modified” implies that the food is sprayed with a toxic chemical called glyphosate. Research studies show that glyphosate affects the brain and hippocampus, creating neurotoxicity and oxidative stress1. Studies with rats tested effects on the brain with both acute and chronic glyphosate exposure. Acute exposure alone demonstrated neural cell death, oxidative damage, and...

Most Dangerous Foods for Gluten Sensitivity, Celiac Disease, Gluten-free Diet #2–Yeast

Most Dangerous Foods for Gluten Sensitivity Hi, I’m Dr. Marie Starling At The Healing Center, your Denver Functional Medicine specialist, we help people like you reach their full potential. We specialize in adjunctive care for internal disorders, autoimmune conditions, IBS, thyroid symptoms, diabetes, and other complex health issues. Dr. David Clark, DC — Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Functional Neurologist – Explains Exactly What Current Research Says About the Danger of Yeast and Gluten Sensitivity. I want to share with you the #2 most dangerous food you can eat if you’re gluten sensitive, have celiac disease or are following a gluten-free diet. Yeast (Baker’s Yeast, Brewer’s Yeast). Again, I’m talking about brewer’s yeast and baker’s yeast. That type of yeast is called saccharomyces cerevisiae. You find it in many kinds of breads, beer, flavorings. IMPORTANT: Nutritional yeast is the SAME kind of yeast. I know a lot of you were already thinking about asking about it. Nutritional yeast is the #2 most dangerous food for gluten sensitivtiy, celiac disease and a gluten-free diet. Why Is Yeast Such A Problem? Answer: Cross-Reaction About a year and a half, maybe two years ago, I published some very popular videos and blog posts on dangerous foods for persons suffering with gluten sensitivity. Yeast was one of the things I mentioned. In January 2013, the research paper by Dr. Aristo Vojdani (PhD immunologist) was published (Journal article here) that confirms the problem. Cross-reaction occurs when the antibodies that the body is making to tag one food (gluten, in our example) attach to a different food that is not the original food (Yeast). This is called cross reaction.In Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity (let’s not...

5 Reasons Why Nutrition Therapy Is Important for Your Health?

5 Reasons Why Nutrition Therapy Is Important for Your Health Nutrition has historically been a hot-button topic. It seems like every day there is a new “fad diet” or a new “best foods to cure belly fat” article. However, there is a monumental difference between popular fad diets and actual nutrition. Find out more about how anyone can reap the benefits of nutrition therapy without dealing with a dangerous fad. The Importance of Nutrition Therapy According to the National Institutes of Health, medical nutrition therapy is a treatment based on nutrition, and includes checking a person’s nutrition status and giving specific foods or nutrients. Those foods and nutrients treat conditions caused by issues like diabetes or various autoimmune disorders. The benefits of nutrition therapy are inarguable. They are a therapeutic way to reverse some or all of the damage done by diseases and harmful diets. Even better, nutritional therapy is for everyone. The Benefits of Nutritional Therapy There are several benefits of taking your health back with nutritional therapy. Prevention or Reversal of Certain Diseases: When people base dietary changes on individual body chemistry, the correct combination of food and vitamins can work miracles. To accomplish this balance, a functional nutritional therapy practitioner curates a nutrition plan that is tailored to the individual. Because the plan is customized for you,  there is a good chance of reversing diseases that are slow to progress. Furthermore, the plan prevents other diseases from taking over. Control of Disorders: Some autoimmune disorders come with food triggers. The food that individuals choose to consume can be the reason for their ailments. With basic nutrition and diet therapy,...

Why Your Gut Microbiome Needs 50-200 Different Plant Foods Monthly

Why Your Gut Microbiome Needs 50-200 Different Plant Foods Monthly What do humans, animals, plants, and even the ocean have in common? They each have a community of microorganisms called the microbiome living together inside of them, using their bodies as a habitat. Our microbiome is everywhere in our bodies- on our skin, in our mouths, in our gut. Our intestinal microbiota, or gut flora, and the gut barrier determine gut health. Inside the gut are about 100 trillion live microorganisms that promote normal gastrointestinal function, protect the body from infection, and regulate metabolism and the mucosal immune system.This living community has a huge role in keeping us healthy. It is important to keep our microbiome abundant with a variety of different good bacteria and their food is the fiber we eat…more variety of veggies and fruits = more variety of good bacteria!! Some of the strong influencers that negatively impact microbiome’s diversity are: Pharmaceutical use Antibiotics (trace amounts in industrial meat and cheese and oral therapy) Limited diets and low nutrition (Standard American Diet) Infections Sex hormone imbalance Environmental toxins Cesarean at birth With the presence of these factors, your gut microbiome becomes out of balance, less versatile, more compromised, and less diverse. This in turn makes you more at risk for health issues such as asthma, allergies, and autoimmunity. Unfortunately, autoimmunity and allergies are a direct result of a disrupted microbiome. Inarguably the factor that has the greatest impact on our gut microbiome is diet. In fact, you can change and promote your microbiome by increasing plant nutrition diversity and quantity. Plant-based food is the fuel that our gut bacteria need to thrive. Diets that are...

7 Steps For A Healthy Thyroid

7 Steps For A Healthy Thyroid Hi, I’m Dr. Marie Starling At The Healing Center, your Denver Functional Medicine specialist,  we help people like you reach their full potential. I specialize in adjunctive care for internal disorders, autoimmune conditions, IBS, thyroid symptoms, diabetes, and other complex health issues. The thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate the body’s metabolic rate as well as heart and digestive function, muscle control, brain development, and mood and bone maintenance. Unfortunately, it is all too common we see patients in our office with thyroid conditions. Indicators of possible thyroid issues include: Autoimmune conditions Fatigue GI tract issues such as gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea Weight gain Hair and skin issues Sleeping problems Muscle weakness At The Healing Center Denver, we are experts in thyroid care. We specialize in getting to the root cause of your health issues using a holistic, functional medicine approach. We have come up with 7 steps you can take to have healthy thyroid function. We help guide our patients in these steps to help them access their full potential of health— including thyroid health! Step 1: Autoimmune Disorders and Vitamin D One important step to taking care of your thyroid is to find out if you have antibodies to gluten and dairy. Signs of an autoimmune disorder may make you more at risk for thyroid issues. Another important factor in your thyroid health is optimum levels vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a big role is maintaining a strong immune system. Make sure you get your vitamin D levels checked as well. In our office, we offer an array of different lab testing customized to your specific case. Step 2: Fix...

2 Antioxidants Needed To Reduce Your Inflammation

2 Antioxidants Needed To Reduce Your Inflammation Hi, I’m Dr. Marie Starling As your Functional Medicine specialist in Denver, we help people like you reach their full potential. I specialize in adjunctive care for internal disorders, autoimmune conditions, IBS, thyroid symptoms, diabetes, and other complex health issues. 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. Acute inflammation is a normal bodily response, but when inflammation endures without serving any function, it becomes damaging to your health and contributes to disease. 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...

How Functional Medicine Can Return You to Health

How Functional Medicine Can Return You to Health June 2021 Hi, I’m Dr. Marie Starling At The Healing Center, your Denver Functional Medicine specialist, we help people like you reach their full potential. I specialize in adjunctive care for internal disorders, autoimmune conditions, IBS, thyroid symptoms, diabetes, and other complex health issues. We specialize in difficult to treat cases such as chronic illness and autoimmune disease, using a functional medicine approach. We educate and empower our patients with the right tools to radically transform their lives, taking your entire system into account by deciphering the root cause of your illness. A functional medicine approach begins with looking at the whole body to get to the root of issues to then restore function, versus just looking at the symptoms. The Roots of Dysfunction There are three fundamental reasons your body fails you, and at The Health Center Denver we call these The 3 Roots of Dysfunction. The 3 Roots of Dysfunction include: 1. Something Is Missing That Is Needed Things that may be missing that our body needs for optimum health are: Nutrients Energy production Hormones Proper nervous system communication Immune function Gene SNP’s Sleep Healthy Gut Microbiome 2. Something Is Present Which Should Not Be There are things that may be present in your body that should not be and are having a negative impact on your health. These things are: Acute or Subacute Infections Chronic stress Toxicities Mold exposure Heavy metals Over-firing of nervous system 3. Vicious Loops Causing Recurrent Problems The vicious loops that are causing recurrent problems in your body are: Leaky gut Sleep issues Immune dysregulation Stress response Genetic Polymorphism Gene SNP’s...

How to Optimize Your Nervous System

How to Optimize Your Nervous System Hi, I’m Dr. Marie Starling As your Functional Medicine specialist in Denver, we help people like you reach their full potential. I specialize in adjunctive care for internal disorders, autoimmune conditions, IBS, thyroid symptoms, diabetes, and other complex health issues. The nervous system is in charge of sending messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to all parts of the body. The nervous system integrates everything going on in the body. Your nervous system functioning optimally is a big deal! The primary area of your central nervous system is in the cervical ppine (neck). The top two vertebrae in the neck, the atlas and the axis protect the base of your brain (brain stem). Misalignment, also called subluxations in these areas affect the function of every organ in your entire body. Subluxations are mechanical dysfunctions of a bone that block the normal function of the nervous system. Subluxations can cause inflammation of the joint and nerve root as well as lack of motion which can cause joint degeneration. Steps To Obtain An Optimal Nervous System Here are some steps you can take to obtain an optimal Nervous System: Get Adjusted! Chiropractic adjustments are important for everyone! Correcting any misalignments, or subluxations in the body restore function and proper communication between the brain and the rest of your body! Stretch That Body Stretching increases flexibility and increases your range of motion. It also increases blood flow to your muscles, helps deliver nutrients to your muscles, as well as helps your posture. Find Time to Exercise Exercise boosts brain health! It boosts levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine,...