by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND
Physical reactions to foods are common, but not all physical responses are classified as a true “food allergy” – many are deemed “food intolerances” instead. What’s the difference? Food Allergies: An immediate immune system response to a food (even a tiny amount of that food) that causes sometimes widespread involvement in the body including (but not limited to) hives, anaphylaxis (closure of airway), asthma reaction, swelling, itching, or immediate GI distress/diarrhea. Food Intolerance: An immune system response that is often delayed and can cause wide-spread, non-specific, sometimes less severe systemic responses. Sometimes a little bit of the food isn’t enough to trigger symptoms (but sometimes it is!). Common food intolerance symptoms include: GI upset (most common), increase in muscle and/or joint pain, headache, irritability/mood changes, depression/anxiety, breathing difficulties (less severe than an asthma attack or anaphylaxis), heartburn, ear infections, sinus congestion, post-nasal drip, urinary pain or discomfort, skin reactions (eczema, psoriasis, rashes, etc.), heart palpitations, and more. Basically, many of the symptoms people experience regularly can be caused by the foods they are eating. It’s important to understand the difference between a true allergy and an intolerance, but often in either case, the problematic food/foods will be avoided (obviously this is a much more serious recommendation in the case of anaphylactic food allergens!). One important symptom that I like to point out to patients at my clinic is the association with food to pain.The majority of my patients seek treatment with me for their pain, but many of them are not expecting me to suggest a food allergy/intolerance test as part of the work-up for the cause of their pain. Yes, I do like to treat pain with injection therapies (i.e. prolotherapies, PRP, neural therapies, etc.), but if the patient continues to eat a food that is causing them inflammation (pain), then the treatments are not likely to have a lasting effect – and sometimes they don’t work at all until the problematic food(s) are eliminated. For this reason, I often will order a food intolerance test for patients as part of their initial workup when I suspect food as a component to their pain problem. The testing I use is relatively inexpensive and results come back quickly. These tests are really excellent ways to figure out quickly the most likely problematic food triggers for their body – and I OFTEN see that eliminating problematic foods for a period of time (or for good) will SIGNIFICANTLY change their pain problem! Are you ready to explore your food intolerances? If so, send us a message through our Contact page today!
0 Comments
by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND
I’ve been getting the question a lot lately – “Why does PRP work for healing my joints and also for treating my sagging skin?” So, I thought I’d share a little more about Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy. For a PRP treatment, we collect a sample of the patient's own blood, process it to collect growth factors, combine it with nutrients and ozone gas, and then inject it into the damaged tissues (tendons, ligaments, bone, skin, etc.). PRP is loaded with concentrated growth factors from your body’s own immune system which is really the magic in the medicine. The healthier a patient is to begin with, the “better” their PRP product is, which means the better results they will get from a PRP treatment. In the case of joint pain, the growth factors in the PRP help the body to heal and regenerate soft tissues (like tendons and ligaments) which helps to stabilize the joint and therefore decrease the pain. Often, people think they have sore and/or tight muscles which is causing their pain. In reality, the muscles have become sore and tight to compensate for weak tendons and ligaments. So, by treating the damaged tendons and ligaments to stabilize the joint, we can actually treat the pain! With wrinkled and sagging skin, there is a similar loss of soft tissue – collagen, in this case. The growth factors from the PRP are injected here to support the collagen matrix under the skin, thus providing more of a scaffold for the top layer of the skin to hold on to. This ultimately decreases the wrinkles, “sagging”, scaring, and the dreaded “bags” under the eyes. For hair regeneration, the growth factors in the PRP work to help the hair follicles regenerate thus promoting hair growth in areas where the hair follicle had degenerated. The injections themselves also work to improve circulation to the area which naturally increases hair growth as well. PRP, although wonderful and capable of dramatic results, is an advanced technique requiring special equipment and training by the practitioner. Always consult with your practitioner about their specific methods, ingredients, training and other details of the procedure to gain a full understanding of how their product and method can help you. If you're interested in getting started with PRP treatments today, send us an inquiry from our Contact page today or give us a call at 206-566-7225.
I always tell my patients that anti-depressant medications and anti-anxiety medications were originally created with good intentions in mind, but now they are drastically overused in our country. The 2 biggest groups of people I see prescribed these medications are teenagers, both boys and girls, and women above the age of 40. What do these 2 groups of people have in common? They are both going through major hormonal transitions in life. All depression and anxiety has an underlying cause. Depression and anxiety are symptoms of something else deeper going on. What the doctor should be asking is WHY is this patient having this problem and these symptoms. Sure, anxiety and/or depression can be situational based on what is going on in a person’s life, but it shouldn’t be running your entire life. The most common underlying causes of anxiety and depression are all treatable without using pharmaceutical medications. Often times I find in clinical practice that anxiety and depression are caused by the combination of a variety of these factors. The most common underlying causes of anxiety and depression I see in my office are: 1. Hormonal Imbalances: Hormone Imbalances in both men and women:Depression and anxiety can be the first sign of low Testosterone in both men AND women. Yes, women need Testosterone too! Fluctuations and imbalances in estrogen and progesterone in women often manifest as psychological and emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety. 2. Undiagnosed Thyroid Disorders: The standard lab tests used to diagnose thyroid disorders are very limited. The commonly used test only looks at a couple steps in a very complicated process. Thyroid disorders go undiagnosed for years because doctors aren’t doing a complete and thorough thyroid panel. 3. Vitamin D deficiency: Vitamin D, then sun vitamin, is important for psychological and emotional health in so many ways. Most notably, Vitamin D is a co-factor needed in the process to create Serotonin and Dopamine, your happy, calm, cool and collected neurotransmitters. If we don’t have enough vitamin D, we can’t make sufficient amounts of those happy hormones. 4. B Vitamin deficiencies: I am seeing more and more B12 deficiencies these days. Often supplements and vitamins contain the wrong types of B12, B9 and B6 so people’s bodies don’t know how to assimilate them properly. All B vitamins & vitamins are not created equal. 5. Low Iron levels: One of the most common symptoms I see of low iron, before even patients complain of fatigue, is depression or anxiety. Other markers of iron levels need to be check outside of just someone’s red blood cell count, which would show if someone was anemic. Actual iron levels as well as iron stores should be checked to catch iron deficiency early. 6. Food Sensitivities: Many people are eating foods that can cause or worsen anxiety and depression. These can be discovered using blood testing or doing an elimination diet. Eliminating or minimizing inflammatory foods can help treat and eradicate psycho-emotional symptoms in adults and adolescents. 7. Gastrointestinal dysbiosis: Over 70% of your serotonin and dopamine is actually made in the lining of your gut. The balance of good bacteria to bad bacteria and microbes is integral to our psycho-emotional health. If a person has an overgrowth of bad bacterial in their intestinal tract, this can severely affect your production of serotonin and dopamine and thus your mood.
by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND I see many patients every day who struggle with pain. Sometimes joint pain, sometimes back or neck pain, sometimes muscle pain, and sometimes headaches. One thing these pains all have in common is they are symptoms. And symptoms are always a message from the body to tell us something is not quite right. When the body has all the nutrients, sleep, happiness, support, and water that it needs, the body is free of symptoms. Let’s talk today about one foundational part of your body’s needs – adequate nutrition, and this starts at the dinner table. So let’s say the body isn’t getting the right nutrients it needs. Without the proper nutrients, it cannot make enzymes work properly. Without properly working enzymes, certain things like soft tissue repair cannot happen properly. When the soft tissues are not repaired, other tissues have to work harder (i.e. muscles), and this can lead to the symptom we experience as PAIN. This means that one of the ways we can treat pain before we even use treatments like prolotherapy or PRP is by supporting the soft tissue repair. And to support soft tissue repair, we need the proper nutrients. Research has shown a few nutrients to be especially important in healing and repair of soft tissues, like collagen, for example. Some of these key nutrients are protein, vitamin C, zinc, copper, and manganese.
Please note that the list above is not all-inclusive (other nutrients can be very important for treatment pain too – i.e. magnesium, calcium, MSM, etc.). Diet is a great place to start when it comes to treating pain though. It’s essential that a person is getting the proper nutrition BEFORE we start treatment with prolotherapy, PRP, or other fancy treatment options to ensure your body has the building blocks it needs to make the treatment most effective. Here’s one of my favorite products for pain and healing: ArthroSoothe by Designs for Health. You can find it on our online dispensary or at our clinic. Please email us or give us a quick call today if you are ready to start talking about treating your pain! by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND, CES by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND It’s that time of year again – cherry blossom trees are beautifying our world, but oh boy – these pollens are making my eyes water so much I can’t even see the cherry blossom trees! What are your home remedies for allergies? Do you have to resort to the over-the-counter decongestants? Did you know there are several very effective natural alternatives? Check out my list below of my 3 favorite natural allergy remedies. And if you’re still plugged up even after trying these, you may consider discussing your case with me to see if you’re a candidate for neural therapy for your sinuses!
Here are a few of my favorite products that you can find on my online dispensary (https://wellevate.me/jessica-corbeille/#/). Just type in the names as I have them below to find online. Remember you receive free shipping on orders over $49!!
As a reminder, always discuss your current medications and problem list with your physician before starting new products – natural or not. Even natural products interact with medications. In health, Dr. Corbeille by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND What is prolotherapy? Prolotherapy is a type of regenerative joint therapy. By this, I mean that it is a therapy that helps your connective tissues to heal and regenerate thus supporting your joints better. There are a variety of prolotherapy types and all different cocktails of combinations of nutrients that are injected and called, “prolotherapy.” In the case of sore joints and sometimes even sore muscles, often it is the connective tissues – the tendons and ligaments – that are the true root cause of the pain…NOT the “tight” muscles! The connective tissue is not highly vascular, so it does not get good blood supply or delivery of nutrients. Thus, it is easily injured, strained, torn, or degenerated. When the connective tissue is injured, it cannot do its job – so other tissues are recruited to do the work – the muscles and fascia. The muscles and fascia then become tight and are overworked as they work to keep the joints supported and the body moving properly. Overtime, we experience this instability as muscle soreness and pain. With prolotherapies, we are aiming to treat these injured, strained, torn, and/or degenerated tissues and joints with nutrients (like dextrose) and sometimes stronger things like growth factors (in the case of PRP/platelet rich plasma) or even stem cells. Once the connective tissues heal, it takes the workload down for the muscles, so the muscles can go back to just doing their normal job of getting the body to move – not also stabilizing and keeping the body together too. Why does prolotherapy help knee pain? If you’ve injured your knee, chances are you’ve sprained, torn, or otherwise caused extra strain on some of the connective tissues. This causes the muscles around the knee to tighten, as discussed above, to keep your femur (thigh bone) and tibia and fibula (shin bones) together. The muscles get sore and eventually we experience pain. If we can treat the injured connective tissue by testing for and treating the connective tissues (i.e. ACL, MCL, meniscus, etc.), then the muscles can relax and go back to doing their normal job. Does Prolotherapy help other joints too? Absolutely. If there’s a soft tissue injury, prolotherapy can help! Am I a good candidate? People that tend to do the best with prolotherapy are those that generally take good care of their bodies in the first place. Generally speaking, this includes people who participate in moderate exercise 3 or more days per week and eat a whole-foods based diet low in inflammatory foods (like sugar, alcohol, and preservatives) and high in vegetables and fruit. The best way to know if you have connective tissue injury and if you would benefit from prolotherapy is to have an initial consultation with your prolotherapy doctor. What does the treatment look like – is it a “one-shot-wonder”? Dr. Corbeille can determine on the first visit if you are a candidate and if you likely have connective tissue injury. You are welcome to bring imaging results if you have them, though they are not always necessary. Typical treatment plans will be for 3-6 treatments usually at 4-6 weeks apart. Sometimes Dr. Corbeille will recommend PRP or other nutrient additives, depending on your particular condition and overall health. You can expect improvement gradually as you complete the treatments such as improved range of motion, improved function, and hopefully less pain. Dr. Corbeille will always re-evaluate at the end of the treatment plan to determine the next steps for you. _____ Stay tuned for a future post regarding which supplements to start taking now to improve your joint and connective tissue health! Hormonal imbalance can occur in women between puberty and 75 years of age. Hormonal imbalance in men can start as young as 30 depending upon lifestyle, health and career. Everyone experiences a different combination of symptoms related to hormonal imbalance. We are all uniquely wired as individuals and thus no 2 people will experience the same constitution of symptoms. These are the top 7symptoms of hormonal imbalance I see daily in my office: 1. New or Worsening Anxiety and/or DepressionNew or Worsening Anxiety and/or Depression Antidepressants and anxiety medications are a very common prescription medication in the United States. The 2 biggest populations of people in America prescribed these medications: teenagers and women ages 40-60. What do these 2 populations have in common? They are both going through hormonal transitions in life. Unfortunately we have separated mental/psychological health and physical health in our country. This is a big mistake as many conditions, like anxiety or depression, which are actually caused by a physical imbalance. Low Testosterone in men and women can cause anxiety and depression. Imbalances in estrogen and progesterone in women can do the same. The root cause is not a deficiency in Prozac. It is an imbalance in hormones. 2. FatigueFatigue It’s true we are overworked and overstressed as a society, but there are so many aspects to a good energy level. Under-functioning thyroid and low sex hormone levels in both men and women are the most common cause for fatigue in my practice today. 3. Low Libido & Sex DriveLow Libido & Sex Drive I hear daily how much peoples sex drives have changed. I also hear excuses for low libido like, “Oh I’m just too busy to care” or “I’m too old to care about sex anymore”. Both of these are not real reasons for a low libido. Low Testosterone in men will cause a low sex drive. In women, both low progesterone and low testosterone can produce these same symptoms. 4. Inability to Lose Weight 4. Inability to Lose Weight It is true that we can’t always have the metabolism that we did at age 21, but good eating and exercise should be effective! So why isn’t it just as easy as “calories in, and calories out”? If you have an imbalance in your sex hormones, thyroid function, adrenals or a mixture of the 3, weight loss is an uphill battle. If you get these components balanced, it will make reaching and maintaining a healthy weight a much easier feat. 5. Joint & Muscle Pain Joint & Muscle Pain I hear all too often from patients that they wake up with generalized joint stiffness and pain on a regular basis. The follow up comment to this from patients is “I’m just getting old”. A large amount of joint stiffness and pain is actually caused by low testosterone and/or low estrogen. Cells lining joint spaces have both receptors for estrogen and testosterone. When these receptors bind either of these hormones, they produce fluid which lubricates the joint space. Thus when Testosterone and Estrogen levels fall, you start to feel like the Tin Man prior a good oiling. 6. InsomniaInsomnia Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep is the second most common symptom I see outside of fatigue in my day to day practice. While there are numerous natural ways to treat insomnia, more often than not the root cause of sleep disturbances are imbalances in testosterone for men and progesterone and estrogen imbalance in women. Working to naturally correct these imbalances can easily regulate a healthy sleep cycle and circadian rhythm. 7. Brain Fog Brain Fog Brain fog, trouble concentrating, foggy brain: whatever you want to call it, this symptom is far too common. I hear it everyday. Sure things like lack of sleep, eating an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise can contribute to foggy thinking, but sex hormones in both men and women as well as thyroid function play a huge role in mental clarity. One of the first symptoms I see improve in patients when balancing their hormones is brain fog! These above symptoms can be accompanied by many others. See the (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy page) to see a more extensive list of possible symptoms. Balancing hormones is unique to each person. We often use a combination of diet, exercise therapy, herbs, vitamins, minerals and sometimes plant based hormones to achieve this balance. Call Elevated Natural Health today to schedule your free 15 minute consult with specialist Dr. McKenzie J. Timmer to discuss hormone balance for you!
by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND If it seems like everyone around you is coming down with the flu again this year and you want to do anything you can to prevent getting it yourself, you’re not alone! As Americans, we are bombarded with offers for the flu vaccine. In fact, some pharmacies will even donate food to hungry people if you get vaccinated! Some will give you $5 to spend at their store – the list goes on. Should I get vaccinated in order to prevent the flu? Is there anything else I can do to prevent the flu? These are controversial, but common questions that I hear from my patients. My answers are usually along these lines: Should I get vaccinated in order to prevent the flu? Well, the CDC’s website says that the flu vaccine is only 40-60% effective. (1). How many things do you do when there’s only an average of a 50% chance that it will work? Moreover, the website also states that the vaccine only really “works” when the scientists correctly predict the strain of the virus that will present for that respective year. So, if they guess wrong, the vaccine is much less effective, if at all. If they predict correctly, the flu vaccine MAY help reduce your symptoms of the flu. Furthermore, there’s always the chance that you may actually get symptoms of the flu with just the vaccine itself – how nice! Is there anything else I can do to prevent the flu? Yes! Immune support, immune support, immune support! I’ll say it again – immune support! When our immune system is healthy, we may still get symptoms of the flu, but our bodies will contend with the virus faster and easier. The flu is most detrimental to those with a compromised immune system (typically elderly folks and otherwise ill people). If you are a generally healthy person with a healthy diet and lifestyle choices, yes, you may get the flu, but it will come and go relatively unremarkably as your immune system deals with the virus. Sometimes, when your immune system is very strong, you may come in contact with the flu virus, but it will last only hours or days, or sometimes not even at all! So then, how do I support my immune system? There are several vitamins and herbs that support your immune system. The most important of these seems to be Vitamin D3. Dose recommendations vary from doctor to doctor, but one article showed a reduction in the incidence of the flu when taking 1200 IU of vitamin D3 daily (2). The other most important things to keep your immune system healthy and strong is a healthy diet, adequate sleep, and exercise including fresh air and sunshine. Beyond this, it is best to review other flu-prevention and immune system building products and activities with your physician. If you don’t yet have a naturopathic physician, give us a call today for an evaluation of your current immune function, vitamin status, and ways to reduce your risk of getting the flu this year. Written By Dr. Jessica Corbeille, ND, CES Elevated Natural Health Resources:
by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND If you are like me, your family can always look forward to a few bottles of whatever your newest favorite supplement is this year in their stocking! I always think, instead of packing the stocking full of candy (which is terrible for us) or tiny trinkets (that really never get used for anything), why not spend our time and money shopping for things that can improve the health of our family members!? Stuff those stockings with vitamins and healthy snacks this year! If you need some ideas, These are a few of My Favorite Things…
Warmest of wishes to you and yours! -Dr. Corbeille by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND Potassium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, calcium….electrolytes. It’s not just athletes that need to replenish daily with electrolytes, it’s all of us! Why is that? What do these electrolytes do in our bodies? Let’s take a look.
Potassium: Almost everyone consumes far less than the recommended adequate daily intake – some of us not even half of what is recommended. What kinds of issues could be coming up as a result? Well, potassium is responsible for a multitude of functions in the human body. The most important could be the conduction of signaling in cells (muscle cells, nerve cells, brain cells, etc.). Without potassium cells cannot function, leaving a person with inappropriately or poorly working muscle cells (leading to muscle cramps, weakness, fatigue), nerve cells (leading to numbness, tingling, poor nerve conduction), brain cells (leading to mental fatigue, brain fog) and so on. Another notable issue that can arise without enough potassium is elevated blood pressure and increased salt sensitivity. Magnesium: Perhaps the most important electrolyte in the body is magnesium. Magnesium is involved in countless biochemical pathways which end up influencing the way your entire body functions. Some conditions that magnesium can help include: breathing issues/asthma, high blood pressure, constipation, muscle cramps, muscle fatigue, muscle pain, nervousness, moodiness, anxiety, decreased cognition, and poor circulation, among several others. The simplest way to think about magnesium is that it can promote vascular (blood vessel) relaxation, which will improve blood flow and decrease pressure. So, anything that would improve with better blood flow and lower pressure is likely to benefit from magnesium. Sodium: This electrolyte gets a bad wrap due to its relationship with elevated blood pressure. If you noticed above that both potassium and magnesium can help to lower blood pressure, perhaps it’s really the relative deficiency of those electrolytes compared to sodium that cause the problem. Sodium is absolutely necessary to the normal functioning of our body. For all of the cellular signals that we mentioned potassium is needed, sodium is also a piece of that equation. Sodium is also hugely important for the overall blood volume and hydration stabilization in the body. Without sodium, hydration is not possible. Chloride: With fear of sounding redundant, chloride is the third electrolyte responsible for widespread cellular conductions throughout the body. Again, without chloride, no cell signaling can occur. Chloride is also hugely responsible for maintaining blood pH and overall body hydration – two very important tasks necessary to maintain life. Another pivotal role of chloride in the body is to make hydrochloric acid (stomach acid). Without stomach acid, digestion weakens and the absorption of essential nutrients, like B12, will not occur. Calcium: Most people think of bone density when they think about calcium. Bone density is an essential task for calcium as our bones are prominently composed of calcium, but that’s not the only task calcium has in the body. Calcium is also used with magnesium to support proper muscle contractions. In fact, even though magnesium is needed to relax and repair the sore muscles, calcium is the electrolyte that is released inside the muscle fibers to initiate the contraction of the muscle. So without calcium, we would not be able to use our muscles at all! For recommendations on how to improve your electrolyte intake or for a personalized look at your electrolyte status, please call our office to schedule a time to meet with a physician. |
AuthorThe Doctors at ENH post to this page regularly with new health information, home remedies, and other interesting tidbits. Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|