​1. Practice Posture-Posture is a developmental process, meaning that the more that you stay in a certain position, the more that you’re going to remain in that position. That means that good posture is something that you have to constantly practice. Posture largely affects the amount of strain that you’re putting on various parts of your body, so making sure that you’re sitting up straight while you’re at your desk can be the difference between a healthy back and unpleasant bi-weekly visits to the chiropractor.
2. Get the Exercise Going-Stretching regularly and exercising is a great way to loosen up your body, making it more malleable to your good habits. You’re relieving stress centers that exist in your body, providing your posture with the relief that it needs to make you look and feel great. By exercising, you’re protecting your body from stress that can cause chiropractic problems. It’s not only good for your chiropractic health, though. Exercise is going to improve your overall health, improving every part of your life, including both your body and your mind.
3. Watch Yourself at Work-If you want to stay on top of your chiropractic health, you need to make sure that you’re watching yourself during your workday. Ideally, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re never sitting for more than forty-five minutes at any given time. Make sure that you get up and walk around for a little bit, it’s going to keep you loose and make sure that you continue feeling great.
Unless you’re in a job that requires it, you should be cutting out as much heavy lifting from your lifestyle as possible. If you can’t, make sure that you’re utilizing the proper lifting techniques to prevent potential injuries from occurring. Lift with your legs, not with your back, and if you have to carry something heavy, don’t put all of the weight on just one shoulder, or you might get shoulder pain, which can result in even worse problems.
4. Avoid Bad Sleeping Habits-One of the easiest ways to cause back problems is to sleep on it incorrectly. In order to get the spinal health you want, make sure that you never sleep on your belly, and on your back if you can. Your mattress should be more firm than soft, and you should have a contoured pillow that will fit your neck correctly while you rest. If you don’t do this, you might start experiencing the back pain that millions of Americans are already experiencing.
If you’re falling asleep on the couch at night, make sure that you’re not using the arm of the sofa as a pillow, as this can strain your neck substantially, causing you to need some serious chiropractic work. Try to sleep on your side with your knees bent and a pillow between them. Not only is this a very comfortable position, but it’s also the best position for your chiropractic health.
5. Wallet in the Front Pocket-There are many seemingly harmless things that you can do to practically ruin your chiropractic health, but among them, having a wallet in your back pocket is probably the worst. Having something constantly digging into your posterior is not only uncomfortable, but it also throws off the entire alignment of your spine, making it almost impossible for you to retain the good chiropractic health habits that you want to have. Make sure that you don’t keep anything in that back pocket, it’s more for decoration on your pants anyway. You can be sure that your lower back is going to thank you for it.
Practice Chiropractic Wellness-Chiropractic wellness is a simple matter of practice. Catch yourself next time you’re at your desk and notice that you’re slouching. Discipline yourself to get out and exercise whenever you can. Cut out the lifting, and make sure that you avoid all of the bad sleeping habits. These are all tips that can prevent chronic pain from becoming a problem in your body. By practicing all of these, you substantially reduce your risk of experiencing pain, which can take several chiropractic appointments over a matter of weeks to fix.
If you want to stay flexible, reduce your stress, and prevent a myriad of disease, you need to stay on top of your chiropractic health. The only way to do that is to have regular appointments with a chiropractor who has a plan that’s based on your specific chiropractic needs. From physiotherapy, to spinal adjustments, your chiropractor has a plan for you. What do you do when you’re not with your chiropractor? How do you stay on top of that chiropractic health in the interim? Here are a few tips that you can use in your everyday life to improve your chiropractic health so you can stay on top of things between the appointments that you have with your chiropractor.

Provided by: Premier Chiropractic & Wellness

Oxalate (or oxalic acid) is a compound found in a variety of plant-based foods. Under a microscope, oxalates are jagged in structure and look somewhat crystalline.

During metabolism, oxalic acid combines with other minerals like calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium to form compounds like calcium oxalate and sodium oxalate in the kidneys. This in turn may be responsible for mineral deficiencies.
One of the most common issues with increased oxalates in the urine (hyperoxaluria) is the formation of kidney stones. However, if the body struggles to eliminate oxalate it can accumulate as crystals anywhere in the body. Commonly it accumulates in blood, then the eyes, bones, skin, muscles, blood vessels, heart and other organs.
High oxalates have also been linked with autism and inflammatory bowel disease. It can also be an underlying issue in those with ongoing gut problems or irritable bowel syndrome.
Tissue destruction, fibromyalgia and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are all issues that can be related to oxalates because oxalate in tissues trigger the inflammasome reactions of the body's innate immune system.
As a side note, the thyroid will also suffer as oxalates can bind to T3 and disturb thyroid function.
The following list of vegetables should be helpful in identifying foods high in oxalates. 





As you can see from the list above your favorite spinach (> 900 mgs of oxalates) green smoothie may be contributing to a host of health issues!
Low oxalate diets involve eating less food that's high in oxalates. Foods high in oxalates include certain types of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and legumes.
On a low oxalate diet, you should limit your oxalate to 40 to 50 mg each day.

Summary
Whether for kidney stone prevention or to address other possible chronic health conditions, a low oxalate diet may be the solution.
On a low oxalate diet, you may notice a decreased risk of kidney stones, improved mineral absorption, diminished joint and muscle pain, improvement in fibromyalgia, autism symptoms and improvement of autoimmune symptoms.


References:
The damaging effects of oxalates
Oxalic toxicity
Symptons
Oxalate, inflammasome, kidney disease
How to eat a low oxalate diet/
Oxalates control in autism therapy
Pubmed - Pathogenic role in autism
Pathogenic role in autism
Increased cardiovascular disease
Arterial plaque contains oxalate/
Lowering urinary oxalate excretion
 
Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP
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The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. 

With cardiovascular disease claiming the lives of one out of two people in America today, it's no wonder people look to medicine for help preventing heart attacks and strokes.
However, the focus on high cholesterol as the main cause of heart attacks and strokes is woefully misguided. The clinically proven indicators of cardiovascular disease include elevated levels of trigycerides, insulin, cortisol and C-reactive protein, but not high cholesterol.


What About Cholesterol?
Unfortunately, medical studies show that lowering your cholesterol won't actually lower your risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke. According to William Castelli, M.D., a former director of the Framingham Heart Study, people with low cholesterol (lower than 200) suffer nearly 40 percent of all heart attacks. In addition, people with low cholesterol (less than 180) have three times as many strokes as the general population.
What are the Real Risk Factors for Heart Attack and Stroke?
The following ten items are some of the most important clinical indicators that show you have a higher risk for heart attack and stroke.
1. Cardiac arrhythmia. This includes atrial fibrillation and other disruptions of the heart's normal rhythm.
2. Elevated triglycerides, particularly an elevated ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol. Studies have implicated triglycerides in the progression of coronary atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
3. Elevated homocysteine. One study found that men with extremely high homocysteine levels were three times more likely to have a heart attack than others.
4. Elevated insulin.
5. Elevated cortisol levels. High levels of cortisol are associated with hypertension, which increases your cardiovascular risk. Patients with heart diseases exhibit higher cortisol levels than do others.
6. Elevated estrogen in respect to progesterone.
7. Low testosterone (in men). Higher levels of testosterone has been found to offer men greater than five-fold protection against coronary artery disease.
8. High testosterone (in women).
9. Lipid peroxide. Lipid peroxides are the products of chemical damage done by oxygen free radicals to the lipid components of cell membranes. High levels of lipid peroxides are associated with cancer, heart disease, stroke, and aging.
10. Elevated C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein is a marker associated with production of inflammatory cytokines, which represent a threat to cardiovascular health. Men with CRP values in the highest quartile had three times as many heart attacks and two times as many ischemic strokes as the general population.
Other risk factors include thyroid insufficiency, magnesium deficiency,fatty acid imbalances and lipid fractionation.
Is It Hard to Manage Your Risk Factors?
The good news is that it may not take a long time to rectify the imbalances that show up in a thorough cardiovascular evaluation. One 54-year-old patient of mine with high blood pressure and elevated triglycerides was able to lower her risk factors in just six weeks from 10 to only 4.

By: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., MS, CFMP

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​The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine. Look for practitioners who have successfully completed the Functional Medicine University's Certification Program (CFMP) www.functionalmedicinedoctors.com. 

Pesticides could be responsible for Parkinson's, a neurodegenerative disease.
Toxins from such chemicals can increase the risk by up to six times.
The seven pesticides tested include: dithiocarbamates (e.g., maneb, ziram), two imidazoles (benomyl, triflumizole), two dicarboxymides (captan, folpet), and one organochlorine (dieldrin)

This study was done at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
The study clearly revealed that these seven toxic pesticides inhibit the aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzyme, which then affects the dopamine cells linked to the development of Parkinson's.
It has been well established in the medical arena that when dopamine levels decrease this results in abnormal brain activity and eventually to the signs of Parkinson's.
Of even greater concern, the scientists of this study reported that the pesticides caused an inhibition of the ALDH enzyme at far lower levels than the allowable current safety standards.
Although one of the pesticides (benomyl) has been banned, the others can still be found in everyday use. They are found in the foods we eat that have been sprayed with these toxic chemicals and found in parks and golf courses. They are also found in common pesticide control agents used in offices and homes.
As a functional medicine practitioner, I recommend that any patient suffering with Parkinson's request that their physician order the Toxic Effects Core test or the GPL-TOX Profile from Great Plains Lab
To find a healthcare professional certified in functional medicine, go to www.FunctionalMedicineDoctors.com.These are clinicians who have been trained at Functional Medicine University (www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com)


Written by: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

Reference:
Arthur G. Fitzmaurice, PhD*, Shannon L. Rhodes, PhD*, Myles Cockburn, PhD,  Beate Ritz, MD, PhD and Jeff M. Bronstein, MD, PhD. Aldehyde dehydrogenase variation enhances effect of pesticides associated with Parkinson disease. Neurology February 4, 2014 vol. 82 no. 5 419-426
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/isee.2013.P-3-23-13
The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine. 

Walnuts have been shown to improve memory, cognition and neuronal effects related to oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation (INF) in animals and human trials.
Walnut looks like the brain, has a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. The folds and wrinkles of a walnut resembles to human organ: the brain. The shape of the nut even approximates the body part, looking like it has left and right hemispheres. And it's no surprise walnuts are nicknamed "brain food"—they have a very high content of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support brain function." The wrinkles and folds mimic the neo-cortex.
​Walnuts develop over three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function. They may also help head off dementia. Recent study found that walnut extract broke down the protein-based plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. They found walnuts reversed some signs of brain aging in rats. Walnuts also appear to enhance signaling within the brain and encourage new messaging links between brain cells
Fibrillar amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) is the principal component of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Scientific studies suggest that walnuts may reduce the risk or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease by maintaining Abeta in the soluble form. Basically, walnuts had inhibited Abeta fibrillization. It is proposed that polyphenolic compounds (such as flavonoids) present in walnuts may be responsible for its anti-amyloidogenic activity.
To find a healthcare professional certified in functional medicine, go to www.FunctionalMedicineDoctors.com.These are clinicians who have been trained at Functional Medicine University (www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com)

Written by: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., MS
References:
Poulose SM1, Miller MG, Shukitt-Hale B.,Role of walnuts in maintaining brain health with age. J Nutr. 2014 Apr;144
Poulose SM1, Bielinski DF, Shukitt-Hale B. Walnut diet reduces accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins and inflammation in the brain of aged rats. J Nutr Biochem. 2013 May;24(5):912-9
Chauhan N1, Wang KC, Wegiel J, Malik MN. Walnut extract inhibits the fibrillization of amyloid beta-protein, and also defibrillizes its preformed fibrils. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2004 Aug;1(3):183-8.
The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his functional medicine community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Visit www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com for more information on our training in functional medicine. 

If you suffer from insomnia then you understand the seriousness of simply not getting a good night's sleep. Your whole world around you appears to crumble when you can't get a good 6-8 hours of quality deep REM sleep. Your work life, your family life all suffer.
Today's article will touch on a few "key" things to consider to solve insomnia.
To begin remember that the awakening after a few hours of sleep and not being able to get back to sleep is often rebound from what you ate or drank hours before. High sugar, alcohol, highly spiced foods and of course, caffeinated drinks are often the culprits.
If you are unknowingly deficient in chromium, vanadium, manganese and other nutrients you can experience hypoglycemic rebound in a few hours where you abruptly wake-up and are unable to drift back to sleep.
Let's now consider something called the “happy hormones” that lead to a restful sleep.
One of these hormones is serotonin, which anti-depressants like Prozac work on.
We make serotonin from the amino acid tryptophan.
Unfortunately as we age or faced with an overload of stress the level of serotonin suffers.
Dozens of studies show that low tryptophan levels lead to insomnia, awakening feeling unrested, inability to stay asleep after getting there, and just lying there all night watching the clock.
For over a quarter of a century literally dozens of studies have proven this amino produces a great sleep in many, and with no side effects or hangover. In fact, folks have better mental clarity during the day. Furthermore, it improves daytime depression, PMS, fibromyalgia, and anxiety as well as carbohydrate cravings, binge-eating and even alcohol recovery.
Now from a functional medicine position it is important to know that a simple B6 or zinc deficiency can contribute to insomnia. A common vitamin B6 deficiency can keep you awake all night, or low zinc causing impaired conversion of B6, which is needed to make tryptophan work.
If you have an elevated organic acid, kynurenate acid, for example, and a low tryptophan, the correction of B6 may be all you need.
Now don't forget plasticizers in our bodies lower zinc which is needed in the enzyme to convert B6 to its active form so it can then transform tryptophan to a serotonin.
I am disappointed with the number of people suffering with insomnia who could be helped if only their physician understood the significance of nutritional biochemistry.
It comes down to finding the cause of the cause.
Remember that as important as serotonin is for sleep and moods, most of serotonin is not made in the brain.
Ninety five percent of serotonin is made in the gut.
If the gut isn't healthy, then you are going nowhere. If you have gas, bloating, alternating diarrhea or constipation or other gut issues than your chances of solving your insomnia problem may be futile until you fix your gut.
The secret is to find a doctor who understands the probable underlying causes of insomnia and knows how to do the proper testing to discover what needs to be fixed.
It really can be as simple as that.

By: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.
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References
Schmidt HS, L-tryptophan in the treatment of impaired respiration in sleep, Bull Eur Physiopathol Respir, 19; 6:625-9, 1983
Demisch K, et al, Treatment of severe chronic insomnia with Ltryptophan: results of a double-blind cross-over study, Pharmocopsychiatry, 20; 6:242-4, 1987
Hartmann E, Effects of L-tryptophan on sleepiness and on sleep, J Psychiatr Res, 17; 2:1-7-13, 1982
Ashley DV, et al, Evidence for diminished brain 5-hydroxytrptamine biosynthesis in obese diabetic and non-diabetic humans, Am J Clin Nutr, 42; 6:1240-5, 1985
Riemann D, et al, The tryptophan depletion test: impact on sleep in primary insomnia - a pilot study, Psychiatry Res, 109; 2:129-35, 2002
Schneider-Helmert D, et al, Evaluation of L-tryptophan for treatment of insomnia: a review, Psychopharmacol (Berl), 89; 1:1-7, 1986
 
 
The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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A recent patient was concerned that despite watching her diet and taking her diabetes medication her hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) keeps going up.
Remember, HbA1c is a lab test that shows the average level of blood sugar (glucose) over the previous 3 months. It shows how well you are controlling your diabetes. 
An elevated HbA1c greater than 5.7% indicates that the diabetes is not well regulated and is in fact accelerating aging, increasing your chances of getting painful neuropathies, kidney failure needing dialysis, cataracts, amputations, and retinopathy blindness.
What could possibly be missed by her primary doctor?
One major cause of the unregulated glycosylated hemoglobin is an unrecognized B6 deficiency.


An excellent “functional” test to check for a pyridoxine (B-6) deficiency is the xanthurenate organic acid test. An elevated xanthurenate test is a sensitive marker for a B-6 deficiency.
 

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This is an Organic Acid Test from Genova


But wait.. there is more to the story.
You can take B-6 and it may not work.
Why?
Because of a zinc deficiency.
When hidden zinc deficiency is present, the body cannot convert B6 to its active form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate or P5P. P5P, essential in normalizing the glycosylated hemoglobin and its deficiency, is an indicator that improperly metabolized sugars are accelerating aging, cataracts, kidney failure, heart disease, nerve damage and more.


But there is more to the story.
Elevated stored phthalates (plastics) in the body interfere with zinc metabolism


This is the power of functional medicine. Seeking to find the cause of the cause of the cause.
HbA1c ---> B-6 deficiency ---> Zinc deficiency ---> Stored Phthalates
I have never yet met a diabetologist who even orders the above much less knows how to interpret it.
To ignore fixing the chemistry in an overtly metabolic disease is outright wrong.
Unfortunately, what I have seen from reading thousands of medical records is the fact that most doctors merely resort to the one size fits all approach and medicate the disease. Rarely if ever have I read where a doctor investigated why the HA1C was elevated.
This results in a tragic waste of life as well as incurring an enormous and unnecessary expense and suffering.
You may be interested to know that because of the phthalate load, many folks (even without diabetes) unnecessarily get multiple diseases. These can range from Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH (a common, often “silent” liver disease), heart disease or cancers to Parkinson's disease, arthritis, or Alzheimer's.
Clearly they all lead to accelerated aging because of the shared causes.
For a doctor to check your glycosylated hemoglobin A1C every 3 months yet never know your zinc and B6 levels (among many others) is plain wrong in this sophisticated era.
Your life depends on the decisions you make. This information has a huge bearing on whether your diabetes blinds you in future years.
 
Written by: Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

References:
Depeint F, et al, Mitochondrial function and toxicity: Role of B vitamins, one-carbon transfer pathways, Chemico-Biological Interactions 163:113-32, 2006
Jain SK, et al, Pyridoxine and pyridoxamine inhibits superoxide radicals and prevents lipid peroxidation, protein glycosylation and (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity reduction in high glucose-treated human erythrocytes, Free Rad Biol Med 30:232-37, 2001
Onarato JM, et al, Pyridoxamine, an inhibitor of glycation reactions, also inhibits lipid peroxidation reactions, J Biol Chem, 275:21177-84, 2000
Metz TO, et al, Pyridoxamine traps intermediates in lipid peroxidation reactions in vivo: evidence on the role of lipids and chemical modification of protein and development of diabetic complications, J Biol Chem 278:42012-19, 2003
Booth AA, et al, Thiamine pyrophosphate and pyridoxamine inhibit the formation of antigenic advanced glycation endproducts: comparison with aminoguanidine, Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 220:113-19, 1996
Stitt A, et al, The AGE inhibitor pyridoxine and inhibits development of retinopathy in experimental diabetes, Diabetes 51:2826-32, 2000
Laines-Cessac P, et al, Mechanisms of the inhibition of human erythrocyte pyridoxal kinase by drugs, Biochem Pharmacol 54:863-70, 1997


The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Grisanti and his community. Dr. Grisanti encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

You may have heard of a treatment called dry needling and wondered what exactly it is or if it’s something that may be right for you.
While the name of the procedure may sound intimidating, dry needling is safe, minimally discomforting and often an effective technique for patients with certain musculoskeletal presentations. Dry needling is a treatment performed by skilled, trained physical therapists, certified in the procedure. A thin monofilament needle penetrates the skin and treats underlying muscular trigger points for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments.
So, what is a trigger point? A trigger point is a local contracture or tight band in a muscle fiber that can disrupt function, restrict range of motion, refer pain or cause local tenderness. When dry needling is applied to a dysfunctional muscle or trigger point, it can decrease banding or tightness, increase blood flow, and reduce local and referred pain.
It’s important to note dry needling is not the same as acupuncture. It uses similar tools, but that’s where the similarities end. Dry needling is performed by different practitioners with different training. Acupuncture is based on Eastern medicine, while dry needling is rooted in Western medicine and evaluation of pain patterns, posture, movement impairments, function and orthopedic tests.
Dry needling treats muscle tissue, and its goal is to reduce pain, inactivate trigger points and restore function. It rarely is a standalone procedure. Rather, it often is part of a broader physical therapy approach incorporating other traditional physical therapy interventions into treatment.
Dry needling can be used for a wide variety of musculoskeletal issues, such as shoulder, neck, heel, hip and back pain. While research indicates dry needling is a safe and effective approach for treating and managing pain, some insurance companies may not reimburse for the procedure.


Written by:
Kara Johnson, D.P.T. 
Physical Therapy