Think of the advances we've enjoyed since Thomas Edison and the lightbulb. Let's bring his wisdom home. I just got off the phone with a client who is concerned about
fertility. Newly married, she wants to prepare herself for pregnancy. She’s
learning that a healthy baby needs healthy parents. She has rediscovered that optimal
nutrition and supplementation is critical for a full four months prior to
conception. Just one example of the power of prevention.
Our current healthcare model is focused on the absence of disease.
We manage signs and symptoms with pharmaceutical interventions. This is not
curative. This is palliative and unsustainable, for individuals as well as our
country. 80% of our 3 TRILLION, healthcare-dollars is spent
treating chronic disease.1
Disease that could be prevented, and
better addressed with diet and lifestyle modifications.
If I could wave a magic wand, prevention would be a top priority
in mainstream modern medicine. I currently offer my clients a Personalized Prevention Plan for wellness
care. At a minimum, this functional, preventative, plan could be a
complementary offering to the current corporate executive physical offered to employees.
For individuals and companies who want to manage escalating
healthcare costs and offer a true wellness benefit, please read on.
What does a Personalized Prevention Plan encompass? Functional
medical testing and health coaching. Tests include: a micronutrient test, a
food sensitivity test, comprehensive stool test, complete thyroid test (not
merely TSH and T4), dried urine hormone tests, and complete cardio metabolic
test. These are all preventative functional medicine tests not commonly offered in conventional medicine.
Most Americans see their doctor once a year for their annual
physical, or to manage symptoms. Fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, insomnia,
anxiety and depression are the most common complaints seen in doctor's offices across the country. Current testing does not
address the root cause of dis-ease. It often overlooks what is going on inside
the body – those hidden internal stressors. To get inside the body we need to first see what is brewing in your gut (gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the
anus). Hippocrates said that "All Disease Begins in the Gut" - and he was right; dysfunctions in the gastrointestinal system interfere with absorption of vitamins and minerals and allow unwanted pathogens into the rest of the body.
For instance, if you have an imbalance in the gut such as bacterial
overgrowth or even parasites, you may not be able to make your b
vitamins, necessary for energy production and detoxification,
or serotonin, your feel-good neurotransmitter,
or dopamine, the neurotransmitter necessary for focus and impulse
control, or melatonin, required to sleep. If you have
inflammation in the gut, you may
experience signs and symptoms ranging from gas and boating to eczema, trouble focusing,
anxiety, depression and/or insomnia. Do you see how everything is inter-connected?
Instead, current common conventional medicine forces you to see a different specialist for each symptom - a gastroenterologist for gas, bloating and GERD, a psychiatrist for depression, anxiety and ADHD, a dermatologist for eczema and a neurologist for insomnia. The result - a handful of
prescription medications for each symptom without identifying and addressing the root cause.
Multiple specialists are unlikely to figure the unique puzzle that is YOU - not when they are looking at the individual pieces, and not at the whole. Isn’t it better to understand the root cause? Isn’t that superior to having a
diagnosis and a self-limiting label?
If you are currently taking supplements, it is a good idea to do a
micronutrient test to determine if the supplements are helping or hindering
your progress. Nutrition is not just what you eat. Nutrition is what is absorbed.
You may be eating a healthy diet but if your body is not digesting or absorbing
those nutrients correctly then they are interfering with your nutrition.
In the case of my fertility client she had food sensitivities
including a 4+ severe IgG antibody response to peas. Although on a clean diet, her morning protein shake was made from pea protein. She was drinking this
4 days a week - no wonder she wasn’t feeling as well as her husband with
the positive dietary changes they both made. Bingo! The simple action of switching to a hemp protein powder improved her overall health and boosted her
energy.
Often, it’s the little things we do everyday that can make a big
difference.
Do you have chronic colds, infections, viruses that you can’t seem
to shake? Perhaps your immune system is so busy dealing with food sensitivities
(that it sees as a foreign body) that it can’t do its job of fighting viruses,
bacteria or cleaning up rogue cancer cells? What you don’t know can
and may just kill you.
In a perfect world we wouldn’t need supplements, but most of us do
not live in a world without stress, crap food, and toxins. (I have a
whitepaper I wrote on how to maximize nutrition. If you’d like a
copy, just send me an email
and I’ll send it to you.)
You may be aware of your
external stressors,
but are you aware of the
hidden stressors that could be a root cause of your zapped energy?
Do
you want to be your best? Do you want more energy?
Let’s look at hidden sources like sensitivities to foods you are eating every
day. Or consider a comprehensive stool test to look at the microbes in the gut
that could be zapping your energy. If you’re a lover of sushi as I am, perhaps
there’s a parasite in your gut that is eating up your nutrition. How
would you know without a comprehensive stool test?
If you have toenail fungus or frequent urinary tract infections or
vaginitis, you may have an opportunistic overgrowth of candida, a yeast fungus
in the gut that thrives with sugar, alcohol, bacterial overgrowth, parasites, and
/or heavy metals. This is identifiable with testing.
What’s in your gut? How do you know what probiotic to take? Or is
your probiotic doing any good? It’s good to test for it. Do you have adequate
stomach acid and/or pancreatic enzymes to thoroughly digest your food? A
comprehensive stool test can give you clues to answer these questions.
I’ve personally witnessed this after working with hundreds of
patients and clients. Heal the gut and the symptoms go away.
We all have stress and stressors. But how is your vital reserve?
Are your adrenals stressed or do they need rest and/or nourishment? Is your
cortisol and DHEA at optimal levels?
How are you metabolizing your hormones? Are they going down the
right detox pathways so you can prevent estrogen related breast, ovarian or
prostate cancers? I am so passionate about this! Let’s catch
this and prevent cancers before you get a diagnosis. Worried
about a relapse? Let’s test your detoxification pathways to ensure you are
adequately clearing estrogens and support you with aromatase inhibiting food.
Cancer, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, fatigue,
depression, anxiety, insomnia…80% of our healthcare dollars are spent on
chronic disease that can be better treated through diet and lifestyle
modifications.
Let’s look at you from a functional viewpoint so you can make
small, obtainable changes to create sustainable
optimal health and well-being.
Let’s create a culture of wellness and breed leaders with more
true strength and energy so we can get back our competitive advantage in our
corporations. According to the World Health
Organization the United States spend more on healthcare and is
at the bottom of the list for longevity and healthy outcomes. We currently spend more and receive less. This
affects productivity in the workplace and affects quality of life and
well-being. This will bankrupt our country.
"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art
cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and
intelligence cannot be applied." Heophilus, Greek physician
335-280 BC
How do we reverse this? It’s called prevention. No two
of us are alike so why do we tolerate a “one size fits all” healthcare
model? Work with a functional medicine trained coach to create a
personalized preventative plan for your unique
body.
Carpe Diem,
Lisa
About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC
Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.
When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."
Here
are two brown mice with identical
genes. Both mice were kept in the same environment and fed the same food. The Mother
of the healthier brown mouse was given supplementation prior to pregnancy,
during, and while nursing.
Also,
when the egg and sperm come together, you have the second opportunity to rewrite genetic expression. Epigenetics
is so important for all stages of rapid growth, from preconception to fetal
development and puberty. Eggs and sperm take 4 months to mature prior to conception.
This time is vital!
About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC
