Do You:

• Get too little or poor quality sleep?
• Have high-stress levels in your life?
• Eat sugar regularly? (Wine, beer, candy, soda, sweet tea, cookies)
• Eat a lot of carbs? (Pasta, rice, bread, oats, potatoes, pancakes, biscuits)
• Eat a lot of processed foods? (boxes, bags, cans, fast food)
• Take antibiotics, even only every few years?
• Have cravings for sugary foods or carbs?
• Have unintentional weight changes (lose or gain) for no apparent reason?
• Have skin problems: acne, eczema, rashes?
• Have food allergies? Do some foods make you tired, brain foggy, have digestive problems, immediate diarrhea, skin reactions, or swelling?

All of these can lead to problems with your “gut microbiome,” the microorganisms that live in your intestines. You can have between 300 to 500 different species of bacteria growing in your gut, and many of these are essential for your health.

Problems with your gut bacteria can lead to:

(If you are suffering from any of these problems, you should get your gut checked, as this might open the door to your recovery).

• Immune system problems
• Depression
• Obesity
• Autoimmune conditions
• Inflammation problems of all kinds
• Fatigue and energy problems
• ADHD and concentration problems
• Sleep problems
• IBS (cramping and pain, diarrhea/constipation, nausea)
• Heartburn and reflux

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to know about gut issues is that they don’t resolve easily.

The second most important thing to know is that gut problems often worsen and lead to more related symptoms.

So, the “bottom line” is that you should 1) Live a gut-healthy lifestyle and eat a gut-healthy diet, and 2) If you develop health problems that are possibly gut-related, do NOT just wait around and hope that you get better.

What Should I Do?

Conventional medicine recognizes the importance of a healthy gut microbiome, but this information has yet to make it down to the diagnosis and treatment level of YOUR doctor.

Therefore, your medical doctor will have no training or tools to do anything about your gut problems.

You will need to find a Functional Medicine practitioner with lots of experience in gut problems. This doctor will know which labs to use and combine effective supplementation with diet and lifestyle changes.

Gut problems and related issues are one of the main focuses of my practice. If you need help, you can ask for an appointment or more information here.

New Research

Scientists had a human-biome epiphany around 2010. In 2012, Scientific American magazine put out an issue titled “Your Inner Ecosystem.” This magazine was the first time that most of the general public had ever heard of the importance of microbes and bacteria to general health.

Since then, research on gut health has regularly yielded possible solutions to many of our most challenging health problems.

Below is an article about new research that links restless leg syndrome (RLS), a terrible problem that ruins the sleep of as much as 10% of the population, to gut problems.

This article is great reading and shows the promise of discovering many more “unsolvable” health problems resulting from gut imbalances.

Restless Leg Syndrome and IBS

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

There appears to be a direct correlation between restless leg syndrome (RLS) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

What is restless leg syndrome?

RLS is a disorder in which a person experiences uncomfortable urges to move their legs. Symptoms typically occur during rest or inactivity, particularly in the evening and into the night, and may contribute to insomnia. These bothersome urges are often relieved with movement. It is estimated that RLS affects approximately 7-10% of the population

What Causes RLS?

Researchers have identified the following as possible contributors to the problem:

• Genetic predisposition
• Problems with the neurotransmitter dopamine
• Problems with the metabolism of iron
• Problems with nervous system motor pathways

Clinical studies show that some people who have certain gastrointestinal disorders have a higher rate of RLS, including celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and IBS.

Studies estimate that approximately one-fourth to one-third of IBS patients may also have RLS.

The specific gut issue associated with RLS is a condition called Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).

SIBO is a condition in which rare gut-residing bacteria are over-represented in the gut.

Why does SIBO cause restless legs?

Chronic inflammation caused by SIBO or gut dysbiosis [when there’s an unhealthy balance of types of gut bacteria] in the colon may release additional hepcidin — a hormone that can decrease iron availability in the brain and contribute to RLS.

A Stanford findings suggest that, potentially, treating a person’s SIBO may help resolve the brain iron deficiency that contributes to RLS.

Promising Treatment

In one study, 13 IBS patients who tested positive for SIBO using breath testing were treated with the antibiotic rifaximin for ten days. According to the study, 10 of these patients experienced “at least 80% improvement” in their RLS symptoms following treatment. At a later follow-up date, half of these patients reported complete relief from their RLS.

For a more comprehensive natural treatment for SIBO, I recommend seeking the skills of a well-trained functional medicine practitioner.

They will review dietary recommendations specific for SIBO and natural botanicals (herbs) that effectively treat SIBO.

Conclusion:

Although the studies are small, I believe there is hope that in patients suffering from IBS (SIBO) and RLS, treatment to eradicate SIBO could be helpful.

Compliments from Functional Medicine University

References

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2012.01011.x
https://www.verywellhealth.com/ibs-and-restless-leg-syndrome-1944740
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3479257/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190607122406.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945720305426

Differences Between a Mammogram and Thermography

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

With breast cancer, early detection is considered the primary factor in good outcomes and reduced mortality. Conventional medicine is focused almost entirely on early detection, as are most of the breast cancer non-profits.

This focus on early detection is an excellent thing, in that survivability statistics for breast cancer are improving.

But, mammography does not PREVENT breast cancer (a common misconception). In one study, 68% of the women surveyed believed that mammography prevents or reduces the risk of contracting breast cancer. Mammography can only find already existing cancer so it can be treated.

Personally, I would Rather be Proactive and Avoid Breast Cancer

Excellent technology exists to prevent breast cancer, even though it’s not a big part of the breast cancer information you are likely to see.

There are two important parts of breast cancer prevention:

1. Thermography
2. Hormone health and balancing

Thermography is a very specific and advanced type of infrared photography that maps the surface temperature of the breasts. When analyzed by a trained and certified thermologist, risk factors can be identified, along with the level of risk. Then you can do a program to improve that risk, followed by another thermography to confirm that your risk is reduced.

Hormone levels can add to breast cancer risk in several ways. Estrogen imbalance can show on thermography as well as on a lab test. Getting your hormones in balance can reduce or eliminate many common symptoms and improve your life while reducing your cancer risk.

Can I do thermography instead of mammography?

First, ask yourself why you are having a mammogram. If you are having a mammogram to prevent cancer, then that is the wrong test. A mammogram never prevented even one person from getting cancer. It can only detect a dense object in the breast.

On the other hand, thermography detects the physiological, chemical, and temperature changes before pathology develops, 5 to 8 years before detection on a mammogram.

So, thermography is appropriate for preventative screening.

A mammogram is appropriate for detecting and diagnosing cancer, both early and later stage pathology. Thermography and mammography gather different information, and a woman may need both of these to ensure that her breasts are and remain healthy.

A thermography study does not replace a mammogram but is very complementary. Many women choose thermography to give them additional and early information about breast changes.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Melodie Billiot

The Most Effective Exercise for Lowering Blood Pressure

Introduction

If you are currently taking medication for high blood pressure or in danger of doing this, you should know that you can do things to improve your hypertension.

One of the most effective is exercise.

** ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE STARTING ANY FORM OF EXERCISE FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

I have worked with thousands of patients battling high blood pressure, and many of them had been on an exercise regimen but had seen little to no results with their blood pressure.

Numerous recent studies show a specific TECHNIQUE of exercise works better than any other to reduce blood pressure. This is great because you can use the technique for any exercise you like: biking, walking, running, swimming, etc.

The technique is called “HIIT” or High-Intensity Interval Training. Almost anyone can do it, and it’s easy to do.

Read the article below for the particulars and instructions on how you can get started.

Here’s another article about using isometric exercise (at your desk or driving your car!) to reduce blood pressure.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Melodie Billiot

HIIT and blood pressure

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

When it comes to lowering blood pressure, exercise is a non-negotiable factor.

You may be wondering what would be the most effective form of exercise to lower blood pressure?

More and more studies are showing the exciting results of something called HIIT in lowering blood pressure. HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training

What is HIIT?
HIIT is not any specific exercise; instead, it is a technique. You can apply this technique to almost any exercise, whether it be walking, riding a bike, swimming, doing some body weight exercises, or even dancing in your living room.

** ALWAYS CHECK WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE STARTING ANY FORM OF EXERCISE FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

HIIT training combines very short bursts of working at your absolute maximum alternating short periods of active recovery rest. Research has found that this form of exercising gives you more health benefits than any other way of exercising.

It shortens the amount of time you need to exercise and is more effective; you work out for just 10-30 minutes and reap impressive health benefits.  You burn more body fat, your metabolism is stimulated for long after you finish exercising, and it also helps you utilize oxygen more efficiently.

One of the most significant benefits people find from HIIT is the reduction in training time. Through HIIT, you can put in about half the amount of time compared to traditional cardio exercise to reach your goals.

One study found that just 2 minutes of HIIT sprinting increased metabolism as much as 30 minutes of running.  HIIT increases the efficiency of your heart, and HIIT training also has a significant effect on naturally lowering your blood pressure.

HIIT and blood pressure:

Although most any type of exercise has its benefits, HIIT shines when it comes to saving time. Using the HIIT technique is the ultimate shortcut. 

Study after study shows that HIIT exercise improves blood pressure in people with hypertension better than any other exercise routine.

HIIT is highly effective in reducing resting heart rate and blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals. 

It has been shown that HIIT exercising just three times per week for just 20 minutes at a time lowers blood pressure more effectively than continuous endurance training.

What is the science that makes HIIT so effective?

HIIT training changes something called endothelial function. 

The endothelium is a very thin membrane that lines the inside of your heart and your blood vessels. The cells in this membrane release various substances that control how your blood vessels relax and contract.

We know that stiff hard arteries play a role in high blood pressure.

The ability of your artery walls to expand (vasodilate) is very important.

You need to have flexibility in your arteries to allow for proper blood flow throughout your body.

HIIT improves endothelial function and reduces the stiffness in your artery walls more than any other traditional form of exercise.

Just a 1% improvement in your endothelial function can result in a 13% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.

One study showed that 73% of people restored blood pressure to normal using a HIIT training method for just two months and 24 exercise sessions. There was a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure from 145.4 (± 9.0) to 118.3 ( ± 15.6) mm Hg.

How to Apply HIIT

With HIIT training, you’re are going to go “all out” at a high intensity for short amounts of time.  You then do an ‘active recovery’ rest for a short interval. You can apply this technique to any kind of exercise, walking, running, jumping rope, cycling, and even weight training.

I prefer using a stationary bike to minimize injury. It is simply a great option to implement HIIT into your workouts.

Using the HIIT on a stationary bike

Warm-up for 5 minutes on a low setting.

After your 5 minute warm-up, increase the bike’s tension and pedal as fast as you can for 20 seconds. This is called the Sprint phase. After the 20-second sprint phase, lower the tension on the bike and comfortably pedal for 2 minutes.

This is one session of HIIT.

Repeat the above five times, and you are done.

Heart Recovery Tip

After doing your 20-second sprint, lower the tension and wait 60 seconds and check your pulse. You want your elevated pulse to come down between 8-10 beats. This is your heart recovery zone. If your pulse does not come down 8-10 beats for some reason, you should stop and call it a day. For example, after you do your all-out sprint for 20 minutes, your heart rate goes up to 110 beats. After one minute of decreasing the tension and comfortably pedaling, your heart rate should come down to 100-102 beats. That is a good heart recovery.

Although, as I mentioned above, I prefer the stationary bike, this can be applied to walking as well. Simply walking at a comfortable pace for 5 minutes, then do an all-out “brisk” walk for 20 seconds. Walking comfortably for 2 minutes, then repeat five times.

That is all you need to do to maximize this effective form of exercise (HIIT) to lower your blood pressure.

Understanding the Delta Variant

Since the start of COVID, there has been a shortage of understanding of the pandemic.

We’ve had confusion, misinformation, repeated updates, reversals and revisions of recommendations, etc.

This understanding deficit has continued with the rise of the delta variant. I’ve been hard-pressed to find solid, actionable information myself. For you, it may have been all but impossible.

So when I found this article, I was excited to see all the current and essential information compressed into a single piece, written by Dr. J. Stacey Klutts, who is “Special Assistant to the National Director of Pathology and Lab Medicine for the entire Veterans Affairs system, with a specific role in advising on elements of COVID testing for the system.”

You may read the original article if you like, but I’ve pulled out the highlights that you need to know in this post in case you don’t have the time (or stomach) to read the full article.

Why Delta is YOUR Problem

When a disease has “high or substantial community spread” in over 90% of the counties in the US, you’ll need to pay attention and take action.

Delta is so contagious that you are highly likely to get sick, vaccinated or not unless you understand how to avoid it and take effective, consistent, and long-term actions.

Getting sick with Delta is equal-opportunity. Kids, infants, teens, young adults, middle-aged and the elderly are all contracting this variant in huge numbers.

And no, you really, really don’t want to get sick with this disease.

The Facts:

1: Delta is stickier and much more effective in attaching to and gaining entry into human cells. “If the original COVID strains were covered in syrup, this variant is covered in ultrafast-drying Gorilla Super Glue (industrial strength).”

2: Delta has 1,000 times the “viral load” (number of particles that can “shed” and make others sick) than previous variants.

3: Delta is SO much more contagious than previous COVID that it’s an entirely different pandemic event. “R0” (pronounced “R aught”) is the measurement of how infectious a disease is. An R2 means that one infected person is likely to infect two others. Original COVID was about an R2. Delta is an R6.5 – R8. “In the infectious disease world, that’s almost unheard of. Chickenpox and measles are about all we have ever seen that spread that efficiently from human to human. This changes the storyline completely from earlier in the pandemic.”

4: Delta can spread through vaccinated people. But much less efficiently. Here’s a great explanation of this, which is one of those areas I’ve had difficulty finding good information about:
Take Away: A vaccinated person can become infected fairly easily with Delta (the vaccine does provide some protection against infection), but the person is only is infectious for a couple of days afterward.
Why this is true lies in the different types of COVID antibodies that your body uses to fight the disease. The antibody called “IgA” prevents the virus from ever binding to your cells in the first place. The “IgG” antibody is triggered when the virus is detected by your body and prevents you from becoming very ill or ill at all.
ALL COVID VACCINES CAUSE YOUR BODY TO PRODUCE IgG ANTIBODIES, NOT IgA.
Therefore, if vaccinated, you can become infected almost as fast as the nonvaccinated person standing next to you, but you are MUCH less likely to get sick, or at least very sick.
Where things change is in HOW LONG you are contagious to others.
For the first few days, you are JUST AS CONTAGIOUS AS A NONVACCINATED PERSON. Then, the IgG antibodies from the vaccination kick in and wipe out the virus, and you’re no longer contagious.
A nonvaccinated person continues to be contagious for at least ten days from the first symptoms.
Take away: If you’re vaccinated and get COVID, you will be contagious for only a couple of days, and you are extremely unlikely to go to the hospital or die. Currently, less than 5% of COVID hospitalizations are vaccinated.

5: Original COVID largely spared young people and small children, but not Delta. Children’s hospitals are starting to fill up.

What to Do:

• Really, seriously consider getting vaccinated. Here are references that I’ve been giving to my patients to do their research when they’re worried about the vaccine:
  Article: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/i-m-black-doctor-who-didn-t-trust-covid-vaccine-ncna1255085?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_tk
  Video: https://twitter.com/scientistswanda/status/1335988328362090500 
• Wear a mask indoors with anyone not in your family and outdoors in any crowd. Delta has been documented to be passed between two people who simply walked past each other.
  Queensland’s chief health officer, Jeannette Young quote: “with the Delta variant, we’re seeing very fleeting contact leading to transmission. At the start of this pandemic, I spoke about 15 minutes of close contact being a concern. Now it looks like it’s five to 10 seconds that’s a concern. The risk is so much higher now than it was only a year ago.”
• Wash or sanitize your hands
• Avoid crowds, especially indoors, even with a mask.
• Boost your immune system to improve your outcome if you do get sick.
• Get tested before doing anything where you could pass COVID to someone else. Here are some home tests, and a link to make an appointment (free) for a drive-through test in Georgia:
• Walmart Test: https://www.walmart.com/ip/BinaxNOW-COVID-19-Antigen-Self-Test-2-Tests/142089281
• Target Test: https://www.target.com/p/ellume-covid-19-rapid-antigen-home-test/-/A-83685429
• Georgia drive-through test signup: https://viralsolutionsga.com/

I hope this helps. Maybe next week I can find a more uplifting subject to write about, but I feel that this is critically important information for you to have.

How many important life events have you had compromised or just ruined by digestive problems? Because you just hurt too much, you felt too bad or couldn’t stray far from a restroom. These problems are termed “Functional Bowel Disease” or “FBD” in conventional medicine.

What about the mental effects caused by indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, cramping, and the combination of all of these, known as “Irritable Bowel Syndrome” (IBS)? These all cause mental and physical lethargy… so you just don’t feel up for much of anything.

Now I have something staggering to tell you, especially if you’re a woman:

In the US, over 66 MILLION people—one in five—suffer from these problems… and 70% of them are women. That means that 35% of women in the US have these problems.  66 million is greater than the entire population of the United Kingdom. That’s a lot of people.[i]

With a problem this common, it’s not surprising that people frequently seek help from their doctors. Medically, these symptoms are known as Functional Bowel Disease because no physical cause can be found for them. Every year, over $8 BILLION is spent on medical costs for these problems, and FBD is one of the top 10 reasons people see their primary care doctors. Also, patients diagnosed with FBD spend on average 74% more in direct healthcare costs than other people.

But…

There’s no known cause for these problems. Treatment is limited to mostly time-proven remedies to reduce symptoms, which work on a hit-or-miss basis (this is something you’ll agree with wholeheartedly if you suffer from Functional Bowel Disease).

I wasn’t aware of much of this information until I started researching for this blog. In my practice, I see mostly severe patients; people don’t come to me just for Functional Bowel Disease symptoms. However, most of my patients have these symptoms in addition to all their other more severe problems. We handle diarrhea, constipation, abdominal cramping, bloating, reflux, heartburn, stomach upset, nausea, etc. at the beginning of most patient treatment programs. These symptoms are usually gone or mostly handled in a few weeks, no big deal, so I was taken aback by the statistics I’m quoting here.

I’m just amazed that the public is spending 8 billion annually on what are honestly simple, easy-to-handle basic issues. I commented to my office manager that if the 66 million sufferers of Functional Bowel Disease were all given one specific whole-food supplement we use frequently, it would probably solve the symptoms of about half of them.

Symptom Relief is Temporary: How to Solve the Actual Problem?

Most Functional Bowel Disease symptoms can be quickly relieved with basic food supplementation and some diet changes. But these symptoms are just evidence of underlying health problems. With my patients, it’s very common that severe problems began with simple digestive issues:

• “At first, I just took Tums every time I had heartburn.
• “Then, after a couple of years I had to prop up my bed, because I couldn’t sleep lying down flat anymore.
• “Then I had to stop eating after about 6 o’clock.
• “Then I was diagnosed with GERD and ulcers of the esophagus.
• “Then I was put on a PPI drug (PPI is Proton Pump Inhibitor, a drug that reduces stomach acid).
• “Two years later, I started having heart problems, which I’ve found may be related to my body not absorbing minerals because of the PPI drug. This might also be a reason my memory and concentration has become so poor.”

The underlying cause of digestive symptoms can be sex hormone problems (remember that Functional Bowel Disease symptoms mainly occur in women?), allergies, mental stress, thyroid problems, adrenal problems, liver problems… many, many possibilities. This is why conventional medicine only treats the symptoms: it has no training or tools to discover the underlying causes and no effective treatment techniques to apply if it did know a cause.

In almost all cases, a drug can’t cure Functional Bowel Disease problems. These problems are termed “chronic conditions” that can only be managed with (often) lifelong drugs but never cured.

So, I find myself in an odd position of knowing what to do to solve the horrific digestive problems of 66 million people… most of whom think their problems can’t be solved and just keep taking drugs to try and take the edge off.

It’s a strange situation.

[i] All statistics are from the Centers for Disease Control website.