Profound Yet Overlooked #4

Are my supplements making me sick?  Caution with herbal or food supplements

Herbal or food supplements can be a double edged sword.  In some circumstances they can be very helpful, but in others they can be detrimental.  Some of this has to do with the immune stimulating properties of many herbs and foods.   Some commonly consumed compounds like mushrooms (Maitake, Reishi, Shiitake), chlorella, spirulina, panax gingseng,  ashwaganda, echinacea, licorice, astragalus, lemon balm, pomegranate, goldenseal, and melotonin (hormone) stimulate cellular immunity (Th1).  Other things  like coffee, green tea, chocolate,  grapeseed, pinebark, pycnogenol, and, acai stimulate humoral immunity (Th2).   Consumption of these foods or herbs can be problematic with autoimmunity (the immune system attacks self -tissue).  When someone has autoimmunity (remember, it is more common than cancer or cardiovascular disease), these immune stimulants can push the immune system into overdrive or tip it in the wrong direction.   This can promote or perpetuate autoimmunity.   Sometimes immune challenges (purposeful consumption of immune stimulating herbs looking for a response) are utilized to identify if one has a reaction to Th1 or Th2 stimulating herbs.  This can provide some insight into this mechanism, and if positive reactions are noted can be very suggestive of autoimmunity (if undiagnosed).  For more information on autoimmunity visit my webpage at http://www.functionalneuro.com/autoimmunity.html or see my previous "Profound Yet Overlooked" posts.

Yours in health, Dr. Caffery

www.functionalneuro.com

        

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional. 

Cocoa Increases Brain's Blood Flow

http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2013/08/07/WNL.0b013e3182a351aa.short?sid=6f05cc06-b10e-4f5c-8026-96258f82d263

A small study suggests that moderate daily consumption of cocoa improves blood flow to the brain, and cognition (working memory). Two cups of hot cocoa per day were utilized in this study.  While cocoa was beneficial in this circumstance the typical sugar laden hot cocoa might be detrimental to some (promoting insulin resistance which is a major risk for Alzheimer's).  The best low sugar alternative hot cocoa is my opinion is "Guilt-Free hot cocoa mix" sweetened with "Just Like Sugar."  Speaking of cocoa, I also like the low sugar individually wrapped dark chocolate squares from "Endangered Species".  Links below.

http://www.justlikesugar.com/product/guilt-free-hot-cocoa-mix/

http://chocolatebar.com/products.php?product=3.5oz.-Natural-Dark-Chocolate-w%7B47%7D-88%25-Cocoa-Pouch

With all that being said, the bioflavonoids found in chocolate have some Th2 (humoral) immune stimulating effects.  In certain individuals with autoimmunity this may be detrimental, pushing the immune system in the wrong direction.  Stay tuned for further discussion on this.  

Yours in health, Dr. Caffery
www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Trigeminal Stimulation

Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation

The trigeminal nerve has been referred to as a "superhighway for the brain."  The trigeminal nerve is the largest nerve in the head (cranial nerve).  It predominantly provides sensation to the face and motor activity to the chewing muscles.  Increasing evidence suggest stimulation of this nerve can have therapeutic applications.

Trigeminal stimulation and epilepsy
http://www.neurology.org/content/80/9/786.abstract  

Trigeminal stimulation and depression
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21820361

Trigeminal stimulation and migraine http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2013/02/06/WNL.0b013e3182825055.abstract

Functional neurology utilizes non invasive means of sensory and/or motor stimulation of the trigeminal nerve.  To learn more about functional neurology visit my webpage. http://www.functionalneuro.com/functionalneurology.html

Yours in health, Dr. Caffery
www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Profound Yet Overlooked #3

Autoantibody Testing

Cyrex Laboratories provides comprehensive autoantibody testing as discussed in yesterday's blog.  Some panels are available to investigate specific tissues, or comprehensive panels are available to look at multiple body tissues.  These panels test two different types of antibodies (IgG and IgA).  This gives less of a chance of false negatives (test shows "negative" when the result is really "positive").  

Array 6 Diabetes Autoimmune Reactivity Screen
Array 7 Neurological Autoimmune Reactivity Screen
Array 8 Joint Autoimmune Reactivity Screen

Array 5 Multiple Autoimmune Reactivity Screen

http://www.cyrexlabs.com/CyrexTestsArrays/tabid/136/Default.aspx

Yours in health, Dr. Caffery
www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Profound Yet Overlooked #2

Predictive Autoantibodies

"Molecules called predictive autoantibodies appear in blood years before people show symptoms of various disorders."

Predictive autoantibodies are just that.  They are antibodies (tags or labels) identifying self tissue (auto) as a foreign invader to be attacked.  These oftentimes show up years, if not decades, prior to the development of end stage autoimmune disease.  Measuring these predictive autoantibodies is very helpful in a clinical setting in determining if a patient's symptoms are in fact due to autoimmune processes.  Very often individuals have significant symptoms many years prior to end stage autoimmune disease that can usually be identified by autoantibody testing.  

For instance, adrenal cortex antibodies can show up 10 years prior to the development of Addison's Disease (overt adrenal cortex failure).  An individual with adrenal cortex antibodies may manifest low cortisol symptoms (most commonly:  general fatigue, difficulty waking, accentuated afternoon fatigue, waking in the night, and secondary sex hormone imbalance) ten years before overt Addison's Disease.  Or you might have an individual with pancreatic islet cell antibodies which can show up 14 years prior to the development of Type I Diabetes (overt pancreatic islet cell failure).  This individual might have symptoms of hypoglycemia (shakiness, lightheaded, irritability, waking in night, anxiety, etc.) while starting to show elevations in blood sugar.  Or you might have an individual with thyroid perioxidase antibodies which can show up 7-10 years prior to the development of Hashimoto's hypothyroidism (overt thyroid failure).  During this time an individual might manifest low thyroid symptoms (intolerance to cold, hair loss, thinning of eyebrows, constipation, depression, fatigue, etc.) before becoming overtly hypothyroid. 

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery

www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Profound Yet Overlooked

Do you suffer from a chronic health condition like pain, fatigue, depression, brain fog, anxiety, stiff muscles, vertigo or various neurological symptoms, liver problems, blood sugar problems, vitamin deficiency, seizures, hyper/hypothyroid, digestive symptoms, and/or hormone imbalance?  Has your chronic health condition been unresponsive to all other treatments?  If so, you may have autoimmunity. Undiagnosed autoimmunity is a profound yet overlooked cause of persistent health problems.  How common is autoimmunity?   

"One in twelve Americans - and one in nine women will develop an autoimmune disorder. And since it is clear that not every patient with an autoimmune disease is correctly diagnosed, the prevalence is certainly higher than that. The American Heart Association estimates by comparison, only one in twenty Americans will have coronary heart disease. Similarly, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, one in fourteen American adults will have cancer at some time in their life. This means that an American is more likely to get an autoimmune disease than either cancer or heart disease."

Douglas Kerr, MD, PhD, John Hopkins Hospital

What is autoimmunity?  How does one get diagnosed with autoimmunity?  Check out my website for more information. http://www.functionalneuro.com/autoimmunity.html  I will be discussing the use of autoantibody tests to diagnose and predict autoimmunity in the future.  

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery 

www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Fuel for Brain Cells

While it is commonly known that brain cells (neurons) utilize glucose as fuel, neurons can also utilize ketones as an alternate fuel.  In fact, ketones are the primary source of fuel for the infant brain, and an alternative fuel in adults.  With aging or in Alzheimer's, glucose utilization in the brain typically decreases.  This leaves the neurons without the energy they need to function properly.  In Alzheimer's, this lack of glucose utilization results in increased production and/or lack of removal of proteins called amyloid.  In these circumstances, ketones can be used as an alternative fuel to glucose.  Ketones are a by product of fat metabolism.  Strategies to raise ketones are low carbohydrate diets, intermittent fasting, and/or the consumption of medium chain fats.  A good source of medium chain fats are coconut products (milk, butter, oil, flesh).

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery

www.functionalneuro.com

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Paleo Wraps

Just tried "Paleo Wraps" for the first time.  These are wraps made from coconut.  These could be utilized on a low carbohydrate (insulin resistant) or low antigenic (intestinal permeability) dietary plan.  I highly recommend them.  (www.paleowrap.com)

Yours in health, Dr. Caffery
www.functionalneuro.com