If there was one health issue I could focus on and potentially save thousands of lives, it would be cardiovascular disease. Are you aware that one in three Americans die from heart attack or strokes?  That is almost 34% of all deaths!  It far outranks cancer, kidney disease, infections, and accidental deaths!

Some of the top risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease include: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, elevated blood sugar, sleep apnea/chronic lack of sleep, and obesity.  What I want to discuss today is a silent killer that many Americans are unaware of – lead.

The presence of lead in the body is associated with SIX times more deaths from heart disease and strokes as compared to those who don’t have lead in their body.

Six times!  That means for every person who dies of a heart attack, there are six more that die of a heart attack who have lead in their body.  Why is this significant?  Because lead can be removed from the body, thus saving lives!

What is lead and where does it come from?  Lead is a naturally occurring metal that has been mined for thousands of years and is still used widely in commercial products.  Lead is a stable metal and accumulates in our tissues (liver, kidneys, muscle, ovaries, prostate, brain, fat) and bones over time and repeated exposure.  Most of us are aware of lead-based paints and water pipes as a source of getting lead in our bodies.  Leaded gasoline is still used by farmers, boaters, and race car drivers.  Lead is in the air we breathe, in our water from brass fixtures (5-7% lead), lead-glazed dishware and crystal, and is in foods and spices from Mexico and China.

The reason lead toxicity is a silent killer is that almost 40% of Americans have lead in their bodies and do not know it.  We know that blood lead concentrations as low at 2 mcg/dl is a public health hazard and causes a significant increased risk of dying from heart attack or stroke.  Levels as low at 4 mcg/dl can cause high blood pressure.  Both the CDC and EPA agree that there is no measurable level of lead in the body which does not cause harm.

Who is at risk for lead toxicity?  We are aware of children’s risk from ingestion/inhalation of above mentioned sources.  Occupations at higher risk of lead exposure include:  electricians, plumbers, painters, ceramicists, ammunition specialists, and paint and ink manufacturers. Workers may not only get lead poisoning on the job but may also bring the lead home to their families. Other populations at risk for lead toxicity include menopausal women/andropausal men, hyperthyroidism, cisplatin chemotherapy, osteoporosis or osteopenia, and vitamin D deficiency.  This is because in these conditions, bone is being turned over, releasing their stores of lead accumulated over the years.

The symptoms of lead (and other metal) toxicity is long.  The checklist we use at our clinic includes:  irritability, excessive itching, depression, rashes, numbness/tingling, metallic taste, cold hands/feet, jittery/nervous, memory problems, frequent insomnia, high blood pressure, chest pain, constipation, constant pain in joints, elevated heart rate, diminished libido, twitching muscles, burning tongue, tremors/shakes, headaches after eating, leg cramps, ringing ears, frequent diarrhea, chronic anemia, frequent heartburn, and nerve pain.

Now that you know this, what can you do?  A blood level of lead is easy to test at any lab and most insurance companies will pay for it.  We recommend this to be done yearly in people over the age of 50 and in people with symptoms.  You will need to ask your primary care provider to order this as most health care providers haven’t learned about this silent killer (despite the release of information in our medical literature).  At our clinic, if we are suspicious of your body having lead toxicity, we will give you medicine to pull the lead (and other metals) from your tissues and then test you – this is actually the most accurate way to test.  If you do have lead toxicity, we encourage you to seek care from a health care provider (such as Sonas) who has had training and expertise in the safe removal of lead from your body.  A website that can provide you more information is http://www.acamnet.org.

(This has been a repeat article, but so worth repeating!)

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center in Durango.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, hormone therapy for men and women, and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or www.sonasimc.com.

If you are more than 10 pounds overweight and experience any of these symptoms, you probably have a toxic load that contributes to your weight problem:  asthma, allergies, brain fog, depression, fatigue, headaches, memory problems, hormonal imbalance, or chronic pain. One of the reasons why is that our kidneys and liver cannot automatically eliminate these fat-soluble toxins – they are designed to recycle fats and oils because the body recognizes them as essential nutrients.  The body can’t tell the difference between a fat molecule and a fat-soluble toxic molecule.  It has been proven that dieting without helping the body purify or detoxify released toxins is a sure way to poison yourself and get fatter.

Purification or detoxification measures help your body by providing support to safely remove toxins while you lose weight.  But before I talk about this, it is important to first talk about how to AVOID the sources of toxins, i.e. CLEAN them from your diet or REMOVE them from your home.  Chlorinated pesticides – one of the top nine classes of toxic compounds – are found in nonorganic beef, nonorganic dairy products, farm-raised fish (especially catfish and salmon), and nonorganic butter.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported the most toxic to most clean fruits and vegetables.  The “dirty dozen”, i.e. highest in pesticides of the most toxic includes (nonorganic):  apples, bell peppers, carrots, celery, cherries, imported grapes, kale, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, and strawberries.  If one has to pick and choose what to buy organic (or not), these should be on your organic list.  The “clean dozen”, i.e. lowest in pesticides and therefore safer to buy nonorganic varieties, includes:  asparagus, avocados, cabbage, eggplant, kiwis, mangoes, onions, papayas, pineapples, sweet corn, sweet peas, and watermelon.

How else can one avoid, clean, or remove your exposure to harmful toxins?  Protect your home!  Avoid bringing into your home outdoor toxins by declaring your home a shoe-free zone.  Don’t permit smoking in your home.  Use unscented detergents and fabric softeners.  Replace your furnace filters every 6 weeks and use a quality air purifier.  Consider replacing carpeting with tile or non-pressboard wood flooring.  Check for mold and remediate if your home has it.  Use a chlorine filter for drinking AND on your showerhead.

So, back to safely detoxifying your body while shedding the pounds… Ironically, the measures that help you detoxify or safely remove toxins will ALSO cause you to lose unwanted weight.   Here is a list:

1. Eat plenty of lean protein with every meal.   Protein deficiency impairs the liver’s ability to clear toxins from the body and lowers your immune system, making you more vulnerable to the effects of toxins.
2. Eat foods that help you battle the toxic effects of toxins.  Foods rich in antioxidants include green tea, broccoli, turmeric, and berries
3. Eat healthy, organic fats.  These include fish, olive, safflower, coconut, and flax oils.  They will help us have healthy hair and skin, sleep through the night without having to wake up and eat, help our brain function and insulate our nerves from injury.  Fats in good balance will reduce inflammation in our bodies.  However if we eat too many fats that turn solid at room temperature – cheese, butter, animal fat – it can create inflammation.
4. Eat less refined sugar – the NO WHITE DIET!  Sugar suppresses our immune function, causes fatigue, and increases our risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  Sugar can harm the liver and contribute to a condition known as fatty liver, a condition common in yo-yo dieters.  When sugar is restricted, studies have shown that liver cells stop dying and normal function can return.
5. Avoid the other WHITE food – breads, pastas, and cereals.  Many people are intolerant or reactive to a protein found in grains called gluten.  Just as importantly, wheat is a simple carbohydrate that breaks down quickly into sugar and raises blood sugar.  By eliminating sugar and grains, one can lose weight almost immediately.
6. One more WHITE food – dairy.  Dairy products are the other most common reactive food.  Some healthy alternatives are rice, almond, or coconut milk.  Many people can tolerate goat, sheep, or bison cheese instead of cow.
7. Keep your body’s main exit moving.  The bowel is the main pathway for waste to leave the body.  If your stool is hard or you are not eliminating at least once a day try drinking more water.  Magnesium is a common deficiency in our toxic world.  Without enough magnesium, the bowel can’t hold onto its water.  Probiotics will make your digestion stronger and psyllium husks or rice bran fiber provide good food for the good bacteria in our gut, fluff up our poop, and toxins will bind to it so your body can expel it.  Green veggies containing chlorophyll, such as spinach, kale, and seaweeds, will help remove toxins such as PCBs.
8. Keep the rest of your body moving too!  Walking and other aerobic exercise is not only good for your heart health, but will improve your circulation, aiding your body’s ability to rid toxins.  Sweating, be it from exercise or the sauna, will take some of the burden off the liver as toxins get released through your sweat.  Don’t forget to stay hydrated!
9. Use the secret weapon:  nutritional supplements! Take a quality multivitamin that contains higher (than RDA) amounts of B1, B2, B6, Magnesium, and selenium, nutrients that are needed by the liver to detoxify and get depleted from our chronic exposures.  Other nutrients that will support the body include Alpha-Lipoic acid, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and vitamin C.  Nutrients that will help you burn fat include capsaicin (red pepper) and conjugated linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 oil.  There are a host of other nutrients that can be helpful.

When undergoing a weight loss or new exercise program, I always recommend working with a licensed and knowledgeable health care provider to help you safely and effectively reach your goals.  Protect yourself and your family by removing toxins from the home and the pantry as discussed above.  Just by incorporating the measures above, you may find your energy and stamina return while losing unhealthy and unwanted weight.  Good luck and I wish you the best of health in 2012!

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center in Durango.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, hormone therapy for men and women, and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or www.sonasimc.com.

Post comments and answers either in our comments sections or on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonas-Integrative-Medical-Center/241621760305)  to the questions at the end of the article and you’ll be entered to win a $10 gift card from April’s Garden! Contest ends 12/31/11.

Eating Well (and Healthy) Secrets for the Holidays!

I love the holidays!  It is a time when we tend to do a better job at expressing gratitude to our situations and loved ones around us.  It is a wonderful time to connect with friends and family.  And what about those parties!  Unfortunately, we have less control over food choices at these parties, especially around the dessert table.  This is a great time to share some secrets on taking better care of ourselves through the holidays.

It is very easy to give up our routine to juggle all the extra activities that come with the holidays.  If you can hold onto healthy routines such as adequate sleep, good hydration, eating regularly, exercising and avoiding excess alcohol, they will help you stay energized and healthy.  And, even though I hate to say it, sometimes saying “No” to invites – back to healthy boundaries and self-care – is a good choice.

When walking the buffet table at a party, using the 10-minute rule can be helpful.  If there is something on the table that is calling your name, just walk away for 10 minutes.  Sugar cravings can be helped with eating protein with all meals and snacks.  A supplement that can help with cravings and balancing sugar is chromium picolinate (200 mcg with meals).  Other supplements that can help regulate sugar include:  vitamin C, cinnamon, gymnema sylvestre, and vanadium.

My favorite sugar substitute while cooking is semi-soft dates.  At a 1:1 substitute ratio for sugar, they are a whole food that is high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  Here is a list of healthy sugar substitutes that work well, and won’t raise your blood sugar levels as much as sugar:  agave syrup, stevia powder, xylitol, honey, and black strap molasses.

To use oil or not while cooking… There are some wonderful studies that demonstrate cooking with oils such as coconut and olive oil at baking temperatures are safe and healthy as opposed to cooking at higher temperatures, such as frying.  With that said, mashed bananas, applesauce, prunes, or plain yogurt are excellent alternatives for cooking oil when baking muffins or cakes.  Substitute 1:1 in grandma’s chocolate cake recipe – no one will know the difference!

Happy Holidays!  May your season be blessed with wonderful memories and great health.  Wishing you and yours many blessings for 2012.

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center in Durango.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or www.sonasimc.com.

Test your knowledge!

Post comments and answers either in our comments sections or our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonas-Integrative-Medical-Center/241621760305)  to the following questions and you’ll be entered to win a $10 gift card from April’s Garden! Contest ends 12/31/11.

1. You’re at a holiday party and that triple chocolate cake is calling your name. What do you do?
   1. Eat the entire cake – you deserve it right?
   2. Hold your breath until you pass out, not only avoiding eating the cake but also giving your host quite a scare
   3. Step away from the table for 10 minutes – now do you still want a piece of that cake?
2. What’s your favorite sugar substitute?
   1. Semi-soft dates
   2. Stevia powder
   3. Agave

1. Frequent hand-washing.  Statistically, most people catch cold not from breathing in the virus, but from direct contact with a surface or person with the virus.  We keep hand sanitizer handy for when the sink isn’t available and love the courtesy wipes the grocery stores provide to wash down the shopping cart handles.

1. Provide time for rejuvenation.  This means getting enough sleep – most kids need 9-12 hours nightly; adults 7-9.  While we are sleeping, the body can focus on stimulating the immune system to deal with the “invaders” we were exposed to during the day and boost our immune system to protect us.  Other relaxing activities that can stimulate the immune system include gentle aerobic exercise, yoga, meditation, or tai chi.

1. Watch your (and the kids’) sugar intake.  As little as one teaspoon of sugar will depress the immune system for 5 hours. There is a reason why so many kids get sick after a birthday party!  Excessive alcohol consumption will also reduce your body’s immune system.  Substitute sugary snacks for fruit, especially citrus fruits like oranges, and blueberries.  These sweet tasting fruits are power-packed with nutrients such as bioflavonoids and vitamin C that help the body fight viruses and boost the immune system.

1. The family that supplements together stays healthy together!   The bottom line is, it is difficult to get enough nutrition from the healthiest of diets, much less a bit extra when trying to support or boost the immune system.  The top four nutrients we recommend are a good quality multivitamin, cod/fish liver oil, probiotics, and vitamin D.  Both cod/fish liver oil and probiotics have been proven to not only boost the immune system and reduce inflammation, they are helpful for those with allergies and asthma.  Vitamin D, in addition to bone health, is paramount for immunity and has an anti-viral effect.

1. Reduce stress in your life.  Juggling a full work schedule and getting kids to their activities AND eating wholesome nutritious meals AND getting homework and housework done AND getting enough sleep can challenge even the best organized parents.  But it isn’t impossible.  Sometimes it means saying no and working on doing less well instead of juggling many things poorly.   Our household is an example – with our daughter involved in music, sports, drama, and Girl Scouts, weekends and holiday breaks are intentionally “unplanned”.    We rarely plan anything early morning so that sleep can be caught up on, family time is the main priority and we let go of trying to do too many family outings while school and extracurricular activities dominate.  While it may not be a formula that works for your family, it is an example of healthy boundary setting and prioritizing needs and wants that work in a way to keep everyone in the family healthy.

May we all have a healthy fall and winter!  It is hard to believe that something as simple as moderation of sweets, alcohol, and “doing” coupled with good exercise, sleep and diet can do so much, but it really does work – most of the time.

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or sonasimc@yahoo.com.

We are not talking steroids or the doses that body builders use to enhance their sports performance.  In fact, taking very large doses of testosterone and/or steroids can increase one’s risk of disease and health complications.  Many still believe that testosterone replacement therapy can increase one’s risk of developing prostate cancer.   With Harvard University leading the pack, there have been multitudes of studies that have definitively proven this to be false. In fact, testosterone can be life-saving and life-enhancing and is promoted by most leading institutions of health.

Here are some facts you should know: 1) A study followed men over the age of 40 for five years and found that men with low testosterone levels were 88% more likely to die; and 2) Another study demonstrated that there was a reduction of death for all causes in men whose testosterone levels were normal, regardless if that happened naturally or supplemented.  The running joke at our clinic is that while drinking coffee may reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer, testosterone can do this AND improve your libido – and a slew of other benefits!

What are those “other benefits”?  Maintaining testosterone levels in a normal range can reduce risk one’s risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and can lower cholesterol levels.  A normal testosterone level also improves blood sugar which can prevent the development of diabetes or metabolic syndrome or help control it.  In addition to improving libido and sexual function, normal testosterone levels can further enhance vitality by decreasing depression, increasing muscle mass and strength and reducing fat on the body.

We always recommend testosterone testing.  The test to request from your health care provider is a blood “free” testosterone level and should be done while fasting.  This is the active form of testosterone.  Unfortunately, many unwittingly order a total testosterone, which is the inactive form of testosterone and can be normal while one’s actual active “free” testosterone levels are quite low.  Also, make sure that the lab breaks down normal levels per decade of age as normal levels decrease with age – an eighty-two-year-old should have a different “normal” level than a twenty-eight-year-old.

In addition, we prefer a panel that also measures DHT (a testosterone metabolite) levels and estrogen levels.  Testosterone can break down into these two substances.  If DHT is high, this can increase one’s risk of developing benign prostate enlargement.  Saw Palmetto, a popular herb men take to treat enlarged prostate symptoms, prevents the conversion of testosterone to DHT.  Elevated estrogen levels can cause breasts to grow, decrease libido, and has been associated with prostate and lung cancer.  Elevated estrogen levels can also increase blood sugar and make one more susceptible to diabetes.

We also like to measure 3-beta- and 3-alpha-Adiol levels.  Just like women make healthier and protective estrogen metabolites and unhealthier estrogen metabolites, men produce healthy and unhealthy testosterone metabolites that can decrease or increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.  As there are things one can do to make these levels the healthiest they can be, we prefer the holistic approach to testing and maximizing prostate health.

Are there risks associated with testosterone replacement therapy?  Too little testosterone increases one’s risks of disease and cancer and too much testosterone can too.  Risks can be minimized or eliminated by a few simple steps.  First, insist on the comprehensive testosterone metabolite test and estrogen level discussed above – this may mean seeking help from someone else more knowledgeable than your family provider.  Second, avoid pill-form or injectable form testosterone.  When taken orally, the testosterone will go to the liver first and can cause cholesterol levels to increase instead of decrease.  When injected, the testosterone levels are high for the days after the injection and low in the week(s) before the next injection, instead of a constant normal.  The preferred route is topical/cream application.

Checking testosterone levels periodically will help avoid the complications of too much testosterone.  An ideal goal is to be 70-80% “normal range” for your age.  Higher than normal levels of testosterone can cause elevated blood counts, liver inflammation, decreased sperm count, high cholesterol, and an increased risk of heart disease.  Blood counts, liver enzyme tests, thyroid test, cholesterol levels, and a PSA should be done occasionally.

Again, testosterone can literally save lives, and can definitely improve health and vitality for men.  But, like any drug or hormone, safety should be monitored by a knowledgeable provider to eliminate unnecessary risks.  Wishing all the men out there health and vitality!

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or sonasimc@yahoo.com.

Where:  Whole Expo, La Plata County Fairgrounds

Inflammation in the body increases one’s risk of developing heart disease almost 10-fold. It is also associated with pain, cancer, infection and chronic disease. Learn how to identify the presence of inflammation in your body, some of its causes, and ways to naturally reduce this silent killer.

We have limited first-come, first-serve tickets available at Sonas if you would like FREE access to the Expo and to hear Renae speak.

Renae Blanton, MSN, FNP has over 20 years of experience in helping patients reach their health goals. She is owner-practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center where she focuses in Anti-aging medicine, Bio-identical Hormones for men and women, family medicine, acute and chronic disease, and environmental issues such as heavy metal toxicity and detoxification.

As we move into fall, leaving endless summer days behind us, it seems appropriate to talk about a “sunshine vitamin” that can help you prevent illness all year long.  Have you noticed that you ache or hurt more in the winter, or catch a cold or flu more often?  Many of us escape the cold and dark by seeking a warmer climate.  It is not coincidental that fatigue, achy muscles and bones, including arthritis and low back pain improve when we take that trip to a warm sunny locale.  And it is not a coincidence that the rate of influenza is highest in winter and early spring.  Vitamin D deficiency, which is a hormone our body makes from sunlight, is directly linked to musculoskeletal pain and a host of other conditions including influenza, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and cancer.  Even in Colorado, I am seeing vitamin D deficiency in epidemic proportions.

What is this mystery vitamin that is really a hormone? Vitamin D’s most notable role is to stimulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus.  Vitamin D is required for the intestines to absorb calcium from our diet and it promotes calcium reabsorption in the bones, preventing bone loss and osteoporosis.  Additionally, vitamin D influences cellular functions and growth, immunity, muscle strength and coordination, reduction of C-reactive protein and interleukins (markers of inflammation such as vascular/heart diseases and arthritic conditions), and apoptosis/cell death (signaling cancerous cells to stop growing).

How do we make Vitamin D? Vitamin D is produced in our bodies when ultraviolet B (UV-B) sunlight or tanning bed light hits our skin and causes a cholesterol derivative in the skin to change to vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).  Cholecalciferol is then transported to the liver and then the kidneys, where it is converted to the active form of vitamin D3, calcitriol.

However, UV-B does not penetrate glass, so exposure while driving or sitting by a sunny window does not help produce vitamin D.  The use of sunscreen with an SPF 8 or greater inhibits the amount of Vitamin D we make by over 95%. People with dark skin, obesity, and who are older have a decreased ability to produce vitamin D, thus are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency.  Other people at risk of deficiency include those with malabsorption problems – including those who have had part of their digestive system removed, Crohn’s disease, and cystic fibrosis.  Disorders of the liver or kidneys result in impaired conversion of cholecalciferol into the usable vitamin D compounds.

What happens if I am deficient? The classic condition associated with vitamin D deficiency is rickets – symptoms include bone pain, dental problems, muscle loss, increased tendency for fractures, skeletal deformity (e.g. bowed legs), and low blood calcium levels.  The second most known ailment attributed to vitamin D deficiency is osteoporosis.  I have mentioned that low back pain and other muscle and bone pain can be attributed to vitamin D deficiency; fibromyalgia is frequently improved with correcting Vitamin D deficiencies.  Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to psoriasis, high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid dysfunction, chronic fatigue, depression, blood clotting abnormalities, deafness, insomnia, vision loss, schizophrenia, autism, insulin-dependent diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease, Grave’s disease, decreased glucose tolerance, insulin insensitivity and cancers including colon, breast, prostate, and melanoma.  Vitamin D has become a hallmark integrative treatment for infections such as influenza and supportive cancer care.

It is getting dark now, what do I do? Get tested! As vitamin D deficiency is common and linked with many diseases, be proactive!  The normal range is 30.0 to 100.0 ng/mL.  In our integrative circles, we believe that levels between 60-80ng/ml are optimal.  A recent study released looking at women and breast cancer discovered that women who had vitamin D levels 52 ng/ml and higher had one-half the incidence of breast cancer than women with lesser levels. If your levels are less than 60ng, supplement!

In November 2010, the U.S. Institute of Medicine determined new daily tolerable upper limits for vitamin D.  To use doses higher than this, which we do in integrative medicine, it is imperative to work with a knowledgeable provider and to have your levels checked regularly.

Infants 0-6 Months:             1000 IU

Infants 6-12 Months:           1500 IU

Child 1-3 Years:                   2500 IU

Child 4-8 Years:                   3000 IU

Child/Adult 9 and older:      4000 IU

Vitamin D is fat soluble and is stored in the blood and fat tissue.  Vitamin D is absorbed better when taken with vitamin E.  In summer months, 15 minutes of sun exposure to face, hands, and arms (without sunscreen) two to three times a week usually is enough and does not require supplementation.  Tanning beds (which are not recommended because we really don’t know what all the consequences are) can produce vitamin D in the skin if the highest UV-B: UV-A ratio is used.

Other than oil fish such as cod, tuna and salmon, vitamin D is not plentiful in the diet.  Foods that are fortified with vitamin D include milk (but not yogurt or most cheeses), orange juice, soy milks, margarines, and breakfast cereals.  Other food sources include eggs, mushrooms and algae.

Cod liver oil is very rich in vitamin D, with one tablespoon supplying 1,200 – 1,400 IU.  Because we worry about mercury levels in fish, and especially from fish livers, I recommend choosing a cod liver oil supplement that is of high quality and has been tested for mercury levels (thus usually costs a bit more) – there are some decent tasting brands out there!  Fortified milks usually contain about 100 IU of vitamin D per cup, with cereals and eggs containing less.  Three ounces of tuna has about 200 IU vitamin D; 1.75 ounces of sardines, 250 IU; and 3.5 ounces of salmon, 360 IU.

Can’t Vitamin D be toxic? Toxicity from vitamin D is very unlikely in healthy people at intake levels less than 5,000 IU/day and has not been observed from sun exposure.  In general, chronic ingestion of 50,000 IU to 100,000 IU daily of vitamin D is required to produce hypercalcemia (high blood levels of calcium).  However, people with William’s syndrome (genetic defect in vitamin D metabolism), primary hyperparathyroidism, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, lymphoma, and people taking thiazide diuretics need to consult a qualified practitioner before supplementing with vitamin D because of the risk of hypercalcemia.  The symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include muscle pain and weakness (from hypercalcemia), increased urination, nervousness, confusion, and arrhythmia. Hypercalcemia left undetected can cause calcification of soft tissues, including the kidneys, blood vessels, heart, and lungs.

Tax write-off? Can we write off that vacation to a warm, sunny place as a medical expense?  You will need to ask a CPA that.  But I do know that vitamin D deficiency is epidemic.  We can get vitamin D through sun, diet, and supplementation.  To treat and prevent many illnesses including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, muscle aches and pains, osteoporosis, malabsorption problems, or kidney or liver problems, it is essential to get your levels checked by a healthcare practitioner, who can prescribe higher doses for you if needed.

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or sonasimc@yahoo.com.

Not necessarily.  This same event, which is designed to be a short-term event in the body – going away when we are healed – can go on chronically.  The presence of chronic inflammation in our bodies is associated with a nine-fold increase in the incidence of heart disease and is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer and a host of other diseases.

Why would anyone ever have chronic inflammation?  We are learning this answer more every day.  We know that frequent infections, undiagnosed infections, and exposure to certain viruses that stay in the body contribute to the presence of chronic inflammation.   When unhealthy levels of cholesterol exist in the body, fatty deposits will stick to the walls of arteries.   Quite probably due to the inflammation cascade activated by the presence of an ongoing infection, it is also stimulated to try and break down these deposits.  These deposits can then break away and clog the heart’s arteries or burst them, causing a heart attack.  They can also travel to the brain where they lodge, causing a stroke.

We can test for the presence of inflammation with a test called the C-reactive protein or CRP.  CRP is stimulated by fat cells to be released by the liver in response to an injury or infection.  It is a simple blood test that you can ask your health care provider to perform, and is a better indicator for the risk of developing heart disease than cholesterol levels.

What if your levels are high?  Believe it or not, statin drugs that treat cholesterol also lowers CRP.  More natural approaches that may have fewer side effects include:  fish oil and other essential fatty acids, bioflavonoids such as vitamin C and quercitin, turmeric, glucosamine, boswelia, and vitamin D.  Work with a licensed and knowledgeable practitioner to see which of these would be right for you.  A diet that eliminates sugar, processed foods and is high in fresh fruits and vegetables will lower inflammation, along with stress reduction, good sleep and exercise.  Avoiding foods that you are allergic to such as gluten, soy, dairy and nuts will also lower inflammation.  Checking for the presence of underlying infections that is causing the elevated CRP/inflammation can be helpful.   Quit smoking or excessive alcohol intact, both which causes inflammation.

The take home message is this:  inflammation is a blessing when we injure ourselves or have an acute infection but a curse that can cause many health problems when we have it over time.  Ask your health care provider to check your CRP levels and if they’re high, take measures to identify why and invest working with a knowledgeable provider to help you lower your inflammation.

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or sonasimc@yahoo.com.

Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT)

In addition to helping with the symptoms associated with menopause, and the male version of hormone decline, BHRT offers many other significant health benefits.  For both men and women, there is scientific evidence that BHRT will reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, heart disease, and osteoporosis.  For men, it has also been proven to reduce deaths from all causes (we suspect the same is for women, it just hasn’t been proven yet).  And of course, it slows the progression of aging, including appearance, improves libido, and gives one more “get up and go”.

There are some potential problems with BHRT, but most can be corrected if you are working with a health care provider knowledgeable with BHRT and if you are monitoring your hormone levels regularly.  BHRT can help decrease the risk of cancer, but again, there is a slight risk of cancer if hormones are not monitored correctly.  Women need to make sure their practitioner is knowledgeable in monitoring the estrogen quotient, the “2/16” ratio, estrone level, and 4-hyroxyestrone level.  The best way to monitor these is a 24-hour urine and if they are out of whack, your risk of cancer is increased REGARDLESS if you do BHRT.  There are things your practitioner can do to help you balance/lower those levels.  For men, we know the risk of prostate cancer is higher with having low testosterone levels and if a male is converting testosterone to estrogen (very common in aging), creating a low “2/16” ratio.  Another risk factor for men is a low androstanediol/DHT ratio.

Lower Inflammation in Your Body – Measure that C-Reactive Protein (CRP)!

CRP is a protein that the liver releases in response to stress and infection, i.e. inflammation.  If this level is over 1.0, you have an increased risk of heart disease.  When this level is high, it damages your blood vessels by hardening them.  Damage to your circulation will progress aging as well as increase your risk of cancer, stroke, or heart attack.

CRP can be lowered by following the Mediterranean Diet guidelines – lean meats and vegetable fats, less saturated fats, lots of fruits and vegetables, and foods high in fiber.  Eating more oily fish, taking fish oil supplements, vitamin E and vitamin C have all been proven to lower CRP levels.

Consider Nutritional Testing To Make Sure Your Nutritional Needs Are Being Met

Personally, I love performing this test on people and watching their amazement on their need for more nutrients than what they are taking or thought they needed (the data does not lie!).  There are a few specialty labs that provide nutritional testing to make sure, regardless of actual levels of a nutrient, that your needs are being met.  These tests look at the metabolites of your fatty acids, anti-oxidants (vitamin C, glutathione, alpha-lipoic acid), amino acids, and the metabolites of how our body is breaking down the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins we consume.  The bottom line is that if your nutritional needs aren’t being met, then the aging process happens much faster and one’s risk of developing disease increases.

Work on Your Body’s Detoxification Pathways

Skin, our body’s largest organ, helps our body detoxify and excrete the toxins and other “bad” stuff we are exposed to.  The key to younger and healthier, glowing skin is to promote a healthy liver and to help the skin detoxify.  Anti-aging oriented clinics can test you for your body’s load of toxins/heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, and help you safely detoxify them.  Clinics will also utilize glutathione to help support the liver to cleanse the body of toxins and waste.  You can help with this by eating lots of green leafy vegetables which contain the nutrients that help the body rid toxins.  Vitamin C coupled with a nutrient called n-acytlcysteine, or NAC will turn into glutathione in the body.  Both vitamin C and NAC are inexpensive supplements that you can buy and take daily.

Sweating also helps rid your body of toxins.  Saunas are an excellent way to promote detoxification as well as good old fashioned exercise.   Salt scrubs after sweating seem to aid the skin rid the toxins – and skin feels awesome afterwards!

This article only scratches the surface of anti-aging measures that can be done at home and with the direction and supervision of a knowledgeable practitioner.  Anti-aging medicine does not have to be expensive and is not just for the elite.  While I would never criticize the people who seek out external measures to help them look younger, I hope this article educates that we can do things daily to slow the aging process from the inside that has the extra benefit of reducing our risks of developing disease.  May we all be as youthful, energetic, and healthy as we can be!

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 970-247-2500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            970-247-2500 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 970-247-2500 end_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting or sonasimc@yahoo.com.

A few weeks ago, I observed a good friend of mine preparing an area of his very small townhome yard for gardening.  I was pleasantly surprised when he informed me that his intentions were not to grow flowers, but vegetables.  I greatly applauded his efforts and this is why:  By growing his own food source naturally, he has reduced his exposure/consumption to genetically modified organisms, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

All three have been linked with clear evidence to cancer, thyroid problems, auto-immune disorders, hormone imbalances and sterility, multiple food and other allergy sensitivities, heavy metal toxicity, and celiac disease. Compared to rest of the U.S., I have been astounded at how many of my patients have these problems.

Genetically modified plants, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were not designed with our health in mind – they were designed to help crops be resistant to pests, and thus produce greater yield crops. They contain fewer nutrients than organically grown foods.  The discussion of how these substances affect the body are worthy of their own articles but for this article, I would like to focus on the solution to the problem.  I.e., how can one find sources of food that is alive, nutritious, healthy, and safe to consume?

#1 Wherever the vegetable comes from – go raw as often as you can.  The FDA calls fresh, unheated fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds “superfoods”.  They are right.  But beyond a salad, how does one eat raw?  I admit eating a salad every day can get boring.  Fortunately, there are some talented chefs who sell easy-to-prepare cookbooks that taste so good that we WANT to consume more raw foods!   My challenge to us all is to invest in one of these books (or borrow from the library) and prepare a new raw food dish once a week.

#2 Go Mediterranean, locally and hormone/antibiotic free!  The evidence is clear, that people who follow a Mediterranean style diet have less diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.  The Mediterranean diet promotes eating foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids – olive oil, coconut oil, fatty cold-water fish (salmon and tuna), nuts, flaxseed, and lots of green vegetables. Vegetables and protein should comprise 85% of your daily intake, complex grains 15%.  Fortunately, we have a plethora of free-range, organically, hormone and antibiotic free ranches that sell healthy and tasty beef, goat, and chickens.  Game meats – deer, elk, moose, and caribou are wonderful choices and the exercise in hunting them is another health benefit!

#3 Buy local!  I believe many people have the perception that locally grown food costs more.  I have been surprised at how similar the prices at our local health food store have been to our chain grocery stores.  With that said, I am very aware that our local choices do cost more on average.  As a health care provider, I look at it as an upfront cost to one’s health that WILL save you money in the end.  By investing in your health by paying a little more for healthier food, I can promise you three things:  1) you will save money in the long run by not developing – or greatly reducing your risk of – an expensive illness such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes; 2) your quality of life will be better by not being sick; and 3) how you eat/prepare food, thus teaching your children, will make them a healthier individual as well.

#4 Consider growing your own garden, even it is a tiny one.  I grew up on a farm, and as an adult, nothing brings me as much joy as the process of cultivating the soil and watching a seed (or starter) grow and yield food that I can eat, and share with my family and community.  Children love growing things, too!  And one does not have to have their own backyard/field to grow food.  Containers or pots on the deck can yield tomatoes, squash, cucumber, lettuce, and greens quite well.  Some communities also have community gardens that one can become involved in.

Remember, every little bit we can do here and there will reduce our need to purchase modified and chemically-grown foods to meet our nutritional needs.  But if you can’t grow your own, where can you educate yourself or find local organic sources?

Fortunately, we live in an area where many farmers possess the mission and dream of providing their community with affordable, sustainable and healthy food.  Here are a few local resources to learn more:

1) Durango Farmer’s Market – The Durango Farmers Market is a venue for local agriculturalists and artisans to meet to share their harvests and talents with the Durango Community.  Their website is http://www.durangofarmersmarket.org

2) The Cortez Farmer’s Market – a link of vendors who participate and more information can be found at http://www.cortezfarmmarket.com/vendor.html;

3) Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado – they provide a local foods resource listing.  Their website is http://www.sustainableswcolorado.org/food_initiatives; and

4) Healthy Lifestyle La Plata – their mission is to empower and support an interconnected community where citizens and visitors have access to affordable, local, nutritious and culturally appropriate food.  Their website is http://www.healthylifestylelaplata.org/.

Renae Blanton, MSN, ANP is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Sonas Integrative Medical Center.  She specializes in integrative family medicine with a focus on environmental issues such as lead toxicity, anti-aging, women’s health and chronic disease and illness.  She can be reached at 970-247-2500 or sonasimc@yahoo.com.