Well Body

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Streamlined Recovery of Digestive Health

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Recently I discovered GI Balance by Xymogen, a supplement which simplifies the effective protocol I developed to treat clients with digestive problems,  

When the capacity to absorb nutrients is compromised….your health is compromised,

Recovering gut health is a complex endeavor with multiple targets to cleanse, heal and restore gut function. 

GI Balance combines the scope of supplements in my protocol which I used to effectively treat hundred of clients over 20 years in practice as a clinical nutritionist.

If the holidays have taken a toll on your gut health, I recommend combining Gi Balance with a probiotic (ProbioMax) and  a digestive enzyme (Xymozyme) to launch your new year of optimal health. 

GI Balance, ProbioMax and Xymozyme are only available through a practitioner,  Click on this link, https://wellbelly.net/e-store/,  to place an order with a 10% discount using my unique access codes.  

Bredesen Protocol in Detail

THE BREDESEN PRO TOCOL

Longevity Healthcare & WellBelly

What is the Bredesen Protocol? How does it treat Alzheimer’s?

Is the Bredesen Protocol Right for You?

The Bredesen Protocol at Longevity Healthcare / WellBelly

The Bredesen Protocol is through the combined efforts of Peter Muran, M.D. and Sandra Dunn, Ph.D.

Schedule a 30-minute introduction to become acquainted with Peter Muran, MD, and have any questions answered before committing to engage in the full program.

Dr. Pete Muran is a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner with greater than 30 years of experience Including Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Surgery and Ob/Gyn.

Dr Pete is known to get down to the cause(s) and treatments for:

  • Mold toxicity
  • Hormonal/thyroid imbalance
  • Infectious disease (Lyme and SARS-COV)
  • Heavy metals
  • Liver disease

• Metabolic disorder
• Cardiovascular disease
• Substance Use Disorder and • Organic Cognitive Changes.

Dr. Pete is nationally known for knowledge and treatment with IV Therapies utilizing Vitamins, Minerals and Amino Acids. As per Dr Pete, “IV Therapies boost the patient along the road to a healthy recovery”.

30-minute Consultation Fee: $200
(if the prospect decides to move forward the $200 fee is applied to the program cost)

Schedule Your 30 Minute Consultation.

Dr. Sandra Dunn, Ph.D. Functional Medicine Nutritionist & Certified Health Coach. The Personal Bredesen Plan is best achieved with the individual attention of Dr. Sandy, Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition. Over the last 25+ years, she has partnered with clients to resolve some of the most challenging health issues including:

  • Weight loss resistance
  • Candidiasis
  • Leaky Gut Syndrome
  • Food intolerances
  • Diabetes type 2
  • Environmental allergies/intolerance

• Crohn’s disease • Psoriasis
• Eczema
• Dysbiosis

• Irritable bowel syndrome
Small Intestine Bacteria Overgrowthpage1image27869760

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THE BREDESEN PRO TOCOL

Longevity Healthcare & WellBelly

‘A New Beginning’ Appointment

If the prospective new patient decides to move forward then they will receive a 6.5-Months Personalized Bredesen Protocol designed by Dr.’s Muran and Dunn, Including:

Dr. Pete

• 2-hour detailed intake to review a comprehensive family, health and cognitive history, medication and supplements, diet, sleep

• specifics concerning cognizant decline

and AQ 21.

  • Two comprehensives RECODE and Neuro-Cog Tests from CNS vital signs. At the beginningand fourth month, after laboratory report.
  • 90-minute review of all lab work & RECODE report to personalize the supplement, hormone,lifestyle plan, in conjunction with Dr. Dunn, nutritionist and health coach.
  • Personalized IV Infusion based on RECODE report.
  • 45-minute follow up appointments every six weeks with Dr. Muran. A total of 4 appointments.Dr. SandyThe first 60-minute health coach appointment is usually within a week of the initial physician appointment with speed in adherence to the diet, and the second health coach appointment is approximately two weeks following.
  • 5 hours of private nutrition consultation • Lifestyle changes & coaching
  • Education in stress resilience • Digestive health optimization
  • Exercise and brain trainingFurther meetings are spaced out as needed to manage each individual’s needs. The personal strengths to achieve change will be identified with a VIA strength profile.The final appointment will include a summary of the progress achieved from the Bredesen Protocol.Start the Bredesen Protocol Today! 6.5 – Months All-Inclusive Program: $3,850 Schedule Your Appointment Today

• extensive lab workup

• cognitive testing (mocha)
• an assessment of CNS vital signspage2image28104320

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THE BREDESEN PRO TOCOL

Longevity Healthcare & WellBelly

Continue Improving Your Health!

After Completing the Bredesen Protocol’s 6.5 months Program Continue to Work with Dr. Muran and Dr. Sandy in 3 Month Increments.

The ‘Star Student Program’ includes:

Dr. Pete

  • 2- 45 minute follow up appointments (continuing with the every 6 week schedule) that continues with the personalized program made during the initial Bredesen Protocol Program.
  • During the first visit labs will be given to be completed and reviewed with RECODE report at the second visit.
  • Personalized IV Infusion made by Dr. Muran himself is administered based on RECODE report during the second visit.Want one of Dr. Muran’s custom IV’s at both of your visits? Add an additional IV for only $250Dr. Sandy

• 2 -1 hour follow up private nutritional and health coaching sessions with Dr. Sandy that continue with the custom program developed during the initial Bredesen Protocol program.

Continue Your Progress with the ‘Star Student Program’! 3 – Months All-Inclusive Program: $1,300 __________________________________________

Did you start the Bredesen Protocol with another physician but want to switch providers?

Join Our ‘Press The Restart Button’ Program Today!

This program is for the patient that has already started or even completed the Bredesen Protocol with another physician but would like to transfer to Dr. Muran and Dr. Sandy’s care.

  • –  Get a $500 discount off the regular Bredesen Protocol fee
  • –  Enjoy all of the services listed in the Bredesen Protocol using the inital laboratory results youreceived from your previous physician.Start Fresh with the “Press The Restart Button’ Program! 6.5 – Months Restart on the Bredesen Protocol Program: $3,350

“In the Weeds” with Vitamin D

Vitamin D Deficiency

42% of the US population is Vitamin D deficient:

  • Sun blocks and dark pigmentation can prevent the natural production of Vitamin D in the skin
  • Inadequate intake of foods containing vitamin D such as fish liver oil, trout, salmon, mushrooms and egg yolks
  • With age, kidneys may reduce the capacity to covert vitamin D to it’s active form
  • Poor digestion prevents absorption of vitamin D
  • Obesity, as fat cells sequester vitamin D, reducing the available vitamin D

Depending on your complexion, 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure of your arms and legs will manufacturer your daily vitamin D requirements.  

Vitamin D Supplements

Although fat soluble, toxic levels of vitamin D are rare.   Toxic levels require an excessive intake, greater than 40,000 IU of vitamin D, over an extended period of time to reach harmful levels.

Daily supplementation of 4000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D is beneficial according to current medical literature.   The addition of Vitamin K2 promotes the cellular absorption of vitamin D.  Increasingly, supplement manufacturers are combining K3 with vitamin D for a more effective result. Much greater dosages are indicated for short-term, therapeutic treatment of an infection.

https://journals.lww.com/co-otolaryngology/Abstract/2011/06000/Vitamin_D__immunomodulation_of_asthma,_allergic.17.aspx

Why Viral Flu and Colds Decline in the Summer

The Vitamin D we naturally produce in our skin from exposure to the sun may be one of the reasons we experience a reduction in flu and colds during the summer months.  Conversely, these viral infections increase in the fall and winter months as we spend less time out of doors in reduced sun light.

Over the last several years, the role of vitamin D in immune modulation has shown to have a significant impact on immune function.  In particular, respiratory conditions ,such as the inflammatory conditions of asthma and allergies,  respond positively to adequate levels of vitamin D.  

Low blood levels of vitamin D  are linked to to increased risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune disorders.

COVID & Vitamin D Link

COVID-19 first gains entrance into the cells by attaching the ACE2 receptor.  If this receptor is unhealthy due to inflammation caused by some existing condition, the virus can cleave it off (remove it) and gain entrance into the cell.  Prevention of COVID is accomplished by keeping the ACE2 receptor healthy.  Vitamin D, in addition to vitamin A and C,  is effective in maintaining the health of the ACE2 receptor.

Once in the cell, COVID dramatically impacts the respiratory system by producing a cytokine storm (an over-production of cytokine proteins produced by the immune system response).  Vitamin D along with green tea, zinc and quercetin modulates the over-production of these cytokine proteins. 

It Really Is A Gut Feeling

The feelings you experience are related to the health of your gut.  As our understanding of the microbiome evolves, new understanding of the gut-brain link is unfolding.  

The link between the gut and the brain, known as the microbiome-gut-brain axis., is a two way communication system.  Researchers are asking:  do the bacteria in our gut affect our psychology and behavior? 

The trillion single-cell organisms that reside in the intestines creating the microbiome influences our health in a variety of ways.  Recent discoveries reveal that the microbiome is involved in the synthesis of vitamins B and K; the production of short-chain fatty acids; inflammatory and autoimmune conditions as well as obesity.

Those minuscule creatures that lie in different parts of your gut, most of them sitting at the mucus layer just on top of your gut surface.   That allows them to be just microns away from receptors and sensors with which your gut records the chatter that goes on between them and measures what does on inside.  So the microbes know what state of mind you are in, and at the same time, our brain knows the signs that microbes send up to us.  The chatter between the brain in the gut is cross-talk with a huge impact on our immune system, hormones, mood and behavior.

 Most of us have experienced the relationship between stress, anxiety and a soft bowel movement…the brain impacting the gut.  However, studies, also, show a relationship between gut dysregulation impacting anxiety and depression.  Other studies have shown that  gluten-induced gut inflammation can show up in images of brain inflammation. Lastly, the majority of serotonin (a neurotransmitter related to emotional well-being) is produced in the digestive system.

Bottom line:  the cross-talk chatter between the brain and the gut depends on the health of the digestive system.  Improving the quality of your emotional life and cognitive function requires attention to the health of your gut.

Sugar Undermines Sobriety

Sweet foods, and even just the taste of sweetness, contributes to relapse from substance abuse.  Dietary interventions play an important role in recovery from a decade of epidemic opioid abuse.

Long before I became a nutrition professional I worked in a residential drug recovery program.  Everyone in recovery drank lots of coffee with lots of sugar and smoked a log of cigarettes.  Thirty years ago, we had no idea how these behaviors undermined the recovery of our clients.

Today, multiple research studies demonstrate that sugar stimulates two brain factors that are also stimulated with drug use.  D-1, dopamine (the reward factor) and Mu-1 the opioid receptor in the brain are similarly stimulated by both sugar and addictive drugs.  At the same time, acetylcholine (the satiety response) is reduced, sometimes to elimination.

In addition, research studies have shown that the withdrawal symptoms from sugar  has the same physical response, teeth chattering, anxiety and imbalance, as withdrawal from addictive drugs.

This overlap between mechanisms mediating drug reward and palatable food reward have significant implications for maintaining painfully achieved sobriety.  In short, activating the reward mechanisms in the brain with sweet foods can result in addictive drug cravings.

A diet low in sugar and sugar-like tastes and high in nutrients often depleted during addiction ranks high among the factors that support sobriety. Among the self-care skills required for recovery is learning how the recovery client can nourish themselves for long-term success.

In this epidemic of opioid abuse, the nutrition professional has become an essential member of the recovery team.  To view research citations, visit the blog at www.wellbelly.net/blog  

  

  

Supporting Research:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2002.66

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763407000589

https://journals.lww.com/neuroreport/Abstract/2001/11160/Excessive_sugar_intake_alters_binding_to_dopamine.35.aspx

https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo200973

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452205004288

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306452205015034

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938408000103

 

Gut Health Reduces Risk for Heart Disease

Your Gut Health Impacts Your Risk for Heart Disease

Researchers have linked the health of the gut microbiome to the risk for obesity and diabetes. Now, we have substantial evidence that the microbiome can impact the risk for atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries).

How does the gut microbiome influence disease?  Humans actually have 2 genomes:  human genes and the collective genes (the gut microbiome); trillions of microbes that coexist within each human gut.  In fact there are 100 times more genes in the microbiome than there are human genes in the body.  

These microbiota genes generate proteins, including hormones, neurotransmitters and molecules of inflammation that can enter the circulation and affect human health. This activity of the microbiota creates not only a second genome, it is also like an additional endocrine organ.

A recently JAMA published article gives considerable evidence to how the human gut microbiome may affect the development of atherosclerosis by influencing risk factors for heart disease and by directly effecting the initiation and progress of atherosclerotic plaques.

 Conclusion:  Improving the health of your gut microbiome can modify your risk for three major causes of death:  diabetes, obesity and hearth disease.

For more than a dozen years, Dr. Sandy Muran has helped her clients measurably reduce their risk for disease.  Contact her for more information at drsandy@wellbelly.net.

Coffee Jitters?

 

Jittery hands, rapid heart rate, difficulty sleeping….you have a sensitivity to caffeine.  Thanks in part to your genetics, you are caffeine sensitive…your body breaks down caffeine more slowly which makes it stay in your system longer. 

Here are ten ways to wake up without coffee and be kind to your body:

Turn on some tunes that make you happy

Stretch your body to increase blood flow

Break the fast with a morning meal that includes protein

Drink a tall glass of water to rehydrate from hours without a drink

Get moving with a short stretching routine

Replace the coffee ritual with another hot drink such as hot water with lemon or herbal tea.

A cold water splash on your face rattles your alert button

Expose yourself to sunlight

Smell your way to alert with essential oils such as peppermint and eucalyptus

Meditate with a few moments of deep breathing to oxygenate your brain

Good Morning!!!   Great Day!!!

Run for Your Neurons

Another?  new study on the benefits of exercise? Yes!  A new study with mice finds that physical activity not only increases the quantity of new neurons in the brain, but are qualitatively different than other neurons.

We know that the brain is a dynamic, active organ in which new neurons and neural connections are created throughout life, especially in the areas of the brain related to memory and thinking.

In this study, the neurons created by cardiovascular activity looked unique.  They ware larger, displayed more and longer dendrites after only one week of exercise than brain cells from inactive mice.

Although this study was conducted with mice and not people, it’s a good bet that any physical activity that raises your heart rate for 20 minutes benefits the brain just as cardiovascular activity does for all the other organs.

Remember next time the sofa looks more appealing than putting on your running shoes think about all of those new, high-quality neurons that are going to interact on your behalf to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Fire in the Brain

Fire in the Brain

A friend is moving cattle through a wild fire damaged area in the Sierras to  the protection of green pastures.  She describes the earth as a surreal canvas of black and white staying alert to the hidden danger of smoldering fire just beneath the surface.

Of the three primary threats to brain health, inflammation smolders beneath the surface while the brain protects the neurons with the amyloid plaques of Alzheimers Disease (AD). Inflammation is the natural immune system response to invaders; however, chronic exposure to invaders results in an immune response in overdrive – smoldering fire in the brain.

Once believed to be impenetrable, the blood/brain barrier is now known to be comprised by infectious invaders such as viruses, oral bacterias, spirochetes of lyme disease, fungi such as candida albican and black mold as well as proteins modified by binding with glucose to form AGEs, advanced glycation end-products.

Smoldering Fires

Just beneath the surface of everyday life are the the smoldering fires of brain inflammation grow into the flames of AD.

Elevated blood glucose leads to insulin resistance and diabetes.  In addition, excess glucose silently attaches to many different proteins, like remoras to a shark creating AGE’s (Advanced glycation end-products).  These AGEs cause free radicals to form.  Free radicals are unstable molecules which damage anything they bump into such as DNA, cell membranes and blood vessels thus reducing nutritional support to the brain and causing leakiness of the barrier between blood and brain.

Compromised gut health weakens our immune system defense against to the impact of exposure to viral and bacterial invaders.  Digestive incompetence; SIBO (small intestine bacteria overgrowth and Candidasis (overgrowth of fungi in the large intestine and colon) disrupt the fueling of the body with nutrients and damages the immune system.

Poor oral hygiene allows damaging bacterias in the mouth to dominate the oral micro-biome and permits the migration of these bacterias across the blood/brain barrier.

Fire Prevention

Preventing chronic inflammation prevents fire in the brain.  The following three habits cools systemic inflammation:

Balanced diet of clean, whole foods dominated by vegetables, healthy fats and proteins reduces blood glucose preventing insulin resistance and diabetes. Ketonic and paleo are examples of brain healthy dietary choices.

Gut health supported by adequate digestive enzymes and gastric acid; maintaining a balanced micro-biome builds the critical foundation of a resilient immune system.

Regular oral hygiene takes on a new importance as it discourages the growth of damaging bacteria.

Need a “Smokey the Bear” to make your way though the fire zone to green pastures of brain health?   Functional medicine physicians, nutritionists and holistic dentists know where to look for the smoldering fire beneath the surface and how to stamp out the Alzheimers flames in the brain.

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