Dr. Don Davis

The Thyroid Cascade – Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?

April 2, 2014 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

Thyroid function is surprisingly complex, with hormones changing into other hormones, organs affecting other organs and the brain controlling it all. Because of this, effective treatment for thyroid imbalances just isn’t as simple as prescribing synthetic thyroid hormone and hoping for the best. More often than not, the standard medical approach is surprisingly ineffective after just a short time, leading to a slow (or fast) return of fatigue, hair loss and weight gain. My practice is filled with people who have the same symptoms before and after being treated this way.

Let’s take a patient at our clinic, Betsy, who didn’t suffer any symptoms of low thyroid whatsoever until she became pregnant five years ago. She then developed all the symptoms mentioned above, plus cold hands and severe constipation. After a confusing time with her doctors, who diagnosed her with depression, it was finally found that she had low thyroid function. She was put on Synthroid (levothyroxin) and felt a bit better, but only for about two months. Slowly all her symptoms returned, became much worse, and she had the additional problems of brain fog and insomnia. When I first saw her, she was so fatigued and un-functional that she thought she might lose her family, job and mind if something wasn’t done.

Our work up showed that her thyroid was functioning below par, in spite of taking prescription thyroid hormones. This was because of an under-conversion of T4 (thyroid hormone) to T3, the active form of the hormone that does all the work of increasing cell function, preventing fatigue and elevating mood. We then set to work correcting the problems she had with this T4 to T3 conversion. Using targeted supplements and a dietary change to decrease inflammation and alter the bacterial balance in her GI tract (the place where conversion happens) resolved her fatigue, brain fog and insomnia.

It is unfortunately very common that doctors (including most endocrinologists) don’t fully test all the indicators of possible thyroid problems. It turns out that there is a Thyroid Cascade–a series of steps–that must take place in order to synthesize thyroid hormone, and have it work affectively. These steps are listed below.

The 8 Steps of the Thyroid Cascade

1) The brain (hypothalamus), realizing a need for thyroid hormone, sends messages to the pituitary gland.

2) The pituitary gland sends a message to the thyroid to produce more hormone.

3) The thyroid stimulates TPO to transport iodine to the thyroid.

4) This leads to the production of T4 and T3.

5) These hormones are then bound to protein (Thyroid Binding Globulin).

6) The T4 is changed to a combination of T3 hormones in the liver.

7) The gut bacteria change the inactive T3 hormones to active hormones.

8) The unbound T3 hormones bind to the receptors of the target cells.

I won’t be able to describe the steps in detail in the space allotted, but the important take-away message here is that any of the eight steps of the cascade can bog down, leading to low thyroid output and that is why taking thyroid hormone (only step 4) usually doesn’t work. Betsy’s problem was with step seven, and if this wasn’t rectified, her condition would continue to degrade.

Each of these steps must be considered to fully understand the CAUSE of thyroid dysfunction, and this doesn’t even get close to addressing the important relationships with adrenal gland, glucose regulation, immune problems and gut function that can cause very similar symptoms. That’s why a comprehensive evaluation with very specific and comprehensive lab testing is required to discover the step or steps that are problems, and to outline your unique bio-individuality in order to fully understand the actual cause of your symptoms. The results can be long lasting and life changing. That’s what happened to Betsy, and hundreds of others who were willing to take the next step to wellness.

Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4324 (HEAL). Visit us at WalnutCreekThyroidInstitute.com

Your Thyroid and Iodine: Is This the Crucial Nutrient?

March 1, 2014 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

When it comes to thyroid problems, the medical community doesn’t have a common stand on the cause of low thyroid conditions. In fact the issue of cause rarely even comes up when you go to the doctor complaining of fatigue, weight gain, hair loss and brain fog. What they can agree on is an overly simplistic treatment: Look at the TSH levels and then give thyroid hormone if it is to high, and take some away if its too low. This approach often fails in the long run, and even in the short run if the problem comes from any of the other likely sources of thyroid dysfunction.

I have written previously about some of the important causes of thyroid disorders– autoimmune attack (Hashimoto’s disease), thyroid hormone conversion, adrenal gland insufficiency, or glucose surges. But in this article I would like to discuss one of the more common causes, improper iodine level.

Iodine is absolutely necessary for proper thyroid function, but it turns out that it must be in a narrow range or thyroid function decreases. High iodine levels may also cause autoimmune reactions and considering that 80% of women who have low thyroid have Hashimoto’s disease, this is a real problem.

The number one cause worldwide for thyroid problems is inadequate iodine in food. Once this was discovered, iodine was added to salt to decrease the problem, but then we found that the added iodine was causing Hashimoto’s disease. This happened in many countries like Sri Lanka, Turkey, Brazil and Greece just to mention a few.

How is this possible?

This happens because high levels of Iodine cause inflammation in the thyroid, which then increases the autoimmune attack. But we have also found that when selenium is provided at the same time, the effect can be neutralized and people with immune problems can slowly, over a few months, increase their iodine intake to increase thyroid function.

Iodine deficiency isn’t only a problem for the thyroid, in fact, the salivary glands (dry mouth), brain (brain fog), stomach (GERD) and skin (dry skin and lack of sweating), Breasts (fibrocystic), and muscles (pain, nodules = Fibromyalgia) all need iodine to function properly. This list shows how divergent the symptoms can be, making it very difficult to nail down the root cause for the doctor.

So how do you find out if you are deficient in iodine? Well, the test normally done with your doctor is not very accurate. It simply measures the iodine in your blood at a given time. This can’t tell you if you need more or less iodine. To do that we need to learn about how your body actually functions with iodine. The best test for this is a 24-hour urine-loading test. You’ll get a dose of iodine and then your urine will be collected for 24 hours. If you are low in iodine then you will retain more iodine than would be expected showing that you are deficient. When this happens I start the patient on a very, very low dose of iodine along with selenium and increase very slowly over time. This treatment can make a HUGE difference in the symptoms of thyroid, but like I said, may also make things worse if not done properly.

One last thing–if you do have Hashimoto’s (autoimmune) then you might need to decrease your daily intake of kale and spinach or sweet potatoes, millet and broccoli to about, 1-2 times per week. The reason is that these are goitrogens, which means that they cause goiters because they decrease the uptake of iodine and in high levels the iodine you do have can’t be properly utilized. But, then again, that’s why we test for iodine levels when there is a question of iodine status.

So, balance is the key and when you’re armed with the information provided by appropriate lab testing it is possible to get your thyroid function to the place you were hoping for, and you won’t be one of those people that say, “How come I have all these thyroid symptoms but my lab tests are normal.”

Dr. Davis is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4325 (HEAL). Visit us at WalnutCreekThyroidInstitute.com

Are You Tired? The Little Glands That Could

January 31, 2014 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

As a doctor who has dealt with patients who are overly tired for many years, you might think that I’d be .C., DA of dealing with it, but tiredness/fatigue is probably one of the easier symptoms to cure and the most gratifying for me, but often misunderstood. This is probably because, at first glance, we write it off to overwork, inadequate sleep, increased stress, or poor nutrition. Yes, this can be where it begins, but these four very common effects of the current century have interesting interconnections that “down regulate” our body systems and slowly degrade health, leading not only to tiredness, but to debilitating fatigue.

Body fatigue can be confusing and the world of health and medicine is complex. The interactions of our body’s organs and systems are so interrelated and complex that simple knee-jerk assumptions about actual functions can be incomplete and incorrect. But if one places the facts of health in an order that shows the progression of a process or an effect of some nutrient or brain neurotransmitter, our bodies start to make sense in the big picture. This is why I do this work. It is the reason I enjoy this work.

Most people, and physicians for that matter, think that poor sleep leads to tiredness instead of the other way around. So, of course, their first plan of attack is to take sleep medication. This can increase total sleep time and reduce the stress of long hours of staring at the ceiling, but it certainly does not address fatigue, or the cause of the sleep disorder. My point is that fixing fatigue by medicating a symptom (and this includes thyroid medication) may not help in the long run and can actually increase your problems. This is, in fact, where most of my patients are at when I first see them.

Here’s how it actually works. At first it can begin with any of a group of “stressors,” like anemia, adrenal gland dysfunction, inflammation, gut disorders, food sensitivity, but soon it bleeds over to other areas that are susceptible because of your genes or your lifestyle, or both. The fatigue causes are real but the common denominator is that the reactions to these offensive stressors lead to adrenal gland strain and eventual adrenal fatigue. The adrenal glands (small glands above your kidneys) manage your stress from every possible source–a tall order considering how much stress we deal with. They actually produce more than 50 hormones, the majority, however, are cortisol, DHEA and aldosterone and epinephrine.

Once the adrenal glands are traumatized and under-functioning, you are not the same. In the initial stages of adrenal stress you may be hyper-responsive to minor stressors, like missing trash day, but when the adrenals continue to be strained they fully fatigue, leaving you unable to cope—overwhelmed and drained. Of course, most of us find ourselves somewhere between tired and debilitated at times, but the good thing is that the adrenals rarely are permanently scared like can happen with the pancreas (diabetes) or the brain (Alzheimer’s). It’s just that it can take a while (6 months to a year) to sort things out so that we can clearly identify the cause to the initial problem and then provide support for the organs that are under water.

Treating adrenal fatigue requires a whole-body approach, one that encompasses life style habits, diet, and excess stress that attacked your adrenal glands in the first place. Testing the adrenals with an Adrenal Salivary Test is the most accurate starting point (one that most doctors don’t do). That, along with appropriate blood testing for other causes of fatigue, will usually round-out the picture.The good news is that natural treatments for this syndrome are very effective.

DIABETES – New Research That Makes Sense.

January 2, 2014 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

Ask anyone what disease is the most concerning or the scariest and they will probably say heart disease or maybe Alzheimer’s disease. But what causes those two afflictions? Well… you might be surprised that many times, blood sugar control leading to obesity and inflammation is at the center of those and other serious health conditions. Diabetes (Type II) or the more recent term, Diabesity, is at the top of the list of serious metabolic conditions in the United States. The truth about diabetes is that most cases are fully preventable and, in large part, reversible. Therefore pharmaceutical approaches should be used sparingly. My goal is to help people naturally before the condition has progressed, causing damage to your blood vessels (heart attacks), kidneys (high blood pressure), eyesight (retinopathy), nerves of your feet (peripheral neuropathy), and brain (Alzheimer’s disease).

Briefly, diabetes can be described on a continuum or a line from low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) on one end, moving to diabetes on the other. In between, are increasingly higher surges of blood sugar with names like pre-diabetes, Syndrome X or Metabolic Syndrome, and insulin resistance.

One of the biggest problems with dealing with this condition are the “odd” suggestions provided by the American Diabetic Association that contradict the more recent scientific literature. The ADA has essentially written that high blood sugar levels are ok—just not REALLY high levels. Recent scientific literature shows that this is not true. It shows that even if your levels of fasting blood sugar are within normal range (95 to 99) your risk can double. This leads to two issues: What are the “ideal” levels of blood sugar, and what are the best things to do if your levels are not in this range?

There isn’t room here to thoroughly discuss all of the tests used to measure blood sugar and other related concerns, but I’ll mention a few of the 61 tests we use in my office. According to recent research, the actual ideal levels to prevent the problems caused by high blood sugar are the following;

Fasting blood glucose less than 86 (mg/dl)

Two hours after a meal less than 120

Hemoglobin A1c (%) less than 5.3

Fructosamine Less than 217

I frequently hear from patients that they have been told that as long as their fasting blood glucose is under 127 they are OK. Unfortunately, they are not OK because with levels between 90 and 127, substantial and permanent damage to organs can occur. Not only that, studies show that fasting blood sugar and A1c levels are not very accurate.

So, what can you do if your blood sugar is too high? If you want to be healthy (and I know that you do), then using natural, targeted, non-pharmaceutical approaches to keep your blood sugar controlled is the first thing. Next, it is very important that you understand that it’s not all about the sugar. Diabetes has many components and each need to be addressed for us to be successful. Those components are: autoimmunity, inflammation, genetics, obesity, leptin resistance, insulin resistance, and pancreas (beta-cell) destruction.

Recent research shows that diabetes begins with a low-grade inflammation that slowly ramps up the immune system causing further damage. This is caused by our own “western” lifestyle. That lifestyle involves deficiencies in Magnesium and Vitamin D, chronic stress, altered gut microbes (from antibiotics) and being sedentary. Knowing this is good because it is possible, with a change of diet, exercise and a few targeted supplements, to move into a more positive direction, steering you away from bad outcomes. But for more complex cases, a comprehensive evaluation and a complete metabolic exam and review are critical. If this makes sense to you, let’s take a look at your total profile to find out what your body can tell us about your health.

Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4325 (HEAL). Visit us walnutcreekthyroidinstitute.com

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by tissue damage and loss of function due to an immune response that is directed against specific organs. This review is focused on celiac disease (CD), an autoimmune enteropathy, and type 1 diabetes (T1D), a hyperglycosaemia caused by a destructive autoimmune process targeting the insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells. Even if environmental factors and genetic susceptibility are clearly involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, for most autoimmune disorders there is no or little knowledge about the causing agent or genetic makeup underlying the disease. In this respect, CD represents a unique autoimmune disorder because a close genetic association with HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 haplotypes and, more importantly, the environmental trigger (the gliadin fraction of gluten-containing grains wheat, barley, and rye) are known. Conversely, the trigger for autoimmune destruction of pancreatic ß cells in T1D is unclear. Interestingly, recent data suggest that gliadin is also involved in the pathogenesis of T1D. There is growing evidence that increased intestinal permeability plays a pathogenic role in various autoimmune diseases including CD and T1D. Therefore, we hypothesize that besides genetic and environmental factors, loss of intestinal barrier function is necessary to develop autoimmunity. In this review, each of these components will be briefly reviewed.

Keywords: tight junctions, intestinal permeability, zonulin

My Own Thyroid Journey

December 5, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

A while back a patient who was attending one of my lectures asked me to talk about my personal “Journey,” living with Hashimoto’s disease (a condition caused by an autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland). At first I was taken aback because I don’t typically think of my experience as a “journey,” but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that doctors don’t often share with their patients what they do to heal themselves. For instance, you almost never hear what doctors do about their personal diabetes control or about their personal bouts of gallstone attacks or of their preferred method of dealing with low back pain.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease (when the immune system attacks and slowly kills the cells of the thyroid gland) in 2005, following an extremely stressful time in my life. You see, stress, whether from a new job, from not getting enough sleep, or from dealing with a damaged relationship is all the same to the body. If you have inherited a gene that makes you susceptible to Hashimoto’s, this stress may turn the gene on, and from that point on, your immune system will classify your thyroid as a foreign object and will continue to try very hard to destroy it. This will then decrease the amount of thyroxin (T4) the thyroid produces. Unfortunately, even though the medication returns the T4 levels to normal, your body may still not be functioning normally. In fact, most of the patients I treat are in this situation. Their lab values look good but their symptoms of fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, depression, sleep disturbance, and gut symptoms do not return to normal and they usually get worse.

Stress Reduction: The first thing I realized was that I had to get the stress under control. After all, if stress caused this condition, then stress could make it worse and worse. So I decided that I was going to meditate seriously from now on in order to help put my life in proper perspective, and I also committed to be consistent with my four days a week work-out routine.

Immune Management: Next, since Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition and not an actual thyroid problem, I set out to keep my immune system from going overboard. I reviewed my recent lab results and used this information to develop a specific nutrition and supplement plan to manage my immune system and keep it from becoming over-reactive.

The Plan: For me, the plan turned out to be an anti-inflammatory and liver detox diet, supplements that help modulate the T helper cells that control the immune systems attack cells, and herbs that help decrease inflammation. I also added other supplements that help the immune system get back in balance like Vitamin D, plenty of omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants.

In my case, there were some other items that needed attention like irritable bowel syndrome, and a tendency toward hypoglycemia. I hadn’t really taken these conditions seriously until I really had to. This apparently was the time I “had to.” I added probiotics for my gut, which as it turned out, was a major contributor to resolving the inflammatory issues that had resulted in back pain and had shown up on my lab results. I also included botanicals that support healthy blood sugar and insulin control.

The Results: It took some time to sort out, but the results for me personally were phenomenal. Not only did the thyroid lab values return to normal, but my irritable bowel is well-controlled and I no longer experience sugar surges or the various pains that accompany inflammation.

I know that there are many of you who have similar challenges and just don’t know where to turn. I suggest that you develop (with the help of your doctor) a specific plan like I did that is based on your individual physiology, lab tests and personal history, and then GO FOR IT!

Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek and has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4325 (HEAL). Visit us at WalnutCreekThyroidInstitute.com

The Second Brain – Or, Two Brains Are Better Than One

November 3, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

You would think one brain would be enough, but we actually have two brains; one at the top of the spinal cord and one large, powerful “brain” in the gut, called the enteric nervous system. Anyone that has given a speech and experienced the predictable performance-related stomach distress knows that your gut is listening closely to your brain. But what can the brain learn from the stomach? As it turns out, plenty.

You see, the brain and the gut, including the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, and colon, are intimately connected by the huge vagus nerve in a two-way street. Scientists were recently shocked to learn that about 90 percent of the vagus neurons carry information from the gut to the brain and not the other way around. In fact, a new successful treatment for depression is vagal nerve stimulation, which shows that gut activity has a direct effect on the brain’s sense of well-being.

This means that your general state of mind and your emotions are greatly affected by the health of your gut. This can happen because there is a “second brain” in the gut so extensive (100 million neurons) that activities of the gut are a major influence on the brain. Many studies have shown that this constant exchange of electrical messages and chemicals are actually considered to be one entity and form the “brain-gut axis.” This is why ailments like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, Parkinson’s and depression, have symptoms at both the gut and brain level. Patients with anxiety will have problems in the gut, and patients with heartburn will have changes in the brain.

Unfortunately, drugs have been the first approach to controlling symptoms and have many side effects related to the brain-gut axis. Drugs used for depression (SSRI’s) increase the levels of serotonin in the brain but because 95% of the serotonin in the body is found in the digestive system, taking SSRIs can lead to GI problems such as nausea, constipation or diarrhea—what some call, “mental illness,” of the second brain. Increased serotonin in the gut also has the surprising affect of increasing the incidence of osteoporosis.

Valium and sleeping pills affect the brain, but also depress gut function (via GABA receptors) leading to constipation, indigestion and colon spasms. Almost every hormone or neurotransmitter the brain needs in order to function are also located in the gut and are affected by gut health, as are the major cells of the immune system, or GALT (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue).

Even sleep is disturbed by poor communication between brain and gut. Most people know of the 90-minute cycles of REM sleep (dream sleep) but the gut also has 90-minute cycles of slow wave muscle contractions followed by short bursts of muscle movement. People with bowel problems, like irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s Disease, have abnormal REM sleep because of this relationship between REM sleep and gut contractions.

Most people don’t realize that the gut has such a significant role in emotions and well-being. Unfortunately, because of this, digestive health is often overlooked as a major contributor to brain function or overall health. We include this very important aspect of health in our evaluations and treatment protocols. When appropriate, we evaluate the gut to see what may be affecting the brain, and visa versa. We measure gut function by testing the levels of good and bacteria, mal-absorption, H-pylori (the bacteria that causes ulcers), possible parasites, and the most common gut irritant: gluten. These tests, along with information on the adrenal glands that evaluates problems with sleep and stress, can go a long way in formulating a plan to get back on track with both the “first” and “second brain.”

The Four Secrets to a Better Brain

October 4, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

Last month I wrote about the various causes of Brain Fog, Memory Loss and Fatigue, showing that, like obesity or heart disease, most of the decrease of brain function is self-caused. Let’s look at four secrets of brain health that can go a long way to help prevent, and actually reverse, the brain degeneration process.

1) Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome

This condition is very common in our fast paced, complex, demanding lives. Essentially, this condition reflects the relationship between the brain and the endocrine (neuroendocrine) system. The symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue include fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, insomnia, heart palpitations, hypoglycemia and depression.

Along with several other hormones, the adrenal glands produce cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone that helps deal with stressful situations without being overwhelmed and under-energized. An imbalance in cortisol, and the other adrenal hormones causes the body and its organ systems to slow down, causes accumulation of toxins and increased inflammation, all of which travel to the brain causing malfunction, degeneration and general havoc. Sleep cycles are also disrupted by imbalanced hormone levels leading to increased fatigue and poor brain function.

Reversing and curing Adrenal Fatigue starts with testing the adrenal glands for the production of several key hormones (cortisol, 17 hydroxyprogesterone, insulin, Gliadin antibodies, and DHEA). This test can clearly identify exactly what the adrenal problem is so we can use target supplements and lifestyle changes to get you back on track.

2) Phosphatidyl serine supplementation

This compound (a phospholipid) is made in the body and it naturally attaches to nerve cell membranes where its function is to enhance signal transmission in nerve cells. It has very good memory-enhancing properties and has been used to treat age related memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease for many years. In a 2010 study in the Journal of Clinical biochemistry and Nutrition, phosphatidyl serine supplements caused significant improvement in memory. It enables your brain cells to metabolize glucose and bind with neurotransmitters. It also increases communication between the cells in your brain which increases overall function. I think its major positive attributes are the ability to decrease cortisol levels, enhance athletic performance and add muscle while also increasing brain function. It’s very safe to use with no known side effects.

3) Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, affects the brain a great deal because your brain uses glucose as its primary fuel. Your brain does not have the ability to store fuel. This means it must have a continual and stable supply of glucose. Symptoms of low blood sugar often occur before eating and include: Confusion, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness, forgetfulness and can mimic all of the symptoms of low thyroid disorders. Laboratory tests of blood sugar will show low normal levels with overall lowered levels of many other blood tests. Sugar surges cause so many problems with other endocrine glands that many doctors feel that hypoglycemia should be one of the first issues addressed to fix a foggy brain.

4) Gluten Intolerance

Gluten is a protein that is found in many grains, including wheat, rye and barley and interestingly can cause unusual reactions in the brain. In fact, most of the research on gluten shows that the initial symptoms of gluten sensitivity is disturbance in the nervous system causing balance and cognitive problems.

Irritable bowel syndrome is usually caused by gluten sensitivity or other grains. It leads to a immune reaction that will attack gluten. This damages the inner layers of the bowel, and causes “leaky gut syndrome.” Eventually, the inflammation spreads from the gut to the rest of the body resulting in widespread pain and brain fog. Gluten sensitivity can be identified through specialized testing and dietary modification. Many of our patients who have elected to follow our treatment program for reducing inflammation and healing leaky gut syndrome report significant changes in their memory and concentration levels.

Why Do I Have Brain Fog, Memory Loss and Fatigue?

September 1, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

I hear this every day. People generally believe that brain fog and memory loss are a normal product of aging. But that is just not the case. Most of the decrease of brain function is self-caused, like obesity or heart disease. Of course we see examples of brain degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, the “worse case scenario,” but this is not the main cause of brain degeneration in the U.S. More on that later.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR BRAIN IS DEGENERATING?

1) Brain fog or fatigue. This kind of fatigue occurs from seemingly mild activities like computer work, driving, or even reading. It doesn’t take much work to overtax a degenerating brain.

2) Short-term memory loss. You know, this happens when you go into the kitchen to get something and you can’t remember what it was.

3) Sleeping difficulties. The brain controls sleep and so a brain that is not up to par will have difficulty with the complex neurological reflexes involved in restful sleep.

4) Depression / Anxiety. These seem like opposites, and they are but to the brain under stress, it amounts to the same thing: unstable brain activity and neurotransmitters.

5) Gut (gastrointestinal) problems. This one may be surprising but the gut is called “The Second Brain” by many researchers because of the complex network of nerves that add up to some 100 million neurons. This system controls digestion but also sends a great deal of information back to the brain. So we see that gut problems will dramatically affect the brain, and visa-versa.

Everybody knows how important the brain is but few people have taken it to the next step, realizing that it takes effort to keep our brains healthy in spite of long working hours, increased stress, the standard American diet (SAD) and increasing age. Most understand that you must spend some time with your weights or at a gym to maintain or grow muscle mass, but brains are strangely absent from the “use it or lose it” formula. Understandably, people tend to concentrate on things they can see, like biceps, abs and fat.

Brain tissue is very susceptible to damage from inflammatory responses, abnormal immune activation, weak liver detoxification, blood sugar surges, hormonal flux, lack of critical nutrients, sedentary life styles and passive entertainment (TV and video games). So it follows that one of the most effective ways to return to a “normal brain” is to control those things. This seems like a lot to concentrate on but with proper testing involving blood, gut and adrenal function, it usually quite clear where the concentration needs to be.

There has been a recent increase in self-help brain shows on TV suggesting that the best way to help the brain is by doing brain games like Chess or Cross Words. Yes, this can increase the activity in a small part of the brain but unfortunately we tend to stimulate the part of the brain that is at its best. But you’ve got to rally your efforts on your particular brain weakness in order to increase function and decrease symptoms. So at our clinic we evaluate what part of the brain has decreased activity and then create brain exercises and other stimulation techniques to address that problem.

All our brains will eventually degenerate but the speed at which that happens is often controllable (much more than you think). Ignoring it, or even worse, contributing to it with inactivity and poor diet will accelerate the rate of degeneration leading to irreversible damage. It may seem cute to loose track of your thoughts or quirky to forget appointments but this can lead to outright loss of your higher functions like, planning and decision-making, and this won’t be funny to you or your family.

Osteoporosis: How to Get Your Bones Back!

August 1, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

Bone health is not high on most people’s worry list. It is invisible and certainly below the surface of concern. Unfortunately, when a problem is discovered it is invariably after a fracture or an abnormal bone density test. Up to that point, let’s face it, what we don’t know can hurt us.

Decreased bone density can signal weakness of other organ systems. For instance, if your bones are losing calcium and strength, it is likely that it’s more than a calcium deficiency and related to Vitamin D levels, blood glucose surges, hormonal flux or adrenal function (high cortisol levels will inhibit bone formation) or… well a lot of other things that aren’t called calcium. In fact, in my experience, osteoporosis can be successfully controlled by thoroughly dealing with inflammation and hormone issues. That’s why I’m writing this—because all the most recent scientific studies show that a combination of factors, organ systems, food intake and genes, determine your bone strength health, and it turns out that you have control of about 80% of that.

Quickly, initial bone loss (below normal) is called osteopenia and more substantial bone loss is called osteoporosis. If you are reading this, probably you or someone you care about is suffering from either of these. This is scary, because fracture is so sudden, painful and disabling.

Here’s the deal: In osteoporosis, we are constantly making and losing (excreting) bone matrix all the time. In fact, your bones are replaced every seven years. It’s a balance thing with some going out while some is going in. This process is pushed toward losing matrix with low functioning organ systems in the body. We’re unable to add matrix if we can’t absorb correctly or form matrix out of our diet. It’s just not a simple issue of not having enough calcium.

We’ve been told for many years that you can solve this problem by taking drugs like bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Boniva). Well, kinda. Initially the bone mass will increase but not in the way you, or anyone else, would like. It turns out that the crystal lattice structure that sets the stage for the incredible stability in bone (like concrete and re-bar) is not stabilized by these drugs at all. So these woman, after a few years of taking the drug do not improve, but in fact have increased fractures in odd places, like the middle of the thigh bone—very unusual. This is because these drugs don’t allow any natural breakdown of bone leading to old, funky bone. Also, if that wasn’t disappointing enough, taking calcium supplements simply doesn’t work because low calcium is not the cause in the first place.

So where doesthis strong bone matrix come from? Well, let’s take a look at absorption.

First, minerals are absorbed in the small intestine and if it is inflamed we absorb fewer minerals. In this case, calcium, zinc, copper, magnesium can’t be used to make bone. This is the reason osteoporosis is high with celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and autoimmune disease. These conditions all involve inflamed intestines and malabsorption.

Second, the retention/secretion issue here is basically one of acid/base relationships and a net alkalinizing diet. A diet with at least 20% coming from fruits and veggies should do the trick.

Third, clearly hormone flux can be at the heart of bone loss and evaluation of all the players of hormone function need to be at optimal levels.

We have to look at each person as an individual because the cause in one person may not be the same cause in another. Proper lab work with bone markers and adrenal gland testing for proper cortisol levels is required. Gut testing and clear and concise exercise options are a must.

If this makes sense to you, let’s take a look at your total profile to find out what your body can tell us about your bone density matrix.

If you are interested in seeing if you are a candidate for our breakthrough procedures for treating Bone Loss give us a call at (925) 279-4325 or visit WalnutCreekHealth.com to schedule a free consultation.

Losing Weight Is Easier Than You Think

July 3, 2013 by Dr. Don Davis Leave a Comment

Oh yeah, you’re thinking “Here we go again!” Another doctor claiming that they have the secret to easy weight loss. Well first of all, we all know that dieting is “Hell on wheels.” But that doesn’t mean that losing weight has to be that difficult. That’s because weight gain is caused by many different factors and so dieting, or limiting foods to whatever the fad is this month, is not the big deal most authorities seem to think it is and it leads to a rebound weight gain later anyway. What is a big deal is what your body does with the food you give it, whether its health issues that change your body’s response or from industrialized food choices. And in this context, I mean not only what your body makes of the calories you put in, but also what your brain is doing with the same information. As I wrote in a past article, your brain is a very big deal in weight management. One brain relationship is related to food options. It turns out that we may have too many options, and your brain looks at this as a special attraction leading to increased consumption.

A recent study of the Kung San tribe (don’t forget the click sound when you say the name) of Botswana in Africa showed that their diet is 60% fat and relatively straight forward and bland, but have an average BMI of 19 (over weight is over 25, obese is 30). In fact, many studies have shown that when an obese person is given food that has less sugar, less spices and less variety, they will automatically decrease their caloric intake dramatically. This fact has not been lost on the food industry. They are currently spending billions of dollars engineering and developing “food” that is purposely scientifically designed to maximize palatability and reward, and encourage repeat purchase and over-consumption behavior. We don’t really have a chance against this “food machine” unless we opt to stop eating those foods and start cooking our food the way we did for thousands of years—at home.

In the 1890s, 93% of food was eaten at home but now only 51% is eaten at home and a large amount of that is prepared somewhere else. Clearly, most of what we eat is highly processed, which is uniquely capable of making us fat.

Sugar intake is a good indicator of processed food intake. In 1820, sugar intake per person was the equivalent to one can of soda every five days. Today we consume that amount every seven hours. Now that’s an increase that can’t be ignored. Fresh potato consumption has decreased by 50% since 1960 but the consumption of processed potatoes has increased by 400% (mainly French fries and potato chips). We have increased calories in our diet by a full 20% since the 70’s and it is food engineering that is at the heart of our desire to eat more and eat badly.

Add to this the spiral of declining health caused by these diet changes over the last few years, which predictably result in the following health problems.

1) Increasing inflammation leading to pain, malnutrition and weight gain

2) Poor blood sugar control leading to fatigue and weight gain

3) Hormone imbalances, leading to a multiple health issues and weight gain

4) Adrenal gland dysfunction leading to loss of sleep and weight gain

5) Thyroid dysfunction leading to low metabolic rate and weight gain

So what’s the next step? Make the decision to prepare and eat simple meals at home, the meals our ancestors ate—low on sugar, low on salt, and no sweetened drinks. And remember that the five body problems listed above can and do cause major health symptoms and disease. These conditions need to be addressed with laboratory testing and natural treatment before you will see the weight loss you would like. That’s why our clinic looks at every sign to get to the cause of weight gain. So you see, it’s easier than you think. And you thought it was just “eat less and exercise more!”