Space Coast Advanced Health - Treating The Root Cause

A Functional Medicine Doctor Is Here To Help June 5th, 2017 By Elizabeth Boham MD, MS, RD I remember a time when I always felt tired. I did not have  the energy  to do fun activities and often wanted to go to bed early. I was overwhelmed by simple tasks and wondered if I would ever have energy again. This was around 14 years ago. In the 3 years before then, I was very busy and full of stress. I was finishing up my training in medicine and at the age of 30 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. I was so lucky when 5 months after finishing treatment, I became pregnant with my daughter. The next couple years were filled with pregnancy and breastfeeding, then pregnancy and breastfeeding again with my son.  After all of this, I crashed.  I was exhausted . I struggled to stay awake at night while watching a tv show, and I had a difficult time getting going in the morning.  It was hard for me to han...

“Can I get all the nutrients I need from food?” a patient will occasionally ask. On the surface, this makes sense. After all, if you are eating a whole, fresh, unprocessed foods diet, shouldn’t you be able to get an abundant supply of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients? Unfortunately, things aren’t that easy. Even with a perfect diet, the combination of many things –including our depleted soils, the storage and transportation of our food, genetic alterations of traditional heirloom species, and the increased stress and nutritional demands resulting from a toxic environment – make it impossible for us to get the vitamins and minerals we need solely from the foods we eat 1 . Simply put, the evidence shows we cannot get away from the need for nutritional supplements 2 . Doctors used to think you got all your vitamins and minerals from food. Any extra nutrients were excreted, or worse, became toxic. But the tide is shifting. Doctors now prescribe ...

Is This Undercover Antioxidant The Secret To All-Day Energy? Vitamins C and E get most antioxidant lip service, but not everyone knows about this  master antioxidant  that helps prevent numerous conditions including aging, cancer, heart disease, and dementia.  Yes, you can get it as a supplement, but there are more effective ways to build this rock-star antioxidant. It’s called glutathione (pronounced "gloota-thigh-own"): the mother of all antioxidants, the master detoxifier, and maestro of your immune system. Meet glutathione, your new favorite antioxidant. Glutathione is a very simple molecule produced naturally from three amino acids: cysteine, glycine, and glutamine. Its sulfur chemical groups provide glutathione’s benefits. Sulfur is a sticky, smelly molecule that acts like flypaper. All the bad things in your body stick onto it, including free radicals and toxins like mercury and other heavy metals. Your body can make its own glutathione. Unfortunat...

Nutrigenomic approaches to wellness . Nutrigenomics is the study of how nutrients in food and other plant-derived substances send the body positive signals to help reverse disease processes to promote and restore healthy functioning. In other words, how nutrition can help you reach your genetic potential for their best health possible. How does it work? Unhealthy or nutrient-poor foods and other negative lifestyle habits can cause the body to send signals that lead to inflammation, compromised function, and over time the development of a number of chronic illnesses. Eating a healthy diet is applying nutrigenomics at a very basic level. Filling in the gaps when needed or enhancing the diet with specific nutritional supplements provides a more personalized nutrigenomics approach. Take nutrigenomic approaches even further . Certain phytonutrient derivatives have also been shown to offer more targeted influences on specific activities in the body, s...

Your body may not be producing enough digestive enzymes. Specialized cells in the salivary glands and pancreas produce digestive enzymes . The stomach also secretes hydrochloric acid (HCl) that activates enzyme production. Over 20 identified enzymes in the body, plus enzymes in uncooked live foods like fruits and vegetables, facilitate the breakdown of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates so the body can absorb important nutrients and produce energy for vital functions. How well we digest any particular food is dependent on the quantities and types of enzymes the body produces. Within the body, HCl and enzyme secretion generally decline with age. And genetics can negatively influence digestive enzyme production as well. Certain foods can add discomfort. Some people may not produce enough enzymes to comfortably digest lactose in dairy foods, gluten in grain products, or certain acidic foods (citrus, tomatoes). Raw nuts and seeds also contain enzyme inhibitor...