Two kinds of “perfect diets” exist.  The far more common, propagandized, “perfect” diet is the one-shoe-fits-all diet that bases their recommendations on a small slice of scientific evidence of one kind or another, such as the Fodmap Diet™ or a Paleolithic Diet ™.  The latter uses anthropological evidence about what humans and pre-humans have been eating for the last few million years, which makes some sense.  Such diets become popular based mostly on how well they are marketed and not on their validity.  A far less common “perfect diet” is the one that is congruent with your personalized needs, based on your immunological, allergic, endocrine, toxicological, nutritional, metabolic and genetic uniqueness. Functional medicine focuses on identifying and treating the many unique factors which can contribute to disease or poor health.

In the last year, as we have taken on the challenge of supporting the recoveries of cancer patients, we have mined ever deeper into the science-based, personalized, “perfect diet” that could add years to our patient’s lives and life to their years.  We are up against a healthcare system which has only recently begun to acknowledge, despite amassed studies for decades, that diet and lifestyle does matter in cancer recovery.  Despite a thawing of the healthcare system’s assumptions about lifestyle and diet, mainstream medicine is still far from acknowledging that a unique, “perfect diet” that is congruent with each and every cancer patient’s personalized needs, is extremely important to the recovery of each and every cancer patient.

How to Personalize Your Diet

This 3-part series will delve deeper into your true health - starting with your heart health.

Your current blood tests may not be enough to give an accurate picture of your true health- especially when it comes to cardiovascular health and your risks for a cardiac event or chronic disease.

Cardiovascular disease is STILL the leading cause of death in men and women. 

Unfortunately many adults undergo their yearly health exam with labs revealing a “normal” lipid panel.  They leave the office with a false sense of their true risk of having a cardiac event as conventional medical labs fall short of accurately assessing your health.

The basic lipid panel looks at your total cholesterol, triglycerides (fats), and the good and bad cholesterol (HDL and LDL, respectively).  And while this test may be adequate for most of today’s teenagers and young adults, if you are older than 35 or have other risk factors, a more extensive panel is warranted.

Let's look at additional cardiovascular risk factors to get a more complete picture of heart health. 

NMR or Cardio IQ Test

Metabolic Cardiology is a fairly new branch of Functional Medicine. Metabolic cardiology is a non-invasive, simple, integrative medical approach which addresses the prevention, management, treatment and monitoring of cardiovascular disease at the core basic level- which is the heart muscle cell. As a functional medicine physician, I am always concerned with addressing health issues at the root of the problem.

The goal here is to improve and preserve heart health at the cellular level of the individual heart cell through organic interventions that are natural to the human body. Diseased heart muscles are energy-source depleted or lacking the natural cell fuel, known as  adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is formed and recycled on the cellular metabolic level, and supplies all the energy required for every cell, organ, system and body function. ATP is so critical for energy production that it is known as the “energy currency” for life.

The human body speaks a “foreign” sensory language.  It would be nice if it could speak English, and say, “That pasta you ate last night is fermenting a lot of fungus, and I’ve told you before about your auto-brewery problems, so take extra probiotics today, and eat very lightly, and please, no carbohydrates.”  Instead of speaking English, the body speaks with sensory symptoms such as gas, bloating, discomfort, fatigue and loose stools.

Like translating Russian into English, as a functional medicine physician I serve as an interpreter, so that my patients can begin to listen to their body’s messages.  Later, as they learn the language, they can listen to their own "body-speak."

What Symptoms Can Mean

Symptoms are attempts to communicate and an attempt to heal and make things better, regardless of how unpleasant symptoms are.  We have been indoctrinated to believe that symptoms are diseases, that they should be medicated with something to anesthetize (numb) or control them.  Sometimes symptoms can be so severe that they actually pose a health risk, such as severe diarrhea which can cause dehydration.  Most of the time, symptoms are not life-threatening and it helps to pay attention to what your body is trying to say and do. Diarrhea, cough, urgency on urination and a runny nose are attempts of the body to rid itself of toxins.  Blindly medicating such symptoms frustrates your body’s attempts to rid you of toxins and infections and to heal.  

What causes increased appetite?

Appetite is controlled by a complex neuroregulatory system.  There are many factors affecting this mechanism to include the composition of your diet, side effect of medications, chronic stress, hormonal imbalances, and even the types of bacteria that live in your gut. 

Cravings result from a combination of social, cultural, psychological, physiological and genetic factors and can be a major obstacle to weight loss and optimizing one's health. As a functional medicine physician, it is important to examine all underlying factors which may contribute to overweight or obesity.

What can I do to improve this?

If you feel that cravings and increased appetite are interfering with your health goals, try addressing the following list of possible factors.

Food sensitivity is often a major risk factor for systemic inflammation immune stress and it can distract your immune system from more important tasks such as destroying cancer cells,  parasites, fungus, viruses and invasive fungus. As part of a functional medicine work-up, a simple, inexpensive test panel for food sensitivities can determine certain foods to eliminate for a while which can eliminate some inflammation and immune stress, and which can lower your overall stress levels.

Regardless of the problem that you are seeking care for, at some level your immune system is involved, and the immune system does better if it is not distracted or damaged by food sensitivities. For instance, you may have mild food sensitivities which may not be that important for your overall health, but if they distract your immune system in its fight against Lyme or cancer, or you are dealing with serious asthma or an autoimmune disorder, even mild sensitivities can be important. Food sensitivity recovery is a relatively simple process but giving up one’s favorite foods can be difficult. We have health coaches and support to help you make better food replacement choices.

The Immune System and Leaky Gut 

NIHA is pleased to announce the addition of Sherif Hassan, MD, to the medical team.

Dr. Hassan’s wide and comprehensive experience in medical practice in different international settings coupled with his personal experience as a patient suffering from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) changed his focus to a more interesting and spurned area: Undiagnosed Chronic Medical Disorders. His own Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) went not only undiagnosed, but caused him to undergo two unnecessary surgeries. From this experience as both physician andpatient he can empathize with patients as they search for the underlying cause of ailments. This experience changed his outlook on medicine to a more fulfilling and rewarding medical philosophy whereby wellness is now the cornerstone of his practice.

In this age of information technology we are bombarded with misinformation.  Take Osteoporosis, for instance. The word Osteoporosis has a Greek origin. Osteo means "bone" and poros means “porous,” so osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones become more porous, brittle and fragile. I like to think of Osteoporosis or Osteopenia as a condition, not a disease. Therefore, it is reversible, treatable, and preventable, but also dangerous if we choose to ignore it. The skeleton makes our body stand, and without good bones and good muscle mass we will crumble. The good news about maintaining good bone health is that not only will it allow keep us upright, but higher bone density is also associated with improved cardiovascular health. (1) I don’t know about you, but if youthful bone mass allows me to stand straight and offers less cardiovascular mortality, sign me up.

It is well known that Osteoporosis affects elderly populations, but let’s see who really is at risk by taking a look at the many risk factors that can contribute to osteoporosis.

In my over 30 years of practice as a holistic doctor, I have seen both types of patients. Those who arrive to my office with bags full of prescribed medications, and those who arrive with a suitcase full of “natural supplements.” (I’ve even seen fellow doctors do this.) What is wrong with this picture?

Sometimes well intentioned doctors prescribe their patients a medication without reviewing what she or he has already been prescribed by another doctor, or sometimes patients neglect to mention a medication or supplement. When that happens, the new prescribed medication may dangerously interact with another the patient has already taken. Hospitalizations due to untoward effects of correctly prescribed medications range from 1.5 to 2.7 million cases per year. The death rate from the consumption of prescribed medications in the USA is estimated to be five times that of the rate for opioid abuse.

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons for a doctor visit, and is often a way for the body to cry out for help. Fatigue can be the overriding symptom in many medical conditions including stress, autoimmune diseases, insomnia, sleep apnea, allergies, hormonal imbalance and cancer. Fatigue can manifest from one or multiple medical conditions and multiple medical issues can compound the problem.

Of course, fatigue is a normal response after a strenuous workout, or a long day working without breaks, or going too long without eating. However, if you feel fatigue or drained by the end of a work day every single day, without energy to enjoy life, it is time to listen to your body. It may be trying to tell you something.