Typical scenario, a man and a woman meet, fall in love, get married and decide to have children. For thousands of years this scenario has played out all over the world without any difficulty. The only difference today is that the likelihood of infertility has dramatically increased in the industrialized world.
The American Society of Reproductive Medicine defines infertility as the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse in women under the age of 35. In women over 35, the time frame is shortened to six months.
In the US approximately 11% of couples are considered infertile totaling 10million couples with 2 million of them seeking medical treatment.
49% if infertility cases are due to problems with male health, sperm count, sperm motility, etc.. This post is going to concentrate on the other 51% where the female health and physiology is in question.
Some reasons for these statistics are obvious, couples are likely to get together and make decisions about having children much later in life when the eggs are less likely to be fertilized. It is easy to look at a population in aggregate, meaning not as individuals and determine the percentage of people 30-34 who are able to conceive and 35-40, then see how the infertility rates rise in the different age groups. Doctors love to look at these percentages in large swaths of the population and tell individuals what their chances for conceiving.
This is a problem because there is a difference between chronological age (your number of years) and your physiological age (dependent on healthy habits and lifestyle) . Physiological age can change, chronological age cannot. In the industrialized world it is obvious that physiological age is accelerating compared to chronological age. With 67% of the US population being overweight and just over 50% of them are considered obese (34% of the US population) being just one bleak health statistic out of many trends indicating our decline in health and increased rate of physiological age.
Therefore it is important to examine the individual to determine if they should have a better or worse chance of conception. Then you must change the factors that are changeable. Fertility is dependent on the function of the nervous system and anything that interferes with the nervous system is a potential contributor to infertility.
Top 5 causes of nervous system interference resulting in infertility.
1. Metabolic issues related to blood sugar. Both too much sugar and too little.
2. Metabolic issues related to toxicity. We accumulate toxins that we didn’t even know we were exposed to.
3. Metabolic issues related to the stress response. (Note stress itself is not what is harmful, everyone has stress; it is inability or inefficiency in adapting to stress that is the issue.
4. Nervous system interference related to spinal dysfunction. One of the most often reported effects of chiropractic care on general health is its effect on fertility.
5. Hormone dys-regulation due to lifestyle issues. For example a reversal in the estrogen / testosterone balance. Estrogen in females should be dominant over testosterone. Often times we get our estrogen checked to find that it is normal, but we don’t check to see if the testosterone went up. Normal estrogen and elevated testosterone will have a similar clinical presentation as decreased estrogen. This is one of the mechanisms involved in PCOS(polycystic ovarian syndrome) the most common cause of infertility in America.
Removing interference with normal function is significantly cheaper and safer than fertility drugs and should be considered as the first step in the process.
Sometimes medical intervention is necessary, however by first addressing the above issues you will dramatically increase your chances at natural conception and improved health for the baby and mom.
We are only weeks away from 2012 and I have a feeling that this will be a year to remember for those who are committed to making lifestyle changes when it comes to the food we eat, the amount of exercise we perform, the stress relief activities that we engage in, and the allocation of time for self-reflection. The reason I have decided to compose this blog post for all of you today is because the NEW YEAR starts RIGHT NOW! What I often find is that people tell themselves they are going to begin a “diet” in the New Year, start working out in the New Year, become more conscious with their family in the New Year, create a business in the New Year, seek help for an addiction or disorder in the New Year, and the list goes on and on. I am sure that every single person who is reading this blog post can relate with the concept of making a change in the New Year that never actually takes place. The result is just another year of unfulfilled goals, debilitated dreams, and a person who is no different this year than the last. But if you are truly committed, and your WHY is more substantial than your HOW, then the time is here to start the New Year Resolution process.
As a culture, we often put things off until “tomorrow” because just the thought of taking action on something that happens to be plaguing our existence is a task that we would rather address at a later date. The problem which arises is that “tomorrow” never comes because we consistently tell ourselves that we will start the process on the tomorrow after tomorrow. What you must realize is that once you think about something that needs to change, there is NO BETTER TIME to begin the implementation method then at that point. This is the same for your New Year Resolutions because we feel the pressure to proclaim what we are going to do differently this year once the clock strikes midnight, only to awake the next morning without the insatiable desire which is necessary to have a change like this take place. I do not believe that this is a universal dilemma, but I do believe that it is as close as you can possibly get to negatively impacting the lives of everyone. Whether the tasks we need to accomplish are petty and mundane, or the goals that we set are critical to the way we live our lives, ACTION must be taken, rather than PROCRASTINATION, to affect a change.
These next few weeks will provide you with a foundation to grow from during 2012 and beyond. If you doubt this strategy, or you do not intend on following it because you believe that “this year will be different,” I encourage you to answer this question…
HOW COULD IT HURT TO START THE PROCESS EARLY?
If what you have done in the past has not provided you with the results you were looking to accomplish, then it is time to change what you do in the present so that your future will be drastically different. My goal with this blog post, like all blog posts, is to educate, inspire, and then compel you to take action so that your life can transform into what you have always desired for it to be. We have seen amazing changes take place at our practice when it comes to the health of each individual that we work with because we become your accountability partner and CHANGE is the only byproduct that we will accept. Therefore, maybe your resolutions have to do with your relationships, your lack of diet or exercise, the amount of time you spend with your children, breaking a disorder or addiction, starting a business, writing book, etc.; regardless of what they are, I want you to understand the NEW YEAR STARTS RIGHT NOW!
Therefore, I would like to wish you a HAPPY RIGHT NOW NEW YEAR!
How often does your energy level drop in the afternoon?
Do you have difficulty falling asleep?
How often do you feel overwhelmed with ideas to manage?
How often do you have feelings of inner rage (anger)?
How often do you feel the need to consume caffeine to stay alert?
How often do you have feelings of being overwhelmed for no reason?
Answering yes to 1 or 2 of these questions because of recent stressful events may or may not be a reason to pursue a solution, often times the fix is simple and quick. Persistent symptoms, however, that impact relationships, job performance, and general activities of daily living may signify a bigger problem. I suggest using an effective tool for looking at brain health to help on determine if they are having symptoms worth looking at more closely. Brain Health Assessment (BHA) form. This simple questionnaire is a series of questions that have answers that are numbered 0-3. 0 is never, 1 is sometimes, 2 is usually, and 3 is always. Answers in any one or more groups that are 2′s and 3′s may indicate a pattern that should be looked at more closely.
Most people are aware there are traditional medical approaches and complimentary and alternative approaches, but few realize there is a third choice, that makes much more sense and treats the individual comprehensively (holistically). We innately know we are more than just a sum of our parts and therefore reject a linear approach that does nothing for our interconnected systems and addresses symptoms alone. We also recognize there are real metabolic vicious cycles that cause real life threatening and quality of life reducing diseases whose progression cannot be halted with lifestyle changes we should have made a long time ago.
Lets face it, most of us don’t have the time to do the research to figure it out ourselves, we are not going to become doctors and searching the internet is overwhelming. Figuring out the right direction for you comes when you know the right questions to ask.
The question now becomes where do you go?.
Traditional route:
General practitioner
Family doctor
Neurologist
Psychiatrist
There are benefits and problems with all of these choices. They are likely to rule out something horrible like tumors, aneurysms etc.. But these are incredibly rare, and the danger is that they will want to medicate your symptoms away with out solving potential underlying causes that could result in very severe conditions later in life. A symptom centered approach is like removing the batteries from an annoyingly loud smoke alarm(symptom) while doing nothing about the smoke that set off the alarm to begin with (the cause).
Alternative health care:
Meditation,
Acupuncture
Self help community
Yoga
Nutritional supplement suggestions made by store clerks or anyone with an inadequate education.
These techniques could yield amazing results in the early stages of less serious problems, however if there is an underlying physiological cause that is chronic in nature resulting in multiple metabolic vicious cycles (involving hormone production, neurotransmitter metabolism, blood sugar regulation, neuro-degeneration etc.)
There is a third choice. functional medicine is a third and completely different discipline from alternative/holistic and conventional medicine. Functional Medicine’s uniqueness stems from its’ heavy reliance on certain basic sciences. These sciences include toxicology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy and genetics, which in widely varying degrees are part of the educational curricula of all licensed health care professionals. These basic sciences are also referred to as ‘pure sciences’ because they conform more rigorously to scientific method.
But, again, functional medicine is neither conventional nor alternative. It is poised to revolutionize all medical care because it is based on far more rigorous standards of scientific method. Functional medicine will ultimately be shown to achieve better outcomes than either conventional or alternative medicine, especially for the treatment of chronic medical and psychological disorders. (C. Gant MD, PhD).
This approach is likely to get the most comprehensive results and provide the most education for how to move into your future with a detailed understanding of your individual needs going into the future.
Every function in your body and every function of every cell of your body has implications that could be traced to the brain/ nervous system. Recent research confirms that understanding all diseases and therefore all of their cures stems from a comprehensive understanding of the brain.
As mentioned in an earlier post, by the time you could diagnose Alzheimer’s disease when the earliest signs are present, chances are that you already have advanced changes in your brain that are likely to progress. So what are the risk factors? and what can your doctor do for you as a regular assessment?
With Alzheimers’s disease you will see depression long before you see memory loss. You may have a loss of your sense of taste/ smell early on in the process, finding that you need to spice your food more and more. A change and decrease in your ability to organize and prioritize and an increase in procrastination (Executive function). Postural changes (flexing or leaning forward, losing natural spinal curves.
Dr. Joseph Mercola takes early detection a step further to complete prevention.
“With conventional treatments offering little benefit to those already diagnosed with the disease, much of the research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association 2011 International Conference was focused on early detection as a primary strategy, noting that signs of Alzheimer’s may develop in your brain up to 20 years before symptoms begin.
This is an important point to remember, as most people do not show symptoms until after age 65 and often much later. Close to half of people with Alzheimer’s disease are over age 85. This means that when you’re in your 50s, 60s and 70s, you may already be developing changes in your brain indicative of this disease … but you may still have time to implement lifestyle changes that could very possibly prevent you from ever developing the disease down the line.
Above and beyond early detection of Alzheimer’s should be complete prevention!”
There are 3 components to Alzheimers or any of the other neuro-degenerative diseases. All must be present for the perfect storm to occur. Having the genetic profile, according to the MacArthur foundation, is about 30% of the picture. Don’t get me wrong 30% is significant, but it is not like having the genes for blue eyes, you still can avoid the expression of those genes.
Genetics
Sustained environmental stress. (Physical, Chemical, and mental)
Disruption in the brains ability to produce “energy” resulting in long term inflammation.
2 of the 3 factors can be changed, improved or avoided. Modern understanding of these mechanisms have yielded pharmaceuticals that can affect symptoms but not alter the course of the disease. there is hope for a better outcome in the future but as of now medical choices are poor and wait too long to make the diagnosis. However understanding these mechanisms and what drives them allows us to do a great deal a lot sooner with natural approaches.
In our office we follow the principles of fuel and activation. Giving the neurons or brain cells the nutrients they need to thrive (fuel) and carefully activating the parts of the brain at a rate that will not exceed their metabolic rate. An accurate analogy would be, if a former athlete had a shoulder injury that put the arm out of commission for 8 weeks, you would not want to immediately go back to full activity, the weak muscle would fail due to its metabolic rate being exceeded. A careful rehabilitation program would have to slowly get the muscles back to full activity making sure to provide the right fuel (nutrition ) and activation. The same holds true for brain function. If a person with any form of neuro-degenerative disorder like a family history of or early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, is showing signs and symptoms of decline, dramatically stimulating a brain that is unable to process that level of activation may make the problem worse. Being specific and targeted as well as measuring metabolic rate will greatly improve outcomes.
My background in this field over the past 15 years includes being a board certified chiropractic neurologist, a distinction shared by fewer than 600 doctors worldwide and 4 in NYC. I have also attained hundreds of hours postdoctoral education in neuro-chemistry and functional medicine.
We are happy to announce the newest addition to our team. Derek Sun MD, PhD, specialist in cardiology and vascular diseases.
6 years ago I saw there was a need to a primary care doctor in our neighborhood that practiced a personal, comprehensive form of medicine and who accepted most insurance plans people in our community have. I found Dr. Cao, Internist and she has been a wonderful addition to our practice and an alternative to doctors who are too busy to know who we are.
Now we are bringing Dr. Derek Sun to provide a progressive view of cardiology with great understanding and respect for the natural approach to health improvement we offer and teach at New Heights Chiropractic: A Creating Wellness Center.
We recommend Dr. Derek Sun’s services for all of those who are looking to better understand their cardiovascular system beyond knowing your total cholesterol. Anyone who has heard me speak knows how limiting simple cholesterol and blood pressure numbers really are. Dr. Sun’s youth and understanding of the various needs of athletes, weekend warriors, seniors and those suffering from inheritable conditions makes him the perfect addition to our practice.
If you are looking to train for the marathon, 1/2 marathon, P90X or other workout program Dr. Sun accepts most major medical insurance and medicare.
Dr. Sun will be conducting cardiac services and advanced treadmill stress testing every Tuesday and every other Saturday. Please call the office at 212-928-3300 for an appointment before his time slots fill up.
I have been fortunate over the past 12 years to be the chiropractic wellness provider for Washington Heights. I plan to be here for the rest of my career doing what I love. I love restoring health by removing nervous system interference and allowing the body to function optimally.
As many of you know, I have pursued post graduate education in neurology and attained the degree D.AC.N.B. (Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board) in 1998. This distinction has been achieved by fewer than 600 doctors of chiropractic worldwide. It has allowed me to enjoy success in providing care for patients suffering the effects of M.S., stroke, traumatic brain injury, degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. While receiving my training I worked with children suffering developmental disabilities and learning differences from Autism to ADHD and everything in between.
During the recent years I have pursued my education in functional medicine, where we address the metabolic component of nervous system interference. Clinically we found we could get profound results when we normalized the blood chemistry and hormone profiles of those suffering the effects of hypothyroid, type 2 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), autoimmune disease among others.
Care for many of these conditions requires a lot of time and often the use of functional medicine (defined below), unfortunately health insurance companies do not pay for this type of care and it requires out of pocket expense. This has been a very limited aspect of my practice. Over the past few years demand for these services have increased. This type of practice has to be separated from general practice for many reasons.
I am pleased to announce that I have been honored by being asked by a group of doctors in midtown Manhattan to join them in providing care to patients suffering from a limited set of conditions. These patients are typically very sick and are those who no one else has been able to help and they need a new approach.
As stated above I look forward to long term full time practice in Washington Heights. I will go from 3 morning shifts and 4 afternoon/evening shifts per week to 3 morning and 3 afternoon/evening shifts. My hours starting Monday September 12th will be
Monday 9:00AM – 12:00PM and 3PM- 7PM
Wednesday and Thursday 7:30AM – 12:00PM and 3PM-7PM
I will be in Midtown on the east side on Tuesday and Friday. (I will be available to do workshops and lectures to groups in midtown and uptown on Tuesdays). The website for the new facility is coming soon, it will be up by next week at www.NYCFutureDocs.com. We will be providing care for Brain based disorders, gastrointestinal disorders and Autism spectrum disorders. Phone numbers and contact information will be on the site, in the meantime questions could be answered by email newheightschiro@gmail.com and calling 212-928-3300.
“Functional Medicine” as defined by C.E Gant, MD, PhD
functional medicine is a third and completely different discipline from alternative/holistic and conventional medicine. Functional Medicine’s uniqueness stems from its’ heavy reliance on certain basic sciences. These sciences include toxicology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy and genetics, which in widely varying degrees are part of the educational curricula of all licensed health care professionals. These basic sciences are also referred to as ‘pure sciences’ because they conform more rigorously to scientific method.
But, again, functional medicine is neither conventional nor alternative. It is poised to revolutionize all medical care because it is based on far more rigorous standards of scientific method. Functional medicine will ultimately be shown to achieve better outcomes than either conventional or alternative medicine, especially for the treatment of chronic medical and psychological disorders.
For the past year I have been combining the disciplines of functional medicine, functional neurology, and traditional chiropractic care and getting remarkable results that have brought hope back to many of my patients who had all but given up hope of restoring health, breaking away from family history, and living a life without medications (or significantly reduced medication).
I have been asked to teach other doctors, I have participated in a joint educational venture with one of the leading pediatric psychiatrists in the world on the topic of ADD/ADHD and speak state and local chiropractic associations.
The most flattering and challenging of the requests have been by the group of doctors in midtown Manhattan called the NYC Future Docs. They have asked me to join them on Tuesdays and Fridays to provide care in a team environment, including functional medicine, functional neurology, chiropractic, rehabilitation, endocrinology, internal medicine, pediatrics, and pediatric psychiatry. There we plan to help the sickest among us.
Thank you for your support and allowing me to continue to call myself, your chiropractor.
Does a family history of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease have you concerned about your future, or perhaps you are having some symptoms of cognitive decline.
While pursuing my education in neuroscience and neurochemistry over the past 15 years, there has never been a time that so clearly shows the mechanism of neuro-degenerative disease. Understanding the physiology helps us understand the limitations of existing medications, the future direction of pharmaceutical research and development, and most importantly, what can be done before a problem ever appears.
There were an estimated 411,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease in 2000. That number is expected to increase to 454,000 new cases a year by 2010, 615,000 new cases a year by 2030, and 959,000 new cases a year by 2050. Alzheimers accounts for 60% of all dementia cases
The second most common neurodegenerative disease in the U.S. is Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is one of the leading causes of dementia.
Early detection is currently not very helpful but "earlier" signs may be. By the time the early signs of memory loss in Alzheimer's and the earliest tremors detected in Parkinson's, the disease has already progressed to a very advanced stage physiologically (in the brain). It is believed that the earliest signs of Parkinson's are evident only after 75% of the neurons in the affected part of the brain (mid brain) are lost. We are beginning to identify even earlier signs than memory loss. Research is showing that the earliest signs for Alzheimer's may first be a decrease in thesense of smell, and the loss of the sense of smell is usually appreciated by a decrease in the sense of taste. Food becomes very bland and we find our selves "spicing it up" as our sense of smell declines. Constipation is now considered one of the early signs of Parkinson's disease as well.
Inflammation: Neuro-degenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Picks disease, MS, ALS among others have a lot in common with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), concussion syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome etc. The major commonality is inflammation.
Genes: The genes associated with most chronic diseases are not like the genes for blue eyes or blond hair. In other words if you have the genes you have the characteristic or the disease. There is no specific gene for Alzheimer or Parkinson. The genes involved in chronic disease are mutations triggered by an environmental event (epi-genetics). An ongoing exposure to a particular environmental stressor, which may be identified, has to come together with genetic factors to increase the probability of expressing a particular disease, like a perfect storm of sorts.
Traditional medicine is a long way from providing solutions for neuro-degenerative diseases because medication is usually targeted to one factor of physiology or genetics and this process involves many processes and genes at the same time. We encourage continued research and the search for a "wonder drug" but the truth is we have not seen a "wonder drug" in the field of neuro-psychiatry ever. The track record of pharmaceuticals up until this point has been under performing drugs with often unacceptable side effects that do nothing about the further progression of the disease or health of the individual.
Natural medicine along with a comprehensive understanding of family history, personal health history, lifestyle stressors (physical, chemical and mental), blood chemistry, hormonal regulation and immune system antigens will likely be the approach of the future that will not only be preventative but will promote health, increase quality of life and prevent a host of other diseases. This is an altogether new and distinct third branch of medicine called "Functional Medicine". Here is the definition as stated by Charles Gant, MD, PhD
functional medicine is a third and completely different discipline from alternative/holistic and conventional medicine. Functional Medicine's uniqueness stems from its' heavy reliance on certain basic sciences. These sciences include toxicology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy and genetics, which in widely varying degrees are part of the educational curricula of all licensed health care professionals. These basic sciences are also referred to as ‘pure sciences’ because they conform more rigorously to scientific method.
But, again, functional medicine is neither conventional nor alternative. It is poised to revolutionize all medical care because it is based on far more rigorous standards of scientific method. Functional medicine will ultimately be shown to achieve better outcomes than either conventional or alternative medicine, especially for the treatment of chronic medical and psychological disorders.
The baby boomer generation cannot afford to wait until a diagnosis is made. That may be too late. Having a comprehensive functional assessment is critical.
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Typical scenario, a man and a woman meet, fall in love, get married and decide to have children. For thousands of years this scenario has played out all over the world without any difficulty. The only difference today is that the likelihood of infertility has dramatically increased in the industrialized world.
Top 5 causes of nervous system interference resulting in infertility.
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If what you have done in the past has not provided you with the results you were looking to accomplish, then it is time to change what you do in the present so that your future will be drastically different. My goal with this blog post, like all blog posts, is to educate, inspire, and then compel you to take action so that your life can transform into what you have always desired for it to be. We have seen amazing changes take place at our practice when it comes to the health of each individual that we work with because we become your accountability partner and CHANGE is the only byproduct that we will accept. Therefore, maybe your resolutions have to do with your relationships, your lack of diet or exercise, the amount of time you spend with your children, breaking a disorder or addiction, starting a business, writing book, etc.; regardless of what they are, I want you to understand the NEW YEAR STARTS RIGHT NOW!
We are happy to announce the newest addition to our team. Derek Sun MD, PhD, specialist in cardiology and vascular diseases.