Posts Tagged ‘functional medicine Austin’

Invitation to Join Me on Google +

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

Join me on Google +

I have been at two different conferences this week.  Exhausting, but awesome.

I want to share with you something that we should all get on board with, and that is Google +.   I am going to be delivering some very helpful content on improving your sex drive and getting your optimal health, with weight loss often being a great side effect of that.   Because of that, I invite and encourage you to join me in my circle on Google + with this link:

https://plus.google.com/i/5826QvBHTvA:3k4cIU264eE

Just copy and paste the link if it is not clickable for you.  We all need to get going with this so we are not left behind.

I look forward to connecting with you on Google +!!

Dr. Liesa

www.drliesa.com

drliesa@drliesa.com

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Posted in Functional Medicine, Sex Drive/Libido, Uncategorized, Weight Loss | No Comments »

If We Are What We Eat, Then Many Of Us Are in Trouble (Part 3/10)

Monday, January 30th, 2012

The Power of Food

What does food do that makes it an effective intervention?

• Provides essential nutrients

• Wires around genetic limitations

• Helps us adapt to our environment

• Protects against damage

• Supports repair

In short, food helps to:

–        Heal illness

–        Preserve wellness

–        Promote health and a high quality of life

 

 

A New Perspective on Food

• Food is a carrier of bioactive components

• Bioactives in food are dietary signals that carry information from the environment to the cells

 

• Thus, food = information

• Change the food and the information/signal can be changed and biological response can change

 

• Genes = targets receptive to information from the environment

 

• Change the gene (and its protein) and the transmission of the signal can be altered

 

 

Diseases    dis·ease definition: A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Most of the diseases you can name are what I would consider lifestyle diseases.  That means they can be prevented, and often can be reversed if lifestyle is strategically improved.   Often a person may have the genes for the disease, but lifestyle usually accounts for about 75% of the risk factor for actually developing a disease.  That means you often have more control that you realize.

Examples of Chronic Diseases/Conditions that are often Lifestyle Diseases:

–        Heart Disease

–        Heartburn

–        Irritable Bowel Disease

–        Headaches

–        Attention Deficit Disorder

–        Depression

–        Anxiety

–        Slowed Thinking

–        Insomnia

–        Obesity

–        Muscle Cramps

–        Joint Pains

–        Restless Legs

–        Skin Conditions like psoriasis, eczema, seborrhea

–        Acne

–        Diabetes

–        Metabolic Syndrome

–        Hormonal Imbalances

–        Poor Oral Health

–        Stroke

–        Cancer

–        Arthritis

–        High Blood Pressure

–        Constipation

–        Dementia

–        Osteoporosis

–        Fatigue

–        Fibromyalgia

–        Pain

–        Various Inflammatory Diseases

–        Celiac Disease

–        Tremors

–        Numbness and Tingling

–        Asthma

–        Thyroid Disorders

–        Macular Degeneration

–        Vascular Problems

–        Chronic Urinary Tract Infections

–        Poor Vision

–        High Cholesterol

–        High Triglycerides

–        Premature or Accelerated Aging

All can be modified with diet!

If you’d like help knowing exactly what you should be eating, based on your genetics, your health conditions, etc., then call now for an appointment with me – Dr. Liesa Harte, M.D. at 512-537-8859.  www.DrLiesa.com

 


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Posted in Cancer, Diabetes, Functional Medicine, Menopause, Mood Disorders, Nutrition, Toxins/Detox, Uncategorized, Weight Loss | No Comments »

If We Are What We Eat, Then Many Of Us Are In Trouble (part 1 of 10)

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

When I was in medical school and residency, I was taught that as long as people eat a normal diet, they get all of the nutrients they need and do not need to supplement.   Unfortunately, that is just not true for most of us.  The “normal” diet for Western Cultures and perhaps especially for  North America is the S.A.D.  That stands for Standard American Diet.  It really is “sad”, consisting of mostly brown, white, and yellow foods.   Think about it.  It is true for far too many people.

 

The current “5 a day for better health” slogan reflects a major government-industry campaign to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Academy of Sciences suggest that the nutritional goodness of fruits and vegetables, with a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, and that contains plenty of whole-grain breads and cereals, may decrease the risk of heart disease and cancer.  The U.S.D.A. and Department of Health and Human Services’ Food Guide Pyramid recommends 3 to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruits.

 

Surveys say that as many as 42% of the population are eating less than two servings a day, one of which is likely to be french fries.   Based on my medical practice, for patients who are not already tuned into their nutrition, the percentage is much higher.  This is even though consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a substantially lower risk for many chronic diseases, including many types of cancers.

 

Unfortunately, modern diets are often heavily processed and loaded with fats, sugars, flavor-enhancers, and a long list of ingredients that are hard to pronounce, and lack sufficient quantities of fruits and vegetables.   We are over-fed and under-nourished.

 

The popularity of high-protein, low-carb diets has further reduced or eliminated healthy fruits from the daily diet routines of millions.

 

Even if a patient is clever enough to eat five fruits and vegetables a day, there is a good chance these are contaminated with pesticides and are low in the expected vitamins and minerals because of the depletion of nutrients in our soil.  The nutrients from over-farmed fields are just not there.  This is one reason that eating organic fruits and vegetables is so important.   You don’t have to detoxify the pesticides, and the nutrient content is often 25 to 30% higher in organic fruits and vegetables.

If you’d like help knowing exactly what you should be eating, based on your genetics, your health conditions, etc., then call now for an appointment with me – Dr. Liesa Harte, M.D. at 512-537-8859.  www.DrLiesa.com

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Posted in Cancer, Diabetes, Functional Medicine, Gut Health, Nutrition, Toxins/Detox, Weight Loss | No Comments »

Magnesium Plays a Role in Blood Sugar Control

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Magnesium is important for many things related to optimal health.  Blood pressure is one example.  Being suboptimal in magnesium can contribute to hypertension.

Following is from an article I read today in a magazine I got from Complementary Prescriptions describing the importance of magnesium in blood sugar control.    I routinely check magnesium when I do labs on my patients.   Almost everyone is suboptimal!  Do you know what your magnesium situation is?

Magnesium is important for blood sugar balancing, researchers reported in a recent study. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is required for over 300 biochemical reactions. The 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) revealed that a substantial number of American adults fail to get recommended amounts of magnesium in their diets.

In this new study, researchers evaluated the relationship between magnesium status and blood sugar control in subjects with elevated blood sugar levels. The subjects were assessed for dietary magnesium intake and magnesium levels in urine, plasma, and red blood cells. The subjects were also evaluated for fasting blood sugar, 2-hour post-prandial (after eating) blood sugar, and hemoglobin A1c, which is a measurement of blood sugar control over the previous 3 months. Kidney function was also assessed, due to the fact that magnesium is excreted from the body via the kidneys. Thus microalbuminuria, which is the amount of the protein albumin in the urine; proteinuria, the amount in protein in the urine; and serum and urine creatinine, a measurement of kidney function, were also evaluated.

The results of the study showed that magnesium intake and levels of urine, plasma, and red blood cell magnesium were low in this population. In fact, 77 percent of the subjects had at least one value below the cut-off point of low magnesium status. The subjects also demonstrated poor blood sugar control with elevated blood sugar levels and 2-hour post-prandial glucose levels. The researchers found that the parameters that influenced fasting blood sugar were urine and plasma magnesium levels and dietary magnesium intake. Also, they showed that plasma magnesium was influenced by creatinine clearance, a calculated value that represents overall kidney function.

The researchers concluded that magnesium levels were affected by kidney function and are altered in subjects with elevated blood sugar levels. They also concluded that magnesium plays an important role in healthy blood sugar levels.

Reference:

Sales CH, Pedrosa LF, Lima JG, Lemos TM, Colli C. Influence of magnesium status and magnesium intake on the blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clin Nutr. 2011 Jan 31. Published Online Ahead of Print.

If you would like to have your magnesium checked by a doctor who understands the implications of suboptimal magnesium, then go online and make your appointment to come see me now.  Go to www.DrLiesa.com and click on the “make an appointment” button on the right hand side.  I look forward to helping you on your journey towards optimal health!

Liesa Harte, M.D.

www.DrLiesa.com

 

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Posted in Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Functional Medicine, Nutrition | No Comments »