For those of you who’ve been on the edge of your seats waiting to hear if my mom’s regimen of winter supplements worked to stave off her yearly bout of flu, wait no more. Recall, I put her on four things from D’Adamo Personalized Nutrition: Proberry Syrup that’s chockfull of virus-blocking elderberry, ARA 6 to build immune competency in the gut, the probiotic Polyflora that also enhances gut immunity, and Genoma Security that contains a number of immune-buttressing botanicals. I’m happy to report that Mom didn’t get sick once! It’s a small miracle, given that she works all day amongst germ-laden teenagers in New York City. Other things that helped her stay healthy this winter were keeping up her daily walks around the city and making an effort to temper her stress levels. Bravo, Mom. It’s interesting to note that the same supplement regimen that can help with keeping the immune system tip-top will also help with seasonal allergies that flare up in the spring. For more blood-type specific tips on how to triumph over spring sneezes and sniffles, go to http://www.4yourtype.com/2011_newsletter_v8n4.asp#Peter.
Now, to the case. Often a patient comes in without any major complaints; we call this a wellness visit. So it was with 33-year old Melanie, a native of Maine who was brought along by her three older sisters who are Blood Type Diet acolytes. With long blond hair, a faux leopard fur coat with matching flats and a hot pink scarf, Melanie was bleary-eyed when she arrived at 10:30 for her appointment. “I usually have had a few cups of coffee by now,” she said, faithfully having followed our instructions to arrive fasting so that we could administer the proper labs. Melanie was in good health, beyond suffering from the stresses of a lifestyle too rich, perhaps, in wine and heavy food. Melanie is a girl who enjoys the high life and didn’t go in much for diets and vitamin-taking. She described her job as that of a “personal concierge,” which, as she talked about it, sounded to me like she essentially throws parties for a living. Not a bad way to pay the bills, but also not a bad way to end up with some extra pounds, poor sleep hygiene, a smoking habit and a penchant for having a drink or four too many most nights of the week.
Very easygoing, with a ready laugh, Melanie told us a bit about her health history: she had survived an almost-fatal car accident about five years ago that left her with chronic back pain and stiffness. She had a history of depression. Her menses are very heavy with some clotting and she had recently gained about 10 pounds; her weight tended to fluctuate up and down. She drinks three or more drinks three or four nights a week (“because of her job”), skips breakfast most days and eats a lot of steak, heavy cheeses and breads. Her biggest concern is getting her body in top condition, as she wants to get pregnant in the next year or two.
By our tests, she proved to be basically fit. An O-positive Secretor, her phase angle (which reveals the health of the body’s cells) is high, her body keeps its water inside the cells where it belongs, showing that she had good water balance, and she is only slightly overweight. Her breath hydrogen tests revealed some dysbiosis—bad bacterial overgrowth—in her gut. Physical exam revealed no abnormalities other than a blood pressure of 135/80. In terms of body type, she is ectomorphic—long and mostly lean—with a little bit of weight around the middle. She doesn’t exercise, but work keeps her active most days.
Melanie made it clear that didn’t want to make any big changes. But then, our goal with her was not to significantly change her lifestyle but rather to introduce some gentle shifts in her daily habits to halt what was looking like a pre-Metabolic Syndrome picture, which is marked by a slightly overweight apple-shaped body, as well as hypertension, low HDL, high blood glucose and high triglycerides. We didn’t have the luxury of running these labs on the spot, but her blood pressure could’ve been better. Add smoking half a pack a day to the picture and the path from Metabolic Syndrome to more serious ills gets a lot shorter: type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease and the like.
One of Dr. D’Adamo’s valuable pieces of wisdom is that what we do health-wise—diet, exercise, supplements, stress management—in the decade we’re in completely sets up our health for our following decade of life. So this 33-year old’s drinking and smoking habits and lack of exercise not only aren’t setting her up so well for next year but also her 40s, to say nothing of not readying her body to bear a child. He impressed this upon Melanie. “You don’t have to go crazy with this,” he said, “a little here, a little there, will be fine.” The basic common sense algorithm for Melissa to follow was: eat more protein than carbohydrates and exercise a few times a week, enough to break a sweat. Certainly, diet is going to be the most important part of addressing her pre-Metabolic Syndrome state and we flipped a few switches in the SWAMI software to tailor the diet specifically for her: we removed any foods that would contribute to gastrointestinal overgrowth and we increased foods high in antioxidants and Vitamin B6 (this will improve her hormonal picture for less painful periods and increase her ability to get pregnant). We also emphasized foods high in choline, which maintains the integrity of the body’s cell membranes and, thus, overall health.
The supplements we put her on are as follows. Polyflora O is a potent probiotic that will populate her gut with good flora that will remove the dysbiosis-causing bugs. Hepatiguard contains liver-protecting herbs milk thistle and bupleurum that will help her liver process a rich diet and all of the alcohol she consumes. Deflect for Type O is going to be an essential part of her supplement regimen, as it will block harmful lectins in foods that aren’t chosen from her recommended list from wreaking havoc on her intestinal system, decreasing overall inflammation in her body. This product is especially indicated for Metabolic Syndrome, as it decreases the ability of lectins in certain foods to make the body insulin-resistant.
The last thing we put her on is Quercetin Plus. And now we’ve come to today’s Clinical Pearl. A substance found in lots of produce from apples to onions, Quercetin is a water-soluble bioflavanoid that has anti-mutagenic and antioxidant effects. Recent studies done at Kyoto University show that Quercetin inhibits the growth of cancer cells, particularly in the lungs. In a sense, as Dr. D describes it, this flavanoid acts as the department of sanitation in the lungs and filters garbage-like carbon dioxide. It literally acts as a shield around lungs exposed to smoke. The best thing for Melanie would be to quit, and she will when she’s ready. Until then, there’s Quercetin. Melanie looked happy with the changes we recommended. And though she seemed even happier to have a gigantic cup of coffee with milk and sugar, I have faith that changes will start to seep into her daily routine.
See below for more information on D'Adamo Personalized Nutrition's suppelements Quercetin Plus, Hepatiguard and Deflect. These will work for anyone trying to detox and lose weight this spring.
Check back in a couple weeks for more stories including that of a Parkinson's patient and an interesting pediatrics case.
Quercetin_SpecSheet
Hepatiguard_SpecSheet
Deflect SpecSheet
Friday, April 8, 2011
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