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December 11, 2017 By Ed Bardwell Leave a Comment

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and in large part is the reason why red wine has been touted as being so healthy. But before you reach for the bottle of merlot, you can skip the alcohol and sulfites that aren’t beneficial and instead get a concentrated dose of resveratrol in supplement form.

There are many benefits to resveratrol, and to date there are over 3,000 research studies on its effectiveness. Benefits include:

  • Neutralization of free radicals and slowing the development of damaging AGE proteins that can lead to cellular aging
  • Reduced inflammation within the cardiovascular system, which in turn leads to a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke
  • Protection and repair of cellular DNA which is important in the prevention and treatment of problems that range from premature aging to cancers
  • Lower rate of telomere shortening (telomere shortening is connected with increased incidence of diseases such as cancer and shorter life spans in general)
  • Preventative against insulin resistance, diabetes, and diseases associated with obesity

CONTACT ME or email me at Supplements@YourTopLife.com for information on recommended brands and manufacturers.

Filed Under: Supplements

December 11, 2017 By Ed Bardwell Leave a Comment

choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid (ch-OSA®)

ch-OSA® , or choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, is a highly absorbable collagen generator, which has been researched for decades and proven effective in clinical studies.

Why should you care about generating collagen? Here are a few reasons: collagen production correlates with healthy bones; pliable, youthful joints; strong hair and nails; and youthful skin.

You should consider supplementing with ch-OSA® if you want to:

  • Increase bone density
  • Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
  • Thicken and strengthen hair
  • Strengthen nails
  • Increase flexibility and health of joints

And now you know why it’s on My Favorites page.

You can take this supplement with synergistic ingredients such as Vitamin D3, calcium in the form of microcrystalline hydroxyapatite concentrate (MCHC), and biotin to enhance the desired effects.

CONTACT ME or email me at Supplements@YourTopLife.com for information on recommended brands and manufacturers.

Filed Under: Supplements

December 11, 2017 By Ed Bardwell Leave a Comment

Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite Concentrate (MCHC)

Microcrystalline Hydroxyapatite Concentrate (MCHC) is my go-to for bone density support instead of calcium alone. It contains:

  • Highly absorbable crystalline calcium and phosphorus in the ideal 2:1 physiological ratio
  • Magnesium
  • Bioactive growth factors
  • Type I collagen
  • Amino acids
  • Glycosaminoglycans
  • A broad range of essential trace elements

These ingredients found in bone make MCHC an ideal “bone food,” proven to support bone mineral density and bone growth in decades of scientific studies.

CONTACT ME or email me at Supplements@YourTopLife.com for information on recommended brands and manufacturers.

Filed Under: Supplements

February 27, 2017 By Natalie Engelbart

Are your HORMONES out of whack?

4 Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Hormones are involved in almost every function of the body, from reproduction to metabolism to digestion to hair growth.  Women’s hormonal systems are more complex than men’s, and it takes a skillful eye to determine what is out of balance and the best course of action to establish synergy and homeostasis in the body.

Too often doctors have used an overly simplistic approach to try to address women’s hormones, and have used harmful, synthetic substances to take the place of our natural hormones.  A better approach is to first find out what’s out of balance and WHY, and then customize a plan to help restore balance in the most natural way possible.

Below are 4 warning signs that your hormones are out of whack, as well as recommended tests to help you and your doctor figure out how to get you back in synch.

  1. Your Energy and Motivation Are On the Floor.

An imbalance in virtually any one of your hormones can lead to fatigue and loss of motivation.  The most common one we think of is low thyroid hormone. However, high thyroid or autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s Disease) can lead to debilitating fatigue as well.

Low OR high cortisol levels can cause fatigue and sleeplessness, and surges in insulin or insulin resistance can lead to fatigue after meals, waking at odd hours of the night, and can affect fuel delivery to the brain which can lead to brain fog.

Progesterone is another hormone that can cause fatigue if it is out of balance with estrogen.  Estrogen dips can cause tiredness as well, and testosterone that is too low, even in women, can leave you feeling like a weakened shell of yourself.

It’s important to have all these hormones tested, test blood sugar levels and check for anemia to find out where the fatigue is truly coming from.   In addition, it can be helpful to look at the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine, as these are all intimately involved in motivation, energy and metabolism.

  1.  Your Moods Have You On A Roller Coaster Ride…and You Want To Get Off.

If you find that you are not handling stress well, happy one minute but crying the next, feel like a different (worse) version of yourself, and like everything and everyone is on your last nerve, these are all warning signs that your hormones are out of whack.

This could be due to adrenal gland fatigue, where your cortisol levels are simply not able to keep up with the continuous stress you have been under.  Cortisol levels become erratic and you find you can’t handle the stresses of every day life like you used to.

Or it could be due to your sex hormones being out of balance.  This is usually most noticeable before your period (yes, PMS is a real medical condition).  In some women this can be severe, and is known as PMDD:  premenstrual dysphoric disorder.  With PMDD the mood swings before your menstrual cycle can be severe and debilitating.  Symptoms can include anxiety, depression and physical pain such as joint and muscle pain as well.

Irregular cycles are another warning sign that your mood swings are hormone-related, as is heavy bleeding during your menstrual cycle.

Women may also start to notice mood swings when they reach perimenopause, a time in our lives when our sex hormones are decreasing, and more stress is put on the adrenal glands to pick up the slack.

All of the sex hormones should be tested, along with adrenal hormones Cortisol and DHEA.  In addition, it can be helpful to look at the neurotransmitters Serotonin and Dopamine, as they are both involved in mood stability.

  1. You can’t lose the weight.

You’ve tried all the diets, you’re being consistent with your workouts, but the weight is Still. Not. Coming. Off.   This is a warning sign that your hormones could be out of balance.

When this is happening it’s very important to do a FULL thyroid panel.  This means having not only your TSH checked, but also free T4, free T3 and other aspects of a full thyroid panel.  I also strongly recommend testing thyroid antibodies, as autoimmune thyroiditis (where your immune system attacks your own thyroid) is the number one cause of thyroid problems in the United States. Effectively treating this condition is vastly different than treating a thyroid that is simply underworking.

Checking adrenal gland hormones cortisol and DHEA is important as well.  The best way to do this is with a saliva test.  The adrenal glands and thyroid gland work hand-in-hand with one another (which is why the symptoms of dysfunction in either one look very similar).  Usually when one is faltering, the other is in trouble too.

I also recommend looking at blood sugar levels and insulin, liver and kidney function, inflammation levels, and other aspects of the immune system that can cause weight to hang on.

  1. Sex is the last thing on your mind.

There are many reasons that women can experience a drop in sex drive and desire, but hormone imbalance has to be at the top of the list of things to consider.  After all, doctors estimate that up to 70% of our libido is hormonally mediated.

Low testosterone, and/or an imbalance between the estrogens and testosterone in a woman’s body can put your libido on the floor.  Progesterone levels that are either too low or too high can also be a culprit.

One commonly overlooked hormone connection to look at is how the adrenal glands interplay with the sex hormones.  It makes sense that when we are chronically stressed, sex is literally the last thing on our minds.  Our bodies are saving energy and resources for what it considers life-saving functions, and sexual desire and activity many times just don’t make the cut.  Testing the adrenal hormones in addition to sex hormones is an important step to take to get your healthy sexual desire back.

Side effects of medications is another common contributor to low libido.  So you have to ask:  if your medication is causing this effect, what else is it doing to your brain, body and hormones?  It doesn’t hurt to have a conversation with your doctor about other options or alternatives.

If you answered YES to any one of these four warning signs, you should have your hormones tested.  Contact Dr. Engelbart today to schedule a consultation to discuss exactly what testing would be right for you.  It’s time to get your hormones back in line.  It’s time to experience Your Top Life TM.

Filed Under: Energy, Healthy Tips & Habits, Hormone Balance Tagged With: hormones tests

July 8, 2014 By Natalie Engelbart 3 Comments

Confused About GLUTEN?

I can’t blame you. There’s a lot of talk, hype and misinformation out there about gluten these days. Some people think that gluten-free living is just a fad that will go the way of low-fat dieting, margarine, and leeches — and good riddens to you all! Others believe that gluten is the most evil of food-villians, and that going gluten-free is THE key to digestive health, weight management, and health utopia. To confuse things further, the researches who discovered non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS, aka gluten intolerance) published a study in 2011 that says that non-celiac gluten sensitivity doesn’t really exist (more on this below.) Let’s look at the facts and get a handle on this subject. Because let’s face it, I don’t want to avoid gluten if I don’t have to and I know you don’t either.

First of all…what in the world is gluten?

If you ask my brother, he’ll tell you that, “it’s the stuff that makes food taste good.”  And indeed, it is an ingredient that adds thickness, texture, and let’s face it, taste, to our favorite foods: pizza, breads, pastas, baked goods, pastries, and beer. It’s also commonly hidden in non-bread-like foods like salad dressings, soups, energy bars, and even in some vitamins and medications.

Gluten is the complex protein found in wheat (including whole grain wheat, spelt, wheat bran,) rye, and barley.  Almost all oats contain gluten due to cross-contamination, and some studies and laboratory tests suggest that the gluten-like characteristics in oats, corn, rice, and even some unlikely foods such as coffee and chocolate, could mimic the properties of gluten in some people, a process known as cross-reactivity.

Is gluten intolerance the same thing as celiac disease?

No, it’s not.  Most people have heard the term “gluten” in conjunction with celiac disease, a hereditary (meaning someone else in your bloodline has it) autoimmune (meaning that your immune system is attacking your own body like it’s public enemy number one) disease that specifically causes damage to the small intestines.  The most common symptoms of celiac disease are digestion disturbances (stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, etc.,) but it can affect other areas as well and cause symptoms as vague as headaches, fatigue, and joint pain. Some people may have only minor symptoms or no symptoms at all. Long-term celiac disease can lead to intestinal cancer, severe malabsorption that results in anemia, osteoporosis, muscle wasting, and other autoimmune diseases that then begin to destroy the cells of the skin, brain, or other organs. Celiac disease is nothing to mess around with.

You can be screened for celiac disease by a simple blood test called Tissue Transglutaminase Antibodies (tTG-IgA).  This test will be positive in about 98% of patients with celiac disease who are eating a diet containing gluten. There are a few other tests that your doctor can order to make the diagnosis in the 2% that the tTG-IgA test doesn’t catch, and intestinal biopsy is still considered the gold standard to diagnose celiac disease.  But the tTG-IgA test is the best place to start. Even though celiac disease affects less than 1% of the population, you should absolutely have the tTG-IgA test run if you have frequent or recurring digestion disturbances or if you have celiac disease in your family history.

But let’s say you’ve had this test run and it shows that it’s highly unlikely that you have celiac disease. Congratulations! But don’t reach for that sourdough baguette just yet. There are a couple of other things you need to know about gluten first.

A new villain on the scene.

Back in 2011, there was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled study that found gluten could cause gastrointestinal symptoms in patients without celiac disease.  This gave major credibility to the idea that even if you don’t have celiac disease, gluten is still the likely villain that is causing your tummy to hurt, and also led to the upswing in the gluten-free food business.

The research team then decided to reproduce the study with a few changes, and the new study published in 2013 in the journal Gastroenterology found that gluten probably wasn’t the culprit after all.  This study tagged a new villain, and it goes by the acronym FODMAPs.

FODMAPs stands for fermentable oligo-di-monosaccharides and polyols, and what you need to know if your tummy is frequently unhappy is that you may have a problem digesting these carbohydrates.  FODMAPs are found in wheat, garlic, artichokes, dairy products, and some fruits and legumes.  Most people can digest them just fine, but for those with chronic digestive issues such as IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects about 20% of Americans,),FODMAPs can become fermented and produce gas, leading to a host of other symptoms.  If you suffer from chronic digestive disorders, give a low FODMAP diet a try.  And then I would urge you to continue to work with a doctor to find the true cause of your illness. Many digestive disorders, including IBS have an underlying cause of INFLAMMATION along with MICROBIAL IMBALANCE, and these causes can be targeted and treated. You should also notice that even though gluten might not be as big of a culprit for causing stomach symptoms in those who don’t have celiac disease, wheat still contains FODMAPs. So put the baguette down.

What if I don’t suffer from stomach problems?  I’m off the hook right?

Not necessarily. Gluten is still considered pro-inflammatory. This means that it has the propensity to cause inflammation in most people. Inflammation is the cause or major contributor to every disease known to mankind.

In addition, gluten is linked to a host of autoimmune diseases.  It especially has a propensity to affect the thyroid (as in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis) and the brain, affecting conditions such as Parkinson’s, Lou-Gherig’s, chronic vertigo, and many other neurological diseases. Gluten has also been known to affect the pancreas in ways that can lead to adult-onset diabetes, and the skin and mucosal membranes, causing allergies and chronic skin irritations. If you have been diagnosed with any of these diseases I would urge you to go gluten-free NOW.  My colleagues and I can personally attest to the remarkable recovery of many, many patients who had severe illnesses, after adhering to a strict gluten-free diet.

Which begs the question…wouldn’t it be good to know IN ADVANCE if gluten is accelerating an autoimmune response in your body BEFORE you are diagnosed with a formidable and deadly disease that stole your life away?  What if you could take a PROACTIVE stance and do an easy blood test to see if gluten is indeed a friend or foe for you personally?  What if you could know for sure?

The ONLY way to know for sure is to test (with the right test.)

Thankfully the science behind functional lab testing is catching up with our ailments. There is an easy way to know if you should avoid gluten like the plague or if you can chomp merrily away on your favorite foods, and it’s done by a simple blood test.  Cyrex Labs offers the most comprehensive look at your immune system’s reaction to gluten, and can also test for the cross-reactivity response from other foods so that you can know for sure if you should stay away from it or if you can pick up that baguette and enjoy it without consequences (at least from the gluten it contains). This test must be ordered by a doctor, but it can be performed in just about any part of the country.  For more information, contact me directly.

You should have this test done if you have any of these symptoms:

  • Stomach upset, bloating, gastric reflux, diarrhea, constipation, or nausea
  • Fatigue
  • Joint or bone pain
  • Headaches
  • Skin conditions
  • Unexplained weight gain
  • Hyperactivity
  • Inability to focus or concentrate
  • Insomnia
  • Depression
  • Anxiety or mind racing
  • Progressive muscle weakness
  • Numbness and tingling
  • Balance and coordination problems
  • Autism and other learning or developmental disorders
  • Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s and rheumatoid arthritis
  • Hormonal imbalances
  • Bladder problems

Can’t I just eliminate it for a few weeks and see if I get better?

Removing gluten from your diet for a period of time and then adding it back in is called a “challenge test” or “elimination diet”. While there is some merit to this method, and it certainly won’t hurt you, please realize that it is NOT conclusive for a couple of reasons.

Elimination diets are difficult to accomplish because of all the different sources of gluten and cross-contamination. Also, it could take months, or in some cases years, for the symptoms you are experiencing to completely go away, so doing a challenge test for a couple of weeks won’t necessarily give you enough time to get the information you are looking for. Autoimmune symptoms tend to wax and wane anyway, and there could be hours or days between the trigger and the symptoms. So the best thing to do is the conclusive test.

My own story:

I love being healthy and I love being proactive about my health. And while I’m not perfect, I do my best to practice what I preach — especially now that I’m older and wiser…and a mom!

I don’t have any type of chronic digestive disorder or symptoms that would have led me to believe that I could be gluten-intolerant.  But as a functional neurologist, I frequently research and study about nervous system diseases, thyroid disorders, and autoimmunity, and I have treated some patients who have suffered with very severe illnesses. The ones that could have been prevented if they had the opportunity to make proactive choices made the most impact on me. What if they could have known? Would they have chosen to change their diet five or ten years earlier if they could have prevented the suffering they were enduring in the present?

I know that in addition to injuries and extreme stress, autoimmune conditions can be triggered by hormonal surges and swings, such as during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause (which is one of the reasons why autoimmune conditions are so much more prevalent among women than men.) So when I got pregnant at the age of 39, I decided it was time for me to get tested for gluten intolerance. And lo and behold, even though I never had an outward symptom related to ingesting gluten, my immune system was certainly reacting to it. I did the cross-reactivity test too and found out that my immune system reacts to dairy as well. Because of these test results, I am gluten-free and dairy-free, and I’m confident I am preventing some nasty future consequences. I do, very occasionally, “cheat” and have a treat (and also take supplements to minimize the inflammatory and immune effects when I do).  And I still never have any symptoms when I occasionally have gluten…although maybe it would make it easier to stay completely away from these foods if I did have symptoms.

But what brings peace to my mind is knowing what I am preventing, and that I’m not robbing from my future to have a quick endorphin fix in the present. For me, it was testing that made the difference. If I didn’t know for sure, I would still be chowing down on my baguettes, and be eating my way into a world of hurt and who-knows-what kind of chronic disease. Knowing the test results makes it easier to do what’s best for my body and brain, and many of my patients say the same thing.

I’d love to hear some comments from those of you whose symptoms decreased radically when you went gluten-free, or had different results, so post away! And contact me when you are ready to do the test!

 

Filed Under: GI Function, Healthy Tips & Habits, Inflammation

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About Dr. Natalie J. Engelbart

Dr. Natalie J. Engelbart

Dr. Engelbart is passionate about finding solutions to your hormone and health problems–not only WHAT is wrong, but also WHY, and what can be done to help you reach your peak health.

Dr. Engelbart holds several advanced and accredited multidisciplinary degrees. She is a Doctor of Chiropractic with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology, multiple Board Certifications in Neurology, and three multi-disciplinary Fellowships in Functional Medicine through the American College of Functional Neurology.

After being in private practice in the Dallas, TX area for 15 years and training multiple doctors in her specialty, she and her family moved to Boulder, Colorado in 2012. Dr. Engelbart has studied and trained in Amsterdam, Paris, Norway and throughout the United States. She loves learning and continually strives to stay up-to-date with the latest research and clinical applications.

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See what Dr. Engelbart’s patients have to say.

Dr. Engelbart is able to help patients all over the United Sates! Visit Dr. Engelbart at South Boulder Healing & Chiropractic Services in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, or CONTACT US to set up a phone, Skype or FaceTime Consultation.

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