Category Archives: Sleep

Stress and Managing Stress

Stress and Managing Stress

Dr. Jay Sordean talking about Stress and Managing Stress on KREM2 Spokane with Rose Beltz, Health News Reporter.

Stress and Stress Management, Because Stress is Pervasive

Stress is a response to external and internal changes in our environment and how we perceive of it.

We both react and respond to stressful situations.

“Reaction” is more automatic and unconscious.

“Response” is more mediated, less automatic, and tempered by conscious and learned beliefs and behaviors. Response modifies and can reduce a severe stress reaction like panic attacks.

There are several types of stress response and reactions:
• Mental
• Emotional
• Physical
• Spiritual
• Energetic

The deepest basis for our bodily reactions and responses to external and internal changes is our need to survive.

It is both our individual survival and our survival as a family, tribe, and species that drives stress behavior.

The survival stress reaction is called the “Fight or Flight” response. This is deeply seated in our survival brain and is body based. Strong hormones surge through the body and effect breathing, heart rate, digestion, thinking, emotions.

The most common stressors, according to statistics, are:
• Death of a loved one
• Divorce
• Loss of a job
• Increase in financial obligations
• Getting married
• Moving into a new home
• Chronic illness or injury
• Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)

Stressful, or even life-threatening situations include:
• Threat of physical harm
• Threat of freezing or of burning up
• Threat to our loved ones (children, parents, family, friends)
• Unhealthy living situation – like mold in a house
• Toxic relationships
• Changes in intimate relationships
• Divorce, break-up, infidelity
• Abusive relationships
• Toxic work environment (chemicals, people, activities)
• Negative self-talk

These are a few of the many solutions to help empower you to become stress-responsive versus simply stress-reactive

• Fixing up dangerous housing environment (mold abatement, getting rid of drug infested nuisance properties, reducing crime statistics with better job opportunities) (contact www.TwinHomeSolutions.com for help if you have bad homes in your neighborhood)
• Learning breathing exercises, visualization exercises, empowerment (like “fist pump”)
• Doing yoga, meditation, Tai Qi, Qi Gong (we can demonstrate that for you)
• Using BANK Code personality typing to communicate better with your loved ones or spouse (go to www.Four-Cards.com to get your free $97 value gift of a personality analysis from Dr. Jay)

What does GERD teach us about digestion as a feedback mechanism? Great information from Marc David on the Functional Forum from Boulder.#f

What does GERD teach us about digestion as a feedback mechanism? Great information from Marc David on the Functional Forum from Boulder.
#functionalforum #goevomed The Institute for the Psychology of Eating

 

#TheRedwoodClinic #JaySordean For more information about functional medicine at The Redwood Clinic, go to http://www.theredwoodclinic.com/best-functional-medicine-berkeley/

Opioid Addiction

Opioid addiction

Opioid addiction is at all time highs in the US. Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and politicians are all ranting about the opioid addiction problem in this country. The basis of this addiction is typically a pain condition that was initially treated with opioids like oxycodone – supposed to be a short term therapeutic regimen – but that turned into long term dependence.

Alternatives exist – such as acupuncture to increase endorphins in the brain, and NRCT (Neurologic relief center technique) that may be helpful to reduce the nerve irritations that can cause pain syndromes not addressed in other ways. Mindfulness, hypnotherapy, guided imagery and a variety of natural supplements can also be effective interventions to replace the addictive opioids or to reduce the dependence over time.

THE OPIOID ADDICTION EPIDEMIC STATISTICS

By far, the opioid crisis is one of the worst epidemics to hit the United States.

More than 2.4 million Americans have reportedly abused opioid medications, many of which are formulated to match pain-reducing properties of opium, including legal painkillers like morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone.

Others have turned to heroin and fentanyl.

Making it worse, according to U.S. governors, as noted by NBC Chicago:

“The federal government needs to do more to block illicit versions of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl from being shipped into the U.S. Last year, the Department of Justice issued indictments of two Chinese companies accused of sending fentanyl illegally into the U.S., one of several anti-opioid moves by the federal government.”

It’s gotten so bad that since 1999, the number of accidental deaths involving opioids has quadrupled. In fact, it’s been reported that 91 Americans die every day from it.

In 2015, 52,000 Americans died from opioid abuse.

According to The U.S. Council of Economic Advisers (CEA):“CEA estimates that in 2015, the economic cost of the opioid crisis was $504.0 billion, or 2.8 percent of GDP that year. This is over six times larger than the most recently estimated economic cost of the epidemic.”In 2016, that number exploded to 63,600. In 2017, early data has it up to 66,000.

It’s why President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a “public health emergency.”

“We have to be careful because there’s a drug epidemic the likes of which we’ve never seen in this country,” he added. “I will be pushing the concept of non addictive painkillers very, very hard. We’re going to be spending lots of money on coming up with a non-addictive solutions.”

ALTERNATIVES TO OPIOID ADDICTION AT THE REDWOOD CLINIC

Alternatives exist – such as acupuncture to increase endorphins in the brain, and NRCT (Neurologic relief center technique) that may be helpful to reduce the nerve irritations that can cause pain syndromes not addressed in other ways. Mindfulness, hypnotherapy, guided imagery and a variety of natural supplements can also be effective interventions to replace the addictive opioids or to reduce the dependence over time.

The functional medicine approach is also very important to get your body’s systems back into balance.

Opioids severely alter the digestive and elimination systems. They are the basis for getting nutrition in your system and the foundation of a healthy immune system. When those are malfunctioning, the brain also is effected directly, and then the natural opiates produced by the brain and elsewhere, the endorphins and enkephalins are thrown out of balance. As are the feel-good biochemicals of serotonin and dopamine.

To break the addiction cycle the body’s natural feel good and pain reducing chemicals must be activated. Functional medicine is the most effective approach for this as it reduces dependence on pharmaceutical agents that cause numerous side effects.

Call us today at The Redwood Clinic +1-510-849-1176 to set up your functional medicine consultation. Delay only makes the addiction worse.

Lead in School Water – Multipure the answer

Lead in School Water – Multipure the answer

Berkeley and Oakland and other schools in California have been found to have lead in school water and water fountains have been shut off. The presence of lead in school water at levels that the pediatric physician association considers dangerous is below the EPA standards. Installing Multipure water purification systems in the schools would be a great solution to the issue. However, how about the water in the HOMES of the students and teachers as well? If there is lead in school water, then for sure it is also in the tap water of homes. Multipure is the most well studied and qualified system that addresses not only lead in school water but also the industrial chemicals that also cause brain and body degeneration.

Is there much about this topic in the internet? Look below for a page one dump on the key word search “lead in school water california.”

Drinking lead: Why California may force all schools to test their water
https://www.mercurynews.com/…/drinking-lead-why-california-may-force-all-schools…
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Aug 22, 2017 – Daniel Wills, a plumber with the Los Angeles Unified School District Maintenance and Operations Branch repairs and replaces one of hundreds of old fountains that were found to have high levels of lead in the water at John H Francis Polytechnic Senior High in Sun Valley. (Nancy Pastor, for CALmatters).
Extreme level of lead at SF school gym fountain, among 30 taps failing …
www.sfgate.com/…/Extreme-level-of-lead-at-SF-school-gym-fountain-12318511.php
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Nov 1, 2017 – A growing list of schools across the state are posting high levels of lead flowing out of faucets after the water crisis in Flint, Mich. — in which corrosion of pipes led to leaching of lead into the city water supply — led California officials to push for testing, especially in schools.
3 San Francisco public schools show high levels of lead in water …
www.sfgate.com/news/…/Three-San-Francisco-public-schools-show-high-12306785.p…
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Oct 27, 2017 – Water samples from taps and drinking fountains at three San Francisco public schoolscontained elevated levels of lead, potentially exposing students to the toxic metal, district officials said Wednesday. District officials immediately shut down the taps and this week notified parents at West Portal and …
Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Childcare Facilities – EPA
https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/lead-drinking-water-schools-and-childcare-facilities
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May 19, 2017 – The 15 ppb action level for PWSs is therefore a trigger for treatment rather than a health-based or exposure level. EPA recommends that schools collect 250 ml first-draw samples fromwater fountains and outlets.
Why Are School Water Fountains So Susceptible to Lead Poisoning?

Multipure Independent Distributor ID# 432075 The Redwood Clinic
www.govtech.com/…/Why-Are-School-Water-Fountains-So-Susceptible-to-Lead-Pois…
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Jul 27, 2016 – New York is set to become the first state to require schools to regularly test their waterfor lead. But it’s far from the only place with the problem.
Lead, arsenic, copper found in drinking water at some NorCal schools
www.kcra.com/article/lead-arsenic-copper-found-in…water-at…schools/13533575
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Nov 13, 2017 – KCRA 3 tests water fountains at 24 Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley schools; these are the results.
Lead taints drinking water in hundreds of schools, day cares across USA
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/…water-lead-schools…/81220916/
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Mar 17, 2016 – Whenever Jamison Rich got thirsty after gym or recess, he took a drink from the nearestwater fountain at his elementary school. Only last month did his family learn that the water bubbling out of some fountains contained high levels of lead, a notorious toxin that can silently damage developing brains and …
Burbank Unified schools test negative for lead in water fountains …
www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/…/tn-blr-me-water-report-20170711-story.ht…
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Jul 11, 2017 – Burbank parents can rest assured that their children will not be exposed to lead from any drinking fountain at any school in Burbank Unified. Burbank Water and Power recently published its 2016 annual Water Quality Report in the agency’s June 2017 issue of its Currents newsletter, which reported that …
Analyze This: Real data on lead levels in school drinking water …
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/…/analyze-real-data-lead-levels-school-drinki…
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Analyze This: Real data on lead levels in school drinking water. Monitoring for lead (as in these data) is an important part of identifying risks to health. Lillian Steenblik Hwang. May 3, 2017 — 12:00 pm EST.water fountain. Water that appears clear and clean can be unsafe if it contains high amounts of lead, a toxic metal.
School drinking water will be tested for lead — after filters are installed …
https://thelensnola.org/…/school-drinking-water-will-be-tested-for-lead-after-filters-are…
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Oct 27, 2017 – The Orleans Parish School Board is finally moving ahead with the filters. But it looks like they will not meet a self-imposed deadline to have them installed this fall. They plan to test water fountains and kitchen fixtures after the filters are installed. At that point, the tests are virtually guaranteed to show no lead …

Multipure Independent Distributor ID# 432075 The Redwood Clinic

Amyloid Alzheimer’s Blood Stream

Amyloid Alzheimer’s Blood Stream

Does Alzheimer’s Travel to the Brain
From Other Parts of the Body?

There are many reasons and causes of Alzheimer’s. My two books on the brain (Outsmarting the Dementia Epidemic and Super Brain) talk about the primary factors involved. The connection between Amyloid, Alzheimer’s, & Blood Stream is an example of this whole body causal chain. Amyloid plaques are associated with Alzheimer’s in postmortem studies. But amyloid is produced in other parts of your body and can travel via your blood stream to the brain.

A study published in October suggests that the disease might not start in the brain at all.

Our own blood could carry Alzheimer’s-linked amyloid proteins to the brain from other areas of the body to kick-start the disease process.

Amyloid Alzheimer’s Blood Stream

A study by researchers from the US, Australia, China and the University of British Columbia surgically attached lab animals so they shared the same blood supply.

Anyway, each member of a group of normal, healthy mice was coupled with another that was specially bred to carry a modified human gene that produces high levels of brain-damaging amyloid beta protein.

After 12 months, the normal mice developed the same plaques and tangles seen in Alzheimer’s. They displayed the type of brain cell degeneration, inflammation and micro-bleeding commonly seen in the disease.

There were also marked impairments in a region of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that’s especially important for learning and memory. This disruption in electrical signaling began after just four months.

These results point out important facts I report in my books. Inflammation, blood circulation, and meningeal compression are all relevant in this discussion of brain health.

The Research Showed

The blood study showed that the proteins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease can travel to the brain via the bloodstream. And those proteins are found outside the brain, They exist in muscles, blood platelets and blood vessels. In other words, the proteins from which amyloid is derived are found in a number of other organs.

The meninges control all of the blood circulating to and from your brain. They are the blood-brain barrier we talk so much about. Addressing a dysfunctional meninges may help to improve the blood-brain barrier.

One research author, Dr. Welhong Song, stated that “The blood-brain barrier weakens as we age. That might allow more amyloid beta to infiltrate the brain, supplementing what is produced by the brain itself and accelerating the deterioration.

“Alzheimer’s disease is clearly a disease of the brain, but we need to pay attention to the whole body to understand where it comes from, and how to stop it.

“Clearance of amyloid outside the brain could help reduce the amyloid inside the brain and might help slow down the disease progression.”
Dr. Song thinks it might be possible to develop a drug that binds to amyloid beta in the body, so that when it enters the bloodstream it is recognized by the kidneys or liver and the two bound substances are transported safely out of the body before the amyloid has a chance to enter the brain.

Drugs developed to address amyloid in the brain have not been successful.

Since the research team is telling us that Alzheimer’s might be a whole-body problem – a systemic disease — it reinforces the ideas of those working in integrative dr

By taking care of ourselves through diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, and periodic detoxing of key organs like the liver, kidneys and colon, we are taking care of our minds at the same time.

It is also time to buy Dr. Jay’s two books and read them! Fill out the surveys in them. Learn more about his BRAIN HEALTH program by logging into his webinar. Then contact him for an appointment to review your survey results. 510-849-1176.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29086767
http://www.med.ubc.ca/alzheimers-disease-might-be-a-whole-body-problem

Acupuncture Benefits Insurance Coverage


Acupuncture Benefits Insurance Coverage

[Editor’s Note: While Positivity is the Usual Tone for this blog, this article is addressing a more serious trend and so is not upbeat]

Typical Medical Insurance Policy restrictions regarding Acupuncture Benefit and Reimbursement

You are all excited that you found out your insurance plan has acupuncture coverage. You think, “wow, it says I am entitled to 12 visits a year. Or 20 visits a year.” And you are thinking “I am entitled to getting each and every one of them and it is the doctor’s duty to do that for me.”
You are also perhaps feeling that the providers on the list are super happy that they get to work with you because you have insurance.

Well, providers are usually happy to be able to help you with their skills and art. That is for sure.
But in many cases, for the provider, the insurance part of it is not the warm and fuzzy feeling you have.

Why would that be? Please continue reading to the end to better understand why.

When you are not paying their usual and customary fees, in other words, if you are not paying full cash rate out of pocket, there are some things you should seriously consider to make the professional relationship work.

Acupuncture Benefits Insurance CoverageThe elephant in the room, your insurance plan, will always have either a good or bad effect. So it is incumbent upon you to understand the system that is the intermediary in this business transaction.

Think about it. You go in to buy groceries. You pick up what you want. You go to the cashier. You pay out of pocket and you get the groceries. Did the store have to bill a third party to get paid?

Or you go to a financial planner for advice. You go in, you pay in cash, check, credit card, etc., you sit down and talk. You get the advice. You pay then and the financial planner gets paid then. No insurance involved as a middle man.

Let’s say you work at a coffee place. You are a barista. You get paid hourly or as a salary. People come in, order, pay (maybe sometimes with a discount card or coupon), you make what they want, they leave with what they bought. No insurance involved in the middle of that transaction. And you don’t have to bill some intermediary, like and insurance company, to get your pay check.

But that isn’t the way it is for the solo or group medical professional who has agreed to help patients by accepting their medical insurance. It is a totally different situation. You should understand it, especially if you want a good relationship with your provider and if you are thinking of going into that profession as well.

<h2>Acupuncture Benefits Insurance Coverage Basics</h2>

You have a contract (medical insurance) that says the insurance company will pay for some of your treatments in particular situations. This is called a “benefit.” “Benefits” are always limited in scope.

Eligibility means that you can access your plan because you (or someone else) paid your policy premium, so the medical insurance contract is in effect.

You have asked your possible provider to accept insurance payments. Typically that means that you want the provider to be satisfied with the amount that you pay with your copay and the part that the insurance company pays in addition.

So the provider (or paid staff) has to spend time and money to find out two things first. Your eligibility. And if you are eligible, do you have the (examination, evaluation, treatment) benefit?

Now, even if you are eligible and have, say, acupuncture, benefits, that doesn’t mean that your condition is one that the insurance plan agrees can be helped or treated with acupuncture.
This is an area of confusion for most patients.

Once again, just because you have the benefit it doesn’t guarantee that the provider will be paid. It doesn’t mean that the benefit applies to your condition. ALL INSURANCE PLANS specify what types of conditions they think might be impacted by acupuncture, herbs, shiatsu, massage, cupping etc.

MOST plans restrict “relevancy” to certain musculoskeletal problems, chroinic pain, nausea with pregnancy, and perhaps a few other diagnostic categories.

When the provider treats you, he has to provide diagnostic codes on the bill. He has to provide procedure codes. These two together relate to whether the benefit will be paid or not. If the insurance plan decides that they don’t want to pay for a particular benefit because they don’t like that diagnostic code, the provider will not be paid by the insurance company.

And don’t ask the provider to lie about the diagnosis just so you don’t have to pay.  That is jeopardizing the provider’s license.

The provider if under contract, might then be able to send you the bill because they can bill you for anything the insurance plan won’t pay for. Other times, the insurance plan will tell the provider “tough luck. We won’t pay you and you can’t bill the patient.”

How fair is that? Not fair at all, I would propose.

Especially, when the time and cost of dealing with insurance plans is so severe for providers.
1. They have to spend time verifying eligibility and benefits. That could take as much as 1 hour or more. And then there still is no guarantee that the information will be correct.
2. They have to spend time making appointments, corresponding with the patients, actually examining and treating the patients, collecting co-payments, and then billing the insurance company for the balance.
3. Automation hasn’t really made much of a difference in this time issue, especially when the insurance company denies payment.
4. Knowing how to deal with the insurance system itself is a MAJOR expenditure of time and money. The insurance companies don’t ever pay providers for this time required to learn the system and keep up on all of the alerts and newsletters related to changes in the system and contracts.
5. On top of it all, insurance companies, with a few exceptions, have slashed reimbursement rates to participating providers. In most cases it is a 50 -90% reduction in their fee schedule.
6. And then there is the paperwork requirements imposed. Of course, again, no compensation for any of that given to the provider.

How are Acuncturists Paid:   Independent providers aren’t given a salary. They aren’t provided an hourly wage. They have overhead and business expenses that they have to pay before they can take payment for their own expertise and work out of the small amount of money the insurance company gives them for their professional expertise.

 It is likely that your insurance doesn’t even cover the cost of overhead if your doctor bills the insurance company directly.  Some insurances do, most don’t.

Please keep this in mind when you call and ask a provider to make an appointment with you when you have a PPO plan. If the tables were turned, is it you who is doing the favor or the provider doing you the favor?

Granted, there are a few insurance plans that are not stealing from the providers. But there are many more plans that claim that they pay for the treatment, but don’t.  In fact, often the patient pays way more in a copay than the insurance company itself pays.

And YOUR plan might be one of those.  Hopefully, not.  But if it is, extra consideration for your provider might just be just what the doctor ordered.

5 Color Vegetables or Fruits

5 Color Vegetables or Fruits

Foods and nutrition are great topics for the holiday gatherings.

A recent gathering of HAART employees and directors of the board (Dr. Jay is on the board of directors of HAART) was such an opportunity. Savyon, my eldest daughter, was sitting at a table of younger professional women. Among the topics that came up was different types of diets and eating plans — Paleo, vegan, etc.

One person in the conversation, Savannah, is the newest board member. She mentioned that she was brought up with the simple concept by her mother of eating different color foods at each meal. Do that in a consistent fashion as a child and you will grow up getting at least some basic nutrition.

Others talked about paleo diets related to our “caveman” genetic backgrounds.

Kaiser sends out an email newsletter with the following article today:

Beyond the ‘White Food’ Diet: Seven Tips for Adding Color to Your Child’s Plate

Again, the same advice from a pediatrician.

Why the colors? Well, nature produces different colors to attract different animals. Different colors of veggies and fruits contain different kinds of phytonutrients and different types of antioxidants. And antioxidants are substances we need in our bodies to balance out the oxidation reactions that are, for one thing, the basis for our energy production system. Krebs cycle, citric acid cycle, mitochonria, etc. etc. You know what I’m talking about.

So, while the composition of these colored foods was less well studied 30, 40, 50 years ago, we have a clearer idea of the biochemical reason why eating colored vegetables and fruits may be important.

If you can’t get enough of these servings of food in your diet you can get a rough substitute by taking the right supplements. One I recommend is Phytonutrients by Metagenics. You can order them online here.

Weight Loss and Detoxification

Weight Loss and Detoxification

In 2016–even after many decades of research–the concept of detoxification is still considered to be nonscientific in many medical circles. weight loss and detoxificationWhy this is the case is a bit of a mystery and may be the result of some basic misunderstandings about the word. In fact, a body of credible research has been conducted on the environmental and health impacts of toxins, and much recent study has been dedicated to the issue of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). With the development of new analytical tools, we have entered a new era in which it is now possible to study the more subtle effects–cellular toxicology, genomic toxicology–these molecules can have on the human body.

One thing that is undeniable is that toxins are stored in the fat cells of the body.  If we don’t clean those toxins out we will have a degeneration of our health.  Patients I have worked with have had incredible turn-arounds of their health simply by doing our science-based, effective detoxification processes.  This is not just the go to the health food store and get herbs to purge the bowel.  Sorry, that just doesn’t cut it now that we know what really is needed functionally.

Pain is worsened by a toxic body.

Chemical toxicity

Explosive increase in chemicals in the environment

Medication use is often due to toxins in the body that cause symptoms that the drugs are prescribed to cover up.  When the medication “eliminates” one thing they often produce other symptoms.  Another drug is prescribed to “address” that complaint.  And so on.  Until people are taking a handful of drugs.

All when maybe a detoxification process that got rid of the poisons in your body was all that was needed in the first place.

Call us to set up your appointment to start your detox process now.  Autumn is a time when nature gets rid of what it doesn’t need so it can regenerate and grow.  What in your life is your reason to not do this detoxification process here at The Redwood Clinic?

Write down the top three obstacles or blockages you have to taking action on detoxification.  Then rank each one on a scale of 1 to 10 of difficulty to overcome.  Ten is impossible.  Like trying by yourself to get your leg out from under a 1 ton boulder trapping it.  One is a minor obstacle, like you have to go out and walk your dog right now, but could do it in 10 minutes.

So, again, write down your 3 biggest obstacles to calling us now to make an appointment to clean out your body gently and effectively.  Then, rank them according to how hard the obstacle is.  Then figure out whether all three are really insurmountable.

Now Call for Your Appointment.  Tell us you want to do our detoxification program.  Regain your health and your natural abilities to heal and lose the weight that may be the cause of your chronic pain.

And, watch this video by one of the Fathers of Functional Medicine, Jeffrey Bland, PhD.  Then take action and call us at 510-849-1176.

Reference:
Blum A. Tackling toxics. Science. 2016 Mar 11;351(6278):1117.

Functional Medicine: What it is and Why do you want it?

Functional Medicine: What it is and Why do you want it?

Functional Medicine: Just exactly what is it? How is it different from conventional medicine? Why Functional Medicinemight you want to work with a functional medicine practitioner like Jay Sordean? This video explains it in full detail as Dr. Jay narrates and describes some of the distinguishing characteristics of this and how it differs from conventional medicine.

Dr. Jay has been studying and practicing functional medicine for the past 30 years. Learn about this medicine, focused on functional capacity in the body, in ways you may never have thought about it.

Additional resources can be heard at http://www.NaturalSolutionsWithDrJay.com

Learn about how the functioning of the body degenerates and how that leads to malfunction, disease, and THEN symptoms.

 

 

Water is an important part of your body’s functioning.  What happens to your function when your water is toxic?  Click on this link to learn more: http://www.theredwoodclinic.com/toxins-in-water/

Stress, trauma and toxicity are 3 of the most important causes of degenerating health.  These each lead to decreased vitality and organ function, increasing inflammation and causing the body to have to work harder to repair damaged tissues.  Call the office at 510-849-1176 to find out what we can do to help you regain your health.