Welcome to the Cardiff Health and Wellness blog archive! Navigate this page to learn more about anatomy, physiology, and how they pertain to your healthy lifestyle.
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Functional Neurology
Welcome to Neurology Inc. - The corporation that keeps your body running in top shape!
Your nervous system is a vastly complex system with the important job of keeping you alive and well. Without different components with distinct responsibilities, your body wouldn't be able to function at all! Let's meet the team -
Meet the CEO - The Frontal Lobe
Job Description: The frontal lobe processes information from your senses and other parts of the brain. It creates a central plan to keep the body running smoothly and efficiently. If the frontal lobe isn’t working , the rest of the brain has no way of being managed or regulated.
How it helps YOUR body: The frontal lobe governs EVERYTHING about how you live your life. Your motor function, problem solving, memory, language, judgement, impulse control, and social behavior all comes from this area of the brain. The frontal lobe makes you, YOU.
Meet the COO - The Cerebellum
Job Description: The frontal lobe processes information from your senses and other parts of the brain. It creates a central plan to keep the body running smoothly and efficiently. If the frontal lobe isn’t working , the rest of the brain has no way of being managed or regulated.
How it helps YOUR body: A healthy cerebellum is the cornerstone to any balanced movement. It is what keeps you upright when you ride a bike, graceful when you dance, and strong when you lift a weight. It keeps your body physically in check, making it a crucial aspect of a healthy and athletic lifestyle.
Meet the Managers - The Brainstem & Spinal Cord
Job Description: The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord. It governs some of the most vital bodily functions such as breathing, hunger, thirst, heart rate, and blood pressure. The spinal cord runs down the length of the spine and is made up of bundles of nerve fibers that transmit neural signals related to the frontal lobe's plan. It is the "main highway" of communication from the brain to the body.
Meet the COO - The Cerebellum
Job Description: The frontal lobe processes information from your senses and other parts of the brain. It creates a central plan to keep the body running smoothly and efficiently. If the frontal lobe isn’t working , the rest of the brain has no way of being managed or regulated.
How it helps YOUR body: A healthy cerebellum is the cornerstone to any balanced movement. It is what keeps you upright when you ride a bike, graceful when you dance, and strong when you lift a weight. It keeps your body physically in check, making it a crucial aspect of a healthy and athletic lifestyle.
Meet the Workers - The Peripheral Nerves
Job Description: The peripheral nerves act as a direct relay system between the spinal cord and the rest of the body. They are the “smaller highways” that transmit messages directly to muscles/organs. They implement the final steps of the central plan initiated by the frontal lobe.
How they help YOUR body: The brain is useless if it does not have the means necessary to implement an action. Peripheral nerves are what actually moves your hand to pick up a coffee cup, what keeps your heart pumping correctly, and what moves your mouth when you speak. They are the gears that keep the engine running.
In order to be completely healthy and happy, all of these components must cooperate effectively. If one element is not working, the whole system can become defective. Ensuring a healthy brain is the first step in ensuring a healthy body. Let the Cardiff Health and Wellness team organize a plan that works best for you and your unique neurological makeup!
SIBO
Let’s talk about bacteria…
One of the most commonly treated digestive issues at our office is SIBO – small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. This tricky condition is talked about often amongst nutritionists, gastroenterologists, and functional medicine doctors; but what is it?
Bacteria in the large intestines has trans-located (aka “Gone Wild”) and moved into the small intestines where it shouldn’t be. As much as 95% of all our bacteria SHOULD be in the large intestines. This ensuing overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine disrupts the balance of vitamin/mineral absorption and decreases the amount of bacteria in the large intestines that aid in healthy elimination. LPS (lipopolysaccharides), an endotoxin is responsible for this disruption. They increase intestinal dysbiosis, reduce immunity, lead to increased risk of developing inflammatory conditions and can result in a leaky gut. This means that even with proper nutrition you can become malnourished! No one wants their healthy lifestyle to be wasted by a sluggish small intestine, so let’s dive into how SIBO can be prevented, assessed, and treated.
Causes
- Unfortunately, anyone can fall victim to SIBO. This condition can be caused by a myriad of factors including -
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sluggish digestive system
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stomach adhesions (scar tissue) that hasn’t been broken down
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eating too many grains
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too much sugar
What are the consequences of undiagnosed SIBO?
You can develop leaky gut, which is where food particles leak into the bloodstream, resulting in inflammation. This can lead to autoimmune disorders, one common one being Hashimoto's disease. If left untreated, SIBO can also result in mitochondrial dysfunction (lack of energy), digestive problems, and hormonal imbalances.
Treatment
Outside of our clinic, some patients are forced to rely on an expensive prescription drink that can cost as much as $700 along with heavy antibiotics.
Not to worry! Fortunately, our functional treatment plan is much easier on the digestive tract and ensures a smoother (and more affordable) recovery. Our office utilizes a powerful triad of effective therapies to regain balanced homeostasis in the small intestine. This includes supplementation, nutritional changes, and chiropractic treatments.
The FODMAP diet, which limits certain types of sugars and carbohydrates, helps to reduce bacterial overgrowth while our nutritional supplementation provides anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial defense to the digestive tract. These lifestyles implementations paired with regular chiropractic treatments ensure that essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients are being efficiently absorbed and utilized across the entire body.
An optimal digestive system is the foundation to a healthy lifestyle. It is never too late to recharge your physical performance by assessing your digestive health.
What are the consequences of undiagnosed SIBO?
You can develop leaky gut, which is where food particles leak into the bloodstream, resulting in inflammation. This can lead to autoimmune disorders, one common one being Hashimoto’s disease. If left untreated, SIBO can also result in mitochondrial dysfunction (lack of energy), digestive problems, and hormonal imbalances.
Treatment
Outside of our clinic, some patients are forced to rely on an expensive prescription drink that can cost as much as $700 along with heavy antibiotics.
Not to worry! Fortunately, our functional treatment plan is much easier on the digestive tract and ensures a smoother (and more affordable) recovery. Our office utilizes a powerful triad of effective therapies to regain balanced homeostasis in the small intestine. This includes supplementation, nutritional changes, and chiropractic treatments.
The FODMAP diet, which limits certain types of sugars and carbohydrates, helps to reduce bacterial overgrowth while our nutritional supplementation provides anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial defense to the digestive tract. These lifestyles implementations paired with regular chiropractic treatments ensure that essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients are being efficiently absorbed and utilized across the entire body.
An optimal digestive system is the foundation to a healthy lifestyle. It is never too late to recharge your physical performance by assessing your digestive health.
Anxiety
What do you do if anxiety and fear have you stuck in your tracks and you cannot seem to break the cycle? Here are a few easy but very impactful steps to incorporate into your daily life that can quench some of that fear:
Meditation
Meditation reduces blood pressure, anxiety, depression, insomnia, symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and helps you gain a sense of clarity and focus. If you can commit to ‘doing rather than perfecting’ for just a few minutes a day, you will notice a difference. Guided meditations work the best when you are a beginner. Start between 3-5 minutes and gradually increase to 10 minutes a session.
Our favorite meditation resources are the Insight Timer and Headspace apps.
Movement
Your feelings can influence your movement, but your movement can impact your feelings too! Recent studies show that the connection between your brain and body is a “two-way street”, meaning exercise is beneficial for your brain. Aerobic activities such as cycling, weight training, and yoga are great ways to incorporate movement into your day. Just 20 mins a day can make a difference.
Meals
Avoid binge eating comfort foods and enjoy nutritious superfoods with mood-boosting properties. You’ll feel better for it. 9 simple foods to include: Dark Chocolate, Asparagus, Avocado, Blueberries, Turkey, Almonds, Plain Yogurt, Kale, and Salmon!
Dr. Roberts’ Pinterest account is full of paleo, gluten-free, and healthy websites for any occasion.
Mindfulness
Being present and aware of your thoughts and feelings gives you better control of the negative ones. We must work diligently to remove the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) from our minds, like Dr. Daniel Amen says. A helpful way to do this is to focus on what you are grateful for. A strategy Dr. Sheehan follows is setting alarms throughout the day that remind her to focus her thoughts on affirmations.