Testosterone and the Modern Man by Antonio Peirce

Andropause: scourge of all that is male. Want to stop it, halt it and throw it back into whatever pit it crawled out of? Are you tired of being tired? Hate the gut? Would you like your libido back, would you like it to stay?  Would you like to regain your masculine power and feel the prowess and vitality you used to? We are modern man, and modern man must counter-balance a sometimes debilitating modern culture with modern design. Engineering your lifestyle a little and offsetting naturally declining hormone levels with Testosterone Replacement Therapy can keep you feeling like you were 25 until your 80, after that, maybe 26.

The decline of natural testosterone hinges partly on nature and largely on culture and environment. Here are a few nearly universal basics:

• Over-indulgence of rich, fatty foods and sugars boosts estrogens and slows blood flow.
• Overuse of plastics and the collateral inhalation of solvents tends to boost estrogen levels.
• Toxin build-up may hamper the body’s ability to lose weight and cause depression, preventing testosterone production and increasing estrogen.
• A stationary lifestyle does not place a demand on the body to produce testosterone, so it doesn’t.

In general, a diet rich in protein and vegetables with a moderate, low glycemic intake of carbohydrates and some healthy fats (olive oil, fish-oil, coconut oil, nut butters) is ideal for most men. Carbohydrates are an energy source. If you do not perform physical labor of some kind throughout the day, you are not burning tons of energy and thereby should not eat tons of carbohydrates. Eating your carbs early in the day is best, as that gives you all day to burn them. A meal of vegetables and protein is ideal in the evening.

Avoiding plastics and estrogen encouraging fumes is essential. Microwave dinners and sun heated water bottles are two main culprits you can easily put an end to. No more microwave dinners and purchase a metal or glass water bottle. Be sure to work in a well ventilated area when using paint, automobile products (lubricants, cleaners and sealants), and when working with chemicals of any kind around the house (particularly pesticides, herbicides, bleaches, etc.).

Toxins slow the body’s functions down and significantly hamper testosterone production. Should you feel that you have an inordinate toxin build-up in your system a good detox is in order. Saunas, plenty of greens, castor-oil liver-packs, exercise, and some detoxifying supplementation would be very helpful. Other considerations you and your Bodhi Physician may discuss might include heavy metals chelating and/or a custom detox based on your specific needs.

Exercise is key to maintaining natural testosterone levels, whether supplementing your Testosterone or not. Men must exercise. There is no way around it. Remaining stationary causes weight gain, which increases fat, which encourages estrogen, which lowers total testosterone, which causes weight gain. It is a vicious cycle. End it with exercise, preferably resistance exercise at least 3 days per week to increase lean muscle mass and maintain a healthy heart and steady blood pressure. This encourages natural Testosterone production, increases your body’s ability to detox and keeps you in good shape to enjoy the benefits of greater Testosterone and vitality. Commit to exercising 45 minutes a day at least three times a week. Make it a permanent addition to your lifestyle. Weight lifting, resistance bands (Life-Line, Bowflex, etc.), calisthenics (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and jacks, though we aren’t talking 10 of each and your good), or any combination of the three will all work. Remember, change up the routine every three months and keep it difficult. If it isn’t hard, it is not telling your body to produce more muscle and thereby testosterone, enjoy the challenge, enjoy the benefits. This will also continue burn calories throughout your day at work and at home as your body works to acclimate.

These are necessities in any man’s life, so how do you take it step, or a leap or a bound further. How do you take advantage of all that is modern? How do you optimize? You come into Bodhi, and discuss your particular lifestyle, health concerns and goals for the future with your Bodhi Physician. In addition to what you and your physician discuss, you get your Total and Free Testosterone levels measured via blood test. Should your levels come back sub-optimal, your physician will likely recommend Testosterone Replacement in conjunction with supplementation to build and maintain your optimized body and prevent conversion or binding of your Testosterone to estrogens. A step further than this might include the addition of IV Therapy. IV Therapy delivers therapeutic doses of vitamins, minerals and amino acids directly into your blood stream, guaranteeing absorption. Different ratios of these things generate different effects in the body. Elimination of toxins, reversal of various diseases, accelerated healing, rejuvenation of energy and vitality, increased ability to gain and maintain muscle mass are just a few uses IV therapy can be employed towards.

Not sure? Come in for a complimentary 15 minute consult with a Bodhi Physician to see if you feel comfortable at Bodhi and discuss what we can do for you and how we would do it. We look forward to meeting you and optimizing your path to vitality and wellness.

Integrative medicine.   You may have been presented with this idea before, but what is integrative medicine?  Ponder for one moment what this type of medicine involves?  Who can it help?  Am I someone who should consider being treated by an integrative physician?  What kind of doctor practices integratively?  Finally, the question on every person’s mind: can it help me?

Before this questions can be answered one must understand how the non-integrative or “conventional doctor” practices.  “Conventional” physicians are trained in two modalities, drugs and surgery.  Therefore, when you visit a “conventional” physician one can expect to be treated for their particular condition with one or both of these approaches.  Once an individual receives a diagnosis, the treatment is already decided. If a suitable diagnosis cannot be established, the “watch and wait” technique is employed while the person’s illness grows.  The truth is that the vast majority of “conventional” physicians never deviate from the accepted, mundane treatment no matter how ineffective, toxic, or inefficient the therapy may be.  The result is that all illnesses are treated as if they were acute diseases.  However, most diseases that plague man are chronic and long term.  The result is an inevitable downward spiral of disease that continually worsens and worsens.  We are no strangers to this phenomenon.  We have all bore witness to the continual deterioration of those who have solely relied on conventional medicine for their health care.  “Conventional” medicine simply means treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Integrative medicine is a way of delivering medicine that combines conventional medicine and alternative medicine.  Alternative meaning that the physician thinks outside of the box and utilizes the biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, he/she was originally educated as the foundation for treating chronic disease.  Since these basic sciences are the origin of illness itself, an educated and diverse physician with knowledge in these realms can deliver treatments that target the cause of the disease.  An integrative physician will use all the tools necessary to restore and optimize a person’s health including nutrition, biochemistry, plant pharmacology, acupuncture, homeopathy, detox, diet, colonics, infrared sauna, chiropractic medicine, massage, IV therapies, hydrotherapy, injections, drugs, and surgery.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of conventional medical schools completely ignores the fact that nutrition plays a role in disease and therefore do not require these courses for their medical students.  Without this critical information, their medical students graduate unable to practice integrative medicine unless they seek and complete additional medical training in these integrative areas – which many do.

It is in your best interest to seek an integrative physician no matter what the diagnosis or prognosis. Integrative physicians and practitioners include NMD’s, (Naturopathic Medical Doctors) MD’s, DO’s, DC’s, (Chiropractors), L.Ac (Acupuncturists) and Homeopaths.   It is never too late to feel better and reverse illness.  It is your life.  You must in essence become your own advocate for health.  The first step is finding a skilled integrative practitioner and making an appointment to begin the process.  Understand one thing.  There are no absolutes in life.  For example: If you leave two hours early for work there is no guarantee that you won’t be late.  Maybe the road got shut down, you got lost, there was an accident, etc.  Medicine is the same way.  Conventional physicians deal in absolutes, which rarely ever are the only options.  You always have another option.

Dr John D Williamson NMD

Dr. John Williamson provides integrative medical care to his patients at Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers in Chandler and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Health care is changing in America.

Insurance companies are increasing fees, employers are cutting benefits and some small businesses are having to cancel coverage all together due to rising costs.  Patients are paying more out of pocket for fewer covered services and most insurance plans don’t cover essential preventative therapies – even though we know that most chronic disease can be prevented.  So, where does that leave us?
Bodhi Body supports a patient’s right and privilege to take charge of their own health by becoming Patient Activists! With a small investment of time and money, the team at Bodhi Body will help you lay the groundwork for optimal health now and in the future.  We focusing on balancing the body and optimizing function so that you feel your best and prevent disease. We do this through body detoxification, hormone optimization for men and women, nutritional support and stress management.  Its all part of our TRUE Health Plan.  $195 per month provides you with unlimited physician care and attention plus three, feel-good, disease-preventing therapies.  Its almost too good to be true!

TONIGHT: Join us for the B12 and M.I.C Shot Clinic. B12, a fantastic general support shot increases energy, stamina, memory and weight loss. Methionine, Inositol, Choline (M.I.C.) facilitates the body’s ability to loose unwanted weight and realign itself in its new formation. Shots will be administered for $10 and $15, respectively. Full event schedule here!

Please RSVP at 888-271-8877 or email rsvp@bodhi-body.com.

The Bodhi Body Restorative Therapy Detox Program

A complete, physician-designed and supervised intensive cleansing program to help restore your energy and improve your overall health. This intensive program is very beneficial for those without any health problems who want to optimize their health and for those suffering from chronic disease. It is also ideal for women who plan to conceive to ensure that the expectant mother starts out with a “clean slate” prior to conceiving, since the baby is like a magnet for toxins.

What does the Program Include?
7 to 30 Day Detoxification Diet: A whole foods, clean diet, which eliminates all the processed and junk foods. This allows your digestive tract to rest and promotes the removal of toxins and wastes from your body by not consuming additional toxins such as artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Detox Support Supplements: Includes specific supplementation to facilitate and support your body’s detoxification pathways, optimizing your removal of harmful toxins.

Additional Detox Support Therapies
Bodhi Detox IV Therapy
Provides nutrients and antioxidants to enhance the detox pathways of the liver

Far Infrared Sauna Therapy
Promotes lipolysis or fat breakdown, allowing toxins to be released from the fat stores into the blood where they can be removed via sweating. Unlike your traditional sauna, far infrared sauna penetrates to the cellular level, facilitating the diffusion of toxins out of the cell and the diffusion of nutrients into the cells.

Colon Hydrotherapy
Removes toxins from the colon so they are not reabsorbed into the circulation

Constitutional Hydrotherapy
Speeds detox via the liver and skin while also boosting immune system functioning

Massage Therapy
Promotes removal of toxins from the muscles and increases circulation through the body

Acupuncture
Stimulation of digestion and balancing of the Qi in the body allows for more effective detoxification

These therapies can be added onto your Detox Program to maximize your results, allowing you to build your detox program around your specific needs.

To learn more about this program, please visit our website or call us to schedule an appointment today. 888-271-8877

This weekend begins a new year! January is a wonderful time to take stock in our lives; what do we hope to accomplish in 2011 in regards to our professional lives, interpersonal relationships and, possibly most importantly, what health goals would we like to achieve?  How about balanced hormones?  Maybe you want to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.  Bodhi Body believes that detox is the best, first place to start.  Whether it be a restorative detox, a candida cleanse or heavy metal chelation, detox removes harmful agents that cause disease and disharmony in our bodies.  Let our physicians help you determine what detox program is best for you.

Detoxification is also the perfect precursor to weight loss.  Effective and permanent weight loss can only happen if we clear the body of inflammation-causing agents.  Bodhi Body now offers FirstLine Therapy for weight loss.

FirstLine Therapy is a therapeutic lifestyle change, or lifestyle modification, program. Designed by health care professionals, FirstLine Therapy has been shown remarkably successful in helping individuals like you return to a path of extended health.

This is not a weight reduction program-it’s a disease reduction program. While weight loss often occurs, it’s only secondary to the primary goal helping you achieve and maintain a healthy body composition (lean-muscle-to-fat ratio) to improve health, manage disease, feel better, and reduce your risk to more serious conditions.  To schedule your initial consultation or to inquire for more information, email us today.

When we look at the complete picture of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, we must address the hormones.  Thyroid, testosterone, progesterone, estrogen (along with other hormones) can affect our weight, body composition and lean muscle mass (not to mention our mood, energy and libido!).  Testing hormone levels and optimizing levels is a key component to overall health, disease prevention and anti-aging.  At Bodhi Body we offer extensive hormone testing and restore optimal levels with bio-identical hormone replacement for men and women.

At Bodhi Body, we take a comprehensive approach to your health.  Our goal is to help you feel and look your best now and prevent future disease. 

The first step is yours.  Call 480-237-2410 for more info or to make an appointment.

Removing The Sludge and Finding Clarity Through Detox by John Williamson

What is environmental toxicity?

Environmental toxicity is the detrimental effects experienced by the human body when exposed to xenobiotics.   Xenobiotics are substances found within the human body which are not naturally produced or present.  When they are present they alter the biochemistry of the organism.  Our biochemistry is what keeps our cells and our bodies alive.  One example:  Picture a 4 way intersection during rush hour traffic.  If there is an accident on 1 road, there are only 3 routes left.  Therefore, traffic backs up.  When enough of these xenobiotics affect the cell, roads or pathways start to back up.  Thus, the result is your body’s adaptation to that stressor which is non-conducive to your overall health and vitality and over time results in chronic disease.

How do these chemicals get into our bodies?

The chemicals in our environment are ubiquitous.  They are everywhere.  Even though you cannot see them you are being exposed right now, this very minute, nearly every second of the day. These chemicals are in the air we breathe, the water we drink and bathe in, the food we consume.  Technology has certainly afforded us conveniences, but at what price?  The truth of the matter is that our bodies were never designed to be continuously exposed to the degree of toxins they are today. Our current cancer risk in Maricopa County, due to polluted air and water resources, is in the 90 % to 100 % range for the dirtiest/worst counties in the US (scorecard.org).

Why are these chemicals hard to get out of our body?

As I had mentioned earlier, our genetics were never programmed to deal with the continuous chemical onslaught we experience on a daily basis.  Many of these chemicals are fat soluble.  Fat-soluble substances can become toxic because many tend to accumulate in the body.   The reason for this is that fat or lipids are our main source of energy.  Fat provides more calories than protein or carbohydrates.  Our bodies have adapted a survival mechanism to recycle fat through a process called enterohepatic recirculation. This adaptation likely originated in our ancestors who would endure long periods of fasting while searching for food.  This means >95% of your fat is reabsorbed through your small intestines and with it those fat soluble chemicals.  If you are someone who is chronically constipated you can expect fat to be reabsorbed at > 99%. So in essence the chemicals in your body continuously re-circulate over and over again like a Ferris wheel.  With each circulation these chemicals affect your biochemistry by inhibiting enzymes, genes, proteins, and using up antioxidants thus wreaking havoc on your body’s homeostatic processes.  In time, the result is accelerated aging, chronic disease, cancer, neurological disorders and even early death.

Additionally, the majority of us have inherited genetic polymorphisms in the detoxification pathways.  This means that if you are one of these individuals you do not detoxify xenobiotics well; meaning you accumulate toxins more than the average fellow.  Therefore your chemical burden accumulates faster and you begin having problematic symptoms at a younger age.  A family history of an autoimmune disease is a good indicator that you may have one or more of these polymorphisms.

How can this affect our health acutely?

When exposed acutely, in other terms exposure to an amount which results in immediate illness over a short period of time, one may experience headaches, migraines, muscle weakness, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, inability to concentrate, dizziness, chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, asthma attack, liver inflammation aka hepatitis, stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, numbness over an area of the body, tingling, blurred vision, flu-like symptoms, and even death.

How can this affect our health chronically?

A person who has an elevated toxic body burden over time will manifest many different chronic disease processes.  Three systems are most commonly affected.  These include your neurological, endocrine, and immunological systems. Keep in mind that all of these illnesses or symptoms overlap with each of the three systems mentioned above because the body is connected and operates as a synergistic whole.  You cannot simply treat one system and expect everything to go back to normal.  This is why conventional medicine does not do well with chronic disease because they isolate the body systems rather than looking at the complete picture.  Some chronic neurological symptoms and illnesses related to toxicity include migraines, headaches, brain fog, mental fatigue, lack of concentration, dementia, Parkinson’s, autism.

The endocrine system involves your hormones.  Contributing illnesses include erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, elevated estrogen levels in males, fatigue, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, painful menses, heavy bleeding, PMS, menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, fibrocystic breast disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, obesity and problems losing weight.

Some immunological disorders include autoimmune disease such as Lupus, RA, Hypothyroidism due to Hashimotos, Graves’s disease hyperthyroidism, and multiple sclerosis.  Cancer is a disease linked to immunodeficiency.  We all have cancer cells in our body right now.  If they evade automatic programmed cell death our immune system is our backup system that recognizes and destroys the cancer cells before they become problematic.  This course of action is inefficient in individuals who develop cancer.  One of the reasons that cancer comes back so aggressively after receiving chemotherapy is because the person’s immune system was never restored.   Therefore when the cancer comes back it does so with a vengeance.

Why Should I be concerned?

* There are over 80,000 chemicals in production; only about 200 have been tested for safety.

* Chemist Purnendu Dasgupta of Texas Tech University in Lubbock tested breast milk samples in 2005.  Perchlorate, a Jet fuel additive, was found in 100% of breast milk samples obtained from women residing from 18 different states.  Perchlorate is very toxic to the thyroid gland and has been implicated in the cause of hypothyroidism.

* From the Journal of Toxicol Environ Health :  Out of nearly 6000 people tested (ages 12 to 74) by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) 99.5% of them had measurable levels of the chlorinated pesticide residue DDE in their blood.  Research has shown that this pesticide has been linked to neurological, immune system, reproductive, and hormone related diseases.  In fact, it is blamed for nearly causing the bald eagle to go extinct.  Surprisingly this pesticide was banned in 1972 yet nearly everyone still has it floating around in his or her blood on a consistent basis!

*Between 1972 to 1992 fat tissue was collected and analyzed for chemical toxicity by the EPA in the NHATS study.   100% of samples contained 5 solvents:  styrene, benzene derivatives, phenol derivatives, xylene, and OCDD a dioxin.  28 chemicals were found in over half of the samples with 14 chemicals occurring in greater than 90% of fat samples.  Solvents are very potent immunotoxins.  They inhibit bone marrow thus are linked to bone marrow related cancers and deficiencies.  They are also toxic to the neurologic, hormonal, and reproductive systems.

* As a mother or expecting mother your chemical body burden is passed to your baby while he or she is in the womb and also through your breast milk.  Consider this before you become pregnant in order to give your child the best chances at normal development.  The autism rate according to the CDC is now 1:110 children, which is the highest in the world!

What Can I Do to Assist my Body in Detoxification and Depuration?

One premise must be made crystal clear.  Detoxification of the body is not enough!  Detoxification is only half of the equation.  The other half of eradicating oneself of xenobiotics (foreign chemicals) is to depurate, which means to remove from the body.  When these fat-soluble chemicals become stored they do not stay in storage.  When individuals skip a meal or don’t eat for 4 or more hours their body’s start breaking down fat for energy.  This is when chemicals flow out into the bloodstream and this is when some persons get headaches, brain fog, muscles aches, and other unexplained flu like symptoms.

Picture an empty bucket.  Over top of that bucket is a leaky faucet.  At the bottom of the bucket is a very small hole.  The leaky faucet drips water into the bucket slowly over time filling the bucket with more and more water.  The hole at the bottom of the bucket cannot keep up with the input from the faucet.  In simple terms input exceeds output so the bucket continues to fill.  Now think of the bucket as your body, the leaky faucet as chemicals going into your body, and the small hole represents chemical removal from the body.  As the bucket continues to fill you begin to become ill due to the oxidative stress on your body, cells and DNA, which most likely will result in disease if not addressed.  Undergoing detox and depuration helps to drill a larger hole in the bottom of that bucket allowing for the removal of more chemicals.  The only way to decrease the leaky faucet, however;  is to avoid chemical exposure as much as possible.  Because our environment and our bodies are so polluted each generation starts off with a bucket that is more and more full hence the increased developmental problems faced by children in this country.

Rx for success

Individualized treatment protocol: One of the benefits of seeing our practitioners is that you will receive an individualized treatment protocol tailored to your concerns.  This is not a one size fits all scenario which you have encountered on a daily basis in the conventional realm of medicine.  You are different than anyone else, your genetics and how you respond to environmental influences is different. Therefore you require an individualized treatment protocol.  In addition, our practitioners have the knowledge and training to test for many of these chemicals that may be affecting your health.

Far Infrared Sauna is a therapy that is very effective at mobilizing stored chemicals and toxins.  The infrared rays maintain the ability to penetrate several inches into the body reaching the subcutaneous fat layer.  As the body heats up fat is broken down releasing the chemicals into the bloodstream where your body can detoxify them.  This therapy is vastly more effective than ordinary saunas due to its ability to penetrate the tissue.

Colon Hydrotherapy increases the speed at which substances move through the intestines by increasing peristalsis (peristalsis is how our intestines move substances further along). Waste moves faster through your intestines so that much less fat-soluble toxins are reabsorbed.   This includes pesticides, heavy metals, solvents, and PCB’s.  Finally, this therapy increases IgA levels, which is a first line defense against infection and is a major component to your immune function.

IV Chelation involves the use of chelating substances that bind to and remove heavy metals from the body.  Heavy metals such as Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic are fat-soluble and contribute to a vast array of health conditions.  These substances contaminate our food and water sources and accumulate in our bodies from the time we are in the womb all the way to our death.  Aluminum is also a problematic substance that is chelated though it is not regarded as a heavy metal.  Chelation is a very effective tool and has an impeccable safety record when used by properly trained clinicians.

IV Nutritional therapy involves administering vitamins and minerals intravenously.  This allows for 100% absorption of nutrients.  One need not contemplate nutrients being lost during digestion or from faulty intestinal absorption.  Many individuals are nutrient depleted and the effects of environmental toxicity further deplete these substances, which are essential for detoxification pathways.  The most common nutrient deficiencies seen in environmentally toxic individuals are selenium, magnesium, and pyridoxine (B6).

Massage is a therapy that stimulates blood circulation and lymphatic flow.  It can be a valuable tool when used concomitantly with detoxification and depuration due to its ability to move fluids.

At Bodhi Body with take a natural, comprehensive, science-based approach to treating all patients.  If you would like more information regarding the details on our detox treatments, email us at info@bodhi-body.com or call us at 480-237-2410 to schedule a consultation.  Visit our website at www.bodhi-body.com

We will also be hosting a FREE event Wednesday September 22nd at 6pm called: Remove the Sludge and Reveal Your Inner Clarity with Detox.  RSVP to this event at RSVP@bodhi-body.com

What is Stress?

Stress, whether it is emotional, physical or situational stress, exacts a response from our body. The normal response to stress is often referred to the “fight or flight” response. Our bodies are beautifully prepared to respond to stressors in an effectual way. Chronic stress, the brain’s response to negatively perceived events or situations for a prolonged period over which an individual feels he has no control.

Effects of Chronic Stress

Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress the immune system that may lead to increased frequency of colds.  Chronic stress can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disease. It can cause hormone imbalances that can lead to low libido, infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even increase your experience of anxiety and depression.

Balancing Chronic Stress in Your Life

There are many ways we can support our bodies and minds during times of chronic stress.  Some of the more obvious ways we can do this is by 1) eating fresh, organic food that is at least 50% raw (think salads and raw fruits and veggies) 2) getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night 3) reducing the amount of alcohol intake and 4) enjoying some moderate exercise daily e.g. walking, yoga.  Unfortunately, when we are dealing with long-term stress, these suggestions are the hardest to adhere to.  There are many other additional ways that we can help to alleviate and manage stress in our lives.  Massage therapy is a wonderful way to relax the mind and body while helping to rid the body of toxins that disrupt our immune system.  Nutritional supplements and nutritional IVs restore optimal levels of vitamins and minerals to your body that you may not be obtaining from your diet.  Yoga is a superior method for strengthening the body, relaxing the mind, supporting the immune system and detoxing the body- all at the same time!  Guided meditation and hypnosis can help break down internal barriers to healing.

The Team at Bodhi Body can help design a stress-reduction plan for you.  It involves looking at the stress you are exposed to and how you are supporting your body in its attempt to deal with the stressors. Our facility has been designed with you in mind.  Our comfortable rooms and comprehensive therapies will help melt your stress away.  Some of the most common therapies prescribed for stress reduction are: neuromuscular massage, yoga, nutritional therapy (IV and oral), guided meditation and hypnosis, acupuncture, along with a whole host of complete detox therapies.  Our bodies are amazing, resilient machines and can handle moderate amounts of stress beautifully.  But long-term, chronic stress can do a lot of damage.  Assess your stress levels and help support your body as it supports you. For more information about stress management please visit our website.

As  2010 rolls in, many people are interested in detox for the new year.  Many options are available, to decrease the toxicity of the body through stimulation of the liver and digestive tract.  Why are Americans starting to recognize the need for detox?  Thankfully mainstream personalities and celebrities are sharing their detox experiences, and the public is following in their footsteps.  The FDA has also named Mercury amalgam fillings as hazardous waste before they are put in your mouth, and after they are taken out, they must be put into superfund sites for the same reason, but while they are sitting in your mouth, they are completely, they have as yet not released information about any danger.

Think of your body as a bucket, and as toxic chemicals from the environment fill that bucket, they can begin to run over, and cause symptoms and disease.  Toxins in the environment can cause oxidative stress on your body, cells and DNA, which may result in many diseases, including cancer.  Detox helps put a spigot on the bucket, to remove the chemical toxicity, cause less oxidative stress, and help the body avoid disease and lesson symptoms.

Chemicals, like pesticides and heavy metals, get trapped in your fatty tissue, and bones, and cannot be removed by conventional detox methods.  At Bodhi Body we have physicians on staff trained in medical detox methods which include sensitive  blood and urine testing which is followed by specific protocols, including intravenous and oral chelation, which remove heavy metals, solvents and pesticides from your tissues, and help eliminate them from the body.

Far Infrared Sauna, comprehensive supplement therapy, intravenous nutrients and colon hydrotherapy are also offered to help support your body while it mobilizes and releases these toxins.  More information available on our website.

For more information on our environment, and pollutants’ effects on your health and wellbeing, you may consult the following websites: The Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org,  and The National Institutes of Health http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov.

Written by Dr. Heather Wdowin

By Dr. Garrett Wdowin

Bisphenol A was first synthesized in 1905 and since the 1930’s there have been health concerns over BPA and animal consumption.  BPA, due to its estrogenic activity in the body, was expected by the pharmaceutical industry to be used as an estrogen replacement medication in humans.  Then when it was tested, it was deemed too deadly and dangerous for human medical usage.  This information didn’t stop capitalism and a new use for BPA was found in the plastic industry.  BPA has become a prominent and very important chemical to the plastic manufacturing process.  The global production of BPA is around 3 million tons annually.  This annual production accumulates in the environment and our bodies causing and promoting disease.

It is interesting that a chemical that was found to be too hazardous for human consumption in the medical field was then added to almost every food container in the USA for everyone to be exposed to.  BPA has been seeping into our food and bodies from plastic wraps, plastic bottles, dental sealants, the inner epoxy coating of cans, etc, providing the population with a chronic low dose exposure.

This chronic exposure has been shown to increase cancer rates in animals and in humans it has been linked to a number of diseases, decreased semen in males, and found to effect chemotherapy.

BPA blocks the ability of chemotherapy to kill breast cancer cells.

A medical research study from early 2009 showed that concentrations of BPA, comparable to those found in the bodies of the general public, decreased chemotherapies effectiveness to kill breast cancer cells.  The ability of BPA to block chemotherapies kill rate has to do with BPA’s high binding affinity to estrogen receptors on the cancer cells.  BPA blocked the effects of the chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin, cisplatin, and vinblastine in the study.

BPA is just one of the 100’s of toxic chemicals that pollute our bodies.  Take the time to become educated on how to protect yourself and your family from unnecessary exposures.

Start today by taking simple steps:

• Don’t put plastic in the microwave
• Use stainless steal, wood, or glass cooking and eating utensils
• Eat organic food when possible
• Take your shoes off in the house
• Don’t buy canned foods

Learn More. Live Better. Love your Bodhi Body.

Why should I take nutritional supplements when I eat a balanced diet?
Don’t I get all the nutrients I need from food?

Now that we know our food is “filled with nutritional holes” let’s evaluate the next point.

Our food is “… covered in poisons,”

If a person buys 100% organic foods and eats only at organic restaurants, then their food isn’t really covered with poisons.  With that said you are still exposed to a certain amount of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc because you are alive and breathing.  Drive around the Phoenix valley, or wherever you live, and one will find farm land that uses these toxic chemicals.  Therefore, they go into the air and we all get to share in the exposure.

Now that we know everyone is exposed, what does that mean?  It means your body has to deal with these chemicals and the damage they inflict on a daily basis.  This exposure/damage demands cellular energy, detoxification pathways, and repair mechanisms to name a few processes in the body.  All of these processes require co-factors or vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc to function which we just pointed out are extremely decreased in our food.  If there are less of these co-factors available for the body, then there is more damage to the body because the toxins can’t be properly and timely cleared.

Next point

“… our bodies are under more stress than ever before, and I’m getting old.”

The latter part of this statement can be argued with depending on how old you are.  Yet, I am getting older and as we age we continue to fight the battle against many issues including entropy, a vial opponent.  As we age hormone levels decrease, functionality of enzyme pathways decrease, etc, etc.  I’m just trying to support the system to work as well as it can, as long as it can.

The former section of this statement is in reference to both physical and emotional stress.  For physical stress let’s think about the environmental toxins we are exposed to everyday through our food, water, and air.  We live in Phoenix and are being exposed to all these chemicals swirling in this beautiful Valley of the Sun.  Physical stress can also be sugary or refined foods that spike blood sugars and serum insulin levels, forcing your liver, pancreas, and kidneys to work overtime.  For emotional stress let’s think of our busy lifestyles, stress from work, stress from the financial markets, and on and on.

Why is this constant stress a problem?  It is a problem because our bodies were not designed to handle constant or chronic stress.  The body was designed to be exposed to stress, deal with it, and return to a generally relaxed state.  Short bursts of stress, remember the “Fight or Flight” response from 8^th grade biology?  With the combination of all these modern stressors our bodies hardly ever, or never, get to return to the relaxed state and this slow burning constant stress eventually leads to a “burn out” or chronic disease.

That is the short version of why I personally take nutritional supplements with every meal!