Peptide Therapy and Self-Care
Peptide Therapy
As of late, I have spent some time learning about peptide therapy. It is the “hot topic” at “anti-aging” conferences I have recently attended. Peptides are strings of amino acids (from protein) that exist in our body as messaging signals. There are many peptides that are being used for all different clinical effects, some administered orally and some via injections. I have been personally interested in one called BPC-157 (Gastric Pentadecapeptide) because I feel the safety profile of this peptide is excellent and the benefits are thought to be from the signaling effects of the peptide and not by direct action. It up-regulates the genes involved in healing promotion such as repair of muscle, tendon, bone, the gut and blood vessels. It even has an impact on the gut-brain connection. There are also some early studies of BPC 157 and remission of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis). Of course, this is an unconventional type of treatment and I am looking at it as another tool in my alternative toolbox. I don’t think it will be for everyone but from my research, I do think it could help when my usual interventions have failed. I have been trialing this peptide for myself as I have “leaky gut” and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis among a few other issues. It can be given orally or via injection.
Self-Care Reminder
Finding health is work. I recently became overwhelmed with balancing my life and allowed for my exercise regimen and nutrition to suffer. I know that I am the best version of myself when I exercise regularly, get enough sleep and eat well most of the time. Often these habits always feel a little tenuous. I have found that prioritizing these things allows me to be MORE productive in the time I am working – even though setting aside time for self-care seems as if I will get less done. My brain functions better and I work SMARTER when I prioritize these basic lifestyle factors. I would also add to this some quiet time for reflection, meditation, prayer – whatever gives you peace as that is when our body can do the housekeeping of healing.
Membership Changes
As mentioned in our previous newsletter, there new membership options that took in effect for new patients in September. Please visit our pricing page for more details.
Classes
A number of classes have been scheduled for the coming weeks including a 21 day holiday detox . Please consider attending these, as it is an opportunity to dive deep into functional medicine topics.
I will also continue to invite guests from the outside so that we can try different healing modalities. If you have any ideas for topics, please let us know.
Functional Medicine in the News
There was a recent terrible story on my newsfeed about a case report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine of a boy who went blind after consuming a diet of nutrient-poor “junk” food (French fries, white bread, and processed meat). The article went on to describe numerous micronutrient deficiencies- B12, copper, selenium and vitamin D, that led to the optic nerve damage affecting his eyesight. This is obviously an extreme example but micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) affect the function of the cells in our body. When we do not have enough of these critical nutrients, symptoms occur. At Sparkle, we often order “micronutrient” testing to see if you are getting enough of these critical biological cofactors to function optimally. I often recommend getting testing once per year and try to do that for myself.
Reference:
Annals Of Internal Medicine 2019 Sep 3 Blindness Caused by a Junk Food Diet. Harrison, Warburton, Lux, Atan
