Know Your Plastics!  
(It's all about the numbers)

Whether it's for food storage or to drink out of, it's important to know what the container is made from. So many materials these days are made from plastic, and if you look around your home, I'm sure you will have no problem finding it everywhere. However, the problems start when we begin looking at which chemicals they're leaking into our food, beverages, and other household substances which we then ingest or use on our body. Many plastics contain chemicals that are carcinogenic, disrupt our hormones, and are toxic to the nervous system, and they don't always stay where they're supposed to.

When it comes to plastic safety, it's all about the numbers. There should be a number on the bottom of all plastic containers which denotes what materials were used to make it. Some of these have been shown to be safer than others.

Plastic #1: PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

PET is used to make most bottles for water, soft drinks, sports drinks, juices and containers for condiments, dressings, and other food items. The problem with PET is that it has been shown to leak antimony, which is toxic to the human body. However, more common than the antimony problem is the problem with bacterial build-up. Long storage time on the shelf or being stored in warm areas, like garages, leads to excess bacteria in the container which we then consume. This bacteria can wreak havoc on the careful balance of good bacteria we are supposed to have inside our digestive tract.

Plastic #2: HPDE (High Density Polyethylene)

HDPE is often used for milk and juice containers and, sometimes, water bottles. It is also commonly used in bottles for cleaning supplies and hair care. It has been found to leach estrogenic chemicals into whatever substance it is containing. Excess estrogen in the system is rarely a good thing, and disrupts certain functions of the body as well as increasing the risk for certain cancers.

Plastic #3: PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

PVC is commonly used in deli and meat wrapping, children's toys, tablecloths, and many construction materials. This plastic contains pthalates, which are a group of "gender-bending" chemicals due to their ability to block male hormones. They are known to lower sperm count, cause testicular cancer, and have a feminizing effect on males from estrogen dominance.

Plastic #4: LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene)
LDPE is commonly used for produce, garbage, and bread bags as well as paper containers and cups. Like HDPE, these have also been found to leak estrogenic chemicals.

Plastic #5: Polypropylene (PP)
Polypropylene is used in multiple food packaging containers, especially take out meals and the plastics used in the containers or plates at grocery stores for pre-made food. It has a high heat tolerance, and is unlikely to leach chemicals into food or beverages. As with all plastics, however, there is a possibility and some tests have shown that at certain temperatures, toxic chemicals do leak out.

Plastic #6: Polystyrene (PS)
Polystyrene is also known as Styrofoam, and is used to make cups, bowls, plates, take-out containers and more. It leaks styrene into the food, a known carcinogenic as well as a neurotoxin. The warmer Styrofoam gets, the more styrene leaks out. Using Styrofoam for warm beverages or foods is one of the worst ways for your body to store and transport hot food.

Plastic #7: Other
Plastic #7 is used when the material does not fit into any of the above categories. While it's hard to say exactly what chemicals have been used, there is a good chance that it contains BPA or BPS. Both of these are endocrine disrupters, meaning they interfere with your body's hormones. These hormones are essential for regulating metabolism, temperature, mood, healing, growth and development, as well as sexual function and reproduction. 



Plastics #2, #4, and #5 are the "safest" for human consumption. My recommendation is to avoid all plastics when possible and replace instead with reusable glass water bottles and containers. However, if you are going to use a plastic, these three are your best bet. Also, try to never heat plastic up or put hot foods into plastic containers. The lower the temperature, the less likely the material will leak any harmful chemicals into the food or drink it's containing.



yours in health,
dr. samantha boldt

The Power Pose and How it Can Change Your Life!

The Power Pose and How it Can Change Your Life!

Did you know that you can change certain hormones just by changing the way you position your body? 

Certain hormone levels lead to feelings of more power and control while at the same time relaxing the body. Higher levels of testosterone in both men and women are related to being more confident. Lower levels of cortisol are related to feeling less anxiety and improving the ability to deal with stress.

People with higher testosterone and lower cortisol, or who are more confident and relaxed, tend to position their bodies in what are known as "high power" poses. People with lower testosterone and higher cortisol, or who are more insecure or anxious, tend to position their bodies in "low power" poses. 

But what if you were told to change how you naturally position your body for just two minutes? What effect would it have on your hormones levels?

A study was conducted to determine just that. First, participants had their saliva collected so that their testosterone and cortisol levels could be measured. Next, they were told to either stay in a high power position or a low power position for two minutes. After two minutes, their saliva was tested again and the hormones were measured. The results were shocking! High power poses increased testosterone by 20 percent and decreased cortisol levels by 25 percent.

All of a sudden, the phrase 'fake it 'til you make it,' becomes a lot more clear. Even if you are feeling stressed out or uncomfortable in your surroundings, by positioning your body in a "high power" pose, you will actually begin to feel calmer and less anxious. This effect has numerous health benefits. Our day to day lives are extremely stressful and anything we can do to reduce that stress and feel more confident is well worth it.

How to make this work in real life:

1.  Stand in a power pose for two minutes every day in the morning to get your day started.

2.  Throughout the day, notice the position of your body. If you begin to get small or shrink into yourself, open up! 

3.  When you do enter a situation that you feel insecure in, fake it 'til you make it. Pick a power pose, or two, and stay in it. While you may not feel overly confident, you'll come off as more calm and relaxed to others and also start changing the hormones in your body. Before you know it, that situation won't seem as stressful as before!

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt

The Link Between Gut and Brain: How What's Living in Your Gut can Affect Your Thoughts and Emotions

The Link Between Gut and Brain: How What's Living in Your Gut can Affect Your Thoughts and Emotions

The idea that the microflora living in the gut can affect a person's health is not revolutionary. They have been shown to cause irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, as well as other autoimmune disorders. Recently, however, scientists and doctors have begun linking these bacteria back to the brain as well. Their findings are showing that our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in anxiety, depression, autism, and neurodegenerative disorders as well. 

The average human has about 100 trillion (or three pounds) worth of bacteria living in their gut. Most of these are very beneficial to us and help us to break down the food we eat, absorb certain nutrients, and even make nutrients by themselves! Sometimes, though, our guts start being overrun by pathogenic, or bad bacteria. These bacteria create toxins, known as metabolites, that can travel through the blood and hypothesized to travel through the vagal nerve back to the brain. Once in the brain, these metabolites can alter messenger activity considerably. They affect which neurotransmitters (the messengers) are made and whether or not these neurotransmitters travel to where they're supposed to go. Through treatment using prebiotics, probiotics, and altered food habits, it was found that subjects had a decrease in cortisol levels (the stress hormone), depression, anxiety, and were more able to focus on positive thoughts and things rather than the negative ones. 

Psychobiotics in the gut-brain axis: in the pursuit of happiness

The effects of gut microbiota on CNS function in humans

Bacterial influence on the brain doesn't just stop at neurological disorders though. They can even influence our everyday activities such as the ability to learn, memory formation, emotional arousal, affective behaviors, and decision making processes. The more bad bacteria we harbor, the higher the toxin levels are in our bodies and brains, the more our immune systems have to work and cause us to fatigue, and the more inflammatory our bodies become.

Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior

However, there are definitely steps that can be taken to prevent this and reverse this. Prebiotics and probiotics can be very beneficial to most people. It's important to determine whether or not you should be on one in the first place and whether or not it is a good brand. Some people have too much bacteria (even if it's good) in their gut already. Before taking a prebiotic or probiotic, some form of bacterial eradication should be done first. This can be anything to cutting out all sugars for a few weeks, ingesting certain herbs, and in some cases, the administration of antibiotics. Also, an organic acids test can be used to analyze the metabolites excreted in the urine so that your doctor knows exactly which species is too high. Some of these tests will also tell you which herb or antiobiotic should be used to eradicate that species.

It's amazing how much our gut affects the way we think and perceive the world. The saying "follow your gut" has never been taken more literally! If you know someone who is suffering from depression, anxiety, or another neurological condition, please pass on this information. Functional medicine doctors can be found in every state and working with one first hand can be life changing for people suffering from these conditions. 

Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline

Same Calories, Same Amount of Exercise, Bigger Waistline

Why It's Harder to Be Skinnier Today Than 30 Years Ago

Researchers have found that millenials (born in the 1980s - 2000s) weigh more now than their parents did in the 70s and 80s, even if they were eating the same amount of calories and doing the same amount of exercise. BMIs of millenials were up 2.3 points higher in 2006 than someone of the same age in 1988. These studies show that weight loss is no longer as simple as calories in versus calories out. 

So what else is affecting our waistlines adversely?

Most evidence points to endocrine disruptors and excess hormones in our food and envrionment. Endocrine disruptors are things that can interfere with the hormone systems in the body. Examples of hormones include:

~T3 and T4 (thyroid hormones) - Regulate the body's metabolism

~Cortisol -  Helps the body react to stressful situations

~Estrogen - Female hormone (found in both men and women)

~Testosterone - Male hormone (found in both men and women)

~Leptin - Decrease of appetite and increase of metabolism

~Amylin - Helps you feel full and inhibits digestive secretion

The list goes on and there are over 50 different hormones circulating throughout the human body. After reading through the ones above, however, it becomes easy to see how changing the levels of hormones in the body can cause easier weight gain. Many hormones affect metabolism, fat storage, appetite, and digestion. Even if you are exercising a lot and eating very little, if your hormone levels are off, you might still be carrying around more weight than you want to.

Where do endocrine diruptors and excess hormones come from?

In today's world, it is very easy to absorb these things from our food and environment. 


The 5 biggest sources are:

~Meat Products - Hormones are added to meat products to help animals grow faster and eat less.

~Dairy Products - Cows are given hormones in order to produce more milk and to produce it constantly.

~Make-up and Beauty Products - Many endocrine diruptors in the forms of different chemicals are put into make-up, hair care products, and skin care products. This is one of the reasons women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.

~Food and Water Storage Containers - Many of the plastics contain chemical endocrine disruptors, which is why it is a good idea to switch to glass food and water containers.

~Non-Organic Food - Pesticides are huge endocrine disruptors. While they like to say that our body doesn't absorb them, it is easy to find research showing that our fat cells are more full of pesticides than ever before, and rising.



What can you do?

It is very important to buy meat and dairy products that are hormone and antibiotic free. Try to find beauty products that don't contain synthetic chemicals and try to wear and use less stuff on your body. Switch over to glass food and water storage containers. Finally, stop eating pesticides! Organic food is worth it. Not only does organic food contain higher nutrient levels which our bodies need, they contain much less chemicals than their non-organic counterparts. Making a change to even just one of these things will help decrease the effect on your hormone system!



yours in health,
dr samantha boldt

The Cholesterol Myth

The Cholesterol Myth

In 1953, Dr. Ancel Keys published a paper that served as the base for the “cholesterol makes you fat and causes heart disease” theory. The study was known as the Seven Countries Study and was highly publicized, even appearing on the cover of Times Magazine. A beautiful line was able to be drawn and everything correlated perfectly! It showed without a doubt that fat was causing heart disease!

Or did it? The paper failed to mention that there were actually 22 countries involved in the study. The other countries just didn't have data points that fit as nicely into the chart.

It's a lot harder to make a nice line from these data points. The red dots are additional island countries whose data was taken a few years later, and most of their diets were rich in fish, meats, and fats. 

Then a study was done using 86 different countries comparing cholesterol levels versus deaths from cardiovascular disease. We actually see a reverse in the theory. Higher cholesterol levels (between 200-220) actually resulted in fewer deaths than lower cholesterol levels (between 160-200).

Our bodies need cholesterol! It is in every cell of our body, is needed to make our different hormones, provides a lot of protection for our nervous system, and much more. So if it's not fat causing cardiovascular disease, what is?

Sugar of course!

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that there’s “a significant relationship between added sugar consumption and increased risk for cardiovascular disease mortality.” The 15-year long study, which included data for 31,000 Americans, found that those who consumed 25 percent or more of their daily calories as sugar were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who got less than 10 percent of their calories from sugar.

So instead of eating cereal, pancakes, and bagels for breakfast, switch over to bacon, sausage, and eggs. By consuming more of these healthy fat products and taking out carbohydrates, sugar, and some bad trans-fats like margarine, you will actually be doing your heart a favor!

-Dr. Samantha Boldt

Health, Wellness & Fitness Should Go Together

Health, Wellness & Fitness Should Go Together- Not In Isolation

 

People are likely to experience a better overall lifestyle when they combine health, wellness and fitness. People are typically more conditioned to paying for fitness but not for healthcare until something more drastic happens. 

What do I mean? An epidemic is killing more and more Americans. According to the CDC, currently 80 million people are obese and close to 90% of American health care is spent on treating chronic diseases (heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, etc.) most of which are lifestyle related diseases. Lets keep going. Arthritis is the single most common cause of disability. Seven of the top ten causes of death are chronic diseases and the number is rising.  More than half of US adults do not meet recommendations for physical activity. More than half of US adults have at least one major risk factor for heart disease or stroke. Diet and lifestyle are the major factors thought to influence susceptibility to many of the above listed diseases so lets address them both.

First, lets talk about diet. We believe it is imperative to understand the impacts of what we put into our bodies. If you have ever had blood work done it is typical to get tested for about 15 markers. Here we are able to have you tested for close to 75. This allows us to more clearly see deficiencies and come up with a personalized plan for you. Many people just don't know where to start. We are dedicated to empowering our patients to own and understand their bodies and how they work.

Moving on to fitness. There are alot of people either not moving much or moving incorrectly, both of which lead to problems. On the one hand, we need people to just get moving. On the other hand, we have people getting off the couch for a walk, people training for a 5K or incredible athletes but when they get hurt they either stop working out or more likely they continue to workout, fight through the pain and therefore develop more and more compensations to the most likely small original problem. 

The number one goal we should all have with an exercise program is to prevent injury. This has to come before fat loss or muscle building or performance enhancement. If you get hurt, you can't train the same (or you shouldn't be). Having good movement patterns does not mean you can't get hurt but the risk is much lower than someone continuing to move with dysfunctional movement patterns. Generally, people don't just move well without training. The coaches we have are bright trainers, are into injury prevention and are passionate about their jobs helping people. I encourage you to find a program that has coaches focused on keeping you injury free. Most orthopedic injuries are preventable and people just lack understanding of correct mechanics and tools to improve these mechanics.

Having both fitness and healthcare providers working together is a plus because it allows for constant communication between rehab and fitness staff. We all want you to return to an active and rewarding lifestyle after an illness, injury or surgery. Or better yet, remain free of these things in the first place. I can speak for the whole rehab team when I say one of our goals is to provide patients the tools to promote longevity in their sport or recreational activities. Our job should not only be limited to getting our patients out of pain but to figure out why they got hurt in the first place and to prevent it from happening again.

Unlike some fitness centers where only fit people come to work out, we provide a place where people of all levels can start and continue to make gains. We are about to launch our newest fitness class "Foundations". This class is targeted to people who are discharging from a therapy service and for people who want to begin to exercise but don't know where to start. Attention will be given to form and basic exercises will be provided. We also offer "Core" class. We believe that great technique and stabilizing the spine and core one of the best ways to stay injury free. Our "Circuit" and "CrossFit" classes are high intensity, constantly varied and offered 6 days a week. 

We emphasize mobility and self mobilization alot around here. If you lay your muscles on a foam roller or lacrosse ball it is not normal for you to feel pain! I suggest spending ten minutes a day working on your mobility. If you just don't know how to mobilize yourself please just ask us. 

You've probably been sitting for awhile. Lets mobilize something now. I frequently have patients lie on a SOFT ball (not softball!) and roll out their abdomen. We are sitting far too much, our posture is not the greatest and our fascia is typically not moving well. Roll around, find where it feels restricted and hang out there. You will notice you sleep better and you breathe deeper when this area is mobilized.  

Relax. Breathe. Take time for yourself this year. Join a gym where you enjoy the coaching and you are encouraged to constantly improve. Get blood work done and establish a program that works for you. Find a rehab team that you trust and find out what you need to work on this year. 

Why do I even need to Supplement?

Why do I even need to supplement?

What Are Supplements?

Supplements are not a replacement for food, they are there to enhance an already healthy diet and help correct nutritional deficiencies and imbalances. There are normally 5 main groups; vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes, and oils.

But I eat all the time! How can I be

deficient in anything?

To answer that, we have to take a closer look at what we are eating.

What is Chemical Farming Doing to Our Food?

Each year the United States Department of Agriculture tests for nutrient levels in different fruits and vegetables. They have been making this information harder and harder to get a hold of in the past few years. However, many papers and studies were done between the 1950s and 1990s determining how nutrient levels were changing. Below shows some of the data.

USDA nutrient data from 1975 to 1997 

§Average calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables  declined 27%

§Iron levels have dropped 37%

§Vitamin A levels, 21%

§Vitamin C levels, 30%

In that 22 year time span, there was an average decrease in nutrient levels of 28.2% in all 12 vegetables. 

Why?

First of all, we are over-farming our soil. Not only do we have to grow food for ourselves, but now we also need to grow food for all of the animals we eat. Today, we grow more food in America for the purpose of feeding animals than we do for us. This over-farming is causing a huge nutrient depletion in the soil.

Secondly, the chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers that we’re adding on top of that are only decreasing nutrition levels more. In order to grow healthy vegetables and fruit, they need to be planted in a healthy ecosystem. By constantly spraying the plants with chemicals and pesticides, not only are we killing off the bugs we don’t want eating the plants, but we are killing off all other insects, plant life, and bacteria in the area. All that is left is barren soil where nothing nutritious can grow. 

It has now been another 18 years since that data was taken. We have  even more animals and people to feed, have used more chemicals, and have used more pesticides. It is now safe to assume that we need to eat 30-50% more than we did 100-200 years ago to get the same nutrition. 

AND THIS IS IF YOU’RE EVEN EATING VEGETABLES!

In the standard American Diet, people are not consuming the 6-8 servings of vegetables a day that they should be. What are we eating instead?

Bad Carbs

Sugar-filled drinks

Boxed dinners

Processed Foods

Supplementation is important because most of the food we eat has little nutrition in it, and even the good food that we're eating has less nutrition that it used to. It is now almost impossible to get all of the nutrition you need through food! Please consult with your nutritionist or functional medicine practitioner on what supplements are right for you in order for you to feel at your best!