The PAIN of Inflammation 2014 Introduction

Greetings everyone and welcome to "The PAIN of Inflammation" six week program!

Get ready everyone! We are beginning a journey to experience improved health and happiness and perhaps shock you with results that may be unexpected. As you've heard me say before, this program has been running for four years now and I have have seen countless people reduce pain, lose weight, inches and most importantly, significantly reduce or eliminate their health symptoms and challenges. 

This is truly an amazing program and the reason why both myself and my wife participate every year.

Now to the nuts and bolts. This will be your blog through the program. This will allow you access to post questions and comments for me as well as interact with others in the program. Also Lynda Buitrago, who is my partner at Depke Wellness, will be sharing her expertise with you along this journey. She is also veteran of this program personally.

As each new week begins, we will start a new blog. We have many in the program that are not starting on the same day so this will create ease of navigation for all, regardless of when they begin.

Each week I will post the supplement requirements for the week and sharing other news and tidbits to help you along the way. Please check in regularly for new posts and share from other participants. I will share that while the blog is not essential to your success, I do find that those participants that use the blog regularly consistently enjoy high levels of success.

Also remember the keys to this program. Allowable/avoidance foods, anti-inflammatory, liver detox, gut/brain connection and immune support. These will be your keys to improving your health and happiness and reducing your pain of inflammation.

One last note. It does add an ease of navigation if you become a member of this blog. You can take care of this is the right header.

So here we go...

Wellness for the World,
Glen Depke, Depke Wellness

Adrenal Summit Q/A

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

First I would like to provide a heartfelt thank you to all of you that participated in The Adrenal Summit. Except for a few technical glitches that as been such a pleasant experience because of all you you. The out pouring of thanks and gratitude has been amazing and leaves me speechless, which is hard to do. LOL!

So to all of you, thank you for being so amazing!

We will now take this opportunity to address some lingering questions about the summit or areas that some of you feel were not addressed for your specific challenges. These are questions from you, our followers, that will not only assist those that proposed the questions but likely most everyone reading this today.

Here we go...

• The number one question that I received from everyone is, how do we get The Adrenal Summit now that this is complete? I am truly honored that so many of you asked this question. If you want your own copy of all these interviews to enjoy at your leisure go to this link provided.

• What were the Dr Daniel Kalish's "big five"? Dan's "big five" was fat, fatigued, depressed, digestive problems and female hormone issues. These are basically the areas that Dr Kalish most often recognizes when individuals have longer term adrenal challenges.

• I am very interested in Dr Osborne's view that foods could take up to 2 weeks to manifest symptoms, which means the presumed 'gold standard' of a 4 day rotation diet for reintroducing foods and monitoring symptoms may not be accurate. This is very true and as we learn more and more about food sensitivity, it is important to adjust our thinking with new information. Here is a response directly from ImmunoLabs:
  
  Potential 2 week delayed reaction for a food sensitivity:
  Length of time for a delayed reactions depend on the individual’s body. We have found that people notice their delayed symptoms within several minutes to a few days. Our physicians work more hands on with patients than we do and we have not heard exact time lines from the patients we work with other than they will feel relief in as quickly as a day to a few days to maybe a week. There are situations where someone feels worse before they feel better and then feel better within a month. As long as they continue to avoid their reactive foods, they will continue to benefit. After 90 days they can reintroduce the reactive foods one at a time to determine if it is still an issue. After all foods have been reintroduced and determined “okay” or not, we then recommend retesting every 6 months as their reactive foods will drop by about 50% from initial test to retest. After their retest we still recommend continuing to test and especially to expand their testing panel to ensure they do not have Candida, Gluten Intolerances, H. Pylori, IgE Allergies (immediate reactions), as well as further exploration into Milk and Egg if that was ever an issue.

• What are the main factors again that trigger adrenal fatigue? The main triggers are as listed below:
• The standard American diet (SAD), high in sugar and processed foods
• Food sensitivity such as gluten, cross reactivity or other food sensitivity
• Chronic stress or suppressed emotions
• Chronic inflammation
• Chronic infection  

• I gave up gluten and I did not feel any different, does this mean it's not an issue? Actually 86% of people that have a gluten sensitivity are actually asymptomatic. I have had clients share in the past that they have been gluten free and they do not feel that this has created an improvement in their health. While many will actually notice an improvement, those that are not seeing this can understand that giving up gluten when gluten sensitive will actually play a role in slowing or stopping the progression of health symptoms.

• He mentions 5 different tests for food reactions (IgG, IgA, IgM, T cell , immune complex). I know Cyrex labs do IgG & IgA for cross reactive foods etc, but where do we get the other 3 please? I am from UK. The two companies that are best suited for these tests are ImmunoLabs and Cyrex Labs. Both companies are available in the UK and I would recommend stating with the Immuno Bloodprint 154 and the Cyrex Array #3. Here is an addition from ImmunoLabs directly:
  
  Several measures for food reactions (IgA, IgE, IgG, IgM, T Cells, Immune Complex):
  We primarily test for IgG (Bloodprint® tests) and IgE (environment, food, mold, etc. panels). We also test for IgA through some of our additional tests (ex: Anti-Gliadin test). We do not test for IgM, T Cell, nor immune complex due to the issues around precision of knowing you have pinpointed the true reactions versus false negatives and positives. There are companies that perform testing on food allergies and sensitivities through those immune pathways and we have several clients that stopped testing with them due to issues around getting the best patient outcomes. If you truly want to know the companies then I will provide their names, but since the results can be inaccurate and won’t lead to improving the patient’s health condition, I hesitate. Let me know if there is something specific other than just food allergies that the person was looking to find through those immune pathways.

• Based on Dr Bowden's interview, is is more important to focus on the adrenals or pancreas? Actually it is important to focus on both but thankfully what you do for one typically assist both. Here are some areas that will assist both adrenal and pancreas function:
• Reduce stress or learn tools to perceive stress in a healthier way
• Lower consumption of sugar and processed carbohydrates
• Get to bed earlier

• Please could someone direct me to reputable up to date resources about protocols for elimination diets and reintroduction of foods (for those foods just suspected to be a reaction developed secondary to intestinal permeability , and not due to immune antibody response). In my opinion one of the best ways to reintroduce food is based on Lyn-Genet's The Plan. Both myself and my wife use her protocols personally and the results are amazing! It actually takes this to a whole other level. You can get this info at:
  Click here to order your copy of The New York Times bestseller The Plan on Amazon!

• What should I do if I have a stage III adrenal insufficiency with burst training? If you have are in stage III adrenal insufficiency I would suggest starting slow with burst training. Perhaps 30 seconds of burst training followed by 60 seconds of casual movement would be a good start. From there you can work on increasing your burst training. If you are in stage III, please be sure to move forward with caution to not create further issues. As a side note, if you have low cortisol in the morning, it would be awesome to do 30 seconds of burst training in the morning within 10 minutes of waking.

• According to the interview with Glen Depke on chronic inflammation is it best to work on adrenal function or inflammation first? In the perfect world, we would address adrenal function just before inflammation. I also want to share that if you address inflammatory states, this will also assist with adrenal function since this is a major trigger for adrenal dysfunction.

• Did I hear it correctly from Linda Clark that as toxins go through a phase I to phase II liver detoxification are actually more toxic, and what does this mean? Yes, you are correct in what you heard. As toxins in your body are converted from a fat soluble toxin to a water soluble toxin, they are now more toxin than they were in the first place. This does not have a significance unless you are not having two or more bowel movements per day. If you are having one bowel movement or less per day

• I think of stress as emotional, yet Sue Ingebretson mentioned other forms of stress. Can you expand on this? Absolutely. While most people think of stress as mental/emotional only, there are actually many forms of stress that are potentially affecting us daily. This could be physical stress tied into inflammation, injury or illness. This could be chemical stress based on toxins in our environment, foods, water and even the toxic expression of negatively perceived emotions. So definitely look at stress from every level and address each and every level that is impacting your health and wellness.

• When listening to Dr Janda, it seems as if infection is a bigger issue than most would think and potentially difficult to recognize. What is the best way to test for infection? Based the interview with Dr Janda, the best way to test for infection in the body is via Applied Kiniseology or A/K. This is a form of muscle testing and there are other forms of muscle testing such as Autonomic Response Testing or ART. In my practice, I often recommend a comprehensive stool collection kit to test for gut infections and I find that the best way to address this is with both. This "best of both worlds" is often the key because muscle testing and stool testing can uncover different yet essential challenges.

• I would have never thought of what Manny described as "fighting gravity" as an issue for my health. Can you expand on this in any way? I did propose this question to Manny and he actually mentioned that he is going to write his newsletter article this week on this subject. Here is the link to Manny's article for you.

• I loved Lynda's talk on the thyroid but I am confused. I have been diagnosed and hypothyroid, I take thyroid medications but I still suffer with all the same symptoms. What gives? As Lynda mentioned in her interview, thyroid issues are most often not even a thyroid problem. Most often this is an adrenal, gut, liver and/or autoimmune issue. Lynda mentioned looking at the adrenals first and moving on from there until you have addressed all the underlying issues.

• Listening to the talk on obesity, it seems as if there is no hope when your weight is out of control. Did I miss something? Help! There is not only hope, but there are answers. I would suggest looking at adrenal function and cross reactive food sensitivities. This in itself can make create a huge shift in regard to weight loss. From there I would suggest looking at the chronic inflammation and the feed back loops that recycle these chronic inflammatory states.

• I have to share that I am in my forties and have never been to a chiropractor. After listening to Dr Fletcher, I feel as if I am missing out on something. Where do you feel chiropractic care fits in an overall wellness program? Actually when I have a new client in my office, I always recommend that they see a chiropractor if they are not already. Far too often individuals do not see a chiropractor unless they have an accident of some sort or noticeable back issues. Waiting for these situations is basically waiting too long to see a chiropractor. We have two chiropractors in our office and personally I have a chiropractic visit very 7 to 10 days.

If anyone else has further questions, feel free post these below and they will be addressed personally. We want to make sure that all your questions are addressed properly.

If you have not grabbed your copy of the Adrenal Summit 2014, catch this here!

 

Adrenal Balance 101

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

So many people are reaching out to understand how to properly balance adrenal function, so here you go. 

I first want to bring up something mentioned by Dr Daniel Kalish in the adrenal summit, Dan mentioned that adrenal function is actually becoming a much more popular subject these days, but unfortunately, many people are being tested with little knowledge behind this as far as what to do. And to add, the big what to do is actually assisting the body in resetting the feedback loop also known as the HPA axis or the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis. Understand that this feedback loop is essential to bring your body into a state of relaxation after a stressful event. If the HPA axis is not functioning properly, you can be focusing on your health and actually live with the frustration of very little or no improvement. Yikes!

So knowing that you have to help the body reset the feedback loop, how do you know if your feedback loop is dysfunctional? Testing of course, and how do you test this properly. Testing adrenals properly requires looking at cortisol throughout the day, which is easily accomplished by saliva testing. Yes, it is as easy as spitting in a tube 4 times per day. While some may not feel that this sounds enjoyable, the value of knowing where your adrenal function is, is completely invaluable and this is all because of the fore mentioned HPA axis. If this is burnt out, you want to know! 

I do not recommend blood testing because this will only provide one cortisol level through the day as opposed to four times within the day. Also the saliva testing provides a DHEA average, four cortisol levels along with a total cortisol and cortisol:DHEA ratio. For those using a comprehensive test kit, which is always my recommendation, you would also get a look at estradiol, estriol, progesterone, testosterone, androstenedione and melatonin. This is often invaluable because I cannot tell you the countless times I see estrogen type hormones either too high or low, elevated and often toxic levels of progesterone due to the use of creams and even men that are converting testosterone into estrogens due to an over production of an enzyme referred to as aromatase. This can be some scary stuff but really, only if you do not look at it. As long as you are living and breathing, there is always hope of balancing your adrenals, but you have to know where they're at.

Now once you have the adrenal function assessed you can work on a protocol to balance. The protocols used at Depke Wellness are to work at the beginning of hormone production. This would include the use of the Prime Adrenal Support (vitamin B5) and the two baseline liquid sublingual hormones pregnenolone and DHEA. The vitamin B5 is needed as one of the raw materials to produce the mother hormone pregnenolone and the DHEA and pregnenolone support will allow the adrenals to find their balance and reset that HPA axis discussed above. This way you can eventually get off the protocols and enjoy normal healthy functioning adrenals in the future.

Notice that I did not mention taking bio-identical hormones, progesterone creams or testosterone creams. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen these toxin in clients when we review their saliva test kits due to the use of the hormone creams. Heck, just today I have a women that was taking progesterone creams for only two months that should have a level of approximately 5 to 95 that is actually living with a level over 2,500. No 2,500 was not a typo! I have even seen men that were working with other practitioners recognizing low testosterone, only to take testosterone without knowing that this is being converted into estrogens and they are now toxic in estrogen type hormones. Again, this can be scary stuff if you do not know what you are doing and that is exactly what Dr Daniel Kalish mentioned in his interview.

Now there is other support I would also offer such as a liquid ionized form of zinc, buffered ascorbic acid powder (not corn derived of course), LiquiNutrients and a liquid DHA/EPA-CoQ10. These are all supportive factors but the nuts and bolts of the protocols are the Prime Adrenal Support (vitamin B5) and the liquid sublinguals of DHEA and pregnenolone.

*Very Important!!!

DO NOT take these on your own without testing and under guidance. Hormones require a delicate balance and while you do not want them too low, you do not want them too high either. Please be careful and work with somebody that uses saliva testing that also knows how to assist your body in resetting that HPA axis.

Another important point to make is that when your adrenals are off, this truly is not an adrenal issue. The deeper issue that absolutely has to be addressed is actually the triggers for the adrenal issues. Here are the main triggers.

• (SAD) standard American diet high in sugar, caffeine and processed food
• Food sensitivities
• Chronic infection
• Chronic stress or suppressed emotions
• Chronic inflammatory states
• Poor fundamentals of health

So you see, if you only use an adrenal protocol and do not get to the triggers, this will be an ongoing problem for you. So in the end, address your adrenal function and get to your triggers with somebody that understands this world.  

If you are new to Depke Wellness and you would like to schedule a complimentary 20 minute phone consultation, call our office at (949)954-6226. We would love to assist you in your journey to health and happiness.

Please feel free to post below if you have any questions.

 

Everything in moderation...

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

...is typically not the best way to go!

The saying "everything in moderation" is something I hear from people that do not want to make the commitment to what is important to address it their life. This saying can go right along another "ignorance is bliss" when the reality is that ignorance can kill you.

Let's look at this deeper today.

I "get" what people are meaning when they say everything in moderation but this often leads us to significant health issues. Take food sensitivity as an example. If I test a client and find that they are gluten, dairy and corn sensitive, this cannot be consumed in moderation. If the goal is optimal health and happiness, these foods would have to be eliminated from their diet.

This is essential because an intolerant food will create inflammation, digestive issues, adrenal imbalance and weakened immune system states. Looking at this even further we can all understand that all you need to do is consume a food that you are sensitive to only once per month to continue the inflammatory response, which in turn creates issues with digestion, immunity and adrenal function. Yes, you did hear me correctly, only once per month. This is why I cringe when I hear people say, "everything in moderation."

So how important is it to understand your food sensitivities? HUGELY important!

Almost all of my clients will test their gluten sensitivity cross reactive foods. These are foods that are similar in protein structure to gluten, so if you have a gluten sensitivity and have been eating gluten long term (most of us), your immune system starts to attack the cross reactive foods also. Yikes!

I am likely the best person to hear this from not only because I do this with my clients all the time, but more importantly because personally, I am the cross reactive poster boy. I actually have 17 or the potential 27 different cross reactive sensitivities. Dairy, corn, rice, coffee, yeast, eggs and almost every non-gluten grain also, just to name a few.

When people get this news, it is often perceived as bad news but I always share that this is simply a perception. While others may feel that food sensitivities are a restriction, I say eating food that you are sensitive to is actually restricting your right to optimal health and happiness. It is all how you look at it.

So what approach do you take to addressing your food sensitivities? First off, test them. As mentioned earlier I always recommend a cross reactive food testing and I am currently working with another company to perhaps take this even a step further. If this is a desire of yours feel free to contact my office directly at (949)954-6226. Now once you recognize your food sensitivities, it is sooooo important to eliminate these from your diet. I actually use and analogy in my own mind comparing my food sensitivities to a rock. If I see a rock on the ground there is not a thought in my mind that this is a viable food choice. If I see a food or food ingredient that I am sensitive to, this is a rock to me. That simple!

One more note to make is that I most often will recommend being off your sensitive foods for 12 months while working on a gut restorative program. It takes approximately 12 to 18 months to completely turn over you gut on a cellular level, so removing these foods while restoring your gut is the best option to potentially getting some of these foods back in your diet.

You cannot do this though if you do not have these foods defined.

Another factor to consider is tied into your overall meal plan. Just another area where everything in moderation can create some issues. It’s important to understand that we are all bio-chemically different and while one person may thrive on a particular diet; this same diet may be detrimental to another. This is tied into our genetics as well as any existing functional challenges. This is something that I refer to as your Nutritional ID. Understand that if you are eating foods in moderation that imbalance your nervous system or oxidation everything in moderation will not work out well for you. To learn more about Nutritional ID and to also assess your own personal Nutritional ID at no cost to you, follow this link.

So in the end, please be sure to question the belief that "everything in moderation" is OK for us. Perhaps it is if you only want to feel "OK", but I like to believe that followers of Depke Wellness desire to live into optimal health and happiness and rock their lives. I know this is you!

Enjoy rocking your life!

Welcome from the Adrenal Summit

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

Most of you have been following the Depke Wellness newsletter for years not but we have some new followers to welcome due to the adrenal summit. With that we would like to extend a huge warm welcome to our new followers. Every Tuesday your day will be welcomed with new information to further your journey toward health and happiness. Each newsletter contains a main article written by me personally, a special guest article, a take action segment, upcoming events, a monthly featured supplement and a motivating quote. Depke Wellness will also interview many other health professionals throughout the year and provide free interviews to your further education and enjoyment. As this are moving and shaking through the year, you will get this information first hand through your connection with Depke Wellness.

With this said, let's talk about the recent excitement, which is the launch of the Adrenal Summit yesterday April 7, 2014. While this summit was a significant undertaking in time, organization, effort and of course money, yet it has surpassed our expectations on every level. That's exciting!!!

First and foremost, the intention of the Adrenal Summit was to expose this essential information to our culture. Unfortunately adrenal function is not widely recognized in mainstream information, yet this is a huge issue for so many. It pains us to see health challenged individual make an attempt at healing their body without even looking at adrenal function. These are the clients that show up in our office every day that have been attempting to create a positive shift in their health via natural health means but to no avail. They've improved their nutrition, exercise and sleep, worked on their gut, immune function, thyroid and more...but still sit frustrated because all their hard work and dedication has not created the healthy shift they were looking for. This level of frustration is much more common than most may realize.

Almost across the board, I find the missing link for these individuals to be adrenal function. As you may already know, I have reviewed over 4,300 adrenal test kits in my career of health challenged individuals and have only seen 5 (it's not a typo) come back healthy and balanced. This basically tells us that if you have a health challenge, there is approximately a 1/10 of one percent chance that your adrenals are healthy. 

DO NOT bet those odds!

If you have yet to register for the Adrenal Summit you can register here.

So this is why we are so excited to reach out to our culture with this information. Even better than that, it's not only me. The Adrenal Summit is composed of 13 experts in their perspective fields and truly, these are the experts experts. Welcome to the opportunity to understand adrenal function and the challenges this causes in your body as listed below.

• Thyroid issues
• Pancreas issues
• Ovary issues
• Poor mucosal surface integrity (1st layer of immune defense)
• Poor metabolism of fat and protein
• Poor weight and fat regulation
• Detoxification challenges
• Immune dysregulation
• Dysfunctional pro and anti-inflammatory response
• Poor cellular energy production
• Blood sugar instability
• Poor muscular/skeletal health
• Lack of sleep
• Poor mood regulation
• Poor memory
• Lack of mental clarity
• Poor neural connectivity

So this is the what happens when the adrenals are not working properly but there's so much more. With our experts you are going to learn what triggers this adrenal dysfunction and what continues the ongoing health crisis as listed below.

• Gluten sensitivity
• Overall food sensitivity
• The cortisol/insulin connection
• Exercise does and don'ts
• Inflammatory states
• Mental/emotional stress
• Toxicity
• Infection
• The structural body
• The thyroid/adrenal connection
• Obesity and food sensitivity
• Importance of a healthy spine and nervous system

Glen Depke of Depke Wellness

Based on the experts that you are going to enjoy and learn from, you will gather some new found knowledge that will change your life or the life of someone you know and love.

If you are already registered for the summit, you have already heard Dr Daniel Kalish's interview as an amazing send off to the Adrenal Summit. If you are not registered, it's not too late to jump in on this life altering event. Register here!

Once again, we welcome the new members of the Depke Wellness family. It is our pleasure to serve you. 

Thank you!