As they say, “the best thing to do first thing in the morning is to go right back to sleep.” We’ve all been there, right? Turns out there are actual tangible things you can do to get a better night’s sleep. Here are a few of my favorite tips for sleep (that work!).
Nutrition
Yes we talk about this alllllll the time, but truly this is a game changer. Getting adequate protein at each meal with a well-balanced diet can help with dopamine production, blood sugar regulation, and hormone production. All of which are crucial for great sleep. Also a no brainer–avoid that caffeine if it affects you! Easy to forget about this one. For some people as we age, the half life of caffeine gets longer and longer meaning it lasts in your system much longer than it used to.
I see you rolling your eyes again. But it is true. Getting in a good workout, even just a morning 20 minute walk, can really help with sleep. High intensity workouts are best done in the morning for most people. Some will do great with that evening work out, but keep in mind that it can potentially spike cortisol, make more energy, and make it hard to fall asleep. Perimenopausal and menopausal women typically do better with the high intensity in the morning. Of course, do what works best for you.
I love magnesium. There are different forms of mag and the best form for sleep is magnesium glycinate taken before bed. It is calming and avoids the potential GI effects. This is generally well-tolerated and easily absorbed. Check with your doctor the best dose for you, but a common starting dose is 200-400mg.
Another option is an epsom salt bath. Your skin absorbs what is put on it and the magnesium in the salt is easily absorbed this way. It is very calming and just feels great… (trust me, I’ve tried it).
There are many calming supplements on the market. An easy one to find at any grocery store is Sleepytime tea. My personal favorite is an adaptogen called Reishi, specifically this Cocoa with Reishi. I seriously get the best sleep whenever I drink this before bed. Especially for a busy mom like me burning the candle at both ends, this also supports the adrenals.
True pathology
There are true medical causes that can be hindering your sleep. One of those can be a low ferritin level (your iron stores). Correcting this level helps with dopamine production and helps decrease restless legs.
If none of these tips work, it might be time to consider checking in with your doctor to ensure you’re not suffering from a deeper root cause. Our team of personalize medicine practitioners can help! Book your Wellness Assessment here.
Jenikka Tomashek is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate degree in Nursing and 10 years of experience. Jenikka is a diagnostic magician—she understands disease process really well, which gives her a leg up to be able to apply functional medicine principles to her knowledge base.Working in internal medicine, she’s experienced many patients who didn’t heal with conventional treatments. She found functional medicine to be a complement to traditional medicine, and she’s found the combination to be the best way to serve patients.
Nursing, which Jenikka’s experience is grounded in, is founded on compassionate, dedicated patient care that also cares deeply about the individual and their story. She believes in the philosophy of finding and treating the root cause of symptoms, educating patients, and focusing on the prevention of future disease.
It’s easy to love summer: warm temperatures, sun, outdoor races, and eating fun meals with a cocktail by the lake. We don’t mean to burst your bubble, but all those fun things can also be a trigger for the skin condition rosacea (also known as rosacea acne). This common skin condition causes facial redness, small, red, pus-filled bumps, and visible blood vessels—none of which are very comfortable to experience, summer or not.
So why does sun exposure and a glass of wine trigger a rosacea flare up? Let’s dive a bit deeper into the integrative medicine perspective on skin issues.
Inflammation + Rosacea: An Unhappy Relationship
The common thread among rosacea triggers is something we’ve written about before: inflammation. While inflammation can be a great bodily response (like then you have a splinter and your body sends white blood cells and immune cells to push the intruder out), it can also be the root of some of our trickiest symptoms.
Those with rosacea typically have an innate immune system disruption. This leads to an abnormal inflammatory response and basically an overreaction to common foods and activities. The reaction might result in vasodilation (blood vessel dilation), flushing, redness, or acne-like pustules.
Rosacea Triggers
We hate to break it to you, but so many summer-related activities can be rosacea triggers. While we won’t tell you to strictly avoid them, we will say that it’s important to understand what’s going on in your body when you’re making choices about your daily life. So what summer fun can lead to a rosacea flare up?
Sun. It’s the most common trigger for rosacea. Basking in the sun initiates an inflammatory cascade, which can cause a flare—as can hot temperatures in general. UV exposure is also a contributing factor.
Alcohol. Ever feel a flush after a drink or two? That’s your body’s inflammation response, and in someone with rosacea, it can be a building block to a flare.
Citrus. Whether it’s in season or it’s in your margarita, citrus is linked to an increase in rosacea symptoms. It contains cinnamaldehyde, a warming compound that can increase heat in your body and is linked to flares.
Spicy foods. Not necessarily summer-centric, added spice in foods (including hot peppers, which contain capsaicin, a compound that is heat-producing) can contribute to rosacea.
Chocolate. Yep, those s’mores around the campfire can be a rosacea trigger. Chocolate also contains cinnamaldehyde, that warming compound that creates more heat in your body.
Exercise: This might be less of a bummer and more of an excuse to slow down this season, but exercise can also contribute to rosacea symptoms. Essentially, anything that’s heat-producing and blood vessel dilating can be linked to an increase in rosacea.
Rosacea + Your Gut Health
In functional medicine, gut health is incredibly key to holistic health. And it has also been shown that a healthy gut microbiome can improve your rosacea symptoms. We dive more deeply into how gut health impacts general skin health here, but the simple explanation is that skin-related conditions are influenced through interactions between intestinal microbes and various cellular pathways. So, gut imbalance can equal skin imbalance.
At MIMC, we often look at skin conditions as a symptom of a deeper issue, instead of just a skin disease that needs treatment. If you’re struggling with rosacea, acne, eczema, or psoriasis, we can help. I specialize in dermatological issues, and getting to the root cause—set up an initial appointment to see how we could help you in your skin journey (and escape summer with less inflammation, redness, and discomfort)!
Katie is our champion of member experience. You’ll meet her at our admin desk, or chat with her over the phone answering all your questions and making sure your patient care with us is seamless. When she isn’t running our office, she’s buried in a good book, shopping local vintage stores & baking delicious treats!
Jenikka Tomashek is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate degree in Nursing and 10 years of experience. Jenikka is a diagnostic magician—she understands disease process really well, which gives her a leg up to be able to apply functional medicine principles to her knowledge base.Working in internal medicine, she’s experienced many patients who didn’t heal with conventional treatments. She found functional medicine to be a complement to traditional medicine, and she’s found the combination to be the best way to serve patients.
Nursing, which Jenikka’s experience is grounded in, is founded on compassionate, dedicated patient care that also cares deeply about the individual and their story. She believes in the philosophy of finding and treating the root cause of symptoms, educating patients, and focusing on the prevention of future disease.
The postpartum stage is HARD. It is both physically and emotionally demanding. Some women struggle in this stage to the point of postpartum depression/anxiety. But what if you’re struggling somewhere in between prenatal and postpartum depression? That’s where postnatal depletion comes in.
What is postnatal depletion?
The term “postnatal depletion” was coined by an Australian doctor Dr. Oscar Serrallach, and made popular by Goop, the controversial wellness website. Dr. Serrallach describes “postnatal depletion” as a group of symptoms that stem from physiologic, hormonal, and psychological aspects after having a baby.
Although this is not a medical diagnosis and was made popular by a controversial website, it could resonate with many postpartum women. It definitely resonates with me, being just three months postpartum for the second time. I want to inform you, mama (or partner to a mama), on some tips to help you through this difficult and depleting stage. These are just a few things that I have found helpful but by no means is this an exhaustive list.
Nutrient needs increase significantly during pregnancy and then even more during breastfeeding. Some vitamins come directly from your diet and others come directly from your body’s stores, whether or not you are getting them from your diet.
As you can imagine, this can completely deplete important nutrients. Nutrients are building blocks for not only your physical health, but also for your mental health. Some important nutrients include, but are not limited to, B vitamins, Omega-3 and iron. A quality vitamin should not replace a healthy diet—they are best together.
That said, there are cases where a tailored vitamin protocol is needed. For example, I developed something called atrophic glossitis (where I lost all my tastebuds) with my first pregnancy. This is a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, so I had to tailor my supplementation. Work with your practitioner if you notice any new physical symptoms during or after pregnancy.
3. Nutrition
Food is the best way to get nutrients; nutrients that are best absorbed when they come from yoru food intake. No one wants to cook anything fancy postpartum, but sticking with whole foods is ideal for you and baby if you are breastfeeding.
One cookbook I lived off of postpartum was from @detoxinista called The Fresh and Health Instant Pot Cookbook. The recipes are so easy, delicious, and nutritious. Also the Crockpot Freezer Meals from @fitfoodiefinds are perfect to make prior to delivery. (Of course veering off course is to be expected. My detours—yes there were many—happened in the form of those delicious dairy-free Magnum ice cream bars. Yum!)
4. Herbs
There are many herbs that can support a mama in the postpartum period. One thing I did for my second that I wish I did with my first was work with a postpartum herbalist (Amanda at @treemamaherbals). I told her about my symptoms of depletion after my first child, and she created a customized tea for me that I absolutely love.
The herbs she used focus on my adrenals and help my mind feel sharp—all important when you feel like you are in a depleted state. As one example, stinging nettle tea is really nourishing and high in vitamins and minerals. If you are breastfeeding, make sure you are working with someone who is well versed in herbs before self-treating.
5. Sleep
You likely have heard someone say “sleep when the baby sleeps.” This couldn’t be truer. You just completed the most demanding physical activity your body will ever experience and it needs rest!
make sure you have snacks and water at your bedside so you don’t sleep or wake up from being too hungry or thirsty
forget the to do list! Many cultures consider the first 40 days of the postpartum stage as sacred and a time of pure rest. I fully support this after going through it twice.
At MIMC, we aren’t OBGYNs, so we don’t work specifically with pregnant patients. BUT, the postpartum stage is something we have experience with (personally and professionally) so we can support you there, as you take care of your new little, so you can recover too.
Jenikka Tomashek is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate degree in Nursing and 10 years of experience. Jenikka is a diagnostic magician—she understands disease process really well, which gives her a leg up to be able to apply functional medicine principles to her knowledge base.Working in internal medicine, she’s experienced many patients who didn’t heal with conventional treatments. She found functional medicine to be a complement to traditional medicine, and she’s found the combination to be the best way to serve patients.
Nursing, which Jenikka’s experience is grounded in, is founded on compassionate, dedicated patient care that also cares deeply about the individual and their story. She believes in the philosophy of finding and treating the root cause of symptoms, educating patients, and focusing on the prevention of future disease.
You might have heard of mercury poisoning, which is usually due to one big exposure to mercury, often resulting in serious health issues, including kidney and lung failure, and even death. Mercury overload, however, is less discussed and something we’re taking a deeper look at today.
Let’s start with what mercury is: It’s a naturally occurring element that can be found in air, water and soil. It’s often present in seafood we eat (tuna, sushi), dental fillings, old paint, and industrial off-gasses from coal-burning.
Because our bodies take a while to excrete mercury (up to four months!), repeated mercury exposure can instigate a build up.
Add to that the fact that every person detoxifies at a different rate due to genetic variations, and some of us are more prone to mercury overload than others.
So what does it look like when you’ve got a build-up of mercury? Let’s take a closer look.
Mercury Overload Symptoms
Mercury can impact nearly all your organs, including your brain, heart, kidney, and gut. Mercury particularly loves the nervous system. Studies have shown that high exposures to mercury can induce changes to that system, which can contribute to:
irritability,
fatigue,
behavioral changes,
tremors,
headaches,
hearing loss,
cognitive loss,
hallucinations,
hypertension,
ADHD,
autoimmune diseases,
and more.
Causes of Mercury Overload
It’s pretty normal to have a bit of mercury build up in your system. But those levels become more concerning when we’re repeatedly exposed to:
mercury vapors in ambient air,
living in an area (or traveling extensively in an area) with a high number of coal-burning facilities,
ingesting it via drinking water, fish, or dental amalgams,
vaccines,
occupational exposures,
home exposures including fluorescent light bulbs, thermostats, and batteries,
red tattoo dye,
skin-lightening creams,
over-the-counter products such as contact lens fluid and neosynephrine,
and more.
How to Get Tested for Mercury Overload
You can get tested for mercury overload via blood, hair or urine.
Methylmercury (one type of mercury often found in humans) is predominately in red blood cells, and can show up on a blood test for mercury. But it might now register your total body load of mercury, unless you’ve been eating a LOT of fish with mercury recently.
Hair tests also only give you a partial snapshot: These tests don’t register mercury you may have been exposed to from something like fillings, so your body’s final mercury levels are incomplete.
Urine testing is considered gold standard, so this is often the test of choice.
Treatment for High Levels of Mercury
If you are found to have mercury overload, it is important to first avoid any additional mercury exposure. Stop eating seafood, and consider having your environment (home, work, etc.) tested for mercury levels.
Another treatment option is to increase your body’s production of glutathione, a powerful detoxifier and antioxidant. Your body excretes mercury only when it’s bound to glutathione—infusions of this antioxidant can be supportive in helping your body detox.
If you’re considering mercury overload as a root cause of your symptoms and need support, book an appointment with one of our practitioners to help you on your health journey.
Jenikka Tomashek is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate degree in Nursing and 10 years of experience. Jenikka is a diagnostic magician—she understands disease process really well, which gives her a leg up to be able to apply functional medicine principles to her knowledge base.Working in internal medicine, she’s experienced many patients who didn’t heal with conventional treatments. She found functional medicine to be a complement to traditional medicine, and she’s found the combination to be the best way to serve patients.
Nursing, which Jenikka’s experience is grounded in, is founded on compassionate, dedicated patient care that also cares deeply about the individual and their story. She believes in the philosophy of finding and treating the root cause of symptoms, educating patients, and focusing on the prevention of future disease.
Poop jokes aren’t my favorite kind of joke but they’re a solid #2.
That joke should tell you partially why a stool test is one of my favorite things to do. It’s like a window to your health. They say you are what you eat, but you’re also what you (do or don’t) poop.
We talk about gut health a lot, which is why I’m sharing about one of my favorite stool tests. It’s an extremely thorough test called the GI360 that looks at the balance of normal bacteria, pathogenic (bad) bacteria, yeast, parasites, and gut function.
But before we get into specifics, let’s chat about why a stool test might be right for you.
What a Stool Test is For
Ideally, what we want to see in your gut is perfectly balanced bacteria without an overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeast, or parasites.
Too much or too little of a good thing can cause problems. When out of balance, there are certain good bacteria that are related to inflammation, delayed gastric emptying, difficulty with carb digestion, bloating or abdominal pain, among others.
Basically, all of the bacteria in our gut play a vital role—and we want the gut to be like a pristine jungle. All the animals and plants are in perfect harmony and there are no poachers.
An in-depth stool test can show you more about your gut’s function. We’re able to see if the lining of your gut is inflamed, if your pancreas isn’t quite up to par, or if you’re lacking some important pieces of the gut lining.
How to Tell if You Need a Stool Test
The GI360 stool test is used for so many ailments outside of gut health, like:
Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Inflammation
Joint Pain
Mucosal Barrier Dysfunction
Autoimmune Disease
Food Sensitivities
Chronic or Acute Diarrhea
Abdominal Pain
IBD/IBS
Nutritional Deficiencies
Bloody Stool
Fever and Vomiting
I have been surprised many times when we find something significant on the test when the patient’s main complaint is something such as body aches or brain fog.
The only con is that the test is slightly spendy—but it’s SO worth it when you consider the multitude of data points that we get. Most people that get this test have already done every test with a GI specialist and are still having symptoms. Luckily, we can accomplish a ton with this one test and it usually doesn’t have to be repeated.
What Your Results Might Mean for Your Diet
With our standard American diet, it is common to find imbalances. That’s why diet change alongside test results and supplemental support can be incredibly helpful for many people.
But gut changes are not like ordering at the drive through. They’re more like planting your own garden and waiting for veggies to grow.
Every person that does this test has to be prepared to possibly make diet changes. As diet is the backbone of your gut health, it is inevitable that a diet change will need to happen.
I have yet to encounter a completely normal result with the GI360. Some of the better results I’ve seen just require treatment of a bad bug while continuing the patient’s typical diet. Most have required adding many more veggies to help build the good bacteria.
If you feel like any of this hits home with you, reach out to us! Poop talk is our second language—and we’re ready to support you on your gut health journey.
Katie is our champion of member experience. You’ll meet her at our admin desk, or chat with her over the phone answering all your questions and making sure your patient care with us is seamless. When she isn’t running our office, she’s buried in a good book, shopping local vintage stores & baking delicious treats!
Jenikka Tomashek is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a doctorate degree in Nursing and 10 years of experience. Jenikka is a diagnostic magician—she understands disease process really well, which gives her a leg up to be able to apply functional medicine principles to her knowledge base.Working in internal medicine, she’s experienced many patients who didn’t heal with conventional treatments. She found functional medicine to be a complement to traditional medicine, and she’s found the combination to be the best way to serve patients.
Nursing, which Jenikka’s experience is grounded in, is founded on compassionate, dedicated patient care that also cares deeply about the individual and their story. She believes in the philosophy of finding and treating the root cause of symptoms, educating patients, and focusing on the prevention of future disease.
0
