Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
April 3rd, 2016 

The Master Health Tracker

If you’ve ever sat scratching your head wondering how to organize your client’s story, tests, and protocols in a succinct way so you can easily think things through and determine what to do next, I have a tool for you.

On the website, it’s what I call the Master Health Tracker.

I will be presenting live on how to use it and tailor for your practice. The recording will be put on the website.

I am working on a client-care summary that you can put in the front of their chart as well. This is anticipated to be completed by the end of April.

In the meantime, think of each client as a puzzle – a mystery to be solved.

Gather the information you need to see how the puzzle pieces fit together. What’s their story? What lead up to their first experience of their current symptoms? How has it evolved? The questions in our history module are intended to unravel the story. Study them. Obviously, you don’t need to ask every question of every client.

With experience comes the ability to hone in, see what’s been overlooked, and then determine what further info is needed (i.e. testing), and what the next step will be.

Remember, it’s a partnership between you and your client. You don’t and will never have all the answers. It’s so important for them to know you are on their side and will be digging, offering support, and guiding them every step of the way.

At the retreat, there will be time for case study analysis in real time, in pairs, and with the ability to get support.

Be the practitioner you wish you had!

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
March 27th, 2016 

The Power of Broccoli Sprouts

Do you have a favorite herb? Have one you’d like to learn more about? Have a topic you’d like to have a clinical pearl about? Please reply and let me know.

This week’s pearl is related to one of my favorite super foods, broccoli sprouts.

These are so full of special powers that I just can’t seem to get enough of them. I put them in my smoothies, my salads, and on top of my “sandwiches” that I make using jicama, red bell pepper, or lettuce leaves as the bread.

I also purchase broccoli sprout powder at Z Natural Foods.

I sprinkle it in my elixirs, salad dressings, and smoothies. Broccoli sprouts are one of the richest sources of sulforaphane.

The support phase 2 liver detox facilitates the elimination of estrogen once it’s “used up” and helps estrogen to convert to its more favorable 2 hydroxy and methoxy forms for excretion.

There are studies about the power of broccoli sprouts to protect against cancers of all sorts. Here are a few articles you can read on the super powers of broccoli sprouts.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23902242

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20388854

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25431127

The awesome news is that even if you don’t have time to sprout the seeds or they aren’t available at your local market, you can simply grind and eat the seeds without sprouting. I’ve combined them with milk thistle seeds, herbs, and salt then made gomashio.

Here’s the recipe:

http://drritamarie.com/blog/seasoning-recipe-thats-delicious-supports-liver-detoxification/

Encourage your clients to start to use broccoli sprouts and broccoli seeds to enhance their health.

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
March 20th, 2016 

Ashwagandha in Clinical Practice

One of my favorite herbs is ashwagandha. I recently wrote a blog post about it. I recommend you get to know it as it’s excellent for both adrenal and thyroid support as well as many other benefits that are not discussed much. Here are some good articles, as well as my latest blog post. It’s an amazing herb.

http://drritamarie.com/blog/recharge-your-energy-and-your-hormones-with-ashwagandha/

http://www.seekinghealth.com/media/research/ashwagandha%20monograph.pdf

http://kevaind.org/download/Withania%20somnifera%20in%20Thyroid.pdf

http://www.ijpp.com/IJPP%20archives/1997_41_4/424-426.pdf

http://www.fedmaps.org/fedmaps-files/traditional-and-medicinal-uses-of-withania-somnifera.pdf

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2042-7158.1998.tb06923.x/abstract

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378874195013180

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
March 6th, 2016 

Sleep, Leptin, and Appetite: An Often Overlooked Cause of Weight Loss Resistance

Ever notice that your appetite increases when you don’t get a good night’s sleep? Imagine what happens with habitual poor or short sleep?

Short sleep duration has been associated with reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin. This can lead to increased appetite and increased BMI.

Here’s a link to an article that explains in detail why, in Western societies, where chronic sleep restriction is common and food is widely available, changes in the appetite regulatory hormones leptin and ghrelin with sleep deficit may contribute to obesity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535701/

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 28th, 2016 

Think Like a Detective

When a client presents with a variety of complaints, and you’re not sure where to begin, think like a detective.

When did it start? What were the circumstances in life at that time? Who was with you? etc. The History Taking module has all the details.

The point is, you are looking to discover what could have caused the current situation. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes not.

Be sure to study each core content presentation in the module. Download the presentations and review by listening to the audios in the car, while waiting for appointments, while cleaning the house, or making dinner.

The more you repeat, the more the knowledge becomes second nature. Then the detective work gets easier and more effective.

I’ve loaded this book to my iPad and will let you know what I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Own-Health-Detective-Permanent-ebook/dp/B00O170J2C  

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 21st, 2016

SNPs Involved in Blood Sugar Balance

One of the things I see huge variations in is the ability of clients to manage blood sugar. While diet and lifestyle are HUGE factors, we very regularly see that some people have to be extra-super-duper careful. That’s because there are genetic factors at play that impact the ability to keep blood glucose at an optimal level.

The SNPs that follow (single nucleotide polymorphisms aka, in layperson’s terms, “genetic mutations”) are related to blood sugar balance, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

I have a good number of these SNPs, so that’s why I have to be very careful.

• MC4R rs17782312
• IGF1R RS 2229765
• IRS1 rs2943634 – related to tyrosine kinase and increased risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
• MTRR A66G rs1801394 associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance
• MTHFR C677T rs1801133 associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance
• TCF7L2, which affects insulin secretion and glucose production
• ABCC8, the sulfonylurea urea receptor, which helps regulate insulin
• calpain 10, which is associated with type 2 diabetes risk in Mexican Americans
• GLUT2, glucose transporter 2, which helps move glucose into the pancreas
• GCGR, the glucagon receptor
• AKT2 R208K and R467W, the serine/threonine-protein kinase, related to severe insulin resistance and diabetes

Many genes have been associated with type 1 diabetes. They are listed HERE:

http://snpedia.com/index.php/Type-1_diabetes

If you’d like to dig deeper, here’s a good reference:

http://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2840-11-133  

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 14th, 2016

I was doing a lot of research the other day on methylation and SNPs for a client, and I stumbled on a few really good sites.

We’ll be doing an entire module on Nutrigenomics, but I thought I’d share a few highlights here.

You may already be familiar with the MTHFR gene SNP. It’s been quite the topic of conversation in health circles.

What many doctors do, which could cause more harm than good, is to test for 2 variations of this SNP, MTHFR c677T or MTHFR A1298C. If a person has a variation in either or both (40% or more of the population), they prescribe high dose methyl folate without consideration of other pathways. This can lead to anxiety, agitation, and other unpleasant symptoms.

If ever you recommend methyl folate or methyl B12 to a client and they get worse instead of better, consider giving them 100 mg of niacin as it can “mop up” the excess methyl groups. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

This article on another very important SNP, COMT (catecholamine-o-methyl transferase) explains the importance of evaluating the complete picture, not just a single SNP.

http://www.geneticlifehacks.com/comt-genetic-connections-to-neurotransmitter-levels/  

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 7th, 2016 

The Power of Chewing

Last Wednesday, we had Donna Gates speak to us as part of the post-SHINE VIP Guest Expert series. The replay is HERE:

http://events.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=80200479

It was a whirlwind of great information, and I captured several pages of clinical pearls. The most impressive one, because it’s so simple, is on chewing.

As you know, I talk about the importance of chewing a lot; however, few people actually really take the time to chew their food. Chewing activates neuropathways in the brain. According to Donna, there are quite a number of studies that link lack of adequate chewing with weight gain.

Chewing activates insulin receptors, so when you don’t chew your food well, it causes blood sugar to go up, which, as we know, leads to the dread accumulation of belly fat.

Chewing activates the vagus nerve, which is critical to proper digestion. The vagus nerve controls the proper motility of the digestive tract, which helps to cleanse toxins and decrease infections. Lack of chewing also causes an increase in ghrelin, the hunger hormone. So improper chewing can lead to excessive hunger.

If you’re having a hard time getting your clients to grasp the power of chewing, perhaps linking it to their excessive appetite and fat accumulation will hit them where it motivates.

Donna did an excellent job explaining the value of chewing on the call, so be sure to listen:

http://events.instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=80200479  

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
January 31st, 2016

The Power of Sleep

I Last week, we talked about the power of questions. Simple, but oh so powerful. This week, I would like to share a few tidbits about the power of another simple activity you can teach your clients — the power of sleep.

So many great things happen during sleep, and most people are sleep deprived. It’s super important to ask your clients for the details of their sleep habits. Some don’t sleep enough because they are busy and stay up late to complete tasks. Others simply can’t fall asleep, or their sleep is restless. Our Sleep Module will cover lots of details about the mechanisms of sleep and approaches to determining why your client can’t sleep. The benefits of sleep include:

• Fat burning: reduces cortisol and increases leptin
• Increased lean body growth and repair: enhances growth hormone and DHEA
• Enhances focus and attention
• Detoxification and metabolic waste removal
• Enhances learning, memory, and creativity
• Improves insulin sensitivity
• Decreases cancer risk via melatonin
• Enhances serotonin and reduces depression
• Reduces inflammation:
  • Lower C-reactive Protein (CRP), CRP is higher with less than 6 hours of sleep
  • Enhances endurance and stamina.

Are you sleeping enough? Don’t underestimate the power of a good night’s rest.

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
January 24th, 2016

The Art of Listening

One of the hallmarks of gifted and effective health practitioners is their ability to be truly present and listen to what their patient or client is saying. In our broken modern disease care model, practitioners are not usually afforded the time to listen.

I’ve heard over and over again from my patients and clients how truly grateful they are to be heard and acknowledged. It’s the first step in establishing rapport, trust, and a relationship that fosters true healing.

When you ask questions, make sure you come from a place of wonder and curiosity, not a rote “follow the protocol” mentality.

And allow for white space. Often, that scared and ailing person in front of you is so unaccustomed to being asked the caring and detailed questions about who they are that it takes time to formulate an answer. Become comfortable with the silence and allow their souls to emerge.

Often, we are so quick to offer responses, suggestions, and potential solutions that we fail to truly understand the depth of the person’s pain and experience.

The best gift you can give your clients and patients is the gift of presence. When you truly care and ask questions that allow them to explore what lead to their current state, you’ve established a therapeutic relationship from which true healing can emerge.