D3 - The Supreme Vitamin: What's Your Level?

For the past few decades, Vitamin D has continually been featured in the news.  And, recently, has been considered one of the most supreme nutrients for its ability to promote optimal health and prevent today's chronic degenerative diseases.  

Vitamin D is freely available to everyone through sun exposure.  Specifically, its production is the result of an interaction of the ultraviolet B (UV-B) ray and cholesterol in our skin.  But, for the past half century, Vitamin D deficiency has become a worldwide problem.  Why?  Well, many people are increasingly working indoors and overall, getting less exposure to sunlight.  Especially those who live further away from the equator.  Additionally, getting Vitamin D from food sources like fish and eggs is very difficult since there's usually such a minimal amount present.  In order to get an optimal level of Vitamin D level in our bodies on a daily basis, nutritional supplementation of Vitamin D is often necessary.

So, what's all of the hype - why is Vitamin D so important?  One of the most common functions associated with Vitamin D is its ability to optimize bone health.  This is because it promotes calcium absorption in the gut and a normal bone formation in our bodies.

According to the newest research published in an April 2013 issue of the journal JAMA Neurology, babies born in the month of May have significantly lower levels of Vitamin D and are at greater risk for developing multiple sclerosis (a chronic degenerative autoimmune disease that attacks the brain and the nervous system) than babies born in November.  This is not the only study that shows the association; previous studies have also found the same outcomes.

In addition to multiple sclerosis, several studies have shown a strong association of low Vitamin D with other autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, and scleroderma.  Besides autoimmune diseases, Vitamin D deficiency also increases the risk of developing other chronic degenerative diseases, including bone loss (osteopenia and osteoporosis), diabetes (type 1 and 2 diabetes), high blood pressure, heart disease, fatigue, muscle and bone pain, depression, memory loss (dementia and Alzheimer), chronic respiratory infections, and various cancers.

So, how do we test the Vitamin D level and what is an optimal level?   A simple blood test called “25-Hydroxy Vitamin D” will tell you both your vitamin D2 (synthetic form) and vitamin D3 (natural form) levels.  The optimal level of Vitamin D should be around 60 to 80 ng/mL, preferably in the natural form of 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D3.

In order to achieve and maintain the optimal level of vitamin D, you may need 2,000 to 10,000 IU/day of Vitamin D3, best taken with food.   Ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D status and discuss the right dosage of Vitamin D3 supplementation for you.

-Posted by Teerawong Kasiolarn, ND, MSAc, LAc.

I Love Spring, But…Aaachoo!

If you are like me and millions of other seasonal allergy sufferers, then you would understand the love and hate relationship I share with the spring season.

I am from a southern part of India where we do not have these distinctive seasonal variations.   I inherited my father’s love for gardening (he is a retired horticulturist), so when I first came here, the beauty of the spring season had me enthralled!   Now, it still does, but I find myself struggling to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors during the springtime due to sneezing, itchy watery eyes, headaches and last but not least fatigue.

Avoidance options like keeping the house and car windows closed, taking a bath every night, and avoiding going out on days with high pollen counts are helpful, but of course we cannot live in a bubble and totally eliminate all exposure!

Here are some of the available preventative methods and treatments which can help you to find relief from seasonal allergies: 

Allopathic medications can help with blocking the release of antihistamine in your body.

·         OTC Antihistamines (i.e. Claritin, Zyrtec, etc.) are useful for mild-moderate symptoms, but do have side effects of drowsiness and nasal dryness.

·         Prescription corticosteroid nasal spray, which decreases nasal inflammation, can be used alone or in conjunction with antihistamines.  Please note that this can take 1-2 weeks to be effective and can also cause local irritation and nose bleeds.

·         OTC/Prescription Antihistamine eye drops can be used to combat eye symptoms.  But, note that they can sting and cause a nasty taste in the mouth (yuck - from personal experience!)

For those who would like to avoid medications and try a more natural route, try these natural remedies:

·         1 – 2 teaspoons of local, wild honey daily can help to build up immune response.  It works gradually and would need to be started 2-3 weeks ahead of allergy season.   A word of caution for people with severe allergies/asthma: start in smaller amounts (i.e. ¼ - ½ teaspoon) and gradually increase.  It is not recommended for children younger than 12 months.

·         Vitamins and supplements such as Quercetin (contained in garlic and onions), omega-3 fatty acid (i.e. flaxseed oil), probiotics, Vitamin C, and Zinc are recommended for allergy relief.

·         Neti Pots – a nasal saline rinse – can be used daily to flush out allergens from the nose.  

·         Herbal medications like Butterbur, Nettle leaf (can be used as a tea or tincture), and Bromelain have been shown to be beneficial.  But, before using an herbal supplement, I strongly advise you to consult with one of our naturopathic doctors.  Some of the herbs can have adverse effects and interact with medications.

·         Studies have shown acupuncture to be helpful in lessening allergy symptoms.  We offer acupuncture in Ashburn, Leesburg and the Gainesville offices.  You can also try Community Acupuncture at The Medical Spa at Nova and in Leesburg.

·         Immunotherapy is available in our allergy clinic in Ashburn.  This helps especially for moderate to severe cases and works great for someone who is looking for a long-term solution.

Last but not least, do not forget to exercise regularly and drink plenty of water every day.  Believe it or not, both of these play a great role in avoiding/maintaining seasonal allergies.

Enjoy Spring!

-Posted by Dr. Afzal Rasheed

Living a Balanced Life

Since having my second daughter in December, life has got a little crazier (OK...a lot crazier!).  As I'm getting back in the swing of things at work, I have been thinking a lot about balance and

how to juggle practicing family medicine with the needs of my own newly expanded family.

I know a lot of you are also struggling with finding balance in your lives because I hear how stressed you are caring for children and elderly parents, working a demanding job and somehow also trying to find time to eat healthfully, exercise, and spend time with your significant other.  It sometimes feels like there are not enough hours in the day!

Two books I have been reading lately have given me hope that finding balance is actually possible. Bria Simpson's “The Balanced Mom” and Joan Borysenko's “Inner Peace for the Busy Woman” have shown me that one of the most important things I can do is attend to my own needs... without guilt.

If I am rested, eating well and taking time to relax and exercise, I will be a better mother and physician.  In addition, they have taught me not to be too hard on myself.  A lot of the stress we feel comes as a result of unrealistic demands that we place on ourselves.  Sometimes it’s okay not to be perfect, just good enough.  Sure it would have been nice to bake cupcakes from scratch for my daughter’s Valentine’s Day party, but I was busy and I don’t think the kids noticed that they came from a mix! 

I am also learning how to ask for help more and I am building up a support system of friends and family.  This one is tough because we all like to think that we can handle things on our own!

I am learning to take what I can get, when I can and to adjust my expectations.  Too busy to go to a yoga class?  Maybe I can take 5 minutes and do a few yoga poses.  Can’t get a sitter for date night with the hubby?  Let’s order in and watch a movie instead.

Simple things like placing a pot of daffodils on my kitchen table or putting up my kid’s pictures at work have proven to be great stress busters.  I still have those crazy, tiring days when nothing seems to go right, but I am hopeful that those days will become fewer and that I can learn to live my life to the fullest without wanting to pull my hair out!

If you are struggling with finding balance in your own life and are feeling the effects of negative stress, consider seeing one of our mind body specialists, Camille Grosso or Dawn Perez and our Certified Wellness Coach Sarah Sutton for help. 

Make it a priority this Spring to learn to live joyfully and to the fullest.  My family and I will be right there with you!

-Posted by Hannah Phillips, MD

Nova Medical & Urgent Care Center Gainesville Now Open!

We are pleased to announce that our new Gainesville office is now open!

Nova Medical & Urgent Care Center Gainesville
6950 Piedmont Center Plaza
Gainesville, VA 20155

The new office includes 8 treatment rooms, on-site digital x-ray, and the following services:

-Family & Internal Medicine
-Urgent Care
-Naturopathic Medicine
-Acupuncture
-Neurofeedback

-Occupational Health

-Worker’sCompensation

To book an appointment with one of our Gainesville providers, please call 540.347.7611.

Make Peace with Your Body

I have coached clients and been in enough conversations with my own friends to know that if we actually spoke to a passerby on the street in the same constantly disparaging ways we talk internally to ourselves (particularly about our bodies), we’d end up in some serious hair-pulling, tear-inducing fight 

Those kinds of thoughts and mistaken beliefs are simply not in line with the gift you are in this world. But, since you’ve likely carried this subconscious attitude for a good long time now, what do you do about it, and how can coaching help?

I describe coaching as four overlapping and ongoing phases:

1. Discovery—Uncovering your blind spots or judgments about life that are unknowingly causing you to get in your own way.
2. Perspective Shift—Choosing a new way of looking at your particular challenges that opens up possibilities for action.
3. Commitment, and
4. Action 

 

When you apply coaching (or, at least my brand of coaching) to the weighty body image conversation, all sorts of transformative shifts happen.  I’ll give you an example of a pivotal “A-ha” moment that helped a client of mine – Emily – completely change course. 

Emily’s initial revelation (Discovery) came during a simple 5-minute visualization exercise that I led in one of my group coaching classes.  When I asked participants to envision their ideal experiences of body health, the overwhelming feeling that Emily got was that she was having FUN.  Now, if you know Emily, she is fun.  She’s funny and always upbeat.  But, when it came to her wellness, she was seeing that piece of her life through the lens of what the industry tells people they “should be” doing—going to the gym 5 days a week and swearing off desserts.  Ugh, so not fun!

Emily decided to suspend this previous belief and choose a way of being that was more intrinsic to the woman she already was (Perspective Shift.)  I challenged Emily only to commit (Commitment) to actions that felt FUN for her (since that’s what losing weight represented for her).  If it wasn’t fun, she was not to do it.  So, she started playing more with her kids and even getting in the pool with them!  She tried new zesty foods and instituted a healthy homemade pizza night on Fridays (Action).

When I coached with Emily a month later, she exclaimed, “This is the easiest weight loss program I’ve ever done.”  And, the cool thing is that when she started relating to her body in a new way – in addition to trimming down to a more natural weight (by a difference of 100 pounds!) – Emily made all sorts of new ground in her career and relationships, as well. 

So, now it’s your turn.  What’s one way you can start to make peace with your body this week?  Please comment below.

--Posted by Sarah Sutton, MS, CHWC, CPT