Tag: osteoporosis

The True Role of Vitamin K, Invite Health Podcast, Episode 668

The True Role of Vitamin K, Invite Health Podcast, Episode 668

Subscribe Today! Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode. THE TRUE ROLE OF VITAMIN K, INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 668 Hosted by Amanda Williams, MD, MPH. *Intro Music* InViteⓇ Health Podcast: [00:00:04] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed health care 

Calcium…Why Is It So Important?

Calcium…Why Is It So Important?

Allie Might, INHC, AADP, ATT dives in to why calcium is an important supplement and how you can add it into your routine to reap the benefits

From Bones to Osteopenia: The Benefits of Calcium- InVite Health Podcast, Episode 584

From Bones to Osteopenia: The Benefits of Calcium- InVite Health Podcast, Episode 584

osteopenia osteopenia osteopenia


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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.

From Bones to Osteopenia: The Benefits of Calcium- InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 584

Hosted by Allie Might, INHC, AADP, ATT

*Intro music*

InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!†

*Intro music*

Allie Might, INHC, AADP, ATT: [00:00:41] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health podcast, where today we’ll discuss the ins and outs of calcium. This is Allie Might, Integrative nutrition health coach and functional medicine coach. Here to go over the benefits of calcium. The discussion regarding calcium seems to be one of the most common nutrients talked about and studied. It’s even widely recommended by both the conventional and natural medical communities. Calcium can be beneficial for a variety of reasons, depending on where we are in our life at any given time. I get asked on a weekly basis so many questions about calcium. How much calcium do I need to I really need to take calcium. Do I need more? If I have osteopenia or osteoporosis, I have a fractured bone, do I need calcium to help heal? What’s the best way to get my calcium? Is calcium enough or do I need other nutrients? The questions can be endless and also important to understand. Let’s break this down question by question.† [00:01:45]

THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF CALCIUM – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 365 >> Listen Now!

[00:01:48] How much calcium do I need? Well according to the recommendations set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA, one should get 1300 milligrams of calcium per day. While the food we eat does contain some calcium, I like to encourage someone to typically supplement with a thousand milligrams of calcium. This should have you on target for the FDA’s recommendation.† [00:02:12]

[00:02:15] Do I really need to take calcium? Yes, of course you do. As kids, we were always told to drink milk, one of the sources of calcium, so we can grow to have strong bones. As adults, we want to maintain those strong bones. Strong bones can be less likely to develop signs of deteriorating density, less likely to be injured, and may even have an easier time healing from a potential injury.† [00:02:43]

[00:02:45] Do I need more if I have osteopenia or osteoporosis? Well, the short answer is no. However, consistency is key. Anyone that has been told that they may be at increased risk and or have been diagnosed with bone density test ordered by their doctor, should be diligent about getting the daily calcium they need and every single day. In an instance like this, a variety of other vitamins and minerals may be recommended, as well as a possible recommendation of a prescription from the doctor.† [00:03:19]

[00:03:22] I have a fractured bone, do I need calcium to help heal? Yes. And I’m going to tell you a personal story here. Back in 2016, I broke the humerus bone in my arm. This is the bone between the elbow and the shoulder. It was in a cast and sling for about two months. However, it was anticipated originally that it may take up to three months. During this time, I took the opportunity to read a lot about bone healing and all the research that has been done on the subject. I used a calcium formula like bone food powder along with powdered collagen, like Collagen Hx. I also started reading about the benefits of zinc and vitamin C for healing. So I added these to my daily supplements. I also noticed that I started having intense cravings for fish, which I typically don’t eat. I was curious as to why this craving was happening, so I started doing some research and found a variety of studies showing that fish oil may have on supporting calcium absorption as well as the anti-inflammatory benefits. While all injuries and fractures can be different, this is my personal experience and how I help to manage my at home recovery, including follow up doctor visits and suggested exercises.† [00:04:44]

I KNEED BONE HEALTH TO HELP MY PAIN >> Read Now!

[00:04:47] So what’s the best way to get my calcium? Well, in addition to calcium rich foods, let’s go over the calcium supplements we offer here at InVite Health. Let’s begin with our basic formula. Calcium, magnesium, citrate. This is a simple formula containing of 250 milligrams of calcium and 125 milligrams of magnesium per tablet. I typically recommend taking two tablets twice a day with meals. Be advised that these are very large tablets but can be cut or crushed. Next, we have the Calplex Hx, which is one of our classic formulas. The calcium in this formula is partnered with some vitamin D, phosphorus and boron, which are also helpful for bone health. Just like the calcium magnesium, I also typically recommend two tablets twice a day with meals. While these tablets are a bit smaller than the calcium magnesium, you may still want to add a magnesium supplement with the Calplex Hx. Lastly, as my favorite calcium supplement the bone powder. This is a complex formula consisting of calcium and magnesium, along with vitamins D and K and minerals such as boron and silica. I’m a big fan of powders, so this is easy to take and easily absorbed. This is my go to suggestion any time I talk about bone health. Try adding just one scoop a day to water or plain yogurt. Is calcium enough or do I need other nutrients? While calcium is such a building block for the bones, quite often complementary supplements may be helpful. The most common are magnesium and vitamin D. Usually magnesium is given in a 2 to 1 ratio with calcium. For example, when taking 500 milligrams of calcium, then 250 milligrams of magnesium would be complementary. Vitamin D is also recommended according to the level of routine blood work from your doctor. Collagen can also assist in bone building as it creates bone matrix. Strontium is sometimes recommended as a mineral to be taken on an empty stomach away from other supplements to support bone health and those with osteopenia or osteoporosis.† [00:07:13]

[00:07:15] I hope this has helped you understand the importance of calcium. For more information on all the benefits of calcium and information on bone health, check out my companion blog on our website, invitehealth.com. You can also contact me, Allie Might at our location on Second Avenue and 71st Street in Manhattan, by phone at 212-249-2036 or by email. At [email protected]. I want to thank you for tuning into the InViteⓇ Health podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting, invitehealth.com/podcast. Please make sure you subscribe and leave us a review. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InVite Health. And we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health podcast. Until then, stay healthy.† [00:07:15]

What Supplement Is Good For Hair, Skin, Nails, And Joint Health?

What Supplement Is Good For Hair, Skin, Nails, And Joint Health?

Written By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT For further questions or concerns email me at [email protected] Everyone’s heard of collagen. It’s typically associated with cosmetic fillers and beauty products. However, collagen is also an essential nutrient as it is vital to every part of the body. 

I Kneed Bone Health to Help my Pain

I Kneed Bone Health to Help my Pain

We want to try to reduce the risk of bone health issues before it is to late. This is why it is so important to make sure you are eating a anti-inflammatory diet and getting nutrients that can support your overall bone health.

What Is Lupus? – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 522

What Is Lupus? – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 522

lupus

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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.

What Is Lupus? – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 522

Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH

*Intro music*

InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InVite Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InVite Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!

*Intro music*

Amanda Williams, MPH:

[00:00:40] When it comes to our immune system, sometimes things can go haywire, and today I want to talk about a autoimmune condition that commonly affects women. So 9 out of 10 people who are diagnosed with lupus are women, and we know that just according to statistics, we recognize that there’s roughly about one and a half million Americans who have a form of lupus. Certainly, men can be impacted by this. Children, teenagers. But for the most part, we find that a good 90% are going to be women. Between usually the ages of 20 and 40 is when the initial diagnosis occurs with lupus. So I want to talk a little bit about what exactly lupus is and what you can be doing if you yourself have been diagnosed with this, or if you happen to have a friend, a family member, a coworker who has been diagnosed with lupus.† [00:01:43]

[00:01:43] So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH, Scientific Director here at InVite Health and lupus is a incredibly detrimental systemic disease. Whenever our immune system decides that it’s going to rear its ugly head and create havoc for us, that is a big problem. And there are so many different autoimmune conditions. You can look at things such as lupus, we can look at rheumatoid arthritis, we can look at diabetes. We know that there are many different ways to which our immune system can go from being a very protective thing in our, in our body to something that can be very destructive.† [00:02:30]

[00:02:31] Now we know that lupus has a common driving force, and that is inflammation. Now when you look at lupus, this is… We usually just shorten it to lupus, but we’re talking about systemic lupus erythematosus and SLE. Now we know that when it comes to SLE, hence just lupus, we’re dealing generally with multiple areas in the body. So the skin, kidneys, heart, the entire cardiovascular system, the nervous system, connective tissue, the skeletal muscular system, as well as other areas that can be impacted because of the significant inflammation that occurs. So when people have lupus, oftentimes the way that they present and many of the complications is that there are multiple organ systems that have been impacted by this. So this puts someone with lupus at a higher risk of having a heart attack, having diabetes, having chronic kidney disease, bone loss, osteoporosis, as well as different blood disorders.† [00:03:44]

PAINFUL KIDNEY STONES – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 44. Listen Now>>

[00:03:46] We can see that there are certain areas in the country to which lupus diagnosis can be at a higher rate. So we know that there is a Vitamin D connection to lupus. So you’re going to see higher rates of lupus being diagnosed throughout the Midwest, as well as the Northeast than you do in other parts of the country, including the the west coast of the country, as well as the Southeast. So we know that Vitamin D, which remember, Vitamin D is critical to our immune system. We know that Vitamin D is definitely playing a significant role. We recognize that not only is it geographically driven, but it is also very much so race driven. And we are going to see higher rates of lupus in those who are African-American, Asian-American, Native American as well as Latina women. You see this in a much greater rate, the incidence in these women, much more than you do in Caucasians. This is an area where I think it’s commonly overlooked as a public health issue, and there are so many things that should be done and can be done to improve upon the health outcomes for anyone who is diagnosed with lupus and many of the signs and symptoms of lupus can vary from one person to the next.† [00:05:18]

[00:05:19] Now, the actual diagnosis is going to come down to serum blood levels of those autoantibodies. So looking at the antibodies in the blood. But we know that sometimes people or people present with just really extreme fatigue. They may have painful, swollen joints, muscle pain. Many times people know the famous butterfly rash, but it is a rash across the cheeks. Now, that doesn’t mean that every person who has lupus will develop that because there are different types of lupus and the different systems or organs to which lupus attacks can vary from one person to the next. For some people, they can experience it with pain in their chest when breathing. So there’s many different ways. Headaches is another one that sometimes people will present with, you know, swollen joints and headaches, and it’s like what is actually happening? And then they do the serum tests and then they can see, yes, indeed, this is a case of lupus.† [00:06:27]

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[00:06:28] Now, conventional treatment for lupus is very… It can be very beneficial, but it can also come with a whole host of different side effects. So many of the anti-malarial drugs, which are antiparasitic drugs, are oftentimes prescribed to those who have lupus. Now, those come with a whole host of different side effects, including significant damage that can occur within the liver. We can definitely look at the overuse of anti-inflammatory drugs, the NSAIDs, so chronic use of NSAIDs in someone who has lupus can lead to damaging effects once again when it comes to the health of the kidneys, as well as the liver, just depending upon which NSAID someone is using.† [00:07:19]

[00:07:20] So what can be beneficial in terms of what someone with lupus can do? We know that looking at the diet, making sure that we’re not adding insult to injury by having a pro-inflammatory diet foods that are going to drive up even more inflammation, so you want to have an anti-inflammatory diet. Fruits and vegetables. High antioxidant foods. Healthy fats. Things that are going to help to lower your inflammatory burden. Understanding how much stress plays a role into this. Remember, stress will drive inflammation as well. So management of stress, whether this is, you know, finding ways to do meditation or yoga or exercise, all of these make a big difference.† [00:08:08]

[00:08:10] And then we have to look at different natural interventions. Knowing that Vitamin D is directly linked to this… If you look at people who have lupus and you test their serum Vitamin D levels, you are likely to find significant insufficiency and even deficient Vitamin D levels. But we can also look at how Vitamin E, you know, inadequate Vitamin E intake can be another driving factor for this inflammation that drives up in the system. We can look at how omega-3s, so by incorporating in fish oil or krill oil, how beneficial this can be for easing inflammation. Of course, we can look at hormonal pathways, and they’ve been able to show… There’s a very important adrenal hormone known as DHEA, and low levels of DHEA have been observed in patients who have lupus, as well as other inflammatory diseases. So oftentimes you will find doctors who will prescribe DHEA to help to improve upon the health of those who have these inflammatory autoimmune conditions.† [00:09:27]

LOW DHEA LEVELS MAY EXPLAIN CHRONIC INFLAMMATION – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 229. Listen Now>>

[00:09:28] So lupus itself, we know it’s a systemic autoimmune disease driven by inflammation, so the immune system is attacking tissues in the body. We know that when it comes to which system is going to be affected most, this is going to vary from one person to the next. We know that there are different types of lupus. You have SLE, which is systemic lupus, meaning that this is affecting multiple systems in the body. You have discoid lupus. Now this is… Generally speaking, discoid lupus is only affecting the skin. Then you have drug-induced lupus. So this is when you were on a particular medication that then triggers an autoimmune response. There are different drugs that are frequently associated with creating this drug-induced lupus. So this can be many of the cardiovascular drugs antiarrhythmic drugs, hydralazine, which is a blood pressure lowering drug. So we can see how it is that lupus can present in different ways for different people.† [00:10:42]

[00:10:43] But at the end of the day, what we need to do is make sure that we are doing everything in our power to lower that inflammatory burden in the system. So we want to make sure that when it comes to the dietary intake that you are adhering to an anti-inflammatory diet so that Mediterranean diet really comes into play. We know that we don’t want to have to continuously turn to the anti-malarial drugs and the high dose NSAIDs in order to try to regulate this. So we want to try and help our immune system out ourselves by giving the immune system adequate nutrients, key vitamins and minerals. Those omega-3 fatty acids that we know are so key. So Vitamin D is going to be the number one thing that you look at. We know that when it comes to lupus, deficiency of Vitamin D is going to be incredibly high. And if someone with lupus doesn’t have Vitamin D deficiency, it’s pretty much guarantee that they will have insufficiency, meaning low levels, but not to the level of complete deficiency. So having your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level tested is incredibly important so that you’re supplementing with the right amount of Vitamin D every day to get you back into a healthy range to once again help to regulate the immune system response. Remember, when you’re taking Vitamin D, it’s always advantageous to take magnesium to help with that proper absorption. We want to incorporate in our fish oil or krill oil, or if you want to use the vegetarian option, using flaxseed. I always encourage anyone who has been diagnosed with lupus to incorporate Vitamin E. We know that Vitamin E certainly plays a essential role in terms of stabilizing cellular membranes. So we want to make sure that those immune cells have that support, and we know that Vitamin E certainly can block that autoimmune attack just through that action of stabilizing the cell membrane. They’ve done studies where they’ve shown how Vitamin D supplementation can actually reduce the level of autoantibodies in lupus patients.† [00:13:22]

[00:13:23] We have to look at other herbal extracts. There have been many studies done with curcumin and understanding that the bioactive components those curcuminoids can do a wonderful job in terms of easing that inflammation through targeting and suppressing or lowering different cytokines that are directly linked with lupus. So looking at things like different interleukins and tumor necrosis factor alpha. We can look at the clinical trials where they’ve given curcumin extract to patients with lupus, and they can start to see an improvement across all different markers, including those who have significant impact to their kidneys. Remember, lupus is going to attack multiple organ systems. When it attacks the kidneys and creates kidney disease because of lupus, so you get nephritis, so inflammation within the kidney, they can see how it is that that curcumin can help to stabilize that kidney function. So a lot of different things that we can be looking at. We can look at that hormonal component. And if your DHEA levels are low, then looking at supplementation with DHEA can help to create that balance once again within that adrenal stress response, but at the same time helping to heighten the body’s immune system, so it’s not going into this self-destructive mode. So lupus is something that you definitely want to make sure that if you know someone, if you, you yourself have lupus, that you take action in terms of diet, exercise and proper supplementation to have a better management of this autoimmune condition.† [00:15:21]

[00:15:22] So that’s all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InVite Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @invitehealth and we will see you next time for another episode of the InVite Health Podcast.† [00:15:22]

*Exit music*