September 9, 2024

From a Naturopathic Point of View

From a Naturopathic Point of View

Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND

Throughout this series I will be reviewing certain health topics that I find tend to be the least well understood. I especially want to focus on a holistic point of view. The fist topic that I want to address starts simply with 1 word, control. What in the world do I mean by that? Well one of the most important things you can do for your overall health is to keep control of any chronic disease that you may have.

One example of a chronic disease that it is important to keep control of is diabetes. In my clinical experience having diabetes that is not well controlled is one of the biggest risk factors for complications. I’m going to be rather blunt here but honest. If you’re having complications from uncontrolled diabetes you have to address the underlying cause, the uncontrolled diabetes to really see results. For example a common complication of diabetes is neuropathy. To really control neuropathy it is critical that blood sugar be controlled. One way I describe the situation is as follows. If you have neuropathy with uncontrolled diabetes it’s like trying to fill a bucket that has a small hole in it. You may make some progress but until you fix the hole it will never be filled. In this case until you get the blood sugar controlled there is a limit to how much progress you can have with the symptoms of neuropathy. There are many possible complications to having diabetes. The most common complications include heart disease, kidney disease and neuropathy. Additionally complications can include diabetic retinopathy or damage to the eyes. Type 2 diabetes can also increase the risk of dementia and depression. Having trouble with hearing is also more common in diabetics. Lastly diabetes can also affect our skin and mouth. Unfortunately the less controlled your blood sugar the higher the risk of these complications. How do you know if your diabetes is well controlled? One of the best things you can do is to do any blood tests your doctor may recommend. For example A1C is a common test used to monitor your blood sugar. (1)

Another chronic disease that can have dangerous complications if not well controlled is blood pressure. There’s a good reason why high blood pressure is called the silent killer. Uncontrolled blood pressure is frankly very dangerous. It is often asymptomatic. Having uncontrolled blood pressure is a huge risk for a heart attack or stroke. (2) If you have high blood pressure it is imperative that you listen to any recommendations form your doctor. While I understand the concerns that medications can generate having uncontrolled blood pressure can cause complications that are life changing. I am not going to sugar coat this. Having a heart attack or stroke can lead to life changing complications that often times permanently change your life due to the damage that results.

Another concern that people seem to brush off is cholesterol. For some reason lately there’s been a rumor that having high cholesterol isn’t all that bad or dangerous. However this is not the case. Having high cholesterol greatly increases your risk of heart attack or stroke. (3)

Overall in my Clinical experience having uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol all increase the risk of very dangerous complications. So what can you do? Well it’s important to talk to your doctor and ask an Invite Nutritionist if the following are right for you:

Grape Seed is an amazing supplement. Studies have found that it can help to normalize blood sugar. (4) In addition to helping with blood sugar studies have found that grape seed can help regulate blood pressure. (5) Studies have even found that grape seed can help to regulate our cholesterol levels. (6) In my experience grape seed extract is an amazing addition to any health protocol. Please see Invite’s Grape Seed extract!
Chromium has been found in studies to help with insulin resistance and cholesterol levels. (7) Please see Invite’s Chromium and Gluco Hx!
Garlic has been found to help with lowering both blood pressure and cholesterol levels! (8) Please see Invite’s Aged Garlic.
Cinnamon has been found to help with lowering both blood sugar and cholesterol levels. (9) Please see Invite’s C-Betics.
Coq10 has been found to be beneficial for a number of heart related concerns. (10) Please see Invite’s Coq10 Ubiquinol in both 60mg and 120mg. And Our Oral Q10!
Sterols Plus – Please see my blog post on this amazing formula!