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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
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] One of the most commonly prescribed classes of cardiac medications is the beta blocking drugs. I want to talk about the impact of beta blockers when it comes to different nutrients in your system, because if you are one of the millions and millions of Americans who are prescribed a beta blocker, and this can be something like atenolol or propranolol, metroprolol, they usually end in “olol.” Well, not… Usually they do end in “olol.” Beta blocking drugs are known to really reduce the effect of certain catecholamines, such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, which is key because it helps to relax the blood vessels, which can help with proper blood flow throughout the circulatory system. It can also help to improve upon the nerve conduction system of the heart, as well as regulates or slows down the heart rate. And many people are taking beta blockers.† [00:01:47]
[00:01:47] Now there’s a common symptom that goes along with being on a beta blocker, and that’s what I want to talk about today, because it’s a direct correlation to the nutrient depletion that beta blockers are known for. So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH. And it’s, it’s key to understand that there exists something known as drug-induced nutrient depletion. This can happen across many different pharmaceutical classes of drugs, and the nutrients to which they deplete can vary from one class of drugs to the next. So when we’re looking at the beta blockers, we know specifically that beta blockers will deplete our natural stores of coenzyme Q10, as well as melatonin. So this is important on a couple of different fronts because one of the most commonly complained about side effects of being on a beta blocker is that you have absolutely no energy. Beta blockers are just known to make people feel tired, and part of this is that that lowering of the the heart rate and the downregulation of their epinephrine and norepinephrine. So once we’re dealing with that, we’re helping to support the heart for whatever condition you’re contending with, but we’re getting this side effect of fatigue. We know that when people are on beta blockers, there is a great likelihood that fatigue will be a common thing that they will complain about. Oftentimes, people will take their beta blocker, maybe in the morning and then by, you know, noon or the afternoon, they feel incredibly tired.† [00:03:37]
[00:03:38] Part of this is due to the fact that we know that the beta blocking drugs depletes over time the body’s ability to produce coenzyme Q10. We know that coenzyme Q10 is naturally occurring antioxidant in the body that is responsible in part for the generation of energy coming from your cellular mitochondria. So hence, when someone is feeling fatigued or lethargic and perhaps also not getting restful night’s sleep, we have to look at the two nutrients that are directly impacted from those beta blocking drugs, which is going to be CoQ10 as well as melatonin. So generally speaking, anyone who is on a beta blocker should at minimum be utilizing CoQ10 Ubiquinol as part of a daily supplementation routine to offset that negation that occurs with natural production of CoQ10 in the body. So you want to make sure that you’re supplementing with that so we don’t create this significant deficiency so your little cells can still generate energy.† [00:04:45]
WHY COENZYME Q10 UBIQUINOL IS SO IMPORTANT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 233. Listen Now>>
[00:04:46] The other thing that you want to pay close attention to is your sleep cycle. Are you starting to see sleep disturbances? Are you finding it difficult to have a full restful night’s sleep? Is it difficult to, you know, maintain sleep, which is when I say full, restful night sleep. Maybe you’re getting up, you know, episodically throughout the night. And of course, we have to look at other reasons why that can be occurring. You know, if there’s an issue going on with, you know, prostate health, for example, in, in men. But this is an area where I’ve talked to so many people who have been on beta blockers for years and years and years to control their high blood pressure or to, you know, help with heart rate. And they’re like, “Oh, I can’t sleep, you know, I just I have just horrible sleep patterns.” And they’re not even aware of the fact that their beta blocker that they’ve been on for all these years is basically taking a hammer to your natural release of melatonin. And so without adequate melatonin, of course, you’re not going to be getting adequate sleep.† [00:05:53]
[00:05:54] So you have to look at the multiple metabolic and physiological ways in which the beta blockers can negatively impact your health. So with CoQ10 deficiency being a very good likelihood and also looking at melatonin becoming deficient, you can now start to see this association between sleep disturbances, and of course, once you’re not getting restful night’s sleep, you’re going to have, you know, reduction in normal energy production and functionality throughout the day. And then, you know, you have no CoQ10 to allow the cells to drive up any additional energy. So it’s multifactorial here. And what’s interesting is that the millions and millions of prescriptions, I think I can just look at one just metoprolol, it’s like the fifth top prescribed medication in the United States and annually close to 75 million prescriptions written. So what that breaks down to in terms of total number of individual people who are taking that were over 15 million. And that’s just one drug. You know, we have a whole class of drugs, but you have just one drug, metoprolol, which is going to create the situation. And when I say it is going to, we know that drug-induced nutrient depletion is a real deal thing. It’s not a, oh, it might happen. It’s a when it’s going to happen. Does that happen within the first month of you being on a medication? Is it delayed over time?† [00:07:37]
[00:07:38] But you know, the things that you can certainly pay attention to is number one, you can go have your CoQ10 level tested and you can see that that level is low and then you can make sure that you are supplementing to get yourself to the point where you’re having healthy levels once again. With the melatonin, if you are noticing patterns of sleep disruption, then incorporating melatonin into your routine, you may be taking 3mg of melatonin, and that’s usually a good place to start. Melatonin dosing is going to vary from one person to the next, so 3mg may be too much for one person, may be not enough for someone else. So, you know, 3mg is generally a good place for a starting range when it comes to melatonin supplementation. But you have to be cognizant of these things because your doctor will not tell you. It’s just not going to be on the side of the medication bottle saying, “Oh, you know, you know, beware, beware. You may end up with fatigue and, you know, disrupted sleep, and it’s because you’re not going to have enough CoQ10 or enough melatonin.” You are not going to get these warnings. It’s not going to be in the little pamphlet that you get from the pharmacist. This is something that is rarely ever discussed, but yet so wide known and physicians, unfortunately, who are the ones who are writing out the prescription, are usually not aware of the actual nutrients that can get depleted. And so they’ll have a patient who presents who says, “Oh, I’m on, you know, atenolol and I just, I have no energy,” and they’re more concerned about, “Oh, your blood pressure’s good, so that’s all I care about.” But the the person who’s on that medication is dealing with all of these problems in terms of chronic, you know, fatigue, which can then start to impact mood. And we can see these things. We can see how insomnia and depression and this will then start to impact other areas and we can start to see problems in blood glucose fluctuations. So by just depleting coQ10 and melatonin, we’re now impacting other systems. And we’re not going to have that aging gracefully component one, we have low coenzyme Q10, so all of these are certainly problematic.† [00:10:08]
[00:10:09] And understanding that melatonin is far beyond that of just the support when it comes to sleep, we understand that melatonin is doing many different things in our body to maintain our health. Remember, when we think about the endocrine system and you think about different hormones, we have to be cognizant of the fact that these nutrients or these hormones have many different utilizations. So even when we think about cognitive function, cognitive ability. Certainly, melatonin has been looked at as having these neuroprotective properties. So it’s not just about, “Oh, let’s, you know, take melatonin to help us sleep.” We know that there are neuroprotective properties to it. We certainly can see how it can enhance our overall immune defenses, which is really very important as well. So when it comes to our memory, when it comes to attention, focus, all of these matter and all of these can be impacted just because you are on a medication that is meant to help whatever heart condition you’re on. But because you are now depleting out your coQ10 and your melatonin, you can see how you can have that spiraling effect of many other systems becoming implicated into that.† [00:11:30]
DIET AND NUTRITION TIPS FOR PCOS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 321
[00:11:31] So the point that I’m making is, if you are on a beta blocker… Remember, those are the drugs that end in “olol.” So whether it’s propranolol, atenolol, and of course, I’m giving you the generic names. But if you are on one of these medications or if you know someone and mind you, the beta blockers are usually the more common drugs that are prescribed in that setting of heart disease. Also, the ACE inhibitors, and I’ll do another podcast where I zero in on ACE inhibitors and the nutrients that you have to watch out for in terms of depletion when being on an ACE inhibitor. Then I’ll also do one on statin drugs because we know that when it comes down to ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, statin drugs, these are commonly prescribed medications that millions of Americans are on. And if you are not aware of the nutrients that are depleted, you will pay the price in the end with systemic involvement of many other systems. And this is what we are trying to avoid. So if you’re on a beta blocker, you know someone on a beta blocker, make sure that they are taking their coQ10 and to really monitor their sleep cycle. And if they find that they’re struggling with that, then the addition of melatonin certainly would be advantageous at that point in time.† [00:12:48]
[00:12:49] So that is 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. Do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:12:49]
Did you know that the drugs you are taking for issues such as allergies or high blood pressure may be causing sexual dysfunction? Many commonly-prescribed medications can lead to problems like low libido.
Many times, discussing sex can be considered taboo, but the truth is that most people experience sexual dysfunction as they age. There are a variety of reasons this may occur, including nutrient deficiencies, stress and more.
burnout
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
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] Stress and burnout, part two. We’re going to tackle this and we’re going to talk about nutrients today. So we know that burnout is a real thing across all different occupational fields. Definitely, most of the research has zeroed in on healthcare, so statistically speaking, this is where most of the data is populated from. And we can clearly see that in healthcare, burnout is very high, not just amongst physicians, but amongst all workers in healthcare.† [00:01:14]
[00:01:15] Now, it was first described back in the 1970s, burnout syndrome. It was basically defining it as this work-related constellation of different symptoms that occurs in an individual without any prior history of mood disorders or any type of a psychiatric disorder. But they said it really kind of is triggered by this discrepancy between the expectation and the ideals of the employee and the actual requirement of their position. So maybe you go into to work and you think, “OK, this is what I’m supposed to do,” and then you find out, “Oh, wait, they want me to do X, Y and Z. And maybe that’s not my area of strength and so now I’m stressed out about this.” And then over time, we start to to see that all of these factors build up because we never address the, the underlying initial stressor. So then we start to drag and we find ourselves becoming more and more just low mood, no energy, difficult to concentrate. Even when we do accomplish something, as I mentioned in part one, we really are just like, “Eh, OK, so I finished that job,” instead of patting yourself on the back and saying, “Hey, you know, I actually did a pretty good job with that.” These are the issues that we see in burnout syndrome.† [00:02:35]
[00:02:37] So what can we do? I had mentioned in part one that it really comes down to like this multimodal approach in order to really get a grip on this so it does not take you over. So we have to think about what are we eating? Are we adding fuel to our fire because we are not eating the right foods? So having an anti-inflammatory diet, hence a Mediterranean diet, that’s going to incorporate fruits and vegetables, good, healthy fats. These are all key because they’re very nourishing at that cellular level.† [00:03:13]
[00:03:14] Now we also have to think about keeping inflammation at bay because we know stress will drive inflammation and inflammation is not good. So the combination of the two creates a real big problem in the body. So looking at something as simple as the addition of omega-3 fatty acids, which we know have been shown in clinical trials to target people who have major depressive disorder, that once they give them adequate amounts of omega-3s, this can help to improve upon someone who is clinically diagnosed as having major depressive disorder. So even if you don’t have major depressive disorder, but you just feel completely run down and you are at that burnout phase, then the addition of omega-3, whether that’s coming in the form of fish oil, whether that’s coming in the form of krill or green-lipped muscle, which you would find in our InflamMune formulation, or if you use flax for the vegetarian choice, any of those options. The key is to get the omega-3 into a daily routine.† [00:04:17]
[00:04:18] And then we can think about nutrients that can help with that energy component because we know that when we start to hit that true fatigue, that exhaustion can start to set in. And this is very difficult to be able to bounce back from. So this is why we look at the nutrients that we know that the cells need when it comes to making energy within the mitochondria. So we look at things such as carnitine, the amino acid carnitine. So whether you’re using straight L-carnitine at about 1000mg per day or you use the acetylated form, so Alcar, so the acetyl-L-carnitine at 1000mg per day. Both are very, very beneficial. The Alcar, the acetyl group, what that does is it helps to facilitate more of that carnitine across that blood-brain barrier to really potentiate energy production within the brain. So the Alcar may be the best choice.† [00:05:21]
[00:05:23] Now we also have to think about what’s another thing that the body needs to make energy. Coenzyme Q10. So supplementing with Ubiquinol, the antioxidant reduced form of CoQ10, will help to facilitate once again that energy production within the mitochondria. So we’ve got our fish oil, we’ve got our coenzyme Q10 Ubiquinol, we have our carnitine on board and then we say, “Well, what about something that’s going to help within the HPA axis?” Let’s think about rhodiola extract, which we know has been studied and shown to be incredibly helpful when it comes to targeting issues with fatigue, in the setting of chronic fatigue, as well as for burnout. So this is a absolutely fabulous adrenal adaptogenic herb that can really help in a non-stimulant way, so it’s not going to make you feel jittery. So sometimes when people are really feeling like they’re dragging and they have to go to work. They’re like, “Let me take some type of this high energy drink,” and the next thing you know, you feel all, like you have the jitters. We don’t want that to happen. So we know that with rhodiola, this will help to enhance the ability for that cell to make energy. But at the same time, it helps with that regulation of an over-responsive cortisol response system.† [00:06:48]
[00:06:49] Now, I’m going to tell you about a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial where they utilized rhodiola extract in the treatment of subjects who had stress-related fatigue. So what does that kind of sound like? Stress-related fatigue? They could be talking about burnout syndrome here. And they took this group of individuals and they gave them either rhodiola extract or they gave them a placebo. In the group that was given rhodiola, they found an enormous response when it came to the rhodiola, exerting an anti-fatigue effect. They had an increase in their mental performance, their ability to concentrate. They had this decrease in the cortisol response when they could actually test their cortisol levels and see cortisol levels had come down. So they said that this was incredibly beneficial in awakening stress in burnout patients and patients who had chronic fatigue syndrome. How long did this take? This was a 28-day trial. They were seeing improvements within the first few days of this trial.† [00:08:03]
[00:08:04] We can see the same thing when we look at ginseng. Perfect example of that would be looking at the True Energy formulation, which is a combination of rhodiola extract along with ginseng extract. So this is a real power punch when it comes to enhancing energy production. Now we also include in the True Energy formulation theanine, which we know is a key amino acid when it comes to the way that our neurotransmitter GABA is released, which helps to keep us calm. So we’ve got these two nutrients the rhodiola plus the ginseng extract to help with the energy. And then we have the theanine for this overall sense of well-being. So it’s an absolutely fabulous formulation. So that’s True Energy.† [00:08:50]
HOW PANAX GINSENG SUPPORTS SAFE ENERGY – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 183. Listen Now>>
[00:08:50] We also have the Energy HxⓇ, which combines our CoQ10 Ubiquinol along with ginseng. So now you can see how there are different nutrients that can target cell energy production, ease inflammation, help to support neurotransmitters. So many different ways that we can help ourselves manage the daily stressors. So if we’re eating the right things, we’re not, you know, starting the day off with bad carbohydrates and sugar water. We start the day with good, healthy foods. Foods that should be included would be things like fruits, seeds, nuts, eggs, avocado, for example. These are all really power cell foods, foods that are going to ease inflammation in the body and allow that cell to create and generate the energy that it needs to be able to function and manage those daily stressors. Remember, if our energy stores are depleted, then we go back to that coping reserve. Our coping reserve is going to have a very difficult time and we’re going to slide right down into that burnout. We want to be able to remain resilient through all of the different stressors that we have, whether work-related, whether outside of work, whatever stressors that you have. We want to be able to stay resilient throughout that. And there are these nutrients that we can be utilizing that can help us in that achievement.† [00:10:22]
[00:10:23] So we’ve got True Energy, which is the packets. We have the Energy HxⓇ. We’ve got our Fish Oil, the Krill Oil, the flaxseed. We also have basic things like magnesium. And thinking about B-vitamins, so the methylated B-vitamin is an excellent option for those who are feeling run down. All of the different ways that those individual B-vitamins are responsible or play a role in the manufacturing of different neurotransmitters in our brain to help to support our mood, our outlook. There are key ways in which magnesium helps to support our sleep cycle. So just the addition of magnesium, fish oil, methylated B-vitamins, even if we were just doing those and not even looking at the adrenal adaptogenic herbs, looking at the ginseng, looking at the rhodiola, we would still be gandering ourselves a lot more support just from adding those three nutrients alone. Omega-3s, methylated B-vitamins, magnesium.† [00:11:31]
[00:11:32] But as you can now see, burnout is a real thing, and what it is, it is the result of having unmanaged chronic stress. We know the detrimental effects of stress throughout the entire body. It will affect every single system. So when you have stress and we all do, we need to be mindful of that. We cannot ignore it, push it off to the side and say this is just the way it is. We have to find ways to manage that stress. So having your own time during the day where you can just pause and be reflective, think about special things in your life that bring you joy. Don’t lose those things. Mindfulness is certainly key to this. Nutrients, in addition to a healthy Mediterranean diet, is key and staying physically active, getting out into your environment. Don’t become reclusive and withdrawn. Go out and see that there are birds, that there are squirrels. These are things that can make such a difference. You know, just the act of walking. Just walking for 10, 15 minutes can do so much for recalibrating our brain and our neurotransmitters. So we know stress exists. We know that chronic stress leads to burnout. We know burnout is a real thing. Now we’ve got some tools in our toolbox that we can turn to if you are feeling stressed or burned out.† [00:13:03]
[00:13:04] So 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. Do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:13:04]