Can Nutrition Help With ADHD? – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 532
Did you know that diet can impact both ADD and ADHD? If you’re eating sugary foods, you may be making things worse, but foods packed with vitamins and minerals may help.
Tag: magnesium
Your Eye Doctor Needs To Know This Supplement – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 529
If you spend your days staring at phone, TV or computer screens, you need to know about what supplements can benefit your eye health, and your eye doctor should, too.
TMJ vs Teeth Grinding – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 528
TMJ
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
TMJ vs Teeth Grinding – InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode 528
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] Have you ever bit down on a piece of food so hard that you feel almost a shooting pain sensation go across your face? This is a common occurrence that can happen, but what’s even more common is when you look at the statistics for TMJ, and that’s what I want to talk about today, is what is TMJ? What is the difference between someone grinding their teeth at night and actually having TMJ? Because sometimes people get the two slightly confused and the two can be linked for sure. But I want to talk about the difference and what TMJ actually is and what you can be doing if you feel that you fall into this category, or perhaps you’ve been to your dentist and your dentist has diagnosed you with TMJ. So I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH. And when it comes to TMJ, this is a lot more common than we actually recognize. I always look at things in terms of prevalence rates and when you have anything that’s creeping over 2, 3% of the population, that’s a fairly common ailment. Now, when you look at the statistics, when it comes to TMJ, this number is really quite large. It’s estimated that upwards of 10%, if not even higher, of the population suffers from TMJ.† [00:02:04]
[00:02:05] So what is TMJ? Well, that is your temporomandibular joint, and some people have a diagnosis of what is known as temporomandibular joint or muscular disorder within that joint space. We know that this is more common in women than it is in men, and we can look at reasons for why women are more prone to experiencing TMJ disorders than men. And oftentimes we can look at things like birth control pills, so oral contraceptives and utilizing synthetic estrogens oftentimes can be linked to a inflammation within that joint space itself. And the way that dentists or doctors actually diagnose this can be very difficult because it’s very complicated. A lot of it comes down to the level of pain or self-reporting of pain. Looking at the duration to which your muscles in the face and the joint itself experience pain. Do you have a difficult time when it comes to chewing? Is there a snapping noise that occurs? So there’s many different variations and variables when it comes to TMJ, but what we do know is that it is quite prevalent.† [00:03:29]
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[00:03:30] Now understanding the difference between that and grinding your teeth because grinding your teeth, this is something that doesn’t necessarily affect the temporal mandible joint. However, if someone has TMJ and they’re also grinding their teeth, this can really become incredibly problematic. So when you think about teeth grinding, many people do this and some people do it during the day when they’re thinking about something, or maybe they’re irritated and they grind their teeth together. But most people talk about this at night. And there’s an actual term for it. It’s called bruxism. So when people are grinding their teeth, this can certainly create a problem within the enamel of the teeth wearing that away, and you have to try to figure out well, why is that occurring? And there’s usually an underlying reason as to what makes people grind their teeth. Is it too much stress? Is it a issue with maybe an imbalance in your immune system? Perhaps there’s an over abundance of biofilms that are building up that are created from perhaps a parasite, for example. I know people don’t like to think about that, but that is definitely a reason sometimes that we find people will be grinding their teeth at night or having like a chewing sensation while they are trying to sleep.† [00:04:51]
[00:04:52] So there are two different types. One is when you’re actually clenching your teeth while you’re awake, so there’s the Awake Bruxism, and then the other is when you’re grinding your teeth or clenching your teeth at night and that is termed Sleep Bruxism. Now daytime, usually we can link that more towards the stress. The Sleep Bruxism or grinding of the teeth, this is a little bit more difficult to to find that underlying root cause. Like I said, it could have something to do with a parasite. It could have something to do with restless leg syndrome. It can certainly still be because of adrenal stress that is disrupting the normal sleep cycle. But at the end of the day, we know that signs and symptoms of teeth grinding are a little bit easier for for dentists or doctors to be able to diagnose because you’re going to see the enamel being worn down. You can see that the teeth themselves sometimes become very sensitive to hot and to cold. Or maybe you, you know, bite into something sweet and you get this sensation. So this is oftentimes an indication that you’re clenching down or you’re grinding your teeth too much. Some people will get a headache in, in the temporal region, and then they sometimes get that confused and say, “Oh, maybe I have TMJ.”.† [00:06:15]
[00:06:16] Well, certainly this is not always the case. We know that the disorder, known as temporal mandible joint disorder, this causes pain and discomfort, and it’s almost like an arthritis basically within that joint space. Now, oftentimes it gets to that level of severity where people have to go in and have surgery done. There are many different signs and symptoms outside of just that of having extreme pain. You can have a difficult time when it comes to chewing a food. You can have this clicking sound when the jaw opens or closes. But diagnosis of TMJ oftentimes can be a little bit more complicated than that when we look at bruxism or grinding or clenching of the teeth. So at the end of the day, if you have a clicking or a popping sound, does that mean that you have TMJ? No, not necessarily. Could just be the anatomy of your jaw. But we do know that this is commonly associated with TMJ. If you have ringing in the ears or dizziness, could this be an indication that you have TMJ? Certainly, it can be. So to try to find the true root cause and the proper diagnosis is really important because then you can have the most well-equipped way in terms of managing this in a natural sense. So for many people, they will go in and they’ll try, you know, maybe a chiropractic treatment. And sometimes this is all that they need. Sometimes their dentist will fit them with a particular mouthpiece to try to avoid worsening of the inflammation and pain within that joint if they are also concurrently grinding their teeth at night.† [00:08:02]
[00:08:03] But we know that stress reduction is certainly key to being a natural remedy when it comes to TMJ. We know that your diet really, really matters, and following an anti-inflammatory diet is incredibly important. When someone is experiencing TMJ and they have a significant amount of pain occurring within that joint, it is really crucial that you have a higher intake of foods that are packed with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, so fatty fish such as salmon, for example. I would also include in to a daily routine, if you have TMJ or you suspect you have TMJ, to be making sure that you are supporting the joint with collagen. So the utilization of Collagen HxⓇ or Collagex HA, which is a Dr. Pressman formulation, are really good ideas. If you have a very acute situation with TMJ, then trying to avoid foods that are creating an awful lot of chewing would be incredibly smart. So soft foods, foods that have been, you know, steamed, cooked down, so they’re easier for you to break down and to digest is certainly important.† [00:09:21]
[00:09:22] And then we want to look at other nutrients that we know can be beneficial. So we want to regulate our stress response, so adrenal adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, rhodiola certainly would be advantageous. We also want to look at B-vitamins. We know that when it comes to the nervous system and the muscles that feed into that joint space, having a methylated B-complex, so the Methyl-B formulation would be incredibly wise to add into your routine, along with magnesium to make sure that we’re having relaxation within the muscles around that joint, calcium, Vitamin C, as well as glucosamine. So oftentimes when I’m working with someone who has TMJ, I will put them on a combination of the Bone Powder formulation, the Collagen HxⓇ, Methyl-B, Fish Oil, along with additional Vitamin C. And for many folks, they will find that this can alleviate so much of their discomfort. Now we have to change the diet as well. We need to regulate that stress throughout the day so that we are not exacerbating the pain and inflammation within the joint itself. This is definitely a key area to to make sure that we are paying attention to.† [00:10:42]
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[00:10:42] But glucosamine, I must say, has been studied and shown to be incredibly beneficial when it comes to that arthritic inflammation and pain within the temporomandibular joint. They did a study back in 2018 and it was published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, and they found that when compared to the placebo, that glucosamine was very, very beneficial. So at the end of the day, we know that we have to change our diet. We need to manage our stress, need to get adequate sleep, and we need to incorporate in nutrients that are going to support that joint space by structurally supporting it with glucosamine as well as collagen. And then we want to make sure that we have an adequate magnesium, Vitamin C, those adrenal adaptogenic herbs. All of these can be incredibly supportive.† [00:11:36]
[00:11:37] Now there’s one last little key point here when it comes to your TMJ disorders, and that is bromelain. This is kind of my go-to whenever there is a lot of acute inflammation that is occurring within a joint. Bromelain, which comes from the stem of pineapple, is actually very, very targeted towards that type of inflammation. So if you take bromelain away from food, so it’s not utilized as a digestive enzyme, this would be incredibly good when it comes to targeting that joint. So about 1000mg two to three times per day when you’re in a real acute situation. Now also, keep in mind that we know that Vitamin D is integral to the maintaining of our skeletal muscles when it comes to our immune system and our inflammatory response. So making sure that you are always maintaining healthy serum Vitamin D levels can also get you out of a jam when it comes to TMJ. They’ve done studies, and they’ve been able to show that when people are experiencing TMJ disorder, that they are more likely to have deficiencies in Vitamin D, and once those levels become normalized, they have less pain. So definitely include your Vitamin D, your magnesium, your collagen, your Vitamin C, your glucosamine. All of these nutrients in combination can certainly pack a whole heck of a lot of punch.† [00:13:11]
[00:13:11] Now there’s other interesting research out there showing that powerful antioxidants coming from things like grape seed extract have also been shown to be incredibly supportive for those who are suffering with TMJ. But we know it’s common. We know many people deal with it. Your foods matter, your stress levels matter, and of course, the nutrients that you’re taking every day. Those matter as well.† [00:13:35]
[00:13:35] 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. Do you 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.† [00:13:35]
*Exit music*
Bladder Pain and Pressure – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 527
Have you heard of interstitial cystitis? This is a condition that can cause significant bladder pain and pressure. The good news is that there are clinically studied nutrients that can help promote the health of your bladder.
Your Cardiologist Needs To Know This Supplement – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 524
Magnesium is one of the most important nutrients for making sure the heart is functioning properly, yet your cardiologist may not put it on your radar. Here’s why your heart needs magnesium.
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]
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[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]
[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]
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[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*