Something Illegal?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

On  a recent trip back to the Chicago area to visit my father, I just happened to be listening to a sports talk radio show as a I was driving. The shows host were talking about LeBron James and some other well known athletes that have seemingly overnight, become very lean as compared to the past. Now they did not insinuate that they had done anything illegal but they did mention that in professional sports, it is hard to not question the use of some type of illegal drug when witnessing a quick change in somebody's body. Heck, I get it, as we recently witnessed the "steroid era" in baseball as well as so many other recent "questionable" acts by professional sports icons.

So I guess the question may be, can these athletes become so lean seemingly overnight without the use of any illegal substances? The answer to this question is a resounding YES! 

It is first important to understand that for many of us, of our weight or "puffy" issue is really not an issue with too much fat on our body, but rather an inflammatory issue. I will share that when people address their personal triggers for inflammation and actually follow a rather simple, yet effective, anti-inflammatory protocol, the inflammation can fall off extremely quickly. This can leave you with a lean, healthy body in a short time frame and honestly, shock most people that witness this shift. I have seen this many times with programs that I have used with clients in my office as well as those that I have worked with online via programs that are delivered within webinar series.

Actually, such a program will be released soon referred to as "The PAIN of Inflammation." In this program we address the triggers for inflammation, the inflammation itself and the feedback loops that recycle inflammation.

What are the triggers?

The most common triggers for inflammation would be the SAD or standard American diet, high in processed foods and sugar, food sensitivity, infection and chronic stress. These are the most common but we could also include obesity, addiction and the use of chemotherapy as secondary triggers. Understanding and addressing your triggers are a key because following an anti-inflammatory protocol without getting to the core cause of this is futile.

Addressing the inflammation is not as easy as simply taking an anti-inflammatory supplement either. Yes, using a powerful anti-inflammatory protocol is important but you to create a high level of success quickly you also have to support other areas that play a role in inflammation such as your immune function, gut health, gut/brain connection and detoxification. When you pull all this together, it provides optimal support in assisting your body in the anti-inflammatory process.

It is also essential to address the missing piece of the puzzle for most anti-inflammatory programs which is the recycling of inflammation in your body. Understand that even once you remove your triggers, there are feedback loops that can continue your chronic inflammatory response. Here are four feedback loops that cannot be ignored.

• Inflammation - rise in cytokine production - autoimmunity - more inflammation
• Inflammation - breakdown in the tight junctures of the gut - leaky gut - autoimmunity - more inflammation
• Inflammation - poor liver biotransformation - inadequate phase I & phase II liver detoxification - more inflammation
• Inflammation - increase in fat cell production - insulin resistance - insulin surges - more inflammation

So you see, addressing inflammation is more than just taking your omega 3 fatty acids and when inflammation is not taken care of properly, this can leave us in a very challenging space. This is due to the fact that chronic inflammation is not just about looking "puffy" or being overweight, chronic inflammation is actually at the core of almost every chronic illness known to man.

This PAIN of inflammation can show it ugly head in many ways such as:

• Obesity
• Chronic aches and pains
• Mental/emotional disorders
• Chronic disease states
• And so much more...

With this information provided today, I truly hope you understand that chronic inflammation is a significant issue for almost everyone with a health issue. More importantly, these inflammatory challenges can be overcome and much quicker that most would be led to believe. When using these programs in the past, I have seen people lose more than 30 pounds in 6 weeks and often 10 pounds or more in just the first 7 to 10 days. So when you see recent pictures of LeBron James or other athletes that have achieved that "lean" look very quickly, recognize that any one of you can achieve this naturally also. Of course this does not mean we are all going to look like LeBron James, but we can tap into the athlete within us that is much leaner, much happier and much healthier.

Look for the upcoming "The PAIN of Inflammation" coming out soon and until then at least make sure you begin by cutting back on processed foods and sugar and assess the most common food sensitivity which is gluten sensitivity. Get your complimentary gluten assessment by visiting www.DepkeWellness.com and visiting the Gluten Intolerance page. Here you will find a complimentary gluten sensitivity assessment to gain a simple understanding of your personal challenges with gluten.

If you have any comments or questions about this article, please feel free to leave a post below for us to answer personally.

Weight gain and sleep?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

So what's the number one health issue for individuals in the United States? If you have guessed weight gain, you are right on.

So what do so many people do about this? Here is the typical list of weight loss strategies that most follow with consistency.

• Dietary changes
• Eating smaller meals
• Eliminating late night snacks
• Dealing with emotional eating
• Eating at home more often
• Exercise
• Normalize hormones
• Follow anti-inflammatory protocols

What I want to share is that all of these are awesome weight loss strategies, but how many of you have already addressed these yet still do not reach your weight loss goals? This number is likely staggering and here's one significant reason why?

Understand that based on the lives that most of us chose to live, there is truly very little free time. We often find the hours between 9:00PM and 11:00PM as our "catch up" time. You get it, so much to do all day, maybe the kids are finally in bed or one of the many other reasons for this. Regardless of the why, far too many people are getting to bed too late and creating significant deficiencies with their sleep patterns.

Here's the kicker though. If you are not reaching your bodies individual need for sleep, you will likely gain weight or minimally, this will significantly hinder weight loss for you. Did you know that if you do not get enough sleep your body will increase the production of your appetite hormone called ghrelin which is likely to lead to weight gain. Another factor in the lack of sleep in the longer term effect this has on your adrenal function and the production of another hormone cortisol, which is often the cause of that ever so beautiful weight gain around the midsection. I know, yikes!

Now a fascinating new study suggests that the link may be even more insidious than previously thought. Losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row can lead to almost immediate weight gain. I would recommend that you follow this link to an insightful article that addresses this even further. 

One point that I found very interesting in the research is that individuals that are sleep deprived actually burn 111 more calories per day than those that are getting optimal sleep, so what sense does that make? It makes a lot of sense though when you remember that a lack of sleep increases the ghrelin which causes the sleep deprived individuals to eat far more food than those that achieve optimal sleep. Think about how quickly you can consume food to make up that 111 calories. Eating one banana, that most would think is great for weight loss, will make up 105 of those calories, yet the sleep deprived person is going to eat far more than just one extra banana per day. They are actually likely to feast daily. 

The end result? Weight gain!

Throw on top of this that a lack of sleep can age fat cells 20 years and yes I said  20 years. This has an effect on overall metabolism and your body's ability to regulate glucose and insulin properly thus leading to obesity and diabetes.

So if you find yourself as one of those people that is doing everything they can think of to lose weight and it's simply not happening for you, check in on your sleep habits. This could be the missing link for you. 


Regardless of what's causing your sleep problems, it is important to establish and maintain healthy sleep habits. Here are some tips that will help you sleep well:

At night:

• Use the bed and bedroom for sleep and sex only
• Establish a regular bedtime routine and a regular sleep-wake schedule
• Do not eat or drink too much close to bedtime
• Create a sleep-promoting environment that is dark, cool and comfortable
• Avoid disturbing noises – consider a bedside fan or white-noise machine to block out disturbing sounds
• Shut down one hour before bed (no phone, TV or Internet)

During the day:

• Consume less or no caffeine, particularly late in the day
• Avoid alcohol and nicotine, especially close to bedtime
• Exercise, but not within three hours before bedtime
• Avoid long naps, particularly in the late afternoon or evening while a short nap in the afternoon can be beneficial

Some medications can also lead to insomnia, including those taken for:

• Colds and allergies
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Thyroid disease
• Birth control
• Asthma
• Pain medications
• Depression (especially SSRI antidepressants)

So in the end, what's the moral of the story?

Get to sleep!!!

For additional information on sleep visit these past articles.

http://www.askdepkewellness.com/2012/08/whos-not-sleeping-well.html

http://www.askdepkewellness.com/2011/11/why-cant-i-sleep-part-1.html

http://www.askdepkewellness.com/2011/12/why-cant-i-sleep-part-ii.html

Cancer and Inflammation

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

Today we will dive into the intimate relationship between cancer and inflammation. Before we do this, let's look at some simple stats.

This year alone, over 1.7 million Americans will be told that they "have" CANCER and 33% of those people will die. Every 30 seconds somebody is diagnosed with cancer. And the numbers continue to grow worse with each passing year, despite more medical inventions and technology promising early detection.

How about not partaking in this statistic? 

If this is your goal, you will definitely want to learn more about the inflammatory tie into cancer. Recognize that when I talk about inflammation I am discussing longer term chronic systemic inflammation. I am not referring to acute inflammation due to injury.

When you are living with long term chronic systemic inflammation, this would be referred to as an NF-kB state. Often clients will ask me what this stands for so here you go. This is a nuclear factor kappa beta state. I know, this does not help at all. To define this further will likely create the clarity you are looking for. NF-kB is a protein complex that controls the transcription of DNA. 

Sounds rather important in regard to cancer?

When an individual is living with chronic inflammation this leads to immune system dysregulation. Immune system dysregulation can and will hinder the body's apoptosis. We discussed this briefly a few weeks ago. To review, apoptosis is basically cellular suicide. Understand that the way your body was created, if a cell because "broken" that cell is actually programmed to commit suicide. This will inhibit that "broken" cell from becoming another "broken" cell and so on and so on. If apoptosis is not functioning properly due to immune system dysregulation, which is caused by chronic inflammation, this "broken" cell will continue to replicate. The long term result of this would be a major contributing factor to cancer.

I do want to be very clear that I am not saying that inflammation is the only cause of cancer but this is a major contributing factor as mentioned above.

Now that you understand the role chronic inflammation play in cancer, what causes the chronic inflammation? The main causes of chronic inflammation are listed below.

• Food intolerance such as gluten and similar cross reactive foods
• The standard American diet high in processed foods and sugar
• Chronic infection
• Chronic stress
• Chemotherapy
• Obesity
• Alcohol/drug addiction 

So the key to addressing cancer is addressing inflammation and the key to addressing inflammation is working on the areas above. Start by assessing your likelihood of gluten intolerance by taking this complimentary gluten assessment.

Focus on reducing your sugar and processed food intake as much as possible. There are also two tests that we would recommend with regularity to address the underlying factors of inflammation. Once is a Cyrex Labs Gluten Cross Reactive Food test and the other is a comprehensive stool collection kit to assess the likelihood of a chronic gut infection. We find gut infections to be a challenge with about 75% of our client base and an even higher percentage that are living with gluten and/or cross reactive intolerance.


It is also important to note that your adrenal gland function also play a significant role in your immune system regulation as well as inflammatory states. Trying to accomplish your inflammatory roles without assessing adrenal function and addressing this with a proper adrenal protocol, will hinder your progress. If you have heard me talk about adrenals before, remember that here at Depke Wellness, we have reviewed well over 4,000 adrenal test kits and have seen only 4 come back normal. In fairness, we work with health challenged individuals, but if you have a health challenge you have almost a 100% chance of living with an adrenal issue. Check your adrenal function now.

Once you have addressed these areas, you can then work on the chronic inflammation. This cannot be taken lightly though. The chronic inflammation needs a strong "kick in the head" to be eliminated. This "kick in the head" involves a specific combination of supplements, with proper dosing to assist the body in shifting out of the chronic inflammatory state.

Once you have addressed all the common causes of chronic inflammation to the best of your ability and you have begun an adrenal balancing protocol, you are ready to provide the strong "kick in the head" in regard to inflammation. This would have to be addressed one on one. When you feel that you are ready to accomplish this task, reach out to Depke Wellness at (949)954-6226 to set up your complimentary 20 minute phone consultation. 

Don't be a statistic in the cancer and inflammation world. Address the underlying factors of inflammation and keep your immune function and apoptosis is full function.

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, post these below for us to address personally.

The Price We Pay for Weight Gain

by Glen Depke

Generally speaking I would be discussing the price we pay for weight gain in respect to your health and happiness but today we are going to look at this from the financial perspective for all of us. The cost of weight gain to ALL of us is really staggering, regardless of weight gain being a challenge for you or not.

In the last 50 years the incidence of obesity in American has skyrocketed from 13% to an estimated 34%. In the same time period, the incidence of extreme or “morbid” obesity has jumped from 0.9% to 6%. While these findings are common knowledge, the costs associated with the epidemic of obesity are eye-opening.

Recent Mayo Clinic studies indicate that obesity racks up over $190 billion in annual medical costs, which is an average of $1,850 more per year for an obese person than a person of healthy weight. The morbidly obese’s average yearly cost was estimated as high as $3,086 per year. Shockingly, the average health costs of the obese were greater than the costs incurred by smoking. Smokers health care costs were generally $1,274 a year greater than non-smokers because of increased mortality, while individuals with a body-mass index (BMI) above 40 were estimated at $5,530 annually. The costs of obesity outside of health care were greater as well. The study noted a $5 billion annual increase in jet fuel over the 1960’s cost to fly heavier passengers and a $4 billion annual increase in gasoline costs for cars transporting the obese.(1)

These are significant costs to all of us!

So the problem seems to be that obese people are taking money out of your pocket?

Not so fast though!

Let's not get into the "blame game" of poor food choices, lack of control or even the victim mentality of genetics. We can also be clear that this is not a war on obesity. We have had a war on drugs and a war on cancer in this country for some time and what do we have more of? Drugs and cancer...

A big part of the problem stems from our cultural patterns. Most of us are over worked, over stressed while under exercised and under nourished. These patterns often set up individuals to fail. The weight comes on a few pounds at a time and before we know it we are living in a state of obesity. Once this state is reached, you will often spin out of control and eventually fall into a state of hopelessness in regard to your weight gain.

This is really an issue for all of us.

So how can we address this?

While I cannot provide the whole answer for everyone here, I can say that it starts with all of us as individuals.

If you are obese, it will be important to take responsibility for your past choices, accept where you are right now and make new choices long term and consistently enough to expose a new level of health for yourself. If you are wondering what you can do to move forward on this level, I would welcome you to view the results of the "More Than Just Weight Loss" 6 week program by following this link.

If you are at a healthy weight, I would still say to look at yourself. I would recommend to offer compassion and understanding to those that are obese. Taking this attitude will be nothing but empowering to yourself as well as those challenged with weight gain. Perhaps compassion and understanding itself could create a significant shift in the health of our culture.

What do you think?

If you have any comments or questions in regard to this article, feel free to leave a post below and I will address this personally.

(1) Reuters. April 30, 2012.