The Perfect Storm

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

So what is the perfect storm?

The holidays of course!

I know, we like to think of the holidays as a time for giving, spirituality, joy, love and so on. Think about it though. What do you often recognize during the holidays? Stress, less sleep, poor nutrition and far too much alcohol. Now I'm not asking you to not enjoy yourself, but let's look at how we can quiet this storm a bit.

Let's look at the stress first. During this time of the year, one of the biggest issues is that many of us over commit and make promises that are almost impossible to keep. This is the most important time of the year to use the power of "NO." I "get" that you want to make everyone happy and make every gathering, but one of two things will most often occur. Either you do not keep your integrity of being somewhere that you have committed to or you are so completely stressed out because it ends up being another thing that you have to do. Yikes to both!

A reality during this time of year for all of us is the fact that there will be more stress than other times of the year. To assist with dealing with this stress I would recommend visiting www.DepkeWellness.com and registering for the complimentary 4 part video series on the home page. The fourth video will provide easy to use yet powerful tools to assist with the stress of the holidays.

The next area is lack of sleep. Very often during the holidays we just simply do not get to bed early enough. I would suggest setting some boundaries for the times you are going to leave your holiday parties and of course, honor those boundaries. If you have an agreement with yourself to leave the parties at 9:00PM you will still have time to be in bed soon after that and get a full nights' sleep. The challenge for most is that they do not set a leaving time. Just show up a bit earlier and hold your integrity to the boundary you set.

Another factor is trying to fit "things" in late at night. I would suggest that instead of adding extra work at night, which ultimately lead to a lack of quality sleep, simply get up earlier. This will still allow some extra time to accomplish your tasks, but this will also mirror more of a natural sleep cycle and likely provide you more energy and mental clarity through the day. Understand that it is healthier to sleep from 10:00PM to 6:00AM than it is to sleep from Midnight to 8:00AM. Got it?

Poor nutrition is often an issue for most during the holidays. This is not only poor choices such as too much sugar, gluten and alcohol, but also typically far too much of all of these. Now for those that know they have a gluten intolerance or other cross reactive food intolerance, the holidays are not a time to "sneak" some in. Remember that if these foods are an issue for you, eating them will lead to inflammation in your gut, a weakened immune system and adrenal fatigue. Now as far as the sugar and alcohol are concerned, if this is not a huge issue for you, go ahead and indulge. Understand though that having one piece of fudge or one drink will typically not be an issue for most, but have several drinks, many sweets and throwing in some gluten can be a HUGE issue for so many. To assist with proper absorption and assimilation of your food choices during the holidays, make sure you are using your 1,2,3 of Digestion.

Also, when you are thinking about alcohol specifically, the timing is very important. The worst thing you can do is walk into your party and start with a glass of wine or a cocktail. If you have this on an empty stomach, watch out! This is an issue because alcohol is actually absorbed right through the stomach wall and an empty stomach allows a quick trip to the blood and the brain. All I can say is, not good! So if you are going to drink, make sure this is after you eat and not before. One more trick is to also eat fat when you are drinking, such as nuts, cheese or guacamole. The added fat will slow the release of the liquid sugar you are drinking and help to normalize blood sugar for you.

I would also add the focusing on all your fundamentals of health during this time will assist you in quieting this perfect storm. Remember that you can easily receive the complimentary 4 part video series for your fundamentals of health on the www.DepkeWellness.com home page.

Here is a late entry info for you...

A study, led by University of California at San Diego sociology professor David Phillips, looked at 57.5 million death certificates from 1979 to 2004. It found 42,325 more people died of natural causes -- which make up about 93 percent of all deaths -- during the two-week Christmas/New Year holiday period than would normally be expected, given the typical winter increase in deaths.

 

There also were increases in every major disease group of 1 percent to 10 percent and in every demographic group of 3 percent to 9 percent. In particular, the study looked at deaths from natural causes in which the patient either was dead on arrival (DOA) at a hospital or died receiving emergency care, and it found significant spikes throughout the holiday period. In fact, the three days when the most people die of natural causes in either a DOA situation or in an emergency setting are Dec. 25, Dec. 26 and Jan. 1.

Thanks to Dr Dan Yachter at www.elevationhealth.com for sharing this info.

Begin your focus on quieting the storm today and you may survive the holidays like never before. Here's to a happy and healthy holiday season!

Heart Disease, out of sight, out of mind?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

You almost never hear about heart disease any more. It is basically out of sight, out of mind.

• Is this because it is not longer an issue?
• Is this because it is simply no longer in vogue?
• Is it because we are winning the battle against this deadly chronic illness?

Here are your answers.

Prevalence of cardiovascular disease in adults ≥20 years of age by age and sex (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 2005–2008). Source: National Center for Health Statistics and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. These data include coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and hypertension.

This shows that by the time you reach the age of 40, there is basically an over 30% chance that you will develop heart disease or similar. Over the age of 60 the chances are almost 75% and make it to 80 years old and you are over 80% likely. YIKES!

Obviously this is still and issue and we are not winning the battle, so I guess it is simply not in vogue to discuss heart disease anymore. Heck, we've got so much else to talk about right? Cancer, autoimmunity, diabetes and the list goes on.

So where does heart disease fall in with these other in vogue issues?

Cardiovascular disease and other major causes of death for all males and females (United States: 2008). A indicates cardiovascular disease plus congenital cardiovascular disease (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes I00–I99, Q20–Q28); B, cancer (C00–C97); C, accidents (V01–X59, Y85–Y86); D, chronic lower respiratory disease (J40–J47); E, diabetes mellitus (E10–E14); and F, Alzheimer disease (G30). Source: National Center for Health Statistics and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

You can see that these other challenges still pale in comparison to heart disease. Regardless of public discussion, this is a huge impact for our culture. So while cancers get most of the headlines these days, we are missing the boat on a much bigger issue.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths vs cancer deaths by age (United States: 2008). Source: National Center for Health Statistics. CVD includes International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision codes I00–I99, Q20–Q28; and cancer, C00–C97.

Taking this one step further, let's look at the breakdown of chronic cardiovascular issues as related to deaths.

Percentage breakdown of deaths attributable to cardiovascular disease (United States: 2008). Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from National Center for Health Statistics reports and data sets. *Not a true underlying cause. With any mention deaths, heart failure accounts for 35% of cardiovascular disease deaths. Total may not add to 100 because of rounding. Coronary heart disease includes International Classification of Diseases (ICD), 10th Revision codes I20–I25; stroke, I60–I69; heart failure, I50; high blood pressure, I10–I13; diseases of the arteries, I70–I78; and other, all remaining ICD I categories.

If you would like the complete PDF of this release follow this link.

Now that I have your attention in regard to the impact of heart disease, let's talk about the main contributing factors to this cultural challenge.

Of course the biggest issue is cholesterol right? BIG FAT NO! I don't even want to get into the cholesterol myth here, so if you want my deeper opinion on cholesterol visit this article.

I had the opportunity to reach out to my friend Dr Jonny Bowden, who is also the co-author of the Great Cholesterol Myth with cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, M.D.. In this book they collectively debunk cholesterol and statin drugs, while getting to the core of heart disease. According to Dr Jonny, the three main challenges that contribute to heart disease are:

• Mental/emotional stress
• Inflammation
• Oxidative damage

The big question now is, what do you do about these three areas?

Mental/emotional stress

So how do you deal with the mental/emotional stress? Eliminate your stress right? Well, not likely. It is next to impossible to eliminate the stress in our lives but there is a way out of this. The key is not eliminating the stress but in dealing with stress in a healthy way.

One way to do this is to practice deep breathing techniques. To assist in stress relief follow the directions below.

• Take at least 3 to 5 deep belly breaths every waking hour
• Always take 3 to 5 of these during times of stress
• Inhale through your nose for about a count of 7 while protruding your stomach while allowing your breath to flow down into the area of your belly button
• Hold that breath for a count of 4
• Exhale forcefully through your mouth while contracting your stomach muscles for about a count of 8

Try this when you feel stressed out and you will recognize that you will almost immediately relax. For further tips go to the DepkeWellness.com home page and register for the complimentary video series. The last video of that series provides many different techniques to reduce the affect of stress.

Inflammation 

Inflammation is most often a significant factor in regard to heart disease. The big challenge though, is that so few really understand the complexity of inflammation, it's triggers, the NF-kB state, your adrenal tie, the self imposed feed back loops and proper dosing of anti-inflammatory protocols.

I have mentioned chronic inflammation many times in the past and for those that are not aware, I refer to this as a NF-kB state. Often clients in my office ask me what NF-kB stands for and honestly, my response generally does not help much, but here we go. NF-kB stands for nuclear factor kappa beta and is defined as a complex group of proteins that controls the transciption of DNA. Obviously DNA transcription play a huge role in any chronic illness including heart disease.

NF-kB controls the expression of genes encoding the pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines adhesion molecules, inducible enzymes and growth factors. It is found in all cell types and is involved in cellular responses to stress, cytokines, free radicals and antigens. In short, the chronically activated NF-kB state has been linked to any chronic illness including heart disease.

This NF-kB state is triggered by stress, food intolerance, infection, obesity, addiction and chemotherapy. The frustrating part of this for so many, is that even if you remove all the triggers, the NF-kB state will likely continue to be an issue for you. I cannot tell you how often I have clients in my clinic that feel hopeless and frustrated because they have done so much to be healthy, yet cannot reach their goals. This is often due to the NF-kB self amplifying feedback loops. Understanding this NF-kB state and the feedback loops is the key to one of the biggest impacts in heart disease.

The most important point to make in this article is the fact that you can address the NF-kB state. I have listed the steps used with success at Depke Wellness to address this properly. 

*I do not recommend addressing this on your own, so please work with a natural health practitioner that would be considered and expert in the NF-kB state.

• Address food intolerance and nutritional challenges
• Learn healthy ways of addressing stress
• Address any chronic infections (generally gut related)
• Balance adrenal function
• Increase peripheral circulation
• Balance immune function with glutathione and vitamin D
• Address phase I & phase II liver detoxification pathways
• Take the correct dosage of curcumin and resveratrol (the dosing and form of both is of utmost importance)

I have seen this work with consistency over the years with not only the clients in my clinic but with myself personally. Simply put, if you want to significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, address your NF-kB state. 

Oxidative damage

A simple way to define oxidative stress is the damage made to a cell through the oxidative process. Oxidation is a very normal process as it occurs all the time to our bodies. When there are disturbances in the natural oxidation process, such as the attraction of a free radical to another molecule in your body, the results are often toxic effects.

Imagine a piece of iron lying on the ground. As it weathers years of rain, environmental exposure, sun, and other factors, it begins to rust. The rust is caused by oxidation. Free oxygen radicals are created during the metabolism of normal oxygen cells also known as oxidation. These free radicals are missing a simple electron and are in search of another molecule that they can combine with to become whole. In their quest to become whole they fire charges that damage other cells and structures around them. This in turn causes the rust.

In effect your body is "rusting" as it goes through its lifetime, with free oxygen radicals wildly running through your system searching for a mate. Understand that the more free radicals your body contains the more damage that's likely to be done. The best way to see this damage is through our normal aging process.


To date science has discovered that oxidative stress may very well be the cause of over 70 chronic ailments in your body with heart disease toward the top of the list.

Depending on what form of toxin or stress your body is exposed to on an ongoing basis, you could find yourself suffering, even at an early age, from diseases that could be prevented if only you'd have minimized the harmful free radicals in your system.

Here are just some of the diseases are caused by oxidative damage:

• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Arthritis
• Lung Disease
• Fibromyalgia
• Diabetes
• Neuro-degenerative Diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
• Autoimmune Diseases
• Eye Diseases like Macular Degeneration



Even back in the early days of man free radicals existed and caused oxidative stress.

They're inherent to life and a normal byproduct of regular oxygen molecule metabolism. However our bodies were only made to withstand so much exposure to free radicals (even though our body does an amazing job at neutralizing them in a normal, low-toxin setting).

The increased and prolonged exposure to these wild and reckless free radicals cause a faster build-up of "rust" or disease in our bodies.

So what are some of the most common reasons our body's oxygen molecules oxidize themselves into an increased amount of free radicals? Some of them you're probably well aware of, and some of them may come as a surprise.

• Environmental and Air Pollution
• Cigarette Smoking
• Excess Stress
• Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications
• Radiation
• Excessive Exercise
• Over-Exposure to Sunlight

So what do you do to combat this oxidative damage?

The key ingredient to reducing the amount of free radicals in your system is antioxidants. Antioxidants are fantastic little substances that wander through your body, giving up an electron to the greedy free radicals charging through your system. They neutralize the free radicals and allow your body to do its business of excreting them safely and without harm.

Our bodies already make several different types of antioxidants all on their own. But as our exposure to harmful free radicals in the environment and through our lifestyles increase, our need for outside supplies of antioxidants is vital in the war against aging and degenerative disease.

While a good supply of antioxidants come from natural sources like healthy food, we also need to supplement those sources.

Increasingly, our food supply is being degraded through harmful growing practices and soil depletion, and can no longer be relied upon to protect us from the oxidative stress all around us.

With a healthy supply of free-radical-neutralizing antioxidants, you can see how our bodies are better able to withstand and ward off the "rusting" for decades longer than we currently do.

Based on the information in this article you can see that heart disease is still a huge issue in our culture. Hopefully you also recognize the main culprits here behind heart disease and more importantly, the fact that you have the power to make some changes in your own health and wellness to balance these issues.

If you would like to learn more about Depke Wellness addressed heart disease, feel free to call our office at (949)954-6226 and set up your complimentary 20 minute intro today. We can do this in office or over the phone.

Is Your Brain Functioning?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

If you are reading this article, of course your brain is functioning. I guess the better question to ask is, is your brain functioning optimally? If you are living with a health issue, that answer is more than likely a big fat no.

For those that do not understand our focus here at Depke Wellness let me first review some core understandings. First of all, your brain and your gut is truly one system and not two different systems. 90% of your brain function goes straight down the Vagus nerve through the spinal column and into the nervous system tissue in the gut. This will then make its way back up through the spinal column, again via the Vagus nerve and back to the brain. With this said, if you have a brain issue you have a gut issue and often when you have a symptom in one the problem may actually be based in the other.

It is very common for clients at Depke Wellness to be living with some type of gut challenge that is leading to symptoms of poor health and happiness. But with what is mentioned above, does this mean that the problem is truly in the gut? That answer is of course no.

It is often very important to address challenges in your gut such as food intolerance, pathogens and leaky gut as examples but often this is not the only issue. This is especially true if you have been working on gut issues for long durations of time, yet still suffering with similar or sometimes that exact symptoms. 

With that said, what is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing while expecting different results of course. Unfortunately I see this all the time with individuals working on long term chronic gut issues. At some point though it is important to look at the brain because this would likely be the issue.

There are many areas that could play a role when you are talking about a poor functioning brain. One area to always look is with overall brain support. This would most significantly be tied into increasing peripheral circulation to enhance of course brain circulation. Once circulation is increased you want to be sure to have the ability to provide optimal nutrients and oxygen to the brain. This would be assisted by omega 3 fatty acids as well as the DHA component of your omega 3 fatty acid. Eating more wild caught cold water seafood, grass fed meat, ground flax, avocados and olives are simple examples of good fat for your brain. Increasing oxygenation by regular use of deep breathing will also make a positive impact for you.

Another area to look at is stress levels. Stress has an accumulative affect on the brain and is a must to address. While stress is very real for all of us, the key is how we perceive this stress as well as how we respond to stressors in our lives. Deep breathing on a regular basis in and by itself will have a significant affect on reducing your stress levels. While there are other areas to assist on this level, this is a subject for another article another time.

Another area that is significantly affecting your brain health is your blood sugar regulation and insulin levels. Basic levels to address this is to consume foods with low glycemic levels, address your adrenal function, get some exercise and reduce your stress levels as mentioned above. Most people understand the food and exercise component of blood sugar and insulin but do not "get" the adrenal and stress impact of this. Understand that when you are stressed, this creates and adrenal reaction and puts your body into a fight or flee situation. The crisis whether a true life and death or a perceived life or death, has the same result on your blood sugar. It skyrockets! This is due to the fact that when your body is in a fight or flee, the body is flooded with sugar to assist with the situation. Since most of us are not fighting or fleeing, we are left with this unhealthy high levels of blood sugar and increased insulin attempting to deal with this situation.

Another area to look at is neurotransmitters. Interestingly enough, when I first learned about neurotransmitters years ago, I was told to use this only in extreme cases. Even more interesting than this is it was my understanding to not move into this basically because it works to well and almost too easy. When improvement comes quick and easy, often people will not address the underlying foundational issues and lifestyle changes that are necessary to continue to maintain optimal health for long durations. Taking supplements to simply address neurotransmitter imbalances is not the only issue, but as mentioned above, this can be a huge benefit for individuals with these issues.

When talking about neurotransmitters, I have what I refer to my 1A and 1B as well as my 2A and 2B. The 1A&B are serotonin and dopamine. Most experts will agree that if you can balance these two neurotransmitters, everything else will balance itself. I do also look at my 2A & B though which I consider to be GABA and Acetylcholine. Looking at how your body is reacting to the lack of balance of any of these four is of utmost importance. Understand though that it is not as easy as simply taking these in supplement forms. If your are taking supplements to assist with neurotransmitters without an understood deficiency, you could actually be creating deeper issues for yourself. 

Another area to consider is the fact that neurotransmitter balance is not what we could consider cut and dry. There is often some level of experimentation with supplementation and may take some time to find that balance correct for each individual. Due to the fact that both taking too little or too much can be an issue, I never recommend this without guidance of a natural health practitioner that understands neurotransmitter function. What I will share though is that wow, when you get this right, you would be very happy that you did.

Remember though, that you have to look at everything that is addressed in this article. Put this all together and you will now only find yourself with a functioning brain but more importantly, an optimal functioning brain. It is more than worth it!

More on neurotransmitters in upcoming articles...

How Heavy is YOUR Stress?

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

I have to thank Dr Dan Yachter from www.elevationhealth.com for this awesome analogy on stress.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed - incapable of doing anything."

It's important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!  

This analogy is a perfect representation of what most people do in our culture, and I am not talking about putting down the glass. We are a culture of holding this glass until we experience pain and discomfort. Unfortunately, most of us even continue to hold onto this long after we begin experiencing these challenges.

So what does this do to the body?

As you likely already know by reading this newsletter, holding onto the glass is a major contributing factor to adrenal issues. To learn more about the affect stress has on adrenal glands click here.

Understand that this is so much more than just your adrenals. This affects your brain function, inflammation, blood pressure, thyroid function, female hormones, digestion, detoxification, immune function, cellular energy, blood sugar balance, quality of sleep and of course your moods. This isn't even a comprehensive list as I am touching on the more significant issues at this time.

Let's look at some of these areas specifically. Starting with the brain it is important to know that stress actually has an accumulative affect on the brain. Often clients will say that they have not had significant stress during their lives. They are thinking of major traumas though, such as death, life threatening disease, divorce, you get the picture. But based on the fact that all of life's little stresses tend to accumulate over time, many of these little stresses can create the same affect as major traumas.

Another big area to look at is with inflammation. I often see clients in my practice that are living with chronic inflammatory states. While it is noted that common causes of chronic inflammation tie into adrenal fatigue, infection, poor diet, gluten or other cross reactive foods and chemotherapy treatment, stress is also a trigger for inflammation. So yes, your perception and reaction to life's stresses impact inflammation in your body. How many people actually feel bodily pain and discomfort after a stressful event? That answer is many or most and that is directly tied into the inflammation created via this response.

How about digestion? Did you know that your body uses a huge amount of blood within your digestive system? Did you also know that when you are stressed out, this blood is actually directed away from your digestive system and pushed to your muscular/skeletal system. This is a perfect flight or flee response, because it is obviously more important to your body to save your life rather than digest your food properly. The big challenge here is that most of us are not in true life and death situations and the stress is simply holding onto the glass for too long.

Are you getting this now?

Blood sugar is another big issue as tied into stress. I had an client back in Illinois, prior to my move to California that was a type II diabetic. This was such a chronic issue for so long that the person had already lost their eye site and one limb. When I first started working with them, blood sugar was regularly between 250 and 350. But the kicker though was the fact that when this client's stress levels were up, the blood sugar would rocket up to 450 to 500 and often higher. Yikes! 

So why does stress raise blood sugar? This is due to fact that your body is tapping into stored glycogen to release huge amounts of sugar into your blood, to do what? To provide the necessary response for your fight or flee situation. But as discussed earlier, this fight or flee is typically not a true life or death situation and you are not fighting or fleeing anything. Due to this, the high blood sugar levels long term simply lead to insulin resistance and insulin surges. So really, do you want to continue to hold onto your glass?

How about quality of sleep? So many of my clients have issues with sleep. This may be challenges falling asleep, waking often through the evening, waking too early or even if they sleep through the night, that are still not waking up rocked and ready to go. You know if this is you, the snooze alarm is your best friend. Holding onto your glass affects sleep in so many ways. Often this is increasing night time cortisol, which in turn is lowering night time melatonin, thus poor sleep. Almost as likely is the stress factor with neurotransmitters. Poor neurotransmitter function will trash your sleep patterns as well as creating many other chronic health challenges. More to come on this with future newsletters.

So how do you put down the glass?

One way to do this is to practice deep breathing techniques. To do this follow the directions below.

• Take at least 3 to 5 deep belly breaths every waking hour
• Always take 3 to 5 of these during times of stress
• Inhale through your nose for about a count of 7 while protruding your stomach while allowing your breath to flow down into the area of your belly button
• Hold that breath for a count of 4
• Exhale forcefully through your mouth while contracting your stomach muscles for about a count of 8

Try this right now and you will recognize that it will be much easier to put down your glass with this technique.

There are many other tools that can be used to assist you in putting down your glass such as ERT, EFT, TFT, EMDR, spinal correction, soft tissue work such as rolfing and massage, prayer and exercise. I feel that it is important to find what resonates with you and most important, what works for you.

After all, doesn't it sound much easier to simply put the glass down?!?!

Heart Disease...Winning or Losing?

by Glen Depke

Heart disease was such a focus for so long but isn't it funny that we rarely here of this anymore? 

Is this because we are winning or losing?

Let's find out.

Here is the American Heart Association year-end report:

Statistics Highlights:
 
Although death rates from heart disease and stroke continue to fall, risk factors and the financial and societal burdens of the diseases remain high, according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011 Update.

The estimated total cost (including heath expenditures and lost productivity) from heart disease and stroke in the United States is higher than that for any other diagnostic group.

This year’s report includes tracking of the role genetics play in heart disease risk and notes that if your parent had a heart attack at an early age, your risk of having one is nearly double for men and 70 percent for women. (I would share that the most significant factor is "learned" behavoir)

America is winning a battle against heart disease and stroke mortality, but is still losing the war, according to the American Heart Association.

In Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics – 2011, published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the association reports that the death rate from heart diseases declined 27.8 percent from 1997 to 2007 (the most recent final data available), and the stroke death rate fell 44.8 percent.

However, during the same period, the total number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures increased 27 percent. The estimated total cost from heart disease and stroke in the United States for 2007 (including health expenditures and lost productivity) was $286 billion. That’s higher than any other diagnostic group.

For more info visit http://networking.americanheart.org/blogs/6/114. 

With this information, we can see that as a whole we are getting better at recognizing heart disease earlier and using medical intervention to lower the death rate, but we are still missing the boat on how to prevent this.

Don't be a statistic and depend on medical intervention. Be proactive and address your health at a core level. Save some money and more importantly, save your health and happiness.

Here are some simple tips to be proactive in warding off cardiovascular disease at a core level. Eliminate or significantly reduce these free radicals or the substances that create free radical activity:

• Smoking
• Heated or rancid vegetable based oils
• Toxic chemicals
• Chemical additives
• Radiation exposure through X-rays, ect...
• Microwaving in plastic
• Use of plastics with food
• Chlorinated water
• Sugar

I also want to mention the importance of staying regular with your bowel movements and also define that regular means two healthy bowel movements per day. This is a factor for heart disease because putrefied bacteria in your gastrointestinal system can combine with bile acids to form a very powerful free radical. The longer it takes to move your colon, the more free radical is formed.

It is important to share that individuals do not suffer from heart disease because they eat too much cholesterol containing foods. Simply put, when you have damage to the arterial walls, cholesterol (plaque) is used to repair this damage. 

What causes the damage? 

Free radical activity.

If your not exercising, why not?

While exercise does not prevent or remove plaque, this does effectively enlarge your arteries so it takes more plaque to create a blockage.

Stress and adrenals?

Mental/emotional stress and the effect this has on your adrenal function plays a huge role in heart disease. Finding healthy ways to reduce your reaction to stress is a significant factor. This may be exercise, yoga, deep breathing practices, prayer, and/or any other practice that allows you to release in a healthy way. 

Notice I do not say, take away your stress. While this would be awesome, it is not real to many of us. I'll share though, that finding a healthy way to release is the key.

It is also a good idea to assess your adrenal function. I have reviewed more than 3,800 of these tests in my career and have only seen 4 come back healthy originally. 

There are also some key nutrients that you can use as a way to ward off heart disease. 

• Antioxidants such as vitamin E or C to address free radical activity
• Niacin as one of the best known blood fat lowering agents
• Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic Acid to lower homocysteine
• Calcium, magnesium and potassium as essential minerals for a healthy heart
• CoQ10 which is the coenzyme that enables the mitochondria which is the driving force behind every cell in your body but especially your heart
• Omega 3 fatty acids

While there are other nutrients and supplements that could be used, I wanted to provide the basics. 

So recognize that we truly are not winning the war on heart disease, but you do not have to be one of the statistics.

If you have any comments or questions about this article, please post this below for me to address personally.

Beat Holiday Stress

by Glen Depke

Seeing as Christmas is only 5 days away, I am sure you are already engulfed in holiday spirit right?

Maybe if it's the spirit of the holiday Grinch I suppose.

Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones that shopped early, had everything wrapped by December 1st and all there is left to do is attend some exciting gatherings.

So what are the rest of us doing?

Running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Still looking for those last minute gifts, fighting the crowds, stressed about the cash we've already spent, stressed about family members visiting, worried about getting every nook and cranny cleaned in the house...you get the picture. I am sure many of you could add to this list many times over.

So here's some tips to turn these last 5 days into something joyous rather the stressous. Do you like my new word, stressous? Anyway here you go...

1.  Breathe, yes breathe! When you are under stress your breath will become shallow and your fight or flee end of your nervous systems takes over. Yikes! This is no way to spend the holiday season. When you notice that you are feeling stressous, take 3-5 really deep belly breaths to shift you into the calming nervous system reaction. This plays such a huge roll in your whole body's function.
2. Drink lots of water. We all know that there are many parties at this time of the year and often this leads to an over consumption of alcohol. ALWAYS have a large glass of water between every alcoholic indulgence and be sure to show up at the parties properly hydrated. 
3. Consume a healthy snack or small meal prior to going out. This will ensure that you have proper nutrition already working on your side, keep you from indulging in too many sweet holiday treats and ensure that you will not be drinking on an empty stomach. That is a definite no, no.
4. Be prepared that things often don't work out as planned but trust that they truly always work out. Due to the increase in people, places and things to do, this will puts us into the dependency of others much more significantly during this time of the year. If you are expecting the stores at the mall, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Harriet, or that perfect parking spot at the mall to work out as plannned...good luck with that. Remember that you have very little control of the things around you but have complete control of your reaction. If you do not set your expectations of everything working out perfectly, it typically makes it easier to take the challenges in stride. If you're one of my perfectionists out there, you know who you are, be sure to roll with the changes. BTW...that would also be a good time to breathe.
5. Get yourself organized. Often with so few days left we simply begin to wing it and what typically happens when we wing it. We forget. Whatever it is that you have left to do over the next 5 days, write it down. When you are stressous rather than joyous, your memory often does not work as well. If you have a list, you can simply cross things off the list and release the stress. Unless you lose the list of course. LOL!
6. Make your gatherings a pot luck. I remember my Mom on the holidays would do everything. All the cleaning, cooking and running around. Ladies, don't do this! Have others in the house help with the cleaning, somebody can make grocery store runs for you and for heaven's sake, have your guests bring a dish. I'll even give you a little secret, come closer so nobody else hears this, most people love to bring a dish and feel as if they're a bigger part of the gathering and feel included, loved, appreciated. You get the picture.
7. Do chores in the party atmosphere of a group. Still working on the last minute holiday cookies, wrapping or one of the other hundred things to finish. Well, invite some friends or family over to help and create a party atmosphere. You will not only make your chores enjoyable but likely you will be assisting other family/friends by getting them out and having fun also.
8. Take a time out. I know this used to be your punishment when you were a kid but as an adult a time out can be completely rejuvenating. Just 20 minutes in a warm epson salt bath can shift your day in such a positive way. This will assist with your mental/emotional state and leave you with some positive physical results also.
9. Be sure to get enough sleep. So often we become sleep deprived during the holidays. Look at it this way. If you are rested and enjoying high physical energy and mental clarity, you will accomplish all your goals with much more ease and life will occur faster for you. Miss your sleep and everything slows down and takes forever. I'm sure you already get this, but how easily we forget.
10. Lastly, when it seems like you have stuck in a stressous rather than joyous state, stop yourself. Take a few minutes to write a list of everything you are thankful for in your life and watch the joyous energy build. This simple tip can shift your entire holiday season. I know you have so many things in your life to be thankful for but it only matters if you know.

Instead of questions or comments to me for today's article, please share what it is you do to relieve holiday stress. The tip you leave may be the exact shift that somebody else needs during this holiday season. Remember the goal is joyous, not stressous!

Steps for Optimal Healing

by Glen Depke

You have heard me in the past discuss most aspects of healing but how do you put it all together. Well, there is one way to do this that I definitely do not recommend and that is doing it all at once. Your body, mind and spirit did not fall apart all at once and it is not going to move into balance all at once either.


So many individuals seek assistance from others or take all the information they have researched and then want to do it all at once and all right now! I am sure you have seen this before; it is a cultural challenge.

So many of my clients come into my practice that have already worked with incredible practitioners and followed some awesome protocols, yet still feel frustrated with the lack of success. This is more than often do to the fact that they are on step C, but have yet to work on steps A and B. Make sense?


As an example, if a client has brain symptoms, I would not jump into protocols to balance the brain. I would start with their fundamentals, address their adrenal health, then the gut and then finally the brain. So here is the fun part. Often by the time we get the the last steps, the challenge or symptom is often gone. So even though the symptom may have appeared to be in the brain, maybe it was actually an adrenal or gut challenge. Maybe the gut or adrenal challenge was simply tied into the foundation of your fundamentals, which is your mental/emotional health. So the whole problem may have originated from stress. If this was the case, you may have found a small level of relief addressing the brain symptom but overall, you would have not found your level of balance due to the lack of addressing your reaction to stress in your life.

While nothing is absolute, I want to show you the flow and patterns I have seen thousands of times with clients in my practice. Addressing your health in this way will start at the beginning and allow one step to build upon the other. Ultimately this can create many mini successes along the way to continue your further balance and allow you to reach your goals of optimal health and wellness. 


Very exciting!

Here are the steps I typically follow when assisting my clients with chronic health challenges.

First I always address the fundamentals of health along with assessing their adrenal function. Once we have some balance in the fundamentals and adrenals, I would recommend addressing the gut/immune connection. Once these areas are addressed, it would be best to look at neurological function and address healing the aging brain. Once the aging brain is moving toward balance, you can then start detoxification and any lingering nutrient replacement.

As I mentioned earlier, it is often the case that my clients do not have to address every single level because the underlying challenges are so often addressed earlier in the game and they are feeling health and balance. Some have to go through at the steps while others do not.

Since we cannot know this at the beginning, it does not make sense to try to do it all at once. At least it does not make sense to me. What makes sense to you is really the question.


For those that have any questions or comments to this article, feel free to leave a comment below.


If you would like further information on this subject and would like to talk to me directly, I offer a FREE 20 minute phone consultation. I currently work with clients all across our fine country, so distance work is not foreign to me.

Addressing the Pain of Emotional Stress

by Glen Depke

It is amazing that the emotional aspect of our health is often overlooked as a significant contributing factor to our overall health and wellness. Often this is looked at as “in your mind” as is communicated by many doctors today. Let’s take a look at the “in your mind” aspect of your health.

First of all let’s look at the physiology of stress to your body.

When you are under stress the body regards this as a “fight or flee” situation. To be real for most of us, our stress is truly not a life or death situation but based on the perception created in the mind, your body believes that your situation is often life threatening.

Once this type of situation is regarded as life threatening, your body and specifically, your sympathetic nervous system, kicks into high gear. The response that will then proceed is recognized below:

• Your heart rate will increase
• Your blood flow will be decreased to the internal organs
• Your blood flow will increase to the muscular/skeletal system
• Your senses will become more acute
• Your adrenal glands will significantly increase cortisol production

All of this happens to give you the ability to fight or flee from your life or death situation. The problem though, is as mentioned above; it is most often not that type of situation.

This sympathetic nervous system reaction is perfect if you are being attacked by a pack of wolves but a disaster for your body if the stress is traffic, spouse, children, job, boss, bills, and/or finances. It is amazing the significant amount of individuals that wake up in the morning and are living the perception of being attacked by a pack of wolves from that moment until they lay their head down to sleep at night.

Recognize that a regularly elevated heart rate is not health building. Understand that when your blood flow is reduced to your internal organs, the digestive system struggles to do its job. Recognize that senses in a heightened state of awareness can really drive you crazy. Last but not least, the high cortisol production will create significant challenges with functionally the whole of your being.

Beside for the sympathetic nervous system reaction, it is important to recognize that there is also a chemical reaction when you are living with negative emotions. Every negative emotion will produce chemicals in our bodies that create challenges for the body, while positive emotions produce chemicals that are very healing to the body. I don’t know about you but I would love for my emotions to be producing chemicals to heal my body rather than destroy it.

There is one very simple tool that you can use to create a positive shift in this emotional stress reaction. Breathe! Yes, I know you breathe already but it will be important to create a habit of deep belly breathing. When you do this, you will increase the intake of oxygen by your cells which has a significant physical benefit to your health but there is another physiological benefit. You cannot be under stress and take a deep belly breath at the same time. We talked about stress creating a sympathetic nervous system response; deep belly breathing creates a parasympathetic nervous system response. The parasympathetic nervous system is the relaxed side of your nervous system that is dominant during times of relaxation. This aspect of your nervous system enables your body to maintain functional balance without you needing to have a conscious thought in that direction.

So what does a deep belly breath look like and how often should you do this.

Take a deep breath through your nose for about the count of 8. While you are taking this breath in, breathe all the way down just below your belly button, while sticking your stomach out to allow the full expression of your lung capacity. It is not about sticking your chest out, it is about sticking your belly out. From there, hold that breath for a count of 4 and then forcefully exhale that breath through the mouth for about a count of 7. While exhaling, be sure to be tightening your stomach muscles to achieve a full exhalation of this breath.

I suggest repeating this 3-5 times once per hour during your waking hours of the day.

Making the simple choice of deep breathing through your day will significantly assist you in releasing your stress and moving you toward improved states of health.

One side note; when you are in the midst of a stressful situation, 3-5 of your deep belly breaths will assist with clarity and release.

To learn more about your Fundamentals of Health or Energetic/Emotional Release visit these links.

For a list of Depke Wellness events, please visit our Calendar of Events.

Is High Blood Pressure a Disease?

by Glen Depke

I have seen more and more new clients in my office lately that are challenged with hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. This has at times been shared by my clients as a disease that they have been diagnosed with that needs to be treated by medicine. So the question is, “Is this really a disease?”

If you do not already know this I will share that the answer is, absolutely not. While this is not a disease, it is often a symptom of stress or serious malnutrition.

Let’s understand that when we are talking about blood pressure, we are discussing your body’s ability to move your blood throughout your body to every aspect of your being to nourish the cells of your body and assist in removing cellular waste. When your body determines that it does not have the ability to move your blood in an optimal manner, your heart will pump harder to achieve this goal. Obviously, if this is determined by your body, it is a need.

Also understand that your blood pressure raises based on any fight or flee response that your body/mind can be currently responding to. Often we experience white coat syndrome, that is often the factually reaction to having your blood pressure taken in the doctor’s office. I would estimate that there are many individuals wrongly placed on meds for hypertension due to this white coat syndrome. I can remember in the past, showing up for a doctor’s appointment after being stuck in traffic and running late. When they took my blood pressure, it was off the charts. I explained what happened and they took it again at the end of my appointment and it was back to normal. What if I was put on meds because I did not open my mouth and share my experience that lead to the high readings?

There are other factors that may skew your blood pressure readings, such as consuming coffee or high sugar prior to having your blood pressure measured. Just drinking a simple cup of coffee can raise your blood pressure 10 points or more.

Another factor is smoking. Did you know that by lighting up and “enjoying?” your cigarette can increase your blood pressure by as much as 15-20 points?

We often hear that using salt raises blood pressure but I find this to be the case with the approximate 15% of the population that is salt sensitive or more of the case that conventional table salt is sodium and chloride and simply not the natural product as it is meant to be used. Since typical table salt is limited to only two minerals this often leads to an imbalance in sodium/potassium levels which leads to high blood pressure.

Kidney disease of liver stagnation can also lead to hypertension and need to be addressed if this is the issue. This is obviously best addressed by your doctor or natural health practitioner.

Atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis should not be overlooked either. This narrowing of the arterial system by deposits such as calcium, cholesterol or other blood constituents is commonly referred to as atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis is a thickening, stiffening and calcification of the artery walls, which can increase pressure because of a lessened diameter. These conditions are often due to an inflammatory challenge that causes a rupture of the inner lining of the artery wall and creates a perfect circumstance for the formation of plaque.

Let’s not forget that we mentioned nutritional deficiencies also and we will address this.

To address the stress factor, this could be as easy as practicing some deep belly breathing. This has a strong physical and emotionally relaxing effect on the body and should be used on a regular basis. I would also recommend consistent deep belly breathing when you know your blood pressure is going to be assessed. This will give you a higher chance of gaining a true reading for yourself. You could also use techniques such as ERT as used in my clinic.

Obviously the best way to address the smoking tie into hypertension is to stop smoking, but we can recognize that this is easier said than done for many. I recommend that quitting smoking be a part of a whole health program and to address this after you have shifted to positive health practices on the basic levels. I would suggest that you start by looking at your fundamentals of health and work from there.

Next we will discuss salt and nutrition together. From the nutritional perspective, I would suggest you search through our gluten intolerance page as well as nutritional ID. In regard to salt, it is best to use a high quality salt product such as the product we use in our home, Himalayan salt. This is not just a sodium/chloride product, but the full complement of some 80 or so naturally occurring minerals. This will not create the same stealing of other important minerals in the body, especially potassium.

Often when you look at minerals that are typically found to be depleted in hypertension individuals, this would include potassium, calcium and magnesium. Often by supplementing with these minerals there is a natural balance in blood pressure, especially when used in conjunction with the other tips in this article. When I am addressing this with my patients, I use liquid ionized forms of these individual minerals when available for the best possible absorption and assimilation.

If kidney disease is part of your problem, I would suggest eliminating all coffee, tea, alcohol and high sugar beverages. I would also never use tap water for drinking, showering or bathing. Drink approximately one quart of water for every fifty pounds of body weight daily and dry skin brush before your morning shower every day. Start with this and work with a qualified natural health practitioner to address balance within your kidneys.

If liver congestion is involved in your hypertension, I would also recommend working with a qualified natural health practitioner to assist in balancing your liver function.

As far as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are concerned you may want to research oral or intravenous chelation as this has been reported to assist on this level. I would also address the underlying causes of these challenges since this is generally caused by free radical activity and oxidative stress created by poor life style choices. A highly absorbable product that can assist with this free radical activity and oxidative stress is the Isotonix OPC-3.

So recognize that high blood pressure is not a disease and address the underlying challenges tied into this challenge. Very often when you take care of these areas the body is able to bring you back to a state of balance. Feel free to post any comments or questions for me to address personally.