Most people don’t think about their gallbladder until extreme pain hits them in the abdomen, particularly the right upper quadrant. Imaging and liver function tests often reveal gallstones or sludge and depending on the severity, removing the gallbladder may be recommended. But making diet and habit changes sooner rather than later makes a big difference for this little but important organ.

Why do we need a gallbladder anyway?

The main job of the gallbladder is to concentrate bile, a substance that helps you break down fat and absorb fat-soluble vitamins (D, E, A, and K). Vitamins D and A support a healthy immune system and help us fight viral infection. Healthy fats are also the main nutrition source for the brain and nervous system. Poorly absorbing nutritional fat negatively impacts cognitive health over time, increasing risks for dementia.
 

Bile is an exit route

Bile is the dumping ground for cholesterol, bilirubin, toxins, and bile salts. Cholesterol, a fatty signalling molecule in your blood, is dissolved in bile. Elevated LDL (or bad) cholesterol predisposes gallstones’ formation and weakens the bile. Gallstones are most commonly cholesterol stones but increased bilirubin can also create stones, just to a lesser degree. Bilirubin, the breakdown product from old red blood cells, is why your stool is brown. When stool is grey or light yellow, usually this indicates an obstruction along the bile route of the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine. This is a serious medical issue requiring urgent care.

Bile is a drain for many detox pathways from the liver and is possibly the main way we remove toxins from the body. Not having a gallbladder means the bile is not concentrated and weak, which impacts detox capability. Not to mention, bile is very alkaline–the opposite of stomach acid which brings balance from the harsh acidic environment. Weak bile usually goes with poor nutrient absorption.

Bile salts have antibacterial and antifungal properties that break down unwanted microbes from food and prevent intestinal inflammation and overgrowths of unhealthy gut flora. These salts are actually made from cholesterol. Certain medications like oral birth control and NSAIDS (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and others) actually disrupt the bile salt formation and bile composition and increase risks for gallstone formation.1
 

Don’t let your bile weaken

When bile weakens you will see increased irritable bowel syndrome and SIBO (Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth) symptoms such as gas, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, or constipation. Supporting the alkalinity of the bile, decreasing cholesterol, and stimulating stomach acid and digestive enzymes are keys to preventing gallstones and promoting fat and nutrient absorption.

Supplementing with ox bile is an effective way to support bile composition. Products like Lipotropic Complex by Integrative Therapeutics, Digestzyme by Designs for Health, and Cholacol by Standard Process are commonly used. People who have had their gallbladders removed especially need to strengthen their bile because they are missing the organ responsible for doing so. This will drastically improve fat absorption, support liver detox, and increase fat-soluble vitamin absorption.

A non-animal source of bile support comes from the bitter herbs, the stars being dandelion root, burdock root, milk thistle, and artichoke. Biliven from Premier Research Labs is a favored vegan source for these herbs. These can be consumed as a tea, but know that bitter herbs are just that–bitter. If you tolerate the bitterness of coffee, this may not bother you. If you dislike the flavor, they exist in capsule form too!
 

Don’t gallbladder flush

Once a stone has developed in the gallbladder, flushing it out is actually a dangerous idea. If lodged by the common bile duct, stones create acute pancreatitis and a life-threatening situation where the pancreas cannot secrete its digestive enzymes properly and actually digests itself. Remember, gallstones formed gradually, so resolving them gradually is the more appropriate pace. Stone-dissolving protocols with the herb Chankra Piedra (like Royal Break Stone) exist, but they are used over the course of several weeks. In addition, you do have to stop the conditions that created the stone in the first place. Diet changes are paramount.
 

Eat right and exercise

Sugar, alcohol, dairy, grains, and processed foods are all really hard for the liver to handle which does weaken bile. The liver loves dark leafy greens, beets, bitter flavors, and foods rich in antioxidants, not to mention omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.

Exercise actually helps circulation through the liver. Sedentary lifestyle leads to liver stagnation and gallstone development. Accumulation of abdominal visceral fat, a more inflammatory fat, will damage tissue by concentrating free radicals and inhibit blood flow for the liver.

Losing abdominal fat will improve blood flow to hepatic tissue and reduce risks for gallstone formation. A similar phenomenon is seen post-pregnancy. Postpartum women have higher risks for gallbladder attack because for 40 weeks they have been sharing abdominal space with a fetus that has been impeding blood flow to all the abdominal organs, especially liver and gallbladder.

Don’t let intense pain be the first time you think of your gallbladder. Develop a taste for bitter herbal teas, leafy greens, and vegetables, and really watch the Standard American Diet intake. If that isn’t happening well in your diet habits, commit to a supplement that works best for you and keep it in your daily routine. Lastly, move yourself! Break the chain to your desk, TV, and easy chair and invite blood flow! Supporting yourself in these simple ways will let you and your gallbladder live happily ever after.

Amy Nelson, ND* received her Naturopathic Doctorate from the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR where she studied nutrition, homeopathy, herbal and functional medicine. In addition, Dr. Nelson was the Associate at The IBS Treatment Center in Santa Monica where she treated irritable bowel syndrome and complex food allergies. Dr. Nelson utilizes her experience in natural medicine to address female and male hormonal imbalances, mental health, and digestive disorders. Amy is available for consultation at Peoples North.
 
 
*Naturopathic Doctors are not currently licensed in the state of Texas.
 
If you have comments and/or questions about this blog, email us at blog@peoplesrx.com.
 
 
1. (Etminan M, Delaney JA, Bressler B, Brophy JM. Oral contraceptives and the risk of gallbladder disease: a comparative safety study. CMAJ. 2011;183(8):899-904. doi:10.1503/cmaj.110161) (Sterling, R.K., Shiffman, M.L., Sugerman, H.J. et al. Effect of NSAIDs on gallbladder bile composition. Digest Dis Sci 40, 2220–2226 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02209010)

Staying home during a global pandemic is a great time to work on boosting your immune system, if you weren’t already! While having a strong immune system is indeed important during something like the current COVID-19 pandemic, it’s actually significant all the time. At any age, year-round, no matter your health status.

How To Boost Your Immune System Now

Of course there are tons of supplements and vitamins out there that can help with immunity (we’ll touch on that below), but there are other ways to work on your immune system that involve the things you already do every day to be and stay healthy.

Get up and exercise
Getting a daily dose of exercise is obviously good for your overall health, but did you know it can better your immune system too? The lymphatic system, an off-shoot of your veins, is the highway for your immune cells. The best way to get blood and lymph pumping is to exercise. This helps get immune cells where they need to go and helps relieve stagnation in inflamed tissue. In early stages of infection, any movement actually stimulates the immune system.

And we don’t mean you have to train for a marathon or become a powerlifter, either. If your gym is closed or you’re not the gym type, just focus on moving your body and raising your heart rate. Take a brisk neighborhood walk with the family and/or dog, have a living room dance party, search Youtube for bodyweight workout plans, do yoga! Set up a home “gym” with canned food, milk jugs filled with water, and that jump rope you once upon a time stashed in the junk closet.

Focus on nutrition
Ah yes, eating “clean.” The thing so many of us strive to do day in and day out. What many people don’t realize is how important diet is to the immune system. Poor nutrition creates inflammation that weakens the immune system, congests the liver, and potentially feeds pathogens. Gluten, dairy, and sugar are the opposite of superfoods. Gluten and dairy are two of the most common inflammatory foods, creating mucous, inflammation, and tissue damage when ingested.

Get some sleep
We all know that the standard eight hours every night is best, but it’s especially necessary to build and keep a strong immune system. When you get into a deep sleep, your body secretes growth hormone, something that helped you grow from childhood. As an adult, growth hormone repairs tissue. You cannot properly heal from injury or inflammation if you don’t sleep.

Quit those bad habits
We know a lot of people have traded smoking for vaping in the last few years, but it’s not any better for our overall health. And even though you often hear that a little nightly red wine is good for heart health, it’s important to remember that any alcohol isn’t great for the body. Alcohol, in any way, shape, or form is toxic to the liver, digestive system, pancreas, and kidneys. These are also main immune and detox organs that need support during infections.

When supplements can help
As hard as we work to be as healthy as possible, sometimes you need a little supplementation help, and that’s ok! Three basic supplements for the immune system are Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc. Upper respiratory viral infections have a classic history with Vitamin C. Even 2,000-5,000 mg per day has been shown to shorten the duration of upper respiratory infections. Vitamin D is an immune supporter, and even people with adequate sun exposure can have low-levels of vitamin D. 2,000-5,000 IUs is a helpful, non-toxic dose to support your body during infections. Zinc is an immune activator that also inhibits the spread of bacteria and viruses. Peoples Rx has a wide array of these basic supplements, as well as specialized formulas for your specific needs.
 
While doing all of these simultaneously are the best case scenario for your body and immune system, know that every little bit helps. Just like maintaining a healthy weight, cutting out a specific food group or habit, and sticking to an exercise routine, building a strong immune system is an ongoing, lifelong journey!

If you feel like you could use some immune support, our practitioners at Peoples Wellness Center and other Peoples Rx locations are currently scheduling virtual, discounted mini-consults focusing on the immune system. Schedule your telehealth appointment today by calling 512-219-8600.
 
 
Amy Nelson, ND* received her Naturopathic Doctorate from the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR where she studied nutrition, homeopathy, herbal and functional medicine. In addition, Dr. Nelson was the Associate at The IBS Treatment Center in Santa Monica where she treated irritable bowel syndrome and complex food allergies. Dr. Nelson utilizes her experience in natural medicine to address female and male hormonal imbalances, mental health, and digestive disorders.
 
 
*Naturopathic Doctors are not currently licensed in the state of Texas.
 
If you have comments and/or questions about this blog, email us at blog@peoplesrx.com.

During these trying times, we’ve found that one of the best ways to keep our spirits high (which helps keep our immunity up too!) is to keep recognizing and celebrating all the silver linings. So when we find ourselves starting down the path of lamenting for the days we had more genuine, face-to-face customer interactions and even more hugs, we shift our thoughts to the excellent service we’re still able to offer through our new curbside service and mail-out orders, and to how we can improve and offer even more for you every day. Here are some ways we’re keeping ourselves going, and we hope this helps to keep you going too!
 

Generosity Makes a Difference

You, dear customers have been brightening our world in many ways, which we are ever so grateful for. As if your friendly smiles and your patronage were not enough, we’ve had some customers donate face masks and Clorox wipes to help keep our employees safe, and some very loyal compounding customers at our North location even dropped by some Starbucks gift cards! We want you to know, these gestures mean a lot to us!

We’ve also had some awesome vendors step up and take care of us, too! Topi-Click fed our pharmacy staff lunch at all stores, and brands like CV Sciences, WAAYB, Gaia Herbs, Probulin, and Hemp Fusion have brought us samples to support our employees both physically and mentally right now, which we’re all so appreciative of!

Of course, it certainly didn’t hurt when Petals, Ink. delivered free flowers to our South store, just because. Thank you, Petals, Ink, for brightening our day! And when *2* new babies were just born into the Peoples family in the last month (welcome baby Daisy and baby Tristan!), you just can’t help but be joyful.
 

Giving is Receiving

What touches our hearts on a daily basis, is seeing our own Peoples people stepping up to take care of each other. Employees at all locations have been doing nice things for each other for no reason other than to show they care. We’ve had staff making face masks, bringing snacks, and even providing entire meals for each other. They’ve worked together to have store-wide meals to share too, and just check in on one another in general. It’s through acts like these, by taking the time to care for themselves and each other, that our staff is able to give their absolute best to our customers.

As a company, Peoples has proudly found ways to give back more as well. In recognizing that many local eateries are now struggling to keep their doors open, we’ve started providing weekly lunches for employees from nearby local restaurants. There’s been so much love pouring into our stores as a local brand, we want to spread the love around, from one local to another! We’re also thrilled that we’ve been able to secure the ingredients to compound our own hand sanitizer, which we will be donating to a couple of local fire stations.
 

New & Fun Ways to Spend Time

If you’ve got more time than usual and are looking for ways to spend it usefully, try out these ideas!

• Keep laughter in your life by discovering a new feel-good sitcom, checking out a new podcast, or watching John Krasinski’s Some Good News.

• Find a new way to exercise! Try out a Sweatfest dance party, get to know Austin native Yoga with Adriene, or support a local yoga studio who has moved to livestreaming classes like Black Swan, Practice Yoga, or Sukha Yoga. The YMCA, Todd Pilates, and Camp Gladiator are also offering workout-from-home options!

• Try out new recipes from The Good Food Fighter to get out of your normal kitchen routine.

• Send a note, call, or set up a Zoom chat to catch up with people who have touched your life but you haven’t been in touch with in a while.

• Start a gratitude journal! Take a few minutes each day to write down three quick things you’re thankful for to keep your focus on positivity.

• Learn a new crafty hobby while supporting a small local business!

• Quiet and calm the mind. Check out apps like Headspace, Calm, Insight Timer, or Simple Habit for mindfulness and guided meditation.

 
We may not know what tomorrow holds, but as long as we are able to safely stay open, we’ll be here providing the knowledge and care we love to give. Together we’ll all get through this, and we’ll be even better for it on the other side!
 
 
If you have comments and/or questions about this blog, email us at blog@peoplesrx.com.

As conditions like depression and anxiety become more and more prevalent in society, it sometimes seems as though science and medicine struggle to keep up with viable solutions for those suffering. If you currently struggle with any kind of brain-related condition, listen up! These local clinics and their treatment options might be worth looking into.

Neurotherapy

Sometimes called Neurofeedback, this non-invasive therapy uses technology and feedback from your brain waves to treat a number of ailments and conditions. It is used to target symptoms of everything from migraines and anxiety, to brain injuries and ADHD.

The feedback is used to retrain brain waves into new patterns, allowing clients to actively heal themselves. It is possible for people of all ages to benefit from this type of therapy, and Austin is lucky to have a handful of clinics providing these services.

The Peak Performance Institute uses electroencephalogram (EEG) Neurofeedback techniques and more traditional psychological therapy to not only get an accurate diagnosis, but to also create a specialized treatment plan by working closely with patients’ treating physicians.

The Austin Biofeedback and EEG Neurofeedback Center utilizes state of the art therapeutic tools to give clients biofeedback that will provide ‘helpful information about physiological functions in a way that is easy to understand and use.’ They aim to improve brain functions by helping your brain adopt new habits, with the goal of dealing with neurological conditions and developing a more resilient brain to improve cognition and promote healthy aging.

Neurofeedback has been used for migraines, depression, anxiety, ADHD and learning disorders, the autism spectrum, poor memory, seizures, head injuries, and so much more.

Personalized Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (PrTMS)

A little known therapy called Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has been on the scene in testing since the 1980’s, and the FDA-approved and insurance-covered treatment has been available for the past 8 years for treating depression. As a pediatric radiation oncologist specializing in brain tumors, San Diego physician Dr. Kevin Murphy has combined his knowledge of the brain with a close personal interest in autism to adapt rTMS technology into a more refined science. Professional experience, personal drive, and 8 years of practical research resulted in a personalized TMS protocol known as PrTMS, a cutting-edge new treatment that may help where other strategies have failed when it comes to neurological disorders like depression. For Dr. Murphy, it helped his 9-year-old son who was on the Autism Spectrum go from needing one-on-one attention to transitioning off the spectrum. He also transitioned into a regular class in school in a matter of months.

PrTMS has been shown to offer high remission rates for a wide range of conditions without medications or side effects. Each treatment protocol is designed to meet the specific need of each patient for overall brain health. There are many who currently benefit from PrTMS, including NASA astronauts, Navy Seals, professional athletes, children on the autistic spectrum, veterans with PTSD, those suffering with bipolar disorder, and many more.

How It Works
Like a fine musical instrument, our brains can also get out of tune. Physical or emotional trauma, illness, medications and age can all contribute to resulting discord over time. Some traumatic events may cause a slowing in areas of the brain. This slowing can appear as depression, memory loss, diminished executive functioning, and dementia. Other areas of the brain may be moving too fast, as often seen in post traumatic stress (PTSD), anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and the autism spectrum. Imagine a marching band where different sections are playing in different rhythms. Just as that can be uncomfortable to hear, we experience a similar discomfort when our brains are playing different tunes.

Every brain has an intrinsic, efficient operating frequency which enables peak performance. This ranges generally from 8 to 10 hertz, and varies individually. The magnetic pulses of PrTMS act as a conductor, commanding both the areas that are moving too slow or too fast to move in the optimal time. Over a series of treatments, the “band,” or brain, begins working together and in sync.

To find the right frequency or time for each person, the EEG captures a snapshot of the functioning of 19 areas of the brain and the individual’s resonant frequency. Although not yet a diagnostic tool on its own, the EEG helps guide and monitor the treatment and progress.

Weekly EEGs, medical and medication history, and self-assessments are used to personalize the TMS treatment to work with each person’s inherent frequency. Along with FDA-approved and adapted TMS treatment machines, doctors are able to finely tune the traditional rTMS treatment for each individual. The personalization allows for a more targeted and painless treatment with high efficacy rates.

The Patient Experience
As an outpatient treatment, patients attend daily treatments for 6-8 weeks. During the 30-minute PrTMS treatments, the patient sits in a reclined chair while a strong magnet rests on the head over three locations during the treatment session. Pulse sequences called trains painlessly deliver the treatment over 20 to 30 minutes. Peer-reviewed articles on traditional rTMS show 30-40% remission where patients suffering from depression were off medications completely. The Oak Hill Wellness Clinic has an 85% success rate, meaning a 50% or greater decrease in symptoms in patients suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other conditions. The 36-session treatment is a major game changer for those that have not been able to tolerate medications.

Long-Term Effects
Some clients go into complete remission without needing future treatments while others require a “maintenance” cycle consisting of 1-2 weeks of treatment once or twice a year, as needed. Medications may generally be eliminated or greatly reduced. Treatment with PrTMS works similar to a computer reboot. In order to best maintain the positive effects of this reset, clients are urged to consider complementary modalities to support these changes in the long term. These may include:

● Counseling or therapy to support positive lifestyle changes
● Partnering with prescribing doctors to adjust and/or eliminate medications
● Nutritional counseling to explore the gut-brain connection toward optimal health
● Meditation and/or mindfulness techniques
● Movement and/or exercise

Finding What Works For You

At Peoples Rx, we know that the answer to your health concerns doesn’t always lie in a pill. We love taking a holistic approach to health, and simply sharing health information that can improve peoples’ lives. Peoples Rx has no affiliation or financial relationship with the clinics listed above. We hope to see you soon and look forward to serving you on your next visit!

The PrTMS portion of this article is written by Dr. Vinay Parameswara of Oak Hill Wellness Clinic. He is one of only eight PrTMS providers worldwide.

To learn more about PrTMS and the various disorders with promise for a positive clinical response, please contact Oak Hill Wellness Clinic by calling 512-892-0030 or by emailing susan@oakhill360health.com.

Image courtesy of nenetus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a common occurrence during the darker winter months. As many as 20 percent of people may experience some degree of low mood in the winter, with 2-10 percent of people experiencing significant depression.

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