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Root Cause Medicine

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Saint Paul, MN
Root Cause Medicine

Adult-Geriatric Internal Medicine, Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Nurse Practitioner⚕️🩺 A4M Member🫶🏻🤓

02/12/2026

Blood sugars have as much to do with heart disease as high cholesterol does!

Do you know that for every point your fasted blood sugar is above 84mg/dl, you have a 6% risk of becoming a type 2 diabetic?

When your fasted blood sugar hits 90 or above, you are at risk for vascular and kidney damage already!

If your A1c is in the prediabetes range, you still are not safe!

What is the bottom line here you ask?

Your risk for type 2 diabetes increases by 9% for every point above 90mg/dl for your fasted blood sugar.

Having elevated blood sugars, causes your blood vessels to stiffen, and allows the sticky cholesterol molecules to deposit in your arteries, it is that simple.

Elevated blood sugars cause you to age faster, and it causes metabolic signaling issues (think insulin resistance and not being able to get glucose into your cells, to be utilized).

*If you have insulin signaling issues, you will have insulin resistance, which turns into Type 2 Diabetes.

*If you have stiffened blood vessels, that will lead to plaque buildup, or atherosclerosis.

*This can also cause neuroinflammation, and brain signaling issues, which contributes to anxiety, depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and memory loss.

*This can also cause immunity issues, causing your chance of an autoimmune disease to rise significantly.

If you don't fix your elevated blood sugars, you are at a much higher risk of developing cancer as well. Cancer cells feed on glucose, and when you are insulin resistant, and have high blood sugars, there is a lot of glucose to feed on in your blood stream (as the glucose is not able to get into your cells to be utilized). Cancer cells thrive in environment, and their cells replicate quickly.

What can you do?

Work with your clinician to help to really control your blood sugars, getting your fasted blood sugar to 84 or as close to it as possible. Working on diet and exercise is paramount in this process!

Lifestyle changes are paramount here!

If you need help, reach out!

I see patients daily for all of the above issues!

www.rootcausemn.com

02/03/2026

The next heart health topic is high blood pressure (hypertension)!

Having an elevated blood pressure puts stress on your entire body!

A "good" blood pressure is considered one that is 120/80 or below.

I am sure that you have been told that if your blood pressure is under 140/90; then you are good to go-that is no longer the case.

JNC 9 guidelines (2023) from the American Heart Association changed everything, breaking down blood pressure into the following categories:

Normal: less than 120/80
Elevated blood pressure: 120-129/80
Stage 1 hypertension: 130-139/80-89
Stage 2 hypertension: above 140/90.

The goal is to intervene faster, so that any damage done to your body can be avoided.

What does hypertension do to your body you ask?

High blood pressure causes damage to your artery walls, causing them to become less elastic, to narrow, and to harden, leading to increased risk of blockages and aneurisms.

High blood pressure also causes damage to your heart, as it causes your heart to work harder to pump blood through, causing heart muscle thickening leading to coronary artery disease, heart failure, and chest pain.

High blood pressure can cause kidney damage as your weakened blood vessels in the kidneys impair their ability to filter blood, leading to kidney disease, and eventually renal failure.

High blood pressure can also affect your brain! It can cause reduced or blocked blood flow to your brain, which can cause strokes, cognitive impairment, and vascular dementia.

High blood pressure can cause vision loss, as the increased pressure manages the small and very delicate blood vessels in the eyes, potentially causing blindness.

High blood pressure can also cause sexual dysfunction in both men and women due to restricted blood flow.

Signs that your blood pressure are too high:
-Headaches
-Chest Pain
-Dizziness
-Shortness of breath
-Nausea
-Nose bleeds

Working on your lifestyle, managing stress, getting good sleep, and also working on diet and exercise are huge in controlling blood pressure.

Exercise means walking 30 minutes, 5 days per week = 150 minutes of exercise per week!

If your blood pressure is in the elevated stages, consider changing your diet, to a Mediterranean focused diet, eliminating all processed foods, and really reducing your salt, or sodium intake!

Goals for sodium intake daily are under 3 grams per day! If you are on blood pressure medication, then 2 grams per day of salt for you!

What can you do right now to watch your blood pressure you ask?

Easy! Go purchase a blood pressure cuff! I prefer Omron brand!

Check your blood pressure after being relaxed for about 10 minutes and see where you are at!

If you are on medication for your blood pressure, it is best to wait about an hour after taking your medication to check your blood pressure reading.

If your blood pressure is above goal, follow up with your primary care provider to discuss it!

01/31/2026

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ As January moves into February, we move into the month of life, love, and all things cardiac health!

During the month of February, I will be posting information on heart health, to help educate you!

The first topic you ask? High cholesterol and coronary artery blockage.

Coronary artery blockages (plaque buildup in the main arteries that feed your heart muscle) start to accumulate in your 30’s and 40’s, and manifest as heart attacks in your 60’s and 70’s.

It’s so very important to take your cardiac health seriously, and work to preserve and prevent blockages from happening as much you possibly can!

What puts you at risk, you ask?
-Stress
-Poor diet (ultraprocessed foods)
-Poor sleep
-A sedentary lifestyle
-Chronic diseases (diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, etc).
-Smoking
-Sleep Apnea
-Genetics

What can you do to help prevent issues going forward?

-Know your cardiac risk!
-Get advanced lipid profiles done!
-Genetic testing if warranted!
-Having a CT Coronary Artery Calcium Scan done!
-Changing your lifestyle!

There are advanced cholesterol panels out there (blood work) that can tell you what type of plaque you have (fluffy large molecules that do not tend to stick to your arteries, or small, dense, and hard molecules that love to stick to your arteries). These blood tests are available in some mainstream labs, but many clinician’s do not even know about them.

What am I talking about?

Lipoprotein a (a highly inheritable, genetically determined type of "sticky" LDL cholesterol that acts as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease).

Apolipoprotein B, is a protein that plays a crucial role in transporting cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. It is the primary structural component of atherogenic lipoproteins like low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and measuring its levels is considered a more accurate predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than traditional cholesterol tests alone.

Those two blood tests along with lipoprotein fractionation is what you will want to have done.

An example of a lipoprotein fractionation is:

VLDL (very low density lipoprotein) type of "bad" cholesterol produced in the liver that transports triglycerides, cholesterol, and other lipids to tissues throughout the body.

If you have an elevated fasted blood sugar (even with a prediabetes level hemoglobin A1C, it can cause your blood vessel walls to stiffen, and cause the small, dense cholesterol molecules to stick in your vessels, causing blockage).

Do you know that if your LDL cholesterol is low or normal, it does not necessarily mean that you will not have plaque or blockage in your heart?

The same is true if your LDL cholesterol is high, you may or may not have blockage.

So other than blood work, how can you check to see if you have blockage?

A CT Coronary Artery Calcium Scan!

This test takes just a few minutes, and it can give you a generalization of if you have blockage. The scan gives you an Agaston score, which can be plugged into the Mesa score calculator, which will calculate your 10-year cardiovascular risk. Using the Mesa calculator and your Agaston score, gives you a much more accurate look at your chance of a cardiac event in 10 years.

If your clinician is still using the ASCVD risk calculator, then they need to be educated on all of this new information.

This scan is starting to get covered by insurances, and costs about $150 out of pocket-a small price to pay, to see where you are at!

Controlling your lifestyle factors (stress, diet, and exercise) is the best possible way to help you heart health going forward!

Even if you are on medications to help your heart health-you still have to do the work!

Knowledge is power-educate yourself!

As always, I am here to help you, all you need to do is reach out!

www.rootcausemn.com

01/28/2026

I have a HUGE announcement this morning!

I have been accepted to start an 18-month fellowship in Functional and Integrative Psychiatry through Dr. James Greenblatt and Psychiatry Redefined!

He is one of the first psychiatrists who integrated a functional medicine approach to treating mental health!

Almost every patient I see, mental health is one of the biggest medical concerns that needs to be addressed head on, to make progress in other areas. I am so excited to be able to approach mental health with my patients in a more functional medicine-based approach as well!

I will be a lifelong learner. Knowledge IS power! The more I know, the more I can help you with your concerns!

01/19/2026

Optimantra now has an app that you can use directly from your phone! The app is free!

If you are a patient of mine, please download this! It makes it so easy to send messages or questions through the portal!!!

I phone users:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/optimantra/id6478689374

Google Play/Android users:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.optimantra&pcampaignid=web_share

01/10/2026

So much yes to all of this!

12/21/2025

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and a very happy new year!

I will be out of the office until 01/05/26!

This is the season to slow down, savor, and enjoy the company of loved ones!

Let go of that to-do list, and rest-your cortisol levels will thank you!

Here’s to the best year yet! Without each and everyone of you, it would not be possible-so thank you!

See you in 2026!

11/29/2025

So much yes to this 👏🏻

11/28/2025

Sales are live!

Email to claim: breeanna@rootcausemn.com

11/27/2025

So thankful for each and everyone of you!

Today is the day to eat the turkey, the stuffing, and yes, even the cranberries and desserts!

Today is the day to put down your phones and be actually present with family and friends!

Hug your loved ones tight today, and enjoy the magic to the start of this holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/25/2025

Black Friday sales are live!

Offers good through small business Saturday, 11/29/25 at midnight.

Email breeanna@rootcausemn.com to claim!

*No refunds, all sales final*

10/16/2025

I know that I have been pretty quiet lately, but I have been working on several different certifications and have been very busy.

The first thing I want to update my patients on is additional peptide therapies that I will be offering!

I am currently undergoing peptide certification (oral, IM, and IV therapies) through A4M and have joined the International Peptide Society!

Peptides are short chained amino acids that help your body stimulate functions at the cellular level.

They can help heal your body, by driving down inflammation and repairing it!

Peptides can also help your body stimulate and support processes like fat burning, muscle building, immune modulation, and can even help with antiaging, and your brain power!

Stay tuned for so much more information on peptides! This journey is just starting!

Address

2136 Ford Parkway #5341
Saint Paul, MN
55116

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	7am - 12pm
Thursday	7am - 12pm
Friday	7am - 5pm

Telephone

+16512125344

Website

https://www.rootsapothecary.com/?ref=RootCauseMN, https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/bmccarthy1684761375, https://www.opt

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