Fink's Functional Medicine

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Fink's Functional Medicine

🌸 Address Root Cause and Restore Your Life 👩🏻‍⚕️ Gut Health & Weight Loss 🥼 Serving Ohio & Colorado 🌸

10/03/2024

Did you know that gut health plays a pivotal role in influencing arthritis and inflammation❗️

Evidence suggests that a well-maintained gut microbiome supports the body's inflammatory response. A diverse and balanced microbiome helps regulate the immune system's response to inflammation. Beneficial bacteria in the gut assist in training the immune system, helping it differentiate between harmful and harmless substances. This process helps prevent unnecessary immune reactions that can lead to chronic inflammation.

By eating a diverse, fiber-rich diet and integrating probiotics and fermented foods, you help support a healthier gut environment, positively impacting joint health and reducing inflammation.

Not sure where to start? We can help!

10/01/2024

Consistently consuming excessive sugar can significantly impact overall health, particularly our gut and immune system. 🍭

Research has highlighted that high-sugar diets contribute to poor gut health, consequently affecting the immune system (where roughly 70% of immune cells reside!).

09/29/2024

The gut is your second brain and the site of so many important processes in the body, so it's important to take good care of it.

Here are 5 things you should avoid that can harm your gut health:

🍺 Drinking too much alcohol can cause inflammation in the body and gut.

🍪 Consuming a lot of processed and packaged foods, which contain many binding agents and preservatives, can cause dysbiosis and inflammation in the gut.

💊 Overconsumption of over the counter painkillers can damage the gut lining.

🦠 Overuse of antibiotics can destroy beneficial bacteria within the gut microbiome.

😰 Chronic stress has negative affects on the whole body, including digestion and gut health.

Did you know these things can negatively affect your gut health? Let us know in the comments if you want to learn more!

09/26/2024

Did you know that foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids such as walnuts, olive oil, flaxseed oil, grass-fed butter and salmon are not only good sources of energy - they can also promote gut healing. 💚

Nowhere is this more important than in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s or Colitis. A 2011 study conducted at the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Greece identified that the anti-inflammatory nature of these fats eases Crohn’s symptoms.

Whether you suffer with a diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease, or simply tend towards bloating, try focusing on these healthy fats and avoiding poor quality fats from fried or packaged foods - this could be the change that makes all the difference.

09/24/2024

Digestive enzymes help the body break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in order to absorb nutrients from the food we consume. Without the proper enzymes, the nutrients in your food will be excreted and essentially go to waste.

Your body makes enzymes in the digestive system, including the mouth, stomach, and small intestine. The main digestive enzymes include amylase (breaks down carbohydrates), protease (breaks down proteins) and lipase (breaks down fats).

Certain health conditions can interfere with the production of digestive enzymes, and symptoms include bloating, excessive gas, cramping after meals and diarrhea.

👉 Enzymes can be found in foods such as avocados. bananas, ginger, honey, kefir, kiwi, mangos papayas, pineapples and sauerkraut.

Supplementation can greatly benefit those who have trouble producing enough digestive enzymes. Taken before meals, they can ensure your body properly breaks down foods and absorbs nutrients to maintain health. Be sure to work with your healthcare practitioner to determine which enzymes you need and proper dosage.

09/22/2024

Coating on your tongue that's white? New rash that keeps showing up...itchy in the wrong places? You may have Candida 🤔

Candida albicans is a yeast, a type of fungus which grows within the mouth, intestines, and skin. In small amounts, this fungus is harmless to our body and leads to no symptoms. The problems arise, however, when there is an overgrowth of Candida, which leads to infections.

A variety of factors contribute to Candida overgrowth including regular antibiotic use, a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, immune weakness, diabetes and stress.

09/19/2024

Along with following a tailored Candida protocol and eliminating foods that can trigger Candida, focusing on foods that have been proven to fight it and promote the growth of good bacteria is the key to eliminating the condition for good.

Try incorporating the following into your diet 👇

🧄 Garlic. Garlic has an anti fungal property called allicin, which is known to fight against candida yeast.
🥥 Coconut oil. Due to its high lauric acid content, coconut oil can also reduce Candida.
♥️ Pomegranate. More research needs to be done, but initial research has found that the plant compounds found in pomegranate are helpful in reducing Candida.
💛 Curcumin. Test tube studies show that curcumin has the ability to reduce the growth of Candida yeast and may even kill it.
🦠 Probiotics. Probiotics promote the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut and protect against candida. Lactobacillus is the recommended probiotic for fighting Candida overgrowth. Be sure to speak with a healthcare practitioner to guide you in the right supplements to choose for your condition.

09/17/2024

How can you tell if you have Candida overgrowth in your body? Here are the tell-tale signs to look out for ❗️

- Brain fog and Fatigue: This is one of the most common symptoms associated with Candida overgrowth and is likely due to nutritional deficiencies.

- Oral Thrush: When there is too much Candida in your mouth, white, bumpy patches will appear on the tongue, inner cheeks, or throat.

- Digestive Issues: Candida overgrowth may cause various unpleasant gut-related symptoms, such as bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

- Yeast Infections and Recurring UTIs: Vaginal yeast infections are quite common, occurring in 75% percent of women at least once. Candida overgrowth can also cause urinary tract infections (UTIs).

- Joint pain: When a Candida infection is left untreated for too long, the fungus can enter the bloodstream. This then affects the joints and can lead to arthritis.

- Hormonal imbalance: The by-products of Candida, which can spread beyond the digestive tract, mimic estrogen, which can cause serious hormonal imbalance.

09/15/2024

Not only does diversifying your regular menu encourage you to try new foods, it also diversifies the gut microbiome! The bacteria in our bodies help regulate digestion, hormones, mood and more. Providing our gut bacteria diverse foods helps to maintain their integrity and volume. In fact, lack of variety in the diet is a common reason people can suffer from poor gut health.

By trying out new recipes weekly you can learn to cook something new and who knows, it might even become a new staple for you!

Some ideas include experimenting with produce you may not always purchase, types of cuisines from different parts of the world, plant based or vegetarian dishes.

Need some inspiration? Check out our previous posts - we often share some of our favorite recipes each month!

09/12/2024

New research shows that consuming green tea extract for four weeks can reduce blood sugar levels and improve gut health by lowering inflammation and decreasing leaky gut.

Metabolic syndrome affects about one-third of Americans and researchers said this is the first study assessing whether the health risks linked to the condition may be diminished by green tea's anti-inflammatory benefits in the gut.

The study found that within one month participants experienced lower blood glucose in both those with metabolic syndrome and healthy people, and the lowering of blood glucose appears to be related to decreasing leaky gut and decreasing gut inflammation -- regardless of health status.

Read more here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220726132640.htm

09/10/2024

Minerals are essential for the body, just as much as vitamins. Three particular minerals contribute to good gut function and motility.

Sodium
This electrolyte is necessary for stomach acid production and to direct water into cells. If you find you drink plenty of water and are still thirsty, you may need more sodium. Get good quality sea salt and fermented foods. An easy electrolyte replenishing beverage you can try is water with a pinch of sea salt and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Potassium
High stress and adrenal fatigue deplete potassium regularly. Potassium is necessary for muscle contraction and helps regulate motility. Potassium can be found in bananas, avocado, and coconut water.

Magnesium
Magnesium is responsible for over 300 chemical processes in the body! One of its important functions is ensuring proper muscle contraction and energy production. Seeds, oats and beans are great dietary sources of magnesium.

09/08/2024

Kombucha is a fermented tea, rich in beneficial probiotics, consumed for hundreds of years across many cultures. 🫖

The process of fermentation of specific strains of bacteria with black or green tea, results in a beverage which contains several species of lactic-acid bacteria which may have probiotic function. Probiotics provide our bodies with healthy bacteria and have been shown to improve gut health, digestion, inflammation and more.

Kombucha is also a source of antioxidants which provide the body with protection against harmful free radicals.

Be mindful of the sugar content in store bought kombucha (some can contain as much sugar as sodas!). Those who suffer from irritable bowel disease (IBD) or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) should also avoid kombucha as it may trigger symptoms.

Address

25 N Canfield Niles Road Suite 10
Youngstown, OH
44515

Website

http://finksfm.com/

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