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We wanted to bring your attention to a thought provoking article that deserves comment….

Clinically, I have seen my patients improve greatly from taking high quality vitamins and mineral formulas. Of course, I rather they receive all of their nutrition from a healthy balanced diet but really how realistic is that and what exactly does a balanced diet mean. Our food sources are becoming more and more nutritionally deplete as we continue to contaminate the soil with pesticides and transport our foods for days and miles. Studies have shown a 3 fold increase in nutritional content of organic produce versus non-organic produce due to soil mineral content.

As a primary care physician trained extensively in nutrition, I believe if we hang our hats on the studies mentioned in this article and stop recommending vitamins then we will be doing a great disservice to our patients. Andrew Shao, the vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said himself that there are inherent flaws in the way these vitamins are studied. With a more trained eye, as I examine these study designs there are many more factors that must be considered such as pre-existing conditions and nutritional status of many of the study participants at the onset of the study.

I agree that isolating out vitamin constituents ignores the healing quality that the whole plants have to offer. But we know that specific therapeutic dosing of nutrients are necessary for altering the course of several diseases. For example, based on an individual’s vitamin D status one might have to take over 2500 IU of Vitamin D to prevent contraction of the common cold or flu. In Good Elements, we have formulas which combine the vitamin isolates with whole foods like broccoli and pomegranate which is the best of both worlds. (see Good Element’s Renewal)

Continue to look at these studies critically and use your best judgment. For prevention of disease and to maintain optimal health status, vitamin and mineral supplements can be an enormous assistance

Yours in Health,

Dr. Britta Zimmer Naturopathic Physician and Founder of Goodelements.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/health/17well.html?em

Pillar II- The Mind-Body Connection / Stress reduction

Emotional processing, breathing fresh air, and movement all lend to reducing stress.

Emotional Processing-
Taking time to reflect on the physical manifestations of stress and imbalance will empower you to understand the way your body functions. Not being aware of the deleterious effects of stress on your body results in the suppression of symptoms and emotions which can lead to further chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases. In other words, the stuffing of emotions and denial causes dis-ease in the body which can lead to disease. Holistic / alternative medicine practitioners and therapists can facilitate the process of understanding the mind / body connection to prevent future disease.

Fresh Air-
Breathing fresh air reduces elevated cortisol levels in the body, cleanses the system, and activates the rest and digest nervous system (the parasympathetic nervous system). This relieves the body of stress and helps your body be more resilient against everyday stressors.

Movement-
Movement in any form; exercise, yoga, stretching, tai chi, sex, dancing, or walking, also decreases elevated stress cortisol levels, keeps your circulation healthy, and releases healthy endorphins.

Stay Tuned for Pillar III, Sleep.

Yours in health,
Dr. Britta Zimmer
Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

Pillar I- Nutrition/ Digestion / Elimination-

Food is medicine and fuel for the body. The body will function well when fueled with good quality food. Just like a car, if you put bad quality gas in a car it will not run efficiently. Likewise treat your body like a nice car that requires supreme, high test gasoline. Organic, fresh, low-allergenic food provides optimal nutrition for your body. An ideal diet goal would consist of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, local protein sources, limited amounts of dairy and no refined sugars or processed foods. To optimize digestion and absorption of these nutrients emphasize the importance of eating in a relaxed setting to calm down your fight and flight nervous system (the sympathetic nervous system) and activate your rest and digest nervous system ( the parasympathetic nervous system). Chew your food well and take your time to eat.

Finally, understand the importance of proper elimination by monitoring your bowel habits. Is food taking more than 18 hours to clear your system? You can test this by eating beets or taking activated charcoal capsules and noting when you see your stools turn red or black respectively depending on if you ate beets or consumed charcoal capsules. This is called the transit time test.

Heed this advice and quickly begin to feel more energetic and healthy once you have adopted a freshly balanced diet and healthy eating skills. Ultimately, you will be able to reflect back on past unhealthy food relationships and habits, as you choose to make healthy food choices based on how you feel.

Stay Tuned for Pillar II the Mind-Body Connection / Stress reduction

Yours in health,
Dr. Britta Zimmer
Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

I recently visited my 96 year old grandfather, a vibrant, sharp man who still works a couple of days a week, amazing! Unfortunately, a cancerous growth was recently discovered in his mouth and the purpose of my visit was to help him develop a plan of action. A hefty course of radiation is the only recommended treatment for someone of his age. Herein lies the dilemma, should he live his comfortable life as is and not treat the growth or should he attempt the radiation with all of its side effects and low level of efficacy? I think I know what I would choose since I consider radiation a rather barbaric treatment for a 96 year old, quality of life is too important to me. But what does Papa want? This is what matter.

Papa’s big question, why me and this, so soon? He is not giving up without a fight.

I never pushed my opinion on him because this is his body and his fight. I solely explained to him in plain words what’s going on while translating all of the doctors’ words heard in the past 2 weeks. He finally asked me seriously “What do you think will help me?” I replied “Follow your heart and do what you think will help most.” Which ever course he sets his mind to will extend his life the longest.

No one knows how long it will be but Papa’s mind can dictate this. No statistic, textbook, or doctor can tell your body how to behave, you have the power. Make up your mind and your body will follow.

Yours in health,
Dr. Britta Zimmer
Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

This is a common question I receive in my practice especially after I recommend discontinuing consuming dairy products to a majority of my patients.

Animal-based dairy products are very abundant in our culture and are consumed daily by most people. For this reason dairy has become a common food allergen and it is important to avoid or limit the daily consumption of dairy products.

Organic dairy products are better than regular dairy products because they lack hormone, pesticide, and antibiotic residues that often are present in nonorganic dairy.

In my practice, I have seen dairy allergies cause chronic ear infections,
chronic sinus infections, chronic skin rashes, postnasal drip, chronic coughs or throat clearing, bloating, gas, irritable bowel symptoms, heart palpitations, and acne.

How will you get your calcium if you do not eat dairy? Easily! Almonds, tofu, soybeans, leafy greens, sesame seeds and broccoli have high calcium content.

It is of particular importance to restrict dairy intake in your children to support their immune systems. Do you feel like your child is always catching colds, having chronic ear infections, or a constant runny nose? Take them off of dairy x 6 weeks and you will see the difference. If your child does not eat the above non-dairy sources of calcium daily then give them a chewable or liquid calcium supplement to support their growing bodies.

I know this advice seems to contradict what your elders and many doctors have said in the past but the dairy industry is omnipresence and unfortunately selling pesticide, hormone, and antibiotic residues in their dairy products. Take our advice and live the difference.

Goodelements.com super supplements have been featured in L.A. Parent due to the Company’s commitment and support of funding for breast cancer research. The article highlighted the company’s donation of proceeds from supplements sales in the month of October to the Susan G. Kormen Foundation and the important work they are doing to get people involved with the cause.

Through the foundation’s website, average people can help support breast cancer research by signing up for walks, donating to research funds or purchasing items from companies (such as the super supplements from goodelements.com) that donate a portion of their proceeds to the foundation. Doctors and researchers can also use the site to look for grants or submit proposals to fund new research endeavors.

We are truly proud to be associated with such a wonderful foundation, and continue our support for organizations that help promote health and wellness in all areas of life. We look forward to participating again next year.

The five founders of goodelements.com were honored by Time Out New York for their healthy lifestyle website and commitment to providing strategies for good health to the public at large. The article, entitled “Goodbye Cube Farm,” seeks to explain how a person can leave the “stressful corporate world and ride the natural health trend to pursue professional nirvana.”

The article then proceeds to tell how the passing of a close friend prompted the founders of goodelements.com to create super supplements that would ultimately change their lives and the lives of its customers:

“Apply your honed professional skills to ensure better odds for success. The five founders of Good Elements (goodelements.com), a website that dispenses nutritional supplements, were inspired to work in the natural health industry when they witnessed the premature death from cancer of one of their close friends. “We rallied around a cause, with each of us bringing a skill and intense drive to launch our company,” says Lyle Deitch, a venture capitalist and cofounder.”

Thankfully, the founders of goodelements.com took the leap to bring their all-natural, non-addictive super supplements to the marketplace, as the mass public can now take advantage of the health benefits provided in these trendy named and packaged products.

Dr. Britta Zimmer, Chief Health Officer of goodelements.com, has been featured on Ohio’s news website for ideas and tips on how to boost energy throughout the day. The article entitled “10-minute energy boosters,” explains how natural energy supplements and other energy boosting snacks/ lifestyle changes can provide quick answers to fatigue and periods of low energy.

The article highlights the energy levels can be improved by using the natural energy supplements found in Workplace Wellness to “help the body sustain energy levels and improve stamina without peaks and crashes.” The article also states that “this system, for one, also provides stress and anxiety relief for overall emotional well being.”

The full article on energy boosters can be found on the wkyc.com website.

As you will read in our January newsletter adrenal fatigue is more than a catchy phrase to blame all of your symptoms on. Adrenal fatigue plays out in many of my patients’ lives and is intertwined in their chief complaints and presenting symptoms.
As a naturopathic physician I practice individualism, one of our many guiding principles. Each patient is an individual and a cook-book approach to their health does not address their individual underlying health issue. What I mean to convey is that I don’t blame adrenal fatigue for all of my patients’ symptoms however it is a common theme in many of our lives especially for high-achieving, busy, or responsibility-ridden individuals. Take the following case of mine as an example;
Case #1-
Patient information:
Jane is a 45 year old female with hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), she has been on the same thyroid medication for the past 10 years. In the past year, she has complained of worsening PMS symptoms such as irritability, breast tenderness, cramping and weight gain as well as bouts of depression and fatigue. She is a busy professional, mother and wife.
Labs:
I checked her adrenal hormones via salivary testing which showed high cortisol levels and low progesterone levels.
Her thyroid labs were also out of range.
Treatment:
Comprehensive adrenal vitamin and herbal formula- 2 capsules 2x daily
Exercise program- yoga 2x weekly, walking up hills x 45 minutes 3x weekly.
Diet advice- eliminate gluten from diet and increase protein intake.
Continue with the same thyroid medication dose
Return to my office in 6 weeks.
Follow-up:
At the 6 week follow-up we retested her thyroid function which resumed to normal and she reported 90% amelioration in all of her PMS symptoms, increased energy, no depression, and an 10 pound weight loss.
Why did Jane get better?
Cortisol and estrogen can compete for thyroid hormone receptor spots, therefore if cortisol and estrogen levels are high like in Jane’s case than thyroid hormone effectiveness is lessened leading to low thyroid symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and PMS. Decreasing cortisol levels to normal can help thyroid hormones act more effectively, avoid adrenal fatigue, and decrease the amount of circulating estrogen levels therefore normalizing progesterone levels.
The cortisol levels were decreased with the adrenal formula and the increased exercise and breathing program. Gluten avoidance aided cortisol balancing which leads to weight loss and lower estrogen levels because much of estrogen can be stored in fat cells.

Stay tuned for next weeks adrenal fatigue case.

Yours in health,

Dr. Britta Zimmer

Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder

In a Take 5 Moment article entitled “Sleep Your Stress Away,” goodelements.com’s Dr. Britta Zimmer highlighted the natural sleep supplement, melatonin, as a way to help facilitate the wake-sleep cycle. She explained the chemical benefits of melatonin as follows:

“Sleep in the dark to stimulate the pineal gland to secrete melatonin, an important hormone in the regulation of our circadian rhythm which dictates our wake-sleep cycles. Recent studies demonstrate melatonin’s powerful anti-oxidant properties as well as its critical role in cancer prevention and treatment.”

Melatonin is a powerful, yet natural, sleep supplement that is produced naturally in the body or can be supplemented artificially to combat insomnia or restlessness. In addition to using melatonin, the article also features Dr. Zimmer’s suggestions to drink chamomile tea, sleep with electronic devices at least 3 feet away from the body and avoid late night consumption of sugar or alcoholic beverages. Good Elements offers its own natural, sleep supplement formulation called Dream Supply which can be taken alone or with Melatonin to support a great night’s rest.