Functional Medicine Studio - Blog

Natural Bug Spray

5/10/2018

Along with the warmer weather and spending time outside also comes the annoyance of the bugs that bite us and make us want to stay indoors or the alternative is to spray our skin with toxic bug spray. I have news: there is a simple recipe that works great at keeping the bugs away and is not toxic!! YAY!

Here is what you need:
3oz distilled water
1/3 cup coconut oil
20 drops Rosemary essential oil
20 drops Lavender essential oil
15 drops Tea Tree essential oil
10 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops Orange essential oil

Directions:
Melt the coconut oil in a double boiler
Allow it to cool down a little bit
Add the water and the essential oils
Mix well
Pour into a small glass spray bottle
Shake well before use

I like to buy my essential oils(organic of course!) at www.mountainroseherbs.com
They also sell the amber glass spray bottles very cheaply.

So try this out and let me know if you like it!

Get outdoors and enjoy spring and summer!

"We Got The Beet!" (not a typo)

6/20/2017

I have always been a huge fan of juicing. Nothing "beets" the amount of live enzymes you get more than drinking a 24oz glass of freshly juiced veggies and some low glycemic fruit. I am currently addicted to "We Got The Beet" from STL Juice Bar. As an endurance athlete, I appreciate that beets are incredible for increasing stamina. (Lord knows I need something to help get me through those 5 hour rides besides GOO!!) ;)
Beets are not only a beautiful color(really the color is incredible!!) but they taste so darn good too! Here are 4 reasons to eat your beets(and the greens too!!)
1)Beets decrease your Bp.
2)Beets increase your stamina/endurance
3)Beets decrease inflammation(which is the root of so many problems)
4)Beets support Phase 2 detoxification(this is where the bad stuff if bound up to be removed from your body....it's super important)

The beet greens, which usually become rabbit food, but should be eaten have benefits too like:
1)They are a rich source of iron
2)They increase bone strength
3)They boost your immune system
4)They help to fight Alzheimer's

So, don't be afraid of the fact that when you play with beets your hands turn
red(it washes off!!) Instead think of all the amazing things that food can do for
your health and enjoy.....beets are high in sugar, so enjoy in moderation!!

PS....follow me on Instagram now @drtraceycain

Can you prevent autoimmunity?

2/5/2017

An autoimmune disease is defined as "an illness that occurs when the body tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization within the body that is designed normally to "seek and destroy" invaders of the body, including infectious agents. Patients with autoimmune diseases frequently have unusual antibodies circulating in their blood that target their own body tissues."

Autoimmune disease is on the rise. It seems like everyone you know might have some form of autoimmunity. The following is a short list of some of the more common autoimmune diseases we see regularly:
-Hashimoto's thyroiditis                            -celiac disease
-Lupus                                                       -chron's disease
-autoimmune hepatitis                              -ulcerative colitis
-alopecia areata                                        -pernicious anemia
-psoriasis                                                  -lyme disease
-scleroderma                                            -rheumatoid arthritis(RA)
-vitiligo          -psoriatic arthritis
-addison's disease      -myasthenia gravis
-Grave's disease                                      -multiple sclerosis

Early detection is KEY!!
An autoimmune disease can attack any organ system in the body. It is important to know that this attack can be on going for many years before you show symptoms and get a autoimmune disease diagnosis.
It is crucial to your on going health that you detect the autoimmunity during a time of
auto reactivity so that you can prevent the autoimmune disease from becoming full blown.

Why are autoimmune diseases on the rise?
There are 3 main reasons:
1)Food additives: certain foods can appear like human tissues(ie:gluten and caesin) Most people have some issue with digestion/leaky gut and these foods can end up in the circulation. Now the immune system reacts to this and creates antibodies against these foods(hence food allergies/sensitivities develop).   The immune system has now tagged these structures as something foreign, and it will attack similar looking tissues/organs!
Now you have an autoimmune disease.
2)Environmental triggers: infections like epstein barr, h pylori etc. These infections(that you may not even be aware you are harboring)trigger what is called "molecular mimicry". Antibodies are made against these infections which can be hiding in organ tissues. The immune system attacks the infection(as it should) but it also can make a mistake and attack the organ tissues(molecular mimicry) since the tissue looks similar to the infection. Therefore an autoimmune disease develops if this is left long term unchecked.
3)Chemicals: This could be the most important cause of autoimmune disease developing.
The chemicals enter the blood and bind to tissue, now the immune system attacks and the tissue the chemical is attached to is targeted, an autoimmune disease process begins.
Chemicals enter the gut by attaching to proteins which then cause inflammation and damage the gut lining. With a damaged gut lining food can enter the blood and you get an immune reaction.

Early Detection
Detection needs to start 10-15 years before a full blown autoimmune disease develops.
This is the process:
there is a trigger(food,chemical,infection)------immune system attack going on for years-----Symptoms(patient sees their Dr)----- diagnosis of autoimmunity is given(sorry, but you are too late)

Interesting fact: Did you know that kids with type 1 diabetes show antibodies against insulin 5+ years before the onset of the disease?! WOW that means there is the potential to stop type 1 diabetes before it becomes a full blown disease.

How can you detect autoimmune reactivity before it is too late?
1)Pay attention to your body.
When something does not feel right follow that feeling. I see patients all the time who present to their MD and their symptoms are vague(or some are not so vague) but the medical world brushes them off. At this point in the game the medical model fails patients. It does not know what to do until you have a full blown disease where they can prescribe you pharmaceutical agents to mask your symptoms.
Keep digging, if you are told everything is normal, it probably is not.

2)Lab Testing.
There is a company called Cyrex Laboratories who does, Predictive Antibody Testing.
When antibodies are detected you can then figure out what the trigger is, hopefully, remove the trigger(the food, treat the stealth infection, remove the chemicals) and then hopefully, within 6 months to a year the antibodies are gone and your immune system is no longer attacking your body's tissues.

Tame The Flame: Reduce Total Body Inflammation

1/31/2017

Statistics are rising and pointing to INFLAMMATION as being one of the top causes for many of the diseases and health
challenges we face today as a society. More and more are faced with the loss of a loved one, who appeared the “picture of
health” in the prime of their life. Why is this happening, and what can we do to make a positive impact and difference?

Are you experiencing any of the following?
-Fatigue
-Digestive complaints
-Depression
-Brain fog
-Aches and pains
-Trouble sleeping
-High blood pressure
-Weight gain
-Skin disorders
-Allergies/food allergies
Inflammation is silent, deadly and shows no mercy. All of the above symptoms are tied to inflammation.

SHAPE ReClaimed presents:
TAME THE FLAME
21 day Detox and Cleanse Campaign
In just 21 days, many of the symptoms you are struggling with will improve.
Be proactive and take inflammation seriously.
My CHALLENGE to you: Dedicate a minimum of three weeks to dramatically improve your health.
Gather your family and friends and launch your own “LET’S RECLAIM HEALTH” campaign. The greatest thing we can do for
our loved ones is help them embrace a healthier lifestyle!
Life is precious…Tomorrow is promised to no one!

Call my office or email me to find out more!
314-459-0935
tlcfms@gmail.com

We Are Moving!!!

12/21/2016

I have exciting news to announce:
I am moving my office!

My current office building was sold and all the tenants have to re-locate. I just found this out a week ago(well, I knew the building had sold butI was told there was going to be an available office for me, turns out there isn't) I went into panic mode. Where was I going to go with such short notice? How was I going to find the time to find a place so close to the Holidays?
I should have known to trust the journey and that God would take care of it all. He did. I found an amazing place to move my office to.

"A Healing Place" is a wonderful massage therapy practice with lots of extra room for me to be able to share the space. It soothing, relaxing, and most importantly, a wonderful healing space.

This is exciting, I have always wanted a chandelier in my office, and guess what? There is not only a chadelier in my office, there is one in the bathroom, and several others throughout the office space! YAY ME!!

So...begining January 1 2017, Functional Medicine Studio, will be located inside
"A Healing Place" located at:
1045 S. Big Bend Blvd Richmond Heights, Mo 63117
My phone number will remain the same.

Yearly Warning: Please Do NOT Eat These Fish

12/12/2016

It was one year ago today that I came this close to dying. I did what many people do while on vacation - eat fresh seafood. I was in Saint Maarten in the Caribbean and had delicious Red Snapper for dinner one evening. At the time I was totally unaware of the fact that certain types of fish in the Caribbean can possibly carry a neuro-toxin. Within 6 hours of eating the fish contaminated with the Ciguatera toxin I was in horrible pain that only progressed over the next 8 hours. Coming close to dying that day was the culmination of the illness, however it did not end there. You see the effects of Ciguatera stay with you sometimes for years. There is no treatment for what Ciguatera does to you, only time. Some cases are worse than others. I was lucky enough to be on the extreme end of symptoms and a year later I still have flare ups of pain or numbness. I cannot eat seafood or even have it touch my food for fear of re-exacerbating the toxin that is still in my body.

I am writing this post today not only because it marks the one year anniversary of me getting sick but more importantly to help make people aware of the risk they put themselves at when they eat the fish that can be contaminated. This is the time of the year when people travel to the Caribbean or Hawaii and I want to alert them to the fact that if they eat that grouper sandwich or red snapper at dinner they may regret it.
I am here to tell you that this toxin is mean and potentially lethal. You do not want it. You do not want to experience the things I have over the past year. Things like muscle and bone pain that come on at random times for no reason and then just quit for no reason, a continually numb tip of my tongue, random pain in my finger tips that feels like my fingers are being melted like candles, the inability to hold cold things without my hands burning~I still have temperature reversal with cold where it feels very hot to my hands.

Here are some facts about Ciguatera "fish poisoning"

Ciguatera is a food-born illness (food poisoning) caused by eating fish that is contaminated by Ciguatera toxin. Ciguatera toxin is a heat-stable lipid soluble compound, produced by dinoflagellates and concentrated in fish organs, that can cause nausea, pain, cardiac, and neurological symptoms in humans when ingested.
The toxin may be found concentrated in large reef fish, most commonly barracuda, grouper, red snapper, eel, amberjack, sea bass, and Spanish mackerel.
These fish live in coral reef waters and accumulate the toxin when they eat smaller reef fish which feed on the dinoflagellates.
The area of concern include the Caribbean Sea, Hawaii, and coastal Central America.
The toxin can't be detected. The fish look normal, smell normal and taste normal.
The toxin can't be cooked away, or frozen away. It is always there.
Symptoms generally begin 6 to 8 hours after eating the contaminated fish but can occur as early as 2 or as late as 24 hours after ingestion.
Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, numbness, tingling, abdominal pain, dizziness, and vertigo. The classic finding of hot and cold sensation reversal is actually a burning sensation on contact with cold (allodynia).
Teeth may feel loose and itching may be intense.
Severe cases of ciguatera poisoning may result in shortness of breath, salivation, tearing, chills, rashes, itching, and paralysis. Bradycardia, coma and hypotension can occur. Death due to poisoning is rare (less then 0.5 %).
There is an estimated 50,000 cases each year of Ciguatera poisoning. This number could be much higher since many cases, mine included, went unreported.
The ocean temperatures are rising and there is more toxin on the coral and as a result it is expected that the number of cases of Ciguatera each year will also rise.

Besides staying away from these fish when you travel you should also not eat them when at home since you do not know the actual source of where the fish came from and you could potentially be eating fish from the waters that are known to carry the toxin. It is sad to say that the oceans are being polluted and we are now suffering the consequences as the fish we used to love are now making us sick.

I hope writing this saves someone from eating toxic fish and getting sick.

Blessings.
Dr. Tracey Cain

I grew My Own MICRO-GREENS (and you can too, it's simple)

11/11/2016

I am so proud to say that I grew my first batch of micro-greens! Yep, I did it. I was buying micro-greens at the farmers market this summer and fall and decided that it would be easy enough to grow my own~ and I was right. I don't know if it was the fact that I am not usually a "green thumb" that held me back but I was intimidated.
I am intimidated no more. Growing micro-greens was super easy. Although I did make a mistake in that I did not plant enough seeds and got a pretty sparse first crop. Yes, they were delicious but there was only enough for one serving, and that just will not do! So, I have made changes to my set up and am ready to plant a more abundant crop!

So, what are micro-greens and why would you want to grow/eat them?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture "micro-greens" is a marketing term referring to tiny, edible greens grown from the seeds of vegetables and herbs. They’re smaller than baby greens and bigger than sprouts. (I do sprout regularly and those are wonderful too) Micro-greens flavor is much more intense than that of mature greens. You can add them to salads or use them to garnish soups and sandwiches.

I love to put them on top of eggs or on top of my favorite breakfast, avocado toast~ yum!
Micro-greens are nutrition powerhouses too! A study from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) found that, at equal weights, almost all of the tiny greens contained about five times more nutrients than found in the mature leaves of the same plants.

These little plants grow quickly in a sunny window at home or under a grow light. Mine sprouted in days and were ready for "harvest" at 7 days! wow!! Talk about nearly instant gratification!! They do not last long so be ready to eat them within a few days. You can purchase micro-green kits or you can easily make your own set up and grow the seeds you enjoy the most. I really enjoy radish micro-greens which have a great spicy flavor. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Discover the inner farmer in you and get healthy growing your own organic crop of micro-greens.

Healthy Eating

6/24/2016

This is my breakfast, it took 2 mins to make yet is filled with amazing super foods to fuel you until lunch! A bed of organic super greens, home grown sprouts, sauerkraut, 2 organic eggs and avocado. I used a few splashes of white balsamic on the greens and a dash of hot sauce on the eggs along with celtic sea salt and pepper. It is so delish you will never go back to thinking about cereal and toast for breakfast! Think power foods to be powerful!! Try it and let me know if you don't become addicted too!

How Toxic Is Sugar?

5/16/2016

Remember the low fat craze? We were led to believe that if you ate fat you got fat. Research has proved that wrong. Eating good fats are actually healthy for us and we need them to optimize our health. Now, research has been steering towards the other villain, SUGAR. It is my belief that this time we have it right. The rates of sugar related diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease are on the rise. The low fat craze started our addiction to sugar. When you take the fat out of food it tastes terrible. So, food companies replaced the fat with, you guessed it, SUGAR! Think back to the 80's and 90's- remember Snackwells cookies?? How many boxes of those did you eat saying "they are fat free"?! People were joining gyms in huge numbers yet the country was getting fatter and fatter. I wonder why?? Do you think it had something to do with all the sugar we were now being force fed? Did you know that sugar is 8 times as addictive as cocaine?? It is! Most of us would never dream of doing cocaine or give it to our children, yet we don't think twice about ingesting a legal substance that is just as deadly- sugar! Now, sugar is hidden in our food and food manufacturer's know that it is addictive and we will keep coming back for more and more. IT(sugar) is good for their bottom line!! However, IT(sugar) is bad for your bottom line!
You have all heard the phrase, "a calorie is a calorie is a calorie" or "burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight". Both of these are false. You see sugar is more than just an "empty" calorie. It is a toxic calorie. You consume sugar and your body experiences metabolic changes. Consume too much sugar(as most American's do) and your body can't process it. Instead the pancreas is over worked with releasing insulin to respond to the increase in sugar in the blood, the liver is overworked trying to metabolize the fructose. What the liver can't metabolize it stores as fat. We see this in the rise in non-alcoholic fatty liver, increased triglycerides, and increased blood glucose levels.
Moderate consumption of sugar, which the American Heart Association says is 6-9 teaspoons of sugar per day is actually o.k. Your body can process this appropriately without too much stress being added. This 6-9 teaspoons is broken down like this:
-6 teaspoons for women, or 25grams/day
-9 teaspoons for men, or 38 grams/day.
-Children should not get more than 3-6teaspoons(12-25 grams/day)
The problem is that the average American is consuming 19 teaspoons of sugar per day!! That is aprox. 76 grams of sugar each day!! It has been said that we consume 61pounds of sugar each year!
Some of that is not really your fault.
Sugar is hidden in processed foods.
Sugar goes by many names (there are about 61 names like: sucrose and high fructose corn syrup as well as barley malt, dextrose, maltose and rice syrup, among others) that food manufacturers are counting on you not catching in that long list of ingredients.

My advice is:
-Consume whole, real foods.
-Stay away from anything processed or packaged.
-Read your labels. If there is a long list of words that you can't pronounce it is not food! Do not eat it!
-Avoid sugary snacks- even those that say "natural fruit"(which is worth of a post on its own.....as this is a huge scam!)
-Do not drink fruit juices or soda!
-Become a label reader! Sugar is even hidden in foods many of us consider healthy like yogurt and energy bars. Be aware of what you are choosing to put into your body.

How can you tell if the amount of sugar you are eating is causing a problem for your health?
-Do you mostly eat processed food and consume candy and soda?
-Do you eat high carbohydrate meals for breakfast, like cereal or bread?
-Do you find yourself crashing after meals and craving sugar as a pick me up?
-Do you have "sugar belly"? is your waist measurement larger than your hips?
If you say yes to those you should see your Dr and get a blood test done to measure your liver function as well as your triglyceride level.

If you are serious about your health, and you should be, detoxing from sugar is essential. Watch for my next post on how to break the sugar addiction once and for all!

Wanna Look Younger??(of course you do!)

4/27/2016

Everyone is a little bit vain, just admit it.....what if I told you that what you are eating could be prematurely aging your skin would that get your interest? What if the foods you eat could actually reverse the aging process would you be willing to make some dietary changes?

The foods we eat show up on our face as wrinkles, puffiness, bags, dark circles and acne among other things.

Our health begins in the gut. So does premature aging. Are you aware that if you heal your gut you can heal your skin? You can!

Here are some of the damaging/aging foods you want to avoid or limit if you are concerned about your skins appearance:

1)Sugar!! This is the number one skin aging culprit in my book. Sugar causes glycation in which the sugar in your blood stream attaches to proteins to form harmful new molecules called "Advanced Glycation End Products" or AGEs(see it tells you in the name what it is going to do to your skin!!!) Gotta love when something is upfront with the damage it will do to you, right?
The more sugar you eat the more AGEs you produce. These AGEs break down collagen in your skin. We want collagen to help keep our skin young and firm. So cut out the sugar and you reduce the AGEs and therefore reduce the collagen destruction, and therefore slow the aging process of your skin! Fantastic, right?!

Signs on your skin that sugar is having a negative impact are things like: lines and wrinkles on the upper forehead, thinning of your skin, a gaunt look to your face, sagging under the eyes, a grey pasty hue to your skin, and widespread acne.

2)Gluten- You had to know that gluten would make this list of things that are bad for your skin, didn't you? Gluten is linked to "leaky gut syndrome" or "intestinal permeability". This means proteins that should not be in your blood stream suddenly are. They cause an alarm reaction in your body and therefore causes widespread inflammation.

How does this show up on your skin? It shows as redness and puffiness, acne on the forehead, cheeks and chin, and dark patches around the chin area.

3)Dairy- Cows milk is meant for baby cows not humans. For humans, it means adding in an additional 60 hormones per glass!! This totally messes up our natural hormone levels and can cause inflammation, widespread acne, puffy eyelids, dark circles and bags under the eyes.

4)Wine- Oh no!!! Say it ain't so....yep, sorry but too much wine is going to age you. Alcohol dehydrates the skin and is a dangerous skin aging contributor. Wine is basically fermented sugar which causes inflammation in the gut.

Things like fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, a reddish skin tone, enlarged pores and droopy eyelids are all indicators that you are causing premature aging by drinking too much wine! Limit the wine to 1 glass per day.

In as little as 2 weeks time by making changes to your diet you can see an improvement in the quality of your skin. Make permanent changes and soon people will be asking you what "work" you had done and who they should call!!

If you would like more information on the effects of food on your skin you can read
Dr. Nigma Talibs book as well.

Remember, what you eat is either healing you or hurting you.....choose wisely.

Dr. Tracey Cain

I not only have been treating patients since 1999, I am also one of you, continually seeking healthy ways to maintain my own health.

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