By Dr. Brooke Azie-Rentz
For almost 15 years patients have been coming to me to deal with various health issues. Some complaints take a few days to weeks to take care of, others take months or years or need constant management to keep them in check. But hopefully, no matter how long it takes, we are able to treat the issue that you came in complaining of. For most people, that is the end of the doctor-patient relationship for the time being; until a new complaint comes up or it is time for the yearly check-in, most people are happy to not have to see their doctor.
We want to challenge the idea that you only see your doctor when you are sick, or to have a yearly physical. Prevention is the best medicine, and I am here to show you how AIM is flipping the script on healthcare.
With our move over 5 years ago to a concierge based model, the idea was to focus on prevention and not just treat disease. After we fixed the thyroid, or the ankle sprain, or the cold that you have been dealing with, why would you come in 1 time per month to just “check-in”? Well, we can look at your health history and tendencies as the seasons change, jobs change, kids grow up, etc. and look to make tweaks to your treatment plan to prevent any illness that may come up.
We have tried to address the basic foundations of health with our “Fab 5” which includes a multivitamin, fish oil, probiotics, Vitamin D and extra Calcium/Magnesium. These are 5 supplements everyone should be taking regularly, and that we can provide through our dispensary at AIM. In this article, I would like to introduce 3 products that I think are the next steps to prevention, anti-aging and optimization of health.
First off is Hemp Oil + by Thorne. Hemp and CBD are some popular terms that we are hearing a lot of these days here in WA but in the US in general. But what is the difference? Hemp comes from the stalk of the plant and though it does contain a small amount of naturally occurring CBD, it does not contain any added or purified CBD, plus it contains all of the other phytocannabinoids and terpenes that help support the endocannabinoid system. CBD oil is a concentrate from marijuana, not hemp. Marijuana is selectively bred to concentrate high levels (> 18%) of the compounds CBD and THC, the psychoactive compounds. Hemp contains less than 0.3% of THC and is used primarily in clothing, paper, biofuels, foods, cosmetics and supplements. So why is hemp oil good? It works on the endocannabinoid system, an understudied, but hugely important system of receptors, little docking stations, which are found on nearly every organ in the body! It is part of the body’s own regulatory system that helps to keep the body in balance. Hemp oil helps support the adrenal system and response to stress, helps with mood, provides relief from aches and pains, promotes relaxation and sleep, supports the immune system, supports GI health, decreases inflammation and supports the brain and nervous system. Honestly, it helps to make every other organ system in your body work better and bring balance to the system (young padawan J). So far, everyone that has tried taking just 1 pill a day has reported some improvement in some aspect of their life… even ones they didn’t complain about before! This is truly prevention.
Next is Nicotinamide Riboside/NAD+, found in Niacel-250 by Thorne. Most people have heard of niacin and how beneficial it can be to the cardiovascular system. But did you know that it also has some roles in glucose regulation, aging, metabolism, tissue/cell repair and many cycles involved in the production of ATP for energy? Basically, studies have shown that aging is associated with a decrease in circulating levels of NAD+ in our bodies. What they say is the decrease in NAD+ is associated with increased levels of oxidation; basically the process that rusts our body from the inside out and depletes us of antioxidants. Oxidative stress is associated with chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, myopathy and lots of neurodegenerative diseases. Basically, all the things we start seeing appear in middle age. That is why this product is great for anti-aging and would be considered preventative therapy for many chronic diseases.
Finally, I would like to introduce Astamed Myo by Astamed. This product has clinical research done specifically on this company’s product that showed an increase in strength, endurance and mobility with functional training in the elderly. Decreases in muscle mass and strength is common in the elderly and associated with many co-morbidities. The use of this product along with exercise elevated muscle strength and size as well as improved endurance and duration. Not only is this big in the elderly population, but if we can extrapolate it to all populations we can assume that it would help prevent injury and increase muscle endurance allowing for harder workouts and less recovery time. In addition, astamed has antioxidant properties and has been shown to decrease oxidative stress, which as I mentioned above, has a huge impact on longevity and anti-aging.
A wise man once said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let AIM be your go to place for anything that ails you, but once that is over, let us help you live the best, most prevention based lifestyle you can! Together, we can beat genetics and family history. We can look to optimize health, prevent disease and live a long, healthy life. As Jay-Z said, “30 is the new 20.” I think with all these new breakthroughs in science and medicine, we can hopefully be moving towards 50/60 or 70 as the new 30!