What causes Urinary Tract Infections?

The short answer? E. coli getting into the urinary tract, penetrating the cell lining and taking up shop. This is just another case of infection due to bacterial overgrowth.

How do you treat or prevent Urinary Tract Infections?

This is where visiting a doctor who can diagnose the infection and evaluate the severity is important. If there is a severe active infection, you may want to consider antibiotics as the treatment option that is needed because no one wants it to progress into a kidney infection! However, if it is somewhat early and benign, you may be able to get away with an antimicrobial combo like Uva Ursi and Berberine to get the job done.

In the case of prevention, my preference in practice is the use of cranberry extract that contains at least 36mg PAC (proanthocyanidins). These plant compounds found in cranberries have the ability to attach to E. coli and PREVENT them from attaching to the lining in the urinary tract. Having said that, that’s why we use this in folks who have the tendency to get them over and over. You know you want prevention for these patients, and cranberry extract supplements tend to be a great solution! Studies show that if you combine a cranberry extract with 36mg PACs with a broad spectrum probiotic, that it has even slightly better prevention rates (which were already great!) I’m pretty transparent about the supplement industry and what is pretty standard across the board and what you need to be intentional about in terms of quality, and this is one that is notorious for not having many PACs when tested. Be sure to ask your doc for a good cranberry extract!

In addition to antimicrobials for treatment or cranberry extracts for prevention, whether they be prescriptive or natural, you want to make sure to do implement the follow lifestyle habits:

drink plenty of water because hydration will help drive urination, flushing out the urinary tract
urinate after intercourse
wipe front to back, ladies. You don’t want anything bacterial from the back entering the front.
steer clear of too much sugar and simple carbs in your diet, because that tends to be a fuel source that bacteria thrive on!
take a probiotic or eat fermented foods to help keep your internal environment balanced

Implement these simple solutions, and you could avoid a trip to the doc, another round of antibiotics, and all of the time you waste not being able to pee, having burning during urination, or pain in the back and pelvis!

The Top 5 Reasons You Should Use an Infrared Sauna

1 Comment November 15, 2018 Angela

Every winter I make my way to the sauna and I would go everyday if my schedule allowed! For me, it started with the desire to be warm to the core and sweat during a season where it didn’t matter how many layers I worked out in, there was not a bead of sweat. While the sauna certainly helped me warm up, and allowed me to sweat, I started to realize there was more to it than that. There is valid research on the health benefits of the sauna, thermogenesis, activation of heat shock proteins, etc, but I just want to keep this simple. After all, if you’ve never been to an infrared sauna, you are problem wondering whether it’s worth the time and effort. I’m here to tell you that if I had one therapy in my office that wasn’t delivered by a person, an infrared sauna would be it.

Here we go…

Detoxification– Sweating is one of the body’s ways to detoxify through the largest organ: the skin. When I am working with patients that have chronic diseases, there is always a need to provide detoxification support. Heavy metals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors…they can all keep you from healing. Sweat it out!
Cardiovascular health– Cardiovascular events kill more people than any other disease. It’s a real thing. Just like exercise gets your blood pumping, so does heat. That means you get some of the same exact cardiovascular benefits from using an infrared sauna as you do hitting the gym! That also means it’s a great way to continue “training” when you have an injury that keeps you from pushing your limits. It has been shown to dramatically reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in men due to having positive effects on blood pressure and vessel pliability. The more the men used the sauna, the greater they reduced their risk in a Finnish study that has been following people over the course of a lifetime to study impacts of sauna use. They aren’t quite sure yet, but it appears that 20 minutes or more is the magic threshold.
Energy-It’s no surprise that getting your blood pumping to tissues like your muscles and brain make you feel more alive, alert, and energetic. When I leave the sauna, I can honestly say I feel rejuvenated! I’m starting to sound like an infomercial, but this is the real deal.
Weight management– Ok, I have never used the sauna for weight management, but there are a few reasons why saunas help do this: metabolic expenditure, increased growth hormone, increased nutrients to organs that regulate metabolism like the thyroid, and increased mitochondrial activity. Let’s call it the lazy man’s weight loss program not just because of lost water, but because of the cellular influence and hormonal impacts.
Sleep– I have always been a deep sleeper, but I have many patients that struggle with sleep. There are tons of things that impact someone’s sleep quality, but drastic changes in body temperature is one that has an amazingly positive impact. Exercise can do the same thing. Think about a hard day’s work of manual labor, or how wiped out the kids are after a day in the sun, or how sound you sleep on the days you do heavy lifting. Outside temperature or physical activity have an influence on core body temperature that helps you fall deeper into restorative sleep.

Cholesterol, Heart Disease, and What You Should Do

4 Comments September 22, 2018 Angela

Coronary Heart Disease is our single most common cause of death and it is caused by something called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a fancy term for “your vessels get more narrow due to plaques and that reduces the blood flow to whichever organ that vessel is going to.” IF you have atherosclerosis of the coronary artery, then you have obstruction of blood flow to the heart…..hello, coronary heart disease: the number one killer. Most people people are familiar with the most common form of coronary heart disease known as a HEART ATTACK!

Symptoms of the early stages:

During physical activity, people may experience chest pain that may go into the neck and left arm. The pain goes away after rest in the early stages.
Fatigue during normal activities. This is due to the lack of blood supply to the heart, so you feel fatigued doing normal activity.

Symptoms of heart attack:

Severe chest pain not connected to physical activity.
Fear, cold sweats, nausea

Given the fact that autopsies show that by the age of 60, 100% of people have some signs of atherosclerosis, it’s not surprising that people want to know what to do when the doc starts talking about this when they go in for their exam!

What causes atherosclerosis?

People have been led to believe that cholesterol and dietary fats are the root of all this nonsense. We’ve all had someone we know quit eating meat and eggs and opted for non-fat products in attempts to correct the cholesterol issues on their labwork. This is a myth you need to get comfortable rejecting, so keep an open mind here. Atherosclerosis is an INFLAMMATORY condition! The plaques on the wall of arteries are not cholesterol stuck; it’s actually more like a damaged portion of the artery wall that is covered with a bunch of stuff, but the main component is actually tissue trying to repair that is mostly made from collagen. The fat part of the plaque is mostly UNSATURATED FATS. This is complex, but the gist is:

Something in the bloodstream attacks the artery tissue
Immune cells come to the rescue to destroy whatever is attacking the artery tissue
Those immune cells call for more help by sending out the bat signal known as inflammation
As the body is trying to repair the damage, it grows more collagen and creates a cap on top of the plaque
When the inflammation stops, it becomes hard and calcium may take up shop there. This is like a scar. THIS WOULD BE NORMAL AND WE ALL HAVE SOME SCARS IN OUR ARTERIES.
In atherosclerosis, the inflammation doesn’t stop and it forms something similar to puss in a wound.
Inflammation is driving the production of enzymes that break down collagen and if the cap over the area gets weak? Boom. Rupture.
Within second, the blood tries to thicken to stop bleeding, a clot forms, and the artery is blocked or a portion of it can break off and float downstream and stuck in another location. This is what we all really fear.

Why avoiding cholesterol isn’t helpful:

The body uses fats and cholesterol as the building blocks for creating new cells and tissues in any healing process. This is because a huge part of a cell is the membrane and it acts sort of like your skin. Without it, what would hold in your insides?! Those membranes are made out of fat and cholesterol and if you want to get geeky, many cells in the body have 50% of the membrane made from cholesterol. THE REASON WE SEE CHOLESTEROL IN AREAS OF PLAQUING IS BECAUSE THAT IS YOUR BODY’S ATTEMPT TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE TO THAT TISSUE! It’s like saying umbrellas must cause it to rain, because every time it rains, I see all these people holding umbrellas. Cholesterol is the umbrella. It’s there BECAUSE OF THE TISSUE DAMAGE, not causing it.

Ok, so let’s cut to the chase. You understand what I’m saying, so now you want to know what causes that arterial damage that starts this whole thing in the first place. Without further adieu, let’s look at a list…

Chemicals: chemicals in your beauty products, medications, home cleaning products, cigarettes, pesticides, water, processed food. I bet you had no idea that even what you slather on your skin goes straight to the bloodstream and could be contributing to heart problems! Stay woke. (If you don’t know what that means, it’s ok, just keep reading)
Infections: if you have issues with the barriers between the outside world and inside of your body like gum disease, leaky gut, sinus infections, etc, then you basically have a highway for pathogens to get into your bloodstream and wreak havoc wherever they see fit, which means not just your arteries. This is also a huge problem with autoimmune diseases and cognitive issues. I bet you didn’t have any idea your oral hygiene could be a part of your heart disease.
Nutrient deficiencies: in order to repair, your body needs adequate building blocks and deficiencies in things such as b-vitamins, vitamin c, vitamin D and amino acids set you up for failure. If you have b-vitamin deficiencies, you may see elevation in markers like homocysteine on your labs. If your doc runs complex labs, you may also see vitamin C deficiency pop up as elevated Lipoprotein A. (you have a 70% greater chance of having a heart attack if you have elevated lipoprotein a!)

So, let’s simplify this into some actionable things you could do to help yourself:

Eat a healthy diet including lots of plants and good sources of healthy fats
Stop eating processed foods and excessive amounts of sugar
Clean out your beauty drawer from all the chemical crap (check out this website for information)
Work with a physician to get off as many medications as possible. This is ironic when it comes to statins because statins cut off your ability to produce cholesterol, ultimately lowering your cholesterol numbers. Knowing what you know now, is cholesterol trying to help heal or trying to hurt your vessels! Bye, Felicia.
Take B-Vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids (1g for prevention or 3g for someone with active conditions), CoQ10 (100mg for those taking statins and want to prevent issues or 500mg if you are experiencing issues of statin use like forgetfulness or muscle/joint pain). (If you want specific recommendations for the products I prefer, feel free to email me at angela@angelalucterhand.com for links to those)
Stop smoking.
Start exercising.

Take away points:

Prevention is key, so don’t wait until you have heart disease to take your diet and lifestyle seriously.
You MUST be on CoQ10 if you are going to continue to take statins.
Cholesterol is not the enemy, so do not go low fat in attempts to correct the problem.

Believe it or not, these cases are some of the easiest patient cases I take on! It doesn’t take much time to see drastic changes in someone’s labwork in these cases, and the solutions are pretty simple when you compare them to more complex issues like cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Flu Prevention 101

Cancer, Chemo…Now What?

Leave a comment September 25, 2017 Angela

I want to start this post by saying there are thousands of people who have been touched by cancer, and I can’t imagine the decisions that have to be made under such circumstances. Regardless of your stance on standard cancer treatments, there is a huge population of people, our people, that have been through it and deserve to know there are things they can afterwards that will help restore some of the health lost in collateral damage while going through treatment to save their life. This post is for those people who have been there, done it, can’t change the past, but want to set up the best future possible for their health moving forward. This is not a recommendation for cancer therapy, treatment, or anything of that nature. This is the plan moving forward.

Are you with me?

What is chemo and what does it affect?

Chemotherapy is just the name of drug therapy aimed at killing cancer cells under the premise that they multiply quickly and we don’t want them to spread. However, it is not selective to cancer cells. It has a major impact on ALL cells that grow quickly like certain blood cells and especially the cells of the intestines. Chemotherapy drugs and their byproducts are also toxic to these little organelles in our cells called mitochondria. Mitochondria are responsible for producing cellular energy called ATP. Now, that’s great, but what does this have to do with me!? If you have been through chemo, you know these things are happening because the bowel issues that arise, and the fatigue that takes over. And that’s ok. You were fighting for your life! But now we need to nurse those two things back to health if we don’t want recurrence, formation of neuropathy, autoimmune diseases, etc. There is a chance you will never have 100% function in these areas again, but we can try our best!

How can I start healing my gut?

It’s not really a secret to health professionals that chemo changes the gut, but what I was surprised to find out while researching journals for specific measures of damage is that just one single day of chemotherapy increases the permeability of the intestines by 7 fold. ONE DAY! We are concerned about that permeability because damaging the cells in the intestines allows things that should stay in the intestines to get into the blood. When they end up in the blood, your immune system freaks out and produces antibodies against them…rightfully so. However, this is how we end up with certain systemic infections, allergies, and autoimmunity that has the potential to damage any organ’s tissue. If the organ with the most depleted nutrients in reserve is your thyroid, then we may see Hashimoto’s. If the organ is joint tissue, then maybe Rheumatoid arthritis. This is an incredibly important issue to address. Some very basic guidelines as to HOW to address this permeability are:

eat gluten-free
eat dairy-free
eat bone broth daily
eat fermented foods or take probiotics
consider supplements with growth factors like that signal cell repair like colostrum
don’t exercise too intensely
reduce stress
avoid alcohol and caffeine
get in the sun or supplement with vitamin D3
sleep 8 hours a night
consider periods of intermittent fasting to allow the GI tract to rest from digestion
juice fresh vegetables daily

How can I restore my energy?

We have almost all heard that we have 10 times the amount of bacteria in our body than we do cells. A statistic you may not have heard is that we exponentially more mitochondria than bacteria! Without these little guys in our cells, they don’t function. It’s amazing to me that you can pluck the nucleus out of a cell, which contains the DNA, and the cell can still function because of the presence of mitochondria! However, if you pluck out the mitochondria, it ends in certain, quick cell death. So, these things are super important and are often the missing link behind conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, fibromyalgia, etc. Today though, we are talking about how chemo negatively impacts your mitochondria. Side note that certain antibiotics also have a negative impact on mitochondria…. Ok, back to what to do about it:

do burst exercise (it not only improves their function, but causes them to multiply)
intermittent fast
eat balanced macros (protein, fat, carbs) but try to slowly transition to lower carb for a while
eat some grassfed red meat
eat lots of organic, colorful vegetables and their juices
reconsider the use of statins or supplement with COQ10
use saunas
consider laser therapy

These are two areas that need your support in order to restore function to the best of your body’s ability. It is ALWAYS essential to have a plant-based, whole food diet, good sleep, adequate exercise, and successful stress management. However, those things are hard to implement sometimes without tools and a little direction. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Remember that may mean looking to a different provider. When we have fires, we call firemen. When we need the building restored after the fire, we call contractors and carpenters. Alternative care providers are not experts at putting out the fire necessarily, but they are the expert at RESTORING AND MAINTAINING HEALTH. There are always additional things that can increase healing beyond basic lifestyle, and don’t be afraid to explore those things either. Things such as massage, chiropractic, supplementation, infrared saunas, detoxification baths, etc. They all have a place, and it’s your job to explore and find what feels right and works for you. I hope this was helpful, although somewhat basic, it gets the basics across. ;)

*This is not intended to diagnose, treat, or direct care for any patient. Consult your physician for information that would be right for your case.

Jerky (paleo, gluten-free)

Leave a comment September 25, 2017 Angela

I am not a hunter, but my family members are; so, deer season usually means venison. Recently, a processed deer came creeping into my freezer at home and I thought “this is it; I’m going to make jerky and if it doesn’t work, then I’m never using the dehydrator again!” I took a frozen steak and sliced it into jerky strips after letting it thaw slightly through. I put a marinade on it that I got from Primal Cravings cookbook (Jamaican jerk). I let it sit overnight. The next morning I turned on my dehydrator to 160 degrees and put the strips down on parchment paper for easy clean up. I let it go from around 7:30 in the morning until around 2pm. Mine may have been a little hard for some people’s taste, so next time I may go for an hour or 2 less. Check it periodically to find the texture you like. Since it doesn’t have preservatives, I am storing it in the fridge; however, supposedly you can store it for 2 days at room temp. It was really good! Venison is an awesome option, too, because it is really lean. You don’t want fat on your jerky strips because the fat will go rancid. ;(

This was the spice mix I used, but there are tons out there to choose from! You can also do this in the oven. My dad used to make his in the oven when we were kids, but I have never tried it personally. You can also use regular steak or turkey, as well! http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Beef-Jerky

Jerky Seasoning (variation on Primal Carvings Jamaican Jerk)

1tsp molasses

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1 tsp salt

Patient Journey: Hormone Imbalance

Leave a comment September 10, 2017 Angela

What health issues were you struggling with when you began to work with Dr. Angela?

I had/have been really working through a few different issues. Mainly, trying to have a menstrual cycle without the use of drugs along with my mental well-being. I have struggled a great deal with self-image, self-worth, depression and anxiety for many years and am exhausted from the strain of these mental issues.

What treatment methods had you tried prior to Dr. Angela’s program?

My main treatment for these issues was medicine – a pill for my period, a pill for my depression & anxiety, and yet another pill for my distracted and “busy” brain.

I had also been to see a few different therapists who were helpful at the time but never seemed to permanently resolve my issues.

What health benefits did you gain from working with Dr. Angela?

Natural weight loss
More energy
Better sleep
Confidence in my state of mind
How to improve my self-worth

4. What was your biggest struggle during the transition to a healthier lifestyle?

The biggest struggle was learning/knowing what to eat and planning ahead in order to prepare meals.

I also struggled with not letting the very anxiety I was trying to get rid of, hold me back from getting better. It was scary to learn the truth about the meds and I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to give them up. I had no idea how to act or who I was supposed to be without my meds.

5. What did you find most beneficial to you in the program?

My favorite and most helpful parts of the program were the face to face meetings and the homework given.

Dr. A. gave me so much perspective and really helped me work on my frame of mind. The transition to a healthier lifestyle was less confusing and less frustrating knowing that she was there to help us!

6. Did your food options taste good?

The food took some getting used too but once my mind and taste buds got used to the change, the natural foods tasted delicious. I love eating fruits and veggies along with other clean food options and find myself seeking out those foods more – even at gatherings where other dishes are in abundance.

7. Did you have an ah-ha moment that helped you commit to the change? If so, what was it?

This has been such a huge transition in my life and because of that there was not been just one single “ah-ha” moment, there were several. A few of those being…

watching my husband become himself again with his improved mental and physical health
On a random day discovering that I feel strong and healthy mentally and knowing that it isn’t just a phase but who I really am ;)
Stepping on the scale after several months only to discover, without even paying attention, I had lost weight!
Really feeling and understanding what sleeping well does for me

8. If you were going to give a piece of advice to someone on the fence of following a program like Dr. Angela’s, what would you say to them in order to help them decide?

Please give the program a chance and just try it!!!

Be honest with yourself about who you are (or who you think you are) and where you REALLY want to go. Love Ok, at least try to “like” yourself enough to sit and just listen to what Dr. A. has to say – you just might be amazed what you can learn about yourself…

Dr. Angela’s perspective:

There were a lot of moving parts to this case including anxiety, hormone imbalance, low self-esteem, and many medications. This case happened to have issues with low progesterone. It took some tweaking with her supplementation to balance that, restore her period, and maintain normal cycles. Along with her hormone balance came symptoms of weight gain, hair distribution issues, skin issues, mood disturbance, and blood pressure concerns. It was definitely more than supplementing to get hormones in balance; it was lifestyle work AND HEAD WORK. What you tell yourself on a daily basis creates your reality. It was such a pleasure to watch this entire family transform before my eyes. I often did these appointments on Friday nights, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It capped my week off with a full feeling because of their ability to be honest, vulnerable, and willing to examine all the aspects of life we brought to light. Although many medication paths will lead women to believe there are quick pill fixes, or that it’s just your biology, I am here to tell you otherwise. Your hormones decide so much about how you feel and look, and they should not be relegated to a mere band-aid solution.