Infections: Triggers that drive an Autoimmune Condition

Patients ask me a lot, “Dr. King, what causes an autoimmune condition?”  While that question is not easily answered, I will say that infections are triggers, or driving forces behind autoimmune conditions.

Here is a short video of me explaining infections...

We manage our patients both neurologically and metabolically. Let’s think about the car analogy of your blood being you oil, and your brain being your motor…if your oil is bad long enough, your motor will start to break down!

All chronic health conditions will ultimately affect how our brain functions. What do I mean by this? All of us have some amount of neurological degeneration, some of us have more, and some of us are progressively developing more and more degeneration over a shorter amount of time.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease are three conditions we can think of right off of the bat that involve brain degeneration. You can read more about why I began working with patients with chronic health conditions by…

Why I started Working With Chronic Health Conditions…

We use functional neurology and nutrition to help restore the body’s natural functions.Neuroplasticity is the term used for stimulating the brain to improve the efficiency of the brain’s neurons. Dictionary.com defines neuroplascticity as the following: the brain’s natural ability to form new connections in order to compensate for injury or changes in one’s environment; also called brain plasticity.

If the brain is starting to break down neurologically, neurons are starting to die off; you can stimulate the area of the brain with damage and improve the efficiency!

We use the following therapies to improve the brain’s efficiency:

Balance therapy
Spin therapy
Vibration therapy
Auditory stimulation (sound therapy)
Visual stimulation (eye movements)
Olfactory stimulation (smell therapy)
The Rebuilder®
Calorics
Eyelights Therapy
Interactive Metronome® (great for children with dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders)
Oxygen Therapy
Sensory Deprivation Tanks (AKA – float tanks): www.floatspot.com. ‘Floating’ is an excellent passive therapy to help your body heal quicker. What is floating? You are in a sealed tank, floating in 10″ of heated water (heated to body temperature) that contains 600-800 pounds of dissolved Epsom and Sea Salt. Floating allows your brain to ‘relax’ in theta state, which is a healing state for the brain and body. While floating is a type of trans-meditation, one hour floating is the equivalent to 4-5 hours of sleep = allows the adrenal glands to heal. Plus, your body is in a weightless state, allowing your muscles and joints to relax.

We use oxygen therapy to help our patients’ bodies heal quicker. The body needs two things to improve brain function: fuel and activation.

Fuel comes in the form of glucose (foods we eat) and oxygen.

Activation comes in the form of brain stimulation.

Now onto our oil, or our blood!

Remember, all chronic health conditions affect our brains neurologically!

If we have any organs malfunctioning or any chronic diseases, we must correct the issue. Let us take thyroid gland disorders. In order to accurately determine what type of thyroid gland disorder one has, you must run all of the right testing. This is where the medical model is “dropping the ball”. If they are not running all of the right tests (ordering the right markers), or if their blood panels are not complete (which almost 90% of the time, they are not, according to what we see in our clinic), you will not be diagnosed properly.

This holds true for all of our chronic health conditions. Doctors must be running adequate tests in order to truly diagnose the health conditions correctly. Why are the medical doctors not doing this? It will not change the course of their treatments, which is either medications or surgery.

Our Natural Programs Are Based on Specific Lab Panels:

By using specific blood tests such as:

#1: A thyroid panel (with TBG and TPO-ab antibodies)
#2: A complete metabolic panel (CMP)
#3: A lipid panel
#4: A CBC (complete blood chemistry with differential)

We can assess your thyroid, adrenal, blood, and gut function. All can be affected with chronic health conditions. By addressing any problems with your thyroid, adrenal glands, blood chemistry, or gut function, we can help you to heal faster. The CMP allows us to check your blood glucose levels since glucose and oxygen are needed by the brain to function properly.

Adrenal Stress Index (ASI):

We can further test your adrenal glands with a test called an Adrenal Stress Index. Your adrenal glands are your “stress” organs meaning that they react to stress. If you have been or are currently under stress, this test is a must! IF YOU SUFFER FROM INSOMNIA, THIS TEST WILL MEASURE YOUR CORTISOL LEVELS. When your body’s cortisol levels are abnormal, you will suffer from insomnia. Cortisol levels can be corrected via specific nutritional protocols thereby curing your insomnia.

We may test to see if you have an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease is where your immune system attacks a particular area of the body so we test for specific antibodies to determine if you suffer from an autoimmune condition.

TISSUE ANTIBODIES (aka. Autoimmune Disorders)

If you suffer from an autoimmune disorder your immune system is attacking other systems of your body (ie. Thyroid, cerebellum, etc.)

If you have an autoimmune attack, it is like a raging forest fire. Your body is destroying tissue as the attack occurs, damaging critical organs.

You must find out what the gasoline is that is being poured onto your fire, or you will keep destroying tissue.

This is what makes us unique: no stone is left unturned to determine the true cause of your health condition.

There can be many different forms of “gasoline”, so you must run the correct tests.

We can check for gluten antibodies, tissue antibodies such as myelin (fatty sheath around the nerves) antibodies, and cerebellar (back part of the brain controlling balance, coordinated movement, and spinal muscles) antibodies.

For Example: Many HhYpatients that I have managed have tested positive for thyroid antibodies and they were actually mis-diagnosed by their medical doctor for years. If your thyroid tissue anti-bodies (TPO &TBG) are high, you are suffering from Hashimoto’s disease and NOT hypothyroid. The only way to find out is to test for thyroid tissue antibodies via blood work.

Your immune system could be attacking your nervous system, which would cause pain and numbness (this is called multiple sclerosis and peripheral neuropathy). The ONLY way to know is to run the right tests.

If you suffer from tissue antibodies, further blood work will be needed to determine which part of your immune system is not functioning. Specifically…

#1: Lymphocyte Subpopulation
#2: TH1/TH2 Cytokine Panels
#3: Natural Killer Cell Activity

H. Pylori/Parasites:

We run tests for H. Pylori bacteria to determine any problems related to gut function (H. Pylori is the most common bacteria to affect the stomach and gut). We are also looking for parasites, mold, yeast and fungi, which is what a majority of patients with gastro-intestinal dysfunction suffer from.

Genetic Food Sensitivity Testing:

Genetic samples can be used to determine sensitivity to foods that might be making your health condition worse. If you are eating certain foods that your body is sensitive to, you are destroying more and more tissue.

Intestinal Permeability:

We use this test to determine if a patient is suffering from leaky gut syndrome (LGS). We see a lot of patients with gastro-intestinal issues, and a majority of them are suffering from LGS.

LGS describes a condition of altered or damaged bowel lining, caused by antibiotics, toxins, poor diet, parasites, or infection can lead to increased permeability of the gut wall to toxins, microbes, undigested food, waste or larger than normal macromolecules. It has been proposed that these substances affect the body directly, while others postulate an immune reaction to these substances.

Neurotransmitters:

We assess for decreased brain neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are vital for proper brain function and can cause increased pain, memory loss, and neurological movement disorders.

Hormone Panels:

We can check hormone panels to determine if the patient suffers from low testosterone in males or low estrogen/progesterone levels in females. Symptoms related to decreased hormone levels may include depression, fatigue, mental fogginess, mood swings, hot flashes, sweating attacks, weight gain, and decreased physical stamina.

Inflammation:

Finally, we may need to test for inflammation in your system by testing homocysteine levels, fibrinogen and C-Reactive Protein (C-RP). Many patients suffering from chronic health conditions suffer from inflammatory processes. Just about every diabetic, thyroid, dizziness/vertigo, and autoimmune patient that I have managed suffers from some form of chronic inflammatory process.

Once we have run the necessary tests to determine your specific condition, we can successfully manage you using our proper neurological and all natural nutritional protocols.

One thing you MUST realize…your doctors have been managing your condition from a reactive approach. Meaning, they wait until something is wrong, or destroyed, to then give you a medication or treatment. We work from a pro-active approach! If you have one severe condition, there is a good chance other bodily systems are suffering as well. One organ does not stop working on its own; our body works as ONE BIG organ!!!

If you have one auto-immune condition, time and lifestyle are the determining factors for developing more auto-immune conditions.

If you have high cholesterol, it is only a matter of time until you have atherosclerosis of the arteries, high blood pressure, tissue destruction, peripheral neuropathy, heart attacks or a stroke!

The big question is this…How do you want to live out the remaining years you have left?

If you would like to talk more about your health condition, give my staff a call (866) 375-4641 to schedule your complimentary phone consultation.

At Dr King’s office, our mission is to improve the quality of our patients’ lives. We operate by a simple motto, ‘We want success stories’! Our goal is take you from the condition that you are in and take you to where you want to be. You have goals for your life; whether they are financial, personal, or spiritual goals. Our job is to improve upon your “health goals”. We believe that everyone should be living a healthy, vibrant, and energetic life, without the needless suffering of chronic, debilitating health symptoms.

Functional neurology and functional medicine is the new wave of health care. People are realizing why the medical model is failing them. Our medical model is using ‘acute care’ for ‘chronic conditions’ and patients are starting to see that those two conflicting models are not allowing them to reach their health goals = be happy, vibrant, and thriving individuals.

Our approach is simple, but comprehensive:

We look at how the body is functioning neurologically and metabolically. The brain is a magnificent organ! It contains billions of neurons that are firing constantly to keep us thinking, moving, and living. If neurons are compromised, so will our bodily functions. Our blood is the ‘oil of the car’, if you will. It contains all of the nutrients and oxygen needed for our brain to function. Without the proper nutrients and oxygen, we die!

Using neurological testing, we can specifically test the functioning and non-functioning aspects of the brain. Once we find the region that is not “firing”, or working, appropriately we can stimulate that region to improve its functioning ability. It is much like going into the gym. If you have a weak biceps muscle, what are you going to do? You will work it out, do some strength training! You would not work out your leg if your arm is weak, would you? No! This is the same principle with neurology. You can stimulate or strengthen the regions of the brain that are weak. Once you do that, you will improve the functioning of that area’s neurons and your body works and performs as it is supposed to.

This stimulation is based off of the term, neuroplasticity. Scientists once thought that a brain older than three years old was a rigid structure. If it was damaged in any way, it was damaged. However, through scientific studies and research, plus clinical applications, we know that the brain continually reorganizes itself. This regorganization is called neuroplasticity. It means that you create your brain from the input you give it.

Functional medicine is based off the idea that the body functions best within certain parameters, or ranges. In order to be within those ranges, the body needs a few things:

Nutrients Oxygen
If our organs have the proper fuel, everything will be in balance. However, due to life (stress, diet, environmental toxins, genes, trauma, etc) our body will become ‘out of balance’ and we might need helping getting back into those functional ranges. Quite simply, our body starts to shut down and we can bring it back into a more normalized state using natural supplementation, which is guided by scientific laboratory testing. If you run the appropriate laboratory testing to figure out why the body is not working within a functional, or optimal, range, you can then use ‘functional medicine’ to bring it back into range.

Neurological therapies are based off the specific neurological tests that are performed. Some of therapies that are used are the following:

Oxygen Therapy: The brain uses more oxygen than any other organ in the body. So, we use oxygen therapy in order to allow your body and brain to heal quicker.

Vibration Therapy: Vibration fires to the back part of the brain called the cerebellum, which is the foundation. One of the functions of the cerebellum is control of the spinal muscle and by stimulating these muscles we can fire-off muscle spindle cells to activate the cerebellum, thus increasing its efficiency in functioning.

Auditory Therapy: Auditory stimulation fires to the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is responsible hearing, memory, recall and verbalization of thoughts. By activating this region, we can improve its function.

Visual Therapy: Visual stimulation is picked up by the cerebellum. Since the cerebellum controls eye movements, we can stimulate the cerebellum via visual therapy. To learn more visit www.eyelights.com

Auriculo-therapy: Using a hand-held muscle stimulation machine, we can strengthen the brainstem, which controls many of your automatic processes of your body…breathing, sleep, digestion, and pain.

Caloric Therapy: By using a warm water caloric, we can stimulate the cerebellum as well. This works wonders for dizziness and vertigo patients.

Interactive Metronome: By using science based software, we are able to measure your brain’s ability to time sequences to assess how efficient your cerebral cortex is working. We can also use therapeutic modalities with the Interactive Metronome to improve the efficiency of the brain. To learn more visit www.interactivemetronome.com

Balance Therapy: The cerebellum controls balance, and is the foundation of the brain. If the cerebellum is not firing properly (sending the right neurological impulses to the rest of the brain) the rest of the brain’s efficiency will be compromised. Using balance therapy we can improve the efficiency of how the brain is functioning.

Rebuilder®: Using this machine we are able to regenerate the nerves that have been destroyed due to peripheral neuropathy in diabetics. To learn more visit www.rebuildermedical.com

If you are looking for a complete systems approach to your health condition, you have found the best clinic to do so. There will be ‘no stone left unturned’ when it comes to diagnosing your condition and managing your condition.

If you would like to talk more about your health condition, give my staff a call (866) 375-4641 to schedule your complimentary phone consultation.

We sure love our tea down here at Tustin Chronic Condition Center, especially if it’s green! For those with chronic pain or autoimmune conditions, a cup of tea is a great way to help you relax.

But it’s not always convenient to pop on the kettle and brew a cup–sometimes you need that tea and need it now!

So what to do when you don’t have time for green tea?

Green Tea-ND!

Made by Premier Research Labs (one of our favorite supplement companies), Green Tea-ND, a fully-organic, nutrient-dense green tea extract, combines the impressive health benefits of green tea with the convenience of an on-the-go lifestyle. Just half a teaspoon in water, your daily smoothie, or your post-workout protein shake and you’re ready to go!

Frequent Flier?

If you fly often, Green Tea ND is a must, as it helps to protect your cells from the harmful effects of radiation you are exposed to during your flight.

More Reasons Green Tea ND is Awesome:

Supports a youthful appearance by preventing free radical damage ( free radical oxidation = cell death! )

Loaded with polyphenols ( antioxidants = anti-aging = reduces risk of cancer )

Super Concentrated ( ½ tsp = 12 cups of green tea )

No Caffeine (energy without the jitters!)

Parathyroid support (helps prevent calcium buildup in the body)

Recommended Dosage:

1 tsp in 10 oz of water per day

Dr. King Says: I personally take 1 tsp of Green Tea ND every single morning in my water. I have noticed that it keeps me at an ‘even-keel’ throughout the day, as my energy remains stable without unpleasant fluctuations. If you take into account that I see patients from 8:00-6:00—I have to be on my toes at all times and I give a lot of credit to my Green Tea-ND!