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Dr. Dale's February 2019 Newsletter!
February 28, 2019
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Here it is, my February Newsletter in March. As they say; better late than never. The good news is that I can't blame it on my "new hip", which is performing very well. Before long, back on the bike!
For now it is all about Heart Health. So please read the below information and take the action steps that are most important for you and your loved ones. Just having the information is not enough. It is critical that you take action to make change to get the results you desire.
And please, email me directly if you have any questions on these topics. |
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February - National Heart Month
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February is National Heart Health month and I'm just sneaking this one in just a few hours late. Heart Health should be the most important health focus for anyone over 40, as this is the one condition that has the greatest impact on shortening the lives of Americans.
Please read below regarding the
2 most important heart tests
and be sure to follow up with me for your tests,
so we can keep you as "healthy as can be" in this critical area. Additionally, this is the one area where you probably have a loved one (or 2, or 3, or more) who could also be more proactive, and we can order these tests for them also.
One great aspect of Heart Health is that with the proper steps taken, you can dramatically reduce your risk of ever dying from a heart attack. This is the number one killer in America and it is Very Avoidable. It is very sad and frustrating to me, as it is all too frequent that I hear of someone who has died of a sudden heart attack at much too early of an age. Especially when I know that it could have easily been prevented if they
had just
done
the tests I recommend and follow the necessary steps that were indicated based on their results. Usually these steps are very simple, yet critical, and they contribute to a broad spectrum of other health benefits.
One of these tests, The Heart Scan, is also great for picking up critical issues that are silent and allow for preventative measures to avoid an early fatality. I have had a number of wives ask me for a requisition for their husbands to have this test, only for us to find a silent but dangerous abnormality that needed to be closely watched by their cardiologist. These were time bombs ticking away in relatively young men that could only be discovered early with this test.
These are also great and easy areas for helping others. Simply either share my articles with them, ask me if I can order these tests for them, or tell them to go see Dr. Dale now, as you want to make sure they live a long and healthy life!
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| 2 Most Important Heart Tests |
Unfortunately, many doctors, and many patients, think cholesterol testing and a treadmill stress test are the most important heart tests.
Let me make this perfectly clear, neither is! The first test below is far superior for detecting atherosclerosis, and the second test is critical for determining whether or not your risk of Sudden Cardiac Death is increased, or if it is decreased by up to 90%!
The other great news about these tests is that they are very low cost for the value they provide.
The Heart Scan in Santa Barbara is only $150, the lowest price I have ever heard of in the U.S.,
and the BrainSpan test, our replacement for the Omega-3 Index test is now only $125. Come on in and we can get you set up for both, or either one. By the way, both of these tests are very simple processes.
What? A Brain Test for the Heart? Our
BrainSpan test includes
the critical Omega 3 Index test, the most important Bio-Chemical marker for your heart health. The BrainSpan test also gives us your fatty acid Cell Inflammation Index and a benchmark for how your brain is operating for your age. This is very important and valuable information, that also serves as a screening tool for picking up early cognitive decline.
Please read both of these articles to help extend or save the life of yourself or a loved one.
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Why the Heart Scan is So Important
I have been studying this test and using it with patients for over 15 years, and I strongly recommend the Heart Scan for all men over 40 and all women over 45. Make that 5 years earlier if there is a significant family history of heart disease or if you exercise vigorously.
I wish I had a test this good for other key areas of long term wellness!
The Heart Scan allows us to very clearly know the amount of hard plaque you have in your heart. It can determine if you don't have any hard plaque at all (which is the case for most of my patients), if you do have hard plaque, and therefore are at risk, how great that risk is, and over time if your plaque is increasing at a fast rate, average rate, slow rate, not increasing or actually reversing. Since plaque build up and/or rupture are what cause the vast majority of heart attacks, this test provides the clearest picture of your risk of heart attack now and in the future. It clearly shows if you have any calcified plaque at all in your coronary arteries and if so, exactly how much, in how many different spots and exactly which areas of the arteries.
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T
he BrainSpan/Omega-3 Index: The New Champion in Testing for Cardiac Risk
Your Omega-3 Index is the most
important number relative to your risk for Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). This is the type of heart attack where an individual usually dies immediately or within a few minutes. Usually with no time for aggressive intervention. It's the kind of heart attack where an apparently healthy individual, possibly only in his or her 40's or 50's, and who may even recently have passed a cardiovascular stress test with flying colors, has a heart attack out of the blue and dies suddenly. These heart attacks most commonly result from a rupture of soft plaque, causing a sudden and severe clot that dramatically blocks blood flow in the arteries of the heart. They can also be the result of a sudden, severe arrhythmia.
The Omega-3 Index test specifically measures all the Omega-3, and 6 fatty acids in your red blood cells and scores the index of your EPA/DHA compared to the rest of the fats in your red blood cell membranes. Individuals with an index in the desirable range (greater than 8%) have up to a 90% decreased risk of Sudden Cardiac Death compared to individuals with a score in the undesirable and most common range for Americans (below 4%).
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Osteoporosis: Preventing, Stopping, Reversing!
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Osteoporosis is a condition that you have a lot of control over and I'm here to make sure you do not become one of the more critical statistics of this disease.
Some Important Facts about Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone that makes a person's bones weak and more likely to break. Osteoporosis is often called a "silent disease" because you cannot feel your bones getting weaker. Many people mistakenly think their chronic back or hip pain may be due to their Osteoporosis. This is not true. Pain due to Osteoporosis only happens once you have had a fracture due to Osteoporosis.
The Problem:
Approximately 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, and another 44 million have low bone density, placing them at increased risk. This makes 54 million Americans currently at risk for a fracture due to Osteoporosis. Half of all adults age 50 and older are at risk of breaking a bone and should do everything they can to keep this from happening.
One in two women, and up to one in four men, will break a bone in their lifetime due to osteoporosis. For women, the incidence is greater than that of a heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined. A woman's risk of fracture is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer, and a man is more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than he is to get prostate cancer.
24 percent of hip fracture patients age 50 and over die in the year following the fracture. Six months after a hip fracture, only 15 percent of patients can walk across a room unaided. Every year, of nearly 300,000 hip fracture patients, one-quarter end up in nursing homes and half never regain previous function.
The Solution:
If you are over 50 years old, be sure to get your first bone density (DEXA) test, as soon as possible. This will gives us a good idea of your current and future risk for
Osteoporosis fractures. Follow ups should be every 1 - 2 years as certain variables over time can lead to sudden increases in bone loss.
Once we know where you stand, we can create a plan to achieve your desired results. Currently, "good bones" means we focus on keeping up good lifestyle factors, i.e. weight bearing exercise, high nutrient diets, avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol, and staying healthy so you don't have to be on one of the many prescription meds that increase your risk for bone loss (please see the list of those meds at bottom of article).
If your bones are not doing well we have numerous nutritional options which we tailor to your specific needs. If someone is doing poorly, meaning that they are near Osteopenia or Osteoporosis at an early age, or currently have Osteoporosis and they want to do everything they can to slow, stop or even reverse their condition, then we have programs that are a combination of special bone building products and if needed our Special PEMF equipment, which has so far produced more dense bones, up to 11% increase in one year, for every patient we have treated for Osteoporosis. Our specialized nutritional combination, plus PEMF. is the best natural source of correcting bone density that I know of and can be specifically applied to individual areas.
I have worked with patients on bone health for over 30 years and depending on their status we have differing steps and products. In some cases we have to use very fancy bone building products, when in others we can use products that are better for overall health. The amount of support a patient needs can vary greatly also. The good news is that we can be specific for your needs and do follow up DEXA's to make sure you are getting the results we want.
Here is a list of Medications that increase the risk of Osteoporosis:
- Glucocorticosteroids - oral or inhaled
- Certain immunosuppresants (calmod- ulin/calcineurine phosphatase inhibitors)
- Thyroid hormone treatment when excessive (L-Thyroxine)
- Certain steroid hormones (medroxyprog- esterone acetate, leutenising hormone releasing hormone agonists)
- Aromatase inhibitors
- Certain antipsychotics
- Certain anticonvulsants
- Certain antiepileptic drugs
- Lithium
- Methotrexate
- Antacids
- Proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec, etc.)
If you have any questions as to what steps and products are best for you, please call the office and make an appointment.
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Products of the Month: MonoPure and our BrainSpan Test!
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High dietary intake of fish oil containing EPA and DHA has been shown in many, many research articles to be the single most important nutrient for your Heart Health. The good news is that this is also the single most important nutrient for the health of your brain, and is very beneficial for the health of all the cells in your body.
Omega MonoPure EC is our most commonly recommended fish oil, as it is highly concentrated in the key Omega 3 fatty acids; EPA and DHA. This is also the best absorbed of any fish oil product we have seen so far.
From now until the end of March, buy 2 or more Omega MonoPure and get a 10% discount!
I have lowered the cost of our BrainSpan Test, which includes both the bio-chemical analysis of your red blood cells for Omega 3 levels, plus a very valuable age and gender matched Cognitive Test. BrainSpan is now just $125 rather than the prior $145 price and still includes a follow-up visit with me. |
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"Gossip is the Devil's Radio"
Felix Bush (played by Robert Duvall in the movie Get Low). A movie well worth seeing.
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Please be sure to take care of yourself and loved ones in this key health area. This is such an important system and it is very responsive to the right nutrients, as long as you don't wait too long.
Eat Well, Be Healthy,
Dr. Dale
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Dr. Dale Migliaccio, D.C. Santa Barbara Wellness for Life | 805-687-0533| [email protected]
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