1. WE LIVE IN THE INFLAMMATION AGE

The 4 main lifestyle diseases that most people succumb to are Cardiovasular, T2 Diabetes, Cancer, or Alzheimer’s. Chronic systemic inflammation leads to insulin resistance, which causes all four of the above diseases. 

Systemic inflammation is ageing by 1000 cuts

Aging can be reduced to (the lack of) mitochondrial function. These powerhouses run your body’s operating system and are responsible for all energy production that drives your lifestyle. Their efficiency dictates metabolic function and overall health. Waste products of their (oxidative) work are called free radicals. Uncontrolled production of free radicals catalyses ageing via systemic inflammation. 

Your nutrition and lifestyle dictate your mitochondrial health and immune function

Unresolved inflammation lowers mitochondrial efficiency causing less energy and more free radical production. This causes DNA damage by unravelling its strands and shortening its telomeres, another ageing metric.

A (cytokine) storm is brewing

Systemic inflammation is a result of an autoimmune response by the body’s (innate) immune system, which is chronically triggered. This inflammation inhibits mitochondrial function, causing DNA degradation.

Hormones are the car, mitochondria are the driver

The state of your mitochondria dictates the state of hormonal balance in your body. Hormones drive all activities, feels, thoughts, emotions in your body. The mitochondria are the frontline environmental sensors and decision makers for your body’s operating system. 

Old mitochondria = old you

2. IMMUNOMETABOLISM

The health of your metabolism can shape your immune responses and vice versa. The immune system is made not born

Metabolism is basically the breaking down of the major components of our diet (macros) the protein, carbs and fats into energy and building blocks that our cells can use to repair, recover and grow. Metabolic rate and immune system are very intimately entwined. IImmune responses are energetically very costly.

When an immune cell has to fight an infection it goes through a metabolic switch from OFF to ON state. Resting state to suddenly sucking up much more glucose to fuel proliferation of immune cells (to perform an inflammatory defence response) making armies of themselves and building antibodies, requires proteins etc. This metabolic switch is called the Warburg Effect.

This is what happens to cancer cells too

In bodies with bad metabolism this switch goes on and off irregularly at times of no infection (autoimmune disorder). This happens in cases of chronic conditions like T2 diabetes etc. Your diet can control this immune system from misfiring.

This makes immune cells generally pro inflammatory causing system inflammatory responses causing the chronic diseases.

When you refeed after a long fast, you get an increase of HGH, production of fresh new immune cells from the bone marrow, and the stress from the lack of eating causes the older malfunctioning immune cells to be deleted (autophagy). So you replenish your immune cells and prevent and/or reverse autoimmune conditions and metabolic disorders in your Mitochondria as well.

It’s not just about what we eat (and its diversity). But also how much or how little and how frequently.

3. IS FOOD MORE POWERFUL THAN MEDICINE?

As a functional medicine nutritionist, my aim is to manage, treat, and potentially reverse chronic health conditions via diet and lifestyle changes. 

These disorders result from metabolic & gut dysfunction, manifesting as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues & hypertension, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. 

If you suffer from issues like stress and anxiety, a doctor will typically not question your diet and lifestyle and offer your SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) or simply put, antidepressants.

SSRIs block the reabsorption (reuptake) of serotonin into neurons. This makes more serotonin available to improve transmission of messages between neurons. 

This treats the SYMPTOMS of anxiety and depression WITHOUT addressing the root causes.

The bacteria in our gut make the serotonin for us. 

So, if someone is anxious – let’s look at their gut first. Anxiety is not a psychological event. It’s a physiological biochemical event. Your brain isn’t getting serotonin because your gut isn’t producing it.

The solution isn’t taking serotonin as an antidepressant, the solution is figuring out WHY your gut isn’t producing the serotonin in the first place!

Understanding biology at the individual level is what functional medicine is about. It’s understanding each of our unique physiologies, looking at things traditional doctors don’t look at, so the scope of being a holistic nutritional practitioner is a bit different.

The goal is to redefine the concept of ageing and healthspan vs lifespan.

If you suffer from any chronic issues that don’t seem to go away, nor are properly controlled by medication – then get in touch!

4. GUT DYSBIOSIS & STRESS, LOWER IMMUNITY FASTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE

When we have an emotion within our hearts, that emotion sends a signal to our brain, and the quality of that signal determines what the brain does in response to that emotion. Imagine a signal from the heart to the brain as a smooth series of coherent waves.

The brain will match that signal with smooth, organised chemistry and will release the chemistry that supports life in our body. This is where our immune systems become really strong, producing super immune responses.

On the other hand, when we feel stress – it’s a lot of chaotic, unorganised jagged waves from the heart to the brain, which the brain matches and physically manifests with symptoms.

STRESS chemistry – affects blood, making it more acidic, causing more systemic inflammation – which is usually a result of a compromised immune system and low-grade autoimmune responses. This is a determinantal slippery slope.

The human body is capable of miraculous things. It is an intelligent system, deeply connected to our minds and the world around us, and brilliantly designed to self regulate and heal. By detoxing our environment, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the products we use, we support the healing process. Choose and focus on a possibility that you want.

We have the power to heal. 

5. MY IMMUNE SYSTEM ATTACKS ITSELF. WHAT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER?

A healthy immune system defends the body against disease and infection. But if the immune system malfunctions, it mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissues, and organs. Called autoimmune disease, these attacks can affect any part of the body, weakening bodily function and even turning life-threatening.

Normally, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your own cells. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes parts of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. 

Researchers suspect environmental factors like infections, genetics and exposure to chemicals or solvents might also be involved. BUT a major cause of autoimmune disorders is GUT DYSBIOSIS and a BAD DIET. Eating high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods is thought to be linked to inflammation, which might set off an immune response. 

Some well-known disorders include Type 1 diabetes, Multiple sclerosis, Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Eczema, and Psoriasis.