Monthly Archives: May 2017

Nutrition, Wellness

How Does Activated Charcoal Work?

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Activated charcoal is a fine, black powder with an extremely high surface area, making it ideal for adsorbing, or trapping, toxins. Activated charcoal can be made from various carbon sources, including coconuts husks, hardwood, or peat. It is available as capsules, loose powder, tablets, or liquid.

In the emergency room setting, activated charcoal is used orally to treat certain kinds of poisoning, especially within the first hour. Charcoal works by soaking up the toxic compound so that the poison is not absorbed from the intestinal tract into the blood circulation. The charcoal, along with any toxins that are stuck to it, is eliminated in the stool. The dose to treat emergency poisoning in an adult is 25-100g of activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal is used in the non-emergency setting to detox ingested impurities at a much lower dose of about 1g after a meal. It can be used to help with digestion for foods that cause symptoms such as cramping, diarrhea, or nausea. One study showed that activated charcoal can reduce bloating and gas in the lower intestines, reducing cramping. Activated charcoal can be useful in food poisoning, especially if taken within 30min to 1 hour.

Activated charcoal carries a negative charge, so it attracts heavy metals and other toxins that are positively charged. Activated charcoal in a facial soap or facial mask can remove impurities and toxins from the skin, commonly used to treat acne or brighten dull skin. Activated charcoal can stain your clothing or carpet, but if used to brush your teeth, it actually whitens them by pulling out color impurities in teeth. Teeth should be rinsed well with water after brushing with charcoal powder.

Activated charcoal has anecdotally been used for hangover prevention, although there are no scientific studies. The use for hangover prevention is typically 1 capsule prior to each alcoholic drink, and 1 glass of water right after the alcoholic drink.  Excessive alcohol use is dangerous, and even potentially deadly, whether or not charcoal is used.

Safety concerns for activated charcoal include constipation or vomiting if too high a dose is used, intestinal obstruction if patient has a gut motility issue, temporary dark stools, corneal abrasion if it gets in eyes, and respiratory distress if it gets inhaled into the lungs. If you are taking prescription medications, there is a chance that they will be less effective if they are adsorbed and eliminated with the charcoal. Therefore, you should wait at least 2 hours after taking your prescription medication before you take activated charcoal. Activated charcoal should not be used concurrently with a laxative due to risk of electrolyte and fluid imbalance. If you are pregnant, you should ask your doctor before using activated charcoal.

Activated charcoal is not effective for low molecular weight compounds like cyanide, iron, ethanol, lithium, or methanol. Activated charcoal should not be used for caustic ingestions, such as cleaning agents, acids, or batteries. Contact your local poison control center if caustic ingestion is suspected.

In summary, the low dose of non-prescription activated charcoal available over the counter is safe for most people to use on an intermittent basis as part of their detox protocol. For best results, find a supplement that states the carbon source and avoid any extra additives.

Dr. Boston helps patients develop personalized detox protocols at the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine located at 520 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401.  www.akashacenter.com  (310)-451-8880.

 

 

Pain Management

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

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Pelvic floor dysfunction is a common cause for chronic pelvic pain in women. An often-overlooked piece of the puzzle is pain stemming from laxity at the pubic symphysis and sacroiliac joints.

The pubic symphysis is a joint at the front of the bony pelvic ring. It consists of a fibrocartilaginous disc wedged between the two pubic bones. There are 4 ligaments that reinforce the pubic symphysis.

These ligaments can become more lax over time. Ligamentous laxity can occur due to athletics, trauma, the hormone relaxin during labor and delivery, or wear and tear from the variety of forces it undergoes on a daily basis, including traction, compression, and shearing.

Hypermobility at the sacroiliac joints often co-occurs with laxity at the pubic symphysis, since the pelvic bones are interconnected. Pelvic instability can cause spasm of the pelvic sling muscles, resulting in chronic pelvic pain.

Prolotherapy injections to the weakened pelvic ring ligaments will cause in increase in blood supply and regenerative cells to the area, stimulating repair of the lax ligaments. New collagen is added to the ligaments, strengthening them. Once stabilized, the pelvic ring resumes its purpose of being a stable base for pelvic floor muscles, reducing muscle spasms and pelvic pain.

Dr. Boston treats patients with chronic pelvic pain at the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine at 520 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. www.akashacenter.com (310)-451-8880.

Wellness

I just found a tick! Do I have Lyme disease?

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Summertime is around the corner, and hopefully we will all be outdoors enjoying the warm weather.  Unfortunately, ticks also enjoy warm weather.  There has been a lot of confusion lately about ticks and Lyme disease, so we should talk about it.

First of all, only deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease. Lyme is a spirochete bacterium that is transmitted through the tick’s saliva into the human that the tick is biting. So, we need to know what kind of tick it was. Deer ticks are brown or red/brown with 8 black or brown legs. If it has a white mark on it’s back, then it is not a deer tick. Before they are engorged with blood, the adult deer tick is about the size of a sesame seed and the nymph (teen) deer tick is the size of a pinhead. Once they are engorged with blood, they can be much larger.

Second of all, a deer tick has to be attached and feeding, for >=36 hours in order to transmit Lyme.  So, if the tick is discovered before 36 hours, or is discovered with a flat, non-engorged body, then there is no chance of Lyme transmission.

The key is finding and removing the deer tick before 36 hours.  

Tell all your campers going to sleep away camp that they should do a full body check for ticks once a day.

 When doing a body check for ticks after spending time outdoors, make sure to include the armpit, behind the knee, the groin, behind ears, and the scalp.

The way to remove a tick is to use fine-nose tweezers to grab the tick as close to the attachment point to your skin as possible. Lift with a steady, firm direction backwards from the skin. Do not squeeze the tick body, nor twist, nor use a match or fingernail polish, as these methods can make the tick express more saliva into the bite wound. After removing the tick, wash the skin and hands with soap and water. If the head is left in the skin, leave it in place as digging to remove it can cause trauma, and natural skin sloughing will eliminate it in a few days.

If you find a deer tick that is estimated to have been attached for >=36 hours, then your doctor can prescribe you a single preventative dose of an antibiotic to prevent Lyme if given within 72 hours of removing the tick.

There is no benefit in blood testing for Lyme at the time of the bite, as a positive blood test will not be apparent until 2-6 weeks after the bite.

If you develop a rash that looks like a target symbol, which is called erythema migrans (EM), then you do have early Lyme and need 14-21 days of antibiotics. EM occurs in 80% of patients, usually within 1 month following the tick bite.

During the first days or weeks of infection, patients often have nonspecific symptoms like fatigue, sore joints, headache, or enlarged lymph nodes.

If you found the tick after it was attached for 36 hours and develop neurologic or cardiac symptoms, then you could have early disseminated Lyme and could require intravenous antibiotics.

You may benefit from supportive treatments to optimize your immune system, methylation, and gut health during the stressful time of the tick bite. See your health care practitioner to guide you.

Dr. Bren Boston sees patients at the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine at 520 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. www.akashacenter.com   (310)-451-8880

Longevity, Wellness

Just in time for Mother’s Day…How Exercise Can Help Your Motherhood

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I’ve always had a bit of a Type A personality. Probably most doctors do, how else can you make it through medical school? Having a Type A personality means that my sympathetic nervous system, my fight or flight instinct, can make me a bit on edge sometimes. It also helps me get stuff done. But, too much of a good thing, is a bad thing. Exercising is the main way I balance my sympathetic nervous system, burning off the excess adrenaline, helping me to be less uptight and less irritable. And, any mom knows, you are a better mom when you are feeling more relaxed, less uptight, and happier.

Staying fit by eating healthy foods and exercising regularly is also my mood stabilizer. When I go running, I am flushed with a sense of optimism that comes out of nowhere. It just washes over me, and my mind is flooded with creative ideas and positive thoughts. Natural endorphins and improved blood flow are the biological causes of these uplifting brain waves. These happy feelings spill over into my interactions with my kids, helping me to enjoy the precious moments and to tolerate the gripes with aplomb.

Staying fit also gives me energy. One of the biggest complaints I hear from moms is that they feel tired. I can honestly say that I have great energy due to an endurance built up from regular exercise 5 days a week, and sleeping 8 hours a night. Having energy allows me to play joyfully with my kids.   I can tell they are in tune with my energy, and it brings us closer together. I also feel good about setting an example for them of how exercise can be a fun part of your weekly routine, something to look forward to, not to dread.

Being healthy is important for longevity. I want to be there to see my kids grow up into adults, and to be a grandparent to their children. In fact, I don’t just want to be there for my grandkids, I want to be running around with them, babysitting them, and keeping up with them. Exercising, specifically weight training, gives me noticeable muscle strength that I am aware of when toting heavy grocery bags without flinching or lifting my kids into a bear hug.

Being fit is an important aspect of my self-esteem. What you see on the outside is not nearly as important as what is on the inside, but the real you is stuck inside your body. Keeping your vessel healthy and fit is a way to honor the real you, the soul, that lives within. Being fit allows me to feel comfortable in my clothing, and to feel good about my body. I don’t have a perfect body, but I do have a strong, energetic, healthy body, and that helps me be the mom I want to be.

If you are a mom who is looking to jump-start her fitness and weight loss plan, I would love to see you at the Akasha Center of Integrative Medicine for a comprehensive wellness plan.   Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine, 520 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401. www.akashacenter.com   (310)-451-8880