This article was written by Tom Bayne, DC. I just wanted to share it with you as it has much great information. L.P.

While aging as a whole is inevitable, some aspects of aging may actually be caused by a simple vitamin deficiency. That’s right – wrinkles, stiff muscles and decreased athletic performance can all be symptoms of just one micronutrient deficiency: vitamin K₂.

However, some of the more recent discoveries demonstrate that vitamin K₂ can play a role in the treatment and prevention of wrinkles, varicose veins, diabetes, and even prostate, breast and liver cancers.²

Healthy Skin

To maintain youthful, healthy skin, the body needs a plentiful supply of collagen and elastin. Collagen is the protein responsible for skin’s firm and supple nature, although it also plays a role in connecting the tissues found in bone, muscles, tendons, cartilage and organs. Elastin is the protein that gives structure to the skin and organs, allowing the skin to resume its original shape after stretching. Together, these proteins help maintain skin that is firm, yet elastic.

However, by age 20, collagen stores begin to decline by 10 percent every decade, which can have negative effects on the skin as well as the bones.^3-4 In fact, some studies show that the severity of a woman’s facial wrinkles after menopause can actually predict her risk of osteoporosis, mostly due to the fact that collagen loss in the skin occurs at the same rate as collagen loss in the bone.⁵

Until now, creams and lotions have led the anti-aging movement in an attempt to replace collagen stores, but research now indicates that excessive skin wrinkling may actually be a sign of vitamin K₂ deficiency.

In population studies, Japanese women appear to have fewer wrinkles and more supple skin than women of the same age living in North America.⁵ Some people attribute this youthful skin to Asian genetics, but even when compared to women from Shanghai and Bangkok, Japanese women appear to show the least visible signs of aging. Interestingly, the women from these three Asian groups share many similar diet and lifestyle factors, with one exception – the Japanese women have a much higher consumption of natto.

Natto, or fermented soybean, is considered a staple of Japanese cuisine and happens to be the richest food source of vitamin K₂. As a result, Japanese women have much higher circulating levels of this vitamin than any other Asian population, which may account for their more youthful complexions.

Athletic Performance

One of the main reasons aerobic athletic performance declines with age is that the body becomes less effective at utilizing oxygen. The maximal ability to utilize oxygen can be measured by VO2max, an assessment of how much oxygen your body can use per kilogram of body weight. As a result, a high VO2max will indicate that a person can effectively utilize oxygen, which is often seen in well-trained endurance athletes.

Unfortunately, after the age of 30, VO2max will begin to decline. For non-athletes, VO2max tends to decline by about 10 percent every decade. However, athletes who continue their rigorous training can reduce the decline to only five percent every decade.⁶ The main reason that VO2max declines with age is because the maximal heart rate (max HR) decreases as well.

Because cardiac output is the product of stroke volume and maximal heart rate (cardiac output = stroke volume x maximal heart rate), a decrease in max HR will directly decrease cardiac output and, in turn, oxygen delivery to the muscles. This translates to a lower VO2max and decreased athletic endurance with age.

Fortunately, vitamin K₂ appears to increase cardiac output by improving mitochondrial function. In fact, a recent study conducted at the University of North Texas found that only eight weeks of high-dose supplementation with vitamin K₂ (MK-4) was associated with a whopping 12 percent increase in maximal cardiac output in aerobically trained athletes.⁷ Interestingly, it’s estimated to take 6-9 months of high-intensity training without K₂ supplementation to achieve the same increase in cardiac output.

Researchers also reported slight increases in stroke volume and maximal heart rate in the test group, which may help explain the significant increase in cardiac output.

The Vitamin K₂ Solution

The good news is that many of the conditions discussed in this article can be remedied with increased intake of vitamin K₂. The bad news is that vitamin K₂ is fairly elusive in the modern Western diet. The best natural source of K₂ is natto, which contains approximately 1,100 mcg of vitamin K₂ in a 3.5 oz serving. However, natto is very pungent and bitter, which can make patient compliance a significant challenge.

Other good sources of vitamin K₂ include goose liver, various organ meats, and soft cheeses like Gouda and Brie. These natural food sources contain vitamin K₂ in its menaquinone-4 form (MK-4), which has a short half-life of roughly 4-6 hours. This means patients would need to consume these foods every 4-6 hours in order to maintain optimal K₂ levels in the blood.

When considering supplementation with K₂, research indicates that MK-7 is superior to MK-4 and vitamin K1 in regards to half-life, bioavailability and safety. It’s also important to choose naturally fermented forms of MK-7, as synthetic MK-7 currently is not as well-studied or held to the same quality standards as natural MK-7.

References

1. Cranenburg EC, et al. Vitamin K: the coagulation vitamin that became omnipotent. Thromb Haemost, 2007;98(1):120-5.
2. Cario-Toumaniantz C, et al. Identification of differentially expressed genes in human varicose veins: involvement of matrix gla protein in extracellular matrix remodeling. J Vasc Res, 2007;44(6):444-59.
3. Shuster S. Osteoporosis, a unitary hypothesis of collagen loss in skin and bone. Med Hypotheses, 2005;65(3):426-32.
4. Gheduzzi D, et al. Matrix Gla protein is involved in elastic fiber calcification in the dermins of pseudoxanthoma elasticum patients. Lab Invest, 2007;87(10):998-1008.
5. Yoneda PP, et al. Association between skin thickness and bone density in adult women. An Bras Dermatol, 2011;86(5):878-84.
6. Tanaka H, Seals DR. Endurance exercise performance in Masters athletes: age-associated changes and underlying physiological mechanisms. J Physiol, 2008;586(1):55-63.
7. McFarlin BK, et al. Oral consumption of vitamin K₂ for 8 weeks associated with increased maximal cardiac output during exercise. Altern Ther Health Med, 2017;23(4):26-32.

Dr. Tom Bayne, president of Physicians Exclusive, LLC, is a chiropractic physician specializing in nutritional therapies, and an international expert in digestive health and detoxification. His passion for holistic medicine led him to Europe, where he had executive roles at two top natural health companies.

In Chinese Medicine the Intestines of the human are called “ Our second brain” for the last 4 thousand years. Now, the same term is used by western scientists. You’ve got brain cells in your butt. They make your colon smart.A team of scientists in Australia has just released a study with new findings about the bundle of neurons that live in the colon. Those neurons are a part of the body’s enteric nervous system, commonly referred to as the body’s “second brain.” It’s separate from the central nervous system made up of the brain and spinal cord.Basically, these butt neurons fire to contract the muscles surrounding parts of the colon, which then force waste through the last leg of the digestive relay race that usually takes place in the bathroom. But that much was already known among butt brain scientists.What lead author Nick J Spencer, a neurophysiology professor at Flinders University, and his team found by using high resolution neuronal imaging on mice was that the firing of these neurons down below happens in a rhythmic pattern.So whether or not you can effectively shake it on the dance floor, this particular rhythm lives somewhere deep down in the long tube of everyone’s gut. “This represents a major pattern of neuronal activity in the mammalian peripheral nervous system that has not previously been identified,” the authors write.It makes the mundane act of sitting on the toilet seem like such a wonder, doesn’t it?”One of the great mysteries of the gastrointestinal tract is how such a large populations of enteric neurons (that lie within the gut wall) actually fire action potentials to generate contractions of the smooth muscle cells, enabling propulsion of colonic content,” Spencer told Science Alert.But what’s even more, the team also thinks that this “second brain” may have really been our first brain, as far as evolution is concerned.”The newly identified neuronal firing pattern may represent an early feature preserved through the evolution of nervous systems,” according to a news release. “It has also been called the ‘first brain’ based on evidence suggesting that the ENS evolved before the CNS.” Emeran Mayer, professor of physiology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, echoed those sentiments in a 2010 article in Scientific American.”The system is way too complicated to have evolved only to make sure things move out of your colon,” he told the magazine. “A big part of our emotions are probably influenced by the nerves in our gut.

Dear Friends,

All of us have a mission in this life. Since I was a little girl, I knew that mine is to help people and relieve their pain and despair. My medical degrees in Western and Eastern medicine allow me to help one person at a time.

Following the tragic news in the last few weeks with regards to Hurricane Harvey and Irma, I kept asking myself ‘What can I do to help these people?”

I decided that for the months of September and October, 5% of the payments that I receive from treating my patients will go to Habitat for Humanity.

Let’s help the victims of these disasters. My treatments will heal YOU and together we will be helping others cope through these desperate times.

Sincerely,

Lucy Postolov, L.Ac.
(310) 444-6212  www.lucypostolovacupuncture.com

As we all know, sex plays a very important part in our lives. There are many people seeking to revive their sex lives or increase fertility. If that’s you or someone you know, the traditional western medicine routes may have limited results. So why not try alternative approaches?

One of my practice’s specialties is in fertility and sexual dysfunction.  I am proud to have been asked to contribute to “The Textbook of Clinical Sexual Medicine” recently published. Other contributors are esteemed medical professionals What sets my chapter apart is th

at I focus on eastern approaches to sexual health and my drawings of sexual positions.

If you or someone you know would like to receive a free copy of my chapter on “Alternative Approaches to Sexual Medicine,”  please fill out the form here.  You will receive an email shortly with the chapter!

Mention us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and we’ll be happy to send you the chapter as well!

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world. Originating in China some 3,500 years ago, only in the last three decades has it become popular in the United States. In 1993, the Food and Drug Administration estimated that Americans made up to 12 million visits per year to acupuncture practitioners and spent upwards of half a billion dollars on acupuncture treatments.

Traditional Chinese medicine hold that there are as many as 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body, which are connected by 20 pathways (12 main, 8 secondary) called meridians. These meridians conduct energy, or qi (pronounced “chi”), between the surface of the body and its internal organs. Each point has a different effect on the qi that passes through it. Qi is believed to help regulate balance in the body. It is influenced by the opposing forces of yin and yang, which represent positive and negative energy and forces in the universe and human body. Acupuncture is believed to keep the balance between yin and yang, thus allowing for the normal flow of qi throughout the body and restoring health to the mind and body.

How does acupuncture work?

Most people tend to push aside their true feelings in order to cope with their daily stressors. Acupuncture can lower stress and anxiety overall, so that daily life challenges can be better managed. Acupuncture also brings balance to the mind, body and spirit. When the emotions are as well taken care of as the body, true balanced is achieved.

Acupuncture for Pain and Inflammation

Acupuncture has long been known as a method of coping with physical pain. With an increase in blood circulation, a reduction in inflammation, the relaxation of the muscles, and a release of endorphins, it can assist your body in healing itself. The ancient Chinese believed that Qi, the universal life energy present in every living creature, circulates throughout the body along specific pathway meridians. As long as this energy flows freely throughout the meridians, health is maintained, but once the flow of energy is blocked, the system is disrupted and pain and illness occur. Acupuncture works to re-pattern and restore normal circulation and functionality by stimulating certain points on the meridians to free up the Qi energy. Another theory suggests that acupuncture stimulates the body to produce narcotic-like substances called endorphins, which reduce pain. Other studies have found that other pain-relieving substances called opiods may be released into the body during acupuncture treatment.

Most people believe that acupuncture cannot be used on children. The reason behind it, as in many cases for adults as well, are that most people are afraid of needles or potential pain. The majority of my patients are pleasantly surprised when during their first visit, their treatment is virtually painless. In cases with children younger than 3-years-old, I use 24-karat gold plated beads instead of needles. It tell them that ‘we are playing stickers.’ The beads are attached to a surgical adhesive tape, so I am able to place a bead first on Mom’s hand, then on mine, and then the child usually asks me to place one on him or her as well. Little do they know that I am placing the beads in a special spot called acupressure points. Frequently all three of us will cover the spots with small cartoonish stickers also. For the children over 3-years-old, I use needles with a gauge as thin as a human hair.

The latest study on the subject of treating kids with needles was conducted in Harvard Affiliated Children’s Hospital. The study included 243 children and teenagers, their ages ranging 6 months to 18 years old. It was a one-year study. They were treated for headaches, stomach pain and back pain specifically. They used a 1 to 10 scale for pain, where 1 is no pain and 10 was the worst pain tolerable. In one year, the level of pain went from an 8 to a 3 overall. They also observed that the participants in the study missed less school, slept better and were able to participate more in extra curricular activities.

What kind of conditions can acupuncture help in children?

• Pain: All types from headaches or stomach aches to structure related neck and back issues.
• Asthma: In my practice many children (under their pediatrician’s observation) were taken off of steroid inhalers by using acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
• Strengthening of the immune system: Children frequently come to my office with their parents complaining about six to eight colds or flus a year. Being in crowded classrooms, cross contamination can happen frequently. It’s almost impossible to avoid contact with other children who are sick. So keeping their immune systems strong is one of my first priorities when working with them.
• Acne: From the Chinese viewpoint, acne is a result of toxins being blocked in the skin. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs in addition to small changes in hygiene and one’s lifestyle are very helpful to alleviate acne whether it occurs on the body or face.
• Nervous system issues, ADHD, and insomnia or other sleep disorders such as night terrors: Acupuncture is especially helpful for kids with active and mixed sub type ADHD. With 5 percent of the world’s population, “the United States consumes 90 percent of Ritalin,” says Dr. Hong, who has conducted a clinical study on this subject. Many parents come into my office sleep deprived for 4 or 5 weeks because their children are not sleeping for a variety of reasons. Acupuncture is helpful in getting things back on track.

In conclusion, parents interested in pursuing natural therapies should consult a practitioner of TCM and their pediatrician both. If a pediatrician is not familiar with acupuncture in the treatment of children, or recommends avoiding acupuncture all together, I usually provide the pediatrician with scientific and clinical data to better educate them on making their decision.

I came across an interesting article this week that I wanted to share on the growing scientific evidence that shows acupuncture can boost pregnancy rates when combined with other fertility treatments. It discusses a couple in Connecticut who were trying to conceive and finally decided to try acupuncture as a complement to their IVF treatments. You can read more about it by clicking here. Enjoy!

According to a new study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, electroacupuncture may be more effective and safer than gabapentin for managing hot flashes among breast cancer survivors. Even though more studies need to be done, it’s an exciting start to see that the safer electroacupuncture treatment can be considered effective instead of relying on prescription drugs. I’ve been offering electroacupuncture for years and have seen amazing results with its use. You can read more about the study here.

People often ask me how acupuncture is used as support for Cancer patients. One of the most important ways is during cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, to offset the pain and other symptoms associated with the treatment. According to this article I recently found by Martha Shade of CNN, the doctor featured breaks healing into three phases. “In phase one, acupuncture helps to manage side-effects during chemotherapy, like the nausea. Then it helps balance the nervous system and reduce the pain and issues that arise post-treatment. In phase three, acupuncture minimizes stress and inflammation to keep cancer at bay.” You can read it here in its entirety to get the full story. Enjoy!

Reposted as Postolova Acupuncture News from HospiMedica

Hypertensive patients treated with electroacupuncture (EA) experienced long-lasting drops in their blood pressure that lasted up to a month and a half, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI; USA) and Shanghai East International Medical Center (China) conducted a randomized controlled study of 65 hypertensive patients not receiving medication to examine the effectiveness of EA at select acupoints to reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP). The hypertensive patients were randomly to one of two acupuncture interventions once weekly for 8 weeks. The main outcome measures were effectiveness of EA and average SBP and DBP.

The results showed that in the group receiving EA on both sides of the inner wrists and slightly below each knee [PC 5-6+ST 36-37], a noticeable 6–8 mmHg drop in SPB and 4 mmHg drop in DBP occurred in 70% of participants, when compared to sham EA controls; the improvements persisted for a 45 days. The researchers also identified significant declines in blood levels of norepinephrine (41%), renin (67%), and aldosterone (22%), a hormone that regulates electrolytes. The study was published on August 18, 2015, in Medical Acupuncture.

“Because electroacupuncture decreases both peak and average systolic blood pressure over 24 hours, this therapy may decrease the risk for stroke, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, and myocardial infarction in hypertensive patients,” said senior author cardiologist John Longhurst, MD, of UCI. “By using Western scientific rigor to validate an ancient Eastern therapy, we feel we have integrated Chinese and Western medicine and provided a beneficial guideline for treating a disease that affects millions in the United States.”

Acupuncture is an ancient alternative methodology that treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles that have been inserted into acupuncture points in the skin. According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), stimulating these points can correct imbalances in the flow of qi through channels known as meridians. Scientific research, however, has not found any histological or physiological correlates for qi, meridians, and acupuncture points.