WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:03.189 Prepare to have your health questions answered 00:00:03.189 --> 00:00:07.150 here on Safe, Effective Natural Solutions with 00:00:07.150 --> 00:00:10.490 Dr. Todd Binkley, owner of Binkley Healing Center 00:00:10.490 --> 00:00:15.210 in downtown Ventura. Now, here's Dr. Todd. Good 00:00:15.210 --> 00:00:17.390 afternoon. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley, board -certified 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:19.789 doctor of non -force chiropractic and practitioner 00:00:19.789 --> 00:00:24.289 of functional medicine. Happy New Year. Are you 00:00:24.289 --> 00:00:28.809 ready to thrive in 2025? Start the new year out 00:00:28.809 --> 00:00:31.989 right with a renewed commitment to taking better 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:35.609 care of your health every day. Resolve to make 00:00:35.609 --> 00:00:39.829 this your best year ever. How are you going to 00:00:39.829 --> 00:00:42.590 do that? Well, there's lots of ways, lots of 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:44.710 areas in life that can use attention, always 00:00:44.710 --> 00:00:47.170 can be improved upon. I'm going to focus today 00:00:47.170 --> 00:00:49.750 on the things that you can do to improve your 00:00:49.750 --> 00:00:52.189 physical health mainly. Your mental and emotional 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.289 and spiritual health are also very important. 00:00:54.429 --> 00:00:57.810 But for your physical health, Better food always 00:00:57.810 --> 00:01:00.329 starts there, hopefully, with better food, with 00:01:00.329 --> 00:01:03.250 spinach and broccoli and cauliflower and mushrooms 00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:05.609 and Brussels sprouts and carrots and beets and 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:08.030 tomatoes and peppers. Getting more of these things 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:11.969 in your system every day. You can cook these 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:14.849 things with fresh chopped garlic and onions or 00:01:14.849 --> 00:01:20.239 shallots and pepper or throw them in soup. This 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:21.939 time of year is a great time of year to make 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:24.780 soup. All kinds of recipes out there online for 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:27.239 making your own soup. Or if you don't have time, 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:30.219 you can buy stock and add things to it. Or even 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:32.739 worst case scenario, buy some canned soup and 00:01:32.739 --> 00:01:35.920 improve it by throwing in some broccoli or spinach 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:41.180 or other fresh vegetables to your liking. Eat 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:43.879 more good protein like chicken and salmon and 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:47.459 nuts and seeds and beans. Healthy starches like 00:01:47.459 --> 00:01:50.519 quinoa instead of white rice. If you've ever 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:52.900 had quinoa, it's actually delicious. It has kind 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.760 of a nutty flavor. Healthy fats like olives and 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.359 olive oil, avocados, coconut oil, nuts and nut 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.269 butters. It's always a good idea for most people 00:02:02.269 --> 00:02:04.049 to eat less starch. You've probably heard that 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:06.329 before. Bread, rice, pancakes, pasta, cookies, 00:02:06.489 --> 00:02:09.349 crackers, bagels, etc. It's usually a good idea 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:12.490 to eat less of those things for most of us and 00:02:12.490 --> 00:02:16.409 to cut out sugar as much as possible. A little 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:20.250 dark chocolate is nice. The worst sugar of all 00:02:20.250 --> 00:02:25.150 is liquid sugar. Syrup, soda, beer, fruit juice 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:27.900 of any kind. There are lots of nutrients in fruit, 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:30.719 but it's always better to get those by eating 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:33.900 fruit, and preferably the fruits with the highest 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:36.379 amount of antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:39.000 and the least amount of sugar, like berries, 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:44.479 not grapes, not melons or oranges or overripe 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.460 bananas. Physical activity is also critically 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:49.939 important to maintaining and improving your health. 00:02:50.990 --> 00:02:52.990 Form of physical activity is the one that you'll 00:02:52.990 --> 00:02:55.590 actually do that's easy to incorporate into your 00:02:55.590 --> 00:02:57.469 life, into your schedule, and that you actually 00:02:57.469 --> 00:03:01.069 enjoy so that you can do it every day or at least, 00:03:01.069 --> 00:03:04.210 say, five days a week. Walking, cycling, swimming, 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:07.389 if you have access to a pool, is wonderful. Resistance 00:03:07.389 --> 00:03:10.610 training with weights or with bands or just using 00:03:10.610 --> 00:03:12.550 your body weight like when you do push -ups. 00:03:13.090 --> 00:03:15.090 Just regular old calisthenics. You don't have 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.669 to join. It's nice to go to a gym if you have 00:03:17.669 --> 00:03:20.409 access to one, but you can just do plain. old 00:03:20.409 --> 00:03:22.930 calisthenics, push -ups, sit -ups, jumping jacks 00:03:22.930 --> 00:03:25.509 at home. You can get a stationary bike or a treadmill 00:03:25.509 --> 00:03:27.650 or an elliptical machine if you really don't 00:03:27.650 --> 00:03:30.210 want to go out. You can get an exercise bike 00:03:30.210 --> 00:03:32.689 with a comfortable seat. I was just looking this 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:36.110 up. Adjustable resistance to make it a better 00:03:36.110 --> 00:03:38.389 workout and a bracket on the handlebars to hold 00:03:38.389 --> 00:03:40.530 your tablet or a phone. A nice exercise bike 00:03:40.530 --> 00:03:44.729 on Amazon for $200. So good food, better food, 00:03:44.789 --> 00:03:48.719 exercise. Supplements. So many times when I test 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:51.259 people, thousands of people I've tested are not 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:54.080 getting enough nutrients from their food. And 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.180 that's why supplements are often important. The 00:03:57.180 --> 00:03:59.599 supplements you need are best determined by testing. 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:01.219 But there's three things I recommend that everyone 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:04.500 supplement because nobody tends to get enough 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:07.719 of them from food. And they are a good multivitamin 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:10.479 for the minerals, about a gram and a half of 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:13.939 fish oil for the omega -3s, and 500 units of 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.889 vitamin D. If you're over 50, I often recommend 00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:21.389 a vitamin D with K2 combined, especially if you're 00:04:21.389 --> 00:04:24.990 over 50 or at risk for heart disease or osteoporosis, 00:04:25.029 --> 00:04:28.329 especially. So why? Why does everyone need a 00:04:28.329 --> 00:04:31.259 multivitamin? Well, you can get vitamins from 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:34.259 food, vitamin C. There's vitamin D in multis, 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:37.040 but usually only 400 units a day. And you really 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.040 need 500, 5 ,000 units a day of vitamin D to 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:42.339 keep your immune system functioning at its peak. 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:46.100 And vitamin D affects every system in your body. 00:04:46.490 --> 00:04:50.189 But mainly, you need a multivitamin for the minerals. 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:53.889 Most people do not get enough bioavailable calcium, 00:04:54.410 --> 00:04:59.970 magnesium, iodine, selenium, copper, manganese, 00:04:59.990 --> 00:05:02.610 chromium, molybdenum, potassium, and zinc from 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:05.069 food. They don't get enough of those things from 00:05:05.069 --> 00:05:07.670 food. So hence the need to take a good multivitamin. 00:05:07.750 --> 00:05:10.110 And a good multivitamin is always three or four 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:12.790 capsules per day. Usually four capsules per day. 00:05:13.029 --> 00:05:16.720 Never one. There is no... one -a -day multivitamin 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:19.839 that is useful. It is not possible to fit the 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.959 bioavailable forms, the good forms that your 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:24.439 body recognizes and will absorb and actually 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:27.899 use to make new healthy cells with. You can't 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:31.399 fit those forms in an adequate dose in one pill 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:33.839 per day. So that's why you can tell if a good 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:36.759 multi is good by starting out by just making 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.220 sure that it's at least three or four capsules. 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:42.490 a day, not a one -a -day fish oil. So the best 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:44.850 place to get omega -3 fatty acids that we all 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:47.410 need for heart health, brain health, its anti 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.149 -inflammatory benefits, even cancer prevention. 00:05:50.389 --> 00:05:51.629 I'm going to talk a little bit more about the 00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:55.050 cancer prevention effects of omega -3 fatty acids 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:57.490 here in a little bit, is by eating oily fish 00:05:57.490 --> 00:06:01.759 like sardines, oysters, salmon, and Tuna, if 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:04.100 you don't overdo the tuna, tuna is a special 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:06.040 consideration because of the mercury content. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.740 The biggest fish have the most mercury and tuna 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.800 is a huge fish. So I don't recommend eating a 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:15.899 lot of tuna from restaurants or the typical chunked 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:17.980 chicken of the sea type tuna from cans because 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.699 it's all high in mercury. It's impossible to 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:24.800 avoid. But you can get tuna, pole -caught, smaller 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:30.240 tuna in cans and packed in olive oil. To minimize 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.379 the mercury exposure, a brand called Wild Planet 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:36.319 is one that makes this, and it's delicious. Packed 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.540 in olive oil, it's a whole filet of tuna. It's 00:06:38.540 --> 00:06:40.420 really delicious. If you can put it on a salad, 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.240 you can eat it right out of the can sometimes 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:46.779 if I'm in a hurry with some capers or some fresh 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:50.319 tomatoes or on a bed of mixed greens with a little 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.720 olive oil. And canned fish is super convenient 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:55.800 when you don't have time to cook. And if it's 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.259 packed in olive oil, This is really important. 00:06:58.379 --> 00:07:01.839 If you get canned fish packed in olive oil, it's 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.300 delicious. If you already like canned fish and 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:06.459 eat it, good for you. But if you don't like it 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:08.139 or if you don't like anything that quote -unquote 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:11.180 tastes fishy, the fishy taste in fish, number 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:15.399 one, mostly comes from the omega -3s. So that's 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:17.600 the stuff that you want from fish as well as 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:20.480 it's a good protein source. But it's the oxidization 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:23.879 of those healthy fats that make fish smell fishy. 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:27.899 So it's exposure to air and packing. That's why 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:30.279 fish, you know, needs to be fresh. But if you're 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:32.939 going to get canned in water, it still tends 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:36.779 to oxidize more than if you pack it in oil. So 00:07:36.779 --> 00:07:38.980 if you've never tried sardines packed in olive 00:07:38.980 --> 00:07:45.079 oil or salmon or scallops, there's a whole bunch 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.639 of really good tinned fish that you can get. 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:49.879 And Trader Joe's is where I get most of mine 00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:52.079 and packed and look for packed in olive oil if 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.889 you've never tried it. Really nice. I eat it 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:56.350 for breakfast. It's a great way to start the 00:07:56.350 --> 00:07:58.990 day with something savory, some healthy protein, 00:07:59.209 --> 00:08:02.939 and healthy fats. But most people are not going 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:05.100 to do that. So that's why I recommend that most 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:07.939 people take about a gram and a half of fish oil 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:09.920 every day. And it's really important to not buy 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:12.680 cheap fish oil either, because you want to get 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.019 fish oil that's been properly processed and handled 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:19.339 by a reputable company that tests their equipment. 00:08:20.259 --> 00:08:23.199 It's expensive to buy the equipment that processes 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.279 fish oil to filter out any toxins and test it 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:30.220 for the presence of any toxins. because there's 00:08:30.220 --> 00:08:32.320 toxins in the ocean everywhere that are unavoidable 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:34.879 and so you want to get good fish oil comes from 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:36.700 little tiny fish that haven't been in the alive 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:39.580 very long from really cold waters in the north 00:08:39.580 --> 00:08:41.919 or the or to the far south off the coast of norway 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:45.480 or chile generally little little anchovies sardines 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:49.690 and tested for low content of mercury and other 00:08:49.690 --> 00:08:52.690 toxins and the adequate amounts of the two omega 00:08:52.690 --> 00:08:55.950 -3 fatty acids that you need, which are EPA and 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:59.730 DHA. So look for a fish oil that you can usually, 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:01.629 a good one will have about a gram and a half 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:08.210 of combined EPA and DHA in two gel caps. I stock 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:11.409 fish oils from Designs for Health and Orthomolecular 00:09:11.409 --> 00:09:13.210 Products because I've found really excellent 00:09:13.210 --> 00:09:15.690 results with both of those. There's a few other 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:18.110 good brands. I've also seen the testing data 00:09:18.110 --> 00:09:21.269 on Metagenics fish oil. I've used that for years. 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:24.169 And Nordic Naturals is excellent. Nordic Naturals 00:09:24.169 --> 00:09:26.370 is available in stores, unlike those other three 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:28.529 brands. So if you're looking for a good brand 00:09:28.529 --> 00:09:30.590 in a store, Nordic Naturals is a good way to 00:09:30.590 --> 00:09:33.500 go for your fish oil. The most basic nutrient 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:36.840 of all that many people do not get enough of 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:40.700 is water. So most of us should drink about 2 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:44.519 to 4 liters of water a day, depending on body 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:47.139 weight. An easy reference, if you weigh more 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:49.659 than 120 pounds, I recommend drinking at least 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:54.470 2 liters of water a day if you're over 150. at 00:09:54.470 --> 00:09:56.269 least three liters a day. And if you're over 00:09:56.269 --> 00:10:00.669 175, 180, probably four liters a day. And that's 00:10:00.669 --> 00:10:02.230 a lot more than most people drink. If you're 00:10:02.230 --> 00:10:04.529 drinking bottled water, the standard bottled 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:07.230 water that you see that people hand out for free 00:10:07.230 --> 00:10:10.669 places is usually 16 ounces. That's a pint. So 00:10:10.669 --> 00:10:13.809 a liter or a quart is twice that. So, you know, 00:10:13.830 --> 00:10:15.929 at least if you're thinking of those little plastic 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:17.789 bottles that you see everywhere, those pint bottles, 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:21.750 think of at least four of those up to eight. 00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:26.299 Of those per day. And, of course, it's better 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:28.580 to not drink water out of plastic bottles at 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:31.840 all because they sit in that soft plastic and 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:34.600 absorb plastic, and then you're drinking plastic, 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:36.580 and that's not good. It's better. The best way 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.100 is to get a good quality water filter at home. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:42.960 The most common types of home water filters that 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:46.559 people are familiar with are reverse osmosis 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.159 systems that go under your sink, which are better, 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:51.399 much better. They filter out most of the stuff 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.100 you don't want in your water better than, say, 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.500 just a Brit. or a cheap granular carbon filter. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:01.940 But the best home filter is a solid carbon block 00:11:01.940 --> 00:11:04.779 filter instead of the little granules of carbon. 00:11:05.789 --> 00:11:08.450 It's a solid carbon block with little tiny holes 00:11:08.450 --> 00:11:12.250 in it, nano -sized holes in it, that filter out 00:11:12.250 --> 00:11:14.549 all of the toxins in the water. And they're rated 00:11:14.549 --> 00:11:17.210 and have to get tested by NSF. You can look this 00:11:17.210 --> 00:11:19.690 up on their website. The brand that makes the 00:11:19.690 --> 00:11:22.769 solid carbon block water filters is Multi -Pure. 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:25.470 That's what I have in my home and in my office. 00:11:26.129 --> 00:11:29.450 And they have to get NSF certified for all of 00:11:29.450 --> 00:11:32.190 the contaminants that they claim that their systems 00:11:32.190 --> 00:11:35.889 remove. every few years, and I've verified that 00:11:35.889 --> 00:11:37.830 when I started with those systems about 10 years 00:11:37.830 --> 00:11:40.669 ago. I used to use reverse osmosis before that 00:11:40.669 --> 00:11:43.110 for a couple of decades, and it was so much better 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:45.470 when I switched. The water tastes better. The 00:11:45.470 --> 00:11:47.330 main benefit, in addition to getting all of the 00:11:47.330 --> 00:11:51.830 toxins out, is it leaves some of the minerals 00:11:51.830 --> 00:11:55.230 in. And so when you leave some of the minerals 00:11:55.230 --> 00:11:58.750 in water, it keeps it alkaline, whereas reverse 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:02.750 osmosis water is slightly acidic. And that filtering 00:12:02.750 --> 00:12:05.090 out of all, stripping out of all the minerals 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:09.049 makes your body strip minerals from your muscles 00:12:09.049 --> 00:12:12.710 and your bones to balance out the pH of the water. 00:12:12.769 --> 00:12:15.690 So it's much better to drink filtered water from 00:12:15.690 --> 00:12:18.149 a solid carbon block filter for the alkalinity. 00:12:19.210 --> 00:12:21.049 and to filter out all the stuff that you don't 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.090 want. It even filters out PFAS and some of the 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:26.409 new things. Anytime some new pollutant comes 00:12:26.409 --> 00:12:29.690 out, it turns out that this filter is already 00:12:29.690 --> 00:12:33.769 equipped to remove it much of the time. And a 00:12:33.769 --> 00:12:36.090 solid carbon block filter also doesn't block 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:39.269 your water pressure as much as a reverse osmosis 00:12:39.269 --> 00:12:41.610 membrane does, so you still get a nice strong 00:12:41.610 --> 00:12:43.950 pressure when you're wanting to fill a large 00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:46.740 container. I'm Dr. Todd Binkley. You're listening 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:49.600 to Safe, Effective, Natural Solutions to Any 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.580 Health Challenge. We're talking about how to 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:54.759 start out the new year right so that you can 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.399 thrive in 2025 by taking better care of your 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:02.340 health. Resolve to make this the best year for 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.919 your health. Make your health better this year 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:07.929 than it was last year. And there's some important 00:13:07.929 --> 00:13:10.190 things that can help you with that. The next 00:13:10.190 --> 00:13:12.929 one we're going to talk about is sleep. Everyone 00:13:12.929 --> 00:13:15.409 should be sleeping eight, seven, eight hours 00:13:15.409 --> 00:13:18.710 a night for most people, preferably uninterrupted. 00:13:18.809 --> 00:13:21.690 But if you get up once or twice a night, it doesn't 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:24.269 matter as long as you go back to sleep easily. 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:28.309 And how many hours you get doesn't matter necessarily. 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:31.190 Some people do fine on six hours. What really 00:13:31.190 --> 00:13:34.230 matters is do you wake up feeling rested and 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:36.809 refreshed? That's the most important thing. That's 00:13:36.809 --> 00:13:38.830 the best way to tell if you're getting adequate 00:13:38.830 --> 00:13:40.610 sleep. As you wake up, rested and refreshed, 00:13:40.750 --> 00:13:43.370 ready to go, ready to start the next day. It's 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:44.870 the best way to tell if you've got the right 00:13:44.870 --> 00:13:47.590 mattress or the right pillow. It's not how you 00:13:47.590 --> 00:13:49.470 feel when you lie down at night, but how do you 00:13:49.470 --> 00:13:52.309 feel when you get up the following morning? Do 00:13:52.309 --> 00:13:55.909 you wake up feeling rested and refreshed, no 00:13:55.909 --> 00:14:00.889 kinks, no stiffness, no stuffed up nose or lungs? 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:03.519 If you have a stuffy nose and lungs, there's 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:05.700 a whole bunch of things that I recommend for 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:07.200 that. But if you're having difficulty getting 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.139 to sleep, I can often help with that by identifying 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:11.960 what's making it difficult for you to get to 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:14.259 sleep and coming up with a solution that you 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.860 can often do yourself at home. You might also 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:19.120 need some calming nutrients for a period of time. 00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:21.960 If you're waking up and having difficulty getting 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:26.980 back to sleep due to pain, restless legs, intrusive 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:28.919 thoughts, you wake up thinking about something, 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:32.070 anxiety, Or if you're having to go to the bathroom 00:14:32.070 --> 00:14:34.929 too much, there are options available to address 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:37.309 all of these things, which don't involve drugs. 00:14:37.950 --> 00:14:40.610 Sometimes taking a low dose of melatonin is important. 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.470 Certainly not for everybody. For years, I hesitated 00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:47.830 to recommend melatonin because even when I tried 00:14:47.830 --> 00:14:50.250 it from a lot of the top shelf companies, I didn't 00:14:50.250 --> 00:14:52.909 find that it got the result. But a few years 00:14:52.909 --> 00:14:57.590 ago, I began using specifically melatonin from 00:14:57.590 --> 00:14:59.850 Designs for Health. Designs for Health is one 00:14:59.850 --> 00:15:01.309 of my favorite companies. Their products just 00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:04.399 seem to work. most of the time, almost all the 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:06.980 time. And melatonin, their melatonin products 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:09.399 in particular, are just completely different. 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:10.960 I've had patients that have said, oh, I've tried 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:12.980 melatonin before, it didn't work, didn't help 00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:15.919 at all. And I've heard reports about how a lot 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:17.899 of the melatonin supplements that you get in 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:21.620 stores are just completely useless, either because 00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:25.600 they're inadequate dose or improper binding agents. 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:28.179 I don't remember what the details were on that, 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.019 but it was just a game changer when I started 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:33.820 putting patients who needed it. on either a capsule 00:15:33.820 --> 00:15:36.720 of melatonin to help you fall asleep better or 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.600 a time -release tablet, a slow -release tablet, 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:43.440 low -dose, 6 milligrams, slow -release tablet. 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.379 And people often ask, oh, if I take melatonin, 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.659 is my body going to stop making it? Because that 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:52.620 used to be a common... And the research is in. 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:55.139 Absolutely not. It's been completely disproven. 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:59.320 They've done studies with athletes. Melatonin 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:02.419 is actually a potent anti -inflammatory. So they've 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:04.759 done studies with athletes taking up to 15 grams 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:08.279 a day, and it had no effect on their body's normal 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.799 natural production of melatonin. The production 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:13.799 of melatonin is largely regulated by your exposure 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:17.759 to light and your sleep -wake cycle, not by how 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:19.929 much you take. So if you're someone who wakes 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:21.669 up at night and has difficulty getting back to 00:16:21.669 --> 00:16:23.629 sleep, sometimes taking a six milligram slow 00:16:23.629 --> 00:16:26.629 release tablet will make it less likely for you 00:16:26.629 --> 00:16:29.210 to wake up for no reason and make it easier to 00:16:29.210 --> 00:16:31.450 get to sleep. If you have woken up just to go 00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:33.269 to the bathroom, for example. There's another 00:16:33.269 --> 00:16:35.549 nutrient I use a lot or combination of nutrients 00:16:35.549 --> 00:16:39.179 to just balance out your neurotransmitters. and 00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:42.279 calm your mind and your body more. It's called 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:46.279 Serenity PM by Ortho Molecular Products. So I've 00:16:46.279 --> 00:16:48.299 had lots and lots of people with sleep difficulties 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:53.820 get amazingly better sleep with that. So functional 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:56.840 medicine. Make your health decisions based on 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:59.870 sufficient relevant testing. to identify the 00:16:59.870 --> 00:17:02.990 specific support your body needs. That's what 00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:06.369 functional medicine is. You do relevant testing. 00:17:06.450 --> 00:17:08.829 Not everyone needs to do every single test, but 00:17:08.829 --> 00:17:11.910 most people need to do more tests and additional 00:17:11.910 --> 00:17:15.109 tests. to what you would get from a standard 00:17:15.109 --> 00:17:17.970 visit to your physician for an annual physical, 00:17:18.230 --> 00:17:20.549 those are generally not enough tests to identify 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:23.769 how healthy you are. It's easy to identify an 00:17:23.769 --> 00:17:26.789 obvious full -blown medical condition like diabetes 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:29.289 or heart disease or kidney disease or liver disease 00:17:29.289 --> 00:17:32.109 or an acute infection. These things are really 00:17:32.109 --> 00:17:35.660 easy to identify on just a few tests. To identify 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:38.619 how healthy your immune system and your gut and 00:17:38.619 --> 00:17:42.420 your cardiovascular system, your digestive system, 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:45.079 how healthy all of these interconnected systems 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:47.980 are, you need to do more tests. And you need 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:49.920 to use a different yardstick when you're looking 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:52.730 at the tests, not just the broad range. that 00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:55.210 says you have diabetes today, take this pill, 00:17:55.349 --> 00:17:58.609 or you have kidney disease, or you have a full 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:01.049 -blown condition that requires a medical diagnosis 00:18:01.049 --> 00:18:03.730 and pharmaceutical treatment or a referral to 00:18:03.730 --> 00:18:06.190 a specialist, but a narrower focus, the same 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:09.130 blood tests, the same complete blood count, metabolic 00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:12.950 panel, your iron levels, your red blood cell 00:18:12.950 --> 00:18:15.250 count, all of these things have an additional 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:17.170 range in addition to the broad medical range. 00:18:17.230 --> 00:18:21.089 For example, if your red blood cell count is 00:18:21.089 --> 00:18:23.250 super, super narrow and you have anemia, you 00:18:23.250 --> 00:18:25.750 might need a blood transfusion. Or if it's super, 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:29.009 super broad, you might have hemochromatosis and 00:18:29.009 --> 00:18:31.890 need to give blood. But somewhere in between 00:18:31.890 --> 00:18:35.250 that is health. And a lot of times people walk 00:18:35.250 --> 00:18:38.130 out of a standard medical evaluation. Thyroid 00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:40.109 is another classic one. You can be within the 00:18:40.109 --> 00:18:42.869 medical range and be told your thyroid is fine, 00:18:42.990 --> 00:18:45.089 but you still have no energy. You have cold hands 00:18:45.089 --> 00:18:48.059 and feet. can never shift that last 15 or 20 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:49.940 pounds of weight because you have functional 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:52.480 low thyroid. What does that mean? It means your 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:56.000 thyroid is not functioning at 100%. And it's 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.920 within the medical range, but it's outside of 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:01.720 the functional range, this narrower range, roughly 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:04.619 this band in the middle third of the broader 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:07.200 medical range that identifies what your blood 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.619 work looks like when you're in your teens and 00:19:08.619 --> 00:19:10.200 your 20s and everything's working perfectly. 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:14.819 And that type of narrower range applies to... 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:17.769 So when you identify things that are outside 00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:20.990 that range and restore the nutrients required 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:23.029 for your body to heal and repair itself, then 00:19:23.029 --> 00:19:26.670 you restore health. So the headlines you often 00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:29.509 read in mass media about different supplements. 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:33.250 and nutrients are rarely based on well -designed 00:19:33.250 --> 00:19:35.769 clinical research they're often based on ridiculously 00:19:35.769 --> 00:19:38.809 poorly designed studies that often seem specifically 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:41.710 designed to fail so you hear about if you ever 00:19:41.710 --> 00:19:43.930 see studies that say oh vitamin d doesn't work 00:19:43.930 --> 00:19:46.930 or fish oil doesn't work well read the fine print 00:19:46.930 --> 00:19:48.710 or send it to me better yet and i'll read the 00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:50.789 fine print for you and then describe what was 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:53.109 wrong with that study the following week but 00:19:53.109 --> 00:19:56.509 for so for example uh 20 about 10 years ago 12 00:19:56.509 --> 00:20:00.910 years ago 20 in uh 2013, some ridiculous headline 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:04.390 came out saying that fish oil increases the risk 00:20:04.390 --> 00:20:07.309 of prostate cancer, which is just ridiculous 00:20:07.309 --> 00:20:09.609 on the face of it. I mean, people eat fish all 00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.670 the time. Has anybody ever heard of it? Well, 00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:13.910 anyway, it doesn't matter. The study was really 00:20:13.910 --> 00:20:16.470 poorly designed. It wasn't even directly measuring 00:20:16.470 --> 00:20:19.509 consumption of fish oil. It was measuring something 00:20:19.509 --> 00:20:22.279 else. And the test they used to measure it was 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:24.740 the wrong test. They were using plasma phospholipid 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:28.240 levels, which fluctuate quickly. And it's far 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.480 more accurate to identify your levels of omega 00:20:31.480 --> 00:20:35.019 -3s with an RBC omega -3 level. This is a test 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:37.019 that anyone can do for general health purposes 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:39.079 to see if you're getting adequate omega -3s in 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:41.200 your diet. And it's a simple test you can do 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.140 at home. You get a kit. It's a dried spot. You 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:45.900 just get a little finger prick, put a drop of 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:48.470 blood on a little dried... card and mail it in 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:51.049 and if that seems strange i was a little skeptical 00:20:51.049 --> 00:20:53.069 you know why don't you need to have to do a proper 00:20:53.069 --> 00:20:55.470 blood draw to get a measure of this well the 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:57.309 reason is because you're not measuring serum 00:20:57.309 --> 00:21:00.269 you're using red blood cells so the packaging 00:21:00.269 --> 00:21:03.509 is the cells themselves so that's why it's you 00:21:03.509 --> 00:21:05.430 can do an accurate test with just a tiny drop 00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:08.009 of blood because the red blood cells they're 00:21:08.009 --> 00:21:11.269 measuring are really tiny and it just takes a 00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:15.000 few of them and omega -3s are bound up in red 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.259 blood cells, and that is the best way to measure 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:19.299 whether or not you're getting enough in your 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:22.400 diet. So the latest study, which just came out, 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:25.460 the CAPFISH -3 trial, a phase 2 clinical study, 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:29.440 offers much more promising new evidence. The 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.500 researchers looked at the effects of a high omega 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:35.720 -3 and low omega -6. That's the bad fats from 00:21:35.720 --> 00:21:39.180 cheap vegetable oil and fried foods. baked goods 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:42.339 in supermarkets and stuff like that. And combined 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:45.259 that, they studied the effects of this high omega 00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:48.140 -3, low omega -6 diet combined with fish oil 00:21:48.140 --> 00:21:52.359 supplements in men with active prostate cancer. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:55.259 And the important thing about this is they used 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:58.539 a much better marker for identifying the effects 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:00.259 of what they were looking for, which is reduction 00:22:00.259 --> 00:22:02.779 of prostate cancer. And they used a marker called 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:07.779 KI -67. So Ki67 is a protein that's found only 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:12.619 in cells that are dividing. So a high... KI -67 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.880 proliferation index means that many cells are 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:17.599 dividing quickly, and therefore the cancer is 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.079 spreading and growing. And this is not a test 00:22:21.079 --> 00:22:23.740 that you can do at home. It requires a biopsy. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:28.400 But for the study, this type of controlled study, 00:22:28.500 --> 00:22:31.599 it's an excellent indicator of whether or not 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:34.240 something is working. And so the results are 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:39.259 the... People with the high omega -3 diet combined 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:43.000 with fish oil supplements, their KI -67 marker 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:47.180 for tumor growth decreased by 15%, which is huge 00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:48.900 because a lot of things, they're happy if it 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:51.799 doesn't change at all. You just stop any growth 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:54.400 or proliferation in this marker, and it decreased 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:58.380 by 15%. And the control group that had none of 00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:01.059 the omega -3s, theirs increased. Their cancer 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:05.410 got 24 % worse. So it's a difference of over 00:23:05.410 --> 00:23:09.569 30 % between the two groups. So the group with 00:23:09.569 --> 00:23:12.150 the fish oil and a marker that often, it's a 00:23:12.150 --> 00:23:13.910 good news if it doesn't change at all, actually 00:23:13.910 --> 00:23:17.509 decreased by 15%, decreased growth of the tumor 00:23:17.509 --> 00:23:21.009 measurement. And the group that did not do any 00:23:21.009 --> 00:23:24.869 fish oil as a control group, their marker increased 00:23:24.869 --> 00:23:28.289 by 24%, which is what you don't want. Their cancer 00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:31.710 growth increased. The omega -3 group also had 00:23:31.710 --> 00:23:35.029 lower triglycerides and lower levels of pro -inflammatory 00:23:35.029 --> 00:23:38.829 cytokines. And this was the CAPFISH -3 randomized 00:23:38.829 --> 00:23:43.029 clinical trial published just this month, December 00:23:43.029 --> 00:23:47.680 2024, in Journal of Clinical Oncology. Thank 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:49.700 you for tuning in. I hope this gave you some 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:52.099 good ideas or at least a reminder of things that 00:23:52.099 --> 00:23:53.619 you already know you should do and hopefully 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:56.500 inspires you to start out the new year right 00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:58.539 with a renewed commitment to taking better care 00:23:58.539 --> 00:24:01.779 of your health every day with better food, physical 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.859 activity you actually enjoy, supplementing nutrients 00:24:04.859 --> 00:24:07.059 that might be missing from your food, and testing 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:09.900 to make sure that everything is working as it 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:14.759 should so that you can thrive in 2025. Have a 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:16.700 great weekend. We'll see you here next week on 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:23.119 KDAR 98 .3. You've been listening to Safe, Effective 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.500 Natural Solutions with Dr. Todd Binkley. If you 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:28.460 have a health question you want discussed on 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.839 the show, email your health questions to drbinkley 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:35.859 at binkleyhealingcenter .com. Take advantage 00:24:35.859 --> 00:24:38.660 of this opportunity to ask questions for yourself 00:24:38.660 --> 00:24:42.420 and for your loved ones because our health matters. 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:47.059 Join him next Friday at 2 p .m. for safe, effective 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:51.539 natural solutions here on 98 .3 FM, The Word.