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Inflammation as a predictor of heart disease.

Why Cholesterol Levels Are Not the Best Predictor of Heart Disease

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Individuals with higher-than-normal cholesterol levels are commonly prescribed statins in the hope of reducing their risk of heart disease or stroke. Yet, medical research indicates that statins actually have very limited usefulness in preventing heart disease unless the patient already has a personal history of the disease. This may be due, in part, to the fact that cholesterol is just one of a series of factors that put an individual at risk.

Furthermore, statin use over a prolonged period has been linked to an increased risk of Type II Diabetes. A  study published in spring 2015 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, cited this connection among healthy adults at baseline.

In the study – Statins and New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetic Complications: A Retrospective Cohort Study of US Healthy Adults – researchers looked at a pool of 25,970 adult patients defined for the purposes of the study as “healthy” (i.e., free of heart disease, diabetes, and other severe chronic diseases). From this pool, 3351 statin users and 3351 non-users were propensity score-matched based on 42 baseline characteristics. The results were striking: statin users were almost twice as likely to develop diabetes, more than twice as likely to develop diabetic complications, and slightly more likely to become overweight/obese than their counterparts.

Recent studies continue to confirm the link:

Statins and the potential for higher diabetes mellitus risk
Statin users have an elevated risk of dysglycemia and new-onset-diabetes

Inflammation as a predictor of heart disease

Inflammation is a much more reliable predictor of one’s risk of developing heart disease than cholesterol and is easily measured by looking at a patient’s C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. What’s also heartening (pun intended) is that inflammation can be reduced dramatically by making modest lifestyle changes.

Statins do have a place in treating heart disease, but before medical practitioners prescribe a statin whose side-effects can range from an increased risk of developing Type II Diabetes to muscle pain or weakness, headaches, sore throat, sinusitis, nausea, and liver problems, it makes sense to first look at alternative, natural, and inexpensive ways of lowering inflammation in the body.

Here are 5 steps that you can take immediately to reduce inflammation in your body (and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke):

  1. If you smoke, stop. Smoking unquestionably raises the inflammatory factors in the body and dramatically increases your risk, not only for heart attack and stroke but also for cancers.
  2. Eliminate inflammatory foods and add Omega-3’s to your diet. An anti-inflammatory diet is one that eliminates fatty and fried foods (especially foods containing trans fats and saturated fats) and includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in a wide variety of fish, olive oil, and nuts, help reduce inflammation in the body and are also effective in treating arthritis, depression, ADD, and ADHD.
  3. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise (ideally 10,000 steps per day if it is possible) has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and with it, the risk of developing a great number of diseases. If you have limited options right now as many of us do, think creatively. Exercise could be doing your own stairs throughout the day, yoga, bodyweight exercises, even your own living room dance party!
  4. Meditate daily. Meditation helps reduce inflammation by improving the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This axis is responsible for regulating the blood pressure and heart rate, as well as the body’s production of cortisone, an anti-inflammatory hormone.
  5. Make every effort to improve your sleep. More than ever people are having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. A healthy & regular nightly sleep pattern allows your heart rate to slow down and your blood pressure to drop, reducing stress on the heart. Lack of sleep compromises the normal functioning of your immune system, and long-term sleep deprivation causes your body and brain to be in a chronic state of inflammation. This not only increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, but can also increase the risk of obesity, chronic pain, ADD, depression, and anxiety.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

hormonal_balance

Hormones, The Great Communicators

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A look at some of the causes of hormonal imbalance.

Somewhere in the middle of the brain is a control center called the limbic system, or the old mammalian brain. Here, amongst a host of structures, are two glands of the endocrine system: the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. These glands act as a hub for the body’s chemical messengers called hormones.

Hormones travel from one endocrine gland to the next to communicate messages from the brain that control a number of biological functions. For example:

  • The hypothalamus tells the pituitary to produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone, which feeds back to turn down the hypothalamus and pituitary. This is called a feedback loop.
  • The pituitary produces a hormone that travels down to the gonads (ovary and testes) to tell them to produce estrogen or testosterone.
  • The hypothalamus and pituitary tell the adrenals to produce cortisol, which is needed in times of an acute stressor, to increase blood pressure, glucose production, and suppress the immune system.

This whole structure is called the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Thyroid Gonadal Access, or HPATGA.

With age, both women and men undergo natural changes that interrupt this communication system and produce hormonal imbalances; but most of the time it’s external factors, like environment, diet, and lifestyle, that are to blame.

Symptoms that individuals experience vary greatly; among the more common symptoms are sleep disruptions, unexplained weight gain or loss, changes in mood, sex drive, and energy levels. When left unchecked these imbalances can contribute to more serious clinical conditions.

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Causes of hormonal imbalances

Let’s start with the diet.

First and foremost, the gut and its entire bacterial flora are intricately connected to our immune system. We know that 1% of the U.S. population has Celiac disease, a condition where the gluten in wheat, barley, and rye causes inflammation in the gut and destroys the natural barrier in the small intestine to large proteins and toxins. This has been associated with autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease.

Similar issues are observed in people who are gluten intolerant, which by some estimates account for over 6% of the population.

There has also been identified a non-gluten protein in wheat called ATI (amylase trypsin inhibitor) that has been associated with autoimmune disorders[1].

For example, in autoimmune thyroiditis, the thyroid gland is attacked and becomes inflamed. As a result, it can produce too much thyroid hormone (Graves’ disease), or stop producing thyroid hormone leading to hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s disease). A leaky, inflamed gut from gluten and other wheat proteins can be the cause or further aggregate these conditions.

What about lifestyle?

A busy, high-stressed lifestyle can cause the overproduction of cortisol from the adrenal gland which can results in an increased risk of diabetes, inflammatory diseases like heart disease and cancer, disruption of sleep, and an increase in anxiety and fatigue. Since cortisol suppresses the immune system, those who are chronically stressed get sick more easily. Cortisol also suppresses estrogen and testosterone, and interferes with the conversion of T4 thyroid hormone to the more active T3, resulting in fatigue, weight gain, irregular menses, chronic pain, and depression.

How does the environment affect hormones?

There are environmental toxins called endocrine disruptors that actually bind to hormone receptors and increase or decrease these hormones unnaturally. Examples of endocrine disruptors include pesticides like DDT, plastics that contain phthalate and bisphenol A (BPA), and industrial chemicals like PCBs. There are also glyphosate-based weed killers (like Roundup®) that are used in agriculture and end up in our food. These herbicides damage DNA and act as an antibiotic killing off our good digestive bacteria and disrupt the proper functioning of the immune system.

How to support hormonal balance

1. EVALUATE DIET AND MEDICATIONS. 

What we eat and the medicines we take make a difference. Food is code, meaning food turns genes on and off. If someone carries genes for Celiac disease, diabetes, or cancer, these genes can be turned on – or off – by specific types of food. Eat to minimize inflammation in the gut and promote the growth of highly diverse, good bacteria, which research shows is associated with good health.

There is evidence that over the past several decades, the newer wheat strains like dwarf wheat which are so loaded with gluten and other proteins, are causing more and more people to develop Celiac and non-Celiac gluten wheat intolerance, leading to leaky gut and autoimmune disorders[2]. Anyone with an autoimmune thyroid condition or other autoimmune disorder should eliminate gluten.

In addition, the overuse of antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals reduce the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Minimizing the use of medications, and eating fermented foods, probiotics, and dietary fiber that feeds our good bacteria promotes good gut health and decreases the likelihood of autoimmune disorders.

2. ASSESS STRESS LEVELS.

Stress can lead to chronically elevated cortisol. How can we lower cortisol levels and restore the natural cortisol pattern? We need to take the time to assess our stress levels. Are we working too many hours, sitting too long, staying up too late, worrying about yesterday and tomorrow, and coming up with excuses for not exercising and eating poorly? All of these practices increase cortisol which increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, and affect our hormones. It is imperative that we slow down, prioritize, take time to move, eat well, sleep, seek help and support when needed, and get connected with the community and loved ones.

Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, weight training, and aerobics help tremendously with stress and lower cortisol. Research is now showing that sitting too long can be as bad as smoking!

3. ELIMINATE TOXINS.

Environmental toxins are tougher to deal with, but minimizing the toxins we are exposed to, and eating foods that naturally detoxify like deeply colored and cruciferous vegetables, foods with omega 3 fatty acids (i.e. fish oil or other sources), and supplementing with magnesium, vitamins B and C, are just a few ways to support the liver’s detoxification process.

Every year since 2004 the Environmental Working Group assesses the sampling of pesticides in our food source from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration and makes a recommendation as to which fruits and vegetables should be consumed as organic and which are safe as non-organic (EWG Guide to Pesticides in Produce). As previously mentioned, herbicides like Roundup® are showing up in wheat, corn, soybeans, and a host of other foods. Shopping wisely for foods like grass-fed beef (not grain-fed), free-range chicken and eggs (organic may not be enough), wild-caught fish (rather than farm-raised), dairy products without hormones, and buying organic produce from the list put out by EWG, are ways to minimize your exposure to toxins.

Household cleaners, personal care products, and plastic bottles can also have endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so using glass instead of plastic, and minimizing exposures to these chemicals is recommended.

As we age, there is a natural decline of our gonadal hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) and in some cases replacement hormones are beneficial. There are ways that we can minimize the risk associated with hormone replacement by using bio-identical hormones, which are closest to natural hormones, and by supporting the metabolic process with diet to reduce any harmful metabolites of hormones that could increase the risk of disease.

To support you in your journey to good hormonal health, I recommend hormonal testing, functional digestive testing when indicated (stool, urine, and breath tests), a dietary consultation to plan a healthy low-inflammation diet, meditation, yoga, a regular exercise plan, adequate sleep, and a look at any potential toxic exposures that could disrupt your hormones, the Great Communicators!

1 Consumption of wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors enhances autoimmune encephalitis in mice. Oral presentation, 16th International Celiac Disease Symposium, 2015, Zevallos

2 Akil Palanisamy, MD, The Paleovedic Diet

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Stress and Covid-19

Life, Stress and COVID-19

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It’s safe to say that the last few months have been very challenging. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, a business owner, a waitress or a student, it’s quite likely that over the past weeks, something in your life has fundamentally changed. In small ways and large, we’ve all been affected by COVID-19.

New stresses may have appeared. Old routines have been forgotten only to be replaced by new ones. These sudden changes can leave many feeling anxious or stressed. So, while it’s important to recognize the unfamiliar ground that we suddenly find ourselves on, it’s equally important to pay attention to our stress levels and our health.

What’s Keeping You Up at Night?

The answer to this question will differ from person to person. Yet when asked, many patients will respond with answers that revolve around the same themes:

  • Current stressors – COVID-19 has added even more stress to our daily lives.
  • Prior wounds – Current events may act as a trigger for past life events and bring back uncomfortable memories.
  • Loneliness or feelings of isolation.
  • Chronic illness that has been made worse in recent months.

Some of these themes and how we can help are explored in greater detail below:

  • Finding New Coping Mechanisms
    COVID-19 has taken away many activities that we previously used to help deal with stress. Left unchecked, chronic stress can have significant impacts on our health. Stress raises the level of cortisol in our body while simultaneously reducing the levels of DHEA. This means we age faster, gain weight, and worsen existing health problems. Now more than ever, it’s critical that when dealing with high levels of stress, we find effective ways of dealing with it.
  • Safety and Security
    Feelings of safety and security also play a role in our overall well-being. The unexpectedness of COVID-19 has made us all feel less safe and more helpless. This can present with many different emotions or behavior that we wouldn’t otherwise turn to.
  • Social connections and isolation
    Meaningful connection with other people is not a luxury but essential to our survival. Human beings are social creatures. Apart from the sense of community and belonging that we naturally crave, we also get a sense of self-worth from our interactions with those around us. The isolation that COVID-19 has imposed on us can increase anxiety and reduce our ability to cope with it.True, meaningful social interactions can counteract the negative effects of isolation. In fact, studies show that those with more meaningful social connections tend to sleep better, have an improved mood and lower rates of depression. Unfortunately using social media and texts does not compensate for face to face interactions. 

Steps You Can Take to Deal with Your Stressors

  • Talk therapy — discussing problems with a licensed professional can help patients unwind and keep a healthy perspective.
  • Meditation / Yoga – These activities are much healthier outlets than drinking alcohol or overeating. Meditation and Yoga are great relaxation tools to use.
  • Psychotherapy – Talking with an objective observer can relieve anxiety, decrease depression, and help individuals make choices that are more beneficial to their cognitive and emotional health.Therapy can also help patients deal with high stress levels and learn effective coping techniques such as guided imagery, autogenic biofeedback, HRV and self-hypnosis.Knowingly or unknowingly many of us carry past childhood traumas. These traumas can affect the way we lead our lives as adults. A therapist can help patients confront these traumas in a safe and secure environment. Ultimately, healing these traumas can make living easier today, and in the future.

Our Approach to Treatment

At The Kaplan Center, our staff members use a comprehensive and flexible approach that is designed to help each individual person heal themselves. Healing involves the mind, body and spirit. All techniques are tailored to individual needs and designed to help people effectively manage distress, dysregulation and build confidence.

Many patients find the psychotherapy component and its use of biofeedback techniques that involve measuring skin temperature, blood pressure and heart rate simple, fun, and effective.

Modalities that may be used include: Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Psychodynamic psychotherapy, Sensorimotor psychotherapy, mindfulness, HRV biofeedback, Interactive Guided Imagery and Self-Hypnosis. All these techniques help clients connect to their mind’s bodies and emotions.

In particular, EMDR is a therapy that helps heal wounds from disturbing life experiences. It has been extensively researched and proven highly effective at helping people heal from distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression and panic disorders. Since our emotional well-being is tied with our physical (somatic) state.

EMDR is especially helpful because it uses a body-based technique called bilateral stimulation using eye movements, taps or tones. This stimulation helps a person adaptively process information that may be incorrectly stored in the mind and body. That incorrect storage can make past memories feel like they are happening in the present and people re-experience the same awful feelings (shame, fear, anxiety, and anger) along with the same negative beliefs about themselves. The brain feels as if that past distressing event is happening at the current time. EMDR therapy corrects the storage problem so that past painful memories associated with past traumas lose their charge.

Patients can react to stimuli in the present without the past interfering. The healing that occurs when that information is stored in a more functional part of our brain is a permanent fix. EMDR heals trauma and attachment wounds and allows people to take back their lives.

As we try to navigate our lives into a new semblance of normal, stress, illness and mental health shouldn’t be forgotten. One reason to consider seeing a psychotherapist is that speaking to a professional can relieve anxiety, decrease depression, and help you see how to make choices that are more beneficial to your cognitive and emotional health.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Heart Rate Variability: Helping You Live Longer, Stronger, Healthier

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The body’s inherent ability to heal and self-stabilize erodes with age; the older we get the more we tend to lose energy, memory, and resilience to stress. It becomes harder to mend from injuries or illness and can take days to recover from workouts or overindulgence. We also are more likely to develop diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and other afflictions as we age.

Extending our lifespan does no good if it means poorer health and higher healthcare costs. The goal is to live healthier and stronger, which ultimately means you will also live longer.

The comedian George Burns once said, “You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old,” and we tend to agree! You can’t do anything about your chronological age, but you can definitely change your biological age.

Studies show biological age is a better measure for determining health status and risk than chronological age. The Kaplan Center’s Anti-Aging treatments aim to provide the maintenance needed to return the body to a more youthful state.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a biomarker of the balance in the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and an objective measure of biological age. Because the ANS regulates our vital organs it’s extremely important that the system is operating in optimum balance.

HRV biofeedback is a simple, noninvasive, and accurate measure of stress in our nervous system and of our overall health.

Click here to learn more about Heart Rate Variability assessments.

HRV Biofeedback for Managing Stress

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Emotions, even more than thoughts, activate and drive the physiological changes in the stress response. Feelings of anxiety, irritation, frustration, impatience, and hopelessness are what people mean when they say they are “stressed out.”

For optimal health and resilience, it is important to regulate emotional reactions because they are what push the imbalance in the nervous system. The heart is a key component of the emotional system and negative emotions sap our energy and rob us of the ability to think clearly. You can either deplete or renew your physical, mental, and emotional energy reserves.

“Fight or Flight” versus “Rest and Digest”

Heart Rate Variable (HRV) is a biomarker of the balance in the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS is tied to every automatic process in the body and is comprised of two main branches that work together to control the body’s stress and recovery processes.

Under stress, one branch of your nervous system, the “fight or flight” branch, becomes very active. When this happens, HRV goes down and there is an imbalance between the two branches.

In an ideal situation, the stress is only temporary, the “rest, digest, and recover” branch of the nervous system kicks in causing the HRV to go up again, and the nervous system returns to equilibrium. However, a busy, frenetic, and stressful lifestyle can cause the imbalance to persist throwing the system into a chronic state of fight or flight.

Because this shift happens at such a gradual pace, we might not even notice there is a problem. In fact, a chronic state of fight or flight can become so familiar that any other way of being can just feel wrong and unfamiliar.

Since the insidious effect of long-term stress may be the single most harmful assault against our body’s health, getting an objective measure of it is important.

Click here to learn more about Heart Rate Variability assessments.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Gentle Yoga Poses for Back, Neck and Hips

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Yoga is a wonderful tool to alleviate stress, which in turn can improve both your mental and physical health. Taking just a few minutes each day to gently move and stretch your body can make a big difference. Here are some gentle yoga poses to try at home, demonstrated by Laura Dorsett, MTS, RYT500.

Seated Pigeon Pose

This gentle stretch opens up the hips, glutes, and lower back.

Eagle Arms Posture

Eagle Arms helps to release tension in the head, neck and shoulders.

Runners Lunge/Yogic Lunge

Yogic Lunge opens up the hips and releases the lower back.

Seated Spinal Twist

Seated Spinal Twist gently loosens strained muscles in the back to revitalize the spine and posture.

Sun Salutations A & B with Dr. Lisa Lilienfield

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During stressful times I find the need for grounding, and through Yoga, I find its strength, stability, and ease to be most helpful.

Yoga (translated from Sanskrit as “to yoke”) is a moving meditation, utilizing breathing techniques called Pranayama, which we know will stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system, the opposite of fight and flight.

Here I am demonstrating 2 simple Sun Salutations, A & B, that take all your major joints through a range of motion, and warm up the musculature, with emphasis on the inhalation and the exhalation. These poses are the gateway to other standing poses.

Enjoy!

Dr. Lisa Lilienfield

Sun Salutation A

Sun Salutation B

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Three Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama) with Dr. Lisa Lilienfield

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Dr. Lisa Lilienfield guides us through a wonderful breathing exercise called Three-Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama).
The “three parts” are the abdomen, diaphragm, and chest.

Do this anytime to ease feelings of fear, tension, and stress in the body.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

 

The Science of Breathing (Pranayama) and Its Positive Effects on Health

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Stress is an inevitable part of life and will always be there, but the overwhelming amount of bad news is causing anxiety levels to skyrocket. How we respond to it is a key factor in maintaining good health.

In this article, I plan to explore healthy ways to live with stress, by focusing on breathing techniques called Pranayama that can help to change our negative response to stress.

What is Allostatic Load?

We have physiological responses to stress that are important for survival. It is only when these responses become chronic that we suffer what is termed allostatic load, leading to an increase in diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Consider the following process:

  1. When crises or urgent situations occur, the amygdala, a structure in the brain with an influential role in fear and aggression at the sense of danger, fires to alert the brain to do something;
  2. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is activated; breathing picks up, the heart beats faster, blood rushes away from organs like the digestive tract into the muscles, and we “fight or take flight;”
  3. If the sense of danger persists then structures in the middle part of the brain (called the Limbic System) such as the hypothalamus & pituitary stimulate the adrenals to pour out cortisol and adrenaline (HPA Axis).

If this system is fired up repeatedly, over time this allostatic load will take a toll on the body.

Today’s stressors are far different than those of the past, even the very recent past. We are living in confusion about what we can and cannot do, the fear of losing our jobs, our health, and the health of a loved one – this on top of the more subtle stressors of everyday life. The result is a heightened and prolonged state of anxiety that needs to be addressed in some way other than constant worry and sleeplessness. We need to explore ways to mitigate the effects of the amygdala and HPA axis, which is involved in the neurobiology of mood disorders and functional illnesses.

Questions? Give Us a Call!

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Autonomic Nervous System

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) consists of the sympathetic nervous system (sometimes referred to as the “fight or flight system”) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which returns us to a relaxed resting state. The PNS is under the control of the vagus nerve. Nerve fibers from the central nervous system go to the organs in the abdomen, thorax, throat area, and to the heart; and fibers from the organs go back into the central nervous system to convey what is going on internally. Nerve fibers send branches into the limbic system of the brain that stimulate or inhibit the stress response. All these structures control internal perceptions, threats, and affective states.

The most advanced part of the vagus nerve is the myelinated vagus, found only in mammals. The myelinated vagus enhances the calming PNS, which slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and repairs, restores, and promotes feelings of safety. The variability of the heart rate is a reflection of PNS activity and can be measured as an indication that the vagus nerve is firing, leading to a calming, resting, restorative state.

Breathing & Respiration

Breathing involves the movement of air in and out of the lungs, and respiration involves a gas exchange between the lungs and the blood. As the diaphragm and the chest muscles contract on inspiration, the diaphragm moves down, the ribs expand and oxygen moves into the lungs. On expiration, the diaphragm and chest muscles relax and carbon dioxide moves out of the body, into the atmosphere.

For the most part, control of the breath is automatic and involuntary. The respiratory center in the brain stem is responsible for breath rate control, and there are receptors in the aorta that detect changes in the blood to regulate the respiratory rate. For example, with exercise, carbon dioxide levels go up, and the receptors in the aorta stimulate the respiratory center to increase the respiratory rate, decrease carbon dioxide and increase oxygenation. However, if breathing is shallow and fast, as is common in the stress response, hyperventilation occurs, which lowers carbon dioxide too much, leading to dizziness, unease, and anxiety.

There are aspects of breathing that we control in a voluntary and conscious manner via the cortex of the brain. Speaking, singing, and playing wind instruments are good examples. Also, stress and emotional stimuli may induce accommodation of breathing as mentioned previously.

Pranayama

Pranayama (yogic breathing) involves the voluntary control of the breath, and is practiced widely in yoga and meditation, but is something that anyone can do. Slow Pranayama appears to shift the autonomic nervous system from the fight or flight sympathetic to the calming parasympathetic state and has been shown to positively affect immune function, hypertension, asthma, and stress-induced psychological disorders. Examples of Pranayama include:

  • Ujayi breath – Used during yoga poses, inhaling and exhaling through the nose while creating a slight constriction in the throat;
  • 3 part breath (Dirga) – Inhaling and expanding the belly, then the lower rib cage, then upper rib cage;
  • Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana) – Exhaling then inhaling starting with the left side then exhaling and inhaling on the right;
  • Bellows Breath (Bhastrika) – Quick thrusts of the belly in on exhalation, which really works the diaphragm. The emphasis on the diaphragmatic breath is important because most people over-utilize chest muscles and don’t get adequate breath, thereby creating shallow breath and inadequate oxygenation.

Medical benefits of Pranayama

There are several studies that show the medical benefits of Pranayama. One study showed improvement in pulmonary function tests in patients with asthma and emphysema after practicing yoga and Pranayama for 45 min a day over the course of two months. Several studies have supported Bhastrika Pranayama in enhancing “parasympathetic tone.” Another study showed the benefits of Alternate Nostril Breathing in increasing parasympathetic tone by measuring heart rate variability and expiration-inhalation ratios. A pilot study with chemotherapy patients showed improvement in mood and sleep after Pranayama, and numerous other studies support the benefits of Pranayama in depression and anxiety.

In sum, Pranayama is accessible to all and can be used with meditation, or on its own, to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. This is something we all could use more of, leading us toward greater health and a sense of well-being.

References

C. Collins, “Yoga: Intuition, preventive medicine, and treatment,” Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing (1998): 27 (5) 563-568.

A. Dhruva, C. Miaskowski, D. Abrams, M. Acree, B. Cooper, S. Goodman, and F.M. Hecht, “Yoga breathing for cancer chemotherapy-associated symptoms and quality of life: results of a pilot randomized controlled trial.” Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine (May 2012); 18(5):473-9. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0555. Epub 2012 Apr 23.

J. Gallego, E. Nsegbe, and E. Durand, “Learning in respiratory control,” Behavior Modification (2001): 25 (4) 495-512.T. Pramanik, H. Sharma, S. Mishra, A. Mishra, R. Prajapati, and S. Singh, “Immediate Effect of slow pace bastrika pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate.” Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine (March 2009).

A. Guz, “Brain, breathing and breathlessness,” Respiration Physiology (1997): 109, 197-204.P. Sangupta “Health Impacts Of Yoga & Pranayama; a State of the Art Review,” International Journal of Preventative Medicine (July 2012) Vol. 3 Issue 7, p444.

R. Jerath, J.W. Edry, V.A. Barnes, and V. Jerath, “Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: Neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts the autonomic nervous system,” Medical Hypothesis (2006): 67, 566-571.

G.K. Pal, S. Velkumary, and Madanmohan, “Effect of short-term practice of breathing exercises on autonomic functions in normal human volunteers,” Indian Journal of Medical Research (2004): 120, 115-121.

T. Ritz and W.T. Roth, “Behavioral intervention in asthma,” Behavior Modification (2003): 27 (5), 710-730.

R. Soni, K. Munish, K. Singh, and S. Singh, “Study of the effect of yoga training on diffusion capacity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: A controlled trial,”International Journal of Yoga (July 2012): 5(2):123-7. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.98230.

R. Sovik, “The science of breathing – The yogic view,” Progress in Brain Research (2000): 122 (Chapter 34), 491-505.

J. Willmore and D. Costill, Physiology of Sport and Exercise, 3rd ed. (Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2004)

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

Anxiety Symptoms

Anxiety: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Options

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Anxiety is loosely defined as an emotion that is characterized by feelings of tension and worried thoughts. Family, finances, health or relationships are all things that we experience anxiety over. This is normal. However, anxiety that starts to overwhelm an individual or affects how they live their day to day life can be harmful.

At the Kaplan Center, we think about anxiety a little bit differently. A growing body of research suggests that it might not be a mental disorder in and of itself, but rather a symptom of physical inflammation stemming from the brain. Celiac disease, an unhealthy diet or thyroid disease are just a few conditions that may be related to anxiety. By recognizing these connections, we are able to take a broader approach to diagnosing and treating anxiety.

Symptoms of anxiety

It is important to separate the normal anxiety that we all experience from a more serious anxiety disorder. Some of the following are things to look for:

  • Worry and fear that are constant and overwhelming.
  • Responding to certain events or situations with extreme fear or dread. This may be accompanied by physical signs of anxiety such as a pounding heart, trembling and sweating.
  • Anxiety that interferes with your day-to-day activities or stops you from carrying out routine tasks.
  • Edginess and restlessness.
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Diagnosis of anxiety

The diagnosis of anxiety is one that should be made by a healthcare professional. At the Kaplan Center, we recognize that the causes of anxiety revolve around an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings. In almost all instances, diagnosing anxiety does not require any invasive medical tests.

Our doctors take the time to speak to patients about these issues and allow them to discuss their anxiety as they experience it. To help diagnose anxiety we’ll ask you a few questions about:

  • Past medical history
  • Family history
  • Medication history
  • Social history

Treating anxiety

The under-recognition and under-treatment of anxiety is a widespread problem. Because anxiety can have physical symptoms, it makes the treatment somewhat challenging for traditional medicine to deal with.

At the Kaplan Center, after diagnosing anxiety our goal is to offer treatments that help address the root causes of the condition. Therefore, we offer a wide range of treatment options tailored to each individual. This may include:

We work with patients to create a personalized treatment plan that’s suited to their needs.

In many cases, anxiety is not a single-treatment condition. A holistic approach, such as the one we favor at the Kaplan Center allows us to look at the whole patient. We may suggest one or more of the treatments listed above or include other elements that fit your lifestyle.

We are here for you, and we want to help.

Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2

References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610617/
https://www.apa.org/topics/anxiety/