The Functional Medicine Centre For Wellness

Stress, is Stress, is Stress.

Often when we hear the word stress, our mind automatically jumps to “stressful” thoughts. While this is stress, there are 5 main types of stress total, and all of them are perceived as the same “stress response” from your body.

Internal Stress

Chronic perceived stress, repressed emotions, and negative thoughts all trigger the body’s stress response.

Physical Stress

Physical injury, too much / improper exercise, infections, inadequate breathing etc are stressors on the body.

Environmental

Pollution, excess noise, EMF exposure, toxic cleaning & beauty products, and pesticides are all considered environmental stressors to our bodies.

Lifestyle

Poor or not enough sleep, a diet high in processed foods, not enough exercise, and excessive alcohol / tobacco intake are all considered triggers for stress.

Life events

Death of a loved one, divorce/separation, excessive travel, marriage, retirement among other things are big life events that often elicits the stress response within the body.

As you might have noticed, you can experience several of these stressors simultaneously. Overtime, as the stress response is chronically activated by any (or all) of the above, it starts to wear out the stress response system and symptoms start to appear.

Stress is one of the first things that is addressed at Functional Medicine Centre when working with patients because of how pervasive it is within our daily lives AND how impactful it can be.

If you feel like you need someone to support you on your health journey, send me a DM to see what the next steps would be.

Call Functional Medicine Centre today at 412-789-0054 to see if functional medicine is right for you.

I’ve got a little secret to share with you...

Your spouse doesn’t make you happy.

Your friends don’t make you happy.

Where you live doesn’t make you happy.

So what does make you happy?

You

A common misconception is that our emotions are tied to, or dependent on, other people or our environment. This is simply not true.

Whilst it’s clear that they are able to cause a stir in our emotions, Charles R. Swindon had it right when he famously stated that -

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”.

In this way, we are also responsible for our own anger, sadness and despair. It’s healthy to acknowledge and be present in the feelings we entail after moments of suffering.

It is healthier still to accept that they are, in fact, only moments. Our reaction to these moments is what prolongs them and gives life to the feelings that surge within you.

Your reaction is tantamount to your experience of life. Your emotions and self worth are not dictated by external influences. Take control of your reactions and reclaim your infinite happiness (and health)

Call Functional Medicine Centre today at 412-789-0054 to see if functional medicine is right for you.

My approach to treatment.

At Functional Medicine Center, when I begin working with someone, the first thing we do is start at the foundation of the problem.

For example, if you’re renovating a house, would you do any of the below if the foundation was crumbling?.

Paint the walls

Buy & install new furniture

Install a new roof

Build a deck.

No! It would all crumble down sooner than later and all the efforts to “spruce” up the house would have been in vain..

This is the same thing when it comes to your health. Before simply treating symptoms, you must first address your foundation which is the HPA axis. The main function of this system is the regulation of stress in the body.

When working with patients, this is often the first thing we at Functional Medicine Center address, because then the other pieces fall into place easier...Do you have questions about the HPA-axis, stress, or anything to deal with adrenals? Let me know in the comments below!

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Can't lose weight, anxiety or depression, foggy thinking, wired but still tired, hormone imbalances... any of these sound familiar? Call Functional Medicine Centre today at 412-789-0054 to see if functional medicine is right for you.

You might be a supplement enthusiast if:

- Your supplements have taken over a kitchen cabinet!

- Your supplements are your breakfast on the go!

- For every supplement that you stop taking two more show up.

- You need a pill calendar to keep it all straight.

- You're VIP status at the health food store!

Stop relying on supplements to boost your energy and immune system and power up through your diet. Let's work on it together - take our free, no-obligation online health quiz here: http://www.fmcw.info

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Did you know that this could be holding you back from achieving your optimal health?

Often when a “DIYer” comes to Functional Medicine Centre for Wellness for the first time, they have a specific diet they are following PLUS an entire bag of supplements with them. (relate?)

The first thing I ask is:

WHY are you following this specific diet?

WHY are you taking these specific supplements?

And often the answer is something along these lines “I found someone online with similar symptoms as mine saying that this particular plan / protocol worked for them…” OR “I read it on a book/blog of a top functional health practitioner so I thought it would work for me too”

The thing is, in order to achieve optimal health, you must tailor your healing plan to fit YOU as an individual and your specific root causes….otherwise it’s like throwing a dart at the board blind (after spinning around three times!)

My training with IFM is the gold standard. I’m trained to utilize specialized lab testing to create a plan that’s tailored to you.

If you’re curious to learn more, take my free comprehensive health quiz. After you take it, you get a free call with me to review your results!

Take it here

http://www.fmcw.info

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

The average doctor's office visit is short. In fact, it's only between 7 and 15 minutes.

Think of the things you can do in less than fifteen minutes. Making a sandwich or reading a few pages of a book sound reasonable.

What DOESN'T seem reasonable is:

Trying to learn a person's unique biochemistry

Thoroughly understanding their symptoms

Uncovering the individual life circumstances that landed them with these problems

Creating, prescribing, and testing a cure for these issues

 ... all in less than fifteen minutes.

 Aren't those the things that your doctor is supposed to be doing for you? Impossible, I know I worked under that model .It was stressful for you AND stressful for me!

Try a functional practitioner instead.

Functional medicine is rooted in the concept that we're complex. Many factors play into our symptoms. Unrelated problems are sometimes linked.

All of my office visits are typically at least 30-60 minutes. Attention is given to your WHOLE picture to make sure you have the proper care.

Fill out the contact form to get started!

https://www.fmcw.info/connect

Dealing with stubborn weight? Functional Medicine Centre For Wellness lists the four factors that might be contributing to the problem.

While fat gain and loss are tied to calories eaten and calories burned, hormones also play a role - both directly and indirectly.

Here are four triggers that can make it harder to lose weight:

Toxic overload is all too common with the prevalence of toxins in today's environment.

 A vast number of everyday products contain chemicals that are toxic to your body, including:

Candles

Lotion

Shampoo

Makeup

Food

Water

These toxins mimic your hormones, such as estrogen, and can lead to an inability to lose weight.

Chronic stress causes weight gain in a few different ways.

After a stressful day, it's all too common to reach for comfort food - resulting in excessive calorie intake.

Stress also impacts your hormones by causing your body to create cortisol, which is linked to weight gain and an inability to lose body fat.

An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is another common culprit of weight gain.

In fact, up to 60% of Americans with hypothyroidism are unaware they have the problem.

Your thyroid manages many of your body's processes, including metabolism. When it's underperforming, metabolism slows, and weight gain increases.

Hormonal imbalances beyond thyroid and stress hormones also affect weight gain.

Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and insulin also all play significant roles in stubborn weight.

The sex hormones affect the muscle-to-fat ratio, as well as managing sleep an memory.

Issues with insulin can trigger fat gain and food cravings, along with irritability and weakness.

While each of these are separate problems, the one system that’s involved in almost every single one of the above is the HPA axis. 

When you address weight and any other symptoms from the root of the problem, that is where you start to see results!

If you’re ready to balance your body from the inside out contact Functional Medicine Centre for Wellness today at 412-789-0054 or send me a message through my contact form to schedule a free 15 minute visit to see if we are a good match for each other.

https://www.fmcw.info/connect

Apollo has arrived. Always on the quest for a no side effect natural ways to help balance the stress response. Contact Functional Medicine Centre For Wellness today at 412-789-0054 for more information 

https://www.fmcw.info/

Stress AND low thyroid? If so, they are most likely linked.

Adrenal health often goes hand-in-hand with thyroid health.

When your body is constantly under stress (whether that’s physical, mental, emotional, etc) the adrenals pump out cortisol to respond to it.

Over time, if this constantly happens, it becomes stuck in a skipped record type of pattern.

What happens next? The thyroid picks up the slack. (And the gut...and the liver...etc)

If this happens for too long, the rest of the body starts to wear out.

The brain asks “Who’s the priority”

The thyroid isn’t a “true” priority, so it gets minimal “rations.” This reduces the overall effect of the thyroid and can even show up on labs as low thyroid.

This can lead to weight gain, fatigue, irritability, cravings, etc.

Moral of the story? Your low thyroid problem could really be an adrenal (stress) problem.

If you’re ready to balance your body from the inside out, send me a message through my contact form to schedule a free 15 minute visit to see if we are a good match for each other.

Link in bio >> @lisasrnka

https://www.fmcw.info/connect

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Is stress damaging your gut?

When you experience stress, whether that’s mental / emotional, physical, environmental, etc), your brain sends a signal to the adrenal glands to pump out cortisol.

The body is not designed to have this system continuously turned ON.

When this happens, the digestive system becomes suppressed.

When the gut is being constantly bombarded, the protective barrier starts to disintegrate. Once this goes away, stuff gets in the bloodstream which leads to inflammation and food sensitivities.

One of the KEY things I work on with clients is RELAXATION...because stress isn’t the true problem, it’s the lack of relaxation.

Ready to balance your body from the inside out?

Send me a message through my contact form to schedule a free 15 minute visit to see if we are a good match for each other.

https://www.fmcw.info/connect

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Stubborn weight gain that diet & exercise don’t seem to help?

Constant fatigue that no amount of coffee can help?

Bloating that makes you look pregnant (when you’re not)?

Anxiety that’s always there?

Wired but still feel tired?

 My Functional Medicine approach that focuses on lifestyle can help all of the above things.

 My approach includes:

Healing foods

Improving sleep

Increasing movement

Stress management

 What it doesn’t include:

I don’t subscribe to a “supplement for a sick” way of thinking (this is the same as a pill for an ill type of thinking!).

 I work with many people who feel frustrated by their symptoms. I take pride in listening so you feel heard.

 Together, we’ll get to the root cause of your symptoms & create a customized plan to support your specific needs.

 If you’re ready to balance your body from the inside out, send me a message through my contact form to schedule a free 15 minute visit to see if we are a good match for each other.

 https://www.fmcw.info/connect

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Have you tried these ten steps from the Functional Medicine Centre to manage (or eliminate) your autoimmune disorder?

Sometimes, conventional medicine's approach to autoimmune disorders can be life-saving - but functional medicine often offers a better way.

Functional medicine can potentially even stop autoimmune diseases by addressing the root of the problem.

Conventional medicine ignores the underlying causes while risking side effects that can cause more damage.

Autoimmune disorders happen when your immune system attacks your own body.

Functional medicine offers relief by:

Focusing on removing the triggers that make your immune system go haywire.

Regulating your immune system with a healthy lifestyle.

Try these ten steps to start getting autoimmune disorders in check:

Test for and treat hidden infections like viruses, yeast, Lyme's disease, and bacteria.

Check for Celiac disease.

Heal your gut by eating an anti-inflammatory, whole-food diet. Remove gluten!

Get regular exercise - for example, taking walks or spending time in the gym.

Give yourself proper sleep.

Find food allergies by getting an IgG test.

Get tested for high levels of toxic heavy metals like mercury.

Calm your immune system with supplements like probiotics, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and omega-3's.

Reduce inflammation with supplements such as grape seed extract, rutin, and quercetin.

Tone down your immune response by reducing stress with relaxation from activities like massages, yoga, meditation, or deep breathing.

Save this post for future reference if you or someone you know is dealing with an autoimmune condition!

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Did you know your gut might be keeping you awake (and that hurts your gut even more)?

Ever have trouble getting on a sleep schedule? A disrupted circadian rhythm might be responsible.

When your circadian rhythm is out of whack, more problems can show up:

Obesity

Intestinal dysbiosis

Metabolic syndrome

Intestinal dysbiosis

Cancer

Inflammatory bowel disease

Obesity

Cardiovascular disease

Neurodegenerative disease

Getting your circadian rhythm playing to the right beat is critical for your long-term health.

So, what is circadian rhythm?

It's a 24-hour cycle of processes throughout your body. Your brain contains a "clock" that manages timekeepers in other organs, such as your pancreas.

Your intestinal cells and gut microbes also have their own circadian rhythms.

When all is well, these all work together. The problem comes when these processes fall out of sync.

When your circadian rhythm is off, it impacts your intestinal health. This impaired gut health then throws your circadian rhythm even more out of sync.

As you can see, this negative feedback loop between your gut and circadian rhythm can spin out of control.

Avoid things that disrupt your circadian rhythm and gut health. Some common harmful factors are:

Erratic eating patterns (although intermittent fasting can help)

The high-fat, high-carb Standard American Diet (SAD)

Antibiotics

Chronic sleep disruption

Genetic predisposition

Shift work (if possible! I know it’s sometimes not possible as Nurse!)

Keep both sides of this interconnected equation (your gut and circadian rhythm) healthy by avoiding these common disruptors.

Want to know if a disrupted circadian rhythm is causing other symptoms to arise in your body?

Take my FREE QUIZ to find out. As a bonus, you’ll get a free call with me to discuss your results!

https://fmcw.livingmatrix.com/self_register_patients/new

(Note: it’s hosted through Living Matrix, but the results will be sent directly to me!)

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Did you know the things that you do every day (like eating that amazing pasta dinner that your sister cooked last night) could be either reversing or progressing your Autoimmune disorder(s)?

Despite what conventional medicine tells us, you can slow down and reverse symptoms of various Autoimmune disorders by looking at the root cause(s) and addressing them through lifestyle interventions.

These lifestyle interventions include (but not limited to):

Identify food sensitivities & remove from your diet (especially gluten)

Removing unwanted, disruptive bacteria and other microbes from your gut

Remove and prevent toxins from entering your body

Manage your stress

Identify if you have heavy metal toxicity & treat

Find and treat underlying chronic infections

Did you know that autoimmunity is also closely linked to toxicity?

Want to see how big of a role toxicity could be playing in your autoimmune disorder?

Find out by taking my FREE QUIZ + get a free call with me to discuss your results!

HINT: if you have a score greater than 10, you could be dealing with toxicity!

https://fmcw.livingmatrix.com/self_register_patients/new

NOTE: It works best on a laptop or personal computer

(Note: it’s hosted through Living Matrix, but the results will be sent directly to me!

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

How toxic are you?

Did you know things like:

Waking up with aches & pains.

Sleeping poorly.

Trouble concentrating.

Feeling bloated after eating.

Constant low-level anxiety.

Are all signs of underlying toxicity?

Find out by taking my FREE QUIZ + get a free call with me to discuss your results!

HINT: if you have a score greater than 10, you could be dealing with toxicity!

https://fmcw.livingmatrix.com/self_register_patients/new

NOTE: It works best on a laptop or personal computer

(Note: it’s hosted through Living Matrix, but the results will be sent directly to me!

Call Functional Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054

Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are?

Thoughts bring you physical and emotional pain just as though you were having the actual experience. Thoughts have the ability to bring feelings of anxiety and stress and also joy and happiness.

Where the mind goes, the body follows. Even though your mind is a wonderful, powerful organ, you must understand that you can work for or against yourself. Once you realize thoughts, actions and emotions create our personalities which create our reality, your life positively changes.

This may feel challenging to have a different outlook because it takes you to a new unknown and uncomfortable place.

Once you take the step to not live in fear and follow you, change happens. You now have the power to become your real, whole authentic self.

What you produce on the inside will eventually manifest on the outside so focus on the quality of your mindset with...

With positive thinking and daily affirmations

Practicing gratitude

By appreciating the beauty of the people and the world around you

Learn how to be the master of your mind and body. Don’t ever give up on creating the best version of yourself! The quality of your life depends on it.

What is one powerful mindset shift you are going to start today?

Call Funcitonal Medicine Centre at 412-789-0054