Below are office updates, our favorite fire season tips and an offer of support. 

Office Updates

• We are currently open Tuesday thru Saturday 
• With the new smoke in the air -  we are watching the air quality closely.  You can too by clicking here
• We follow strict CDC guidelines to keep you safe as well as running our air purifiers with UVC light on full blast 
• Tele-Med appointments are still available
• Acupuncture is a great way to boost your immune system and calm stress - click here to see our schedule.
• Curbside pick up for herbs and supplements is still available on Tues and Thursdays at 71 Ellis
• We will let you know right away if we need to reschedule appointments due to the fires and please do the same if you can't make your appointment 

Fire Season Tips 

• We all have masks this year but probably not the right kind.  We have N95 masks (FDA registered) available for $3 each.
• Take extra immune support as your body is recognizing the new stressors. Things like cough, sinus congestion, and dry, red or watery eyes are examples of ways our immune system lets us know it's under stress and trying to rid our body of the junk we're being exposed to. If you can't come into the office 
• Remain indoors. Yeah, you won’t hear us say that very often but it can be very important to avoid unnecessary exposure to more smoke.
• Don’t increase particulate matter in the air – This includes not lighting candles, cooking food at high temperatures on the stovetop, and not vacuuming. All of these activities either increase or create particulate density and circulation in the air.
• HEPA filters or even air conditioners with filters cut down on particulate matter in the air indoors. Do NOT use an air conditioner or swamp cooler if it doesn’t have air filters or it will only suck in smoke and make breathing conditions worse inside.
• Avoid unnecessarily exerting yourself. Heavy breathing means you’re going to suck in more smoke. Avoid it if possible.
• Stay hydrated. Detoxifying and cooling teas like dandelion or mint are especially helpful.
• If your system tends towards asthma, respiratory conditions, or you have a chronic health issue or weakened immune system please be extra careful

Top 6 Things You Can Do Now - available for pick up or shipping

• Taproot Medicinal Syrups - Our favorite is the Lung Support and Stabilizing syrups for $24
• Chinese Herbs: we love our Immune+ formula because it not only has immune system herbs but also Reishi and Cordyceps mushrooms. Perfect support for modern stressors. $25
• Vitamin C: Smoke causes inflammation via oxidative damage so antioxidants will be very helpful during this time. We carry Thorne Vitamin C for $23
• Vitamin D3: Supporting the immune system with vitamin D is especially important when dealing with smoke inhalation, and for those who have been diagnosed with a deficiency.
• Whenever the body is under stress it requires extra vitamins and minerals. This is an important time to choose high quality whole foods. Nutrient-dense foods such as brightly colored fruits and vegetables will provide a mixture of natural antioxidants and Polyphenols. Foods containing flavonoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory features that may provide additional lung protection.  These foods include: strawberries, green tea, black tea, brussels sprouts, beans, onions and apples.
• Eating pears (check out our recipe here) can calm a scratchy throat and dry cough, especially when boiled or sautéed with honey. When you cut one in half, notice how white and lung shaped they are!

Any questions - just let us know! We're here to help.

Best 
Elanita and Jennifer 


photo credit NPR

Why do this test?
Your results will end the guesswork about whether or not the root cause of your symptoms is due to adrenal fatigue (HPA-D). This can include any of the following symptoms:

1. Stress
2. Second wind late at night
3. Trouble sleeping soundly
4. Wake up in the morning feeling groggy, tired, or unrested
5. Difficulty recovering from exercise, exhausted from exercise of any type
6. Energy slumps throughout the day
7. Need caffeine throughout the day to function
8. Anxiety, worry
9. Chronic connective tissue problems that are slow to heal
10. Frequent colds and flus
11. Difficulty regulating blood sugar
12. Overweight
13. Infertility
14. Polycystic ovarian syndrome
15. Exhaustion since a trauma, including death of a loved one
16. Irregular menstrual cycle
17. Menopause symptoms
18. Hypothyroid symptoms or diagnosis
19. Inflammation

Why this urine test, and not blood or saliva?
This test reveals information about two adrenal hormones and how they metabolize: Cortisol and DHEA. Urine is the only way to see these metabolites. You also see your 24 hour cortisol rhythm, which is important in assessing adrenals. This test tells you:

• If you have adrenal fatigue (HPA-D)
• The type or stage you have – is cortisol too high or low? What about DHEA?
• What does your 24-hour diurnal cortisol rhythm look like? Is it low during the day (think fatigue)? High at night (wired at bedtime)?
• Do you have a problem metabolizing cortisol out of your system? Or keeping free cortisol at optimal levels?

Why test for adrenal fatigue at all?
You may have thought you have adrenal fatigue and tried various things to help. Unfortunately, with guessing rather than testing, often what you take is not on target with your specific HPA-D pattern. You may be wasting your money or you may be treating yourself inappropriately. For example:

• You may be taking something that lowers cortisol when you need more.
• You may need more or less cortisol during certain times of day, and not be gearing your treatment in the right direction, at the right time of day.
• Herbs that work on the HPA axis have different properties according to the herb. You don’t know if the herb matches your presentation. It may be too stimulating or too sedating.
• It’s possible you don’t have HPA-D at all, and your symptoms have a different root cause! I see this on a regular basis.

In essence, why do this test? 
​If your HPA axis is not online, it will affect all of your neuroendocrine systems: your thyroid, insulin metabolism, all sex hormones, your energy, and your brain. With the specific results of the test, you can fine-tune your treatment exactly according to your needs. You can find out what is needed for sleep intervention, daytime energy, stress, and more.

​When this patient walked through the door they complained of daily diarrhea and cramping for the last 6 months.  Their MD had prescribed them several rounds of antibiotics and recommended a bland diet but the diarrhea and cramping only worsened as time went on.  When they stepped into our clinic, they reported diarrhea up to 7 times a day. They were exhausted, embarrassed and at the end of their rope - most of all they wanted answers. ​

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Digestive System is philosophically the center of the body. Without the ability to take in food and transform it efficiently and effectively into energy, all the other systems have a much more difficult time working properly as well. This ancient and simple concept is gaining more scientific support as we research the most fascinating medical frontier: the microbiome of our gut. We are learning that the health of our gut and the microbes within it have effects outside the gut: Alzheimer’s, MS, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis are being understood in this new context. Its not just disease that the microbes confer to us, we now know that 70-90% of our serotonin is produced by gut microbes. Indeed, there are thousands of bacteria that support our health: inside the gut and out.

What does the GI MAP test?
The GI MAP stool test is a DNA based test (is not culture based) and will test for:

• Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast (including candida) parasites, H. Pylori, protozoa, worms
• Antibiotic resistant genes in H. Pylori
• Dysbiotic bacteria: bacterial that will overgrow if the gut is unbalanced
• Marker bacteria that signal the health of beneficial bacteria
• Intestinal health markers that give us a glimpse at the function of the pancreas, liver/gallbladder
• Occult blood
• Anti-gliadin IgA (immune antibodies that suggest an immune response to gluten)
• IgA immune response in the gut

We look for more than just pathogens. We can have overgrowth of dysbiotic bacteria or even an overgrowth of 2 classes of bacteria that can create health issues.  With the GI MAP we are able to get a multifaceted picture of not only disease, but where your gut is on the spectrum of health and function.

When is testing appropriate?
We are always surprised when our patients with GI complaints who have diagnoses of SIBO or IBS tell us they haven’t had a stool test. It is often the place we start. There are many more conditions that may have underlying gut imbalances, and it does not need to manifest as a GI problem:

• Autoimmune conditions
• Skin conditions like eczema
• Insomnia
• Fatigue that does not respond to other treatments
• Diabetes
• Inability to lose weight
• Long term use of NSAIDS, PPIs
• Long term use of restricted diets
• Persistent UTIs, yeast infections
• Post Antibiotic 
• International travel
• Abdominal pain
• Increasing food sensitivities
• Irregular bowels

What’s involved with the actual test?
Everyone wants to know how the test is performed and what the process is. We give you a kit at the office (or we can have one mailed to you from the lab) and there are instructions inside. You will catch a portion of your bowel movement into a paper tray supplied in the kit. There is a vial of preservative liquid and the lid has a scooper attachment on it. You scoop a couple of samples from the stool, put it into the liquid, seal it up, close the box, and drop it off at UPS. Pretty simple. I have changed diapers that were a bigger ordeal! 

What is treatment like at SFIM?
We only use natural medicine to correct imbalances we see on the tests. We have come to understand the application of Traditional Chinese Medicine herbal formulas (in pill form or granules) in the context of modern digestive issues and when this is combined with the right supplements, we see real results. 
We will advise you of feasible dietary modifications based on your microbial populations. Our treatment approach does not include things like juice cleanses, fasting, restrictive diets like keto/paleo, colon hydrotherapy, or the word “detox”.  Our treatment philosophy is rooted in science and the classic tenets of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 
We will always inform you of the pros and cons of other western therapies such as antibiotics or antiprotozoal therapies. Course of treatment varies widely from 2 weeks to 4 months or longer depending on the condition. 

What happened to that patient? 
GI stool testing revealed they had a form of H. pylori that was resistant to the type antibiotics they were being prescribed.  This did double damage - the H. Pylori was unaffected by the treatment and all the good bacteria in their gut was killed off.  With the information we learned from stool testing, we were able to develop a treatment plan that actually treated the patient's symptoms and resolve the root of their problem. 

By Dr Jennifer Bezjak