Tag Archives: craniopathy

This hidden chemical that causes a deficiency in your brain

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Happy Monday Tribe!
I hope you have all had an amazing past couple of weeks! I know its back to school time, and with school back in action, work in full swing, it’s important to talk about hidden toxins that are lurking!

As you now being a brain doc,  I’m always lurking for more information on how to enhance this vital organ that we possess. 

You see, because our brain controls every function in our body we HAVE to do our best to protect it at all costs.

A huge part in creating that healthy brain is of course making sure that environment is working, that VAGUS nerve.  You can take all the supplements in the world but if that nerve isn’t working, you will not get many results.

But, today i’m not talking about cranial work (for once;)), i’m talking about the gut/brain axis and specifically a chemical and many that disrupt this communication.

There’s actually many toxins in your home and that you utilize that you might not know are disrupting this super important connection.

What do you mean gut brain?.  Well, if you’re new here let me explain, for some of my current patients that have been with me awhile, you can sit back for a moment…

Your gut has been termed your “second brain”.  In fact your gut has its entire new network of nerves called the enteric nervous system, that works similar to your brain.

It connects and controls your digestive system, but also has a huge connection in the neurotransmitters in your brain.  It in fact, talks to your actual brain.  A lot of this resides in the health of our gut bacteria to be able to relay that information. So, really you can’t just heal your brain and neglect the rest of your body.

In fact, all the cells of your body talk to one another. So you can’t think that your liver not working won’t cause pain or dysfunction somewhere else.  The cells talk!!

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So what are things that disrupt this connection?

1. Stress
2. Gluten
3. Processed Foods
4. GMO foods
5. Head Traumas
6. Gut dysbiosis
7. Chemicals
8. EMFs

So, let’s talk about one because of a patient story, so you can see the connection.

I am treating a female patient, and she is doing really well on her protocol, great energy, mostly all her symptoms managed.  She went on a camping trip, and upon her return cancelled her followup because she couldn’t get out of bed.  She said she was wiped out for a few days. I assured her to come in to check on her protocol.  After going through the program, it showed up that their was a titanium toxicity, and she was not making intrinsic factor (i’ll explain in a minute).

I asked her if she applied sunscreen during camping, to which she said yes lots all over my legs. She had the bottle in her car, and we read the back which said ” titanium oxide”. This chemical interfered with her intrinsic factor a glycoprotein that is produced in the stomach, which plays a HUGE role in absorbing vitamin B12. When you can’t use intrinsic factor, it results in a condition called pernicious anemia, which makes sense of why she was tired!.

I gave her some kidney and liver support, and she felt better that next day.
There are so many natural ways to prevent sunburn that don’t include chemicals!

This is just one example, but in reality there are many chemicals we are exposed to all the time!

What else has titanium oxide?

  • Food: Candies, chewing gums, powdered doughnuts, frosting, coffee creamer, vanilla pudding, chocolate bars.
  • Personal Care: Toothpaste, sunscreen, lotions.
  • Misc: Paper, paint, markers, and plastics.


What happens to your brain when you have B12 deficiency ( which can also happen when you have certain genetic mutations) ?!

  • loss of memory
  • cognition problems
  • decreased mood
  • decreased energy
  • Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in the metabolism of fatty acids essential for the maintenance of myelin in the brain.

Again, this is just to show you that all your cells in your body talk to one another!  So what you continually put IN and ON your body matters and makes changes all the way in your brain. 
When the gut in this case is affected (from the chemicals), it sends a signal to the brain to dysfunction.  They HAVE to coordinate with one another.

There’s also a system called the Heart Brain Connection.  Maybe we’ll talk about that next time… stay tuned!

READ BELOW FOR NEXT EO CLASS!

Orofacial Disorders: The Tongue and Development of the Face

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Happy Monday Tribe!

It’s almost September, I can’t believe it!  Today we will be talking a little bit about developmental stages in the face and the tongue, and some disorders that arise from these issues.

The reason that I treat children, and talk about it quite often, is that in my profession, working with the cranial system, that is THE BIGGEST time frame we have to impact changes in the brain.

Of course, you can still make changes as an adult, but the reason for children is that most of the development in the face happens during childhood.

The BIGGEST brain growth happens from age 0-2 years old. 
By Age 2- A mature swallow is well established
By age 3- Adult like swallow has developed
By age 6- 80% of upper and lower jaw growth is complete
By age 7-12 – 90% of the upper and lower jaw growth is complete.

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Whenever I’m examining a child, the motion of their head, nervous system, I will always examine the relationship of their palate, and make sure I refer as needed to get the maximum results because of this time line.

This is an example of a high palate that can arise from either birth trauma, thumb sucking, tongue tie, and other orofacial disorders.

A high, narrow palate leads to sinus issues, since the roof of the mouth is also the floor of the nasal cavity.
* I’ve had many individuals come to me after having sinus surgery, and some feel no different.  This is because the root of the problem lies in the palate being the cause of the problem because it is the FLOOR of the sinus, not the actual sinus itself.

Guaranteed anyone with sleep apnea like disorder or just oxygen depletion has a high narrow palate.  It’s a given.  And most really really improve with the proper care, not needing uncomfortable CPAP machines.  I’ve done many case studies and spoke about my care, combined with dentists and other individuals.

Many have no idea of their birth trauma, past head traumas, or improperly done orthodontics that have placed them in this pattern.

You HAVE to have craniopathy care to normalize this function of the system, but it is a TEAM effort to get this palate looking this way.
(more on this in a minute).

Another reason for orofacial disorders is something called improper oral rest posture. 

I bet most of you had no idea there’s a proper way to hold your lips and your tongue in your mouth?!  Am I right??!

Well, I was with you about a year ago until I started doing myofunctional therapy, tongue tie work and fixing my narrow palate. 

In reality, there is a proper healthy resting posture and it is SUPER IMPORTANT!

In order to accomplish this:
-Your lips need to be slightly touching
-A freeway space of 2-3mm needs to be in place
-Tip of tongue resting on incisive papilla
-Lateral borders of tongue touching lingual of maxillary molars
-Dorsum of tongue touching palate
-Nasal breathing

Most individuals I see in my practice have what is called a low tongue resting posture.  In reality, the tongue should be up on top of your mouth all the time.  That is what gently expands the upper palate as you grow!  This is why the tongue must always be evaluated when getting orthodontics!

So what is an unhealthy resting posture?!
-Open lip posture
-teeth clenched or abnormally far apart
-mouth breathing
-tongue resting low and forward
-lips straining upon closure
-bunched mentalis muscle

The jaw and the tongue can also drop down too much in people who have

  • enlarged tonsils
  • enlarged adenoids
  • chronic nasal allergies
  • thumb sucking habits
  • prolonged sippy cup usage/ pacifier
Why sippy cup?  Well when you use a sippy cup, it pushes the tongue down continually.  Same with a pacifier.  The tongue needs to lift up! It can lead to tongue thrust, improper swallowing, hinders speech development, so you can actually start cup drinking at age 1!

Here are some visual identifiers in children when they have sucking habits:
-high, narrow palate
-thumb indentation in the mouth
-calluses on their fingers
-infections around the nail bed

Tongue Thrusting is one that we see pretty often in children with cranial problems. 

In tongue thrusting, the tongue protrudes from the front of the side, there is an open bite, possible lisp, incorrect swallow, tongue rests low and forward and possible airway obstruction.

Tongue thrusting is just a part of a bigger issue.  The improper posture of the tongue, lips and jaw.  This is why many dental appliances just don’t work for these conditions.  You have to address the nervous system and brain and then train the tongue and the lips for the correct posture.

This low tongue position causes that upper palate to continually narrow because you need that tongue lifting up!!

Another cause-  you probably guessed it.  TONGUE TIE. 
This is why a tongue tie evaluation from a professional is really important.

Most utilize it just for feeding issues in infants, but in reality it can affect the entire function of the palate.  Some ties do not need to be removed, and can be helped with just body work from myself, others need removal.  It affects the neck, airway and palate in adults dramatically.

This is the big point here:
A orofacial disorder in a child can result in an adult with obstructive sleep apnea.

I see it all day every day.

Here are some possible sign of a tongue-tie in toddlers:
– Delay in speech
-Gagging a lot of different foods
-unable to handle certain food textures
(also these can be helped and changed dramatically wiht cranial work and cranial nerves)

So, what are your options?!!

1. Come in for evaluation!!  Bring children as early as possible to evaluate their cranial system and tongue.  Just getting a tongue tie revision isn’t just what’s needed.  Trust me.  I get referrals every week from lactation consultants where babies have had their tongue tie removed but still can’t utilize their tongue!  You can to connect it with the brain!

2. Myofunctional therapy.  HUGE, huge to be instructed on that oral rest posture

3. Tongue tie revision.  If you have a tongue tie, you must do the cranial and myofunctional therapy first.  It works so much better this way.  You need to know how to use your tongue and lips first before just removing something.

4. Dentist.  If their is a very narrow palate, then dental co-management is often necessary.  Gentle expansion can happen to widen the palate and prevent these patterns and sinus and sleep apnea issues later in life.

5.  ENT.  Sometimes nasal surgery is needed, but only after all other methods had been addressed.  Often what I see is nasal surgery isn’t needed, but it really depends on the case.

I hope this was helpful!

Have a wonderful week!

The dangers of mycotoxins and what to do about them!

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The dangers of mycotoxins and what to do about them!

Happy Monday Tribe!

Sorry I didn’t give you guys a health tip last week!  I have been BUSY! I wanted to let you know that I will be cutting down on my blogs so that I can reach my deadline and finish writing my book!

I’m thinking either one every other week or once a month.  I will let you know as soon as I know!!

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Back to this week’s topic. Myocotoxins.

What are mycotoxins and why do we care in the health field?!
Mycotoxins are toxic compounds that are naturally produced by certain types of molds. Molds that can produce mycotoxins grow on numerous foods such as cereals, dried fruits, nuts and spices. Mold growth can occur either before harvest or after harvest, during storage, on/in the food itself often under warm, damp and humid conditions. Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and survive food processing.
Several hundred different mycotoxins have been identified, but the most commonly observed mycotoxins that present a concern to human health and livestock include aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearalenone and nivalenol/deoxynivalenol. Mycotoxins appear in the food chain as a result of mold infection of crops both before and after harvest. Exposure to mycotoxins can happen either directly by eating infected food or indirectly from animals that are fed contaminated feed, in particular from milk.

Mycotoxins are capable of causing mycotoxicosis (disease and death) in humans and animals.  These toxins cause disturbance in the gut, particularly in the intestinal epithelial.  However, research exists to show that the gut microbiota is capable of eliminating mycotoxin from the host naturally, provided that the host is healthy with a balanced gut microbiota.

It has been estimated that 25% of the world’s crops such as nuts, cereals and rice are contaminated by mold and fungal growth (WHO).  The exposure is mostly by ingestion. Some people are more susceptible to getting mycotoxicosis than others, and this is due the the pharmocogenetic variability where gene mutations such as CYP 450 could increase or decrease the metabolic activity of getting rid of them.
It tends to still be ignored by the medical field though unfortunately.

Mycotoxins can induce diverse and powerful toxic effects in that some are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, estrogenic, hemorrhagic, immunotoxic, nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic, dermatoxic and neurotoxic.
They are finding that the ever changing climate changes (warming) are having increases in contamination.  

What happens to the gut?!

Some mycotoxins have been found to exert their detrimental effects in the GI tract by altering the normal intestinal functions such as barrier function and nutrient absorption.  
And as we know, the occurrence of disease has often been linked to dysbiosis of the gut! EVERY autoimmune disease has a gut dysbiosis cause.  We also know through research that the mycotoxins also are capable of altering the microbial balance of the intestine further causing oxidative stress.

Usually mycotoxicosis results from a high dosage of mycotoxin contamination, and involves regulation of DNA methylation and alteration of gene expression. 
Gut microbes varies from person to person, so different reactions toward mycotoxins are observed.

So how do we treat it?!!

I’m So glad you asked!!

I treat it two different ways.

1. Clear the mycotoxins through craniobiotic technique.  When I find the mold aspergillus in an individual through CBT, mycotoxins can also be present.  Alerting the brain of the mycotoxins can allow them to clear it out.

2. Methylation Genetic work!  Work on the genetic variations that are making people react to the mycotoxins in the first place!   Fixing that gut microbiotia always involves methylation support!

Be aware of molds!! They are silent killers and wreak havok on the immune system.  They are found in foods as mentioned here, but also in homes, bathrooms, garages, basements, ect.   Don’t leave mold!  It a serious health threat.

 

That is all for now.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy week.

Dr. Hamel
WHO WOULD LIKE DR. HAMEL TO BRING BACK ESSENTIAL OIL CLASSES?!

If your interested in attending an essential oils class either virtually through zoom or in person let her know.

She will be teaching various classes soon in her PB office, but can do weekend virtual EO classes.

Email her!

The most important nutrient needed for our brain

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The most important nutrient for our brain.

Happy Monday Tribe!

Just a friendly reminder.  I am no longer in my mission valley office and full time in pacific beach! 

In pacific beach, I do NOT have staff any longer.  I will be giving the front desk at the office my schedule each day so that if you are waiting they know to inform me.
If my door is NOT open, I am with a patient.  If it’s open, I’m not and you can come on in, unless I come get you.
You can either book online through my website or through my scheduling service 8587755138.  The BEST way to reach me during business hours is either email or texting that number.  I know it’s tough without staff to help with the flow, but I’ll do my best to make it a smooth transition!
With my scheduling service, you will get a reminder email the day before!  If you DO NOT get an email, please inform me ASAP as sometimes the system might glitch and not fully schedule you or you didn’t fully schedule correctly.  Just inform me that day or call to make sure your appointment is booked if you don’t receive the email.

Thanks for being awesome guys! 

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I hope you enjoyed last week’s topic about wireless radiation and 5G.  If you missed it make sure to re-catch in through my blog on my website. It’s a very important topic!

This week I want to talk about the MOST important nutrient needed for the brain to function.

It’s something that’s all around…. most don’t realize they are deficient in it.
You can’t eat it.  You can’t touch it….
Have you guessed it?!

OXYGEN!!

I recently did a talk for one of my favorite non profits Beyond Concussion, and realized. that I talked all about the cranial system, nerves, brain and forgot the most important point of healing: OXYGEN. 
Wow.  (palm to head).
Well.. even I forget sometimes!

Oxygen is VITAL.  we know this.
However, this being said.  How many people walking around have oxygen depletion?

A good amount actually.

The brain uses about 3 times as much oxygen than the muscles in the body do.  Because they use so much, they are most sensitive to any oxygen level changes and doesn’t survive or function very well without it. 

When brain cells are depleted of oxygen, they die due to increased acidosis, they can begin to die off in as little as 5 minutes!

Oxygen in the brain is vital to growth and healing. It’s also vital to energy production. Oxygen is delivered through the blood, and through a process called cellular respiration.  The brain uses more energy than any other organ, so it makes sense as to why it needs the most oxygen.

I’d say honestly speaking the MOST impactful thing I do in my care is increase oxygen in the brain and body.

Whenever there is an impedance in the cranial bones movement, this means their will be depletion in the oxygen available.  You see, the movement of the cranial bones is vital, we need that movement for the blood circulation so oxygen can come in and be utilized. 

So the first way the brain doesn’t get oxygen is improper movement within the bones of the head. When this pattern persists, the individual will grow into those patterns, and then create actual airway issues within the bone structure.

This means the nasal floor can have issues causing oxygen depletion, then down the throat if there’ any impedance can cause issues with airway as well.

Having a narrow palate is a home run for oxygen depletion.  It’s very common.  It usually happens from birth trauma, but can have other causes.

Sleep apnea, is growing more and more recognition mainly because more and more are recognizing its severity.  Its not really just a matter of wearing a mask and you’re fine.  Oxygen depletion is a big deal. HUGE.  Decreasing your brain function, also a HUGE stress on the heart, and many other organs.  Again oxygen is a BIG deal.

Anyone who’s had any head trauma has experienced this. A depletion of oxygen causes many issues for those with whiplash, concussion or anything even minor that happens to the brain. 

What are some signs of oxygen depletion?

– Snoring
– Clenching/Grinding of teeth
-Dark circles underneath the eyes or around them
– memory isn’t as great
-sweating
-inattentiveness
-poor judgement
-TMJ problems
-irregular heart beat – slow or fast
-circulation problems
-lots of teeth infections (microbes loves not having oxygen)
-lots of infections in general
-fatigue
-headaches
-muscle cramping

How do we enhance our brain’s ability to have more oxygen?

1. Of course the first way is getting system moving!  So Craniopathy care is needed to get everything back in balance.

2.  Sometimes dental co-management is necessary.  Tongue tie or maxillary expansion is a key component.

3. Sometimes sinus surgery is also necessary ( mainly adults).  Since oxygen is super important, you have to make sure all airways are clear.

4. Certain supplements can also help transport oxygen, but most won’t work well until the cranial system is balanced.  I like using ginko and some others.

5. Hyperbaric oxygen is a great way or live O2 (oxygen mask), to get it directly into the brain.

A common thing most patients say after treatment is : WOW I can breathe!!

We take it for granted when we can’t efficiently get oxygen. But DON’T.

If you can’t breathe through your nose, even through sleep your oxygen deficient.
Don’t be a statistic.  There’s answers for help!

Exercise Improves Your Memory

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Happy Monday Tribe!

Continuing on our brain topics, per usual, this week we are going to talk about the benefits of exercise.  Well, the benefits for your brain!!

A research study in February of this year came out with some exciting information on this topic!

In 2012, Harvard came out with a study that showed that a substance called “irisin ”  is produced during intense physical activity.  This is actually a hormone that converts white fat to brown fat which produces heat.  Based on this, new research has been conducted on the deeper roles of this hormone.

They founds several things throughout this exploration:

1. Post mortem tissue showed that irisin traveled to the hippocampus the region where we store our memories. (The  brain’s of Alzheimer’s patients shows a vast depletion of this hormone).

2. Researchers found that disabling irisin in the brain’s of mice, weakened their memory and synaptic function in the brain. Then increased levels, provided increased memory and synapses.

3.  The researchers found that mice after swimming for 60 minutes, five days a week, secreted detectable amounts or irisin, proving it’s linked to exercise!

4.  They went further and wanted to see in Alzheimer’s brains if irisin would change outcomes.  They injected into the “athletic” mice, beta amyloid proteins as the buildup is linked to developing alzheimers. They found that irisin is protective, and the neurons of the brain were not harmed when introduced to the plaques. They were then injected with a pharmaceutical that decreased the irisin, and they no longer had neuron protection.

The results: exercise induced irisn production protects against alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Pretty cool huh?

Well, we also already know prior to this study that exercise also promotes the release of something called brain derived neurotrophic factor. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory.

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So, if you didn’t already need a bump in the hiney to get back into exercise let this be it!  If you have limitations in what you for exercise can do because of pain or limitations, thats where I come in! Mobility is key is having safe exercise.  But don’t just NOT exercise because of pain and limitations.  Figure out why those limitations are there!

OIL OF THE WEEK

ON the spotlight this week is Do Terra Basil.

In a recently published study (March 2016), Colombian researchers conducted a preliminary pre-clinical study examining the effects of ingesting linalool for three months. Memory was then assessed in several different tests. Ingested linalool was associated with improvements in learning, memory, and overall cognitive health.* Not surprisingly, ingesting linalool also improved measures of emotional health.

Linalool is the top component of many essential oils, including Lavender, Clary Sage, Basil, Cilantro, and Coriander. So next time you are exercising your brain, you may want to reach for one of these oils.