Common Medical Issues | Dr. Chad Edwards

The Vertical Auto Profile (VAP) Test For Cholesterol

April 11, 2012 By Doc Leave a Comment

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death in the U.S. There are a number of factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease and cholesterol is the most often blamed contributor. I do not believe that elevated cholesterol causes heart disease but I do believe that there is probably a correlation. Since my primary goal is [...]

Filed Under: Cardiovascular Disease Tagged With: 3 Fatty Acids, Arteries, Bad Cholesterol, Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Cause Of Death, Cholesterol Test, Density Lipoprotein, Genetic Risk, Heart Disease, High Density Lipoproteins, High Fiber Diets, Ldl Particles, Lipid, Low Density Lipoproteins, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Optimal Health, Plant Stanols, Risk Factor, Sterols, Triglycerides

Are diet drinks really helping?

January 3, 2012 By Doc Leave a Comment

When it comes to drinking sweet tasting substances (soda, coke, coca cola, pop, tea, etc) there are no free rides! I’ve seen extremely overweight people drinking a 44 oz ‘diet coke’ and just had to chuckle. Now, I’m not saying that drinking any diet drinks make you fat but it reminds me of a comedian [...]

Filed Under: Weight Managment Tagged With: Artificial Sweeteners, Carbohydrate, Coca Cola, Coke Coca, Comedian, Consumption, Cottage Cheese, Diet Coke, Diet Drinks, Drinking Water, Free Rides, Gain Weight, Health Drinks, Neurobiology, Oz Diet, Soda, Sugar Cravings, Tea

How to Use Nasal Medications

November 27, 2010 By Doc Leave a Comment

Topical nasal medications are extremely effective and can help avoid many systemic side effects. Using these medications properly can help increase their effectiveness and decrease adverse effects.

Filed Under: Ear, Nose, & Throat Tagged With: Adverse Effects, Afrin, Allergic Rhinitis, Anatomy Of The Nose, Cold Flu, Decongestant, Eustachian Tube, Hay Fever, Left Nostril, Maximum Effect, Medical Conditions, Nasal Polyps, Neo Synephrine, Otc, Oxymetazoline, Post Nasal Drip, Proper Angle, Sinus Infections, Systemic Effects, Upper Airway

Cholesterol Labs Explained

November 14, 2010 By Doc Leave a Comment

This is a brief explanation of lab cholesterol results and how they are obtained.

Filed Under: Cardiovascular Disease Tagged With: Bad Cholesterol, Cholesterol, Coronary Artery Disease, Families History, Females, Friedewald Equation, Good Cholesterol, Hdl, Heart Attacks, Information On Cholesterol, Ldl, Lipids, Low Cholesterol, Low Risk, Lower Your Risk, Risk Factor, Serum, Specimen, Strokes, Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides

Weight Loss – Is It Really As Simple As A + B = C?

September 20, 2010 By Doc 1 Comment

Weight loss is dependent on numerous factors and cannot be simplified to calories consumed vs calories burned.

Filed Under: Physiology, Weight Managment Tagged With: Apples And Oranges, Body Composition, Body Fat, Bouts, Calories, Degree Celcius, Duration, Exercise Duration, Gain Weight, hormone, Human Metabolism, Intensity, Kilocalories, Kilograms, Lose Weight, Lost, Lot, Measurement, Metab, Metric System, Ml, System Measures, Type Of Food, Unit Of Energy, Unit Of Measure, Weight Calories, Weight Gain, Weight Loss

Glycolysis Step-by-Step

February 15, 2010 By Doc Leave a Comment

Glycolysis is a 9 step process that breaks glucose down into 2 ATP and 2 Pyruvates. This article discussed the processes step by step.

Filed Under: Carbohydrates, Increase Metabolism, Physiology Tagged With: Atp, Carbon Sugar, Cellular Energy, Control Mechanism, Diphosphate, Energy Currency, Enzyme Hexokinase, Fructose, Glucokinase, Glucose Levels, Glucose Molecule, High Energy Phosphates, Inhibition, Pfk, Phosphate, Phosphofructokinase, Phosphorylation, Step 2, Step 3, Sugar Step

How the Body Gets Energy Through Glycolysis

February 14, 2010 By Doc Leave a Comment

Glucose is essential for cellular energy. Here, we discuss how it is utilized for energy.

Filed Under: Carbohydrates, Increase Metabolism Tagged With: acetyl CoA, Aerobic Exercise, Anaerobic Exercise, anaerobic metabolism, Analogy, Atp, citric acid cycle, Cytoplasm, Dump Truck, Electron Acceptor, Electrons, Energy Currency, Energy Demands, Energy Supply, Fates, Front Yard, glucose energy, Glucose Metabolism, Glut 4, Glycolysis, immediate energy, Insulin, Kreb Cycle, Kreb S Cycle, kreb's cycle, Lactate, lactate production, lactic acid production, lactic acidosis, Mitochondria, Myocyte, NADH production, oxygen debt, Pyruvate, TCA cycle

Cardiovascular Disease & Oxidative Stress – How Plaques Form

February 2, 2010 By Doc Leave a Comment

Oxidative stress & damage is one of the steps in the formation of plaques that lead to cardiovascular disease. Antioxidants can help decrease this risk.

Filed Under: Cardiovascular Disease Tagged With: AMI, antioxidant supplements, antioxidants, Arteries, atherogenesis, Atherosclerosis, Bad Cholesterol, beta caroten, cardiovascular disease, carotenoids, Cell Walls, Cholesterol, CVA, CVD, Diet Exercise, foam cells, Free Radicals, Hdl, heart attack, Heart Attacks, Hydrogen Peroxide, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, Inflammation, ischemic stroke, Ischemic Strokes, Ld, Low Density Lipoprotein, Low Hdl, Lower Your Risk, Macrophages, Mechanisms, MI, oxidative damage, oxidative stress, Oxidized Ldl, oxLDL, Plaque, Plaque Formation, Plaques, Risk Factor, Scratching The Surface, Several Ways, stroke, Superoxides, Tissue Death, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, whole food

Adenosine TriPhosphate (ATP) is the Energy Currency for the Cell

February 2, 2010 By Doc 1 Comment

ATP is the energy currency of the cell and is produced through metabolism of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats.

Filed Under: Increase Metabolism, Nutrition Tagged With: ATP production, Beta Oxidation, carbohydrate catabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, Carbon Molecules, Cellular Metabolism, citric acid cycle, Degree Celsius, Electron Transport System, Energy Currency, energy currency of the cell, Energy Heat, Energy Production, Energy Source, Ets, Fadh, fat metabolism, Fatty Acid Metabolism, Fatty Acids, Glycolysis, Intermediate Products, Kilocalories, Kreb Cycle, Kreb S Cycle, kreb's cycle, Lactate, Minor Exceptions, Mitochondria, oxygen metabolism, protein deamination, Protein Metabolism, Pyruvate, TCA cycle, triglyceride metabolism

Insulin: Friend or Foe?

January 31, 2010 By Doc 2 Comments

Insulin has a number of essential functions. However, an excess of this vital hormone can be extremely detrimental.

Filed Under: Carbohydrates, Diets Tagged With: Adipose Cells, Blood Sugar, Carnitine, Cell Surface, Cellular Metabolism, Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Diabetics, Fatty Acids, Friend Or Foe, Glucagon, Glucose Production, Glucose Transporters, Glucose Uptake, Glut 4, Insulin, Ketones, Metabolism Of Fats, Mitochondria, Primary Source, Source Of Energy, Triglycerides

Paleo? But I LOVE my bread…

The majority of my patients come to me because they are seeking improved health and understand that my approach is through the ‘Healthy Trinity’ consisting of Nutrition, Exercise, and the 3R’s. However, it is still fairly common that, when I mention and describe the Paleo Diet, patients change their expression. “You mean I can’t eat [...]

What Your Hands Can Tell You About Your Food

If you’ve read any of my stuff or hear me talk at all then you know I recommend eliminating (or dramatically reducing) gluten from your diet. I have a lot of patients who ask me if I’ll test them for Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Yes, I’ll test them but I often recommend against testing [...]

Healthy Gut, Healthy Body

Most of my patients want to improve their overall health. Occasionally I’ll have someone come in with a vague abdominal pain or some other abdominal symptoms. Some of them have been to their OB/GYN, general surgeon, gastroenterologist, family doc, pediatrician, etc and they still don’t have an answer. Sometimes they get surgery to “see what’s [...]

How To Know If You’re Getting Enough Vitamins

If you know me at all then you know that I’m a huge proponent of proper nutrition. It is one of the cornerstones of my ‘Healthy Trinity’ which is the foundation of optimizing health. The Functional Medicine approach to nutrition means that each person has an adequate & functional nutritional status. We have to have [...]

The Mismanaged Thyroid (Gland & Hormones)

I had a patient the other day, I’ll call her Sally, who was a new patient and had been recommended by a friend. She told me that she didn’t fell right. She felt as though “something was wrong” and “I don’t feel like I used to feel.” She told me she had been to several [...]