Dr. Stan Gardner

08/18/2024

Love my David! 💖💖💖💖

04/29/2019

Looking forward to this evening (Monday April 29), when I'll give my special lecture, Boost Your Brain Power, focusing on Alzheimer's/Dementia, Traumatic Brain Injury and Parkinson's. It starts at 6:30 pm at Rising Health Specialty Clinic, 3300 S. 3018 E, Salt Lake City. Call (801) 419-0705 to reserve a seat. Hope to see you there!

06/16/2017

How Your Body Talks
When You Wrestle with Depression

Stan Gardner, M.D., CNS

Depression is a medical condition, a symptom that tells us that our brain needs some help. Yet all too often, we feel a sense of shame when we get depressed.

We--or others--may tend to associate “dis – eases” of the brain, such as depression, with poor self-discipline, or bad parenting, too much self-judgment, failure to look on the bright side of things or other things.

Folks who are submerged in depression do not need to hear “you just need to try harder.” They are trying desperately to stay afloat. A change of attitude, the admonition to be more grateful for our blessings, or just being told to suck it up and get a grip are not going to help or make people instantly recover. We need to be more kind to ourselves, and to each other.

Interestingly, we don't tend to give the same kind of advice to folks who are struggling with dis – eases related to poor diet, such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus type II. These diet-related illnesses do not carry the same emotional stigma and labeling that depression, or anxiety, or ADHD do.

It's as if it's okay to have any organ break down except the brain. The brain is expected to be perfect all the time. An exception is Parkinson's disease, which we see as a medical condition without the emotional label (even though the dopamine deficiency causing it is in the brain).

Cause of Depression

What causes depression? Although we don't yet fully understand the mechanism, it primarily appears to be related to serotonin or dopamine deficiency, or an imbalance between the two neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters communicate from one nerve cell to another so communication takes place in the brain. But we have identified some of the triggers or causes that make depression worse, so if you struggle with depression, you may want to explore to see if these things are affecting your condition.

Triggers can include:

• low thyroid
• adrenal fatigue (dysfunction)--usually stress related
• toxic metals:
• mercury
• aluminum
• lead
• smoking, which affects our body in the following ways:
• depresses vitamin C
• increases cortisol which:
• down regulates serotonin receptors
• reduces tryptophan to brain which reduces melatonin and serotonin production
• reduces blood supply to brain
• alcohol
• caffeine—reduces blood supply to brain
• nutrient deficiencies—especially B vitamins and omega-3 oils
• food allergies/sensitivities
• solvents, pesticides, herbicides
• genetic MTHFR dysfunction
• unrealistic expectations (burnout)

Treatment

If you are caught in the downward spiral of depression, it can seem nearly impossible to climb out. If you know you are susceptible, it's wise to explore some of these options before depression hits. Identification is the first step, and your care provider can help in assessing your symptoms. But there are a number of things you can do to help yourself begin to see a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

How do you treat depression? Part of the answer depends on what you can, with your physician, identify as causes. However, here are some general guidelines that help most people with depression. As a rule, these options help all of us be healthier, whether we wrestle with depression or not:

1. Exercise:
Increases blood supply to brain
Releases endorphins that elevate mood
2. Diet:
Eat real food
Avoid processed food; including aspartame (which is a neurotoxin) and sugar. This means dumping the diet soda!
3. Supplement with potent multivitamins (
Strong B vitamins or add a B-complex
Fish oils
Vitamins D and C
4. Supplement with precursors of serotonin and dopamine in balance. For this, you would be well advised to use your care provider's assistance
5. Stress reduction
Counseling
Focus on gratitude, including writing down 10 or 20 things you are grateful for each day; keeping a gratitude journal can be helpful in many ways
Pet: sometimes a sensitive little dog or cat or other animal can help
Humor
Self-talk
Yoga
Jin Shin Jyutsu or acupuncture
Breathing techniques

6.Treat other causes that were identified in your initial work-up, such as:

• Desensitize or avoid foods to which you are sensitive
• Detoxification
• DMSA for toxic metals
• Sauna
• Water for good hydration--a LOT of water
• Have regular bowel movements
• Supplement with methylated/activated B6, B12, folate if MTHFR positive; also consider other methyl donors
• Consider additional supplements:
• Ginkgo biloba
increases blood to brain
increases serotonin binding
functions as an anti-oxidant
• Phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine

Treating depression can be a fairly depressing experience! (especially if you are trying to self medicate). It is like trying to steer a car, while looking only in the rear view mirror. But there should be no shame in recognizing that you need someone who has a view of the whole road to help you navigate this puzzling health condition. Being human makes us vulnerable to outside influences, and depression can both increase our vulnerability and make it more difficult to get help.

Depression is a medical condition that responds to the same principles we use to treat any other organ of the body--get rid of the things causing it and support your body with nutrients specific for the brain, to get the cells to function properly.

Know that you are valuable, just because you are YOU, and you have many bright days that await you ahead. Depression is a symptom that your body uses to talk to you and help you know how to get better.

Men and women are that they might have joy!

Dr. Gardner, board certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and a Certified Nutrition Specialist, works out of his Riverton office, Keys to Healing Medical Center. He can be reached at (801) 302-5397 for appointments.

06/03/2017

Trouble with tingling fingers, numbness or pain in the hands or wrists? You may have carpal tunnel syndrome. Before you decide on surgery, there are some ways to help your body heal itself. Please feel free to check out my latest article in Meridian Magazine:

She had worked many years as a secretary, typing reports and messages to people in the company. Now her hands are tingling; periodically going numb, and she

04/24/2017

04/24/2017

If you are experiencing seasonal allergies, your body is speaking to you. Here's my latest article on allergies in Meridian Magazine.

Spring is in the air, with lovely flowers and trees blossoming around us. For some of us, the spring fragrances are invigorating. But for others, springtime

07/03/2016

The Value of ASEA
Stan Gardner, MD, CNS

When asked what surprised him about humanity the most, the Dalai Lama replied:
“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

What if.... there was something available today that could optimize the function of every cell in your body?
What if.... there was something you could use today that could slow down the aging process?

If you could optimize the function of all your cells, and slow down the aging process, what would that be worth?

There is such a product, and its name is ASEA. The technology is bioactive redox signaling molecules, the same molecules your body makes for cells to function. Redox stands for REDuctants and OXidants, which are in balance in ASEA.

Oxidants are the communication network within and between cells in the body. They maintain healthy cells and assist in the repair and replacement of damaged cells. These oxidants are also the weapon of choice of the immune system to kill foreign bugs and abnormal cells we don't want in our body.

When oxidants get out of control they cause tremendous damage, which is called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress accelerates the aging process in your body. Oxidants out of control are free radicals; molecules in a frantic search for a missing electron. They cause damage to nearby cells until they find one. These electron donors are called reductants, more commonly called anti-oxidants.

Oxidative stress is at the core of all degenerative conditions and aging in the body, beginning at any age. As a protection, our bodies have multiple anti-oxidant systems, but they all require the donation of an electron from a reductant. As we age, our bodies produce fewer and fewer oxidants and reductants, which are natural by-products of energy production.

The cost of ASEA Redox Supplement, the liquid form of ASEA, is $150/month (although there are ways to get it for $120/month). Many medications for severe degenerative conditions cost $50,000 to $150,000 per year, with out-of-pocket expenses of $5,000 to $8,000 per year—and they don't supply the same regenerative or preventive properties that redox signaling molecules supply.

ASEA's Redox Supplement is composed of 4 basic atoms—sodium and chloride from salt and hydrogen and oxygen from water. These same atoms are present in our bodies in our blood, our sweat, our tears, and in each cell. But ASEA is not salt water; it is made through a patented process that took millions of dollars to develop and involves several days to create.

Some people have noticed a “pool water” taste because chloride has a similar smell (and taste) as chlorine placed in most swimming pools. It seems to be the most noticeable to those people who have the greatest deficiency of redox molecules in the body. The taste tends to lessen or disappear as you become healthier.

ASEA is a Cellular Performance Optimizer. It optimizes the function of cellular processes in every cell in your body. It will assist the cells to maintain health, repair and regenerate damaged cells and help fight the battles the immune system wages to keep you healthy.

The company ASEA now has developed a more concentrated form of redox molecules in a gel for all skin (and deeper) issues, and a completely safe skin care line that supports the redox technology. These breakthrough discoveries are called Renu Advanced Skin Care. You can now see and experience--on the outside--the amazing difference ASEA, the liquid, makes in your body on the inside.

Right now, today, get with the person who shared this information with you, to learn how ASEA and Renu Advanced can benefit you. Preserve your health, and live your life to the fullest!

03/04/2016

We wrote this article about antioxidants that appeared in Meridian Magazine: http://ldsmag.com/how-your-body-talks-why-all-the-fuss-about-antioxidants/

Oxidants are used by the natural killer cells of the immune system as "bullets" to kill bacteria, viruses, other organisms, and are used to kill cancer cells.

03/04/2016

A short video clip explaining how ASEA supports important functions in your body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLeNt3jovQ0

Stan Gardner, MD and Certified Nutrition Specialist, explains the significance of a recent study on ASEA. Here's how ASEA benefits your body!