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Enhancing the Body’s Self-Healing Properties with BPC-157

Imagine a car that maintains and repairs itself. All you need to do is fuel it up, change the oil and other fluids occasionally, and it remains in tip-top condition for decades. As parts wear down, they are rejuvenated within hours. If there’s an accident, it might take a couple of weeks for the dents to pop out, leaving your car looking like new.

That’s pretty much how a healthy human body reacts to proper care, and it’s amazing. Cut your finger, and within days, the tissue repairs itself. Properly set a broken bone, and within six to 12 weeks, it’s almost like new. Plagued by stomach ulcers? Identify and address the cause, and those ulcers heal in a matter of two to eight weeks. 

Given the right supports, the body may even be able to heal itself of certain cancers. And thanks to neuroplasticity, the brain can regrow neurons and build new neural networks.

reducing inflammation with peptides

Unfortunately, there are a number of factors that can impair and undermine the body’s self-healing mechanisms. These include age, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, stress, poor sleep, and insufficient physical activity. Some medications can also impede healing, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), immunosuppressants, anticoagulants, and corticosteroids. 

In contrast, chemical compounds called peptides show promise of enhancing the body’s natural ability to heal itself. They can trigger responses at the cellular level that kick the body’s healing mechanisms into high gear. I’m especially excited about one peptide in particular — Body Protection Compound 157 or BPC-157 for short — which is the focus of this post.

Dr. Lewis Recommends: For a detailed overview of peptides, please read The Healing and Rejuvenating Power of Therapeutic Peptides here on my blog. If you are already familiar with that post, feel free to skip the next section and jump directly down to What Is Body Protection Compound 157?

What Are Peptides?

Peptides are naturally occurring chemical compounds — short chains of fewer than 50 amino acids — that serve as Continue reading…

What is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome – or POTS?

While there’s probably only a handful of Philadelphia Eagles fans living here in Tampa, Fla., the team’s 2018 Super Bowl-winning quarterback Nick Foles has certainly been highlighted in the news lately.

That’s because Foles and his wife, Tori, have brought public attention to a private issue within their family. Tori Foles was recently diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — better known as POTS — which is an often undetected and underdiagnosed chronic syndrome that causes an increased heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness, and fainting.

POTS patients like Tori Foles frequently find themselves at battle with gravity, which is why this disorder is often referred to as “the fainting disease.” The human heart normally beats 70 to 80 times per minute when we are at rest. That rate climbs another 10 to 15 beats per minute when standing up, then settles back down. But for people with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, the heart rate often increases 30 to 50 beats per minute — or more — leading to the lightheadedness, dizziness and fainting that Tori Foles experienced.

(Image © Maria Hagsten Michelsen)

While the plight of those suffering POTS became more visible last month when Tori Foles took her case to news outlets and a CNN audience, many of us in healthcare — especially those of us who practice functional and integrative healthcare — are committed to raising awareness about the disorder, and the misconceptions and frequent poor diagnoses surrounding POTS.

Women and the Misdiagnosis of POTS

Between one and three million Americans suffer from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and 80 percent of them are young women — particularly those in their early teens — with the condition getting worse through the growing years. Because these women are younger and otherwise appear healthy when the disorder strikes, doctors often dismiss the physical prognosis, choosing instead to explore the Continue reading…