Health is Empowering!

Dr. Al Danenberg ● Nutritional Periodontist

May 15, 2022 [printfriendly]

What price do you put on good health?

Good health is priceless. It’s the foundation of everything you do. Your health allows you to lead your life as you want – creating new opportunities, enjoying family and friends, and making memories.

Unfortunately, many of us struggle with our health – whether it be through “minor” inconveniences such as brain fog, or big disruptions like cancer.

You could spend thousands of dollars on health insurance, medications, and conventional medical doctor bills and still never get healthy. The least expensive medical insurance you could ever buy is investing in yourself to improve your nutrition, gut, stress, immune system, and other lifestyle activities.

Unfortunately, you could regain good health and then lose it again. This could occur because of various reasons and require another effort to reclaim your wellness.

Let me share two of my personal journeys.

Regaining My Health, the First Time

My first life-changing and life-threatening event occurred on a Saturday in 2006. I was 59-years old and had been practicing my specialty of dentistry for 32 years.

On that Saturday morning, my 6-year-old grandson was staying with my wife and me for the weekend. He was sleeping between us in our bed.

I woke, turned to my grandson, and attempted to ask him if he wanted to go out for breakfast. But something was wrong.

When I tried to speak, no recognizable words came out of my mouth. My speech was garbled. I panicked.

I first thought I must have been sleeping with my mouth open, and that dried out my mouth.

So, I got out of bed, went to my bathroom, drank a glass of water, and then attempted to ask my grandson again if he wanted to go out for breakfast.

Still, just gabled sounds.

My wife then woke, realized what was happening, and took me to the emergency room. As a registered nurse, she knew I was having a stroke.

Fortunately, my stroke was not severe. Other than the inability to speak, I had no other obvious physical issues.

My conventional doctors saved my life. They put me on 7 medications to take for the rest of my life and discharged me after a couple of weeks. It took over a month for my speech to return to normal. I went back to my dental office to see patients fulltime about 2 months after being discharged.

I realized I was not as healthy as I thought. My stroke motivated me to seek out a healthier lifestyle and diet. However, it took about 7 years before finally discovering the benefits of a Paleo-type diet and primal lifestyle in 2013. Eventually, by the age of 69 in 2016, I was eating and living healthy and was able to wean off all 7 medications and to lose over 30 pounds of excess fat.

Life was great. Regaining my health empowered me. I wanted to share everything I learned with my periodontal patients. And so, I incorporated my new knowledge with the periodontal treatment I provided my patients. Those who accepted my suggestions of diet and lifestyle changes experienced enhanced healing and overall health improvement. My mission was to change the world as best as I could.

Regaining My Health, the Second Time

Then in 2018, I experienced the biggest challenge of my life. I was diagnosed with incurable bone marrow cancer in September 2018 and was given 3-6 months to live. At that time, I was 71-years old.

The years leading up to this devastating diagnosis were filled with hope and direction from what I learned following my stroke. I had gotten healthy by eating and living a primal lifestyle. I even considered myself the “senior poster boy for a healthy lifestyle”. And I was lecturing around the country and writing about my success.

However, the invisible cancer that was lurking inside my body had severely damaged my bone structure without me knowing. I had no idea how many years ago the malignancy began its path of destruction within me. But my research suggested that I was exposed to two significant and continuous toxicities while in dental school and in my periodontal specialty training from 1968-1974. My excessive exposure to low dose ionizing radiation (dental x-rays) and free mercury (from dental amalgam fillings) most likely caused at least one plasma cell in my body to become cancerous and eventually grow to a full-blown malignancy of multiple myeloma by 2018 – 4 decades later!

Learning of my diagnosis and prognosis was as though a ton of bricks fell on me. My life as I knew it was going to change forever.

My oncologist explained that conventional medicine could not cure my multiple myeloma. With his consent, I rejected chemotherapy and began to investigate other options, which led to the creation of my own 11 Unconventional Cancer Protocols. The goals of my protocols were to help strengthen my immune system and heal the rest of my body as best as possible. Quality of life meant everything to me. I was not interested in longevity without a quality of life.

By diligently following my 11 Unconventional Cancer Protocols, I regained my health as best as my body would allow, and I began another amazing journey to teach others about regaining their health. I was empowered once again.

Others Have Regained Their Health & Empowerment

Example #1

I have a client who has had “brain fog” and lack of energy for years. He and I discussed his concerns, and I coached him to improve his nutrition and gut function. We investigated his dental health, sleep patterns, chronic emotional stress, and physical activity. After 3 months of some changes, he felt he was a new man. He confided in me that he was going to train to become a functional medicine practitioner. And now he has the mental clarity and overall energy to pursue his new career with a new mindset. His newly acquired health empowered him to pursue his life’s work.

Example #2

Another client has been a vegan for over 20 years. She just realized that avoiding all animal foods has caused muscle wasting and ill health. Her lack of energy and dental problems motivated her to contact me for a consult. We worked together for 3 months. I helped her seek out a biological dentist to improve her dental health, and I coached her to change her diet and lifestyle. She now is feeling like a new woman and can get on with a more vibrant, proactive, and productive life. She told me that her mission now was to educate her immediate family of the importance of an animal-based diet for overall wellness.

Example #3

Years ago, a 30-year-old woman came to my periodontal office complaining of sore, bleeding gums. In fact, her gum tissues had a “red, bubbly, angry” appearance. However, from a dental standpoint, there were no obvious causes for her oral problem. She previously had seen her medical doctor who checked for possible systemic diseases that could be the cause, but none were found. She felt miserable and fatigued. All she could think about was her mouth discomfort. During her examination in my office, she explained that she was subjected to emotional and sexual abuse by her employer constantly! I explained how this chronic stress affected her overall health and manifested as severe lesions in her mouth. Fortunately, she had a new job offer in another state. She accepted that position, quit her current job, and moved away. Four months later, she returned to my office for a checkup. From the time she originally was seen until the time she returned, she did not receive any medical or dental treatment for her mouth lesions. Her only treatment was the 100% removal of her emotional stress. Amazingly, all the gum lesions were gone – no soreness, no bleeding, no pain. Her previous gum lesions were caused by severe emotional stress. And her cure occurred because she completely removed this chronic emotional stress from her life. Her overall health was restored, and she was empowered. She was able to pursue her life’s goals unimpeded by chronic emotional stress, which had created a deteriorating health problem.

My Invitation to You

I invite you to consider your overall health today …

Are there areas of your health that need attention?
Are there methods to improve those weaknesses?
Are there areas of your health that you have not been able to improve personally?
Have you been disappointed with healthcare practitioners who have not resolved your concerns?

And then think about how you could improve your business and all that you want to do in life once you had your health back. If you improved your health and had more energy and mental clarity, you would be empowered. You could pursue whatever you have the desire to pursue. Quality of life and the pursuit of your goals would be the results of improved health.

Here are some areas that impact your health and can be tweaked to improve your immune system and empower you: [1],[2]

The foods you eat and the foods you avoid eating [3],[4],[5],[6],[7]
The garden of balanced bacteria in your gut and the overall health of your gut [8],[9],[10],[11]
Any infection or inflammation in your mouth which you may not be aware of [12],[13],[14]
Emotional stress [15],[16],[17],[18],[19],[20],[21]
Inefficient exercise and physical movement [22],[23],[24],[25],[26]
Poor sleep habits [27],[28],[29]

The bottom line to improve your health and become empowered is to improve your immune system. This is your internal armed forces that come to your defense in times of need – healing from internal disruptors like cancer as well as external irritants like viruses, bacterial invasions, and physical damage to your tissues.

I can offer help if you have questions about your health and personal empowerment. Schedule a 30-Minute Free Consultation with me to see if we are a good fit.

[1] https://drdanenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/5-Things-PDF.pdf

[2] https://drdanenberg.com/the-state-of-our-health-as-i-know-it/

[3] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.24247

[4] https://www.dovepress.com/total-meat-intake-is-associated-with-life-expectancy-a-cross-sectional-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IJGM

[5] https://www.amazon.com/Carnivore-Code-Unlocking-Returning-Ancestral/dp/035846997X/

[6] https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Cow-Better-Well-Raised-Planet/dp/1953295797/

[7] https://drdanenberg.com/why-does-rick-have-no-dental-disease/

[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9034083/

[9] https://drdanenberg.com/leaky-gut-leaky-mouth-both-must-be-treated/

[10] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2022.01.002

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35281490/

[12] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/dental/art-20047475

[13] https://drdanenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Shoddy-Dentistry-4.19.21.pdf

[14] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41368-022-00163-7

[15] https://drdanenberg.com/stress-damage-to-your-body-havoc-in-your-mouth/

[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2568977/

[17] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987

[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879702/

[19] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/apt.12269

[20] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28336545

[21] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24882154

[22] https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/real-life-benefits-exercise-and-physical-activity

[23] https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm

[24] https://www.insider.com/overdoing-hiit-workouts-metabolism-backfire-fitness-study-suggests-2021-3#

[25] https://www.cardiosports.org/high-intensity-interval-training-hiit-benefits-and-side-effects/

[26] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6763680/

[27] https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation#

[28] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sleep-and-health/

[29] https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sleep.htm

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