Clinical "CSI" for Your Body

CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwire - February 11, 2008) - Don't beat yourself up if your resolution to lose a few pounds fails. It may not be your fault.

Metabolic expert Jim LaValle says if you've always struggled to lose weight, then it's a sign that there may be other factors involved that require more than just the basic nutrition and exercise advice. He says the body's metabolism plays a much bigger role than most realize and affects everything from fatigue and weight gain to high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and food cravings.

"Most people associate metabolism with the body's ability to burn calories and maintain a healthy body weight," says LaValle, a board certified clinical nutritionist and pharmacist. "But actually metabolism refers to the metabolic pathways that influence your total health."

LaValle says everyone has a unique chemistry makeup, which he refers to as your "metabolic code," and depending on what that code is determines what strategies work best for improving your health. He defines metabolism as the sum total of all the biochemical processes going on in the body, which create your current and future health profile.

"If you are overweight, depressed, experiencing memory loss or have any other puzzling health problem, it's usually an indication that your metabolism is off balance," says LaValle, who founded the LaValle Metabolic Institute in Cincinnati to provide comprehensive healthcare to individuals looking to improve a condition they are struggling with and to optimize current performance. "The metabolism is influenced by a complex web of factors that affect your health. When we examine a patient's metabolism it's like going to a crime scene; there are always clues that lead to reasons why they have been robbed of good health."

Excess caffeine, refined sugars, lack of sleep, stress and your environment are some of the factors that can influence metabolism. Even medication can change the metabolism and cause nutrient depletion in the body leading to a new symptom. LaValle says you must first crack your "metabolic code" to have success with weight loss goals, regaining energy, managing stress, sleeping better or even lowering cholesterol.

A personal metabolic assessment entails: evaluating strengths and weaknesses through a metabolic questionnaire; biofeedback to check organ balance; traditional laboratory analysis to reveal levels of inflammation, insulin resistance and hormonal regulation and vitamin D status; an organic acid urine test to look for the 60 plus markers of metabolic efficiency including energy production, detoxification, carbohydrate metabolism and neurotransmitter metabolism; a environmental profile to look at toxins and check the body's mineral status; neurotransmitting and adrenal hormones to find underlying causes for depression, anxiety and other spectrum disorders; and estrogen metabolic test, for women, to determine if estrogen metabolites are favorable or unfavorably on the metabolism.

LaValle's Metabolic Institute is one of the leading interdisciplinary clinics in the country. He has over 20 years of experience in clinical practice, written over a dozen books, teaches at the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy and College of Medicine and educates physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals worldwide on metabolic health. LaValle's clinic attracts patients nationwide when conventional medicine approaches fall short. The initial metabolic assessment is $300 (some of the lab work may be covered by your health insurance provider). You can learn more at: http://www.lmihealth.com or LaValle's book, "Cracking The Metabolic Code," (Basic Health Publications, 2004). His second book on the metabolic code diet will be released later this year.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Amy Summers 727-848-1618 ext. 202 Pitch Inc.