The BIÂN Blog

As we age, our bones and joints become more susceptible to wear and tear, and with that comes an increased risk of arthritis and other joint problems. Fortunately, there are natural remedies that can help alleviate joint pain and inflammation. One such remedy is turmeric, a spice widely used in Indian cuisine and known for its anti-inflammatory properties. In recent years, turmeric supplements have gained popularity as an easy and effective way to promote joint health. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at how turmeric works, the recommended intake, and the benefits of combining turmeric with other compounds for maximum effectiveness.

What benefits can turmeric supplements provide for joint health and why?

Turmeric's main active compound is called curcumin, and it's what gives the spice its distinctive yellow color. Curcumin has been found to have notably anti-inflammatory properties, making it an ideal supplement for those suffering from joint pain and inflammation. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, curcumin can reduce a general inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein, leading to improved patient subjective pain scores, stiffness, and physical function. Curcumin functions at multiple levels of the inflammation cascade by regulating pro-inflammatory interleukins while decreasing the activity of enzymes such as phospholipase A1, cyclo-oxygenase-2 (aka "COX" pathway, same as aspirin), 5-lipoxygenase and modulating a DNA level sequence called "NK-kappa B."

Is there a daily recommended intake of turmeric (curcumin) for those who want to improve joint health?

For liquid extracts, the recommended dose is between 10-90 drops, 1-4 times per day, while capsule formulations are the most popular form and are usually dosed around 1-2 capsules, 1-3 times per day. It's important to note that the dosage for turmeric supplements may vary depending on the brand and the concentration of curcumin in the product. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.

Does turmeric work well alongside other compounds to improve inflammation?

Absolutely! Turmeric supplements are often formulated with the resin Boswellia (also known as frankincense) and bromelain, a protein-digesting enzyme from pineapple, for increased absorption as well as an enhanced anti-inflammatory effect. Formulas of turmeric often include black pepper, with the active compound piperine, to increase curcumin's anti-inflammatory activity by slowing its rapid metabolism in the liver.

If you're looking to incorporate turmeric supplements into your joint health routine, it's essential to choose a high-quality product from a reputable brand. Look for supplements that use organic or non-GMO ingredients and have been tested for purity and potency. Additionally, always read the label carefully to ensure that the product contains an adequate amount of curcumin per serving.

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Tturmeric supplements have significant potential in promoting joint health and managing arthritis pain and inflammation. With its anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to modulate various enzymes and pro-inflammatory interleukins, turmeric supplements are an excellent natural remedy for those looking to alleviate joint pain and stiffness. Remember to choose a high-quality product, follow recommended dosage guidelines, and consult with a healthcare professional to ensure that turmeric supplements are safe and appropriate for you. By incorporating turmeric supplements into your wellness routine, you can experience the magic of this powerful spice and enjoy healthier, happier joints.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) can be a real pain in the neck, jaw, and head. These conditions are characterized by chronic facial pain, headaches, and difficulty with jaw movement. TMD can be caused by a range of factors, including muscle tension, joint dysfunction, and nerve problems. If you're struggling with symptoms of TMD, BIÂN is here to help. Our team of wellness experts can evaluate your condition and provide effective treatment options to alleviate your pain and improve your overall quality of life.

Symptoms of TMD can vary from person to person. Some people may experience jaw pain, which can make eating, speaking, and even smiling extremely uncomfortable. Other common symptoms include headaches, neck pain, tinnitus, dizziness, and shoulder pain. If left untreated, TMD can also contribute to teeth grinding and clenching, which can lead to further dental issues.

The most common form of TMD is myofascial pain, which is caused by trigger points in the muscles of the jaw and head. These trigger points can cause pain referral patterns that spread to other areas of the body. At BIÂN, we use precision neuromuscular massage therapy techniques to address trigger points and reduce tension in the affected muscles. This can help alleviate pain and improve mobility in the jaw.

In addition to massage therapy, we may also recommend intraoral trigger point therapy. This involves applying pressure to trigger points inside the mouth, which can help reduce the intensity and severity of symptoms associated with myofascial pain of the TMJ. We may also suggest physical therapy exercises to strengthen the muscles that support the TMJ and improve joint mobility. These exercises can help address muscle imbalances and prevent further episodes of TMD.

Chiropractic adjustments can also be beneficial for people with TMD. By addressing joint dysfunction in the TMJ and cervical spine, we can help improve alignment and reduce pain. Chiropractic care can also improve overall spinal health and reduce the risk of future injuries.

At BIÂN, our team is dedicated to helping you find relief from your TMD symptoms. Through a combination of massage therapy, physical therapy exercises, and chiropractic adjustments, we can address the root cause of your pain and improve your quality of life. If you're suffering from TMD, don't wait to seek treatment. Explore membership at BIÂN to schedule an evaluation and get started on the path to a pain-free life.

We are thrilled to announce our expansion plan, opening June 2023! This growth plan includes the addition of not only more physical space, but new community offerings and expanded services for its rapidly growing membership.

BIÂN will unveil an additional 9,000 square feet of club space to accommodate our members’ health, work and social habits in a post-pandemic world. The expansion will include additional elevated hybrid work areas for this new paradigm of flexible work and play, small private rooms for calls, and large conference rooms for members. To grow our social and dining offerings, BIÂN will also now feature a new lounge, formal dining space, private event space, and an expanded kitchen. An addition of two new studios, private training, yoga, and meditation spaces, and two ancillary locker rooms will support expanded fitness options.

Events, Lounge, & Hybrid Workspace

• Our corporate, member event, and private event programming will be growing immensely with the opening of two larger conference room spaces as well as a new lounge space, which will allow for bigger private events upwards of 150 guests without interruption to the membership experience.
• Four small private rooms for phone calls, video conferencing, and intimate meetings will now be available, as well as semi-private group spaces for teams to work closer together.
• Rental of larger conference rooms and entire lounge, both existing and expansion, will all be available for member events and private events.
  

Food & Beverage

• Our newly expanded club space will feature a state-of-the-art kitchen. This kitchen boasts many new abilities for our food and beverage program which will elevate our restaurant menu and offer additional capacity for member events and private events.  Additionally, we're excited to convert our existing kitchen into a satellite kitchen, which will feature a daily breakfast menu, dedicated sushi bar, and event outlet.
• We’re also introducing convenient online ordering for our new lounge networking area and expanded grab-and-go options for those on the move. With these updates, our club space becomes more dynamic for all of our member’s needs.
• Our newly expanded Food and Beverage program is proud to feature a three-time-a-day elevated club café menu, carefully crafted by our very own Chef Ryan Maher. Chef Maher is committed to using thoughtful, seasonal, and locally-sourced ingredients to create delicious and satisfying dishes. Any time of day; breakfast, lunch, or dinner, members will find a wide selection of flavorful options to choose from.
  

Fitness & Studio

• Fitness class capacity will be expanding by 50% across the board as we move the Turf strength formats into the new fitness and studio space equipped with brand new Rogue Fitness and Perform Better weight training systems and functionality.
• New Fitness formats are in the works in the new space, in addition to a new Martial Arts programming and martial arts open gym.
• Studio programming will be increasing with the addition of specialty classes such as ab labs, yoga workshops, small group fitness programs, and meditation offerings, in addition to a larger private space for reformer pilates, a large private studio with infrared heat capabilities, and the ability to add additional classes during our prime-time hours for maximum accessibility and to meet the demand of our growing membership.
• With the relocation of most Fitness programming, our current, state-of-the-art fitness facility will now become more spacious for those who wish to exercise on their own and for our personal training program.

Staffing

• BIAN will be growing its workforce through an elevation of responsibilities and roles with current staff, while adding personnel in multiple departments of the club to meet the increased demand and space. We believe in nourishing our workforce and are excited to elevate our dedicated team.

The expansion of the physical space will allow our membership to grow, and the member experience to continue to evolve. The service programming at BIÂN will also continue to develop, with enhanced offerings such as integrative executive physicals, physical therapy, expanded member events, BIÂN beauty services for non-members, and thought leadership sessions and seminars with the team of Doctors and Wellness Leaders for groups and corporate teams. “I believe that the world is ready and receptive to the fact that well-being is a necessary priority in all arenas - personally, professionally, and everything in between - as it is all interconnected in order to live a joyful and vital existence,” says BIÂN Co-Founder and Chief Wellness Officer, Mar Soraparu.

“We will never remain static in our offerings. Rather, we will continue to thoughtfully add and evolve our options to fully support our community and our goal of leading in a new paradigm of wellness and living well. Our foundation is strong, our leaders are experienced, and our focus remains on constant improvement and elevation in all aspects of BIÂN.” says Joe Fisher, BIÂN Co-Founder & CEO.

With this expansion, BIÂN continues to trail blaze in the luxury health and wellness space, offering our members the best in fitness, wellness, beauty, and business – all in an effort to help enhance wellbeing and work/life balance from one luxurious location.

There is a two-way relationship between gut-microbiome and hormones. Our gut is predominantly made up of what’s called the microbiome, the biodiversity of various bacteria, fungi and viruses that coexist with us. We know that the microbiome plays important roles in processing certain hormones like estrogen, for example. In turn, the hormones of our body act both generally and locally in our gut to influence function and overall balance. Our gut-microbiome is an intelligent system that senses then influences nearly every hormonal feedback loop in our body.  

Estrogen

Estrogen is a critical hormone for both women and men, being known for female sexual development, pregnancy and menopause. Estrogen also is involved in initiating metabolism, cardiovascular, bone and brain health.

Certain species in our gut-microbiome create a complex called the estrobolome that has demonstrated the ability to metabolize estrogen for clearance or activate it to forms our body can use via an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase.  

If our gut-microbiome is out of balance (called dysbiosis), this important turnkey of estrogen processing can manifest as estrogen-related conditions

Insulin

Insulin is arguably the biggest player in our metabolic health. Meaning that insulin is all about managing blood sugar, regulating inflammation, restoring and reserving resources in the body. Insulin dynamics get deranged in a condition like diabetes because the body is having a hard time with consistently high blood sugar levels, it pumps out more insulin to compensate but eventually the cells become resistant to its effect, creating disease manifestations.  

The connection to the gut-microbiome again has to do with the complexes that it creates in order to metabolize hormones to adjust their activity. Research shows estrogen helps sensitize the cells to the effects of insulin, therefore, if our gut-microbiome is out of balance, it could lead to disruptions in the estrogen-insulin dynamic leading to problems. We see this play out in women that are post-menopausal and develop diabetes because the activity of estrogen in their body drops precipitously, naturally.

Thyroid

The thyroid hormones ramp up or down the rate of metabolism in the body. There are thyroid receptors on nearly every tissue and cell in the body. Dysbiosis in the gut-microbiome is associated with hypothyroidism where the body is having trouble producing enough thyroid hormone, creating many types issues.  

Melatonin & Serotonin

Melatonin is a powerful regulator of our bio-rhythms in its fluctuations with exposure to light and darkness, hence its popular use before bedtime.  

Darkness and specific avoidance of certain wavelengths of light are important inducers of melatonin production. The catch is that you need plenty of the neurotransmitter serotonin reaching the brain for that conversion to be efficient.  

Serotonin is thought to be a brain-based chemical (think of SSRI anti-depressant medications) but interestingly more than 90% of our serotonin is produced from our gut-microbiome. If our gut is out of balance and digestion is skewed, it could be that serotonin production and release could be impaired as well. This can affect sleep, mood, concentration, and the production of our sleepy hormone melatonin.  

Cortisol

Cortisol is well known for our adaptation to stress. As a hormone it mobilizes resources and processes to respond efficiently to emergent events. Stress is a common complaint in our society, so what are the bidirectional effects on the gut-microbiome?

When we are stressed by something, cortisol plays a role with our “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system response which preferentially shunts blood to our brain, muscles and limbs instead of our digestive organs which, if repeated consistently, can make digestion and our gut-microbiome health out of balance. In other words, when we are in a stressed state, the body doesn’t prioritize digestion in a perceived time of crisis, and when chronic, it can eventually alter the gut-microbiome negatively. Cortisol is a key player here and is why stress management or looking to understanding how stress is manifesting in your life is so important.  

How can hormone-driven disruptions in the gut influence skin health?

Our gut-microbiome and our organs of detoxification, namely the liver, are tasked with metabolizing and making safe nearly everything that interacts with our system. In modern times, we are embedded in an environment of chemicals, herbicides, pesticides and microplastics that have endocrine-disrupting and gut-microbiome damaging effects. Some of these chemicals like BPA in plastic, for example, mimic the chemical structure of estrogen and can disrupt how natural estrogen should be functioning or cause an additive estrogen effect that manifests different problems.  

Other common products like scented candles, fragrances, deodorizing sprays, and beauty products can have various chemicals, for example “phthalates”, that disrupt hormones and the gut-microbiome.  

We have four routes of elimination in the body—stool, urine, breath, and sweat/skin.  When someone is not having regular bowel movements, digestion is off, their liver is overwhelmed, or other combinations, the skin may be utilized in a greater capacity to get rid of metabolic and hormonal by-products.  The skin, being the largest organ in the body, can emphasize its eliminative power out of balance to the point that the tendency to form acne, blemishes or other skin conditions are favored.  

What are some lifestyle changes, products, and other solutions that can counteract these effects?

The complexity of circumstance and the uniqueness of everyone’s gut-microbiome and hormonal tendencies requires an individualized approach with a qualified professional. That said, basic practices that support the gut-microbiome and balance hormones are the following:

• Eat real food: our gut-microbiome responds to every single thing we consume so we are literally making a decision about its health, balance and integrity with every bite we take. Eating real intact foods also are less likely to disrupt blood sugar balance and create metabolic disorder which affects hormones. The gut-microbiome and liver prefer real food to processed refined foods, every time. The gut-microbiome also finds balance easier when plenty of colorful vegetables and fruits are consumed daily. The soluble and insoluble fiber in vegetables especially feed the gut-microbiome to build a robust and diverse microbial community within.
• Eat fermented foods: Probiotics are very popular supplements and they have a time and place. However, there are foods that give us both fiber (the gut-microbiomes preferred fuel, called prebiotics) and probiotics, they are called fermented foods. This includes daily servings of some kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, kombucha, tempeh, miso, etc.
• Work with your stress: Seek out professional help if you think your stress or mindset is negatively affecting health. This also includes seeking out community, human connection and pursuits that give deep meaning to our lives.  
• Audit your environment: Could you be exposing yourself to problematic chemicals disturbing hormonal and gut-microbiome balance daily without knowing it? Women are especially sensitive to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in common products because of their menstrual cycles and utilization of the hormone estrogen. Unfortunately, most of these products are directly marketed towards women. You can take stock of what you regularly are exposed to and use resources like the Environment Working Group (ewg.org) that grades common products on the markets and suggested alternatives if necessary.  
• Move: Daily movement has a myriad of positive effects, not least being to help your bowels and digestion moving along and get rid of hormones and other metabolic by-products.
• Sleep: Sleep is crucial and if you aren’t sleeping well, seek support to create that for yourself. Sleep deprivation disrupts metabolism, digestion, hormones and contributes to stress.

Every day should be Mother's Day, but May 14 is an extra reason to show the maternal figure in your life how much they mean to you. We at BIÂN have created luxurious treatment packages tailored specifically to this occasion that 'mom' will love. From facial treatments to massages, our services are designed to make them feel truly appreciated.

Members can book via the BIÂN app or simply reach out to hospitality@livebian.com and we will help you create the perfect, stress-free day. Mention "Mother's Day" while booking to receive a special treat to commemorate this day.

Lymphatic Dry Brushing

This treatment works by invigorating the lymphatic system with a special brush, increasing blood flow, and encouraging lymph drainage. Help flush out toxins from the body and promote better circulation and experience silky, smooth skin.

Hot Oil Scalp Treatment

Melt away stress with this relaxing scalp treatment and massage, accompanied by a hand and foot massage for head to toe luxury.

2-Hour Massage

Stress takes a toll on the body, and it's not uncommon for that tension to manifest in the form of knots in the neck, shoulders, and back. Help release all that pent-up tension with an extended massage that will leave them feeling lighter, more relaxed, and calm.

HydraFacial

Experience this non-invasive, multi-step treatment that cleanses, exfoliates, and hydrates the skin. Unclog pores, restore hydration, and leave them with a bright and glowing complexion. Plus, it's suitable for all skin types.

As a special gift, all facials through May 14 will include a complimentary added treatment from organic French skin care HENRŸIA. This luxury skin care line uses natural ingredients scientifically formulated for haute performance.

An Extra Toasty Treat

Want to make the day extra special? Add infrared sauna to any of our spa or beauty treatments. Our infrared sauna is designed to improve circulation, relax muscles, and promote detoxification. It's an excellent way to enhance a spa day experience.

Have a Drink, On Us

Book your Mother's Day treatment before May 14 and have a complimentary turmeric latte waiting for you at the BIÂN bar after your day of luxury. Be sure to mention "Mother's Day" when booking.

Join Us for Brunch

Enjoy a beautiful brunch spread at BIÂN where we will celebrate what ever Mother's Day means to you and your family. Reserve your table here.

When we talk about intimacy, our minds tend to leap to sex. However, true intimacy encompasses much more: connection, closeness, heart, trust, depth and beyond. With life’s daily distractions, it can be difficult to cultivate this kind of closeness.

The doctors and wellness experts at BIÂN Chicago have come together to share tools that can support the deepening of the art of intimacy.

Shut down your phone/TV/alarms, etc. and turn on your blood flow to get things moving in the bedroom. The best way to turn it on in the bedroom is to turn off all distractions—and that’s really hard to do when our brains are in a constant state of overdrive. “I teach my clients to access acupressure points that are known to encourage blood flow to the first 2 chakras (the pelvic and genital regions),” says Dr. Sandra Subotich, BIÂN Director of Eastern Therapies. “We also tap into Daoist meditation/visualization, which are meant to help couples become more familiar with themselves in a physical, emotional, energetic, and psycho spiritual way through the lens of intimacy.”

Dominica Fisher, BIÂN’s Director of Meditative and Creative Exploration, agrees: “We spend most of our days flooding our systems with corrosive stress hormones,” she says. “It’s important to learn to momentarily put that stress down and allow the system to rest, digest or repair.” Some of the techniques that can be used to relax your mind, like meditation, can also help prime your body for intimacy. 

“Typically, we start with energetic exercises, then move into specific body part awareness that is intimate, yet not necessarily thought of as sexual, for example, beginning inside the wrist and slowly moving up the arm, the neck, the ear, eyelids, chin and lips, and so on,” shares Dominica. “I end each practice with a visualization, allowing participants to see an intimate situation in their mind’s eye that is safe and allows for exploration - seeing themselves ask for the type of intimacy they’d enjoy and it happily being obliged. Giving a visual where desire is not seen in the imagination as wrong, dirty, bad, etc. but an exploration where both parties are open and consensual.”