Hello again everyone: Most of us at some point in our lives, have felt burnt out. This is usually from chronic stress that is usually a combination of different types of stresses. These may include work and/or emotional and mental stress, biochemical stress and physical stress. Examples might be: working 50 to 70 hours per week; stressful work situations including how well we get along with our boss or co-workers; poor eating habits; recurrent illnesses; nutrient depletion and imbalances; poor sleep; lack of appropriate exercise; frustration in not achieving our purpose; relationship issues; substance abuse such as sugar and/or alcohol or food; medications; etc. Burn out is real, and now the medical profession has even given the condition it’s own diagnostic code: Z73.0 – Burn-out state of vital exhaustion Symptoms include: extreme fatigue; anxiety; insomnia; weariness; loss ... Read more
Digestive Health Series Part 6: Home Steps To Help Digestion
Hello again: In this final installment, we will cover 6 steps to a healthier gut: 1. Try an HCL supplement as outlined in Part 3. 2. If you get some partial relief with taking HCL, you might consider adding a good digestive enzyme with the HCL. Remember, if you get any burning ache or pain, or any negative reaction (diarrhea for example) in your digestive tract from either step 1 or 2, then stop and get checked for a possible ulcer or infection. If you are a current patient, then call me right away. 3. Try adding a good probiotic supplement to help reduce dysbiosis: If you have allergies, stick to a probiotic that has mostly lactobacillus acidophilus strains and avoid bifidobacter strains. If you have autoimmunity, avoid lactobacillus rhamnosus. This approach helps to alleviate dysbiosis and often assists with SIBO and SIFO. If you suspect Small Intestinal ... Read more
Digestive Health Series Part 5: Stress and SIBO
Hello again: Here we go on the last bit before we get into how to recover from these issues. Low acid can also play a significant role in the development of SIBO and or SIFO , or Small Intestinal Bacterial and/or Fungal Overgrowth, a very annoying problem where the normal gut bugs that are supposed to only inhabit the large intestine, begin to be active in the small intestine…lots of bloating, gas, discomfort, distention and a general increase in toxicity burdens. This is often related to stress being high for long periods of time, and even concussions, which cause a down-regulation of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the 1oth cranial nerve, which starts inside the skull in the bottom of the brain stem, and travels to the entire chest and gut. It is the opposite of fight and flight and is called the rest and digest nerve because it calms us down and regulates digestion. High ... Read more
Digestive Health Series Part 4: Stomach Acid, Food Reactions and Dysbiosis
Hello again everyone: Here is more on what can happen with low stomach acid: Because stomach acid is the first step of digestion, low acid levels can result in undigested food that will leave the stomach and pass into the intestines where they will ferment and rot. Proteins will putrefy, carbs will ferment and fats will go rancid. This can lead to irritation and inflammation of the intestinal lining and increase the normal permeability of the gut lining and create what is known as ‘leaky gut’. A ‘leaky gut’ is a hyper-permeable gut. This is important because 70 to 75% of our immune system lines the intestines, and when a hyper-permeable gut allows entry of undigested food particles as well as bacteria or whatever came along with the food we ate, it can result in an immune activation that can be seen with food sensitivities, intolerances or allergies. These reactions are all ... Read more
Digestive Health Series Part 3: Stomach Acid Home Remedy
What You Can Try At Home: Since there is no blood test that is specific for this problem, doctors recommend that you simply try an HCL supplement (which is stomach acid) with your food. If you feel better, then low acid is the diagnosis. Since zinc is needed to make stomach acid, then a zinc supplement (zinc carnosine is best..15 to 20 mg.) taken with the HCL at meals for several months can help your body start producing acid again (stop the zinc after several months as it can result in a copper deficiency). Low acid makes it difficult to absorb zinc, and low zinc results in low stomach acid, which means you can’t absorb the zinc…so part of getting your stomach back to normal requires zinc with the HCL for a while. For most of us, this is what will help but: However, this home test requires several caveats: 1. Have an antacid on hand to take if needed when you try the HCL ... Read more
Digestive Health Series Part 2: Stomach Acid
Hello again everyone: As we continue this series, we will answer several questions: what does stomach acid do for us; what are the signs or symptoms that it may be low; what causes low stomach acid. What does stomach acid do for us? Adequate stomach acid is essential for multiple functions: digestion of protein; absorption of minerals and especially iron, zinc and magnesium; absorption of vitamins, especially B-12; a first layer of defense against infection as the acid kills pathogens; assists in breaking down food to small particles which lowers the risk of food allergies (also known as loss of oral tolerance). When stomach acid is low, it can cause the lower esophageal sphincter muscle to relax and allow acid to go into the esophagus and cause heartburn and/or reflux. Also, when acid is low, food will literally rot…and this can happen incredibly fast. Proteins will putrefy, ... Read more
High Or Low Stomach Acid Can Have Identical Symptoms
Hello everyone: Our stomach normally makes a very strong acid called Hydrochloric Acid, and the acidity is measured in what is called pH. A pH of 1 to 7 is considered acidic, and above 7 is considered alkaline. Our stomach normally has a pH of under 3.o. It turns out that too much or too little acid can have similar symptoms: bloating, burping, nausea, gas, indigestion, reflux, discomfort, foul smelling stools, loose stools or constipation and more. Over the next several newsletters, we will run down the causes and solutions, but first some definitions: Hypochlorhydria: means low stomach acid, with a pH above 3. Achlorhydria: means a nearly total absence of acid, with a pH above 5. Too little acid means an alkaline stomach, and that can burn as much as too little acid. Our stomach is meant to be very, very acidic, and when it becomes too alkaline it can burn as bad as too ... Read more
Body On Fire = Brain Fog
Hello again everyone: As you know, I talk about inflammation quite a lot. The reason is that inflammation can cause, aggravate or perpetuate ANY illness, disease or condition. However, it used to be thought that inflammation in the body did not bother the brain because of the blood-brain barrier. Until pretty recently, neuroscientists thought that the brain was ‘privileged’ and not susceptible to negative influences from bodily problems. Well…it turns out that inflammation from chronic illness drives brain degeneration strongly. People with chronic conditions, metabolic disorders (such as being overweight, having blood sugar instability, normal aging, sleep deprivation, stress, not exercising etc.), infections (Lyme, Mono, Herpes, Shingles, etc., and this includes chronic background viral and any other pathogen burden), allergies, gut disturbances, autoimmune conditions, chemical ... Read more
Food For Thought: Save Your Brain With Food
Hello again: Here are two links to papers that reveal that food is essential for brain health, maintenance and the prevention of brain-based disorders. Indeed, the authors state: “Brain diseases, especially during aging, can be due to dietary deficiencies.” This is way too simple and often goes right over our heads. One reason is that it is the long-term consumption of these poor dietary habits that leads to brain malfunction. This means, that the negative effects are unseen until the damage is done many years later. To avoid this catastrophe, it is important to understand that brain health is dependent upon high quality, non-processed, organic foods with as great a variety as possible. Part one: Micronutrients Read more
Save The Ticks!!
Hello everyone: This is basically a public service announcement, as this super nice weather brings us outdoors and into contact with all kinds of bugs, and the ones we most need to be alert to are ticks. If you are ever bitten by a tick, it is important that you save the tick (alive or dead) in a small plastic bag or other sealed container that they cannot escape if still alive. There are several reasons that it is super important to save them: 1. For identification of the type of tick and if there is any risk of infection. Some sites will test for up to 25 possible tick-born infections, but it depends on the type of tick for which infections they will test for. 2. To send them in for analysis, i.e., to see if they are carrying infection(s) of any kind so that you know if you need to take quick medical measures with appropriate prescription anti-biotics and other ... Read more
