Sex hormones are that are involved in the regulation of sexual development and reproduction. The primary sex hormones are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Men and women have all of these, just in different amounts and ratios...
When men and women have low energy caused by an imbalance in their sex hormones, it is usually from different hormones. For men, it is usually due to a testosterone deficiency. For women, it is usually due to estrogen and/or progesterone imbalances.
The symptoms of menopause are no joke. They are incredibly uncomfortable and can change the quality of your life significantly. When a woman comes to me with menopausal symptoms, she is usually pretty desperate for relief. I use both natural and pharmaceutical therapies to get her that relief.
I am a big believer in natural medicine. It can be very powerful and work very well. I prefer to use it as long as the natural treatment is safe and strong. Unfortunately, when treating low thyroid, we usually need both the natural and the prescription treatments. In college, I learned from playing the card game euchre not to “send a boy to do a man’s job.” In medicine, this means using the treatment that you know will work. If I think a natural treatment will work, but I know that a medication will work, I should use the medication as long as there are no significant side effects. This is because I want to make sure you get results right away so that you can get your life back
Thyroid disease is one of the most common health problems we face today. The majority of people with thyroid dysfunction have hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism (“hypo” means low) is a condition where the amount of thyroid hormone in your body is less than what is needed for optimal function. According to the American Thyroid Association, more than 12 percent of the US population will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetimes, and more than half will be unaware that they have a problem. Women are five to eight times as likely as men to develop thyroid problems.
Last week, I went over the recommended supplements to treat Adrenal Fatigue. This week I’ll go over adrenal recommendations as well as a plan to reduce stressors.
Treating the physical symptoms is only the first step. Once you start to feel better, it’s important to begin addressing the causes of the problem: the sources of stress that compromised your adrenals in the first place.
Last week we discussed the main symptoms as well as the causes of adrenal fatigue. This week, I will focus on testing and supplement options for treatment.
If you have most of the symptoms listed last week, you probably have adrenal fatigue. However, how do we test for adrenal dysfunction?
This week I will discuss how adrenal fatigue is a primary cause of chronic fatigue.
It's estimated that up to 80% of adults experience adrenal fatigue during their lifetimes, yet it remains one of the most under-diagnosed illnesses in the United States. Conventional medicine does not yet recognize adrenal fatigue as a distinct syndrome
Food allergies can cause almost any symptom the body can manifest, including low energy. The gastrointestinal tract maintains a delicate balance of good bacteria, specialized immune cells, and various neurological and hormonal activities. In fact, 80% of your immune system resides in your gut, so anything you put in your mouth can trigger a reaction. Once your digestive system detects what it considers a “foreign particle,” your immune system reacts, and the inflammation that follows creates pain and dysfunction.
Food is a touchy subject, especially if you’re not feeling well. We have a lot of emotional attachments to it, and it can give us joy at times when nothing else can. However, food allergies play a significant role as a cause and contributor to fatigue and, as a doctor, I have seen amazing improvements in the health of my patients when they change their food choices.
Food allergies can cause almost any symptom the body can manifest, including low energy. The gastrointestinal tract maintains a delicate balance of good bacteria, specialized immune cells, and various neurological and hormonal activities. In fact, 80% of your immune system resides in your gut, so anything you put in your mouth can trigger a reaction. Once your digestive system detects what it considers a “foreign particle,” your immune system reacts, and the inflammation that follows creates pain and dysfunction.
The Causes of Food Allergies
There are several reasons why people develop food allergies. The immune system becomes activated by an overabundance of heavy metals, chemicals, molds, infections, other allergies and emotions.
To decrease the inflammation caused by this process, you need to remove the problem foods. While for many this makes a big difference in their energy, for others, not so much. For these folks, more of the “total body burden” must be removed before they will have success. Then removing the food allergies results in improved energy.
Even after you figure out which foods are toxic for you, you don’t need to eliminate them for the rest of your life. After you get rid of these foods from your body, the immune system relaxes and reacts less strongly and frequently to foods. Consume these foods infrequently or as frequently as you can “get away with” before inflammation is triggered.
Leaky Gut Syndrome
The term “leaky gut syndrome” describes increased intestinal permeability. The intestinal lining has become overly porous. It no longer serves as an effective barrier to the rest of your body—that is, it begins to “leak.” Drugs, environmental toxins, stress, certain foods, and other things can damage your gut lining and microvilli. Holes formed in the gut wall allow these larger undigested particles to cross into your bloodstream. Once there, your body sees them as dangerous invaders and goes on the offense—and system-wide inflammation ensues.
Before you know it, the body produces antibodies, and you have food allergies and sensitivities. So, the foods themselves are not the problem—it’s the body’s reaction to them.
Food Elimination Diet
To reduce the overall burden on the immune system, you must decrease inflammation by removing the foods that are triggering the reaction. This is most easily done with a food elimination diet. You cannot resolve your low energy if you are eating foods that are making you sick. The eliminated foods can be reintroduced later, once the body has been desensitized.
To figure out which foods are a problem for you, you need to remove the most problematic foods for twenty-one days, reintroduce them, and see how your body reacts. After twenty-one days, your immune system is less reactive, since it is no longer seeing these foreign food particles that aren’t supposed to be present. It does, however, still “remember” the foods that were causing your symptoms. Consequently, when you reintroduce a food that is a problem for you, your immune system will attack the food and cause inflammation, and your symptoms will return.
I recommend that you add one food back into your diet every four days and watch for reactions. Your immune system may react to a food immediately after consumption or up to four days afterwards. This is why we choose four days in between food introductions.
The top eleven food allergens are the following:
1. Gluten-containing grains
2. Dairy
3. Eggs
4. Soy
5. Corn
6. Coffee
7. Chocolate
8. Alcohol
9. Sugar
10. Peanuts
11. Oranges
The most common culprit is gluten, followed by dairy. I cannot emphasize how important it is to remove both of these if you suffer from low energy. If you can only remove one food, make it gluten.
After the Food Elimination Diet, What Comes Next?
If you implement a food elimination diet but don't notice a significant difference in your symptoms, it doesn't necessarily mean the diet is not beneficial. Diet is just one piece of the puzzle—a critical piece.
After the elimination diet, I transition my patients to the Paleo diet. In its simplest form, it is meat and vegetables. Just focus on that, and you’ll do fine. A basic rule that you can use is that when you sit down to eat, half of your plate should be made up of vegetables, one-quarter meat, and one-quarter starchy vegetables.
Take Action
Eliminate the most problematic foods for 21 days
Begin reintroducing foods every 4 days after the 21 days and track your symptoms as you add food back in.
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