Category Archives: Natural Health

Natural health information that you can use to make your health better today. Why wait?

The 11 Factors that Cause Inflammation

Inflammation isn’t just caused by one thing. It’s caused by the totality of whatever is going on in your life right now, and some of those things are uncontrollable. There are 11 controllable factors that are known to cause inflammation so let’s talk about those. Most inflammation has to do with choices – the types of diets you choose, your stress levels, weight,  emotional terrain, hormone imbalance, toxins, food allergies and personal choices like alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs. Outside of this there are also things you don’t chose, like genetics along with viral or bacterial infections you may have. Clearly, inflammation is not a simple subject, which is part of why there is  so much heart disease, cancer,  joint pain and skin disease. Lets talk about causes – especially the ones you can control. Here’s a great picture of some of the diseases that are directly associated with inflammation:

Just like there are so many factors that cause inflammation, there are also so many consequences. This great picture was borrowed from this excellent post on foods that help inflammation.

Just like there are so many factors that cause inflammation, there are also so many consequences. This great picture was borrowed from this excellent post from LSU Ag center on foods that help inflammation.

  1. Overeating. Every time you eat you body goes through the process of metabolism. Metabolism is great and necessary – this is how your food turns into energy and useful nutrients in your cells. Metabolism also releases toxic by-products, your old friends the free radicals (if you can’t remember what a free radical is then check out this post on antioxidants). Eating is necessary, but overeating is not. In fact, in a survey of people who live to be over 100 years of age one of the only common factors is that they ate low-calorie diets. So essentially eating a little less than what you need gives all the benefits of good nutrition, where eating a little more causes inflammation. This is where nutritarian eating gets really important – getting the most nutritional value out of your food so you don’t have to overeat.
  2. Food Sensitivities. Obviously exposing your body to something every day that you react badly to adds up. I found out (entirely thanks to a patient of mine, who insisted if she had to do the “stupid elimination diet” then so did I) that I’m sensitive to both wheat and soy. Getting those two out of my diet has made a huge difference in my level of joint pain, my energy on a day-to-day basis and even my skin. If you don’t remember about food sensitivities or can’t remember how to test at home for free then look here.
  3. Gingivitis. Yes, it sounds ridiculous but floss every day and make sure you brush your teeth at least twice a day. If you have a chronic inflammation in your gums, or gingivitis, then it raises your total body level of inflammation. Even this insignificant thing adds up – and gingivitis has been shown to connect with inflammation specifically in the heart and blood vessels – which is something you don’t want. Approximately half of all adults in the US have gingivitis so talk with your dentist and take care of your mouth. This is one of the most common and most easily fixable factors that cause inflammation. Far more so than reducing stress (which has to be the most nebulous and difficult thing in modern society).
  4. Stress. I know it’s a hard one to change, but learning to cope with high stress levels and learning some stress-relieving tools can drastically improve your health. There is a reason why the most common time to have a heart attack is Monday morning at 8:00 am, and I’m pretty sure the timing has nothing to do with cholesterol. And yes – Monday morning at 8:00 am is a real thing.
  5. Not Enough Sleep. Sleep is a cornerstone of good health – this is when your body does a lot of the repair and restore functions, especially in your brain. Not getting it means that you don’t ever take out the trash, which obviously makes a mess in your body. Without sleep you don’t get rid of as many toxins, repair as much damaged tissue or get rid of those pesky free radicals. Getting enough sleep is vital to health.
  6. Lifestyle Choices. Choosing to drink alcohol to excess, smoke, or use recreational drugs takes a toll on your health. It’s not that I’m anti alcohol – I’m pro-moderation.  Especially during times where other stresses for your body are higher.  Ironically the times when you’re stressed and crazy as a human (which is when most people want to smoke and drink the most) are also the times when those behaviors will do the most damage because your body already has too much on it’s plate.
  7. Hormone Imbalance. Hormones and inflammation are tied together pretty tightly and if one side of the equation gets out of balance then the other side has trouble too. Just like hormones affect inflammation, inflammation affects hormones. There are some simple, gentle ways to begin to balance hormones (like seed cycling), but obviously if the problems are serious then it’s best to work with a practitioner or call me to schedule a visit because
  8. Obesity. As we discussed above there is a link between carrying extra weight and having higher than normal levels of inflammation. We don’t know why, but there are lots of theories about fat cells creating their own environment and secreting their own hormones and inflammatory proteins. This makes losing weight even more important for your health. Just like obesity creates more inflammation, inflammation makes losing weight harder. Reducing some of the other factors that cause inflammation can help your body to lose weight more easily.
  9. Family History. Some people do just become inflamed more easily than others. Heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and allergies all have some genetic link. Even if your family has a strong history of inflammatory disease you can still work to reduce your own inflammation – in fact doing the work to protect your health now will have a far greater pay off for you long-term because you may be able to avoid the family conditions.
  10. Environmental Toxins. Everything that you are exposed to – everything you breathe, touch, drink in your water or eat in your food has to be processed by your body and increases your likelihood of inflammation. This includes pesticides, herbicides, air pollutants, household chemicals and cleaners, food additives, flame-retardants in your furniture and perfumes. You are literally surrounded. It is unrealistic to think you can eliminate all toxins, but you can work to minimize them. The simplest steps are things like switching your body care, home fragrances and cleaning products to natural, less harmful alternatives.  Get a water filter, avoid processed foods and just generally try to avoid the yuck as much as possible.
  11. Chronic Infections. Sadly, many people have infections they’ve been carrying around with them for years. It is a sad but true fact that there are many walking wounded out there. One of the most common is gum disease, which is a bacterial infection that many bodies have to deal with day in and day out. Also many viruses can become chronic and often show up as non-specific symptoms or diseases such as chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia. If you have any concern that this could be you then call your naturopathic doctor right away or schedule a visit with me.  Chronic infections are common and can certainly get in the way for good health.




Eliminating the Factors that Cause Inflammation Sounds Impossible

Yes – eliminating them completely is actually impossible in the modern world. The great hnews is that taking small steps works. These factors that cause inflammation are all things that you can chip away at in your own life.  If you’re only ready to make one change, then add flossing daily.  It’s a way bigger deal than people think. If you already floss, then see if you can make time and space for more sleep. If you floss and you’re sleeping enough for you then how about making your diet a little more nutrient dense?  Nutritarian eating is a great thing, just like focusing on anti-inflammatory foods. If you’re stumped about what are anti-inflammatory foods and what aren’t then here’s a handy post about it.

Do you know which foods cause inflammation? You can take this list to the grocery store.

Do you know which foods cause inflammation? You can take this list to the grocery store.

 

Just take everything one step at a time – don’t overwhelm yourself.  Having a healthy lifestyle isn’t about making drastic changes – it’s about doing small things on a daily basis that just turn into healthy habits over time. Reducing the factors that cause inflammation reduces your risk of heart disease, many types of cancer, neurological disease, joint degeneration, skin conditions and a host of other problems so it’s worth it to start taking small steps today.



What is an Antioxidant And Do I Need to Take One?

Clearly this is an important issue and everyone tosses around the word antioxidant like they know what’s going on, but what is an antioxidant really? To start, let’s look at the basics – like what is oxidation?

What is an antioxidant? It's what stops this from happening. The apple browning is oxidation at work.

What is an antioxidant? It’s what stops this from happening. The apple browning is oxidation at work.

What is Oxidation?

If you’re taking ANTI-oxidants, then it seems safe to assume that oxidation is bad, right? Actually oxidation is an absolutely normal part of life – it happens constantly as a byproduct of using oxygen for so many functions in our body. Each and every cell in your body maintains a delicate balance between reactive oxygen species (free radicals) which cause oxidation and the antioxidants which neutralize oxidation.  In the process of metabolizing oxygen, a tiny percentage of the cells and  molecules involved will suffer some damage and become free radicals. When asking what is an antioxidant, we need to first know what a free radical is and why it’s important to neutralize them.




What is a Free Radical? Essentially it’s an Electron Thief.

Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species are by-products of many reactions in your cells including your most vital energy producer called “oxidative phosphorylation.” As you may have guessed by the word “oxidative” in the title, this reaction uses these reactive oxygen molecules to create the most potent energy source for your cells.  In addition to normal metabolism, free radicals can also be created by some disease processes and by your immune cells to help kill invading bacteria and viruses. Free radicals  are substances that are missing a critical molecule (an electron, to be precise) so they are always looking to steal electrons from other things. Problems arise when they start stealing electrons from things like DNA, thereby creating the seed for disease.

What is an Antioxidant and How Does It Help?

Very simply, antioxidants are electron donors.  They can replace the electrons on your cells that are stolen by free radicals or donate electrons to help neutralize free radicals.  They are the Mother Theresa of your internal world – always giving, giving, giving. As a part of the grand design (what I like to call the Great Mystery) there are literally thousands of different antioxidants in natural foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Antioxidants include the usual vitamins – vitamin A, C, E, D and K but also all of the flavenoids, pigments, and complex molecules that come from whole foods.  Remarkably, different antioxidants seem to have an affinity for different tissues of your body so the bigger variety, the better.

What Happens If You Don’t Have Enough Antioxidants?

When this system gets out of balance is when we start to see harmful changes that can lead to disease. For example, when LDL (“bad” cholesterol) becomes oxidized, meaning a free radical stole one of it’s electrons, then it starts to form plaques in our arteries, which can lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease. LDL itself doesn’t do anything to form plaque, but when a free radical steals an electron from it then it begins to cause harm. Oxidative stress is also thought to be a factor in diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gherig’s disease, and Huntington’s as well as chronic fatigue syndrome and potentially even the genetic damage that can cause a cell to become cancerous. Not only that, but oxidative stress is thought to be one of the major factors in aging, or at least that is one theory.

In general your body keeps balance really well – you have lots of overlapping systems to counteract this oxidative stress. In a natural diet you get lots of antioxidants from the plant-based foods you eat, so that’s one more layer of protection. The system becomes overwhelmed when your diet starts to get over-processed or when the stressor pile up including: toxins, alcohol, tobacco, mental and emotional stress, sleep deprivation and chronic infections. Taking a look at the real world, it’s easy to see we’re all exposed to toxins constantly – after all, we all breathe dirty air and drink polluted water. Most people drink some alcohol or come in contact with tobacco occasionally and I don’t know anyone with a perfectly clean diet (myself included). Also, realistically, I don’t know any living human who doesn’t have a high level of mental and emotional stress – that seems to be a condition of modern life. This is when lifestyle changes and possibly antioxidants can help to maintain that balance.

Antioxidants to the Rescue?

It is clear that balance needs to be maintained, but it isn’t totally clear how to best maintain that balance – simply because it has to be a balance. Too much of a good thing, in this case, can cause harm too. Essentially, when there are too many antioxidants floating around, we get the opposite to oxidative stress, which is “reductive stress” (nothing is ever simple with our bodies – nothing.) So that means that there are all kinds of molecules with extra electrons floating around and nothing to do with them, so they start giving them to other molecules that are better off without them. Keep in mind this is the ridiculously oversimplified version of this problem, but it’s the easiest way to make it understandable.

To Take Antioxidants or Not To Take Antioxidants?

Step one is always diet.  Add in colorful fruits and veggies with each meal and take out some of the processed foods and you’ve got a great start to regulating your oxidative balance.  You’ll get plenty of vitamin C and flavenoids from citrus fruits, vitamin E from whole grains and nuts and Vitamin A from liver, cod liver oils and fatty fish and beta carotene from carrots and orange veggies.  Orange and red veggies also provide the potent antioxidants lycopene and lutein.  Dark berries and fruits like blueberries, pomegranate, raspberries and black cherries are rich in flavenoids and dark green leafy veggies pack and antioxidant punch.  For many people a good diet is enough.  Take a look at the antioxidant infographic for specifics:

We've answered the question what is an antioxidant and the best news of the day is... THEY COME FROM COFFEE!!! :)

We’ve answered the question what is an antioxidant and the best news of the day is… THEY COME FROM COFFEE!!! 🙂 Thanks to the infographics design team at graphs.net

 




Antioxidants can be helpful to take as a supplement when you have specific conditions or know you’re exposed to undue levels of toxins, stress, or have some other factor coming into play like a chronic virus, sleep deprivation or a genetic tendency towards some illness. In this case the best strategy is to take a variety of antioxidants, either in a combination product or in a concentrated fruit and berry extract or both.  Always boosting dietary sources is the best strategy, and if that is not feasible in your life then the next best idea is to diversify in the form of a supplement that has many different types of antioxidants in it. Now, the next time you’re at a dinner party, you can answer everyone’s question What is an Antioxidant? Wait, is that not how dinner parties go? 🙂



Is the gallbladder cleanse safe for gallbladder sludge and stones?

I hear questions all the time about cleanses – especially is the gallbladder cleanse safe for people with sludge and stones? The answer, as usual, is *sometimes*. Let’s go over the cleanse, the effects and results, what to expect and also who it is and isn’t safe for because it certainly isn’t safe for everyone and the gallbladder cleanse does have some risks. For other options for gallbladder sludge and stones there is a detailed post on that here.  Also, for anyone considering the gallbladder cleanse, please read Ian’s comment below. He had a 6mm stone lodged in a duct that never showed up on ultrasound – how scary is that?  Remember, known stones make you not a good candidate for a gallbladder cleanse.

The Gallbladder Cleanse

First off, it’s best to use some expert guidance to help make the gallbladder cleanse safe for you.  I would highly suggest working with a practitioner or at the very least getting a good book that can explain all of this in much more detail.  I like The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse by Andreaz Moritz. It’s a nice overview of what is going on in your body, and detailed instructions about the cleanse. These directions are taken from that book.

This is a great book that will help you to determine is the gallbladder cleanse safe for you as well as to walk you through the steps.

This is a great book that will help you to determine is the gallbladder cleanse safe for you as well as to walk you through the steps.

6 days of prep followed by 16 to 20 hours of actual cleansing.

You will need:

  • 6 1L containers apple juice – if intolerant to apple juice can buy food grade
    malic acid at wine making shops. Use 1 tsp malic acid in 32 oz water instead.
  • 4 tbsp Epsom salts dissolved in 3 8 oz glasses of water
  • ½ cup cold-pressed EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
  • 2/3 glass fresh grapefruit juice (pink) or fresh lemon and orange juice combined
  • 2 pint jars, one with a lid.




Prep: Days 1-5
Drink 32+ oz apple juice daily for six days. The malic acid softens the gallstones and makes their passage smooth and easy. May have bloating, diarrhea. Drink the apple juice slowly throughout the day away from food. Be sure to rinse your mouth out to avoid acid damage to your teeth. Avoid cold/chilled foods – room temp or warm foods only. Avoid animal products, dairy and fried foods, avoid overeating. Also avoid medications and supplements that are not absolutely necessary

Day 6
Drink all 32 oz apple juice in the morning. Eat only light food and simple. Steamed veg, rice, no fats or oils. No liquids other than water after 1:30 pm
6:00 pm: Mix 4 tbsp Epsom salts to 24 oz water
Drink 6 oz of the epsom salts mix now – chase with lemon water to take the taste out of your mouth. It tastes gross and this is the start of your actual cleanse.
8:00 pm:  Drink 6 oz Epsom salt mix
9:30 pm: If you haven’t had BM then do water enema to trigger colon release
9:45 pm: Wash and juice your grapefruits and remove pulp. Mix ¾ glass of juice with ½ glass olive oil in pint jar and shake hard to mix this (vile) brew.
10:00 pm: Drink the oil and juice concoction in one go if you can and immediately lay down. Lay with your head higher than your abdomen or on your right side with knees to chest. Meditate on your liver and try to lie still for 20 minutes – may do castor oil pack at this time as well. Go to sleep if you can. You may need to wake in the night to have bowel movements. In rare cases may experience nausea or vomiting during the night – this can be normal.

Day 7
6:00 – 6:30 am: Upon awakening (but not before 6 am) drink the third Epsom salts mixture. If you’re thirsty when you wake up you can drink a glass of warm water before the Epsom salts
Rest, read or meditate – it is best to stay in an upright position
8:00 – 8:30: Drink the fourth glass of Epsom salts
10 – 10:30: You may start freshly pressed juice at this time. Half an hour later you can eat light food. By evening or the next morning you can start light food.

Day 8 – 10
Continue on light, clean foods. Also can be helpful to continue 6-8 oz apple juice daily for the following week to continue to soften any gall stones that are continuing to move
*in case of nausea, vomiting headache try coffee enema, liver support, hot water with lemon.

What to Expect with the Gallbladder Cleanse

Putting the question of is the gallbladder cleanse safe aside for the moment, it is clear that it’s not especially pleasant. Anyone who has had any internal experience with Epsom salts can tell you it’s not one easily forgotten. They taste vile and your body clearly rejects them swiftly via horrible, liquid bowel movements.  Now – will this clean out your bowels like they’ve never been cleaned? Yes. Yes it will.  Again, will you enjoy it? Probably no. The actual cleanse itself is really asking your body to do some serious work.  The malic acid in the apple juice is meant to soften up any small stones and help them to pass more easily and the Epsom salts, in addition to flushing the pipes, will also help the bile ducts to dilate and open so that more sludge and stones can pass through. It is not uncommon to experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea and general ickiness.  If you actually had larger stones in the gallbladder then it is also possible to force one into the bile duct and induce a medical crisis – we’ll talk about that more in the Is the Gallbladder Cleanse Safe section.

Effects and Results from the Gallbladder Cleanse

Aside from not feeling terribly well on the actual day of cleansing, many people report feeling fantastic after the cleanse – literally like they have been cleansed or lightened somehow. The bowel movements during the cleanse will often contain bright green residues that area actually bile sludge or tiny stones finally encouraged to come out of the body by the oil and citrus mix.  This causes the gallbladder to contract strongly, hopefully purging the entire gallbladder contents into the intestine.  This is exactly what you’re after with this cleanse – we want to see these little green residues. It means that either your bile is flowing strongly and was able to rise to the challenge of the oil mixture, or that your gallbladder contracted strongly and discharged old sludge and debris. Either of those options are good.

Essentially we’re looking to eliminate a build-up of fat soluble toxins that are bound to the bile and accumulating in the gallbladder in the form of sludge. This will long-term help your overall liver processing, aid your body’s ability to digest fats and generally contribute to well-being. Also if you’ve been having symptoms of gallbladder sludge then this should help to reduce some of those.

So Is the Gallbladder Cleanse Safe for Gallbladder Sludge and Stones?

The most accurate answer to that question, is no.  I’ve heard a number of horror stories of people starting the gallbladder cleanse only to push a stone into their ducts and end up having an emergency surgery to remove the gallbladder.  Most of the people doing the cleanse were trying to avoid exactly that outcome, so that’s not thrilling.  If your gallbladder has sludge but no stones then typically that makes the gallbladder cleanse safe for you.  If you actually have stones, then this is probably not a good idea. If you haven’t really been to a doctor and don’t know if you have sludge or stones or just poor digestion, then I honestly wouldn’t suggest it – just because there is a chance you do have stones and could push one that’s a little too big into a place it can’t get out of – hello emergency surgery! 

This is a gallbladder with some serious stones - you don't want to get one of those stuck in your ducts anywhere.

This is a gallbladder with some serious stones – you don’t want to get one of those stuck in your ducts anywhere.

I know everyone wants to hear that the cleanse is perfectly safe and harmless, but it isn’t.  This is a powerful tool and if it’s used incorrectly it can be harmful or even life-threatening if you can’t get to the ER. There are risks to the gallbladder cleanse and shooting something out of your gallbladder that gets stuck is one of them. Also you have to be prepared for the dehydrating effects of the Epsom salts – the diarrhea they give you can be quite watery and contribute to a severe loss of fluids if you’re not careful to replace them.  Outside of that the whole process can be reasonably unpleasant – the diet is great, the apple juice is fine, but the cleanse itself is pretty vivid. That’s not a reason not to do it, it’s just important to be prepared.  For some more gentle options for dealing with gallbladder sludge and stones look here, and for help supporting liver function in general look here. The gallbladder cleanse can be a fantastic option with fabulous results, the you have to be sure that you’re a good candidate and that you have enough knowledge to make the gallbladder cleanse safe for you.  Also, I want everyone to read Ian’s comment below – he had a stone that didn’t ‘show up on ultrasound, which would have been extremly risky if he had tried the cleanse!! Keep that in mind before you try.



Why Do Kids Get Sick So Much?

This is the million dollar question for every new mom because kids get sick all the time. I mean ALL the time.  Here’s the thing – they’re designed to get sick all the time and the best news of all is that getting sick is actually the healthiest thing a growing immune system can do. Getting sick is how your kiddos immune system learns about the threats that are in the world as well as learns how to strengthen their own defenses. The human immune system is truly remarkable and the more opportunity it has to learn (which is getting sick), especially in the early years – the healthier it will be in the later years.

Kids Get Sick Because Kids Are Designed to Get Everything

Did you ever wonder why kids put EVERYTHING into their mouths?  Part of it is a deliberate system that is designed to get as much bacteria into them as possible.  Literally they are designed to pick up more bacteria to help them strengthen the flora in their gut, which is the protective bacteria, and also to help them gain exposure to pathogens so that their immune system can learn from them. Instinctive behaviors, like this one, always have an evolutionary advantage or they would have faded away with the generations. Clearly that isn’t happening because your kiddos put just as much stuff in their mouths as your great-grandparents kiddos did.  A great article by the NY Times said:

Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species. And, indeed, accumulating evidence strongly suggests that eating dirt is good for you.

“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

Kids get sick - that's not usually a bad thing. Thanks to Badobadop at wikimedia commons for the image.

Kids get sick – that’s not usually a bad thing. Thanks to Badobadop at wikimedia commons for the image.

So How Much Sickness is Normal?

The average for kiddos who are in school or daycare is six to eight upper respiratory tract infections and two or three gastrointestinal upsets. As a parent, that is likely to feel like your kid is sick near-constantly and clearly that must be abnormal.  The reality is that they are doing exactly what they’re designed to do.

How Does This Help Their Immune System?

You have two different types of immunity. One is called innate immunity – this is the type that you’re born with. It doesn’t really need to learn from the outside world, it gives you protection from day one. This comes largely from your genetics and has the blanket program of attacking pretty much anything foreign but it isn’t good at mounting a quick response against particular invaders – that is up to the other system.  The other type of immunity is acquired immunity. This is what your kiddo (and you) are strengthening every time you get sick.  These are your specific defenses and this is the reason why vaccines or previous illness usually protect you from getting sick with that same thing again.  So, acquired immunity means if you get the chicken pox as a child, you won’t also get it as an adult unless something goes wrong somewhere because you have acquired immunity to it.  So essentially every time your kiddo gets a virus or bacteria they are protecting themselves from that virus or bacteria in the future and strengthening their defenses.



A University of Arizona study published in 2002 showed that children between 6-11 years old who had previously been in daycare or preschool were less likely to get sick than those who were cared for exclusively at home.  Of course, the trade off was that they probably got sick more while they were in daycare. Also there is strong evidence that having some natural childhood illnesses like measles and mumps protects from diseases later in life, including cancer.

Well-managed natural infectious diseases are beneficial for children.

When infectious diseases of childhood are not mismanaged by the administration of antibiotics, or by suppressing fever, the diseases prime and mature the immune system and also represent developmental milestones.

Having measles not only results in life-long specific immunity to measles, but also in life-long non-specific immunity to degenerative diseases of bone and cartilage, sebaceous skin diseases, immunoreactive diseases and certain tumours as demonstrated by Ronne (1985). Having mumps protects against ovarian cancer (West 1969).

The bottom line is that kids get sick because they’re supposed to get sick. They really are supposed to put everything in their mouths. They’re supposed to have exposure to all kinds of germs and bacteria and viruses.  Kids who get sick more as toddlers are less likely to get sick down the road and we’re just learning that the protection extends to diseases unrelated to the initial exposure. So if your kiddo is home sick again? Good for them.



Response to the Attorney General – How To Find Good Quality Supplements

I am writing in response to the scandalous NY Attorney General’s investigation of herbal supplements sold at major retailers including GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens because clearly these are not good quality supplements.  The gist of the investigation is that when the house brands (meaning Target brand or Walmart brand) of different herbal products were tested, the majority of them didn’t contain any of the herb listed on the label. Instead they contained food or filler ingredients designed to mimic that herb like mustard, powdered rice, wheat or radish or powdered house plants. Obviously some of these fillers could be dangerous to those with allergies or sensitivities and they did not appear anywhere on the label. The New York Attorney General’s office issued a cease and desist order to these retailers, demanding that they fix the problem. The quote below was taken from the cease and desist letters reprinted in the NY Times.

“Contamination, substitution and falsely labeling herbal products constitute deceptive business practices and, more importantly, present considerable health risks for consumers,”

There is some question as to the methods the Attorney General’s office used to test the supplements, as it is not a well-established way of testing herbal products.  The American Botanical Council issued a response to this test stating:

“The action by the New York Attorney General is highly problematic,” added Blumenthal. “We here at ABC are sympathetic with the AG’s obvious concern about the reported problems associated with adulteration of herbal ingredients in dietary supplements. After all, ABC is the international leader in educating the industry, researchers, and health professionals about the problems associated with adulterated botanical ingredients through our leadership of the ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program. However, everything we are doing in our Program is based on scientific research, including evaluation of appropriate testing methods, and full peer review. We respectfully must question whether an appropriate level of scientific rigor has been applied in this case.”

As this particular case unfolds we will learn the truth – which I believe is a mix of both sides of the story.  It could be that there is some of the active ingredient in the products that the DNA testing failed to detect, but if DNA testing detected ingredients that aren’t on the label, then that’s an equally big problem.  The supplement industry is full of sad cases like this in which customers are buying products in good faith to help themselves based on their own research and investigation, but not getting what they pay for, and in some cases getting dangerous substitutes.

Finding Good Quality Supplements:

It is important to buy supplements from trusted sources, most frequently from health care practitioners themselves, or from a retailer who can carry professional grade products like Peoples Rx . The problems within the industry are readily apparent. Complex regulations that are hugely expensive to follow, with nobody to actually enforce those regulations leads to a lot of companies bending the rules. Especially herbal and supplement companies that are trying to be the cheapest product out there – which is mostly what large retailers carry.




Don’t look for the cheapest supplements. Higher price doesn’t always mean better quality, but lower price always means that the company has cut some corners somewhere to deliver a cheaper product.  There are several things to look for when choosing good quality supplements – and some of it comes down to brand knowledge. Research the products you buy before you buy them, or better yet take them under the advisement of a well trained professional. If you’re looking for products on your own look for:

  • GMP certified – All supplement companies should meet the Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines set out by the FDA and should be inspected regularly to make sure they are still in compliance. Products should state that they are GMP certified on the label.

    GMP certified should always be displayed on a good quality supplements (although the image may not look exactly like this)

    GMP certified should always be displayed on a good quality supplements (although the seal may not look exactly like this)

  • Professional-only – Most supplement companies sell to anyone, anywhere. But those typically don’t go through the level of testing and verification that professional-only lines do.  These are companies that only sell through health professionals because their products are strong and effective enough that it is important for customer safety that they be used correctly. Some retail outfits, like Peoples Rx are able to stock products like this because their wellness staff is composed of trained health professionals. For the most part these products will be found in your practitioner’s office.
  • Independently tested – Professional lines are all independently tested to verify that the ingredients listed on the label are actually in the bottle, and that there isn’t anything extra in there that shouldn’t be. This is a big deal because the products tested by the Attorney General’s office largely didn’t have any of the herb they claimed to have – meaning those capsules were filled with something else. Don’t risk your health on “something else.”
  • 800 Number – Companies who stand by their product quality will make it easy for you to contact them to ask them about the products, the verification that they go through, and the quality standards that are in place.  Look for an 800 number on the product label and feel free to call them to ask all of your questions.

Companies Who Manufacture Good Quality Supplements:

The supplement industry is both under-regulated and easy to mis-use. In spite of that there are still companies that are out there doing it right. They are spending their own money to make sure that their products are batch-tested and that everything that’s on the label is in the bottle.  The companies that I trust and have personally looked into include:

  • Pure Encapsulations
  • Thorne Research
  • Integrative Therapeutics Inc (ITI)
  • Standard Process
  • NuMedica
  • Xymogen

This is not a complete list, but these are companies that I use most frequently and have researched extensively. I would urge you to always look for good quality supplements and skip the bargain bin – there are some things you don’t want to compromise.  Also, by buying high quality supplements and skipping the bargain bin, you are reinforcing the message to the makers of these supplements that we want the real thing. As consumers we don’t want to be deceived, we are willing to do the research to find the best products.



Natural Remedy for Measles – Stop the Freakout.

Measles is really one of the big baddies, so measles at Disneyland has put everyone into a tailspin so lets get some good information and learn a bit about a natural remedy for measles (or two).

What Is Measles?

Measles, or Rubella virus, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that lives in the nose and throat of the infected person. It can be spread through coughing and sneezing and can live on surfaces and in air spaces for up to 2 hours after the infected person has coughed or sneezed. Measles is so contagious that 90% of the people close to an infected person who do not have previous immunity from a vaccination or former infection will get the virus. Infected people are contagious from 4 days before the onset of rash to 4 days after the start of the rash.  There are no reported cases in Texas yet this year, but there have been outbreaks in neighboring States.

Natural remedy for measles. Classic day 4 measles rash. Eek! Thanks to the CDC public health image library.

Classic day 4 measles rash. Eek! Thanks to the CDC public health image library.

What Are The Symptoms?

  • The incubation period between contracting the virus and having symptoms is between 7 and 14  days and people become infectious 4 days before the rash appears (which is inconvenient because they’re spreading the virus before anyone has figured out they have it).
  • First symptoms are mild to moderate fever, dry cough, runny nose and red, sore, watery eyes.
  • 2-3 days after symptoms first appear, tiny white or blue-white spots called Koplik spots may appear inside the mouth and they are usually surrounded by red patches.
  • 3-5 days after symptoms begin the rash breaks out.  This usually starts on face and hairline and spreads downward to the trunk, arms and legs. The rash is flat red patches that get larger and may develop small red bumps on top.
  • When the rash appears it is common for the person’s fever to spike to 104* or higher (eek!)




Who Usually Gets the Virus?

Measles is highly contagious and anyone who is not vaccinated or hasn’t had a previous infection is at risk.  Also 5-7% of people who have only had one vaccine are still susceptible and up to 3% of people who have had the recommended 2 shots are still at risk. This virus can create an infection even in very healthy people with strong immune systems, so this one really is kind of a bad one. It’s just hard to avoid. Research has shown that people with a vitamin A deficiency are more susceptible, so vitamin A is a good natural remedy for measles and can help give you a preventative edge. This means that anyone (even if you have been vaccinated) still has some risk of getting measles.

Natural remedy for measles - vitamin A, immunoglobulins.

Natural remedies for measles exist, but I’m not so sure about natural remedies for love.

 

How Can You Prevent Measles?

Measles is a tough virus, but there are some things that you can do to improve your chances.

  • Globally, the MMR vaccination is preventative for the measles virus and provides life-long immunity if the full vaccination series is followed. There is only a 3% failure rate, which is pretty good for a vaccine.
  • If you have a known exposure and haven’t yet been vaccinated you can have a post-exposure vaccine within 72 hours.  The illness may still develop, but will be less severe and of shorter duration.
  • Pregnant women, infants and people with weakened immune systems who have an exposure can be given immune serum globulin to help their body fight the infection and to reduce severity of symptoms and complications.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds (or as long as it takes you to say the alphabet). Or use alcohol based hand sanitizer.
  • Make sure you eat foods high in vitamin A such as carrots, squash, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin and cod liver oil.  If you suspect a vitamin A deficiency then take a supplement short term to boost your body levels because deficiency makes you more susceptible to measles virus. Make sure this is actually a vitamin A supplement and not beta carotene because many people don’t convert beta carotene very well into the active form. Vitamin A is a great natural remedy for measles virus.
  • Try to avoid contact with infected persons or their bodily fluids. If you have had contact then monitor your symptoms carefully for at least 14 days and go to the doctor if necessary.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth or any broken skin with unwashed hands.
  • Avoid going to places where there have been known cases such as schools, hospitals or day cares.
  • If you suspect that you or a loved one has measles then avoid contact with others as much as possible and certainly do not attend school, daycare or other facilities with large numbers of people.
  • Taking a natural alternative to gamma globulin (which is an injected  medical treatment) may help to boost your body’s ability to fight the virus.  This means natural substances that contain gamma globulins such as colostrum, IgG and PRP spray or powder could boost your immune system enough to be a natural remedy for measles.
  • Measles is contagious enough to transmit even to extremely healthy people so general immune boosters may help to some degree, but are not preventative.

Natural Remedy for Measles Once You’ve Got It:

Measles is a virus, so once you’ve got it all you can do is help your body to fight it.  Vitamin A in reasonably high dose short-term may help your body to fight along with the immunoglobulins mentioned earlier – colostrum is one of my favorite general immune boosters and since gamma globulins have shown medical success with measles, the gamma globulins from colostrum should help too. One of the biggest concerns is reducing the fever because measles can produce a dangerously high fever that can cause seizures and even brain damage, so taking appropriate steps to prevent that is helpful.  Tepid baths are one of the most effective ways to bring a fever down or damp towels over a kiddo’s chest or back can help to lower their body temperature.  Also eating ice chips can help to soothe the sore throat as well as bring down the fever. Of course tylenol or ibuprophen are good back-up plans as well. The rash itself resolves on it’s own, but can be itchy.  Oatmeal baths can be soothing to the rash along with vitamin A and D ointment that is normally used on diaper rash.

What Are The Complications of the Measles Virus?

  • Measles is serious in all age groups, but children less than 5 years old and adults over 20 are most at risk for complications.
  • Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea – both of which happen in approximately 1/10 cases.
  • Ear infections from measles can result in permanent hearing loss
  • Severe complications from measles include pneumonia (infection in the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) as well as febrile seizures from the high fevers.
  • As many as 1/20 children who get measles will develop pneumonia and this is the most common cause of death from measles.
  • 1/1000 children who get measles will develop encephalitis which can lead to convulsions, deafness or mental retardation.
  • 1-2 children per 1000 cases die from measles.
  • Pregnant women who contract measles are more likely to have pregnancy loss, preterm labor or low birthweight babies.

Measles is a big virus, no doubt but even if you or someone in your family comes down with the virus it isn’t the end of the world.  Make good use of natural remedy for measles like vitamin A and colostrum and manage symptoms until it passes. In most people it passes without serious complications,but if you suspect complications then go to the hospital immediately.

Sources:

CDC measles information page
Mayo Clinic measles update
Measles vaccine information
Gamma Globulin for Measles

 

Lifehack – The Bad Habit Reset Button – Fasting.

Don’t you wish you could just hit the button for a bad habit reset?  I do.  Especially right after the holiday season when I feel like I’ve eaten my weight in butter and “treats” (which are clearly not “treats” when you eat them constantly).  Sometimes it’s other habits or life areas that are struggling.  It could be that work hasn’t been going well, it could be that a relationship is rocky, it could be that I’m cultivating all kinds of bad habits I don’t need.  Whatever the reason, it’s nice to know that there is a reset button out there.  You heard me right, there is a way to hit the reset button – thank God for small miracles.

Fasting is the fastest bad habit reset button out there. Picture by © Brett Stoltz | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Fasting is the fastest bad habit reset button out there. Picture by © Brett Stoltz | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Hitting the reset button means taking a break from normal, but unfortunately life is full of obligations, so we can’t always up and fly to Tahiti, no matter how much we might need it.  What this means, is that we need a way to do it ourselves, at home, using things we have on hand and it needs to actually help us to break cycles.

The best reset I’ve ever found is a fast.  I know that’s not what anyone wanted to hear because “fasting” is right up there with “Chinese water torture” for lots of people, but those people probably haven’t tried it.  I’ll talk more about quick fasts in another upcoming post, because they are also one of my favorite life hacks, but in this case we’re looking at something different.  This is a little bit longer.  I’m not talking about Messiah-style 40 days, I’m talking about 3-5 days that are all about you.

Here’s how you do a fast for a bad habit reset:

  1. Choose the right time. Just a hint, if there is a massive deadline in the middle of it, it’s probably not the right time.  Pick a time where you can actually focus on getting in touch with you, getting to know your body, and taking out the trash in every sense of the words.
  2. Make a little space in your life. There isn’t any problem working during a fast, but if you can it’s nice to reduce your schedule to half days or to take a day or two off during your fast to give you a little bit of time for extra sleep, self care and cleaning house (which I always want to do when I’m fasting – I think it’s an external mirror for what is going on internally).
  3. Choose Your Type of Fast. During the fast you can either do all water plus the miracle drink (if you haven’t heard me talk about it before I’ll go over that in the next step), or you can mix freshly juiced veggies and fruits in.  I find that the all water and miracle drink is actually a little easier for me because the veggie juice pushes my body to detoxify too quickly.  Typically if this is the first fast you’re trying, then stick to 3 days and keep it simple. If you’ve fasted before and know your body can handle being really pushed to detox then maybe add in the veggie juices. If you choose to use veggie juices make sure they are actually juiced by you or right in front of you (not bought pre-packaged) and that you get 3-4 cups of the veggie juice throughout the day.  Also make sure they’re mostly veggie with just a touch of fruit or carrot for taste, but that the bulk is good green veggie.
  4. Make Sure You Get Enough Water! This is probably the most important thing, because without the water it’s hard for your body to clean house internally!  8-10 glasses per day is a minimum. When I’m fasting I set a timer every hour and alternate between the miracle drink one hour and water the next.
  5. Drink the Miracle Drink. People laugh when I call it the miracle drink, but it’s because they haven’t tried it.  This is such a great detoxifier and energy boost.
    1. 1 tbsp raw organic apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is my favorite),
    2. honey to taste (no more than 1 tbsp please)
    3. 8-16 oz hot or cold water depending on how strong a flavor you like.  During a fast have this 3-4 times during the day to help your liver keep moving.




  6. Support Your System. If you have any icky feelings while you’re detoxing – this could be headache, grouchiness, mild sick feeling, bad breath, brain fog or a slightly hungover feeling – the do a little extra detox.  Anything that makes you sweat will help, so saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga, or hot baths are great.  Naps work well too.  In general make sure you’re giving yourself extra time for sleep
  7. Be Ready for Emotional Detox Too. Your body isn’t just taking this chance to get rid of the physical junk and bad habits.  There is emotional junk in there that needs to come out, and better out than in.  I love to journal so I use that as a tool to help process whatever comes up, but use whatever tools you like.
  8. Restart Your Life With Consciousness and Intention. This means that you should take some of this time to think about what you actually want in your life.  You’re resetting for a reason here. What do you want emotionally?  What do you want professionally?  How do you want to take care of your body?  What sort of food plan would you like? This is a great time to break bad health habits and restart with a clean slate.
  9. Simple Foods For Your Reentry Meal. The first meal you eat to break your fast should be simple and clean foods – preferably heavy on fruits and veggies, light on lean meats and even lighter (or not at all) on grains.  If you need a grain, choose something that is a cleaner grain like rice or quinoa.  You can eat as much of this fruit and veggie meal as you want, but make sure you’re not just jumping out of a fast into a large pizza because that’s not exactly the reset we’re looking for.

    Fasting is so much easier when you drink enough water. Adding lemon to your water is great to help support your liver through a fast. © Johanna Goodyear | Dreamstime Stock Photos

    Fasting is so much easier when you drink enough water. Adding lemon to your water is great to help support your liver through a fast. © Johanna Goodyear | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Is It Really Hard to Fast?

Surprisingly, no.  It’s almost shockingly not-hard. Almost everyone I’ve done this with is hungry the first day, and then pretty fine for the rest of it.  Occasionally I’ll have someone who is a really fast detoxifier and by day three they feel kind of icky, but most people are just fine. There’s a lot of nostalgia about food because let’s face it – part of eating is the joy of eating that has nothing to do with physically needing food.  But seriously, if you can get through day 1 with it’s hunger then you’re good to go.

Is Fasting Safe for Anybody?

If you have insulin dependent diabetes or severe hypoglycemia then it is necessary that you talk to your doctor and possibly even have in-home supervision while you fast because it can be dangerous if your blood sugars fall too low. Also it’s not a good idea for pregnant or nursing mothers because the demands on your body are already considerable – we don’t need to ask it to do more right now. Also if you have a chronic condition then it’s best policy to talk with your doctor about it.

What Results Will You See?

Fasting is tremendous for your body – it’s essentially a break from the hard work of metabolism. You can expect:

  • Weight loss – 5 to 10 pounds is normal in 3 days.
  • Energy – nobody believes me, but usually your energy is awesome during a fast. Better than normal.
  • Good sleep – everyone thinks the hunger will keep them up. Never seems to happen.
  • Mental perspective – it’s a lot easier to see the bad habits you’ve gotten yourself into when you’ve got a little distance from them. Even if that distance is just a couple of days that are different.
  • Losing Those Food Cravings – 3 days is plenty of time for the food cravings to just fall off.  Your body doesn’t actually want to live on sugar, but if you’ve been living on sugar then you don’t know that.
  • Spiritual benefits – fasting has been used by most faiths in most cultures globally to bring spiritual clarity and discipline.  I’m not an expert on this by any means, but I’m guessing all of those people aren’t wrong.
  • Anti-aging – you may not be able to tell in the moment, but by fasting you’re actually slowing down your aging process. Awesome.

Short fasts of 3-5 days are a great way to clean house, lose weight, and one of the easiest bad habit resets in the book.  After a fast – especially if you can make it through 3 days – most people have lost their sugar and starch cravings and loosened up their bad habits. I suggest doing 2-4 per year  to help keep you healthy, happy and vital.  And did I mention that it’s strongly anti-aging and actually slows the aging process?  The research is entirely clear on this point.  Regular fasting both extends life and slows aging.  Yet another great reason to hit the bad habit reset button!



Drugs are weight loss blockers just like these jellybeans. Great photo "Don't Cry Over Spilt Jellybeans" from © Mike Chytracek | Dreamstime Stock Photos

The Five Biggest Weight Loss Blockers Ever

It seems like everyone is struggling with weight loss these days and everyone thinks maybe it’s their thyroid, because that is one of the more known weight loss blockers, but if it isn’t then people tend to get a little stuck.  No matter what anyone tells you, weight loss is hard work and there are a number of things that can get in the way.  There are always challenges and hardships because in order to lose weight you really do have to change the way you view food, time, yourself and your social habits.  Piece of cake, right? There are so many things that can get in the way of your weight loss goals, here are 5 of the most common weight loss blockers.

1.  Sluggish Thyroid – The Best Known Weight Loss Blocker

Low thyroid function has become almost “normal” in our society, simply because it is so common.  Your thyroid determines your resting level of energy.  It is basically the gland that controls how fast your engine idles, and it does that via thyroid hormones.  If these hormones aren’t doing their job properly then the resting idle slows down and you don’t burn nearly as many calories or have nearly as much energy to do things like exercise.  You could be at risk of low thyroid function if you have any of these:

  • Chilly, get cold easily or cold hands and feet
  • Tired, slow moving, slow thinking, sluggish feeling
  • Dry skin, dry hair, brittle or coarse hair
  • Depression, lack of motivation, increased need for sleep
  • Retain water, feel “puffy” or if you press hard on the front of your lower leg your thumb will leave an indentation
  • Constipation and slow-moving bowels

Of course the best thing is to have your doctor test your thyroid hormones, but many people experience symptoms of low thyroid, including weight gain or difficulty losing weight, when they are within normal limits.  If you feel that thyroid might be an issue for you then:

  • Check with your family members to see if there is any history of thyroid disease – if there is you may be at higher risk.
  • Talk with your doctor to see if they’ll run proper thyroid tests.
  • Limit your soy intake – soy is known to decrease thyroid function
  • Increase your dietary iodine – either with a supplement like prolamine iodine or kelp supplements or by eating more sea vegetables.  Your body can’t make thyroid hormones without iodine and the receptors for your thyroid hormones don’t work without iodine so this is really important.
  • Check yourself for wheat sensitivity, gluten sensitivity or celiac disease – untreated sensitivities can wreak havoc on your thyroid.  If you don’t know how to check those things then read up on it here.
  • If you’re not finding any balance then it’s a great idea to talk with a naturopathic doctor to get a more personalized solution.




2.  Hormone Imbalance

Your thyroid isn’t the only player in this game.  Unfortunately for us, all of your hormones play a role in metabolism, fat distribution and use, hunger, satiety and general weight management. This includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, insulin, adrenal hormones and hunger hormones like leptin and ghrelin.  You may have these types of hormone imbalances if:

  • Your body shape has changed (like from pear to apple) or the areas where you are gaining weight are different
  • Your menstrual cycle has suddenly changed (in women)
  • You are seeing weight packing on around the waist, stomach and back
  • Your stress level has spiked lately or you’re not sleeping because of stress
  • Your blood sugars and triglycerides have been increasing lately

This isn’t a complete list, but it’s the most obvious signs. If this is the case work with your doctor or ND to get to the root of the problem.  Until you address the hormones the weight isn’t going to go anywhere because hormones are huge weight loss blockers.  Some simple things you can do to help begin to address any hormone problem naturally are:

  • Exercise – this is our great regulator and can decrease stress levels, change sugar processing and even help to balance your sex hormones.
  • Water – boosting your water intake helps your body to regulate it’s hormones better and to detox them more effectively.
  • Fiber – increasing fiber allows the hormones that you eliminate via your liver to attach to fiber in the gut and actually be eliminated from the body.  Without the fiber your body can pull the hormones back into your bloodstream to be recirculated.
  • Balance your diet – reducing carbs, which are sugars and starches, will help your body to cope with your hormones far more effectively.  In the long-term this is one of the most effective things you can do for your weight. Eat frequently and every time you eat make sure you’re getting protein, fiber, low carbohydrates and moderate fat. If you don’t know what foods give you carbohydrates then check out this post on Nutrition 101.

3. Food Sensitivities

Eating a food you’re sensitive to raises your resting level of inflammation, keeps your body in a state of panic and makes it much harder to lose weight.  In fact, it specifically makes your body hold on to water and fat in an effort to protect it self. Talk about weight loss blockers! Part of the problem is that one symptom of the food sensitivity is a craving for that food (the food you’re sensitive to) that has nothing to do with what your body actually needs, or even hunger.  It’s literally an addictive response to the inflammation created by that food. Finding and eliminating your food sensitivities will not only help you drop those unwanted pounds, but also help reduce any symptoms you may be having.  Find out more about eliminating your food sensitivites!

4. Check Your Medicine Cabinet – Drugs Are HUGE Weight Loss Blockers

Drugs are among the guiltiest of guilty parties in the weight loss game.  Anti-depressants, steroids, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, and some anti-psychotic medications.  There isn’t really a test for this – just think about any medication changes you may have had in the 1-3 months before you started gaining weight.  There may be other drugs you can switch to that would give you the same benefits without the extra pounds, but sometimes there aren’t. Talk with your doctor about this one – sometimes you just have to try a few things before you find the one that’s right for you.

Drugs are weight loss blockers just like these jellybeans. Great photo "Don't Cry Over Spilt Jellybeans" from © Mike Chytracek | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Drugs are weight loss blockers just like these jellybeans. Great photo “Don’t Cry Over Spilt Jellybeans” from © Mike Chytracek | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Some of the worst weight loss blockers (or drugs that cause weight gain) are:

  • Paxil (paroxitine). Alternatives include Prozac (for short-term use) or Zoloft
  • Depakote (Valproic Acid). Lithium is a good alternative as a mood stabilizer, but also causes weight gain, just less than Depakote.
  • Prozac (fluoxitine) taken long-term.  For the first six months studies show prozac generally helps with weight loss, but over long term use that weight often returns with interest.
  • Remeron (mirtazipine). Another anti-depressant that is implicated in weight gain, although in the elderly it can be a useful tool to help keep weight on.
  • Zyprexa (olanzipine). This atypical anti-psychotic is known to pile on the pounds. Geodon or Abilify are more weight-neutral alternatives.
  • Clozaril (clozapine). This weight-gainer is a cousin to Zyprexa.
  • Deltasone (prednisone). Prednisone and other oral steroids are potentially the most famous drugs for causing weight gain. The higher the dose, the more likely you are to gain weight. You can help to reduce your weight gain by exercising, drastically reducing sugar and carbohydrate intake while you’re on the drug, and getting off of the medication as soon as medically advisable.
  • Elavil, Endep, Venatrip (amitriptyline). Tricyclic antidepressants are used less commonly now, but have historically caused huge weight gain in the people taking them.
  • Allegra (fexofenadine) and Zyrtec (cetirizine).  As it turns out allergy medicines that act as anti-histamines, can also disrupt an enzyme in the brain that helps to regulate food consumption.
  • Diabinase (chlorpropamide), Insulase (also chlorpropamide), Actose (pioglitazone hydrochloride) and Prandin (repaglinide) – these anti-diabetic drugs all stimulate insulin production, which lowers blood sugar and tends to make people hungry – which is really the last thing most diabetics need.
  • Insulin – obviously this is necessary for many people with diabetes, but it does promote weight gain so tightly controlling diet and using the lowest necessary dose is helpful.
  • Tenormin (atenolol), Lopressor (metoproplol), and Inderol (propranolol) are all beta-blockers and help to control blood pressure, but they also tend to make people more tired and heavier.
  • Birth Control Pills – lets not forget these little babies.  Many women do not experience this unwanted side effect, but the rest of us tend to gain 10-15 pounds in the first 6 months of use.

5. Poor Sleep.

If you’re not sleeping then you’re not losing weight.  It’s just a simple fact.  Poor or inadequate sleep causes an increase in hunger, more carbohydrate cravings, a decrease in the hormone that makes your body feel “full” and it slows down your ability to lose fat.  Basically this means that even if you’re doing everything else right, if you’re not sleeping then you’re going to have a hard time shedding the pounds. Sleep is complex and takes time and work to fix, but here are a few basic tips:

  • Keep your bedroom DARK and restful.  No loud TV, block out lights and even LED lights.   Your body really is meant to sleep in the dark.
  • Try to begin “winding down” a couple of hours before you actually go to bed.  Dimmer light, quieter atmosphere, no work and calming activities like yoga, meditation, reading, journaling or cozy time with your partner are great for this time of day. Did I mention no work?  That includes the last minute email checks too!
  • Developing a sleep routine can be helpful, almost a sleep ritual.  This helps you get into the mind frame for sleep.
  • If you are having sleep problems that are more complicated then talk to your doctor or practitioner.  Sleep is a big deal and your health and happiness suffer in every way without it.

The biggest thing to remember with weight loss is don’t give up.  Sometimes it just comes down to finding that one key to unlocking your body and then the pounds just melt away.  I’ve seen it happen many times – one of my patients fixes their inflammation, their hormones, or their sleep and all of a sudden the pounds come off without any other changes.  Just keep trying to listen to the signals your body is sending you, and if you’re not sure then come talk to me about your weight loss blockers.



‘Tis The Season! Natural Remedies for Cold and Flu

After having just spent several days in bed sniffling and sneezing and coughing and generally feeling icky, it seems like a good time to talk about natural remedies for cold and flu. Fall into winter is certainly the peak of cold and flu season and there are plenty of viruses that spend their time roaming through the population each year.  No matter how healthy you are, it’s a totally normal part of being human to have symptoms if you’re exposed to a new virus that your body hasn’t seen before – it’s what our immune systems are programmed to do and how they learn about viruses and keep us strong and healthy.  It’s also part of the reason why young kids tend to get sick more frequently than adults do – their immune systems haven’t seen as many viruses so each new one gets them.

What Are the Cold and Flu Anyway?

The things we call the common cold and the flu (or “flu-like symptoms” as the media has taken to calling it) are simply just different strains of virus that produce a spectrum of symptoms in the human body.  Viruses are strange little beasts.  There is an ongoing debate about whether they are alive because they can’t reproduce without a host – they have to actually infect some unsuspecting human or other animal and use that person’s body to reproduce themselves.  They then spread in different ways, sometimes through body fluids, sometimes airborne in respiratory droplets like from sneezes. For most people colds and flus are inconvenient but not truly threatening, but in immune-compromised or weaker people the flu can be a killer. Also some years there are particularly vicious strains that tend to be more serious. There is still no cure for the common cold or the flu, but there are many natural remedies for cold and flu that can help you to get through it more quickly and more easily.




There are great natural remedies for cold and flu. Häggström, Mikael. "Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine

There are great natural remedies for cold and flu. Häggström, Mikael. “Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014”. Wikiversity Journal of Medicine

Natural Remedies for Cold and Flu

Of course it’s best if you don’t happen to catch anything, but for the times that you do catch a nasty bug, there are plenty of options to help. There are many natural antivirals that have been shown to help cold and flu by shortening duration or by reducing symptoms. Let’s look at a few favorites:

Black Elderberry Syrup (Sambucus niger)

So – not only is this a potent antiviral, it also tastes great on pancakes, and if that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is. Elderberry has been used for centuries in folk medicine to build the immune system and as a general health tonic, but also in high dose when folks were coming down with something. For an adult doses up to a tablespoon every hour will kick the immune system into high gear and has been shown in research studies to interrupt viral replication as well as boost anti-influenza antibodies. Plus, the syrup tastes great so kiddos will take it and because it’s essentially a food, there isn’t really an issue with toxicity.  Too high a dose might loosen stool a little bit, but that’s the worst of it so this is safe and family friendly.

Elderberry syrup is a great natural remedy for cold and flu. Picture by Edal Anton Lefterov from wikipedia.

Elderberry syrup is a great natural remedy for cold and flu. Picture by Edal Anton Lefterov from wikipedia.

Oscillococcinum

Not so easy to say, but this one also is easy to use for the whole family. This is a homeopathic remedy, meaning it’s a tiny dose of something that would cause the same symptoms of cold or flu if you took it in a toxic dose. By taking the tiny dose you’re giving your body a little road-map on how to deal with this, similar to the idea behind allergy shots.   These teeny little pills just dissolve under your tongue and taste, conveniently, like sugar so again this is something that it’s easy to get kiddos to take. These can be helpful for prevention as well as symptom reduction so really it’s a win-win.

 Vitamin C

Vitamin C is of course not very exciting because almost everyone already has it in their medicine cabinet and it’s just sort of common. Really bumping up the dose when you start to get ill though can shorten the duration of viruses and protect you from the worst of the viral symptoms. A few thousand mg per day will really help and your body uses more of this nutrient when you’re sick so keeping a higher dose for a few days after you’re better can be helpful too.

Chicken Soup

This easy-to-absorb, highly nutritious, time-tested home remedy also has some research behind it.  Let’s face it – chicken soup is like concentrated, highly available nutrition.  If you can, make your own at home because it’s always going to have a higher nutritional content than something that’s been hanging around in a can for ages. I always have a freezer bag in the freezer where I put the parts of veggies that aren’t good enough to use, onion skins, chicken bones after the chicken is done and the bits of veggies you don’t use like mushroom stalks and the woody parts of broccoli legs.  When the bag gets full I toss it all in a pot and let it boil in water for a few hours. Strain out the veggies and bones and throw them out and the liquid you’re left with is chicken broth. If you feel like cutting up some good veggies, chicken pieces, rice or whatever you like in soup and voila! Your own home-made cold and flu remedy (that happens to be totally yummy).

Don’t Forget The Basics

In terms of viruses, once you’ve got them you’ve got them so save yourself the trouble of going to work and infecting everyone else. Stay home, put on a good movie or grab a good book and rest. Drink lots of liquids – water or orange juice, stay bundled up and give wet socks a try at night. If you have no idea what I’m talking about with “wet socks” it’s the best free immune boost ever – give it a shot and read more here. There are so many great natural remedies for cold and flu, but honestly the basics are always the best.  Just take care of you and get plenty of sleep and take a hot bath. If you give your body what it needs you’ll pull though more quickly than average anyway.



Natural Remedies for Liver Health and Support

In preparing for the new year I’d like to talk about natural remedies for liver health and support because let’s face it – livers don’t get a lot of love. It’s really easy to take your liver for granted, never really realizing how much it does for you on a day to day basis. But just in case you aren’t liver-savvy, this organ has got a lot going for it.

What Makes Your Liver so Special:

Your liver is the primary organ of detoxification and it deals with the burden of chemical and toxin exposure from normal everyday living. Let’s learn a little bit about it:

  • Your liver lives on the right side of your body at the bottom of your ribcage, right below your diaphragm.
  • It’s the only organ in the human body that can regenerate.
  • It regulates and stores glycogen (which is your storage form of sugar to protect you when your blood sugar levels fall).
  • It produces bile to help you emulsify and digest fatty foods – this bile then goes to the gallbladder to be stored and concentrated for use.
  • Your liver manufactures cholesterol, triglycerides and lipoproteins.
  • Your liver makes coagulation factors so that your blood can clot when needed.
  • Your liver stores basic nutrients for your body to use in emergencies. These include a 1-2 year supply of vitamin A, a 1-4 month supply of vitamin D, a 1-3 year supply of vitamin B12, and also vitamin K, iron and copper.
  • It helps break down old worn-out or damaged red blood cells.
  • Guesses as to the number of functions your liver is responsible for vary slightly, but most sources say around 500 (!!)

Needless to say your liver is absolutely essential to health, vitality and life itself so it’s important to learn to take care of it adequately.

Signs Your Liver Needs a Little Love

Livers are big organs, and vital so they have a lot of flexibility before there will be real problems and often liver enzymes, which is the quick measure for liver function on your blood work, will be normal even when the liver is mildly compromised. Some signs, symptoms and indications that your liver needs some support include:

  • Nausea or low-grade stomach ickiness for no reason.
  • Fatigue
  • Low-grade headaches (like a very minor hangover)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Diarrhea
  • Itching for no reason – just general skin itching
  • Jaundice – this is yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes and if you see anything so serious as this please go see your doctor right away
  • Clotting or extremely dark blood in a woman’s menstrual flow
  • History of moderate to heavy alcohol use (>14-21 drinks per week for a woman or >21 drinks per week for a man)
  • History of smoking
  • History of drug use
  • More than 3 prescription drugs
  • Liver enzymes out of balance or evidence of a fatty liver (always work with your doctor if this is the case).

Natural Remedies for Liver – Foods and Nutrition

Your liver is one of the first places that break-down products from foods go once they’re absorbed into your blood stream so it is very vulnerable to foods and can easily be helped or hurt by foods. Here’s a healthy liver eating guide:

Artichokes are one of the great natural remedies for liver health. This picture was found on the California Artichoke Advisory Board website - who knew there was such a thing? If you're curious you can find them at artichokes.org

Artichokes are a great natural remedy for liver health. This picture was found on the California Artichoke Advisory Board website – who knew there was such a thing? If you’re curious you can find them at artichokes.org

  • Eat organic – pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics in your foods have to be processed by your liver. There are some foods that actually accumulate pestices – for those check the dirty dozen and clean fifteen.
  • Filter your tap water – if you don’t filter it, or get purified water, then your liver will have to. Tap water is fine for survival but not optimal for health because it countains small amounts of many pharmaceutical drugs, tiny amounts of metals and small amounts of industrial and agricultural chemicals.
  • Drink lots of water – like any other filtration system, your liver works best if there is lots of water flushing through the system helping to keep things clean, so to speak.
  • Add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar – adding lemon or lime juice or a little bit of apple cider vinegar to your water can encourage gentle detoxification and the acidity helps to clear bile and sludge from the ducts and gallbladder. It’s gentle but helpful.
  • Eat beets – your liver loves beets and they encourage and support liver function.
  • Eat dark green leafy vegetables – again, your liver loves these. Especially when there is a hint of bitterness to them like dandelion greens.
  • Eat artichokes – you know the weird feeling artichokes give your salivary glands? They do that to your liver too. It’s called a “secretagogue” and it increases saliva and bile production which also helps to flush toxins through the liver and ducts.
  • Avoid GMO foods – we don’t really know what the body has to do to detoxify these foods, so they may be just fine but the point is that we don’t really know – in situations like that, it’s best to just avoid as much as possible.
  • Avoid processed foods – the more chemicals you can’t pronounce that are in your food, the more chemicals you can’t pronounce that your liver has to figure out how to deal with.
  • Don’t eat artificial sweeteners – no matter what anyone says these are chemicals and all chemicals have to be processed by your liver. It increases the burden on your liver (not to mention the neurological reasons not to eat them!)
  • Drink coffee – nobody believes me because it sounds too good to be true, but 1-2 cups (6 oz cups – coffee cups are supposed to be small) of coffee per day can protect your liver from damage and even help to protect it from cancer. Here’s a link for more information.
  • DeTox Tea – many companies make detox teas that are gentle herbal formulas to support liver function. My favorites are Dandelion tea from Traditional Medicinals and DeTox Tea from Yogi Teas.
  • Cook at home – I know it’s not easy – I also live in the modern world where nobody has time and cooking is kind of a pain, but this is the best way to make sure you and your family are eating real food made of real ingredients.
  • Moderate your sugar and starch intake – too much sugar is obviously a risk for diabetes, but it also adds to the work your liver has to do – especially when blood sugar levels start getting out of control. This means your liver has to store more glycogen and adapt to ever-rising blood sugar levels.
  • Get at least one fruit or veggie with each meal
  • Eat enough fiber – the US RDA is 25 grams but the average intake is about 12.5 grams.  Make sure you’re getting at least 25 grams of fiber every day to help your bowels move effectively and carry toxins out of your system.  If your bowels are slow or there isn’t enough fiber in your digestive tract then toxins can be reabsorbed, which doubles the work your liver has to do.




Natural Remedies for Liver – Supplements

If you’re already eating a liver healthy diet but still having some difficulty then it’s time to support your liver a little bit more strongly. There are some great herbs and nutrients for liver support as well as some great combination products.

  • Milk Thistle – seems like everyone knows this one. It supports and nourishes liver detoxification and has been well researched. It’s an antioxidant and hepatoprotectant (meaning it protects liver cells). Milk thistle also boosts production of glutathione which is your body’s central antioxidant.
  • Choline – this amino acid acts as a methyl donor in detox reactions
  • Methionine – this amino acid also acts as a methyl donor
  • Vitamin B-6 – this vitamin is a co-factor in many detoxification reactions
  • Vitamin B-12 – this works with B-6. Make sure you’re getting the methylcobalamin or hydroxycobalamin form.
  • Folic acid – This vitamin is an important cofactor for detox as well and must be in a methylated form such as methyl-folate, 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate or metafolin.
  • NAC – helps your body to build more glutathione, the master antioxidant and protects liver cells from toxin damage.
  • Magnesium – helps to balance many detox reactions, including transmethylation.
  • Dandelion root – this also encourages bile production in the liver and helps detoxification pathways.
  • Cilantro – this detoxifier specifically helps to amplify detoxification of heavy metals.
  • Turmeric or curcumin extracts – this reduces inflammation and increases antioxidants and detoxification.
  • Chicory root – this aids in liver detoxification and will even help to elminate tiny stones and calcifications.

Just in Case you Want Supplement Names – Here Are My Favorite

  • Lipotrophic Factors by Integrative Therapeutics Inc. (ITI)
  • Livaplex by Standard Process
  • Liver Cleanse by Thorne Research
  • Liver Defend by NuMedica
  • Deep Liver Support by Gaia

With any liver support, start slowly and always make the dietary changes first to get your body ready for gentle detoxification.  Start with just one capsule or tablet daily and see how your body responds. If you’re not noticing anything then increase slowly and it’s always best to work with a practitioner.  Natural remedies for liver health are safe and highly effective, but if your liver symptoms get worse then please get checked out by a doctor because liver disease isn’t something to mess with.