Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily, a leading publisher of daily alternative health tips that I personally read every day… The original article can be found here:

I bet if you looked in the mirror you wouldn’t say to yourself, “I look a little fungusy today.” More than likely, you don’t really know what it looks like to be fungusy.

Truth be told, you can’t really look like fungus (or a mushroom for that matter), but there is a good chance that fungus, to some degree or another, is compromising your health.

Don’t get too wigged out when I use the word fungus. We are all covered in fungal communities; they take up residence on us and within us, forming tight-knit colonies according to their kind. Many of these fungi are harmless, and a good number are quite necessary for health. However, when the bad guys move into the neighborhood, things get funky.

Fungi vs. bacteria

Before I go on, let’s first take a quick look at the difference between fungi and bacteria. Both are minute organisms that are found in almost every ecosystem on earth, and both can associate with other groups of living things. As mentioned above, they can either be harmless and necessary in biological processes, or they can be highly dangerous.

The main difference between fungi and bacteria is their cellular structure. Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms, meaning they do not possess a nucleus, while fungi are eukaryotic organisms, meaning they have a very well-defined nucleus. While both organisms have cell walls, what makes up these cell walls is different. Fungi, for the most part, have long hollow tubes that form networks (hyphae).

Each of these tubes is bordered by a strong wall made from chitin — the same substance that forms the exoskeletons of insects. Hyphae grow from their tips and reach out in a branching manner to form a network called mycelium. As the mycelium grows, it produces fruiting bodies and other structures that are rich with reproductive spores.

Bacteria multiply by binary fission when parent bacterium divide to make the same sized daughter cells. Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually by a process of branching fragmentation and budding (as in the case of yeast).

Fungi are scavengers, feeding off dead stuff — kind of like the buzzards you see cleaning up roadkill along the highway. Bacteria, on the other hand, are a little more sophisticated in the fact that they can actually manufacture their own food.

Types of fungal infections

There are several fungal infections that result from different types of fungi entering the body.

For instance, Aspergillus fungi can be inhaled through the mouth or nose and can cause fever, cough and wheezing. In very severe instances, this fungal infection can spread to other organs including the brain, skin and bones.

Cryptococcus neoformans is found in the soil or in bird droppings. This fungus also enters the body through the mouth or nostrils and can cause a lung infection resulting in a cough or chest pain.

Histoplasma capsulatum is a fungus that is commonly found in eastern and central United States in soil that contains bird and bat feces. When spores are disturbed, they can be inhaled and can cause flu-like symptoms, body aches, fever and cough.

Candida albicans

Yeast, also known as Candida albicans, is a type of fungus that is present in all humans. The fungus is found on both the skin and mucus membranes. In small amounts, it is harmless to the body.

However, when the growth of yeast increases dramatically, the results can be absolutely devastating. Did you know that yeast overgrowth is considered to be one of the most prevalent, yet unrecognized conditions to man?

When you have a healthy body, the yeast is kept under control by the healthy bacteria within your body. However, medical antibiotics — and those found in much of the meat we eat — will upset the balance of your friendly bacteria. Since antibiotics are nonselective, they work to weaken the good bacteria that keep yeast in check.

The yeast then begins to flourish, and before you know it, it’s completely out of control. Antibiotics are not the only contributor to the upset of your healthy bacteria; cortisone, some birth control pills and certain drugs have an effect on it, as well.

Once the yeast has overgrown in your body, it thrives on sugar, carbohydrates, moldy foods, fermented foods and vinegar. If you’ve ever noticed that your cravings for any of these are very strong, chances are, you have a yeast overgrowth in your body.

When the level of yeast is elevated in your body, toxins are released into your bloodstream in high amounts. These waste products have a profound effect on your well-being and are linked to many health problems.

Signs of yeast gone wild

The effects of yeast overgrowth will worsen over time, and will seriously compromise physical, mental and emotional well-being. According to researchers, hidden, deviant fungus may be the reason for any number of seemingly unrelated health complaints.

Just another reason why it is so important to not look at symptoms in isolation. Very often, you will find that two seemingly unrelated things, like muscle twitches and frequent bladder infections, are the result of yeast gone wild.

Here are 32 signs that yeast may have moved in and is slowly taking over your body. If you suffer frequently from more than three of these, it may be time to learn more about yeast.

• Fungal infections on skin or nails
• Athlete’s foot
• Toenail fungus
• Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Constipation
• Bloating
• Diarrhea
• Bad breath
• Dry mouth
• Joint pain
• Numbness
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• PMS
• Heartburn
• Burning eyes
• Lack of impulse control
• Hyperactivity
• Poor concentration
• Brain fog
• ADD, ADHD
• Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis or multiple sclerosis
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Strong cravings for sugar or refined carbohydrates
• Eczema or psoriasis
• Hives
• Seasonal allergies or itchy ears
• Urinary tract infections
• Vaginal or rectal itching

The spit test

Yeast overgrowth is one of the most difficult health issues to detect because of the small amount that is present in everyone. The best way to determine if you have yeast overgrowth is by taking a look at your lifestyle and diet.

Do you crave sweets and carbohydrates, experience constant illness, have a mental illness that doesn’t respond to medication, or generally feel “unwell?” Chances are you’re experiencing yeast overgrowth and need to make some changes to your diet.

You can also try the spit test. Yeah, we know, it sounds a little gross, but a spit test offers a really good analysis of what is going on inside your body and may show signs of a yeast overgrowth. The best time to take this test is as soon as you wake up in the morning, before you even get out of bed.

How to do the spit test

• Gather as much spit as possible in your mouth.
• Spit into a clear glass with room temperature filtered water.
• Watch carefully.

1. The saliva will float at first. Watch to see if there are thin projections extending downward into the water after 15 minutes or so. They may look like hairs or strings. If this happens you may have a candida overgrowth problem.
2. If your saliva is very cloudy and sinks to the bottom within a few minutes, or parts of the saliva slowly sink, yeast overgrowth is a possibility. The particles are yeast colonies which band together.
3. If your spit is still floating after about an hour, it is likely that your yeast is under control.

The downward spiral

Candida can be linked to serious health problems. Once this fungus begins to thrive in the body, general health will spiral downward. The cravings for sugar and other foods that nourish the yeast will get stronger, and on and on it will go.

Eventually, the immune system becomes so weak that the symptoms are no longer tolerable. Often physicians will prescribe antibiotics to treat the symptoms, thus killing off the last of any friendly bacteria. When yeast is in this advanced state, depression and suicidal thoughts are very common.

How to kick the bad fungus to the curb

According to the National Candida Center, if you have symptoms and your spit test is positive for yeast, it is a pretty good indication that you have a candida overgrowth problem. The first step in addressing the problem is to adjust your diet.

Eliminate all processed foods and sugar, and begin eating only wholesome, organic foods if possible. The following foods also help the body heal from the assault of candida overgrowth and encourage the proliferation of healthy bacteria:

1. Coconut oil

This tropical treasure has strong antifungal properties, which will kill the bad bacteria and support immune system functioning. Replace your other cooking oils with coconut oil and add liberally to foods or your coffee. Aim for two tablespoons daily to start.

2. Garlic

Garlic also has strong antifungal properties and will destroy unfriendly bacteria while encouraging the growth of good bacteria. It detoxifies and encourages healthy liver and colon functioning. Use garlic liberally to jazz up your food or chew freely on two to three cloves per day. Note: Raw garlic is far superior in its efficacy.

3. Seaweed

It may not be too appealing to look at, but seaweed is a highly nutrient-dense food that can fight against yeast overgrowth. Many times, people with yeast overgrowth suffer from hyperthyroidism, and seaweed is rich in iodine, which helps balance the thyroid gland. In addition, seaweed is a detoxifier and helps to flush toxins out of the body while cleaning the digestive system. Eat fresh seaweed or take high-quality kelp supplements for best results.

4. Pumpkin seeds

These tiny seeds are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which have antiviral and antifungal properties. They help to reduce the inflammation caused by yeast and fight depression as well. Add pumpkin seeds to your cereal, salads or even eat them as a tasty snack.

5. Ginger

Ginger is a powerful detoxifier that increases circulation and flushes toxins out of the liver while supporting the immune system. It helps reduce intestinal gas and soothes inflammation from yeast overgrowth. Make ginger tea by grating a 1-inch piece of ginger root and adding it to two cups of boiling water and a fresh slice of lemon.

Once you get your diet under control and introduce foods that fight the bad bacteria, you can consider taking a high-quality probiotic or eating a little bit of fermented food daily to keep your healthy bacteria count in good order.

Exercising daily and learning how to manage stress in your life will also help to keep fungus from taking over your body.

If you are not able to make these dietary changes, and you want to wipe out fungus completely and never have it return again, take a look at this fungus hack below…

Every nail and skin fungus sufferer must see THIS urgent video!

There’s a mind-bending solution that has been crushing every single lab test, leaving doctors speechless…

In fact, this totally surprising mix of ingredients is so powerful…

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And without you having to use any creams or antibiotics.

It’s all explained on this page:

1 Tablespoon Wipes Out Skin and Nail Fungus

The post 32 Signs Fungus Might Be Taking Over Your Body appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-seller: The Diabetes Fix

Your thyroid gland is a small butterfly shaped gland that sits in your neck. It is responsible for important bodily functions such as breathing rate, heart rate, digestion, energy, weight gain or loss, and even your moods.

The thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate your body’s metabolism. These hormones are primarily, thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyroinine (T3). The correct balance of these hormones keeps your body’s functions running smoothly. The thyroid also produces cells called c-cells make calcitonin, which assists in calcium and bone metabolism.

When the body needs more or less of these hormones, the pituitary gland in the brain sends a hormone called “thyroid stimulating hormone” (TSH) that signals the thyroid to change the production level. High levels of TSH mean that the thyroid hormones are too low, and low levels of TSH mean that thyroid levels are too high.
Various conditions can affect the thyroid gland, and thyroid disease can develop when the thyroid makes too much or too little T3 and T4. Women – due to the complex balance between thyroid hormones and female sex hormones–tend to have thyroid problems more often than men or children; however, men, especially older men, can get thyroid problems as well.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common thyroid disorders. This is “low” thyroid. This occurs when the thyroid does not produce enough T4 and T3. This can also occur when the thyroid cannot convert T4 into the more active thyroid hormone T3 for use in the body.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism include:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Fluid retention
• Muscle and joint pain
• Constipation
• Irregular periods
• Hair loss
• Feeling chilly all the time
• Depression
• Slowed heart rate
• Fertility problems

Hypothyroid treatment usually involves supplementing with thyroid hormones—either just a synthetic T4 medication, like Synthroid, or a natural combination drug that includes T3 and T4, such as Armour thyroid, or Nature-Thyroid.

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks the thyroid gland, and it becomes chronically inflamed. This happens most commonly in middle-aged women, but can affect men and children as well. Over time, this chronic inflammation develops into hypothyroidism, causing:

• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Sensitivity to cold
• Depression
• Hair loss
• Muscle aches
• Constipation

Those with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis may not show any symptoms early on, but may have the thyroid (TPO) antibodies detected in blood tests. TPO is an enzyme that plays a role in the production of thyroid hormones.

Left untreated, Hashimoto’s can gradually become worse and destroy thyroid function. Treatment for Hashimoto’s is like treatment for hypothyroidism and individual’s take either a synthetic or natural form of thyroid hormones. A blood test for thyroid function needs to be done every 6-8 weeks to determine correct dosages for medication.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone. While this does occur more often in women, it can also occur in men—especially over the age of 60. The symptoms of hyperthyroidism are just the opposite of hypothyroidism. These include:

• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Muscle weakness
• Feeling hot all the time
• Insomnia
• Rapid, irregular heartbeat
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Mood swings
• Bulging eyes

Hyperthyroidism treatment involves taking an anti-thyroid or beta-blockers (medication which slows the heart rate), radioiodine therapy, or surgery to remove the thyroid. If left untreated, hyperthyroidism can cause serious heart, muscle, bone, fertility, and other health problems, because the body goes into overdrive with hyperthyroid conditions.

Graves’ Disease

The most common disease related to hyperthyroidism is a condition called Graves’ disease. This autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack the thyroid, causing the gland to produce too much thyroid hormone.

Graves’ can create complications in many parts of the body, from the eyes and skin to the heart and bones.

One of the most serious complications of Graves’ disease is something called a “thyroid storm”. A thyroid storm is a life-threatening condition that can happen when Graves’ disease is not treated. It often develops in patients with long-standing hyperthyroidism. It can flare up when there are other stressors in the body, such as heart attacks or even infections. It can also occur following radioactive therapy for hyperthyroidism or from irregular use of anti-thyroid medications. Symptoms include a pounding heart, shaking, sweating, agitation, and confusion. Immediate emergency treatment is critical—a thyroid storm can cause cardiac arrest and death.

Causes of Thyroid Malfunction

1. Gluten – Gluten has been found to be linked to many cases of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism. There are several studies show a strong link between autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), including Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease, and gluten intolerance. This connection is well-established in the medical community and researchers strongly recommend that all people with AITD be screened for gluten intolerance.

How does this work? It’s a case of the body mistakenly identifying components of gluten in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains, for the thyroid gland. Gliadin, which is one of the protein components that make up gluten, resembles thyroid tissue. Repeated ingestion of wheat creates inflammation in the gut (whether you react to it or not). Chronic gut inflammation can cause tiny holes in the gut, where tiny particles of food can leak outside of the gut. When gluten is eaten, the gliadin from the gluten escapes the gut barrier and gets into the bloodstream, and the immune system attacks it. These same antibodies become activated to attack the thyroid tissue.

The immune response to gluten can last for 6 months each time you eat it. So, if you have any type of thyroid problems, it is critical for you to eliminate ALL gluten from your diet. Being mostly gluten—free will not help your gut or your thyroid function.

Standard lab tests for gluten are not very accurate. They only test for antibodies to gluten in the bloodstream. Antibodies for gluten in the blood are only found when the gut has been damaged to the point where the gluten is escaping the gut, which is a relatively advanced stage of this sneaky disease. Blood tests will miss the milder or early cases.

Additionally, when you are tested for celiac disease, you are tested for only ONE specific gliadin, alpha gliadin and tissue transglutaminase, tTG-2.

Consider this:

• People can react negatively to other components in gluten that are not included in the standard celiac/gluten intolerance test. And this includes your thyroid function.
• Even if you test negative for celiac disease you can have serious negative reactions to other wheat proteins or transglutaminases—which all can cause inflammation and problems with the thyroid gland.
• For every positive gluten test, there are many more that go undiagnosed—many with NO gastrointestinal symptoms at all.

If you have any symptoms of the above hyper- or hypo-thyroid conditions, it is best to avoid gluten totally. Partially avoiding it will not help your condition.

2. Hormone Imbalance

We often think of our sex hormones as functioning totally separately from the thyroid hormone. However, thyroid hormones are affected by estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol levels.

Women’s sex hormones — especially progesterone —can have a strong influence on the conversion and effectiveness of thyroid hormones. When sex hormones are out of balance, it will generally lead to hypothyroid symptoms, including weight gain, fatigue, and hair loss—even when your lab work tests in the normal ranges.

For women, the healthy hormonal balance between estrogen, testosterone and progesterone can become unbalanced after childbirth, from using oral contraceptives, or during perimenopause.

During perimenopause (the 10 or so years prior to menopause), women’s hormones begin to shift in as progesterone levels can drop quickly to about 75% of the previous levels. Estrogen decreases more gradually and can remain high, throwing off the delicate balance that exists. This causes a condition called “estrogen dominance”. The result is higher estrogen levels in relation to progesterone. Many of the typical perimenopause and menopause symptoms are often because of estrogen dominance.

When estrogen levels are high and progesterone levels too low, the liver increases production of a protein called thyroid binding globulin or TBG. TBG binds up the free thyroid hormones in your blood. TBG basically holds thyroid hormones hostage, and they don’t get to your cells where they need to. Instead, you get symptoms of low thyroid. The frustrating thing is that your thyroid lab work can look perfectly normal unless testing is done to look at the levels of TBG.

People who are hypothyroid also tend to overproduce estrogen and their body cannot detoxify as well, causing higher than normal levels of estrogen to accumulate in their body. So, this creates an ever-worsening problem. Regardless of the mechanism, you end up with long-term exposure to high levels of estrogen. Long term exposure to high levels of estrogen without enough progesterone to balance it out, can create serious health problems including diabetes, uterine fibroids, ovarian and breast cancer. In addition, prolonged exposure to an overabundance of estrogen (in relation to progesterone) is shown to significantly increase the production of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis antibodies, leading to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Progesterone also helps to facilitate the action of the thyroid hormones, while estrogen is antagonistic to thyroid hormone. So, women with low progesterone and high estrogen have a more difficult time getting the thyroid hormone to do its job.

Solution: Depending on hormone levels and a woman’s age, natural over-the-counter progesterone cream can be applied to the skin to help bring estrogen and progesterone levels back into balance. In turn this can help thyroid function return to normal.

3. Cortisol, Stress and Thyroid Hormones

By now we should all know that high levels of stress can cause increased cortisol. High cortisol can have wide-ranging effects including thinning of the bones, muscle wasting, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, high blood sugar, compromised immune function, memory loss and more.

Stress and cortisol also slow down immune function. High cortisol can inhibit secretion of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) from the pituitary gland, leading to suppression of thyroxine, which is the main hormone produced by the thyroid gland. Increased cortisol can shift the thyroid into an inactive state, elevating reverse T3, instead of the proper conversion of T4 into T3.

Chronic stress also has a big effect on progesterone levels. When your body is stressed, it works to produce higher levels of the hormone cortisol which helps to handle stress in your body. Progesterone is a master hormone and a precursor to cortisol. So, when cortisol levels increase, progesterone levels decrease, and this also causes problems with hypothyroid and puts you more at risk for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Receptors for all progesterone, thyroid and cortisol are in nearly every cell of the body, so the relationship between them and the adrenal gland, thyroid, and pancreas is critical for energy production and balanced physiology.

Solution: Vitamin C helps cortisol, as does meditation and exercise to relieve stress. Women may benefit from a natural progesterone cream as well.

4. Birth Control Pills and Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy at any point in a woman’s life, can create thyroid problems by creating an overabundance of estrogen in the body. This also slows production of the body’s natural progesterone, creating chaos in the endocrine system.

This creates a similar situation to the above, with low progesterone, high estrogen, and lowered levels of thyroid. High levels of estrogen also contribute to a rise in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Generally, this happens far more often with oral contraception, as opposed to dermal patches or sublingual treatments.

For women on long term birth control, estrogen in birth control pills increases the amount of thyroid binding proteins available to bind to thyroid hormone. What does this mean? If you have a lot of thyroid hormones bound to TBG, you’ll have less free T4 in your body that’s able to do its job.

And be aware, that if you are on birth control and you need medication for hypothyroidism, you might need a higher dose of thyroid medication to get to your normal thyroid levels. TBG starts to increase around two weeks after starting oral contraceptives.

Anyone who is taking thyroid medication, whether it’s synthetic T4 or T3, should be monitored for six to eight weeks after the oral contraceptives are started, to check thyroid hormones. If symptoms of hypothyroidism appear in a woman taking HRT or birth control pills, the best treatment, if possible, is to stop the treatment or birth control pill and see if symptoms disappear.

Women who have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and start on birth control pill, will most likely need more thyroid hormone as estrogen contained in the pill works against it. Women who are on any type of birth control pill may need to have a full thyroid panel done to check thyroid function frequently.

5. Nutritional Deficiencies

Believe it or not, nutritional deficiencies, even slight ones, can have a drastic effect on thyroid hormones. Inadequate intake of iodine impairs thyroid function and results in a spectrum of disorders. Other common deficiencies of micronutrients such as iron, selenium, vitamin A, and possibly zinc may interact with iodine nutrition and thyroid function.

Iodine is the main component in T3 and T4 hormones. But our bodies cannot produce iodine on their own, so it is essential to get enough iodine through the diet. In the United States and other countries, iodized salt was introduced many years ago, helping to eliminate problems with too little iodine in the diet. Other common deficiencies of micronutrients that affect thyroid function include iron, selenium, vitamin A, and zinc which all interact with iodine uptake and thyroid function.

Goitrogens are naturally occurring chemicals found in many plant-based foods. Goitrogens interfere with thyroid hormones and can cause thyroid malfunction. Consuming large amounts of these substances on a regular basis can affect thyroid health. The key goitrogen-rich foods include cruciferous vegetables, some types of fruit, nuts, and soy.

There are three types of goitrogens: goitrins, thiocyanates, and flavonoids. Some of the more common foods that contain goitrogens include:

• Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, collard greens, radishes, kohlrabi, turnups and arugula.
• Cassava (this is an ingredient very common in gluten free/no grain products)
• Pine nuts, peanuts
• Soy products such as tofu, tempeh, edamame, and soy milk

Foods that contain goitrogens disrupt thyroid hormones by slowing down the body’s ability to iodine. Goitrogens can block the process by which iodine is incorporated into the key thyroid hormones T3 and T4.

Goitrogens can also inhibit the release of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland and block the conversion of T4 into active thyroid hormone T3. In very large quantities, goitrogens can cause a goiter on the thyroid gland and act like anti-thyroid drugs, slowing down an underactive thyroid causing hypothyroidism.

Soy foods generally do not affect the thyroid function in people who have normal thyroid function and healthy iodine levels, but soy does interfere with absorption of thyroid hormone replacement medication. It is recommended that patients on medication for hypothyroidism take their thyroid medication on an empty stomach an hour so before eating.

Eating a diet low in nutrient dense foods or following a restrictive diet may lead to other nutritional deficiencies that affect thyroid function. The following supplements may help to support thyroid health:

Iodine provides the building blocks of thyroid hormones, and is essential to healthy thyroid function. Beware of too much iodine, however, especially if you Hashimoto’s, because this can stimulate the autoimmune antibodies.

Selenium is a critical element of thyroid hormone production. Selenium helps the thyroid convert T4 into T3. Selenium also helps to reduce thyroid antibodies that attack the thyroid.

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to Hashimoto’s disease and helps to manage and balance hormones.

Zinc is necessary for DNA synthesis and immune function. This vital mineral is also needed for the conversion of T4 into active T3, as well as the production of TSH. Zinc is also required for the T3 receptor to adopt its biologically active status.

Iron is important to prevent iron-deficiency anemia, and helps to move iodine to the thyroid gland to create more thyroid hormone. Iron deficiency is associated with thyroid dysfunction.

Vitamin B12 is common in people with hypothyroid and Hashimoto’s disease. Taking a B12 or B complex supplement can help prevent and treat deficiency, as well as maintain optimal B12 levels. Be sure to take a supplement that contains methylcobalamin, the most absorbable type of B12. It is thought that B12 absorption may be affected by the presence of gluten sensitivity.

Magnesium is an often-overlooked critical mineral. Magnesium is responsible for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Magnesium supports the immune system, helps maintain normal nerve and muscle function, regulates the heartbeat, strengthens bones, keeps blood glucose levels steady and plays a role in the production of energy. Magnesium is necessary for iodine utilization by the thyroid gland.

Dietary changes can have a positive effect on thyroid conditions. Some of the most important ones include:

• Adopt a gluten free diet—If you have ANY type of thyroid issues, whether it may be hyper- or hypothyroid; Hashimoto’s or Graves, it’s important to avoid ALL gluten in the diet. Gluten has been found as a contributing factor in a large percentage of thyroid conditions. Avoiding gluten 100% is the only way to avoid the inflammation that gluten can cause.
• Anti-inflammatory diet—Following an anti-inflammatory diet can be highly beneficial for anyone with Hashimoto’s disease and improving gut health. Avoid omega 6 vegetable oils, all forms of sugar, and other foods that trigger an immune response such as nightshades, dairy, grains, and even legumes, especially soy products.
• Organic foods—Eating organic foods will help you avoid environmental triggers that can harm the thyroid gland and contribute to thyroid problems.
• Reduce your intake of goitrogens—While cruciferous vegetables can be highly nutritious, reduce your intake of them and be sure to lightly cook them before eating. Avoid eating soy products as these foods are often from genetically modified soy, sprayed with pesticides—in addition to causing problems with thyroid hormones.
• Beware of ketogenic diets—Very low carb diets can negatively affect thyroid function. While this is not always the case for everyone, be aware that this type of diet may affect your thyroid function.

Proper Testing is Vital

There are many things that can negatively affect thyroid function. If you have any of the above thyroid symptoms: fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, depression, loss of appetite; or insomnia, racing heart, weight loss, nervous energy, and anxiety, be sure to get a full thyroid panel from your doctor. Just checking your TSH status will not always expose thyroid problems.

If you are on birth control pills, hormone therapy or are a woman experiencing perimenopause or menopause symptoms, it is wise to get your thyroid function tested completely. Often the same symptoms of menopause can be thyroid issues.

Getting a full thyroid panel from your doctor is the first step to feeling like yourself again. But many people overlook one key mineral their thyroid depends on every single day… and low levels may leave you feeling tired, sluggish, cold, foggy, and frustrated.

Your fingernails look like THIS when you’re deficient in selenium

Do your fingernails look like THIS?

A top U.S. Certified Nutritionist warns:

Here’s an easy way to tell if you’re deficient in selenium:

If you’re not sure whether or not your thyroid is low…

Check your index finger

1. If it looks like THIS… your thyroid is desperately starving for selenium.
2. I call this the 30-second test for selenium deficiency…

Because when most women experience:

⚖️ Sudden weight gain

🪮 Hair shedding

😩 Brain fog

Their “mystery symptoms” won’t go away and thyroid lab tests often show “everything’s fine”…

Even when they’re NOT.

In many cases, the answer (and the fix) is quite simple.

>>> Just use this 30-second fingernail test to see if you’re low in selenium

References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/thyroid-gland-function#anatomy
https://chriskresser.com/the-gluten-thyroid-connection/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30060266/
https://www.thyroid.org/hashimotos-thyroiditis/
https://shop.forefronthealth.com/pages/hashimotos?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=search&utm_content=hashimotos-landing-page&utm_term=Gen2&wickedsource=google&wickedid=CjwKCAiAvK2bBhB8EiwAZUbP1L1P_NFzicxOAUDHW7DhoKIQpLX1pDf2Nf1O91oWK4kTgUgJGFL2fxoC3gwQAvD_BwE&wickedid=619501432204&wcid=9900722625&wv=4&&&gclid=CjwKCAiAvK2bBhB8EiwAZUbP1L1P_NFzicxOAUDHW7DhoKIQpLX1pDf2Nf1O91oWK4kTgUgJGFL2fxoC3gwQAvD_BwE
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/thyroid-gland-function#common-conditions
https://www.fibrokur.com/hypothyroidism-thyroid-menopause-connection/
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-birth-control-cause-thyroid-problems/
https://blog.davincilabs.com/blog/warning-signs-of-high-cortisol-and-low-thyroid

The post Five Things that can Destroy Your Thyroid appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

One of the biggest complaints that many people mention is fatigue. So many of us complain of being tired all the time. No matter how common it seems, feeling exhausted all the time is just not normal or healthy. It’s a sign that something is not right.

It seems to go hand in hand with aging and can sometimes get worse before it gets better. When fatigue begins to interfere with your normal DAILY routine, it’s time to look into why and see if you can remedy the situation.

There are many factors that contribute to fatigue, and the good news is that many of these things are easily ‘fixable’. In addition, many of these health and lifestyle changes affect your overall health for the better, prevent chronic disease and help you feel mentally better as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the hidden (and not so hidden) causes of fatigue:

Sleep Issues

We have all experienced some sleepless nights, for a multitude of reasons. When sleep problems persist, we end up exhausted, dragging through the day, irritable and moody. Poor sleep can lower immunity, raise cortisol levels, cause weight gain, and reduce our ability to think clearly.

There are quite a number of things that can cause poor sleep but let’s consider a few factors:

• Sleep timing — It’s important to do your best to get on a good sleep schedule. Our bodies have something called a ‘circadian’ rhythm that helps us to be sleepy at night when it’s dark and wakeful during daylight.

Going to bed early some nights, interspersed with staying up late will definitely cause problems in your sleep cycle. Our bodies tend to develop a ‘sleep rhythm’ where we tend to get tired around the same time every night. If you ignore this sleep rhythm on a regular basis, it will wreak havoc with your natural sleep cycle of REM sleep and deep sleep.

Traveling through different time zones can often temporarily disrupt sleep cycles. This is where the supplement melatonin comes in, helping you re-regulate your sleep periods.

• Hormones — Hormones can have a huge effect on sleep quality. For women in perimenopause (the ten years or so preceding menopause), plummeting levels of progesterone can cause anxiety, agitation, and loss of sound sleep. Sometimes, just an over-the-counter natural progesterone cream can help women struggling with hormonally based insomnia.

Men too, can have sleep issues due to dropping hormone levels. While loss of sleep is linked to causing lower testosterone, naturally declining levels of testosterone can also affect a man’s sleep quality with fewer deep sleep cycles.

As testosterone levels begin to gradually drop when a man reaches his forties or so, cortisol (our stress hormone) increases. Cortisol contributes to the usual stress response, even during sleep. Increased cortisol can cause more wakefulness, tossing and turning, a faster heart rate and shallower breathing. So for men, feeling tired and fatigued is often a symptom of low testosterone, according to the American Urological Association.

• Sleep Apnea — Many men and women (often another sign of aging) can have sleep apnea. This is where, for a number of reasons, breathing stops for short periods of time. This can be a potentially serious sleep disorder. When the CO2 levels begin to build up in the blood, the sleeper will wake up, take a deep breath, and most likely go back to sleep. Sleep apnea is often tied to loud snoring.

Many people don’t even realize they have sleep apnea, but just complain of feeling tired all the time. Other signs of sleep apnea include awakening with a dry mouth, a morning headache, and difficulty staying asleep.

If this is the case, it’s best to have it checked out by a sleep specialist or a doctor. Sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, high blood sugar, liver dysfunction and mood problems. And you may have a sleep partner who is being deprived of sleep as well.

• Other health and lifestyle factors — Other factors that interfere with sleep and contribute to overall fatigue include: poor diet, stress, drinking too much alcohol, medications, depression or anxiety disorders, and being too sedentary.

Thyroid Dysfunction

Thyroid disease is more common than many of us realize. An estimated 20 million people suffer from thyroid disease and up to 60% of those don’t even realize they have a thyroid problem. Thyroid disease occurs more often in women and aging adults.

A thyroid disorder can manifest with many differing symptoms. The thyroid gland is considered a primary gland one that secretes hormones that affect almost every function in the body. For example, thyroid is responsible for regulating body temperature, the rate of your heartbeat, respiration, production of protein, and your metabolism and energy levels.

• Hyperthyroid Conditions – Thyroid dysfunction can be either ‘hyper-’ or ‘hypo-’. When thyroid dysfunction is hyper, metabolism is sped up, the heart races and it becomes difficult to sleep or relax. Even with the excessive amounts of nervous energy from hyperthyroid conditions, the lack of sleep can become very problematic.
• Hypothyroid – More common is the hypothyroid condition. This is where there is not enough thyroid hormone or the body has difficulty in converting the thyroid hormone T4, into the usable T3. A low thyroid means metabolism is slowed, energy is low and fatigue sets in, sometimes extreme fatigue. Other hypothyroid condition shows up as brain fog, depression, and weight gain.
• Hormones — Women are often more likely to have a low thyroid than men (although men can have thyroid problems as well). Low thyroid can easily escape a diagnosis.

Many doctors use the standard and very basic TSH test (thyroid stimulating hormone). While this can help with some thyroid disorder, it doesn’t give the full picture. It’s important to have a full “thyroid panel” done to see T3 and T4 levels, free T3, free T4 and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) which detects antibodies against the thyroid.

For women, declining hormones in the mid-forties and fifties can affect thyroid function as well. As progesterone declines, the hormonal imbalance can negatively affect the body’s ability to convert thyroid hormone into the usable T3. So, while this creates a condition of hypothyroid, the basic thyroid test will not show this. Research shows that adding progesterone can help improve thyroid function.

Everyone can benefit from supporting the thyroid, which is the key to optimal function and energy. If you haven’t had a full thyroid panel, ask your doctor for one. An undiagnosed thyroid condition can be the reason for your fatigue.

Supplements can certainly help thyroid function. These include selenium, which supports our body’s ability to create thyroid hormones. Selenium also reduces levels of thyroid antibodies. Zinc also plays an important role in thyroid hormone conversion, as well as being a great nutrient for skin health and immune health. B vitamins are also essential for people with slow thyroids. B vitamins have many interactions with thyroid function, energy levels and hormone regulation.

Other help for the thyroid includes avoiding gluten, soy, and dairy. These foods can interfere with effective thyroid function.

Diet

While you may not make a connection between what you eat and your energy levels, diet has a huge effect on fatigue, energy–and even your sleep quality and your moods. A poor diet can not only make you feel fatigued all the time, it can bring on insomnia, foggy thinking, irritability, anxiety and depression.

• Sugar and Carbohydrates — We’ve probably all heard that too much sugar causes a crash. Yes, this is true, but even too many carbohydrates—especially in the form of refined flours and processed foods will also cause a crash. So while you may not be actually eating sugar, carbohydrates turn into sugar (glucose) once eaten.

This results in a release of insulin in response to the high levels of glucose in the blood, which then lowers blood sugar. Once this happens, sleepiness and fatigue set in. Many people then reach for more high carbohydrate or sugary snacks. This creates a vicious cycle for fatigue and weight gain.

Of course, the best thing is to avoid sugar of all kinds and avoid most carbohydrates, especially grain-based carbohydrates. This means avoiding consumption of chips, crackers, cookies, and even so-called ‘healthy’ foods like pasta, bread, rice, and potatoes.

Eating healthy carbohydrates like fresh veggies and small amounts of fruit, is far better for your health, your weight, and your energy. You also want to be sure you are getting adequate amounts of healthy proteins like meat, fish, and poultry to balance blood sugar and create more sustained energy.

A diet high in carbs and sugar depletes certain vitamins and minerals. It especially depletes vitamin B1(thiamine). A B1 deficiency causes fatigue. People who have trouble controlling their blood sugar or those who are diabetic, often complain of fatigue and are most likely B1-deficient. Note: B1 also needs magnesium to work in the body. As an added benefit, B1 also helps to reduce anxiety, night sweats, and GERD.

• Food Sensitivities — Food sensitivities tend to increase with aging, especially for women during perimenopause and menopause. Many food sensitivities or true allergies can cause obvious symptoms like rashes, digestive problems, runny nose or headaches. But fatigue is a big symptom that’s often overlooked as a reaction to food. And many times, fatigue is the only symptom of a food sensitivity.

Foods that are eaten every day are often the worst offenders. The most common foods that cause reactions are gluten, dairy, soy, and corn. That’s not to say these are the only foods but this is a good place to start looking.

The best way to check out foods is to do an elimination diet. Cut out entirely one food at a time for ten days to two weeks. Next, reintroduce that food. Eat it several times, noting how you feel. Keep in mind, it may take up to 24 hours to notice a response. Now go back and try eliminating another food and see what happens.

Gluten may be the best place to start. A majority of people with gluten intolerance and celiac disease often complain of fatigue, as well as those who are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

• Not Enough Protein — The vegetarian, vegan trend seems to be gaining popularity as the media tries to tell us this will prevent global warming. (It won’t!) For those of us who may be taking a second look at improving their health, a meatless diet seems to be a healthy choice.

While vegan and vegetarian diets have many redeeming qualities, inadequate protein often becomes a hidden factor adding to blood sugar ups and downs, fatigue, brain fog, and mood changes. The issue is that getting adequate nutrition including B12, essential fatty acids and bioavailable protein becomes increasingly difficult with a meatless or vegan diet.

A lack of protein can lead to a lack in muscle. In one study, older men and women who didn’t eat enough protein were found to have an increased rate of muscle loss.

Protein is a vital component of every cell in your body. Protein is necessary as the raw material used for building and repairing tissues, muscles, bones, and skin. Protein is essential to help produce enzymes that activate metabolism. And, if you are not consuming enough bio-available, high-quality protein, like red meat, your body will have a hard time creating and absorbing essential nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, zinc, and essential fatty acids.

If your body isn’t properly nourished by protein, will not be able to get enough vitamin B-12 and folate. Low levels of these important B vitamins and low iron intake will cause anemia—a condition where your body isn’t able to produce enough red blood cells which transport oxygen around the body. Low protein intake and anemia can most definitely cause low blood pressure, poor immune function, injuries and fatigue.

Eating a high-quality meal with some added protein can go a long way towards helping balance blood sugar, helping you feel more full for longer, and have longer lasting energy with no ‘crash’ after meals.

Consuming high quality protein–especially animal protein—will boost your metabolism and energy far more than any carbohydrates can. In one study, self-reported fatigue levels were significantly lower among college students eating high-protein foods like fish, meat, eggs and beans at least twice a day.

Best sources of protein include grass fed red meat, pasture raised chicken and eggs, and wild caught fish and unpasteurized, (full fat) dairy products. Nuts and legumes offer some protein, but it’s not bioavailable, or usable in the body as animal protein. Protein powders can also help.

Next time you feel sleepy and need more energy, grab some beef jerky, a few slices of deli turkey, or have a hard-boiled egg and see how you feel.

Dehydration

You don’t have to run a marathon across a desert to become dehydrated. Anyone can be dehydrated, even in the middle of the winter. Dehydration can be very subtle—some people may never even feel thirst as a symptom of dehydration. As we age, we are less sensitive to the obvious symptoms of dehydration. Often, by the time thirst sets in, you are already dehydrated.

Dehydration can be brought on from vomiting or diarrhea, being at high altitude or dry environments, air travel, being outside (hot or cold weather), exercise, alcohol, too much caffeine, medications, diabetes, and simply not drinking enough water.

• Water vs Electrolytes — In addition to a lack of water, electrolytes must be in the correct balance in order for fluids to reach our cells. These ions include sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate. When electrolytes are out of balance, the body does not hold on to water and you urinate most of it out of your body. A person out-of-whack electrolytes can become dehydrated, even if a lot of water is consumed.

Our electrolytes help your body run on electricity the keeps your heart pumping, your brain working, and your nervous system and muscles working properly. Being dehydrated will actually make your blood thicker, causing your heart to pound as it pumps harder to move the thick blood around your body.

• Medications — Many prescribed and over-the-counter medications can actually cause dehydration. Allergy and cold medications often work to dry up nasal secretions and can often be a cause of dehydration. Blood pressure medications sometimes include a diuretic which works to decrease fluids in the body. In addition, these medications often upset electrolyte balance, further increasing the risk of dehydration.
• The Wrong Kind of Fluids — Alcohol, tea and coffee are diuretics and can easily contribute to dehydration. Any excess of these types of beverages will cause excessive urination that will lead to dehydration. Even drinking too much plain water without enough electrolyte intake can lead to being ‘overhydrated’, a condition that is just as bad and dehydration. People have been known to overhydrate with too much water and actually die from it.
• Age — As we age, we lose our ability to sense thirst as well. Older people are definitely more susceptible to dehydration than younger people. Older people don’t always have a good sodium/water balance. Many older people also have various impairments and disabilities or even a lack of access to good drinking water. Aging people tend to be on more medications which may also contribute to dehydration.

Dehydration can cause symptoms like brain fog, confusion, sleepiness and lethargy, inability to concentrate, and weakness. Dehydration can also cause insomnia, further increasing your fatigue.

To prevent dehydration, be sure to get adequate amounts of water, vegetables and fruit (good sources of potassium), and salt in your diet. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty!

Natural thirst-quenching foods and drinks include lemon water, coconut water, celery, watermelon, cucumbers, bell peppers, pineapple and cantaloupe. In addition, mineral water contains important electrolytes like magnesium, calcium and chloride. Adding a sprinkle of sea salt or Himalayan salt to your water can help your body retain this vital fluid—especially if you’ve been sweating.

Underlying Health Conditions and Fatigue

Persistent fatigue that seems to have none of the above causes can be related to an undiagnosed health condition. These include:

• Anemia, either from a lack of iron or lack of proper B vitamins
• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes
• Heart disease or heart failure
• Hormonal issues—cortisol, testosterone, progesterone, thyroid
• Depression, anxiety
• Cancer
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Viral or bacterial infection
• Recovering from surgery or a physical trauma
• Seasonal allergies

It’s important to let your health professional know you are experiencing ongoing fatigue—especially if you have eliminated the above causes.

How often you experience fatigue, whether it interferes with your day-to-day activities and the type of fatigue is important to note. Is your fatigue related to weakness or sleepiness? Does your fatigue cause brain fog? Are you taking a lot of naps? Do you feel like you just don’t have enough energy to make it through the day? How is your sleep at night? Is it constant or just occasional?

It’s important to discuss with your doctor other symptoms you may be experiencing, even if they seem unrelated. A health professional may want to order extra lab work, look over any medications you are taking, and evaluate if you need any further testing.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrient deficiencies are a key factor in fatigue. There are many nutrients that can contribute to fatigue including deficiencies in: B vitamins—especially B1, B6, and B9; vitamin D, iron, magnesium, potassium and certain antioxidants, including glutathione.

Some people do not possess adequate digestive enzymes to fully extract nutrients from the foods they eat, while others may have inflammation in the digestive system, from food intolerances or allergies that makes it difficult to absorb nutrients from food.

• B vitamins — The B vitamins are B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B12, B9 (folate) and biotin. B vitamins are vital to supplying energy for every part of the body, including the brain and nervous system. All the B vitamins are involved in the energy-production system within the cells. When you are lacking in any of the B vitamins, your cells’ mitochondria will not be able to generate energy well and your red blood cells won’t be very efficient getting oxygen to all parts of your body.

A deficiency in just one of the B vitamins can slow down an entire sequence of biochemical reactions necessary for converting food into energy, this results in a loss of energy and fatigue.

People who eat high carb/high sugar diets or those who have trouble controlling their blood sugar (diabetics or those with metabolic syndrome) may feel extreme fatigue. This is due to a shortage of vitamin B1.

Low levels of B9, B12 or B6 are key B vitamins that can cause tiredness and fatigue. A folate deficiency for example (B9), causes a type of anemia called ‘macrocytic’ anemia, whereas people low in B12 have another type of anemia called ‘pernicious’ anemia.

It’s thought that 10 to 15 percent of aging adults have a B12 deficiency, often due to low levels of intrinsic factor which allows B12 absorption. In addition to fatigue, low levels of B12 can cause brain fog, confusion and even dementia. Many vegetarians and vegans are low on this essential nutrient, because B12 is from animal-based sources of food only.

Low levels of B vitamins can cause fatigue, anxiety, numbness and tingling in extremities, a swollen red tongue, irritability and brain fog.

You can try supplementing with a quality multi-B vitamin supplement for a couple of weeks to see how you feel. It’s always better to take the whole B vitamin family, because taking just one type of B vitamin can upset the delicate synergy between all the B vitamins.

Due to a certain genetic defect of the MTHFR gene, some people may not be able to properly metabolize folate and B12, so as a precaution, be sure you are taking B vitamins that include methylfolate (B9) and methylcobalamin (B12).

• Vitamin D — This vitamin is crucial for bone health, immune function, and—surprise—to prevent fatigue—among its many other benefits. The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can be difficult to pinpoint, but they are fatigue, bone pain, depression, and muscle aches and weakness.

If you cannot get outside in the midday sun, or if you live in a northern latitude, you may need to supplement with vitamin D. According to the NIH, most adults need a minimum of 15-20 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D3 each day, and adults older than 70 need 20 mcg. Best source of vitamin D comes from the sun. Your doctor can include vitamin D levels in your lab work and it’s a good idea to see where you are at. Optimal levels are 40-60+ ng/mL.

• Magnesium — Magnesium is a very powerful mineral. It not only supports bone health, moods, and blood sugar regulation, but it is vital for assistance in energy production. Many people (about 80%) are low in this essential mineral, so it is a good idea to add magnesium supplements to your daily routine. Not only will it assist in energy production, but it aids in sound sleep too—so you attack fatigue from both angles.

Low levels of magnesium can cause loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, muscle cramps, irregular heartbeat, nervousness and anxiety. Recommended amounts of magnesium are 250-400 mg a day.

• Iron — Deficiencies in iron can be fairly common. Iron deficiency anemia is very common especially for those who do not eat red meat. Iron is necessary for red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body.

Iron-deficiency anemia will cause weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath, pale skin, a fast heartbeat, lowered immune status, and a swollen tongue. Often iron-deficiency anemia is accompanied by B vitamin shortages as well, further increasing fatigue and weakness symptoms.

Iron-deficiency anemia will cause weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath, pale skin, a fast heartbeat, lowered immune status, and a swollen tongue. Often iron-deficiency anemia is accompanied by B vitamin shortages as well, further increasing fatigue and weakness symptoms.

• Potassium — Potassium is a vital electrolyte and mineral that assists the heart, nerves, and muscles to work properly. Plus, it’s also an important nutrient that helps balance sodium in the body. Most people get adequate amounts of potassium in their diet if they include vegetables and fruit on a regular basis.

However, in cases of vomiting or diarrhea, excessive sweating, laxatives, diuretics, or kidney disease, potassium can run low. Symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, muscle twitching or cramps, tingling, numbness and abnormal heartbeat.

Potassium is relatively easy to replace with diet—bananas, most all vegetables and fruit, squash, and legumes provide plenty of potassium to replace lost stores.

• Antioxidants — Antioxidants prevent oxidative stress and fatigue in our bodies. Oxidation results from many things related to lifestyle. A poor diet, high in sugar and processed foods contributes, as does excessive exercise, environmental toxins, smoking cigarettes, alcohol, stress and many other unavoidable things.

A buildup of free radicals and oxidative stress contributes to tiredness, fatigue and an inability to recover from strenuous exercise. Low levels of antioxidants can contribute to muscle atrophy and fatigue.

Inadequate levels of important antioxidants also increase age-related loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia), weakening the body, increasing fatigue, and causing more susceptibility to injuries. This creates a vicious circle of fatigue, inactivity and further health decline.

There are particular antioxidants that may be the most valuable to supplement. These include glutathione (the master antioxidant), coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, vitamin C, lipoic acid and carotenoids.

Glutathione helps strengthen immunity, and neutralizes free radicals while removing toxins. It also helps to fortify and activate other antioxidants in the body.

CoQ10 supports the heart and cardiovascular function. CoQ10 aids in 95% of the body’s energy and supports the mitochondria in our cells. Mitochondria function as our cells’ energy powerhouse.

And Alpha lipoic acid is a multipurpose nutrient that has powerful antioxidant and blood sugar management actions. ALA increase glucose uptake in the muscles, resulting in increases in muscle energy.

Antioxidants can be found in ample amounts in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eating a diet high in colorful, nutritious vegetables full of vitamin C and carotenoids will go a long ways towards supplying the antioxidants you need. Organ meats also include large amounts of the valuable antioxidants, CoQ10. There are also many supplement combinations that supply antioxidants for energy and free radical protection.

As you can see from the above, there are many contributing factors that cause fatigue. And often, it is not just one thing but a combination of factors, health conditions, diet and lifestyle that all go together to cause fatigue. Taking a step-by-step approach–beginning with diet and lifestyle, is important.

First, look at diet and remove possible foods that may be causing inflammation, intolerances or sensitivities. Then begin building up a healthy diet that includes lots of organic, fresh, colorful vegetables, a little bit of fruit, naturally raised meats/fish/poultry, and healthy fats. Eliminate gluten, corn and dairy from your diet as these foods often contribute to sensitivities and fatigue.

Be sure to optimize your sleep to get as restful as possible sleep. Stay well hydrated, get outside during daylight hours to get exercise and sunlight, and do your best to eliminate stress.

If necessary, ask for extra lab work and testing from your doctor.

Supplement as needed. I highly recommend starting with a good multi vitamin/mineral supplement, B vitamins with methlyfolate and methylcobalamin, and magnesium.

While it may seem like a daunting task, taking the above steps will most definitely get you moving in the direction of feeling great and having more energy. I can almost guarantee it!

If you found this article interesting and helpful, and you are over the age of 40, take a look at how you can regain that lost energy and start feeling like yourself again….

According to the best-selling author and world-renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Steven Gundry, there’s one fruit people over 40 should never eat.

This fruit can disrupt your hormones. Both sapping you of energy and forcing your body to create “sticky” fat cells that can NOT be “burned off” with normal diet and exercise.

Do you know the fruit I’m talking about? Make sure you do by clicking the one below you think it is, and get the answer from Dr. Gundry himself on the next page:

>> Blueberries

>> Strawberries

>> Goji Berries

References
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/low-testosterone-guide/good-sleep-low-testosterone/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20377631
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8541-thyroid-disease
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-24225/7-surprising-signs-youre-not-getting-enough-protein.html
https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/13-negative-side-effects-not-getting-enough-protein/
https://draxe.com/health/always-tired/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-do-i-feel-tired-all-the-time/#ref-6
https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/energy-fatigue/3-top-nutritional-deficiencies-as-fatigue-causes/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/guide-to-essential-nutrients/common-nutrient-deficiencies/
https://www.huffinesinstitute.org/Resources/Articles/ArticleID/439/The-Power-of-Antioxidant-Supplementation-Hype-or-Helpful

The post The Real Reason You are Tired All the Time appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Aging is often associated with increasing pain. Achy joints, sore stiff muscles, and lots of things that end in “-itis”. Tendonitis, bursitis, and arthritis are some terms for medical conditions that you may hear more often as you get older.

Words ending in “-itis” mean inflammation is involved. Inflammation, which has a very sinister reputation, is actually a normal part of our body’s healing process.

When you cut your finger, scrape your knee, burn your hand, or bump your head, you feel pain.
Pain is a part of the inflammatory process which signals throughout the body to begin the healing process. Inflammation results in increased blood flow to the injured area, pain, swelling, redness and heat.

Pain is a signal to the brain that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Pain and inflammation are necessary survival tools that the body uses to fight off dangerous pathogens or to repair damaged tissue.

Pain is also protective and helps you shield that part of the body from further injury. There are some people who do not feel any pain, while this seems like it would be a good thing, these people often become severely injured or even die because the pain is not there to protect their bodies from harm.

Inflammation and Its Role in Pain

The origin of pain comes from inflammation and the inflammatory response. In the body the elements of inflammation—which also bring about healing—include cytokines, neuropeptides, growth factors and neurotransmitters.

No matter what type of pain is experienced, the underlying origin of that pain is due to the inflammatory response. Inflammation can bring on different types of pain, including sharp pain, dull pain, aching pain, burning pain, stabbing pain, tingling pain, diffuse (spread out) pain or pinpointed pain.

Acute vs Chronic Pain

Acute pain and inflammation are generally the result of an injury or infection. The pain comes on suddenly and will gradually improve as the body heals. Acute pain and acute inflammation are reasonably short-lived (less than 3 months). However, at some point in the healing process, the improvement in pain may become stalled and long-term chronic pain and inflammation set in.

Chronic inflammation comes on slowly–but does not gradually get better. Often chronic pain stays stuck and the immune system—for whatever reason–cannot correct the offending issue. This creates a cycle of chronic pain and inflammation that just keeps going. Chronic pain can last months or even years.

While chronic pain and its partner, inflammation, may result from an injury or infection, it may seemingly also just mysteriously appear with no obvious cause. Left unchecked, the inflammation turns on itself and begins attacking the body–including healthy tissue, organs, and joints. Many serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes are thought to result from chronic inflammation.

Approximately 1 out of 5 people (20%) will go on to develop chronic pain and inflammation. Some of the more common types of chronic pain include:

• Myalgia
• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Arthritis
• Neuropathy
• Bone pain
• Migraines
• Digestive pain
• Psychogenic pain

The symptoms can range from mild to severe and last for months or years.

Chronic pain is the Main Reason People Seek a Health Professional

Living with chronic pain can take a huge toll on a person’s mental health and is extremely stressful. Chronic pain becomes chronic stress which in turn, can become debilitating.

Pain can become so distracting, it affects how you interact with people, your ability to think clearly, make decisions, manage your emotions, handle your career, eating too much or too little, your joie de vivre (joy of living) and most everything you do. Chronic pain can be so life-affecting that it actually causes physiological changes in our brains.

Long term pain can also bring on depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and constant fatigue. Research shows that those with chronic pain are four times more likely to have depression or anxiety than those who are pain-free.

Pain that lasts longer than three months and is accompanied by activity restrictions, such as being unable to exercise, go to school, or do simple activities of daily living such as getting dressed without help may cause even further suffering. These people often report more severe pain, more mental health problems and even difficulty thinking and reasoning.

Chronic Pain Mapping Breakthrough

The experience of long-term pain is complicated and varies greatly between individuals, making it difficult to explain and quantify, let alone diagnose and manage. A new study shows that how and where a patient reports areas of their chronic pain affects nearly all aspects of the pain experience, including what happens months later. The researchers discovered that patients usually fit into nine different groups of chronic pain.

What’s more, these patterns of pain distribution can help predict pain intensity, pain quality, pain impact, physical function, mood, sleep and likely patient outcomes. This ability for body pain maps to help determine patient outcomes can help to identify whether certain patients will have better or worse outcomes from the start. This will also help determine more specific treatments for pain.

Conventional Medical Treatments

“Chronic pain” is a vague term that doesn’t really define the patient’s condition, and conventional medicine often fails to address the root cause of the pain. Instead, the conventional medicine approach attempts to disguise the pain. Pain can be very subjective to each individual patient. What feels like extreme pain to one person may feel like moderate pain or mild pain to another.

Most often the patient will provide the medical professional with a description of their pain. This includes the type of pain (stabbing, aching, sharp, mild, intermittent), timing of pain (does the pain worsen in the evening, interfere with sleep, etc.), location (can it be pinpointed to one spot, is it referred pain, is it diffuse pain), and history of pain.

You doctor may also ask you:

• How pain affects the rest of your life
• Other physical or mental health symptoms
• Triggers that may make the pain worse
• Any other diagnosed health conditions
• Recent injuries or illnesses
• Current medications

Depending on your symptoms and medical history, your doctor may order one or more of the following tests to check specific causes of pain:

• Bloodwork
• Urine tests
• Spinal fluid tests
• Biopsies
• Nerve function tests
• X-ray, MRI or CT scans

Doctors usually conduct a nerve function test and reflex test as well, to determine if nerves are functioning properly or if there is dysfunctional signaling in the nerves.

Medication

A medical doctor will usually prescribe medication for pain, but many pain medications come at a huge price. In addition to directly addressing the pain, health professionals may also prescribe medications that work on the psychological issues with pain.

Medications prescribed may include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication, muscle relaxers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), aspirin, corticosteroids, opioids, dextromethorphan, ketamine and lidocaine are also used.

Side effects include liver or stomach issues, constipation, weight gain, fluid retention, sleepiness, dizziness, impaired thinking, and addiction which accompanies many pain meds. One other thing about taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDS (Ibuprofen) is that these medications can reduce empathy for others and blunt emotions.

While opioids can help with severe forms of pain, they can also sensitize a person to the pain, creating a vicious cycle. Opioids and some other medications are extremely addictive, and patients usually develop a tolerance to them, creating a need for higher and higher dosages to maintain the same effect. Opioids are one of the most common medications that cause addiction, overdoses and death.

Surgical Intervention

Depending on the type of pain, surgery can sometimes be the answer. Surgical intervention works effectively for acute pain due to a recent injury; however, surgery for chronic pain such as back pain often has mixed results with lower success rates.

Surgery is often a last resort to end or reduce pain. Often back surgeries fail to stop the pain and the phrase “failed back surgery syndrome” is a fairly common one. Knee surgeries and knee replacements often have similar mixed results.

Non-Pharmacological Pain Treatments

Some medical treatments can include a variety of non-surgical, non-pharmaceutical modalities that attempt to block or interrupt the nerves that conduct pain.

Nerve blocks

An anesthetic is injected near the spinal nerves in the neck or back to directly block the nerves in the area of the pain. This can work but can also impair movement in the area as well. Nerve blocks like epidurals, are effective enough to use on women in labor, but can help many other forms of pain as well. Nerve blocks can be used on cancer pain, arthritis flare-ups, facial pain like trigeminal neuralgia, shingles pain, low back pain, migraines, and chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Nerve blocks can be used for chronic, long-term pain, post-surgical pain, and severe acute pain. Nerve blocks can ease pain by bringing about immediate relief—ask any mom-to-be whose ever had an epidural during labor!

Nerve blocks can also offer longer-term relief, because some injections can reduce irritation and inflammation to nerves and help them heal. Nerve blocks can also prevent movement to help with healing as well.

Nerve blocks can be very helpful to people dealing with chronic pain so that they can function normally in their daily lives, allowing them to work, exercise and deal with day-to-day activities without the distraction and restriction of pain.

However, nerve blocks are a temporary fix. The pain will return after the anesthetic medication wears off. Some people will need repeated or even long-term nerve block treatments to manage their inflammation and pain.

Electro-Stimulation/TENS

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a method of pain relief involving the use of a mild electrical current.

A TENS unit is a small, battery-operated device with leads that attach to the skin with pads. Small electrical impulses that feel like a tingling sensation are delivered to the affected area. These electrical impulses can disrupt pain signals traveling to the spinal cord and brain.

TENS and other ‘E-stim’ units are used to reduce pain and muscle spasms from arthritis, knee or joint pain, tendonitis, back pain, and pulled and strained muscles.

Movement Therapy

Movement rehabilitation that includes functional exercise training, physical therapy, occupational therapy and specific exercise programs can be effectively used to help manage chronic pain. Movement rehabilitation improves blood flow, range of motion, and circulation–which in turn helps to improve pain, remove inflammatory substances and reducing stiffness and swelling.

Exercise therapy, like physical therapy, also helps to strengthen weak or tight muscles in the area of pain, improving the body’s overall balance, strength and function.

Any movement modality will help to relieve stress, increase endorphins (‘feel-good’ hormones), improve one’s quality of life, aid in more restful sleep, and even prevent or reverse some of the brain changes that are associated with chronic pain.

Physical therapy techniques for pain management can also include heat or cold applications, stretching exercises, foam rolling techniques, joint mobilization, and kinesiology taping. All of these can make it easier to return to work and daily habits, increasing independence, self-reliance and quality of life.

Other gentle, movement-based therapies such as yoga, tai chi, qigong, and even working with a knowledgeable person trainer have shown a large degree of success in the world of chronic pain management. Many pain clinics and integrative medicine centers now offer movement-based therapy for pain.

Several small studies point to the effectiveness of these therapies:

1. In one study published in the journal, Alternative Therapies for Health and Medicine, those with chronic low back pain taking yoga classes reported substantial decreases in pain and used fewer pain medications.
2. Another study from BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders found that tai chi decreased pain and stress for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
3. This study published in the Journal of Rheumatology found people who were suffering from osteoarthritis reported considerably less pain and stiffness in their joints when taking a tai chi program.

Alternative Treatments

Many people have found complementary or alternative medicine approaches very helpful—sometimes in addition to conventional medical pain management—or instead of, conventional medical pain management.

Alternative medicine approaches include:

• Chiropractic care
• Acupuncture
• Dry needling
• Meditation
• Massage therapy
• Rolfing
• Hydrotherapy
• Red light (infrared) therapy
• Laser therapy
• Biofeedback
• Iontophoresis
• Traction
• Ultrasound
• Platelet-Rich Plasma injections

Many of these alternative approaches are used in combination with other alternative modalities. Some of the more popular alternative and complementary medicine practices are chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, and meditation.

Chiropractic Care

There are many different types of chiropractic care and like all doctors, some chiropractors are excellent, and others, not so great. What does a chiropractor do? There are a number of different types of chiropractic practices and definitions depending on who you ask. According to the World Federation of Chiropractic, the meaning of chiropractic medicine is:

“A health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. There is an emphasis on manual treatments including spinal adjustment and other joint and soft-tissue manipulation.”

Because the spine and central nervous system control every part of the body, chiropractors focus on the health of the spine being properly aligned. When the spine shifts out of its proper place, then adjustments are used to help bring the spine back into alignment.

According to chiropractic teachings, when the spine is out of alignment, it can impinge on nerves, creating pain almost anywhere in the body. Often when the spine is out of alignment, pain and nerve compression can cause the muscles to lock up in a spasm. The chiropractor aims to move the spine to release the spasm, regain normal movement and blood flow, and allow for normal nerve transmission.

Many people find that chiropractic care either alone or combined with other treatments helps reduce acute and chronic pain.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and has been used by the Chinese to treat a variety of conditions. The Chinese philosophy behind acupuncture is a bit more complicated to explain, as the ancient practice isn’t traditionally based in modern science and western medicine.

When acupuncture needles are inserted into specific areas on the body, these points are believed to stimulate certain areas in the central nervous system. The biochemical changes stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being. Even though tiny needles are inserted into the skin, the procedure is relatively painless.

A 2015 analysis of acupuncture published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “acupuncture is associated with reductions in chronic pain…compared to no acupuncture control.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies have shown that acupuncture is an effective treatment alone or in combination with conventional therapies to treat the following: chronic headaches or migraines, muscle spasms, arthritis pain, back pain, neck pain and many other conditions.

Massage

Massage is a healing, hands-on approach that can be soothing or vigorous. Based on research, massage therapy is considered an effective pain management technique, and is frequently recommended as an effective pain management option.

Massage not only helps relieve pain, but also relieves stress, allows for relaxation and reduces both depression and anxiety. Massage also releases (‘feel good’) endorphins which aid in increasing one’s feelings of well-being.

Massage is the practice of rubbing and kneading the body using the hands. During a massage, a massage therapist will apply gentle or strong pressure to the muscles, fascia and joints of the body to ease pain and tension.

Some of the various types of massage include: Swedish massage, hot stone massage, aromatherapy massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, trigger point massage, and myofascial release.

Meditation

Meditation has actually been shown to be very powerful in reducing many forms of pain. Meditation is an ancient practice with roots in Buddhism and other Eastern religions. Different styles of meditation help each person choose what works best for them. Meditation teaches patients how to change their reaction to the pain.

Researchers have examined meditation’s effects on people in hundreds of studies. Researchers have looked at meditation in terms of body awareness, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. Scientists have also studied the use of meditation as a treatment for pain. In these studies, meditation has been shown ease pain—sometimes significantly.

This Wake Forest University study performed MRI scans of subjects’ brains while inducing pain. Then a certified instructor taught the subjects how to practice mindfulness meditation. On the fifth day, the researchers scanned the volunteers again, once while not meditating, and then while meditating, with pain induced during both sessions. There was an almost 40 percent reduction in pain intensity ratings during the meditation when compared with non-meditation.

Meditation may actually change the structure of the brain. While pain medications ignore the psychological and social aspects of pain, meditation can treat pain by changing one’s perception of pain, diminishing their anxiety of pain, and leave the patient feeling calmer, happier, and more in control.

The Worst Foods for Pain and Inflammation

Inflammation can be a very subtle process—one that you may not even be aware of. What you eat, and how much you eat has a definite effect on the level of inflammation—and the resulting pain in your body. Certain foods that you eat can trigger inflammation and the immune system in turn will attack various parts of the body, resulting in tissue damage and pain.

Certain types of pro-inflammatory proteins also work by directly activating nerve cells, which can both initiate and intensify pain.

Some health conditions can be an underlying cause for chronic pain. These health conditions include:

• Celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Food allergies/sensitivities
• Crohn’s disease
• Gout
• Ulcerative colitis
• Headaches/migraines
• Diabetes/neuropathy

What does the food you eat have to do with pain in your body? The majority (70% or so) of your immune cells live in your digestive tract. So, what you eat has a powerful effect on whether or not you trigger an inflammatory response. Some foods can start an inflammatory cascade and other foods ease inflammation.

Sugar and Processed Foods

Many of the processed foods, additives, chemicals, and pesticides in our food supply are known to increase inflammation. Processed foods end up becoming a substantial part of many people’s diet. Convenience foods, snack cakes, chips, soda and breakfast cereals are all quick and easy to grab and go.

It is easy to see how a diet of unnatural, low nutrient, low fiber, high sugar, high omega six fats can fuel chronic pain. A Harvard Medical School study found the traditional SAD diet (full of processed meats, sugar, gluten, corn and fried foods) was associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers.

Sugar in the diet is linked to many poor health issues including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The main mechanism in sugar that leads to debilitating chronic disease is inflammation.

Other research suggests that sugar in the diet can negatively affect the gut microbiome, further increasing inflammation and autoimmune activation. Sugar can also damage the gut, causing leaky gut syndrome, leading to further inflammation, food sensitivities and chronic pain.

Omega 6 Vegetable Seed Oils

Once thought of as healthy polyunsaturated, Omega 6 seed oils like safflower, cottonseed, sunflower, corn, peanut and soy oils are big contributors to inflammation and pain. Many people have diets high in omega 6 fats fatty acids.

In spite of their ‘healthy’ label, processed seed oils are significantly worse than even sugar and grains. Processed seed oils create free radicals that damage healthy cells and trigger inflammation. Vegetable seed oils are considered to be one of the primary root causes of chronic pain as well as chronic inflammatory diseases including, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and even cancer.

The Standard American Diet includes large amounts of omega 6 fats. One of the components of omega 6 fats is arachidonic acid (ARA). ARA is present in the membranes of people’s cells involved in inflammation. ARA is also a precursor to a number of potent pro-inflammatory substances in the body.

Arachidonic acid not only contributes to the development of inflammation, but also promotes the excitability of the peripheral nerve system, contributing to pain exacerbation.

The truth is that the cumulative amount of omega 6 fats that you eat will be detrimental to your health and increase pain and inflammation. For individuals who suffer with chronic pain, inflammatory or autoimmune disease, any processed vegetable oils including canola oil, cottonseed, oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil should be totally avoided.

Instead, consuming natural, minimally processed fats from olive oil, coconut oil, wild seafood, nuts and seeds, and healthy animal fats will reduce inflammation and pain.

Gluten

Gluten free diets became such a buzzword that it often gets thought of as a trendy diet instead of a diet to help real medical conditions. Gluten in the diet can often be very insidious, causing inflammation and health conditions, sometimes with little or no identifiable symptoms.

Gluten is a type of protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. Besides being hiding out in bread and other wheat products, it also winds up in sauces, processed meat, and other packaged foods.

For those with celiac disease or sensitivity to gluten, even small amounts can become a major pain trigger. While more research is still needed, gluten may even cause pain or symptoms in individuals without a diagnosis of celiac disease or an obvious sensitivity.

One study actually found a very strong link to gluten sensitivity and neurological conditions of unknown origin. And for some people with gluten sensitivity, the primary symptom they experienced was neurological dysfunction, including pain.

Research data suggests that nearly 60 percent of people with neurological dysfunction of unknown origin test positive for anti-gliadin antibodies. It is thought that gluten may interfere with the body’s ability to absorb certain vitamins and nutrients essential for proper nerve function. This can result in chronic pain, tingling and numbness.

Nightshades

Nightshades are a family of plants belonging to the Solanaceae family. They include some of the most frequently eaten foods in our diet including:

• Tomatoes
• White potatoes
• Peppers
• Eggplant

People can be sensitive to all the nightshades or just one or two of them. White potatoes are often the worst of the nightshades for causing inflammation—and they are often combined with omega 6 oils, which add to the inflammation. French fries, for example, may cause a noticeable increase in pain. Other offending foods include: Paprika, goji berries, ashwagandha, gooseberries, ground cherries, huckleberries and tobacco.

Nightshades contain alkaloids that can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, and when absorbed into the bloodstream, they can destroy oxygen-rich red blood cells. One of the alkaloids, solanine, can also accumulate and block an enzyme called cholinesterase, lighting the body’s pain fuse.

One of the major problems that nightshades can cause is pain and inflammation in the joints. In fact, some researchers believe that arthritis can easily be misdiagnosed in people who may just have a nightshade sensitivity.

Other reactions to nightshades include irritable bowel flare-ups, asthma, GI issues, heartburn, nerve sensitization, and joint pain and swelling.

Flare-ups can take three hours to three days, so it’s often hard to identify the offender. If you live in chronic pain or have ongoing inflammation, it would be wise to eliminate nightshades for a period of time.

Dairy Products

Dairy products, especially commercially-raised and processed dairy products, have been known to cause inflammation and pain. Dairy contains a high level of protein called casein, which is responsible for allergic reactions and especially bone and joint pain. Low-fat processed dairy, like conventional low-fat yogurt, which is full of sugar should be definitely be avoided.

This review suggests that limiting dairy consumption will help those with arthritis decrease inflammation and alleviate pain. Another study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that eating dairy foods increased chronic, low-grade inflammation. And a study of 40,000 people with osteoarthritis (OA) found that those who ate dairy products regularly were more likely to need hip replacement surgery. Note: this does NOT apply to raw, whole milk products. This type of dairy actually decreases inflammation.

If you are concerned about getting calcium, other healthier sources of calcium include collard greens, kale, other dark leafy greens, chickpeas, almonds and blackstrap molasses.

Alcohol

How can consuming alcohol lead to whole-body inflammation?

If you drink alcohol on a regular basis, over time it can irritate the GI tract, including the liver. This ongoing irritation can alter the bacteria in the gut, raising levels of inflammation including an inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein. The liver creates CRP, and the more inflammation it encounters, the more CRP it makes.

CRP is a general index of inflammation. Chronically elevated levels of CRP have been associated with high blood pressure, obesity, and chronic infections and chronic pain. CRP has already been identified as a marker for the development of cardiovascular disease and other medical conditions that can cause chronic pain, such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

When it comes to chronic pain, higher levels of CRP have been found in those with fibromyalgia as well. And another study examining patients with rheumatoid arthritis found that CRP was also associated with an increase in their sensitivity to pain.

Food and Chronic Neck/Shoulder Pain

If you happen to have right-sided chronic shoulder/neck pain, or even headaches, consider this: it may not be in your neck or shoulder—it may be coming from gall bladder. This is called ‘referred pain’ and is actually very common, although many people don’t realize there is a connection.

Here’s what happens: the gall bladder has a series of ducts that connect it to the digestive system to digest fats. It is also connected to the liver and the pancreas. When there is a blockage in any of these ducts, due to irritation (possibly from excessive alcohol consumption) or from sludge (which happens frequently), this buildup creates some irritation, inflammation and swelling.

The swelling in this area puts pressure on the diaphragm and a small nerve called the ‘phrenic nerve’ that starts near the base of the diaphragm and runs up the right and left sides of the spine to the head. Because the gall bladder, pancreas and liver are located on the right side, this is usually where the pain is felt—up in the right shoulder, the neck or even in the head.

What causes this irritation? It’s pretty simple, actually. Omega 6 fatty acids create inflammation. Too much consumption of any foods containing omega 6 seed oils including canola oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc. can contribute. Nuts, nut butters, peanuts or peanut butter can also contribute to this health condition, since they tend to have omega 6 fats in them. Processed foods, refined grains and sugar are often culprits as well.

So, the next time you have a pain in the neck or shoulder, think back about what you’ve been eating the past few days—it could just be that you may need to change your diet.

Best Foods to Reduce Pain and Inflammation

The key to reducing inflammation is to start with the gut. A large proportion of your immune system is actually in your GI tract. There has been found strong relationship between the gut bacteria and chronic pain.

The gut microbiome balance is a critical key to visceral pain (coming from internal organs). However, there is also plenty of evidence that the gut bacteria play an important role in other types of chronic pain and inflammation. Other types of pain the gut affects include headache and migraine pain, arthritic pain, neuropathic pain, and even opioid tolerance.

The gut bacteria can regulate pain in the peripheral (outlying nervous system) and the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). By targeting our specific gut bacteria with dietary modifications, this emerging intervention may represent a new, effective therapeutic strategy for the management of chronic pain and emotional distress.

The goal here is to identify and move away from inflammatory foods, and to work towards more organic fresh vegetables, some fruit and naturally raised meat, poultry, and ocean wildlife.

One of the best ways to do identify foods that may be causing ongoing inflammation and pain is to do a food elimination diet. There are many different types of food elimination diet, but the basic premise is this: For a period of two to four weeks, eliminate all possible inflammatory foods. This includes:

• All grains, especially gluten, and processed grains and flours
• All sugars
• All other processed foods that come in boxes, bags, or packaging
• All sauces
• Dairy products
• Omega 6 oils such as, soybean, canola, corn, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed oils

After eliminating these foods for a minimum of two weeks, note how your pain feels. Is it better? Keep a journal of your results. Then, one-by-one, challenge each food by consuming it for a couple of days and note your pain levels.

Anti-inflammatory Foods

Anti-inflammatory foods are notable for their abundance of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other key phytochemicals. Anti-inflammatory foods are often also plentiful in omega 3—not omega 6 essential fatty acids.

The evidence here is clear that these types of anti-inflammatory foods will modulate and regulate the immune system—making it work effectively against invading pathogens while remaining calm and reducing chronic inflammation and pain in the body.

While there are many, many foods that can reduce pain, while improving health and well-being, we will discuss some of the best pain and inflammation-reducing foods.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Fats with healing inflammation-reducing capabilities contain omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fats have many healthful, healing properties like preventing disease, fighting cancer, reducing the aging process, improving the mood, and helping protect the brain. And they are powerful tools to help fight chronic pain.

Omega 3 fats are made up of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These fatty acids are found in cold water, wild caught fish like salmon, cod and sardines, as well as grass fed meats and pasture raised poultry. It is important to note however, that conventionally-raised grain fed meat and farm raised fish contain more omega 6 fats and less omega 3’s.

Omega 3 fatty acids are absolutely necessary for good health. These essential fats are essential for optimal brain and nerve function, which in turn helps to modulate the immune system and reduce pain.

In addition to helping your body fight pain and inflammation, omega 3 fats can prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety and asthma. In addition, these fats help to fight cancer, reduce menopause symptoms, manage lupus, prevent migraines, improve rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and more.

Grass Fed Butter

Grass fed butter is full of anti-inflammatory nutrients that help to ease pain. If you happen to have a dairy sensitivity, consuming ghee (butter with the milk solids removed) will bring you all the benefits of butter without the dairy.

Both butter and ghee contain a healthy fat called butyric acid, an anti-inflammatory fatty acid that helps keep your gut lining healthy. Both butter and ghee also contain conjugated linoleic acid, (CLA), a healthy polyunsaturated fat that lowers inflammation.

Butyric acid is an incredible anti-inflammatory agent that improves the beneficial bacteria in the gut (which as we discussed previously, lowers pain and inflammation), suppresses the growth of harmful bacteria, and helps those with digestive disorders. Butter is a valuable treatment for people with chronic pain, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and celiac disease.

MUFA’s

Monounsaturated oils like extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are rich in polyphenols and antioxidants that fight inflammation. Monounsaturated polyphenols, like those in olive oil, are powerful inhibitors of inflammation.

These oils help block messaging molecules that signal to increase pain and inflammation. They also contain enzymes that block the action of pro-inflammatory substances in the body.

Olive oil, especially, is known to significantly lower levels of C- reactive protein (CRP), which is a standard medical laboratory test for inflammation, and as mentioned earlier, CRP increases pain, while decreasing one’s ability to withstand pain.

Using monounsaturated fats to control inflammation does not require a large amount. As little as 1 or 2 Tablespoons a day are associated with significant anti-inflammatory benefits. But, be sure when you purchase olive oil you are getting genuine olive oil and not a cheap fake olive oil.

Healing Proteins

Good quality protein is key to your body’s ability to use it. High quality grass fed beef or bison, free range chicken and organic eggs, and wild caught fish are the best protein sources you can eat. These protein sources contain the right ratios of omega 3 fats to omega 6 fats and contain highly bio-available protein that is easier to digest and assimilate than commercially raised livestock and poultry.

In addition, CLA and omega 3 fats in grass fed meats and wild caught fish are essential to optimal health and improve your cells’ response to insulin, neurotransmitters and other messengers. They’re also very important for the repair process when your cells are damaged.

The best types of animal proteins are free of hormones, antibiotics and toxins–meaning they are considered ‘clean’ proteins, with no toxic residue to increase pain or inflammation.

Antioxidant-Rich (Organic) Fruits and Veggies

While all plant foods contain nutrients that fight cancer and strengthen the immune system, particular herbs, fruits and vegetables have properties that fight oxidation and free radicals that increase inflammation; all the while strengthening, cleansing, and repairing the body.

Most any brightly colored fruit or vegetable is full of inflammation-fighting ingredients. Some of the best pain and inflammation fighters include dark green leafy vegetables, beets, cruciferous vegetables, and pineapple.

Dark green leafy vegetables that include leaf lettuce, such as arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, mache (a type of lettuce), romaine lettuce, parsley and watercress one of the most concentrated sources of nutrition of any food. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta- carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of healthy omega 3 fats.

The rock star nutrient in leafy greens is vitamin K, which is a key regulator of inflammation.

Other brightly colored vegetables that fight pain and inflammation include beets, known for their deep red color full of antioxidants. Beets go to work to repair cell damage caused by inflammation. Beets also contain large amounts of essential minerals, potassium and magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is often linked with painful inflammatory conditions.

Cruciferous vegetables in the diet are key to fighting pain and inflammation. The cruciferous family includes: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, kale, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts, radishes, mustard greens, watercress, arugula, and turnips. Cruciferous veggies are also high in inflammation-fighting phytochemicals, including sulforaphane. Research shows the sulforaphane in cruciferous vegetables is extremely beneficial at helping to reduce pain and inflammation.

Another component in cruciferous vegetables is ascorbigen, which has been shown reduce pain sensitivity and improve the quality of life, according to this study on fibromyalgia patients.

Cruciferous vegetables have been shown to get rid of depression that often accompanies pain and inflammation. Furthermore, sulforaphane also benefits those with anxiety.

Pineapple deserves a mention here. Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain contains immune-modulating abilities. It helps to calm down the immune system to prevent unwanted pain and inflammation. The highest concentration of bromelain is contained in the stem of the pineapple, so don’t cut out this section out and throw it away!

Other healing, anti-inflammatory plant foods include: edible seaweed, acai berries, goji berries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and dark red or purple grapes, garlic, ginger, and turmeric.

Herbs, Spices and Tea

Herbs and spices are some of the most potent natural antioxidants on this earth. In fact, many herbs rank higher in antioxidant activity than fruits and vegetables. Herbs and spices add plenty of extra flavor, and when combined with other nutrition-packed superfoods, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power is boosted 10X.

Anti-Inflammatory Spices

These spices have the highest amount of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, pain-reducing ability, so add them liberally to your foods.

Chili Peppers—Chili peppers of all types include a substance called capsaicin, which is what makes them taste hot. The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains. Capsaicin is actually an irritant, which stops the nerves from transmitting pain signals. It also creates a rush of endorphins which are one of the body’s natural painkillers. Capsaicin works well externally as a cream or internally where you get the added benefit of its cancer-fighting abilities, improved circulation, ramped up metabolism, and reduced cholesterol. So, pour on that hot sauce!

Turmeric—We’ve heard plenty about this pungent, yellow spice, but it’s worth reiterating. Turmeric contains curcumin, a very powerful anti-inflammatory that competes with commercial painkillers for its effectiveness–but without the adverse health effects.

The active ingredient, curcumin is also very good at destroying some forms of cancer, lowering cholesterol, and killing bacteria too. Turmeric needs some fat and a warming spice such as black pepper to work effectively, so add both to your turmeric milk and enjoy its healthful, pain-killing benefits.

Ginger—Ginger is in the same family as turmeric and has inherited many of the same health boosting properties. Ginger has been shown several studies to be as effective as many commercial painkillers, without the side effects like stomach bleeding, liver damage, kidney problems, and high blood pressure. Ginger also relieves nausea, bloating, and cramping while improving circulation. And it tastes delicious!

Nutmeg—Another medicinal spice that has been used in many dishes all over the world. It is effective to fight pain and lower inflammation. Nutmeg also relieves indigestion and increases circulation—which often helps reduce swelling and pain. Nutmeg also acts as a mild sedative. Nutmeg is best in small amounts; larger quantities can be toxic and serious mental issues, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, agitation, hallucinations and even death in large doses.

Cinnamon—Cinnamon not only tastes wonderful but contains anti-inflammatories that have been shown to be effective in easing the pain of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Cinnamon is also an antibacterial, antioxidant spice that lowers cholesterol and improves insulin function as well. It’s also pretty easy to add to lots of dishes, as it makes everything taste better.

Clove—Cloves and clove oil have long been known for the gentle numbing properties they contain. Clove oil can be used externally to warm and numb specific areas that are painful. Clove contains anti-inflammatory properties when you consume it as well. Add some cloves to your turmeric milk.

Garlic—Garlic is so good for almost everything health-related. And pain reduction is another example of garlic’s power. Garlic is rich in both sulfur and selenium, both of which can help to relieve joint and muscle pain.

The sulfur compounds in garlic and onions tap into the some of the same pathways as capsaicin, decreasing inflammation and pain-causing compounds, while releasing endorphins and painkillers.

The selenium in garlic helps reduces pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. Many people with arthritis tend to have low levels of selenium. Selenium is also a powerful cancer-fighting mineral that boosts immune health, protects against heart disease, boosts thyroid functions and helps protect the brain.

Rosemary—Rosemary contains active ingredients that are potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of rosemary is largely attributed to its polyphenolic compounds like rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid.

Rosemary has been known to improve concentration, boost memory, and lift depression. It also is a muscle and joint pain reliever. Rosemary oil can be massaged into joints and sore muscles, but it is also effective when consumed in your favorite dish. Rosemary also strengthens the immune system, improves circulation, stimulates digestion, and fights cancer, as well.

Tea

Green, white, oolong, and rooibos tea contain potent catechins, bioflavonoids and polyphenols that reduce pain and inflammation and limit free radical production. Drinking 2 cups of any of these types of teas every day will reduce inflammation significantly, as well as adding powerful antioxidants that fight aging and disease.

Natural Supplements for Pain

CBD

There are many studies on cannabinoids for pain relief. Marijuana comes from the cannabis plant and contains somewhere around a hundred compounds called ‘cannabinoids’.

Cannabinoids are naturally occurring chemical compounds in marijuana that affect neurotransmitters in the brain. One of the most well-known cannabinoids in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, which is the primary substance in marijuana that contains psychoactive compounds and will get you ‘high’.

Cannabidiol, or CBD is another active compound in marijuana, which does not affect the brain in the same way or get you ‘high’ but is known for its many other health benefits. CBD is also found in the hemp plant, along with the cannabis plant. The hemp plant which does not contain any psychoactive compounds like marijuana.

In the 1990’s a well-known scientist discovered a system within our own bodies that contains receptors for the compounds found in hemp and marijuana. This system is called the endocannabinoid system. This EC system actually contains receptors that connect with cannabinoids in marijuana such as CBD and THC.

Our bodies have these cannabinoid receptors in the brain, lungs, kidneys, immune system and other parts of the body that link up with the cannabinoids in marijuana when it is ingested, inhaled or applied. This is why therapeutic use of marijuana has very specific effects on different parts of the body.

CBD works as well or better than opioids in relieving pain by inhibiting the nerve transmission in the pain signaling pathways, without the tolerance or addiction of an opioid drug. CBD oil is often used by people who have chronic pain. While it works to reduce pain, it also reduces inflammation (a big part of pain), and overall discomfort that is related to many health conditions.

A 2012 study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine found that CBD significantly suppressed chronic inflammatory and nerve pain without causing any tolerance to the treatment. Another review of multiple studies showed that a combination of CBD and THC was found very effective in treating the pain associated with Multiple Sclerosis, which is often very debilitating in 50-70% of patients.

Other studies show both CBD and THC can help to relieve depression, anxiety and stress. In one study, self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety decreased drastically.

As of 2021, thirty-six states now allow medical marijuana to be sold. Twenty-one states allow both medical marijuana and recreational sales. CBD is legal in all 50 states; however the laws vary from state to state. Be sure to check your state’s laws on marijuana and CBD products.

Collagen

Collagen is a type of protein that helps to repair connective tissue, including ligaments and tendons, the cartilage in joints, the lining of the GI tract, certain organs and the skin.

As we age, we continually lose collagen, so we must replace the lost collagen. Much of the aging process has to do with the breakdown of collagen. Sagging and thinning skin, stiff joints, shortened stature, stooped posture, and easy bruising are all the visible signs of aging from collagen breakdown.

Collagen contains the amino acid, glycine. Our bodies need adequate amounts of glycine from collagen, and we cannot create enough on our own. An average person needs approximately 10 grams of glycine to cover all of our physical needs. Unfortunately, our bodies only make about 3 grams per day, and most of us only get about 1.5-3 grams from diet—if that. That means we cannot make enough on our own and need supplemental glycine to function optimally.

Collagen reduces inflammation—especially in the gut—which is intricately connected to the immune system. Collagen also contains amino acids vital to optimal immune function. Glycine, glutamic acid or glutamine, and arginine have been shown to help regulate the inflammatory process and support the immune function.

Glycine is considered an amino acid that has strong anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, it also helps to modulate the immune system, meaning that it helps the immune system work effectively, without causing it to overreact. Glycine also helps boost the functionality of macrophages (our cells’ scavengers) , which in turn, go after damaging free radicals and inflammatory cytokines.

B Vitamins

The B vitamins, have been shown to be effective in treating various forms of painful nerve conditions including neuropathy, low back pain, sciatica, trigeminal neuralgia and facial paralysis.

The B vitamin family is made up of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate or methylfolate (B9) and methylcobalamin (B12).

B vitamins are necessary for proper nerve function and neurotransmitter signaling. B vitamins are also effective in blocking pain signals from damaged nerves and help to repair nerves damaged by neuropathy.

Deficiency in B vitamins can contribute to various neurologic and psychiatric disturbances because the lack of B vitamins will impair nerve health, neurotransmitter function, and other neurological processes, potentially leading to symptoms like anemia, numbness/tingling, weakness, anxiety and depression.

Vitamin C

Back in the old days, a vitamin C deficiency resulted in scurvy, which was characterized by musculoskeletal pain. Scurvy is very rare these days, but evidence does indicate that vitamin C administration can still have pain-killing properties.

A number of recent clinical studies have shown that giving vitamin C to patients with chronic regional pain syndrome reduces their pain. Other types of neuralgia also show diminished pain with high dose vitamin C administration. Furthermore, cancer-related pain is decreased with high dose vitamin C, contributing to enhanced patient quality of life.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are known to have a major role in many types of chronic pain, including arthritis, CRPS, infection, cancer and surgical trauma. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that is capable of protecting cells and tissues from oxidative damage.

Vitamin C also acts as a cofactor in numerous enzymatic reactions and has anti-inflammatory properties, providing marked decreases in markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and pro-inflammatory cytokines. It’s not clear what doses of vitamin C will reduce pain, but vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, and higher doses are not harmful.

Magnesium

Magnesium helps maintain 300 different enzymatic reactions within the body. Magnesium also has a calming, relaxing effect, eases depression and anxiety and aiding in more restful sleep. This amazing mineral also soothes chronic pain, due to its muscle-relaxing and analgesic effects.

Magnesium has reported benefits for migraine and tension headaches, low back pain, neuropathy, neuralgia and other forms of chronic aches and pains. These effects are considered to be due to blockage of specific pain receptors, attenuation of central sensitization, and muscle relaxing effects.

Epsom salts are high in magnesium and one of the best most relaxing ways to absorb magnesium is by soaking in a hot bath. The magnesium absorbed in the body from the Epsom salts will help to relax and dilate blood vessels, increasing healing blood flow and helping the healing process.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Its popularity comes from its antiaging abilities, and its presence in red wine. It turns out resveratrol may do a lot more than slow down wrinkles, however!

When your body gets an injury, the nerves carry the pain signal to your brain. Those same nerves can also become hyperexcited, which means they turn up the volume on all other sensations. Often, this results in ‘false’ pain caused by hyperexcited nerves. Over time, this hyperexcitability mechanism can turn into chronic pain. It can even lead to opioid dependency and abuse.

Resveratrol, applied topically, can lower this pain, and reduce the excitability of the nerves. Resveratrol works for post-operative pain, neuropathy, arthritis, tendinitis, muscle pain, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel, and migraines.

SAM-e

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM-e) is a supplement commonly used to help with symptoms of depression and to ease the pain of osteoarthritis. The liver naturally produces SAM-e from an amino acid called methionine which is a product of methylfolate, a B vitamin.

SAM-e has several functions, including helping the production and repair of cartilage, clearing the liver of toxins and helping the body with methylation production.

When taken as a supplement, SAM-e can help with symptoms of chronic pain. It is thought to be as effective as the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex. SAM-e may take a while to work, however. In one study comparing celecoxib and SAM-e, the drug improved symptoms more than SAM-e after only a month. However, by the second month, the two treatments were comparable.

SAM-e is also well-known for its ability to be a natural antidepressant—with no side effects.

While this article focuses on pain strategies, it is important to mention that following general good health guidelines and having a healthy lifestyle will lay the groundwork to help you overcome pain.

Those healthy habits include:

• Stop smoking!
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• If pain keeps you up, try melatonin which is full of powerful anti-inflammatories and antioxidants.
• Do your best to avoid stress. If you cannot get away from it, try meditation and quieting your mind to help lower stress and cortisol.
• Exercise–Multiple studies have shown that exercise can significantly reduce chronic pain, increase nerve function and decrease neuropathy symptoms, and even reduce depression and anxiety that’s so common in chronic pain sufferers. Exercise is perhaps the most important tool in reducing pain. It can also be the hardest to start doing. When you’re in severe pain, exercise seems nearly impossible. The key is to start slow, increase gradually, and respect your body’s limits.

Pain is an individual and subjective experience and may or may not be associated with obvious tissue damage or disease. Pain is often accompanied by other influencing factors, such as mental state, coping strategies, social/cultural context, experience, and other symptoms. Taking care of yourself in a healthy, holistic fashion will pay off far, far better than just taking pain medication.

Here’s wishing you a long, happy, pain-free life.

Before you go…

30-second Himalayan practice fixes knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

Doctors were stunned to discover that a remote Himalayan tribe had almost zero cases of joint or knee pain.

And that’s despite a diet rich in cheese and red meats, and drinking copious amounts of alcohol (all things that are supposed to make knee pain and inflammation worse).

Their secret?

A simple, 30-second trick they practice at 6:45 each morning that can not only prevent — but reverse creaky and stiff knee joints. Here’s how to do it:

>> 30-second Himalayan practice “cures” knee and joint pain (try it tonight)

References
https://www.healthline.com/health/meditation-for-chronic-pain
https://newsroom.wakehealth.edu/News-Releases/2018/09/Mindful-People-Feel-Less-Pain
https://www.healthline.com/health/types-of-massage#shiatsu
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/acupuncture
https://www.healthline.com/health/acupuncture-how-does-it-work-scientifically#what-are-the-benefits
https://www.verywellhealth.com/physical-therapy-treatments-and-modalities-2696683
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jul-05-la-he-pain-exercise-20100705-story.html
https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-inflammation#symptoms
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/chronic-pain-the-impact-on-the-50-million-americans-who-have-it#The-effect-on-work-and-the-economy
https://draxe.com/health/chronic-pain-management/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-inflammation
https://www.mhanational.org/chronic-pain-and-mental-health
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/nerve-blocks
https://www.sciencealert.com/large-body-map-study-suggests-chronic-pain-comes-in-9-distinct-types
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2771434/
https://draxe.com/nutrition/pain-triggering-foods/
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-xpm-2012-05-04-fl-suzy-cohen-042912-20120423-story.html
https://www.thehealthy.com/pain/foods-that-fight-inflammation/
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-depth/the-gut-where-bacteria-and-immune-system-meet
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007091219306385
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/ss/slideshow-foods-fight-pain
https://www.thehealthy.com/pain/foods-that-fight-inflammation/
https://zenfoods.com/three-important-benefits-of-cruciferous-vegetables/
https://news.osu.edu/antioxidants-new-kid-on-the-block-for-pain-relief/
https://sunwarrior.com/blogs/health-hub/17-herbs-and-spices-as-painkillers
https://arrowheadhealth.com/home-remedies-for-muscle-and-joint-pain/
https://www.healthline.com/health/cbd-for-depression#for-anxiety
https://fullscript.com/blog/chronic-back-pain-supplements
https://boomernaturals.com/blogs/news/b-complex-for-chronic-pain-relief
https://draxe.com/nutrition/vitamin-b/

The post Rid Yourself of Pain for Good appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

The conventional medical mindset has always held that for women, the uncomfortable perimenopause and menopause symptoms women experience, result from an estrogen deficient as the ovaries start to shut down.

In reality, this is wrong.

During the ten years or so of perimenopause, (‘pre-menopause’), progesterone, a major female hormone that helps to balance estrogen, begins to drop. This is not a small drop, but more like it drops off a cliff. In fact, progesterone levels can plummet to nearly zero levels in the body.

While estrogen decreases slowly during perimenopause and menopause, the fact of the matter is that estrogen levels do not fall as dramatically–until after a woman’s last period–and even then they only fall about 40% or so, overall.

This creates a condition called “estrogen dominance” where the natural ratio of estrogen and progesterone become way out of balance. This means there is too much estrogen relative to progesterone. The symptoms can start years before menopause actually occurs. It is estimated that about 80% or more of women in the United States and Europe and other industrialized societies suffer from low progesterone and estrogen dominance.

What are the Symptoms of Low Progesterone?

The symptoms listed below affect many different body systems in the body, including the brain. Many women in their thirties and forties find that they experience moderate to severe symptoms of low progesterone. The symptoms include:

• Decreased sex drive
• Irregular, heavy menstrual periods
• Bloating (water retention)
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Headaches/Migraines
• Mood swings–irritability, anxiety and depression
• Weight gain, particularly around the abdomen and hips
• Low thyroid symptoms
• Foggy thinking, memory loss
• Fatigue
• Insomnia

Estrogen dominance can lead to a condition of increased inflammation, sudden onset allergies, autoimmune disorders , uterine cancer, ovarian cysts, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, increased blood clotting, increased risk of heart disease, strokes, and accelerated aging.

What Causes Estrogen Dominance

In a normal menstrual cycle, estrogen is the dominant hormone for the first two weeks leading up to ovulation. Once ovulation occurs, estrogen is balanced out by progesterone during the last two weeks of the cycle.

As a woman enters perimenopause and menopause, anovulation begins (cycles where no ovulation occurs) and estrogen goes unopposed, causing many unpleasant symptoms. In industrialized countries such as the United States, there can be many other causes of estrogen dominance that contribute to this condition including:

• Excess body fat
• Too much stress, which depletes progesterone
• A low-fiber diet that doesn’t allow the body to rid itself of estrogen
• Birth control pills, patches, or other synthetic estrogen therapy
• Environmental agents called Xenoestrogens (artificial estrogens), from plastics, toxins in food and water, petroleum products, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, pesticides, weed killer, and personal care products such as lotion, make-up, nail polish, shampoos and soaps.

Estrogen Dominance Happens in Men Too

Although estrogen is typically a female hormone, men also have small amounts of estrogen and progesterone. When a man typically reaches his forties, both progesterone and testosterone levels begin to decline. This is when a man can become estrogen dominant. Symptoms of estrogen dominance for men include:

• Weight gain
• Loss of sex drive
• Erectile dysfunction
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Man boobs
• Depression
• Anxiety

Estrogen can stimulate cell growth and cause prostate enlargement, prostate cancer and even breast cancer. Excess estrogen in men can also raise the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.

How to Get Back in Balance

Helping your body to rid itself of excess estrogen, lowering stress, and making some lifestyle changes should help regain hormonal balance, and alleviate many of the symptoms of estrogen dominance. Here’s how:

• Follow a hormone-balancing diet:
  • Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Get adequate protein from natural sources.
  • Include healthy fats (omega 3 and saturated fats) and eliminate inflammatory omega 6 seed oils.
  • Avoid all sugars and processed foods.
• Eat lots of fiber. Excess estrogen is processed by the liver and excreted by the bowel; if stool remains in the bowel, estrogen is reabsorbed into the body.
• Use transdermal 2% bioidentical progesterone cream: Many of the symptoms of estrogen dominance can be relieved with a natural, over-the-counter, bioidentical progesterone, 2% cream. (For men and women)
• Lose excess body fat and get regular exercise — Strength training, in particular, helps build muscle and stronger bones.
• Detoxify your liver: Protect your liver and help it eliminate toxins such as alcohol, drugs, caffeine, or environmental agents, so it can help you eliminate excess estrogen.
• Decrease stress: Stress causes higher than normal levels of cortisol in the body. Progesterone is a pre-cursor to cortisol, so stress will drain the body of progesterone. Even a 10-minute meditation practice every morning can do wonders to ease stress, change your mindset and create a positive attitude.

If these measures do not cause a significant reduction in symptoms, it may be time to visit your health practitioner to get lab work done for hormone levels.

References
https://www.healthline.com/health/high-estrogen#symptoms-in-women
https://www.healthline.com/health/high-estrogen#treatment
https://www.drnorthrup.com/estrogen-dominance/
https://www.johnleemd.com/estrogen-dominance.html
https://lifesum.com/nutrition-explained/5-lifestyle-changes-that-will-restore-your-hormonal-balance
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/estrogen-in-men#symptoms-of-low-estrogen
https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2008/11/dangers-of-excess-estrogen-in-the-aging-male

The post 11 Sneaky signs of low progesterone (important for men too) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Alcohol usage went way up this past year and it’s pretty easy to see why. There was this pandemic that kept us all home, for one thing. Stress levels were high with kids and spouses all at home trying to work and study. And hey, it’s not difficult to just walk a few feet over to the fridge and pull out a beer with lunch or pour yourself a glass, or two, or three of wine. No worries about drunk driving, and hey–it’s a whole lot cheaper than ordering drinks in a restaurant.

I get it. It happens to the best of us. That slow and steady slippery slope. Before you know it, ‘Happy hour’ starts at 3pm and continues as long as you want it to.

According to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open, more people than ever used alcohol to cope with career, social, healthy and financial uncertainty and stress.

The study’s researchers found that alcohol consumption among adults increased 14% from 2019 to 2020. And women, in particular, exhibited a whopping 41% increase in heavy (four or more drinks in a 2-hour period) alcohol consumption last year over 2019.

There’s really nothing good that comes from excess drinking. Drinking does nothing good for your health.

With heavy consumption, alcohol can lead to damage to the liver, heart, brain, and many other organs in the body.

But even moderate consumption can wreak havoc on hormones, causing an increase in estrogen in both MEN and women!

In men, alcohol will cause testosterone to convert to estrogen, leading to low libido, ED, weight gain, man boobs, even shrinkage!

Drinking also has negative effects on women’s hormones. In women, alcohol will also cause a rise in estrogen, but this is not necessarily a good thing. Women who are in mid 30s, 40s and 50s, will find they can have an overabundance of estrogen, creating condition called estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance comes with its own problems including:

• Heavy periods
• Weight gain
• Endometriosis
• Depression/Anxiety/Irritability
• Low Libido
• Increased risk of breast and endometrial cancer

Excess estrogen also interferes with thyroid function and can slow the thyroid, creating symptoms of hypothyroid.

And for women who are on Hormone Replacement Therapy, alcohol can increase the amount of estrogen in the body by up to 300%, while decreasing progesterone. If you wonder why your HRT may not be working or why you are still gaining weight, it may have to do with your alcohol intake.

One other thing about alcohol—if you are dealing with menopause symptoms, drinking increases hot flashes and night sweats.

One other hormone that alcohol affects—cortisol. Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase cortisol in the body Cortisol is the hormone released by the adrenals when you are stressed. Excess cortisol comes with another range of unpleasant side effects including:

• Insomnia
• Stress
• Food cravings/Weight gain
• Anxiety and depression
• Increase in blood pressure
• Decrease in ability to focus
• Increase in blood sugar, insulin resistance

Alcohol also interferes with thyroid function, causing a decrease in T3, T4 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) production. This creates a hypo, or low thyroid reaction to alcohol. Hypothyroid symptoms include:

• Weight gain, bloating
• Extreme fatigue
• Depression
• Hair loss
• Slowed thinking
• Decreased libido

Two other necessary hormones that alcohol doesn’t play well with—melatonin, our sleep hormone, and growth hormone. Alcohol inhibits the release of melatonin. And because growth hormone is released during our sleep, alcohol drinking reduces growth hormone release.

Human Growth Hormone or (HGH) is important for growth, cell regeneration, and cell reproduction. HGH helps to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the brain and other organs.

This hormone can help to speed up healing after an injury and repair muscle tissue after exercise. Growth hormone helps to build muscle mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat. And HGH is also said to benefit the quality of the skin to help us look younger. HGH slows down the aging process.

One last thing, drinking not only makes you hungrier, but it also makes you lose your ability to control what you are eating. Before you know it, you are ordering that large order of French fries or mowing through that box of cookies. Not a great way to stick to a healthy diet.

Alcohol adds to depression and anxiety and it messes up your gut microbiome which affects everything–including your immune system!

Drinking makes your skin look pale and sallow. Drinking will also contribute to dehydration while draining your body of important nutrients—especially B vitamins B-l (thiamin), vitamin B-3 (niacin) and folate, as well as zinc and magnesium.

All that being said, I just want to say, it is OK to enjoy a drink now and then, so let’s talk about how to drink LESS and to stay in control if and when you have a drink.

First--Don’t reach for that wine glass as soon as you finish work. Start learning to associate a new ‘reward’ for the end of your day. Go for a short walk to relax. Do some yoga, play outside with the kids, stretch, meditate. It’s important to replace your drinking with something positive. Otherwise, you’ve just left a hole in your routine. Put something you look forward to in that place.

Find an a non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drink. I love mixing sparkling water with kombucha and adding a lime garnish. It’s delicious and refreshing. Or try some of the new hard seltzers or hard kombuchas. They are delicious and light with about half the alcohol of a normal beer or glass of wine.

Here’s an important one—don’t drink alcohol when you really should be drinking water. Often we are just thirsty and need a glass of water or something to hydrate with. So drink a great big glass of water before you have a drink. And when you do order a drink, order a glass of water or sparkling water to go with it. You should end of drinking half as much.

Learn to sip your drink and enjoy it, don’t guzzle it waiting for the alcohol to hit your system. Be mindful. And it helps if you order a drink that you have to sip slowly, like tequila, red wine, vodka on the rocks—anything that isn’t sweet.

And most importantly, have an accountability partner like a spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend or good friend. Let them know you want to cut back on drinking and have them help you out with that. It’s best to avoid people who are heavy drinkers, because willpower ends up going out the window. It’s tough to stop when everyone else is drinking. Be mindful of the people you hang around with.

It’s not that difficult to cut back on drinking. It’s just a matter of being MINDFUL of what you are doing, paying attention to the health risks, and take the above steps to deal with it. If you find you are drinking out of control, or if it is affecting your family or career, it’s time to ask for professional help. There is no shame in taking back control of your life.

Cheers, to you and your health!

before you go…

5 Warning Signs Your Liver is Damaged:

There are 5 early signals of liver trouble that are easy to spot; IF you know what to look for…

Honestly… these are sorta weird.

What are the liver warning signs?

And how can you overcome them?

Don’t fall victim to liver disease. Especially when it’s so easy to prevent.

>>> Discover the 5 warning signs now (and how to detoxify them)

References
https://www.verywellhealth.com/covid-19-higher-alcohol-consumption-5094355#citation-1
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alcohol-use.htm
https://riahealth.com/2019/08/20/alcohol-and-womens-hormones/
https://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/how-drink-less
Pollard MS, Tucker JS, Green HD. Changes in adult alcohol use and consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(9):e2022942. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.22942

The post How to Drink Less Alcohol appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Perimenopause and menopause start in the 40s and continue into the 50’s for most women. Some of the uncomfortable symptoms can last for 10 years or more as hormone levels decline.

The majority of women in the U.S. and Europe and other modern countries experience many of the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia and fatigue.

As hormone levels continue to decline, menopausal women are at higher risk of developing serious chronic diseases such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

While hormone therapy is available, many women are not comfortable using it, often because of a fear of health risks. Some women have tried hormone therapy and found they experienced adverse effects from them and stopped using them. And other women just prefer to go it alone and deal with perimenopause and menopause naturally.

Many women turn to diet, lifestyle, natural supplements and other remedies for relief. These are the best options to consider first. The biggest plus about making diet and lifestyle changes is that these things have a positive impact on your overall health as well as helping with hormone balance.

Proper hormonal balance can change your outlook, your health, and the entire trajectory of your life. Hormones most definitely have an effect on us—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Hormones for women include more than the sex hormones of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Our bodies function optimally with the proper balance of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, leptin, insulin, cortisol, growth hormone, serotonin, melatonin and more.

When any one hormone level goes up or down, it can wreak havoc on all the other hormones. So instead of a symphony of hormones working together, out of whack hormones can become just a cacophony of noise. And that’s when we get a lot of the unpleasant hormonal symptoms.

Hormones can affect almost every function in our body. Hormones play a part in our hunger or satisfaction, how well we sleep, how we react to stress, how we respond to exercise, how we metabolize our food, our sex drive, our moods, our energy levels and how quickly we age. And, hormones have a lot to do with our feelings of self-confidence and overall wellbeing.

Signs that Your Hormones May be Out of Balance (no matter what your age)

• Weight gain—especially around the middle
• Low thyroid symptoms—weight gain, fatigue, depression, hair loss
• Moodiness
• Anxiety and depression
• Endometriosis
• PMS
• Breast tenderness
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Loss of interest in sex
• Fatigue
• Hot flashes
• Hair loss or hair growth in unusual places
• Blood sugar instability
• Food cravings
• Lack of ambition and drive
• Fluid retention
• Headaches/Migraines

Estrogen and Health Issues

Estrogen is the hormone that makes us ‘female’ and is responsible for our female characteristics such as breast development, menstrual periods, and the tendency to store fat around our hips. Estrogen surges at adolescence and begins its decline in our forties.

Estrogen comes in different forms—estradiol, estrone and estriol. Each of these have different roles in our bodies. Estrogen is produced by the ovaries pre-menopause, produced in large quantities by the placenta during pregnancy, and even after menopause we still produce small amounts of estrone in the adrenals and body fat. The more body fat a woman has, the more estrogen is produced.

Estrogen also has a dark side and too much of it can cause many of the uncomfortable symptoms that women experience in perimenopause and menopause. Estrogen is responsible for causing weight gain, especially in the hips, thighs and breast tissue. Too much estrogen can also raise the risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers.

What is Estrogen Dominance?

Estrogen dominance is a condition that occurs when estrogen levels are too high in relation to progesterone. This can be characterized by symptoms such as:

• Breast tenderness or fibrocystic breasts
• Premenstrual syndrome
• Mood swings
• Decreased sex drive
• Uterine fibroids
• Weight gain

Estrogen dominance also dramatically raises your risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer. Estrogen dominance can also contribute to depression, headaches, infertility, insomnia, thyroid dysfunction and water retention. Estrogen dominance is present in the majority of women in their 40’s and 50’s.

What Causes Estrogen Dominance?

• Conventional hormone therapy using synthetic estrogen, or contraceptive pills
• Exposure to Xenoestrogens (artificial estrogens in plastics, personal care and our environment)
• Being overweight
• Hysterectomy
• Declining progesterone levels (often begins in the forties)
• Peri-menopause
• Menopause
• Diet and inflammation

As we age, progesterone levels tend to drop fairly quickly after the age of 40 or so. By the time we reach menopause, our progesterone has hit rock bottom, while estrogen is still in a gradual decline. Due to diet and lifestyle factors, most women in American tend to have estrogen levels approximately twice as high as they naturally should be.

Many of the peri-menopause and menopause symptoms we attribute to lack of estrogen are actually from low levels of progesterone.

In fact, at menopause, progesterone decreases to about 1/120th of our premenstrual levels, while estrogen only decreases by about ½. While conventional thinking is that we have too little estrogen by the time we reach menopause, in fact, most women have too much estrogen in relationship to progesterone.

In less industrialized countries such as rural China and Japan, women who eat a primitive diet consisting of large amounts of vegetables, high fiber and wild caught fish, have far lower levels of estrogen. Not surprisingly, women from these cultures do not report difficulties with menopause or peri-menopause.

Fiber in the diet also helps to clear the body of excess estrogen by carrying it out in bowel movements. Circulating estrogen is sent to the liver to be processed, and then sent to the large intestine to be eliminated. If there is not enough fiber in a woman’s diet to carry out the estrogen, estrogen gets reabsorbed. So consequently, a diet high in fiber is helpful to balance out estrogen dominance.

What about Xenoestrogens?

Let’s talk briefly about Xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are artificial, chemically-produced estrogens. Xenoestrogens are far more potent and dangerous to our health than natural estrogens. Xenoestrogens compete at the same receptor sites in our bodies as our natural hormones and can easily cause estrogen dominance. In fact, Xenoestrogens are powerful enough to affect even men. Ever seen a man with ‘man boobs’? This is the effect of Xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens can dramatically increase cancer risk (for men or women) as well as exacerbating estrogen dominance.

Where do Xenoestrogens come from? Unfortunately, they are all around us. Xenoestrogens are in pesticides, herbicides, our food supply, birth control, car and truck exhaust, nail polish, cosmetics, toiletries, shampoos, dry cleaning chemicals, and nearly all plastics. However, you can minimize the effects of Xenoestrogens by being aware of them by eating organic foods, naturally raised meats and using only natural personal care products on your body. You should also minimize your use of plastics and avoid toxins in your environment.

What About Progesterone?

Progesterone is what we call a ‘master hormone’. It is essential as a building block for our other hormones. Even men require small amounts of progesterone as a precursor to testosterone. Progesterone is made by our ovaries. Progesterone for women serves as a balancing hormone to estrogen and offsets the risks of too much estrogen.

When progesterone levels plummet in a woman’s forties, supplemental progesterone can actually help to reduce many of the symptoms of estrogen dominance. But that’s not all, progesterone can have far-reaching benefits for the whole body. Other benefits of progesterone include:

• Reduces ovarian cysts
• Helps prevent uterine cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer
• Lessen the chances of ovarian cysts
• Stimulates bone formation
• Helps prevent autoimmune disease
• Improves estrogen receptor sensitivity
• Helps prevent arterial plaque and prevents heart disease and strokes
• Lessens fibrocystic breast issues
• Aids the body in metabolizing fat
• Gets rid of excess stored fluids
• Increases GABA in brain and drastically reduces anxiety
• Antidepressant
• Facilitates deeper, more restful sleep
• Helps balance and normalize thyroid function
• Normalizes and balances blood sugar
• Protects against blood clots
• Helps with weight loss
• Protects the brain from injury after strokes or traumatic brain injuries
• Important for repair of nerves, especially the myelin sheath (MS)

Is it any wonder we have noticeable symptoms when progesterone drops?

The Dance of Hormones

Our bodies also create other hormones including:

• DHEA-made by the adrenal glands, and a precursor to testosterone, estrogen and some progesterone. DHEA peaks at age 25 then declines. We need it to help fight aging.

• Testosterone-made by the ovaries and adrenal glands. Helps burn fat, build muscle, create stronger bones and adds to motivation, energy and a sense of wellbeing

• Cortisol-Made by the adrenals and also from progesterone. Helps us manage stress, maintains blood sugar, and metabolize nutrients. Too much cortisol (usually from stress) can cause weight gain, sleeplessness, other health problems. A progesterone imbalance causes problems with cortisol. Low cortisol also equals poor thyroid function.

Chronic stress can affect many bodily systems and can wreak havoc on hormone balance. Chronic stress can make you feel exhausted and ‘out of gas’ and cause adrenal fatigue. Stress can affect insulin, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, melatonin and cortisol levels. Nothing in the body works as it should with high levels of stress.

Estrogen, Progesterone and Thyroid Hormones

The thyroid hormone regulates metabolism. A low thyroid or hypothyroid can cause you to gain weight, have low energy, hair and nails grow slowly, intolerance to cold, and low immune function. A hyperthyroid causes high metabolism, weight loss, hair loss, sleeplessness, and anxiety.

Women with estrogen dominance and low progesterone often have symptoms of low thyroid—even if thyroid lab work shows up normal. Other issues that interfere with thyroid function include high cortisol levels and gluten intolerance.

Thyroid hormones include T3 and T4. T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone in the body. If your body is not efficient at converting T4 into T3 you can have low thyroid levels, but it may not even show up on a standard thyroid test. Many physicians never check this part of thyroid function, but it is essential. If the thyroid is not functioning optimally, cortisol, estrogen and progesterone may be low as well.

Inflammation and Hormones

Many people have chronic inflammation due to poor diet, too much sugar, food sensitivities, toxins in the environment, high stress, and lack of sleep. Chronic inflammation can show up in many different forms including: Belly fat, chronic pain, accelerated aging, food allergies, blood sugar problems, autoimmunity, IBS and other inflammatory bowel diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, skin problems and hormone imbalances—especially thyroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone.

Inflammation levels can be tested by looking at C-Reactive protein (CRP), blood sugar levels (HbA1c), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and plasma viscosity (PV).

However, our hormones are at their highest levels in the mid-twenties and as they decrease, inflammation levels tend to rise. Changing one’s diet to avoid inflammatory foods like sugar, refined flours and processed foods lowers inflammation. In addition, following an elimination diet to eliminate any foods you may be reacting to, will lower inflammation levels as well.

How Do We Get Our Hormones Back into Balance Naturally?

These steps will help you lower inflammation, regain balance in your hormones and lose weight:

1. 1. First, eliminate inflammatory foods along with strategic detoxes that clear excess hormone levels from the body, stop food sensitivities, and clear hormone receptors. A diet that eliminates all grains, dairy, and all processed foods and vegetable oils is a good start. Eat only whole foods, lots of organic veggies and naturally raised meats/fish/poultry, along with healthy fats. Be sure to get lots of fiber which helps eliminate excess estrogens. Avoid sugars of all kinds.
   2. Avoid dangerous hormone-disrupting artificial estrogens in the environment by avoiding commercial home cleaning supplies, pesticides, weed killer, laundry soaps, dry cleaning, toiletries, makeup, shampoos, hair styling products, pesticides and other chemical-based products.
   3. Practice good self-care to lower stress such as meditation, getting good sleep and daily exercise.

Generally, these steps will often make a huge difference in how you feel and help to bring your hormones back into balance. If you still feel ‘off’, as your functional medicine doctor or health practitioner for a saliva hormone test to determine your hormone levels.

Natural Supplements to Ease Hormonal Symptoms

And lastly, some natural hormone supplements are available over the counter without a prescription that are safe and easy to use.

While some of these therapies are backed by clinical research, many others have very little research, and only anecdotal evidence to support their use.

Always talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider before you try any alternative treatment. They can discuss possible dosage, side effects, and interactions with you.

Here are the most common natural supplements for reducing symptoms of menopause:

B vitamins

B vitamins, especially with methylfolate (a usable form of folate), methylcobalamin and other B vitamins help the body with the methylation cycle. The methylation cycle is key in the transfer of the fat-soluble form of folate into the brain, as well as contributing to the formation of important neurotransmitters: epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin. B vitamins are also responsible for energy, brain and nerve function.

When methylation is going well, the process helps repair your DNA, regulates hormones, produces energy, protects against cancer, supports detoxification, keeps your immune system healthy, supports the protective coating along your nerves, strengthens the nervous system and on and on and on.

Methylfolate (the most bioavailable form of folate) is helpful in reducing the length and severity of hot flashes. And B vitamins are great to prevent anxiety, depression and irritability by regulating the brain neurotransmitters responsible for mood regulation.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a powerful hormone of its own. Vitamin D will boost your immune system, help maintain a strong bone structure, and help and with hormone regulation and vaginal dryness. IT’s also known to improve your moods.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Omega 3’s may help lubricate your body and decrease vaginal dryness. Omega 3 fats are also vital to healthy brain function and lowering inflammation. When taken in addition to B vitamins and magnesium, omega 3 supplements improve depression.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral that most of use do not get enough of. Women in perimenopause or menopause can definitely benefit from magnesium supplements. Magnesium is known to help sleep by regulating the body’s circadian rhythms, and promoting muscle relaxation. This small study found that 500mg of magnesium daily led to a significant increase in sleep quality, as well as melatonin production.

Adequate magnesium levels may also lessen anxiety and depression, improving brain function, mood regulation and reactions to stress. Magnesium also lowers blood pressure, lowers inflammation, and decreases the risk of heart disease.

Herbal Supplements

Some herbal supplements claim to help manage perimenopause and menopause symptoms. However, it is important to remember that the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements and there is little research on many of them—especially for menopause symptoms.

It’s important to talk to a healthcare provider before adding supplements. Potency of herbal supplements can vary widely, and some products may also interact with over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Black cohosh

Black cohosh is a flowering plant that is often suggested to help with hormonal symptoms. Taking black cohosh may help decrease the frequency or severity of hot flashes.

Dong quai

Dong quai is an herb often used in Chinese medicine. Dong quai works like a phytoestrogen (plant based estrogen) in the body. Phytoestrogens are weaker than normal estrogens and take up the estrogen receptors in the body, helping to lessen the effects of estrogen, and balancing your hormones during menopause. Dong Quai helps to enhance metabolism, improve liver function (which improves the excretion of excess estrogen), aids in the utilization of vitamin E, and has a mild sedative activity.

Maca

Often suggested as a supplement for men, maca works for women as well. Maca works to improve sex drive and sexual function, while helping balance hormone levels.

Valerian Root

Valerian is an herbal tranquilizer and is often used to alleviate anxiety and insomnia—two problems women in perimenopause and menopause report frequently.

Over the Counter Natural Progesterone

Natural progesterone is inexpensive, safe and easy to use. Natural progesterone may help ease the symptoms of estrogen dominance (see list above), help you feel calmer, relieve anxiety and promote sound sleep. Natural progesterone may also help thyroid function, as well as reducing the risk of breast and endometrial cancers. Natural progesterone when used regularly, can balance hormone levels and help eliminate some of the negative symptoms of estrogen dominance.

Natural Hormone Balance

There is a natural way to rebalance your hormones and get your estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid back into balance. In the process, you will most likely lose weight, sleep better, feel better, eliminate anxiety, and also get rid of many of those unpleasant menopause or peri-menopause symptoms.

Making changes in diet, weight loss, removal of Xenoestrogens and lowering inflammation will help you regain hormone balance—perhaps even better than ever!

And if none of the above things help you, it may be time visit a doctor who specializes in natural hormone replacement therapy and investigate bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

Check out this next story below if you want an innovative new way to lose weight:

> Do THIS 1 hour before bed to pee out stubborn fat in the morning

References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/magnesium-for-menopause#sources
https://thrivenfunctionalmedicine.com/methylation/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-natural-menopause-tips#TOC_TITLE_HDR_12
https://www.healthline.com/health/menopause/alternatives-to-hrt#herbal-supplements
https://www.drnorthrup.com/traditional-herbs-or-bioidentical-hormones-which-is-better/
https://www.naturalgrocers.com/article/natural-menopause-symptom-relief

The post Natural Solutions for Hormone Balance (for women only) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TropicalHealth, a leading publisher of daily alternative health tips that I personally read every day…

Almost exactly one year ago, it showed up like a tsunami…and a wave of disease, death, and destruction swept over all of us. According to Statista, as of February 19, 2021, confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 disease surpassed 28 million in America, with over 505 thousand deaths reported.

There is not one corner of the globe that this pandemic’s immensity and darkness have not impacted. It might be hard to imagine any good news coming out of such a real-life horror story – but, there is a glimmer of hope and light.

As life seemed to be spinning out of control, something was happening backstage. The best and brightest researchers in the world were pouring everything they knew into developing a vaccine that would protect us from the enemy novel virus. Now, it is here!

However, as with anything new – especially vaccines – there are always lots of questions and plenty of considerations. Today, February 19, 2021 – this is what we know about the available vaccines in America.

About COVID-19 vaccines

As of February 19th, there have been over 57 million COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the United States. The basic premise behind COVID vaccinations is to teach your body how to recognize and fight off the virus.

The CDC is recommending that the following groups of people be offered the vaccine first.

• Health care personnel
• Adult residents of long-term care facilities
• Essential persons like first responders and teachers
• People 75 years of age or older
• People ages 65-74
• People ages 16-64 who have underlying medical conditions
• Other essential persons who work in industries such as foodservice and construction

Note: Keep in mind that guidelines may vary by state.

There are presently two vaccines that are authorized for use in America:

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine – With an efficacy rate of 95%, this vaccine is suitable for persons 16 years or older. Recipients receive two injections 21 days apart.

• Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine – With an efficacy rate of 94.1%, this vaccine is suitable for 18 years or older persons. Recipients received two injections 28 days apart.

Both vaccines use messenger RNA technology

Both of the above vaccines use messenger RNA ( mRNA). These vaccines do not use the live virus that causes COVID-19. Contrary to what you may have heard about these vaccines, mRNA does not enter the cells’ nucleus, which means it can’t alter DNA. Cells receive instruction on how to make a harmless protein unique to the virus. Once copies of the protein are made, the genetic material from the vaccine is destroyed. In response to the protein, the body makes T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that fight off the COVID-19 virus if an infection happens.

According to Dr. Joshua Levitt, there are two pieces of welcome news about mRNA vaccines:

1. Adjuvants: Chemical adjuvants are ingredients that are added to traditional vaccines to stimulate a stronger immune response. Because mRNA vaccines work differently than traditional vaccines, they do not require the same adjuvants, so the ingredient list is actually “cleaner” than many traditional vaccines.
2. Preservatives: mRNA is an unstable molecule that requires extremely cold temperatures to maintain its integrity. Those cold temperatures reduce the need for extra preservatives which are required in traditional vaccines.

According to The Centers for Disease Control ( CDC), persons with the following should not be vaccinated an mRNA vaccine

• If you have had a serious allergic reaction or immediate reaction to any vaccine ingredient, you should not get the vaccine. This includes a reaction to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polysorbate. Although polysorbate is not in either of the vaccines mentioned above, it is closely related to PEG, which is in the vaccines.

• If you have a severe allergic reaction or an immediate allergic reaction after the first dose, you should not get another injection even if the reaction was not severe. Examples of an immediate reaction include hives, swelling, or wheezing occurring within four hours of vaccination.

Note: If you have had a severe allergic reaction to injectables in the past, you can still get the vaccine, but you need to be monitored for 30 minutes after getting the vaccine.

What if I have an underlying condition?

If you have an underlying medical condition, the CDC states that you can get the vaccine as long as you have not had a reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine or any of its ingredients. There is, however, very little information about the safety of the vaccine in people who have autoimmune disorders or a weakened immune system.

What if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?

Because there is no data on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant or breastfeeding women, it is best to speak with your healthcare provider before considering the vaccine.

Those that have already had COVID-19

If you have already had COVID-19, a vaccine may help prevent re-infection in the future. Because it is unknown how long immunity after getting COVID-19 lasts, the CDC is recommending vaccination 90 days after an initial diagnosis.

Possible reactions to COVID-19 vaccines

The following reactions are possible after the first or second vaccine injection.

• Swelling, pain, or redness at the injection site
• Fatigue
• Fever (remember, this is a sign that your immune system is working)
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain
• Chills
• Swollen lymph nodes
• General unwell feeling
• Nausea and vomiting

* An important note for women: It is common for axillary (armpit) lymph nodes to become enlarged on the side where the COVID vaccine was administered. The enlargement can persist for several weeks after the vaccine. Because axillary lymph node enlargement can also occur in breast cancer, this otherwise minor side effect can strike fear in many women after the vaccine. As a result, many experts are now recommending that women avoid unnecessary testing and delay mammograms and for one month after getting a COVID vaccine to allow time for enlarged lymph nodes to subside.

It is important to note that getting the COVID-19 vaccine may cause some side effects similar to symptoms of the virus. If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and you develop symptoms more than three days after being vaccinated – or if your symptoms persist for two or more days – quarantine and get tested.

What about long term side effects?

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines trials started in the summer of 2020. Because of this, it is impossible to know what long-term side effects, if any, may occur. To stay current with all of the safety data surrounding vaccines, you can visit the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. This site provides data available to the public.

Do I need to prepare for a COVID-19 vaccine?

There is a lot of information circling out there about what to do before a COVID-19 vaccination – it is imperative to sort through what is credible and just talk. Are you wondering about how best to prepare for a COVID-19 vaccination? Here is what the experts are saying.

• According to Aaron E. Glatt, MD and hospital epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, NY, there is nothing specific a person needs to do before taking the vaccine apart from reporting any previous serious allergic reactions.

• Blanka Kaplan, MD, is a specialist in adult and pediatric allergy and immunology at Northwell Health in Great Neck, NY. According to Kaplan, if you take allergy medicine, you should not stop taking it before being vaccinated.

• Kaplan also advises against taking any kind of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or aspirin before and 2 hours after vaccination – unless instructed otherwise by your physician. These may cause an allergic reaction in some people.

• Kaplan’s additional advice includes avoiding alcohol 24 hours after vaccination and avoiding strenuous exercise 2 hours before and 2 hours after vaccination. Also, skip the hot shower 2 hours before and 2 hours after vaccination as it can cause allergic reactions in some people.

What you should do to support a healthy immune system

According to the experts, there are a few things that you can do to support your immune system doing its job.

Stay hydrated – The first one is to stay well-hydrated. Hydration is fundamental to keeping your immune system healthy. It is recommended to drink a minimum of half their body weight in ounces of water. If you are a coffee drinker, drink one cup of water extra for every cup of coffee you drink. Choose purified water and herbal tea.

Eat right – Eating a whole food diet is a great way to stay healthy and keep your immune system in top shape. Skip the sugar-laden drinks, refined vegetable oil snacks, and munch on some carrots and hummus instead. The more colorful your diet, the better – include delicious fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and healthy fat.

Sleep well – For your immune system to do what it needs to do, you need to adopt a healthy sleeping routine. Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep are more likely to get sick when exposed to a common cold virus. Additionally, a lack of sleep can also impact how fast you recover if you do get sick. Try to go to bed early and get at least 7-9 hours of quality sleep. Put away the electronics an hour before bed and sleep in a dark and cool room.

Stay active – Regular exercise is vital to overall health and wellbeing and a robust immune system. Exercise helps increase circulation, allowing cells and substances of the immune system to circulate through the body and do their job.

Manage stress – Being in a constant state of stress can take its toll on your mental and physical health and impede proper immune function. Although small bouts of stress may induce immune function, chronic stress does the opposite by increasing inflammation and lowering lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that help keep infection at bay. If you battle with chronic stress, try to adopt some health stress-beating habits like journaling, exercising, deep breathing, yoga, and spending time in nature.

What the future holds

As more vaccines are approved, and data flows in from the current vaccines being administered, new information will follow. Just as COVID-19 is unique, so are the approaches underway to protect us against the virus. Continue to practice good hygiene, social distancing, and wear a mask in public. And always get your information from credible, expert sources. If you have questions or concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, speak with your healthcare provider.

(The original article source is here)
By Susan Patterson

The post COVID 19 Vaccine Update (9+ Things You Should Know Before Getting Vaccinated) appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Chances are, if you’ve gotten a cold or the flu the past couple of years, you may have run across Elderberry as an aid to help with the symptoms. If not, it is worth checking out as it is very effective.  Elderberry is known to have anti-viral properties, so it actually fights against viruses while boosting your immune system.

Elderberry has had a following for being a powerful weapon against colds and the flu for many years. There’s even some evidence to show that prehistoric man used elderberry, most likely as a medicinal plant. Elderberry can also trace its use back to ancient Egypt, and Hippocrates is known to have used elderberry for a variety of health treatments.

Elderberry has been used to improve sinus issues, nerve pain, inflammation, fatigue, allergic reactions and more. Elderberry can not only fortify the immune system, but there is scientific evidence to show that it may actually have genuine antiviral properties. Elderberry has also been shown to have a “significant effect on cold duration and cold associated symptoms…”

Elderberry is a shrub that grows dark colored berries. It’s official name is sambucus nigra and it generally grows wild in Europe and North America. Both the flowers and the berries have been used to make jams, jellies and drinks. It is important, though that only the ripe berries are used, as the uncooked, unripe elderberries have been shown to be toxic and contain a type of cyanide—which is a poison.

The ripe elderberries contain high powered antioxidants, including quercetin, kaempferol, rutin, and phenolic acids. They also contain flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties that can help prevent cell damage, and anthocyanidins, which are natural chemical compounds with immune-boosting, and anti-aging benefits.

Elderberry is best known for its powerful immune boosting properties, especially when it comes to viruses like colds and the flu. The anthocyanidins in the elderberry are the most active when it comes to fighting colds and flu. Not only does it tend to shorten the duration of a cold or the flu, but it also helps to reduce some of the miserable symptoms. This 2009 study of patients with the flu showed significant improvement in their flu symptoms with four doses of 175 mg. elderberry extract a day.

Another study published in the Journal of International Medical Research shows elderberry extract being highly effective when used within the first 48 hours of the onset of flu. It can actually shorten the duration of flu symptoms by an average of four days.

Along with colds and flu often come sinus infections. These can be miserable and last for weeks sometimes. Sinus infections happen when the nasal cavities become inflamed, swollen and filled with nasal discharge.

Sinus infections can be either a result of a bacterial infection or a viral infection. This study done in the University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland examined the use of an elderberry product on bacterial sinusitis. Treatment consisted of the elderberry, along with an antibiotic (doxycycline or vibramycin) and a decongestant. Those who took the combination medication improved faster than those who did not take the elderberry product.

What makes elderberry so effective for colds, flu and sinus infections?

Considering that colds and flu are the most common viral infections that spread quickly among people, it’s important to find just what makes elderberry so effective against these viruses.

When a virus enters our bodies, it begins to enter our cells and replicate—overwhelming our immune system. It’s the swift replication of the virus that helps it gain a foothold and when that happens, we become ill and feel the symptoms of the cold or flu virus. Elderberry actually inhibits that viral replication.

Elderberries’ powerful antioxidants actually block a key viral protein that allows the flu virus to attach to our cells and gain entry. It’s a bit like locking the front door of your house to prevent burglars from entering and taking over.

The interesting thing, however, about elderberries is that once a cell has been infected with a virus, the same powerful natural chemicals in the elderberry are also effective at stopping the virus from replicating or reproducing. Meaning that elderberry is effective at blocking the virus at several different stages of infection.

Elderberries also stimulate the body’s cells to release immune system substances like cytokines, that fight the invaders as well.

In addition to using elderberry syrup for colds and the flu, the flowers of the elder plant are also known to be helpful for allergies. Allergies result from an overreaction of the immune system combined with inflammation, and this berry improves immune function and helps to modulate overreactions, as well as calming inflammation.

Elderberry Effective Against Other Diseases

Elderberry’s antioxidants, polyphenols and other phytochemicals also help to fight diabetes, lower blood sugar and increase insulin sensitivity.

Elderberry, along with other berries, rich in anthocyanins. These plant chemicals have cancer-fighting properties as well, and can inhibit, delay or reverse cancer cell formation.

According to this study in the Journal of Medicinal Food, extracts of elderberries showed significant protection against cancer cells. And the American variety of elderberry actually is also effective against an enzyme related to promoting cancer cell growth.

Since elderberries have such powerful antioxidants and other phytochemicals, it stands to reason that elderberries should be protective against heart disease—and they are. In fact, in one study, mice with high cholesterol and low HDL (protective cholesterol) had lower cholesterol, as well as better liver function. These antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities protect the heart against heart diseases and clogged arteries, which result from inflammation.

Another study shows elderberry extract being beneficial to help lower high blood pressure. One of the prevalent theories of high blood pressure is that it is an inflammatory reaction. So, it makes sense that elderberry’s strong anti-inflammatory benefits extend to hypertension as well. Polyphenols that help to lower blood pressure may also even help to reduce side effects of blood pressure-lowering medications.

Elderberry helps to promote urine production, helping improve the health of the kidneys, reducing excess fluid, and helping the body detox. In addition to helping with urinary function, it also improves constipation and helps regular bowel movements.

While elderberry is effective against a wide variety of physical diseases, it is also amazing to fight aging. Antioxidants protect against us against oxidation—a major factor in aging–along with protection against sun damage and excessive wrinkling.

Anthocyanins are a natural plant pigment found in elderberries and other berries, as well as red grapes. These fruits have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Some researchers also feel that this plant compound may improve skin’s structure and condition to enhance overall skin health.

Risks and Side Effects

Elderberry has massive health benefits, but it’s important to realize there are some health considerations as well. Remember that only ripe, cooked berries from the sambucas species are edible. Raw berries or other parts of the elderberry plant can be poisonous and contain a chemical similar to cyanide. Consuming raw berries can result in diarrhea and vomiting.

Elderberry syrup is not recommended for kids unless you have consulted first with their pediatrician.

If you have an autoimmune disease, exercise precaution and check with your doctor before taking, as it may stimulate an immune reaction.

Elderberry can interact with some medications, so check with your doctor if you are already taking prescription medications including diabetes medications, diuretics, cancer and chemotherapy, immunosuppressants, laxatives or theophylline.

References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325055.php#3
https://draxe.com/nutrition/elderberry/

The post How Elderberries Fight Against Viruses, Colds, and the Flu appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

What is Candida?

As we should know by now, our bodies are host to a variety of yeasts and bacteria. Some of them healthy and some not so healthy. Candida is one of those yeasts—or fungus that normally lives in our bodies. The most common form of candida is candida albicans.

Candida is the most common types of fungus in the human body. Certain health conditions can cause the yeast to grow out of control and at that point, candida can cause a variety of unwanted symptoms. It’s generally harmless, but an overgrowth of this fungus can lead to a yeast infection.

Candida lives primarily in areas like the mouth, skin, fingernails, digestive tract, toenails, rectum and vagina. When candida grows out of control in these areas, it is called “candidiasis”. Overgrowth in the mouth can cause a condition called “thrush”. Overgrowth in the vaginal tract is generally called “vaginal candidiasis”.

Rarely, for some people with compromised immune function, candida can grow out of control and become systemic.

What Causes Yeast Infections?

Yeasts like candida, generally kept in check by our immune system and by healthy bacteria in our bodies. However, antibiotics can kill off all the beneficial bacteria that would hold candida back, opening the door for unregulated candida growth. Candida is a very opportunistic fungus, so it grows where the environment is best for it. That includes the mouth, the vagina, and the digestive tract where it is warm, moist, and dark.

Other things that can contribute to the unchecked growth of candida include high blood sugar—as in people with diabetes, people with suppressed immune function—as in those who may be undergoing chemo for cancer treatments, and even high estrogen levels. People with celiac disease or types of gluten sensitivity and food allergies often suffer from an overgrowth in their digestive systems as well, as the gut microbiome is often ‘off’.

The most common cause of yeast overgrowth is a diet high in sugar and carbohydrates and low in healthy fiber and vegetables. This contributes to higher than normal blood sugar levels, which actually feed candida. Higher blood sugar contributes to an overgrowth in the digestive system, leading to a condition called “dysbiosis”. An overgrowth in the digestive system can actually cause cravings for more carbs and sugar, leading to the theory that the candida organisms themselves can actually control our cravings.

This study shows that cutting back on sugar and refined carbohydrates can actually help lower the chances of yeast infections in women.

Several other health and lifestyle practices can lead to an increased incidence of yeast infections.

These include:

• Taking antibiotics
• Eating a diet high in sugar and refined carbs
• High alcohol intake
• A weakened immune system
• Dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeasts) in digestive system
• Food allergies and gluten sensitivity
• Taking oral contraceptives
• Diabetes
• High stress levels

How Would I Know if I Have a Yeast Infection?

Yeast infections are pretty obvious, and you will have a feeling of fatigue, brain fog and just general malaise. There are also some claims that yeast infections can lead to joint aches, increased food allergies due to intestinal permeability, migraines, and food cravings, but these claims have not been scientifically researched.

Let’s take a look at some of the other signs of candida overgrowth:

1. Fatigue and Brain Fog

One of the most common symptoms of candida overgrowth is brain fog and fatigue. Brain fog and fatigue can be attributed to a variety of causes, including food allergies, environmental allergies, not enough sleep, high blood sugar and several other health issues.

But when tied with any of the above risk factors, like antibiotic use, brain fog and fatigue may be attributable to candida. Overgrowth of candida can also create nutritional deficiencies and malabsorption of important nutrients, including vitamin B6, which is essential to the creation of energy. Other deficiencies caused by overgrowth of candida include magnesium and essential fatty acids. Prolonged candidiasis can lead to other issues with fatigue including chronic fatigue syndrome. This study shows a possible connection of yeast to chronic fatigue syndrome.

2. Recurring Vaginal, Genital or Urinary Tract Infections

It is true that candida is normally found in most women’s vaginal tracts, but in some, it grows out of control. It is estimated that at least 75% of all women will have at least one vaginal yeast infection in their lifetime, and most of those have more than one recurrence.

Yeast infections don’t just happen to women, they can also occur in men, and get transferred back and forth from sexual partners.

Symptoms of vaginal yeast infections include redness and itching, along with a thick, white or yellowish, cheesy discharge from the vagina. In men, there are little to no symptoms. Candida infections can also cause painful intercourse, and vaginal candidiasis can worsen with intercourse, as seminal fluid contains nutrients that candida feed on.

Candida can also cause urinary tract infections as well, especially with a prolonged or recurrent vaginal yeast infections. Candida infections can also be very common for those with indwelling catheters.

3. Oral Thrush

Since candida is an opportunistic organism and likes warm, moist areas of the body like mucous membranes, it can grow out of control in the mouth and throat as well. This is called “thrush.”

Thrush generally occurs in newborns, the elderly, and those with weakened immune system, such as people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation. People with certain types of dental work or dentures can also get thrush more easily.

Thrush looks like reddened, sore areas with bumpy white patches on the tongue, inside the cheeks, on the gums, tonsils or the throat. The mouth may be sensitive and sore and can bleed easily. Often the tongue can be red and swollen as well with a thick white coating. In particularly bad cases, the thrush can spread down the throat making swallowing and even breathing difficult.

4. Digestive Issues and Intestinal Permeability

Healthy gut bacteria and a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut is massively important to our health overall, and the health of our digestive system. Gut bacteria also play a role in digesting and breaking down foods including starches, fiber, and some sugar.

An imbalance of gut bacteria and an overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeasts can create unhealthy issues within the digestive system. When yeasts and bacteria in your gut become unbalanced, you can experience digestive issues, including constipation, diarrhea, nausea, gas, cramps and bloating.

Some studies have shown that overgrowth of candida in the digestive tract may be associated with chronic diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease).

Severe candida overgrowth in the intestines can also cause increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome), an increase in food allergies, and even systemic candida infections as the micro-holes in the gut can allow candida to escape into the bloodstream.

5. Sinusitis

Many adults have chronically inflamed sinuses. This can be due to ongoing allergies either in the environment or the diet, but also can be due to candida. The nasal passages and sinuses are another warm, moist mucous membrane area of the body that can allow candida to grow out of control, given the proper circumstances. Common symptoms include a runny nose, nasal congestion, loss of smell and headaches.

Most sinus infections are short lived and caused by either a bacterial or viral infection, and often clear up with medication, but many long-term sinus issues are believed to be fungal infections.

This study by the Mayo Clinic looked at a group of 210 individuals with chronic sinus infections and found that 96% of them actually had fungi in their mucus. While antibiotics are the usual line of treatment for acute sinus infections, they would most certainly make a chronic fungal infection worse. If you have recurring sinus infections or an infection that lasts longer than a month, you may have a candida infection.

6. Skin and Nail Infections

Bacteria on the skin and nails also help to keep candida from growing out of control. But certain conditions can make it more conducive for candida to grow on the skin or nails. Candida yeasts also like to grow on the skin and nails in warmer, moist conditions, which is why a yeast infection can often occur on the feet, between the toes. Armpits and the groin can also foster yeasts readily as well.

In men, it is called “jock itch”, in babies, it is diaper rash. On the feet it is often called “athlete’s foot”. Candida can also grow in the folds of skin of obese people and babies.

Antibacterial soaps can encourage the growth of yeast infections, as do warm, moist, dark areas of the skin. Candida can also contribute to ringworm and toenail fungus as well.

Babies who may be taking antibiotics for an ear infection or other illness, may experience a candida diaper rash.

Candida infections on the skin result in itchy, blotchy red areas, while candida infections in the nails can cause the nail to pull away from the bed of the nail, look white, gray or yellow. The nail itself becomes crumbly and loses its integrity.

How to Treat Candidiasis

The standard medical treatment for candida overgrowth is antifungals. Antifungals can be topical for the skin and nails, suppositories for vaginitis, or taken internally for severe digestive overgrowth or systemic candida infections. Many conventional medications for candida can be especially harsh, with unwelcome side effects, including liver dysfunction and have to be monitored carefully.

Candidiasis is generally not considered life threatening, unless the immune system is severely compromised as it is in people who are on cancer treatments, or those with immune disorders such as AIDS.

A better, more gentle treatment is to try an anti-candida diet to treat the underlying cause in the gut. Eliminating all sugars, grain-based carbohydrates and fruit is a good start. In addition, it is recommended to avoid lactose in dairy products, fruit, and any foods you may be sensitive or allergic to. For those who are gluten sensitive, candida overgrowth is fairly easy to treat by eliminating gluten and slowing the inflammation and immune reaction in the digestive system.

By eliminating grain based carbohydrates, all added sugars, fruits and fruit juice—as well as high yeast drinks such as beer and wine, you help to starve the candida yeasts.

Certain foods and drinks actually are proven to encourage growth of beneficial bacteria and kill off candida, including:

• Taheebo or Pau d’arco tea–Pau d’arco actually contains two primary active ingredients, lapachol and beta-lapachone. These two natural chemicals are what make it effective against bacteria, fungi, yeasts, viruses and even parasites. Lapachol is known to not only kill many different types of fungi, bacteria and yeasts—like candida, but it also lowers inflammation.

• Garlic—Garlic contains the powerful substance, allicin, which is an antifungal. It has been shown to be active against candida yeasts in animal and test tube studies.

• Coconut oil—Coconut oil contains a substance called lauric acid which is toxic to candida cells.

• Turmeric and Curcumin—curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric can kill or reduce candida growth as well as reduce any accompanying inflammation that may occur with a yeast infection.

• Aloe vera—Aloe vera gel is effective for use against oral thrush, inhibiting the growth of candida and soothing sore inflamed oral tissue as well.

• Pomegranate—Plant compounds in pomegranate peel are beneficial against candida yeasts as well but care must exercised as most pomegranate juice you purchase in the store may have added sugars or other fruit juices, helping to encourage candida growth.

• Kombucha tea—Rich in tea antioxidants, acetic acid and a plethora of beneficial bacteria, kombucha makes an excellent drink to encourage growth of helpful bacteria, as well as working to kill off candida.

• Apple Cider Vinegar— ACV works as both an antibacterial and antifungal agent. A very recent study found that undiluted ACV can prevent the growth of candida. It appears this opportunistic fungus does not get along well with ACV, but more research is necessary to determine if it is because it makes the body less receptive to candida or that it actually kills the candida.

Unfortunately, dietary changes may not always do the trick, in which case conventional antifungal medications often seem to be the only other choice. However, there are several natural antifungal treatments that work well against candida—without the harmful side effects.

Some of the most effective natural treatments include grapefruit seed extract, oregano oil capsules and clove oil. One of my favorite supplements that not only kills off candida, but also other harmful parasites is a product called Intestibal, which contains oregano oil, clove, ginger, wormwood and evening primrose oils.

It’s important to keep in mind, when combating candida, there can be a candida ‘die-off’ reaction as the candida cells break open and release a toxin which can sometimes make you feel worse for a short time.

Sticking to a low carb diet of unprocessed foods, avoiding grains, gluten and dairy and steering far away from any foods containing sugar will go a long way to helping you avoid annoying candida overgrowth. Always check with your doctor before starting any supplements to be sure they do not interfere with any other medications or health conditions.

References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/candida-diet#downsides
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-candida-diet-separating-fact-from-fiction/
https://www.healthline.com/health/apple-cider-vinegar-candida
https://draxe.com/health/candida-symptoms/

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