http://harvardmagazine.com/2004/05/the-way-we-eat-now.html
This is a great article that is STILL trying to bring our attentions to what we are eating.
Calories are a factor in weight gain, however, it is a small issue. How many people count calories and don't lose weight? I have literally seen hundreds in my practice. I can sum up weight gain and body fat deposition into one word: INSULIN.
Look at the rate of diabetes now: it has doubled since 1980 to nearly 350 million! This is out of control and largely due to the lack of nutritional and dietary knowledge of the average medical physician. Most doctors, when they diagnose diabetes, give very few, if ANY, sound nutritional or dietary recommendations. Most of the "go to" diabetes medications have been withdrawn to do liver and pH issues. Avandia increases certain cardiovascular risks including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and cardiac death. Even metformin (Glucophage) patients are at an increased risk of lactic acidosis (which can harm you kidneys).
Here's an idea: STOP EATING SUGAR!!
We have cracked down on the tobacco industry, when are we going to crack down on the junk food industry. I would argue that sugar is just as bad, if not worse that tobacco. Almost every debilitating disease can be related to malnutrition.
The widespread use of refined flour began in the late 1800s when manufacturers discovered that if they removed the germ (with the oils) the flour would not turn rancid. By the 1940s in the United States it had become obvious that enriched flour was a nutritional zero, and those who ate it as a staple food were developing health problems such as beriberi (thiamine deficiency). The US Government stepped in, but instead of regulating the refining of wheat, they simply required that manufacturers "enrich" their white flour by adding back a few of the nutrients that were obvious health risks. These are iron, niacin, riboflavin and thiamine. (Much later folic acid was added to the enrichment list).
About 30 nutrients are removed from wheat when it is refined, and they only add 4 or 5 of them back to the enriched flour.
Refined white flour affects our body the same way sugar does.
Every person on the planet should watch Morgan Spurlock's film "Super Size Me". Also be sure to watch the French fry experiment in the special features. I am absolutely blown away by people who want to eat fast food after watching that film.
The most common nutritent used with blood sugar issues is Chromium. I will guarantee that Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin B6 are more effective.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
cesarean section rates
COLUMBIA (10/2/11)— About half of South Carolina hospitals have formally agreed to stop delivering babies early through Cesarean sections that are not medically necessary.
Dr. Rick Foster of the state Hospital Association said Friday all 45 hospitals plan to sign the commitment. The goal of the Birth Outcomes Initiative is to eliminate elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks. The normal length of pregnancy is about 40 weeks.
Foster says even the last week of pregnancy is important for the full development of an infant’s brain and lungs. He says many people don’t realize the potential risks when they schedule a C-section for convenience.
The state’s Medicaid agency says the initiative is aimed at reducing the number of low-weight babies born with development problems, while reducing health care costs.
http://circleofmoms.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/caesarean-births-rule-the-day/
Tuesdays and Wednesdays have the highest rates of C-sections. Why is this the case? I have my own thoughts, what are yours?
Dr. Rick Foster of the state Hospital Association said Friday all 45 hospitals plan to sign the commitment. The goal of the Birth Outcomes Initiative is to eliminate elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks. The normal length of pregnancy is about 40 weeks.
Foster says even the last week of pregnancy is important for the full development of an infant’s brain and lungs. He says many people don’t realize the potential risks when they schedule a C-section for convenience.
The state’s Medicaid agency says the initiative is aimed at reducing the number of low-weight babies born with development problems, while reducing health care costs.
http://circleofmoms.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/caesarean-births-rule-the-day/
Tuesdays and Wednesdays have the highest rates of C-sections. Why is this the case? I have my own thoughts, what are yours?
Monday, October 24, 2011
Probiotics and the common cold
Research appearing in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism (Feb 2011) looked at the use of probiotics and their effect on the immune systems of 58 athletes. The 58 subjects of the study were randomly assigned to receive either a probiotic supplement (Lactobacillus casei Shirota) for a period of 16 weeks. The placebo group had 36% higher incidence of upper respiratory infections (URTI) compared to the group receiving the supplement. According to the authors, "regular ingestion of LcS appears to be beneficial in reducing the frequency of URTI in an athletic cohort, which may be related to better maintenance of saliva IgA levels during winter period of training and competition."
Let's put this into words that most people can understand.
The number of microorganisms in your gastrointestinal tract greatly outnumber the cells in your body; your gut has about 100 trillion microorganisms and your body has about 10 trillion cells. This gut "ecosystem" has dramatic affects on many different body systems, especially your immune system.
Essentially, stress in any form (structural, chemical, or emotional) can irritate the sensitive lining of your digestive tract and thus, affecting the amount of gut bacteria that are actually attached to the lining of your digestive tract.
For example, many times long distance runners find that while they are training for competition their immune system will crash and flu type symptoms appear. Why is that and what does that mean? Intense training for competition, especially a marathon, can be very physically stressful. And...stress (of any kind) can irritate the lining of your gut. And as I noted above, your gut has a big affect on your immune system.
Another common situation is antibiotic use. Antibiotics will not only kill "bad" bacteria, but will also kill the "good" bacteria. Which is why people notice antibiotics affecting their immune system and their digestive tract.
Here are some things that you can do to help yourself in this situation:
Let's put this into words that most people can understand.
The number of microorganisms in your gastrointestinal tract greatly outnumber the cells in your body; your gut has about 100 trillion microorganisms and your body has about 10 trillion cells. This gut "ecosystem" has dramatic affects on many different body systems, especially your immune system.
Essentially, stress in any form (structural, chemical, or emotional) can irritate the sensitive lining of your digestive tract and thus, affecting the amount of gut bacteria that are actually attached to the lining of your digestive tract.
For example, many times long distance runners find that while they are training for competition their immune system will crash and flu type symptoms appear. Why is that and what does that mean? Intense training for competition, especially a marathon, can be very physically stressful. And...stress (of any kind) can irritate the lining of your gut. And as I noted above, your gut has a big affect on your immune system.
Another common situation is antibiotic use. Antibiotics will not only kill "bad" bacteria, but will also kill the "good" bacteria. Which is why people notice antibiotics affecting their immune system and their digestive tract.
Here are some things that you can do to help yourself in this situation:
- add natural probiotic rich foods to your diet like kefir, sauerkraut, and good quality yogurt.
- avoid sugar. this alters your gut environment and can feed other microorganisms like candida (yeast).
- use coconut oil for cooking. This oil has caprylic acid in it which has anti fungal properties.
- supplement with a good quality probiotic that has mainly Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. These make up the majority of the "good" bacteria in your gut.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Great new German study
This is a wonderful study done in Germany. It is one of the first actually done by independent sources; the way research used to be done before big money got involved. In my clinical experience, I have noticed that unvaccinated children tend to have far less ear infections. In fact, I can only think of one case where an unvaccinated child had an ear infection and that was after he had fallen and hit his head. That disrupted the circulation of fluid in his skull and the infection was the result.
I have highlighted a few lines that I feel are important.
Dr. Todd
New Study: Vaccinated Children Have 2 to 5 Times More Diseases and Disorders Than Unvaccinated Children
Preventable Vaccine-induced Diseases
A German study released in September 2011 of about 8000 UNVACCINATED children, newborn to 19 years, show vaccinated children have at least 2 to 5 times more diseases and disorders than unvaccinated children.
The results are presented in the bar chart below; the complete data and study results are here. The data is compared to the national German KIGGS health study of the children in the general population. Most of the respondents to the survey were from the U.S. (Click on the chart to see it better)
The data was collected from parents with vaccine-free children via an internet questionnaire by vaccineinjury.info and Andreas Bachmair, a German classical homeopathic practitioner. The independent study is self-funded and is not sponsored by a large “credible” non-profit or government health organization with political and financial conflicts of interest; hence Bachmair relies on Google ads and donations for revenue. Each one of the 8000 cases are actual cases with medical documentation. Three other studies had similar results according to Bachmair and are reported below.
No study of health outcomes of vaccinated people versus unvaccinated has ever been conducted in the U.S. by CDC or any other agency in the 50 years or more of an accelerating schedule of vaccinations (now over 50 doses of 14 vaccines given before kindergarten, 26 doses in the first year). Most data collected by CDC is contained in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. The VAERS is generally thought to contain only 3 to 5 percent of reportable incidents. This is simply because only some immediate reactions are reported by doctors; but many are not admitted to be reactions to the vaccine. Most importantly, the VAERS numbers are only immediate reactions, which I would place with a few hours to a few weeks. Long-term vaccine-induced diseases and disorders are not recognized by parents or doctors when these conditions develop perhaps a few months to five years or more and would never be realized to come from multiple vaccinations. In other words, many children and adults have diseases and disorders that are vaccine induced and they never suspect they are from the vaccines, as this study indicates.
The comparisons of the health of vaccine-free children with the health statistics of the general population are the same as comparing unvaccinated with vaccinated. This is simply because the general population of U.S. children are nearly 100 percent vaccinated.
Now half the U.S. children suffer from chronic diseases and disorders and 21% are developmentally disabled. Yet the public health system always uses the sacred mantra “vaccine-preventable diseases” when referring to their top public health achievement of mass vaccinations. I think we should be talking more in terms of preventable vaccine-induced diseases
I have highlighted a few lines that I feel are important.
Dr. Todd
New Study: Vaccinated Children Have 2 to 5 Times More Diseases and Disorders Than Unvaccinated Children
Preventable Vaccine-induced Diseases
A German study released in September 2011 of about 8000 UNVACCINATED children, newborn to 19 years, show vaccinated children have at least 2 to 5 times more diseases and disorders than unvaccinated children.
The results are presented in the bar chart below; the complete data and study results are here. The data is compared to the national German KIGGS health study of the children in the general population. Most of the respondents to the survey were from the U.S. (Click on the chart to see it better)
The data was collected from parents with vaccine-free children via an internet questionnaire by vaccineinjury.info and Andreas Bachmair, a German classical homeopathic practitioner. The independent study is self-funded and is not sponsored by a large “credible” non-profit or government health organization with political and financial conflicts of interest; hence Bachmair relies on Google ads and donations for revenue. Each one of the 8000 cases are actual cases with medical documentation. Three other studies had similar results according to Bachmair and are reported below.
No study of health outcomes of vaccinated people versus unvaccinated has ever been conducted in the U.S. by CDC or any other agency in the 50 years or more of an accelerating schedule of vaccinations (now over 50 doses of 14 vaccines given before kindergarten, 26 doses in the first year). Most data collected by CDC is contained in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. The VAERS is generally thought to contain only 3 to 5 percent of reportable incidents. This is simply because only some immediate reactions are reported by doctors; but many are not admitted to be reactions to the vaccine. Most importantly, the VAERS numbers are only immediate reactions, which I would place with a few hours to a few weeks. Long-term vaccine-induced diseases and disorders are not recognized by parents or doctors when these conditions develop perhaps a few months to five years or more and would never be realized to come from multiple vaccinations. In other words, many children and adults have diseases and disorders that are vaccine induced and they never suspect they are from the vaccines, as this study indicates.
The comparisons of the health of vaccine-free children with the health statistics of the general population are the same as comparing unvaccinated with vaccinated. This is simply because the general population of U.S. children are nearly 100 percent vaccinated.
Only four of the unvaccinated 8000 responded with severeautism (0.05%) and these were said to be high mercury cases. On the other hand, I had noticed the results show about a 1% rate for autism in the unvaccinated over 3 years old–about the same as vaccinated children. So I asked Bachmair why the data does not show significantly less. He told me he had invited many autism groups and internet autism lists to participate and thus skewed the results accordingly. If the true rate is 0.5%, I calculated that only 40 extra respondents (above the true average number) responded yes to autism, it would skew the results by a factor of 2. If the true rate is 0.25%, only 60 additional respondents (above the true average number) of the 8000 responded yes to autism, it would skew the results by a factor of 4. So it would not take many respondents from these lists to skew the results significantly.The only other bias in this study may include the fact that parents of unvaccinated children are obviously concerned about the health risks of vaccines, and are more likely to make other healthier choices such as feeding their children a much better diet and using more natural remedies and using fewer pharmaceuticals.
Now half the U.S. children suffer from chronic diseases and disorders and 21% are developmentally disabled. Yet the public health system always uses the sacred mantra “vaccine-preventable diseases” when referring to their top public health achievement of mass vaccinations. I think we should be talking more in terms of preventable vaccine-induced diseases
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Depression and Suicide in the U.S. military
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/17/low-levels-of-ths-fat-linked-to-suicide-in-military.aspx?e_cid=20110917_DNL_art_2
This is a fantastic article from Dr. Mercola that I would like to expand on.
Depression, especially manic-depression (bi-polar disorder), is near and dear to me, as I have seen, first-hand, the affects that it can have on, not only an individual, but an entire family. I mentioned, briefly, manic-depression in an earlier post about ADD/ADHD with regard to blood sugar imbalances. The causes of depression (without mania) can be wide-spread and sometimes vague. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., a Harvard trained psychiatrist, tells us in his book A First Rate Madness, that there are four specific lines of evidence that have become standard in psychiatry: symptoms, genetics, course of illness, and treatment. The one that is pertinent to this post is treatment. Ghaemi also states, "drugs used for mental illnesses are nonspecific; they can work for several different illnesses, and they can even affect behavior in people who aren't mentally ill."
The following from the Mercola's article is very important here with regard to the prior definitions I have provided.
....for the first time in history a sizable number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to cope. This is a really bad idea and is likely part of the reason why the military is seeing such a dramatic upswing in suicide rates, as antidepressants have been linked to suicide in young adults aged 18-24, which is the prime age range of these combat troops.
Now let me add my perspective to this issue...
Dr. Mercola mentions that the breakdown of fatty acids in our systems is inhibited by impaired delta 6 desaturase activity. The desaturase enzymes help our bodies utilize fatty acids efficiently. Delta 6 desaturase activity is dependant on several co-factors. These co-factors are: Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin (B3), vitamin B6, Magnesium, and Zinc. Now, if you ask any nutritionist, dietitian, or any other health care provider that is worth a hill of beans, what foods are deficient in these co-factors, I would be hard-pressed to say that not one of them would say anything other than REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. Or...anything that comes in a bag, can or box. What are we feeding our military personnel? Refined carbohydrates. How do refined carbohydrates react in our body? Just like sugar, and sometimes worse that sugar.
This leads me into delta 5 desaturase. Insulin (which is stimulated by carbohydrate consumption) increases the activity of delta-5-desaturase. Which promotes the formation of arachidonic acid or "bad" fats. On the other hand, higher intake of protein increases the activity of delta-6 desaturase, thus increasing the conversion of essential fatty acids, while glucagon (which is stimulated by protein consumption) decreases delta-5 desaturase activity, thereby reducing the formation of arachidonic acid and "bad" fats. In short, a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrate is ideal for producing "good" fats.
So.....what does all this mean? Depression can not only be helped by increasing animal based EFAs, but can also be helped with by stopping the consumption of junk sugars and increasing good quality animal protein sources. This will help to regulate the delta 5 enzyme. Consider taking a LOW-POTENCY B-complex vitamin with some magnesium and zinc to stimulate the delta 6 enzyme (most HIGH potency B-complexes are synthetic and can actually worsen the issue at hand).
I have the utmost respect for the men and women that put their lives on the line every day so that I can write this post. I have never been in the military so it is hard for me to even imagine the emotional trauma that can happen. However, when you are dealing with emotions, biochemical balance is paramount. EFAs with B vitamins and dietary changes can have profound affects on how the brain functions.
If you or someone you know is in has been in the military, and emotional therapies are helping, but not thouroughly have them try some of the aformentioned dietary tips to see if it helps. It sure won't hurt things, and it just might be the link to healing some of the psychological trauma our brave veterans deserve.
This is a fantastic article from Dr. Mercola that I would like to expand on.
Depression, especially manic-depression (bi-polar disorder), is near and dear to me, as I have seen, first-hand, the affects that it can have on, not only an individual, but an entire family. I mentioned, briefly, manic-depression in an earlier post about ADD/ADHD with regard to blood sugar imbalances. The causes of depression (without mania) can be wide-spread and sometimes vague. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., a Harvard trained psychiatrist, tells us in his book A First Rate Madness, that there are four specific lines of evidence that have become standard in psychiatry: symptoms, genetics, course of illness, and treatment. The one that is pertinent to this post is treatment. Ghaemi also states, "drugs used for mental illnesses are nonspecific; they can work for several different illnesses, and they can even affect behavior in people who aren't mentally ill."
The following from the Mercola's article is very important here with regard to the prior definitions I have provided.
....for the first time in history a sizable number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to cope. This is a really bad idea and is likely part of the reason why the military is seeing such a dramatic upswing in suicide rates, as antidepressants have been linked to suicide in young adults aged 18-24, which is the prime age range of these combat troops.
Now let me add my perspective to this issue...
Dr. Mercola mentions that the breakdown of fatty acids in our systems is inhibited by impaired delta 6 desaturase activity. The desaturase enzymes help our bodies utilize fatty acids efficiently. Delta 6 desaturase activity is dependant on several co-factors. These co-factors are: Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Niacin (B3), vitamin B6, Magnesium, and Zinc. Now, if you ask any nutritionist, dietitian, or any other health care provider that is worth a hill of beans, what foods are deficient in these co-factors, I would be hard-pressed to say that not one of them would say anything other than REFINED CARBOHYDRATES. Or...anything that comes in a bag, can or box. What are we feeding our military personnel? Refined carbohydrates. How do refined carbohydrates react in our body? Just like sugar, and sometimes worse that sugar.
This leads me into delta 5 desaturase. Insulin (which is stimulated by carbohydrate consumption) increases the activity of delta-5-desaturase. Which promotes the formation of arachidonic acid or "bad" fats. On the other hand, higher intake of protein increases the activity of delta-6 desaturase, thus increasing the conversion of essential fatty acids, while glucagon (which is stimulated by protein consumption) decreases delta-5 desaturase activity, thereby reducing the formation of arachidonic acid and "bad" fats. In short, a diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrate is ideal for producing "good" fats.
So.....what does all this mean? Depression can not only be helped by increasing animal based EFAs, but can also be helped with by stopping the consumption of junk sugars and increasing good quality animal protein sources. This will help to regulate the delta 5 enzyme. Consider taking a LOW-POTENCY B-complex vitamin with some magnesium and zinc to stimulate the delta 6 enzyme (most HIGH potency B-complexes are synthetic and can actually worsen the issue at hand).
I have the utmost respect for the men and women that put their lives on the line every day so that I can write this post. I have never been in the military so it is hard for me to even imagine the emotional trauma that can happen. However, when you are dealing with emotions, biochemical balance is paramount. EFAs with B vitamins and dietary changes can have profound affects on how the brain functions.
If you or someone you know is in has been in the military, and emotional therapies are helping, but not thouroughly have them try some of the aformentioned dietary tips to see if it helps. It sure won't hurt things, and it just might be the link to healing some of the psychological trauma our brave veterans deserve.
Bed-wetting (enuresis)
Question: Is it normal for my 5 year old to have nighttime bed-wetting problems a few nights a week?
Answer: Many pediatricians would say, resoundingly, yes. However, in my opinion, there are several factors that need to be addressed before we can accurately answer this question; it is not exactly black and white.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is essentially the "fight or flight" response and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) controls the feelings of relaxation. Both of these branches on the Autonomic nervous system must be in balance for the bladder to function efficiently. The ability to voluntarily inhibit urination actually develops by the age of 2–3 years, as control at higher levels of the central nervous system develops. (right about the time when "potty training" is going on)
The urge to urinate is controlled by the SNS and the actual act of urinating is controlled by the PNS. Many times the older child (7 to 10 years) is dry until 4 to 5 a.m. and then wets the bed. This, many times, is due to the fact that the child is so fatigued that they cannot physically wake themselves up.
Look for things that may be stressing them emotionally; grades, friends, siblings, and even parents. Many times fatigue runs in the family. Have your natural health doctor check for adrenal fatigue and thyroid problems.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is also common, very common, with these kids. When the blood sugar drops too low (usually around 4 to 5 a.m.) and the SNS doesn't respond by waking up the child, the PNS does it's job anyway and the bladder lets go.
Things to avoid that can commonly disrupt blood sugar balance include:
Your chiropractor is trained to balance the nervous system. If your child has problems wetting the bed, make an appointment to get him adjusted. Many times it is a structural imbalance that is irritating the nervous system.
As the child gets older, this issue becomes more emotional. Knowing that there are things that parents can do, NATURALLY, can be very empowering for all who are involved. Balancing the nervous system early when symptoms first appear can help prevent long term emotional scars.
Hopefully this sheds some light on an issue that can be difficult to treat at times.
Answer: Many pediatricians would say, resoundingly, yes. However, in my opinion, there are several factors that need to be addressed before we can accurately answer this question; it is not exactly black and white.
The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is essentially the "fight or flight" response and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) controls the feelings of relaxation. Both of these branches on the Autonomic nervous system must be in balance for the bladder to function efficiently. The ability to voluntarily inhibit urination actually develops by the age of 2–3 years, as control at higher levels of the central nervous system develops. (right about the time when "potty training" is going on)
The urge to urinate is controlled by the SNS and the actual act of urinating is controlled by the PNS. Many times the older child (7 to 10 years) is dry until 4 to 5 a.m. and then wets the bed. This, many times, is due to the fact that the child is so fatigued that they cannot physically wake themselves up.
Look for things that may be stressing them emotionally; grades, friends, siblings, and even parents. Many times fatigue runs in the family. Have your natural health doctor check for adrenal fatigue and thyroid problems.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is also common, very common, with these kids. When the blood sugar drops too low (usually around 4 to 5 a.m.) and the SNS doesn't respond by waking up the child, the PNS does it's job anyway and the bladder lets go.
Things to avoid that can commonly disrupt blood sugar balance include:
- WHITE SUGAR
- artificial food coloring
- food with artificial sweeteners
- MSG (read labels like a hawk...it's in many things)
- Supplement with the B complex vitamins (low-potency); many times high potency B vitamins are synthetic and can make the problem worse in the long term.
- Probiotics work wonderfully, as your body generates B vitamins from the "good" bacteria in your gut
- Having them eat a small high protein snack before bed can be a great idea.
Your chiropractor is trained to balance the nervous system. If your child has problems wetting the bed, make an appointment to get him adjusted. Many times it is a structural imbalance that is irritating the nervous system.
As the child gets older, this issue becomes more emotional. Knowing that there are things that parents can do, NATURALLY, can be very empowering for all who are involved. Balancing the nervous system early when symptoms first appear can help prevent long term emotional scars.
Hopefully this sheds some light on an issue that can be difficult to treat at times.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
ADD/ADHD study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16699814
This is a great start to addressing the actual causes of attention disorders. However, this study only addresses one aspect of this diagnosis; elevated dopamine and and adrenaline levels. Clinically known as adrenal-cortical HYPER function (elevated cortisol) and with this state of functioning comes the increased fight or flight mechanism in our nervous system and in the short term, can be a very good thing; not so good in the long term.
Prolonged elevated cortisol levels are very detrimental to the body and lead to increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, digestive problems and thyroid dysfunction to name a few. The body begins to "break down" faster than it can repair itself. One example of this would be someone that has just had a big emotional stress like a death in the family. If emotional healing isn't addressed in an efficient time frame, the body then starts to degenerate and a myriad of physical symptoms can develop. When the emotional trauma has healed, the body has "paid the toll" so to speak and then the physical symptoms must be addressed as a separate issue.
In my clinical experience, ADD/ADHD is what I call a multi-layered issue. Treating physicians must "peel away the layers"; much like that of an onion. Once the cortisol levels have decreased, these patients generally go into adrenal cortical HYPO function (another layer of the onion). More commonly known as adrenal fatigue. With this comes a whole host of symptoms where patients present with the "I feel like crap and nobody can figure out why" syndrome. One of the biggest issues with adrenal fatigue is hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. When the blood sugar is decreased, the body craves food to get its sugar back up. What type of food would that be you ask? Yep...more sugar. Then the blood sugar is elevated too much, the blood sugar then comes crashing down again. And then the roller coaster ride begins...up, down, up, down. Many of these people are diagnosed psychologically as bi-polar. Why? Moods generally follow the blood sugar.
Contributing factors to ADD/ADHD
1. Sugar Overload
2. Heavy Metals
3. Adrenal Stress
4. Mineral Imbalances
5. Fatty Acid Deficiencies
What can you do from a more holistic standpoint, to balance these factors?
1. Stop eating sugar and sugar-laden foods. This puts a large amount of stress on the adrenal glands. As I described above, this is a very important issue when dealing with ADD/ADHD.
2. This is a heavily debated topic. Dental amalgams, vaccinations, and aluminum cookware are a few factors involved with heavy metal body burdens.
3. I have addressed some of the adrenal balance factors above and touched on it in an earlier post on salt.
4. Trace mineral imbalances are running rampant in the U.S. This has a lot to do with the amount of refined carbohydrates people are eating. These nutrient devoid foods actually deplete the trace minerals in our systems. A large one being zinc. Zinc is necessary for MANY biochemical functions in the body. It is needed for proper insulin in the pancreas production and hydrochloric acid production in the stomach.
5. This is an area that has received more attention in the mainstream media in the last 7 to 10 years. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are just that: essential. Our bodies are not able to produce these by itself so it is essential we get these from our food. EFAs are needed for just about every function in the body. Largely, liver and brain function (ever loose your train of thought?).
EFAs include fish and flax seed oil, coconut oil, avocado, etc. However, what most people are not told is that the hydrogenated, or bad fats, actually deplete the EFAs, good fats, from our system. Hydrogenated fats (margarine, vegetable oil, fried foods among others) are in just about everything that comes in a bag, can, or box. These bad fats are also one molecule away from plastic. Read EVERY food label. Know what you are eating and what you are feeding your family.
Many of you may ask, "what about the ADD/ADHD drugs like ritalin?". These drugs are in the same class as cocaine. Yes, you heard me correctly, cocaine. This is a huge adrenal STIMULANT. Why would a doctor stimulate an already over-stimulated person? Most doctors cannot answer this question, they just know that ritalin helps these people. It really is simple, it addresses the adrenal fatigue. These drugs, however, "burn-out" the nervous system, which is why many times people notice that they "stop working". The prescribing physician then changes the medication to another stimulant that works slightly differently. Then that one stops working and then they are back on the one prior.
We cannot forget to look at the structural component of these issues. Above I mentioned the nervous system with the increased fight or flight mechanism, chiropractors call this "sympathetic dominance". Many times there has been physical trauma creating the sympathetic dominance. For example, sports injuries, falls, and even the birth process itself. Balancing posture through chiropractic care utilizing applied kinesiology diagnostics has made massive changes in many of the patients I have treated with ADD/ADHD.
These people that have been labeled with the diagnosis of ADD or ADHD really are on a roller coaster so to speak. In my opinion, attention problems are notoriously difficult to work with. It is not as simple as "take this pill and you will be fine". It requires dedication from not only the treating physician, but also the patient.
My goal with this post is to inform the reader that there are other options other than medication. I have attempted to be as thorough as possible, but many times questions arise. Please don't hesitate to contact me with further questions.
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