Are you ready to get your health back? Are you suffering from the ill effects of fibromyalgia? Well, we are ready to help you get the information you need to take back your health.
Come to one of our Nutrition Cafe talks the first Tuesday of the month. The talk is free, but space is limited! Call 206-429-2922 to get your space reserved for one of our upcoming talks!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
FIBROMYALGIA AND CHRONIC FATIGUE FIVE CRITICAL STEPS
If you suffer from fibromyalgia, there are five things you must do:
1. Test the thyroid with the Barnes temperature test
2. Test the adrenal/kidney system with the Ragland's blood pressure test
3. Quit all synthetic vitamins (most store-bought vitamins, including internet sources) and work with your doctor to wean off all prescription drugs.
4. Go on a low-carbohydrate diet like the Atkins diet or our Low-Carbohydrate diet.
5. Get your nervous system checked by a chiropractic doctor.
Stopping all synthetic vitamins and prescription drugs will bring quick relief to more than 30% of sufferers. Determining and correcting thyroid/adrenal kidney problems will resolve problems for another 20% of sufferers. And finally, treating for an underlying infection will resolve problems for another 20% of sufferers. That accounts for a whopping 70% of all cases. The remainder can also be greatly improved through rehabilitative chiropractic care to free up the nervous system.
The best part of eliminating these five causes of Fibromyalgia is that once accomplished, you will get better in all kinds of other ways as well –what I call positive side effects.
Thyroid Test
To test your thyroid gland, simply take your underarm temperature on five different mornings. Do this by having a thermometer at your bedside. Place it under your arm for 10 minutes immediately upon awakening (before moving around or getting out of bed). Record the five readings and determine if the average is under 97.4. If it is, you need to treat for hypothyroid by taking three to six Thytrophin tablets. Then add 4-6 Cataplex-F tablets of 1-3 Prolamine Iodine tablets (unless you are allergic to Iodine) daily for at least 120 days. Then retest. These products are all from Standard Process.
Adrenal/Kidney Test
To test the adrenal/kidney system, you need a partner who knows how to take blood pressure and has a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. You are more likely to have this system as a cause of your problems if you suffer from chronic dizziness and/or night sweats. Start by taking your blood pressure while lying on your back. Record this number.
Leave the blood pressure cuff on your arm, stand up and immediately take your blood pressure again. You are interested in the first number (your systolic). This number must rise 10 points or more when you stand up. If it does not or if it drops you need to treat you adrenal/kidney system. Take three to six Drenamin daily for at least 120 days. Then retest. Drenamin is also from Standard Process.
Vitamins and Prescription Drugs
Please do not brush off the treatment of eliminating synthetic vitamins and prescription drugs. These, along with shots of all types, antibiotics, and vaccines, are major causes of fibromyalgia. Some typical examples of prescription drug problems include: estrogen causing limb aches, statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) causing chronic aching and neuropathies, and flu shots causing near paralysis. With drugs taken in combination, there are too many possible reactions to list in a book.
Low-Carbohydrate Diet
You may need to be on a extremely low-carbohydrate diet like the Atkins or our Low-Carbohydrate Diet. You also need to eliminate all wheat and grains for 30 days. This dietary change alone has made chronic sufferers become asymptomatic in 30 days or less.
The remainder of sufferers who do not respond need an individualized protocol developed. This is not always easy. And it is not easy to find a doctor you can trust. But the good news is that with these four simple tests and treatments, you have a great chance of being cured. And at worst, you will be much better than you have been.
Nervous System Evaluation
One area you do not want to overlook is to have your nervous system evaluated. Chronic pressure on your upper neck can cause a host of problems from headaches, ringing in the ears, and widespread pain. It is very common, almost epidemic, how often a reversed cervical (neck) curve is found putting pressure on the nervous system in a fibromyalgia patient. Have a chiropractor examine your nervous system to find out if this part of the problem. Treatments can be extremely light when requested. Reversed cervical curves can take from a couple months to a year to correct.
1. Test the thyroid with the Barnes temperature test
2. Test the adrenal/kidney system with the Ragland's blood pressure test
3. Quit all synthetic vitamins (most store-bought vitamins, including internet sources) and work with your doctor to wean off all prescription drugs.
4. Go on a low-carbohydrate diet like the Atkins diet or our Low-Carbohydrate diet.
5. Get your nervous system checked by a chiropractic doctor.
Stopping all synthetic vitamins and prescription drugs will bring quick relief to more than 30% of sufferers. Determining and correcting thyroid/adrenal kidney problems will resolve problems for another 20% of sufferers. And finally, treating for an underlying infection will resolve problems for another 20% of sufferers. That accounts for a whopping 70% of all cases. The remainder can also be greatly improved through rehabilitative chiropractic care to free up the nervous system.
The best part of eliminating these five causes of Fibromyalgia is that once accomplished, you will get better in all kinds of other ways as well –what I call positive side effects.
Thyroid Test
To test your thyroid gland, simply take your underarm temperature on five different mornings. Do this by having a thermometer at your bedside. Place it under your arm for 10 minutes immediately upon awakening (before moving around or getting out of bed). Record the five readings and determine if the average is under 97.4. If it is, you need to treat for hypothyroid by taking three to six Thytrophin tablets. Then add 4-6 Cataplex-F tablets of 1-3 Prolamine Iodine tablets (unless you are allergic to Iodine) daily for at least 120 days. Then retest. These products are all from Standard Process.
Adrenal/Kidney Test
To test the adrenal/kidney system, you need a partner who knows how to take blood pressure and has a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. You are more likely to have this system as a cause of your problems if you suffer from chronic dizziness and/or night sweats. Start by taking your blood pressure while lying on your back. Record this number.
Leave the blood pressure cuff on your arm, stand up and immediately take your blood pressure again. You are interested in the first number (your systolic). This number must rise 10 points or more when you stand up. If it does not or if it drops you need to treat you adrenal/kidney system. Take three to six Drenamin daily for at least 120 days. Then retest. Drenamin is also from Standard Process.
Vitamins and Prescription Drugs
Please do not brush off the treatment of eliminating synthetic vitamins and prescription drugs. These, along with shots of all types, antibiotics, and vaccines, are major causes of fibromyalgia. Some typical examples of prescription drug problems include: estrogen causing limb aches, statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) causing chronic aching and neuropathies, and flu shots causing near paralysis. With drugs taken in combination, there are too many possible reactions to list in a book.
Low-Carbohydrate Diet
You may need to be on a extremely low-carbohydrate diet like the Atkins or our Low-Carbohydrate Diet. You also need to eliminate all wheat and grains for 30 days. This dietary change alone has made chronic sufferers become asymptomatic in 30 days or less.
The remainder of sufferers who do not respond need an individualized protocol developed. This is not always easy. And it is not easy to find a doctor you can trust. But the good news is that with these four simple tests and treatments, you have a great chance of being cured. And at worst, you will be much better than you have been.
Nervous System Evaluation
One area you do not want to overlook is to have your nervous system evaluated. Chronic pressure on your upper neck can cause a host of problems from headaches, ringing in the ears, and widespread pain. It is very common, almost epidemic, how often a reversed cervical (neck) curve is found putting pressure on the nervous system in a fibromyalgia patient. Have a chiropractor examine your nervous system to find out if this part of the problem. Treatments can be extremely light when requested. Reversed cervical curves can take from a couple months to a year to correct.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Email Communication
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Don't Distress--De-Stress!
Stress is more than a discomfort. Studies indicate that it can be a threat to your health.
A study published in the journal Neurology in 2003 found that the people most prone to distress were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease as the people least prone to distress. A Duke University study found that heart patients could dramatically reduce their chance of further cardiac problems by practicing stress reduction techniques. A study published in December 2005 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that stress can increase the odds of developing skin cancer.
More recently, scientists from Australia’s Garvan Institute have found that during periods of stress, nerves release a great deal of neuropeptide Y (NPY) into the bloodstream during periods of stress. NPY directly impacts the cells in the immune system that seek out and destroy bacteria and viruses—so people may be more vulnerable to illness during periods of stress. And last year, the journal Science reported that stress can even make you forgetful.
So what can you do to keep your stress levels low, and help yourself feel healthier? Following are some tried-and-true tips from fibromyalgia patients.
* Margit Crane suggests a warm bath scented with a favorite aroma. Lavender is touted by aromatherapists as one of the scents that helps people relax. You may want to relax in the tub by candlelight, or add bubble bath to increase your relaxation response.
* Breathe easy. You can find books about different breathing techniques, as well as a number of websites—such as www.breath.org/ and www.breathing.com/, which contain tips for relaxation breathing. Or just try a very simple exercise: inhale deeply, take twice as long to exhale as you did to inhale. A few minutes of relaxation breathing can make a very big difference in a stressful day.
* Prepare for fighting future stressors. Laura Collins created lists of her negative stressors, or downdrafts, and her positive stressors, or uplifts—things she enjoys doing, or things that make her feel better. "When I am experiencing a Downdraft, I pick two cards from my Uplift deck and do those," she says. "It balances me."
* Take some time for yourself every day—a few minutes to meditate, go for a leisurely walk, or just enjoy a cup of tea. Laura R. McMullen also recommends scheduling larger blocks of time for yourself. "Take a day off a week," she suggests. "Work your schedule so that you can enjoy one day, or one afternoon, to yourself, where you're not required to do anything."
* Keep an eye on your diet. When Miriam Deniz feels stressed or unwell, she craves broccoli; McMullen found that her outlook dramatically improved when she eliminated all refined sugar from her diet. It is especially recommended that fibromyalgia patients avoid aspartame, caffeine, and alcohol.
* Find a passion. Even if it’s an activity that sometimes causes you physical discomfort, the pleasure you take in the activity itself may improve your outlook—and create a relaxation response. For Scherry A. Clarke, that passion is her horses. "They keep me active and busy, help stave off depression, and have raised me up during some of the lowest points of my life with their love and loyalty," she says. "Yes...I will feel pain from my activities, and sometimes that pain will be mind-blowing; severe enough to literally knock me off of my feet. However, I will never, ever stop trying to get up again. This is my life … and I can either choose to ‘sit it out’ or ‘dance.’ I have chosen to dance."
* Adopt a relaxation practice, such as meditation or hypnosis. Be sure to practice on a regular basis!
* "Understand, with certainty, that you can make your situation more tolerable, no matter what the circumstances," says Celeste Taylor. "Realizing that stress will most likely never change the outcome of a situation, begin to relax and place your faith in God or a higher universal being of your choice. Smile at this comforting realization."
By: Elisabeth Deffner
Reprinted from FMOnline
A study published in the journal Neurology in 2003 found that the people most prone to distress were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease as the people least prone to distress. A Duke University study found that heart patients could dramatically reduce their chance of further cardiac problems by practicing stress reduction techniques. A study published in December 2005 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that stress can increase the odds of developing skin cancer.
More recently, scientists from Australia’s Garvan Institute have found that during periods of stress, nerves release a great deal of neuropeptide Y (NPY) into the bloodstream during periods of stress. NPY directly impacts the cells in the immune system that seek out and destroy bacteria and viruses—so people may be more vulnerable to illness during periods of stress. And last year, the journal Science reported that stress can even make you forgetful.
So what can you do to keep your stress levels low, and help yourself feel healthier? Following are some tried-and-true tips from fibromyalgia patients.
* Margit Crane suggests a warm bath scented with a favorite aroma. Lavender is touted by aromatherapists as one of the scents that helps people relax. You may want to relax in the tub by candlelight, or add bubble bath to increase your relaxation response.
* Breathe easy. You can find books about different breathing techniques, as well as a number of websites—such as www.breath.org/ and www.breathing.com/, which contain tips for relaxation breathing. Or just try a very simple exercise: inhale deeply, take twice as long to exhale as you did to inhale. A few minutes of relaxation breathing can make a very big difference in a stressful day.
* Prepare for fighting future stressors. Laura Collins created lists of her negative stressors, or downdrafts, and her positive stressors, or uplifts—things she enjoys doing, or things that make her feel better. "When I am experiencing a Downdraft, I pick two cards from my Uplift deck and do those," she says. "It balances me."
* Take some time for yourself every day—a few minutes to meditate, go for a leisurely walk, or just enjoy a cup of tea. Laura R. McMullen also recommends scheduling larger blocks of time for yourself. "Take a day off a week," she suggests. "Work your schedule so that you can enjoy one day, or one afternoon, to yourself, where you're not required to do anything."
* Keep an eye on your diet. When Miriam Deniz feels stressed or unwell, she craves broccoli; McMullen found that her outlook dramatically improved when she eliminated all refined sugar from her diet. It is especially recommended that fibromyalgia patients avoid aspartame, caffeine, and alcohol.
* Find a passion. Even if it’s an activity that sometimes causes you physical discomfort, the pleasure you take in the activity itself may improve your outlook—and create a relaxation response. For Scherry A. Clarke, that passion is her horses. "They keep me active and busy, help stave off depression, and have raised me up during some of the lowest points of my life with their love and loyalty," she says. "Yes...I will feel pain from my activities, and sometimes that pain will be mind-blowing; severe enough to literally knock me off of my feet. However, I will never, ever stop trying to get up again. This is my life … and I can either choose to ‘sit it out’ or ‘dance.’ I have chosen to dance."
* Adopt a relaxation practice, such as meditation or hypnosis. Be sure to practice on a regular basis!
* "Understand, with certainty, that you can make your situation more tolerable, no matter what the circumstances," says Celeste Taylor. "Realizing that stress will most likely never change the outcome of a situation, begin to relax and place your faith in God or a higher universal being of your choice. Smile at this comforting realization."
By: Elisabeth Deffner
Reprinted from FMOnline
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Helpful Dietary Changes
Fibromyalgia suffers reported less joint pain after being placed on a raw-food vegan diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, nuts and seeds.
If this type of diet seems hard for you to switch over to, you may want to start decreasing the amount of these food in your diet:
Soda pop (especially diet)
Chocolate
Coffee
Alcohol
High fat diary
Gluten
White sugar
White flour
Trans Fat
Fried Foods
Red Meats
(especially cured and smoked)
Nutrasweet
Saccharine
Remember to start one day at a time. If you have a bad day, try again the next day to make corrections in your diet.
If this type of diet seems hard for you to switch over to, you may want to start decreasing the amount of these food in your diet:
Soda pop (especially diet)
Chocolate
Coffee
Alcohol
High fat diary
Gluten
White sugar
White flour
Trans Fat
Fried Foods
Red Meats
(especially cured and smoked)
Nutrasweet
Saccharine
Remember to start one day at a time. If you have a bad day, try again the next day to make corrections in your diet.
Translating your bodies signals...
Hi. How are you today?
The answer to this common greeting is an aggravation for anyone who can't honestly answer "fine." How do you sift through the complicated state of body and mind to come up with a suitable short phrase? Translating body signals and communicating about pain is challenging-whether you are in conversation with your next door neighbor or physical therapist.
Pain has a language all its own. It doesn't speak English or Spanish or Japanese. It cares little about scales of one to 10. The mind is linear and likes information in a systematic format, like A, B, C and 1, 2, 3. The body is a poet. It speaks in symbols, metaphors and stories.
The mind needs a translation guide to find the right words so it can communicate about what's going on in your body. The more your mind and body understand each other, the more you'll be able to pass this information on to others.
The first step is to for the mind to stop and listen so your body has a chance to "speak." Whether or not you write down your sensations or keep a pain journal, taking a few minutes a day to "hear" your body will usually give you valuable information and may even decrease pain. After all, it won't need to yell so loud if someone is listening.
As an exercise, sit quietly, scan your body, and notice the sensations you feel. When one sensation draws your attention, follow it for a few minutes. Does it have a color or shape? Is it dense or diffuse? When you pay attention to it, does it trigger thoughts or memories? Stay with the experience and notice how the process of paying attention creates change. Also notice if you get a clear message of what this place needs.
With practice, the mind will be able to interpret the messages of the body into something that makes some semblance of sense. For example, your headache might start as a sharp, red, pointed pain behind the right eye that spreads into an orange/brown cloud over the top of the skull.
When asked how you are, your mind can interpret and give a response as appropriate. For example:
To a co-worker: "I have a bit of a headache."
To your kids: "It's like a spike in my eye and a cloud over my head." (Children understand the poetry of the body more than most people.)
To your healthcare provider: "The pain in my head seems to start behind my right eye and is connected to a fuzzy type of feeling over my skull." This is more informative than, "I have a headache that's worse today than yesterday," as sensations can describe trigger points or muscle tension.
Following sensations also gives you the opportunity to notice places that aren't in pain. Your low back might hurt, but your legs might feel strong. Staying in touch with good sensations gives you access to forgotten resources.
Since the mind and body are speaking different languages, it will take some practice to interpret complex messages. It doesn't always have to make logical sense. Here's an example. When I was working on the side torso muscles of a client, I asked her how it felt. She answered, "It makes me want to throw up and laugh at the same time." That sure doesn't fit on a scale of 1 to 10, but it directed me to a source of the restriction-her diaphragm and abdomen, which are both involved in laughing and vomiting. We were able to follow her body's clues to the area that needed release.
"The more you work on your mind-body communication, the more you will tap into your body's intelligence and intuition."
The more you work on your mind-body communication, the more you will tap into your body's intelligence and intuition. When deciding whether to go for a long walk with friends, your body may respond with a feeling of sluggishness. With a few minutes of attention, you can determine if your body needs more energy from some breathing exercises (like lifting your arms overhead as you inhale) or if you are better off taking a short or leisurely walk instead.
Over time, your body intelligence and mental intelligence will develop a working relationship to handle even challenging requests. For example, if a personal trainer asks you to do 10 reps with eight pounds, you'll know if that's too much (or not) and can reply with confidence. Even better, you will know what you can handle, 10 reps with five pounds, five reps with eight pounds, or some other combination.
Most importantly, learning to translate the message of your symptoms will correct the errors that come from miscommunication. Your body isn't lazy or defective or unreasonable. It is undergoing complex processes that can't always be broken down into A, B, C and 1, 2, 3.
If you don't usually feel "fine," maybe that's because that word isn't in your body's language. You may be "molto bene," "штрафа" or feeling like a crab crawling across the sand. The world could use a little more poetry, and the people you meet might appreciate a different answer than the commonplace, "I'm okay.".
The answer to this common greeting is an aggravation for anyone who can't honestly answer "fine." How do you sift through the complicated state of body and mind to come up with a suitable short phrase? Translating body signals and communicating about pain is challenging-whether you are in conversation with your next door neighbor or physical therapist.
Pain has a language all its own. It doesn't speak English or Spanish or Japanese. It cares little about scales of one to 10. The mind is linear and likes information in a systematic format, like A, B, C and 1, 2, 3. The body is a poet. It speaks in symbols, metaphors and stories.
The mind needs a translation guide to find the right words so it can communicate about what's going on in your body. The more your mind and body understand each other, the more you'll be able to pass this information on to others.
The first step is to for the mind to stop and listen so your body has a chance to "speak." Whether or not you write down your sensations or keep a pain journal, taking a few minutes a day to "hear" your body will usually give you valuable information and may even decrease pain. After all, it won't need to yell so loud if someone is listening.
As an exercise, sit quietly, scan your body, and notice the sensations you feel. When one sensation draws your attention, follow it for a few minutes. Does it have a color or shape? Is it dense or diffuse? When you pay attention to it, does it trigger thoughts or memories? Stay with the experience and notice how the process of paying attention creates change. Also notice if you get a clear message of what this place needs.
With practice, the mind will be able to interpret the messages of the body into something that makes some semblance of sense. For example, your headache might start as a sharp, red, pointed pain behind the right eye that spreads into an orange/brown cloud over the top of the skull.
When asked how you are, your mind can interpret and give a response as appropriate. For example:
To a co-worker: "I have a bit of a headache."
To your kids: "It's like a spike in my eye and a cloud over my head." (Children understand the poetry of the body more than most people.)
To your healthcare provider: "The pain in my head seems to start behind my right eye and is connected to a fuzzy type of feeling over my skull." This is more informative than, "I have a headache that's worse today than yesterday," as sensations can describe trigger points or muscle tension.
Following sensations also gives you the opportunity to notice places that aren't in pain. Your low back might hurt, but your legs might feel strong. Staying in touch with good sensations gives you access to forgotten resources.
Since the mind and body are speaking different languages, it will take some practice to interpret complex messages. It doesn't always have to make logical sense. Here's an example. When I was working on the side torso muscles of a client, I asked her how it felt. She answered, "It makes me want to throw up and laugh at the same time." That sure doesn't fit on a scale of 1 to 10, but it directed me to a source of the restriction-her diaphragm and abdomen, which are both involved in laughing and vomiting. We were able to follow her body's clues to the area that needed release.
"The more you work on your mind-body communication, the more you will tap into your body's intelligence and intuition."
The more you work on your mind-body communication, the more you will tap into your body's intelligence and intuition. When deciding whether to go for a long walk with friends, your body may respond with a feeling of sluggishness. With a few minutes of attention, you can determine if your body needs more energy from some breathing exercises (like lifting your arms overhead as you inhale) or if you are better off taking a short or leisurely walk instead.
Over time, your body intelligence and mental intelligence will develop a working relationship to handle even challenging requests. For example, if a personal trainer asks you to do 10 reps with eight pounds, you'll know if that's too much (or not) and can reply with confidence. Even better, you will know what you can handle, 10 reps with five pounds, five reps with eight pounds, or some other combination.
Most importantly, learning to translate the message of your symptoms will correct the errors that come from miscommunication. Your body isn't lazy or defective or unreasonable. It is undergoing complex processes that can't always be broken down into A, B, C and 1, 2, 3.
If you don't usually feel "fine," maybe that's because that word isn't in your body's language. You may be "molto bene," "штрафа" or feeling like a crab crawling across the sand. The world could use a little more poetry, and the people you meet might appreciate a different answer than the commonplace, "I'm okay.".
Why does a diet of raw food decrease inflammation?
When cooked food is eaten, leucocytosis occurs. Individuals experience a rise in the white blood count, the body's natural immune response. Check your temperature before eating and again 30-40 minutes after eating a meal of cooked food as the immune system goes into overdrive. This constant defense mechanism of the body has been proven to cause inflammation to many organs of the body. Many people eating a junk food diet have a chronic low-grade temperature.
A raw food diet consists of organic uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It is more desirable to eat them uncooked because heating these foods above 110 destroys most vitamins and all of the enzymes, and deranges the caloric nutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates).
All fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds contain varying amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Calories are not changed by heat, but fats are transformed to trans fatty acids. Carbohydrates are caramelized, and proteins, which are made up of amino acids, are coagulated-making them difficult to digest and assimilate. The immune system then has to treat them as foreign invaders. This can exhaust the immune system.
A raw food diet consists of organic uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It is more desirable to eat them uncooked because heating these foods above 110 destroys most vitamins and all of the enzymes, and deranges the caloric nutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates).
All fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds contain varying amounts of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Calories are not changed by heat, but fats are transformed to trans fatty acids. Carbohydrates are caramelized, and proteins, which are made up of amino acids, are coagulated-making them difficult to digest and assimilate. The immune system then has to treat them as foreign invaders. This can exhaust the immune system.
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