Stay Strong in Summer Heat

If you have been to see me for a consultation recently, I may have used some new test kits to check you. The first thing that comes up for most people is “hydration”.  The remedy for that is not just water, and many people comment that they are already drinking “so much water”.

But hydration is far more. Most people are also deficient in minerals. The cells of the body don’t want water alone. They want water as a carrier for the building blocks of the cells, and that means minerals. Electrolytes, salt and potassium, are part of that picture. But that does not mean drink Gatorade! That does mean getting more sea salt in your diet, and summer fruits are a source of potassium.

Foods grown in depleted, over-farmed soil, have few minerals, and you are losing minerals in sweat with the heat. So, think minerals to help your body weather the heat better.

One of my favorite summer mineral supplements is Cal Amo. It is a life-saver in humid weather and has the added benefit of helping the lymph system.

The liver is burdened by hot weather, and since most of us have over-worked livers from all the environmental toxins, this can cause summer fatigue. Think liver cleanse, or extra liver support with Milk Thistle herbs and Choline and AF Betafood to help the gall bladder decongest.

Adrenals are stressed by extreme temperatures, as well as summer travel, so extra adrenal support is helpful. Avoiding sugar and going moderate with caffeine will help.

Air conditioning dries out skin, mucous membranes and lungs. And the change from hot outside air to cold inside air is worse. A dab of Egyptian Magic cream (available from Health food stores and online) can be used around the nose at night to give some moisture to your nasal cavities. Prescription medication and inhalers for allergies will further dry out membranes. There are natural allergy medicines such as Allerplex, Euphrasia and homeopathic Sabidil that can help you manage allergies naturally. Doing a good cleanse can give long-lasting relief, as well as getting tested for food allergies. Cleanse does not mean "fast" and you can eat well while you cleanse. Ask us about our 21 day Detox program.

You can never go wrong, in any season, by eating organic foods and avoiding genetically modified foods. The main reason for GMO foods is so the plants will be able to resist pests, and was supposed to reduce the use of pesticides. However, that has not proven to be the case, because Mother Nature has her own way of coping with stress in her environment and it is proving very difficult to fight her. Since we now have stronger, tougher weeds that resist the chemicals, maybe that is part of the reason that allergies seem to be worse than ever. http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe70s/pests_08.html

Remember the recipe for a homemade sports drink/lemonade. Juice some fresh organic lemons into spring water, and add a pinch of sea salt, and stevia or honey to taste. For pink lemonade, add a splash of raspberry puree.

And I want to share a recipe for gluten-free pancakes that are high protein and don’t even need syrup. Mash a small banana and add 2 eggs. Whip together to form a “batter”. Pour on an oiled or buttered griddle or pan heated to low-medium heat. Cook until golden and flip. Two eggs make 2 large pancakes or 4-6 smaller ones.  I like them slathered with butter and fresh sliced strawberries. This is a great change from other egg breakfasts and can be used for a snack or other meal. You can roll them up and take them to eat in the car on the way to work. (watch the butter!)

This recipe is courtesy of Zonnie Bauer, Pilates and Dance instructor. Enjoy!!

Saliva Hormone Testing-Mother's Day Special

Hormone Saliva Testing Vs. Blood Testing

Although blood testing can give some information about the status of your hormones, saliva testing may tell more.

When you test saliva, you are testing an “end product”, what hormones are left over after being active. Hormones that are circulating in the blood don’t tell us how well the cells are accepting hormonal influence. Each hormone in the body, including the female and male sex hormones, influence and lock on to individual cells all over the body.

How well those cells receive the hormones is an important part of the picture. Holistic doctors take this into consideration and know that the cells can be tweaked to be more responsive to hormones, without forcing the issue with drugs or synthetic hormones.

There are also vital nutrients needed for full function of the glands that produce the hormones. Iodine is a good example. I have seen iodine improve depression so dramatically that one patient told me she was thinking about suicide, but was afraid to tell anyone, until I put her on iodine supplementation.  Years later she told me that the iodine had saved her life.

Hormones are wrapped in protein envelopes so they can hitch a ride in the blood stream. The unbound proteins are more active, and this is what is measured in saliva.[i]

Saliva testing is easy, convenient, pain-less and less expensive. You do it yourself at home, first thing in the morning, and mail the saliva sample to the lab in a pre-paid envelope.  A basic test panel includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and cortisol levels. Cortisol levels tell us much about weight, sleep and and stress issues.

Although I do use bio-identical hormone creams for some women, I always want to get the glands working optimally, even after menopause. Then any hormones added will only enhance a system that is already as balanced as possible.

The difference in mood, menopause symptoms, sleep, weight and general feeling of well-being can be quite dramatic. PMS, menopause and PCOS symptoms may be common, but they can be corrected.  The body was made to work correctly and women do not have to suffer.

I have also helped many couples achieve a healthy pregnancy, without resorting to costly and harsh drug and hormone treatments by balancing hormones.

Hormones rule the body. If you need help in understanding and balancing your hormones, we are happy to help. Take advantage of our Mother’s Day Special and come in for a full body analysis and Saliva Testing. The special price is $200, half off the usual price for Saliva testing and analysis/consultation. Call us if you have questions or would like to book. 818-562-1400.

[i] What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, John R.Lee, M.D., Warner Books, 1966.

Signs and Symptoms that Your Stress is Caused by Exhausted Adrenals

When you are more tired than you should be, feeling overwhelmed or sick too often, does your partner tell you it is just stress? And you kind of know that is true, but you aren’t sure what to do about it.

You could say that everything is stress because that is the only thing that causes anything to go wrong in the body. It is how the stress hits us, and how the body responds, that makes the difference and creates the symptoms. If you are in perfect health, with very little demand of any kind on the body, you will have plenty of energy and feel fine. Except that you might be bored, and that can also produce stress!

But in today’s world hardly anyone is in perfect health. We have a very compromised food supply, so that even the organic vegetables don’t have the nutrition they had 50-75 years ago. We have staggering amounts of environmental toxins that over-burden our detoxification organs. We have to process too much information, and we sit in traffic too long trying to get somewhere we need to be, which takes up too much time, leaving us feeling that life is moving too fast.

The ability of the body to adapt to all that we experience in life is moderated, to a great extent, by those little glands on top of our kidneys called adrenals. The walnut sized adrenals produce four different hormones, but these have a powerful influence on the body. The adrenals get depleted when they run out of the materials needed to make hormones.

Because of our high-stress lives, the adrenals over produce cortisol. The circulating cortisol signals the body to eat more, to stay alert at night rather than sleep, and to store fat. Or you may be so sluggish that you can’t stay awake when you want to. And you are hungry, gaining weight, but you don’t seem to get the benefit of your food even when you eat well.

Let’s look at how the body views stress.  If you are standing at the top of a black diamond (very difficult) ski run, and you are an excellent skier, you are pumped and excited about the run. Your body gets primed because you know you are going to ski fast, and your knees are going to be pumping to keep you gliding over the bumps, and your heart is going to be working over-time to keep the blood circulating to your muscles. That is all physical stress on the body, as well as the emotional stress of the anticipation and exhilaration.

If you are a novice skier and you ended up at the top of the black diamond run by mistake, you look down the steep bumps with fear or even terror. You wonder if you will make it down in one piece, or if the ski patrol will have to bring you down on a stretcher. Your mouth goes dry, your arms and legs get stiff, and your heart pounds with anxiety. You may also be a bit embarrassed that you are going to have to slide and scrape down the hill, instead of gliding gracefully like the pros. (I can personally testify to this!)

Our bodies don’t really know the difference between the two experiences. Both create a demand that exceeds the norm, and that produces extra stress.

Here are the symptoms of weak and exhausted adrenals:

Gains weight easily or can’t lose weight. When severe, can’t gain weight.

Thin and wispy hair, dry, falls out easily, may become straighter or straw-like

Exhausted or easily fatigued

Chronic fatigue

Wakes between 3-4 pm and cannot return to sleep

Gets sick easily and stays weak afterwards

Racing heart or palpitations

Panic and anxiety

Asthma or allergies, seasonal or food

Pain and inflammation

Dizziness, or gets dizzy when standing suddenly

Constipation, diarrhea, IBS or other bowel disorders

Auto-immune disease such as Lupus, Hashimoto’s, Celiac

Hot flashes

Mental sluggishness

Headaches

Sparse hair on legs and arms

Dry skin

Eyes sunken

Poor circulation

Swollen ankles

Craves salt

High blood pressure

Pallor-very pale skin that is not natural looking

Frequent urination, especially at night

“Double jointed” or lax ligaments

Can’t hold Chiropractic adjustments

Vitiligo or white patches on skin

You may be asking yourself why your medical doctor does not recognize these symptoms and have you tested. Pharmaceutical does not have any answers for adrenal issues, except psychiatric medication when the anxiety and panic are a problem. They have inhalers and allergy medication, and sleep drugs.

These drugs may treat the symptoms, but they do not heal and repair the adrenal glands themselves. So, millions of people are trying to operate their bodies with depleted adrenals and suffering the effects, or they are suffering the side-effects of drugs that never get to the underlying issue.

Once you understand that all of life is basically an adrenal challenge, you can plan to keep your adrenals up to the job. That means getting enough sleep, avoiding sugar, eating whole foods regularly and avoiding processed chemical foods. The adrenals need and store large quantities of Vitamin C, so they need fresh fruits and vegetables to operate well. And there are many adrenal supplements, both herbal and nutritional, that can restore burnt out adrenals quickly. If you have any kind of physical, emotional or psychological stress, you may need supplements and lifestyle changes to keep your adrenals strong.

“Adrenal glands produce hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, steroids, cortisol, and cortisone, and chemicals such as adrenalin (epinephrine), norepinephrine, and dopamine. When the glands produce more or less hormones than required by the body, disease conditions may occur.” Medline Plus[i]

At Well Body Clinic, we find the exact adrenal support that is right for your body. And we can address the other symptoms, such as anxiety, allergies, sleep, hair and skin issues, with a complete natural medicine approach. You don’t have to be sick and tired and, worse, wondering what is wrong with you. Functional medicine means finding out what part of your body needs support to function correctly, and removing any barriers that are preventing you from feeling good and being well. For real. Long term.

Call us to book your adrenal consultation. It usually only takes a few days to start noticing the difference in your symptoms. Life is a challenge, and you can make sure that your adrenals are helping you to keep up.

[i] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/8719.htm