Fatigue is a Drag-Also a Symptom

What percentage of people do you know who are tired? Plenty. It is the most common complaint for patients seeking medical help, according to the medical journals.
Most often a medical doctor will find no reason. That is because MD’s look for disease, not wellness. Low-energy, fatigue, exhaustion are all symptoms of a number of problems brewing below the surface. An actual disease state may not appear for years. This affects the quality of life, but also fosters continue wear and tear that will eventually lead to disease.

The first thing to consider is hormone deficiency. Both low thyroid and low adrenals are causes of fatigue. Even if you are told that your thyroid blood work is “normal”, consider that the most common hormone checked, TSH, is a pituitary hormone not a thyroid hormone. The active thyroid hormone is called T3 and it must be formed in the liver. So, if your liver is congested and over-worked, possibly due to the hundreds of chemicals it has to process every day, then your thyroid may be fine, but you are not getting the benefit. And that will make your tired because many cells in your body have a receptor for T3.

If you have difficulty losing weight, cold hands and feet, feel chilled when others are warm, feel foggy mentally or are forgetful, are depressed, retain water, have dry skin, low libido, thinning outer third of eyebrows, consider that you have low thyroid. You may have some of these symptoms even if you are on thyroid medication, which means there are other things to balance in the hormone/endocrine system, or your liver needs help.

Often you do not need a prescription to revive your thyroid and get the thyroid hormones you need. Consider natural thyroid support, including iodine, but use only the bio-available forms. Thyroid protomorphogen is a blue print for making new healthy thyroid cells. And you may need a liver detox or liver support program. So, being tired is only partially a function of how much sleep you are getting.

I will write more about causes of fatigue next time.

How Do You Rank Your Current State of Health on a Scale of 1-10?

The answer to this question may depend on what you demand of your body. Just living in an urban area puts a great burden on us, due to physiological stress, pollution and chemical exposure, lack of time to prepare healthy meals, traffic, etc. Your ability to handle this stress depends a great deal on your lifestyle. So, how would your rank your current health status on a scale of 1-10?
What do you expect your health to be like in 5 years, based on your current lifestyle choices? You will only get back the health you build. it is not a matter of luck and it is not dependent on your genes. It is largely a matter of the choices you make.

Like anything else in life, you master an ability by studying and practicing it. Healthy living has become increasingly difficult because of the chemicals and toxins we constantly ingest and inhale. The good news is that we have more access than ever to good information. It is always a matter of choosing how to spend your valuable time. In order to be healthier in five years than you are now, or at least stay on top of the aging game, you may need a superior physician. The Chinese understood this thousands of years ago.

“The superior physician helps before the early budding of the disease. The inferior physician begins to help when the disease has already developed.” Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wer. Yellow Emperor’s Classic Internal Medicine.

If we dare to be healthy and feel our best, the quality it brings to life is invaluable. It cannot be bought with gold. It takes knowledge and application. And like most lofty goals, it requires some sacrifice.

Consider the value of a body that functions and serves you well when you count out your supplements. They are a measure of how you are investing in your future health.

More Dare You Eat Dairy

Thanks to every one who responded to my last health tip about dairy products. There were some good questions raised. One was about the difference in calories between low-fat milk and whole milk. I purposely did not mention calories because I think that one reason Americans have such an obesity problem is our obsession with calories. This has taken us down a dark road towards chemical substitutes that are supposed to be low in calories, but disturb metabolism because the body cannot process them. Sucralose is a good example.
Take sugar and chemically bond it to chlorine and you have sucralose, which is supposed to prevent the body from absorbing the sugar. Hard to imagine that ingesting sugar and chlorine together could be healthy. If we just eat whole natural foods, like humans have eaten for hundreds or thousands of years, we will not get fat. It is the processed and chemical Frankenstein foods that are causing us to gain weight at an unprecedented rate. Here is a link to an article that discusses that point. http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201105/skim-milk-non-fat-milk-diet-foods

Raw organic milk can be purchased at “Full of Life” in Burban, or the Hollywood Farmer’s Market (Sunday morning) or the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market. For those who already have a dairy issue that switching to raw and fermented products won’t handle, try :Nary Dairy”, made from cashew nuts. Made in Pasadena, you can order on-line.http://www.narydairy.com/

Have a cream-filled day!

Dare You Eat Dairy?

Recently I read about research into dairy consumption. The studies found that about 75% of the adult population of Earth can tolerate dairy products. Then why is there so much lactose-intolerance?
Let’s define our terms. By “dairy” we mean anything produced from the milk of a cow. Of course, food-industry ingenuity (and the pursuit of big bucks) has created dairy by-products that bear little resemblance to the near-perfect formula Nature created to nourish calves. In many countries, including the U.S., cheese that has certain chemicals and additives that extend shelf life and add a plastic texture cannot be labeled “cheese”. Is it any wonder that these altered dairy products might cause mucous or allergies?

Real milk products quickly break down, even when refrigerated. This  breaking down, or souring, is caused by a similar process that causes bread to rise. Organisms digest the lactose, or milk “sugar” and that changes it into sour chunks or curds. Yogurt, kefir and cheese are all made by controlling the types of organisms so that certain flavors are produced. Remember that you have trillions of organisms in your gut already. Fresh raw dairy products that are fermented or cultured are very healthy. The lactose becomes lactic acid, and few people will have an allergic reaction to lactic acid. Lactic acid is beneficial to healthy flora in the human gut, that is a major part of the immune system. Lactic acid supplements will help after a course of antibiotics or if your immune system is compromised and weak.

You would never heat-treat mother’s milk before feeding it to a human infant, but that is exactly what we do when we pasteurize cow’s milk. Calves raised on pasteurized milk do not thrive. And humans raised on pasteurized milk may develop allergies and sensitivities because they lack the enzymes needed to break down the lactose into lactic acid. This will cause the rumbly tummies experienced by those who are lactose intolerant.

But here is what I often find. Gall bladder/Liver congestion is a primary reason for dairy difficulties. The unfortunate intestine is frequently blamed for problems that actually arise higher up the digestive conveyor belt.

Dairy farmers are subsidized by the Government, but the price-fixing is hurting them because dairy prices are low and the cost of dairy farm business is high. So, organic dairy farmers are doing slightly better, since they can charge a premium for milk.  My advice is to always buy organic dairy products as much as possible, since pesticides and other toxins are fat-loving and the way we treat commercial cows is unwise for the cows, and unwise for their products that we consume.

Organic raw dairy is delicious and healthy, and well-regulated. Look for local California raw milk from Organic Pastures or Claravale Dairy. They also make delicious raw cream and cheese. Raw cheeses from Spain and France are often available, and are some of the most delicious varieties. Look for Comte’ at Trader Joe’s. Hard cheeses have no lactose left after the cheese-making process, so are safer choices for those who have concerns.

Dairy products add flavor and richness to your eating plan. Always choose the least processed path, so look for whole milk and non-homogenized versions, if not raw. Whole milk is 3% fat, and low-fat is 1%-not much of a difference!  You are also going to lose fat-soluble vitamins like A and D, so there is a price to pay that goes beyond taste.

I raised my two kids on organic raw milk and neither one has any allergies, and they had few colds or flus. Babies who drink raw milk usually do not develop milk allergies. I still use raw milk in my tea.

One sign of dairy intolerance is puffy, itchy eyelids or the area around the eyes. If you are sensitive already, total elimination of dairy products, plus taking digestive enzymes, is the answer.

If you are still concerned about dairy, or are already highly intolerant, don’t make the mistake of choosing soy. Soy isolate powder is one of the most highly processed and allergenic foods. And Monsanto is behind the big soy push-not a company that has anyone’s health at heart. And soy has phyto-estrogens that may interfere with optimum thyroid function. Children raised on soy products often go through puberty earlier from the estrogenic influences on their endocrine systems.

Humans have eaten raw or cultured dairy products for thousands of years. If we go back to sane farming practices we can enjoy the health and taste benefits of “real” food, as Nature intended.