[Daniel]

Hey ,

After pregnancy, the body needs to recover from sharing nutrients with the growing foetus. Women who breastfeed are still sharing nutrients with their babies and might need to pay extra attention to their nutrient intake. This means that these women often need more minerals like iron, folate, and vitamin B12 to rebuild their red blood cells lost after delivery.  While breastfeeding these nutrients are shared with the baby as well together with other nutrients like calcium and iodine.

Iron
Iron-rich foods like meat and poultry can provide these nutrients. Plant-based sources like lentils, leafy greens and other legumes. Nuts & Seeds can also provide iron in your diet. Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, cashews and pine nuts are particularly rich in iron.

The enzymes in the stomach that free up iron from food need vitamin C to work. This is why vitamin C increases iron absorption. Citrus fruits like oranges, kiwis, lemons and grapefruit are high in vitamin C. Bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower are also good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C does get destroyed by heat. Make sure that you don’t overcook vitamin C rich foods.

Acerola Cherries and Rose Hips are incredibly high in vitamin C. If you like these foods, you can add them as well.

Folate
When you’re breastfeeding, the need for folate goes up as well. Folate is important for growth, making DNA and creating healthy red blood cells for as well the mother and her newborn child. Folate-rich food sources are for example leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Zinc
A good amount of pregnant mothers use more zinc and deplete their stores during pregnancy. Especially if you’ve noticed some hair loss during your pregnancy, this can be an indication of an increased need for zinc. If you like to get zinc out of your diet, then beef, turkey and seeds (pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and sesame seeds for example) are good food sources that contain zinc.

Choline
The need for Choline becomes is also increased during breastfeeding. Choline can be found in dairy and protein food groups, such as eggs, meats, beans, peas, and lentils.

Protein
Protein need becomes higher as well. In this study from 2020, they recommend an intake of 1.7 to 1.9 grams of protein per kg bodyweight (3–6 mo postpartum). This is higher than the current recommended the current Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) of 1.05 g protein/kg/d.

Iodine
Iodine is an essential mineral needed for the production of the thyroid hormone, and to ensure your baby’s brain and nervous system develop properly. If you like to know if iodine is something you’re low in, then I recommend you to watch this video. A little bit of kelp granulates can provide you with enough iodine since it’s very rich. This video contains some other foods that are high in Iodine.

Vitamin A
The need for vitamin A increases as well. Vitamin A is an important nutrient for growth and the immune system as well for mum and the baby. A rule of thumb is that yellow/orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin) usually contain more beta-carotene, the plant-based precursor for vitamin A. Leafy greens and tomatoes are also great sources of carotenoids.

Vitamin D
In this study, it was concluded that taking vitamin D by mothers who breastfed their babies also positively influenced the serum levels of the babies. The researchers saw the best results in the group taking 6400 IU of vitamin D daily.

Water
Hydration is also important. Breastmilk is around 80% water and the need for it increases when you’re breastfeeding. Make sure your urine looks light. This is a good rule of thumb.

Omega 3 fatty acids
For the development of the baby omega 3’s are important as well – especially for the brain development of the baby. The fatty acids that are most important are DHA and EPA which are found in marine food sources. I usually recommend a supplement when it comes to ensuring adequate intake of DHA and EPA

Prenatal vitamins
A prenatal multivitamin can help you to ensure you’ve got all vitamins and minerals on a daily basis. If your diet is healthy and has an accent on leafy greens, orange vegetables, legumes, nuts & seeds, meat and poultry you might not need a prenatal vitamin. You still need to pay attention to protein sources, omega 3s, vitamin D, choline and the intake of water of course.

Things to avoid
• Stimulants like coffee and some caffeine-containing teas
• Alcohol
• Sugary foods and processed foods
• Allergy-Causing Foods

I hope these recommendations will help!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

If you like to prevent wrinkles, it helps to know how wrinkles get there in the first place. Obviously, wrinkles are part of the ageing process, but some factors can speed up ageing and there are some things you can do to reduce wrinkles.

What causes wrinkles?
As you know collagen and elastin are proteins responsible for maintaining the skin’s firmness, elasticity, and structure. As you age, the production of these proteins gets harder, leading to the loss of skin elasticity and the formation of wrinkles. Inflammation can make the formation of collagen harder and contribute to acceleration of the formation of wrinkles

Another factor that speeds up the formation of wrinkles is UV radiation. UV radiation from the sun damages collagen and elastin fibres in the skin, leading to premature ageing and the development of wrinkles. This process is known as photoaging.

When you become older, your skin naturally loses fat and moisture, causing it to become thinner and more prone to wrinkling.

How to reduce the formation.
Note that this part is more focused on the slowing down of wrinkles. Below I will give you some tips on what you can do to reverse the line depth which forms the wrinkles.

Reduce inflammation and follow an anti-inflammatory lifestyle
As I mentioned, the formation of collagen can be slow downed by inflammation. Making sure your serum vitamin D levels are in the optimal range can reduce inflammation. This handout goes in depth about vitamin D supplementation. Getting enough of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA will help as well.

If you’re insulin resistant, this can increase inflammation as well (here is a list of signs & symptoms to look out for)

Vitamin C is an antioxidant which not only reduces inflammation but it is needed for the formation of collagen. I usually aim for 2x 500 mg of vitamin C per day with my clients. Make sure that the ingredient label doesn’t has the ingredient calcium ascorbate which is calcium attached to vitamin C.

UV Radiation
We need sunlight for vitamin D production, but unfortunately, too much exposure increases damage to collagen and elastin fibres in the skin. Avoiding the sun in the middle of the day can reduce that damage.

Make sure your hydrated
Having good cellular hydration decreases wrinkles and line depth. This sounds easy, but besides drinking enough water, there are more factors that you need to get right to have good cellular hydration:
• Make sure you get enough electrolytes. This recipe here shows you how to make sole, which is an excellent source of electrolytes. On the topic of water and hydration, we also have a video. Just click here!
• Stress hormones influence electrolyte balance as well. This video contains a list of signs and symptoms of stress hormone imbalance. If you’re experiencing these signs and symptoms, in the adrenal balance course you can find more information on how to bring back balance. Stress hormones don’t only react to emotional stress. Infections, chronic pain, hyperglycemia, not enough sleep, feeling exhausted and many other factors can impact stress hormones as well.

Supplements
Aloe vera consumption has been shown to reduce line depth as well(see this study). Retinol (vitamin A) is important for healthy skin, but it also helps reduce wrinkles according to this study.

Rosehip oil and cacay oil are natural oils that you can apply topically and they contain a derivative of retinol called Tretinoin which is helpful with photoaging caused by the sun. Rosehip and Cacay add a soothing, calming, anti-inflammatory action with no side effects like some other retinol creams can have.

Resveratrol has been shown to reduce wrinkle formation as well (Click here if you like to see the study)

Hyaluronic Acid is a supplement that has been shown to reduce wrinkles as well. In this study, they showed that oral consumption was effective at doing that.

I hope I gave you some tips that you could use. Let me know if you have further questions!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

You’re right. Collagen powders can contain some heavy metals. Natural Force Collagen is tested for heavy metals by a third party and is a safe choice. You can find the test results here if you like. If skin health is your goal, a marine-based supplement will help since it has more type 1 collagen.

Is there anything, in particular, you are focussing on? Would you like for example to have some tips about anti-ageing? Or are you more focused on skin problems like dry skin, rashes or other skin problems?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Are you referring to any neurological symptoms in general? Ambien (Zolpidem is the active ingredient by the way) does have side effects. It also depends on the dosages.

The most sleeping medications, including Ambien, aren’t meant for long-term use. Usually, Ambien is not prescribed for more than 2 weeks since people can develop tolerance to the medication. Since she uses Ambien for longer than 25 years, it would be good to know what kind of dosages she is currently using.

Ambien should not be mixed with alcohol and can have interactions with other medications. Mixing Ambien and alcohol can cause dangerous physical and cognitive impairment, and there’s a danger of Ambien overdose as well.

Most sleep medications influence sleep architecture. During the night we have 4-5 cycles of 1.5 hours in which we go to deep sleep and REM sleep. Ambien is known to reduce REM sleep. Having good REM sleep is needed for memory, learning and processing emotions. Taking away REM sleep can make you forgetful, moody and it makes it more difficult to learn new things.

With higher doses of Ambien some common side effects are:
• Drowsiness
• headache
• muscle aches
• sleepiness or unusual drowsiness

In cases of abuse (which can occur unintentionally) symptoms like:
• Uninhibited sociability and talkativeness
• Frequent blackouts
• Strange behavior with no memory (blackouts)
• Sleepwalking or sleep activities
• Hypersexual behavior
• Impaired coordination and balance

 can also occur.

If she isn’t ready for change, you might want to consider another medical approach. It could very well be that at the root of the problem, there is a mood disorder. In that case, you could advise her to consult her doctor and see for example if SSRIs are a better approach.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Thank you for sharing your labs! I hope this answer might help you to make the right choices.

The most common reason for elevations in iron would be hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis is a genetic condition in which your body is better at storing iron which can lead to an overload. This can cause elevations in iron. Ferritin (the storage form of iron) usually won’t go up until iron levels are really high. Has your doctor checked for hemochromatosis?

What do I need to be concerned about with long-term high iron levels?
High iron levels can affect different tissues. For example the pancreas (which plays a role in blood sugar regulation), the thyroid, the liver and other organs.

Many people with hemochromatosis don’t know it. Clues to watch out for are symptoms the body might present, for example:
• The feeling of tiredness or weakness,
• brain fog, mood swings, depression and anxiety
• Weight loss,
• Joint pain,
• Bronze or grey skin color,
• Abdominal pain,
• Loss of sex drive (including irregular periods or stopped/missed periods)

High iron levels can also be caused by taking iron supplements/medications. Do you know if you are using any?

It’s also good to realize that high iron levels can cause some serious problems, like:
• Damage to the liver (cirrhoses)
• Heart disease
• Diabetes 

You can find more information here.

Could my diet potentially be contributing to my high iron?
Normally it is hard to get an overload of iron from foods. It is regulated through a hormone called Hepcidin. The more iron you have, the more Hepcidin you will create, which will decrease iron absorption. However, in the case of hemochromatosis, you’re iron absorption is ‘better than normal’. In this case, diet does contribute to high iron levels and high iron foods are best to be avoided.

Examples of high-iron foods are beef liver (and other organ meats), red meat and raw seafood like oysters, mussels, or clams. Spinach is also a potent source of iron.

Some other factors influence iron absorption. We do have a movie on the platform which addresses correcting an iron overload. you can find it right here!

With my lightheadedness, is my low glucose a factor?
High iron levels can contribute to lightheadedness, but low blood sugar as well. In fact, you might want to discuss with your doctor if having low blood sugars won’t be a problem if you decide to donate blood.

In the early stages of insulin resistance, we see that blood sugars can drop low. The elevated insulin produced by the pancreas is pushing the blood sugars more aggressively into the cells. Since the cells are still sensitive enough in the beginning, blood sugars might drop. Measuring fasting insulin levels might provide insight if this is at play.

Additional pearls from your labs:
Your liver enzymes are a bit on the lower end. We need vitamin B6 to produce these enzymes. Often, when they are low, this can indicate a need for more vitamin B6. If you’re going to support the body with vitamin B6, it might be good to measure the liver enzymes again since a vitamin B6 insufficiency can mask elevations in liver enzymes.

Another enzyme that in functional medicine we often like to see higher is Alkaline Phosphatase. When Alkaline Phosphatase is lower, it often indicates a need for more zinc.

Elevations in eosinophils can be caused by allergies or asthma. Do you know if you have these conditions? Eosinophils can also be elevated due to something at play in the gut. Are you experiencing bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, cramps, vomiting or any other gut-related symptoms?

You mentioned you were on an auto-immune protocol. Could your perhaps share with us for what reason?

[Daniel]

I zoomed in on histamine, but with allergies, we have other recommendations we can share with you as well. In fact, we have a handout summarizing them. Click here.

 

[Daniel]

Hey @nikolovaart ,

I don’t think that is a bad brand. But if histamine buildup is involved, you might experience worsening of your allergy symptoms. Perhaps you could share the symptoms you are experiencing and if you feel like it… you can share lab results here as well. We could give you more personalized advice that way.

Back to your original question: SIBO can be a source of histamine-producing microorganisms. Proflora Plus has some histamine-releasing species as well. Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are examples of that.

You could try to reduce histamine-rich foods (see the handout attached below! By the way, this was the document I was linking to). Typical symptoms you could experience when histamine is elevated are:
• runny nose,
• itching,
• red, itchy, or watery eyes
• diarrhea
• headaches
• bloating
• abdominal pain
• nausea
• flushing of the head and chest
• heart palpations
• dizziness
• low blood pressure

If some of these symptoms are the ones you are experiencing, that can be clues of elevations in histamine.

What are other recommendations from your Gastro to address SIBO?

SIGHI-Leaflet_HistamineEliminationDiet

[Daniel]

Hey @nikolovaart ,

With allergies, the immune system often reacts by releasing inflammatory chemicals like histamine. When the body deals with a histamine overload, symptoms can appear everywhere in the body – including in the gut. If you’re curious to learn more about histamine, I would recommend you to read this handout (you can find the handout under the folder icon!). With allergies, a histamine overload

Microorganisms possessing the enzyme histidine decarboxylase, which converts histidine to histamine, are responsible for the formation of histamine in foods. This is why many probiotic species are histamine-producing and fermented foods are advised to avoid.

Some strains are histamine-degrading, for example: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus plantarum. If you aren’t sensitive to yeast, Saccharomyces Boulardii could also be helpful in rebalancing the immune reaction that is often skewed.

When your body releases a lot of histamine, my first recommendation when it comes to probiotics would be the probiotics of Seeking Health called Probiota HistaminX.

Do you know if you are histamine intolerant?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Good sleep does wonders for your mood, your health and your energy levels… and I wish you the same!

Tapering off sleeping medications such as Ambien is normally done in a schedule. This is made by your doctor based on the dosage. It is important not to stop just like that!

Maybe you can share with us why you have sleeping problems. The why in functional medicine is extremely important. Other helpful information is what other symptoms you might experience and what supplements and other medications you are currently taking.

There are of course protocols that can help. If falling asleep is a problem because you are solving the world’s problems (a racing mind), I often recommend L-theanine as a supplement. With my clients, I usually start with 200 mg and build up to a maximum of 400 mg. In some cases, a high dose can cause a slightly paralyzing feeling. Don’t worry, it will go away quickly and won’t hurt. You are also fully capable of doing anything.

I also regularly recommend magnesium bisglycinate (300 mg) in combination with ashwagandha KSM-66 to my clients. This often helps develop deep sleep.

Sometimes the problem is that melatonin production is not enough. In that case, 5-HTP in combination with vitamin B6 can help.

Klaire labs has a very potent product called stress support complex which can be taken an hour before sleep.

There are several things you can do.

Stress can play a big role. A test like the DUTCH test can provide insight into how your stress hormones behave during the day. High-stress hormones in the evening reduce melatonin production. The body then thinks: why fall asleep if my life is in danger? We have an entire course about stress hormones called adrenal balance. Perhaps you could start here and see if you recognize any signs and symptoms! 

What is also extremely important to do is to take a critical look at your sleep hygiene. Here you will find everything about sleep hygiene.

I hope I gave you a push in the right direction!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I choose my supplements based on the problem I want to address. For example: in eczema, the immune system plays an important role, so I choose supplements that support the immune system. My personal choice regularly comes down to vitamin D, vitamin A, zinc, folate and vitamin B9.

With eczema, there is often something going on in the intestines. Supplements that support the intestines can therefore be useful. Vitamin D is 1 of them because vitamin D helps to keep the doors between the cells in the intestines closed so that undigested food can enter less easily and the immune system can be relieved. If you like to learn more about how to supplement vitamin D, I would recommend you to read this handout.

Supplements such as a probiotic can help break down histamine better. The enzyme that does that is called DAO and you can also use that as a supplement. Then you must of course know whether an excess of histamine in the body plays a role. In this document, you will find more information about histamine intolerance. Typical symptoms of histamine intolerance are besides eczema: headaches, joint pain, congestion, mood issues or fatigue.

When the immune system reacts strongly, inflammation occurs. Supplements that help reduce inflammation include supplements such as vitamin D, omega 3, GLA, and curcumin. I would make sure that there is at least omega 3 in your diet because special molecules are produced under the influence of vitamin D that are made from DHA and EPA (two omega 3 fatty acids). These molecules are called Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPM).

So you see that there are mainly 3 categories of supplements: Immune system support, gut related and anti-inflammatory.

As far as I’m concerned, the lifestyle elements are the most important to get in order. The supplements support that. For example, you can get vitamin D from the sun. You need less support for inflammation if you eliminate stress, reduce food intolerances and avoid any histamine-rich products for a while. The need for some supplements is therefore less.

I hope this helps you make better choices. It’s always difficult to say exactly what to take because I don’t know your situation. If you suffer from multiple symptoms, they can always provide more direction in our advice. Feel free to share those!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Resveratrol has been researched and is related to many health benefits. It can help reduce inflammation in the body and it is a potent anti-oxidant. Some small studies show a reduction in inflammation caused by H. Pylori, although these studies are animal studies. That doesn’t mean it won’t help, but the current literature doesn’t specifically looked into resveratrol and gastritis in humans. 

Since you have been addressing H. Pylori successfully, it wouldn’t suppress inflammation caused by it. But resveratrol does reduce inflammation in general. It wouldn’t be my go-to recommendation personally, but it’s worth trying!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I will need a little more time to analyse your complete OAT, but I think congratulations are in order when you compare this OAT to the one in February!

Below I attached the front page of your OAT so you can compare yourself as well… (although I’m quite sure you already did!)

The Carboxycitric marker (Number 8), a marker of yeast/fungi and a general indicator of gastrointestinal dysbiosis has normalised.

The same goes for marker 12 (4-Hydroxybenzoic acid). An elevation of this marker is indicative of intestinal dysbiosis.

Marker 13 (4-Hydroxyhippuric acid) came down as well.

This OAT test looks definitely more balanced than the one from February.

Fungal/Yeast markers
On the first page of the OAT test, you will find markers that paint a picture of if there is an intestinal microbial overgrowth present. These markers do look pretty good.  Carboxycitric is in the third quartile of the reference range, which could indicate an overgrowth of yeast, but other than that, the test doesn’t reveal anything extraordinary.

SIBO
With SIBO the organic acid test can reveal clues. For example, elevations in the HPHPA, arabinose and 4-creasol can be a clue. However, I personally would rely more on a SIBO breath test…  or rather the interpretation done by a doctor interpretation the breath test. Slow motility can skew the results.

Mold
I know from previous conversations that mold could be at play. The organic acid test is a good test, but mold doesn’t always show up convincingly on an OAT.

The OAT test is one way (and a good way!) of looking at your microbiome. But compare it to taking a picture. If you’re taking a picture from the front, you still don’t know what your back looks like. This is why evaluating symptoms is so important. If you’re still experiencing gut-related symptoms, you might need a different view. If you are considering different tests, a mycotoxin test from Mosaicedge might provide you with a different view since it measures toxins produced by different mold species.

Perhaps you could share with us how your symptoms have changed compared to February so we could give you more personalized advice.

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[Daniel]

Hey ,

The best thing I can recommend you do is to start taking probiotics during and after the antibiotics. Antibiotics can wipe out bacterial competition for yeast and fungi or bacterial strains that are more resistant to antibiotics. Taking probiotics can help prevent a yeast/fungal overgrowth.

I often prefer Food-based probiotics since they provide a wider range of strains. In the library, you can find some good recipes. For example kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha or beet kvass. You can find the recipes here in the Beverages & Fermented Foods tab under the recipe section!

If you are looking for brands I like to use brands containing multiple strains like for example Ther-Biotic Complete from Klaire Labs.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I can’t for sure know why her doctors recommended a plant-based diet. They could have their own thought process which I can’t speak to. In my opinion, meat can fit. The most important factor is to keep the diet free from additives, toxins, gluten & dairy, and food sensitivities and full of nutrients. If this person is on a vegan diet for example this diet should still meet those requirements.

I do believe going dairy free would be important.

The labs you have attached are helpful. Here are some things about her unique case that stand out:

Important Nutrients
She is low on folate and her labs show clues for a low vitamin B6 as well. I don’t know if she is or has been using oral contraceptives, but the need for B vitamins goes up with the use of oral contraceptives, especially vitamin B6. I would also recommend getting her serum vitamin B12 above 600.

After supplementing for a while with B6, I would retest her liver enzymes as well. They are low, which is common with a B6 deficiency. This could mask a struggling liver.

Her globulins are on the lower side as well. Globulins are a group of molecules which can have different roles in the body. For example, Globulins can bind to hormones. Examples are Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (or SHBG), Thyroxine Binding globulin (TBG) and Cortisol Binding Globulin (CBG).

Globulins also contain Immunoglobulins, which are antibodies produced by the immune system. She might either be using them a lot or struggling to make them. Getting enough serum vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, zinc and vitamin A is important to produce white blood cells. Make sure these nutrients are in her diet.

Her vitamin D levels aren’t really low, but with auto-immune diseases, we see often that a little higher levels can temporarily bring relief to flares. Here is a handout about vitamin D supplementation if you’re interested.

Keep in mind that for the final conversion of vitamin D, magnesium is required. Serum magnesium is reflective of the amount of magnesium that has been in her diet for the last couple of days. This is why we usually recommend RBC Magnesium as a test since it is reflective of the amount of magnesium that has been in her diet for the last couple of months. We like to see magnesium levels in the upper third of the reference range. If she was consuming her regular diet before the measurement, she might need more magnesium.

Gut Healing
I know I mentioned this in my previous reply, but I can’t stress this enough. She would probably benefit from getting more insight into gut health. There is a good chance a leaky gut is at play. This can be caused by stress, elevations in zonulin (which occur when we eat products that contain gluten) or some form of dysbiosis. If she had ever removed her gallbladder, this is something important to know as well

Joint Pain?
There are definitely some auto immune issues going on. Does she also complain about joint pain? In this case, proteolytic enzymes like Intenzyme Forte from Biotic Research can help to bring some relief. Let me know if you want to know how to use the enzymes if she needs them. There is a protocol she could use. This handout might be helpful as well.

[Daniel]

,

There are electrolytes in tea, although the amount is low. I wouldn’t rely on it as a source for electrolytes. Unfortunately, because it would be an easy add indeed!