[Daniel]

 just like slippery elm and marshmallow root, mastic gum has some miscellaneous properties which you can benefit from if you take mastic gum away from your food.
 

[Daniel]

Hey ,

First of all: congratulations! What wonderful news!

With pregnancy, hormones do shift for sure! Estrogen rises quickly during the first trimester of the pregnancy which can lead to nausea. This meta analysis from 2014 concluded that the use of ginger (∼1 g daily) for at least 4 days is associated with a 5-fold likelihood of improvement in Nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy. Perhaps this is something she could try!

Here are some other tips that can help:
• Stay hydrated
• Prioritize protein
• Avoid Food & Smell triggers
• Stay vertical (which might seem counterintuitive, but this seems to be best with pregnancy nausea)
• Embrace yourself with pleasant aromas (like peppermint, orange, lemon, etc)
• If she consumes prenatal vitamins, take them at night
• An empty stomach can make nausea worse during pregnancy, so eat every few hours.

Hormones do shift. And yes, sulforaphane helps to break down estrogen more safely. It reduces the metabolites that cause DNA damage and helps to break down estrogen via a better less damaging pathway. It also helps with detoxification in general.

SulforaClear
The ingredients in SulforaClear are dicalciumphosphate (which is safe during pregnancy), broccoli seed extracts and broccoli sprouts and flower powder.

Getting sulforaphane via foods is safe. Unfortunately, getting sulforaphane via supplements has not been studied.

But here are some other good food sources of sulforaphane: broccoli sprouts, cauliflower sprouts and mustard seeds contain the most sulforaphane.

Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are also sources of sulforaphane. To be exact, all food sources don’t contain sulforaphane … but the precursor Glucoraphanin. Glucoraphanin, when you chew, mixes with the enzyme Myrosinase (which is also in these foods) in your stomach and forms there the sulforaphane.

Myrosinase however breaks down when the vegetable is cooked. So to get the sulforaphane from vegetables, eat them raw or, cook the vegetable lightly or add some mustard seeds or mustard powder on top of them. The powder is a good source of Myrosinase and helps to form Sulforaphane.

You did mention your daughter did a hormone detox. Are there other supplements your daughter uses right now besides SulforaClear?

Calcium food sources
The next foods are rich in calcium and are dairy free: beans, lentils, almonds, leafy greens (spinach in particular), rhubarb, amaranth and figs.

Unfortunately, I might not have the best tips for morning sickness, since I have little experience with that.

But I hope these tips can help your daughter!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

The short answer is: yes!

I also will recommend it to my clients who deal with H. Pylori infections. There is some research which concludes that mastic gum can also help with dyspepsia and ulcers.

An older study from 1984 found that mastic gum in 38 people could improve the symptoms of duodenal ulcers. Those who took 1 gram (g) of mastic per day reported a reduction in ulcer symptoms after 2 weeks.

Another study from 2010 found that mastic gum can help with H. Pylori eradication. In this study they used 3x 350mg of mastic gum per day.

Mastic gum can reduce inflammation and help with preparing the lining of the gut. It is only contraindicated in people who are allergic to pistachio’s.

You also shouldn’t take it when you are using taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors because it may cause hypotension.

Brands that have been used in scientific research are Jarrow – Just click here. Mastica from Allergy Research Group I like personally as well.

I know you have had in the past some sensitive reactions to other supplements. In general mastic gum is well tolerated.

Please let us know how your experience is if you are going to try it!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

If you meant non-synthetic then try this b complex from the brand Innate Response! I think this choice aligns better with your question.

It issues brown rice, broccoli and Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (which is a yeast) as sources for their b vitamins.

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do with mold. Here are some tips but also some warnings! When you are dealing with black toxic mold (or Stachybotrys Chartarum – which is the scientific name for it), it’s best to let it be cleaned by professionals. It isn’t worth the risk to remove it yourself. Especially if the mold is growing on a porous material like wood, wallpaper or drywall. The mold can grow deep roots which makes it harder to remove. Even when you remove it, the mold will continue to grow below the surface and simply return.
Tips to prevent mold from growing:Mold is related to lifestyle. Before you start removing mold, it is best to learn about what makes mold grow. Mold needs basically 3 things to grow:
1. Water
2. Humidity
3. A food source

If you take one of those three things away, mold can’t grow.

Taking a look at what you can improve in your home and habits is actually the first step since you can remove mold, but if you don’t address the environment mold might grow back.

Here are some tips for that:
• Ventilating rooms every day can reduce humidity. People breathe, sweat and cook making rooms more humid. In addition when you are dealing with mold, cleaning the air is especially important since spores, mold and its toxins can spread through the air.
• Some people dry clothes on heat sources like a heater or tumble dryers. This can create perfect conditions for growing mold on walls behind these heat sources.
• The same goes for drying shoes under heaters
• Use some form of ventilation in humid rooms like bathrooms, cellars, crawl spaces or attics.
• Remove or replace carpets and upholstery that have been soaked and cannot be dried right away. Think about not using carpet in places like bathrooms or basements that may have a lot of moisture.
• Fix leaks in your home’s walls, roof or plumbing.

Should you kill mold yourself?If you found the root cause of your mold growth and made some changes, here are some things experts do to remove mold. They make sure they use gloves, long clothes and face protection like a mask! So better not to kill & remove mold yourself.

The information below you will find often recommended on the internet. I am talking about some natural remedies here. But the truth is: no natural remedies works 100 percent.

Distilled White Vinegar
Vinegar can kill many types of mold according to research. But In this research, researchers found that a solution of 4.0-4.2% was enough to kill Penicillium Chrysogenum but it didn’t kill Aspergillus fumigatus. These by the way are the 2 most representative species from two common fungal genera so vinegar doesn’t kill all mold species.

Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil demonstrated the greatest inhibitory effect on the growth of both fungi, applied in either a liquid or vapour form. This review of tea tree oil concludes that concentrations of 2% will help against most tested mold except Aspergillus niger. This species did react to concentrations of 8% pure tea tree oil. But I would like to add, although they tested against a lot of mold species, there amount of mold species in nature are around the 100.000 or even higher. No study tested natural remedies against these many mold species.

70% Alcohol solution
Alcohol has not the best success rate in reducing mold. This research concluded that a 70% ethanol solution was found to have no inhibitory effect on the growth of Penicillium Chrysogenum and Aspergillus fumigatus.

Baking Soda
Baking soda can absorb water from surrounding objects and is helpful in the early stages of mold development. By spraying baking soda on moldy surfaces you can slow down the growth of mold significantly. It also kills mold. Most molds love a slightly acidic environment (pH 4-7) while baking soda can raise the pH to 8-9 making it more alkaline.

How effective is baking soda?
This study showed that 80% of the were killed at a concentration of 10 grams/L. You might find this study used as an argument on the internet. Just be aware that they tested baking soda on 70 mold species. Again: be aware that there are around 100.000 species of mold and while most species prefer a lower pH, some mold like a higher pH.

Bleach
There is much advice on using bleach to eradicate mold. I am not a big fan of it for 2 reasons: in a gaseous state, chlorine bleach can produce dioxins which are linked to an increased risk of cancers. We don’t want to inhale bleach. It can also have a negative effect on people with lung problems such as asthma. It can kill molds on the surface, but it can also color them white making them less visible. Besides that, bleach will evaporate quickly and doesn’t work on porous materials.  The mold can grow under the surface and return.

As you might conclude, there is written a lot about killing & removing mold. But with the risks involved it is better to let it be done by professionals.

I hope these tips will help

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Seeing someone jerk/twitch when they fall asleep can be quite unsettling. This phenomenon is called a ‘hypnic jerk’. A hypnic jerk is not:
• a form of epilepsy
• a form of a seizure

In fact, it is pretty common (this article suggests 60-70% of the people experience hypnic jerks) and most of the time harmless. It can however cost quality sleep since a lot of people wake up after a jerk… inclusive bed partners.

Hypnic jerks are not yet a fully understood phenomenon, but we do know that stimulants like caffeine (Don’t only think of coffee, energy drinks or pre-workout supplements, but sources you might not expect like some caffeine-rich teas including kombucha), nicotine and physical exertion prior to sleep can increase hypnic jerks.

Having good sleeping hygiene is indeed a really good starting point! In addition, you could use magnesium. Magnesium has been shown to reduce hypnic jerks in individuals as well (just take a look at this study where they talk about magnesium and nocturnal leg cramps)

My advice would be to use magnesium glycinate (since glycinate is calming as well) for example from Pure Encapsulations (Just click here)or Designs for Health.

Another interesting magnesium choice is magnesium L-threonate (sometimes called Magtein) since in this form magnesium can pass the blood-brain barrier. It is however more expensive. You can find magnesium L-threonate here.

Are hypnic jerks dangerous? Most of the time not. Sometimes they can be an overlooked indicator of an early disease state like for example with Parkinson’s. This is not of diagnostic value. They need to be evaluated with other symptoms of course.

I hope this answers your question!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Congratulations!!! What wonderful news!

In addition to  ‘s excellent tip on Calcium-rich foods & drinks, I would like to add that a little sunshine for optimal vitamin D levels could be helpful in this case as well. We need vitamin D to absorb calcium.

If she would like to use vitamin D supplements because getting enough sun isn’t possible, I usually recommend doing this in discussion with the doctor because she is pregnant. This 2020 overview recommends having optimal vitamin D levels because it is beneficial for the baby as well as its mother and advocates for supplements.

The overview also mentions that and I quote:  
“[Serum vitamin D]… “progressively declines during pregnancy because of fetal physiological demands and adjustments.””

and since a lot of people are vitamin D deficient or have bearly enough vitamin D, optimizing vitamin D levels is something she could do if cravings still do exist!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Usually, the best non-plastic food containers come in glass, stainless steel, and ceramic. Stainless steel is the lightest material. Perhaps this is an option for you?

If you are celebrating the holidays, I would like to wish you a joyful days! 

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Just to clarify: Did you mean by non synthetic ‘bioavailable’? We often talk about methylated B vitamins in the forum – which we call bioactive or bioavailable B vitamins. They often are still synthetic.

This is because it is pretty hard to find food-based sources with high concentrations of vitamins and minerals. Food based supplements do exist, but I usually recommend food based multi vitamin formulas only when people are looking for a healthy ‘maintenance’ supplement in stead of a therapeutic intervention.

If you are looking for more then a ‘maintenance’ supplement (and this can range from ‘more energy’, addressing a B12 or folate deficiency, to supporting detoxification) here are some additional advises: 

I like to go low and slow with my clients with B vitamins. B6 for example is needed for neurotransmitter & hormone production like serotonin, dopamine and GABA which can be helpful for so many things!

But it is also needed for the production of (nor)adrenaline which for people with a lot of stress might make people feel worse. It is also needed for the production of histamine, which is sometimes a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing (with allergies for example…. headaches, migraines, fatigue, hives or histamine intolerance-related complaints).

A form of activated B vitamins I often use is this one from the brand Thorne. I usually start with half a capsule per day. I like this brand because they don’t use binders and fillers and they test their products through a third party. It is however a synthetic supplement. But all the vitamins are in a bioactive (or methylated) form.

Let me know if you meant non-synthetic!

And if you are celebration Christmas: marry Christmas!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I don’t have much experience with preparing Mackerel. I usually don’t use many herbs with fish either. If you can tolerate fresh herbs, personally I like fresh dill on top with a drizzle of olive oil, put the fish in the oven and you are done. Usually, I would put a few slices of lemon on top, but you can leave them away. It will still taste delicious!

Sometimes I change the herbs: I mix basil with mint leaves (which I know… is not a good idea for you right now, but it is just too tasty to don’t mention). Another mix of herbs if you like the taste of fresh coriander: coriander, parsley and basil.

There are some other techniques that are easy. Usually, with new recipes, I try to look at chef cooks from different countries, for example:

The French cook fish in Court Bouillion giving the fish a different taste:
• Here is a recipe from a french chef explaining the process.

When you referred to the best cooking process for fish, I wrote an article about that a while ago. Here is the link to that article!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Rashes like eczema can have multiple causes. Sometimes a rash can be caused by your immune system reacting to irritants or allergens, sometimes there can be a genetic component, and sometimes there can be triggers in the environment like exposure to smoke, air pollutants, and skin products like for example harsh soaps. And yes, there can be even emotional triggers!

You mentioned the rash appeared during a mold detox. It would be interesting to share how you discovered your mold exposure, what tests you did and what interventions (supplements, foods, etc) you used to approach mold. Do you know if you were colonized by mold? Or was it mold by the environment? Did you retest and confirm the mold was gone?

Herx Reaction
With mold detoxes, we can experience so-called Herx reactions. The pathogens die and spill their toxic content all over the place. This can lead to flu-like symptoms, headaches, but also rashes. During a detox, this can happen. My advice during a detox is usually to slow down the detox process and add in binders (like apple pectin, activated charcoal, chlorella and probiotics). The binders will bind to toxins in the gut so they are harder to absorb in the gut. Binders can also reduce mycotoxins. Can you tell me if you used binders when you were detoxing from mold?

Chronic Inflammation.
Unfortunately absorbed toxins need a different approach. If mycotoxins enter the body, they aren’t always broken down. We can help the break down of toxins with supplements like  NAC, R-Alpha lipoic acid, Glutathione and methylated B vitamins. Sulfur-containing foods like cruciferous vegetables and vegetables from the allium family are important as well since sulfur is needed for one of the detox pathways in the liver.

With detoxification, we don’t want the mistake to rush it! Detox supplements can free up toxins elsewhere in the body, causing temporarily more free toxins, causing reactions in the body as well.

Food Sensitivities (caused by Enhanced intestinal permeability aka leaky gut)
A leaky gut can lead to food sensitivities. Undigested parts of foods passing the gut lining because the lining has been damaged can prime the immune system. Food sensitivities can lead to all kinds of complaints, including rashes, and itchy and wet ears.

Here you can find an excellent document on food sensitivities in the B Better library. Perhaps you might notice some other complaints. Doing a food sensitivity test can help. I recommend often the KBMO food sensitivity test if you like to explore testing options. When you don’t like testing, you could remove the most common food sensitivities like gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, soy, shellfish and corn. An elimination diet is still the most trustworthy way to test if you are intolerant to a food. How to do this, you can find here.

Removing food sensitivities can cause relief, but a leaky gut as I said is often causing food sensitivities. Here you can find a video on how to heal leaky gut.

Immune system support
Giving your immune system support can help as well. Having enough vitamin D, A, C and zinc is important. We need magnesium to activate vitamin D so make sure you have got enough magnesium into your diet as well.

Histamine related?
If the rash is itchy, it is probably partly histamine-mediated. Supplements like quercetin can help. I usually advise my clients to use 500-1000 mg twice daily. Quercetin has been shown to heal a leaky gut as well

With rash, there are several root causes. On B Better we have a rash-related handout you could read as well. Just click here.

I hope these answers can help you!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

There can be several reasons why your throat is sore in the morning. You are right, airconditioners and mouth breathing can cause a sore throat in the morning! Here are some other reasons why people can experience a sore throat:
• Dehydration
If you are not drinking enough water during the day, you can experience a dry or sore throat in the morning. Water is necessary for the production of saliva. During the night saliva production is less than during the day. This is why you might experience a dry and sore throat in the morning.
• Dry air
When the air in your bedroom is too dry this can lead to a sore throat in the morning as well. In the colder seasons, the air can get dryer as well. I don’t think you have to worry about colder seasons, but I like to be thorough.
• Allergies
Allergies to dust, mold, pollen and pets can cause a sore throat as well. Other complaints that can come with allergies are watery eyes, a runny nose, sneezing and coughing
• Air pollution
Cigarette smoke, smog from cars, but also candles and other air pollutants can cause a sore throat in the morning. 
• GERD
Do you experience acid reflux? With acid reflux, you could experience a sore throat in the morning as well. Other complaints with GERD are chest pain that radiates to the neck and throat also called heartburn.
• Bacterial & Viral infections
Do you experience also other complaints like difficulty swallowing, headache, fever or body aches? Some forms of infection could cause a sore throat in the morning as well.

Does something resonate with you?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Thank you for sharing your lab tests. Tell me: how do you feel about these results?

Let me tell you what I see. I have been comparing some numbers from March, August and October tests. To keep thing clear, I will write down the numbers as follow:

Marker: Value [lower acceptable traditional value – upper acceptable traditional value]

March 24 2022 – Panel from Functional Blood Test
Vitamin B12: 432 ng/l [200 – 1100]
Hemoglobin: 125 g/L  [132 – 171]
Iron: 17.3 umol/l [5.91 – 34.55]
Ferritin: 73.1 ng/ml [30 – 400]

August 20 2022 – Panel from Family Doctor Blood Test
Hemoglobin: 114 g/L [130 – 168]

October 7 2022 – Panel from Family Doctor Blood Test
Vitamin B12: 429 ng/L
Hemoglobin: 113 g/L [130 – 168]
Iron: 17 umol/l [12 – 31]
Ferritin: 26 ng/mL [20 – 300]

Let me first point out that since we are looking at 2 panels from 2 different companies, values aren’t directly comparable. Different labs use different equipment and make therefore their own errors. This means for example that if we look at the value of hemoglobin it has dropped. But we can’t directly compare the numbers. Let’s for example take hemoglobin from March & October. We can say hemoglobin dropped if we compare the lab panel from Functional Blood Test with Family Doctor Blood Test. But how big the drop is, is not so simple as just talking the difference between the numbers. The difference in how you feel between March and October provides the extra context.

Could you

Comparing Iron
With that in mind, let’s compare iron from March with October. We are again comparing 2 labs. The iron values are both around 17. They probably aren’t exactly the same since we are comparing 2 labs – that are also using 2 different kinds of reference ranges. The only conclusion I would draw from this is that since March your serum iron didn’t change much. Your iron levels are below ideal, but I would like to point out that they aren’t super bad either.

Since with low stomach acid, iron absorption is hard, this is actually good news.

We do see however that the storage form of iron in the body called ferritin has dropped significantly. It is in my opinion just a matter of time before your ferritin drops even lower causing serum iron levels to drop as well.

In earlier posts, we mentioned that Thalassemia (a genetic iron disease causing impairment in hemoglobin production) might be a good thing to rule out if you would like to use iron supplements. Having Thalassemia while using iron supplements is not without risk.

What this has to do with your thyroid panel choice?
Since we are suspicious of low iron (and low selenium if we believe your hair test post) because we are 2 months further now, I would keep the number of tests as low as possible. The test should confirm (or rule out) a slow thyroid. If the thyroid is slow, we would like to know if there is an autoimmune component to it. The Reverse T3 is interesting because it makes visible if there is a stress hormone component to it. Perhaps we would like to make it visible if there are conversion issues from TT4 to fT4 or TT3 to fT3. Conversion issues can be caused by nutrient deficiencies – which we already know there are.

But we are going to recommend you add in selenium for sure. With iron – like I said – we would like to be careful. Rule out Thalassemia first. But focusing on iron-rich foods and vitamin C can already be helpful.

At this point fasting insulin might provide us with some additional information on finding a root cause for your gastroparesis.

Perhaps a good plan to go on forward now would be:
1.   Continue to focus on gut healing.
2.   Rule out Thalassemia & add in selenium-rich foods
3.   Focus on adding Iron into the diet.
4.   If you are negative for Thalassemia we can advise you on what to do with iron supplements.
5.  Do a thyroid test and at least make sure you have been adding in selenium for a while so we know that selenium isn’t a limiting element for your thyroid hormone conversion.

I hope this helps

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I have posted the PDF format of your test results, just to make them more accessible (I can’t open the .rtf format on my browser).

I will give you a more detailed response later today![7.10.22 Blood Test Results.pdf]

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Let me first advise you on the MMA. MMA is usually a bit more expensive and it gives you insight into B12 metabolism, but…

the bigger picture is that we would like to bring homocysteine and hemoglobin back in balance. We would like to test if the production of red blood cells has normalised a bit. You will have to retest does markers anyway. If those markers improve we might not need the MMA test, so maybe focus on the thyroid markers first.

With the thyroid panel, you have basically 2 options. Let’s discuss the options in terms of goals:

Option 1: Choose a panel that can rule out (or confirm) the possibility of neuropathy.
A full thyroid panel and fasting insulin might help us.

Option 2: Choose a panel that can do the same and provide us with more details about thyroid nutrients.
A full thyroid panel, fasting insulin, iron, ferritin, RBC zinc, RBC selenium and many more options are there.

Both options are fine. Option 1 is least cost expensive, but can give us information about the status of your thyroid. It also will give us a general direction when your thyroid turns out to work slower. The test will give us back if the problem is
• stress related, 
• autoimmune related 
• conversion related – possibly due to nutrient deficiencies or conversion problems in other tissues.

Option 2 will give us direct extra information what nutrients are missing if nutrients turn out to be the problem.

The difference in advise between option 1 and 2 is if we suspect nutrients deficiencies with option 1 we will give you a more general advise on what nutrients you need to focus.

Both options are fine and will help you find out if a slow thyroid is contributing to your problem!