Daniel
Forum Replies Created
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Hey ,
You can do pull-ups? Be proud! Very proud!!
What stands out to me at the moment is the low fT4. It is in the lower half of the reference range. Do you experience symptoms of a slow thyroid (feeling fatigued, perhaps easy cold, hair loss, trouble concentrating, or just watch this video)?
It would be worthwhile doing a full thyroid panel. In the thyroid course we have a video here that explains what a full thyroid panel looks like. A slow thyroid can cause slower processing of cholesterol, which can contribute to elevations in cholesterol.
The HbA1c from 2022 was indicative of some insulin resistance and it dropped which can be indicative of improvements in insulin sensitivity. It is a good sign but only a fasting insulin test will provide you with the knowledge of how much insulin resistance is actually going on. As I mentioned earlier: insulin resistance can contribute to elevations in blood pressure. It can also contribute to elevations in cholesterol.
Your diet looks really nutritious! I do have some follow-up questions though. Is there stuff you crave? Sweets? Do you feel saturated? Do you consume dinner? And how much juice do you consume daily?
Concerning your question about pure encapsulations – I’m not exactly sure if it is really true and what it means for supplement quality, but I will come back to you on this question!
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, I’m not based in Dubai (although I would love to!), so I don’t know exactly how fast the order will go. Fullscript only delivers in the US, so you will need to use a company like Boxit4Me or Shop&Ship to redirect your order. These mail forwarding companies provide local addresses worldwide. You will need to use their US mailing address when placing your order with Fullscript.
If I order, it will take me about 2 weeks.
By grain-free, I just mean a normal diet without grains (minus the food sensitivities!). An anti-inflammatory diet can be a good starting point if it worked before. Here are some tips you might want to add:
• Make sure your anti-inflammatory diet has protein sources. They can be plant-based!
• Food sensitivities can develop to all foods, especially to foods you consume regularly. Working on gut healing simultaneously can reduce the chance of developing new food sensitivities.
• Chances are big some gut healing needs to be done. I would recommend watching the full gut health masterclass!Here are some brands I trust on GLA and Omega 3 supplements:
• OmegAvail Hi-Po from Designs for Health (800mg of EPA + 800 mg of DHA in triglyceride form. It is also molecularly distilled)
• OmegaGenics® EPA-DHA 1000 from Metagenics (710 mg of EPA and 210 mg of DHA)
• Take it with food.GLA:
• GLA 240mg from Designs for Health
• OmegaGenics® GLA 240 from MetagenicsCollagen is a good supplement. It can help with gut healing. And you are right, collagen can also help with joint health. But it is important to understand why the joint pain is there first. I can only do an educated guess, but this is a reason that occurs on regular bases:
Sometimes immune complexes (for example: the complexes that are formed after the immune system dealt with undigested food molecules) can accumulate in joints. This can in time lead to these types of symptoms.
Proteolytic enzymes taken on an empty stomach could help to break down immune complexes, especially to counter the joint pain. You could for example try this one:
• Intenzyme Forte by Biotics Research -
Hey ,
I was just looking at your earlier posts. I saw you were also taking Enalapril for your high blood pressure. Longer use of Enalapril can in some cases also cause an iron deficiency.
Enalapril is an ACE inhibitor (a common type of medication used to treat high blood pressure). Which is good of course! The downside however is that ACE inhibitors can bind to zinc. This nutrient is also necessary to produce white blood cells.
Although measuring zinc can be quite difficult this study showed that 6 months of Enalapril use, lowered zinc in a type of white blood cell called monocytes. Zinc is also an important nutrient for making the white blood cells function. If you aren’t using zinc, you might want to consider it.
Since you were diagnosed with high blood pressure, it makes me wonder about earlier lab results as well. Insulin resistance can cause high blood pressure as well. Your blood glucose looked fine, but it doesn’t rule out insulin resistance 100%. I would consider checking fasting insulin to determine if insulin resistance is at play.
A magnesium deficiency can also elevate blood pressure, just like stress.
If you like we could help you dive deeper into different lifestyle causes of high blood pressure.
Are you taking calcium supplements? If so, make sure your vitamin D levels are optimal and you have enough vitamin K2 that transports calcium out of the blood. Otherwise clacium supplements can also contribute to elevations in blood pressure.
An impaired Nitric Oxide production can also cause hypertension. Focusing on foods with nitrates can be beneficial. Think of foods like beets, garlic, dark chocolate, leafy greens, nuts and seeds and watermelon.
Let us know if you would like to know more!
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With supplements I usually don’t differentiate. But some lifestyle factors can stimulate phase 1 detoxification:
• Coffee
• Alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases (enzymes that that catalyse the oxidation of aldehydes)
• Smoking (this effect is caused by flavin monooxygenases in sigarette smoke)
• Stress (the enzyme monoamine oxidase is also goes through liver detoxification)
• half of all pharmaceutical drugs are metabolized via just five CYP enzymes: CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP3A4. I’m not saying stopping medications by the way, but if phase 1 goes faster as phase 2, free radicals tend to build up.
• There are genetic factors involved as well
• Some supplements influence phase 1. St. John’s Wort induces CYP2C9.
• Detoxification should also be done from a place of strength in your life. If you are for example struggling with inflammation, disease or stress, this can cause strong reactions of the body.
• Charred meat can upregulate phase 1
• High insulin…I know the list is long (and perhaps a bit late), but perhaps you can pick out some stuff you can use!
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Hey ,
How are you doing? Do you feel more confident with your routine? What are the changes you made?
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Hey ,
From what I can tell from these labs is that the immune system is struggling with fighting something. Recently I posted in the ‘General Tips’ section a tip that explains what nutrients you need to support the immune system and what the lab values mean. If you are interested, you should read it!
Hemoglobin is low. Usually this is an indication of a low iron. Complaints like fatigue, looking pail, having memory & concentration problems can occur. Iron can sometimes be removed from the blood stream by the body if an infection is longer lasting. Infections might also go undetected when they are simmering. Often the iron is then stored as ferritin. I would recommend checking iron and ferritin as well.
Elevations in cholesterol can be caused by several reasons: a slow thyroid, insulin resistance, eating a lot of fast digestible carbs like sugar or a diet high in saturated fat.
Labs without symptoms are hard to interpret.
Perhaps you could tell us more about your diet & lifestyle. What are the top 5 symptoms? How is your diet? What are your stress levels? The more details the better!
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Hey ,
What you might have done by removing red meat and eggs is removing food sensitivities. Are you familiar with this?
In a nutshell, food sensitivities are caused by foods that aren’t digested well and penetrate the gut lining. The reason why these foods penetrate the gut lining can vary. Here are examples of some reasons: stress, gluten, and a lack of fibre in the diet which can cause the microbes to feed off the gut lining creating holes or an overgrowth of bacteria.
Because the lining lets undigested foods through, the immune system gets quite busy. If the immune system sees these foods daily, it can lead in time to a more aggressive response of the immune system. The remnants left behind can cause problems elsewhere in the body. This is an image we regularly see with autoimmune problems.
Some general tips that can help:
• Get vitamin D up (I usually aim with my customers at a serum level of 50 ng/ml. Make sure you use a vitamin D supplement which contains vitamin K2 as well. I usually recommend liquid vitamin D/K2 from thorne. Vitamin D is an important nutrient that helps the body with inflammation. It also is needed to close the ‘tight junctions’ between the cells in the lining of the gut.
• If you like to work with anti-inflammatory supplements, here are some supplements you could consider as well:• Fish oil – depending on disease progression and severity, the dosage needs to be sufficient for a therapeutic effect. Research shows anywhere from about 2,000 mg to 6,000 mg of EPA+DHA may be beneficial.
• Curcumin has anti-inflammatory effects. If you are looking for a good supplement, make sure you choose a liposomal form or a supplement that contains the Meriv phytosome complex. This ensures that the curcumin in it has a high bioavailability. I usually recommend 1,000-2,000 mg per day. A supplement that I often recommend is again from the brand Thorne: Curcumin Phytosome.
• GLA in the form of borage or evening primrose oil has an anti-inflammatory effect as well and you could try this as well.
• The food recommendations I often make are to remove gluten and dairy. Preferable having a grain-free diet for a while!In the presence of autoimmune disease often microbial imbalances and infectious drivers play a role. Having a stool test might give you some insight into what plays in the gut. GI Maps from Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory is a stool test that I often recommend.
I know your question was different, but I hope you can use some of these tips as well!
Good luck!
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This was done with pleasure! If you have any further questions, let us know!
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I am unfortunately unfamiliar with the exact details of biofield testing. I guess there are parallels, but I don’t know enough about the details!
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Hey ,
Personally, I have no experience with biomeridian testing. I know what it is and I know there isn’t much research about it. To me, this is an essential part of how I give my clients advice. I’m also a Tai-chi teacher, and in eastern medicine, I have some trust (but it does depend on the doctor!). However, I studied physics and astronomy as well and let me explain why there are divided reasons into scientific communities about devices that measure energy in general.
The terms spiritual energy and energy in physics aren’t the same. This can create a syntax discussion. Physicists consider energy as something you can’t measure. We can only measure the effects of energy. Let me give a few examples:
• A moving car has kinetic energy. But we can’t measure the energy, but we do measure the speed and we can calculate the kinetic energy the car has.
• A laser can shoot light (or photons) on a surface and create heat. The laser has an energy we can calculate from the light we measure or the heat that it creates, but we can’t measure energy directly.
• Thunder and lightning have energy, but we can only measure sound and the light that is created as a result of the electrons that jump from a cloud to the surface of the earth.A device used for biomeridian testing will probably measure potential differences as a result of free-moving electrons. Materials that move these free-moving electrons well are conductors, while materials that move electrons badly are called isolators.
Fat for example doesn’t guide electrons well and is a good isolator, while a little water with a salty solution (like water on a salty skin or sweat) conducts really well. Therefore the results can be influenced by wet skin or a salty skin. Because of this, a device like this isn’t going to ‘see’ the inside of the body really well.
Another argument that is often used for explaining such devices is that the device can measure frequencies of vitamins and minerals. Theoretically, it can be done, but it is very very hard and it requires very sensitive equipment. Minerals are often bound in molecules. For example, 70 percent of iron in the body is bound to hemoglobin. But to measure those frequencies requires a really deep understanding of how the molecule is built as well. On top of that free iron and iron stored in other molecules probably resonate on different frequencies. From a scientific point of view, we are far away from that type of accuracy.
That being said, these are rationals – not scientific facts. I do know people who really benefited from sort like methods like bioresonance for example. I also know people who didn’t benefit at all. It might be that the mechanism of action isn’t described by the current science. Skilled holistic practitioners can also use their many backgrounds in their advice. But since there isn’t a lot of literature on the topic, I myself often recommend other methods.
Magnesium, supplements and abnormal reactions in the body
In practice, we see that everyone can respond a little differently to supplements. There can be genetic differences. The origin of your symptom may not yet be fully understood and magnesium might not have been the right approach. Perhaps you can share more about your symptoms and the results of the tests you did. We might be able to shed another light on your situation!Acid reflux
Acid reflux can be caused by quite a few things. I mentioned there might be more reasons causing you to have acid reflux besides a magnesium deficiency. Did you for example consider:
• A hiatal hernia? This is when the stomach is partly pushed through the diaphragm.
• Food sensitivities?
• An insufficiency in zinc? Or vitamin B1?
• Are you a fast eater? Eating fastly can also cause acid reflux. A magnesium supplement won’t be able to help then.
• Medications? If you are on any, some medications can contribute to acid reflux. Proton pump inhibitors can for example cause low stomach. When people have a reduction in stomach acid, the acid can sometimes leak back into the esophagus if the LES(lower esophageal sphincter) doesn’t close well.NSAIDs can irritate the mucus layers causing damage and an increased sensitivity to stomach acid. Medications that are prescribed for osteopenia/osteoporosis can cause damage to the stomach lining.
• A slow thyroid? A slow thyroid can cause low stomach acid as well
• H. Pylori? An overgrowth of this bacteria is often the cause of ulcers. Ulcers in the stomach usually leads to lower stomach acid production. However, if the ulcer is in the duodenum, it could cause the overproduction of stomach acid. Usually, this type of ulcer is more rare, but it happens.
• Did you ever had surgery on the stomach? Surgery can also be a root cause.Common triggers of acid reflux are also well documented. Foods like alcohol, spicy foods, peppery foods, tomato sauce, citrus juices, coffee, black tea, things with mint (also consider toothpaste, chewing gum, mints and tea here!), chocolate and fried foods all can trigger acid reflux.
Stress can also be a big root cause of acid reflux. How would you describe your stress levels currently? Are you sitting down for dinner and are you able to eat slowly?
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Hey ,
We do have a cough remedy you could try out here.
If you are also experiencing a sour throat, I sometimes advise the next options to my clients:
• Saltwater gargles with turmeric can help. Do this several times per day.
• Perhaps this tip might not help you, but other members of the platform might benefit from this. ADP (emulsified oregano oil) can help with soar throats. You can suck on it like a lozenge. It’s spicy so keep it in your mouth as tolerated and do that throughout the day.
• If you can’t tolerate oregano oil, you could try silver hydrosol spray directly at the back of the throat.Having the flu might also have some advantages. The immune system gets into action to fight pathogens. Even when the body is fighting off some infection, other dormant infections can be addressed.
I hope you can take some time off to let your body heal.
Get well soon!
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Hey ,
I can’t answer your question unfortunately since I don’t have connections in Dubai. But please don’t ever be shy about asking questions! In fact, your question on this platform may help a lot of other people.
It is actually one of the reasons this community is here and for this reason, I encourage you to pleas ask everything.
The worst thing that can happen is that we don’t have an answer. In this case, we will tell you as well!
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Hey ,
It depends a bit on what effect you are searching for. Perhaps you can share the reason to what you would like it to do?
To make it more tasty you could work with fresh herbs as well. I often combine it with basil leaves or dille. But other herb combinations might work as well!
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There are many more tips we could give you, but like Bernadette said, it would be a good idea to dive into the thyroid tutorials first.
I like to add that the body is one system and the gut plays an important role in health for the whole body. Once you made your first steps with thyroid health, I recommend you dive into helping your gut health as well. We often see that this can be of influence to thyroid health as well.
Ramadan Mubarak!
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Hey
It would still be interesting to take a look at the DUTCH test, even if all the markers are in the green. Feel free to upload the results if she feels like sharing them!
