The Benefits of Kelp

Kelp isn’t a new commodity. People have been harvesting and gathering seaweed for centuries. Some people groups are just becoming aware of its incredible value for our health while others have harvested it for centuries and have made it a part of their typical diet.

Nutrients: Sea kelp is a natural source of vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D and E, as well as minerals including zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron, potassium, copper and calcium. In fact it contains the highest natural concentration of calcium of any food - 10 times more than milk.

One tablespoon of dried kelp contains between one-half milligram and 35 mg of iron! This iron also has a measurable amount of vitamin C that increases the bioavailability of the iron. Kelp contains alginic acid, which protects the plants from bacteria where it grows, and in the body it can reduce radiation exposure and help with the prevention of heavy metals being absorbed in our bodies.

Key point here, kelp is the largest source of iodine, and iodine is critical in supporting our hormones that are made in our thyroid gland. It is also a key component in regulating the thyroid to produce healthy hair, skin and nails. It is essential for bone health, brain metabolism and our energy levels. Kelp has high amounts of calcium, magnesium, potassium along with antioxidants and phytonutrients, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids too. 

Unfortunately, most of us are deficient in iodine. Iodine deficiency is a major cause of preventable mental retardation. It is especially damaging during pregnancy and in early childhood. ... estimates that globally, 86 per cent of the population used salt with any iodine in 2017 – this left about 1 billion without access to iodized salt in that same year.

Kelp Benefits: A Health Booster from the Sea

You already know to eat your daily servings of vegetables, but when is the last time you gave any thought to your sea vegetables? Kelp, a type of seaweed, is chock full of good-for-you nutrients that can benefit your health and possibly even prevent disease.

Already a staple in many Asian cuisines, this type of sea algae is a natural source of essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

What Is Kelp?

You may have seen this marine plant at the beach. Kelp is a type of large brown seaweed that grows in shallow, nutrient-rich saltwater, near coastal fronts around the world. It differs slightly in color, flavor, and nutrient profile from the type you may see in sushi rolls.

Kelp also produces a compound called sodium alginate. This is used as a thickener in many foods you may eat, including ice cream and salad dressing. But you can eat natural kelp in many different forms, including:

• raw
• cooked
• powdered
• in supplements

Nutritional Benefits

Because it absorbs the nutrients from its surrounding marine environment, kelp is rich in:

• vitamins
• minerals
• trace elements
• enzymes

According to nutritionist Vanessa Stasio Costa, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N., kelp “is often considered a ‘superfood’ due to its significant mineral content. It’s especially concentrated in iodine, which is important for optimal thyroid function and metabolism.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) say that seaweed such as kelp is one of the best natural food sources of iodine, an essential component in thyroid hormone production. A deficiency in iodine leads to metabolism disruption and can also lead to an enlargement of the thyroid gland known as goiter.

But beware of too much iodine. Overconsumption can create health issues, too. The key is to get a moderate amount to raise energy levels and brain functioning. It is difficult to get too much iodine in natural kelp but this could be an issue with supplements.

Stasio Costa also notes that kelp contains notable amounts of:

• iron
• manganese
• calcium
• magnesium
• copper
• zinc
• riboflavin
• niacin
• thiamin
• vitamins A, B-12, B-6, and C

The benefits of these vitamins and nutrients are substantial. B vitamins in particular are essential for cellular metabolism and providing your body with energy. According to UCSF Medical Center, kelp has more calcium than many vegetables, including kale and collard greens. Calcium is important to maintain strong bones and optimal muscle function.

Disease-Fighting Abilities

Since inflammation and stress are considered risk factors for many chronic diseases, Stasio Costa says including kelp in one's diet could have numerous health benefits. Kelp is naturally high in antioxidants, including carotenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids, which help to fight against disease-causing free radicals.

Antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C, and minerals like manganese and zinc, help to combat oxidative stress and may offer benefits to cardiovascular health. There have been many claims regarding kelp’s abilities to fight chronic disease, including cancer.

Recent studies have explored the role of sea vegetables in estrogen-related and colon cancers, osteoarthritis, and other conditions. Researchers found that kelp can slow the spread of colon and breast cancers. A compound found in kelp called fucoidan may also prevent the spread of lung cancer and prostate cancer. This doesn’t mean that kelp should be used to cure any diseases or be considered a guaranteed protection against disease.

Weight Loss Claims

In recent years, researchers have looked into kelp’s potential fat blocking properties. Because kelp contains a natural fiber called alginate, studies suggest that it may halt the absorption of fat in the gut. A study published in Food Chemistry found that alginate could help block fat absorption in the intestines by 75 percent. In order to reap the benefits of alginate, the research team plans to add the thickening compound to common foods such as yogurt and bread.

Kelp may have great potential for diabetes and obesity, although research is still preliminary. A study published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found that a compound in the chloroplasts of brown seaweed called fucoxanthin may promote weight loss in obese patients when combined with pomegranate oil. Studies also suggest that brown seaweed may influence glycemic control and reduce blood glucose levels, benefitting people with type 2 diabetes.

In addition to its potential to slow down fat absorption in the gut, kelp is low in fat and calories.

How to Eat Kelp

Thankfully, you don’t need to go diving in the ocean to reap the benefits. Kelp is available in a variety of forms.

Nutritionist Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., C.D.N., C.P.T., recommends that you try to eat your nutrients, versus taking them in supplement form. She suggests including kelp in a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, from both the land and sea. Kelp can be one small part of a broader healthy diet that includes a variety of unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods.

Moskovitz says that one of the easiest ways to incorporate kelp into your diet is to add an organic, dried variety into soups. You could also use raw kelp noodles in salads and main dishes or add some dried kelp flakes as seasoning. It is usually found in Japanese or Korean restaurants or grocery stores and can be enjoyed cold with oil and sesame seeds, hot in a soup or stew, or even blended into a vegetable juice.

Too Much of the Good Stuff?

Health advisers warn that ingesting concentrated amounts of kelp can introduce excessive amounts of iodine to the body. This can overstimulate the thyroid and cause harm. There are significant health risks to consuming excessive iodine. It’s important to only eat kelp in moderation, and it should be avoided by those suffering from hyperthyroidism.

Nutritionist Stasio Costa notes that because kelp and other sea vegetables take up minerals from the waters they inhabit, they can also absorb dangerous heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. She recommends seeking out certified organic versions of sea vegetables and to look for packages that mention that the product has been tested for arsenic.

Always consult a health professional before beginning any supplementation regime.

What Is Osteoporosis

A Hippocrates Health Institute article: WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS 

Osteoporosis is characterized by an increase in porosity of the bones and a corresponding decreased bone mass, resulting in an increased risk of fractures of the bones. Osteopenia is a term used to denote bone loss that is not as severe as osteoporosis. Risk factors for osteoporosis include sedentary lifestyle, cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol intake, family history of the disease, and various medical conditions such as: rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, hyper thyroidism, diabetes, chronic lung disease, Cushing’s syndrome, and hyper para-thyroidism.

According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation:

• Worldwide, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually, resulting in an osteoporotic fracture every three seconds [1].

• Osteoporosis is estimated to affect 200 million women worldwide – approximately one-tenth of women aged 60, one-fifth of women aged 70, two-fifths of women aged 80, and two-thirds of women aged 90 and above [2].

• Osteoporosis affects an estimated 75 million people just in Europe, USA, and Japan [3].

• Worldwide, one-in-three women over age 50 will experience osteoporotic fractures, as will one-in-five men aged over 50 [4],[5],[6].

• Nearly 75% percent of hip, spine, and forearm fractures occur among patients 65 years old or over [6].

• By 2050, the worldwide incidence of hip fracture in men is projected to increase by 310 percent and 240 percent in women, compared to rates in 1990 [7].

• Osteoporosis takes a huge personal and economic toll. In Europe, the disability due to osteoporosis is greater than that caused by cancers (with the exception of lung cancer) and is comparable or greater than that lost to a variety of chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and high blood pressure related heart disease [8].

Dietary factors that affect osteoporosis:

Refined sugar. Hamsters fed a high-sucrose diet (56% of calories) developed osteoporosis [9]. In young rats, the replacement of starch by sucrose in the diet interfered with bone development [10]. In an observational study, consumption of large amounts of candy was associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in both men and women [11].

There are many possible ways in which consuming refined sugars could lead to bone loss. Since refined sugars are essentially devoid of micronutrients, eating refined sugar decreases the intake of various vitamins and minerals that are important for bone health. Sugar is acidic to the body and the body will use calcium from bone and teeth to reduce acidity in the body, thus weakening the bones.

Cola beverages. In observational studies, higher intake of cola drinks was associated with lower bone mineral density in women and a higher incidence of fractures in adolescent girls [12],[13]. The apparent adverse effect of colas on bone health could be due in part to their content of phosphoric acid, which may cause calcium to be released from bone in order to buffer the acidity. The caffeine in cola drinks may also be a factor.

Caffeine. Ingestion of a single dose of caffeine transiently increased urinary calcium excretion in both men and women in a dose-dependent manner [14],[15],[16]. Many [17],[18],[19] observational studies found that a higher intake of caffeine was associated with lower bone mineral density, more rapid bone loss, or increased risk of hip fracture.

Sodium. In a short-term study, high intake of sodium chloride increased urinary calcium excretion in healthy postmenopausal women in a dose-dependent manner [20]. High salt intake has also been associated with increased urinary excretion of hydroxyproline, which is indicative of increased bone resorption [21]. In a study with rats, the addition of 1.8 percent sodium chloride to the drinking water significantly decreased bone mineral density [22]. An observational study found that higher sodium intake was associated with more rapid bone loss especially in postmenopausal women [23].

Carbonated beverages. Excessive phosphorous reacts with the calcium to form an insoluble compound and inhibiting absorption of calcium from the digestive system, phosphorus causes bone loss. It also causes calcium losses from bone by metabolizing to phosphoric acid, which has to be neutralized with calcium. Excessive phosphorous is contained in soft drinks, cheese and chocolate drinks.

Milk. Milk is widely promoted as a food that is good for our bones. However, a 12-year prospective study of 77,761 female health professionals found that the incidence of hip fractures was higher by 45 percent in women who consumed two or more glasses of milk per day than in those who consumed one glass or less per week [24].

Nutrients to support strong bones:

Calcium. Calcium is a major component of bone tissue. Adequate calcium intake is important both early in life for achieving optimal peak bone mass and later in life for slowing bone loss. Green juice, leafy greens, sesame seeds, seaweeds (kelp) and broccoli sprouts are great sources of calcium.

Magnesium. It is impossible to build bone without magnesium. Magnesium is necessary for numerous bone-related reactions including the conversion of vitamin D to its bioactive form, which is necessary for calcium absorption. Several studies have shown that about 80 percent of the American population get only two-thirds of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of the required magnesium. Additionally, the (RDA) for magnesium is known to be too low. Kelp, almonds and legumes are great sources of magnesium.

Vitamin D. Vitamin D enhances the intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus, promotes bone mineralization, and is involved in regulating serum calcium and phosphorus levels. Vitamin D deficiency in adults causes osteomalacia, which is characterized by softening of bones, bone pain, and muscle weakness. A lot of older people do not get enough vitamin D because they tend to stay out of the sun. Fenugreek sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, sunflower sprouts and the sun are great sources of vitamin D.

Manganese. Manganese is required for bone mineralization and for synthesis of the organic matrix on which calcification takes place. A study reported in Science News found that osteoporotic women had serum manganese levels of only 25 percent of that of the control group. Spinach, pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts are great sources of manganese.

Vitamin K. A study in Clinical Endocrinology found that vitamin K supplementation reduced urinary calcium losses in osteoporosis patients by 18 to 50 percent. Green leafy vegetables, spring onions, asparagus and olive oil are great sources of vitamin K.

Vitamin C, strontium, silicon, folic acid, boron, and other nutrients also play important roles. Calcium metabolism is very complex and requires adequate amounts of many nutrients. To prevent and support the healing of osteoporosis you first have to reduce calcium losses by drastically reducing your intake of sugar, salt, phosphorous, and caffeine. Secondly, you have to consume the right amounts of nutrients that support formation of new bone such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, boron, vitamin D, and other key nutrients.

Exercise to strengthen bones:

Weight-bearing exercise, in addition to slowing or reversing bone loss, may increase strength and balance, thereby reducing the risk of falls. Exercise, especially weight bearing exercise, will actually increase bone mass and reverse bone loss. A three-year study of older women at the University of Wisconsin showed that a control group of sedentary women lost three percent of bone density while the group that exercised gained two percent.

The best way to achieve strong bones is to eat a plant-based diet consisting of a variety of fresh, unprocessed, organic vegetables, whole grains and sprouts. Take high quality, whole-food nutritional supplements which contain the essential bone-forming nutrients. Get regular exercise, including an essential weight-bearing program.

_____________________________________________________________

[1] Johnell O and Kanis JA (2006) An estimate of the worldwide prevalence and disability associated with osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos Int 17:1726.

[2] Kanis JA (2007) WHO Technical Report, University of Sheffield, UK: 66.

[3] EFFO and NOF (1997) Who are candidates for prevention and treatment for osteoporosis? Osteoporos Int 7:1.

[4] Melton LJ, 3rd, Atkinson EJ, O’Connor MK, et al. (1998) Bone density and fracture risk in men. J Bone Miner Res 13:1915.

[5] Melton LJ, 3rd, Chrischilles EA, Cooper C, et al. (1992) Perspective. How many women have osteoporosis? J Bone Miner Res 7:1005.

[6] Melton LJ, 3rd, Crowson CS, O’Fallon WM (1999) Fracture incidence in Olmsted County, Minnesota:

comparison of urban with rural rates and changes in urban rates over time. Osteoporos Int 9:29.

[7] Gullberg B, Johnell O, Kanis JA (1997) World-wide projections for hip fracture. Osteoporos Int 7:407.

[8] Johnell O and Kanis JA (2006) An estimate of the worldwide prevalence and disability associated with osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos Int 17:1726.

[9] Saffar JL, Sagroun B, De Tessieres C, Makris G. Osteoporotic effect of a high-carbohydrate diet (Keyes 2000) in golden hamsters. Arch Oral Biol 1981;26:393–397.

[10] Tjaderhane L, Larmas M. A high sucrose diet decreases the mechanical strength of bones in growing rats. J Nutr 1998;128:1807–1810.

[11] Tucker KL, Chen H, Hannan MT, et al. Bone mineral density and dietary patterns in older adults: the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:245–252.

[12] Tucker KL, Morita K, Qiao N, et al. Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:936–942.

[13] Wyshak G, Frisch RE. Carbonated beverages, dietary calcium, the dietary calcium/phosphorus ratio, and bone fractures in girls and boys. J Adolesc Health 1994;15:210–215.

[14] Hollingbery PW, Bergman EA, Massey LK. Effect of dietary caffeine and aspirin on urinary calcium and hydroxyproline excretion in pre- and postmenopausal women. Fed Proc 1985; 44:1149.

[15] Massey LK, Berg T. Effect of dietary caffeine on urinary mineral excretion in healthy males. Fed Proc 1985; 44:1149.

[16] Bergman EA, Massey LK. Effect of dietary caffeine on urinary calcium in estrogen replete and estrogen depleted women. Fed Proc 1986; 45:373.

[17] Barrett-Connor E, Chang JC, Edelstein SL. Coffee-associated osteoporosis offset by milk consumption. JAMA 1994; 271:280–283.

[18] Rapuri PB, Gallagher JC, Kinyamu HK, Ryschon KL. Caffeine intake increases the rate of bone loss in elderly women and interacts with vitamin D receptor genotypes. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 74:694–700.

[19] Hernandez-Avila M, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, et al. Caffeine, moderate alcohol intake, and risk of fractures of the hip and forearm in middle-aged women. Am J Clin Nutr 1991; 54:157–163.

[20] Zarkadas M, Gougeon-Reyburn R, Marliss EB, et al. Sodium chloride supplementation and urinary calcium excretion in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 1989; 50:1088–1094.

[21] Antonios TFT, MacGregor GA. Deleterious effects of salt intake other than effects on blood pressure. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 1995; 22:180–184.

[22] Chan AYS, Poon P, Chan ELP, et al. The effect of high sodium intake on bone mineral content in rats fed a normal calcium or a low calcium diet. Osteoporosis Int 1993; 3:341–344

[23] Devine A, Criddle RA, Dick IM, et al. A longitudinal study of the effect of sodium and calcium intakes on regional bone density in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 1995; 62:740–745.

[24] Feskanich D, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA. Milk, dietary calcium, and bone fractures in women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Public Health 1997; 87:992–997.

Article by Tom Fisher RN, BA, Nurse Supervisor at Hippocrates Health Institute

Iodine Protocol

Iodine deficiency is a widespread problem in the US, and I grew up in the "goiter belt" which includes Michigan as Michigan along with a large swath of territory does not have iodine in the soil. As a result, the lack of iodine in this area makes locals particularly prone to getting goiters, a result of thyroid nutrition deficiency. And especially since I've had Graves Disease, I'm particularly susceptible to iodine insufficiency even now with the disease in "remission". So here's an alternative and natural treatment to help keep more thyroid problems at bay.

TEST

Apply two (2) drops of tinctured Thy-Well (brand used at Hippocrates Health Institute) iodine to the inside of the upper arm. After 24 hours, if the spot is no longer visible (or even if only slightly visible), it is an indication that the body is iodine deficient.

TREATMENT

Mix four (4) drops of castor oil and one (1) drop of non-tinctured iodine in the palm of your hand and apply to thyroid (mid-line of the neck) each night for ten (10) days then retest on upper arm.

If gone in 24 hours or still slightly visible, in addition to the application to the thyroid, start drinking one (1) drop of iodine in 4-8-oz of water three (3) times a day. (Do not use metal utensils to stir.) Do these treatments for ten (10) days, then retest again.

Iodine Supplements: The Three Best Kinds to Use offers more info on the practical use, purpose and efficacy of the treatment.

It needs to be said that some people have very acute reactions to iodine. Just an FYI.

Thyroid and Diet

What to Eat for Thyroid Health?

As with virtually every bodily function, your diet plays a role in the health of your thyroid. The thyroid relies on you to feed, nourish and maintain it so it can return the favor and keep your metabolism, nervous state and even some hormone functions up to par.

Iodine: Your thyroid contains the only cells in your body that absorb iodine, which it uses to make the T3 and T4 hormones. Without sufficient iodine, your thyroid cannot produce adequate hormones to help your body function on an optimal level.

Iodine deficiency is typically not widespread in the United States because of the prevalent use of iodized salt. However, according to a nutrition evaluation conducted by the CDC, up to 36% of women of childbearing age may not get enough iodine from their diets, and it’s thought that iodine deficiency is on a slow but steady rise.

Because iodized salt is heavily processed, some recommend avoiding iodized salt and instead getting iodine naturally from sea vegetables (seaweed), such as hijiki, wakame, arame, dulse, nori, and kombu. It should be noted, however, that too much iodine can actually trigger thyroid problems and worsen symptoms, so it’s important to have a healthy balance.

Selenium: Selenium is indispensable to the thyroid. What it does is regulate thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism. It converts T4 into the more accessible form of thyroid hormone T3; and maintains the right amount of thyroid hormones. Selenium can be found in foods such as shrimp, snapper, tuna, cod, halibut, beef, calf’s liver, button and shitake mushrooms, sunflower seeds and Brazil nuts.

Zinc, Iron and Copper: These metals are needed in trace amounts for your healthy thyroid function. Low levels of zinc have been linked to low levels of TSH, whereas iron deficiency has been linked to decreased thyroid efficiency.  Zinc is found in oysters, sardines, beef, lamb, turkey, split peas, whole grains, pecans, almonds, and ginger.

Iron deficiency is strongly linked to decreased thyroid efficiency. If you are both anemic and iodine-deficient you will have to get your iron levels up to resolve any thyroid imbalance. Iron is found in clams, oysters, organ meats, pumpkin seeds, blackstrap molasses, lentils, and spinach.

Copper is needed in very small amounts by the thyroid so it can produce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Cooper is needed for oxidizing iodine to T4, when you are deficient in copper your rate of T4 production will slow down. Since T4 keeps your body’s cholesterol synthesis working, hypothyroidism puts you at risk for developing high cholesterol and heart problems. Foods such as calf’s liver, spinach, mushrooms, tomato paste, turnip greens and Swiss chard can help provide these trace metals in your diet.

Omega-3 Fats: These essential fats, which are found in fish or fish oil, play an important role in thyroid function, and many help your cells become sensitive to thyroid hormone.

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is made up of mostly medium-chain fatty acids, which may help to increase metabolism and promote weight loss, along with providing other thyroid benefits. This is especially beneficial for those with hypothyroidism.

Antioxidants and B Vitamins: The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E can help your body neutralize oxidative stress that may damage the thyroid. In addition, B vitamins help to manufacture thyroid hormone and play an important role in healthy thyroid function.

What Should You Avoid Eating for Thyroid Health?

Aspartame: There is concern that the artificial sweetener aspartame, sold under the brand name Nutrasweet, may trigger Graves’ disease and other autoimmune disorders in some people. The chemical may trigger an immune reaction that causes thyroid inflammation and thyroid autoantibody production.

Non-fermented Soy: Soy is high in isoflavones, which are goitrogens, or foods that interfere with the function of your thyroid gland. Soy, including soybean oil, soy milk, soy burgers, tofu and other processed soy foods, may lead to decreased thyroid function.

Fermented soy products, including miso, natto, tempeh and traditionally brewed soy sauce, are safe to eat, as the fermentation process reduces the goitrogenic activity of the isoflavones.

Gluten: Gluten is a potential goitrogen and can also trigger autoimmune responses (including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) in people who are sensitive. Gluten is found in wheat, rye and barley, along with most processed foods.

How Some Foods Interact with the Body

Foods that May Speed Up a Slow Thyroid

        1. Sea Weed

Naturally rich in iodine as well as trace minerals, sea weed has long been considered a food that supports thyroid function.   Indeed, native peoples subsisting on their traditional diets often went to very great lengths to obtain sea vegetables in effort to avoid goiter.   Iodine is critical to thyroid health and function.   Without adequate dietary iodine, your body is unable to manufacture the thyroid hormones.   Of course, excess intake of iodine-rich foods is also implicated in thyroid disease.   Remember: moderation is the key, not excess.

2. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil also supports proper thyroid function as it slightly stimulates thyroid hormone production and the metabolism.   In this way, wise incorporation of coconut oil into the the diet is thought to support thyroid health and help sufferers of hypothyroidism to lose weight.   Coconut oil may also help to reduce cholesterol in hypothyroid patients as thyroid suppression in and of itself raises blood cholesterol levels.   Coconut oil is largely comprised of saturated fat and saturated fat promotes thyroid function.

        3. Shellfish

Shellfish, like sea vegetables, are naturally rich in iodine – the nutrient that is critically important to thyroid function as iodine molecules are used in the production of thyroid hormones.

4. Garlic, Onions, Ginger, Pepper

Garlic, onions, ginger, pepper are stimulating to the body and therefore have an effect on the metabolism. There might be some consideration on the effect of these and other stimulating foods in regard to thyroid function.

Foods that May Slow Down a Speedy Thyroid

1. Fermented Soy FoodsSoy is very goitrogenic. A strong suppressor of thyroid hormones, some research indicates that soy may even be more effective in thyroid suppression than anti-thyroid drugs. Don’t forget that soy is a potent food, and that while sufferers of hyperthyroidism might welcome soy’s thyroid-suppressing effects, take care to eat soy in its fermented state in foods like tempeh and miso as soy also contains antinutrients like phytic acid which impair the body’s overall ability to absorb many nutrients.

2. Raw Cruciferous VegetablesRaw cruciferous vegetables also suppress thyroid function. Cruciferous vegetables like kohlrabi, cabbage, cauliflower, rapini, turnips and brussels sprouts contain goitrogens that interfere with iodine uptake and, in that way, also interfere with production of thyroid hormones.

3. MilletMillet, like cruciferous vegetables, contains goitrogens and interferes with iodine uptake. Cooking millet, as well as goitrogen-rich cruciferous vegetables, may mitigate its antithyroid effects to some degree.

Foods Not Favoring the Thyroid

1. Gluten-containing GrainsRecent research into autoimmune diseases and autoimmune thyroid disease in particular indicates that there’s a strong connection between celiac disease and thyroid disease. Indeed, study published in Digestive Diseases & Science indicates that sufferers of autoimmune thyroid disease have roughly a 400% greater chance of also suffering from celiac disease than control groups. Moreover, some research indicates that after 3-6 months on a gluten-free diet, those pesky anti-thyroid antibodies virtually disappear. That’s a poweful case to remove wheat, barley and other gluten-containing grains from your diet if you suffer from any form of autoimmune thyroid disease.

2. Unfermented SoyUnfermented soy foods – particularly those rich in concentrated isoflavones and genistien – contribute to autoimmune thyroid disease. Research into soy formula and its effects on babies indicates that babies fed soy formula are more likely to develop autoimmune thyroid disease and large concentrations of unfermented soy may adversely thyroid function in adults. If you eat soy, keep to small amounts and always choose fermented forms. (Learn more about the nastiness of too much soy consumption in my post about the Soy and Illinois Prisoner Case.)

3. CoffeeCoffee is simultaneously stimulating and goitrogenic which spell trouble for both hypo- and hyperthyroid sufferers. As a strong stimulant, it can wreak havoc on those suffering from hyperthyroidism as that added stimulation is the very last thing they need. Moreover, for those suffering from hyperthyroidism, coffee also interferes with iodine uptake and thus may inhibit the formation of thyroid hormones. Bad news for everyone.

Other Considerations for Benefiting the Thyroid

1. Whole Grains - rich in B vitamins
Whole grains and whole-grain foods are natural sources of vitamins and minerals. B vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin and thiamine help support thyroid function, as well as selenium, iron and magnesium. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center or UMMC, a regular intake of whole grains is advisable for those with thyroid conditions unless there is an allergy to particular grains. Whole wheat, long-grain brown rice, popcorn, steel-cut oats, quinoa and bulgur are examples of whole grains rich in nutrients. Eating whole grains can only support optimal thyroid function. This doesn't "speed up" your thyroid unless you have a nutritional deficiency.

2. Fruits and Vegetables - antioxidants and immune system buildersFruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They help build a strong immune system and shield the body from diseases and viruses. According to the UMMC, fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants such as squash, bell peppers, raspberries, tomatoes and cherries are effective in managing hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Thyroid function is also supported by B vitamins abundantly found in watermelon, avocados, sweet potatoes, dates, oranges, grapes, pineapple, mangoes and sea vegetables.

3. Foods with L-TyrosineThe amino acid L-tyrosine supports optimal thyroid function. Your thyroid combines with tyrosine to make thyroid hormone. The Franklin Institute reports that almonds, avocados, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, bananas, dairy products and sesame seeds are abundant sources of L-tyrosine.

4. Fish, Seeds and Nuts - omega-3 rich foods
According to the UMMC, omega-3 fatty acids can help support optimal thyroid function and ease inflammation that may be present from thyroid dysfunction. Coldwater fish, seeds and nuts are sources rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These foods also contain zinc, iron and magnesium to help support thyroid health. Tufts University reports that coldwater fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel are among the best sources of omega-3. Walnuts and flaxseed also have among the highest concentrations in omega-3 fatty acids.

http://nourishedkitchen.com/foods-thyroid-health/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/317892-foods-that-support-thyroid-function/

http://www.naturalhealth365.com/food/foods-that-support-thyroid-function.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_5333132_foods-thyroid-function.html

http://www.cncahealth.com/health-info/general/thyroid-health-nutrition.htm

Iodine Test for Thyroid Function

The iodine paint test is a very controversial measurement for testing and identifying thyroid dysfunction. Biomedical practitioners may use the diagnostic procedure, but this informal test is principally administered by holistic practitioners who are knowledgeable about the micro- and macronutrients on the body and its function as opposed to biomedical practitioners who place their trust predominantly is pharmaceutical and, it must be said, invasive measurements for identifying a diseased state.

The iodine patch test, nevertheless, is said to be able to reliably test the uptake of iodine from an iodine tincture painted on the skin. The iodine must be the tinted 100% solution in order to ascertain how quickly it is absorbed, and the interpretation is based on how quickly the iodine is absorbed into the skin. Rapid absorption indicated iodine deficiency, and a slower rate indicates the thyroid functioning under more optimum conditions. For a thyroid to be functioning in an efficient state, iodine absorption should take between 24-48 hours. The amount less than 24 hours indicates the extent of the deficiency.

My mom and I both had this iodine paint test done at our holistic chiropractor's office. She painted an inch swath on both Mom's and my forearms, my swath was definitely darker as the chiropractor liberally triple painted it. In any regards, 6 hours later my mom's tinted tincture had disappeared. Mine disappeared 9-10 hours later. The chiropractor's interpretation of both of our thyroid functions was pretty much, not desirable functioning but certainly nothing to be concerned about at this stage. I wasn't really concerned, but when she tested our thyroid function with kinesthesiology, both of our thyroids demonstrated weakness, and with both of us having a history of impaired thyroid function, getting not too bad results on this test - albeit somewhat of an informal test as no actual numbers or percentages of TSH, T3 and T4 were proven to be impaired - was positive and yet mildly eye-opening in regard to awareness of an underlying problem. And so now we will look for foods that support thyroid function.

The flip side of the coin in regard to the actual reliability of the iodine skin test is given by a physician, David Derry. In determining the efficacy of a treatment, all sides need to be considered to make informed decisions about the test measurement procedure. Here is his medical opinion:

The "test" of putting iodine on the skin to watch how fast it disappears is not an indicator of anything. The iodine disappearance rate is unrelated to thyroid disease or even iodine content of the body. Meticulous research by Nyiri and Jannitti in 1932 showed clearly when iodine is applied to the skin in almost any form, 50% evaporates into the air within 2 hours and between 75 - 80 percent evaporates into the air within 24 hours. A total of 88 percent evaporates within 3 days and it is at this point that the evaporation stops. The remaining 12 percent that is absorbed into the skin has several fates. Only 1-4% of the total iodine applied to the skin is absorbed into the blood stream within the first few hours. The rest of the iodine within the skin (8-11%) is slowly released from the skin into the blood stream.

 
Other alternative testing for thyroid function include:  

Saliva Testing Saliva testing is growing in popularity with complementary and integrative practitioners. There are a number of companies claiming to provide saliva testing for thyroid function, but only one company seems to be used frequently by complementary practitioners: Diagnos-Techs. You can find out more about saliva testing in this article from Drs. Richard and Karilee Shames.  

Urinary Testing Urinary testing for thyroid dysfunction is not in wide use, and is rarely done in the U.S. It’s primarily performed by physicians in in Europe. Typically, doctors in the U.S. who are familiar with the work of the late Dr. Broda Barnes are more likely to use this test as part of the diagnostic process. Currently, the tests are being processed in Europe, and are fairly costly. More information.  

Basal Body Temperature Testing Typically, basal body temperature (BBT) testing involves measuring the early morning temperature, before movement, over time. In Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness , Dr. Broda Barnes’ groundbreaking book on thyroid disease, Barnes advocated use of this test as a diagnostic tool. According to Dr. Barnes, a basal temperatures consistently below 97.8 was a possible indicator of low thyroid function. A small percentage of alternative practitioners rely on basal body temperature results as their primary means of diagnosis. Other alternative practitioners feel that it may be one criterion among several to consider in diagnosis. Most conventional practitioners do not consider the test useful in thyroid diagnosis.

Most of the information has been borrowed from the following two sites:

http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/othertests.htm

http://thyroid.about.com/library/derry/bl2a.htm

Traveling with Canned Beans

I absolutely do NOT like eating foods out of cans for the main reasons : the foods are processed in ways that I do not approve ... with additives I do not want in my body, with trace additives that are considered too small as to merit being added to the food (case in point, red pepper is occasionally added to tomato paste in order to achieve a redder color but is considered too small an amount to merit labeling the container - my bro is deathly allergic to peppers of any kind so this is lethal to him!), with the likelihood of contamination by industrial cleaners and factory what-not, contaminated with the aluminum tin itself, and then overcooked under high pressure and therefore killing the nutrients that were originally in the food. Sound pretty pessimistic? Well, maybe it is, but it's also reality.

Anyway, I just had a stopover in Hawaii and figured I could survive on my careful diet if I could just get to a grocery store and get a pile of vegies. I had a knife and vegie peeler packed so I wouldn't have to worry about food preparation, but I only eating vegies doesn't give a person much energy. So I looked around for something, and ... wahlah, I spied a brand of black beans that had no labeled food additives, namely citric acid. Citric acid positively makes me sick, but unfortunately and to my knowledge, almost all beans with the exception of some black beans are processed with citric acid. The evil stuff is in tomato anything, sauces, seasoning salts, yep, just about creepy everywhere. So, it was my lucky day! I left the store with a can of black beans (ingredients: black  beans and salt), a package of tuna with the fewest additives, and tons and tons of vegies! Yum, I made a power salad to go with my washed and dried walnuts and almonds, my stack of black rice waffles (they travel really well), and some quinoa-millet energy bars.

Ah, what a salad!

I had a problem with my diet though. I was in Hawaii for three days and lived off a humungous black bean and vegie salad plus the other items mentioned. But oh no, Something was missing in my diet during that time because I started exhibiting signs of "lack of nutrition". For years (since 1998 for sure) I've noticed my arms get bald when I don't have at least one very good balanced meal a day. I know hair loss is a result of insufficient thyroid activity, and I have had a history of Grave's disease (hyperthyroidism). What I didn't expect was that as the time in Hawaii progressed, I started feeling a bit of tension in my right lower jaw in addition to the hair loss on my forearms. A couple days after arriving home, the tension had gotten so great that I thought I would munch on some Brazil nuts because they are extremely rich in trace minerals and sometimes give me a boost of well-being. I was cleaning my mom's freezer so popped three Brazil nuts in my mouth to chew while my hands were busy.

Oh, oh, oh, what pain! The pain in my jaw had been increasing for the past several days but when I popped those Brazil nuts in my mouth, my right jaw dislocated! It stayed dislocated for the rest of the day and only got better when I really forced myself to bite down, and bite down, and bite down, and gradually and painfully the upper and lower sets of teeth were able to kind of fit back together. What happened? Well, for the next couple of days my jaw would pop in and out and the trend I noticed was based on my diet. I desperately needed something beyond vegetable smoothies. I found that beans and brown rice (a complete protein) were good for easing the jaw pain, and I made some wild salmon dishes and they helped a bit too (not as beneficial as the brown rice and variety of beans but I was trying to get a wide variety of nutrition to eliminate nutritional deficiencies. I never did figure out EXACTLY what it was I needed, but eating a wide variety of green smoothies WITH brown rice or quinoa and some legume did work well.

Snack food for the plane. It's OK to travel with vegies, even internationally, as long as the vegies aren't taken off the plane or taken through immigration. Cabbage slabs travel even better!

Written in hindsight - Even for the next few weeks I would get a bit achy in the right jaw on days when I didn't eat two well-balanced meals. Wow! Whoever heard of a jaw dislocating from malnutrition, but there you have it. That's what happened. The good thing about this experience was I found an awesome chiropractor that is extremely savvy about nutrition. She tried to adjust it but there were difficulties of over-correction because my ligaments were very loose and she said she'd never encountered anything like that before ... and she'd been treating dislocated jaws for years. After she said that, I really paid closer attention to my diet, and then realized the connection between my reduced nutrition intake from traveling and having dietary limitations and how I was feeling. Yikes, my system is very sensitive.

As for chiropractic care with this particular chiropractor, wow, she gave me huge amounts of advice and feedback on candida from a very informed nutritional perspective! I think God was instrumental in coordinating our meeting because she raised my awareness on issues that I hadn't really been addressing (blood pH, the merits of raw organic apple cider vinegar for treating candida) ... but more on those later!

More about Fingernail Analysis

Some of this data expands on an earlier posting on analyzing health by studying the fingernails, and some of this info is overlapping, but it complements the earlier data in many ways and in some ways provides more insightful information about the nail aberrations. To view the online source of this info, click here.

The body's fingernails and toenails are like 20 mini mirrors reflecting one's overall health. Changes in the body, invisible beyong the skin, layers of muscle and fat are somehow made visible through the color changes of the nails, the shape and the overall condition. Therefore, as dermatologist Amy Newburger, a senior attending pysician at St. Luke's Roosevelt Medical Consortium in New York City says, changes throughout the body that are otherwise invisible can sometimes be first seen in the nails.

In many cases the fingernails can give a better understanding of what's happening in the hidden body because toenails can be affected from walking, wearing tight shoes, and therefore have less circulation, which can affect toenail change. On the other hand, it's my - the blogger's - opinion that analyzing both fingernails and toenails is necessary as toenails, due to their being further from the heart and prehaps first affected by slower circulation or more likely to harbor fungus that is less frequently seen in fingernails, could tell a mighty story of one's health. So, looking at BOTH the fingernails and toenails is necessary for getting the bigger picture of one's overall health.

Wearing fingernail and toenail polish can change the appearance as does buffing. For this reason, if one is wanting fingernail and toenail analysis the person must have nails (for some time) that have been un-affected by the chemicals which are put on the nails. In a similar way, when one undergoes an operation, having polish-free fingernails (and sometimes toenails) is a requirement of hospitals. The main reason for operating personnel, however, is to note the change of color of the nail bed which can tell if the patient is getting proper amounts of oxygen while under aenesthesia.

For more serious nail analysis, the following 9 clues will explain a visual or tactile affect of the nail and then explain what could the aberration possibly be telling the individual.

Clue 1: A black line

Look for: A black discoloration tappearing in a straight vertical line or streak and growing from the nail bed, usually on a single nail. About 75% of cases involve the big toe or the thumb, according to a review in the British Journal of Dermatology. Especially worrisome: a discoloration that's increasing or that's wider at the lower part of the nail than the tip. "That tells you that whatever is producing the pigment is producing more of it," says Newburger. Also beware when the skin below the nail is also deeply pigmented, says podiatrist Jane Andersen of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association.

What it might mean: Melanoma, the deadliest form of cancer. People with darker skin are more vulnerable than Caucasians to subungual melanoma (melanoma of the nail bed), but darker-skinned races also have more dark lines in nails that are benign, according to a 2004 report in American Family Physician.

Next steps: Always have a doctor check out a suspicious black line on the nail quickly because of the high skin cancer risk. A black line on the nail may also be caused by a harmless mole or an injury. A biopsy can confirm melanoma.

Clue 2: Small vertical red lines

Look for: Red (or sometimes brownish red) streaks in the nail. "They look like blood or dried blood," Anderson says. These are known as "splinter hemorrhages" because they look like a splinter but are caused by bleeding (hemorrhage) under the fingernail or toenail. They run in the same direction as nail growth.

What it might mean: Heart trouble. The "splinters" are caused by tiny clots that damage the small capillaries beneath the nail. They're associated with an infection of the heart valves known as endocarditis. Don't panic if you see one though: Sometimes an ordinary injury to the nail can cause a splinter hemorrhage.

Next steps: No treatment is needed for the splinter hemorrhage itself. A doctor can evaluate and treat the underlying cause if it's heart-related.

Clue 3: Wide, "clubbed" nails

Look for: Uniformly widened fingertips or toes - they appear to bulge out beyond the last knuckle - where the nails have widened, too, so that they curve down and appear to wrap around the tips of the finger like an upside-down spoon. (Normal nails are narrower than their base fingers.) These extra-wide nails are called "clubbed" nails.

What it might mean: Clubbed nails are a common sign of pulmonary (lung) disease, Newburger says. Although the nails' odd shape develops over many months to years, people are often unaware of the underlying condition, which can include lung cancer.

Next steps: If you haven't had a physical exam lately, consider one, especially if you have other symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.

Clue 4: Spoon-like depressions

Look for: Nail beds that have little dips in them, an effect called koilonychia, or "spooning." "If you put your hand flat on the table, the spooned nails look like they could each hold liquid," Newburger says. The nails will also be unusually pale or stay whitish for more than a minute after you press gently on one. (Normally it would turn white for a second or two before returning to its original pinkish color.) The moons at the base of the nails may look particularly white.

What it might mean: Iron-deficiency anemia. Spooning can also be seen in the nails of people with hemochromatosis, or "iron overload disease," a condition usually caused by a defective gene that leads to too much iron being absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Other symptoms for both conditions can include fatigue and lack of energy, or they may be symptomless.

Next steps: A complete blood count can diagnose anemia, and a physical exam might pinpoint the cause of iron problems. Iron supplements and dietary changes are often prescribed as first-line treatments for anemia.

Clue 5: Rippled, pitted nails

Look for: Tiny indentations or holes in the nail bed called "pits." The nail may also appear to be rippled rather than smooth. (You can also feel these abnormalities by rubbing your finger across the nail, which is normally as smooth as the inside of a seashell.)

What it might mean: Psoriasis. Between 10-50% of patients with this common skin disease have pitted, hole-pocked nails, according to a 2000 report in Primary Care. So do more than three-fourths of those with psoriatic arthritis, a related disorder that affects the joints as well as the skin. More rarely, Reiter's syndrome and other diseases of connective tissue show this symptom.

Next steps: A doctor can prescribe medications to treat the underlying conditions. The nail bed can often be restored in psoriasis when the treatment starts early.

Clue 6: Brittle nails

Look for: Peeling, splitting, or easily cracking nails. Sometimes vertical ridges mar the surface, too. These telltale wrecked nails are sometimes called "hypothyroidism nails."

What it might mean: Thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, occurs when the thyroid gland doesn't make enough thyroid hormone. (Typically a patient's hair is also thin and brittle.) Metabolic functions throughout the body are disrupted, including the delivery of moisture to the nails. Pale, dry skin and hair that may fall out are related signs. Hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid) diseases, such as Grave's disease, may also cause brittle nails.

Next steps: Skip the over-the-counter nail strengtheners for persistently brittle nails and get thyroid levels checked; if thyroid disease is the cause, it's important to treat the root problem.

Clue 7: Nails that seem to be "lifting off"

Look for: The nail itself separating from the nail bed, which is the layer of skin directly under the nail. This effect, known medically as onycholysis, often begins at the fourth or fifth fingernail. Toes can also be affected. It's also called "Plummer's nails" (after the physician Stanley Plummer, who described them in 1918) or "dirty nails," because debris can accumulate and be seen.

What it might mean: Thyroid disease. Hyperthyroidism, in which too much thyroid hormone is produced, can cause excessive nail growth and lead to this deformation. Plummer's nails tend to occur in younger patients rather than older ones.

Next steps: Other hyperthyroidism symptoms to be aware of include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, increased appetite, weight loss, sweating, hair loss, itching and protruding eyes.

Clue 8: Depressions running across the nail horizontally

Look for: White ridges running across the width of the nail bed. These so-called "Beau's lines" (after the French physician who described them) can occur in all or just one nail; if in all nails, they're at about the same place on all of them. They're actual ridges in the nail plate itself.

What it might mean: Diabetes, psoriasis, Raynaud's disease -- or just a trauma to the nail. Beta-blockers and drugs used in chemotherapy can also produce Beau's lines. Some people develop them simply as a result of aging.

Next steps: Consider this effect just one piece of a puzzle. Nails grow about 1 mm every six to ten days, so doctors use this measurement to estimate when the problem might have begun.

Clue 9: White bands running across the nail horizontally

Look for: The white-colored bands, known as "Mees' lines," run transverse (parallel to the white tips of the nails). They may affect one nail or several, occurring at about the same spot on each nail. Because the problem is in the nail itself, the line moves forward as the nail ages - allowing doctors to date the time the problem began.

What it might mean: Arsenic poisoning! Hair and tissue samples should be tested to verify. It's pretty rare these days, Anderson says, but worth knowing about.

Next steps: Make an appointment to see a doctor - and avoid eating anything you don't prepare yourself!

Cats and Systemic Candida

My girls! Cafe (tan) and Aulait (white)

It's been almost 3 years since I got sick with systemic candida, or actually I should say, since both of my cats and I got so very sick. All of us had been sick with something before. For me, I was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (September 2006) and had low-to-no energy and looked like a skeleton. And it was because I needed to relax more and stay at home to eat better and sleep better that I got my first cat, my beautiful white Aulait. She was 4 months old and was everything I wanted in a cat - a female, not long or short hair, not afraid of dogs (she played with the leash of my neighbor's dog that I was walking when I stumbled across the new pet shop!), and from a loving environment (the owners at the pet shop allowed the 5 four-month old kittens to just walk around the entire pet shop - how awesome!) Well, within a month of getting Aulait, I realized she had food allergies to the canned food "EVO" or was it "EVOLVE". She farted hugely when she ate the wet food so I changed to another brand, but I still gave her the dry EVO(LVE). Another month later, she bloated and stopped playing. When I took her off of the dry food, within three days she was her joyful self! As she was growing up, I did notice that over time, she got pickier and pickier about the foods she would eat.

First day for Cafe to play after getting the cat killing disease - panleukopenia

And then after a year, Aulait so loudly and over and over again demanded companionship, so one day I spontaneously went to the "meat market". Well, it is the street where teeny kitties and puppies are the products of a thriving business and the poor babies are known to also be the products of overbreeding. I bought Cafe from a tiny boutique that seemed to give better care to its animals. And within four days, Cafe had the cat killing disease panleukopenia, a very contagious white blood cell disease. I didn't know anything about the disease or maybe I would have taken her back to the shop, but for the next 3 weeks, she was pretty darn sick and only survived because we barely caught the disease in time. She luckily pulled through but her GI track was very compromised ... I wasn't aware how badly but was told to keep her on a strict diet for six months to let it heal.

So three years ago, all three of us suddenly got sick ... and the source of our sickness I traced to our tap water which I stupidly was drinking and stupidly was giving to the cats. What made me finally figure out the prob was my cheeks inside my mouth felt like they were being pinched whenever I drank the water. And then I started noticing how much white sediment or deposits were around my faucet and in my dish drip tray, more than that at my friends' houses and other places around the city. Chlorine? Likely but not sure. But that whiteness had been ever increasing since the river directly beside my house had been, and was still being, excavated.

Cafe was the sickest at first. Her very weakened GI track from before resulted in kidney problems and at age 2 she painfully started passing sandy crystals. The vet put her on a low protein diet and for 6 months she was OK, and then she relapsed. The vet was surprised she relapsed so soon, and it was pretty bad, so I had to put her to sleep. 2 1/2 years only .... so very young and so very sweet.

Well, by this time Aulait and I were very sick, and very weirdly we shared some symptoms although I was having horrible bone problems and she seemed less affected in that department. We've both had neuropathies, hers much worse than mine, we've had inflammation in our eyes and elsewhere (I can tell by how she held herself that she was having arthritis and other flexibility issues). But while we both felt badly, I could treat myself more specifically. I could do liver and gall bladder detoxes, eat onions and garlic for cleansing the blood (cats are allergic to both), and go regularly in for vitamin A and D tests. Aulait wasn't doing so well after I put Cafe to sleep so I took her in to the vet and had her tested. Outcome - thrombocytopenia, a white blood cell problem and an autoimmune disease. Her full diagnosis was:

thrombocytopenia: utilization - destruction -  lack of production
lymphocytosis/monocystosis: excitement - antigen stimulation - neoplasia
borderline polycythemia (erythrocytosis)
borderline low MCHC
suspected nucleated red blood cells

Her bloodwork:

HCT ......... 36.2% ........... 24.0 - 25.0 ▲
HGB ........ 13.3 g/dL ....... 8.0 - 15.0
MCHC ..... 28.8 g/dL ...... 30.0 - 36.9 ▼
GRANS ... 4.7 x10³/µו .… 2.5 – 12.5
……. %Grans …. 28%
L/M ….… 12.1  x10³/µו ... 1.5 – 7.8 ▲
……. %L/M …... 72%
PLT …….. 21 x10³/µו ….. 175 – 500 ▼
Retics …... 0.7%
NRBCs … likely

And the vet told me I would have to bring her in regularly (every 4 months) for life to get testing and treatment. Well, I did take her in every four months when her energy was depleted, and Aulait got expensive testing, and then pharmaceutical treatment for 10 days or so and then retesting to see if the therapy worked. After the 3rd time of taking her in, I decided to try diet control in a different way than I had with Cafe. I had syringe-fed Cafe for 6 months a special kidney support low calcium mush-food that helped, so I started syringe-feeding Aulait nutrients, mostly barley green which is very high in vitamin Bs, which I knew would benefit her nerves and maybe help with the neuropathies she was having.  Well, she stopped having energy-loss relapses! And for the next two years she didn't go to the vet's except for her annual inoculations.

Spirulina - she never could eat spirulina neatly like the other supplemental powders.

That didn't stop her ongoing increase in food allergies though. She expressed more and more dislike at foods she had happily eaten before, AND she started having water allergies AT THE SAME TIME I WAS HAVING THEM with seemingly similar reactions!!!! (See Reaction to Bottled Water - headaches and numbness) From this time onward, she stopped going to her water bowl until she was really thirsty and then she would do a little foot scrape dance before she would lap just a few times and then scurry away, with her fur crawling horribly on her back.

Over the past several months I'd really upped her nutritional supplements that I syringed into her mouth. Such a sweet trusting baby. She would just open her mouth and half lap, half back-tongue-action the liquid down quickly. She got barley green, barley green and bee pollen (the latter which is extremely high in vitamin Bs but also with natural sugar so I can't take this for candida - I've suspected Aulait as having the exact same problems as myself since almost the beginnings so I didn't use this in the beginning; later, I used it to see if it's help since I was running out of options. It did a bit. Anyway, both Aulait's neuropathies and candida mess with vitamin Bs and Aulait definitely needed vitamin B to help with her nervous disorder, so I would mix a little bee pollen with the barley green. She loved the taste and if I kept the bee pollen percentage small, her neuropathies temporarily disappeared). Over the past months via syringe I've given her spirulina (she's not particularly fond of this), mullen leaf powder (she likes it), catnip tea (she hates it), and of course also syringed in anti-inflammatory oils like flax seed oil (yuk from her!), cod liver oil (yuk!), evening primrose oil (a bit yukky) and olive oil (sometimes yuk). Although she hated the ickiness of the oils, she was calmer afterwards and her neuropathies were less!

She still got worse though. The last few months I've been syringing three times a day for her. I even syringed dextrose based on the vet's recommendation. It helped her sudden bouts of hypoglycemia, but I had to be careful to not give her too much dextrose ... or she would have horrendous neuropathies that made her madly lick her four paws, her back, her tail, and to "escape" the creepiness she would race all over the apartment in madness. So terrible to watch. Whenever I saw her having one of these bouts (caused by food, wrong supplements, too much dextrose, or even hunger), I would quickly mix barley green with a little bee pollen and syringe it in her mouth and then feed her a wet food that was made from meat and not processed filler "meat" like in the canned Fancy Feast (that brand gave Aulait the worst neuropathies!). She got so she would come and "tell" me when the problems started, because we both figured out that if we could address the problem early, it would be easy to "fix". She had these strange hypoglycemic-neuropathy attacks at least 2-3 times a day in the end.

On May 30 I couldn't stand watching her struggle with her problems anymore. She also seemed to be starting to have pain as her eyelids were usually heavy and she looked dull. She had long since stopped playing much ... and the day I dreaded came when I knew her quality of life was too poor to go on. So I had her put to sleep. Tough decision but she no longer suffers, so in that respect, we are both at peace.

The vitamin loaded powders for Aulait: barley green, bee pollen, alfalfa powder, mugwort powder

Mixing nutritional supplements for syringing

Left to right (back): dextrose, spirulina, barley green, bee pollen; (front) spirulina mixture, bee pollen and barley green mixture

Barley green for Aulait

I don't really know what happened with Cafe, but I think we were all exposed to a horrendous bacteria that attacked our weakest areas - for Cafe, it was her already compromised GI track. [But then as I read somewhere, 70% of diseases start in the GI track!] Even though the vet that diagnosed her with renal sand said she was eventually going to suffer kidney failure, I think the bigger cause of her death was of a bacteria, aka systemic candida. She had a lot of the tell-tale symptoms: very bad breath, extremely waxy ears, and intolerance to foods (but not as bad as Aulait).

Aulait certainly was suffering from a bacteria. We shared so many symptoms it was crazy - food sensitivities, odor sensitivities (Aulait was extremely sensitive), neuropathies, inability to make decisions when at our worst, extreme tiredness, and so many more. Poor baby, to be so sick from food ... But baby, we so understood each other and for seven years we were always there for each other! Now rest and be at peace.

Vitamin A Deficiency Affecting Diseases

Hurray, hurray, hurray! I've been fighting vitamin A deficiency for almost 2 years now, to no avail (discussed in Huge Vitamin A Deficiency). Candida destroys vitamin A, but then also many of the candida killers I was using (oregano oil, grapefruit seed extract and I strongly suspect Barlena's Olive Leaf extract) also destroy it. I tried taking large doses of vitamin A in oil gels and later in the dry form, but had no results. Then I bumped into a passage in the book Supplements Exposed that said that taking the supplement vitamin A will not boost vitamin A but will actually impair it. I had just gone through a lot of vitamin A gels and thought I'd test that theory, because I didn't know what else to do. So for the two months almost every day I gobbled up more high potency vitamin A capsules (the dry kind this time), retested, and yup, the outcome showed virtually no change. I know that vitamin A needs iron, oil and other nutrients in order to become assimilated well so there might be other underlying problems why I didn't absorb any of the nutrients. So, I decided I would do it solidly through a diet saturated in vitamin A-rich foods.

So for the past 2 1/2 months I have been taking large doses of Pure Hawaiian Spirulina Pacifica, rich in vitamin A among other large doses of immune building nutrients like vitamin K for the bones and heart, vitamin B12 which vegetarians and vegans especially need, iron which is so important for women, and 2 trace minerals, manganese and chromium. [On the Hawaiian spirulina label the suggested amount is 1 teaspoon up to 3 times a day. I took 1 heaping tablespoon once a day.]

Ah, synergy of vitamins in their natural state and working in correlation with one another rather than just the isolated vitamin A in supplement form! Almost every morning I ate 2 tablespoons of chia seeds [the packaging suggests 1 tablespoon a day and elsewhere I've read to not eat this daily beyond one month as side effects are unknown]. The chia seeds are said to be rich in vitamin A (I've never found out nutritionally how rich though, but hey, I can't eat the vitamin A-rich foods like carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes and other highly glycemic foods so I just went with hearsay on this). Anyway, my wonderful vitamin A outcome just came back .... NORMAL!!!!

January 20, 2012 - my outcome at .18 (extremely low!)
April 3, 2012 - my outcome at .42 (.30~.70 is normal)

That's a whopping increase of .24 in just 2 1/2 months!!! The last 2 1/2 months I've really gobbled up tons of vitamin A-loaded asparagus too, tried to include a little oil in each of my green smoothies to help with vitamin A assimilation, and faithfully drank my spirulina and ate chia seed pudding. Yes! Finally!

And just a comment on that "normal" range above for vitamin A. I've been testing at the same clinic (a testing practice which assures a more standard reading of test outcomes) for the past 2 years, and until just a few months ago, the "normal range" for vitamin A listed on test results print-outs was .36~1.20. However, about 6 months ago that range got drastically shifted, and shockingly the "norm" for vitamin A was reduced! The "normal range" now reads .30~.70. I can understand why the range was lowered - there is great fear of vitamin A toxicity, and in fact, many of the symptoms for toxicity and for low vitamin A are the same. Go figure that one out! But for the range to actually be lowered indicates to me that the USDA/FDA/who? is becoming more accepting of the lower and lower numbers of vitamin A and is accommodating their figures to match the common, a.k.a. "normal", populace. A big study on this needs to take place.

Vitamin A Deficiency Affecting Diseases

Animal Pharm, a site dedicated to blogging about nutrition on global issues, detailed a list of diseases that low vitamin A plays an instrumental part in. But before I reintroduce the list, the site also presented that the marbling of meat - human abs, glutious maximus and biceps as well as beef - is a direct cause of insufficient vitamin A in the body. Now everybody wants to present tight shapely muscles, and yet people tend to go for the choice cuts of well-marbled meat. These two desires are in direct opposition of each other and reflect two opposing standards. Humans have the standard of desiring no marbling in their own muscles (and therefore, have the unknown desire to have adequate amounts of vitamin A) while they desire the appealing look of well-marbled meat, a grade A cut (which unfortunately could be an indication of a vitamin A deficiency in the meat, and therefore in actually a substandard cut!). This blog entry is a must read!

Now, for the diseases that result in vitamin A deficiency or possibly are a partial result of vitamin A deficiency...

Who might be vitamin A deficient?
..... vegans
..... those who eat 'low fat'
..... those who don't consume a lot of wild seafood/grassfed meat
..... children less than age 4 and women
..... those with cancer
..... chronically ill
..... those with infections or high CRP (chronic restrictive pulmonary)
..... those with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism
..... those with other autoimmune diseases: Grave's, RA (rheumatoid arthritis), SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), Sjogrens, MS (multiple sclerosis), NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis), primary biliary cirrhosis, CAD (coronary artery disease), etc
..... those with skin conditions (again, autoimmune origin and wheat-triggered): eczema, rosacea, skin cancer, poor wound healing, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, dermatitis herpetiformis, porphyria cutaneous tarda
..... those with gluten enteropathy, (known vs. unknown) wheat/casein allergies, 'leaky gut' and a poor intestinal barrier which prevent absorption of fat and fat-soluble vitamins
..... those without a gallbladder who may not produce sufficient digestive enzymes to absorb fat and fat-soluble vitamins
..... those who take Orlistat/Xenical or OTC Alli (weight loss pills which block fat and thus fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K1, K2)
..... those on antiseizure drugs (valproic acid, carbamezepine, phenytoin which increase metabolism/elimination of vitamin A)
..... those who have had gastric bypass which unnaturally cuts out a great portion of our most important absorptive surface area for fat and nutrients, the duodenum
..... diabetic-induced rats fed vitamin A deficient lab chow
..... Inuit children with frequent lower respiratory tract infections and otitis media [the children are probably no longer consuming their traditional H-G-fish Paleo diets but the S.A.D. (standard American diet) grain-based one like Americans]
..... third world countries where night-vision blindness is prevalent