Over the years I have been able to recognize a syndrome that is quite disturbing. Mostly in young woman, beginning as early as their mid-teens and progressing into their early to mid-thirties. It results in a slew of different diseases that appear to be unrelated to each other, but ultimately are creating a state of un-wellness that is both staggering and frightening.
I am going to write out an outline that shows you exactly how this begins and how it looks and what ultimately and inevitably will result in a possible devastating illness, most likely falling into the world of auto immune or related immune dysfunction.
I have treated young woman (mostly) with symptoms that range from severe food allergies, arthritis, skin disorders, yeast infections, emotional imbalances (major mood swings) insomnia, anxiety (panic attacks), ongoing feeling of tiredness and exhaustion, irritable bowel, and a litany of other seemingly unrelated symptoms that have been over treated with antibiotics and over the counter remedies that have only perpetuated the decline of what should be a very healthy body.
Here is a brief description of how this syndrome may begin:
1. Young teenage drinking and binging.
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2. Sugar! The amount of sugar that is consumed in these early ages is staggering. The private and not so private consumption of such quantities is the beginning of compromising the body.
3. Birth control pills
4. Stress! (most of these young woman are under a tremendous amount of stress due to high levels of personal achievement that they, or society have placed upon them) Type A personalities are very prone.
5. Caffeine! Mostly from coffee is also destroying our health as a society and individually.
6. Processed foods
7. Because of causes created from this behavior often a slew of antibiotics have been taking over the years.
Now most of these might easily be pushed aside since they have now become common place but let me quickly explain how it all begins:
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When looking at illness and the root of them as a whole, one has to look at the gut.
There is a syndrome called Leaky Gut Syndrome:
Leaky Gut happens when one has a decrease of good flora (healthy bacteria) the stomach, necessary for proper digestion and assimilation of food and nutrients. Once this happens bad flora/bacteria become rampant.
This usually happens with an unhealthy lifestyle, stress, sugar, caffeine, not enough sleep, and antibiotics.
The bad flora infiltrates your body via your intestinal tract creating possible digestive issues. The continuation of this particular lifestyle creates a thinning of the intestinal wall allowing the bad bacteria to penetrate the walls and infiltrating the body with no protection at all.
Once this happens, and it inevitably will, the body then quickly will begin to decline because it is literally under attack.
Symptoms that can come when this happens are:
Candida - this is an overgrowth of the natural yeast that we have in our bodies and will then grow at a very frightening rate if a high sugar/stress/caffeine lifestyle continues.
Symptoms of Candida are:
1. Fungal or yeast issues, including athletes foot, vaginitis, yeast infections, hives, nail fungus, thrush, skin rashes.
2. Foul smelling lower intestinal gas.
3. Indigestion
4. Insomnia _ this can be severe at times
5. Night sweats
6. Allergies - both seasonally or to foods
7. A feeling of overall sickness and fatigue
8. Depression
9. Mood swings - crying attacks
10.Itchy skin
11. Craving sugar and or alcoholic beverages as well a s craving lactose containg dairy products like milk, cheese and ice cream.
12. Loss of sexual drive
13. Rectal or nasal itching (could also be ears and eyes)
14. Visual disturbances
15. Difficulty breathing through the nose
16. Scalp issues
17. Anxiety attacks
Generally, when one has what appears as common ailments, as I have stated above, more meds are prescribed that will generally only help temporarily and ultimately continue to destroy a body that is very quickly failing.
After the candida has occurred and years have passed with only more and visible symptoms occurring, the ultimate sadness is that the body will shut down and look at everything entering it as an infiltration and begin attacking outside protagonists as well as turning on itself (since at this point it is pervasive and basically run amok)
At that point, the diagnosis of greater illnesses come into play, and it is basically inevitable for this to happen.
Disease that I have seen as a result of this syndrome are:
A slew of auto-immune diseases (these are very scary and no one has a cure, medically)
Asthma
Arthritis
Allergies to pretty much everything
Depression and anxiety
Crohn's disease
Eye and vision issues
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Migraines
PMS
Basically they can all fall under the label of Auto-Immune Diseases, but they are very varied which confuses people thinking that they are unrelated. The realty is that they stem from the same source. The results of only treating the symptoms, without the root cause, can be and is a devastating result in our ultimate health and ability to continue to live full, non medicated, happy and successful lives.
There is an answer and it is much easier and simpler than most medical professionals wish to see.
Most can be treated with dietary changes and also a good energy worker.
The treatment has to be consistent and looked upon very seriously.
I suggest that a regiment change for at least 6 months is imperative to create healthy sustainable body. After this time re-introducing some foods will be possible because with moderation, the body can sustain basically anything.
What to do first:
I know at first this may seem a bit overwhelming and not as tangible as taking a pill three times a day until everything is ok. Unfortunately that doesn't work and will never work. Thankfully the answer is much simpler, although difficult to get started, because of some physical addictions that you may have developed over the years.
My first suggestion is to stop drinking/eating any caffeine (especially the kind from the coffee bean!) This is generally a very touchy subject and the initial reaction from most is a pretty aggressive NO! Well, that is because it is a drug and a very addictive one.
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First of all it makes you acidic, an acidic body is a sick body, period. Second it contributes to bones density loss (although you may not be worried about that now it is another pervasive and simple disease to rectify). But for you it mostly is killing good flora and will continue to do so making it impossible to become healthier. Also, it creates extreme anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue! It's a drug, so at some point a drug will make you need another hit and if you don't have one then it will make you more tired, it is ultimately a slippery slope and will never make you feel awake or clear headed. By the way it also drops your blood sugars creating yet more issues with fatigue and mood swings. Also... the crazy mood swings that can occur with a large number of woman, as well as creating almost every PMS symptom that woman suffer from, can be directly connected to caffeine (mostly from the coffee bean) .
An added benefit is that the coffee bean is a large contributor to body odor because of how highly toxic it is.
All caffeine in large amounts need to be omitted during the cleansing process. When you are stable and healthier, if you wanted teas with caffeine in moderation or from primarily green tea is fine.
What to expect:
This is very important to read and understand the process of this particular detox. I would suggest to do this one separate from the other detoxes because of the possibility of severe symptoms. This should be done cold turkey.
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1. You may have a pretty bad headache that may last 3 days or so. Drinking a lot of water may help, but not to panic since it does pass.
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2. Severe lethargy can occur. The first week you generally have an overall feeling of fatigue and brain cloudiness that is hard to quit, this may last up to 3 weeks with each week subsiding in symptoms. By the end of the 3rd week your energy will be more steady, as well as your energy without having any drops throughout the day. The great thing is by the 4th week (sometimes sooner) you wake in the morning with a clear mind and energy without the need of a stimulant.
Other symptoms that have been reported are that of flu like symptoms as well as nausea (these are pretty rare)
I listed the worst case scenario, but often it is much easier than this. I know that you have a busy schedule so it may seem a bit daunting to take on a detox as this one. Within the first week though, you will already feel better and make it easier to get through the rest of the detox.
I would start with taking caffeine out first and then taking the next step. I have done all of this all at once so it is possible, but it is hard to do without support. It is easier to take it one step at a time.
Next step:
Stopping all sugar of any kind, even fruit. This is imperative in the beginning. After your body is stable adding fruit back to your diet is allowed and necessary. The reason why you must eliminate all sugar at the beginning is that candida is looking for any form of sugar so that it can continue to live a wreak havoc. It needs to be starved and then killed. Sweetening should only be done with stevia or agave in small amounts. Unfortunately this also includes alcohol of any kind. The amount of sugar and yeast is way too high and the body needs to heal first and after with moderation casual drinking is possible.
Buying a candida cleanse is also helpful, they last 2 weeks but I suggest doing it for 4. It is an easy cleanse to do and helps with curving cravings immediately. I like one called Candi-be-Gone and most health food stores carry this.
No treatment for yeast overgrowth, including ozone therapy, will last very long, if you have depleted glutathione levels. We can address that as well but to help with cravings you can take Thyme that will help kill the candida in the head. Fenu-Thyme by Natures Way is very recommended (3 capsules three times a day)
Increase your intake of easily digested amino acids and sources of L cysteine (Immunocal, Immunepro or any other cold processed whey protein will do)
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Usually taking 800 to 1200 mcg daily of organic food based selenium will eliminate candidiasis within a few weeks, once you're stable ,you can then enjoy carbohydrates again.
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Natural selenium is best taken in a natural form. 4 brazil nuts a day will do the job.
(you must avoid synthetic selenium! stick to food based selenium)
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Food
After you are done with the above detoxes, and I apologies for the difficulty of having to do them but it is much worse having a body that is slowly failing you.
I like to keep things simple when it comes to food. Whole foods that are organic and fresh are imperative. High fiber low fat (saturated fats) diet is always a good idea. Good fats are necessary so foods high in omega fatty acids are important. Omitting meat is also imperative since it creates bad and unhealthy flora. It also does not get digested in the body but decomposes and compromises your intestinal health. Organic fish especially those high in omega threes are fine.
Dark green veggies are also important, as well as healthy grains.
I love to start people on a kitchari diet. You can take creative freedom with it as long as the basics are there and then change up the veggies. I like to make a vat of it and have it for lunch and dinner or a variety of it when I am home and try to eat as close to it when out to dinner. I know this sounds restrictive but when you are feeling really well then it becomes easier to continue to eat, so you can continue to feel better every day. Look below for a kitchari article and recipe.
I am sure that this is enough info and possibly too much all at once. My suggestion is to start with the coffee/caffeine detox first and then do sugar/fruits. Most important is to understand that many of the issues you are dealing with are reparable and you can gain control of your overall health. One step at a time and education as to what has happened and how it can be controlled and healed, for good.
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