Tips on Flu

I received these tips from my chiropractor, Galen Birdsley.
Since the Flu season is here, I thought it would be wise to give you some tips on how to stay healthy along with some tips to help you if you get exposed to someone with the flu.

Tips on How to Stay Healthy:

1. Get enough rest everyday
2. Exercise regularly
3. Eat a healthy diet - Avoid sweets - viruses thrive on sugar
4. Keep good hygiene - wash your hands often
5. Get regular chiropractic care - it helps stimulate the immune system

If you have been exposed to the flu, what do you do?

Doctors say that it takes 2-3 days for the flu virus to multiple in your nose and throat to cause symptoms.

Tips to help eliminate the virus after exposure:

1. Wash your hands immediately
2. Gargle with GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) 2-3 times per day (3-4 drops in water)
3. Use GSE Nasal Spray 2-3 times a day
4. 4. If you don't have GSE, gargle with salt water and use a saline nasal spray

GSE is a great anti-viral and anti-bacterial. I've been using and recommending it for years. I carry the following GSE products:

GSE Extract (drops)
GSE Nasal Spray
GSE Ear Drops
Nutribiotic Lotion
Nutribiotic Toothpaste

Patty's Comments. I use grapefruit seed extract all of the time. Other recommendations to strengthen the immune system and fight off flu are Olive leaf, Vitamin D 3, Pycnognel, Grapeseed extract, DMG (dimethylglcine), selenium, Zinc (with food and not to exceed 80 mg daily), Vitamin E, and colustrum.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Hypoglycemia

Obsessive compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be treated without drugs. In an article by Juririan Plesman, who describes the cause of OCD by excess secretion of adrenaline, the fight/flight hormone. Adrenaline is also the hormone that in case of danger you cannot take your eyes away from the enemy (tiger). Thus it forces you to focus on things. Hence excess adrenaline production can result in obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors of the kind of "making sure behavior",like making sure the door is closed, making sure that you stay away from germs, washing your hands over and over again, obsession with cleanliness, or symptoms of perfectionism.

OCD can be described as a cluster of symptoms that compels a person to act or think in repetitive ways. The person may be afflicted with compulsive thoughts or possessed with fear of contamination. Others are compelled to make sure that water taps have been properly closed or things are in their correct place.
Being suddenly bombarded with stress hormones - such as cortisol and adrenaline - the mind appears to create images and ideas that fit the strange inner experience of panic and fear. The activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) by adrenaline prepares your body for strenuous action in face of danger in the environment. But if the SNS is activated by an internal biological mechanism due to a biological disorder, there is no external enemy or stimulus. So you have to make one up to give you some sort of rational explanation of why you feel the way you do.
OCD is a sub-class of anxiety attacks. Both OCD and anxiety attacks are marked by excess adrenaline production.
This can also be tested with a paper-and-pencil test such as The Nutrition-Behavior Inventory questionnaire
(NBI) or the The Hypo Quizz.
The real question is why is the body overproducing adrenaline and at the wrong time and circumstances?
The answer lies in the function of adrenaline. Adrenaline apart from being a fight/flight hormone is also a hormone that converts sugar stores in the body (glycogen) into glucose. Glucose is the brain's major source of energy. It requires about 70% of glucose to fuel the biochemical machinery of brain cells. Without that energy brain cells will soon die. Thus whenever the brain senses energy starvation it will trigger the release of adrenaline so as to feed the brain again with energy.
The next question is: why is the brain starved of energy with all that sugar being consumed in our society? The reason is that a person may have a physical disorder that prevents the conversion of sugar sources in food (carbohydrates) into biological energy called ATP. That energy is essential in the production of feel good (relaxing) neuro-chemicals, such as serotonin. Without it we will feel anxious, insecure, in danger
and panicky without knowing why.
This is usually the case when a person suffers from Insulin Resistance. Insulin Resistance is usually associated with the development of Diabetes Type II. Most doctors can test this, but they appear to have problems testing for pre-diabetic insulin resistance, because they have not been trained for this. We have a test for hypoglycemia at our web site. The Hypo Quizz.
This condition is called "The Hypoglycemic Syndrome" which is characterized by unstable blood sugar levels, going up and down. Unstable blood sugar levels, due to insulin resistance, cause the body to release stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Whenever there is a sudden drop in brain sugar levels, adrenaline kicks in to attempt the redress the imbalance.
We have an explanation how excess adrenaline can cause OCD. The solution is to go on a hypoglycemic diet, which is similar to a diabetic diet. It normalizes blood sugar levels, and stops the brain from producing stress hormones.
According to Dr. Carl Pfieffer, M.D. and research Psychiatrist who reversed mental illness by using nutrition, many vitamins and minerals are involved in glucose metabolism. Namely, Vitamin C, B complex vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc. Chromium, manganese, potassium and phosphorous.
Dr Pfieffer, also states that adrenaline and glucocortoid hormones trigger the pancreas to secrete glucagons, which, in turn, promotes the conversion of glycogen to glucose in the liver. The liberated glucose is then released from the liver into the bloodstream and this contributes to hypoglycemia. It can be a vicious circle.
An alkaline diet can help prevent hypoglycemia.
Fish oil can also help OCD.

Books and Workbooks to Help Eliminate OCD

“The OCD Workbook,” is an excellent resource to help those with OCD. It includes self-assessment, intervention strategy, how to help yourself, success stories of others, breaking free, changing your faulty beliefs and more. The book is by Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D. and Cherry Pedrick, RN

“Brain Lock-Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior,” by Jeffrey Schwartz, MD.

Chronic Fatigue is not death but it takes your life away.

“My journey with Chronic Fatigue began 17 years ago when I was diagnosed with CFIDS and Fibromyalgia. I was so ill my doctor wanted to give me medical disability. After four years of agony, I finally said to my doctor, “I either want to get better or I want to die.

Since then, I have recovered even though the Center for Disease Control says there is no cure. I drastically changed my diet, finished a doctoral degree in Holistic Nutrition and have more energy than I did 30 years ago. My passion now is to educate others and give them hope for recovery.

My doctoral dissertation explored the results of an alkaline diet on patients who had significant disability and pain from CFIDS/FMS. All of them experienced significant improvement in their symptoms after changing from the traditional American diet to an alkaline diet and were able to resume normal activities. They had outstanding improvement in the reduction and elimination of symptoms. All experienced excellent to good improvement in decreased muscle and joint pain. A hundred percent of participants had improvement in 13 out of 16 symptoms.”

In my case, candida was a major contributor to my chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Most people I have worked with who have CFIDS and FMS have candida, but candida does not show up in normal blood tests. A taurtaric acid test can usually determine candida.

Check my older and even beginning blogs for more on Chronic Fatigue.

Crisis Lines

If you feel suicidal or very depressed call your local crisis line number. If you have plans to commit suicide call 911 or have someone take you to your local emergency room. Almost every large city has a crisis line number.
1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433. 1-800-273-TALK / 1-800-273-8255. You can also pull up SuicideHotlines.com and on the bottom of the site it lists hot lines in your state.
Suicidal thoughts usually last only a short time, sometimes minutes or a few hours. Now is not forever.
Be with friends, family or a neighbor.
Hug a puppy.
Sing.
Dance.
Sometimes drinking a tiny bit of salt water can help. One-fourth teaspoon to 6 ounces of water.
Pinch your nose. Alternate pinching the nose as you breath, right breathe, pinch,left nose pinch, breathe, and continue.
Try deep breathing.


Raising Serotonin Levels

Say “Cheese,” use your smile muscles. The brain can’t tell the difference between a real smile and a phony smile. Smiling and laughing both raise serotonin levels.

Walk in the sunshine or on a cloudy day get a sun tan.

Exercise-walk, swim, dance, jog, biking, jump on a mini trampoline, do Thai Chi or yoga.

Help Eliminate Depression by:

Expressing Gratitude. Write down five things you are grateful for each day.

Help Others

Positive Affirmations: download at www.healingyourspirit.com. "Thanks God (or higher power) for helping me through this," say this over and over.

Journaling: Write down your feelings and write about the things that are causing you stress or depression. Consider rewriting your situation as you would like it to be.

Books: Defeating Depression & Beating the Blues by Webb
"Depression Free for Life," by Gary Null
Attitude of Gratitude
"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Depression." Michael B. Schachter, M.D.
For every problem under the sun,
There is a remedy or there is none.
If there be one hurry and find it—
If there be none, never mind it.

“If we realize that what we think about becomes our reality, we become very careful about what we think about.” Wayne Dyer


You cannot keep the birds of sadness
From flying over your head
But you can keep them from
Nesting in your hair.

We are Powerful Beyond Measure

Nelson Mandella was quoting Williams in his second inaugural address.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are more powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous. Actually who are you not to be? You are a Child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it's in everyone. As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Were you able to work when you had chronic fatigue?

This is the question I was asked this morning.
Patty's answer: I have recovered from Chronic Fatigue but was able to work--just barely. I had to take medical leave for several months after my last husband died. My doctor wanted to give me medical disablity when he discovered I had CFIDS because I was so ill, but I wouldn't take it. Most days I felt like I had the drop=dead flu. My husband was seriously ill and on dialysis and had no insurance. I had to work, we needed the inusurance. However, in reality I was too exhausted to work. I don't know how I did it. I would go home and flop on the bed and not get up until morning when I had to drag myself out of bed. I slept all weekend. I could never accept that I would have chronic fatigue forever. I had to find a way to get better. I went from doctor to doctor, prayed and prayed, and finally found a doctor who discovered I had candida. That was the beginning of my recovery. Other older blogs explains a little bit about how I recovered. Going to work everyday was like beating a dead horse or dragging one behind me. There was no hurry in me. Still, I was a school counselor and could sit down and counsel students. If I was talking to a teacher or student in the hall, I would lean against the wall. Summers were my refuge, but they were not long enough.

Alkaline Diet

I just received the question: "What did you eat to aid you in your recovery from CFIDS and Fibromyaliga?
Patty's answer:
I occassionaly eat fish, but I eat more tofu, vegiie or almondrella cheese, almond butter, tofu sour cream and cream cheese, instead of meat. Meat is very acidic and they also feed beef antibiotics and hormones which all feed candida. I eat lots of vegetables, very little fruit.
I eat fresh tomatoes, lemons, limes, grapefruit (almost every day), avocadoes, millet, quinoa (both are high in protein), almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk and oil, rice crackers, almonds, sunflower and pumkin seeds, pine nuts, sprouts, etc., I buy Ezkiel Sprouted tortillas at the health food stores and make wraps filled with veggies, like tomatoes, hummus, romaine lettuce. sprouts, onions, jicama, or veggie cheese, or feta cheese, or tofu cream cheese, (you could add cucumbers, sliced carrots, green, red or yellow peppers) spinach leaves or anything else you want.

I make my own soups, sometimes buying the Pacific brand of veggie broth and then adding lightly steamed vegetables. I like black beans and beets on top of romaine lettuce and topped off with fresh salsa (made with lemon juice) and glacamole.

I never go hungry and do not feel deprived. When going out to dinner I order a salad or a vegetable tray, or sometimes a sweet potato.

I do stir-fry, using tofu instead of meat. I sometimes juice my own green juice and have much more energy when I do. One of my mainstays has been a green drink with alkaline drops. I now use a powered green drink I buy online from AlkaVision and their Plasma pH Drops. If I were to buy one supplement it would be the green powder that I add to distilled water and Plasma pH drops that I add to that drink. I have tried other drinks and drops, but AlkaVision is the most reasonable price, and has no spirulina, chlorella (they are a fungus).

Hope this will help.

Kindest regards,

Patty

Candida

Are Your Health Problems Candida Connected?

I found this questionnaire on an advertisement but you can pull up different questionnaires on the Internet.

If your answer is "yes" to any question check the box off. When you've completed the questionnaire, add up the points. Your score will help you determine the possibility (or probability) that your health problems are yeast related.
YES Score
1. Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs?
4
2. Have you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate or urinary tract infections?
3
3. Do you feel "sick all over," yet the cause hasn't been found?
2
4. Are you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body temperature or fatigue?
2
5. Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes and other chemical odors?
2
6. Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel "spaced out"?
2
7. Have you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have you taken "the pill" for more than 3 years?
2
8. Do some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms?
1
9. Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain?
1
10. Does your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes?
1
Scoring for women: If your score is 9 or more, your health problems are probably yeast-connected. If your score is 12 or more, your health problems are almost certainly yeast-connected.
Scoring for men: If your score is 7 or more, your health problems are probably yeast-connected. If your score is 10 or more, your health problems are almost certainly yeast-connected.

What is Candidia?

Candida albicans is a yeast that resides in the human bowel but can travel to other parts of our body. Under normal conditions, only a small number of Candida live in our intestine. Candidiasis is an overgrowth of Candida albicans. The Candida starts out as simple, relatively harmless single celled yeast. Left unchecked, it can become a problem by developing large colonies and contributing to a wide variety of health problems in both men and women. If this condition is not controlled, the yeast can develop into a more stubborn organism, namely the mycelia hungus form of Candida. This form can contribute to many more serious problems and can be very challenging to overcome. When the Candida problem has advanced to this degree, it is referred to as “systemic Candidiasis.”
Candida is a major player in Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, and I think if can contribute to Bipolar Disorder.

So You Have Candida. Now What?

Some people take medication for candida, like diflucan. Others take supplements like NatraBio Homeopathic for Candida Yeast. 1-800-243-9245. www.natrobio.com. Dr. Balch suggests taking some of the following: grapefruit seed extract pills, olive leaf, biotin, caprilyic acid, coconut oil, garlic, aloe vera juice, and pau d arco tea. Fish oil also helps. A good natural laxative can be helpful in cleansing the colon which can help get rid of candida.
Millet and quinoa are high in protein and are gluten-free. Avoid dairy, sugars of all kinds (except stevia) and yeasted breads. Are you gluten intolerant?
Do eat lots of green vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemons, limes and grapefruit and avocadoes. Fish is better than red meat. Check out an alkaline diet which is found in the book, “The pH Miracle.”
Good books:
"The Yeast Connection," by Dr. Crook
"The pH Miracle," by Dr. Robert Young
"From Fatigued to Fantastic, by Dr. Tetlebaum.

Check out candida on the web.