Stimulant Sabotage

In the past, I’ve picked on various stimulants quoting research on coffee, cigarettes, as well as the e-cigarette.  Other popular stimulants include energy drinks, gluten and dairy based foods, excessive sugars, artificial sweeteners, processed and frozen foods along with various medications and hormones.  We crave these foods and pseudo-foods to get a quick lift or pick-me-up often not realizing that all stimulants tax the adrenal glands and fatigued adrenals are often the ultimate cause of general fatigue and malaise.  This viscous cycle is the root cause of a host of symptoms and illnesses that plague people and often goes undetected.

Common signs of adrenal fatigue include trouble falling or going to sleep, salt cravings, difficulty waking and getting started in the morning, afternoon fatigue and headaches, depression, weak nails, excessive perspiration and urination, weight gain, blood pressure problems, joint pain, arthritic tendencies, and muscle pain.  Obviously, these are merely symptoms that could relate to many conditions, but someone who has severe adrenal fatigue knows that something is simply not right.  One of the most common findings with adrenal fatigue is dizziness upon standing from a seated or lying down position.  The reason for this is that the adrenal hormone, adrenaline, is supposed to be released upon standing to increase blood pressure approximately.  When the adrenals are exhausted, this simply does not happen.  The best way to diagnose adrenal problems is through an Adrenal Stress Index (ASI) test where saliva hormones are collected and measured at a lab.  The main reasons doctors aren’t running this test regularly is either that they don’t know about it or that insurance typically doesn’t cover the test. If you’re worried about adrenal fatigue, request the test from your doctor because adrenal problems often result in thyroid, pituitary, and other endocrine (hormone) problems.

There is not really one individual cause to adrenal problems.  I look at it as the perfect storm.  The stimulants mentioned above, coupled with the typical American diet, poor sleep habits, and sympathetic overflow from chronic low (or high) stress levels make the perfect recipe for adrenal failure.  Even physical traumas/accidents, excessive exercise training, and viral, bacterial, or fungal infections can affect the adrenals.  Our job is to support the critical glands and allow recovery.  You do this through proper sleep, a healthy, low-carb and low sugar diet, exercise, and regular stress reduction.  Nutritionally, the adrenals require abundant B-vitamins, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils).  Surprisingly, one of the most important requirements for adrenal function is adequate water intake (½ your body weight in ounces).  If you ask me, I would say that adrenal fatigue affects nearly all Americans at some level and it is a complicating factor with most conditions and disease processes out there due to the adrenal glands’ role in regulating the stress response in the body.  However, with the proper testing, the proper interventions and most importantly, the proper lifestyle choices it is a factor that can be treated and prevented.

Three Cases

The Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics has often featured articles about the chiropractic care of children. Here are three cases that might surprise you.  I find that even the most devoted chiropractic adults don’t think about getting their kids checked.  Obviously this is not out of a lack of concern or neglect it’s simply that many people believe you need to have back pain or headaches to benefit from chiropractic care.  Here are a few published cases that might change how you look at things.

The first case was from England and focused on chiropractic care for infantile colic.  Colic is also known as inconsolable crying syndrome and it affects up to 25% of newborns.  The cause is unknown but is thought to be secondary to gastric reflux, migraines or another undetectable problem.  In essence, the baby is crying for hours at a time for no clear reason.  In the study, they looked at 100 infants and compared results from those being treated with chiropractic versus those treated medically with different drugs.  They found that most cases resolved with both treatments but that the cost of the medical care was nearly 20 times greater than that of the chiropractic care.  The average number of visits to get results under chiropractic was just four adjustments.

Another case looked at pediatric cough and chiropractic care.  The researchers were looking to see if there was a connection to the nervous system and something as common as a cough.  Not only did they find a connection, but they recognized an unusual pattern.  They found that a wet (mucus) cough was associated with nerve irritation and spinal levels in the upper neck while a dry cough is associated with nerve irritation and spinal levels in the upper back.  While this information is more important to the chiropractor, it should be noted that nerve pressure at a spinal level can be related to mucus production (from the neck) and constriction of the bronchioles in the lungs (from the upper back) and conversely that reduction of that nerve pressure can be helpful to resolve such conditions.

A final case involved a 14-year-old ballet dancer with hip pain on both sides and restriction of movement that was keeping her from performing.  The pain came without warning or cause and was not responding to other treatment.  Full-spine chiropractic adjustments were applied following an exam to identify misalignments to the spine.  The result with ten adjustments was complete resolution of pain and restricted hip movement and the young girl was able to return to ballet without complication.

If you talk to any chiropractor about these cases, you will find that they all have similar stories and results.  As for myself, I’ve seen miraculous results with pediatric asthma and constipation.  The reason it’s so much easier to get rapid results with kids is that they are still developing and their systems are very adaptive.  Furthermore, they haven’t had the time and opportunity to accumulate all the physical, chemical, and emotional stresses that cause distress and dis-ease in the body to begin with.  This is precisely why the standard pediatric guidelines to chiropractic care is on average around 6-10 adjustments.  The most important take-home from these cases is to realize that chiropractic care is more than just back pain.  When you restore the spine back to its normal alignment and movement to reduce pressure off the nervous system, the body adapts better and performs more efficiently.

Sleep Significance

If you total it up, we sleep approximately 36% of our lives, yet scientists cannot completely agree on why we sleep and many of us don’t give the importance of sleep a second thought.  In fact, Margaret Thatcher once said, “Sleep is for wimps” and Thomas Edison called sleep “A criminal waste of time.”  The one thing today’s neuroscientists do agree on is that we are largely sleep deprived.  Likewise, there are numerous physiological complications and shortcomings that consistently occur when we are not getting enough sleep.  So how much sleep do we require and how do we improve our sleep habits?

Sleep experts agree that ideally, we should be getting around eight hours of sleep each night and teenagers should be getting closer to nine.  In the 1950s most Americans committed this time, but by 2013, it’s estimated that most of us are only getting around 6 ½ hours nightly and teenagers often get less than this.  In addition to general irritability, lack of proper sleep is known to result in poor memory, poor judgment, and impulsiveness.  Likewise, our creativity and ability to solve difficult problems is decreased by approximately three times.  Perhaps the biggest downfall of inadequate rest is that it induces the stress response which is accompanied by an array of hormone changes and imbalances.  Over time, this stress physiology will result in an array of problems including higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.  In fact a study looking at people working swing shifts did show a higher incidence of cancers as a result of a generally suppressed immunity.  Finally, loss of sleep is linked to a hormone called ghrelin that causes us to crave carbs and sugars and results in weight gain.

To compensate for lack of sleep we tend to turn to stimulants such as nicotine, caffeine, and other energy drinks.  While this gives some short-term relief, in the end, it only makes the problem worse and increases the stress response.  Sleep experts recommend avoiding all stimulants including caffeine all together after lunch.  Likewise, for the millions of Americans who suffer from sleep disorders, it is recommended to make your bedroom as dark as possible and a little cooler in temperature.  Since bright light stimulates wakefulness, it is also recommended to avoid television, computers, and phone displays for at least a half an hour prior to bedtime.  You should even dim the lights in your bedroom or bathroom mirror when you prepare for bed.  For those who still have difficulty with uninterrupted sleep, I still recommend using a guided meditation c.d. to fall asleep.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen this help.  You can also try tryptophan or melatonin as a more natural sleep aid.  Neither of these should cause drowsiness the next day.  Change your routine, supplement if necessary, but either way, make sleep a priority not only for your mental state and productivity but for your overall health as well.

More Mind-Body

A British journal called the Daily Telegraph published an article titled, “Chronic Pain is Determined by Emotions.”  The scientists were trying to determine why some people heal from injuries where others have symptoms that fail to heal and potentially complicate them throughout their entire lives.  What is the common denominator to chronic pain?  In this article, as the title suggests, the scientists concluded that chronic pain can be predicted by the level of emotion associated with an injury.  More specifically, brain scans show that the more active certain parts of the brain are during and after an injury, the more likely the injured person will have chronic pain and a delayed healing response.  The lead researcher from Northwestern University concluded that it has less to do with the injury itself and more to do with the interaction between the injury and the emotional state of the brain.  The scientists even suggest that some injuries may have more excitable activity in these parts of the brain to begin with, causing their injuries to be more complicated. 

This is yet another article showing the importance of the brain-body connection.  We are much more than a bunch of accumulated parts.  Not long ago, modern medicine disregarded this more holistic outlook as a sort of new age nonsense.  Today, even the most conservative medical publications are looking at the importance of the brain and the emotions in all aspects of health and disease.  The first thing the Mayo Clinic gives you when you are seeking care for Fibromyalgia is a booklet on, believe it or not, forgiveness.  What does this mean to you?  First, recognize the importance of healthy emotions.  Secondly, if you are dealing with a chronic pain or injury, find a way to deal with the emotions related to that injury.  Forgiveness is a great place to start.  Also, make sure to look for the silver lining.  Everything life presents us with is an opportunity to grow and learn a lesson.  It may sound funny, but when you can embrace the lesson and be truly thankful for the opportunity that an injury or pain has given you to learn, then healing can begin.  I understand this may be a bit much for some people.  If nothing else, recognize the significance of the mind-body connection and use relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, prayer, or merely quiet time to reduce the excitability of the brain and minimize the stress response.

Organic or Not

Two years ago a study released by Stanford University questioned the value of purchasing and consuming organic foods.  Is it really worth the extra expense to purchase a brown banana that goes bad twice as fast?  Stanford concluded that the nutrient levels found in conventional vegetables are actually very similar to that of the organically grown variety.  Other studies dispute these findings, but even if Stanford has it correct, there are other important advantages to purchasing organic you should know about.

There have been 343 studies looking at the advocacy of organic vegetables over the last couple decades.  All these studies agree on a couple of things.  First it is well recognize that organic fruits and vegetables contain anywhere from 18-69 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown foods.  These antioxidants are known to reduce the risk of numerous chronic diseases and in particular several varieties of cancer.  Antioxidants are also linked to how quickly you age by reducing how quickly you oxidize or degenerate.  Think of this process similar to rusting.  This alone would justify the expense for eating organically, but there’s another important reason.  Studies agree that organic foods have fewer toxins and pesticide residues.  In fact, the difference in the levels of cadmium alone is thought to be on average 48% less.  Cadmium is a toxic metal that is known to be linked to numerous concerns.  Likewise, the levels of pesticide residues are found to be four times higher in conventional fruits and vegetables than in their organic counterparts.  These pesticides kill off the bad bugs that would eat away at the crops, but they also kill off the good bugs that should be found in healthy soil and should be passed onto the fruits and vegetables.  These are the probiotics that promote a healthy digestion and immune system and serve to reduce overall inflammation in the body.  The other bigger problem with the pesticides is that they too have been linked to different cancers and they are directly related to thyroid problems as I’ve reported on in the past.  The thyroid maintains your metabolism and energy level and when it starts malfunctioning, this leads to many health problems but also increased weight particularly around the hips and thighs.

While the experts will still argue about the nutritional value of organic over conventional, I hope this other information makes a strong enough case to choose organic.  In my experience with thousands of clients, most of us simply need to eat more fruits and vegetables more regularly.  If you truly are looking for the very best source, then you’ll want to do your own homegrown organic vegetables or find a good source through a farmers’ market.  This takes more work and time, but these sources have been shown to have the highest levels of nutrition and probiotic levels as long as the grower is well trained in organic methods.

Spices

The Journal of Medicinal Foods published a top-ten list of herbs and spices that decrease aging.  Mostly due to their antioxidant values, this list included spices such as: cloves, cinnamon, allspice, apple spice, pumpkin spice, Italian spice, oregano, marjoram, sage, and thyme.  As a general rule, all herbs and spices are health-promoting largely due to their inherent minerals and vitamins.  With this in mind, I uncovered some specific cooking spices that have been well recognized in boosting health.

If you are looking to boost your general immune function try the following:  Licorice can reduce inflammation by boosting the steroid production of the adrenal glands.  Turmeric and oregano act as very strong antioxidants which will reduce stress to the immune system.  To help with other inflammatory and infectious disorders try these:  Cloves, ginger, and nutmeg all reduce inflammation and help fight against bacteria.  Likewise, cinnamon helps fight various bacteria and has even been known to kill E. coli and assist with urinary tract infections.  Although it’s only been proven in mice studies thus far, nutmeg has elicited significant reductions in anxiety and depression and also insomnia.

In addition to its immune benefits, turmeric has also been proven to provide numerous anti-cancer benefits.  Turmeric is a spice that is mostly found in Indian food where rates of colon, breast, prostate, and lung cancers are all 10 times lower than what we see in the U.S.  How does it do this?  Numerous studies have found that turmeric inhibits the production of tumor cells, it boosts liver function to help detoxify, and it also helps destroy mutated cancer cells so that they cannot spread through the body.  Just like the rest of these spices, turmeric only works if you cook with it and this only happens when you are in your kitchen cooking real food.  Don’t look for many of these spices when you are going out to eat.  My advice would be to look up a few recipes containing these spices that you could start cooking routinely.

The only downside to turmeric is that most of it is bioavailable at 15%. This means that however much you eat or take in a capsule is only getting into the cells at 15%. Inflavonoid by Metagenics has solved this problem. When they combine curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) with fenugreek fiber, absorption into the cells is increased by 45 times making it that much more effective. We carry this as a regular supplement in our office if you’re interested in trying it.

Remaining Afloat

I want to put a name to a concept that I’ve reported on multiple times in the past.  In 1993 a term was coined to explain the wear and tear on the body and what happens when our levels of physical, chemical, and emotional stress become greater than our ability to adapt.  The term is allostatic load and it explains the physiological consequences to the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system as they become compromised as a result of chronic stress.

When the body is in a state of balance and responding appropriately to life’s stresses and everything is working as you were designed, you are said to be in a state of allostasis.  The stresses that accumulate over time and have been proven to accelerate the aging process and the likelihood of disease are known to increase our allostatic load.  An easier way to think about this is as if you were floating in a raft in a pool on a calm, warm day.  This would be a state of allostasis.  However, if your kids started cannonballing into the water, making waves and began to place rocks in your raft, this would be equivalent to increasing your allostatic load.  As more rocks are placed in the raft, you begin to sink deeper and you would likely begin to kick and paddle to stay afloat.  However, you can only maintain this struggle for a limited time.  Eventually, because you begin to fatigue or more rocks are placed than what you can fight against, you will inevitably sink.  Staying afloat in this analogy is equivalent to maintaining health and a normal physiology.  The rocks are analogous to our physical chemical and emotional stresses whether they are traumas, poor posture, sedentary lifestyle, sugars and other inflammatory foods, toxins, emotional stressors like worry, anger and guilt and even lack of proper sleep. 

In the body, as these stresses increase and allostatic load increases, different hormones such as epinephrine and cortisol increase to cause problems in the gastrointestinal tract and circulation, along with increased nervous system activity, higher blood pressure and cholesterol and a weakened immune response.  Fortunately, you can work to remove the rocks out of your raft and decrease your allostatic load.  By removing interference to the nervous system from misaligned vertebrae, this is what chiropractic care does.  Likewise by increasing circulation, relaxing muscles, and decreasing stress, this is what massage and acupuncture do.  Meditation, exercise, proper diet and sleep all function to decrease your allostatic load.  The point of this discussion is that stress is real and it can sink you, but with some discipline and a little work you have numerous methods to decrease your load and remain afloat for a long and healthy life.