{"id":9039,"date":"2017-11-06T15:12:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T21:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=9039"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:51:32","slug":"first-step-chronic-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/06\/first-step-chronic-symptoms","title":{"rendered":"Your First Step For Any (Any!) Chronic Symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s an unfortunate trend: more and more young people (at my age, everyone under 50 is young) are troubled by chronic physical and emotional symptoms. Sometimes there\u2019s a diagnosis: rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn\u2019s, fibromyalgia. But just as often there are plenty of symptoms and no diagnosis. I can\u2019t count how many times patients have told me they went to multiple doctors who told them all their tests were normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many symptoms aren\u2019t signs of a dangerous illness. Instead, they sap your joie de vivre<\/em> (\u201cI exercise regularly, limit myself to 1,200 calories a day, and am still overweight,\u201d \u201cMy hair is getting thinner and thinner,\u201d \u201cI get panic attacks but hate feeling drugged up\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these circumstances, most doctors resort to what they know best: prescription drugs. But since correctly taken prescription drugs are the 4th<\/sup> leading cause of death in the US, people are understandably resistant. (\u201cI\u2019m worried about having my immunity suppressed,\u201d \u201cMy fibro pain is better, but I\u2019ve gained 25 pounds,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m less anxious, but I\u2019ve become a zombie\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many doctors, perplexed by a patient\u2019s symptoms, simply shift the blame for the symptoms to the patient herself (\u201cHe told me there was nothing wrong and gave me an antidepressant. I got so mad I tore up the prescription.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underlying causes
<\/strong>I continue to be amazed at the resistance of conventional physicians toward nutritional therapies, including supplements and diet changes. You\u2019d think someone who slogged through eight years of education to earn an MD could grasp the basics of hidden food sensitivities and leaky gut <\/a>(also called intestinal hyperpermeability). The most recent doctor I asked about this, a rheumatologist, thought leaky gut \u201chad something to do with chiropractors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To some extent, she\u2019s right. Most students in functional medicine classes, where diagnoses like these are everyday stuff, are chiropractors, naturopaths, and clinical nutritionists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not saying you should abandon your rheumatologist if you\u2019ve been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or your neurologist if you have MS. I\u2019m here to suggest several steps you can take immediately to see if nutritional therapy can help your unexplained symptoms. In three weeks, you may be in for a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflammation! Inflammation! Inflammation! (Did you catch that?)
<\/strong>Chronic widespread inflammation is often the real villain. A local area of inflammation, like the redness surrounding a pimple, skinned knee, or surgical incision, is part of healthy, normal healing. But if you\u2019ve got head-to-toe internal inflammation, something\u2019s very wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the inflammation is relatively mild, you might experience joint achiness, sinus congestion, or skin eruptions. You might be retaining weight or losing hair. If the inflammation is serious, it may be a component of MS, rheumatoid arthritis, or even Alzheimer\u2019s. Autoimmune disorders, from Hashimoto\u2019s thyroiditis to lupus, are all triggered by inflammation. Chronic Lyme disease, mold toxicity, pollution, an unhealthful diet, and poor dental care all can cause chronic inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>Leaky gut is by far the most overlooked cause of chronic widespread inflammation. 2500 years ago in ancient Greece Hippocrates wrote \u201call disease begins in the gut.\u201d This is a bit much (it would take a few more years to discover germs), but the quote merits serious attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s leaking through your intestines and into your bloodstream are large molecules of food and bacterial breakdown products that should stay inside. When they do leak, your immune system panics and triggers inflammation. Blood test results for inflammation, like hsCRP, sedimentation rate, and C4a, start to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can waste both your time and your insurance deductible for the opportunity to observe the blank look on a specialist\u2019s face when you ask to be tested for leaky gut. Or you can get started yourself. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What causes leaky gut?
<\/strong>The most common causes of leaky gut are high-inflammation foods. That\u2019s right. Inflammatory foods trigger leaky gut, which in turn leads to widespread body inflammation.  You\u2019re not necessarily allergic to these foods, and while the foods will trigger some inflammation in everyone, most people aren\u2019t bothered by them. For example, I can eat gluten without any problems, but my associate Dr. Kelley is wiped out by a muffin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you search \u201canti-inflammatory diet\u201d on amazon, you\u2019ll get 1,027 results<\/a>. The plans in these books have a wide variety of names: autoimmune solutions, anti-aging diets, paleo and super-paleo approaches, keto eating plans. Honestly, they\u2019re all similar. However, if you really want to test yourself to see if leaky gut is behind your chronic symptoms, bite the bullet and follow the AIP (auto immune protocol) for three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like author Sara Gottfrie<\/a>d, MD<\/a>, I admit it\u2019s challenging, but if you feel a turnaround in your chronic symptoms by week #3, you\u2019re onto something very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while following the AIP can initiate healing in your leaky gut, you can speed the process with the gut-healer Glutagenics<\/a> (by Metagenics) and the probiotic Prescript Assist Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little help from your friends at WHC
<\/strong>If you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed by the information in this Health Tip, schedule a visit with one of our functional medicine specialists (Drs. Caley Scott<\/a> or Alaina Gemelas) or functional nutritionists (Marla Feingold or Seanna Tully).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three specific tests for leaky gut, and functional medicine practitioners are quite familiar with them. All are available at WholeHealth Chicago:<\/p>\n\n\n\n