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How The Gut Microbiome Influences Autoimmunity

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I like to think of the gut microbiome as a rainforest. In a rainforest, many types of plants live together in a symbiotic ecosystem but if the balance gets disrupted, the good or beneficial plants begin to die and the bad ones start to take over. This also happens in your gut– even just one dose of antibiotics can throw off the balance of the good bacteria that used to keep your immune system running optimally. The good gets killed or greatly reduced, and the bad bacteria (SIBO) and yeast (Candida) that used to be kept in check can take over and grow out of control. Additionally, if you’re eating a diet high in refined carbohydrate, sugar and alcohol then you will feed the SIBO and yeast ( Candida ), letting them grow even more out of control and this is called dysbiosis. Certain medications such as antibiotics, acid blocking drugs, birth control pills and steroid can also cause further dysbiosis. As the dysbiosis gets more out of control it can cause a suppression in your immune
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Psoriasis: From the inside out...

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Do You Have PSORIASIS? Psoriasis is very common with more than 3 million cases per year in the US alone. The most common symptom is a rash on the skin, but sometimes the rash involves the nails or joints. People may experience:   Pain areas:   in the joints  Skin:   rashes dryness fissures flakiness peeling small bump thickness redness  Also common:   depression inflamed tendons itching joint stiffness plaque small dents in nails Psoriasis is and autoimmune condition and as with all autoimmune conditions they are not idiopathic (unknown cause). They are a culmination of multiple causes and system breakdowns that synergize into a pro inflammatory autoimmune response. You must remember you will never get well from psoriasis if you think you have a skin condition. You do NOT! Your skin, nails, and joints are the victims of your own immune system. Of all the factors contributing to psoriasis (hormone imbalance, food allergies, xe
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Stress and it's impact on your body

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Stress/How To Relax The Natural Way From Dr. Mark Hyman  12th, 2017 Your adrenals are important because they help you respond to stress. If you have  chronic stress , your adrenals get beat up, and your energy plummets and it becomes difficult to manage your life. You could feel tired and wired, all at the same time. You might get palpitations or feel anxious or have trouble sleeping. You might crave salt. You may get dizzy when you stand up. You might have low blood pressure. You might even have  sugar cravings , because your body can’t regulate your blood sugar properly. All these are clues that you could have adrenal problems. So, why do we get adrenal burnout? We get it from the chronic, unremitting, ongoing stresses of everyday life: stresses of our families, stresses of relationships,  stresses of work , the stresses of constant interaction with Facebook and Twitter and the online world, and all the inputs that never let us pause. It’s really important to understand
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Possible Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) affects up to 2.5 million Americans and for most is a very debilitating illness. Conventional medicine is just now coming around to recognizing CFS as a real syndrome, and it is generally only as a diagnosis of of exclusion, meaning they ruled out other diseases and did not find any reason for the fatigue.  Symptoms of CFS can be very broad and vague and often include extreme exhaustion, memory loss, headache, muscle fatigue, weakness, and pain lasting at least six months. But don't be discouraged, there are solutions using functional medicine protocols (and we will get to them in this article), but first we need to take a look at some of the possible causes. Possible Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Leaky Gut  – When your gut is leaky, your immune system is on constant high alert. The toxins, microbes, and undigested food particles that escape your gastrointestinal tract and enter your bloodstream set off a cycle of inflammation that cause
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Should I avoid foods like broccoli and kale if I have a thyroid issue?

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Food Bites with Dr. Hyman Crucifers and Thyroid Emilia A asks:  Should I avoid foods like broccoli and kale if I have a thyroid issue? Dear Emilia: One of the top most misdiagnosed conditions people come to me for help with is their thyroid function, or lack thereof.  Unfortunately, many patients miss receiving proper diagnosis and care for their thyroid because the appropriate labs were never ordered.  Even more problematic, your symptoms plaguing your daily life as a thyroid patient may have been shrugged off as “normal.”  But when did unrelenting fatigue, stubborn weight loss, or depression become tolerable or normal? When I hear patients complain of stubborn weight loss, cravings, dry skin, acne or eczema, unexplainable fatigue, inability to focus or concentrate, problems with menstruation or fertility, or even abnormal metabolic lab results for cholesterol, iron, or blood sugar, I immediately question if their thyroid is properly functioning. There are many reasons
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Tired All The Time?

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A Functional Medicine Doctor Is Here To Help June 5th, 2017 By Elizabeth Boham MD, MS, RD I remember a time when I always felt tired. I did not have  the energy  to do fun activities and often wanted to go to bed early. I was overwhelmed by simple tasks and wondered if I would ever have energy again. This was around 14 years ago. In the 3 years before then, I was very busy and full of stress. I was finishing up my training in medicine and at the age of 30 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. I was so lucky when 5 months after finishing treatment, I became pregnant with my daughter. The next couple years were filled with pregnancy and breastfeeding, then pregnancy and breastfeeding again with my son.  After all of this, I crashed.  I was exhausted . I struggled to stay awake at night while watching a tv show, and I had a difficult time getting going in the morning.  It was hard for me to handle even the smallest amounts
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Gluten, Grains, Legumes and Autoimmune Disease

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Prominently situated at the base of the food pyramid, grains are promoted as the fiber-rich foundation of a healthy diet. But are grains really a necessary part of your diet, or can they in fact be harmful? If you have an  autoimmune disease , you may already be aware of the fact that gluten, the protein in wheat that gives bread its sticky, doughy texture, is an inflammatory substance. However, wheat is not unique. Many of the plants that we consume contain similar proteins that will increase inflammation in your body and contribute to a  leaky gut . Although most people benefit from avoiding foods such as grains, pseudograins, legumes, and nightshades, I recommend for those with an autoimmune disease to omit these foods from their diets, at least until their inflammation has subsided and their gut has healed. Food Sensitivity  Testing is the best course of action to determine whether or not these foods will continue to be a problem in the future. In order to better understan
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