Space Coast Advanced Health - Treating The Root Cause

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...

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 functioni...

Having a parasite can be a scary thought. However, you are not alone — you’d be shocked at how often intestinal parasites are to blame for ongoing health issues, from digestive symptoms , to insomnia, to skin issues, and more. The idea that parasites only exist in underdeveloped countries is a myth. Truth be told, I see them in the majority of patients I treat, particularly my thyroid and autoimmune patients. And all too often these patients have tested negative for parasites using standard testing, yet come up positive on functional medicine tests, like live blood analysis. 10 Signs You May Have a Parasite Unexplained constipation, diarrhea, gas, or other symptoms of IBS Trouble falling asleep or wake up multiple times during the night Skin irritation or unexplained rash, hives, rosacea, or eczema Grinding your teeth in your sleep Pain or aching in your muscles or joints Fatigue, exhaustion, depression, or frequent feeling of apathy Never feeling s...

Thyroid Dysfunction, Adrenal Fatigue and Mood Swings Your thyroid is your body’s engine, and it produces hormones that attach to every cell in your body. It regulates all of your metabolic functions, from heart rate to temperature to metabolism to, you guessed it – your mood.  When your thyroid isn’t producing enough hormones, you become hypothyroid and all of your metabolic processes slow down. The most common form of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto’s, which is an autoimmune condition where your immune system mistakenly attacks your own thyroid, causing it to underproduce its hormones. In fact,  90% of hypothyroidism cases  are caused by autoimmunity. And,  studies  have found that patients with mood disorders are more likely to have the thyroid antibodies associated with Hashimoto’s. Because your thyroid is so vital to your body’s functions, Hashimoto’s can cause a huge range of symptoms, including: Mood swings, irritability, anxiety and depression H...

It’s estimated that as many as 27 million Americans have a thyroid problem such as Hashimoto’s or Graves’, and half of them have no idea that they do. Hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid, accounts for 90% of all thyroid imbalances. The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the center of your neck, is the master gland of metabolism. How well your thyroid is functioning is inter-related with every system in your body. If your thyroid is not running optimally, then neither are you. 10 Signs of an Underactive Thyroid: 1. Fatigue after sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night or needing to take a nap daily 2. Weight gain or the inability to lose weight 3. Mood issues such as mood swings, anxiety, or depression 4. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, irregular periods, infertility, and low sex drive 5. Muscle pain, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, or tendonitis 6. Cold hands and feet, feeling cold when others are not, or having a body temperature consistently below 98.5 7. D...

Do you have Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hashimoto’s, Multiple Sclerosis, or any other autoimmune disease? If so, I can say without a doubt that gluten sparked the flame of your disease, and continuing to eat it is simply adding fuel to the fire. Gluten, a protein naturally found in certain grains, is now found nearly everywhere in our modern world. It’s of course in flour-based foods such as pasta and bread, but it is also used as a filler in medications and supplements, it’s the glue that holds meat substitutes together, it’s in body products such as shampoo and toothpaste, and, thanks to cross-contamination, it’s even in grains that are marked gluten-free. I want to point out that our modern-day gluten is not the same gluten that your grandparents ate. In order to create ever fluffier pastries and hardier wheat, scientists developed new hybrid strains of wheat that contain entirely new forms of gluten not found in any of the original plants, and this is ...