The Magic of Yoga and Travel with Alix Northup

My guest this week is an old friend and colleague, Alix Northup.  Alix is a very centered and peaceful person, who is dedicated to the journey of body and mind, and she loves to help others along their own paths as well.

Alix is a certified yoga instructor and a licensed massage therapist. As a teen, she dealt with severe scoliosis, wearing a brace and probably dealing with a lot of frustration around it.

Luckily her mom, who was an MD with holistic leanings, got her to try yoga. She took to it immediately, and stuck with it.

Along the way she also developed a love for travel.  She spent some time in Nepal a few years ago, and there began a seed of an idea to come back and teach.  After some slowdowns and changes, she is excited to be leading a small group on a yogic/ cultural/spiritual journey there soon.

To learn more about Alix, visit her site here.  She teaches yoga and practices massage locally in Portland, Oregon.

Information on her group tours to Nepal can be found here.  The tours to Nepal are happening in October 2016 as well as October 2017.

We also filmed a short, one-pose yoga video here.  This simple pose is great for back pain.

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You Don't Have Adrenal Fatigue by Maria Claps

There are too many people walking around thinking that they have adrenal fatigue. This diagnosis was handed to them after a saliva test and a visit to a holistic clinician. I admit, I used to use this method of testing. I’ve ordered saliva tests on my clients and have coached them in recovering from the maladies of modern day lifestyles, and at that time I too called it adrenal fatigue. It was a good way to learn and it had some value, but the science of lab work is changing.

Many of my clients got better, because when we get adequate rest, deal with our stressors, eat nutrient dense food and take high quality supplements, our bodies usually respond well. But this didn’t mean that they had adrenal fatigue.

So if you don’t have adrenal fatigue, what do you have?

Most likely, you are experiencing a mismatch between your biology and your lifestyle. This shows up in two main ways. The first is nutrition. For the vast majority of our time on earth, we’ve consumed wild game, fish, vegetables, starchy tubers, nuts, seeds and fruit in season. Nowadays, the 6 most common foods in the modern diet are pizza, sugar sweetened beverages, beer, bread, grain based desserts, and fried chicken. This type of diet is inflammatory and is a factor in our modern day chronic unwellness.

The second, lesser known, mismatch between our bodies and our lifestyle is the activation of our stress response system. Our stress response system has two components, the sympathoadrenomedulary system (SAS) which is responsible for our immediate or short term stress response and the HPA axis, which is responsible for our intermediate or long term stress response. The HPA axis consists of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands (in the brain) and the adrenal glands (in the mid back). It helps us process threats to the body (whether those threats are a car accident or refined, nutrient poor food.)

Both of these stress response systems exist for our good. But the protective mechanisms they produce can become harmful over the long term if continually called upon.

Here’s the perfect scenario for understanding this: Imagine you're a hunter gatherer out for a walk on the savannah and all of a sudden a wild boar charges you. It's a good thing that your heart rate, blood pressure increase. It’s a crucial part of your physiology meant to ensure your escape and this your survival. But at the same time these survival mechanisms activate, your digestion and sex hormone production plummet. This is how it’s supposed to be, but it’s a problem when it rarely or never calms down.

Enter the modern lifestyle….traffic, work deadlines, inflammatory food, over-exercise, or its opposite, couch potato syndrome, smoking, OTC drug abuse, lack of rejuvenating activities. The list goes on…I’m sure you get it.

The constant activation of the stress response via the SAS and HPA pathways erodes resilience and paves the way for metabolic breakdown.

The loss of resilience is associated with the modern day disease epidemic and is why stress contributes to so many conditions.

SOME CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC HPA AXIS STIMULATION:

• Depression

• Fibromyalgia

• Excessive exercise

• Diabetes

• Central obesity

• Asthma

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Eczema

• PMS

• Thyroid disease

If you’ve gone to a holistically minded doctor and you’ve got any number of these problems and a saliva test, you’ve probably been handed an adrenal fatigue diagnosis.

The adrenal fatigue model is loosely based on the work of Hans Selye and his general adaptation syndrome theory. Selye explained the progression of stress over time in 3 stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

THE ADRENAL FATIGUE MODEL WITH THE THREE STAGES OF ADRENAL BURNOUT IS LOOSELY BASED ON THIS MODEL:

• Stage 1 of adrenal fatigue is high cortisol with DHEA on its way down.

• Stage 2 of adrenal fatigue is falling cortisol (which is sometimes in the normal range) and decreasing levels of DHEA

• Stage 3 is even lower cortisol and lower DHEA.

“But is the adrenal fatigue concept really accurate?”

— Maria Claps, HHC, FDNP

Not really. Consider two problems with the “adrenal fatigue” diagnosis:

Most people with “adrenal fatigue” don’t have low cortisol levels. The assessment of adrenal fatigue has depended on saliva measurement of cortisol taken at 4 distinct points throughout the day. Cortisol measured in saliva is only 2-5% of our total cortisol production. The vast majority (around 70%) of our cortisol is excreted in urine. This measurement is called metabolized cortisol. Free (salivary) cortisol is NOT the best marker for cortisol production. Metabolized cortisol, however, is a good marker for overall cortisol production.

This would not matter if free and metabolized cortisol was the same. But often, they are quite different.

It’s possible to have low free cortisol and high metabolized cortisol.

Some conditions with associated with low free cortisol and high total (aka metabolized) cortisol:

• Obesity

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

• Insulin resistance

• Hyperthyroidism

• Active stress response

• Long term glucocorticoid use

Also, it is possible to have high free cortisol and low metabolized cortisol. This is commonly seen in liver damage and hypothyroidism.

***Special note for hypothyroid sufferers: If you get a DUTCH test and it shows up as high free cortisol and low total (aka metabolized) cortisol, you might be getting overdosed on your thyroid medication***

Therefore, a saliva test is an incomplete picture of true cortisol production.

Even when total cortisol is low, it's rarely because the adrenals are tired and unable to produce it. The control mechanisms for cortisol production reside in the brain and central nervous system, not the adrenal glands themselves. The adrenals produce cortisol but the regulatory mechanisms are primarily outside the adrenal glands. Therefore we should not be calling the problem of low cortisol adrenal fatigue, but instead it should simply be called “low cortisol mechanisms”.

Here are two reasons why cortisol production can drop:

1) Down regulation of the HPA axis – when we are exposed to stress for a long time, there can be a down regulation in cortisol receptor sensitivity. This is the body’s attempt to protect itself from the damaging effects of chronically high cortisol levels. The problem with this is that it actually ends up hampering the body’s ability to produce cortisol. This is an adaptive short term mechanism that becomes harmful in the long-term.

2) Impaired cortisol signaling – High cortisol levels will lead to cortisol resistance. This can be caused by a decrease in cortisol receptor sensitivity and/or a decrease in cortisol receptor expression.

With the DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) method of testing, which tests both free and metabolized cortisol, we have a greater understanding of the health of the adrenal glands. (We also get to look at sex hormone production and estrogen metabolite breakdown.)

True adrenal fatigue, if the term is to be used at all, should be reserved for those who have Addison’s disease, an autoimmune inability to produce cortisol.

But for the vast majority of us, our “adrenal fatigue” is simply a miscommunication between the brain/adrenals exacerbated by how we were designed to live (nutrient dense food, infrequent activation of the stress response, plenty of exposure to sunlight, connection with nature) and how many of us actually live (too much exposure to electronic screens, nutrient poor food and go-go-go lifestyles).

So what’s a woman to do?

You can get your adrenal hormones accurately (key word here!) and this is called the DUTCH test. This test uses dried urine to measure hormone levels. Precision Analytical laboratory in Oregon is the maker of this test.

Maria Claps, HHC, FDNP

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Estrogen Boosting Crackers by Magdalena Wszelaki

Magdalena Wszelaki, Certified Nutrition Coach, has shared some great recipes with us for our seed cycling challenge!! 

Try out this Estrogen Boosting Recipe!!

Magdalena Wszelaki

Progesterone Boosting Crackers by Magdalena Wszelaki

Magdalena Wszelaki, Certified Nutrition Coach, has shared some great recipes with us for our seed cycling challenge!! 

Try these Progesterone Boosting Crackers:

Magdalena Wszelaki

Food Sensitivities and Food Allergy Testing with Dr. Carri Drzyga

Food sensitivities are sometimes called "the great mimicker," as they can present so many ways, from brain fog to skin rashes.

According to our guest Dr. Carri Drzyzga, the best way to find out what you are sensitive to is to do an elimination diet.  

Two books we mention as great resources to do your own elimination diet are:

The Plan by Lyn-Genet Recitas 

The Elimination Diet by Tom Malterre and Alissa Segersten

We also talk about the pros and cons of blood testing for food allergies and food sensitivities.  There are different labs to consider, and Dr. Carri's favorite is Cyrex labs, as they measure both the cooked and raw version of a food, not just the raw version. The test I like is by Oxford Biomedical, called the LEAP test.

Just to make things more confusing, there are also food intolerances, meaning foods that you don't digest well.  A common one you hear about is lactose (dairy protein) intolerance, which can actually be a sign of SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth.)

We also talk about:

• Gluten and leaky gut

• Stool testing for pathogens

• Food rotation and allergy avoidance

• Dr. Carri's favorite healing supplements

Dr. Carri Drzyzga is known internationally as ‘The Functional Medicine Doc’. She is committed to helping patients find the root cause of their health problems and fix the cause with natural treatments so they can feel normal again.

Her last name is pronounced ‘Driz’-ga’ (it’s Polish), but everyone calls her Dr. Carri.

She has been in private practice since 1996, and is founder of Functional Medicine Ontario in Ottawa, Ontario.

Dr. Carri holds two doctoral degrees—Chiropractic and Naturopathic Medicine. Additionally, she has training in Functional Medicine and The Kalish Method, and is a Certified Gluten Practitioner. Always an avid learner, Dr. Carri has obtained a level of expertise in her profession that no other doctor in Canada has achieved to date.  

She is currently studying functional neurology.  If you'd like to learn more about functional neurology, check out our past episode with Dr. Peter Kan.

Connect with Dr. Carri at: www.FunctionalMedicineOntario.com.  She can see clients over Skype.  She also hosts a functional medicine podcast you can learn more about here.

To register for the webinar I mentioned on this episode, please go here.

It's happening Saturday 6/18/16 10 AM, PST 1 PM EST.  

This webinar gives you a chance to learn about your cycle and ask questions.  It is also a preview to our upcoming Path to Perfect Periods program.  The deadline to join that program is 6/20/16 here.

Thanks!  Bridgit

Interpreting Your Period Symptoms with Rachel Eyre

Rachel Eyre is a young woman who is of the generation of women that may get their periods quite young due to environmental factors.  Rachel got her period at age 8 or 9, and they came on heavy and painful.  She proceeded to develop an array of troubling symptoms, including severe migraines, and was taking 40 medications at day by age 28.

Luckily for her and us, she turned to natural medicine and educated herself on the causes of women's health woes.  She is now a wealth of knowledge on the following topics:

• What that weird menstrual color means

• Why you might have clots

• A reason behind menstrual headaches

• A reason behind frequent urination

• Alternatives to hormonal birth control

• Uterine positioning and "dancing fallopian tubes"

• The link between dioxin and endometriosis

She will also cover some cool solutions that you can do at home such as:

• Yoni steams

• Castor oil packs

• Abdominal massage

Rachel taught me a LOT on this interview, and I think you'll learn a lot too!

Links:

Rachel's site: thehealthywomb.com

Research site about progesterone and more: cemcor.ca 

Listen here:

The best way to listen to all our expert interviews is to be subscribed through iTunes or most podcast players.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Thanks! Bridgit

Skin Care: Dangers and Possibilities with Denie Hiestand

Denie Hiestand is a natural health consultant, author, research expert, and former successful New Zealand dairy farmer. Denie has spent decades studying the skin and toxins/chemicals in everyday cosmetics and personal care products and identified a strong link between the high usage of chemical personal care products and the growing rates of cancers, infertility, hormone imbalances, allergies and various other modern day illnesses.

In response to his patient’s requests, Denie set about to create a completely pure and natural range of skincare products which not only contained none of the harmful additives found in the majority of commercial products, but equally importantly, contained life-giving, cell nourishing ingredients which feed and nourish the skin.

It took him eight years, many attempts and a big investment of his own money (including selling his wife's car out from under her!) to develop his skincare line, called The Cream.

Denie has a no-nonsense "New Zealand farm boy" style in his communication.  His passion to prevent women from using dangerous skin care products, and his passion to formulate alternative, effective products is evident in this interview.

Here are a few things he shared about conventional skincare:

• Chemicals in skin cream are designed to enter through skin 

• This makes them the #1 source of toxin ingestion- absorbing up to 2.6 lbs a year

• 99% of disease involves toxins 

• 90% of chemicals in use are used in cosmetics

• One month on commercial skincare is worse 10 years of smoking

• In reproductive women, toxins are stored in the fatty acid reserves, which the fetus lives off of in the 1st trimester

• In menopausal women, storage is more in the organs such as the breast

Denie's skincare line is colostrum-based. Colostrum is produced in lactating mammals the first 72 hours after giving birth.  

These days colostrum is being used more a health supplement.  Denie was already aware of the power of colostrum from his experience as a dairy farmer. Colostrum activates the cells, the immune system, and has "electric and zeta potential." It stimulates growth hormone.

Their colostrum is sourced from healthy, grass-fed, antibiotic-free New Zealand dairy cows. The cows produce a surplus, so collecting it is no detriment to their offspring.

Denie and his staff are extending a 20% discount plus free shipping to our listeners through June 30, 2016 with the code HEALTHYSKIN at check-out.  Shop and explore at TheCream.com.  

You can listen to the interview below, and be sure to subscribe to a podcast at iTunes or most podcast players.

June Seed Cycling Challenge

In Portland, OR (my hometown), the city hosts a cycling challenge, challenging you to ride your bike to work as many days as you can.

This is a different cycling challenge!

Seed cycling - alternating the consumption of certain raw seeds every 2 weeks - is intended to support the production and clearance of hormones.  It's very safe and gentle, but always ask your doctor first if you are on medications or in poor health.  

This protocol is NOT intended for pregnant women.  It is safe for breastfeeding women, women trying to conceive, menopausal women and even for men!  My husband will unwittingly be on the rotation as I'll put the seeds in our shakes.

How to Do It:

Seeds:

Phase 1:  Raw, freshly-ground (same day), pumpkin and/or flax seed

Phase 2:  Raw, freshly-ground (same day), sunflower and/or sesame seed

Dosage:  You will see slightly different recommendations in different places.  You can do rounded 1 T of each, 2 T of just one type, or up to 4 T total (measurement is made before grinding) in a day.  I think what is most important to to get at least 2 T a day (size before grinding.)  If you happen to get in extra servings, no problem!

Timing:

Cycling women: If you are currently cycling, you start phase 1 of the seeds on the first full day of your period. Day 1-14 is your follicular phase. You will then switch to phase 2 on day 15 of your cycle.  Day 15-28 is your luteal phase.

Non-cycling women:  This goes for menopause, breastfeeding women, or women with amenorrhea (no cycle in 3 or more months.)  Start phase 1 of the seeds on June 4 (the new moon.)  You will switch to phase 2 of the seeds on June 20, or the full moon.  

To see a lunar calendar, click here.

Notes:

When do I switch the seeds exactly?

Seed cycling is recommend on a 28 day cycle.  However the lunar cycle is 29.5 days.

I would say if you are going with the lunar calendar, stick to the lunar schedule.

If you are a cycling woman, always switch on day 15, but if you cycle runs longer than 28 days, it's ok to keep taking phase 2 seeds a couple extra days, but no more.

This is a tip from the website of Dr. Amy Neuzil, ND, "If you’re trying to get pregnancy it’s important to continue the luteal-phase seeds (sesame/sunflower) until you actually have a period, just in case you are pregnant that month. This gives the egg the best chance at implantation."

Can you just take the seeds whenever?

It depends.  If you are trying to really stick to the phase 1 and phase 2, avoid eating a bunch of tahini (contains sesame seeds) in phase 1.  But, sure you can have hummus a couple times, no problem.

The other side of the coin, say if you are post-menopausal, or have a healthy cycle but just want to eat these foods as boost, you can take the seeds whenever, but just know you aren't really seed cycling anymore, but you are instead just getting some healthful, hormone-boosting foods throughout the month.

What if my diet doesn't allow me to eat some of these seeds?

If you are avoiding, for example, flax seeds and sunflower seeds, then just use the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in rotation. If you are avoiding all nuts and seeds, then you can rotate fish oil supplement in your phase 1 (2 caps a day), and then use borage oil in phase 2 (2 caps a days).

You can purchase these at our supplement shop under the names GLA 240 and OmegAvail Ultra.

Do I need to soak the seeds?

No, you don't need to soak the seeds, but you are welcome to do so to increase the digestibility.

Community:

We are mainly hosting the chat for this event on our private Facebook group. You can ask to join that here.  (It's free.) If you do use Facebook, I highly recommend that you join!

If you aren't a Facebook person, it's no problem.  You can also leave comments or questions at the close of this blog.

We had a super fun Q and A webinar, Fixing Your Hormones with Food, to talk about seed cycling and balancing hormones with food (especially estrogen dominance) on 6/23/16 with Magdalena Wszelaki of HormonesBalance.com.

Watch the webinar replay here.

Magdalena offers a really great, free, online cooking class called Cooking for Balance.  Watch it here.

Recipe Links:

Estrogen Boosting Crackers

Progesterone Boosting Crackers

Recipe Videos:

Please be sure to watch this first video, as it is the main instructional video. The other videos are recipes.  We have two and will be adding more on June 15!