[Daniel]

,

To make sure that red blood cells don’t get too big, having adequate vitamins like vitamin B12, folate and vitamin B6 is important.

In this handout, you can find a lot of reasons summarized as to why these vitamins might be lacking in the body when the MCV is too high or too low. Here are some special causes you might want to pay attention to:
• If you’re on a vegan diet or mostly plant-based diet, getting vitamin B12 might be harder.
• If you’re having amalgam fillings in your teeth, then you have some exposure to mercury. Mercury can bind to vitamin B12 in the blood, making it unavailable for cellular absorption. In this case, you would like to check MMA as well.

Candida seems to be able to ‘catch’ mercury and protect the body from the damage done by mercury. The downside is that it can lead to an overgrowth of Candida. 
• When symptoms in the gut are present, absorption of nutrients could be impaired. In this case, addressing the root cause of these symptoms can help balance the MCV.

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I’ve done one of his workshops and think he has a very unique holistic approach! Although I didn’t do his online programs, he knows how to explain stuff clearly and he will definitely surprise you about your own body.

The nice part of this course is that it teaches you how movement & breathing can influence other parts of your body and health. He also teaches how you can stimulate the lymphatic system.

I’ve learned a lot from him and would recommend his content.

[Daniel]

Hey  
Ingrid Lopez
 ,

Good question. Finding the root cause of blood loss after a few years of being in menopause is worth exploring. Without knowing more about her I can only help you so far.

If you meant your relative was on hormone replacement therapy, she could have experienced bleeding as a result of being on high dosages of estrogen. I would recommend her to do some form of testing to see what is actually at play.

With hormones, you don’t want to ‘guess’ what is needed. Giving estrogen to someone who is low on progesterone for example can make women feel worse. Besides that you would like to know how the body processes estrogen and progesterone as well. Personally, I would like to know:
• What are her current estrogen/progesterone levels?
• How is she breaking the hormones down to the metabolites? (phase 1 detox)
• How are the metabolites broken down? (phase 2 detox)
• Is she constipated or can she get rid of the estrogen that has been broken down to the metabolites?

The DUTCH test answers these questions. If she already did a DUTCH test, knowing her results will allow us to give more personal advice.

If she likes to use bioidentical hormones: there are different kinds of options, but again: what she needs should be based on her symptoms, lifestyle, medical history and lab values. 

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Based on the tests you’ve shown us I would ask him why he is considering Lupus. The antinuclear antibodies (ANA) results not only reveal if antibodies were detected but also describe a pattern that isn’t associated with Lupus (according to the test).

In order to asses which tests would fit, it would be helpful to know what symptoms are present. Besides thyroid auto-immune diseases, Crohn’s Disease/ulcerative colitis and lupus other auto-immune diseases can cause hair loss as well. For example alopecia areata and psoriasis on the scalp.

Finding the right test is best done by examining all symptoms and perhaps a better look on the scalp by the right healthcare professional.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

With every medical procedure, there are pros and cons. The reason the procedure is considered might also play a factor in the answer. The most common reason would be problems with the menstrual cycle. But perhaps you could (if you can of course!) share with us the reason why in vitro fertilization(IVF) is considered.

It might also be interesting to know a bit more about your sister. For example: 
• does she experience abnormal cycles? 
• Does she have underlying diseases (for example auto-immune disease, pelvic inflammatory disease, PCOS or endometriosis)? 
• Did she ever experience eating disorders in the past? 
• How would you describe her diet?
• Is she experiencing some form of prolonged stress?
• Are there labs done she would like to share?
• How old is she?

IVF is a procedure itself is a procedure that can be experienced differently from person to person. Her current health might increase the risk of certain long-term risk outcomes.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Although I don’t have a cycle, I do have off days with training. I usually train accordingly and remind me that going for a workout is already a great win!

You might already be aware that in the 10 years before menopause enters, female sex hormones are already changing. The amount of progesterone slowly goes down. Estrogen may drop precipitously or spike higher than normal. Optimize your lifestyle accordingly can help you bring some balance in your female hormones: 
• avoid stress, 
• reduce coffee and alcohol as much as possible, 
• optimize sleep,
•  eat enough cruciferous vegetables that help with detoxification,
• optimize insulin, reduce fast digestible carbs like sugar
• reduce exposure to xenoestrogens by choosing plastic free products and hormone friendly personal care products
• Make sure you poop once per day (since estrogen disposed through the gut can be reabsorbed after 24 hours by exposure to enzymes)
• Make sure you’ve got enough magnesium to help phase 2 detoxifcation

Although you can impact hormone health (a lot!) by making targeted choices, the changes in hormones are also a natural part of life. 

If you like to investigate your female hormone health, the Dutch test could be something you could consider. The Dutch complete helps you to discover how your hormones are metabolized. If you have been noticing that your cycle has become irregular the Dutch cycle mapping might be more appropriate. This test provides insight into how estrogen, progesterone and some important metabolites change over the month.

Balancing female hormones effectively with supplements can be done, but it’s best done when you know what to target. For example the supplement DIM helps the phase 1 detoxification of estrogen. But if your estrogen was low to begin with it can make complaints worse.

We do have a handout right here about estrogen dominance. I would recommend you to read it. It might provide you some insights in female hormone balance that could help you as well. (You can download it by scrolling down!)

I would also recommend you to give your workout routine some time. Stamina and endurance are built workout after workout. From my personal experience: although I can’t push myself like I could in my 20s, I know for sure my stamina and endurance have been really good if not the best of my life. But it takes time, patience and consistency to develop.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I’ve looked at your lab results and will help you with some values that stand out for me. I will discuss the matters from top to bottom of the form.

The first value that stands out to me is the antinuclear antibodies. Perhaps you are wondering what antinuclear antibodies are. Antibodies are proteins your body makes to protect you from foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria. But an antinuclear antibody is an antibody that attacks your own cells instead.

This means there is some form of autoimmune activation. This test isn’t specific to one autoimmune disease. If you like to know, I would recommend to consult your doctor.

You have been tested for Celiac disease. The results show no sign of Celiac, but we see a lot of autoimmune problems have a gut component. Since you’ve got some digestive issues, it is likely something in the gut is at play. With autoimmune problems often leaky gut plays a role as well. I would recommend you to watch the gut health masterclass. There is one movie that gives you some ideas about what you can do to promote gut healing. You can find it here. Some great options to learn about what is at play in the gut are the GI Maps and the GI Effects and the Oat test.
 
Bernadette explains the pro’s and cons of the tests perfectly.

I would also recommend you to fill in the mold questionair we have to see if mold might be at play. If it’s likely that mold is an issue, we could help you choose tests that fits better with you.

We also have a great handout that could help you navigate root causes for autoimmune issues. You can find it here!

Low Alkaline phosphatase
Alkaline phospatase is on the low end of the normal range. A zinc deficency can cause low alkaline phosphatase since zinc is a key nutrient needed to build this enzyme. With thyroid issues alkaline phosphatase can also be on the lower side.

MCV
MCV is within the normal reference ranges, but not within the optimal reference ranges (these reference ranges asre between 80-90). The MCV is a measure for the average size of the red blood cells. If the average size is to big, red blood cells might not travel through the smallest capilaries. The majority of these capilaries are located in the eyes, brain, hands & feet. This could lead to brain symptoms like brain fog, a lack of concentration or fatigue. It could also lead to symptoms like cold hands & feet.

Thyroid measurements
Although a lot of thyroid markers have been measured, in the functional medicine approach we miss important markers: fT3, fT4 and reverse T3. The thyroid antibodies, TSH and T4 look good. But its fT3 that is mostly responible for activating your energy metabolism. If this is for some reason low or can’t do its work effectively because reverse T3 is elevated, it isn’t showing on these labs.

Since you are experiencing hair loss and fatigue, ruling out thyroid issues is important. I would recommend you to see if you recognize symptoms of thyroid hormone imbalance (watch this video here) and learn what tests will help you to asses thyroid hormone health best (watch this video here)

Some lifestyle recommendations
With autoimmune issues there are fortunately some general advises we could give you. Usually with my clients I recommend the next few things:
• Remove all gluten & dairy products
• Provide nutrients that are important for the immune system (vitamin D, vitamin A, zinc, vitamin B12, folate and magnesium)
• Check for hidden food allergens/sensitivities
• Calm your immune response by living a anti-inflammatory lifestyle and providing anti-inflammatory nutrients like vitamin C and the omega 3 fatty acids DHA & EPA
• Excersize! It is a natural anti-inflammatory
• Reduce stress and make time for deep relaxation techniques like yoga, deep breathing, biofeedback, or massage, because stress worsens the immune response.
• Get checked for heavy metal toxicity

I hope this advise can help you set on the right track to resolve your issues!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

We could help you get even more targeted advice if you could explain why these labs were drawn. Is it just a routine check up? Or are you experiencing symptoms that you like to address?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Like any medication, tretinoin can have side effects. The most described side effects of topical tretinoin are skin-related. That doesn’t mean the cream doesn’t have other side effects.

With oral use of tretinoin side effects like mood changes and GI symptoms can occur. These symptoms are rare, but they do happen.

However, I’d like to keep an open mind. Hormonal imbalances can also cause some changes in the skin. An example of such a skin change can be acne. 

Sometimes acne is caused by imbalances in sex hormones. An overproduction of androgens can stimulate oil production of the sebaceous glands causing pores to clog. Dry skin can be caused by low androgens. Imbalances in sex hormones can influence mood as well.

These imbalances can be caused by blood sugar dysregulation, which can influence our sleep quality.

In earlier posts, you shared a blood test with us. It showed us evidence of lower levels of zinc and vitamin B6. Zinc is a nutrient that helps with sex hormone balance and vitamin B6 is a key nutrient that helps with producing neurotransmitters. A low vitamin B6 can contribute to changes in mood as well. Vitamin B6 is also necessary for the production of Glutathione (and melatonin!), which is an antioxidant particularly important for detoxification. If the need for glutathione goes up it could potentially deplete vitamin B6 further and influence mood and sleep as well.

Did you after this post try to address these issues? 

Let me circle back to your question. It would be helpful to know:
• What kind of skin issues are you experiencing?
• Could you tell me what mood changes you are experiencing? Did you notice they are getting worse during your cycle?
• In previous posts, we also saw evidence of a slow thyroid. Are you experiencing low thyroid symptoms currently? Feeling cold, hair loss, thinning of the eyebrows, fatigue, other GI symptoms besides nausea like constipation, etc… (if you are unsure about the symptoms you can find a list here)
• What about your current diet? You’ve mentioned you are sensitive to gluten and lactose. Are there hidden sources you are consuming?
• How about your current IBS symptoms? Are you still experiencing them?

I know it’s a lot of questions, but more information will help us give more targeted answers.

[Daniel]

Hey @Szilvia ,

It can be worth testing for sure. Testing reasons can differ of course. Some people might test out of curiosity. Other people might experience signs & symptoms from these imbalances (You should watch this video if you like to learn more).

Although there is much information you can find about the omega 6:3 ratio in the internet, I personally don’t like the ‘omega 6:3’ ratio description. And here is why:
• Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s are families of fatty acids. For example, the most famous omega 3 fatty acids are probably EPA and DHA. ALA is also an omega 3 found in plant-based food sources. However…

ALA doesn’t have the same health benefits as EPA and DHA.

Increasing the ALA content will influence the omega 6 : omega 3 ratio. But it might not have the same health outcomes.
• The ratio theory also focuses on the ratio and not on the amount. However, if someone is following a low-fat diet and consumes a low amount of omega 6 fats, the ratio might look fine, but the amount of omega 6s and omega 3s also matters.

Therefore I like my test also to give an indication of the amounts.

I like what Omegaquant did for assessing omega 3s. What they do is, they look at the percentage of fatty acids in red blood cells.

The advantage is that red blood cells live about 3 months and can give an idea about what someone has consumed in fatty acids over the last 3 months.

If you like to learn more about testing, this video is also interesting for you. I hope this helps!

Testing fatty acids does make sense. In general, people get more omega 6 fatty acids in their diet. There are enzymes (delta desaturases) that convert fatty acids in both omega families to other fatty acids. By increasing the omega 6 content, it is harder for the body to form EPA and DHA since these enzymes are more ‘busy’ converting fatty acids in the omega 6 family.

If you like to have the health benefits of omega 3s, if you’re trying to assess if someone is consuming/absorbing enough omega 3s or if you like to help someone fight inflammation, these tests can help you make more informed decisions.

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I’m so sorry to hear this! I can feel your worries… My heart goes out to you and your brother!

It would be helpful to know a little more about your brother’s life. For example, how is his diet? Is he consuming high-glycemic foods? What is his age? Are there other lab markers checked? Is he on any medications? Does he use supplements? How does he sleep? Anything that comes to mind might help us give more targeted advice.

Prostate enlargement can be caused by hormonal reasons. In the prostate, there is an enzyme (5 alpha reductase) that converts testosterone to a more potent form of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT for short).

When DHT levels are elevated in the prostate, this can cause more proliferation of the cells in the prostate. Zinc is a nutrient that can help reduce the conversion from testosterone to DHT. There are risk factors for zinc deficiency (just watch this video). If you like to know if there are other signs & symptoms presenting of a zinc deficiency, just watch this video!

If your brother is consuming a high glycemic diet, it would be recommended to go to a low-carb diet… preferably no sugar at all. Checking his fasting insulin is something I would recommend as well if he likes to see if there is blood sugar dysregulation at play. Studies have shown that people with higher insulin levels have more chance at rapid cell growth.

In his case, I would also check his vitamin D levels. I usually recommend my clients bring vitamin D levels up to 50 ng/ml with a vitamin D/k2 supplement.

Pomegranate can help reduce the proliferation of cells as well according to this research. I would recommend you to read this article for sure.

There are other recommendations I would like to make if your brother is open to making certain lifestyle changes.

Let me know if I can help you with that!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

There is a lot to unpack here!

When people lose weight, they often lose a lot of water and electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Especially when the weight loss is fast. A loss of electrolytes can contribute to spasms. If the spasms become worse during the weight loss phase, replenishing electrolytes might be something you can try.

Stress can also contribute to the loss of electrolytes. The hormone aldosterone (which regulates potassium and sodium) can under the influence of prolonged stress be lower. This can lead to the loss of potassium. If stress is a play, managing the stress is an important part of the solution as well.

I know! that’s easier said than done!

The right type of therapy can help as well. If the physiotherapy was focused on exercises, you could try a therapist who is skilled in Active Release Therapy first.

Active Release Therapy is a special massage therapy focussed on optimizing the performance of the muscles. I would however first make sure your brother has the nutrients that help to relax the muscle.

The technique feels uncomfortable if there is a lot of tension/trigger points in the muscle present. But it can bring relief quite fast if the muscle has trigger points. I usually see improvement in the first session. But depending on how the treatment is done, relief can be expected from 1 to 3 sessions. A skilled therapist in dry needling can also help.

Exercising the muscle when a lot of trigger points are present usually doesn’t help a lot. You will need to release the trigger points first. Exercise can help the then optimal functioning muscles to relearn the right movement patterns and heal.

There is some wear and tear in the joints. The reasons for the wear and tear can be numerous. Tight muscles can alter the movement of the joints for example. But other conditions can cause some wear and tear as well. Examples are overweight, joint injuries, age, blood sugar dysregulation, an iron overload or autoimmune issues.

Finding the root cause can be a bit of a search, but it helps to address the cause and prevent reoccurrence or worsening of the condition.

The therapies I mention can provide pain relief. The prolotherapy Bernadette can help with healing. I would recommend looking into this as well!

I hope these tips can provide you with some guidance!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Minerals are important for sure! Normal dosing of electrolytes won’t be a problem!

Some (often unintentionally) people take minerals from multiple supplements. The accumulation of nutrients that can neutralize the acidic environment in the stomach can in some people contribute to lower availability of stomach acid.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Even if the picture looks detailed, it is always hard to asses conditions on a image. For a better understanding of what is at play I would always recommend an examination by a professional healthcare practicioner to rule out some conditions.

Different things could be at play. There are drug induced possibilities. But it would be helpfull to know what kind of drugs we are talking about.

There are also many non-drug related causes.

For example, if she experiences some acid reflux, this could cause problems with the mucous membrane of the upper GI tract including mouth and throat. This can cause pain on the tongue, especially while consuming acid foods. Small ulcers on the tongue cuased by the reflux can react.

Oral hygiene, a history of smoking and drinking alcohol can also cause problems in the mucous membranes in the mouth.

Fungal infections can also be at play. They are for example more prevalent in a so called geographical tongue.

In some cases an autoimmune issue can cause problems  causing crakcs.

Some nutrient deficiencies (B vitamins and zinc for example) have also been related to cracks on the tongue.

Simply biting on the tongue can also cause damage. In that case the damage would be more on the side of the tongue.

If there is some scare tissue present on the tongue, the upper surface can be damaged which could cause a dry feeling.

These things can be best examined live by someone with the right medical background!

[Daniel]

,

Good luck! My thoughts are with you!