[Daniel]

Hey ,

Being anaemic is no joke! I hope you feel fine soon! Usually, I tell my clients that red blood cells live for around 3 months. Many people can feel after 6 weeks already a change in their energy levels. 

If you don’t feel the progress you could test after 6 weeks. If you feel improvement but would like to know how your values are, you could retest after 3 months to see how your red blood cell has changed.

Another thing that influences your health journey is how low your iron really is. If your iron was really low, it could take a while longer to get your numbers back in the optimal range. If you don’t feel improvement after 6 weeks with very low iron, it would be important to retest after 6 weeks as well. Perhaps you can share your numbers!

I hope this was an answer to your question!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I’m so sorry to hear! It looks like your immune system & gut could use some support.

Could you help us help you and describe exactly what kind of symptoms you experience in your gut? Do you feel boated? Cramps? Diarrhea? Constipation? Lots of gas? Do symptoms seem to be worse at special times of the day?

Gut problems can sometimes be at the root of some nutrient deficiencies. For example, iron absorption can be blocked by an inflamed gut. An iron deficiency can lead to hair loss. A doctor could test your iron status.

A zinc deficiency can lead to poor immune health & hair loss as well.

Another reason for hair loss is a slow thyroid. Have you been ever tested for that? Common other symptoms with a slow thyroid are feeling fatigued, easy weight gain or a hard time losing weight, feeling depressed, feeling slow, constipation, and thinning of the outer parts of the eyebrows. Do recognize any symptoms?

Since you are feeling sick often you could start with the immune-boosting protocol (click here to find the protocol). I would recommend, as soon as you feel better, you focus on your gut health and dive in a little deeper into why you are losing hair.

We are happy to help you!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

You for sure can try supplementing with Iodine. I just mentioned the 1100 mcg to let you know that supplementing with Iodine, in general, is very safe (unless your friend uses other supplements containing iodine!)

And yes, you can take iodine without supplementing selenium if there is no autoimmune thyroid disease.

Are you referring to the RBC Iodine test? Or to the iodine patch test? (For the serum Iodine test we don’t have functional ranges because the marker isn’t considered that reliable)

RBC Iodine
Because the RBC Iodine test isn’t everywhere available this one is harder to order. Honestly, I think RBC Iodine is a better marker than the urine iodine test. But since most iodine (70-80%) is stored in the thyroid gland, I would personally go for the Iodine Patch Test. Since most iodine is stored in the thyroid gland, it might be more sensitive to a lack of nutritional iodine.

24- hour urine test
The 24- hour urine test is a little less convenient, but if the body has enough iodine, we would like to see 90% of the iodine excreted via urine. Everything lower is an indication of iodine deficiency (you can find more information in this study.

And here’s more information about the Patch test (here’s the video to see how to execute it), which is a self-test.

Again, if you think that a low-iodine diet is at play, just use an iodine supplement and see what happens.

If nothing happens, it could still be a subclinical hypothyroid state. It just wasn’t caused by an iodine deficiency.

I hope this answered your questions!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

You are welcome

180-200 grams of protein can raise your BUN levels. However, 100 grams of cooked lean beef give you around 25 grams of protein. Am I right if I assume that the other proteins come from other sources?

If you are eating 180-200 grams of protein in total for athletic goals like increasing muscle mass I can tell you what research shows:

Depending on the study you will find numbers between 1.5-1.8 g of protein per kg body weight don’t give you extra benefits when it comes to building muscle mass. This link will bring you to a 2020 review of 105 studies (done with a total of 5402 study participants) that concludes and I quote:
“The rate of increase in the effect of protein supplementation rapidly diminished after 1.3 g/kg BW/d was exceeded, and resistance training markedly suppressed this decline.”

That doesn’t mean it’s ‘wrong’ to eat more or there are no benefits of higher protein consumption, but the benefits contributing to muscle synthesis become lesser over a certain point.

This information might give you some flexibility in choosing the optimal amount of protein you like to consume!

[Daniel]

Hi ,

There are some benefits to vitamin D injections compared to supplements. For example, a vitamin D injection goes directly into the bloodstream and bypasses digestion. So if you have a hard time absorbing vitamin D is the quickest way to raise vitamin D levels.

There are however some (potential) risks with vitamin D shots.

Vitamin D increases calcium absorption
With a injection or bolus dosing, calcium levels can rise quicker and higher as well. Sometimes, a bolus dosing of vitamin D can lead to hypercalcemia. If you want to know how to recognize the signs & symptoms of calcium click here. To help calcium metabolism, we need vitamin K2 to direct calcium to the bones. This is why many high-quality brands like Thorne also combine vitamin K2 in their supplements. I personally recommend my clients a vitamin K2 supplement when they supplement or inject vitamin D.

Magnesium
Magnesium is necessary to build & maintain healthy bones. To convert the injected or supplemented vitamin D to its final form we also need sufficient magnesium levels. If you suffer from a vitamin D deficiency, both processes will be ramped up leading to a higher demand for magnesium. I usually recommend addressing a magnesium insufficiency first before supplementing with vitamin D. Since a magnesium deficiency is common you might wanna check for signs & symptoms in this video here.

Vitamin A
Vitamin A & D bind to the final cellular receptor. This means that if you are vitamin D deficient and you start increasing vitamin D, you will need more vitamin A as a consequence. Vitamin A is in foods like liver, sweet potatoes and spinach (for a more comprehensive list look here). Depending on what types of foods your diet contains you can use supplements accordingly.

The upper tolerable limit for vitamin A is 10.000 IU (or 3000 mcg). For women the RDA is 2333 IU (or 700mcg). For men the RDA is 3000 IU (or 900 mcg).

Vitamin A, K2 and magnesium are the most important nutriënts to take a look at. If you suspect magnesium deficiency, it would be wise to take care of this first before you use vitamin D either in supplement form or as an injection.

One last thought
If you are going for an injection, maker sure they use vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 has also been used, but is the lesser effective form of this nutrient.

[Daniel]

,

Being on a high-protein diet and supplementing with creatine can elevate BUN & Creatinine respectively. I don’t know how well you could answer these questions, but it would help to provide you with an answer
• Can you tell me how many grams of protein you consume per day? And what is your body weight? 
• Meat is a source of creatine as well and contains between 1.4 & 2.3 grams of creatine per pound (or 0.45 kg). How much meat are you eating on average?

Cystatin-C levels can help you if you don’t trust your BUN & Creatinine levels. If you have signs & symptoms of kidney disease I would definitely dive deeper.

But looking at your labs knowing you supplement with creatine, I would expect your creatinine levels to be higher in the reference range. They would probably drop a bit without using creatine as a supplement. But again, this is an educated guess.

In this chapter of the book Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations, they would expect a BUN of 20 mg/dl when people consume an excess of 125 grams of protein.

Again, if you’re experiencing symptoms of kidney disease, I personally would delve deeper and check Cystatin-C levels. If you are unsure but would like to know if your kidneys work fine, I would test them as well.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Sure, this can be iodine deficiency, but there are other possibilities as well. The first thing your friend can do is estimate how much iodine is in her diet.

We need 150 mcg per day, but people who do not eat processed foods or a low-salt diet might miss their daily quota easily. By the way, you can find a list of how much iodine is in foods here.

Iodine toxicity can happen when you consume more than 1100 mcg. This is hard to do with foods only. The supplements that I know of are much lower in dosing as well, so taking a supplement, in general, is safe.

If you would like to test for iodine to be sure, this is also possible. I recommend watching this video here.

But developing a slow thyroid can be done in several ways. For optimal thyroid hormone metabolism, we need iron, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, and magnesium as well.

Hashimoto Thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that leads to a slow thyroid as well. On top of that, stress hormones can all on their own cause a slow thyroid as well.

If you would like to learn more about the signs and symptoms of mineral deficiencies click here for Magnesium, here for zinc, here for iron and here for iodine. Maybe your friend can recognize some other symptoms. This can help to point in the right direction.

If she experiences the typical slow thyroid symptoms (fatigue, concentration problems, hard to lose weight or weight gain, losing hair and/or thinning of the outer part of the eyebrows, constipation, depression, etc) I would recommend doing a full thyroid panel:
• TSH
• fT4 & fT3
• Reverse T3
• Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) & Thyroglobulin Antibodies

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Thank you for sharing your labs with us! I will start with your last question first. Since your vitamin D is clinically low, your calcium will probably correct itself once you start supplementing. Of course, calcium has to be in your diet as well. If you don’t consume milk products, there are still a lot of excellent calcium-rich foods like seeds, beans, lentils, nuts, leaves greens, salmon and figs. But I do recommend retesting after a while to be sure.

Did you know because you are a B Better member you have access to Fullscript and The Swell Score? These are just like iHerb online stores where you can find a lot of high-quality brand products. You can find the link here.

If you like I could recommend you some high-quality brands I like and use. I will put the link to fullscript to them as well:

Vitamin D/K2
• Thorne has a nice liquid formula: vitamin D + K2 liquid – click here

Magnesium Glycinate
Here are a few options I recommend to my clients:
• Designs for Health is a high-quality brand that has a formulation for people who experience GI discomfort with magnesium supplements. Its a buffered form called Magnesium Buffered Chelate – Click here
• Pure Encapsulations has this one here
• Metagenics has Mag Glycinate – click here

if you are looking for a liquid form because swallowing pills is difficult you could use this one:
• Pure Encapsulations – Magnesium Glycinate Liquid – click here

Omega 3
High-Quality liquid brands:
• Thorne – Omega Superb – click here
• Biotic Research has a more concentrated liquid form – Biomega 3 – click here
• Integrative Therapeutics has also a more concentrated dose – Pure Omega Liquid – click here

Whey
Thorne has a Whey protein isolate
• This one is without flavor
• And this one is the chocolate flavor

But since your hemoglobin is in the lower part of the reference range (ideal would be in the middle), you could also go for the whey protein isolate from biotics research. It has lactoferrin in it which is a very absorbable form of iron. Besides that, it also contains important immune factors.
• Look here if you want tasteless
• Look here if you want Vanilla
• Look here if you like Chocolate

Because I live in Europe, my iHerb options might be different then yours. When I look, I don’t see high-quality brands for whey between my options.

For omega 3, Nordic Naturals is third-party tested and would be my iHerb personal choice.

Thorne vitamin d/k2 liquid is on iherb (again, where I live)

Magnesium glycinate: again no high-quality brands in my options, and with most other options I don’t have experience either. The brand KAL I wouldn’t recommend. I have used it for a while, but when I switched to Designs for Health I could notice the difference immediately.

I hope you have more higher end options in iHerb than I do, but if it doesn’t matter to you where you would order, try fullscript!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

It would be interesting to know what the train of thoughts of her doctor are. Glucophage (or metformin) is in insulin resistance persons can lower blood glucose.

Dr. Peter Attia believes that insuline resistance can sometimes be pretty wel hidden. He believes that even fasting insulin sometimes can’t diagnose insulin resistance. He believes the best way to spot insulin resistance is measuring blood glucose an insuline 1,2 and 3 hours after a dose of 100 grams of glucose after a fasting glucose is obtained.

I’m not necessary saying you should recommend this by the way. Just know that if other signs of insulin resistance are pressent, this something she can do.

I would love to see how the blood sugars fluctuate over a day as well.
I am very curious about the data from her blood glucose monitor. I for example would love to see how her blood sugars change around a carb containing meal. Preferable I would love to know what she has eaten than as well, inclusive an indication af the amount of carbs.

I would also love to know a bit more of her background. Does she experience gut problems (constipation/diarrhea/bloating/nausea, etc)? Has she ever been operated to her gut?

Is there some recent data about her liver function test (ALAT/ASAT/alkaline phosphatase) and kidney function (Blood Urea Nitrogen(BUN), eGFR, creatinine, microalbumin)?

Are there other symptoms besides low blood sugar? Does she frequently urinate? Is there swelling in feet & ankles? How is her blood pressure? How do her stools and urine look? Does she experience itchy skin? Are her eyes and skin looking yellow?

Other stuff about her live might also be important: does she drink (and yes, how much)? Is she doing sports (and if yes, what kind & how much). How would her typical diet look like?

Lots of questions, I know! But if she for example doesn’t digest carbs & absorb sugars we could recommend some digestive enzymes to give her support. Digestive enzymes however wouldn’t help her necessarily if she overproduces insulin during a meal!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

There can be several reasons for hypoglycemia. Players in blood sugar regulation are besides the pancreas, the liver & the kidneys. The liver for example stores and manufactures glucose depending on the body’s needs to keep glucose levels within range. Also, the kidneys help regulate blood sugars.

Dysfunction in these organs can all lead to low blood sugar.

Certain disorders in for example the adrenals or pituitary can also cause low blood sugar. 

Also when there is uncontrolled gastric emptying, for example, like in ‘Dumping Syndrome’ the small intestine can signal the pancreas to produce extra insulin leading to a sharp drop in blood sugars causing more fluctuations. With Dumping Syndrome people feel often all kinds of gut-related symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, etc.

Do you know what her doctor suspects to be the reason? This could give us some leads on how to give you the best possible advice!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Attention and concentration difficulties can be caused by a variety of reasons. Math on top of that can be a specific obstacle for a lot of kids as well. You mention your daughter has an issue with focus and is quickly distracted. Of course, other possibilities and circumstances in her life can play a role in this dynamic as well. 

But that being said, a wide range of causes can result in concentration problems. From more lifestyle-related causes related to sleep hygiene, and screen time (tv/laptop/phone) to more esoteric possibilities like slow thyroid, food sensitivities & toxin exposure.

To help your daughter better, maybe you can describe to us how your daughter would describe her concentration/memory problem.

Does your daughter for example complain about slow or sluggish thinking? Is it difficult for her to put her thoughts into words? Is she forgetful? 

If she is experiencing some kind of brain fog, this can make it harder to take difficult subjects in school.

Also, nutrient deficiencies can contribute to concentration/memory problems. Here are the most common ones that can lead to cognitive challenges:
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B12
• Iron (for signs & symptoms click here)
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• and yes, Omega 3’s

Omega 3’s are important for brain development and can help reduce inflammation in the brain. Optimizing these nutrients can be helpful for brain function in general.

For rapid relief I have had a good experience with:
• L-theanine (You can find this in tea)
It relaxes and helps with focus. Especially a few cups of tea can bring some relaxation to the mind & clarity.
• Rhodiola (it is an adaptogen and can be quite stimulating for some people, so be cautious with trying Rhodiola in the evening)

Personally, I don’t have experience with supplementing with B1 for optimizing focus. Maybe  has.

If you think there is a possibility that ADHD/ADD plays a role, artificial colors and all preservatives, especially potassium or sodium benzoate have been shown to be an exacerbating factor.

Last but not least: math is a difficult subject. Not only to study but also to explain in simple language. Do you feel her tutor can explain the topics at a level that fits her age?

I hope these tips help!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Great! I do see only the front page of the report. Is it possible to screenshot the other pages as well?

And how old is your daughter?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

In general, magnesium is necessary to relax muscles. Magnesium also helps you to deal better with emotional stress. One mechanism through which we think this works is because magnesium is making it less easy for the NMDA receptor in the brain to get excited. 

The NMDA receptor is a receptor for stimulating the neurotransmitter glutamate. With a magnesium deficiency, this receptor gets more easily stimulated.

So all absorbable magnesium can work calming in the presence of a magnesium deficiency.

The ‘bonus’ molecule attached to the magnesium determines how absorbable the magnesium gets. For example, magnesium glycinate is really good absorbable. On top of that, the glycinate molecule has calming properties as well and definitely would fit really good in a supplement targeting mental health.

Magnesium citrate gets absorbed as well, so it can improve mental health… because it has magnesium.

But magnesium citrate attracts also water to the column causing loose stools much faster than most other forms of magnesium. That’s why we recommend it when you experience constipation.

And a little insiders secret: Functional medicine practitioners always look up supplements by the ingredient list, and mostly ignore marketed names

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Detoxing your body is usually done from a place of strength. When toxins come back into circulation they are temporarily free before they get bound up and excreted. Does your kid feel a bit better? I would recommend ramping up detoxification only after your kid feels a bit better and meanwhile focusing on supporting the immune system.

Detoxification goes for a big part through the gut. If there is constipation, I would recommend addressing this first because toxins can be reabsorbed in the gut. Do you know if your kid has regular bowel movements? Preferably once a day?

Do you suspect some form of toxicity? Did you for example test for heavy metals? If so, would you mind sharing the test results with us? (If you have by chance an organic acid test, that would be insightful too)

Are there other toxins you suspect? Mycotoxins from mold or fungi? Bacterial toxins from for example clostridium?

It will be helpful to know so we can support you with the right kind of supplements to advise. 

There are still things you can do. Possibly you have already done this or are doing them. Here are some basics for detoxification. The first part helps you reduce toxin exposure. The second part are some detoxification recommendations for foods & nutrients. 

Here are some exposure sources for heavy metals. The list is inconclusive, but it contains sources that are more common:
• Community/School/Home playground equipment or decking made with pressure-treated wood –>  Dominant heavy metal: Arsenic
• Smoking (or lived/worked with) –> Dominant heavy metal: Cadmium.
• Heavy intake of large fish (e.g. tuna, swordfish) –>  Dominant heavy metal: Mercury.
• Heavy intake of shellfish (e.g. shrimps, scallops) –>  Dominant heavy metal: Arsenic
• Lived in old home with original plumbing & paint –>  Dominant heavy metal: Lead
• Silver/amalgam fillings –>  Dominant heavy metal: Mercury.
• Frequent intake of pesticide-laden foods (includes home gardens grown in prior farming land) –>  Dominant heavy metal: Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead.
• Welding and metalworking –>  Dominant heavy metal: Cadmium. (I guess your kid didn’t do such a thing, but I’m just giving you a complete list!)

Recommendations for foods:
The liver needs nutrients to make toxins water soluble so they can be excreted.

Some important detox pathways that you can support with nutrition:
• The Methylation Pathway. 
This needs foods rich in vitamin B12, folate, vitamin B6 & B2. If you are supporting with a b complex, make sure the b vitamins are in the bioactive form! So choose • methyl-cobalamine for B12, 
• methyl-folate for folate and 
• Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate (P-5-P) for vitamin B6
• The Sulfation Pathway
Foods that are rich in sulfur. Like:• Everything in the onion family: Leach, Onion, garlic, etc
• Everything in the cruciferous vegetable family: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbages, Arugula, etc.
• Glutathione Pathway
Needs:• Vitamin B6
• Selenium (Think Brazil nuts, beef, turkey, chicken, beans & lentils)
• Amino acids (Because Glutathione is made of Glycine, Glutamine & Cysteine)

Although it doesn’t help the pathways above, I would like to mention cilantro as well, since it is often used for detoxification as well.

Let us know what type of toxins you suspect and why, so we can support you in the best way possible!

[Daniel]

Hey 

As you may recall from the mineral balance course (click here if you would like to see the playback) iron absorption is regulated by a hormone called Hepcidin. Hepcidin induction by inflammation is presumed to have evolved to sequester iron from pathogenic microorganisms.

An overgrowth of candida or another type of dysbiosis could definitely impair iron absorption by raising hepcidin. Candida (but also other microbes) can also exquisite iron for its own survival.
Reasons why we lose iron.Men and Women store between 1 and 3 grams of iron. Around 70% of your iron is stored as hemoglobin in the red blood cells. 10-20% is stored in the liver bound in a molecule called ferritin. 
• Heavy menstrual bleeding: Because so much iron is stored in blood menstruating women are in need of more than double the amount of iron than men on a daily basis. At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, women lose 2mg of iron extra. Heavy menstrual bleeding can contribute to her loss of iron
• Blood loss somewhere in the GI tract: A dark stool usually can be a sign of that. Do you know if she has a dark stool?
• Shedding of the skin & mucosal lining:  We lose 1 mg due to the shedding of the skin & mucosal surfaces like the lining of your gut. Possibly she is losing more iron because a dysbiosis/candida overgrowth is taxing the lining of her gut making her shed more on a daily basis. If she loses more skin (for example with dandruff) this can contribute as well.
• Long-distance running & intense frequent workouts exercise can also contribute to increased iron loss. 

Starting to reduce inflammation in the gut sounds like a very good first step in healing the body and making it more ready for iron absorption again.

If you need more tips, let us know!