Bernadette
Forum Replies Created
-
@Bahareh Safapour I’m not sure why they changed the manufacturer location to Italy (would be interesting to know though), but their filters are still ANSI and NSF certified, which is what matters.
-
@Iryna Klevetenko please read through our Symptom Dictionary handout on “Arthritis”. It’s important to address the root cause and this handout shares specific risk factors for the different types including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which is an autoimmune condition.
Given that fact, I would look at prioritizing digestion and gut health, optimize vitamins A, D, and zinc (check levels), and strongly encourage a KBMO test to eliminate foods causing inflammation. In the absence of testing, eliminating dairy, gluten, grains, and nightshades for at least 4-6 months (or more if needed) will help while working on healing the gut lining.
-
@Mohamed Al Aryani fermented foods like Daniel mentioned can provide great support during and after treatment. I’ll also share supplemental support so you can choose.
During treatment, consider adding in a beneficial yeast called Saccharomyces Boulardii (which many of the fermented foods have).
Antibiotics wipe out beneficial bacteria and can lead to opportunistic yeast overgrowth. S. Boulardii can help “tame the bullies”.
Klaire Labs offers a product called ABx support which can be taken during the course of treatment and continued afterwards as well.
Focusing on replenishing/repopulating her microbiome for several months after treatment with beneficial bacteria from probiotic-rich foods and/or supplements is also helpful. Fermented foods offer the most variety and colony count. If choosing to supplement, a broad spectrum probiotic like Metagenics UltraFlora Biome Pro for example is another option followed by a soil based product like Megaspore by Microbiome Labs.
Hope she recovers swiftly!
-
@Maryam Al it’s good that you got 3 confirmations on the diagnosis. Which treatment plan are you leaning more towards?
-
@Iryna Klevetenko Yay! You’ve made my day!! I’m so glad to hear he’s now doing better! He’s lucky to have you taking care of him. ❤️
-
@Iryna Klevetenko If your mom is experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, blurred vision, confusion, or weakness, it’s important she seeks medical attention.
If it’s not causing any noticeable symptoms, you can take a look at some suggestions found in the Symptom Dictionary handout for Low Blood Pressure.
Start with the basics. Is she dehydrated? Get her started with some spring or filtered water and electrolytes. That alone often helps resolve low blood pressure. Is she eating? Usually with an illness there’s loss of appetite. Soups and broths are great choices as they don’t require digestion but can help hydrate and provide needed nutrition during this time.
-
Hi @Iryna Klevetenko – glad she’s stable and back home again.
You can checkout our Protocol for virus/flu support HERE. It shares a protocol for acute situations, and also for longer term support.
For Covid specifically, the addition of vitamin C (1-2g / day), quercetin (helps get zinc into cells), and possibly NAC or glutathione if upper respiratory symptoms are present is generally recommended.
Hope she has an effective and swift recovery! Please do keep us posted.
-
Hi @Ivona nagorzanski – I would encourage you to watch parts of Valentina’s presentation on non-toxic house products to help you feel more confident when looking for household products. Here are a few points to consider:
1 hour 12 minutes: flame retardants. In Dubai, we still don’t have a company distributing non-toxic mattresses (I’ve been regularly checking). Ikea doesn’t use flame retardants but the foam likely has other chemicals.
1 hour 21 minutes to 28 minutes: product certifications and labels to look for in various products.
In general, in mattresses you’ll want to avoid:
vinyl/PVC
flame retardants
polyurethane (memory) foam
perfluorinated chemicals like PFOS, PFOA
Instead, look for:
low flammable materials
95% organic cotton, wool or 100% natural latex
Certifications: GOTS (texitle), GOLS (latex), MadeSafe, Greenguard Gold, Zero-toxic product registry
Here are some brands of mattresses (available in the US and possibly ship internationally) that are safer choices:
Avocado
Naturepedic
Happsy
Savvy Rest
Birch Living
For sheets, just make sure they’re certified organic material.
Hope this helps with your search.
-
@KK are you helping this person by any chance?
-
@KK yes correct about blood pressure. The table I shared is also still correct but it serves as an initial view of what the labs could mean when trying to assess calcium balance. This is the perfect example where labs alone without context would lead to misleading interpretation, and why we always ask for a full health history including food and medications to tie is all together.
-
Hi @Sarah Mohler – no unfortunately this test isn’t usually covered by insurance through an MD. It also doesn’t test for histamine sensitivity. Instead it checks for foods/additives that are causing an inflammatory immune response, and the progression of leaky gut. Did you watch our interview with the owner of KBMO, Mr. James White? If not, you can watch that interview HERE where he also goes through various case studies and analyses different test results.
For histamine intolerance, you can look at the DAO test (the enzyme that breaks down histamine) to check your ability to breakdown histamine. To save on cost, you can also try a histamine elimination diet for a month to see how you feel. That’s often enough confirmation that histamine is at play without having to spend a lot of money on testing.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
-
@KK I’d encourage you to watch this video to better understand how PTH works to regulate calcium balance with other hormones in the body.
It’s a feedback mechanism that regulates calcium and phosphorus levels in the body together with the kidneys, and activates vitamin D (calcidiol) to its final form (calcitriol).
With that in mind, the pattern of elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH), normal ionized calcium, low calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D), and high calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) suggests a condition known as secondary hyperparathyroidism, often associated with vitamin D deficiency.
Here’s how:
High PTH (82 pg/mL): this means the parathyroid glands are working harder to maintain normal calcium levels.
Normal Ionized Calcium (1.24 mmol/L): this suggests that the body is effectively mobilizing calcium from bone and increasing kidney reabsorption to maintain normal blood calcium levels, despite the higher PTH.
Low Calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D): Low levels suggest a deficiency in vitamin D, which is crucial for calcium absorption in the intestines. Vitamin D deficiency is a common cause of secondary hyperparathyroidism.
High Calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D): This final active form of vitamin D is synthesized in the kidneys and is usually elevated in response to low calcidiol levels. The increase in calcitriol is an attempt to enhance intestinal absorption of calcium.
So in summary, this pattern shows that there’s an imbalance of calcium, with low vitamin D levels leading to secondary hyperparathyroidism. So the parathyroid glands are working harder to maintain normal calcium levels, resulting in elevated PTH. The high calcitriol suggests that the body is trying to compensate by increasing the active form of vitamin D.
Now of course, we know nothing about this person, and there can be other reasons for high PTH such as tumors/hyperplasia, kidney disease, genetic factors, and certain medications like lithium and thiazide diuretics (i.e. for high blood pressure and water retention), but most likely it’s vitamin D deficiency.
-
@KK yes correct. You can see her calcium is at the low end of the clinical reference range. But as you mentioned, CRP and ionised calcium would give a clearer picture. Well done!
-
@KK I encourage you to watch this video HERE on testing calcium balance in the Mineral Balance course. It explains the relationships between calcium, phosphorus, vit D, vit D 1,25, and inflammation.
I’d like to hear what you think is going on with these values after watching the video…. putting you to the test. 😉
-
@KK correct – in that case, the order would be gut healing for minimum 30 days, then H Pylori cleanse, while supporting other digestive players (stomach, enzymes, bile). For stomach acid support with H Pylori, I usually recommend digestive bitters until H Pylori overgrowth has cleared. Hope that helps.
