A few of my favorite things

Whole Foods opened up nearby a little over a week ago.  I knew I wanted to add back in some fermented foods and I just have trouble making them myself.  They grow weird stuff and I panic about food poisoning myself.  I love Firefly Kitchens, a local company.  I had not tried their Firefly Kimchi.  You open it up and it smells like spicy garlic.  I heard somewhere, probably not a reliable source even, that fermenting helps break down the FODMAPs in garlic.  Not sure I believe it but since I haven't been reacting to much of anything I thought I'd give it a go.  So far so good.

Then someone posted the Probionic Tonic on facebook and tagged Whole Foods.  I was completely unaware of this product!  It was so crowded on the day I was there that it was hard to see much of anything.  Back I went and disappointed I was not!  I love the tonic.  Although the spiciness give me a touch of burn.  I drop about half of a shot glass with one meal a day, eat the kim chi with another and take my MegaSpore with a 3rd.  Hopefully I'm not just refilling my small intestine with bugs!!!  We'll see.

Urine Organix Test

So I pulled out the results from my Genova Diagnostics Organix Comprehensive Profile again tonight. I did this test a year ago.  Sure enough, right on it it says, "Methylation Cofactor Markers - No Abnormalities Found".  This means that even though I have methylation snps I seem to be utilizing B12 and Folate just fine. I had a couple of snps that related to neurotransmitters too. Three of the Neurotransmitter Metabolism Markers on the urine organix test were elevated although 2 of the 3 (if not 3 of the 3) were noted to be caused by bacteria overgrowth.  There were snps that also indicated I may have difficulties related to clearing ammonia from the system but the markers on the Organix test show I am doing just fine in that department as well.  

I went to the Genova site and pulled up their interpretation guide.  Some very fascinating reading and really great charts that show how easily things can go awry if you have issues with methylation.  

I found these two articles which helped me to understand the test results a little bit better as well.
Clinical applications of urinary organic acids. Part I: Detoxification markers.
Clinical Applications of Urinary Organic Acids. Part 2 Dysbiosis Markers

It was really interesting to see how many markers related to bacterial overgrowth (probably why some providers believe it's a valuable diagnostic too).  For me, I was completely negative on several of the markers for bacterial overgrowth but positive on a couple others. I found it interesting that two of the neurotransmitter markers that were high relate to not only bacterial overgrowth but also Th-1 response.  Not sure what that means.  

Given what I have seen I don't think it's a good idea to treat based on snps, you have to run testing to see if there is abnormalities in the processes because your body could be functioning just fine.  If so inclined, you can do it all yourself by running 23andMe, then running that through a program like Genetic Genie and then ordering yourself up the Doctors Data Methylation Profile.  I really wouldn't advise it though because you still end up with a lot of results that you don't know what to do with.

There's more to methylation than MTHFR??

Methylation is definitely the word of the day/week/month.  I tested for MTHFR back in April, the link is here, found out I was heterzygous for MTHFR A1298C which can have an impact on methylation but that doesn't mean for sure there is an impact.  I didn't understand the rest of the numbers (and my ND wasn't any help) so I put the results in the lab file.  A few days ago I listened to Chris Kresser's most recent podcast, Methylation 101. He also did a podcast a while back that's a great primer.  So I pulled back out the file and started doing a little digging.  Given all my various homo and heterozygous snps I am at risk for not clearing ammonia readily, various mood issues, low B12, low Vit D and an excess of cortisol because for some reason I can turn it off but then can't metabolize it to clear it out.  Of course Chris and Dr. Nett did say that just because you have the snps doesn't mean you express them, you have to do further testing to see how your methylation is actually working. Another test?

A friend (who also did the 23andMe and GeneticGenie) then forwarded a post from this blog.  There are so many posts on this Dr's site about methylation and the impact on the gut (and SIBO) but no real information about what to do about it (you have to become a patient to find that out).  Although I did read in one of the many posts that phenols like resveratrol and green tea extract will compete for the same metabolic pathway as estrogen and adrenalin.  I already know I am estrogen dominant so I'm going to pull that out of my current supplement regimen since I also do turmeric and fish oil for inflammation.  There is so much information here but since I don't know who he is I'm taking it all with a grain of salt.  It's just hard because it seems so few providers out there seem to fully understand this stuff so I don't feel like I can go to any of my current ND's for clarification.

Just mind boggling.  Makes me want to take a nap.

Had blood drawn this morning for Cyrex 3, 4 and 10 this morning.  Results should take about 2 weeks.  And since I've been eating wheat for the last 3 weeks I might take a look at my thyroid antibodies.  It's heart month and all those tests are on sale so I'm tempted to see where my cholesterol is. I've decided I'm going to do a breath test to see where I'm at May 26th (unless I run out of antimicrobials sooner or change my mind!).

Podcast by Dr. Ruscio

You really should like to Dr. Ruscio's 2 part podcast on SIBO. Here is the link to iTunes. I wonder now if I've just extended my treatment by trying to starve the bacteria with a low FODMAP diet during treatment. And the information on methane dominant SIBO and related weight issues was fascinating. And here is a link to his website and blog. Your welcome :) enjoy!

Upcoming online Summit

The Healthy Oil Summit is coming up May 11.  There are a lot of doctors speaking.  Can't wait to hear what they have to say about the use of oils to treat illness.  Dr. Axe is one of the speakers.  I love his approach.  Might be worth checking out!  And it's free!

Where have I been???

I started my new protocol a few days ago.  This is not to say that you should try this and especially at these amounts.  I am fairly tolerant of all the protocols I have tried, have never experienced anything I would call die off and I think my bacterial levels are now pretty low so I had no concerns of a reaction.  That said, I have been more tired now that I have all the supplements on board.

Before meals:

1. Biocidin - 10 drops
2. Gi Microbex - 2 capsules
3. Allimed - 2 capsules

With lunch:

1. Megaspore Biotic - 1 capsule

Bedtime:

1. LDN - 5mg
2. Mag Citrate - as needed 

I'm taking resveratrol and fermented cod liver oil with breakfast and lunch, turmeric with all meals for inflammation and Endozin on days when I have some belly itch.  If you don't recall Endozin has zinc carnosine in it, this supplement helps to support tight junctions in the digestive tract.  I also put doTERRA DigestZen on my belly when it itches.

I'm taking Restorative Formulas Adrenal PX Balance and Adrenal PX DHEA to help support my adrenals and hopefully restore normal pathways.  I am also taking Restorative Formulas Thyrocare in hopes of stimulating my body to start converting T4>T3 more efficiently.

Over the next week I plan to start adding fermented veggies back into my diet.  The only reason I stopped is because I was having trouble chewing them (braces/open bite) and I don't really need to add any fuel to the fire.

I've been working with my ND and toying with my T3 medication.  I'm trying to see how low I can get it and still keep my temperature stable.  I wish I didn't need it but I crashed when I stopped.

Still haven't done my Cyrex tests.  My son is having them done too and we are waiting on his serum kit so we can do them together.  He's 9 and more than a little frightened about having a needle put in his arm but his sigmoid colon was swollen and the doctor is concerned if we aren't better about his diet (no gluten/diary) then he's going to develop problems.  Thought best to check for immune response to foods before we eliminate them.

So that's prettty much where I've been and what I am up to.  Things are going good, plugging right along.