I've suffered from many chronic illnesses for over 23 years. In researching my various conditions, I've improved the quality of my life. It's not perfect due to things like Fibromyalgia, but I'm thankful to still be able to do some things. My approach is very out-of-the-box as many doctors have been unable to help me and only provided me with symptom treatment, if that. Finding our triggers and root cause is essential to getting our lives back. We can't fix it by popping Ibuprofen. Chronic illness requires a multi-pronged approach to improve the quality of our lives.
I am not a medical professional and am merely sharing my opinions and experiences, please find a good G.P. or Functional Medicine Doctor.
Simply put, toxic or unbound iron is iron that deposits in the tissues and is not bioavailable. What does that mean for your chronic illness? There are some theories that believe that unbound iron is the root cause of all illness, and causes rust within your tissues! Think the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz…although the “oil” in this context is the ferridoxase enzyme, ceruloplasmin. So, our bodies need ceruloplasmin like the Tin Man needed his oil!
Where does this toxic iron come from? Fortified foods such as cereals, iron pills and infusions that you were prescribed and don’t need.
Finally, how do we get rid of it? For men, they do not have a period, so they do not have a natural outlet for iron release. All the women out there who have heavy periods, toxic unbound iron is to blame! Your body is literally trying to get rid of it.
Options to clear iron.
What are examples of bioavailble and non-bioavailable iron?
Liver=bioavailable
Iron pills/infusions/fortified foods=non-bioavailable
Here are my top 10 Chronic Pain Supplements for Canada:
Sam-e (S-adenosylmethionine) Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, helps cartilage and neurotransmitters
Bromelain (Pineapple enzyme) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and has positive implications in cancer and other diseases and syndromes.
Artic Cod Liver Oil (With NO added Vitamin D, note the product will show a small amount of naturally occurring D.) Omega-3s block inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, and are converted by the body into powerful anti-inflammatory chemicals called resolvins. Contains DHA and EPA, which have positive implications in dozens of diseases and syndromes.
Turmeric – The curcumin (active ingredient) blocks inflammatory cytokines and enzymes.
Boswelia (Indian Frankincense) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, may help cartilage
White Willow Bark – Acts like Aspirin, a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory or NSAID
Here are my top 10 Chronic Pain Supplements for the United Kingdom:
Sam-e (S-adenosylmethionine) Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, helps cartilage and neurotransmitters
Bromelain (Pineapple enzyme) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and has positive implications in cancer and other diseases and syndromes.
Artic Cod Liver Oil (With NO added Vitamin D, note the product will show a small amount of naturally occurring D.) Omega-3s block inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, and are converted by the body into powerful anti-inflammatory chemicals called resolvins. Contains DHA and EPA, which have positive implications in dozens of diseases and syndromes.
Turmeric – The curcumin (active ingredient) blocks inflammatory cytokines and enzymes.
Boswelia (Indian Frankincense) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, may help cartilage
White Willow Bark – Acts like Aspirin, a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory or NSAID
Sam-e (S-adenosylmethionine) Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, helps cartilage and neurotransmitters
Bromelain (Pineapple enzyme) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and has positive implications in cancer and other diseases and syndromes.
Artic Cod Liver Oil (With NO added Vitamin D, note the product will show a small amount of naturally occurring D.) Omega-3s block inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, and are converted by the body into powerful anti-inflammatory chemicals called resolvins. Contains DHA and EPA, which have positive implications in dozens of diseases and syndromes.
Turmeric – The curcumin (active ingredient) blocks inflammatory cytokines and enzymes.
Boswelia (Indian Frankincense) – Anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, may help cartilage
White Willow Bark – Acts like Aspirin, a Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory or NSAID
What’s wrong with taking isolated Vitamin D supplements?
As it turns out, a ton! Did you know that Vitamin D is actually a hormone?
In my earlier blog Boron-A Mineral that can do so much for chronic illness, I talked about Boron, a co-factor to magnesium and ceruloplasim, a protein that helps to control unbound or toxic iron and copper. I also talked about calcium where it should not be. Vitamin D supplements contribute to calcium deposits in the tissues, where they should not be. Vitamin D lowers the ceruloplasmin levels, making the body store more unbound or toxic iron and copper.
A low storage D doesn’t mean that much. there is also a separate test that measures active D and that is the test you want your doctor to run, in addition to the storage D. What doctors sometimes do as a knee-jerk response, is prescribe high amounts of Vitamin D and then monitor your tests. But often the doctor only runs storage D. There are varying opinions out there as to what your level should be. It’s become my opinion that a storage level D of say, over 20, has no clinical impact.
Recommended tests for Vitamin D issues
Effects of taking isolated Hormone D supplements
What might a low storage D also indicate? Low magnesium. Once the minerals become back in balance through the Dr. Morley Robbins’ Magnesium Protocol or Root Cause Protocol, D and Magnesium levels will fall into place. What does this take to fix? A delicate balance between potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride, otherwise known as the electrolytes. To increase your magnesium level, you must also increase your sodium and potassium levels. You must work on your potassium and sodium first. How many of you know that we need to eat around 5,000 mg of Potassium a day? Few attain this level, but it can be done with lots of beet greens, fruit juice as tolerable, and salads. Part of this protocol involves taking the “adrenal cocktail” http://gotmag.org/the-adrenal-cocktail/ which is a combination of orange juice (or coconut water, lemon juice, etc.), potassium (as 1/4 tsp cream of tartar) and 1/4 tsp of Real Salt, or other sea salt/himalayan pink salt. It takes time to increase the potassium and sodium levels enough to start increasing magnesium.
How to make the Adrenal Cocktail.
A better option to help Vitamin D and the liver is by taking Cod Liver Oil, the kind without any added D. You will see D in a low level in the ingredients naturally. Cod Liver Oil contains the proper D and A for the liver. Cod liver oil is also helpful for chronic pain.
What is Boron anyway? Sounds like something from another planet, or from a Space TV Show.
Boron is a trace mineral and micronutrient, and a co-factor to magnesium. What does this co-factor do? It helps magnesium stay in the cells. Magnesium helps the body perform hundreds of actions and helps us have energy. No magnesium, no energy. Boron also helps with metabolizing Vitamin D.
What else can Boron do? If you have any disease starting with “osteo” or have ever been told you’re anemic, you need Boron! Boron helps transfer minerals such as calcium, away from the tissues where it doesn’t belong, back into the bones where it does belong. I believe Boron to be helpful to those with Hyperparathyroidism as it helps with calcium regulation. Boron helps wound healing which can be life-saving for diabetics and other diseases that may have sores or open wounds. Boron is a Godsend to help the body get rid of Candida Albicans, a common cause of yeast infections of the skin, vaginal infections, athlete’s foot, you name it.
Boron is a critical part of the Dr. Morley Robbins’ Magnesium Protocol (now referred to as the “Root Protocol”) as it helps rid the body of excess unbound or toxic iron, helps balance the sex hormones, and helps raise a protein called Ceruloplasmin. Now I’ll admit I’d never even heard of Ceruloplasmin until less than a year ago. What the Ceruloplasmin does is help the body regulate copper and iron, and rid the body of unbound or toxic iron and copper. I am not an expert on this protocol, more of a student. I want to gradually introduce everyone to some of the concepts of the protocol in an effort to help many with chronic illness. I invite you to visit http://gotmag.org/ and join the Magnesium Advocacy Group on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/MagnesiumAdvocacy/
Ways to take Boron
You can use a supplement, or make a solution from 20-Mule Team Borax. Yes, the laundry enhancer. And by the way, use it for your laundry too in order to break the cycle of fungus and yeast. That means all sheets, towels, bath mats, socks, everything.
Start at about 1mg and work your way up as needed. Boron can have a detox effect, particularly if you suffer from yeast. You can ingest a diluted amount, OR use it in a bath along with Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) or Magnesium Chloride flakes.
Also, you may want to not do the baths or ingest in the evening because Boron can have a stimulating effect.
How to make Boron solution.
How to make magnesium bath and foot soak.
Do the above in conjunction with the Adrenal Cocktail:
I’ve heard it countless times from friends, family, and co-workers: “You really should see a doctor about those migraines/sleep problems/back problems…”
And just like my mind works, the Janet Jackson song “What have you done for me lately” comes into my head.
So I go to the doctor for migraines and they prescribe a migraine pill. But have they tried to do anything beyond that? Maybe try to figure out why I’m getting migraines?
Same goes for sleep and back problems. If I could only count the number of times I’ve been told to take Naproxen or Ibuprofen for my pain! Why did I just take a day off work, and cause my insurance to be billed for an office visit so that the doctor could waste “our” time telling me to take OTC medicines?
Or how about when we get something like a yeast infection? Instead of wondering why I’ve had an infection continuously for 34 years or so, I’m again told to treat my symptoms with a yeast cream. What’s to prevent my infection from coming back?
And maybe part of the problem with Western Medicine is that we are forced to deal with a Stove Top approach. What do I mean by that? Well, you go to your Dermatologist for say, a skin rash, but do your other doctors know about this treatment? Do your other doctors look at what treatments you are receiving from other doctors to see if maybe the treatment plans are not working well together or have contraindications?
Or how about the doctor that has never heard of your illness or refuses to run tests? Or, worse yet, they don’t acknowledge that your disease exists, such as Fibromyalgia. Sometimes they will even tell you to stay off the internet. I will research any condition that I need to in order to fully understand all implications. Doctors don’t have all the time in the world to answer my questions, and may not have the wealth of knowledge as say, a Facebook group or Forum may have. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others with your particular illness. Sometimes it helps just to know that someone else is out there that knows how we feel.
I look forward to talking more about Root Cause and how we can ALL feel better and improve our quality of life. There is no magic panacea, and no snake oil for sale here. Just hard, honest opinions on treatments and supplements that I’ve tried or have been recommended by trusted professionals.
