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Today's meditation comes from Genesis 22:1-14.

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Today's podcast comes from this article, PEA for Neuropathic Pain

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Today's meditation comes from Judges 6:11-7:15. 

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Today's meditation is on James 5:11, but we also end up meditating on James 1:2-4. 

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Today's meditation comes from Proverbs 4:20-23. 

Background music courtesy of Ben Sound at www.bensound.com

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Dr. Joseph E. Pizzorno is the President of Salugenecists, Inc. and Chief Medical Director for Village Green Apothecary. Dr. Pizzorno is one of the world's leading authorities on science-based natural medicine, a term he coined in 1978 when founding Bastyr University. He led Bastyr to became the first fully accredited, multidisciplinary university of natural medicine and the first school of its kind to receive research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has been on the Advisory Panel on the Safety and Efficacy of Dietary Supplements for the U.S. Congress in 1993, an ad hoc advisory committee member for the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements in 1996, the first naturopathic doctor to receive an appointment to the Seattle/King County Board of Health from 1996-2002, on the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (appointed by President Bill Clinton in 2000-2002), and on the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 2003-2005). He is also the author of numerous publications, most recently of The Toxin Solution.

1. How many years have you been in practice now? About half a century.
2. 1. Over that period of time, around when do you think, roughly, you started to see more cases due to toxicity than before? When he was first in practice, in the 1970s, chronic illness occurred as a result of the choices patients were making: smoking, lack of exercise, excess sugar, etc. But about 20 yrs ago, maybe further back, the passive determinants of health?things that happen independent of one's decisions?are having a stronger effect. These include contaminated water, food, personal care products, etc. We've put a huge amount of chemicals and metals into the air, food, and water. The primary drivers of disease are now toxins.
   2. At this point, what percentage of chronic illness do you believe can trace their roots to toxic exposures? The research is evolving, but regarding Type 2 Diabetes especially: when he was in med school in the early 70s, this made up less than 1% of the population. The lifetime risk is now 39%, and 15% of the population already has it. Genetics didn't change. It turns out sugar consumption hasn't changed over the last 50 yrs either (sugar consumption peaked about 70 yrs ago). There's a small correlation between diabetes and sugar, but it's not very big. Obesity isn't a cause; it's the toxins.
3. You've stated in The Toxin Solution that those in the top 10% of toxic body burden have a 12-fold increase in the risk of diabetes. What are some of the biggest toxic offenders that contribute to this risk? Organic pesticides are a big factor, and they're in 25% of our food supply. Phthalates are also a big factor: these are used to solubilize and stabilize beauty aids. Phthalates bind to insulin receptor sites, leading to insulin resistance. If you look at people with highest levels of phthalates compared to those with the lowest, diabetes risk increases by a factor of 2. But people have so many phthalates: these account for about 1/4 of diabetes cases. Arsenic: 10% of the water supplies in the US have arsenic levels known to induce disease in humans. This poisons the pancreas, such that it cannot produce insulin. BPA also doubles the risk of diabetes, but everybody has these. In addition to cans and plastics, BPAs can also be found on receipt paper.
4. You've pioneered a mountain of research into the effects of toxins on chronic disease. Can you explain what the data gathering process looked like, so we have some context? He's looked at this data for almost 10 yrs, but he started to get really serious about it 3 yrs ago bc he was working his way through the research on diabetes and toxins first. Then he started putting together the research in PubMed. He found enough to get an advance for a book, and with the advance money, he hired two graduate students to mine through the data and help him answer this question: what percentage of chronic disease is associated with toxins?
5. You describe how toxins oxidize LDL, damaging the endothelial lining and contributing to 24 percent of heart attacks. Which toxins specifically are associated with this? The PCBs are one of the worst by far. PCBs were banned in the US 40 yrs ago, but they are persistent organic pollutants. They're very hard to get rid of, and persist in our bodies. The half life can be as little as 3 yrs, or as long as 25 yrs. The difference depends on how much halogenation they have (addition of chemical halogens: Chlorine, Fluorine, or Bromine). Our bodies aren't good at de-halogenating compounds.
6. Our non-organic soil is low in micronutrients?you discuss how this leads to increased absorption of heavy metals like cadmium. So this means not only are we getting fewer minerals, but in their absence, we're getting toxins instead? I assume this is a great argument for why we should be eating organic? How much does that help? He can't overstate the importance of eating organic. Our bodies are enzyme machines. Enzymes are composed of proteins that are made by our DNA, but the protein is inert until it has a cofactor: these are vitamins and minerals, and particularly the trace minerals. The problem is, in the last 50 yrs, the trace mineral content in our soil has decreased 50-75%. There aren't enough of them to go around. Not only do we not have enough minerals to make our enzymes work properly, but now, the toxic replacements are so prevalent that they're displacing the nutrients from enzymes and they don't work anymore. Unforunately, the "powers that be" put a lot of loopholes into what can be called organic. So if at all possible, get organic from a local farm, so that you can see what they're actually doing to grow the food. Or grow your own food.
7. You also include endotoxins among the total body burden associated with diabetes, heart disease, mitochondrial damage, etc. Can you explain what endotoxins are and how we end up with them? Endotoxins (or LPS) come from bacteria in our gut. Some of them come from even our normal bacteria, and when gut permeability is in proper control, we're fine. But if we have leaky gut, even the LPS from healthy bacteria will leak out into the bloodstream and add tot he body burden. Another even bigger problem are the toxic bacteria that are producing LPS.
8. HDL is traditionally called 'good' cholesterol, because it shuttles fat back to the liver to get broken down as fuel. But you bring up the point that HDL has another job involving toxic elimination, too?can you expound on this a bit? Most detoxification is in the liver, so you have to get the toxins there. HDL is very good at this. HDL is associated with lower heart disease. We'd been thinking that was because it was harder to oxidize than LDL. But now we have another mechanism: the HDL cholesterol takes toxins back to the liver for elimination, which means fewer toxins available to trigger heart disease.
9. You said you use the indican urine test to measure toxins from the gut. Where do you order this from, and what red flags signal to you that a patient needs this test? Do you just run this on everyone you suspect to be toxic? He used this a lot when seeing patients: indican tests measure indoles and skatoles, primarily from clostridia bacteria. These break down tryptophan and eat serotonin for their own purpose, and produce toxic chemicals. Indoles and skatoles are also called putrecin and cadavarine. Anytime a patient has any indication of a toxic gut, he'll run this test. In the past, he used to run this test himself. You can also order it online, and monitor people over time to see if they're detoxifying. A person with low levels of toxicity will get a clear solution. When there's more toxicity, it turns more and more blue. As you treat, you can track improvement.
10. Can you explain the connection between alcohol and leaky gut syndrome? The cells that line our guts play an important part in liver detoxification. The problem is, when they do the liver detoxification, they deplete glutathione in the cells. When this happens, they can't protect themselves from all those toxic chemicals in the gut. Essentially glutathione depletion from excess alcohol consumption leads to leaky gut.
11. You mention that fiber specifically absorbs toxin-saturated bile. Does this mean it's as good as colonics for eliminating toxic bile, or is it just something you do in addition to, rather than instead of? Colonics have been an age-old naturopathic therapy. If a person has a toxic gut, this can help as long as you put good healthy bacteria back in. That's theoretical, though ? there aren't any studies to back it, whereas there are for using fiber.
12. You mention that people can go to thetoxinsolution.com for daily nutritional recommendations based on their genetics. So they upload their 23 & Me txt file there and just give their email address, or how does that work? They're developing tools people can license that will allow them to download it. It's not quite ready yet though.
13. Is there anything I have not asked you that you want to make sure you communicate to our audience? We have a huge problem with toxins. That was so clear when trying to determine the extent to which toxins were the cause of disease: they couldn't even find a control group! Instead, they just compared those in the top 10% to the bottom 10%. The first recommendation is avoidance: don't let toxins into your body in the first place, bc they're coming from everywhere and they're extremely persistent.

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Dr Lynch received his Cell and Molecular Biology, BS from the University of Washington and his doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND) from Bastyr University. His passion for identifying the cause of disease directed him towards nutrigenomics and methylation dysfunction. Currently, he researches, writes and presents worldwide on the topic of MTHFR, methylation defects and genetic control. You may learn more about Dr Lynch and his work at www.drbenlynch.com. Dr Lynch is the President of www.SeekingHealth.com, a supplement company oriented towards disease prevention and health promotion. He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife, Nadia, and three boys, Tasman, Mathew and Theodor.

1. Your book, "Dirty Genes" strongly emphasizes the importance of lifestyle modification before beginning to add supplements. Can you expound a little on why this is so important?  Lots of experience prove this to be the case. He wanted people to be able to swallow a pill and get better, but usually that isn't the case. The word supplement means to add to, or enhance. So if you're living a lifestyle that's go-go-go, not getting sleep, eating fast food on the run, swallowing food like a snake bc you're trying to get to your next meeting, it's detrimental to your health.
2. The MTHFR gene was your "gateway" of sorts into the world of genetics, and while you spotlight several main genes in your book, this one seems to be the kingpin, affecting all the others. Can you just briefly give an overview on why it is so important? It was the first gene he read about, ironically? but it's also the first domino. Its role is simple: it's to make one type of folate which enables other genes to work. If it's not working, these other 200 genes can stay asleep. You have 200 other genes waiting for MTHFR to give them what they need.
3. Why is it that a dirty MTHFR can present with depression on some days, and anxiety or irritability on others? What's going on with the neurotransmitters? If MTHFR is "dirty," not functioning at its best, homocysteine levels increase. Homocysteine is a valuable component in the body that does certain things, but if it's too high, it causes genes to turn off or cause inflammation and destruction to other parts of the body. This can directly affect a gene whose job it is to support a compound to help make your neurotransmitters. This gene is NOS3. If you have a dirty MTHFR, NOS3 is also dirty, and if that's dirty, the neurotransmission and cardiovascular system is also dirty. It can affect all your neurotransmitters. That's why there's such a huge range in the moods you can experience, and why there's no set disease or set mood disorder. It can fluctuate.
4. You point out how important it is to not take any supplements containing folic acid, though folate is ok (and methylfolate is even better). Can you explain why this distinction matters? The body doesn't inherently do anything with folic acid. Nothing. The body has to open it, and unpack it and then it can start using it. You have to have readily available nutrients so you can move forward. The body wants active types of folate. (Folate also comes from the word foliage ? leafy greens! So that's a great place to get it from.)
5. Can you explain what people typically describe when they "over-methylate", or take too many methylation supplements? What does this usually look like clinically? The term 'over-methylation' is like fingernails on a chalkboard. These are terms used bc they give us a quick understanding of what might be going on, but it's a gross oversimplification. When someone takes too much of a methyl donor: you can get anxiety, irritability, depression, insomnia, etc. There are no set symptoms. What happens: methylation is the action of taking a methyl group and moving it from one place to another. You're just taking one thing and attaching it to something else and by doing so, you change its function. You can't really predict what your body will do with the extra compound that is created.
6. Your Pulse Method of dosing supplements is very unique, to make sure each person is taking exactly what he or she needs and no more. Can you explain it briefly? The bell shaped curve: the top of the mountain is the middle and the bottom is on L and R. You can have an extreme situation, current symptoms on the lower L which is deficiency. Over a period of time you keep taking the folate and you feel fantastic. Then you keep taking it and slide down the other side, bc you have an excess of that nutrient. Now the symptoms are changing. You have to tune in to your body and see how you feel right then and determine if you need to continue the supplement or not. Remember that a supplement is just something to add to or enhance.
7. You talk a lot about how "dirty" genes can act clean with a clean lifestyle, and vice versa. Is this true primarily for people with a heterozygous version of a gene, or is it equally true for people who have two good copies as well? Maybe they're not necessarily "bad" - maybe they're just different. Having an MTHFR that is working more slowly might have been advantageous for ancestors where they were actually living. Maybe a slower COMT is not bad, it's actually good?and maybe a faster COMT is actually good in some ways. That said, if someone is born with a slower MTHFR, it's going to be reduced in function. If you don't have the cleanest lifestyle and don't support it, that by itself may be enough to dirty the MTHFR. If someone was born with a faster MTHFR, meaning they were not homozygous of a variant, they also live the same lifestyle and may be able to get away with more bad habits. Look at it as a measure of resiliency.
8. When you see that there are mutations?let's say COMT or MAO?how can you tell if they're a "speed up" or a "slow down" mutation? Is this just clinical, or are there specific mutations that are always one or the other? It depends on the report. Reports should tell you if it's slower or faster. StrateGene is their genetic report. It tells you the degree to which the gene is slower or faster, according to published papers. They're also working on their own genetic chip as we speak ? they've found more clinical and lifestyle relevant genetic mutations that they're excited to provide. It should be the end of 2018 when their own test comes out. 23 & Me is very accurate; they're running a good clean show with their chip. There are a lot of Mom and Pop companies popping out where testing is very inaccurate, though.
9. An article just came out in Nature, suggesting that 40% of variants in a variety of genes reported in direct-to-consumer raw data were false positives. Do you have any comments to shed some light on this? This is not 23 & Me, it's the Mom and Pop groups mentioned above. For their chip, they're looking at having a university process their samples. He tours their facilities and it's spot on. Talked to them about that article: they run controls with every single sample that comes through. They don't just process the sample; they do a control at the same time, too.
10. Are the people with DAO mutations typically the ones who end up with elevated whole blood histamine when their guts get inflamed? (I've definitely noticed that only some people with gut inflammation end up with histamine intolerance, but not everybody.)  The half life of whole blood histamine a minute. Urinary histamine typically comes from the stomach. Acid reflux is high histamine, as histamine stimulates acid release (which is why there's no DAO in the stomach). Having a DAO ++ does make you more susceptible to having high histamine, though. If the DAO enzyme gets burdened, you absorb the histamine into the blood stream. Then methylation has to deal with it. But bacteria also produce histamine themselves, and the immune system response utilizes histamine as well. Histamine will stimulate immune cells to take action. So there's a lot going on ? not just the food and drink, and also probiotics. Certain strains will increase histamine. Probiotics that are good for high histamine levels: the entire bifidobacter genus is very effective for modulating histamine. But there are certain strains of lactobacillus that are outstanding at this too. Seeking Health does produce HistaminX to support this.
11. In the PEMT section, you mention how important it is for your liver to stop eating when you're about 80% full. Can you explain why this helps the liver specifically? The liver has to process a lot of things. When you overeat, it depends on what you're overeating. If you're overeating carbs, you're creating a ton of inflammation ? which is why diabetics have a hard time with eyesight and etc. If it's fats, the liver has to deal with bile production. If cholesterol ratio is higher than phosphatidylcholine, then bile doesn't come out very well. You need 10 parts phosphatidylcholine to 1 part cholesterol: and methylation produces this. About 70-80% of your body's methylation goes toward making phosphatidylcholine. If someone has high homocysteine and they're pregnant, then we know immediately that their methylation cycle isn't working very well. Pregnancy is a high methylation time, and women get gallstones, R sided pain, or R shoulder pain. Overeating fat can contribute to this, which can lead to fatty liver, SIBO, fat nutrient malabsorption, etc. Then if you overeat protein, your kidneys and your mitochondria everywhere, including your liver, get overworked bc it's your mitochondria which get rid of ammonia. We need protein to help us repair our cells?but if you overeat, you have too much ammonia. That is toxic to your brain and cells.
12. Is there anything I haven't asked you that you want to make sure you communicate to our audience? No matter where you are, if you're bedridden and can't move, or you're an athlete and high level, finding one simple thing that you can change can make a big impact. If you're a sprinter, by changing how you breathe while your sprinting, that can make a huge impact. If you're bedridden and change your breathing, that too can make a huge impact. It's the basics that keep us going, but they're easy to forget that. Start with one change. Don't read Dirty Genes and think you're going to change everything all at once. Read through it once, and then when you hear something the second time around, stop and put the book down and start working on it. It's not a book you read once and absorb.

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Today's episode comes from this article, Brain Fog and Cognitive Impairment. Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Dr. Heather Paulson is a board-certified Naturopathic Oncologist, Teacher, Best Selling Author, and Speaker. After experiencing cancer with loved ones, Dr. Paulson left her marine biology career for medical school. Dr. Paulson works with people undergoing cancer treatment of radiation, surgery, chemotherapy and helps them integrate natural remedies to reduce side effects and risk of recurrence. She also works with cancer survivors allowing them to discover their zest for life to feel like themselves again. Dr. Heather Paulson is the Author of the best-selling book 'Cancer Proof: 7 Natural Ways to Live Cancer Free.'

1. You've had personal experience with cancer, right? Would you mind telling us a little bit about your story, and how this led to your choice of specialty? She was a marine biologist ? that was her dream growing up. She wanted to study whales. She got to do that dream. But while she was pursuing that, her dad was dx with colon cancer in her first year of undergraduate studies. At that time, they asked his doctors if there was something else he was doing. They kept wondering if diet should play a role, and they said eat whatever you want. She also did all the pre-med courses, so she spent a lot of time in the biology library, doing research on colon cancer. She was doing habitat restoration in a redwood forest N of San Francisco. Usually you pull out non-native plants bc that changes the pH of the soil. If the pH of the stream changes, the salmon can't survive there. The salmon were also changing sex bc of all the drugs we're flushing. When we look at cancer, we're trying to pull out a non-native species or weed, and it's changing the pH of the soil, changing the way the system responds, increasing inflammation, etc. The approach with cancer: you pluck the weed and don't do anything different. It made sense to her that if we want new plants to grow in the redwood forest, they had to change the local environment for the plant to survive. So she switched careers. Her first year of medical school, her husband was dx with lymphoma. She just had no choice: she had to specialize in cancer. She can relate to her patients.
2. I know this is a loaded question, but why do you believe cancer is so prevalent in our Western society? Cancer is in one of four women and one in three men. We're living longer, so that's part of it, though we are seeing shortening life spans for kids. There are a few things that come from getting older: abnormal cell growth. The older you are, statistically, the higher the chances are for cells to not put themselves back together. But the environmental factor is huge: there are so many chemicals in the US that we deem acceptable that have been banned in almost all other advanced and Westernized countries. We live in a toxic soup. Our food supply is living and growing in toxic soil: genetically modified, previously dumping chemicals, etc. That can seem overwhelming, but as we get wiser as consumers, companies make things differently. It used to be hard to find organic food, and now you can get it at Walmart and Costco. As consumers, we can also ask companies to eliminate certain chemicals and fragrances from our body products. Johnson and Johnson had heavy metals in their baby shampoo: within 2-3 weeks of their petition, they re-formulated it.
3. Your book, "Cancer Proof" discusses natural ways to live cancer-free. Can you give us an elevator pitch for the book? She tries to simplify things: when it comes to cancer, it can get really complicated and can get into a lot of conspiracy theories. She tries to ground it, in general information that anyone can apply to their lives. She tries to make it simple. The main things we look at in this: look at certain labs and genetic markers, such as how your body processes env't toxins, estrogens, etc. Another step is eating the right diet: she goes through the most common cancer diets out there, and she lists the pros and cons of each one, and which cancer type might respond to those the best. She also likes to look outside the biology of our bodies, because she's noticed that there is another piece that often gets missed that has to do with the mental/emotional state, the spiritual practices, etc. She has a chapter on forgiveness. And she couldn't leave it without some detoxification tips, some of the most common chemicals, swapping out some toxins for things that are less toxic. Goes through layers of healing, to not just focus on supplements and DNA but also looking at home, spiritual practices, etc. Then she has a chapter on what happens if none of these things are working. She'll have some people come in at Stage 4, and she addresses that as well. She talks more about our journey outside our physical body, but our journey as a soul. That was underappreciated when her dad was dying of cancer. Nobody talked about his health through the dying time.
4. What are some supplements you would consider for someone with a strong family history of cancer? One of her favorites is Vitamin D. The research shows that when people have adequate levels of Vitamin D, even before they're diagnosed with cancer, they're more likely to have good results from cancer treatments. Best case scenario, it's been shown to normalize DNA replication and reduce risk. It is a supplement that's everywhere. Curcumin and turmeric is also important for people with a family predisposition to BRCA 1/2 (breast and ovarian and maybe prostate cancer), and also some of the genetic predisposition to colon and pancreatic. Curcumin tends to block those DNA changes. She loves to have people have this on board. Mushrooms are also a piece of this puzzle but some people have fungal sensitivity, so that might not be the best. Withania is another one for this.
5. What are your thoughts on hormone therapy for cancer prevention? This is a hot button topic right now. Because she treats people who have cancer, she stays away from HRT in her practice. We can help people who have symptoms from low hormones with other things besides HRT. So usually she starts there, with botanicals and vitamins to shift their hormones. When she was doing more primary care, most patients would respond to hormone modulation with herbs really well. She didn't have to prescribe HRT very often. She has people start there, bc it's easier to wean off of the herbs than it is on HRT. In terms of prevention: there are mixed results out there for progesterone preventing breast cancer, and estrogen by itself will increase the risk of cancer. Always have it balanced out. If you're worried about a risk of a hormone sensitive cancer (even colon cancer can be turned on by estrogen), work with someone who is skilled in doing this without HRT.
6. You've recently launched a cleanse protocol online, right? Can you describe what all is included in your online cleanse, and who would be the best fit to join? She's developed this for people post-chemo. This helps with detoxing from those treatments, but it's also really good for cancer prevention, because it's focused on helping the liver process environmental toxins better. It's not the kind you'd get from the health food store; this focuses more on helping the liver cope with whatever kind of toxins are floating around in the system. They have a full diet plan with it: 21 days of different recipes, and it comes with similar ideas on cancer proof: going room to room to reduce toxic load. A few times per year they do it live, so people can join the live group. They have group calls and a private group. You can check it out here.
7. Anything else you want to share with our audience? In addition to Cancer Proof, she has a free program that walks through the five things people need to address to reduce the risk of recurrence: it's called The Great Life. The one thing we haven't addressed is exercise. That's super important when it comes to cancer risk. If that was a drug, pill, or supplement, it would be the #1 cancer drug on the market. It reduces risk of cancer and risk of recurrence. Circulating tumor cells (little mini tumors) are spliced when we exercise because of how fast the blood pumps through our vessels. The effect lasts 48-72 hours. The studies have looked at 170 minutes as the magic number for exercise. Doesn't matter if it's all in one day or if you break it up over several days.

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Today's meditation comes from 1 Samuel 7:12.Background music courtesy of Ben Sound at www.bensound.comDownload the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's podcast comes from this article, What Causes High Blood Pressure?Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's meditation comes from Isaiah 54:17, but it also covers most of chapter 54.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's interview is with Dr Lee Know. Dr Know is a licensed naturopathic doctor, recipient of several awards, and has held positions as medical advisor, scientific evaluator, and director of research and development for major organizations. He's the author of Mitochondria and the Future of Medicine (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018), the Director of Scientific Affairs for Canada, and consultant to other natural health product brands.

1. Your book, "Mitochondria and the Future of Medicine," makes some pretty amazing claims about the importance of mitochondria to our overall health. You go into a lot of detail in the book, but for those who might not be familiar, could you just briefly explain what mitochondria are and what they do for us? The cell is comprised of different organelles: these are distinct structures that carry out specialized functions. The mitochondria is one of these organelles. Their main role is as a powerhouse for the cell: they produce energy. Everything that happens in the body requires an input of energy, and over 90% of that is produced by the mitochondria.
2. Along those lines: can you briefly summarize the Mitochondrial Theory of Aging? This theory has been around for a number of years now. It overcomes some of the issues with previous theories of aging like the free radical theory. It says that the health and function of the mitochondria within our cells is the biological clock. This looks at the health of the mitochondria and their ability to produce energy and meet the demands of a particular cell. There is a process that happens on the inner membrane of the mitochondria called the Electron Transport Chain: these pass electrons from one complex to the next. But if the electrons spill out, they will cause damage to the mitochondrial DNA. When the mitochondrial DNA is damaged, it can't produce proteins in the ETC anymore, and the mitochondrial production of energy will slow down. This will lower cellular health. It's the free radicals generated at the level of the mitochondria that have the greatest impact on aging. Those from exogenous sources have only a minor impact.
   1. Side note here: I thought the fact that babies have more UCPs to keep them warm fascinating! Didn't realize that brown fat was protective against degenerative diseases because the excess energy gets dissipated as heat rather than turned into free radicals, either. Very cool! Can you address what this means for certain populations in terms of exercise (and how important it is, relatively speaking?) Infants are able to maintain body temp bc they have a lot of brown adipose tissue or brown fat. The mitochondria is high in uncoupling proteins. Under normal circumstances, we create energy by the ETC, pumping protons into a space and those protons create ATP. UCPs uncouple the proton gradient and those protons will flow back through other channels. The result is heat. For infants, that's a way for them to generate heat. There's also research going on into how to increase brown fat in adults. People who have low brown fat and UCPs are more overweight. If we can increase this, we'll dissipate the proton gradient. This is how hibernating animals can go all year and hibernate in cold temperatures. This is why they eat such high fat diets to store up energy. Also talks about this with different populations. The Inuit in the far N have more uncoupling proteins than people who live closer to the equator. One of the ways we can increase brown fat is through cold exposure. Our bodies will adapt because of this. If you're from warmer climates, you don't want to generate more heat. This is why hydrotherapy is great!
3. One key insight in your book seems to be the feedback mechanisms involved in the mitochondria itself?and taking antioxidants may hinder this process (at least compared to reducing the free radical leakage in the first place, on uncoupling electrons from ATP production). Can you elaborate on this a bit? The free radicals that matter most are generated at the level of the mitochondria. Free radicals are generally thought to be negative, but in reality they have a positive aspect too. When put into context of what else is going on in the cell, these help our bodies adapt. You don't want to neutralize these. Controlled exposure to oxidative stress can increase life span. Training with exercise, for instance, generates free radicals, but when those are generated in that sense, they send a positive signal. According to the study, antioxidants during the training phase will blunt the response to that training.

1. You mention that the one proven way to extend life is calorie restriction in your book. Tell me a little more about why this is. Calorie restriction means fewer electrons enter the ETC and therefore fewer free radicals are created. This also turns certain genes on and off.
   1. But: CoQ10: this isn't a vitamin, we produce it ourselves. But it becomes more vitamin-like as we age bc our bodies produce less of it. Its role: it's a component of the ETC, accepts electrons from complex 1 and 2 and passes them to complex 3. Availability of CoQ10 can be a bottleneck in mitochondrial efficiency. You want an excess of this bc it's a busy molecule. It lowers in older people, especially people with certain health conditions. There are many studies now that have shown that when you supplement these people with CoQ10, you get the mitochondria working a lot better. Allows the cells to act more efficiently.
   2. Magnesium: numerous studies show that about 70% of the population doesn't even get the RDA amount. This is the minimum amount of a nutrient that prevents a deficiency syndrome in 98% of the population. This is minimum, not optimal amount. Magnesium is a cofactor in many different processes in the body. Many enzymes in the body need magnesium as a cofactor. ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate) is actually magnesium ATP. Every molecule of ATP is attached to a magnesium. This is very important for energy production. People will often report that they feel less tired when they take it.
2. It seems your two favorite nutrients for mitochondrial support are CoQ10 and Magnesium. Is this true? And can you explain a little about why each is important, and who should be supplementing with them? There are a lot of nutrients out there that are still helpful besides these.
   1. Diastolic BP is the pressure when your cardiovascular system is at rest. This is a function of how elastic your blood vessels are and how well they can relax. Muscle relaxation actually takes more energy than muscle contraction. (An example of this: when we die, we're no longer producing energy and the muscles go into rigor mortis.) We have muscles surrounding all our blood vessels. When they don't have the energy necessary to relax, that's what causes the diastolic number to increase.
3. D-Ribose also gets a spotlight. What are some of the key features that make you consider this supplement for a patient? (And can you explain further the association between ribose and diastolic hypertension?) This is a 5-carbon sugar, not a 6-carbon sugar like glucose or fructose. This is very safe for diabetics and there's a potential that it could even lower blood sugar. D-Ribose is the backbone of the adenosine molecule that creates ATP. It's a critical building block of the molecule. Our bodies normally produce enough of this on its own ? don't necessarily need to supplement it. But in certain circumstances, the body can't produce it fast enough to meet the body's demands. That's why it's often recommended for Chronic Fatigue and fibromyalgia. Because we're constantly in a state where we're depleting adenosine, sometimes people just can't keep up with the demand. D-Ribose can help balance this. The ketogenic diet is very popular, but our bodies use glucose as a starting material to create D-Ribose; so if you're low on carb intake, you're starving the body for the building block for D-Ribose. For anyone going through ketosis, the addition of D-Ribose is helpful.
4. Can you explain the connection between glutamate, excitotoxicity, and declining neuronal cell energy? (And why this means MSG isn't a great idea?) MSG gets converted to glutamate in the body which is an excitatory neurotransmitter. Too much of this causes neurons to be in an excited state for too long a period of time. This adds stress, and the CNS is the most energy-intense system in the body. When you're exposed to glutamate, this will create stress that will lead to the energy molecules like ATP to be depleted. Sometimes with MSG after you eat, you'll have a rapid HR and sweating, which is because of the excitatory effects of glutamate, but then you deplete everything and wear out the neurons, and a few hours later, you get a very low energy level.
   1. Statins: these are the most prescribed drugs in the world to lower cholesterol. Assuming that you believe that cholesterol is an issue to begin with: these block the enzyme that produce cholesterol. This is why it's so effective in lowering cholesterol. The problem is, that same enzyme produces CoQ10. So this induces CoQ10 deficiency and sets you up for cardiovascular disease. Statins have no place in healthcare! If you're looking to lower cholesterol, there are natural ways to do it. But if you are taking them, you should be on CoQ10 too. You should also be on Vit D as well, since statins will also deplete this.
   2. Antibiotics: these are particularly damaging to mitochondria. Mitochondria were once individual bacteria, and antibiotics are great at killing bacteria?so mitochondria are therefore also susceptible. Antibiotics are also way overprescribed. They not only decimate the microbiome, but they can inflict significant damage on the mitochondria.
   3. Tylenol/Acetaminophen. This is considered the biggest cause of liver damage in the US and Canada from accidental overdose. It depletes our bodies' stores of glutathione. Glutathione is an incredibly important source of antioxidant support, and without it, the oxidative damage generated by the ETC can damage the DNA of the mitochondria, causing them to slow down and be less efficient.
5. What would you say are the top two or three most popular drugs that can disrupt mitochondrial function?
6. PQQ can actually stimulate the growth of new mitochondria?! Tell me more about this. (And it's high in chocolate - yay!!) PQQ is another interesting nutrient found in small amounts throughout the food chain. This was the first nutrient to show mitochondrial biogenesis. Prior to seeing this with PQQ, the only way to increase mitochondria was with physical activity. But we see it with PQQ too ? even without exercise.
7. What are other things to avoid (besides pharmaceuticals) to preserve mitochondrial health? Most standard toxins will have an impact: heavy metals, pesticides (another good reason to eat organic!). In a lab setting, some studies look at Parkinson's in a rat model and they use a pesticide to create mitochondrial damage so that they can then study the results! But we willingly consume them. The FDA is not looking at damage to the mitochondria, nor is the USDA. Artificial food colors are damaging as well.
8. Anything I haven't asked you that you want to make sure you communicate to our audience? Exercise is probably the most important thing you can do for your mitochondrial health. This is how our bodies adapt and get stronger. At rest, which is the bulk of the day, the metabolic demand on each individual mitochondria is considerably less. That's why there's the exercise paradox: physical activity does create a lot of free radicals, but those are the "good" ones and allow our bodies to get stronger. This is one reason why athletes have longer and healthier lives. One of the motivating factors for people to get up and get active is to understand the rationale.

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Today's meditation comes from Psalm 86, but we jump all over, from Genesis through Psalms.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Dr. Ingels is the author of The Lyme Solution: A 5-Part Plan To Fight The Inflammatory Autoimmune Response And Beat Lyme Disease (get your copy here!), and a respected leader in natural medicine with numerous publications, international lectures and 30 years experience in the healthcare field. Dr. Ingels is a licensed naturopathic physician in the State of Connecticut and a licensed Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine in the State of California. He maintains practices in both states.

Dr. Ingels' practice focuses on environmental medicine with special emphasis on Lyme disease, autism, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS and PANDAS) and chronic immune dysfunction, including allergies, asthma, recurrent or persistent infections and other genetic or acquired immune problems.

1. Antibiotics are still considered the standard treatment for Lyme; even Lyme-literate MDs still use them in high, long-term doses and sometimes via IV. Can you discuss what you've seen clinically with the patients who use this approach, versus those who go for herbs right off the bat? Dr Ingels had Lyme himself, and did the standard course of treatment: 21 days of doxycycline. He got sick just before starting his own practice and was working 10-12 hr days. After 8 mo got symptoms again. He figured it probably wasn't a new tick bite. Changed to other antibiotics. Over 8-9 mo, changed the protocol. He lost 25 lbs. He saw Dr Zhong and began his herbal protocol, and within weeks, pt was 85% better. That was his wake-up call. In acute Lyme, Abx can be very effective. But chronic or persistent state, they seems to do more harm than good. Antibiotics damage the mitochondria, compounding the problems that occur from antibiotics themselves. They have clinical improvement while they're on it, but within weeks to months, they're back to square one. Herbal therapy encompasses a broader scope of what Lyme does to the body, and is not totally focused on the organism. They are also anti-inflammatory, improve circulation, and help brain fog. There is good evidence in the literature ? eventually Lyme becomes autoimmune.
2. Have you seen that prior antibiotic use prolongs the length of time that patients will require herbal treatment? Long-term ABx: have to undo the damage that has occurred. Have to do all the right things to improve gut function: probiotics, glutamine, digestive enzymes, etc. With animal studies: can take up to 6 mo to repopulate after a single round of antibiotics. It's hard to know when we get the gut back to a normal healthy level. He does see MCAS on people who have been on long-term ABx. It's part of the damage to the gut.
3. Your top herbal protocols are Zhang and a modified Cowden, followed by Byron White and Stephen Buhner. These latter two are the ones I have most experience with, largely for price and ease of use. Can you briefly discuss the differences between the four herbal protocols for our listeners? He went through the Zhang protocol himself, and out of all those out there, it's the one that casts the widest net, addressing all the issues that Lyme addresses. It is a complicated medical condition. Chinese herbal medicine as a whole: it's not one herb for one condition. They help balance each other. There's more of an intention behind it. Dr. Zhang started looking at the pharmacology of what the herbs are doing. It addresses the broadest scope of what Lyme does, and there's a lot less herxing. The nature of how the herbs are formulated minimizes this. The biggest down side is cost. He did meet with the company out of CA: makes sure they are free of heavy metals and etc and they are highly concentrated, but this process makes them pricey. A month's supply: $450-500. Dr Cowden herbs: the whole protocol was complicated and hard to follow: 8-12 herbs. But some of the herbs work better than doxycycline, and there are just four of them that are really necessary. He has people go on just those four. People like them bc they're liquids: drops in water, easy to take, don't taste horrible (so it's reasonable for kids) and the cost: $125-130 for 6 weeks. It's more cost-effective for people. Dr Zhang: 80% get clinical improvement, or Cowden: 70%. He's had people who start on one protocol and change to another and feel better. At the end of the day, the protocols all do the same kind of thing. He hasn't used Byron White and Beyond Balance as much: lots of herxing. But these are drop doses, so it's easy for people to do them.
4. For herxing, I generally recommend slowing down herbal treatments, and/or infrared sauna or deep tissue Swedish massage (per Buhner's recommendations). I haven't tried the herbs you list (AI#3 or burbur)?can you speak to their mechanism of action? The AI #3 is anti-inflammatory. Burbur is more about detox: improving these pathways which helps to reduce inflammation. Some people will take burbur every 10-15 minutes. Alkalinizing the body also helps with herxing: reducing allergies and sensitivities. TriSalts: a sodium, potassium, and bicarb formula seems to help. Bicarb alkalinizes the body, and this seems to reduce allergies, autoimmunity, inflammation, etc.
5. You recommend an alkaline diet for your Lyme patients. Why this one? Our bodies function well at an alkaline pH. The rest of the body is very alkaline. All the things in the environment tend to make us very acidic. The down-stream effect is that this creates more inflammation in the body. Dr Ingels found that an alkaline diet clinically is beneficial, but it's something people can follow long-term. The ketogenic diet is hard to sustain long-term. Paleo: tend to eat a lot of meat. With alkaline diet, trying to keep animal protein to 20%. You can eat too much meat! It's hard on the kidneys: too much of this can be an issue.
   1. He had a little boy with classic PANS and had sky-high strep Abs. Started treating for strep and he got a little better but the symptoms were still there. He had been treated for Lyme and thought he was fine. Gave Lyme LDI and he reacted. What he thinks happened in his case: Lyme was still there but strep was the catalyst. The Lyme triggered the autoimmune reaction.
6. You discuss immunotherapy, as well. Can you discuss briefly what it is for the audience? Who makes a good candidate for immunotherapy? When do you add this in? Low-Dose Immunotherapy is a type of therapy designed to modulate the way the immune system reacts to an organism. At a certain point, Lyme becomes autoimmune and this tries to turn that off. Dr Ty Vincent, the founder, had done another therapy called LDA (low dose allergy therapy). He realized that the mechanism by which the immune system reacts to an allergen is similar. LDI has been a game-changer for a lot of patients. Will start people on an herbal protocol first, bc he's not sure we ever 100% get rid of Lyme. We never really know if it's gone. He likes to use herbs to reduce the load in the body first. If there are 1000 bacteria aggravating the body, you can get it down to 100 or 10 and people do feel an improvement. LDI can be applied to any microbe. In can be a game-changer, but in some cases it can be a trainwreck too ? might cause flares. This tells us that the organism for which they are being treated is probably why they feel the way they feel. If you give a dose and they don't flare, it may not be a huge trigger. Once you find out what the right dose is, they have another one every 7-8 weeks. 1.5-2 yrs is normal for treatment. Usually it's not just Lyme: there are other microbes that play a role. Dr Vincent has had 150 docs in N America who have trained with him on how to do it. But this is one of the few therapies that really helps to turn off the autoimmunity.
7. What is your preferred testing for coinfections ? or do you typically go by symptoms? Lyme is a clinical diagnosis. Even the CDC website says that. He used to do this test for a living as a microbiologist. This test was developed 40 yrs ago, and based on a group of people who had known Lyme Disease: they drew their blood and saw what was there and assumed those were typical. Some of the Abs turned out to be specific and some not. Lyme-specific Abs suggests that you've been exposed but not necessarily that the organism is causing your current issues. There is value in testing: does it through labs that are more specific: Global Lyme Diagnostics, IgeneX, Medical Diagnostic Lab in New Jersey. False positives are non-existent. For coinfection testing: same labs for this as well. Thinks it's a good idea to know what you're dealing with.
8. Can you talk about a few key symptoms that will lead you to think of specific coinfections? Bullseye rash or migratory joint pain is Lyme. Nothing else does that. Bartonella: purple/reddish streaks on the skin that look like stretch marks. Most stretch marks with weight loss tend to be clear to opaque. Also tends to have a lot of neuropathy, though that can also be Lyme. Babesia: cyclical fever, hot flushing. Temp doesn't always go up but they'll feel feverish. Air hunger also: don't feel like you're getting a deep breath. Anaplasma, RMSF: unless you get the rash, nothing unique to these.
9. Along those lines: you say CD57 is not Lyme-specific, and while I've certainly heard this too (and have seen exceptions in practice), I have never seen any studies to indicate what other conditions can cause low CD57. Do you know of any in particular? Mold can do this and it can mimic Lyme more than anything else. If people are on Lyme treatment and not responding well, mold would be something they'd look at next. A lot of viruses can cause this as well, and there are some who inherently have low CD57. Most people don't have this tested until they get sick. Viruses can invade the white cells and cause them to go low. He's never found that it correlates with much and doesn't think it's a reliable marker on how they're doing. He stopped doing that a long time ago.
10. Lyme Testing: the questionnaire in Dr Ingels' book is one of the better markers for whether or not you have Lyme. Every lab test can have a false negative. Trying to assess whether you've had exposure: 23, 34, 39, 93. A lot of these are called negative bc they're measuring quantity of Abs, measuring you against a control. The threshold for yes/no is too high. The Lyme screening test is only 43% sensitive.
11. You mention that there is little evidence that Lyme can transmit in utero. I'm surprised by this, as I'd always heard the opposite, and have seen Lyme show up in moms and kids (or at least Lyme specific bands show up on WB in kids and also in spouses of Lyme patients). Can you elaborate on this a bit? This is controversial. In the research, with maternal transmission, kids have higher risks of birth defects. He has worked with families where he's seen children born to mothers with Lyme and seen developmental delays that make him believe they may have acquired Lyme from mom. With Ab testing, if you'll test a child, only IgG passes the placenta so you won't know if that's Mom's or the child's. If you see IgM in the child, that's the child, not mom. There is some maternal transmission: that's his opinion. We all go through the decision of do we treat during pregnancy? He's surprised in some ways that docs may give Abx during pregnancy but won't give herbs. He tends to use the modified Cowden in pregnant women bc there's no evidence of toxicity in the individual herbs. Does recommend pregnant moms get treated if they know they have Lyme disease. In the first 6 mo, you can also see it come over from Mom. Sexual transmission: the research says no. He hasn't seen good evidence of this. It's possible, but unclear. If there's a blood exchange it's possible but unlikely.
12. Do you have any recommended way to test for biofilms internally, or do you just assume they're there with chronic infections and always include them in a Lyme protocol? There's not a great way to test for this. There are some companies that say Dark Field Microscopy. But it's based on our knowledge of Lyme. Presence of biofilms are not abnormal, but Lyme is incredibly good at making biofilms. We do this to give the immune system the best chance.
13. Anything I have not asked: self-care: it's easy to let this slide if you're chronically sick. Get good quality sleep: this is when the body repairs and restores itself. Moving your body: exercise is critical. You can do gentle things like stretching, yoga, etc. He likes this bc it's adaptable to any fitness level. Mental health: if you're chronically ill, this is mentally and emotionally taxing. At some point your friends and family get tired of hearing about it. It's important to establish a support system outside of friends and family: a Lyme support group, a therapist. Make yourself a priority.

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These are some of my notes from our discussion! Dr Aumatma also wants to offer her free e-book, "Diva's Detox Guide" to our listeners. Get yours here!

1. Bio: Dr. Aumatma is a Naturopathic Doctor, with a Master's in Nutrition, who has been practicing medicine for over 10 years. She specializes her practice solely on Fertility, Pregnancy, and Post-Partum, is the best-selling author of "Fertility Secrets: What Your Doctor Didn't Tell You About Baby-Making," and is a sought out speaker on topics of Fertility, Women's Health, and Women's Empowerment. Dr. Aumatma was also awarded the "Best Alternative Medicine Practitioner? award; she consults with clients locally in the Bay Area and works virtually with clients all over the world.
2. Not only do you specialize in fertility?but you are pregnant yourself. Congrats! (Relevant questions here: is this your first? How long have you been planning this, and why now?) Her partner has been ready for 2+ years and she's been putting it off. Last year, she decided she was going to start prepping. It was about 12 mo of preparation. She was using all the tools in her tool kit to maximize and optimize her fertility. Her assumption going in was that if she plans this well enough and prepare well enough, she'd have few symptoms during pregnancy ? and that's how it turned out!
3. What did your "preparation" phase entail: what kind of testing did you undergo in advance, diet changes, supplements, etc? She started running hormone testing for fertility, the nutrient analysis through Spectracell, and food sensitivity testing. In April of last year, pt started having digestive symptoms, and found intestinal permeability. By June or July of last year she was feeling a lot better, best in her life.
4. I understand you're over 35, which puts you, according to traditional medicine, in the "high risk" category. Does this change some of your protocol, both before and during pregnancy? She hasn't done anything different. This is the same protocol that she would run on a 30 or 25 yo to do preconception care. You want to make sure your systems are working. Those are the core: hormones, nutrients, and the gut. The difference comes in with egg and uterine quality. Those are the things that change as you get older. But she's seen 30 yo with poor egg quality: lifestyle, nutrients, alcohol intake, etc. It's just a case by case basis.
5. If you could name the top 3 things any woman could do to prolong fertility, what would they be? 1) get good quality sleep. At the minimum, 6 hours. Can be based on the body type. 6-9. 2) Make sure you're getting good quality, purified water that is not in plastic bottles. Water is crucial to hormone balance and plastics throw off hormones with BPA and all that stuff. 2.5) Make sure your body is not having higher exposures to toxins and for women, especially, most women are walking out with toxic ingredients on the skin. Get products that are free of these hormone imbalancers. 3) Eliminate the alcohol, or at least reduce it. She has heard lots of fertility docs say to cut it out completely. She generally agrees with that, except that it's not likely. 1-2 glasses per week.
6. Is there a specific exercise regimen you would recommend for women to increase their changes of conceiving? A lot of exercises are good, but the one that she really enjoys and likes: 8 min alternating running and walking. 8 min daily, 4-5 times per week. Interval training. That affects HGH which trickles down to affect all hormones.
7. Many career-oriented women over 35yo are hesitant to get pregnant because they hear geriatric pregnancies increases the risk of genetic abnormalities, including Down Syndrome. Can you please shed some light on that? The chances are higher of this when you're older. But her oldest lady that has been pregnant is 44 and she's worked with everything up to that and never seen a case of Down's Syndrome in her practice. But epigenetics plays a role in how our bodies process the nutrients that we have. Make sure your body is optimal regardless of your age.
8. How are you handling some of the pregnancy symptoms? Which ones are you experiencing and what are you doing to deal with them? (Morning sickness, fatigue, etc). She had fatigue for the first 3-4 weeks of pregnancy even before she knew she was pregnant. She just let her body rest. All of her fears kicked in, so she had to do some mind-body healing to process those things. After that, the fatigue lasted another week or two. Then she started taking the prenatal after the positive result and that helped a lot. Nausea: really mild, treated with ginger tea. That resolved itself. Since then she hasn't had a ton of symptoms.
9. For women who have had recurrent miscarriages, what would you say are the top things that you check (and correct) as possible causes? It's important to find the root cause, from miscarriages or not getting pregnant. The patterns she sees: epigenetic or genetic abnormalities, a mutation in certain gene sequences: MTHFR, COMT, VDR are common. The second: making sure egg quality is good. That's where nutrient testing comes in: make sure the woman has the right levels of nutrients. Then gut inflammation. This is the weakest scientific link but she often sees women that have had miscarriages have intestinal permeability.
10. For women who have experienced difficulty getting pregnant, what would you say are the top things that you check (and correct) as possible causes? Same as above. Women who can get pregnant have fewer hormonal imbalances. Low progesterone: you'll have this if you have poor egg quality. Antioxidants, L-Carnitine, CoQ10, vitamin D help to support this. She is less of a fan of DHEA. They almost always get gut symptoms from that, and she has almost never seen it work. If you have low AMH, that won't help it. The other thing they do a lot for egg quality is low level laser therapy. She changes the protocol for out-of-town patients so they can do it in 4 days. This increases egg quality and AMH levels.
11. Would you recommend a technique called seed cycling? If so, have you found it particularly helpful? She likes the technique. She has recommended it to a few women that are borderline hormonal imbalance, but it's not significant enough to justify major interventions. Tends to improve in those cases.
12. Anything else? Get Dr Aumatma's Diva's Detox Guide! http://holisticfertilitycenter.com/divas-detox-guide-2/

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Today's episode is an interview with my colleague, Dr Jillian Stansbury. These are the questions I asked and a paraphrase of Dr Stansbury's answers.

1. Biography: Dr Jillian Stansbury is a naturopathic physician who has practiced in SW Washington for almost 30 years specializing in women's health, mental health, and chronic disease. She holds undergraduate degrees in Medical Illustration and Medical Assisting and graduated with honors in both programs. Dr Stansbury is the former Chair of the Botanical Medicine Program at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, OR and remains on the faculty teaching natural products chemistry, botanical influences on cell biology, ethnobotany field course, and other miscellaneous topics in herbal medicine. Dr Stansbury also writes for numerous professional journals and lay publications, plus teaches around the country at a variety of medical and herbal conferences. She frequently travels to Cusco ? "the navel of the world" - and the Peruvian Amazon, studying South American plants and working with various tribes in the jungles of Manu and Iquitos. She is the mother of 2 adult children, enjoys hiking, cooking, music and plays the guitar, banjo, churango and sings, maintains large gardens, and engages in all sorts of arts and crafts.

2. Tell us a little about your book, "Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 1: Digestion and Elimination, including the Gastrointestinal System, Liver and Gallbladder, Urinary System, and the Skin." I know it's part of a series of volumes. Can you explain why you grouped these systems all together? These are grouped because they are all "emunctory" organs - organs of elimination. this is the first Volume in a series of practical formulas textbooks, aimed at health professionals because they use medical terminology and discuss quite a bit of chemistry and molecular mechanisms of action. These books are something akin to my life's work, as they represent my 30 years of teaching experience, clinical experience, and decades of keeping abreast of the published studies. The series is 5 volumes all together and is a huge undertaking.

3. Is it better to take botanical medicine with or without meals? It's better to take them with meals if prone to nausea; otherwise, what's most important is just to remember to take them!

4. Cleansing is tremendously popular, and probably the best known herb for liver cleansing in the public is milk thistle. Can you tell us a little about some lesser known liver cleansing herbs and indications for their use? The alteratives: these will alter you for the better. These are bitter roots: dandelion, berberine, rumex. These are cosmopolitan: they grow around the world. Somewhat nourishing but gentle laxatives, gentle stimulants. Many contain inulin: prebiotic. Creates an ecosystem; burdock, dandelion, rumex. Will use these in teas, tinctures. You can make your own dandelion roots from the garden. The bitterness blends well with celery, etc like spinach. The bitterness is desirable too, seems to stimulate saliva flow. To make dandelion from your garden into a tea, you could just rinse them out and chop them into smaller pieces and simmer them in a pot of water and drink them, or save the row you're weeding until you have a small bowl full. Chop, dry, and simmer a tsp of those per cup of hot water.

5. Some great studies have come out indicating that herbal treatments for SIBO are just as effective as the tremendously expensive Rifaximin. What are your favorite herbs for the treatment of SIBO? delayed stomach emptying and gastroparesis: favor motility enhancing herbs. This predisposes to SIBO. Rumex, or yellow dock, contains emotin. Other herbs that contain this are great for motility. Rheum is rhubarb root used in China. 1-2 of those will enhance motility. In other cases, people might develop SIBO bc of stomach acid and reflux and GERD. Sometimes the problem is low stomach acid. Taking vinegar or enzymes might be important for some people. In other cases, getting rid of allergens might help. Demulcent herbs: these have mucilaginous properties, and include aloe, slippery elm, marshmallow, and licorice. These support the barrier function of the stomach.

6. I often use herbs to treat yeast overgrowth and dysbiosis in general, and find it more effective than some of the prescription medications, as well. Can you discuss some of your favorite herbs for these conditions? Diet is essential; it's hard to recover from yeast if you're feeding them with their favorite food: sugar. Berberine is a constituent in a plant, not a plant name. Gets its name from berberis. Mahonia root and berbers are also excellent alternatives and are the source of berberine, as are goldenseal, coptis, etc. There is lots of research on berberine: you can now purchase concentrated berberine against yeast, SIBO, pathogenic bacteria. Essential oils are also great: these could be in the whole food or herb state. All volatile oils are anti-microbial against yeast, candida, etc without harming good bacteria. She likes teas quite a bit for this; gentle, cheap, more prolonged surface contact. 2-3 cups of tea in a row will fill your stomach for 15-20 min and touch every cell in the intestines. A few herbs that are concentrated essential oils: mint oil, peppermint capsules, and oregano oil capsules.

7. If a patient struggles with skin conditions such as acne or eczema or psoriasis, do you have favorite skin cleansing herbs that are a go-to, or do you start by opening their emunctories with liver and gut specific herbs first? For skin conditions, it starts with the gut. One prong of the protocol should be liver and digestive herbs. Diet may be important too. Eczema is more allergic or atopic, so these patients might get more EFAs or things that alter the atopic tendency. Psoriasis is more autoimmune: for these people, look for immune modulating herbs such as reishi, astragalus, etc. But all protocols for people with skin conditions should treat the gut, open emunctories, and improve intestinal dysbiosis. For skin complaints she also likes to add in beta carotene, zinc. For dry, itchy skin, especially good to add EFAs, fish oil or flax seed oil. Zinc and copper are also important for collagen, elastin, etc.

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Today's meditation comes from all of Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the Messiah; but we camp out on Isaiah 53:5. We also briefly jump to Exodus 15:26.To see more about the two Hebrew words we look at, here's shalowm, and here's rapha.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's podcast comes from this article, Postpartum Depression and Homocysteine. Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's podcast comes from the story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24. We also jump to Revelation 2:14, Deuteronomy 28, and a few other places.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's episode comes from this article, Inflammatory Markers: CRP, hsCRP and ESRI also reference this article on Inflammation, and this article on the specific immune system and T helper cells.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's meditation comes from James 1:26 but we're in Proverbs a lot too.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's podcast comes from this article, Glycemic Index vs Glycemic Load.As promised, here's the chart that helps separate these out.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's meditation comes from Matthew 6:5-18, when Jesus taught about prayer.Background music courtesy of Ben Sound at www.bensound.comDownload the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's podcast comes from this article: Your Vagus Nerve: The Key to 'Rest and Digest'As promised, here are some Stress Management Techniques to try.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's meditation comes from Mark 4:18-20, but we read from Mark 4:1-20.Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!

Today's episode comes from this article, "What Our Food Cravings Say About Us." I also reference this article, "Basic Healthy Eating." Download the latest episode of Christian Natural Health!