Like the Yellow Brick Road in the Epic The Wizard of Oz, the road to good health is filled with all sorts of interesting lessons and insights. This article is going to look at many common health challenges that pop up for people, as well as difficulties along the path to good health and ways to really get to your goals by improving function in your body and getting to the underlying causes.
One thing I don’t want to project myself as is a guru or some sort of a miracle worker or ‘Wizard of Oz’ archetype who holds the “keys to the kingdom”. That person does not exist. YOU are the true teacher and the healer. I consider myself more as a guide, pointing you in the right directions and hopefully providing you with useful insights and effective strategies. I acknowledge and maintain that there is no exact nutrition plan or strategy that works the same for everyone. There can’t be. Everyone is biologically unique.
Improve & Restore Function
No matter your what your health challenges are, there are 3 fundamental aspects of health that should be maintained and improved upon by everyone. These are:
- Cellular Hydration
- Digestion/Assimilation
- Elimination
You can talk about the most advanced nutritional strategies and protocols, but unless these 3 fundamental aspects of health are maximized, it is of little to no value to talk about anything else.
Hydration
Hydration is more than drinking adequate water. It is actually the process of supplying the cells with the correct electrolytes so that there is an adequate electrical charge. There are 4 primary electrolytes and 2 primary electrolyte solutions: chloride and sodium are the primary extracellular ions, potassium and phosphorous are the principle intracellular ions. The interplay between these minerals outside of the cells and inside of cells is what generates energy in the body.
Chronic health issues so commonly involve poor hydration and poor electrical charge and communication. Not all electrolyte solutions are going to work the same, and you may need a slightly different proportion of electrolytes than someone else.
Taking celtic sea salt is a good idea for many, but is likely only one part of the equation.
Digestion/Assimilation
Inadequate digestion and assimilation can open up a cascade of various problems including GERD, Leaky Gut, IBS and Chronic Fatigue. If food is not being properly digested or assimilated, your body is being depleted of its enrgetic potential. In addition to this, if there are dysfunctions within digestive processes (HCL deficiency, enzyme deficiency, bile salt deficiency) you may be prone to various kinds of infections like H-Pylori.
Bacterial and parasitic infections due to digestive inadequacies is not something to take lightly. They can become primary throrns in the way of attaining the health you seek.
Depending on each individual, you may need or benefit from various forms of digestive support such as HCL, digestive or pancreatic enzymes or bile acids. The right kind of digestive support must be tailored to each person’s individual needs.
Elimination
If digestion is impaired, it is likely that elimination is impaired too. Constipation is often a very big problem for many people. And the causes can be many: intestinal flora imbalance, chronic candida yeast or parasitic infections, excess sympathetic nervous system activity, anaerobic metabolic imbalances, HCL deficiency and so on.
Taking laxatives is not the solution for improving bowel function. Cleaning up other areas of the digestive tract is. So is supporting the body with the right kind of foods for your type of metabolism.
Supporting Function
The body operates through its relationship between its simplex of systems. Addressing only 1 system when there is a health challenge is an extremely narrow and surface level approach. If there is a problem with the thyroid, it is inadequate to adress only the thyroid. If a person has hypothyroidism, it may be necessary to remain on medication, but realize that in such a condition, the thyroid is only the “tip of the iceberg”. The thyroid has relationships with numerous hormones and glands in the body. There must be investigated the potential dysfunction within numerous systems/glands/organs/metabolic processes.
It is often the case with conditions such as hypothyroidism that there are liver issues as well. This is probably due in part to the fact that the liver is responsible for the conversion of T4 into T3.
So the function of numerous systems must be addressed in order for health to be possible.
Which Functions Should I Investigate?
Once again, it comes back to the needs of the individual. However, from the get go, here are some of the systems/tests that would be worth investigating:
- Metabolic Type Efficiency will be the basis of any nutritional program. Your Metabolic Type is the fundamental pillar of support because the right kind of food for your type of metabolism is the most important aspect of health.
- Gut Function is critical because here is where everything begins. This Biohealth lab test looks at liver function, protein breakdown and free radical activity.
- Steroidal Hormone Function is a very important aspect because steroidal hormones such as cortisol are invloved in numerous biological functions. Cortisol and adrenal functions are critical components to health.
- Intestinal Immune Function testing identifies gut permeability, function of intestinal immunoglobulins. This is a critical component because these functions are what make up intestinal immunity. In chronic health issues like RA and chronic fatigue, intestinal immune function may be severely compromised.
- Mineral Transport & Heavy Metal Toxicity is critical because proper mineral transport is essential for hydration, digestion, neuro-endocrine function. Heavy metal toxicity is very often an underlying factor with numerous health challenges.