Quest for a Healthier Me…and You?

By:  Samantha

            It is hard for many people, including myself, to share with others the health problems they are suffering from.  Some may not want to be pitied, some may think it is no one else’s business, and some may just be embarrassed by their ailments.  Though there are a wide variety of conditions that any one person could be suffering from, many people have common conditions that they either do not think is common or may not realize they have.  It is important for everyone to know that whatever the issue is that they are dealing with they are not alone.

            Let’s start by discussing my health problems.  At the beginning of my visit with Nutritional Consultant Dan McPherson, I told him the basic problems I have been dealing with.  The two major issues I have are always being tired no matter how much I sleep and a pattern of reddish purple marks all over my body.  I also have a problem with thick discolored toenails.  I know that is something that many people, usually older, have and is caused by a fungus in the nail bed.  To me, that is not only embarrassing, but is also kind of gross.  I have tried different things to cure the toenail issue, but none of them had lasting effects.

            The computerized nutritional assessment showed that my Cardiovascular, Digestive, and Liver/Gallbladder regions were weak.  The nutritional response test showed specific items that could be the cause of the weaknesses.  It was no surprise to find out about the fungus, but I also had a reaction to fragrance/chlorine, chicken/eggs, and dairy products.  Dan stated that I am not necessarily allergic to the food items, but I have trouble digesting them.  Another discovery was a hiatal hernia.  Many people suffer from this even if they are unaware that they have it.  This is caused by an enlargement of a small hole in the back of the diaphragm which allows the esophagus to go from the throat to the stomach.  The result is the stomach working it’s way up into the hole.  There is an exercise you can do to try to correct this problem.

1.      Drink a glass of room temperature or slightly warm water when you first get out of bed in the morning.

2.      While standing, bring your arms straight out from your sides and bend your elbows so that your hands are touching your chest.

3.      Stand up on your toes as high as possible and drop.

4.      Drop down like this ten times in a row.

5.      Then, while standing with your arms up, pant short quick breaths for about fifteen seconds.

The warm water acts like a weight in the stomach.  Being warm, it doesn’t cause the stomach to cramp.  Instead, it relaxes it.  Spreading your arms stretches the diaphragm and opens up that hole in the back.  Dropping down on your heels jerks the stomach out of the hole, and the panting tightens up the diaphragm muscle to close the hole.  This exercise must be done everyday to ensure that the hiatal hernia does not return.

            Dan recommended that I do this exercise daily as well as incorporate more cardio based exercise into my daily routine.  He also recommended that I not eat chicken, eggs, or dairy and wrote down four supplements I should take to promote digestive health and detoxify my body.  These are the recommended supplements and their purpose.

Frontier Cleanse - supports metabolic detoxification, G.I., and Colon

Frontier Biotics - probiotic that supports digestive tract health

Spectrazyme - supports digestive system

CandiBactin BR - supports healthy immune system and detoxification (liver/gallbladder)

I have told every doctor I have ever been to about being tired all the time and not one of them has ever seen it as a serious issue since my blood work always comes back normal.  As for the fungus, a podiatrist just wants to remove your toenails and let them grow back in hopes that the fungus will not return with the new nail.  Also, I had been to four doctors, including a dermatologist, before scheduling an appointment with Dan, and none of them could find a concrete reason for my mystery marks.  With no help from anyone else and my symptoms progressively getting worse, it was comforting to hear someone say “All of these symptoms may be the result of an allergy”.  Though I still have my spots thus far, my toenail fungus is slightly better, and I have more energy with the diet restrictions and daily supplements.  Maybe this will open some eyes to natural cures.  Check out my next blog on April 4, 2011 in which I will be discussing food allergies and how to deal with them as well as a detox diet anyone can benefit from.  Thanks for reading!