Dr Marike de Klerk - Homeopath

Relaxation reduces cortisol : reduces high blood insulin

Cortisol is the main driver in our stress response. It is secreted in response to any actual or perceived stress situation. Stress is a common occurrence in our daily lives. It definitely does not have to be major stresses like death in a family or divorce, it could be an accumulation of small stresses like traffic, relationships and financial worries. High cortisol is one of the drivers for insulin resistance as an elevation in this hormone signals to the body that fight and flight might be necessary. For this rapid action, utilization of sugars are necessary to fuel the heart, brain and muscles to function. This will contribute to unstabilize your blood insulin.

How do we decrease cortisol?

We have to employ habits to put our bodies in a state of rest and digest and not fight and flight. You can engage in many activities, but generally the more enjoyable and calming they are, the better. Reading a good book that makes you feel good and entertains you is one such a way. Do not read anything upsetting as this will stimulate the areas in your brain that will increase your stress response.

Sleep yourself thin

If it was just that easy? But it could be. And like I always say, it doesn't need to be rocket science.

This is how it works.

Cortisol is your stress hormone that is produced by your adrenal glands in response to a stressful situation, along with other stress hormones like adrenalin. Cortisol has the very important job to keep you alive. It mobilizes the body to increase bloodflow, energy usage, available sugar in the blood for you to get yourself out of a potentially life threatening situation.

We are all aware of the fact that we live in a state of perpetual perceived stress and this causes an epidemic of people living either in a high cortisol crisis or adrenal fatigue and burnout.

How does high cortisol affect your blood sugar and how can it be a contributing factor to cause insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.

When cortisol rises in response to stress, your body gets ready to flee. It mobilizes simple sugars into the bloodstream for energy for muscles to act, brain power to act decisively and lungs and heart to be ready for running away. This happens inappropriately when you are stressed and since blood sugar circulating in the blood in a too high concentration is the mechanism for insulin resistance, you will then understand how stress can be a factor to increase and aggravate insulin resistance.

This abundance of sugars in the blood needs to be mitigated as high levels of blood glucose can be life threatening. So what does the body do? It mobilizes and stores these sugars in fat cells where they cannot cause serious harm.

Unfortunately this process will result in increased body weight, a common symptoms of insulin resistance.

Sleep is the body's natural way of shutting down and slowing down. The body performs many functions while in a sleep state, one of which would be to reset from stress and recuperate adrenal glands.

7 to 8 hours sleep is prescribed for the body to be able to perform these functions. In the fight against insulin resistance, it is then essential to adress your sleep habits and also your quality of sleep. Supplementation of certain minerals, herbals and homeopathic medicines can assist you if you are giving sleeping difficulties.

The most important meal of the day is the one you break your fast with.

These foods can protect against insulin resistance.

These foods can cause insulin resistance.

Insulin Resistance is a reversible, and manageable modern epidemic.

In most cases, the journey has been a long one. From realizing that your child has some difficulties in school, behavioural issues, and then starting the process of finding specialists in the area of ADHD to have your child diagnosed and medicated, may take months or sometimes even years.

And now you are here. Your child is on medication and things are looking better. They might be experiencing side effects from the medications that they are currently on, but overall there is some light at the end of the tunnel. But you are still asking the question; "Why is this happening to my child? What caused it? Is there anything I can do about it?"

The answer is simply that you will probably never know exactly what caused this. It will most probably be a combination of a few factors. It is the last drop that makes the bucket overflow. But what can definitely be done is to look at the root causes, address these, and improve ADHD symptoms in your child.

The big areas to look at would be nutritional deficiencies. Common deficiencies are magnesium, zinc, deficiencies of trace minerals, of which lithium is probably the most common.

Abnormalities in the gut is another probable cause. Refined sugar is the food that affects the gut the most. As the amount of highly sweetened foods and beverages increase, so do the symptoms of ADHD. Gut dysbiosis is a condition where the bad bacteria outweighs the good ones. These bacteria will make toxic by- products that affect neurotransmitters and will increase symptoms such as impulsivity and anxiety. This imbalance needs to be corrected.

Food sensitivities and leaky or permeable gut also contributes to ADHD symptoms, or the aggravation thereof. Identifying the causes and addressing the permeability is important.

Deep restorative sleep is essential for children with ADHD and since many of the ADHD medications can cause restlessness and anxiety, many kids have poor sleep. This is important to correct with certain supplements or remedies.

Unbalanced blood sugar can cause increased irritability as well as fluctuations in energy in ADHD patients. Addressing feeding times as well as food combinations is essential. Supplements or re

This Skin Condition Can Be a Sign of Diabetes...

Darkening of the skin at the nape of the neck could be an early indication of insulin resistance and diabetes.
The condition, called Acanthosis Nigricans (AN), is marked by the darkening and thickening of the skin on the sides or back of the neck, the armpits, under the breast, and groin.

Acanthosis Nigricans is a skin condition that signals high insulin levels in the body.

Acanthosis Nigricans is important because these markings can help identify persons who run the risk of developing diabetes in the future.

Once identified, the necessary measures to lower the insulin levels and reduce the risk of developing diabetes can be taken.

Similarly, the acanthosis nigricans markers will begin to fade.

Acanthosis nigricans is a skin manifestation of insulin resistance and an early indication of diabetes.

Dr. Marike de Klerk

Image Source: National Library of Medicine

Perimenopause and your thyroid.

Perimenopause is the phase before menopause. It can begin as early as in your thirties, but usually start between ages 40 and 45.

You might start noticing that your period is changing- it might be longer or shorter, more frequent or skipping cycles, more or less flow, as well as symptoms that comes with hormonal changes.

http://www.naturopathichealthcarecentre.co.za/articles/perimenopause-and-your-thyroid

What is S Boulardii?

Saccharomyces boulardii, or S. boulardii, is a probiotic, but not a bacteria like we are generally used to, but a beneficial yeast in a capsule form. It has been used for more than 50 years for the prevention and treatment of infectious diarrhea.

That said, S. boulardii has been used traditionally as a component of an herbal preparation for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, well before scientists were able to identify and classify bacteria or yeast.

It grew in sugary or fruity mediums and was initially used to treat diarrhoea, before the organism was isolated as the actual reason for the decoction's effectiveness.

While moving through the digestive system, S. boulardii helps to clean up the intestines and improve microbial balance, but doesnt make the gut its home like other probiotics. It actually helps to clear out and remove opportunistic and pathogenic organisms from the gut, such as yeast, bacteria, and parasites. So, this yeast sets up a healing environment in the gut and takes the pathogens along with it, when it leaves the body through bowel movements. How awesome!!!

S. boulardii increases the amount of secretory IgA that is secreted in the gut. This antibody is critical for the immune function of the mucosal linings of the body, and helps to provide a protective barrier. Viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens adheres to our respiratory and gut linings and can cause infection.

As much as 50 percent of people with Hashimoto’s tend to have low secretory IgA. This could be partially due to genetic or lifestyle factors.
S. boulardii works well for the treatment of diarrhoea because it stimulates the release of antibodies to fight infections as well as helps immune cells to mature. Since S. boulardii attaches itself to pathogenic bacteria, it can neutralize toxins and stop the pathogen from adhering to the walls of the digestive system. Essentially, it calms an overactive immune response in the digestive system.
S. boulardii also benefits the gut by reducing inflammation in the digestive system and helping to reverse leaky gut.

Other conditions that has been shown to be improved by the use of this probiotic is as follows below. Incidentally these conditions are also often seen in Hashimoto's and are thought to be possible root causes for this autoimmune disease.
• Parasites, such as Blastocystis hominis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
• Lyme disease
• Candida (yeast) infections
• Urinary tract infections
• H pylori
• Mold exposure
--
Kind regards,

Dr Marike de Klerk

Constipation can cause a decline in your brain function

We all know by now how important our gut function is for overall health, but the link between gut function and brain function decline is not that well known yet.

Studies done recently are revealing that there is a very probable link between poor gut health, especially chronic constipation and early dementia.

Chronic constipation may not only be a red flag for poor gut health, but a potential warning sign of cognitive decline.

Researchers found that among more than 110,000 middle-aged and older adults, the ones who were chronically constipated, having fewer than three bowel movements a week, showed early signs of poor brain health.

The findings presented at a meeting of the Alzheimer's Association in Amsterdam showed that people with chronic constipation typically performed worse on tests of memory and thinking.

In addition, 73% of these same people reported that they were concerned about a decline in their cognitive function.

The theory behind this research is that constipation and cognition are linked via the gut microbiome.

The science is exploding with research linking abnormal gut microbiome and various diseases, including degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's. Constipated patients with cognitive decline tended to have relatively few gut bacteria that produced butyrate, an important fatty acid that helps control inflammation.

If your brain capapcity has become a concern to you, or perhaps your parents are showing signs of accelerated decline in brain function, please consider adressing their gut function. If they are constipated, this becomes a priority to be sorted out.

Always remember there are much more to be rectified in the gastrointestinal tract than just replacing good bacteria. The gut functions as an "orchestra" and every musical instrument need to play "in tune" for the melody to be beautifull.

If you wondered about our new location....Here is a picture of the outside of the practice to familiarize yourself with.

Naturopathic Health Care Centre Homeopathic Practice. Iridologist. Brooklyn, Pretoria