Autoimmune Conditions
Examples of autoimmune conditions include the following: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Type 1 diabetes Crohn's Disease Hashimoto's thyroiditis Neurological diseases Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Glomerulanephritis Pernicious Anaemia Goodpasture's syndrome Scleroderma Raynaud's Phenomenon Lupus (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]) Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)...
Blood Interpretation
Cholesterol Cholesterol values should only be analyzed after a 12 hour fast. Further, the physician must be aware that the patient's posture prior to the blood draw is significant. If the patient has been in a recumbent posture for more than 20 minutes, cholesterol values may be up to 15% lower than normal. Cholesterol is a blood fat which is the prime building block component to make...
Body Composition
All experts agree that obesity, even being overweight, contributes heavily to all degenerative disease. The United States Surgeon General stated that a failure to address excessive weight and obesity "could wipe out the gains we've made in areas such as heart disease, several forms of cancer, and other chronic health problems." Although attempts to lose weight are common in the...
Cardiovascular Disease
Definitions of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Total cholesterol Cholesterol is a waxy fat like substance. Total cholesterol refers to the sum of the different sub-fractions of cholesterol that are measured in the blood. Total cholesterol is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The National Cholesterol Education Program says 240 is considered high. A person with this level...
Female Conditions
Amenorrhea Absence of menstruation. Amenorrhea may be primary (the girl has never begun her periods) or secondary (the woman had her periods once and then stopped having them). Physiologic amenorrhea is the lack of menses before menarche, during pregnancy and early lactation, and after menopause (all considered normal). All other causes of amenorrhea are pathologic. Causes of Primary...
Fertility / Sexual Dysfunction - Male and Female
10-15% of couples experience the inability to conceive, and the percentage is growing. Men account for 40% of failures to conceive. Of the women who are responsible, failure to ovulate accounts for 30% of infertility problems; pelvic factors (such as tubal disease and endometriosis) account for 50%; cervical pathology is responsible 10% of the time; and in 10-20% of the women no reason is...
Fibromyalgia
Adapted from "Nutritional Therapies for Fibromyalgia Syndrome", written by Kristi Hughes, ND Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain and stiffness, chronic aching, fatigue, and multiple areas of local tenderness that can be identified during physical examination. Research studies suggest that fibromyalgia pain may be the result of a...
Multiple Sclerosis
Nearly 350,000 Americans are affected by one of medicine's most misunderstood diseases, multiple sclerosis. Although there is no known cure, alternative medicine has recognized a number of contributing factors. Often, the early detection and identification of underlying causes combined with strict dietary and life-style guidelines can stabilize or reverse the symptoms.
