A common question I am asked is “how did your wife, Natasha, overcome her EBV?”

While there are numerous ways you could attack EBV, I am going to give you the ones that changed my wife’s life (I don’t say this lightly) and are the ones I use with my patients.

Here You Go!

1. Immune Boosters: We used a lot during her journey. The ones that I feel made the biggest difference are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and zinc.
   
   
2. Biofilm Busters: Biofilm likes to keep you sick. It protects the infections (viral, bacteria and even candida). Monolaurin and Biocidin were some of the biofilm busters she used.
   
   
3. Ozone Therapy:Ozone therapy was a GAME CHANGER! A little controversial but helps kill infections, detoxify the body, modulate the immune system and oxygenate the body. Natasha did this via IV therapy and rectal insufflation.
   
   
4. IV Nutritional Therapy: Myer’s Cocktails were a life saver on the days Natasha felt bad. If you do nutritional deficiency testing (I like Genova’s NutrEval Test) you can fine-tune your IV therapy.
   
   
5. Rife Technology: Rife therapy is another tool in the toolbox we used to help go after the virus. Rife therapy has been used since the 1920’s for cancer treatment. There are many companies you can choose from but we have the TrueRife machine and recommend it to all patients. I like the way you can customized the frequencies based on the condition you are working on. You can also create custom frequencies (typically done by a doctor who scans your body first).
   
   

Think of Your Therapies as Tools

The more tools you have at your disposle, the faster you will be able to heal. You don’t have to buy all of the technology, as some clinics offer the use of therapies like ozone and Rife technology at the clinic.

However, we wanted to be able to do therapies whenever we wanted and not have to travel to our clinic.

We travel a good bit (we have Sprinter van) and take our portable ozone generator with us in case Natasha has an off day and needs a boost = OZONE to the rescue!

Earlier in the article, I mentioned these therapies changed my Natasha’s life. Those are powerful words and the proof is growing inside of her as I type this article. We are expecting our first child in 5 weeks.

There was a point in time when we didn’t think Natasha would be healthy enough to conceive, much less carry to full term.

Her hard work paid off, and the next chapter in our journey is about to begin!

Questions???

If you have questions about anything mentioned above, schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s chat.

Mycotoxins are hidden from plain sight but may be at the root of many peoples’ health condition(s).

These toxins are released from mold. Not all mold release mycotoxins and this is why testing for mold AND mycotoxins is important (more about this in a later article.

Mycotoxins were at the root of my wife’s autoimmune condition (Hashimoto’s Disease).

We could not see these immunosuppressants. We could not smell them. However, they were doing damage to Natasha, and even our two dogs.

Why You Can’t See Mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are soooo tiny they can pass through drywall. If something is that small, it is no wonder you can’t see it.

They are released from mold. Mold can come from water damage in a home, or from a really humid, warm area.

Not all mold is visible, and this was the case for us.

We were living in Laguna Beach, CA. 1 1/2 blocks off of the beach. Loving life! Then, all hell broke loose!

Long story short, we couldn’t see the mold, but we had suspicions. We called a mold inspector and as soon as he cut into the drywall and showed us what was behind, hidden from plain sight, we knew what we had to do…MOVE!

I go into details about that in other articles so I wont dive into that here.

Natasha Developed an AI Condition but I Did Not, Why?

Genetics played a major role in protecting my body while Natasha’s immune system took a nose dive.

There are specific genes that if mutated can make it difficult to detoxify mold. Not only that, but the mold causes an extremely inflammatory process to begin occurring in the body.

What Are These Genes?

There are two genes I test for in patients with suspected mold toxicity: HLA DRB1 and HLA DRB2. When mutated, your body will have a difficult time detoxifying the mycotoxins released by mold, and your immune system can become weakened. A weakened immune system is a recipe for disaster!

What Do You Do?

If you have been exposed, have tested your body for mold (hopefully, you are not in the environment that made you sick), then it is time to begin detoxifying the body and building up the immune system.

Glutathione, NAC, binders, Ozone Therapy, coffee enemas, liver detox protocols, immune boosters were all part of Natasha’s protocol to rid herself of the mycotoxins and support her immune system.

This process took A LONG TIME. We had to learn as we went.

The important takeaway…she is better. We are about to be parents. We will be able to say we have “living proof” that you can heal! How cool is that?

Questions?

If you have questions about mold issues, gene mutations or your health condition, schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s chat.

I am Seeing a Trend

Trends come and go.  Every year there is a new diet that promises to be the best thing since being a caveman/woman.  The holidays are sure to “release” a new weight loss gadget that “guarantees to help you lose 125 lbs while sipping your Starbuck’s pumpkin spice latte”!

I say, GO AWAY you horrible trends…I can see through you!

Although, there is one trend that I see picking up steam…you may have heard of it due to great marketing from companies like 23andme.com and Ancestry.com…genetic testing.

However, I am speaking of a little different genetic testing.  While knowing your ancestral history and chances of having a baby with blues is really cool, I am referring to learning about your genetic mutations.

Your genetic mutations, in my opinion, are going to dictate how you respond to LIFE!

Are you more predisposed to developing an autoimmune condition, such as Celiac Disease?  Should you eat that piece of genetically modified sliced bread?  Is developing a thyroid disease in your future?  Can you detox the junk your body is exposed to every single day?  If you are on birth control, can your body clear the excess hormones being released into your blood stream?

These are all questions you can find answers to by looking at genetic mutations.

What does having a genetic mutation mean?

The layman’s definition of a gene is: a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring.

This means that our parents pass down genes that determine who we are.  The color of our hair, how tall we may be, and even our personalities.

Many times, and in all of us, these genes are not perfect.  They can be broken, or mutated.

If I know what those mutated genes are and understand the role the genes play in your body, I can figure out why you may have an autoimmune condition, or why you have ovarian cysts, or why you have low testosterone.

Back to this trend…

More and more patients are reaching out to me to run their genetic markers to get to the root cause of their health condition.

Quick story…I have a patient that I helped many years ago.  Back in those days, I didn’t utilize or understand genetic testing because not many people were discussing it.

I was able to help this patient reach her goals!  She was a hairstylist at the time.  Hairstylists tend to be some of the sickest patients I encounter.  Why you ask?  Think about what you smell when walking into most salons.  Think about what the stylists are putting on their clients’ hair/scalps.  Heavy duty chemicals are routinely used.  Although, more and more salons are beginning to switch to more natural products.  Awesome!!!

Even though I was able to help this patient years ago, she slowly began battling symptoms that were taking their toll on her health as years went by.

She knew I have been running genetic testing on patients and reached out a few months ago requesting to test her mutations.  Specifically, I ran mutations looking at detoxification pathways, how she clears hormones, and her neurotransmitters (how she feels emotionally).

Today, she requested I order the same genetic tests for her daughter and son (albeit, male hormone mutations).  Why?  Because after seeing her mutations, I was able to put together a healing plan addressing what we learned about her genes.

Guess what?  Her hot flashes have gone away.  The “sludge” she had on the layer of her stomach has disappeared and she is seeing results.  Wooohoooo!!!  Genetic testing saves the day, again!

How Do You Test Genetic Mutations?

Super simple!  You collect saliva and send the sample to the lab.  I use a lab called GX Sciences (www.gxsciences.com).  Not all labs are created equal, and for this reason I put my trust in these fellas.

The lab sends your results to me and I began playing detective, combining the genetic results with blood testing, and other specialized lab tests.

Gathering many pieces of the puzzle will help me help you!  The more I see and understand about you, the better game plan I can create to help you reach your goals.

This Trend Will Change Healthcare!

I firmly believe the more we can get to the root cause of people’s health conditions, the healthier they can become. 

More and more people are realizing the medical model’s Band-Aid approach to chronic disease is not working for them.  They are not healing and living life as they did in the past.  It is for this reason more patients are reaching out to me asking for more in-depth testing to get to the bottom of their issues.

Are you still having a difficult time reaching your health goals?  If so, consider running some genetic tests to figure out why.  Getting a sample of saliva is a heck of a lot easier than struggling with health symptoms for 10 or 15 years.  Plus, there is no needle!!!

The old saying “like attracts like” may apply to my patient population, but…I think I am on to something! Hear me out…

I have been working with thyroid patients for 10+ years. In the last 3-4 years, I have been doing a lot more in-depth testing (my “older” patients probably think I did a lot of testing back in the day).

I am finding several common denominators in my patient population

1) Hashimoto’s patients tend to have a history of Epstein Barr Virus. Patients may not know this, and think their thyroid symptoms are due to their thyroid condition. Many times, the symptoms are being driven by the underlying EBV. What are symptoms of EBV you ask? Tiredness, brain fog, weakness, sinus pressure, and the inability to recover (especially, if you are an athlete).

2) Mold Toxicity!!! Most of you know what we have been through with mold in our last couple of homes. Recently, I began working with a World Champion/Olympic athlete that reached out to me because she was diagnosed with EBV. After learning more about her history, we decided to test her body for mold. BAM!!! Mold was one trigger that was weakening her immune system. I am finding this in a lot of chronically sick patients, especially thyroid patients.

3) Lyme Disease…oh boy!!! This morning one of the first emails I opened was from a gal that wants to be a patient. She sent me a laundry list of symptoms and medications she is on. As I read her symptoms, red flags were waving…Lyme Disease, Lyme Disease!Many with chronic health symptoms, and autoimmune conditions, have Lyme Disease as the driving force. Lyme can mimic many autoimmune conditions, but it should not be treated the same way.

4) Genetic mutations! I am slowly collecting genetic data on hundreds of patients. I am seeing ONE common gene that is mutated in every EBV patient. It is NOT MTHFR, which most have, but another one that I have been able to pinpoint in every single EBV case. Go back to #1 above, EBV and Hashimoto’s Disease run hand and hand in a lot of cases. This means, if we can see this mutation in someone BEFOREthey develop EBV or Hashimoto’s, I may be able to save them from years of suffering.

TEST, TEST, and TEST some more. Get more pieces of your puzzle figured out to help you manage your health condition better!

But, Dr. King, testing is expensive! My insurance should cover these tests!

I hear this from time to time. Heck, I have said it myself. Natasha and I have a great PPO insurance plan, but we still have to pay for specialized testing out of pocket. You MUST EXCEPT that insurance will not cover your medical expenses unless you are dying in the hospital, need surgery, or you want to live on medication for the rest of your life.

My rationale for paying out of pocket for in-depth testing is simple: Would I rather rely on a health care system that wants me on medication for life, or would I rather find answers and help my body heal?

Do you want to spend the next 5, 10, or 15-years going BACKto your Kaiser doctor only to be left frustrated with what they test for and how they manage your health condition?

I routinely post videos called ‘Weekly Rounds’ on YouTube and my social media platforms. In these educational videos I take a current patient and review their health history, discuss the lab tests I ordered, and review their lab results. Click the image below and watch the latest episode of ‘Weekly Rounds’ where a patient was misdiagnosed based on limited testing the Kaiser doctors ran.

If I didn’t run extensive testing on this young patient, she would have been given a medication and told to go on her way. Wrong diagnosis = Mis-management!

She would have suffered for YEARS, thinking she had one health condition when in reality the doctors did a horrible job of diagnosing her.

Is this story common? Absolutely!!!

Is this happening to you? Maybe!

If you are concerned that you don’t enough pieces to your health puzzle, schedule a complimentary phone consultation, and let’s begin digging deeper.

When Mold Strikes

Having a chronic health condition or an autoimmune condition is frustrating.  Finding out that the environment you are living in could be contributing to how you feel is infuriating, especially considering what you are going to go through next.

Background Story

4 years ago, Natasha and I were exposed to black mold while living in Laguna Beach, CA.  This triggered Epstein Barr Virus to turn on in Natasha, which caused Hashimoto’s Disease to develop.

Fast forward to the summer of 2019…

Colorado had an incredibly warm summer (we live in Boulder).  During this time, Natasha and I thought we were having allergies.  Unfortunately, the allergies didn’t improve, and Natasha’s health took a nosedive.

Natasha travels a lot for work.  When she was away from the home, she felt great.  When she came back home, immediately the next day she would feel crummy. 

This was very reminisce of what happened while living in CA.

We decided to test the home with a mold test called the ERMI (read more here: https://www.survivingmold.com/diagnosis/ermi-testing)

Side note: Prior to moving in we had a company come and test, twice, using ambient air testing (I do not recommend this form of testing due to the variables at play).  We were “told” that everything was ok, and the mold spore counts were not high. 

The ERMI scores came back very, very high.  The ERMI’s HERTSMI score was 24, anything above 15 you are advised to NOT re-enter the property until full remediation has been performed for those with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS).

What Do You Do Once You Have Mold?

Natasha and I did a ton of research, combined with the knowledge we already have from 4-years ago, and decided to remediate our personal items ourselves.  Keep in mind, Natasha are very skeptical regarding mold remediation, and VERY OCD about our health. 

Luckily, Natasha and I don’t own the home we were living in.  We decided not to buy when we moved to CO, because we didn’t know where we wanted to live yet.  If this was our personal home that we own back in Texas, we would certainly hire a company to remediate the home. 

The steps I am about to explain have been very time consuming and frustrating.  I would not wish this on anyone.  With that being said, what did we do?

After we found mold in the home, Natasha and I moved out.  Hotel life is fun for a couple days.  Not a couple of weeks.  This was our first step…getting out of the environment that was making us sick.

Personal items…what to keep and what to throw away???

This is difficult.  Natasha and I try and live a simple life, and we dont have too many personal items that we don’t use.  But we have lots of toys/equipment (bikes, snowboards, backcountry gear, rock climbing gear, camping gear, etc.). 

When we learned about the mold, the couch and rugs were tossed, along with our mattresses.  Companies will say they can remediate them, but we didn’t want to take the chance.  This was tough because Natasha loved her West Elm couch, and I loved our mattress.  But this is our health. 

We began (with masks on), going through all of our personal belongings, deciding what we would keep, and what we would donate.

Clothing

Clothes that we could wash, we kept.  Dry cleaning clothes were tossed.  Why did we throw away clothing instead of donating?  We didn’t feel right about donating clothes that could potentially make someone else sick.  Dry cleaning does not kill the mold spores/toxins, from the research we did.  There are Hepa filters mold remediation companies use to vacuum your items…again, we didn’t want to risk it.  We have read too many horror stories.

One thing we learned with this mold exposure is you need Rubbermaid containers for putting your personal belongings in.  U-haul boxes are porous, and spores can pass through the cardboard.  After several trips to Target, we have close to 60ish Rubbermaid bins (the big ones). 

Remediating clothing

We purchased EC3 laundry additive products from Micro Balance, along with a ton of Borax.  All the clothing went into the Rubbermaid containers and we have spent hours at our local laundry mat, washing and drying our items. 

We purchased EC3 spray to use on hard items, as well.  The containers were sprayed down after the contaminated clothing was washed.  Don’t put clean clothes into containers that were exposed to mold/toxins. 

Drying your clothes in the sun (UV light) and high temperature dryers helps kill any spores/toxins, as well.

This process has taken days to finish.

Kitchen Items

All food was thrown away, even food in containers in the pantry (it gets exposed). 

Anything with a motor (blenders, convection ovens, etc.) was fogged and ozinated (more about this in a moment).

Glasses, plates and bowls and cutlery were sprayed with the EC3 product and dipped in a solution of borax and vinegar and stored in the containers.

Big items

This includes our bikes, camping gear, rock climbing gear, pelican cases, luggage…anything we felt we could remediate, we kept.

Mico Balance EC3 Sanitizer Cold Fogger: we bought this machine to fog our items (most mold remediation companies will do the same thing).  Even though the price tag was a bit steep ($349), we plan on fogging our next home periodically to keep any environmental spore counts low.

All items were fogged and left to dry in the sunlight. 

MaxBlaster Ozone Generator: we bought his machine because we wanted extra peace of mind knowing we did everything in our power to remediate the issue.  This machine was pricey (retails for $795).  After items were fogged, we sealed them in a garage and ran the ozone generator as the “back-up”. 

The ozone generator is also used for vehicles to kill any spores/toxins. 

Since I use ozone therapy in my office for patients exposed to mold, I thought we would do the same with our personal items, cars and next home. 

EC3 spray was purchased to wipe down any items that are non-porous as well.

Remediation Experts

We could have hired a company to do this for us, and many may want to.  We could have saved time, lots of it.  Financially, we may have saved a little as well.  However, we weighed the pros/cons and decided to tackle it ourselves. 

Plus, we have some technology that we can use over and over again.

This is not an exhaustive list of what we have done, just an overview to show you that mold is serious.  You can’t skimp on remediating items, or not throwing them away.  This is your health and you can’t heal if you are still breathing in mold toxins. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Let me start by saying, I don’t feel I am completely comfortable writing this article.  Why?   I am not a parent, yet! Well, do two cute French Bulldogs count?

Although we may only have 4-legged furry kids, I want to share what Natasha and I are doing prior to her getting pregnant. 

I hope this will help some of you that may be in a similar boat to us. 

Quick story…

Natasha has Hashimoto’s Disease, an autoimmune condition of the thyroid gland.  There are multiple reasons this condition turned on: genetics, weakened immune system, chronic mold exposure, Epstein Barr Virus, emotional stress and physical stress.  If you add up all those triggers, you have the makings of an autoimmune condition.

Fast forward several years and we have diligently been working on the following health issues:

Detoxification – Binding and carrying the mold toxins (mycotoxins out of her system) out of her body, along with heavy metals, which Natasha test positive for.  Genetically, Natasha is a slow detoxifier and needs help getting the bad stuff out.

Killing off Epstein Barr Virus – The traditional medical model will tell you that killing viruses is not possible.  Well, I beg to differ.  Between using Ozone Therapy and Rife Technology, this is possible!

Supporting the thyroid – Natasha takes thyroid support every other day (we were able to fine tune this dosage with follow-up lab tests).

Keeping an eye on her female hormones– We check Natasha’s hormones every 6 months to make sure they are “looking good”.

Killing any candida, bacteria, and parasites – Natasha grew up vegetarian and loved sweets and fruit.  If you take her history of antibiotics and carb loading for endurance sports, you have a breeding ground for candida to take over.  She had the highest candida markers of any patient I have ever tested. 

And…she LOVES sushi.  Recently, on her birthday we ate at a wonderful, high-end sushi restaurant.  BAM!!!  She picked up a critter and battled major bloating and gas for almost 2-weeks as we worked on killing the little suckers.

Layers of an Onion

I like the analogy of our body healing similar to peeling back layers to an onion.  You peel one layer back, but there is another layer staring you straight in the face.  Our bodies are very similar, especially when you are dealing with an autoimmune condition.

This process takes time, and a lot of hard work. 

Many of you have, and I am positive about this, have wanted to throw in the towel on multiple occasions.  How do I know?  Natasha has ridden the same roller coaster ride as you. 

Emotionally, healing the body takes a toll on you, and your loved ones.  Autoimmune conditions, mold toxicity, chronic viruses/infections are very difficult to work with.  They will be frustrating at times, and you feel as if all the hard work you are doing is for nothing. 

Good days are limited, and your bad days seem to be never ending.  Hang in there, this will begin to shift, and your good days will soon outnumber the bad.  I see this happen with every single patient.   

Checklist

If you are starting out on your healing journey, I recommend you looking into the following areas of your health:

Your gut: Infections will prevent you from healing and weaken the immune system.  Clear your gut of any infections you may have and begin patching up that lining.

Nutritional Deficiencies: This goes hand and hand with the gut, but if you are low in A, C, D and E, you need to increase your levels.  Running low on energy, maybe you are deficient in your B vitamins.  This is where nutritional IVs come into play, and why I recommend them to my patients.  If you have chronic GI infections, which most AI patients do, you will have nutritional deficiencies.

Toxins: If you know you have lived in a moldy environment, check for mycotoxins in your system.  If there, detox, detox and detox some more.

Lyme Disease: Are you an avid outdoorsman/woman?  You may want to check for Lyme Disease as this can be a trigger for many autoimmune conditions and thyroid dysfunction.  Don’t rely on the “I have never had a bull’s-eye rash…” mistake.

Run Epstein Barr Virus markers – I see this infection in a TON of thyroid patients.  Did you have Mono when you were younger?  If so, you MUST check for EBV.  Chronic fatigue not improving?  Check for EBV!  Can’t recover after exercise?  Run your EBV markers.

Look at your genetic mutations – Can you detoxify your body well?  Do you make glutathione properly?  Are you gluten sensitive?  Can you methylate well?  Genetic testing will let you know what you may need to work on.

Follow up on your thyroid/hormone testing: Always keep an eye on your body.  If you are working diligently on improving something, check to make sure your hard work is paying off.

Stay the course: Don’t give up, the battle is worth it.  I love having my wife “back”!

The Steps Work

While Natasha and I don’t have a “little one”, yet.  Many of my patients do because of the above steps.  Some of those parents have autoimmune/thyroid conditions like many of you.  It is possible to have a healthy baby, even if you have not been healthy in the past.

Stay the course!

Yoga not helping your anxiety? Learn how your genes may play a HUGE role in your emotions!

Many of your sought-out yoga to help decrease stress and anxiety in your life. 

Focusing on breathing, posture, and fluidity during class helps to decrease cortisol, your stress hormone, allowing your body to feel at peace.

Unfortunately, some of you may still be looking for the magical yoga class that melts away all of life’s stressors.  Maybe you are becoming frustrated because no matter how much meditation or ujjayi breathing you perform, your anxiety is still there. 

I work with many patients who struggle with anxiety.  Some of these patients have health conditions that affect their neurotransmitters (feel good hormones) in the GI-tract and brain.  Conditions such as Lyme Disease and hypothyroidism classically cause anxiety.

Medications may not always solve the problem, as medications do not address the underlying cause: infections, inflammation, and hormone dysregulation.

In many patients with anxiety, their doctor has tried addressing the condition that may cause the symptoms, but the result is the same…anxiety persists, which eventually turns into depression.

Does this mean you should you take two yoga classes a day?  Ground yourself more?  Turn off social media?  Quit your job?

No!!!

Why Would the Symptoms Not Improve?

What if I told you that your genes may be causing your anxiety symptoms, and no matter how much you practice yoga, your symptoms may still hang around?

That is right, maybe…your anxiety was passed down to you!!!

Every new patient I work with is asked to run a genetic test to determine if any of their health symptoms are caused by faulty, broken or mutated genes.

Take a look at these two case examples.  Both of these patients contacted me because they were struggling with anxiety and depression.  These patients told me, “Dr. King, my life is great!  I love my job/school; my family life is solid.  But, I can’t control my anxiety.  It seems to come out of the blue!”

Unfortunately, these two patients had been seeing psychiatrists who put them on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications which began causing MORE symptoms.  Both patients ditched the medications due to the increase in symptoms and sought my help.

Patient #1

34-year old female; occupation – nutritionist; married with one child.  Chief complaint, anxiety and depression that comes out of nowhere.  She was on two different medications (Xanax and Abilify).  History of Hashimoto’s Disease which was incorrectly diagnosed as Hypothyroidism.

What are we looking at in this test result?  Let me explain…

On the left-hand column, you will see the gene (i.e. COMT V158M) and the result (i.e. +/+; red).  Next to the colored column, is a list of vitamins/minerals that help support the genetic mutations, followed by the next column that lists a specific product that combines the vitamins/minerals into one supplement.  Lifestyle recommendations are listed to the right, along with a recommendation for further testing.

Now that you know what you are looking at, let me explain genetic mutations and how they impact your emotions.

The genes that are listed help your body perform physiological functions to help you feel well.  If those genes are mutated (AKA: altered or broken), your body will have a difficult time performing its duties.

Since we are looking at the neurotransmitter (feel good hormones) genes, you can expect to get some answers to solve your anxiety problems IF the genes are mutated.

Let’s start with the first two genes: COMT V158M and COMT H62H (Catechol-O-methylatransferase)

When these genes are “normal”, not mutated, they allow people to rapidly reverse feelings of anxiety or depression.  Patients that have mutations in these genes have a sluggish ability to alter anxiety or depression episodes, and are more prone to prolonged episodes of anxiety, depression, and OCD.

The next gene that is mutated in this patient is called GAD1 (Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase).  When this gene is mutated a person has a difficult time converting glutamic acid (a stimulant neurotransmitter) to GABA (a calming neurotransmitter). 

What does that mean?  If your body is being over stimulated due to high levels of a “stimulant” and you can’t calm down because your “calming” neurotransmitter is low, you will struggle with anxiety, sleep disorders and/or the “glass half empty” syndrome.

Do you think the medications prescribed to this patient addressed these mutated genes?  No, not at all.  Hence, the patient was not feeling better.

What was her treatment?  I had her take a supplement that contained many of the vitamin/minerals that were listed in the results.  We did address her autoimmune condition, as well.  

BAM!!!  She was a happy camper after 2 weeks of being on her genetic support.

Patient #2

22-year old female; occupation – she is in college.  Her chief complains consisted of anxiety, which has led her to feel depressed, along with the inability to focus well at school and when studying.  Her doctor prescribed Ritalin to help her “cope”.

She, too, has a mutation impacting her COMT V158M gene = hard time reversing feelings of anxiety and depression.

She does have two mutations of the MAO gene (A and B).  These two genes degrade, breakdown, the neurotransmitter dopamine.  If the body can’t degrade dopamine, a person will have risk of clinical depression, mood disorders, and aggression.

You will see she does have two mutations of the GAD1 gene, similar to the first patient. 

Medications did not help this patient but addressing her genetic mutations did. 

Where Does This Leave You?

We ALL are faced with triggers that can cause neurotransmitters hormones to be released in our body.  Genetically, healthy individuals should be able to adapt to those hormones being released and still keep feeling well. 

When the genes are mutated, you may still have anxiety/depression, regardless of your rocking yoga practice, because your genes are not doing their job.

What Should You Do?

If you have tried other means to control your anxiety symptoms, but you are still struggling, think about talking to your doctor about genetic testing.  Most traditional medical doctors are not educated on genetic mutations and may not know how to handle them.

One way to find a doctor with experience in this field is to contact GX Sciences.  They are the company that runs the genetic testing we looked at.  Ask them for a list of doctors in your area with training in genetic mutations.

Don’t give up hope if you are still struggling with anxiety, or depression.  Keep searching for answers.  All you may need are a few more pieces to your health puzzle to help you achieve your goal(s).

Could Genetics be Your Answer for Healing?

How many times have you heard people say, “I have XYZ condition and it runs in my family”?

Before studying genetics, I thought that answer was an excuse the patient would give for not maintaining a healthy body.

The more I studied genetics, I thought, “some of these patients may be right!”

Whether We Want Them or Not!

Genes get passed down to each of us from our parents.  That is out of our control.  What is in our control is the environment that we live in, and we can only control this to a certain extent.

What do I mean by environment?

We are all exposed to environmental toxins, which we can’t control.  We breathe in toxins in our air, no matter where we live.  If you live in LA, you breathe in more compared to living out in the country in Kansas. 

However, we can control HOW we live in our environment!

We can control what eat, our stress levels, our exercise routines, our sleep habits, the people we are around…

We can control A LOT…BUT, with genetic mutations this “control” of ours may not be enough.

What Size is Your Bucket?

What do I mean by that?  

This is an analogy I use to describe why we become sick.  All of us have different size buckets that fill up with toxins throughout or life.  Our genetics will dictate the size of that bucket.  

For example, Natasha and I were living in a home with mold.  Natasha became extremely sick, but I did not.  WHY?  Our buckets are different sizes.  Her bucket filled up and start over-flowing = she became sick.  Natasha has more genetic mutations than I do.  I didn’t get as sick as she did because I have still have plenty of room in my bucket to collect more toxins.

Also, she is a slow detoxifier.  How do we know?  We looked at her genetic mutations that impact her body’s ability to detoxify.  If you can’t detoxify, your bucket is filling up, and you can get rid of those toxins on your own = bucket overflows = you become sick!

Watch the Video Below!

Now that I have taught you a little about genetics, the video below will dive a little deeper for you.

I hope you enjoy!

Free Genetic Sample Report Below…

Would you like to receive a sample genetic report?  Feel free to download it below.  Starting on page 11, you will find the definitions of each gene that is tested, and you will learn more about why that gene is important!

Candida Recipe – Blanched Greens and Amazing Sauces

If you have ever gone through a candida protocol, you the eating can be a bit tough. 

Last night, Natasha and I (I help clean) made a great dish that we wanted to share.  To me, the sauces made the dish, below are the recipes to make the sauces. 

The items we made were:

1. Blanched greens with walnut lemon dressing
2. Mixed green salad with a pumpkin seed cilantro sauce (salad not pictured)
3. Steamed broccoli – you know how to make this 🙂 
4. Avocado – slice ’em up
5. Pickled onions 

Here is how we prepared them:

Blanched Greens – Collards, Spinach, and Swiss Chard

Remove leaves from stems. (Swiss chard stems are edible, so save and cook them) Blanch greens in a large pot of boiling salted water, 15 seconds (spinach and chard) to 2 minutes (kale and collards); drain. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess liquid.  Let the veggies cool completely,s in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Greens can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 4 days.

Walnut lemon dressing

1 c. lightly roasted walnuts
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup lemon juice
1 TSP Ume plum vinegar
Pinch of real salt (I prefer Himalayan sea salt; it provides essential minerals that benefit the body)
3/4 c. pure, filtered water
Optional for a variation: add 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped

To make:
Roast walnuts at 350 degrees until lightly browned. When cooled, add all ingredients to a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

Pepita (pumpkin seed) Cilantro Sauce

1 c. pumpkin seeds toasted

2 c. cilantro leaves

1 – 1 ½ c. water

2 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

½ Tsp. Ume plum vinegar (you can substitute another kind if you don’t have this)

Dash of salt

To Make: 

Toast seeds until golden (keep the pan moving so you don’t scorch the seeds). Add all ingredients including seeds to the blender and blend until smooth.

Happy 2018

How is the new year treating you?  Are you living up to all those New Year’s resolutions?  Achieved any goals, yet?  Did you set goals for this year?  I sure hope so!!!

I know, it has been some time since my last email.  The end of 2017/beginning of 2018 was quite crazy for us (almost a 1-1/2 weeks in the oncology department…UGH) and I needed to take some “me” time and re-energize my mind and body. 

Now, it is time to rock ‘n roll and focus on our goals, while helping you achieve yours!

Social Media Takeover!

My first goal started at the end of 2017, and it was to begin getting “acquainted” with social media.  Well…

I did it, I gave in, and jumped right into the deep end!  Yes, I become one of the people with a Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Channel…might as well throw Pinterest in there while you are at it.

I have completely given in to social media. Never did I think that by joining/creating communities, of like-minded people, would my excitement for improving others’ lives sky-rocket.

Now, I look forward to talking to members/friends on social media about their health problems.   Maybe, I have finally given in to technology and how we interact using it.  But sometimes, I do miss the days of no cell phones 🙂

Dr. King’s Thyroid Support Group

Some of you may know, but towards the end of last year I started a Thyroid Support Group on Facebook.  Just this week we were sharing some of our goals for 2018!  If you are not a member, you can join (free) and read what myself and others have been sharing these last couple of weeks.

I started the support group as a way to encourage patients to keep searching for answers for their health.  I feel that education brings knowledge, and knowledge brings healing.  If I can teach a patient one thing that helps to improve the quality of their life, then I have succeeded at being a healthcare professional.

I am striving to educate patients a little more regarding their thyroid condition, along with helping them with ideas on eating healthier (recipes get shared…YES!), supplementation, medication, and answering any health questions they may have.

You are more than welcome to join our community!!! CLICK HERE!!!

4-Week New Recipe Challenge

Would you like to participate in our recipe challenge?  The goal is to challenge ourselves to cook, and post, one new recipe for the next four weeks.  We are just getting started, so make sure to join in.

My recipe for tonight is one specifically prepared for GALLBLADDER patients.  Whether you still have yours, you have gallstones, or even gallbladder “flare-ups”…you may want to take a look at this recipe.  SUPER SIMPLE to prepare…because, I did it! LOL  Trust me, I don’t like complicated recipes.

Instagram

Instagram is certianly fun for posting pictures of food, and in my case…food, hiking, traveling, contests and videos!

Yep…we have some good fun on our IG page.

What to expect from following Ask Dr. King?

• Food posts…with recipes!
• Videos
• Contest announcements
• Inspirational photos/quotes

Make sure to follow by CLICKING HERE!

YouTube Channel

I know…ANOTHER ONE!!!  AGGGGHHHHH!!!

This channel was created towards the end of last year as well.  But check this out…I can essentially teach seminars, AGAIN.  Bonus: now, you can rewind (no fast forward…LOL) and/or pause to take notes! 

Plus, I can share a lot easier, and longer, on YouTube.  AND…the cool part, is now people from all over the world watch and learn, along with being able to ask questions.

Come join in on some of the social media fun!  You never know what you may learn, or what you may WIN!!!  Talk to you soon!

Let’s make 2018 an AMAZING YEAR!!!

My Doctor Says My Lab Tests are Normal,

but I feel Horrible!

Unfortunately, this is an all too common theme.  Patients, who have been struggling with health symptoms visit their doctors looking for answers, only to be left frustrated and still searching for help.

The Scenario…

A patient walks into the doctor’s office and waits 30-45 minutes, past their appointment time, to see the doctor.  Dr. “X” comes in and spends 5-10 minutes listening to the patients’ symptoms, barely making eye contact, AND proceeds to tell the patient “your lab tests look normal”.

Dr. X, hurriedly tells the patient, “try to get more rest, eat healthier and exercise…let’s see you again in 3-6 months”!

Does that sound familiar?

For some patients, they have gone through this hypothetical scenario one too many times, and now they are losing hope they can ever heal.

After helping thousands of patients over my 10+ years as an Integrative/Functional Medicine Doctor, I can tell you this story has been told me hundreds of times.  I can usually finish the patient’s sentence…which catches them off guard, but at the same time makes them feel comfortable knowing that I understand their situation.

Groundhog Day!

While I was not a fan of the movie, the Bill Murray hit rings true with many chronic health patients.  Patients that have struggled with a chronic health condition, like an autoimmune thyroid condition (since I specialize in thyroid gland disorders, I will use these patients as an example), are sick and tired of being, sick and tired!  All they want are answers and the proper guidance.

Laboratory Ranges Are Incorrect!

Stating that laboratory ranges are incorrect is rather a bold statement!  Hang tight, soon, you will be asking why no one has shared this information with you before.

Think for a moment about the patients who get their blood work drawn and tested.  Are they usually the healthiest of people?  Not usually!  Most of the time, these patients are getting blood work drawn because something is WRONG! 

Imagine you are back in school for a moment and the teacher is discussing ‘grading on a curve’!  Grading on a curve means the teacher is going to throw out the extreme best score and the extreme worse scores and come up with an average range of scores to grade on.

Lab tests work similar and this is where patients get caught in the middle, literally!

With all the data from the unhealthy patients’ lab results, a “range” is extrapolated and used to compare your results to.  If you fall within this range, things are “good”.  If you go outside the extremes (remember the grading on a curve analogy from earlier) the doctors will tell you, “Mrs/Mr. Smith your test result is higher/lower than it should be. 

This is only told to a patient IF their test result is outside the extremes.  If you are not outside of those parameters, you will be told “your blood tests look normal”!

Remember, your results are now being compared to the unhealthy population!  Do YOU want to be compared to unhealthy people or HEALTHY people? 

As soon as I ask that, most of you are probably thinking, “compare me to healthy people, not those dang sick people!”  I agree, and so do a lot of other doctors in the alternative health world.

Enter in the Functional Ranges!

I want my body FUNCTIONING at peak performance!  What about you?  You do as well?  Excellent!!!  So, we agree on that…let’s keep going.

If we take 1,000 healthy people’s blood results, we can then come up with a healthy or “functional” range! 

Now, do you want to compare your results to those unhealthy patients’ ranges or to the healthy patients’ ranges? If you are like most of my patients, you answered, “healthy patient ranges”!

Cool, we agree on that as well. 

As long as your lab results are within the functional ranges, your life is great!  But, let’s say you are in a tough occupation that makes you work swing shifts.  Your sleep patterns are constantly changing, and on top of those changes your marriage is a little rocky because you are not home enough with the family.  You have two stressors, one physical and one emotional, all affecting your body’s ability to function properly.

Let’s say this continues for 6-9 months. Now, your energy is dropping, you have put on some weight, divorce is lingering and your company is laying people off.  MORE STRESS!

Headaches begin to occur, you feel you can’t sleep enough hours in the day to help improve your energy, and to make matters worse your joints are now aching.

What do you do?  You visit your doctor, the doctor runs some tests, but your results come back NORMAL!  You and the doctor chalk your symptoms up to stress.  The doctor gives you a prescription for some NSAIDS and recommends to come back in 6 months.

6 months down the road…

The job hasn’t improved, your sleep is worse, along with the headaches and your relationship with your family is severely strained.

Now, you are having heartburn, bloating, and getting light-headed during the day.  You visit your doctor again, the doctor runs some blood work, and says “Mrs/Mr. Smith, look at your cholesterol!  Your blood pressure is elevated and your thyroid marker, TSH, is really high!  I am going to prescribe a statin to lower your cholesterol, high blood pressure medication for your elevated BP, an antacid for the heartburn and Synthroid for your thyroid.”

6 months ago, your labs were normal and the doctor told you stress was causing your symptoms.  Now, you are on 5 medications and feeling horrible.  Could this have been prevented? 

I guarantee if you were looking at your original blood test results with the functional, more optimal, range there would have been warning signs indicating that the body was NOT functioning properly and some lifestyle changes could have been made.

Now, because almost a year has gone by, you are on medications, but the medications have some unwanted side effects AND your original symptoms have not improved, only your blood pressure has gone down due to the medication.

Look at the picture below, this sums up the ranges we discussed.  In the green, you have the healthy ranges.  This is where you want to be!

If you start going outside of the green area, you are now functionally high/low.  This is where doctors like myself “operate” in!  Once you are here, you can have symptoms, but your doctors are not picking up on the issue because you are not in the red or yellow, the extremes!

However, if I can see that your results are functionally high/low, I can begin helping your body heal BEFORE you have MAJOR issues!  Keep in mind, traditional doctors are taught to prescribe medications or perform a surgery, extreme measure = extreme ranges!

Make sense? 

Now you are probably asking, how can you compare your blood results to the functional ranges!  Easy peasy…call me! 

That is right, pick up that phone, call (866) DrKing-1.  Tell my staff member, Ms. Norris, that you want to schedule a complimentary consultation for us to discuss your health condition. 

If I feel that we should begin digging into your health condition, I will recommend the next step for you!

Let’s save you some heartache, frustration, time and money…by figuring out your health issues, NOW!

I look forward to speaking with you soon!

P.S. – One of my favorite books titled, Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal.

Tip #5 for Healing Epstein-Barr Virus and Mold Toxicity, While Battling Hashimoto’s Disease

Natasha shares Tip #5 that has helped her overcome her health hurdles.

MOVEMENT!

CHALLENGE…make sure watch until the very end to hear what the challenge is.

Make sure to post if you accomplished your challenge on our Facebook Group

Tip #2 for Healing Epstein-Barr Virus and Mold Toxicity,While Battling Hashimoto’s Disease

Natasha shares Tip #1 that has helped her overcome her health hurdles.  

Building up the Immune System

CHALLENGE…make sure watch until the very end to hear what the challenge is.

Make sure to post if you accomplished your challenge on our Facebook Group

To Receive Tip #3, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube CHANNEL

3 Foods Thyroid Patients Should Eat

One of the most common questions I am asked is, “what foods should I eat for my thyroid?”

In this short video, I share 3 of my favorite foods that thyroid patients should add into their diet!

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive more healthy videos delivered on a weekly basis.  If you enjoy them, please like, share and comment below the video.

How to Heal Epstein-Barr Virus and Mold Toxicity, While Battling Hashimoto’s Disease

Natasha, my fiance, stopped by yesterday to film her first video in her series How to Heal Epstein-Barr Virus and mold toxicity, while battling Hashimoto’s Disease.

Each week, Natasha will share 1 Tip that has helped her overcome her health hurdles over the last 2 years.

Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive notifications when she posts her videos!!!

You Can Still Eat Pizza with a Thyroid Disorder, Under One Condition

Many thyroid patients struggle staying healthy because they find eating “clean” to be difficult.  The two most common foods patients miss, and cheat on, are dairy and wheat.

I understand completely, as I grew up in South Carolina drinking a huge glass of milk with every meal (2-3x a day) and I love PIZZA!

After realizing I was lactose intolerant and that wheat caused me joint pain, I gave up a lot of foods I loved.  But, I miss PIZZA!

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

In my studies, I learned and saw research that the wheat in Italy is ok to eat if you have a gluten allergy/reaction.  Why?  Because the wheat is not modified in Italy the way it is modified in the states.

In order to understand GMO (genetically modified organisms), let me tell you about Monsanto and Roundup.

Supply and demand for crops has brought in companies, like Monsanto and Dow Chemical, to spread poisons, like Roundup and Enlist.  Now, the good before the bad. 

It is quite true that because of these companies, billions have been provided food that might otherwise have starved.  Keep in mind, supply and demand.

So why are these poisons so bad?  Herbicides kill weeds, allowing a crop plant to grow without having to compete for water and nutrients with other plant (weed) species.  Insecticides prevent invasive insects (pests) from destroying the crops, yielding a greater return. 

Enter the genetically modified organisms!  GMOs were created by inserting foreign genes into plants, with the goal of making the plant produce more of its own, natural, insecticides or produce resistance to Roundup.  The theory was that Roundup would be used to kill weeds that surrounded the GMO plant, thus allowing the GMO plant to grow and survive.  This seemed logical at the time.

However, there were no long-term studies that showed the effect of these poisons on the human body, only short term studies that “showed” the poisons were safe.  The FDA allowed Monsanto to sell Roundup.

Why is there an issue with GMOs?

GMO plants produce proteins and/or lectins that our immune system recognizes as foreign, causing inflammation when we eat them.  Inflammation is the true destroyer.  Essentially, we are eating foods that come from plants that our body doesn’t recognize as food anymore = inflammation.

These different biocides have introduced powerful poisons into our systems from the food we eat, even the produce we touch, and sadly, the animals that produce or meats.  The Roundup, glycophosphate, remains on the foods we eat, and the grains/beans that are fed to livestock in feed lots, pushing the poisons into the animals’ fat, meat and milk.  Almost all grains/beans fed to livestock are GMOs.

The altered genes have not only been found in the animals’ meat, but also in the nursing mothers and the umbilical cord blood of their infants.

On top of that, the Roundup is also used to harvest almost all non-GMO grains and beans as well.  Meaning, you consume the Roundup directly from eating your “healthy foods”.

This is why in the United States a majority of wheat and plants are considered GMO.

Not in Italy

In Italy, Monsanto was not allowed to infest their grain pool.  Thus, the wheat in Italy has not been modified, and if you eat it, your body recognizes it as real food still, and inflammation does not occur!!! 

So, you can go to Italy and eat all the pasta you want without having any gluten reactions!  How freaking cool is that.

It gets even better!!!

The breed of cows in Europe is different from what we have here in the United States.

According to Dr. Steven Gundry, MD, about 2,000 years ago a spontaneous mutation occurred in Northern European cows, causing them to make the protein casein A-1 in their milk instead of the normal casein A-2.

During digestion, the casein A-1 turns into a lectin-like protein (keep in mind, gluten is a lectin), called beta-casomorphin, and attaches to the pancreas’s insulin-producing cells prompting an immune attack on the pancreas.  For those consuming milk or cheeses from these cows, this is considered one of the causes of Type 1 Diabetes.

Southern European cows continue to produce A-2, but since A-1 cows are hardier and produce more milk, farmers prefer them over the A-2 cows.  The most common breed of cow worldwide is the Holstein, whose milk contains this A-1 casein. 

In Italy, the A-2 producing cows, known as Guernsey, along with Brown Swiss and Belgian Blues, are predominantly used for milk and cheese. 

This is why those that can’t break down the A-1 casein protein can still eat cheese or drink milk from Italy (or Switzerland and Belgian). 

Neapolitan Certified Pizza

Neapolitan pizza, or pizza Napoletana, is a type of pizza that originated in Naples, Italy.  Neapolitan pizza is prepared with simple and fresh ingredients: basic dough, raw tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and olive oil.

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) was founded in 1984 in Naples, Italy to certify pizzerias that use the proper ancient artisan traditions of authentic Neapolitan pizza.  They have several requirements that must be met to gain certification, which must be applied for by a restaurant.

Part of those requirements involve the type of ingredients we have been discussing (Italian flour and A-2 dairy).  This is why if you visit a Neapolitan Certified Pizzeria, and you have a dairy/gluten allergy, you may still be able to enjoy the pizza. 

Neapolitan style pizzerias are now popping up in more and more places.  However, make sure, make sure, make sure, they are Neapolitan certified.  Look for the sign below to be rest-assured that your pizzeria is certified…

Now, go and enjoy some pizza!!!

Why THYROID Medications Do NOT Work!

Weekly, if not daily, patients reach out to me to voice their frustrations.  One of the most aggravating frustrations I hear is, “Dr. King, my thyroid medication is not working!”

All too often, patients follow up that statement with a laundry list of symptoms that have continued to occur while on the medications.

Why, if a patient has hypothyroid, and the doctor puts the patient on hypothyroid medication (ie. Synthroid or Levothyroxine), does the patient not feel better?  Do you have any guesses?

After 10+ years of working with thyroid patients, I see a few reasons why patients are not improving, even though they are on their medication…

Autoimmune Disease Will Not Improve With Medication

Short term results do show that when a patient gets on thyroid support (ie. Synthroid, Armour, Nature Thyroid), a majority of them feel better, for a short amount of time.  Over time, symptoms begin to return, with many patients having side effects from the medication.

As soon as I hear stories like the one above, I automatically assume the patient has an autoimmune condition, until I prove it otherwise.

“Dr. King, why would you ASSUME an autoimmune condition?”

Great question and statistics prove I am right, 90% of the time.  This is because 90% of hypothyroid patients suffer from an autoimmune condition, called Hashimoto’s Disease.  You read that correctly, 90% suffer from a disease that the thyroid medication is not designed to help.

Thyroid medication is designed to give you hormones; T4, T3 or a combination of both.  Some are synthetic, some are glandulars, some may be bio-identical…but, all are given to support your body with hormone.

Now, giving the body hormones when it’s depleted is fine with me.  However, you MUST figure out what is driving the autoimmune condition.  Without getting the autoimmune condition under control, the medication will deliver hormones but your thyroid gland is STILL under attack!  The medications will NOT stop the autoimmune condition from attacking its target…YOUR THYROID!

Your best bet, combine the medications with an approach designed to manage the autoimmune condition.

The Doctors are Giving You the Wrong Medication!

Wait a minute, the wrong medication?  Yep!  You bet!  I see it all the time.

If you will, pull out your last blood test the doctor ran on you and lets see what thyroid markers they looked at.  Chances are, for a majority of you, the doctors only ran TSH and T4.  Sometimes, you may get lucky and get a T3 thrown in there.

For this story, I am going to stick with the TSH/T4 markers, since those are the commonly looked at thyroid markers patients send to me.

What is T4?

T4 is the inactive form of thyroid hormone.  Your thyroid releases T4 in abundance, about 93% of the hormone that is released from your thyroid is T4, versus T3, which only accounts for 6% of the hormone released (1% is considered unusable).

However, T4 is not enough to supply you with energy, run your metabolism and make you feel well.  Your body must convert your T4 to T3, the active form of thyroid hormone.

You want T3 levels to be high enough for your body to use.  If not, good bye energy, metabolism, hair, sex drive, sleep, etc.

If the doctor only checks your T4 and gives you a medication that is T4 based (ie. Synthroid/Levothyroxine), your body may be screaming for T3 and you, and your doctor, will never know because the T3 levels were not checked.

How often does this happen?  A TON!

It even happened to my father when the doctors destroyed his thyroid gland.  The VA doctor (watch out for the VA, I have many horror stories to share) wanted him on Synthroid, but I wanted him on a T3 support.  After almost 10 years of my father being on a natural T3 support (glandular), he is still kicking behind and feeling great.

Make Sure All More Than Thyroid Hormones Are Checked!!!

Are Your Other Organs Functioning Properly?

Maybe there are underlying issues that make it “seem” as if your thyroid is the problem, when in reality your thyroid has been affected by other organs not working properly.  In this instance, I am referring to the adrenal glands.

Your adrenal glands have a direct feedback loop to your hypothalamus and pituitary glands, located in the brain.  I have seen many instances where the adrenal glands were the #1 culprit affecting the thyroid.  This is called Secondary Hypothyroidism due to Primary Adrenal Gland Dysfunction.

Your adrenal glands are your stress glands; chemical, physical and emotional stressors affect them.  Over time, these stressors can overstimulate the regions of the brain that release TSH.  If your TSH appears high on a blood test, and you have classic “thyroid symptoms” (due to adrenal dysfunction), your doctor will want to put you on thyroid medication.

BUT…the thyroid is the innocent bystander in this scenario.  Why do the doctors not look at the adrenal glands?  I don’t have an answer for that one.

Symptoms of adrenal gland dysfunction include the following:

• Difficulty falling/staying asleep
• Craving salt
• Slow starter in the morning
• Afternoon fatigue
• Afternoon headaches
• Weak nails
• Perspire easily
• Wake up tired even after 6 or more hours of sleep
• Gain weight easily/difficulty losing it

The above symptoms are very similar to thyroid symptoms, wouldn’t you agree?

When a thyroid patient shares they are not improving as they would have hoped, I always look at the adrenal glands.

Conversion Issues?

Your liver and gastro-intestinal lining play a HUGE part in thyroid hormone conversion, and utilization.

Your liver is your body’s filter; filtering out toxins as it cleanses the blood, clearing off exogenous hormones that the body is exposed to, produces cholesterol and clotting factors, and processes most nutrients to help with absorption.

If the liver is not working optimally, one’s health may start to break down.

The liver also helps to convert 60% of T4 to T3 (the active thyroid hormone).  That is a large amount of thyroid hormone being converted!  Can you see how important a healthy liver is for proper thyroid function?

Your gastro-intestinal tract not only absorbs key vitamins and minerals, but it helps to convert 20% of thyroid hormone.

80% of thyroid hormone conversion is dependent upon a healthy functioning liver and gastro-intestinal lining.

Evaluating the entire body for dysfunction is important for your overall health, but even more important to understand why the thyroid medication may not be working.  If any of the scenarios above are occurring, symptoms may still remain after years of taking thyroid medications.

Make sure your doctor is taking into consideration what I discussed.  If they are not, print this article out and bring it with you on your next appointment!

If your doctor still doesn’t listen, give my staff a call and schedule a complimentary phone consultation and let’s talk about your situation: (866) DrKing-1.

Unsure If Your Thyroid Symptoms Are TRUE Thyroid Symptoms?  Download One of my Health Questionnaires and See If You Have More Than Thyroid Symptoms (Category XIV and XV are the Thyroid Categories).

Do You Have Expensive Urine?

Did you know that many patients I consult with have very expensive urine?  These patients are taking amazing supplements, but their body is urinating them out!  Why? 

They are not absorbing the nutrients from the products, and the nutrients are simply going down the toilet!  Before I go any further, if you have been following my blog posts and social media, I bet you can tell me why? 

Leaky Gut Syndrome

A few blog posts ago, I discussed LGS and what it is, the causes, and how to fix it. 

CLICK HERE to read that article

Well, if you have LGS, not only are you creating inflammation within your body, you are not absorbing your vitamins and minerals.

10-30 Different Supplements

I kid you not, I have had patients show me grocery bags, full of supplements.  The record…36 supplements!!!  This patient was taking 36 different supplements, daily, and she had been doing that for years.

Let’s just say that the average supplement costs $13.00 (yes, I realize most are much more expensive than that), that is almost $500/mo of supplements she was ingesting!!!  And guess what?  She had LGS!!! 

Do you think she reaped the benefits of those supplements?  I bet not!  I, jokingly, told her to bottle her urine and sell it!  I know…I know…

Let’s rewind some to what LGS is.  LGS is where your gastro-intestinal lining has been breached (infections, medications, food sensitivities, and hormones can be the causes) and now undigested foods, medicine, and/or supplements are slipping past the gut barrier and causing inflammation.

Not only that, but your body wont absorb the healing nutrients from your food, not to mention your supplements. 

Binders and Fillers

Be careful with what products you buy and take.  A lot of supplement companies do NOT have stringent quality control systems in place.  The ingredients that some companies use may be sourced from sub-standard 3^rd parties. 

Some products may contain lots of binders and fillers.  Binders and fillers are used to help package the tablets/capsules.  Some of these binders/fillers are inflammatory to the body, especially, autoimmune patients.

Here are some key binders and fillers to keep an eye out for:

• Magnesium stearate (unless the label specifically says, vegetable)
• Silicon dioxide – this is essentially beach sand, and likes to clog up the liver
• Artificial flavors or coloring – if you see a number, preceded by a color (ie. Red 40), stay far away
• Corn oil
• Soybean oil
• Corn starch
• Modified corn starch
• Ingredients that you can’t pronounce
• Or…a laundry list of ingredients. The fewer the better!

What Companies to Trust?

Here are some of my favorites:

• Apex Energetics – I LOVE their quality control
• Premier Research Labs – The quality control is great, and so are their ethics
• Standard Process – Known for being “whole foods”, these products are easily absorbable
• Neurobiologix – No other company, that I know of, dives into genetic mutations the way these guys/gals do
• Nordic Naturals – High quality Omegas…I use these myself
• Biotics Research – I love their thyroid supplements, and Pea protein.

This is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but these are the companies I cherry-pick from.  I am not married to one supplement company, by any means.  Some companies are great at producing thyroid support, while others are fantastic at making liver support.  Each company has wonderful products, and over the years, I have formed my opinion on which product works best for certain conditions.

How Do You Know Supplements Work?

Testing, testing, and more testing!  Remember, lab tests do not lie (as long as you know how to read them correctly)!  There are companies, like Great Plains Laboratory, who check, what seems like hundreds of vitamins and minerals, to see what you may be deficient in. 
You can do before and after testing (I use to do this with every patient when I started working with chronic health conditions), which can be a little expensive, but at least you KNOW, for certain, the changes that have taken place. 

Plus, I use, along with my family members, a lot of the companies listed above, daily!  I only want the best, purest, cleanest product going into my body, and I feel the same for you patients.

Do I have to Take Them Forever?

I hear this question, quite a bit.  I understand why people think this way.  Heck, I use to think this way.  Let’s explain it this way…if you are sick (your body has broken down), you will need more supplements, more frequently, to help heal your body than someone who is NOT sick.

Once you are healed, I don’t expect a patient to need the same amounts of supplements as they did in the beginning. 

At a certain point in time, I would expect to level out the amounts and frequency of the products you are using.

Can’t I Just Eat Healthy?

Sure, and you should!  However, the quality of foods now-a-days is poor.  Not to mention, very few people eat enough veggies throughout the day (where we get most of our amino acids from).  Heck, most patients don’t even drink enough water (hint: increase your water intake to half your body weight in ounces…your body will LOVE me for telling you that).

This means, we need to rely on supplements to pack some of the vitamins and minerals in.  For example, Vitamin D…almost 60% of Southern California residents are Vitamin D deficient!  I have analyzed blood work from patients that spent most of their day outside, in the sun, and they were still low on this critical vitamin (it is actually a hormone, but I am getting side tracked).

Back to the Expensive Urine

With all this being said, I highly recommend that you work with a doctor that understands gut health and LGS (remember, I had this growing up).  If you are tired of trying to get your doctor to listen to you, contact me, I can help! 

We will schedule a complimentary phone consultation to discuss what is ailing you.  If I feel, I may be of help to you, then we will go to the next step, which may be some blood testing. 

Your life is too important for you to be sick and struggling with a health condition.  Call now: (866) 375-4641!

CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD A LIST OF THE 67-MARKERS I RUN ON EACH AND EVERY PATIENT.  THIS IS MY BASIC SCREENING TEST TO DETERMINE IF ANY SPECIALIZED TESTING IS REQUIRED.

Do You Need Your Thyroid Gland Removed?

At least once a week, a patient contacts me asking, “Dr. King, should I have my thyroid gland removed?”  To which I answer, “that depends”.

The first question I ask is, “why did you doctor say you need to have your thyroid gland removed?”  Some common responses are the following:

• I don’t know. They just said I should have it taken out since the doctor can’t get my health condition under control
• I have cancer
• I have nodule(s) and they are concerned it/they could be cancerous
• I have difficulty swallowing/breathing
• I have Hashimoto’s Disease

I am sure, if you have been told to surgically remove your thyroid, you may have heard one of those comments, or something similar.

The Doctor Can’t Get My Condition Under Control

I am not joking with that statement.  Last week, a patient reached out to me and said, “my doctor can’t get my health condition under control, so they want to remove my thyroid”!

Are you freaking kidding me?  A doctor, who can’t manage a thyroid condition properly, wants to take the organ out!  Why?  The thyroid gland serves a purpose, and with it gone, getting your body working optimally will be quite difficult, especially, in the medical model.

So, the doctor, who has failed to manage this patient properly, simply resorts to removing the organ.  Oh my, my! 

I encouraged this patient to ask more questions and get more tests ran. 

A big piece of the puzzle for thyroid patients and the traditional medical model is 90% of hypothyroid patients have an autoimmune condition.  It doesn’t matter what medications the doctors give the patient, their health condition will never be under control and managed properly. 

Why?  Because thyroid hormones prescribed from the doctor will NOT control the autoimmune condition.  Remember, a pill will not heal the body!

I Have Cancer!

Ok, this is the one reason, I believe, for removing the thyroid gland.  If a patient knows they have thyroid cancer (more than likely, their doctor did a biopsy and discovered a malignant form of cancer), I recommend having the cancer removed (thyroid gland).

What about natural cancer treatments, Dr. King?  Sure, I support those who seek to heal their cancer, naturally.  As long as they have a great doctor that knows what they are doing.  Treating cancer naturally, is quite difficult, as there are numerous steps a patient should be taking to help their body fight the cancer. 

What happens after the thyroid gland is gone?  It is quite simply, really.  The patient would need to be on some type of thyroid hormone, forever!

With that being said, my father does NOT have his thyroid gland anymore.  About 10+ years ago, he was diagnosed with 4^th stage throat cancer.  During the radiation, his doctors destroyed his thyroid, “accidentally”. 

Since we discovered this (which his doctors didn’t even tell him), he has been on natural thyroid support (not medication), and has been doing great.  He is one of the pilots that fights all the big forest fires you see on TV.  Plus, when he is not working, he averages about 150-200 miles, per week, cycling!  Needless to say, he feels pretty dang good.

However, if the patient had an autoimmune condition to begin with, they body will now start attacking other regions of the body.  The thyroid is gone, the immune system can’t attack it anymore, so it will go “looking” for other tissue to target.

Nodules!!!

Many patients are told they have nodules, which should be biopsied.  Do I agree with the biopsy every time?  Not every time.  Why?  Due to the fact that a majority of thyroid patients have Hashimoto’s Disease, the leading cause of nodules.  If the thyroid antibodies are positive, and there are not any red flags for cancer, I don’t encourage a biopsy.  The Hashimoto’s Disease is the culprit in this case!

Let’s discuss what nodules are, and then you can decide if you should have the nodule(s) biopsied. 

Many times, thyroid nodules begin growing as a protective mechanism by the body to prevent the thyroid gland from being destroyed!  Yep, you read that correctly.  Nodules, a majority of the time (there are instances where they are cancerous, more about that in a minute) are your body’s response to an ATTACK!

Your body is trying to preserve its thyroid, and it does so by growing shields on the tissue to prevent destruction from infections and autoimmune attacks.  Does this mean, if your infection gets eradicated or your autoimmune condition gets under control, nodules will stop growing?  In a lot of instances, yes. 

(My mother’s doctor discovered nodules on her thyroid during a full body scan, the kind that can “find disease”, and the doctor told her she had cancer and needed to see an oncologist.  Needless to say, my mother was distraught when she phoned me.  After helping to calm her down, I ordered some blood work, AND…she was perfectly fine.  The nodules were from an old infection, not cancer!  Thanks doctors for freaking my family out!)

I tell patients that a “win” in my book is if the nodule does not grow any larger in size.  This means, the body sees no reason to keep growing a larger shield, because the attacks have halted.  Hooray!!! 

I have seen nodules shrink, and even, completely, disappear!  This doesn’t happen with every patient, and I never tell a patient I am going to shrink their nodule.

I use a liposomal glutathione/super oxide dismutase cream to help accomplish the goal of shrinking the nodule.  Again, this doesn’t happen on every patient, but I have seen a few hundred patients respond remarkably well with this product.

I Have Difficulty Swallowing/Breathing

Now, we need to consider what is really happening in a patient like this.  If we know the patient has Hashimoto’s Disease, I always recommend getting it under control, first.

If there are any infections, then those need to be eradicated, as well. 

I will do everything I can to get inflammation down within the first 2-weeks of working with a patient that is having difficulties swallowing/breathing.  If there are not any positive changes within 2-weeks, I refer this patient to their endocrinologist for surgical intervention.

Sometimes, surgery is needed!

Why did I not refer them out, right away?  If we can save this type of patient from having an unneeded surgery, that is the goal.  Surgery, should always be the last resort, in my eyes (I have had 35 major broken bones and 11 surgeries…I understand the pros and cons of surgery, well).

I Have Hashimoto’s Disease!

No, no, no, no, no!!!  I do NOT recommend having your thyroid gland removed because you have Hashimoto’s Disease.  You should understand the mechanism of nodules now (read above if you are still unclear).  If you understand what causes them, you can focus on how to get them to stop growing, or even decrease in size.

I am a firm believer that you figure out what is driving the autoimmune condition, and then the side effects of the condition will go shrink, go away, or not grow in the first place. 

Take Action!

If this information resonates with you, make sure to schedule your complimentary phone consultation by calling my staff (866) 375-4641.  You may also email me any questions: drking@askdrking.com

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Stress Can Kill You!

Did you know that stress can kill us, literally?  Well, maybe I am taking that a bit far, but stress causes inflammation to increase inside of the body, and that inflammation affects the gut lining, brain tissue, arteries, the heart, muscles and joints.

Now, let me re-word what I said.  Stress can be the trigger for what causes our bodies to begin breaking down, prematurely.  What does that mean?  Eventually, the body can have a heart attack, develop a chronic health condition (autoimmune disease), or develop cancer.

That Dang Stress

One thing almost all patients tell me is this, “Dr. King, I have had a very stressful life!” It doesn’t matter if you have Hashimoto’s Disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, or just feel worn out…stress will make these health conditions worse.

We can’t avoid stress, that would be impossible.  So, what do we do?

You need to eliminate any physiological stressors that could be causing your stress glands, the adrenals, to overwork. 

Like what, Dr. King?

Here is a short list of what triggers I look for that drive the adrenal glands to kick out more inflammatory hormones:

• Blood sugar fluctuations
• Infections
• Lack of sleep
• Dehydration
• Food sensitivities
• Autoimmune conditions

If those are occurring, the body will not heal, AND…your body will be under more stress causing more inflammatory hormones to be released. 

How Do You Know How Well the Adrenals Are Working?

There can be a few ways of knowing if the adrenals are not working properly:

• Adrenal Stress Index test – this test measures your cortisol levels and maps them out throughout the day
• Basic blood tests
• Simple questions on intake forms

Also, if you can’t stay asleep, it is a good bet that the adrenal glands are not working properly throughout the day. 

Check this out…

Have you, or someone you known, complained of getting up in the middle of the night to urinate? 

Do you think that is normal?  Not at all (unless you have a majorly inflamed prostate gland).  So, why does this happen and what does urinating have to do with the adrenal glands?

During the day, if the adrenal glands are always pumping out cortisol, then at night the “proper levels” of cortisol can’t be secreted.  This makes the body revert to the backup hormones, with adrenaline being one of those hormones.

Now, imagine you are on a safari, in Africa (pretty cool, eh).  And you are lounging around your tent and all of a sudden, a HUGE, ferocious lion approaches you.

What does your body do?  The heart starts to pump more blood to help the muscles get ready to run away, you get that “feeling” in the pit of your stomach (adrenaline), and you may have the urge to urinate.  Why urinate?  Because your body will do anything it can to get you the heck out there, and it doesn’t need the urine in your bladder to run.  So, it will want to get rid of it.

Adrenaline at Night

If you get a spike of adrenaline at night, similar physiological functions kick in:

• Nervous system gets activated (like when the lion approached) – you wake up
• Your heart can be racing – patients tell me that sometimes they feel as if their heart is pounding and that is why they are waking up
• You will need to urinate

Long way to prove a point, but…hopefully, you now know that if you wake up to urinate at night, the adrenal glands need to be looked at.

Gaining Weight

A lot of people know that if the adrenal glands are not working well, they gain weight. 

Cortisol = Weight Gain

This can be an accumulation of adipose tissue (fat) or water weight.  Either way, when people are under more stress, you typically see weight gain (I assuming that over-eating is not a problem).

80% of the Immune System

Ok, what does urinating at night and gaining weight have to do with breaking down the body?

I am glad you asked!!!

High amounts of cortisol will eat away at the gastrointestinal lining, causing Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). A healthy GI system is EXTREMELY important for a healthy immune system (the GI tract makes up for 80% of the immune system).

If your GI lining is breaking down, then the immune system becomes weaker and weaker.

On top of that, now the LGS is causing major inflammation in the blood, and the heart has to pump this “bad” blood (breaking the heart tissue down, along with the arteries).

Not the Brain!

We, also, know cortisol in excessive amounts will pass your blood brain barrier. You have a barrier that surrounds the brain protecting it from large foreign particles. Alcohol, medications, and hormones are some of the chemicals that will pass the blood brain barrier.

You know what happens when alcohol passes the barrier! When cortisol passes the barrier, it destroys neurons! Specifically, it targets the hippocampus, which when destroyed will cause dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease (I watched my grandfather struggle with this the last five years of his life due in part to Type II Diabetes).

Now, you have the heart, arteries, gut lining, and brain, all breaking down!  On top of that, you may be gaining weight, have horrible GI symptoms, brain fog, and your hormones are thrown off.

All because of stress and your body’s ability to handle it (or, not handle it).

If you are having some of those symptoms, reach out to me, and let’s get you healthy!  You can click this LINK, to schedule a complimentary, 15-minute phone conversation.

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