Last week a patient reached out and said a new house they bought had black mold in the kitchen. She was looking for advice on what they should do.

While I am the first to say I am not a mold remediation expert, I do feel I have a great deal of knowledge due to what my wife, Natasha, and I have been through in the past.

If you suspect mold in your living environment, here is what I recommend:

Test your living environment. You can hire a mold inspector to come out, or you may contact a company like Real Time Labs to order a testing kit yourself. We have used Real Time Labs multiple times for us, and I refer all my patients to them.

Get out of the environment if your test results come back positive. There is no need to expose your immune system to more toxins. I realize this isn’t possible for everyone. When we were exposed the first time to black mold, we moved in two days. Luckily, we were in a beach rental in Laguna Beach, CA.

If you own your home, I recommend going to stay in a hotel while you figure out what is causing the mold/mycotoxins. We did this the second time we were exposed to mold.

Higher a well respected mold remediation company. Not all mold remediation companies are created equal. Do your due diligence when interviewing a company. A good start is The Mold Pros as many of my patients have had great success with them.

Ask about their mold remediation process for your personal items, not just your home.

Speaking of Personal Items

When we were exposed the first time, we had no idea about remediating our personal items. We took ALL of our items to the new home. That was a mistake!

We knew better after our second exposure.

We decided to remediate most of our personal items ourselves. We did get rid of couches, mattresses, rugs, curtains and anything we were not attached to.

Again, I am not a mold remediation expert but this is how we remediated our personal items. How do I know…my wife has her life back!

This Was Our Process…

First…We bought EC3 mold products, including their spray, candles, laundry additive and fogging solution. We washed all of our clothing in borax and EC3’s laundry additive. 

We took very good care not to cross contaminate anything we washed. This involved sealing our clothes in huge rubbermaid containers from Target when transporting them to the laundry mat. We decided to use the laundry mat because it was faster lining up multiple washing machines and dryers. Plus, the industrial dryers heat to a higher temperature than personal dryers. Heat kills mycotoxins!

Dress clothes and Natasha’s “fancy” shoes and jackets that couldn’t be washed (we have read that dry cleaners don’t work well for killing/ridding mycotoxins from clothes) were fogged and ozinated.

Second…Anything with a hard surface we wiped down with EC3 spray.

Third…Anything we couldn’t wash or wipe down, we fogged using EC3 concentrate and their fogger.

Fourth…We also bought an ozone generator and ozinated everything, along with our vehicles.  Keep in mind, you care mycotoxins from your home to your vehicles!

Fifth…Kitchenware was cleaned with the EC3 spray and appliances were ozinated and fogged.

Sixth…Sporting gear (hiking, cycling, mountaineering, etc.) were all wiped (if hard surface), fogged and ozinated.

This process took several days and was a nightmare. I don’t wish it upon anyone. But, we got it down and focused our attention on detoxifying our body’s.

If you have questions/concerns, schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s chat.

Athletes get injured.  It happens.

You do not have to be a professional athlete to suffer a devastating injury.  Some of these injuries land you, the athlete, in a hospital bed requiring a surgery to fix/repair what was injured.


I have been there.  36 major broken bones and 12 surgeries!  I know what it is like to be cut on, rehab and rebuild the body.

Injuries are a necessary evil for sport. 

What doesn’t have to be a necessary evil is developing chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) or Epstein Barr Virus (EBV).


Many athletes have an injury, go in for a surgery, begin training/competing and then notice their body isn’t the same.  


Fatigue is haunting them.


After seeing doctors, they are diagnosed with CFS or EBV.

Why does this happen?

I have seen a few common denominators in these athletes and they all revolve around their genetic mutations.

The following genes are commonly mutated in these athletes: NOS2, TRAF-1, GSTM1 and GSTP1.

What does this mean?  It means that these athletes were predisposed, genetically, to developing CFS, exercise intolerance and/or EBV.  

The GSTM1 and GSTM3 genes will impact how well an athlete is able to detoxify toxins, especially chemicals from anesthesia.

If your body can not detoxify chemicals properly, your immune system will take a hit. Your body will have a difficult time recovering. You will also be more susceptible to viral infections like Epstein Barr Virus.

I don’t find it a coincidence that the chronically fatigued athlete will develop CFS and/or EBV AFTER surgery.  

If you are struggling with CFS or EBV, contact me and let’s discuss if your genetics are holding you back from competing at the level you once did.

If you have followed my wife’s story, you have probably heard us talk about ozone therapy.  Ozone therapy is what turned Natasha’s life around when she was battling Epstein Barr Virus, and mold toxicity.

What is Ozone Therapy?

The scientific definition is: “Ozone (O3) gas was discovered in the mid-nineteenth century. Ozone therapy has been utilized and heavily studied for more than a century…Its effects are proven, consistent, safe and with minimal and preventable side effects. Medical O3 is used to disinfect and treat disease. Mechanism of actions is by inactivation of bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast and protozoa, stimulation of oxygen metabolism, activation of the immune system. Medication forms in a gaseous state are somewhat unusual, and it is for this reason that special application techniques have had to be developed for the safe use of O3…Diseases treated are infected wounds, circulatory disorders, geriatric conditions, macular degeneration, viral diseases, rheumatism/arthritis, cancer, SARS and AIDS.” – J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2011 Jan-Jun; 2(1): 66–70 

The layman’s definition is: Ozone therapy involves creating ozone using technology that can be administered a variety of ways; IV therapy, rectal insufflation and in water.  Ozone helps create an oxidative reaction in the body that stimulates the following:

1) Immune modulation – Immune modulation is the process of your immune system seeing and killing pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and other infections), while at the same time avoiding attacking your own body (autoimmune conditions)

2) Oxygen saturation – More oxygen…Mmmmmm!!!

3) Body Detoxification – Ozone helps detoxify chemicals and toxins from your body.

Testimonials

Due to COIVD “shelter in place” orders, I have been unable to see patients in the clinic for ozone therapy.  The alternative…ozone therapy at home, rectally.

Similar to performing a coffee enema, you may administer ozone therapy at home.  Natasha and I both do this even though we can get ozone administered at the clinic because it is easier, less costly, and we can do it daily if we wanted to.

Here are two short testimonials from patients of mine that recently started doing ozone therapy at home:

“I finished my 3rd session and I feel more energy, sleeping better and I passed a parasite, I couldn’t believe it!” –

Angela L., CA

“The ozone therapy is amazing!  I am feeling much better, less inflammation and more energy. After the 3^rd session, I could already play basketball with my son.  By the 10^th, I felt I could run a marathon!” –

Nivia F., CO

My Story with Ozone Therapy and Prednisone

Almost two months ago I contracted Contact Dermatitis.  Sometimes dermatitis is in a localized region, and other times it is global, across most of your body.  Unfortunately for me, it was the later. 

I toughed it out for almost 2 weeks and then couldn’t take the itching anymore and got on prednisone for 10 days.  If you have ever tried coming off prednisone, you know some of the side effects, which are HORRIBLE!  I developed Red Skin Syndrome (RSS).

RSS will drive you insane!  The internal burning (I described it as an internal sunburn), itching, redness, pustules, and sleeplessness nights were taking their toll on me. 

I had IV ozone therapy administered several times but decided to buy an ozone generator for home use.  Why?  I could do ozone daily (even two times a day for me), I didn’t have to pay for an IV tech/supplies, and there was no needle involved (I am a baby).

Within one week, my RSS was beginning to clear up.  I continued ozone daily (two times a day on the weekends) for the next 4 weeks to completely clear up my skin.

Wanna Learn More

I filmed this educational video on ozone: https://youtu.be/jjcdl8RQqO4

Here is a great story of ozone therapy being used for COVID patients: CLICK HERE

www.drsozone.com and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3SQgmP-RGMJvvGOXEwfP4A

Where to Buy Ozone Generators

www.simplyo3.com is the company I have used for our ozone generators/UVB devices for the clinic and their at-home units.  The company does give me a discount for patients.  If you are interested in a unit, feel free to email me any questions: drking@askdrking.com Soon, I will have these units on our website to buy direct.

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!

Your First Steps After Being Diagnosed with a Health Condition

“Dr. King…how do I figure out what my next steps are after my doctor diagnosed me with…?”

I am asked this question time and time again. One reason I do complimentary consultations before working with a patient is to make sure the patient has enough test results in order to develop the “next steps” for the patient.

In today’s “Teach Me Tuesday” I am going to lay out the tests I require patients have completed in order to answer the million dollar question…”what next?”

If you have been diagnosed with ANY health condition, these steps/tests will apply to you.

❓Do I think it is vital to have as many answers as possible?

YES!

❓Will your traditional doctor run these markers/tests?

98% of the time, NO!

❓Does that mean you MUST pay out of pocket for them?

YES! We did, and my patients do as well. It is a bummer, I realize, but the traditional medical model is NOT going to dig this deep into your health condition. If you REALLY want to get well, you will need to take the initiative to find these answers, and that requires coming out of pocket to pay for them.

❓Can you spend a TON of money running specialized tests?

YES! What I will share with you is the bare minimum. There are many other tests you could run, but lets try to keep the costs down as much as we can while obtaining as much valuable information as possible.

❓❓❓READY ❓❓❓

1️⃣️ Full Blood Panel: If you watched/listened to my webinar on ‘My Health Paradigm Shift’ you will understand what I mean by this statement: Blood results are the END RESULT.

If you haven’t watched/listened, here you go: https://www.facebook.com/AskDrCoreyKing/videos/10156573626159286/

You may download a full list of blood markers I run on every patient below, for FREE!

If your doctor will not run these for you (believe me, it happens WAY more often than you think)…I can run them for you through my Co-Op. My Price: $230 Normal Cash Price: $1200 Normal Insurance Price: $2,000-3,000.

You can see the savings of going through a Co-Op to get your blood work drawn…$230 vs. $1200-3,000

2️⃣️ Genetic Test: This is the ‘Start’ ofy our health issues. It would make sense to look at what began your symptoms/condition.

There are many ways to obtain your genetic data. I am biased and like to use www.gxsciences.com I know their testing procedures and validity of the results. Plus…we can obtain genetic markers that other companies do not test for.

Bare minimum to start, I recommend running this panel: https://www.gxsciences.com/inflammatory-markers-nutri…/7.htm My Price: $199

Eventually, I would recommend running the methylation panel: https://www.gxsciences.com/methylation-testing-s/2.htm My price: $149 But, this will not be needed for roughly 3-4 weeks. So, you can save some money upfront.

3️⃣️ Organic Acids Test: This may be one of my favorite tests to run due to the amount of information that is obtained: https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/organic-acids-test/ My price: $249

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Those 3 tests are extremely important to your healing process.

You may be adding those up in your add thinking, “Dr. King, that is $678 worth of testing!”

YEP! But is your health worth $678???

Do you think most chronically sick patients have spent $678 in co-pays to their doctors, on medications, on supplements, etc?

You bet they have!

Why not spend that money on tests that will give you REAL answers to why you feel crummy?

I recommend you look at these tests as investments in your health. Without them, you will be lost!

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You now have the main tests I recommend for all my new patients.

Ask your current doctor about running these for you. If your doctor is unwilling to run them, find another doctor who will.

If you can’t find someone in your area, contact me. I consult with patients domestically/internationally.

I can help!

But, first…you need the answers to plan your next step!

Happy Tuesday!!

Are You Looking for ‘Clean’ Beauty Products?  Look No Further…

Many patients ask about the personal products we use at home.  With the number of products on the market, along with the ever changing research coming out about specific ingredients…finding clean, non-toxic beauty products can be a tornado of frustration.

The following items are what we (mainly Natasha) use in our home.

One thing to mention: these items are ALWAYS changing.  I firmly believe Natasha and Amazon have conspired to destroy our bank account…as I feel new products are delivered daily!  Natasha is ALWAYS trying new products, switching out her current products for new ones as she tests the different companies.

So, the list provided is what she is CURRENTLY using:

Hair Products

1. Innersense Shampoo and Conditioner: https://amzn.to/2M5LovA and https://amzn.to/2JTLHNd
2. Innersense Leave in Conditioner: https://amzn.to/2yok4qh
3. Innersense Volumizer: https://amzn.to/2K3ASnJ
4. Innersense Hair Spray: https://amzn.to/2M6X6pD
5. Kala Naturals Dry Shampoo: https://kaianaturals.com/product/takesumi-detox-overnight-dry-shampoo-blonde/

Face Products

1. Odacite Black Mint Cleanser: https://amzn.to/2K1jIdJ
2. Marie Veronique Make-up Remover: https://www.marieveronique.com/products/replenishing-oil-cleanser
3. Odacite Vitamin C Collagen Booster: https://amzn.to/2K0p1aa
4. Odacite Eye Cream: https://amzn.to/2M6XzrT
5. Misting Spray by Young Living: If you would like to order some, feel free to reach out to Natasha (ncking553@gmail.com

Makeup Basics

1. Crunchi Smart Primer: https://www.crunchi.com/get-crunchi/smart-primer
2. Crunchi Foundation (2.5 oz): https://crunchi.com/get-crunchi/beautifully-flawless-foundation
3. Lilly Lolo Bronzed Bronzer: https://www.lilylolo.us/cheeks/pressed-bronzer.html
4. Zuii Organics Blush: https://amzn.to/2JZd6te
5. 100% Pure Green Tea Brow Builder: https://amzn.to/2tkIbQU
6. Zuzu Luxe Cream Brow Pencil (fig): https://amzn.to/2JQvxEx
7. Well People Mascara: https://amzn.to/2K3wtS5

Sunscreen

1. 100% Pure Yerba Mate Mist: https://www.100percentpure.com/products/yerba-mate-mist-spf-30
2. 100% Pure Lip Sunscreen: https://www.100percentpure.com/products/everywhere-sun-stick-spf-30?
3. Suntegrity SPF30 Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen: https://amzn.to/2t93Ps8

Toothpaste

Currently, we are using Redmond Earthpaste.  We opted for the Spearmint flavor as this one does NOT contain xylitol: https://amzn.to/2tlSyUt

Shaving Cream

Currently, I am using https://amzn.to/2M6cx18  I rotate my shaving creams like Natasha does her facial products.  So far…this one is working well.

Deodorant

Natasha makes our deodorant, combining these ingredients in 2-oz roller: https://amzn.to/2ypD9s8

1. Witch Hazel
2. Pinch of Sea Salt
3. 15-20 drops of essential oil (Natasha uses Lavender, Frankincense and Patchouli)

If you have any questions, feel free to post them on our Facebook Thyroid Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Drkingsthyroidgroup/

Anti-Inflammatory Food List

Are you ready to start healing your body?  Healing starts with what you are putting into the body, 1st!  Would you put gasoline that is full of water into your car?  I sure hope not!  Why would you put crummy “fuel” into your body?

CLICK BELOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FOOD LIST!!!

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!!!

The Thyroid Markers Your Doctor Isn’t Running

and Why This Can Make You Worse

If you are still struggling with your thyroid gland disorder, you MUST make sure your doctor is running the proper thyroid makers!  Without all the thyroid markers, your doctor may diagnosis your incorrectly AND give you the wrong medication.

Download my FREE eBOOK below to get a list of the markers.  Take these markers to your doctor and ask them to run them ALL!!!

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!!!

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.

DOWNLOAD THE 67-MARKERS YOUR DOCTOR MUST RUN

Pets Need to Eat Healthy, Too!

Do you have dogs and/or cats?  If so, do you question the quality of the food they are eating?

Lately, many patients have reached out to ask what we feed our cute, loveable little Frenchies, Titan and Capri.

I am glad to share, especially, all the foods that we have used in the past.

Acana

Currently, we are feeding them dry food from https://acana.com 

Acana provides Biologically Appropriate foods, that are meat-rich to mirror the evolutionary diet.

“The gray wolf is the ancestor of all domestic dogs. The Eastern wildcat is the ancestor of all domestic cats. And while years of breeding has produced hundreds of ‘different looking wolves and wildcats’, the internal workings of dogs and cats remain unchanged.

The eating anatomy of modern dogs and cats is the same as their wild cousins, so it’s no surprise that their food requirements remain consistent.

THE BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE^™ CONCEPT IS SIMPLE: MIRROR THE QUANTITY, FRESHNESS AND VARIETY OF MEATS THAT NATURE EVOLVED DOGS AND CATS TO EAT.

ACANA’s richly nourishing meat inclusions mirror your pet’s evolutionary diet, excluding high-glycemic carbohydrates, vegetable proteins, synthetic additives and anything else Mother Nature didn’t intend your dog or cat to eat.” – states Acana’s website.

Pros:

• Grain-free
• High animal-based protein
• Locally sourced

Cons:

• We haven’t found one yet

Nulo Wet Food

Titan is the pickiest of eaters we have ever seen.  Not only does he get fed Acana dry food, but he gets http://nulo.com/ wet food as well, to “entice” him to eat his dry.  Half of the time, he licks the wet food off the dry kibble, and spits out the kibble!

Pros:

• Grain-free
• High animal-based protein
• Low carhoydrate and low glycemic ingredients
• BC30 Probiotics

Cons:

• Titan gets a bit gassy (but, this is also the breed) on wet food

What We Have Fed In The Past…

We have tried everything you could probably think of.

We started with the raw food.  That worked well, but finding a quality, reliable, and reasonably priced company was tough. Then we switched to..

Just Food for Dogs

Then we went with a company called Just Food for Dogs, in Orange County, CA (when we lived there), www.justfoodfordogs.com While we loved the concept of feeding “whole food”, the price was a little much for us (we were spending almost $400 a month on dog food, and our Frenchies are not that large).  The one good bonus, they delivered to our front door!!!

Pros:

• Whole Foods
• Great quality
• Grain-free
• Delivery service

Cons:

• Pricey
• You must remember to thaw out the food
• Make sure you order before you are out

The Honest Kitchen

Then we switched to https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/ .  This was great, as they do carry a grain free version of the meats.  Yes, our animals eat grain free as well!  Our little ones loved this food, as it is warm when fed.  It does get a bit messy, if your furry loved ones are bulldogs!!!

Then all of a sudden, our little boy, Titan, just stopped eating his food.  He acted like it was bad (not that is a bad quality) and refused to eat.  So, that is when we switched his food, along with Capri’s.

Pros:

• Grain-free versions
• Easy to prepare
• Digests well
• Considered human grade

Cons:

• Can be a bit messy
• Takes a couple minutes to “hydrate”
• Pricey

Besides their dog food, we also steam broccoli and give them a little bit with each meal.  Why broccoli?  They freaking love it!  It blows our minds that they enjoy broccoli as much as they do.

Last, but not least, probiotics.   Yes, Nula does have probiotics, along with Acana, but we do give them probiotics that we take ourselves, from Apex Energetics. 

I hope that helps some of you!

Do You Want To Save Money

at the Grocery Store?

Enter…Thrive Market!!!

If you haven’t heard about it yet, it’s basically like Costco but for organic, healthy foods and other daily essentials..and it’s all online!! PLUS…WHOLESALE PRICES!

Thrive Market has all the top, premium, healthy and organic products that I usually get from Whole Foods/Sprout’s Market, but unlike your typical organic & non-GMO products that are marked up to premium prices, Thrive Market sells the same premium products at wholesale prices!

So, how do they do it?  Thrive cuts out the middlemen and works directly with the brands and then they pass all the savings onto their members!  Members get everyday, wholesale pricing at 25-50% off the best healthy and organic products for just $60/year.  Just to put it in perspective, I made back my membership in savings within the first two orders (this is the average for members and there’s a membership guarantee).

Check this out!  This was an order where a patient bought $85.59 worth of food and cleaning products, and only spent $45.17.  That is a KILLER DEAL!!!

Look at the GRAIN FREE, Pumpkin muffins Natasha made tonight using Simple Mills almond flour we found on the site. Mmmmmmmm, good!!!

BONUS: Download your free list of Seasonal Produce (thank you Whole30) Below!

Have you ever wondered why we have “seasonal produce”, year round?  If you want to learn more about eating clean, a great book is Dr. Steven R. Gundry, MD’s The Plant Paradox, where he addresses why eating seasonal produce is the best practice, and how to pick and choose which produce to eat during specific seasons.

Holiday Season = Getting SICK!  Not Anymore!!!

Fall is officially here, and with that comes all the critters that like to bring us down.  We all know that getting sick during the holidays is the worst (I remember several years ago, barely being able to get out of bed at my father’s house for Christmas).

Most of us are traveling, visiting friends and families, and getting out of our normal routines during this time of year.  We all know what tends to lurk around the corner when this happens…getting sick! 

This year, how about avoiding falling ill, so you can spend more time doing what you want to do…enjoy life!

Recently, patients have been asking if I would put together a “wellness kit” to help them during the busy, holiday season.  Well…ask and you shall receive, as I have created two wellness kits to help support your immune system during this holiday season. 

“Stay Away Critters” Wellness Kit

This kit will include the one of the following:

1. Liquid Vitamin D – I recommend 3 drops per day (6,000 iu), minimum, to keep your vitamin D levels where they should, higher if you are fighting something.
2. Immunoven – One of my favorite immune supports, Immunoven is great at helping raise WBCs to fight off infections. This can be taken, 1 per day, as a maintenance, and can be increased if you happen to get “caught” with something (contact me for dosing)
3. Nucleoimmune – Over the years, I have found this works GREAT, if you “catch” the cold early enough. Typically, patients will take this at the first sign of ANYTHING, or if someone in the house (spouse, child) are fighting something.  A lot of time, this will knock out the sickness before it sets in.  I recommend taking 6 pills per day (3 in the AM and 3 in the PM) until you feel better or the person(s) you are around is better.

Total: $59.95 (Saves $5.00)

“You Don’t Stand a Chance” Wellness Kit

This kit goes a little deeper with the protection that is offered.  You will get one of each product from the “Stay Away Critters” Wellness kit, PLUS…

1. Greens Powder – While I LOVE juicing, not everyone has the time or likes to juice. Don’t worry, you can add a scoop of my favorite Greens Powder to any smoothie.  The best way to alkaline your blood is through eating/juicing greens.  An alkaline body has less chances of getting sick than an acidic body (GET MY  JUICING RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE).
2. Probiotic – Adding in some extra good bacterium to make your gut happy is another wonderful way to protect you from getting sick.  I recommend 1 pill per day.

Total: $139.00 (Saves $7.00)

If you order during the month of October…you will receive FREE SHIPPING…PLUS, some great recipes you can whip up to keep you nice and toasty during the cooler temps (hint…you will see a cook book coming soon, so you get some FREE recipes while they last!!!)

To order, you may call my staff: (866) 375-4641 or email your order over: drking@askdrking.com 

All right, now…lets enjoy the rest of 2017, and have a great time traveling, seeing friend and family!

Notes for AWESOME WEBINAR:

Has Your Diagnosis been Miss-Diagnosed

Thursday’s Livestream webinar, 7:00 PM Central, notes below.  Download the notes below, to follow along during the webinar.

Notes for AWESOME WEBINAR:

Shopping for our Health

Thursday’s Livestream webinar, 7:00 PM Central, notes below.  Download the notes below, to follow along during the webinar.

5 Secrets to Improving Your Energy

Energy loss is one of the most common symptoms I hear from patients.  We all could use more energy at some point during the day.  Heck, if you told me I could improve my energy by 20-25%, I would do whatever it took to acquire the boost.

After consulting with thousands of patients over the last 12-years, the number one cause of energy loss I have seen is due to autoimmune conditions.

Guess what?  Autoimmune conditions are on the rise!  Drastically, on the rise.  For example, there are over 20 million hypothyroid patients in the US.  90% of these patients are misdiagnosed and suffer from an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s Disease.  Energy loss is one of the most common symptoms in these thyroid patients. 

That is about 18,000,000 patients struggling with energy loss…and this is only one autoimmune condition.  There are over 80 types of autoimmune disease, that we know of. 

According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), there are over 50 million Americans struggling with autoimmune conditions.

Autoimmune is Autoimmune, and this means Energy Loss!

While I focus a lot of my attention on thyroid patients (my fiancé, step-father, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all have Hashimoto’s Disease), I continue to work with and consult patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Type 1 Diabetes, to name a few.

When I begin evaluating patients with energy loss, I start by looking at 5 aspects of each patient’s health.  I like to call them the 5 pieces of the health puzzle.

People with low energy, will typically have one, if not more than one, of the following:

1. Leaky Gut Syndrome – This is when the gut lining is inflamed, broken down, and not absorbing vitamins and minerals

2. Infections – Doctors miss infections, a lot. Parasitic infections are the most common type of infection I see in patients.  On top of parasitic infections, there are hidden bacterial infections and even viruses that start to break the body down.

3. Food sensitivities – YES, YES, and YES!!! Many people suffer from food sensitivities and may not even know it.  Autoimmune patients ALL have some type of sensitivity, or multiple food sensitivities, that are affecting their health condition.

4. Blood sugar stability – Blood sugar fluctuations will affect the adrenal glands, a couple of very important organs that regulate hormones in the body. If blood sugar is up and down, so is your energy.

5. Liver health – Your liver plays a vital role in detoxification and hormone regulation. If your liver is not working well, energy loss is sure to occur.

BONUS…I also look at antibody markers to determine if someone is suffering from an autoimmune condition.  Patients routinely say, “My doctor told me my lab tests are normal, but I still don’t feel well”.  That is a sign that there is an underlining issue and someone needs to dig deeper.

Healing the Gut Lining

80% of your immune system is dependent upon a healthy functioning gut.  Once the gut lining breaks down, then all bets are off.  Most of the time this leads to an autoimmune condition.

Why does the gut lining break down?

• Food allergens: this is one of the most common reasons why people’s gut lining breaks down, causing Leaky Gut Syndrome/Intestinal Permeability.
• Adrenal gland stress: the adrenal glands are the STRESS GLANDS! Stress is one of the driving forces for autoimmune conditions and cancer, as they release hormones that can cause lots of destruction.  Show me a chronically sick patient, and I will show you someone with dysfunction of their adrenal glands.
• Infections:infections destroy the gut lining.
• Medications:antibiotics not only kill the bad guys, but they kill the good guys that help to absorb your vitamins and minerals, your gut flora.

Hidden Infections/Critters

Hidden infections are a HUGE culprit that cause energy loss.  As I mentioned above, parasitic infections are the most common infection I find in my patients, even after the patient has been to their “traditional doctor”.

Why do doctors miss these infections?  Simple, most basic blood tests are not sensitive enough to find deep rooted, hidden infections. 

Parasites (critters, as I like to refer to them) can be undetectable in basic blood work, and more in-depth stool testing is required (note: not all stool tests are created equal, either).

Bacterial infections, especially H. Pylori, wreak havoc on the stomach and the GI lining, affecting energy, and causing acid reflux/indigestion.

Viral infections are another MAJOR cause of energy loss.  A lot of people have heard of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), commonly seen in athletes. 

After working with a ton of professional athletes that suffered from EBV, and having a fiancé that struggled with it, I can tell you that EBV is one of the worst viruses you can develop; sapping you of your energy to the point where you can’t even get out of bed, or walk up a flight of stairs. 

Don’t Eat That Food!!!

Be careful with what you are eating now-a-days.  The nutritional quality of food in the United States is poor.  Yes, we see more and more organic foods in the grocery stores, but there are companies out there (we won’t name names) that are only interested in one thing,  MONEY!

When money is the only driving force behind people’s motives, they will do anything it takes to make more, including putting poison on/in our food.

Don’t forget to note, that our foods have been genetically modified in order to increase supply, but our bodies don’t recognize these genetically modified foods, as food, anymore.

What happens when you put a foreign substance into your body that your body doesn’t recognize?  Your body attacks it and destroys it!  When the genetically modified grain is destroyed, inflammation is created which causes destruction o the GI lining. 

Anytime, someone reports a loss of energy, I always look at what they are eating.

Control Your Sugar!

Did you notice I didn’t say stop eating sugar?  That should be obvious, but many people eat a TON of sugar, and some don’t realize it.  Diabetics (Type II) are guilty of this, as lot of them eat an enormous amount of sugar, in the form of fruit.

What I said was, control your sugar!  Meaning, you need to stabilize your blood sugar throughout the day.  This means, eating frequently enough that you do not let your blood sugar (glucose) get low.  When it gets low, cortisol gets released, and large amounts of cortisol cause lots of inflammation.

Certain foods contribute to spikes in blood sugar as well, which is not ideal.  How someone eats, and when, is extremely important to their health.

Clean Out the Filter

Your body has a filter that gets clogged up, much like the lint filter in a dryer.  That filter is called, your liver.  If your liver, which helps to detoxify your blood and utilize hormones, gets clogged up, you will suffer B vitamin deficiency, emotional distress and even thyroid gland dysfunction.

Cleansing the liver is one thing almost every patient of mine goes through.  There are many different liver cleanses out there, so make sure to choose one that is doctor guided.

Lots to Think About

You probably thought I was going to tell you to eat a newly discovered berry and drink this special organic, fermented drink. 

Well, while those may help give a healthy person a boost of energy, they won’t help heal someone’s body that is suffering from some of the what we discussed.

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with energy loss, make sure they have a doctor that is looking at the 5 pieces of the puzzle above.

If you would like to read more about autoimmune conditions, download healthy recipes, or ask me any questions, head over to www.askdrking.com.

Gluten Free Spinach/Quinoa Cakes

Are you tired of eating the same old snacks, day in and day out.  Well…me, too!  Today, I came up with a new twist on my spinach/quinoa cakes.  Plus, they are gluten, dairy and soy free (I don’t count eggs as dairy).

Here is how I made them:

Spinach cake: https://drpraegers.com/our-food/spinach-cakes/
Quinoa cake: http://qrunchfoods.com/
1 Avocado
1 Red onion – thinly sliced (1 slice per “cake”)
2 Pastured eggs
Vinegar

I hope you enjoy!

Healthy Recipe Ideas…Plus, Bonus Tea Recipe

I like to post our recipes as frequently as I can.  Lately, patients have asked, “Dr. King, can you combine your newest recipes in a PDF for us?”  Ask, and you shall receive!

Fill in your information below, and your PDF of my newest healthy recipes will be sent to you!  Enjoy!