Juicing For Health - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Cure
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is becoming a rather common 21st century illness. This debilitating disorder goes much further than just chronic fatigue and has a host of horrible symptoms that usually accompany it. Were going to talk about some natural methods to help beat this disorder which is still so poorly misdiagnosed and hard to beat.
Myself i eventually slipped into full blown severe chronic fatigue syndrome after years of poor diet, cigarettes, alcohol, too much exercise and binging on drugs. The drugs were the final nail in the coffin for me and crashed my adrenal glands so badly that i was bound to bed for around 2 years, even encountering any possible allergen such as dust/certain foods or going in the bath would send me back to sleep. Even mild exercise such as walking was strenuous and depleting activities for me. Those who suffer from CFS will be able to relate to the above most likely.
There are so many different root causes for chronic fatigue syndrome that there is no one cure all, most doctors are very poor in helping you find out these either. They will mostly root that your problem is of psychosomatic nature or that your just suffering from depression, which leaves you only two choices anti-depressants or some form of counseling. Both were ineffective for me and the anti-depressants made me worse.
As much as we would all like there really is no overnight cure in most cases and it will take time to get better again so try and not stress as much as possible as this is very detrimental to recovery. You might hear that some never recover from chronic fatigue syndrome but in my opinion put those negative pessimistic views right out the window now. Many do recover and those that don't either haven't got to the root cause such as heavy metal poisoning or are still partaking in factors that suppress healing such as stimulant use coffee being one of the main abused.
You also have to watch not to get too hung up on one root cause either as there can be multiple issues going on rather than just the one. I found this to be the case for myself, since childhood i suffered from weak adrenal gland function, on top of that i managed to get heavy metal poisoning and low magnesium levels. All of these can contribute to chronic fatigue syndrome. Anyway onto the many ways we can help cure chronic fatigue syndrome.
Supporting/Restoring Adrenal Gland Function
In my opinion the most common reason for chronic fatigue syndrome is weak functioning adrenal glands also known as adrenal fatigue or adrenal insufficiency. The reason i believe this is because many of the other symptoms which accompany CFS are also related to the poorly functioning adrenal glands. Not only that it was restoring my adrenal gland function that largely helped me get better.
The best way to restore adrenal gland and endocrine function is through the use of adaptogenic herbs. Adaptogenic herbs help increase the bodies resistance to stress whether physical or emotional aswell as normalize body functions. Some examples of good adaptogenic herbs are schizandra berry, ashwagandha, jiaogulan, licorice root, siberian ginseng, reishi mushroom and maca root. These herbs all have individual unique benefits that would take too long to list in this article. These herbs also help to support normal function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal(HPA) axis.
There are many nutrients which are needed for adrenal gland function the main ones are vitamin C, B5(Pantothenic Acid) and magnesium. It is best to try and get these from natural food or herb sources rather than synthetic supplements. When we are stressed the demand for nutrients increases. This is why it is wise to follow a healthy diet if you wish to recover from adrenal fatigue.
Good sources of vitamin B group are bee pollen, seaweeds, rice bran, nutritional yeast and nettle leaf.
Mitochondrial Failure/Supporting Energy Production
Mitochondrial failure is another factor which is thought to be a leading cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. Mitochondrial failure is caused by a poor production of ATP(adenosine triphosphate) which is our universal energy currency. As i will explain below there are tests such as the ATP profile which can help diagnose this.
There is no harm in supporting your energy/ATP production through the supplements i will mention below. Those with chronic fatigue syndrome have been shown to have low cellular levels of magnesium which is an important nutrient in the synthesis of ATP. The best magnesium to supplement with is the acidified types such as magnesium malate/citrate which are absorbed better. Magnesium oil has also shown promising results. In this case magnesium malate is a good choice as it is bound to malic acid which is also essential for ATP formation.
Ribose is a five-carbon sugar (pentose) found primarily in ribonucleic acid. Ribose is a precursor for making ATP molecules and thus supplementing can speed up the process of ATP regeneration.
L-Carnitine is another supplement which can be of use to those suffering from chronic fatigue. Deficiency of L-Carnitine has been viewed in some individuals suffering from CFS. L-Carnitine is an amino acid which plays a fundamental role in energy production by assisting in the transport of fatty acids into the mitochondria for the generation of energy.
Heavy Metal Toxicity
There is a portion of chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers which have shown to have higher than acceptable levels of heavy metals. Although heavy metal toxicity isn't all that common it does still occur, the most common metals that cause problems are mercury, aluminum, lead, arsenic and cadmium. There are many tests you can do to check for high levels of metals such as blood work/test, urine challenge tests and hair mineral test. The latter is the least reliable as hair products etc can cause false readings but if it is all you have access too it is better than nothing.
If you cant afford any of the above, you can purchase cheaper home heavy metal tests from amla berry uk - Urine Heavy Metal Tests
I have wrote an article here about natural methods to chelate/remove heavy metals from the body.
Supporting The Intestinal Flora
The gut/intestinal flora is though to account for as much as 80% of your immune system so it makes much sense to support it in times of need. Not only that the good bacteria are essential for proper digestion and to stave off opportunistic microbes such as candida, bacterial overgrowth and intestinal parasitical infections.
The best ways to support your gut flora is by repopulating the good bacteria via fermented foods. Good examples of fermented foods include kefir, cultured veggies, miso and tempeh. The best times to take fermented foods or probiotics is first thing in the morning and just before bed, this is when stomach acid is lowest and wont destroy the good bacteria. Generally ive found encapsulated probiotic formulas and powders a waste of money and time.
Although there is one product that is great if you don't have the time to ferment your own foods, it is called LB17 Live Probiotic Fermented Paste.
Thats not where it stops though with supporting the intestinal flora. Feeding you gut flora with prebiotic fibers is overall a better choice long term. Theres only so far you can go with repopulating a few select strains of beneficial bacteria. Feeding and supporting the growth is good idea as there are many different strains of good bacteria. Good prebiotic fiber sources come from fruits, vegetables which contain various indigestible substances such as inulin, seaweed, rice bran and products such as bimuno in studies have shown to increase different strains of good bacteria.
Supporting Emotional Well Being
Chronic health disorders have to be one of the most demanding and taxing issues that you may encounter in daily life. Conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome are so draining on mental health that if you wish to recover it is a good idea to find ways to de-stress and to create a positive outlook and attitude.
Being that ive went through 7+ years of being chronically ill, getting messed around by doctors, people looking at you like your mentally ill because a basic blood test doesn't show anything sinister. If it wasn't that i persevered so strongly into alternative testing, learning herbology, nutrition and other natural health therapies id likely still be ill.
I went through a period of severe depression due to being ill for so long, this led to self-medication with alcohol and drugs as a coping measure. That was exactly one of the worst things i could have done and my health got worse in turn. At times i truly believed that it would be easier giving up than living the harsh life i was dealt. I had spent around or more than 25 thousand pounds trying every product you could think of in the natural health industry in a bid to get well, you name a product and i will have likely tried it in one form or another at one point. All in all those thoughts were wrong and not healthy, im glad i stuck it out as now life is fun again and im back with a good standard of health.
The power of the mind is extremely strong, there are many books/videos out there which document people overcoming many different types of illnesses with positive thinking. Therapies such as EFT(Emotional Freedom Technique) ive heard great things about. Many choose to meditate and other such tools to help lower stress which is crucial to healing. Stress is so detrimental to the adrenal glands that if you have chronic life stressors or deep rooted unsolved emotional problems then you could be stopping progress to getting well.
So start today by thinking positive thoughts such as im going to get well, accepting for the current period that you are unwell but this likely wont be permanent, in chronic fatigues case it isn't. There are many group meetings for those struggling to cope with chronic health disorders and alot of them have good tips and coping strategies. You might even meet someone similar like i did with CFS at hyperbaric oxygen sessions and just being able to relate in person to others going through the same thing can boost your mental well being.
Tests
I talked abit above about home heavy metal tests and others. Testing is thee most important element into getting well, most like myself fall into the trap of self-diagnosis and wasting thousands of pounds on this or that supplement in the hope that this will be the one that gets you well. The money i spent recklessly on every over-hyped supplement under the sun could have paid for some solid testing to narrow down what was going on and then the recommended treatment/supplements to help.
If your in the UK, Medichecks is a brilliant place with hundreds of different blood, urine and other health tests. Just click on Medichecks there or here is the link again if you missed it MEDICHECKS. What they do is send you a pack via post and set you up to have blood taken from a clinic near you. The site shows the various clinics in your area which will take blood for you. Then either the clinic or yourself post the sample back via post and in a few days you have your results online, a doctor will also call to talk over the results which is useful.
There are cheaper home health tests available from amla berry uk such as adrenal gland function test, generalized heavy metal tests aswell as specific individual metals, overall health test and PH tests. - Home Health Tests.
ATP profile tests can be very useful, along with adrenal gland function, mitochondrial failure is up there with being one of the leading causes of chronic fatigue syndrome. Which stems from poor production of ATP.
Notes
Diet/Lifestyle
Cleaning up your diet can go along way towards reducing symptoms and getting better. There are many different elimination/allergy diets that you can try, if you suffer from poor adrenal gland function it is likely you will suffer from multiple allergies which include sensitivities to foods. Id even go to say if you can get someone to clean your house now and again do try, when i was at my worst with CFS even encountering dust would send me to sleep for hours on end.
Eating the highest quality nutritionally dense foods possible is a good way to strengthen the body and nourish under-functioning glands such as the adrenals. Fruits, vegetables, high quality protein sources, good quality grains etc should be the staple of your diet. Lifestyle factors should also come into consideration, stimulants such as caffeine should be avoided at all costs they will further weaken the adrenal glands. Same goes for cigarettes and alcohol.
Sluggish Lymphatic System
A sluggish lymphatic system can cause a variety of ailments including chronic fatigue so again supporting your lymphatic system is a great idea. The best way to do this is via exercise, rebounding in particular which has been shown to get the lymphatic system moving. The problem is most wont be well enough to rebound or partake in any exercise. The problem with CFS is that even mild exercise can set some back further due to the extra stress on the body. Another good way to get the lymph moving is through the use of a cheap tool called the dry skin brush. There are many instructional videos/websites on the internet on to do a successful dry skin brush routine daily
Exercise
Exercise can go both ways in those with chronic fatigue syndrome and again i believe this is firmly to do with the different root causes. Some find gently increasing there level of physical activity very helpful in reducing the symptoms and overcoming CFS. Others find even mild exercise sets them back and thus should be avoided for the time being.
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