The Necessity of Bile
Why Bile is essential.
Inadequate bile production can lead to excess estrogen.
Anyone lacking a gall bladder due to a cholecystetomy will find themselves deficient in bile acids.
Without enough bile acids, toxins will accumulate and contribute to liver congestion.
The role of bile is to coat toxic debris, to be removed in the intestines. If insufficient bile acids
exist, skin eruptions can occur if intestinal microflora is imbalanced. Inadequate bile acids can
result in psoriasis, a frequent result of a cholecystetomy.
Bile is also essential to utilize fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). A congestion of toxic debris
accumulating in the intestines is fated to be absorbed into the bloodstream without sufficient bile
acids. Ultimately, our skin must eliminate through our skin, leading to eruptions.
Undesirable substances, from endotoxins, to estrogens, even viral products result from woefully
deficient bile. Bile sequesters a cloak of fat that covers viruses.
Bile is also able to breakup the lipoprotein coating of large viruses allowing the destruction of
viruses. The liver is a depository for carcinogens, medications, toxins, pesticides, etc. Serious
inflammation can result from deficiency of bile. Other than supplemental bile salts, Lecithin,
Dandelion root, Milk Thistle and Turmeric improve bile production and flow.
If you have had a cholecystetomy, it is most essential to take bile acids, otherwise health will most
certainly decline.
Adrenal Fatigue
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
Adrenal fatigue is also known as hypoadrenia, which is characterized as
"exhausted" adrenal function, which often accompanies adrenal atrophy
or shrunken glands due to extreme physiologic and/or psychological
stress.
The primary function of the adrenal glands is to coordinate hormonal
balance, under different emotional and physical conditions. These glands
act as support to the major organs, yet their role is just as important, as
they regulate everything from body temperature to appetite to hormonal
balance.
Virtually every tissue, organ and gland in the body is affected by adrenal
function. Despite that reality, adrenal function is fundamentally ignored in
allopathic medicine. The reason is that standard tests are virtually
ineffective except in extreme cases. Hence, patients are informed they are
"normal," despite not feeling well.
Patients who fail to recover from standard treatments, often have
accompanying adrenal fatigue. During the flu epidemic in the early part of
the 19th century, over 80% of those who died had adrenal atrophy.
The endocrine glands involved here are the hypothalamus, pituitary and
adrenal glands (HPA axis). The hypothalamus initially detects stimuli or
stress signals, which elicit a response through the pituitary, and the
adrenal glands produce adaptogenic hormones to respond to such stress.
Androgenic hormones and the "stress hormone," cortisol are produced by
the adrenal glands, are sent to every tissue, gland and organ in the body,
in relative proportion to stimuli detected by the hypothalamus.
So what does adrenal fatigue has to do with hair loss? Inflammation is
always present in adrenal fatigue. What comes with adrenal fatigue
accompanies poor wound healing and sodium, potassium and
magnesium imbalances. Many with adrenal fatigue have depression who
are using prescription antidepressants. It is interesting to note that
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are commonly
prescribed are relatively ineffective for mild to moderate depression, and
only marginally helpful for severe depression. This has been a result of an
examination of 50 clinical trials evaluating the net effect of these drugs.
PLoS Med 08;5(2):e45
This is even more relevant to hair loss as SSRI's such as popularly
prescribed medications such as Effexor (venlafaxine), Luvox
(fluvoxamine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), and Zoloft
(sertraline) and cause hair loss due to their effect on the hormone
prolactin. Sexual side effects are also evidence of this effect. Recently it
was found that some users suffer sustained sexual dysfunction after
cessation of antidepressant treatments.
J Sex Med. 2008 Jan;5(1):227-33.
Physicians often blame depression as a result of stress, however existing
adrenal dysfunction itself brings on an increased sensitivity to stress.
Resolving depression can be successful when the root or underlying
cause is addressed. The adrenal glands, pituitary and thyroid are most
likely the fundamental culprits. Secondary to that is gastrointestinal
problems, where a malabsorption of amino acids prevents the production
of neurotransmitters.
Classical symptoms of adrenal fatigue include waking up restless with
midday fatigue, followed by better energy in the evening. Often, patients
with adrenal dysfunction feel best at night.
Hypoglycemia is quite commonly associated with adrenal fatigue.
Hypoglycemia very often leads to diabetes. Problems with glucose
metabolism as discussed on previous pages is fuel for androgenetic
alopecia. Other symptoms of adrenal fatigue include high sensitivity to
stress, difficultly focusing, diminished sexual desire, and breathing and/or
respiratory problems, which include sensitivity to allergens, and/or are
chemically sensitive (multiple chemical sensitivity).
Poor adrenal gland function can result in low cortisol secretion,
paradoxically this can manifest as symptoms of high anxiety, heart
palpitations, feeling of malaise, tremors, feeling jittery and even a false
assumption of being hyperthyroid. Ignoring adrenal function could result
in insufficient thyroid support, as often these symptoms are mistakenly
presumed that the thyroid is overactive. The reason is that cortisol allows
for heightened sensitivity of thyroid hormones, allowing cells to utilize
thyroid hormone. When cortisol levels are too low, thyroid levels rise, yet
sensitivity decreases--easily giving the physician a false reading. Reviving
adrenal function will allow for better regulation of thyroid hormones.
How does one accurately test for adrenal fatigue? Answer is cortisol
testing, taken four intervals in a day, preferably recorded once per day,
at four different times and days. Insist on saliva tests, as blood cortisol is
not reliable.
If your readings are too high, you may control them with Ashwaganda
(Sensoril®) and Phosphatidyserine.
If cortisol levels are lower than average, you will need glandular support.
I recommend Standard Process products. For adrenal support Drenamin
is very effective. Drenamin works best in divided doses and should be
taken for several months until improvement is noticed. Standard Process
is normally only available by a doctors referral, however it can be
purchased here as well.
In this day and age, it is very difficult to find a competent physician who is
knowledgeable in nutrition and medicine. It is even more of a challenge to
find a doctor knowledgeable in natural endocrinology. Thyroid function
goes hand in hand with adrenal function, and as such, getting a proper
handle of your iodine levels is very important. Many wonder if there are
any alternatives to using synthetic or even natural thyroid medications. If
iodine replenishment does not solve your problem, there are thyroid
preparations to consider. Standard Process offers a product called
Thytrophin PMG. It can be purchased here.
When treating adrenal fatigue, it is important to treat all the glands to
maximize potential of complete recovery. That said, the pituitary gland can
be replenished using Pituitrophin PMG by Standard Process. It can be
ordered here.
These products can be utilized by your endocrine glands to achieve
tremendous recovery, which can be in stark contrast to pharmaceutical
chemicals, which usually serve to suppress the very function of these
glands, literally causing atrophy. Furthermore, these adulterated chemicals
disrupt normal feedback loops, creating hormonal chaos.
Some doctors believe that Maca (Lepidium meyenii) may aid in adrenal
balance, as more research becomes available it seems very probable that
Maca will be a rising star.
Andrologia. 2007 Aug;39(4):151-8.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2007 Oct;45(10):1882-90.
Asian J Androl. 2007 Mar;9(2):245-51.
Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2007 Jun;62(2):59-63.
Phytomedicine. 2007 Aug;14(7-8):460-4.