What would you like to know?

Leaky gut can be caused by a combination of the following:

- Diet, yes (gluten being proven to cause it in all human beings)
- Prescription medication
- Birth control
- Stress
- Trauma
- Alcohol
- Dysbiosis (imbalanced flora or too much flora in the wrong place)

Interesting, do you always experience it only in the morning? I've never heard of that. Usually most people are clear headed in the morning. However, I could see if someone's circadian rhythm was quite off or they had adrenal fatigue or ate something they were sensitive before bed that those things might cause it.

Hi Sonya, Qigong is the foundation of martial arts, including Tai Chi. Qigong is a holistic system of self-healing exercise that includes movement (postures, stretches, flows), acupressure, breathing techniques, meditation, and the power of the mind. Through these methods, qi (energy) is accumulated, moved, and stored in the body. Qigong is easy to practice and requires no memorization of a form.
Tai Chi (Taiji) took the principles of qigong and added a martial (fighting) aspect. It is a martial art that's known not only for its fighting aspect but for its many health benefits such as improved balance, coordination, mind-body connection, flexibility, strength, and more. It is a complete system of exercise in which mental focus, breathing, and movements are connected into a flowing form. Because there is a form to memorize, some consider Tai Chi more difficult to learn and more of a time commitment. Both Tai Chi and Qigong have tremendous, and similar, health benefits, not the least of which are more energy and ease of movement. ~Suzanne

Hello Matthei,
Briefly stated: Craniosacral therapy balances the subtle energies within the body paying particular attention to the movement of the craniosacral fluids from cranium to sacrum. Massage therapy focuses on releasing tension in the soft tissue and musculature in the body. Chiropractic care is concerned with releasing / realigning the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine.

B12 is a big one although Nutritional Yeast and some soy and fortified plant products may contain small amounts. Safer to supplement as B vitamins for consistent intake, I usually recommend 250 mcg/day. Calcium and iron are two other nutrients that may be low in a vegan diet, depending on choices. Adequate protein can be consumed through daily intake of legumes, beans, soy products, nuts and seeds.

Experimentation and patience are the keys. You *can* go to doctors/homeopaths who may or may not be able to pin down exactly what is causing the issues, and they might be able to provide solid guidance. However, at the end of the day, you have to try it out for yourself. I've had many friends and family who were told to get off a particular type of food by a practitioner, but when they tested the advice using this method, that food type was fine. Further testing helped them discover which food type was REALLY causing the issues. In other words, even the advice of professionals need to be tested using this method to verify them.

Here's how to do it:

1) Do not make more than one major change to your diet at a time.

2) Remove one major type of item that you think may be affecting you. This could be caffeine, dairy, gluten, soy, nightshades (potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, etc), sugar, or something else if you notice a particular symptom after eating it.

3) Stay off of it 100% for 3-4 weeks straight (no cheating at all, you'll have to start over if you do!).

4) Keep a journal of how you felt along the way.

5) Introduce the food item back into your diet and eat it regularly for 2 weeks. You may notice a difference right away, or it may be more subtle. Either way, keep track in your journal about how you feel.

6) Assess how you feel with it in your diet vs out of your diet and decide if you want to keep it.

7) Repeat the process for each major type of food you wish to test.

I know a mom who was able to pinpoint several food items that gave her all kinds of physical and emotional issues for herself and her kids by using this method. It's slower but more thorough and reliable than testing with doctors in many cases.

What does your current daily meal plan look like?

Headaches can be due to food sensitivities.

Hello, my name is George Picard. I am a fourth Generation Qigong/Taiji Master in the linage of Grand Master Dr. Wang Zi-Ping. He developed a system of 20 posture Therapeutic Qigong for healing disease and prolonging life. I have been teaching and certifying instructors for 18 years . I teach this system through D'Youville college, Buffalo NY. as an online credit course for PT's, OT's and other health care professionals. I have a medical board and research team. all part of The Village of Healing and Wellness. I would suggest this system for your back issue due to the fact that many students with serious back problems have achieved success eliminating pain, getting off medication and experience a high quality of life. We have recently published a paper on this topic. this is a case study that may help you. Here is the link; http://www.mdpi.com/2305-6320/5/3/60/htm

Thank you and best wishes

George Picard

It's a start but you'd still need to look at your diet and possibly a high-quality probiotic.

I would examine the mind/body connection FIRST. What does the thyroid gland represent and what sorts of shocks or traumas can effect this gland? Certainly great food is important for healing but the first place to start is to understand what may have created this "dis-ease" in the first place.

" The throat centre and the thyroid are linked to speech and the ability to communicate. The thyroid is seen as the source of our personal power, like a little sun that shines brightly, emanating warmth and confidence. With a block there may be a tendency to be withdrawn, timid, shy and uncommunicative." (NES Health scan software)

I also recommend further exploration found here: https://learninggnm.com/SBS/documents/thyroid_parathyroids.html#Thyroid_Gland_CA

Once the conflict is resolved, adding nourishing foods (kelp, sardines, anchovies, wild caught fish, eggs and raw milk, cream and butter) will support the body during healing.

I strongly believe that ADHD is cause by chemical imbalance in our brain, gut dysfunction and desbiosis . Emotional, physical Trauma can also cause your brain to lose neurons and nerve tissues. I like to suggest taking a look at the root cause and considering a holistic approach to health and wellness first. For example, stillness, incorporating yoga, meditation, and plan base medicine that can help you overcome past traumas and emotional burden, as well as looking into your nutrition to get your body to a better health, and homeostasis, and bring up your hormone in balance. Please reach out for help. We are here for you.

Your energy in the morning is an excellent indicator of how your overall health is doing. If you feel groggy and achey, you know there is some clean up work to be done. As you begin to eliminate flour, sugar, alcohol, processed foods, and chemicals, you will notice a significant boost in your energy especially in the morning.

The gut is being called "the second brain" (even though it was our first brains as we evolved) because of many things, but a big one is that it is so closely tied to our brain and communicates with it constantly. What you eat most certainly impacts your digestive tract and microbiome which will most certainly impact your brain.

If the gut is inflamed, your brain will be inflamed, which will cause brain fog. Food sensitivities will also cause brain fog for similar reasons but also if there are increased antibodies to those foods and those antibodies are finding similar structures in your brain and attacking those. This is common with gluten.

I'd suggest you try to remove the most common trouble foods for a few weeks and see if your brain fog lifts:

-Sugar
-Processed foods
-Gluten
-Dairy (though we could potentially fix a dairy sensitivity)
-Soy
and I'd add all grains to keep inflammation down

in the meantime eat:

- Slow cook broth (3 hour meat & bone broth) I can give you a recipe
- fermented veggies (sauerkraut, fermented pickles, kimchi)
- well cooked veggies and meats
- Lots of high quality and varied fats (butter, ghee, olive oil, coconut oil)

Type 2 diabetes is a problem of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when your body stores fat in places where it doesn't belong -- like in the muscles, the liver, and the pancreas. When there's fat inside the cell, there's not much room for the glucose to move inside the cell -- so your blood glucose numbers are high. Of course that's a simplistic answer for a more complicated issue, but eating food that is high in fat is driving your blood glucose up.

What is the issue you need to address?

Absolutely, EFT can help with test-taking anxiety. EFT is essentially creating a new focus (via tapping) to settle your conscious mind and allow access to your subconscious mind so that it can receive the new information, beliefs etc. It may also have some mechanism utilizing the meridians of course.

One limitation that you may find with EFT is that it may or may not permanently resolve the text-taking anxiety (or in any other context). This may be an indication that deeper work is needed such as childhood regression therapy (a childhood event that your psyche has now associated with taking tests), or parts therapy (addressing an inner part that causes this behavior).

I use EFT/Tapping along with T.A.T. or Eye Movement Therapy and find it quite effective when used alongside the deeper work.

Midwives are legally allowed to do the medical side of a birth, and education.

Doulas are legally allowed to do the emotional and education.

A physical therapist is a great provider to see for spine pain, especially if it is non-traumatic (ie no concern for fractures. PTs are experts in musculoskeletal issues, specifically spine pain. We use a variety of tools to address spine pain including dry needling, joint specific mobilizations, soft tissue mobilizations, proprioception training, strengthening, movement control, and activity modification to help get you back to the things you want to do ASAP.

As suggested below, a massage therapist is a great addition to your treatment team. But doing only soft tissue work doesn't necessarily set you up for long-term success in avoiding future episodes. Strength and movement control is an essential component of low back health.

What a great question and the simple answer is YES!

Modifications to your diet may directly reduce inflammation, which may reverse the effects of a leaky gut. When you eliminate foods that cause inflammation you may decrease your unwanted symptoms as well as increase your body's ability to heal, especially the gut!

You can alleviate inflammation FIRST by eliminating certain foods from your diet. Foods like dairy, gluten, corn, soy, alcohol, pork, and sugar are commonly known to cause inflammatory symptoms. And SECOND, adding anti-inflammatory foods can also help alleviate leaky gut. Some examples are berries, fatty fish, broccoli, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and green tea.

One effective approach is the Elimination Diet. This is a 30-day commitment to eliminating inflammatory foods followed by a reintroduction of those foods, one at a time, while tracking any reactions. This diet not only decreases inflammation, it also gives the gut a chance to heal and enhances your awareness to foods that have an inflammatory effect on your unique body :)