Question: I am a 76 year-old male and have had a triple bypass. I now have 7 stents and excess cholesterol and can’t take statins. I have cut out all dairy BUT still have high levels. What do I do, as I am desperate?
Answer: Optimising your thyroid hormone levels might help to lower your cholesterol as might taking supplements of niacin, guggulipid, red yeast rice extract and policosanol.
Question: I am a 36 year-old female who just got guttate psoriasis for the first time in my life after a strep throat infection. I understand this is a disease to do with the immune system. What can I do in terms of diet to help me? I have a busy life with 2 young children and studying so those can't be stopped re stress but is there anything I can do with diet to stop me from getting this again.
Answer: There is no guaranteed way to prevent this condition. While gluten intolerance might be connected with psoriasis there is no documented connection between this type of food reaction and guttate psoriasis. Ensuring you are getting enough zinc might help as would checking your cortisol, thyroid and vitamin D status, as all of these impact the immune system and your propensity to be overwhelmed by bacteria.
Question: I have had rheumatoid arthritis for 12 years. Over that time I have had periods of taking prednisone and/or methotrexate, but have mostly managed my RA reasonably under control with diet, exercise and fish oil, no drugs. I am currently having a big flare-up (probably due to the stress and anxiety of recent life events) and my rheumatologist thinks I should go back on methotrexate (haven't had any for 2 years, though on and off small amounts of prednisone). I am interested in knowing more about phytosterols and how to supplement with them.
Answer: While phytosterols are natural substances that can modulate the immune system and the abnormalities associated with rheumatoid arthritis, the evidence that taking these actually impacts the course of the disease is limited. Quercetin, a vitamin-like substance might help as might optimizing your vitamin D levels, as vitamin D can also balance the immune system in a positive way, although the science surrounding vitamin D suggests that this hormone affects our wellbeing in a complex fashion. Inflammation is a process that travels with these types of flare-ups with food allergy, an imbalance of germs in the gut and hormonal imbalances being implicated. You would need to get a physician who understands how these operate to investigate this.
Question: I am a 27 year old-male and eat very little, simple & clean but after some time my stomach is very hard & conservative. I suddenly require food and if I don’t eat quickly then I feel very weak & faint.
Answer: You might not be producing enough stomach acid which helps to digest food. Low levels of the hormone cortisol might result in a diminished production of stomach acid, as well as the experience of feeling weak and faint when your blood sugars are low.
Question: I am a 25 year-old female and wake up every morning with swelling under my eyes and in my fingers. Sometimes, it is so bad I can barely open my eyes. Also, my nose is congested, my eyes are red, and I normally have a headache. There is normally no itching. I have been tested for major illnesses (kidney, thyroid, lupus, IgE allergies, etc). Could this be Celiac or a gluten intolerance? Perhaps an IgG allergy? I also have frequent diarrhea (3x/wk or more), bloating after eating, nausea after eating, lethargy, and chronic anemia, and inability to gain weight (actually I weigh less than I did ten years ago). I am young and active, but I feel so self-conscious about this swelling/fluid.
Answer: You might well have food intolerance or a reaction to gluten which is not identified with conventional testing. A celiac gene test, which is a blood test and a IgG food allergy test might be useful. There is some evidence that candidiasis or yeast intolerance can trigger celiac disease.
Question: I am a 20 year-old male with facial pimples. Have you any suggestions?
Answer: The type of diet that a recent review claims might have a beneficial effect with regard to acne is free of processed food, cereal grains, dairy products, refined sugar and refined oil, and almost entirely comprises unprocessed fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish and sea food. Reducing the consumption of fruits that are high in sugar such as grapes, melons, bananas and mangoes might also be beneficial.
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