MOLD- Could it be the hidden root cause to your symptoms?

Mold, do you ever think about it? If you see it growing somewhere do you clean it with bleach thinking that will get rid of it? Have you ever considered that mycotoxins from mold can be why you aren’t getting better even after trying everything?

In this article I will discuss symptoms of mycotoxin exposure, hidden mold sources, what you can do to detox your body and I will share my personal journey with mycotoxin exposure. The unfortunate thing about mycotoxin exposure is that it is not yet recognized as a possible root cause of neurological symptoms and disorders. It is recognized in a small community of health care practitioners when it comes to respiratory conditions such as asthma. We definitely need more attention and in depth studies to be performed on mycotoxin exposure when it comes to neurological and autoimmune disorders such as Alzheimer’s, MS. For now, the thousands of people that have gotten better (including myself), from implementing a mycotoxin protocol, will be my backbone for this article.

Mold is everywhere, it has been here much longer than we have and it’s not going anywhere. It is a brilliant little creature that is very good at adapting to its surroundings, waiting for the best time to expel its potent mycotoxins and VOC’s into the environment so that you can breathe it into your nasal passage and then allow it to travel to your brain and the rest of your body. It will weaken your immune system and destroy your mitochondria, it will make you crave simple carbohydrates and it won’t apologize for it.

Let’s be clear, not all mold is toxic to humans and not everyone will be affected the same way. We are all made up differently and our genetic capability to eliminate toxins plays a large role here. The dose and amount of time spent in the area makes a difference as well.

Most people think, I don’t see mold, it’s no problem or, oh it’s just a little mildew, I'll just use some bleach to clean it up. It is possible to clean a very small area of surface mold with a little bleach if it is caught quickly. The secret to your success is that it needs to be caught quickly and dried well. Mold penetrates into its surfaces when it is given the time to do so, it doesn’t take long, most experts say within 48 hrs. Whether it’s wood, *concrete (yes, concrete), cardboard or carpet, it will get deep into its chosen surface, so deep that you won’t see it growing. *Concrete and glass surfaces themselves do not feed mold but the dust, or moss or whatever else that is growing on the concrete or glass surface, will feed the mold

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Mycotoxins started to peak my interest when I began looking at the root causes for Alzheimer’s. I read Dr. Bredesen’s book- End of Alzheimer’s and many more Functional Medicine doctors research who spoke about mycotoxins becoming more and more prevalent as a root cause for disease in their every day practice. Once I started investigating symptoms of mycotoxin exposure I realized that my chronic skin rash that began to form around my nose once I moved from Alberta to BC could possibly be from mycotoxins. Yes, that one little symptom piqued my interest enough to question, could this be from mold???

As I said above my personal symptoms started with just a little consistent rash on the sides of my nose but then quickly turned worse over the years. The rash would get worse in the winter months, I would go to bed and wake up with the whole lower part of my face coated in a white itchy film. Luckily I was able to hide it with frequent tea tree oil and coconut oil moisturizer. Through the years I also experienced heart palpitations, fatigue, worsening of period pain, insomnia, chronic anemia, dandruff, shocks in my feet and more.

“Toxic indoor mold rarely has an odour if it’s not exposed to air. If you smell a musty, mildewy, or moldy odour, there’s definitely a problem. Just know this; mold can be lurking without creating any scent at all”
- Dr.Jill Crista Crista, Dr. Jill. Break The Mold 

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What are mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are toxins secreted by certain types of mold, think of them as a mold fart if you will. They have NO scent and they cannot be detected by your sight alone. They are so brilliant that they encapsulate themselves with a biofilm, this biofilm is their protective armour, so before you can eliminate the mycotoxin you need to break down the biofilm around it. Interesting right?

The typical musty smell that we relate to mold is actually mycotoxins cousin; VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) , aldehydes and alcohols. These babies are detected by your nose when they are exposed to air, so typically, if they are burping behind walls, you won’t smell that musty scent, but they are there and can cause issues for you. Mycotoxins are 50 times smaller than mold spores and they hang out suspended in the air for much longer. So those babies can get into your lungs, intestinal tract, brain and nasal passage much deeper and efficiently than mold spores. It is interesting to note that dying mold is much more potent than living mold, meaning that once the mold starts to die, it feels threatened and begins to fart out more and more mycotoxins. More mycotoxins more problems. This is why it can be critical to have a professional remediate your home instead of doing it yourself if the job is more than just a little mildew on your shower curtain.

Good idea or Bad idea?

A couple of friends have told me that once they saw mold growing on their walls they hired someone to come in and use an electric sander to scrub off the visual mold, cleaned it with bleach and then painted it nice and new. Good idea or bad idea? I think you know my answer.

Where does mold grow

Anything that is organic
Water damaged homes that have not been properly dried- drywall, wood, cardboard, carpet….
Many grains and coffee, peanuts
Air conditioning units
Under the bathroom or kitchen sink
New homes and old homes
Crawl spaces
Dusty surfaces (yes, dust feeds mold spores)
Moldy shower curtains
Mold around the bathtub
Mold in your washing machine

Symptoms of mycotoxin exposure

Headaches
Brain fog
Chronic UTI
Post nasal drip
Clearing throat frequently
Thyroid issues
Chronic nasal congestion
Dandruff
Aches and pains
Vision problems
Chronic fatigue
Memory issues
Tremors

Pins and needles
Skin issues such as rashes, eczema
Sleep issues
Learning disabilities
Itchy eyes
Ringing in the ears
Vertigo
Anxiety
Frequent urination
Chronic yeast infections, candida.
Vertigo
Urine frequency
Chronic anemia

There is a long list, this is just some of the common symptoms.

Steps for having a healthy home. Prevention is KEY!

• Get a dehumidifier and keep humidity below 50

• Purchase an air purifier that is the appropriate size for your home and clean it often, be sure to get a 3 step filtration system that includes a charcoal filter and HEPA filter.

• Seal any holes within your home that allows cold air to come in

• Get mold testing done with air checks and Petri dishes (Never just do one test, get multiple forms of testing)

• Get a thermo check done on your home inside

• In the winter months keep your home above 18 degrees

• Dust often

• Ask your landlord if there has been water damage or mold issues in the past- it is their responsibility and by law they must tell you. If there has been, ask how it was taken care of.

• Clean out your vacuum filter regularly and purchase one that has a HEPA filter

Remediate and Mold Testing

You can NOT get a blood test to confirm mycotoxins but you can get a blood test to see if you are allergic to mold. Having a negative allergy test for mold does not mean you do not have mycotoxins. The best way so far to test for mycotoxin exposure is to do a morning urine sample from companies like Great Plains Laboratory. This is who I used and it can be ordered by your functional practitioner or nurse practitioner.

When it comes to remediating your home here are some questions I would recommend asking
-How do you contain the area you remediate? They should use plastic confinement 
-Do you use negative air when remediating? I hope so.
-Do you use protective gear, full hazmat suits with professional masks? I hope so
-Do you use bleach? I hope not.
-How long have you been in business?

When I got professional air quality testing done for inside and outside of the house, the mold was higher outside. GREAT! The key though was that the mold outside was not harmful, but many forms of mold that were found inside the home were molds that had the ability to give off mycotoxins, this is why it is very important to have a mold testing company tell you what type of molds are found.

Depending on how serious your mold issue is, the remediation company may recommend cutting out the infected area, this is good. It is always best to be out of the home when remediating. Please note this is just a Mold 101 article, there is so much more to know but I believe this is a good start. If you are feeling unwell and cannot seem to get to the root, don’t let anyone undermine you and make you feel like you are crazy. This may be the key to unlocking your optimal health.

How to detox from mold after being tested?

Most experts say the first thing you need to do in order to heal from mycotoxins is to remove yourself from the source. If your mold problem is really bad or you are really sick, I agree. This can be extremely stressful if you are renting and your landlord does not believe it is a problem. It can also be  financially stressful to do a proper remediation and find an expert that will do the work properly. I personally stayed in the home I was in but I remediated what I could, bought air purifiers, dehumidifiers and much more to keep the house as healthy as possible. This could be a whole article in itself so I recommend looking into things much more in depth before committing to anything.

As for detoxing mold from your body, let me say from experience, like any relationship, it’s complicated. I highly recommend using a qualified practitioner who has created protocols in the past for this and who has done their research. Run the other direction if your practitioner puts you on antifungals right away.
You must prepare the body's detox organs first before adding in anti-fungals and binders. It must be done slowly so as to not overload the system and just cause more damage to your body. What I can say from personal experience is that it is possible to detox from mycotoxins, patience is necessary and you will most likely go through setbacks, but keep focused, be gentle. The first time I tried to detox from mycotoxins I went too hard too soon and I paid the consequences with heightened anxiety, diarrhea and extreme fatigue. 

Once I felt my liver, bowels, gut and lymphatic system was ready, it was time to start anti-fungals. I used a 2 -3 week pulse method, so every two to three weeks I changed anti-fungals. I used olive leaf extract, oregano oil, Pau D’arco and Biocidin. Binders in conjunction with antifungals are extremely important. They help remove the mycotoxins once you have killed them from the antifungals. My favourite binders are Zeolite, bentonite clay and activated charcoal. I also really liked broken cell chlorella and silver nasal spray as part of my protocol. 

If you begin killing mold without doing any preparation, you will get sicker. I guarantee it.
Crista, Dr. Jill. Break The Mold

I also implemented many other tools to help support my body while detoxing, I bought myself a sauna, I started dry brushing, I started exercising, I would diffuse thyme essential oils and I implemented a proper sleep routine, stopped smoking weed and so much more. I must stress, I did not do all of these things at once, I have learned from the best and I know when to add these powerful agents in and when to chill out, please do not start a protocol on your own.

It took me 6 months to detox 95% of the mycotoxins from my body. I spent thousands of dollars on tests to confirm mycotoxin exposure in my body and on remediating the house I was living in at the time. All of this while going off of a suspicion (gut feeling) even though I didn’t see actual mold growing anywhere in the house I was living in. The only time I saw mold was when we were renovating and a wall got torn down that exposed hidden mold. Seeing that visual mold along with positive test results from in-home mold testing was proof that my gut was right, I’m not crazy.

After a year I recently tested again (3rd time testing). I was surprised to see that I had a new form of mycotoxin in my body. The good news is that there were not as many types and not as “bad” as the first time. So with those results I will begin another detox protocol.

Above results 6 photos in total: The first two photos are my first results, you will notice I have three high mycotoxins. The third and fourth photo are after a 6 1/2 month detox protocol I created for myself, you will notice I was able to get rid of 95% of the mycotoxins but Ochratoxin A is the worst and very hard to detox, so I still had some work ahead of me. The 5th and 6th photo is of my most recent test results which shows even lower ochratoxin A toxicity, but a new mycotoxin Enniatin. I will continue a mycotoxin detox with antifungals and binders for these specific mycotoxins.

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Resources

In home Mold Testing Company I used ​​https://www.canadamoldtestkits.com/contact/

I highly recommend getting Dr.Jill Crista’s book Breaking the Mold.
I used many of her protocols to create my personal protocol.

Dr.Neil Nathan, Dr. Jill Carnahan and Dr.klinghardt
These Doctors are great resources as well, I used part of their mold protocol to mine

Air purifiers that are recommended Air Doctor, Coway (I ordered my Coway off of Amazon Canada)

*I also used a comprehensive mold testing company who is no longer in service unfortunately but depending where you live I would encourage you to look for one in your area. Be sure they are certified, they wear protective gear and give you a very detailed protocol. They should use a combination of air testing, thermo testing and tape lift testing. They should be able to tell you what type of mold you have as well.

How to Improve Chronic Stress by changing our thoughts and stimulate our vagus nerve

E-motion - Energy in motion

Improving our body's ability to deal with chronic stress should be taught in school everywhere and in my opinion, at a young age. Usually when we think about things that bring on stress we think of a physical trauma or a death of a loved one or losing our job and so on. I wanted to touch base on a type of chronic stress that many people don’t really associate with when thinking about it and that is- How the power of our thoughts and beliefs can create fear and worry and therefore create chronic stress.

If you know me, I like to get to the deepest root as often as possible when it comes to balancing my body, so I am always looking upstream- looking beyond just treating the symptoms, I ask myself what are the systems/pathways within the body that are the roots to the imbalance? When it comes to stress awareness this is where learning how to change our thoughts and stimulate the vagus nerve can calm the nervous system and improve our relationship with future stress.

I’m sure many of you understand the basic concept of how chronic stress can affect the body and mind in a negative way, but did you know that chronic stress from fearful thoughts, ruminating and worrying can increase insulin, cortisol and fat deposits throughout the body? Did you know that the emotion of fear alone can program our brain and cause systemic inflammation, high cortisol and leaky gut?

Please continue  reading if you are interested in learning how to improve your vagal tone in order to balance the nervous system and learn how to become aware of how fear is but an emotion that induces a stressful physiological reaction that can be managed through changing our behaviour and programmed beliefs.

“The moment you begin to FEEL the way you think, you begin to think the way you feel”-  Dr. Joe Dispenza

When we are living in constant fear and stress our body tends to take over, our subconscious mind starts running the show and begins to program our mind and body to be in survival mode. It’s like, practice makes perfect, but this perfection comes with a negative impact instead of a positive one and keeps us in survival mode.

I like to explain survival mode as a necessary system that turns off all unnecessary systems within the body in order to use energy for only the most important survival needs. By shutting down most systems due to stress, our digestion is muted, our growth factors are muted, sex hormones are turned down, we increase cortisol, adrenaline, insulin, blood sugar and we become highly focused on the main issue at hand. 

This creates an ego rewarding loop that enables specific chemical compounds to be secreted and validates that stress and fear. This is why they say stress and fear are addictive, the body is looking to re-enforce the negative loop. Your body becomes programmed to reward itself when continuing that negative loop and when you start to break that loop, trust me, it (the ego) will fight back as hard as it can and tell you that you are wrong, don’t leave your comfort zone. But, I promise, the darkness is worth every penny because once you regain your true self, no one can manipulate your truth and doubt becomes far less of a daily ruminating thought.

What is Chronic stress?

It’s an addiction and an energy consumer to be blunt.

Amongst many antagonists, fearful thoughts and other emotions create chronic stress which then  activate our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight system). When this system is activated for a short period of time, it’s a good thing but when it has been conditioned to stay activated by ruminating thoughts, negative mindset, worry and fear, we start to run into some problems.

Stress is our body's response to anything that requires our attention. It usually shows up as some kind of symptom so that it can alert us to take care of ourselves, many of us just ignore these symptoms and then the stress bucket begins to overflow. When stress is induced brain chemicals get released and sent out to the body telling certain pathways to either shut down to conserve energy or be on alert and begin to try and rectify the situation. 

At some point we are all going to be under a certain amount of stress, the key is learning how to manage that stress and not allow it to become chronic. I was personally under a LOT of stress for about 5 years not long ago and it took a toll on me that I am still recovering from. I can no longer multi-task or take on as much as I used to, at times I wake up with a pounding heartbeat in the middle of my solar plexus and I cannot take a deep breath, that’s when I know I need to call my acupuncturist and get a handle on it before it gets worse. I have learned to slow down and listen to my symptoms and be aware of my thoughts. I distance myself from negative thinkers and those that judge my way of living.

I didn’t think I had much control over how I managed my stress and fearful thoughts until I read and studied the work of neuroscientist Dr.Joe Dispenza and the father of epigenetics Dr. Bruce Lipton. Everything changed for me when I heard Dr.Joe Dispenza say this-  “ According to neuroscience, your brain is a record of your environment. As long as you think equal to everything that is familiar to your environment  you will keep creating the same thing. To change, to truly change is to think greater than your environment. As soon as you start to believe in a future that has not actually happened yet, your body will start to align with your thoughts and before you know it, you have changed your program mind to a more positive and healthy thought process.” Your personality creates your personal reality, your personality is made up of how you think, how you act and how you feel. SO, if you want to create a new personal reality, one must change their current thoughts, beliefs and emotions that they have memorized and been taught and observed since a young age. Powerful shit right?

What is fear?

It’s an addiction. It is an energy consumer.
Fear is an emotion (energy in motion) that makes you feel like you do not have control. Fear is driven by the ego and loves to be as dramatic as possible. Fear creates lack of trust within one self and numbs the logical mind. Chronic fear activates the sympathetic nervous system, it increases inflammation, breaks down your immune system, it can cause dis-ease within your body and make you feel constant lack within your life. Fear can stop you from living your full potential, it can prevent you from living your true authentic self. The craziest part is that it is just an emotion and we can control it but we have never been taught to even be aware of how much we fear or how much our decisions are based upon fear.

Nerve cells that fire together wire together

Dr.Joe Dispenza and Dr. Bruce Lipton both have remarkable research and studies on how our thoughts can create our reality and that with practice we can change our conditioned mind. I am not an expert in this field so that is why I highly recommend looking into these two amazing humans for further research and begin understanding how thoughts and conditioned minds are only but a program that we can change. I have suggested books below.

Vagus Nerve

Vagus in Latin means wandering, the vagus nerve begins in the brain and  wanders  throughout the body keeping tabs on what is truly going on inside and then reports back to the brain. It’s best friend is the gut and they are truly two peas in a pod, they love connecting to one another and chillin as often as possible. The vagus is responsible for calming the nervous system after a stressful event. It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system and it is a SUPER important part of healing. 

It is THE Queen to regulating our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest system). It has many tricks up its sleeve in order to maintain homeostasis and plays a large role in the health of our immune system by stimulating the production of acetylcholine in order to reduce inflammation. It keeps our gastrointestinal system calm and makes us feel like we are safe. So if our vagal tone is compromised we will have a tendency to live in a stress and fearful mode (sympathetic mode), have digestive issues and systemic inflammation. Becoming aware of our daily thoughts, and stress levels is a gift and can only increase one's optimal health and reduce the chance of chronic disease.

Signs your vagal tone is suboptimal

Low HRV (Heart rate variability)
Poor digestion
Heart palpitation
Insomnia
Constipation
Not being able to relax
Lack of gag reflux

The vagus nerves role in the body

Controls inflammation in the body
It regulates the gastrointestinal system and gut bacteria
Maintains proper gut motility 
It helps regulate heart rate and dilates blood vessels
It maintains your parasympathetic system
It releases acetylcholine which is needed for brain health, immune health, learning and memory.
It helps keep our immune system top notch
Assists in digestive enzyme production

How to improve vagal tone

Here is the best part, you have the power to improve your vagal tone, reduce stress and fear and most of them are FREE.

Aggressive gargling 2-3 times a day
Humming
Singing
Mini trampoline
Breathwork
Laughter
Fasting
Cold showers

A few other holistic tools that can really help bring the power over your thoughts and mind are

• Becoming aware of how often you ruminate or feel fear about something.  

• Observe your family and begin to recognize where you have learned these beliefs and behaviours

• Begin to focus on what is better in your life, it can be as small as having a little more energy one day.

• Practice gratitude, write down or think of 3 things you are grateful for everyday or as often as you can.

A note on Ruminating thoughts from a recovering ruminator myself.

I was and still am at times quite the ruminator, I felt like if I didn't ruminate and think of all of the terrible possibilities, I was going to be unpleasantly surprised in the future. Speaking of the future, the process of fear and rumination keeps you in the future and does not allow you to be in the present moment.

Rumination and fear feeds and validates the ego, it fills up the negative cup, it keeps you in constant fight or flight mode. So remember we are not our thoughts, we must be brave enough to accept the truth in order to live without fear. What has served me the best in order to reprogram my ruminating mind is to gain trust in myself and realize that with time, I can change my thought process. By accumulating knowledge on things that would make me start to ruminate or fear empowers me and I can then make decisions based on my true intuition instead of fear.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Links and Books

Breaking the habit of being yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Biology of Belief By Dr. Bruce Lipton

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29593576/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27010234/

https://theholisticpsychologist.com/vagus_nerve_a_path-to-healing/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k5iPxZIAtk

Youtube with Dr. Kharrazian

Sleep, Alzheimer's Prevention and Optimal Health

“Sleep heals everything” -Honey and Vanilla

Did you know that one of the most powerful detox pathways that impacts our health in our body is activated when we sleep? It’s called the glymphatic system and we are about to get real nerdy. I first discovered the glymphatic system while researching Alzheimer’s prevention. I was interested in knowing  what top holistic tools were pertinent to implement for  myself when it comes to  Alzheimer’s prevention. Amongst many things such as cycling through  fasting protocols and eating a whole food diet, sleep was at the top. I soon realized how much sleep is underrated when it comes to maintaining optimal health and keeping our brain sharp. Sleep is the most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body each day.

“Alcohol is one of the most powerful suppressors of REM sleep that we know of and REM sleep recalibrate the emotional circuits in the brain so that we can think logically”
-Matthew Walker

Have you ever had a terrible night sleep and woke up feeling hungover, have brain fog or starving and just wanting to get the first possible refined carbohydrate into you? That feeling is most likely  because you did not get QUALITY sleep- you did not cycle through all of your sleep stages and did not get a chance to activate your glymphatic system properly. According to Siim Land and Dr.Dinicolantonio’s book Immunity fix, sleep governs adaptive immunity (creates immunological memory), vaccine efficacy (so it’s not a good idea to get a vaccine at say, 3am), supports antioxidant defence, physical repair, immune response and how we recover from stress. 

How does this above knowledge pertain to sleep and Alzheimer’s prevention? Well, in many ways but here is one, ok, maybe two. One- If our immune system is governed in part by our sleep cycles then our brains immune (glial cells) are affected as well. Less quality sleep gives room for amyloid plaque and Tau to be created. Two-I f our adaptive immune system which creates immunological memory is not robust enough due to lack of sleep, this can leave room for certain pathogens such as mold and viruses to go undetected therefore leaving room for toxic overload and creating Alzheimer’s.

So for all of you that do not think sleep impacts your immune system or brain function, please reconsider the power of sleep.

Sleep Cycles

Overnight we go through about four to five- 90 minute sleep cycles and within those cycles there are  2 stages- NREM and REM. These two stages synergistically compete throughout the night and they both have their purpose for keeping our brain sharp.

To put it in simple terms NREM (non rapid eye movement) starts the party off for the evening, within the NREM sleep there are four stages that I won’t get into for this article but fascinating stuff on it’s own. NREM helps consolidate memories by taking newly formed memories and putting them into your long term storage. It is when the glymphatic system (read below) is most active and it is where sleep spindles are most active, which help perform many tasks such as muffling out the outside noise so you won’t wake up. Apparently my sleep spindles are not very strong, I’m a light sleeper.

REM sleep (rapid eye movement) is where you dream, your eyes are rapidly moving, it is when your body is somewhat paralyzed in order to not physically act out your dreams. It is time for integration; interconnecting all of your experiences and putting them together to build a more accurate model. REM sleep regulates our emotional circuit, allowing us to make more intelligent decisions, and be cool headed so to speak.

So you see, quality sleep is sooooo important for brain health. It helps us remember, it keeps us focused, it cleans out toxins from our brain, it helps us stay emotionally stable and really, keeps us sane and functional. There is a reason why sleep deprivation is used to break a human down.

Oh Snap!
Lack of QUALITY sleep+high refined sugar diet=inflammation= atherosclerosis/cardiovascular disease.

Glymphatic System (brain detoxer)

The glymphatic system was discovered back in 2013 by Dr. Nedergaard and her team, it truly is an amazing pathway that our own bodies have created through evolution to clear out waste from our brain. Here’s how it works: while in NREM sleep, it uses pulsating rhythms to activate  our glymphatic system which in turn begins the flow of our  CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) to flush out toxins and other waste products that our hard working neurons create throughout the day.  The waste products it eliminates include many but specifically for this article it eliminates  amyloid plaque and tau; two proteins found in abundance in  many Alzheimer’s patients. The glymphatic system  also helps distribute glucose, lipids, amino acids and growth factors. The most amazing part of this system is that at night, when we fall asleep, our glial cells (immune brain cells) shrink by 60% to allow the CSF to flood our brain and clear out the accumulative waste.

Basically, your brain needs to “poop” eliminate its waste it has accumulated throughout the day, your glymphatic system is what accomplishes this.

Deep sleep (NREM) is critical for preventing Alzheimer’s, it is what consolidates our new memories and as you just read above, it is when the glymphatic system is at full power. According to Dr. Matthew Walker, amyloid plaque tends to accumulate in the frontal lobe of the brain, the same place where NREM sleep happens and not from the memory centre of the brain, the hippocampus. In fact, if you look at a brain with Alzheimer’s, most of the time their hippocampus is free of amyloid plaque. Interesting eh?

Oh Snap!
Lack of sleep= activates sympathetic nervous system (fighter flight)= inflammation=lower killer cell count= lowered immune system= chronic illness such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

In summary

Routinely sleeping less than 6-7 hrs a night will,
Reduces your immune system's capacity to fight off viral and bacterial infection
Doubles your risk of cancer
Increases your risk of Alzheimer’s and heart disease
Increases cellular waste in your brain
Disrupts blood sugar levels and increases your risk of type 2 diabetes
Increases your hunger hormone leptin

What our brain does when we sleep
It enriches our ability to learn, memorize and make logical decisions and choices
It balances our emotional circuits
It replenishes our immune system
It fine tunes the insulin and blood sugar balance
It helps regulate our appetite helping control body weight
It helps maintain a healthy microbiome within our gut
It opens up our glymphatic system which helps detoxify our brains

So, with all of that said, how can you be sure that you are getting optimal sleep ?

1. Blue blocker glasses- Yes, I know, some of you may think this is ridiculous but the science is out, blue light from screens, lights in your house and phones at night, blocks melatonin production at night. It has shown that the right blue blocker glasses put on 1-3 hours before bed increases your own natural melatonin. I can attest to this, I have had blue blocker glasses for over 3 years now and I am sleepy after an hour of putting them on due to my natural melatonin being produced. Melatonin doesn’t just help you sleep, it is crucial for a robust immune system, helps regulate our circadian rhythm and prevents cellular death. See link below, I am not affiliated with this company, just sharing what I use.

2. Sleep in a cool dark room without any technology around you such as your phone, computer or internet modem.

3. Do not drink alcohol or eat three hours before bed. Many think that a little glass of wine helps them sleep but in actuality it inhibits your body from going into quality NREM sleep

4. Use essential oils like vetiver to help you get sleepy and keep you asleep. I started rubbing one drop of vetiver essential oil on the soles of my feet 30 minutes before bed and OMG, I’m not kidding.

5. Practice TRE- It has been shown to help balance your circadian rhythm therefore help keep your sleep cycle in check. Be aware that longer fasting protocols can disrupt your sleep for the short term.

6. Listen to theta binaural beats before sleep to encourage your brain to calm down for the night. 

7. Get sunlight into your eyes first thing in the morning, this helps reset your circadian rhythm

8. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, get out of bed, put on your blue blockers adn use a red light headlamp and go read in another room

9. Take 200 to 400 mg magnesium glycinate

Some of these hacks may not work for everyone (because we are biochemically different) and there are so many reasons why people may not be getting a good night's sleep, so I encourage you to try things for at least a week and don’t feel discouraged if it doesn’t work. Keep trying. If these simple holistic tools do not do the job, go deeper. Look into your thyroid health with a full panel, not just TSH. Consider your stress levels and get your morning cortisol checked, are your adrenals taxed? Are you dealing with mycotoxins from mold? Do you have sleep apnea? Does your partner snore and keep you awake? Ladies, check your hormones, perimeopause? Menopause?

“Taking pharmaceutical sleeping pills for a long period of time actually increases your chances of getting Alzheimer’s.” Dr. Matthew Walker

A note on Melatonin

Melatonin is created in your gut mostly and released by your pineal gland.Your SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) is your master clock for your circadian rhythm, it repeats it’s daily and nightly signal due to the hormone melatonin. As soon as dusk appears the SCN signals the pineal gland to release melatonin. Melatonin is the darkness messenger, it shouts, “its dark its dark, lets change crew members to night time duties and get busy sleeping.” It is a myth that melatonin generates sleep, instead it is the hormone that instructs the beginning of sleep, that is why blue blocker glasses are so helpful, they increase melatonin. That is also why blue light at night is so harmful as it suppresses melatonin.Throughout your night of sleep, melatonin slowly reduces in concentration and when the sun starts to rise your SCN puts the break on melatonin until later that evening. You see how we are natural solar panels? We are controlled by the light of the sun. We are conductive beings.

I hope this article helped you, please share and spread the word of optimal health, Alzheimer’s prevention and taking control of your own health destiny.

Links
Swanwick Blue blocker Glasses

Vetiver Essential Oil

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Binaural Beats

References
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326664518_The_Glymphatic_System_A_Review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468867319301609

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23635358/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glymphatic_system

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31959516/

ApoE4 Gene and What You Should Know.

It’s not all bad and it’s not your destiny!

For some people the thought of knowing their ApoE status causes stress and anxiety and they will choose not to know their ApoE status, and that is o.k, if it feels right for you. However, for some people, knowing their ApoE status encourages them to live a more optimal lifestyle and it empowers them to learn what  they can do to express the gene in a positive way. 

What is the ApoE 4 gene?

This ancestral gene sits on chromosome 17 in our genome and is probably THE  most well known gene associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. Please note, I said, increased risk, NOT,  YOU WILL GET ALZHEIMER’S IF YOU HAVE THIS GENE. o.k, i’m good, sorry about that. Wink wink!

When it comes to your risk factor for Alzheimer’s, lifestyle choices and the ApoE gene can be associated with an increased risk. When speaking about the ApoE gene and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s, it depends on which combination of alleles you have; there are three different alleles- ApoE2, ApoE3 and ApoE4 allele and everyone has two alleles, the combination is what is important to know. According to many experts including Dr. Bredesen, if you have a 3/4 combo (meaning you have one 3 allele and one 4 allele) this increases your risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 30%. If you have  4/4 combo (meaning both alleles are from the ApoE4 gene) this increases your risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 50%. We get one allele from each parent.

Interesting Knowledge bomb

ApoE4 is believed to be the oldest or “original” allele (it’s closest to the apoE variant that nonhuman primates have, suggesting it existed even before the human and chimpanzee lineages split), with apoE2 and apoE3 developing as mutations more recently in human history. APoe 4/4 can be much more common among specific groups—especially hunter-gatherer societies like the Pygmies, Khoi San, Malaysian aborigines, Australian aborigines, Sami, Papuans, the Greenland Inuit, and some Native Americans.

One reason for apoE4’s greater frequency in these populations is that it enhances cholesterol absorption in the intestine and slightly raises blood cholesterol levels, which can be beneficial during times of food scarcity, undernutrition, and other conditions that foraging societies frequently face. 
Not surprisingly, areas with longer-standing agricultural histories, where food supply is stable and apoE4 is less useful, have a lower prevalence of apoE4 (for example: southern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia).   -Paleomom

How does the ApoE 4 gene affect our body?

Synthesized primarily in the liver but also in the brain, the ApoE4 gene is responsible for helping regulate estrogen, CRP levels (inflammatory levels), lipid transport and cholesterol homeostasis (balance). It is a “protective” gene, too much “protection” reduces the chance for new neuron growth and repair mode in the brain. So we want a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The dose makes the poison.

Due to its pro-inflammatory nature; which used to help us survive bacterial infections and so on back in the day, however now, because of the way we currently choose to live our lives, this gene no longer primarily serves us in a positive way. This gene plays an important role in how we transport and metabolize fat and cholesterol and absorb fat soluble vitamins. Another way to say it is, ApoE 4 carriers hyper absorb fat and cholesterol.

Our daily choices to consume high amounts of inflammatory seed/vegetable oils, conventional farmed meats, refined foods, high grain consumption and alcohol consumption, these epigenetic factors, have the ability to express a good gene into a bad one.

ApoE 4 doesn’t just increase your risk of Alzheimer’s, it can also increase systemic inflammation, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease (if insulin resistant),  lewy body, tauopathy (tau tangles), multiple sclerosis, increases AB production (amyloid beta)

So you see above, APoE4 status can affect many different pathways and systems within the body, such as hormones, glucose metabolism and inflammatory pathways. ApoE 4 carriers have a tendency to naturally have higher cholesterol levels due to hyper absorption. Knowing your status will help you tailor your diet accordingly. But guess what? All of the above risks can be reduced or even eliminated by our lifestyle choices. No shit!

When I found out my status, I changed things in order to help express my genes in a more positive way, I felt empowered with the knowledge I learned and the most important information I learned was this. Epigenetics and this is THE MOST important factor to remember from this whole article. We have so much more power than we think when it comes to how we can express our genes and what our health destiny becomes. Dr.Bruce Lipton is the expert when it comes to epigenetics (above the gene) and I am forever grateful to him because now I know my lifestyle (how I choose to think, who I surround myself with and what I choose to eat) makes more of an impact on my risk of getting Alzheimer’s than the Apoe4 gene.

According to Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Apoe 4 carriers are not able to transport DHA through the blood brain barrier into the brain if it is not a phospholipid form. The ApoE4 allele has a big impact when it comes to how we can detox, how we deal with saturated fat, how we absorb DHA (omega 3) and how we heal from brain injuries. Our brain is made up of more than 65% fat  in the form of DHA, so it’s kind of important to get the right form.

Benefits to knowing and having the ApoE 4 gene

1.You can actually fast longer than those without the gene
2.It can make you more aware of your health and priorities
3.From an evolution standpoint, it helped fight infection
4.It is the most ancestral of the alleles, that’s cool
5.Better memory of events in our lives, weird right?
6.Tend to have higher levels of vitamin D

So What Can I Do For Alzheimer’s prevention?

Here is the best part about knowing your ApoE status, there is SO much you can do to express this gene in a positive way. Diet, lifestyle, the way we choose to think, exercise, supplements and social life have the biggest impact on our chances of expressing this gene in a positive way.

Best strategy for APoE 4 Carriers so far? 

1. Practice TRE daily

2. Practice longer forms of  fasting if necessary to help with ketosis and metabolic flexibility. Use a professional that is experienced in fasting

3. Become metabolically flexible by going in and out of ketosis through diet, fasting and exercise

4. Become insulin sensitive

5. Reduce stress to reduce chronic cortisol secretion and insulin

6. Get checked for sleep apnea

7. Get blood tests done such as CRP (below 1), homocysteine (below 7), fasting insulin (below 62 pmol), fasting glucose (below 5), A1C (below 5.2), cholesterol panel, triglycerides (below 1.12mmol), Homa IR ratio (less than 1.1 in US conversion).

8. Build muscle mass

9. Reduce chronic stress

10. Make sure sleep is a priority, we clean out toxins while we sleep, including amyloid plaque.

11. Reduce or eliminate alcohol, ApoE4 carriers do not metabolize alcohol well

    
    *According to the leading Functional Medicine experts, they want to see your fasting insulin below 62 pmol (CAD) or  9 mIU/ml (US). YES, 62 pmol or 9 mIU/ml, in order to be optimal and decrease your chance of chronic illness.

What stops you from being insulin sensitive?

1.Stress
2.High cortisol
3.Excess estrogen
4.Lack of exercise
5.Lack of muscle mass
6.Diet high in refined carbohydrates
7.Insulin resistance

Dietary needs for ApoE4 Carriers

1.Reduce NOT eliminate, the consumption of saturated fat, make olive oil your go to oil
2.Eat a big ass salad a day, consume a large amount of vegetables.
3.Remove or drastically eliminate refined foods such as bread, rice, corn, flavoured yogurt,...
4.Eliminate refined sugar and bad seed oil consumption such as mayonnaise, store bought salad dressings…
5.Consume small portions of  pasture raised protein and some grass fed, grass finished fed beef (once a week or so for the beef)
6.Eat good quality fats such as avocado’s, small amounts of raw soaked nuts and seeds, organic olives, quality wild salmon or anchovies.
7.Eat pasture raised eggs, choline in runny yolks, not scrambled, is super important for our brain.
8.Consume minimal grains, go gluten free to reduce intestinal permeability (leaky gut)

* Since our liver makes most of our cholesterol- yes you heard that right, it doesn’t matter if you are an ApoE4 carrier or not, our liver makes most of our cholesterol and dietary cholesterol makes up a small amount of our overall cholesterol. I would assume (this is my assumption) that focusing on liver health and keeping our body as toxic free as possible would help the liver manage our cholesterol in a much efficient way.

Testing Your ApoE 4 Status

There are many companies that can test your Apoe4 status, some have to be interpreted by a third party and some do not. Ben Greenfield and Dave Apsrey have recommended The DNA Company I like this one because it does not have to be interpreted and they give you supplemental recommendations (no need to buy into the supplements though). A colleague of mine also recommends Love My Health PRO from  DNA Labs Canada that does not need to be interpreted either.

23and me and Strategene from Dr.Ben Lynch are options as well but I do not know if the results need to be interpreted by a third party.

Research, resources  and Links

ApoE4 Form- Great community for ApoE4 carriers

https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-019-1299-4

https://www.thepaleomom.com/genes-know-apoe/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2317162/