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PROVOKE Health - Evoking the path to health resiliency
PROVOKE Health - Evoking the path to health resiliency

Making Sense of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

By |2017-08-30T19:23:33-04:00August 30th, 2017|Categories: Irritable Bowel Syndrome|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is even more unpleasant than it sounds — abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, gas, and diarrhea and/or constipation. Symptoms can be triggered by certain foods or by stress, infection, medications, or hormonal changes.

If you have IBS, you’re not alone, and you’re in good company. IBS affects between seven and 10 percent of the world’s population (it’s twice as common in women than in men), and like other illnesses, diseases, syndromes and disorders we’ve covered as of late here on my blog, it has a celebrity following; John F. Kennedy, Tyra Banks, Cybill Shepherd, and Jenny McCarthy have all been reported to have suffered from IBS.

If you are struggling with irritable bowel syndrome, I know how difficult it can be. Daily life is often interrupted or halted, time with family and friends can be unpleasant, and dealing with the condition at work can be unbearable. Even worse, you may be too embarrassed to discuss your condition with even your closest friends and family members; IBS isn’t a topic for dinner conversation. Understandably, anxiety and depression often accompany the illness.

The good news is that treatments for those suffering with IBS are available and very effective, even when traditional medical efforts have failed to produce results.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms

The symptoms of an irritable bowel (colon) vary according to the nature and severity of the symptoms. I already mentioned some of these earlier in this post, but here is a more complete list of IBS symptoms: Continue reading…

Post-Cancer Treatment Shouldn’t Be Ignored

By |2017-09-06T13:38:59-04:00August 23rd, 2017|Categories: Cancer|Tags: , , |0 Comments

The one-two punch of cancer and chemotherapy can literally kill you. In fact, chemotherapy typically involves the use of cytotoxic drugs, meaning medications that are deadly to living cells. Yes, chemo is designed to target and destroy only cancerous cells, but it can also damage healthy cells, significantly increase the toxic burden on the body, and deplete stores of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants). As a result, people undergoing chemo feel weak and exhausted.

Post Cancer Treatment Image

In addition, chemotherapy often causes oxidative damage to cells resulting in a condition referred to as mitochondrial fatigue. A cell’s mitochondria serve as its power house, providing the energy the cell needs to function properly. Exhausted cells make a tired body. Fortunately, targeted nutritional therapies can help to repair damaged cells and restore depleted nutrients to make you start feeling significantly better and re-energized after chemo.

In addition to making you feel better, these nutritional therapies help to Continue reading…

Adrenal Fatigue Treatment Options for Tampa Residents

By |2017-08-17T14:10:36-04:00August 17th, 2017|Categories: Adrenal|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

What do Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, extreme skier and author of The Art of FEAR Kristen Ulmer, and singer and Instagram personality Kristina Cassandra “KC” Concepcion all have in common? Aside from having great minds for business and very successful careers, each is reported to suffer from Adrenal fatigue — a mild form of adrenal insufficiency.

If you’re unfamiliar with the condition, Adrenal fatigue may occur when the adrenal glands, positioned on top of the kidneys, produce too much or too little stress hormones (including cortisol and adrenaline) due to long-term exposure and response to stress.

Conventional medicine recognizes two adrenal-related diagnoses:

  • Addison’s Disease (low cortisol)
  • Cushing’s Syndrome (high cortisol)

Each of these two diagnoses is relatively rare and requires immediate attention. However, high or low cortisol in the absence of adrenal disease can cause fatigue, body aches, and a host of other symptoms commonly seen in clinical practice. Clusters of these symptoms are what clinicians commonly diagnose as adrenal fatigue.

Defining “Stress”

In the context of adrenal fatigue, stress is anything that triggers the adrenal gland to produce and release stress hormones, including: Continue reading…

Leaky Gut Symptoms and Treatment

By |2017-08-11T11:02:18-04:00August 11th, 2017|Categories: Autoimmune Diseases|Tags: |0 Comments

You’re not feeling well. Maybe you have digestive issues — gas, bloating, heartburn, or food sensitivities or intolerances. Or maybe your symptoms aren’t related to digestion — you have chronic sinus congestion, post nasal drip, or allergies; achy or stiff joints; fatigue; or swelling or inflammation in your arms, legs, or even your face.

Your doctor has done a careful physical examination, run a battery of lab tests, and maybe ordered x-rays and still can’t figure out what’s wrong. You’re taking medication to deal with the symptoms, but you still feel lousy.

Has your doctor considered the possibility of leaky gut syndrome (LGS)? If not, that’s a good place to start.

What is leaky gut syndrome?

Leaky gut syndrome (LGS) occurs when the intestinal tract becomes more permeable than it should be, allowing certain substances that should stay in the intestinal tract to pass through its walls. Think of the lining of your intestinal tract as a window screen that lets the air pass through but prevents flies and mosquitoes from getting inside. If you were to push a pencil into the holes in that screen to widen them, mosquitoes and other small insects could more easily pass through.

Your intestinal lining performs a similar screening function; it keeps certain substances inside the intestinal tract while allowing others, such as nutrients, to pass through it into the Continue reading…