INFORMATION OVERLOAD

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SO MUCH INFORMATION TO ABSORB

There is so much information out there (books, internet, social media, people you know) on what you should eat. Then, to add more confusion, there is even more to choose from when it comes to something specific: weight loss, autoimmune diseases, cancer, IBS/IBD, depression/anxiety, etc.

When I was healing from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), I did so much research on my own, plus I started seeing a naturopath, I had my beloved integrative medicine physician and then I eventually added a rheumatologist to the mix. 

I read many, many books on inflammation, on gut health, on autoimmune issues, on hormones and on RA specifically. I had my Pharmacy Degree and I had recently obtained a Holistic Health Coach Certification from IIN (Institute for Integrative Nutrition out of New York) which offered a very broad education on nutrition. The education focused on bio-individuality and offered a little bit of education on everything – vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, low fat, low carb and even breatharian models and many more. This certification opened my world up to many many teachings, many authors and gave me a lot to think about – but it didn’t give me the specific answers I needed.

I am grateful for everything that I learn and for everything that happens for me, even my RA diagnosis. My knowledge that I did have was swirling in my head, the advice I received from my health team swirled around in there too. I was dedicated to healing –  it was scary at times and the journey on that path wasn’t easy. 

I did some juicing, things I learned from the Paddison Program. I tried the AIP diet, recommended by my naturopath, I tried the Specific Carbohydrate diet, recommended by my Integrative MD. I was tested and treated for SIBO. I opted for using the herbal treatment for SIBO instead of the pharmaceutical Xifaxan. I consider myself a Paradoxical Pharmacist – I know about all of these medications but would prefer to heal naturally for so many reasons, one being the side effects that prescription medications can cause.

I was trying to follow information from books I read by Neal Barnard, Susan Blum, Steven Gundry, Don Colbert, Josh Axe, Dave Aspry, Izabella Wentz, Joel Fuhrman, Sara Gottfried, Julia Ross, Mark Hyman, Michal Platt, etc. – and I am sure there were many more in the library I collected and even more that I read or listened to online.

TRYING TO TIE IT ALL TOGETHER BUT FALLING SHORT

Ultimately I landed on a vegetarian keto version of a diet from trying to incorporate everything I had been given by the health care team. This seemed to keep some of my symptoms at bay but I continued to be extremely fatigued, was carrying some extra weight, my entire body was swollen and my hair was thinning. I felt defeated and lost. 

My blood work didn’t show the classic signs of RA, but I agreed to see a rheumatologist. With his observations of my swollen joints, all of my other symptoms and some added blood work, I received my diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and a secondary diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

I handled that ok, as well as could be expected, but then came the choices of medications. Again, this paradoxical pharmacist did not want to take steroids or the methotrexate or the hydroxychloroquine or the injectable biologics. But ultimately, I was scared and this fear was enough to push me to agree to try the medications. I responded remarkably quickly to all of the treatments, maybe because of the diet and lifestyle I had adopted. I continued with eating my vegetarian keto dietary plan and was able to achieve medication supported remission in under a year. My Rheumatologist pushed for me to continue on the medication to ensure the remission. I agreed to stay on medication for a bit longer, but my goal was to discontinue the medications and to stay in remission. 

DIVINE INTERVENTION: A PUSH TO EXPLORE A DIFFERENT PATH

In November 2019, something stirred in me to reach out to someone I had met just once several years ago. When I met this amazing person, I had just finished my IIN Health Coach Certification and she had just finished her Health Coach Certification from HMI (Health Mastery Institute out of Kauai). I had been so intrigued by her account of her training and how excitedly she spoke of her teacher, Liana Shanti. At the time I had met with her, I just couldn’t imagine doing another Health Certification but I did enroll in one of Liana’s classes, 66 Day Health Mastery Program, and went on with my life. This program is amazing but I didn’t realize it at the time – I read through the first 4 modules to gain the knowledge but I didn’t apply the program to my life fully.

When I reached out to this amazing person, Cahira Nolani, in November of 2019, she graciously agreed to meet with me. I had a ton of questions that she patiently answered and that night I decided to enroll in HMI. To say the least, HMI has been LIFE CHANGING. 

A LIGHT OF AN OPPORTUNITY

When the world “shut down” in March of 2020, I decided to go off of all of my prescriptions. This was also prompted by fear of the unknown. I did not want to be immunocompromised in the face of an unknown virus.  I threw myself into learning everything I could from HMI. 

Not only do I attribute HMI to helping me stay in remission after abruptly stopping my medications, it also helped me understand that the high fat that I was eating was most likely the culprit for disrupting my hormones. I was already eating fairly healthy but changing up my diet by lowering the fat and increasing what I thought was “forbidden” fruit made a drastic improvement in my health and wellbeing. 

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

Everything happens for a reason! I truly believe that if I had done the program, 66 Day Health Mastery Program, back in 2015, I may not have been confronted with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I don’t look back at what could have been, I look back and see all of the lessons I have learned along the way. Our failures are our best teachers!

HELP IS HERE – YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK

The information I learned in HMI also provided me with more knowledge and more confidence to help others on their healing path.

Reach out if my story resonates with you and you would like guidance on your health journey.

You too can heal!!

Gina Lynn

G.E.T. Happy G.E.T. Healthy G.E.T. Whole

WHY CALCIUM-D-GLUCARATE?

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A SUPPLEMENT TO SUPPPORT DETOXIFICATION

YOUR BODY IS AMAZING

Your body is amazing! It is always working behind the scenes to support you. 

Do you remember Benjamin Franklin’s old saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” Your prevention is supporting your body with self care, sleep, being in nature, exercise and of course organic, unrefined, unprocessed foods, as fresh as possible and in their natural state. This is the best way to prevent overburdening your body with unwanted toxins.

Toxins will still find a way into your body: through the air you breathe, water you drink, foods you eat, items you clean with and products you put on your skin. Thankfully your liver works hard for you, filtering, binding and eliminating these toxins. 

It always feels good to “give back” and there are so many things you can do to support your liver in this process. In addition to the things mentioned above, there is a supplement called calcium-d-glucarate which assists the liver in everyday detox.

Calcium-D-Glucarate can help decrease your cholesterol, assists in protein digestion, and helps remove toxins and excess estrogen. 

HOW YOUR BODY GETS RID OF TOXINS

One way your liver eliminates toxins is through a process called conjugation. During conjugation, toxins are packaged into water soluble compounds called glucuronides. Glucuronides are meant to pass through the liver, to the bile, then to the gut where they are excreted. Beta-glucuronidase is an enzyme that breaks the tight bond between glucuronides and toxins in the intestines. The binding of toxins in the gut is protective by way of blocking their absorption and facilitating excretion. Higher levels of beta-glucuronidase may be associated with an imbalanced intestinal microbiome, as well as higher circulating estrogens and decreased fecal excretion of estrogens. This allows toxins to continue to circulate in the body where they make you fat, tired, and weak.

HELLO CALCIUM-D-GLUCARATE

Calcium-D-Glucarate prevents high levels beta-glucuronidase from disturbing the detoxification process.  It keeps the toxins bound inside a “water soluble glucuronide package” which is then removed from the body.  Toxins are most damaging in their free form, which is why you want them to be bound (conjugated) and released from the body.  Calcium-D-Glucarate inhibits beta-glucuronidase and this allows the toxins to be removed more effectively.

There is technically not a deficiency of Calcium-D-Glucarate in the body because it is not essential. However, humans produce only small amounts, so it’s common to have low levels in your body.

Calcium-D-Glucarate is a natural substance your body produces. Small amounts are also found in fruits and vegetables. Years ago people were able to get enough Calcium-D-Glucarate from their own production since they ate relatively low amounts of toxins and lived in a clean environment. As toxin exposure increases, Calcium-D-Glucarate supplementation can assist in excreting the extra toxins.

FOUR BENEFITS OF TAKING A CALCIUM-D-GLUCARATE SUPPLEMENT

1. HELPS TO DETOX THE LIVER

Removing toxins from the liver will increase liver function and promote a healthy metabolism.  It will also allow your liver to flush out other toxins that would otherwise cause problems in your body..

2. HELPS TO REMOVE EXCESS ESTROGEN

High levels of beta-glucuronidase increases the number of estrogen receptors. This means estrogen that would have been excreted is now able to bind to more receptors. This can cause increased tissue growth and an inability to lose fat.

Estrogen dominance is one of the leading causes of infertility, mood imbalances, and other health problems in women.  

Calcium-D-Glucarate allows excess estrogen to be passed out of the body.  

High estrogen is also a problem for men.  Whether you are a man or woman, Calcium-D-Glucarate will help maintain proper hormone balance.

3. HELPS REDUCE CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol is an important building block of hormones. Too much and too little cholesterol can cause problems in your body. As with many things in life, balance is the key.

Calcium-D-Glucarate is metabolized into glucaric salts.  Glucaric salts reduce beta-glucuronidase production by gut bacteria.  Reducing beta-glucuronidase enhances liver circulation which reduces cholesterol synthesis.  This causes lower cholesterol levels.

Calcium-D-Glucarate is not arbitrarily playing with cholesterol numbers, like the statin drugs.  It decreases stress on the liver which lowers your need for and production of cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol.

When cells are stressed or damaged, they need cholesterol for repair. Inflammation in your body can be a root cause for high cholesterol levels. Decreasing inflammation through an anti-inflammatory diet, exercise and reducing stress can keep the need for cholesterol low, thus keeping cholesterol production in an optimal range.

4. ASSISTS IN ELIMINATION OF TOXIC BY-PRODUCTS OF PROTEIN METABOLISM

Your liver and kidneys are designed to efficiently process the protein you eat and allow for removal of harmful byproducts like ammonia.  However, with the excess toxic burden we experience today, your body is responsible not only for removing harmful byproducts like ammonia, but also for fending off xenoestrogens, air pollutants, chronic infections, and mycotoxins.  Consuming a high protein diet can definitely contribute to your body’s toxic burden. 

Suggested Protein Intake for an Average Adult:

  • 0.36 to 0.4 grams per pound body weight, 150 lbs = 54 to 60 grams/day
  • Protein should be in the 10 to 15% range of total calories
    • 1800 calories – 180 to 270 calories (45 to 68 grams)
    • 2000 calories – 200 to 300 calories (50 to 75 grams)
  • High Protein Diets (25-35%) can be detrimental to your health, consider decreasing your protein intake and supplementing with Calcium-D-Glucarate.

CALCIUM-D-GLUCARATE DOSAGE AND POSSIBLE INTERACTIONS

A normal detox dose is 500-1000 mg, 1 500mg capsule, once to twice daily. It can be taken with or without food.

If you have high estrogen levels, you may benefit from taking larger doses – ask your doctor before adding any supplement to your regimen.

Calcium-D-Glucarate can interact with alcohol and some drugs that act on the liver, like statins. WebMD has a full list of possible interactions.

You can purchase Calcium-D-Glucarate from Amazon or from your local health food store.

SUMMARY

Calcium-D-Glucarate can remove toxins, balance hormones, ensure healthy liver function, and lower cholesterol.

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