> Emotional and Mental Health > Energy and Fatigue

Dr Leyton:I have a tremendous number of problems: fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, chronic fatigue, hiatus hernia, hypothyroidism and low blood pressure, to name a few. I have been given numerous prescription drugs and I believe they are only making things worse.

My husband and I have purchased a small piece of land in southern Ontario where we are growing our own organic food and raising organic poultry and eggs. I cannot eat in restaurants and most store-bought food makes me sick. Can you help?
ST

Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis have many of the same symptoms in common. Interstitial cystitis is a nasty inflammation of the bladder wall, which occurs mostly in women of middle age.

A cystoscopy usually identifies significant visual inflammation in the bladder wall with this condition. Its symptoms consist of burning pain both while urinating and also over the bladder area at different times during the day. Coupled with this are intense fatigue and frequent aches and pains in other parts of the body.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia may have similar causation mechanisms. Sometimes narcotics can only relieve the pain, and anything that is helping to get pain relief is important to continue. Chronic pain itself is a debilitating and depressing condition and must be treated aggressively. Some people have benefited from detoxification. Stop eating red meats and all fried and refined foods. Eliminate alcohol and caffeine. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably raw and organic. Drink plenty of fresh squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. Follow this regimen for two to four weeks.

Interstitial cystitis and fibromyalgia are inflammatory conditions that may be helped by herbs such as turmeric, curcumin and ginger root. People with these conditions can also have low magnesium and might benefit from supplementation with magnesium salts at levels of 400 to 800 milligrams daily. Sometimes sufferers are unable to absorb the magnesium by mouth and are helped by deep muscle injections.

Those with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia also benefit from acupuncture, gentle massage, relaxation techniques and stress reduction. Support groups are often important adjuncts to treatment.

In the early 1990s, a number of studies using evening primrose oil and marine fish oils were found to be beneficial for people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. I usually use the following regimen--1,000 mg of primrose oil, combined with 1,000 mg of fish oil, three times daily with meals. Make sure you also take 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily, a B-complex vitamin and extra zinc--25 mg daily. These nutrients help the oils do their job.

Written requests for advice must contain your age, gender, height and weight and a good description of your present problem; any past medical problems and treatments; a list of drugs and supplements you are taking and the results of any recent blood or other tests.

Address letters to the medical advisor, 7436 Fraser Park Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5J 5B9. Please include a cheque or money order made out for $20 payable to Canadian Health Reform Products Ltd. Expect six to eight weeks for a reply.

Dr Edward Leyton has practised complementary and alternative medicine in Kingston, Ont. for over 22 years.

Source: alive #Nitrate-contaminated Water

The Vitality Factor!
Natural ways to increase energy levels Are you grateful that you do not have a major disease, but frustrated that you lack vibrant energy? This energy, or vitality as I like to call it, is simply physical, m.

Recovery from Fibromyalgia
"I knew I was in trouble when I couldn't hold onto a coffee mug or turn a doorknob with one hand." My experience with fibromyalgia began about 10 years ago. I was a healthy, active 36-year-old male employed as a firefighter for 11 years. I admit I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is an illness that took my whole lifetime to mature and five years to battle into submission. The symptoms and causes, like almost all so-called incurable diseases, piled up, stone upon stone, beginning to create my tombstone.

How to Treat Childhood Illnesses
All of the common illnesses of childhood are inflammations. "Infection" is the wrong word for them because it suggests that we get sick because germs invade us. This is misleading.

Rescued by Oxygen
For 28 years of my life, I worked on a farm. I lived an active healthy life and I ate only organically produced foods from my farm. Nothing was ever sprayed with chemicals. Livestock animals were all naturally raised.

5 Steps to Fighting Fatigue
We all experience days of fatigue, when it seems impossible todrag ourselves out of be.

Antioxidants: Our Natural Protectors
Antioxidants protect us. They are our bodies' natural defences against oxidant agents that damage or destroy our tissues, initiating disease and accelerating normal aging.

Sleep Matters
If you don't snooze, you lose. The alarm buzzes. A hand emerges from a heap of blankets to slap blindly at the sound-again and again. Finally, you rouse yourself to squint at the dial. With a groan, you realize you've slept in for the second time this week. What's worse, you're still tired.

The Inflammation Syndrome
Inflammation may be behind much of what ails us, but healthy foods and supplements can quench the fires. Your morning stiffness may not yet qualify as arthritis, but it's likely a sign of inflammation simmering throughout your body.

Nutrient Robbers
Do you feel tired all the time? Is your hair brittle, your nails weak, or your eyesight poor? If so, you could have a nutritional d.

The New Energy Crisis
Hectic, fast-paced, high-stress, and fatigued. Does this describe your life? Concerns about stress and fatigue underlie many visits to practitioners and health food stores, often leading to the question, "What can I take to have more energy? or maybe more to the point, "Why am I so tired?

Breakfast Epiphanies
"Breakfast? I don't have time, and "I'm trying to lose weight, are frequently heard reasons why people skip the morning meal. Yet numerous studies have shown that breakfast is important for optimal physical and mental performance. Eating a nutritious meal in the morning also boosts metabolism, which determines the rate at which the body burns food.

Exercise to Energize!
Your body is unlike any other machine in the world. Generally speaking, the more you use a machine the faster it will wear down. However, the more you use your body the more efficient it becomes and the longer (and better) it will work.

Living with Fibromyalgia
I can't get out of bed this morning. Again. My whole body is wracked with pain. I feel invaded. Vilified. I don't know what is happening to me or why. I spent months not knowing how great the pain would be or what caused it.

Inflammation
Physicians have long recognized inflammation as the culprit in asthma, arthritis, and many other painful "-itis" diseases. Almost overnight, medicine has redefined inflammation as the root of most chronic diseases.

Treating Fibromyalgia Naturally
Fibromyalgia, the "sore all over syndrome, is a condition that mainly affects women in their late 30s and 40s. People who suffer from fibromyalgia often say they wake up in the morning feeling like they've been run over by a truck.

Anti-Inflammatory Relief with Homeopathy
Conventional anti-inflammatories are notorious for side effects such as ulcers and low immune function - problems that can be avoided using homeopathy.

A Lean and Healthy Body
Do you need a real transformation to feel more energized, enthusiastic, and focused? Follow these seven steps and you will enjoy a longer, healthier, and happier life.

Inflaming Emotions

We often speak of inflamed emotions to indicate a psychological state in which feelings are heightened to the point of being out of control.

Treating Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common, yet little understood, muscular disorder that affects thousands of Canadians. It affects more women than men and is marked by widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and multiple tender points on specific areas of the body..

Get a Grip on Arthritis and Other Inflammatory Disorders
In her book, Get a Grip on Arthritis and Other Inflammatory Disorders, Lorna Vanderhaeghe clearly demonstrates her belief in empowering people with health knowledge so they can achieve optimal wellness.

Cold Shower, Anyone?
In my grandfather's youth, all food was organic, dairy came straight from the cow, and most days were spent working hard in the fresh air. Even so, my grandfather attributed his health and longevity to a daily cold water rinse.

Hyaluronic Acid
Joint pain can be burning, stiffness, an ache or tenderness. However it manifests, we want it to go away!

The good news is that a new natural compound has recently come to light that successfully alleviates joint pain.

Alone or Lonely?
Being separated from someone we love whether through death, divorce, or extended travel, can be one of the most difficult times in our lives. Whether we are 3 or 93, the sense of loss can be very painful and can last a lifetime-but there is hope.

Fibromyalgia

Do No Harm

Banish Fatigue

Energize Your Life
The New Year holds great promise that this will be the year that you make time every day to exercise, drink plenty of water, and eat well. These simple choices can not only improve health but also allow you to take control of three things: your energy, your weight, and your stress level.

Energy Medicine
When we suffer from any kind of pain-physical, emotional, or spiritual, including a painful relationship-our emotions send messages to the body and mind about the need to return to balance. Responding to this call in a positive way can help us find energy and a sense of happiness, vitality, and joy.

Seven Tips for Deriving Energy from Your Relationships
We all want to be physically healthy, but if our emotional life is unbalanced, efforts to reach our full health potential may be thwarted. Following these simple tips and surrounding yourself with positive relationships will re-energize you and pave the way to achieving your full health potential.

Food and Mood
The relationship between food and mood is mediated by both psychological and physiological factors. It is clear that food can influence mood while mood can influence food choices. It is a complex relationship and based on taste, experience, expectations, culture, stressors, and nutritional status.

Apple power

Beautiful breakfasts

Thinking pink? Think again!

Mickel Therapy
What if the symptoms of chronic illness were not foes to be fought or suppressed but instead served as our allies, telling us about the actions and directions we could take to heal? This radical shift in perspective comes from the burgeoning field of mind-body medicine.

Ginseng
Ginseng has been used for thousands of years. During that time, many claims have been made regarding its effectiveness as an adaptogen. Ginseng has been touted for its ability to fight fatigue, correct erectile dysfunction, reduce hypertension and blood sugar levels, and increase immunity. Yet, how accurate are these claims?

The Wonders of Maca
What is maca (Lepidium meyenii) and why has it suddenly become popular in North America? Maca is an energy booster that relieves insomnia, stress, and depression while increasing libido.

Deflating Inflammation
Inflammation is a process by which the body's immune system reacts to infection, contact with foreign substances, or injury. It happens when you stub your toe, contract a virus, or are exposed to a harsh chemical.

Controlled Inflammation
Inflammation is rarely understood as a purposefuland beneficial physiological process of the body. The sheer number of anti-inflammatories that flood the market should be enough evidence to convince us of this.

Obstructive sleep apnea
Does your partner’s breathing abruptly stop, then restart in the middle of the night? It may be that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is to blame.

Osteoarthritis
Most people understand arthritis as being a single medical condition, but there are different types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is the most common type.