Case Study: James – part 2
Case Study: James – part 1
June 2, 2018
Case Study: James – part 3
December 29, 2018
What was our plan of attack for James?
It can take a few weeks to get test results so that gave us time to work on his beliefs around food. James was highly motivated to get into his karate training, so he was prepared to make healthier choices immediately. I must say, many could find this a challenge at first and prefer to go slower.
To allow initiation of weight loss he needed to give alcohol a rest. Alcohol is a carbohydrate (sugar) adding to the total caloric load and puts stress on the liver at the same time. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to lose weight if you still drink and the liver is sluggish.
Swinging constipation and diarrhea often indicates the presence of pathogenic bacteria or a parasite so I thought about doing a stool test to investigate.
I decided, however, to start with a test called organic acids. In short, it gives us a snap shot of four body systems, the energy factory in the cells, brain health, liver detoxification and gut health. All of which can contribute to fatigue.
What did we find?
To be honest, when I saw his results, I was surprised he was still holding it together.
The first 21 markers on the test relate to the energy factory in the mitochondria within the cells. He had 18 out of the 21 markers very low indicating a hypometabolic state or in layman’s terms, energy factory shut down. Usually this means each mitochondrion within the cell is under functioning but also the numbers of mitochondria to share the load were depleted. Basically, his energy factory was under staffed and under resourced. At this point I was concerned his recovery could take some time.
This was number one key issue to address for James.
Without an efficient energy factory all other essential processes such as brain function, liver detox and the ability to mount an adequate immune response to fight infections were compromised.
Now to his brain.
His markers for dopamine had bottomed out. That’s the brain neurotransmitter that keeps us awake, alert and able to focus throughout the day. It’s our feel-good reward brain chemical.
Adrenalin junkies or thrill seekers thrive on the dopamine surge they get with extreme sports. At the other end of the spectrum, people who genetically lose their dopamine too fast often crave sugars, alcohol, or drugs to stimulate the reward associated with dopamine.
Two other neurotransmitters that were low for James were adrenalin and noradrenalin. They are our get up and go, energy drivers. The fright and flight chemicals that spur us on in times of stress.
If that’s not enough there’s more!
Apart from having energy factory collapse, James’ organic acids test showed collapse of the most important markers for health, the antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione is the most powerful antioxidant in the body that protects our brain, liver and every cell in the body from damage and death. It protects from internal decay like the bruise in an apple.
Glutathione is also the controller of one major detox pathway in the liver. Left unchecked poor glutathione production can lead to chronic illness and accelerated aging.
Without an energy factory his liver had given up. The liver does not have the energy to do its thing if the cellular energy factory is under stress. The accumulation of bodily toxins would have added to James’ fatigue and sluggishness.
Wow, James certainly had a lot to deal with.
Where to from here?
Stay tuned for the next blog to find out how we tackled all facets contributing to his chronic fatigue and how he came out the other side.
