Functional Doctor

Can TIREDNESS be caused by dehydration and not always thyroid and adrenal issues?
👍YES of course!

So let’s not miss the reversible causes – by testing for the possible causes and treating what may be causing YOUR fatigue.
This could be high levels of stress at work, or heavy periods, so supplementing with vitamin D or B12 may not help in these cases….
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❗Test Don’t Guess:
Simple tests can be completed through your medical practitioner including:
▶️Vitamin D levels
▶️Vitamin B12 levels
▶️Thyroid function
▶️Diabetes screen - HbA1C & fasting insulin
▶️Iron studies inc ferritin
▶️Inflammatory markers - CRP, ESR & ANA

You can then work on correcting the root cause and supplementing correctly.
But let’s not forget the role of stress on our biochemistry. Chronic stress can lead to an unhealthy response to stress and is also a cause of fatigue and burnout.😫

Simple lifestyle changes can help with fatigue whatever the cause. This can help manage stress and put the body into a more relaxed -parasympathetic- state): 🧘
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Give these a try:⁠
🟡Eliminate sugars and processed foods
🟡Have a 10 min yoga session⁠
🟡Give just 2-5 minutes of meditation a try 🧘
🟡Practice gratitude
🟡Spend time in nature⁠ and ground yourself by walking barefoot⁠👣
🟡Spend time doing things that bring you joy⁠
🟡Indulge in an Epsom salt bath 🛁
🟡Adopt a healthier sleep regime – early bed and reducing blue light exposure 1 hour before bedtime. 😴
🟡Don’t wake up to scrolling on your phone📵 Wake up to daylight and a deep breath.


So let’s get started on this journey ruling out the root cause for fatigue and working to correct the biochemical causes and feeling more energy! 😁

Be sure to LIKE ❤️AND SHARE THIS POST with anyone you know who suffers with LOW ENERGY….

A heartfelt THANK YOU for supporting my platform and for all the positive feedback on my social media posts… ❤️

I absolutely love practising as a functional medicine doctor in the UK, but the journey is not always made easy - due to the lack of “evidence” for the lifestyle approaching to disease. Still, this is what people NEED, and disease IS often REVERSIBLE, so I try my best to educate. 🧠

I am currently working on sharing my knowledge with many more of you and will be bringing out retreats and group sessions. I would be very interested in knowing what would interest you. 😊


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Is it time to BOOST your Thyroid… now that we know it has SOOO many roles? 🦋

Let’s start by understanding our thyroid gland – A butterfly shaped gland in our neck which produces thyroid hormones: Thyroxine
Thyroxine affects almost every cell in our body: And a well functioning thyroid can:

⭐️Metabolism – improving our weight
⭐️Hormone balance - the number 1 cause of unexplained infertility and menopausal & PMS symptoms
⭐️Gut health – affecting bowels and the healthy microbiome
⭐️Brain function – affecting memory, concentration and focus
⭐️Circulation – preventing heart disease and lung disease
⭐️Temperature regulation – affecting our core body temperature
⭐️Insulin regulation – affecting energy and preventing diabetes
⭐️Skin and hair cells – preventing hair loss and poor skin health
⭐️Sleep – allowing us to wake up energised and fully function with good resilience
⭐️Immunity – preventing inflammation and reduces infection rates

We know that our thyroid is a very important gland producing super-hormones with multiple benefits. There are numerous studies showing the importance of a good thyroid function and it’s role in aging.

Natural ways to boost our thyroid function are:

➡️Eat foods rich in thyroid cofactors: 3 brazil nuts 🌰 a day (selenium); seaweed (iodine) Leafy greens (B-vitamins and zinc)

➡️Eat more healthy carbohydrates 🥦 : helps increase the conversion of the inactive thyroid hormone to the active form;

➡️Bathe in Epsom salts: 🛁 the skin absorbs magnesium and salts important for the production of thyroid hormones;

➡️Meditate 🧘‍♀️ and clear the mind for 2 minutes before bed – helps stress;

➡️Avoid stress 😥and learn to say No – the thyroid is very sensitive to stress;

➡️Go to bed early 🛌– sleep before 11pm is worth double the hours! Helps reset the thyroid cycle;

Some may need to have a prescription of thyroxine 💊 if the thyroid is not able to function optimally: please discuss this with your doctor.

If you know anyone who struggles with symptoms of thyroid 🦋dysfunction– be sure to tag them below!

✨ The liver has the very important role of clearing toxins in our body. But in doing this it can become “clogged” and needs a detox and a rest…

Detoxing the liver helps the gut and body to work more efficiently. It can help reverse inflammation. 🧹
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▶Grapefruit juice helps dilate those bile ducts and combining this with olive oil then pushes the oil into the liver forcing bile secretion and cleansing.

▶Vitamin E 💊– numerous studies have proven the benefits of taking a vitamin E supplement in reversing and preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

▶Epsom salt bath 🛀 and infra-red sauna helps the body to detoxify and rid toxins through the skin, unburdening the liver. Just 20mins in the bath 3x/ week will help enormously… and what a luxury!

▶Eliminating alcohol 🍷 for 2-6 weeks every 6 months helps the liver to rest and continue it’s good daily work and reverses inflammation of the liver. Aswell as drinking in moderation.

▶️Eliminating processed foods and sugars reduces inflammation and the burden on the body, allowing it to focus on cell repair and prevents fatty liver disease.

▶️ Intermittent fasting promotes autophagy and allows the liver to detox. Start with a 12:12 fast and gradually move to a 10:8 fast.

▶️Sleep and Hydrating 💦 well allows the liver cells to repair. Water helps the chemical reaction in the liver and flushing out of the toxins. Sleep allows our body to rest and new cells to grow. Remember that the hours of sleep before 11pm are worth double!

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PLEASE NOTE THAT A LIVER DETOX MUST BE DISCUSSED WITH YOUR HEALTH PRACTITIONER BEFORE YOU START. Some may find it difficult to tolerate and it is not advised for all.

Stress is only too often normalised in our society today. 😓

Stress impacts every part of our body stems - from the body’s immune system 🦠to gut health and healing ability.

Stress switches on the sympathetic nervous system - flight or fright response - and is our life saving mechanism. This natural life saving response doesn’t differentiate between seeing a lion or a stressful email / family argument. The body throws everything at it, rescuing you from the life threatening stressor.
This uses up essential minerals, vitamins, hormones and energy.

Whilst this is life saving as an acute response, chronic stress can leave us feeling:

➡️Sympathetic system overloaded 🤯- High BP, fast shallow breathing and fast heart rate.
➡️Depleted in vital vitamin and minerals - muscle aches, low energy, and high toxins.
➡️Hormonally imbalanced - irregular and heavy periods, agitated, brain fog and low libido.
➡️Low resilience - inability to handle daily stresses.

Whilst we can’t always eliminate stress from our lives, we can definitely help manage and ground ourselves better to deal with it.
The following have been researched to help improve our ability to handle stress:

✨Breathing techniques 🧘‍♀️- conscious breathing can help rewire the brain and improve brain function.
✨Yoga 🤸‍♀️ - Mind-body connection is a researched to release trauma and help reconnect.
✨Sleep 💤 - Helps repair and reset the body and mind.
✨Nutritional diet 🌈 - The rainbow food contain different phytonutrients to replenish vitamins and minerals to help stress.
✨Supplements 💊- vitamin D And C help with immune system. Magnesium is known as our stress mineral and help us to manage stress without depleting ourselves. L-theanine can help to calm and ground us.
✨Positive relationships 👯‍♂️- helps laughter and heal us from trauma and stress.

So start healing and combating stress today.

Be sure to like ❤️ and share this post struggling with stress.