A-Z supplements Articles

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is not a disease in itself. It is a combination of symptoms that can mimic many other diseases, making it very difficult to diagnose. The causes of chronic fatigue syndrome are not well understood. 

What Causes Chronic Fatigue?

Some researchers believe chronic fatigue is an infection with a viral agent in the same family as the herpes virus.

Others believe it may be due to an unidentified problem with the immune system, defective blood pressure regulation, anemia, arthritis, mercury poisoning, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, candidiasis, fibromyalgia or a sleep disorder.

What Are Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue?

Common symptoms among those who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are: 

• Muscle and joint pain
• Depression and anxiety
• Poor memory and headaches
• Low blood pressure
• Digestive disturbances
• Environmental sensitivities
• Loss of appetite
• Mood swings
• Fever
• Intestinal pain
• Light and heat sensitivity
• Sleep disturbances
• Swollen glands

To be diagnosed with CFS, an individual must meet 2 criteria. The first is persistent fatigue of which rest does not alleviate and limits the activity of an individual by 50% over 6 months or more, and the second is that all other diseases have been ruled out.

How Can I Treat CFS Symptoms?

Conventional treatment of CFS varies widely. Some sufferers are prescribed antidepressants. The success rate varies widely and, sometimes, unusual side effects occur due to the prescription drugs. Others undergo transfusions of a blood product, gamma-globulin. This substance aids in the immune response.

Natural therapies aim to correct several factors that can contribute to CFS. These include nutritional deficiencies, allergies, thyroid dysfunction, candida, anemia and stress.

Decrease your stress level with regular, moderate exercise. Set aside time each day to do something that you enjoy. Hydrotherapy, using alternating hot and cold water at the end of your shower, boosts the immune system.

Treat food allergies with elimination or rotation diets (see food allergy article). Avoid mercury exposure, which is most commonly due to silver dental fillings. Undergo regular detoxification to rid the body of heavy metals. Drink steam-distilled water to help remove toxins from the body. Be sure to take a mineral supplement if you use steam-distilled water. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, corticosteroids, fried foods, pork products, red meat, processed foods, sugar and white flour. Increase foods containing high amounts of vitamins and minerals, like green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, garlic, onions and olive oil. The essential fatty acids found in wild-caught ocean-going fish also support the body.

If you're concerned about your liver health, you're not alone. Fatty liver disease is a growing health concern that affects millions. In this article, we'll explore what it is, what causes it, and the steps you can take to protect your liver, naturally and effectively. 

What is Fatty Liver Disease?

Fatty liver disease is a condition where large globules of fat accumulate in the liver cells in a process called steatosis. It most commonly occurs in those with excessive alcohol intake or in those who are obese (alcoholic or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).

Most people with fatty liver disease have no symptoms. Doctors often diagnose it during routine physical exams or screening blood tests. This disease is largely reversible. However, fat buildup combined with liver inflammation can progress to steatohepatitis. The underlying cause determines whether it is alcoholic or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

What Causes Fatty Liver?

Alcohol use and metabolic syndrome commonly cause fatty liver disease. Diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and dyslipidemia also increase the risk. There are other, rarer metabolic disorders, nutritional deficiencies and drugs that can also cause this condition in some cases. In each case, fatty acid metabolism becomes impaired. As a result, fats accumulate in the liver instead of being properly metabolized. Because of the growing obesity epidemic in North America, these conditions are becoming much more prevalent in our current society. Estimates are that between 10 and 25% of the population suffers from some form of fatty liver.

As the disease progresses, fat accumulates in small bubbles in the cell called liposomes. Over time, these bubbles grow larger and coalesce until eventually they take over the cell and expand its size. Over time, multiple cells may merge, creating fatty cysts that are no longer reversible. When these changes occur in conjunction with local inflammation, as in steatohepatitis, they create fibrosis around the enlarged cells. As the fibrosis accumulates, it causes further permanent damage to the structure of the liver and creates cirrhosis.

Symptoms of Fatty Liver

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people with fatty liver disease will have no idea that anything is wrong. Symptoms of fatty liver begin to appear only when the liver is damaged and begins to undergo cirrhosis. Once this occurs, symptoms of fatigue, fluid retention, muscle wasting, increased bruising, abdominal fullness, and jaundice will occur. If you are experiencing more than one of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention.

Diagnosing Fatty Liver

Doctors use physical exams and blood tests to assess liver health. An enlarged liver is often the first sign of fatty liver disease. Blood work will check for an elevation of two liver enzymes called AST and ALT. After these tests, doctors may perform a liver biopsy to evaluate fat deposits and liver cell structure. They also assess liver inflammation to distinguish fatty liver disease from steatohepatitis. Alternatively, ultrasound, CT scans, or MRI can provide less invasive diagnostic options.

How Can I Reverse Fatty Liver Disease?

Interestingly, most cases of fatty liver can be reversed simply by eliminating the underlying cause. In the alcoholic form, this means treating the alcohol dependency and no longer drinking. In the nonalcoholic forms, the treatment is the same as that for metabolic syndrome: reduce body weight to the normal range through a balanced diet and daily exercise. It is also important to avoid alcohol and unnecessary medications to reduce any strain on the liver.

Fatty Liver Supplement Support

In addition to diet and lifestyle changes in order to promote healthy weight loss and insulin levels, there are a number of supplements with some preliminary evidence in the treatment of fatty liver disease. Supplementation of 800IU of vitamin E daily has been found to eliminate NASH in 1/3rd of cases. Supplements that aid in the treatment of metabolic syndrome, as listed above, can also benefit. Reducing or eliminating diabetes can further help to reverse this liver disease. In addition to treating the underlying cause, it is also important to promote liver health with supplements such as milk thistle and NAC.

Nitrates are a compound found in vegetables such as dark green leafy veggies like beet greens, kale, spinach, and parsley. It is known as “endothelium-derived relaxing factor” (EDRF) and is made in the body by the amino acid L-arginine, oxygen and NADPH (a type of helper molecule called a co-enzyme). Nitrates are converted into nitrites in the body and then into Nitric Oxide (NO) and provide many health benefits, let's explore. 

Top Health Benefits of Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide provides quite a few benefits for men and women, including its ability to act as a natural vasodilator whichcan help with cardiovascular health for men and women and sexual health in men.

Nitric Oxide is used to help dilate blood vessels and is mainly used to balance high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction from poor blood supply. It may also have positive effects on people suffering from angina (poor blood supply to the heart), poor circulation, age-related dementia, and Raynaud’s syndrome.

For decades the drugs Nitroglycerine and Amyl Nitrite were used in medicine to help dilate heart blood vessels. Later itwas discovered these drugs were both precursors to Nitric Oxide which is made in your body. It is believed that this is the mechanism of action which allows these drugs to be potent vasodilators.

Humans with atherosclerosis, diabetes, and hypertension often show impaired NO pathways and are depleted in NO.

Understanding How NO Works

All arteries are made up of a kind of muscle tissue called smooth muscle. This allows the arteries to constrict and dilate depending on your body’s needs for more or less blood flow. There are numerous types of high blood pressure but the main type is due to arteries that are too constricted. One way to address certain kinds of high blood pressure is to relax the blood vessels. NO achieves this when it is released by the endothelial layer (inner lining) of our blood vessels. It acts to signal to the surrounding smooth muscle layer of the blood vessel to relax. This, in turn, dilates or widens the blood vessels.

Magnesium is another way this can be achieved. Magnesium and Nitric Oxide work as a great combined therapy for high blood pressure.

Further, Nitric Oxide reduces platelet aggregation into the endothelium (stroke, heart attacks), reduces blood vessel inflammation, supports endothelial tissue inside blood vessels, and increases blood vessel elasticity which is important to support varying degrees of blood volume and blood pressure.

NO also reduces LDL oxidation (the oxidation of the negative type of cholesterol in our body). NO inhibits smooth muscle proliferation. NO prevents white blood cell adhesion and infiltration into the lining of the blood vessels. All of these actions protect your blood vessels and heart.

Tips For Selecting Quality NO Supplements

You can not buy nitric oxide as a supplement but you can buy it in precursor forms. Potassium Nitrate is converted into Nitric oxide in your body. A standard dose is 250 mg daily and is found in cardiovascular formulations with herbs and antioxidants.

Another way your body can make Nitric Oxide is from two amino acids called Citrulline and L Arginine. These amino acids are generally found in powdered forms alone or combination with other amino acids for heart and muscle function.

The pituitary gland, often referred to as the "master gland," plays a crucial role in regulating a multitude of bodily functions, from growth and metabolism to stress response. As interest in holistic health grows, pituitary glandular supplements have gained popularity for their overall well-being. Let's further explore the benefits, uses, and considerations of this supplement.

What Is The Pituitary Gland?

The pituitary is a small, pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain in the skull. It is the master gland of the body and regulates the hormone production of many other glands in the body. Some examples of this regulation are: growth hormone, thyroid hormone, sex hormones, anti-diuretic hormone (blood pressure regulation), and adrenal stress hormones. The pituitary is divided into two halves: anterior and posterior, both of which perform different functions.

The anterior pituitary plays a role in growth, breast milk production, sex organ functions (male and female), thyroid gland function (and thus metabolism), water balance in the body (and in this way blood pressure), temperature regulation, and it also makes endorphins to relieve pain. The posterior pituitary plays a role in blood pressure control (blood vessel contraction), orgasm, and increasing muscle tone in the body for contractions during childbirth, and intestinal peristalsis. Historically, posterior pituitary was used during childbirth and during intestinal surgery to control hemorrhage and reduce the risk of temporary post-operative loss of intestinal function.

Pituitary Extract Supplements

The different aspects of the pituitary gland (anterior or posterior) can be harvested separately from animal sources (bovine, porcine or ovine) and used to supplement individuals who wish to boost any of their hormonal functions.

Anterior pituitary extract has been shown to increase growth in rats after prolonged use. Pituitary extract is also used in human cell cultures to increase growth rates. This has been used as rationale for supplementation in humans to increase growth hormone levels. Growth hormone levels decline with aging, so increasing growth hormone is thought to be one means of slowing the physical signs of aging. Significant human research has not been conducted, so the effect of this supplementation in humans cannot be concluded.

Taking Pituitary Gland Extracts

First, it is important to ensure that you are taking the correct type of pituitary extract (anterior or posterior) for the results you wish to achieve. These extracts can come in liquid or solid form (tablets or capsules) alone or in combination with herbs, nutrients and other glandulars.

The dosing of pituitary extract has not been well studied and like other glandular extracts, is not standardized for content. Because of this, each product should be dosed according to the recommendations on the label.

Important Information & Considerations

Although the risk of infection with all glandular extracts exists, it is relatively small in most cases. This is not the case with pituitary extracts, particularly those extracted from cows (bovine) because the pituitary is located in the skull, and prion infections are most densely concentrated in the brain (neural tissue).

For more information on this risk, please see the glandular extract article here. Also, due to the blood pressure altering affect of both anterior and posterior pituitary extracts, any use should be discontinued prior to surgery and use should be avoided in those taking blood pressure medication unless otherwise directed by a healthcare practitioner.