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Alexa Fleckenstein M.D.

Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.

How the World Plays Your Brain

December 1, 2010
Tags: order, food, bacteria – gut, brain, computer, cortisol, electronics, fatigue, gut, How the World Plays Your Brain, insomnia, junk food, obesity, overweight, rest, sleep, sleep-wake-cycle, TV, weight gain
In the past, I have written about junk food that feeds the bad bacteria in your gut – and how this makes you think even more of unhealthy treats: You eat a hamburger, then suddenly you crave a donut (or a bag of donuts), and then you needs some twinkies and a soda to flush them down. I have likened this process to a computer virus: The bad gut bacteria send messages to your brain, sidetracking your best intentions for healthy eating. There are a few other players who fiddle with your brain, make you fatter and fatigued, and thus prevent you from reaching your goals in life. Too little sleep is one of those players. If you haven’t gotten the amount of sleep your body needs – and the individual requirements differ, usually between seven and nine hours. If you get away with five to six hours a night, chances are you are using up your bank account of health. Too little sleep produces stress hormones the next day, and stress hormones like cortisol make you eat more – ergo, weight gain. A day is made or broken the night before: Can you find into bed early enough – or are you staying up too late, get unrestful rest, and have a sleep-deprived hangover the next day? And here are two more players that wreak havoc with your brain: computers and TV. Both keep you busy and interested much longer than they should. Captivated as you are, you don’t heed your body’s little signals that it is time to go to bed. You go on working, watching, playing – and so the next day is spoiled because you have to run on less energy. Once you creep into bed, you have a hard time falling asleep. Or you wake up too early. Because staying up late disrupted your sleep-wake-cycle. Being tired produces more stress hormones. And those makes you eat more. The holiday season is a time of high stress and tons of running around because you want to bring joy to your loved ones. This year, try this sneaky little trick: No machines (TV, computer, electronic games) after dinner. Take a book, read, listen to music, ease into slumber time – between eight and ten o’clock. If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t toss and turn. Take this gifted time for thinking what you want to do with your life, what is important to you. And snuggle back into the pillows. Next day, observe how you glow and function at your personal best! You regained your brain! Read More 
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The Old Boring Calcium Question

October 25, 2010
Tags: Movement, food, Bone Health, boron, British Medical Journal, calcium, cancer, chromium, dairy, Diabetes, fruit, grains - whole, heart attack risk, heart disease, hugging and kissing, legumes, light, manganese, magnesium, milk, nuts, obesity, osteoporosis, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, skin – dark-skinned people, sleep – sufficient, sulfur, sun, Supplements, The Old Boring Calcium Question, vegetables, vitamin D
Chances are you are taking a calcium supplement because are health-conscious? But do you really need it – or are you even harming yourself with your calcium pill? It is true that bones need calcium for growth. What is not true is that calcium alone gives us stronger bones. Bones need far more than just calcium: Other minerals like potassium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, chromium, sulfur, selenium, boron – and others – are necessary for bone health. Without these other minerals, calcium alone is pretty useless. Besides, calcium pills – those fat bummers that are hard to swallow because of their size – are also hard to digest. As a physician, I have seen my share of undigested calcium pills popping up on x-rays, somewhere lying in the bowels, useless. That milk is an unsuitable source of calcium, you have heard here before. Besides being an unhealthy food, the calcium from milk is also not as readily available as the calcium from vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains and nuts. The plant world is so abundant in calcium that adding vitamin D to milk as a selling argument comes close to a joke: Dairy is a cause for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and so on. For good bones you need a host of minerals – all conveniently available in plant foods – plus sun and exercise. Not so much sun, actually, as light. Even on an overcast day, a midday outdoors walk will trigger the necessary amount of vitamin D production beneath your skin. Inner-city people with dark skin are mostly at risk of osteoporosis because they need more sun exposure. And if you don’t move, you will lose your bone strength fast. A little known fact: We are losing some bone every night, from being inactive during sleep. An active person will rebuild that loss (and more) the next day. An inactive person won’t. A study in the British Medical Journal recently found that calcium supplement could increase the risk of a heart attack by thirty percent. Clearly, we have to rethink health: Health does not come from pills. It comes from a lifestyle that uses our body for which it is intended: joyful activity, fresh foods, sufficient sleep. And hugging and kissing, if you ask me. Read More 
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Gluten-Related Symptoms and Diseases

September 24, 2010
Tags: order, abdominal pain, acanthosis nigricans, Addison’s disease, ADHD, Alcoholism, alkaline phosphatase (bone) elevated, allergic rhinitis, alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period), anemia, anemia – iron deficiency, anemia – refractory, anemia - vitamin B12 deficiency, anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA), anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA), anti-tissue-transglutaminase antibodies (tTG), antiphospholipid syndrome (frequent miscarriages and other problems), anxiety, aortic vasculitis, apathy, aphthous ulcers, appetite – poor, arthritis, arthritis – enteropathic, arthritis - juvenile idiopathic, asthma, ataxia, ataxia - progressive myoclonic, atherosclerosis, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Autism, learning disorders, autoimmune cholangitis, autoimmune diseases, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune thyroid disease, balding – premature, bipolar disorder, Bitot’s spots (foamy patches on whites of eye), bleeding – unexplained, blepharitis, bloating, blurred vision, bone fracture, bone pain, brain atrophy, brain fog, bronchiectasis, cachexia (general wasting), calcium – low, cancer - small cell of the esophagus, cancer (adenocarcinoma) of the small intestine, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the pharynx, Candida infections – recurrent, cardiomegaly, casein intolerance, cataracts, cerebral perfusion abnormalities, cheilosis (cracked lips and corners of mouth), cholesterol – low, chorea, chronic bullous dermatosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, common variable immunodeficiency, complications during pregnancy – labor - delivery and post-partum period, congenital anomalies, constipation, copper deficiency, coronary artery disease, cortical calcifying angiomatosis, cow mill “allergy”, cutaneous vasculitis, cutis laxa, cystic fibrosis, dairy intolerance, delusions, Dementia, depression, dermatitis herpetiformis, dermatomyositis, diabetes type I, diabetes type II, diarrhea, disorientation, Down syndrome, dry eyes, duodenal ulcers, dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual periods), dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), early menopause, easy bruising, ecchymosis, eczema, edema, Enteropathy Associated T-cell Lymphoma (EATL), epilepsy, erythema nodosum, esophageal motor abnormalities, eyes – dry, eyes – bloodshot, erythema elevatum diutinum, failure to thrive, fatigue, fatty liver, folic acid (folate) deficiency, food allergies - blood-mediated and cell mediated, food cravings, gall bladder – impaired motility, gas, gastric emptying – delayed, gastritis, GERD - Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease, glucose abnormalities - too low or too high, gluten, Gluten-Related Symptoms and Diseases, Grave’s Disease, growth retardation, gums – bleeding and swollen, hair loss, hallucination, headache, Heartburn, heart disease, hemochromatosis, hemosiderosis - idiopathic pulmonary, hepatic granulomatous disease, high blood pressure, homocysteine elevated, hyperactivity, hyperkeratosis – follicular, hyperparathyroidism, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, hypocalciuria, hypogonadism, hypoparathyroidism, hyposplenism (atrophy of spleen), Hypothyroidism, hypotonia, ichthyosis – acquired, pulmonary hemosiderosis – idiopathic, IgA deficiency, IgA nephropathy, impotence, inability to concentrate, infertility, insomnia, intrauterine growth retardation, iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy – severe, irritable bowel syndrome, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, keratomalacia, kidney stones, lactose intolerance, lassitude, late menarche (late start of menstrual periods), leaky gut syndrome, liver enzymes elevated, loss of memory, lymphadenopathy, lymphoma - B-cell non-Hodgkin’s, lymphoma - cryptic intestinal T-cell (refractory sprue), lymphoma – non-Hodgkin, macroamylasemia, macrocytosis (red blood cells larger than normal), macrolipasemia, magnesium - low, malabsorption, melanoma, memory loss, migraine, miscarriage, monoarthritis – recurrent, multiple sclerosis (MS) – a possible link, muscle pain and tenderness, muscle spasms and cramps, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, nail problems, nausea, nervousness, neuropathy – peripheral, neutropenia (low white blood cells), nightblindness, nosebleeds – unexplained, obesity, occult blood in stool, ocular myopathy, osteitis fibrosa, osteomalacia, osteomalacic myopathy, osteonecrosis, osteopenia, osteoporosis, pancreatic insufficiency (poor digestion), panic attacks, parathyroid carcinoma, penicilllin V impaired absorption, phosphorus – low, pityriasis rubra pilaris, plasma proteins low, Plummer-Vinson Syndrome, PMS, pneumococcal septicemia, pneumonia – recurrent, polyglandular syndrome, polymyositis, potassium - low, premenstrual syndrome, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, prolactinemia, prothrombin time prolonged, prothrombinemia, prurigo nodularis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, puberty – delayed, purpura – idiopathic thrombocytopenic, rhabdomyolysis – hypokalemic, rheumatoid arthritis, rickets, sarcoidosis, Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders, scleroderma, seborrhea, short stature, Sjögren’s syndrome, skin rash – itchy, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, smell - loss of, sperm abnormalities, spina bifida, sprue – refractory (see: gluten), steatorrhea (pale, malodorous, floating, hard-to-flush stools), stomach ulcer, stroke – premature, sugar intolerance, swelling, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), taste - loss of, tetany, thrombocytopenic purpura – idiopathic, thyroid disease - juvenile autoimmune, tongue – red and/or burning, tremors, tuberculosis - increased susceptibility to, Turner’s syndrome, urinary tract infections – recurrent, urticaria - chronic hives, uveitis, vaginitis, vasculitis, vasculitis of the CNS (Central Nervous System), vitiligo, volvulus (twisted intestines), vomiting, weight gain – unexplained, weight loss – unexplained, xerophthalmia (dry eyes), zinc – low
Nearly one in one hundred people have gluten intolerance (gluten enteropathy, sprue, celiac sprue). In only fifty percent of them does the disease show with gastro-intestinal symptoms - the rest has non-intestinal symptoms. Be aware that many of these symptoms can also have other causes - this list does not replace a doctor who sees you! • Abdominal pain • Acanthosis nigricans • Addison’s disease • Alcoholism • Alkaline phosphatase (bone) elevated • Allergic rhinitis • Alopecia areata (patchy hair loss) • Amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period) • Anemia • Anemia – iron deficiency • Anemia - refractory • Anemia - vitamin B12 deficiency • Anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA) • Anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) • Anti-tissue-transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) • Antiphospholipid syndrome (frequent miscarriages and other problems) • Anxiety • Aortic vasculitis • Apathy • Aphthous ulcers (mouth sores) • Appetite – poor • Arthritis • Arthritis – enteropathic • Arthritis - juvenile idiopathic • Asthma • Ataxia • Ataxia, progressive myoclonic • Atherosclerosis • Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) • Autism, learning disorders • Autoimmune cholangitis • Autoimmune diseases • Autoimmune hepatitis • Autoimmune thyroid disease • Balding – premature • Bipolar disorder • Bitot’s spots (foamy patches on whites of eye) • Bleeding – unexplained • Blepharitis • Bloating • Blurred vision • Bone fracture • Bone pain • Brain atrophy • Brain fog • Bronchiectasis • Cachexia (general wasting) • Calcium – low • Cancer - small cell of the esophagus • Cancer (adenocarcinoma) of the small intestine • Cancer of the esophagus • Cancer of the pharynx • Candida infections – recurrent • Cardiomegaly • Casein intolerance (cow mill “allergy”) • Cataracts • Cerebral perfusion abnormalities • Cheilosis (cracked lips and corners of mouth) • Cholesterol - low • Chorea • Chronic bullous dermatosis • Chronic fatigue syndrome • Colitis • Common variable immunodeficiency • Complications during pregnancy, labor, delivery and post-partum period • Congenital anomalies • Constipation • Copper deficiency • Coronary artery disease • Cortical calcifying angiomatosis • Cow mill “allergy” • Cutaneous vasculitis • Cutis laxa • Cystic fibrosis • Dairy intolerance • Delusions • Dementia • Depression • Dermatitis herpetiformis • Dermatomyositis • Diabetes Type I • Diabetes Type II • Diarrhea • Disorientation • Down syndrome • Dry eyes • Duodenal ulcers • Dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual periods) • Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) • Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) • Early menopause • Easy bruising • Ecchymosis • Eczema • Edema • Enteropathy Associated T-cell Lymphoma (EATL) • Epilepsy • Erythema nodosum • Esophageal motor abnormalities • Eyes – dry • Eyes - bloodshot • Erythema elevatum diutinum • Failure to thrive • Fatigue • Fatty liver • Folic acid (folate) deficiency • Food allergies - blood-mediated and cell mediated • Food cravings • Gall bladder – impaired motility • Gas • Gastric emptying – delayed • Gastritis • GERD - Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease • Glucose abnormalities - too low or too high • Grave’s Disease • Growth retardation • Gums – bleeding and swollen • Hair loss • Hallucination • Headache • Heartburn • Heart disease • Hemochromatosis • Hemosiderosis - idiopathic pulmonary • Hepatic granulomatous disease • High blood pressure • Homocysteine elevated • Hyperactivity • Hyperkeratosis - follicular • Hyperparathyroidism • Hypertension • Hyperthyroidism • Hypocalciuria • Hypogonadism • Hypoparathyroidism • Hyposplenism (atrophy of spleen) • Hypothyroidism • Hypotonia • Ichthyosis - acquired • Pulmonary hemosiderosis - idiopathic • IgA deficiency • IgA nephropathy • Impotence • Inability to concentrate • Infertility (in both sexes) • Insomnia • Intrauterine growth retardation • Iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy - severe • Irritable bowel syndrome • Keratoconjunctivitis sicca • Keratomalacia • Kidney stones • Lactose intolerance • Lassitude • Late menarche (late start of menstrual periods) • Leaky gut syndrome • Liver enzymes elevated • Loss of memory • Lymphadenopathy • Lymphoma - B-cell non-Hodgkin’s • Lymphoma - cryptic intestinal T-cell (refractory sprue) • Lymphoma – non-Hodgkin • Macroamylasemia • Macrocytosis (red blood cells larger than normal) • Macrolipasemia • Magnesium low • Malabsorption • Melanoma • Memory loss • Migraine • Miscarriage • Monoarthritis – recurrent • Mouth sores • Multiple sclerosis (MS) – a possible link • Muscle pain and tenderness • Muscle spasms and cramps • Muscle wasting • Muscle weakness • Nail problems • Nausea • Nervousness • Neuropathy - peripheral • Neutropenia (low white blood cells) • Nightblindness • Nosebleeds – unexplained • Obesity • Occult blood in stool • Ocular myopathy • Osteitis fibrosa • Osteomalacia • Osteomalacic myopathy • Osteonecrosis • Osteopenia • Osteoporosis • Pancreatic insufficiency (poor digestion) • Panic attacks • Parathyroid carcinoma • Penicilllin V impaired absorption • Phosphorus - low • Pityriasis rubra pilaris • Plasma proteins low • Plummer-Vinson Syndrome • PMS (premenstrual syndrome) • Pneumococcal septicemia • Pneumonia – recurrent • Polyglandular syndrome • Polymyositis • Potassium - low • Primary biliary cirrhosis • Primary sclerosing cholangitis • Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy • Prolactinemia • Prothrombin Time prolonged • Prothrombinemia • Prurigo nodularis • Psoriasis • Psoriatic arthritis • Puberty - delayed • Purpura – idiopathic thrombocytopenic • Rhabdomyolysis - hypokalemic • Rheumatoid arthritis • Rickets • Sarcoidosis • Schizophrenic Spectrum Disorders • Scleroderma • Seborrhea • Short stature • Sjögren’s syndrome • Skin rash – itchy • Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth • Smell - loss of • Sperm abnormalities • Spina bifida • Sprue - refractory • Steatorrhea (pale, malodorous, floating, hard-to-flush stools) • Stomach ulcer • Stroke – premature • Sugar intolerance • Swelling • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) • Taste - loss of • Tetany • Thrombocytopenic purpura – idiopathic • Thyroid disease - juvenile autoimmune • Tongue – red and/or burning • Tremors • Tuberculosis - increased susceptibility to • Turner’s syndrome • Urinary tract infections - recurrent • Urticaria - chronic hives • Uveitis • Vaginitis • Vasculitis • Vasculitis of the CNS (Central Nervous System) • Vitiligo • Volvulus (twisted intestines) • Vomiting • Weight gain – unexplained • Weight loss – unexplained • Xerophthalmia (dry eyes) • Zinc - low I will add to this list as I come across new links –keep checking! Read More 
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