From Fatigued to Fantastic!

by Jacob Teitelbaum

  ____ 3. Do you drink well water?

  ____ 4. Have you had a parasite infection in the past? If you answered yes to #3 or 4 and either #1 or 2, check off #45.

  Antibiotic-Sensitive Infections

  ____ 5. Has any antibiotic improved your CFS/FMS symptoms? If yes, check off any of #46–48 that helped (or, if none of these, add the name of the antibiotic that was most effective).

  ____ 6. Do you have scabbing scalp sores? If yes, check off #48.

  ____ 7. Do you have chronic respiratory infections/lung congestion?

  ____ 8. Do you have chronic or intermittent low-grade fevers?

  ____ 9. Do you have chronic vertigo (where it feels like you or the room is spinning in a circle)? If yes to #7, 8, or 9, check off #47.

  ____ 10. Have you had severe reactions (not including rash, itching, throat swelling, or trouble breathing) to two or more different antibiotics?

  If yes, check off any of #46–48 that caused the reaction (or if none of these, add the name of the antibiotic that caused a die-off reaction) after discussion of the reaction with your CFS-expert physician.

  ____ 11. Did your illness begin after a tick bite and a bull’s-eye rash?

  If yes, check off #47 and see a CFS or Lyme disease specialist.

  Viral Infections

  ____ 12. Did your CFS/FMS begin with a flu-like infection? If yes, check off #80 and read the section on HHV–6 on page 140.

  ____ 13. Do you have chronic flu-like symptoms despite being on Cortef/hydrocortisone?

  If yes, check off #35, 44, and 44A.

  Yeast/Candida Infections

  ____ 14. Do you have sinusitis, nasal congestion, mouth sores, or spastic colon?

  If yes to any of these, check off #36, 37, 38, 40, and 43 and skip question #15. If you get painful mouth sores, also check off #41.

  ____ 15. Yeast Questionnaire The total score for this section gives the probability of yeast overgrowth being a significant factor in your case.

  Point Score (add up and put total below)

  50 ____ Have you been treated for acne with tetracycline, erythromycin, or any other antibiotic for one month or longer?

  50 ____ Have you taken antibiotics for any type of infection for more than two consecutive months, or shorter courses more than three times in a twelve-month period?

  6 _____ Have you ever taken an antibiotic—even for a single course?

  25 ____ Have you ever had prostatitis or vaginitis?

  5 _____ Have you ever been pregnant?

  15 ____ Have you taken birth control pills?

  15 ____ Have you taken corticosteroids such as prednisone, Cortef, or Medrol?

  15 ____ When you are exposed to perfumes, insecticides, or other odors or chemicals, do you develop wheezing, burning eyes, or any other distress?

  20 ____ Are your symptoms worse on damp or humid days or in moldy places?

  20 ____ Have you ever had a fungal infection such as jock itch, athlete’s foot, or a nail or skin infection that was difficult to treat?

  20 ____ Do you crave sugar or breads?

  10 ____ Does tobacco smoke cause you discomfort (e. g., wheezing, burning eyes)?

  Total:

  If 70 or higher, check off #36, 37, 38, 40, and 43.

  ____ 16. Do you get chronic bladder infections?

  If yes, check off #51.

  ____ 17. Do you get chronic sinus infections?

  If yes, check off #49 and 50.

  6

  N—Nutrition: Optimizing Your Body’s Ability to Heal

  For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting medical studies:

  The Japanese eat very little fat and drink very little red wine, and they suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans.

  The French eat lots of fatty cheese and rich food and drink lots of wine, and they suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans.

  The Italians drink a lot of red wine and eat lots of carbohydrate-rich pasta, and they suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans.

  The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats, and they suffer fewer heart attacks than the Americans.

  Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

  This joke exemplifies the frustration many people feel toward the medical establishment. What is in vogue one day is forbidden the next. Nutrition and health recommendations seem to swing wildly from one extreme to the other for no apparent reason. Yet the truth is that there are some basic nutrition recommendations that can make a difference in health and quality of life.

  Often, people come into my office complaining of long-standing fatigue that is not quite as disabling as the fatigue seen in chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. I never cease to be amazed at how often these people improve dramatically by simply altering their diets—cutting down on sugar, caffeine, and alcohol intake; substituting whole grains for white flour; and adding simple yet powerful nutritional support to their daily regimens. So let us start with the easy things first.

  Caffeine and Alcohol

  I am constantly astonished at the number of people who drink more than three cups of coffee a day while complaining about being tired. Caffeine is a loan shark for energy, and also accentuates hypoglycemic symptoms. Many chronic fatigue patients fall into the trap of drinking ever-increasing amounts of coffee to boost their energy so that they can function. What these people do not realize is that as the day goes on, caffeine takes away more energy, than it gives. Coffee drinkers are often caught in a vicious cycle. I advise all such people to stop ingesting coffee completely for two to three months. After this initial period, I tell them that they can add back up to eight ounces of coffee a day if they are feeling better. However, black and green teas, in leaf and tea bag forms, are high in antioxidants, and are much more healthful than coffee. It is okay to drink one to two cups of brewed tea a day (not the sugar-loaded tea in bottles) to get your caffeine kick.

  If you drink more than three cups of coffee a day, you should remove it from your diet gradually. To begin, cut your coffee consumption in half every week until you are down to about one cup a day. For example, if you generally drink four cups of coffee a day, cut your intake to two cups a day the first week, then to one cup a day the second week. The final week, continue with one cup a day or switch to caffeinated tea, which contains many antioxidants that improve your health.

  Caffeine is an addictive drug, and removing it from the diet brings withdrawal symptoms—grouchiness, headache, and fatigue. Once the symptoms are gone, however, my patients usually feel much better and are happy that they went through the process. By tapering the coffee as just described, it takes a little longer to feel well, but the withdrawal symptoms are not as severe.

  In addition to eliminating coffee from your diet, limit alcohol to one to three drinks a day. One drink equals six ounces of wine, twelve ounces of beer, or one and a half ounces of whiskey. If you drink more than these amounts, you should stop drinking alcohol completely for three months. If you decide to return alcohol to your diet at the end of that time, make three drinks a day your limit. Some people with yeast overgrowth find that even the smallest amount of alcohol makes them feel bad.

  Sugar and White Flour

  The average American’s diet includes more than 140 pounds of added sugar per year.1 This added sugar accounts for 18 percent of their caloric intake. The added sugar alone makes the typical American diet a disaster.

  Sugar suppresses the immune system and stimulates yeast overgrowth in the intestines. Yeast grows by fermenting sugar, and the yeast say thank-you for eating sugar by making billions of baby yeasties. Physicians working in this field have found that although most sugar is usually absorbed before it gets to the intestines, excess sugar can still markedly aggravate yeast overgrowth.2 Yeast can also aggravate sugar craving. This may mimic hypoglycemia, which is commonly found in people
with underactive adrenal glands.

  Another dietary disaster is white flour. In the United States, approximately 18 percent of the average person’s calories come from white flour, which, just like white rice, has had the brown outer shell, or bran, removed. The bran, however, contains most of the vitamins and minerals that are present in rice.3 Although some foods made of white flour are now fortified with vitamins and minerals to make up for this, most of the nutrients that were removed continue to be missing.

  From just the use of white flour and added sugar, Americans often reduce their vitamin and mineral intake by around 35 percent. Add to this the nutrients that are lost in the canning of vegetables, which can cause vitamin losses of up to 80 percent, and in the processing of other foods, and you have a serious problem.4, 5 As Dr. S. B. Eaton noted in his study in the New England Journal of Medicine: “Physicians and nutritionists are increasingly convinced that the dietary habits adopted by Western society over the past one hundred years make an important etiologic [causative] contribution to coronary heart diseases [angina], hypertension, diabetes, and some types of cancer.”6

  Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

  The argument that the average modern American does not need vitamin tablets is simply not valid. One study that was reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that fewer than 5 percent of the study participants consumed the recommended daily amounts (RDAs) of all the needed vitamins and minerals.7 What is frightening is that this study was conducted on U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research center employees, people who would be especially aware of proper nutrition.

  In the United States, nutritional deficiencies are a major problem and a key contributor to creating disabilities. A study out of Cornell University notes: “Low serum concentrations of vitamins B6 and B12 and selenium predict subsequent disability…in older women living in the community. Nutritional status is one of the key factors to be considered in the development of strategies aimed at preventing or delaying the disablement process.”8 In addition, among overweight or obese men and women, long-term use of multivitamins, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and chromium were significantly associated with lower levels of weight gain. Getting optimal nutrient levels can also even help you keep your teeth.9

  Despite this, some physicians still like to say that vitamins are excreted in your urine, so all you’re doing by taking vitamin supplements is making expensive urine. Using this line of reasoning, these cynics can stop drinking water (it just goes out in their urine). That way, they’ll soon stop annoying people who are in the process of getting themselves well. The truth is, nutritional support is critical, even if the nutrients are excreted after they’ve done their job.

  Patients often ask me what vitamins or minerals they need. The answer is that all of them are critical. The body depends on receiving vitamins and minerals from the diet because it cannot make them itself. If you are low in vitamins and minerals—whether it is because you are not taking in the required nutrients or because you are consuming the proper foods but your body is unable to metabolize them correctly—your CFS and fibromyalgia simply will not subside. In addition, higher levels than normal are often needed to compensate for the poor absorption of nutrients caused by the bowel infections, as well as the increased needs that result from the illness. For example, as discussed on Chapter 6, optimal zinc levels are critical for proper immune function, and zinc deficiency contributes to the immune dysfunction in CFS/FMS. Chronic infections (due to immune dysfunction) result in large zinc losses, which then further suppress immune function, resulting in more infections and zinc losses. An excellent multivitamin supplement is therefore critical to your improvement.

  Why are vitamins and minerals so important? Janet Travell, White House physician for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and professor emeritus of internal medicine at George Washington University, cowrote Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, which is acknowledged as the authoritative work on muscle pain. In one chapter alone, coauthors Dr. Travell and Dr. David Simons reference 317 studies showing that problems such as hormonal, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies can contribute to muscle pain.10

  Because each nutrient is critical to health, it is helpful to understand the roles that they play. In this chapter, I give you a nutrition primer, which reviews the key nutrients you should be getting from your diet and their optimal amounts. Don’t panic! As you read this, realize that almost all of the nutrients can be obtained in one drink and one capsule daily. The exceptions include iron, which is toxic if you are not deficient; calcium, which blocks thyroid absorption and which most people do not need; and fish oil, which cannot be mixed with water. This one-drink, one-capsule regimen has been formulated to keep it inexpensive and easy so that you can get all of these, without being part of the “handful club” (where you take handfuls of supplements all day). You’re probably already taking ribose supplementation to stimulate your energy production, and you may find that other natural supplements recommended throughout this book should also be added. To keep your daily supplement regimen as simple as possible, I suggest that you follow the nutritional supplement recommendations in this chapter first (plus ribose), then add other supplements as necessary during treatment for CFS/FMS.

  In addition, for credibility’s sake, I have a policy of not taking money from any supplement or pharmaceutical companies, and 100 percent of the royalties from my products (including this one) go to charity.

  For simplicity, I do recommend the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder and B complex capsule made by Enzymatic Therapy and also by ITI (Integrative Therapeutics, which sells through health practitioners), as this single drink and capsule replaces more than thirty-five supplement pills. I did help create this product; however, as noted above, my royalties are donated to charity.

  In fact, I lecture frequently to more than four hundred of the world’s leading nutritional experts at the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists (IAACN) annual conference, and I put out the challenge that if any of them can get what’s in the one drink and capsule in less than thirty-five capsules, I’d give them fifty dollars (multiplied by four hundred attendees, my risk was twenty thousand dollars). No one has managed to do it yet, and these are experts. Try it yourself. It usually takes fifty-plus capsules (see Appendix E: Resources for further information).

  Because the Energy Revitalization System is a powder, it can be taken many ways. Some like to add it to yogurt. Others add the orange-flavored form (my wife’s favorite) to four ounces of orange juice and four ounces of milk so that it tastes like an orange smoothie. Others like the berry flavor (my favorite) and simply stir it in water to avoid the sugar in fruit juices. If hand mixing it instead of using a blender, know that the best way to mix powders is to put the powder in a dry glass, add two to three ounces of whatever liquid you’re using, give it a few stirs till any lumps are gone, and then add the rest of the liquid. It’s the most worthwhile ten seconds you’ll spend each day.

  The main side effects caused by multivitamins that give optimal nutritional support are gas, diarrhea, or an upset stomach, which occur in a small percentage of people. If this is a problem for you, try taking the vitamin powder or any other multivitamin that you take with a meal or at bedtime, or split it and take a quarter to half of the dose two times a day. If using the powder, half a scoop daily is plenty for most people for maintenance (even though the box says one scoop daily), so adjust it to the dose that feels best to you. The other side effect you may notice is that any supplement containing B vitamins will turn your urine bright yellow. This is normal and not something to worry about. The vitamin powder is safe for long-term use and is recommended for those with or without CFS/FMS. If, however, you have kidney failure or are on dialysis, any supplementation that includes magnesium should only be used under the careful supervision of your doctor. The Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder is available in most health food stores and at www.vit
ality101.com.

  In addition, Chapter 2, “Create Your Individual Treatment Protocol—Beginning with Ribose for Energy Production,” discussed other key, specialized nutrients that can powerfully boost energy production. These often can be stopped after four to nine months, although many people choose to take some of them long term as well.

  Whether you choose to use the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder or wish to develop your own supplement regimen, it’s important to recognize which nutrients are critical to your health and why you should take them.

  ANTIOXIDANTS

  Although necessary for life, oxygen can be incredibly toxic. In fact, the greatest mass extinction in the history of the planet occurred when algae began to grow in the seas, generating large amounts of oxygen. This oxygen production led to high amounts of “free radicals” in the atmosphere, which set up ongoing, self-sustaining chain reactions of molecular damage. It is estimated that this overabundance of oxygen and the subsequent production of oxygen free radicals drove more than 95 percent of animal species then living into extinction. Antioxidants end these chain reactions and are critical to life. Species that developed antioxidant defense systems actually learned to thrive on oxygen. These same antioxidants are critical to your health today, and have been shown to be deficient in CFS/FMS patients.