Never Underestimate the Power of Food
Never Underestimate the Power of Food:
Eating the Right Hauser Diet Helps Correct blood pressure, reflux, and menstrual irregularities and a host of other complaints.
Chelsea is a 43 year old woman who came to Caring Medical for a natural medicine consultation. She was experiencing headaches, extreme fatigue, an energy level of 6 out of a possible 10, high blood pressure, acid reflux, and stomach discomfort. These symptoms started slowly over four years ago when she began having bad breath and body odor. She went to see an allergist who told her she had gastric reflux and put her on a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Chelsea was on a few different PPI’s over the past four years. Her bad breath and body odor were relieved, but she developed all of her symptoms listed above. She also had a history of a fibroid tumor. She was instructed to take high levels of the over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication Aleve for this tumor. Chelsea suspected that this condition may have something to do with her current menstrual irregularities, another symptom that she had been experiencing. Chelsea’s main concerns were her acid reflux and her stomach discomfort, but she was very concerned about the condition of her overall health.
Chelsea was taking Toprol for her high blood pressure and Aciphex for her reflux. She did not take any supplements and she was following a balanced diet (similar to a Bear/Monkey diet). She had been in the process of eliminating all processed foods from her diet when she came to visit Caring Medical.
First Visit
On Chelsea’s first visit, Dr. Hauser and his medical assistant reviewed Chelsea’s history and symptoms. He instructed her to monitor her blood pressure and was hopeful that she would eventually be able to discontinue her blood pressure medication. He also discussed possible causes of her stomach discomfort: food allergies, low amount of stomach acid (from her PPI), enzyme deficiency, infections, or low hormones. He instructed her to begin taking Super Aloe, a supplement that that encourages gut motility, and to use a heating pad on her stomach. Dr. Hauser ordered Diet Typing and Food Allergy Testing, along with a Metabolic Profile for Chelsea as a first step. Chelsea completed the ordered tests and had interesting results.
Initial Nutrition Intervention
Chelsea is 5’10” and 184#. Her ideal body weight is 150#.
Her glucose tolerance test showed normal oxidation (95mg/dl fasting, 122,109,106) and her venous blood pH was 7.465. These results would have been a classic Monkey Diet, a diet higher in carbohydrates to lower the blood pH.
However, Chelsea was already eating similar to the Monkey Diet. Her diet questionnaire also revealed some interesting facts. Despite showing normal oxidation, Chelsea stated that if she did not eat for a few hours she gets shaky and irritable. And despite her alkaline blood pH, she also stated that she feels cold compared to most people and performs best in warm weather. These feelings of irritability and shakiness after a few hours of not eating suggested that the hormones that raise blood sugar levels, such as cortisol and growth hormone, may be low. And her feeling of being colder than most people while having a high blood pH show that her testosterone, progesterone, or thyroid may be low. Coupled together with Chelsea’s complaints of menstrual irregularities, it became clear that she had a significant hormone imbalance. Dr. Hauser then ordered blood hormone testing for Chelsea.
In the meantime, Chelsea was to follow a strict Hauser Giraffe Diet (Vegan), high in complex carbohydrates and vegetables, and low in fat, simple carbohydrates, and fruit. She also had to avoid her food allergies, which were many: Gluten/Gliadin/Wheat, Rye, Malt, Spelt, Triticale, Barley, Eggs, Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Turkey, Sole (fish), Orange Roughy (Fish), All Dairy, Cashew, Sunflower Seeds, Squash, Cherry, Plum, Asparagus, Black Olive, Navy Bean, Pinto Bean, Chili Powder, Curry, Ginger, Garlic, and Mustard.
1-Month Follow-Up Visit
Chelsea returned to review her test results. Her weight was 173 pounds (down 11 pounds in 1 month). Test results showed that her testosterone and DHEA were in the low end of normal. Her white blood cell count was low. Chelsea was feeling much better – her energy level had improved to an 8 out of 10 and she noticed a decrease in her mucus production. She stated that digestion was still a problem – she was having at least one episode of loose stools per day with undigested food particles in them. She was excited to have her pH checked to see if she could liberalize her diet with more protein. After orders to begin a low dose of testosterone and DHEA, Chelsea headed down to the lab to have her pH tested. It showed that Chelsea had truly been following her Giraffe Diet, because her pH was now at 7.438. She was able to switch to the Monkey Diet. She also began taking enzymes in an effort to digest her food better. With a new diet, hormones, and enzymes, Chelsea was off to fine tune her health. Her menstrual cycle was normalizing, blood pressure normal, her symptoms are much improved, and she was very encouraged that she is finally making some headway with what she thought was a no-win situation.
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