Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Hashimoto's & Hypothyroidism Specialist
Hypothyroidism patients everywhere have been freaking out from Scottsdale, to Phoenix, to Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Flagstaff, Sedona, and even Payson ever since their favorite thyroid medication, Naturethroid went on backorder, so today we will be discussing natural thyroid hormone alternatives to Naturethroid, which are Armour thyroid, and NDT or compounded "Naturally Dessicated Thyroid," and why it is better than synthroid, tyrosine or levothyroxine.
The purpose of this thyroid article is to guide you through the pros and cons of the current thyroid hormone options available, if you are not happy on the thyroid hormones you are currently taking, or your previous thyroid hormone has suddenly been discontinued.
When thyroid dose is not correct patients can become depressed, anxious, gain weight and experience worse pain and chronic fatigue. The majority of my thyroid patients in my Holistic Hormone practice feel better on Armour Thyroid (90%) than Levothyroxine (10%).
The reason for this is that the active hormone that boosts energy, boosts mood, and aids weight loss must be converted from inert synthetic T4 in levothyroxine to active T3 that actually burns fat. Most patients that seek me out struggle with this conversion and either need a little bit of cytomel (T3) to assist with this or prefer Armour Thyroid. Women that are menopausal make moire binding hormones that bind up their Free T3, causing weight gain and insulin resistance.
Patients that are Vegan are not comfortable taking hormones from a pig gland or "Porcine Thyroid" and therefore will need to use synthetic hormones if they do not use animal products for spiritual reasons. The synthetic hormones lack the other magical thyroid chemicals that thyroid patients are generally deficient in and I never see my thyroid patients respond as well to synthetic hormones as natural hormones.
The main issue with pig gland thyroid is that pigs have a higher ratio of T3 to T4 than humans generally have and for some patients, the T3 is overstimulating for them and can cause palpitations, hot flashes, chest pain, headaches, diarrhea and increased sweating.
While many patients are completely fine on Armour, many of my patients with food intolerances, food allergies, and sensitivities to excipients and fillers are struggling with this change. Today I will review all of the current thyroid hormone options available to patients so they can determine what their best option is without Naturethroid returning anytime soon.
Naturethroid was recalled due to the medication not being at the correct 100% dose and most doses are coming through at about 75%. If you are feeling fine then you can continue to take the same dose and contact your Naturopathic Doctor for testing immediately to determine if the dose is working for you or not.
If you are having symptoms of hypothyroidism: Fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation, dry skin, depression, or anxiety then we need to check your labs and adjust your medicine accordingly.
Simultaneously NP Thyroid was also recalled as it was measuring at higher doses than the label which explained to me why so many of my patients HATE NP Thyroid. I personally and professionally completely detest NP Thyroid because it is bound with mineral oil which is not safe to consume.
While they did a good job making NP Thyroid gluten-free, it is pretty ironic that they are instead putting poison in my poor thyroid patient's medication! This is by far the worst choice, I now refuse to prescribe NP Thyroid since women notoriously call with adverse side effects, which is literally the last thing my poor thyroid patients need! Please check your prescription when you pick it up and make sure your pharmacist has not changed your Armour prescription to NP Thyroid poison without asking if you want it.
This is an important instance where generic is better than name brand.
This is the #1 reason my Hashimtotos patients that were previously doing well on Naturethorid or Armour Thyroid suddenly feel sick. Being switched over to something with chemicals in it without being told.
If a patient is chemically sensitive they absolutely should NOT take NP Thyroid. I have so many of my thyroid and Hashimotos patients having horrific side effects of hair loss, joint pain, anxiety, palpitations, and autoimmune flares. NP Thyroid now goes on the list of garbage that I hate.
Amour thyroid is the #1 best alternative at the regular pharmacy in my opinion as a Thyroid Doctor that also takes thyroid medicine and specializes in Hashimotos. While it is not my favorite choice it is my #1 substitue. If your pharmacist asks you if you want brand name and you say yes then they are going to give you this horrific NP Thyroid crap, so just tell them you want generic. If your insurance only pays for NP Thyroid you will end up paying more in side effects than if you just pay for the Armour Thyroid up front.
If you have a corn allergy or other issues with the excipients in Armour then the only other alternative is for me to call in a compounded "Natural Desiccated Thyroid" (NDT) or a combination of Levothyroxine/Cytomel (T4/T3) to your regular pharmacy or to a compounding pharmacy. The prescription is not covered by insurance at a compounding pharmacy but the combination is overall less expensive if you do not have insurance at $1/capsule for the compounding pharmacy to make you NDT or T4/T3.
The only issue with T4/T3 is when the dose is not correct, and then the patient spent money on something they cannot take. Follow-up lab testing is advised at 6-8 weeks of making any dose changes with thyroid hormones to ensure the levels are accurate for the long run.
"Should I take Tirosint?"
Tirosint questions and side effects are very common lately. Tirosint is just a brand name for Levothyroxine and shares the same shortcomings as Levothyroxine as discussed above. If you have food allergies you should stick with brand name Synthroid or Tirosint as generic levothyroxine may be purchased from different manufacturers each month and therefore my food allergy patients do not do well with constant change and should eliminate as many variables from their diet as possible including ever-changing binders and fillers in their medications.
If you need help with your Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's simply pop on over to my appointment SCHEDULE page and book a visit, would be happy to help. As a hormone doctor with a thyroid problem myself, I know how important it is that we get your thyroid medication correct.
Why is it SO IMPORTANT? Because thyroid hormone turns every cell in your body on. So when your dose is not correct then nothing in your body is working properly. Nothing.
Thank you for mailing your Naturopathic Women's Health questions to me on a postcard. I love to get something in the mail that is not a bill. Remember, if it cannot fit on a postcard then you need to schedule a visit with me!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum Depression, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
I have a lot of my chronic viral patients follow this diet in addition to testing their food triggers. It makes sense that by starving a virus from the raw materials it needs to grow by changing our diets to be more protected against viruses that we can also work to naturally boost our immune system.
I have been helping women with herpes outbreaks since 1994 working in a health food store and selling lysine, lemon balm, and certain remedies to specifically treat an outbreak. This can be a very frustrating Dermatology condition that has brought many women to my clinic in tears over the years.
The most important thing I have learned as a Women's Health Naturopathic Doctor, is that a woman's diet makes a BIG difference in the strength of their immune system against a virus.
The second a woman feels that burning sensation if they stop sugar, nuts, chocolate, citrus and the high arginine foods below the outbreak will slow down and generally we can manage it without the need for medications.
Food Allergies and Food Sensitivities are often an underlying cause, along with too many irritating foods to the skin such as citrus, and spicy foods that often can just mechanically irritate herpes outbreaks on the lips.
The virus needs arginine to replicate. By eating a diet high in lysine you are impeding the virus from being able to replicate and "flare-up." Women should use the following diet for prevention and then always have effective natural remedies on hand or prescriptions. Sometimes it is good to just have a written prescription for acyclovir on hand, or valtrex which I am happy to prescribe as an Integrative Health Doc.
Stress management is also important for the immune system to become strong enough to keep this virus in check. Many people are exposed to herpes and never develop an outbreak. It is possible to calm the flares down with natural medicine from your Naturopathic Doctor.
Optimizing the immune status via diet is key to the prevention and control of herpes infection. A diet that avoids arginine rich foods while promoting lysine-rich foods can be quite effective for prevention and following it strictly during times of outbreaks will lessen the pain, discomfort, and severity.
Foods to Emphasize
Especially during active cases of Herpes
Foods to be Eaten with Discretion
These foods must be balanced with L-Lysine* and foods in the first group when herpes is inactive. During active herpes, these foods must be eliminated.
* Foods high in lysine include most vegetables, legumes, fish, turkey, and chicken.
Foods to Always Avoid
If you are suffering with this, fear not there is help with Naturopathic Medicine! I have seen many women completely devasted from receiving this diagnosis and it is possible to get it under control with an aggressive preventive plan as I have outlined above along with the right immune support, herbal medicines and topical treatments.
If you need my help simply pop over to my SCHEDULE page.
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum Depression, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Good news for women with anxiety! We can now treat your anxiety, libido, weight gain, diabetes, and loss of lean muscle all at once with schisandra thanks to the latest research! Menopausal women that took my favorite anxiety herb, schisandra, had improved quadriceps muscle strength in a few recent research studies [1,2]
This is important because loss of female hormones with menopause causes Osteoporosis AND a loss of lean muscle. When women lose lean muscle they are essentially losing their metabolism, as your muscles are pretty much the only thing burning calories in your body. Therefore taking a super safe, gentle herb like schisandra or ashwaghanda is important to prevent that postmenopausal weight gain that tends to happen in perimenopause and menopause. It is all about prevention ladies!!
I should forewarn women that I prescribe schisandra not just for anxiety, but also for poor libido and liver support. So if you don’t want a libido then definitely proceed with caution as I certainly don’t want you getting into trouble for picking up a second husband!! 😉
I am certainly not a homewrecker!
Otherwise, most of my menopausal patients need the libido enhancing effects of schisandra and research also found it effective in treating menopausal symptoms so this is a game changer! [4]
Plus the best part is that it is a very safe, gentle herb, as it is just Chinese berries. Personally, I prefer capsules to the tea or tincture form which has a bit of a bitter, Christmas tree type of flavor. I have most women on about 2 capsules twice daily of Schisandra for anxiety, weight loss, libido, and menopausal support.
The flavonoids in schisandra or the red berry color were also shown via research to help with weight loss. Managing high blood sugar is likely the mechanism for weight loss, as in a recent research study schisandra was found effective at lowering both high fasting glucose and high insulin levels and is therefore safe, and effective for women with diabetes and insulin resistance. [3]
But the most cost effective way of getting schisandra in your system is via the tincture method in my Instagram video. I fill my bottle about half full of berries and continue to shake it every few days for about 4-6 weeks and be sure to ensure the vodka is always covering the berries. Then strain and take a full or half teaspoon twice daily or more for anxiety.
The giant bottle of schisandra tincture I made in my Instagram video will last me for several years and is super inexpensive and fun to make! So if you are on a budget then the tincture is the way to go!
Be sure to only buy organic herbs from reputable brands trusted by your Naturopathic Doctor.
Check out my latest Women’s Health Masterclass “Mental Health and Hormones” to learn more of my best tips for your mental health. This free women's masterclass is not something you will want to miss! Plus it is 100% FREE so there are no excuses getting yourself educated on how female hormones impact mental health:
If you want to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit simply give us a call, or pop over to my SCHEDULE page. I would be happy to help you with your anxiety, or women's health!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology, Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema, and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best-integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease.
She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan (not Medicaid) and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
References:
By Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Naturopathic Female Hormone Expert
Chronic fatigue from imbalanced female hormones and adrenal stress hormones commonly can affect a woman's productivity and energy levels. My “Invincible Mommy Tea” herbal recipe is designed to decrease stress, boost immunity, balance hormones, optimize weight and perfect skin.
ASHWAGANDHA: Is the most important herb for frazzled burnt out Mom’s and broken souls. Neverending “Lifeguard Mode” watching kids can fry even the calmest Mom’s adrenal glands and cause trouble sleeping, imbalanced female hormones, constant anxiety, panic attacks and eventually just a blah depressed and drained state that is not improved by antidepressants. It can be used as a daily tonic or just for situational support. It’s mild enough for children and women that are pregnant or breastfeeding. Most Mom’s don’t have the time to pop a valium and take a nap. Research shows it actually heals nerve pain. So whether you have neuropathy like me and drink it often, or whether your “nerves are fried” after a tough day of parenting. I believe this gentle root is just what an agitated and exhausted soul needs right now! ❤️✅
ASTRAGALUS- The “Shield Herb” for daily immune protection. If you feel physically weak, depleted, drained and exhausted Astragalus will slowly build you back up. In Chinese Medicine they say it “keeps the thieves out”. So when you drink your daily astragalus tea you are “locking your doors” to the latest virus circulating.
LICORICE- In a small low dose works to rejuvenate a weak burnt out soul with low cortisol levels. It contains antiviral properties and immune enhancing properties and helps boost energy so that less caffeine consumption is needed and tastes sweet so we are happy with our tea and do not binge on sugar.
CINNAMON- Recovering from postpartum weight gain for many mom’s means getting insulin levels to return to normal. For many Mom’s this never happens. Insulin when elevated such as in PCOS is a leading culprit behind many health problems mom’s struggle from: Weight Gain, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, Pain, Neuropathy, Diarrhea and Headaches.
RASPBERRIES- Are delicious and make the tea a treat but more importantly they are rich in flavonoids that balance women’s hormones and blood sugar. They protect and perfect the skin so Mommy looks fabulous at all times.
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
By Dr. Nicole Sundene
Scottsdale Naturopathic Doctor
Contrary to popular belief Thanksgiving Dinner is actually quite healthy!
When we remove all the notorious “white foods,” such as white refined flours, sugars, and other carbohydrates devoid of nutrients we are actually left with a very colorful whole food fare that is Naturopathic approved!
Of course, you should never try a new recipe while entertaining, but I have given each popular dish a “Naturopathic Makeover" so that you can try a healthier option next time. There should be a next time–in just a few weeks. We should try to eat a turkey dinner more than once a year! Baking a whole turkey is a fantastic healthy and frugal way to optimize your grocery budget. Plus it just makes the house smell good. I freeze carcasses until I have enough to make into a great turkey wild rice soup or organic bone broth.
#1 Naturopathic superfoods found in our traditional American Thanksgiving spread.
Renowned for its high tryptophan content, turkey has the potential to lift our mood and/or make us sleepy. It really depends on how we choose to pair up the amino acids in turkey. When turkey is consumed in conjunction with refined carbohydrates found in mashed potatoes or dinner rolls, the tryptophan converts to serotonin, and in low light conditions the excess serotonin converts in to melatonin, the nighttime hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Serotonin gives you that good “Turkey Buzz." Serotonin converting into Melatonin is what sends you straight to the couch for a nice nap. If you are depressed you should work turkey, cottage cheese, and salmon into your weekly rotation so you can benefit from my other favorite high tryptophan foods, or you can also just try some 5-HTP.
When we eat turkey in the absence of carbohydrates the amino acids that increase energizing catecholamines are able to cross the blood brain barrier and the result is an energized good mood. If you aren’t a breakfast person try a bit of salmon, cottage cheese, or turkey to start your day, support your adrenal glands, and keep you energized and out of "Fight, Fright, or Flight" stress responses until lunch. As a Naturopathic Doctor and Female Hormone Specialist that specializes in correcting hormones and neurotransmitters in anxiety, depression, and chronic pain patients like a "Holistic Psychiatrist," the #1 problem I see with my mental health patients is they are not getting enough protein in their diet and thus their neurotransmitters when we measure them are too low. Both Hormones and Neurotransmitters require adequate protein and good Omega-3 Fats to be produced.
Naturopathic Turkey Makeover: Hold the butter, skip the stuffing and go straight for olive oil and lemon as your poultry flavorings of choice. If you bake your turkey at 320F you will be well below the smoking point of olive oil.
Stuffing the cavity of the turkey with whole lemon halves will also give the turkey a “salty flavor” so you can use the least amount of organic sea salt necessary. Stuff some garlic cloves and thyme under the skin of the turkey, and in the cavity along with the lemons.
My daughter's favorite thing to do each year is to inject our turkey with herbal butter. Medical geeks can get crafty and inject herbal seasonings mixed with your basting solution of olive oil and lemon straight into the meat with syringes (yes you can buy meat syringes at the store too.) Then just baste and bake as usual. Salt and pepper your turkey mainly on your dinner plate, not in the oven. Salt always loses flavor as it cooks and the best flavor comes from that final sprinkling. Salting your meat while cooking also dries it out, so really it is not just healthy but smart.
To benefit from the tryptophan in turkey don’t overdo it with your carbs….that is unless you are heading straight to bed! To boost your mood opt to pair your turkey with the “slow carbs” found in fruits and veggies. Skip the dinner roll and the mound of mashed potatoes. A fist-sized portion of carbs is all you need. Never shall we be "Double Fisting" with our carbs! I personally hate tracking my macro's so I have learned to just eyeball all my foods and that a fist sized portion is enough to keep my blood sugar stable without over-doing it. Women generally do not feel well on the evil Keto Diet that I detest, and do need a reasonable amount of carbs to keep their blood sugar, energy and mood stable.
If you are adventurous, you can also go outside for a little walk after you eat your turkey to stay energized. The full spectrum light will prevent the melatonin formation that makes us all so sleepy.
The moral of the turkey story is that tryptophan converts to serotonin which makes us happy, and in the presence of excess dietary sugar and darkness serotonin converts to melatonin, and melatonin makes us drowsy. That is why all people living in the Northern dreary places.... unlike sunny Scottsdale, Arizona, will have no choice but to stare at a 10,000 Lux lightbox to stay awake.
Did you ever wonder where that traditional smell of Thanksgiving came from? You may not know if you haven’t ever prepared the meal. That certain flavor comes from the herb thyme that we traditionally use to flavor our stuffing. Thyme made in on my blog of favorite things as it is a fantastic healing herb that is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal just like most of its relatives in the “laminacea” or mint family.
Thyme is used in making “Listerine” mouthwash, or at least it traditionally was. The aromatic oils in thyme are also fantastic for indigestion, no wonder this is the key point herbal medicine of our great American overeating day!
Naturopathic Stuffing Makeover: Just lose the stuffing! Stuffing although delicious is one of the biggest calorie mongers on the menu. If this is your favorite thing you will need to cut back somewhere else on your plate. The new America is a whole food America.
Whatever you do, please don’t bake your stuffing inside the turkey, this makes it that much more fattening, and sets people up for food poisoning if not adequately cooked through. You HAVE to check the temperature of your stuffing AND your turkey.
Instead try a stuffing in your crockpot of brown rice or quinoa, thyme, raw nuts and seeds, dried fruit, garlic, and your favorite stuffing spices instead of the traditional white food fest. At least experiment with healthy stuffing alternatives for your non-holiday feasts. I will allow everyone to eat stuffing one day a year on my whole foods diet. If you can “just say no to stuffing” then you get bonus points and will immediately benefit by feeling good about yourself and not overstuffed from stuffing.
Delicious and healthy antioxidant rich fruit that fight aging, inflammation, and bladder infections.
Why are berries all the latest rage? As I discuss in my "Favorite Herbs for Women's Health" blog cranberries are high in antioxidants. From a botanical standpoint, the plant smartly creates these antioxidant polyphenols known as “proanthocyanins” to protect the skin of the fruit from the sun. The fruit does not have Banana Boat SPF and cannot use sunlight to produce energy in the manner that the leaves of the plant do, so the antioxidants are “nature’s sunscreen”. Without their protective antioxidants, berries would shrivel and burn under the sun’s harsh rays. My #1Naturopathic Dermatology tip is to eat LOTS of berries to prevent skin cancer.
The ingenious antioxidant protection devised by the plant also kindly protects us from the free radical damage that results from the reactive oxygen species we are constantly exposed to in our polluted stressful environment. The skin, eyes, and blood vessels are specifically protected by the proanthocyanins in berries.
Most people know that cranberry juice is good for bladder infections. E. coli, the bacteria that causes most bladder infections is unable to adhere to the lining of the bladder thanks to cranberry.
What most people don’t know though is that there is not a therapeutic cranberry juice out there that really tastes that good! If you are drinking a “delicious” glass of cranberry juice every day then you are probably not doing much to prevent a bladder infection. You should read the label because you are probably drinking a delicious glass of high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) and food coloring.
When shopping for cranberry juice, be sure to read the label and purchase only 100% pure cranberry juice. The HFCS juice trend faded out in the nineties. And a cranberry juice loaded with grape juice, apple juice or heaven forbid high fructose corn syrup is simply not going to be effective for preventing disease or bladder infections. To make cranberry juice more palatable add a packet of stevia, mix with 50% pure blueberry juice and dilute by half with water. Blueberries are also fantastic antioxidants that prevent bladder infections and aging.
Naturopathic Cranberry Sauce Makeover: Try experimenting with healthier natural sweeteners like agave, brown rice syrup, and stevia for homemade cranberry sauce. Adding a bunch of refined sugars and other refined pollutants to cranberries defeats their protective healing purpose. I like to add a little natural sweetener and then a lot of stevia so that the stevia alone does not cause the dish to taste bitter.
Did you know many Bioidencial female hormones are made from yams? Yams are amazing Naturopathic food because they also are a rich source of beta carotene and other important carotenoids that prevent cancer, protect our eyes, mucous membranes, and are therefore important immune boosting foods!
Yellow and orange foods are particularly protective to the lungs, reproductive system, and eyes. This is why I use carrots in my "Coconut Carrot Asthma Recipe" any orange veggie will work.
No, carrots probably don’t improve your vision like they show in cartoons, but the carotenoids in them have been shown to be protective and preventative for both cataracts and macular degeneration. So they may not perfect your vision, but they will protect against its degeneration. Certain antioxidants have affiliations for certain tissues in our systems. Be sure to eat something yellow and orange every day, and I’m not talking about circus peanuts! Eating by the rainbow is the diet for the new millennium. If you are struggling with this new trend you may need to grab a multivitamin through Fullscript as Cyber Monday everything will be 25%. My favorite multivitamins for women are Femone, The Big One Plus by Metbolic Mainetenanca and Pure Encapsulations Prenatal, Multivitamin or the Female Power packs are awesome! My patients always receive 20% on their Vitamins.
Naturopathic Yam Makeover: Lose the marshmallows! Marshmallows are completely out of style. Less is more now. Try your traditional whipped yam recipe without the marshmallows. Garnish with pecans or shredded coconut instead, or just let them stand alone as the amazing Naturopathic superfood they are. Try healthier sweeteners in your candied yam recipes, like brown rice syrup, agave, or stevia and flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice.
Baked yams as pictured are delicious and simple! Try roasting yams in the oven at 350F 30-40 minutes until fork tender. You can also steam yams till tender, drizzle with olive oil and give a sprinkle of sea salt for a regular dinner side dish. The peel of vegetables is where all the nutrients and fiber lies. Buy yams organic if you are going to eat the peel since they are a root vegetable. All root vegetables are naturally riddled with pesticides as they absorb and concentrate them from the soil. But, since yams and sweet potatoes are dirt cheap, they are worth the extra splurge. Everyone that is “cool now” is eating yams and sweet potatoes, so hopefully, that includes you. I do expect my Naturopathic patients to be the "Beautiful People" on the inside and out!
For a healthy wheat free “sweet potato pie” scoop out freshly baked sweet potato just like what is pictured here, sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice, drizzle with honey, and top with shredded coconut! Without the pie crust you have earned the calories to add a small dollop of your favorite organic vanilla ice cream. It sounds weird, but it is truly delicious. Who has the time to bake an entire pie anyways when you can just toss a couple of sweet potatoes in the oven? Isn’t healthy easy? That is why it is so stylish Don't forget to stab them repeatedly with a fork which is my favorite thing to do when I am feeling Perimenopausal Rage, PMSy or Angry! 🙂
Green beans are loaded with fiber, beta carotene, B-vitamins, calcium, and potassium. Eating any beans are a fantastic diabetic trick for lowering the glycemic load of a meal. Beans truly are the “magical fruit” for a reason. Now eating too many beans may not make you too popular, but at least they will make you more attractive and youthful and trim your waist line.
Naturopathic Green Bean Makeover: Lightly steam your green beans, they are done when they turn bright green, don’t boil them into a nutrient devoid lifeless brown mess. We just don’t boil vegetables anymore. If you boil them you should drink the water too as that is where all the vitamins go. It is just wrong on so many levels, and the kind of thing that only belongs in the “worse dressed” section of the tabloids. Canned green beans went out with acid washed jeans. Always opt for fresh or frozen before grabbing for cans.
I don’t mean to sound bossy, but you have to lose the white canned cream of mushroom soup garbage, and dress your beans with olive oil or your favorite olive oil based salad dressing. If you have to defy me and use a cream based soup then grab an organic one, as most cheap soups are the worst of the worst processed food nastiness.
Now add carmelized REAL onions, not those fake canned crunchies that were SO 1981. It is important that you keep up with the latest trends. Almond slivers should be RAW to maximally benefit from the cancer fighting phenolic acids and healthy fats, and of course that also is the stylish thing that everyone else is doing. Especially celebrities. This is how celebrities eat on their “designer diets” so as long as you follow my blogs and social media recipe videos on Facebook and Instragram linked below you can be as fabulous as a celebrity without paying premium prices!
If you keep the peel on the potatoes before you mash them, then I will give you permission to eat them. I throw a couple cloves of garlic in at this point too.
Potatoes get a bad wrap because we don’t eat the peel. Buy organic potatoes and mash them WHOLE. The peel of the potato contains fiber, vitamin C, thiamin, and potassium. If you want bonus points buy purple potatoes because they are rich in flavonoids that help fix hormone imbalance, weight gain, and fight aging.
Some people with arthritis don’t tolerate potatoes well, if you have arthritis, potatoes and foods in the solonacea family like eggplant, peppers, onions, and so forth just may not be the right choice for you.
Naturopathic Mashed Potato Makeover: There are a few great makeover tricks you can implement to freshen up a rather dead ugly lifeless food like mashed potatoes. Definitely stand by ready and loaded with your garlic press and press about a clove per large potato. Garlic supports the immune and cardiovascular systems. Garlic also prevents and kills parasites.
I always add cottage cheese to my mashed potatoes to give them that creamy consistency, this protein bump also decreases the glycemic load for dieters, and diabetics. Cottage cheese is also rich in mood boosting tryptophan so if you are chronically fatigued or depressed this amino acid may help. Remember we have to eat protein, and fiber with EVERY meal to prevent diabetes, blood sugar crashes from hypoglycemia, and obesity. Plus all the cool kids are doing it.
Try olive oil instead of butter, or buttermilk as it ads a buttery flavor with less saturated fat. Try adding steamed arugula or spinach in at the end to create a gourmet effect, and if you HAVE to have that buttery flavor from organic butter (please don’t EVER use margarine if you learn anything from my nags. Please just go throw out your tub of margarine in the garbage where it belongs, and never buy it again, or any other hydrogenated oil product that serves no other biochemical purpose in life but to rapidly age you, clog your arteries, and make you unnecessarily fat. When organic butter is on sale I stock up and put it in my freezer. We want to be the least amount of fat, inflamed and in pain right? Your body can’t use margarine so it converts it to fat storage which increases hormone imbalance, estrogen dominance and pain…if you don't want to take my word for it watch my Free Class on "Metabolism, Pain & Hormones" where I break down the biochemistry of exactly how saturated fats and trans fats cause us to be in pain, estrogen dominant and gain weight. So if you are trying to lose weight, balance your hormones or fight chronic pain please use real organic butter judiciously. Try using low fat buttermilk in lieu of regular milk if you must do dairy and NEED that butter flavor. It gives the buttery flavor without all the poisonous saturated fats. Sprinkle with sea salt and organic pepper. Enjoy!
Are you as terrified of minced meat pie as I am? Well most of us in my family are. My Mom and Aunt Brenda love to have it as a reminder of their Mom's favorite pie and my sister and I would always roll our eyes in horror that they think we would eat a meat pie. Until we got older and discovered that modern “minced meat” is just a fruit sauce made of dates and other dried fruits and not some leftover cafeteria meat concoction.
Well, the beauty of this is that dates, figs, prunes, apples, and most dried fruits score high on the ORAC, meaning they have extremely high free radical fighting potential. Antioxidants=Anti-aging. Memorize that. Aging isn’t just about vanity and outer appearance. Your organs and blood vessels are aging on the inside as we sit here. If it doesn’t look good on the outside it doesn’t look good on the inside either. True beauty is an inside out job. Eat more antioxidants to prevent disease and you will be rewarded with a continuously youthful glow.
Let me be the first to announce that Minced Meat Pies are now the HOTTEST trend for fall. Don’t worry they only show up on the whole foods runway once every 50 years.
Naturopathic Minced Meat Makeover: Opt for a gluten free crust or nut crust and use organic butter rather than margarine (heaven forbid.) If you really want to impress those avoiding gluten with your gourmet skills, you can add a dollop of your favorite organic minced meat filling to half a sliced date and top with a splash of real whipped cream. Dates are also delicious stuffed with various nut butters, and chocolates as I just recently learned from my nurse friend Rod Newbound, RN.
“Yes! Dr. Nicole says I can have a glass of red wine!” Just remember that is only ONE to two glasses of red wine–max. That is one drink per day not per hour–and no you can’t save them all up for the end of the week. It just doesn’t work that way. The benefits of the cancer fighting, anti-aging polyphenols in red wine known as resveratol go down as you burden your liver with alcohol. As with everything, moderation is key. Even too much water will kill cause hyponatremia and kill you.
Naturopathic Red Wine Makeover: Remember that one glass is better for you than the entire bottle. Opt for an organic wine as pesticides in non-organic are very high. Find low carb wines for less of a headache the next day. Remember to never drive while you are drinking. The most stylish people always have a driver…er…cab driver. Even one glass of alcohol impairs your judgment enough to put an end to your happy holiday–or worse yet–someone else’s.
Please always be considerate to the safety of others when imbibing during the holiday season.
Hope you all have a Happy AND Healthy Thanksgiving! Have fun wowing all your friends and family with this questionably boring kitchen table talk of the Thanksgiving superfoods and how to give them makeovers. Let me know if you manage to pull it off and keep them interested! Feel free to share any of your healthy Thanksgiving recipe tips in the comments section.
Thanks much for sharing my Naturopathic tips with your friends and family. I am thankful for my awesome patients, friends, and family!
Have a Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving from your #1 Favorite Naturopathic Doctor!
I am truly THANKFUL for all of the kindness I have received from my tribe of amazing women in my Naturopathic women's health practice. Thank you for your patience, kindness, understanding and grace during the most difficult time I have ever experienced in 22 years of Women's Health! The gifts, and cards and words of encouragement, kind text messages of gratitude for the service I provide have been the ONLY thing to keep me going during this immensely challenging time.
Normally the doctor takes care of the patients but this past year many of you have taken care of me and it brings tears to my eyes to think of all of the kind things people have done to show their gratitude. I even had an unemployed patient send me a Target Gift Card because she was worried about me. Things are getting better and I hope to soon be able to simply worry and fret over my patients again as we return to normal.
I appreciate and love you all very much and if it wasn't so important to keep doing my job I would have quit many months ago without your support and kindness!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Scottsdale Naturopathic Doctor
Has something destroyed your house, life, job, family, or soul? Licorice root shall restore you!
The brilliant thing about herbal medicine is that it has restorative adrenal adaptogen herbs to repair weary tattered souls. When I worked in regular family medicine antidepressants were really all we had to offer patients suffering from too much stress. Sleeping pills for insomnia, ADHD medications for fatigue, and valium for anxiety.
What I have learned later on from practicing Naturopathy is that many of these depressed, blue, sad, exhausted, and blah feeling patients simply needed a solid adrenal adaptogen such as licorice root!
I love licorice as an adrenal adaptogen herb because it is also a potent antiviral. This root is one of our most powerful anti-inflammatory herbs. When we need to cut inflammation and revive patients that are weak, dilapidated, running LOW with low immunity, low blood pressure, low mood, and low cortisol adrenal hormone levels... licorice is the perfect herb!
Especially when there are any digestive issues going on such as heartburn, ulcers, acid reflux, constipation, IBS, liver disease, hepatitis, and cirrhosis licorice root is the perfect herb. Licorice is safe to use as a demulcent healing herb similar to the slippery nature of aloe vera. It helps heal and soothe irritated membranes in the digestive and respiratory tracts.
Licorice is an amazing cough syrup which is why I had to preserve the licorice I used in my Herbal Gingerbread house we destroyed on Instagram, and turn it into an herbal syrup. Since I use Stevia to sweeten my syrup and keep them low carb, I freeze them instead of preserving them in sugar.
First I let the syrup cool and then freeze it in ice cube trays. Once you make your licorice ice cubes you can store them for a rainy day in the freezer. To use simply pop a couple cubes into your hot tea or coffee to boost it with nature's best steroid. Licorice is often akin to giving patients a Medrol dose pack. So if you do not feel well on steroids you should discuss the use of licorice with me or your own Naturopathic Doctor.
As an Autoimmune specialist, I use licorice for many of my patients to help naturally reduce their inflammation. For autoimmune hormone conditions like Hashimotos, it can also be very balancing and supportive to the immune system. Immune support herbs are "immune modulating" so in a hyper autoimmune state such as what I have, Lupus, or other autoimmune diseases I commonly treat like scleroderma, MCTD, Sjogren's, Hashimoto's, and Rheumatoid Arthritis this herb can really be helpful. Although we should always monitor our autoimmune patients when implementing new treatments to ensure they are working properly and not causing "Paradoxical Reactions" as many of us often have strange reactions to foods and medications.
For patients that are exhausted with prolonged coughs from asthma, bronchitis, or pneumonia this is an excellent restorative herb for their lungs and energy levels. But this powerful medicine is not without side effects and should not be used by patients with high blood pressure or on any medications. I also generally do not recommend using licorice with any medications unless you are working with a skilled Naturopathic Doctor trained in Integrative Medicine. Because licorice is a powerful medicine it has more herb-drug interactions than most herbs.
Licorice is also contraindicated for patients that have overactive adrenal glands such as in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), PCOS, and stage 1 adrenal fatigue. Please do not take licorice if in adrenal excess, you instead need a calming adrenal adaptogen herb for your type of hormone imbalance such as ashwagandha.
Licorice may be overstimulating for patients with PTSD, although many of my PTSD patients report improvements by taking small amounts in the morning. Do not take licorice at bedtime or it will cause insomnia. You want to use herbal medicines that boost the adrenal glands in the morning when the glands are the most active and need the most support. At bedtime, a calming sedative tea is generally better to quiet the mind.
If you have been feeling depressed, fatigued, or blue and need help getting your energy, mood, and attitude back on track simply pop over to the SCHEDULE page of my website to treat yourself to a Naturopathic visit. We can easily rely on modern insurance-based lab metrics to test your hormones, adrenals, thyroid, and vitamins so we can put together a custom herbal medicine plan based on your specific constitution, symptoms, and lab numbers.
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology, Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema, and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best-integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease.
She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan (not Medicaid) and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Holistic Pain Doctor
My #1 Naturopathic Doctor Pain Recipe is right here free to use. I use this every single day to help myself and my chronic pain patients as a Holistic Pain Doctor that sees a lot of patients with Fibromyalgia, Autoimmunity, and Chronic Pain is this Gingerberry Blaster. Here it is right here for free for you to treat your pain. You definitely should treat yourself to scheduling an appointment with me by popping over to my SCHEDULE page if you are in pain, because the #1 best thing I do for women as a Female Hormone Doctor is to actually diagnose the cause of their pain.
What is the worst side effect of this Gingerberry recipe you ask?
Weight loss! So yes this recipe for pain is occasionally "dangerous" for my patients that are very thin but most of my patients love it because it helps them boost metabolism and lose weight despite their inactivity from constant pain.
Why does this cause weight loss?
Mystery solved! I found 2017 research that confirms Ginger actually helps to speed metabolism! This explains why my patients notice their metabolism increasing with this Gingerberry Blaster I prescribe for their inflammation.
This “Daily Ritual” herbal medicine recipe is a simple, delicious and powerful combination of my two favorite anti-inflammatory herbs, ginger, and berries. The flavonoids in berries are powerful antioxidants that help protect our cells from damage from inflammation.
The best part of using berries to reduce inflammation is that they are DELICIOUS MEDICINE. I have my patients with chronic pain drink my Gingerberry Blaster Recipe 2-3 times daily.
When using Herbal Medicine to treat chronic inflammation we must be committed to the long term big picture. The reason for this is that all the cells in the body need to be turned over to newer less inflamed cells and that can take time. Some of our cells such as skin cells turn over rapidly in a few days while other organs and tissues require months.
I bring this up because I often see my patients struggling and want to give up after a few days when they don’t receive instant results when they are used to popping a percocet or vicodin. I want to emphasize this IMPORTANT herbal medicine point today, that Herbal Medicine will not work at all when the patient cannot regularly stay dedicated to using it. When working to combat inflammation it is important that we are diligent with using herbs regularly.
I am here to help you as a Naturopathic Pain Doctor that struggled in a silent world of hell for 15 years! I understand what it is like to feel like nobody understands your pain. I get what it is like to constantly be in pain with no relief....
I live the pain spectrum every single day of my life as an Autoimmune patient. I know there is a huge difference between a 2/10 and a 5/10 and a 9/10 day. I have lived them all. But we also have to be realistic when we are using Naturopathic Medicine to treat pain!
Click the link below to watch my FREE presentation on how I use Naturopathic Medicine for inflammation with my patients. We will review 3 Naturopathic case studies on
1) Autoimmune 2) Migraines 3) Rheumatoid Arthritis
The #1 Naturopathic Pain Doctor's Gingerberry Blaster Recipe:
1/4 cup fresh grated or dried ginger
4 Cinnamon Sticks (Optional)
1 cup black or blueberries (Frozen berries are fine but please note that any other berries are totally useless for pain management as we are targeting the flavonoids unless they are elderberries but strawberries and raspberries will not work)
4 cups of water
Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 45 minutes
Let cool and remove cinnamon sticks then mash the berries through a strainer to get as much pigment from the berries as you can as that is the #2 Natural Pain Medicine second to the ginger!
Drink 1 cup 2-3 times daily.
Always check with your Naturopathic Doctor before implementing new herbal medicines
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is considered a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology , Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 22 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones she presents to women the best integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease. She has been an Herbalist for over 27 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones and Naturopathy!
“What can I do naturally for my ADHD without Adderall?” ~Maddie H, Scottsdale, AZ
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
Scottsdale Naturopathic Doctor
Adderall shortages have been challenging for doctors and patients. First of all, as someone that is often referred to as a "Natural Psychiatrist" I can assure you things will be okay without Adderall! Since I have been getting this question regularly since the October Adderall shortage began, I thought I would talk about how I use Naturopathy, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, and Hormones in my Holistic Hormone and Psychiatry practice. Conditions such as brain fog and ADHD are very common in Women’s Health. ADHD when left untreated can cause depression and anxiety from failing to execute tasks properly.
This blog will go over the most important nutrition, herbs, and lifestyle factors I use to treat ADHD naturally without stimulant medication.
Is there actually an Adderall shortage? Yes.
Doctors have been forewarned about this for a year, but I was still shocked to see it actually begin to happen in October and more horrified to hear it is predicted to continue due to an increased demand coupled with blunted production.
People cannot get the ADHD drug they rely on? WHAT?!?
As the “OG Ritalin Child of the 90’s” I hate to admit I slightly panicked when I heard there was an Adderall shortage. Then I laughed and thought, “This does not pertain to you. You no longer need medication for your ADHD like you did back then.”
Yet back in the 90’s if I was suddenly unable to get the medication I relied on for my ADHD it could have been devastating for my education. This is also a medication patients should not suddenly stop should they not be able to obtain it, and generally requires tapering especially when the patient has been on it for many years for their ADHD.
Sadly this Adderall shortage is impacting many women and teens in my practice as well as their families, and I am being asked often for ADHD alternatives. Of course Naturopathic Medicine is a bit more complicated than just popping a new natural pill for ADHD....so of course I had to write a blog about all the different factors that should be addressed between nutrition, herbs, supplements, and testing to find the "Root Cause."
Today, I wanted to share a bit of insight from my own journey of learning how to manage my ADHD symptoms naturally. As I shared in my story about ‘Why I Became a Naturopathic Doctor” I was going from different specialist to specialist all trying different medications out on me to see if it would help my symptoms. This specialist loop involved constantly going to a Psychiatrist every month for ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression.
Back in the nineties as my ADHD worsened and I progressed through the different options, dosing, timed release vs instant released, I grew weary of taking ADHD medications, and the cost continued to sky rocket as my insurance did not pay for it.
As time went on and that vicious stressful loop of doctor’s appointments failed me and I ended up at a Naturopathic Doctor’s office….I began to feel better on the nutrition changes and herbs, and gradually needed less and less Ritalin.
Now keep in mind this was back in the 90’s before Adderall, Strattera, and Vyvance were prescribed. The doctor prescribed either brand named Ritalin or methylphenidate. It was like Dairy Queen for ADHD patients back then, and we only had two flavors, chocolate or vanilla.
While I was grateful to finally have a diagnosis of my condition as a teenager, and a better understanding of how to cope with it, I frankly never liked the medication options. Thankfully now ADHD patients have other medication options they can try as well as pursuing my type of natural and nonstimulant Adderall alternatives I prescribe in my Naturopathic practice.
Did you know I am actually allergic to Adderall?
My doctor did try prescribing Adderall to me, but I had an allergic reaction to one of the food colorings used which is a common trigger or irritant in ADHD patients as I recommend avoiding ALL food colorings in my “ADHD Diet” that is 100% free for anyone to follow and use, and exactly what I do for myself, and my patients with ADHD. If you need further recipe ideas and eight weeks of meal plans, simply pick up my PGE-2 Diet program to implement easy recipes, meal plans, and weekly grocery shopping lists.
The worst thing about my ADHD Diet is when I fall off of it over the weekend and indulge in bad foods and cannot concentrate well on Monday.
So the Adderall shortage does not directly pertain to me, but it affects many ADHD patients as it is still one of the most commonly prescribed ADHD medications. Adderall became more commonly prescribed as I was tapering off Ritalin towards natural treatments for my ADHD.
My Psychiatrist stopped the Adderall and returned me to Ritalin as we worked together to lower the dose. It took us a very long period of time to taper me off Ritalin as I was on a very high dose. So if you are wondering if Naturopathy can be helpful for severe ADHD cases, my answer is yes, and it certainly cannot hurt mood and concentration. But please read my comments at the end of this blog to ensure you will be successful with treating ADHD naturally. Natural treatments for ADHD still require a daily regime and discipline.
The good news from my story about "How I Became a Naturopathic Doctor," is that I began to notice that when I followed the Food Trigger Elimination Diet my Naturopathic Doctor placed me on, my attention span was much better. Suddenly I had better energy, I got tasks done efficiently, I was no longer procrastinating! My ADHD was no longer this giant obstacle in my day. Getting things accomplished in an orderly flow became easy, and the more I improved, the more I naturally wanted to adhere to the nutrition and lifestyle choices that helped my concentration and mood the best.
Suddenly my brain was crystal clear, and I was no longer experiencing annoying ADHD fumbles from forgetting things or locking my keys in my car!
I graduated from college as I continued to work on my ADHD with natural remedies. The concentration demands of studying were ending and it was time for me to get a job. I realized the medicine I had been relying on for many years to help me focus on accomplishing tedious school related tasks was no longer really necessary. I often did not take ADHD meds on the weekends and just relied on them when in class, studying, and going to the library. I did not need to take them to concentrate at my job at the health food store, and suspected I no longer needed them at all. I also didn’t like how it made me constantly sweaty with a dry mouth, so I began to research nutritional treatments for ADHD. It became my final Biochemistry Thesis project for graduation, and was my final grade for spring quarter.
My final graduating Thesis was twenty eight pages about “Docosahexanoic Acid and Nerve Conduction.” I had compiled pages and pages of nutrition research studies on animals that demonstrated that the nervous system does not work well without this critical Omega-3 fatty acid. I broke down the biochemistry of how the fatty acid was needed to form healthy cellular membranes and concluded with my hypothesis that nerves in humans would likely not function as efficiently or effectively if deficient in this fatty acid. I worked extremely hard on the project and was very proud of my Thesis paper.
However, my biochemistry professor was a "Know it all" very grouchy bossy nerve conduction Kinesiologist that angrily scribbled across my paper “UTTER RUBBISH! What you eat has NOTHING to do with your nerve function! This is not a potential treatment for ADHD, depression, anxiety, dementia, Alzheimers, MS, or cognition. Animal studies are utter nonsense and cannot be extrapolated to human data….” Which went on for several pages in angry blue sharpie with a giant B- next to it! I was horrified to receive a B- and not the expected A+ for all my hard work compiling research studies, also knowing I had gone far beyond my other classmates and was hoping to get the special recognition he would give to his favorite papers.
Mainly though I was just really excited to share all of my ADHD research with my professor, and instead of him being glad.... I made the nerve conduction professor mad!
Considering we spent two full quarters just going over how a nerve makes an "action potential" or conducts energy, I should have known he would not be open to my nutrition research. But in that same time period we discussed the anatomy and physiology of nerve cell membranes and they were made up of these very fatty acids that were needed to make proper action potentials or in regular language “thoughts and movements.” The cellular membrane lacking Omega-3 is akin to a frayed electrical cord that cannot efficiently send electrical signals.
So I laugh about this twenty five years later as there are now a plethora of research studies cited on my blog about “Flax vs Fish: Omega-3” proving my crotchety angry biochemistry professor wrong. My ADHD nutrition theories were not so radical after all back in the nineties!
In 1999, after compiling all this research on fish oil as a fish hating Scandinavian woman with ADHD, I began experimenting with high doses of a particular extract of fish oil called DHA or docosahexanoic acid. Every day I took between 2000-10,000mg of DHA. On longer study or test days I needed the full 10,000mg.
For most children with ADHD I now start them at 1000mg, there are great chewable “DHA Juniors” that taste good and make it easy to give to children. This is the most important nutrient for patients with ADHD in my opinion.
My biggest pet peeve in Naturopathic Medicine is that I am seen as the “Crazy Witch Doctor” for using nutrition, herbs and fish oil for children with ADHD, when other doctors are giving children with ADHD stimulant medications known to stunt their growth as the main side effect, and somehow I am the irresponsible doctor here? If you or your child needs medication, that is okay, I get it, but we have our system in how we treat ADHD patients set up backwards, and in order to "First, Do No Harm," as the oath every doctor is required to take, we should look at these nutritional interventions as the start of treating ADHD, and not as the only remaining option when medications fail ADHD.
Lets use this Adderall shortage as an opportunity to turn DHA fish oil into first line treatment for ADHD in children. Especially children that are growing! Adults over fifty on stimulants are also risking their heart health, therefore natural medicine that is effective is clearly the best choice in ADHD.
While my ADHD methods are alternative, and not mainstream, I am confident they are effective because I rely on them myself, and also see the children with ADHD in my practice improving after just 1-2 appointments, to the point they do not even need to get to the Naturopathic lab stage of us working together. They are improved enough with just DHA and a probiotic that their parents text me that they don’t need to come back as their psychiatrist has already tapered them off their ADHD meds. So I am confident that my methods work. I know from experience that the only time they don't work is with an ADHD patient or parent that is too disorganized to implement them and adhere to them as a new daily routine.
WHAT IS DHA?
DHA or docosahexanoic acid is the precise extract of fish oil I recommend for ADHD, TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury, and for pregnant women to take with their prenatal vitamins to ensure their baby has the highest IQ possible per the latest women’s health research studies. Be sure to use only the finest brands free of heavy metals and parabens.
VERY IMPORTANT: Please just do me a BIG FAVOR and stop the Omega 3,6,9 nonsense if you have ADHD and ONLY use the DHA concentrate of an Omega-3 as a supplement. Read my full Omega-3 blog to find out more about the science behind the why. Otherwise most women are already getting plenty of Omega-6 and Omega-9 from diet.
Research studies demonstrate that too many Omega-6 and Omega-9's from nuts and grains can actually become inflammatory in excess especially during Omega-3 deficiency and essentially “clog” the brain and worsen ADHD symptoms similar to inflammatory trans fats and saturated fats. Not all patients can burn these types of fats for fuel and the ADHD patient needs way more Omega-3 than the average bear! This is why inflammation can persist even when vegetarian or vegan.
If you need a nutrition program with recipes that are chock full of Omega-3 rich foods, and lower in inflammation driving foods you can pick up my mind/body/spirit PGE-2 Diet program. There is a vegan version, and a meat containing version. There are eight weeks of meal plans, grocery shopping lists, and dozens of healthy recipes that follow the rules of my ADHD Diet. The yoga and aromatherapy meditations are also critical for learning to better control a hyperactive mind.
VERY IMPORTANT: Only use my trusted brands of DHA: Carlson, Arctic Omega, Nordic Naturals, Thorne, and Pure Encapsulations in Fullscript. Most other fish oil brands patients show me I find poor quality if not disgusting spoiled rancid fish oil full of mercury, lead, and arsenic that I would not even feed to my dog! If you are burping up bad smelling fish oil that means it is rancid and you should throw it away and get an above Naturopathic Doctor trusted brand.
Be careful with this supplement, as a poor quality one may cause more inflammatory damage to your brain, than be helpful. Inflammation is a huge trigger for ADHD symptoms which is why I recommend my anti-inflammatory PGE-2 Diet with all common trigger foods removed for my ADHD patients until they have been tested for triggers.
Please stick with a good quality brand especially if pregnant or using this as medication for ADHD.
In America anything can be put in a bottle and labeled DHA and sold for a high amount. This is perfectly legal, and why patients should stick with prescription grade supplements recommended by their Naturopathic Doctor to avoid falling victim to poor quality or fake products.
Oftentimes people state that Natural Medicine didn't work for them, when really they were not using the correct dose of the natural medicine, or a high quality enough form of the medicine.
Quality of DHA is especially important when looking at replacing stimulant medications with natural alternatives.
For me and many of my ADHD patients, taking this form of DHA fish oil in high doses is like watering a dying brain! Worst thing about fish oil is it causes blood thinning. So those on blood thinners need to check with their doctors as with anything otherwise a slight blood thinning effect is protective against “The Virus.”
Back in the nineties, the beauty of adding the high dose DHA omega-3’s in was that I began to actually need less and less DHA and Ritalin. My body did not become "tolerant" to the dose of the DHA and need it to be raised like Ritalin, instead I needed a higher amount in the beginning to extinguish the "ADHD fire in my brain", and now I just take 2000mg daily for maintenance.
The opposite happened when I was on Ritalin though and I needed to keep increasing the dose or it stopped working. When I first began taking Ritalin I only took 10mg. Then eventually I was on 20mg. Then 20mg twice a day. Then 30 mg three times a day. As I exceeded 100mg of Ritalin my brain was working right but my heart did not feel good, I had a racing pulse at times, I had drenching armpit stains that were embarrassing, and I feared I would get high blood pressure. Yet my concentration required that high of a dose.
So my brain was about 80% improved on DHA and Naturopathic Nutrition, but not quite at 100%, perfect, so I continued researching the herbs and vitamins in the health food store I worked in and began adding different well known memory herbs in for concentration. I recommend reading about my favorite ones: Ginkgo biloba and Rosemary. Check out my Rosemary Salmon recipe to treat your ADHD brain! Of course discuss with your Naturopathic Doctor before implementing anything new I will be reviewing today.
NATURAL ALTERNATIVES TO ADDERALL
Certain mild sedative herbs such as California poppy, Passionflower, and Hibiscus…. can also help ADHD patients concentrate and focus as I discuss along with my ADHD Tea recipe on my “Hibiscus Tea” and “ADHD Tea” blogs.
Ashwaghanda is safe and effective for agitated women and angry children and teens with ADHD. Ashwaghanda is generally considered safe even in pregnancy but please always check with your Naturopathic Doctor when pregnant!
Curcumin helps with those suffering from postviral, Lyme, Long Covid, or Mold Exposure brain fog. Be sure to use curcumin for ADHD and not Turmeric as it is not nearly as potent. When tapering someone off stimulants, or treating ADHD naturally I am using the strongest version of the plant, in this case use curcumin.
Liposomal Glutathione is also great for those with toxic, or post-immune brain fog, shortness of breath, asthma, and in need of detox support, I like the Pure Encapsulations brand available via Fullscript.
Be sure to work with a skilled Naturopathic Doctor or Herbalist when treating ADHD. Many adverse consequences to improperly managed ADHD can occur such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, poor self esteem, and school or work disruptions. It is important to work with someone that is experienced and skilled and not just randomly throw your child or self on the above list of supplements I am discussing today.
In addition to supplements and herbs for ADHD treating “The Root Cause,” is also especially important. It varies between patients and there is never one unique cause otherwise I would just create an exact treatment plan everyone with ADHD should follow and post it here.
But the Root Cause of my ADHD is different from many of my patient’s ADHD, and we are all a little bit like snowflakes. The symptoms look similar, but the pattern overall is different.
As a female hormone specialist I am first looking to see if the mental health cause is physical such as hormonal or nutritional. Things like anemia, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, hypothyroidism, and Hashitmoto’s thyroid disease can often cause brain fog and trouble concentrating in women.
If no insurance based lab testing is helpful we may conduct specialty testing such as food sensitivities, organic acid testing, neurotransmitter testing, stool testing, and infectious disease testing….all dependent on each patient with ADHD’s symptoms, story, health and travel history.
CAN NATUROPATHY HELP EVERYONE WITH ADHD?
No. Naturopathy unfortunately cannot help teens, children or women with ADHD in the following circumstances. I want every patient that enrolls in my practice to be a success story, so I do not recommend signing up to work with any Naturopathic Doctor if the patient is:
I understand the forgetful nature and chaos of ADHD. I have it myself, but I also follow through on my plans and appointments by following a very strict nutrition, herbal medicine, hormone, and lifestyle program which includes my top ten most important lifestyle tips for ADHD patients:
LIFESTYLE TIPS FOR ADHD
#1 Always plan to show up for appointments early to compensate for any ADHD forgetful fumbles. Bring magazines, books, or something to do once arrived early.
#2 Make checklists for things you regularly need to remember when you leave the house, head to work, school, sports, or activities. Laminate the checklist so you or your child can check off things as you prepare for your day, then wipe it clean for the next day. Make one side for work/school and the other side for sports/activities.
#3 Bring a small notebook with you everywhere you go with your list of appointments and daily tasks for each day, as well as an ongoing “To Do” list for random tasks that you do not want to forget. Writing tasks with a bold marker and placing the list somewhere easily visible will help stay focused on the tasks in need of accomplishing, as well as the order to work on them.
#4 Text message yourself anything you need to accomplish quickly or don't want to forget. This is important when you are away from your ADD notebook. Then add the task to your "To Do" notebook and calendar. If the task is extremely important I leave it as an unread text message to myself so I continue to see the alert until the task is completed.
#5 Have an accountability partner to help hold you accountable to the tasks you need to complete, especially the ones you do not want to do. This can be someone else with ADHD that also needs to be held accountable or a friend or family member that is part of your mental health care team.
#6 Every night organize the things you are your child need to have a good day. I call this "Setting my tomorrow self up for a great day." Adults with ADHD or their children should stay committed every evening to creating an easy morning by laying out their clothes, packing their lunch, and organizing all their office or homework. This way in the morning it is all organized and ready to go. The sunglasses, keys, purse, and phone are all together and will not be a Stressy Scavenger Hunt. By creating this simple evening routine a lot of drama can be prevented each day. Especially for the ADHD patients and parents that are not morning people!
#7 Avoid "ADHD Overwhelm" by committing to completing at least three tasks each day you don't want to do. I like to always start with the easiest ones to get them over with. But by scheduling tasks, and remaining committed to keeping up with a busy schedule, ADHD patients can avoid the overwhelming anxiety and depression that can result from ADHD inactivity.
#8 Keep "ADD Stations" in each room that is a dish, or catch all tray that you commit to only setting your important items like keys, phone, jewelry, watch, wallet, or purse on.
#9 Invest in multiple sets of sunglasses, reader glasses, pens, notepads, and items ADHD patients frequently lose, and just keep them in every room in your "ADD Station." Consider adding tracking devices to important items like keys.
#10 Work on only one project at a time. Set an amount of time for the project and only work on that project. In college I kept a pretty canopy above my desk and would set a timer for an hour when I could get out of my "Study Cocoon" and take a break. Otherwise I would be up baking cookies, answering the phone, and washing dishes. By utilizing strong visual reminders, and keeping projects separate from each other, this is how we prevent the ADHD fumbles that annoy ourselves, friends, and family.
While treating ADHD from a holistic standpoint requires more work on the patient's end, the results are far more rewarding. Many of my ADHD patients state, “I am so happy to be off Adderall. I feel so much better physically without stimulants, and my brain is working better than ever.” So not being able to obtain a medication may also be an opportunity to explore Naturopathic Medicine!
Most of my adult ADHD patients are able to function completely without stimulants over a 6-12 month period of working together. While some of my severe cases are able to function 95% of the time without stimulants, yet reserve a small emergency supply for difficult adulting tasks like doing taxes or boring paperwork.
I hope you learned today that nutrition is the most important place to start with ADHD. The first thing I need my patients doing to improve their ADHD symptoms naturally is changing to a clean, Naturopathic diet. Proper nutrition is the foundation for a successful ADHD nonstimulant treatment plan.
The very best natural ADHD treatment is my "ADHD Diet" which involves eating a clean, anti-inflammatory diet free of food coloring and rich in Omega-3’s for proper brain health as I provide the recipes and grocery shopping lists in my PGE-2 Diet program if you need a full program.
My simple nutrition program is the exact recipe for success I follow myself! Remember my #1 Naturopathic Rule: Taking bottles of supplements without making nutrition changes is like throwing water bottles on a burning building. The bottles alone are not going to be strong enough by themselves! We must activate your "Inner healing power of nature" that every patient has inside of them via colorful and clean nutrition and herbal medicine.
If you need my expert help testing for your root cause of ADHD, improving your memory, concentration, or mood simply pop over to my SCHEDULE page. I would be happy to help!
Dr. Nicole Sundene, NMD
(480) 837-0900
Naturopathic Medical Doctor
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology, Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema, and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best-integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease.
She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan (not Medicaid) and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
Author of "The PGE-2 Diet Program" for Pain
“Arthritis in my hands and knees is making me miserable. What should I take for my painful knees, tennis elbow, and arthritis in my hands? Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM, Bone Broth, Collagen, or Hyaluronic Acid?” Helen S. Scottsdale, AZ
Arthritis can be treated and prevented by taking the right joint building agents. Chondroitin, Collagen, Glucosamine, Bone Broth, MSM, and Hyaluronic Acid are great for joint health. I often use these in combination with each other and seldom see patients having adverse reactions to these supplements. Lets review the best options, the cheapest and most expensive natural arthritis formulas, as well as the actual side effects I see from prescribing them as a Naturopathic Doctor.
NATURAL TREATMENTS FOR JOINT PAIN AND ARTHRITIS
From painful knees, to tennis elbow, shoulder pain, arthritis in the hands, TMJ, Psoriatic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, shoulder pain, and arthritis in the hip this is a MANDATORY natural treatment for my joint pain patients that they should not skip, and at the very least use the cheapest form I will discuss today.
Whenever my patients are severely suffering from arthritic bone on bone grinding I recommend they treat their joints to the very best option they can afford. Let’s start with the best and of course most expensive arthritis choice.
#1 ARTHRITIS SUPPLEMENT HYALURONIC ACID
Without a doubt in my mind as a doctor that relies on this for her own joint pain, as well as specializes in Autoimmunity and Natural Pain Management, the best joint support supplement for arthritis is Hyaluronic Acid. This is the #1 Cadillac choice that works the best and does the most “Extra Magic Tricks” for women. We are actually killing four birds with one stone. As we age our hair thins as does our skin, our nails become more brittle with hormone imbalance, aging, and menopause [1-3].
Hyaluronic Acid is not just for arthritis but also helps hair loss, skin, nails, facial sagging, skin sagging. Women actually pay a great deal of money in Scottsdale to shoot Hyaluronic Acid in their faces, knees, and arthritic joints. So taking Hyaluronic Acid internally can help not only with arthritis pain, and hair loss, but also thinning and sagging skin as we tend to lose the collagen behind our skin with the aging process and lack of female hormones, especially in menopause with lack of estrogen and testosterone.
HYALURONIC ACID DOSE FOR ARTHRITIS
Two caps twice daily of Hyaluronic Acid can be a game changer for arthritis and saggy skin [4, 5]. Once arthritis symptoms improve many of my patients taper the dose down to two caps once daily for cost reasons.
However, my female patients that can afford it like to stay on the 2 caps twice daily because their hair is suddenly growing like a weed. And for women it is all about their hair and skin! So this is my best anti-aging tip that is also good for your joint pain and arthritis. I personally buy the Pure Encapsulations brand in Fullscript. Be sure you are on a high quality form of this as cheap Hyaluronic Acid supplements are likely fake and therefore useless. When used correctly, I hear my patients telling me in 1-2 months their arthritis is improving or completely resolved.
SIDE EFFECTS OF JOINT SUPPORT FORMULAS FOR ARTHRITIS
After working four years in a health food store and over fifteen years as a Naturopathic Doctor I can pretty much tell you that I have heard it all when it comes to side effects. Rarely do I hear something new doing my job as a Naturopath. Since I prescribe these supplements to patients regularly I do hear occasional negative feedback about them, which means we need to switch to an alternative.
Generally stomach ache is the main side effect of arthritis supplements. Allergic reaction is always a possibility as well. While it is possible to have a food sensitivity to different joint support, I will be reviewing my favorite options today that are less expensive than our Arthritis Cadillac… Hyaluronic Acid.
If glucosamine causes digestive upset you should take it in divided doses. Although many of my patients can stomach taking 1500mg of glucosamine all at once.
Worsening joint pain with collagen is a common side effect I hear from my Hashimotos and Autoimmune patients, because their bodies are already attacking collagen. They also describe it as "Feeling heavy, sick, and gross."
So with autoimmune arthritis, I proceed with caution using collagen, and forewarn my Autoimmune patients, which I have a ton of as a Naturopathic Doctor with an Autoimmune condition. If stomach upset is the side effect then take it with food. Never take supplements on an empty stomach unless specifically recommended by your Naturopathic Doctor.
Personally some forms of collagen make me very sick and flared up my autoimmune arthritis to a 10/10 level of pain. I have heard this tale from many other Lupus and RA patients. So when a non-autoimmune patient describes this type of reaction, I immediately think to test them for autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Scleroderma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjogren's, MCTC, and so forth.
Oddly I feel great on the Vital Proteins grape gummies and snack on these as my dessert after dinner in addition to taking 2 caps of Hyaluronic Acid twice daily. That is just the arthritis system that works for my body, and keeps me away from candy and desserts! Collagen is derived from different animal sources such as beef, eggs, and fish, so one form may be okay and another may not if you have food allergies.
With that being said many of my Rheumatoid Arthritis and autoimmune disease patients feel perfectly amazing on collagen, and instantly note improvement as they build their joints back up from autoimmune attacks and inflammation. Everyone is so unique!
For whatever reason collagen tends to have the most adverse side effects reported about it so ultimately women should be using the joint support that they feel the best on. Today we will review the best available arthritis options and the appropriate dosing as not taking enough joint support is the primary reason I see joint support supplements failing.
Glucosamine theoretically may worsen blood sugar in diabetes, but I have never seen this occur in over fifteen years of using glucosamine for my arthritic diabetic patients. But it is important to be aware that it is a potential phenomena….yet that I have never seen in over fifteen years of seeing my diabetic patients on their glucosamine.
HOW DO I KNOW MY NATURAL ARTHRITIS FORMULA IS WORKING?
Treating arthritis naturally is a marathon and not a sprint. We cannot expect to undo years of damage suddenly in a day. Most research studies cite improvement around 6-12 weeks of implementing an arthritis formula. This is also in alignment with what I generally hear from my patients. Younger women and those with mild arthritis generally feel better after three weeks of consistent use. It is important to note your pain level when you first start taking your arthritis supplement. Keep track of any changes, and make sure the number is going down and not up. We generally track patients on a scale of 0-10 with ten being the worst pain imaginable and zero being no pain at all.
RANT: WHY YOU SHOULD STOP ASPIRIN, IBUPROFEN, AND NAPROXEN FOR ARTHRITIS
We need to be building the joints for arthritis and not further deteriorating them with OTC pain meds. While I do rely on some of these medications for my Lupus arthritis pain at times, as well as prescribe pain medication to my patients, they are not the best long term solution for chronic pain management. First of all, I don’t want to shame anyone that takes them, we all need them at times and I feel grateful to know they exist. For many years when I was bedridden as I tell the story in my own Autoimmune Arthritis journey, I required a lot of different types of prescription medications until I discovered the correct anti-inflammatory nutrition my body needed and began researching, creating, testing, and following my PGE-2 Diet.
So, I would like to just start a brief tirade about the use of NSAIDS for Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and conditions with degenerative joints that chronic patients deserve to know. They need to know the truth: When used regularly NSAIDS are actually deteriorating the joint, and doing the opposite of what joint building formulas are doing for arthritis. So if you have to take one of these OTC pain medications PLEASE also take the joint formula that you can afford and works the best for you.
NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) otherwise known as the common pain relievers that we use to treat temporary pain such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen should be taken for arthritis flare ups, and a solid Naturopathic Pain Management program using arthritis supplements, herbal medicine, and my PGE-2 Diet should be the foundation of treating arthritic pain.
NSAIDS and heaven forbid cortisone injections (please only do this as a last resort as cortisone completely shuts down your joints ability to repair as does stress) are simply a quick fix for pain and not a great long term solution as they actually INHIBIT the synthesis of cartilage.
ARTHRITIS, ADRENALS, STRESS, AND CORTISOL CONTROL
As I explain in my Adrenal blog further about cortisol being a destructive "catabolic" hormone that destroys our joints and muscles in exchange for brief bursts of energy for emergencies. So the more stress, and rage we have the worse our arthritis is.
Isn’t that why we have arthritis in the first place? The meniscus (shock pad between joints) is made of cartilage right? As we age it gets worn down and our joint space naturally diminishes, loses lubrication and eventually as a result we are in severe pain because we have bone rubbing on bone. Ouch!
Now that everyone is hip to the fact that NSAIDS are not a great long term solution for joint pain, let’s talk about the things that are.
If Hyaluronic Acid is not within your budget, then some of the less expensive joint formulas may be the better choice. So which one is the best?
The answer to the question of “What is better glucosamine, bone broth, collage, chondroitin, or MSM?” is “all of the above”. A good student when in doubt always picks “all of the above” or “C."
Now you could effectively choose “C” for Chondroitin and that would not be a bad answer, but Chondroitin is also pretty pricey so most people buy it with Glucosamine and MSM. Glucosamine was shown to reduce arthritis symptoms in 80% of people after just three weeks at 1500mg daily. Now 80% is FANTASTIC for any drug in a research study. So you can’t go wrong with Glucosamine on its own.
Personally I am not convinced that Glucosamine is better than Chondroitin or vice versa. So in this case we can easily choose “all of the above” because great research studies support the efficacy and safety of all three. So why not use them all together for a nice synergistic effect? Especially a great option for those with severe arthritis. You want to make sure that you are constantly topping off these nutrients that help the joints regenerate [6-12].
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is typically the least helpful of the three in my experience, and this research study [13]. The good thing about MSM is that it is dirt cheap so if you take a high dose diligently over the long term you will see results. Most research studies do not allow enough time realistically for improvement, and conclude falsely that these supplements do not work. The truth is they take time.
So MSM is also super cheap so in a pinch is better than nothing, and it is great for irritable bladder and the skin.
This is why many of my patients like Naturopathic arthritis formulas that contain a blend of these ingredients. But if you tend to get stomach aches, skin problems, or food sensitivities I would recommend starting with just one at a time and watching for any side effects.
ARE HYALURONIC ACID INJECTIONS SAFE FOR ARTHRITIS?
Yes! I am a huge fan of these injections you can get at your local Orthopedic doctor or pain management doctor. My patients generally find these injections extremely helpful and notice immediate improvements. Also many insurance companies now cover these injections, so you may even be able to get a free “Jiffy Lube” or Hyaluronic Acid injection into your deteriorated joint [13].
ARTHRITIS IMPORTANT TIP!
Rebuilding arthritic joints takes patience! Most studies note improvement at three weeks, but I think patients should plan for three months before deciding the treatment will not work. Repairing painful deteriorated joints is truly something that is going to take time. We need to rebuild collagen that has been destroyed for decades in some of my patients so expecting it to improve in a few days is not in alignment with reality. These treatments also work to improve lubrication of the painful arthritic joints. I also always recommend my patients with arthritis take a high quality omega-3 fish oil to further aid lubrication of the joint and reduce inflammation as I discuss the science and why for arthritis on that blog.
BEST ARTHRITIS REMEDY BRANDS
Be sure to buy a Naturopathic Doctor approved brand like Thorne, Vital Nutrients, Douglas Labs, Pure Encapsulations, Jarrow, Twinlab, Enzymatic Therapy, etc in Fullscript. These are the brands I buy myself and prescribe regularly to my patients. There is some concern with poor quality brands using crab and shrimp sources of glucosamine and chondroitin that are contaminated with lead. Now something that arthritis patients take daily should not have lead in it! Remember that the FDA does not regulate supplements in America so if you want your natural substance to work you need to shop smart. Many chondroitin products do not contain nearly the amount of chondroitin that they purport on the label.
When I worked four years in a health food store in the 90’s my favorite brands were Jarrow, Twinlab, and Enzymatic Therapy if you need health food store options for your arthritis. Be sure to take the full dose by the manufacturer as many of my patients are taking 25-50% of the correct dose. Double check with your Naturopathic Doctor if you can take more. For collagen powders and bone broths I recommend adding these to your smoothies, lattes, and food at 1 scoop 2-3 times daily for the first month or two. Then once the joint pain has resolved continue one scoop daily for maintenance.
#1 NUTRITION AND HERBAL TREATMENTS FOR ARTHRITIS
In addition to joint support, fish oil, and herbal medicine such as curcumin, pine, cinnamon, and ginger for arthritis, I also recommend a solid anti-inflammatory Naturopathic nutrition plan. My PGE-2 Diet is chock full of recipes to reduce pain and is perfect for women that want to treat their pain at the "Root Cause" as our nutrition can be the biggest source of inflammation in our bodies. A great deal of inflammatory molecules can come from digestion. My program is designed specifically for women in pain, or with autoimmune arthritis and provides, eight weeks of meal plans, recipes, and grocery shopping lists so women have access to exactly how I eat to manage my own autoimmune pain as I discuss in my autoimmune blog about my own battle with chronic pain.
Many of my arthritis patients also have food triggers and food sensitivities. By testing for arthritis pain trigger foods, removing them, and replacing them with the anti-inflammatory diet in my PGE-2 Diet program, we can halt inflammation driving arthritis forward, and at minimum slow the progression of the arthritis.
Women can pick up my complete Mind/Body/Spirit Naturopathic program that includes gentle yoga stretching exercises for women in pain, in addition to easy exercise videos to help improve mobility.
You can pick up the program and watch my free webinar training on how it works to help women conquer their pain, hormones, and weight gain all right here: PGE-2.com.
If you need my help with treating your arthritis with herbal medicine, testing for trigger foods and learning how to manage your pain with natural medicine simply visit my SCHEDULE page. I would be happy to help!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Naturopathic Medical Doctor
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology, Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema, and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best-integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease.
She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan (not Medicaid) and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
References:
Dr. Nicole Sundene
Anemia is a complex Women’s Health chronic disease that requires a skilled women’s health doctor to assist with the proper nutrition testing and hormone testing needed to address and fully resolve the anemia. Oftentimes a complex myriad of hormone imbalance, malnutrition, and malabsorption are the underlying causes of chronic anemia. Deficiency in the vitamins and minerals needed to form red blood cells and hemoglobin such as iron, folate, copper, and B-12 can also be to blame.
WHAT CAUSES ANEMIA IN WOMEN?
Anemia for women is very different than anemia for men. Today we will focus on the most common cause of anemia for women, as this happens due to bleeding and although it is common, it is not healthy for women to have constant low iron. When men have anemia I am much more concerned because this is not normal. Men do not lose blood each month and therefore naturally have a higher iron store capacity upon testing than women.
The majority of women have anemia due to heavy menstrual bleeding. Women with heavy bleeding and periods that last longer than 5-7 days will suffer from chronic anemia until the cause of the heavy periods has been resolved. In Chinese Medicine we refer to this as “Blood Chi Deficiency” and prescribe foods that are known to help “build the blood.” Herbalists use “blood building herbs” such as Nettles, Dandelion, Cruciferous Vegetables, and Liver Support Foods. In Chinese Medicine a healthy liver builds healthy blood.
To build the blood in anemia for women we need to give proper foods rich in iron, b-12, folate, protein and good fats. I recommend incorporating the iron rich foods you like on my list below into your daily diet.
To properly address the anemia for most women we must correct the underlying hormone imbalance causing the heavy bleeding each month. Women with heavy periods that are constantly bleeding, or losing heavy amounts of blood daily will not be able to resolve their anemia nutritionally until the cause of the heavy bleeding is properly addressed and resolved with Naturopathic hormone balancing. We must conduct proper nutritional testing and hormone testing to properly resolve chronic anemia in women.
If the anemia is from an autoimmune disease such as in Hemolytic Anemia, Hashimotos, Lupus, Scleroderma, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, I generally incorporate foods and herbs that are anti-inflammatory to help slow the autoimmune reaction. Reducing inflammation is critical in autoimmune patients with anemia as well as those with malabsorption. Understanding why a woman is anemic is a complex process as the underlying ROOT CAUSE for most women is multi-factorial and a result of hormone imbalance causing heavy bleeding compounded by nutritional deficiencies or gastrointestinal issues from Heartburn, GERD, Bloating, IBS, Diarrhea, Food Allergies, Food Sensitivities, or Constipation causing an inability to absorb the needed nutrients to build red blood cells and hemoglobin.
WHAT ARE OPTIMAL IRON LEVELS FOR WOMEN?
While anemia labs can be very complex and confusing and involve running a CBC, Transferrin, TIBC, iron, b12, folate, and ferritin. Let me make it simple for you…. As a women’s health doctor the only number I really care about is the ferritin level, or "the iron storage." The ferritin number is the most important number to track as it is the actual amount of iron a woman has “in the bank.” If you are in the single digits with your ferritin you are essentially “bankrupt,” and at high risk of passing out from lack of proper oxygenation to your brain and tissues. This is serious and dangerous and should get corrected ASAP. For optimal energy, mood, skin, and mental health women should have ferritin stores above 75.
ANEMIA SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of anemia are various and vague including fatigue, depression, food cravings, anxiety, dry skin, pale mucous membranes, weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold hands and feet, always feeling cold, dry skin, eczema, chapped lips, dry mucous membranes, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, headaches, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat or sudden change in heartbeat such as in POTS (Positional Orthostatic Tachycardia) and feeling easily fatigued especially upon standing up.
Less common anemia symptoms include increased cravings for food and non-nutritive items such as ice, dirt, and paint chips. “Pica” is the persistent eating of non-nutritive substances and is a hallmark symptom of anemia. When pregnant women constantly crave ice chips and have to munch on ice chips I am immediately checking their iron levels. Dermatology conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and dyshidrotic eczema often are triggered by low iron stores as the body is not able to properly diffuse oxygen to the skin, causing dry skin that is more susceptible to these conditions.
WHAT IS ANEMIA?
Generally with anemia there are not enough red blood cells and/or not enough hemoglobin present in the red blood cells to carry oxygen molecules around the body. This results in tissues not perfusing oxygen properly and results in weak muscles, fatigue, dizziness, and is the common trigger behind POTS or Positional Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome which can cause women to feel dizzy and pass out or feel as if they will pass out.
TREATMENT FOR ANEMIA
Treatment for anemia involves replacing the lost iron every month with a better form of iron than iron sulfate or ferrous sulfate which is the most commonly prescribed form of iron at the pharmacy. If you have anemia that is not improving, or stomach pains, nausea, constipation or your levels remain low despite taking it regularly….please just throw your iron sulfate or ferrous sulfate into the garbage can. Ferrous bisglycinate or iron bisglycinate is the more gentle form of iron, that is better absorbed and women with anemia should be taking it at 25-30mg two to three times daily. Research shows women can absorb iron just as easily by taking 65mg every other day as taking it throughout the day. However, some women cannot always stomach high doses of iron even when taken with sufficient food. Women with anemia that cannot stomach iron should consider smaller doses of iron taken with meals. There are now iron patches available as an alternative that may be helpful. Many of my anemia patients see them helping and the numbers are coming up faster when we combine an iron patch with iron supplementation, and iron rich foods.
Black tea and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc should be taken away from iron supplements and certain medications such as thyroid hormones and, other minerals that will compete for absorption. Minerals and thyroid hormone require a rich stomach acid, therefore less minerals will be absorbed when taken within 2-4 hours of each other.
Men do not lose their iron stores by bleeding each month and generally do not need as much iron as women do. When men develop anemia this is a very serious concern that should not be ignored, similar to menopausal women developing anemia when they are no longer losing blood each month.
#1 Problem for anemia is understanding “The Root Cause.” We should not blindly give every “anemic” patient iron when they may need B-12 or may have actual iron overload which can look like anemia in the red blood cells but the iron levels are actually too high from excessive dietary iron intake such as an all red meat diet, or hemochromatosis a genetic condition causing excessive iron absorption. Proper diagnosis for anemia is critical.
In a nutshell most women have anemia from hormone imbalances such as PCOS, Perimenopause, Hypothyroidism, and Hashimotos. Correcting the thyroid is essential to healthy red blood cell formation.
ANEMIA PREVENTION FOR WOMEN
A simple multivitamin or prenatal vitamin can prevent a host of annoying women’s health symptoms I see from anemia in my women’s health practice such as hair loss, fatigue, anxiety, depression, dry skin, eczema, and brittle weak nails.
As a women’s health doctor I do not find it realistic for women to go without a multivitamin or a prenatal if the bleeding is heavy. While it is important to pretend you are eating a healthy variety of foods in lieu of a multivitamin, I do not agree that women are fine without a multivitamin to replace their lost nutrients each month. Menstruating women lose too much blood and often cannot get enough nutrients from our nutrient-poor foods.
OTHER CAUSES OF ANEMIA
Aside from hormone imbalance causing heavy bleeding, women that are Vegetarian are often anemic due to lack of dietary B-12 and iron. Women with chronic anemia generally have issues with their gastrointestinal tract whether it be heartburn causing them to not produce enough acid to absorb iron, or inflammation in their digestive tract causing them to not be able to absorb the iron they are taking.
Sickle Cell Anemia, Aplastic Anemia, Thyroid Disease, Pernicious Anemia, Low B-12, Liver Disease, Cancer, Kidney Disease, and Autoimmune Disease also can cause anemia although I rarely see these. It is important we have a proper diagnosis and have ruled out some of these dangerous conditions with proper labs and never just ignore anemia. Especially since many women with untreated anemia end up with depression, chronic fatigue, hair loss, headaches, moodiness, heart palpitations, and cold intolerance.
When women with anemia are regularly taking iron and the ferritin store levels are not increasing then we have to investigate “The Root Cause” of the malabsorption.
TYPES OF ANEMIA
There are many types of anemia with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) being the most common type of anemia. Anemia is categorized as normocytic (normal-sized red blood cells often found in kidney disease and chronic disease) microcytic (red blood cells are too small such as in IDA) and macrocytic anemia (red blood cells are too large) The most common types of anemia aside from IDA include hemolytic anemia which is an autoimmune disease, pernicious anemia caused by an inability to absorb B-12. Kidney disease and disease of the gastrointestinal tract also cause anemia. Women that run can become anemic as the constant pounding of their feet on the ground can rapidly destroy red blood cells and thus should compensate for this inevitable loss of red blood cells.
Chronic infections also cause iron stores to be hidden from the body as a protective measure and should be investigated once other common causes of anemia are ruled out.
Treatment for anemia involves first investigating the Root Cause of the anemia as it is often different for women. Most women with anemia should take a high-quality women's multivitamin or prenatal vitamin every day in addition to eating lean red meat or the following foods that are rich in iron while avoiding the foods that block iron absorption:
FOODS RICH IN IRON WOMEN SHOULD EAT DAILY
Red meat, oysters, blackstrap molasses, swiss chard, dulse, lima beans, potatoes, soy beans, garbanzo beans, enriched rice, pinto beans, kidney beans, turkey dark meat, leeks, dandelion greens, apricots, cornflakes, enriched cereals, kale, pumpkin, squash, black beans, spinach (cooked is more absorbable) broccoli, almonds, cocoa powder, peas, beans, brewers yeast, quinoa, figs, sunflower seeds, raisins, beans, lamb, prunes, endive, cod, turkey, tofu, egg, parsley, kelp, oats, corn, peanuts, cashews, rice, pork chops, lettuce, almond butter, blueberries, bananas, and raspberries.
AVOID FOODS THAT BLOCK IRON ABSORPTION
Tannic acid from Black Tea (not Green Tea) has been shown to block iron absorption. Pectin and phytic acid from beans and citrus are traditionally thought to interfere with iron absorption, although the same 2015 study on female iron levels concluded neither actually interfered with iron absorption. Another iron study in 2015 found that beans and legumes did not interfere with iron absorption except for soy which was found to only slightly decrease iron absorption. Soy is also a natural source of iron.
Patients with anemia should not consume black tea or if they do, should definitely not consume black tea with their iron supplements or meals. Phenolic compounds in some green leafy vegetables may also block the absorption of iron. Cooking the greens can diminish this effect. I like to saute my greens with olive oil for better absorption of nutrients.
Important Anemia Final Note: Cooking vegetarian sources of iron generally improves absorption for anemia patients. Research indicates eating “Heme iron” or iron from meat will also help the iron supplement absorb better. Generally for most women simply taking an iron supplement each day is sufficient but for complex cases of anemia we should take these factors into consideration when treating anemia.
If you need help with your anemia treatment simply pop over to my SCHEDULE page, I would be happy to help you!
Dr. Nicole Sundene
(480) 837-0900
Dr. Sundene is a Naturopathic Doctor in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is a Female Hormone Expert in Women's Health and Bioidentical Hormones. She specializes in Holistic Women's Health for Menopause, Thyroid, Hashimotos, PMS, Perimenopause, Autoimmune, Postpartum, Chronic Fatigue, Depression, Anxiety, Food Allergies, Digestion, Dermatology, Acne, Psoriasis, Eczema, and Adrenal Hormonal Conditions. In 1999 she began working for a Hormone Doctor prior to starting Naturopathic Medical School. With over 23 years of experience in both Prescription and Natural women's health and hormones, she presents to women the best-integrated health solutions for their Chronic Disease.
She has been an Herbalist for over 28 years and enjoys teaching women how to use herbs to balance their hormones, nutrition and optimize their health. Dr. Sundene relies on blood testing for her hormone metrics. The hormone testing is covered per the patient's insurance plan (not Medicaid) and conducted at certain points in the woman's menstrual cycle. To learn more about Hormone Testing for Women Visit: Bioidentical Hormones. Follow Dr. Sundene on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more tips on Women's Health, Female Hormones, and Naturopathy!
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