Month: March 2019

Yeast or candida can cause high oxalates?

Posted on by Joan Taffinder

When we first went to a special doctor in L.A. who I was referred to we had a few lab tests done and one showed a high oxalate level. I really wasn’t sure why that could be. I started thinking about it in relation to the possibility of taking too much vitamin C.

I went back and read the lab test results themselves which say in part, “…may also be due to high vitamin C intake. However, kidney stone formation from oxalic acid was not correlated with vitamin C intake in a very large study.” The lab also recognizes that many fruits and veggies have oxalic acid but oxalates are, “…are also byproducts of molds such as Aspergillus and Penicillin and probably Candida.” They also say that oxalic acid can come from other environmental pollutants.

This was revealing to me because I realized that Jessica’s oxalates may not be due to high vitamin C intake (which we have since lowered for some specific reasons I’ll talk about later when I talk about glutathione.) at the time we had that test done there were two things going on. The first thing is that we had only left our home which had high levels of mold four months prior. Jessica also had high levels of yeast/fungal markers on her lab. I had not yet fully changed my diet to what we eat now which is very paleo and even mildly keto sometimes.

After addressing the yeast and doing some mild detoxing with glutathione and a few other supplements like chlorella which I took and Jess got through the breastmilk, (because yes, we are still breastfeeding even though she is just about three years old now) Jessica’s oxalate level went down significantly and is within proper range on the lab test now. I still eat and so does Jess many foods which are high in oxalates like blueberries, strawberries, spinach, other leafy greens cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and kale, cocoa/dark chocolate, almonds. There are many others and you can find some good information at https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/how-to-eat-a-low-oxalate-diet/. There is an excellent chart which shows many foods high in oxalates and how much compared to each as well as other helpful information about oxalates. I have also always found really great information at https://scdlifestyle.com/2017/08/oxalates-and-gut-issues/. I call the two engineers who blog at SCD lifestyle the leaky gut guys. One other resource you may find helpful because it talks about many myths about oxalates is https://bioindividualnutrition.com/oxalates-their-influence-on-chronic-disease/. This nutritionist talks in great detail about oxalates and chronic diseases associated with high oxalates. One of them is mitochondria damage and dysfunction which Jessica clearly had on her lab test when her oxalates were high.

While can’t say for sure I do believe it was likely Candida and/or aspergillus mold toxins left in her body that caused her high oxalates. We also stopped eating almonds all together the last several months which are quite high in oxalates. I also had stopped cocoa powder for a little while too. So our diet was a little lower in oxalates when Jess was retested but the biggest takeaway for me was that yeast/mold/candida could cause oxalates.
What has been your experience with oxalates? Please share with us.

IVF and gum disease

Posted on by Joan Taffinder

I had inflammation in my gums or periodontal disease prior to pregnancy and prior to pursuing IVF. I did a few things to correct this.

The first thing I did was to get all four quadrants of my gums deep cleaned. I did each section separately with a numbing agent. I have read that it is important to only do one quadrant at a time as doing more can make the body toxic from the numbing medication, I suspect is the reason. I also got my teeth cleaned every three months for at least two years, not only prior to pregnancy but during pregnancy.

I took generous amounts of vitamin C which helps to keep the gums healthy. I also took COQ10 which I read in a book I can’t remember the title to that it can literally regrow gum tissue, which I believe did happen for me.

To keep my mouth clean I used neem oil and neem bark. You put a small quarter size amount of neem bark in your palm and then put neem oil on top and mix together. Rub that on your gums and then swish in your mouth for 20 minutes and don’t drink or rinse for another 20 minutes. I did this on a semi-regular basis before pregnancy. those products help to lower bacteria in the mount without killing the good bacteria.

At times I used hydrogen peroxide only in the back of my throat. The times I used it in my whole mouth it killed good bacteria and then my tongue got irritated at which time I purchased chewable probiotics to bring balance back into my mouth.

What could IgG elevation on lab mean?

Posted on by Joan Taffinder

Jess had some immune system blood work done recently and one of the elevated markers was IgG4. IgG is, “Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is a type of antibody. Representing approximately 75% of serum antibodies in humans, IgG is the most common type of antibody found in blood circulation.[1] IgG molecules are created and released by plasma B cells. Antibodies are major components of humoral immunity. IgG is the main type of antibody found in blood and extracellular fluid, allowing it to control infection of body tissues. By binding many kinds of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, IgG protects the body from infection.
It does this through several mechanisms:

IgG-mediated binding of pathogens causes their immobilization and binding together via agglutination; IgG coating of pathogen surfaces (known as opsonization) allows their recognition and ingestion by phagocytic immune cells leading to the elimination of the pathogen itself;

IgG activates all the classical pathway of the complement system, a cascade of immune protein production that results in pathogen elimination;
IgG also binds and neutralizes toxins;

IgG also plays an important role in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and intracellular antibody-mediated proteolysis, in which it binds to TRIM21 (the receptor with greatest affinity to IgG in humans) in order to direct marked virions to the proteasome in the cytosol;[2]

IgG is also associated with type II and type III hypersensitivity reactions.
in the first six months of life, the newborn has the same antibodies as the mother and the child can defend itself against all the pathogens that the mother encountered in her life (even if only through vaccination) until these antibodies are degraded. This repertoire of immunoglobulins is crucial for the newborns who are very sensitive to infections above all for the respiratory and digestive systems.

IgG are also involved in the regulation of allergic reactions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunoglobulin_G

Dr. Andrew Weil in his web article entitled, “Best Test for food intolerance” https://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/balanced-living/healthy-living/best-test-for-food-intolerance/ quotes a doctor he respects and says, “Dr. Horwitz notes that when food sensitivities – not true allergies – are a problem, traditional allergy tests such as the IgE RAST blood tests or skin prick tests often yield negative results. He says that in his practice, he has not seen uniformly good results with IgG anti-food blood tests, applied kinesiology (muscle strength testing), or “live blood” microscopic analysis, all of which have been advocated by some practitioners as ways of determining food intolerances. Results “go all the way from questionable to downright useless,” he says.

Instead, he prefers to ask patients to keep a record for a few weeks of everything they eat and any symptoms that develop in response to specific foods. This can help narrow the list of foods that may be causing problems. The next step is a defined food elimination diet.
I have opted for blood tests in addition to doing and elimination diet. I started the elimination diet and then caved and ate a healthy food that we don’t usually eat of almond and coconut flour cookies. Jess got a low grade temperature so I stopped that food. I just started the elimination diet again today. And we get the blood test results back in about two weeks. So we have yet to see what foods Jess is reacting to and causing her IgG4 to still be elevated.
As of now Jess has reacted to the following foods that I am aware of

1. Gluten/bread
2. Dairy
3. Sugar
4. Eggs
5. Beef

I am still wondering if she might be eating too much flaxseed or maybe something else that is still causing inflammation in her gut.

GI virus or flu remedy alternatives

Posted on by Joan Taffinder

Jess recently had a gastrointestinal flu type sickness. She was vomiting pretty bad and we eat a pretty paleo no grain diet. Jess was losing weight and I wanted her to just eat something. So this is what we did. Instead of saltines we at rice crackers and rice cakes for the purpose of not eating gluten. My mother in law recommended jello which we would usually eat and we did not eat but you can make by putting beef gelatin in grape juice. We used an electrolyte drink by Seeking Health that has potassium and sodium but more potassium than sodium which is so necessary when your vomiting a lot. We also more me than Jessica drank Zevia ginger ale. That is sugar free made with stevia. So the swaps are:

• Rice crackers and rice instead of saltines
• Beef gelatin in grape juice instead of Jello
• Seeking Health electrolyte instead of Pedialyte that is made with sugar
• Zevia sugar free ginger ale instead of ginger ale with sugar

I hope these suggestions help if you don’t eat sugar or gluten and your sick and want to get well and help with a quezzy stomach