What To Ask Your Doctor If You Feel Crappy All The Time

By Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, Advisor and Consultant on Clinical Consulting Team for Cyrex Laboratories

Dr. Chad Larson

Do you feel crappy all of the time and don't know why? Well, food sensitivity just might be the cause. In all seriousness, if you are experiencing brain fog, gastrointestinal discomfort after meals, or just feel tired all the time, it may be due to what you are eating. Food sensitivity is an understudied area of health and wellness, consequently there is not much data about just how many Americans have food sensitivities. One thing is certain, food sensitivities can manifest in many different kinds of symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, depression and skin disorders. Food reactivity can negatively influence your overall health. In light of this, I want to share five key questions to ask your doctor if you are experiencing what I like to call FCATT, or Feeling Crappy All of The Time.

1. Do I have an autoimmune disorder? There is an epidemic of autoimmune disorders in America.  According to the American Autoimmune Disease Related Association, over 50 million Americans have autoimmune disorders that impact overall health. What's more, if you are diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, there is a 25 percent chance of developing another condition, according to the National Institute of Health. But why not try to predict and prevent it? A simple blood test can assist your Healthcare Professional in early detection of reactivity associated with possible autoimmune disorder(s) and allows you to make the necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle to prevent it. 

2. Am I sensitive to wheat and gluten or other foods? Food reactivity significantly impacts your overall health. The gastrointestinal mucosal immune system is the first line of defense when it comes to issues tied to dietary intake. Dietary triggers can cause a person to feel tired and feel discomfort, which can directly be related to how your body processes foods. Make sure to ask your doctor to test food reactivity in raw, cooked and modified foods. There is a difference because food proteins can take new form once cooked or modified.
    
3. Am I getting enough sleep? More and more people are reporting and increase in sensitivity to light.  With the gadgets and devices you peer at late at night and sit on your nightstands emitting light and interrupting your sleep, it is a good idea to confirm you are actually getting the deep, REM sleep your body needs in order to repair and regenerate your body systems. There are some wearable devices on the market that can provide answers. Wearables can measure the depth of sleep, duration of sleep, and give a daily synopsis of just how much rest the wearer is getting. This insight will help your medical provider determine if you are getting enough sleep and how this may be impacting your overall health.

4. Is there a blood test that can help determine why I have brain fog? If brain fog and fatigue are ruining your workday, look to your physician to help you find the source of these unexplained symptoms. Food sensitivities can manifest in numerous ways including gastrointestinal, neurological, dermatological, or behavioral issues. A simple comprehensive test can not only tell you what you are sensitive to, but also how that sensitivity may be affecting your brain and your gut.
    
5. I've removed gluten from my diet but I'm still experiencing FCATT. Are there foods that I could be cross-reacting to? If you're already following a gluten-free diet, and still experiencing FCATT symptoms, ask your doctor to test you for foods that may be making your system cross-react. What this means is that your system is responding to those foods in the same way it responds to gluten. Again, a simple blood test will give your medical provider answers to possible cross-reactive food sensitivity that can help you make necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle.

Unexplained symptoms can be scary especially when they're impacting the overall quality of your life. What's worse is that these symptoms are potentially an indicator of a larger health problem. But rest assured, there is a way to find out why you are feeling crappy all the time, and it begins with a simple blood test. These five questions can help your healthcare provider identify the problem and begin putting an end to FCATT.

About Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, Advisor and Consultant on Clinical Consulting Team for Cyrex Laboratories
Dr. Larson holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Southern California University of Health Sciences, graduating with honors. He is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He particularly pursues advanced developments in the fields of endocrinology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and environmentally-induced chronic disease. Cyrex Laboratories is a Clinical Immunology Laboratory specializing in function immunology and autoimmunity. Cyrex offers multi-tissue antibody testing for early detection and monitoring of today's complex autoimmune conditions. Cyrex develops innovative arrays through continuous collaboration with leading experts in medical research and clinical practice. 

Everyone knows their cholesterol number, their blood pressure number, and probably their glucose level. While these numbers are certainly useful and important, you must put vitamin D at the top of the list. There is a growing list of health conditions that can be prevented by, treated with, or associated with vitamin D. Most people know that deficient levels of vitamin D is a strong risk factor for osteoporosis and certain types of cancer, but the medical literature has also linked it with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure, glucose intolerance, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto's thyroid disease. Now we can add to the list: heart failure.

Watch Dr. Chad Larson Discuss Vitamin D

Heart failure death occurred two to three times more often in people with vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency compared with those who had normal levels of the vitamin, according to data from a government survey.

Premature mortality, defined as death before age 75, also had a significant association with vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. "These data may represent yet additional justification for the idea of studying vitamin D supplementation in appropriate patients to determine whether a causal relationship exists and whether this is a potentially treatable condition," said Howard J. Eisen, MD, of Drexel University in Philadelphia. The analysis comprised data on 13,131 adults ages 35 and older, followed for a median of eight years through 2000. Serum 25(OH)D was measured at enrollment by radioimmunoassay.