The UltraMind Solution (155 page)

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Brain allergies are reactions to food that can take many forms, including mood disorders, attention deficit disorder, autism, insomnia, and just plain brain fog.

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Autoimmunity is an abnormal immune response to the body’s own tissues. It usually occurs because of “molecular mimickry,” which is where the body confuses some of its own tissue with a foreign invader. In this case, antibodies against gluten also attack your own tissue.

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Those who have an SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) or genetic variation of the enzyme THP2 have an 80 percent reduction in ability to make serotonin.

The good news is that you can overcome this weakness by taking folate and the supplement 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan), which is normally produced from 5-HTP dietary tryptophan, the molecule that is the next step in the process of making serotonin. If you take 5-HTP, you skip that weak step.

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Dr. Robert Heaney, one of the world’s leading vitamin D researchers, in a recent groundbreaking editorial in
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
about the delayed (yet very serious) consequences of taking
less
than the optimal amounts of nutrients for life, said that “because the current [vitamin] recommendations are based on the prevention of [deficiency] disease only, they can no longer be said to be biologically defensible. The preagricultural human diet... may well be a better starting point for policy. The burden of proof should fall on those who say that these more natural conditions are not needed and that lower intakes [of nutrients] are safe.”

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Testing for heavy metals is performed by taking a chelating agent, then collecting your urine to measure the amount your body excretes. This test is usually done only by Functional Medicine doctors or doctors specially trained in detoxification.

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Removal of dental mercury or silver fillings should be performed only by a biological dentist. See
www.iaomt.org
to find a biological dentist.

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Bioidentical hormones are hormones identical to those made by your body, rather then synthetic hormone molecules, which have more side effects and increased risks.

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Note that for this quiz there are only two scores. Low-level problems are treated on the six-week program. If you have severe problems, I strongly encourage you to seek the assistance of a physician trained in Functional Medicine.

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Grass-fed
means that the animals you eat spend their lives roaming and eating grass in a pasture, as they evolved doing. Grass-fed animals are not closed up in a stockyard, which means they have much less need for antibiotics. In addition, they move and eat a healthier, more natural diet, which means they are leaner. And they eat grass, which leads to higher amounts of omega-3 fats, vitamins, and minerals in the meat than grain-fed animals.