Submitted Questions and Answers Page

If you wish to submit a question or to leave feedback about an article or product (on an anonymous basis), please do so using my Contact Me Page. I will do my best to answer as many questions as I can.

Note: Any information I provide is not intended as medical advice. I am not a doctor and have no formal medical training. Everyone is different and has different nutritional needs.

'I am 55 in good health. I work 3 days a week from 6:30 to 10:00 and hit the gym every day about 4:30 pm for about 40 mins. Do you think it would be a good idea to take 1 in the morning when I get up and one 1 hr before i go to the gym. Your thoughts?'

My answer:

'Whilst you are in good health, studies show that tongkat ali improves energy and mood in men, particularly men who's steroid hormone levels may have begun to naturally decline due to age.

The dosage timings you suggested are ideal for taking tongkat ali.

I personally would try one capsule with breakfast for six days and briefly note down the effects/ changes you feel each day, and take the next three days off. Then try one capsule with breakfast and one capsule one hour before your gym session for the next six days and briefly note down the effects/ changes again, and then again take three days off.

If you feel better taking two capsules then stick with the timings you suggested. If one capsule produces similar effects to two for you then you will only need to take one capsule a day (still cycled six days on three days off).'

Follow up question:

'I guess I meant to ask, this is the first time I have ever took this type of supplement. Do you think after just 6 days on 3 days off with 1 and then 2 - 6 days on 3 days off i should notice the difference between 1 and 2 in that short period of time?'

My answer:

'People's responses to all supplements vary, but yes I would fully expect that you will be able to tell the difference in this short period of time.

Having said this, the effects of tongkat ali are cumulative so, if you do not notice an obvious effect after the six days on one capsule, I would move to two capsules a day and remain on this (cycling it six days on three days off).

Some people notice obvious effects after as long as a few weeks but it is more common to notice an increase in energy and sex drive in just a few days. Increases in strength and muscle growth tend to become apparent after a few weeks. I previously suggested that you test the effects of one capsule first simply because you stated that you were in good health and therefore one capsule a day may be all that you require.'

'Tyrosine without licorice/cortisol did create anxiety every time I took it. I've avoided it for years, but will introduce it tomorrow since I now take 1 tablespoon of licorice for adrenal fatigue. I've wondered about this for years, since tyrosine such be good for my hypothyroid. Thanks again. Where did you get that info? Thanks again'.

My answer: 'In my opinion, if you include sufficient high quality protein in your diet (I would suggest at least 80 grams per day for a man) there is no need to take supplemental tyrosine.

For a lot of people, tyrosine raises stress hormone levels too high (it is the precursor of the catecholamines) and this tends to cause anxiety. High stress hormone levels actually negatively affect thyroid function. For people suffering from adrenal fatigue, this stress inducing affect of tyrosine is not at all helpful.

There is no one source where I learnt this - there is a section about the imbalance between cortisol and cataecholamines in 'The Immune Restoration Handbook' by Mark Konlee. This book contains some very good info along with a lot of information I no longer agree with. Mark Konlee references: Jeffries WM, Lid adrenocortical deficiency, chronic allergies, autoimmune disorders and the chronic fatigue syndrome: a continuation of the cortisol story. Med Hypotheses 1994;42(3):183-9.

Licorice can be helpful for adrenal fatigue sufferers due to it slowing cortisol breakdown but I rarely recommend men take licorice as it is well documented to lower testosterone and to raise prolactin levels.

If you are suffering from low thyroid function, I would suggest you take natural thyroid (without iodine) and avoid supplemental tyrosine. Having said this, if you want to take tyrosine I would predict that the licorice will help you handle it better.

Since thyroid hormone speeds the clearance of cortisol, if you start taking thyroid hormone, you may need to add some cortef along with the licorice you are taking. I would suggest that you read the information on www.drlowe.com to learn more about this.'

'Hi. I am reading your articles with great interest. I am female with low adrenals and low thyroid. Since the low thyroid is caused by Hashimotos thyroiditis is it a good idea for me to take large doses of Vitamin D (around 3,000-5,000)?

Recently I read that this much vitamin D can be harmful if you have Hashimotos. I don't take any meds and rely solely on nutritional supplementation to counter the low adrenals, thyroid, fibromyalgia, etc. problems.

Also, any advice on what to take or do to help Costochondritis. Have it severely and find little info about it. You're spot on with your nutritional information. Terrific site. Will now be a regular. Thank you.'

My answer:

'Thank you for the positive feedback on my website! I’m glad to know that I will have you as a regular visitor.

Whilst I am not an expert on this, I am aware of a reasonably high number of studies linking vitamin D deficiency to autoimmune conditions, and Hashimoto’s in particular. Visit this page for a good set of studies:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/science/research/vitamin-d-and-hashimotos-thyroiditis.shtml.

I am not, however, at all informed about Costochondritis, so I cannot offer any suggestions to help you with this unfortunately.

Your question about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and vitamin d is an interesting one. Before reading my answer, please bear in mind that no-one knows for sure how vitamin D affects Hashimoto’s – below are my beliefs at this time.

I am aware that some physicians are recommending currently that people suffering from Hashimoto’s avoid vitamin D supplements as vitamin D has been implicated in the development of the disease by some researchers. I personally find this highly unlikely and I believe that people aiming to lower their vitamin D blood level to combat autoimmune diseases are misguided and are doing themselves great harm. You probably know I’m referring to the Marshall’s protocol (which I have no faith in whatsoever).

I have also heard that some people with Hashimoto’s have to build up their vitamin D dose very slowly to avoid experiencing side effects such as nausea, heart palpitations etc., despite knowing that they are deficient – whether this applies to you, I do not know. You should certainly be careful when trying higher doses of vitamin D.

When you talk about 3000 to 5000 IU as being a high dose, recent research shows that most people need 9000 IU daily to correct a vitamin D deficiency! This is much higher than was previously thought. For more information on this visit www.grassrootshealth.net.

Do you know what your blood vitamin D level is at the moment? If I had Hashimoto’s and was deficient in vitamin D, I would certainly aim to get my levels up (monitoring closely any side effects, however, and if necessary lowering the dose for periods of time).

As said above, no one currently knows for sure how vitamin D affects Hashimoto’s, so you will have to decide what is best for you.

I would be interested to hear what nutritional changes you have made to control your Hashimoto’s and/ or what supplements you take?'

'I've seen a number of recommended cycles for Tongkat Ali (longjack). Which do you feel is best? On the extreme side, one article felt one day on, one day off was the best cycle to keep your body from adapting (and Tongkat Ali have minimal future results). Can this happen?'

My answer:

‘I’m not sure why people have become so paranoid about developing a tolerance to Tongkat Ali. I would imagine it’s partially due to the effects of anything becoming more obvious after a period of not taking them. However, this applies to synthetic testosterone patches, creams etc. and even minerals such as zinc, magnesium etc.

The vast majority of studies on Tongkat Ali have been done on rats and these have shown increased testosterone levels after daily administration, and the studies showing good improvements in libido in men have also administered it daily.

I have seen the test results of people who have used Tongkat Ali daily for periods of time such as 6 months and have seen significant increases in their testosterone concentration, so I struggle to believe that it becomes completely ineffective if it is not cycled.

However, I have found that the people I’ve recommended take Tongkat Ali have done well on a 6 days on 3 days off cycle, and then to take a week or two off between 6 to 8 week cycles – I don’t think there is any reason to use it less frequently than this. I think 1 day on 1 day off would work but not as well as letting it build up in the system over a period of at least a few days of sustained use.’

I read with interest your piece on Zinc supplementation. I have a very obvious zinc deficiency and have been taking Ionic liquid zinc for 6 months. After reading your article, I noticed that it has 4 mg of copper per 100 mg zinc - do you think this could explain why I've felt headachy and sick, while progress has been noticeable but slow?’

My answer:

‘From my experience and people I've worked with, 4mg of copper could easily be causing those symptoms. Other symptoms of too much copper in many people are an 'on the edge feeling', spaciness and racing thoughts. This is because copper strongly activates the sympathetic nervous system. 4mg of copper is a high dose that can lead to over arousal symptoms such as headaches and nausea.

Zinc taken alone, on the other hand, should give a relaxed, calm feeling after about 10 minutes. If you want to distinguish between how copper affects you and how zinc affects you, try 50mg of zinc without copper and note effects and another day/ later in the day take 4mg of copper and note the effects - -they will be very different.

Zinc can cause nausea in some when taken on an empty stomach and in some people with sensitive stomachs even when taken with food. It should not be making you headachy like that, however.

How do you know you have a zinc deficiency - have you tested with zinc sulphate solution ('zinc tally')? If not I would highly recommend using this to check your progress in correcting your zinc deficiency.

I would suggest taking 100mg of zinc picolinate on an empty stomach (50mg twice a day) and see how you react to this - this should correct your zinc deficiency in 6 months or less. Stop taking copper and I would expect you feel better after a short period of time. If you can handle zinc on an empty stomach I would recommend this.

Some men for whatever reason don't absorb zinc from food at all well and therefore develop deficiencies. They might however absorb and retain copper well and therefore do not need to supplement at the same time they take high doses of zinc to correct their zinc deficiency. Zinc taken away from food does not affect copper absorption from food so copper status does not neceassarily decline even when taking high doses of zinc.

If you wouldn't mind telling me, what were the improvements you've noticed since starting to build up your zinc reserves? Better strength in the gym, energy levels, mood?’