Are you literally running on empty after the holidays? It’s not only all those high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar celebratory over-indulgence meals, it’s most likely dehydration.

Take the Following Facts to Heart, literally:

Your body is composed of roughly 69 percent water. When you become even mildly dehydrated (even losing as little as two percent of water) here’s what can happen…

1. Mood swings unrelated to other extenuating circumstances.
2. Decreased energy levels and inability to rejuvenate stamina.
3. Cognitive function decreases (brain-fog for example).

The following conditions are caused or accelerated by dehydration and most people do not consider the consequences…

• Diabetics and especially those who are not yet aware they are clinically diabetic. As blood sugar levels rise, your body attempts to eliminate excess glucose through increased urine output—causing more dehydration.
• That female monthly menstrual cycle influences levels of body fluids, estrogen and progesterone swing up-anddown, making hydration even more important. For women who experience heavy periods, it’s not only blood they lose; it’s water as well.
• If you must take prescription medications, be sure and check the list of side-effects before taking. Many meds actually have a diuretic effect—increased urine output puts you at higher risk of dehydration.
• That fight-or-flight response of stress causes your adrenal glands to pump out stress hormones and can lead to chronic adrenal burnout. What most people don’t consider is that the adrenals also produce a hormone called aldosterone, which is responsible in regulating the body’s fluid and electrolyte levels. When chronic adrenal fatigue is present, the body’s production of aldosterone drops—triggering dehydration and low electrolyte levels. Keep in mind that electrolytes are the body’s “electrical system” so it’s no wonder messages get crossed or don’t communicate like in decreased cognitive function (brain-fog).
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very challenging condition because its symptoms include nausea and chronic diarrhea—causing even more dehydration.

The Way I See It…
Hydration is SO easy and readily available…why would you deprive your body of a simple “fuel” to keep it running at optimum health and speed? The old excuse, “I don’t have time to drink all THAT water” is just that, an excuse, not a reason. Trick yourself anyway that works into drinking more water or herbal teas.

I fill four quart-sized decanters each morning with water and/or herbal teas. I work very long hours and by the end of the day, my decanters are empty. However, the trick for me is to drink out of a “fat” straw. My sipper cup has a fat straw inserted and both are made of BPA-free material—no, bpa-free isn’t the total answer but for now at least not as toxic as the soft plastic varieties. I also have a stainless steel water bottle with built-in straw and water filter to avoid buying water in plastic, especially when traveling. When you drink out of a straw, your body craves twice as much water and you consume it with half the amount of effort—try it—it works! Remember that herbal teas and sparkling waters count as water as long as you don’t add anything like sugar. However, you can sweeten tea with a natural no-calorie alternative like Stevia or Lakanto (aka Monk Fruit).

Have chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or even sinusitis or spastic colon? You probably have overgrowth of yeast or Candida. Though poorly understood by most physicians, treating this underlying infection can have profound health benefits!

There are no definitive tests for yeast overgrowth that will distinguish yeast overgrowth from normal yeast growth in the body. However, if you have ANY of the following conditions you should be treated with anti-fungals:

Having had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS), with the medical system having no idea how to help, I understand what you are going through. I also know you can get well!

I came down with what I call the “Drop Dead Flu” in 1975 while in medical school, which triggered my CFS/FMS. As I was working to pay my own way through school, the illness left me homeless and sleeping in parks in Oklahoma. It is exciting, though, to see how life magically brings us what we need. I met many natural health practitioners while homeless, each of whom taught me bits and pieces of what I needed to learn to get well. And I did!

After returning to medical school, I have spent the last 30 plus years researching and treating chronic fatigue and chronic pain (especially CFS and fibromyalgia). Our published research shows 91 percent improve using our “S.H.I.N.E. Protocol,” and hundreds of thousands have been helped.

You can be one of them!
Let's do it now.

Our study titled “Effective Treatment of CFS and Fibromyalgia” (published in Journal of CFS) showed that 91 percent of patients improved with treatment, with an average improvement in quality of life of 90 percent. Many patients no longer even qualified for the diagnosis of CFS or fibromyalgia after treatment! In support of our work, an editorial in the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management (the largest multidisciplinary society of pain specialists in the United States) noted, “the comprehensive and aggressive metabolic approaches to treatment detailed in the Teitelbaum study are highly successful approaches and make fibromyalgia a very treatment responsive disorder. The study by Dr. Teitelbaum et al., and years of clinical experience make this approach an excellent and powerfully effective part of the standard of practice for treatment of people who suffer from fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome.” These same principles work wonderfully for optimizing energy in those with day-to-day fatigue.

What is Causing These Syndromes?
CFS/FMS acts as a “circuit breaker,” with the hypothalamus decreasing its function to protect the individual in the face of what is perceived to be an overwhelming stress (just like blowing a fuse or circuit breaker in a house). This center controls sleep, hormones, temperature, blood flow, blood pressure and sweating. In addition, if your muscles do not have enough energy, they will get stuck in the shortened position and you’ll be in pain (think rigor mortis). This “energy crisis” can be caused by any of a number of infections, stresses or injuries.

Five Main Categories of Problems Need to Be Treated—Think “S.H.I.N.E.!”
These are the five key areas that need to be treated for your “circuit breaker to turn back on” and for fatigue and pain to resolve:

1. Sleep. Because the hypothalamic “circuit breaker” that is offline controls sleep, most patients need a mix of natural and prescription sleep treatments. For you to get well and pain free, it is critical that you take enough of the correct natural and prescription sleep treatments to get eight to nine hours sleep at night! I recommend starting with natural therapies and supplements.
2. Hormonal deficiencies.The hypothalamus is the main control center, via the pituitary, for most of the glands in the body. Most of the normal ranges for our blood tests were not developed in the context of hypothalamic suppression or these syndromes. Because of this (and for a number of other reasons) it is usually necessary to treat with natural thyroid, adrenal, and ovarian and testicular hormones — despite normal blood tests! These hormones have been found to be reasonably safe when used in low doses. Low thyroid, which reflects as fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance and even unexplained infertility, is especially common, and the majority of those who benefit from thyroid have normal lab tests, so treatment trial should be given (using natural thyroid hormones) if symptoms are suggestive.
3. Infections. Many studies have shown immune system dysfunction in CFS/FMS, which can result in many unusual infections. These include many different viral infections (the recently reported XMRV virus is one of many), parasites and other bowel infections, antibiotic sensitive infections, and, most importantly, fungal/Candida infections.
4. Nutritional supplementation. Widespread nutritional deficiencies are common, and require dozens of nutrients. I recommend a good daily multivitamin. Ribose supplementation should also be taken as it can powerfully jump-start your energy. In our initial study, ribose increased energy an average of 45 percent in just three weeks. A second, larger study conducted by 81 physicians (currently being prepared for publication) showed an average of over 59 percent increase in energy in those with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.
5. Exercise as able. Do not push to the point of crashing the next day. Start by walking as long as you comfortably can (even if that is only two minutes). After 10 weeks on treatment, start to increase your walks by up to one minute more each day as able. When you are up to an hour of walking, you can increase intensity.

Feel Like You Could Use More Energy?
One of the consequences of our stressful modern life is an increased need for energy. With less sleep and the depletion of nutrients in our food supply, however, it is getting harder and harder for our bodies to keep up.

There is a lot out there about how competitive athletes can up their energy. Although the approach we’ll discuss below is also excellent for athletes, it was developed, and is outstanding, for the rest of us. Whether you are a mom trying to juggle a fast paced hectic life, a student on a fast food diet, or just trying to optimize your day to day energy, here’s how to get from being fatigued to feeling fantastic!

Having spent the last 30 plus years specializing in treating chronic fatigue and chronic pain, we have learned about the keys to energy production. As an unexpected fringe benefit, these treatments have also offered enormous benefits to those suffering from heart disease.

Optimize energy production with the “SHINE Protocol” Ribose (and our overall approach to treating fatigue) has been highlighted by Dr. Oz, “America’s Doctor” on Oprah, in his wonderful new book YOU: Being Beautiful—The Owner’s Manual to Inner and Outer Beauty.

In addition, our research has shown that severely fatigued people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia can increase their energy by an average of 90 percent (see the published study at www.Vitality101.com) by treating with “SHINE”: Sleep, Hormonal support, Infections, Nutrition and Exercise. For mild fatigue, the physical keys to optimizing energy are Nutrition, Sleep and Exercise, while the emotional key is to start paying attention to what feels good—while letting go of things that don’t.

How Do I Start?
Given my hectic schedule as an educator and physician, people often ask me what I do to keep my energy turbo charged. I like to keep it simple, so here is what I do personally. All of the vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients are important to health, and the American diet is so highly processed that people have widespread deficiencies. Because of this, I like to use vitamins that make supplementation simple.

Why Ribose—And What Is Ribose?
Ribose, also called D-Ribose, is the key to your body’s energy production. Ribose is a special, five-carbon sugar (known as a pentose by biochemists) that is found naturally in our bodies. But ribose is not like any other sugar. Sugars we are all familiar with, such as table sugar (sucrose), corn sugar (glucose), milk sugar (lactose), honey (predominantly fructose), and others are used by the body as fuel. These sugars are consumed and, with the help of the oxygen we breathe, are “burned” by the body to recycle energy. Because they are used excessively, they become toxic— acting as energy loan sharks.

Ribose, on the other hand, is special. When we consume ribose, the body recognizes it is different from other sugars and preserves it for the vital work of actually making the special “energy molecules” (called ATP, NADH, and FADH) that power our hearts, muscles, brains, and every other tissue in the body. These represent the energy currency in your body, and are like the paper that money is printed on. You can have all the fuel you want, but if it cannot be converted to these molecules, it is useless. For years, I talked about the importance of B vitamins, which are a key component of these molecules. These helped improve energy to a degree, but it was clear that a key component was missing. In looking at the biochemistry of these energy molecules, they are also made of two other key components-adenine and ribose. Adenine is plentiful in the body and supplementing with adenine did not help energy production. We then turned our attention to Ribose.

Ribose is made in your body in a slow, laborious process and cannot be found in food. We knew that severe fatigue and stress causes your body to dump other key energy molecules like acetyl-L-carnitine. We then found that the body did the same with Ribose, making it hard to get your energy furnaces working again even after the other problems were treated.

This was one of those “Eureka!” moments where things came together. Not having Ribose would be like trying to build a fire without kindling—nothing would happen. We wondered if giving Ribose to people with fatigue and even CFS would jumpstart their energy furnaces. The answer was a resounding yes! Our recently published study (see the study abstract at www. Vitality101.com) showed an average 44.7 percent increase in energy after only three weeks (improvement began at 12 days) and an average overall improvement in quality of life of 30 percent. Two-thirds of the study patients felt they had improved. Usually a 10 percent improvement for a single nutrient is considered excellent. A 44.7 percent increase left us amazed, and I am now recommending Ribose for all of my chronic fatigue, chronic pain and fibromyalgia patients, for athletes, and for any one with fatigue or heart problems. Ribose recently became available (over the counter) to physicians, and is one of the few natural products actually starting with physicians and then moving out into supplement companies and health food stores. It is critical to use the proper dose for the first three weeks, which is five grams (5000 mg) three times a day. It can then be dropped to twice a day (and often even once a day in the morning with the vitamin powder to maintain optimized energy for those that are otherwise healthy).

Normal, healthy heart and muscle tissue has the capacity to make the ribose it needs. But when we are chronically stressed by life or illness, it helps to have extra ribose to help boost energy production.

The Scientific Link Between Ribose, Energy, And Fatigue
Clinical and scientific research has repeatedly shown giving ribose to energy deficient hearts and muscles stimulates energy recovery. Research in Ribose and fatigue began with a case study that was published in the prestigious journal Pharmacotherapy in 2004. This case study told the story of a veterinary surgeon diagnosed with fibromyalgia. For months, this dedicated doctor found herself becoming more and more fatigued, with pain becoming so profound she was finally unable to stand during surgery. As a result, she was forced to all but give up the practice she loved.Upon hearing that a clinical study on ribose in congestive heart failure was underway in the university where she worked, she asked if she could try the ribose to see if it might help her overcome the mind-numbing fatigue she experienced from her disease. After three weeks of ribose therapy she was back in the operating room, practicing normally with no muscle pain or stiffness, and without the fatigue that had kept her bedridden for many months. Being a doctor, she was skeptical, not believing that a simple sugar could have such a dramatic effect on her condition. Within two weeks of stopping the ribose therapy, however, she was out of the operating room and back in bed. So, to again test the theory, she began ribose therapy a second time. The result was similar to her first experience, and she was back doing surgery in days. After yet

a third round of stopping (with the return of symptoms) and starting (with the reduction of symptoms) the ribose therapy, she was convinced, and has been on ribose therapy since that time. I found this report intriguing and decided to design a larger study in patients with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome which I began to discuss earlier. Our study included 41 patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome who were given ribose at a dose of five grams three times per day for three weeks. We found the ribose treatment led to significant improvement in energy levels, sleep patterns, mental clarity, pain intensity, and well being. Of the patients participating in the study, 65.7 percent experienced significant improvement while on ribose, with an average increase in energy of 44.7 percent and overall well being of 30 percent- remarkable results from a single nutrient! The only significant side effects were two people felt too energized and hyper/anxious on the ribose. This is simply dealt with by lowering the dose and/or taking it with food.

The good news is that we now have a wonderful tool to increase energy naturally. Take five grams of ribose three times per day for three weeks, then twice a day (can be mixed with any liquid or food) for two to three weeks, and then one to two times per day to see what it will do for you. You’ll be amazed!

In my previous article in this series, I gave a primer on mold toxins—how they work and why it’s so important to remove molds from your environment, particularly for those of you who have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. In this piece I discuss how to treat for mold toxins.

1. Make sure there’s no mold in your environment.
2. Kill the toxin-producing mold in your body.
3. Take toxin binders.

Let’s go through each of these.

1. Make Sure There’s No Mold in Your Environment
If it’s still present, you must get the toxin-producing mold out of your environment. This includes your home, your place of work, and even your automobile’s heating and AC system. Unfortunately, this is often difficult and expensive, especially since some mold remediation companies can overlook obvious mold problems, while others see it everywhere when it’s not even a problem.

One approach you could consider is to do a home “petri dish” mold test that you can get from a company called ImmunoLytics. If the test is positive, you’ll need to bring in somebody trained in doing mold remediation to get the mold out of the area indicated by the test. For more information on this, I refer you to the book Toxic. You might also find guidance by contacting the support team at the ImmunoLytics website.

Unfortunately for many people already financially devastated by this illness, paying the high cost of remediation may simply not be an option. If this is your situation, you may need to consider other alternatives. For example:

• If your illness began before you were in your current home, there’s a good probability that you left the mold behind when you left that residence, and it’s just that you’re still carrying the toxin-producing molds in your body. If this is you, and there’s no obvious mold issue in your current home, an argument could be made for simply treating your illness and seeing if your mold toxin levels improve after six to nine months using the binders I discuss later in this article.
• If you’re working outside your home, and you haven’t moved to a different office building since your illness began, the mold source might be in your work environment. If so, ask your supervisor if you can work from home or in a different building.
• If you’re renting, consider moving to a different building.

2. Kill the Toxin-Producing Mold in Your Body
For this, I treat by giving at least two to three months of the prescription fluconazole (Diflucan) or itraconazole (Sporanox) 200 mg daily. Most of the people I treat will have already been on this before exploring mycotoxins. But if you aren’t able to tolerate these meds (because the antifungal’s severely flare symptoms in you called a Herxheimer reaction), then Dr. Neil Nathan, the author of Toxic who I discussed in my previous article, finds that having people take binders (explained further below) for several months can stabilize the toxin levels. After that, you can try taking the medications again — but very slowly.

I also recommend using Argentyn 23 Colloidal Silver Nose Spray (made by Natural Immunogenics Corp.) and a compounded prescription for nose sprays for at least six months. There is also a good argument for using both of them long term. This will kill any mold in your sinuses, which is the main area where they produce toxins. Use 1–2 sprays of each in both nostrils 2–3 times daily. The two prescription compounded nose sprays are:

1. Sinusitis Nose Spray from ITC Pharmacy (303-663-4224). Get the one that includes bismuth and 0.06% amphotericin B (30 cc). Your doctor can call in a prescription to ITC pharmacy for “sinusitis nose spray with bismuth and amphotericin.” The pharmacy will know what to supply. If the cost is prohibitive, you can get it without the Amphotericin B.
2. For long-term use after the six months (or even after two months to lower costs), ask your local compounding pharmacist to make a 1% itraconazole nose spray. Some people prefer to keep costs down by making their own. This can be done by getting five 200 mg capsules of itraconazole from a compounding pharmacy, and adding this to a 1 and ½ ounce (45 mL) nose spray bottle of saline (available for about $2 at CVS pharmacies). You can use this nose spray long term, one spray in each nostril twice a day, for prevention.

The prescription Sinusitis Nose Spray will also kill problematic bacteria called MARCoNS (Multiple Antibiotic-Resistant Coagulase Negative Staphylococci), which can aggravate your illness. I don’t bother doing nasal swab testing for these bacteria, as I simply rely on the nose sprays to do their job.

3. Take Toxin Binders
Binders are substances you can eat that help remove toxins from your body. They do this by physically binding to toxins in your intestines so that they pass out of your body during urination and bowel movements. Take the binders listed below about ½ hour before you eat. Doing so will position them like a catcher’s mitt where your bile is produced after you eat. They’ll soak up the toxins and pull them out in your stool. Though you should see improvement fairly quickly, it usually takes about 18 months for the toxins to get low enough that you begin to feel much better.

In the beginning, as you first start to pull the toxins out of your system, you may actually feel worse. This happens because the toxins are being pulled out faster than your detoxification system can handle them. If this happens to you, do not try to play macho and tough it out, as this will only set back your recovery! Instead, ease back your dose size to an amount where you are no longer feeling worse. You’ll be able to slowly increase the dose comfortably over time. During the first six to nine months, urine mold toxin levels may actually go up with treatment, as dead mold and fat cells release toxins for elimination.

Klaire Labs Interfase Plus can also help kill the yeast and may settle down the flaring of symptoms during detoxification (take 1 capsule twice daily).

1. Cholestyramine (Questran, by prescription). Get the sugar-free version. If you can’t tolerate the additives, you can have it made by a compounding pharmacy, though this is more expensive and won't be covered by your health insurance. Start by taking 1/8 to 1/16 teaspoon every other day a half hour before a meal. Gradually increase the dose as you find comfortable to one scoop (1 and 2/3 teaspoons, or 4 grams) 2.4 times a day. Don't be surprised or concerned if you can't comfortably exceed two teaspoons a day. Some people get well with even a 16th of a teaspoon every 2.3 days. Colesevelam (Welchol) works the same way, with the usual dosage being two capsules (625 milligrams each) three times a day. Constipation is the main side effect, so increase your magnesium and vitamin C intake to compensate.
2. Bentonite capsules 500 mg 1.2 daily (by Premier Labs). If poorly tolerated, you can switch to Yerba Prima Great Plains Liquid Bentonite Clay. Start with 1/16.1/8 teaspoon taken once daily and slowly work up to one teaspoon as you find comfortable.
3. Activated charcoal capsules 280 mg (avoid tablets and powders as they can be messy) 1.3 capsules a day (from Integrative Therapeutics).
4. Chlorella capsules (not the pellets) 1.3 capsules a day (from Body Bio).
5. Saccharomyces boulardii capsule 3.5 billion units. Begin by taking one capsule each day with a meal, and gradually increase to three times a day. This also inhibits growth of other unhealthy bacteria and yeast.

Dr. Nathan suggests beginning with the Saccharomyces first, as it is usually tolerated better by most people. When you're comfortable with this, he recommends adding in the bentonite clay, starting with one capsule a day.

Some people respond within six months, while others take as long as one to two years to see improvement. Some even take as long as three to five years to get well. In cases like these itfs especially worthwhile to consider urine testing after six to nine months, so that you can reassure yourself that the mold toxin levels are indeed coming down. They usually have to come down into the normal range before you start feeling better.

For those of you who want to choose which toxin binders to use based on targeting the specific mold toxins that showed up in your test results, Dr. Joseph Brewer (a leading Kansas City, Missouri CFS and infectious disease specialist) and Dr. Nathan offer the following guidance:

• Ochratoxins appear to be bound best by cholestyramine and activated charcoal.
• Aflatoxins and sterigmatocystin are bound by activated charcoal and bentonite clay.
• Trichothecenes (including roridin E and verrucarin A) are bound by activated charcoal. Chlorella and bentonite clay may also be helpful.
• Gliotoxins are bound by bentonite clay, Saccharomyces boulardii (a probiotic yeast), and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) 500 mg twice daily.
• Saccharomyces boulardii capsule, eight to ten billion units, with one meal per day, working up to three times a day is very gentle and can help with most cases.

What Is Going on in Mold Toxin Illness?
For those of you who are very, very technically oriented, below is a play-by-play description of what mold toxins do to your body. Those of you who aren't that technically interested may want to skip this section.

The most common and problematic toxin-producing molds are the black mold Stachybotrys, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Chaetomium, Alternaria and Wallemia. These trigger the Cell Danger Response (CDR), which causes your immune system to go into overdrive. This can trigger not only increased sensitivities, but eventually immune exhaustion.

These immune chemicals, called cytokines, block your body's leptin receptors, causing leptin resistance. Leptin is the hormone that suppresses your appetite and tells you that you're full after a meal. This is part of what contributes to the average 32-pound weight gain seen in fibromyalgia. The toxins also prevent the hypothalamus from making a-MSH (alpha- Melanocyte-stimulating hormone) and VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide). These are critical for regulating your immune, brain and hormonal systems.

Mold toxins are one of the causes of hypothalamic dysfunction that I've written about before.

Meanwhile, the immune system is unable to shut off. This can be demonstrated by measuring the cytokine C4a. The chronic immune activation causes inadequate oxygen flow to your tissues. This stimulates your body to increase the production of VEGF to stimulate new blood vessel formation.

Over time, the drop in a-MSH and the immune exhaustion leaves you vulnerable to infections such as the MARCoNS I discussed earlier. This nasal infection can make exotoxin A, which can further destroy a-MSH, while making thick layers of biofilm that prevents your immune system and antibiotics from getting to the infections. The EDTA, silver and bismuth in the nose sprays I discussed above melt the biofilms.

A piece of good news? VIP can be measured by a blood test, though the test must be performed at ARUP Laboratories (most local labs can send the test to ARUP). Testing elsewhere is likely to not be reliable. Low VIP levels trigger out-of-control immune activation. Compounding pharmacies can make VIP nose spray, which can sometimes quickly improve symptoms.

Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, the author of Mold Warriors who I discussed in my previous article, also recommends other tests that are more often covered by insurance and can be done by most labs. My suspicion is that these tests aren't specific to mold, as they show the body's Cell Danger Response to numerous stressors. But they do have two benefits:

1. 1. They reveal a number of abnormal blood issues, which is helpful if you have family members or physicians who don't believe anything's wrong with you (probably because you've been getting the wrong tests for your illness).
2. 2. Over time, you can see that things are improving physiologically, even before you begin to feel the improvement. And that can be very encouraging.

I should point out that although I endorse these tests, I don't actually use them for people I treat. Not because they aren't effective, but because they don't affect my treatment decisions. BTW, if you have CFS or fibromyalgia, here are what the tests are likely to show:

1. 1. Elevated levels of c4a, TGF-beta-1, MMP-9 and leptins.
2. 2. Low levels of a-MSH, VIP and VEGF.

For difficult cases, I recommend you consider making an appointment with Dr. Nathan to get direction from him on how to handle your mycotoxin treatment. For most cases, I simply treat it as part of the overall S.H.I.N.E.R protocol. I do treat people worldwide. For information on this you can contact Sarah at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

As you can see, mycotoxins can be a very complex topic. But it's OK to simply begin with the binders I've discussed, letting these work in the background for 16¡V24 months to remove the toxins, while you address the rest of your health issues using the S.H.I.N.E.® protocol.