Natalie Rose works in the education field and has been a client for over 15 years.  Here she gives us a peek into the results of her journey to better health with us on an issue that many people struggle with: Fatigue

I have struggled with fatigue for most of my life. Numerous doctor visits occasionally gave a diagnosis of low iron or low Vitamin B12, but improving these still left me tired most of the time. I I couldn’t find answers despite seeing my doctor over and over again. It was incredibly frustrating and discouraging. I finally discovered with Dr. Krop and Eco-Health and Wellness that there are sometimes reasons beyond the obvious. Here are my surprising discoveries to the causes of my fatigue.

8 Glasses of Water a Day?! And Protein Every 2 Hours?!

I’m notorious for getting involved in an activity and letting time fly by. I forget to eat, I forget to drink. Hours go by. I don’t get hungry or thirsty but then I suddenly wilt.

Yes, you can get tired if you are dehydrated! And if your blood sugar is low from not eating often enough! This seems like common sense but apparently some people, like me, needed to be hit in the head with this information.

So yes, drink 8 glasses of water per day and eat something every 2 hours. But, as Dr. Krop told me, you need to watch what you eat. Protein at every meal and at every snack. No high glycemic foods like cane sugar, white rice, white flour etc. Did this help my fatigue? Yes and I was flying with all the extra energy and mental clarity I had!

But I Like How My Clothes Smell!

I used to use conventional products for everything. By conventional, I mean scented. Full of chemicals. But then I suddenly developed severe asthma in my adult years, and I couldn’t gain control over it. I was sick all the time. And tired all the time.

I figured out perfume was a really bad trigger for my asthma attacks. So I stayed away from it. But I still used all my other regular products. It was Dr. Krop who told me to go fragrance free with everything. And I did. I didn’t think my detergent, fabric softener, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, cream, hair spray, gel and deodorant were doing anything to me. It was perfume that set off my asthma, not that other stuff. But I was always sick with asthma attacks and I was always tired and I always felt lousy. By always, I mean always. Daily. So I decided what the heck. I’d go fragrance free to see if it would help. Guess what? It did. Less asthma attacks and way more energy.

The same chemicals that are in perfume are in other scented products (like your deodorant, fabric softener, detergent, shampoo, etc). There may be less of them, but they are still there. Unless you’re away from all fragrances for a while, you can’t really tell what they are doing to you. And guess what? Some of them make me tired. So tired I want to lie down and take a nap on the spot.

Food Made Me Feel Lousy

Dr. Krop had me screened for over 100 foods. I found out I have a whole bunch of food intolerances. I hate having food intolerances. Some of my favourite foods are on that list…like gluten, sugar, dairy, chocolate and alcohol. Ugh. How do you live without chocolate?!! But honestly, when you have a serious, chronic health condition, you need to give your body the best fighting chance to recover. And frankly, you don’t know what these food intolerances are doing to you and what strain they’re putting on your body. Well, that was the argument that convinced me to go cold turkey off everything on my list. For several years.

Guess what? Many of those things weren’t benign. I discovered some of those foods really did make me feel lousy. Like gluten. And sugar. And alcohol.

They all made me feel incredibly tired, so when I cut them from my diet, my energy returned.

But I Really Like Sugar!

I have a sugar addiction. Chocolate, cookies, cake, cupcakes, cinnamon buns. You name it, I crave it! In my quest for better health, I discovered I was not only intolerant to sugar and gluten (insert loud groan here), but that I had an issue with candida (an intestinal fungal overgrowth) (insert second loud groan here). All those years of antibiotics as a child did a number on me. So now I had to go on an anti-candida diet (insert third loud groan here). That meant not only avoiding my numerous food intolerances but it meant avoiding anything that would feed this candida overgrowth in my body. So bye bye sugar,alcohol, vinegar, yeast and foods such as mushrooms, strawberries, etc. Can I say brutal?!!! Yes, it was. But I was determined to give my body the best fighting chance to get healthy and frankly, I knew I had a problem in this area. My gut was really out of balance. But that’s a whole other story. We are now learning more and more about the relationship with gut health and our overall health. So if my gut health was contributing to some of my health issues or was preventing me from getting healthier, I was going to fix it.

I went cold turkey. The first few days were brutal.  Huge cravings. Crazy exhaustion. Lots of willpower to not throw in the towel. But then my energy increased with a vengeance! I had vitality like never before.

And if I cheated, even slightly, guess what? I felt like hell the next day. Exhaustion beyond exhaustion. Like being hit with a bad flu or a big Mac truck. That’s what sugar does to me. Is it worth it? Nope.

Allergies Can Do This?!!

My environmental allergies went absolutely crazy over a decade ago. I seemingly became allergic to almost everything under the sun…dust, mould, grass, trees, ragweed, cats, dogs, you name it. A dust bunny or a bit of mould on a piece of fruit would send me into an immediate asthma attack. Eek. I was on six medications every day for my asthma and allergies and they were not working!

Fast forward to the present and I am pleased to say all my hard work with Dr. Krop…yes I followed his protocol diligently…has reduced my allergy and asthma symptoms to the point where I’ve been off all my medications for years now. Yes, I still need to take an antihistimine or a puffer a couple times a year, but that’s a far cry from taking 6 medications each day and not having that be enough!

I have environmental allergies (dust, mould, grass, ragweed etc.) that have greatly improved since starting my health journey with Dr. Krop. No more daily asthma attacks, no more constant colds and sinus infections, no more daily unbearable congestion. Yay! It took years of hard work, but it paid off. Thanks Dr. Krop!

Although my allergies are night and day what they were over a decade go, I still do get the occasional light sinus congestion. Especially when moulds are high or it’s ragweed season. Last fall, I felt really under the weather. Tired, groggy, brain fog. I couldn’t figure out what was happening. Surprise! It was my allergies. The congestion was so slight, I didn’t even notice it. One antihistamine and …voila! No more fatigue!  Who knew congestion could make you tired?!!

Watch the Hot Yoga

A few years ago, when I got my health under control and was feeling a lot better, I got a great deal on a one month unlimited membership to a hot yoga studio. Unlimited!! Well, I wanted make use of that deal and go as many times as possible. So I ended up going 4-5 times a week. It was great! I felt so relaxed and nimble! But then, two weeks in, I suddenly started feeling like crap. Exhausted. Like a truck ran over me. And nothing would make it go away.

After struggling with this fatigue for a couple of weeks, I went to see Dr. Krop. During his assessment of me, I bragged to him that I had started hot yoga. “How often are you going?”, he asked. “4-5 times a week,” I proudly said. “Well, that’s it! You have depleted your minerals!!!”

I started taking a mineral supplement and…yes, that was it! I was back to feeling good.

These are all pieces of the puzzle of what has created fatigue for me. I’d guess some of these are common for many people. It can be overwhelming, but the fundamental changes I made had a huge impact on my baseline health and they allowed me to function at a higher level with more energy. That’s a gift. It took a lot of effort – but it was so worth it.

What really causes what symptoms? Gut issues, heart palpitations, adrenal insufficiency, stress, headaches, insomnia, pain, fatigue – these are really common health issues.

There is usually never just one problem causing our health complaints. It’s usually myriad of root causes creating a matrix of symptoms.

Zoom in on the picture above – and it’ll show you some of the possible causes for common health complaints.

If you consider your symptom and then try to trace it back to one of the exposures listed, you may be able to figure out where some of your health issues might be originating.

There are many wonderful healing methodologies available for your health concerns. But no matter which one you decide to pursue, there are fundamental building blocks to good health that need to be present. Without them good health is an impossible goal. With them almost any health challenge can be helped. They are the foundation on which any other protocol must rest to restore health and wellbeing.

Now these tips are pretty basic – but you would be surprised how many people go to all sorts of extreme lengths for various treatments, spending loads of money on the latest and greatest supplements, and lose themselves in the pages of Dr. Google, but neglect these basic principles. These tips are 100% within your control – they don’t require anyone to do anything to you or prescribe anything for you. Knowledge is power, and consistent, empowered action will heal you.

1. Be aware of your food sensitivities

Our body uses food for fuel – it is the foundation of good health – without putting the right fuel in our body – nothing else is bound to be effective. Food sensitivities can cause different reactions from severe to mild. They can impact energy levels, pain, mood, and inflammation.

• Be aware of your food sensitivities – even the seemingly mild ones
• Follow the 4-Day Elimination/Rotation Diet
• Eliminate junk foods, fast food, drinks & processed foods
• Limit caffeine (if you need coffee have it 1.5 h after a meal)
• Limit or eliminate alcoholic beverages
• Limit Candida-promoting foods (sugar, yeast, white flour, vinegar)
• Avoid GMO foods
• Eat Organic Foods (when able)
• Eat naturally fermented foods regularly as a natural probiotic
• Filter drinking water.

2. Eliminate Household Toxins

Scented products, cleaners & toiletries are a concoction of chemicals that are neurological toxins, carcinogens and hormone disruptors. Eliminate them completely from your life.

These get absorbed directly through your skin, get stored in fat cells and others are inhaled and go directly to the brain and respiratory system from where they wreak havoc on your health.

Indoor mold growth is a major health hazard.  Mold mycotoxins are toxic to our nervous system. Most mycotoxins are also cytotoxic meaning they disrupt cellular structures and processes. A plethora of health issues result from toxic mold exposure.  Simply cleaning the mold with bleach is not enough as this only cleans away the surface mold, not what may be growing under the floors or behind the walls. Mold killers alone aren’t the answer. Even dead mold is still toxic. Professional bioremediation is the beginning of a medical detox program.

• Eliminate scented air freshener (car or home)
• Eliminate scented deodorant
• Eliminate Scented lotions/creams
• Eliminate Scented soaps, body wash
• Eliminate scented shampoo, hair products
• Eliminate perfume, cologne,
• Eliminate scented laundry detergent
• Eliminate scented fabric softener
• Eliminate scented cleaning products
• Eliminate cosmetics with toxins
• Wash and air-out newly purchased items before use
• Eliminate use of Raid, mothballs and any pescticide, herbicides or fungicides
• Never heat food in plastic containers – use glass
• Use air filter for bathing, washing and cooking.  If you don’t filter your water your body becomes the water filter.
• Remediate indoor mold problems

3. Reduce electromagnetic exposure

The most vulnerable organs that can be affected are the brain, heart, testicles, and ovaries.  Evidence now supports that cell phones may cause brain tumors, cancer of the eye, salivary glands,  testicles, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and Alzheimer’s. Other effects of EMR are insomnia, tinnitus, headaches, tremors, cataracts, dizziness, ‘spacey’ feeling, nausea, irregular rapid heartbeat, feelings of irritation and anxiety. The most vulnerable to electromagnetic radiation stress are babies, children, pregnant women and the elderly.

• Don’t sleep with a cellphone near your body.
• Use Ethernet, not wireless
• Do not keep your cell phone on your body or to your ear.
• Do not put computers or ipads on your lap
• Eliminate electronics (TV, phone, computer, plugged in items) from the bedroom
• Don’t use cordless phones as they are powerful transmitters of EMF
• Do take regular breaks when working on your computer
• Don’t use an electric blanket/bed
• Keep computers a minimum 30cm away from your chest at a desk
• Turn modem off at night

Our body and our home is the terrain in which health or illness lives. By removing these common, but easy to avoid blockages to health,  and creating habits that enhance health, we are creating an inner and outer environment where health & wellbeing, not illness, can thrive.

When I immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1972 at age 27 I had 17 white fillings.  The dentist at the university dental school in Toronto who examined me told me white fillings were inferior and replaced all 17 fillings with ‘state of the art’ mercury amalgam. Within about a half a year I started to feel sick.  I developed headaches. I wasn’t clear in my mind and felt foggy. Several months later, I experienced symptoms of nervousness, irritability, outbursts for no specific reason, poor concentration, tiredness, weakness, shaking, and trembling inside, ringing in the ears, dizziness. My allergy symptoms increased; Chemicals started to bother me also.  I could not figure out what was happening and had tears of frustration.

As I continued my alternative medical training I began to learn about how toxic mercury is. I decided to have my amalgams removed. Unfortunately the dentist had no training in how to do this safely and as I was not a dentist, I did not know what the proper procedure was. He told me some of the teeth were damaged and would need root canals. I accepted his explanation and ended up with white fillings but also 11 root canals.

Later, I changed to an IAOMT dentist. He discovered that the mercury vapor readings in my mouth were off the charts. Could something have happened as a result of my last dental operation? I called the dentist who had performed my root canals and he told me that filled up all my root canals with amalgam. My heart sank. Then I was furious. But I was assured that this is a common standard dental practice.

I finally had the mercury removed from my roots and had those teeth extracted.  I came home and followed up with the detoxification supplement protocol and vitamin C IV. Before going to sleep, I noticed that I no longer had the brain fog that I had had for the past several years. It was such a relief. I was 62. It took 35 years to fully resolve my tooth-health issues.

You are probably thinking: you’re a medical doctor so how could you be so dumb with your teeth? You see, at that time, I was the patient and so I trusted that my practitioners knew what they were doing. I tell you my story so you can be an aware and informed client.  Here are 3 main areas to be aware of.

1. Teeth are Connected to Your Body

According to acupuncture, each tooth is connected to a particular organ, vertabrae & gland via a meridian channel

Infection, an abcsess  or toxicity from dental material in a tooth can transfer disease to its corresponding organ, creating cascading health problems that can lead to degenerative illness.

• 5 Harmful Effects of Mercury Fillings on Your Overall Health

Effects on the Nervous System: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, disorder of gait, depression, anxiety, poor concentration, nervousness, irritability, aggressiveness, restlessness, dizziness, disorders of the memory, multiple sclerosis, autism, paralysis, neuralgia, visual disorders (tunnel vision), speech disorders, muscle spasms, tinnitus,  tiredness, weakness, loss of drive, weakness of  muscles.

Effects on Hormones: Contributes to impaired adrenal, thyroid and insulin function. Hormone disrupting . The impact on this system contributes to diabetes, infertility and cancer.

Effects on the Skin: Alopecia, eczema, different skin reactions and excessive sweating.

Effects on the Immune System: Increases susceptibility for infections, contributes to allergies, autoimmune disorders and cancer

Effects on the Gastrointestinal System: Kidney damage, paradentosis, gingival bleeding, metallic taste, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, ulcerative colitis,

The removal of amalgam (mercury) fillings must be done by a qualified IAOMT Dentist along with a specific supplement protocol to assist the body in removing the stores of mercury.

• Why Root Canals Can Be a Problem

By harboring bacteria that continuously release toxins into the body, root canal teeth weaken the body and contribute to degenerative diseases.

The problem is that even the most thorough procedures fail to completely remove the infection in an infected tooth/root.  This is because teeth are mostly made up of denitn, a hard material made of tiny tubules which transports liquid nutrients.  When a tooth is infected, the bacteria get into these tubules and become inaccessible during root canal therapy even with follow up antibiotic treatment.  The bacteria become locked in and continue to fester, leading to abscesses.

These toxins escape through the periodontal membrane and pass into the blood stream and lymphatic system and then on to other areas of the body.  Not only does a root canal tooth always remain infected, but this infection can contribute to a number of degenerate diseases, mainly of the heart, kidney , and joints.

Sooner or later, all root canals get abscesses. You might consider seeing a dentist trained in biological dentistry who has experience with cleaning out bacteria from dental pockets. The best alternative might be to have the tooth pulled. Be sure to seek qualified dental advice on the best course of action.

So, how about your? Is it your teeth?

Have you had root canals, mercury fillings or recurrent problems with your teeth? Do you get regular dental care? Many health issues, small and large, can be related to your teeth.

• Head and neck pain
• Rheumatism
• Cancer
• MS and other autoimmune disorders
• Sinusitis
• Hormonal problems
• Tinnitus
• Heart disease
• Anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, fog
• Muscle spasms, twitching, shaking
• Diarrhea and GI issues
• Hormonal imbalance
• Exhaustion
• Dizziness
• Weak immune system

What can cause 75 systemic diseases due to pathology in the jaw bone and /or teeth? These common dental issues:

• Bridges, Dentures, Implants
• Mercury amalgams and other toxic materials used in dental work
• Galvanic currents (electricity created between the metal fillings, crowns and gums leading to mercury staining of the gums)
• Decay (cavities) usually created by excess sugar and bacteria creating plaque
• Root canals & infections of the teeth and gums

Dental health is vitally important to overall health. I often tell my clients they have to get their teeth looked after before they can do any work with me. Even a highly knowledgeable health practitioner, with the most innovative and effective tools, recommending the highest quality supplements with the best intentions and the most willing and protocol-compliant client, cannot make significant headway in healing anyone if the clients dental health is problematic. I experienced these health issues myself, and I do not wish that experience on anyone – and that is why I am so adamant about proper dental health for my clients.

When your dad is Dr. Jozef Krop you grow up immersed in understanding and doing what makes you healthy.  If I wasn’t my dad’s daughter – I don’t know if I would have come to know the basic principles of health so easily. 

I’m healthy because we lived the principles of environmental health growing up.  So let me share what that is – so you can have the same benefits.

1. No sugar. My dad was super strict about this. We were the family of no dessert. My grandma thought this was crazy and would sneak kitkats in her purse for us to rummage though. But generally on a day to day basis – we did not eat sweets of any kind. We never drank pop.  Mixing watered down cranberry juice with orange juice was considered a treat. We drank water or herbal tea. 
2. No Junk food.  Snacks were apples or celery. My mom would cut an apple to look like a sunshine. I’m still partial to cutting my apples like this today. It’s not that we didn’t eat junk food or sugary things when we were at friends’ houses or kids’ birthday parties – we did. But at home that food was just not kept in the house at all.
3. No white bread. We ate the German style rye bread. We were not gluten free at that point in time, but I don’t remember eating a lot of bread in general.
4. No scented products. That meant no air fresheners. No perfume. No scented lotions. No scented cleaners. No scented laundry products.  It was a bit tough to navigate the perfume craze as a teen with this restriction – but I knew that perfume gave me bad headaches and brain fog – so it was not that hard to stick to this.  I can only imagine what meds I’d be on had I not known the cause of my headaches. 
5. No Toxic Exposure.  My dad would petition the school to not paint during the school year (wait till summer) so that students (all children – not just us) would not be exposed to harmful fumes. He railed against the use of smelly markers in class. He brought flyers about pesticide dangers to our neighbours who sprayed their lawns.  Before my parents implemented whole house water filtration, my dad would specially fill the baby tub with filtered drinking water to bathe the babies.  Our home always had an extra air filter on the furnace. We were already toxin-free but my dad still filtered the air because outdoor toxins come indoors.

Anytime we got furniture, or clothes or toys – they’d go through the smell check. If they were at all stinky with chemicals (and most of them were) – they’d immediately be washed or off-gassed or sealed.  To this day I still use a toxin-free sealant on all my furniture so I don’t get off-gassing in my home.

When I was looking for my first off-campus housing in college the first thing my dad told me was, “Make sure the house is mold-free and safe – use your nose!”

If we were around some toxic fumes – like driving behind a stinky car, or driving my a farm that was being sprayed with pesticides, or smelling diesel fumes when on a plane – my parents would give us lots of Vitamin C or Alka Seltzer to counter the toxicity.  Some moms keep gum in their purse – mine kept AlkaSeltzer.

6. We ate according to the Rotation Diet. Basically all foods are divided into 4 days’ worth of groupings. It is a rotation of foods meant to prevent food sensitivities from forming.  Our favourite day was “beef” day – that was spaghetti, meatballs, cheese, sauce was on the menu.  “Fish” day was not so popular and I admire my mom for concocting lunches we’d actually be able to eat school without garnering too much attention for our weird food.

I don’t remember taking many supplements as a kid – except when the we’d start to get the flu – our family remedy is: oregano oil, loads of vitamin C, loads of vitamin D, zinc, garlic, magnesium, vitamin A – as soon as you feel a tickle in your throat.  I think I get a bad flu maybe once every 4 years. I have never gotten the flu shot. If we were sick, my dad would chase us around the house to get a throat swab – because he needed to check if it was something bacterial or not to prevent the use of unnecessary antibiotics.

If anyone of us had a bad mood – acting out, being moody – the first thing my parent would ask was – “What did you eat? Have you been exposed to?”  It made us aware of the impact foods and toxins have on our health – which included symptoms like headaches,  rages, and crying spells. When I was a teacher from 2000-2010 I would see so many kids who’d act out.  Screaming and kicking. When you have lunchroom duty you see what kids are eating – a lot of it is processed, sugary foods. You smell the fabric softener on their clothes or the perfumey scent of their personal care products. It always upset me because some slight changes  – no sugar, no junk, no scents – could have a profound impact on improving these kids behaviour – because it wasn’t their behavior that was the problem – it was the neurotoxic effect of foods and chemicals. It was sad because it didn’t have to be that way – but environmentally aware way of living is out of most people’s paradigm and certainly not on the radar of the school behaviour assessment committees.

I really think my good health as an adult is 100% because of my dad implementing these healthy living principles as part of our family life. It’s not that hard to do. The environment we create to live in is the single most important thing we can do for being and staying healthy.

🙂 Joanna

Detox is much more than doing cleanses.  It’s understanding the relationship between toxicity and stress – and the impacts of that on your physical, mental and emotional health.

Please read about this in the article Dr. Krop recently wrote for Vitality Magazine

ENERGIZE YOUR SPRING DETOX: Banish the 7 Stressors That Sabotage Wellbeing