The UltraMind Solution (120 page)

4.
Allergens (foods, molds, dust, pollens, and chemicals)

5.
Microbes or bugs (bacteria, yeast, parasites, viruses, prions, etc.)

The Good Stuff

This is what you need to add to your diet, lifestyle, and environment to rebalance your systems.

1.
High-quality food (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, phytonutrients)

2.
Vitamins, minerals, and conditionally essential nutrients (and occasionally bioidentical hormones)

3.
Water, air, and light

4.
Exercise/movement

5.
Sleep

6.
Deep relaxation

7.
Rhythm

8.
Love, community, connection, meaning, and purpose

Much of this is incorporated into the basic six-week UltraMind Solution outlined in Part III. In fact, it is remarkable that by simply eating whole fresh foods, taking a few essential supplements, and getting some exercise, restful sleep, and deep relaxation, the core systems of the body can reset, recover, repair, and heal.

In the six-week plan, most of the bad stuff is removed and nearly all of the good stuff is recommended. The body’s wisdom then rebalances your whole system.

 

Occasionally, a few additional steps are necessary to correct more serious problems such as intestinal infections or heavy metal poisoning. But up to 80 percent of your problems may be taken care of by the basic six-week UltraMind Solution.

In some cases, when key systems are really out of balance, it’s necessary to add these few additional steps. That is what I am going to teach you to do here. In each chapter you will find:

The Self-Care Plan

1.
Foods
—A list of additional foods you should focus on integrating into your diet to help optimize each key (I have included this only in cases where there are specific foods you should incorporate
in addition
to what is on the six-week program).

2.
Supplements
—Supplements you can add to help you optimize each key.
Note:
If you are out of balance in several keys, it may seem like there are a lot of supplements to take. However, it isn’t as overwhelming as it seems. I have created a special checklist for supplements that makes it very easy to understand what to take. It is in
The UltraMind Solution Companion Guide
at
www.ultramind.com/guide
.

3.
Lifestyle Changes
—Lifestyle changes that may assist you in key optimization.

The Medical Care Plan

1.
Doctor Actions
—A list of action items you can take with your doctor’s assistance.

2.
Doctor Guidelines
—Guidelines on specific treatments that your doctor may use, such as hormones or metal detoxification.

Go back to your quiz scores and identify which keys you need to work through. Then simply follow the Self-Care or the Medical Care plans, depending on how you scored.

(You can find printable copies of all the quizzes in
The UltraMind Solution Companion Guide.
Go to
www.ultramind.com/guide
for more information.)

Many people will score high in several key areas. This is because your body is one ecosystem—when one system goes out of balance it can send the others out of balance as well.

 

If you score high in several keys, start the six-week program and integrate steps to optimize each key in the following order:

1.
Fix your digestion—it’s amazing how many problems can be resolved by fixing your gut. Start here and you may witness miraculous changes in your health.

2.
Cool off inflammation—this key is intimately related to the gut and the next natural step to take.

3.
Optimize nutrition.

4.
Enhance detoxification.

5.
Balance your hormones.

6.
Boost energy metabolism.

7.
Calm your mind.

Wait three days to begin working on a new key. For example, if you scored high on the “Fatty Acids” quiz, the “Insulin” quiz, and the “Gut” quiz, you would start the six-week program and begin working in the steps in chapter 25 to fix your digestion. After three days, you could begin integrating the steps in chapter 22 to enhance your phospholipids. Then, after three more days, you could begin integrating the steps in chapter 23 to improve your insulin balance.

A SPECIAL NOTE ON MEDICAL CARE AND TESTING

Up to 80 percent of people will recover and thrive by following the six-week UltraMind Solution in Part III with a few additional steps for Self-Care in Part IV. However, the other 20 percent will need further care.

If you don’t get significantly better following the UltraMind Solution and the Self-Care plan in this section, then you may need some laboratory tests and further medical treatment. I have outlined this in
The UltraMind Solution Companion Guide
(
www.ultramind.com/guide
). To do those tests and get the treatment you need, you will need to find an experienced practitioner of Functional or Integrative Medicine. I will offer some options in the Resources, or you can visit our team at
The UltraWellness Center
in Lenox, Massachusetts (
www.ultrawellnesscenter.com
).

Most tests I recommend in my practice are available through conventional large commercial labs such as Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp. Others are small, specialty labs that specialize in metabolic, immune, nutritional, or functional testing.

There is still great controversy in conventional medical circles about the utility of these laboratory tests, but I have used them successfully for over twenty years in treating patients.

I have used these tests on thousands of patients to help me navigate this new medical territory with great success. They are often imperfect and may not always give clear yes or no answers.

Rather, many of these tests identify disturbances in function, not pathology. In other words, you may not have anemia from lack of folate, but you might have any number of important pathways that are jammed because you don’t have enough folate for you—leading to depression, dementia, autism, or ADHD.

The tests I recommend can often help me identify patterns and guide me in choosing the best therapies to help my patients regain balance. I think they can help you and your doctor the same way.

While testing isn’t always necessary, it can be very helpful in honing in on specific imbalances in your biochemistry that are creating problems for you.

In the guide I explain exactly which tests to use to identify deeper imbalances in each of the seven keys. They will help you work with your physician to find the cause of your problems.

Practicing Self-Care

I believe in self-care. Take back your health from the medical system. Leave your diseases to the “disease care” system. Most health problems can be addressed without the help of a trained health professional. If you work on taking out the bad stuff and putting in the good stuff, 80 percent of problems will heal.

For the other 20 percent you need the help of a trained professional in
Functional or Integrative Medicine, or a conventional medical specialist, depending on the problem.

 

Part IV of the UltraMind Solution is designed to help you regain control of your health and your health care. I know I can help you achieve that goal.

CHAPTER 22
KEY #1: OPTIMIZE NUTRITION

——————

Hippocrates said thousands of years ago that doctors should “leave their potions in the chemist’s crucible if they heal their patients with food.” Because of our widespread nutrient deficiencies, I would add “. . . heal their patients with food
and
nutrients.”

By far, the most powerful tool I have to help my patients heal—more powerful than any medication—is food (and nutritional therapy).

 

Remember . . .

1.
You must all have essential fats—DHA, EPA, and PC and PS for your brain and every one of your 100 trillion cells to function well.

2.
Amino acids are the building blocks of moods, thought, and memory—get them tuned up.

3.
Keep the methylation and sulfation trains running with the right types and amounts of folate, B
12
, B
6
, and betaine, and sources of sulfur in the diet and supplements (see
chapter 6
).

4.
Most of us are vitamin D–deficient. Getting enough on board will help your brain and prevent many diseases.

5.
Magnesium is the major relaxation mineral.

6.
Zinc and selenium are absolutely critical for a happy, healthy brain and body.

Using the basic program, you can take care of most of your needs. However, in some cases people need additional support, especially with phospholipids and neurotransmitters.

Self-Care Plan

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