Functional Medicine is the key to management of this debilitating syndrome. Most of us don’t learn how to manage our energy and bodies well. We use drugs – sugar, caffeine, alcohol, adrenalin, or worse – to manage our energy and moods. Most of us don’t connect our behaviors and choices with how we feel every day. We don’t connect what we eat, how much we rest and sleep, how much we exercise, how much time we make for connecting with friends and community, or the kinds of media and news we watch with how we feel every day. It all starts with your mitochondria. And the energy currency is the ATP. Mitochondria are like tiny factories that turn food and oxygen into energy. In each cell, there are hundreds to thousands of these little energy factories. They exist in greater numbers in active organs and tissues, like the muscles, heart and brain. Simply put, the mitochondria are where metabolism happens. The role of your metabolism is to take the oxygen you breathe and the food you eat and process it to make energy, the fuel for life. If Mitochondria aren’t working properly, you suffer all the symptoms of low energy — fatigue, memory loss, pain, rapid aging. The biggest toxins, infections, allergens and stress as well as eating too much high-calorie, low-nutrient food — in short, too many “empty calories.” When food is burned or metabolized with oxygen in the mitochondria, your body produces waste in the form of free radicals, which create a chain reaction of rusting, or oxidation. Unless you have enough antioxidants in your diet or you make enough in your body, you can’t protect yourself from the damage to your mitochondria. So when you eat empty calories — such as sugar, flour and processed foods that don’t have the high antioxidant levels of fruits and vegetables — you produce too many free radicals that tip the balance and start a chain reaction of cellular and tissue damage that destroys your mitochondria and, thus, your life force. 

So now you know what can damage your mitochondria. Here’s how to protect them.

Treatment protocols for CFS/Fibromyalgia

  1. 1. Minimize your intake of processed food, junk food, sugar, empty calories, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and other chemical food additives.
  2. 2. Address inflammation. Chronic, smoldering inflammation slowly destroys our organs and our ability for optimal functioning, and leads to rapid aging.
  3. 3. Address occult medical conditions. Lyme disease, hidden gut infections, heavy metal poisoning and adrenal fatigue are all root causes of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. 
  4. 4. Take mitochondria-protective and energy-boosting nutrients. These include acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, n-acetyl-cysteine, resveratrol and magnesium. 
  5. 5. Increase omega-3 fats to help build your mitochondrial membranes. Coldwater fish, such as wild salmon, sardines and herring, are good sources of omega-3 fats, as are flaxseeds and omega-3 eggs. 
  6. Sleep Hygiene: We have a second national debt crisis — sleep debt. 
  7. Detox
  8. IV Nutritional protocol: Nutrient IV therapy can instantly infuse every cell in the body’s system with a powerful dose of nutrients, rapidly replenishing health and revitalizing the body: Immune Support, Gut Support, Allergy Support, Detox, Mental Health Support, Mitochondrial Support, Heart Health.