On today’s show, we have the absolute pleasure to sit down with nutritional therapist Marek Doyle. Marek has a mind-blowing understanding of nutrition and biochemistry. He takes an objective view of the physiological processes that occur in our bodies and uses this approach to know how to intervene and correct them through nutrition so that the body can thrive. Marek recently gave a paper at the Health Optimization Summit in London called The Adrenal Immune Cycle, which is basically what he speaks about today. Adrenal fatigue is not a sickness but rather the name given to a huge array of symptoms which all have some connection to the adrenal system.

Marek lays out the chain reactions that occur inside us which are responsible for causing adrenal fatigue, speaking about the fundamental connections between endotoxins, inflammation, neurotransmitters, energy, and stress. Along the way, he points out different supplements that can be taken which will greatly increase the body’s capacity to cope with these imbalances and stop domino effect cycles. The cycles Marek lays out are beautiful in their codependency, and he makes fascinating points about how the same symptom could be caused by many different processes, and how one cycle can affect another. This is an unmissable conversation so grab a pen and tune in.

Today’s show was sponsored by FreshPressed olive oil, so head over to freshpressedoliveoil.com and get a 500ml bottle for only a dollar by using the discount code ‘getfresh35’.

 

Timestamps:

• Marek diagnoses interlinking bodily systems and their role in causing illness. [3:18]
• The tendency for people to ignore compounded symptoms until it’s too late. [6:50]
• Types of tests Marek runs on his patients to diagnose them. [8:08]
• A definition of the Organic Acids Test: a urine test that reads body status. [9:51]
• How Marek focuses on removing obstacles rather than treating symptoms. [13:22]
• Which of the 73 imbalanced markers Marek starts with after testing. [14:40]
• Marek checks inhibitors to energy and neurotransmitter firing initially after testing. [15:19]
• How magnesium rectifies healthy neural firing and reduces stress. [15:36]
• What the two primary neurotransmitters are, and how they work. [15:56]
• Where glutathione issues typically come from: mold exposure. [18:44]
• The connection between drying washing indoors and high mold in households. [19:49]
• Rather than referring to sickness, adrenal fatigue refers to a lump of symptoms. [22:00]
• The typical symptoms of adrenal fatigue such as weakness and poor sleep. [22:30]
• Why the adrenals have been linked to the symptoms of adrenal fatigue. [24:13]
• The plight of adrenal fatigue sufferers who can’t find a cure: ‘desperation medicine’. [24:34]
• Why to study the physiology behind adrenal fatigue: recognizing ‘endotoxemia’. [25:16]
• How bacterial fragments move from the gut into the circulation causing inflammation. [25:39]
• The cause of the release of mycotoxins from the gut to the blood: leaky gut. [28:11]
• Symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue are caused by inflammation. [28:16]
• Causes of paracellular permeability and trans-cellular permeability. [30:03]
• The role of the hypothalamus in causing endotoxemia. [31:20]
• Vitamins that regulate immune response to inflammation: vitamin A, D, and butyrate. [32:59]
• Why prescribing Vitamin A, D, butyrate, and folate is not a cure-all. [34:12]
• The other ways that stress can cause inflammation and vice versa. [36:28]
• Mitochondrial function, the prefrontal cortex and limbic response in amplifying stress. [37:26]
• The reciprocal relationship between stress and energy. [39:40]
• Why hormone supplements shouldn’t be the route to take. [42:29]
• Reasons why testosterone might be low: poor production, pituitary hormones, etc. [43:55]
• The central role of assessing sleep cycles in Marek’s diagnostic process. [46:15]
• Why so many people wake up to urinate at night. [47:16]
• Cycles which contribute to shallow sleep. [49:01]
• The domino effect of inflammation raised glutamate, and low magnesium in stopping sleep. [52:07]
• How the sympathetic nervous system overdrive takes precedence and ‘housework’ falls by the wayside. [52:07]
• Whether people should be eating oxalates or not. [56:17]
• Foundational supplements for Marek: multivitamins, vitamin C, and magnesium. [1:02:32]
• Whether people should take methylation support and fish oil.