Tom Nikkola | VIGOR Training

By Tom Nikkola | VIGOR TrainingHealth & Fitness Nutrition Mental Health Fitness

Tom Nikkola | VIGOR Training episodes

October 06, 2020 Why are my muscles so tight?
Whether you’re a couch potato or a fitness fanatic, all of us deal with tight, stiff muscles from time to time.
But what causes muscle tightness? Is it good or bad? What exercises, therapies, or muscle rubs reduce muscle tightness?
What is muscle tightness?
When most people describe “tight muscles,” they mean they have restricted movement. They have reduced flexibility, mobility, or both.
Flexibility is a passive range of motion around a joint. For example, you could assess your hamstrings' flexibility by standing up, locking your knees, bending at the hips, and allowing gravity to draw your upper body toward your toes. Or, a massage therapist could move your leg around your hip joint while you remain relaxed on the table.
Mobility is an active range of motion around a joint. Using your hamstrings as an example again, you could test your hamstrings' mobility at your hip joint by doing Romanian Deadlifts. You actively lower your upper body toward the floor while holding onto a barbell, and then actively contract your hamstrings to stand back up again.
Mobility has a more "real world" application, as it determines how well you move while your muscles are under tension. If you can move through a full range of motion while your muscles remain under stress, you'll reduce your risk of an injury.
Women usually have a better range of motion compared to men, but they have a lower pain threshold. They likely have less muscle stiffness but could experience similar pain as men who have stiffer muscles.
Why is this important? Because something like the pain of delayed onset muscle soreness could be more significant in women even if their training program isn't as intense.
Causes of Tight Muscles
A variety of factors contribute to tight muscles, including a lack of use, misuse, and overuse.
In some cases, the tightness is short-lived. In others, it can be long-term unless you deal with it. Though you could feel stiff in almost any area of the body, you're most likely to feel tight in your back, hips, and neck.
Poor posture
Your body adapts to your environment. If you sit at a desk with your shoulders hiked up, shoulders and head pulled forward, your back rounded, and legs at a 90° angle at your hips and knees all day, you'll develop tightness in your:
upper back and neck (traps)
chest (pecs)
front of your hips (hip flexors)
backs of your legs (hamstrings)
calves (gastrocnemius and soleus)
This posture contributes to aches and pains in your head, neck, shoulders, low back, and knees. It’s as if all of the muscle groups in your body cause you to slouch forward like an old man or woman.
When I design the workouts for VIGOR Training, I emphasize pulling movements and glute work to correct some of the postural imbalances created from so much sitting.
Sadly, I suspect many children learning in front of a computer during this COVID Circus will develop horrendous posture that could follow them throughout their lives.
Injuries
I ruptured my bicep tendon in 2014. I did everything I could to enhance my recovery after surgery and got back to regular lifting in half the time the surgeon said it would take.
Still, I experience occasional tightness in my bicep and surrounding muscles occasionally.
When you get injured, the injury changes the way your muscles function. Surrounding muscles compensate for the injured ones. Your movement patterns change to work around the injury.
All of these factors can cause tightness in non-injured muscles.
Poor sleep positions
I sleep on my stomach. I realize that'll make some chiropractors and physical therapists cringe, but it's how I sleep the best.
Though stomach-sleeping isn't good for your neck, it's more problematic when you have a limited range of motion in your cervical spine.
Your pillow and mattress also affect whether you wake up refreshed and mobile, or stiff and in pain.
Vanessa likes a soft mattress.
11 min
October 06, 2020 Why are my muscles so tight?
Whether you’re a couch potato or a fitness fanatic, all of us deal with tight, stiff muscles from time to time.
But what causes muscle tightness? Is it good or bad? What exercises, therapies, or muscle rubs reduce muscle tightness?
What is muscle tightness?
When most people describe “tight muscles,” they mean they have restricted movement. They have reduced flexibility, mobility, or both.
Flexibility is a passive range of motion around a joint. For example, you could assess your hamstrings' flexibility by standing up, locking your knees, bending at the hips, and allowing gravity to draw your upper body toward your toes. Or, a massage therapist could move your leg around your hip joint while you remain relaxed on the table.
Mobility is an active range of motion around a joint. Using your hamstrings as an example again, you could test your hamstrings' mobility at your hip joint by doing Romanian Deadlifts. You actively lower your upper body toward the floor while holding onto a barbell, and then actively contract your hamstrings to stand back up again.
Mobility has a more "real world" application, as it determines how well you move while your muscles are under tension. If you can move through a full range of motion while your muscles remain under stress, you'll reduce your risk of an injury.
Women usually have a better range of motion compared to men, but they have a lower pain threshold. They likely have less muscle stiffness but could experience similar pain as men who have stiffer muscles.
Why is this important? Because something like the pain of delayed onset muscle soreness could be more significant in women even if their training program isn't as intense.
Causes of Tight Muscles
A variety of factors contribute to tight muscles, including a lack of use, misuse, and overuse.
In some cases, the tightness is short-lived. In others, it can be long-term unless you deal with it. Though you could feel stiff in almost any area of the body, you're most likely to feel tight in your back, hips, and neck.
Poor posture
Your body adapts to your environment. If you sit at a desk with your shoulders hiked up, shoulders and head pulled forward, your back rounded, and legs at a 90° angle at your hips and knees all day, you'll develop tightness in your:
upper back and neck (traps)chest (pecs)front of your hips (hip flexors)backs of your legs (hamstrings)calves (gastrocnemius and soleus)
This posture contributes to aches and pains in your head, neck, shoulders, low back, and knees. It’s as if all of the muscle groups in your body cause you to slouch forward like an old man or woman.
When I design the workouts for VIGOR Training, I emphasize pulling movements and glute work to correct some of the postural imbalances created from so much sitting.
Sadly, I suspect many children learning in front of a computer during this COVID Circus will develop horrendous posture that could follow them throughout their lives.
Injuries
I ruptured my bicep tendon in 2014. I did everything I could to enhance my recovery after surgery and got back to regular lifting in half the time the surgeon said it would take.
Still, I experience occasional tightness in my bicep and surrounding muscles occasionally.
When you get injured, the injury changes the way your muscles function. Surrounding muscles compensate for the injured ones. Your movement patterns change to work around the injury.
All of these factors can cause tightness in non-injured muscles.
Poor sleep positions
I sleep on my stomach. I realize that'll make some chiropractors and physical therapists cringe, but it's how I sleep the best.
Though stomach-sleeping isn't good for your neck, it's more problematic when you have a limited range of motion in your cervical spine.
Your pillow and mattress also affect whether you wake up refreshed and mobile, or stiff and in pain.
Vanessa likes a soft mattress. I like it firm.
11 min
September 10, 2020 Should I get a flu shot? Pros, cons, and facts you should know.
Should I get a flu shot? Based on the advertising every fall, it would seem that you should. But is the focus on flu shots supported by facts?
The majority of people I know don't get the flu shot. But across the population, avoiding the flu shot could be more the exception than the rule.
If you're for or against the flu shot or stuck on the fence, this blog post will give you some crucial points to consider.
Adults ought to make their own informed decisions about their health and the health of their families. That's especially the case today, now that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of the discussion.
Unfortunately, most people are not informed.
Influenza-Like Illness
The flu begins as a respiratory infection. More than 200 viruses can cause Influenza-Like Illness (ILI). The influenza virus can cause ILI, but so can many other viruses.
Per the CDC, flu symptoms include:
Flu SymptomsCongestion or runny noseCoughDiarrheaFatigue and weaknessFever or chillsHeadacheMuscle or body achesNausea or vomitingSore throat
How does that compare to COVID-19 symptoms? Again, from the CDC, COVID-19 symptoms include:
COVID-19 SymptomsCongestion or runny noseCoughDiarrheaFatigue or weaknessFever or chillsHeadacheMuscle or body achesNausea or vomitingNew loss of taste or smell
They look pretty similar, don't they? With so many people exposed to the COVID-19 virus today, many doctors will undoubtedly diagnose patients with COVID-19 instead of the flu, even though they would have had the flu even if they weren't carrying the COVID-19 virus.
Like COVID-19, certain people are at greater risk for severe flu cases, including those who:
Are elderly and immunocompromised
Are obese
Have diabetes
Have heart disease
Have asthma
If you're over the age of 40, when you were a kid and got the flu, you probably stayed home from school for a day or two, watched boring daytime TV, and drank Sprite while lying on the couch, under a blanket.
You knew that getting sick once in a while was just part of living. You didn't live in fear of the flu.
Today, marketing and political and financial interests have created a massive fear about a common illness.
And with COVID-19 in the picture, the promotion of panic is at a whole other level.
How Does the Flu Vaccine Work?
You might think the flu shot gives you some superpower to combat the flu. That's not how it works.
The flu shot doesn't guarantee you'll avoid the flu. It reduces the likelihood you'll get it, only if you get infected by the same strain the vaccine contains.
When someone says, "I've gotten the flu shot for ten years in a row, and I haven't gotten the flu one time," their avoidance of the flu and getting the flu shot could be pure coincidence.
"When someone says, "I've never gotten the flu shot, and I never get the flu," that could also be a coincidence.
When someone says, "I got the flu shot, and the next day I felt like I had the flu," that could most definitely be the result of the flu shot.
Influenza viruses cause influenza-like illness in only 7-15% of cases. Other viruses that cause influenza-like illness include:
respiratory syncytial virus, which causes a respiratory infection
rhinovirus, which causes the common cold
adenovirus, which causes bronchitis and other illnesses
parainfluenza viruses, which also cause the common cold
human coronaviruses, which cause SARS and COVID-19
human metapneumovirus, which also causes respiratory infections
Without getting tested for the flu, it's impossible to know whether someone has "the flu," or an infection that leads to symptoms like the flu. The flu vaccine does not prevent infection from any of these other viruses.
Influenza A, B, and C and the Vaccine
The viruses that cause the majority of ILI come from one of two groups, Influenza A and Influenza B. There's also Influenza C. Many different strains of viruses make up each group.
26 min
September 10, 2020 Should I get a flu shot? Pros, cons, and facts you should know.
Should I get a flu shot? Based on the advertising every fall, it would seem that you should. But is the focus on flu shots supported by facts?
The majority of people I know don't get the flu shot. But across the population, avoiding the flu shot could be more the exception than the rule.
If you're for or against the flu shot or stuck on the fence, this blog post will give you some crucial points to consider.
Adults ought to make their own informed decisions about their health and the health of their families. That's especially the case today, now that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of the discussion.
Unfortunately, most people are not informed.
Influenza-Like Illness
The flu begins as a respiratory infection. More than 200 viruses can cause Influenza-Like Illness (ILI). The influenza virus can cause ILI, but so can many other viruses.
Per the CDC, flu symptoms include:
Flu SymptomsCongestion or runny noseCoughDiarrheaFatigue and weaknessFever or chillsHeadacheMuscle or body achesNausea or vomitingSore throat
How does that compare to COVID-19 symptoms? Again, from the CDC, COVID-19 symptoms include:
COVID-19 SymptomsCongestion or runny noseCoughDiarrheaFatigue or weaknessFever or chillsHeadacheMuscle or body achesNausea or vomitingNew loss of taste or smell
They look pretty similar, don't they? With so many people exposed to the COVID-19 virus today, many doctors will undoubtedly diagnose patients with COVID-19 instead of the flu, even though they would have had the flu even if they weren't carrying the COVID-19 virus.
Like COVID-19, certain people are at greater risk for severe flu cases, including those who:
Are elderly and immunocompromisedAre obeseHave diabetesHave heart diseaseHave asthma
If you're over the age of 40, when you were a kid and got the flu, you probably stayed home from school for a day or two, watched boring daytime TV, and drank Sprite while lying on the couch, under a blanket.
You knew that getting sick once in a while was just part of living. You didn't live in fear of the flu.
Today, marketing and political and financial interests have created a massive fear about a common illness.
And with COVID-19 in the picture, the promotion of panic is at a whole other level.
How Does the Flu Vaccine Work?
You might think the flu shot gives you some superpower to combat the flu. That's not how it works.
The flu shot doesn't guarantee you'll avoid the flu. It reduces the likelihood you'll get it, only if you get infected by the same strain the vaccine contains.
When someone says, "I've gotten the flu shot for ten years in a row, and I haven't gotten the flu one time," their avoidance of the flu and getting the flu shot could be pure coincidence.
"When someone says, "I've never gotten the flu shot, and I never get the flu," that could also be a coincidence.
When someone says, "I got the flu shot, and the next day I felt like I had the flu," that could most definitely be the result of the flu shot.
Influenza viruses cause influenza-like illness in only 7-15% of cases. Other viruses that cause influenza-like illness include:
respiratory syncytial virus, which causes a respiratory infectionrhinovirus, which causes the common coldadenovirus, which causes bronchitis and other illnessesparainfluenza viruses, which also cause the common coldhuman coronaviruses, which cause SARS and COVID-19human metapneumovirus, which also causes respiratory infections
Without getting tested for the flu, it's impossible to know whether someone has "the flu," or an infection that leads to symptoms like the flu. The flu vaccine does not prevent infection from any of these other viruses.
Influenza A, B, and C and the Vaccine
The viruses that cause the majority of ILI come from one of two groups, Influenza A and Influenza B. There's also Influenza C. Many different strains of viruses make up each group.
The flu viruses continuously change based on antigen...
0 min
September 07, 2020 Creatine: Health, Fitness, Performance Benefits.
If you could only choose one supplement to build muscle (assuming you already use the Foundational Five), creatine monohydrate would have to be first on the list. Yet, it does much more than build muscle.
It offers a host of health benefits, from helping to deal with depression, slowing age-related muscle loss, and enhancing athletic performance.
If you're not using it now, you could be missing out on one of the most potent (and affordable) health-promoting supplements on the planet.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a non-protein amino acid, used in high-intensity muscle contraction and brain function. You store about 95% in muscle tissue and the rest in your brain and (in men) the testes.
Short-term, high-intensity exercise relies on the phosphagen system, also called the Adenosine Triphosphate-Phosphocreatine (ATP-PC) System.
As the name suggests, adenosine triphosphate contains three phosphate molecules. Breaking the bond between phosphate and adenosine leaves you with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) plus phosphate, and releases energy to power muscle contraction.
As your muscles demand energy, they deplete stores of ATP. To continue muscle contraction, you need to find a phosphate and add it to ADP, rebuilding ATP.
Creatine phosphate donates that phosphate.
By increasing your creatine monohydrate intake, you increase your stores of creatine phosphate, which helps you complete an extra rep or two, lift more weight, or carry out intense activity longer before fatiguing.
Your kidneys, liver, and pancreas produce about one gram per day from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine.
The average non-vegetarian consumes another one to three grams per day through their diet. These amino acids are needed to synthesize creatine internally.
GroupAvg. Creatine Stores (mmol/kg dry muscle)Vegetarians90-110 mmol/kgAvg. Meat-Eater120 mmol/kgUpper Limit160 mmol/kg
Meat, fish, and poultry are the primary dietary sources.
However, even if you eat a high-protein diet, you won't eat enough meat to maximize stores in your muscles and brain. Supplementing raises storage levels by about 33%.
Creatine...
Prevents depletion of ATP
Stimulates protein synthesis
Prevents protein breakdown
Helps stabilize membranes
Acts as an antioxidant, aiding in the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
Performance Benefits
Creatine is the most-used ergogenic aid on the planet. That's not surprising since it's so effective and safe.
The effects of creatine supplementation occur after the loading phase, which saturates muscle fiber stores. Supplementation typically improves high-intensity physical performance by 10-20%.
Performance benefits are more pronounced in men than in women, mainly due to their higher muscle mass. The following are well-supported performance benefits of creatine.
Increased strength: Creatine draws fluid into muscle cells, improving muscle strength by increasing the muscle's leverage around the joint. Since you can lift more weight, the additional stress on your muscles simulates further strength gains.
A 2003 meta-analysis showed that creatine supplementation increased one-rep max (1RM) by an average of 8%, and endurance strength (maximum reps at a given percentage of 1RM) by 14%.
Increased work capacity: Creatine helps you complete more repetitions or use more weight before reaching momentary muscle fatigue by regenerating ATP. In the same way, it allows sprinters to sprint further before fatiguing, or athletes in intermittent sports like basketball or soccer to go all-out before slowing down.
Enhanced glycogen repletion: Supplementing with creatine in combination with glucose restores glycogen better than consuming glucose alone. It may also extend the period before glycogen-dependent athletes reach a state of glycogen depletion.
Reduced performance decrements from exhaustive exercise: High-volume training can eventually lead to overre...
17 min
September 07, 2020 Creatine: Health, Fitness, Performance Benefits.
If you could only choose one supplement to build muscle (assuming you already use the Foundational Five), creatine monohydrate would have to be first on the list. Yet, it does much more than build muscle.
It offers a host of health benefits, from helping to deal with depression, slowing age-related muscle loss, and enhancing athletic performance.
If you're not using it now, you could be missing out on one of the most potent (and affordable) health-promoting supplements on the planet.
What is Creatine?
Creatine is a non-protein amino acid, used in high-intensity muscle contraction and brain function. You store about 95% in muscle tissue and the rest in your brain and (in men) the testes.
Short-term, high-intensity exercise relies on the phosphagen system, also called the Adenosine Triphosphate-Phosphocreatine (ATP-PC) System.
As the name suggests, adenosine triphosphate contains three phosphate molecules. Breaking the bond between phosphate and adenosine leaves you with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) plus phosphate, and releases energy to power muscle contraction.
As your muscles demand energy, they deplete stores of ATP. To continue muscle contraction, you need to find a phosphate and add it to ADP, rebuilding ATP.
Creatine phosphate donates that phosphate.
By increasing your creatine monohydrate intake, you increase your stores of creatine phosphate, which helps you complete an extra rep or two, lift more weight, or carry out intense activity longer before fatiguing.
Your kidneys, liver, and pancreas produce about one gram per day from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine.
The average non-vegetarian consumes another one to three grams per day through their diet. These amino acids are needed to synthesize creatine internally.
GroupAvg. Creatine Stores (mmol/kg dry muscle)Vegetarians90-110 mmol/kgAvg. Meat-Eater120 mmol/kgUpper Limit160 mmol/kg
Meat, fish, and poultry are the primary dietary sources.
However, even if you eat a high-protein diet, you won't eat enough meat to maximize stores in your muscles and brain. Supplementing raises storage levels by about 33%.
Creatine...
Prevents depletion of ATPStimulates protein synthesisPrevents protein breakdownHelps stabilize membranesActs as an antioxidant, aiding in the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
Performance Benefits
Creatine is the most-used ergogenic aid on the planet. That's not surprising since it's so effective and safe.
The effects of creatine supplementation occur after the loading phase, which saturates muscle fiber stores. Supplementation typically improves high-intensity physical performance by 10-20%.
Performance benefits are more pronounced in men than in women, mainly due to their higher muscle mass. The following are well-supported performance benefits of creatine.
Increased strength: Creatine draws fluid into muscle cells, improving muscle strength by increasing the muscle's leverage around the joint. Since you can lift more weight, the additional stress on your muscles simulates further strength gains.
A 2003 meta-analysis showed that creatine supplementation increased one-rep max (1RM) by an average of 8%, and endurance strength (maximum reps at a given percentage of 1RM) by 14%.
Increased work capacity: Creatine helps you complete more repetitions or use more weight before reaching momentary muscle fatigue by regenerating ATP. In the same way, it allows sprinters to sprint further before fatiguing, or athletes in intermittent sports like basketball or soccer to go all-out before slowing down.Enhanced glycogen repletion: Supplementing with creatine in combination with glucose restores glycogen better than consuming glucose alone. It may also extend the period before glycogen-dependent athletes reach a state of glycogen depletion.Reduced performance decrements from exhaustive exercise: High-volume training can eventually lead to overreaching, or overtraining.
17 min
September 02, 2020 Gluten: The Most Pervasive And Problematic Ingredient In Today’s Diet
Is a gluten-free (GF) diet healthy? What are the symptoms of gluten intolerance? What's the difference between gluten intolerance and an allergy?
In this post, I'll address the most common questions and areas of confusion. At a time when we're more focused on inflammation and supporting our immune systems, going gluten-free offers only upside. Here's why.
Gluten Allergy, Wheat Allergy, and Sensitivities
Doctors first recognized celiac disease almost 2000 years ago, but conventional medicine has only diagnosed it during the past 100 years. They also began referencing gluten sensitivity in medical papers in 1978. The first documented cases of gluten sensitivity in children appeared in the early 1980s.
Even then, most doctors shrugged off the connection between food and a patient's health problems.
2011 was a turning point. A group of medical experts convened to discuss non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
That same year, Dr. William Davis published his book Wheat Belly. Through his writing, millions of people recognized their health issues weren't "in their heads." They were real. And they finally had a solution.
Just as today's medical industry slanders doctors who don't follow vaccine-driven dogma, they slandered Dr. Davis after he published his book. The food industry tried its best to discredit him as well.
Though Dr. Davis wasn't the first to address these concerns, he was the first medical professional (he's a cardiologist) to put his reputation on the line. To suggest "healthy whole grains" were something other than healthy bucked the "healthy whole grain" system. Slowly, others joined in, like Dr. David Perlmutter, publishing Grain Brain a couple of years later.
A 2015 Gallup poll showed that 20% of Americans say they choose a gluten-free diet. With one in five people attempting to eat GF, we now have gluten-free options for almost every favorite food.
So, how are celiac disease, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity different from one another?
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an immune reaction to gluten, inflames the small intestine, and breaks down its lining. It also causes the immune system to attack its own tissue. The symptoms of celiac disease take weeks to years to develop.
An antigen called a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) binds to protein fragments in cells. It then moves the attached protein fragment to the cell surface and presents it to a T-lymphocyte (T-cell).
The T-cells react to gluten like they would respond to a virus or bacteria, inflaming the intestine's lining. Over time, the inflammation reduces the absorption of essential nutrients and causes digestive problems.
With repeated exposure and prolonged inflammation, the intestinal lining breaks down, allowing food particles to enter the bloodstream. Because food particles aren't supposed to be in your bloodstream, your immune system reacts to them as well. Over time, you can develop sensitivities to those foods as well.
When diagnosing celiac disease, doctors test for:
anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA)
anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG)
anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA).
Though celiac disease has a genetic component, gastrointestinal infections, surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, and emotional stress can activate it.
Because the gluten proteins of wheat are similar to proteins in other grains like barley or rye, those who react to wheat tend to react to other grains with similar proteins.
Wheat Allergy
Those with wheat allergies react to wheat proteins other than the gluten proteins gliadin and glutenin.
The reaction occurs in minutes to hours. Wheat allergy is a reaction to wheat proteins, other than gluten, which triggers allergy-causing antibodies. The response takes just minutes to hours to become noticeable.
Gluten Sensitivity
Gluten sensitivity is not as clear-cut as celiac or wheat allergy. However, because symptoms show up within hours to days,
19 min
September 02, 2020 Gluten: Health Concerns for Your Brain and Body
Is a gluten-free (GF) diet healthy? What are the symptoms of gluten intolerance? What's the difference between gluten intolerance and an allergy?
In this post, I'll address the most common questions and areas of confusion. At a time when we're more focused on inflammation and supporting our immune systems, going gluten-free offers only upside. Here's why.
Gluten Allergy, Wheat Allergy, and Sensitivities
Doctors first recognized celiac disease almost 2000 years ago, but conventional medicine has only diagnosed it during the past 100 years. They also began referencing gluten sensitivity in medical papers in 1978. The first documented cases of gluten sensitivity in children appeared in the early 1980s.
Even then, most doctors shrugged off the connection between food and a patient's health problems.
2011 was a turning point. A group of medical experts convened to discuss non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
That same year, Dr. William Davis published his book Wheat Belly. Through his writing, millions of people recognized their health issues weren't "in their heads." They were real. And they finally had a solution.
Just as today's medical industry slanders doctors who don't follow vaccine-driven dogma, they slandered Dr. Davis after he published his book. The food industry tried its best to discredit him as well.
Though Dr. Davis wasn't the first to address these concerns, he was the first medical professional (he's a cardiologist) to put his reputation on the line. To suggest "healthy whole grains" were something other than healthy bucked the "healthy whole grain" system. Slowly, others joined in, like Dr. David Perlmutter, publishing Grain Brain a couple of years later.
A 2015 Gallup poll showed that 20% of Americans say they choose a gluten-free diet. With one in five people attempting to eat GF, we now have gluten-free options for almost every favorite food.
So, how are celiac disease, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity different from one another?
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an immune reaction to gluten, inflames the small intestine, and breaks down its lining. It also causes the immune system to attack its own tissue. The symptoms of celiac disease take weeks to years to develop.
An antigen called a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) binds to protein fragments in cells. It then moves the attached protein fragment to the cell surface and presents it to a T-lymphocyte (T-cell).
The T-cells react to gluten like they would respond to a virus or bacteria, inflaming the intestine's lining. Over time, the inflammation reduces the absorption of essential nutrients and causes digestive problems.
With repeated exposure and prolonged inflammation, the intestinal lining breaks down, allowing food particles to enter the bloodstream. Because food particles aren't supposed to be in your bloodstream, your immune system reacts to them as well. Over time, you can develop sensitivities to those foods as well.
When diagnosing celiac disease, doctors test for:
anti-endomysial antibodies (EMA)anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG)anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA).
Though celiac disease has a genetic component, gastrointestinal infections, surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, and emotional stress can activate it.
Because the gluten proteins of wheat are similar to proteins in other grains like barley or rye, those who react to wheat tend to react to other grains with similar proteins.
Wheat Allergy
Those with wheat allergies react to wheat proteins other than the gluten proteins gliadin and glutenin.
The reaction occurs in minutes to hours. Wheat allergy is a reaction to wheat proteins, other than gluten, which triggers allergy-causing antibodies. The response takes just minutes to hours to become noticeable.
Gluten Sensitivity
Gluten sensitivity is not as clear-cut as celiac or wheat allergy. However, because symptoms show up within hours to days,
19 min
August 26, 2020 Low Thyroid Or Hypothyroidism: Symptoms, Causes, Solutions
Do you eat like a bird and still gain weight? Feel depressed and exhausted even though you eat well and sleep enough? Do you have high cholesterol? It might be low thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism.
Low thyroid affects one in seven people, five to eight times as many women as men, probably because women are more likely to get tested than men are.
It's more common than most of us realize. Here's the symptoms, causes, and some effective solutions.
The Thyroid Hormones
Your thyroid gland sits on the front of your throat. Its primary role is to regulate metabolic rate.
The hormones include:
thyroid-stimulating hormone
thyroxine (T4)
triiodothyronine (T3)
reverse T3
thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies.
Technically, thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme, and the test looks for antibodies to that enzyme. It's not a hormone. However, it's usually measured with your hormones.
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
Your pituitary gland produces and secretes thyroid-stimulating hormone as means of notifying your thyroid gland to produce hormones. TSH is usually the first (and unfortunately, sometimes only) thyroid-related hormone doctors measure. TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T3 and T4, the hormones that act on your cells.
Elevated TSH levels indicates your T3 and T4 may be too low. Low TSH suggests they may be too high.
When doctors test only TSH, they make assumptions about your thyroid function.
The only way to know whether your levels are optimal is to test T4 and T3.
The main difference between T3 and T4 is that T3 has three iodine molecules, and T4 has four molecules. Interestingly, almost all the body's iodine is bound to these thyroid hormones, making iodine a critical nutrient for thyroid function.
Thyroxine (T4)
Between T3 and T4, T4 is the weaker of the two. But it is 30-100 times more concentrated in the body than T3. Even though it isn't as powerful, there's so much more T4 than T3 that T4 has the most significant impact on metabolism.
Free T4 is the T4 available for use by the body.
Triiodothyronine (T3)
T3 is the more potent. Some T3 is produced directly by the thyroid gland, and some is converted from T4.
Reverse T3 (rT3)
As a way to remove excess T4, the body converts T4 to rT3. Reverse T3 increases during excessive stress, chronic calorie restriction, or illness, which helps conserve energy.
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Antibodies
Thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme necessary for proper thyroid function. When antibodies are present, it is a sign that your immune system is attacking TPO. Left unmanaged, you can destroy your thyroid gland. The most common thyroid-related autoimmune disease is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
HormoneNormal Levels of Thyroid HormonesThyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)0.45-4.21 mIU/L (optimal: 0.45-2.3 mIU/L)Thyroxine (T4)0.93-1.71 ng/dLTriiodothyronine (T3)2.3-4.2 pg/dLReverse T39.2-24.2 ng/dLThyroid Peroxidase (TPO)<34 IU/mL
The American Thyroid Association says that 12% of U.S. citizens will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime. They also say 20 million Americans have some type of thyroid disease. If you don't have an issue, you probably know someone who does.
The first stage of hypothyroidism is called "Subclinical Hypothyroidism." In this stage, you have elevated TSH, but T3 and T4 are normal.
Thorne Thyroid Test
Thyroid imbalance is more common than you might think. This at-home blood test provides insights into thyroid function by measuring key hormone levels. Results include a personalized health plan.
LEARN MORE
Your thyroid regulates the speed of your muscle contraction, thinking, digestive system, energy and heat production, and most other metabolic processes. When you're hypothyroid, you feel like you're living in slow motion.
Hypothyroidism shares some symptoms with other conditions. You'll even notice some symptoms as similar to symptoms of low testoster...
17 min
August 26, 2020 Low Thyroid Or Hypothyroidism: Symptoms, Causes, Solutions
Do you eat like a bird and still gain weight? Feel depressed and exhausted even though you eat well and sleep enough? Do you have high cholesterol? It might be low thyroid, also known as hypothyroidism.
Low thyroid affects one in seven people, five to eight times as many women as men, probably because women are more likely to get tested than men are.
It's more common than most of us realize. Here's the symptoms, causes, and some effective solutions.
The Thyroid Hormones
Your thyroid gland sits on the front of your throat. Its primary role is to regulate metabolic rate.
The hormones include:
thyroid-stimulating hormonethyroxine (T4)triiodothyronine (T3)reverse T3thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies.
Technically, thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme, and the test looks for antibodies to that enzyme. It's not a hormone. However, it's usually measured with your hormones.
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
Your pituitary gland produces and secretes thyroid-stimulating hormone as means of notifying your thyroid gland to produce hormones. TSH is usually the first (and unfortunately, sometimes only) thyroid-related hormone doctors measure. TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T3 and T4, the hormones that act on your cells.
Elevated TSH levels indicates your T3 and T4 may be too low. Low TSH suggests they may be too high.
When doctors test only TSH, they make assumptions about your thyroid function.
The only way to know whether your levels are optimal is to test T4 and T3.
The main difference between T3 and T4 is that T3 has three iodine molecules, and T4 has four molecules. Interestingly, almost all the body's iodine is bound to these thyroid hormones, making iodine a critical nutrient for thyroid function.
Thyroxine (T4)
Between T3 and T4, T4 is the weaker of the two. But it is 30-100 times more concentrated in the body than T3. Even though it isn't as powerful, there's so much more T4 than T3 that T4 has the most significant impact on metabolism.
Free T4 is the T4 available for use by the body.
Triiodothyronine (T3)
T3 is the more potent. Some T3 is produced directly by the thyroid gland, and some is converted from T4.
Reverse T3 (rT3)
As a way to remove excess T4, the body converts T4 to rT3. Reverse T3 increases during excessive stress, chronic calorie restriction, or illness, which helps conserve energy.
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Antibodies
Thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme necessary for proper thyroid function. When antibodies are present, it is a sign that your immune system is attacking TPO. Left unmanaged, you can destroy your thyroid gland. The most common thyroid-related autoimmune disease is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
HormoneNormal Levels of Thyroid HormonesThyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)0.45-4.21 mIU/L (optimal: 0.45-2.3 mIU/L)Thyroxine (T4)0.93-1.71 ng/dLTriiodothyronine (T3)2.3-4.2 pg/dLReverse T39.2-24.2 ng/dLThyroid Peroxidase (TPO)<34 IU/mL
The American Thyroid Association says that 12% of U.S. citizens will develop a thyroid condition during their lifetime. They also say 20 million Americans have some type of thyroid disease. If you don't have an issue, you probably know someone who does.
The first stage of hypothyroidism is called "Subclinical Hypothyroidism." In this stage, you have elevated TSH, but T3 and T4 are normal.
Thorne Thyroid Test
Thyroid imbalance is more common than you might think. This at-home blood test provides insights into thyroid function by measuring key hormone levels. Results include a personalized health plan.
LEARN MORE
Your thyroid regulates the speed of your muscle contraction, thinking, digestive system, energy and heat production, and most other metabolic processes. When you're hypothyroid, you feel like you're living in slow motion.
Hypothyroidism shares some symptoms with other conditions. You'll even notice some symptoms as similar to symptoms of low testosterone or adrenal fat...
17 min

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