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HPA Axis

HPA Axis

When working with someone who has SIBO and HPA-D, I had understood from the SIBO point of view, in order to help the MMC, it’s a good thing to have four to five hours minimum between meals and 12 hours of no eating overnight, but then the HPA-D may need to support more frequent eating. How do you approach this, and what would be your advice as the SIBO is also likely contributing to the HPA-D? So is it just important to focus on getting rid of that first?

Chris Kresser: I don’t know how important either of those strategies is on an absolute level. I think it really...

Can you remind me of the length of treatment for HPA axis dysfunction? Is it based on symptom relief only, or do you retest DUTCH after a period of time?

Chris Kresser: I definitely retest DUTCH, and like the gut protocol, it depends on the extent of the issue. A...

For women who have anovulatory cycles and no LH surge on ovulation predictor kits, how do you accurately time DUTCH collection?

You don’t really worry about it so much in that case.

25-year-old female with anxiety and depression, which is a very cyclical pattern tied to her menstrual cycle. Can you suggest some lab tests to order in treatment to consider? She’s already on Vitex or chaste tree berry, eats Paleo, exercises, and sleeps well.

Dr. Amy Nett: Of course, if they’re cyclical, you’d probably want to look at hormone levels, and since you have...

I have two 30-year-old female patients. They’ve been waking up in their early morning hours around 2:00 to 4:00 a.m. and struggling to go back to sleep. Both have been eating a Paleo reset diet. One has struggled with sleep for years and hasn’t noticed any difference since changing to Paleo, and the other noticed many positive changes like decreased joint pain but has been sleeping much worse since starting the Paleo reset diet. Second part of the question: Both of these women are thin and closer to underweight more than overweight. In your experience, would your first step be to go towards investigating blood sugar regulation, HPA axis, or something else with these patients?

Dr. Amy Nett: A side note here, if one of your patients is sleeping worse since starting the Paleo reset...

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