From the Desk of Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC.....

I've got good news for fibromyalgia sufferers (and for people with chronic dizziness, migraines, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, sciatica, shoulder and arm pain)!

Always on the search for “tools” to help patients who aren’t expressing health in an optimal way I discovered an approach that provides miraculous results for many.  Several years ago, when I went to a conference in Atlanta Georgia I learned about combining the knowledge I have been using for years with functional neurology.

When is the color blue, NOT the color blue? Of course, it's when the color is purple...or does purple contain some blue. One could debate about color gradation for the good part of an hour, if one had the time to ponder such things. I for one, do not have the time to do so, nor the desire. However, I have been asked many times by my patients what gluten free really means. Unfortunately, if you get on the internet, you will find this area of discussion quite confusing. The term gluten-free is generally used to indicate a supposed harmless level of gluten rather than a complete absence of gluten.[1] The exact level at which gluten is harmless is uncertain and controversial, however. Depending on what country you reside, gluten free has varying definitions and hence the regulations for labeling a food gluten free varies too.

Do you know what it means if you can interact with your intellectual self? It means you can start controlling your own perceptions, your own thinking, and your own neurological processes, your own planning, sequencing, decision-making etc. So, why is it important to have these abilities? It is important to have these abilities because without them, we can develop disorders such as ADD and ADHD and poor memory. When someone cannot interact with their intellectual self, do they need help? Well, if they want help, they can and should get help.  Therefore, we are glad to say that we have the safest option for you to defeat disorders such as ADD and ADHD.

We all have that one chore or project in our house we never seem to get around to. Maybe it's cleaning the garage, finally getting the family picture framed, or reorganizing your kitchen. You know it would not take much time to accomplish the task and you will feel better when you are finished, but you just never quite seem to make the time.

Living with an autoimmune illness and chronic pain is similar. You know there probably is a better way to treat your ailments than the constant drugs, appointments and new treatments. Yet, you continue to go about your medical routine, succumbing to what feels like the inevitability of living with chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses and the host of drugs and doctors that go along with it.

However, just as you will feel better when you finally tackle that nagging chore, you can find relief from your autoimmune illness and chronic pain by stepping outside the traditional approaches to these ailments.

Gluten sensitivity is an under diagnosed common trigger of many autoimmune illnesses and chronic pain. Once patients discover they have a gluten sensitivity and commence a gluten free diet, their illness and pain often disappears. It's an amazing yet incredibly simple diagnosis that brings relief to many people suffering needlessly each year. Let's take a closer look at how this simple diagnosis can bring the much sought after cure you have been longing for.

Gluten Sensitivity: The Basics
Gluten is a protein found in common grains, specifically wheat, rye, barley. New studies show gluten is contained in all grains. Gluten is what gives dough its elasticity and helps it to rise. It is the composite of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin. Most people can eat and digest this protein without any problems.

However, many people suffer from gluten sensitivity or essentially an allergy to gluten. Unlike other allergies, say to peanuts for example, gluten does not typically cause anaphylaxis. It does, however, trigger the basic allergic response. When you consume gluten, your immune system produces antibodies to fight off what it perceives as harmful to your health. This immune response causes inflammation in your body leading to a host of autoimmune illnesses.

If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia you need to be sure all the issues underlying the disorder are being addressed. One of those issues is nutrient deficiency. Most fibromyalgia patients are on several medications and I have had one patient who was on 17 medications!

Did you know that medications always cause nutrient deficiencies? It's true. So if you are on any medications you should find out what deficiencies you have. One particularly effective way to detect nutrient deficiency is with SpectraCell Micronutrient Testing. I use this special test to help many people find the deficiencies that are holding them back from the vibrant health and energy they long for.

Modern medicine has given us many new technologies that have brought better health and longer life to many. However, modern medicine has also increased our reliance on the latest drugs for our maladies. Instead of finding the root causes of our illnesses, we simply treat the symptoms with pharmaceuticals.

Chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses rank among the top health concerns that we often treat with drugs rather than look for the underlying cause. These medications do not make illnesses go away. They merely mask the symptoms and can have serious side effects of their own leading to yet more drugs to treat those symptoms. And the cycle goes on and on. It seems there must be a better way to approach chronic pain and autoimmune illnesses than the rows and rows of pill bottles stacking up in our medicine cabinets.