HouseCall: Sleep Soundly, Root Canals, Weak Digestion, Children’s Iron & Calcium, Carbonated Water

Welcome back to our weekend Cabral HouseCall shows!

This is where we answer our community’s wellness, weight loss, and anti-aging questions to help people get back on track!

Check out today’s questions:

Sarah: Hello, I’m, wondering if you can help point me in the right direction, I have not been diagnosed with any health issues but I know my body is not supposed to function the way it does. I have had insomnia for the past 14ish years – it goes up and down, but I mainly manage it to a level where I can function normally (obviously not a “normal” level of sleep) I wake often throughout the night and literally don’t remember when I slept through the night, I find it difficult to fall asleep often and this whole cycle creates anxiety for me, as it affects my partner too. I have suffered from constipation since I was little (I’m 32), I feel like I am constantly bloated – no matter how clean I eat, sometimes only a little, sometimes painfully. I’m pretty sure I retain water and/or I am inflamed. I have a thick coating on my tongue. I move my body – mostly walking and yoga and I work in a physical job, I eat pretty well – mostly plants and wholefoods,I have been vegetarian for nearly 3 years, I will eat the occasional wild-caught fish. I don’t seem to do well with dairy or gluten. I am a natural worrier and stressed and I just know this is all related! There may be more going on inside that I can’t see but I think it is all linked. My main issues are the digestions issues and insomnia, I don’t have anything else major going on – but to me they are major! I don’t think my body is absorbing any nutrients from the relatively clean diet I eat, when I get unhealthy cravings its generally carbs, chocolate or sweets. I know this is all a bit of a mish-mash but just trying to give as much info as possible – If you have any tips/ideas/suggestions please let me know, I just want to sleep well and have my digestion working optimally – particularly for when I start a family.

Stephanie: My question is about root canals. I had one done a year ago, after seeing a holistic dentist who thought I should have the procedure done, and have second-guessed my decision wondering if I should of had the tooth pulled instead. I’m now considering having it removed and having a removable denture put in. Do you think most people would be better off having the root canal removed rather than leaving it in the mouth and risking disease? Thanks so much for answering!

Jill: Hi Dr. Cabral, I am 38 year old female and an endomorph. A good friend of mine turned me on to your podcast several months ago, and I listen every morning. I appreciate your heart to share the knowledge you have and to see people get well. I have been on my own health journey for the past 7 years. In 2008, I lost 30 pounds using Weight Watchers. In 2010 I started having massive brain fog. I’ve had digestive issues most of my life. Through a naturopath, I found out I’m allergic to gluten and casein (and a few other things). I have cut both out of my diet (gluten gone as of the end of 2011; dairy gone as of 2013). In 2012, I lost an additional 20 pounds (through calorie counting and a workout plan of 5-6 days a week: 1.5 hours – 60 cardio (treadmill, no running); 30 weights) and was finally at my healthiest weight, still at the high end of my BMI. At the time, it felt like, in order to maintain that weight, I would have to count every calorie and work out hard 6 days a week (or more) for the rest of my life. Overall, I feel significantly better now than I did back in 2010, but I still deal with symptoms: brain fog, my brain feels swollen, fatigue, difficulty focusing/finding words (especially an hour or two after eating), mucus, digestion issues, depression, trouble losing weight. Throughout 2013, I gained back 10 pounds and held there. Toward the beginning of 2016, I gained 20 pounds “out of nowhere” (couldn’t identify a cause) and couldn’t get it to budge. I work from home often and could easily sleep 10-11 hours a night. Even so, some days, my body would shut down during the day, and I would take an hour nap … only to sleep 10-11 hours again the next night. At the beginning of this year, while monitored by a nutritionist, I did a 40-day juice fast: juice, water, ginger tea, and eventually I added bone broth in as well. During this fast, I felt amazing!!!  I was reminded that I could feel vibrant and clear-headed and motivated and positive!!! Plus I would sleep 8-9 hours, wake up on my own, and feel refreshed!  I lost 20 pounds and felt like myself again. For most of the fast, I felt like I never wanted to eat food again. As I started adding food back in (one food at a time), I started feeling “not-so-great” again. For a while, I had daily BMS (which I have rarely had in my life), but that didn’t last. When I ate food, I would feel sluggish. My nutritionist suggested perhaps my body can’t handle fiber, so I’ve been on a low fiber diet (no raw veggies; only cooked).  I have gained back much of the 20 pounds.  I feel bloated and sluggish and have a hard time focusing and getting motivated to live my life.  It feels like my body functions best without having to break down food, but juicing for the rest of my life doesn’t feel like an option either.  Do you have any thoughts on why my body thrives on liquid but struggles with food?  Do you have any recommendations on what I can do to help my body thrive consistently?
An additional piece to the puzzle is that I have arthritis in my knees (the right is worse than the left). This has made cardiovascular exercises basically impossible. (The pain made running impossible starting in 2014.) I recently used an upright bike for 10 min (after you recommended it on your podcast). I didn’t have pain while working out, but within a few hours, my right knee was experiencing pain (initially as sharp, shooting pain when I sat on the couch). For days after, there was a pain when going up and down stairs and sitting, as well as catching or clicking and popping in my knee when opening it/straightening my leg. This is consistent with my experience for the past year-plus. Do you have recommendations to help burn fat and build muscle … that won’t cause knee pain/worsen my arthritis? Thank you so much for these house calls and for allowing those of us who can’t get to Boston to have access to your knowledge base. I am so appreciative! Jill

Cara: Hi Dr. Cabral… as always thank you for your work! I share your name with everyone. My daughter just had her 2-year check-up at the Children’s hospital she went directly to about 2 hours after her birth. She was born early and suffered tremendous blood loss and was a “whole body cooled” baby – hypothermia treatment for 72 hours. She is PERFECT. She was either at 24 months or beyond for her development at her assessment today. However, the same dietician who rubbed me the wrong way at her 10 month high risk infant follow up appointment, giving me a hard time for choosing not to give her iron-enriched “baby” cereals, was back at it again when asking if I give her dairy. I do not give her dairy. If/when I do it will be raw dairy but we’re not there yet. The dietician was saying how I need to keep an eye on her calcium. She said we can get calcium from dark green leafy greens, but how we’d need to consume 10x the amount of greens as dairy to get the same amount. I know she’s not correct, but I chose to get through the appointment and save her my argument. Last time she was right, my daughters iron got low 9.6 but we focused on beef/liver/chicken/molasses combined with a homeopathic remedy and camucamu and broccoli and such and raised it to 11.6 in 3 months. I swear she rolled her eyes (in her head) when I said I’m still nursing her twice a day at 2 years. That’s something that should be honored and I’m well aware it’s not an absolute “need” at this point. BUT, we couldn’t nurse the first 5 days of her life and we’re fortunate we did perfectly when we got the green light to nurse. My daughter is also only 21 pounds at 2 years of age, but she’s stayed on her own curve and she eats a fair amount of food, including fats like ghee, avocado, etc. She requests ghee 🙂 She really only eats broccoli for her greens and sometimes I chop up spinach in her scrambled egg. She’s a meat and sweet potatoes girl. What do I need to be giving her to keep up with calcium? Should I be concerned about her lower weight? Also, the last few weeks after trying bee pollen we get at the farmers market, she literally wants to eat it all day. Is that weird? or ok? In gratitude. Cara

Jen: Is carbonated water and seltzer somehow unhealthy? I love drinking flavored La Croix or Polar seltzers and probably drink a 12oz can 1-2x daily when I have them on hand. I really enjoy it and find that it’s a nice treat when I’m tired of drinking water or herbal tea. I’m familiar with how, Ayurvedically speaking, carbonation can increase Vata. Are there any other health concerns to drinking carbonated waters (of course assuming it’s not my only source of water intake)?

Thank you for tuning into today’s Cabral HouseCall and be sure to check back tomorrow where we answer more of our community’s questions!