Maybe you missed some talks. Maybe you never checked out the Fatigue Superconference at all. Maybe you thought the online alternative health Conference was over.
It was! But It’s back for a two-day Encore. This weekend the whole conference is available to watch again. With the dozens of expert presentations there’s a lot to watch. In fact, if you stayed up all 48 hours this weekend you’d still only be able to see 2/3rd’s of it. (Talk about fatiguing!)
Instead of staying up and watching, it though, you can purchase the whole shebang. Doing that will give you access to it any time you want and includes:
Added Package
Want more of the Conference’s alternative approach to ME/CFS ? Not into video’s? The Superconference “Superpackage” 🙂 is available this weekend only. For an extra $40 you will get.
Purchase the extra package here
Find out more about the Conference below:
It’s spring and that means the online alternative health conferences are here. Coming up tomorrow and running from June 10th-17th is the most comprehensive online fatigue conference I’ve seen. If you’re open to alternative health approaches to ME/CFS, FM or other diseases that produce fatigue, there’s a lot here.
In addition to the usual bunch of goodies – such as free ebooks including one which details how 12 people recovered, this conference will also, for the first time, provide live Q and A sessions with the speakers, as well as guided yoga and meditation sessions for those who employ or who want to learn about those practices.
As with all these conferences, registering for the conference – which begins tomorrow – is free and allows you to watch each day’s videos for free. If you want to be able to download all the videos and watch them at your leisure, you can buy the program.
Check out what the conference offers below:
The Online Talks
Some of the more interesting talks for me include:
Dr. Neil Nathan will talk on why he believes that the order in which you treat these diseases is crucial.
Dr. Sarah Myhill will explain why she thinks a paleo diet is such an important part of a treatment plan to fix the broken mitochondria found in ME/CFS and other diseases.
Dr. Brian Mowll will explain why improving glucose tolerance – an increasingly interesting issue in both ME/CFS and fibromyalgia – can be helpful.
Dr Raphael Kellman will talk on why providing prebiotics – not probiotics – is important in improving our gut and our overall health.
Dr. Michael Murray will talk on the latest research on CBD and how the endocannabinoid system can be used to reduce pain and improve health.
Dr Datis Kharrazian will talk on how the brain and vagus nerve impact fatigue and health.
Dr. Terry Wahls will do something different. She will, of course, talk about diet – her focus for many years given her remarkable recovery from multiple sclerosis, but she will also talk on how powerful it is to have meaning and purpose in your life, and how important it is to surround yourself with a positive community.
Dr. Kara Fitzgerald will talk on a possibly important topic given how ME/CFS often is abruptly triggered – how epigenetic alterations possibly caused by an infection can fundamentally change how our genes are expressed, and how it may be possible to change them back.
Dr. Evan Hirsh will echo Dr. Neil Nathan with his discussion of how diseases like ME/CFS are best treated in stages.
Dr. Shivan Sarna will talk on an issue an ME/CFS expert recently told me (to my surprise) runs rampant in ME/CFS and FM and which may have autoimmune implications – small intestinal bowel overgrowth (SIBO).
Dr Justin Marchegiani will speak on a new theme to me regarding the thyroid – how what’s going on in the gut may be affecting your thyroid.
Speaking of the gut, Donna Gates will talk on one of my favorite topics, how using fermented foods may improve your gut health.
If you’re into the effects of stress and emotional healing and other similar subjects, there are many other talks on energy medicine, the effects of traumatic events in the past, stress reduction, etc., as well talks on nutrition, etc.
Conference Affiliate
Health Rising is an affiliate of this conference. Use this link to find out more about the conference and/or register for it, or purchase the conference package which will support Health Rising.
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Thanks!
Thanks for the info, Cort. I’ve forwarded it on.
Thanks for posting about this Cort!
I became aware of the conference several days ago, but have been on the fence about it because although I have been following the work of many participants for a number of years (so I am very interested to hear their most up-to-date views on the specific subjects of fatigue, CFS, and ME—including how many separate, or don’t separate, between the three: always an interesting intersection point to explore between the various represented health paradigms) I also knew that in order to absorb that amount of information I would have to buy the program rather than try to listen every day “live”. But knowing some proceeds would go to HR pushed me off the fence! (So I just purchased a pass.)
(Also, it the conference is structured under a charitable organization, so apparently all proceeds from it go towards research and advancement, so that’s nice too.)
I will be listening to it over the next month or so. (And report back if I have any significant impressions.)
Thanks for keeping us all in the loop!
This was just one stunning super conference. Great that you supported it.
Glad to hear! Thanks 🙂
Thanks for doing that. Please let us know how it goes. 🙂
Cort just listened to the host of this conference on Ari Whitten’s Energy Blueprint podcast and it was excellent. Here’s the link if you get time – highly recommend!
https://youtu.be/tnHHncvAYco
i suffered from severe SIBO until recently and successfully treated this by going on the FODMAP diet and taking two antibiotics together. This has also greatly improved my sleep.
I have severe gut problems too with alternating diarrhea and constipation and plenty of gut pain.
The first digestion related improvement to my health was by eating about 50 gr of fresh papaya with each meal. Papaya holds a very powerful protein digesting enzyme and plenty of vitamin C.
The next big step was learning I am intolerant to mainly fructose (very likely due to fructose malabsorption) and the entire FODMAP plus some other vegetables. Avoiding them as much as possible decreased abdominal pain a lot. The beneficial effect of the digestive enzyme outweighs the small does of fructose papaya provides me. Supplements don’t work that well for me despite containing less fructose.
Progress however goes slow but steady. Energy and mental “freshness” went up slowly. The main improvements are however that I am less vulnerable to PEM and my adrenaline (wired and tired) levels got way down. That makes sleeping easier too.
The next step in improvement was taken capsules with very fine grind Psyllium husk. Whenever I took pre- or probiotics my gut reacted badly. But Psyllium husks contains mainly indigestible fiber. That means that bacteria don’t feast on it to multiply a lot. It seems that any increase in good or bad gut bacteria gets my health down.
Psyllium acts a bit like a softer form of antibiotics IMO. While it doesn’t reduce their growth, I believe it provides plenty of surface area (therefore the emphasis on very fine grinding) where the bacteria grow on and attach too. That keeps them further away from the gut wall so that they do less damage. In a sense, it makes less bacteria touch, damage or penetrate the gut wall just like antibiotics does but with lesser side effects IMO.It helps stabilizing stool too.
I agree, …Psyllium husk which I get from my doctor as a powder to add to a glass of water then drink, seems to soften the harshness in my stomach / gut wall …. and I feel it somehow acts as a barrier against assault from acids & other nasties that cause upset to my system , which in turn would cause full body inflammation.
Of cause being aware to avoid or decrease certain foods that you know aggravate your system along side using the Psyllium husk helps too. ie tomatoes, onions, rich cream / milky sauces etc
Ha! Just checked – psyllium fiber is a prebiotic. I used to take it a lot and thought it did have a kind of strange subtle calming effect.
De Jurgen – you do not tolerate the foods used in the FODMAPS diet or you do not tolerate the foods not allowed on the FODMAPS diet?
Here’s some more on the FODMAPS diet for those who don’t know about it
https://www.healthrising.org/forums/resources/could-a-diet-reduce-the-pain-in-fibromyalgia-a-fodmaps-study-suggests-yes.462/
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2015/01/06/beating-bloat-best-diet-irritable-bowel-syndrome/
I don’t tolerate FODMAPs, so eating them gets me worse. I don’t really follow a typical “pre-formed FODMAP diet”, but I do avoid food rich in FODMAPs like inuline, fructose oligosaccharide and try to strongly limit fructose intake.
As to Psyllium to be a prebiotic or not, it may be more of a definition thing.
Many people consider the difference soluble fiber versus insoluable fiber to be important. But prebiotic as I understand means: able to feed the good bacteria.
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllium I’ve got:
“The soluble fiber in psyllium is polysaccharide arabinoxylan, a hemicellulose.”
=> So its soluble fiber and I think some people may call it therefore a prebiotic, but the type of soluble fiber is a sort of cellulose and cellulose is notoriously hard to digest. Ruminants like cow and goat needs what four stomachs with specialized bacteria to digest it so I assume it wont trigger fast nor large scale bacterial growth in my gut.
I started to believe that many food intolerances, not all, are in fact a sort of bacterial dysbiosis created by to much food of certain types ending up in the large gut that “isn’t supposed” to end up there in large quantities.
Consider lactose intolerance: the test to determine lactose intolerance is a breath test testing if you have bacteria turning lactose to hydrogen. That is in line with at least one sort of lactose intolerance coming from being unable to digest lactose. This way, the fast sugar lactose ends up in the large bowl and can fuel very fast growth of bacterial species that don’t belong there.
Bacteria like to cling on surfaces and seem to be very reluctant to let go. So I offer them dust fine Psyllium where they can attach to so they’ll leave my gut wall alone. And they can find there own way out. Fiber they can eat to fast doesn’t offer them such surface “till the end”.
Do you have ME/CFS now after the antibiotic treatments (assuming Riflaxamin? )
On topic, I hesitated a bit on registering and watching the conference. Watching video is still hard to me. And I thought the contents would be too upbeat to the tune “think positive, have a good diet and exercise and you’ll be a whole new person”
I’ve viewed the first webminar from Dr. Brian Mowll.
My findings:
* I was happy the streams were not on a fixed hour, but remain available an entire day.
* The content rises far above the usual upbeat promotional talks.
* The Dr. seems to have thought upon the topic quit a bit deeper then many conventional doctors.
* I consider it good quality beyond the introductory level for people who don’t search to dive real deep right now.
* I learned a few things myself too.
* The webminar formula still does not suit me:
– I sat “watching” it about 90% of the time with my eyes closed.
– Even listening was in “scanning mode” dozing when certain words did not trigger me.
– As a non-native speaker even a slight accent requires a lot of effort from me to follow the speakers.
When looking on the list with other speakers today and on later days, there are quite a few topics I’d like to look at if they are close to this quality. I don’t know yet if I will as the webminar formula doesn’t fit with my ME brain well.
Hi dejurgen, I guess many of us can’t watch video/ webinars, I am one. I always avoid them and go on to written explanations ( as Cort provides ) if available. I rarely watch movies can’t last the distance also just can’t process sentences sometimes. Before I was diagnosed well meaning friends and family would give me videos etc to watch then want to ‘ discuss ‘ them and l am sure found me strange when I explained that I hadn’t watched them. I don’t even try and explain anymore?
“Dr. Shivan Sarna ” Really?
She is a talk show host and Internet marketer. This is copied and pasted directly from her Facebook page. I don’t even see an undergraduate degree listed.
About
Power Talker. Storyteller. Created the SIBO SOS™ Summit and Speaker Series and founded Chronic Condition Rescue, to educate the world about cures and management.
Gender
Female
Personal Information
Currently, she is:
HSN Host
Graduate Gemologist (GIA)
Power Shopper/Saver/HSN Customer
Creator of the SIBO SOS™ Summit and Speaker Series and founder of Chronic Condition Rescue
https://www.facebook.com/pg/shivanssarna/about/?ref=page_internal
She may be just fine but I agree Ross – not the best recommendation. Siebacker would have been much better – or a specialist in SIBO.
(Siebacker, I think, though, charges a lot for her seminars.)
I was on Siebecker’s mailing list for many years until Sarna took over her marketing operations. They blew up my inbox to the tune of multiple emails per day for weeks on end until I finally just unsubscribed from it all. It’s a shame. Siebecker does great work. But, the whole operation feels so scammy now with the “hurry! buy now! only 12 hours left!” thing. Shivan Sarna ruined that whole thing IMO.
I haven’t encountered that yet but boy her webinars are expensive!
Hopefully the organizers are reading your comment. I didn’t see Shivan’s talk but I understand your position. Too bad about the marketing overkill! There is line between appropriate marketing and too much!
This reply is delayed, but yes, Dr Alison Siebecker N.D. is the absolute best for SIBO information.
I had (and still have) great admiration for her because she was sharing a great deal of what she knew for free on her website (and in free podcasts, which stopped with the arrival of Shivan Sarna) which is still a very good resource for free SIBO information. I highly recommend it as a starting point. You can probably find her old podcasts on the Web.
Dr. Sibecker has suffered from SIBO herself, and personally knows the hell of having it (cf.M.D.’s, most of whom don’t really understand the nightmare that is ME/CFS unless they or someone close to them gets it).
Dr. Siebecker’s website:
https://www.siboinfo.com/
Dave’s comment below is 100% accurate.
I have been attending the Medical Professional online webinars initiated by Dr Siebecker at National University of Natural Medicine every year since around 2012 to keep up with developments in SIBO. They are open to the public and are not very expensive if you register early and the recordings are sent to you without any extra charge. One caveat that I would offer is that each seminar builds on the previous one and presumes that you have the learning from the older seminars.
SIBO has become a “flavor of the month” thing with everyone jumping on the Internet marketing bandwagon and there is risk of getting one’s mind tied up in knots with conflicting information, most of which is just people’s opinions and not fact based.
You will not get this nonsense with any of Dr. Siebecker’s talks. Anything that she says is grounded in research and her vast clinical experience.
Dr. Mark Pimentel M.D. is the lead researcher who brought SIBO to the medical community’s attention, but you you will not get any free information from him. You have to attend paid symposiums and conferences for that, and some are only open to the medical community.
There really hasn’t been much development in the research and treatment of SIBO in the last few years and the clinicians who focus on it say that even with the best treatment the relapse rate is about 66% as there is an small intestine autoimmune component in some patients.
If you have SIBO symptoms it is worthwhile to have it investigated. My opinion is that no other treatment is going to be very effective if you have a messed up gut as you may have various endotoxins and microbes that should be contained in the gut entering your bloodsteam and stressing your body in various ways. This opinion is based on my personal experience and a ton of reading over the course of the 20+ years that I have been ill. I spent one year consulting a very reputable Chinese Medicine doctor and $4,000 later my ME/CFS was no better. Only when the SIBO was addressed did I start responding to other treatments including acupuncture.
As a side note, if you have digestive disturbance indicative of SIBO I recommend looking at Dr Shawn Baker’s you tube videos on what he calls the Carnivore Diet. He has two channels and two websites with lots of free information. He does not talk about SIBO at all but just addresses a meat only diet. Lot’s of anecdotal testimonials about people with various illnesses getting dramatically better with a meat only diet.
The biggest problem with SIBO is figuring out how to eat a nutritious diet and not get fermentation in the gut. This may not be the solution for everyone, but for me eliminating all plant material was the solution to my SIBO. No plant material for bacteria to ferment-no SIBO. Yes, it’s boring to eat just meat if you love food, but full blown ME/CFS is no fun so the choice is obvious. The upside is that my life has become much simpler. Less shopping and less cooking. Also, if you do not go for the expensive cuts, a meat only diet might reduce your grocery bill depending on where you live.
Also read the book by Nina Teicholz, ‘The Big Fat Surprise” if you have any fear that meat and fat are bad for you. This book is not an opinion piece. It is extremely well researched and annotated.
Another useful resource is the website, facebook and youtube channel “lowcarbdownunder” which is primarily science based.
https://lowcarbdownunder.com.au/
If you have difficulty with moving away from the perceived wisdom from the so called Medical and Nutritional experts, then none of these recommendations is for you.
I am posting this information with the hope that it helps someone to get better.
Ross
P.S to my long reply
Cort. if you think that the information that I have provided will be of use to others please feel free to move my post or copy it to another part of the website where more people will see it.
It would have been great to have advance notice of conferences and the location to be clearly listed. Thank you Cort for all you do.
I agree!
What does everyone think about the host of the conference’s talk and his Optimal Health Clinic, the website of which I checked into along with the download material on subtypes, systems,etc. ?
I think the Optimal Health Clinic is very good indeed. It has a consistent constructive track record and has been providing a respectful and sympathetic service for a long time ( I attended around 2003-4). They take a truly holistic approach and really seek out and link the various issues together carefully and constructively. They do not focus on one ’cause’ but seek out the possible connections and recognise that you may have to work on a number of related issues and that WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME. This illness has many manifestations and they avoid simplistic approaches. For example they provide a lot of information on diet but not to the exclusion of other issues and approaches They tend to get limited support because their holistic approach suggests to some people, particularly in the UK, that there is a mind link as well as a body link.
I have no doubt at all that they are wholeheartedly committed to helping and informing patients and treating people with real respect for the their strength as well as their suffering.
Glad to hear it from a trusted source Phillida 🙂
To continue, that Betsy referred to above https://youtu.be/tnHHncvAYco
It’s finally over! Cort asked somewhere for our thoughts:
I ended up listening (video hard on me too) to bits and pieces of a number of talks, and several I listened to the entire message. Overall, I found a helpful attitude in their method, and appreciated the openness to a variety of issues going on, and patients being different. It did have a very naturopathic feel, and I heard “find the root cause” a number of times. 🙁 It also focused on healing, and the case studies and recovery stories were from people who are much better now…. at least that was the focus. Even the talks for caregivers was from a husband of a woman who has come a long way back to health. So it left me with that feeling of, I should expect to improve if I just talked to the right practitioner, or focused on the main cause. I started to get excited about nutrition, then realized AGAIN, that I was eating a very healthy diet (what is being prescribed now) for years before I got sick. But I did get encouragement from the focus on trauma and psychological healing aspects. My main trigger was trauma and high stress for years. So I learned some good stuff from this conference that I think I need to start paying attention to. As for Alex himself, well, I like the guy, he seems to be genuinely concerned for patients at the OHC that he runs. It did feel like a business a bit, a commercial for the OHC. But, they do need fundraisers, don’t they?
I felt overwhelmed by each day. I had no idea it would go for 8 days! I exhausted myself, even just listening to an hour and a half. My stamina is not up to it. I hated having to choose just one or two to listen to. I skipped through to get a feel for the content for several, as a LOT was info I already knew. Some talks conflicted with others, but so it goes for our disease. Dr. Myhill shared about her fight against the PACE trials, then Todd Born included graded exercise therapy in his list of treatments. Oh well. I was happy they had some experts included, not just staff at their clinic. A number of talks did not really end up being about the description. A lot of chatting back and forth. Born’s and Dr. Nathan’s talks were more on task and informative. I guess when your sensory overload is an issue, and you can’t listen for long, you want people to get to the point! ANyway, Cort, you asked if we thought the conference was helpful, whether HR should support in the future…. yeah, I’d say so. JUst warn everyone about how LONG it is!
PS I forgot to mention that this is definitely a conference on FATIGUE, and NOT necessarily on ME/CFS, or as in the UK– on ME, or CFS, as they often tend to separate the two. So much of the info really applies to people with easily treated causes of fatigue, (nutrition, counseling, etc) but not for the disease ME/CFS itself. They did not discuss many of the biological or scientific studies and knowledge which HR does so well. Born did mention some of it in his rapid fire manner. I think it is a good idea to mention this fact before the next one. That it may not all apply to severely afflicted ME/CFS patients. But if you have only had symptoms for a year or two, they might have some excellent things to suggest.
With the underwhelming efforts of the ‘mainstream’ medical community on our disease, ‘alternative’ medicine certainly has a place. I’ve found it very helpful in my illness.