We even have a so-called disease “chronic fatigue” that is prevalent but difficult to diagnose and understand. How many of us, as we age, recall as a distant memory, the exuberance we used to have to run and jump and play and keep going from dawn to dusk? The number of people who wish that they had more energy is staggering.
Dr. Shallenberger boldly states that the primary cause of all diseases is diminished energy production, including allergies, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, infections and even aging. Energy production occurs in each and every cell in organelles called mitochondria. It is inside the mitochondria that the energy molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is produced. This energy that we use to live our lives is completely dependent upon how well our mitochondria are functioning and how many and how efficiently ATP molecules are produced.
We are first dependent upon the sun to produce energy. The plant world picks up the sun’s energy and uses it to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. We breathe the air that is about 20% oxygen. Our lungs help deliver the oxygen to our blood stream. Our hearts and circulatory system deliver the oxygen to the cells where the mitochondria busily produce the ATP needed to run our bodies. The byproducts of energy production are carbon dioxide and water. In harmony with life, we breathe out the carbon dioxide which will be used again by the plants to make more oxygen. This activity also depends upon our nutrient intake of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Conventional practitioners have no way to evaluate your symptoms when you arrive and say that you are “tired all the time”. How tired are you really? What causes the tiredness? What can help alleviate the lack of energy? What exactly is interfering with your energy production?
There are a lot of things that can go wrong! Dr. Shallenberger has pioneered a testing procedure which can measure the how well this uptake of oxygen and production of carbon dioxide is going. He calls it “Bio Energy Testing”. With this modality, thoroughly outlined in his book, energy production can be assessed and certain defects can be identified. Additionally, the success or lack of success with interventions can be measured with repeat testing.
Dr. Shallenberger presents 8 secrets to achieve the optimal activity of your mitochondria. Of particular interest is Secret Number 8, which is restoring depleted hormones with bioidentical hormone therapies. That process of energy production mentioned earlier is under the direction of hormones. Cortisol, growth hormone, insulin, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid are the major players. Hormones are intimately entwined in the energy production in every part of the body. Those connections with hormones are explained throughout the book. For example, the adrenal glands, second to the pancreas, function to control the blood sugar, glucose, which feeds the energy production in the mitochondria. People who present to their practitioners with fatigue often finally turn up when the functioning of the adrenal glands is exhausted. Stress depletes the adrenal glands. We deal with the many stressors of life effectively with the help of adrenal hormones (like cortisol and DHEA) until the load is unbearable. A clue to early adrenal exhaustion, writes Dr. Shallenberger, is the presence of normal energy at rest but a decline in energy when challenged with exercise. Restoring depleted hormones can be an essential part of recovery.
“Bursting with Energy” is a primer for the successful operation of your body. Dr. Shallenberger has distilled decades of his clinical work and research into this book. This book holds many more secrets any one can start to apply. The best secret of all is that you CAN turn around or turn back the decline in energy and bring back life’s exuberance.
Review by Carol Petersen and published at www.womensinternational.com
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