Happy Monday!

Hope you had a restful & vibrant weekend. Things have been a little quieter here these past few months with full weeks of patient visits. My virtual clinic revolves around chronic digestive issues, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), and mold illness. If you are interested in becoming a patient, click the link at the bottom to get a new patient visit in January!

Now onto the main course: how do we treat MCAS?

The last email covered what MCAS is, symptoms of MCAS, and how it can get triggered.

How does MCAS start?

1 in 10 people are affected by this and it’s officially diagnosed by having symptoms in 2 or more body systems. This is due to mast cells lining every part of our body!

The key thing to remember here is something stimulated these cells to become hyper active, so when working with your care team it’s important to dive into this! This ultimately identifies the constant trigger.

Common triggers for MCAS:

• Mold 
• High toxin load
• Lyme disease
• High viral load, such as EBV
• Chronic SIBO or SIFO
• Emotional or physical trauma
• Consistent stress

The symptoms can present as digestive complaints, because these cells are very present within the GI tract. 

How do we treat MCAS?

In my previous email, I briefly glossed over finding the root cause and incorporating some vagus nerve work.

The roadmap to treating MCAS will look slightly different for everyone. This is due to the trigger being different, that person’s current state of health, genetics, stress, and more.

Here is what a general treatment for MCAS can look like:

1. Nervous system rebooting: vagus nerve work, limbic system retraining, emotional work
2. Mast Cell Calming: through supplements, diet and above nervous system work
3. Clean up the environment: mold, EMFs, chemicals/toxins found in products/water/air
4. Support detoxification pathways, optimize hydration, and support gut health
5. DETOX! What triggered the MCAS needs to now be supported: mold, lyme disease, toxin exposure
6. Treat SIBO & SIFO

Treatment for MCAS can take 2-5 years depending on the individual. The key with treatment is very slow incorporations of supplements, foods, etc.

Vagus nerve work:

Some of my favorite exercises here are Stanley Rosenberg’s structural vagus nerve work, found in his book: “Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve”.

Adding in acupressure, alternate nostril breathing and limbic system retraining through Gupta are specifically helpful with MCAS treatment.

Diet:

Look to what foods may be triggering symptoms here:

• Lectins
• Oxalates
• Histamine
• FODMAPs
• Salicylates

These are a few of the foods that can trigger mast cells. The foods in those categories can be healthy, but if an individual is consistently getting triggers from any of them, it’s like adding fuel to a fire. 

Treatment for MCAS requires many different moving pieces and should be done under the care of your provider. This information if for education only, not to be used for treatment.

Discount codes & links for some of my favorite providers I use daily with my MCAS & SIBO patients!

Therasage Infrared Saunas & PEMF mats: use code DRPEACOCK for 20% off

Air Doctor use this link for discounts off their Air Purifiers! Best one for mold!

AquaTru use this link for discount on the best countertop Reverse Osmosis filter

Sunlighten saunas use this link and code DRPEACOCK for a discount

Looking to fast? Use Prolon 5 day fasting Mimicking Diet and code ProSPeacock for a discount! 

Happiness & health,

Dr. Steph

https://stephaniepeacock.com/