When going gluten-free doesn’t work…
Have you tried going gluten-free and it didn’t help you feel better?
It didn’t banish your bloating, solve your digestive upset, clear up skin rashes, help you shed pounds or do any of the other things a gluten-free lifestyle promises?
You’re not the only one.
I hear this all the time from clients who have tried a gluten-free lifestyle with little to no results. When I first went gluten-free, it didn’t free me of all my health issues either.
So what gives when going gluten-free doesn’t work?
That’s exactly what I’m here to reveal – the top 3 reasons why a gluten-free diet doesn’t work.
Let’s first explore what the deal is with gluten in the first place and why it could be a big contributor to whatever health issue is ailing you.
Everyone is negatively affected by gluten, regardless if you have been diagnosed with sensitivity or not. Gluten molecules are larger than most food particles making them harder to digest. This increased stress on the digestive system can lead to inflammation and eventually destruction of the intestinal lining.
Gluten food particles increase something called intestinal permeability for up to 5 hours, meaning elements such as toxins or undigested food pieces that aren’t supposed to cross the intestinal barrier into the bloodstream can. When these foreigners cross the gut barrier the body goes on attack elevating inflammation even more, resulting in food sensitivities and toxic overload.
Wheat, the most popular gluten containing product, is also one of the most pesticide contaminated foods. Milling of wheat actually embeds pesticides in small fractions of the food particles making it more contaminated than most other food sources!
These toxic pesticides come with a variety of health side effects which can also lead to bloating, weight gain, skin issues, hormone imbalances, digestive upset and so much more.
These are just a few of the ways that gluten directly impacts your health every time you come across it.
One bite of gluten is the same as eating the whole slice of bread. There’s really no such thing as being “gluten-reduced.”
On average, it can take 3-6 months for the intestinal lining to heal from a gluten encounter; whether it was one bite or one slice. And this healing process can take even longer for individuals who are experiencing some level of stress, but aren’t we all under some level of stress all of the time in this modern-day world?
Eating gluten certainly isn’t going to help you reach your health goals, so let’s explore why you may not be getting great results when cutting it out.
In this week’s video and blog, I’ll reveal the top 3 reasons why a gluten-free diet doesn’t work and what you can do to get the results you’re looking for.
First I want to applaud you on your efforts to go gluten-free in pursuit of resolving your health issues, and also say that if it didn’t work, it’s not your fault.
Going gluten-free isn’t as clear cut as avoiding wheat, barley and rye as it appears to be, there’s just more to truly being gluten-free.
Here are the top 3 reasons why going gluten-free probably didn’t work for you.
#1 – Sneaky Ingredients
Gluten is a sneaky little ingredient hidden in soy sauce, other condiments, medications and even your personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion and makeup. Why is gluten added to these things? Because it serves as a thickening agent and binder so when you thought you were gluten-free you probably weren’t.
You may have been eating gluten-free and still being exposed to it in the most unlikeliest of places. Give going gluten-free a go again and this time double check food labels for “contains wheat”, medication formulas for fillers, and personal-care products for “hydrolyzed wheat protein.”
To learn more about hidden gluten, check out this Sneaky Little Ingredient blog I wrote.
#2 – Cross-Reactive Foods
You could be eating gluten imposters tricking your body into thinking you’re eating gluten when you’re really not. These foods are called gluten cross-reactive foods. They have similar protein structures as gluten so when your body sees them it responds as if you ate gluten!
The top gluten cross-reactive foods are:
- Dairy
- Corn
- Oats
- Millet
- Rice
- Quinoa
Often these are the exact foods found in all of those alternative gluten-free products you were so excited to find!
If you tried going gluten-free but didn’t cut these guys out too, your body was likely still reacting as if you were eating gluten and therefore tricking you into thinking going gluten-free didn’t work.
Try taking your gluten-free approach to the next level by going grain-free to really see if gluten and its cross-reactive friends are part of the problem for you.
#3 – Deeper Dysfunction
As I’ve said many times before, if the diet isn’t working, there’s likely something going on underneath the hood rendering it ineffective. Going gluten-free is a right step in the right direction and if you pay close attention, I’m sure you’ll probably see some improvements even if it doesn’t completely resolve your primary health issue.
And if it doesn’t completely solve your health problems that means it’s time to dig deeper. Symptoms can be far removed from the root cause.
Bloating, weight gain, skin issues, digestive upset or whatever else you’re dealing with can also be related to hormone imbalances, liver congestion, food sensitivities, parasites, bacteria, yeast overgrowth or a combo of other physiological aspects.
Testing is the best way to stop guessing, get to the bottom of your health issues once and for all and heal them for good. And not just any tests, but functional lab tests that will look in-depth at the hormone, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous system to give you the full picture about what is going on with your body.
Going gluten-free helped me move forward and using functional lab testing to uncover other hidden healing opportunities is what finally helped me get back to feeling like myself again, and it’s the key to helping my clients do the same thing.
So don’t give up on being gluten-free, dig deeper, take the next step and uncover more healing opportunities!If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can find the missing pieces of your health puzzle and get back to feeling like yourself again, schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me today here.
#TBT What your forehead says about your health…
I spent the past week hiking around some of the most beautiful national parks in Utah and to my surprise, in even some of the most remote areas, every single restaurant we ate at had gluten-free items clearly marked.
This just goes to show that more people, including you, are sensitive to gluten whether you know it or not. Regardless if you’ve been diagnosed with a gluten issue or not, gluten is a highly inflammatory food with negative health impacts.
You don’t have to get tested to know if you have a reaction to gluten, the size of your forehead could actually be the only clue you need.
Check out this week’s #throwbackthursday blog to see what your forehead has to say about gluten and what other clues your body holds about your health.
***
I’ll never forget the day I wore my hair pulled back with a headband and my coworker called me out for having a big forehead.
I had been self-conscious about it before, but that day made me feel ultra self-conscious moving forward. My dreams of growing out my bangs for more long, luscious locks around my face and less work in the hairstyling department quickly vanished.
At the time, I had no idea how insightful my forehead would be about my health.
Sometimes what we take for granted or hate most about our bodies can hold the most valuable clues about our health.
For example, the extra weight you might have put on around the middle can be a big clue for blood sugar imbalances, toxic exposures, chronic stress and cortisol hormone dysfunction.
Or weight gain in your “lady parts” (aka breast, hips and butt) strongly correlates with excess estrogen circulating in the body, which can be true for both women and men.
And early signs of gray hair are linked to high stress and low levels of glutathione in the body, which is the body’s master antioxidant and detoxification nutrient.
When it comes to your ideal health and weight, your body holds all of the answers.
Conventional medicine takes more of a “let’s stop the issue” and take this pill for that approach instead of checking in with the body to understand where it’s coming from or what is causing it.
That’s why it’s so common to get prescribed a medication, such as birth control for acne, only to have it partially resolve the issue and for something new to pop up. It’s like chasing holes in a sinking boat!
This conventional approach works perfectly in acute and serious situations such as car accidents or catastrophic events when measures need to be taken immediately to stop the bleeding and save a limb or life. But they aren’t effective for the common chronic health and weight issues that most of us face on a daily basis.
We could spend hours breaking down all of your body parts and what clues they hold about your health. Correlating body parts with symptoms and nerve meridians have been a main focus in eastern medicine practices such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine for centuries.
For today, let’s just focus on the little nuggets about your health that your forehead might have to share…
In this week’s video and blog, I share 3 super clues that your forehead might be holding about your health and what you can do with the information.
These 3 clues will give you insights about your digestion, liver and detox capacity, hormonal balance and thyroid function.
Super Clue #1 – Metabolism & Thyroid Function
I first learned about the forehead’s correlation with your health status when I started studying thyroid conditions on a deeper level.
Hair loss in the “widow’s peak” area of the hairline or forehead points to a sluggish thyroid usually indicating hypothyroidism or Hashimotos.
Missing the outer 3rd portion of your eyebrows (also in the forehead region) is another strong clue indicating low thyroid function that should be investigated.
Super Clue #2 – Digestion & Gluten Sensitivity
I was fascinated when I heard Dr. Tom O’Bryan (one of the pioneers in gluten sensitivity research) quote a study that connected the dots between the size of your forehead and your susceptibility for gluten sensitivity.
In the study, they found that a large forehead directly correlates with having Celiac’s disease and/or gluten sensitivity, so much so that the study stated, “This sign along with the presence of other clinical signs and symptoms, should alert a physician to test a patient for celiac disease.”
I had cut out gluten long before hearing this, and I was never diagnosed as being Celiac, but after hearing this all made sense. I had a large forehead indication and increased sensitivity or potential autoimmunity related to gluten, and that’s why I felt so much better with gluten out of my life.
Super Clue #3 – Liver & Detoxification
You may have heard the old-wise tale about how acne in specific areas of the face can correlate with your diet, stress, dirty hands and allergic reactions.
Well there’s actually some truth to this.
According to the nerve meridians used in eastern medicine, the area of your forehead is linked to your major detoxification organs such as you liver, gallbladder, kidneys and bladder.
Acne on your forehead can indicate a back-up in your body’s ability to detox and process toxins or excess hormones, such as estrogen, adequately.
When I was in the throes of healing Hashimotos, detoxing from toxic mold and estrogen dominance I had forehead acne for the first time in my life.
And even more interesting, on an emotional level forehead acne can be related to anger, anxiety, fear, frustration, worry and grief!
On top of it all, all of these clues can also be connected!
In order for your thyroid to function at full steam, your digestive tract and detox organs need to be running effectively.
An inflamed digestive system from gluten sensitivity will allow more toxins into your bloodstream, leading to liver overload and then taking your thyroid down with it.
And the vicious cycle could go on and on and on.
Next time you look in the mirror, take a closer look at your forehead to see what it might be saying about your health.
If you notice any of these clues that I mentioned, you’ll want to…
- Do a food sensitivity and gluten reactivity test to verify if these are issues for you
- Test your thyroid to see if your thyroid hormones are in optimal ranges
- Boost your detox capacity with some high quality liver support supplements and naturally detoxifying food such as beets, dandelion greens and cruciferous vegetables
I’ve learned to love the size of my forehead because of the valuable insights and empowerment it’s given me about my health.
And as many of my clients and I have experienced, it may not be possible to change the size of your forehead but you can learn to appreciate the health knowledge it has to offer, and it is possible to get your thyroid, digestion and detoxification back on track so you can have your luscious hair and clear skin back.
***
Share this with a family member or friend who might find it useful too!
And as always, if you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can find the missing pieces of your health puzzle and get back to feeling like yourself again, schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me today here.
Heavier but healthier than ever…
I’m heavier than I was but I’m healthier than I’ve ever been.
This just goes to show that weight is not a true determinant of health, and I’m not only going to explain why but I’m also going to tell you how to truly evaluate your health status so you can live your fullest life.
I’ve always been overweight according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale used to evaluate health by conventional medicine standards. Even at my lowest weight, during my peak fitness training days, I fell into the overweight category.
BMI is calculated by comparing your height and weight. It doesn’t take muscle mass versus fat mass into account; so as someone who has a more muscular and stocky build at 5 foot 5 inches, I’ll never win this assessment.
This is just one of the reasons why using BMI and weight are a poor assessment of health status.
On the other side of the BMI scale, as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner I’ve also worked with plenty of clients who fell into a healthy BMI category but had a laundry list of health issues.
I currently weigh in somewhere between 138-143 lbs depending on what I’ve been eating, how I’ve been sleeping, how much stress I’m under and the phase of my menstrual cycle. I also currently have more energy, mental clarity, body confidence, quality sleep and stress tolerance than ever before.
When I was my lightest at 126 lbs, I struggled to stay awake in the afternoons, suffered from intense ear infections, felt anxious, was diagnosed with skin cancer, had frequent migraines and joint pain. And despite all of this, I was told I was the picture of perfect health at my annual physicals.
So why do we use weight to determine health status?
We frequently formulate an impression about a person’s health based upon how they look but just like being in a relationship, there’s way more to health and happiness than looks.
Weight isn’t even considered a vital sign. The four main vital health signs routinely monitored by medical professionals and healthcare providers include:
- Body temperature
- Pulse rate
- Respiration rate (rate of breathing)
- Blood pressure (Blood pressure is not considered a vital sign, but is often measured along with the vital signs.)
At best, these vital signs are critical indicators for acute trauma and illness such as infections, viruses, and heart attacks; but they fall short when it comes to assessing chronic health issues such as hormone imbalances, autoimmune conditions and even cancer – all of which I was suffering from when I was supposedly the picture of perfect health according to my vital signs at my annual physicals.
In this week’s video and blog, let’s talk about what being healthy really means; how to evaluate it and obtain it.
My story is not unique. I hear a similar story from clients all of the time…
“I’m exhausted. I can’t lose weight. I can’t tolerate stress well anymore. I have trouble sleeping and (fill in the blank with various other health concerns). I just don’t feel right in my body and yet my blood work keeps coming back normal.”
My first response to this is, “you know your body better than anybody so if something doesn’t feel right let that be your guiding light, not a set of test results that may or may not be investigating the right scenes of the crime.”
And next is, let’s use some functional lab testing to uncover hidden healing opportunities in the hormones, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous system.
Inflammation is at the root of all disease and dysfunction. It’s at the core of your fatigue, hormone imbalances, sleepless nights, skin conditions, digestive issues, aches, pains, autoimmunity and more.
The 4 main vital signs and even a complete blood chemistry blood panel don’t assess inflammation very well. These markers can alert you to the fact that inflammation is occurring in general but from there you’ll want to uncover why, where and how long has it been going on to understand the depths of its impacts.
Some of the most common tests for inflammation include:
- C-Reactive Protein (CRP) found through a blood test
- Calprotectin found through a stool sample test
- Metabolized and Free Cortisol found through a saliva or urine test
C-Reactive Protein will tell you there is inflammation but it won’t tell you where it is in the body, what’s causing it or how long it’s been around.
Calprotectin isolates inflammation in the gut or the intestinal tract giving you a better plan of attack. With this information you can investigate specific causes of inflammation such as food sensitivities, parasites, bacteria, yeast overgrowth and a number of other things.
Cortisol gives you the best overall picture. Based on metabolized cortisol values, you can assess the stages of HPA-axis or adrenal dysfunction, a key indicator for chronic stress and inflammation, and based on the 24-hour free cortisol pattern, you can assess where points of stress are happening throughout the day to give you insights on possible causes of inflammation.
At my worst, I was the picture of perfect health according to my blood markers and vital signs, but I was a hot mess according to my cortisol and calprotectin values.
The menstrual cycle has been emerging as a fifth vital sign due to recent research and for women this can actually be one of the best indicators for underlying chronic inflammation and dysfunction going on in the body. Cortisol is part of the endocrine system along with all of your other hormones, so when one goes down they all go down with it.
This fifth vital sign was a huge clue for me too. My menstrual cycle was off from the day it started indicating there was something going on with my health early on that progressively got worse over time resulting in the drained, bloated and unhappy version of myself in my 20’s despite being at my lightest.
Bottom line, health is not just about having good blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate or weight.
Being healthy really means:
- Having plenty of energy to take on anything that comes your way
- Waking up refreshed, motivated and ready to take on the day
- Eating with confidence and enjoyment
- Sleeping soundly through the night
- Being comfortable in your own skin
- Never or rarely ever getting sick
- Feeling like yourself
Feeling healthy in these ways indicates physiological stress and inflammation are low; the hormones, immune, digestive, detoxification, energy and nervous system are running on all cylinders preventing chronic disease and dysfunction.
If you aren’t feeling this way, there’s so much opportunity for you to feel better than you do today!
Know there is a better way to assess true health with the right lab tests and resources so you can feel like your best self and live life to the fullest every single day.
If you’d like to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources to find the missing pieces of your health puzzle, then click here to schedule a complimentary Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me today!
Are you a workaholic?
Hi, my name is Jenn and I’m a workaholic.
I have to work hard at not working. Overworking in the past is part of what led to my constant fatigue, hormone imbalances, digestive issues, skin cancer and Hashimotos.
Scheduling time away from my computer, being outside and trading perfectionism for presence are some of the ways I manage my urge to work too much.
According to the law of attraction, I suspect you might be a workaholic too which is why we’re likely connected and can relate to each other so well, so I want to share some tips with you to make sure working isn’t getting the best of you like it once did to me.
I’ve been a busy yet health-minded professional since I can remember.
As a kid, I excelled in school taking all of the advanced classes and played outside in the street until the sun went down. In high school it was more of the same; advanced classes, after school sports, weekends full of socializing with friends and at 16 I got my first part-time job.
Off to college I went to pursue a degree in fitness, nutrition and health all while juggling an internship, part-time job and full social calendar. I landed my first career job right after graduation, was promoted to assistant manager in 6 months and moved up to head fitness manager within less than a year.
At 22 years old, I was living the dream; working hard, making great money working in the health industry and playing just as hard on the weekends.
Over the years, I put in a LOT of 12-hours days, dealt with a lot of stress working a high-pressure sales environment and drank way too much on the weekends trying to relax and escape.
But I thought I had it all under control. I was eating healthy according to what I had learned in school, hitting the hard gym every day and hitting my performance goals at work.
That was until I was diagnosed with skin cancer at 25 years old with no obvious risk factors such as family history or being a chronic sun-bather.
That’s when the light bulb went on and I started to realize I had been tired for a long time. I always struggled with my weight despite what I ate or how much I exercised, and my seasonal allergies that were progressively getting worse weren’t normal.
Healthy is a way of being, not just doing.
You see, I was doing a lot of “healthy things”, but I wasn’t exactly embracing being healthy. I was running my body into the ground daily and barely keeping it afloat with my so-called healthy eating and exercise habits.
But you can’t out-supplement, out-diet or out-exercise a too busy lifestyle or overworked body.
In this week’s video and blog, I share 10 tips to shift from a worn down workaholic to feeling like your best self.
Now as an entrepreneur working for myself from home, it’s generally much easier for me to sit at home catching up on work instead of taking time to relax and do nothing. I love my work. It’s incredibly rewarding on many levels; I get to help people reach their health goals. I get a rush from checking tasks off my list and coaching others which scratches my natural board-leader itch.
And during this damn pandemic, it’s been way too easy to just keep working when there isn’t much else to do. Can ya feel me?
However…
Your body can only heal in a relaxed state.
All of the busy-ness, the doing, and the moving elicits a chronic low-grade stress response in the body. It triggers your sympathetic nervous system, also known as your “fight or flight” response, signaling the body to release cortisol hormone. Cortisol is your body’s response to stress but it also helps to regulate your energy balance, sleep quality, blood sugar regulation, inflammation and hormone pathways.
This busy-ness response paired with emotional stress, less than ideal nights of sleep, hitting the gym hard, hidden environmental toxins, alcohol and sub-optimal food choices increases the demand for cortisol to regulate stress and inflammation.
A constant demand for cortisol due to an overstimulated fight or flight response really starts to wear down your body over time, and it can lead to all kinds of imbalances and health issues.
A perfect example of this is my old workaholic lifestyle…
- Get up early
- Workout hard
- Work all day
- Work while eating lunch
- Eat good food but not great food
- Rush from one place to another including to bed
- Repeat
To sum it up, my routine was basically deplete, deplete, deplete, hit repeat. I would take two steps forward with my “healthy habits” and three steps backwards by depleting my body with repeated demands.
Your body will do anything you tell it to but that doesn’t mean you should.
Understanding the burden of stress that your body is under at any point in time and taking action to reduce it is the true path to achieving and maintaining your ideal health and weight.
One of the biggest actions you can take is relaxing more (aka working less) to allow your body to enter the rest and digest or parasympathetic state. This is when healing really happens allowing you to take more steps forward even if your choices or environment took some steps back.
Here are 10 of my favorite ways to stop and shift from work-mode to relax-mode that instantly flip the switch in the body from fight or flight to rest and digest status:
- Lay down and prop your feet up for 10+ minutes
- Take a breath break; inhale 5 sec., hold for 5, exhale for 7, repeat 5-10x
- Eat meals outside and/or away from your computer and phone
- Schedule time to explore the outdoors and disconnect
- Create a nightly wind-down routine and be asleep by 10pm
- Set Do-Not-Disturb on your phone daily 9pm-7am
- Spend quality time with furry family members or friends (dog, cat, etc.)
- Find a hobby that entices you and brings you a bunch of joy
- Engage in therapeutic mental challenges such as puzzles, crosswords and painting
- Put reminders in your calendar to stop working and do something relaxing such as read a book, watch your favorite TV show, do arts and crafts or just sit and stare out at the world
Even with these tools in my back pocket that little voice inside my head still tries to encourage me to keep working to reap the rewards of my labor, but I know better now.
I know what it feels like to feel at home in my body, to wake up rested, to feel strong, and to never ever get sick – this is way more worth it than that extra hour or minute of work I think I should put in.
This is the question you have to ask yourself…is all that work worth it if at the end of the day you’re too tired, sick or feeling fat to enjoy life?
I’m curious, no matter how small, what shift could you make to work less and relax more in an effort to support feeling like your best self?
Comment below to give yourself some accountability and share your commitment to shift with me.
#TBT I’m not afraid of skin cancer
This year is flying by, I can’t believe it’s mid-July already! Here in San Diego we’re hitting the peak of summer and I’ve been soaking up the sun by the pool, on my morning runs and even while eating my lunch during the week.
There once was a time when I thought I’d never be able to enjoy the sun in these ways, right after I was diagnosed with skin cancer over 10 years ago.
But so much has changed since then, and there are ways to enjoy the sun without worrying about skin cancer; so here’s a #throwbackthursday blog to shed some sunlight on that for you 🙂 ….
***
I was diagnosed with skin cancer at age 26, and I just spent a whole week fearlessly soaking up the sun in Maui.
At the time of my diagnosis, from the outside, I looked like your typical healthy person…
I ate “healthy” – low calorie, lean meats, vegetables, fruits, yogurts and sweets only occasionally.
I exercised daily doing a mix of weight lifting, cardio, training for fitness shows and half or full marathons.
On paper I even looked perfect; normal cholesterol, heart rate, blood pressure etc. I was a skilled personal trainer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fitness, Nutrition and Health who (at the time) thought I knew all there was to know about being healthy and losing weight.
Despite doing all the right “healthy” things, prior to my skin cancer diagnosis, the intensity of my seasonal allergies had progressed to the point of wiping me out for days or weeks, migraines became more frequent, “normal” joint aches or muscle soreness seemed to linger longer and longer, and it was getting tougher to lose or maintain my weight.
I slowly started to question my health and what I had been taught all those years in school.
Skin cancer was my body waving a BIG red flag about something deeper going on.
Being diagnosed with skin cancer at such a young age sparked an undeniable urge to get to the bottom of my own health issues and use my knowledge to help others.
I practically had zero risk factors associated with skin cancer – no family history of any cancers related to melanoma, and sure I used a tanning bed or spent time in the sun without sunscreen from time to time, but I wasn’t your typical frequent tanner who was putting themselves at risk for skin cancer by any means.
The pieces of the puzzle just didn’t seem to add up. I was “healthy”, had minimal risk factors and was young, yet for some reason cancer cropped up. I knew there had to be more to the story.
Shortly after my diagnosis, I enrolled in the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® (FDN) Course to dig deeper into my own health issues, to get to the bottom of them once and for all. And with my newly acquired knowledge, I aspired to help others also struggling with chronic health issues and weight loss despite the fact that they were eating right and working out.
The FDN training taught me a whole new way of looking at weight loss, health and disease.
As I started digging deeper I found A LOT of cellular damage, hormone imbalances, liver congestion and gut dysfunction…
No wonder why cancer had found itself at home in my body!
As part of the FDN training I was required to run functional lab tests on myself to look at my hormone, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous systems. These functional lab tests are very different than your typical blood tests. Most of these tests are done using saliva, urine and stool to take a closer look at how the body is actually functioning (or not) in real time.
My test results revealed a flurry of Metabolic Chaos®.
My hormones were going haywire causing deep dips in my energy, making it difficult to manage my weight or to keep inflammation under control resulting in those intensified seasonal allergies, aches and pains.
My liver was overloaded and unable to move cancer-causing toxins out of my body effectively, coupled with high oxidative stress (i.e. cellular/DNA damage) making me the perfect candidate for cancer.
The good news is this story has a happy ending. I’m now over 10 years skin cancer free.
And I’m not afraid of skin cancer anymore, or any other health condition for that matter.
In this week’s video and blog, I share how I overcame skin cancer, what I’m doing to prevent getting it again and how I’ve kicked seasonal allergies, migraines, aches and pains, and weight gain all at the same time.
Testing allowed me to stop guessing about what was going on in my body exactly, and it gave me valuable insights about what I could do to restore balance, prevent future cancer and other chronic disease scares.
As an added bonus, I also discovered how to put a stop to my seasonal allergies, migraines, frequent aches and pains, and the struggle to lose or maintain my weight.
With the data in hand, I set out to create a personalized health rebuilding plan that met my unique needs, one that included:
- Foods that were right for my body
- Adequate sleep during the most critical times of night
- Health boosting exercise intensity and types (instead of depleting)
- Various modalities to reduce physical and emotional stress
- Specific supplements to support my body in the ways it needed
- Transitioning to a non/less-toxic living environment
All geared towards a goal of restoring hormone balance, efficient liver function, boosting digestive health and reducing oxidative stress to prevent further cancer growth, and so I could get my energy back, lose weight and be allergy, migraine and pain free!
As Dr. Nasha Winters, author of the Metabolic Approach To Cancer, once said “you are what you don’t poop.”
Cancer-causing toxins are eliminated through stool, urine and sweat so if you’re not doing those things regularly or well, your risk for cancers and other chronic diseases escalates.
And in order to eliminate toxins well you need to have all of your systems running efficiently; hormone, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous systems.
Upon implementing my health re-building plan, I felt immediate relief from seasonal allergies, migraines, aches and pains, and I lost weight – all signs that my body was healing and regaining its balance.
I now feel 100% like my energetic, strong and lean self again. I’m not afraid of skin cancer because I’ve restored my health, I know what to do in order to prevent it, and I’ve been over 10 years skin cancer free to prove it.
I no longer rely on typical blood tests anymore to gauge my health. Instead, I pay close attention to what is going on with my body and every year I run a series of functional lab tests to make sure all systems of my body are firing; to monitor my liver function and oxidative stress levels for potential cancer risks, and to make any minor adjustments needed to my lifestyle to support my best self.
Now I confidently soak up the sun on a regular basis because I feel great in my body and I know skin cancer has nothing on this #HEALTHBOSS.
***
As a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner, I help health-mind people like you to also investigate the unanswered or puzzling pieces of your health story so you too can feel your best and live life to the fullest!
If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources so you can find the missing pieces to your health puzzle and get back to feeling like yourself again, click here to schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session.
P.S. Check out my two favorite non-toxic sunscreens… HINT pineapple spray and COOLA guava mango lotion!
Your pandemic diet plan
This pandemic thing has been going on for months now, and it has brought on a wave of emotions; everything from feeling grateful, to resentful, happy and disappointed.
Oddly enough, what it reminds me most of are the times I’ve made significant changes to my diet, and most recently when I committed to an Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) diet to reverse my Hashimotos (an autoimmune thyroid disorder).
As I sit here now, writing this in remission with Hashimotos and living my best life, I can honestly say the significant dietary changes were well worth it.
Going on an AIP diet wasn’t just about doing a diet. It taught me so much about my body, my health, myself and what really mattered in life – similar to what this pandemic is doing for all of us right now.
So consider this your pandemic diet plan…if you’re open to it, it will also teach you SO MUCH about your body, your health, yourself and what really matters.
Sure in the beginning it felt restrictive and maybe it still does even, just like starting a diet…
…eliminating some of your favorite foods in order to do what’s right for your body sucks, you miss them. Just like not being able to go to your favorite places during this pandemic.
But after a while, you find a new groove; a new way of eating, a new routine and even some new foods that you love just as much as the old ones. Similar to how we are all finding a new way of being during this pandemic.
You also start to feel better once you are eating in alignment with what your body needs; your energy increases, you sleep better at night, you can think clearly again, you start shedding pounds and overall you feel more comfortable in your own skin.
Eventually eating in this new way just becomes part of what you do; you no longer have to work hard or think about it too much, it just comes naturally.
You can see the difference in how you feel, how you look at the world and your health. You have healed.
And if you look back over the last few months, I’m sure you can see how much you have grown or changed along with this pandemic.
In this week’s video and blog, I share my top tips and insights for getting through changing your diet that will help you not only get through this pandemic but also come out the other side feeling more comfortable in your own skin.
When talking about making changes to their diet, I often hear clients say…
“I don’t want to be ‘that’ person at the dinner table making special food requests.”
To which I will reply, “what’s more important to you, not being ‘that person’ or feeling like your best self?”
Every choice you make will either build your health or break it down. And I get it, when others are making certain choices, the fear of missing out (FOMO) can hit you hard.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned while doing an AIP diet was this…
Food or alcohol doesn’t make the moment or the experience, I do.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a foodie and a wine lover so when I committed to avoiding alcohol and AIP foods for however long it took to get my body back, I missed those things; but I also didn’t avoid social events or sit in the corner feeling sorry for myself because I was missing out on them either.
Instead, I found other ways to enjoy the moments and create experiences.
I explored making creative mocktails and dishes that I could have and bring with me to social gatherings. I made a point to be more present and engaged in conversations, to really connect with people and really be in the moment. I found other ways to treat myself at the end of a long week with activities such as massages, tea with a friend, taking a spiritual class or spending time outside.
An AIP diet is what some would call very restrictive, and while yes it did require me to avoid a longer list of foods, it also challenged me to find a deeper sense of self and connection.
It encouraged me on a deeper level to really think about:
- What I was putting in my body and how it responded to it?
- Were my choices in alignment with how I wanted to be feeling?
- How did I want to spend my time and my energy?
- What really were my priorities – health, work, food, family, me?
To sum it up, it made me pay attention to what I was ignoring before.
As I said when this whole pandemic thing started…
Life gives us exactly what we need when we need it, we just have to be open to receiving it.
The recent events are forcing change. They are forcing us to change the way we look at the world, the way we look at our health and what we prioritize in our lives.
It seems as if this pandemic is encouraging us to…
- Slow down
- Let go of being busy
- Look inward instead of out
- Be with yourself and those closest to you
- Practice patience and hold space for health
- Take time to create and contemplate what is really important
Interestingly, these are also basic practices that help you to build and maintain your health, and they were pivotal parts of my health journey that helped me to reverse Hashimotos, balance my hormones, restore my energy and get back to my ideal body.
Part of the reason why people get sick is because we are so busy or we ignore what our body is trying to tell us. Think about how many times you or people you know have…
- Come to work sick
- Pushed through the pain
- And kept going till burn out
All because there was “too much to do.” And all of which suppresses your immune system, making you susceptible to the common cold, flu, chronic illness and pandemic type viruses such as COVID-19.
So as we continue to move through this pandemic diet for life experience together, ask yourself…
- What is important to you?
- What do you need to eliminate that has been robbing you of time, money and energy?
- What have you been ignoring that needs your attention?
- How can you find ways to make every moment count and create your own experience?
And in the end of all of this, you’ll realize change was needed and it actually feels better just like I did at the end of my AIP diet plan.
Now I eat mostly AIP to continue supporting my body in the ways it needs it most, and I have a greater understanding of what supporting my body really means.
Similarly, this pandemic has shown me that I don’t need constant access to all the “busy things” or luxuries that were at my fingertips before. This different way of living is actually supporting my best health, self and growth.
P.S. If you want more guidance on how to find the RIGHT DIET for you during this pandemic, click here to get my Food & Body Language Log Tool
Hormone education and resources…
I’m curious…what do you remember about your middle or high school health class?
I vaguely remember learning the basics about nutrition (aka. the misleading food guide pyramid known as the plate now), anatomy and sex.
Isn’t it funny that our health is something we have to take care of and manage our whole lives yet most of us only had one measly semester long class to prepare us for this?
I want to change this, for all the women (and even men) who have gone before us and for the ones who come after us.
I certainly didn’t learn what I really needed to know in order to manage my health let alone my hormones or my menstrual cycle. And as a result of being ill-informed, I quickly found myself taking birth control to regulate painful and irregular periods which turned into a 17 year marathon of wrecking the delicate balance of my body.
A recent survey of 2,000 women (age 30 to 60) found that nearly half of them have experienced one or more symptoms of hormone imbalances, and 72% only later understood the causes of their hormone issues.
Some of the most common symptoms they experienced included:
- Low energy
- Weight gain
- Mood swings
- Sleep disturbances
- Urinary incontinence
- Memory loss and brain fog
- Anxiety, depression and lost of interest in daily activities
I can only imagine how much money, time and angst those 72% spent trying to find a fix for their health issues, not even realizing it was all related to their hormones because they don’t fully understand how their body works.
How many of those symptoms can you relate to?
In my functional health coaching practice, I’ve worked with too many young women struggling with the same issues I had; some fearful or frustrated about not being able to get pregnant. Then there are the numerous pre- and post-menopausal women I’ve worked with who are trying to untangle their hormone issues so they can gracefully get through menopause or restore the life they had once before their hormones got out of whack.
All with one thing usually in common… a prescription for birth control or hormone replacement therapy without a conversation about the side-effects, potential risk factors or lifestyle changes they could make to build health and balance their hormones.
Did your doctor ever tell you that taking birth control could increase your risk for an autoimmune condition, let alone a slew of other hormonal, liver and health issues? Mine sure didn’t; not the one who prescribed it to me or the various primary care doctors I saw for annual physicals over the next 17 years.
As Dr. Jolene Brighten shares in her book Beyond the Pill, “there is a 300 percent increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease if you take the pill” but not many people are talking about the health issues related to hormone treatments, or how to balance your hormones naturally.
My friend and functional medicine-minded OBGYN Shawn Tassone put the overuse of birth control into such clear perspective once by saying, “birth control is prescribed to females for things such as acne which can often be fixed by changing their diet. Would you prescribe birth control to a teenage boy with acne? No, then why is it being prescribed for females so frequently when there are other options.”
Hormones control many major bodily functions; emotions, cancer risk and even memory loss.
Imagine what your life, and our world would be like if we all received more education about health and hormones at a younger age, or had access to better resources throughout our lifespan.
In this week’s video and blog, I share more about my mission to provide adequate hormone education and resources for women regardless of income, insurance coverage, demographics or social status; allowing women to embrace their bodies, hormones and be in control of their health to live their fullest life.
We all deserve easier access to hormone education and resources so you can live your fullest life, and so you can give the generations to come a better quality of life too.
I didn’t really start to understand how my body worked as a woman until my 30’s.
Reaching rock bottom with my long-time hormone-imbalance battle led me down the road to a higher health education. Had I known as a teenager what I know now, I could have prevented the 17+ years of irregular periods, chronic fatigue, weight gain woes, allergies, brain fog, waves of depression and anxiety, Hashimotos, disrupting the precious balance of my body with birth control and so much more.
I’ll never forget what my client Dee said about receiving her DUTCH hormone test results and data-guided recommendations for diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction and supplements…
“It was like Christmas. I was so excited to hear the results because we tested for things no one else was interested in…how amazing would it be to give this gift to every woman.”
She had been on a diet her whole life trying to lose weight with limited success; trying everything from Beach Body to Weight Watchers and Keto. She even explored Cross Fit for a while.
As she entered her 40’s, she gave up on weight loss as her focus shifted to how she felt with menopause kicking into gear – which led her to uninsured hormone replacement therapy, expensive acupuncture treatments and various other hormone therapies. None of which fully resolved her health issues and got her back to feeling like herself again. She felt helpless when it came to her hormone health.
For the longest time, it felt as though I didn’t have control over my hormones either; dating all the way back to my adolescence as my body shifted and my hormones seemed to rip through me emotionally and physically. A feeling both Dee and I shared, as I’m sure most women do.
A false feeling conjured up by a lack of understanding around our hormones.
I’m happy to report that after working together and getting access to the right lab tests and resources to better understand her body and hormones, Dee has lost weight, her hormones are balanced and she feels great!
Dee’s story is just one of the many I see. In fact, two of my newest clients have a very similar story; one has been on birth control for over 40 years and prescribed multiple medications to control side effects likely linked to hormone imbalances and who has been struggling with weight gain and fatigue for years.
Dee’s comment sparked an idea that could change the course for women’s hormone education forever.
What if every woman regardless of income, insurance coverage, demographics or social status could have access to the right lab tests, resources and education to:
- Gracefully get through menopause or any stage of hormone change
- Advocate for themselves and collaborate with their health professionals
- Formulate a lifestyle and health plan that worked for their unique body
Women all over would stop suffering, and start living fuller lives. They would be better daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, moms, partners, leaders and teachers – and the men in their lives would greatly benefit from this too.
And so H.E.R For Women was born! – Hormone Education and Resources for Women for Life.
Last week, my dream of starting a non-profit organization that would provide hormone education and resources, such as the DUTCH test, to women regardless of income, insurance coverage, demographics or social status while allowing women to embrace their bodies, hormones and be in control of their health to live their fullest life became official!!!
This project is in the beginning stages but it holds incredible power.
I personally wish I would have known my body better earlier in life to avoid some of the health challenges I have faced, but my journey and the journey I have helped other women through has inspired this project so that the future of women’s health will be better.
Thank you to all my sisters, and even brothers, out there who have inspired and supported this mission.
Stay tuned for more information as this project develops and how you can take advantage of it or contribute to it.
In the meantime, if you want to get the gift of the right lab tests and resources to live your fullest life like Dee did, click here to schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session.
Your Summer playlist…
I just got back from a weekend road trip up the coast of California and it was SO refreshing to get out on the open road, and to catch up on some of my favorite podcasts along the way.
The official first day of Summer is coming up with the solstice happening in just a few days.
Are you ready to embark on a Summer road trip or vacation?
Whether you’re road-tripping, flying or staycation-ing, you’re going to need some good podcasts, hardbacks or audiobooks this Summer 🙂
Check out some of my recent podcast interviews to dive deeper into topics such as…
How To Navigate Back to Health
Busy lives often means that most individuals compromise their health. However, being equipped with the right tools and knowledge when it comes to your health can be empowering and can help you to be successful in your career too. Listen as Functional Coach Jenn Malecha give you powerful information about navigating back to health.
A Functional Map To Clear Skin With FDN Practitioner Jenn Malecha
In this episode of the Journey To Glow podcast, I talk to FDN practitioner Jenn Malecha about the functional approach to identifying the root cause of a skin imbalance and creating a map to follow, each step leading to clear glowing skin.
Couch Talk: How to Conquer Your Acid Reflux w/Jenn Malecha
Acid reflux and GERD is a chronic stomach issue for many Americans. Jenn Malecha, a holistic health coach, joins Dr. Anna Cabeca to talk about why people get GERD and how they can correct their stomach issues.
And here are some of my recent favorite books about health and living your best life…
- Beyond the Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten
- Someday is Not a Day in the Week by Sam Horn
- Estrogeneration by Anthony G. Jay
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- The Thyroid Connection by Amy Myers
- The Autoimmune Solution by Amy Myers
I’m going to need some new podcasts and books for my Summer playlist too, add a comment below and let me know what some of your recent favorites have been!
Finding calm in the storm of change…
I admittedly don’t have the answers for what is going on in the world right now. I have been doing my best to listen, observe, learn and explore all of this to gain a better understanding of how to move forward in a more positive direction.
But there is one thing I do know…
…the heaviness of all of this could be affecting your health.
As I’ve talked to many friends, family members and clients over the past weeks of all ages, ethnicities and social status, what we’ve all had in common is the stir of emotions and stress related to the recent events.
Life will continue to happen and you can’t always predict or avoid stressful situations, but how you choose to navigate them is what makes a difference when it comes to your health.
And whatever stance you take on the current issues, or even if you are choosing to not participate, your health plays a vital role in your ability to live, breathe and speak your truth.
It’s difficult to see clearly, to communicate your truth and navigate for a better future when you are rundown, tired, irritable and not feeling like yourself.
In order for change to happen, we have to make intentional choices to change, and being in a healthy space supports your ability to do just that.
The story I’m about to tell you by no means represents exactly what has been going on recently, however it is an example of how stressful moments in life can sweep you up and leave you feeling depleted in the aftermath…
Not that long ago, my mom had a near death experience after years of alcoholism. I ran myself ragged trying to fix her and then trying to save her life; arguing with the doctors, trying to control everything and putting too much responsibility for work, home and her on my plate.
For nearly 3 months, I drove 5+ hours through Los Angeles traffic to see her and fight for her life every weekend.
She lived, but I barely did.
I was a shadow of health that I used to know, and it took quite some time for me to recover from all the stress. I fought on the premise of possibility, and I would do it again for the same reason; I would just do it differently for myself.
Through all of that, I realized the only real control I had was over myself, how I responded to the situation and supported health.
Since then, part of improving and maintaining my health has been learning how to let go of the things I can’t control and controlling the things I can. This can be tough when it means making myself a priority over even my loved ones, but I know it’s necessary for my own survival.
The emotional load from what has been going on between COVID-19 and the recent events following George Floyd’s death could be taking a HUGE toll on your health and you may not even realize it.
For example, emotional stress can:
- Diminish digestive power and your ability to absorb nutrients from food resulting in nutrient deficiencies
- Alter sleep quality leaving you feeling foggy headed, irritable and not fully recovered in the morning to bounce out of bed or get through the day
- Increase cortisol hormone production leading to other hormone imbalances, food cravings and weight gain
What is going on in the world is of great importance, and so is your health.
In this week’s video and blog, I’m sharing 3 tips to help you find calm in the storm of change so you can live, breathe and speak your truth in the midst of any stressful scenario.
Being able to identify the burden of stress on the body at any point in time and knowing how to take action to reduce it, is the main message I teach all of my health-coaching clients to help them become their own Health Boss and it’s one that I practice personally.
Whether that’s by taking action to:
- Eat in alignment with what your body needs
- Get adequate sleep and rest over all else
- Turn down the exercise intensity, even when your ego says “no”
- Support the body with proper supplements until it can support itself
- Notice when a situation is causing emotional or mental stress and changing course
- Reduce toxic exposures as much as possible and enhance the body’s natural detox capacity
You need strength to fight the good fight (whatever that means for you right now) or to weather the storm as an observer, and these 3 tips will help you do just that during these ever-changing times…
Consume Consciously
It’s easy to get sucked into all the information being broadcasted on social media and the news. Before you know it, hours have gone by leaving you less time to take care of yourself in the ways that you want to and with a larger bag of emotional baggage to carry. And to top it off, all that screen time also stimulates the release of cortisol hormone which can lead to other hormone imbalances, food cravings, disrupted sleep and weight gain.
It’s possible to stay informed without letting it derail your whole life. Be conscious of how much time you are spending consuming information. Set healthy boundaries around information consumption time. Pay attention to weekly screen time reports provided by your devices or download an app to keep track and remind you when time is up.
Sleep On It
Sleep is more valuable than diet and exercise when it comes to your health. Poor sleep will quickly cancel out your exercise and healthy eating efforts because without quality sleep during the right times, your body can’t fully recover at night to make the most of your healthy choices.
When you are sleep deprived, you are more likely to be irritable, make hasty judgements, get angry, crave foods and make poor choices.
Make a commitment to turn off the lights and be asleep by 10pm so you can wake up feeling rested, focused and motivated to get your message out, to take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Check Yourself
We’ve become a generation of living zombies, roaming through life on autopilot numb to what is going on around us or inside of us and in my opinion this is a BIG reason why we are where we are today as humankind and when it comes to poor health.
Check in with yourself daily to see what YOU need. Maybe it’s a good cry, to let go of anger by screaming at the top of your lungs, a hug, a nap, something to eat because you didn’t realize you were starving or a moment of silence to gather your thoughts.
Bottled-up emotions and ignored needs are a breeding ground for disease and dysfunction.
The best way to care for others is to first care for yourself. Because when you care for yourself you can show up bigger, brighter and better for others.
I will humbly admit I have been fairly silent in the wake of events following George Floyd’s death. Not because I didn’t want to speak up, but because I didn’t know what to say and quite honestly I’ve been just taking it all in and trying to understand how I could do better and use my voice while supporting my health at the same time.
The truth is, I’ve been ignorant to the depths of inequality that still exists. The statistics and reports I have seen in the past week or so have been outraging.
It’s easy to turn a blind eye when it doesn’t directly affect you, but that doesn’t make it right; so I am committed to no longer doing it to the best of my ability.
In order to stay awake to what is going on in the world, I will continue to support my health so I can have the strength to be present, to live, breathe and speak my truth to enact change.
I hope in some way this encourages you to do the same.
#TBT Get your body back [for good]
I spent all day in the sun having fun laying by my pool last weekend and it made me think of how grateful I am to have my body back, to feel confident in a bathing suit and carefree about life.
But it made me wonder how you’re feeling in your body?
I’ve had my share of body image and health struggles, but through all of it I learned how to love my body regardless of what it looked or felt like, and with the right lab tests and resources I was able to get my body back to feeling like home again for good.
You deserve to look and feel your best too, and I’m proof it’s possible for you so this week I’m bringing back one of my favorite blogs to help you get your body back too…
***
Summer is officially here stirring up all kinds of judgements, criticisms, wants and desires related to how you feel in your body.
Do you ever find yourself wondering why you don’t have energy to do the simplest tasks such as putting away the laundry, riding bikes with your kids or paying attention to a conversation.
Does getting dressed every morning feel like internal warfare with yourself – you put something on, criticize yourself in the mirror and change your outfit a million times until you find something that doesn’t make you feel like a stuffed sausage?
Do you wish you could just feel like your old self again?
…the energetic, clear-minded, great skin, creative, in-shape, productive, pain and bloat free person you used to be.
I know. I’ve been there, and many of the clients I’ve worked with have been too.
There once was a time when I felt like a stranger in my own body.
Acne took over the radiant skin I was always so proud of. Extra weight or bloating hid the muscle tone I worked so hard for and drastically reduced my outfit options. Low energy limited my ability to basically show up in life; to be the social butterfly I had always been, to be present or creative in my work and at home.
And all I could think about was a time when I felt physically and mentally fit. I didn’t have any self-imposed limitations. All I wanted was to find myself in that place again.
If you feel this way or have ever felt this way, can I get a hell yeah?
(if so let me know below!)
I struggled for a while before I figured out how to get my body back for good – but I did get it back and you can too.
The first thing you need to know is, there is WAY more to getting your body back than changing your diet and exercising.
And the second thing you need to know is, it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Diet and exercise are just two pieces of the puzzle when it comes to feeling like your best self, but they are only effective when the body is running on all cylinders.
Think of it like this…
If you owned the highest profile performance vehicle available in the world, filled it with the highest quality fuel and tried to take it from zero to sixty in 30 seconds with a clogged air filter, empty oil canister, imbalanced tires and sketchy electrical system what do you think would happen?
The car wouldn’t perform as expected right?
This is similar to what happens when you try eating right and exercising, but get little to no results. There’s something going on underneath the hood reducing the efficacy of your efforts.
In this week’s video and blog, I want to help you understand what is potentially going on underneath your hood so you can get your body back for good.
Have you ever caught yourself staring in the mirror wondering how you got here? Wondering…
…where all the weight came from?
…if everyone else notices the circles under your eyes?
…how you’re going to make it through all your meetings today?
…what would happen if you just went back to bed and hid under the covers?
You see, so many others have felt this way too but they have also found a way to get their body back for good with the right lab testing and guidance.
What you’re experiencing did not happen overnight. Feeling out of place in your body is something that has gradually occurred over time amongst the shuffle of work, kids, responsibilities, travel, stress and anything else going on in your life.
Feeling uncomfortable in your own skin happens when…
- Your hormone system go haywire
- Your immune system gets weak
- Your digestive system is dysfunctional
- Your detoxification system doesn’t work
- Your energy system gets slowed down
- And your nervous system sends mixed signals
In order to get your body back for good, you’ve got to get it all of the systems of the body running right, just like a high profile performance vehicle should be.
If your expensive high profile performance car wasn’t running right what would you do?
You would take it to the best specialist around for a thorough evaluation that would include a variety of diagnostic tests to check every aspect of the engine, fuel lines, tires, pumps and more.
To get your body back for good you’ll want to do the same thing so you can understand what is going on underneath the hood; what’s happening with your hormones, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy and nervous system so you’ll know exactly what steps to take to restore function and feel your best again.
Here’s the caveat though…
Running typical blood tests with your general practitioner, or even some specialists won’t get you the answers you’re looking for. (To learn more about why typical blood tests don’t tell you squat, check out the replay of the webinar I did here)
In order to REALLY see how your body is functioning, you’re going to need to run functional lab tests that provide deeper insights about function!
The good news is, these functional lab tests are super easy to do. Most of them are urine, saliva and stool based making it convenient for you to do them in the comfort of your own home.
And based on these functional test results you’ll receive guidance on exactly:
- What foods are right for your body
- How much sleep you need and when
- What type of exercise will get you the best results
- Which stress reducing tools would be most effective for you
- And what toxins or other environmental factors you should minimize to boost your health
Now doesn’t that sound pretty straight forward instead of guessing about what you should be doing to feel good in your body again.
Running functional lab tests is what gave me the insights to get my energy back, get my weight under control, clear up my skin and think clearly again when I wasn’t getting the results I wanted from diet and exercise, or my doctors.
Running these types of lab tests is what has helped so many of my clients uncover hidden healing opportunities such as:
- Estrogen dominance
- Insulin resistance
- Cortisol dysfunction
- Liver congestion
- Poor thyroid function
- And intestinal parasites, bacteria and yeast overgrowth
Those were standing in their way of feeling like their best self despite their diet and exercise efforts.
And using the data from these lab tests to guide recommendations for diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction, supplementation and toxin removal is exactly how clients of mine such as…
…David, lost 40lbs without engaging in a structured workout routine and is able to sleep through the night…
…Jene, was finally able to control her MS symptoms naturally and now can keep up with her grandson…
…Will, is now more relaxed in his decision-making process and can handle even more workload and challenges…
…and Desiree, began to own her worth, which improved her confidence when navigating restaurants and medical professionals.
See, it is possible to feel good in your body and like yourself again! All you need is the right lab tests and resources to steer you in the right direction.
If you want to get your hands on some of those lab tests and resources so you can feel like yourself again (or for the very first time), then schedule a complimentary Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session with me here today!
