Health Mysteries Solved

The Case:  Maria has been dealing with a lot of inflammation and pain.  She’s been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s and Raynaud’s. She’s tried everything suggested from conventional medicine to functional medicine. The cleanses, special diets, and supplements only made her feel moderately better. When inflammation, malaise and autoimmunity persist despite doing everything possible to heal the gut, clean the liver and support the immune system properly, there is something bigger going on. I knew we had to dig deeper into her past to find the root cause of her issues.    The Investigation I spoke with Maria for over 2 hours. At some point, the conversation moved from her condition to her personal history. When she started talking about when her parent’s divorce during her childhood and then her mother’s unexpected death, I knew there was a link. We just had to connect the dots. A lot of people think that these experiences can’t possibly be the root cause of physical conditions like autoimmune disease.

The Case:  Stacy has noticed her hair loss and  thinning for several years. Started after she stopped taking birth control. She tried taking vitamins & had a dermatologist examine her scalp Her gynecologist recommended she go back on birth control pills Many women experience hair loss for a variety of reasons. And, many go through the same trials and tribulations as Stacy - seeing specialists and trying every supplement that promises hair growth or thicker hair. But, without knowing the root cause of the problem, these approaches seldom work.    The Investigation When I first met with Stacy, I reviewed her past test results and noted that she had a lot of stress in her life. The blood work she’d had done by other practitioners was very basic, so I knew that we had to get more extensive tests done if we were going to solve this health mystery.  I suspected that her hormones were at play in this mystery so I invited Dr. Deborah Matthew back on the show to discuss Stacy’s case.  Dr Deborah Matthew is a Fun

The Investigation I recently did an episode where I answered your questions and invited you to ask more. I was flooded with emails (thank you!). One of the most common topics of these email inquiries was food allergies and sensitivities. From causes, to diagnosis, to how to deal with it - this episode aims to demystify food sensitivities and answer your questions.    Food Allergy vs. Food Sensitivity vs. Food Intolerance These three terms often cause confusion because people are unclear of the differences. A food allergy means that there is a specific protein in a food that is acting as an antigen that is generating an immunologic reaction. Food without a specific protein (like sugar for example) cannot cause a true food allergy.  However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a reaction to it. Sometimes the body is unable to process certain foods properly. This could be caused by an immune dysfunction, build-up of toxins, or a deficiency in certain enzymes. These reactions can cause symptoms but may not always c

The Case:  Eva struggled with sleep issues, anxiety, and extreme emotions for years She saw doctors, functional medicine practitioners, and naturopaths and followed all of their advice with no results Medication, dietary adjustments, and supplements failed to help    The Investigation After years of seeing specialists in conventional medicine, she turned to alternative medicine. Unfortunately, naturopaths, homeopaths, and functional medicine doctors were also unable to determine what was causing her ongoing symptoms.  That’s when Eva came to see me. She mentioned that she was frustrated but that she’s always been overly-sensitive. When I asked her if she’d ever heard of an empath (and explained what that was) she cried.  Lori Kennedy is the CEO of The Wellness Business Hub, the host of the Business Of Becoming podcast and she is a mom of 2 kids. She’s also an empath so I was excited to discuss Eva’s case with her.    What is an Empath?  Lori explains that an empath is someone who is highly sensitive to stim

The Case:  Alessia has suffered from Candida multiple times.   She tried very strict Candida diets and various anti-fungal herbs She would feel better for a while, but then it would come back. Candida, as it is often referred to, is actually Candidiasis, a fungal infection caused by a yeast called Candida. According to the CDC, “Candida can cause infections if it grows out of control or if it enters deep into the body (for example, the bloodstream or internal organs like the kidney, heart, or brain).”   The Investigation When I first met Alessia, her frustration was clear. She’d done so many things right and could not understand why she continued to struggle with this mysterious recurrence of Candida. I was determined to find out what else was going on. I noted that she ate a good amount of fish and lived in an old house - both clues. She also had symptoms of estrogen dominance which can affect candida growth.  The tests she’d had were all gut related so I knew there was more to be revealed with different t

The Question - Should I Change My Supplements if I’m Sick? Should I be taking different vitamins for general immune support and prevention versus if I am already sick or feel like I am coming down with something?   The Short Answer Yes, yes, yes!   Inna’s Response  General immune support for prevention is going to differ from supporting your immune system while you are trying to regain your health.    How to support the immune system for prevention For a typical 150 pound person, I recommend 1000-2000 mg of vitamin C such as C+BioFizz or Stellar C. I also recommend about 30 mg of Zinc and an adequate amount of vitamin D. The dosage of D should be based on blood tests that indicate your current status, however 5000 IU of vitamin D per day would typically be recommended. I use a liquid D for those who may have issues with fat soluble vitamins and the Vitamin D Supreme capsules for all others. Additionally Silvercillin is wonderful for general immunity and prevention and most people do very well with these

The Case:  Amanda is 37 and dealing with pelvic pain, discomfort and heavy periods Doctors diagnosed her with endometriosis and fibroids They prescribed birth control but she’d had a bad reaction in her youth Endometriosis affects 10% of women between the ages of 15 - 49. That’s 176 million women in the world. The most common, traditional way to treat this issue is with hormone therapy in the form of birth control medication.    The Investigation When Amanda came to me, I understood her hesitation in using birth control to manage her endometriosis symptoms. I wanted to find out if we could find the root cause of the endometriosis and treat that instead. The hunt was on and there were many clues to consider. Dr. Shiroko Sokitch is a functional medicine doctor, a trained acupuncturist, and a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. This unconventional combination makes her very good at solving health mysteries. She shares my approach of getting to the root cause of a problem, so I thought she would be the perfec

The Investigation Our experience with the Novel Coronavirus shifts everyday. Some of us are feeling new levels of fear, anxiety, stress, and/or scarcity. But what is really behind these feelings? Is the crisis the cause or just an accelerant? Can we cope better if we develop more emotional resilience? To help me investigate these questions, I reached out to Anat Peri. She’s a transformational coach with over 15 years experience in development work. Her focus is on helping people see their emotions as allies so that they can find the success and happiness they desire.    Understanding Suffering Anat describes suffering as a state when you are in an argument with reality. It is your rejection of what’s happening either externally or internally. You might be resisting the truth, spending emotion wishing it was different or that it would go away. When we deny the present moment experience, we create suffering.    What is Emotional Resilience? We can’t always control our circumstances and the emotions they evoke.

The Case:  Amy is 31 and has been dealing with tons of skin issues for a decade.  She experiences acne, dry/oily patches, cysts, and generally red, bumpy skin. She tried the birth control pill, oral antibiotics, antibacterial soap, and tons of prescription creams.   The Investigation Many people don’t connect their nutrition to their skin condition but when I met Amy, she told me about digestive issues she was having and I knew this was where we needed to start the investigation into her skin issues.  When it comes to skin and natural health, it felt obvious to turn to Dr. Trevor Cates. She was the first woman licensed as a naturopathic doctor in the state of California. She wrote the Amazon bestselling book Clean Skin From Within. She is known as The Spa Doctor and developed a skin care line under the same name.    Skin Warning Signs Dr. Cates says that all too often, when we have something out of balance with our skin, the traditional method of treating it is to suppress it with, for example, a steroid c

At the time of recording this podcast, we are in lockdown as we try to flatten the curve on Covid19. Last week I talked about ways to reframe being stuck at home and things we can all do to improve our health and our lives during this time. This week, we focus on one of those - strengthening your relationships. How often do we wish we had more time with our loved ones? Now we do, and it’s time to make sure that we use it to make our relationships even better.  To help us out, I’ve invited Alicia Munoz to share some of her creative ideas on how to connect (or reconnect) on a deeper level. She’s a couple’s therapist, the author of  No More Fighting and A Year of Us.     Schedule Time to Talk Alicia says that right now, we need to be even more dedicated to keeping the lines of communication open as each of us processes this crisis differently. So, while we press on with our day to day, her first tip is to carve out some time to have a discussion about feelings. She says that scheduling this time will ensure t

As I record on March 23 2020, I’m on lockdown.  With so many of us struggling with being homebound right now, I wanted to give you a different perspective on the situation.  We are all in this together and we have to remember that there is nothing we can do about the actual situation at the present moment. I’m not minimizing the difficulty of this situation but we can be mindful of what we can and cannot control and what we use our energy for when a situation can’t be changed. So, I’d like to share that we can choose to see a few silver linings. More Time With no commute, not having to drive your kids to activities and social engagements, we actually do have more time now than ever. I mean just commuting alone may be an hour or 2  saved a day. Let’s use this time to help ourselves and don’t let it go to waste. If your health is not where you want it to be, now you have the time to focus on improving it. If your relationships with your loved ones have become stagnant or strained, let's use this time to reconne

The Case:  At the time of recording this (March 17, 2020), the Novel Coronavirus is a global pandemic. Entire countries are now on lockdown, store shelves are empty, children are not in school and the news cycle is non-stop COVID-19 updates. The cause and the result of this is escalating fear. But, fear is an emotion and it's something we can each individually control. And, controlling that fear, could play an important role in keeping us healthy.  To explain how, I’ve invited Dr. Mario Martinez back to the show.  Dr. Mario is a psycho immunologist and the best-selling author of The Mind Body Code: How to Change the Beliefs that Limit Your health, Longevity, and Success as well as the learning series How the Mind Wounds and Heals and How Longevity is Culturally Learned and the Causes of Health Are Inherited.  He has published numerous articles in professional journals and lectures worldwide on his research and theory of biocognition.   Reducing Risk Before we talk about ways to improve the immune system, it’s

The Case:  Mary 38 and has been dealing with vertigo, light sensitivity and low energy. She was also experiencing gastro-intestinal issues She saw a neurologist who provided no answers and a gastroenterologist who prescribed Proton Pump Inhibitor medications The Investigation I often meet people with a bunch of symptoms that seem unrelated. That was the case with Mary. In our conversation she also mentioned that she often felt like something was crawling under her skin. When I probed her more she also recalled that she would get headaches here and there. My sense was that it had to do with how her nervous system was responding to something, which is where I started my investigation. My first suspicion was migraine syndrome. It’s estimated that over 33 million Americans suffer with some form of migraines. About 11% of the world’s population has migraines. What most people don’t know is that migraine syndrome isn’t just about bad headaches. There are a lot more symptoms to consider.  To help me unravel Mary’s

The Investigation Misty has a long history of mysterious sleep issues. Just when she would solve one sleep mystery, another would pop up. It turned out, each of them was caused by something different. Luckily, Misty Williams became her own health advocate and was able to get to the various root causes and correct them. Now she runs Healing Rosie, an organization that provides high performing women in their 20s and 30s with the resources and community to successfully confront the unexpected in their own wellness journey. Misty joins me on the show today to share the different suspects you should be considering if you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting enough quality sleep.    Suspect #1 - High Cortisol Most people know that stress can play a big role in our ability to sleep well. The cortisol that our body releases in times of stress is what keeps us awake. For Misty, she experienced a significantly elevated level of cortisol during an illness and once it was rectified, her body struggled

The Case:  Lindsay is 38 and constantly feels overwhelmed by her job, health, and life. She swings from depression to anxiety and can’t get a handle on things. She tried different diets, supplements and saw several experts including an integrative psychologist.   The Investigation When I met with Lindsay, she had already tried and eliminated several of the root causes I would have investigated including removing gluten from her diet and supplementing with probiotics and specific amino acids (which may remind you of Episode 35, The Case of Unpredictable Anxiety w/ Trudy Scott). But, like I always say, every case is unique.  With the usual suspects out of the way, I had to look deeper. I noticed that Lindsay seemed ‘in her head’ a lot. It reminded me of the old me and I knew this would be where the investigation would begin.  Joining me on the show is Christy Whitman. She’s transformational leader, celebrity coach and the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Art of Having It All. Christy is also the CEO

The Case:  Sydney is 41 and struggles with fatigue and fluctuating energy levels. She wakes up tired after a full night’s sleep and can barely make it through her day.  She saw an endocrinologist and the 3 GPs who had no explanation for her condition. She tried several different supplements, but nothing helped. Feeling tired seems like such a common problem that so many people don’t even complain about it anymore - it’s just the accepted human condition. But, Sydney knew that how she was feeling wasn’t normal and she certainly couldn’t accept it. She had her thyroid tested so when her numbers came back in the normal range, she knew she had to dig even deeper.    The Investigation When I first met Sydney, I noticed that she had a lot on her plate. By exploring vitamin deficiencies and thyroid issues, she’d already eliminated some of the usual suspects of fatigue issues. I took a look at her diet and saw that she was already eating pretty clean so that wasn’t the culprit either.  My sense was that we need to

The Case:  Molly is 37 and over the past few decades she’s become less and less comfortable in her body. She’s experiencing anxiety, uneasiness, restless leg syndrome, headaches, eye sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, and trouble falling (and staying) asleep.  She often had to leave work early and was growing frustrated with her body.  The Investigation I could see how difficult life had become for Molly. She told me that she’d often felt overly-sensitive growing up but these latest developments were unbearable.  The more we talked about her lifestyle, the more I noticed that she was extremely connected in a digital sense. She constantly wore a bluetooth earpiece, she had many devices that she used frequently and she boasted about her super-high powered router.  I became suspicious that all of these technological conveniences might be an important part of solving this health mystery.  The potential health threats from exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (also referred to as Electromagnetic Frequencies or

The Investigation It’s estimated that more than a quarter of Americans are suffering with insomnia. Are you? Did you know that all troubled sleeping is considered insomnia?  In this episode, we’re going to solve the mystery of sleep troubles and share valuable information about natural supplements that can help get you back to healthy sleep patterns.    Two Types of Insomnia Many people are surprised to learn that there are two types of insomnia. Type 1 is when you have trouble falling asleep. Type 2 is when you can fall asleep but you struggle to stay asleep through the night. Specifically, if you wake up and struggle (for 20 minutes or more) or are unable to get back to sleep.  Causes of Insomnia When You Can’t Fall Asleep There are many reasons someone may struggle with falling asleep. Common reasons are stress that has caused a high cortisol level. Low melatonin (which may be a result of low serotonin related to gut issues like dysbiosis) is a common factor in difficulties falling asleep. Did you know tha

The Case:  Emily has 2 autoimmune diseases  She decided to get tested for EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) which her doctor reluctantly did. Her doctor didn’t know how to interpret her results and dismissed her concerns.    What Emily experienced is very common. Conventional doctors often are hesitant to test for EBV and don’t truly know how to read the results. In some cases, they don’t even order the right lab tests.    Emily knew that there was more to the story than her doctor understood. She’d educated herself about EBV and knew that there could be a connection to her 2 autoimmune diseases. And, that her health could be on the line.    The Investigation   I was happy to help Emily better interpret her lab results. As we learned in the first case of suspected EBV, this can be a very complicated, confusing, and time-sensitive diagnosis. There are few people who understand it better than Dr. Kasia Kines, so I brought her back to discuss Emily’s case.    Dr. Kasia, she is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition and the CE

The Case:  Doreen is 39 and dealing with chronic digestive issues. She never knew when something would cause her stomach or bowels to flare up. She’d worked with several integrative practitioners but nothing helped. She was at the end of her rope and believed that nothing would ever work for her and that her situation was hopeless.   The Investigation I could see issues with her diet right away but with her history of working with respectable integrative doctors, I knew that dietary shifts weren’t going to be enough. There was something deeper going on and I suspected that it had to do with her mental state.  Trying to solve a health mystery can be emotionally taxing and frustrating. I understand that getting back to health can feel like an impossible task. And, sometimes, if we tell ourselves this enough, and fortify it with more negative thoughts, we can make the challenge even more difficult. I knew that if negative self-talk was at play in Doreen’s health mystery, we might never get her back to wellness