Health Mysteries Solved

The Investigation Annual check-ups are supposed to confirm your health or raise flags on potential issues. But, could they be a false sense of security? I’ve had so many clients come in with a ‘clean bill of health’ from their doctor that doesn’t match how they feel. Today, we’re going to investigate why so many annual check-ups fall short.    Insufficient Blood Tests Are you getting the right blood tests with your annual check-up to truly determine if your healthy? It depends on your doctor. What tests are run is up to each individual doctor. I find that, unless you are seeing an integrative doctor, chances are good that your blood work is very basic. An integrative doctor will ensure that the blood work includes specific markers to get a complete picture of what’s going on in the body.    How Health Mysteries Start So often, clients dealing with a health mystery tell me that they’ve had an annual physical and that the blood work came back totally normal. Without more comprehensive blood testing, they presum

The Case:  Ariella is 32 and has been trying to get pregnant for the last year.  As soon as she stopped taking the pill, she experienced irregular cycles, and headaches and cramps around her period Her family doctor’s only suggestion was to see a fertility specialist who suggested IVF which was too expensive.  She tried tracking her cycle with an app but it wasn’t helping. The Investigation More than 10% of American women struggle to become (or stay) pregnant. Infertility has been on a steady incline over the past few decades and it’s estimated that by 2025, there will be close to 10 million couples struggling to have a baby.  Fertility challenges may be common but in Ariella’s case, I suspected that the root of the problem had been hiding for a long time. My first clue was that she’d started taking birth control pills over a decade ago in order to deal with similar symptoms of her period. The pill may have masked the symptoms, but they didn’t solve the problem. If she wanted to get pregnant, we would have

The Investigation I investigate a lot of health mysteries in my practice and on this podcast but there is one mystery that is hard to solve. How do you thrive? Not just in your health but in your life? If you got to the root of any problem and solved it, could you turn things around and live in optimal health? The Answer is Individual Everyone is going to view ‘thriving’ differently because it’s relative to your health circumstances and history. For me, thriving means waking up each day with great energy and sustaining that energy throughout the day. Getting fuel from the healthy foods I eat and digesting and absorbing everything with ease. Having my thyroid numbers in check and keeping my antibodies at an undetectable level. Having glowing skin and shiny hair a clear mind where I can easily focus on all the tasks at hand. Feeling present in my daily activities and enjoying what I do while having peace of mind, that is a big one for me. Having trust that things are working in my best interest. Parenting from

The Case:  Jake is 3 and suddenly, he can’t sleep through the night. He doesn’t want to be in his room alone and seems scared. Mom and Dad don’t want him co-sleeping but they’re exhausted from the sleep deprivation caused by getting up multiple times a night to put him back to bed. They tried leaving his door open, keeping a light on, essential oils, and even supplementing his diet with calcium, magnesium and GABA. They knew they couldn’t go on like this, and they had to get to the bottom of this new sleep-resistance. Many parents encounter sleep pattern changes with their babies and toddlers. In some cases, it can be attributed to changes to the environment or the schedule. In other cases, the cause is unknown and the solution may not seem obvious, especially if both parents are becoming increasingly sleep deprived as they deal with their wide-awake child.    The Investigation This health mystery was personal. I mean that literally. Jake, the suddenly sleep-resistant child is mine. Those bone-tired parents

The Case:  Susie is 45 and always tired and under the weather.   She’s experiencing muscle weakness, chills, achiness and like she’s about to get a cold or flu but never actually does.  She also experiences hyper sensitivity to certain scents from perfumes, chemical air fresheners, cigarette smoke, and household cleaners  She’s seen multiple doctors that were unable to find anything wrong with her.  Tests for Lyme Disease and Epstein Barr Virus came back negative despite the symptoms pointing to these conditions.    The Investigation I use an analogy on the show all the time about our ‘bucket’ getting full from a variety of issues but it's the last thing into the bucket that causes symptoms (though everything together is what creates the problem). I could see pretty quickly that Susie was dealing with several undiagnosed issues and that her symptoms were not likely to lead to a single issue. Solving multiple health mysteries can be a real challenge, so I decided to rely on a technique that has worked for me

The Investigation There’s so much information out there about how to obtain optimal health that it can do some damage. This overwhelming amount of information often leads to one of two scenarios - doing nothing because it’s too hard to decipher all of the information or oversubscribing to health practices (which might contradict each other). Either way, nobody can blame you for getting it wrong.  But it begs the question - could you be making a common mistake in the name of health? In my practice, I see these 5 things happen all the time -- even with people who are highly educated about health and wellness.  This podcast is all about solving health mysteries and these mistakes are some of the most usual suspects.      Inaction   Change can be hard. When you find out that you have a sensitivity to gluten or dairy, you’re initial reaction might be to think that you can’t possibly make the changes necessary to be healthy again. The excuses might feel reasonable but it comes don’t to not being willing to make t

The Case:  Lauren is 32 and has been dealing with anxiety most of her life She noticed that her anxiety can be worse during stressful times and during the winter. She was  on anti-anxiety medication but they made her feel flat. She tried meditation for anxiety but this wasn't enough and didn’t completely resolve the panic attacks.  The Investigation Lauren’s situation is pretty common and I knew that we had to get to the root of the problem if we were going to help her deal with her anxiety. I suspected her neurotransmitters were part of the solution so that’s where I started investigating.   Trudy Scott is a certified nutritionist and food-mood expert. She’s the author of The Anti-anxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings and is the host of The Anxiety Summit.  Neurotransmitters Role in Anxiety While anxiety is seldom only caused by neurotransmitters, there are several that can play a role. In this week’s episode, and for Lauren’s

The Case:  Allison is 36 and has been struggling with mood issues since college She feels depressed, anxious, lonely and uncomfortable in social situations. Antidepressant medications and talk therapy worked only temporarily She tried supplement with vitamin B, but that made her feel worse The Investigation According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety affects over 18% of the US population and is the most common mental illness in America. They also report that it’s not uncommon for depression and anxiety to be experienced together. The website lists risk factors as genetics, brain chemistry, personality, and life events. I had my suspicions that genetics were at play with Allison.  My instincts were to test her DNA for the MTHFR gene and determine if there might be a problem with her methylation capacity. To talk more in depth about this, I invite a methylation expert to join me on the show.  Dr. Loren Marks is a chiropractic physician who has been practicing in New York City for

The Case:  Kenzie is 34 and dealing with a wide range of symptoms. She has digestive issues, dry, itchy scalp, and cognitive problems like brain fog. Doctors were unable to pinpoint the problem, leaving her with no answers and no solutions.    The Investigation Kenzie suffered for 3 years before she came to see me. I knew that these were not a random collection of symptoms - they were all connected and I suspected that it had to do with something causing dysbiosis or an imbalance in her gut.   This case reminded me of my own struggles to get healthy so many years ago, so it seemed like a great idea to invite the doctor who was able to help me get to the root of my problem.  Michael Biamonte is the founder of the Biamonte Center for Clinical Nutrition and is also the author of the Candida Chronicles: A Manual for Candida Yeast Infections. He says that at any given time, approximately 30% of the population has an overgrowth of candida.  What is Candida? Candida is a unique, yeast organism that exists primari

The Case:  Autoimmunity affects an estimated 50 million Americans Many autoimmune conditions go undiagnosed Autoimmune issues can compound; many people suffer from more than one    The Investigation In my practice, I estimate that half of my clients have at least one autoimmune disease. Many of them don’t know it. Those who do, come in confused and frustrated by the treatment plan presented by traditional medicine which is often just treating the symptoms with pharmaceutical solutions. They want to know if there is a way to feel better naturally. My goal is to get to the root cause and address it from a functional medicine approach. But first, we need to understand autoimmunity better. In this episode, we’ll demystify autoimmune diseases.    Most Likely to Get an Autoimmune Disease It’s an unfortunate statistic that those most likely to get an autoimmune disease are people who already have an autoimmune disease. Research shows that those with autoimmune issues can get up to 8 different autoimmune diseases i

The Case:  Miranda is 42 She was experiencing rashes on her face and chest, joint pain, and fatigue. A dermatologist prescribed antihistamines and a Physical therapist gave her exercises for the joint pain.  There was no explanation or treatment for the fatigue. Miranda’s doctor responded to her condition the way many do - by ruling out the obvious (in this case, arthritis) and then treating the symptoms. More blood tests revealed the presence of ANA or anti nuclear antibody. This indicated that it could be Lupus but it could also not be Lupus. After months of waiting to see her rheumatologist the Lupus diagnosis was confirmed. But, her health mystery still hadn’t been solved because the root cause was still unknown.   The Investigation An estimated 5 million people worldwide have Lupus, and about 1.5 million of them are in the United States. Dr. Tiffany Caplan is a chiropractic physician and a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner who specializes in treating Lupus patients. She, along with her husband

The Case:  Amelia is 39 and dealing with heavy periods. She was also experiencing extreme PMS including headaches, bloating, and uncomfortable breast tenderness. It got so bad, she started to plan meetings, social gatherings and vacations around her cycle. The only solutions doctors offered was to take the birth control pill but a previous blood clot made that a risky proposition. The Investigation Every menstruating woman experiences her period differently but it was hard to hear about what Amelia was going through. I completely understood her predicament and resistance to start taking the pill again after having suffered a blood clot the last time she was on it. I knew there was still hope and that there had to be something else going on that we could address that would help make her periods more bearable. My first hunch was to look more closely at her hormones.    Joining me to discuss this case is Dr. Anu Arasu. She’s the founder of London Bioidentical Hormones clinic and was one of the first doctors i

The Case:  Lisa is 32, dealing with fatigue, brain fog and general unwellness Countless doctors have told her that nothing is wrong She also mentioned she has slight discomfort in her lower jaw that has been around since a root canal years ago Her dentist also told her that he could find nothing wrong   The Investigation Lisa has had a lot of dental work for someone so young. It seemed impossible to me that her health mystery wasn’t related in some way to her dental work. Dentists are trained to look at teeth and take X-rays and if they don’t see anything out of the ordinary, there isn’t much more they can do. I knew we had to dig deeper to get to the root of this mystery.  Joining on the show to discuss Lisa’s case is Dr. Christine Shaffner. She’s a board certified Naturopathic physician and the Clinic Director of Sophia Health Institute in Woodinville, Washington.  The Oral Health Connection Dr. Schaffner started off by explaining that interference fields are often found in the mouth and these can be barr

The Investigation Last week we unravelled the mystery of finding underlying issues with the thyroid. We specifically looked at how blood tests should be read to give a clearer picture of the thyroid function. I got a whole bunch of emails thanking me for the clear explanation but also asking me how they can get the correct tests and what they can do about their numbers. In this episode, I share a few strategies for getting the right tests done to get the full picture of what your thyroid is doing. I include options that will hopefully help you find someone locally who can help (and who is covered by insurance).  Once you have your numbers, that’s another story. The truth is, every case is different; their symptoms are unique to them. It’s important to look at all levels to determine what is happening and what pathways are driving it. To give you a sense of how different each situation can be, I wanted to share a few of my past clients’ stories with you.  Click play to hear about  Cindy, Cara, Melody and Erin

The Case:  This episode, we’re not looking at just one case, we’re looking at many.  More than 12% of the population will develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime. Thyroid symptoms vary but may affect energy levels, weight, and mood. Women are more likely to suffer from a thyroid condition.   The Investigation There’s so much confusion around the thyroid. Symptoms can often be explained away as other things - like poor sleep, poor diet, poor exercise habits. The sad part is, these easy explanations can be a part of the missed symptoms.  And, conventional medicine tends to diagnose thyroid issues using only one test. This means that many people, including those with Hashimoto’s may be misdiagnosed or not have the full picture.  In order to truly understand the thyroid and solve thyroid issues, you need the whole picture and you need to get to the root of the problem.    Thyroid  Expert Over the years, I’ve become very  familiar with this issue because of the countless clients who come into my office com

The Case:  Natalie is 40 but feels like she’s 80 most days She was experiencing fatigue, aches and pains, poor sleep, and depression. After several doctor visits she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, given medication and told to expect things to get worse. An estimated 4 million Americans are diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While symptoms can be present much earlier, most diagnoses are between the age of 35 - 45. And, women are much more likely to suffer from this condition.   The Investigation This health mystery is a little different from most of my cases. Natalie already had a diagnosis and was already treating her condition. When she came to me, she hoped there was a better way. She didn’t want to accept that she would have to take medication for the rest of her life or that she should just get used to the idea of getting worse. She wanted to know if there was any hope of her feeling better despite her fibromyalgia diagnosis.  I knew we had to connect all the pieces of the puzzle to find the true underlying

The Case:  Erica is 37 and was experiencing fast and loud heart palpitations without provocation. These episodes became more frequent causing Erica to fear the worst. She saw several cardiologists who insisted that nothing was wrong.  A racing heart or heart palpitations are described in many ways. Some might say, ‘my heart is beating out of my chest,’ or ‘my heart skipped a beat’. It can also be described as being able to feel your heartbeat in your ears, or like it’s banging against your rib cage. You might even feel like you can’t catch your breath.  However you describe it, it’s scary. We get used to not really noticing our heartbeat - to just knowing that it’s in there, doing its job. So, when we suddenly feel it, we worry that something must be wrong. In some cases, heart palpitations can be a sign of a more serious issue so Erica was right to see her doctor and a cardiologist first.  However, when she came to me with no answers from those specialists, I knew we had to dig a little deeper to get to th

The Case:  Valerie is 39 and she manages her stress with meditation and a bedtime routine. She falls asleep with ease but she wakes up every night and struggles to get back to sleep She tried to further reduce her stress, added supplements and medication to help her sleep issues but nothing worked. Waking up frequently throughout the night is a form of insomnia - the most common sleep disorder in America. Insomnia in the short-term can be dangerous because it increases your chance of falling asleep unexpectedly including at work, while watching children, or when driving. When insomnia becomes chronic, it can lead to sleep deprivation which, in turn, may lead to serious health concerns including metabolic disorders, hypoxemia, and pain conditions.  Valerie knew that she didn’t just want to learn to live with it (as so many women do). She wanted to get to the root cause of the problem so that she could sleep better, and function better during the day.    The Investigation My immediate suspicion was that Valer

The Case:  Dana is 35 and has horrible digestion issues. She experienced bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, and inconsistent bowel movements. She was diagnosed with IBS and told it would be a life-long issue. All she could do was treat the symptoms with a battery of over the counter drugs. It’s estimated that 10 - 15% of the population suffers from IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders, it’s the most common GI issue and is more prevalent in women than in men.    The Investigation While Dana came to me with the IBS diagnosis in hand, we quickly determined that treating the symptoms (as is most often the recommendation from doctors) was not how she wanted to live her life.  I was convinced that if we could get to the root cause of this issue, we could rid her of the vicious cycle of medications she was on. We could finally put an end to her taking Immodium one day and fiber supplements the next.  What is IBS  IBS stands for irritable bowel

The Case:  Cindy is 42 years-old, loves to work out and enjoys the outdoors Lately, she’s been tired, foggy, out of breath, weak, and struggling to recover from her workouts.  Her doctor ran a number of tests that revealed nothing. The Investigation One of the biggest clues for me was that this all started after a particularly stressful time in Cindy’s life. I was also suspicious of her gardening practices. Immediately I knew there was an answer to this health mystery and I was going to start my investigation on the cellular level. My sense was that it had something to do with how her cells were making (or not making in her case) energy and what was happening in her mitochondria.  My guest on today’s show, Dr. Tim Jackson, is a Functional Endocrinologist, a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and an expert in nutritional biochemistry and mitochondrial health.    What are Mitochondria? Mitochondria are the ‘batteries’ of your cells that make the energy for our cells. This energy is necessary for our day to day