FOLLOW MY FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE JOURNEY HERE…I WILL POST A DIARY ENTRY FOR EACH WEEK..
WEEK 1 – Let’s Broth!!!
In August I decided I wanted more on my health journey. Though I know I’ve standardized my health, I wanted to optimize it.
As a health coach I recommend Functional Medicine to so many people but I had never gone through the process. I wanted to go through it myself. I contacted Dr. Will Cole who is one of the world’s leading Functional Medicine experts. I am now under his care and my first task was to complete an array of tests.
Immediately after my first consult with Dr. Cole he knew the nutrition protocol he wanted to put me on. A health history consult can tell you so much about someone. I love doing them as a health coach. He actually informed me I could start my nutrition plan before my test results came. Once I received them I could see what he was trying to do. Healing a leaky gut was a priority. There’s no doubt. How would I describe my protocols? Think Whole30 on steroids LOL. The first thing on the agenda was to do a 4-day fast drinking ONLY bone broth. It also had to be organic or grass fed.
I knew with all the bone broth I was going to need to have I needed to make my own. I was on a mission to find organic chicken bones and grass-fed beef bones. Thanks to this process I found out about a local farm near me I didn’t know existed and Whole Foods cut up and entire organic chicken for me allowing me to use the meat and the bones. Just in case you wondering.
The biggest and most important invention in the home bone broth world is the instant pot. Just 2 hours and you can get a batch. Thanks to Teri Riley for helping to answer all my questions because I had lots the first time around. Pro tip from here to cook the bones before making the broth. I could use any of the vegetables I am allowed to have in the cooking process but the broth had to be strained after. I was also allowed fresh herbs, 
So having just bone broth doesn’t sound like much but it’s surprisingly filling.
It also has so many health benefits remember how chicken soup was a magic healer? In the old days it was made with bone broth. After 4 days I could not believe the difference in my skin and my hair. That’s the collagen talking there. The knee pain and shoulder pain I had experienced recently was gone. I do admit by day 3 and 4 I was having a hard time getting it down. I just wanted food. But if you can work this magic potion into your diet has so many health benefits.
If you don’t know what bone broth it’s a liquid containing brewed bones and connective tissues. To make bone broth, people use cow, chicken, and even fish bones.
Some benefits off bone broth:
- It’s nutritious – Bones themselves are rich in vitamins and nutrients including calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Tissues and bones contain collagen. Cooking collagen turns it into gelatin which provides the body with amino acids. Bone marrow is also rich in nutrients.
- It protects the joints and helps osteoarthritis – I can attest to this. Consuming bone broth is a good way to add gelatin to your diet which helps protect the joints.
- It may help reduce inflammation in the gut – There is an amino acid in bone broth called glutamine that can also be helpful for digestion. For me, this was the case and it aids in healing and rebuilding the gut microbiome. When we have Whole30 clients starting the program it’s one of the products we recommend to have on hand during the first week to help digestion.
- It may help you sleep – another critical amino acid called glycine is a safe therapeutic way to help you sleep better. A good tip is to have some bone broth after dinner.
There are many ways to integrate the broth in your diet like just sipping it like a tea or you could use it as the base of your favorite soup. If that gets boring heat your leftovers with it or add it to your stir fry. You can even add it to your smoothie.
After 4 days I graduated to soup and it felt like filet mignon after the broth! I am amazed at how good the soups are. I have never been a big soup person, I’m becoming one. I’m allowed to make soups from my approved list of vegetables and proteins but I can only eat things cooked in the broth. I’ve found some good combinations!
The hardest things to me during my initial protocol was really just dealing with the electrolytes. I was getting leg cramps and putting salt in my water bottles. Workouts are hard and as Dr. Cole’s staff has told me this is a time to rest while this process is going on.
Onto more souping and I will keep you all posted!
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WEEK 2 – No Soup For You
Actually there’s LOTS of soup. I just liked the Seinfeld reference. 😀
I graduated from broth to soup and now I can even have some stews. This phase is not nearly as bad as sucking down straight bone broth for 4 days!
I have never been a soup person. Not sure why. Never liked it. But wow, it’s a great tool to clean out the fridge. I’m doing a lot of making up my own recipes and it all seems to turn out good with some herbs. I have eaten a lot of carrots, parsnips, spinach, squash, zucchini, kale, and arugula. I have added grass-fed ground beef, organic chicken, cod, and shrimp. Sometimes I use the immersion blender sometimes I don’t. It’s all turned out good.
Let me share some things I have found interesting during week’s protocols:
Supplements: I have all new ones. Some supplements I have taken for years are completely out. I have a different Vitamin D, a different Fish Oil and some probiotics. It’s an all new look and Dr. Cole’s office supplies the supplements. I can see some that are helping with brain health and inflammation so I totally get what’s going on here. Oh, and I have some cod liver oil and I’m supposed to take it straight and I haven’t done that yet. I will. Sometimes some stuff just grosses me out.
Herbal Teas – I’ve been drinking organic ginger teas for the most part but to help cure some seasonal cravings, I’ve gotten ahold of some cinnamon. I enjoy boiling that and sipping it midday!
It feels like every method out there is being thrown in the mix. So I’m souping, intermittent fasting, and Dr. Cole wants me in ketosis. I just got a ketone monitor and glucose monitor so we will see how that goes.
One of the more surprising things I’ve realized is that you really need very little food to be satiated if it’s the right food. I eat one bowl of soup and really I’m rarely hungry between meals. My soups are packed with nutrients and then I’m always adding a fat to it. I also add sauerkraut juice to every bowl of soup or stew (think probiotic). We are doing a gut makeover that’s for sure and I know the animal fats are supposed to make me heal quicker.
The other thing that’s surprising to me is how much I started thinking about the future and how I would live like this. Let’s face it the protocol is not bad but going out to eat or to an event is next to impossible. Some of the foods on my “can’t have” list will come back, some won’t. I found myself sad a couple times about foods I couldn’t have and wondering if they would ever have a place in my life.
I also evaluated some of the foods removed from my diet and how I likely had too much of them during my Whole30 life. Nuts and eggs come to mind.
I will advance past the souping phase on Friday and I will keep you all posted.
Week 3 – Taking the Show On the Road
Let’s cut to the chase – week 3 was a bear!!
I’ve done many Whole30’s on the road over the years and I’ve found a groove in finding the ways to remain compatible. But this was a whole new ball of wax.
I traveled to St. Simon’s Island, Georgia – a place I’m very familiar with and it was still a challenge to stick to protocols. I am allowed to add some things back in but it’s still pretty strict. I was determined to make it work.
I’m very big on keeping as much of my normal routine as I can. Condo life allows me to do that so I chose the one with a gym and a big kitchen. 
Early in the week I went shopping and cooked food – everyday. I brought two Yeti cups to the golf course everyday with my food in it. If you don’t have a Yeti, it’s worth every penny. Amazing how hot everything stayed even when I didn’t get to lunch until after 1pm. I was able to find organic chicken and lots of veggies at Harris Teeter on the island and there’s actually a really good Natural Market I found later in the week.
So as far as cooking goes, I used a lot of bone broth (made my own fresh batch before I left) as a base and then cooked the meat veggies in that. It wasn’t really soup but it did have some broth. I found a place on the island with really good herbal tea. Definitely missing the coffee and there are terrific coffee places on the island. “Home” cooking was a win all week and I was really proud of my focus on this. This is an event where temptation lurks in every corner of the media center with baked goods, amazing bacon, and BBQ that you wouldn’t want to miss. So it’s a new world to say no to all of it.
Those were the victories.
Eating out on the other hand was a challenge. The first night I went out to eat I went for the salmon with veggies. I was able to talk to the kitchen and ask for what I needed. I had no issues. I ate my own 3 meals a day for the first part of the week. Thursday I decided to venture out with a friend. I am supposed to have quite a bit of seafood. It is one of my “food medicines”. I went for the scallops and asked for them plain with veggies. Well, they weren’t plain. And the veggies were marinated. I immediately knew there was pepper on the scallops and they tasted blackened. So now what? I chose to eat them. Picked the peppers out of the veggies and pondered whether to say something about it. I didn’t. I immediately didn’t feel well so my accidental reintroduction did not go well.
It got worse. Sunday night, again at a seafood restaurant, it appeared that I got what I ordered which was grilled shrimp with a steamed vegetable medley. Something went awry and I spent the night curled up in a ball. It wasn’t fun waking up intermittently with gastrointestinal distress.
I had a call with Dr. Cole Monday morning and we discussed the wins and also “Food Freedom”. He doesn’t call it that but I love hearing him talk about it and he mentioned “worth it” decisions. For me, right now we’re looking for foods that flare up any MS symptoms because the gastrointestinal distress can happen just by having too much of something too soon.
We have removed nightshades and nightshade spices and I now realize how often I was having these types of spices. Truth be known, I’ve been suspicious of nightshades for a long, long time. I never had the guts to take nuts, eggs, or nightshades out of my diet. Well, right now they are out and judging from my unintentional reintroduction I’m convinced the spices are definitely a problem.
Overall, I feel good though I’m getting some very odd HRV readings at times on my Oura ring. The inflammation has come out of my body and I’m shocked at how quickly my body has leaned up. I’m staying the course for sure. Onto Thanksgiving and week 4! I will talk about turkey day protocol in next week’s post !
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
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Week 4 – Turning the Corner
First of all, kudos to Dr. Cole and his team for offering such great recipes and feedback about what could work for me on Thanksgiving. If you’re a Whole30 alum you can appreciate all the discussions about Food Freedom. Yes, it’s a restrictive protocol but there are things we will reintroduce down the road, so there was some wiggle room in my planned meal for the holiday. As a Whole30er they speak our language.
First we had an organic turkey from Butcher Box that we were going to smoke in our smoker. I opted to make mashed sweet potatoes and a compatible mushroom gravy. Our turkey brine had some grey area spices but we all decided that this was a good compromise. So I really enjoyed the Thanksgiving food and capped it off with some apples cooked in the cast iron skillet with ghee and cinnamon. Holiday success!!! 1 down and 1 more to go in December! FYI everyone ate my mushroom gravy and no one knew it was made with medicinal mushrooms and completely compatible.
Organic turkey means organic turkey bones for bone broth! I got about a gallon out of that 12-lb bird.
Plenty of wins in all that, and some quality family time.
The struggle for me comes when I get busy. You just don’t have many grab-n-go food options on this. My water intake drops, and I don’t eat enough food. It’s a problem that I need to fix immediately. I missed two workouts because I was trying to cram so much into a day last week. I definitely need to prioritize.
I get my test results during week 5 so stay tuned. The good news is whatever it is we have already started down the proper path for healing. So glad to be on this journey with Dr. Cole and his wonderful team.
Week 5 – Surprising Test Results
This week was the big week, the nitty gritty came out and by that I mean the test results. We did lots of them. You name it, I had to give a sample of it. But I will be honest on this front – I didn’t expect there to be a ton showing up on here. I assumed there would be some hormone levels and maybe a few numbers to shore up here and there. I felt like I had really standardized my health and I went to see Dr. Cole to optimize it. But these results caught me off guard.
Here’s a great example of why functional medicine is different. I spent an hour with a member of Dr. Cole’s team to go over the results. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the data. It’s easy to be tempted to use Dr. Google to diagnose what ails us. Functional medicine doctors connect all the dots to find the why behind certain markers being off. I so appreciate the time and attention to detail in their reports and for answering all my questions.
I confess saw some of my LabCorp bloodwork before I had my appointment and it stressed me out for a few days. Dr. Google was sending my mind spinning. Then I decided to calm down. Deep breaths. It’s a re-occurring theme lately. Stress only fuels this fire so keeping their to a minimal is critical to healing. I reminded myself that the reason I’m under Dr. Cole’s care is for he and his team to help me figure out what I need to heal. I needed to trust the process.
I thought this would be a very long update dissecting a bunch of test results but I can really make this simple. A LOT of things are off. Some drastically and some by little – quite honestly more things then I ever imagined. But there is one thing likely at the heart of all this. There is evidence of mold exposure and it’s the kind of mold that comes from water damage. This was something I discussed with Dr. Cole during our initial consult. I was in a townhouse community that had it in 2004 and we got it removed from our place at that time. We had a leak when we first moved into our newly built house 3 years ago. I literally watched water stream down the wall in our master bedroom. It was due to a faulty roofing job. It’s always made me wonder what if there was more leaks that we couldn’t see? At the time I was assured there was no moisture etc. We now have to have our house tested. I was exposed to chemicals that also showed up so it’s likely all this caused a chain reaction of chronic infections. You’ve probably heard this by now but with your immune system residing primarily in the gut and my gut messed up…let’s just say I am in the right place with Dr. Cole and his team. You add the Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis into the mix and I’m not quite as healthy as I thought I was.
Many people will say “you don’t look sick”, but this is proof that at the cellular and metabolic level things can look a lot different. Sometimes it’s just that you don’t really acknowledge the symptoms you are experiencing or you pass them off and attribute to something else.
The good news is Dr. Cole had me on the protocol I need to be on since day 1 so I’m already on the path to healing. The only thing that can be detrimental to this process is if I’m currently in a situation where I’m still exposed to the mold. You can do all the detoxing in the world but if the exposure is a current one, we could be spinning our wheels. So stay tuned.
My next priority was to eat more food. I needed to gain some weight. All of the detoxing has me down quite a few pounds and I wanted to keep up my strength so we talked about incorporating some smoothies to up my intake. Couple of requirements for these – have them after a meal, and chew them. Yes chew! So i basically keep the smoothie in my mouth and chew for a few seconds to activate necessary digestive enzymes.
The other part of week 5 included a revamp of a bunch of kitchen products. I’m hell bent on making my healing and health a priority and that means making it easy for me to make the foods that I need to nourish my body. A lot of that comes in the form of soups, smoothies, and salads (I can’t have eggs or I would add scrambles to that list). So we got a Vitamix (life-changing) that can make soups, smoothies, sauces, and so quick. We love it already. We also got the new Ninja Food and I am now using it to make meals. I cook on the top and the bottom and it’s super easy and efficient. We also got a new Crockpot. Must be Christmas time. I spend most of my time in my kitchen and my office with work so to us it’s worth the investment.
Week 6 – Mold Detox
This update is probably going to be fairly short because I’m still in an information gathering state. I am working on becoming the resident mold expert though. 😀
I’ve done a lot of reading, listened to Dr. Cole’s Podcast on Mycotoxins, and I’ve reached out to others under Dr. Cole’s care to hear about their experiences with mold. I want to hear about all I can expect from the detoxification, and I’ve learned it’s a process. I’ve also learned I want this stuff out of me as soon as possible. It’s no joke.
If your body doesn’t methylate the mold it can actually hang out for quite a bit of time in your body and to put it bluntly, that’s not good. It can trigger issues or it can exacerbate conditions you already have. I shared last week this is happening with me. The mold is causing issues in many other areas of my body including chronic infections. More on this later. It is the root cause of a pretty large inflammatory response throughout my body. So you can imagine the zest I have to get this stuff out of me. Basically it effects everything from the gut to the brain to hormones.
I have Ochratoxin A. Here’s your standard Wikipedia definition.
a toxin produced by different Aspergillus and Penicillium species — is one of the most-abundant food-contaminating mycotoxins. It is also a frequent contaminant of water-damaged houses and of heating ducts
It’s not a good one to have but I will save those details. I had a couple of known exposures to mold which was part of the reason for our initial need to test which I talked about last week. Again, everything is determined during that initial consult and I can still hear the questions he was asking me that related to possible proof of mold exposure.
All that being said I don’t feel as bad as the results of my bloodwork look and I’m thankful for that. It’s actually a blessing that I did my consult when I did with Dr. Cole because otherwise this wouldn’t have been caught. I had a history of some reoccurring sinus infections, sneezing, even at times a bloody nose. Guess what? All signs of mold and the chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) it causes.
The first thing we had to do was get our house tested to make sure I was not under a current mold exposure. Dr. Cole’s team was so helpful with this making sure I got the right testing done and the right testing company to do it. It’s a complicated thing because you really do need to know some areas where you think there might be If I were exposed to the mold daily and we try to detoxify with supplements, we could be spinning our wheels. Think like a that can’t move and just continues to turn the wheels with the smoke coming out. It could be detrimental and too much for the body. The test turned up negative which we are so thankful for. But there are a couple of other areas we may need to have tested so we are not out of the woods yet.
Last week I was experiencing some muscle pains possible associated with the supplements and to be conservative Dr. Cole took me off the supplements. It’s so hard to know. Is that my body detoxifying? Is it an MS flare up? or was I under a current exposure? We are tweaking things in real time. It’s not a one-size-fits-all detoxification process.
I learned from others under Dr. Cole’s care this is not a fun process and I know I have to be patient. I’m thankful for the support of the group and people openly sharing what’s worked for them. I know Epsom Salt baths and Infrared saunas are two things I have access to that can help me during all this.
Obviously my protocols focus on cutting out some of the higher mold foods. Coffee, wine, beer, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, cured meats. So maybe think twice before consuming that charcuterie board. I’m allowed to drink 8oz of coffee a day right not and it has to be organic, and by organic I mean third party tested. What we deceptively label as organic is a rant for another day.
Here are some other things I know:
-Mold (Mycotoxins) is a problem that’s more common then you think. Dr. Cole deals with a lot of this and a lot of those people were not getting answers as to why their health issues continued or why they had strange unidentified symptoms. Mycotoxins are compounds released by different mold species that are toxic to the body. You’re looking at urine and blood for this.
-Detoxification is a long process. It can take 6 months to year. The time varies for everyone and the methods that are effective can vary for everyone too.
We will be tweaking this in real time as we go and I will update you next week about where we land.
Week 7 – Inside Out
There’s not a ton to report that’s new with me. I continue to observe and tweak things. I’m moving along in my protocols and doing my best to avoid the traps that a label reading lapse causes or eating away from home. But I’m navigating the waters.
Let’s start with a light-hearted story. I spent most of my week last week at the Ritz Carlton here in Orlando covering Tiger Woods return to golf.
It was busy and even though it was a “home” game I had to bring my food to the course each day. So I had made some cauliflower soup and put some organic chicken in a Yeti with it. Well, wouldn’t you know that Yeti juuuust happened to propel forward out of the side pocket of my bag and spilled all over the inside of my brand new car. Yep, there goes lunch. And as good as the soup tasted it didn’t smell good that’s for sure. Napkins, cups, and wipes from WAWA were critical to the clean up. I can laugh now but does anyone know a good car detailer in Orlando area? LOL
There are a few observations I will share from the week.
Outside Isn’t Inside – I saw a lot of people last week I hadn’t seen in awhile. Not everyone knows what’s going on with me and quite honestly, I’m happy to share with anyone who asks, but I don’t just blurt out “hey, I have mold toxicity and I’m working my tail off for my health” during conversations. So I got a lot of comments on my outside appearance. I’ve lost 15 lbs. on this protocol and while I wanted the inflammation out, I didn’t have 15 lbs to lose. Some of that is also loss of muscle so I’m not exactly where I want to be, but I’m working on it. I heard “you look great”, “what have you been doing?” “this is the thinnest I’ve ever seen you” “you look like you’ve been doing crossfit”. While those are meant as compliments I couldn’t help but think – if they only knew what was happening on the inside. If they only knew the fight I’m waging to keep my life and health where I want it. But honestly on the other side of things, I don’t feel sick, and I don’t want to identify as being sick. You just never know what someone is struggling with. Homocysteine and Ochratoxin A doesn’t make for a great lunch conversation either so I just nod and say “thank you”. I’ve heard a lot of this in the last 5 years, “you don’t look sick”. My first doctor in 2016 told me I don’t look like I have MS when I inquired about the possibility of the disease because I had so many co-workers who had contracted the autoimmune condition. What does sick look like? What does MS look like? Turn our bodies inside out and you just might see something different.
I think there’s an important reality to understand here for me and I think my appointment with Dr. Cole’s team last week accented it. If I hadn’t been taking care of my body so well, I would be much worse off right now. I don’t feel as bad as some of those numbers show and I’m so lucky.
OURA Observations – If you remember right a few weeks ago I was shocked at how low my HRV was. It was in the 20’s. Dr. Cole told me it would get better and wow, is it ever. I am consistently in the 50’s and 60’s right now. With my Oura ring I’m noticing even the bad days are good. I have a new sleeping pattern that I’m loving. I’m tired at night and wide awake when I wake up in the morning. It was the opposite for me for quite a long time.
I am going to bed a little late for my taste and I actually don’t sleep in much at all now. So my goal the next couple of weeks is to try to get my sleep up to 8 hours a night. For right now, I’m super happy my body is recovering each day. The photo at the left shows you my readiness a day after I spent 7 hours in the car. My Oura ring was mad at me! LOL …but below you can see the difference in my HRV from November to now.
I had some pretty nasty muscle pains during week six and they seem to be correlated to my electrolytes and hydration so I have upped that during the morning hours especially. I’ve also started using coconut water in my smoothies to help this. So my protocol and supplements are back up and running full strength again.
Now turning the attention to week 8 and the holidays. I’m wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays.
With a holiday mixed in and not much going on that’s super new, I thought I would combine weeks 8+9 into one post. Well, I thought there wasn’t much new but then I sat down to write and realized there’s quite a bit going on so here goes.
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that you’re ready for a New Year.
This post will include my liver cooking experience, seaweed, air purifiers, Keto-mojo, my immune system, new fasting window, and phase 2 of my supplements. This is about to get real.
Here are some real wins from the last couple of weeks:
- I finally willed myself to cook some chicken livers. I found a recipe on the internet and darn it, I liked it. They tasted way better vs. beef liver. Some onions, some coconut aminos, and some lemon and I did it! I finally found the organic chicken livers at Whole Foods. No one had organic.
- I felt really sick for a couple of hours earlier this week. Yes, I thought COVID too. I ate, rested and an hour later I was back like nothing happened. It made me take inventory of a couple of things. One, the supplements in the stores are CRAP (sorry for the language but). It’s a joke how many fillers are in them. I was looking for extra zinc and vitamin C. Nothing I could purchase in a store. Two, the supplements I DO have and the ones I get from Dr. Cole are so much better. I think the immune support they are providing during a time when we all need it is tremendous. It really made me appreciate quality supplements. Don’t cheat yourself in this area. Your body won’t absorb the junk. I am making sure my natural immunity is at the highest it can be.
- I’m adding a lot of wild caught seafood (higher omega 3) and Sea Vegetables. They are packed with vitamins and minerals that are so beneficial to your health. Vitamins B, C, K, and essential amino acids are all in these. Kombu, Kelp, Nori wraps, and my new favorite snack, Seaweed – have become staples in soups, salads, and smoothies. Bet you didn’t know about these Oceanic Superfoods, but yes, it’s a thing. This food, like the liver, is medicine. Again, another great tool to increase immunity, and hormone health.
- My Oura ring numbers have become incredibly consistent and my strength in the gym and on the bike is on the uptick. I am starting to really feel good. My “bad” days say about 86 for readiness but I’m between 86-92 almost everyday. It would be higher if I would get to bed earlier but I’ve been up late doing work with new clients and coaching groups starting. I’m incredibly please with the progress in all this and the muscle cramps I was having a few weeks ago seem to be a thing of the past for the moment. HRV is balanced and my ring never says my body is not recovering anymore.
- I learned how to use my Keto-mojo glucose and ketone monitor. It took a few tries and extra finger pricks but finally I can do this in the morning without skipping a beat. I’m really starting to hone in on the ketosis component of my journey now. I’m not where I want to be primarily because I think I’ve had too many starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and butternut squash. But I will get there. I’ve had some really good glucose numbers on the tests I’ve performed j
ust have to refine those ketones for healing. - I also played golf for the very first time all 18 holes with no pain. That’s a tribute to my new protocols, and my chiropractor who has gotten me through serious upper cervical issues. I’m so blessed.
Christmas Gifts
My Christmas holiday looked a little different. My thoughtful family got me a bunch of gifts centered on my health journey.
Air Doctor – I got this air purifier (3000) that was recommended by Dr. Cole and his team and we love it. We are thinking about getting a second one for the house. Super quiet and it’s interesting what sets it off. One day our gas stove set off the air quality to poor. It’s got a couple of filters on it including Ultra Hepa that takes care of small particles and recirculates the air. It’s a great way to keep your air clean and this one helps with bacteria, mold, pet dander, and more. If you’re looking at getting it one I haven’t found pricing better then what’s on their site. Thanks for this mom and dad.
Force of Nature – The coolest product! I saw this on Dr. Cole’s instagram one day and my husband picked up on my interest and got it for me as a gift. It’s an eco-friendly disinfectant and sanitizer. So yes, it works against COVID-19. I couple this with my Norwex cloths. It is legit. Like anything else advertised as a “cleaner” choice it still has to perform and I’m amazed at how good and effective this product is. We have used all over the house.
Purity Coffee – my gift to myself because I miss coffee. I’m allowed 8 oz of coffee each day but it has to be organic. However, this will likely not surprise you but all organic is not created equal. So I don’t just need organic, I need organic and third party mold-tested. This is the only company I could find that actually does that with K-Cups! So far I love the coffee and it causes me no digestive distress when I drink it.
Hidrate Spark – Drastic times called for drastic measures and I was not hydrating to the level I wanted. I amped up the pressure and asked for a bluetooth water bottle. Had to be done and over a week in, it’s working for me! If you get one, definitely get the steel. Some of my health coaching clients use this bottle too.
New round of supplements – my gift from Dr. Cole and his team came in the form of my new round of supplements.
Drops and pills and nasal irrigation and …well…lots. This detox is about to get real.
My husband also got me a bracelet with the phrase “Keep going” on it from little word project. It’s just a motivational item to remind me everyday that this is worth it. So sweet. Best part of the bracelet is that I can pass it on to someone else when I get through this. It gets registered and you can watch where it ends up. It’s pretty cool. That, couple with my word of the New Year which is “Grit” tells me I’m going to have the strength and support to get through all of this and come out so much better.
I look forward to the journey continuing in 2022 and sharing it with all of you.
Greetings from my functional medicine world everyone!
I’ve decided to do these articles in 2 week increments. I think it makes for a more interesting read since there aren’t too many new things happening on a weekly basis as I go through this detox. I will re-evaluate as I go because in Week 12 it’s going to get real. I will be starting the next phase of my supplements and the more intense detoxification.
Week 10 was really about ketosis for me. I was really focused on honing in on making sure my body was in this state. I learned with just a couple of dietary tweaks I actually could get into ketosis rather quickly.
I use the keto mojo meter each morning around the same time to check and see where I’m at. The first time I was in ketosis I had the unit telling me I was hypoglycemic so you do have to adjust to seeing such low glucose numbers. But the unit takes a combo of ketone levels and glucose and will tell you what state of ketosis you are in. The other indicator of ketosis isn’t quite as sciency. Body odor. When you’re in ketosis you can smell it. Not pleasant but a part of the deal.
I will tell you that between the Keto resources provided to me by Dr. Cole (he has a great course you can take on it) and the information on the Keto Mojo website I had everything I needed to make this happen. Makes me regret not honing in a little sooner. But I am trying to get myself where I need to be by pacing myself. It can be a lot all at once with strict protocols, intermittent fasting, ketosis, and supplements. I also added the Chronometer app to my repertoire. There are other apps out there but I really love how this apps breaks down the macros, allows me to enter my fasts, and I get a visual picture of what a day of good keto eating looks like. I don’t love tracking macros.
Guarantee I won’t do it forever but I can tell you that it provides a good visual reference to what ketosis looks like for me. I’m on autopilot at the moment and don’t track as much. So I did it religiously for about a week and now I just feel like I know and the Keto Mojo device backs me up.
Here were the Keto keys for me:
- Eliminate ALL starchy veggies. I love my sweet potatoes and my butternut squash but they had to go for this exercise
- Eliminate almost ALL fruits – I wasn’t eating a lot of fruit but if I use any fruit it’s either a small amount in my smoothies or just strictly berries which are lower on the Glycemic index.
- At least two tablespoons of fat at every meal – Fat fat fat, the good healthy kind. Some of my faves were chia seeds, coconut butter, coconut oil, duck fat, beef tallow. The fat that comes from animals has extra healing components to them.
- Utilize the Chronometer app like I mentioned above.
I will need to remain in this state for at least 3 more weeks before I can do any carb cycling, Remember, my ketosis is not being done for weight loss. This is a therapeutic state we want me to be in for dealing with the autoimmune issue I have. It can calm inflammation and this is what I call healthy keto. It’s plant forward and not filling a day with bacon and cheese and butter. If you haven’t read Dr. Cole’s Ketotarian book I highly recommend it. It’s keto done right in my opinion.
I have to accept that healing is THE single most important thing with this and in my life. That has to be the priority. I’m not as good with my exercise, I’ve lost some strength but that can come back. The most important thing right now is to get me healthy. Losing leg muscle isn’t going to give me another autoimmune disorder but the mold that’s in me will. Let’s get that mold out. As I said to my trainer, gotta keep our eye on the ultimate target.
I had a great appointment with Emily. I really love Dr. Cole’s staff. Honestly, they are just good people on top of a tremendous knowledge base. They care about every single patient. It is so refreshing and reassuring that they are by my side on this journey.
Emily and I talked about a schedule for round 2 of my supplements. It’s not easy. I needed a spreadsheet by day to organize it. Just to give you a sense of what it entails here’s a snap shot of a day in life of my detox.
- Upon waking about an hour after waking up I take my keto mojo readings. Preferably before a workout and definitely before eating.
- Just after that I will do nasal irrigation which also involves drops of iodine. A lot of germs, bacteria and viruses can enter and exit through the nasal passage. The good thing about this protocol is it will also help to protect me from COVID.
- Around lunch time after my 18 hour fast I will take a round of supplements prior to eating. These supplements are immune and detox supporting ones. D3, K, Omega 3, Curcuplex, Glutathione, a probiotic, and a couple of others to support methylation. in total I’m taking 7 different ones.
- I’m also taking a bunch of drops that are basically antimicrobials and provide detox support. There are 5 different types of drops I put in water and drink. Total number of drops 40. And that number goes up with dosages every couple of days.
- In addition to the drops I take two other supplements: Serrapeptase (breaks down biofilm of infection) and Magnesium malate.
- The drops and those two additional supplements happen twice a day.
- About an hour after dinner I will take a Binder. This is an integral part of this process. These will bind to mycotoxins and prevent them from being absorbed through the guy and into the blood circulation. I take a tsp just before the next step.
- SWEAT – yes, sweating is a detoxification process. So for at least a half hour I will either hop on the Peloton, use an infrared sauna, or take a hot Epsom salt bath. Think of it like having a fever and how when it breaks you start to feel better. It’s another critical element of the recovery process. Infrared saunas are amazing for this and I’m so lucky to have access to one whenever I need it. You’re heating the body to rid itself of the toxins. Therefore it’s also key to hit the showers after and rinse.
- The day’s supplements will conclude with Optimag Neuro about an hour after all that to help with magnesium/calming support
- Before bed I will do another nasal irrigation.
On top of these my dietary protocols continue to be strict. It’s probably closest to an AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) way of eating with a few more restrictions. It won’t be like this forever and just like we do in Whole30, some foods will be able to be reintroduced.
Once the body gets into the inflammatory state like mine was, anything that can possibly cause more inflammation needs to be removed. So for me that was and is, a lot of foods. We are protecting from foods that could contain mold, spices that can cause reactions, and any possible source of exacerbation. Once the body calms down we can truly evaluate those foods and how they work for me. Yes, food can be an issue for some but my inflammation was not being caused by foods. Sometimes it’s the body overreacting to the food because of the inflammation vs. the reverse. The core of my issue lies in the mold. Read Dr. Cole’s book The Inflammation Spectrum if you want to know more. It opened my eyes and made me realize though I had gotten rid of some of my inflammation, I had a ways to go. There’s a quiz in the book that will tell you how you’re doing on this front.
One more thing…I have finally found a combo that allows me to eat my organ meat. I use coconut aminos, onions, duck fat, garlic, and lemon…I also add my mushrooms and cauliflower rice. Finally I don’t “taste” the chicken liver! Big victory there.
Wish me luck on the detox and I will report back with that and the findings of my genetic testing with 23andme. More on that in the weeks to come.
Week 12 With Dr. Will Cole and his team Video Blog
Lucky Number 13? It’s Not A Linear Journey
I’ve always been a fan of the number 13. It was my number when I played basketball because a couple of my sporting heroes growing up were brave enough to wear the allegedly unlucky number. But for me it wasn’t my best week of my functional medicine journey. Week 13 ended with hurdles and week 14 was about more coping.
I’m here to keep it real though and share everything, not just the victories but also the adversity. If someone tells you their healing and health journey is linear or always on an upward trend I’d be skeptical. I owe the honesty to myself and to those of you on your own health journey. Some days this thing is just hard and it’s ok to admit that.
I’m here to keep it real though and share everything, not just the victories but also the adversity. If someone tells you their healing and health journey is linear or always on an upward trend I’d be skeptical. I owe the honesty to myself and to those of you on your own health journey. Some days this thing is just hard and it’s ok to admit that.
First let me say this week of humps and bumps does not change the fact that overall I still feel good, I’m just not as good as the early part of last week. Also this is not a list of complaints. I think it’s important for those going through the same thing to see that this isn’t always easy and that there will be hurdles to clear. Let me explain the trials and tribulations of weeks 13 and 14. Actually I can simplify it for you.
Stress
Stress is a thing. I can effect just about everything you do and I have an Oura ring that tells me what stress does to me. I have some breathing and meditation I’ve implemented and this week, even those didn’t help. I experienced a level of anxiety I don’t see very often and if I do, it doesn’t usually stick around for more than a day. But this time it did. I have a huge amount of work with my day job, I have a small eating window with my fasting, I have to make sure I stay in ketosis, I have to drink my drops and my binder and keep the binder away from foods and supplements, and I have to sweat. Not to mention the fact that I’m running my coaching business and Beautycounter business. This week it got to be too much. I was tired at night and be dozing off on the couch but the second I laid my head on that pillow the light turned green and my brain was off to the races. I literally would run through a to-do list in my mind about a mile long. My HRV showed this and my resting HR was up. I still haven’t dialed it in yet but I’m working on it. When I get super stressed like this, I turn to a written to-do list or I use the Eisenhower Matrix to help me prioritize.
This wasn’t about isolating one issue, this was about everything getting rolled into one big ball of stress.
After 3 weeks of wonderful ketone and glucose levels, I suddenly was not in ketosis. We are learning that I actually have very little wiggle room with certain carbs during this healing phase if I want to keep my ketosis. One handful of Bare apple chips or Siete chips makes a difference no matter how much fat I have. I also learned ketosis isn’t just about the amount of fat. The stress I’m under was also detracting from those stellar numbers. I spoke with Dr. Cole about changing my recommended eating window from 6 hrs to 8 just to make it easier to cope with my time constraints and keeping things away from the binder.
I also realized that some of the muscle pains plaguing me were likely because I was taking my electrolytes in my water bottle while doing my sweat session and the binder was likely stripping those important nutrients from my system. This small change made a BIG difference for me. So thankful for our group calls with Dr. Cole to troubleshoot these things. I know when my patient support time is done I will miss the group calls the most. I really love seeing and hearing others talk and how Dr. Cole imparts his wisdom on the group. He’s so flexible and helpful with dealing with all our hurdles that come along.
My upper cervical issue also ebbs and flows. I’m great and symptom-free a lot now but this week I was struggling with symptoms. I had some dizziness and heavy-head feeling. i even have an eye twitch that reoccurs in my right eye lid and it’s likely from this. I can’t explain to you all the array of symptoms an upper cervical issue causes. But with my MS and my protocols, at times it can be hard to differentiate the source of the symptoms. Many times the symptoms subside with an adjustment to my neck so I’d say at this point it’s 90% upper cervical when I have an issue.
I also had a really strange experience the last two times I used the infrared sauna. I literally got nauseous and thought I was going to pass out. Maybe it was too hot and maybe I was in there too long, or maybe being in there in the morning with just the drops and binder in my system is too much. It’s something I will have to watch out for. I enjoy the benefits but definitely don’t want to feel like that again.
The last thing I will say is I’ve had a couple of meltdowns. My poor husband is the most supportive human being on the planet and he always gets the brunt of it. I have cried twice in the last two weeks over the fact that I can’t really order out. I literally was like “I need a break from cooking and dishes”. We’re keeping it real right? Well, yeah I ended up in tears in our kitchen. But then I will wake up the next day to a note on our dry erase board that says “You’ve Got This” and it gives me the strength to keep going just like the bracelet he gave me says.
I admit I had those moments this week of rebellion. It’s like my Gretchen Rubin Upholder tendencies flipped a switch and there were moments I became a rebel. I rebelled against everything. There was a day I didn’t feel like nasal irrigating, there were days I didn’t want to cook, days I didn’t want to leave the house to run an errand. and my mind started thinking, ‘how long do I have to do all this?’
I like to leave on a positive note though so I did reintroduce green beans and mustard without an issue, so that’s a good thing. I will go over my genetic testing results with Dr. Cole’s team February 14th and tell you more after that. Right now, I know they say nothing that would change what I’m already doing to get this mold out.
Do it with me now. Deep Breaths…..And I’m on to week 15.
There’s a very good reason that it’s taken so long to type this latest update and it’s in the title of the blog…
STRESS
Overwhelmed by tasks in every area of my life I’ve been frantically searching for a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s been challenging to deal with. My awareness is high and so is my attention to fixing it. Methods that were effective in the past weren’t producing results for me. Breathing, meditation, and weighted blankets are not relieving the stress I’ve been feeling.
It’s been a tidal wave of things to do and I frequently hear myself gasping for air trying to keep my head above water. My day job is super busy, the protocols are time-consuming and time-sensitive, I’m trying to keep my workout routine in tact, I’m coaching 2 Whole30 groups, I have one-on-one clients for Whole30 and in health coaching. It’s a lot. I long for some time to watch Netflix or read a book.
The numbers on my Oura ring weren’t lying. Suddenly my HRV looks a little less healthy, my REM sleep decreasing, and resting heart rate was up. All signs that stress was/is getting the best of me. Old patterns were creeping back in again especially not being tired at night and not having as much energy in the morning. Read on for more about that because my genetics could be a factor in that.
Why am I talking about this in a Functional Medicine blog? Because stress effects everything and yes, it could cause some humps and bumps in my healing process. Most people don’t realize they are stressed and underestimate the toll it takes in many areas. I navigate my way through it but it’s not easy.
Another source of stress is the awful acne that comes with the detox. I didn’t have this much acne when I was a teenager. It’s definitely a nuisance. It’s basically along my jawline and I am using my Beautycounter products to keep it manageable. Dr. Cole’s staff is probably tired of me asking “when is this part going to be over?” They did tell me skin and hair are the last things to come around. Sigh.
GENETICS
I opted to do the 23andme genetic testing so that we could make sure I was on the right path and I’m so glad I did. I’m just fascinated by the whole process. I don’t want to get too technical about gene variants so I will try to simplify. This entire Functional Medicine process is so amazing. Dr. Cole weaves every piece of information together and shows me the picture of my health. I understand how we got to this point. For me, that’s a comfort. I like to know as much as possible especially when it comes to how to live my best going forward. I understand how I got Multiple Sclerosis. I understand why there’s mood swings at times and why I have some short term memory issues. I definitely know why I wasn’t ever feeling 100%. Genetics was the last piece of the puzzle.
23andme gives you some information but Dr. Cole goes deeper by taking the raw genetic data and doing a detox and methylation profile. Like I said we could really get in the weeds here so let me just summarize some of the things we learned.
First things first right? Those of you waiting with bated breath to hear about my coffee results…Oh, maybe that’s just me. Anyways, I’m not a fast metabolizer of coffee, but I’m not a slow metabolizer either. I’ll take it. So far one cup and one watered down cup at the time of day I’m having them is not an issue. A victory for the coffee lover in me for sure.
In totality, I nothing I’ve seen in the genetic testing makes me uncomfortable. I’m still trying to understand all of it especially when it comes to a behavioral aspect. Like can I override that gene and what it does now that I’m aware? I said long ago I would see certain behaviors in my mom and think that it has to be genetic and something she can’t control. I will have to dig into that part more. To give you a bit of information about this I’m going to copy a quote from the reports to help you understand:
“Although we cannot change our genetic code, we can change how our genes are expressed. Research has revealed that our gene expression is not determined solely by hereditary factors, but it is also influenced by our diet, nutritional status, toxic load and environmental influences or stressors. This phenomenon has been termed “epigenetics”. Researchers in the growing field of epigenetics have demonstrated that certain genes can be over- or under-expressed with certain disease processes. Researchers in this field hope that by understanding of how these genes are regulated and what is influencing them, we may be able to change their expression. Using epigenetic concepts along with a good understanding of the methylation cycle, researchers have begun to make recommendations to optimize genetic expression and help to restore health.”
So what did we discover?
Basically there are gene expressions tied to my low B and D vitamins, and high homocysteine. There’s also a gene that’s tied to over reactivity, irritability, and pain sensitivity. I’ve seen evidence of all these things. I’m likely to be on a B Complex and D vitamins the rest of my life. I have a single gene variant of Hemochromatosis which can make it harder for my body to clear iron so this will have to be monitored. It’s especially important during menopause for a female. Full iron and folate panels will be checked twice a year and if levels are too high I may have to donate blood to cycle it through and keep the platelet size normal. I’ve seen a couple of markers in general bloodwork over the last two years that showed things could be leaning this way. I will be passing along some of these genetic results to my local doctors for sure.
Someone asked me how I feel about all this information.At the end of the day I feel empowered by the information. I know what I have to do and what to monitor and I feel blessed that this is what we are dealing with because I know it could be worse. My biggest fears were always centered around the unknown. I feel like when I know what I’m facing I can attack it head on. I asked for a few more pieces of information and those are on the way so I will probably have more to report.
Next month I will be meeting with Dr. Cole’s team to talk about retesting to see how we are doing on the mold front and maybe I will be able to reintroduce some more foods. Crossing my fingers. When it comes to reintroduction, I can now tell my Whole30 clients I now completely understand the fears of reintroduction. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize how I feel. It will make me a better coach because I feel the same trepidation.
Part of my goals were to increase my exercise output so we have talked about some carb cycling during my ketosis. My fasting windows will go back to the looser times I had during the early part of the protocols. We will continue to test glucose and ketones every other day to see how my body reacts. Always gathering information and looking forward to another day of this journey.
3/14 Short Update for everyone …It’s week…I don’t even know…
I received a few DM’s on instagram from people asking where my Functional Medicine journey updates were….Well, let me try to explain. Like Tom Petty said, “the waiting is the hardest part”.
I don’t have much new to tell everyone so I haven’t posted much. I’m in a groove with the protocols – although I did miscalculate when to order more of my drops and ran out of one. I’m honestly just counting down the days until we can retest. I’m optimistic about the results and really couldn’t be happier with how all this has gone. I could do without the acne of a 13-year old – but even that has gotten better. Sidebar: the toxins only have so many places to exit and the skin is one of them so this is a common problem. It’s the last thing to come back to 100% unfortunately.
My biggest challenges have had little to do with the functional medicine part of my journey and everything to do with “life” things. When you spend 5-6 months in a program you learn how to navigate quite a bit because let’s face it, life doesn’t go too long before it throws you a curve ball. This is one of the reasons I love health coaching. Everything in life seems to run in 30 day cycles – workout periodization, skin, gut and just adversity in general.
The stress of work consumed me for 4 weeks or so and it’s been rough navigating the waters. I became very intentional with my time and had to set boundaries in order to get things done. I felt extremely disorganized. Losing emails, yet to do taxes (normally done in February), not returning calls and texts…It was all catching up to me. I’m usually super-organized so this throws my world off. My knee hasn’t been in a good mood lately and my inability to workout like I want prevents my stress release. I shared this on our group call last week and I will also share it here – I think that being in these protocols and feeling as good as I do has prepared me even better for these nonlinear times in my health journey. I feel like whatever is next I can deal with it. I know my body is in a good place and I can get through. It’s a great, empowering feeling.
I confess that I did experience some fatigue with the protocols and found myself thinking and wondering when this would end. When can I stop the drops or the nasal irrigation? I get myself through it and continue on but I’m definitely ready to reintroduce some more foods.
I’ve found quite a bit of enjoyment sharing my journey with others. The social media response has been terrific. So many people going through similar things. I’ve also enjoyed our group calls with Dr. Cole. I listen to the people on the call that are just starting their protocols and it’s easy to relate and remember being in their shoes. I’ve been hoping sharing what I’ve gone through so far will help some of them. It can be overwhelming early and I love that Dr. Cole provides this type of support…
Stay tuned. The retesting is coming and I’m hoping that mold is almost gone. I feel so confident about the path we are on and I know I say this everytime I post but I am so thankful for Dr. Cole and his team and that I found them when I did.
Greetings and welcome back to my functional medicine journey with Dr. Cole. I know it’s been awhile but I figured you would be a bit bored of the rinse and repeat mode I’ve been in for awhile waiting for test results.
If you’re not in the mood to read this detailed entry I will sum it up here in one sentence – Things are moving in the right direction but there’s more work to do.
This is what we all expected really. It takes time and I’m in it for the marathon not just the sprint. If you want specifics read on.
Tom Petty said “the waiting is the hardest part”, and it can be. We retested regular bloodwork and Mycotoxins (mold) levels back in March but it actually takes 6 weeks for the mycotoxin test (Mold) to come back. Dr. Cole and his team assess it to determine the next steps, and then I get to meet with FDNP about the results for 1 hr.
Sooo…the moment you’ve all waited for. I have lots to say and report from this appointment and test results but will try to keep it short and simple.
Upon looking at the list below of some of my results you would think there’s good news/bad news. I actually see it a bit differently. I see everything as good news. You will probably say “but wait, there’s a NEW MOLD???” I get it but I will explain.
INFLAMMATION DOWN
First and foremost, from an inflammation and immune standpoint my body is in a great position. There have been drastic reductions in many of my inflammatory markers, including homocysteine which can be a stubborn one. I feel this reduction in inflammation everyday so I would’ve guessed this just by how I feel.
From the acne flair ups and some muscle cramping I would also have guessed the mold is down but not gone. I was right about both of these. So let’s dig into the mold.
MOLD UPDATE
Ochratoxin A was the type of mold I tested positive for. This came from water damage inhilation and this is not a nice kind of mold. Honestly, I was expecting the level to possibly be higher than before. I read about this in other cases and read the level in some was higher on their retest. Let me explain. If you’re sink was clogged nothing would come out. You wouldn’t know what was in there until the pipes were opened up and then it would all flow out. So when detox pathways and methylation aren’t happening you don’t see the toxins released in the urine. Once these pathways are flowing, more will show up. Something else also might show up and that’s what happened here.
Below is my October 2021 test followed by March 2022.
OCTOBER 2021 MYCOTOX
MARCH 2022 MYCOTOX
This is a HUGE victory to me my Ochratoxin A was almost 6 points less!!!
On the new test you will see another mold – also water damage related mold called Aflatoxin M1 – decided to join the detox party. It’s a good thing!! Basically, I want this stuff out of me. It can no longer run and hide! We’ve found it. But how do we know it’s not from a current exposure? Well, we concluded my house has been tested and I work from home and haven’t really been anywhere else and the Ochratoxin likely wouldn’t have gone down during a current exposure.
So we are upping the detox game. More glutathione (this is I staple I see universally in these protocols) and taking the binder 2 times a day vs. 1. We still think I can rid my body completely of this stuff within a year. I am going to do my best to continue to get that quality sweat every single day I can.
REGULAR LAB RESULTS AND OPTIMAL RANGE
There was one glaring number on my regular labs that stood out. My cholesterol was 319. What do you think when you hear that number? Probably heart disease and statins and 90 percent of the doctors out there would arbitrarily throw a statin at you. But here’s something everyone can learn from. When you look at all the indicators of heart disease – full lipid panel, particle size, glucose, triglycerides, calcium test for plaquing, cardio reactive protein my risk is almost zero. And by the way, if your doctor is telling you that you need a statin because you have high cholesterol and is NOT looking at these factors then start asking questions! Someone could have a total cholesterol of 160 and be at a much greater risk. Total cholesterol is meaningless without the full picture.
Ok, I’m back…just a short piece of friendly advice.
The great thing about Dr. Cole and functional medicine practitioners is that they can put the whole puzzle together. So the reason the cholesterol is so high? I think you all know it’s not diet and lifestyle for me – it’s my thyroid which is not properly clearing the cholesterol. It’s my T3. So Dr. Cole is adding in some thyroid supporting supplements. I may not have heart risk but we still need the body to clear it and thyroid function to be optimal.
Another piece of the puzzle to keep in mind is your lab work. When you get a bloodtest done you see markers that tell you if you’re in range. The problem is most of the people getting bloodwork done are not in optimal health and that’s AN AVERAGE. So as the world continues to get sicker that range is always changing and lots of times it gets further away from optimal health. On the functional medicine side of things, they want you IN OPTIMAL RANGE FOR GOOD HEALTH. Dr. Cole delivers a different spreadsheet showing me what is in OPTIMAL range. The range can also change with time here based on new research and new studies but they have your back about being the best you can be. We base what we do off that sheet. Something to keep in mind.
FOOD IS MEDICINE
I have found the way to get my organ meats on a weekly basis. I use a “puppy pate” from the local farmer that has hearts, kidney, liver etc in it. I share it with my dog. But now because Selenium is down, it’s time to add sardines. I’m going to try. See the picture below. They are in the house but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I was like you eat them with bones and skin??? LOL I’m working up to it.
HOLISTIC HEALING
For me, the biggest revelation from this entire thing, I’ve experienced a lot of trauma, and I need to unpack it. Just admitting this has drastically decreased my stress and improved my sleep in just a few days. Dr. Cole’s FDNP, Andrea is wonderful. I want to hug her and thank her for making me realize – It’s time to unpack this. In her words, “I’m going to heal whether I do or don’t address this” but I think unpacking it could be a game-changer. It’s time to put the athlete instinct of always pushing through aside – it’s time to dig deep. The spiritual and mental piece is part of the big picture and I tell clients that all the time. It’s time to listen. Andrea gave me a list of suggested therapies and I can pick what resonates with me. I’ve already got my eye on a couple. I look forward to this. We all have some kind of trauma to deal with in our lives. I look forward to no longer experiencing fear when I go to sleep at night.
Thank you all for the tremendous support. We are all on the frontlines of our health journeys TOGETHER. I hope you find what resonates with you.
AND AS ALWAYS, I’m so thankful for this journey with Dr. Cole and his team.
Reintroduction is going to commence. I will do a separate post about that later.
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It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for…Oh wait, maybe that’s just me LOL …Many of you know my protocols under Dr. Cole since October have been very strict. I am basically on an AIP (Auto Immune Protocol) diet and also restricting foods that are known to have mold. Quite honestly, that’s a lot of foods.
In order to heal we removed anything that was potentially inflammatory. There’s something I should reiterate first so that if you’re just joining in on reading about my journey you will understand. It’s not necessarily that I cannot eat those foods or that it’s a “food allergy” or food sensitivity. October was a snapshot in time when my inflammation was quite high. As a result, there’s a good chance that my body was overreacting to certain foods. Once the inflammation is reduced, and in my case, the gut could start to heal, then we can reintroduce foods to see how they truly work for me.
Mindset matters. Focusing on what’s restricted can definitely be detrimental in this process. I always try to keep my thoughts to what I CAN have. That’s not always easy and I’m not perfect. It’s easy to look around and wonder why people can eat certain foods that I can’t. Truth is I leaned into my “food is medicine” recommendations. I knew everytime I took a bite out of one these foods it was contributing to my healing. I go back to one of our Whole30 pillars:
“Every food you eat is either making you more or less healthy”
Take a deep breath and read that again. So simple really. I just chose to focus on all the foods that would make me more healthy. Those are organ meats, wild caught fish, mushrooms, sea vegetables, and bone broth to name a few. These became, and still are, staples of my healing.
I truly do understand all the Whole30 clients we’ve had who feared reintroduction. When you’ve been in pain and haven’t felt well for so long there’s trauma associated with that. Once you get to a place that you feel good you don’t want to risk feeling any other way. I get it. I’ve felt the best I have in 20 years on this protocol, certainly it gives you pause when you think about reintroducing. To cope, I reframe it a bit. I don’t think about what might happen if I react to something. I just think about it as finding valuable information that will empower me to control how I feel and help me live the healthy life I want.
Just like Melissa Urban and Whole30, Dr. Cole believes in Food Freedom or food peace as he likes to call it. There are definitely things I want to bring back. Eggs is definitely a big one for me.
Some of you who have done a Whole30 reintroduction will understand this. Dr. Cole’s reintroduction is much more strict and regimented. His patients, like me, are dealing with chronic illness. 30 days isn’t enough time for the elimination and 2 days between reintroduction foods is also not nearly enough. There are many times we encourage our Whole30 clients to reintroduce one food in day to truly find out how that food works for you. That is the way Dr. Cole presents his reintroduction. So below I’ve outlined his basics.
That is based on ONE FOOD AT A TIME…
On my first reintroduction day I did egg yolks ONLY. Then I have to wait 5 days before doing my next food. I know your next question. Why just the egg yolks? Egg whites actually contain Albumin which is the most likely the cause of people’s issues from eggs. That comes later on in the reintroduction. All is not lost if you have egg reactions. It’s shown that organice and pastured can alleviate a lot of these problems and that’s what I will be having.
Much like Whole30, the reintroduction foods are based on least likely to cause a reaction to most likely. Thanks to Whole30 there are some categories I’m perfectly fine keeping out of my diet. Dairy is one of those. Below are some of the foods I will be investigating in Phases 1 + 2…The other part of this that’s interesting is you are really kind of “overloading” your system with the portion of the food. The theory is if you can tolerate that much you can tolerate a little bit here and there and you’re waiting for a reaction and logging it every step of the way.
Sidebar: the alcohol portions work differently in reintro. No, you’re not drinking copious amounts LOL. I’m going to see how Dry Farms Natural wine works for me. I really don’t miss alcohol and I’m 99.9% sure I am good with tequila so I won’t be having much often but it would be nice here and there. I do love a skinny margarita. At the end of the day, alcohol is not something that will ever make me more healthy. Despite the antioxidants in red wine, there are too many negatives that offset those. HOWEVER, a natural wine is a BETTER choice.
You might ask what symptoms we are looking for when reintroducing…Good question. It’s basically a reversal of how I’m feeling now. I have ZERO joint pain for example. If suddenly I did have it during reintroduction that food is likely problematic. Here’s a list below of possible symptoms I might experience if a food didn’t work for me.
When I sat down to write this I had no reaction so far to the egg yolks. Next time I check in, we will talk about natural wine and the difference and also why you have to soak nuts before consuming them. I look forward to the answers to this thorough research experiment.
Thanks for reading and for your support. The journey continues.
Yours in health,
KRISTI
