Nearly one quarter of Americans have already been infected with the brain parasite toxoplasma.
Toxoplasma is a brain parasite that may infect a million Americans every year, making it “a leading cause of severe foodborne illness in the United States.” Nearly one quarter of adults and adolescents in the United States have already been infected. Newly acquired infections in a pregnant woman can be devastating. In most people with intact immune systems, though, these parasites just sit in your brain in a fine-tuned balance between the parasite and your immune system, just lying in wait, hoping you’ll get sick so your immune system will slip, and it can come back raging and spreading throughout the brain. Indeed, the “infection is lethal in the context of active HIV-AIDS,” for instance.
But in healthy, non-pregnant individuals, the parasite just sits there with “long-term, potentially lifelong residence in the brains of healthy individuals and animals”—kept at bay by our immune system—“without any significant clinical consequence,” and, as such, “chronic toxoplasma infection has been viewed as a benign condition.” Until now, that is. As I discuss in my video Toxoplasmosis: A Manipulative Foodborne Brain Parasite, “This absence of overt symptomology has contributed to the view that tissue cysts and the bradyzoites they house”—that is, the cysts in the brain formed by the parasites—“are dormant entities.” However, recent developments “directly challenge the notion that chronic toxoplasma infections are without consequence. An emerging body of evidence suggests that the presence of an established chronic infection may contribute to the pathogenesis [development] of diverse neurological conditions including schizophrenia, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative conditions.” That doesn’t sound good.
These effects may not be a direct consequence of the parasite, but rather “driven by persistent low level of inflammation in the infected brain.” Either way, not good. Let’s explore these new data that have gotten neurologists so worried, review strategies on how not to get infected in the first place, and determine what one might be able to do to mediate the effects if you are one of the one in four Americans who is already infected.
Suspicions that infections might play a role in mental health date back more than a century. An editorial from an 1896 publication of Scientific American asked, “Is insanity due to a microbe?” Well, “for millions of years, parasites have altered the behaviour of their hosts.”
Consider the diabolical effects of the rabies virus, which is “usually transmitted in the saliva by biting animals, so it makes sense that the virus taps specifically into the limbic system of the brain, turning its victims from Fido into Cujo to facilitate transmission of the virus. But brain parasites can do more than just switch behaviors on and off. “Some parasites can adaptively take over and completely control the behavior of their hosts,” like the famous “zombie ants.” “‘Enslaver’ fungi make their insect hosts die perched in a position that favors the dispersal of [fungal] spores by the wind.” You can see the head of a manipulated ant, colonized by tendrils of the fungus, below and at 3:06 in my video.
“Ants infected by the fungus…die in a dramatic way.” Once the ant is positioned just so, “dying is preceded by biting behaviour where ants clamp onto plant surfaces” to keep it stable while the fungus bursts out of the back of the ant’s head and grows a long stalk, as you can see below and at 3:30 in my video.Can you believe that?!
There are others, too. For example, some aquatic parasites “cause various insect hosts (e.g. crickets, ants) to drown themselves so the adult parasite can reproduce in water; parasitoids cause bees to bury themselves alive or spiders to build aerial cocoons so as to protect the developing parasitoid pupa…” Those are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs in the abdomen of spiders. On the night the larva eats its way out—“the night that it will kill its host”—the larva marionettes the spider to build it a little home. How creepy is that?!
These are insects with simple brains, though. Surely, brain parasites couldn’t affect complex behaviors in higher animals, could they? This brings us to toxoplasma.
“Toxoplasma is known to manipulate the behavior of their hosts to increase the probability that the host is captured by a predator.” For example, toxoplasma can reproduce in cats, but how is it going to get itself from the brain of an infected mouse into the cat? It can hijack the mouse’s brain and “change their native, inborn fear of the odor of cats into an attraction to this odor.” The parasite causes the mouse to develop a fatal attraction to cats, which is good for the parasite, not so good for the mouse.
I know what you’re thinking: What does this have to do with human mental illness? How do I avoid becoming infected in the first place? This video is part of my series on the toxoplasma this parasite. The others are:
[00:00:00] Detective Ev: Hello, my friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. My name is Evan Transue, aka, Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show on metabolic chaos.
We have something a bit different going on for the next couple of weeks. I’m going to preface it really quick, tell you what’s up, and then you can decide how you want to engage with it. We are doing some things at FDN that are leading to an amazing amount of new people checking us out, listening to the podcast, watching videos, downloading stuff on the website. It’s been amazing and it’s really cool to see how many individuals it’s bringing in.
With that said, one thing I always need to be conscious of is when we’re 250 something episodes into a podcast, it can definitely seem a little confusing if someone is just hearing about us for the first time. So, what I wanted to do is something that I probably should have already done before anyway. Maybe we should have started episode one like this. Because once I do it once, I can always refer people back to it.
So, I’m doing an intro to FDN series where we’re going to be covering some of the main terms. These are going to be shorter and sweeter podcasts. And again, it will last for a couple of weeks.
Metabolic Chaos: Our Only Diagnosis
Now, if you’re already an FDN practitioner that listens regularly and you listen for the stories and the content, I don’t want you to think that there’s not something for you here. I can make the argument that it’s always good to re-listen to things, get a different perspective so that it’s more solidified in your mind, but maybe you won’t buy that one.
So, this is the one I would give you. These are going to be general enough podcasts that they could be sent to your clients. It could be used as a marketing resource on your website where people that are interested in your services can now have a better understanding of what you do. That’s how this is going to go.
Today’s topic, I want to jump right into it. We’re going to be talking about metabolic chaos. I think everything else that we’re going to discuss will make a lot more sense if we define and discuss metabolic chaos. Metabolic chaos is a term that you will hear a lot when you are exposed to FDN, whether you’re on our email lists or listening to a podcast or whatever it might be.
Metabolic chaos is our only diagnosis here. And I say that with some bunny ears around it – some quotes – because it’s not a real diagnosis if you haven’t realized, especially if you have any Western medicine background or family members or friends.
Metabolic chaos is not an official diagnosis, it’s a play on words. We’re not literally giving it out as a diagnosis. But we make a joke that it is the only thing that we really address; that’s how FDN works. Metabolic chaos is the only thing that we address.
We don’t care about treating any disease or symptom specifically, understand that. We don’t care about any specific disease or symptom or how to treat that because we don’t treat anything specifically. We’re not doctors; we’re not nurse practitioners. We can’t actually diagnose and treat anyway.
Sometimes people come to us, and they have those credentials. It’s not required to go through the course by any means. And certainly, the majority of people who have gone through our program don’t have those credentials. My point is that’s what a doctor does. That’s what they’re for.
They’re supposed to run some labs or ask a series of questions that will then lead to certain criteria being met or not being met, which could lead to a diagnosis. You get that diagnosis and there are approved forms of treatment for said diagnosis.
Generally speaking, you would start with the ones that have the least amount of risk to them and then move up over time if these symptoms did not resolve. For example, my mom had Graves’ disease, which is an autoimmune condition. And unfortunately, we didn’t know all the stuff we know now, back then. She’s doing fantastic by the way, but there’s some things that were lost in the process. Let me explain.
Metabolic Chaos: The Western Medicine Process
She had Graves’ disease, which is an autoimmune condition of the thyroid. Many of you listening have probably heard of hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Graves’ disease is, I don’t want to say the opposite, but it kind of is for the sake of a simple conversation.
Hashimoto’s is the autoimmune thyroid disease that’s associated with underactive thyroid. Graves’ disease is like the opposite. So, if a Hashimoto’s person feels like everything’s going slow, extreme weight gain, and all that kind of stuff, Graves’ disease is everything is sped up. My mom would be sitting on the couch trying to rest, and her heart rate was 120 something beats per minute, which is like double what the average is. It’s kind of scary; it’s crazy what can happen to people with these conditions.
First, she goes in, doesn’t really get a diagnosis for the first seven years. Finally, she gets a diagnosis of Graves’ disease and then they put her on a medication. Well, that lasts for a couple of years. Her symptoms aren’t getting better, they’re not getting to where we need to go.
So, now we come up with the next option, at least Western Medicine comes up with the next option. Okay, the medication didn’t work. That was the thing that we could give you that had the least amount of risk to it for your situation. But it didn’t get you to where you wanted to go. So, here’s the next option.
We can do a thyroidectomy, a removal of the thyroid from the body. And of course, that doesn’t always work how it is intended. But nonetheless that is what happened to my mom, she had her thyroid completely removed from her body. That’s what Western medicine will do.
Metabolic Chaos: FDN is a Different System
You have to be in or out of a range, which she was. She was out of these certain blood markers that led to a diagnosis of Graves’ disease. Then we start with the treatment forms that are the least harmful. So, we started with some synthetic thyroid hormone. No one really has ever died from that. Well, maybe there was one or two; I don’t know. I shouldn’t misspeak, I guess.
But that’s a, generally speaking, relatively safe thing. You know, we know the dosages. A lot of people take it. It’s very common to be prescribed. So, we kind of know what we’re doing with that one. Alright, well that didn’t work.
What’s the next thing we can do? Well, we can just take out the thyroid as if the thyroid’s the problem, which obviously it’s not. But that’s what happens. And of course, that’s a very major event in someone’s life. Not everyone wants to do that. That’s why we don’t start with a thyroidectomy.
So, you see how that goes. It is a diagnosis, which is based off certain criteria being met or not being met. Then you start with the safest options. And then you move on to things that are a bit riskier, assuming the patient wants to do it based off the amount of pain or suffering that they’re in.
Well, we don’t do anything like that at FDN. Even though we use labs, we don’t do anything like that. We don’t care about those specific diagnoses or forms of treatment. Why? Because we know that there’s really only one underlying cause in chronic symptoms, and that’s metabolic chaos. So, how can metabolic chaos be defined?
Metabolic Chaos: What Does it Look Like?
Well, there is a technical FDN definition. But I think depending on the FDN that you talk to, you’d get a few different ways of saying this. I’m not the founder of FDN, that’s Reed Davis, but here’s how I would describe metabolic chaos. Metabolic chaos is what happens when too much is going wrong in the body, and you can no longer tell what thing actually came first. And it’s not even relevant what came first.
Now again, I’m not saying this is a perfect definition, but this is how I’ve always been able to understand it and digest it. Metabolic chaos is what happens when a bunch of things are going wrong, and we don’t really even know what came first, and it quite frankly doesn’t matter.
What would this look like then in reality? Well, what this could mean is, let’s say someone was really healthy, ate really well, but ate wheat and they had a gluten sensitivity or an allergy that they didn’t know about. Let’s call it a sensitivity cause it’s more likely they didn’t want to know about that.
Now over time, that sensitivity is causing damage to the gut. At this point, the gut microbiome is all screwed up and the intestinal permeability is increasing. So, now a bunch of stuff’s getting into the body. This person ends up developing other food sensitivities. And they have a host of pathogenic bacteria and parasitic stuff in their gut, which is now causing fatigue, anxiety, and they’re reacting to other foods. Over time, they’re under so much stress that, based on their genetics, the weak links in their genes start to get really hit.
Metabolic Chaos: Root Cause Isn’t Needed
That might look like a thyroid condition in someone like my mom. However, that might look like depression in someone like me. So, now we’re getting hit because of the weak links.
But by the time someone like my mom goes into the doctor and gets that thyroid diagnosis, is the thyroid really the issue? Is the thyroid really the issue based on what we just said? Well, no, of course it’s not. All this other stuff was happening first.
But in the cases of chronic illness, here’s the issue, the thyroid is a problem now, it’s just not the problem. Because now we do have hormonal issues in the pituitary, the hypothalamus, the thyroid, that are leading to this diagnosis that she’s getting. She does have Graves’ disease, which is a stressor to the body. I do have depression, which is a stressor to my body.
So, that is contributing now to the issues that are happening. It’s contributing to my symptoms, to the way that I feel. Really, it’s almost this vicious cycle. You start out with something like, who knows, a gluten sensitivity. But now that leads to pathogenic bacteria. Now it leads to food sensitivity. It leads to a myriad of other symptoms and a diagnosis, which is actually causing stress to the body in and of itself. That’s metabolic chaos.
Metabolic chaos is when so much is going on that it doesn’t even really matter what came first because everything is contributing to the way that the person is feeling and the things that they are going through. Everything is contributing to it. You might get lucky every now and then in FDN and find the quote/unquote “root cause”, but it does not matter to actually get people well.
Metabolic Chaos: Looking at Typically Affected Systems
And this is a direct contradiction, it directly challenges what all these other people out there are saying. A lot of people, even in the functional medicine space, will talk about root cause protocols, or you need to find the root cause. I would love to know what they’re doing. How on earth can they say with 100% confidence that they have found the root cause of someone’s issues?
I must be an idiot cause I’ve been doing this for six years; I don’t know if I’ve ever found the root cause of someone’s issues by the time that they came to me. Well, I have found a lot of potential root causes. But I don’t know that I’ve ever found the root cause.
That’s metabolic chaos. We don’t need to treat anything specifically; we don’t need a diagnosis; we don’t even need a root cause. What we do need to do is look at all of the main systems in the human body that are typically affected when someone is chronically ill.
If you get someone who has had symptoms for years, I will guarantee this person has a microbiome that is disrupted. They have pathogenic stuff in their gut; they have food sensitivities that they’ve developed. Their hormones are out of whack, the liver, oxidative stress, protein breakdown, those things have been affected. And certainly, like I said, they have a leaky gut. We actually test for that specifically. All of those things, guaranteed, there’s going to be an issue there. Guaranteed, they’re not doing the lifestyle stuff right, which is a huge part of the FDN protocol.
Metabolic Chaos: Designed to be Healthy
With all that said, that’s how we address metabolic chaos. We don’t treat it, but we address it directly and indirectly by using the same set of labs on every single client that we work with. When we do that, that’s how we’re able to get these crazy results that we constantly get on this podcast and our practitioners get for their clients.
This isn’t a coincidence, it’s not magic, right? It’s like, how did you guys do this? There are autoimmune patients on here, cancer patients on here, mental health patients on here, gut sufferers, all this different stuff, and yet these people are better. How can that be happening with just one system?
It’s because we’re not treating anything specifically. We understand, and you could even say, believe and have faith in, to a degree, that the human body was designed to be healthy. And I say believe or have faith to a degree because you don’t really need to believe that. The example, I’m sorry that I use this all the time for regular listeners, cause I’m probably sounding like a broken record. But you need to understand how profound this is.
If I get a paper cut, I do not have to tell my body to heal; I don’t have to go to the doctors; I don’t have to do anything. I just have to leave that cut alone and stop picking the scab. Yes, I know it sounds simple. But the reason this is profound is, think about what’s happening. You do damage to your body, unpredictably. It’s not like you said, at this age at this date, I’m going to damage my body. Unpredictably, you damaged your body.
Metabolic Chaos: Providing the Space to Heal
Yet your body is so smart and so perfectly designed that it has something in it – an innate intelligence – if you want to call it that, whatever works for you, that it knows that if it gets damaged at any time, it understands what to do to heal that. So, it had no idea you were going to get damaged then, or that you’re ever going to get damaged per se, but it knew what to do when it happened. You didn’t need to do a dang thing. It healed the paper cut.
This is the exact same mechanism that we are taking advantage of in the world of FDN. This is the exact same mechanism that gets activated in a way that’s actually useful when you address metabolic chaos. When you utilize the tests that we’re talking about, and you figure out the main things that are going wrong in this person’s body, it allows you to, more or less, coach down all the bad stuff, all the metabolic chaos that’s going on. When we coach down the metabolic chaos, we allow the body to do what it needs to do.
It’s an extreme form of the paper cut. You don’t need to be in perfect health for a paper cut to heal, right? Although, I will say it’s worth noting that someone who is in perfect health will have their paper cut heal notably faster than someone who’s super sick. That’s worth mentioning.
But generally speaking, even the sickest of people, a paper cut’s going to heal on its own. It’s not going to be a permanent injury for them. But chronic disease can be when we don’t have the other tools in place. So, that’s what metabolic chaos is. It’s all of these things are going wrong.
Conclusion
And it doesn’t even matter what the root cause is anymore. The only way we’re going to get this person better is by addressing many things at once. Not treating anything specifically but addressing many things at once to boost their body up is enough that they can engage with that innate healing ability that we have all been given. That’s metabolic chaos. Sometimes less is more.
And like I said, I want to be short and sweet on these podcasts for this series. So, here’s what you can do. If you have any follow-up questions to this, or something didn’t make sense, or maybe you really liked something here and you resonated with it, just reach out to us on Instagram. It’s @fdntraining on Instagram. You could also reach out to us on our Facebook page. That’s @FunctionalDiagnosticNutrition.
But @fdntraining is a great place to find us. We have real humans that answer there. It’s not a chat bot. We do use some bot stuff on Facebook just cause it’s easier, but eventually a real human gets to it to be clear. But on Instagram, you can directly talk to someone today. So, go to fdntraining on Instagram for any questions.
I hope you guys enjoy this series. Well, I know I’m going to enjoy recording it. You can expect it for the next couple of weeks, and then we will be back to our normally scheduled interviews. Thank you so much for listening, and I hope you have a great day.
Potluck events are one of our favourite ways to entertain – there is less work on the host, and you can discover a bevy of new recipe ideas. While you can’t always make everyone happy with a potluck dish, there are some essential strategies you can use to build a crowd-pleaser for your next gathering.
How to Build The Perfect Potluck Dish
Choose a theme and/or type of dish.
Get started by selecting a flavour profile or cuisine, and deciding what type of dish you want to make. Open up your pantry, take stock of the herbs and spices you have on hand and think about whether you want to focus on a specific cuisine like Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese, etc.
Some types of foods are more potluck-friendly than others, such as:
Think of recipes that are easy to assemble, bring with you and serve – and can also be good if served at room temperature. If you’re heading to someone’s house, you may not have access to an oven or another method of reheating.
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Try to keep it allergen-friendly.
With the number of popular diets out there, it’s likely that many guests follow different dietary philosophies. There are some basic ingredients you can omit from your potluck dishes that those with allergies and intolerances will appreciate, and everyone else probably won’t even notice you made any alterations!
We automatically eliminate gluten and dairy, to which many people are intolerant. Then, if you happen to know any dietary needs of the other guests you can make adjustments accordingly. Consider what you can leave on the side (for example, chopped nuts on a salad) so guests can opt out of a particular ingredient if needed. It’s also helpful to label the items in your dish so everyone knows what’s in it.
Here is some great recipe inspiration:
Pack your potluck dish with nutritious ingredients.
Deliciousness is absolutely a priority, but we also want to ensure we create dishes with culinary nutrition principles in mind so guests walk away from the table feeling satisfied instead of sleepy, overstuffed, or suffering from acid reflux.
Try to build a dish that contains protein, nutritious fats, fibre, and lots and lots of vegetables. This will help balance blood sugar levels, enhance digestion, and more. Some of the ingredients you could add to a potluck dish include:
Make it one-pot and no-fuss.
Aim for potluck dishes that are easy to transfer into a large bowl, or onto a large plate, for serving. Not every one-pot meal is going to be ideal for potlucks, but you don’t necessarily have to use a pot: you could choose a recipe that involves dumping everything into a food processor, blender or bowl.
If you are hosting the potluck, you can use tools that help you do the work like a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Go for comfort foods.
Depending on the crowd, you may need to entice them a little with healthy comfort foods. Some hits include sweet, starchy, root vegetables like squash, sweet potato, carrot and beets, sweet and savory galettes, noodle dishes, or you can go for casserole-type dishes such as dairy-free mac and cheese or lasagna.
Ensure you taste your potluck dish and adjust the flavour as necessary, tweaking its salt, sweetness, acidity or fattiness.
Make it beautiful.
Photo: Anna Pelzer
Don’t just glop everything in a bowl or throw it on a plate – we eat with our eyes, too. You don’t need to be a food stylist to make a dish visually appealing. Often, a sprinkle of colourful herbs can really amp up a dish. Discover more food styling tips here.
Make it portable.
Unless you’re hosting, you’re going to be taking your dish to another location by some mode of transportation (even if you’re walking!).
Transfer your potluck dish to a sturdy container where it won’t be disturbed, preferably one with a lid that seals or snaps. This makes it easier to transport – and you can stick your name on it so it won’t get mixed up in the hustle and bustle of the party.
When you’re stuck, make dessert!
If you’re unsure what to make for a potluck, a dessert recipe is almost guaranteed to be a winner. We highly recommend making something with chocolate, but there are also these amazing options:
With these essential tips for building a good potluck dish, don’t be surprised if there are scads of people asking you for your recipe!
Did you realize that food could be the root of someone’s depression?
Evan Transue has this experience. Growing up he didn’t have much consideration for his food choices. But eventually, once he started supplementing with better vitamins, he noticed his mental health improved. This led him on his journey to find out as much as he could about how food can help someone physically and mentally.
Evan is now a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition system, but he likes to call himself a Nutrition detective. He can help show people now only the foods they may have sensitivities that are affecting their health, but also how to apply the real practice of improving their life away from major stressors.
We have a great conversation, about how he evolved his lifestyle, but also the practical lessons for you as a listener, to appreciate what to look for.
Making informed choices about the foods we consume can significantly impact the quality and duration of our sleep. Often, this connection between our diet and sleep is underestimated. So here are key nutrients and foods that have been found to promote a better night’s sleep.
Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps produce serotonin and melatonin, both crucial for regulating sleep. Our body does not make tryptophan, so it is important we get it from foods. Dairy products like yogurt and milk, turkey, chicken, tofu, and sesame seeds are excellent sources of tryptophan.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Although there are supplemental forms of melatonin, incorporating foods like cherries, bananas, nuts, and oats that contain melatonin can aid in improving sleep quality.
Magnesium
Magnesium plays a role in promoting relaxation and easing muscle tension, supporting a more restful, restorative sleep. Including foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and whole grains can boost magnesium intake.
Herbal Teas
Chamomile, valerian root, and passionflower teas have calming properties that can help soothe the mind and body before bedtime. Chamomile, in particular, is one of the richest natural sources of apigenin, which has been shown to induce sedation and muscle relaxation.
Complex Carbohydrates
Incorporating whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and oats into dinner can increase tryptophan’s availability in the brain, promoting a better sleep.
Start adopting a balanced diet, rich in sleep-supportive nutrients to enhance your sleep patterns. Remember this is only one part of addressing a better night’s sleep. If you are looking for further guidance, reach out to an Accredited Practising Dietitian today.
Meet Nisha Vora. We had the pleasure of talking with Nisha about all things spices.
How did you learn about spices and their culinary richness? Were you taught by someone in your family, did you learn from experience, or both?
I credit most of what I know about spices to my mother. She’s been cooking Indian food for 40+ years, so cooking with spices is so intuitive for her. She doesn’t use measuring teaspoons yet her food is always perfectly spiced. Once I started to observe her in the kitchen, I found myself feeling more confident and eager to experiment with spices in my own cooking.
Why are spices essential for any kitchen and type of cuisine?
Spices are such a fabulous way to enliven virtually any type of cuisine. They can seriously enhance the flavor and aroma of countless dishes, from bean chili to tofu stir fries to breakfast cookies. They can even jazz up your morning bowl of oatmeal or your favorite banana bread.
It doesn’t hurt that most spices boast serious health benefits, including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic properties, and even glucose- and cholesterol-lowering activities.
What are the top five must-have spices to keep on hand?
I’m sure most chefs will have varying answers, but for me, if I could choose just five, I’d pick earthy cumin, citrusy coriander, bold turmeric, sweet and warm cinnamon, and some sort of chile flakes for heat. (Red pepper flakes are available everywhere, but my personal favorite is Aleppo pepper.) While I rely on other spices and dried herbs like garlic and onion powder, dried ginger, and oregano, you can get those flavors from the fresh ingredients (e.g., whole onions, ginger, garlic, and fresh oregano), so they wouldn’t be in my top five must-haves.
What is the biggest mistake you see people make when it comes to using spices?
Not toasting the spices first! Heat unlocks the volatile oils found inside of spices, causing them to change shape and form more complex flavor compounds. You’re basically getting more flavor bang for your buck when you toast spices.
If your pot of chili has ever tasted bitter, it’s probably because the recipe simply added the ground spices into the liquid instead of toasting them first. (Usually, you’ll briefly toast your spices after you’ve sauteed the aromatics like onions and garlic.)
What are the best ways to bring out the natural flavors of spices without using oils?
Buy whole spices, toast them, and then grind them.
Whole spices are a flavor powerhouse compared to pre-ground spices since they have protective seed coatings that keep them fresh for much longer than ground spices.
If you compare the aroma and flavor of a bottle of pre-ground cumin with freshly toasted whole cumin seeds, the difference is pretty dramatic. The latter has a nuttier, deeper and more complex flavor (and aroma).
To toast whole spices, simply preheat a dry frying pan over medium or medium-high heat. Add your spices and shake the pan back and forth or stir from time to time to prevent burning. It’ll take just a few minutes for the spices to turn a few shades darker and become super aromatic.
Take the spices off the heat. Once cooled, grind them using a spice grinder, mortar and pestle, or even a coffee grinder. Now use your ground spices in whatever dish that calls for them. This will take your soup, curry, stew, or whatever else you’re cooking to new heights.
How can home cooks use spices for the best results? Are there any tried and true strategies for better understanding the flavor profiles of spices and what pairs well together?
I recommend getting a copy of the Vegetarian Flavor Bible book. It lists every imaginable whole food ingredient, including spices, and gives you lots of flavor pairings and sample dishes to spark your imagination.
Learning which spices pair well together (and what quantities to use them in) is something that comes with practice, so don’t be shy about experimenting in the kitchen. You can also look to chefs who are masters of specific cuisines to see how they pair spices together. (YouTube is a fantastic resource.) I often find myself spending hours watching Indian chefs on YouTube. Even if they’re cooking something non-vegan, I inevitably learn something new about spices and how to incorporate them into my cooking.
Are all spices created equal? If not, how can people source quality spices?
All spices are definitely not created equal. I think it’s pretty easy to view spices as a pre-made commercial product, but spices are actually more like fresh vegetables or fruits. They’re grown by farmers working on farms and in fields, most often in developing countries, and growing and processing them is labor- and time-intensive.
In general, smaller brands that have shorter supply chains will be able to offer spices that are not only the freshest and most flavorful, but they typically also have more ethical and transparent practices around sourcing, sustainability, and labor.
Two of my favorite small businesses that source wonderful spices and prioritize fair wages and sustainable sourcing are Burlap and Barrel and Diaspora Co.
At supermarkets, I like using the brands Frontier Co-op, which offers a large selection of organic and Fair Trade certified spices, and Simply Organic.
What are the best ways to store spices? What is the general shelf life people should be mindful of?
Away from sunlight and heat, so ideally in your pantry or in a cupboard. If you’ve been storing your spices in a cabinet above your stove or oven, try finding a different spot, as the proximity to heat will damage your spices.
You also want to minimize their exposure to air, so airtight containers and tight-fitting glass jars or commercial-grade plastic bags are best.
Ground spices typically have a shelf life of six months to a year. Whole spices are usually good for one to two years. Open your spice bottle and take a whiff. If the aroma is faint or barely there, it’s past its prime.
You can revive older spices a bit by slowly toasting them in a dry pan. For whole spices, toast for three to four minutes over low heat and stir or toss constantly, or until they start to look a bit oily and smell aromatic. You need to be more careful with ground spices; they need just a minute.
What are some other essential or helpful tips you’d like to share about using spices in cooking?
Go easy on the turmeric! Too often I see home cooks add way too much turmeric. It’s a strong spice, and too much of it will overpower and even ruin your dish. A quarter or half teaspoon is usually sufficient, maybe a teaspoon if you’re cooking a spice-heavy Indian dish. It also needs to cook a bit longer than other ground spices; otherwise, it can taste a bit raw.
Please tell us a little bit about your work and career.
I’m a vegan food blogger, YouTuber, cookbook author, and the creator of Rainbow Plant Life, a destination site for outstanding flavor-packed vegan recipes. On YouTube, I share informative yet entertaining videos where I teach home cooks how to level up their cooking skills from a plant-based perspective. I started Rainbow Plant Life as a creative outlet when I was still a lawyer, then transitioned into the food startup world where I worked for a few years while side hustling. I went full-time on Rainbow Plant Life in 2019, shortly after my first cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, was released. My second cookbook will be published in 2024.
Please tell us a little bit about your forthcoming book.
My second cookbook will be published next year, in 2024 (Avery Books / Penguin Random House). It’s an encapsulation of my approach to building maximally flavorful vegan food that is fun and exciting yet approachable.
You can find Nisha here, on YouTube here, and on Instagram here.
Let’s face it: Healthy cooking involves a lot of decisions, some easier to make than others. Deciding which oils to cook with, which ones to drizzle over your salad and which ones to stay very, very far away from is trickier – especially when so many labels make confusing health claims.
Fear not – choosing healthy cooking oils doesn’t need to be complicated. Just follow this handy guide to choosing the best oil for each culinary adventure you embark on in your kitchen!
Types of Fats and Cooking Oils
Fats come in chains of varying lengths and are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. One way fats are distinguished from one another is by their double bonds – whether there are no double bonds, one double bond or many double bonds between the carbon molecules.
The categories of fats include:
Saturated Fats
Bond Type: None
What Are They?
Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and turn to liquid when warmed. They mostly come from animal sources (like butter) and tropical oils like coconut and palm oil. Contrary to popular belief, not all saturated fats are bad. For example, coconut oil is anti-microbial, aids digestion and reduces inflammation, while ghee has a wealth of nutrients that support our health. Yes, saturated fats should be limited, but they aren’t the evil devils that cause multiple ailments, as some would like us to believe.
The man-made hydrogenated saturated fats are the ones to avoid, but the good quality saturated fats are very beneficial.
Get your FREE Step-By-Step Guide to Making Ghee plus 35 more free resource guides!
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Mono Unsaturated Fats
Bond Type: One Double Bond
What Are They?
Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature, but will harden when put in the refrigerator. These kinds of fats have been made popular by the Mediterranean diet (which are full of them) and are well-known for lowering your risk of heart disease, arthritis and cancer.
Polyunsaturated Fats
Bond Type: Multiple Double Bonds
What Are They?
Polyunsaturated fats are liquid no matter where you store them. They have many double hydrogen bonds in their fat chains, and they are extremely sensitive to heat, light and air. Some of the most well-known polyunsaturated fats are the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which have gained attention for their ability to reduce inflammation, build cell membranes, improve brain health, reduce heart disease and more.
Omega-3s and omega-6s are essential fats that our bodies can’t make, so we need to gather them from our diet. Both of them are necessary, however we need a very specific ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, and that’s 1:2 to 1:4. Most people have absolutely no problem getting omega-6, as they are typically overflowing in our diets – in fact, in the average North American diet we are getting about 1 omega-3 to 15 omega-6s. Too much omega-6 throws our bodies into a pro-inflammatory state.
Trans Fats
Hydrogenated oils and trans fats are produced by companies that take polyunsaturated oil and transform it into a solid, so it lasts longer on the shelves and is easily spreadable (think margarine). When single and double bonds are hydrogenated, they are more shelf-stable and consistent.
These are made when, under unnaturally high heat, those single and double bonds in the mono and polyunsaturated fats are saturated with hydrogen to make them more predictable at different temperatures. Our bodies can’t actually recognize the chemical structure, and this can lead to things like high cholesterol, heart disease and cancer.
In their natural states, fats are incredible anti-oxidants while in their hydrogenated state they become the opposite, contributing to free radical damage in the body.
decoding label claims on Healthy Cooking Oils
As with many types of foods, cooking oils can have a host of labeling claims. It can be challenging to decode them because different areas of the world have varying standards and labeling laws, plus each oil can have its own optimal method of extraction and processing.
Below are some common explanations for cooking oil labeling claims.
Cold Pressed
Companies make cold pressed oils by grinding nuts or seeds and then pressing them in a heat-controlled environment to extract the oil; the temperature should not go above 120 degrees. This process helps to maintain the oil’s nutrient value and flavour.
Expeller Pressed
An expeller press squeezes the oil using high pressure; no additional heat (or chemicals) is applied; but due to the friction of the press heat is inevitably created.
Refined
Refined oils are ones that are typically filtered, heated, bleached and deodorized after extraction. This makes them more shelf-stable and longer-lasting; but the consequences are a loss of nutrients and the potential damaging effect the chemicals added in the refining process may have.
However, refining can also depend on the type of oil – and some are ‘naturally refined’ without the use of excess heat and chemicals.
Unrefined
Unrefined oils are those that haven’t undergone any processing after extraction; save for some filtering (without chemicals or heat) in some instances. These oils still retain their nutrient properties and flavour.
Generally speaking, virgin oils are simply those that are extracted without heat or chemicals. Though you may see ‘extra virgin’ labels on other types of oils, it’s primarily a marketing term and there usually isn’t much difference between virgin and extra virgin.
If you’re looking at a product and wondering if it’s a healthy cooking oil or not, another rule of thumb is to get in touch with the oil producer or company to find out more information about how their products are processed.
How Do You Decide Which oil is The Best to Cook With?
The more double bonds a fat has, the more susceptible it is to heat, light and oxygen. That means delicate fats such as flax oil, chia oil, and walnut oil are going to be easily destroyed by heat, while the stable fats such as ghee, coconut oil, lard and tallow will be more suitable for high-heat cooking.
With this guide in mind, you can ensure you are choosing healthy cooking oils in the proper way to maintain their health benefits!
Healthy Cooking Oils
Ghee
Type of Fat: Saturated Temperature: High heat cooking Best Uses: As a replacement for butter in many recipes. Ghee is also a cooking oil you can make at home How to Store: A cool dark place for 3 months, in the fridge for up to a year
Coconut Oil
Type of Fat: Saturated Temperature: High heat cooking Best Uses: Butter replacement, gluten-free baking, elixirs and hot drinks, homemade body care How to Store: A cool dark place
Avocado Oil
Type of Fat: Monounsaturated Temperature: High heat cooking Best Uses: Sautéing, stir-fries, dips, sauces and dressings How to Store: A cool dark place
Sesame Oil
Type of Fat: Monounsaturated Temperature: Low to medium heat cooking Best Uses: Stir-fries, noodle dishes, dressings, Asian-inspired dishes How to Store: A cool dark place
Olive Oil
Type of Fat: Monounsaturated Temperature: Low to medium heat cooking Best Uses: Light sautéing, dips, sauces and dressings How to Store: A cool dark place
Flax Oil
Type of Fat: Polyunsaturated Temperature: Do not heat Best Uses: Drizzle over salads, cooked whole grains and meat/poultry/fish, add to smoothies and dips How to Store: In the fridge or freezer
Hemp
Type of Fat: Polyunsaturated Temperature: Do not heat Best Uses: Drizzle over salads, cooked whole grains and meat/poultry/fish, add to smoothies and dips How to Store: In the fridge or freezer
Chia Oil
Type of Fat: Polyunsaturated Temperature: Do not heat Best Uses: Drizzle over salads, cooked whole grains and meat/poultry/fish, add to smoothies and dips How to Store: In the fridge or freezer
Walnut Oil
Type of Fat: Polyunsaturated Temperature: Do not heat Best Uses: Drizzle over salads, cooked whole grains and meat/poultry/fish, add to smoothies and dips How to Store: In the fridge or freezer
Best Practices for Healthy Cooking Oils
Keep these tips in mind when choosing healthy cooking oils.
Buy oils in small bottles to keep them fresh for as long as possible
Though you may find some of the following oils in organic, cold-pressed versions, we recommend avoiding these oils when found in ultra-processed foods and in plastic bottles.
Soybean oil
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Canola oil
Rapeseed oil
Sunflower oil
Grapeseed oil
Safflower oil
Rice bran oil
In the infographic below, we break it down visually – you can see which healthy cooking oils are great for high heat, medium-heat, and no-heat cooking.
[00:00:00] Detective Ev: Hello my friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. My name is Evan Transue, aka, Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show on ulcerative colitis.
So, I graduated from the FDN course about six years ago. And I suffered with seven different conditions at the age of 18. And I’m thankful to say I do not meet the diagnostic criteria any longer for any of those things. In fact, I pretty much don’t have the symptoms of any of those things at all. So, I’m blessed to be able to say that. It’s led to my passion for this work, and that’s why I have the privilege of hosting this podcast for FDN, which is a program that certifies people in being able to get these results for other people and start a thriving business.
Today we are interviewing someone who is an FDN practitioner herself; it’s Tina Haupert. She’s also a certified nutrition coach, cookbook author, podcast host of a podcast called Carrots ‘N’ Cake, wife, mom, and the creative mind behind the business, Carrots ‘N’ Cake. Tina and her coaching team work one-on-one with clients utilizing functional testing and a macro-based nutrition approach to help them enhance their metabolism and diet to achieve their health and body composition goals.
Tina was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 12 years ago and is also an active IBD advocate. IBD is irritable bowel disease for those that are not aware. Now what’s interesting about Tina’s story and what I really appreciated about her podcast is very often we have people on who are kind of in the same boat that I am. Maybe they don’t have the symptoms at all of the things that they’re dealing with.
Ulcerative Colitis: Still on the Health Journey
But I find it interesting that we catch Tina in, I wouldn’t call it the midst of her journey, but she certainly is farther than the middle. She’s within the journey, that’s for sure. And it goes to show this stuff is possible. You can get consistently better over time. It is my absolute belief that Tina will get to exactly where she set out to get to.
She’s had these conditions for a long time, you’ll find out in the podcast. We’re talking over a decade before lab testing got brought out and before protocols were really being intelligently done. And that’s a lot of the people that come on this show. We normally just catch them another 10 years down the road.
It’s really great to have her come on today in her current state and place that she’s in and be so transparent. I think it’s actually much more relatable for a lot of the people that might click on a podcast like this or listen to our show. Without further ado, let’s get to today’s episode.
Alright. Hello there Tina, and welcome to the Health Detective Podcast. How are you?
[00:02:35] Tina Haupert: I’m doing well. How are you? Thank you for having me.
[00:02:37] Detective Ev: I’m glad to have you. Actually, it’s kind of fun because we just got to do something on her podcast. So, before we get into anything else, I always shout people’s businesses out at the end, but we gotta get that going right away. So, where can people find the podcast? Because if they’re listening to this today or watching this, ours is well out. It’s been out for a couple of weeks already.
[00:02:57] Tina Haupert: My podcast is called Carrots ‘N’ Cake. It’s on all the usual platforms, Apple, Spotify. If you search Carrots ‘N’ Cake, you’ll find it.
[00:03:03] Detective Ev: And what are the typical topics that someone might expect to listen to on that? We love people listening to our podcast, but it’s like TV, you don’t just watch one show, you can watch a lot. So, what are some of the topics people can expect on there?
[00:03:15] Tina Haupert: In general, just women’s health. But there’s definitely a focus on hormones, healing your body, body composition changes, maybe a little bit of weight loss, but not crazy weight loss, more of the responsible approach to weight loss and changing your body.
[00:03:29] Detective Ev: Cool. I like that trend that’s happening. That seems to be something that we need to stick with ideally as a society.
So, how we will get started today, because as you guys already know, if you’re listening, you already heard the bio. And one of the things that you heard is that she is an FDN practitioner. What’s cool is I like to walk through these stories and journeys of getting into functional and natural medicine very similarly. You can ask similar questions, but the journeys are completely unique.
So, my first question that I’d like to start with today, Tina, is what we always typically start with on the show. When did the health stuff kind of start for you? Because it really goes one of two ways. You either had health symptoms yourself or someone very close to you that you cared about, had health symptoms. That’s been 99% of the people on the show. Whichever it was, when did that begin and what did that look like?
Ulcerative Colitis: Getting a Diagnosis
[00:04:13] Tina Haupert: Yeah, so this is part of my story. I was diagnosed in 2011 with ulcerative colitis, and at the time I felt like it came out of nowhere. I was like, how did I get this diagnosis? Then, obviously learning more about health and the body and doing the FDN certification, I had it coming to me as far as having GI issues before there, how I treated my body, how I lived my life, all of that hidden stress eventually came out in my body as far as GI issues.
But yeah, it was also kind of interesting too because I got my start online as a healthy living blogger. I started my blog back in 2008 and really developed this incredible following. And getting that diagnosis as somebody who is living this healthy living lifestyle was quite the change as far as the direction of taking my health and things that I focused on. It was a really big deal at the time. Since then, I’ve really struggled with it. But finding FDN has changed my health for the better for sure.
[00:05:18] Detective Ev: Nice. Well, when these things happen, we do get a lot of people that are quote/unquote “into health” prior to getting the diagnosis or getting into FDN. And I think it redefines our entire definition of what health is or isn’t.
I remember as a kid, and I think many people, especially in America, still walk around with this definition, whether they say it out loud or not it’s kind of the bias in our brain. If someone’s thin they’ve done as much as they can on the food side, like they’re healthy.
Ulcerative Colitis: Could Food be the Culprit?
That stigma and stereotype was one of the biggest killers for me because I’ve never been someone who can gain weight easily, even in great health now. It’s still something that I would have to consciously try to do. And of course, there’s like 70% of people listening saying, oh, well it must be nice, right? Grass is always greener on the other side type of thing.
Because the opposite issue with that is there was nothing that society looked at when I was younger that said, this kid is unhealthy. These are just diseases that he has because he has bad genetics. Well, it turns out food could be something involved in weight. It could be something involved in the disease states that you have or diagnoses that you have. So, it’s complicated and there’s many things that go into this stuff.
Speaking of things that are complicated and how there’s many things that go into it, you had mentioned that prior to getting this diagnosis, now that you know better, you realize there were some warning signs. I’m always very interested in that because I think it can help people if we’re lucky enough to get someone listening before they’re in the ringer with all this stuff. You get the diagnosis in 2011, what was going on before that? Did you have symptoms five years before, 10 years before? What were those?
[00:06:52] Tina Haupert: Well, this is the thing that I think was so interesting about my journey, I ignored many of the symptoms. I was like, it is what it is. You know? Well, I know we love talking about GI stuff, but initially it was more constipation where I wasn’t going to the bathroom or having a bowel movement for a number of days.
Ulcerative Colitis: Ignoring the Symptoms
I didn’t think anything of it. It just is what it is. When my body’s ready to go the bathroom, it’ll go to the bathroom. And then I had the flip side where I had regular diarrhea that never got better. It was probably a good month or two of those symptoms. And I was just like, eh, things will get back on track. I’m not really worried about it. Living my life doing a million things, traveling, I just was too busy to focus on my health. So, I ignored all the symptoms until it got so bad that I couldn’t live my life. I had to see a doctor and get a diagnosis and all of that.
Working with women now, I think it’s the same thing. You have so many competing priorities that your health sometimes is the last thing on the totem pole, or you just let it go for so long until you get to a place where you can’t really ignore the symptoms. That was a hundred percent me.
[00:07:59] Detective Ev: Well, speaking on the idea of letting it go, at the same time, and correct me if I’m wrong here, because it could be unique for everyone. We don’t think about this so literally, cause we’re going about our day-to-day life. It’s not like someone says, oh, this is just normal. But the way we treat it, we almost, by definition, are acting like it’s normal. For
example, I had these stomach issues after I would eat certain things and so I would take Tums. But if you had asked me, is acid reflux normal? Maybe I would’ve thought about that more in depth and intelligently.
Ulcerative Colitis: Normalizing Warning Signs
At the time, I just took Tums cause it’s like, oh, you get acid reflux sometimes, like that’s what it is. Do you think you had that same kind of belief system up until the disease state, at least when you got a diagnosis? Was it, this is just things that happen to people, and you take something for it?
[00:08:36] Tina Haupert: Yep. And I was like, oh, that’s weird. Something would happen, and I’d be like, oh, that’s weird. But it wasn’t so bad that it gave me that inkling that maybe we should look into this a little bit. It was just, I was young. I was only 31 when I was diagnosed, so I went many years having these weird little health things pop up here and there.
But yeah, I would get a prescription for something, I would get better, and I would just move on with my life. I ignored it for so long it really did get to that disease state, like you said.
[00:09:04] Detective Ev: You’re one of these people that makes me so hopeful on a complete side note here. I won’t say it out loud, but I’ll do the math.
So, 2011, 31. It’s 2023 at the time of recording this. We have so many men and women that come on this show that do not look anywhere close to their age. I’m very surprised. I had no idea that you were in your forties now. And so, I’m very hopeful that I could stay good looking and healthy as I age in this.
I’m lucky I got into functional medicine stuff quick. Many of our guests have done that; it’s kind of amazing. And Reed Davis himself is the biggest testament, right? The guy’s like 70.
Ulcerative Colitis: When Sickness is Too Painful Not to Change
I was watching Reed’s wife’s Instagram story the other day as he’s wave boarding where he’s being carried by a boat. He’s lifted up on it and surfing on the thing. I’m like, this man is 70 years old. You know, the life expectancy in America is like four years greater than him and he’s learning skills that I can’t even get half our youth to do successfully. Probably cause we’re so messed up.
Complete side note. Get healthy, live forever and we all get to look good. It’s awesome.
So, with these warning signs that were coming, you perceived them as normal enough, normal enough that we’re not going to do anything. And then, all of a sudden, this diagnosis hits you. It’s a big learning lesson for anyone that listens. And we’re humans, so we’re not good at this. We kind of need enough pain that the idea of change leads us.
Well, how should I word this? It’s kind of like a quote where we don’t change anything until the pain of what we’re actually dealing with outweighs the greatness of the pain of change. Probably could have worded that much more eloquently, but you guys get the principle.
And for myself it was the same thing. I walked through life for 13 years, getting worse and worse and worse. And then we kind of all have our final straw. It might be a diagnosis. However, it might not even be the diagnosis though. I had like six other things diagnosed and I was still like, it’d be nice to not have these, but I’m just a sick kid. This is what happens. And then you finally get something where this doesn’t make sense.
Ulcerative Colitis: The Allopathic Method
So, initially you found this shocking because you have that healthy lifestyle already, or what you perceived to be healthy relative to other people, and it probably was relative to other people. When this happened, did you initially, like the first week, start looking at the health side or were you more responding in the Western medicine way saying, this needs to be treated, or whatever? What are the initial thoughts as you received the diagnosis?
[00:11:08] Tina Haupert: At that point, I was in a full-on UC flare, bloody diarrhea, urgency, so much inflammation that my doctor at that time, I have a different doctor now that I like a lot more, but that doctor put me on prednisone. Prednisone just calmed down all the inflammation and everything.
Things got better and I was kind of back at it. And honestly, I didn’t make too many changes in the beginning. I just was like; this is something that just happens. I’m going to take some medication and I’m going to be good. And I was good for a little bit, but I kept having flare symptoms. But I never really was a hundred percent.
My focus was diet right off the bat. You know, I went for the paleo diet, cut out all gluten, all dairy. Honestly, I never really got better. For me, as much as I want it to be the diet, and I’m a pretty healthy eater, I have tried every diet ever. You name it, I’ve done it. I’ve done the most extreme diets. But I think for me it really was managing the stress.
Ulcerative Colitis: Needing to Destress
As an FDN, we know all about stress and what it can do to the body. But it took many years for me really to get to that place of pain, and to that rock bottom, to be like, what you are doing is not working. You really need to get a hold of your stress.
Also, I wasn’t sleeping. I was exercising too hard, working too many hours, and I was just so focused on nailing the diet and doing the diet perfectly, just focusing on the wrong things. And I really have struggled with this disease over the years.
I mean, I’ve been on all the medications, been off the medications, been back on the medications. And I really have just changed my perspective on health, to be honest. I know that wasn’t like a straight answer to what you asked me, but it really changed my thinking on literally everything when it comes to my body and my health and wellbeing.
[00:12:52] Detective Ev: That’s okay. I never give a straight question or a straight answer myself, so it’s all good. And it’s also why I like to do the organic free flow conversations here because we’re kind of touching on an interesting point. I very much appreciate your transparency. We never want someone coming on this show and acting like everything’s perfect.
Sometimes we do have people that have legitimately fully resolved things. I’m lucky enough to say, I don’t meet the diagnostic criteria for any of the seven conditions that I had. But other times it’s how do we get life as good as we can.
Ulcerative Colitis: Seeing Medication as a Tool in the Toolbox
Or what’s really interesting, and I don’t know how many times this has happened, but from my understanding, it has happened at least a couple of times. Sometimes the guest comes on and someone listening says, oh wait, I know exactly what to do for this. And then they reach out. The guest that’s tried a bunch of stuff has one new thing to try. So, it’s really cool how that works.
I actually have a sticky note for myself, and I always forget to do this on the show. We’re 200 something episodes in, and so it free flows a lot, which is great, but I need to ask more. Some of my audience members keep asking this, can we define the conditions a little better? Because, Ev, we’re not doctors and don’t know all this stuff.
Quite frankly, I couldn’t. I have an idea of ulcerative colitis; we’ve had it on before. But I can’t give some presentation on it. So, if you don’t mind me backtracking, let’s talk about what the heck is ulcerative colitis? What’s going on in the body when that occurs?
[00:14:05] Tina Haupert: It’s a fun one. But it’s literally ulcers, ulceration in the colon; and there’s inflammation in the colon. Doctors don’t know why it happens. Obviously, we have a lot of ideas. There’s no cure for it. And at this point, it really is symptom management unless you can figure out a holistic approach to heal your body.
That’s still the journey I’m on. And I’m glad you mentioned, even though I’m on this podcast talking about this, I’m still trying to figure it out for sure. I’m on medications, but I see medications as a tool in the toolbox.
Ulcerative Colitis: Doing What it Takes to Live Life
And I still eat really healthy. I sleep, manage my stress, take my supplements. So, it’s never one thing. But yeah, it’s been quite the journey to get to this place.
Because I really thought I needed to heal myself naturally and medications were just something I didn’t need. And I’m really at that point in my journey where I’m like, nope, I just want to be healthy. I want to be healthy and be able to live my life.
[00:14:59] Detective Ev: Awesome. That’s how this stuff should be used.
I constantly reiterate this just in case someone’s listening for the first time cause I don’t want to seem dogmatic. The one medication I still use to this day, and it’s not every time, but flying, I don’t think we were supposed to be 35,000 feet above the ground. That’s just my personal opinion. I don’t know about you guys; I wasn’t born with wings; I don’t do that. So, I still get very anxious about it.
I started to realize, Tina, that on longer flights, especially, and think about it, you’re traveling for work normally, at least I am. It’s usually never a vacation, it’s normally work. It’s fun. I enjoy what we do, but it is stressful. You’re changing time zones, got a conference going on. Now you’re indoors all day, when normally I have a better routine to get outside.
I was getting so stressed about the flight, so dogmatic of, I can’t take any medication for this, I gotta be better than this, I was getting colds, like the illness, every single time I traveled by the time the conference started. You’re like, well, how does that happen? Why do you get a cold?
Ulcerative Colitis: You Must Be Committed
For those that don’t understand what I’m saying, it’s that the stress was so bad, the immune system lowers. We’re exposed to these viruses all the time. It’s just you don’t normally get them if you’re healthy and doing what you need to be doing or you’re not under a lot of stress.
But I was like, okay, do I need to be the hero here? Or is it okay to say, hey man, you had seven different diagnosed conditions. You were using various medications and now you use one occasionally for something that you can argue human beings were never supposed to do. Hey, let’s work on this, try to make progress and see if we can get somewhere with meditation and other things. But this is okay, man, you’re doing good. This is progress. That’s really what it is. So, it kind of sucks.
Obviously, that’s a severe condition too. I think anyone listening can understand why you would want to implement the medication side.
If this was 2011, I know that we actually talked about this on your show, and I’m sorry that I forget. When did you find FDN? Cause it was quite a few years afterwards. I mean, this is down the road.
[00:16:45] Tina Haupert: So, I went for many, many years kind of ignoring this disease, not really accepting it. You know, I was taking meds, making changes to my diet, but really just not committed. I mean, you actually said this on my podcast, you have to commit to healing. You have to commit to actually changing. And I was always half in, half out. I didn’t want to disrupt my lifestyle and how I was living.
Ulcerative Colitis: Introduced to FDN
So, when things got really bad, it was probably 2019ish, right before the world shut down with Covid and everything. But there was definitely some times during that year where there was a lot going on in my life. I had worked with Kristen Thomas, who I know is a name in the FDN world. She introduced me to FDN.
At that point, just knowing what she did and the things that we did together, I was like, wait, actually I want to do this. This sounds great. I want to heal myself and I think this would be a great addition to my business. So, I started the program in 2019, finished in 2020 in June when the world was officially shut down. But really that was kind of my turning point.
I mean, maybe it was because the world was shut down and I had more time to just focus on myself, but that was the commitment. That was, as I call that time, my basement days. My whole body was out of whack. It wasn’t just the UC. I was having hormone issues, had gained a bunch of weight, had acne everywhere. My body was just freaking out. I was getting headaches, I mean, just so many symptoms.
At that point, I was like, I have to get better. Thanks to FDN and the testing and just learning about stress, I think just knowing all the things that stress can do at our bodies, that was really the turning point for me. And ever since I graduated, I have been just slowly chipping away at all these different symptoms and hormonal imbalances and thyroid and all of that.
Ulcerative Colitis: Subtracting Symptoms Off the List
I mentioned on the episode we recorded; I have the Notes app on my phone. So, I listed all the symptoms I had, probably like 30 or 40 symptoms. And I go back to that periodically just to look at more and more symptoms I can knock off the list that I just don’t deal with anymore. So, even though I’m dealing with UC flares here and there, I’m a lot better than I was. It feels so much better, happier, energized, so many good things.
[00:18:54] Detective Ev: What you just said about the Notepad actually segues perfectly to the thing that I was thinking next. I didn’t understand the time difference, I don’t think, when we first recorded, or at least I didn’t remember it. In the middle of the day and there’s more pressure sometimes when you’re the one talking. It depends on the day. Sometimes I feel more pressure as the host. Other times it’s the opposite. I don’t think I remember as much of the podcast when I’m the one being interviewed. Like I just go somewhere else; it’s weird.
But my point in mentioning that is I forgot that you said the Notepad thing. Hold on for a second. We have before 2011 years of symptoms and warning signs. 2011 happens, eight years of the diagnosis. And you are trying, but obviously through no fault of your own, it’s not actually getting better.
So, 2020 is when you finally graduate and you’re noticing that symptoms go away more and more. It’s not the message that everyone wants to hear, but one of the things that happens with natural healing is, someone who has been able to talk to so many clients and so many practitioners on this show, healing does take time.
Ulcerative Colitis: Managing the Stress Piece
When you’ve had something for over a decade, it doesn’t always just disappear even in a year. Cause here’s the thing, you mentioned that stress is a huge part of this. Okay, you still have to work. I’m sure you probably do some type of workout routine, like there’s still life, finances, there’s life that exists outside of your disease.
So, when we’re talking about natural healing, one thing I always like people to remember is, what are we actually talking about? It’s almost a math problem. The lower you can get the stress, the more the body can engage in its natural healing ability.
The older we get, the worse this kind of is, right? An 80-year-old is not going to be able to heal as fast as a 40-year-old. And a 40-year-old is not going to be able to heal as fast as a five-year-old. We have a little more vital reserve, as we say in FDN; Reed always talks about that. But it’s really a ratio.
Cause if the stress is super high, constant trauma for the five-year-old, they might have more vital reserve than you or me, but they still get sick. My point is it’s kind of hard to know all the right things to do and say, okay, I need to reduce stress, but then just turn your entire life off. Like you still have to do things on a daily basis.
So, I would be really curious what happens to you in two or three years. Maybe you don’t need the medications and this stuff. Because maybe right now, that scale is like only 5% higher. Like the healing is only 5% higher than the stress, but you’re making progress. That notepad’s getting better all the time.
Ulcerative Colitis: It Takes Time to Heal
I remember that’s what happened with me with the skin issues. And to be clear, if I stress myself out, that’s still the first thing that will happen to me is I’ll get a breakout. So, it’s not that I’m free from it to this day, but that was like the last thing. I got 70% better in my skin in the first month of natural healing.
It must have taken three years, four years even, before I looked at my skin and noticed, Wow! I don’t have any breakouts today. Like my skin just looks good. That’s amazing for someone who, not to be gross, but this is actually true, probably had 200 breakouts at once on my face at one point.
So, that’s the progress guys. It takes some time to heal, right? It’s not going to be overnight. I’ll be excited to see what can happen to you in the next two or three years.
What are you working on right now? In addition to the medications, are you trying anything new, or do you just stay at a certain base level? What are you working on right now?
[00:21:57] Tina Haupert: That is a great question. So, I am in remission now thanks to some medications I’ve decided to take back in the fall. I tried so many things. You name it, I have tried it.
But I kind of got to this point where mentally, emotionally, it was really stressful on me just because I wasn’t seeing the results that I wanted. I was doing all the things and not getting a result. So, mentally, emotionally, I felt like I just needed a break from all the testing and everything.
Ulcerative Colitis: Focusing on Gut Health
Just last week I ran a GI MAP, so I’m waiting for those results. And yeah, I’m just going to continue to work on the gut health. Because now I don’t have any symptoms besides the UC. So, I don’t even really need to work on the other stuff. I mean, knock on wood. You know what I mean? My skin is cleared up, my hormones are balanced, my periods are regular. You know, all the symptoms that were happening in my health really have gotten better.
So, I took that little break. Back at it. But yeah, just focusing on the gut health and maybe trying to take a different approach on the gut. I want to see if I get any good clues from the GI MAP as far as moving forward. But, you know, I spent a lot of time on minerals, spent a lot of time on hormones, all that. And yeah, honestly, that’s like the last thing.
So, just to what you were saying, I wonder if I can figure this out in the next couple years.
[00:23:11] Detective Ev: The only thing that I’m a little hesitant to talk about is like cancers and stuff, so I’ll leave that off the table. But, almost anything else, and maybe I’m ignorant with this, maybe I am, but I believe it can be healed over time.
I just think what we need to emphasize properly, like, your story is the realistic story where this isn’t overnight. I try not to do this; we have too many people that get on this show and they’re 10 years in an intelligent, lab-tested backed healing journey.
Ulcerative Colitis: Slow and Steady Progress
I mean, technically in a sense, you’re really only a few years into this using the labs and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, you get someone 10 years in, it looks pretty dang good on the other side. They’re telling these stories and you hear the words, but it’s almost hard to connect to the emotional states or the severity of the issues back then. You’re like, this person’s telling some crazy stuff here. Like this was a lot of their life that they were really suffering.
So no, I think it’ll be figured out. I think you’re actually proving that. Look at what you just said, with a medication, now it’s in remission. And you have all these other symptoms knocked off. That’s slow and steady progress. And eventually slow and steady progress that doesn’t stop leads to maybe you don’t need the medication and you’re still in remission. I wish you all the best with that. That’s amazing.
What did you find on the labs, if you remember initially when you were doing FDN? Cause I’m trying to think, 2019, did we still only include two lab tests in the course back then? Did you only get the BioHealth stuff?
Tina Haupert: Yeah, I got the BioHealth stuff.
Detective Ev: So, you didn’t get the GI MAP or anything back then?
Tina Haupert: Nope.
Detective Ev: Alright. Well, then we didn’t have as many tools as we do now. For those listening that don’t know, we include like a thousand dollars’ worth of lab testing in the tuition now. But people like Tina and myself, we actually didn’t get that when we first went through.
Ulcerative Colitis: From A Disaster to Bazillion Times Better
So, if you remember from the hormone stuff, the BioHealth 101 back then, there’d be indican on there and stuff. Do you remember any of the stuff that popped up then? What were the hormones looking like and what was the indican looking like?
[00:24:59] Tina Haupert: Everything was a disaster for the most part. I’m throwing out all the big names, but I worked with Ryan Monahan for probably nine or 10 months. He ran everything on me. There was so much dysfunction. You name it, it was so out of whack.
I remember doing review sessions and I was a brand new FDN. So, him talking about some of these things, I was like, oh my gosh. But working with him was almost like a mentorship because I learned so much. I have run HTMAs and DUTCHs and things since working with him, and so many things look a bazillion times better.
But yeah, you name it, all my hormones were tanked, my cortisol was tanked. Although, I remember running a DUTCH at one point and my cortisol was in fuego. And then as we know, high cortisol becomes low cortisol. I remember running that DUTCH and being like, oh, okay, this is what Ryan meant. When I was dealing with that low cortisol, I felt awful, zero energy.
[00:25:55] Detective Ev: Interesting. Yeah, Ryan Monahan, what a heck of a person to work with, with this stuff. You’re right, it is a mentorship at the same time because he has such an educational way of explaining stuff. You know what I mean by that. Someone could tell you what to do. A doctor tells you what to do. Ryan educates you on why you’re doing it, I think is what I’m trying to say.
Ulcerative Colitis: Being Patient with the Process
You do end up learning a lot at the same time, which is cool. But it’s also good. I’m actually really glad that you got to hear from someone like that so early into the FDN journey. Because on one end is it overwhelming? Yes, it is. But on the other end, I’m thinking, look at all these things that I can still try, all this stuff that I don’t know yet that can be applied to this condition.
Which leads me to the next question. For those that are out there dealing with this, because, of course, I’ll have ulcerative colitis in the title, and someone will click on it that’s dealing with the condition. You mentioned stress already, so maybe that’s the answer. But what are some of the biggest things, or the big thing, that you believe has most helped you in getting to where the condition’s at today, which is significantly better than when you started? What would you say are the biggest things that you’ve done that led to this success so far?
[00:26:59] Tina Haupert: Yeah, I think it was being patient with the process. Because I think there’s a lot of times I went into diets or trying new supplements with this desperation and urgency that this was going to be the thing that was going to fix me. And I think really changing that mindset, being like, this isn’t the thing that’s going to put you into remission.
You gotta do a few different things as far as how you approach your diet, your sleep, your stress management, the very holistic approach, basically D.R.E.S.S. I mean the D.R.E.S.S. protocol really just changed how I looked at everything.
Ulcerative Colitis: Nutritional Balance
But that mindset shift was really huge because now when I’m doing something it’s because I’m doing it for just my health, overall wellness, self-love. You know, you can put so many different words here, but it’s not that crazy desperation that this is the thing that’s going to throw me into remission, because that was really stressful and emotional. So, for me, I think managing the stress and the emotional part of it.
And then also, just a shout out for getting my nutrition in order. You know, in 2011 when I was diagnosed, I was very much eating diet foods, things that I thought were healthy. They were low calorie, had a lot of fake sugars, high fiber, like a lot of those diety foods. And I thought that was healthy.
Then I really learned the FDN approach and different ways of eating, really just seeking out foods that are nourishing. I eat a lot of eggs, a lot of red meat, a lot of fish, and fruit, squashes, and things like that. So, just really amping up my nutrition and not eating in such a low-calorie diet way, but really trying to find those foods that are going to nourish my body. And as someone with ulcerative colitis, I already have issues absorbing food and nutrients and everything. So, just really focusing on the ones that are heavy hitters.
And then, I’m a big fan of the HTMA as far as mineral balance and whatnot. But I just feel so much better. You know what I mean? I feel like I used to be dragging my butt every single day, low energy, low mood. I’d be snapping at my dog, just little things like that.
Ulcerative Colitis: Needing a Mindset Change
I just wasn’t my best self. And I think now just really dialing in the diet, seeking out those nutrient dense foods, I just feel like a better version of myself, as cheesy as that sounds.
[00:29:11] Detective Ev: No, no, no. Absolutely. I love what you said about the mindset thing. Maybe many of us go through this, but I didn’t really realize this until pretty far into the healing journey, to be dead honest. But you’re right.
I remember for me, cystic acne was one of the biggest motivating things, despite all the other stuff I had. We want to look good; we want to feel confident. And I’m no 10 out of 10 on my best day, so I really can’t deal with cystic acne. I needed to get that going and get it away. And so, when I’m going through that, you’re right. The whole idea was this thing is going to be the thing that cures this or fixes this. It’s this diet; it’s this, whatever.
And then no one really gives you a rule of thumb for, well, how long should it take? So, I go Paleo. I mean, I have the common sense to know that UC or cystic acne’s not going to disappear in one night of paleo. But is it supposed to be 30 days or is it a year? And when should I try something else? When do I say that this doesn’t work if I don’t have this timeframe?
That’s why I wanted to emphasize that great part of your story where it’s like, no, this does take time. You can’t just change the diet overnight and then all of a sudden expect symptoms to go away.
Ulcerative Colitis: One Symptom
You might occasionally find that certain foods with certain conditions are so triggering that you feel like 80% better, yes. But I could eat nothing, I could fast, which is a hugely healing thing, and acne’s not going to disappear overnight. You’re still going to have it.
We’re talking about something with your colon, that’s being used constantly. I’m actually guessing that’s one of the issues with your condition is that maybe you are doing everything right, but the colon still needs to be used every day. And if you have these ulcers, that’s pretty bad. They’re going to get kind of pissed off, I guess, anytime something goes through there. I feel like I’m oversimplifying the condition, but you know what I mean?
Let’s say I had a stomach ulcer. If I’m constantly eating food, which I kind of need to do to live, that’s probably going to piss off the ulcer a lot of the time. So, it’s a nasty little thing. It’s self-fulfilling.
Did you ever get any other diagnoses, or did it just end up being the UC and then all these other symptoms that you had, but no other diagnoses?
[00:31:07] Tina Haupert: Yeah, just the ulcerative colitis was the only diagnosis. And I’ve done colonoscopies, endoscopies, and stool samples. I’ve done all the things, but that’s pretty much the diagnosis.
Although if anybody’s listening, I feel like I have a weird version, or maybe it’s just me. But I don’t have any other symptoms. Like I don’t have gas, I don’t have bloating, I don’t have reflux or GERD. It really is just the bleeding. And I’m always trying to figure out why, you know, why is that the thing?
Ulcerative Colitis: Calm as a Duck
And just like what you were mentioning, when I was working with Ryan, I did the elemental diet where you just drink your nutrients. So, just giving the colon time to rest, I didn’t get one bit better, not even close. Actually, I think I got worse, and I did it for 13 days. It’s like not eating. And I don’t know, my colon just wouldn’t heal. It just, I don’t know. I’ve tried everything.
[00:31:55] Detective Ev: You mentioned the stress. A recording’s completely different than your real life. You actually come across as someone very calm, very in control of your words too.
On podcasts, I do this myself. You know, you kind of get lost in your head, and then you have to refocus, whatever. But you don’t strike me as a stressed person. Again, the recording’s completely different than people’s real life.
You’ve said this multiple times now that reducing the stress, and you meant, it seems, like mental emotional was one of the biggest. Can I ask? What was life like? Like what was going on that was so stressful? Or was it just the way that you perceived life?
[00:32:26] Tina Haupert: Yeah. So, my husband always jokes, I’m like a duck. If you see a duck on the water, they’re so calm floating around, but then their feet are paddling like crazy.
[00:32:33] Detective Ev: I was wondering where we were going with that. But, okay, got it.
[00:32:36] Tina Haupert: Yeah, so I’m like a duck.
But yeah, just running my own business, I’m type A personality, perfectionist. I do have a little childhood trauma stuff that I’m still working out too. But I’m just one of those people. I just work; I love work.
Ulcerative Colitis: Positive Results from a Lot of Changes
So, I find a lot of self-worth in my work, achieving, and all the things that go with running a business. Honestly, I was just working way too much. Then also during the early diagnosis years, I was running marathons. So, it was just this added physical stress. And then I was a CrossFitter and doing a lot of CrossFit. Kind of like, work hard, play hard too, as far as my life.
And I’ve just changed so many things. I don’t work out that way anymore, I’ve hired four people from my team to help me out so I’m not running the business by myself, so, just a lot of changes. And even just prioritizing sleep, I was somebody that was like, I don’t need sleep. Five hours, that’s plenty. And now, I really try to get eight, nine hours of sleep a night. Even that has made a huge difference as far as my mood, my energy, my blood sugar.
[00:33:35] Detective Ev: Now we’re really painting the picture here. I’m starting to get Tina off-air. This makes a lot more sense.
And yeah, I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but we’re here to talk about the truth, not make people feel good necessarily. I want them to feel good with the truth. But you guys should look up the life expectancies of marathon runners cause it’s not the picture of health that you might think. I’ll put it this way, it’s actually less than the life expectancy of the standard American. Kind of crazy. But that’s not anyone’s fault, because society tells us that person’s the epitome of health to be able to go do something like that.
Ulcerative Colitis: A Misconception of What is Healthy
No, they’re the epitome of an endurance athlete. That’s not necessarily the same thing. That means they’re very good at that one task.
When I see these ultra marathon runners, I have such a high respect for that discipline. And I’m sure with your type A mindset that you described, there’s always going to be a part of us that’s like, dang. I get you and I respect that grind, but at what cost? It’s like, holy crap, that’s an insane thing to put the body under. They’re like, I’ve been up for 24 hours running. If I stayed up for 24 hours right now, I’d feel like crap, let alone putting on whatever many miles you do in 24 hours. That’s nuts.
The last thing I wanted to ask really quick, just before we talk about what you do, where people can find you, stuff like that, is you said you’ve ran a stool test. Did anything crazy come up on that or was it kind of standard stool test? You know, there’s typical things that come up. But I was just wondering, I’m really fascinated by what the microbiome might look like and if there’s any pathogenic stuff going on in someone with UC. That’s why I’m asking.
[00:35:04] Tina Haupert: The last stool test I ran was 2011. I was actually looking at it just because I did one last week and I’m anxiously awaiting the results. But I have done so many H. Pylori protocols; I cannot get rid of it. I have done every version of every protocol. But I remember H. Pylori.
Ulcerative Colitis: A Healthy Mindset
I had low SIgA, which made sense. Cause during that time I was just getting every sickness that my son had. He was a toddler at the time, so, whatever he had, I had. I was just getting sick all the time.
I’m sure the zonulin was super-duper elevated. And yeah, I think there was a few things that were kind of high and low, but that’s having UC. I mean, there’s just things off. But I’m very curious to see what this new GI MAP is going to say cause it’s been a while. It’s been a couple years.
[00:35:47] Detective Ev: I hope it provides insights for you to just continue. I love that you keep trying stuff. That’s really what it is.
You have the super positive mindset around it, healthy would even be a better word. Not that it’s not positive, but healthy is actually more important in this sense, right? You’re doing the stuff to live your best life to make progress, not because you need to get something to a specific place obsessively, as some of us type A people could totally be prone to. We gotta be careful with that.
So, what do you do now? I mean, you obviously have the podcast. But what does the rest of your life and work look like? Cause I know it’s involved obviously in this space to some degree.
[00:36:24] Tina Haupert: Yeah. So, I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake. I still do the FDN thing, but I’ve also hired another FDN. So, I’ve thrown out all the big names, but Jennifer Woodward is part of our team helping me out with protocols. I know all the big people.
Ulcerative Colitis: A Realistic and Sustainable Approach
Anyways, I have a small team of coaches and FDNs that help me out. And we work with women who are, I would say 35 plus, a lot of women who are looking to lose weight and change their bodies.
But as I mentioned in the beginning, we take a very responsible, sustainable approach to fat loss. Because, as I always joke around with our clients, I can have anybody lose weight. We just put you on a crash diet. But really, the issue is what happens after that diet? How do you maintain those results? So, that’s definitely a focus of probably like 90% of our clients that they want to lose weight in some capacity.
But we have a number of women who come to us that have hormonal issues, thyroid issues, gut issues, blood sugar issues, things that might be preventing them from losing weight. We use the functional testing to help really get clear on what is happening in their body and use that data as far as clues in creating kind of a plan of attack what they should really focus on.
Because if your thyroid is out of whack or you have blood sugar issues, it just makes losing weight harder. It’s not to say that you can’t lose weight, but we’re very much about finding a realistic and sustainable approach to all of this.
And of course, our team is all moms, so I think we work with a lot of moms who have kids and they’re working full-time. But just really having that realistic approach in the sense of like, what are we doing today? What are we doing tomorrow? Like really coming up with a step-by-step plan for our clients.
Ulcerative Colitis: Clients’ Stress Factors
If you’ve ever done a review session after running all these tests, it’s kind of overwhelming. There’s a lot of information, a lot of education, a million things that you could do. We really just try to simplify things for our clients and make it easy for them, focusing on one thing at a time and really progressing them through our program.
[00:38:17] Detective Ev: That’s great! Jennifer’s fantastic! She’s actually a fan favorite on this show. So, I’m sure people will love knowing that they at least have the possibility of getting involved with her if they’re working with you guys.
I’m always curious about this too. These are my favorite parts of the show to some degree. Clearly, if you have other coaches, you’ve worked with a great handful of people at this point, a lot of people probably come through the business. And so, I’m curious. Do you have any, to the degree that you’re able to share, there’s privacy and stuff, but do you have any cool client testimonials or really amazing stories of someone that came through? Maybe they were at the end of their rope, and we were finally the people that were able to help them.
[00:38:52] Tina Haupert: Oh yes, for sure. I think it’s like the type of person that we attract, but type A, perfectionist, doing all the things. But we’ve had a number of clients where they can’t lose weight, they don’t feel great. And a lot of times running these tests and showing them that their body is stressed out, I mean, there’s so many different markers that will just show that you are doing too much. You’re over training, undereating, not sleeping, all the different factors that go into stress.
Ulcerative Colitis: Removing/Balancing Stress
Especially with ladies trying to lose weight, data can be really helpful for them making lifestyle changes. And a lot of times it is eating more, exercising less, taking that stress off your body, and just seeing your body composition change for the better. So, it happens all the time with our clients. We actually have a few different case studies on the Carrots ‘N’ Cake podcast you can hear right from these ladies how this transformation went down and exactly what we did.
But it’s really helpful running the DUTCH test, or the HTMA, or a GI MAP or something like that to get that data and be like, okay, we need to focus on X, Y, and Z if you really want to feel better, improve your health, and ultimately lose weight. It’s fascinating. I just love the testing and I think it’s so helpful for these ladies.
[00:40:04] Detective Ev: Nice. Well, this concept’s come up many times in this podcast already where at one point you’re talking about mental and emotional stress, work stress, labs, all this stuff. I’m oversimplifying it a bit, but at the end of the day, that’s really the core principle of FDN is removing stress.
Now, the labs are great at identifying what we call HIDDEN stressors: hormonal, immune, digestion, detoxification, energy production, nervous system. I wonder how many times I’ve said that in my dang life, you know? But it’s all about this balance like I was talking about. There’s the scale of how much rest can I get to actually restore and how much stress can I tolerate?
So, I’m in the same boat. I love working; I work all the time. To be able to do that though, everything else has to be just about perfect.
Ulcerative Colitis: Trading Off the Stress
We just traveled for FDN last week, go a different time zone, all this stuff. It was 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM every day; it was ridiculous. And I could feel what was happening in my body.
I’m sleeping in a place I’m not used to, I’m not really able to get the foods that I know fuel me best. Now I don’t mean it in a quality or like orthorexic way. It’s just, I wasn’t able to get the amounts that I need because we were so dang busy. And again, sleeping in a different place, the time zone jump, all that stuff, I can already feel it. If I did this every day, this wouldn’t work for my body. So, it’s kind of a good message. You can pick your stress.
Anything that you really love, you’re probably going to be able to do. You just gotta trade off the stress in certain other areas. That’s why there are people still to this day, although I don’t recommend it, like my dad out there smoking cigarettes and living his best life because he’s fairly low stress.
He works outside all day, he’s extremely physically active, that sun has been hitting that man’s body 12 hours a day for 30 years. Most of us cannot say that. I can’t say anything close to that because we work indoors. He picks his stress. Again, I wouldn’t pick it. It’s like, how do these people survive in today’s world?
I think a lot of our clients ask that. How are they able to do that but I’m doing all this stuff right and I can’t get better? You know, how is that, cause you pick your stress? Well, some of the times the stress is hidden, and we haven’t directly picked it.
Ulcerative Colitis: Demographic Lab Patterns
Oftentimes, the type A personality is a factor here. Because if type As and type Bs are roughly distributed about 50/50, that’s not how it works in our practices, right? Type A is like 90% of the people that are FDN practitioners or that work with FDN practitioners.
You’re like, well, why does that happen? Is type A the problem? No, but it’s a risk factor in addition to all the other stuff that’s going on in today’s world. If I hit a type B personality with glyphosate versus a type A personality with glyphosate, the type A is going to get sicker faster every single time. That’s just probably what’s going to happen. So, it’s great to know that you’re doing this work and helping many individuals.
One other fun question I like to ask about the labs is, do you find in the demographic that you’re working with any similar patterns on the labs? Are they coming to you at a certain place, hormonally? Do they have certain mineral imbalances?
[00:43:00] Tina Haupert: Oh yes, again and again, for sure. And there are a lot of things that could hinder that fat loss or just feeling your best.
We see estrogen dominance a ton as far as women in perimenopause and 35 plus. And we see the four lows pattern quite a bit on the HTMA just because we work with a lot of moms. After pregnancy and breastfeeding and working full-time with kids and you know you’re exercising, there’s so many reasons for your minerals to be depleted. But those are the ones that we see again and again for sure. Maybe some other markers that could contribute as well as far as clues for blood sugar and thyroid and things like that.
Ulcerative Colitis: Sleep and Talk Therapy
[00:43:37] Detective Ev: I always encourage listeners to work with whoever comes on. Obviously, lab tests aren’t free, our services aren’t free. And every now and then, there’s people that hop on that were basically like me at 20 years old. They don’t have a dime to their name, they’re trying to figure this out. And they’ve wasted a lot of money on the health stuff already.
If you had to give the best piece of free advice, free action to someone specifically with UC, is there anything that comes to mind that maybe they could take away and implement immediately from today’s podcast?
[00:44:17] Tina Haupert: That is a good question. I would say, free, free would probably be to get to bed and sleep. I’m also really into breathing and just taking time to breathe.
But if you had a little bit of money to spend or insurance that would cover it, I would say some sort of talk therapy. That really has been life changing for me, just how I view things, my relationship with medications, and also just how I view this disease in general.
Because when you’re diagnosed with a chronic disease, you have to deal with it forever, or you have the potential of dealing with it forever. I mean, obviously, I want to be in remission forever. But just that idea of this is something that you have to deal with has been really hard for me to accept. And I think that’s why I ignored it for so long. I really just did the bare minimum to stay in remission. A lot of times I wasn’t in remission, I was having symptoms all the time.
Ulcerative Colitis: The Mental Relationship with UC
But there was definitely an element of, this is going to sound cheesy, but it’s been really helpful for me, this self-love and self-worth and knowing that I didn’t have to like, earn my health. I just felt like there was a lot of times that I was doing things because I had to get to a certain point and earn that health.
Really just going through talk therapy and working through a lot of emotional stuff, where some of these ideas come from, I have a better relationship with the disease and healing, health, and honestly, just being happy.
I mean, it’s like so cheesy to say, but I just feel like I was in such a dark place with this disease where everything was terrible, the sky was falling, I was negative all the time. And now I have this disease and I just kind of live my life. I’m pretty dang happy and healthy. So, it’s just that mental relationship with the disease has been amazing but the talk therapy has been so great.
[00:46:02] Detective Ev: Depending on the audience, I can understand why it might sound cheesy, but I don’t think you have to worry about that here. Certainly not with me interviewing because that is real and it’s not something that I understood back then. I am not an expert on it. I’m not going to be the person to coach someone in it.
But it has come up so much in these stories of healing. We will have some of the smartest people you’ve ever met on this show, talk about the labs, talk about all this stuff, and then you ask for one piece of advice, and they say something similar to what you just said. So, it can’t be underplayed.
Ulcerative Colitis: Getting it Right in the Worst of It
I think it’s the same stigma that makes us think that a skinny person can eat whatever they want. It’s like, oh, well that’s not unhealthy. We underplay what food can do to someone, even if they’re skinny. And we underplay what the mental emotional stuff can do, even if it seems like the rest of their life’s going well. Like, oh, she has a job, she’s crushing it in business; we don’t have to worry about her. It’s like, that’s not how this goes.
The tradeoff is when you’re stuck in the trenches with these diseases. Man, it can be really hard to engage in that gratitude sometimes and engage in that positive thinking. I think that’s why, I’m sure you get this, I walk around now, and people are like, what is wrong with this guy? It’s in a good way. They’re like, he’s so happy; he’s so consistent. It’s like, well, if I could work to figure it out back then when I really had issues and now everything’s going well, imagine my level of gratitude now.
You know, I know what the mental health things are like; I know what it’s like to think about suicide; I know what it’s like to be so embarrassed that you can’t leave your house cause of the way that you look. And you know what that’s like in your own way of doing things, right?
So, when you can figure out how to have a positive shift in mindset with this stuff in the worst of it, man, once anything starts getting better, you seem like the happiest person in the room. These are skills that are worth pursuing. All of it takes time. It’s never easy. I don’t want to sugarcoat it.
Where to Find Tina Haupert
The best things in life require some work, right? If it was easy, what’s the reward? You have to have the contrast to know how good it is.
So, where can people find you? And I also have to ask, even though we’re at the 50 minutes please, why Carrots ‘N’ Cake? What does that mean exactly for a business about health? I’m curious.
[00:48:08] Tina Haupert:Carrots ‘N’ Cake started 15 years ago, but it really is all about balance and finding that balance. I started my blog to lose weight for my wedding day, that was the goal 15 years ago. But it’s still very much my approach. You know, you’re having your carrots, but you should also have your cake too.
And as my father-in-law says, life’s too long to not enjoy the foods that you like and do what you enjoy. It’s very much about finding that balance and having that realistic approach to it all. I’m not very dogmatic with anything really. Honestly, I’m very moderate on my approach. But yeah, Carrots ‘N’ Cake. It’s also a little bit of fun too. We have fun as well.
[00:48:43] Detective Ev: So, is it carrotsncake.com then where people can find you?
[00:48:55] Tina Haupert: Yep. So, carrotsncake.com. I have the podcast also called Carrots ‘N’ Cake, and I spend a decent amount of time on Instagram, so you could find me there.
I also have a cookbook. It’s called The Everything Diet Macro Cookbook. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble. But if you’re somebody that’s into the whole macro thing or you’re just into not spending a lot of time cooking, all the recipes are super straightforward, no weird ingredients that you have to run to the grocery store for. Very straightforward recipes, easy and simple.
Signature Podcast Question – Clean Water
[00:49:14] Detective Ev: I’m that exact same way. My girlfriend’s always so nice, she cooks a ton of stuff for us. It’s the fanciest thing ever. And I’m like, can I just have my beef with mustard and sweet potatoes? She’s like, you just had that yesterday. I’m like, I’m a simple man. You know, I appreciate this but my gosh, this is so fancy.
Awesome. I have my signature question for you for the podcast. And I apologize cause I basically gave you a question that’s so similar to this. If it’s the same answer, no worries at all. But the signature question that we always finish on is from a general perspective of health, so not just UC.
If we gave you a magic wand and you could get every single person in this world to either start doing one thing for their health or you could get them to stop doing one thing, it could be either of those things, what is the one thing that you’d get them to do?
[00:50:01] Tina Haupert: This has been a hot topic with some of my clients. It’s probably just making sure your water is clean. Maybe you live in an area where the water is just not great, and you drink water every day. You need to hydrate yourself, cook with it, shower with it. You’re constantly having it go into your body.
Your refrigerator filter is probably not doing anything unless you have a really fancy refrigerator. And your Brita filter probably hasn’t been changed or it’s really not filtering out what it needs to. That would be something, if you have the money or you care about clean water, go there first. And I see some crazy stuff on the HTMA.
Conclusion
[00:50:44] Detective Ev: Excellent. Well, thank you so much for joining us today and being so transparent, telling us where you’re at with the journey, telling us where you’re heading. I think that makes this podcast more useful than a lot of the ones that we’ve done. And not that those people didn’t try, but this is real. This is where someone’s probably at in their journey listening. So, thank you very much.
[00:51:13] Tina Haupert: Yeah, sure thing. Thank you for having me.
I don’t normally do Monday notes on press releases, as there’s no study to dissect. However, this press release has been sent to me by so many people that I need to review it.
The press release drew attention to a presentation at a conference. The conference was called “ACC.23/WCC”, and it took place in New Orleans between 4-6 March 2023. ACC stands for the American College of Cardiology and WCC stands for the World Congress of Cardiology. The conference was described as “bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention.”
The press release was dated March 5th, 2023, and it was called “‘Keto-Like’ Diet May Be Linked to Higher Risk of Heart Disease, Cardiac Events” (Ref 1). Notice up-front the words “keto-like” providing the caveat that a ketogenic diet has not been studied.
The presentation was made by Dr Iulia Iatan, MD, PhD, attending physician-scientist at the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada. This reference links to the report of her presentation at the conference on the University of British Columbia website (Ref 2).
Typically, conference presentations are timed to coincide with the publication of an academic paper. I have checked academic databases and can’t see anything from Iatan published at the time of the presentation or since. I emailed Dr Iatan and the communications department at the University of British Columbia to ask about publication. The communications department replied with “The research team informs me that the study has not yet been published, but is currently under review.”
Colloidal silver, known for its potential immune-boosting properties, has been a popular remedy among those who are familiar with its historical uses. The demand for this silver-based solution soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people sought natural ways to support their immune systems. One leading brand that gained prominence during this time was Sovereign Silver, offering its Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol. In this blog, we will delve into the world of colloidal silver and explore how it has been utilized for centuries to enhance health and well-being.
The Power of Colloidal Silver:
For more than two millennia, silver’s health-protective attributes have been well-respected. Ancient Mediterranean civilizations used silver to ensure the purity and safety of drinking water. Throughout history, its antimicrobial effectiveness has been harnessed to heal wounds and combat infections, even during the chaos of the First World War. Silver’s unique ability to target and neutralize harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, has been one of its most celebrated features.
Supporting the Immune System:
Colloidal silver is believed to aid the immune system by reducing the presence of harmful pathogens in the body. This reduction allows the immune system to focus on other potential threats, fostering overall health and vitality. Although the potential immune-boosting benefits are widely discussed, it is important to remember that the medical community still debates colloidal silver’s effectiveness and safety. Before integrating it into your wellness routine, consulting a healthcare professional is crucial to ensure it aligns with your specific health needs.
Silver’s Remarkable Renaissance:
Even beyond its medicinal applications, silver has experienced a renaissance of interest, captivating countless other fields. NASA, for instance, relies on silver ions to purify water on the International Space Station, emphasizing its versatile and beneficial properties. As people search for natural ways to support their health, silver is increasingly gaining recognition for its potential to enhance the immune system and contribute to overall well-being.
Among the numerous colloidal silver brands, Sovereign Silver stands out as a premier choice. Their Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol has earned the distinction of being the #1 Selling Silver Brand in the U.S. since 2005, a testament to its quality and effectiveness. This colloidal silver is clear, odorless, and tasteless, making it incredibly easy to incorporate into daily routines.
Features of Sovereign Silver’s Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol:
– Over 98% positively charged silver, adding to its potency
Colloidal silver, with its historical significance and potential immune-boosting properties, continues to captivate the interest of health-conscious individuals. Sovereign Silver’s Bio-Active Silver Hydrosol has emerged as a leading brand, offering a reliable and highly regarded option for those seeking immune support. As the world explores natural remedies for well-being, silver’s age-old legacy continues to pave the way for new applications and possibilities, making it an intriguing element to consider in our health journeys. However, remember to exercise caution and seek professional guidance before incorporating colloidal silver into your health regimen.
The biggest barrier to reducing toxic pesticides in cannabis is, not surprisingly, the cannabis industry itself.
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. When labs started reporting they were finding high levels of pesticide residues, the Los Angeles city government “covertly acquired and then tested three medical cannabis samples available to patients through dispensaries and found that in two of the [three] samples exceedingly high levels of bifenthrin [a pesticide] were found,” up to a thousand times the legal limit.
But how much ends up inside the consumer? As I discuss in my video Pesticides in Marijuana, only about 10 percent of the pesticides in tobacco make it through a filtered cigarette, which was found to be comparable to using cannabis in a water pipe with filters attached. But, as you can see in the graph below and at 0:45 in my video, if you use a regular bong, about half of the pesticides end up in your lungs, and using a glass pipe is even worse. Because most users don’t attach a carbon filter with 7.5 grams of activated charcoal to their bongs, “in general the portion of pesticide recovery is alarmingly high and is a serious concern.” “Although it remains unknown precisely how damaging these chemicals are to humans, the fact they are present in smoke at such high levels should be concerning.” According to researchers, “Considering these results, high pesticide exposure through cannabis smoking is a significant possibility, which may lead to further health complications in cannabis consumers”—especially if we’re talking about medical marijuana use by sick, vulnerable people.
“The potential of pesticide and chemical residue exposures to cannabis users is substantial and may pose a significant toxicological threat in the absence of adequate regulatory frameworks.” Okay, so what are states doing about it? Colorado recently suffered some high profile recalls of marijuana batches contaminated with harmful pesticides that made it into some of the edibles. Evidently, “growers sometimes find themselves quite overwhelmed by pest issues…[and] resort to nuclear tactics,” trying anything to protect their crops. This has created “a public safety threat,” with “intensified toxicity in concentrated products of particular concern.” In fact, “pesticide levels were approximately 10x higher in concentrated cannabis products,” like the oils and waxes sometimes used in edibles or dabbed as concentrates, “than the flower heads.”
A study of pesticide use on cannabis crops in Oregon found a similar problem. A survey of samples off of store shelves in Washington state found five out of six to be contaminated, including with “potentially neurotoxic and carcinogenic agents.” Many samples “harbored multiple contaminants,” attaining levels that were basically off the chart, including 24 distinct pesticide agents, insecticides, and fungicides, and none of them is approved for use on cannabis. But it isn’t their fault. The EPA hasn’t approved any because cannabis is still a federally illegal crop. In fact, testing labs in California have “become hesitant to publicize their service or list agents for which they could assay [test], as they suspected that such information” might just be used as an instruction manual of sorts by “unscrupulous growers to seek out possibly more toxic agents.”
So just regulate it then. That’s been tried, but guess what the biggest barrier has been? Surprise, surprise, it has been the multibillion-dollar cannabis industry. “Like the tobacco industry before it, the cannabis industry is attempting to weaken pesticide regulations pertaining to cannabis. Reportedly, the Colorado Department of Agriculture: ‘…initially hoped to limit permissible pesticides to the most nontoxic,’” but this proposal was quashed by industry pushback, just like the tobacco industry has been able to do.
Big Tobacco “has provided a detailed road map” for King Cannabis: “Deny addiction potential, downplay known adverse health effects, create as large a market as possible as quickly as possible, and protect that market through lobbying, campaign contributions, and other advocacy efforts.” Indeed, “bolstered by enormous profits,” the tobacco industry was able to get itself “exempted from every major piece of consumer protection legislation even after the deadly consequences of tobacco were established.” That should be a cautionary tale for us now, given that public health advocates have definitively fewer billions of dollars to work with.
Big Tobacco may not just be providing the roadmap, but waiting in the wings to own the road. “As a result of litigation against the tobacco industry, more than 80 million pages of internal company documents became available….These documents reveal that since at least 1970, despite fervent denials, major multinational tobacco companies,” including Philip Morris, have been scheming, willing, and prepared to enter the legalized marijuana market to become Big Blunt. “Because of the tobacco industry’s demonstrated ability and willingness to modify its products to increase addictiveness, obfuscate information, deceive the public, and use advertising to target vulnerable groups to increase demand, the industry also has the power to dramatically change (and expand) the use of marijuana.”
[00:00:00] Detective Ev: Hello my friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. My name is Evan Transue, aka Detective Ev. I will be your host for today’s show about Addison’s Disease.
We have a record setting show today. I have never had a guest take my first question and run with it as far as our guest Vanessa did today. I don’t mean that poking fun or giving her crap, it’s quite the opposite. It’s the ultimate compliment as a host to just allow the person to do their thing for that long. That means they are telling an amazing story, what they’re saying is coherent. It has a beginning, middle, and an end.
And Vanessa, whether or not she realizes it, I told her afterwards, so I hope she realizes it, has an amazing ability to tell a story, get you involved in the emotional side, bring you through the highs and the lows. I didn’t even realize myself how much time had passed because I found myself so engaged with the story. I think you guys are going to love this one.
We also are a show where we like to talk about the resolution a lot, and we do get to touch on that today. But with how much time we spent on the story, I knew immediately it’s only fair that we have a part two. Vanessa won’t be coming on immediately next week. We have other guests that we need to get to and stuff. But she won’t be coming on in six months either; it’s going to be some time before there. I look forward for that. I’ll link the first episode once that comes back around in case you missed this one.
Addison’s Disease: Relying on Many Different Medical Professionals
Anyway, Vanessa McConkey is our guest today. She is a passionate, energetic, tenacious woman, wife, and mom of three young boys. Now, there’s very few people that would label themselves that way. But I can absolutely say that is a 100% accurate description that will be inherently obvious five minutes into the interview. She has always believed in helping people, whether it be in the community, schools, or corporate world.
Her career started early since both her parents and grandparents were business owners. Hard work was highly valued in her family. She attended a science and engineering academy through most of high school, attended Southern Illinois University for Industrial Engineering Technology, graduating in only three years.
She worked her way up the corporate ladder very quickly and found herself running organizations at a young age. During the course of all this corporate success, she was diagnosed with a rare disease leaving her relying on many different medical professionals. She finally ended her corporate career and her husband and her became pregnant with her first son.
Life seemed good. She started a resume writing and executive career coaching business where the skills she learned in corporate, once again created great success. But two things happened. One, her health took a nosedive, and two, she noticed 85% of her clients struggled with health issues that were affecting how they performed at work. No longer could she morally help people find jobs if their health was affecting more than just them.
While taking a sabbatical, she uncovered some hefty relational issues with her husband and her parents, leading to her discovery of functional nutrition and FDN. This ultimately uncovered how trauma creates disease for her.
Addison’s Disease: The Mountain Peak is in Sight
Now as a board-certified holistic autoimmune and trauma recovery practitioner, FDNP, certified functional nutrition coach, speaker, and author, Vanessa educates and empowers people to take control of their fatigue and pain during the in-between moments while confidently owning their journey so they can live a vibrant life.
Sit back and relax for this one. It is a bit of a heart string puller, if you will. Again, there’s some great moments, there’s some tough moments, but it all ends with just a beautiful resolution to this. I would say the best way to describe Vanessa’s journey, and I’m sure she would agree, she’s still on the mountain like many of the people that come on this show. She’s still on the mountain, but man, she’s close to that peak. It’s within eyesight, she can see the top of it, and it’s an amazing thing.
Without further ado, let’s get to today’s episode.
Alright. Hello Vanessa and welcome to the Health Detective Podcast. How are you?
[00:04:05] Vennessa McConkey: Great. How are you doing? Thanks for having me on.
[00:04:07] Detective Ev: Yeah, I’m doing very well. We’re glad to have you.
It’s always nice to have someone else that does podcasting too. It feels pretty good being on the opposite end, doesn’t it? It’s a nice little change of pace. I don’t know if you relate to this at all. It’s not a ton nowadays, thankfully, but I feel more pressure doing this than being on the other side at this point, just cause I feel so responsible for guiding it correctly and making sure everything’s good.
And then if I’m on the other side, I’m like, all right, cool. Ask me questions; I got answers to this stuff. So, it goes back and forth.
Addison’s Disease: Not Really Feeling That Great
[00:04:33] Vennessa McConkey: That’s exactly true. No joke. I was recording one earlier this week and I could not say “metabolism” for the life of me. I was like, you know what, whatever. But you’re right. It’s totally different being on the other side.
[00:04:45] Detective Ev: Yeah. And it’s fun in both ways. It’s just different.
I know you’ve gotten to listen to some episodes of ours, and obviously you’re an FDN yourself. One thing I always like to touch on is the journeys and stories that people took to get into this kind of space. I’m going to guess maybe you had some health challenges in your life, maybe one or two.
[00:05:04] Vennessa McConkey: Nah, I don’t think I had any. I think I’m good. We’re just going to chat about life, and you know.
[00:05:10] Detective Ev: Obviously, the audience knows cause they would’ve already heard the bio. We talked about you graduating, you got this engineering thing, so things were going well, I’m guessing. But somewhere along the line here, things were not going well with the health side. So, I guess the question is, when did the first health symptoms start for you and what did they look like?
[00:05:27] Vennessa McConkey: That’s a really great question. Life was good, so I thought, all these years. Like you said, I graduated with an engineering degree three years, had a job right away, all these things. And it was actually a little bit before college and high school, things weren’t really feeling that great.
Addison’s Disease: Dizzy and Lightheaded
I was in an engineering academy in our high school and just very driven, very just Type A personality, doing all the things, trying to be involved in a million things at the same time cause that’s just kind of how I was brought up. It’s like you get involved, you do things, you drive things.
I started feeling just dizzy and lightheaded. At that same time, my mom was studying naturopathy. We were like, okay, what could this be? Could it be hay fever, could it be allergies? And we were always her Guinea pigs, like, try this, try this. Let’s see what happens. It was a good and a bad thing.
We go on the model of test don’t guess. Well, that was the opposite in my home. It was just guess and not test. You don’t have to go into the doctor. Yeah. To my sister, you broke your arm roller skating? It’ll be fine. We’ll just play around with some herbs. That’s literally how it was which was good in some aspects.
But I would wake up just dizzy and lightheaded. I was in volleyball and did a lot of running. There’d be times I would black out and whatnot. I’m like, what’s going on? This isn’t right. And my mom was like, oh, just take this antihistamine stuff and you’ll be okay. And I thought it was working.
A lot of times we’ll hear in the space, it’s in your head, right? And so I was, okay, this is working for me. Then I got into college and did the whole college thing. Thank God there was no social media when I was back in college, but we won’t go into that.
Addison’s Disease: Trying to Take Time Off
I was doing all the things and in engineering, driving back and forth. I went to school in Southern Illinois, you guys heard from the bio. It was crazy, lots of crazy times. And I quickly got out of school cause I’m like, this is easy. This was nothing to me. I’ve done more than this in high school than you guys have done blah, blah, blah.
I get out of college and get into my first job, which I had an internship in. So, I already had that set for me, which was great. And I was like, something isn’t right. Something just doesn’t feel right. What am I doing? Again, it was the dizziness coming on. I started getting really fatigued and I was like, maybe I’m just working too much. I was working at restaurants at nights, and I was working at the engineering job during the day.
My engineering debt, it was a lot. My parents were those parents like, oh, we’ll pay for the first month of college and then the rest is on you.
Detective Ev: Sounds good the first month.
Vennessa McConkey: It sounds good as a parent. I mean, I got three boys of my own. I’m like, you know what? Yeah, that sounds great. But at the same time, it actually put on some more stress on my body. And I was like, I’ve got vacation built up. Let’s take some time off. Let’s see what happens.
I took a week off. And the first couple days I’m twiddling my thumbs. What am I doing; what do I gotta do? Just constantly wanting to go and do and go and do but I would still be waking up fatigued. I was just drained.
Addison’s Disease: Running Tests & Looking Okay
I was like, I’m a runner too. Maybe I should stop running for a little bit. Okay, that didn’t work either. I was like, all right, whatever.
Finally, at that age, when you’re in your young twenties, do you want to reach out to your parents again? No, you don’t. But I reached out to my mom with her studying that. She had graduated naturopathic school. I was like, I’m feeling just drained and exhausted, and nothing is working. I wake up and I’m still tired, or I’m tired within the first hour of waking up. What’s going on? I’m still getting kind of dizzy but I gotta work. I can’t just not work. Something has to happen.
She was like, well, I’m going to refer you to someone cause I don’t really want to deal with my daughter. It’s kind of a conflict of interest at the same time. So, I went in. First of all, they looked at me and they’re like, you’re kind of thin. I’m like, do you go up to a fat person and say you’re kind of fat? No.
[00:09:29] Detective Ev: Hey, I honestly get that very much.
[00:09:31] Vennessa McConkey: I mean, if you can see the video, I sit there and I can put my hands around my wrist. Like, okay, so what? I’m thin, right? Whatever. They were like, well, let’s just run some tests and whatnot.
Everyone knows, they run a basic CMP panel. Everything looks kind of good. You might have a sickness. Okay, infection going on. Let’s just give you some vitamin C and let’s go on. That’s basically what it was. I was like, this is not working.
Addison’s Disease: A Food Diary & A Saliva Test
Yeah, it was around wintertime, so maybe I did have a cold or whatever it was, but that doesn’t explain the last handful of months. So, I just kept going about my business and then came on again. I’m like, okay, mom, this isn’t working. Do you have another referral in your database basically?
She was like, why don’t you go to one of the ladies at my naturopathy school. She’s been doing this a lot longer. They usually do a lot of practicals and things like that. They sit down with you. I’m like, all right, fine. I don’t have time for this, but I have to make time for this.
And I sat down with her. She went through a couple hours of, what’s your background? What’s your lifestyle? Anyone who’s sat down and worked with a good naturopath has done that. And I’m like, okay, can we get to the point? She’s like, all right, let’s record a food diary for a while and then we’ll talk next week. I’m like, are y’all kidding me right now? I need something, right? We are all in this society of like, I need something now. And that’s where I was at.
I’m like, I am very busy. At that time my engineering profession was moving into management. And I’m like, I don’t have time for this. I’m working 60 hours plus a week. I don’t have time for this.
So, she came back to me, and she goes, okay, I want to run a saliva test. I’m thinking something’s kind of off, but you have to do it in the morning. That’s right; I’m getting no explanation. This is back in 2006. I’m like, I’m getting no explanation here.
Addison’s Disease: Addison’s Diagnosis
What’s going on? Why are we taking this test? Whatever. You’re the professional, not me. I’ll just do it and call it a day. You know? So, I did the saliva test.
Couple weeks later, she’s like, okay, it looks like you probably have some cortisol issues. I’m like, what is that? Can I get any explanation? She’s like, it’s just really low. I’m going to refer you out. And so, I’m like, oh my gosh. This is ridiculous.
This type of thing went on for another year of me getting referred out and testing things, and then saying, oh, well it’s kind of normal but it’s okay. Why don’t you go back and get some rest? Or why don’t you reduce the stress in your life and whatnot?
Then it was finally in September of 2007, I get a call from yet another test that was run. They’re like, okay, well you have Addison’s disease. I’m like, what does that mean? Again, back then I’m like, I have no idea.
I’m a research nerd, so that night I’m at Barnes and Noble and I’m at the library. And I’m doing all this, trying to find anything. There were two books on this. I’m like, I have no idea what this is. It says it’s rare. What am I supposed to do? I’m supposed to have another call with this doctor tomorrow because I was at work, and I had to go.
So, I get on the phone call with him and he’s like, you’re going to be on this medication. We’re going to start you with prednisone. You’re going to be on a high dosage of it because we gotta boost your body up and get it back to where it’s supposed to be at.
Addison’s Disease: Thyroid Issues & A Supplement
I know you’re living by yourself right now. Find some place, like a parent’s or sibling’s place to stay, because you’re going to be sleeping a lot for the first few days. I’m like, I don’t have fricking time for this, right? I don’t. So, we picked that next weekend and my mom’s like, just trust him. I kind of know what he is doing. Okay, fine.
In that weekend I slept like 14 hours the first night, another 13 hours the next night. So, I’m like, okay, this feels good, but I’m still not feeling there. I gotta go to work on Monday, right?
Then we’re playing around with dosages and things like that. They put me on 35 milligrams of prednisone for, at that time, 115-pound young woman. That was a lot. And so, all of a sudden over the next year and a half, my face was just blowing up. It looked like a big puff fish. And I’m like, okay, whatever. Do I have to be on this for the rest of my life? Something just didn’t feel right.
For anyone who doesn’t know what Addison’s disease is, it’s an adrenal insufficiency. Basically, they tell you that your adrenals are shot. It can’t produce anymore cortisol, and you just have to be on medication the rest of your life. It’s a rare, rare, autoimmune disease. Something in me was like it doesn’t feel right.
And then it was the next year after I was diagnosed, they’re like, okay, well we’re running your annual panels. Let’s go through that process. And it seems like you might have some thyroid things. Let’s put you on a supplement.
Addison’s Disease: Hydrocortisone & Florinef
The conventional doctors are putting you on another medication. But it’s like, let’s just supplement to get you back into the paperwork range. And I’m like, okay.
Then I went on this supplement for thyroid, and I was so high energy after that. I was in meetings and I’m like, I can’t even sit still. Like I am shaking so much the first couple of days. I’m like, I’m off of it. Nope. I am pulling myself off of this. I don’t care who says what; I’m not taking this.
Then I started questioning a lot, verbally questioning my doctors. I’m like, I know I’m not a doctor, sorry, but why am I on this much prednisone? My face is blowing up. I mean, you could look at pictures before and after and I’m blowing up. I still weigh the same; I still feel the same; I’m still fatigued. They say I have thyroid issues. What proof is there? I don’t understand. And, Vanessa, you just have to. Okay, maybe we’ll reduce your dosage. I was on prednisone for almost five years.
[00:14:41] Detective Ev: Whoa.
[00:14:42] Vennessa McConkey: Yeah, whoa, right? Almost five years.
So, I’d end up in that timeframe moving to Arizona. My husband and I met in college, and I’d moved to Arizona. We had started dating. And the naturopath there was like, okay, let’s switch you over to hydrocortisone and Florinef. I’m like, okay. And she’s explaining why.
I’m like, all right, that makes a little bit more sense. She goes, we’ll put you on a small dose. If you need more, we can always up dose you, but we don’t want to put you on too much if you don’t need it. So, I’m like, okay.
Addison’s Disease: Pregnant & Coming Off Meds
And then it was just all these other things. I thought I was happy. I was in sunny Arizona instead of Chicago and dreary. It was just, everything was free and whatnot. You know, you’re dating someone; we ended up getting married, all these things. I still had a fun job where I was traveling all over the place. And all of a sudden, I was like, I’m getting stressed again. This isn’t fun.
I was traveling three weeks out every month, going to different corporate companies around the country and training people. We had three shifts. I was in manufacturing at the time, and I was in this C-suites. And I’m like, I’m going all over the place; I’ve gotta take a sabbatical. I told the investors, I’m like, I have got to. Just give me two months; I just need a break.
In that time, we got pregnant with our first son. And I was like, all right, I don’t want to go back. But I was still feeling just drained. I was excited about being pregnant and having a kid. And I was like, okay, I don’t want to be on any medications cause it crosses the barrier for the kid. I’m like, I just don’t want to. But I should, should I, you know?
So, I pulled myself off. I didn’t even tell my naturopath, I just pulled myself off of the medications. And I felt fine. The pregnancy was fine. The delivery, he just had the cord wrapped around his head and they had to use the forceps. Any woman out there has had that happen, it’s like, yikes.
[00:16:22] Detective Ev: I was actually, yeah. Well, I didn’t have that. I was the baby, to be clear.
Addison’s Disease: Food Sensitivity Test
[00:16:26] Vennessa McConkey: Yeah. I was a forceps baby too. And it was like, man, no, no, no. I mean that thing’s digging in there.
And so, everything was good. He ate well; he slept well, all these things. I’m like, this is great. So, I just put myself back on a small dose. I took myself off the Florinef, I don’t know why. I just will do the hydrocortisone; I’m fine.
And then it was shortly after, we had gotten pregnant with the second child. I’m like, okay, let’s do this all over again. But I’m like, I’m going to keep myself on a low dose. I don’t know why; I was playing the guess game. You know, I wasn’t testing; I was playing the guess game.
With that pregnancy it was, you’ve got a young toddler, barely. He was barely walking. You’re pregnant and you’re trying to do all that stuff. He was still sleeping fine, but I wasn’t because this one was just a fricking nightmare. I was having all kinds of food issues. Dairy, for some reason, I couldn’t tolerate anymore. I was like, what’s going on?
So, we did a food test. My naturopath was like, I know this is going to be a little off because you’re pregnant but something’s going on. We did the food test, and I came back no gluten, no oats, no eggs, no dairy, all these things. And what does everyone think when they get those back? Oh crap, what can I eat?
Detective Ev: Yep, you’re right.
Vennessa McConkey: And so, I was like, what can I have for breakfast? I can’t have eggs; I can’t have oats; I can’t have toast. And this was back before like all the decent gluten-free stuff that they have out there now.
Addison’s Disease: Hashimoto’s
This is like basically the most disgusting brownies you could eat. I mean, it was so nasty. And I was like, forget it. I’m just going to have freaking smoothies. I don’t care. And so I went that route.
The rest of the pregnancy was decent, and delivery was okay. But that kid came out, and still to this day, he’s six years old and hasn’t stopped crying and whining about stuff. I mean, it is nonstop. I went into postpartum depression with him. Again, shortly after that, still going through the postpartum, I got pregnant again. I’m like, how does this keep happening?
My mom’s like, so we want to explain how this keeps happening. I’m like, okay, fine. You know, whatever. I know how it happens.
[00:18:31] Detective Ev: Yeah, I know literally how it happens.
[00:18:33] Vennessa McConkey: Not a conversation you want to have with your mother about how it keeps happening.
But so, with that one, I had the depression. And my naturopath was like, okay, Vanessa, you’re on all these supplements for stuff. We’ve eliminated foods, you’ve got the Addison’s, let’s do some testing. We know again, you’re pregnant, but we gotta do something.
We did thyroid testing, and I was like, I’ve done this before. We know there’s something there, but like nothing, whatever. Well, my antibodies at that time, they were at 400 and something. And I was like, what does this mean? She’s like, you have a thyroid condition called Hashimoto’s. And I’m like, what? Okay, what I have to do?
She’s like, we are already doing the gluten-free and all this stuff. Okay, we’re going to have to do thyroid medication. I’m like, oh my, can we wait till after the baby’s born, like this third one’s done?
Addison’s Disease: Another Baby & Another Medication
And she goes, but we are because of your depression. She goes, we can only take so many natural things. Let’s put you on a small dose of an antidepressant. I’m like, oh my gosh. I have three months left of this pregnancy. It’s already a high risk one too. And we were going in every week.
The kid’s belly was measuring massive. I’m like, oh my gosh, the kid’s going to come out no matter what. What is going on here? We finally said, stop. We’re not going in for the specialist appointments anymore. I said, just let’s get through this delivery. Like it’s fine.
The kid came six and a half weeks early, had no other complications in the delivery room, nothing, just the fact that it was early. I was just sitting there; I’m like, what’s that feeling? Oh yeah. Okay. We should probably go, this is way too early, but let’s go. All right.
I couldn’t feed at the hospital at the time, so we had to pump. After that though, two weeks in, he regained all of his weight. He was good, ready to go. The kid is a feisty little son of a gun now.
I got off my antidepressants and we re-looked at the thyroid. And I’m like, what’s going on here? She’s like, okay, now it’s at 800 and something. Your body’s been through a lot. It’s now a handful of months after the kid’s been born. You’re done with pregnancies, right? I’m like, yeah, God, three in three years is fine. I’m good. And boys, all three boys, by the way, I’m good. She’s like, let’s get you on what’s called Synthroid and go from there.
Addison’s Disease: Going Crazy in the Head
Now I’m questioning more, how is this affecting the Addison’s and why am I getting another one? I don’t understand why. Like, this doesn’t feel right. She’s like, just let’s do this.
And then we started doing other tests. We were doing gene tests. We found out I have a MTHFR mutation that was causing me to have methylation issues, energy levels, and why I was fatigued and wasn’t sleeping, all these things. I’m like, but it’s part of being a mom. She’s like, no, it’s not. So, we just supplemented the crap out of stuff. Just tons of tests. I probably was having 20 to 30 tests run a year.
It was just insane, on different things, because I started to go crazy in my head. Cause I was like, okay, now what? Something else, something else has gotta be wrong, it’s gotta be wrong. It’s, you know, something like that. All at the same time, I was running my own career coaching and resume writing business for executives. Why not just have something in there? It’s part of the personality, right? Just why not? Let’s keep adding things in there because I have to be doing something all the time instead of being a human being.
And in all of that, we went through the whole 2020 thing, having everyone at home. My husband was already at work from home, but he was able to go in an office. Then you’ve got three very, very young kids, your husband at home, you at home, everyone trying to do these things. We had school.
Addison’s Disease: Finding FDN
I was very excited that year because right before it all happened, my oldest, who is a nonstop talker and very full of energy, by the way, he had apraxia, so he didn’t talk for a long time, and then he started talking and he won’t stop, he was going to go to school. It’d be great that I’d only be back to two of them for the day. I can handle that. Yeah, no. Okay, let’s have Covid. Let’s just have everyone at home, right? That’s just whatever. So, it was a lot of stress.
It’s just stressful in general for a mom to have their kids at home. We love them dearly, but as I talk to other moms, like we love and hate them all at the same time. Like we just can’t explain it. It’s a lot. And then you’ve got the husband at home trying to work and wanting everything quiet.
I’m like, I can only do so many things with them outside and school and all this stuff. Stress started building up. We’re in Arizona, we’re not around family. So, it’s not like we can go run to either of our parents’ homes or anything like that. It was just very stressful.
Then it was 2021, my husband and I finally got a vacation. My best friend was getting married in Cancun. I’m like, yes, let’s go. All these restrictions, everything’s been lifted, right? And I’m like, let’s go. Then as the time started getting closer into November, all of a sudden, I don’t know what I was Googling, but I came upon FDN. I was like, all right, let’s watch this webinar. I don’t have time for it, but it’s interesting to me.
Addison’s Disease: Vacationing & Studying FDN
I’ve always, when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor. My mom had said to me, no, I think you’d be better off as an engineer. Now I say this for what’s coming in my story here. And so, I went the engineering path. We trust our parents, all this stuff.
But I came upon FDN, and I was interested. And I actually sat and was very intrigued. I’m like, should I do this? Should I not do this? Like, you know what? Let’s just do it. Just do it. So, what did I do on the airplane there? And what did I do when I was sitting there on the beach and stuff like that? I was looking at the first module in FDN. I’m like, I like this.
Detective Ev: During the one vacation.
Vennessa McConkey: Right? My husband’s sitting there drinking and I’m like, I’m not much of a drinker, but I’m really into this. And he is like, I’m going to go tour around. I’m like, trying to figure out health stuff. This has always been intriguing to me. Now I’m obviously old enough, I don’t need my mom telling me what to do. And I’m like, okay, this is intriguing to me.
Then, we had our fun. We came back and things just really weren’t feeling right to me. And I’m like, what’s going on? What’s going on? Then the week and a half before Thanksgiving, came back. My husband got really sick over Thanksgiving and then the kids got sick. Of course, mom can’t get sick. I was, but I can’t be sick, right? I had to keep pushing through and taking care of everyone else cause who else was going to take care?
Addison’s Disease: Breaking Out in Welts
No offense, men, but you don’t really do well with sickness. And so, I’d recognized over the years with my autoimmune conditions, it takes me like two to three weeks to recover from even a cold because my immune system was just so shot. Now it’s just like, oh gosh, something’s not right. I’m not healing from this, what is going on? I’m like I got the kids, I gotta keep them going. It’s the holidays. They’re wanting me to be excited and I’m not excited right now. I’m just feeling drained.
So, I’m talking to my naturopath and she’s like, okay, well maybe we need to modify some things with your thyroid stuff. Your Addison stuff looks good, but I’m really concerned about your thyroid stuff. And because stress is a big component of it, I’m like, all right.
Then all of a sudden, it was two days after I had a conversation with her, I break out from my chest to my stomach, to my back in just these big welts. I’m like, what in the world is going on here? It was disgusting. They were kind of itchy. But we had measured, we had gone and got some testing. I didn’t have any histamine issues, like that was almost non-existent. I was like, that’s weird.
As I was starting to study some of the FDN stuff, I’m like, that’s weird. Okay. Like what’s going on here? I went in and I was doing like Myers’ cocktails IVs. I’d be sitting in my doctor’s office, and she was pumping me with stuff. She’s like, okay, it’s an immune thing. Let’s just boost you and boost you and boost you and boost you.
Addison’s Disease: A Third Autoimmune Condition
So, I’m sitting there with a baby, and I’ve got my husband taking the other two. I’m studying, trying, at the same time, cause you sit there for like three hours getting pumped with this stuff.
I’d feel better for like a day, maybe afterwards, but I still wasn’t sleeping well. And I was still waking up drained. I’m like, this can’t be how this is supposed to be. What is going on here? So then, after doing three weeks of that, my naturopath is like, okay, let’s go to a dermatologist. I have one in the same complex as me. We work together. Go to the dermatologist cause nothing’s getting better. It’s actually getting worse. We’re trying everything that I know, and I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years. She goes, I hate to tell this to people, but I have no idea.
[00:26:40] Detective Ev: Hey, I appreciate the honesty. We need more of that from functional and Western medicine. It sucks that she couldn’t help, but I appreciate that.
[00:26:46] Vennessa McConkey: Right. And I had found out that she had Hashimoto’s too.
She’s like, I just don’t know. Like, she goes, you’ve got little ones at home. It’s not like you can go run away to a retreat for a month or something like that to get rid of the stress. You’re just going to come right back to it. Something’s going on. So, we went to the dermatologist, and he is like, okay, well it looks like your Addison’s caused some vitiligo on your upper back.
I’m like, great. Now I’ve got a third autoimmune condition but what with the welts? And he is like, I don’t know. I’m like, are y’all kidding me right now? Like I am suffering.
Addison’s Disease: Finding Drugs
I already wasn’t sleeping well and now I’m really not sleeping well. He is like, I know you don’t like medication. Let’s get anything on you to get you some sleep and start relieving some of the pain and itching. He gave me some topical cream. I was like, all right, fine, whatever. So, I got some rest and all of a sudden it started disappearing.
In engineering school, I was literally trained in root cause analysis; I went to training for it. and I’m like, what is the root cause? What just happened here? I am a Christian and I’m like, God, I know sometimes You don’t tell us all the answers, but I need an answer. Why is this happening? What happened; what did I do or not do? Like, what is this? What’s going on?
So, then it was right around Christmas, right after Christmas. I was like, okay, we got through Christmas. We didn’t have any family in town or go anywhere. It was nice and relaxing.
This is always hard for me to tell people because from being so tenacious and big into all the work that I’ve done, the success that I’ve done over the years in corporate and things like that, stats, and with my health and all these things. But my husband was taking care of me and he’s like, I’m going to take a day off, blah, blah, blah. I’m going to go pick up the kids, they were at the YMCA, and I’ll come back.
And I was like, he’s so sweet. Let me write him a note and put it in his bag for work the next day and I found drugs. So, my body was kind of telling me something in my environment was going on.
Addison’s Disease: Moving Back to Illinois
I had to confront him about it. I’m like, you literally live with someone who does natural stuff, has a lot of stress and stuff going on, and now this. He was like, you know what, it’s all legal. And I’m like, just cause it’s legal, doesn’t mean, you know, whatever. It was a big battle, and it added more stress.
I’ve been in counseling for years. We were in counseling at that time. I was in counseling prior to that and whatnot, just for all kinds of issues, right? All of my autoimmune stuff, why is this happening? I highly recommend it for people just to have someone on the outside to talk to.
And I had gone to my counselors, I’m like, oh my gosh, now what? Now what do I do? This is a big stress. I’ve got three little kids at home, he’s using, I don’t even know how long and what kinds. That’s not my area of expertise. I know what some things are, but I don’t know everything. They were like, you know what? Let’s see how it goes; let’s work on you. Keep doing the FDN stuff, learning about you and healing and whatnot.
It just got to a point I was like, nothing’s changing at home. It’s too stressful. I can’t sleep now again. What’s going on? So, I had decided when he was on a work trip to Vegas, great spot for a substance abuse user to go, but that was where his work had decided they were going, I took the kids, and we went on an extended vacation from Arizona back to Illinois. We sat there and we were with my family. His family knew. Everyone was very aware before we even made the move.
Addison’s Disease: A Drug Free Husband
It was stressful cause we’ve got now me and three little boys, whom I’ve uprooted from school and from what they knew as home, back to my childhood home. It’s not like we had a small home, but you’ve got three adults now who are all parents trying to parent three kids and deal with the situation. And so, it was really stressful. In all of that, we were there for seven months.
My parents did what they could or whatever. But in all of that, I found that the relationship with them was not good. So, I thought I was leaving a toxic environment that was causing a lot of stress and health issues and things like that and went into a brand new one. Well, it wasn’t brand new, but I thought it was brand new at the time. But it was something that I experienced all throughout my childhood. It was a lot of emotional and verbal abuse and neglect.
It was, oh, okay, you guys have been here, we gave you your basic needs, and now we’re going to go. They both are business owners, let’s go to our work now. The boys and I were left to fend a lot for ourselves. Yes, we grew up here and whatnot, but I was like, I really need my mom and dad. I really need them.
And so, in transferring counselors across state lines and stuff like that, my husband and I were working on reconciling. I had filed for divorce and that got his butt moving. He’s been clean for over a year and a half now. That’s such a blessing and he won’t touch it again, any of that stuff.
Addison’s Disease: Starting to Heal
We found out he was using because of childhood issues he had with his parents. It’s been a whole bunch of mess. But in all of this too, now with my counseling, we had found out I had complex PTSD because of all the emotional abuse. So, let’s just add more, right? Just keep adding more and more and more.
And I say all this because the past year of going through FDN, now, I had to extend the course because of everything that happened. I still, every single day was going in and learning something and going through the course and whatnot. My parents finally kicked us out for no reason. So, we were left to fend again, literally, for ourselves.
My husband was still closing out Arizona and our home there. We had to find a place, but I was on my own and I was playing single mom. I still was able to complete the course, complete it very well, and go through with the mentors. They were like, Vanessa, this is amazing with what you’ve done.
What I did was I kept questioning the Addison’s disease. I’m like, the Hashimoto’s and stuff kind of makes sense, but I don’t understand the Addison’s. We had the tests run and stuff like that and I’m looking at them, the tests that we have run here in FDN.
I’m like, okay, my cortisol does show low but it’s not like it’s an exhaustive stage. Everything else makes sense. Okay. So, I started putting two and two together as I’m starting to heal from my family and from my husband, all those things. I’m starting to get more stable emotionally and be able to think clearer and all that stuff.
Addison’s Disease: Weaning Off the Meds
I’m like, this doesn’t make sense. I’m in the exhaustive stage but it doesn’t correlate with Addison’s because my body’s still producing. So, I went through all of that and talked to my naturopath. And I said, hey, can we work out a plan where I come off of the hydrocortisone?
I sent her the results from FDN, and she’s like, okay. She goes, you have extra, right? You have your dosage. So, if worst case, you just pop it in and okay, we know that that was too low to go or something really still is going on, right? And I said, okay. We were still guessing. So, we had tested right, but we still were kind of guessing and playing around a little bit safely.
I safely wean down off of it. And I’m going to start crying here because I have now been off of hydrocortisone for almost a year. I’m telling you, no symptoms, like, I haven’t gotten worse in any way, shape, or form. So, that was never the problem. And I was like, okay, if I can come off of hydrocortisone, maybe I can come off the thyroid stuff.
We had switched from thyroid to a compound T3/T4. I was like, all right, that one’s a kind of a scary one to come off of. Okay. Let me see. I talked to her and she’s like, I don’t recommend it. But if you trust what you’ve learned and what you’ve graduated with, and you are also now board certified, like, okay, let’s see what happens. I’m here to support you. But again, you still have stuff there in case.
Addison’s Disease: Stress & Trauma
I have been now a year off of the thyroid medication. And now do I still have Hashimoto’s and overt hypothyroidism? Yes, I do, but I’m managing it. And it’s almost into remission through diet and lifestyle changes.
I’ve reviewed it with Dr. Alan Christianson, who is a well-known endocrinologist. He’s like, literally, medication won’t help you. He goes, you’ve been through a lot, your trauma and things like that. You keep managing your trauma, managing all that stress reduction. Keep working on the things of breaking the generational chains in your family and whatnot.
Because with the HPA Axis, we know that stress is massive. It is a very, very big deal. The trauma that I’ve endured through the emotional and verbal abuse and neglect, we found out there was some physical too there. That played a huge role in basically suppressing my entire system.
We ended up running the DUTCH test too, it showed my cortisol was high. It was really elevated because I was constantly, and still can be some days, in the fight or flight mode. I have that hypervigilance. And I’m like, okay, we’re in a new spot. Okay, what’s going on? Okay, like 4th of July, parades, literally congregate right outside my front lawn. And I was like, what’s going on?
But in all of this, I’m not going to say FDN saved me. I saved myself through the knowledge and the practice of all of it. It breaks my heart for those who have gone through any kind of trauma, whether it’s childhood trauma, any kind of war trauma, PTSD, whatever it may be, that they’re not working with someone most of the time that can correlate their symptoms.
Addison’s Disease: The Body Keeps Score
The fatigue that I had was because of my constant fight and flight. I was constantly, for almost 40 years now, in hypervigilance state all the time. My body didn’t use up, as the doctor said right back with Addison’s disease when I was “diagnosed”, use up all of my cortisol. It was just being displaced is what it was, being used for things that it wasn’t supposed to be used for.
And if anyone wants to read an amazing book, The Body Keeps Score is a really, really great book. Because our body does keep score of everything that’s happened to it in its environments, via food, exercise. I found out I was exercising too much because I wanted to just burn that energy, that frustration, and all that stuff, and it hurt my body. So, I was stressing it out even more cause all of that creates so much inflammation.
Then, I ended up through FDN, found out I had H. Pylori, candida, like all these different infections and stuff going on because my immune system, through the medication, through the stress, through everything that was happening around me, whether I was doing it to myself or other people had done it to me, my body just kept score of it. It was just creating this massive chaos in my body that was going on. And it was just exhausting me and created things.
If anyone’s gone through this, you go through an angry phase of why did this happen to me? What in the world? Why did I deserve this? What did I do to myself, what did I not do to myself? Why did these people do this to me? And then it came into grieving of, okay, now I have something I’ve gotta do.
Addison’s Disease: Middle Child’s Tummy Issues
Through all of this, even right now, I’m working on literally a case study with my son. The middle child has had so much stress. Like I said, he’s the whiner and the crier and whatnot. But that shows that something is going on.
Last year for example too, he was struggling in kindergarten to speak up. And I was like, what’s going on? This kid is very vibrant and whatnot at home. Okay, I get it. First time in school. All right, fine. But literally this morning him and I had this conversation cause we got his stool map test back.
We found out that he has some really hefty, hefty secretory IgA, very high, anti-gliadin IgA, very high, calprotectin, high. And so, he’s got some celiac issues going on. With all the trauma and stuff that we’ve had going on in our family, he was having a lot of diarrhea. Every day this child has told me probably for the last two years, mommy, my tummy hurts. Part of me is like, okay, I feel for you. Part of me is like, come on dude, you had candy yesterday, you know? But really his tummy was hurting.
With me knowing what I know from FDN and helping other clients and helping myself, I’m blessed that I was able to have the conversation with a little six-year-old and say, Hey buddy. Were you having a hard time speaking up in class last year because your tummy hurt? Yeah.
We put him in social work, we’re like, what’s going on? And he started to have some success there, but it was really because his stomach hurt so bad. So, we have a plan now, and that’s what’s great that I love, is having a plan.
Addison’s Disease: A Proven Process that Works
Like we learn in FDN, and anyone who’s been through autoimmune conditions or chronic illnesses or anything, the path to healing is never linear. It’s always, back and forth, it’s up, it’s down, it’s all over the place. Sometimes something hits you like a death or something and it completely destroys you because, again, your body’s keeping score of stuff.
But we have a very, very proven process. It’s going to be just a hair different for everyone just because of their lifestyle, their environments, maybe some genetic factors, some things going on with their lives. But we have a proven process of that D.R.E.S.S. protocol that works. I mean, I will stress, no pun intended, stress, the stress part of it’s because that has been just such a massive success for my story.
Yes, it’s food; yes, it’s exercise, things like that. But it’s been a journey and I’m just happy to be on it now that I’m on the lighter focused end here versus the dark end that I was in. But if you keep following the plan and keep following the process, it’s like learning engineering. You can’t just implement it one time and it’s done. You keep going and you keep following the process and you see the success along the way.
It just lights me up when I get to connect the dots with people. I would’ve never expected the trauma that I had, I would never have uncovered the trauma that I had and be working on that if I didn’t go through FDN. Or I might have, but it would’ve been years and years down the road in a hospital bed or something like that. Not that I haven’t been in hospital beds before for this stuff.
Detective Ev: Yeah, I gotcha.
Addison’s Disease: The Right to Advocate for Yourself
Vennessa McConkey: Lots of them. But it’d be a different story. I want to be there for my kids, and I want them to, as we’re breaking generational chains in terms of trauma in our family and abuse, that we’re also breaking generational chains in terms of health.
I tell my clients all the time, advocate for yourself. That doctor, they do have their place in situations that are lifesaving. But just because they say take this or do that, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to question them. What you’re feeling in your body is legit. They are not living in your body every single day and dealing with all those, what I call, the in-between moments. They’re not, you are. And you have a right to question them. You have a right to ask for something different, ask for a different opinion, or get up and find someone else, like one of us at FDN.
Say, hey, you know what, you guys have all been through this. And that’s the great thing too, is we’re not like a lot of the other medical professionals out there who haven’t been through the stuff that we’ve been through. We’ve been through it, and we don’t, I always tell my clients too, I don’t make you do a test that I haven’t done myself. I don’t.
[00:42:06] Detective Ev: One, we’re going to have to do a part two at some point. I mean this seriously, I’m not a flatterer. I go out of my way to find things I like in people. And I do go out of my way to compliment that, but I don’t flatter that. I mean, you nailed it, right? Because there’s so much going on here.
Addison’s Disease: On the Winning Side
I mean, sometimes I’ll intervene if the person’s going on too long. But like, you’re a fantastic storyteller. Fantastic might not be the adjective we want to use when we’re talking about such serious stuff, but I mean, it’s engaging. You got me emotional. It’s like, holy cow. I don’t know if you’re even intentionally doing it, but there’s so many of these cliffhangers. When I find out the husband is like, okay, good to go now, I’m like, yes, he did it because of the divorce.
I actually look at that cause I’m someone unfortunately who has abused substances. It’s not my place cause I don’t know the whole situation, but I will tell you this; most people will lose everything before that happens. So, the fact that divorce is a trigger enough to get through the drugs, that person loves you, just so you know, if that’s not obvious. It’s not an excuse to go do it to begin with.
Vennessa McConkey: Don’t. Please y’all, don’t do that.
Detective Ev: Right. There are people that will take drugs stuff to the grave. They will lose everything along the way.
That feeling of losing you and the kids outweighs the drug withdrawal. Drug withdrawal sucks and it’s very short term, you don’t think long term with it.
Vennessa McConkey: Oh, trust me, we’re dealing with it even now.
Detective Ev: I love to see the light; you used the word the light. It’s very cool to actually be with you right now on this journey, very much on the journey, but on this winning side and having the path and the plan, like you said.
Addison’s Disease: Making Choices in Desperate Situations
In the beginning, your personality was just like the drive and all this kind of stuff. Like, hey, I don’t have time. Let’s get this fixed. I gotta go. We definitely have something in common there. It’s cool to see how this is being used now.
One thing I want to make sure we get to at least shout out today, there’s two things actually. So, one, especially in the first 20 minutes or so, there’s details that seemed simple, but I really appreciate you sharing them because they’re actually not. What you are going through or have gone through is such a standard process in a certain sense. Everyone’s unique, but like this whole, hey, well, I’ll just try this, or I’ll stop the medication.
And you even, you use the right words. You’re like, I don’t really know why. I just felt like maybe I should do this. You’re clearly an intelligent person with a background in this to some degree. You have family influence and stuff in it, but that’s what happens to us. It’s just a human thing.
We’re confused, we’re scared. We don’t know what the heck is going on. And so, we start making these choices that almost seem like random from the outside, but to us in the moment, it makes perfect sense cause we’re so dang desperate to figure this stuff out.
I’m just so glad that someone like you, not only has these answers now, but you’re out there working with people. That was the second thing for me. I mean, you didn’t graduate, in the grand scheme, like that long ago. I’m not surprised that someone like you is hitting the ground running and taking clients. But were you taking clients prior to graduating FDN or was it only after?
Addison’s Disease: Tracking All the Health Complaints
[00:44:45] Vennessa McConkey: So, when I was doing the career coaching and resume writing business, I had noticed that my clients are seeing success, but they keep coming back to me. I’m wondering why. You know, you mentioned, and thank you, I appreciate this for saying like, you’re such a good storyteller. I love to engage with people and I love to hear their story. Their stories inspire me to share more and all that type of stuff.
So, a lot of people come to me, even in corporate, people will come and sit down in my office and be like, so I’ve gotta tell you something. And I had one guy, I’ll never forget him. He came down and sat down in my office chair. He was like, so, I’m thinking about divorcing my wife. I’m like, okay, to HR, please. I can’t discuss this right now.
Detective Ev: Nope.
Vennessa McConkey: Right. But they felt comfortable sharing with me. And I’ve noticed that with all of my corporate people and my employees and my resume and career coaching clients.
And so, in that business, I had noticed people were coming to me and sharing with me, oh my gosh, you know, I’m struggling with some weight loss. Especially during Covid, like, I gained a lot of weight, or I can’t think straight. I don’t understand why I can’t do this. I’m tired.
So, I started tracking it, an engineer tracking things. I started tracking it in my database. I’m like, okay, this person is this and this person is okay, you know, whatever. And I found it was like 85% of my clients were having some kind of health issues.
Addison’s Disease: Coaching for Free
I love this business; I am good at it. I’m making a lot of money. And I was very quickly able to replace my corporate career numbers financially. But I was like, I can’t morally place these people into high roles in corporate. They’re making decisions for other people, and they literally are having health problems that are fogging that, those decisions, I can’t. So, I had to stop that.
Now I do have clients who still come to me from referrals. Most of mine always have come from referrals. And I just stopped that. So, in those in-between moments, again, in-between moments here, of me transitioning from the corporate into that, I found myself coaching for free, basically, which I don’t recommend. I was doing that because I care so much about people and didn’t know my value at the time in the health space.
I was coaching them and saying, you’re having these conditions, you’re having these health issues. Like, what are you going to do about it? What questions can you ask your doctor? I was getting on some different interviews with other practitioners.
I was on a set of interviews with a lady named Nicole Broadhurst. She is an advocate for those with insurance, health insurance. We were talking about the questions you need to ask and things like that. So, I found myself in that space.
Before FDN even came into my world, I said, okay, I’m going to start taking on some people and start coaching them through some of the mental aspects of autoimmune conditions and what you should be thinking about yourself, telling yourself, some of the stress reduction, and some of the diet aspects of it that I knew at the time of how to get through everyday moment.
Addison’s Disease: Unable to Stop Talking About It
I still have a girl, Sarah, who reaches out to me. She’s like, oh my gosh, Vanessa, I’m struggling again, and I just want to hear your voice. Can you send me a voice recording? I just want to hear your voice.
And I was like, why? She goes, it’s just so soothing sometimes just to be able to listen to the words that you say. They just help me. I play them over and over now for my newborn daughter and me and they help me. So, I was taking clients at that time not even knowing really what I was going to be diving into and exposing in this world basically.
Then I told myself, that tenacious individual that I am, I’m like, okay, after I graduate, I’m taking three months off of not doing anything. Literally someone had to hold me down. And my counselor was like, yeah, okay. I’m going to see how long this lasts, Vanessa. And it didn’t because I just kept talking about it and talking about it. Even on my own podcast too, my story is a four-part series on there of telling the in-depths of it.
If you don’t know who you’re working with and you don’t know their story, why are you working with them, just for their credentials?
[00:48:34] Detective Ev: Yeah. Very good point. Once we’re off air, we can figure out a time that we can get something sooner rather than later. It doesn’t have to be next week. But something sooner rather than later for a part two of this. Actually, in a perfect world, I would do this with everyone if they could fill an hour with the story.
Conclusion/ Where to Find Vennessa McConkey
No disrespect to our guests. Not everyone can do that. It’s just, some people got it and it’s very amazing when they can do that. So, I’d like to have you back on for the sake of today then. I mean, you’re going to have people reaching out with something like this. So where can people find you if they would like to work with you?
[00:49:04] Vennessa McConkey: Yeah, so I’m definitely on Instagram at @vennessamcconkey. You’ll see how to spell my name in the show notes there. It’s a different Vennessa. Then on Facebook, @vennessa.morgan. You can go to venessamcconkey.com. That website is still kind of in progress, so by the time this releases, it should be up and running there. There’s lots of freebies and stuff that I have available in terms of how to get you going, and then my programs also as well.
Detective Ev: What’s the podcast called by the way?
[00:49:34] Detective Ev: Nice. All right, awesome!
Vanessa, we’re looking forward to having you back on. Thank you so much for just coming out and pouring your heart out. I think this makes the best podcast. It’s heavy. But at the same time, I don’t want podcasts where I’m just going in and out of it cause I’m so distracted by something else. I like something that gets you going a little bit. It’s motivating; it’s inspiring. So, thank you for today, very much.
[00:49:56] Vennessa McConkey: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me on. Look forward to part two.
We can never get enough of dip and hummus recipes. While you might think their sole purpose is to fill up a bowl so you can dunk your veggies and chips in them, dip and hummus recipes are actually incredibly versatile. Aside from dipping, you can use them:
As a topping for savory oatmeal, toast, baked sweet potatoes, grains, chili or soups
We like to make a dip or hummus recipe each week (or several!) and keep them in the fridge to dollop as we please. All you need is a good food processor or blender and you’re ready to whip them up at home, too. Here are some of our favourite dip and hummus recipes to get you started!
Hummus gets a major anti-inflammatory boost with a generous amount of turmeric and ginger. Plus, the golden colour looks bright and beautiful on a veggie platter.
This sweet, tangy and spicy dip stars roasted red peppers and you can use it in a million ways. Plus, this recipe offers a number of handy substitutions if you don’t have all the ingredients on hand.
This potluck-friendly hummus recipe is a great one to modify to your tastes. You can top this one with avocado, jalapeno, olives, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, herbs and more. Excuse us while we gorge. (For a dairy-free version, omit the cheese.)
Who says the best dip and hummus recipes need cooked chickpeas? This raw, chickpea-less version is great for those of you who find beans a little hard on the tummy.
If you haven’t tried cauliflower hummus yet, you need to rectify it. This cauli hummus is vegan, Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free and nut-free – making it a great option for virtually any diet.
Access the power of sprouted nutrition in a fun new way with this sprouted lentil hummus. It’s got all the traditional flavours of ‘regular’ hummus, and you can enjoy a kitchen science experiment by making your own sprouts.
Brighten your day with this brilliant vegan basil pesto, which gets its ‘cheesy’ flavour from nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan. Great for dipping, or for pasta sauce!
Today with us on the Incite Change Podcast, Coach Mauro sits down with Evan Transue.
Evan owns Bucks County Light Therapy and is a professional speaker who continues to inspire and educate others by sharing his story. Having battled with mental health issues for over 13 years and other health issues, he took the wheel of his well-being after what he calls an “aha” moment.
He uses his gift of public speaking to educate and advise others that their issues are not the end of it all and they can heal from their illness. He discusses the many steps he has taken and the changes he has made in his journey which ultimately helped him to have a healthy lifestyle.
Back-of-the-envelope type calculations have led industry-funded scientists to assert that “a person would have to consume 8 cups (i.e., 1 kg) of ground flaxseed to achieve acute cyanide toxicity.” I’d feel better, though, if it were put to the test.
Researchers tested flaxseeds under “worse case conditions…resulting in higher cyanide levels in [the] blood.” First, they located the flaxseed with the highest level of cyanide-forming compounds they could find. They went to stores and bought 15 different sources of flaxseed. The average level was about 140 milligrams per kilo, which is typical, but they used the one with 220 mg/kg. Second, the researchers used “maximal mechanical destruction”—a heavy-duty 20,000 RPM lab grinder—to release the most cyanide. Third, study participants ate it all at once on an empty stomach, then kept their stomachs empty. And, they were given it raw because cooking can often wipe out all of the cyanide. The recommended daily dose is about one to two tablespoons of ground flaxseed—I recommend one tablespoon in my Daily Dozen checklist—so the researchers decided to go with four and a half tablespoons. What happened?
The range of cyanide blood levels one might estimate “to be (possibly) associated with first clinical symptoms of intoxication” is 20 to 40 µM, so we want to stay below those. After participants consumed (on an empty stomach) four and a half tablespoons of the highest cyanide-containing, ultraground, raw flaxseeds the researchers could find, the highest individual level rise was just under 14 µM and the average was around 6 µM.
There has to be some amount of flax that takes you over the limit, though, so the researchers also tested 9 tablespoons and 15 tablespoons. Remember, we start to worry at around 20 to 40 µM. As you can see in the graph below and at 2:09 in my video, with three and a half teaspoons and even seven teaspoons of raw, high-cyanide ground flax at a time on an empty stomach, there was hardly a blip. At 14 teaspoons, which is 4.5 tablespoons, they got that average increase to 6 µM. What about consuming a little over nine tablespoons? That’s more than a half cup at a time, which does start skirting toxicity. And, finally, what about a whole cup? I don’t even know how you’d eat a whole cup at once, but that is too much, putting you in that potentially toxic range for about three hours. So much for the industry’s claim that consuming eight cups at a time is safe. But, even in this worst-case scenario of one cup of raw flaxseeds on an empty stomach at the highest level the researchers could find, that person still didn’t have any clinical symptoms. This is consistent with the fact that there isn’t a single published report of cyanide poisoning after consumption of flaxseeds anywhere in the literature, even from Swedish health spas where they may give up to 12 tablespoons as a “fiber shock.” Usually, high doses are two tablespoons or so three times a day, and that dose would be “safe with respect to possible acute toxicity of cyanide.”
What about any possible chronic toxicity? The World Health Organization (WHO) has a standard called the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI), which is defined as the amount you can eat safely every day for the rest of your life without risking any adverse health effects, based on the best available data. Often, though, that’s according to rat studies, as it was in this case: When varying doses of cyanide were put in the drinking water of rats for a few months at a certain level, the so-called benchmark dose lower confidence limit, there’s a 10 percent increased incidence of shrinkage of the tail of the epididymis, which is where sperm is stored in the testicles. That happens at the human equivalent of the amount of cyanide in about 150 tablespoons of flaxseeds a day. Wanting to err on the side of caution, the WHO introduced “a 100-fold uncertainty factor” to create the PMTDI. Instead of 150 tablespoons of flaxseeds a day, the average American should stick to less than one and a half daily tablespoons if you’re going to eat flaxseeds every day. My tablespoon-a-day Daily Dozen recommendation should be safe by any of these standards.
Michael Tanenbaum is a fixture at local markets and farms in the Los Angeles area. No matter the season, you’ll find him exploring local and fresh ingredients, developing relationships with local farmers, discovering new products from small businesses, unearthing seasonal gems to feed his family, and sharing resources with his Consciously Kosher audience.
Growing up, Michael was always the first at the dinner table and the last one to leave – but he didn’t pay much attention to what he was eating. It wasn’t until eight years ago that he discovered the tremendous impact food can have on health, and this tumbled him down the path to learning how to cook food from scratch, leave his job, and discover a passion for food journalism.
Careening towards burnout
For more than a decade, Michael worked in social media, branding and marketing, directing campaigns and analyzing data. The hours were long and draining, and eventually, the exhausting pace began to wear him down. His lifestyle wasn’t sustainable, but he wasn’t sure how to pivot and find his way out.
Alongside his impending burnout, Michael suffered from allergies, sinus problems, and food sensitivities. He assumed these were problems he simply had to cope with for the rest of his life. One day, a naturopathic friend suggested that dairy products could be the culprit.
Within a few weeks of ditching dairy products and other problematic foods, 80% of his chronic health problems had evaporated.
Discovering the power of food
Michael’s personal health success prompted him to delve into cooking fresh, nutritious food at home, visiting farmers’ markets for the first time, and connecting to his food supply – what Michael refers to as his ‘modern interest in food’.
“I got curious to know more about how food affects our bodies beyond fulfilling our hunger,” he says. “I began to understand the therapeutic benefits of food, how it could be anti-inflammatory, brain-boosting, energy-providing, and more.”
Soon, Michael became the go-to healthy food expert in his circle, particularly at work.
“My boss and colleagues would hover around me during lunch each day to see what I brought to eat. They could not believe the diversity of the side dishes and the unusual fruits and vegetables that rolled out of my lunch,” Michael says. “By that point, there was no doubt that I needed to explore this direction further.”
Michael’s naturopathic friend Anders, the same one who suggested he eliminate dairy, recommended he consider the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program. Anders grew up with Culinary Nutrition Expert Program Founder + Director Meghan Telpner and thought that Michael would appreciate her personality and teaching style along with the program content.
“As soon as I landed on the homepage, I was hooked,” Michael says. “I could not believe that the course taught what it taught. I just knew that this course was a match made in heaven for my burgeoning interests in food and healing through food.”
Creative sparks flying
Michael joined the Culinary Nutrition Expert program in 2016 anticipating he would learn about cooking healthful food, handling food allergies and how to make better decisions about ingredients – and was surprised and delighted when he discovered the program offered much more than he bargained for.
As a former pre-med student, Michael was impressed with the scientific inquiry of the program that taught him how to use nutrition research and understand the root causes of many common health conditions along with practical skills such as meal prep, menu planning, pantry organization, and more. Michael also appreciated the various opportunities to connect with others in the program, from the livestream classes to communicating one-on-one with his program coach and exchanging resources and ideas in the private Culinary Nutrition Expert community.
“The course is so perfectly balanced between all the different aspects and covers many different bases,” he says. “It gives you a huge amount of info in a short amount of time.”
Juggling part-time work, two young boys at home, and the course work was challenging, but his family was excited to lend support and came along for the ride. Michael’s wife, originally from Argentina and an accomplished home cook, grew up using fresh ingredients so the Culinary Nutrition Expert-style of eating wasn’t a stretch for her (she even began a series of Spanish-language healthy cooking videos with their kids). Their children eagerly became part of the process and are now enthusiastic ambassadors for healthy eating.
“Taking this course taught me the skills to make almost all of my own food,” he says. “Between my wife and myself, we strive to make almost all our food from scratch.”
“Module by module, I started to have these creative brainstorms and more food business ideas,” he says.
Nine months after completing the program, Michael quit his job to pursue them.
Establishing Consciously Kosher and becoming a food writer
“I love to write and share what I know,” he says. “The writing wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken this course. The Culinary Nutrition Expert Program led me to my greatest passion, which is food journalism.”
As Michael began developing business ideas, a common theme arose: there was a gap in health services, information and resources that spoke to the Jewish and kosher community, as well as those interested in conscious eating.
“There’s a perception that kosher food is cleaner or healthier than non-kosher food. But that’s not necessarily true,” he points out. “More than 41% of all packaged food items in the USA are certified kosher. So that leaves a lot of potentially unhealthy foods on the shelves and in people’s homes.”
Michael has always loved writing. The Culinary Nutrition Expert Program’s content creation assignment, which requires students to write an article for the publication of their choice, inspired him to pursue the dream of becoming a food writer and begin his website, Consciously Kosher.
Through Consciously Kosher, Michael shares how to eat a kosher diet packed with nutrient-dense, unprocessed whole foods. He offers recipes, recommends brands and local businesses, highlights food producers, food experts and farmers, reveals meal hacks for busy people, writes guides for specific Jewish holidays (like this Passover e-book) and shares his vast culinary nutrition knowledge with readers to help them simplify kosher eating. Since establishing Consciously Kosher in 2019, Michael has written over 120 blog posts.
Michael has big plans for Consciously Kosher. He’ll continue sharing advice and telling the stories of influential people in the food space, but he also wants to create an online education portal where people can find kosher food guides, discover products he vets, and eventually create and sell his own line of kosher products.
“I love to write and share what I know,” he says. “The writing wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken this course. The Culinary Nutrition Expert Program led me to my greatest passion, which is food journalism.”
The PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology) study is an ongoing large population study that stands out from other similar studies due to its global reach. It embraces a wide demographic, covering different incomes and regions, which enables the capturing of a diversified, all-encompassing picture of health and dietary habits worldwide.
The latest published paper from the PURE study developed a unique healthy diet score based on six foods, a central focus of the study, tested extensively for its relevance and effectiveness. This PURE diet score notably includes whole-fat dairy as a constituent of its healthy foods – a diversion from other diet scores.
Interestingly, the PURE diet score refrained from categorising meat, leaving it un-scored, unlike most dietary index systems. The PURE diet score was compared in the paper with other commonly used diet scores. These included the Mediterranean diet, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) score, the Healthy Eating Index, and the Planetary diet score.
The PURE diet score performed well against other scores. It was associated with a lower rate of mortality and reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Moreover, the PURE score was found to be widely applicable – including to individuals from high, middle, and low-income countries across the world, and to those with or without cardiovascular disease.
On the other hand, the Planetary diet score, based on the EAT Lancet diet from 2019, did not show any significant association with total mortality or significant CVD events, thereby deeming it somewhat inadequate as a health-outcome indicator.
The study’s findings have implications. It suggests that whole dairy can and should be part of a healthy diet, a proposition often contradicted in traditional dietary guidelines. Similarly, it posits meat as neutral, a finding that overturns years of research that have often classified meat as detrimental.
Despite these findings, the key debate remains: does healthy food result in healthy individuals, or do inherently healthy individuals incline towards healthy foods?
The full version of this article can be read below
Food wraps are popular as a versatile and convenient way to enjoy a wide range of delicious meals. Thought to have originated in Mexico, where they are referred to generally as burritos, wraps are based on tortillas or tortilla like or dough-based products, but with a little imagination, you can make delicious low-carb and wheat-free options.
Like many low-carb recipes, the flour base traditionally used for the wrap base can be replaced with wraps made from almond flour, coconut flour or oat flour. Some have even made wraps with a cauliflower base.
Easier still is to use an iceberg lettuce, which takes virtually no time at all to prepare and which adds a crispy texture to the wrap. For some added variety, try different lettuce, like little gems, romaine or endive.
For the filling, you could start with a traditional burrito base of sliced chicken or beef, adding salsa, grated cheese and avocado to the mix.
For a vegetarian option, start with a base of sliced peppers and red onions, to which you could add some black beans, avocado, yoghurt and coriander. Or, you could go for a warm option using stir-fry vegetables as the base.
An old-time favourite ‘Harcombe-friendly’ warp is ‘Coronation chicken wrap‘ (Page 22 in Lunch Box Recipes). Here it is in more detail:
Ingredients: 75g (2.5oz) full fat, Natural Live Yoghurt (Greek style) 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 2 dried apricots, chopped (optional) 100g (4oz) precooked chicken (you can use the scrapings off the carcase for this) Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 2 iceberg lettuce leaves per serving.
Method: 1 In a mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the yoghurt, mustard, apricots and chicken and then season with salt and pepper. 2 Take 2 iceberg lettuce leaves and place one inside the other to create a small dish and spoon the mixture into the middle. Then, wrap the lettuce leaves around the chicken and yoghurt mixture and eat with your hands.
Tip 1: You can leave out the apricots to be strict or just pop a small single dried apricot in the dish. It adds more in taste and texture than it adds in carb content. Tip 2: Try replace the chicken with beef, eggs or tuna.
We’re traveling, out of our normal routines and taking on LOTS of extra activities — concerts, ballgames, camping weekends, patio get-togethers with friends, family, neighbors and anyone else you can pull off the street, it seems.
Many think that summer is the easiest time to eat healthy. Veggies are fresh, farmer’s markets are plentiful, the crunch and texture and coolness of salads are welcomed. So why is it so hard to eat those salads, and NOT eat the convenience foods that creep up this time of year?
We all start the summer with the best intentions: lots of salads, limit the chips. But, here we are, half way through summer and, for many of us, the chips and margaritas are winning, and the salads are losing. What to do?
My Daily Dozen recommends at least one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds a day, but what’s this about cyanide?
Sweden’s dietary guidelines are pioneering in many ways. For example, they encourage people to decrease their climate impact by choosing more plant-based foods, which tend to produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which “is why it’s important for us to cut back on meat…” I was surprised by a page on the official Swedish National Food Agency website, though, which discusses cyanogenic glycosides and hydrogen cyanide and recommends for people to “refrain[] from eating” ground flaxseed for fear of cyanide toxicity—as in the ground flaxseeds I encourage everyone to eat every day. No surprise that this was the first question I was asked when I gave a presentation in Stockholm!
Was the Swedish government onto something? Had I been duped by Big Flax-funded researchers who claimed you could eat pounds—more than 150 tablespoons—of ground flaxseeds every day without worrying? First, some background.
As I discuss in my videoFriday Favorites: How Well Does Cooking Destroy the Cyanide in Flaxseeds?, as many as one in five plants that we eat produces cyanide. In fact, if you look at the major food crops in the world (shown in the table below and at 1:07 in my video), more than half are “cyanogenic,” meaning cyanide-producing. But, unlike toxic elements like lead, mercury, or arsenic that can’t be broken down into anything, cyanide is an organic molecule—one carbon atom attached to one nitrogen atom. In this organic state, it can definitely be toxic, but it loses its toxicity once it’s broken down or complexed to something else, and we have a cyanide-detoxifying enzyme in our body that does just that. That’s just one of five main ways our body can detoxify cyanide. It does require protein to do it, though, so that’s why there has been chronic cyanide toxicity among malnourished populations in Africa trying to live off of improperly processed cassava root, for example. But, as long as we’re getting adequate protein in our diet, our body can detoxify the normal amounts of cyanide we eat every day.
There is a rare, congenital genetic condition called Leber’s disease, though, where you’re born without the ability to detoxify cyanide. Theoretically, “people with the potential for Leber’s disease can go blind” from drinking apple cider, for instance, “because of the effects of cyanide in cider,” but other than that, our bodies evolved to be cyanide-detoxifying machines. Of course, there’s a limit. For example, there was a case of cyanide poisoning after ingestion of bitter almonds. Not regular almonds, which produce about 40 times less cyanide, but bitter almonds, which you can’t even buy. (They’re used in flavor manufacturing.) If you did manage to get some, eating 50 of them could kill you, or even just a handful for a small child. This suggests that eating 2,000 regular almonds at one sitting could also be bad news.
Although you can’t buy bitter almonds, you can buy apricots and apricot kernels, which are the seeds inside the stone. They actually have pretty toxic levels and have been implicated in cases of severe cyanide poisoning all linked to “Laetrile: the cult of cyanide, promoting poison for profit” scam that you may recall I talked about in my Do Apricot Seeds Work as an Alternative Cancer Cure?video, so I’m totally sympathetic to regulators wanting to take a precautionary approach. But, are flaxseeds like bitter almonds, where just a few ounces could kill you, or are they more like regular almonds, where regular dietary intake wouldn’t even come close?
Although the fact that flaxseeds can produce cyanide sounds like it would be a significant health concern, “it is not for several reasons,” according to scientists funded by the flax industry. First, an adult human has the ability to detoxify up to 100 mg of cyanide per day. That’s where the “pounds of flaxseeds a day are safe” number came from. And if you wanted to consume even more than those totally unrealistic 150 tablespoons a day, you could just eat them in baked goods since cooking destroys the cyanide. What’s more, eating seven or eight tablespoons of raw flaxseeds doesn’t even bump up the level of urinary thiocyanate, which is an indicator of cyanide exposure. So, it doesn’t even look like your body is exposed to it. “Thus, the toxicity of flaxseed from CGs [cyanogenic glycosides] is not a realistic health threat.”
Let’s unpack that. The cooking part is mostly true. Baking muffins with just a quarter cup or so of ground flax for 15 to 18 minutes at about 450 degrees Fahrenheit eliminates the cyanide-forming compounds. The same appears to happen with baked bread, but, if you bake ground flaxseeds on their own, only 20 percent of the compounds are wiped out in even an hour at 350 degrees. Baking them whole wipes out 80 percent, though, and baking them in bread or muffins eliminates 100 percent. How does that make any sense? It’s the moisture. Heat plus water wipes out the cyanide. It can be eliminated by boiling for just five minutes, when making hot cereal, for instance. So, yes, in most cases, it’s true that cooking eliminates the cyanide compounds in flax, because they are typically in a batter as an egg substitute or in a moist dough when baking crackers, for example. In those cases, the cyanide is gone upon cooking. But, you can’t just spread ground flaxseeds on a baking sheet because they dry out so fast that only a minority of the cyanide is lost. Why does it matter, though, if your body doesn’t even seem to notice seven or eight tablespoons of them when they’re raw? Because your body does notice. Urinary thiocyanate excretion doubled at that level, though that’s just a sign your body is actively detoxifying it. And if we can detoxify a kilo’s worth of flax a day, what’s the problem?
Even if the “adult human body has the ability to detoxify ≤100 mg cyanide/day,” kids eat flax, too. Furthermore, as you can see below and at 5:47 in my video, a kilo has about 50 percent more than the 100 mg we could detoxify and I’m not interested in how much we can detoxify “up to.” For safety, we should be interested in the worst-case scenario, not the best-case scenario. Would someone please just give study participants different doses of flaxseeds and measure how much cyanide ends up in their blood? They did, and I cover that study in my video Friday Favorites: Should We Be Concerned About the Cyanide in Flaxseeds?.
I mentioned my Daily Dozen Checklist, which includes my recommendation for at least one tablespoon of ground flaxseed a day. Check it out to learn more.
