The Case: Lindsay is 38 and constantly feels overwhelmed by her job, health, and life. She swings from depression to anxiety and can’t get a handle on things. She tried different diets, supplements and saw several experts including an integrative psychologist. The Investigation When I met with Lindsay, she had already tried and eliminated several of the root causes I would have investigated including removing gluten from her diet and supplementing with probiotics and specific amino acids (which ...
Feb 20, 2020•49 min
The Case: Sydney is 41 and struggles with fatigue and fluctuating energy levels. She wakes up tired after a full night’s sleep and can barely make it through her day. She saw an endocrinologist and the 3 GPs who had no explanation for her condition. She tried several different supplements, but nothing helped. Feeling tired seems like such a common problem that so many people don’t even complain about it anymore - it’s just the accepted human condition. But, Sydney knew that how she was feeling w...
Feb 13, 2020•48 min
The Case: Molly is 37 and over the past few decades she’s become less and less comfortable in her body. She’s experiencing anxiety, uneasiness, restless leg syndrome, headaches, eye sensitivity, difficulty concentrating, and trouble falling (and staying) asleep. She often had to leave work early and was growing frustrated with her body. The Investigation I could see how difficult life had become for Molly. She told me that she’d often felt overly-sensitive growing up but these latest development...
Feb 06, 2020•48 min
The Investigation It’s estimated that more than a quarter of Americans are suffering with insomnia. Are you? Did you know that all troubled sleeping is considered insomnia? In this episode, we’re going to solve the mystery of sleep troubles and share valuable information about natural supplements that can help get you back to healthy sleep patterns. Two Types of Insomnia Many people are surprised to learn that there are two types of insomnia. Type 1 is when you have trouble falling asleep. Type ...
Jan 30, 2020•19 min
The Case: Emily has 2 autoimmune diseases She decided to get tested for EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) which her doctor reluctantly did. Her doctor didn’t know how to interpret her results and dismissed her concerns. What Emily experienced is very common. Conventional doctors often are hesitant to test for EBV and don’t truly know how to read the results. In some cases, they don’t even order the right lab tests. Emily knew that there was more to the story than her doctor understood. She’d educated her...
Jan 23, 2020•52 min
The Case: Doreen is 39 and dealing with chronic digestive issues. She never knew when something would cause her stomach or bowels to flare up. She’d worked with several integrative practitioners but nothing helped. She was at the end of her rope and believed that nothing would ever work for her and that her situation was hopeless. The Investigation I could see issues with her diet right away but with her history of working with respectable integrative doctors, I knew that dietary shifts weren’t ...
Jan 16, 2020•58 min
The Investigation Annual check-ups are supposed to confirm your health or raise flags on potential issues. But, could they be a false sense of security? I’ve had so many clients come in with a ‘clean bill of health’ from their doctor that doesn’t match how they feel. Today, we’re going to investigate why so many annual check-ups fall short. Insufficient Blood Tests Are you getting the right blood tests with your annual check-up to truly determine if your healthy? It depends on your doctor. What ...
Jan 09, 2020•17 min
The Case: Ariella is 32 and has been trying to get pregnant for the last year. As soon as she stopped taking the pill, she experienced irregular cycles, and headaches and cramps around her period Her family doctor’s only suggestion was to see a fertility specialist who suggested IVF which was too expensive. She tried tracking her cycle with an app but it wasn’t helping. The Investigation More than 10% of American women struggle to become (or stay) pregnant. Infertility has been on a steady incli...
Jan 02, 2020•44 min
The Investigation I investigate a lot of health mysteries in my practice and on this podcast but there is one mystery that is hard to solve. How do you thrive? Not just in your health but in your life? If you got to the root of any problem and solved it, could you turn things around and live in optimal health? The Answer is Individual Everyone is going to view ‘thriving’ differently because it’s relative to your health circumstances and history. For me, thriving means waking up each day with gre...
Dec 19, 2019•25 min
The Case: Jake is 3 and suddenly, he can’t sleep through the night. He doesn’t want to be in his room alone and seems scared. Mom and Dad don’t want him co-sleeping but they’re exhausted from the sleep deprivation caused by getting up multiple times a night to put him back to bed. They tried leaving his door open, keeping a light on, essential oils, and even supplementing his diet with calcium, magnesium and GABA. They knew they couldn’t go on like this, and they had to get to the bottom of this...
Dec 12, 2019•47 min
The Case: Susie is 45 and always tired and under the weather. She’s experiencing muscle weakness, chills, achiness and like she’s about to get a cold or flu but never actually does. She also experiences hyper sensitivity to certain scents from perfumes, chemical air fresheners, cigarette smoke, and household cleaners She’s seen multiple doctors that were unable to find anything wrong with her. Tests for Lyme Disease and Epstein Barr Virus came back negative despite the symptoms pointing to these...
Dec 05, 2019•53 min
The Investigation There’s so much information out there about how to obtain optimal health that it can do some damage. This overwhelming amount of information often leads to one of two scenarios - doing nothing because it’s too hard to decipher all of the information or oversubscribing to health practices (which might contradict each other). Either way, nobody can blame you for getting it wrong. But it begs the question - could you be making a common mistake in the name of health? In my practice...
Nov 21, 2019•20 min
The Case: Lauren is 32 and has been dealing with anxiety most of her life She noticed that her anxiety can be worse during stressful times and during the winter. She was on anti-anxiety medication but they made her feel flat. She tried meditation for anxiety but this wasn't enough and didn’t completely resolve the panic attacks. The Investigation Lauren’s situation is pretty common and I knew that we had to get to the root of the problem if we were going to help her deal with her anxiety. I susp...
Nov 14, 2019•42 min
The Case: Allison is 36 and has been struggling with mood issues since college She feels depressed, anxious, lonely and uncomfortable in social situations. Antidepressant medications and talk therapy worked only temporarily She tried supplement with vitamin B, but that made her feel worse The Investigation According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America , anxiety affects over 18% of the US population and is the most common mental illness in America. They also report that it’s not ...
Nov 07, 2019•59 min
The Case: Kenzie is 34 and dealing with a wide range of symptoms. She has digestive issues, dry, itchy scalp, and cognitive problems like brain fog. Doctors were unable to pinpoint the problem, leaving her with no answers and no solutions. The Investigation Kenzie suffered for 3 years before she came to see me. I knew that these were not a random collection of symptoms - they were all connected and I suspected that it had to do with something causing dysbiosis or an imbalance in her gut. This ca...
Oct 31, 2019•1 hr 1 min
The Case: Autoimmunity affects an estimated 50 million Americans Many autoimmune conditions go undiagnosed Autoimmune issues can compound; many people suffer from more than one The Investigation In my practice, I estimate that half of my clients have at least one autoimmune disease. Many of them don’t know it. Those who do, come in confused and frustrated by the treatment plan presented by traditional medicine which is often just treating the symptoms with pharmaceutical solutions. They want to ...
Oct 24, 2019•35 min
The Case: Miranda is 42 She was experiencing rashes on her face and chest, joint pain, and fatigue. A dermatologist prescribed antihistamines and a Physical therapist gave her exercises for the joint pain. There was no explanation or treatment for the fatigue. Miranda’s doctor responded to her condition the way many do - by ruling out the obvious (in this case, arthritis) and then treating the symptoms. More blood tests revealed the presence of ANA or anti nuclear antibody. This indicated that i...
Oct 17, 2019•37 min
The Case: Amelia is 39 and dealing with heavy periods. She was also experiencing extreme PMS including headaches, bloating, and uncomfortable breast tenderness. It got so bad, she started to plan meetings, social gatherings and vacations around her cycle. The only solutions doctors offered was to take the birth control pill but a previous blood clot made that a risky proposition. The Investigation Every menstruating woman experiences her period differently but it was hard to hear about what Amel...
Oct 10, 2019•31 min
The Case: Lisa is 32, dealing with fatigue, brain fog and general unwellness Countless doctors have told her that nothing is wrong She also mentioned she has slight discomfort in her lower jaw that has been around since a root canal years ago Her dentist also told her that he could find nothing wrong The Investigation Lisa has had a lot of dental work for someone so young. It seemed impossible to me that her health mystery wasn’t related in some way to her dental work. Dentists are trained to lo...
Oct 03, 2019•40 min
The Investigation Last week we unravelled the mystery of finding underlying issues with the thyroid. We specifically looked at how blood tests should be read to give a clearer picture of the thyroid function. I got a whole bunch of emails thanking me for the clear explanation but also asking me how they can get the correct tests and what they can do about their numbers. In this episode, I share a few strategies for getting the right tests done to get the full picture of what your thyroid is doin...
Sep 26, 2019•25 min
The Case: This episode, we’re not looking at just one case, we’re looking at many. More than 12% of the population will develop a thyroid condition in their lifetime. Thyroid symptoms vary but may affect energy levels, weight, and mood. Women are more likely to suffer from a thyroid condition. The Investigation There’s so much confusion around the thyroid. Symptoms can often be explained away as other things - like poor sleep, poor diet, poor exercise habits. The sad part is, these easy explanat...
Sep 19, 2019•19 min
The Case: Natalie is 40 but feels like she’s 80 most days She was experiencing fatigue, aches and pains, poor sleep, and depression. After several doctor visits she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, given medication and told to expect things to get worse. An estimated 4 million Americans are diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While symptoms can be present much earlier, most diagnoses are between the age of 35 - 45. And, women are much more likely to suffer from this condition. The Investigation This he...
Sep 12, 2019•51 min
The Case: Erica is 37 and was experiencing fast and loud heart palpitations without provocation. These episodes became more frequent causing Erica to fear the worst. She saw several cardiologists who insisted that nothing was wrong. A racing heart or heart palpitations are described in many ways. Some might say, ‘my heart is beating out of my chest,’ or ‘my heart skipped a beat’. It can also be described as being able to feel your heartbeat in your ears, or like it’s banging against your rib cag...
Sep 05, 2019•34 min
The Case: Valerie is 39 and she manages her stress with meditation and a bedtime routine. She falls asleep with ease but she wakes up every night and struggles to get back to sleep She tried to further reduce her stress, added supplements and medication to help her sleep issues but nothing worked. Waking up frequently throughout the night is a form of insomnia - the most common sleep disorder in America. Insomnia in the short-term can be dangerous because it increases your chance of falling asle...
Aug 29, 2019•44 min
The Case: Dana is 35 and has horrible digestion issues. She experienced bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, and inconsistent bowel movements. She was diagnosed with IBS and told it would be a life-long issue. All she could do was treat the symptoms with a battery of over the counter drugs. It’s estimated that 10 - 15% of the population suffers from IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. According to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders , it’s the most common GI issue and is mor...
Aug 22, 2019•25 min
The Case: Cindy is 42 years-old, loves to work out and enjoys the outdoors Lately, she’s been tired, foggy, out of breath, weak, and struggling to recover from her workouts. Her doctor ran a number of tests that revealed nothing. The Investigation One of the biggest clues for me was that this all started after a particularly stressful time in Cindy’s life. I was also suspicious of her gardening practices. Immediately I knew there was an answer to this health mystery and I was going to start my i...
Aug 15, 2019•40 min
The Case: Holly is 39 and has been experiencing strange body sensations like tingling, buzzing and internal vibrations that she can’t explain She’s seen several neurologists, had MRIs, nerve tests and a brain scan but it was all normal The only solution doctors offered was anti-anxiety medication. She knew that wasn’t her issue. Strange tingling, feeling like your body is buzzing inside, and similar symptoms could be related to various medical conditions involving the brain or central nervous sy...
Aug 08, 2019•34 min
The Case: Candace is 39 and has been dealing with acid reflux for years. She was diagnosed with GERD and prescribed acid lowering medication but when it stopped working she switched to probiotics and digestive enzymes. These helped a little but she was still suffering and needed to find the root cause. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and acid reflux diagnoses have been increasing dramatically for the past 20 years. So much so that it is now considered a very common disorder with an estima...
Aug 01, 2019•44 min
The Case: Camille is 38 and has experiencing unexplained joint pain, fatigue and generally not feeling like herself. Blood tests revealed an elevated ANA but that could mean many things and doctors were unable to give her a diagnosis. Further bloodwork pointed to an issue with thyroid and inflammation. The Investigation An elevated ANA can mean a lot of things but generally it indicates that there is an autoimmune issue which could be lupus, scleroderma, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis,...
Jul 25, 2019•42 min
The Case: Kim is 37 and lives in a high-rise in New York City For about a year she felt foggy, tired, and plagued by headaches. She was also experiencing joint pain that traveled from ankle to shoulder to knee. She tried anti-inflammatories but it only masked the problems. Her doctors were unable to find the cause of her issues. It’s not uncommon for people to turn to functional medicine to deal with headaches and inflammation but there was something that made me think there was something else a...
Jul 18, 2019•52 min
