We all know the importance of becoming more athletic and how it can improve heart health, reduce brain fog, and keep our bodies strong throughout the course of our lives. But have you ever felt like you’re not completely recovering from exercise? The culprit may be oxidative stress--learn what to do about that here!
Case Study: A Functional Approach to Hormones and Gut
How Functional Health Coaching Treats Mood, Gut and Hormones in an Integrated Way
The Symptoms
When Emily joined our coaching program, she was struggling with depression, anxiety, fatigue, and brain fog. She said that she did not have the energy to improve her diet or exercise regimen to support her health. She feared that trying to make major changes could have the potential to elicit panic attacks that would prevent her from moving forward.
Photo by Jason Briscoe
Emily felt “tired almost all of the time.” Up until a few years before joining our functional coaching program, she had lived an active life. She had spent years gaining her education and working as a public health professional. And, at 38-years-old, she found herself barely making it through the day.
Emily had resorted to some of the most common coping mechanisms available: coffee in the morning to give her enough energy to get going, and alcohol at night to help her sleep.
Emily had resorted to some of the most common coping mechanisms available: coffee in the morning to give her enough energy to get going, and alcohol at night to help her sleep.
She suffered from symptoms of gas, bloating and indigestion. Her symptoms eased when she was strict about her diet but returned whenever she wavered slightly.
The First Steps
The first thing we advised Emily to do was to take the huge step of removing coffee and alcohol from her diet. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, she was amazed at how much better she felt, just from those small changes. While this is not always as impactful for everybody as it was for Emily, it does show that sometimes a couple of small tweaks can have big effects.
The Labs
As Emily made those early changes to diet, we ran a handful of functional labs, including:
DUTCH Complete hormone panel
Comprehensive thyroid panel
GI-Map stool pathogen test
Micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) test.
The Test Results
The test results showed that Emily was quite deficient in the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is the primary stress hormone but it is also responsible for providing a sense of energy and plays an important role in regulating the circadian rhythms controlling sleep/wake cycles.
Emily was also very low in all of her female sex hormones (the estrogens and progesterone) and she was also very low in melatonin, a hormone that helps promote restful sleep.
Emily's thyroid appeared to be slightly sluggish and she was deficient in seven different important micronutrients.
Her stool test detected two different parasites, an overgrowth of two different opportunistic yeast species, suppressed immune response in the small intestines, and a very strong sensitivity to gluten-containing foods.
Part of the Hormone Report
Stool Test Results
The Protocol
Emily remained free from coffee and alcohol and began to adopt a gluten-free diet.
She started doing moderate exercise, managing her stress levels, eradicating gut pathogens through an herbal protocol, and supporting her healthy hormone balance through diet, herbs, and lifestyle changes.
She introduced some herbal tinctures such as black cohosh, red clover, vitex, and motherwort to support her female hormone levels. She used a product called Adrenotone from Designs for Health to support the adrenal glands and the balance of stress hormone production through the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Emily supported her micronutrient balance through the introduction of a complete mineral support formula and used the Designs for Health GI Microb-X product as one of the antimicrobial blends for eradicating infectious microorganisms. She also introduced Megaspore probiotic to rebuild beneficial gut flora and to support the immune system.
For dietary support, Emily began seed cycling and introduced more healthy fats into her diet. She also incorporated detoxification strategies such as dry brushing and rebounding into her daily routine to help her move toxins out of the body in a natural way.
The Transformation
Photo by Patrick Hendry
As Emily gained energy, she was able to reintegrate exercise into her life and she enjoys mountain biking and outdoor sports of many kinds.
After six months on the coaching program, Emily reported feeling better than she had in years despite experiencing some extreme stress, including the sudden death of her partner’s mother.
Over the course of her six months on the program, Emily gained enough energy and mental clarity to make big decisions about her life, including the purchase of a new home and a desire to have a baby.
Emily is now thriving, pregnant, happy in her life, and excited about her future.
Are You Ready for Your Transformation?
Work With Us!
We would be honored to work with you as a private client. We provide testing and coaching options to women in most every state and country. Come check out our coaching options to see if it’s a fit.
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.
Essential Oils that Balance Sleep, Mood and More with Jodi Cohen
Jodi Cohen is the founder of Vibrant Blue Oils, an essential oils company, and the best selling author of "Healing with Essential Oils". She's a nutritional therapist and essential oils expert. In this episode we talk about the nervous system and how to get into parasympathetic rest mode, getting a good night's sleep, the adrenal glands, and histamine.
Here's what you'll hear:
Min 01:35 Introducing Jodi Cohen
Min 03:25 Jodi's health history
Min 08:40 Essential oil formulas
Min 11:00 How essential oils work
Min 17:45 Jodi's first approach to helping clients: improving sleep
Min 22:55 Mold & clearing the sinuses
Min 23:40 Melotonin and how it detoxifies
Min 25:40 Effects of stress on the body
Min 28:50 The adrenals & HPA
Min 34:10 Detoxifying estrogen
Min 35:45 Using binders
Min 38:40 Mood adjustment with essential oils
Min 45:15 Histamine balance for air cleaning
Min 46:05 Jodi Cohen's essential oils
Min 48:30 Jodi's resources
To learn more about Jodi Cohen, visit her website here and follow her on social media:
Facebook page
Facebook discussion group
Pinterest
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Resources:
Buy essential oils 10% off using the code "womenswellness"
Leaky Gut Solutions interview with Kiran Krishnan
Free gift: Download a free chapter of Jodi's book, Healing with Essential Oils
Here's the video version of the interview with Jodi Cohen:
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Sun and Sunscreen: Skin Cancer Prevention with Dr. Keira Barr
Dr. Keira Barr is a dermatologist, uthor, eader, peaker n educato i e ield. In this episode we talk about the skin (which is the largest organ of the body), sun exposure, skin cancer and using sun screen.
Here's what you'll hear:
Min 02:10 Introduction to Dr. Keira Barr & her skin history
Min 07:20 The skin as the largest body organ
Min 08:15 The skin and mind-body connection
Min 13:00 HPA access in the skin
Min 15:50 Stress & believes and their effects on the skin
Min 18:20 Listening to your body & skin
Min 23:50 Types of skin cancers
Min 31:20 When to see a dermatologist
Min 33:30 Factors contributing to skin cancer
Min 35:45 The right amount of sun exposure
Min 42:35 How to use sunscreen & spray sunscreens
Min 47:35 Sleep and melatonin
To learn more about Dr. Keira Barr, visit her website here and follow her on social media:
Facebook
Instagram
Resource:
Free 30-Day program
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If you have not yet joined our community, be sure to grab our hidden Hormone stressors quiz here, and come on board!
Thanks for listening,
Bridgit Danner,
Founder of Women's Wellness Collaborative