Five Signs You Need an Alternative/Functional Health Solution

I specialize in Alternative Medicine/Nutrition solutions.  My journey to get there is much too long to tell you here.  But suffice to say I believe in what I do.  Because my purpose is … simply … to get people better.  My purpose is to find the root cause of dysfunction to create a life that functions at its highest.

 My purpose is NOT to diagnose (as a dietitian/nutritionist I can’t anyway) or recommend medication (DEFINITELY can’t do that).  Nor would I want to!  Because today’s ills can’t always be solved by drugs.  Drugs that sometimes have minor side effects like diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, hives, rash, and vomiting and major side effects like infection, heart issues, kidney and liver damage, stroke, and even death.  Did you know that misuse of drugs is the fourth cause of death in the U.S.?

OK … enough drug bashing.  Because this article is about why you might need something else.  And here are some reasons why you might spark to my deepest purpose of creating a life that functions at its highest.

1. You Go from Doctor to Doctor without an Answer

My latest food sensitivity client had been to four.  They ruled out everything from Lupus to Thyroid disease (but put her on medication just the same).  And still she had no answer.

Why is this so?  Doctors are looking for a diagnosis so that they can prescribe a medication.  If you don’t fit the criteria for a diagnosis, they don’t know what to do.  And sometimes they even prescribe a medication with no criteria.  It happened with one of my other clients.  Fortunately, she opted not to take the medication (her own choice).

And called me instead.  She’s now on the mend, has recouped some of the energy she was concerned about, and is doing further treatments to help her heal.  She was one of my star clients … originally coming to me because she supposedly had the worst, according to her doctor, nickel allergy he had ever seen.

We avoided sensitive foods, did some heavy metal chelation, and spent a couple of years taking anti-inflammatory supplements.  She pronounced herself 75% “cured” in a matter of weeks.  And now wears jewelry she could never wear before.

2. Your Doctor Says “Live with It!”

… and other mind-boggling things I’ve actually had clients share with me that doctors have said to them.  What they’re actually saying is their doctors don’t have a clue what’s wrong with them.

So I ask you then … what are you to do?  You leave their office with no answer.    Facing a life of dysfunction until it turns into disease.  THEN doctors know how to treat it.  But it may already be too late to turn back the tide to wellness.  It’s like a truck at the bottom of a hill.  It has to labor a long time … changing gears every few yards … just to get back to the middle road.  Let alone drive to the top of optimum health.  And you may have to face the fact that, along the way, you may never be well again.

3. You Believe that Your Problems are due to Inflammation

I’ve had two prospective clients in one week say this; one was self-diagnosing, the other actually had lab tests taken by a progressive doctor who noted the inflammation, then … again … had no idea what to do about it.  Can you guess which opted for food sensitivity testing?

Actually, any imbalance in the body … and every degenerative disease I can think of … especially autoimmune problems … are caused by inflammation.  A recent article by TIME magazine recently revealed that the root cause of almost ALL diseases is actually inflammation in your body.  So it’s a good bet that you are inflamed in some way.

There ARE actual easily-obtained tests that indicate inflammation, such as elevated CRP and IL-6 as well as something I see (and order) often … high Ferritin and low serum iron.  Thyroid antibodies and reverse T-3 can also indicate thyroiditis when a traditional thyroid panel can’t … but those tests aren’t run-of-the-mill and doctors are often reluctant to order them.

Hey … inflammation starts out as a good thing … the body’s response to outside invaders.  When you get a cut, it gets red and inflamed, the immune system mobilizes like a huge army, captures and heals the problem … then retreats.  The problem arises when the immune system goes rogue and starts continually attacking … willy-nilly … your own innocent civilian tissues.

4. You’ve Been Diagnosed with an Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune diseases are among the leading causes of death among young and middle-aged women in the United States. … prevalence rates range from less than 5 per 100,000 (e.g. chronic active hepatitis, uveitis) to more than 500 per 100,000 (Grave’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroiditis). In total, 50 million Americans … and counting … suffer from autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune diseases CAN’T be treated solely by medication.  As a matter of fact, some medications, like Synthroid, ADD to thyroiditis inflammation.  The only way I know to treat these problems is to cool down inflammation initially by identifying food sensitivities, then treat other issues such as nutrient deficiencies and things like SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth), SIFO (Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth), candida, and even parasites.

I’ve recently learned that Lyme bacterium hides within parasites, which is why it’s so difficult to treat; the solution … kill the parasites. But very few doctors are willing to even consider that.

The alternative way to treat autoimmune entails sometimes large lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, supplements, and stress reduction.  Research has also shown that childhood trauma and shame lead to inflammation too.

5. You’re Ready to Look at Your Health in a Different Way

I recently left the office of a doctor.  Her heart was in the right place.  She wanted her patients to receive alternative care.  But I found that her patients were exactly that … patients with already full-blown diseases and often on many medications. I don’t call the people I work with patients.  And I’ll tell you why …

I had a very rocky emotional life for many years.  I spent at least 25 years in therapy … almost 20 of them with the same therapist.  I used to ask her often … “Am I crazy?”.  Finally, she said to me after many years and lots of healing, “Yes, Jill, you were crazy.  But if I had labeled you that, you would never have gotten better.”

I remember her exact words 25 years later.  And finally realized at this office the patients (a term I equate with the “crazy” one I wanted to label myself) embraced the medical mindset and really couldn’t envision another way of thinking about their health.  The only one who readily accepted what I had to offer was an 83 year-old woman who had a history of working with alternative practitioners.  Even though patients seemed excited in my presence about better health possibilities, they didn’t come back!

Many of my clients (I like that word better as it hints at a person who wants to take control of their own healing) say to me, “I want a natural solution”, “I don’t want to take drugs”, “My doctor hasn’t been able to figure out what’s wrong with me”, or something to that effect.  They’re ready for what I have to offer.

One of them said to me recently, “I told my husband that I would do anything Jill said.  Because she’s never steered me wrong before”.  I wouldn’t quite say that … much of what I do is trial-and-error … and I was just fortunate that what we did together worked the first time.  But my clients do agree to try different things to find the right treatment for them … and understand that that’s part of the journey.  A journey that solves their individual health puzzle.  And that’s my purpose!

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What do you think about the idea of alternative health solutions?  Which have you tried?  How successful have they been?