What keeps me up at night is when a client isn’t getting results and it feels like we’re chasing an elusive ghost to feel better.
I just saw one of my favorite clients last week in Tacoma, and while she’s feeling better and kicked her SIBO, she’s still not 100%.
Her repeat GI-MAP stool test showed her good bacteria were all on the lower side and her microbiome diversity was zero.
She has what is considered a “sterile gut.”
The bug kills and protocols did their job a bit too well.
And I didn’t ask her if she had reintroduced her morning fruit and veggie smoothies that were a staple for years… a key component that was present before the SIBO bug-killing journey. She had stopped them because we thought they were contributing to her symptoms.
Turns out eating 8–10 cups of veggies really did help her maintain her microbiome diversity.
Proof that what you eat impacts your microbiome.
There are a million opinions on whether to eat veggies or if humans were meant to have them, and I’ll recommend watching certain veggies based on sensitivities.
Yet, the big lesson here is that fiber from fruits and veggies does help feed your microbiome.
I’ve seen it over and over again.
My podcast with Dr. Oscar Coetzee from Designs for Health—Ep. 605—talked about this exact subject: the need to feed the gut ecosystem.
When I first started my practice almost 20 years ago, adrenal health, the gut microbiome, leaky gut, and killing candida were the hot “root causes.”
Lately, Lyme disease, parasites, mold, and chemical sensitivities have been all the rage to explore.
But what if none, or all, of these are root causes?
What if chasing a root cause is a never-ending rabbit hole of pouring money into something that isn’t the point?
What if going back to the foundational causes that contribute to the body becoming susceptible to illness or dysregulation in the first place is where we should explore first?
Like cellular vibration, circulation, and detox mechanisms.
DNA testing is popular right now, yet I’ve tried supporting DNA and nothing happens for many folks!
So it’s deeper, more primal than that.
I have questions about my entire industry and where all of this advanced testing is really going.
I’m not sure if the new fancy tests performed by robots and AI in state-of-the-art labs are really more than a creative way to make money.
That being said, I still do testing to give direction. My point is that I don’t want someone to become their labs and only use labs to dictate how to help their body.
What if, instead of searching for a problem with insanely expensive testing, there was a systematic approach to restoring balance in the body?
I spend hours thinking about how to approach health restoration.
Does one start with the gut and nervous system and move to enhancing the circulation to, and vibration of, cells and tissues?
Or start with vibration and circulation, then go to the gut, nervous system, and respective organ systems that need TLC?
Perhaps it depends on the person.
I’ve said it over and over again: it seems circulation is at the root of many issues, but the longer I ponder my theory, the more I figure there are different angles to assess what messes with circulation, like EMFs, the vibrational state of the body (aka moods), and infections like viruses.
For now, I’m going back to Chinese Medicine theories because they look at what’s out of balance and work to establish balance in the organ systems along with circulation.
Chinese Medicine didn’t talk about the vibration of cells per se, yet I figure the concept of Qi is what they were getting at.
In my podcast this week, I dive into what I’m mulling over in my head and how I’m applying it in real life to myself and my clients.
If you’re feeling stuck on your health, trying to optimize but can’t seem to get those labs where you want them, I’m hoping this podcast will give you insight into your own symptoms.
What if it’s not all about optimization, but rather creating or restoring balance instead?
You are your own best doctor, and I’m hoping to give you the tools to explore that concept along the way.
Here’s to forgetting about root causes and exploring how to restore balance instead,
Dr. J
