Like many other health practitioners, one reason I was attracted to the profession was to deepen my understanding of my own health challenges. While no one enjoys wrestling with health problems, it arguably can make a practitioner more sensitive to the struggles their own patients face, and a more effective practitioner. What are some important lessons I learned along the way?
First, it’s important not to be dogmatic. Let me explain. I believe the basics of dietary requirements is the same for all humans. Three decades of exploration on myself and others has led me to believe that high quality protein and fat (preferably from pastured and grass-fed animals) should comprise most of the foods we eat, with fruit, vegetables and properly soaked or sprouted grains, nuts, and seeds added as tolerated for nutrients, carbohydrates, and fiber.
However, the psychological component of eating is important and when acknowledged and integrated into health plans this will positively affect patient success. As an example, I have observed that long-term vegetarianism has significant negative effects on digestion and hormonal health in many. This was reinforced by my own decade-long experience with vegetarianism in my twenties. Yet in practice if someone largely free from serious illness desires to eat, or reports feeling better on, a plant-based diet, then that is the diet that should be supported.
Second, healing the gut is critically important for most if not all degenerative disease, including diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, heart disease and allergies. The gut when laid out flat is the size of a tennis court, and this vast surface is required for the proper assimilation of the nutrients that the trillions of cells in our body depend on for sustenance and repair. This delivery of nutrients cannot happen when the gut is in a chronic state of inflammation, experiencing an ongoing assault from processed foods, stress hormones, alcohol, sugar, NSAIDS, birth control, antibiotics, pesticides, and countless other insults.
Also, fully seventy percent of our immune system lines the gut. Where do we think our modern epidemic of autoimmune disease is coming from? My own health journey started after I had an emergency C-section (abdominal surgery). In the years following, I suffered intermittently from joint pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, acne, abdominal pain, and bloat. I discovered so-called “healthy” foods I was eating both caused and intensified my symptoms and spent a decade exploring healing the gut through diet. I was eventually diagnosed with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and possible lupus, a serious autoimmune disease. It was through diet alone that I was able to completely regain my health.
At Vital Health, we don’t just treat your symptoms. We ask as many questions as we need to understand your health picture and combine that with functional nutritional testing to put the puzzle pieces together. We then devise treatments including targeted diet, nutritional supplements, and acupuncture to fix the root cause. We are here because we share your journey and because we care.
©2023 Darcy Greenwald, M.S.O.M., L.Ac. and Vital Health
