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Tag Archives: functional medicine virginia beach

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Natural Cure for Autoimmune Disease | Reverse Autoimmune Conditions

7.0 Naturally healing an autoimmune disease

In this day in age, we are running all the time. We are running to keep up with our jobs, running to keep up with our families, running to keep up with our commitments, obligations, and the like. We are often losing ourselves in our work, and our various life commitments. We neglect sleep for business, replace work for fun, and are often fearful that we are not good enough in that we will not live up to the various expectations to which we place on ourselves. It is not a wonder that autoimmune diseases are a growing phenomenon as we place ourselves in many situations to which we feel judged, criticized, unloved, underappreciated and frustrated. Taking handfuls of medications to treat various conditions may be helpful for some, yet a vast majority of people do not enjoy the numerous doctor’s visits, synthetic substances, and a fist full of pill regimens unnatural or otherwise.

Naturally healing an autoimmune disease takes time and patience. The same veracity that one has used to “do” their life is not the same as to which has allowed a person to arrive at this point in their health. Perhaps look at this as a way the body uses to slow you down a bit and pay attention. It knows that if you continue to run at much speed it will not be able to perform and the signs are looming for years before they stop you in your tracks. The lungs show signs of respiratory distress, the digestive tract spins in knots, the brain becomes forgetful, the thyroid develops imbalances, the muscles and bones ache, while the skin may breakout almost in defiance. The body shows signs of aging and wear and tear to the point you can no longer defend it and shrug it off as old age. 50 is not old by the way, and neither is 70. Quality of life depends on how well you take care of yourself based on the food you eat (or don’t eat) the amount of water you drink, the exercise you participate in, the stress management techniques you may use (and denial is not one of them). Life truly is a collection of adventures strung together piece by piece. Naturally healing and taking back your health is no different.

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With any new adventure, there is a starting place and a beginning point. Sometimes that is when my office receives a phone call and schedules an appointment at the pain of staying the same has become greater than the pain of discovery. They say that if you do what you have always done you are going to get what you have always gotten and healing from an autoimmune condition is no different. Self-blame, shaming, anger, and hostility towards self and others will not get you out of this place you may find yourself in right now. Eating junk food, and skipping sleep will also not get you out. Drinking water yet loading up on alcohol will also not prove to heal you. Yet deliberate action step by step will facilitate the healing you are looking for in life. Naturally healing is not a quick fix, magic solution it takes deliberate action of letting go what no longer serves you and stepping into new paradigms of hope, love, and truth. The body will heal only once the mind, body, and soul heal, not before. You can throw a mound of supplements at the problem, and it still won’t help relieve until you realize you are not the problem, You are not your collection of decisions, choices, failed attempts in life. You are not the sum of your failures, you are not your intellect, you are not your emotions, and you most certainly are not a man-made label known as a disease. You are a child of G-D and a beautiful light being able to heal yourself from anything and everything that you are presented with in life and I am here to help you. I have spent my entire life in study. I truly love what I do. I love the magic and the miracle of it. I love the serenity and peace of it. I love the witness of it. I love the beauty of it and most of all I love the people of it. When a patient has a breakthrough where a lifetime of suffering falls off of them that’s when I know I have done a good job. When a mother is able to finally let go of their child and allow them to be the image of G-D for them, then she finds peace. Let’s get real, the traditional model of run a lab and give a pill (even a natural one) doesn’t quite do it, but really being honest of what plagues, ails you keeps you up at night, now that is the magic to which we transform darkness into life and to create natural healing. I often say that healing the physical body is pretty easy it is the rest of the person that can prove challenging. People experience resistance, anger, hostility, longing, confusion, frustration, and all sorts of emotions during their process of healing until they are willing to trust their leader in the process. I am a leader in your process of healing if you so choose. I am incredibly gifted in this space and I was born to help facilitate people’s healing and I would be honored if you chose me as your guide and teacher in the process. Be well, be healthy, be happy, and be peaceful knowing that help is just a step away.

All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.

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How to Overcome and Heal From an Autoimmune Disease

6.0 How to overcome and heal from an autoimmune disease

These days many people experience the effects of autoimmune diseases. Watching a loved one struggle and suffer from pain, inflammation, and debilitating suffering is not a fun experience to watch and can sometimes leave people feeling helpless. Not to mention, the person who has manifested the autoimmune disease. Often times they are frustrated, overwhelmed, riddled with multiple symptoms that are often unexplained with various doctors, and specialists abound all scratching their heads struggling to find the cause of various symptoms. I am here to simplify this for you.

Autoimmune disease is multifaceted, meaning that they are not just a single entity, or effect a single system, they affect all systems of the body. Healing these various systems take time, attention, and a multifaceted approach if someone is to find relief in their suffering. There is relief from the burden of pain, both emotional as well as physical anguish created in this dis-ease process. The first thing to do in the process of healing is recognizing this experience as a gift, which can be hard to do when you are being limited by the physical experience. Begin to recognize this experience as a spiritual awakening to which you choose to surrender to in order to create healing for yourself. This will provide you with the will necessary in order to do the physical aspects of healing. Forgiveness practices help transform darkness that has been buried deep within the tissues. As we suppress certain thoughts, feelings, ideas, and perceptions we then internalize them deep within our tissues, thus creating suffering or diseases. The study of disease is known as pathology, and the root word of pathology is pathos, which means suffering. If you truly want to shift your autoimmune disease you first must begin to shift away from suffering. This shows up as any insecurity, sadness, frustration, disappointment, resentment, anger and the like. These I refer to as low-frequency emotions. These emotions are debilitating and can hold us back from truly living powerfully in the present moment. As mentioned in previous educations on this topic autoimmune diseases often result as people are picking themselves apart in an unhealthy manner. They often judge and criticise themselves as well as others harshly and are unwavering in the injustices to which they see in the world.

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Even still, there is a way out if you are willing to let go of what you think you may know about autoimmune conditions. What we have been taught is the absolute truth about illness as a whole. Illness is not just a physical experience. It is a spiritual, mental, emotional as well as physical experience. It not only affects the person experiencing but he loved ones surrounding the individual. It affects the person’s family and friends in a profound way, leaving them faced with their own humanity. This truly can be the greatest wisdom and the greatest teacher as the person actively decided to overcome this condition. One of the reasons I truly love what I do is that I am privileged to watch the miracle f G-D through every person determined to live a healthy and hopeful life as he intended. G-d does not want us to experience lack, heartache and health loss quite opposite actually. He wants us to experience health, wealth, abundance and prosperity in health and through all things if we are willing to let go of what may be holding us back from what we truly desire. I am not suggesting that this is an easy process of discovery or that every person I meet is open to the experience, I am simply suggesting another perspective in health and healing that I have studied and experienced for more than 17 years. I have always been a seeker of truth, guided by the creator to serve his people transforming all those seeking healing. I am grateful that you have read my perspective and hope that if you are suffering or know of a loved one suffering let them know that help is simply a phone call away. We also offer classes in order to educate and deepen the understanding of natural healthcare and how anyone can live from a holistic perspective.

All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.

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Are Allergies an Autoimmune Condition?

5.0 Are allergies an autoimmune condition

Are allergies an Autoimmune condition? An allergic is an immunoglobulin response to an external stressor, as in the case of food allergies or environmental stress response from exhaust fumes or cigarette smoke. Over the last decade, food allergies have nearly tripled in the United States as well as many westernized countries. As healthcare professionals, we ask ourselves why would that be and the answer is the health of the GI system, specifically the microbiome. The microbiome is the increases collection of microbes that live in and on your body, and those that have an optimized digestive system health have a longer and healthier life. These are a community of organisms that work together in unity to be able to defend our bodies from harmful bacterias. Bacteria cells actually outnumber our human cells.

In our western culture, we have become almost obsessed with cleanliness. Showers many times a day in chlorinated water (which strips away bacteria cells from the surface of the skin). Our children play in sterilized environments with readily available hand sanitizer at a moment’s notice. Infants and children often have fewer allergies if they are exposed to bacterias and allergens at a younger age, and indeed the first thousand days of life is critical to the overall health of the microbiome. Many researchers hypothesize the reason we have so many difficulties with our microbiome is as a result of our systems actually being too clean or rather our environments being too clean.

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Many underdeveloped countries as in the case in Africa and many third world nations actually have fewer incidences of allergies and autoimmune diseases. Also, those children growing up on farms have even lower incidences as they are exposed to various bacterias and other assorted pathogens. Ensuring we are not overcleaning and that we allow our children to play in the dirt can actually be helpful rather than harmful to our gut microbiomes. Consequently, sterilizing agents although can be helpful to prevent the spread of germs, care should be taken to what point do we allow a little bacteria to grow. Restricting the urge to run to the doctor for antibiotic everytime we get sick can also provide to be helpful as we do not expose the body to too many microbes and continue to do the antibiotic, probiotic cycles. Even still, understanding which probiotics are helpful and for what age can also prevent various microbiome imbalances as more microbes may or may not be better, depending on the health of the person, the age, the current microbes, etc.

As we continue to further understand the microbiome and its effects many tests can help determine the health of the body and its assorted microbes. Comprehensive Stool panel testing can determine which bacterias are in the system, which ones are imbalanced, which ones are growing, and or which ones are dysbiotic (or diseases). Food allergy testing can be helpful, yet understand is not definitive as the health of the microbiome shifts, so does the bodies response to certain foods. Avoiding certain foods may or may not heal the microbiome conclusively, so working with a practitioner who is skilled in healing the digestive system can prove to be a valuable asset. Removing various pathogens that may be currently present such as bacterias, viruses, parasites, and fungus can also reduce the bodies immune system responses. Detoxification practices and elimination of toxic elements such as heavy metals can also play a part in repairing and healing the bodies ability to heal itself. As a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner practicing in Virginia Beach since 2009, I am trained to uncover the root causes of imbalances, travel down the windy mazes of building health in the body, with a deep understanding of not only biochemistry but also laboratory diagnostics to further ensure that a family creates optimal health that can last a lifetime.

All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.

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Signs of an Unhealthy Gut and How to Heal it Naturally

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As a naturopath, I often work with people’s digestive system. Mostly because everything is interconnected to it. Our hormone, neurological, and even our immune system is housed in the majority of our digestive system. Our digestive system is the center of our bodies, also in the region of personal power, self-worth, self-love, and self-acceptance. If our digestive system is unhealthy our entire systems are unhealthy. Gas, pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation is just apart of the symptoms often associated with an unhealthy digestive system. Gut imbalances have also been linked to hormonal imbalances, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, eczema, and other chronic health problems. Understanding how the food we eat, and how we break down and assimilate that food is key to beginning the process of healing ourselves. Having food allergies or sensitivities to foods may just be a sign that your digestive system is off balance. Anxiety, depression, mood swings, and irritability may also be chief indicators of digestive imbalances, particularly to the gut flora. Poor memory, concentration, focus, and brain fog are also contributing symptoms when an overabundance of yeast is present in the system. Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, as well as conditions relating to the metabolism, are also generated from poor digestive health. As if these symptoms were not enough frequent infections, chronic yeast infections, autoimmune diseases, and chronic illness are all contributed to a lack of healthy bacteria int he digestive system.

The first step in healing the digestive system is to be mindful of what foods we put into our system. Eliminating proinflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, and sugar is often recommended when cleaning the digestive system. It is often not necessary to abstain from these foods forever, yet it is recommended to abstain for awhile while the body heals and repairs itself. As we rebalance the digestive system’s bacterias the body will heal itself and then allow for the body to reintroduce certain foods back into the system. The digestive system tends to appreciate variety, so eating the same foods over and over again does not tend to be recommended as the body begins to develop sensitivities to the foods. This could be because of a variety of reasons such as the herbicides, pesticides, as well as the advent of GMOs in our food. Understanding the current infections is helpful in rebalancing the digestive system. Running a comprehensive stool panel to determine bacterias, parasites, yeasts, and dysbiotic bacterias are key to creating a healthy gut ecology. These infections can be old or new infections and often times viruses the body has been exposed to years ago such as Epstein Barr remain dormant and hinders the entire system from healing. repairing the digestive process including the lining of the digestive system is also important to healing the mucosal barriers of the system.

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Replacing digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, B complexes, carnitine, and bile acids that may be lacking support the bodies ability to break down digest, and assimilate whole foods eaten. Without these digestive supportive aids at times the body is not able to break down the food and thus creates unhealthy bacterias in the digestive system. Once the digestion and assimilation process is repaired now the body is ready for reinoculation of healthy bacterias. Understanding the current digestive microbiome and which strains of probiotics are in the system, which ones need growth, and which ones are in abundance can all be found in a comprehensive stool panel. I tend to not recommend things like Kombucha, or Kimchi unless you know the strains being grown as you may or may not know if the strains play well with one another.

Lastly repairing the lining of the digestive system by renourishing the lining with nutrients such as L-Glutamine, as well as other key nutrients such as zinc, vitamin a, c, e and various herbs such as licorice root or slippery elm. repairing and healing the lining is critical in reducing effects of leaky gut, a condition to which the lining of the gut has been compromised allowing toxicity to leaky through into the bloodstream. Autoimmune conditions are prone to this such as those conditions such as arthritis or thyroiditis as the toxicities normally contained in the gut is now leaky into the bloodstream connecting with either endocrine organs or joint capsules. Repairing this linign of the digestive system will prevent any future damages to these axillary organs and depending on the severity of the immune system compromise can repair the other aspects. This is why prevention and swift action is so critical at any given moment the body is either generating health or generating disease process. The trick is to prevent the disease process by building health int he body at all times. We can create a program to help restore your health one step at a time in our practice. By scheduling a first visit in our practice you can move forward in healing your digestive system, preventing many related auxiliary conditions such as fatigue or acne. It is often more difficult, time consuming, and frustrating to treat a manifestation of disease process rather than preventing one from occurring to begin with so even if you do not have a symptom it is important to support the bodies ability to heal itself one step at a time. Currently we offer a complimentary 15 mins wellness visit to assess your health concerns and educate you about the benefits of natural healthcare. Together we can heal your body and heal your life one step at a time.

All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.

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Understanding Thyroid Imbalances: A functional perspective

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Anatomy and Physiology:

The thyroid is often overlooked when dealing with and treating underlying health conditions. Many people, especially in Virginia Beach and the surrounding areas, are affected by hormonal imbalances. This is based on the many endotoxins found within the environment. Xylene, chlorine, phthalates, etc are found within the environment and eventually begin to attack the thyroid gland. If you looking to improve your thyroid imbalances then, Functional medicine could be the right solution for you.

Two major disorders involving the thyroid are hypothyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is caused by too much thyroid hormone while hypothyroidism is caused by too little thyroid hormone. At times, when a thyroid is off balance it can swing from hypo to hyper states and vice versa. The hormonal system is an enigmatic and responsive system, responding to internal stimuli. It is rare that the hormone stays at a fixed state of hypo or hyper at all times, although trends can be more forward to hyper than hypo states depending on the severity of the thyroid imbalance.

The pituitary gland produces a hormone knowns as TSH or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This gland stimulates the thyroid to produce T4. T4, another hormone, then circulates the body and converts to hormone T3. T3 is the active hormone that is absorbed by all the tissues and the cells within the body. Most often allopathic doctors test the TSH to determine if a thyroid is off balance if this number is within reference range than it is assumed that the thyroid is working properly. However, TSH only tells a part of the story.

Symptoms:

  • Fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, and depression are all common symptoms of hypothyroidism.
  • Digestive issues such as constipation, low body temperature, stubborn weight loss, under functioning metabolism are all related to thyroid dysfunction. 

Causes:

  • There are many suspected causes of thyroid imbalances.
  • These are your standard imbalances such as bacteria, viruses, yeasts, parasites, molds, heavy metals, chemicals, etc.

Genetics are contributing factor to any condition, however a small factor. You are not a victim of your Genes, but merely genetics accounts for less than 30%, with some doctors claiming even less than that. It is important to note environment and gut health have a lot to do with the development of hormonal imbalances. When you think hormones, think GUT! Immune System, think GUT! Neurological system, Think GUT!=

Contributing Factors:

Women are five times more likely to suffer from thyroid conditions and are more susceptible as they age. Free estrogen can suppress the thyroid function while progesterone declines to enhance thyroid function. The adrenal glands, as well as hormones produced by the adrenal glands, are also able to throw off the thyroid function, creating more underlying hormonal imbalances. Since the majority of the hormonal system is housed in the GI system it is also recommended to heal the GI system before healing the hormonal system. It is seen that thyroid imbalance is clearly an autoimmune response to the GI system, which is why elimination diets are necessary for balancing the hormonal system.

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Testing:

Whole blood testing on the thyroid includes TSH, Total T3, Total T4, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and TPO, as well as Thyroid antibodies, are all common blood panels used to measure the health of the thyroid. Often reference lab ranges are used to determine thyroid hormone health, however optimal or functional ranges are considered more accurate when determining underlying causes contributing to thyroid imbalances. It is understood that the thyroid may be under stress but may not have developed into a full diagnosis as of yet. In order to address the thyroid health effectively, it is also recommended to look at overall contributing factors to thyroid imbalance.

 Treatment:

Synthetic hormone treatments are standard medical treatment. Prescriptions such as levothyroxine (Synthroid), Armour, and NaturThyroid are often used to balance T4 and T3 hormones.

Subclinical Iodine deficiencies can lead to thyroid imbalances especially since so many of our food has been stripped of this mineral. Selenium is also another mineral the body needs in order to fully support the thyroid. Tyrosine, an amino acid is a building block for both the thyroid as well as the brain. This non-essential amino acid can be used to help with the mood and energy levels.

Healing the adrenal glands; as well as lifestyle components relating to stress is key to restoring the health of the body. Addressing any underlying mineral as well as electrolyte deficiencies does provide the body with the necessary nutrients in order to heal itself.

Healing the gastrointestinal system is critical by removing allergens from the diet including gluten as well as dairy. Supporting the lining of the GI system and rebuilding the integrity of the lining of the gut is helping in healing from an autoimmune condition such as thyroiditis. Eliminating bacteria, viruses, parasites, yeasts, and molds also help to rebalance the GI system by removing irritants.

Identifying and removing toxic irritants such as Xylene, Phthalates, Chlorine, etc from the system after rebalancing nutrient as well as mineral needs. It is important to not attempt to chelate these toxic substances without the help of a professional. The body is on balances and removal of toxic substances too quickly can be harmful to the body. It is recommended to seek help when identifying and eliminating these substances.

Mediterranean diets have been found to be effective when working with patients with thyroid complications. Foods that are high in selenium, as well as iodine, should be noted and added to the diet in order to continue healing the digestive system.

Dr. Erica Steele, Naturopathic Doctor, and Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner have been working with people with an assortment of health imbalances since 2001. She is multifaceted combining advanced scientific laboratory testing with holistic health to work with you to find the causes of your imbalances of health. Consider it like peeling an onion one piece of skin at a time in order to uncover your ideal health. She offers 15 mins complimentary consultations in her practice to learn how natural healthcare can help you and your family heal naturally.

Book your wellness visit or consultation today by clicking here.
All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.
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