MY APPROACH
Philosophy
Food is medicine.
My philosophy is grounded in my belief that the body has the inherent ability to heal itself if given the opportunity to do so. The body is constantly in a state of repairing and restoring its systems. My approach to supporting Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis sufferers is two-fold, herbal formulations and comprehensive nutritional and lifestyle protocols tailored specifically to you that support your body to heal itself.
As a Clinical Herbalist I am trained to develop herbal formulations. Herbs can be very useful to support body systems, they are both gentle and therapeutic and are not fast acting. As a trained Nutritional Health Consultant I believe that whole nutrient-dense foods provide nourishment that is key to maintaining a healthy body. For Hashimoto’s sufferers a healthy lifestyle is more of a necessity than an option.
As a Hashimoto’s patient myself, I value utilizing both conventional medicine and optimizing nutrition along with supplementation and herbal support. Creating a life we want to live is a shared goal.
HOW I SUPPORT MY CLIENTS
My Approach
Optimize Nutrition
Eating whole unprocessed foods that are nutrient-dense and fresh provide key nutrition for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis sufferers. Food intolerances are common and elimination diets are used to identify foods that are problematic. Intermittent fasting is useful to allow the digestion additional time to rest. Foundational supplementation is key to giving the body all of the trace minerals and vitamins it need to operate well. Attention to the daily detoxification processes of the body is also very important, elimination and supporting liver function can really help people with Hashi’s.
Optimize Lifestyle Choices
The lifestyle component can’t be overlooked for Hashimoto’s sufferers. Optimizing sleep (both duration and quality), incorporating movement into our daily routines, managing stress using relaxation and breathing techniques, reducing the environmental toxins we are exposed to, staying hydrated and doing things that we love with those that we love. Creating the life we want to live.
It is important to note, as a Hashimoto’s patient myself, I value utilizing both conventional medicine and supporting my body through optimal nutrition and improved lifestyle choices along with herbal formulas. I am not a doctor and I’m no substitute for a doctor. Lab work, ultrasounds and thyroid hormone medication are necessary to properly manage Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
Herbal Formulations
Whether it is a traditional bitter formula to rev up sluggish digestion, or a soothing powder to add to your morning oatmeal to calm the digestive tract, the art of using herbs to support the body is facinating. Alterative herbal formulas help to gradually restore proper function of the body and generally increase health and vitality. Adaptogenic herbs manage both physical and mental stressors helping to bring the body back to balance. Herbs are slow working and promote health and healing over an extended period of time.
HAVE A QUESTION?
Reach out!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Answers to Your Questions
What does a Clinical Herbalist do?
Clinical herbalists work closely with their clients to collaborate on a plan that includes nutrition, lifestyle, herbal formulas and other holistic strategies to improve their health in a holistic way. We support our clients helping them follow through with their plan to reach their personal health goals. Clinical Herbalists offer education. There are loads of options to using herbs; adding them to food, taking them as a supplement, drinking infusions (of leaves) or decoctions (of roots, etc.), taking tinctures (alcohol or glycerin based), solid extracts, powders added to smoothies or foods, etc. There are more than 200 symptoms associated with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Herbs can be very helpful to manage some of these symptoms and get some daily relief.
What are some advantages?
Clinical Herbalists and Nutritional Health Consultants spend time with you and really listen. Have you been to the doctor and tried to explain how your Hashi’s brain fog affects your daily life? Doctors just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with the numerous symptoms that can present with Hashi’s. Optimizing nutrition and eliminating food sensitivities often has a profound affect on the levels of inflammation in the body. Feeling better tends to add to a feeling of optimism in spite of having an autoimmune disease.
How long until I’m seeing results and feeling better?
That is a tough question to answer as everyone is different both in their willingness to make changes and try new approaches and in the way their particular body responds to those changes. Someone with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is likely to have a food sensitivity due to widespread inflammation in their body and the tendency to develop leaky gut syndrome. If you discontinue eating the food you are sensitive to you will likely notice you are feeling better right away. If that same food sneaks into your diet anytime thereafter you can have what is referred to as a ‘flare’ of inflammatory symptoms. Adding foundational supplements such as B-vitamins, Omega 3’s, D-3, Magnesium, and a probiotic can also produce favorable results if you were experiencing a deficiency. Most adults over 55 who are eating a standard american diet will have nutrient deficiencies.
What does a Nutritional Health Consultant do?
Nutritional Health Consultants are well versed on therapeutic diets and protocols to determine food sensitivities (such as the AIP elimination diet). Intermittent fasting can be useful for Hashimoto’s sufferers giving their digestive system a bit more rest. Whole food nutrient dense local and preferably organic foods are the best, as are homegrown foods. There’s nothing more satisfying than to go out to your backyard and harvest greens for a huge salad, you can’t get more fresh and local than that! Hand in hand with nutrition is lifestyle. Physical exercise is tricky with Hashi’s, not too much, not too little, but just right for you. Sleep hygiene is a learned art, but getting sufficient sleep can be a real game changer in how you feel during the daytime. Stress is a common thing today, and having an autoimmune disease is an additional stressor, managing stress is very important. Hydration, relaxation, doing what you enjoy with who you enjoy doing it with. All of these lifestyle considerations are addressed and incorporated into the client’s health plan to reach their individual goals.
How does this all work?
Click on the ‘Services’ button on the main menu (top of the page) and you will find everything you need to know. Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is an autoimmune condition that will be with you long term. The initial consultation lasts at least an hour, you will have previously completed a comprehensive health questionnaire and we will review that together. We will discuss your immediate goals and your long-term goals and begin to formulate a phased plan to work from. Then I will spend some time putting all of the pieces together and we will meet again about a week later for another hour or so. In this session we will go over the completed plan together and discuss what steps you want to take first. Follow-up visits are shorter and our first one will be about a month later, after you have had some time introducing new supplements, herbs and lifestyle changes. At the follow-up we’ll discuss any tweaks we need to make to the plan and we’ll talk about next steps. Thereafter, follow-ups are up to you but I typically recommend monthly or every other month for follow-ups if possible.
Where can I find more information about Hashimotos’ Thyroiditis?
For starters, there are some great books on Hashimoto’s, search for the following authors; Dr. Datis Kharrazian, Dr. Izabella Wentz, Dr. Alan Christianson, Dr. Amy Myers, just to name a few. Here is a link to a great article from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases about Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-diseases/hashimotos-disease#symptoms
Still have nagging questions?
Do you have loads of unanswered questions? Please reach out to me, I am happy to help.
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”
– Thomas Edison