Do you believe people can re-create their bodies to be healthy and energetic—full of life?

I have clients who would say you should believe it.

Because they’ve experienced the changes back to good health—some with lifestyle changes along with pharmaceuticals, others with only lifestyle and food changes.

If you have chronic health problems, or problems with your health at all, low energy, lack of sleep, skin problems, autoimmune issues…don’t let Standard American Thinking keep you from believing—you can change that!  You can change your life.

We’ve been programmed our whole lives to believe diabetes can not be reversed.  And that high blood pressure needs medicine to become normal again.  And that there’s no real cure for psoriasis; no cure for autoimmune diseases…and on, and on…

…to believe that these diseases and illnesses and conditions must be treated with prescription drugs.

Well.

My Thoughts…

1.       Our bodies were not actually made to digest drugs—I know they are necessary at times, and they help us with our symptoms (which sometimes we absolutely need) … and …

2.       Drugs can be necessary—and I’m very thankful for them and the doctors and researchers who searched out and invented them.  They have saved lives.  But they can also be bad for us—and cause bad things to happen in our bodies.

3.       Everyone’s different.  Symptoms may be the same…but that doesn’t mean it’s the same illness or condition causing those symptoms.  Traditional medicine usually has a protocol based on symptoms.  So the treatment for one may not help another, with a different cause for the symptoms.

4.       The causes of most modern-day diseases that cripple the bodies, minds and hearts of Americans today are in our diets and lifestyles.  But most Americans are programmed, (or taught by very well-meaning adults) from childhood to believe that medicine is the “cure”.

5.       Medicine has the power to make the symptoms better.  But it almost never “cures”.  Let’s go for the cure …

6.       Lifestyle change can be hard, but if we can realize some of the “truths” we learned from childhood are not actually true, and that we actually CAN take control of our health, the change is in looking forward to wellness instead of looking toward what illness will “come upon us” next, and how many medicines we will be taking. 

It changes our whole mindset.  And life gets a whole lot easier.  And it feels a whole lot better.

7.       Doctors are wonderful.  They are vitally needed.  And traditional doctors in today’s world seem to be beginning to realizing that there can be better ways to treat patients, diseases and illnesses, in addition to the typical prescriptions and surgery. 

If your doctor isn’t open to this thinking, there are many doctors who are.  You can begin your search at IFM.org.  Or I can help you.

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So… Let me introduce you to Functional Medicine…

Have you been plagued with symptoms and can’t find out how to get better?

As I mentioned, everyone is different.  What causes your headache (or skin rash, or backache, or lack of sleep, etc) can be totally different from what causes the next person’s problem, yet they appear with the exact same symptoms.

Functional Medicine’s goal is to find out what actually causes the symptoms, and treat the cause instead of using the typical protocol for the symptoms.

There are some pretty basic things that are good for everyone, but to alleviate a problem, the treatment should be personalized to you, and your specific life, and body.  That’s what Functional Medicine Physicians do.

You can learn all the fine details, (including finding a Functional Medicine Practitioners) at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM.org)

An example of this personalized treatment would be, if you take blood pressure medicine to make your blood pressure come into line with the recommended range, the medicine would probably do what it was made to do: bring your blood pressure numbers into the normal range.

          But what if you actually found the cause of the elevated blood pressure—and removed the cause! 

Do you realize there is a cause? (As opposed to that some people are just randomly sicker than others, or that disease just picks someone at random, or that “it’s all in your genes”)

Do you believe your blood pressure could come back into its normal range?  Well, Yes.  There is a cause; and your blood pressure would come back into its normal range.  That’s what happens. 

Sometimes it may be fairly easy; sometimes not as easy—but it works.

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Let me clarify.  I am in no way recommending that you not take your prescribed medication, or that you not listen to your doctor.  What I would recommend is talking with your doctor and asking if he or she is aware that this change is possible with basic changes in diet and lifestyle. 

If your doctor does not know that it is possible, I would recommend finding a Functional Medicine Physician, or the equivalent, and work with that physician to help you reach your health goals (as opposed to goals for which type of medicine to take for the rest of your life).

          Functional Medicine practitioners have the ability to prescribe the exact same medication as a general practitioner or traditional doctor, and they do prescribe them when necessary. 

But they often use natural remedies and therapies.  Their main focus is on eliminating the cause of the issue, and many times the symptoms disappear without the prescription.

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So, what does a Functional Medicine Health Coach do?

Functional Medicine Health Coaches help with the changes you would like to make in your life—either working with your doctor, or working directly with you based on your goals for your health and your life.

Here are some basic issues that a Functional Medicine Health Coach may help you with, working with whatever goals you may have for your life:

1.       Illnesses:  Poor health contributes to illnesses, and continued bad health habits can contribute to chronically poor health, which leads to illnesses like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, arthritis and other chronic diseases, including autoimmune disease.  Then as the years go by, these turn into even more illnesses.

A Functional Medicine Health Coach can open the door to wellness, showing you the different changes available to you.  Some of the changes would probably be in the food you eat, and lifestyle changes, with the goal of reaching optimal nutrition so your body and mind can be free to return to wellness.

Very small changes can make differences that you can feel and see right away, and the Functional Medicine Coach travels the journey alongside you, helping you with pitfalls and hurdles which might otherwise disrupt your health journey.

This journey leads to overcoming your illnesses and conditions so that you can have the energy and stamina to enjoy your life as you wish.  It allows you to take back control of your life.

2.       Autoimmune Disease: There is what seems to be an epidemic of Autoimmune disorders.   In this state, our body’s immune system attacks itself.  Most traditional doctors give very little or no hope for healing through medicine. 

          I personally had a doctor actually scoff at me for the mention of healing through health.

          The CDC has issued a warning about the increase in autoimmune disease, since it has increased 50% in just the past few years.  People living today have a good chance of having this condition at some point in their life.

          Along with a Functional Medicine Physician, or directly with the patient, the Health Coach can help uncover the trigger for the disorder (not the root cause, but the thing that “was the last straw” for your body, remove that trigger, and help you with the repair of your immune system, then help you rebuild your immune system back to health.

          Your immunity will be restored, stiffness will subside, brain fog and depression will go away, you will no longer feel the exhaustion.

          You will have more energy and feel a new lease on life.  Our bodies are designed to heal.  This process will give your body the power to heal.

3.       Good quality sleep.  Our body heals and regenerates while we sleep.  It’s something that’s necessary in order to heal.  And if you’re not having success with sleep, a Functional Medicine Health Coach will work with you to determine the underlying reason, and together come up with a plan as to what changes you would want to make.  You can choose some small tweaks to make to your habits to bring yourself better sleep.

4.       Stress Relief.  So many people are overburdened with stress, it has changed our lives, worldwide.  Surveys show that over 75% of trips to doctors have their origin with their patients being over-stressed.  But there truly are small, simple changes you can make in your lifestyle and habits that can actually relieve stress and help you feel more at ease, and calm.

5.       Nutrition.  Without good nutrition, our bodies and minds can’t reach its intended potential—feeling good, and having energy!  Most statistics show that today 80% of our American population does not get proper nutrition.  It’s known as the “Standard American Diet”. 

We’ve learned a lot of information our whole lives about food that is not correct.  Like, who knew “vegetable oil” could actually be an (according to an article in the Atlantic in 2012) one of the worst things we could consume. 

And I just heard this morning that Mexico refuses to accept our GMO corn because they don’t want their tortillas made with it.  Other countries reject GMO.  It boils down to, when we eat our Standard American Diet, we eat poison.

          There are so many thoughts that come to mind on the subject of nutrition.  But the best basic guide for this small space would be:

          The best nutrition comes from real food, organic when possible.

6.       Movement.  Or more plainly, Exercise.  You know, our bodies were made to move.  They weren’t made to sit still.

          When we so much as walk for 15-30 minutes a day, it does so many good things for us.  It lubricates our joints, it fills our lungs with oxygen which filters all through our bodies; it makes us stronger; it strengthens our bones. 

It takes away anxiety better than pills; it helps us sleep; it makes us just plain feel better.  And if it’s a walk outside, especially in the early morning sunshine, the benefits are magnified—just helps lift our soul.  But as with all these lifestyle shifts, it must be consistent for the best benefits to show up.

7.       Good Relationships also increase our well-being and our health.  If you don’t have a friend, reach outside your comfort zone and make one. Pets can even lift our spirits and help us have a sense of calm.  It’s so good for us to interact with people.  It’s like, that’s what we were meant for.

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So these are little snippets of information that can change your life, and add years to your life.

If you need a doctor, you can find one.  And if you have trouble finding one, I can help you find one.  If you need help getting healthy, I can help you.  I can help you with tools and resources for lasting change, and with guidance and support.  ALWAYS going by your goals, and by the path you choose to travel for your changes.

You can improve your overall health and well-being.  You can have more energy. 

If you’d like my help, let me know.  I answer my messages and emails.

My 4-week personalized coaching offer is $300.  Sometimes it takes longer than 4 weeks to reach your goal, according to where an individual is, in their life and their health, and how aggressive they want to be in their determination for change. 

Our first visit is at no cost, so we can see where you are now, and where you want to be, and so we can see how it would be, working together. 

Let’s meet, and to get you to your goals. Start here!

Thank you for reading my letters. 

Love, and Good Health to you!

Sharon