EastWest Healing

This has become the norm You wake up, roll over and check your emails or social media on your phone. Run to the kitchen to drink some sort of coffee as your first meal. You rush out to get to work.... You either do your make up in the car when you are driving, eat your breakfast or drink it on the way to work or don’t even eat your first meal until 12pm or later. We cannot continue to go 100mph, override what our body’s need, shut down for the sake of surviving day after day after day and expect to heal. At the rate we as a society are going, our biology simply cannot keep up. Living in this way is not normal but it is a prime example of how our behaviors and habits play a HUGE role in the state of our biology more so than just food alone. No nutrition program, thyroid book, IG post or even the best of the best practitioner can help you unless you are willing to slow down enough to look at your life, how you are living it, the impact it is having on you and begin to make slow and meaningful change. Food is there to assist the regulation, it cannot accomplish the goal without your awareness and willingness to change. When someone mentions they have spent thousands of dollars trying to heal but nothing has worked, it is not because they cannot heal. It is often because no one has taken the time to ask them how they experience their life, where they come from, who they are and what things in their life drain their life force energy. You cannot heal in the same environment that got you sick. If your goal is to achieve long lasting health and healing you are going to have to: Change to create change. Focus more on JUST food and supplements. Understand more deeply that your environment influences your nervous system and your nervous system influences your biology. If you are not learning, you are repeating. Nothing ever changes.

Surviving the darkness The winter is fast approaching and for some, it is already here, as is daylight savings. The days get lighter later, and darker sooner. Moving from San Diego to Idaho, getting out of bed in the morning when it is pitch black outside is not an easy feat. Darkness reduces cellular activity and energy production resulting in the production of a variety of inflammatory substances, such as adrenaline and cortisol, necessary to compensate for the decreased en...ergy production. These hormones interfere with metabolism leading to low thyroid function, weakened immunity, decreased blood flow to the digestive system and difficulty regulating blood sugar. Sunlight is a very important piece to healing thyroid health, or sustaining health for that matter. Why? The sun increases the rate at which our cells utilize sugar. This is why sometimes using Light Therapy in the winter months can be beneficial as it stimulates an enzyme called Cytochrome Oxidase in your mitochondria that helps to control the breakdown and use of food for energy. NOTE: Cytochrome oxidase also contains copper, and this is why eating organ meats and vitamin C play a huge role in supporting cellular energy. As little as 10 minutes a day, using something as simple as a 250W incandescent red heat bulb will increase this enzyme activity, thus boosting overall metabolism. Other benefits: You may feel warmer throughout the day Mood enhancing More stable and sustained energy Better adaptability to the dark in the winter Improve thyroid and immune function Light therapy can be used very effectively during the winter months in prevention of the stress related symptoms that typically appear in the winter months.

The 4H Method Living in a state of energy depletion and chronic stress often results in a loss of appetite, low sex drive, anxiety and/or depression. So when it comes to being HEALTHY, here are some simple questions to ask yourself... Are you HUNGRY? Are you HAPPY? Are you HORNY? Yes stress is an important part of life. We need a certain amount to adapt, survive and even thrive. However, stress is only as beneficial as your ability to recover from the stress. Stress can come in many forms and as we have mentioned before, you may be aware of it or you may not. No expensive gadgets to tell you how you are feeling. Just a few simple questions to help you assess whether or not your stress is working for you or against you. If you answer meh or kind of or not really to any one of these, then it is important you take a look at your relationships, your workouts, your nutrition and other lifestyle factors so you are able to make some changes to create more balance and help you bounce back from the stress.

High levels of oxidation correlate with high levels of inflammation. Iron accumulation, or an alter iron recycling system (RES) is tied to this oxidation. The chemical quality that makes iron essential for living things, its ease of reaction, also makes it dangerous. Iron is a potent pro-oxidant, and can react with biological structures, such as proteins and cell membranes, and damage them. Damage accumulates, causing aging and disease. When accumulated in excess, as it is ...in many, maybe even the majority, of people in the Western world, iron may be one of the most important causes of aging and disease. P.D. Mangun Evidence put forth here shows cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative (Alzheimer’s/Parkinson’s/MS), gout, skin cancer, morning sickness, graying hair, liver disease, COPD, macular degeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, infections (virus, yeast, and bacteria all use iron as a growth factor) and more. So what causes iron accumulation? Iron fortified foods, GMO foods, HFCS, alcohol, Synthetic vitamins C, Ca, D, and Zn, and taking iron of course. Oh and being male. Females tend to live longer due to monthly iron excretion from bleeding,’ but men tend to accumulate iron as they don’t. Iron is reduced with lost of blood. Vitamin C (whole food C) actually increase iron absorption. It should not be eaten or drank with meals if you want to reduce iron absorption. What are some ways to ‘dump’ iron? 1 Using foods that contain copper and vitamin A to increase bio-availbe copper, which will kick start your RES and prevent tissue accumulation 2 Regulating your monthly cycle 3 Intake of Polyphenols from green tea 4 Exercise reduces iron stores 5 Supplements: IP6, Rice Bran, Curcumin, Apolactoferin 6 Foods that can inhibit iron: eggs, dairy, grains, veggies high in phytates, tea, coffee and chocolate. No effect is seen when coffee is drunk before a meal; to inhibit iron, the coffee or tea must be drunk with or shortly after a meal.

Our physiology trumps everything! When we are locked in a state of stress (flight) or a state of immobilization (freeze), these patterns are running the show. The only way we can truly begin to heal is to become more aware of how the world we are surrounded affects our health and wellness and learn new ways of being in the world that stops sacrificing our health for it.... In taking more purposeful and intentional steps in creating an environment that supports and heals, we begin to change the state of our physiology, which will then begin to change the state of our autonomic nervous system. Without first addressing the underlying survival physiology, any change in behavior is simply overriding through force of will. Kathy Kain This is why we always say food first. Food, along with the developed awareness of how things affect you, provide the foundation. Together they resource, quiet, calm and create safety this is the state long lasting healing happens. You have to change the physiology, to change the system. Once you do this, the rest will fall into place.

Anemia doesn’t exist. May sound crazy, especially if you are someone who has struggled with iron anemia. The food supply of today and the simple fact we live on a planet with an iron core, makes it near impossible to become iron anemic. The body has no easy way to dispose of extra iron. The most effective way to get rid of excess iron is blood loss. So unless you have a traumatic injury each month or menstruate, your body is tucking away iron at such a fast rate.... So if this is actually true, why do we see what appears to be iron anemia? Iron is regulated by bio-available copper (ceruloplasmin) and vitamin A. The body has a very precise system that allows for the recycling of iron, it is call the Reticuloendothelial systems (RES). Comprised mainly of monocytes and tissue macrophages, the reticuloendothelial system (RES) plays two major roles in iron metabolism: it recycles iron from senescent red blood cells and it serves as a large storage depot for excess iron. Without copper to keep iron recycling in check, iron is stored in the tissues causing tons of oxidative stress at the cellular level. 70 percent of your body's iron is found in the red blood cells of your blood called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is essential for transferring oxygen in your blood from the lungs to the tissues copper is essential in our ability to access the oxygen we need to feed the cells in these systems. Most people define anemia as low iron, but should be classifying it as low bio-availbe copper causing increased saturation of iron in the tissues.

Could under-eating be the root cause of most of your health issues? Your weight is not moving: With individuals who under eat, it is usually paired with over training. A caloric deficit will alter your metabolism through a process of adaptation designed to keep your body as close to homeostasis as possible. As a result, you will see changes in thyroid hormones, suppression of sex hormones and raising of stress hormones. Your losing your hair: This is one of the first signs of... a nutritional deficiency. It is exacerbated by decreased levels of sex hormones from under eating, which leads to hypothyroidism. You are always cold: Low energy intake leads to less energy storage and energy conversion = low body temperature. Decreased thermogenesis is a result of decreased calorie intake. Our metabolism needs energy to produce heat and these lack of calories long term will disrupt your HPA axis and thyroid hormone conversion. You can’t poop: Under eating leads to decreased conversion of thyroid hormone, which regulates peristalsis of the gut. When T3 drops, gut motility slows down leading to constipation. You can’t fall asleep: This is one of the first signs we see when people under eat. When you under eat, you liver doesn’t have enough stored glycogen to keep your blood sugar stable. This causes your body to release stress hormones to create new glucose. When stress hormones go up, you won’t sleep.

We live in our body of beliefs No one is sick because they consciously chose to be sick. However, if you truly want to have an impact on heal, you must get conscious. You have to begin to realize what you have been doing unconsciously so you can start doing it differently. Over the years working with people, while also moving through our own personal journey of having to deal with our own stuff, we have been able to gain a broader view of who gets sick and why.... In short it comes down to our own personal belief systems about ourselves, which were shaped and formed throughout our life experiences. Some of us are aware of these things, some of us are not. Either way, most people have a very difficult time connecting the power these experiences have had over their health. The immune system, the emotional apparatus, the hormonal apparatus and the nervous system are part and parcel of the same system. They are one. This is not something that has been taught or respected in our medical industry and as a result we have tried so hard to force the physical body into a state of compliance. We avoid like crazy the things that need the most attention because they are the most difficult to face. The RTN method gently assists people in developing the awareness of how their body perceives the emotional, physical and nutritional environment they exist in. Through developing this awareness there is an opportunity to positively affect the physiological state of your body and liberate yourself from these engrained patterns so you are able to RESPOND to your circumstances vs REACT. With awareness you become respons-able. Yes we are nutritionists, yes we teach people how to use food, yes we emphasize the thyroid, however the work is always with the wholeness. Through developing awareness, we help reconnect the body with the mind. As we begin to weaken the impact of stress on the system we are able to nourish and resource the body at its deepest level. In this resourcing and replenishment we are able to reunite the mind and the body and bring people closer and closer to their true self. The place where we begin to understand we DO have a choice.

Why do I hit the wall every afternoon? Well we do not have to tell you it is from chronic stress, but we can offer some clarity into how it happens and steps you can take to start replenishing your energy tank so you have more stable energy all day. You have no energy because there is no energy (fuel) in your tank. No fuel = no energy. The whole purpose of food and eating is to provide the body the energy it needs to support the demands of each day and increase our resilien...cy and ability to adapt to stress. Like we said, we all have stress and it’s not going anywhere, so how do we manage it all without complete and total sacrifice to our own health and wellbeing? Here are some steps we find very helpful. Take a closer look at your day/week so you can begin to identify space where you can pause to check in with yourself and your breath. Take 5 minutes in the morning to do simple slow and steady nose breathing vs jumping out of bed, running for your phone/computer and coffee. Take your lunch break outside, away from your desk. Another great opportunity to pause and check in with how you are doing. Set healthy boundaries around screen time and learn to be more present with yourself and loved ones. The world is not going to come to an end if you do not respond to a SM post right away. Check in with yourself at the start of each day to help you be more purposeful with your time and energy gym, groceries, house-keeping, appointments, etc. What are the priorities and what are not? If you are struggling with low energy, give yourself a break wherever you can. Even if this means dropping your gym day. Some common nutritional habits and patterns we observe that can also contribute to low energy include: Drinking coffee upon waking and wait 1-2 hours before eating. Coffee should always come after breakfast (for some meal 2) and you should always break the fast within 30-60 min of waking. Consuming liquid like meals. We equate these to throwing lighter fluid on a fire. In one big POOFits gone! These meals will not sustain you for longer than an hour or two following your longest fasting state of the day. Breakfast meals should be like big ole logs (dense and satiating) that are going to provide heat and energy for at least the first 3 hours of your day. You wait too long between your first meal and second meal. This large gap, especially after drinking breakfast just puts your fire out. Try eating within 2-3hrs. Lastly, you are just not eating enough in the morning to meet your metabolic needs. The morning from wake to noon is one of the most unstable times of the day for most people when it comes to metabolic regulation because it is the period following fasting. Some people may need more dense foods, less carbs, more dense animal protein, while others need to eat with more frequency. Just some food for thought. Assess some of these in your life, give em a go and let us know how they help.

Things that make you go HMMM about Vitamin D.... Vitamin D, most often referred to as the sunshine vitamin, is technically a hormone, so why do we call it a vitamin when the effects of a vitamin vs. a hormone on the human body are worlds apart? We don’t refer to estrogen, testosterone or insulin as vitamins do we? Vitamin D is produced through a layer of CHOLESTEROL below your skin that acts as a natural precursor to the production of vitamin D3 when exposed to ultraviole...t rays. This then follows a metabolic pathway through the liver and kidneys where it is converted into a molecule called calcitriol the active form of vitamin D. Currently, there is no test in existence that measures calcitriol. Standard testing for vitamin D is testing the storage form Calcidiol while most practices, alternative or allopathic, are supplementing with the active form. Interestingly, as Americans we have the highest levels of CHOLESTEROL and lowest levels of vitamin D on the planet! Yet it seems like everyone is supplementing with it, and at obscene dosages! SO what’s interfering with the conversion? Excess vitamin D supplementation and chronic stress, will increase the magnesium burn rate. As stated by Morley Robbins, "Vit-D’s Target Cells are the Intestines, and its Target Mission is to have the Intestines ABSORB MORE CALCIUM AND PUT IT INTO THE BLOOD STREAM, AT THE EXPENSE OF MAGNESIUM ABSORPTION.. So here’s what that famous blood test is ACTUALLY telling us: the blood test is measuring STORAGE Vit-D (Calcidiol) and it seems that everyone in America is now LOW Why? Because the body in its innate wisdom KNOWS that there is TOO MUCH CALCIUM in the blood, so it is keeping the Storage Vit-D level low for two reasons: 1) there’s too much Calcium already in the blood; and 2) there’s not enough Magnesium to flip the Storage-D into Active-D.

I don’t get why I can’t heal I am 1 Working with a nutrition coach and emotional coach 2 Working with a FMP, running labs and treating my hormones and parasites... 3 Waking up every morning and spending got first hour doing red light therapy, stretching, wim hoff breathing and a cold shower 4 I am taking 10 supplements, thyroid hormone and progesterone My life is not stressful, what the heck is going on! A story we hear almost daily. In this scenario it is very common for the body to be in a state of massive physiological overload, which equals chaos. The intention behind the action is to create health but in all reality the body is already showing you how overloaded it is, so regardless of whether or not you are consuming organic food, implementing holistic modalities or using nutraceutical grade supplements.....chaos + chaos + chaos = chaos. Sometimes we need to do less in order to achieve more. A principle not well applied in the world of health and healing. For decades we have been led to believe the more we do, the faster we achieve. Nature does not work in this manner. If you are finding your journey a bit overwhelming, anxiety provoking, expensive or you just feel depleted, take a step back and try doing less. When resiliency is low, the body can only handle so much. In this state your body needs time, patience, to be nurtured and honored. Not pushed, forced and overloaded into doing things it is not ready for. Please comment below on one thing you are doing that you feel you need to cut back on in order to move forward?

Being in a chronically stressed state will do more damage to your health than chocolate cake will ever do! No..this is not an invitation or permission to indulge in chocolate cake. It is an example of how confused we are around health. We KNOW a bad diet wreaks havoc on the body. This is not a secret. But how do we explain a good diet? A clean diet?... Simple. Because healing is SO much bigger than just the food you eat or the supplements you take. It’s how you live. How you think. How you breathe (that’s if you are breathing at all). Most people are LOCKED in chronic states of stress yet unaware, unwilling or unable to make effective and sustainable changes necessary to recover the STATE of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS dictates health or disease. For the purpose of this post, think of the ANS like a three step ladder (1) parasympathetic (rest and digest), (2) sympathetic (fight or flight), (3) parasympathetic (freeze). Any time we experience a stress or trauma in our life, we get pushed out of a homeostatic state and into the 2nd or 3rd step. Depending on the state of your resiliency you will recover back to balance OR you will get stuck here, unable to complete the stress response. Living on the 2nd or 3rd step of the ANS ladder, locks the body in a constant state of mobilization (running) or immobilization (fear frozen). It is very difficult to live a healthy, full and balanced life while in a constant state of survival.

There is NO Vitamin D or Iron in breast milk Then we have to ask ourselves WHY is their, among other things, Vitamin D and Iron put in formula? We humans are not smarter than nature. Any time you play with nature, nature will win.... Lets dive in Naturally a babies liver, and brain, have around 7mg of copper. There are many downloads that happen during pregnancy that are very important for the babies health and longevity. During the last trimester, the mother downloads iron to the baby (this is why delayed cord clamping is so important) and during the first few months post pregnancy, the mother downloads Vitamin A (retinol) to the baby through breast milk. Nature is smart, why Vitamin A? This allows the baby to covert the stored copper to bio-available copper (ceruloplasmin) for the first 2 years of their life. It is this process of converting copper into bio-available copper using Vitamin A that regulates the iron recycling system (RES). Vitamin D will deplete liver retinol, decreasing bio-avaialbe copper and having a negative effect on the babies iron recycling system. We fully understand that some women are not able to breast feed or choose not to. As an alternative we suggest exploring Weston A Price homemade baby formulas. This post is not medical advice and more just food for thought. ALL the downloads (physical, emotional, and nutritionally) we receive as a baby within our environment matter as we age and stresses multiply. The whole story matters.

Quick tips for thyroid health. Eat more fruits and roots: They contain fructose to aid in glycogen storage, blood sugar regulation and energy production. Eat less veggies: They contain cellulose, which humans CANNOT breakdown. As well they add very little aid for blood sugar regulation and or energy production.... Eat more saturated fats: They help you detox unsaturated fats, which are anti-thyroid. Eat more organ meats: These proteins contain minerals that essential for thyroid hormone production and conversion. Get outside more: Light stimulates enzymes in your cells that upregulate energy production. Eat more power proteins: broth, collagen, white fish, shellfish, liver, dairy, eggs More nose breathing and less mouth breathing: Our cells need oxygen to produce energy. Mouth breathing wastes carbon dioxide at a rapid rate, which decreases our changes of accessing endogenous oxygen. More is not better: Slow down, do less, enjoy the journey more. Re-evaluate your supplements: There is NO supplement that promotes thyroid health. Food IS your supplement! Manage your sleep patterns: The cheapest principle that you can apply to recover energy, the nervous system, immune system and to feel more vital each day. Set up a free consult to learn how to use food to restore thyroid health! https://eastwesthealing.com/get-start-with-a-private-consu/