Chronic Diseases

Reversing chronic disease is a bold statement, but if you get to the root cause and understand how you ended up with a chronic disease, you will understand how the disease manifested and try to prevent it from happening again. At the very least, support your body so that disease progression is halted or slowed.

Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, metabolic disorder, SIBO, IBS, IBD, GERD, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver disease is serious and affect not only longevity but the quality of life. It starts with subtle (or not so subtle) symptoms that you think is no big deal or maybe even go away on its own – things like excess burping, gassy, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, “brain fog”, weight gain or weight loss, headaches, etc. These are symptoms you should not ignore. 

The good news is that in most cases, it’s just optimizing your diet and lifestyle. In this modern, high tech and fast paced world, it is easy to forget or skip over the basics. The basics, diet and lifestyle, is the foundation of your health – can’t skip this. Avoid gimmicks that say that you can get healthy with poor diet and lifestyle. 

Two people diagnosed with the same chronic disease like high blood pressure may have different root causes.

Looking at root cause(s) is your key to prevention and reversing your chronic disease. What got you there? One person could have high blood pressure because of stress, stress eating and weight gain. Another from endothelial dysfunction and a diet that is not right for that person.

Let’s look at this in a reverse perspective. Two people having the same root cause could have different diseases.

For example, your father could have diabetes and maybe you were diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS – both is an issue with insulin. Same root cause but it manifested differently.

My approach is holistic to get to the root of why you have your chronic disease. It has to start with what you eat.

Start with the foundation of health – diet. What are you eating? What are you not eating? What kind of food intolerances and allergies do you have? What does your labs look like? What are your symptoms? What worked? What didn’t work?

How is your gut health, your digestive health, your liver health, your gallbladder health, your thyroid health?

Do you have food allergies? 

Do you have food intolerances?

Does it seem like you are getting more food intolerances over time?

Are you pooping every day? What color is it? Do you see food bits in it? Is it sinking or floating? 

These are just some of the basic questions I ask to really understand what is going on and get to root cause. 

It’s also important to have the mindset of what your body is doing FOR you, rather than why is this happening TO you. Your body may be placing toxins in a safe place – in your fat – rather than have it circulating in your blood and causing more damage. In this case, a “calorie in, calorie out” and “exercise more” is not going to cut it if you want to lose weight. Instead, reducing toxic load will allow your body to release fat. 

Work WITH your body, not against it. If your check engine light in your car turns on, don’t ignore it or cut the wire. You didn’t get to the root of the problem this way. In the same way, don’t ignore your body’s signals or just quiet it with medications.

Food is not only nourishing and healing but it also signals to your body and brain what is going on in your body and environment.

If you have a chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, cancer or an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Parkinson’s, then getting your diet and lifestyle optimized is important towards healing. Your diet and lifestyle is the foundation of your health. You can’t supplement your way out of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. 

Look at what you are eating, how is it being digested and absorbed, and how are you eliminating. 

If you want help to feel better, understand how food can be healing and nourishing and see how you can optimize your diet and lifestyle so you can live a healthy life, then I would like to help.

Here is how I can help:

Let’s check out your diet and lifestyle. Getting a diet assessment will help to see what is working or what is not working.

Optimize your diet and lifestyle with a personalized nutrition plan. This is a diet that is personalized for you that is realistic and sustainable.

I will make recommendations. Sometimes, bloodwork and/or functional testing may be recommended for further assessment.

Track your progress. This is a process that you don’t have to go through unguided.

I create a timeline of your history to see what could have led to the diagnosis of a chronic disease. It goes back to your birth. Were you born vaginally or by c-section? Even further back, what did your mother eat during pregnancy? How was she feeling? This is just to see what could have contributed to your chronic disease and address it if necessary.

I take a food first approach that is science based and personalized for you.

I will also be looking at your labwork and helping you get to “optimal” levels where you are feeling great. If you’ve been told that “everything is normal” but you are still having symptoms and nobody is listening or believing you, then seek help somewhere else where they will be supportive and helpful. 

Supplementation is popular in the integrative world. Some people write down a long list of supplements they are taking and not know what they are for or if it’s even helping. I will recommend supplementation carefully after doing the foundational work of diet and lifestyle. Supplements, for me, is to fill in the gaps that your diet and lifestyle did not meet.

Sometimes you need supplementation to support diet and lifestyle and I will explain what supplements are needed, when, how much, and what to expect. 

Remember…Food is nourishing, food is medicine, food can turn your life around!

So whether you have hypertension, diabetes, high blood lipids, overweight, obese, SIBO, IBS, constipation, diarrhea, candida, dysbiosis, leaky gut, gut issues, cancer, or other chronic illness or autoimmune disorder, “let food be thy medicine”. 

I hope to work with you and offer a plan of action to get you healthy and happy!

Contact RDadvantage

To schedule an appointment or for a free Discovery Call

go to my Contact Page

or call/text (818) 335-9457 for an appointment or with any questions. 

I also accept health insurance. Click here to inquire