But very few are aware of HOW to prevent cancer.
Prevention is the cure.
Unfortunately, very little of our health care dollar is
focused on prevention.
No, I am not talking about the annual or bi-annual
mammograms that add fear, pain and radiation to our sensitive breasts. You can empower yourself through understanding your root cause of dis-ease, via self assessment through functional diagnostic nutritional testing.
First, a story about a client of mine that I saw this week. Let’s call her Susie.
Susie is a dear colleague who attended my "Holy
Hormones" workshop in August. She then chose to have lab work done and a
follow-up consultation with me. I was so
grateful to her for making this investment in herself. What we discovered is
that she could be heading straight down the path of breast or ovarian cancer!
I told her this NOT to enlist fear or the nocebo affect. I shared this to give her blessings that this
is something we do for prevention with
a few supplements, dietary and lifestyle changes. I told her this to give her
confidence that she could rest peacefully, that she is in complete control to
reverse this dynamic, and to know that she will NOT be the 1 in 2.5 women
predicted to get cancer. Hallelujah!
Doing these tests now, can allow her to
change the negative direction her body is heading.
What is significant about this remarkable woman is that from
the outside, one would never suspect she is at risk. She is trim, has a strong
regular yoga practice, eats very well, and works to help others relax. However, her body has been giving her loving
messages of which she had previously sought treatment for. She had heavy painful
periods. Unfortunately, insurance reimbursement, nor conventional medicine, had
yet to include functional nutrition testing that may
intercept this freight train.
So I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to help
her create the environment to heal from within.
You see, I cannot diagnose, treat or cure anything. Not just
because I am not a physician, but because no one can. Your body heals itself, if
you give it what it is asking for. Remember:
MAXIMIZE, MINIMIZE & PRIORITIZE What your unique body needs.
All physical symptoms are just loving messages. Our medical
system is designed to palliate these symptoms with medication, which is effective in giving short term
relief, but too often ignores the root cause underneath. Like this picture of
an iceberg:
Notice that what is underneath is often deeper
Our health care dollars are spent attempting to shrink the
iceberg without working on changing the root cause, or what is underneath. I want to do more. I want to empower
you to look beneath the surface and make small simple changes to heal from
within.
So what did we discover that was so powerful?
Simply that her estradiol was super high, especially in relationship to progesterone
and testosterone. Her cortisol and DHEA showed dysregulation. Also she has
thyroid and other stress markers confirming hidden stressors that need to be
addressed. Her sex hormone binding
globulin (SHBG) was high indicating hidden stressors that can lead to estrogen dominance. Excess estrogen can feed estrogen dominant cancers. SHBG is influenced by stress.
Susie is peri-menopausal, a time when many are thinking about
taking hormone replacement (sometimes falsely assuming there is a need for more estrogen.)
By the way, hot flashes do not necessarily mean you need more estrogen. Hot flashes are simply a sign
of fluctuating estrogen levels. Many breast cancer survivors are on aromatase
inhibitors like Tamoxifen or Arimidex that can keep estrogen levels rock bottom. This
can affect libido, mood, and the things that estrogen does to help you feel like
a woman. A healthy balance is key.
What most people don’t realize is that estrogen is made in
the adrenal glands (anyone feeling stressed out?). Fat cells are also estrogen
making factories. If you have extra fat and/or stress, and use common personal
care products, your body is likely full of estrogens that can become toxic in
the body. Over time, this may fuel estrogen dominant cancers like breast, ovarian, and
YES men, prostate cancers.
Hormones, like medication and toxins need to be
broken down by the liver and excreted via the gastrointestinal tract. Gut issues, food sensitivities or blocked detox pathways will also then contribute to estrogen dominance.
So, what’s the plan? Heal the gut, address her nutritional
insufficiencies (which we also tested, and discovered healing opportunities related to estrogen dominance). We identified a genetic snp interfering
with her ability to detox, easily supported through supplementation. Susie also decided to take supplements to support her clearance of excess estrogen.
She committed to addressing her love of sugar (aren’t we all addicted
to sugar?), and her cardio metabolic profile showed low anti-inflammatory omega
3 fats and elevated inflammatory omega 6 fats. Another hidden source of
inflammation that can contribute to estrogen dominance. All of this is easily addressed with diet and supplementation.
She will make these
changes over the next couple of months and then we will do another test to assess improvement, detox pathways and
inflammatory level, to be sure everything is functioning optimally. This is the power of functional diagnostic
nutrition and functional medicine testing. This is how you can empower your own
self-healing.
Interested in learning more about women's health?
Dr. Susan Brady and myself
have had so much fun preparing this series just for you!
Carpe Diem,
Lisa
PS Real practitioners, real solutions, presented with you in mind.
About Lisa
Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker, and a functional medicine coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age.
Lisa's book
Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven-step system towards optimal health that is fun and transformational.
Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.
