Kelly is a 19 year old lady who came to see me for a consultation this week. Kelly brought her mum along for support, and because her mum suffered with several of the same health problems.

Kelly has gained a lot of weight this year. She currently weighs 229 pounds and estimates she gained approximately 40 pounds since January. Some of the weight gain was caused by stress eating in response to anxiety due to current worldwide events, but Kelly has been unhappy with her weight for a long time.

Along with the weight gain, Kelly has noticed a dramatic drop in her energy level. She stands all day at work and by the end of the day she is absolutely exhausted and wants to go home, eat and lay down. Kelly experiences pain in her calves when she walks. The pain used to be much more intense, but her doctor ordered a vitamin D blood test and discovered an extreme deficiency. She received a vitamin D shot last week and that has reduced the pain significantly. I recommended Kelly see a physiotherapist to check if she has an alignment problem causing the pain. I also recommended she takes magnesium, as your body cannot activate vitamin D properly if you are magnesium deficient. Kelly would benefit from magnesium for other reasons as well; it would help reduce her anxiety and tension, reduce stress eating and improve her sleep quality.

Kelly’s doctor had given her a blood test that discovered several abnormalities. She was very low in vitamin B12. That can cause fatigue, low mood, low motivation and poor memory. Vitamin B12 is found in animal foods like meat, seafood, poultry and eggs, but Kelly was already eating those foods, so I gave her a supplement. Kelly experienced a lot of digestive problems, and they inhibited her body from being able to absorb B12 from foods, so she needed the higher level in a supplement.

Kelly has the autoimmune thyroid disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, which causes an under active thyroid gland. She was diagnosed 5 months ago and has been taking thyroxine. The blood test confirmed her hormone dosage is correct, but Kelly has thyroid antibodies in her blood. They can cause symptoms such as fatigue, low mood, aches and pains and poor quality sleep. They are indicators there is too much inflammation in her body.

Heartburn is a serious problem for Kelly. She experiences a great deal of discomfort almost every day, particularly in the evenings after dinner. This reduces her sleep quality, so she feels drowsy and depressed in the mornings. It’s very hard to get herself going and motivated to get ready for work. Kelly previously took the stomach acid blocking drug Somac, but she read that it may be harmful and thought she was too young to be on it for the rest of her life. I agreed.

My recommendations for my patient

  • I asked Kelly to eat home cooked meals, comprising of protein, vegetables and natural fats. This lower carbohydrate, higher fat way of eating would make it easier to lose weight while not feeling hungry, and should ease her digestive discomfort.
  • I asked her to eliminate gluten, dairy products and sugar from her diet. Coming off sugar can be very difficult, so I gave Kelly Glicemic Balance capsules to help suppress cravings. The herbs and nutrients in these capsules keep blood sugar stable, therefore help stop sugar cravings.
  • I asked Kelly to take 2 BactoClear capsules with each meal (6 per day). This is an herbal antimicrobial formula designed to kill harmful bacteria and yeast in the gut. The harmful gut bugs were creating gasses in her gut that raised pressure in her stomach and led to reflux.
  • I also asked Kelly to take one ox bile capsule with each meal. When the liver is sluggish or fatty, it usually doesn’t produce enough bile and that can encourage the overgrowth of bad gut bugs in the intestines. The blood test result indicated Kelly has a fatty liver. This is not surprising because she carries most of her weight on her torso. Insulin resistance is the underlying metabolic driver of fatty liver and inability to lose weight. A low carb diet helps reverse insulin resistance and fatty liver, but results are faster with my liver tonic Livatone and berberine.
  • I gave Kelly Thyroid Health capsules specifically to help the Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The selenium, iodine and vitamin D help reduce inflammation in the thyroid gland and reduce the production of thyroid antibodies. This would help reduce inflammation.

I look forward to seeing Kelly in 5 weeks.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

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