Holistic Health as a Christian

Oh boy, will this ruffle some feathers! This topic is not for everyone & I encourage you to have an open mind when listening.

If you’re a Christian who has been confused about how to properly steward your body & mind, then this is for you.

If you’ve struggled with mental health imbalances, depression, anxiety, etc, then this is for you.

If you want to live your best life & learn to balance your biochemistry from a scientific & strategic perspective without any New Age practices- then this is for you!

This is what I’ve learned over the years when it comes to “holistic health” & how the New Age movement has infiltrated many health topics in our modern world… & how to get well & stay well for good so you can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Overall, we have great authority over our bodies & the Bible says it’s a temple. It’s literally where the Holy Spirit resides! What a blessing it is to have this dominion over God’s temple.

When studying the human body & how it operates, there is no doubt that we are divinely made. How does such a complicated & perfect machine just form spontaneously from microscopic sperm & egg?! I truly believe that science is just trying to prove that God exists. I LOVE using science & biochemistry to understand the body on a deeper, cellular level. It’s changed my life & the lives of thousands of others.

Enjoy my interview with Angela as we chat about all things health & how it relates to how God says we should be taking care of our bodies.

How and Why Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Works

The body functions in a phenomenal orchestration of metabolic processes involving cells, tissues, organs, systems, fluids, gases, chemistry and energy - including interactions with other people and a variety of other organisms.

This impressively complex metabolic orchestration is the result of a detailed set of instructions or innate intelligence at work on every particle of every cell. Our innate intelligence is analogous to the operating system of a computer. An operating system is designed to accomplish or manage a specific set of purposes.

Our potential to survive and thrive is largely determined by how well matched our operating systems are to the complex metabolic challenges we face in our world.

Innate intelligence has long been revered in the healing arts, but often its limits have been mistaken or overlooked. One prevalent idea is that of vitalism or the thought that the operating system is perfectly purposed and fully capable of adapting to all that modern life could throw at it. It shouldn’t take long in considering either natural poisons or deadly man-made chemicals to realize that such a position is wishful thinking. Likewise, there are such a variety of “inborn errors” affecting individual metabolisms that the old adage “one man’s food is another man’s poison” takes on great clinical significance.

We can imagine the day will come when it is possible to fully map out an individual’s operating system, along with the knowledge of the optimal operating environment as well as specific obstacles that might critically impair an individual’s well-being. For now however, those boundaries are still largely hidden from view.

Our innate intelligence can be a two-edged sword. It is ultimately what we must rely on for treatment success even as we investigate ways that it may have become unreliable. It is a sound principle to seek the “underlying cause” of an individual’s lack of well-being, but that is still more of an ongoing process between discovery and intervention than it is the sum of a group of objective measures.

Metabolic pathways are intermingled in complex ways and the origin of an individual’s symptomatic signal from a disruption of homeostasis can sometimes only be hinted at by an indirect measurement. We truly participate in the art of healing by applying time honored principles, such as embodied by D.R.E.S.S. for Health Success®, while taking advantage of every available insight that can be gleaned through carefully considered testing. In some cases, only a great intuitive leap (or an almost exhaustive set of tests) would give a direct measurement of the cause.

Healing opportunities are identified through taking careful histories and correlating them with the results from well-chosen labs. This approach has proven to be very beneficial, even though it is always proven by hindsight, since it relies on non-specific findings to fashion a very individualized solution. This process of applying wellness principles and exploring individual limitations leads us on a journey of ever deepening insights about individual obstacles to health and opportunities for overcoming those obstacles. The honest pursuit of these healing opportunities and creatively working towards their resolution is the basis upon which FDN works.

Testing Your Copper Levels: What you need to know!

Copper has been a hot topic in the wellness world lately & I’m seeing a lot of people promote very high copper foods & supplements to the masses. I fell for it too- taking the “recommended dose” of daily beef liver & unknowingly increasing my anxiety and mental health issues in the process.

Copper is a necessary element to our bodies (the RDA is 900mcg - 2mg/day) but are we making sure the amounts of this metal/mineral in foods match up to our own biological needs at a cellular level?

Foods like beef liver or animal organ blends have been highly glamorized as an “ancestral” food that is high in vitamins/minerals. While I do believe our ancestors ate organ meats, I’m not so sure they were taking several a day in capsules for months & years on end like many now are doing…. Doing anything in abundance is going to throw homeostasis off. Many are overloading on this.

In my practice, I’ve seen a trend of taking these things long term & resulting in it being retained at high levels in the tissues (brain, liver, adrenals, uterus etc). Add in the fact that we’re also eating lots of “superfoods” (like avocado, cacao, teas, leafy greens) & many are eating soy or going vegetarian/vegan- which are high copper diets.

Food is one area of exposure but so are copper pipes (drinking water), copper IUD & birth control use, organic produce sprays & swimming pool chemicals.

Understanding your copper utilization is an essential aspect of the health of your hormonal, mental, emotional & skin systems.

Mentally: Symptoms of high copper in the brain are anxiety, racing mind, rage, depression, moodiness, insomnia, brain fog, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, excessive weepiness, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, Autism, ADHD, insomnia, OCD, etc.

Hormonally: Symptoms include fibroids, PMS, abnormal menstrual cycles, PMDD, migraines, infertility, estrogen dominance, endometriosis, PCOS, progesterone deficiency, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, etc.

Physically: Symptoms can show up as nausea, fatigue, tumor formation, cancer, chronic fight/flight response, cellular oxidation & methylation problems, weight gain, migraines, jaundice, fatty liver, panic attacks, bloating, prostatitis, tinnitus, heart palpitations, hypertension, anorexia, ovarian cysts, miscarriage, hair loss, skin problems, yeast infections, joint aches/pains, etc.

Test, Don’t Guess

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

Testing the hair is a useful tool in examining what is being excreted from the body. It’s the least invasive & gives you a tracking of what is happening in your system of the past 3-4 months.  At times, when metabolism is low and the body is exhausted, excess copper (like other metals) won't show up in a hair test (though other indirect indicators can at least be used in the HTMA to determine the copper status). This needs to be utilized with bloodwork to get a full picture of your body utilization & status.

Blood Testing: Extracellular

The bloodwork you’re used to doing with a doctor tests for what is happening outside of your cells (extracellularly) & is currently being transported through your body. See my post on Free Copper Percentage to learn more about utilizing this tool.

Blood Testing: Intracellular

One of my favorite types of bloodwork is specific to looking at what is happening inside the cell. This checks your status over the past 4-6 months. Is it getting through the cell membrane to do it’s job? Is it in balance with the other Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids & Antioxidants? Let’s find out!

Restoring The Body From High Free Copper

Copper “detox” is not a do-it-yourself solution & is honestly needs to be a gentler, longer-term process based on balancing other organ systems & balancing other deficiencies or overloads.

If you do struggle with high free copper, the first step is to assess & know your numbers. I prefer to have both an intracellular view & extracellular view. Balancing all the other cofactor micronutrients is vitally important to balancing the full mineral & cellular metabolism.

To get one-on-one help, check out my Health Freedom Blueprint to see how to restore the full body in a customized & strategic way.

Hunters Home Birth Story

On March 28 I woke up at 12:30am with contractions starting but I was able to go back to sleep 🙏🏼

They woke me up again at 1:30 & 2:30. By 3, I was officially awake & knew I was in real labor.

I woke my husband up around 3:30 & called the midwife around 4:00. Contractions for this labor were really only lower belly contractions, similar to a menstrual cramp - very different than my first homebirth (in such a great way)! Thank you @painfreebirth for expanding my experience here🙏🏼

We started filling the tub around 4:15 & I just paced around while we waited. I chilled in the tub breathing through contractions for most of the time.

I had a bit of cervical lip so sitting on the toilet helped with that (& that is where my water broke)✨

Instead of pushing forever as I had with first, I surrendered to my body knowing it would happen when it was supposed to happen. I actually slept between contractions instead of straining to push (which can cause hemorrhoids, prolapse & major dysfunction in your lady organs)

There is actually a part of labor called “Second Stage Latent Labor” when it seems like labor is “stalled” but it’s really just part of the physiological process. During this time, contractions get further apart and baby is doing 6 specific moves as it moves down the birth canal. It has to tuck its chin, spin clockwise & essentially prepare itself in the most innate way possible. Trust your body during this time. This is a time of rest. You’ll KNOW when it’s about time to push because contractions will get stronger again & things will temporarily become more intense.

🙅🏼‍♀️Patience was the hardest part about this birth... waiting through that second stage latent labor & for that fetal ejection reflex to happen...waiting for baby to take his time twisting, descending, & preparing for an optimal entrance into the world. I played @christianhypnobirthing on repeat & just relaxed as much as I could.

🌊10:00am: I was feeling defeated...like nothing was progressing...until my 3-year-old daughter came in & gave me a big hug.🥰 I then experienced a suuuper strong contraction- unlike any before.

My midwife started to make her way over to the tub because she could tell something had shifted & progressed.👍🏼

The next contraction was even stronger & it felt like a bowling ball just dropped from my stomach to my pelvis. 😖 He was sooo heavy & strong waiting to come out.

💣10:07am: With the 3rd contraction post-hug, his whole body shot out quickly like a cannon. I was finally holding him & feeling the most ecstatic relief you can imagine. 🤩

We sat in the tub for a while breathing, relaxing, crying happy tears, nursing, & rubbing vernix into his skin.

🛌 I eventually got into bed waiting for the placenta which took about 40 minutes. We kept the cord attached for a little over an hour as well. Overall everything was amazing & I’m grateful to have crawled right into bed after for lots of relaxation.

🙏🏼It was a beautiful experience for our family & I hope others can have such a wonderful time on their birthing days☀️

Have you had a homebirth? Or are thinking about having one in the future?

Would love to hear your experience in the comments!

 
 

Therasage & The Ultimate Detox Tools

A foundation in my Health Freedom Program is supporting & working on Drainage- which is essentially your bodies systems of elimination. This includes your cells, kidneys, lymph, liver, skin & colon.

Making sure these 6 areas are optimized & “open” will help you get well & STAY well long-term (that’s the ultimate goal, right?!)

If these areas are not open & waste its not moving through them- your body gets backed up with toxins & cellular debris.

The debris & toxins get circulated back through these systems to try again which continues to clog the drainage pathways (yuck!). This can lead to slower organ functioning, hormonal problems, gut dysbiosis, anxiety, acne & all kinds of other symptoms.

One of my favorite tools to use routinely is the Therasage Portable Sauna. Sweating helps to increase lymphatic flow & release toxins. I’ve personally passed parasites JUST from using this sauna & taking ZERO anti-parasitic herbs or supplements. I could hardly believe it!

Benefits:

   ☀  Detoxification

   ☀  Decrease Inflammation

   ☀  Increase circulation 

   ☀  Relieve pain

   ☀  Burn calories

   ☀  Sleep Better 

   ☀  Immune Enhancement & Promote overall health and wellness

   ☀  Mitochondria Support and Enhanced Energy

   ☀  Increased Natural Nitric Oxide and Redox Molecule Production

   ☀  Anti-Aging Benefits; Collagen Production, Cellulite Reduction   

Use Code: LEAHB for a discount!

This company makes some other amazing products that I highly recommend for mitochondrial support & nervous system support.

The PEMF mat is another great tool in your toolkit. We got my parents a PEMF mat & they noticed amazing benefits in their sleep. My dad has honestly never slept a full night until he started using this mat. Sleep is incredibly important for preventing dementia & Alzheimers (deep sleep is when plaque is removed from the brain!) & incredibly necessary for optimizing metabolic function, hormones, circadian rhythm & more. If you’re not sleeping, you’re not healing. This mat has 9 different modes & settings depending on what exactly you need & also has a TENS unit which is great for pain management

Benefits of TENS therapy can include:

  • Pain relief

  • Increased circulation to the area

  • Reduced muscle tension and spasms

  • Promotes relaxation and deeper sleep

  • Reduced anxiety and depression

  • Improved range of motion

Potential Benefits of PEMF:

  • Improved blood flow

  • Improved digestion

  • Deeper sleep

  • Relief from allergies

  • Improvements in athletic performance and recovery

  • Reduction in pain and tension

  • Improved mood

  • Sharper cognitive function

  • Improved drainage 

  • Immune support

  • Improved energy

We also own their weighted gem blanket & weighted eye mask. Honestly, every product this company makes it top notch.

Remember, these arent just things to artificially make you feel better- they are the tools to have in your home to get well & stay well for life. Without proper detoxification & optimal mitochondrial functioning, our cells cannot work well. If our cells arent working well, they cannot create new tissue. Tissue creation leads to organ regeneration & then impacts entire organ system functioning. All health starts a cellular level!

What health-building tools do you have on your wishlist?