How to Become Your OWN Health Detective

Gaining true, lasting health is all about identifying and healing from the root cause.

Anyone can do it.

Any other approach is a band-aid approach that will have potential repercussions down the line.

You do not have to live with a diagnosis and just “walk the plank” to inevitable decline as you simply “manage” your disease.

If you can understand how the body works, how disease manifests and where it begins, then you can draw a road map toward becoming your own health detective (and your family’s health detective) so that you empower yourself to live a thriving life.

Thomas Edison was onto something when he said “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease”.

Reed Davis stops by The Randy and Christa Show today to teach you all about this.

Reed is a Nutritional Therapist and Founder of the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® (FDN) Certification Course. He is also a clinical adviser at BioHealth labs, one of the main labs I used in private practice to identify root cause of digestive and hormonal issues.

In order to find healing opportunities in the body, Reed and his team run specific lab tests to find out how the body is functioning. He states, “Once we identify the various healing opportunities, we can work to improve the areas most needed.”

For example, if you are exposed to a parasite or some other kind of pathogen, and your body is weak or compromised, then the body will not be strong enough to eliminate these pathogens. Thus these “bugs” can take up residence inside your body and lead to a domino effect of immune, autoimmune, thyroid, adrenal, and neurological issues.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine had it right when he said, “All disease begins in the gut”. This is why it’s so important to test and maintain optimal GI health.

Mainstream western doctors will usually test for a pathogen with a one-day sample, and if they don't see anything then they say that you’re fine and that no further action is needed.

Functional lab work is much more extensive (4-8 day samples) to really attempt to find an accurate snapshot of what might really be going on throughout the entire intestinal tract, not just the end of the pipe per se.

Functional Diagnostic Nutritionists (FDN) do not diagnose and treat specific diseases, nor do they do not label a symptom or give drugs.

They systematically check each area a person needs to improve. Reed explains that you can improve your hormone levels, immune function, and how well you break down and absorb the food that you eat.

Since we know that 75% of our immune health is in the gut, then we know when you improve the digestive system, then you improve your body’s ability to absorb food, and your immune system gets a huge boost. I have been blessed to personally witness countless reversals of autoimmune conditions like Grave’s Disease, Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and Rheumatoid arthritis in so many of my clients by simply improving their gut health.

It is life changing for someone who is sick and not absorbing their nutrition to improve the absorption process. The difference in energy, mental clarity, and mood is night and day.

People are unnecessarily suffering and tired of taking medications to mask the underlying condition that is present. They don’t want to just alleviate their symptoms; they want to cure the problem.

Reed’s very effective approach embraces the use of base line functional tests which include:

1)    Saliva collection: The Adrenal Stress Profile

One of the main tests ran by my nutritionists and myself in private practice is the Adrenal Stress Profile which identifies stressors, such as sleep patterns, level of stress on the adrenal glands and the amount of adaptive reserve and individual has. It also shows us what is happening with the sex hormones and cortisol. In sum, it shows how much stress you are under. It’s a simple saliva test, done three to four times a day. Studies show that saliva tests for stress hormones are much more accurate than blood tests.

2) Urine collection:  Liver Function

Our liver works as our primary filter. It has to metabolize all the toxins of life.  If it’s congested then you may experience detoxification problems, such as aching joints, skin breakouts or chronic exhaustion. This type of test will also tell you how well you are breaking down food and well your liver is functioning. When you improve liver health, you improve whole body health, and especially hormonal health.

3) Stool tests for pathogens

A 4-8 day stool collection can identify how much bad bacteria, yeast, mold, parasitic or protozoa overgrowth a person may have that is impacting the foundation of their health. Once the issue is identified, a healing plan can be built to change digestive terrain, taking you from stressed to thriving.

His approach to leading a healthy, holistic lifestyle involves 5 steps that he calls D.R.E.S.S:

Diet

Eat right, control blood sugar and remove sugar, wheat and processed foods.

Rest

Have good nighttime hygiene, meaning create a ritual to set you up for a good night’s sleep, as sleep is absolutely critical to good health.

Exercise

We are designed to move a lot and if we don’t, we get “clogged up” and congested.

Stress reduction

Find ways to alleviate all kinds of stress – mental, emotional and spiritual stress as well as stress from your job, finances or relationships.

We are living in an era of high biochemical and physiological stress as well. For example, if you have food sensitivities, fungus, parasites and/or an overgrowth of bad bacteria, combined with a toxic environment, all of this overloads the body. These issues have become their main focus. Identify malfunctions of the body, eliminate outside and inside stressors that causes a lot of damage over the years.

All these stressors affect our body in every cell, organ, and tissue and it may affect one person differently than another. We can have the same stressors but each person could experience completely different symptoms. That’s the reason why it’s important not to chase symptoms.

By going “upstream” as Reed says, you can sort things out using functional lab tests, which can enlighten you about your hormones, immune system, detoxification process, and the state of your digestive health.

Once identified, these systems have a chance to be cleaned and cleared. Note that Reed’s process does not treat a specific symptom but works on everything in a non-specific way, which is truly the holistic way and the only way I know how to practice. That is how the human body is built and designed to work.

Supplements

They are a very important part of a healing protocol and your ability to heal will be in direct correlation to the quality of the supplements you and to how you take them (to systematically work synergistically in the body).

What are ways to detoxify or “clean up” our system?

1: Start reducing addictive substances such as caffeine and alcohol slowly. Sugar and artificial sweeteners are next in line to be eliminated, followed by gluten.

2: Then substitute these foods for just as tasty and enjoyable, yet harmless foods you are not sensitive too and customize your diet plan from there.

How often should you get tested?

There is no need to be constantly running labs tests unless you don’t feel well. Reed’s process is to do some initial testing and then to “coach up” off of a natural vital reserve each individual has.

We as holistic practitioners believe one solid, undeniable truth; the body wants to be healthy.

If you can “coach up” all things related to diet, exercise, rest, and relationship to stress while simultaneously “coaching down” parasites, fungus, active viruses, and/or bad bacteria, you’ll be on the holistic fast track to a healthy, thriving life.

Individuals with hormonal issues should be monitored more often – 2 or 3 times a year while healing and balancing their hormones, and people with parasites should be retested after a protocol is administered to make sure they got rid of the bad guys.

Even though most of these tests are not covered by insurance, you don’t have to spend a lot of money; you can be judicious with your lab work and take guidance to do the right testing, in the right order versus blindly running a battery of tests.

Why do we need to become our own detective?

The key is to learn to how to take care of yourself so you are empowered to be your own best doctor and keep yourself well as life progresses.

The conventional medical model has become “disease care” instead of health care. When you opt for self-care now, you will not have to be forced  into disease care later.

You know the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?”

It’s absolutely true.

Our body has a great capacity to cleanse and heal when all the stressors are addressed.

Reed assures us; once all systems are healed you should be able to live gracefully until our 80s. If you can get your heath back to when you were age forty and get really healthy, you can stay that way until about eighty years old.

After the initial healing process, it will be easier to maintain. The body is designed to adapt and survive and if you give it the correct nutritional directives, it will work for you and your greatest good.

Reed’s approach is to find the root cause of an issue and to customize a plan to heal it, giving the body a chance to synergistically insight it’s own healing process.

As natural practitioners, we must roll up our sleeves, pull out of magnifying glasses, and take our time with our clients and patients. Often allopathic doctors don’t have time for this approach and thus the reason for band-aiding with medication.

Our hope is that someday they will, and we can build a bridge to offer the best of both worlds in holistic and western medicine, and when we do join forces, we will be able to provide real and lasting healing as a general model of health care.

Let’s hold this vision of the future together.

I love Reed’s work and what he’s created. We had several FDN practitioners working for TWJ in private practice, all with great results. It’s an “as the crow flies” approach to getting your boots on the ground to a MUCH more effective clinical practice that yields real and lasting positive results.

It is time to come full circle back to the beliefs we held in 1948.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” – World Health Organization, 1948