Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 8: Functional Medicine with Natalie Swanson
4 Plays1 year ago
In this episode of Mommas Who Lead, we dive into the transformative world of functional medicine and how it can help heal the gut and improve overall health. Our guest, Natalie Swanson, shares her inspiring journey of overcoming chronic health issues such as IBS, chronic fatigue, brain fog, and anxiety through the power of functional medicine. After years of feeling unheard and dismissed by traditional medicine, Natalie found relief and healing by addressing the root causes of her health challenges.
In this conversation, Natalie explains how functional medicine differs from traditional Western medicine, the importance of personalized care, and how a deeper understanding of gut health can lead to a healthier mind and body. She offers practical advice for busy moms and anyone feeling overwhelmed by chronic health issues, emphasizing that healing is a personal journey and there’s always hope for recovery.
If you’re ready to take control of your health and discover how functional medicine can work for you, this episode is a must-listen! Tune in for actionable insights, inspiring stories, and a new perspective on healing from within. For more info also check out Natalie's website at www.serenitywellnessbynatalie.com.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Mamas Who Lead
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to Mamas Who Lead, a podcast where the essence of motherhood meets the spirit of leadership. I'm Laura Carafino, former Department of Defense contractor, now full-time network marketer, coach, and a mom to five incredible children. Alongside being a proud military spouse, I'm journeying through the highs and lows of transitioning from a structured career to building a flourishing business from the ground up, all while navigating the beautiful chaos of family life.
00:00:28
Speaker
In this podcast, we dive into the stories of women who exemplify resilience, leadership, and the unyielding power of motherhood. From insightful conversations with top income earners and network marketing to heart to heart discussions with leaders who are reshaping industries, Mamas Who Lead is here to inspire, educate, and empower you to weave leadership into the fabric of your everyday life.
00:00:53
Speaker
Whether you're at the beginning of your leadership journey or looking to pivot your career or seeking ways to balance your professional growth with family life, this is the place for you.
Focus on Gut Health with Natalie Swanson
00:01:02
Speaker
Together, we'll explore the strategies,
00:01:20
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Mamas Who Lead, the podcast that empowers busy moms and entrepreneurs with the knowledge and inspiration to thrive in both life and business. So today's episode, I'm so excited about because we're diving deep into a topic that affects so many of us. And that is health, specifically gut health, and how functional medicine can be the key to unlocking a better quality of life.
00:01:46
Speaker
My guest today is a good friend of mine, Natalie Swanson.
Natalie's Health Journey and Functional Medicine
00:01:50
Speaker
She has been a passionate advocate for functional medicine and holistic health. Natalie's own health journey has led her from a decade long battle with a variety of chronic health issues.
00:02:02
Speaker
including IBS, chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and so much more. And you know now she has a life of renewed energy and vitality. So after discovering functional medicine at the age of 35, she finally found the answers that traditional medicine couldn't provide.
00:02:20
Speaker
I don't know if you've been there. I know I've been there. like um Traditional medicine just doesn't help us. And you have to be your own advocate and find more um finding the solutions to the problems that you have. And so Natalie now empowers others to take control of their health by teaching them that healing is personal and it requires a deep dive into the root causes, not just symptom management. There's no putting a Band-Aid on the issue. You got to get to the root cause.
00:02:50
Speaker
So she's here today to share her incredible journey and the life changing power of functional medicine, ah especially when it comes to gut health. So without further ado, let's dive into today's episode. And so just welcome Natalie. for I'm just so grateful for having you here and thank you for being on the show. You've been on quite a health journey and I think a lot of our listeners will find your story very, very relatable. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
00:03:18
Speaker
Um, and thank you for that introduction. yeah That was great. <unk> right like try but Yes, I'll bring you with everywhere I go. Okay. I'm Natalie Swanson and I am married to my high school sweetheart 27 years and we had five children. Um, our oldest is 23 and our youngest is 16. And we've always been really, really busy with a full life. Um,
00:03:45
Speaker
As I was having children, I am 47 now, by the way, as I was having children, I was finding that I had all sorts of symptoms that I was constantly doctoring for. um And I do want to mention that traditional medicine is needed. um Just some of the things, the testings that they have and the guidelines that they follow, they don't always find root causes. So a lot of times they are directed you know at helping us with our symptoms.
00:04:14
Speaker
um But I was doctoring a lot for, like she had said, chronic fatigue, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid issues, um not being able to sleep, insomnia, just on and on with symptoms, but there was never an answer found. So then I started to get a lot of anxiety and just kind of long to feel what I was considering normal. I would see everybody around me seemingly feeling normal and I always just never felt good.
00:04:44
Speaker
um I always just never felt good. So i I just was constantly searching. I'm sure there's plenty of you out there that have a lot of self help books or constantly Googling and trying to figure out what's wrong with you and just dead end roads all the time. So functional medicine is where I found the keys to kind of unlock the root causes and get to the bottom of it. And it really, really, really changed everything for me.
00:05:12
Speaker
What is the main difference that if somebody was trying to look in, like, what would they see like traditional medicine versus functional medicine?
Role of a Functional Medicine Practitioner
00:05:21
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good question. So um our labs are different. So I have access to 96 different labs. I am not a doctor. um I started my practice as an integrative nutrition coach and then went and got certified as a functional medicine academy practitioner.
00:05:38
Speaker
So I work under a large panel of functional medicine doctors. I just want to put that out there first. um But I have access to 96 diagnostic labs that are more unique, um able to look at kind of exactly like what your liver is doing, what bacteria is a microbiome or in your gut and what that is telling us. They're all so linked to things that are going on in our body and our in our brain and in our pancreas. and um in our adrenal glands, in our thyroid, just so many things um that they're connected to. And then molds, toxicities, food intolerances, um the function of our cholesterol and cardiovascular health. differently There are different tests and different markers than you would generally see in Western medicine. um And most of the diagnostic labs are root cause findings. So we can find why these things are happening. you know Is it a congested liver that is causing
00:06:33
Speaker
your cholesterol to elevate because you're not eliminating the cholesterol through your liver like you're supposed to. um Things like that. So diagnostic labs and then supportive care moving forward in a whole less in a holistic way, there's um decreasing stress practices that we need to incorporate into our everyday life, um kind of biohacking our, our bodies because we have so much stress today. um And supplementation and nutrient dense food um you know meal plans and and things like that.
00:07:09
Speaker
um You know when you're you've been going through this you know journey and um Is there, have you ever been met with any pushback like from family or friends when you're diving into this? Because we've been trained to like traditional medicine, you know, don't think out of the box, do it, you know, take this and you'll be fine. You know, not necessarily with friends and family, if anything, I have more people wanting ah wanting to know more things so that they can help themselves because, believe it or not, there's a large percentage of people that are frustrated with their symptoms or noticing changes in their bodies that weren't there before and they're they're tired of hearing while you're getting older or, or things like that. I have seen some pushback with, you know, people who are in the Western medicine um professions, and
00:08:07
Speaker
I just like to make it clear that I'm not trying to take anyone's business or discount what they are doing, because we do need them for specific things. um But I really like to focus on prevention. And I've had multiple doctors tell me, you know, I don't quite understand what this test means. But you can let me know this isn't in my field house of what I learned and, you know, learned in school.
00:08:31
Speaker
um But It's just stuff that they didn't learn in medical school because their focus isn't the same. So I have not experienced a lot of personal pushback, and I'm sure I will um from time to time, but I have not. I know others who have.
00:08:48
Speaker
ah Yeah, I know when I was going through my health issues and um I went to, um I had, um you know, my regular doctor, Western medicine, but they were more open to the ideas like, you know, there has to be a root cause for what is transpiring, but they're not.
00:09:08
Speaker
really taught that. And so she sent me a referral out to a functional medicine doctor and obviously got to the root cause of things. And some people won't like I did hit a lot of pushback like from family and friends are like, Oh, you need to go, you know, you you need to go to this doctor and they're telling me this, I think it I think they're all work very um energetically, like you need one and the and both to kind of work together seamlessly to kind of find the solutions. Do you know, what do you think like, what it has led us like here, you know, with what do you or should I say, let me take this back. um What do you think was the start of your problems? Is it diet? Is it outside? What what do you think is well for things like this?
00:09:57
Speaker
I think um for me personally, it was a lot of different things. um I did get Lyme's disease when I was 19 years old. That was never really addressed because I'm 47 now. So back when I was 19, Lyme's disease wasn't super popular and known and the doctors didn't really believe in it kind of. And so I didn't really get the treatment I needed. um And then from there, um I have something called the HLAQ gene and I should not be eating gluten. I was eating gluten my whole life and constantly constipated in brain fog. I never felt like I was ever present.
00:10:36
Speaker
And I had all sorts of weird symptoms, but I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to be eating gluten. Um, I am one of those who it's not just because of my gut bacterias. I'm not digesting it well. So I'm not just intolerant. I really definitely should never have it. And gluten intolerance or, you know, not being able to eat gluten wasn't really known back then either. Um, so.
00:11:00
Speaker
I think those two things really led me constantly down that path. Because when you aren't supposed to be eating gluten, your small intestine is constantly in a state of inflammation. And so I wasn't absorbing any nutrients. So then I was having all the side effects and symptoms of being malnourished. um So it just kind of was a big circus in my body going on. And I didn't know where to start. And I wasn't getting any support. I was more being called a hypochondriac.
00:11:29
Speaker
um And just, it was just kind of a big frustration. It was a frustration for my husband to constantly having to be dealing with me, not feeling well or thinking something was wrong. Um, so my energy shift was huge when I got to the bottom of things. It was like, I haven't even experienced brain fog since I learned that I shouldn't be eating gluten, um, and was able to heal my small intestine and do all those things.
00:11:58
Speaker
So as you've been working with like clients and stuff, do you see what is like the most common gun issues? Is it the issues with gluten or no, no, I've only had, I mean.
00:12:10
Speaker
Like I would say close to about a hundred tests close to, I probably have had four people who are not supposed to eat gluten. um There are some people that are showing that they are intolerant right now, but that is only because of the state of their gut. So their bacterias are so imbalanced and they have something called SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which is all these bacterias and their small intestine that don't belong there that is making it so they aren't able to digest very well.
00:12:39
Speaker
and they've got, you know, some H. pylori that's making them not have the proper amount of stomach acid. So they're not breaking this stuff down. And those kinds of things make it so people think they are gluten intolerant or lactose intolerant. Those are the two big ones. But once your gut is, you know, rebooted and, and working properly, then gluten is not an issue. Okay. That, you know, that makes sense. What, You know, and that's what I've come to realize when I've been on my own personal health journey is that you've got affects all different areas of your life, like your mental health and your immune function, like you're, you know, in school or growing up, I didn't learn that that was um very rare to hear here and
00:13:26
Speaker
you know, what would it take? Or like, how did you heal your gut? And like, how did you make that transition? Was it just like you kept going to the doctor just kept on and then finally?
Transformative Health Improvements
00:13:39
Speaker
Well, one day I was having a conversation with a woman while my kids were playing. um And she had mentioned her husband had gotten Lyme disease and all of a sudden became like severely depressed.
00:13:53
Speaker
and was having these issues. And they had found this doctor in the city that, you know, part of his specialization was in Lyme disease. And she gave me a brochure, I think, that was from his office. And he was a functional medicine doctor. He started out as a chiropractor um and and did some other things. And I just really was desperate. And I wanted just to kind of check him out. and see, you know, did I still have Lyme disease stuff or what what he could do? And oh my goodness, I went and saw him and I don't know, I think I told him, I loved him like a hundred times because he just like, he just understood and he explained everything that was happening in my body. He tested me. I was in a complete autoimmune state. So my body was constantly trying to fight stuff. So my immune system was working over hard or over time. And I was exhausted all the time. and
00:14:46
Speaker
He just very, he was so full of wisdom and he just told me what I needed to do step by step. And it was just like, I don't know, in my mind, it's like magic, what happened? But you know it was a process and I had some heavy metals toxicity because um I had had a tetanus shot while I was sick with strep throat and had a fever. And because I had a fever,
00:15:13
Speaker
Um, he went through all my medical records and he said, you cannot get vaccinations while you are sick with a fever. Your body doesn't know what to do with it. You know, it's overload for your liver. And so some of the symptoms I was having was from that kind of thing. And he just really did every layer of the onion. And I, it was a process, but those symptoms I used to have are long gone. I don't have those symptoms ever, um, anymore.
00:15:39
Speaker
So I wanted to take for you to be symptom free when you're going through this process. Yeah. So I would say, I mean, I was telling everybody to go see this guy. It was so amazing, but I would say probably in a whole like 18 month cycle, I had kind of hit all the markers with him. Um,
00:16:04
Speaker
but I still wanted to go see him all the time. So he was just so inspirational to me. And he then helped my mom who had some cancers and she had had cancer prior to chemo and radiation and then had a different kind of cancer. And he kind of put, he he helped her and took care of her and a lot of my friends. um And then my sister had brain cancer who just now passed away this last year. Um,
00:16:31
Speaker
But before that, for other things, and her daughter, she would go and, you know, work with him. But yeah, I just really loved it. And that is what started my interest in the functional medicine world, I used to, or I still and used to always would be giving, you know, my kids and my kids friends and my kids, friends, parents supplementation, um recommendations. And so I decided I need to get certified in all those areas. um I know like Sarah is the one that kind of got me into thinking and looking more into holistic ways. And um for those of you listening, Sarah was one of my dearest and closest friends. And that's how I met Natalie was through Sarah. She's a military spouse as well. and And we lived across the street and just became really good friends. and
00:17:27
Speaker
um like a sister to me and um I she introduced me to Natalie here and Natalie and I headed off just um you know incredible journey incredible family they've been through so much and just seeing their journey you know through the holistic route and how it's one prolonged or healed um prolonged you know I don't know how to say I'm trying to say it within the what I can say and not say. you know Say whatever you want. For a long time and um really improved the way of life and um you know I just can't
00:18:07
Speaker
um speak highly enough for what they do. I'm so excited that you've dove into this and helping others um through this journey. um I mean, Natalie, you have a story. I mean, not only you you know this remarkable improvement in your health and you know what you're doing and how you're going to help and empower others.
00:18:28
Speaker
with your help, but also your life and the trauma that you've experienced in your life as well. And she's also an author too, if you guys don't know this. finding What is it? Finding the joy.
00:18:40
Speaker
um um Oh my gosh, what's my book called? Choosing joy, my laughter. And it's so, so good. Um, and yeah, just the, the journey that you've went through and I'm sure trauma like also triggers some health issues as well and put your body into, um, spiraling. Um, how would you, you know,
00:19:08
Speaker
say with people that are, you know, a mom of multiple kids and may experience some type of trauma, um how would you help them through this and getting their health back on track in like a functional way? One thing I would say is we lost our son just before he was five years old in kind of a freak accident. But when something like that happens, it's imprinted in your body and in your mind, no matter what, what kind of healing you do.
00:19:37
Speaker
um But just having a lot of kids without trauma is, so ah you know, for lack of better words, traumatizing to our bodies. um We have a lot of stress, whether it's good stress or bad stress, and our adrenal glands can only handle so much before they get fatigued. And so I always encourage people to take adaptogens. um Whether or not you're eating healthy or not, adaptogens are just kind of peptides of mushrooms like ashwagandha and rhodiola and maca root and, and things that really go in and kind of take on the work of our adrenal glands so that they can recover. Just adding adaptogens to people's lives gives them a little burst of energy and like restoration and can help with sleep and just taking on the stress a little bit better. um With our busy schedules in our lives, I just think they're so important today compared to before.
00:20:37
Speaker
um But fight or flight is something that our bodies kind of get kicked into. And we function so well in fight or flight that we often don't ever address it. And so getting our bodies, I kind of like to use the word biohacking, doing some little things throughout the day to trick our bodies out of fight or flight, um gives our, you know, our adrenals and our mind and everything a break and then it becomes, um you know, we can neutralize and and help our nervous system. If we can take a moment to think about that. So I spent many years in fight or flight um and having adrenaline drops and adrenaline rushes or panic attacks.
00:21:22
Speaker
um So chemically inside or hormonally, things shift when you're in constant wear and tear mode in fight or flight. And so we need to take time to repair these systems. um We don't really think about all of the things in our body that need to communicate together. And um I'm really glad that in functional medicine, we have tests that show these markers, and it's pretty phenomenal. And it can help prevent future stuff.
00:21:52
Speaker
Wow.
Stress Management and Self-Care for Mothers
00:21:53
Speaker
that So and you can you run tests and just tell that your body's in a constant state of flight or flight. Yep. We can see adaptogen health and you know just hormonal imbalances in different ways um than just ah you know just a blood test. we can We can kind of see where you're overworking, where your cortisol is maxed out and um or you know how you're detoxing estrogen. That's just something that all of us women have to do. And so many things can interfere with that inflammation and stress. And and then we all of a sudden have this midsection that gets puts on weight because you know our adrenal glands are so fatigued. They're not making the estrogen for when our ovaries stop. And so our body likes to store fat to save it.
00:22:39
Speaker
so I wish it didn't. So many things. So many things. I need eight hours. Is there anything that people could do right now before maybe changing lifestyle or anything like that that they could do? Especially our moms. We're so busy all the time managing our kids and we often don't take time for ourselves? Is there anything you can recommend as a mom of multiple kids and experienced real world trauma? That, you know, how do you adapt? Like, what can you do in your life to really reduce those ah stress markers in your life? Just a few little, you know, things you can keep in your back pocket throughout the day, and they may seem silly, but they do make a difference for your nervous system. um And before I talk about the nervous system real quick,
00:23:31
Speaker
I like to encourage people to start their day with lemon water warm lemon water or cold just because a lot of symptoms we have are silly because of dehydration. no We don't know that we're dehydrated um or we just think drinking water will be fine, but a lot of times if all you're drinking is plain water, you are taking the minerals and washing the minerals out of your body because you're just peeing constantly.
00:23:54
Speaker
um But something like lemon water that has trace minerals is going to help your cells absorb but the hydration. It's going to help your skin look more hydrated and you'll feel better and you will actually probably pee less. Um, so maybe electrolyte packets or lemon water can help with a lot of symptoms that we get throughout the day. Um, and I think that's important, but for your nervous system, things like when you're loading the dishwasher, unloading the dishwasher or laundry or in the shower, just humming.
00:24:26
Speaker
humming is so important, or it's not so important, it's just a trick that can help clear our mind if we're humming. And it can just give us it in eight seconds, it can reset your nervous system. So trying to incorporate some humming throughout the day is giving your mind a break. um And then things like adding a minute at the end of your showers of cold water as much as you can tolerate in building that up. um That is also going to get your mind off of everything. And it's going to help your circulatory system to expand to your extremities, you know, outer extremities, and just get your blood flow going better, wake you up, give you a burst of energy. um So cold showers at the end, things like block breathing, where you're doing, you know, four seconds in your nose holding for four seconds, and then releasing through your mouth um longer, like eight seconds.
00:25:24
Speaker
um can help reset your nervous system as well. I mean, there's a lot of tricks dry brushing is great for busy moms, um just to activate all your cells and, and kind of give you that moment of self care and help with lymphatic drainage and just kind of um detoxing your lymphatic system because that's a stagnant system does not have a pump on it like our, you know, like our liver gets blood flowing through it from our heart, but Our lymphatic system just sits there unless we're getting physical activity or doing a lot of sweating and we need to help help that detox and dry brushing is a really great.
00:26:01
Speaker
thing for that. I mean, I have a lot of things. I don't want to, I don't want to bore everybody. But no, that's good. I'm like, I wrote down a couple of things. I wanted to do the humming. all Good. But I did not know that our lymphatic system was not one that was how to pump light to it. So now that makes sense. And yes, why the dry brush brushing would help. Maybe most of the listeners knew that and maybe I just did not. um So Is there any other like any quick tips that somebody could do like if you know a mom wakes up and she still has to function, but she's not feeling 100% like what's your go to self care for incident to incidents like that like not feeling good adaptogens.
00:26:48
Speaker
um So one of the brand I mean, When I work with clients, I have ah access to a great dispensary and discounts for clients. And so i have I have access to really good brands of supplements. Not all supplements are created equal. um You want good ingredients, but one brand of adaptogens that I really like to give clients is called Adaptogen R3 from Premier Research Labs. And you can get that right on Amazon.
00:27:20
Speaker
Um, that's something you don't want to take after two o'clock because it gives you some pep and you don't want to have trouble going to sleep that night. Um, but adaptogens and staying hydrated, have some sort of electrolyte drink, get enough soluble fiber. Um, there's some, some, you know, it's, if we have to like,
00:27:39
Speaker
look at all the things we have to keep track of in a day, it ends up being a lot. But way back, they didn't have to think about things as much as we do because naturally in their diet, they would have, you know, whole wheat berries or more porridges and more soluble fiber, now we don't really get it. So we have to kind of think about this stuff a little bit more because of the way our society and world is. um But I like to guide people to walk through all of these steps and kind of work on the layers of the onion for each person individually because every diet is not created equal for every person. Somebody's pancreas may not be able to handle protein and fats and here they are doing keto trying to lose weight. um So yeah, there's a lot of tips for a lot of different types of things that we do. And it's more of a whole body approach, right? Or, okay, so you can really yeah help quite a bit.
00:28:36
Speaker
Yep, we want to get all systems speaking together properly. So when you are doing weight loss and losing your weight, it's not something that when you stop for a week, you gain 20 pounds back. um We want it to your body to trust you, we want all the systems to be communicating properly, and then you don't have those issues. So If somebody's wanting to consider or consider trying functional medicine, um but is a little maybe overwhelmed, like where would you tell them to start? If you take clients online, what's the best way to really get started? so I do consults with clients so we can discuss what issues they're dealing with, what their top you know goals would be, and then I have different programs.
00:29:24
Speaker
Um, so I break it all down on what the phases of that look like. And I, there's a lot of communication. One thing I really am proud about with serenity wellness is we can communicate through email and texts. And, um, it's a little bit different than an office or, you know, a doctor's office, because those take a long time to kind of get responses back and it's hard to get ahold of nurses and things like that.
00:29:50
Speaker
We have an assistant, Carly Essler, who is great, and we can get back to people quickly. um So I think if people are interested in kind of um dabbling in this, I would love to do consults with people, but um there's so much information out there. And um I think I think I'm trying to think like the best way for people to start. But with me, the best place for people to start would be a co consult, which is free, um a 20 to 30 minute um chat on how things would look and what program, you know, would be most helpful and how that program would look for the person as well. I love that.
00:30:35
Speaker
um you know i want Before we start to wrap up here, I wanted to ask you, like what is one thing you want every mom listening today to take away from this episode?
Importance of Self-Care for Mothers
00:30:47
Speaker
um Well, I didn't necessarily touch on what I guess every mom should take, but life is short and you had to pick your battles. And there are so many things we waste time thinking about that don't really matter. So what matters in the end is once you get all of these little humans to be grown and on their own, then you've got yourself who is oftentimes just this haggard vessel of someone who didn't take care of themselves. And so I'm at the point now where my kids are older and I'm thinking, Oh my gosh, I gotta, I gotta have as much energy as them to be fun with them. And then hopefully I'm going to have grandchildren and you want to make sure you're not just devoting every single second to these kids who are phenomenal, but I,
00:31:32
Speaker
I um did not put much time into myself besides constantly always feeling sick. um And I see it over and over again, all the women coming into my office, their thyroid is messed up, their numbers are all moving upward, their weight is going up, they're not sleeping well, they're exhausted. um They're constipated. um And they just haven't put any time into themselves. So I would encourage you to, um you know, just Your kids can wait for a few minutes, while you have some lemon water or you know while you're making juice or something they're going to be okay so. I guess I don't know if that's a good tip but. yeah. Things I feel like man I wasted a lot of time worrying about a lot of things that didn't really matter.
00:32:18
Speaker
That's a big thing. It's like, we do, we worry about things that never happen. And it obviously, you know, we're constantly, like, I feel like we're, as soon as we become moms, we're in fight or flight mode, like yeah the day one, like you've got this little, little bundle of love that is now outside of your body and you have to protect it. And it's like,
00:32:43
Speaker
Oh my gosh, what did I do? And how did I fix it? And I'm, you know, over the years, is it just wears on your body. and and And then if you add more kids to that scenario, you've got a whole slew of health problems, right? um So definitely mamas take the time. It is very needed. You are important and your kids need you. and So you need to take care of yourself too. And um I'm just so thankful for having you here, um Natalie and sharing your wealth of knowledge. Anything else you want to share with our listeners before we get out? I am in northern Minnesota, but I do virtual appointments. So that could be confusing for people. um I can do all of the things that I do virtually. And the dispensary of any protocols is available to everybody. And
00:33:35
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you for having me. This is you know fun to kind of share what we've been doing and my clients have been happy and I'd like to share that with as many people as possible. Do you have any like with before quick go? But is there any like significant story like that you can share with obviously not sharing their information, but any like transformation that's been truly remarkable with any of your clients?
00:34:03
Speaker
Sure. um One of my clients recently had a ah She did a thermometer or thermography test. um I don't know if you guys know what that is, but it's kind of a heat detection instead of a CAT scan. um It kind of scans your body and finds areas that are are troubled. And she had a lot of issues in her intestines, liver and pancreas, um so much that the thermographer sent her for cancer screening that they were very alarmed. um So she had a gamut of tests going on and all of her markers were high.
00:34:36
Speaker
So we worked um really quickly with her to get her blood sugar stable, her liver detox and her pancreas supported um along with killing some bad things that were in her system causing all of this craziness. And she just had her rescans last week and everything was clear and all of her markers were down and her A1C went down seven points and um that one's always fun, but we we kind of handled it quickly because she was very scared of, you know, the C word and things that were going on in there. So she had a colonoscopy too um to um please her husband and that came back and they said they don't need to see her for five years or five or 10 years or whatever. that's amazing That was a 49 year old client who again, does not put any time into herself. And now she's more aware of, okay, I got to stay on top of this stuff because
00:35:33
Speaker
those things will creep up on us. Yeah, it it will. um And it'll hit you like one day you're fine and the next you're you know with me in my case it was autoimmune and it put me flat on my back and um there was a moment I couldn't walk and so like literally take the time because your life is so important, especially if you have children, you need to be there and be present for them. And as they grow older, you probably want to be there if they have grandkids, right? yeah I know I do. So this has been so eye-opening and just thank you so much for sharing all your your wisdom here today. You know, if you've been struggling with gut issues, chronic fatigue, or just not feeling like yourself,
00:36:22
Speaker
I hope today's episode gave you some valuable insights and inspiration to take action. And remember, there is always a way to heal. Sometimes it just requires a very different approach. And Natalie can help you with that. So if you want to connect with Natalie um and learn more about functional medicine or start your own health journey, be sure to check out her resources and services. And I'm going to link them here in the show.
00:36:50
Speaker
But you can visit her website at serenity wellness by Natalie dot.com. Her Facebook and Instagram is serenity wellness by Natalie as well. And just thank you all for joining us today on Mamas Who Lead. Be sure to subscribe, share this episode with your friends and leave us a review. And until next time, remember that you are in charge of your health and you have the power to lead in every way of your life. Thank you.
00:37:16
Speaker
You've been listening to Mama's Who We Eat with Laura Carapino. Thank you for joining us on this journey today. Each episode, each story, and every piece of advice we share is a step towards building a community of empowered, resilient, and inspiring Mama Leaders, just like you. Remember, leadership isn't just about the title or the workplace. It's about how we navigate our lives, uplift those around us, and pave the way for future generations. As we close today's episode, I encourage you to carry forward the insights and inspiration
00:38:03
Speaker
on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to follow some social media for behind the scenes content, community discussions, and much more. Until we meet again, keep embracing your unique journey of leadership and motherhood. You are capable, you are powerful, and you are exactly where you're meant to be. Lead on, mamas.