Laying the groundwork: Labs, Meetings and an Elimination Diet
It’s nice to take a moment at the end of a month to reflect on what has been accomplished, and for me, that’s a few BIG steps towards a healthier (more knowledgeable) version of me. In my last post, I explained the start of my functional medicine journey - what the onboarding process looked like, what health coaching sessions entail and answering the question, what is functional medicine. Take a look at my last post here if you haven’t read that yet, for a little more background.
So as I mentioned, quite a few impactful things have been checked off my to-do list, such as an initial meeting with a functional medicine doctor. I’ve had my blood drawn for A LOT of tests, and then another blood draw for labs they couldn’t do in-house. I also did the lovely job of collecting stool samples for 3 days to send off. I checked back in with my health coach and lastly, I met with a dietician for the first time, in which I’m now 10 days into both a detox and elimination diet.
Let’s dig in…
Primary care Doctor Appointment:
Watching my Functional Medicine Doctor was like watching a detective. She took in everything I said. She analyzed it, asked questions, took notes, and asked more questions, all while looking for red flags. It was an hour and a half, virtual conversation where I had a doctors complete and undivided attention (when does that ever happen?!) who truly wants to know your life story from start to finish, like did my mom breastfeed, how was childhood, school/work experience and life traumas.
What this can unearth are BIG clues that can majorly impact our health. Your diet and physical fitness are only one facet of your health - your mind, your relationships, your environment…these write your health story too.
My conversation included mold exposure from living in an apartment in my twenties. I also shared how I grew up around my families dry cleaning business, and in turn, around all the chemical solvents that were used. Another focus for the doctor was fertility, as I’m forty-years-old and trying to conceive. Other concerns were recent skin and eye irritations and thoughts around allergies and inflammation.
Now for some nitty gritty lab details for those who geek out on them like I do. Unfortunately I’m unable to explain in great detail the reasons behind every blood draw, nor have I had a follow up visit with my doctor to review the results, so this is just me reading off lab reports to give you an overview of what’s been taken so far.
For fertilities sake, she had me draw blood for the AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone) which corresponds to a persons egg count. Also a thyroid function and hormone panel including SHBG, Estradiol, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Luteinizing Hormone, Testosterone and Progesterone.
I also have test results back for TGFB1 (transforming growth factor beta 1) which plays a critical role in tissue regeneration, cell growth, embryonic development and immune system, Immunoglobin E (IgE) is an antibody that is primarily involved in an allergic response, a full lipid panel (Cholesterol), and some metabolic tests like HbA1c (detects diabetes), eAG (average blood sugar levels) and Homocysteine (diagnoses vitamin B deficiencies). Tests for some vitamins and minerals were also done like Folate, B12, Vitamin D, as well as Zinc, Iron and Ferritin (testing for anemia).
Also listed, was a test called Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) which measures the amount of GGT in your blood, to help determine liver/bile duct health.
My assumption on some of these were regarding my exposure to toxins growing up and her wanting to look into heavy metals in the body, as well as some lower side ache that I’ve randomly had at times.
She also ran an ANA Screen which upon reading, is a first line screen for detecting the presence of up to approximately 150 antibodies in various autoimmune diseases. A negative result suggests one is not present at this time.
One of the test results I’m eager to get back is centered around my gut health and that’s the stool samples I had to collect and send off to Genova Diagnostics. This will help to evaluate digestion, inflammation, bacterial balance or infection and address any underlying cause of dysfunction.
Lastly, I have a urine mycotoxin test left to take that is specific to my mold exposure. You prepare for this a week in advance, taking liposomal glutathione packets up until day 8 of collection.
Mold can be pretty detrimental to one’s health and I know that this one test is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what I’ll be doing to learn more. They recommended a test to check your current home which I intend to do down the line, because if I do have mycotoxins and need to assist my body in healing from it, you can’t of course have mold in your current environment. They’ve also provided me with a few other resources which I’ll devote a separate blog post too.
Detoxification and elimination of Irritants:
As I said earlier, I am on day 10 of both a detox and elimination diet. Layering the two together was something my dietician and I agreed upon in our first meeting together. It’s not common to do them at the same time, as they can be quite challenging and restrictive but with my nutrition knowledge and relatively “clean” diet, I was totally game to jump all in!
An elimination diet is the best way to figure out which foods you might have sensitivities, allergies and intolerances too. For some of us, it might be a skin rash or an allergic reaction, others bloating or brain fog, and some may not even realize that a food is causing inflammation in the body. Basically you’re eliminating foods/food groups known to be common irritants, creating a clean baseline of sorts.
This is what you remove:
Wheat/Gluten
Dairy
Eggs
Corn
Peanuts
Soy
Inflammatory Oils
Alcohol
Coffee
Nightshades (if you experience joint pain)
I did try out an elimination diet on my own a few years back once I received food allergy results from a mail-in test. Looking back, I didn’t eliminate all the proper food groups and I don’t believe I reintroduced foods back in properly either. The goal is to remove these foods for at least 21 days and after that, its a patient process of testing one food/food group back in for 3 days and track how you feel.
Lets say after the 21 days, I’ll start with eggs (because I miss them) and I’ll have them for three days straight. If I don’t notice anything come up for me, then great, egg scrambles for everyone! Then I can introduce another food in and repeat the same process. More to come on the reintroduction process, as I still have two weeks remaining on the diet. My dietician will walk me through that next phase at that time and I’ll be sure to share more.
The 10 days of detox within the elimination diet was to assist my body in the natural biotransformation (processing out of toxins) and moving them out of the body. All of the same foods listed above are off limits, as well as shellfish and red meat (beef, pork, bison and lamb). That means my main protein sources are organic chicken, organic turkey and wild caught fish. Tropical fruits are also off limits like bananas, mango, pineapple and papaya. I love frozen bananas in my smoothies and have missed them very much!
Sugar and chocolate are also off limits in the detox. I don’t plan on having processed foods and sugar in the elimination diet anyway (small amounts of stevia and monk fruit are OK) but its definitely a no-go in the beginning of detoxification (even honey which is another fav).
I had to reduce my coffee intake a couple days prior because coffee is not part of this process and I am a daily coffee drinker. Coffee has come up as a mild allergen for me in past tests so I’m intrigued to see my reaction, introducing things in the proper way with a team by my side.
So what have I been eating: Chicken, turkey, fish, loads of veg, a decent amount of fruits like apples, pears, kiwi, berries, lots of nuts, seeds, avocado, lentils, quinoa, wild rice and sweet potatoes. I had a detox smoothie every morning made with nuts and seeds, almond milk/coconut water, berries, a squeeze of lemon, and 2 scoops of a nutritional supplement sourced though the functional medicine practice, to help support my bodies natural metabolic detoxification, alkalinization, and heavy metal metabolism processes. It does have 12 grams of protein and a bunch of other vitamins and other goodies. During day 5 thru 8 I was having multiple scoops a day (often mixed with just water) which does fill you up, so I was left feeling satiated most of the time.
Where do I stand with it all? Well, I’m equal parts excited and anxious to hear what my test results will be. I was a tad irritable for a few days as I tackled a restrictive food phase and detoxing (my husband would agree), but more than anything, I’m thankful to be able to see a more complete picture of what’s going on in my body and get to the root of any underlying issues that may be brewing.