My journey with Julie began when my doctor recommended working with her after receiving some unfortunate lab results on my cholesterol and inflammation numbers--I refuse to go on a chlolestrol drug! I have also been suffering for years with chronic, somewhat debilitating silent reflux. Along with this silent reflux came life altering throat clearing and burning, hoarseness, dry mouth, and a constant feeling like a golf ball was lodged in my throat. I say life altering because there were many times I would avoid social situations due to my embarrassing throat clearing. My father passed of esophageal cancer and his began with the exact same symptoms I was experiencing. Between my frustration with the symptoms from the silent reflux and my lab results combined with my age, I became very concerned and motivated.
I always thought I had a fairly decent handle on what I ate and a vast knowledge of what was healthy. What I found was that while I knew (or thought I knew) a lot about how to eat, I was not doing it! At all. When Julie and I started we began to dive deep into my habits, I discovered a lot more about my eating habits that were contributing substantially to my poor health. I was a (somewhat) vegetarian, HUGE bread lover and a butter and cheese addict. I used the excuse to eat cheese and butter as my protein intake since I was not getting my protein anywhere else. All these habits lead me to have a very unhappy gut, high cholesterol and inflammation that was wreaking havoc on my body and especially my throat. If I am being honest, I was pretty miserable.
Julie worked with me to find ways to change my diet that were individual and obtainable for me because there are several foods I just couldn’t stomach (most meats and fish!). We didn’t start with doing it all at once. We worked by eliminating the foods that she believed were contributing to my issues. Gluten, dairy, and bad fats! When I stopped eating gluten, added healthy fats and vegetables as well as protein and collagen to my diet things began to change. A little at a time. And the results for me were profound! I have been able to add a few things back into my diet without a problem, but I feel so good I don’t really feel the need to eat the way I used to.
My goals were to lower my cholesterol and reduce the inflammation in may body. While I was able to achieve that, I also was able to manage my reflux issues. But so many other things happened that I was not expecting. I can honestly say I am astounded by the way I feel. When you don’t know what it feels like to feel good, you have nothing to compare. Now I know. Feeling unhealthy is definitely not fun and incredibly stressful.
These are a few of the most noticeable things that happened to me when I changed my lifestyle and healed my leaky gut:
-Labs results showed I have lowered my cholesterol, triglycerides and most important my inflammation levels substantially
-No longer taking protonix and amytriptine (taken for the throat clearing problem) for my silent reflux
-Throat clearing very minimal to none (and when I say it was bad, that is an understatement) I never thought this could be possible
-No more joint pain (I had a lot, but just thought it was a part of aging)
-Better workouts and mood
-No acid reflux
-Hunger managed more than it has ever been by incorporating healthy fats and protein
-Healthier looking skin
While this is always going to be a work in progress, I cannot imagine wanting to go back to my old eating habits. I did not start working with Julie to go on a diet, I wanted to change my lifestyle. My motivation was to have good health and longevity as I age. I feel confident I have achieved that this far and will continue to see great results.
I recommend Julie, she explains everything about the gut and why you react to certain foods in a way that is relatable and easy to understand. She is a fantastic listener and communicates in a very non judgemental caring manner. Of all the years of trying to diet, I finally feel that I “get it”. For me, it was the individual attention I didn’t even know I was craving.
Definitely worth the time, effort and money.
Good health is everything!-CH