Symptoms Dismissed Then Cancer And MS

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I had a lot of health issues growing up where I was bloated, heavy painful periods, thinning hair, gaining a lot of weight in my teens, skin issues, brain fog, fatigue, falling asleep in class. And all the doctors I went to just kept saying I was normal. And then I was given medications to mask symptoms for over a decade: birth control, laxatives, pills to go, pills to stop going, pills for headaches, and steroids, and all that eventually stemmed into a hormonal type of cancer from unresolved hormone issues and an autoimmune condition where I woke up one day and couldn't walk, that I was done.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Welcome to Hormone Heroes, where I share testimonials from real people who have experienced bioidentical hormone therapy. Men and women share the symptoms they have experienced and the difference proper hormone replacement has made. She's the founder of Holistic Wholeness Institute, which is an online, you can have virtual appointments with her, but she's uh a functional medicine specialist. She currently resides in Boca Ratone, Florida, with her family. She has her husband and an eight-year-old son and a new baby on the way. So congrats, Dr. Bella Boo. Thank you. And uh so just tell us a little bit more about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Yeah, yeah. I had a lot of health issues growing up where I was bloated, heavy painful periods, thinning hair, gaining a lot of weight in my teens, skin issues, brain fog, fatigue, falling asleep in class. And all the doctors I went to just kept saying I was normal. And then I was given medications to mask symptoms for over a decade: birth control, laxatives, pills to go, pills to stop going, pills for headaches, and steroids, and all that eventually stemmed into a hormonal type of cancer from unresolved hormone issues and an autoimmune condition where I woke up one day and couldn't walk, that I was done with traditional doctors. Now I'm not against them, you shouldn't leave them, but that's when then I turned to functional and holistic medicine. My mom actually met someone at church. So it was an answer to prayer that we were directed towards that direction. And it was a mom that chose to homeschool her kids because she was so holistic and she helped my mom guide us, and it really helped me and my sister so much that I was like, this is what I want to do with my life. So it's it's really been a big change for me. No longer on any medications, been cancer-free, don't have any symptoms of my autoimmune issues. Um, and I'm feeling good. So it's just my mission to now help people, especially women, to know that there are natural ways that you can feel better and that you're not losing it if you think you don't feel right in your lab, say you're you're okay, but you don't feel okay. It's not in your head.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

So how old were you when you were diagnosed and what kind of cancer?

SPEAKER_00 3:12

So it was in a very aggressive type of cervical cancer when they had staged it. I was 21. And it was at a routine, yeah, it was a routine pap. And you know, usually you just don't expect a call because then everything's normal, is what my OB was starting to do. So I knew when I got the call, I was like, I knew what the test was for. And I was like, oh no, this isn't good. Um, so then they had to schedule a time to remove it. It was really scary, it was really overwhelming. But in a way, I felt when they were removing it, I should say actually. I said I was gonna say I felt betrayed, but I wanted to say when they were removing it, I was numb, but I remember you can I can hear, right? I remember them saying, Don't worry, we got it all. But when it comes back, we'll be more aggressive. I was like, wait, did you just say if or when? He's like, No, I said when. I was like, no, I don't, I don't like that. So that's when I really went functional and whole and holistic to find the root cause of why it's happening because that's where I was like asking you guys for years to test my hormones and why is this happening? You just gave me birth control or pain pills. And I kind of felt betrayed and failed. So I went to someone that specialized in figuring out what caused my hormones to be off, what caused this cancer. And that's when just got so many answers and so many results in the first few weeks and months that I was like, okay, this is life-changing, honestly. And how old were you? I was 21. 21. Yeah, they said you might not be able to have children. Um, you know, you might have fertility issues. And I was just like, but I got pregnant the day I tried with my son. But I had done a decade of holistic and functional medicine modalities at this point.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

And then what uh autoimmune issues did you have?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

They were saying MS. And I say they were saying because I can call it my coping mechanism where I was in denial, 100% in denial. And I'm still gonna own that it probably is that. I say that I went through being told that I had MS and may not walk again. I don't receive that, I don't have that, I don't own that, and it's helped me. I'm not saying you need to do that. You can judge me, people. You can have your own COVID mass, and that was mine. And I uh went through some challenges, but you know what? Got through them and uh it was rough. Having three days where you couldn't walk, slept three days straight, couldn't lift your head off of a pillow, having that flare, and then worked with the functional doctor to find that I had glyphosate poisoning and Lyme disease, not a mess, is how I see it. And that that's what caused this. And then as I detoxed from these things, yes, I had had what we call Herx reactions or detox reactions where I didn't feel better, felt worse actually, before I got better. But to me, it was worth it knowing that I'm trusting someone that I I knew could help. I had this feeling, like it was an answer to my prayer. Like, I'm scared, but I'm gonna do it afraid. I'm getting worse. Is not where we're supposed to be going. Right. But I'm gonna trust that I'm gonna get there. I had this knowing. It's like this in there knowing, like I'm gonna get there. And that's what's really carried me through was my faith.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

So, did you have did were things showing up on MRI?

SPEAKER_00 6:17

At the ER, but I didn't ask for those tests or look at them. I I was in complete refusal of all of that to this day. And so my mom and dad, it's a good and a bad thing that they were so positive and optimistic. I almost think I love my dad, I almost think he has a disease where he's like so optimistic. It's like a little too much. I'm like, I'm like, you need yeah, it's a good disease. Uh so we're we're all we were all on the same page. Like, yeah, no, we don't receive that. No.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Okay, thank you, but no, thank you. So I haven't looked at all that. I just was like, let's go to solutions, let's go. And so it's it's a good and a bad thing. I'm all about feeling your feelings, walking through it. I do that with a therapist. I think that's good. Right. But for that, that was what helped me to just okay, here we are. Then I never looked back and I didn't had any more tests or things showing any symptoms, nothing, no flares. So yeah, it's it's pretty crazy, but I'm feeling good and I'm so thankful that I've been able to go a different route, which is good.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah, that's amazing. The power of faith, the power of your mind. Just there is so much to that. You're doing all the right things, obviously, and we'll talk about that. But just the the the power of of faith and and mental just you know, no matter what the diagnosis may be, people can have hope if as long as they're they're mentally where they need to be and spiritually.

Five-Step Root Cause Reset Explained

SPEAKER_01 7:44

So you have founded something called the five-step root cause reset method. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah, so this is where instead of just masking symptoms with medication, which is how most traditional big pharma doctors are taught in medical school, we believe in this five-step system that I've developed to get to the root cause or root causes of an issue, the things that are contributing to it. The first step is we do an evaluation that's much more thorough than a typical doctor with more time. We block 90 minutes, sometimes up to two hours for that first evaluation. We have very in-depth intake forms. And the first step, once we do the evaluation and run more tests that regular doctors aren't trained in, more in-depth on what insurance thinks is necessary. Then we do what's called detoxification, where we need to find what's causing some of these issues or contributing to them, and then naturally help remove those from the body. Now, when we say detox, it doesn't mean move to the desert, drink water, and just eat moss. Okay. Let's be clear. It doesn't mean you have to do, you know, 30 kilonics a day and drink all the coffee or grapefruit juice or something. We say, like, okay, when we say detox, we mean gentle. Meaning, uh, let's say for me example, I was drinking 12 cups of coffee per day. I went from 12 to zero and had the most terrible migraine you can imagine. Like I was hit by a truck and run over. But we don't recommend that. We usually have people, for example, if they're going to be cutting back on caffeine and sugar, okay, you're having eight pepsies, let's go down to six, or you're smoking 12 cigarettes, let's go down to 10. And we'll usually do a very gradual detoxification process. That's just an example. Depends on the person and their diet lifestyle supplements and what comes up on their labs. The next step is nutrition. We've detoxed, we've removed some of the toxins, we're doing good. Let's form a lifestyle that lasts. So, for example, we practice the 80-20 rule. I just got back from Italy. I had gelato. It had more sugar in it than I'd probably eat in a day. Less sugar than American gelato, right? But I'm gonna have gelato. You know how they say when in Rome? Well, I was in Rome. I'm gonna have some gelato. So 20% of the time, you know, if you want to have that piece of cake, or uh, for example, I love french fries. People are like, You love french fries? How could you love french fries? How could you be a holistic doctor and you like french fries? I who doesn't? They taste good. I'm not gonna get them from McDonald's. I bought organic ones from Whole Foods that are cooked in tallow and sea salt. And I had a couple. Yes, I had a headache the next day and I felt terrible. Interesting. Every now and then, you're gonna have a little fun. And then it reminds me why I don't do it. So the first step is detox, nutrition, fitness. Fitness is making sure that you're doing something that's specific to you based on your root causes, your lab work, your evaluation, but also something you like. And as an example, my sister likes to go to the gym and go do a yoga class. I like to go for a walk outside because it's just whatever works best for you, right? Some other woman, she has such high cortisol, she was doing weightlifting and CrossFit. And I was like, you got to get some yoga in there, girl. You are so high with burnout right now that we need to recharge. So we need to look at what's going on and then form a plan. The last, uh, the next step's hormones. I know you're big on hormones. They're the master controllers of everything. Right. They're linked to autoimmune conditions, they're linked to brain fog, thinning hair, depression, anxiety, sleep, weight gain, libido, so many things, joint pain. We need to test them and balance them holistically with food, fitness, supplements. The last step is support. You know, as a mom of two, you can't hand kids a stack of papers and be like, raise yourself, go parent yourself. You can't hand them Google to parent themselves, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

People need support that we love books, we love Google, ChatGBT's cool. People need a human that's an expert that knows them, and every kid you have is different, I bet, right? I'm the opposite of my sister, the polar opposite of her. My parent had, my parents said, You, we just told you not to do it. She did the opposite of everything that we said not to do. So we had to parent her differently. So every person we work with needs tough love or encouragement and compassion. Depends on the person. We need support that's custom to you. So those five steps: detoxing, nutrition, fitness, support, and hormones, those really help form a method that doesn't have any missing pieces. Because a lot of people feel like something's missing, and I don't know what. I'm eating right, I'm exercising, I'm like, well, your hormones could be off. Or we might need to tweak something. So I think that it helps to have those missing pieces we call it.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And uh you you have a very large team that that work with you different providers. Mention a little bit about what types of providers you have and and who who they are.

Nutrition Gut Bloat And SIBO Clues

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yes. So our team of functional medicine specialists are people that are trained and certified in functional medicine, which is getting to the root cause of a problem as to why it's happening, not just chasing symptoms with medications or supplements. So people are like, oh, I can't sleep. So I tried all these sleep supplements. It's like, let's figure out why you can't sleep. That was someone yesterday. The other people in our team are naturopathic doctors. So they're trained in nature to fix pathology, but understanding not just using holistic things to fix the pathology, but also, once again, what's the cause of it? Right? Not just, oh, you can't sleep, try some lavender pills. It's like, well, some people can't sleep because of a dysbiosis, meaning a gut problem. Some people can't sleep because of their hormones. We need to get to the bottom of it. The other team members are functional nutritionists, meaning they specialize in the nutrition side of things, using nutrition to fix a root cause. So, for example, one of our nutritionists loves crucifers. The crucifers, she recommends often two cups per day, if someone can tolerate it based on their gut health, to methylate, meaning remove toxic hormone or hormone mimicking chemicals. And she loves to use nutrition to fix a problem. So everyone on the team is trained in getting to the bottom of an issue and using more in-depth testing, food, lifestyle, and supplements to help fix the issue naturally.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

That's so, so cool. And for those of you that don't know what a cruciferous vegetable is, it's broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, those types of delicious things. Yep. And you I do notice when I eat a lot of broccoli and I love broccoli, it I I I get bloated. So I'm trying to get to the bottom of the city.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Well, let's talk about that. Yeah. That's what I just said. So let's talk about that. That's why I just said if you could tolerate it, because a lot of broccoli or cauliflower cabbage can get people really bloated. So I tell people some surprising crucifers are radishes, arugula. And two cups of arugula is very easy on the tummy and very easy to consume. As an Italian, I could throw that on top of anything, on top of some chicken, on top of a sandwich, throw it on in the salad. It just is so easy. Other things that are crucifers, radishes, little slices of those. Uh, what was another one? I there was a I think it was, forgive me, I'm not the expert the nutritionist is in this. I think it was a root of a turnip, something like that. And people love this, and it's like a root veggie that's not too gassy. I said, That's great. Let's do it, right? So uh the the gas though sometimes can be that there's sometimes a bacterial imbalance called SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. That doesn't tend to tolerate those crucifix crucifers as well. So what we usually have to do is get the SIBO under control, and then we can fix the hormones if we're gonna use the crucifers, or we might use a supplement like a methylated B complex.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

And that's better tolerated than a crucifer, for example.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Yeah.

Advanced Hormone Testing From Home

SPEAKER_01 15:36

So you mentioned testing. Give us some examples of types of testing you do. I'm sure it's because you you are doing virtual appointments, there are test kits and things sent to patients' houses.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yes. So people are getting a collection container sent to their home for urine, sometimes saliva, and then stool. And then we have a mobile phlebotomy company we use that's nationwide. So that means someone that's a phlebotomist comes to your home. That means someone that is trained and licensed to dry your blood at this gate. They and time that we pick you you get to pick it, and they'll dry your blood and we'll run much more in-depth lab work, read them over Zoom, and it's all done from the comfort of your home. So there's a lot of people we work with that love the convenience of that because it's really a lot to spend half your life going to doctor sometimes. So some people love that they're in a rural area. For example, Montana, Alaska, the some places in the south, there it's 40 minutes to the nearest town. It takes half a day to go to the doctor. And it's great because we do it right in the comfort of your home. So it's super convenient.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Yeah, that is uh even, you know, we've had patients move away and just trying to get labs on people. You know, if if all they have to do is go to their little local hospital, trying to get the correct labs drawn is is a challenge sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

You probably know that the labs that they may get done may not be done correctly or test the right thing. So when we are testing, it's not just that we're collecting more specimens, so look more thoroughly to find what other people aren't finding, but looking in places that traditional doctors aren't trained to look. For example, I was told hormones can't be tested when I asked for them to get tested over a 10-year period when I was really ill with my OB. And then I found out they not only can be tested, but have to be tested properly through urine, through saliva, compare it to the blood, certain time of the cycle, certain time of day. And it sounds like a headache. What doctor's gonna have you come to his office a particular day four times that day to collect specimens? Right? It's not gonna happen. So and at the time that you need it, right? Forget it. They're not on time. So it ha it can be done. Sounds like a headache, but pick your hard. The heart of your health problem or the heart of getting this done right. Let's do it. Right. Right? Let's get to the bottom of this.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

So yeah, you know, mentioning the the proper time in the cycle, I think it's very important to know if people are ovulating. So then you have to do your testing, you know, after ovulation, which is usually the last two weeks of your cycle. Um, just little tricks of the trade like that and adrenal testing, you know, you get that 24-hour cortisol rhythm that the So there's some really cool things that if you go outside the box, you can get tested and really get to the bottom of of what you're looking for.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

I tell people it's like when your husband looks for something and he says he looked everywhere, or your kid says they tried everything and can't find it, and then mom comes and finds it.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

That's how we look that's more thoroughly with our eyes open and we actually find it when all their doctors say everything looks great, you don't feel great. So it's just more thorough, and then we can get somewhere, which is great.

Free Consults Webinars And Budget Fit

SPEAKER_01 18:53

So if if a patient wanted to hook up with you, I noticed there is a contact form on your website. You have one a lot of wonderful testimonials. You yourself have a lot of very educational videos that are free, which is so nice.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

So you do a a free 15-minute consultation over the phone. Correct. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Yeah. We'll do that because we want to make sure we hear what you're going through, what you've tried that has or hasn't worked, and then we will be honest if we feel we can help you or not. If we don't feel we can help you, because we can help everyone, we will tell you before you we say waste anyone's time or money, yours or ours or anyone's. We're not gonna do that. We're gonna be really straightforward because we can help most people that reach out, but there's some that we can and we'll tell them honestly. You know what? We can't do that. But usually we can help most people. I tell people there's the free console. There's also a free webinar. Every week we do webinars on hormones, autoimmunity, different health topics. They're totally free, educational. They're live. You can see those on our website and sign up because you can ask me questions live. If you don't want 15 minutes with our team, which is a nice amount of time to at least talk, it's it's more than most doctors spend with a patient, believe it or not. So 15 minutes for free. But then on top of that, there's an hour-long webinar. If you want to learn, meet us, ask questions with me live, you can jump on those as well. So you just feel like we're here and you're not alone, you're not crazy.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

It's not in your long webinar once a week. That's that's incredible. Someone could really learn a lot attending those as well. So after the consultation, then you have your 90-minute real consultation evaluation.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Yeah, that's more a depth because we don't we're not surface level, right? What are you gonna do in 15 minutes? You're not gonna know what's causing it in 15 minutes. I mean, your doctor doesn't in five minutes. So and then after that, we'd go over with you how long, how much, what's involved, and then make sure if someone is concerned about finances, since insurance doesn't cover this, it covers what you're getting, which is these rushed visits, after you wait two hours, waste half your day and get more pills. They cover that. They don't cover health, they cover sickness, in my opinion. Then, if after that, if you are concerned about finances, we'll make sure the plan also fits into your budget, whatever that budget might be. So we can work with people that are really ready to invest in their health because intent is what matters the most. We have people on disability, retired, fixed incomes. And if they really, really want to get better and we can feel that, and they're really committed and motivated to do it, we'll work with them and form something that works with them so that they can still have access. Because that's fair. That's what's fair if that was Yeah, you know, I don't want someone to do that for me.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

That's what a what a great service. Instead of just across the board, here's the price, you know, you you do what's best for the patient. So does everyone get the same testing, or do you kind of after you've done your evaluation, that's when you know what test kits to send them?

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Yeah, after the evaluation. We'll then know what to send. And then based on the results, then we'll know what to recommend. We do have a lot of foundational elements that are true for most people.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

Like they typically have hormone gut toxins that mimic hormone type problems. They may have lime or mold. These are common things we see, but we don't know which ones are going to come up and then which things we're going to recommend because I tell people my son tried to use the toilet brush to clean the windows. It's not the most effective tool. So depending on if there's parabens, phthalates, and BPAs as a toxin versus glyphosate, which is a pesticide versus these chemicals and plastics and fragrances, depends on what cleaning product we use, depending on what's dirty, right? So that's a good example. And people chuckle, but it's like, oh, that makes sense because they try these general detoxes and then they're not getting results. They tried sleep formulas or hormone formulas and they're not getting results, but there's over 500 hormones. There's thousands of reasons why you couldn't sleep or lose the weight. We need to find out why. And then we can target that to you.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

That's so great. And then you you have a professional grade of a supplement line on your website as well.

Supplement Safety Third-Party Tested

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Tell us what tell us a little bit about that. It just everything has to be third-party tested physician grade supplementation. That means there is someone that's not vested outside of the company testing that what's in there is what's in there. Okay. And physician grade means it's something that works and is pure and is studied and confirmed, and there's data to back it up. We had someone over 15 years ago, it was in my first practice, one of my first patients I ever had. Her name was Joan. You probably heard stories like this. I told Jo I didn't want to sell supplements. So we don't sell them, we just include them in on the plan, include them in on their their program. Yeah. So I didn't want to sell supplements. So I told her what to get, and she got the wrong thing. And the way I know is that Joan never missed an appointment. You know, as a mom or even as a doctor, you know, when you have a gut feeling, like, I don't feel good right now. Joan missed an appointment. She never missed an appointment. I go, something's up. Joan does never miss an appointment. She didn't call, does not like her, something's up. I had this feeling. We made calls, and the town I grew up in, Colts Neck, New Jersey, small town. We called the police. She lives in town. I said, you gotta go to her house. People call me crazy, but you know when you have a gut feeling? Yeah. They found her in a pool of blood in her bed. They rushed her to the Central State Hospital 15 minutes away. She ordered something online that was, I think she got it on Amazon. It was like some cheap thing from China, and it was not what it said. And some sadistic pig, I pray for the soul, hurt people, hurt people, put rat poisoning with cornstarch, with dye in this supplement that was mimicking whatever I told her to get. And she got it herself because it was cheaper. Wherever she was this cheap deal, never again. That's how I said, that's it. We're gonna order them for you. We're gonna send them to you. You can then reorder them, but you now know what to get. Do not just go order stuff cheap from any website. Because you get what you pay for. So anyway, that's what physician grade. If you want to know what it is, I always use a story. That's what physician grade third party tests it means is you're not just getting something dangerous online.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Thank you for saying that because that is such a big issue. And Amazon sells everything now. And uh at least you know what you're getting going through your website. What is aptogenics?

SPEAKER_00 25:33

So, aptogenics, I actually was invited by several of my naturopathic and functional medicine doctor friends to sit on a board to help develop products that are even more pure than some other companies online and that have the right dosages of things so that people don't have to take so many supplements. Yeah. And I basically have protocols that I've put together for people for different conditions and different cases. And I took those and then helped develop on a board things that are better tolerated, more effective, affordable, and have the right combinations of things so you don't have to take too many supplements. So that line, you have to be a clinician to recommend it and for people to buy it to make sure that it's something that is recommended to you based on an evaluation. And I think that that's a safer thing for people because when they just start buying things and trying things online, I have a friend that is in healthcare and actually she will not endorse any type of a supplement and she'll tell her patients to come off of them because she says they're not FDA approved or not regulated. So then I tell her, well, if they are third-party tested and they're physician grade, then you're okay. She just has, she's kind of like big pharma trained she just has so much skepticism because she's seen cases of people not do well. So that's the best way I can answer that one.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Okay.

Genetics Lifestyle Tips And Closing

SPEAKER_01 27:00

We haven't talked about genetics. Do you do any genetic testing?

SPEAKER_00 27:03

Yeah. So we've done genetic testing. The most popular genetic testing that the people that come to us are interested in or that we find is most relevant is typically looking at methylation pathways. So some people have heard of MTHFR as well as COMT. Those are just two of actually the many methylation and detox pathways. And because of the demographic we're working with, which are predominantly women with brain fog, fatigue, they can't figure out what's wrong with them, they feel worse when they try to eat better or exercise or detox sometimes. They don't know what to do. Up to 80% of the people we work with might even be higher, but recent stats are that they usually have a methylation issue or they're a hypomethylator, meaning they don't remove toxins that come in. It's kind of like the kleptoporter that keeps a lot of junk in their house. Their body does that and they can't lose the weight, they can't feel good. And so we'll test them to know because then we know if we need to not only help with methylation, but also look at, for example, sulfurination or using things like indolicarbonyl, other pathways. There's uh other things as well, like for example, choline that can help with recycling and removing uh meth recycling methylation, which is helping you with detox, or removing toxins in different ways. It's almost like if there's a roadblock here where there's traffic here, then we can go this route. So I know that was a lot of big words, but we can use other ways to find what to do. So that would say the main thing we do because when people are asking about testing, such as like, oh, I have the bracket gene, I say, okay, well, according to epigenetics, we can help turn that gene off. You don't have to have it on. We cannot express that gene. So I tell people, you're not your genes, though. Even if it comes back with methylation, doesn't mean you can't remove toxins. It just means we need to do it a different way. Right. So I tell people genetics are important, but what's more important is your lifestyle and what you're gonna do about it, not just, oh, your genes are your genes. So I think that's important for people to remember because when their doctor says, oh, your cholesterol is genetic, or you know, this is genetic, that's why you can't do anything about it, it leaves them powerless. But we want to empower them of what they still can do.

SPEAKER_01 29:11

That's very interesting because uh genetic testing is probably one of the newer forms of testing that we have now. And people are very interested in knowing what they're passing on to their children and things like that. But I like what you said about how just because it's your genetic makeup doesn't mean that you can't turn that on or off by what you do. And so that that's a really good point. So what if we is there anything else you'd like to touch on as far as because you definitely are a hormone hero. And we we have we missed anything.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

I would say that one of the most common things I get asked when I'm on podcasts is what are your top two health tips? And I like to tell people that so they know what I can do if I walk away today. I would say the first one is if you don't recognize the ingredient, most of the time, don't eat it.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I know that we talked about the 80-20 rule. That means 80% of the time you eat clean, 20%, you have some fun. You gotta have a little fun, or you're not sustaining a lifestyle. You're like in food prison. You feel like you're too diety, diet, and you're gonna die on it. You're gonna diet, you're gonna die on it. I tell people, don't do that. So if you can't pronounce it, you don't know what it is, you even have to use Google to look it up, probably shouldn't eat it most of the time. Right. And then the second one is if you can't understand the ingredient in something you're gonna put on your skin, lotions, potions, and all that stuff, don't put it on your skin. So, for example, people think, oh, well, I'm not eating it. I go, okay, well, does the nicotine patch go in? Does the birth control patch go in? Does a pain patch go in? Do you sweat out toxins that smell? Because this is a sponge, your skin. It's not, it's not a one-way street here. It's not like a a saran wrap, it's a sponge. Okay. Right. So I tell people, I can't express how many fragrances they're called volatile organic compounds, and they're not organic. It means organic chemistry. Phthalates, which are fragrances that are chemicals, thousands of chemicals, uh, phthalates, parabens, preservatives that mimic estrogen and mess up your estrogen, BPAs, which are from plastics. I cannot express how through the roof those things are, and people don't think they affect their health. I didn't. But when I got tested and I see it, and then when people see the levels come down, they feel better, they're losing the weight, their hormones are better. Oh my gosh. So those are my top two things I'd say is so important for anyone is if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it and don't put it on your skin for the most part. Right, right. And those are the the two things you can walk with doing. And then just know you guys are amazing what you're doing, Dr. Hopkins. And if anyone wants to get some free advice coming on one of our webinars or asking me questions, they're very informative. I just did one yesterday and everyone's like, oh my gosh, this was so great. Yeah. Come on. It's at holisticholeness institute.com. And we would love to have you and just help you to feel like you're not alone. And we're here to support you and and guide you.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Uh it sounds like you are creating a wonderful community where people could just join weekly and hear hear something new, learn something new. And Holistic Holeness Institute, it's H O L I S T I C W O L E N E S S Institute.com. And your phone number is 732 813 1133. And I would highly encourage anyone that needs, we all need this, but uh Dr. Nancy Bellivo uh is the founder of this wonderful institute. She's got a huge team, so uh I think you would be in really good hands. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Nancy. I hope your pregnancy is just fabulous. Are you feeling any morning sickness or anything?

SPEAKER_00 33:03

At times, believe it or not, I have these acupressure bands on the nausea pressure point, and it's helping tremendously. And then that, and I'm personally using the homeopathic remedy Nux Vomica, and I feel good doing that and eating regularly. So I had a friend who's very Western medicine oriented. It's like, oh, those things are a placebo. I was like, if they work, who cares? Placebo effect is sometimes up to 80% of the effect, but it's working. So I don't care. Uh, but no, it is an actual pressure point. I do feel a difference. And if I'm not wearing it, I'll push that spot. If I'm on a boat, a plane, a car, any type of those things, I do press in this middle of the wrist spot, not even when I was pregnant. And it it helps. So yeah, I'm feeling good thanks to some tools that I have in the tool chest. Yes. My one friend who criticized me preferred to have a Zofran pump 24-7. I said, You do you, girl. This is my this is my jam. You do your jam. No judgment. You do you. It's all good. To each his own. No one's better, just different. It's all good. You do you. So that's right.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

It's all good. Uh one more point before I let you go. People may be curious about how you do integrate in with their Western medications, physicians, things like that. How do you work with the other side of medicine?

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Yeah. So we first have to say the legal political statement, you probably know I'm going to say, is you have to meet with your prescribing physician that prescribed them to wean down or off of anything. And then the other thing I say is that the doctors on our team are trained in pharmaceuticals where we understand interactions and medications, but we legally don't prescribe or de-prescribe them. It's really your prescribing doctor. So the good news is that we're so knowledgeable about that that we're not going to put you on a supplement or a food that's going to interact, but we do have to have you sign a waiver because we're in a CYA society that says, I've checked with my doctor before I've taken any of these supplements, or changed my diet or lifestyle or exercise, or changed my medications, and I will check with him, whoever prescribed him before I do this. And I have to have a primary care doctor. So there are people that come to us that do not have a doctor. They don't check and they do just fine. And I'm saying that on and off the record, but we do have to cover our butts because my dad's a retired attorney and he makes sure I got waivers for everything, people. That's one thing I wanted from my dad. I got a CYA, no matter where I go. We actually took our friend, my son's friend, on a weekend getaway. He's like, You have to have a signed waiver from his mother. You didn't kidnap him? I go, I've been watching this kid for two years, but okay, dad, and have a sign. I was like, I'm so this is so embarrassing. I know I'm an adult, but my dad told me you have to sign this waiver that I didn't abduct your child and kidnap him. And you have to sign that if he gets an emergency and I can't reach you, that I can make a medical decision, you know. Yeah. But it's all good. I love my dad. He's he's the best.

SPEAKER_01 35:57

He I know it's it's interesting that he's an attorney, but he's also so optimistic.

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Like Oh, yeah. No, no, this is it. He's pessimistic with the world. Everyone's out to get you and they're all guilty. But he's optimistic with everything else. He came from Brooklyn. So everyone's a criminal, kind of mug you or take advantage of you, but everything else is optimistic. It's a very interesting dichotomy. It does get balanced out a little bit. The optimism a little bit, but yeah, it's just so funny. So thank God we've been we've been good because we're always kind, we're holistic, we're doing natural organic things. These things don't cause you know problems, especially doing it with uh knowledgeable people that know what they're doing. Yeah, but that's great.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

All right. Thanks so much. Thanks for watching. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Have a great day.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

Bye-bye. Thanks for listening to Hormone Heroes. Take a moment to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode. While you are there, help us spread the word by leaving a rating and a review. If you would like to share your bioidentical hormone story or need help finding a physician in your area, please email us at drkelly at hormoneheroes.org. That's D-R-K-E-L-L-I at H O R M O N E. H E R O E S dot org. We want you to be a hormone hero.