Meet Taylor.
Taylor is a beautiful, smart, and athletic university student that came to me as a last resort to help deal with pain from a condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).
AS is a form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine, lower back and sacroiliac joints.
At 23 years old, Taylor had already tried a wide variety of medications ranging from over the counter meds (Robaxacet) to NSAIDs to codeine and opiod analgesics.
Although the various meds helped somewhat, they all came with a laundry list of side-effects and most lost effectiveness over time requiring higher and higher doses.
The other concern with these meds is that, although they help relieve symptoms in the short term, they do nothing to address the root-cause of inflammation.
We decided to go with a personalized Metabolic Balance nutrition plan.
Metabolic Balance was designed by its founder the late Dr Wolf Funfac, to help combat inflammation in his patients.
2 weeks in, her pain was not gone but it was better. She only needed to take her opiod analgesic twice since starting her new diet and lifestyle journey.
6 weeks in, with the consent of her pharmacist, she was able to discontinue her primary prescribed pain med: Diclofenac.
Over the following weeks she noticed that her recovery time was much shorter after playing basketball (one or two days instead of one week).
She was able to ski for a full 7 hours whereas before she wouldn’t have lasted more than 3 or 4 hours before her pain would force her to stop.
Ten weeks in she started running.
4 months in, Taylor reported that her new diet and lifestyle changes were making a bigger difference than the meds ever did in her case. She also noted that most days, the pain wasn’t even on her radar.
So what moved the needle on Taylor’s inflammation?
👉Was it cutting out chemical additives (artificial flavourings, colourings, preservatives) that are so abundant in fast and processed foods?
👉Was it by ensuring that she gave her body a wider range of nutrients through wholesome natural foods (the body needs a lot of nutrients to heal) ?
👉Was it because we worked hard at improving her digestion so that she could actually absorb all of those beautiful nutrients?
👉Was it by being mindful of her ‘body terrain’ by keeping acidity low?
👉Was it by stabilizing blood sugar levels? There is a proven link between insulin resistance and inflammation.
👉Was it by cutting out all inflammatory (processed) fats and adding in anti-inflammatory fats?
👉Was it by being mindful of stress and sleep quality?
I don’t think it’s fair to single out any one thing as responsible for the shift that Taylor experienced.
As with most things, it’s usually the combination of all of the changes that adds up to noticeable results.
It’s about giving the body the right elements and then getting out of the way.
The more I learn, the more amazed I am by the body’s ability to attain balance and heal.
What I know for sure is that the power of food and lifestyle changes are REAL, Taylor is another great example.
I want to acknowledge Taylor’s determination and trust in the process.
She took full responsibility for her healing by making the required changes and she’s reaping the results.
Here’s what Taylor has to say:
”Before beginning my journey with Kim, I was experiencing constant pain in my lower back, hips, and my right hand/wrist.
The pain was from inflammation, and I was told it was all correlated to my ankylosing spondylitis.
I had tried meloxicam, and diclofenac which each came with their own interesting side effects but did not reduce the pain like I hoped. My next step was to try biologic drugs which would have suppressed my immune system more and most likely caused bigger health issues.
I was not for this. I was getting sick often enough and I didn’t have a good feeling about suppressing my immune system more than it already was in my early 20’s.
I then started hearing stories about young people on these drugs, and finally COVID-19 hit. These were all signs that I needed to find something else. This led me to messaging Kim.
My experience with this holistic nutritional approach was an interesting one! It started out tough and eye-opening.
I was a big snacker, and I loved my junk food. I was always eating. When I got my blood results back and saw that my inflammation levels were over 5x the norm, I knew this was the right idea.
The first few days were the worst in all aspects, cooking was hard, it was hard mentally to not snack at any time and was hard physically because my body was just not use to this eating style.
But after a few days I wasn’t feeling the pain that I was use to. My back wasn’t as sore, the pain in my hand had faded and I was able to write and draw for more than 5 minutes at a time, I was shocked!
After several weeks I was really seeing a difference, I was able to add good quality dairy, gluten and red meat back in after many weeks without and not suffer from inflammatory symptoms, moderation is key of course!
Having a busy schedule helped me stay focused on what I was eating. I would meal prep for the week and all I had to do was warm it up or take it out of the fridge. I realized that the reason I was eating so much junk was because I wasn’t taking the time, or simply didn’t feel like cooking.
It is important to note that I am no chef, up until 2 years ago I didn’t even know how to cook a chicken breast! I am now making meals that are appetizing, filling, and so tasty.
This journey has not only taught me so much about food and what to look for in my food, it has taught me what is best for my body!
Working with Kim has been so delightful. She is very understanding of my needs and understands that life gets in the way sometimes and we fall off track!
She thought ahead and has even created a game plan for when/if that happens to get me back on track more easily.
She has helped me find what works best for my body, and is continuously giving recommendations to try and giving recipes that are easily altered to my plan and my preferred taste.
She has allowed me to discover new foods that are not only high quality but many which I prefer over what I used to eat!”
CONGRATULATIONS TAYLOR!
Thank you choosing me to be a part of your health journey and for sharing your inspiring story.
Reach out if you’re ready to tackle your inflammation naturally.