Navigating Through What Hormone Approach is Appropriate for You.

As discussed in Part 1 There’s no question that Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BiHRT) is preferred over Synthetic HRT if hormone therapy is indicated in a woman’s situation.  If you’ve done any research into BiHRT you’ve probably come up with many different and confusing opinions. 

When physicians work with BiHRT, there are different approaches to prescribing.  Some apply the research results of the Women’s Health Initiative study (WHI Study) and in some instances it’s not even considered since the hormones used in that study were synthetic hormones.

Allopathic Mainstream Approach

The Standard Allopathic approach at one extreme advocates following the same safety guidelines recommended for prescribing Synthetic HRT since that’s the only large study we have on any HRT. They advocate the same protocols that began in 2002 after the preliminary outcomes of the WHI study. Its use is discouraged in women with a positive family history of breast cancer and heart disease, they recommend using only half of the dose of what was used in the WHI study and they caution its use over 5 years.  They are prescribing natural hormones as if Premarin (horse estrogen), and synthetic progesterone are the same as natural hormones (BiHRT).  In addition to this, all women are treated the same regardless of age and how long they’ve been without a period.  They don’t consider the uniqueness of the woman in front of them, as there is no personalized approach to their prescribing

Longevity approach

On the other hand, the Longevity approach sits at the opposite end in the philosophical approach to prescribing hormones. This approach aligns itself more with the WHI study data that shows that HRT is beneficial in younger menopausal women.  In terms of the increased disease risk in older women, they don’t believe the research data on synthetic hormones applies to natural hormones. They also believe because we are living longer, we should mimic the hormone levels we had when we were younger to help support the body’s long-term vitality and prevent disease  Some of these physicians are creating hormone protocols that use such high doses of natural hormones women may begin to cycle again. 

In between these two camps lay an infinite number of approaches that vary according to the beliefs of the practitioner and the personal beliefs and goals of each woman. 

So how does one safely navigate this terrain to discover the most effective and safest way to use hormones?  Personalized Medicine holds the key.

Personalized Medicine Approach and Bioidentical Hormone Therapy.  

Each woman needs to create her own personalized approach when navigating the best way to thrive into Menopause regardless if she uses BiHRT or not. Using a one size fits all standard prescription, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, is negligent at this time in your life. Each woman needs their own customized approach, not a protocol based on the beliefs or the opinions of famous movie stars or talk show hosts, or a group class where all woman are treated the same

It’s important to base health decisions on solid relevant research that is aligned with each woman’s risk benefit ratio, personal health history, disease risk, genetics, current health status, symptoms, lifestyle, health goals and beliefs on aging.

How to Begin to Initiate Your Personalized BiHRT Approach

If you choose to support your menopause transition with BiHRT there are important tools to have on board to personalize your approach.

A Partner Physician: You need a physician to partner with who specializes in women’s medicine and is familiar with Bioidentical hormones, Personalized medicine, and Functional and Naturopathic medicine principles to help you customize the most effective and safest prescription for you.  If your physician is dismissive, doesn’t address your personal risk factors and concerns, or makes a blanket statement that all hormone therapy is dangerous I would advise you seek a practitioner aware of the final outcome of the WHI study and one who is well versed in personalized or functional medicine

Motivation: You must be willing to do the work to make the lifestyle changes required to optimize your thrive on BiHRT.  This isn’t just about taking a medication; it’s about you taking responsibility and doing as much as you can to optimize your body to achieve a healthy hormone balance while on hormones.

Key Principles Of Personalized BiHRT

Ultimately the goal of Personalized BiHRT is to use hormones in the safest possible way to achieve both the short-term health goals as well as the long-term vitality of each woman.  How this is achieved is going to be different for each woman based on her past health history, lifestyle factors, biochemistry, genetics etc.

There are many ways to do this when you work with your physician. Below I outline how I apply these goals when working with women in my ‘Restore the CORE Approach’ to Thriving in Menopause to give you an idea of what areas need to be focused on. The program involves a detailed history and is based on each woman’s risk factors.  We do a variety of functional medicine lab tests if indicated; imaging like vaginal ultrasounds and bone density testing, genetic testing, urine and salivary hormone testing and screenings for breast health, heart health, bone health, mental health and brain health.

Dr. Plazas Restore the Core Thrive in Menopause Program

The Restore the Core Program is for women whether they choose to do hormones or not. We spend one-third of our lives in menopause.  At this time, it is vital to achieve symptom relief whether it is with hormones, herbs, supplements, diet, or lifestyle interventions. It is important to design a personalized program to achieve the health goals of each woman in a way that alleviates symptoms but also prevents chronic disease so a woman can thrive as she ages.

Creating Hormone Balance

It is essential to optimize hormone metabolism. Each woman is unique in how they process hormones in their body.  Pouring active hormones into a system that may not be able to handle them correctly is irresponsible and careless. If a woman has had a history of hormone imbalance due to dysfunctional hormone metabolism the same thing may occur on hormone replacement.

1. Hormone History: It’s vital to take a detailed menstrual and gynecological hormone history to gain insight into how each woman metabolizes and utilizes her hormones.  This helps us choose the best combination, form and dosage to help a woman balance her hormones.

2. Urine Hormone testing is necessary usually once on BiHRT to give us deeper insight into how a woman is detoxifying and metabolizing her hormones. It also allows us to see if hormone levels are in the targeted therapeutic range to match a woman’s health goals. At this time Urine testing is the most accurate way to look at the metabolism of hormones in the body, but depending on the form of HRT serum or salivary may be added as well.   goals.

Optimize Genetics and Nutrition

Each woman is different biochemically and genetically.  There are a number of genes and nutrient deficiencies that affect how we detoxify our hormones.  These need to be addressed as they can have a profound effect on how we metabolize our hormones and can put us at risk for chronic disease if left untreated long-term.  It is also important to look at the whole body for deficiencies or genetic tendencies that put a woman at higher risks for other diseases associated with aging like heart disease, dementia, stroke,  osteoporosis, diabetes or breast cancer etc. This needs to be incorporated into the overall treatment plan when considering hormones and designing a long-term dietary lifestyle and supplement protocols tailored for each woman

Revitalize Metabolism and the Biochemistry of Body Systems

The body’s systems need to be revitalized to ensure they are all working optimally so the body is able to process hormones in the most effective and safest way when they are introduced into the body

The endocrine system which involves all the glands that secrete hormones like the adrenals, and thyroid as well as the digestive system and the liver’s detoxification system all play a role in hormone metabolism. We do a detailed dive into testing and optimizing Digestion, Liver health, and Adrenal and Thyroid function.

Energize diet and lifestyle

There are also many dietary and lifestyle factors, that affect our biochemistry and affect the balance of female hormones.

A woman’s diet and lifestyle play a huge role in her hormone balance and risk of chronic disease.  Diet, stress, exercise, and mental state all play a huge role in optimizing your hormone balance and disease prevention.  All of these can be optimized to help our hormone balance and chronic disease prevention

Conclusion

It’s is vital to your long term thrive to receive ongoing personal prescribing based on your unique biochemistry and health goals to create the safest way to thrive on BiHRT.The ‘Restore the Core’ program primes your body to be more receptive to hormones and removes anything that is standing in the way of their efficacy. 

This allows you to achieve the key principle of personalized BiHRT: to use the least amount of hormones in the safest way possible to achieve the health goals of each woman, alleviate symptoms and prevent chronic disease so a woman can thrive as she ages

In Part 1, we explore what bioidentical hormones are and how they differ from standard hormone therapy. In Part 2, we explore personalized medicine’s approach to hormone therapy.

Differences Between Standard Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Bioidentical or Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy (BiHRT)

Standard hormone replacement therapy (HRT) refers to a variety of pharmaceutical chemicals designed to act like human estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone in the body and prescribed to help women with symptoms of menopause. Some of these synthetic replacement hormones are quite different from a woman’s hormones, for example, Premarin (pregnant mare urine), while some are designed to be more similar. To be a patentable prescription, however, these medications have to be chemically and structurally different from the natural hormones found in the human body to some degree. As a result, they are not metabolized the same way as a woman’s own hormones and therefore can be detrimental to the body or cause unwanted side effects. In addition to this, no one knows whether they signal the same intricate chemical messages throughout the body as our own hormones do.

Bioidentical hormones, also referred to as natural hormones, are chemicals that are made to be identical to the hormones produced naturally in a woman’s body. Though these originate from natural ingredients like yam or soy, they have to be processed to become a chemical that is indistinguishable from estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone produced in a woman’s body. They are, in essence, biochemically identical to female hormones; thus, they are given the name ‘bioidentical.’ There are two types of natural hormones available to women:

• Prescription Bioidentical Hormones: Some pharmaceutical companies have made a patent out of the delivery system of these natural hormones, and thus they are a prescription medication that will often get covered by insurance. For example, they can patent the adhesive on a patch and make it a unique patentable medication. These are much more favorable than the synthetic hormones, but they are limited in some respects to the types of estrogen in them, the dosing options available, and there is no way to combine estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Therefore, if a woman is seeking to replace all these hormones, it will require 3 different prescriptions.
• Compounded Bioidentical Hormones: Available through compounding pharmacies and can be blended into any custom formulation based on the individual needs of each woman. They offer the ability to mix the two most common types of estrogens in different ratios and can incorporate progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA all in one formula if needed. There are also several different ways to administer them based on the comfort, absorbability, symptoms, and health concerns of each woman. Some do better with topical creams, vaginal gels, troches, sublingual drops, capsules, or pellets. The compounded bioidentical hormones overall allow for a more individualized approach as a custom blend can be made up for each woman based on her unique needs.

Benefits of Bioidentical Hormones Over Synthetic Hormones

• Bioidentical hormones are believed to be safer than synthetic HRT: Bioidentical hormones are believed to be safer, but there are no studies comparing bioidentical hormones to synthetic HRT. It is unlikely that there ever will be because natural hormones are chemicals that exist in nature and can’t be patented. No companies are willing to invest millions of dollars researching something they can’t patent or exclusively profit from. However, since these hormones are identical to those produced in a woman’s body, it is believed that they exert the same biochemical effect and, if prescribed correctly, have fewer side effects and are therefore safer than synthetic HRT.
  
• BiHRT dosing can be personalized: Unlike synthetic hormones, bioidentical hormones are available in any dose or combination. Pharmacists can blend up any mixture or dosage to create personalized formulations, allowing women to find the most effective and safest combination to meet their needs.
  
• BiHRT is available in a variety of forms that can be prescribed based on a woman’s preference or used to augment specific treatment goals or mitigate disease risks: They are available as creams, gels, suppositories, troches, lozenges, drops, pellets, and capsules.

Is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Safe?

As mentioned before, there are no large-scale studies on the safety of bioidentical hormones because no pharmaceutical company will fund research for something they can’t own outright or patent. There are several smaller studies on natural hormones showing their effectiveness and safety; however, there are no comprehensive studies that adequately assess disease risk so that we can say with certainty they are without risk. To answer those questions on the safety of natural hormones, we have to examine the research on standard HRT and then explore how relevant this is to bioidentical hormone therapy.

What We Know About the Safety of Synthetic HRT

The study that has had the most impact to date on how physicians prescribe synthetic HRT is the WHI study (Women’s Health Initiative). This is the largest comprehensive study on HRT and was designed to examine the long-term risks and benefits of women taking Premarin (horse estrogen alone) or Prempro (horse estrogen with synthetic progesterone). The study was supposed to last 7 years, but at year 5 in 2002, the women in the Prempro group began to show an increase in heart disease and breast cancer. As a result, this group discontinued the study.

The airways exploded with this news, “HRT Causes Heart Disease and Breast Cancer,” and panic ensued in women and physicians alike. The information no one knew at this point, however, was that this small increased risk of heart disease and breast cancer would eventually be found to only occur in women who initiated HRT after having not had a menstrual cycle for more than 10 years. This preliminary data, however, reported to the public out of context, instilled so much fear that over 50% of women on HRT threw their hormones away regardless of their age or what type of HRT they were on and never looked back. In fact, no one has ever really looked back. This unleashed a generalized mistrust of all hormone therapy that still remains today despite the fact that the final data published concluded that HRT can actually be beneficial for women under 60 and beneficial long-term if initiated early.

The Facts of the Women’s Health Initiative Study

• What made the headlines: “Study on HRT discontinued due to an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease in a group of women taking Prempro.”
  
• What women heard: “All hormones cause breast cancer and heart disease in all women.”
  
• What actually was observed: Women who initiated Prempro HRT (estrogen from pregnant mares combined with synthetic progesterone) over the age of 60 or who were more than 10 years out from their last period were at a slight increased risk of developing heart disease and breast cancer. The women in the estrogen-only group did not have an increased risk.
  
• What was the increased risk: There was a 0.08 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer (out of 10,000 women, 8 more developed breast cancer), 0.07 percent increased risk of developing heart disease (out of 10,000 women, 7 more got diagnosed with heart disease), 0.08 percent more would have a stroke (8 more cases out of 10,000 women), and 0.08 percent more would develop blood clots. There would also be 5 fewer hip fractures (0.05 percent decreased risk) and 6 fewer colorectal cancers (0.05 percent decreased risk) in 10,000 women.
  
  What hasn’t yet been communicated to the public: What the WHI study actually revealed when completed.

The investigators of WHI continued to monitor the health of these women for another 18 years. They published a final analysis of the research data after the study was completed stating the following:

1. The risks for certain safety aspects were overestimated originally in 2002.
2. The study showed a benefit in the use of HRT in women in the 50-59 age group and women less than 10 years past menopause. There was a lowered risk of heart disease, a lower risk of death from any cause, and no clear increased risk from stroke while using HRT.
3. Those women starting HRT over 60 or who are over 10 years into menopause don’t accrue these same benefits and could be at certain increased risks for other diseases like heart disease and breast cancer.

Other large studies from Europe on HRT also support the same observations that the age of women initiating HRT results in significant differences in disease risk.

Unfortunately, this final data didn’t make the cut for worthy news reporting, and not many women or even physicians are aware of the final results of the WHI study. As a result, a vital piece of information sits shelved away in a journal on our medical library shelves. Most decisions about whether to consider HRT and many standard prescribing protocols are still influenced by the original premature data reported in 2002.

How Relevant Is This Research to Bioidentical Hormone Therapy?

There are differing opinions on how relevant this particular research on synthetic HRT is to bioidentical hormone therapy and how it should be applied. Most argue that you are comparing apples to oranges when you try to compare any synthetic chemical that is foreign to the body to a chemical that is naturally produced in the body. Synthetic hormones are medications and they do not get metabolized the same way as our own hormones do.  They can break down into more dangerous chemicals and affect the tissues in the body differently

So, as a result, many clinicians are divided in how they interpret and apply this particular research to BiHRT prescribing. Many believe the research on synthetic hormones doesn’t apply to BiHRT while others prescribe with caution based on the WHI study.

As a Naturopathic physician focusing on women’s medicine, I believe it’s important to be aware of this research and take into account each woman’s health history, family history, risk factors and quality of life when designing her plan for menopause whether we are using diet, lifestyle factors herbs or considering hormone replacement.

Since you as a woman spend 1/3 of your life in menopause it is vital not to be short sighted and focus solely on making symptoms go away. It’s vital to find a practitioner that is able to personalize your treatment plan with a strategy to focus on long term disease prevention so you can thrive into menopause.

Conclusion

Navigating menopause with a personalized approach to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) ensures that you receive the safest and most effective treatment tailored to your unique needs. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BiHRT) offers a more natural and individualized option compared to standard synthetic HRT, focusing not only on symptom relief but also on long-term health and disease prevention. By working with a knowledgeable practitioner who considers your overall health and personal history, you can thrive during menopause and beyond, reducing your risk of chronic conditions and enhancing your quality of life.

Making Sense of Diet Advice Overload

It can be utterly overwhelming, trying to make sense of all the dietary advice that bombards you daily. Diet information is such a hot commodity the average consumer can’t separate fact from fiction.  Most research that reaches the public through social media, our inboxes, the web, and even mainstream news has been compromised and creatively packaged to sell rather than inform. When you try to navigate through the infinite number of diets out there, things get even more confusing.

You don’t have to go very far in an online search to get quickly bombarded with miraculous health claims from strict Vegans to hard core Keto folks.  They all declare that their diet transformed their lives and that this is the ultimate plan guaranteed to transform yours.

How can you make sense of all the persuasive testimonials coming from such extreme ends of the diet spectrum? One explanation why both groups report such significant health benefits is that when individuals begin to adopt any new dietary regime, they usually increase their intake of nutrient-dense whole foods, increase their overall nutrition and therefore feel better. However, the profound health claims resulting from these opposing dietary approaches is much more complicated. When you look deeper, it appears that the benefits people are experiencing may not be as much about what they are eating but rather more about what they are not eating that explains the ‘life-altering’ changes they experience. Though the Vegan diet and the Keto diet sit at opposites ends of the diet continuum, there is a significant similarity that can account for some or a majority of this ‘transformational experience’. Each of them eliminates a specific set of potentially inflammatory foods.

Individuals who are sensitive to dairy or eggs, and whose bodies have been overburdened by the inflammatory fats, hormones and chemicals from factory-farmed meats will experience a remarkable shift in their health on a Vegan diet with these things eliminated from their bodies.

On the other hand, individuals sensitive to grains, legumes, corn and sugar will experience a similar shift in their health on their Keto or Paleo regime. They report more energy, less joint pain, less gastrointestinal upset, fewer headaches, and thrive when these particular things are eliminated from their bodies.

The take-home message: When individuals remove foods that have been causing inflammation in their body, they will experience a renewal of health on all levels regardless of the type of diet they are on or what food philosophy they have embraced.

This doesn’t explain everything though. It’s never that simple. Remember, not everybody who tries these diets experiences the same kind of renewal once they’ve been on them long term because over time some deficiencies can develop.  The individuals who appear to thrive long term on any one of these particular diet regimes have not only reduced inflammation in their bodies, but they have also tapped into a way of eating that provides their particular body with the right micro-nutrient and macro-nutrient balance. They have discovered the diet that resonates with their unique biochemistry, nutritional needs, genetics and lifestyle. 

What Suits One Does Not Suite All

In our hot pursuit to find the one’ ultimate diet’ that will help everyone we’ve stopped listening to our bodies for direction. Instead, we have been listening to everyone else and often end up feeling like failures because the diet that worked for our sister-in-law, our best friend, and our co-worker didn’t work for us despite our best attempts. In our culture, we’ve all sadly lost sight of the most essential nutritional principle that should be guiding all our dietary decisions-

Personalization. So, there is no one ultimate diet protocol that will suit every person’s needs, but there is an ultimate thriving diet out there for each individual. Each individual needs to honor their uniqueness and discover this for themselves based on their individual biochemistry, genetics and lifestyle.

How To Discover Your Thrive Diet

Step 1 – The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

To begin formulating your personal diet, you need to first determine if you have foods causing inflammation in your body. Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard list of inflammatory foods that everyone needs to eliminate. People’s responses to foods are very individualized. Many foods can be nutritious and healthy in one person’s body but actually can act like kryptonite in another’s. The most efficient, accurate and direct way to discover what foods may be causing inflammation in your body is through an Anti-Inflammatory Diet (AIDiet).

What is an Anti-inflammatory diet?

On this type of diet, there is no caloric restriction but a restriction of the most common inflammatory foods. You are guided to remove all of them at the same time for several weeks and then methodically add them back in to see if they create or worsen symptoms in the body. This allows you to experience firsthand the benefits of what your body feels like when these foods are first removed and then reintroduced.

Questions I hear often are: “I’ve never had food allergies in the past. How could I have one now? I’ve been eating the same way for years”. Many of you probably think this step is too simplified to have any profound effect on your health and don’t believe you have any food sensitivities.  It’s important to understand that just because you have been consuming certain foods and eating a specific way for years doesn’t mean some foods aren’t causing a problem for you now. Food sensitivities or food allergies can develop over time. Even subtle irritations can accumulate through the years and contribute to chronic inflammation. By the time you reach midlife, these layers of irritation begin to stress your body systems and can contribute to symptoms like joint pain, fatigue, foggy brain, moodiness, anxiety, headaches and palpitations. When these symptoms develop in midlife, you mistakenly attribute them to aging when in reality, they are often triggered by your diet choices.

An Anti-Inflammatory Diet, therefore, is a non-negotiable first step for everyone as they begin to formulate the best diet to support their body through midlife and beyond.

• Many people experience relief from many of the symptoms they mistakenly thought were a natural part of aging. Aside from symptom relief, many women report renewed vitality, more energy, better mood and clearer thinking.
• You will discover what foods or eating patterns may be contributing to your symptoms of hormone imbalance.
• You will remove dietary inflammation that may be holding your hormone balance hostage. This allows your body to become more sensitive to lifestyle changes and will enable treatments to penetrate deeper into the body resulting in the least amount of intervention to create the most significant amount of change.
• You will establish a new baseline of health and be able to streamline treatment efforts at your core health issues and not superficial inflammation.

Reducing Inflammation is like buying health insurance. Discovering what foods are inflaming your body ensures that you build a path from surviving to thriving.

What Anti-inflammatory diet should I choose? 

Find the method that works best for your personality and lifestyle because ease of use is going to ensure the most success. There are several books available and online programs that will help guide you. If you feel you need extra support, you may want to invest in a physician or nutritionist who is aware of the differences between food allergies, food sensitivities, and food intolerances and how to investigate these using your body instead of relying on expensive tests that often have a lot of false positives and false negatives.

Keep it simple. Don’t buy into a program that requires you to consume exclusive products, shakes, or detox supplements. If you embark on a strong detoxification program or begin a new supplement regime while on the diet you won’t be able to discern if the positive changes you experience are from the diet changes or the latest supplements. It will confuse your investigation and make it harder to identify your trigger foods. There’s plenty of time to add in supplements or launch into a detox afterwards.

Make sure the diet you choose focuses on fresh organic vegetables, organic fruits and clean unprocessed organic protein rather than prepackaged food or drinks.  It should recommend avoiding at minimum the following foods: gluten, most grains, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, peanuts, nightshades, citrus, sugar and all synthetics chemicals, preservatives and dyes.  For some individual’s food intolerances may be an issue so avoiding all legumes, nuts, histamine foods, tyramine foods etc. may be recommended depending on your health history and symptoms.

You are welcome to download my eBook that provides the general outline of the Thriving Anti-Inflammatory Diet that I recommend all people start with for midlife health issues. Please note if you have a lot of health issues and hypersensitivity reactions, I recommend you seek guidance from a physician experienced in fine-tuning these diets for specific food sensitivities and intolerances based on your health conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t I simply remove one food at a time and see if my symptoms get better?

It is necessary to remove all the potentially inflaming foods at the same time and not separately. The reason for this is you may have more than one food creating inflammation in your body. Imagine a scenario where you have three large tacks stuck in the bottom of your foot, causing pain. If you remove just one, will you probably not notice a difference in the pain. It’s necessary to remove all foods at once and follow a guided elimination and reintroduction phase to be able to accurately conclude whether a food is creating observable inflammation in your body.

What about food allergy testing?

Many people want to do food allergy testing because it’s easier. Unfortunately, allergy tests have are not reliable for food sensitivities or intolerances. For years I have worked with clients whose allergy testing missed significant food triggers that were compromising their health. This is mainly due to the following:

• Lab test inaccuracies. Anonymous samples of the same individual’s blood submitted simultaneously to a variety of laboratories showed only a 70% correlation at best between identical samples. Testing, therefore, can result in false positives and false negatives. This can cause you to continue to consume a food that is inflaming your system or remove a food that isn’t.
  
• Food irritants disrupt the body’s chemistry through a variety of mechanisms. Regardless of the mechanism involved, these reactions occur deep within the body and can cause many symptoms.
  
  • Food allergies trigger an inflammatory response from your white blood cells, releasing antibodies and inflammatory chemicals to help protect you from a perceived invader.
  • Food sensitivities irritate your system by setting off a cascade of inflammatory chemicals.
  • Food intolerances occur when the body can’t break down specific chemicals present in a variety of foods.

Currently, there are no lab tests available that accurately test for all these three inflammatory mechanisms. The marketing efforts of lab companies, however, both online and in the alternative health care industry, will try to convince you and many health practitioners otherwise. With extravagant packaging, polished testimonials and elaborate ‘research’ reports, they claim that their test is the most accurate on the market. It could well be the most reliable for the one mechanism it’s testing, but it will miss the food reactions that aggravate your body through the other mechanisms.

Clinicians, who have been working diligently for years identifying inflammatory patterns in their patients agree with the research that concludes that a physician-guided anti-inflammatory diet is the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to identifying foods that cause observable symptoms in the body. There is a place for allergy testing in some cases; however, it is the second course of action after an anti-inflammatory diet. Using the diet with an experienced clinician will further increase its effectiveness and your success in interpreting the results.

If you have food reactions, it is important to work with a clinician to work to investigate the underlying cause of why you have them. This will prevent further sensitivities from developing and treating the cause may allow you to rotate some of these foods back into your diet in the future.

Congratulations to all of you who take on this challenge! Committing to an AIDiet is the most effective first step you can take in your journey to discover the ‘optimal diet’ that will best serve your body as you age.  It creates the foundation from which you can begin to create your personalized Thriving Diet.

Step 2 Fine-Tuning Your Ultimate Thrive Diet 

The next step to take once you have identified your inflammatory foods is to choose one of the low carbohydrate diets and modify it by listening to how your body responds and following up with labs depending on your health situation and health goals.  At this stage, I highly recommend working with a clinician to incorporate your unique biochemistry in formulating your thriving diet. Working with a clinician will ensure that you have taken into account your specific nutritional deficiencies, biochemical imbalances, genetic variants and disease risk factors so you can fine-tune and create your own personalized diet to thrive as you age.

Conclusion:

In the quest for optimal health, it’s crucial to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Personalized medicine emphasizes the importance of tailoring your diet to your unique biochemistry, genetics, and lifestyle. By starting with an Anti-Inflammatory Diet and working closely with a clinician, you can identify and eliminate foods that may be causing inflammation, paving the way for a personalized “Thrive Diet” that supports your long-term health. This individualized approach is key to not just surviving but truly thriving as you age.