The following is a pretty lengthy read, but the point I want to get across is that as a certified health coach, I have been there and lived it. If you are going through something in your life and ready to seek proper health and wellness, I would love to help you. Rest assured, you are in good hands and I would be honored and blessed to help you!

In the fall of 2011, I had been eating well, attending high intensity and other great workout classes which enabled me to lose 29 pounds. I was down to 159 pounds which was the lowest I had been since junior high. I was stoked! I could hardly believe it; finally, I was going to obtain a healthy life and body that I longed to have. I did this just by eating right and working out.

In April of 2012, I took a quick trip to San Francisco and ended up getting violently ill with food poisoning. I am not sure what it was that I ate. Perhaps it was the famous clam chowder in the bread bowls. Whatever it was, it didn’t like me. Remember this piece of the story…it will be important later.

In May of 2012, a friend recommended I go see a Naturopathic Doctor. I did not have a specific reason for visiting her – just to stay ahead of the game and keep my health on a good path. During my first visit, I did tell her that I had just returned from a trip where I got pretty sick. With this first contact, I started down a winding path and I had no clue all the things I was about to discover.

And this is where my health journey begins!

When I walked into Dr. B’s* office, she said, “Well Cheri, what are you here for?” My response was simple. “Well, I feel fine, but I just want to stay ahead of things. A friend recommended that I come see you, so here I am.” I had no way of knowing that Dr. B has an innate ability to look at someone and just know specific issues. She spared me quite a bit and told me that she wasn’t going to overload me on my first visit. Rather, she educated me on some fundamentals of healthy living. The first lesson I learned from her was that I needed to change my life to organic, non-GMO, and toxin-, chemical-free living. My response was, “That’s so expensive!”

Dr. B’s response still rings in my ears to this day, and I replay the message to all who come into my path seeking change. She said, “Cheri, would you rather spend more on your food now or more on your medical bills later?”

And there was the seed…it was planted

For six whole months in 2012 I visited Dr. B on a weekly basis. Keep in mind that in 2012, most Naturopathic Doctors were not covered by health insurance and still to this day I see very few who are. So when I suggest to people that they should eat organically and non-GMO, be treated by natural practitioners, and rid their lives of harmful toxins and chemicals, I KNOW FIRST HAND that the lifestyle isn’t cheap. Our lives are worth it though.

We opened a can of worms that could never be closed again. I wouldn’t change a thing of how Dr. B began to clean my world. It’s important to know, however, that getting clean did not make me feel better initially. I felt good for a couple weeks and then bad again.

When I say bad, it was a daily midday fever and extreme fatigue. I could be in the middle of anything and literally drift off to sleep. The fatigue would last anywhere from one to six hours.

In the process, we found that I am intolerant to all things inflammatory: wheat and soy right away and then eventually, dairy and corn. I still didn’t feel good. Adrenal fatigue was next. I felt good for a couple weeks and then bad again.

At the time, I had no clue what the adrenal system was and so I consulted my good friend, Google. Located at the top of each kidney, the adrenal glands produce hormones that help the body control blood sugar, burn protein and fat, react to stressors like a major illness or injury, and regulate blood pressure.

Two of the most important adrenal hormones are cortisol and aldosterone. Basically, they are the main batteries of our bodies. If they aren’t functioning properly, our bodies can’t function properly. Wearing them down to the point of fatigue can wreak havoc in the body. Symptoms of non- functioning, or poorly-functioning, adrenal glands include: weight gain and inability to lose weight, skin problems, high blood pressure, muscle/joint/bone weakness, upper body obesity, excessive fatigue, salt cravings, feeling of energy in the evening, dizziness when standing up, lack of tolerance for stress, compromised immune system resulting in catching everything going around.

Your adrenals get exhausted by chronic stress from environmental, emotional, or other physical stressors. Chronic stress destroys the body’s ability to adjust to the demands. The kind of stressors I’m talking about are anger, depression, surgeries, high sugar intake, chronic illnesses, sleep deprivation, chronic infections, such as Giardia, and H.pylori.

Late May 2012 is when my first detox came into play. The detox was intensely focused on getting my adrenals functioning properly. At this point, I had already eliminated wheat and soy. Now, I had to eliminate caffeine, alcohol, and sugar. Adrenals need to be clear of stimulants in order to regulate properly. I was also on a supplement provided by Dr. B to assist with proper adrenal function. That first detox lasted approximately two to four weeks. Again, you guessed it, I felt good while I was detoxing just to crash again and not feel well after it ended. I know what you are thinking, and no, I didn’t add all that stuff that I had eliminated back in right away.

The second detox I did was to clear out Candida, a yeast-like, parasitic fungus that can sometimes cause yeast infections in women. It also occurs in the mouth and intestinal tract where they can be pathogenic. It is the cause of thrust in breastfeeding women and more rarely in men.  Signs and symptoms include: sugar cravings, autoimmune complications, nail fungus, allergies (seasonal and food), urinary tract infections, digestive issues, fatigue, mood swings, attention deficits, rash and/or skin disorders.

There are many things that cause Candida. A diet loaded with sugar, yeast, refined carbs, white flour, refined grains, and even fruit. Chronic stress causes our bodies to release the hormone cortisol which may increase blood sugar, which in turn feeds the Candida.

Antibiotics are another culprit. A round of antibiotics kills not only the bad bacteria that it is intended to kill, it also kills the good bacteria that is meant to be in the gut defending your digestive system, leaving Candida powerful and able to take over.

Birth control can throw off the hormonal balance which leaves your system vulnerable for Candida to come in and take over. One of the reasons Candida may occur more in women than men is that estrogen promotes the growth of yeast.

Heavy metals in our environment impact our health more than we realize. Mercury fillings may seem an unlikely factor in our general health, but let’s think about it. Mercury is poisonous to the body and when we have fillings in that form, we are constantly using our teeth which in turn is releasing the toxins into our systems. Mercury weakens the immune system and, like antibiotics, can kill good bacteria in the gut, allowing Candida to take over. Chlorine and fluoride pose the same hazards.

One would think after doing a detox to help repair the adrenal system and clear Candida that I would feel on top of the world.

Not so much.

So we did more testing for all sorts of things. In the natural-medicine world that encompasses testing blood samples, hair, saliva and stool. Fun stuff! We went through every test out there. Despite the cleanse for Candida I’d just finished, we found that I had an abundance of fungus and yeast living in me. A certain amount is normal, but a healthy, properly functioning body knows how to process and eliminate the overgrowth.

My body didn’t seem to know how or just couldn’t process it altogether. Dr. B. thought that surely it was because I had high levels of heavy metals. Nope! More testing revealed that those levels were within the normal range.

To be safe, I proceeded with my third cleanse: a three-month heavy metal detoxification. This was by far the most intense detox I had ever heard of. I even went so far as to get my silver fillings replaced. I also went in once a week to get a Myers Cocktail which is the colloquial name for an intravenous nutrient mixture invented by Baltimore physician John Myers and contains magnesium, calcium, various B vitamins, and vitamin C. It is believed to be beneficial for a broad range of conditions. The treatment is common among Naturopathic Doctors in the United States and Canada. By the way, it IS AMAZING!

Heavy metal poisoning/toxicity is the accumulations of toxic amounts of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body. Symptoms can vary, depending on which metal you have an abundance of in your system. The most common associated with poisoning in humans are lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. It can happen as a result of air, water, industrial pollutions, foods, medications or processed food containers.

By now I had done the elimination detox to help boost my adrenal function, Candida removal detox, and the heavy metal detox. I was clean, or so I thought.

During this whole process of getting cleaned out and healthy, I continued to work out almost daily and in August 2012, I miraculously quit smoking!!

I had smoked since I was a teenager and struggled with the addiction. I wanted to be free of it and had no clue when or how it would happen. I was in the dating scene at the time and, though a smoker I knew I wanted to quit so was unwilling to get serious with anyone that smoked. A guy I casually dated, a heavy smoker, challenged me to quit buying cigarettes after my current pack was gone.

I prayed about it, did the whole self-talk thing over the course of 48 hours:

“YOU ARE READY!”

“YOU WANT TO QUIT!”

“YOU WANT TO BE HEALTHY AND BE ABLE TO RUN!”

So, that fine Tuesday morning in early August, I woke up and said to myself with true, genuine excitement, “I AM DONE SMOKING. THIS IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE!” That was that. I quit and have not looked back nor have I craved a cigarette since.

Meanwhile, I was having significant sinus issues, constantly stuffed up. Dr. B was stumped. In January 2013, I was referred to an ears, nose and throat doctor (an ENT). He recommended either surgery or steroids to take down the inflammation; I opted for the steroids. It was after the steroids, that I gained 24 pounds within a few weeks and began rejecting numerous foods. I didn’t, at that time, put two and two together.

There came a certain point where Dr. B claimed me as her mystery patient. She had no more tests to run on me and no other suggestions or ideas. We exhausted all our efforts. I was bummed to say the least.

Around spring of 2013, I began seeing a physician who immediately tested my hormones and found that DHEA and Progesterone levels were off so he put me on bio-identical compounds. After a year, we finally got the levels where they needed to be, yet I still felt like crap. Nothing was changing. I was bloated, fatigued, and couldn’t lose weight despite the fact that I had cleaned up my diet and was working out five days a week. Still nothing!!!! I had my annual exam and my doctor told me that I had a cyst on my right ovary that needed to be removed.

“YES! That was it!” I thought! “The cyst was why I felt like crap and what was causing all of this.” Nope. The symptoms persisted even after the surgery to have it removed.

Can you feel the frustration yet? I know what you’re thinking…thyroid. Of course, I checked that! Four times!

After the ovary removal in June of 2014, I was simply at a loss. I had no idea where to turn or what was happening to me and why couldn’t anyone find the answers! Was I just going to be miserable forever?

Was I destined to be like Paul from the Bible with his mysterious thorn-in-the-side illness (alluded to but never explained in the biblical text)? Was I to remain bloated and unable to eat anything but chicken and lettuce without feeling ill?

I simply continued on my path of educating myself and eating right. In February of 2014, I started an online class with the Institute of Integrated Nutrition (IIN) thinking surely I would learn how to take care of myself and would find the missing link to feeling better. NOPE!

The good news is that now I am a certified health coach and am looking forward to the day that I can help many people achieve wellness without having to go through so many hurdles. So onward I went, eating right and continuing to completely clean my life of all things toxic.

It was an upward progression of testing new things and taking out others. I learned so much.

Through all of this I had been seeing a good friend that does Quantum Energetics and energy healing. We were able to hone in on, and rule out, some things but still not getting the big answer.

Then in June 2016, I was introduced to a lady who was profound in helping me heal. Miss C is a Psychologist and Nutritionist which isn’t exactly the standard combo when it comes to practitioners, I know. But if you knew her, you would understand how amazing she is incorporating both practices together! She not only gave me some insight on digestive issues but also opened some amazing doors into my childhood with things that were repressed deep within me that also affected my health and mentality.

She made me realize that leaky gut was the culprit of all of my issues. There it is folks! I had seen this pop up in class, on-line, and on Facebook, and my initial reaction was always, “NOPE! I don’t have leaky gut.” But I think I had to go through more than five years of the journey to truly learn all of the amazing tools that I have learned.

Miss C opened my eyes to the connection of gut and brain health. She taught me how the two truly go hand in hand. Our gut must be healthy first in order to be healthy overall. Working with her, I began eating mostly broths and soups. Broth is where the healing begins and I had no clue!!! The collagen, protein, nutrients, and minerals in broth, especially bone broth, are vital to healing the gut.

On the path of healing leaky gut, you really learn how to make some healing and delicious soups. I am truly addicted to soup now. I must have it at least once a day and probably will forever!

The next person I met was Dr. H, and she has also been profound in my healing! It was funny how I met her. I was at a trade show for natural healers. I walked past her booth and saw that she had a chocolate energy ball sitting there which consisted of cocoa powder, almonds, honey, and some other amazingly nutritional stuff. I told her I would love one but that it would make me hurt. She asked me what foods I couldn’t eat and I listed them off. “No wheat, no soy, no dairy, no corn, no sugar, no grains, no beans, no lentils!”

She asked if I felt good and my response was a solid, “NO!” She asked me if I wanted to visit about it and that she was sure I was dealing with leaky gut. I, of course, agreed to meet with her and set up an appointment immediately. Like seriously, I am all about talking to people who know what’s up!

She brought new things to light in my life, like introducing me to a book that I highly recommend called “The Autoimmune Fix” by Dr. Tom O’Brien which includes amazingly profound information that everyone should know.

While still on my own path, I was starting to create a life-changing, gut-healing cleanse that I was excited to share with the world! It will help people heal and help them make better decisions!! However, I was still not feeling 100%. Questions continued to roll through my head like: What do I have to do to feel good all the time? How am I going to be a health coach and get people healthy when they see me not feeling good and have around 30 extra pounds on my body?!

At any rate, I found a small group of friends and family that agreed to do my cleanse with a test trial. We started the cleanse I created on January 16, 2017. I had high hopes for myself. Maybe this time it would work, and maybe now I would be free of the digestive discomfort and begin to feel good again! Maybe I would become the coach I really wanted to be and knew I could be.

I was 19 days into my 30 day cleanse and feeling good but also knowing deep down that as soon as I was done, I was going to start feeling crummy again.

I was down nine pounds which made me happy!

On February 3, 2017, my life changed…forever! My friend Sara, who has been a leader in my healing world, had started Ayervedic school a few weeks prior. She had shared my story with Dr. V, the founder, owner and educator at her school; he was convinced he could help me. Deep down I had a good feeling about him. After all, Ayurvedic medicine is about using God’s tools for healing, just the way He intended. I sat with Dr. V for less than 30 minutes, and he concluded that I had a mild case of Giardia.

As I was about to start reintroducing foods with my cleanse, he wanted me to lose five to eight pounds to prove to me that he could help. Dr. V took me backwards on my cleanse. He placed me on a strict diet, took me off all of my supplements, and put me on his natural remedies.

By day four, I had unloaded a lot of toxins. My stool was green and I couldn’t stop. I knew I had to be detoxing so I made another appointment 11 days after my original appointment. Dr. V told me that the green stool was due to food poisoning. He asked me to think long and hard. Where had this food poisoning come from?

A ton of bricks hit me at once!

Do you remember in the beginning when I said I was in San Francisco and got horrible food poisoning? That I had lost a bunch of weight leading up to that trip and that after I got back everything got worse? Once I took the steroids everything was out of control like gasoline on a fire.

I can only describe the wave of emotion when I began connecting the dots and seeing how everything I’d gone through had brought me to this moment! Intense relief, gratitude, crazy emotions that were running so high! All those years I knew someday I would find the answers. I didn’t know when, but I knew God had me on a journey for a solid reason.

It is abundantly clear that God set me on this long journey to truly learn the value of health, wellness, nutrition, and longevity, so that in turn, I may help others heal and feel good! We don’t have to be prisoners of what we eat and how we feel. We don’t have to mistake a chronic issue for something else being wrong and simply slapping a pharma drug on it only to mask the symptoms and make the issue/disease worse over time.

I am only just starting on the journey with Dr. V. I am one month into it, and on top of the nine pounds I lost on my cleanse, I have lost an additional 11 pounds. I feel good. The bloat is nearly gone. I know I am finally on the right track. I could not have done it or gotten here without the help of so many practitioners, teaching me along the way and amazing friends and family that were supportive through this battle.

I’m not done with the journey, and I’m still limited on foods but will be able to start to slowly add foods back in once the toxins are eliminated completely from my body.

There you have it folks…that is my story in the smallest nutshell that I could find. I do hope to hear from you!

I would love nothing more than to help you on your journey as well!

God Bless!

* I will not be using the doctors’ full names but if you are looking for a referral, contact me and I can help you make the connections.

To read more about Candida causes, signs, symptoms, etc., (more info on the Candida Diet).

To see a list of all the different types of metal poisoning: symptoms and causes, feel free to visit www.rarediseases.org.