I’m a big fan of alternative therapies! I’ve seen naturopaths, homeopaths, Chinese doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors, network chiropractors, kinesiologists, acupuncturists, an Ayurvedic practitioner, a dietician (first and last time!) and I’ve tried colonic hydrotherapy, reiki , reconnective healing and I meditate and practice yoga! Phew! I told ya I was a big fan!
Why might you ask? Because I’m always on a quest for optimal health! And I’ve been fascinated in holistic health for a number of years now. Although I consider myself to be very healthy as I never get sick (I haven’t had a cold/flu for over 18 months now!), like most people out there, I’ve had my minor health concerns such as low energy and digestive issues that I’ve been trying to sort out for a while now.
Time To Try Something New!
A couple of years ago, my mum had two minor heart attacks that were caused by spasms brought on by stress and lack of sleep…not by blocked arteries. Even though she didn’t need surgery, it was still quite scary! Mum quit her highly stressful job and found out about a medical clinic here in Perth where all of the doctors specialise in nutritional medicine. She saw Dr Igor Tabrizian who over a period of 6 months, got mum off all the prescription drugs and replaced them with a combination of vitamins & minerals made by his compound pharmacist.
I was quite intrigued by the fact all the GP’s at this clinic specialise in nutritional medicine, so decided recently to see one of these doctors. Before I could make an appointment, I had to fill out a very comprehensive questionnaire that went into great detail about my health and medical history. I initially tried to see Dr Tabrizian but once he read my questionnaire he recommended a more suitable doctor, Dr Casotti.
After a lengthy consultation discussing all of my concerns, Dr Casotti requested a blood test to check things such as my thyroid, vitamin D levels, B12, cholesterol, RBC folate plus a few others. She also requested a hair mineral analysis…when I went to get this done, I couldn’t believe how much hair was snipped away!
D Day
A month went past and I had my follow up appointment with Dr Casotti…I was really curious to know what my results were!
She started with my blood test and said my vitamin D levels were one of the best she had seen in a while! But as this clinic is about achieving “optimal health”, Dr Casotti said my levels could still be raised a small amount, so has put me on a very low dose of just one tablet a week.
My thyroid is slightly sluggish. This is most likely due to my iodine levels being low…I had no idea how much of an important role iodine plays in thyroid regulation! A deficiency in iodine can lead to problems with your reproductive system, immune system, and many common forms of cancer plus thyroid diseases such as hypothyroidism. The symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
- weight gain
- fatigue
- depression
- foggy brain
- memory failure
I tick all of those boxes except the depression and I haven’t stacked on weight by any means, however for a long time I found it really hard to put on weight and now I have to work harder to maintain my weight. Boo.
I was very surprised to find out my bad ( LDL) cholesterol levels were a little bit raised! What the? Although Dr Casotti said this should sort itself out my regulating everything else (it’s all interconnected), she did say I had to omit all cheese and bacon until I have all my tests done again in 3 months! I don’t have much of either I said, but when she asked “not even a little cube of cheese each day?”…I had to be honest as most days I’ll have a small square of organic cheddar cheese! And bacon I probably have at least once a week with my eggs. My good (HDL) cholesterol levels were in the normal range.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis
For those who aren’t aware, a hair tissue mineral analysis is a fantastic test for analysing mineral content and toxic metal accumulation in the body.
My test revealed that I had too much toxic mercury and aluminum in my body. It also revealed I had copper overload and not enough zinc. Dr Casotti explained how important zinc is for many reasons I already knew of such as it’s role in building and repairing cells of the skin, hair and nails; builds immune cells to protect us from disease; maintains strong healthy bones; assists in muscle growth etc.
I did not realise zinc also plays an integral role in making both stomach acid and some of the digestive enzymes made by the pancreas. Both of these are essential for good digestion.
Zinc can also assist in repairing the lining of the gut wall as it keeps the cells layers internal surfaces in good condition. This means if you had a serious ulcer in your gut, or if you have a leaky gut, zinc would be useful to help repair this. I’m very excited to see if this could be why I don’t digest my food properly!
There were a couple of other minerals I was low in which will all be going in the ‘polypill’ Dr Casotti has her compound pharmacist making.
My Supplements!
It’s a long list and definitely wasn’t cheap but this is what I am taking:
- Bio-C 1000mg
- Chelatox (chelation and detoxification supplement that helps with the removal of heavy metals)
- Dr T’s magnesium (for sleep)
- Eagle Digestaid
- Ferro-Gradumet (iron)
- Lugol’s Iodine
- Nature’s Own mega B
- Orthoplex Multiflora
- Polypill (contains 6 different minerals)
- Silica gel
- Swisse wild salmon fish oil
- Vit D3
Dr Casotti also discussed in length how toxic cosmetics are…this I already knew and have spoken about natural make-up and beauty products here. She recommended this book by Peter Dingle called Dangerous Beauty.
I was also told to eat more seafood (natural source of iodine), plant material, and to add psyllium, lecithin and whole organic flaxseeds that have been soaked in filtered water, to some yoghurt daily.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what difference this makes to my health and updating you all in a few months!
Are you a fan of alternative therapies too? Who do you see for your health concerns?
Interesting stuff but again Miss Rose, to think you have cholesterol on the tiny amount of cheese you take doesn’t make sense…It makes me wonder at what point do we decide to sacrifice some health for some pleasure? Based on the idea we arnt going to live forever and that good health is enough to take us on the journey, at what point does aiming for optimal health effect our mental health and do these need to be kept in balance? 😉
Hi Max! You’ve made a good point. Absolutely, I agree that there needs to be a balance. However, the doctor wasn’t suggesting I stay off cheese and bacon forever, in fact she is also an advocate of saturated fats as I am. She said it was just for now until my levels normalise. I don’t think it was those foods alone that had made my LDL levels raise, from what she was saying it was a combination of everything going on in my body. I agree that becoming ‘obsessed’ with what you’re putting into your body could effect your mental health if you take it too far, but on a personal note, I enjoy tweaking what I eat and trying out new supplements and alternative therapies if it’s going to make me live a healthier, longer life :-). I love feeling healthy and having energy…but that’s me. Not everyone feels the same about their health. Thanks for your comment!
Great article Liz! I’ve been interested in hair mineral analysis for a while now and it’s awesome to hear someone elses experience of it.
Really interesting too that she said your vit d levels were really good, but still wanted to improve it a little – wow!
Mine are also low and I have been reluctant to take the supplement but I will try a little harder now.
Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂 XO
Hi Annette! Thanks! I’d highly recommend checking this clinic out…the website is http://www.healthquest.com.au/
Yeah I know, and she also said it’s most likely due to it being winter now but still wanted to put me on one tablet of 10,000u a week to boost my levels a bit! We’ll see how I feel in a few months.
Thanks for your comment! 🙂 xx
Hi Liz, looking at it that way, makes much better sense. Im a self confessed alternative therapy devotee too, I will put this on the list, thank-you for sharing your experiences once again 🙂
Warm Regards
Max
My pleasure Max 🙂
Hi Liz,
I am a big fan of alternative therapies – I see a naturopath/acupuncturist weekly to support thyroid and adrenal issues. I look forward to hearing how this new plan works for you…perhaps you could do another ‘sneak peek’ into a daily plan? I found your last one really useful!
Sonya
Hi Sonya! That’s great you seek alternative therapies for your thyroid/adrenal issues…I hope it’s helping you! So glad you found my daily meal plan useful…the 7 day ones will be available soon 🙂
Hi Elizabeth, I’m just wondering how your body had high aluminium. Do you know how it got there? I’ve just had a liver function test, and another type of test to analyse the bacteria in my gut.
It’s good to aim for optimum health. Good luck! I wish I had done this when I was your age. Just remember you can never be too healthy!
Agreed Michellina! No, I don’t know how the aluminium got in my body…I didn’t get a chance to ask too many questions unfortunately!
Hi Liz,
This is great!! I also have recently had my hair mineral test about 2 months ago and it came back for high Mercury and super high levels of Arsenic! Very strange for me but she said that it can still be in your body from childhood being around treated woods and eating non organic vegies ( i am an organic devotee now! most heavy metals still be in our systems from our younger days! very intersesting stuff! I look forward to your update!
Wow, arsenic! It’s amazing how much toxicity builds up without even realising it! That’s great you found out about it…have you done a heavy metal detox? How did you find it? I got a really bad metallic taste in my mouth on the weekend after doing the detox for 2 weeks! It must be working 🙂
Hi Liz,
I know it’s amazing what can be found in your body! and i am feeling so much better after my detox me too it lasted for about two weeks ick! and i am it seems that since finishing the detox i am absorbing iron and other vitamins alot better, and my hormones are more balanced too! Are you still on the detox and how are you feeling????
many years ago, I felt sluggish, brain fog etc.
With Hair Analysis, I learned that I had copper overload, lots of Aluminium, Lead, and Mercury. – at a later stage Cadmium also became an issue.
Getting my hair tested six monthly initially and following the prescribed protocol I was able to detox all of the heavy metals, and now my minerals are Well Balanced.
I now get my hair tested about the time of my birthday each year – to ensure Im still functioning with maximum efficiency for maximum pleasure.. If I live longer – so be it, but in the meantime, I am enjoying a quality of live every day, that I had not experienced for years..
Hi Liz,
Can I ask you where did you go for the hair analysis??
Thanks
Nola.
Hi Nola! Sure, it was next door to Health Quest in Melville, in the pharmacy 🙂
Hi Liz, I am wondering a couple of years on how this went for you? And improvement in your digestion? I am hoping to see someone about bad digestion but I’m no sure if I should see someone like Igor, a clinical nutritionist, or someone else. I’m a bit concerned that nutritional medicine might ONLY look at supplements and maybe miss food intolerances or parasites that a gastro specialist would look for. I’d love your thoughts.
Hey Simon, thanks for your message. To be honest, I didn’t continue on after my first round of supplements purely due to the expense. I’m still working on my gut health due to recent trips to Bali where I’m certain I picked up parasites. I’m seeing a naturopath right now to help eliminate candida/parasites through homeopathy. However, I think I’m also going to have tests done for leaky gut and food intolerances, plus go on a candida diet. I think you can’t go wrong with seeing an intergrative nutritionist (they’re great at Churchill medical clinic in Shenton Park too), naturopath or nutritionist. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money on tests/supps. It’s definitely a worthwhile journey! Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Liz, Great post, how have you gone with detoxing the metals out? I have just had the hair test and its come back with mercury and aluminium. Starting to learn all about it now!
Hi Leanne, thanks for your comment. It was quite a while ago when I did the heavy metal detox – I might be due again! But it went well. It’s good to do every year. Good Luck!
Be very careful to get a second opinion. If you’re lucky, the most that will happen is that you are being fleeced and wasting your money. But the worst that can happen is that you will get inappropriate treatments. See, for example:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/learn-from-this-tragedy/news-story/650daa9f442586fdbd969d5c56e81e97
Good luck with your health journey!
Hi liz,
We’re did you have your hair analysis tested in Perth,
Thankyou,
Dave mckenna,