day 31: the naturopath
Before I started my Bikini Birthday quest I already had the gears in motion in my head thinking about how I could live to my optimum health. I decided I should see a Naturopath to get a thorough analysis of my lifestyle. Today, over a month later I finally had my appointment.
This was my first time seeing a Naturopath and it was single-handedly the most informative medical assessment I’ve ever had. Not to knock my family doctor who is, himself, a fantastic practitioner but is limited by red tape to very brief and superficial evaluations. My Naturopath, Dr. Natasha, on the other hand was so thorough!
After going through my medical history and family history she was able to completely tie everything together and explain all the possible causes of my current symptoms. She even drew pictures with arrows connecting the important stuff to each other! It was like a session of “Samantha’s Symptoms for Dummies” — in a good way of course, because I’m a biology dummy but I could totally understand what she was talking about.
So here is what I learned: The accutane I took as a teenager f’d up my intestinal lining which may be preventing me from absorbing B vitamins. The birth control pills that I have recently stopped taking– because Matt relentlessly told me that they were screwing with my hormones– really were screwing up my hormones. As a result, my metabolism is more of a Chevette than a Corvette and I get cyclically recurring acne. She was able to go into more detail, but I’m paraphrasing, of course.
And here is is my course of action: Dr. Natasha gave me a very detailed cleansing diet to do for 3 weeks which eliminates allergens and food sensitivities like dairy, gluten, red meat, etc. After 3 weeks I will be reintroducing items slowly to see what sorts of reactions my body has and to determine food sensitivities. Also, she prescribed me a few supplements to increase my B vitamin levels and to balance my hormones again. I’ll see her again in 1 month.
I was so impressed by my appointment today and how everything came together and seemed to just make sense. Now hopefully all her support really does work and I will achieve my optimum health level! Cleansing diet day one begins tomorrow.
Has anyone else been to a Naturopath? What were your experiences?
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I’ve never been to a neuropath, but this sounds interesting! Hopefully you have success with changing your diet and finding what works for you!
oh ya i forgot that you had your appt this week! so cool, i finally learned what naturopathy is really about earlier this week from the guest lecturer. i’m a bit apprehensive about going COMPLETELY alternative/natural when it comes to certain conditions, but overall i really like the philosophy behind it. glad you had a good experience!
Never been but it seems like a great experience! The cycle of acne is really relevant for me. I was on BC for a while, then stopped, got acne again, and now that I’m starting BC again my acne comes and goes but is SUPER annoying. I keep telling myself my diet will recorrect it…. well see.
“Samantha’s Symptoms for Dummies” – lol!
Interesting visit – never been to a naturopath. I’ll be interested to hear how you feel. Have a great Sunday! 
Lately I’ve been hearing so much about Naturopaths! I really am interested in seeing one now. I found your blog after you left a comment on Brio Gusto. It’s all super interesting to me!! Good luck with your plan!