At my sickest, I was on twenty-four different supplements, which totaled up to seventy-six capsules a day. Plus, I was drinking my daily Chinese tea. It was too much. How did I get there? My doctors and specialists did not communicate efficiently, nor did they take me seriously when I objected to their recommendations.

I bring my story to light to make this point: Take responsibility for your health. You don’t have to understand everything, but don’t let that be an excuse to not try. Don’t be cowed by the “expert” or the white coat in front of you. Facilitate communication between your experts and build your team so it works for you and your health. When something doesn’t feel right, question it. My doctor didn’t listen to me until I finally created a spreadsheet with everything I was taking: What I was taking, how much, and the frequency. The amount of capsules I was taking, as well as the water I had to drink with them, was taking up so much room in my stomach leaving little room for enough food to keep me full. I couldn't enjoy my meals. Eating became a stressful event, which is not optimal for digestion.

It is important to seek out experts who will take the time to listen, honor the information you bring to the conversation, and respond accordingly. I would urge you to spend the time and money to find a functional medicine doctor, nutritionist, or even a naturopath. This will end up saving you time and money in the long run. Each of our bodies, DNA, and microbiomes are completely different—and at different stages. By taking the time to really look at what’s going on in our gut and in our cells, we will be able to better determine which supplements will be the most effective.

Chinese herbal treatments can be equally effective. It is important to note, however, that Chinese medicine is its own specialty entirely and it does require a gifted and certified practitioner. I’ve used both dietary supplements and intensive Chinese herbal medicine treatment (through tea mixtures). While technically there is no contraindication to combining the two, I have found the most efficacy when I stick to one or the other for a specific period of time. Also, combining supplements with Chinese herbal tea concoctions made it more difficult to pinpoint triggers when I experienced a flare-up, be it gastrointestinal, autoimmune response-psoriasis, or another reason. (It would be hard to know if the reaction was caused by a food sensitivity, a new ingredient, one of the supplements, or one of the Chinese herbs.) Also, your supplement protocol is not static for long periods of time. If you’re staying on top of it with your practitioner, your supplements and quantities should be gradually shifting as you move through your protocol. This could mean daily, weekly, or monthly changes depending on what your needs and what you're taking. The goal (for the most part) is to promote healing and then get off of something once you no longer need it.

I've garnered this wisdom by following the advice of many sound functional medicine practitioners and taking a more holistic approach to my body and its individual needs. According to the Institute for Functional Medicine, functional medicine is simply a holistic and individualized approach. It looks at the body and addresses the root causes of illness, using low-risk interventions that modify molecular and cellular systems to reverse the drivers of the disease.

One may agree or disagree with the validity of functional medicine. I’m not a practitioner. I have no skin in this game. I simply choose to practice it with the assistance of my nutritionist and the rest of the health team I’ve put together along my journey. It’s not the only route; it is simply one route. And I am always going to choose the route with the greatest chance for healing and the lowest risk of side effects. That occasionally leads to pharmaceuticals. There is a place for pharmaceuticals and Western Medicine—and I am so thankful we have them. However, they have become part of the problem in too many cases. Smashing a toe with a hammer to get rid of a stomach ache is one option, but not the one I choose.

The option I choose is autonomy. And I advocate that we all choose this—and clear communication—for ourselves. After all, we know our bodies best.

With Love,
PrimaFoodie

The information and ideas in this article are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. This is exclusively provided for insight and information. The views expressed mirror those of PrimaFoodie's journey and should not be relied on for specific medical diagnoses or advice.