Honest moment rant about something that upsets us for others with the growth of online social media over the past few years.
In 2007 when I was extremely sick with metabolic damage – Hashimoto’s disease, adrenal fatigue, auto immune illness – fighting to figure out what was going on with my health with all the wrong answers and misdiagnosis from doctors, there was no Facebook or Twitter.
Social media just starting to “exist”. Websites and online resources were sparse, Damian and I didn’t know where to turn, and so we had to invest in furthering our education over time, resourcing integrative practitioners, and a lot of self-research to create my own healing naturally.
There were not a lot of fitness professionals, coaches or general public, with no education in or healing experience with, talking online about metabolic damage, thyroid health, adrenal fatigue, like you’ll find today.
And, I’m glad there wasn’t, because the misinformation online might have prevented us from discovering the real answers and solutions as quickly as we did to save my life, and discover the “new normal” in our bodies Damian and I are gifted with today. Battling this illness helped us to receive the greatest gift of our lifetimes truly, coming to understand our bodies metabolic potential & desire to be well & in balance systemically in a completely new way.
The amount of misinformation on these topics that we’ve observed others sharing and talking about online on social media at times truly has concerned us, even at times aggravated us in all honesty, coming from our place of experience.
It’s critical to understand that misinformation holds others back from receiving greater healing & change by instead learning from a qualified professional who can assist them fairly and in a bio-individualized manner to heal their endocrine health and metabolic damage naturally. And we admit these type of practitioners are not easy to find, and that is frustrating for sure when you are going through this, but they are out there.
We noticed for example social media page of a person sharing their thyroid health problem online, telling all of their followers that their doctor now suggested Botox injections & their followers should look into this. I almost fell of my desk chair reading this.
This particular page has tens of thousands of people following them, and yet most of these people, including the page owner, couldn’t answer the following questions if we asked them: what Botox is, what it stands for, what it does in the human body, what the risk is, what the short and long-term effects are of its use, and why it can actually negatively affect someone in a state of endocrine system and metabolic damage imbalance.
But many replies of the followers were just ready to run off and inject this toxin into their body because they read it on Facebook. “That” must be the answer because this page has the name thyroid on it, right?
We are being very direct here, but it’s to make a point of deep concern coming from a place of experience of successfully naturally healing an elusive, chronic condition that became very dangerous, cost us far greater than $35,000 to make our way back from, years of our life, and was very dangerous. We are still battling the financial consequences of my illness today, 7 years after it began, and will be for some time.
Some fitness industry professionals are also info-sharing as this topic trends more online, when often they still need more integrative health and holistic nutrition continuing education to move past out-dated poor nutrition protocols that our bodies can perceive as threatening, poor recovery approaches, or fitness approaches that can burn out the endocrine system and their metabolism. Also consider that there are plenty of fitness professionals jumping on this trending topic of metabolic damage who are very well-regarded in the fitness industry, however, realize they still have not had metabolic damage themselves and healed it, which does need to be understood in how we take in resources and information.
Take it from someone whose knocked on death’s door from these imbalances in her own body, this disease can get life-threatening, it can get incredibly serious and damaging, and it is not a “trend”. These are serious health concerns, and we’d call others to truly consider this when we want to help others & share information.
Having an unsolved problem, a % solved problem, or not having any personal experience with a problem, truly isn’t the best resource to get your guidance and expertise from. We are becoming desensitized online, in forums, and on social media and some of this info-sharing can keep people stuck from receiving greater change. Free online forums for example are not really a great resource, and we never receive healing until we are willing to invest in creating it for ourselves with our time, energy and our money. This was very true for us. Forums in our opinions, even blogs, social media, and some websites are just mental quicksand that keep you stuck, and your health could be internally worsening as you’re wasting time – we can share that from personal experience – which will only cost you more time & money to correct your health in the end.
I know the internet is terrific to have access to, but every decision you make especially around your personal health is something you should be investigating, and asking the proper questions first. No one questions or does due diligence before rushing into doing things to their body, and they take advisement so freely without question or assessment, and in many cases this is how many women get into metabolic imbalance, by working with coaches without really digging into their background or education first, and honoring the importance of that in someone whom they place their bodies results in the hands of.
This simple skill has helped me tremendously in life. It is why I’ve been able to beat two “incurable” chronic illnesses naturally in my lifetime, or at least the beginning of why. I never take anything at face value – I always question it & do my own research, not even when I was under the “treatment” of the “top world neurology expert” in my neurological condition in my early 20’s in NYC. I called his bluff too, and followed my own body intuition, honoring my “inner doctor”.
YOUR body, no one knows it better than you. YOU are responsible for it at the end of the day, and YOU have to live with all that you decide to do to it, how you care for or treat it, or give permission to others to treat it, so you never take anyone’s advisement without doing your own due diligence. Know more about that educator, know what their own results are, their education, their personal experience, etc. Ask “too many” questions upfront, and get all the answer you need FIRST. Be a detective, be your own body advocate, trust your senses.
When you’re following or accessing online resources, make sure to be aware as well of their background. Unfortunately, in social media or online, we take two seconds, don’t even look at the page’s website or “about” section and just use the number of followers as a form of “measurement”. But there is more you need to know. How many people are collecting in a group doesn’t mean the information they’re collecting around is quality information; it just means, a lot of people are gathering here. But it’s been our experience, many times, that the “road less traveled” is often the one that gets you to transformative results, so you don’t necessarily want to be where the “masses” are. None of the results I’ve humbly created in my life so far both in natural healing & as a natural competitive athlete have been from going down mental or physical paths the masses were already seeking or on; more often than not it’s been AVOIDING them.
So here’s what you need to know, without question!
- What results does this person create?
- Do I want to replicate their results?
- What is the quality of their personal health today?
- Have they replicated those results for someone else?
- What is their experience & education like?
- What experience do they have?
- How long is their experience?
- What other professionals endorse them & what is their background?
This is a good process of evaluation. But online we want it now, we want it fast, instant access, but this can lead to great trouble & cost.
There are amazing online holistic nutritionists, ND’s, DC’s, and integrative practitioners we admire. We trust their education, philosophies, and natural healing/integrative health approach, there are so many amazing professionals to learn from.
We did not find the long list of change it required of us to save my life and reverse my auto immune disease of Hashimoto’s disease and adrenal fatigue naturally on the internet, nor did we find the solutions on a Facebook or twitter page, or in online forums.
We wish the answers were that simple, but this is more about changing your lifestyle in a way that metabolically support multiple internal systems of your body. It is a multi-faceted journey. This form of healing naturally comes from food, energy, and environmental lifestyle shifts that natural improve core areas of internal system function so those systems can then heal your body for you on their own.
Restoration of the human body naturally is a walk of regenerative healing over time.
Please understand the internet is a blessing & a curse. In our opinion, it is holding some people back from getting a further in their natural healing faster.
These are newly emerging areas of integrative human body health, and a lot of people simply don’t know the proper way to educate in or address them, or even talk about them. And so the cycle of misinformation continues & prevents people receiving a natural return to wellness.
We appreciate the internet is a place to share your journey, but it is also a place that is in some cases delaying healing, spreading misinformation, and at worst, creating further health problems. Talking online about a problem you’ve not solved in yourself can be dangerous for others.
Not a comfortable topic, but one we feel is truly important to share our concerns honestly & the potentials we understand here from experience. All we’re saying is, enjoy the growth of accessible information online, but do so knowing your source. This simple action alone will help many women who are athletes working with coaches for example avoid getting into metabolic damage in the first place! When you put your bodies fate in someone else’s hands, know the whole picture and background of that person or professional.
It’s going to be an exciting year at e3 Energy Evolved. Be sure to become a part of our e3 Energy Evolved community by signing up for our e-newsletter, gifts & giveaways. You can also see our work shared in OnFitness & Experience Life.
If you’re experiencing metabolic health imbalance, we will be launching a new metabolic testing & diagnostic nutrition support service shortly. Join our community by entering your name & email in the box below to stay updated.
Author: Heather Dubé, HHC, AADP, ACSM CWC, NASM CPT, NC Cand. & BA Psychology, is a Functional Nutrition Practitioner, US National-Level Natural NPC Figure Bodybuilding Competitor & Contributing Expert Magazine Writer with 24 years experience, and Co-Founder of the e3 Energy Evolved™ System.
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Comments 5
Adrenal fatigue is a term applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. The term often shows up in popular health books and on alternative medicine websites, but it isn’t an accepted medical diagnosis.
Author
Hey, thanks for reading! Yes, I know. I had adrenal fatigue unfortunately 5 years ago, in additional to other endocrine, digestive, and immune system dysfunction, and was able to heal it naturally drug-free through nutrition, lifestyle and integrative health means.
Not surprising at all that the medical community doesn’t “accept” adrenal fatigue as a “condition”. There needs to be a few integrative health / functional medicine assessments or labs taken that identify what is causing the adrenal glands to be effected, and corresponding glands and organs.
Most likely, the medical community though will spend another 20+ years looking for the wrong things, trying to label it, reading the labs wrong, believing it doesn’t “exist” because they can’t “see” it, trying to put the blame on ONE cause as they’re trained to think about the body, and still not figure it out, sadly making people sicker systemically while they wait for valid answers, while some in the integrative health community will be beating it naturally approaching the human body as it is… an integrated unit of multiple systems that all need to be evaluated and aided to return to balance naturally in a comprehensive manner addressing all root causes simultaneously drug-free through things like lifestyle change, stress, nutrition and therapeutic nutraceuticals that counter issues of inflammation, ph, toxins, bacteria, and so on. That was also our experience, and many others, unfortunately.
Adrenal fatigue, or chronic fatigue syndrome, is an understood condition of imbalance in the integrative health / functional medicine community, thankfully! They saved my life after the medical community made me extremely ill with their repeat “diagnosis” errors.
Luckily, their errors didn’t cost my life, but their repeat errors in diagnosing me for over a year cost me and my husband a personal bankruptcy to clean up their errors after we had to pay over $35,000 in out of pocket costs that we didn’t have to fix their errors with natural means of healing to save my life, that insurance will not cover because they actually work and heal.
It’s an unfortunate system and predicament many people are stuck in today. Only those that will make it out & correct this will need to figure that out, and get out of that world if they expect to truly heal this imbalance in their body.
Great blog Heather! My sentiments exactly. I can’t tell you the amount of damage (pun intended) that has been done to my patients who have worked with some of these social media fitness-nutrition “experts.” Trainers are supposed to do just that, train. Many are not qualified to manage nutritional and/or metabolic needs of their clients beyond the basics. I just shake my head, and go about my business of helping restore my patients health and wellness. By the way, there is a medical billing code for adrenal fatigue/insufficiency – 255.5 – Other adrenal hypofunction ;)
Author
Oh, Dr Tondora, we are SO extremely disheartened by observing the same thing. What people are not understanding is, how can someone with no education in integrative health or functional nutrition have the credentials to help them? They simply don’t. This society doesn’t value education anymore. Damian and I have both worked very hard since I was ill in 2006-2008, to make the investment in multiple levels of education since and worked 5 years til today, and we JUST launched corrective metabolic lab testing NOW. Could we have come up with a “program” in 2010 when I graduated IIN to help “heal thyroids” etc. and still been more qualified educationally than these what these fitness pros & coaches are doing? Absolutely! but even then we felt that was NOT the proper or fair thing to do to get a bio-individualized, accurate and comprehensive protocol to recovery for our clients, having lived through auto immune + endocrine system and knowing how costly in time & money that was to correct over time firsthand out of pocket. We could have done other things to simply “make money” 3 yrs ago, if that was who we are & what we’re about, but we’re not those people. And we have lived through these awful imbalances and back. We understand the answers to every body are in THEIR body, and their body alone, and we did the work to be qualified in our credentials to help within scope, and now offer ND supervised metabolic testing, after 5years of hard work & investing in education. It should be illegal what these fitness professionals and coaches on & offline are claiming they are qualified to support people with in areas of integrative health, when quite frankly, most of them don’t have any form of basic nutrition education to even help them effectively and safely in just the areas of body transformation, and are part of the metabolic damage problem/cause (how ironic!), let alone what it requires therapeutically to heal a body naturally and systemically. It’s unreal to us that the general public buys into this without doing the due diligence to seek out and research for educated, qualified professionals, it’s the same problem that gets those looking for athletic nutrition or body transformation nutrition in deep water in the first place.
Author
(2) …And we are very against what we see going on right now. These illnesses and doctor errors cost us a personal bankruptcy related to medical expenses, and a health condition that became tremendously dangerous. These fitness professionals and coaches are playing with fire, having no licenses to be insured to treat or recommend in these areas both in therapeutic nutrition and integrative health. That’s a quick way to get sued and lose more than just your business, and cause a world of time, health and financial problems for your client. We’re praying people wake up & see what is going on with businesses trying to make a quick dime off them, which are only going to end up costing them more money in the end, b/c they will make their internal imbalances worse. Thank you for the tip on the medical billing code – at this time we don’t bill insurance, but that is truly helpful to know. Hoping we can connect sometime offline, Dr. Tondora – in fact, we were talking about you just a few hours ago b/c I’m going to email you an invite to an event we are attending next week that looks excellent in Scottsdale. Keep up the fantastic work! We’ll just all keep helping people learn the natural ways to corrective work in a qualified manner as they find our ways to us, hopefully in not too bad a shape after giving their bodies over to unqualified people. In the end they will have to invest in more time & healing work by the time they make it to us b/c of such poor selections in who they’re handing their bodies over too. :( – Heather, e3ee